How one book changed the financial fortunes of a widow forever!

Before my husband died on September 21st 2014, I lead a pretty cushy life I must admit. I didn't have to deal with money worries, taxes, mortgages, employees, pensions, investing, being a landlady, sorting out my business affairs and the red tape that comes with being a diva, and being brutally honest my late husband, James was the primary carer to our 7 year old son, Tyler too. I would be lying if I said that I didn't take him for granted at times, because I was the main provider and I did my bit with my son, I felt I didn't need to take care of all 'that stuff' as well. He also happened to be a bit of a control freak and wanted to take on the Atlas role, and he was particularly good at it, so who was I to argue with him? It never occurred to me that I would have to deal with all these stressful things sooner than I could have ever imagined on my own!

The trouble with losing someone so close to you is that not only are you paralysed with grief and trauma once they're gone, but you are also expected to make rational decisions and behave like a fully functioning adult on questions like what type of coffin do you plan on burying your spouse in, or what do you want to do with his or her remains, or should you allow your 7 year old son to go to his dad's funeral, or how on earth are you going to pay off your mortgage on your own and switch it from an interest only to a repayment mortgage? Who will help you run your affairs or help you with your childcare etc etc. The list goes on. You feel so exposed and vulnerable that you can often be easy pickings for cowboy builders, electricians, plumbers or anyone who sees your predicament as an opportunity for them. If you do need help in that department, then my advice would be to only use people who come highly recommended by someone you trust, or simply use CheckATrade. I got ripped off by the London-based nanny agency, Little Ones, for almost £3k.  I stupidly didn't read the small print properly, took on a nanny who left after three weeks and they wouldn't refund me the money, they would only offer me another second rate nanny instead. Do yourselves a favour and stay well clear of using Little Ones!

I felt that I wasn't taking full ownership of mine and my son's financial futures. I knew there was a better way and I had to find it fast before I ended up losing my wonderful home with all the lovely memories in it. I was well-read on all the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books by Robert Kiyosaki, but I thought how on earth am I going to afford to acquire assets when I can't even afford to pay my mortgage off outright? It was then that I stumbled across this incredible book. Now I'm not going to sell this book to you because in my opinion the book sells itself, but in a nutshell this book completely changed my life, because it showed me exactly how to make a passive income from home, without having to rely on the efforts of others ie an MLM type business. Also I didn't have to rely on doing Russian PAs anymore; my main source of income (which had miraculously dried up anyway).  Now I control who is leveraging my time, my money, my talent and my list and this book is the blueprint for how I am actually able to achieve all this myself, working from home or on my laptop anywhere in the world, just like the multimillionaire author himself has and is still doing.

It's simple if you (male or female) want to finally take control of your financial future like I am and you would like to try this out for free, yes free (apart from the £1 postage and packing fee) then click on the link below or the banner on the right-hand side of this blog. What have you got to lose? Only £1. This book was a bestseller with WHSmith and I can definitely see why! I can now go back to focusing on what I'm good at and trained to do which is being a professional singer/published songwriter and actress (I'm the first woman to star as Whitney Houston on TV!) Search up Autopsy: Whitney Houston's last hours on Google, and most recently for Channel 5, Whitney & Bobby: addicted to love. I hope that you find the peace of mind that this book has afforded me. Good luck and see you at the other end!

Click here to grab your free copy now!

How a book changed a diva's life!

I'm not going to lie to you, my number one goal has always been to be successful and have financial freedom. I am a professional singer, published songwriter and professional actress as well by trade (I portrayed Whitney Houston in Autopsy: Whitney Houston's last hours and just recently Whitney Houston again for Channel 5. The documentary is entitled, Whitney & Bobby: addicted to love. Therefore that is what I have spent my entire life trying to achieve and I am quite pleased with the results. However, nothing comes without a price and I lost my wonderful husband of 10 years in September 2014 :( No words can describe the gapping hole in my heart that he has left behind, but the show must go on and it ain't over 'til this skinny diva sings!

How would you feel if your talent was to express yourself vocally onstage, but you were denied that right from your native country your entire life? How would you feel? I'll tell you how you would feel angry, very angry. However I am a spiritual person and I know that I wasn't blessed with these talents for no reason, so in spite of the endless rejection I have had to endure I refuse to let anyone kill my dream and tell me 'no'.

The UK music scene is not set up to handle gifted artists if it was where are they? Are they trying to convince me that what we see on Ex-Factor, Britain's Got Talent, or The Voice are the best that the UK has to offer? Are you freaking kidding me? I know at least 20 individuals that could blow anyone of those singers you see on those shows off the stage with their raw talent, but like me they won't ever be allowed to get beyond first base to prove it! So they need to find another way to get themselves heard and make themselves seen.

This is where this book comes into play and it applies to every profession and not just the music business. If you could find away to make more than enough money from home that didn't compromise your existing profession, time or talent and you could do it anywhere in the world from your laptop, would that be something worth looking into? Exactly, that's what I said, 'hell yes!' and because of that I am now able to pursue a career in music on my terms because I now have the money to put out my own album and market it myself. Money is power so get some and you will have the power to do whatever you want on your terms!

This book is FOR FREE except for the £1 postage and packaging charge, as the multimillionaire author is so convinced of the value it offers and the easy route it gives you to Financial Freedom. If you want to try it out for yourself then click on the banner on the right-hand side of this blog, or the link below. It was a bestseller with WHSmith and I can quite honestly say it has changed my life in the sense that now I have learned a foolproof way to achieve my dream of Financial Freedom.
Don't let the Simon Cowell equivalent in your industry kill your dreams just like all the many talented singers he has destroyed in mine. The future is yours, so take it.

Click here when you're ready for change

Peace and love,

Shèna

Sometimes it can be a tough world out there.........

(I would like to thank Brainy Quote for this inspiring quotation)

Sometimes it can be a tough world out there with daily challenges that can often seem overwhelming and crippling. There never seems to be enough hours in the day or enough minutes to sit back and smell the roses. However you don't need to settle as it's all about choices. For example I love to sing and write songs, blog, use social media, learn new things and play tennis, but I also happen to be a busy mum of one, who was widowed last year and I now have to juggle running a household, being a landlady, investing in my future and keeping on top of my finances and business; so I do what the quote says: I do what's necessary first, then what's possible and the impossible seems to happen to me all by itself. Somehow all the stuff that matters to me, manages to get done.

If the things you really love are not getting done or enjoyed maybe it's time to delegate more, and hold off on the non income-generating activities for a while, then once you've achieved financial freedom, the impossible doesn't seem so impossible after all. I may never be Serena Williams, but the world will never complain if there's a new power diva on the block ;)

Angelina Jolie's inspirational speech

I couldn't agree more, Angelina Jolie, different is good. Do you guys remember my favourite quote which is: 'it's the unreasonable man that changes the world', well Angelina is naturally unreasonable, and it has certainly paid off for her big time.

I love the fact that a celebrity has admitted to feeling that way. It gives hope to youngsters like my seven year old son who accepts that he might be different too, but now throughly embraces the fact.

I guess that's why I could never be a lawyer as I'm not totally opposed to breaking the rules once in a while or thinking outside the box. After all isn't that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing that everyone else is doing, but expecting different results. Don't worry folks nothing I choose to do is illegal, just not conventional.

Sometimes you have no choice but to be different and think outside the box, as society won't allow you to be anything else. If having a first class degree in music performance, a gold disc on my wall and a powerful four octave range isn't enough to get on any of the TV reality shows, a lead role in the West End, a record deal with a major British record company or even anything other than being offered a backing vocal role with one of the British artists, then what choice have you got? Oprah Winfrey says that, 'you don't become what you want, you become what you believe'. Well thank goodness my beliefs are not in sync with music industry decision makers. I would now be homeless if they were.

I love the fact that I am different and a non-conformist. According to Angelina Jolie different is good and if it's good enough for her, then it's certainly good enough for me.

Motivational Speech from Pursuit of Happiness

I would like to thank Youtube for this inspiring video

In the words of Will Smith himself to his co-star and real life son, Jayden Smith, 'Don't let anybody ever tell you you can't do something, not even me. If you have a dream then you've got to protect it!' These words were as poignant then as they are today. Most individuals don't have your best interest at heart and too many of them think they have a say or an opinion about where you deserve to be in life, even if they are totally unqualified to make those decisions. But this is your dream we're talking about here, not theirs so what business is it of theirs anyway?

This scene is a very powerful moment in the film The Pursuit Of Happyness. Will Smith's character reminds us that we hold our futures in our own hands and that only after a lot of pain, disaster, sweat, tears, hopes and dreams can we accomplish what we really desire in life.

I seek happiness, fulfilment, success and enlightenment everyday. Everything that was ever achieved in life came from one, simple little dream.

Think big, dream big and take ownership of your dreams. The world will only ever be yours once you make that crucial decision.

I didn't know my own strength

I would like to thank (inspiring4u.tumblr.com) for this brilliant quote.

Last year September 21st 2014, I lost my wonderful husband of 10 years to DVT. It was totally unexpected and life-changing all at the same time. I thought my world had reluctantly come to a horrific conclusion. I kept saying to myself "Why Me? Am I not a decent, hard-working, compassionate individual who always manages to see the good in people even though there are many times when I haven't got much to work with? How come this happened to me? I know that my late husband, James Winchester didn't want to go, I certainly didn't want him to go and our seven year old son, Tyler most definitely didn't want him to go, so why then was he snatched from us in such a crude and abrupt fashion? The truth kept coming back as, why not me? Being a good person doesn't exempt you from personal tragedy. In fact I would go so far as to say that often being that way invariably exacerbates the problem because you're like an easy target.

In those six months since his passing I have had to grow up very quickly in areas then I assumed I'd never need to: I have had to get a grip on my finances, deal with tenants, be mummy and daddy to my son, handle individuals who at best can only be described as 'soul-less', pay bills on time, deal with work men taking the 'p' because I am a woman, do the school-run all on my own, try to balance being a mum, with a career, running a household and try to cope with a few businesses all at the same time. At times I would be lying if I didn't admit that I thought James had been given the easy option.

However, I am not the type of person to give in easily and I am proud of the way my son and I are handling this devastating hand we've been dealt. I have learned that actually I am a very strong individual who is no longer intimidated by anything toxic that the world chooses to throw at me. To begin the process of healing I have had to remove any trace of ego I have ever had and start from scratch, but what has come back to me is that now I know who I am so that if anyone dares to question my abilities as a mother, a singer, a songwriter, a blogger, an entrepreneur, a business woman or someone lacking in intelligence, I laugh in their face and remind them that I dance to my own tune now and no one else's. I see setbacks as feedback now. There is always a lesson to learn or a new direction to take when tough challenges come your way and the quicker you get what that lesson is the quicker you will grow into the person you always knew you should become.

In one of Whitney Houston's songs she admits, 'I didn't know my own strength'; well neither did I girlfriend, but I certainly do now!

Dream - Motivational Video

I would like to thank Youtube for this inspiring video

The world belongs to those who dare to dream. It is not up to others to decide whether you deserve to achieve your goal or not, it is up to you. Why do we allow others to force us to settle for mediocrity?

When I think about it I have been told my whole life by adults, who should know better, that I am not good enough, whether that is GCSE English teachers, A Level Music teachers, British record labels, TV reality shows, you name it I've had some individual or other try to crush my dream or self-belief. One time I cried so hard that I thought it would send me into eternal depression! But like the phoenix I rose from the flames and I am now preparing for the greatest opportunity of my career to date: to play the greatest female vocalist of all time!

I now no longer hear the word 'no' and negativity has no power over me. I even wrote a song about it. Some of the most successful people that the world has ever seen were all dreamers. Don't you think it's time you joined them?

Women shouldn't choose between work and family

(I would like to thank Elite Daily for this article!)

Women all over the world are oppressed. They are denied education, protection and basic freedoms. Men are, too, in some countries.

When democracy steps in on behalf of equality, many women are free to celebrate their rights, like their right to speak, right to be independent and right to choose.

Yet, the choices women have to make can lead to new restrictions.

The women who surround me every day — college-educated, preparing to graduate, on the job hunt, etc. — are facing some of the most important choices they’ve ever had to make.

In the next decade, many of us will choose jobs, spouses and where to build our homes.

And, in the midst of those choices, one stands out, just as it has for generations of women before us: The choice between building a career and building a family.

In the last few months, I’ve joked with my roommates at least half a dozen times about the idea of me having a baby — it’s not an idea I’m crazy about. I’m in the maybe-I’ll-adopt-one-day camp.

When I think about it, though, I probably couldn’t have a child anyway. The life I want doesn’t include room for a tiny life in need of constant care and attention.

I’m a young journalist devoted to my career and the plans I have for it. I want to see the world, but the occasional vacation in one faraway-but-not-so-different city or other won’t cut it.

I want to be a foreign correspondent in the middle of conflict, ready to show the world those oppressed lives caught in the turmoil of which we’re barely aware. I want to tell stories and change lives.

And, for the record, I also want to be able to go out with my friends and colleagues for a drink without worrying about finding a reliable babysitter first. That might be selfish, but I only have one chance to enjoy this life.

I’ve been with my boyfriend for four years, and as much as he wants to talk about moving in together and getting married, I just want to land my first job after college.

I’d like to be married within the next 10 years, too, but I won’t sacrifice what I’ve worked for to get that white dress and to say those vows.

I have friends who disagree. Some women dream of houses in the suburbs full of healthy children and a loving husbands or wives.

I don’t have many male friends who think that way, though.

Young men want families, too, but they rarely have to consider how a family will affect how far they can climb. Having a happy family is just another rung on the ladder to proving their success.

Why isn’t it that way for women?

We can blame tradition or gender roles or the expectations of a male-dominated society, but all of those things just feel like excuses.

The way I see it, the temptation of making the decision between work and family right now is the problem.

How many young women really know what they’ll want a decade from now?

We can plan the perfect weddings and pick the perfect names for the kids we’ll have with our perfect partners and build our perfect careers, but what’s perfect now might not be so tomorrow.

Women aren’t doing anything wrong; we’re pretty much killing it actually. But, we could benefit from a few adjustments and, dare I say it, taking a few pages out of the man book.

Live for the moment. Don’t be afraid to put yourself first. And if you want to build a happy family one day, don’t forget to build a happy you to pave the way.

The Definition of a Champion (Motivational Movie)

Source

This excellent 6 minute video highlights what it takes to be a sporting champion, but I believe that the attitude and work ethic that each of these sporting champions possess should apply to every goal or ambition that you may have in your own life. For example as a British professional singer and songwriter myself I have realised that I am at a distinct disadvantage with my classical vocal training as opposed to someone like Whitney Houston, who was blessed with an incredible talent, but more importantly learned how to use it to it's fullest potential thanks to her US gospel training. The American accent lends itself to powerful and effortless singing which s why so many phenomenal singers come from there. Hence I have to work at my voice with a US-based DVD and mp3 package every single day to replicate that gospel training. However I am determined and soon I'll be joining my sisters from the other side of the Atlantic.

Never aim to just be good or ok, always strive for greatness. Be the inspiration you which to see in the world.

This quote sums up what I believe it takes to be a true champion: “At some time you’re going to face your fears or your match and it’s okay to fail. You know, it’s okay. But, in my opinion, the true failure is in avoiding the confrontation or the challenge".

Unbroken - Motivational Video

The human spirit is a powerful thing! When we realise how powerful it is and the huge scope of possibilities there are out there available to us, we will never again settle or tolerate mediocrity. We will take ownership of who we truly are and who we deserve to be.

Don't let the world decide for you what you are worth or what you can achieve. The only person who has the right to do that is you. The human spirit is a powerful thing! Never, ever forget it.

It is the unreasonable man that changes the world

A while back my late husband, James, introduced me to this interesting saying; (forgive me I’m paraphrasing a bit) 'It is the unreasonable man that changes the world’. I think it’s attributed to George Bernard Shaw although Google’s let me down a bit for once! It has been my favourite quote ever since. 

My interpretation of it is that it's the man or woman who has the ability to think outside the box, and not conform to what society expects of them who has the power to have the greatest influence in the world. The corollary is Albert Einstein's saying which is, 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result.' And if one of the greatest minds of our time thinks that 'being reasonable' is not the way to go then why the hell should we?

Of course the quote is intended for those luminaries that change the world paradigm. People like Copernicus, Newton, Einstein, Edison, Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Lady Diana, Marie Curie, Marx, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Kingdom-Brunel, The Wright brothers etc etc. However I like to try to apply it in my own small way to my own life.

Now I am not advocating anarchy here, but what I am questioning is why is it we often continue to do what we've always done and wonder why we're no closer to where we want to be? We put up with jobs and careers that engender mild depression, we moan about our finances but we're not prepared to do what 10% of the population who own 90% of the wealth are prepared to do, we yearn for physical perfection but we can't be arsed to get off the couch or lay off the cakes, we complain about not having enough time but yet we could give anyone who wants to know a list of all the contestants who have ever been on X-factor, and we spoil our children with iPads, Wiis, PS4s and X-Boxes and wonder why they have no sense of value and Christmas has become a financial minefield. 

Don’t worry I am no saint in all this; in a lot of these cases I am guilty as charged. But where I am unreasonable is that I am prepared to try to adopt the habits of exceptional people (so that I can retire early!), also I try to play tennis as often as possible to help me keep fit because I hate the gym, and I can’t bring myself to watch X-factor, The Voice, Big Brother, I'm a celebrity get me out of here or the Brit awards because they seem brain dead and they won't help me get to where I plan to go. As a professional singer myself and someone who grew up listening to phenomenal superstars like Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, and having had the pleasure of working with many talented British singers, I can’t allow these shows to insult my intelligence and try and convince me that the talent they provide is the best that the UK has to offer....sorry but I ain't buying it!)

Being ‘unreasonable’ has sometimes served me well, as I refuse to take at face value people (who should know better) who try to tell me what I can and cannot achieve. My GCSE English teacher Mrs Morrison (yes I think she should be named and shamed!) was fine until she learned that I wanted to study medicine for my career. From that point on she made it her mission to ensure that I never got anywhere near a medical university. Think about it, if you don't have English qualifications and you live in the UK then you can forget about pursuing any ‘serious’ careers.  Also she killed any desire I had for creative writing even though I loved it. It's only years later that I have re-discovered  my passion for it again in my blogs and book writing. My A-level Music teacher told my Mother that I would never amount to anything more than a secretary, but I came into class that morning when all the other protégés were enlightening everyone else with their future music colleges and universities, and I floored everyone particularly him, by telling them that I had just earned an unconditional offer to one of the most prestigious music colleges in the world, the Royal Academy of Music. Me the Black girl from Reading, Berkshire with a working class background. That moment was priceless!

I also failed to land the leading role as Whitney Houston in the West End, even though IMHO, I look and sound more like Whitney Houston than most people I know, but I then got chosen from 6500 girls to portray her in the 2014 Channel 5 Documentary, Autopsy: Whitney Houston's last hours so now I have the audacity to desire to play her in the movie about her life, but why not? Someone has to so why not me? Many people - including people who knew her personally - believe that I look and act a lot like her; so now I want the world to recognise that I can also sing like her as well. If that’s unreasonable, then good! Click here to see it.

One of my most significant role models is a lady who is totally unreasonable. She seems to have overcome almost every single obstacle to become one of the most successful and influential women ever and that is Oprah Winfrey. She was told that big, black, not particularly attractive women with funny names have no future in the reporting or journalistic worlds, so she bought her own production company and the rest as they say is history. If Oprah had listened to those naysayers she wouldn't have become the media powerhouse that she is today. And there are so many other people who follow a similar pattern. People who refuse to conform to what society expects of them. I imagine that everyone who has ever achieved anything significant in life has had to be unreasonable at some point!

I encourage my son to think outside the box and work things out for himself. I hope it pays off one day. If your life isn’t going the way you want it to go then maybe you’re not being unreasonable enough. Don’t you think it’s time you gave it a try?

Why we should never, ever give up on ourselves!

I was reminded recently about this video of why, no matter who we are or where we come from, we should never give up on ourselves. It stars a retired and disabled war veteran called Arthur. 

Check it out here for yourself:

I am pleased that he didn’t listen to all the naysayers, and let’s face it there are far too many of them out there, but my question to you is this; if people know that killing other’s dreams and stifling their creativity might mean depression and desperation for them in the long run, why do they continue to offer such destructive advice? I heard the word ‘no’ so many times last year that I started to forget what the word ‘yes’ sounded like; no joking aside it crippled me psychologically and I needed to rebuild my ego and self-worth.

2015 is a new year though and I will not allow anyone to crush my dreams or put me down in that way again. In fact I won’t be sharing my dreams with too many people in the first place then there is no chance of that. Maybe only those close to me will get a sneaky peek.

My favourite quote of all time is: it’s the unreasonable man that changes the world; because if we look at history; planes didn’t just find their way into the sky. It was the unreasonable Wright brothers who put them there. And the list of non-conformists goes on and on: Richard Branson, Thomas Edison, Mohammed Ali, Martin Luther King, Serena Williams, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey to name but a few. People who dared to dream and did it their way. The evidence of what they have accomplished is all around us; therefore isn’t it time that people stopped trying to convince the rest of us what we can and cannot achieve and allow us to become who we know we ought to become? If Arthur could do it then so can we, so what do you think folks? Are you worth fighting for?