WATCH: ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood: Teyana Taylor

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Teyana Taylor knows her strengths as an artist, and she isn’t shy about them. “I work really, really well under pressure,” says the performer, 34. “And I’m a really good problem solver. The queen of pivoting.”

Transcript

00:00When I tell you my brain be doing like 20 different things, it gets crazy.

00:09The process is a lot of talking.

00:12I got people around me that some people's drawing stuff out as I'm talking, some people's

00:16writing stuff out as I'm talking, because I will have like 30 different things going

00:21on in my creative process, and I also work really, really good under pressure.

00:24So I'm like a really good like problem solver, you know, the queen of pivoting.

00:29Like I can, you know, make it work, so it's a lot of spitballing in the creative process

00:34to be able to kind of just like spit, just keep throwing, keep throwing, keep throwing

00:37until something sticks, and it feels good, like you feel when it's like, okay, this is

00:42what we're going to do.

00:43But the creative process for me, for sure, is definitely a lot of spitballing, a lot

00:46of discussion, healthy dialogue, a lot of healthy debates, different things like that.

00:51So that's kind of like my creative process, and sometimes I also dream about it.

00:55My mind is running before I even wake up, you know, so it's like I'm already figuring

00:59out, okay, the day's going to be like this, boom, boom, boom, and it's kind of like my

01:02little alarm clock.

01:03Like I know when I'm close to waking up, because I'm already thinking about my day and what

01:08I want to do for my clients, and what I want to do for myself, what I want to do for my

01:10babies, and you know, those kind of things.

01:13When you are going toward everything you've ever dreamed of and everything you've ever

01:29prayed for, I think that that shows you that is the success of something.

01:34It's some small wins, some small prayers, some small yeses, you know, like it's the

01:40small things that I feel like presents the biggest success, and I think with everything

01:46I've ever been through and the type of year that it's been for me, showing up for me has

01:54been my biggest success, because as you can see, in a lot of work that I am, whether it's,

02:01you know, out in the public or behind closed doors, I give, I give, and a lot of the times

02:07it's not necessarily reciprocated, and I'm not looking for it to be, nor am I looking

02:11for a gold star, but I'm realizing, like, I need to also show up for myself, because

02:16I show up for everybody, and I love that, you know, but I'd be a hypocrite to say, I'd

02:25be out of my mind to say, helping others make me happy, when, you know, how can I fully

02:32be happy if I'm not showing up for myself?

02:35So I need to be able to show up for myself the way I show up for everybody else, you

02:38know, like, I got me, so that is success to me, waking up every single day and still choosing

02:48to do what you do, still choosing to help others, still choosing to push through whatever

02:54it is, and still choosing to hold your chin high and adjust your crown, that is success

03:00to me.

03:06I mean, I just, I'm a super relatable person, and I always want to allow myself to be touchable.

03:13I don't ever want to be untouchable.

03:15I want people to feel me, mentally and emotionally, and that's the path I, you know, I would like

03:23to stay on.

03:24If me being as close to my people as possible heals them and help them, and my supporters

03:30and different things like that, like, that's where I want to be, mentally and emotionally.

03:35Showing up for yourself and finding balance, you know, it's a beauty in balance.

03:40I think balance is a very, very important thing.

03:43Balance and boundaries is a very important thing, especially with stepping into such

03:49a wicked, tricky industry, you know, so be careful, protect your heart, protect your

03:58mind, protect your boundaries, and just show up for you, and then do the work.

04:07Once you show up and you do the self work, then you can do the work for everybody else.

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