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

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?

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?