Season Two (EP 1- 13)

New year, new season. It’s Season 2! In Episode 1 of The Melanin Pearls Podcast Yvette and Ericka kick off the new season with a deep discussion about the importance of being Unapologetically You and how being true to oneself is not only the key to happiness but to a fulfilled, passionate, successful life. “If you don’t know who you truly are, you’ll never know what you really want.” – Roy T. Bennett

New Year, New Career Goals!  It’s a new year and many of us are either just finishing up or starting year-end reviews and setting 2021 goals. In Episode 2, Yvette and Ericka go deep in on the importance of owning your career path and based on their experience share their respective experiences from career planning to one-on-ones to preparing for year-end performance reviews. Whatever you do you are the architect of your career. Do what you love and what aligns with you. Being the architect of your career involves more than showing just up and working 40 hours a week. That’s just doing your job and that won’t propel your career or get you where you want to go. It requires intention, strategic planning, and networking. Yvette and Ericka review some of the tools and techniques they’ve used and hope you will be able to use them to navigate your path and take your career to the next level. “If you don’t love it, you’re going to fail.” – Steve Jobs

It’s February and the “official” recognition of Black History, but what history is that? Episode 3 is a history lesson about the Black History not taught in school. Yvette and Ericka along with their special guest Corey Andrew, discuss significant pieces of Black history that will leave you speechless. At the end of this episode you will learn some truths that will not only piss you off due to the amount of “our” history that’s been hijacked and omitted but will empower you to walk taller and take control of the black historical narrative. “The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.” – Maya Angelou

Rounding out Black History Month, this episode is all about Black History Game Changers, black people who helped forge the path to uplift and make the world a better place for us all. By the end of this episode you will know the names of people who changed the game in aerospace engineering, home security, electricity and many more. “I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try.” – Nikki Giovanni

It’s Women’s History Month and we are raising a glass and toasting women all month but this episode is highlighting the Most Disrespected Woman in America – the Black Woman. This episode we unpack the famous quote taken from a speech Malcom X made in 1962. “It’s not about supplication; it’s about power. It’s not about asking, it’s about demanding. It’s not about convincing those who are currently in power, it’s about changing the very face of power itself.” - Kimberle Williams Crenshaw

In this episode, Yvette and Ericka led an open and frank chat with their tribe around topics such as finding your why, flexibility, resilience, fears, strengths, failures and more.  Boss Ladies lead by example, are empowering, inspirational, open, amazing, influential, talented, skilled and successful. This is a powerful and provocative episode where we bring together two inspiring boss ladies from different backgrounds to share their experiences, perspectives and examine the impact female boss ladies can have on women. Panelists, Oniki Hardtman Lead Creative Designer and Event Planner and Danielle Williams, celebrity hair artist share their life lessons from finding their voice and the lessons that propelled their careers. "Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness." — Oprah Winfrey

It's Black HERstory Month and we celebrate the unsung black women heroines who sacrificed emotional and physical comforts to make it better and pave the way for women they will never meet. Yet these women, the contributions they made and the ambitions, goals and challenges they wrestled with—remain, by and large, absent from media coverage. In this episode Yvette and Ericka raise a glass and shine a light on women who changed the world and we should thank every day. Women’s History Month is a time to honor the women who paved the way and inspire the HERstory-maker in all of us.  “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possible, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” – Maya Angelou

Most people default to the Instagram and Facebook posts descriptions of self-care of spa like pampering, weekends with the girls or getting your nails done. That's NOT self-care. In this episode, Yvette and Erica welcome Dr. Jamie Lauren DSW, LCSW as she helps us unpack self-care and what it truly means. “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” - Oprah

Part 2 of the self-care theme where we welcome back our special guest, Dr. Jamie Lauren DSW, LCSW. In this episode, Dr. Lauren shares why operating on "auto-pilot" and engaging in mind numbing behaviors keeps us from truly knowing what we need and the boundaries required to ensure we get what we need. By the end of this episode you’ll have tips on how and where to start your self-care journey. “A healthy self-love means we have no compulsion to justify to ourselves or others why we take vacations, why we sleep late, why we buy new shoes, why we spoil ourselves from time to time. We feel comfortable doing things which add quality and beauty to life.” - Andrew Matthewsour 

Meditation, we’ve all heard about it in some shape or form. But what is it? Does it work and more importantly is it hard? In recent decades, public interest in mindfulness meditation has soared. In this episode, Ericka interviews Yvette on her meditation journey and how it’s impacted her life – for the better. During this episode we will talk about the different types of meditation and practice types as well as the benefits and how to start. “The quieter we become, the more we can hear.” – Ram Das

Last episode Yvette shared her meditation journey and Ericka made the commitment to start. This episode Julie Stewart, meditation teacher from Kadampa Meditation Center in New York City is the special guest. Julie shares how society’s definition of success and happiness leads most people to being perpetually unhappy, the basics of meditation, how to start and how integrating mediation into your daily habit can and will change your life. “Meditation is the journey from sound to silence, from movement to stillness from limited identity to unlimited space. – Sri Ravi Shankar”

Taking a page from Oprah, we’ve compiled a listing of our favorite things! During this episode (and video) we share  some fun facts and some of our favorite things…things we didn’t know we needed until we found them. Things that help us dive deeper into our well-being, make us more productive and are just plain awesome. Life isn’t about waiting for the perfect time to do something, use something or go somewhere because tomorrow is never promised. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition” – Steve Jobs