Have you guys seen the show, Self-Made? It has been the talk on social media, and I promise you people are not exaggerating. Inspired by the life of Madam C.J Walker, the story outlines how persistence, passion, and determination lead a strong woman to become the first black female millionaire in the United States of America. For me, this movie did not only display this but also the power of a determined black woman, the beauty of our natural kinky hair, and the power we absorb once we start embracing who and what we are. In this blog, I will be trying my best not to spoil the show for those who haven’t watched it by simply pointing out things that stuck out for me.
Success Requires Effort and Determination
Madam CJ Walker would not have been the first black female millionaire if it had not been for the craving she had to become successful. She wanted to be recognized not as a mere wash woman but as a woman who did not allow her situation to define her. She never complained about how hard the journey was but, as she climbed one step of the ladder to the next she wanted more. She had a clear vision and she was determined to make that vision a reality, even if it meant making sacrifices that would affect not only herself but also her family. In life, we often try and when it does not work out we get scared and go back to the exact place we were trying to move away from; we cry about how hard life is and how much it is unfair; and while it is great to pray some of us only have the faith but do little work. In many cases, what we think is our best isn’t and we end up stirring stress when there isn’t any because we are barely pushing.
The next time you set out to achieve something, make sure you are giving it your all. If you need to practice something do so, if you are going to write a book do it with the determination to make it a best-selling book; If you are going to start a business, push the idea that it might fail to the back of your head and do your best to make it a successful one. Sometimes fear is what holds us back and we have no idea because we allow it to control us.
On Your way Up People will either leave or be Left Behind
When receiving our blessings in life it means we will have to leave some of the people we love behind. In some cases, many will choose to leave. These are sometimes the people who never really believed in us and the risk we take; the people who are intimidated by our success or the people who are filled with hatred from witnessing our achievement. Madame C.J Walker encountered this throughout her entire path to success at every single stage. She was hated by her competitors, deceived by people she helped, and betrayed by the people closest to her. We will often have no idea when this is happening on our way to our blessings, but they only come to make us stronger and prepares us for the best to come.
I don’t know how many of you are Christians but, if you are, here is a bible verse to keep in mind:
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Romans 12:14
On your way up do not hate your haters, pray for them, and wish them nothing but the best. A humble heart is all we need sometimes to get past a situation.
People will want to compete
You might want to work with some people but because they hate who you are and what you are capable of they will prefer competing with you, even if they know they will lose. They will try to make you feel lesser than who you really are, but it takes confidence, and like I said before, determination to beat this. Tune out the voice and keep going. Throughout her journey, Madame Walker encountered one particular competitor who gave her self the role to play from the very beginning. She was told she could not rise above her competitor because she was not pretty enough for the beauty industry. Of course, being who she is Madame Walker packed her things and got to work. Her competitor followed her and all she craved was a way to figure out how to be more successful than Madame Walker. In life, a little competition is good sometimes, but it gets toxic when people become obsessed and obsession only poisons the heart and blinds us to our paths.
“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you, and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too”.
Will Smith
Be confident
Finally, embrace yourself. We can’t be “Self-Made” without doing this. Nothing is more attractive than a woman or man who loves him or her self while climbing the ladder to greater things. In “Self-Made”, hair and skin colour was very important to women especially since they weren’t allowed as much freedom and rights as men. They depend solely on the beauty of their hair and the shade of their skin. Madame CJ Walker though not tall, had a dark complexion, was of the lower class before her success, and had trouble caring for her hair learned to look past all of this. She looked nothing like her husband’s idea of a “Walker Girl” but, she was her own lady – she was “Self-Made”. We need to be our own selves. Who cares what society says? Becoming our own selves means confidence that can only be broken by us. Let us take control!
So, one, two three, four. These are what I got from the movie. It was definitely a good watch and I would recommend it to anybody. Being home is hard since we aren’t accustomed to it but Netflix has definitely been trying to help, so THANK YOU NETFLIX! Let me know what you guys get or got from the show. Did you get what I got? Share in the comment or visit my Instagram page she forges blog.
Thank you for reading and I’ll see you in the next blog…next week.
Ta Taaaaaw
