Category Archives: Image

A Note to Naysayers: “Just Watch Me!”

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Success is the best way to quiet the naysayers! “Watch ME!” That’s the only response you need for naysayers. There will always be people in your life who will not believe in you and who will try to discourage you. Instead of allowing their lack of support to dishearten you, instead use that energy of inspiration to “show them!”

Don’t Waste Your Energy on Naysayers.

Don’t waste any energy on the naysayers, instead focus all of your energy on attaining your goals. You’ve only got so much energy.  You can spend it trying to convince others to believe in, support, and encourage you, or you can use that same energy to achieve your dreams.  You either are all talk (as they may think) or you are about action.  When your results are apparent, your talk is unnecessary.  As they say, “Talk is cheap!’  The best proof and the most delicious ending is you showing up, showing out, and becoming the success you know you can become.  Stay focused on the positive; right now you don’t have the luxury of a negative thought or any negative energies because you are on a path of success.  Stay in your positive zone and say, “Watch me!”

I’m Barbara Talley, The Poet who speaks and inspires.   To find more about me, check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness

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Most are familiar with this quote and who doesn’t want to be more Godly and closer to God?  While many attribute this quote to the Bible, in fact, it is not in the Bible. However cleanliness (purity) is attributed to most spiritual practices, e.g, ablutions before prayers, baptism, etc. Cleanliness means to be pure, free from dirt, marks or stains. The body and our surroundings can be dirty. Our unkind words and deeds can leave marks on our soul and the hearts of others.  Our shameful deeds can leave stains in our memories.  So where did the quote come from? John Wesley spoke in a sermon:

“Let it be observed, that slovenliness is no part of religion; that neither this, nor any text of Scripture, condemns neatness of apparel. Certainly this is a duty, not a sin. ‘Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness.’ Sermons No xciii,” On Dress.”

How clean is your mind, body, and soul? The first thing we see in an individual is their physical appearance and that is what many react to, but cleanliness and purity must be present in all things, our dress, our speech, and our deeds. The Baha’i Faith teaches:
“External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, hath a great influence upon spirituality (1).”   Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure beings and necessities of free souls.  In all his actions and conduct there must first be purity, then beauty and independence. The channel must be cleansed before it is filled with sweet water. The pure eye comprehendeth the sight and the meeting of God; the pure nostril inhaleth the perfumes of the rose-garden of bounty; the pure heart becometh the mirror of the beauty of truth.”(Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith – Abdu’l-Baha Section, p. 333)

Are You Programmed for Poverty or Wealth?

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I remember in my early twenties reading a book called the ‘The Magic of Thinking Big,’ In my circles at the time thinking big was being able to pay the rent, buy a suede coat after saving up for months, or just having a job.  My limiting environmental programming had taught me that to want much more was greed, to ask for more than the basics was selfish.  I had to overcome this early programming in order to be successful.

A familiar phrase of the elders were, “The children in Africa are starving.” Their intent was “Be grateful,” for they had gone through much harder times and sacrificed for us to have what little we had. But, the message I heard was, “Don’t ask for much in life.”  Even the church was complicit, teaching that, “It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven.”  Their intent was to teach us not to put wealth before God.  The message I got was that I had to choose between God and wealth because it is impossible to have both.

Even as a child I knew that it was impossible for a camel to get through the eye of a needle.  Fortunately I learned later in life that ‘The Eye of the Needle” is a difficult camel passage and a place and not a physical needle.  That changed the message entirely.  To complete the negative indoctrination regarding money, my father would comment regularly when seeing rich people that they were crooks.  I’m sure that was probably his personal experience doing migrant work and growing up in the South.  However the takeaway message confirmed the church’s message, “If you choose wealth, then you are going against God and salvation.”

Who says you can’t have both?  There are so many spiritual teachings that teach us of our power and greatness.  Abundance is also an attribute of God and as spiritual heirs, wealth is ours.  The importance determinant is what we do with that wealth. Do we serve, remain moral and upright, and are we grateful to the point of sharing?  That’s how we measure the value of wealth.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

What Does Your Hair Say About You?

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What does your hair mean to you? Does it represent beauty, culture, image, or identity.  Is it your crown or crowning glory? 

This past week while speaking at a Domestic Violence Luncheon, a lady the table and I got into a discussion about black hair.  She said she dissuaded her son from wearing braids because of the prejudice that he would receive.  She said she also didn’t wear her hair natural in 2011 for fear of discrimination.

Last May I spoke to an audience in Florida at an event organized by 100 Concerned Black Women and the topic of hair came up.  My co-presenter Iris Cooper had cut off her hair and a lady in the audience who self reportedly had worn wigs most of her life challenged why she did it.  The next day the older lady came to a followup session dawning her own hair.  She recounted how freeing it was.  She somehow had felt she needed validation, permission, and acceptance to free herself.  She explained how all her life she was called ugly because of her short hair.  And, now there is another trend, cutting off our hair that we’ve taken so long to grow and  letting go of what “long hair” means.  How do you feel about cutting your hair off?   It appears that we’ve still got a lot of work to do before we get to the point that we realize that we don’t all have to look the same and can see our own naturalness as beautiful.  Please comment and share “your hair story.”

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

This Is Your Sign to GO!

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go after your dreamsOn the crowded highway of life, you’ll get run over if you just stand still on the freeway. Sure you can move off onto the shoulder where the disabled cars are, but you can’t stay there forever and expect to reach your desired destination. If you stay on the shoulder too long, you’ll get ticketed, towed, or vandalized.

And, so it is in life. You’ve got to keep moving to keep growing, for to stop growing is to die.   I’m not saying to not take time to pray, meditate, plan, and be guided. That’s should be a habit.  I’ve pulled off on the shoulder of the highway of life many times to regroup and get my reference points clear, but then you’ve got to get back in the driver’s seat and get moving.  Don’t worry about how far off your destination is.  Don’t spend time worrying about how you will get there or what detours or roadblocks you might encounter.  Just have faith and get moving.   Do not despise your humble beginnings or small steps.  Remember, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” or in our analogy, one mile.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.