OPHELIA NIXON UKE
UNDEFEATED MINDSET CHAPLAIN OPHELIA NIXON-UKE
E
ven in the midst of defeat you can be the undefeated one that people will have no choice but to respect when they see trials coming up against you, yet still you walk out of every situation not bearing the bruises from the battles you’ve faced. You have victory at all times on your side when you learn to
Every single obstacle found in your path should be looked upon as an encourager… not to let the negatives become the main focus, but rather you use them as fuel for mustering up strength to pull from the things that seek to bring you down. You can’t be defeated if the remind yourself of who you are. You can’t be defeated when you don’t allow frustrations to overpower your thoughts and your actions. This is when you’re able to rise up out of the ashes like a phoenix, and stand in the midst of you enemies while claiming the highest of victories. You know why such a thing is made possible? Because, despite the fires you’ve had to walk through, despite the hate you’ve had to face, 8 | ENTREPRENEUR PLATFORM MAGAZINE | NOV/DEC 2020
despite the attacks on your health and the fight for your life, you still don’t look like what you’ve been through. Your greatest wins are going to be birthed from the pain you’ve gone through time and time again, as it gave you the firepower to pick yourself back up to see another day. Your biggest Victories are going to manifest from what you’ve had to sacrifice, but never forget, no great sacrifice ever goes without a great reward in return. No matter what each moment brings, like yourself, I too had to learn how to cherish it with a undefeated mindset, for if not defeat would have swept me up into a tidal wave that there’d be no escape from. The way in which you see or choose to perceive the things you’re confronted with, it will make the difference in whether or not you’ll be defeated or if you’ll rise above. During my own journeys, I found two key components that helped to keep me sane even while on the battlefield of situations that threw me curveballs in life. They were passion and perseverance.
PASSION
As a people, we all have dreams of having more than what we already have as none of us want to stand in a place of lack wherein we find ourselves struggling to make ends meet on a continuous basis. However, if we cause this desire to turn
OPHELIA NIXON UKE
into a greed, then have no doubt that it will turn against you to create your biggest downfall. But, if you see it as that thing that you are passionate about, which allows you to look towards each day with a drive to succeed while placing a smile on your face, then it can be the very thing that will propel you into achieving some of your greatest victories. The issue is, we as a people tend to see the negative side of everything before we see the value. Not every challenge has to be taken as a defeat. This is where you learn how to shift your mindset, so you’re able to understand how what seems like a set back could actually be an immediate reset, because you are choosing to be one who is undefeated. Every single obstacle found in your path should be looked upon as an encourager that will and can catapult you into areas never thought imaginable, which if utilized correctly is going to produce for you manifestations that has never before been seen for yielding you your highest level of successes. Whatever it is to you, whether dreams, passions, or desires though important it may be to have it, it should never be allowed to manifest into a dominating force as it will begin to control you whereby causing you to lose sight of your mission until it defeats you, making you a victim instead of a victor. In layman’s term, what you allow to control you makes you its puppet. One of the greatest lessons to be learnt, can be taught even by the unwisest person, which is; never become so hyped up over your accomplishments or wins wherein humility and diplomacy is lost, nor should you be weighed down because of a debacle, wherein you now view every glass as being half empty.
from you what you refuse to give up. If your Passion is the the driving force to you getting to your next hurdle, then allow Perseverance to be the wind that gets you over it. Perseverance is your gauge to keep you in the path of success with a mindset of being undefeated. So this way, even when it feels like the tides of life are rising upon you quickly at an excessively high rate, you are still able to stand confidently knowing the capabilities you possess. One of life’s instructions we are given from childhood is to fight to the very end to get that win, and allow nothing to deter nor distract you from the prize. However, while the win is very important because it shows you have the drive, the power and the tenacity to go after what you want with no concerns for how hard you have to fight, and not concerning yourself with who you have to contend with in order to get to that victory. Nonetheless, we have to remember that it is just as important to keep our minds conditioned so we can remain undefeated even if we’re not crowned winner. The winner isn’t always the one with the prize, quite often it’s the one who kept a positive outlook on the situation despite not being the lead, because your loss today will bring you your victory tomorrow, if you keep the mindset of one who does not bend in the face of defeat.
Whatever you believe you can certainly achieve! Chaplain Ophelia Nixon-Uke
PERSEVERANCE
No matter what, tell yourself giving up is not going to be an idea or thought entertained because you are undefeated. I’m telling you this right now, you hold the power in your hands to create the wins that you want at all times, because no one can take Photo by Ran Berkovich | Unsplash.com
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SARA PENA
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SARA PENA Continued from page 11
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL • Newark, NJ Senior Community Outreach Coordinator, Marketing & Communications Department May 2015—April 2018 • Served as on-the-record spokesperson and responded to media inquiries and press outreach
• Led community outreach efforts for region’s leading academic medical center, managing partnerships with all levels of government and active stakeholder groups
• Designed events to increase community impact; intimately involved with all planning and implementation, including the identification of speakers and logistical coordination
• Directly collaborated with hospital’s senior leadership on brand strategies; coordinated positioning and message development as well as media relations in nation’s prime media market
• Spearheaded new Community Advisory Council and leveraged footprint to better serve Newark’s diverse communities
COUNTY OF ESSEX, NEW JERSEY • Verona, NJ Assistant, Director of Public Works July 2011—May 2015 • Served as secretary to Essex County Construction Board of Appeals and assisted with activities of Essex County Planning Board • Directed office scheduling, work flow, and meeting coordination • O rganized and implemented special projects such as events and fundraising in high-activity, high-visibility office • A cted as key liaison between community and office leadership team Additional experience at NEWARK BETH ISRAEL MEDICAL CENTER; LA CASA DE DON PEDRO in Newark; and BROADWAY CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS CENTER in New York City.
EDUCATION M.P.A., Rutgers University—School of Public Affairs and Administration • Newark, NJ; PI ALPHA ALPHA National Honor Society B.S., Business Management, Kean University • Union, NJ
Sara Pena SELECT AWARDS & HONORS
• President, LUPE Fund, Inc. (2017-19) • Treasurer and Executive Board Member (2008) • Advisory Committee Member of the League of Women Voters in NJ (2018)
• Honored by Newark Municipal Council President Mildred C. Crump as TRAILBLAZER (2019) • Named to InsiderNJ’s INSIDER 100: POLICYMAKERS POWER LIST (2018, 2019)
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LUCIANA Kimus Continued from page 22
It sounds like Luciana has it all, doesn’t it? Well, she definitely has a great life, but that has taken hard work and dedication. She’s the first to admit that balancing work and family life is a complicated game. Lucky for her, she is surrounded by an incredibly supportive family who understands the bigger picture. In fact, both her daughters work for her. Luciana is driven by success. She’s determined to succeed and also wishes to make her husband proud. One of her driving forces is actually her biggest fear. Luciana is, like many of us, afraid of failing. “I know I have a lot of families that depend on me, and I’m really afraid of failing them, so it makes it easy never to stop going.” She says. So, what is success to Luciana? Well, success to Luciana means a few things. It means she can live comfortably, being surrounded and supported by those who love her. Success means having a certain level of stability, and with that comes a high level of happiness. Like many of us, Luciana wants the best out of life, and she’s determined to have just that. When asked what she thought the biggest talent she needed to have to be a successful entrepreneur was, Luciana said she had to be able to multitask. What she truly loved about being an entrepreneur was being able to share her learnings and history with others to help them. She truly believes that everyone can be an entrepreneur if they have the right motivation and work ethic. Another great tool that Luciana has utilized more than a few times is collaboration. She believes that collaboration is a powerful tool for all small business owners, regardless of the industry you are in or the type of business you have. The connections you form with others and the different ways you collaborate with those people you developed relationships with will help you grow your business to new levels. So, what advice does someone like Luciana have for a young budding entrepreneur straight out of college? The first piece of advice she’d give would be to have a solid plan. You can get that plan by asking the right questions. Ask yourself, how much money do you want to make? Then write a list of all the career choices that could make you that much money. The next step would be to gain employment in the area you’d like to proceed in. Continued on page 26
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LUCIANA Kimus
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