The Source Magazine had the opportunity to speak with one of the most influential women of our time. Ms. Lisa Nichols is an award winning author, CEO and motivational speaker. Lisa has teamed up with the My Black is Beautiful Team for their “Beauty In Action” campaign. Nichols shared insight on what exactly “My Black is Beautiful” stands for … and after reading this interview we promise you will feel more motivated, driven and beautiful than ever!
This is the second year of the MBIB Campaign can you explain to us this year’s campaign and the 30 day challenge?
Yes, it is a wonderful wonderful opportunity for women to step into their greatness. It’s the inside out really and to reach back and grab 1.5 million black, African American girls and really celebrate them in a way that is traditional by societies stand point.
Who else have you partnered up with for the MBIB Campaign?
We have many partners, it’s such a powerful campaign that we have and we have many celebrities that have joined on board and that have jumped out and helped. We have a lot of people in my community as well. I was just at the Essence Awards and there were so many women that looked like me and who are very very excited, it’s just been fun. It’s one of those things that keeps on taking more and more momentum because it’s a conversation long overdue.
MBIB is pretty much aimed at supporting and embracing young black girls as they face the most critical years of their lives while inspiring them to be their best, can you tell us about any of your experiences that you’ve encountered as a young black girl in that stage?
Growing up I always said I have to learn how to love my Mocha skin, my full lips, my round hips because the world didn’t love it. I remember in fifth grade I wanted to be one of Charlie’s Angels and they had a competition and I won every single event in the competition and at the end they selected three other girls and when I asked why and they said “Well, Lisa what Charlie’s Angels girl do you look like? You don’t look like one” and I remember that really had an impact on me and that for twenty years I’m speaking in front of 3,000 people and Ms. Wagner the Bionic Women, she was one of the Charlie’s Angels and she said “you are a real superhero” and that really meant something to me so there were plenty of times when I wasn’t light enough, pretty enough, hair wasn’t long enough so I had to fall in love with Lisa first.
I see that you said “Motivating Masses ” is the system you used to become an international success, can you speak about that?
Well first I have to say I’m grateful! I was willing to do the things that I had never done , to learn the things I’ve never known and to be the women I knew I could be. I was willing to go out into other communities, you know this conversation about African American women but it’s not exclusive to African American women. It’s for every person who’s ever had to get back up, it’s for every person whose ever had to stand on their own and just find their own beauty. I went out to other people and I’ve learned, I was interested in learning what I didn’t know so I can do what I’ve never done so I can be who I’ve never been before and in that, that’s where I found my message and I would speak to anyone who would listen, I wasn’t afraid to hear ”No.” Most people won’t hear enough “Yes’s” because they are afraid to hear enough “No’s” I wasn’t afraid to hear enough “No’s” to get to my “Yes’s”.
We know that you are a phenomenal author and your new book “No Matter What!” hit the best sellers list! Can you speak about that?
First of all I was scared to do the book, I was excited, but I was afraid because it was the first book I’ve done I without co-authors in it and … I didn’t know if the world would really except me by myself . My first two books were “Chicken Soup For The Soul.” We all love those books and then my next book was the “Secret” and when Oprah says it’s amazing then you know it … (Laughs)
“No Matter What!” was the only book that I had done, it was a book about my life. My life is about a woman that kept saying “NO matter what, NO matter what…” I became NON negotiable about my success. So, I was scared to do it and it was the first book that a speaker in this industry especially a woman had gotten paid a million dollars to write, but there was a lot of pressure on the book and I was pleasantly surprised that people were ready for a candid no holds bar conversation about , not just how to be a success, but I talked about my biggest break downs, I spoke about the most embarrassing , shameful moments of my life and how I got myself to that point and then how I got myself out of that place so it’s a spicy book, so I’m going to tell you if you read it make sure you drink some water ( Laughs).
Now I did write the book for ages 16 and up so I love it because all of the young girls who are touched , read it and see themselves, you know your first love, that first time you have a guy and you lose your mind. I talk about that. I talk about my early twenties when I thought love was about intimacy and I thought that I had to find love in the arms of a man. I talk about all those things that I wish someone would’ve told me and showed me and so I’m proud of that work. It is the body of work that I am most proud of and it’s also the most revealing, so when they told me the book was sold in ” Bulgaria , and in Russia etc. … I was afraid that all of those people found out about my mess … I am grateful for the work and grateful for the opportunity and it’s a story that needs to be told in order for you to stand up, you have to know how to get back up and no matter what it’s a conversation of constantly getting that.
Being such a strong, successful African American woman that many people look up to . Can you give any advice or any steps you’ve taken to get where you are today?
Absolutely, just a few thing and these are these are the key things from me:
1) Give yourself a thousand, a thousand…. A THOUSAND second chances and every time you get to 999 … press reset and give yourself a thousand more second chances. You will never get it right, you’ll just get it better.
2) Recognize as you grow, you will outgrow some people … I’ll say it again … RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU GROW … and you’ve probably already experienced that, you sound like a young women on the move … recognize that you will outgrow some people and it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to ever talk to them again it just means you need to find it comfortable to leave them.
3) Challenge yourself constantly! This is going to sound kind of crap, but you’re the dumbest person in the circle. I always say I’m the dumbest person in my circle. I want to surround myself with people far more brilliant than me, you don’t ever want to be the most brilliant, the most smartest one in your circle. It’s time to get another circle . You can keep that circle, but you choose the circle where you feel like you’re the most ding-dong person in that circle and that’s the best thing you can do, and then take notes as they talk.
Do You have any beauty regimes you’d like to share?
What I love about the “MBIB” Campaign is that it talks about beauty of the character. It’s focusing on beauty inside of you, integrity, your words, self love, the unmentioned things that you do, the way you love on yourself. So the MBIB Campaign is about celebrating our uniqueness in such a way that we lift each other up. How we inspire one another to want to be a better us. So what I love about the campaign is that the beauty in action everyday, their affirmation , their tips … every day is juicy, everyday! It’s an affirmation. There’s a juicy life management tip, insight and then there is a beauty in action challenge that says, today I want you to write down ten things you love about you or today I want you to lift a sister up so high that you bring tears to her eyes, you just tell her all the beautiful things about her or today write a love letter to yourself. When’s the last time we wrote a love letter to ourselves? So the whole idea of beauty in action is what does it look like to demonstrate your beauty, beauty isn’t just the way your eyebrows are arched or the way your hair lays or the way your body is shaped. Beauty is about a fingerprint that you leave on this world. That’s beauty, your fingerprint! My grandmother was one of the most beautiful people on the plant because she has impacted. I still live out her conversation, I still want to be like her. She passed away when I was 25 and I still want to be an increment of who she was, that’s beautiful! So beauty in action is making an everlasting impression on this world by who you choose to be today.
What can we expect from you in the near future?
I stay in action. I am very excited about this campaign launching on March 10. What I am committed to doing now is to teach women and men how to use their voice in the most powerful way. For so many years, I knew I had a voice, but I didn’t use my voice. I was afraid of my voice. I was afraid of being seen. So I am really committed to helping people to be seen and be heard in a way that contributes to the planet. So we are doing an exciting event called “seek and write” for people who want to use their brand, their image and touching the lives of many people as possible, helping to give them voice in print, writing and verbally . So that’s one of the things I am most excited about is just teaching individuals like you and others how to use your voice and how to use your words and how to write and show that you can touch, inspire and make millions.
Thank you Ms. Nichols, you really motivated me today!
Jasmine, this is why we are doing this entire campaign, so that beautiful women like you can be touched and inspired, it’s only in a short time as so that you have an extra pep in your step today, you have an extra knowing in your beauty and in your essence that when you walk past that mirror you stop and you look at Jasmine twice and you don’t just check her hair, and don’t just check her lips and her eyes, but that you see her soul and you stop for a moment and you say Jasmine “I am proud of you” that’s what this whole campaign is about!
“My Black Is Beautiful (MBIB) is designed to ignite a national dialogue between African American women, encouraging them to define their own beauty standards and ways they are reflected in popular culture. It is meant to show them how they serve as the catalyst for a movement that creates positive change. Lisa Nichols is working hand-in-hand with MBIB to create a 30 day call to arms called Beauty In Action, where Lisa and others of note (Tatiana Ali and Coco Jones) will come up with 30 things one can do in their everyday life (I.e. Doing a good deed for a stranger) over the course of a month that relates to their own personal definition of beautiful. Lisa will then be teaming up with MBIB to search the country for 6 ambassadors to represent the “new face of beauty.” She will be on a judges panel of notable, inspiring AA women, who will pick those who come up with the best Beauty In Action ideas of their own,” MBIB said in a statement.
Starting today join the “Beauty in Action” Challenge and new search for beauty on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. #BIAJourney #MBIB”
-Jasmine Clarke
