Fourteen years ago, I took a temp receptionist job at a manufacturing company because I needed work. It was not my plan. It was not my passion. It was a door that was open, and I walked through it. What I did not expect was what would happen when I decided to treat that temporary position like it was permanent. I learned the business. I cross-trained in every department that would have me. I asked questions, built relationships, and invested in every task like it mattered, because to me, it did. That decision compounded in ways I could not have predicted. Five promotions over fourteen years. A seat at the leadership table. The credibility to launch my own consulting practice. The platform to advise nonprofit executives and help organizations build the infrastructure to sustain their missions. The unexpected door was not the opportunity. My decision about how to walk through it was. I share this because I think women, particularly early in their careers, are sometimes waiting for the right opportunity, the perfect role, the obvious entry point. What I know now is that the entry point rarely looks like what you imagined. The question is never whether the opportunity is worthy of you. The question is what you are willing to build once you are inside.

The industry I spent my life avoiding became my purpose. I didn't grow up dreaming about this industry. I grew up around it. The noise, the dirt, and the kind of work that doesn't get dressed up or softened for comfort. I made the quiet decision that it won't be me. But what I once saw as rough, I started to see as real. What I once avoided I started to understand. What I once resisted I started to respect. This industry isn't just about metal, it's about people, relationships, grit and decisions that matter. I learned something I didn't expect, what I thought I was avoiding ended up being exactly where I was meant to be.

When I was a supervisor I prided myself in connecting coworkers across our 4 branches, in team-building, be it a work events or afterwork. The Regional Manager from our sister Branch reached out to me to see if I was interested in the role of Assistant Regional Manager after seeing all of the pictures I would post from the afterwork coworker friends events. I believe now, more than ever, businesswomen who build bridges in their work teams can elevate people to new heights of success!

My journey has never been about shortcuts. It has been built one step at a time through hard work, resilience, and the courage to keep moving forward. I started at community college, and that foundation carried me through my education and into a 30-year career at Bank of America, where I've grown through many different roles learning, adapting, and leading teams across changing businesses and challenges. Each role taught me something new about leadership: serve first, stay grounded, and lift others as you rise. None of this would have been possible without perseverance and the unwavering support of my family. This journey reminds me every day that where you start does not define where you finish. My motto is simple: Start where you are, use what you have, work hard, stay humble, and trust your own timeline.

I recently attended an HR conference and did not plan on getting a client. However, I ended up gaining a new pet sitting client from that experience which I am grateful for.

The moments that have changed my life started quietly: a conversation, a tiny risk, a feeling I couldn't ignore. Possibility rarely announces itself. It usually looks small and uncertain, right before it changes everything.

I went in for a book interview and left as co-host of the radio show.

Opportunity often arrives as a 'Stop Work Order'; a forced pause that feels like an ending but is actually an invitation to pivot. I've learned that the real cost of waiting for a perfect door to open is far higher than the risk of simply stepping into the unknown and building your own runway.

I invited my friend to speak at my rotary club and she invited her boss. Long story short, her boss hired me as site coordinator: my current job.

I randomly saw an ad for an Expert Coaching certification program (out of the blue) and now I am so fulfilled as an Integrated Mindset Coach! You never know how one new choice can change your life!

Opportunity/Lesson happened when I was very young (8 or 9), I showed someone a pot holder I made not thinking about making more to sell but this person ordered 4 and that was the beginning of my first real business.

It was the 1970's, a group of women met monthly to support each other in pursuing advanced degrees. It launched my doctoral journey.

I used to think opportunity was something you created through hard work alone. Instead, it opened up once I stopped ignoring what had been there all along: my own life story. The moment I found the courage to slowly and reluctantly share my lived experience with trauma and abuse, and let go of the shame attached to it, was the moment opportunities unfolded. The clarity was undeniable. The moment I stopped denying myself to protect others, an entirely new and expansive world opened up for my life and work. There is no looking back and not a single part of me wants to.

A small piece of paper on my desk, that I look at daily: God's timing, not mine. Patience with trust.

A single moment of serving one customer with kindness in a small Nigerian grocery bazaar became the spark that carried me to the U.S. as a first-generation honors scholar, earning multiple degrees, leading on campus, maintaining excellence, and even buying my first home while still in college, to every success that followed. That unexpected open door taught me that the quiet integrity we show in ordinary places can transform the entire trajectory of a life.

What I called 'gap income' was really God building a bridge. The contract work I thought was only sustaining me financially was quietly connecting me to the people, referrals, and opportunities that would carry me into my next marketplace assignment.

I've learned that possibility often whispers before it knocks. One unexpected moment rerouted my path and reminded me that blessings don't always announce themselves.

When a previous professional environment no longer aligned with my values, I transitioned into a sabbatical year. This period allowed me to leverage my existing skill set to launch my own venture, which is now fully aligned with my professional vision. This experience taught me that a closed door is often a redirection to a more fulfilling path, echoing the sentiment of Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." In addition, this transition allowed me to utilize my stackable skills in a role where I now provide wellness support to all team members.

Some of the biggest opportunities in my life came disguised as responsibility. Stepping in to help others during difficult moments revealed strengths, leadership abilities, and purpose I never realized I had and completely changed how I viewed what was possible for my future.