

Seven years ago, I was homeless, pregnant, and hopeless. At the top of 2012, I was gearing up to graduate from college, and at the end, I was figuring out where I was going to live and how I was going to take care of a baby. It was scary, to say the least.
Between extreme morning sickness and vertigo, I was unable to work the first few months of my pregnancy. Staying with family became a less than ideal situation, but there was no other choice. This wasn't supposed to be my life. I had envisioned late nights in the office and living out of a suitcase, as I traveled the country for work. Left with only my thoughts, I took the time to accept my reality and put the focus on what I could control. The first step was managing my emotions. I knew the women I wanted to be, but I wasn't sure of how to become her. So, I started with a vision board. I needed to visualize my happiness and take control of my life.
With paper and glue I bought from the dollar store, and old magazines left around the house, I created a collage of all my hopes, dreams, and wishes. In one corner, there were photos and words that represented home with a comfortable bed where I felt safe, in the bottom-right, it showcased health and fitness. The most important components of this board were family, seeing myself as a loving mother who could provide for her child and the strong fierce woman that was placed in the middle to empower me.
Every night, I would look at my visions and pray to God that my circumstances would change. I knew that I had to believe in the possibility of change, so I clung to it with every fiber in my body.
Journaling allowed me to let go of angst but what really moved the needle were affirmations. An affirmation is positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. While the vision board was broad, affirmations allowed me to be specific and focus on my intended goals. With these newfound tools, I was able to make space for change. I was less anxious, gaining confidence, and more vocal about my needs. I resisted the part of me that focused on lack because I knew I wouldn't cultivate abundance.
Every time I thought of an idea that seemed too big to obtain on my own, I wrote it down, signed and dated. It became clear that I needed the universe to convene my requests. In this case, it was getting a car, finding permanent housing, and going back to school for my master's. After aligning my goals with my actions, this part of my journey was called trusting the process. Within two years, I had manifested everything on my list. I was gainfully employed, in a loving relationship after leaving a toxic one, and happily raising my child in our new apartment. I graduated from my master's shortly thereafter.
When thoughts materialize in the real world, this is manifestation. It is the act of intentionally creating what you want.
Could this be an act of luck? Maybe, that's a plausible thought. But, I believe my thoughts and actions were aligned and I was very clear on what I wanted. Although I didn't have a solid plan of action, I knew the work was being done to receive blessings. I remember my first night's sleep on my bed, the feeling was indescribable, as I stared at the ceilings smiling from ear-to-ear. I had manifested my home and this bed and it was mine all mine.
Everyone has the ability to manifest anything they desire – wealth, optimum health, love, houses, cars, peace of mind. You just have to learn how to use it. Here are seven steps to manifest a life worth living:
Step 1: Get clear on what you want.
Step 2: Ask the universe.
Step 3: Work toward your goals.
Step 4: Trust the process.
Step 5: Receive and acknowledge what you get.
Step 6: Keep Your Vibration High.
Step 7: Clear your resistance.
The truth is we are responsible in some way for creating our world and our reality. Whatever your heart desires there's enough to go around. Manifesting starts with your thoughts and if you're open, the possibilities are endless.
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Ayana Iman is a certified life coach, professional speaker, and mama of one based in New Jersey. She's also known for her love of big hair, travel, and cooking. Find her across social @AyanaIman.
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Tracee Ellis Ross Is Still Living A 'Robust' Life Despite Sometimes Grieving Not Being Partnered
Tracee Ellis Ross sat down with former first lady Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson for their IMO podcast to have a candid discussion about dating, marriage, and family. At 52, the beloved actress is single, but is still open to finding her person. However, she realizes that she has to navigate dating differently, describing herself as a "unicorn."
“I’m a very unique sort of unicorn of a woman, so it's gonna take a unique person,” she explained. "And in the meantime, I've really learned how to live my life and enjoy it and not sit around waiting."
Calling herself a "choiceful woman," she has had to push against culture norms and found that many of her experiences with men around her age were challenging due to the toxic masculinity they had been raised in. Many of their views about relationships conflicts with how she lives her life, so she tends to date younger.
“It's not just that I'm older. I’m also very embodied. I am a full, very whole person who knows myself, who is in charge of my life and who lives a very full, just robust life," she said.
Regardless if they're younger or older, Tracee has made it clear that she isn't settling and won't be in a relationship for the sake of having a partner. Even when loneliness creeps.
“As much as grief does surface for me around not having children and not having a partner, I still wouldn’t want the wrong partner. At all, I’m not interested in that. You have to make my life better, it can’t just be ‘I’m in a relationship just to be in a relationship,” she said.
Fans have watched pieces of Tracee's life played out on social media and TV. Just one look at her Instagram, you see that the black-ish star lives her life to fullest and it's filled with fashion, family, and all-round fabulousness.
"Even though the grief does emerge, and that comes, and I hold that, I think of what I’ve done. I think I woke up every morning trying to do my best. I didn’t wake up one morning and be like I’m gonna mess this day up. So I must be where I’m supposed to be.”
She added, “And sometimes I think of all of the things I’ve done—the courage that I’ve had to have, what I had to learn to how to navigate as a single person with no one to hide behind. It's built a really beautiful experience around me and I have incredible friends."
The Black Mirror actress has spoken about dating before and has always stated that she doesn't allow singleness stop her from living her best life.
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