The RJ Group invited Arnita Craighead to share on Women Empowering Women, and of course, she accepted! Watch and listen to her share about the power of Women!

Arnita Craighead is the Chief Empowerment Officer of The Motiv8ing Factor. She empowers others via speaking and coaching about suicide prevention and living a limitless life. Arnita resides in Dallas, TX and in her spare time she loves to travel, read, cook and spend quality time with those she loves.

http://themotiv8ingfactor.com/ 

The RJ Group wants to share your story with other Women who are or would benefit by being Empowered! Give us your feedback! Share with us! Women need to hear from other Women!

Grace Sowtrue,

The RJ Group

Coaching and Mentoring are often interchangable, but there is a difference. Coaching is more focused and guided, while mentoring is mainly advising, recommending. I would say that they are both valuable especially if it means an opportunity can be gained by the receiver. Women who coach or mentor are Boss!

The RJ Group invited Christina Brunson to share about her experience with being mentored. Christina is a self-motivated, visionary professional with experience in user experience, mobile design, digital marketing, full-cycle project management, content management systems, customer relationship management, and process improvement. She is also a wife, mother, and very good friend to have.

Listen to Christina share and send us feedback. The RJ Group welcomes all Women to share their experiences with us as we share them with other Women who will benefit from hearing it.

The RJ Group’s main focus is to Empower Women! View our videos, read the posts, share your experience, and reap the benefits of being Empowered by Women!

Grace Sowtrue

The RJ Group

The RJ Group invited Nandi to share on Empowering Women, and she accepted! Nandi is a well-rouned pop culture nerd & licensed esthetician raised in North Carolina. Very informative and informed, lively and loves living, beautiful and a rare beauty. A Woman to be reckoned with, and extremely Empowered! Currently this foodie, beauty enthusiast, & skin care educator lives in Brooklyn NY and shares her love of everything delicious & beautiful at her digital home,www.blushnbourbon.com.

Watch and listen, you will understand! I enjoyed viewing her video because the words resonated with me as I was able to shout, “you are right!” She speaks the truth that so many of us need to hear. I am extremely grateful to be related to her (my niece). It is such a joy to see her natural talents manifest right before my eyes. We are all strong, powerful, and extremely Empowered! As Nandi stated, “find your tribe. . .’

The RJ Group invites you to share your Women’s Empowerment Story with other Women who will benefit from it! Visit our blog at http://www.therjgroup.blog, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @gracesowtrue.

Light and Love,

Grace Sowtrue

The RJ Group

Melanie Savall-Williams is a native New Yorker, who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. She is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and advocate for all Women! Melanie is the person you want on your team whenever there is a need for a true supporter. Always a kind word, beautiful smile, and great personality (she is a natural conversationalist).

Melanie has been the foundation for her family and friends in many ways. Melanie is an example of an Empowered Woman, her strengths, vulnerability, and presence is a what that representation should be. I am honored to know her (not because we share the same name), as being with her is like a calm in a storm.  Meeting and getting to know her has been one of the best experiences of my life.  Oh, and she is my SIL (Sister-in-Law)!

Watch and listen to her story, she tells it so well. Learn from hearing about her experiences and the path taken in life!

Kudos, Mel! Keep smiling, shining, and supporting! You are an Empowered Woman!

The RJ Group welcomes your comments and feedback! Contact us here at therjgroup.blog or email us at therjgroupinfo@gmail.com. We are also on twitter, handle is @gracesowtrue.

Light and Love,

Grace Sowtrue

The RJ Group

This  picture was taken at the Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, TX. As I walked the trail with one of my Sistah-friends, I stayed in the present, conversed with her, and admired the beautiful scenery. The rocks and trees have been in this trail for a long time. There was once water running through this beautiful place, but is no more. I never saw the water, but am sure that if someone has and looks at it now, they may be disappointed as opposed to looking at the beauty that is still there.

It never ceases to amaze me how much the past can overshadow the present. I have read books, taught on the topic at some of my workshops, and have been Womentored (Vickie Washington, I am using your word) on the topic. What I have concluded is that it takes a concerted effort and a lot of courage to be present. Sometimes fear or thoughts that have nothing to do with what is actually happening right now acts as a catalysts for me to be removed from being right here, right now.  The information that keeps me in fear or doubt, should be buried under a rock, like one shown in the picture.

I often think of my mother, who has shared her wisdom with many. Some of the wisdom that was so freely given to me was not recognized as such at the time. I was too busy thinking about what had happened and that which was not. Translation: living in the past and future, never present. My mama is no longer with us, and I wish she were. To this point, the reflections of her words of caution, encouragement, and love live with me and are the foundation of the Woman I have become. I did not know it then, but she laid some heavy information on me that is so very applicable today. That is the past that I can bring into my present, it is useful and extremely valuable.

I have been so honored and blessed to experience sistahood in many ways. Friends over the years, Women whom I have met only once, family members, and many others have brought life lessons that matter into my experience. I realize today, that I can change my landscape at any time. What I see in front of me can be as beautiful or horrible as I choose. I can look at the glass as half empty or full. I can see another Sistah who is what some may call unfriendly, or I can believe she has not been involved with nurturing and loving sistah relationships. I can see the beauty in her, nothing more, nothing less. I can build her up, not tear her down. I can pass on information that has been shared with me and allow her to do with it what she will. I can be present with her and show that it is possible to have Women friends (so many of us believe that Women cannot be friends – sad).

I can use information from my past to have a better experience in the present, that’s it. If what comes into my spirit is not healthy and beneficial, then I will kindly reject that and replace it with something that is. It is up to me what I choose to see, feel, and experience.

Don’t let your past experiences or thoughts prevent the valuable benefit of the present. I have heard the saying that “the present is a gift.” Treat it as such, you only get it once and it only lasts for a moment. Embrace where you are in this very moment and you will be surprised how much more at ease and peace you may become. Allow yourself to have a good time, meet others who are like minded and give yourself permission to experience Womentoring and Sistahood at its best. There is a lot of love to be given and received, you can be on both ends of this.

The present is where we live, don’t allow the future and past to steal it away. Change your landscape!

Peace & Blessings,

Grace Sowtrue

The RJ Group

Meet Empowered Woman, Vickie Washington. The RJ Group invited Vickie to share about Empowering Women, and she accepted! Vickie is a loving person who has a strong Circle of Women who empower her and she provides the same to them. Listen to her share about loving relationships, self-care, wisdom, and more!

Vickie Washington is the founder and producing director of r ^. t ^. w ~ reading  the  writers, a readers theatre performance organization. As an actress, she has worked at the Dallas Theater Center, Theatre Three, Jubilee Theatre, Dallas Shakespeare Festival, Sojourner Truth Players, Soul Rep Theater, Casa Manana, Echo Theatre, and the Black Hills Playhouse of South Dakota.  Dallas audiences have witnessed her work in Crowns, The Piano Lesson, …and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi, The Tempest, A Lesson Before Dying, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.  She received Best Actress recognition from the Dallas Critics Forum for her performance in From the Mississippi Delta which also garnered her a nomination for the coveted Rabin Award presented by the Dallas Theatre League.  Directing credits include Passing Strange, Sunset Baby, Mississippi Goddamn, Fences, Speech and Debate, The Ballad of Jane Elkins, Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963, Fabulation, Angela’s Mixtape, First Breeze of Summer and The Gambler’s Earrings.  Her body of work has been recognized by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. with the Women Shine! — Women in the Arts Drama Award.  Her acting credits extend to the screen with the title role in the award winning, Hannah and the Dog Ghost.  Her theatre, television and film work has afforded her the opportunity to work with Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Irma Hall, Regina Taylor and Martin Sheen. Vickie is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University and for over three decades has shared her talent, passion, and knowledge with the students of the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts as an instructor and director in the theatre department. Her work in theatre is driven by her love of the craft and the powerful ways it can be used to tell our stories. Her community endeavors include serving as board chair of Black Cinematheque Dallas, coordinator of NAACP ACT-SO, member of North Texas Area Dismantling Racism Team, Dance Exchange/Dallas Faces Race cohort and volunteer at the South Dallas Cultural Center and Innercity Community Development Corporation. In addition to her work in theatre, film and television, Vickie is a writer, editor, acting coach, public speaker, and an all-around loving person.

Women are Empowered by one another each day! Share your story with the RJ Group! Women need to hear from you, after all we are stronger in numbers!

Peace & Blessings,

Grace Sowtrue

The RJ Group

Kim Crayton accepted The RJ Group’s invitation to share on Women Empowering Women! Watch Kim’s powerful message on Women Empowering Women, and share your thoughts with her.

Kim Crayton is a Community Engineer, with years of experience working with learners of all ages, skill level, and abilities. She is now using her knowledge to develop technical people, ideas, organizations, and communities.

In just over a year, Kim has been the keynote speaker at eight Meetups, ten conferences, is scheduled to speak at three others, and four more are being negotiated. She’s just getting started! Kim often shares with others how presenting at meetups became a launchpad for her speaking career. One may never know how an opportunity can lead to a much greater one. Kim uses her previous career in education to create unique tech talks to inspire current and future techies. She also shares how speaking engagements provides the ability to travel and see the World for free! Kim stepped out on faith, realized that her desires could come into fruition, and moved ahead. Now she is empowering others to do the same! Kudos, Kim!

The RJ Group wants to hear your story to share with other Women who want to build relationships, sisterhood, and empowered lives. We are stronger in numbers. Women Empowering Women is a beautiful thing.

Peace,

Grace Sowtrue

The RJ Group

Meet Andrea Wiggins. She accepted The RJ Group’s invitation to share on Empowering Women!

Andrea Wiggins, native of Austin Texas, recently moved back to Texas after spending the majority of her adult life in Illinois.  Andrea is a Fitness and Empowered Living Coach for Women, and the creator of Andrea Wiggins Strong.   Her passion is to help Women develop a purposeful plan of action for breaking up with their limiting beliefs, and embracing the beauty in their strength, both in their bodies and in their lives.  As a former member of the United States Navy and a retired Police Officer, Andrea has a passion to serve others in a major way.  But over the last 11 years, that passion to serve has grown and evolved into creating an environment of empowerment for Women and give Women permission to live out their TRUE potential.

Thank you, Andrea for such an amazing share. Women Empowering Women is a beautiful thing. Share your Empowerment Story with us.

The RJ Group

I have observed relationships in the workplace for many years. It is a common trend (in my opinion) to see friends and family members hired in roles for which they are not qualified. It is also a common trend that Women in the workplace are often passed over for positions or asked to train those who are less qualified for a specific role and in turn become the trainer’s manager or supervisor. Will this ever end?

I am really tired of seeing this. Husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, and the like offered roles for which they are not qualified solely on the basis of being related or a friend of someone. Case in point, look at 45. His daughter and son-in-law are now the right and left hand. Aren’t there more qualified individuals who would serve in those roles better than them? Grant it helps to know someone in the workplace to get your foot in the door, I have done that myself. However, once the introduction was made, I had to earn the offer.

The difference between nepotism and networking is that nepotism usually means the applicant will get the job, but may not be qualified. Networking would imply that one could be referred but will be hired on their merit and experience. Sure, at times networking would also imply that someone could be hired and are inexperienced, but that is rare.

I am just very tired and disappointed that this continues to happen so very often. This comes from being a Woman in the workplace, like many others, who are passed over because of the nuances of nepotism and networking.  When will the workplace become fair and equal? Forget about the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), I am not even sure what they do except talk about what they don’t do. Oh, and please do not forget about Affirmative Action, which had a place at some point in time; it is no longer as effective as it could be. As far as taking a stand, Women should do better to bond and support each other. If we all collaborated, then it would definitely make a difference. Nevertheless, many Women are the catalysts of the nepotism nuance, as well as the biased forms of networking.

When recommending a friend or family member for a position in your company, just make sure they are qualified for the role. Please refrain from using your influence to hire someone who is less qualified or another candidate who is qualified. Do what is in the best interest of the situation.

I would love to read your comments and feedback on any experience you can share. I am sure you have an opinion, and it matters. Women should work on forming a common bond and not just talk about it and then do something totally different. I am not implying that we should not support those who are seeking employment but do make sure they are qualified for the position first. Do not support a situation where a Woman has to train someone who is less experienced than them and end up reporting to the same person. Uh, No!

Peace and Blessings,

Grace Sowtrue

The RJ Group