No Diggity, No Self Doubt

TL;DR: SOMETIMES WE’RE OUR OWN WORST CRITIC. CHECK THE “BRAND NUGGET” SECTION FOR THE KEY TAKEAWAY.

Back in 2012, I got a DM from a blogger I admired (and lowkey stalked on Twitter). Turns out, she was an editor at Essence.com. Confession: Essence Magazine was basically my teenage bible.

So when she asked me to write a guest blog post, I was excited AF… and nervous as hell.

I submitted my post, then waited, palms sweaty, expecting a brutal list of edits. But the email came back simple: just a heads-up on when my article would go live. I thought, oh, she must’ve edited it herself.

Fast forward to launch day — I pulled up the site, ready to cringe… but it was MY post. Word for word. NO edits.

I was shook. Me? Essence.com Nahhh, must be a fluke.

So I sent in another post, expecting a harder fall. This time the editor passed but said she’d refer it to a different department. I didn’t get my hopes up. But two days later… boom — another editor loved it. Front page. Sunday morning. Essence.com AGAIN.

Still doubting, I sent a piece to and editor I recently met at MadameNoire They published my submission the next day. Then I decided to try The Root, yup, they picked me up too. I kept thinking… what the actual hell? Am I really this good?

Here’s the kicker: I was my own worst critic. And I was SO much better than I ever gave myself credit for.

A month later, Essence offered me my own column. After that? Features in Huffington Post, Mommy Noire, Black Enterprise… and a gang of others.

BRAND NUGGET:

Listen: When success finds you, BELIEVE IT. You’re better than you think you are. Once might be luck. Twice is proof. You’re a magnet for greatness — and attracting excellence is inevitable. Periodt.

👉🏽 Jai has logged off.

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Catch you on the flipside --Jai