We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sharif D. King a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sharif D., we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Resilience in my journey stems from my trust and faith in God. I Learned to trust in God more recently and to lean on him to advance, elevate, and excel. Throughout my life, I have pushed through a lot on my own, just having the hunger to be more, do more, and create more for myself. I didn’t have many people to guide me through my journey which led to me relying on my ambition which also came with many mistakes. Through many trials, lessons, and a better understanding of my path I have become more in tune with the fact that my experiences were aligned with the way I responded to them and ultimately it taught me that I can’t rely just on my strength and skillset. Having faith in God has led to me new places and new advancements that I could never have done on my own. Because I have realized how my confidence and courage have been restored and advanced through my faith, I have discovered that leaning on God is the way to prosper against adversity of any kind along your journey. Prayer, Passion, and Persistence are a combination that can catapult you like nothing else. I am an example of how resilience is produced through faith and trust in God. I also have my mother who is an extremely strong woman and has overcome many obstacles and jumped over many hurdles and serves as a daily inspiration to keep God first, continue to trust and believe in your passion and skillset, and rely on God to light path and create the way for your level up.
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?
Sharif D. King also known as King Sharif is a Broadcaster, Journalist, Content Creator, and Orator with proven success in storytelling, writing, shooting, and editing. recognized as an Expert in digital content creation with an exceptional ability to connect with others via personality-driven content. Over 10 years of on-air experience in radio, television, and digital platforms with the ability to thrive in the entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and culture genres.
Recently I’ve been concentrating on delivering content that is more meaningful to listeners, viewers, and content lovers of all kinds. It’s taking me a while to officially jump into the podcast world. Finally, I’m launching a new podcast called “The Palace Parlay” bringing people into my world under the direction of Sharif D. King Media Group.
My focus is to be more intentional with my delivery of content, providing information that can be both entertaining and impactful to the youth, and my community, and to empower the masses.
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?
Looking back, the three qualities, skills, and or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey have been my ability to adjust, accept change, and remain a student. There was a time when I felt so guilty about not knowing things based on my measurements of success and comparing myself to others. I learned that my measurements of success were a lie or should I say “Cap” lol. I learned that success is a reflection of what you see. Success can mean anything based on what you see or how you see it. I have also learned not to compare accolades or timeframes to anyone else. Your Journey is unique to you and you have to find peace in knowing that when you received or obtained a thing was God’s time for you to receive it. I have also learned to lean on God more which meant knowing how to turn down the distractions and naysayers and turn up your faith, drive, and hunger for the desires of your heart. The world goes by the 10,000-hour rule. I too used to believe in the 10,000 rule of mastery to rise in said industry. Recently, I realized that it may not take the same amount of time for you as it may for others. It’s also become more about cherishing the journey more than the accomplishment. You can reach a goal, complete an obstacle, obtain an award that may speak to your measurement of success, and still feel less than others, and for some, it may mean they feel empty. Finding confidence in myself has given me the boost I need to perform on bigger stages. Ultimately, recognizing your strengths is bigger than looking to others for acknowledgment or a head nod of approval. God’s stamp along with the elevation of your mindset and positioning through passion will produce the results you’re looking for within your journey, Remain a student of life, and your passions, lean on God, and enjoy the daily inspiration that will develop before you as you tread along your journey.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think it’s important to always want to improve. I don’t think that you should ever stop working on your strengths because there’s room for better, more, and greater. I think it’s worth investing in all of your skills whether they are strengths or weaknesses. Change is inevitable and so is growth. you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable with where you are. Never settle. Continue to grow and embrace better. I have found myself always wanting to be around someone better or being in rooms where I don’t know as much. Sometimes that takes courage to be in a room where you are not celebrated as much but your level of learning is heightened. I think there is a level of sacrifice involved because you have to want to invest in conferences, mentorships, and spaces that will enhance your knowledge of a thing. I have grown the most when I surrounded myself with people who were way ahead of me. It’s become second nature to invest in my future by attending events that feature the people that I want to learn from, people I want to work with, and the demographic or supporters that I would like to get in front of in my line of work. Your skillset can be advanced as well as your career. It is all about your willingness to invest in yourself and put yourself in rooms that will stretch you. Investing in yourself has a lot to do with the knowledge you obtain, how you grow, the building of your network, and your advancement as it relates to your talent, skillset, and company that you may be building in your selective field. My goal has always been to do better than I did the year before. I have built my own metrics system to visualize my growth and overall improvement.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sharifdking.com
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/SharifDKing
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SharifDKing
- Linkedin: www.Linkedin.com/in/SharifDKing
- Twitter: www.Twitter.com/SharifDKing
Image Credits
Desmond Brown, 27 Inc Photography
