Use Your Little: Building You as You Build Series
Start where you are, it'll be worth it.
Hi everyone!
Welcome to this week’s newsletter. It’s our second letter on our building series and today I’ll be sharing on the importance of starting with your little. Before we get into today’s newsletter,
💗 Here’s a little word of encouragment for you.
Wherever you find yourself on your journey, remain committed to the vision you have been given irrespective of what comes your way. Don’t allow yourself to be side-tracked. You may have tried and failed, made mistakes, or even quit at times, but remain committed to your path. Remember it’s been designed for you to win, but we all have to play our roles. You can choose to be an active participant and reject passivity, but it boils down to the choice you make. Your efforts will produce fruit in due time, but as you wait to see the bigger picture, don’t let the middle discourage you. Trust me, it’ll all come together beautifully.
Rhieme Recommends 💌
📚Book Recommendation: Unleash Your Superpowers by Foluso Gbadamosi. I highly recommend this book! It’s the perfect read for anyone struggling to recognise their strengths. If you want to go the extra mile, she runs strengths workshops too. I attended one at the start of the month and it was amazing! Find out more on her page here.
🎥Video Recommendation: Built to Last Series by Ijeoma Adesanya. I joined this series last year and I was so encouraged hearing the journeys of various women who have built amazing businesses and ventures. A new instalment of the series is still ongoing! Register here. The video linked in particular hit home for me, watch here.
Now let’s get into today’s newsletter!
Use Your Little: Building You as You Build Series
The Seed 🌱
Everything starts in seed form. Our journeys, our ideas etc, all begin small. We’re young, and we may be wondering what the future holds for us, what we carry and how we can impact those around us. Even in this space of navigating the middle, the thought of the possibilities that can be birthed through our lives that we are unaware is something I can’t shake off. For example, a child starts of having a passion with reading and writing, but little do they know that this desire could lead them to writing thousands of books globally. My point is, you have seeds of greatness that have been deposited within you, and I encourage you to begin to cultivate them. Those ideas that linger in your mind during the day or the thoughts that constantly keep you awake. It could be a problem that stirs up a burning desire within you to provide a solution to it. Wherever you may be, your life is a message written to be heard for such a time as this. Begin with what has been placed in your hands.
But — Where do I Begin? 🧱
I know some of us may be asking, but what happens when we’re struggling to see what is our hands? Where does one start from then? I believe it all starts with recognition and service. By recognition, I mean coming to an awareness that you even have something deposited within you to share with the world. When we’re able to recognise the seemingly little things that make us who we are, I believe it changes how we begin to carry ourselves. In this process of seeing ourselves as we ought to, we need God’s perspective and this isn’t a journey we can embark on alone. God knows us from the inside out, our gifts, talents and so are all known to Him and we need to partner with the words He speaks over our lives. Even when the words you hear seem so far from what you see, remember God speaks to us with the end in mind, in due time you will become what He has spoken.
I’ve found taking the Gallup Strength test very useful in learning more about my strengths. It brought to light aspects of myself I didn’t recognise made me different and were worth cultivating. So I encourage you today, begin to believe and recognise that you have something worth depositing to the world. As we begin to recognise our differences, our strengths etc, it is easier for us to begin to use our gifts and talents within our spheres of influence.
Nurturing the Seed—Serve Where You Are 💐
The process of building comes with service. There is so much to be said on this but today I want to focus on being faithful with the work of another. It’s important we remember, we’re not all created to build our own ventures. Sometimes one could be called to support another person’s venture and this does not make them inferior. We need to learn from those who have gone ahead of us and take cues from people who we see walking in the manifestation of things we wish to see in our lives. This is why mentorship is important— mentors are able to take us where we haven’t been and show us how they’ve been able to reach where they find themselves. But here’s the catch, it’s not simply about taking from others but also looking to see how we can partner with individuals and be a blessing as well. One of my favourite quotes is:
‘Mentorship is caught, not taught’ - Jumoke Adenowo
There are certain things we cannot learn unless we are in close proximity with people and partnering with others in their building process is an access point for this. Serve where you are. It could be volunteering with organisations, taking up new responsbilities within the workplace or even choosing to help a friend with their business. Wherever it is, choose to serve. Serve that one person as though you were serving thousands. Remember how you treat the one, will determine if you are able to handle thousands. I shared more on this in this podcast feature, listen here. The process of serving also teaches us humility, as we recognise we truly do not know it all and there is more to be learnt. Joining a leadership training programme by my church recently, was an apt reminder and wow it was truly life-changing.
But as a caveat, let’s remember to serve with the right motive. We don’t serve others because we want to get something from them. Neither do we serve to feed our ego. At the heart of service should be the love for God and following His leading to partner with others. I believe in the process of serving others, we come to a greater awareness of what we carry as we’re intentionally letting out what has been deposited within us. We even begin to see areas where we may need to upskill and take new courses. Through serving others I am learning invaluable lessons. From the importance of dilligence, consistency, excellence, faithfulness and so much more.
Carrying The Seed
Ultimately as we build, we want whatever ventures or ideas we’ve gone to develop, to last. A crucial part of this is: carrying our seeds well and thinking beyond ourselves. There are times where we may enter into quiet seasons. Every season is not for the mountaintop. Some seasons are for hiddeness where our efforts may not be recognised. This too is part of the process. Embrace the process that is required for your calling. In quiet times like this, aspects such as the need for validation and even unneccessary pressure begin to fade away as we focus on the pace that is best for us. Release timelines when building, no two journeys are the same. Externally we may not be seen ‘doing anything’ however our faithfulness to what we are called to do at that point at time and that is more than enough. The quotes below sum it up beautifully:
Another part of building is, learning to build beyond ourselves. As I build Uncovered Conversations, this has looked like creating systems and a team. I am still in the process of navigating this and of course not everything we create is to go beyond us, but some things are. And I believe it’s important that whatever steps we take to build, we have a bigger picture in mind. In your seemingly small corner, you could be one used to influence nationwide policies and build institutions that will touch lives beyond you and so much more. So whatever you find yourself building, build well, as we don’t know which could be multiplied.
And to the person who may be weary on this journey, please don’t give up. We’re here for the long haul. If you’re struggling to understand what you’re building or what the people you’re partnering with are, be patient. Over time it will become clearer, choose to be faithful in the middle.
As we wrap up, here’s a video from the Uncovered Conversations event. I listened to it a few days ago and it was so encouraging! Start with the seemingly little, it’ll be worth it.
As always share your thoughts with me and I’ll see you next week!
Love,
Rhieme
Now done reading ,
From the title to the encouragement to the test, every paragraph held something I needed today for when I am. Some many questions put into perspective, and the necessary nudge towards next steps.
Not done reading yet, loved the video and the comment about the one was so instructive. The first time you mentioned the concept of the one, the Holy Spirit literally asked me “how I treat myself with my gifts because I’m the one? How do I show up for myself with my gifts because I’m the one.” Honestly haven’t done the best job showing up for myself but cheers to doing better.