The Queen of Hearts: The Confessions of An ‘Accidental’ Leader

I didn’t purpose to be in the space that I find myself in – Founder & CEO, Passionate Entrepreneur, EQ Fanatic and OWIT Nairobi President.  God plucked me from the path that I had set out for myself & set me on an alternative journey. At the start it all appeared somewhat ‘accidental’ but I know now that it was no accident, rather His design, His purpose for my life…

So now that I am here, these are my confessions…the lessons I am learning about being a woman in business, building an empire, one brick at a time…

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.”

—Orison Swett Marden

I have learned that it’s a long game.

I am blessed to have joined the Blaze BYOB team as an EQ coach. That’s just God doing His thing, but that’s a story for another day. As I listen to the amazing mentors share their story, one thing is very clear – it’s a LONG GAME! There is no such thing as an overnight success. To those on the outside looking in, it looks like opportunities just ‘fell in your laps’ but from the inside, you know the blood, sweat & tears that are associated with achieving your goal.

It’s not enough to be passionate. It’s one of the key ingredients to achieve success – but you need to do more than just love what you do, you need to be willing to make sacrifices to achieve your goal.

1. Go deep.

Invest the time, effort & energy to become a master of your craft. You are your greatest asset. Invest in YOU. Jealously guard your time & invest it in things that will shape you & enable you to achieve your goal.

A few years ago, I attended a Women On Boards Network conference & James Mworia was one of the speakers. He said something that has stayed with me to this day.  One of the ladies asked how to increase visibility so that organisations can see you & invite you to serve on their boards. His answer – be SO good at what you do that they come looking for you! He was right. Experts will always be sought out. I have learned to focus my attention at pushing the needle, constantly pushing myself to learn more, to ‘leave everything on the field’ and leave the rest to the Lord. I’ve talked about this before – the idea of moving away from being a Jack of all trades & concentrating on being a master of one.

• Be resilient.

Individuals who are high in Emotional Intelligence are resilient. Resilience is

often defined as bouncing back, but when faced with a setback, it may be

more productive to bounce forward.

Life can be tough. And dreams remain dreams if we are not able to stick it through the tough times or pick ourselves up when we fall. To achieve your goal – you must keep your eye on the prize, and focus on where you are trying to get to. Ask anyone who has achieved great things, and they will tell you that it took several tries.

• Leverage your emotions.

Your emotions are fuel that can propel you to the achievement of your goals. They are a gift from God, data that gives insight. Peel back the layers & get to the bottom of how you feel & why. There are no good or bad emotions, emotions are DATA. Become an expert at decoding your data, and turn insight into action.

Your emotions are an ally. Ask yourself;

What is this feeling trying to tell me? Why?

What can I do about it? What options do I have?

How can I leverage this feeling to blast me forward?

We ignore our emotions at our peril. The reality is that emotions drive behaviour. If you are going to achieve your goals, you need to channel your feelings.

I have learned that success is there for the taking, but it’s a long game. There’s blood, sweat & tears involved & you must keep your eye on the prize.

With Love,

The Queen Of Hearts

Mucha Mlingo

| Six Seconds EQ Practitioner | Master Trainer & Facilitator |

| Award Winning International Keynote Speaker |