::: The Official Website of Silke Endress, Lifestyle of the Lady CEO, International Professional Women's Magazine :::

When I grew up one of the complexes I had was with the pigmentation of my skin. I thought
I was cursed and that life was against me. I felt that I was always a day late and dollar
short. That complex was reiterated when I was on the play ground, teased that I was black
as tar and ugly as dirt. Whoever said, "Stick and stones will break my bones, but words will
never hurt me," was wrong! Words do hurt.

Over the last 25 years, I had to find the person that I always wanted to be. I had to find my
self-esteem; it has been a process and a journey. There was this mask that I wore to show
that all was okay externally, but internally I was dying a slow death.

I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY moved to Atlanta, GA to attend Morehouse College
ended up dropping out due the inability to afford the education. I experienced several
setbacks which caused me to live in a drug infested community, all I had was a mattress, a
bright green milk crate, a black & white TV, and the habit of feeling sorry for myself.

Things changed when I began to see it differently. I can cry over spilled milk or realize the
best hand to feed me was at the end of my wrist. I needed to do something about my sad
state of affairs. I had to constantly reaffirm who I was becoming, that my geography did not
determine my destiny. I had to redirect the world I intended to live.

I saw change in what I attracted and lived for and who I was becoming. I was clear that it
was not going to happened overnight, it's about getting out the bed with one foot on the
ground and not getting stuck with all that happened, the setbacks and disappointments.
What was the lesson that I was to learn, and how could I use it to make a difference in the
lives of others going forward?

My studio apartment was all I could afford, and it's not that I did not want to return
to Buffalo, I could not afford to get back home. I found a job at a hotel earning $5
an hour, outside of that I was lost, just trying to figuring it out, I had no sense of
purpose or destiny and just needed to find myself.

Looking back and reflecting to who I am today. The best thing ever happened was
finding out that God is a conversationalist.

Jerry Wilson came into my life in my late teen years. Jerry was a former executive
with Xerox Corporation, who dressed and looked the part. He wore shiny wing tip
shoes, crisp white shirt, hankie in his breast pocket, and French cuffs.

He talked to me about character, dressing the part and that we are naturally
distinguishing ourselves by the way we dress. He taught me what it means to be a
man. Although Jerry was not my father, he was a powerful influence in my life

Success is a myth, Significance is reality. Understanding if I'm successful it's all
about me, significance is giving something meaningful to others. With Success comes
the CIC Disease, Comparison Inferiority Complex.

Where one would compare where they are socially, where they live, go to school and
whom they associate with. If one does not find a remedy to the CIC Disease, they
began to block their brilliance and destiny, Present to the Moment. Significant
Success starts with belief.

We have 17 Brilliandeers, who are highly skilled diamond cutters who specializes in
polishing a diamond's facets by lowering it onto a spinning plate, carefully adjusting
the pressure and position so as to achieve maximum brilliance.

Brilliance is a universal word that people connect with. I had the ability to shine and
put a face on purpose, in how I give, serve, and live. I focused on shining and giving
others permission to shine as well. I was to be the carrier of the message: Release
Your Brilliance to Shine.