We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ariel Celeste Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ariel Celeste thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

I developed the idea for the CCC Tiny Book of Affirmations from an exercise originating from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute! Now, that’s not the response readers would predict, but it’s true. In 2021, I began ascension coaching and hypnotherapy with an amazing guide (@zhannazen). That year, she and I agreed I would practice “The Mental Bank” ledger. A practice developed by Dr. John G. Kappas of the Nationally Accredited College of Hypnotherapy.

My healing journey required me to carve time out each night to tally what I was grateful for. Mental Bank entries also tallied how I showed up for myself and ended with writing 3 uplifting affirmations. Each night, I signed a check with the universe paying myself back for achieving harmony and balance. The affirmations I drafted during that time were close to the vest. Each one was a statement I needed to hear most during dark and turbulent times. After continuing the mental bank practice for around three months, I realized the affirmations I authored were far bigger than my ledger could hold.

When I reviewed the pages of daily affirmations, the power of these words began vibrating off the pages– reaffirming Dr. Kappas’ theory that “success is not an accident.” My life had changed significantly in the quarter I kept the mental bank ledger. The affirmations would be my favorite activity within the nightly exercise. I decided that my next avenue of service would be through an encouragement movement. Thus, the CCC Tiny Book of Affirmations was born! A 56 card deck filled with simple, yet powerful statements that deliver instant uplift.

Ariel Celeste, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The mission for Celestial Content Creations can be explained with three words. Our goal is to restore: confidence, conviction and creativity. Founded in 2018, CCC built a community of strong, determined young professionals with expert resumes and cover letters. We had the honor to serve an array of clients including the National Basketball Association, alumnae and collegiate chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a host of universities, Google and the Wendy Williams Hunter Foundation.

For five years, CCC enjoyed its position as a trusted professional writing service across multiple industries. Alongside brand partnerships, we delivered consistent results with individual resume clients. Respondents from our 2021 survey data revealed: 56% landed a new job/promotion, 1 in 4 landed an interview/role at their “dream company” and 88% strongly agreed CCC gave them a boost of confidence in their job search.

As the proud leader of this movement, I leveraged my own career expertise to propel clients forward. The secret sauce behind this success? I laced each client deliverable with everything I knew from a 15-year career as a journalist, copywriter and editor. I made clients comfortable in their pursuits by delivering collaborative, bold narratives across marketing copy, personal statements, resumes and cover letters. As I gracefully navigated careers at Viacom, NBCUniversal, Disney and Google, it was a joy to combine the sharpest writing skills in my tool bag with lessons learned from Corporate America.

Have you ever had to pivot?

CCC did a hard pivot last year by changing industries completely! For the first five years of the business, we serviced marketing and career clients with written content. In 2021, I discontinued all writing service offerings to focus solely on affirmation authorship and my own creative writing pursuits. This was a difficult, but mission-aligned shift. I realized after working with loyal clients over the course of their careers that more was required to truly unlock their full potential. Yearly resume tweaks and LinkedIn profile refreshes were not the solution to long term success and growth. Establishing a mental foundation and morning routine that includes speaking positivity over the day was the answer. I realized how my life shifted for the better with the practice of drafting affirmations and reciting them aloud. I deepened my understanding of the power of the subconscious mind and the practice of shifting reality with mental framework adjustments. These small, but mighty statements were working in a major way. I could not keep the blessings to myself.

In January 2022, I debuted the limited print edition of the Tiny Book of Affirmations with a wellness group of Black women in Houston. Responses were positive and feedback indicated an ebook format would be the next direction. For several months, CCC focused on ebook sales on Gumroad and our website. I collected and actioned customer feedback and re-launched in Q4 of 2022 with the affirmations card deck. This has been the most successful iteration of the product thus far. I am so thrilled with this little magic spellbook of cards. Now, clients can let the power of their personal energy lead them to the affirmations most relevant for them in their moment of uplift. The card deck allows the beauty of serendipity for pulling the message most aligned to real-time needs. Each deck also includes five blank cards to encourage customers to fill it in with their own affirmation. A subtle, but effective way of working the mental bank exercise in with our ever-growing community of “Star Players.”

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I highly recommend the blog posts, books and YouTube videos from the visionary and comedic philosopher, Stuart Wilde. I discovered Stuart Wilde in 2015, while working at Viacom and struggling to make ends meet in the Big Apple. I was passing the day aimlessly searching online for inspiration, when I discovered his “Mastery of Money” seminar on Youtube. Fast forward to now, I have listened to that video more times than I can count. His philosophy of “subjugating your own ego to get underneath the needs of your clients” is how I developed the tagline for CCC. Our motto is “serving words to meet you at the point of your writing needs.” A direct application of the wise Wilde’s teachings.

As my business grew, so did my adoption and appreciation of Wilde’s philosophies. I now apply the concepts of the “super self,” intuition, silent power and miracle manifestation into my everyday living. His website, www.stuartwilde.com has a host of positive affirmation guidance and alternative free thinking resources for anyone curious. After listening to his lectures or reading his articles, you will be “pope of your own church.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.celestialcontentcreations.com/
• Instagram: @celestialcontentcreations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CelestialContentCreations/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielcelestejohnson/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CelestialContentCreations2018
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/celestial-content-creations-brooklyn

Image Credits
Photos captured by Victor Pirela @pitospantry.