Come With Me

I have read blogs and books, listened to testimonies and watched podcasts where people share their back stories once they’ve gained success. They tell about where they’ve come from, what they’ve been through, and how they’ve overcome. I applaud those people. In fact, I love reading those stories. They are extremely encouraging and motivational and make me feel like I can succeed, too.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be something. I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to be a professional singer. I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve had many dreams and, to this day, I haven’t accomplished any of them. I think I’ve disappointed myself more than I have been disappointed by anyone else.

I have worked many jobs, though. I’ve worked administrative jobs, telemarketing and sales jobs. I’ve worked in fast food restaurants and retail stores. I’ve worked jobs that I liked (for a while) and jobs that I hated. I’ve gone through a revolving door of jobs and none of them had me begging for more.

In fact, besides the four years I spent enlisted in the Marine Corps, I can’t remember working on anyone’s job for more than two years.

I would start every job with excitement. I enjoyed learning my new responsibilities and getting to know my new co-workers. But, soon the kinks would start to show and my joy would turn into misery. I would complain about everything I felt was wrong to try and justify why I felt so unhappy. I would even complain about having to go in to work! I would complain if my managers weren’t giving me enough hours, and then, when I was given more, I would complain that I had too many! So, I would end up leaving that job, only to find something wrong with the next.

Recently, I quit my job at what used to be my favorite shoe store, after a year and a half of employment. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to land another job and, as a result, my situation has become dire.

I realize now that my circumstances are a result of the mistakes I’ve made. I had become ungrateful when things didn’t happen the way I thought they should. My ungratefulness lead to unhappiness, which led to an extremely bad attitude.

In light of this revelation, I’ve decided to make some changes within myself and commit to doing things differently. Not for the opportunity to land and keep somebody’s job for more than a year and a half. Not to work my hind parts off making someone else’s dreams come true. I feel this change is necessary to start making my own dreams a reality.

I’ve been sitting on so many dreams and ideas for so long. There had always been something stopping me from pursuing them; something (or someone) telling me that I wasn’t good enough. The sad part is… I believed them. Not anymore.

Instead of thinking that I can’t do it, I choose to believe that I can. Instead of allowing my circumstances to tell me that now is not the right time, I’m MAKING now the right time. Instead of letting people (and even myself) convince me that I’m not good enough, that my dreams are too big for me, that I’ll never make it, I’m digging my heels in, changing the way I see myself, and taking the first step toward my dreams. And with every subsequent step, I plan to prove, to all of us, that I can!

So, though most people decide to wait until they have made it to tell their back stories, I don’t want to wait. I’ve wasted way too much time already, so I’m going to tell my back story now! I’m going to tell where I’ve been – and where I’m going. I’m going to tell what I’ve been through – and what I’m coming out of. And I want to share my journey with you.

My name is Erika Henderson, and I am on a journey of self -improvement and empowerment. This adventure will be full of discovery, servitude, faith, and fulfillment. During this journey, I will be transparent and honest. I will share my failures as well as my successes. I will share all of the revelations and the lessons I learn along the way. I will share scriptures and experiences, words of wisdom and quotes from visionaries before me. As I empower myself, I want to empower you!

Come with me on my journey to success.