This week, we asked Nigerian-based Productivity Expert and Professional Organizer - Cresta Durojaiye, a few questions that give us a bit of insight into her journey and her perspective on what it means to SHINE.
As we count down to the Shine Legacy Award, we continue our Interview Series featuring the amazing global influencers who are speaking and sharing their brilliance at the LEAP AND SHINE CONFERENCE 2020 coming up in London, UK on February 21-22.
1. When you think of the word SHINE what first comes to your mind And what does "Shining" look like from your Point Of View (POV)?
As one of Africa’s leading Productivity Experts and Life Strategist, it’s difficult for me to define SHINE without qualifying the extra touch that being productive adds to the quality of your SHINE. The first thing that the word SHINE triggers in me is BRILLIANT RADIANCE. In my opinion, this is the icing or the cherry on the cake that being the best productive version of yourself adds to the quality of your SHINE. It completely transforms you from just shining to showcasing a higher degree of SHINE that radiates the utmost brilliance.
From my point of view, shining is great, but an added degree of sheen to your SHINE is even greater and completely sets you apart. I always encourage myself and those I mentor to aim and push beyond the expected SHINE to the level where we exude that extra shine-touch that stands us out. The sheen-level of our shine should be so intense that it gives off that ‘Eye-Blinding’ radiant effect, that commands attention/reaction and cannot go unnoticed. In my point of view, that is when you can categorically say that you are walking, living your SHINE.
2. What would you say is your Shine Factor?
My Shine-Factor??? That would be Organizing & Productivity. Because it practically flows in my bloodstream; I breathe it and live it. You cannot spend an hour with Cresta Durojaiye and not hear, see, or sense it around me. Do you want to hear the truth? I drip/leak it everywhere I go, people practically point it out and have over the years labeled me as, “Madam Organizer or Madam Productivity” It’s that intense, not one day passes by without me engaging in one organizing or productivity-related activity. Thus, you find me putting one building block over the other daily towards becoming the best productive version of myself. In doing this, I am daily radiating and leaking my productivity sheen everywhere I go, leaving shine trails and traces on the paths of my life, for others to see and be guided towards their own shine journey.
"I believe that each of us is called to impact our world with our Shine-Factor as we journey through life." - Cresta Durojaiye
The first sign that you have discovered your Shine Factor is that you drip and leak it everywhere you go and never stop even after you hit your sweet spot. How can you tell that you have hit your Shine Sweet Spot? You know when you begin to intentionally channel your shine leaks and drips to that point where it makes the most effective contact with your target and results in phenomenally productive impact. Even then, you don’t stop; you keep shining for life.
3. What are your thoughts about mentorship and Influence, do you think there is a connection?
In a nutshell, mentorship is giving guidance while influence is the ability to have an effect on one’s character. These two go hand in hand and are definitely connected. One without the other is lopsided. In fact, one acts as a supplement that complements the other.
"You Mentor (give guidance) in order to influence (have an effect) change and transform a character."
- Cresta Durojaiye
4. Mentorship is a two-way relationship between the Mentor and the Mentee. Can you share two qualities you think mentees should exhibit to get the best out of their mentors?
Hunger / Drive and Dogged Commitment are qualities that every mentee needs in other to get the best out of their mentors. A healthy combination of these two qualities results in an undeniable force that triggers phenomenal growth and progress.
5. Can you think of one specific moment in which you dulled your shine and how you got your lustre/sparkle back?
That specific moment? Hmm! Earlier this year, I struggled with consistency for a while and it ‘consistently’ dulled my shine. I came to a point after doing a lot of soul-searching, where I concluded that the word “SHINE” is present-continuous.
I can only shine if I consistently and continuously do what makes me shine. A break in transmission in that consistency meant a ‘SHINE SEIZURE’ So I began ensuring that not one day went by without me doing something, (no matter how little the degree) to maintain an ongoing shine. It’s been demanding, but I have made good progress.
6. If you could BRAG about one particular Shine Moment in your career or business, what would it be?
That would definitely be my first global speaking and award-winning experience at the Women Economic Forum (WEF) London 2019 Conference. It was such a SHINE moment that was definitely BRAG-WORTHY in every ramification of the word.
7. You are one of the Global Speakers at the February 2020 Leap and SHINE Conference in London. What should attendees expect from you at the conference?
Attendees should expect to encounter the brilliant radiance that comes with unlocking and walking the productivity pathway, that moulds and enhances their daily shine beyond what ordinarily applies. They stand to gain from learning to build exceptional productive versions of themselves that make them stand out with exceptional SHINE, using easy to adopt practical tips and tools.
About Cresta Durojaiye
Cresta Durojaiye is one of Africa's leading Productivity Experts, a Professional Organizer, Author, Podcaster and Life Strategist who teaches and empowers people with practical tools and strategies to live fuller and perform optimally. She serves as the Founding Chairperson of the Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals in Nigeria(APON). She is also President & Co-Founder of PineTreeGroup of companies (currently comprising PineTree Organizers; Inspire! By PineTree; and PineTree Container Store). Cresta hosts a weekly podcast called Life Lessons where she dishes productivity tips and strategies that enable people to live their best lives possible. She is the author of eBook "Principles for a More Productive YOU" and co-author of the global anthology - 40 Pearls of Wisdom. She is passionate about creating systems and structures for organized workflow and personal transformation. She also places a major premium on family life, as a wife and hands-on Mum to two amazing girls.
Connect with her at www.CrestaDurojaiye.com
About The Event
The Leap and Shine Conference which started in 2016 as a Virtual Summit is an initiative founded by Clara Rufai, The Shine Strategist offering Creative, Interactive and Transformational opportunities by bringing together global Thought-leaders and Influencers for paradigm-shifting, life-defining discussions with the aim to inspire, equip and empower individuals to break free from their prisons of limitation and take a ‘LEAP’ into their ‘SHINE ZONE’.
The two-day event promises enlightenment, education, entertainment, and networking with a line-up of successful global achievers. The theme for the conference is “Ready to Shine” and targeted at individuals and business leaders seeking to grow momentum and build a network of fruitful collaborations.
Tickets are already available on sale at www.LeapAndShineConference.com.