What would you tell your 14 -year -old self?

 I would tell my 14 -year -old self that I wasn't wrong. That what you felt about yourself was exactly what you were. You needed a little patience and some maturity to get where you wanted to be, but you were right all along. I experienced times where people doubted me or wouldn't allow me to shine the way that I wanted to.

In fact, I was even asked to fade to the back, so to speak, but I would tell myself, "Keep going. You are right." The way that you feel, the way that you think, what you feel your gifts are, what you are wanting to achieve, believe it. Believe it in spite of what everyone else tells you.

What was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?

The greatest challenge was understanding that failure was really a gift. Once you fell down, you got to redo it. You got to re -channel it, repurpose it, reorganize it, and then you just kept going. So the failure was a gift. It wasn't that it was a loss, you just won't grow without the challenges.

When people talk about self-esteem, it's not about you looking at a picture and you're feeling good about yourself. It's about knowing that you could do anything that you set your mind to. You have to be committed. It’s a hard challenge simply because you might fall and nobody's there to pick you up. I had to get up on your own. I had to understand that.

What wonderful things can women look forward to at your age?

It doesn't end. Life will go as far as you want it to go. I'm still aspiring. I'm still being inspired. I dream more than I've ever dreamed in my life. I can accomplish these things. Whatever you want, you still can have it. It doesn't end. 

Women in general, we carry a lot. We've been moms, we've been career women. We've done a lot of things, and sometimes we neglected ourselves. At my age, there ain't nobody else. So you get to really celebrate yourself. You really get to continue to grow and be what you want to be. And you get to do the things you really, really want to do.

 I'm always on the journey to impress myself. When I impress myself, I look at the mirror and say, “girl, you did that.” And you feel really good about it.

It's really a personal journey at that point. It's not what other people are thinking or seeing. And it's not even about money. It's about how much of an understanding can I get of what the world looks like around me?

It is a very personalized journey and I want every woman to experience it on her own terms and understand that you get to control it. You get to make it what you want it to be.