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The Testimony of an Audience Member: Ebone Allen S.O. What! Success Story

As I stood before a packed gymnasium with every student in that high school in 2013. I spoke to the largest audience I had ever spoken to before. I nervously shared my story and hoped that I reached them, at least one of them. Ang gladly,…
Jenny Turner Koltnow
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Jenny Turner Koltnow S.O. What! Success Story

I enjoy reflecting on other people’s journeys (what I know of it) almost as much as I enjoy thinking about my own. When I was a student at the University of Memphis, I met this young advisor (Jenny Turner Koltnow) for one of the organizations…
regain control of your life
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Tips to Help You Regain Control of Your Life

We live in a very uncertain world where it can be difficult to regain control of your life sometimes. While many of us don’t like admitting it, there are a lot of things outside our control - much more than there are within our control.   Every…
expensive lesson no parking
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Expensive Lessons- My $1,200 Economy Rental Car

If you know me, then you know I appreciate free. But I think you'll appreciate these expensive lessons I learned on a recent trip with a brand new experience. My first in-person speaking engagement (since COVID) March 8, 2020, I flew home…
Summer Owens Juneteenth
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Why Honoring Juneteenth Matters

Yesterday, for the first time in history, Americans across the country honored Juneteenth as a national holiday. For years, many African Americans have celebrated the momentous occasion which commemorates the day in 1865. When former American…
LáDeia McNeal
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Turning a Positive HIV Diagnosis into a Positive Force for Change: LáDeia McNeal S.O. What! Success Story

When was the last time you had a challenging situation but you were able to look at the bright side or make something good out of it? Well, that’s usually easier said than done, but my friend, LáDeia McNeal does it beautifully.  After…
Almetria Turner
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When Transforming Your Body Transforms Your Life, Almetria Turner S.O. What! Success Story

Can you imagine someone weighing nearly 300 pounds becoming one of your health and fitness role models? As a high school junior, a few of my friends and I skipped a couple of days of school (Shush, don’t tell anyone). We spent those days…
Summer concludes sharing the lessons learned from her memoir with how to be successful in life.
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Persevere to the End

Today as I celebrate my 42nd birthday, I also reflect on my 15th birthday when an incident that happened so fast changed everything about my life. And made me question if I would be successful. What I learned in my journey, 26 years after…
Summer concludes sharing the lessons learned from her memoir with her five lessons from her life.
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10 years later. 5 More Life Lessons from My Story

Ten years ago, I shared my story and life lessons in my first book, Life After Birth: A Memoir of Survival and Success as a Teenage Mother. I had no idea then what would happen when I told it. A new chapter in my life started back then. And…