Honorine Forbiteh

I attribute my success to building smart networks and creating resourceful relationships. I may not always know how to help somebody do something, but I often know somebody who can help them. I try to build good networks as I go along so that people can either help me or help somebody else I know who needs assistance. I believe in not burning bridges and creating memorable connections with people, so that down the line when you meet them again, they have pleasant things to say and they're ready to step up to help you if you need it. You really cannot be that smart where you know everything by yourself - you're always going to rely on people to assist you in one way or another. I'm resourceful in that way, and I still get people calling me saying 'Hey, Noreen, I need a number for this person' or 'I'm trying to do this, can you help me?' I somehow find it in my toolbox or contact register, and I don't hoard my resources - I share them freely.

The best career lesson I learned - though it didn't come as direct advice - is to not take things personally in the workplace. When I got into the work setting straight after college, I struggled dealing with difficult people. I even bought a book about how to deal with difficult people because of one particularly challenging client. But as I progressed in my career, I learned that people are just who they are. They might be difficult based on different opinions, their way of presenting themselves, or other stressors you cannot see. I've gotten to a point where I try not to take it personal or think 'this person has a problem with me.' People just don't have your same beliefs, values, or principles, and that's okay. We're in a workplace to do the job, so let's figure out how to get the job done. If what they're asking for is above my skill level, I'm humble enough to ask for help, ask for directions, ask for pointers. Sometimes when there's miscommunication or priorities aren't communicated properly, somebody may get frustrated because something isn't getting done when the other person is prioritizing something else. I just learned to accept people, find common ground or a sweet spot to collaborate, and once the engagement is done, at least they're not following you back to the house.

My dad used to tell me, anything you set your mind on, just work at it. Even if you're just coming into the industry and you don't know that much, just learn what you can learn, and as you go along the way, create good relationships. Make yourself useful in any place where you are - not so much that the whole place is fully dependable on you, because that's not a healthy relationship, but once you're there and plugged in, see how you can add value, whether in terms of your contribution or finding resources that others can use to make their lives better. Really just set your mind on it and go at it, taking it one day at a time, building good relationships, establishing good connections, and providing value. You want your absence to be felt - you don't want to just come to this world and exist, and then when you're gone, there's nothing really memorable about you. In whatever way you can, without self-sacrificing, make sure that you leave any place better than you found it. You're not going to solve all the problems in the world, but there's going to be something where you can look back and say 'I was able to make this change, propose this change, support this change, facilitate this change in something.'

The biggest obstacle in my business right now is that there's too much conflicting information and noise when it comes to nutrition. One day it's 'eat eggs,' the next day 'don't eat eggs.' Tomorrow 'drink water,' then 'don't drink water.' It's so conflicting and overwhelming to the point where people just give up and say 'I'm tapping out, I will eat whatever.' What I'm trying to do now is structure my message to say this is not another overwhelming piece of information - I just want to provide caretakers, moms, and caregivers with simple and practical ways to nourish our bodies better, either by buying something from me or just consuming the resources I put out there for free. It doesn't necessarily have to end up with a purchase, but if you're able to get a recipe, a tip, or some resource that will help you make a better choice for yourself and your family, that's what I'm out for. What most people struggle with is just being consistent. They might have a meal plan, but does that make them healthy? No, you need to stay consistent with eating it. People strive for perfection - they think they need to eat healthy 100% of the time, and when they fall behind, they give up. My voice and tone to them is don't focus on being perfect, just be consistent. Pick the healthy habits you can incorporate at least 80% of the time and you'll be good. Don't overhaul everything at once - just keep taking away the stuff that is not so good and replacing it, stacking it up like Atomic Habits. Don't guilt yourself if you have a bad day, just let it go and move on. Make sure your next choice is a healthier choice.

The values most important to me are being fair to the next person, especially when it involves team effort. I try to give people their own chance and stay as objective as possible, putting aside any personal differences or opinions. I also value being able to prioritize what's important, because there's always going to be a lot of stuff to do and you can't do it all in one day. You need to take a step back to understand what the priority is and what you should focus on right now. Another important value is that I don't like working under pressure for any reason, so I try to avoid situations where I leave stuff for the last minute. That's the ideal world - I still have cases where I'm coming up short on deadlines where I could have proactively done some work on it, and I still slip up once in a while. But because I don't like working in that stressful and pressured environment, I find ways to work smarter instead of harder to accomplish my tasks so that I'm not behind, sleeping on deadlines, and unable to meet timelines that have been handed to me.