We were lucky to catch up with Sheila “Nefertiti” Montas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sheila “Nefertiti”, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Honestly, I feel like my work ethic came from watching my parents work hard to make sure we lived a comfortable life as kids. My mom worked long hours, sometimes even worked overnights as a teachers aid where she would bring my sisters and I along with her to spend the night there. My father also worked long hours as well & regardless of how many long hours they put in at work they still did what was needed to be done at home for us even if they were tired. My mom knew how to separate business and personal life to a point where she made sure to attend all important school activities & basketball games I had & still attend work afterwards which amazed me!
So it was kind of installed in me to be a hard worker like my parents & to never complain about anything that may have been exhausting for me. I worked at an early age to avoid having to ask my parents for stuff, just had the urge and ambition to get the things I wanted on my own. Plus, my ADD had me learning how to do multiple things at once to where I eventually learned how to manage my time in between them all .
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?
Hello, My name is Sheila but Most people know me by Nefertiti. I consider myself an Influencer , Marketing Guru, Healthcare Advisor & TV Actress. I’ve worked with a lot well known people in the music industry & film industry. I also helped out/Advised small and big business owners which help elevated their businesses as well as strengthen them. I’ve been on a few well known tv shows that were on major tv networks & did a few global commercials.
I’m the owner of UCollection Boutique & I Co-Own as well as manage a few airbnb properties.
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?
Time management was super important for me to understand and work on. It helped me to not rush through the process I’ve been working on for my businesses & it helped me to manage my time between personal life & business life so I’m not over working myself, My body & my soul. Sometimes people get so caught up with working all the time that they forget to pay attention to the main thing that life has to offer them which is good health & life.
If you overwork yourself your body eventually shuts down & so does your health. You forget to take care of what is really necessary for yourself to keep you going, keep you functioning & keep you mentally sane, like getting enough sleep eating right and taking a few hours to allow your brain to relax & re-coop.
Self confidence is another thing that is important. People are going to judge you & what you do weather it’s bad or good. If you do have enough self confidence in yourself then what others have to say about you will not matter to you or phase you in any way because YOU know yourself & what you choose to do in life is also for YOU not them.
Lastly, staying true to yourself. Never change yourself just to satisfy others or to fit in because when you do you lose yourself & your talented gifts that god blessed you with. If it’s not making you a better person or elevating your life then it’s not for you. I feel like when you stay true to yourself you attract the things that can help elevate you in life and you surround yourself with like minded people who just understand you,your personality & business moves. You attract who you are and who you allow in
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Take time out for self care treatments. Meditation, getting connected with nature or being outdoors, doing whatever that heals my mind,my body and makes me happy.
Stress kills, so whenever I get to a point where I feel stressed out or overworked I just force myself to take a day or 2 off or maybe a few hours away from whatever is stressing me out and gather myself together to take time out for myself.
Helps clear my mind, body & soul. Once I feel rejuvenated and relaxed I then can think better on ways to help improvise the situation or fix it because their is always a solution to a problem and if their isn’t a solution you just find a way to make it work for you for the time being. Theirs a lot of things that people come across that they can’t control, it’s life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Nefertiti_2u
- Twitter: Asknefertiti
- Other: Healthcare page @sheila.cna Boutique page @ucollection__boutique
Image Credits
Photographers: @phanphotography Chris Yancy
