KIRAN:
Will Smith (Actor, Producer, Rapper and Songwriter)
Will Smith has been on my TV screen since I was young from his well-known sit-com Fresh Prince of Bel-Air which people still sing and know all the words for the introduction song! The show covered and challenged many black representations from police brutality, racial profiling, racially biased hiring policies to interracial dating. At the time, it just seemed like another show, but it is not until you get older and you realise even after all these years these issues are still happening in our current time. Will Smith over the years has been in many movies such as Hitch, Bad Boys and others, he has continued to make me laugh and I always know if Will Smith is in it – it will be a movie worth watching! He continuously spreads joy, happiness and gives back to the community as well as being a co-founder of his own charity ‘The Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation’ (https://www.wjsff.org/) .
Will Smith’s Father taught Will and his brother (Harry) a valuable lesson when they were younger and asked them to build a wall from scratch, by hand outside his shop. They were both hesitant that it would not get done but each day after school they carried on until a year and half later the wall was built.
After it was completed Will’s Father turned around and said, ‘don’t you all ever tell me that you can’t do something’. Will shares this story till this day and breaks it down on how this can help and inspire people.
Inspiration:
- the bricks can be whatever aspect of your life you want to work on e.g. wanting a new job, better housing environment, improve your health etc.
- Starting by picking an area of your life that you most want to improve and lay your first brick e.g. learning new skills, learning how to plan, going for a walk but make sure it is something small and attainable
Then tomorrow, lay another brick. And the next day another. If you do this day in and day out, over time you will become the greatest version of yourself.
“You don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say ‘I’m going to build the biggest, greatest wall that’s ever been built. ‘ You don’t start there. You say ‘I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid,’ and you do that every single day, and soon you have a wall.”
DEBRA:
I remember the first time (about 15 years ago ) that I heard Nina Simone singing “Feeling Good” – I don’t know what it was exactly about it but something in the way she sang it was very moving. The words are really powerful in themselves anyway, but other artists’ performance of the song doesn’t quite hit the mark for me in a way that it does when I hear Nina sing it. I haven’t listened to my Nina CD for a while so I’m going to dig it out again…it’s a great driving song when out in the countryside.
Lyrics:
Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze drifting’ on by you know how I feel
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life for me yeah
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me
Ouh
And I’m feeling good
Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River running free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don’t you know
Butterflies all having’ fun, you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done, that’s what I mean
And this old world, is a new world
And a bold world for me
Stars when you shine, you know how I feel
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
And feeling good is how we all would like to feel. This can be however challenging at times in circumstances and situations when possibilities are limited, and hope is distant. And this is how often jobseekers perceive their circumstances before they land in a job. For those still in a process of sending job applications, please remember at the beginning of each day:
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life!
LISA:
I admire Oprah Winfrey for her resilience, determined, outgoing and kind hearted attitude. Oprah has shared her wisdom and knowledge on the subject of career on many forums but her classic career advice is:
“Your job is not always going to fulfil you. There will be some days that you just might be bored. Other days, you may not feel like going to work at all—go anyway…The number one lesson I can offer you is…to become so skilled, so vigilant, so flat-out fantastic at what you do that your talent cannot be dismissed.”
Blog written by: Kiran – WPL IPS Employment Specialist, Debra – WPL Mental Health Job Retention Specialist, Lisa – WPL IPS Employment Specialist
Edited by: Kate – WPL Employment & Job Retention Specialist
WorkPlace Leeds 