UK Based Shine Strategist & Author of the BEFFTA Award Nominated Book "Prison Break: 9-5 Escape Agenda" left the shores of the UK in April for her home country Nigeria, with the aim of bringing together like minds - termed ShineStars - to share their shine-stories to encourage and inspire others. 

The Shine Ideology was unveiled in Lagos on the 8th of April in an intimate gathering of specially selected group of people. Some were social media friends who had never met and were grateful for the opportunity to meet those they had admired and connected with over social media.

The exclusive, invite-only event held in a space cosy enough to encourage intimacy and the sharing of Shine-stories. It provided the perfect opportunity to kickstart the shine-journeys of those desiring to SOAR HIGHER INTO NEW EXPRESSIONS, in their respective fields and areas of life.

The Shine Vision Gathering kicked off with some warm music and networking. The welcome desk was manned by 3 lovely enthusiastic little girls, who were in charge of welcoming, registering and issuing of name tags. The adorable meet-and-greet trio were there to underscore the point that children need to be encouraged and given early opportunities to SHINE and to believe in themselves.

Musical rendition was provided by GODFREY and a spoken word performance by GAMIE. With that the mood was set for the evening. It was exciting to see so many people show up and engage with the idea behind the SHINE Vision. S.H.I.N.E - Soar Higher Into New Expressions was more of a necessity, a call to action than it is an acronym.

Clara Rufai explained being given the SHINE MANDATE, with the goal to inspire, motivate and teach people to passionately pursue their brilliance and live in their SHINE ZONE. The Shine Ideology teaches amongst other strategies: - The importance of turning on the inner light, so that it shines upwards and outwards illuminating not just our paths but the path of those around us. - The need to activate our Inner compass and soar into new expressions which involve the fine art of Starting, Harnessing, Identifying, Networking and Expressing. It was a wake up call but also a fun hangout where as the Shine Strategist, I had the privilege of interviewing two panels of Shine-Stars:

First Panel; Efe Anaughe, Ruth Zubairu, Rita Okoye and Milton Tutu.

Second Panel: Sola Oguche, Nene Olaoluwa, Olu Adekoya, Lola Aneke, Joy Kika and Folashade.

Both panels were made up of Shine-Stars who shared their Shine Stories to the admiration of all. Stories which included overcoming challenges leading to proffering solutions, choosing to SHINE against the odds.

Also in attendance was Queen of Expression, CEO of The BRAG Media Company and founder of The Naked Philosophy^TM, Alex Okoroji. She eloquently shared her own Shine-journey, inspiring all to rise above negative circumstances and self judgement. It was indeed an evening for Stars to Shine without apology.

The gathering ended on a high note, amongst more song rendition, spoken word performance by Junaid, laughter, hugs, selfies and networking. Indeed stars were ignited.