How to Not Fumble the Bag

Hi, my name is Zaakirah Muhammad. I am a creative strategist and a brand cultivating strategist and a woman empowerment coach. I've been a professional creative for more than 10 years now, and today we are talking about what would you do if you were given the opportunity to fulfill your purpose And you— would you procrastinate? Would you be afraid? Would you say no? Would you be really sad about fumbling that bag? That's what we're going to talk about today. So feel free to save and share this video if you can't watch it. It's going to be a deep and a good conversation. So just to give a little bit of context, I'm looking on multiple devices. This video will be shared on multiple platforms. And I'm also a cancer survivor, so I'm blind in one eye. So I'm just making it happen. So, all right. So the first thing first is I am also a public speaker. I've been speaking technically for over 11 years now. 15 if you add that up, because in high school I was a part of a service organization where we were literally trained and developed in public speaking, in leadership, in communication, in service. So technically I've been speaking for a while. I'm also a professional photographer. I've been a photographer for over 11 years if you rounded that up to about 20 years, because my first camera I was, um, given to me at the age of 5. But, you know, the pandemic and I guess October 2021, just also with me being one of those millennials that have always been on social media for so long that I'm just taking a step back from social media and focusing more on what do I really want to do. So I've— since June of 2021, I've been in a personal and professional development program. It's one program, but they have multiple, multiple courses. And I've literally been working on my mindset. So I'm probably going to say the moral of the story now so that you can get that context now as you continue to listen to this story of had I not been continuing to work on my mindset, I would be in a much better shape. I know I'm in a good shape, and I know that I would be in a much worse shape had I not been continuing working on my mindset. So the backstory is at the time of recording of this video. I am supposed to be on my first ever international speaking engagement, um, in the country of Spain. And it was pretty much an expensive covered trip. The flight was covered, the hotel was covered, transportation was covered, um, and all the transportation thereafter. I was supposed to be having my first international speaking opportunity at a travel conference called TBEX, also known as Travel Blogger Exchange. It's been around also for over a decade, and it has the best of the best of those who have been making their living as travel-related content creators, travel-related influencers, or those who want to take that route. My role there was going to be as a speaker. I was going to speak on branding and storytelling. In addition to, they have lots of opportunity to provide content. It's literally a content creation week. It's conference/content creation event. So then you also be able to provide content for the area in Spain that we were going to called Marbella. in Malaga and Marbella and other places because it's not far from Seville and Almería. So that was supposed to be today, June 6th, and all the way until June 12th. That's not the case. Instead, I am currently in Dallas, Texas. So— Uh, Dallas, Texas was where I was supposed to fly out of, and what happened— what had happened was— so for most European countries, if you're new to traveling internationally, this may be a new concept for you, but if you are an American citizen, you can travel up to 90 days, uh, in a country without a visa. You don't have to go through that application process for a visa. whatsoever. However, just utilizing the opportunity to be a speaker and utilizing the opportunity to have a flight covered for me, I was like, okay, let's just make it the whole 90 days. But what's interesting is that it would— the 90 days would kind of conflict into Labor Day weekend. So with any international holiday, the flight prices are stupid. When I say stupid, I mean stupid, right? So their travel agent was the one who was booking the flight, but it was my oversight to see that it kind of went over 90 days. So basically, just to give a little bit of context, I've also been an entrepreneur for over 11 years. I've dibbled and dabbled in so many things, but mainly I am known as a photographer and a marketer and a coach, a consultant, you know, that listening ear. But I've also dibbled and dabbled in travel agency. So I kind of know how this works, but I don't know everything because I haven't traveled internationally since 2016. And I am a part of lots of Facebook groups, I'm still well connected to my fellow travelers, but there's a lot that I don't know. So I'm in touch with their travel agent and, um, I give a date range. I'm like, okay, I can arrive, um, you know, between— pick my date to arrive between June Um, what I said, 3 to 5, and leave between like September 3 to 5. So I'm just like, whatever date range works, right? Because it's travel, you got to make sure that you fit a certain budget. So whatever date works. So the dates I get back, I totally overlooked it because also the way that I got it back, it wasn't like as if it's a preview of a flight. It's like all the details and not even the pertinent information included. So I'm like, What are the dates? Okay, I think that's right. I just said, you know, they send you the email, make sure your details are correct, make sure your passport ID is correct. All of that was correct. Um, but when it came to just making sure that the dates were less than 90 days so I would not need to get a visa, I did not triple-check that. Um, so that was my oversight. But however, I didn't realize it until I'm about to check in online. You can check in online 30 hours before a flight, but I was still, you know, my— one of my, um, things that I'm working on is not procrastinating, right? So, um, I didn't actually check in online probably until not even 24 hours before the flight. That's when I feel like I finally settled down. Because, you know, like I said, I've been heavily into the personal and professional development program that I'm in, so we have lots of homework assignments, and I was trying to get ahead so I can just enjoy my time in Spain. And so I didn't actually pack until the Saturday before. And I also— another kind of— bear with me because I'm a storyteller, but I would be everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, then I'll get to the main point. But the other aspect of it is the With me being a cancer survivor, currently I am not vaccinated. That is my current choice. So as a result, I kind of needed to adjust accordingly and get the negative test done, the rapid test completed. I didn't purchase the test until the Monday before my flight, which is now coming down to 3 days before I'm supposed to leave the country. So I purchased the test. However, I procrastinated with opening it, making sure that it worked, making sure that, you know, I'm able to do it and utilize it, right? And the one thing I didn't— the other thing that kind of I bumped into, right, was realizing that in order to take that rapid test, you needed to have the newest, one of the newest phones, phones that were made in the last— it looked like the last 2 years, right? I'm one of those That until my device does not work for me, I'm holding on to my phone, to my computer, and whatnot. Right? So then I'm like, okay. Well, apparently, I got to find a way to get this test done because I don't have the phone that will allow me to take the rapid test. So that that do the two things. So one, I'm checking in online, and it says in in big almost red letters. I think it was just red. It was red somewhere, but it felt red like. But it said. You are not authorized to board or check in this flight. So my heart dropped. My heart sank. I'm staring at the computer. I'm literally sitting there. I'm at the hotel that my parents were so gracious with getting, and it was so close to the airport that all I needed to do was hop on that shuttle and get on the plane. I'm sitting there in the living room of the hotel room. My heart sank, and I'm like, I'm not authorized to board the flight. Because I kept digging deeper, open all the little, you know, small details of like why. And I then see it's because you need a visa. I'm like, why do I need a visa? I'm supposed to— I'm an American citizen, I don't need a visa. But I triple-checked the dates and I see, oh man, my flight is already confirmed to be set to come back after— no, what was it, before Labor Day, right before Labor Day weekend. But it was 30 days after that I would be leaving for the country. Sorry, not 30, 90 days. So realizing that my flight was set to arrive, arrive on June 3rd and arrive back to the US on September 5th, it should have been the way that my mind was thinking was that, okay, June, June 3rd and June, September 3rd, right? 90 days, no more than 90 days. That calculation was completely out the window. So there were 2 things, 2 reasons why I was not able to board that flight. One, I would have needed to get, get a visa or adjust the flight. Um, and then 2, I would have needed to submit, you know, my negative COVID test 24 hours before the flight again. So the option that the travel agent said when I asked him, like, can you please look for another flight for me? This was an oversight. And they were like, sure, it's going to be $800 more than the current flight pass though. $800? That's for that? No, I'm not financially there yet, right? So I did not have that. I didn't have that saved. I didn't even have that to spend. So I was still like, okay, what else can we do? What else can we do? I mean, do I just give up? Like, what do I do? So I waited a little bit because by the time that I'm getting this information, at first, you know, what happens is if you work with a travel agent, they will give you a preview of the, um, flight. They'll give you a preview of the flight, right? But what's new for me is, you know, I'm— again, my travel agent hat, I'm so used to booking flights for myself, right? Or by myself, or using, you know, the secret little hacks to book flights. So they send you a preview and, you know, at the end the travel agent's like, just gonna wait till the morning for— because this was 9 o'clock at night, like that Monday that I'm— sorry, that— no, this is 9 o'clock— at this point now, this was 9 o'clock at night at the hotel the day— the less than 24 hours before I'm supposed to fly out. So luckily he responded to the message. So he said, okay, this is probably what the new flight would be. I would have arrived on Saturday instead of— I was supposed to arrive Friday, so I would have arrived on Saturday instead. Overnight flight, you know, I would have gone from, from Dallas, Texas to— I think I had a stopover in Atlanta and then Paris and then Spain. And so then I was able to receive that flight. Okay, cool, looks like I'll be leaving on Saturday instead. They just got to approve it. And so, you know, at the time that I'm waiting for them to approve it, I'm actually getting ready to check out of the hotel. It's almost checkout time. So I get the email first with the email, and because I, you know, I was going about my business thinking, okay, everything's fine. But I get a call from the travel agent. So I'm like, ooh, this is the first time he called me. We've been emailing this entire time. And that's when he called to say, so did you see my email? Um, the, the organization did not approve the flight change because They say you have to pay the $800 for the oversight. I'm like, really? Now mind you, I am a speaker, but I'm not a keynote speaker yet. So plus it's a conference, there's 20+ other speakers. That means 20+ other flights that they've covered approximately, right? So mind you, it made the most sense of like, okay, I get it, you know. That, that would— that would not— that would be on their budget. So here I am thinking, you know, we're not in— about to hit another recession, we're not having inflation like crazy, thinking, okay, just find another flight, you know, that, that's, you know, one way, maybe make it one way. But no, no, remember, I haven't traveled internationally since 2016. Flight prices are not budging. It's international, so they're definitely not going to budge less than 24 hours beforehand. And 3, you also will have to factor in the 24-hour notice to get your test done again if you're not vaccinated. So yeah, that's that. So the other side of the story, in my personal and professional development program, we have coaches and then we have buddies. Right. So we have buddies, you know, a buddy who's also aspiring to be a coach. So I've become so close with my buddy on Zoom that when, you know, I'm telling her and my coach that I'm flying to Spain, I'm flying to Spain, I'm speaking in Spain, then they find out. Because if you listen to a previous episode of my podcast called See Life Different with Zaakirah, I shared that my My parents and I just recently moved to Oklahoma, Tulsa, Oklahoma. So we drove down from Tulsa, Oklahoma. And so I've been on the phone with my buddy and my coach and saying, yeah, I'm going to drive down to Texas on this day and we're staying in this hotel. And so she's like, I would love to meet you in person. And that's exactly what she did. She came down and we finished our— I think we finished, almost finished. That was the other sign. Should have known. I didn't finish my homework assignment, so how would I know that? But anyway, we almost finished our homework assignment, but it was so amazing to be able to meet each other in person. It was the same buddy, remember I was saying that in order for me to submit the test, I had to have one of the newest and coolest phones? Well, it was her phone that I was able to submit the test. The negative test, obviously, which is something to celebrate. Great, and then the next thing, the way that she came through was I'm like, okay, well now what? Because if I wasn't— at first I'm thinking, okay, we're checking out of the hotel on— what is that, Thursday morning? I need some place to be until I'm set to leave Saturday. This is operating off of the understanding that, oh, that Saturday flight preview that he sent me was gonna get approved, right? So I was like, hey, can I stay with you for like 2 days? Yeah, sure, no problem. So as I'm arriving to her, her house, okay, okay, remember, by the time it's time to check out, I get the call from the travel agent. He's like, I'm available until like 5 PM today. It's 11 o'clock in the morning. I'm available until like 5 PM today. If you're able to, you know, get the money, we can make this happen. Again, I don't— how am I gonna get— I'm driving. I'm the one who's driving my parents' car, um, to my, my buddy's House, and I'm like, how am I gonna get the $800? Why didn't I save the $800? Something, you know, I would overthink in my mind, like, what, what about this $800? And so it took a couple of days, and it took a, a bit more of stepping outside of my own comfort zone, right? So coming from someone who, um, was raised independently, who was raised I guess I could say I had a pretty good childhood. Things were well taken care of. My medical needs were taken care of. My health needs were taken care of. So much so that by the time I became an adult, I was taking care of stuff. So here I am, you know, still kind of— I'm still in that season of truly getting to be the woman that I'm supposed to be. So here I am just like, okay, I'm in this season of being okay with asking for help, being okay with accepting help, and being okay with owning up with my financial mistakes. So I say all this to say, you will be having seasons where it's like my favorite Eminem song by the rapper Eminem. Like, if you had one shot, one opportunity to see everything you've ever wanted, In one moment. So this was truly the answer: would you capture it, would you let it slip? So, um, I guess I could say I didn't exactly let it slip because I did everything else that I needed to do except for triple-check the oversight of flight dates. That was it. That's the only thing. But also what I needed to do It's get my financial ish in order, right? It's something that, you know, had needed to be worked on since the pandemic. I work a little bit, you know, I save a little bit, I work a little bit, I save a little bit, you know. But that's what happens when you kind of, um, come from— when you don't come from money, if I could say that, right? If you don't come from money, it's It's different. It's a different situation, right? So, you know, I'm just— I'm here, actually. I'm here in Dallas, Texas. I'm fast-forwarding a little bit. So what did you decide? What did you do? I'm here in Dallas, Texas. My buddy and I are going to complete our program together. We finish in September. So the 90 days I would have spent in a country worrying about my next paycheck I'm actually going to be in a city where I have unfinished business. I came to Dallas— well, I left Dallas, Texas, June 2021. I'm back in Dallas, Texas, June 2022. And that's what my summer is going to be. And had I not been— I think I'll say this again— had I not been in the professional and personal development program, Yeah, you would not hear from me. I would fall off the face of the earth. I would probably be crying for days. Okay, but I realized that there was a silver lining in me meeting my buddy, getting into this program. I started this program February, uh, 2022. So there's silver lining in everything. So Although I may not be in Spain right now, the good thing is that I was able to really honor my word and keep my word with the organization and try again. They have 4, like, conferences a year, and I will be trying again for their next conference, which is going to be in the country of Thailand. Yeah, it's intentional like that. They have a couple in the US, they have a couple in one of every continent. Not in Africa yet. Hopefully that'll be soon. But that's that. I'm here in Dallas, Texas. And for the summer, I am continuing to work on me. But while I'm working on me, everything that I've learned is coming right back to you, right? So everything that I'm learning to be a better coach, a better leader, Mm-hmm. a better woman is going to reflect in the value of the work that I do as a consultant, as a creative, as a podcaster, as an author. I have all these hats, but, you know, you really have to go where— there's a quote, you know, my buddy and I were watching the TV show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, and it was the Will Smith episode. Yes, you can take what you want from that, but they specifically said it was recorded before the Oscar Awards ceremony. But Will Smith shared a quote that stuck with me that said— it was by Rumi, the poet, and it said, um, light your own life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames. So to explain that quote just a little bit, basically seek those who continue to shine your light. Seek those who do not dim your light. Seek those who do not blow out your candle. Seek those who do not— don't seek those, sorry. Don't seek those who dim your light. Don't seek those who blow out your candle. Don't seek those Who will put your fire out. So that's what I'm going to be focusing on for the next 90 days. And if you are a creative who has a vision, who has constraints, who— if you were hearing my story and you said to yourself, I don't know what I would do. I would probably do something, something, something other than every— other than what I did. This message is for you. This video is for you. And if you see fit for yourself, I'm ready to work with you. I'm ready to learn what it is that makes you you and help you unlearn and rediscover your purpose. Because in order for this world to really be more positive and loving, We need to be operating in your purpose. All right, so that wraps that up. Thank you for watching if you made it this far. Thank you for listening if you made it this far. Yeah. And, um, I will see you around. But in the meantime, feel free to check out my podcast, See Life Different with Zaakirah, available everywhere. And, um, you can purchase my memoir Seeing Life Through a Different Lens. It's written by my mom and I about what life has been like overcoming adversity of any kind, including cancer and hard of hearing and autoimmune. And last but not least, I'm willing to be your coach, your mentor, your accountability partner for getting over that hump to discover your purpose. So you can also visit calendly.com/focused— with a PH, P-H-O-C-U-S-E-D— Media Group and choose from one of the various consultation options that are there, whether you want the strategy session or coaching session. And I think that's mainly what I'm offering right now. you know, try not to do a million things at once, but strategy session, coaching session for mindset or for fitness. Thank you so much for watching.