Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Chanel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Dr., we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
I developed my confidence from having the courage to be disliked.
It truly takes confidence, and let me tell you. I’ve always been a people pleaser my entire life, wanting people around me to be happy that often times and honestly, a great percentage of my life; I’ve sacrificed myself and let a lot of things slide to appease others.
Learning the word “No” has become so powerful and is very instrumental in my success as I build my brands today.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Out of all of the things that I have my hands in, I must say that being in Defense Adjudication, is very rewarding helping those individuals who have incorrect or no information at all to begin with.
The world of special needs is so powerful to me as I am a spectrum mom. I’ve said in other interviews, that having the right information would have been impactful for me at the time that I learned about my very own. The beauty in being able to share your story is really me living out my truth mixed with schooling and education.
I also enjoy my passion of being a published author under my own publishing company. The art of being a creative director is a wonderful thing, as we as children always envision what we’d like to see happen in stories, I’m fortunate to be a content illustrator and bring all of that, to the eyes of my readers.
Folks often ask me how did I begin writing because I’ve had about 4 different careers in my lifetime, and I simply chuckle and say “just like I do anything in this lifetime” I put God first, and he does the rest.
I’m a firm believer in the saying; If you ever want to make God laugh, tell him YOUR plans” Little silly us, we don’t realize that he already knows what’s before us.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order 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?
Three areas of qualities skills and knowledge, I would have to say would be my Drive, I have visions in my sleep. I’ve been called a many of things in my lifetime. I’m the type when I think about it and I pray about it, I set forth that mission. I’m not one to discuss anything amongst anybody, you look up, and it’s completed. The ink is dry and Gods due diligence is finalized. From school at Harvard, to enrolling into Law school, to any and everything else. I’ve heard the “when did you do this and when did that happen”? And I reply around the time you were watching what I was eating, the food on your plate was getting cold. lol! We all have the same 24 hours in the day. What you prioritize in Yours will show. I just mind my business, and speak ill of nobody. I never laugh at anyone, because like the Meme that’s floating around. I’ve seen people become what they’ve laughed at, so being humble is key. There’s always room for Humility and God gets the Glory time after time. I am teaching my kids this daily.
Another key peace for me is my Determination, if I start something, I would love to have it finished.
Consistency, I am a Lupus Warrior, and amongst a host of other medical challenges, and with that births the unexpected breaks medically that I must take, however I am still consistent and persevering, through it all. I am grateful for a loving and praying immediate family for my village.
Stay locked in with your goals. Choose your 3 and take a season or two off and straight grind, sometimes you have to go AWOL in hanging out, trust me you won’t miss anything worth getting that feeling of having your self together. And that is not always financially, sometimes a good window of opportunity is to do the mental health work as well. Deal with nothing or nobody that you had to pray your way out of or away from to heal. There’s a misconception that we have to endure rain before we can experience sunshine, and that’s not always true. Normalizing, top tier care of a Luxurious lifestyle for sure, remember suffering is NOT an achievement of any kind.
Your potential can be contagious to someone who’s watching you. ~Chanel
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
Learning to remain calm, when you’re expected to be enraged. Ohh, isn’t it a beautiful thing?! I mean I’ve learned to stop saying “Yes” to things that I despise. I’ve also created a path of anything that I am uncomfortable with, instead of speaking on everything that I take notice in, I’m a numbers girl, so when the math is done, I add up what’s before me and then I subtract myself accordingly.
I refrain from arguments unless I’m at work as that’s my profession and passion.
My biggest work, was learning that I cannot address everything that is said or misconstrued about me. I’m maturing daily, and that’s spanning from the need to again previously being a people pleaser. I’m just not that woman anymore. I’m like “oh you heard that?” Ok cool. lol! You can’t fix every lie told, or misleading info. Just like Drake says “How can anyone tell you the truth, when they’re misinformed” so I roll with that. But I am a firm believer once the truth comes out, you gotta stay that way, go over there. lol. This stage of my life is called Invite Only.
Stay connected with those folks that feel like sunlight everyday. Work on yourself daily, I know I sure do. I’m a work in progress, no matter how much schooling that I have. That’s just paper. I’m doing the internal work.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/dr-chanel-63a98426b
- Yelp: Autism Life Advocates
Image Credits
Thank you to Grace and Jen over at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta. A few of the ladies of #CHOA Thanks so much for allowing my family and staff to come and assist, and take part in Family Volunteer Day. We are thankful on every connection to be apart. My children, really need this, to understand that they’re kiddos their peer age groups that would love to be in their shoes and feel well enough to go home with their loved ones, we are blessed and it’s not luck. Thanks for the pics, and the certificate award of completion. We appreciate you all, and we will see you next time of course.
