THE MELANIN PEARLS PODCAST

EP35 is full of practical tools and self-reflection questions, that can help create a 'shift' towards positive change. It is our hope through our experience and strategies on how we started to see 'the bigger picture' in our pain and use it to catapult our growth.

Nevertheless, she persisted. The definition of perseverance is “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” This episode is dedicated to notable women who persevered through incredible odds. “A woman is like a tea bag. She only knows her strength when put in hot water.” – Nancy Regan

The world premiere of the “Black Excellence Spotlight” with the Melanin Pearls. Each quarter Yvette and Ericka will highlight Black men and women who demonstrate and represent Black excellence. The inaugural episode highlights Stacy-Ann Burke, Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting.“I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent for racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life...

Join Yvette and Ericka as they highlight women out there doin' their damn thing! From inventions to freedoms we enjoy but are unaware of who paid the price for them. we are going to share elevate those who deserve it the most. “Define Goal. Take Action. Stay Focused. Expect Success. Nothing Less. – Michele Ruiz”

In this episode, Yvette and Ericka will share what it means to be Black to them.

In this episode, Yvette and Ericka highlight Black leaders then and now. Some you may know and some you may learn about! “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” – W.E.B. Du Bois

This episode is all about being brave enough to fearlessly live the life you deserve, what it means being fearless and how to use missteps and side steps as lessons into success. “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, live out your purpose and to do it fearlessly – Dr. Steve Maraboli

We are starting 2022 with a question, are you willing to live your life intentionally? What does that mean? In this episode, The Melanin Pearls will unpack that question and Yvette and Ericka will dive into how they’ve embraced living intentionally and what that means to them.“An unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to t...

The final episode of Season 2 and the year! This episode Yvette and Ericka reflect on the year, how fast it went, what they learned and hope for in 2022.Never miss an episode and subscribe to The Melanin Pearls podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Pandora, iHeartRadio or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.

One thing for certain is that the pandemic emphasized the impermanence of life. Life is short and tomorrow is not promised – for anyone, no matter your position in life, fame or how much money you have in the bank. So, why wait to live it? In this episode, Yvette and Ericka share how they embrace the impermanence of life and embody living each day to the fullest. “Somebody should tell us, right at...

Many find talking about mental health needs extremely difficult, for a host of reasons, but supporting your mental health is critical to one’s overall health. Just like we workout to maintain our physical well-being, we need to do the same for our emotional aspect as well. The purpose of this episode is to shine a light on the importance of mental health and help to remove the stigma and shame for...

Preparing for the holidays…are you going to be zooming Thanksgiving and Christmas like last year? During this episode, Yvette and Ericka discuss how they are approaching and preparing for the holidays. “Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you are home. – Carol Nelson”Never miss an episode and subscribe to The Melanin Pearls podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Pandora, iHeartRadio...

It’s a first for most of us of living through a pandemic. From restricted travel, social distancing to being completely sequestered in one’s home; some people have a lot of anxiety of entering back to the new “normal.” In this episode, Yvette and Ericka talk about how they are handling going back to work, traveling, taking public transportation and if they are going to make any changes to their so...

Can you believe it? One year ago, Yvette and Ericka launched The Melanin Pearls Podcast and what a year it’s been! During this episode, Yvette and Ericka reminisce about how it all started, where the podcast is going and how they’ve grown along the way.

Helping others achieve their success is most possibly the main key to your success. Sounds confusing right? It’s not and during this episode Yvette and Ericka will share how helping others achieve success has impacted and propelled their own careers. Using their experiences, they will show you how you can start to help others reach their goals and how that effort brings you closer to your own. “He...

Do you know what it means to “unlock your potential?” Better yet, do you even how to do it? In this episode, Yvette and Ericka share tips and actions you can take to unlock your potential by finding your WHY and resources to help you live it. “First, it's essential to determine precisely what you want to achieve. Just wanting to be “successful” is too general.” ― Derric Yuh Ndim

Gratitude. The pandemic forced people to take stock of their life, who and what brings them joy and what/who is important. But it’s also super important to reflect on all that you have to be grateful for and all you have. Expressing gratitude isn’t just left for the 4th Thursday in November, weddings or funerals. It’s an everyday activity. In this episode, Yvette and Ericka share how having gratit...

Continuing the important topic of food injustice, food deserts and food swamps, in this episode Yvette and Ericka are on location at East New York Farms! located in East New York Brooklyn. The community surrounding Pink Houses refused to wait for help as they watched the systematic reduction of green spaces and the health index of the community steadily decline. While on location, Yvette and Erick...

There's a lot of talk about the power of Yes. Yes supports risk-taking, courage, and an open-hearted approach to life whose grace cannot be minimized. But No…no is a metal grate that slams shut the window between one's self and the influence of others and is rarely celebrated. It's a hidden power because it is both easily misunderstood and difficult to engage. Many of us are unaware of the surge o...

We are mid-year so it’s time to see where we are with our 2021 professional/career goals and how we can tracking from a progress standpoint in our current positions. This episode is all about assessing where we are, identifying any outstanding gaps, recapping and highlighting our wins to date and prepping for our mid-year review meeting with our people manager. Yvette and Ericka share their proces...

This episode is all about relationships. Join Yvette and Ericka as they chat about how they learned how to keep healthy relationships with their friends, partners and family. No one is perfect and neither is every relationship but there is a balance between imperfection and unhealthy. During this episode, Yvette and Ericka describe the “definition” of a healthy relationship, what that means to the...

Food deserts, food swamps and food insecurity are ravaging urban and rural areas across the United States. Food insecurity is when you don’t have enough money to buy the healthy foods you need or if you have to skip meals because you don’t have enough money to buy more food. In New York City alone, before COIVID-19, 1.4 million people living in NYC were food insecure. Now, it’s close to 2 million...

Taking a page from Oprah, we’ve compiled a listing of our favorite things! During this episode we share some fun facts and some of our favorite things…things we didn’t know we needed until we found them. Things that help us dive deeper into our well-being, make us more productive and are just plain awesome. Life isn’t about waiting for the perfect time to do something, use something or go somewher...

This is a special unscheduled episode on voter suppression. Record turnout will always be swiftly followed by a tidal wave of voter suppression efforts. This is a factual trend. Lawmakers in 47 states have introduced bills that would make it harder to vote. Do you that there are about 61 forms of voter suppression. Can you name a few? Ericka and Yvette discuss voter suppression and how WE THE PEOP...

Last episode Yvette shared her meditation journey and Ericka made the commitment to start. This episode Julie Stewart, meditation teacher from Kadampa Meditation Center in New York City is the special guest. Julie shares how society’s definition of success and happiness leads most people to being perpetually unhappy, the basics of meditation, how to start and how integrating mediation into your da...