With the Heal the City- Boot Edition taking place tomorrow, we wanted to share some of the intel we gathered about the event from the organization’s President and CEO, Laurinda Adujar while interviewing her for our next issue.
Fancy: How would you describe your swagher? What makes Laurinda, Laurinda?
Laurinda: I think what makes me, me is that I am ok with showing people my flaws. I’m ok with showing the real. I’m ok with being my true authentic self, because everyone is trying to wear masks these days and that’s not what people need. People need people that are real, that are authentic, not afraid to show people or be who they are at all times.
Fancy: That’s very true, especially in this day and age. I don’t think it’s something that a lot of people are addressing. Now with Heal the City, this is what the third year?
Laurinda: Yes, this is the third year and I am excited about it.
Fancy: Ok, and we discussed the event last year, but I am trying to get a better understanding of how the event would flow. Before it seemed more about inspiration, but this year I am seeing more about leadership, plus I see there is a panel. So what direction will the event go in this year?
Laurinda: There was a panel last year as well as speakers on specific topics and leadership, but leadership was kind of hidden in the background. Leadership has always been there, but let me tell you this. I have two platforms. One is geared toward leadership, and the other is geared toward personal leadership. The reason for that is, because before we can get to the point where we excel professionally, we have to deal with that stuff on our personal leadership level. Those things that we don’t talk about, the things we push down, because eventually, they all will bubble up in our professional leadership style.
Fancy: I definitely agree with you there. Now are both of those housed Under Heal the City?
Laurinda: No, actually the professional platform is housed under She Blinked, LLC and that is geared towards business professionals. Then the personal development and personal leadership is housed under Heal the City, and I separated them for two reasons. The philanthropy is me giving back with Heal the City. It just deals with all that personal stuff that is shunned away to talk about on professional platforms..
Fancy: Gotcha. So what can expect with the event coming up?
Laurinda: With the Heal the City event platform we take people from the victim mentality to the victorious mentality. So it’s geared toward people who have suffered domestic violence, rape, suicide, mental health issues, addiction, relationship issues, and leadership issues. Because one thing I can tell you is people lead how they live. So if I’m living broken, I’m going to lead broken. If I don’t know how to communicate in my personal life, when it comes to my professional life, I’m not going to know how to communicate, and that is actually going to impact my business. Because no matter what kind of business you’re in, you’re in the business of people. Whether it’s in marketing, whether it’s in advertising, PR, whether you are selling a product, you have to be able to connect with people to build your brand. John Maxwell said people buy into the leader before they buy into the leap/vision. If you don’t have personal or thought leadership, you will not have professional leadership. So those are the things we are going to tackle at Heal the City. We’re going to get you out of your own way so that you can either grow your business, grow your brand- so that you can understand what true leadership is. There are so many labels. “I can lead in business if look a certain way or if I am a certain weight.†If you look at executives present, it really doesn’t really look at the character of the person and their ability to communicate. So if I can get pass all of the other junk, I can get out of my own way to lead someone professionally.
Fancy: Oh yes, I love that. You said a mouthful there; I don’t think we see too many leadership events within the Black community. We may see a few but they definitely are not marketed the way you are doing yours. So everyone wants to say that they are inspiring or empowering, but leaders are so important, and I don’t think that we- you know, I think people want to go more so with being a boss, instead of taking the time to actually learn how to lead so that they can really be a boss. So I think that’s really great! Now with the topics you all plan to cover, rape, molestation, suicide in my mind I’m wondering will you all also be preparing individuals to be able to lead, like even if they are not necessarily business owners but to be able to tell their stories to benefit them?
Laurinda: There are people who teach you how to monetize your pain. They help to move you away from people feeling sorry for you to people investing in you. My thing is the reason why I chose those platforms- and I don’t know if the readers know my story, but I actually was molested by my birth father. I’ve tried to commit suicide multiple times and ended up in a mental institution for three weeks in St. Petersburg, FL. I had an ex that tried to kill me, set my house on fire, wrote me poems in blood, and wrecked my car several times. I lost my job; I lost a child. I was Trisomy 18. It happens to 1 % of the babies in the world, and I thought I was losing my mind again at that point. I carried that child for nine months. I never dealt with a drug addiction, but I dealt with a sexual addiction, and I never really got into porn, but I dealt with a sexual addiction of wanting different people in my life to soothe whatever was ailing me or to have that closeness. I had relationship issues as well stemming from my dad. So from a personal perspective, I am led to people that have overcome those types of things. Because first of all we have to show empathy, we have to be our true authentic selves, because that is what heals people. The word says, “my people are overcome by the healing of their testimonies.†So we have people that walked through those situations and some who are still walking through in different phases that want to help the community with their personal leadership, to show them they too have gone through all these things. My situation may be broken, but my purpose is not broken and I can lead no matter where I am at in that spectrum as long as I am moving forward. If that makes sense…
Read Laurinda’s full interview in our upcoming print issue. To register for the Baton Rouge event tomorrow click here.
About Heal the Heal City:
Heal the City the Boot Edition is a one-day event filled with community leaders and dynamic speakers prepared to inspire hope and initiate change. Topics will include mental health, rape, molestation, domestic abuse, sexual health and well-being, leadership, and spiritual health. The goal is to provide sustainable, valuable resources to heal attendees and their families, individuals, and cities, in a safe and non-judgmental environment pushing individuals to first be self leaders. Visit their website at https://www.healthecityinc.org.
