NGS
November 2020
Next Generation Speakers
Lotus Riche’
A Victory Over Victimization Inside This Issue:
4 Ways to Survive a Crisis as a Public Speaker
Summit Recap!
Also: Don’t Ignore The Spider Part V
In his highly anticipated 5th book, Cicone Prince shares fundamental principles of Leadership that are easy to digest and even easier to implement. He drives home the importance of equipping the Next Generation with the tools they need to succeed with this incredible call to action. Leadership That Lasts will have you running to help someone else prepare for their future while realizing your success.
Available soon on Amazon! 2
Contents Table of
Editor’s Note... In this month’s issue of NGS Magazine Lotus Riche’ gives us the inspiration we need to become A Victory Over Victimization. She provides hope through her brokenness to help us piece our lives back together. We are also continuing our series Don’t Ignore The Spider Part IV addressing Systemic Racism in our country and offering ways that we can fix what’s broken. #BlackLivesMatter And Dr. James Williams is back with another PRESCRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE We have more content and more useful information coming your way so stay tuned! Please share this out with all of your networks to help us reach the masses! Email: Cicone@ciconeprince.com Text: 251-753-6299
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.................................Leadership That Lasts
...............................................Editors Notes
..................A Victory Over Victimization
.............Don’t Ignore The Spider... Part V
......................Prescription For Excellence
.......................Bodi Damanic Activewear
............................................Summit Recap
.........................Herbalife Shake, Teas and Protien Dounuts
I just want to know one thing, Who’s Got Next? Cicone C. A. Prince NGS Magazine Editor
Cover Photo Credit: Courtesy
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A Victory Over Victimization The True Story of Lotus Riché Survivor of Sexual Violence who moved from Tragedy to Triumph I am the 5-year-old little girl sitting on the steps in front of the apartment building where I lived joyfully, optimistically waiting for my father to come home from jail after a five-year stint. After waiting all day, I went to my mother heartbroken, crying and asking my mother “Where is he?” My mother, chocking back her sadness, helped me through my own, saying, “Don’t worry, he will be here.” Believing her comforting words, I go to my room and fall fast asleep only to awake to my father calling my name and lifting me into his arms. He made it home safely after paying his dues. I am the 6-year-old little girl who was raped by my babysitter’s grandson whose family member worked for the mafia. I was told if I spoke a word to anyone that I or my family would be killed. Sharing all of my secrets with my big sister, I swore her to secrecy. What a heavy burden she helped me to carry for 15 years.
I am the transformation strategist of my life and Transcend in the Midst of Crisis. I am the Navy sailor who has been in two car accidents that people said, “Whoever was in that car is probably dead.” God shared a different story and spoke life over me. I am the lady that defied not being able to walk on my own to running in my purpose. I am the transformation strategist of my life. I am born from the I Am. Though I have grappled with fear refusing to go, and questioned God about who would listen to me, he said, “Who won’t listen to you; for I am sending you?” Who am I? I am the victor over being victimized; I am the transformationist rising from the mud of trauma; I am the voice of success heard in every pending failure, I am Lotus rising because of the I Am, one with the I am, ever evolving. 4
In my book, The Opportunity to Transcend in the Midst of Crisis, I talk about pain, suffering and struggle as a major part of my journey. Many people come through pain, suffering, and struggle in a number of ways. Some come through crawling, hobbling, dragging themselves and some come through running, yelling and screaming. I have been in every posture. The most difficult part of the journey was selfapproval and stomping out the negative record that was playing in my mind.
It was this strength that helped me as Gladys Knight would say, “Keep on keeping on.” From my book: I was a broken bird trying to help other broken birds. As I looked back over my life, I noticed that I was able to have some great relationships that were often filled with various levels of love and dysfunction with people who were wounded birds flying with broken wings, slightly hovering above the ground and never soaring. I was also a wounded bird attracting other wounded birds with broken lives, broken hearts and broken spirits that somehow saw a light of brilliance and an undeniable strength within me. It was this strength that helped me as Gladys Knight would say, “Keep on keeping on.” I was like a magnet for dysfunctional birds who had seen some of the worst horrors in life and lived to tell about it, or not. Some people I dated had been so wounded that they resigned themselves to only speak when spoken to; what I called the silence of the lambs. Trauma robbed their voice and will to speak. 5
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Don’t Ignore The Spider... Part V Talking About The System And Not Talking About Its Maker Is Like Talking About The Web And... Ignoring The Spider!
~Bro. Bedford Leading‌ When it comes to leading there have to be some steps that are taken to ensure the, like my good friend Cori Briggs always says, success leaves clues. With that being said, this article will focus on the first part of our framework for our upcoming course: The Fundamentals of Leadership. We will look at the first 6 modules in our flagship course for our upcoming academy; (1) Assess the Situation (2) Talk To Involved Parties (3) Write Down The Facts (4) State The Goals (5) Plan of Action (6) Assign Responsibility
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(1) Assess the Situation When you come upon a situation, one of the first things that you should do is your assessment. That means that you should observe the situation. While observing you need to make notes. Sometimes these notes are mental, other things they need to be written down. It is said that the mind is for thinking and writing is for remembering. So take the time to do your analysis even before talking to anyone. This helps in two ways, (1) it helps you to develop attention to detail, and (2) it keeps you from being tainted by someone else’s perspective. (2) Talk To Involved Parties After you have your assessment it’s good to make sure that what you thought you saw is really what you saw. All of us can make mistakes even though what we observe, that is why we must get all sides of the story. My good friend Wendell Graham would often say that there are three sides to every story, there’s This Side, there’s That Side, and somewhere in the middle is the True. So as we Lead and then teach how to Lead we have to bring that to the forefront. (3) Write Down The Facts Going back to what I said earlier, “the mind is for thinking and writing is for remembering” we cannot rely on what we remember but we have to rely on what’s recorded. In the movie Training Day, Denzel Washington’s character made an amazing statement, “It’s not what you know; it’s what you can prove!” Writing down information helps to keep everything straight and keep everyone honest. The fact can be verified and they cut down on confusion. Good record keeping can be the difference between success and failure. 7
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As I walk you through the process of finding my way out of the darkness, perhaps it resembles a similar story within yourself or someone you care about. See, we all may struggle getting to the light of a new day. It’s a challenge. One of the hardest things for many people is to face their truth. I ran from my trauma from rape because I buried it. I ran from my most private things in my life, disconnected from people, carried trust issues because the very people that were entrusted with my care abused me and could have easily turned me into a victim but I chose victory over my circumstance. It was a mindset choice. I had made up my mind because of my parents reinforcing that I could be, do and have anything with hard work, focus and tenacity. The positive choice did not come devoid of challenge. Once I shared my truth with my parents, 15 years later, that alone did not free me. The truth of private things in my life still haunted me. Although I tried to conform to my church’s and society’s view, I never stopped to ask how I viewed myself. I never stopped to ask myself what God saw in me because God created me. Once I finally listened to the God in me rather than the chatter of the outside world, I moved into self-acceptance and enhanced creativity. One of my favorite gospel singers Vicky Winans says, “You can’t please all people all of the time.”
“The first step to getting what you want is having the courage to get rid of what you don’t want.” Being free is an everchanging paradigm and I choose me over chatter, I choose the voice of I Am rather than myths, I choose to make a choice and the choice is to not just exist but to live the one life that I have. Like the phoenix rising, I used courage to soar through my pain. Courage is many things to different people but for me courage is looking fear and truth in the face - accepting it, embracing it and taking action. If I am scared as hell, I do it anyway so that I can experience internal and external completion and freedom. 8
Courage is more than a thought, a look or a feeling, it is all of it moved into positive action that yields the change in one’s life that they need and deserve. One of my favorite sayings by Kathy Phillips is “The first step to getting what you want is having the courage to get rid of what you don’t want.” When you embrace this concept and take action, it creates a segue to walking in your purpose. What I realized is Courage is me and I am Courage. The Lotus Flower rises from the mud of life to magnificence, and you can, too. I hope my story can inspire others to get out of the darkness. If I can share one message with you, it is that of HOPE. Sexual violence is often cultivated in the desire for one to control another. Tell your truth, take back your innocence, take back your voice, take back your life in order to create the life YOU desire to experience. Please know above all that you are beautiful and you are worthy of the best that life can offer. You can move from victim to victor. Millions of people have similar stories so know and believe that you are not alone. Reach out to me and I will help walk the journey with you. Lotus Riché is a transformation coach and a woman willing to help other women. Lotus is a African American. She is a New Jersey native who served in the U.S. Navy, graduating at the top of her class as an electrician. After completing her tour of duty, she became the youngest and only woman of color in the southern region to work for Kodak as a clinical engineer back in the 1990s. In addition, she is a prior officer for the Department of Corrections in South Carolina specializing in youth offenders and incarcerated adults, where she was part of the Rapid Response Team and proficient in hand-to-hand combat and firearms, especially the shotgun, her weapon of choice. She worked for the University of Phoenix-Augusta campus as a Student Services Coordinator influencing young students to pursue higher education and working as a counselor conducting individual and family interventions and behavioral interventions for children who had experienced trauma and abuse. 9
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Lotus has been a pillar of strength and love feeding and sheltering the homeless for over 10 years. She has helped to rehabilitate homeless individuals and employ them at one of the top hospitals in the nation. In 2013, in continuing her main love of helping people, she moved to Japan while employed with the Department of Defense supporting U.S. service members as a Substance Abuse Counselor. While in Japan, she became an active member of a local Toastmasters club and American Red Cross volunteer. She became a certified instructor in First Aid and CPR, post-deployment Reconnection Workshop Facilitation, and suicide intervention. She continued to spread her message of love and lifting people up by working with Japanese nationals to feed the homeless population in Yokosuka, Japan, and surrounding areas. After many long and tiring days, she braved the cold weather to help locate and feed several hundred homeless people on the street and encourage her fellow military service members to join the fight to help stomp out homelessness and hunger. She was honored with an award from the Yokosuka Naval Hospital in Japan for her humanitarian efforts. She received a Humanitarian award from the U.S. Navy for supporting the city of Charleston, SC in the wake of the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo. She was recognized into the 2000 Most Notable American Woman book in 1998 and nominated for the Who’s Who Registry of Distinguished individuals in 2012. She’s also a recent 2020 Guinness World Record holder and number one international best-selling author. She has spoken on stages with thought leaders such as; Jack Canfield, (Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul) Satish Verma (CEO of Think and Grow Rich Institute), Dr. Ruben West (Lead Trainer at Black Belt Speakers), and host may great leaders on her Shows to include; The Lotus Riche’ Ignites Show, Bring Who You Are, News You Can Use. 10
As a wounded warrior sustaining a hearing impairment and having to use a walker and cane in the prime of her life, she understands limitations and how to overcome them and has a strong desire to help others overcome them. She focuses on helping young girls and boys from being abused. She has been in the trenches helping families and care providers identify and prevent abuse. According to the American SPCC,2020, 4.3 million child maltreatment referral reports received. Child abuse reports involved 7.8 million children.,91.7% of victims are maltreated by one or both parents. Only 3.3 million children received prevention & post-response services. Lotus strive to help prevent and help others overcome the victimization and step into victory by sharing their story, seeking help, and obtaining the help to triumph. Lotus Riche’ will help you connect your head, heart, and spirit in a way that transforms your passion for your dreams into action for your life as she strives to mentor and add to the quality of human life. She is a beacon of hope that continues to shine in every space of time as she encourages people to “Ignite & Take Flight.� She truly brings inspiration to every nation with her global reach to men and women globally.
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PRESCRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE With Dr. James J. Williams
4 Ways to Survive a Crisis as a Public Speaker The COVID-19 pandemic has not only been difficult from a health perspective. It’s also been really challenging financially for those whose careers largely depend on in-person interactions, like public speakers. In my own case, my adjunct opportunity has been placed on hold until 2021 due to low enrollment. Likewise, I lost many great speaking gigs, including an opportunity to speak at various organizations. But that doesn’t mean I have to just wait around, with no supplemental income, until conferences and other events can resume. Public speakers like myself can survive this crisis by focusing on digital opportunities in the short term and looking long term toward future in-person opportunities. Specifically, you can take these four steps: 1. Book events for late 2020 or 2021 While many conferences have been canceled over the next few months, plenty of events are still scheduled for later this year or in 2021. Be proactive and hit up every conference organizer you think could be a potential fit, even if that means going outside your main industries. Many public speakers have valuable lessons to share with essentially any business, so even if you normally only speak at marketing conferences, you might find opportunities to speak about marketing at a finance conference, for example. If you do book gigs, try to get an upfront deposit so you have some cushion over the next several months. While it’s possible some of these future conferences will need to be canceled too, you could try securing a non-refundable deposit by working out an agreement with the conference organizer to speak at a digital event or providing a digital presentation that the organizer can share with would-be attendees if the conference doesn’t take place. Better yet, if the events can take place in-person, then you’ll be in a good position by putting in the work now to secure these spots. 2. Speak at virtual events In addition to securing future events, reach out to organizers of virtual events that are taking place in the coming months to book as many spots as you can. In many cases, you can still find events that will pay for speakers online, as money that would have been spent on in-person conferences could still be available for digital events. Likewise, you can offer your own private events online, as would-be conference attendees may have some budget to spend on online learning now. Keep in mind that you may need to adapt your style a bit. My in-person energy and mix of entertainment with education don’t necessarily translate the same way online, so I have to be flexible to meet the mood of the online event.
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3. Teach an online course Similar to speaking at virtual events, you can earn income by teaching an online course. For example, I am looking to also teach courses on LinkedIn Learning. You may be able to find some platforms like these where you can break your keynotes into a few smaller modules and dive a little deeper into each session than you would in-person. If you can’t find a company to pay you to host a course, put your content behind a paywall. Professionals may have more time now to view this type of content, and some companies may be willing to let employees spend on professional development at a time like this, especially if they have budget left over from canceled conferences. This can be a passive revenue stream for you, as you can create the course once and earn income over time as people purchase access. 4. Build your branding While putting more time into your branding likely won’t immediately lead to more income, if you have more time now due to canceled events, then you might as well be productive by improving your branding. Doing so can lead to more opportunities in the future, so use your time wisely by updating all of your information online like your social media bios, speaker reels, website, etc., which can help you market yourself well. If you don’t have resources like a speaker reel yet, now could be a good time to create one so you can show that to conference organizers looking for speakers later this year or in 2021. The public speaker business largely depends on in-person gigs, so this current situation is uniquely difficult. But there are ways to adapt your business to get online gigs and create a pipeline for future in-person events. And putting in the effort now to diversify your income streams and build your branding can pay off even if the public speaking industry looks very different a year from now due to health and economic concerns. The opinions expressed here by Next Generation Speakers Magazine columnists are their own, not those of the magazine itself.
The opinions expressed here by Next Generation Speakers Magazine columnists are their own, not those of the magazine itself. Email - jjwilliamsphd@gmail.com Cell - 301-806-8614 Webstore - ChasingTheEagle.com Twitter @jjwilliamsphd LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/james-j-williams PRESCRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE With Dr. James J. Williams SCHOLAR | AUTHOR | SPEAKER | VETERAN | SUCCESS EXPERT
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Don’t Ignore The Spider... Part V
(4) State The Goals Once you assess, verify, and determined where you are then the next step is to determined if you what to stay there or go to the next level. That should be a “No Brainer” if your goal is to go Onward and upward then you have to set and state your desired goals. These need to be S.M.A.R.T Goals. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. You can Google “SMART Goals” for a more in-depth analysis of these but just know that they are critical the seeing success. (5) Plan of Action Just like a GPS Global Positioning Satellite System which needs your current position as well as your destination, you need that same information to plot your course to the desired end. This will be your plan of action that you follow to the letter. Although, it’s good to make this plan fluid because there will always be things that you did not and could not account for. But you have to have at the very least a framework to start. And at the most a comprehensive plan that factors in as many scenarios as possible. (6) Assign Responsibility This is where the rubber meets the road. Now you have to assign responsibility. Dr. Ruben West is quoted as saying, “Unit the Goal but Divide the Responsibility.” That way everything does not hinge on one section, one group, or one individual. Success is a team effort and that thought needs to be shared through not only a Mission Statement but a Culture that sees the value of every moving part. Providing each section, each group and even each individual their shared responsibility will ensure that everyone not only knows why their role is important but how it impacts others in the organization. Next month we will talk about the next 6 modules; Delegate Power, Implement the Plan, Oversee The Progress, Assess The Desired Results, Celebrate The Wins, Revisit Challenges.
~Cicone Prince 19
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