Carol R. Burns, MS, OL, PLG

I attribute my success to my relationship with Christ, which has been the foundation that carried me through every challenge. Faith is what got me through the pain and guided me when I had to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I learned from mentors like Lisa Nichols and Eric Thomas that I had to be my own rescue 911, that no one was coming to save me as a single parent, and I had to trust God to be my guidance and direction. I had to pave my own way spiritually and do what God called me to do. I believe in being authentically and unapologetically myself, giving back and being of service to others, never thinking it's all about me. I've learned to have compassion, be kind, be teachable, have a humble spirit, and remember why I started while always keeping God first. I choose myself outside of all the distractions, focusing on my niche and what I'm good at, rather than being a jack of all trades but a master of none. My generation was raised to survive by any means necessary, but always legally, and that industrious spirit runs in my blood from those who created the civil rights movement and lost their lives for it. I believe it's my duty to give whatever God has given me back to society, to put an imprint on this earth that will impact or change somebody's life and make them a better human being. I live every day like it's my last because time is not promised to anybody, and I stay motivated by listening to motivational YouTube videos while I work. Most importantly, I had to reinvent everything about myself and disrupt the soil I was planted in, just like Lisa Nichols did when she was laying in her bed in tears and told her son they would never be like that again. That lesson stuck with me: I had to be my own rescue 911, and I still listen to those motivational videos to stay focused minus the distractions around me.

The best career advice I ever received came from my mentor, motivational speaker Lisa Nichols, who I still listen to along with Eric Thomas. Lisa shared her story about the challenges she faced when she was starting out as an entrepreneur, when people she trusted with her business didn't do right by it. She was laying in her bed in tears, and her son came to her room. She said to her son they were never going to be like that again, meaning eating noodles and canned food. She said, 'I had to be my own Rescue 911.' I get chills when I say this, because people say they want the truth, but when they hear the truth, are they really invested? She had to reinvent everything about herself to survive, just like I did after surviving a domestic relationship many decades ago as a single parent with three girls who are mixed, half Puerto Rican and half Black. Lisa Nichols was interviewed and said in tears, 'I had to be my own rescue 911, because no one was coming to save me.' As a single parent, we don't get those mentors that some people are blessed to have. You have to trust God, know that the Lord is going to be your guidance and your direction, and pave your own way spiritually for what it is that you need to do. That lesson stuck with me, and it still does. I still listen to the motivational YouTube videos when I can, when I'm at work with them in my earbuds to stay motivated minus the distractions around me.

My advice to young women entering this field is to be yourself, authentically and unapologetically. Number one, give back and be of service to others, and never think it's all about you. Everybody comes to the table with their own background, and we don't know what people are going through in their daily lives, so have compassion and be kind. Be teachable, have a teachable spirit, and be humble. Take care and do what it is that you need to do, and make sure that whatever the journey takes you to be, you are taking time to remember why you started. Number one is keeping God first, and always choose yourself outside of all the distractions that are around you, because we can become busybodies, you know, jack of all trades but a master of none. We want to focus and sync on what it is that your niche is and what you're good at, and be the best human being possible by being kind. I also want young women to understand that too many of us are dying early, specifically Black women and women of color. We're literally over-performing, and I don't do that anymore for no one. The answer is no, without an explanation or permission, period. We have to take care of ourselves. Sometimes you gotta get away and reset. A lot of us don't do that, and we're working overtime, not doing what it is that we need to do. We're distracted by electronics instead of being present and focused like my generation from the 70s was raised to be. When I'm in a private setting like my office, if I'm at work, I'm working, not just walking around talking and being distracted. Being present is really important in everything you do.

The biggest challenge I see in the legal field right now is that women are still not represented as much as men, but we're gaining momentum. We know our Supreme Court Justice, the late Ms. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Shirley Chisholm, and other notable justices that were women as well as attorneys that are still trailblazing the way. That glass ceiling has definitely been broken, but it's still something that's on the rise in these leadership roles. We need to keep doing what it is that we need to do to integrate these fields and get women more visibility. The most important part is to keep on pushing forward to get women more visibility and opportunities. I also see that too many women, specifically Black women and women of color, are dying early because we're over-performing and not taking care of ourselves. We're experiencing burnout because we're working overtime and not doing what we need to do for self-care. We need to take those quiet moments for ourselves, take time to nourish our bodies, and sometimes get away and reset. The opportunity I see is that everybody should be able to exist together, not one person or one group dominating. As President Obama and Michelle Obama spoke about at the Chicago event, everybody should be able to exist together. It is our duty to give whatever God has given us back to society, and people that still have a covering with their parents should understand that responsibility.

Faith is the absolute foundation of my life and guides everything I do, both personally and professionally. My relationship with Christ is what got me through the pain and carried me through the valley of the shadow of death. Giving back and community involvement, especially through my church community, is central to who I am. It's about the service and duty that God has given each and every one of us to do outside of our titles and degrees. I'm not on the materialistic spectrum of things. Family is everything to me. I raised my daughters with a deep love of learning, getting up at 5:30 in the morning before I even had a job when I was just selling Avon, packing their change of clothes and lunch, making sandwiches, and taking them to the library. From 5:30 a.m. to 8 o'clock, it was their time in the children's section, and then I could go to the adult section to read what I needed to. That's what inspired me to be a paralegal when I found a book on how to become a paralegal. Being authentically and unapologetically myself is non-negotiable. I can't do the shallow and the fake. My why is much deeper. I don't have the opportunity of going to my parents anymore since my parents are no longer here. I was the primary caregiver for my father, and I let him live with me and took care of him. I don't have that option to turn to them now that I'm done with my master's and in the role I'm in. That's why people who still have a covering with their parents need to understand it is our duty to give whatever God has given us back to society. I believe in being present and not taking time for granted. God is not going to tell us we'll wake up tomorrow because time is not promised to anybody. We should live every day like it's our last day by putting an imprint on this earth that is going to impact or change somebody's life and make them a better human being. Right now, in this season of my life, I'm choosing me. I'm taking time to travel to Kenya where one of my good friends is from, to sit and get caught up on the books I'm blessed to have gifted myself by Black authors, specifically pouring into my community. I have Toni Morrison books and my William E. Du Bois 'Souls of My People,' but I haven't had time to read them. I'm purposely in that season right now where I'm saying no, not oversharing, and not giving easy access to anyone anymore, including family. I'm taking those quiet moments for myself to nourish my body, because as a published author of 'Starting Over, Volume 1,' my healing was writing my poetry at the Parkway in Philadelphia at the art museum with my daughters during library story time.