“Being down does not mean you are out of the game.” — Master Your Life With Rejoice Denhere

Rejoice Denhere is a business owner and writer who wants to help people overcome setbacks that may come up in their lives. She has written a number of books and also has an online magazine. Rejoice is passionate about helping people, and has a keen interest in reading and health and wellbeing. I spoke to her about her career journey and the challenges she has overcome along the way.

How did you end up working in mentoring and consulting?

My path into mentoring and consulting was one that came about naturally. A lot of people I knew, be that individuals or business owners, would ask for my help and use me as a sounding board for their ideas, and over time I noticed a pattern. When people face challenges or setbacks, the main thing preventing them from bouncing back is not a lack of knowledge of what they should do, rather it is a lack of tools and strategies which will help them to bounce back.

That’s where I come in. I provide people with the tools they need to help them resolve the issues they are facing. Imagine if you were on a journey to Scotland and you weren’t able to get there because you took a wrong turn or your car has broken down. What you need isn’t for someone to tell you where you are heading, you already know that. You need someone to give you a map, which in this case is the tool, in order to help you plan a new course to reach your destination. If your car has broken down, you want the AA to provide you with a strategy to overcome that obstacle, be that by towing you to a safe place or hiring a new car.

Setbacks are usually caused by circumstances which our outside of your control. It’s not that people or businesses don’t know what they are doing, it’s that life threw them a curve ball and now they need someone to help them bounce back from that.

How does Master Your Life help individuals and businesses recover from setbacks?

Master Your Life helps people to realise that setbacks do not define them or their business. A setback doesn’t mean you are a failure, and it doesn’t mean that there is no way of overcoming this hurdle. The Master Your Life programme demonstrates to clients that they have the potential to recover from setbacks, as well as providing them with the tools and strategies to do so.

During the programme we explore things like:

What has gone wrong and why this has gone wrong.

How long the situation has been going on for and how long it is likely to last for.

How long recovery from this setback is likely to take.

Who else has experienced something similar and managed to overcome it.

Which tools or strategies will be the most effective in overcoming this setback.

Sharing examples of how other people or businesses have overcome similar situations gives clients the courage to know that they too can overcome this setback. With the help of the tools and strategies that the programme provides them with, they are able to develop an effective plan for overcoming this problem.

Why is it important to you to help people bounce back from setbacks?

I want to help people understand that experiencing a setback does not mean that you have failed. A setback is merely an interruption, albeit an unwelcome one. If you are on your way to work by train and there is an announcement about a signal failure on your route, then you either wait on the train until the problem is resolved or you find an alternative route, and ultimately you won’t choose to spend the rest of your day at the station just because of this minor setback.

I also want people to learn to be patient. Turning a situation around can take time, but sometimes when people encounter setbacks they throw in the towel too quickly. Progress may seem slow at first, however, when you have the right tools and strategies you will definitely reach your intended destination eventually.

How did mentoring lead to you writing books? Do you have plans to write another?

Mentoring was actually an outcome of writing. I have found writing to be an incredibly effective way of sharing what I have learnt on my own journey and how it can help those facing similar life challenges. I am currently working on a new book which will be released in February 2021. More details will be available on my website later this year.

What’s the greatest challenge you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?

My greatest career challenge happened prior to me becoming a business owner. It all started when I received a long-awaited promotion at work. Fear and personal misgivings had held me back from applying for this position, but I managed to overcome my fear, and when I got the promotion I thought “Great! I’ve made it!”. I was wrong.

I was enjoying my new role when life threw me a curve ball that was such a major personal setback it affected every area of my life. It soon became obvious that this wasn’t something that was going to be resolved quickly, and in fact was something that would demand all of my time to resolve. As a result of this, I resigned from my position.

As I hadn’t foreseen the events that unfolded I was not prepared for the negative impact on my finances and my wellbeing. Suddenly finding myself at risk of being destitute meant that I needed a new strategy. I rekindled my love of writing and poured my pain onto paper, writing mostly fiction. It was a way of putting food on the table and keeping myself sane. During that dark period I met people who were also facing unexpected life challenges, and using the same strategies that I had implemented for myself, I helped them to overcome these challenges.

What do you want to be known for?

I want to be known for empowering people to believe in themselves and to live their lives fearlessly. For me being fearless does not mean that fear is absent, it means that fear does not dominate my life or decisions. The more positive action I take, the more my fear shrinks.

I once heard someone say:

“It’s easy to make choices when there are no negative consequences. It’s a lot harder to make choices when you know that one wrong move can put your life and that of your loved ones at risk.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Find out more about Rejoice Denhere and her work at her website.

Interview by Lola Sherwin. Find Lola on LinkedIn here.