Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Odemi Pessu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Odemi , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
I believe that optimism is a way of life that prioritizes my consistent connection with God. I connect with our creator through spending time in nature, creating art, writing poetry, meditating, and so much more. It all just reminds me that God created me to be a vessel of love and light. So my optimism stems from my knowledge of who I was divinely created to be and the infinite possibilities for growth and expansion that surround every living being on Earth. Hope and faith are conscious mental and spiritual practices I have embedded into my way of living for so long, and ultimately I think that optimism keeps me grounded in a world where the illusion of fear often reigns supreme.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an author, visual artist, and the CEO of Alaere Lifestyle LLC. I published my first book, Force of Nature, back in 2021 with New Degree Press. Force of Nature is a collection of narrative and lyrical poetry that explores the collective liberation I’ve found in honoring my divine feminine energy. My first book is also a creative manifesto encouraging African women everywhere to decolonize their minds, bodies, and spirits by honoring who God created them to be. After seeing my book successfully get into notable and indie bookstores across the United States, Europe, and Oceania, I realized that it was something I wanted to build upon. I had received so much positive feedback about the visual art I created for the book cover, and inquiries about whether I would sell it as an art print, so I decided to create a collection of artwork that embodied the thematic elements in Force of Nature and sell those as prints.
As I encountered new opportunities and invitations to share my art with the world in a healing and transformative capacity, I eventually felt a deep calling to leave my corporate full time job in 2022. I wanted to create a business entity that could continue my work in a more structured manner. So after months of prayer, planning, and development, I officially registered my first company Alaere Lifestyle LLC in March 2023! Through harnessing the power of art, literature, and educational media, Alaere Lifestyle is inspiring the next generation of beautifully sovereign women artists, lovers, and leaders. This is my answer to the need for positive media that reinforces the spiritual and cultural significance of African and indigenous women globally. My business mission is to holistically embolden modern Afro-indigenous women globally to live and love as a physical embodiment of divine flow and consciousness.
Now that Alaere Lifestyle is officially one year old, I’m focused on expansion and doubling down on what I started last year. Currently, there are three art collections available for purchase through Alaere Lifestyle’s e-commerce art store. There’s a new collection of large scale paintings in development, as I aim to attract new hospitality art clients like restaurants and hotels. I’m working on ways to improve the D2C user experience by integrating an AI-powered widget to my site for customers to virtually test out my art in their space before purchasing. I’m really excited about this update to come! This year, I’m also completing the manuscript of my second book. It will be the first in a series of leadership development books I’m publishing through Alaere Lifestyle for my company’s digital classroom, Alaere Academy. I’ve also been dabbling in the intersections of fashion and art once more, so customers can expect some “wearable art” coming soon this year 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?
Vision, focus, and an eagerness to learn have been most impactful in my journey as an artist and entrepreneur. So my advice to anyone in the early stages of a similar journey is this: get clear on your vision, focus on the outcome you wish to see, and be eager to learn how you can improve at each step of your process.
With a clear vision and relentless focus, discipline becomes a by-product and procrastination falls to the wayside. I think it’s important to know your why and have a deep connection to what you are creating, so that you can believe in it enough to keep going and moving forward even when the outcome you see in your mind hasn’t fully materialized in the physical just yet.
As far as maintaining an eagerness to learn, this is one of the most important tips because no one knows it all! I regularly seek out new knowledge from reputable sources in my niche and industry, and sometimes I even dive into seemingly unrelated topics like philosophy and human psychology, because I understand that mental stagnancy is the antithesis of growth. It all begins in the mind, so I make sure I water my consciousness with the fuel to succeed and expand– in all realms of my life.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The Power of Imagination by Neville Goddard has completely transformed my mind and how I navigate life’s twists and turns. The book is a hefty collection of some of Neville Goddard’s greatest visionary writings, so there is a great deal of value in it. But if I had to choose the biggest takeaway, it’s that “your consciousness is the cause of your world [and] the conscious state in which you abide determines the kind of world in which you live.”
Everything in the book builds upon this sentiment, and it has helped me understand the power of my mind and how to control my thoughts for a life well lived. It has particularly helped me combat the external programming from social media that so easily seeps into the subconscious mind. A lot of social media messaging promotes the idea of lack and fear to the general public, and it’s a danger to creative professionals who need a sovereign creative imagination to bring their work into the world. This book helps me to protect the power of my imagination through faith, purposeful visualization, and the act of living from the end of my desires.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alaerelifestyle.com
- Instagram: @alaerelifestyle
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/alaere-lifestyle
- Youtube: @alaerelifestyle
