Day: May 11, 2020

Dreamers: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway” With John Gage of Appalachian Gear…

Dreamers: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway” With John Gage of Appalachian Gear Company

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

There is one piece of the puzzle that is the most important above all of the strategies and tactics: you have to believe in yourself and believe in what you are doing. If you don’t have that belief, how will others believe you?

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing John Gage of Appalachian Gear Company. John Gage has spent the majority of his career in the textile industry after graduating from North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles. His experience includes Quality Assurance, Plant Management, and Sales in the Automotive, Industrial, Apparel, and Textile Chemical industries. Gage has been an entrepreneur since the age of 29, when he and his business partner Mike Hawkins designed and built their first business in the apparel and industrial fabric dyeing and finishing industry. Gage and Hawkins have since launched two other businesses including their current endeavor, Appalachian Gear Company.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I have always enjoyed making my own things from various parts — like bikes, musical instruments, treehouses, skateboards, etc. When it was time to go to college, I didn’t really know what I wanted to study. My father asked his cousin, who was an executive at a large textile company, to give me a plant tour and talk to me about the industry. As soon as I walked in a textile plant for the first time, I completely understood the entire operation. It all made sense to me, and I knew immediately that textile manufacturing was the place for me. At the same time, NCSU recruiters were coming to my high school so I was most likely their easiest sale. In fact, I think I was the only person from my high school to go into textile studies. I have also always loved the outdoors, especially the mountains, because of the mystery and adventure. I played team sports growing up and always loved to compete, but I really loved being in the mountains camping, backpacking, biking, paddling, or just exploring. As a youth, I went to an outdoor skills camp in the NC mountains — Camp Mondamin. That’s where I originally learned most of the skills I have to this day. Mondamin has a strong family tradition with multiple generations of families attending or working there over the years. My family is no different, as one of my sons also went there as a camper, and both of my sons worked there as counselors for a number of years. So, the combination of my love for the mountains and outdoor adventure and my love for being able to manufacture things ultimately led to where I am now: making performance garments for the outdoor lifestyle market. I also can’t overstate the importance of another key piece of the puzzle. My business partner, Mike Hawkins, and I were a part of the Textile Industry when offshoring virtually obliterated the entire domestic apparel manufacturing base. As a result, we had to shut down the manufacturing business we started — a business that we literally designed and built from scratch. We designed & built the building, installed the machinery, and poured everything we had into it over a decade-plus. We provided good jobs, good salaries, good benefits, and opportunities for advancement, and it vanished virtually overnight. Having to tell an entire company that they no longer have jobs was incredibly hard to do and is something that has stayed with us ever since. So, we went our separate ways for a few years but realized we had to start another business, and we had to prove that you could still successfully start a textile business in the United States. It was a challenge that we could no longer ignore and that is what ultimately led us to to the formation of Appalachian Gear Company.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Absolutely. The formation of Appalachian Gear Company was not only a challenge, it was a leap into the unknown with only two possible outcomes: failure or success. There was going to be no middle ground for us because we weren’t just starting an apparel brand using the same tired materials everyone else uses. We decided to invent a new class of fabric. We did this after years of research proved to us that no one else had ever been successful doing what we were planning to do: produce a line of lightweight performance garments made from 100% Alpaca Fiber without using synthetic blends or harsh chemical processing. So, the result was that we developed a lightweight knit fabric as well as a lightweight fleece fabric from 100% Alpaca Fiber. Alpaca fiber has been gaining a lot of attention in recent years because it is a high-performance natural fiber that places it in a class by itself. Alpaca is very light and strong. It is highly insulating, yet it provides superior personal climate control in hot or cold weather because it absorbs very little moisture, yet in fabric form, it is highly breathable. To finish it off — on top of being successful creating the fabrics in the first place, we succeeded in another first: even though our fleece hoodies are super light, they are very durable and stable enough that they can be laundered & tumble dried without significant shrinkage.

So how does this help people?

Our product’s most important benefit to consumers is providing a natural fiber high-performance alternative to synthetics. Our product is not just an alternative — it actually raises the bar for performance fabrics because Alpaca Fiber offers performance characteristics unmatched by synthetics. This is very important for everyone because science and empirical data have shown us beyond a shadow of a doubt that microplastic pollution of our environment is happening on a larger scale than anyone imagined, and synthetic clothing is a significant contributor to microplastic pollution. The entire outdoor apparel industry is built around synthetics, such as polyester & nylon. The outdoor consumer of 2020 is aware of environmental issues and is assertive in seeking more environmentally friendly alternatives. Our products give consumers a clear choice rather than jargon.

To a lesser degree, we feel that our success thus far is further evidence that there is a growing movement of small manufacturing businesses — especially in the outdoor market — providing a roadmap to future entrepreneurs. Small business creates jobs. Global industries generally erode jobs through mergers that lead to job cuts as a result of automation and redundancy.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

Appalachian Gear Company is currently the only company in the world that manufactures a lightweight fleece layer made from 100% Alpaca Fiber. Further, our product can be washed and tumble-dried without significant shrinkage. Even though our product is lightweight, it is tough enough to routinely withstand 2,000+ mile “thru-hikes” of long trails such as the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail — and can still be worn to your favorite restaurant after finishing.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

The formation of Appalachian Gear was such a time! We had researched alpaca fiber privately for a number of years, and when we determined that it was time to put our plan in place, we began reaching out to industry contacts and were universally told that we could not do what we were trying to do. We were told that many people had tried it unsuccessfully over the years. In general, we were told that alpaca fiber needed to be blended with synthetics in order to produce a stable performance fabric. This was actually NOT a deterrent to us. It was exactly what we wanted to hear because we wanted to do something that had not previously been accomplished. We knew the market was ready for a natural fiber alternative — so this was not an accident. We knew going into it that this would be a “pass/fail” situation. No in-between. We had no intention of using synthetic blends as a fallback position because many people already make synthetic/natural blends, and there is nothing special or differentiating about that. Additionally, we were trying to prove that there are alternatives to relying solely on synthetics for performance fabrics.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

We were successful in creating the first trail-worthy 100% Alpaca fiber products that have proven tough enough to endure thousands of miles of adventure.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Most people’s support network is generally more extensive than they realize, and mine is no different. Success never happens in a vacuum, it doesn’t happen while you are sitting on your couch, and no one hands it to you. Success is deliberate and it happens through hard work and perseverance. The support network catches you when you fall. There are seven people who are my support network: my parents, my two brothers, my wife, and my two sons. There is one person who has been my co-conspirator for almost 30 years: my business partner Mike Hawkins. I would say that having a strong business partner is very important to success. There are plenty of “individual” entrepreneurs who have been successful and visionary. But, having a partner is important because in most cases, partners don’t always see eye-to-eye, and the result of that is the emergence of new ideas and directions. Some people would explain it as a compromise, but it is virtually never a compromise, especially with entrepreneurs who have strong opinions. Rather, it winds up being a stew of blended ideas that turn into the “secret sauce” of success. People often ask us what our individual responsibilities are, and we used to try to explain it, but in the end, we would just say “I do X, and he does Y” because to explain what actually happens has proven difficult even for us.

I had two bosses (at different times) at a big corporation I worked for out of college. They were very influential to me in understanding how to navigate large organizations and how to be effective. One was freewheeling and independent, and one was a straight down the middle taskmaster. Both were very smart and approached their jobs very differently. Both allowed me to operate independently, which was my strength, but with the understanding that I had to perform or I would be out of a job. I was the young kid at that time. I was competitive, and I would fight for what I thought was the right direction. The taskmaster boss was great because there was a definite line that I would cross from time to time, and he would say “I understand why you did that, and it worked this time, but if you ever do it again, I’m going to fire your ass.” That was very helpful for me at the time, LOL. The freewheeling boss was great because he would let me angle for a fight, but in preparation, he would ask me open-ended questions to prepare me. Most of the time, the answers to those questions wound up pointing back to me. Those were valuable lessons because it taught me to be able to look at what I had done objectively first.

Finally, there was one person in college that was important: my advisor. I didn’t have a lot of contact with him, but we had a pretty good relationship. I wasn’t the best student or teacher’s favorite, but as my college career wound down and we were all interviewing for jobs, I went to my advisor and told him that I really didn’t want the type of “grinding” job that was being offered to most folks and I didn’t know exactly what to look for. His exact words were, “I’m not worried about you.” That was kind of Yoda-esque at the time and I didn’t quite get it, but I thought about it every time I started something new and every time the walls were crashing around me. Make no mistake — as an entrepreneur, the walls will crash, and you have to keep moving forward.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

There really isn’t such an experience. I feel like I have always been very independent. But, it is very important to point out that I had exceptional parents that allowed me to go my own way, and always supported me. I feel very lucky in that regard.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

I would shy away from using the term “strategy” because it alludes to a step-by-step process to achieving your goals. Though there are certain research, planning, tactical, and strategic steps everyone has to take to achieve goals, the fact is that there is one piece of the puzzle that is the most important above all of the strategies and tactics: you have to believe in yourself and believe in what you are doing. If you don’t have that belief, how will others believe you? One of your previous questions was regarding people that contributed to success, and in endeavor, you have to find people who believe in what you are doing, because success doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

There really is only one quote that stands above all of the rest, and it has been attributed to different people: “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I really don’t feel like a person of influence! If I could inspire a movement, it would be to provide energy toward the re-emergence of small manufacturing businesses in the USA. Small business creates jobs and opportunity, as well as competence in new skills which lead to job mobility. Small businesses provide a sense of “team” and “family” that massive, impersonal corporations are absolutely unable to provide. Small businesses are more inclined to collaborate and network with other small businesses. Small businesses are in fact the engine of our economy. If we can teach just a handful of people new skills and if we can just influence ONE person to launch an entrepreneurial business, then we will have contributed to the cause, and that will be something to be proud of.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

IG & FB : @appgearco

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

Dreamers: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway” With John Gage of Appalachian Gear… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dreamers: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway” With Ashlee Froese

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

It’s important to differentiate between naysayers and constructive criticism. With respect to naysayers, to be honest, I don’t really pay that much attention to it and view them as background noise. I know my strengths, but I’m not too proud to listen to constructive criticism or feedback from those whose opinions I respect and value.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ashlee Froese. Ashlee is a lawyer and trademark agent who is recognized by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Certified Specialist in Trademarks Law. With over 10 years’ experience practicing branding and fashion law, Ashlee provides a deep understanding of brand-protection strategies. For the past 3 years, Ashlee has also been recognized as one of the Top 1000 Global Trademark Lawyers by the World Trademark Review, and in 2019, she was awarded the Lexpert Zenith Award for her role as a legal changemaker. Prior to launching Froese Law, Ashlee was a partner on Bay Street. Ashlee is a frequent guest speaker and published author on branding, entertainment and fashion law; she has lectured at universities, cultural institutions, law societies and industry associations throughout North America and has been published in numerous magazines and academic publications. In 2015, Ashlee led a movement to allow the fashion industry to be eligible for government funding in Canada, paving the way for current and future fashion entrepreneurs. She is also one of the legal experts on the Ontario Cannabis Act, since the passing of bill C-45 back in November of 2017. Ashlee frequently provides her commentary to the media on leading branding and fashion law matters. Ashlee has had a tremendous impact on the Canadian legal community and continues to modernize the way that law is practiced. Due to her determination, leadership and strong entrepreneurial skills, Ashlee has become a leader and a trailblazer in the North American legal community.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I am a branding, fashion and entertainment lawyer. I have been practicing law for over 13 years. For the first 10 years of practicing law, I was on Bay Street, which is basically the Wall Street of Canada. I fast tracked to becoming a partner in 6 years, which is pretty quick in the Bay Street world. I am recognized as a Certified Specialist by the Law Society of Ontario in Trademarks Law, and I am one of only 6 female lawyers in Ontario that hold that designation. I have also been recognized as one of the top 1000 Trademark Lawyers globally for the last 4 years.

A little over 2 years ago, I launched my own law firm, Froese Law. It is a law firm that caters to business to consumer branded businesses (i.e. fashion, cosmetics, influencers, DJs, celebrities, food, beverage, restaurants, etc.) Our clients range from multi-national global organizations to start up entrepreneurs.

We secure intellectual property assets, protect competitive advantage, structure businesses, manage clients’ third-party relationships, finesse their branding and negotiate commercial agreements to ensure that their businesses are ready for success in both Canada and the U.S. Whether you are a new brand launching in Canada or the U.S., an established brand going global or an international brand entering the Canadian or U.S. marketplace, we ensure that you are protected.

I am delighted to advise that last year, I received an award from the legal community for being a changemaker in law. Only 39 lawyers across Canada received this award.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I’m always making moves to grow and develop. There are certainly some exciting developments coming up in 2020 — we’re growing our team and developing our range of services to better help our clients. Ultimately, Froese Law was built on the premise that we are an ally to our clients’ success. We help our clients build their dreams into a reality so that they can shift pop culture.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

We’re tearing down the ivory tower construct of traditional law and we’re proud to be doing things differently. We’re probably the only law firm in Canada that focuses exclusively on business to consumer branded businesses in a holistic way. Because we have this industry-specific focus, we can see the trajectory of our clients’ businesses in a way that, perhaps, they cannot see. We bring business savvy to help our clients get deals done so that they can grow. We also are creating a law firm atmosphere that truly allies with our clients for their success.

I left Bay Street as a partner to launch my own firm. This is a gutsy move as being a partner on Bay Street brings stability and financial reward. However, I had conviction that there was another way to practice law and to provide value for my clients. I was honoured when I told my clients that I was launching my own firm that they not only decided to follow me to my own firm, but many also told me that they were waiting for me to make this decision.

It’s important to differentiate between naysayers and constructive criticism. With respect to naysayers, to be honest, I don’t really pay that much attention to it and view them as background noise. I’m smart, savvy, knowledgeable and I work very hard. I know my strengths, but I’m not too proud to listen to constructive criticism or feedback from those whose opinions I respect and value.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

By working hard. There’s no better way of proving ‘haters’ wrong than by simply buckling down and working as hard as you can!

As cheesy as it may be, I’m very grateful to my parents for being excellent role models. They were always passionate and dedicated to their careers, which is a trait that I got from them.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resilience? Can you share the story with us?

When I was an articling student, I was working at a law firm and the ‘sage’ advice (said sarcastically) of my mentor, who happened to be a woman, was to cut my hair, dye it brown and to not wear high heels, in order to be taken seriously. I remember thinking that it was a bizarre formula for success and didn’t really apply to me. (If you meet me, you’ll quickly understand why: long blond hair and skyscraper heels.) I guess I didn’t really know it at the time, but I intrinsically rejected the notion that in order to be successful in law, you have to ascribe to a certain look or mentality. I realized at that time I was given that advice, that the firm I was working at had an expiration date in my life. That was not the type of environment that I would flourish in.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

1. There’s no such thing as luck.

Knowledge is power. Preparedness is key. You may be able to get your foot in the door through sheer luck, but your ability to close deals is a result from knowledge and preparedness.

2. Don’t ask, don’t get.

You have to be your own best advocate and assert for what you are owed. No one else should be able to do this better than yourself.

3. Identify your talents and your shortcomings.

You’re not supposed to be amazing at everything. Play to your strengths and have an appreciation of what you’re not good at. Find people who can fill the skill gaps you have.

4. Your network is your net worth.

Find a career that you’re passionate about and build a network that inspires you and one that you trust. This will make a world of difference if you’re choosing to work for the next 30 years or so.

5. Don’t forget to live your life.

Despite being a lawyer and a business owner, I’m a big proponent that you should work to live, and not the other way around. Life is short and you only have one.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

I’m a big fan of the sentiment: “it’s easier to hate than to create”. This is why I give little credence to naysayers.

I build my firm with the purpose of enabling people to build their dreams. In order to do that, they need to believe in themselves. So I guess for me, I’d love to inspire more people to tap into their potential and believe that they can achieve what they want out of life — whatever that may be.

Where can our readers follow you on social media?

You can follow my firm Froese Law at @Froese_Law on Instagram and Twitter and @FroeseLaw on Facebook. You can follow me at @Ashlee_Froese on Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you for all of these great insights!

Dreamers: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway” With Ashlee Froese was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Of Beauty: “Skincare Lasers You Use At Home” With David Bean of NIRA Skin

Similar to the way that retail, online, computers, TV have transformed, we’re on the precipice of a beauty industry transformation. No longer will consumers need to go to dermatologist but they’ll be able to get great results at home.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years I had the pleasure of interviewing David Bean. David is President & Founder of NIRA Skin. In 2003, our founder, David Bean, created the core semiconductor laser diode technology used in professional medical systems costing $50,000 to over $100,000. Mr. Bean’s first company, SemiNex Corporation, still provides the majority of laser diodes used by medical professionals around the world. By harnessing innovations in both microprocessor and semiconductor laser technologies, NIRA now makes professional technology affordable, simple and enjoyable to use at home.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was working in the telecommunications industry where we made the best laser diodes for amplifying laser signals. When that collapsed, I thought why don’t we transform the medical industry using the laser diode technology. After being laid off, I formed a diode company, SemiNex, to make the best laser diodes for medical and military, which grew into the dermatology and skincare industry as well. Because of the technology, we now have the ability to adjust the laser wavelength rather than the laser being a solid state, so we were able to make it more available to others and bring it to the home market in an affordable way. Today, NIRA skin produces the best in class at home professional dermatology using the highest technology laser diode with all of the benefits, but no side effects such as redness and pain.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

While I was working in telecommunications industry at a Fortune 500 company, Len Debenedictis approached me and was looking to transform the medical industry with diodes. At the time, we thought it was a great idea, but working at a large company, they didn’t want to pursue the opportunity. When the industry crashed and I was laid off, I remembered that conversation and called Len for advice, where he encouraged me to start my own company. Based on that, I took steps to start SemiNex with an eye towards transforming the medical space. That meeting was a pivotal meeting to drive me to become an entrepreneur.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

For NIRA Skin, our tipping was when a small home shopping network in the UK, Ideal World approached us to do TV shows demonstrating and selling the NIRA device. We launched in December 2018 and immediately sold out at our first show, three times over! I think for us, that demonstrated consumers loved our product, when we can showcase it in a visual and instructional way so they understand the product and how to use it! To that end, it brought us to the point of launching on QVC this month (March 17th) and we’re excited about the momentum as we grow the business.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

First, I’d say that I’m grateful for Len for encouraging me to start the company in the first place. Without him, it never would have developed into what it is today. Secondly, I’m grateful to the Board at my laser diode company, SemiNex, who encouraged me to spin off the company to create NIRA to address the home market and for allowing me to run both companies at once. With their guidance and support, NIRA is doing something really unique to the beauty market!

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

The cutting edge technology that NIRA utilizes is basically harnessing the power of the laser diode and utilizing it in a way for people to use at home (without visiting the Dermatologist or Dr) to rebuild collagen in the skin and reverse the signs of aging. The NIRA Skincare Laser, which currently holds 12 patents, transmits a non-fractional and non-linear laser fluence to gently heat the dermis above the point of heat-shock protein (HSP) formation and just below the pain threshold.

It was our goal to bring professional dermatology to the home market for people to easily and quickly gain the same results that they would if they visited the Dr. For example, most dermatologists use fractional lasers at wavelengths up to 1550 nm. NIRA uses the same semiconductor laser diodes tuned at 1450 nm which allows peak absorption in the dermis layers. NIRA uses a lower power per unit area and a non-fractional approach to avoid pain and erythema (redness) and spreads the energy over daily treatments over the course of a month, whereas the dermatologist typically treats with all the energy in one visit per month. Over time, the NIRA device puts in more energy than most professional treatments do in a single visit and NIRA generates equal or more skin rejuvenation.

Overall, when customers use the NIRA at home for 2 minutes per day, this will stimulate natural collagen production to plump skin and smooth wrinkles without any damage – revealing firmer, youthful looking skin. We’ve tested the device clinically on hundreds of women and men to achieve FDA clearance.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Like anything in life if you want lasting and meaningful results, you have to put in time and patience into the end result. Where our challenge lies with our device (Similar to exercise and diet), is that our customers don’t see immediate results. It takes time, as do the best things in life, such as learning and staying physically. In NIRA’s case, we require the body to literally rebuild itself. As the laser usage continues to help the body build more collagen and more skin to fill in wrinkles around the eyes. If our customers dedicate two minutes a day and for a couple months and stick with it, they will see real results. The challenge is overcoming that instant gratification, which is a prevalent in our culture.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

Definitely! For me personally, I think there is a huge pent up demand for really good beauty tech. Most products have historically over-promised and under-delivered. Because of the fact that Semi conductor laser chips are now more affordable, we’re going to see a transformation. Secondly, because of the accessibility of the technology, beauty is positioned to undergo a huge transformation. Similar to the way that retail, online, computers, TV have transformed, we’re on the precipice of a beauty industry transformation. No longer will consumers need to go to dermatologist but they’ll be able to get great results at home. And lastly, the concept of apps being utilized in the beauty industry really excite me. This summer, we’ll be launching an app through NIRA that tracks your progress, so people can actually see their own personal transformation through the app right on their phone. It’s really giving consumers the power to control their own path.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

First, I would say my biggest concern is lots of misinformation in the industry, such as companies overpromising and under-delivering. Because of this happening in the past, there’s still a lot of confusion and mistrust in the market. Thankfully the FDA provides guidance for companies to support their claims with real clinical evidence, which we do at NIRA. I think what we’ve seen over time is that similar to Botox and Fillers and Laser Hair Removal, the general public now sees it as a trusted technology, as they will for lasers such as NIRA. My second concern, however is that this does take time. The best way to improve and address this issue is through education and relying on the science of clinical studies and for consumers to do their due diligence in understanding and choosing the best products to use. Lastly, another concern is that topicals are not currently regulated by the FDA. Consumers need to be aware of ingredients and look at the claims companies are making. At NIRA, we sell a hyaluronic acid and put it together with very simple and natural ingredients so that our customers get the best quality product without all of the unnecessary ingredients that aren’t beneficial to the skin.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?

Yes, I love this question! For me, feeling beautiful is all about self care and to that end, here’s my 5 thoughts around feeling beautiful.

Good nutrition – I’ve changed my nutrition habits completely over the last three years. Previously I was eating the typical American diet with high sugar and fast food and have transformed into a mostly all natural and low carb diet with intermittent fasting. It has totally transformed how I look and feel.
Exercise. I exercise 4-5 times per week. You want ideally interval training to get your heart rate up and also weight resistance training to tone muscles. Ensuring enough exercise helps someone feel great about themselves.
Sleep. Everyone needs to get a good nights sleep to feel beautiful. Personally, I’ve developed routine where I don’t use an alarm. I go to bed at the same time (A nod to my diet and exercise routine) and I feel great doing so. I wake up naturally with the sun and have gotten into a rhythm over the past few years where I don’t need an alarm. I wake up feeling energized and refreshed and generally that makes one feel good about themselves.
Taking Care of Your Skin – I advise to use a really good cleanser without harsh detergents and natural moisturizers to help one feel beautiful about their skin.
Exercising your skin – Similar to your body, you also need to exercise your skin. For example, using the NIRA helps to reinvigorate and re-energize your skin to rebuild that collagen and keep the skin youthful, healthy and glowing.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

For me, I’d say it goes back to self-care. The 5 points above I mentioned also relate to ones spiritual and emotional health. I think it’s also finding your purpose in life. Find what you are good at and fulfill your purpose in life. Personally, I think that connection comes through with God and who He has made you to be. When we tap into what God gave us and tap into our purpose and live out that purpose….There’s nothing more fulfilling in life. I believe that connecting with the core attributes and beliefs that God gave you and running with them is the best thing that you can do in your life. And, I live my life in that way and hope to inspire others to do the same.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Do unto others as you’ve had done to you.” I believe that if you seek to serve other people in a way you want to be served, with highest respect honor and integrity then that will come back to serve you well in your life. I believe the key to finding happiness is utilizing your gifts and abilities, being thankful for what you have and giving to others. Through this, you’ll find incredible self-confidence and self-awareness. Looking internally rather then externally (such as entertainment, drugs, etc) will bring the truest sense of joy and happiness. Similar to what I’m doing with NIRA, utilizing the highest levels of science and technology and integrity, I’m helping to give people a way to transform their skin and build confidence in the meaningful way.

How can our readers follow you online?

Website – Also, join our email list: https://www.niraskin.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/niraskincare/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nira_skincare

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nira_skin/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCer2ZfZ31_xehdO1qFq5gxQ

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Of Beauty: “Skincare Lasers You Use At Home” With David Bean of NIRA Skin was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Future Of Beauty: “People who want their appearance to reflect their vibrant and healthy…

The Future Of Beauty: “People who want their appearance to reflect their vibrant and healthy lifestyles”, With Dr. Houtan Chaboki

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

The basics of good skin care and healthy appearance do not change. While a plastic surgeon might be able to help a person look their best, nothing replaces lifestyle choices to maximize your health and appearance.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Houtan Chaboki, MD.

Dr. Chaboki is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon based in Washington DC. His practice Potomac Plastic Surgery sees patients who travel for various cosmetic procedures. Dr. Chaboki earned his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University and his MD from the University of Illinois in Chicago in 2000. After completing his residency in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, he served as a facial plastic surgery Fellow. He continues to instruct other physicians in both facial plastic surgery fundamentals as well as more specialized techniques in facelift, eyelid surgery, and rhinoplasty. He takes an individualized approach with each of the men and women he treats, spending considerable time on each consultation to discuss both surgical and nonsurgical treatment options. His expertise includes preservation rhinoplasty, rejuvenation of the face, neck, and eyes.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

As is likely the case with many physicians, I enjoyed the sciences, but wanted more direct human interaction. I greatly enjoyed my time helping and volunteering at the local hospital when deciding on a career path. Based on my undergraduate engineering background, I knew I wanted a more technical and procedural-oriented specialty as I studied in medical school. I gravitated toward the field of facial plastic surgery due in large part to the encouragement from my mentors throughout medical school and surgical training. The field of facial plastic surgery has proven to be especially rewarding.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

We see many movers and shakers in our Washington DC practice. I’m lucky to see patients from all walks of life, even some on television, celebrities, and social influencers. Privacy is critical to us, so I can’t share specific stories. However, I’m reminded that everyone has similar cosmetic concerns.

Taking reasonable risk is vital for growth. Early in my career, I spent a considerable amount of time and resources building an online presence. The upfront cost and commitment were very high, but has paid off over time.

Another key lesson is the importance of developing your own vision, instead of following the crowd.

For example, a majority of plastic surgeons likely perform open rhinoplasty where a scar is placed between the nostrils to fully expose the nose, as this type of cosmetic nose surgery is easier to learn. However, I perform primarily closed, preservation rhinoplasty. This closed technique is more difficult to learn, but generally results in less swelling and creates smoother results for patients.

Well, I met my wife during surgical residency in New York. After getting her MBA, she was working very hard as a banker at a prestigious financial institution, while I was working long hours at the hospital. Despite our busy schedules, we managed to find some time to enjoy what that fabulous city has to offer.

I could not have become a successful facial plastic surgeon without her. She continuously challenges me, instead of just saying “don’t do that”. Her tough support made me stronger throughout the journey. In addition, the critical feedback never ends in one’s professional life. We continue to bounce ideas off one another in an honest manner as we both pursue our respective careers.

Something I think that might surprise many of your readers is that my patients are not primarily focused on looking more youthful. We also don’t use the term “anti aging” or try to get our patients looking younger. Rather, we’re seeing people who want their appearance to reflect their vibrant and healthy lifestyles.

In major metropolitan regions like Washington DC and one of the top fitness areas of the US, we see many patients who report not looking healthy despite eating well and exercising regularly. They complain of looking beaten, down, worn out, or tired. These professionals are optimizing their health with diet and lifestyle choices and want to also look healthier and more vibrant. Plastic surgery in our cosmetic practice is one part of the spectrum of personal optimization, which includes other aspects of health, grooming, and style.

Regarding technology in particular, we use unique combinations of relaxers (ex. Botox), cosmetic fillers, platelet rich fibrin (PRF), chemical peels, and surgery to help individuals look like a better version of themselves, not necessarily different.

Platelet rich fibrin (PRF) and micro infusion are the newest technologies being applied to cosmetic medicine to help improve one’s appearance by mitigating hair loss and improving skin.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

We encourage looking your best self. It’s important to know when to slow down cosmetic treatments and not go too far with any treatment. Patients can sometimes run the risk of going over the tipping point from natural to over done without the thoughtful evaluation of a plastic surgery specialist. You can be just one injection from too much!

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

Nothing yet compares to or replaces surgery. Significantly loose skin still needs to be lifted and trimmed. However, plastic surgery may be delayed or a reasonable alternative may be possible given recent developments in nonsurgical technology in the aesthetic space.

Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF). Many dermatology and plastic surgery practices already perform Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), but we are one of very few offices that offers PRF for cosmetic applications. There is some evidence that PRF may be better than PRP. We use PRF for hair loss, under eye bags, and skin rejuvenation. PRF is a natural treatment, without any additives.

PRF is a quick nonsurgical procedure where a small amount of the patient’s blood is drawn and immediately processed in the office to separate its component platelets, stem cells, and fibrin from the red blood cells. The PRF is then injected into the desired areas.

Micro Infusion. Micro Infusion is another new procedure used in plastic surgery offices. Micro infusion applies a custom cocktail of skin relaxers (ex. Botox®) and hyaluronic gels (ex. Belotero®) directly into the superficial dermis. Micro Infusion is significantly different from traditional micro-needling procedures.

The entire procedure takes less than 30 minutes with almost no downtime or recovery. Micro Infusion treatments can soften fine lines and wrinkles and deliver “glowy” skin.

Old dog, new tricks. Plastic surgeons are using existing injectables, such as Botox and dermal fillers, and surgery in novel methods. For example, relaxers such as Botox are used in a new method called “lip flip” to help create a pout without adding lip volume. Another example is nonsurgical rhinoplasty where fillers are used to temporarily reshape the nose without surgery. I’m using traditional cosmetic upper eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) techniques to surgically treat migraine headaches. Lastly, I use endoscopic sinus surgery techniques throughout the nostrils to decompress the bulging eyes of patients with Graves disease, to help limit external scars.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

Safety. As new treatments become available, plastic surgeons continue to assess the safety of each treatment. Cosmetic and aesthetic medicine should enhance one’s quality of life without unnecessary risk.
Over promise/under deliver. New technology comes and goes as patients and surgeons realize that the initial potential failed to deliver as promised. It’s important to carefully vet new technology and understand what the typical range of results will probably be,
Patient zeal. All plastic surgery patients should still have a little apprehension when having cosmetic treatments. What exactly is being done? Who is performing the procedure? It’s important to do your research.

To improve the beauty industry, I want to see disclosures whenever a physician (plastic surgeon, dermatologist, etc) or medical provider promotes a specific brand. Are they being reimbursed by a company? Prior to presentations in scientific meetings, all presenters are required to disclose conflicts of interest. Physicians in the office should also disclose potential conflicts to patients.

Another method to improve the beauty industry is to require mandatory ongoing training to ensure proper education as new techniques and technology become available.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

The basics of good skin care and healthy appearance do not change. While a plastic surgeon might be able to help a person look their best, nothing replaces lifestyle choices to maximize your health and appearance:

sun protection
healthy diet
adequate sleep
no smoking
hydration
gentle skin treatment

I once had a patient who wanted a full facial rejuvenation procedure with cosmetic eyelid surgery, neck lift, and face lift. This patient had significant skin laxity and excess fat, so nonsurgical options such as Botox or filler wasn’t really an alternative option. She was a smoker, and I asked her to quit otherwise I couldn’t do surgery due to her increased risk of infection and scarring. Quitting smoking had been very difficult for her previously. However, she was motivated to have the plastic surgery. She ultimately quit smoking prior to surgery and did not resume after she had her full face lift procedure. She looks and feels much better due both to her plastic surgery and quitting smoking. Other evidence supports that plastic surgery is a strong motivator to help patients make positive changes to their lifestyle.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Eat more plants.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Education never ends. As physicians and surgeons, we care about continually improving our craft. By studying and teaching, we ultimately improve the care we provide patients. Top plastic surgeons continually study.

How can our readers follow you online?

In addition to our cosmetic surgery practice website (https://www.potomacplasticsurgery.com), we’re on all the major online networks

LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/houtanchabokiplasticsurgerydc/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/HoutanChabokiMD
Twitter, https://twitter.com/FaceLiftMD
Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/faceliftmd/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Of Beauty: “People who want their appearance to reflect their vibrant and healthy… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Kyla L Tennin: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway”

Kyla L. Tennin: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway”

Use difficult or excruciating circumstances as opportunities for growth and advancement. For example, deliberately “look” for the opportunity in the opposition, it is there, you just have to identify it. Your key to growing and advancing while in and through the adversity is recognizing the opportunity.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kyla L. Tennin. Ms. Tennin is a transformational leader with core values of compassion (positivity), leadership, dependability, equality (fairness), and determination, has been an entrepreneur for nearly two decades, and successfully launched corporations within 30 locations, in 24 countries, on 6 continents.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I come from family of a generation of farmers and fisherman in Indiana who migrated to Illinois and then Mississippi who sold their products (e.g. corn, green beans, tomatoes, onions, etc., jams/jelly’s, pies, and fish) to neighbors in the community and local stores. My immediate family then migrated to North Carolina and Minnesota and lived in Minnesota for 40 years. In addition, during summers in Mississippi I use to play “store & marketing” and between the ages of 8 and 9 I started my own candy and frozen beverages companies, selling my products, which I harnessed from local stores as my “suppliers”, to kids in the community. As a teenager and then into adulthood I worked at The Good Earth health foods restaurant, US Bank, Wells Fargo Bank North America, J. C. Penney Company, Inc., Wells Fargo Financial, LLC., MEDICA Health Plans, Inc., and SunTrust Banks, Inc. Afterwards, I started a conglomerate corporation where several companies make up one large company, where lead and am legally responsible for the entire company as president, hire and fire employees as CEO, and select which companies we work with globally as CEO. I love my job because it aligns with my skills, passions, and career interests, hence what I used to play as a child!

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, currently I am in patent processes due to developing new product lines, processes, and methodologies for the food and beverage industry. The products will help people overcome obesity whom reside in obese prone areas based on statistics from the World Health Organization and individuals interested in maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle and teaching their children to do the same.

Eating healthy and being healthy physically is very important to me since due to two domestic violence relationships in my past provoking identity and insecurity issues, I ate my way into obesity from a size 0 to 24, weighing nearly 300 pounds, and was watched, ridiculed, persecuted, and laughed at in public retail stores and by my mother when I would go shopping for a new dress by stating “you’ll never fit into that dress, you’re so fat you’re bigger than someone’s house”. As a result, I had to rely on my childhood passions, ingredients, what I learned from working in the health foods/restaurants industry, and in undergraduate as pre-medicine to craft solutions to my health crises. I lost a total of 170 pounds, approximately 100 pounds the first time and 70 pounds after I had regained the weight due to poor eating habits and needing a healthy lifestyle mindset change, and want to continue helping others achieve similar victories.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

Our firm has authentic purpose. To demonstrate, we seek to establish and enhance businesses and economies by creating and building our own organizations and helping other companies with theirs. As an exemplification, our vision is to restore and empower clients, communities, and individuals who have encountered complexities, catastrophes, been overlooked, counted out for recovery, but have major innovation capacity, misunderstood because of crises or unethical leadership, reduced to limited resources, need revitalization, and seek growth to improve stakeholder value and benefits, build successful enterprises, and create household brands.

The mission of our organization is to use our expertise, leadership, and dependability to create and grow companies, enhance performance, and lead clients through change to improve economies. For example, in our advisory and consulting practice where we assist corporate clients with various forms organizational development, we work with our clients through actionable solution implementation for tangible results instead of just recommending a solution after locating the problem and then leaving our clients behind.

Yes. I was mainly told the parent company of our organizations was impossible, “not realistic” were the verbatim words of my naysayers. Naysayers told me they operate in reality which I need to come down to because my head is in skies and I do not operate in reality. I laughed because I had “learned” my naysayers and was, not to offend anyone, aware of their distorted mindsets and misunderstanding about me, my life purpose, goals, and dreams. To explain further, a previous pastor of mine told me I have too many entrepreneurial ideas and need to select one and purse that as a life-long career because pursuing multiple or too many ideas was not feasible.

When I left his church and moved to a new city and state God told me to move to where I would advance in entrepreneurship, after some time the eldest daughter of my new pastor told me entrepreneurs should be successful with a certain amount of time and since I did not have some of the materialistic things she thought I should have by then I would essentially not be successful at my ventures for too long. Meanwhile, my mother would tell me I should not pursue entrepreneurship, my dream of becoming a doctor, a publisher, developing products or helping clients develop theirs, or traveling to foreign nations to work with major corporations or clients because it was risky and terrorism is everywhere; I should just get a job at the local gas station or family dollar store.

Inclusive, in later years when business within our entertainment practice was steady and strong although we did not have fringe benefits for employees and benefits major companies had, an “independent contractors” (go figure) who wanted to work for me full-time at some point as a Marketing Director told me so, but I advised her I although I was interested in her offer, she would have to wait. With being upset she later told me essentially to forget about it because she wanted to work for a real company with real benefits. I believe her reaction stemmed from being jealous of me after learning about my work and aspirations over time and seeing me advance anyway.

Moreover, a past friend of mine who I knew for about 3–5 years before starting my first company told me on the phone one day while standing in my new home (go figure), so you make money by doing what you’re doing, “that” is really working for you, and you’re going to keep doing it? I did not know what to say to his comments and found them bizarre since he was supposed to be my friend and believe in me and my dreams. Like the other naysayers, I ignored his comments, silently disconnect him from my life, and charged forward with my passions and entrepreneurial ideas. My ideas were of creating advisory & consulting, products, real estate, food & beverage, publishing, and education small businesses, for example, within one parent company to resolve economies and corporations complexities while also addressing societal ills. I later discovered Meredith Corporation, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Hearst Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment, and Oprah Winfrey’s media conglomerate are similar organizations and the term serial entrepreneur exists, so my ideas were not so crazy or impossible to pursue after all.

Moreover, when you read all of my accomplishments, I do not list them to brag, but to make a point. The same naysayers who said I would not advance and who did not want me to advance are still doing the same things to today for careers they were doing when I first pursued advancement and entrepreneurship. They have not achieved anything in decades, except for two of the individuals who ventured out and accomplished a couple of things, but not on the scale I have. If I would have followed their plans and purposes I would be just like them. I mention all of this to encourage you to pursue your dreams because they are “your” dreams, not someone else’s, so you are responsible for initiating them into fruition.

Furthermore, tremendous opportunities and once in a lifetime blessings could be on the other side of you moving beyond naysayers. Think about it, if you wait until naysayers no longer exist or are positive towards you, you could be waiting for decades or eternity. Start pursuing your dreams or entrepreneurship goals “now”, while “in” opposition and ”through” opposition. Time is in motion now.

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

What happened was when naysayers researched me to locate me years later they “found” I am successful. Many of them researched my company to call me on the telephone to get a hold of me, but I ignored the calls, continuously had their calls transferred, and they eventually stopped calling. Others sent emails to individuals they knew worked for me and emails directly to me. They also wanted to come see me in person. I found a lot of this funny because the question was, for what; I even supported some of their dreams, but they did not support mine?

After all of those years and negative things done to me and said about me even to other people to spread inconclusive and inappropriate things about me and my aspirations was wrong and an apology could have been immediately stated over email throughout those years or even years later when they “found” out the truth. Numerous opportunities to apologize were present, all you have to do is contact someone because you are mature and know you were disrespectful, not when you find out “I did it anyway”, “I made it anyway”. One of the individuals who is a family member of mine and was a naysayer did not apologize. When she found out about how she was wrong about me and my success she was in shock and called other people on the telephone like she normally does to tell them, but did not speak to me directly.

Yes, God is the one who helped me. He kept me encouraged during the rough times and provided strategies, insight, connections with key people, and resources, including financially to move me forward, opened new opportunities, and advised me on how to establish and run corporations even though I did pursue higher education too. To demonstrate, God was the one who told me which academic institutions to attend, which courses I needed to start and expand companies and for which products and services, which corporations buy products and services our firms offer, and extensive details about patent processes, methodologies, streams of income, and expansion connections into various nations. I also heavily relied on Him for insight and foresight regarding identifying people who did not have my best interest and were more than naysayers, but dream killers and destiny thieves, trying to indirectly and directly hinder me from going somewhere in life because they were going no-where. Finally, the naysayers helped me greatly, more than I could ever put into words because they grew my character, strength, reputation in places and spaces I would never go to, among people I would never associate with, and caused me to develop tenacity, maturity, and perseverance in the face of deliberate opposition and people’s doubt.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

Yes. My childhood was great because of resiliency and God protecting me, but overall my home life was unstable and abusive. Growing up I did not live with my father who had 8–10 other children, remarried, was an alcoholic, and is now deceased due to alcoholism. I lived with my mother who was always in a relationship with a different man and attending night clubs which was typical for women at her age at that time with young children. Later down the road the vulgar verbal, emotional, and spiritual abuse towards me began when I started telling her my career dreams and actually pursuing them.

My mother was very manipulative and abusive, tremendously cruel and would do so behind the regular public and extended family members backs. Some of her abuse included shouting, telling me I would never have my own home or a job because I have natural nappy hair, she would throw and break things, bang on the door to my room with her fists in rage at random times to disturb me, my work, or during public relations interviews in my early entrepreneurship years, stalk and harass me, break into my locked room I kept locked (she would steal from other people and had stolen from me) when I was out for the day to mess things up things I had in order because I am an orderly person, she would throw trash into a trash can I had just emptied for the week, sweep the floor and put what was in the dust pan into my shower and tub to make it look like I had not cleaned it, shout obscene words, she wanted me to walk to stores or find a ride to places I needed to go to because she did not want me using her car because I was likely to advance by looking for my own place to live, visiting clients, or getting much needed errands completed, when guests would visit she would talk about how good God is and pretend to praise and thank God for things and would speak nicely to me around them asking me why I stay in my bedroom and do not speak to her, when guests left she turned malicious again, she repeatedly tempted me by stating she would call the police on me to have me removed from the home and taken to jail which I believe she said out of anger because she could not offend, control, or limit me, she regularly stated how I should get the hell out, and she would leave nasty notes on my old beat up car in the library parking lot (when I finally had some sort of transportation) stating to “get a job” and “get a real job” when I would go to read for the day, contact clients, and was working on entrepreneurship.

Also, in the home, another sibling of mine would block Christian television channels in the home so I could not watch them and receive inspiration. My mother, would yell my name from her bedroom to cause a disturbance, in the summers sit outside of my window in a chair with the back of the chair up against the window and with gardening utensils to pretend like she was gardening, but was stalking me and would then would pretend to clean the window right before banging on the window loudly to create a disturbance, she would also take dinner for the evening to work the next day in the pans she cooked it in and sat in the trunk of her car so I could not eat, and much more.

These behaviors were not overnight, but occurred for years, primitively when I decided to wholeheartedly pursue my dreams and entrepreneurial ideas full-time after a job layoff and went to live with my mother for a while. As a result, some of the major set backs I had while pouring into my business ideas were losing everything, some things twice, and then facing ridicule while trying to recover. Family members who lived near me or a few hours away did not ask me if I wanted to live with them and essentially left me for dead. All of the adversity and naysaying over the years built resilience in me and a desire to succeed because other women and girls and even boys and men climbing the ranks in life after me would encounter hardships and naysayers too and need to see a real overcomer. I now own a conglomerate corporation, with two headquarters, operate in 26 countries, and on 6 continents.

Lastly, while essentially homeless at a point in my life, I still completed doctorate degree credits and took classes online at institutions like Yale University, University of Cape Town South Africa, and IE Business School Madrid Spain with God’s help and resources. All of the information I am sharing with you in this article, originating with Authority Magazine, is the first time I am share the information publicly. Privately, I shared the information with a couple of extended family members and asked them to keep the information confidential until I survived the adversities, naysayers, and became successful. Overall, the same people who left me for dead are shocked about how they never really knew me, underestimated me, I worked through adversity, and I still made it, anyway, without them.

Nevertheless, with all that I went through, I had to learn how to become resourceful and strategic to survive, grow, advance, and pursue my dreams using non-traditional approaches. A great deal of what I went through and how God lead me through and delivered me, especially from my mother, I write about in my forthcoming book series. Yet, to briefly discuss resiliency here, her abuse caused me to “want to pursue” my dreams even more and not to procrastinate to ensure I did not have to live with her in an unstable household for many years. Her actions also developed me to be able to handle naysayers and persecutors in the real world.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each).

Yes, here are five:

Use difficult or excruciating circumstances as opportunities for growth and advancement. For example, deliberately “look” for the opportunity in the opposition, it is there, you just have to identify it. Your key to growing and advancing while in and through the adversity is recognizing the opportunity. Hence, you can still growth and advance while “in” opposition, a negative situation, or unfavorable environment, which I am a testimony to. As an exemplification, everything you are reading in this interview about me, I accomplished while going through some sort of unfavorable circumstance and in more cases than not during the active attacks of naysayers telling me what I could not do, talking to one another about me in a negative way, and during excruciating hardships. What is interesting is the majority of the naysayers who had something to say and said the something, were inaccurate, did not know me, where not pursuing advancement themselves, and some would repeat what other naysayers were saying.
Vow to advance little by little. For instance, if you need to gain a skill to launch a product, service, or business, work little by little until you get there. A strategy could be going to a nearby library or bookstore retailer to read books for 5–10 minutes. When I could not check out books from a library although I had a library card, I did not have a car and was unsure of when I would be able to return books if I checked them out. As a strategy, I read library books while inside of the library I needed to give me wisdom to advance in learning product lifecycle processes before actually taking college courses in the subject. To learn, I took 20–50 photographs of books on my mobile phone to read offline at home.
Change your mindset. A prime illustration of this is when people go through bad events in life they think the events are always a set back, which they can be, but are not always. Advancement can come in disguise, so change how you see things by getting a new perspective, refocus. Here is an example, when naysayers tell you to stop doing something, say what you are doing is impossible, or talk amongst one another about how you will never make it, all of which people said about and to me, use what they say to learn about who they are and adjust your mindset accordingly. What they say will let you know where you stand with them, for example, if they are jealous, in hatred, insecure, trying to sabotage, childhood issues are at the root of their feelings, or they wish they were doing what you are doing. Learn people so you know how to handle them accordingly and “work around them” if you are required to be around them, like a naysayer you have to live or work with.
Develop an ignoring characteristic. This takes practice and is not a fly by night skill, but is doable because naysayers are “distractions”. I had to develop this aptitude over the course of years. The objective of doing so is so you can continue to move forward and accomplish things, even “in the presence of” naysayers without them knowing. I have done this for many years.
Know who you are, which includes your dreams and goals. This is very important for two reasons. One if you do not know who you are people will try to tell you who you are by placing labels on you or telling you who you should be, what you should do with your life or organizations, or perhaps not have a company at all, like in my case. I know about each from personal experience. Second, naysayers will speak negatively about you, your dreams, and goals on purpose in attempt to test you, your identity, to see if you know who you are or to stop you from moving forward by discouraging you. They see who you are, are likely to become, or are on your way to becoming, but do you? Knowing who you are will ensure you are not easily swayed or talked out of who you are by a naysayer; knowing who you are is connected to your personal growth, professional advancement, next level, and forthcoming blessings. Likewise, a colleague of mine calls such naysayers “confidence robbers” and I agree, including I believe naysayers try to place limits on people.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

Two of my favorite quotes are (1) “Do not try to get even, just get ahead” and (2) Rejected? Don’t worry about the reason, it was for a season. God is executing promotion” by Dr. Taketa Williams at Impact Christian Center Jacksonville, Florida, Oasis Outpour Church Columbus, Ohio, and Woman Arise (Out of the Ashes) Conferences.

I am not sure about a “movement” per se because the term movement reminds me of ethnicity based movement organizations and causes like the #MeToo movement. However, I am interested in two things, first, acquiring commercial and residential real estate property and receiving help with establishing homes for underestimated, uneducated, and underrepresented individuals, no matter the race, but particularly for girls and women. I would like the homes to be communities, subdivisions in a way, along with schools and a college, buses for field trips, 2 regular vehicles like SUVs for daily transportation to grocery stores and to purchase personal hygiene items, and staff to make meals and teach the residents about life skills, careers, entrepreneurship, and thriving in life after hardship, abuse, naysayers, and starting life at a disadvantage. My interest stems from personal life challenges and I would like to help, inspire, and transition women and girls who are going through or went through similar adversities.

Second, I would like to start another company, a venture fund for millennials between the ages of 16 and 40 who want to become entrepreneurs learn about and actually start businesses they kept in their hearts. I only told this idea to one classroom of high school students who asked me the same question. Further, I have been a part of various accelerators and speak to high school students and adults regularly about entrepreneurship, careers in business, and what studies to pursue in college to work their business as careers, while mapping out a 4 year plan for some of them on how to launch corporations to know what to do to advance forward when I am not around. Now, I would like to help financially fund their dreams and start-ups, to grow the economies they live in and support their future families/generations.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Yes, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DrKylaLatrice and Instagram @DrKylaLatrice .

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

Thank you for having me and for providing me with the opportunity to share my background, experiences, insight, and dreamer story!

Kyla L Tennin: “They told me It was impossible and I did it anyway” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.