We recently connected with Bridgette Donald-Blue and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Bridgette, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
Where does my generosity come from? Well this is easy. My generosity comes from my great-grandmother, Odessa Cunningham (Gram for short). Growing up she demonstrated generosity daily. From taking food to the elderly to volunteering at the county commodities distribution center, my Gram was always showing generosity. I remember her clearing my closet each season and giving my too-small clothes to a girl in my Sunday school class. Or the times when church members would come to our house so my Gram could read their mail and let them know what important tasks needed to be done. My Gram was generous in everyday things too. She always cooked a big Sunday dinner. You didn’t know who would stop by. There was always room at her table. But mostly, she was generous with me. You see, I am her great-granddaughter and when I needed a secure place to live, she opened her home to me. It didn’t matter that she was near to retirement and was about to take in a toddler. It didn’t matter that she would send me to college with scholarships and her pension. All that mattered was that I needed her and she demonstrated that big heart full of generosity.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My first quality is tenacity. I am tenacious in areas of my professional and personal life. I admit, I am not tenacious in everything. For the things that I am passionate about and focused on, I am very tenacious. I think you need to be. In order to accomplish goals, I think it is important to be laser focused, block out the naysayers, even the statistics that show a favorable outcome is 99% impossible and just work hard. I have had a few instances in my life where the odds were certainly not in my favor, but hard work prevailed over statistics. So my advice would be to just stay focused and incorporate, as my Aunt Helen would say… “Bulldog tenacity”, then you will see, you will reach your goal.
My second quality is that I am a dreamer. I think most people would prefer optimist, but I think dreamer fits me. I need to dream the biggest dream then put my dream or plan into action. Sometimes reality is better than a dream, as in the case of my family. In other cases, my dreams are greater than reality, but that just helps me to keep pursuing the possibility. So my advice would be to dream. In fact one of my favorite quotes is by the incomparable Toni Morrison, said at the Sarah Lawrence College commencement address in 1988— “As you enter into positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.” To this I added for myself, and before you act. It is my dream of a better tomorrow for my students and my own children that gives me purpose and focus.
My third quality is positivity. I am, most of the time, a positive person. I try to assume positive intentions from others and just be a positive person. Now, even though I am a dreamer, I am seated in reality. I know there are people that have negative thoughts about me, my platform, my dreams, etc. I saw some of this recently when I read the comments about my performance on Wheel of Fortune. For just a moment I chose to dwell on the 0.1% of people that had negative things to say, so I do get that not everyone has my best interest in mind. But, they don’t need to have my best interest in mind. I am in charge of my happiness. I determine how I react, feel, and operate in a given situation, so I choose to be positive. My advice is to choose positivity. You will draw other positive people to you and your community of positivity will grow.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my family did for me was to raise me with core values. One value is respect for myself and others. I respect that people come from different backgrounds, different cultures, etc. This impacts how they move through life. I know that this is important because it ‘colors’ how people react, make decisions, and communicate with others. Having respect for someone else’s background helps you to see them and appreciate their journey. Another core value is hope. My family raised me with hope. This is important because it gives you a springboard for your dreams. Without hope I don’t know if I could dream a bigger dream than my current circumstance. Hope increases your ability to dream. It helps you to see and visualize your goals. You need hope to bridge dreams to reality.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LettersFromMrsBlue.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgette7blue/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.come/in/bridgette-donald-blue-6216949
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpesi1Ofb-o
Image Credits
Teal Moss Photography for the first two images. The pink suit jacket and the green dress shirt.
