Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Kendra Mayes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation; we’ve shared it below.
Dr. Kendra, 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.
I have always found joy in helping others manage their dreams, unlock hidden potential, while putting their lives into perspective. I attribute this to my natural path as a young person. I was always active in the areas of peer mentoring, motivational speaking, and debate club. I naturally gravitated toward being an advocate for social justice in education which afforded me the opportunities to push past racial and gender boundaries within my sphere of influences. Two great examples come to mind when we talk about finding purpose, the first is being the first African American drill team co-captain and the second was having the opportunity to serve as the first African American female class president at my high school in the 90’s was a major accomplishment.
Those natural inclinations of leadership, supporting cultural change, coaching others through their trauma, and promoting positive reinforcement led to finding my life’s purpose of being a transformational coach. I sincerely believe in helping people to transform their mind, body, soul, and spirit. Therefore, everything that I do within my community is centered on equipping and empowering the African American community with the information and resources they need to be successful in the areas of professional development, academics and health and wellness.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Transformational Coaching
I have been afforded the amazing opportunity to impact my target community in a variety of ways. I have worked in the corporate training and education industry for over 20 years. This platform has provided space for not only representation, but it has also created a platform to showcase my energy, passion, and transformational teaching and leadership style.
I am a firm believer that education and professional development is not a one-size-fits all approach but rather one that should be inclusive of diverse learning styles and cultural differences. As a transformational coach, I serve as a community partner, who is not only able to help clients upskill and reskill their personal development, but I often walk clients through the process of raising their personal awareness pertaining their gifts, talents, and leadership style along with providing them with the tools to reach those goals.
Another touch point for me is in the health and wellness industry. I am the owner of Kingdom Fitness, INC. As a personal trainer, life coach, nutritional specialist, and motivational speaker I continue to use a transformational coaching style to champion the cause of health and wellness in the African American community.
My work within the African American community is extremely rewarding because I have the chance to work closely with clients from all ages and stages. Guiding them through the process of sustainable change whether it is personal, professional, academic, or embarking upon a new health and wellness journey completely fulfills what I am meant to do. This is significant because it allows them to do the following:
• Dream big without judgement.• Gain awareness of who they are, identify their gifts, and talents and confront their fears.• Develop a growth mindset and embrace the possibilities for success regardless of race.• Take ownership in their personal journey.• Identify what their personal levels of self-fulfillment would be.• Define their own level of happiness.
My lifelong goal is to change the world one person at a time. Working in the coaching and wellness industry serves as a catalyst to inspire, empower, and equip African American men, women, and children to not only become better people but become “FIT” mind, body, soul, and spirit.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
As I look back on my journey to becoming a first-generation college graduate and the first to graduate with a doctorate degree in my family. Coupled with the many things that I have accomplished throughout my life until this point. I must say that resilience, teachability, and discipline were qualities that I relied on to navigate through the adversity that I faced throughout my journey.
1. Resilience: Learning to recover quickly is important because you learn how to re-channel your energy to the things that you have control over.
2. Teachability: A teachable attitude allows you to reflect and ask yourself what you can learn from the situations you encounter. This type of attitude produces a growth mindset opposed to a defeatist mindset.
3. Discipline: Discipline is an important skill to develop because you train yourself in how to operate within control and boundaries. Discipline allows you to organically work through the process of learning while building the muscles of honesty, integrity, endurance, and motivation which are intrinsic rewards of working within time and healthy boundaries.
Cultivating these growth characteristics strengthens the much-needed skills of being both a confident and competent leader. We call this possessing the ability to lead up front. I have been fortunate enough to serve as a model in each area that I influence, which has been a wonderful demonstration of not only racial and gender representation but transformational leadership.
So, for anyone who has decided to fully commit to start walking in your purpose unapologetically, I would encourage you to take time to understand and study your mission. It’s important to ask yourself two questions:
1. How can my purpose best serve others?2. Who needs what I have to offer?
From those questions start to study your target audience to determine the gaps in which you can add value to their experience. Remember that you are your brand, and your story should exemplify inspiration, enthusiasm, transparency, fun, excitement, truth, along with practical application. Take the time to educate yourself. Knowledge helps to create a sustainable program. Learning about the plethora of activities, resources, and tools that can be incorporated to help your clients reach their goals is extremely important.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?I have a wonderful parental unit. I am grateful for three major things that were instilled in me and have drastically impacted my life.
1. Faith in God: I am grateful that they instilled in me an amazing faith in God. Faith is what has carried me through this journey called life and I rely heavily on it daily.
2. Work Ethic: I am grateful that they instilled a solid work ethic in me. I was raised to work hard and be both honest and integrable when dealing with others.
3. Hope: I am grateful that they instilled, hope, my parents always encouraged me to do what God has laid on my heart to do no matter how big or small. They never discouraged or discounted the dreamer in me, and they always support me no matter the outcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kingdomkorner.com
- Instagram: kingdomfitness_drk
- Facebook: Dr. Kendra Mayes
- Other: business facebook page: Kingdom Fitness by Dr. Kendra Mayes
