We recently connected with Londen Gatewood and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Londen , 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?
My confidence comes from having faith in God. There has been many times I was not sure how I would get things done and then I remembered where the ideas came from in the first place. So I would center myself through prayer and mediation to surrender my plans to God. My confidence is really Godfidence. Now self-esteem, is a little harder because it has a lot of self in there and our mind can trick us. One of my skills I developed is to know who I am and to know my identity in God. To Know I am beautifully and wonderfully made. This helps me remember that my self-esteem is rooted in what I think about myself and not what the outside world thinks. Practicing positive affirmations and meditation has allowed me to center my mind on the present instead of the past or the future. The ability to be present helps me focus on who I am and what I can do in the present moment.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I grew up in the City of Compton California. A City I take great pride in as it has shaped me to be the woman I am today. Growing up in a marginalized community and making it out is seen as a miracle. However, what a lot of people don’t know is that in the very improvised neighborhoods are also individuals and family’s who are fighting to uphold their community. I was raised in a home that valued education and would hustle to make ends meet. I had a mother and a father who made sure they would work, take a side job, or sell goods to make sure we never felt that we were living in need. We lived simple but I never felt I missed a thing. This has guided me to have humility throughout my accomplishments. My humble beginnings is a reminder we all can reach goals when we have the right knowledge and support. Growing up I watched my grandmother be a pillar in the community being on City Boards, fighting for our rights, and serving her community. I saw her love folks and show up for them without complaining.
This is what guides me when I am working in my businesses.
My grandmother’s is the major influence in the development of my non-profit. My grandmother’s initials is CMS so I named the nonprofit Center of Mental and Spiritual Wellness. As we currently work out her home a year from her passing I’m always reminded of the community she served and built. CMS Wellness is a wellness Coworking space where entrepreneurs can come together to have a safe space to work, network, and access business resources while being in a space that prioritizes their wellbeing.
As person of color there are not a lot of places we can go and feel safe as new businesses owners or entrepreneurs. Due to the disproportionate upbringings and lack recourses we tend to have a phenomenon of Imposter syndrome. As any syndrome it is just a collection of symptoms created by a dysfunction in a system. I created Center of Mental and Spiritual Wellness with a main teaching that my grandmother instilled in me. In order to go forward we must control our thoughts and stay connected to Spirit. She always taught me that how I think about things is how things are. So my thoughts grew to have understanding that as a community thinks a community is. CMS wellness is a place where we can come together not only to work but to be heard, to feel, and to be supported. Every month we come together for a Happy Hour Mixer. At the mixer we hold a sound bath, we share a meal, and we get to network. The center has weekly events and classes that are held for community in community such as fitness classes, yoga, meditation, healing circles, business development, and workshops. We have a calendar posted with our monthly events and where you can sign up to participate.
I have always been a person who believed in community. As a Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist, I have seen where hopelessness has been turned into to hope through the engagement of community. As humans we do not heal in isolation. We heal by acknowledging our own thoughts and feelings. Feeling our feelings allows us to validate our own experiences and gain inner standing while also recognizing other’s experiences. There is no better way to heal than to know you’re not alone in your experiences. My Holistic Practices developed from my own mental health journey. I developed my company Authenticity 4 Life from the concept of living life with as your most authentic self. If we can accept ourselves then we won’t look for acceptance outside ourselves. This is a first step in healing. Authenticity 4 Life offers holistic practices such as Sound Baths, Breathwork, and energy cleansing to individuals and groups.
A4L has been serving the community for over 6 years with therapeutic Services and has added the holistic component 2 years ago. A4L’s main focus is community building. We envision a world where individuals embrace their authentic selves, fostering healing, connection, and community in a nurturing and inclusive environment.
A world where self-discovery is celebrated, and everyone feels empowered to explore and embrace their true essence without fear or judgment. Through our commitment to authenticity, we aspire to create spaces where people from all walks of life can come together to heal, grow, and build meaningful relationships.
Our vision includes establishing dedicated wellness centers (currently at CMS Wellness) that serve as sanctuaries for self-exploration, oering a variety of holistic healing practices and community events that inspire personal transformation and collective well being. Together, we strive to make authenticity accessible and wellness a way of life for all. Authenticity 4 Life, we provide a range of holistic wellness services designed to support your journey toward emotional and physical well-being. Our offerings cater to individuals, groups, and corporate clients, ensuring personalized and impactful experiences for everyone.
Authenticity 4 Life and Center of Mental and Spiritual Wellness, has a new launch coming that will make its services and community accessible to those across the world. We will be launching an online community that allows access to what we are doing such as classes, workshops, and community engagement. A4L will also be launching mindfulness journals that assist individuals along their healing journey. We believe that healing is a journey so it’s important to have tools and assistance before and after services. Be on the lookout for our website laugh: www.authenticity4life.com & www.cmswellness.org.
Through my 14 years of working in community mental health working in crisis management, children and family services, working with the unhoused population, and being in private practice. I have learned that the most important thing we have in life is our minds, our bodies, our spirit, and community. Everything I do is to touch those parts of folks that may be missing or dormant. To help them realign to who they are authentically and to make decisions in faith rather than fear. Creating a center where folks can come to explore their own journeys and to feel safe during that exploration is the goal.
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?
Looking back, one of my the main qualities is my willingness to go into reflection. It was a hard task and sometimes even overwhelming but it is how I was able to develop empathy and compassion not only for others but for myself. Having compassion for yourself along your journey is most important because you are bound to make mistakes or wrong turns, it’s apart of the journey. I remember I was 23 years old when I realized “Oh, life really is not linear”. I even got it tattooed on my wrist as a reminder that “life is a journey” there will be ups and downs. I will say working in the mental health profession also helped me have access to tools that enlightened me along my journey. Being a trauma informed practitioner helps me see life, the world, and others in a way that I understand we all are in experiences either collectively or individually but it’s all momentarily. Having a relationship with God and being in faith has also been a major contributor to my journey. To know that it is not my will but his will be done takes the stress off of me when decisions are coming at me left and right. To surrender to the process and have faith that god will lead me. This may sound fluffy to some but until you experience the grace and mercy through full surrender and seeing how things happened outside your will power it’s hard to explain.
Lastly, I believe it’s important to stay curious. Never convince yourself you know it all. The best teacher is always a student. Even as a therapist, I am not the knower of all things nor do I know a client better than they know themselves. We are all mirrors and reflection of our inner and outer environments. As long as I stay curious to experiences of people, places, and things I can move through life with flexibility and openness. My advice would be stay mindful of your own actions and impact. Be curious of others actions and impact. Then ask God how you should move and follow his guidance. This will help you not only develop in mind, body, and spirit but in business and relationships.
Recap:
1. Have compassion for yourself and others along the journey.
2. Surrender to the Process
3. Remain Curious
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
As a new business owner one of the number one challenges I am facing is promotion and funding. Being able to reach my target market and make my offerings accessible for them has been challenging. Being that I am working in a community that maybe experiencing financial difficulties while trying to find their own businesses it is hard to bring resources to life or to remove that barrier so that why can access the resources. I have been all boots on the ground as the marketing team, social media manger, event coordinator, and more. While also working a full time and part time job. If we’re able to hire an administrative staff and also find funding to provide the business development resources that this BIPOC entrepreneurs need in order to come successful business owners that would make the mission more impactful and encourage expansion of space and opportunity.
Funding would allow me to furnish the space that makes it suitable as a conducive work environment. Having the appropriate office materials such as printers, paper, stapler, scissors, coffee machine, and cafe products. I have found myself stuck because when membership enrollments are low it’s hard for me to Maintain the cafe or office materials needed which I turns affects the work life balance of members. As a nonprofit we are currently accepting donations and looking for sponsorship that could assist in providing those things above and even healthy snack/ lunch options. I would love to have a partnership with Everytable to provide healthy meals to members as they work in the space. Especially since they are already serving the community at their brick and mortar in the City of Compton.
I am also working to get funding to be able to offer low cost/ no cost wellness classes to the community. I believe that if the classes were more accessible in price than we could reach our community more and help they along their healing journey. Hosting classes becomes expensive as we have to pay rent, get cleaning supplies to keep everyone safe, purchase necessary items to host class, and to compensate for time and expertise.
We have been working together as a community to spread the word by word of mouth but it would be nice to have events that invite the community out to experience what wellness means and to see faces that represent them doing wellness in ways that feels acceptable to them. I continue to promote via social media, canvassing the neighborhood, and asking folks to spread word of mouth and have faith we will reach our target community and those that are looking to help support.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.cmswellness.org & www.authenticity4life.com
- Instagram: @authenticity_4life & @cms_wellness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556892128079&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
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