Chinwe Esimai - Brilliance Beyond Borders: Remarkable Women Leaders Share the Power of Immigrace

This book is dedicated to my family.

Among the greatest gifts in my life are the family with whom Ive been blessed to embark on this ijeoma (beautiful journey). My husband, Ifeanyi, my children, Tobe, Ola, and NnamdiI love you so much. Thank you for your love and support.

My parents, Philomena and Fabian, who gave me the greatest foundation any human could ask for, and my extraordinary siblings: Gozie, Obi, Okey, and KC.

Brilliance Beyond Borders

Copyright 2022 Immigrace By Chinwe LLC

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Harper Horizon, nor does Harper Horizon vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

Brilliance Beyond Borders and Tap Into Your Immigrace are registered trademarks of Immigrace by Chinwe LLC. All rights reserved.

Brilliance Blueprint graphic by Ni-Ka Ford.

ISBN 978-0-7852-4169-0 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-4168-3 (HC)

Epub Edition December 2021 9780785241690

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021939410

Printed in the United States of America

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Contents

B rilliance Beyond Borders is an amazing tool to empower immigrant women from diverse backgrounds and provide them the space and instruments to realize their full potential, and to become successful and powerful women leaders, not only in the United States but globally.

In telling the stories of women who have been able to unleash their potential and overcome various types of adversity and build resilience, this book provides an actionable way for all women to obtain the inspiration and motivation to accomplish their dreams. No matter where youre from, if youve been able to cross the bridge, pass through the frontier, and arrive in a place where better opportunities exist, everything is available on the menu for you. The possibilities are limitless.

I believe that Chinwe is a wonderful example. She is not only amazing because of her own story, of which she is a heroine, going through all the barriers and doing her best, and ultimately becoming powerful, but because she is an inspiration for others. Through her level of generosity in reaching out to women, especially immigrant women living in the United States, she is able to create this movement of women who can serve in wisdom.

Brilliance Beyond Borders is a beautiful gift for immigrant women. I believe that no matter where you are right now on your journey, this book reminds you that everyone has a startsometimes a very rough startbut they still arrive at the destination. So I am very excited to recommend this book because I believe we should not leave anyone without the power of believing!

BISILA BOKOKO,

Spanish-born American businesswoman of African descent, entrepreneur, speaker, philanthropist, United Nations World Citizen Award Honoree, and one of the 10 Most Influential Spanish Women in American business

W hat if... a Jamaica-born, four-time Olympic gold medalwinning champion never stepped foot in the Olympic tryouts?

What if... a Vietnam-born, Emmy awardwinning film producer and physician never produced a single film?

What if... a Russia-born, career architect and genetic researcher who was part of the Human Genome Project and documentary scriptwriter for National Geographic never set about the work of unlocking human potential?

What if each of these women never pursued their dreams, but instead remained in roles that represented shadows of their truest potential?

What if the traditional narrative about immigrant success is a lie? According to the story, immigrants who come to the United States will succeed as long as they work hard, stay focused, and have supportive families. The same story also proclaims that a single definition of success is paramount and that the accumulation of degrees and professional success are enough.

If you are living your ultimate dream, the ultimate dream for which you migrated to the United States, and the ultimate dream for which you came into this world, then our work is done.

If, however, you hold bigger, bolder, and more brilliant dreams, but never give life to those dreams, then we, as a society and as humanity, have failed. We have lost out. We have lost out on world-class athletic excellence, breakthrough genetic research that cures diseases, award-winning films that heal and uplift, and infinite possibilities of innovative contributions to our communities and our world.

And the American Dream will continue to be a lie for millions of immigrant women here in the United States.

Of the approximately 69 million women in the US workforce as of 2020, 10.4 million are foreign-born. The truth is, even in the midst of headlines and political debates about immigration reform and since the rise of the MeToo movement, millions of immigrants, especially women, are not living up to their potential.

You may recognize some of these conditions because you may have lived or are living one or more of them:

• You have a college or graduate degree, but are deep in student loan debt, carry various forms of debt, and fear that you may never be financially free.
• You are broke, working multiple jobs to make ends meet, pay the bills, and support your family, while scraping together a few hundred dollars to send to family members in your home country.
• You are taking ill-advised steps to fit into American society. You may have changed your name from Jinghua to Lucy, from Udoka to Jane, or from Alejandra to Sandra.
• You are working incredibly hard every day. In spite of your hard work, best intentions, and resilience, youre unhappy, living as a shadow of your truest potential, and feel like a ship at sea, without a clearly defined destination.
• You are uncertain about how to honor your history while creating a brighter future for yourself and your family.

If any of these feels familiar, you are not alone. But youll never realize your fullest potential if you buy into the lie.

As an antidote, well explore the indispensable traits that make an ocean of difference between immigrants who live as mere shadows of their truest potential and those who build incredible, world-changing legacies.

Well ask a much better What if question. What if all immigrant women leaders embraced their genius, lived their purpose, and created mind-blowing legacies?

Stories are powerful to uncover truths, make common the so-called uncommon truths and secrets, combat isolation, shatter myths, and serve as guides on our chosen paths.