JANICE IMOISI
HOME    ABOUT    BLOG    CONTACT
Janice Imoisi
HOME   ABOUT   BLOG    CONTACT
THIS IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED FOR ME
“If you're always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.” ~ Maya Angelou

Native Chicagoan born and raised in the "Windy City". Yes, there is a lake effect off of Lake Michigan that blows and chills you to the bone during the winter time. Historians will tell a different tale of why it is really called the "Windy City".

I don’t know where or how to start my story so I will just dive in. By the way, don't you think I look cute in that picture? I have always wanted to use that photo for a good purpose.

When I was younger, my environment and where I grew up was far, far, far from being great. At first, I denied where I came from for a very long time. I swore I would never, ever tell anyone where I grew up because I would be stigmatized for it, or people would give me this look of disbelief. Imagine, people giving you a stare or a funky look because you tell them where you grew up. I told myself when I became rich I could start telling folks where I grew up.

As you can see, that didn't happen. I'm not rich nor am I famous. I'm just me sharing my story some 30 years later after leaving the Windy City at the age of 24.

The community I grew up in was called the "Cabrini Green Housing Projects" which was located exactly eight blocks from Lakeshore Drive and Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Today, it is considered one of the most lucrative places to live in Chicago. The buildings I grew up in have since been demolished.

The first time I heard gunshots and realized what they were, I was probably 8 or 10 years old. I was told to get the hell away from the windows, drop down on the floor of our apartment, and stay down. I didn’t want to get hit by a stray bullet. My mom would always say that a bullet doesn’t have a name attached to it until it hits you.

Gun violence, drugs, gangs, and death was a current and constant theme.

Did you know that wearing a certain color of clothes would get you killed too? That was totally crazy. All this craziness was happening in the early 70’s. I still see a lot of it today. Nothing has changed in terms of the crimes, guns, and gangs except lots of school shootings have increased for this generation of kids.

Going to school everyday and coming home safely was a numbers game. You hoped and prayed that there would be no shoot out on your way home as you walked into your apartment building. 

Sometimes there were warnings to let us know to get inside quickly. I was so, so tired of having to look over my shoulders and drop to the floor every time gun shots were fired. When the holidays rolled around, forget it. Stay away from windows and don't even plan on going out. If you went out, you stayed out until the next day.

I had simple but difficult goals; they were not to get shot, not to get pregnant as teenager (because my mom said she would kill me), graduate from high school, and to try to stay out of trouble even though it found me around every corner. I also wanted to get a good paying job so that when I turned 18 years old I could leave the area, get my own apartment, and never return.

So, my journey began...
We All Have Challenges
“Tremendous amounts of talent are being lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt” ~Shirley Chisholm

You wanna know what my biggest challenges were growing up? My biggest challenges were, "How do I live to make it through high school, move far, far, far away from my existing environment, and still be able to help my mom and siblings from a distance?"

I had the opportunity to attend one of the best schools of business during my junior and senior year of high school in Chicago that shaped the rest of my life. Part of the school curriculum was their work study program, and part of the graduation requirement was to obtain a job through that work study program.

After high school was over, I was hired on as a permanent employee for a Commercial Real Estate Appraisal Company. I worked some wicked hours (80+ hours a week) six months a year. It was insane! I have high school friends who still work the same job they obtained from that work study program. 

They have made lifelong careers and are doing extremely well.
Because of the hours I worked and the money I made, I was able to move out and get my own apartment on my 18th birthday! I was so excited and scared all at the same time. I literally cried like a baby because I missed my mom and siblings so much, but I couldn't tell my mom because she would have just told me to move back home. Moving into my own apartment had a whole other set of problems, especially when your plans and goals differed greatly from your boyfriend's on two different levels going in two different directions.

I was able to help my mom with the bills and buy school clothes each year for my siblings. I felt like I had finally made it. I felt that I had accomplished what I wanted to do. But I also felt like I needed to do so much more. I still had college in the back of my mind and needed to find a way to start. I was too busy working long hours and making really good money to think about it. I needed a change. It had been seven years. It was time.

I applied for a flight attendant job in Dallas, Texas and to my surprise I got hired! I was so excited! But that excitement was short lived. If I was busy flying all over the world, how would I have time to attend college? Change of plans again. I needed to get a full-time job and attend college at the same time. Guess what? I landed a great job working in the Regulatory Department for an Oil & Gas Company.

A year later, they were laying people off left and right. My job was spared but seeng how they were letting people go so frequently, I thought eventually this might happen to me, so I decided to quit, and attend college full-time.  Change in plans again.

By taking this chance, I discovered the University of Houston had just started their Entrepreneurship Program and was taking only 30 people. I applied and got accepted! Several years later, after graduating from the University of Houston, I got involved in the mortgage industry and custom home building.

Life is a road map yet to be traveled; if you will just get on that road and go, you will be amazed, scared, and excited all at the same time.
Why not try something new? If it doesn’t work out, then at least you can say, “I tried”. Never give up on learning and trying. If you are already at rock bottom, you can only go up from where you start.
WHAT I DISCOVERED
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

This is what I have discovered during my short time on this earth; It's important to sit still and take inventory of what's going on around you.

Sometimes you have to listen to that inner voice that is trying to tell you something. My inner voice was always pushing me to do more because staying put was not an option.

My mom kept telling me not worry but to keep trying. Boy, was it hard to keep trying! What other choice did I have? People were dying all around me. I was at war and it wasn't with the military.

I think I could write a really good book on failure. Yep, I bet I could. I have failed so many times that I think I could even come up with some really good scripts as a standup comedian.

I have to laugh at myself sometimes when I look back on my journey and the many times I have tried to move forward with my ideas or just tried to learn something new.

Frustration and doubt will consume you. Don’t let it. Guess what failing has allowed me to do? It has allowed me to document my life's journey of where I've been, where I am now, and how to plan for my future.

This is what makes up my story and my journey.

You see those two kids up above, they are a product of me and my late husband. He died in 2006 when they were seven and eight years old. 

Another great story for another time.

I wouldn't have a story to tell or share if I didn't have the experience and pain of the failing, and sacrifices. I thank God for the life I have lived.

I am truly grateful, thankful and blessed.

This isn't the end of my story. Learning and education is an ongoing thing for me.

Giving back and paying it forward means the world to me.

If the path you are on is all broken and falling to pieces, take a different one and watch how God will begin to change your life for the better.

“Once you stop learning, you start dying” –Albert Einstein
JANICE IMOISI
All Rights Reserved © 2021
Powered By ClickFunnels.com