Diamond Diva on Manifesting Freedom, Success, and a Legacy.

By Cynthia Vera

A star destined for success from an early age, Diamond Diva is an accomplished serial entrepreneur with a creative flare born out of admiration for the people around her and a self-assured sense of confidence. Beginning her career in the entertainment industry as a model, singer, cheerleader, and designated family entertainer, the natural-born star truly blossomed into a powerhouse when she took the ultimate leap of faith and entered the world of entrepreneurship.

With $500 to her name, a dream to impact the lives of many, and great determination, she founded Diamond Diva Entertainment, LLC, providing networking events, business consulting, entertainment, and services. For Diamond, the power of mindset and manifestation allowed her to find her purpose and her why. Once she acknowledged her own strengths and power, she decided she was no longer going to wait for others to believe in her to achieve her dreams; she was going to believe in herself. Ever since the CEO and empowering mindset coach has been steadily building a legacy for herself and her family.

Growing up, you were on a path to dominate the entertainment industry with your creative flare. From performing in plays to fashion shows, it seems you had already set your goals of being an entertainer from an early age. Tell us about your childhood and how it influenced your love for all things entertainment? 

As a child, I always had a vivid imagination. I loved all opportunities to express my creativity in the form of the arts. My biggest influence and supporter of my artistic expression was my grandmother, who I lovingly referred to as Gram.

Gram was an artist with many talents – she was a professional pianist, singer, painter, and expert seamstress who could make the best pineapple upside-down cake ever!  She taught me her artistic skills and I picked up a few of my own; dancing, acting, and modelling.  I always enjoyed the energy from performing on stage and knew that I would pursue a career in entertainment. My first fashion show was at a church summer camp and a star was born! Becoming a professional model was one of the many manifestations that have come to reality in my life, and Gram instilled in me at an early age that I could do anything I believed was possible. I would visualize myself walking on runways wearing the latest fashions and taking photos while on red carpets at exclusive events. Over the years, I have had many manifestations come to fruition.  

Your professional modelling career took off while attending college at Marshall University. The modelling industry requires a lot of confidence and self-belief. Where did you find your confidence, especially at such a young age? 

Modelling was my passion, and it came naturally to me. When I was younger, I took every opportunity available to perform in front of crowds. I sang in the choir, acted in plays, and was the entertainment at family gatherings. I showcased my athleticism while in high school as a soccer player, cheerleader, and long-distance runner.

In college, I joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and was selected to represent my chapter in the campus fashion show. At the event, the photography department selected me as a model. I secured my first paid modelling booking as a print model and was published in my first magazine. This booking marked the beginning of my career as a professional model. 

Your career in the entertainment industry has been a successful one with many fun adventures. I’m sure you have a lot of standout achievements. Do you have any top moments from this career path?

My greatest achievement in my modelling career was returning to the runway after becoming a mother. I will never forget my former modelling management telling me that if I ever married and had children that I will never model again. I was engaged at that time and was devastated to hear my dreams of a family were dismissed. I eventually married and became a mother of three baby boys. Despite the ill advice, I returned to modelling when my youngest was 9 months old. My first major booking was in Atlanta Fashion Week – I walked down the runway and at the end, I saw my former manager. It was one of my proudest moments. 

Modelling really taught me the importance of having a deep connection with who I am inside. The industry is extremely critical of your outward appearance. Early in my career, I was extremely insecure with my looks. However, over the years, I came to love myself; flaws, and all. This mindset shift empowered me to continue to pursue my modelling career even with the body changes I experienced post-childbirth. In fact, my self-love mindset aligned me to not only re-enter the modelling scene but to achieve multiple magazine publications and red-carpet hosting events.

Your entrepreneurial journey started when you entered corporate America – training employers to develop a skilled workforce. When did you arrive at this new destination in your career? 

I completed my service in the military to pursue my master’s degree in Business. Serving in the military was a popular career path in my family with all the branches of the service represented. My mother retired from the U.S. Army and was my inspiration to join the Reserve Officer Training Corps as a Military Intelligence Officer. The most significant impact on my self-belief and confidence came when I was selected to attend Airborne School where I learned to parachute jump out of airplanes. The training was physically and mentally demanding, it taught me to trust my body and my mind to survive the most dangerous experience of my life.  

Upon completion of my MBA, I worked in corporate America as a technical recruiter in Human Resources, and training and development. It was a great experience, and I was a top performer. I applied for multiple C-suite positions for promotions and found myself hitting the glass ceiling.  As if reaching the corporate glass ceiling wasn’t enough, I also went through a tragic divorce after my husband walked out on me and our three young children. 

I remember reaching that low point in my life and questioning how my life had taken such a turn for the worst. Then one day I met my mentor and he said, “Diamond if you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to believe in you? If you don’t invest in yourself, how can you expect anyone to invest in you?” I realized at that moment that he was right; if I didn’t believe and invest in myself, how could I expect anyone else to believe and invest in me? From that point forward, I invested thousands of dollars in personal development, mentorship, coaching programs, and masterminds. I learned in the training that what I needed was already inside of me. I learned the power of mindset and my life was completely transformed and it then became my mission to share the power of mindset with the world! I decided that I was no longer waiting for anyone to believe in me. It was important that I believed in myself. 

With $500 and a dream, I founded Diamond Diva Entertainment, LLC.  I combined my formal business education with my entertainment experience to host networking events, provide business consulting, entertainment services, and produce the Diamond Showcase. The power of mindset allowed me to no longer be waiting for promotions to the C-Suite. I am the C-Suite. The power of mindset allowed me to no longer be waiting for someone to book me for their modelling or entertainment projects. I create my own entertainment projects and I provide opportunities for other people to showcase their talents. Most importantly, the power of mindset allowed me to no longer worry about how I was going to provide for my family. Diamond Diva Entertainment, LLC made it possible for me to cover our family expenses and to leave a legacy for my children. 

Working in the “Hollywood of the South” – Atlanta, Georgia – led you to start your own company. Now, you’re the CEO and founder of Diamond Diva Entertainment, and the Abundance Mastermind. What does it mean for you to be an entrepreneur? Especially as a Black woman in the business industry. 

Becoming an entrepreneur has been a dream since I attended college. The idea that I could create my own opportunities was very intriguing for me, so I started many businesses over the years. Everything from selling beauty products to sweet potato pies, all in search of the right balance between passion and profits.

Diamond Diva Entertainment, LLC and the Abundance Mastermind was unique because of the deeper meaning attached. After my mindset transformation process, I now understood the power of my why. My children are my first why and my reason for being, I was sent to this earth to birth them and raise them to be exemplary men.

Providing for them and fulfilling my purpose overrode any objections to step out of my comfort zone. I was finally ready to take massive actions to make my dreams a reality. Guided in full alignment with my purpose, I created an organization where I could educate, entertain, and empower. An opportunity to serve in the industries of my areas of expertise: business, entertainment, and mindset coaching to make an impact on a global scale.

Entrepreneurship for me is the freedom to live my truth in my career, the freedom to live my truth in society, the freedom to live my truth in my family and to leave a legacy. As an African American female entrepreneur, freedom is a most cherished gift. Entrepreneurship has freed me from the limiting beliefs that I was not good enough, it has freed me from the scarcity mindset and fear of failure. The challenges I have faced are valuable learning opportunities that allowed me to grow into the person I am today.  My mindset is transformed, and entrepreneurship has been my pathway to an abundant life. 

Why was it so important for you to start your own companies and what do you hope to achieve with them?

Becoming an entrepreneur was no longer a want but a must. There came a very important turning point in my journey where I had learned an amazing amount of knowledge on the power of mindset.  I applied the knowledge in my life, and everything changed. It was as if I had stepped through a portal in my mind and everything suddenly made sense. I found my second why – I heard the call to serve, and I answered. I was called to serve and impact lives through the power of mindset.

I could not keep the power of mindset and the techniques I learned to myself. It was my duty to share the power with every single person I could. To serve in a way I had never done before, to not simply provide goods and services that I enjoyed, but to be the solution to a problem. It’s my duty to provide products and services that improve the quality of life; raise the collective consciousness and share mindset transformation on a global scale.

Aside from being a serial entrepreneur, you’re a certified mindset coach and women’s empowerment advocate on a mission to share the power of mindset and manifestation. What is empowerment to you and how did you reach it? 

As a mindset coach, I became obsessed with learning everything about the brain and neurosciences. The brain – similar to a computer – is constantly calculating and processing the data that it receives, much like a real computer it’s only as accurate as the data it receives. The brain will calculate the level of empowerment based upon the data of our life experiences. Negative experiences can create limiting beliefs and result in a disempowered mindset in the subconscious mind. The disempowerment is based more on what we believe to be true and not necessarily the reality of the situation. The subsequent limiting beliefs are then reinforced by the reticular activating system in the brain which searches for data to support the beliefs. Practising daily mindset habits allows you to break this pattern of limiting beliefs by providing evidence to the subconscious mind that the limiting beliefs are false.  

Empowerment occurs when you can identify the limiting beliefs as false and take action to replace the negative patterns with positive patterns and mindset.  Repetition of the positive patterns and through the process of neuroplasticity new neurons and neuropathways are formed resulting in an empowered mindset. Empowerment is one’s ability to take responsibility for their thoughts, emotions, actions, and the results in their life. I realized during mindset training that I had the ability to choose and take responsibility for this. I went through the process of identifying, breaking, and replacing limiting beliefs. Becoming an entrepreneur was a major empowerment milestone as I no longer needed validation to love myself and fill my own cup. I was empowered to feel complete without the people that hurt me the most and have the strength to release that pain. I now understand that life is not happening to me but for me and that my future is bright. Empowerment is my new state of mind.

Any tips for women in business, or those struggling with their sense of confidence and self-worth?

Women in business and those struggling with their confidence and self-worth are under tremendous pressure to perform.  The pressure can overwhelm the brain and result in the release of the stress hormone cortisol and the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. The reptilian brain is constantly calculating the likelihood of failure to protect us from threats. A holistic method to reduce the production of cortisol is to provide the brain with the information it needs. When you provide the brain with evidence that supports the ability to achieve your goals then instead of releasing the stress hormone cortisol the brain will produce the endorphins of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, also known as the happy hormones.

Confidence and self-worth provide your brain with the evidence to reduce the overwhelming stress. When I work with my clients as a mindset coach, I explain the levels required to develop confidence and increase your value of self-worth. The framework is the 3 Cs of Confidence: Connection, Competence, and Courage. 

Connection is the connection you have internally with what matters most to you, your why, and your purpose. It’s the connection to a community of positive like-minded individuals that can support you on your journey. Connection is primarily experienced on the internal level and is essential to foster confidence and positive self-worth.

I believe that everyone has God-given talents, skills, and abilities. Competence is the ability to acknowledge the competencies you have already achieved to put you in the right mindset to feel confident and value your self-worth. Once you have acknowledged what you have already done, the next step is to know where you want to go. Having clarity about your goals will allow you to identify the next-level talents, skills, and abilities you will need to foster for your future highest-level self. 

Courage is the bridge between the internal world and the external world. It’s the process of tapping into your connection with who you are, your competencies, and being willing to take action in the face of FEAR. The fear I refer to as the acronym of False Evidence Appearing Real.  When the cortisol releasing process is initiated, you acknowledge that it’s not a real threat but false evidence appearing real, which allows you to break through the sympathetic nervous system fight, fight, flee or freeze response and to take action in the external world.  Courage is the key to stepping out of your comfort zone and taking massive action in your life which results in increased levels of confidence and self-worth.

Applying the three Cs is the journey I take my clients on to increase their confidence, self-worth and to develop a success mindset. Success is the combination of both achievement and fulfillment in your life. With a success mindset, it’s the things we do and the meaning we attached to the things we do that matter most. Earl Nightingale said that attitude was the magic word.  I believe that an attitude of gratitude is one of the secrets to success.  

Apply the three Cs, express gratitude daily, and you will find that your confidence and self-worth will grow abundantly.

Finally, do you have any new business adventures you’re planning on immersing yourself in in the near future? 

I’m looking forward to the amazing things happening with Diamond Diva Entertainment, LLC as the company has several new partnerships and collaborations to expand the reach and the impact of the Diamond Showcase which airs monthly on Instagram Live.

Diamond Diva Entertainment, LLC has launched a brand-new website for the Abundance Mastermind: Diamond Mindset Reset Academy at www.DiamondDivaOfficial.com. The website has the expanded program offerings with details of how we transform lives and added new value to our membership program and club.

The podcast launch is coming soon with special bonuses for founding subscribers! As an International Keynote Speaker, I’m scheduled to appear on multiple stages, podcasts, and in publications to share the power of mindset and manifestation.  Plus, there is a full list of opportunities that are currently working in progress.