BWM
Black Wealth Magazine
Taryn C. St. Louis, November 2nd 2020 It has always been said that fortune favors the brave. This may be true, but history suggests that it also favors those who […]
Taryn C. St. Louis, November 2nd 2020
It has always been said that fortune favors the brave. This may be true, but history suggests that it also favors those who refuse to allow negative thoughts and emotions to linger. If we examine some of the most successful black celebrities today, we will find the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry who are perfect examples of modern icons whose childhoods were riddled with both poverty and abuse. It is therefore no wonder that our featured entrepreneur has identified them both as public figures who inspire her on her journey. Cindy Grigg didn’t come from a glamourous past but her resolve to remain in a positive mindset and achieve every goal she’s set for herself is nothing short of admirable.
She grew up in Glanvilles Antigua, the second child among 4 siblings. Her life was seemingly uneventful until her early teen years when divorce separated her family and life took an immediate turn for the worst. Cindy recalls sleeping on floors as her mother, who was forced to become the text book definition of a single parent, struggled to provide for and sustain her children on her own. Cindy describes those years as being the hardest of her life.
“Honestly, I grew up hard. We had to sleep on floors.”
Now a parent herself, she has vowed that her three year old boy, Elisha, will have all his needs met. That’s why the hustle never stops for this mother of one. Her first talk show, “The Cindy Show”, was a dream realized after years of procrastination. She recounts visualizing this goal since she was 13 years old. Why a talk show? One may ask. But, why not? She has the experience and fearlessness required to speak on various topics that would otherwise be considered taboo, and offer candid advice without the filters that most would employ to hide parts of themselves that they are afraid would be subject to judgment… judgment from those who simply stand on the outside of life’s big wheel of movers and shakers… judgment from those who are afraid to expose the truth of who they really are.
Since its inception 6 months ago, The Cindy Show has received support from hundreds of viewers on its social media platform, Facebook. This encouraged our charismatic entrepreneur to venture into new but familiar territory. Her second Talk Show, The Sisterhood Show, was visualized and executed with as much vigor as her first.
“The Sisterhood Show is all about about uplifting and empowering women”.
Constantly being in the public eye can expose anyone to serious criticism and in some cases, bullying both in cyber space and real life. Cindy has had her fair share of criticism. Her most recent stemming from a live video she posted on social media recounting her experience of feeling ill and subsequently passing out after being on the set of The Sisterhood Show the night before. In the live video, she made a few grammatical errors which were instantly added to the social media ‘funnies’ by those with an adverse sense of humor. The negatives of the video were highlighted and the positives were basically kept in the shadows. These events threatened to break her spirit, but she refused to fold. Cindy relied on prayer and positivity to overcome the constant attacks, and that she did!
She almost immediately conceptualized then launched a fun T-Shirt line captioning two of the most popular grammatical errors she made. The phrases were already being shared and re-shared on social media, so why not print them on a shirt? “I tooked in” and “I woke up unconscious” shirts were advertised for sale. Professionally designed by Sistah Souljah’s Hub and printed by Kay Inks printing services in Antigua, the t-shirts were made available in various colors and sizes. Cindy reports that close to 100 shirts have already been sold, with supporters posting themselves donning the shirts and tagging her on her Facebook page. This is how we turn a negative into a positive! Because the support was so promising, hats and masks with the same designs were soon made available. Although this was quite an enterprising move, she is fully aware of her errors and is now taking personal steps to continuously educate herself on various topics that can only enrich her in her capacity as a talk show host and entrepreneur.
Cindy has experienced her fair share of untrustworthy friends so she speaks from experience when she advises her fellow entrepreneurs to “know who your friends are and be mindful of those in your circle”. She further advises that we should only keep persons with a positive and progressive mindset around us and surround ourselves with those who want to see us win. She explained that negativity will always rear its ugly head when one is trying to push past the status quo, and there isn’t much that can be done about it, but it’s important that you don’t quit. “Keep pushing, pray and have faith because every day won’t be great but you can only succeed if you don’t give up!”
One of her greatest aspirations is to be able to give back to the underprivileged in her community. While this is both thoughtful and a wise career move, we believe she has already begun the process of giving back by being an example of how we should all work toward our goals; with optimism and without fear or surrender.
“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe.” It isn’t egotistical to believe you can succeed in life. By holding onto the belief that you will reach your goals and fulfill your dreams, you are keeping your mind positive.”
Oprah Winfrey
I am an entrepreneur. My main interest is to garner my people together both financially, mentally, spiritually so that we can all win!
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