When are you going to make a move? Have you not waited long enough? How old do you have to be to follow where your passion is waiting to lead you?
Yesterday, our latest client Alissa McLeod said in our interview with her that she did not set out to write a book. Neither did she understand that all the things that she was learning through Jamaica’s National Youth Service would be useful.
Use Those Things That Pain Taught You!
Well, those things that you learned while crawling on your belly – they have value.
When are you going to put them to use? Did you think that you went through all of that to do nothing with it? Quit delaying and get with the programme!
Growing up, the women in my life were always doing something, hustling as they would say, to make ends meet. For the most part, they kept their children clothed, fed and with a roof over their heads.
My mother was one of those women. Despite all the challenges that she had as an abusive parent, she had skills and talent. First, she started a hairdressing business after completing the premier hairdressing school on the island. When that business failed, she transformed the premises into a food shop.
She had no luck with men. That was her explanation for her business failures. Looking back from the place of knowing what I know now, the problem was she did not know how to use the pain to fuel her passion. She kept delaying her destiny.
Delaying Your Passion
Daily, we receive at least one message from a woman requesting support. Unfortunately, we cannot help many of them as, quite frankly, they are looking for a handout. We are not in that business. That is how too many men and women put off pursuing their passion. If someone, the government, or family is not prepared to give them the hand they think is needed to start – they are not starting.
Two of our clients who gave us permission to promote our involvement with them did the opposite. They are about the business of their passion.
Hyacinth lives in rural Jamaica. She messaged us on Facebook and after chatting with her and listening to her story, it became clear that she needed direction. The pain was plentiful but what was more urgent was turning it into meaning. So, we got her that support. Out of it, Hyacinth came to the decision that she wanted to create supplemental income as COVID-19 has impacted her job.
She has lots of extra time on her hand as work was reduced to three days a week. By the end of this month, after submitting a ‘business plan’ to us, Hyacinth will start a micro chicken-rearing operation with commitments from a local grocer and restaurant to buy her chicken.
Pain turned into a passion. No further delay not just in her personal life where she had decisions to make but with her money.
She Cried All Night, Then Started Writing
Raped twice, the first time by someone she went on a date with and the second time by a ‘kind’ neighbour, Alissa was broken. She used the metaphor of a hurricane to describe the time between the first and the second assault on her.
We spoke about this in our interview with her, which is posted on our YouTube Channel, Alissa explained that after still crying about “Why is this happening again” many years after both events, she decided to write. First, her pain was poured out on the pages of her journal. Eventually, she turned it into one of her many passions – a book.
“From The Inside Out” is a short but compelling read. It is Alissa’s story, one that continues today but now, with the passing of time, she is flourishing. Her mission now is to use 
all that she learned, from her experiences of being violated to the skills she gained through her work with the National Youth Service.
Part of our journey with Alissa is to help her sell more books to fund her other passions. She is an extremely creative young woman and some of her creations will be in her Christmas Auction.
Go to Amazon and get a copy of Alissa’s book. Make sure to tell her we sent you and help her fulfil her passions.
When Are You Going To Stop?
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone”―
Back to the original questions. When are you going to stop putting off your passion?
One of my favourite books of all time asks a similar question – “If Not Now When: Reclaiming Ourselves At Midlife?” Pick up a copy of that as well when you get Alissa’s “From The Inside Out.”
It matters not what pain you suffered in the past or even suffering right now. When I worked at a women’s prison, several of my clients were prostitutes in their previous lives. We would talk about their future when they leave the institution, what would they do for a living that would not land them back incarcerated. To many, my words were:
- Use the same time management skills that you employed scheduling your Johns
- Plan the logistics of your legal venture in the same way that you planned which corner had the best ‘business’ on which night
- Budget your money as carefully as you did when you were a streetwalker
They all thought that I was the mad behavioural counsellor and chaplain but they all admitted that there was a lot of truth in my suggestion. We have also been suggesting to you that starting a business might be what is part of your passion. Check out our post on that.
As for me, this organization is another manifestation of me ending the delay of one of my passions. One day that full story will be told. For now, however, Like and Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular updates.
Peace and Love,
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