Page 6 - TR What Women Want Feb 2017

6SS • What Women Want • An Advertising Supplement to the Three Rivers Edition • Sunday, February 12, 2017
A new PERSPECTIVE
Newport woman’s
early struggles
inspire her to
help others
BY SARAH DECLERK SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER
There is a difference between living and surviving, said Latasha Wakefield-Robinson of Newport. Those without resources and support may feel they have no choice but to do what they can to survive, she added. Living, however, brings joy, hope and a path to success.
“When you’re in survival mode, you’re not present. You’re always worried,” she said. “When you’re living, you’re present in the moment, and you take advantage of every opportunity.”
THE MEANING OF INSANITY
Wakefield-Robinson learned that distinction the hard way. As an author, minister and entrepreneur, she is chasing many dreams — she is living. For years, however, she said, she was merely sur- viving, and her experiences during that time have given her the motivation to help other people live.
Her book When the Tables Turn details her early life as a teen- ager in Memphis and having a child when she was 14. She stayed with her child’s father throughout her teenage years and had another baby with him when she was 18. That child died soon after birth.
“I didn’t cope too well with that,” she said, adding that she was angry at God for allowing her baby to die. “I spent quite a bit of time being rebellious against God. Really, I was only hurting myself.”
The couple had another child, but their relationship was far from perfect. Wakefield-Robinson details his drug use and abusive behavior in her book. She said she was concerned about how the relationship would affect their children, and she worried that her son would start to emulate his father’s behavior and that her daugh- ter would grow up with a skewed view of romantic relationships.
“She was seeing a man abuse her mom, and that’s not what love is,” Wakefield-Robinson said. “I didn’t want her to duplicate that, so I made the decision to separate myself from him.”
When Wakefield-Robinson left the relationship at 23, she said, she lost her identity. The children had a hard time adjusting, she added, and she wondered if she had made the right decision.
“When you give someone your all and it’s not enough, you question yourself,” she said. “I was just broken. I didn’t know anything about myself.”
To heal her wounds and reconnect with herself, Wakefield- Robinson embarked on a journey of self-discovery, which unfolds in the second part of her book.
“I had to want something different than what I had, and along this process, I learned the meaning of insanity,” she said. “I was doing the same things. I was expecting a different result. I don’t know why, but I continued to do the same things.”
TESTIMONY
The cover of When the Tables Turn shows two versions of Wakefield-Robinson at a table. On one side, a modest woman bows her head in prayer. On the other, a woman in a short pink dress glares at her counterpart. The figures represent her inner conflict, she said, and by turning the tables, she transitioned from defiance to service and survival to life.
“It’s a fight on the inside, against yourself, because we argue against ourselves. We know what we should do, and sometimes we talk ourselves out of it,” she said. “I wanted something better, and the only way I could do it was to turn the tables in every sense of the word.”
Much of the book was inspired by Wakefield-Robinson’s jour- nal entries from the time, she said, adding that she views the book as a form of purging. Her words drew criticism from those closest to her, who told her not to air her dirty laundry, she said, but she felt like she had to share her story.
“This book is my testimony about how God turned nothing into something,” she added. “My purpose for writing it was to encourage, motivate and inspire young women.”
ANOTHER CHAPTER
Wakefield-Robinson said she remembers the moment she de- cided to rebuild her relationship with God. Each year, she hosted a big New Year’s bash, but while she was preparing for the event, she said she heard the Holy Spirit tell her she did not need to throw a party that year.
“I went to church instead of throwing a party, and that was the beginning,” she said.
She focused all her energy on praying, reading the Bible and studying. She became a minister, and at the same time, she earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in accounting, business and legal studies from Southwest Community College in Mem- phis. By that time, she was pregnant with her fifth child.
“That was actually what led me to move to Newport, because while I was doing that, things moved so fast,” she said. “My life was just flying past me, and I needed a change.”
For her first two years in the city, she was simply a mother, she said. She stayed home with her 1-year-old son, attended PTA meetings, and prepared her oldest child, then in her late teens, for adulthood.
MATT JOHNSON/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Latasha Wakefield-Robinson wrote her book When the Tables Turn in hopes of inspiring young women in difficult situations. The book details her
struggles as a teen mother and the transformation that put her on the path to success.
“A lot of the time before we moved here, I was there, but I wasn’t there. I wasn’t tuned in,” Wakefield-Robinson said. “I really decompressed. I really re-evaluated my life. I looked at the things that were going on, and I reprioritized things.”
She also prepared to open a business. She saved up her money throughout the year so that she could buy items for her store during holiday sales, which allowed her to get started without a loan, she said. Her father was an entrepreneur, she added, and he taught her many of her business skills.
When she wrote her business plan and looked at all the goals she wanted to accomplish, she said, she was overwhelmed. She thought it might take forever to launch her enterprise. Then, she said, she changed her perspective and broke her big dreams into little tasks that prepared her for the road ahead.
“I positioned myself in the place that I needed to be to make my goals come true because I can set goals all day, but if I don’t have the personality, the character, the talent or the skills that I need to be able to make the most out of every opportunity that I’ve got, I don’t really have anything,” she said. “It’s not about how long it takes; it’s about what you do while you’re waiting.”
ALL THAT I AM
In 2015, Wakefield-Robinson opened All That I Am Books Publishing Co., a business named because it incorporates all of her skills, which include printing, ministry, tax preparation and more. Publishing is one of the aspects she finds most exciting, however, and she said she enjoys helping aspiring authors turn a pile of notes into a completed book.
“It makes me so happy because as I’m walking through that process, it’s me,” she said. “I didn’t have any help. I had to figure out a lot of things on my own.”
Money was her greatest challenge when she was working on her own book, she said, because she could not sell books at prices high enough to cover their printing cost, and she often gave books away to people who were struggling. It was also difficult to reach major publishers as a new author without contacts, credibility or a platform, she added.
“It was so frustrating. I knew I had a great product. I knew that my story was one that would impact thousands and millions, but how do I get it out if nobody wants to help me?” she said. “I don’t want to do that to somebody else. I want to help shorten that learning curve.”
The business has brought joy to Wakefield-Robinson’s family life as well. Soon after she opened her shop, a man named Roderick Robinson came in for a tour because he needed printing for his business. He had to sit down before he finished the tour, she said, because he fell in love.
“From that day to this one, we have not been apart,” she said. “We were married two weeks after we met.”
A NEW COMMUNITY
The people of Newport helped support her budding business, Wakefield-Robinson said, adding that the Newport Area Cham- ber of Commerce and the Newport Economic Development Commission made sure she knew about resources available in
the city. For her part, she said, she made sure to participate in community organizations and events such as Depot Days and the Delta Visual Arts Show.
Now she helps other entrepreneurs establish themselves by mentoring with Communities Unlimited, a nonprofit organization that works to improve communities by growing entrepreneurship opportunities, as well as providing some infrastructure services.
The Economic Development Commission and Chamber of Commerce partnered with the nonprofit to help connect local entrepreneurs to resources and incentives, she said, adding that her role is to be a permanent fixture that aspiring business leaders can turn to for guidance.
“Latasha has been very valuable to aspiring entrepreneurs in and around Newport,” chamber director Julie Allen said. “She is using her experience as a small-business owner to help mentor and inspire those who have an idea for a business but aren’t sure how to get there. Her participation with Communities Unlimited is helping bridge the gap between those entrepreneurs and the resources that can help them succeed.”
Wakefield-Robinson said she hopes the work will encourage young entrepreneurs to stay in the city, rather than taking their talents elsewhere.
“We want to be able to let them know that we’ll help you here,” she said. “We want you to be successful as well, and those same opportunities are here. You don’t have to go anywhere else to look for those.”
ONE POSITIVE PERSON
Considering her proactive approach to life, it may come as no surprise that Wakefield-Robinson visits schools as a motivational speaker, which inspired her to start a ministry for teen girls. At that age, girls may slip into the same situation from which she escaped, she said, adding that teens who do not listen to their mothers may listen to other adults.
“I felt like if I go ahead and put my time in right now, somebody — the right somebody — will be there for my daughter when she doesn’t want to hear what it is I have to say,” Wakefield-Robinson said.
She added that she hopes to have a positive impact on people, whether through ministry, mentoring or simply talking with them. When someone she has helped returns to her in a better situation and thanks her, it gives her the strength to continue chasing her many dreams, Wakefield-Robinson said.
“One positive person can change a life, and I’m willing to be that one,” she added. “That’s my motto.”
Wakefield-Robinson is currently becoming a certified life coach, and she said she hopes to organize conferences for mothers and daughters who have experienced domestic violence. She is also writing a sequel to her book, although she is still working on the ending. There are still challenges in the second part, she said, but the story is much happier.
“I’m living now,” she added. “I have peace, I have joy, and I’ve found my purpose. I don’t feel like I’m just existing.”