Yvonne Jones

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself and be lenient to everybody else. ― Henry Ward Beecher Welcome to my latest blog post on self-discipline, where together, we will explore why self-discipline is a key ingredient for achieving success as a small business owner, and in every aspect of life. As an entrepreneur and business owner, I know firsthand the power of self-discipline and how it has helped me to overcome obstacles, stay focused, and achieve my goals. I also know first-hand... Continue Reading

Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ~ Unknown Many people appreciate that being kind is synonymous with showing you care about others.  On the other hand, others sneer at kindness in business and express the belief that if you’re too kind, you only set yourself up for others to take advantage of you. In fact, many people often show more kindness to animals than they do to fellow humans. I believe that whether it’s business or life in general, we’re dealing with other humans, thus there are always ways we can show kindness. It is true that in the stressful... Continue Reading

“Cockadoodle doo!” the rooster crowed for the third time. She wanted to pull the pillow over her head to shut out the persistent crowing of the rooster but knew it would not be wise.  It was time to get up and start her morning chores. Phil, as the rooster was named by one of her cousins, was her clock.  He first crowed at or around 4 o’clock every morning.  She was usually sound asleep at that time. Then he crowed again at 6:00 am. She knew this was his second round of crowing and that it was around 6:00 am, as she also saw a sliver of morning light beyond the curtains of the bedroom... Continue Reading

The little girl sat quietly with her hands crossed at her wrists. She smoothed out her dress with the frills on the skirt nervously.  Her guardian had told her she needed to be on her best behavior because a lady was coming to meet her. At five years old Donna was what her teachers described as a “very smart child” and she knew what it meant when Mrs. Coombs told her that a lady was coming to meet her.  She knew it meant that if “the lady” liked her, she may take her home on a trial basis. If she was happy with her, then she might consider adopting her. She did not reveal any of this... Continue Reading

As a girl of the 1950s and growing up in a small town in Jamaica, I was constantly reminded of the need to be conscious of other people’s opinions. “What will people say?” “What will people think?” “You know, people don’t appreciate that.” Who were these ‘people’ my mother was concerned about and why? It was ingrained in me to be concerned about what people think and avoid offending them. In my story of The Red Dress (below), the opinions of the matrons of our town clearly mattered to my mother. It was only my love for my beloved Cousin Vie at the age of 12, that gave me the... Continue Reading

Shara Lewis-Campbell is the co-founder of Beauty & the Beast Publishing, a book publishing and media company. In the spirit of Nadine Gordimer, Shara believes all writers have a social responsibility in all arenas.  Shara’s speciality involves publishing aspiring writers atypically from the industry, providing them with a voice and opportunity as social beings, creatively through independently published works, using their writings as a formula to demonstrate various aspects within society. It is her mission to create a concrete collective of authors into the industry who write from a place... Continue Reading

About Learning and Personal Development Maribel quickly identified that she was passionate about learning and development, especially personal development. Personal development is about developing yourself as an individual, so she flips the camera and directs it at herself. She spent a great part of 2020 doing a lot of self-discovery work.  2020 impacted Maribel along with other people. She embarked on a mission to discover her purpose and the meaning of life. New Goals in Life – Personal Journal She observed that she has done a lot of different things in her career and it’s very easy to get... Continue Reading

There is no script for how to handle grief. Everyone deals with grief in his or her own way. Because of this, we really should never judge anyone for how they react or behave when they’re faced with the loss of a loved one–whether family or friend. What we see may be only a part of the reality, and not the entire reality itself. I know this to be true because of my own experiences. The first was in 1994. Migration In the late 1980s, my family and I migrated to the United States leaving my parents behind in Jamaica.  It was really hard on all of us because I was their Caregiver even though... Continue Reading

In this episode, Laura Staley shares her passion for creating or guiding people to a holistic transformation. She explains that this may include people who have been traumatized and terrified in their space. They just haven’t felt at home in a physical space or physical environment, for whatever reason, and maybe they haven’t felt safe in their own skin and learned to value themselves. She further explains that sometimes people will have things in their physical space that remind them of, even a trauma, or remind them of a grief that they haven’t fully grieved. They feel obligated to hold... Continue Reading

Being kind to yourself is showing self-compassion. Many people confuse this with self-indulgence or selfishness, and so may be critical of you when you talk about how pleased you are with your results or express your delight at having achieved a milestone. Yet, they may have no criticism when you’re quick to congratulate someone else on their achievements. It is important to be kind to yourself, if not more so, than being kind to others. Treat yourself with compassion as you would a friend.  Respect your achievements as you would those of a friend.  There are many benefits to showing compassion... Continue Reading