Do you want more from your job, your man, your life? Well, in this insightful guide, Amy DuBois Barnett, the former editor in chief of Teen People and Honey magazine, shows you how to GET YOURS…today, this year and forever! With humor and honesty, Amy shares her own story of transformation from awkward, insecure people-pleaser to strong, independent woman. She reveals the personal philosophy that allowed her to look and feel amazing, find love and achieve history-making professional success. Amy also includes intimate interviews with celebrities to get their perspective on topics ranging from career and finance to health and spirituality to style and creativity to friends and family. The list of interviewees includes: Gayle King, Sanaa Lathan, Mo’Nique, India.Arie, Gabrielle Union, Venus Williams, Hill Harper, Kelly Rowland, and Kelis. Clutch magazine caught up with Amy to find out more abut her new project and African American women’s magazines.

Clutch: You are the first African American women to head a national, mainstream publication for Time, Inc. How does it feel to have paved the way for other women of color in media?
Amy DuBois Barnett: It was amazing. Black women are so sorely under represented, pretty much across the board, unless it’s a magazine geared toward women of color. It’s was extremely gratifying and fulfilling. To feel that you’ve kicked down a door and you’re helping others in after you should be the reason why we’re all here in the Universe.

Clutch: In your new book, GET YOURS! The Girlfriend’s Guide to Having Everything You Ever Dreamed of and More, you credit your mother as one of your biggest influences. Who else have you been inspired by throughout your career?
Amy DuBois Barnett: W.E.B. DuBois is my name sake, so I’ve always looked to his example of scholarship and activism and clarity of mission. I’ve admired him since I was a baby. My son is named after Paul Robeson, another person I greatly admired –a renaissance man.

Clutch: What kind of advice would you give to someone just starting out, whether as a recent grad or changing careers and wants to pursue a career in media?
Amy DuBois Barnett: In media, there are two big things to focus on. One is simply writing and observing. Writing as much as you can, even if it’s for free, even it you’re writing for yourself. Perfect your craft as much as possible, because it might take you awhile before somebody actually pays you for your words. It took me years before somebody paid me for anything that I’d ever written. So I think it’s really important to remember it might take a long time as a new writer or in media. You should really get somebody to pay attention to you. And you can not give up, you have to take the rejection like a woman and keep going.

And also, create your relationships before you need them. Don’t wait until you need relationship to establish relationship. I think it’s really important to stay on their mind, in a non aggressive way so when there are openings and there are opportunities, people think of you.

Clutch: I think I can speak for all our readers when I say Honey was one of the best magazines ever to grace newsstands. It was fresh and young, sexy and smart—but ultimately it was short lived. Like Honey, there have been other magazines that shared the same target demographic and also closed prematurely. Why do you think that is, especially when there’s such a large community of supporters?
Amy DuBois Barnett: I think it’s a challenge for any magazine targeting women of color to get support in the business community. And that is a large part of the business world. You not only have to get your readers, you also have to get advertising support and corporations behind your product.

At the time I was at Honey, several years ago, we were very challenged by trying to differentiate who our demographic was versus other more established magazines for women of color. It was odd and a great frustration for me that in the mainstream arena there could be Glamour, Cosmo, Allure, Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, etc. etc. and we couldn’t have anything but Essence. And I love Essence from bottom of my soul. But I think there benefits to the market to have voices.

Clutch: You’ve accomplished so much in your life—successful editor, award-winning journalist, published author—but what would you consider your most significant accomplishment?
Amy DuBois Barnett: My most significant accomplishment, by far is my son. I mean I could certainly talk about professional accomplishment too. But I really feel like my healthy, happy, smart, energetic son is the best thing I ever done in my life. It was telling that I wrote my book when I was pregnant with him, because I am very proud of my book. In terms of what my mission is and why I think I am here in the universe, my book is really the culmination of that. It’s my personal mission to empower women of color. I’ve made it my personal mission to spread this formula of achievement of your goals in every area of your life.

Clutch: We read that you left Teen People after two years to write the book. Can you offer any advice on leaving one career to another (or another goal)?
Amy DuBois Barnett: I believe in taking time to redirect. I believe you’ll be most successful at something that you’re happy doing, so the best thing you can do for your career long-term and making sure you enjoy what you’re doing everyday. For me, I have a long history with taking calculated risks and leaving positions that people thought I was really fortunate to have. They thought I was crazy to walk away from these positions to try my hand at something I thought I’d be better at.

You can also take classes on the side, in the evening or on the weekends. You’ll begin to build relationships, start to figure out if you’ve got a customer base. Then when you’re really ready to take a leap you’ve done your research and your decision is not just because you hate your boss that day, and we’ve all been there.

(she laughs)

Clutch: Why did you decide to write GET YOURS!?
Amy DuBois Barnett: I wrote GET YOURS because there are so many women, particularly women of color who seem lost. We spend so much time, as women, hating ourselves. Picking ourselves apart, not liking our hair or body type or whatever it is. We spend so much time damaging our self esteem that often times we lack the confidence and the faith to take a step out and take a risk and move towards what it is that we want. We’re listening to everybody in our ear telling us who we should be, who we should date and how we should live. Meanwhile, we’re damaging our self esteem by picking ourselves apart and just too shaky to even think about what it is that we want and moving toward it.

So this book is for all of those women who want something better and just need to figure out how to take that first step.

Clutch: What’s your favorite chapter or interview in the book?
Amy DuBois Barnett: My favorite interview is in chapter two. The ‘get out there girl’ chapter, where I talk about having adventures and seeing something new, pushing yourself beyond your boundaries and taking risks. So many of us prefer being comfortable where we are, we don’t want to be afraid. I hope readers recognize that the only way you are going realize your full potential is to push yourself. The only way you’re going to grow, is to stretch beyond your comfort zone and experiment with life outside of what you normally do every single day. You’ll never know what’s out there for you, what you can be, you’ll never know what you might like. It can be something simple and small like trying Indian food this weekend, walking a new direction to work, reading a new kind of book. Something that pushes you beyond where you normally are, it’s very important to becoming the woman you want to be.

Clutch: What advice do you have for aspiring writers and editors who do not live in major metropolitan cities?
Amy DuBois Barnett: I’m pleased that the internet has offered all kinds of opportunities for journalist coming up. The best thing to do is take advantage of all the online properties that are springing up everywhere that need content and try to work for those. Also, every city has a local paper and most have a local magazine so they’re avenues to consider too.

Clutch: What general advice would you give to someone who is currently stuck in a ‘corporate’ job, but wants to pursue a career that allows for more freedom and is more in line with their true passions?
Amy DuBois Barnett: I would first figure out what responsibilities you have. So before you take a leap, really think about what it is that you’re doing, what you need to be doing and what kind of changes you might need to make in order to take that risk. I am definitely in favor of moving towards something more creative, if that’s the kind of person you feel that you are. If you feel very stifled in a corporate environment, then maybe you are the type of person that should be doing something creative full time. Or you may not have to leave your job, if you have responsibilities that will not allow you to. You may develop a very serious hobby. Take up painting or dance or writing or photography on the weekend, before or after work. There are different ways of doing it. I don’t everyone to think that the only way to do it is to get up from your job and storm out the door ‘forget it I quit’, because that might not be for everybody.

Clutch: How do you think African Americans should continue to create opportunities for media representation—should we create our own companies or work to integrate existing media?
Amy DuBois Barnett: I think we should do both. We should support the endeavors of African American owned or ran media companies. Anything that comes from our community will hopefully have the best interest of the community at heart and should be something that we can all support as a community. I also think it’s extremely valuable to make sure we are heard in mainstream organizations, that’s our biggest opportunity for a voice right now. There is something very important to helping to bring some understanding and three -dimensionality to otherwise very mainstream magazines. So, I am very in favor of both.

Clutch: What’s one thing you still can’t seem to get the hang of?
Amy DuBois Barnett: I can’t get the hang of running my day like clockwork. I fit so many things into my day I end up overflowing at the end of a huge day. So if I could just figure out how to run my day like clockwork I’d be really excited. (she laughs)

Clutch: If you could sum up your life right now in one word, what would it be?
Amy DuBois Barnett: Right now, it would say hectic. Between the new job, the baby and the book, I’ve got quite a lot going on the moment. But it’s all good, it’s these exciting things are moving my life forward. So I’m not complaining, but it’s hectic.

Clutch: What would you like Clutch readers to know about Amy DuBois Barnett?
Amy DuBois Barnett: It’s important to remember that people you see in the public eye, we all have the same obstacles, drama, insecurities as everybody else. I say it in my book and all the time ‘if I can do it you can to’. There is nothing special about me. I had a really low point in my life early on that made me take stock of everything I was doing and it changed the way I walk in the world, it changed the way I think about everything and that just happened to have occurred in my early twenties. I’ve been living with this philosophy ever since and it’s helped my confidence, help me feel more secure, to take risks and have faith in myself.

I would love people to know that if I can do it, they can too. There is nothing special about me. The energy that I project out into the world is positive and it gets mirrored back at me all the time. My book is all about getting your mind right and preparing yourself for success, because at the end of the day success is as life is.

J.D. Meachem’s music is a rich marriage of hip –hop and jazz. With the elegance and precision of an elder jazz musician, youthful tempos and a pen that’ll make you ponder. Meachem is a true musical phenomenon. His music has been heard nationally as part of the score for the critically acclaimed documentary, “Revolution ‘67”, which aired on PBS last summer. Read on and see what inspires him and his thoughts on lyrical censorship and the use of the word Nigger in music.

Clutch: What has inspired you to write and play music?
J.D. Meachem: You know I’ve been playing drums since I was maybe seven. In my family you had to play something, it was just a rule there. I started out on the piano and uh I took about four lessons. At the fourth piano lesson, I started crying and just throwing a fit and stuff, so that was the end of piano. Since I had to play something else, I played the drums. So that’s when I started doing that, now when I started getting serious about music was at the end of high school. Basically it was because I had to do something. It hit me that I actually had to get a job. (he laughs) And uh, I didn’t want to work behind a desk. So I was like alright ‘let me do this, I like playing music.’ So that’s pretty much how it started.

Clutch: As a teenager do you think music was instrumental in keeping you focused and out of trouble?
J.D. Meachem: Ah…No. Not really. I really wasn’t big into music at all during those years. I was playing sports. I played football, baseball and track. Sports take a whole lot of your time, gives you something to do. I think that’s what kept me out of trouble.

Clutch: How would you describe your musical style?
J.D. Meachem: I do so many different kinds of music, um my focus is actually kind of jazz -instrumental music kind of stuff and I compose. A lot of stuff I’ve been doing lately is integrating hip-hop into jazz and jazz into hip-hop. Which I think a lot of people are doing now days, but a lot of people don’t actually do hip hop and jazz. I think that’s what’s cool about it is that I can actually do both and do them very often. I play a whole lot of instruments, that’s one thing. And I think what’s different about my music is the sheer diversity of it. I had one commission last year from a Jewish studies program at Northeastern University, out here in Boston. To write some new jazz music based on Holocaust music and one of the things I had to do was sing in Yiddish. One of the funniest things you’ll see is a black man singing in Yiddish and playing bass on a jazz song. (he laughs)

Clutch: Your approach to jazz, the intricacy and maturity is quite refreshing -reminiscent of the rich and noble sounds of the past, yet resonating youthfulness. Speak to your approach to making jazz music.
J.D. Meahcem: All I can say about that is that, as far as jazz goes, everybody is getting jazz education, even going to college to learn jazz music. Everybody wants to swing and play like Miles Davis and stuff. Because I play drums, people always want me to play the swing. I hate doing it because the beat was made up for people to dance to. Swing music was not music you’d go to a jazz club, sit down and listen to. Which is what all the shit is based on, nobody even knows how to do the dance anymore and it was supposed to be dance music. So why are we still playing this music like this? It kind of confuses me, my friends don’t like when I say it, but I say it all the time. That’s why I am integrating hip-hop into jazz, because you can dance to that. You know, you can play it in the club, you can play it at your place –if you’re having a party. I mean it’s relevant. A lot of jazz nowadays isn’t even relevant. I mean, I love people like Wynton Marsalas, who are keeping up the tradition. It’s not cool to try new things for the sake of just trying new things. There comes a point where, if it’s dance music, but nobody can dance to it you’re just abstracting things –it’s just kind of pointless to me. That’s one of the reasons I integrate hip –hop and especially blues into jazz. Jazz has fallen so much into white, black, white establishment hands or whatever. I mean this was a music that was the people’s music. People used to take out their horns and play them on the streets. I’d like to bring a little of that back. More of the people’s music instead of the rich people’s music.

Clutch: Who has inspired you in music?
J.D. Meachem: Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of J.Dilla, Brian Blade and a lot of classical music. Chicago underground rap has really inspired me through the years because that’s what I listened to coming up. Like Psychodrama and Qualo. A lot of people say they listen to everything, but they mean everything that’s top 40. They’re not getting into Indonesian or Brazilian music. I learned a lot about and listen to many types of music.

Clutch: Where do you search for ‘hidden jewels’ in music?
J.D. Meachem: You can’t even hear it on the radio anymore. They don’t play anything good on the radio no more. I actually love MySpace. My friends will hate me for saying that, but I love MySpace. I’ve actually played with musicians I’ve met on MySpace. They’re like ‘hey, hey dude, you play the sax? Wanna play?’ (he laughs) I’ve played in several bands with people I’ve met through MySpace. I’ve met so many people on MySpace. Or like internet radio stations, they normally play really good stuff. And just going to shows wherever you live. You can go to a bar down the street and find someone real good they may not have a record deal or whatever.

Clutch: I understand you play piano, bass, clarinet, trumpet, guitar, vibes and drums. What other instruments do you play?
J.D. Meachem: I play banjo. I play -I bought a viola on the internet yesterday, it hasn’t come yet. (he laughs) One of my friends left his bow over here one day, he plays violin. I used it on my guitar and was like ‘dang, I can learn this’ so I bought a viola. I play clarinet really well. I’m pretty good at the trumpet. The drums, I’m solid at the drums. I don’t play everything else as good as the drums. I usually pick up an instrument for a certain reason. Like I pick up the guitar and can play the shit out of the blues. I just pick up the guitar to play the blues. I play the blues better than anybody you know, but as far as doing a bunch else. I probably wouldn’t be able to do much more than that.

Clutch: How did J.Dilla change your life?
J.D. Meachem: That was a tee shirt movement that they had from a concert. That track that you saw it on, on MySpace is a J.Dilla track that I changed. But J. Dilla did change my life. I mean, I didn’t know about him until maybe several days after he died. I saw an article in a paper up here in Boston, I was like who is this guy? So I checked him out and it was like man. It’s one of those things, you know, I wished I had known about him when he was alive. Him and James Baldwin are two people that I just didn’t know enough about until they died.

Clutch: With the current state of the music industry where do you see your music going?
J.D. Meachem: I’m getting into some big stuff right now, I’m pretty excited. Ropadope records out of Philly is rereleasing some of my stuff. I just have to finish the technical business stuff. I’m always writing and I always play the drums professionally and at bars around town that’s pretty much how I make most of my living.

Clutch: What advice would you offer budding musicians in terms of promoting their music? You mentioned MySpace, obviously, it’s a great platform. What other forms of promotion would you recommend?
J.D. Meachem: I think the first thing you’ve got to do, before you do anything else, is get out and get some experience under your belt. Get out and play, go sit in with a band, if you’re a producer make music and let people listen to it. Give your music to people, people on the street, record labels. You need help, you can try to do the self release, self management thing, but there’s often only so far you can go with it before you just need help. You can’t do that shit by yourself. I mean, get help -it’s as simple as that. Learn your craft and if you’re good, people will listen to you and if you’re not, you have to get a day job. (he laughs) Especially up here in Boston, there are so many musicians and there aren’t enough places to play. It’s good, but it’s so competitive and saturated with bad musicians and good musicians who can’t get a job. The clubs know you’re expendable, so they won’t pay you that well or have all these weird policies about not playing for a month or so if you’re going to play at their venue so they can get the most people. I don’t think it’s that hard. If you’re good, people will list -give your music to people.

Clutch: Are their any particular artists that you’d love to work with J.D.?
J.D. Meachem: It’s hard to say because a lot of times people that you want to work with, it just doesn’t work. I remember reading Miles Davis’ autobiography, he was supposed to do a collaboration with Prince and they recorded the song but it just didn’t sound right. I can’t really say that there is anybody I really, really want to work with.

Clutch: You have a knack for setting great speeches to great music. You’ve referred to the art form as being more challenging than scoring movies. What inspired the concept and why is it so challenging?
J.D. Meachem: Well with movies you have some kind of visual to sort of give you a little direction on how the music should be going. It could be colors on the screen, a facial expression or the aura of the scenes. But with speeches all you have is someone’s voice. You don’t have that many options. You have to work with the texture of the sound.

Clutch: What’s on the radar for you in the near future?
J.D. Meachem: I’m just trying to keep playing, keep writing music. I am applying for a commission to write a full orchestra piece and that’s taking up a lot of my time.

I’ve been trying to find venues in black neighborhoods. There are no venues in black neighborhoods, except for like Baltimore and Atlanta. (he laughs). So often good black artist come to town and play in large snazzy venues and their audience is white. A lot of times black people aren’t even getting to these shows. So I’m trying to find places where the common man can go to see the show, but it’s hard man.

Clutch: How do you feel about lyrical censorship and the use of the word Nigger in music?
J.D. Meachem: I hate it. I come from the south, my parents are from Alabama. It’s almost too hard for me to try to get into this. I don’t understand why black people do it or anybody. I went to a predominately white high school and some of my friends were mad because they couldn’t use the word with me. They’d be like “What’s up my Nigga?? And I’m like ‘you talking to me?’” Now it’s becoming harder to debate it, because it’s in the music. Some people act like the word came from rap music, when it dates back to minstrel shows written by white people in the 1800s. People say “oh it’s not nigger it’s nigga”, it doesn’t matter how you spell it. How do you think Stephen Foster spelled it when he wrote songs for the minstrel shows, he spelled it Nigga. It ain’t no different, a nigger is a nigga.

If my dad heard me calling anybody a nigga…there’d be some trouble. I don’t know what’s up with young people nowadays, it’s like there’s no pride sometime. So that’s my feeling on that, it makes me really unhappy.

Clutch: There is something very special about a man who loves music. Speak to me on your love affair with lady music.
J.D. Meachem: My love affair with lady music. When I first started getting really serious about music, I was ALL about music. All the time, it was intense, my first couple of years of college I didn’t even talk to anybody. I would practice drums six to seven hours a day, writing music, started skipping class and these were music classes. It was really intense at first and I kind of burned out a little bit. I realized you can’t really do well at your art, at being a musician if all you’re doing is music. You have to put things into perspective a little bit. Music really isn’t that important, there are people who don’t listen to music at all. It’s not like water or food, so knowing that it’s been a lot easier for me to get into the bulk of what I think about music and find my own personality in the music, writing and recording. I guess I still get into that now, but it’s at a healthy level. I know that I’m not the only musician in the world who is going to make good music. I guess I subconsciously had in my mind that I was going to save the world from bad music or something.

Clutch: What would you like Clutch magazine readers to know about J.D. Meachem?
J.D. Meachem: That I am trying man. I’m trying to make good music that people can enjoy longer than it takes to change your Soulja Boy ring tone, that’s all I’m doing.

Clutch: Tell Clutch readers about your choice to go natural?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: The short answer is my hair’s health I didn’t want to become bald. When my hair started breaking I thought it was my fault because hairdressers would always say something different. In fact I didn’t know much about hair or how you should care for it. All I knew was that at a certain age we had to relax our hair to keep it manageable and although I wasn’t against the look I never liked the process. I hated going to get my hair done. It took too much time and I couldn’t stand the burning.

Clutch: What inspired you to write Going natural; How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair?”
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: My first book was doing well in The Netherlands but since I was living here I wanted to do an American version. There were dozens of books on natural hair in America already though but what was missing was a guide to make the transition. Hence, Going Natural; How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair.

Clutch: What do you hope black women get from the book?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: I really hope my book inspires women to go natural and that reading it is a guide to help them make the transition enjoyable.

Clutch: Can you share with Clutch magazine readers some of the best ways to maintain natural hair?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: It’s pretty easy once you have the right tools and the right products that work for you. For tools I’d recommend a Denman brush. You may think they are expensive but they are worth their price. These brushes last at least a year and the needles are anti-static and easy on the kinks. The products you need are a non-stripping natural pH balanced shampoo, a good moisturizing deep conditioner and a moisturizer for maintenance. There are tons of good products but you have to learn to read the labels to know what’s in them and what works for you. The products I use are available in the napshop on my website www.going-natural.com

Obviously you should also know the basics like how to comb your hair, never do this when it’s dry and it’s best to untangle in the shower with a conditioner. I don’t want to rewrite my book right now so you can read more of the basics and a lot more if you order it.

Clutch: What sort of responses did you receive once you returned to natural hair?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: I have only been able to become who I am because I am blessed with a great family who allows me to be myself. They never said anything bad or negative. In fact I think my brother was my early inspiration. When he was in his teens he came home one day with extensions to look like the tennis player Yannic Noa. Coworkers were no problem either. I was working in IT, flew all over the world from Japan to Germany with Bantus and all and never heard a bad word.

Clutch: Did you have any particular feelings associated with responses you received?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: Not really. I was more like a sponge because I wanted to absorb the responses. We were not raised with the idea of bad hair and I couldn’t really believe that people had such negative feelings about natural hair. So I had to grasp it and really wanted to see the responses for what they were so I could place them someday somehow.
Maybe I was also trained because when I was about the age of 12 a girlfriend looked at my afro and said I would commit suicide if I had hair like you. People find it hard to believe that it didn’t hurt me one bit. It stuck with me because I can remember her expression. She was looking for something hurtful to say to me and looked at me from toe to tip and found my fro. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t my weak spot. My fro I tell you was always a mess and I was always fighting with it but I loved my hair for what it was. It was my hair and if you didn’t like it it was fine with me too. She had kind of half long weavy black hair. Nice, really nice. Just like my hair was really nice.

Clutch: In your opinion, is natural hair a political statement or birthright? And why?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: Excellent question. It’s confusing because black hair and history go together and the biggest example that people have in mind is the afro and the Civil Rights Movement of the 60′s. That’s why people mistake black hair styles with political statements but natural hair is a birth right! For all people. We are the only people on planet earth who need to go to court to wear our hair natural. It’s outrageous! The arguments clearly proof that our hair is judged without knowledge when Bantus are compared to a Punk hairstyle. Punk styles are indeed to make a statement and they use all kinds of stuff to keep their hair up. Our hair does that naturally and we wear or hair in braids, Bantus, locs etc. What other race makes a statement when they wear their hair natural?

Clutch: Why is ‘natural hair’ important?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: Well it’s certainly not because I think that everybody should go back to their roots or that sort of reason. It’s important because our hair’s health is at stake. We are chemically manipulating ourselves and we are in denial about it. 73%, think about it 73% (!) of our women suffer from hair damage due to the use of chemicals and we act like nothing is wrong. If we continue like this soon our babies will be born with even lesser hair than white babies and we won’t even have hair to sew a weave on.

Clutch: What are some of the obstacles for women attempting to go natural? Any suggestions for getting around these obstacles?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: I think the biggest obstacle is really a mental one. Women are truly sensitive when it comes to family’s and friend’s attitude. My advice: Don’t worry they’ll come around when you do. It’s also easy to slide back when one’s hair is not doing what one expects it to do. That’s why patience is another huge obstacle. In my book I cover more obstacles and advice to help make the mental transition.

Clutch: Tell Clutch readers about Miss Nappturality; America’s Next Natural Model competition and how they can join in the competition.
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: Ten selected models will compete for teen weeks for the title online via www.going-natural.com. This website will provide each contestant with personal web-space to express herself throughout ten challenges. Weekly votes from a jury and members will determine who becomes the new face of Eden Body works and America’s Next Natural Model and receive a free year supply of Eden Body Works and much more.

Clutch: What words of encouragement can you share with Clutch magazine readers that are considering or in the process of going natural?
Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong: Be original, Do you.

Q: I understand Nia is one of the seven days of Kwanzaa, meaning purpose. Have you always known your purpose? And when did it become apparent to you?
I don’t think that’s something we ever truly know. I think it‘s one of those things that as you grow, change, and become more of a woman you try new things, and you sort of discover your purpose. But I know acting sort of hit my heartstrings when I was like fifteen years old; I felt this tugging to learn more and get more deeply involved with my craft. What I am doing now, I am pursuing my purpose in terms of the acting part but there is so much more that I want to do, and as you mature and grow and travel and have children and have relationships, life has it’s way of sort of revealing what’s next. I think the key to being happy and growing is really just to be open to that.

Q: As a single mom with a demanding career, wearing so many hats can be overwhelming. How do you maintain balance in your life?
You know I have tremendous support. And I have a great kid who really is like my best friend, he’s my son and I am of course the authority figure. We do a lot of things together and I try to look at life, no matter how stressful it gets, through his eyes, because I know he’s watching everything that I do. So rather than saying ‘oh God I have to make dinner—I’m tired’. I just bring him in the kitchen and we do it together.

And I always make time for myself. Part of my ‘peace of mind’ in terms of having Nia time is to workout and I take mini vacations. I just got back from Bacara spa in Santa Barbara. It was great and I was in great company. You carve out those moments for yourself, so when I return I’m like ‘mommies back, let’s do it all over again!’

I also have amazing girlfriends, we do dinners and girls nights, we make sure we get that in. I think if you have really great friends it’s important to maintain those relationships whether you’re married or single, because girlfriends are going to just understand from day to day how life works. We need that sort of springboard and that place where it’s safe to ask ‘what do you think about this?’ Especially when you’re in a business where you’re under a microscope and everything you do is going to be judged. Whether it’s positive or negative, someone is going to have something to say about my choices, so I plan carefully and I have a support system, but most importantly it’s my faith. Faith that what will be will be in God’s time and that relieves 99.9% of my stress. And the rest of it is the knowledge that God help’s those who help themselves. So it’s pretty simple yet so complicated. (she laughs softly)

Q: You mentioned working out as something you do for yourself. What approach do you take to your fitness/wellness?
I hate the thought of working out, but I feel great afterwards. I have a love/hate for the gym, but have the most amazing trainer Harley Pasternak. He is so much fun to workout with, plays the greatest music; he makes it fun and I see the results.

Q: What’s on the radar in terms of your career?
I’m working on a show called Big Shots, set to air on ABC in September. It will come on right after Grey’s Anatomy. It’s basically about four best friends, successful businessmen. It explores their personal and professional lives. My co-star is Michael Vartan, he’s my boss and I work directly under him. There is a lot of sexual tension there, so I’m sure it’s going to turn into something else. It’s a great character, she’s smart, she’s successful, wears a suit but a sexy suit. She’s got a good sense of humor, she’s playful, she’s single, she’s exploring being in love, she’s independent and I don’t think she’s at all afraid to speak her mind.

I think it’s so important that we have images on television that people of color can relate to. When I think of like Vanessa Williams contribution to Ugly Betty, she’s created such a wonderful character for herself and it’s fun. It’s great to know you have job security and it’s great to know everyday I have a place to go. I work with amazing actors, funny people, and seasoned television actors. So for me this show was perfect, it made sense.

Q: Do you have plans to do more films in the near future?
I just completed a film with Giancarlo Esposito, it’s called Gospel Hill. I play his wife; it’s a small town story. My character is a little bit of an alcoholic, she’s a little all over the place and unhappy. That was fun for me to play because it’s totally different from anything that I’ve done, a lot more dramatic. So I think the key for me is to mix it up. A lot of times in Hollywood, they take chances but they also know what works. So if something is working, their attitude is ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ so I think in the past couple of years I’ve played the mom or the girl next door or the girl that the guy wants, so I’ve been trying to make choices that will take my career in a different direction and be more fulfilled and challenged as an artist.

Q: When is the film scheduled for release?
I don’t know, because it’s independent film they’re figuring all of that out.

Q: In addition to being such an accomplished actress, I understand you’ve done some directing?
Yes, I did. I directed a couple of music videos, which I will do more of in the future. I’d like to direct a feature.

Q: What advice would you give young black aspiring actresses?
I would say definitely go to college, because it doesn’t happen overnight and that education will give you the confidence to make smart and informed choices. For me, I didn’t finish college so I am an exception to that rule, but I advise that strongly because everybody has a right to higher education and I think it’s important.

I’d also say make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and that it’s not about being famous but that you actually love what you do because it’s hard work. Also, there is a lot of rejection involved so you have to never stop trying to be better.

Q: When you reflect on all the characters you’ve played, is there one you’ve been able to relate to more?
You know I think they’ve all had something in them that has obviously attracted me to play the roll. The character I play in Gospel Hill, the only thing she and I have in common is that we both like nice clothes. She’s one of those characters that’s just all over the place. Very, you know, caught up. But it was a great character to play.

Q: You’ve worked with a plethora of gorgeous leading men, has there been a favorite?
Oh Gosh…Will Smith, Lorenz Tate, all of them. They’re all just so delicious. All of them, I love my job, I can not complain. I haven’t had a bad experience yet with any of my guys. They always look out and that’s a beautiful thing. When everyone else says no, Martin (Lawrence) says yes and makes things happen. We have mad love for each other.

Q: What qualities do you look for when you are choosing your mate -off screen?
Smart, good sense of humor. I would have to say financially stable, because it just doesn’t work if I am doing what I’m doing and they’re still trying to find their way. Someone with a zest and excitement for life. Someone who is incredibly secure, that goes without saying, that’s just so important. What else? (she questions herself) someone who’s thoughtful and who can appreciate the red carpet, but can also appreciate a home cooked meal and a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Q: Is there a special someone in your life right now?
Let’s say I’m happy. I can tell you I’m happy.

Q: You always look stunning. How would you describe your style?
Comfortable, sexy yet very simple. I don’t like a lot of jewelry, I want to be able to put on what I’m putting on and be able to walk out the door and feel great in my clothes. I don’t like a lot of fuss, that’s very important to me.

Mika: Who are some of your favorite fashion designers?
I love Rachel Roy, and Tracey Ross is amazing; those are my girls, I just think they’re great. They are women of color and they get it, they’re doing it and I support them. There are tons of others, but what I love about those two are they’ve got pieces I can throw on with my jeans or I can also walk the red carpet.

Q: Who are some of your favorite fashion stylists?
Estee and Christina are my girls; they’ve been working with me for the last year and they’re really great. Estee and I have been friends for a long time, but outside of that they have a sort of classic, feminine approach to styling. There is always something unique about their styling.

Q: What are some of your 2007 fall/winter fashion ‘must haves’?
Ah . . . what must I have? I can always use fabulous boots, bags and cashmere.

Q: Your hair always looks beautiful and healthy. What sort of hair care regimen do you have?
You know this is the first time in my life that I’ve been wearing a weave. It’s great because my hair is being protected. When you’re on a show you want to protect your own hair and I can go to the gym and worry about having to get my hair done, it’s kind of just ‘wash & wear’. On my off time I’ll probably take it out and do what Nia does—switch it up.

Q: What’s in your Clutch? What products don’t you leave home without?
I don’t leave home without my Chanel glaze lip gloss, my IF perfume and my NARS orgasm blush.

Q: What music is in heavy rotation on your iPod?
Oh my God, I am madly in love with Common’s new album. I just think it’s brilliant. I love him as an artist because to me he personifies an underdog. He’s had so many years of success, but I feel like he is about to just blow up big. You know it’s not how long it takes, it’s the journey that makes this—what we do as artists is so interesting and I think it’s just amazing. I think great things are going to happen for him.

Michelle N’degocello’s old album Plantation Lullabies. Jill Scott; I had my son to that album. I think it’s the second album, so I’ll always have a connection to her. She was in the delivery room with us and she doesn’t even know it. And of course any Miles Davis is always nice to have around.

Q: Are you reading any good books right now?
I’ve been reading a lot of Obama stuff lately. So as the campaign progresses, I’m there and I understand his history and who he is as a man and his life experiences.

Q: Is there anything you’d like Clutch readers to know about Nia Long?
I appreciate the years of love and support. There are going to be some new things coming down the pipeline shortly. I have some surprises.

Clutch: Great! You are an inspiration to us all. Continue doing what you’re doing!
I love it. Thank you so much!

Mika: Your first book, Invisible Life, introduced the lifestyle of secret male bisexuality in the early nineties, long before it was coined ‘down low’ or garnered media attention. What motivated you to write about the topic over a decade ago?
Well I felt like it was a story I had to tell. There was something going on with me internally that forced me to write that story. And to be successful, as a writer or in any field, you have to have something different. You have to have a hook and you have to tell a story that no one has ever told before.

Mika: Seventeen years later men are having sex with other men, while simultaneously being in a relationship with a woman. It’s a growing concern in the African American community. What advice do you offer Black women to avoid finding themselves in a relationship with a man who has sex with other men?
First of all you have to ask the question and you have to be willing to hear the answer. Because you can ask a man ‘are you bisexual?’ and they can say ‘no’. I think what so many guys do is convince themselves -like the O.J. thing, he convinced himself that he didn’t do it. It’s a situation that women really, really need to be cognizant of and they should really listen to what’s being told to them. And they should watch, they should listen and they should watch.

Mika: What should women be looking for?
Just as in any relationship, you have to consider the integrity of the person you are dating. There are a lot of things woman should consider, is this man an abuser, of women, people or anything? Is he truthful, trustworthy, does he believe in monogamy? What is his faith? Because you could end up with a bisexual man that believes in monogamy, you know. I think women appreciate knowing rather than not knowing. It’s the unknown that’s dangerous to the community and dangerous to women.

There are always signs, you know, someone who’s offended by the question, blah, blah, blah. I’m convinced that totally straight men are so comfortable with themselves that they’re not offended by such questions. And they’re not offended by what another person -I won’t say chooses to do, but what someone else does or how they live their life. Yeah, and usually they’re very, very secure in their manhood.

Mika: I understand you were unable to get publishing and decided to self publish. Is that something you would recommend to aspiring writers currently facing that challenge?
Only if you’ve explored every avenue. Self publishing is a very, very tough thing. I think one should explore every avenue before doing so, but I wouldn’t discourage someone who felt like they had a story that needed to be out there and couldn’t get the backing of a mainstream publisher. If people told me back then ‘if you self publish it’s going to ruin any chance you have of having a mainstream publishing career, because publishers don’t like that’. I would’ve taken that into consideration, but like I said before it was a story I needed to tell and I had gotten nothing but rejection and I felt like I needed to do something.

Mika: Have you witnessed significant changes in the industry since the early nineties?
Well, they went through a period where they were looking for the next Terri McMillan, E. Lynn Harris, or B.B. Moore Campbell. So a lot of Blacks were getting published so it sort of dried up, so to speak.

Mika: What other advice would you offer aspiring authors?
I would always tell them to write. If they feel so passionate about it that not doing it gnaws at them. Because if this were a job, it’s a very hard job but if you do it because you’re passionate about it, it comes out in the work. I wouldn’t do this for a job, because it can be a touch job.

Mika: You’ve received accolades from very impressive sources. You’re the first black male to appear on both the New York Times fiction and non fiction best seller list.
And this week paperback best seller list, for the first time.

Mika: Congratulations! That’s wonderful.
Thank you. Yeah, that was a shock.

Mika: That said, what’s your formula for success Mr. Harris?
I love what I do, I tell stories that come as gifts to me and I treat them that way. And I think fans respond to that and relate to that.

Mika: You’ve completed a screenplay for the classic black film Sparkle. How was that experience and when can we expect it on the screen?
Well it was a different experience. Hollywood is a little different than a normal publishing house, publishing fiction. And I really don’t know what’s going to happen with that. It was written for Aliyah and after the accident the studio kind of lost interest in it. There have been talks of them picking it up with another actress, but I don’t know what my involvement would be. I worked real closely with her on coming up with a script she would agree to do and she had basically agreed to do it a couple of weeks before the unfortunate accident. The studio was high on her, but not necessarily the project. Even though they did think it would be the perfect avenue for her and so did I after meeting her. So I don’t know what will happen with that one.

Mika: What’s on your radar for the near future?
I had been so immersed in teaching and other things, so lately I’ve been devoting time to writing. I’m working on my 2009 novel. I’ve completed a book that’s coming out next year. It’s called Just Too Good to Be True. It’s a departure for me, in terms that it’s not a gay themed novel. It’s a mother and son novel. So I’m excited about that, it’ll introduce me to more readers and people who’ve been afraid of me because they think reading me says something about them, which it never really did. So I am excited about flexing my muscles so to speak, my writing muscles –you know. I hope the fans will come on this journey with me. I hope it turns out well.

Mika: I see you stay very busy with your writing, teaching, touring, Broadway and so much more. How do you maintain balance in your life?
Well, I don’t let anything take center stage so to speak. I love teaching, I’m not teaching this semester. I love writing, I love doing different things and I have a career where I am able to do things, you know, to pick out a project to do and try something different. I don’t ever want to work again in my life, so if it starts to feel like work, then I don’t want to do it. (he laughs) You know, that’s the measurement. I don’t even see teaching as job.

Mika: In your opinion, what is the quintessential element of style in a woman?
Confidence. It’s the most stylish thing any woman can have.

Mika: What would you like Clutch readers to know about E. Lynn Harris?
I hope I can count on their continued support. I hope my new projects win over some new fans and people who have been apprehensive about reading will give me a shot. Because the interesting thing that a lot of people should know and I think some have figured out from reading my books is my deep admiration and love for women, especially African American woman. They’ve made me who I am, from my mother to my aunts and to my friends. They are so important not only to our community, but to the world.

Mika: Thank you so much for giving to us in the way that you do.
Thank you.

Clutch: Do you consider your approach to wellness holistic? And what inspired you to take this approach?
Yes, I consider my approach holistic. [It was] trial and error; working in this industry for seventeen years and working with clients, it didn’t take long to see we needed a complete approach to fitness. Initially my approach was geared to fitness in general, where people needed muscular strength, cardiovascular work, and flexibility in order to have the healthiest physique. I began to do more research and study nutrition and the complete understanding of the body. Every year you learn more information.

Clutch: I find your approach refreshing. Give Clutch readers some insight on how being healthy embodies more than nutritious eating and physical exercise?
This year I was diagnosed with Fibroid tumors. I could see the imbalance in my own circle of life. I eat organic foods, I exercise, maintain a healthy lifestyle. But I wasn’t monitoring my work load or getting enough relaxation and recognized the way I was taking in information. You know, you can choose to either let things slide off you (she laughs) or you can take it in and stress about things.

For my own personal growth and from working with different clients with crazy schedules, I could see the impact of stress alone. I’d do metabolic tests on people and see how much stress regulated their hormones and was stopping them from being able to burn fat, because they were constantly in ‘fight or flight’ mode. And so you begin to see over time along with wisdom and education of natural and alternative medicine. I would say the biggest thing is just the overall growth of the industry and me not ignoring, but educating myself, reading and finding out what people were doing out there and then being able to take what I could and add it to my own tool box and assist my own clientele.

At that time I was unhealthy, when you look at my complete circle of life. Yeah I had the food and exercise portion right, but I wasn’t balanced in my relationships with my family as far as like I wasn’t giving enough time to the people who love me and it wasn’t so much that they needed it. I needed it (she laughs). Everything was work, work, work; and it’s easy to get in that mode, especially if you love the work that you do. So I was enjoying myself, you know, writing my book, teaching my classes, and training my clients, but your body needs time to relax and recover.

Clutch: How can the foods we’re eating have an affect on more than our body weight?
Each person is different. It may be drinking non organic milk that’s coming from cows that have been injected with estrogen or they’re eating a lot of beef that’s been injected with estrogen. For me I was drinking caffeine at least twice a day. With the intake of caffeine you release adrenaline, which puts you in that ‘fight or flight’ mode. Whenever you’re in that ‘flight or flight’ mode, your body converts the hormone progesterone into cortisol. If you put your body into this position of survival or reproduction it’s going to always choose survival, so whatever alterations need to be made with your hormones or digestion or anything else, it’s going to do that to survive.

Clutch: What’s the one most important thing you’d advise Black women to add to their diet and the one thing you would advise them to remove from their diets?
Number one, remove all processed foods, nothing that’s processed or comes in a package. Add real foods take a trip down to Whole Foods or Trader Joes, buy some fresh fruits and vegetables and lean cuts of meat that haven’t been injected with hormones. When you go back to eating real food, you can cure yourself in so many ways. It’s crazy how Americans have an abundance of food, but we’re all so malnourished. It’s like over consumption and under nourishment.

Shop less at the grocery store and more at farmers markets and markets that carry organic fruits, vegetables, and meats. Ninety percent of the American population has no idea, they’re going to regular groceries stores and they just don’t realize that all their fruits and vegetables are biologically engineered. There are herbicides and pesticides inside and on top of the fruits and vegetables, plus some have been cloned. Tomatoes injected with pork proteins and all the chemicals you get in your fruits and vegetables are disgusting.

The number one is still soda, the average American has eight sodas a day. So if I were to look at the average American I’d say stop eating processed food and stop drinking the soda, that alone can bring down the obesity and diabetes. I am at a whole other spectrum of health. People get there years later, after they are diagnosed with heart disease and diabetes, then diagnosed with fibroids, tumors and cancers and all these other things that came from processed foods or foods injected with all sorts of chemicals.

Clutch: In your opinion, why is it so important that we get serious about taking responsibility for our health.
You have to take responsibility, that’s huge. We often overlook the food industry. We were raised to recognize a clothing manufacturer or car salesman as wanting our money but the government or food industry and doctors are the nice guys and are going to tell you everything that’s correct for you. But at the end of the day you still have to follow the paper trail and these people who want your dollar are not necessarily interested in the best interest of your health. What does it take to look at the ingredients on a box and if you can’t pronounce ten of those words, maybe those aren’t things you should put in your body.

Clutch: Can you tell us about the 7 simple steps and the core of the book?
From my experience in this industry, I’ve found that anyone considered having a complete star of health have mastered these seven steps:

Number one is the ability to accept change, which is the biggest from the gate. So many people say ‘I want to loose weight’, but when they find out they have to wake up at six instead of seven so they can work out. They’re like ‘heck no’ (she laughs) or that you have to go grocery shopping and actually cook your own meals instead having take out. It’s accepting change and people do not want to change. So that’s number one, accepting the fact that if you want a different outcome you have to do things differently.

The second is a mental spiritual connection. Stop going on auto pilot and really being able to start listening to your body. You know your body better than anybody else. Listen to your signs and signals of what’s going on with your body as well as feed your soul. Whether it’s through your faith, being with family, relaxing or spa treatments. You have to feed your soul as well.

The third being exercise. You can’t be healthy without moving your body. Our genetics go back to being hunters and gatherers and that’s it, you got to move to condition your heart and lungs and cardiovascular system, your hormones.

Fourth is nutrition. You are literally what you eat.

Education is the fifth. The more you know, the less you will be at the mercy of fast food restaurants or pharmaceutical companies. Instead of taking things into your body because the doctor or some else told you, you are actually doing your research and educating yourself.

And sixth is to commit and be consistent. The turtle wins when it comes to our health (she laughs), there is no quick fix. It’s a part of life like brushing your teeth in the morning or any regular thing that you do on a daily basis. You just have to accept that eating healthy and working out is a part of your regular daily regimen and commit to it.

And the final is a supportive environment. If you surround yourself with people and friends and family that aren’t healthy, it’s going to make it that much more difficult to be healthy. So sometimes finding that supportive environment is surrounding yourself with people that are healthy. As well as being a positive influence on others. For instance the next time you go out for a walk, invite that person you know might need a little extra support to go with you.

Clutch: You mentioned the importance of relaxation and balance in life. What are some ways you relax and maintain balance in your life?
The first thing is I’ve learned how to say no, when I used to think that I had to do everything. I can kindly decline things or pass it on to somebody else. You know my schedule is full I’m sorry but you might want to consider this person or that person to do it.

I schedule one or two days off a week and relax, vegetate not necessarily do anything but try to spend time with friends and family. Dinner and socialize, going to the spa, booking regular messages. I schedule in days off now and what I’m going to do on those days to relax. You think you’re going to be able to just do these things, but I actually have to schedule them in, (she laughs) like anything else because it’s important. I take baths now instead of showers. With showers, your standing on your feet, the water is beating on you and there is nothing really relaxing about. You got to get washed up, get in and get out. So at least three times per week I will make sure that I set my butt down in the tub, light a candle, throw in my little bath stuff and I relax. Now having a bath is like a whole experience instead of ‘I got to quickly wash and keep it moving’.

As far as balance, I’m making sure that I’m in tune to my hormones and listening to what I feel from my body. If I feel something bringing me down, so I know it’s affecting my hormones and now I can see how much my hormones are having an affect on my fibroids. You can feel when you are in a place of anxiety or stress, so when I feel like I’m about to go there. I just relax and calm things down.

In a three month period, by removing caffeine and utilizing more relaxation techniques and monitoring my schedule, I was able to shrink my fibroids.

Clutch: Being one to take responsibility for your health, what challenges did you face with your medical providers once diagnosed with fibroid tumors?
I have a conventional doctor, though I study alternative medicine. I do this on purpose (she laughs) I like to hear what he’s saying to everybody else. I have to go through a lot to have them retest me, to release the documents to me so I can read them myself. And it’s a lot, but it’s information that I want so that I can share with other women who go to conventional doctors. I can share my experience and let them know they have the power to demand certain things from them, just be patient and they’ll give it to you. They may give you a little attitude with it (she laughs). The funny thing is even after I got the 2nd ultrasound and I asked the doctor to help me read it to show me how to find the diameters and volume, he didn’t acknowledge the fact that they’d shrunk. So now more than ever we have to take responsibility for our own health, because there is a huge divide between conventional doctors who are trained to treat disease so they just want to go in and operate, they may not have been trained to diagnose or determine the cause. They don’t look at the entire functionality of your life and what caused you to get the fibroids. I didn’t just want someone to go in and cut them out. I want to know why they are there and what to do so they are not reoccurring. African American women are of the highest percentage of women with fibroids and they’re getting them cut out and two years later they’re right back again, because these women haven’t made any lifestyle changes.

Because conventional doctors may not know themselves and their paycheck is in the diagnosis. Their either going to get their funds from a surgical procedure or in the prescription they write or by putting the patient on a program where they have to return to the doctor every month. Everyday Dr. Will and Deepak Chopra are becoming more and more popular. Dr. Will has a whole line of nutritional supplements and Whole Foods is growing in every state. People are fed up and looking for and finding solutions. I just graduated from the school of integrated nutrition based in New York and there were at least a dozen physicians in my class –doctors, M.D.s and it’s because they don’t get any nutritional education. On of our instructors is Dr. Will.

They don’t want the people to believe they can be healed by eating healthy because what would that do to their business. Just a few months back pharmaceutical companies were trying to make vitamins prescription based.

Clutch: What advice would you give for getting and staying motivated to workout?
I would say focus on the finish line. Focus on the vision of the person they want to be. It’s the same with your career or anything else, if you want to get a promotion you are going to get up and get that work done.

And remember how you feel. It gives you confidence when you have the physique that you want. It helps you radiate from the inside out. No one wants to feel tired and depressed. When you finish a workout you just feel so good. A natural high, even if it’s just a twenty minute walk around your neighborhood alone can boost your spirits. Prozac is not being sold in the millions and billions for nothing, but because people are feeling depressed. So instead of popping the Prozac, just get up and move around for twenty or thirty minutes.

Clutch: What do you say to the woman who wants to workout, but is completely intimidated by going to the gym?
Again, I would try to get them to accept change. There are a million things you can do in home. You’ve got all kinds of exercise programs on television. I have one on Lifetime Television (Monday and Wednesday 7:30 a.m. EST), there are workout programs on FIT T.V. and programs on the internet these days. So as far as accessibility, it’s everywhere. As far as support and fun, you’re not going to beat the level of support and fun you’re going to find if you get involved in group exercise.

And most cities have women only clubs, like Curves, if they don’t want to workout around men. Every time you face a fear, you achieve a new horizon in your life you get to a new pinnacle. It’s a fear that needs to be overcome because once they get into the gym and start meeting other people. I’ve seen it a million times, they just don’t want to go because of the lack of self confidence, but by going you’re going to overcome that and become more confident. I’m not that person to say ‘ok well just stay home and do this and that’. No, no, no, no (she laughs) go feel uncomfortable, it’s o.k. it’s good to feel uncomfortable every once in a while because that means you’re growing.

Clutch: One of the many things I enjoyed about Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan: 21 Days to Make Healthy Living a Lifetime habit was the music playlists throughout the book. You’ve selected great music from various genres for people to workout to. Why does music matter to you?
Music is so motivating. Gospel music is so uplifting when it’s time to workout. The lyrics alone make you feel like you can conquer the world. Make a play list of songs that make you feel good.

My favorites are gospel, I love the Clark Sisters and I am a hip hop kid, so whatever is top forty in hip hop and any dance/club music makes my body feel like I want to move and old school music too.

Last week, I did the Nike hit remix five mile run. The entire five mile run they had bands playing at every mile. They started with Naughty by Nature, Dawn from En Vogue, Sugarhill Gang, Sir Mix a Lot, M.C. Hammer. Whenever there wasn’t a band playing there were spectators playing music, so there wasn’t one meter of the five mile race without the sound of music and it was so much fun. It was the most fun five mile run, I danced at every stop. When it’s fun, people will do it. So if anything, add music for the fun factor.

Clutch: What advice do you offer to those who lack discipline?
I find that people who lack discipline lack planning. They’re not disciplined because they don’t have a plan put in place. You have to write a schedule. Think of someone studying to get a degree. You have to have a meticulous schedule, you know exactly when you’re going to class, when you have time scheduled to study, when you’ve got papers due and at the end after all that planning over a four year period you get your degree. It’s the same in life, you have to plan. Because you can wake up in the morning with every intention, but if it’s not scheduled everything else comes up and ends up taking over your schedule. So for those who are not disciplined, just write out a schedule. For example, Monday morning 7:00 a.m. power walk, Tuesday 5:00 p.m. kickboxing class at the gym and stick to it.

Not just for your workouts, but for food as well. A lot of people get stressed out when it comes time to eat. You may want to get something healthy but there are not healthy options available or selections of healthy foods are not that exciting, so if you had prepared your food and brought it with you when it’s time to eat you’ve got that delicious chicken pesto sandwich on whole wheat bread, snacks of walnuts and cranberries or Greek yogurt.

I have my high end clients order food delivery services where food is dropped off at five in the morning. If you eat out all the time it can be very reasonable, like thirty dollars a day, from like Delivery Zone or whichever service you choose. If you have a very busy schedule Monday through Friday, and it’s difficult for you to prepare your own food, then try delivery instead of eating out with these large portions and places where you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting. Most major cities have food delivery services where they will drop off you food every weekday morning—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a few snacks. I really recommend that to people, especially if you’re eating out everyday why not get your entire day of food and get food that good and healthy.

Clutch: As a personal fitness trainer you’ve built a strong celebrity clientèle. Which celebrities have impressed you most in the gym and how?
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. They’ve all impressed me in different ways.

Terrell Owens impresses me with his discipline and dedication to his sport, and by just being a great football player (in terms of training and eating healthy). I’ve worked with several football players before and he is by far has been the absolute most disciplined.

Queen Latifah is so in touch with her spirit and soul and her self confidence. She is probably healthier than so many people because she has such a healthy soul and spirit. She lets things roll right off of her, and finds the positive in everything.

Taryn Manning also is very well rounded. She too has a positive spirit, disciplined in her workouts, and healthy eating habits.

Kimora Lee for her humor (she laughs), confidence, finding a way to make it work. It’s very inspiring to see someone being able to juggle motherhood, running a business, and trying to achieve her own dreams. Doing all of that and still eating healthy, working out, and being happy. A lot of people are taking on all these things, but choose not to be happy, they focus on stressing out.

Clutch: What are some essential apparel elements for a no fuss workout wardrobe? And what do you suggests to women on a budget?
Target, Ross, and Marshall’s—everybody has fitness sections in their stores now. You can easily pick up some great things without spending a lot of money.

You want a couple of pair of black tights that are cool max or dri fit or some type of material that pulls the sweat away from your body. A supportive sports bra, T-shirts, and you’re good.

To make the clothing last longer wash it and hang dry it. The drier keeps the smell of the sweat in the clothing and wears out the elasticity much quicker.

Clutch: What can we expect to see from you in the near future?
I have a couple of DVD’s. A core and stretch DVD coming out in the next month, available at Target or my website www.thehollywoodtrainer.com and a kickboxing party workout with intervals of kickboxing and dance for Crunch fitness series.

Clutch: It’s not a Clutch interview without asking…..what’s in your Clutch? What products don’t you leave home without?
(she laughs) I don’t leave home without a bottle of water, my Gucci sunglasses and my iPod. I never know when I can get a workout in. When I am traveling, I can workout anywhere all I need is some music.

Clutch:What would you like Clutch magazine readers to know about Jeanette Jenkins?
My goal in this industry is to help people see how they can live their fullest life just by being healthy. I love trying to help people find the answer and recognize the answer is right there inside of them. And so as a motivator, instructor and educator my goal is to help people realize they have everything they need right inside of them. They don’t have to keep looking everywhere for the answer, simply turn inward and it’s right there.

It’s debated whether morphing into a long, straight haired goddess, for what may appear to be a small fee, is a matter of convenience, economics, professionalism, an expression of femininity or pure self loathing for black women. We live in a society where we are judged by the perception of our appearance and our appearance is a defining statement about who we are or how we wish to be perceived. How we choose to show up as our most beautiful selves is a matter of personal choice. However, the root of these choices, is worthy of introspection. Let’s take a look at the big picture, remembering the major roll our choices play in getting the Black hair care industry back.

In 2004, sales of black hair care products exceeded $1.7 billion, as reported by Mintel International Group, a consumer research company. This figure does not include the synthetic and human hair additions that have gained tremendous popularity in recent years. These products are typically not available at local drugstore, rather beauty supply stores owned by Korean immigrants in most cases.

Our demand for “hair repair” in whatever form, is what fuels the coals of this machine called the Black hair care industry. Korean immigrants “get it” and have gotten it for decades, and now have almost complete control of the industry in 2007. They are sizing us up, assessing our needs, crafting and passing out the products. We, in turn, loyally tithe our dollars to strengthen their communities. It is time to consider the roll we play in the crisis within the Black hair care industry, by examining the choices we are making as it relates to us individually, the Black hair care industry specifically, as well as strengthening our communities and preserving our culture in general.

In business, Korean immigrants understand the concept of location, location, location with beauty supply stores popping up everywhere from Smallsville, USA to major metropolitan cities and everywhere in between, but assuredly found in an urban community. They ensure convenience to the stores, stock them with high demand Black hair care products and sell them at a price point with which non–Korean owned beauty supply stores can’t compete.

One aspect of business Korean–American store owners appear to place little value on is customer service. You may or may not be greeted when you enter their stores, but you will certainly be watched if not followed. Shame on us for perpetuating the growth of the monopoly as they collect billions of our dollars and give nothing back to their indigenous customer’s communities-–not even a pleasant shopping experience.

Koreans dominate the industry with control of more than 80 percent of the distribution of Black hair care products, beauty supply stores and the wig and extension manufacturers.

A documentary entitled Black Hair by Aron Ranen takes a sincere look inside the industry and reveals many of the business tactics that are creating challenges for non-Korean beauty supply store owners to be competitive. The documentary has been screened at national hair shows, industry conferences and can now be viewed at YouTube.com

Ranen’s Black Hair suggests, Koreans have maintained their presence by relying on their language to exclude non-Korean customers. Informational magazines such as QTC and the Beauty Times, which is the number one industry magazine and product order sheets is written partially or totally in Korean. Non-Korean American beauty supply store owners report that distributors answer their phones in Korean and have gone as far as to inquire of their nationality prior to placing orders for hair care products. Some store owners have reported Korean-American distributors selling goods to them at higher prices-–if selling to them at all.

On responses to the documentary, Ranen was quoted saying “White people think the film is unbalanced and unfair. There is an overall fear of exacerbating Korean/Black tensions.”

Ranen’s documentary and countless other sources contend that it is difficult to get a response to allegations from Korean -Americans in the industry, responses vary from complete silence to claiming to have no knowledge. Various accounts suggest there is a code of silence amongst Koreans in the industry, as they remain implicitly unwilling to allow their dominant position to be challenged.

While Korean-Americans have displayed remarkable acumen in business matters, the foundation for such a monopoly was not built by Korean immigrants with astounding work ethics alone. Chosu Libo, a respected South Korean newspaper reports assistance from the U.S. and Korean governments some 40 years ago.

The International Migration Review reports, development of Asian immigrants’ import-export business has been closely related to the increasing economic linkages between Asian countries and the United States. Such linkages are a product of the global economic restructuring where some developing countries of Asia have become major exporters of low cost/low price consumer goods to the United States. The Korean immigrants’ wig business in Los Angeles was studied as a case of contemporary import-export trade among Asian immigrants, with major findings summarized as follows:

The increased reliance of the United States on imported goods by the 1970s led to rapid growth of the export-oriented industry in South Korea. Wigs became the major export item of South Korea due to its cheap labor force and government-aid loans to the wig industry. Consequently, a strong vertical integration developed between Korean wig manufacturers in South Korea and Korean importers, wholesalers, and retailers in the United States–that integration provided Korean immigrants with initial business opportunities in the U.S. economy, particularly in low-income minority areas.

In the early 1900s, Black-Americans controlled the industry with the likes of Madam C.J. Walker, a manufacture and distributor of Black hair care products, and Anthony Overton, a manufacturer of Black beauty aids as well as a magazine publisher and president of a Black-owned bank.

The Journal of Social History reports, that during the years between the Great Migration and the Great Depression, the Black beauty aides industry emerged as a black institution. Black industry professionals developed business strategies to overcome the barriers to economic participation they were being met with during those times.

The period between the Great Depression and the civil rights movement was vital, as the industry proved its resilience to economic and social turmoil growing out of racial discord. This was critical since Black manufacturers in the Black hair care industry managed to emerge from the Great Depression while other institutions disappeared. The industries staying power did not go unnoticed. Manufacturers of Black hair care products became the focus of public discourse during the civil rights movement.

The years from the civil rights movement to the early 1990s proved to be pivotal for the industry. Black manufacturers began to lose ground to large white conglomerates prior to the Korean take over, and economic barriers were reproduced for Black professionals in the industry.

Some black-owned companies such as Soft Sheen emerged to manufacture and/or distribute Black hair care products. Independently black owned companies, such as Dudley Products Inc, Luster Products Inc and Bronner Brothers have been able to withstand the changes in the industry because they either sale directly to beauty salons or have long established relationships with distributors.

In 2004 BOBSA-–the Black Owned Beauty Supply Association was created in an effort to take back the Black hair care industry and bring awareness to the Korean-American’s hold on the black hair care industry. The association represents Black owned beauty supply stores, distributors, manufacturers and beauty supply store owners. One of the association’s visions is to provide distribution of Black hair care products via the Internet and distribution centers.

The Boston Globe reports, Sam Ennon, the organizations director estimates it will cost $5 million to $6 million to stock one distribution warehouse and intends to use the Koreans’ example as a template for establishment. Ennon believes key components for the organizations growth to be “communication with one another, sharing of information, co-op buying together and working together as a unit and a community.”

Though BOBSA has faced criticism for not having a clear stated action plan, the website is chocked-full of information for industry professionals. Some industry professionals have called for a boycott to stop the dollars, strong media campaigns to bring this phenomenon to everyone’s attention and opening of more black –owned beauty supply stores. No doubt, with proper support BOBSA could be a powerful force in the industry.

Ladies, as we contemplate our next “look,” we want to remember the bigger picture, the history of the industry, the power of our dollar and the willingness to make conscious spending choices as part of a collective effort to affect change in the Black hair care industry that was once ours.

For more information please visit blackhairdvd.com and bobsa.org