Woman becomes homeless on purpose to overcome fear of failure

Hollywood, FL (BlackNews.com) — It was a sad time in the life of 32-year-old Hollywood, Florida resident Te-Erika Patterson. She had just lost both of her jobs, the use of her car had been taken away and under the stress of her financial woes, she dropped out of graduate school.

What is a woman to do when her life seems to be taking a turn for the worse? This woman decided to listen to the still voice in the back of her mind that whispered, “Let it go.” On April 11, 2011, Patterson gave away everything that she owned and became homeless on purpose to face her fear of failure.

“I could have fought to maintain my lifestyle by taking any job or latching on to the first man who offered me help, but instead I decided to turn this problem into a project and see where it would lead,” Patterson explained.

Patterson is the publisher of MySavvySisters.Com, an empowerment blog for women. Patterson began MySavvySisters.Com to help other women learn how to transition smoothly into the next level of their lives. She transformed her dire situation into The Rebuild Your Life Project which has empowered thousands of readers and viewers who have followed her four month journey on YouTube.

She recorded her entire journey in videos she posted daily on YouTube. From the moment she gave everything away, as she navigated through her goals which included organizing a job fair for homeless women and raising money for a rental assistance grant for a woman in need, all the way to her final day at the homeless shelter where she found refuge throughout the four months she lived without permanent shelter are all available on video through YouTube for women to browse and be inspired.

Patterson believes loss is a vital part of the cycle of success and it is important to embrace it with poise. During her journey she blogged about her experiences and made videos investigating the mental survival skills women need to survive a life on the streets if their worst fear of homelessness came true. She battled through securing a place to sleep, finding medical help, learning how to earn money without a job, rape, jail time and anxiety and panic attacks, all while advocating for women by trying to help them to get jobs.

“I’ve noticed that one of the things that hold women back from chasing a dream is a fear of failure. I faced my fear and taught the lessons on how to survive the most extreme failure,”Patterson explained. “Now, no woman has to fear failure ever again because they saw me make it through and after watching my videos they will know just what to do if it ever happened to them. Every woman can now be free to go, to do and to be, knowing that no matter what, they can always rebuild their lives.”

Patterson, who moved up from homelessness by securing a job as a waitress at Denny’s, has taken steps to advance the work she began during The Rebuild Your Life Project by asking corporations to partner with The Rebuild Your Life Project to employment opportunities to the communities that have fueled their success. Patterson’s partnership with Denny’s Restaurant resulted in more than 100 unemployed South Floridians being interviewed on the spot in a mass hiring event sponsored by the international corporation.

For more information about The Rebuild Your Life Project, visit www.therebuildyourlifeproject.org

To learn more about Te-Erika Patterson, visit www.te-erika.blogspot.com

Photo Caption: Te-Erika Patterson prepares to panhandle for donations in North Miami, Florida during The Rebuild Your Life Project.