In today’s episode, Patrina has the distinct pleasure of speaking with her friend and phenomenal woman, Karima Mariama-Arthur. Karima is a leading authority in cutting edge Adult Education, and she advises individuals and organizations on the dynamics of leadership development, complex communication, and performance management. She is an accomplished author and highly sought-after national and international speaker. Karima received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Davis, and her Juris Doctor from the Roger Williams University School of Law. Patrina and Karima met in 2015, when they were both invited to participate in a discussion with White House and Congressional leaders regarding topics of interest in particular concern to minority women business owners. They made an immediate connection, and Patrina has been inspired by Karima’s brilliance, generosity, and consistency in showing up in excellence ever since.

Karima delves into her path to entrepreneurship, overcoming fear, and the value that her past experience as an attorney brought as she launched her own business, WordSmithRapport. She discusses the importance of family support, and her grandmother’s encouragement to “break the chains that bind” and become a life-long learner. Karima also talks about writing her book, Poised for Excellence: Fundamental Principles of Effective Leadership in the Boardroom and Beyond. She shares her passion for giving back and mentoring young women of color, her love of wine as a Sommelier, and Patrina finds out how Karima has found her joy during the pandemic. Episode Highlights:

• Karima and Patrina’s first encounter at the Walker’s Legacy discussion and the experience of having so many brilliant, inspiring minority women together
• Karima’s path to entrepreneurship and her  TEDx Talks 
• Overcoming fear while starting a new profession or launching a business
• Trusting yourself and being your own best barometer
• The knowledge and experience Karima gained as an attorney laid the foundation for everything she does now
• The influence of family support and Karima’s grandmother in particular
• Karima’s book Poised for Excellence: Fundamental Principles of Effective Leadership in the Boardroom and Beyond
• Her favorite principles for excellence
• Saying no and owning it
• Giving back through mentoring and her work with the Women’s Global Leadership Initiative
• Karima’s background as a Wine Sommelier
• Finding joy in being one with herself through the pandemic

Quotes:“I feel like we don't often get that experience as minority women business owners, and so just to have that many of us in the same room, I was encouraged and inspired. I am so glad that we actually had the chance to meet and we have maintained our friendship since that meeting.”“The whole idea of moving from Law, let me start there, was a scary proposition. I think once you spend your entire career focused on one thing, and the thought of moving away from that just represents the abyss because you don't know what is next and how you can really leverage that.”“So that Talk was an opportunity for me to share my initial fear around transforming and jumping out of Law into something that I found so much more fruitful and useful for me in terms of a profession, and being able to talk to other people who were looking at entrepreneurship as a way towards freedom, to share my experience and to encourage them to pursue it. Because a lot of people get stuck and really don't see the utility and so they just say, ‘Forget it,’ and throw it all away.”“There are some principles that I’ve learned along the way and the first one is to really trust yourself and to be your own best barometer.”“I found that my role as an adviser really primed the pump for everything I do now. Dealing with corporations, and mentoring, and teaching, really laid an important foundation and a critical level of credibility that I wouldn't have, had I not gone through my experience as an attorney.”“I don’t think we can ever do anything alone.”“Everyone, no matter what they want to do in life, has an idea of what success looks like. And if it's up to me - as my role as an adviser, I want to make sure that all my clients are positioned or poised for excellence. So I thought about, the principles inside are principles that anyone, if they're willing to commit to the work, can master. My work is all about self mastery.”“‘Get out of the way and stop sabotaging your success,’ is one of my favorite [principles] because I just really believe, especially in the work that I do, that a lot of us do things...that prevent us from doing our best work and prevent us from being our best self.”“I think it's always important to give back, and I love working specifically with young people, women of color, because we share a lot of common struggles, and I think that it's important to share how you got over, so that people don't have to make the same mistakes.”“Do what makes you happy and make it a priority.”Links:Joyfully You Life homepageJoyfully You Life InstagramJoyfully You Life FacebookJoyfully You Life TwitterJoyfully You Life linktreeWordSmithRapport websiteWomen’s Global Leadership Initiative website