We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Terrell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Determination and tenacity are two of the strongest aspects of my personality. There have been points in my life when I have had stumbling blocks come about and make things appear as if they were too much for me to handle. Nevertheless, I kept the mindset that I would not allow a stumbling block in my life to give me an excuse to fall prey to stumbling. People who know me know that two words serve as a driving force behind my confidence: no excuses. A person can make excuse after excuse as to why something cannot be done. However, excuses are not a part of my personality. Instead of allowing excuses to make me accept impossibilities, I keep the faith that possibilities will become reality. Whether thinking about what it took to become a college graduate, reflecting upon my years of success as a teacher, or considering the endurance required to step forward as a businesswoman, I can certainly say that confidence and high self-esteem were needed factors. When things looked as if I would not be able to move beyond the challenges that came before me, my connection to God prompted me to develop my confidence and self-esteem. I can say without a doubt that building a strong connection to God is what gave me the confidence and level of self-esteem that I needed to reach my goals.
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?
Touching the lives of others is something that I put forth a great effort to do. One way that I do this is serving as a leader of my 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Today’s Other Choices, Inc. My inspiration to become the founder of Today’s Other Choices, Inc. came from observing the lives of students and their families during my time as a teacher. There were often gaps that existed among certain students as opposed to others due to their socioeconomic status. With this mind, I wanted to help change the situation for the better. As a result, I opened a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that brought forth youth mentors, academic tutors, college tours, career speakers, and any other points in which I could see to positively affect the lives of students who were considered at-risk. In addition to this, I wanted to become a businesswoman. For many years, I had a high number of people complement my cooking skills and my recipes. Taking this as an inspiration, I opened my own restaurant known as J’s Tasty Kitchen, and I began to cater along with this. Whether having customers come to my place of business to enjoy meals or catering for various events, I became blessed to see myself as a businesswoman. It is my goal for J’s Tasty Kitchen to continue to serve as a great place of business, as well as having Today’s Other Choices, Inc. to positively impact the lives of youth and their families.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Determination, recovering from challenges, and using falls to make me rise are three qualities that I can certainly say led me to become a successful person. Having the mindset to not give up on my goals regardless of the obstacles that presented themselves to me was a strong skill that fed my determination despite the obstacles that entered my life. There are many times in life when obstacles make us feel as if throwing in the towel would be the best thing to do. However, when you go into a situation with the mentality that no obstacle is too much for you, this leads to you embracing optimism instead of pessimism. The ability to recover from challenges is another skill that has been beneficial for me. When challenges come to me, I do my best to see how I can bounce back from them instead of giving into them. In addition, I use places where I have fallen in life to make me rise. If there is a place in life where I have fallen, I look at the situation and think to myself how I will overcome it by any means necessary. Instead of using my time to worry, I allow my mind to become empowered with plans of how to connect with my spirit to blossom toward blessings ahead. This is strongly done for me through prayer, reading the Bible, and spiritual meditation. These are key pieces of advice that I do not hesitate to give to others so that they can develop or improve on such aspects in their own lives.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I can say without a doubt that the Bible is the book that has played the most important role in the development of who I am as a person. Whether reading biblical scriptures to encourage myself in hard times or reflecting upon them during the best of times, the Word of God has had the most powerful impact upon who I am. The most valuable nuggets of wisdom that I have gained from the Bible serve as reminders of the reality that no obstacle in life is too much for God to handle. Regardless of the challenges that present themselves before us, we should always look to God for direction to overcome them.
Contact Info:
- Website: todaysotherchoices.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Nonprofit-Organization/Todays-Other-Choices-Inc-1253900187967877/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZC-vvKfJJA
