For one whole summer, I had a West African goddess as a boss…
her name is Bozoma Saint John.

Photo courtesy of Business Insider.

I first saw her, like many Apple fan boys and girls in 2016 presenting the big UI update for Apple Music during the much anticipated WWDC. I promised myself somehow, someway – I would end up on this woman’s team. Months later, that’s exactly what happened, but this story is less about me and more about celebrating the power moves this boss chick is making while sprinkling her Black Girl Magic all over the tech industry.

Boz has had quite the track record, totally Googlable, but I have to mention how she’s contributed to some of today’s most iconic pop culture moments through collaborations with an army of A-list musicians like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift and Drake. She’s even won multiple awards, titles, and spots on coveted tech and music industry lists to back up her growing accomplishments. She’s pretty cold.

Zane Lowe, Boz Saint John, and Larry Jackson photo courtesy of COMPLEX.

My first day on campus and the first time I’d sat in on weekly meetings, I saw this unicorn of a woman sitting tall at the head of the table. I couldn’t believe it was the same lady I just witnessed, in that bomb pink dress, rapping “Rapper’s Delight” in a room full of hipster nerds and tech geeks. Her presence was absolutely awe-inspiring and I’d never seen anything like it outside of the movies. She was brilliant, fashionably fabulous, had the most amazing flawless skin, was practically an Amazon, and a straight shooter with amazing jokes. The cherry on top…she was actually nice! I will never forget her kindness and willingness to engage the staff. Her energy just made you feel like she striving for greatness and demanded you to do the same.

Photo courtesy of Fast Company.

News broke on last Friday that she would no longer be with Apple Music and many folks were surprised. Regardless of “the signs” and her growing demand, many of us felt hopeful to see her commit a few more years to Apple and bubble her way up the music executive chain. I mean, in a pretty short span of time, she started the path as a culture changer for Apple and her star power was definitely on the rise. She was also, notably, one of the few executives from Apple to keep up a blossoming personal brand outside of the tech giant. But though all the planets seemed to align for her reign, her departure just felt inevitable. My girlfriends and I would sit and discuss the business moves of many of her colleagues. We just knew she was going to have something big up her sleeve within the next two years. Monday June 5th, two years became 6 months and the inevitable became a reality. Boz resigned from her Head of Global Marketing role to enter a C-level position as the Chief Brand Officer of Uber.

Photo courtesy of Billboard.

Now let’s talk about how major this is for a split second. We all know Uber has had a rough couple of months over the last year but they Bat-Called a Black woman to save their image and brand. She’s literally Olivia Pope-ing the technology industry one company at a time! Killing it #fortheculture! Pause…you need to soak that in. Apple Music’s subscription numbers have increased immensely while under her expertise and marketing guidance (also Googlable). Pepsi, (pre Kendell-gate) was on an all time high with epic music marketing activations and performances that further exposed the company to it’s thirsting millennial customer base. So considering what little I knew of her pretty cool career…I realized, Boz doesn’t leave dumpster fires. She leaves rainbows and butterflies with every move she makes. (You’d know exactly what I’m talking about if you ever met her.)

So while I’m sure she’ll be sorely missed at Apple, she has the opportunity to leave her biggest glitter bomb yet at Uber where they desperately need her reinvention  magic to keep them in the game. And for that, we all wish you nothing but success Boz! We’re rooting for you. Make those Boz moves girl! <3

-D.Wright

When I was a little girl I felt I could do anything. I believed in the limitless possibilities of my life. Shoot, I believed in it for everyone around me too. Life was full of enchantment and seemed almost surreal to experience. I dreamed, and even more so, I believed in my dreams with an almost blindly optimistic assurance. I felt unstoppable.

Looking back, I know it’s a little naive but I thought I could be anything I wanted and knew in every crevice of my soul that I was special. I would look in the mirror and be in awe of being present. How magical it was to wake up everyday feeling my small speck of a life could create a rippling effect in the universe.

I imagine it’s what people who accomplish great things realize about themselves early on and consistently nurture. For the rest of us, however, we struggle with maintaining that fearlessness and confidence riding throughout our lives. We realize we have potential, but are sometimes afraid to embrace our limitless possibilities.

How can we get past that old “you have SO much potential” bit, totally meant as a compliment but as painful as a paper-cut? How can we move and operate in our child-like fearlessness?

These are the questions I’m beginning to answer for myself and I challenge you to consider your own ways of pushing past potential and into your complete being.

Be Your Best Self

It’s really amazing, the people we fantasize about being. Strong, confident, charismatic, brilliant… that’s the woman I daydream to echo. I imagine myself walking in a room and being able to master my verbal exchanges with even the toughest of conversationalist.

Now, who do I think I am? You’ll be surprised to know I believe I’m the biggest goof and woman-child in the history of nerd-dom. I know that’s no way to operate as an adult so I’ve decided to test drive the woman I truly want to become. I will operate in her greatness until it becomes second nature. While I still might tell the occasional awkward joke or laugh at inappropriate moments out of nervousness, I’ve decided to believe I can be amazing and to act impulsively on that feeling.

Be Creative

Some of the most wildly successful people we hear about today are contributing to the world in some of the most niche ways.

These people carve out their very own spaces in various industries and change our lives because of their adventuring spirits. These innovators pull from what they love and build. They are Lego Masters. They invent their own worlds and we then live in it. They are not afraid to create and share and fail and create some more.

I say why not act and live in your creativity, and invite everyone else to join you? Every day you build is not only a step out of potential-land but into the life you imagine for yourself and a step to the finished result people actually desire to see from you.

And while we all know it’s not about what others think of you, when you need to show and prove your work, you definitely need to be able to provide examples to back your self-proclaimed worth. I’m realizing, if I want people to think I’m an awesome writer and I haven’t been hired onto a team, I have to get creative. I have to craft my own world and pull people to it. Maybe I’ll want to be hired or maybe I’ll be the hire-er after that, who knows,  but the point is, I won’t be a potential writer of  <name that company> that could specialize in this cool thing. I WILL be that writer of Sounds About Wright. I will be that writer that got scrappy and built my skill off of my own creativity.

Be About It

I always thought it was insane how many of us (as children) would flip off tables, monkey bars, couches or just anything in our vicinities. We would reach for the sky with the tips of our toes while swinging to see if we could touch a cloud, spin ourselves silly until we dropped to test our speed, and randomly consume the most disgusting, asinine things just for research. We would just do it. Whatever it was, we committed to doing everything weird under the sun to learn and process what was real or possible.

Now, as a big kid, we don’t have to be complete lunatics but we can definitely decide to act. Do something! Go for that new job, create a new process and present it to your team, write that blog, take those photos and sell your art. Just do something! As the saying goes, “Don’t talk about it, be about it.” It’s time for us to be about our greatness and share it with the world.

Now tell me… what are you doing to push past your potential?

-D.Wright