How to Achieve Sustainable Happiness

As a Life Strategist and Business Accelerator, Jenn Drakes believes that we are all born with a gift. We need only embrace that gift, accelerate its use, transcend our current circumstances and responsibly share our gift to achieve our own sustainable states of happiness.

Jenn explains that her fulfilment in life is not gained from being a mother, or from partnering with others. It is not gained from having material things, from having a job or getting promotions. Her fulfilment in life is gained from her natural gifts of speaking and writing and doing so in a way that improves how people feel about themselves and empowers their sense of self-worth to achieve more than they imagined.

Jenn encourages people to innovate and become fundamentally self-aware. She uses her natural gifts to evoke change. She tries to create an understanding that life is all about using your natural gifts to build a full life that harmoniously includes personal and professional achievements directly tied to who you truly are. It is about using what you have within, first to serve yourself and then serve your community.

What inspired your business?

Returning home from a client one day, stuck in traffic, I came to realise I was unfulfilled. Sure, my current work had snippets of all the things I loved, and sure I was using small aspects of my natural skills to help others grow, but I was no longer growing. I was simply executing the routine I had come to know so well, and it was something I could do with my eyes closed. I was running after someone else’s vision and had become a puppet on their strings. So, I decided to make a change and pivot in a big way.

I started to imagine, what could happen if I used more than just snippets of myself. My potential was more than I was giving. As a Prosci-certified Change Practitioner, the decision to change was easy — all the cascading implications of that decision were not. I started with small strategic actions to change my work-life balance, as I explored and reflected on the bigger picture.

One morning, I awoke with the clarity that I was seeking: I needed to learn more about broadcasting. While that certainly supported my desire for public speaking, it seemed far-reaching and did not necessarily include my wish to return to teaching. I knew pursuing traditional ways of broadcasting would be going in the wrong direction, but I understood it could be a stepping stone. I was right, because my exploration of broadcasting and internet-based platforms to share knowledge, led me to discover podcasting. Once I learnt about that, I immediately knew I had found the right medium. By the end of April 2020 I was hosting Arrays of Living which you can find on all major platforms.

Podcasting meant selecting topics, and it meant I had to write even more than I had been. Social media engagement meant I had to find things to say, and they had to be things I could stand behind. Notice how the love of writing got pulled into the mix of things? Ten months later, I released my book Aladdin Carpets on Amazon and my published on Plumose.co. Arrays of Living has extended to a live show, which recently launched a series called ‘Connect to Thrive Morning Reflections’ that discusses any and all things related to sex, love and relationships. I co-host another Live show ‘ Get Awesome’, in addition to being an executive contributor to BRAINZ Magazine and the Boss Ladies Mindset platform.

The life I am now orchestrating is a determination to leave breadcrumbs of me, a legacy of my spirit, to continue being shared well past my expired life journey. I wish to be a positive example that life is what you make of it, and that living it fully includes all of you. Each movement is one of choice that aims for self-actualisation and service.

What advice would you give to a new entrepreneur setting up their first business?

Traditionally, when considering entrepreneurship, we think we have to live two separate lives — our business and our personal pursuits. My philosophy is that in building a business, your initial motivation was to build a life. From that lens, you considered that X years of effort would result in certain exponential benefits from financial, lifestyle, social, knowledge and career abundance. So, in setting up your first business, work to push what is inward outward.

Drive your business based on who you are, what you want, and what you bring to the enterprise — values, knowledge, capability, and vision. Continue to check in with that alignment as your business grows. Align with people who are like-minded, and support the vision you have, and who add wonderful perspectives to that vision.

Do what you love, and offload what you don’t enjoy or you are not good at. Nurture the people doing those tasks to communicate and keep you informed. Delineate clear lines of accountability, and always set expectations related to conduct and outcomes. The earlier these things are implemented the faster your company will grow.

Learn to let go. Far too often, entrepreneurs and small business owners think they have all the answers and skills, and try to do everything themselves, at the detriment of their health, life, relationships, and prosperity.

How do diversity and inclusivity play a part in your business?

I am multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. I am me, driven, laser-focused, a forever child, unique, a provider, protector, strong, type A opinionated, independent, creative, with a wicked sense of humour. I am Nubian, an original goddess, beautiful, wise, generous, loving, and accepting of nature which includes all of us. I am an author, influencer, poet, life-strategist, business accelerator, visionary, podcaster, and I am more capable than most expect. I am mom, daughter, sister, cousin, friend, teacher, mentor. I am all of this and much, much more! I have had my beatdowns in life. No surprise there! I come from a family with dysfunctional tendencies. Yet amidst those tendencies was strength, moral guidance, a rich value system of village upbringing, tradition, role modelling and love was present in the strangest ways, despite the suffering. I would love for anyone to honestly tell me their family was non-dysfunctional. Guess what-to date-I have never heard that said.

So what I am trying to say is that we are more alike than we think. Someone reading this is a parent like me. Is Nubian like me. Is a friend like me. We all have some level of common ground; we just have to start a conversation to find what the common ground is. In all areas of my life, I see a human being first. I let a person’s actions define who they are. Accountability never to lead interaction with preconceived notions, is the mindset I try to build.

What sets you apart from other people in your field?

I run my own race. I am uniquely and authentically myself in how I speak, write, and in my ways of influence. The tools I use to support my business execute certain things such as email reminders, etc., but beyond that I want you to see me, hear me, and believe in me the same way I will see you, hear you and believe in you.

My coaching services can encompass all dimensions of ourselves — mind, body and spirit at both the personal and professional level. My message is to be passionate about life and fully living it with gumption. That translates to taking action, cultivating mindset shifts, and changing internal narratives. Come out explosively empowered to live intentionally, exponentially, and to achieve more than anyone — even you — imagined.

Do you have a business pet peeve?

People are bombarded with information, images, sales pitches, and free challenges each and every day. That is extreme overload. Knowing which are the right messages, the right people, the right healers, is difficult for consumers. It is also difficult for those trying to navigate and gain reach in meaningful ways.

Technology can distract us from our real work.

As you grew the business, what have you learned about leadership?

Leave your ego at the door. Work to deliver a vision that will uplift the company and others. There are far too many non-leaders in leadership positions. How they got there is actually irrelevant or would be if something was in place to hold them accountable for their conduct. However, the greatest asset a company has is its staff, and “leaders” who cannot effectively leverage those assets should have their leadership questioned and scrutinised.

I recently wrote an article about businesses structuring for growth using a three-tier model that collapses hierarchy into three levels — visioning — overseeing — executing. The best leaders are those that have a natural affinity to lead, but others have to be trained and will need more training than those that have the natural skill.

Where can people find you?

There are some different ways people can connect:

• Book a FREE 20-minute consultation with me.
• Join in on a FREE Book Reading Soiree with me: https://www.jenndrakes.com/choose-your-date.
• Like and subscribe to my podcast at Libsysn, Apple, Spotify, Google, iHeartRadio, Amazon, or find it on your favourite podcasting app.
• Like and subscribe to my youTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0W30mYzpW5ZQsFgQ4ktBg.
• You can also follow me on Instagram.

About FEM

FEM stands for Feminist Entrepreneurs Magazine (or Finally Eradicating Misogyny, if you’re feeling cheeky), and is a House of Hives publication. We started this magazine to support entrepreneurs who feel disenchanted with the 24/7 hustle culture, the competitive narrative of toxic masculinity and narrow definitions of success, value and wealth that it peddles. We want to talk about balance, the importance of mental health, the power of collaboration and diversity, and much more.

We hope to inspire and support entrepreneurs as they build their businesses in enjoyable and sustainable ways, by sharing stories and tips from thought-leaders and change-makers. Join the mailing list to have the FEM e-magazine sent directly to your inbox.

Originally published at https://www.houseofhives.com on June 7, 2021.