Keisha Blair

Keisha Blair is a trained Economist, with extensive experience in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. She started her career working on economic development projects sponsored by the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. She was a senior economist working in economic development and corporate finance, working on several federal budgets. She was part of the Prime Minister’s delegation to the World Economic Forum in 2018 as well as the East-Asia (ASEAN) Summit in Singapore. She led on events such as the FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit in Montreal, Canada and the Fortune Global Forum. She is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard University’s John. F Kennedy School of Government.

Keisha has an Msc in public policy from Carleton University in Ottawa. She has been profiled in the New York Times, and has been featured in the New York Observer, Thrive Global, the Harvard Business Review among many other publications. Her viral article, “My Husband Died at 34: Here are 40 Life Lessons I Learned From It”, was featured in/or linked to by over 160 websites and viewed by more than 50 million people worldwide.

I’m so excited for you guys to connect with Keisha, check out her work and new book, and follow along as she continues to share her passions for gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and lessons to help you find purpose, prosperity and happiness.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

Hi there, I’m Keisha Blair, Author of Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity and Happiness. I’m a trained Economist, with experience in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. I’m a graduate of the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard University’s John. F Kennedy School of Government. My first book Holistic Wealth is about to be launched (on November 5th 2019), and I’m pretty excited about that.

I’m also the co-founder of Aspire-Canada, a non-profit initiative that provides mentorship and free resources to university students. I also started the Aspire-Canada Scholarship for university and college students.

How did you get started?

I started writing as a child. From the age of about 8 years old I started writing poems – and poetry was my passion until I started pursuing other hobbies like theatre and dance which I did straight through my teen years and into early adulthood. After my husband died when I was 31, I found writing again, and poured out my heart and soul on paper – it seemed natural and completely in line with my passion and purpose. In the midst of tragedy, I went back to my first love and it comforted me in a way that nothing else could.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

So many things have inspired me. However, the viral article entitled “My Husband Died at 34. Here are 40 Life Lessons Learned From It”, really inspired my current book Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help you Find Purpose, Prosperity and Happiness. The article became so popular that an Agent advised me to write a book based on the article. When I penned the article, I never expected it to have the impact that it did. After originally posting it on Thrive Global, it was featured or linked by over 160 websites and viewed by over 50 million people worldwide! My message of hope and resilience following a tragedy was something that so many people needed to hear. Thibaut Buccelato, an award-winning film-maker based in Paris contacted me to write a short-film based on my story entitled THE MOMENTS I MISS. Australian actress Bambi Northwood-Blyth and Yaniss Lespert star in the film.

So far, its been an amazing experience and I never dreamt the book would come together the way it did – but it really represents me and my central message – that we can overcome tragedy and setbacks to find meaning, purpose and happiness. I discovered my platform quite by accident, but I firmly believe that it is my mission to let the world know that even after facing huge, devastating loss or adversity, you can make a comeback and live the life you really want.

In my new book, Holistic Wealth, I redefine the traditional concept of “wealth.” Being wealthy is not just about amassing physical assets but also collecting experiences, engaging in meaningful work, and having more control over your time.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

My biggest passion is writing and expressing myself in the most authentic way possible in terms of the subjects I write on and the way I use my platform. I am living my purpose and passion and I think the way my purpose manifested itself was so crystal clear – so much so that I can now coach others in identifying theirs. I am 100 per cent sure that we are all here to manifest a certain purpose and we are equipped to do so – but we just need to find it and pursue it and not listen to the naysayers that tell us that we can’t – that we shouldn’t try – or that we don’t have what it takes to achieve our dreams.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

My family brings me joy – my children light me up. I am a mother of three kids so they are my world. In the book Holistic Wealth – I talk about making a personal mission statement – kind of like a joy blueprint. Your personal mission statement allows you to outline the life you want and the values you will live by.

My joy blueprint is living holistically wealthy everyday.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

Holistic wealth occurs when you discover your passions and then align those passions with serving others by identifying and filling their unmet needs. In order to do this, or execute this task, you will have to build a platform that truly represents you.

So yes, I live intentionally and I believe that holistic wealth happens by design. I developed the “Holistic Wealth Method,” and when you apply it to your decision making, your life will never be the same. The decisions you make will not only create holistic wealth ripple effects in your own life but also have the ability to affect the holistic wealth of future generations. Cultivating holistic wealth helps us to be mentally tough and to have grit to weather the inevitable storms and setbacks that life brings.

In the book – I also talk about journaling. Keeping a journal of your thoughts, experiences, insights, and learnings helps with mental clarity, exactness, and context. It teaches you to express yourself and your feelings on a deeper level.

I also talk about spiritual self-renewal. Without continuous, methodical, and conscious efforts to renew ourselves, we can become stuck in the “valley of dry bones.” We must examine ourselves if we are to find our purpose and live a meaningful life—a life of greatness.

Taking measured risks is also a critical component of holistic wealth. Too many people become paralyzed by fear and take no action at all when it comes to living their dreams. Buying your first home, or starting a new business all require some level of measured risk. When you confuse real constraints with fake ones, you deplete your holistic wealth bank account.

In the book, Holistic Wealth, the 32 chapters outline so many resources and practices that really lead to a holistically wealthy lifestyle. There is also a personal workbook that will be released to accompany the main book. I encourage readers to get both books and dive in. If you are in a book group or book club or want to get together to read with a group of friends there are also free discussion guides available for download here: http://www.keishablair.com/book-club/

You can also start a Holistic Wealth Project group and I will be releasing resources shortly on www.keishablair.com to help people in starting that process. Having an accountability group is a great way to ensure that we take the steps needed to live intentionally by design.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

I think my younger self would think this journey has been amazing. I started writing at an early age as a creative outlet as I mentioned before and then followed other pursuits. I do believe that life has a way of bumping us onto the path we are supposed to follow.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?

My mantra is living holistically wealthy life everyday.

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream is to impact as many people as possible with my writing, my personal story and my message. Stories are the best way we can connect with each other and find common ground. Most of all I want to create a global movement where every girl, boy man and woman across the global can access holistic wealth at some point in their lifetime.

To learn more about Keisha visit her website www.KeishaBlair.com and you can share your own stories of Holistic Wealth (#HolisticWealth and #HolisticWealthbook) and connect with her on Twitter: @KeishaOBlair Facebook @keishablairauthor Instagram @keishaoblair email info@keishablair.com and you can find her book on Amazon here

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Keisha Blair - Author, Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity, and Happiness