LADIDeclare- Empowering the Next Generation of Queens #GoGetterSpotlight

LADIDeclare is an organization that strives to empower and enlighten young women (and young men) to know and understand their uniqueness, power, and importance in society. Through numerous resources, they build up our young black and brown Queens to know the sky is the limit and instill in them perseverance. Founder and #GoGetter, Reet, shared with us her journey to establishing LADIDeclare, setbacks, gems, and much more!

What’s your definition of a Go-Getter?

When I think of a Go-Getter, I instantly think of the elephant and a dog story, Reet says. She goes on to say, I remember when I learned how long an elephant carries its baby to term in comparison to a dog. I read this story online and it said, “An elephant and a dog became pregnant at the same time. Three months down the line, the dog gave birth to six puppies. Six months later, the dog was pregnant again, and nine months in, it gave birth to another dozen puppies. The pattern continued. On the 18th month, the dog approached the elephant questioning: “Are you sure that you're pregnant? We became pregnant on the same date. I have given birth three times to a dozen puppies and they are now growing to become big dogs, yet you are still pregnant. What’s going on? The elephant replied: “There is something I want you to understand. What I am carrying is not a puppy but an elephant. I only give birth to one in two years. When my baby hits the ground, the earth feels it. When my baby crosses the road, human beings stop and watch in admiration. What I carry draws attention. So what I’m carrying is mighty and great.”

I re-share this story because a true Go-Getter NEVER stops or loses sight at what they’ve been called to do. When you’re carrying GIFTS beyond a human reach, it takes time to hit the earth and you have to be okay with rocking and rolling until it does. A Go-Getter never stops when it appears everyone else is winning because they know just how big their win is going to be. A Go-Getter enjoys seeing those around them win and stands tall at knowing they will win as well!”

Introduce LADIDeclare and why is it so important to cater to young men and women in your community?

LADIDeclare, which stands for; Leading a Destiny I Declare, is a charitable social enterprise that empowers women and men to propel to their fullest potential through diminishing fear and developing a personal brand that declares a destiny of emotional and financial independence. We accomplish this task through offering services such as LIFE-Shops, Transformational Coaching, and Brand Development.

A portion of the proceeds from these services along with the sales of LADIDeclare’s apparel and Life-books allow for philanthropic activities in the community with it’s up and coming Queens. It is essential to transform the narrative of the lives of our young black and brown Queens so they see they are our future in hopes to offset potential, unneeded mistakes and casualties.

What inspired you to establish LADIDeclare?

Reet Green was tired of fighting to find happiness. One night after feeling she was at the end of her rope, the phone rang, it was one of her many mentees who was longing for advice and comfort. While the queen on the other end called to get words of encouragement and reassurance, she had no idea Reet was also in need. At that moment, Reet discovered she was only “motivated” for change. In an instant she saw she needed to be “transformed”because she realized the flame of motivation burns out the moment a storm comes and she needed some sort of covering to ensure the flame stays lit. She had a vision like many others, but didn’t trust God would provide provision, which was the ultimate test of her faith.

That phone call gave root to LADIDeclare because she knew she would no longer walk in FEAR, but instead, walk by faith, Leading a Destiny she DECLARED. Since that day, she decided it was her duty to EDUCATE, ENLIGHTEN and EMPOWER anyone who longed for a mind shift to transform AWAY from an unfulfilled yesterday and equip them with the tools to EMBODY a new DAWN.

What is your ultimate goal for LADIDeclare?

LADIDeclare’s ultimate goal aims to declare a destiny of personal excellence for women by educating, enlightening and empowering through the transformation of self discovery, self development, and self-confidence. We understand the true barriers that stand before you when attempting personal excellence. Our goal is to be able to open the first LIFE-Home in the next 3 years to offer single mothers with an entrepreneur spirit free housing to build her business for a year without the financial heartache. These women we seek are those who if given the proper village and opportunity could launch her business and take the world by storm. Along with in the next 5 years opening up the first Queen Academy school for brown and black girls to have an opportunity to not only gain academics, promote entrepreneurship and embody a true knowledge of her worth.

Why is it so important for you to empower and inspire young women? What would you all like for them to receive from your program?

LADIDeclare’s mission is important to its founder, Reet Green and creative team because it’s a mere collaboration of all their stories as a young woman and things they battle with today. Reet desires to develop healthier and industrious women to become dominant members of our society by setting precedents for future feminine ambassadors through evoking, guiding and encouraging positive outcomes. She sees lasting change by encouraging them to discover inner talents, independence and diminishing self-doubt , along with expansion of self-pride, and determination through reaching goals and higher heights. She’s determined that each girl she encounters will become fully equipped with indispensable tools to evolve into role model citizens passing on their gifts provided to them while facing life changes and obstacles.

For young women who may be struggling or thinking about giving up academically or personally, what advice would you give to encourage them?

Reet smiles at this question as she reflects on the many times of her wanting to give up; if it was with academics, an idea or even life. And then she remembers life is nothing but a huge puzzle. When you purchase a puzzle from the store, the box cover shows you the end product of this thousand piece project, but once you dump it out of the box, you see there’s work to be done in order to create a masterpiece. Some will complete it in days or hours even. While for others, it may take months, or even years. And some will walk away from it, get frustrated and want to give up, and some will even try to forge pieces to go places they aren’t supposed to go. But none of that matters. What matters is GETTING IT DONE and NOT GIVING UP.

It’s not the time it took or the route you took that matters, it's the fact that its complete. Life is a puzzle and the bigger, the more grand your gifts are, the more work it will take. So take your time in putting it together because it will get done in due time. And remember a coma is different than a period. So never stop when there’s more work to do. Each and everyone of us were called, it’s up to you to be chosen. Most of us simply exist, because it appears easy, but in fact it’s hard. It’s hard because it leaves us unfulfilled and full of shoulda’, coulda’, woulda’s. While living is amazing and easy after the work is done, leaving us feeling complete and full of richness and fulfillment. So never give up. It’s possible.

What was your “aha” moment that led to the launch of LADIDeclare?

Reet’s “aha” moment came one day while driving home from work. She was in a fog of thoughts. The tears silently rolled down her cheeks as the music played quietly in the background. All she could replay in her mind were the rhetoric of folks saying,  “you’re not doing anything thing that hasn’t been done already.” Because of fear, she wanted to place her passion to BUILD and EMPOWER women into a box. BUT, in that moment her first born uttered the words.... “See Mommy, all you have to do is DREAM” and it changed her forever.

Over eleven years ago, she started putting her thoughts into action. Taking all of her personal and professional experience from elementary education teacher, case manager, foster care worker, stage manager, set designer and entrepreneur; owner of an event planning company, owning her own spa, cosmetologist of over 20 years,  to being a single mother, oldest daughter of four and mentor to several, she slowly began to strategically place herself in places she felt would help build her vision. She used all what she knew to catapult her foundation.

Today the lid is removed from that box of fear and all of her dreams have been placed onto a buffet of MUST HAVES. In pursuit of her legacy, she left her profession as an Executive Director of over 6 years, to venture out to step into her destiny of DECLARING herself a five year plan of becoming one of The World’s Top Transformational Speakers while simultaneously building LADIDeclare. Every day, she pushes to make GREAT strides towards understanding and loving her calling. She looks at each speaking engagement as an opportunity to communicate, teach, inspire and ignite change. Her seminars focus on discovering one’s inner talents, independence and diminishing self-doubt and expansion of self-pride and determination. She says her success holds no weight to her becoming significant. She’s determined to be used as a vessel to change the lives of all she encounters.

If it wasn’t for that innocent nine year old’s voice speaking to her broken mother, who’s to say where her life would be today. Reet was exhausted with merely existing so she could satisfy the status quo of those around her. She decided to silence the chatter of the many voices that suffocated her environment and create a world of her own, and invited people onto her playing field. The journey has been short of glitter and glam but it’s one she wouldn’t change for anything in the world.

What has been one of the most rewarding moments you all have encountered so far?

One of LADIDeclare’s most rewarding moments is when Reet Green sold out one of her first events. It wasn’t because of the bragging rights of having a sold out show, that was just the cherry on the top. It was everything to do with the fact that her vision was blessed by God’s provision. She remember calling her Director of Public Relations, Shavon Mason and said, “I need a space to hold 50 women. The space should be just enough to house them, a gourmet meal and all the trimmings to create a vision board of a lifetime”. Shavon came back less than 24 hours later with the perfect space. Reet went to view the space the very next day and instantly fell in love with the space and booked immediately. Not only was it a sold out show, it went over selling a total of 72 tickets. And to add, Reet had zero dollars and maybe 2 cents when this vision was given to her. Most would think she was nuts to take a risk. She took her last two cents to secure the hall and got to work on the vision God placed on her heart.

This was an example of how when God provides you with a vision, you never have to question the steps to achieving greatness. This was such an accomplishment, it set LADIDeclare into full speed for every idea, event and most importantly, vision God had that would come to pass.

What has been a challenge that you’ve had to overcome?

Reet says, she believes the biggest challenge to overcome when taking leaps and bonds would be to silence the chatter of outside voices of skepticism from not only others, but also yourself. You have to get to a place where the only voice you hear is God’s, and that is not an easy task to say the least. It’s like going to bed full of hope and waking up completely deflated. You have to constantly be your own personal cheerleader. “But my challenges increases as a coach because people depend on you to encourage them even when you're at your lowest. What I do to combat the chatter is remove anything and anyone that goes against what God has planned for me, and often times, it's difficult and comes with pain, but the end result is so much more rewarding” Reet says.

What would you all like for young women to receive from your platform?

Reet would like every woman to walk away knowing they are beautiful, regardless of what they FEEL the outside looks like. But even more importantly, they are WORTHY because the INSIDE is what matters. The equation Reet fights so hard for each girl to know is I am BEAUTIFUL + I am WORTHY = I AM A QUEEN!

What was the hardest part about launching LADIDeclare?

The hardest part of launching LADIDeclare is pacing myself. I want to do so much in one day! Daily, my Executive Director, Alisha Willis, who is truly my ride or die has said to me Rome wasn’t built in a day. But she takes every idea and locks it away and somehow ensure it comes to life in due time. I want the world to see their worth in a blink of an eye and it hurts when I know it’s a process.

What keeps you motivated to keep persevering and doing what you do?

Two things that motivate Reet most are simple inbox or text messages she receives from people of gratitude saying how she helped transform their way of thinking. Also, when she goes outside on my balcony, takes her shoes off and stands in her backyard, no matter the weather. She touches the grass and remembers the earth is still moving and she’s a part of it.

Is there anything else you want our readers to know about your organization or mission?

LADIDecale has so many moving parts. Currently we have the following upcoming events:

Queen Academy Teen Summit: Calling young Queens 13-21 years old

August 17th, 2019 from 2-6 pm in Philadelphia, PA

*Teen Summit is a day empowerment event where young women ages 13-17 will learn what it means to be a queen in today's society where women battle with self-respect, low self esteem and body image issues. This event was created to take Queen Academy from the confinement of the school walls and open its doors for girls from around the globe to help assist in building positive self-esteem, self-assurance and overall wellness within themselves and their role in society.

Reet’s Book Launch: STAND IN MY NEW "PANTIES"  

October 2019

*Stand IN MY NEW PANTIES is a transformation guide based off Reet's personal story and her popular LIFE-SHOP "MY NEW PANTIES"

Reet will host an evening event, after her month long book launch. Her self help guide book on how she was able to rid herself of the past affliction and stand in her new panties.

21 Days to Habit Vision Board Master Class:

December 2019

*LADIDeclare’s annual vision board event, 21 Days to Habit Vision Board MASTER CLASS, prepares it's guest for A NEW BEGINNING by envisioning their personal goals for the next 6 months and beyond. This year is our first co-ed event due to the high request!

Personal and Group Transformation Coaching Session

*Reet helps you realize your aspirations for both work and life. The end goal is to get to a place where every morning you wake up, you are facing a day where you feel in alignment with your life's purpose and serve from your highest skills and zone of brilliance. Reet shows you how to tap into your personal power to structure your life, to pursue your dreams, and while you cannot control what will happen to you, you can control how you direct your energy, and how you feel about your life.

How can people get in touch with you to learn more about your organization, donate or support the mission of LADIDeclare?

LADIDeclare can be found:

Online at www.ladideclare.org

Email: info@ladideclare.org

Instagram: @ladideclare / @reetgreen

Facebook: @ladideclarebiz / @ladideclaregroup (private group)

LADIDeclare shows us that it's our duty to build up the next generation and pour love, support, self esteem and everything positive we can into our young Queens. They show us through their dedication and programming that pouring into the next generation is bigger than us. Young women are counting on us, looking up to us and we can't let them down. LADIDeclare is a great example to our youth that there's more to life, you just have to grow, develop and believe in you.

Be sure to support and learn more about LADIDeclare. They're developing the next generation of #GoGetters!