We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shaylon Scott. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shaylon below.
Hi Shaylon , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I get my resilience and drive from my children. They say that children are the most resilient and better able to adjust to change. Their constant smiles, curious minds and unwavering love through tumultuous times modeled a pure example for me to follow.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
The idea of collective impact has always appealed to me. As someone that has been in the nonprofit and government for over 20 years I understand the value of pooling resources and intellect to make an impact and I try to do so in multiple areas of my life.
I’m currently a single mother of two daughters, nonprofit executive, board member, philanthropist,full time college student and entrepreneur. Without collective impact I would burn out and falter.
I not only rely on a strong village of support but hire and associate with those who have the skills and interests that align with my goals.
Along with that, every decision I make must feed the other. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with life in general and multiple projects, but when you participate in ones that support each other it less difficult. Every job I’ve had provided a skill that could be used for a future career and in the same note every course or volunteer work not only supports my goals financially, but emotionally and spiritually as well.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Introspection, Discretion, and Curiosity are the three qualities I found to be most useful throughout my career.
Without the ability to look at my own strengths and weaknesses I couldn’t course correct or determine what my values would be.
Discretion proved useful in leadership through difficult conversations and planning as well as working in government that requires this skill in abundance.
Curiosity is what has kept me flexible and nimble in my caster. I don’t get stuck in processes or rules without questioning the value or reason. Constable being curious keeps creativity strong as well.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed or exhausted I do two practices.
1. I connect with nature. I physically go into the woods on a walk or a hike and I take a moment to get my hands or feet in the dirt to ground myself and breathe in the clear air.
2. I intentionally surround myself with my favorite things. Music, art, books, etc and bring my closest friends to simply sit with me or watch a movie. No conversations, no problems, just being physically there for each other.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bookmecca.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/book.mecca
