We recently connected with Terrell LaCour and have shared our conversation below.
Terrell , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
My confidence and self-esteem was developed by going through painful events as a child, watching my parents and family, along with words of wisdom from them. When I was young, I felt ugly and was ashamed of how I looked. Feeling this way affected my actions when I was in public. When I was young, I was shy which caused me to hold my head down when in public. My personality was strong in the home with my family, as they always provided encouraging words and showed positive actions. When I went out in public, my inner self made me become shy and I lacked the confidence to just be me. The me who I was able to be when I was home. When I became a teenager, I still lacked confidence in myself. I had a gap in the middle of my teeth and that caused me not to smile or laugh a lot. My family never judged me during these times and always told me that I was beautiful. It was my inner self and what society deemed beautiful that affected my confidence and self-esteem. I remember one day I was taking a walk in the community and of course it was with my head down. A relative of mine was riding his bicycle towards me, his exact words to me were, “If you keep walking with your head down, how do you know where you are going? You might run into something.” I interpreted that statement as where I was going in life. With that one statement from my relative and many years of positive words and behaviors from my family, I learned that confidence and self-esteem began within me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am Terrell LaCour. A southern girl from the small roads of New Roads, Louisiana. Someone who wants everyone to feel seen. Whether that’s through kindness, jokes, or birthday cards. I’m someone who’s always looking up at the clouds in amazement.
I am the Founder of I Validate Myself. The development of I Validate Myself stems from lacking confidence when I was a child and how I felt that what society deems as beauty was true. I know that beauty is not physical, but the personality I express and the love I have for others is what is validated. I am very excited about I Validate Myself and always boost others to believe in themselves in who they are and not what the world states who they are or all they can become.
I Validate Myself has two co-founders and we strive to help others validate themselves and boost their self-confidence and self-esteem. We aim to reach out to people, regardless of gender selection and sexual orientation, as they too are important and loved. We focus on showing love to all persons who society deems as outcasts.
I Validate Myself has made products such as masks, especially during the Covid Pandemic to show others that even Covid could not stop us from being validated. We are now in the process of making postcards, coasters, t-shirts, mugs, and plates with different statements to express self-validation.
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?
The three most important qualities, skills and/or areas of knowledge that impacted my journey is to believe the positive words and actions my family imposed on me; not to believe or try to fit in with what society says to fit in or be important, and know that I can excel at what I desire.
My advice I would give to others is to first have self-love and self-respect. Do not let the words of others destroy the beauty within. I give the advice that if anyone hurts you, regardless of their relationship to you, you do not have to have them in your life. I suggest getting rid of all things and all people who do not serve or support your purpose in life, along with surrounding yourself with positive things, positive people, and positive sayings.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
My biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months has been self-care and putting myself first. I learned to daily take care of my mental health as soon as I wake up, to include stretching, exercising, mediation, and relaxing. I do these the first hour of being awake, along with a nice cup of tea. What has helped me the most is not to look at my cell phone as soon as I wake up. I changed my settings on my cell phone to not show alerts when text messages and notifications come through. After two hours of being awake, I look at my cell phone and begin responding to text messages. I listen to soft music, to include music of different hertz, flute, piano, cello, and guitar to relax my soul.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ivalidatemyself.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.validate.myself?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079352289519
