We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittny Ferguson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brittny, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Living a purpose driven life really began for me when I started living with intention – and that was a journey that evolved as I started to define my personal core values, inner gifts and God-given talents. I spent a few years really focusing on this and incorporated everything from Strength Finders tests to Spiritual Gifts tests. These resources were created to help people discover their top strengths, while simultaneously learning what makes them tick and why – and for me, they were game changers!
Once I did A LOT of self-work and soul searching in this area, then I focused on being intentional about doing specific things that would allow me to bring my strengths and talents to light. In doing this, my purpose seemed to evolve in a really organic way. I started to feel happier, exceedingly more confident and fulfilled in a way that I had never experienced before. It was like a light had literally been turned on and I could visualize exactly which life and work paths I needed to pursue.
For me, my ultimate purpose is living a life of intention, positively influencing any situation that I enter into and striving to make a sustainable impact in my community by serving, giving back and paying it forward.
Upon discovering my own life’s purpose I honestly couldn’t wait to share this process with others. I took all of my research, test results, notes, etc., and created my labor of love, “Allow Me to reintroduce myself: A 30 day journal for living intentionally.” I’ve received nothing but positive feedback from those who have experienced the month long journey, and I will continue seeking opportunities to help others define their purpose and inner light as often as I can.
One of the best ways to describe this continuous life journey for me is through my favorite poem – “Our Deepest Fear” by Mariam Williamson.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Brittny Ferguson and I’m a parallel-prenuer – meaning I have a 9-5 career in the Banking Industry and also own a small business. Essentially, I’m an Assistant Vice President, Micro Market Leader and Branch Manager with U.S. Bank where I help people succeed financially by day, and the Founder of Once Upon Her Life, where I help people write chapter one of a new life story by calling.
I have been blessed to have a successful career in Banking and Finance for over 18 years. Within that role my overall objective is to help my customers succeed financially, inspire and lead my team to reach their greatest professional potential and cultivate meaningful relationships as a leader within my community.
My company Once Upon Her Life offers meaningful guidance for personal, professional and financial success through goal setting, self-accountability and discovery of purpose. I also wrote my book as an intentional resource to help my clients along this journey.
From an educational perspective, I attended Tennessee State University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Forbes School of Business and Technology at The University of Arizona Global Campus. I currently hold a B.A. in Communications Studies and an M.B.A. with a Specialization in Organizational Leadership.
Some of my recent career highlights include:
• Being recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the Top Business Leaders under 40 in 2019
• Being selected as one of the Top 50 Black Leaders of Influence by the Black Chamber of Commerce and San Diego Business Journal in 2021
• Being chosen as the Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year in 2021
• Being selected as the Volunteer Champion of the Year by the San Diego Equality Business Association in 2022
• Being recognized as the University of Arizona Global Campus Alum of the Year in 2022
• Winning a U.S.Bank 2023 Legend of Possible Award, the bank’s highest honor which is extended to the top 1% of the bank’s top performers
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the 3 top things that have been the most impactful in my journey thus far would be understanding the value of self-care/self-development, honoring my authentic self and intentionally living in my purpose. Now this might sound easy, but it takes consistent effort to become who we are meant to be through personal accountability. While the process of becoming my “best self’ never really ceases to exist, these 3 priority areas really help serve as sort of a guiding light for me – even on the days wear I’m riding the struggle bus, lol.
At the core of self development is education, and I 100% consider myself a life-long student because I never stop seeking to learn and grow. I actually decided to obtain another degree a few years back in my pursuit of this and acquired an MBA with a specialization in Organizational Leadership. The skills and knowledge that I derived from those studies now serve me greatly in my role as a leader of people and teams combined. I feel as though I’ve been blessed with being selected for numerous opportunities based in large part on how I’ve grown as a leader and coach since graduating (again, lol). In particular, the learning process overall continues empowering me to step outside of the box with renewed confidence in my abilities and enhanced skillsets.
In addition, I read a ton of books and still get excited when my favorite monthly magazine subscriptions arrive. There’s nothing better than throwing on a face mask, jumping in a bubble bath and relaxing with an inspirational podcast or something good to read!
In Corporate America, I’ve simultaneously discovered that my competitive advantage is being able to be my authentic self, while forever embracing the gift of learning and growing – because that never stops giving. There aren’t many women who look like me in leadership positions and at times, I’m actually the only Black woman at a table. In the past, I would tend to feel a bit self-conscious being the only one, but now I embrace every opportunity to showcase the value that minority women can bring. No one can do “me” better than me, so striving to honor myself, my core values and my own uniqueness has helped to open numerous doors for me, and in turn, that helps me open doors for others. The only person that I focus on beating is who I was yesterday, so being intentional about consistent improvement while being true to myself has been a game changer.
In addition, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to pay it forward and share what I’ve learned AND earned. To whom much is given much is required, so giving back, serving and volunteering as much as I can is a non-negotiable for me. As a result, I was honored to win the Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year Award in 2021, and the 2022 Volunteer Champion of the Year from the San Diego Equality Business Association. I feel incredibly blessed to be recognized for simply doing what I feel I was put here to do. I’m truly walking in my purpose now and I couldn’t feel happier or more fulfilled!
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
The mission of Once Upon Her Life is a direct extension of my personal vision at U.S. Bank: to help people see their world not as it is, but as it could be, through self-empowerment, self-love and personal accountability.
The vision of Once Upon Her Life encompasses writing chapter one of a new story based on the pursuit of excellence and becoming your best self. True evolution requires a healthy balance between living intentionally, honoring who you are truly meant to be, and never leaving the world the same as when you entered into it.
Based on this, my ideal client would be someone struggling to find this balance, true fulfillment in their day to day existence or who are not in alignment with their purpose. There is no greater blessing in my eyes than helping others write a Love Story for their life that honors this balance and their true purpose authentically and intentionally.
One of the main tools that I utilize to help my clients in their journey is my book, Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself: A 30 Day Accountability Journal for Living Intentionally. I encourage my clients to work directly with me for 30 days to complete essential activities tied to my journal such as goal setting/planning, adapting healthier life habits and holding themselves accountable to the pursuit of excellence by maximizing their top strengths and God given talents.
All my life I have possessed this desire to lift and empower the people around me. I understood from a very young age that being comfortable with the uncomfortable was essential to growth in any capacity. While it may not always be easy to help a world resistant to change, it’s essential to do the work and honor the possibility of what CAN be. I want each of us to live a life of intention, awaken to our full potential and summon the courage to honor our true calling.
Based on this, my vision when creating Once Upon Her Life encompassed inspiring others to courageously write chapter one of a new story based on the pursuit of excellence and becoming their best self—and these goals and vision still hold true today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.onceuponherlife.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/onceuponherlife?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittny-ferguson-a9121835
