Dr. Cynthia Harper

I attribute my success to not wanting to be mediocre. It's an internal feeling - I don't want to be mediocre. I want to leave an indelible mark in the earth land for women that have reinvented themselves. But ultimately, my faith in God is my guiding map. I'm a Christian, and my faith in God is my source, my guidance, my everything. I study the Scriptures, and anything that I need, I know where my answers are. My religion is a relationship, not just religion. Because I have a relationship with God, He's gonna always direct me, so He orders my steps. And that's why I can love other people of different cultures and different beliefs - because you don't have to be like me for me to love you. I have a universal love for people. Everyone is important, and if you look down on anyone, shame on you. Everyone should be given an opportunity because anyone has the ability to change the trajectory of life around you.

The best career advice I've ever received is to never give up. So you failed - get back in the game. Going back to school to re-educate myself, to consistently reinvent myself, to consistently be available for change has been essential. One of the most important things I've learned is this: don't make decisions based solely on your feelings, because your feelings don't build a solid business. Your feelings don't determine whether something is true or not, because they're fickle and they change every day. Just because you feel something doesn't mean that it's so. And here's what I wish everyone understood: just because you've failed or been rejected, it doesn't mean you're not valuable. I've been rejected more times than I care to remember. I've failed my way to success. But it's the yeses that make the difference. Rejection is redirection, and ultimately, it protects you from the real failure. You must be rejected. You must be denied. You must be not counted on. You must be looked down upon. If you can't handle rejection, if you can't handle neglect, if you can't handle losing, then how well are you gonna handle a big win? Rejection is key to your success. Allow yourself to go through it. Allow yourself to be denied. So what you didn't get the promotion - what did you learn? Don't get mad at the process. It only builds character.

Start young. Start where you are and find value in it. Do your work, but start young. Speak for free - don't ever think that you're too good to share. As long as you get the opportunity to share truth that has been tested and tried, use it. Find the community center, find the women's group that'll give you an opportunity, find the school that needs you. Every opportunity that you are given is an opportunity closer to that place you're trying to get to. I've been speaking for years at colleges, churches, universities, and on radio, and now it's time for me to speak on a global level. Start where you are and keep your end goal in mind. As long as you're focused on your purpose, there are steps and processes and procedures. Keep that end goal in mind, but work hard where you are. Every step, every opportunity along your purpose brings you closer to where you want to be.

Ageism is always a factor in America, because we like the millennials. We think that they are smart, innovative, and great. But in a sense, you are definitely compared to the younger generation. I don't ever desire to be younger - I just desire to be purposeful. My challenge many times is that I'm not a teenager anymore. I'm 65. People think I'm younger because of how I look and carry myself, but it's something else when people don't look at you the same. People view you as just an older person. They don't look at you as a person who's still striving to become the woman that you were once created to be. People make age a factor - they marginalize you. But I look at age as a platform, as an endeavor of grace. I look at it as wisdom. I look at it as understanding. And it's not just ageism - even complexion-wise, if you're darker in most cultures, women that are darker are not considered as beautiful. In the Hispanic community, in the Hawaiian community, and the Black community, if you're darker, you're not considered as beautiful. All my life people have said things like, 'Oh, you're pretty for a dark girl.' So you have to know and be confident within yourself who you're called to be and what you're called to do. Another challenge when you're a small business that's beginning to scale at our age is a lot. Scaling and managing everything at 65 is challenging, but things are changing financially for me now.

The values that matter most to me come from my faith. My relationship with God guides every part of my life and work. I'm a Christian, and my faith in God is a relationship, not a religion. When I need direction, clarity, or strength, I study the Scriptures, and I always find the answers I need. Anything that I need, I know where my answers are, and if I don't know, I can always research to find them, and I always find them in the Word of God. Even if it's not as clear as I'd like for it to read, there are things I can get from the Bible that will lead me to things in the natural, to different authors who've done this before. Because I have a relationship with God, He's gonna always direct me, so He orders my steps. And that's why I can love other people of different cultures and different beliefs - because you don't have to be like me for me to love you. I have a universal love for people. God is my source, He's my guidance, He's my everything. That foundation keeps me grounded and aligned with what truly matters.