Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shamara Noriega. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Shamara, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
Well, what is a risk, but an opportunity?
Throughout my experiences in life, I have learned to balance two simple concepts when considering risks. The first concept is to Shoot for the moon. Always want the absolute best for yourself. If you don’t want the best for yourself, who else would want it for you? At minimum, your best interests should always start with you. You lose nothing from wanting to achieve levels you have not yet reached. You gain from having your sights high; as Norman Vincent Peale said, “Even if you miss, you’ll land amongst the stars”. I say, if you’re really devoted, you’ll learn from experience and create an opportunity to shoot from a more advantageous place.
The second concept I learned was, “The higher the risk, the higher the higher the potential reward”. Sometimes the fear of the unknown will prevent us from achieving our greatest potential. There were times I decided not to invest or try something new because of the fear of potential loss or because of the notion that “I have time” to build the courage in attempt. In avoidance of the very thing, I was attempting to protect myself from, I found myself still experiencing this idea of loss, but at a greater level. Sometimes the next and greatest step is that leap of faith to get you to where you want to be. I eventually decided that I value the experience of life itself and the opportunity to create through wisdom more than I valued the safety of fear in limiting myself. I want to also clarify that I do still consider whether anything I commit to taking a risk for serves a greater purpose in my life and that acknowledgment serves a major purpose in my decision-making process. Is this in alignment with my values, foundations, and beliefs?
There are three things I’d urge you to evaluate and find peace in when considering risk: 1. Comfortability in being uncomfortable. 2. Faith. 3. Value. Finding comfortability with facing fears and the unknown requires a release of control. You must be comfortable with creating the next steps if it’s not presented to you or accepting the next steps if it is. You must have faith in your ability to overcome an obstacle, if presented. Understand that if you reached a certain level of success, it’s because you have the skills within you to achieve it, and skills only increase with time and experience. Lastly, you must be able to recognize the value of taking a risk in the first place. Sometimes the reward to risk is wisdom and what you do with the wisdom you obtained can create a reward. It is very important to understand that concept.
At minimum what we acquire from taking risks is courage, experience, and wisdom. Wisdom is the equation required for calculated risks to even exist. The ability to share that one door should be opened with caution if even at all or the steps one should take in proceeding to open a door. Risks serve a higher purpose in any level of breakthroughs in life, advancements, and developments. Which side are you going to stand on? The side that moves forward with the courage to explore unmarked territory as an opportunity to conquer or the side that moves forward after the territory has been marked?
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Kingdom Kismet is a small business that focuses on building a community of tools and resources for specific industries through speaking and mixer events. Our goal is to provide tools, resources, and support to help these businesses succeed, while also providing an audience through events and marketing for local consumers to promote their own businesses.
At Kingdom Kismet, we believe that small businesses are the backbone of our economy and community. We understand the challenges that entrepreneurs face when starting and growing a business, and we want to provide a platform where they can connect with other like-minded individuals and gain access to the resources they need to succeed.
Through our events and marketing services, we help connect and highlight small business owners with potential customers, investors, and partners. Our events include speaker series, tailored interviews, workshops, and networking mixers, which provide attendees with valuable information and networking opportunities. We also offer marketing services such as email marketing campaigns, strategic competitors analysis, social media promotion, and event management services.
Kingdom Kismet believes that everyone meets for a reason, season, or lifetime and there’s something we all are suppose to learn or teach each-other to contribute to growth of society as a whole. Kingdom Kismet is the bridge to connect growing businesses with the tools and resources needed to grow by providing an audience and platform to share their message with an eager community.
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?
1. Strength 2. Courage
3. Wisdom
Like the India Arie song!
Get comfortable being alone and sitting with yourself. Practice self-care. Take yourself on a date, pamper yourself, journal, eat healthy, exercise, meditate, and most importantly get excited about discovering what truly brings you joy. Know your morals, values, and foundations and make sure anything you choose to do or entertain in life is in alignment with those beliefs.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed I create a moment to pause. Never underestimate the power of the pause. Whether I go to a lake to meditate, hike in appreciation of nature, or journal self-provided prompts. I create time to allow myself a moment to just be instead of denying myself an opportunity of self-love or validation through reflection, I take a moment to recognize what my body and mind may need and I provide myself with it. I allow a moment to appreciate the hard work and dedication that is being poured into my craft thus far and journal where and how I can implement improvement. I typically seek advice from mentors to see if there is a more advantageous processes I can try or I allow space to create an improved process myself. Research is always my best friend.
Contact Info:
- Website: KingdomKismet.com
- Instagram: @ShamaraNoriega
- Linkedin: Shamara Noriega
- Twitter: @ShamaraNoriega
- Other: TikTok: @ShamaraNoriega
Image Credits
@Dinara.Photos
