WMM~Denise J. Hart

I'm constantly meeting new people via Twitter. Denise Hart is another great person that I recently met. If you haven't already become a member of this social networking site, I encourage you to do so ASAP. It's a great resource to connect and interact with people from a variety of backgrounds.

I immediately wanted to share Denise's story after hearing it. Denise refers to herself as The Motivation Mama! She's overcome a number of obstacles throughout her life and she deserves to be commended for them. In addition to providing encouraging words through her blog, Denise also launched Words to Live By Tees that promotes positive wearable messages. I had an opportunity to interview Denise and below she shares how she became a woman making moves.

Q: What prompted you to create your companies?

A: I’m a five year breast cancer survivor and I was inspired to start my business Words to Live By Tees after my mother lost her life to the same breast cancer I had survived just one year earlier. I wanted to create something that reflected my mothers’ zest for life and I knew I needed to create something that would help other women the same way her words helped me throughout my life. As well, the idea has been with me for years based on a number of experiences. Years ago, I had a boyfriend who used to call me a “happy white person.” Well I asked him why on earth would he say that and he said because he felt that mostly white people had the kind of positive outlook that I held. I disagreed, but I also knew that many of my friends and family always looked to me for encouragement, motivation and support. I knew they saw me as someone who had chosen to be positive because of what I grew up witnessing. I have come to know for sure that it’s through day to day acts of courage that we all grow, mature and move towards our goals rather than away from them. I still speak to that old boyfriend occasionally, but now he just says, “Ms. Positive’s on the scene.” And I say, “You know that’s right!”

Q: Has it always been your desire to promote beauty and fashion trends?

A: I’ve always loved color and design, both in the home and in fashion. Through my motivational blog and positive message t-shirt company I promote beauty from the inside to the out. My customers tell me they love the earth colors of the t-shirts and the carefully designed contrasting ink tells a flattering color story with flair.

Q: What’s your fashion style?

A: I have a back glam style. I love my jeans and high heeled boots and figure flattering jackets in the fall with tees underneath. I also like to sport a curly natural hair style or a ponytail pulled up in a cute Afro with earrings that dangle.

Q: Now that Sex in the City no longer airs, what show has the best fashion trends?

A: CW's The Game that airs on Friday nights.

Q: What was your first job?

A: My first job was working in the public library in Omaha, Nebraska. I have a love affair with words and knowledge, so I was in heaven. I worked in the sociology, psychology and biography section.s I used to do more reading than book shelving. I can still remember when I read the word self-actualization, understood it and said that I wanted to discover how to do it. I've been committed to that quest ever since.

Q: What book(s) are you currently reading?

A: I'm reading "The Attractor Factor" by Joe Vitale, "Them" by Nathan McCall, "Notes to Myself" by Hugh Prather and "How to Say it: Marketing with New Media" by Lena Claxton & Alison Woo.

Q: What’s your favorite movie and why?

A: I love John Q because the movie was all about family, strength, commitment, love and sacrifice. The cast was amazing in their commitment to telling the truth of the characters in that world.

Q: What makes you a woman making moves?

A: I’m a woman who believes that multiple streams of satisfaction should render you multiple streams of income. I juggle several roles on screen and off. I’m a professional actress, last seen on season 4 of HBO's The Wire. I played the caring foster mother Miss Anna. I’m also an Assistant Professor in Washington, DC teaching and coaching acting and playwriting classes. I’m the mother of one now very tall son who’s 16. I also run two businesses and I’m about to start a third. My most recent online business is Words to Live By Tees, which are tees with a positive vibe embracing change.” I create wearable motivation to inspire and help women to pursue their dreams. The advocacy initiative of the t-shirt company is a Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention campaign I created called the B. The Revolution End Abuse Project. The project hosts awareness events and fundraisers on college campuses to increase the awareness and prevention of Domestic Violence. On October 24 and 25, Howard University will host the next B. the Revolution event. The event will feature a slam poetry fundraiser and a “Tee Party for Change” rally co-sponsored by Honest Beverages, makers of Honest Tea. Our 2008 advocacy partner is the women’s transitional center My Sisters Place DC. All fundraising proceeds are contributed to the center's efforts to build a larger transitional center to accommodate the large need in the area.

The Children's Theatre Workshop, Inc., a business I’ve run for 14 years, is a unique five-week performing arts camp in the Washington, D.C. area that serves youth ages 7-17. It’s a place where creativity and courage go hand in hand. Last summer, 68 campers attended.

In January of 2009 I’m launching a second online venture, “My Creativity Coaching.” This virtual coaching and training center is designed for people who want to increase their creative flow. A twist is added to this new coaching model. The goal of "My Creativity Coach" is to turn the participants into their own best self-coach. I’m also going to publish a book based on the curriculum and philosophy of this venture.

Lastly, I blog at The Motivation Mama! where I provide positively real tips and insights to help women stay motivated and enhance their lives. Now, that’s a lot of moves!

Q: Do you have any advice for women wanting to make their own moves?

A: I encourage women to study and model someone who’s already doing what they want to do. They should also stay passionate, trust your gut and have fun. More specifically, women must decide that the dream that they have is what they really want. Women should be willing to work hard to bring their dream to life. Women have to decide what they need to do and learn to make the dream come true. My advice as women birth their dreams into the world, is to make the commitment to do what they must to keep it alive. Finally, as women, we should bask in the victories born from the challenges that we experience. Do your happy dance and enjoy life. Time is short.

WMM~Mothers

My recent posts on Women Making Moves haven't been about a particular person, but more about groups of women who are making moves. This week I've decided to focus on mothers. Unfortunately, this post doesn't include all mothers. You're probably thinking I'm crazy for not including all mothers in my Women Making Moves tribute, but I witnessed a horrible mom recently.

I was on my way home from visiting a friend in Harlem and on the subway platform there was a mother degrading and cussing at her son. I have to admit, I tend to be in my own world coming and going on the subway, but the constant raising of voices finally caught my attention. The little boy wasn't crying, but it was apparent that he felt defeated. The mom was bad-mouthing her child's father and using language that he shouldn't be exposed to. I was thankful that someone stepped in to calm the mother down. But I couldn't get over the fact that someone would speak to their child like this. Kids don't have the option of being born or not. Parents should remember this.

My mom, a single parent of four, was surely stressed working a number of jobs to support her family. But I can't recall her ever using her kids as a verbal punching bag. But let's not dwell on these types of mothers. There are many women who take pride in being mothers and successfully jungle motherhood, work, etc. Mothers are making moves not only because they are great parents, but because they are CEOs, politicians, business women and the list goes on. I personally would like to salute my mother for her endurance. Raising four children, working three jobs and continuing to be a supportive parent was the norm for her. I challenge my readers to share how their mom is a woman making moves. I look forward to reading everyone's comments.

Women, start making your Moves today!

WMM~"My Girls"

Women Making Moves features women from all works of life, but rarely do I feature "my girls." I have a number of successful friends who are making great strides in their personal and professional lives. Just to give you an idea, one friend recently launched a clothing exchange network, which I'm sure will come in handy during these tough economic times. Another friend, who is an investment banker, recently started pursuing her MBA degree at Columbia. On top of working 12 to 14 hours a day, she's committing to spending her weekends in the classroom. I have two friends who recently left corporate America to concentrate on their businesses. One is a fabulous hair stylist and the other one formed a public relations and event planning company.

I have friends who work in marketing, sales, the nonprofit arena, fashion, T.V. and the list goes on. These are my everyday girls who are making moves. With the hustle and bustle of NYC, I tend to forget or take for granted, that I have a wonderful circle of friends. These women are amazing at what they do. My girls mean the world to me. When I relocated to NYC, I knew only two people and one of them was my now husband.

This blog entry should serve as reminder to my readers, and to myself, to remember to cherish friendships. Life is short and it gets hectic, but your girls are your girls. Take time to acknowledge the achievements of your friends. Whether it's a text telling them congratulations or a Sunday brunch showing your appreciation of their intelligence, these types of acknowledgements are needed.

Women, start making your Moves today!

WMM~Girls Write Now

I came across this wonder organization via one of my connections on LinkedIn. Girls Write Now is a nonprofit organization that mentors high-school girls and provides an outlet for them to polish their creative writing skills. I was impressed with Girls Write Now since I also volunteer with a mentoring program called the Delta GEMS, which stands for Growing and Empowering Myself Successfully. Volunteering with youth is a great opportunity to ensure today's youth have examples of positive role models. I encourage you to find a youth organization to work with in your spare time.

Girls Write Now offers one-on-one mentoring, workshops and events for its participants. There are a number of mentoring programs, but the combination of mentoring and the GWN creative writing component allows these young women to obtain a skill set they can use later. Of course no organization is successful without volunteers. A number of professional authors, editors, journalists, PR professionals and playwrights serve as mentors.

Girls Write Now, in addition to other organizations, make me reflect on what society is and is not doing for the youth of today. Even though I volunteer with a youth organization, I often feel like our twice per month meetings are never enough. But I remind myself that every little bit helps. If everyone lived by the motto, "every little bit helps," our youth could have a number of positive role models to seek out. Visit the GWN myspace page for more information on the organization. I also encourage you to research Big Brothers and Big Sisters for additional volunteer opportunities. I think we seldom remember, but the youth are our future.