Mykiesha Henson Bailey

I attribute my success to God first, and then to my family and my upbringing. I come from a household where I lived with my grandparents, my mom, and my three siblings. My mom worked very, very hard to make sure everything was good for us, and we took on that work ethic. My mom, my grandma, and my granddad trained us to be good citizens and to do the right thing. The structure they gave us and the values they instilled in me have been the foundation of everything I've accomplished.

I can't say that anybody has ever just sat me down and given me specific career advice, but what I've learned is to just keep going and don't limit yourself. Sometimes we get complacent in certain areas and feel like this is what we're going to do for the rest of our lives, but God is really calling us into entrepreneurship, into something bigger and better. For example, if you start in a career as a janitor, don't feel like that's all you're going to be. See yourself sitting in the seat of the president. It's always about going after what you know you want and where God is calling you. A lot of places we just remain because it's comfortable and we're making a little money, but that's not true. There's always something better, something greater.

It is not easy, and it definitely takes determination. For example, with the insurance work I do, there are days when I might not talk to any clients, or clients set up appointments and don't show, or they hear the information and it's not for them. The main thing is to know where you are and know that you're supposed to be there. Anytime we're supposed to be in a place, it's not going to always be easy, and there will be some days where you might want to quit. But if you remain steadfast, don't be moved by the first no. It only takes one yes to get you to where you need to be. The more you keep going, the more no's you're going to get, but behind those no's, there has got to be a yes. So you just push till you keep getting your yeses. Try to find people who are like-minded. You want to always have friends and family around you who are supportive, not those who tell you there's no money in that or give you all the negativity. You want to find yourself in a place of positivity all the time, and that keeps you going and motivated. So when the times get hard, you still understand that a brighter day is coming. Something good is getting ready to happen.

People are programmed to believe a certain thing, and if you get somebody who's well in age and they've been programmed all their lives to believe that you don't need certain things like insurance, or you don't need to invest your money and should just keep putting it in the bank, sometimes it's a barrier that you've got to break down in those people to get them to understand the importance of what you're telling them. A lot of people just get stuck in their ways. A lot of people feel like they don't have the financial support that they need, and one of the things as a life insurance agent is to have them know, not even just believe it, but to know that you don't need as much money as you think you do. There are certain stipulations people have put on themselves that we as agents have got to go in and try to dismantle in order for them to even hear the ideas that we're trying to say. So we've got to break down barriers. We have the solution, they just have to listen and hear what it is we have to say.

I always try to walk with integrity. I don't care what goes on, you have to make sure that you are doing the right thing. It's a pleasant feeling to know that whatever situation you're in, if you walk away from there having been integral and having done what you know is the best thing to do, then you don't have to worry or stress about wishing you could take that moment back. If you do it right the first time, you don't have to worry about taking that moment back because you've done what you knew you were supposed to do. I think that good character speaks for you. We ought to always do what's right and treat people the way that you want them to treat you. Sometimes on the job we have problems with people, but we have to make sure that we always stay right and do the right thing. I've had to learn that sometimes you have to be silent and just allow God to fix it, because if we get angry and say the things that we think, a lot of times we'll miss the situation and it'll get worse. But if we just remain silent and allow God to fix it, it turns out for the better.