In an evolving industry, one individual stands out as a beacon of versatility and guidance. Tracy Dominic is not your typical media personality; she is a multifaceted guru. In this interview, she offers insightful advice on navigating the complexities of managing multiple careers with finesse and success.
Who Is Tracy Dominic?
I would describe myself as a purpose-driven young Nigerian woman who is just out chasing her dreams in the media industry, in the public speaking industry and even down to the philanthropy industry. My media career started 4 years ago, and since then it’s been quite a journey, with so much happening in the media space. I’ve been evolving, moving from the southeast down to Lagos, trying to get the bag and make an impact. So yeah, I am a purpose-driven young Nigerian woman, chasing her dream and trying to make an impact in her society. You can call me a media personality, TV presenter, public speaker, writer and philanthropist.
Why The Media?
Let me just take you back to when I was a child. I had so many dreams. Media was not my first love. Modeling was my first love. When I used to watch fashion shows, my mom would call me from the kitchen to come see my people. I was watching fashion runways, and all of that. I started as a model in my teenage years. My family saw it in me and I actually saw it in myself, too. My love for Media came when I started taking an interest in the news and TV hosting. Oprah was one of my favorite TV hosts and sometimes I sit in my room, and just interview and record myself on my own. I think I was 16 then. At that time, I didn’t know anything about the media. Media was not originally in my plans. In fact, at that time, I wanted to be a doctor.
However, I started media officially when I was in university. That was in my second year, I started working as a Presenter in an online media company, an online TV to be precise. Although, before then, in my teenage years, I used to read the news in secondary school, And that was when I started falling in love with the media. Aside from the fact that it’s a very prestigious career path, there’s a lot of work involved. People don’t know. People think it’s just about speaking so much English and looking good, but a lot of work goes on in the background. I read. I’m big on reading. I like to talk, I like to read. And as a Presenter, these skills are needed in the media space.
The modeling is still there though, but 90% focus is on Media. You know, when you want to be known for something, you have to shift your branding. How you present yourself is how people would perceive you. I did a little bit of rebranding. I started presenting myself as a presenter and media personality. And a lot of people stopped calling me a model. But when I wear high heels and boots, people refer to me as a model. Everything falls to how you put yourself out there. I shifted my content and promoted more media content, and now, people know me as a Presenter and Host.
You Call Yourself Fearless, What Led To The Name?
I’m gonna tell you, I like to be very transparent. I’m authentic, there’s no need to hide. Many years ago, I started listening to guided meditations and affirmations. I’m big on guided meditation, I started listening to it many years ago, not even now. I had my favorite platform, a platform where they dish out inspirational messages, meditation, and stories. I’m an old soul, they dish out a lot of old-soul topics and all of that. That platform is called Fearless Soul. And most of the contents they dish out resonated with me, and I discovered I shared many of their values and qualities. I started calling myself fearless and because of plagiarism, I added the article “THE,” and I made it “THE FEARLESS SOUL.” So that was how the name came about. It’s been 6-7 years now.
Has It Done Anything To Your Mind, Like A Shift?
Yes, as I said earlier, when you present yourself as something, subconsciously, you just begin to act that way. Mohammed Ali said that sometimes he doesn’t feel like going to training, and he dreads training, but he kept telling himself that he’s the greatest, even when he was failing. Subconsciously, when we present ourselves in a particular way, our minds just shift towards it. I was already fearless, as I said, I embodied most of the values of those contents. But you know, growth is a lifelong thing. We all have a lot of learning to do as time goes on, and we have different experiences. I started to express being fearless when I face challenges or when I’m making decisions. Now, even when I’m faced with a difficult challenge, the consciousness of being fearless makes me feel I can conquer anything.
What Are Some Typical Challenges Individuals Encounter When Endeavoring To Enact A Positive Transformation In Their Lives And How Do You Tackle These Obstacles During Your Presentation?
Growth is a rigorous process, and if it was easy everyone would be successful. The one challenge that I know is so glaring is a lack of resources. People are not necessarily lazy. A lot of people are talented, they have the idea, the business initiative but they do not have the resources to pull it off. The second challenge is the lack of connection. No one to take them from ground zero to one, because the thing is, for you to get to a certain point in your life, you would need the right people. Most people don’t have someone who would put in the word for them in that big organization, or they don’t have someone who would lend them the money to start up that business. Going through my Transformational phase, I also had financial constraints to pull off some important projects. The challenge of lack of resources hinders one from moving forward, but when you have support, it’s easier. I was telling a friend the other day that the value of your life is determined by the quality of people in your life. If you have “lonely people” in your life, you’re gonna be lonely. But if you begin to meet people who are up there, they will show you the way or support you, and in no time, you too will be up there. The challenge is that some People don’t have the money and the right people to take their businesses and careers to the next level.
Did You Have Access To These Resources And People?
Yes, exactly. Where I am right now is a result of the right people in my life and of course the work that I put in, because even if you have the right people and you are lazy to work, nothing is going to change. God is not gonna come down from heaven to help you. He’s going to send people to render you that help. Certain people have supported me. It’s not a one-month thing, you need a strong support system. It might not necessarily be financially. It can be someone who knows someone who can put in the word for you. Everyone needs a good support system that will take them from level 1 to 100 within a snap. So, it’s the right people and resources.
At A Broader Level In The Media, Do You Think The Problem In Africa Is Due To A Lack Of Resources And People?
Africans are hardworking and talented. But the issue we have is the economic hardship. Sometimes I ask myself, how do people survive? You see people on the street sleeping outside, they don’t have a home and the economic hardship just keeps getting harder. I know it’s a cliche, but the truth is, we have selfish leaders, and the economic hardship is terrible, and it’s stopping people from transcending. And honestly, people are “dying silently” because of the hardship. Someone has to eat before the person can think of starting a business, you have to survive before you can think of moving forward or pursuing a career.
There Is A School Of Thought That Mentions Positioning As A Strength, We All Know Some People Are Doing Well In Their Field Despite The Economic Challenges. What Are The Fundamental Elements People Need To Transcend That Transformative Phase Right Beyond Economic Hardship?
The basic elements would be personal decisions, habits, and Self discipline. I’m very big on self-discipline. Honestly, some people have not yet realized how much self-discipline can take them to the next level. Sometimes people are just lazy, but a certain amount of self-discipline, and the consciousness that you need to work, takes you to a whole new level. And not just work, literally fight, Fight for what you want.
Most people are quick to give up these days, they say, “I was not born to stress myself .” They complain a lot but nothing comes out of complaining. Things are bad already, so let’s just put in the work. Self-discipline does it for me, consistency and also resilience. Fall as many times, but what you must do is get back up. I have had to go through many careers, like a doctor and, at a point, a flight attendant. I pursued it all because I’m a very passionate, and ambitious person. When I put my mind to something I pursue it. I was saving for my hospital as a teenager, but then I left all of these things when it was not working. Doesn’t make me a failure. I got back up as many times as I fell and kept following other passions. What I’ll also say is to have direction. Aside from having self-discipline and consistency in your craft, you should also have a sense of direction.
My journey has been about direction. Now it’s media, public speaking, and writing. For you to survive in that transformative phase, you have to have self-discipline, consistency, and a sense of direction, because when you know where you’re going, you will have that resilience to get back up as many times as you fall.
In The Next 10 Years, Where Do You See Tracy Dominic?
10 years is a lot, I think I should have had my grandkids. Jokes aside, as I said earlier, growth is a lifelong thing. We keep working, we keep growing, we keep evolving into the next thing. In the next 10 years, the Tracy Dominic brand will be a household name. We’re going to transcend globally. The brand is about the people also, carrying people along, like giving to the indigent, dishing out wisdom out there, through my speech, my books, and the conferences that I would host or be invited to around the World. The Tracy Dominic brand will be transcending the national barriers.
For People Good At Almost Everything And Have Tried Everything But Nothing Is Working. What Will You Say To Them And How Can They Find Their Balance?
So, here’s the thing with having so many talents, you get confused. Just pray. When you have so many, God gave them to you for a reason. It’s not for you to forsake one and leave the other. It’s for you to multiply. When you have so many talents, and you don’t know which one to focus on, just try to do all you can. It’s a trial-and-error thing. When you try to showcase 1, 2, or 3, of your talents, you would know the one that comes effortlessly to you, and the one people are responding more to. It’s something that you have to pay attention to, not just do it. Be very strategic about where the bigger response is coming from, because sometimes your audience is right. Sometimes it is not criticism or judgment, they are right. You have to look at the responses, and feedback. Not necessarily from friends, but also from strangers, and outsiders. Some of this feedback would help you decide where to start. You don’t need to kill yourself if something is not working, give it up, it doesn’t mean that you can’t go back in. When the big money comes, you can go back to it. For me, I’ll still go back to helping the poor, it’s a part of me.
There are so many ways to handle something. If you have many talents, one talent must stand out. You can’t tell me you have all these talents and you don’t know which one exactly is working at the moment. Some of these talents are interrelated. It’s important to maximize all those talents. It is in the process of maximizing all your talents, that you gain more clarity and know the one you want to work or focus on first. If you don’t maximize all of them, you will still be confused. So the trick is actually to maximize all the talents. Maybe you are a singer or writer, maximize all, and then niche down. When you do that, You will then notice that every other thing will follow, because when you choose and focus on one, and you begin to earn from there, you can then use the money you get from that source to finance the other talents or dreams. But if you’ve done everything, and it’s not working, just keep hoping on God. Hope is the ultimate, if hope dies, everything dies too. Keep hope alive!