By Naide Obiang

This morning, like few of them lately, is full of uncertainties.

But, for philosopher Bob Proctor, “each day holds something good for us. We just have to find it.” The secret is, if we remain faithful to the image of our life that we have created in our mind; such image will materialize in the natural realm. Our unshakable faithfulness has the power to control the vibrations surrounding us, our actions, and the things we do attract. Hence, if we see ourselves heading toward success, then only positive things will migrate towards us; causing the image in our mind to move into formation. Thus, uncertainty does not exist. We speak of uncertainty because we lose sight of that image.

So…, I log into Facebook and Shonda Rhimes’ Masterclass ad pops up. Humm…Facebook has a way of teasing the image hidden in my mind sometimes. I click on it, just to escape my doleful reality for a second. Plunged in the imbuing Folgers aroma, I begin to ponder on my connection with Shonda: Olivia Pope, the fictional character who has hunted my brain since the fall of 2013.

Though I’m usually careful of whom I regard as leader, I am quite a zealot when it comes to Pope. My apartment wears the same colors as hers. Once, I received the same wine glasses she uses on the show as gift from one of my supervisors. She labelled it as “For Olivia Pope”.

My friends and family know exactly where to find me on Thursday night. In fact, that timeslot of 9pm to 10pm is marked “busy” on my Google calendar. Scandal is Me time!

It’s during that hour that I mold and tweak the image of my life in my mind. Right before my eyes, I see my educated-fashionably kept petite black woman-self; an entrepreneur whose only genuine desire is to make her community better and safer.

Olivia was very successful in taking advantage of her privileged upbringing and elite education. Watching her navigate her world of influence which is rarely accessible to the common especially the black race, is inspiring. She always gazelles into a room carrying with her a quiet fierceness and hunger for power. Pope worships power.

But truth be told, she is power. She embodies it. Her faculty to resolve intricacy is unparalleled. She truly never runs out of options. And that… is inspirational to a single African woman living in the United States of America. Every problem has a solution. We just have to find it.

When we feel bullied by uncontrollable and scary life events, we must always remember that we are never out of options. As a matter of fact, we should face every problem with a – You have no idea what I’m capable of – attitude? Pope gets things handled – We can too.

Being powerful is not contingent upon worldly possessions.

Being powerful is not arrogance.

Being powerful is a state of mind.