We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Celeta Devine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Celeta , 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?
So many times we look at other individuals and are in awe of what is seemingly confidence and self-esteem that presents itself as being unmatched. We sit on the sidelines and say “wow” I only wish that I could be bold enough to step into their shoes. However, when you have an opportunity to sit close to those people who appear to have it all together, you may find out the same thing that I found out. They really don’t have it all together. They really do suffer from some aspects of low self-esteem and low confidence. They really have the same insecurity struggles that you and I sometimes have. The difference in most cases is that they do it afraid. They do it despite the doubt that creeps up all around them to keep them stagnant.
So for me that is how confidence and self-esteem are developed. You walk through fear and doubt. I can remember one of my first large speaking engagements for a pretty knowledgeable crowd. I was so nervous to the point of being sick a few hours before. So many negative thoughts rushed in my mind about my qualifications, prowess, and worthiness. The thoughts came for the specific purpose of sitting me down and not going through with the event, but I refused. I stood. I spoke. I took my seat. When I sat down, the negative thoughts rushed in again. The intrusive thoughts were telling me about how “not” so great of a job I had done. I shook it off, and I realized that my audience did not feel the same I way I felt. The commentary was quite different.
Overtime I realized this is the key. If the door of opportunity opens, always walk through it. It is open for a reason, and I would not allow negative thoughts or impostor syndrome to prevent me from having what had been given and opened to me. With this repetition, and years of pushing through, the negative chatter became smaller and smaller and the opportunities came more and more and on a variety of different platforms. This is how confidence and self-esteem is developed.
I have a saying that I like to share. “It is not about being “better;” it is about being “bolder.” In many situations you may find someone who is better than you, more equipped, more knowledgeable, etc. But the difference in many cases, is that the person who gets the job, the contract, the opportunity, is not necessarily the best person, but the person who is bold enough to believe that they can. Boldness trumps being better any day.
Something magical happens when I just take the leap of faith and put myself out there to receive every opportunity that God gives me. It always works out. For me, developing confidence is simply the repetition of getting the call, accepting the call, walking in the call, and repeating it again.
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?
The focus of my career at the present time is educational and leadership consultations. I have been in education for over 20 years. For the last eight years, I have been an instructional coach. This past year I opened my own consultation company Diverse Learning Practices. The premise of the company is that all students and teachers can learn. Sometimes the methods need to be diverse, and that is our specialty. We meet the needs of ALL learners. We specialize with helping school districts in the areas of ACT, writing workshops, reading workshops, and we do work with other subject areas as well.
I have written my first book which is set to be released on May 1st. It is entitled “So You Think You Can Coach, 10 Instructional Plays That Build Teacher Capacity.” Coaching in the educational setting is very similar to what highly acclaimed coaches actually do on the field. It is a read you do not want to miss if you are in the realm of working with adult learners.
I also have a non-profit called L.E.A.D which stands for Leadership, Excellence And Direction. We focus on building leaders for youth and young adults in the areas of pinnacles of leadership, relationship building, financial growth, character development and more.
Contact us for all of your coaching needs whether it be for a school district, personal, or small groups.
In my spare time, my husband and I run a small snow cone business, Devine Sno Cones and Treats. We like to use this area to give local young people an opportunity to learn and develop good working and communication skills.
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?
1. Have a vision- Once your vision is clear, you can develop a plan for attainment. Without the vision, we tend to move around and not produce in the way that we need to.
2. Have discipline- Be willing to work for what you said you wanted. Get up and work on some aspect of your dream everyday. Set up accountability partners if necessary. Get the work done.
3. Be Kind- In this world it so easy to get caught up in just making the money or getting the prize. Some become so blinded by that to where they are realizing how many necks they may be stepping on. Strive to work hard, yet be kind, and fair to all those you come in contact. Be more concerned with the people than the profit. Good things will come back to you.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I find myself feeling overwhelmed, I have a few strategies that help me regain focus and maintain productivity. Firstly, I believe in the power of prioritization. I take a step back and assess the tasks at hand, identifying what’s urgent versus what can wait. This allows me to allocate my time and resources effectively, tackling the most pressing matters first.
Another important strategy for me is delegation. As a small business owner, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do everything yourself. However, I’ve learned that delegating tasks to capable team members not only lightens my load but also empowers my team and fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility.
In addition, self-care is vital. Whatever self-care is to you, make sure you do those things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dlpeducation.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086169051986
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celeta-devine-0a008b292/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3BZU3ZTrOrS2OCPEU9SfXU6w%3D%3D
