November the 27th 2001 it was a Tuesday
it was a Tuesday after Thanksgiving it
was a phenomenal day I had the
opportunity to start a new job it was my
second day on the job how exciting is
that I’m sitting at my desk and my
assistant came in I had ignored a couple
calls on my phone and she came in and
she said you Nica one of your children
is on line one
I think you need to take it he sounds a
little upset and I said well they’re
always upset because they want to know
which lunch meat they should use or they
want to know if they can eat the
Twinkies or what’s what’s gonna be for
dinner or they want to tell me about one
hitting the other they’re always upset
and she said no this time I think that
you should take this call pick up the
phone and my ten-year-old son Isaiah is
on the other line and he’s sobbing and
quickly I knew that something was
different about this call this wasn’t
about Oscar Mayer this wasn’t about
something that may have happened on the
playground this wasn’t about his friends
or someone bothering him but this this
phone call was serious in between us
odds I said honey I need you to get it
together I need you to tell me what’s
going on I used my big corporate voice
on him right and I said I need you to
tell me exactly what’s wrong and he
paused and he said mommy Nana is dead
and I sat there because I wasn’t
expecting those words to come from my 10
year old son
I mean Nana’s should be in the kitchen
cutting the crusts off of your peanut
butter and jelly sandwich right about
now
who told you that she was dead and he
said I’m looking at her and I said well
how do you know that she’s dead he said
mommy she’s cold and I said well hold on
for just a second this is where all the
type-a personality comes in handy
I said hold on for just a second I want
you to pause I want you to calm down
I want you to grab your seven-year-old
brother and I want you to go over to
houses and I want you to tell them that
you’ve talked to me and that you need to
stay there and I’m on my way
November the 27th of 2001 you would
think that that particular moment would
have been the shifting moment in my life
but it wasn’t the call it wasn’t coming
home to the house and finding my forever
best friend the first person I ever knew
the persons who heartbeat I learned from
the inside of her womb lying on the
floor lifeless at 51 years old from a
heart attack you would have thought that
that would have shifted everything but
that wasn’t the moment it was the moment
at her funeral where they said to me as
the oldest child we need you to come up
and we’d like for you to close the
casket I thought wow this is a lot you
guys are asking a lot of me but I can do
this and I stand up and I walk up to the
casket I put my hand up and I start to
pull it down and as the casket is going
down as I’m pulling down that lid for my
final goodbye to my mother I thought
about everything that she said she was
going to do all of the dreams that she
had all of the goals that she had there
were now trapped inside of this casket
and then there was a click that casket
is forever closed pallbearers lifted up
they take it out to a hearse they put
the person in there they take you to the
funeral home I mean to the cemetery they
drop you into a six-foot hole and in
that hole goes your dreams your
aspirations and your goals I want to
talk to you today about a life without
limits because when I think about my
mother I know that she lived her life
full of limits everything was a limit
money was a limit being a single mother
was a limit poverty was a limit living
in the ghetto was a limit all of these
different things were a limit to her not
having an education was a limit and so
she made her decisions in life based on
her limits opposed to possibilities I
want to talk to you today about a life
without limits fear gripped her most of
her life fear of failure fear of
rejection fear of success
kept her from stepping out and doing the
things that she was called to do in the
earth living a life without limits it
was that clique that made me make a
decision that I would always seize each
and every opportunity that came my way
that if I was called to create in the
earth then I would create if I was
called to speak in the earth then I
would speak if I was called to love in
the earth then I would love the
challenge that we have as adults as we
place limits on our children we place
limits because of our own fears because
I think about all of the things that my
mother said to me all of the things that
she told me that instead instilled fear
in me that would make me live a life
that was full of limits and then I
listen to myself tell my children the
same thing oh you don’t want to do that
don’t play football because if you play
football then you might get hurt if you
get hurt that I’m going to cry and then
I have to pay this huge copay and none
of us want that so let’s not play
football but those fears were putting
into our children and they’re receiving
them because they’re empty empty empty
vessels that were designed to be placed
in the earth to do magnificent things I
want to talk to you about living a life
without limits fear of rejection what
will they say will they accept me is my
idea good enough
am I called to do this was I creative
for this is it the time for this do you
what if they what if everyone turns away
from me what will I do do it anyway who
cares what they think
who clears what they say it is your time
and it’s time for you to do the things
that you were created to do fear failure
we all have to fail at some time but I
don’t even think that when you fail that
it’s a failure I think it’s a learning
opportunity it’s an opportunity for you
to think how can I do this differently
the next time
the next time I create the next time I
invent think for just a moment if Steve
Jobs would have been gripped with fear
of rejection and failure and decided to
never create the iPhone I mean like how
would I have a playlist now how would I
be able to at my fingertips be able to
talk to thousands of people on Facebook
how would I be able to fit this little
computer in my back pocket that can pick
up take selfies do all of these things
he didn’t have that fear he knew that he
had to live a life without limits and
now his thought process his creations
his inventions are is making our life
better because he was limitless and we
have to be limitless and we have to
create that limitless mindset for our
children we may want to do something
they want to step out the box and want
to try something different encourage
them when they fall down pick them back
up and say you know what you may not
have done a good job this time it may
not have worked out the way that you
wanted it to but it’s time for you to go
forth and try it again I believe that
you should do it over and over again
until you get it right based on what
your definition of right is encourage
them to think freely encourage them to
share to use their voice and lastly a
fear of success sometimes we can be so
afraid we’re so used to failing when I
think back about my mother and I think
about the life that she had when I think
about the challenges that she faced in
her life failure after failure after
failure after failure disappointment
after disappointment she didn’t know
what success looked like so she wouldn’t
step out in order to get success because
she had no idea what does that mean
because sometimes our failure can become
our story it can become our badge of
honor people get together they have
failure parties they go and fill your
get aways they have a unit get together
and they talk about all the times that
they failed and it becomes a way the
people that you resonate with people but
it’s time to stop having fail your
parties and start stepping into the
success parties it’s time for us to say
okay you know what there’s a special
call that’s on my life there’s something
that I’m created to do in this earth
that only I can do there are people that
are waiting to hear my voice to use my
invention to
to my company there are people that are
here in this earth that are waiting on
me and failure and fear cannot stop me I
want to talk to you about living a life
without limits when you’re living
without limits you’ll step up and do the
things that you would never do when
you’re living without limits you love
without limits you walk without limits
you talk without limits you go without
limits nothing can contain you when
you’re living without limits
nothing can hold you back from the dream
that’s inside of you that Symphony did
only plays when you’re doing the thing
that you were created to do funny thing
about adults adults will stay in jobs
longer than they need to or want to and
they’ll hate that job why do they stay
fear how are we going to pay the bills
how are we going to do this if I walk
away from this job how am I gonna do
what you know what I need to do for my
family I’ve been all the way up the
ranks in corporate America and I made
the decision 18 months ago to step more
step into a place that I was afraid of
and I walked away from my job and
started my own firm because I believe
that if I’m living my life without
limits then the things that are
important will be supplied if I’m
walking in that place that I’m supposed
to be in then every need will be met if
I recognize that I am NOT my own source
then everything else will be taken care
of and I walked away from that job and I
gotta tell you everyone thought I was
crazy my father thought I should come
home we should have a conversation that
maybe he needed to coach me that clearly
this child has not quit the job that
everyone wants yes I quit I gave it all
up why because staying in that job was
safe staying in that job put limits on
my life and staying in that job would
put me in a position where I probably
wouldn’t even be standing in front of
you today because I’d be worried about a
spreadsheet ebody profit margin
shareholders something would be plaguing
my mind the Sunday evening because
tomorrow I will probably have to talk to
a board member
I want to talk about a life without
limits if a symphony is not going off
inside of you every day that you’re not
living a limited life if you are not
filled with joy and compassion and love
and it’s static about what you’re doing
you’re not living a limitless life you
have allowed fear to creep in and tell
you everything that you couldn’t be but
it’s time for you to think about not
only the legacy that is of a monetary
value that you’ll hand down to your
children but that legacy that is without
fear a legacy that tells them that they
can do whatever it is that they feel
they’re called to do in the earth that
there’s nothing that can stop them that
they should not be afraid that they
should go forth that they should use
their voice but to make this world a
better place it’s time for us to live a
limitless life where there are no
boundaries around us where everything
that we want we can possess we can step
into it and that we can do it
don’t let the clique come before you
step into your limitless life live that
life now say goodbye to fear
say goodbye to doubt say goodbye to
unbelief and stand firmly in your
authentic self doing what you know you
were created to do in the earth by the
shoes eat the peach cobbler eat the
dressing or the stuffing as some people
may call it jump out of an airplane
create the thing that’s inside of you
write the book start the business do the
thing so that your life can be limitless
because once that clique comes it’s all
over you don’t get an upper second
opportunity my mother never ever got to
do a lot of the things that were on her
list the dreams that were inside of her
I believe that she pressed pause on that
Symphony early on and she never pressed
play again but I stand here now that
even though she didn’t transfer
legacy to me on purpose she transferred
it to me through a lesson and I make
sure that this symphony is playing all
the time live your life limitlessly and
let your Symphony play for the whole
world to hear
you
it was a Tuesday after Thanksgiving it
was a phenomenal day I had the
opportunity to start a new job it was my
second day on the job how exciting is
that I’m sitting at my desk and my
assistant came in I had ignored a couple
calls on my phone and she came in and
she said you Nica one of your children
is on line one
I think you need to take it he sounds a
little upset and I said well they’re
always upset because they want to know
which lunch meat they should use or they
want to know if they can eat the
Twinkies or what’s what’s gonna be for
dinner or they want to tell me about one
hitting the other they’re always upset
and she said no this time I think that
you should take this call pick up the
phone and my ten-year-old son Isaiah is
on the other line and he’s sobbing and
quickly I knew that something was
different about this call this wasn’t
about Oscar Mayer this wasn’t about
something that may have happened on the
playground this wasn’t about his friends
or someone bothering him but this this
phone call was serious in between us
odds I said honey I need you to get it
together I need you to tell me what’s
going on I used my big corporate voice
on him right and I said I need you to
tell me exactly what’s wrong and he
paused and he said mommy Nana is dead
and I sat there because I wasn’t
expecting those words to come from my 10
year old son
I mean Nana’s should be in the kitchen
cutting the crusts off of your peanut
butter and jelly sandwich right about
now
who told you that she was dead and he
said I’m looking at her and I said well
how do you know that she’s dead he said
mommy she’s cold and I said well hold on
for just a second this is where all the
type-a personality comes in handy
I said hold on for just a second I want
you to pause I want you to calm down
I want you to grab your seven-year-old
brother and I want you to go over to
houses and I want you to tell them that
you’ve talked to me and that you need to
stay there and I’m on my way
November the 27th of 2001 you would
think that that particular moment would
have been the shifting moment in my life
but it wasn’t the call it wasn’t coming
home to the house and finding my forever
best friend the first person I ever knew
the persons who heartbeat I learned from
the inside of her womb lying on the
floor lifeless at 51 years old from a
heart attack you would have thought that
that would have shifted everything but
that wasn’t the moment it was the moment
at her funeral where they said to me as
the oldest child we need you to come up
and we’d like for you to close the
casket I thought wow this is a lot you
guys are asking a lot of me but I can do
this and I stand up and I walk up to the
casket I put my hand up and I start to
pull it down and as the casket is going
down as I’m pulling down that lid for my
final goodbye to my mother I thought
about everything that she said she was
going to do all of the dreams that she
had all of the goals that she had there
were now trapped inside of this casket
and then there was a click that casket
is forever closed pallbearers lifted up
they take it out to a hearse they put
the person in there they take you to the
funeral home I mean to the cemetery they
drop you into a six-foot hole and in
that hole goes your dreams your
aspirations and your goals I want to
talk to you today about a life without
limits because when I think about my
mother I know that she lived her life
full of limits everything was a limit
money was a limit being a single mother
was a limit poverty was a limit living
in the ghetto was a limit all of these
different things were a limit to her not
having an education was a limit and so
she made her decisions in life based on
her limits opposed to possibilities I
want to talk to you today about a life
without limits fear gripped her most of
her life fear of failure fear of
rejection fear of success
kept her from stepping out and doing the
things that she was called to do in the
earth living a life without limits it
was that clique that made me make a
decision that I would always seize each
and every opportunity that came my way
that if I was called to create in the
earth then I would create if I was
called to speak in the earth then I
would speak if I was called to love in
the earth then I would love the
challenge that we have as adults as we
place limits on our children we place
limits because of our own fears because
I think about all of the things that my
mother said to me all of the things that
she told me that instead instilled fear
in me that would make me live a life
that was full of limits and then I
listen to myself tell my children the
same thing oh you don’t want to do that
don’t play football because if you play
football then you might get hurt if you
get hurt that I’m going to cry and then
I have to pay this huge copay and none
of us want that so let’s not play
football but those fears were putting
into our children and they’re receiving
them because they’re empty empty empty
vessels that were designed to be placed
in the earth to do magnificent things I
want to talk to you about living a life
without limits fear of rejection what
will they say will they accept me is my
idea good enough
am I called to do this was I creative
for this is it the time for this do you
what if they what if everyone turns away
from me what will I do do it anyway who
cares what they think
who clears what they say it is your time
and it’s time for you to do the things
that you were created to do fear failure
we all have to fail at some time but I
don’t even think that when you fail that
it’s a failure I think it’s a learning
opportunity it’s an opportunity for you
to think how can I do this differently
the next time
the next time I create the next time I
invent think for just a moment if Steve
Jobs would have been gripped with fear
of rejection and failure and decided to
never create the iPhone I mean like how
would I have a playlist now how would I
be able to at my fingertips be able to
talk to thousands of people on Facebook
how would I be able to fit this little
computer in my back pocket that can pick
up take selfies do all of these things
he didn’t have that fear he knew that he
had to live a life without limits and
now his thought process his creations
his inventions are is making our life
better because he was limitless and we
have to be limitless and we have to
create that limitless mindset for our
children we may want to do something
they want to step out the box and want
to try something different encourage
them when they fall down pick them back
up and say you know what you may not
have done a good job this time it may
not have worked out the way that you
wanted it to but it’s time for you to go
forth and try it again I believe that
you should do it over and over again
until you get it right based on what
your definition of right is encourage
them to think freely encourage them to
share to use their voice and lastly a
fear of success sometimes we can be so
afraid we’re so used to failing when I
think back about my mother and I think
about the life that she had when I think
about the challenges that she faced in
her life failure after failure after
failure after failure disappointment
after disappointment she didn’t know
what success looked like so she wouldn’t
step out in order to get success because
she had no idea what does that mean
because sometimes our failure can become
our story it can become our badge of
honor people get together they have
failure parties they go and fill your
get aways they have a unit get together
and they talk about all the times that
they failed and it becomes a way the
people that you resonate with people but
it’s time to stop having fail your
parties and start stepping into the
success parties it’s time for us to say
okay you know what there’s a special
call that’s on my life there’s something
that I’m created to do in this earth
that only I can do there are people that
are waiting to hear my voice to use my
invention to
to my company there are people that are
here in this earth that are waiting on
me and failure and fear cannot stop me I
want to talk to you about living a life
without limits when you’re living
without limits you’ll step up and do the
things that you would never do when
you’re living without limits you love
without limits you walk without limits
you talk without limits you go without
limits nothing can contain you when
you’re living without limits
nothing can hold you back from the dream
that’s inside of you that Symphony did
only plays when you’re doing the thing
that you were created to do funny thing
about adults adults will stay in jobs
longer than they need to or want to and
they’ll hate that job why do they stay
fear how are we going to pay the bills
how are we going to do this if I walk
away from this job how am I gonna do
what you know what I need to do for my
family I’ve been all the way up the
ranks in corporate America and I made
the decision 18 months ago to step more
step into a place that I was afraid of
and I walked away from my job and
started my own firm because I believe
that if I’m living my life without
limits then the things that are
important will be supplied if I’m
walking in that place that I’m supposed
to be in then every need will be met if
I recognize that I am NOT my own source
then everything else will be taken care
of and I walked away from that job and I
gotta tell you everyone thought I was
crazy my father thought I should come
home we should have a conversation that
maybe he needed to coach me that clearly
this child has not quit the job that
everyone wants yes I quit I gave it all
up why because staying in that job was
safe staying in that job put limits on
my life and staying in that job would
put me in a position where I probably
wouldn’t even be standing in front of
you today because I’d be worried about a
spreadsheet ebody profit margin
shareholders something would be plaguing
my mind the Sunday evening because
tomorrow I will probably have to talk to
a board member
I want to talk about a life without
limits if a symphony is not going off
inside of you every day that you’re not
living a limited life if you are not
filled with joy and compassion and love
and it’s static about what you’re doing
you’re not living a limitless life you
have allowed fear to creep in and tell
you everything that you couldn’t be but
it’s time for you to think about not
only the legacy that is of a monetary
value that you’ll hand down to your
children but that legacy that is without
fear a legacy that tells them that they
can do whatever it is that they feel
they’re called to do in the earth that
there’s nothing that can stop them that
they should not be afraid that they
should go forth that they should use
their voice but to make this world a
better place it’s time for us to live a
limitless life where there are no
boundaries around us where everything
that we want we can possess we can step
into it and that we can do it
don’t let the clique come before you
step into your limitless life live that
life now say goodbye to fear
say goodbye to doubt say goodbye to
unbelief and stand firmly in your
authentic self doing what you know you
were created to do in the earth by the
shoes eat the peach cobbler eat the
dressing or the stuffing as some people
may call it jump out of an airplane
create the thing that’s inside of you
write the book start the business do the
thing so that your life can be limitless
because once that clique comes it’s all
over you don’t get an upper second
opportunity my mother never ever got to
do a lot of the things that were on her
list the dreams that were inside of her
I believe that she pressed pause on that
Symphony early on and she never pressed
play again but I stand here now that
even though she didn’t transfer
legacy to me on purpose she transferred
it to me through a lesson and I make
sure that this symphony is playing all
the time live your life limitlessly and
let your Symphony play for the whole
world to hear
you
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