I greatly admire people who live extraordinary-ordinary lives. In fact, I believe one of the greatest things a man or woman can do on earth is live out a calling as a husband or wife, making a home, raising a family, and serving the Lord. Some may find such lifestyles mundane, boring or “going nowhere.” I believe there can be great joy found in simplicity and that carrying out basic tasks of nurture and duty on a daily basis for love of God and family and fellow man brings beauty to the world.
On the other hand, I also greatly admire people who have dreams and, in spite of many setbacks, struggles and tragedies, persevere in bringing those dreams to fruition, especially in the world of business. I recently read about a young woman named Pamela J. Booker. She is living proof that even “the little guys” can make it big when they forge ahead and believe in themselves.
Ms. Booker happens to be a U.S. Army veteran and also has experience working as a network engineering. Her dream was to develop a line of all-natural beauty products with black women as her target audience. She gathered supplies for her vegan-friendly ideas and started creating product out of the basement of her home.
On several occasions, a distributor of multicultural brands for a major department store offered a deal to help her expand and place her products. Booker now says she kept telling the distributor she wasn’t ready and didn’t have enough product or the proper facilities to mass produce, but she now realizes she simply didn’t believe in herself at the time and was afraid of success.
Booker is from Maryland. She was very close to family, one brother in particular. On one occasion, she gathered with her brother and other relatives for a backyard cookout and social time together. This day ended in unfathomable tragedy when her sister’s angry boyfriend shot her brother seven times at point blank range when he tried to defend his sister from the man’s flaring temper.
Understandably, Booker was so grief-stricken and downtrodden after this sudden and irreplaceable loss, she almost decided to give up on her dream to make it big in the world of beauty products. One thing stopped her, however. It seems her brother had sent her a text message before the family gathering that emphasized how much he believed in her ability to make her dreams come true and encouraging her to persevere, no matter what.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes God draws great blessing out of senseless, tragic situations? In Booker’s case, she wanted to honor her brother’s memory. His belief in her boosted her confidence.
That’s why the next time a Target representative approached her through a social network site, she locked in the deal. She also expanded her product line to include men’s toiletry items. The happy ending to the story? Booker projects sales to exceed $1 million by the end of this year.
Writer Bio: Judy Dudich
Judy Dudich resides in the beautiful woods of Pennsylvania, where 24 acres of land and a home-office provide the perfect setting for her children’s home-education and her own homesteading and business ventures. Life is full of blessings (and challenges!) for Judy, as a wife, mother of 10 and Grammy to six. She is a published author, whose book, “I Surrender/A Study Guide for Women” continues to encourage and support others in Christian family lifestyles throughout the world. Judy has also previously worked in the online speaking circuit. Her passion for permaculture, re-purposing, foraging and organic gardening fills her days with learning and adventure that she loves to share.