Meet Our Featured Maker: Cheryl Polote-Williamson
Cheryl Polote-Williamson is a multi-hyphenated motivator. The award-winning author is also a filmmaker, executive producer, editor, speaker and coach. She custom designed the journals for this season's Luxe & Luminous collection to affirm, uplift and inspire! (This has been edited for space.)
What inspired your work?
At 47, I went through a depression while dealing with my mother-inlaw’s passing, my husband’s cancer and my being diagnosed with a heart condition. Something inside guided me to speak words of affirmation. I started posting them on social media. Those messages became my first book, Affirmed.
How do you bounce back from challenges?
I do a lot of journaling, praying and fasting. I [avoid] anything or anyone who disrupts my peace. My peace is nonnegotiable!
What are some of the things that hold some of us back?
Sometimes, we are afraid of what other people might think if we fail.
You should never live so deeply inside other people’s dreams that you don’t fulfill your own!
What is it about writing that is so powerful?
When you write down [dreams and desires], you get to “see it before you see it.” It becomes like breathing, like your own heartbeat. Be specific! Put names, dates and details.
Why are affirmations so important?
So many people have lost hope. [Affirmations allow] the power of your own words to speak more deeply to you than the outside world.
How is your approach to servant leadership different from “boss lady” energy?
A heart of service does not mean you show up “less than.” No! Walk in owning that room! Just know that when you’ve served well, doors open!