Self Development

Let's face the absolute truth: People judge you in a matter of seconds and based on this first impression they decide everything about you. Projecting a winning image to create a powerful first impression is the key to success in personal, professional and social life. After all, everyone wants to be successful in life, but the certificate of success is heavily dependent on others. If what you think about yourself is not projected right, it leaves a poor impression on people, thus affecting what they think of you. People try to enhance their image by going to various solution providers...

Let’s have an honest conversation about accountability. What does it mean to be accountable? Accountability is defined as an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility. Have you ever taken a step back to really take a look at your life? Are you happy where you are now? Is your dating life where you want it to be? Are you on the career path that’s fulfilling your needs?  When I talk about being accountable to other brothers, I’m referring to their ability to reflect on their actions and understand their role within those actions. You are exactly where you are today, due to the...

If you’ve ever received feedback that you “need to be more strategic,” you know how frustrating it can feel. To add insult to injury, the feedback rarely comes with any concrete guidance on what to do about it. One of my good friends, Jay, a vice president of HR, was in this situation and explains, “I was just told to think bigger picture and to be more strategic. It felt like I had been given the definition of a word by using the same word. It just wasn’t helpful.” So what specific steps can you take to be more strategic in your...

Mental health has become the focus in the West over the last few decades. It’s been long overdue, especially for the Black community. There are still misunderstandings and intolerance for mental health problems although we started to work on declining mental health attentively to understand its effects on society at large. While looking for ways to better explain mental health, we need to a different perspective than the offer of the media which includes pop psychology or cod Freudian studies. That's where this book comes in. This past week, I've been listening (audiobook) and studying this book to further expand...

Trends come and go, as do some friends and some lovers — but one thing remains constant; the notion that black men should aspire to be gentlemen. But what does that mean? What does being a gentleman, in our increasingly troubled, confusing modern world, even mean? So, how do you define a ‘gentleman’? You can’t, simply put. Not definitively, anyway. Instead, there are certain characteristics and traits that you should look to embody to become a more decent, debonair man. Here at Voyade, we’ve got a pretty good idea what those are. It is the center of our philosophy — so we...

The practice of reflection is a good thing. And the truth is, it’s quite difficult to make lasting change without first taking time to reflect. Once or twice a year is a good interval for big picture review and assessment, but (at the same time) it’s not nearly enough. Regular reflection is essential for any area of life in which you hope to excel. Let’s dive in. REFLECT Ponder may be a better word — to weigh in the mind, to think about, consider. Why is it important? While taking time once or twice a year to ponder the events...