When someone asks you the question “tell me about yourself,” do you get that dreaded feeling inside where you’d literally rather run and hide than have to talk about yourself? Well, welcome to the club and I’m sure it’s a huge one.
But what if we didn’t want to run away? What if we felt confident and excited to talk about who we are and what we’ve done? What if… we thrived when we talked about ourselves and embraced our true awesomeness? Because each and every one of you reading this is just that — PURE AWESOMENESS!
I recently purchased “Professional Troublemaker” by Luvvie Ajayi Jones and after reading first page, I was immediately hooked. Her insights and humor mixed with her authenticity is exactly what I needed. I’m still reading, but I was inspired to write immediately after she shared what an oriki was and why everyone should have one. What’s an oriki? An oriki is a Yoruba word meaning “praising your head/mind.” It’s a greeting that
“praises you through praising your kinship and speaking life to your destiny. It is your personal hype mantra, and can be spoken or sung.”
“Professional Troublemaker” by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
Jones continues to explain that it
“lets people know who you WERE, who you ARE, and who you WILL BE.”
“Professional Troublemaker” by Luvvie Ajayi Jones
And it might even include “some shade.” It’s primarily sung at birthdays, celebrations and even “seeing you off into the next life.”
Luvvie shared a beautiful example of her grandmother’s oriki, while also sharing a few she’s personally written for those that have inspired her such as President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Beyonce, to name a few 🙂 If you’re still wondering exactly what this looks and sounds like, Luvvie uses the example of the introduction that Daenerys Targaryen (GOT) has every time she’s in the presence of someone new. And if you remember, it’s a BADASS list of titles that feels so empowering when you hear it. For those of you that don’t watch or aren’t obsessed like I am, here is her full introduction:
“Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen. First of Her Name. The Unburnt. Queen of the Andals and the First Men. Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea. Breaker of Chains. Mother of Dragons.”
Game of Thrones
Now… aren’t you feeling empowered and want one of your own? Because I was crazy inspired and SURE DID write one for myself — also because Luvvie said we should 🙂 Feast your eyes on my personal mantra:
Gage Colyn of House Grammer. First of Her Name. Army of One. Queen of GIFs. Goddess of Inspiration. Sorceress of Storytelling. Boss of Social Media. Master of Sarcasm. Sharer of Voices. Builder of Communities. Warrior of Life. Fairy Godmother of Kindness. Promoter of Women. Empress of Authentic Living.
This beauty is going to be on my LinkedIn profile, my website and anywhere else I can fit it… and I might even add or change it as I progress through my life!
What should you do right now? Take some time and make Luvvie proud and write one for yourself. Be your own hype person because we can all benefit from this. Get out of your shell. Put the humility away. Tell me why you’re proud of yourself. Share your superpowers. Be epic.
Here are some title examples to help get you started:
- Queen
- Empress
- Emperor
- King
- Boss
- Duke
- Duchess
- Protector
- Builder
- Princess
- Fairy Godmother
- Architect
- Head of
- Chief
- Warrior
- Pioneer
- Professional
- Master
I hope this inspires you to create your own and if it did, please share with me in the comments!
— Gage Grammer
Going Ahead with Gage 