Angelique Du Toit is a speaker, author and a businesswoman in the world of Direct Selling. She encourages people to live with greater purpose, passion and productivity. A woman with no high school education, yet her business experience spans three successful decades in the world of Direct Selling and in addition, she started her own personal and professional development company called Women Arise! in 1999. Angelique is an Executive at Annique Health and Beauty with a sales force of over 22 000 sales consultants. Her book, Standing Tall in a Falling World is in retail stores in South Africa, the USA and the United Kingdom, as well as on Amazon.com. Her second book is due to hit the market in 2016.
My Definition Of Success | When people’s eyes light up, when they start to think and speak differently about their lives; when an audience responds with a profound silence that says, “I’ve had the revelation, now I need to do a life-renovation – then I feel successful. When my children turn around and call me blessed, then I know I have success. When my husband and I are in joyous unity, then I am successful. Making a profound difference to one life at a time; leaving a person more encouraged when I leave, influencing everywhere I go; this is success. Being in relationship with God and having His unlimited favor and Grace on my life – this is my supreme success.
Has my definition of success changed over the years…most definitely. We live in a world that demands success by its standards, which is a more powerful title, a greater salary, a bigger mansion, the opulent brands and nothing short of empty perfection. I strove for this for many years and uncovered the overwhelming discovery that internal transformation is the key to having external impact. Seeking first the Kingdom of God, conquering the mountain of myself meant that all the attributes of success ultimately came flowing towards me. Success is quite easy actually when you learn to get your priorities right. I love what Anthony Robbins says, “Sometimes you have to give up your dream in order to reach your destiny!” That pretty much sums up success.
I Am Driven By | God gave me the gift of life. What drives me is the decision I have made to ensure that every choice I make brings forth results that are pleasing to God, that I live a full life to a ripe age while being healthy, wise, productive and accomplishing everything God detailed in my DNA. To use all of my gifts every day in every way I possibly can. We are on earth for a purpose and to fulfill my purpose through the gift of communication is what drives me.
My Highlights | Having no high school education, no self-esteem, seemingly no hope for a good future, and pushing through every obstacle to achieve what is fulfillment for me; wonderful relationships with my husband and children, a fabulous career in business, as a speaker and motivator, and becoming a published writer.
The Difference Between Good And Great | Good is the enemy of great, as Jim Collins states. Greatness is birthed out of purpose, passion and productivity. Greatness requires discipline, self-sacrifice, determination, grit, resilience, honesty, integrity, and generosity. Usually the way a person thinks, perceives and acts is the fine differentiator between good and great.
A Key Talent | It’s not the mountain we need to conquer. It is ourselves. It is not the mountain ahead that wears us out, it is the grain of sand in our shoe. In other words, much of what we perceive to be against us is actually on the inside of us. And secondly, it’s not the big things that cause us to fail, but the little foxes that spoil the vine. It’s the little negatives or habits acted on persistently so that the grain in our shoe hinders us from being able to continue in the race and to cross the success finish line. One of the strengths that I have needed to draw on the most is that of resilience; that stick-at-ability, the never quitting, the pressing on towards the goal. Everything nice has its price and as long as you are in alignment with your purpose which you usually discover by recognizing your gifts and talents, persistence and perseverance will bring you through every time.
A talent only benefits us and the receiver when the talent is put it into action. Take the time to recognize your talent, encourage yourself in that talent and do whatever you can to practice that talent. It was after all designed to be your avenue for revenue. People pay you for the value you add. Make yourself a person in demand. I discovered at an early age that communication both written and verbal were among my gifts and talents. I have taken every opportunity to grow these talents into effectiveness and they have rewarded me both in fulfillment and financial reward many times over.
Principles I Live By | A principle based life gives me security, direction and stability. Knowing what my values are lets my yes be powerfully yes and my no be no. Fundamentally I believe that we win or we lose by the way that we choose. Choices need a solid foundation otherwise the outcomes can be destabilising to say the least. The tried and tested values of unity, integrity, trust and faith are still as strong today as they ever were. Having no deeply rooted values is like trying to sail through life without an all-important rudder.
Critical Skills I Develop | Tiger Woods, arguably one of the greatest golfers in the world, is known for saying that the most difficult club in his bag is his mind. And so say all of us. A mindset is called that for a reason. It is the set of the mind on a point, perspective or opinion. It works brilliantly if it is a favourable mindset but it is an enormous obstacle if it is set against you. As a person thinks in their heart and mind, so are they. The world is not the way that it is, it is the way we see it. We can have grand dreams, powerful plans and glorious goals, but unless we lift our minds to a new way of thinking and live our lives in a new way of being, we will stay set and stuck. I am a great believer that where the mind goes the man or woman follows. Furthermore when one’s mind is in a certain place, it is just a matter of time before your self-talk confirms what is taking place in your mind and just as surely, the actions follow. Perfect if it is constructive and productive thinking, but it can keep one in a repetitive pattern of unsuccessful outcomes and disappointing results if the self-defeating thinking and talking continues. Take your words captive before they take you captive. The way human beings think will affect their entire life. Like riches begets riches and poverty begets poverty, so it is with the mind. You draw to yourself the manifestation of your inner thoughts. This is a critical key to master in the journey of success.
The Meaning Of Life | Man was created in the image of God, Who represented Himself through Jesus Christ, His Son. The purpose that Jesus came to earth was to give man His true identity – that of the sons and daughters of God, to those who believe. As a believer, my purpose is now to use His name and power to influence, transform and positively impact the world around me in my daily life, as a parent, in the marketplace, in the education systems, government and media, using the talents, skills and abilities I have received. We are here to make a change, a difference, to share hope and a future.
The Best Advice I’ve Received | Never say never.
Turn impossible to I’m possible,
Nothing is impossible with God.
You win or you lose by the way that you choose.
Advice On Building Wealth | Become rich first in your mind, in your way of thinking and being. Money is a very powerful force and if it owns you it can destroy you. If you own it, you can use it very powerfully. Money makes a terrible master but a wonderful servant. Rich is a state of mind. You can be rich in the bank but very poor in spirit and in your soul. Yet you can be very rich financially and be just as rich in your heart. Wealth opens doors that otherwise would not open before you. Make sure you are ready to walk through those doors and handle the responsibility that comes with much. To whom much is given, much will be required. You cannot give what you do not have. This is why we need to be wealthy; this is why we need to be generous.
One of the surest ways to build wealth is to have a generous mind, heart and hand. Give 10% of what you earn to a meaningful cause and save 10% of what you earn and you will be storing up for the future. Remember that if you want to build wealth you have to keep this formula top of mind: If your outgoings exceed your income your upkeep will be your downfall. Never spend more than you earn. The expenditure and interest will overtake your earnings and you will be a continual borrower. The borrower is always servant to the lender. Never want anything so badly that you put yourself in deep financial risk for it.
I Am Inspired By | People who inspire me aren’t always necessarily those with the names, status and reputations, but rather those who go about their daily lives making a profound impact in their world; often those people who the world never hears about. The single mom keeping down three jobs to feed her children. The quiet influencer who touches and changes people on a daily basis. The Mother who cares for her paraplegic child with selfless dedication, and the grandmother who works tirelessly to feed the family of 12 living in her two-roomed house. Those who quietly leave their positively powerful impression wherever they go. There is nothing I enjoy more than meeting someone for the first time and you wonderfully discover the covert yet deeply impactful work that they do. These are the people that inspire me.
The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | In a world that often seems hell-bent on making life more difficult for all and a world that appears to be more off its axis than on, the legacy I would like to leave would be to echo the words and actions of Jesus who said “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” While I am on this earth and once I leave, I would like to have left a deep, memorable impression that man is made in the image of God, they are created to Stand Tall in a Falling World, and that we are capable of achieving more good than we realise.
Useful Links:
