Don't let the insecurities of others dull your sparkle. Shine like the star you are born to be.
Karen Civil
Everything is a learning lesson, good and bad, so I am happy with the way things are, and I learned from everything negative. I am in a great space now, so I wouldn't change a thing!
I believe that God has blessed me in immeasurable ways so that I can, in return, bless and help others.
I am the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of Marathon Agency, a new venture with my business partner Steve Carless. It's a management, branding, marketing, and business strategy. I'm in charge of marketing and branding clients like Nick Cannon, Nicki Minaj, and more.
When I started my career, I never looked at myself as one to be inspirational, but as I continued to grow, I've met so many different people who ask, 'How do you do it? You make it look easy.' But it's not easy. I have certain tricks and tips I use every day that have been working for me.
I wanted to focus on creating a solid foundation, creating my blueprint, and understanding who I was. You can get distracted easily, and people take you off course with just a compliment. I wanted the focus to be on Karen Civil the businessperson, not what I wore, not what I looked like.
Never stray from life's purpose. Refrain from counting someone else's blessings instead of your own.
Nothing is ever quick. You have to grow an audience, keep them engaged, give them a reason to keep coming back so it will never be an overnight success. Have patience!
I am big on not pushing anything that I wouldn't do or use. I understand my brand, vision, and the story I want to tell. I am not into taking short-cuts like tummy teas or waist trainers. I want my brand to be a lifestyle and very premium but, at the same time, relatable.
Be You, Live Civil was a tour that I started, and it's just always something that I've been to myself. 'Be you, live civil' is like 'live my life.' That was my short version of saying to live my life.
I always knew I wanted to do something in entertainment. Since I could not sing, had no rhythm, and did not want to be a baby mama, I thought I would explore the Video DJ route.
That's the wonderful thing about picking and choosing who we want to work with, because I've been in situations where I've worked with someone, and they thought they were gonna be on the cover of 'XXL' in two months. I'm like, 'That's not how it works.'
I wasn't the biggest hip-hop fan, because I had to listen to whatever my parents listened to, so growing up, it was a lot of Dolly Parton, Elvis, and Whitney Houston. When they finally put a TV in my room and I got to listen to MTV Jams I was like: 'Here I am!'
Christmas is always a great time because I get to be around family and spend time with my brother, nieces, and nephews, so that's what I plan to do. It's great to disconnect from everything.
At first, social media was just about networking. But now that I have to network, I make sure that every platform makes money for me. You can do something on Facebook.
I didn't have a resume when Lil Wayne hired me. I didn't have a resume when Beats by Dre flew me across the country to be their 12th employee. I still don't have a resume!
When I had dial-up, my mom got me a phone so I wouldn't tie up the phone. She used to really pick up the phone, push some buttons, and hang it up so the connection could mess up. Now, it's a joke with her, like, 'Look, the Internet's 24/7. I have WiFi now.'
Social media can help or hurt you. People are more into other people's lives than their own. Everyone sees everyone else's success online, and we allow it to magnify our own failure.
When I was young, I originally wanted to be a radio on-air personality. Once I realized I may not be fit for that - I was infatuated with hip-hop - that I still wanted to be a part and give back the community, so I decided to carve my own path and make my own lane.
Society sets us up to be everything but ourselves, but I want to take a moment and say to people, love yourself. Find your purpose. You are unique, and that makes you great. I pursued my dreams. You can do it, too.
I take yoga classes, do a mile run, and of course take part in some kind of water sport.
Anywhere I go, if I go out, I have to keep my phone out. I don't try to be rude. If I turn it around, I have to check it every 5 minutes.
It's a feeling I can't describe, to see my work in action. The best is when an artist is appreciative.
I want children to know that they can create the life they dream of despite the odds that are against them.
I've made social mistakes. We've all made our mistakes and tried things we kind of wish we didn't, but we plan around it. Things happen in situations that are unique and different, and no one is perfect.
It's unfortunate that cyberbullying is something that happens to 13-year-old kids in junior high and adults in the workplace. It's something that we have to deal with as Americans.
With Drake, I was a big fan of 'Degrassi.'
Now, metaphorically, I sit at any table that I want. I can sit with the jocks, I can sit with the gang members, I can sit with the politicians, I can sit with the CEOs. My brand can fit anywhere.
I believe in the power of play.
When I was in eighth grade, I created a Backstreet Boys fan site. I came in third place in a fan site contest and got to meet them.
I just tell myself I gotta get up at 8 A.M. I don't even use an alarm clock.
I love vegan tacos... soooo good! I invite friends over to have some, and they can't believe they aren't eating real meat.
I'd worked in music for years and built all these relationships, so I bought a camera, built a website, and decided to go for it.
Growing up was very interesting for me. If you were Haitian, people just automatically assumed that English was a second language. So they had a special class for my brother and I, but we spoke proper English.
People see your life on social media, and they say, 'Oh my gosh, it's perfect,' and I'm like, 'No, every day, it's not even just a struggle: it's something new, and it's a new challenge to make sure that I'm mentally stable and healthy and that I'm okay.' It was just great to finally get it out and talk about it.
It's all about how you use your social platform. Right now, I'm just using mine to empower people, get my entertainment and my news. Other people use their platform for different things.
Coming from a Haitian-American home, I thought it was necessary to give back to the country in which my parents were raised. That is why I believe in Project PlayWorld's efforts to to provide secure playing spaces for the children of Haiti with the Live Civil Playground.
I love my religion, I love everything about it, but at the same time, I love my career, and I want to do it with the same love and compassion.
I make sure I eat before I go anywhere just in case they don't have a vegan-friendly option.
People go to their jobs and hate it every day, but they have great ideas. Put that same time and effort into something you love - it really starts with being honest with yourself.
Growing up in America, even in the rougher parts of Elizabeth, I had two nice playgrounds to choose from as a child.
At the end of the day, I'm still an African-American woman in a male-dominated industry, so sometimes you have to deal with people not taking your ideas seriously. But I look at it as, I'd rather have adversities in something that I love than doing something that I hate or where I am not interested.
For so long, we were labeled - you're a girly girl, you're a tomboy, you're this or that - but now we can do what we want. One style doesn't define me.
For blogs today, it's really about content creation and partnering with a brand. You can get the news in so many forms and so many places. A tweet now is enough to tell you about a story. People don't have to click to go to your site.
The world is your stage. Make your mark.
I come from a great home and fully supportive family that helped to nurture my dreams. A lot of people don't have those same things in their household.
No one is going to break me. No one is going to stop me. No one is going to remove a vision that I see for myself and the love that's in my heart.
You don't know what's going to happen to you in the next hour. So you just live your life, live to the best of your potential, and just be happy.
I am not quick to call someone a friend. It is OK to have acquaintances and be associates. We make these words sound bad, but it is about understanding everyone's place in your life. I have a great group of people around me. I value them more than anything.
I fell in love with hip-hop a little bit late; I grew up on Another Bad Creation and Kris Kross. But my mom got me a TV in my room, and I remember seeing Biggie's 'Give Me One More Chance,' and I was like, 'Oh, this is how a house party looks!' I really, really fell in love with it when Tupac created 'Dear Mama.'
