The GRLPWRSeriescame at atime
in my life when Iquest ioned my
purpose.Ifelt likeIneeded to build
something thatwasbigger thanmyself,
and whichwould makeadifference to
the people around me. After sitting with
my life coach, Iknewconversations
aroundwomen’sissueswere something
Iwas passionate about.
My company, GRLPWR Production,
wasborn thisyear.I’ve always wanted
to ventureintobusin ess and empower
myselfinthatspace.BecauseIhadspent
almostayear building the brand for
the series,Iwanted to takeownership
of it and what itstands for! The bigger
vision is to create jobs forwomen with
the various projects I’ll have under the
production agency!
The sisterhood, confidence and
healing I’ve seen the series bring
to the women who attend, is what
encourages me tocarry on.To know
that I’ve empoweredagroup ofwomen
to go out thereand be the bestversion
of themselvesisi nspiring on itsown. To
also createaspace whereIget to share
South Africanwomen’sstoriesand gi ve
themasense ofbelonging,reallypushes
me towant to continue using my voice
and the platform to do more.
Beingraised by asingle mother has
definitely shaped whoIam. My mom
hastaughtmetoworkhardandstrive for
the best. She’sbeen my inspiration sincedayone.Watch ing her raise me allowed
me to recognise the strength within
myself as awoman, and her support
towardsmygoals has propelled me to
whereIamnow —which is something
I’ll al ways be grateful for.
Startingafamily,buyingmy mother a
beautiful house,and one daybuilding
and funding an all-girls leadership
school likethe Oprah Winfrey
LeadershipAcademyfor Girls! These
arethe top three things Iwantto
accomplish beforeIturn 40.Ibelieve
thatthingshappenwhenthetimeisright
and thatevery dayisa nopportunity for
me togetastep closer to thesegoals.So,
time will tell.When people lookat me,Ithink they
seesomeonewho’sinh erownlane.
Someone who has found comfort in
herself and the journey she’son. Ialways
strive to carvemyown path.
Whatsituation didyoubelieve to be
true, butfound outitwasn’t as you
grew older?TV and movies made us
believe that being agrown-upiscool,
but that is one big trap! Getting older
comes with aton of challenges and
responsibilities.Isometimes miss my15-year-oldself.Backthen, lifewasjusta
smooth ride and allIhad toworry about
wasmaking sureIdid well in school.
If Icould knowthe absolute truth to
one question...Iwould ask whyisitstill
so difficult forwomen in this dayand
agetosupport, empowerand celebrate
eachother.This is whyIfind the GRL
PWRSeries so important.Ifelt likeI
needed to makeachangeinhow women
see eachother.Ibelieve theonlyway
women can grow and feel empowered
is through dialogues and creating a
safe space whereeveryone can share
their challenges and also celebrate their
victories.Iwantedaspace thatIcould
relate to and also learn from.The first time Icut my hair shortwas
afew yearsago.The stylist went too
short andIregretted cutting my long
hair.After it grew back,Itookaleap of
faith lastyear.Ifound one of the best
hairstylists and cutmy hair again. This
time, it turned out to be one of the best
decisions I’ve ever made! I’mtotally
enjoyingmy newlook.
My biggestweakness is definitely
sweets. Ihave such asweet tooth. I
always have apacket of sweets at home
or in my handbag!Trying to cut down
has been tough. I’mtrying to keep
healthy, but it’snot always easy.
The importance of treating your
dream asabusiness is whatIwould
teach my apprentice. Ithink alot
of us have dreams but we don’thave
an action plan in place, or away of
implementingthem.Therefore,learning
howtoput together adream plan,
which is similar toabusin ess plan, will
help us shift from pointAtoB.Once
that’sdone, we need to put the plan
out theretosee if itworks or not, and
howwecan makeitbetter.The keyis
tostartandnotkeeponpostponingdoing
things.Wealso need to takeourselves
seriouslyand represent ourselveswell.
So I’ dteach my apprentice howtocreate
asolid plan for theirgoals and dreams,
and ways torepresent themselvestot he
world. Thiswould help setthem on the
right path.■OFF THE CUFFIsahotdogasandwich?Whyorwhynot?Apparentlyyes! Asandwich is
twoormoreslicesofbread, orasplitroll or bun withafilling in between.
What’sthemostridiculousfactyouknow?It’simpossibletosneezewith
youreyes open.
Whatkindofs ecretsocietywouldyouliketos tart?I’dprobably start a
group wherewomen leadersscout and identifypotential inyoungfemale
students and givethem internships and jobopportunities.
What’syourgeneralfeelingaboutwomen?
Women aresuch powerfulforces,oncewe’veidentified the lightwithin us,
we’reunstoppable!
Whatisp opularnowthateveryonewilllookbackoninfiveyearswith
embarrassment?People’s opinionsonsocialmedia! Some people taketheir
freedom of speechtoofar and don’trealisethe impact of their comments.I
thinksome people will look back andwonder whytheyevenposted certain
content.Weneedtotakeresponsibilityfor whatweshareonline.WWW.TRUELOVE.CO.ZA| 2019 OCTOBER| 43CELEBRITYWomen aresuch powerful forces,
oncewe’ve identified the light within us,
we’reunstoppable!IMAGE
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