Tired of feeling drained? Learn the secrets to pouring into yourself and mastering resilience through life’s relentless twists and turns. Join us as the incomparable Nichele Phillip, a force with a double Master’s degree and a recent MBA from Howard University, unpacks her incredible journey. From navigating pivotal career shifts and embracing the power of self-affirmation to honoring a remarkable family legacy and even unplugging from social media, Nichele shares how she lives by her impactful mantra: “It’s not personal, it’s business.” Get ready to be inspired to live your most authentic, empowered life!
Music courtesy of Dealer’s Choice Sound Recordings, Inc.
Music artist: djezi
—
Watch the episode here
Listen to the podcast here
The Art Of Pouring Into Yourself: Resilience And Legacy With Nichele Phillip
We are excited to be here. We had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Nichele Phillip, a double Master’s. She finished her MBA program. She is a big sister, a daughter, a great, great granddaughter, and she tells us about all the lovely parts of being in a beautiful family, about her creative endeavors, and how she’s going to someday be a creator of experiences for others. We can’t wait to see what she does.
In the meantime, she is talking about all experiences, including taking a sabbatical, if you will, from social media and what that meant to her. I think, Sylvia, one of the things she brought up is how she pours into herself. We’re talking about what she says and what she does to uplift herself. I’m curious to know from you, what do you say to yourself when you need maybe a pep talk or just something uplifting?
I was just so impressed and proud of Nichele. I will tell you that I’ve known Nichele since she was probably 3 or 4 years old. To see her grow into this beautiful, courageous, ambitious and loving woman, it’s just fantastic. When she talked about pouring into herself, I thought she was spot on with that. I tell myself, “You’ve got this. You have done harder things,” and I just repeat it until I move and make the next step. It’s not always about completing it, whatever your goal is. It’s just about making the next forward step. You’ve got this, you’ve done harder things. What do you say to yourself to pour into yourself?
It’s funny, the top on my list is, “You’ve got this.” I guess we run in the same circle. “I am enough.” Knowing that I am enough for whatever the circumstances require. I am enough. Just one from upbringing and I remember my mom, at some point, writing down, and this is as an adult, a bunch of verses.
When I say a bunch, there was just a page long of verses. I don’t even remember the circumstance, but obviously, I remember the consequence of me sharing the circumstance. It was about not being fearful. In 2 Timothy, there’s a verse that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of sound mind. I just remember, whatever the fear is, it’s not from God.
Amen.
It’s always helpful when you’re in that circumstance for me to remember that. Yeah, I love that she is very self-aware and already at this stage knows how to, as she said, pour into herself. I can’t wait for everyone to read what else she has to say. Without further ado, we bring you Nichele Phillip.
We are in for a treat, everyone. We have a sister. This is the first time in the show’s history that we now have a pair of sisters. I want to welcome to the show, Nichele Phillip.
From DC Roots To Orthodontist Dreams: Nichele Phillip’s Journey Begins
We are so happy to have you here. We always want to start with trying to find out a little bit about you, your background, what made you, you, and let’s just go back to the beginning. How did your journey unfold as young Nichele?
I still feel I’m young sometimes.
You’re definitely, indeed. You can say young. Let’s go back to a younger teenage, twenty-year-old Nichele.
She was courageous. She was ready to just get out of the world and see what the world was going to offer. I basically was raised in Washington, DC. Those who are from there call it DC. I went to a college preparatory school where we went on basically college tours since the eighth grade. I knew I was going to college. I just didn’t know where. I applied to fifteen schools, and the one I wanted to get in, I did not get in.
Their loss.
I got accepted to Virginia State University, and I said, “That’s where I’m going.” I wanted to be an orthodontist, though. I was like, “I wanted to be an orthodontist. I wanted to do teeth. I want to make people feel better about themselves and how you could start with a smile,” so that’s where I went.
You have a great smile. Nichele, you mentioned being from DC. I call it the district. Tell us what do you love most about being a Washingtonian? I believe you’re from a family of Washingtonians.
Yes. Some have moved away and then come back. I think that’s the thing about DC. Not a lot of people are true Washingtonians. Most individuals come from all over. They have some North Carolina and Oklahoma backgrounds. My great-grandparents came from Oklahoma. I can’t give you exactly when, but I think in the 1950s. They came and my great-grandma was one of the first teachers in Fairfax County.
We’re going to get to grandma. We’re going to put a pin in that. What do you love most about DC?
I just love that it’s city, it’s slight country, but for the most part, the Black love is amazing. It’s like no other to me. I travel, but in DC, there’s nothing being called a queen on the streets or just seeing Black love in all facets, in all ways and then just having the support of individuals around you, male, female, all of that.
That’s great insight for someone that’s never been to DC.
Yeah. We’re more than just the White House, trust me.
I think it says a lot to grow up, number one, it sounds feeling seen, accepted and loved in your surroundings to. That’s a lot. Not just your school or in your family, but in your city overall.
I didn’t think of it that way. My family plays a big part of it, but yes.
I don’t want to get too far into the episode without mentioning that your sister, Alexis Phillip, is our episode 35. Who’s ever reading this episode currently, I want you to go back to episode 35 and even further back more to read all of our episodes. We are so excited to have you, and then certainly to have had your sister as well. I want to thank you.
See my sister, definitely. If you’re reading this, please stay in tune. It would not be in me without her, for sure.
Family Influence & Academic Paths
We talked about your sister’s role as being the younger child, and now we’d to hear your voice as the oldest child. How do you think that role has influenced who you are now?
I think it is ingrained in me to be an older sibling. I’m always looking out for the people under me, making sure that they’re okay. It’s a responsibility that you, at first, were annoyed with. Over time, it’s like you wear it with pride. I don’t know when it’s transferred. It’s probably somewhere in high school or college. It’s when you leave home and you realize they’re looking at me. I want to do well for them. You also realize that it’s not just under or across. The people next to you could be sisters, too.
Definitely. I know that you are a proud graduate of Virginia State University. Is it, “Go Trojans?”
There we go.
I learned something. Absolutely. If you could go back and give your eighteen-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Just keep going. Don’t be scared. I didn’t realize that I was a little scared to go farther than people. I wanted to do it with everyone. I didn’t know.
Everybody can’t come.
I didn’t know that I had the ability to bring people up once I got there. Just keep going. Yeah, that’s what I would tell myself.
You graduated from Virginia State, and you can tell us your major, but we also understand that you have received your MBA from Howard University. I’d like to know, can you compare your HBCU experience to your undergrad experience?
For sure. Just to let you know that this is my second Master’s, and all three of them were in HBCU.
Back up. How did I miss that? Excuse me, please. The audience, we want to know
I don’t even really talk about it that much, but I went to Trinity. It’s in Washington, DC. It’s an all-girls school, connected to Catholic University, and I got my Master’s in Public and Community Health. That’s what I got.
Nichele, tell us why you got a Master’s in Public Health, and then tell us why you then went ahead and said, “I need an MBA or a Master’s in Business Administration as well.”
Pull up your bootstraps right now. The first Master’s was still me being focused on being an orthodontist. What was crazy was NDC, you either work for the government or in the government. I was working as a intern at USDA, so the United States Department of Agriculture. I had an opportunity to work in HR, and they said, “If you could go back to school and get some certifications in HR, then cool.” I said, “I might as well.”
You’re a natural HR person, because you’re such a people person. I get why you were in HR.
I was like, “Okay.” I went to an orientation at Trinity and they were giving out and what they were doing certifications and Master’s degrees. I saw that they had Public and Community Health. I called a dental school and said, “If I get my Master’s in Public and Community Health, will that help my academic resume?” They said, “Yeah.” I said, “Okay.” I went back to my job, asked them, “If I got that degree, would I still get the job?” They said, “Yeah.” I stayed, got the job. Yeah, that was a whirlwind. Actually, I got another opportunity to do a rotation at USDA doing food and nutrition. I got to go for school lunch and school breakfast, the SNAP benefits and I worked at WIC with the WIC program while I was getting my experience my Master’s. It was crazy.
Navigating Career Transitions & Finding Resilience
I need to understand where it went from orthodontics to MBA.
Life happened. I took the practice, failed and was like, “I can’t be an orthodontist because I can’t pass the test.” I didn’t have anybody around me to say, “Sweetie, people fail the test.” I kept it close because I was devastated. At the same time, I was still working at Food and Nutrition Services, but that’s when the Obama administration went into the Trump administration and was preparing for it. They closed jobs so I didn’t get a full-time job.
That’s 2015, 2016.
Exactly, 2015 to 2016. I had to find another job. I worked at KPMG for a second, the consulting firm, helping DLA, which is the Defense Logistics Agency, to sustain during an audit. You’re just trying to find a job. I had that. I was doing meeting notes, and then I figured out what a downsize really was, because I went from a group of 105 to 5. I was let go from that job, joined FEMA and helped with Hurricane Harvey.
I hate to interrupt you, but I want to know your perspective. You’re young and you’re transitioning from jobs, and you go from a 100 to 5. How does that affect you? Were you ready for that? Did you have any prep?
No. I only had prep from a movie, and I still don’t know this movie. It’s this movie where the guy comes into work and the guy says, “You have a raise,” and then the boss ends up being fired or something, and everybody loses their job. I was like, “This is exactly that movie.” I still can’t remember the movie, but that was my only preparation. I was like, “Okay.” It went from 105 to 5. I’m going to lose my job soon. The only reason why I have my job is because nobody wants to do meeting notes and I do them well. You had to do them within a day back then. I knew that my time was ending, but I didn’t think it would happen the way it did.
It was devastating. It took me a long time to get over it. Losing your job, you think it’s you. Honestly, we’ll get into that. All these transitionings, I decided to find a job. Find a job that I can be good at and just work. I found a job that was basically a contract firm helping the Secret Service. I was with them for four years during COVID and everything but it was definitely not a job for me.
Nichele, I’m going to interrupt you for a moment. Question. How do you go from position to position and remain optimistic? I know you as this bright light, and so how do you remain resilient and knowing that, “This has happened. It’s not me. It’s the organization, it’s the system,” yet you still get up and you continue the next day? Can you give us some pearls or some secrets about that?
Honestly, one, I think it’s my family. My family are going to tell me like, “You got this. Keep going.” They give me a little bit of tough love and soft love.
That’s your Aunt Jessica.
You know it. Aunt Denise. “What? No. Get in there and go find a job,” but also, giving yourself grace, understanding, talking nice to yourself, that’s real. The talking nice to yourself, I still work on that.
What one nice thing do you say to yourself? I always say, “The universe is conspiring for my highest and greatest good.” What do you say to yourself?
My biggest one is, “You deserve to be in the room.” A lot of the times, what I would tell myself that I wasn’t, that I did not deserve to be here. “You deserve to be in the room,” is one of my biggest ones. It’s like, “Girl, get in there. There’s room for you in there. They need you in there.” Whatever room, whatever space it is, I can offer something. That is one of the biggest things. Also, I think sharing what’s happening to you. I think sometimes, we want to just keep it to ourselves because we don’t want to complain or we don’t want to seem we’re weak or whatever.
That you’re not alone.
Somebody else needs to hear your story to help them get through. I’ve seen my family struggle and get through it, so therefore, I know that I can get through it. Some of that is with us.
Ending A Curse, Starting A Legacy: The Howard MBA Journey
A very good insight and perspective, and definitely a lot of pearls. Now that you have transitioned, how did you get the MBA?
The MBA portion happened, literally. I graduated 2015 and then, 2022. I’m like, “COVID is done. I’m getting out of this job. I’m applying to jobs every day.” Also, my best friend started at Howard. I never thought about Howard, mind you. I got a chance to hang out with her cohort. I was like, “They’re amazing.” They don’t know me, but they were uplifting me. They were like, “You should just try it. Everybody needs a piece of this. This is good info. We’ll share whatever we have with you but you get your own letters.” That accountability, I haven’t had in quite a while.
Nichele, that’s also what you do for other people as well, so that doesn’t surprise me. Not one little bit.
You’re right. I needed some of me around. I was like, “I need that.” I applied to a job and I applied to the MBA program. One key thing. I was talking to my Aunt Denise, and I was like, “Do I really do Howard?” My great-grandfather went to Howard and he didn’t finish. My grandfather went to Howard and he didn’t finish. My mom and dad met at Howard, and they didn’t get to finish. Do I go? She was like, “You could end it. You could be the one to say we’re complete.” I was I festered on that. I was like, “I’m applying. We’re going to get in.” That’s what I’m putting on there, ending a curse and starting a legacy. Here we are.
As of the taping of this episode, you graduated from Howard’s MBA program, I’m going to call it Mother’s Day weekend of 2025. Is that correct?
Yes, that is correct.
Congratulations.
Thank you. It feels so good. I’ve cried so many times.
It’s tears of happiness. Absolutely. How do you plan on using your MBA? I think the other question is, when you initially apply to business school, to B School, what did you envision doing and then how is it different now?
One of the biggest things that I thought that I was going to do with my MBA was just find the true stepping stools to keep myself in the government, but get higher in the government, because as you read throughout the episode, I’ve worked at almost 5 or 6 different government agencies.
Why do you like working for the Feds? You got that good government job. You’re on permanent, you got a pension, I get all that, but why do you like working for the Feds?
One, it’s so many benefits, but also, it’s what I know. Half of my family works in the government. I think it’s the same thing if somebody was a shoemaker, then I would get into the shoe business. My family have been in it. Also, being in the government, it’s not what people say it is. It’s not as wasteful as they think. We are civil servants. Someone else put it in perspective of it’s a thankless job sometimes. You don’t get thank yous for the people that you help. My last government agency was USAID.
Tell us what USAID is.
United States Agency of International Development.
Huge cuts in 2025.
Absolutely. When they say dismantle, it’s a very nice way of saying hostile takeover. We were not allowed to come back in the building. Your things are in there and then you see on the news all these hurtful, nasty things about a agency that you saw nothing but good stuff being done for the people.
How did you respond to that in the moment?
You cry your eyes out because I just don’t think that people understood what USAID was about. They don’t know, so they just say, “Just throw it away.”
I know that USAID does a lot of good around the world, and truthfully, within the United States as far as buying food products that then may be shipped to countries outside the United States. Could you please tell us one thing about USAID that you think that people should know?
I think the soft power, the connections that USAID was doing for us outside of the United States. It’s just being kind to one another, building a relationship. They also helped individuals around the world, not only with food, but with medication. I saw one time, they were like, “They wasted their money on condoms.”
Absolutely, they bought condoms, but it wasn’t a waste because in different parts of Africa, HIV is at a high rate, and they were sending medicine for HIV patients, condoms for individuals who want to still do their thing. They also had other resources that they gave out to individuals who didn’t have that availability. That’s some of the things that I do know about USAID. I used to call them the hippies of the government agencies because they really wanted love and peace.
I’m just going to make a comment, just an observation from a health perspective. The way I see it is if you are preventing things that are preventable around the world, you’re also helping to prevent things here because it is a world that is connected. It’s just the right thing to do. At any rate, I’m curious. I spoke to a group of high school students, actually completed high school. They’re going to college. They floored me with their questions.
One of them was what is your perspective and do you have hope with all of the changes that are taking place in healthcare right now? I’ll tell you my response to her. I’m curious what your take is, for example, with USAID and my initial response is, I’m sad. I’m sad for the loss of potential help, justice, equity lives that could potentially be lost. I am also a glass-half-full person. I feel that good will prevail and as long as enough people continue to move forward, speak up and do all the right things, including voting for in whatever you feel is right.
I told her that I feel we as a people as a country, as a nation, as a world will pull out of some of these dark places that we’re in. I’m curious what your thought is, in particular for USAID. As things have transpired, do you see it being able to recover potentially? I know you see so much of the revolving door in DC. Your thoughts?
The thing that I do feel is that there is hope. Hope is not lost, but there is a point where you have to grieve what is lost. That’s a part of it, I think, that I had to give myself, I had to grant myself, I had to grant others around me because it is a constant grieving process that is happening right now, not only USAID, but several government agencies are being cut down.
Department of Education.
I will say that what was once secure is not as secure anymore as in a job. I am looking elsewhere, of course, outside of the government, but I do know that America will be okay. We’re going to find a way to get out of this grieving process and start rebuilding. Is USAID able to get back together? You can break something so many times that all the pieces will never be found.
America will be okay. We're going to find a way to get out of this grieving process and start rebuilding. Share on XI don’t know if it will actually be called USAID anymore, but I do think that the substance and the resources and that rich soil is not gone. It’s spread amongst all over. I feel that people are already starting to come up with their own companies and own initiatives and just trying to figure out how they can put some of those things together and make it better, for sure.
Growing Up With Grandmothers: A Rare & Cherished Legacy
Nichele, we thank you so much for sharing your opinion on USAID and the federal government as we sit here in 2025. It’s unfathomable. I know that that could not have been easy. We definitely want to thank you for your service in all of the five federal agencies that you worked for. I’m a big proponent. I still go to the post office. I buy stamps. I am always grateful when I get my mail every day because I know it is a mini miracle to get mail all over the country. I see federal workers and we appreciate you.
We are going to shift gears and maybe take a little bit of a breath. I want to talk about grandma. I call her grandma, Ms. Willie May Osborne. She is actually your great-grandmother. I want you to just talk about your rare experience of actually growing up with your maternal great-grandmother and your maternal grandmother, and how that has shaped your outlook.
It is one of the best things to have. I’ve always said, “When I grow up, I want to be a grandma. I don’t want to do that mother thing. I want to be a grandma.” I don’t know if you guys remember this one little clip that used to go out and the guy said, “Listen, Linda. We are at grandma’s house.” I felt him when he said that because I remember feeling that way when I was younger. My grandmother’s house was my playground. It was my tutoring session.
It was in 1317 Hamilton. I’m not going to say the part of the district, but I know that address.
That was ingrained. That was the first address I had to learn because I knew, anywhere I go, take me there. It was my safe place. Honestly, it was grandma. It was great grandma. I have told her 1,000 times before she’s gone, that wherever she is, is home. She did eventually move out of that house, and we were all sad, but when she moved into her new place, I said, “Grandma, it feels like your place,” because she’s there. I knew then wherever she goes, that’s home. Having all of my grandmas actually, because my paternal grandmother is still alive too, it’s amazing. Having extra moms, knowing that if mommy can’t figure it out, grandma will figure it out. It’s been great.
Did you realize that growing up, how rare it was to have all of your grandmothers and grandmother?
Absolutely not. I thought everybody had a grandma. I just didn’t understand.
Not like grandma.
No, you’re right. No one had a grandma like grandma and No, and not a lot of people had grandmas. I didn’t really realize that until I got maybe in high school. In high school, one of my friends lost their grandmother and they were devastated. I said, “I understand now.” In college, I had several friends who lost their grandparents long before then. I’m like, “Yeah, I’m going to grandma’s house.” They’re like, “You’re really going to your grandma’s house?” I’m like, “Absolutely. That’s where I’m going. There’s food there. She’s going to do my dish. She’s doing everything. She’s washing clothes.”
Let me just say, in particular, with your great grandma, you and your sister, were just wonderful with grandma and that I knew that you all loved her and that love is an action verb. You showed up for her routinely. You looked out for her and you catered to whatever her wants and needs were. That is such a beautiful thing. I think that not everyone has that experience. I’m just going to say thank you. It was awe-inspiring and yeah just beautiful.
Thank you, Sylvia. Really, it was a blessing. It was a blessing that she wanted to have her last days with us, with family. That I got a chance to see an almost 104-year-old live her best life. I just wanted to make sure that I made it as special as possible. Give her dignity. She has done it all for all of us. I’ve seen her be there for my mom, be there for my dad, be there for my grandfather. To have that around, that legacy, that matriarch, it’s real. Her mind was completely there.
Sharp as a tack.
That is also a blessing. People say, “You took care of your grandma.” I did, but she still took care of me to the end. Even when I’m getting my MBA, she was transitioning, but at night, she was up, and she would ask me about my class. I would stay up till midnight and she would say, “How was it? How was class for you?” She just wanted to know how it all went. I don’t know. That was a blessing. It was a blessing to have her and I would do it again and again.
Thank you so much for sharing. I know from Sylvia and Jessica how special your great-grandmother was and the legacy that she’s left behind. We can only hope that we can leave that mark on our family and loved ones when we transition. I think that’s what we should be living for, to inspire others and just to make them feel loved.
Thank you, Angela.
Unpacking The Millennial Mindset: Fearless & Thriving At 30
Yeah. We’re grateful that you had that. Let’s move on to a little bit, a lighter subject, maybe. It may not be light for you, but I’m coming in from the perspective of you’re in your 30s and tell us what you think people your parents age, pretty much probably our age, often misunderstand about people in their 30s.
I thought about this for a minute. Honestly, I think one of the biggest things is maybe they feel we’re fearless. Honestly, it’s not that we’re fearless. We understand the impacts and some of the struggles that some of our family has gone through. We see that we can, one, get through it and do it, but also that we don’t want to look what we going through. We want to thrive. We want to keep going.
Honestly, we’re just reaping those prayers that you all was praying for us and on us and on the world. This is it. Be careful what you pray for, because here we are. We’re trying to thrive. We’re, we’re swimming, we’re just persevering. It’s not because fear is there, but we’re trying to move that back. That’s the biggest thing.
Be careful what you pray for, because here we are. We're trying to thrive. We're swimming. We're just persevering. Share on XBalancing Career, Life, And Relationships: The Art Of Pouring Into Yourself
Tell us, certainly, as you persevere and your family is close to you and you live in close proximity to them and are good relationships with them, how do you balance then career, work and relationships?
That is a struggle sometimes of trying to be on, on everything. It’s crazy. It’s a part of, you know how people say delulu? Delusion. It’s like, we can do it all. I can be there tomorrow.
Not at the same time
“I can cook, clean, wash dishes and be at the event.” Something will have to be scaled back. You can still thrive and say no. Sometimes I think also, not trying to please everyone. That’s one of my biggest thing. I used to try to please everyone. Now, I have to pour in me first and then go to everyone else. I think now that everyone sees that, they get on board. At first, it’s a lot of like, “I apologize, I’m sorry,” and then you’re like, “No, I actually don’t apologize. I just won’t be there and it’s okay. I’ll be there again. I have been there,” or whatever. I will say that dating was hard, getting my MBA.
What made it hard? You’re a beautiful young woman. You live in the district. There are potentially lots of suitors. I know. We’re going to keep the show PG or G.
I think it was hard because you want to put your all into something, even your relationship. As I said, if you’re trying to do well in your MBA, which was one of the hardest degrees I got, including the Howard MBA, let me say that too. The Howard MBA also comes with networking and so all the events, which is amazing, by the way.
You’re social, so you thrive in those environments.
I do. I love it. If you’re with someone who is also in their own lane and not really in that, may not even understand what’s happening, it’s a lot of communication when you can communicate, because I get tired. I will fall asleep so fast. That’s one of my biggest things. I’m like, “I’m sorry, I fell asleep.”
That’s because you’re exhausted because you are doing so many things. Just saying. That’s the auntie in me.
I think that I’m excited about the dating life now because I am ready to pour into it.
Also, it sounds you weren’t necessarily putting things on hold saying, “I don’t have time for this because I’ve got to do my MBA.” It’s just literally because things, the opportunities weren’t there.
That was it. You’re just putting more on your plate. The plate is already full. It’s a Thanksgiving plate and I’m putting more stuff and gravy on top and not trying to let it spill. I’m literally going around trying to make sure that the plate stays intact. It was a lot.
I would add that the ideal suitor is someone who’s like, “I get it, that at this point, you have other responsibilities. You have other goals. I am here, secure in myself, ready to support you and to pour into you.” That would be my ideal suitor for you.
I thank you. We are going to take that in. It’s manifesting. No, because I had some good people that I was dating. It just wasn’t the right time. You never know.
Timing is everything.
The Soundtrack Of A Life: Music As Self-Care And Inspiration
I don’t believe in the idea of settling. Just because you are at a certain stage, it’s never worth it. It sounds like you’ve got your head on straight about that, so it sounds wonderful. I’m curious. I know I heard that you love music as well. Can you tell us if your soul had a soundtrack, are there a certain number of songs that, say 2 or 3, that would be on that soundtrack?
It’s so many songs that come to me. Be mindful. I have old and weird stuff. PG.
At least the clean version.
Yes. I’m Every Woman, the Chaka version. I love her. I love that. I’ve always felt that because we carry a woman with us, then maybe half of Kirk Franklin’s songs. If I wanted to be specific, I would say Smile.
That’s perfect for you.
I love that. I can see that.
I love that song.
We should make that our intro to your episode.
Yes. I love that song. I’m not going to do what people think I’m going to say. It’s the song called Energy by Drake.
We asked your sister this question. It’s not really or but right now, if we look at your playlist, is there more Drake or more Kendrick?
I don’t know because we have been playing Kendrick, but I’ve always been a Kendrick fan. Always been a Drake fan. I will say that I can listen to Drake all day. I am a true Drake fan. Right now, you might see Kendrick because, of course, the CD is on replay. Usually, at the end of the year, Drake is one of the top three people that I listen to.
Both ends. Okay, good. I love that.
There is hope. Hope is not lost, but there is a point where you have to grieve what is lost. Share on XThe Social Media Sabbatical: Controlling Your Algorithm For Well-being
You mentioned earlier being poured into and then doing your own self-care or pouring into yourself. Tell us how do you practice self-care or how do you pour into yourself?
All my friends try to give me something that I need to do to do better and pouring into me. One of my biggest things lately is I try to pray before my feet hits the floor, even if it’s just like, “Thank you, God, for waking me up.”
Grandma would like that.
He’s been getting me through. My prayer has been, “Thank you, God, for just enough, because it’s been everything. Just enough. I thank him for that. I wash my face now. I have a face routine. I used to be one of those people that, I don’t know, maybe I just splash water on my face. I don’t know what I used to do.
You’re lucky you got good genes and you’re young.
My thirties hit and I was like, “Whoa. We’ve got to do something to make sure we keep it glowing.” I have a good skincare routine before I go to sleep and in the morning.
I’m sure your Aunt Jessica does not want to hear that you didn’t have a skincare routine, because I know from the very beginning she’s had a skincare.
No, she actually used to get so mad at me and Alexis, we used to play in her stuff and she would be like, “Don’t go in my stuff playing.” I can remember that. Don’t mess with Aunt Jessica’s stuff. She doesn’t like it. Lately, I’ve been doing massages. Me and my best friends, our trio, we go and we try to have a spa day. We go up to a spa and do that. Me and my friends, we’ll try to get together at least once a year and just vibe with each other. We feel each other. I know that’s not a part of my daily, but I’m just saying that helps. Also, I am not on social media right now. I am controlling my algorithm.
Tell us about that. How long? What made your decision? How has it been?
Okay, I got surgery. I had endometriosis. I had Stage 4 endometriosis. I was in a lot of pain. I had to have surgery. It was six hours. During my healing process, I was just resting like they tell you to do and not doing anything, which is hard to do when you’re used to doing everything. I would get anxiety going back on social media for some reason. It was like, “I can’t go. I can’t do it. It’s too much happening.”
I logged myself out of Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat and said, “I’m not going to get on until I’m ready.” I went back into school and I was like, “I’m not ready to go back to social media,” and then it became a year. I was like, “I’m going to wait until after I graduate.” I’m feeling it now. Now I’m ready. I’m like, “I’ve got to do a launch and all these things.” I’m getting myself prepared to get back on social media to share.
A detox.
Yeah. It has been amazing, especially with all the things happening with the Diddy and all the things. I don’t want that on my stuff. I just want me. That’s why I said I’m controlling my algorithm.
I’m just curious about this. Now you have the perspective of not following all the nonsense that you don’t want to follow. For somebody who wants to take this journey, coming off, how are you going to be able to control what pops up in your feed?
My question is, why go back on? If you’ve been off a year, why even reengage?
There has been pros and cons of me being on and off. The on part, I just told you the benefits of have a releasing, but off is like, you don’t know the things that people are talking about. Someone says a joke and you’re like, “What is that?” They’re like, “It’s on this TikTok and you didn’t see it.” I’m like, “No, I didn’t see it.” A lot of the new way of communicating is through Instagram, is through your social media platforms. I haven’t had a chance to speak with some of my people because I’m off social media. I’m disconnected.
Are those real friends, though? Your real friends have your phone number and will text you. I’m just saying.
That is true because I think I needed to keep it close and personal. Now, with the new MBA journey, getting out of government and trying to exceed in marketing or brand management, brand strategy, you are your biggest brand, so I need to now relaunch me and all the things that’s coming with me.
You’re in control. I like that.
Yes. I have family and friends that keeps me up to date on all the things happening that I want to be a part of.
I see your sister.
Alexa is a guru in the social media. I really think she should be on somebody’s platform. I’m excited about it. For sure. Also, looking for a job, you have to get back on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is so much Instagram. I’m like, “This is a lot. I’m getting back into it. Let’s see how it goes. Let’s see where it goes.”
Good for you. It’s a positive experience for you going back out there.
Now I know I can cut it off. If I get in there and it’s not serving me.
You did it once. You can do it again.
The time limits as well. Maybe an idea too to just, “I’m only going to do it between noon and 2:00 or 5:00 and 8:00,” or whatever it is and then that’s it. You put the phone down.
That might work for me.
I just think where you are, from your perspective right now, MBA, and just the way that I use social media for certain things, just maximizing your LinkedIn, make that page polished because it’s just a visible resume. You don’t have to stay up on the feed. You do look at what people comment on that thing. In general, it’s just to verify that you are a real person, Nichele Phillip, and you have an MBA. It’s interesting how we have evolved into this social media-driven world. It is where we live. I think the point is you can make of it what you want. You have control.
The biggest thing I think I learned from all of it is that I have control. I can turn it off. I can turn it on. Either way. At one point, you get so wrapped up in it. It’s like a hole. You’re like, “I can’t get out. Five hours later, I’m still on.”
It’s a drug. In the interest of time, I commend you for recognizing what drove your anxiety and that you have power over that because that’s huge. Some people are just still slaves, for lack of a better word, to this whole social media environment that we’re in and can’t get out of the shackles of being tied to maybe their self-worth in social media. Good on you.
Thank you.
Future Horizons & Dream Job: Crafting Experiences And Embracing New Opportunities
Nichelle Phillip, we thank you. How would you for people to contact you? Certainly, with that dream job or, or whatnot, where can they find you on social media?
On LinkedIn, for sure. I’m still on that. LinkedIn, Nichele Phillip. I should pop up and I’m looking for a job for sure. I’m actually looking outside of DC now. I’m looking in Atlanta. I’m even exploring opportunities outside of the United States.
Nichele, last question, I promise. Tell me your dream job so we can just put it out there.
My dream job would be creating experiences for individuals and helping them through that process. It’s a liaison of some sort and an event planner. If that were put together in one, I think that would be my dream job, for sure.
Let’s make it happen.
You are an event planner extraordinaire. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much, Nichele Phillip. We appreciate you here at Boss Leap. We wish you all the success in the world on personal, professional, all the front, all the things. We look forward to hearing back. You’ve got to come back and give us a report here. Our audience will want to know. May you be well.
Thank you.
Thank you for bringing the light.
May you be well.
I love that. May you be well.
—
Angela, that was a fantastic conversation with Nichele Phillip. She was everything that I knew she would be, and certainly, her sister teed us up from episode 35, Alexis Phillip. Nichele really brought so many things to think about and ponder. I love her motto, “It’s not personal, it’s business.” Before we get into her pearls, social media sabbatical. I was like, “What?” I was a late adopter to social media. I wasn’t on Instagram until a few years ago. Now, of course, I use it all the time.
I go back and you have a lot of posts and they’re always good. Artistic. There’s always maybe a picture of a flower, maybe a picture of a plate. You go back. IG, anyway.
Yeah. Maybe I think during the pandemic, maybe I started on Instagram.
Tell me, as far as taking a break from social media, have you done it? Would you consider it? What are your thoughts?
Absolutely not. I can’t do it. Look at what we’re doing. I’m building a business, we’re doing a show. That part of the social media aspect, but I think there’s a distinction between what you post and what you put on social media versus what you take from it. I think you have to be intentional about what you’re actually taking from it. You mentioned it with Nichele, putting time limits. For me, when I’m working from home, it’s actually turning the phone off so I don’t see the things that pop up and being intentional about not searching while I’m trying to get a time block of things done.
Absolutely. You are good for the time blocking, but honestly, I don’t have any alerts. I have Delta Airlines for my alerts. That might be the only alert that I allow to pop up. It came into an issue because my Instacart order had been outside for a half hour and it’s mi-80s. I was like, “I didn’t know,” because I’ve turned the alert off. I don’t like a popup because you’re right. I get sucked into the vortex. I think what I’m going to try and do is limit my evening, Instagram doom scrolling because it’s just that mindless dopamine hit all the time.
Unfortunately, mine are dog videos. It’s not even tea or anything like that. It’s just any type of animal, it will pop up. I can’t stop myself. It does make me happy, but then I’m not happy after I have been watching videos for an hour. I just have to put the limits on there. I commend her. One of my best friends did that, a break and a detox and she said it was the best thing in the world. I can’t do that right now, but I can put limits and I think there’s value in that.
Absolutely. We’re reaching for balance. We’ll try and be more balanced.
How about pearls? For me, again, I think she is wise beyond her years.
She’s an old soul.
Yes. Just the fact that she’s told tells herself, “You deserve to be in the room.” Think of ourselves when we were in our 30s and in medical school and residency.
Just remembering that I deserve to be in the room. You speak that to yourself not because you are saying something that’s not untrue, but you have to remind yourself of those things because it does give you power when you are in that situation. It spoke to me. Again, a lot of generational things that I don’t hear often is being delulu about this situation.
I love it. Delusional.
Delulu. I loved one of her favorite songs, Smile. Kirk Franklin. That’s one of my favorites, too, and her smile is just contagious.
Yes. There’s so much more but we would go on and on. How about you?
Certainly her motto, it’s not personal, it’s business. It was one of my favorites. We’ve already talked about pouring into yourself as being really important and. Moving forward. I’m just going to take a nod from you and her song, I’m Every Woman, Chaka Khan, that is a favorite. It’s certainly a good message for sisterhood and unity, and we need some of that now.
Absolutely. I think I’m going to add one more is just because I know her aunt, one of our co-authors, Jessica. I didn’t know grandma, but heard about her from the very beginning in medical school. After hearing from both of her great-granddaughters now on two separate episodes, I am just inspired by her presence in her family’s life. When I hear stories like that, it just inspires me to do everything I can to be that person for my family.
I am grateful to hear those stories of strong Black women who were loving, not just hard-handed. It valued them getting their education, were interested in their educational pursuits as well as if they were doing things right and reprimanding when they didn’t but all with love. I think that’s who I would strive to be or who I strive to be for my family.
I would say that you already are and I’m going to add a few more superlatives about Willie May Osborne. She was always anchored in God and full of love, the extension of love. I know I talked about that on episode 35 with Nichele’s sister, Alexis Phillip. I would be remiss if I did not mention by name Jessica’s father, who is Oscar Osborne, who is Willie May Osborne’s son. Also, Jessica’s mom, Nichele’s grandma, maternal grandmother, Mrs. Carolyn Osborne.
Those people, the Big O and The General, which is what we call Ms. Carolyn Osborne and Grandma Willie May Osborne, are just awesome human beings and the embodiment of love. I was so excited to have Nichele. We want to encourage everyone to please read not only this episode completely, but also episode 35 with Alexis Phillip. Please drop us a line. If there’s someone or something you’d like, please send us an email at BossLeapPodcast@Gmail.com. Please like, listen, follow, share, and subscribe.
Awesome. You said it all. That’s it for this episode. We are so grateful that you are following along with us, and we hope that you are inspired as much as we are. Until we meet again, may you be well
May you be well.
Important Links
About Nichele Phillip
People-centered and solution-driven, I bring over 11 years of experience navigating the complexities of federal government operations—specializing in logistics, workforce planning, and strategic program analysis. From managing classified environments to optimizing large-scale systems, I’ve built a career around making things work better—for people, processes, and organizations.
I recently earned my MBA from Howard University, with a focus on marketing, brand strategy, and business development. This next chapter is about blending my government expertise with fresh business insight ready to lead in mission driven organizations and fast paced corporate settings alike.
Whether I’m coordinating a federal relocation effort, driving event strategy through my event planning business, or facilitating strategic planning sessions across agencies, I bring a collaborative spirit, operational precision, and a commitment to leaving every space better than I found it. She’s a firm believer that greatness is a choice, and she’s choosing it daily.