The Tribune

By FELICITY INGRAHAM

AISHA Lloyd-Minnis has found a way to turn the pain of grief into a powerful story. She has upgraded her mindset from limiting self-doubt to powerful self-confidence. She has learned to shift from a place of holding on to fear, to one of letting go and being filled with faith. Her life has completely changed because she changed her outlook on life. As her journey in self transformation continues, she is helping others to find their personal power as well.

Nothing could have prepared Aisha for the death of her grandmother, the late Geneva K Thronton, a veteran nursing professional in The Bahamas. She was the first grandchild, and she and her grandmother were very close. It was a devastating loss for Aisha. She was determined to find a way to honour this woman who meant so much to so many, and had poured so much into her.

On August 31, 2018, Aisha released her first book, “My Grandmother’s Keeper”: It was a way to honour her grandmother’s legacy and share her wisdom. Aisha’s grandmother taught her to live joyfully, even through heartbreaking times – a task easier said than done for many.

“It was the wisdom she shared with me that helped me to be able to deal with her passing,” Aisha shared.

“I used what she taught me - the life principles that she lived - to be able to make it through and to keep going. August is her birthday month, and during the first part of the month, I had finally gathered enough emotional courage to begin to sort through her belongings. As I did, I came across one of her journals - and this brought back a flood of memories, and also a sense of purpose.”

From time to time throughout the years, Aisha’s grandmother would keep a journal and she would say, “One day, I am going to write a book about my life!”

“At that moment, something in me spoke to me and I just knew - I knew that I was meant to share her story, to share her lessons. I was the one who was meant to write her book. Now after this incredible sense of purpose and excitement bubbled up inside of me, about ten seconds later my heart dropped – as I remembered that I had already tried to do this. I already tried to figure out how to write a book, and I failed.”

Just over a year before she released My Grandmother’s Keeper, Aisha had a strong conviction to write a book and share the way in which she was able to transform her life from being ‘unhappy and miserable, looking externally for happiness and validation’ to one where she was finding and creating her own happiness.

“If I could help just one other woman not have to struggle with internal unhappiness for as long as I did, then it would be worth me being brave enough to share my story and what I learned along the way,” Aisha said.

“Even though I was nervous about putting pen to paper and opening up publicly, I was more excited about the possibility that sharing what I went through could help another person. That excitement quickly faded as I tried to figure out how to actually write a book. Trying to distill everything I had gone through - the challenges, the triumphs, the lessons – into a book seemed overwhelming. I didn’t know what to do or where to begin. So, I just told myself that maybe this isn’t the time for this.”

The moment when Aisha came across her grandmother’s journal and felt convicted to share her story was pivotal. “Why was I now being intuitively guided to write this book to share my grandmother’s story? It was one thing to let myself down and shelve my own dreams, but to feel like I was not equipped to carry the torch for my grandmother was overwhelmingly discouraging. About ten seconds after that, I had another strong urge from within, to not only write her book, but to do so right away, and release it on her birthday – which at that point was three weeks away! I was scared and somewhat defeated, but also something inside of me rose up. I decided that if God was clearly telling me to do this, then He would provide the way to get me through it. Bit by bit, day by day, I figured out how to write the book, and figured out how to get it published internationally. And I did it! I released the book on her birthday.”

“After that, it was like I had cracked the code of figuring out how to write and share my personal story in a way to inspire others. I then went on to finish the first book that I had originally intended to write, and published “Recolour Your Life” five months later, in January 2019. I completed my 3rd book: “2020 Vision” in February of 2021.”

After Aisha published her first book, people began to ask her for advice on how to write their own books. Those inquiries began to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns that came with it. She saw that the pandemic “made people reflect more on their lives, jolted them out of their day-to-day living and made them really think about their dreams and purpose for their lives”.

A senior executive and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the financial service industry, Aisha has had a track record of leadership in the field. But, through a process of self-transformation, she has found even more God-given purpose for her own life.

Though she now resides in New Orleans, Lousiana, Aisha Lloyd-Minnis says she is a “born, bred, ga dead Bahamian”. Her parents, Jeffrey Lloyd and Shawn Thomas, both hail from Long Island. She followed in both of their footsteps, and attended St Augustine’s College, Nassau, where she became one of my beloved classmates. After graduating, she went on to the United States to attend university, and during that time she spent two years in the U.S. Army. She returned home to Nassau in 2001 to begin her career in accounting and finance. Today, she has more than 20 years experience in the financial services industry in The Bahamas.

During her career, she worked as an accountant with two of the Big 4 global accounting firms. After her career in public accounting, she served as head of finance for a leading commercial bank, and from there worked in financial service regulation. During all this time, she lived and worked in The Bahamas, except for a stint from 2005-2006 in London, UK and Dublin, Ireland for the global firms. While at home, Aisha got married and gave birth to a son, Andreas.

But in 2019, things changed for Aisha. With her grandmother gone, Aisha and Andreas packed up for New Orleans, Louisiana, to be with her mother, who could gain better medical treatment there. It was not just a change of scenery for Aisha. It was a complete change of trajectory to a life of self-improvement and inspiring others.

Aisha recalls this point in her life: “By the time that the pandemic rolled around, my life was completely different – I was in a new country, new relationship, and expecting a baby! When I first moved to the United States, I decided to continue in my field, and started a tax and accounting business. While I was building that business, I was still also helping anyone who asked for help with writing and publishing their books.”

“This all came to a sudden halt in the summer of 2020, when my 19-year-old stepson tragically passed away. I focused on supporting my husband through this difficult time, and getting through the rest of my pregnancy.”

“By the beginning of 2021, things were starting to settle, and I was focusing on growing my CPA business. People were regularly checking in to see if I was ‘ready yet’ to help them with their books. I still didn’t feel that it was the best time for me to get back into it. But once again, I felt the familiar feeling of something in my spirit and it was insisting that I make it a point to start helping people on their journey to becoming authors once again.”

Aisha started by hosting a group programme that met twice a week for ten weeks. She took people step-by-step through the whole process of writing and self-publishing from beginning to end. This group started in March 2021 and went through to June 2021.

“As I saw how well that was going,” Aisha said, “in May 2021, I opened up a Facebook group ‘The Authors Lounge with Aisha Wonderfull’. In this group I would do workshops, and live training sessions on topics relating to writing and self-publishing. From there, people started to inquire about my services and asked how much it would cost for me to help them. Up until this point, everything I had done was for free! Around this time, the wife of a pastor who counseled my family during the months following my stepson’s death started saying to me, “I see you having a publishing company’. It seemed so far-fetched to me, I saw myself as a CPA who was just doing this on the side, as a hobby. But as more people started to ask about my services, the pastor’s wife’s prediction started to seem more realistic and not so far-fetched; especially after my (then 11-year-old) son released his second book in June 2021! The number of people reaching out to me for help with writing and publishing their books exploded through the roof!! I then decided to step out on a limb, to lean into what I was already doing – helping authors to share their story and impact others by writing and publishing their books – and I officially launched Universal Impact Press on July 24th, 2021.

Today, Aisha is the owner and founder of Technicolor Blossom, LLC - a next-level strategy consulting firm, which also includes the publishing company: Universal Impact Press. She has led the publication of two anthologies. Yellow Elders is a collection of beautiful stories of Bahamian women that capture the essence of the resilient and spirit-filled people of these isles. Meanwhile, Our Fathers is about to be launched - an ode to the Bahamian man. In addition to the standard suite of services offered, there is another book anthology: Keep Going! which is starting at the end of this month. In honour of Aisha’s grandmother’s upcoming birthday, Universal Impact Press is giving away a scholarship for its premium level Publishing/Next Level Strategy Package to an aspiring Bahamian inspirational author, to help them share their story, and unleash their message to the world. For more information about the company and the scholarship, visit www.universalimpactpress.com.

“Our vision is that every person has the opportunity and courage to achieve his/her fullest Divine potential,” Aisha said.

“As such, our purpose is to give Purposeful Leaders a platform to share their message with the world, and to empower them to share their story and make the impact on the world that they were already destined to make.”

“Following the voice within to share my grandmother’s story, and becoming an author was truly the beginning of a brand-new life for me. The road was not always easy, in fact, it led me completely outside of my comfort zone, and along the way, I had to conquer many internal fears and insecurities; however, I am so proud of myself for always pushing forward and deciding to keep going no matter what. Though my life is quite busy with two daughters under the age of 2, I am so excited about the work that I do. I work with authors in a very unique way – a way that I do not see anywhere else around me! Beyond just helping them write and publish their books, I uplift and equip authors to step into their next level of purpose, their next level of leadership, and their next level of legacy. Many of our clients have 4 and 5-figure book launches, have been featured on major local and international platforms, go on to launch professional speaking careers, and monetize their books through courses, membership, and high-ticket coaching programmes. I am truly blessed, honoured and so excited to be living my life’s purpose of helping others make their Universal Impact.”