Be Inspired!

Now that I'm 34.....

2011-09-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

Birthday thoughts..................

So, I woke up early this morning…….before my family was awake, to simply thank the Lord for all the blessings that I have in my life!!! So, now I’m up drinking a cup of earl grey tea (by the way, I have at least 2-3 cups of tea everyday…one in the morning and one ALWAYS at night before I go to sleep….mint tea…….mmmmmm)- anyways, I’m up drinking a cup of tea and I realize that, ‘Holy COW! My life is in full swing! I guess I REALLY AM going to KEEP GETTING OLDER!!!”

Geez…my perspective on different things have changed so much. I really am a different person this year than I was last year- so I decided, well, let me share a little bit with the world about what’s going on in my life- maybe it will help someone, encourage somebody or at least give people something to talk about.

BY THE WAY, I’M GOING TO SEE VANILLA ICE TONIGHT- HE’S COMING TO MECHANICSBURG!!!! LOL!!!!!!!

Back to me.

Here’s what I think on a few things and what’s going on in my life and my thoughts on different issues!!!!

WHO I AM.

I realized for me that the most important thing for me this year was to know who I am. Ya know, ya just can’t be all things to all people. I am probably the most comfortable in my own skin this year than I’ve ever been. OF COURSE, everyone likes to BE LIKED, but I can truly say that is becoming LESS important to me and I’m more interested in delving into my purpose. So, you wanna know what my purpose is? Well, it comes in a lot of forms, but I know now that my life mission is: INSPIRATION. To inspire the world to dream again, to awaken gifts within people that they didn’t know they have, to help people see the color in life again, to give hope to people without hope, to inspire people in my community…..I inspire through music, my persona, my writing, my presence, my giving, my laughing, my living- everything I do. INSPIRATION. For real, for real- I get a HIGH when someone says to me, “You inspired me today.” Aaaaaahhhhh, music to my ears.

GUIDANCE. I connected with some really cool mentors this year- one in particular. Has truly changed my life. I never realized how much this would help me. Not that I’m bragging, but I’m a very teachable person and I don’t really need to know everything, so when I find someone who can teach me some things, I’m like a kid in the candy store! Yeah! If you’re struggling, get a mentor- most of the time, they are people right in your circle- you just have to reach out, admit you’re clueless and ask for help!!!

PEOPLE I FOLLOW. I get on these little kicks and I just have people throughout my life that I really identify with and I really love! I add them to the PEOPLE I FOLLOW list. As far as business, I’m really on this SETH GODIN kick- great guy who talks about marketing in today’s culture- he’s out of the box and I learn a lot of stuff watching his videos on TED.com. Love GENE STRITE- genestrite.com. Love the way he thinks and his teaching on financial management and a lot of other stuff- I really identify with his non-religious approach to society. Love Gene! He rocks! Love Dr. Michael Freeman- he’s a pastor out of Maryland and the church is Spirit of FAITH. When I need encouragement, I pop in one of his CD’s and the way he talks about faith and believing have really helped to get me through some really tough points in my life. Ok, LOVE BEYONCE. I keep watching ALL her videos on youtube because her performance style is OUT OF THIS WORLD! She inspires me. Ok, there’s more but that’s just a few.

WORK AND CAREER.

I have a pretty amazing job and I also have my own business stuff that I do and everyone asks how I get it done. I never ever think about that. All things are possible with God. And when I feel overwhelmed, I JUST STOP!!!! Hahaha!!! Pretty easy, huh? I’ve never been an intellectual, I move by whatever inspires me at that day and time- I’m pretty driven and I just love moving on to the next biggest idea. The work that I do at the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC is wonderful for me because I really do care about the community and I have an amazing opportunity to impact people’s lives. I live for that. I’m thankful for my boss, Dave and all the people I work with. The Amma JO stuff gives me a great sense of fulfillment. It’s part of who I am and I’m finally unapologetic about it!!!!! I just believe that if you keep your heart right, doors automatically open for you. I never want to be the type of person that gets to big to help people or too arrogant. My leadership style is COLLABORATION. I make my impact by working with people, not above them. I think that goes a long way. I’m not really into titles anyways. I don’t believe people were born to go to work and come home. I believe we were born to make an impact. So, I’m always pushing people to pursue their hopes and dreams apart from just banking on the job thing. Jobs come and go, but when you know who you are, that can never be taken away.

MARRIAGE & FAMILY.

So, some people ask me, “So are you really happily married?”. To that, I honestly say, “YES.” My husband, Darius is amazing! 11 years this year!!! I don’t think he realized how crazy I am when he married me and I think he gets a little exhausted with my “ALLOVERTHEPLACENESS”!!!! He’s nice about it though!!! But, he really loves me for who I am. He makes me breakfast almost everyday and he helps me with so many things. Our two kids are the two greatest joys of our life!!! My husband is very intelligent and business savvy. All the graphic design work and website stuff that I do, he taught me how! But, apart from that, he is very patient and very kind. He has a simple way about him that I kind of envy because sometimes I make things way too complicated. He slows me down when I’m going to fast and he encourages me when I’m down. My family makes me happy and I LOVE spending time with them. Kids teach you to love unconditionally. They don't care what's going on!!!

RELIGION. Since people always want to know what you believe….I’m a Christian. Day by day, though, I realize that it doesn’t ever really help to tell people that. You have to show it because people don’t care anymore what church you go to or what you believe for that matter, people just want to be loved and accepted. I love people. I don’t care who they are or what they’ve done. I have friends from all different religions, lifestyles and backgrounds- I love them all. People are the most priceless thing in the world and I’m surrounded by some pretty amazing people. I never debate religion or shove it down people's throat. I choose to love freely, help people, and just live what I believe.

RACE and COLOR. So, the more I live, the more I take my thoughts on people ONE PERSON AT A TIME. I truly don’t care about color or race anymore. I could be in a room full of people who don’t look like me and I feel perfectly in place. I LOVE other cultures and I will love someday when that time comes to get immersed in other cultures. I’m not afraid of being around people who LOOK different than me. In my opinion, that is the joy of humanity. We’re the ones who make a big deal out of it. We’re the ones who separate ourselves from people because we’re scared of people who don’t look like us. Here’s a quick rundown of my background. My parents are immigrants from Ghana. I was born and raised in an African American neighborhood, a predominantly white school and predominantly white church and monthly attended lots of international activities that my parents were involved with in addition to being raised around a lot of Africans in our community. All that to say, we were raised to not really think much about color- at this point in my life, this is critical for me. I have to work with so many people and I just can’t live with the whole ‘color barrier’ thing. I don’t care what people look like. I care about the person inside and trust me, I strive to be unbiased everyday. I had to throw this in there! It’s an important issue to me. So, this next year of my life, I want to continue to build relationships outside of who I'm used to- learn more about people- do my best to see the intrinsic value that's inside.

MUSIC.

So, my baby girl took this picture of me!!! Isn't she awesome?????!!!!!

So, most people that know me know that I am a singer, musician and a songwriter. I have been writing music for a LONG time! So, what are my plans? I plan on marketing myself as an independent artist, pitching my songs to media and going on from there. I have no desire to sign my life away to a label, but I do want my songs to reach the world. Sooooo, we'll figure out how that all works!!! In the meantime, I’m just going to keep writing and sharing my music with the world. Some people don’t understand why I sing IN and OUT of the church. I guess people think you should choose one or the other!!! Hahaha!!! I don’t understand what the big deal is so I never really go too deep in overexplaining myself. Here’s the deal- I write music that inspires people. PERIOD. So, no matter what you believe or who you are, you can hopefully find some encouragement when you’re listening to my songs. I might be in a church or at a coffee shop or in some other alternative venue- I love renting out night clubs for my concerts.....LOL!!! My music career- It will all come together. I'm still working to figure it out- but I think one step at a time is usually a pretty good strategy!!! Every time I close my eyes, I see myself performing before the world….yeah, I’m like a child in a lot of ways….GROWN UPS NEVER HAVE ANY FUN!!!! I’ll always be childlike in my own way. So, back to the music thing, I write ALL types and my next project is to do some holiday music, ROCK music and another praise and worship project. When? However, whenever. I’ll do it as I have time.

Hmmm, let’s see- what else?

I think that’s it, but anyways, I’m making my birthday a great day. I’m having a hot stone massage, then I’ll spend time with the FAM then I’ll go to dinner with my friend and head over to see VANILLA ICE. I’m taking my CAMERA and I REALLY want to get a picture with him!!!!

Hee hee.

Rock on and make your life today whatever you want it to be. Don't major in the minors. Get away from negative people. Enjoy life. Make it simple.

Keep Believing!

2011-05-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

Breathe Again!

2011-05-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

You know, sometimes life hits us hard and we feel like we're drowning! Oh nooooooooo!!! Things happen and we don't feel like we can make it OR we're just knocked off our little seats so hard, we don't know what hit us! Well, the wonderful thing is that we do come to the point where we BRACE ourselves and breathe again.

That is the point I want to talk to you about....BREATHING again. Living again. You know, for many of us, it's been a long time since we've sat down and just thought about life and pondered on where we've been and where we're going.

I want to encourage you to do a few things....nothing complex....just a few things to get you back on track. This is just the beginning.

1. Take a night or a day that would have normally been busy for you! Cancel your appointments and engagements and takes sometime to yourself. Write down on a piece of paper or better yet, get a journal from the store and write down WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF LIFE. Forget about what's impossible. Write down what you want.

2. Look ahead in your schedule and plan some 'ME' time in there. Plan some time to relax, get away or just TAKE THE DAY OFF. Listen to me, you're NO GOOD for anyone else if you're run down and out of your mind! You need to take time for yourself. Listen, the world will be alright. Your job will be OK. Everyone will survive while you just go and take care of yourself for a bit. You need to be refreshed.

3. Write down 3 things you can do to better the situation you're in. Someone told me a long time ago that whatever you focus on will expand. If you focus on your problem, it will become BIGGER. If you focus on the solution...guess what....it will become BIGGER THAN YOU'RE PROBLEM. Your situation is not unsolvable. There's an answer. You've just got to break out of your norm and get still and make a few quality decisions to reach out for a better life!

Be encouraged MWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

Download my new song, Have A Little Fun Today!

Don't believe the lies!!!

2011-05-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life gets so difficult that we don't even know what to do next. Sometimes, we give into our situation.

Listen, problems are only perspectives. I wonder what would happen if you change your perspective? I wonder what would happen in your life if you finally decided to reach out for the answers KNOWING they were out there.

See, when we tell ourselves, "I'll never get out of this."- we buy into a lie. Don't do it!!! You will be able to win in every challenge if you believe in the possibilities.

Here are a few tips of what you can do to overcome that MOUNTAIN that seems so high- I promise you there's an answer.

I know these steps may be challenging for you, but you can do it.

1- REACH OUT FOR HELP!!! I KNOOOOOOW this is the last thing we want to do, but a lot of times, people have our answers. I'm sure you can think of 2 or 3 people who could help you or encourage you. You know, sometimes we don't even reach out to our closest friends for help. Call a friend today and tell them what you're dealing with. You'll find strength and encouragement.

2- BELIEVE AGAIN. I know you may have lost hope. I want you to believe again. Even if you simply say to yourself 10 times a day- "There is an answer and I'm determined to find it."- just believe. You don't have to know HOW, all you have to do is believe.

3- CHANGE YOUR FOCUS. Your problem only looks unsolvable because you keep looking at it. CHANGE YOUR FOCUS. Look up solutions. Get books. Get CD's. Google stuff. Ask questions. Direct your heart, soul and mind on the solution.

4- HELP SOMEBODY ELSE. This one sounds difficult, but I'm telling you, it is refreshing. Find somebody who needs encouragement and encourage THEM- even if you feel discouraged. Trust me, I've done this a zillion times and I ALWAYS feel better every time. It really is true, when you give you receive. Somehow you feel refreshed. Help somebody else.

I hope these tips help you. REMEMBER, DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES. That little voice that is telling you that IT CAN'T HAPPEN- it's a lie! Focus on the truth......and the truth is.........YOU'RE A WINNER!

Listen to my song. It's available on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Napster and a bunch of other places! I WIN

And check out my new audio BOOK- Enough is Enough- It's Your Time!

Don't be discouraged!

2011-04-29T18:24:00.001-07:00

So, I've now decided to use my blog!!! Yeah!!!

Hey there. Don't be discouraged. I know sometimes your dream seems like it is so far away. It seems like it will never happen. It feels like it will never be you. Well, let me tell you something. You've gotta believe. You've gotta STAY ENCOURAGED.

The great thing about life is that sometimes it doesn't matter how you feel OR what it seems like. It only matters what you believe and what you decide to act on. You've got to start learning to live by what you believe and live believing in the possibilities and stop looking at your circumstances and limitations. You have to see beyond your today.

I think the greatest thing God ever blessed us with is an imagination. Our imagination can cut through today's JUNK and see the brighter tomorrow. You need to dream again. You need to believe again. You need to imagine where you want to be and BELIEVE in that reality, NOT what you're currently experiencing. See, if you can train yourself to see a brighter today, you can change your life.

You know what's even more dynamic? What's even more dynamic is when you ACT on what you believe. When you ACT on what you believe, you create miracles. You create a different life.

To achieve your dreams, you're going to need to STAY MOTIVATED and INSPIRED! Here's five ways to do it:

1. Speak positive words over your life. Say what you want to see. Stop saying things like, "I keep taking one step forward and two steps backwards." Is that what you want? If that's not what you want, then stop saying it. I know it may seem strange at first, but you're going to have to start speaking TODAY like you're already in your tomorrow. Start saying things like, "I'm wealthy. I'm awesome. I believe in me." It may sound crazy! But it's crazier to be negative. Who wants that?

2. Write down your dreams. Sometimes, we keep things all bottled up on the inside. We've got to learn to let it out! Write down all the things that you want to do. It doesn't cost you ANYTHING to dream. Write down what you want. Read it on those days when you feel down. Read it on those days when you're feeling discouraged. It will revive you.

3. Put yourself around positive people. You know, it may sound elementary, but you can't hang around friends who are going to pull you down. You've got to stop hanging around people that have nothing positive to say. Get away from the people who speak negativity. Get away from the people who are totally draining you. You're environment plays a big role in your growth. You need to HEAR positive things in order to stay positive. You may need to reach out to others and build a new relationship, but do it!!!! It's worth the time and effort.

4. Improve your self image. Sometimes we don't reach for a better life because we think we don't deserve it. Well, who told you that you don't deserve the best? YOU DESERVE THE BEST. You must improve your self image. For me personally, I know that God loves me and I am COMPLETELY secure in Him. What about you? Do you know who you are? You need to begin believing in yourself again. Believe that you are wonderful. Believe that good things are happening and good things are coming into your life. Think ONE more positive thought every day than you did the day before.

5. DECIDE to win. All I want you to do is make a simple decision. Decide that you are going to win. If you haven't downloaded my song, I WIN! You need to download it and listen to it everyday! It is full of positive words. Winning is a decision. It's a choice you make regardless of your circumstances.

Stay encouraged and don't forget to visit me at www.ammajo.com and www.ammajohnson.com! You can find all my tunes on iTunes, Amazon, eMUSIC and lots of other places!

Mwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!

Amma JO Goes to Vegas!

2010-11-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

Check out my video from my performance in VEGAS!