Chauniqua Major

Honestly, I would say a lot of hard work and taking initiative. I would say some of it was also trauma-influenced - there is no Plan B. There's no choice but to just go and do the work and show up, and keep showing up, and keep working hard. There is no, you know, my family will fund this for me, or I have a home that's waiting for me. I had to really just go and get it, and that's been that way my whole life. I think it's beautiful when others have options, or they can take a gap year, and that was not my story. I just had to work. But I think, honestly, one of the things that has really attributed to my success is people seeing things in me that I didn't see in myself. People have seen me, and they've seen my gifts, they've seen my deficits that have poured into me. People just seeing something in me that I didn't see in myself, and deeming me worthy even when I didn't see it. They're like, she's got it, or you can do this, major, or let me give you a shot at this. And I'll rise to the occasion. Even with those mentors or people that I saw do it really wrong in a lot of areas, they weren't all bad. I saw a lot of good too, and a lot of the good was they saw a lot in me. Had it not been for those opportunities, whether they were really good or really bad, they were character building, and they've created a very resilient but also now grace-filled person. These employers or people who just had areas of influence, they saw something in me that I didn't get. I didn't get it. I see it now, but I didn't see it then, and without them, I don't know that I would have taken the risk that I've done all over these years without their vote of confidence.

I really want to build sustainable businesses that are ethical in our work that we produce, but also in the way that we employ and work with people. If a company has a great culture and a great leader, I think it produces a great product that people can enjoy, whether it's food or PR work or whatever the case might be. I'm just trying to grow in a sustainable way, where I can still enjoy my life. I've seen business done very well, and I've seen it done quite wrong, and I really want to build sustainable businesses that are ethical. Making sure that my character is on point as much as it can be, and really just trying to lead a life that is true and beneficial to the people that I work with. Who you show up to work is really who you are, and that's the only way it's sustainable. If I'm one way at home and another way at work, that duplicitous nature, at some point it spills over, especially if it's negative. So just making sure that my character is on point as much as it can be.