Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Denetra Moore. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Denetra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I have learned and appreciate that success means different things to many people. Reaching and maintaining goals on any level, viewed through my eyes, is success. When I look at what it takes to become successful at anything, it all comes down to three key principles. One being knowing your “why” and purpose for wanting to attain a certain level of success or to achieve a specific goal. That reason is the driving force behind your actions. You should always be able to come back to that reason for fuel, decision making, and reflection. The other two principles contribute and steer the beautiful journey to becoming successful. Achieving success absolutely takes repeated measures of commitment and consistency until the desired goal is met. Fear and failure will pop up along the way to derail, stunt, stop and paralyze forward movement, but don’t let it. Fear and failure are part of the success process, but not the director. Stay rooted and lead with your “why” as you face obstacles, you will grow stronger because of it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Coming from a military family I have adopted the discipline to accelerate, and achieve the goals I have set for myself. As a mother and educator, I have learned to be flexible, and to put purpose behind my actions which has fed into my purpose and motives in authoring childrens books. When working with children in the classroom I noticed military children could not see themselves in the text/books presented to them. I aim to provide the opportunity for their voices to be heard through the books I write. What sets me apart is my background in education. I know what teachers need to teach, so I incorportate literacy skills, and state expectations. Being a military child, mother of military children and a former military spouse, I have an array of experience from when I was a child leading up to today’s child when dealing with military issues. I am most proud of publishing my first book Little Soldier. That was the beginning for me; the starting point for many more books to come. I published my second book Countdown To Daddy in January of 2023. I currently have a few other working manuscripts in review.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Once I made the decision to return to college to earn a Master’s Degree in Education my life as I knew it changed. I remember many days sitting at the table with my girls doing homework right along with them. I needed my girls to see and know that discipline, focus, and consistency are ingredients required to reach their goals. I was a third year teacher, single parent and student all at the same time. It was a family effort for 18 months every day until the mission was complete. In life bad things happen, but you can overcome and still find success.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Growing up as a young child in Colorado, one of the main things we always heard in our household was, “What goes on in this house, stays in this house.”. Actually, that phrase was quite popular in my friends’ houses as well. My siblings and I were taught to keep our problems in-house, and to ourselves. Because we were a family that did not show much emotion, or talk about our concerns, a lot was missed. Opportunities were lost because we did not speak up, problems lingered way too long, and many relationships within our family never had a chance to grow beyond a certain point. I believe what was meant to protect our family, had the opposite effect on us all in the long run. Once I started my own family, I purposely left ineffective family traditions behind. I knew I wanted to be the best parent I could be, so those “no talking” rules had to be unlearned in order for me to show up for my children in a positive light. Old ways do not necessarily serve well or prove to be the best choices in new places. I learned from old traditions, kept what worked, and revamped what didn’t.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @moore.books
- Facebook: @moorebooks2read
- Twitter: @MooreBooks2Read