A Model of Victory™

Tips from Testimony: Transcend Your Personal Boundaries ©

It can be debated when and why in which transformation takes place; on the other hand, the how has been proven, time and time again. It is the sheer will to change. Change can happen through deliberate choice or life's force; regardless, you can embrace and become empowered by change if you accept it as a charge to better your life and in doing so, you can create a beautiful transformation story of victory. If I have to describe my personal story and the concept of  A Model of Victory™ in three words, I would say: 

1. perseverance 2. prayer  3. praise. 

A Model of Victory™ is different for each person. Each person has an unique journey. What one has to deal with takes on many shapes of struggles and triumphs. Some stories involve living in a beautiful home, with wonderful parents, going to the best schools and getting the dream spouse and career, which make sheer will a little easier to cultivate because the support systems have been faithful and fruitful. However, some stories involve cases where the support systems weren't as reliable and ready to help. Issues with low self-esteem, physical  mental, sexual, or substance abuse, living in poverty, being fatherless or motherless, being bullied create the infamous feeling of "not enough"- not good enough, not holy enough, not pretty or handsome enough, not smart enough, not popular enough, and unfortunately, many more self-sabotaging labels some have allow to be hung around their necks! Contrary to these destructive mind-battles, sheer will is still present, it may be as small as a mustard seed:

"Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working." That's perseverance.

“For no prayer's unanswered and no prayer unheard." That's prayer.

“Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit: we cannot flower and grow without it.” That's praise.

A Model of Victory™ is your story, your family's story, your history or her-story, a personal testimony of transformation. My model of victory is threaded with forms of perseverance, prayer, and praise (View Go Higher video below). I'm sure, your story is threaded forms with victory. Day Three of 7 Days of Preparation: Launch the Transformation! focuses on One Woman's Testimony of Transformation: A Model of Victory™

Introduction

Being willing to serve others, full-time, is not the ideal career for someone in a materialistic  and capitalist society where CEO's are the rock stars. Yet, service is the highest form of leadership. Service is a valuable gift, talent, skill. Whether it is being introduced to helping others early in life by being a scout, or being a part of a youth club at church or school, or participating in children  programs at the local Y; serving is a choice. Moreover, some people served later in life through service learning programs in college or as a volunteer for a charity; serving is an obligation. Serving is being a loving parent, husband or wife, or grandparent; serving is an appointment.  Finally, service can be a career or life calling (anointing). I believe its my calling and my career. My goal of being a servant leader was cultivated through serving others, even in poverty, adversity and doubt. Honestly, at this moment I'm struggling financially, again. My choices have cause me to stretch myself. My daughter is in her last year of private college, my growing son actively participates in expensive athletic programs, and uncertainty looms among aging family and friends. So why write and talk about serving others when one have struggles to overcome? "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."  Remember Day One's lesson asserted that you must face it, then turn to your future. Day Two's lesson asserts standing still in a time of trial is a moment of empowerment. And on Day Three, I assert you must word and work your model of victory to transform! Attaining your goals and achieving success can come in many ways. My model is not the model society will describe as victorious, But God. Don't let other's tell your story. Let me describe the backdrop of my journey, facing dream killers and killing them before they killed me; it begins with this quote: "It always seems impossible until it's done.” ― Nelson Mandela

The journey begins

After 24 years of marriage, my parents decided to divorce; I was a young; neither of my parents attended college; my mother was a housewife; consequently, my new home was in a hot housing authority apartment - the projects- it included three siblings, headed by a single-mother faced with the realities of poverty. I endured the most humiliating experiences: homelessness, hunger and molestation. I witnessed hate crimes, violence, and community neglect. Nevertheless, through watching her at the good and bad times, the best of my mother provided everything she could and the worst of my mother still provided us, The Faulkner's, A Model of Victory™: 

• Faithfulness and excellence in the small things; 
• Love, respect, and dignity for family and neighbors; 
• Compassionate service and sacrifice will produce favor.

Despite the odds and the naysayers, I persevered through obstacles and did not succumb to the lethal force from a degrading and impoverished environment. Hope of a better life nurtured a focused motivation to rise above the poverty of my mind and my wallet. It was not easy. I am 43 years old, and it is still not easy. I have learned that poverty of the mind and wallet aren't the only enemies; a deprived heart and weak flesh are powerful adversaries. My life is not a Cinderella story- a Black woman; an unwed single mother of two children with different fathers, for most of my life living in subsidized housing and in poverty, or one paycheck from it ... just like the situation I grew up in. It seems I would have fallen to a doomed legacy, one that poverty and a self-righteous society bind to" impoverished, heathen, colored people". Living the “American Dream" seemed far for me to reach; nevertheless, I always believed victory was mine because my dream was only for me to have and only for me to destroy. 

The journey continues

I began to achieve the dream by turning my back to my past, and turning off the noise of the dream killers. I started planning my future in a standing but still place. I left my family and friends in 2003, moved to a new city to pursue education and service, and little did I know, to discover my passion and purpose. I left "corporate" and accepted a vocation in Nonprofit and Human and Community Services, a career that provides the culture of service but not necessarily fast monetary wealth, nevertheless, it is a respectable discipline that value positive changes within people, the community, and the world. While studying this discipline, I was afforded the opportunity to change my life in a purposeful manner and produced better options for me and my children while supporting others doing the same. Today, parts of my dream have yet to come reality. Still, I rise.

Persevering in the journey

God changed my journey. Commonly, first generational college students do not have the cultural, human, and cash capital to attain quality higher education. But nothing about you and me is common. Additionally, to successfully address and provide the needs of a community, one must be an innovator and a life-long learner. Within 11 years, after being laid off from a financial services company, then a supply-chain management company, I thought it was time for a change; the dream was not coming fast enough. Although this time, the change would be one I had control over, or I thought- a positive, calculated, and empowering change. I moved to Charlotte, enrolled in Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), my son in kindergarten, and my daughter in middle school. I worked two jobs, one in a women's work-release prison, every weekend, and between classes, I tutored first-generation college students in developmental Reading and Writing and facilitated study skills classes whiling serving as President of the Human Services Club where I stressed the importance of being a life-long learner and an agent of change within the community. I completed an A.A.S with a program 3.95 GPA and as the Human Services Student of the Year. Nevertheless, the journey continued. My dream included attaining a B.A. at a quality private college, with honors, serving my fellow students and attending national conferences, just as I did at CPCC. Attaining funding to continue my education was vital. I discovered taking the initiative, motivating and advocating for myself and others usher in the blessing. Just like my mother modeled. And so, through service and the generosity of others, I was awarded several scholarships, attended Queens University of Charlotte, a quality, private college. The tuition each year was more than my annual income! Many dream killers told me that I could not afford to continue in college; it was a luxury and too much of a sacrifice. Nevertheless, I believed that I could not afford not to. My children were witnessing their mother pursuing her dreams, persevering through obstacles to fulfill a mission of becoming a servant leader. Most importantly, witnessing the power of prayer. I completed a B.A. and graduated magna cum laude. At that moment, I had become a "qualified" servant leader, yet my dream was unfulfilled. 

Praying in the journey

I wanted to be married. I did not want to live at the brink of poverty anymore, working two jobs. I had grown weary in well doing. So, I moved to New York, with a promising man, believing this was the fulfillment of the dream, but here is the catch: Even though the dream is yours, you are not the Dream Master. Either you stay on the appointed path or your dream will become distorted. This is when I learned there is a poverty of the heart and body. H.A.L.T! when you're hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. But God, the Dream Master, delays with a purpose in mind and doesn't deny a repentant heart. I returned home, to Greensboro, NC, to learn best practices to proficiently execute my career goals, to serve in an excellent manner, and to taste humble pie. Norcross Graduate School at High Point University was the next stop. You see, Being talented was my plan, being transformed is the Dream Master's plan. 

Praising in the journey

In short, with amazing grace, while being unemployed, I completed a M.A. and more miraculous, my son entered middle school, my daughter graduated high school and was accepted into college at my alma mater, Queens! The first-generation doomed, prescribed cycle... broken, thus, even closer to a dream fulfilled, an excepted end. I can continue to give examples of the wonderful things that happened in my life while in the valleys, that are happening now, in the valley; however, I think you get the message. And stay tuned, I believe my journey doesn't end here. But just in case I didn't make it clear: God is the Dream Master who plants the dream and will give you a Dream Midwife or Dream Cultivators. I will end this written testimony in a way to honor my mother, a Dream Midwife. The Tips from Testimony is A Model of Victory™ I created for me and my family, the Faulkner's living legacy. I highly recommend you to create one. And I can serve you by helping you do that and walk with you in your journey, being your Dream Cultivator.

 Faulkner's Model of Victory™ 

●       Supporting, encouraging, and empowering others will enrich your life,

●       Perseverance and positive attitude leads to victory,

●       Unconditional love motivates others to change for the better,

●       Education is a trustworthy liberator,

●       Each person should live a life of dignity and autonomy,

●       God is in control of all things, and

●       Laughter is contagious.

Make The Shift Movement VBlog: CLICK TO WATCH! ------> Go Higher 

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From presentation "7 Days of Preparation: Launch the Transformation!" ©  

T. Nichole Faulkner Paradigm Coaching and Consulting ™ 336.508.6416 voicemail