Unlocking Potential & Living in the Present
The Shelby Brown Conversation with Rita Ricks & Angela Lightfoot
I had the good fortune to sit down with the the amazingly age-defying Rita Ricks and the talented Angela Lightfoot to explore their journeys as business and spiritual coaches. I have noticed their love and energy at different area events. I really like how they pour into people. Indirectly, they’ve poured into me. So, it was an honor to be able to talk to them both. As we sat down at their headquarters inside the Women’s Business Center RVA {1510 Willow Lawn Dr.}, I started our conversation with a simple question.
“Who are you?”
Rita Ricks: I turned 76 in April and it's a different kind of mindset. What I realized is that I am a mortal and I just didn’t think about it before. I didn’t think about it at 70. I didn't think about it at 75 but 76 was a bit of a wakeup call. My kids have always said “Mom, you're NOT aging but you are getting older, so I am very cognizant of who I am and the legacy I am leaving. I'm very excited about being here because I've lost some good friends in the last couple of years and I owe lots of who I am, to them. I am also incredibly in tune with what God wants me to do. I listen to him and it just makes me smile. There's no such thing as worry in my life. There is no real reason for tension because if it's not working, I’m walking away.
Shelby Brown: I love that you know to just walk away.
Rita Ricks: It’s because God is in control. When you are in alignment from the inside out, you wake up every morning asking God for your marching orders. You write in your journal, read something positive and then go into silence. And I don't know anybody who knows me that doesn't understand those three pillars. It is journaling first, and then it is reading something spiritual, and then being silent because that's where the solutions are - in the silence. The more you practice it, the more intentional you are about it. The more you hear God during the day, you realize He sends people and opportunities your way. And because I'm in alignment, I see this in my life and in other’s as well.
Shelby Brown: That’s fantastic! This leads me to my next question for you, Angela. What does being intentional mean to you.
Angela Lightfoot: So I'll pick up right here, you have to be intentional and in the present, because you miss things. I just love being in the present. It’s about every move you make. I believe that being silent, allows you to be much more in the present and when you're in the present, then you pay attention. But if you're dealing with tomorrow, which isn’t here, or dealing with yesterday that you can't do anything about, you miss all of today, and today is all you’ve got.
Shelby Brown: Angela, what is it like working with Rita?
Angela Lightfoot: So I always say, “I never was raised by my grandmother but the most life changing person in my life was my grandfather”. Recognizing that, I just had this pull towards him. And when it came to that familiarity of being with family in an instant Rita saw me for who I am. The fact of how we even met, that I missed a session of hers because of my full time job, but she stayed back to talk to me. She made time for me. I was going to start working with her as my coach. Rita was like, let's turn it into an internship and then Rita saw my potential and my power. And just was like, you already know this. You're already doing this; you're operating in your gifts. And it's like for someone to just pour into an absolute stranger and for us to have this love that’s here. Like, I call her before I call some other people in my life, because she's my best friend. And I get to work with her every time she's pushing me forward. I always joke with her and say if she was my grandma, I'd be a multimillionaire! I like how she pushes me. I like to be pushed to unlock my potential.
And Rita trusts me with the clients. I mean she says, ‘They're yours now. You take it and run with it.’ She lets me create programs and things that I just see the need for and she encourages me to do it. Like, where else do you go where you can just get that open flexibility to do what the world needs? Where else can you have that kind of relationship where it's like, God told me to say that we need a program like this and then we make it happen? Rita say’s ‘Let’s make it happen!’ She knows that I talk to God before I bring it to her.
Rita Ricks: She's a praying mama too. Angela prays that deep Father God prayer about what we're doing. When things get tough and tight after prayer, decisions are made and we move forward. I have been an entrepreneur almost 40 years, but I've been a business owner, just about the last 10 years and I know my craft. But I didn't know business to the extent that I know it now. And admittedly, it's very different from when I started, there's a lot more involved. But I'm also at a point in my life, where I'm open to listening. I tend to be hesitant when I hear new ideas because I must figure out how this fit into where we're going. I do this in the silence and it works.
Shelby Brown: You guys are like a ray of light. I feel like I'm sitting in the light by just watching you ladies and listening. And so this question is for both of you. And it's about legacy because I want you to tell me what you think your legacy will be or what you're working on to make your legacy.
Rita Ricks: I feel I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mentality. I had a fashion boutique years ago, downtown on Franklin Street. And then I had Mirror Enterprise, which was a professional and personal development training company. We trained some 3000 individuals coming off welfare going into the workforce. That was a beautiful thing. My legacy is making sure that as much as I possibly can, I show folks how to grow and discover. I am the biggest cheerleader when someone is pushing to be their best. I think that my reputation is intact, and my kids and grands are proud of me and the name I’ve made for myself. That’s important to me. And the brand that I have adapted, you know, it used to be ‘Speak to your spirit’ and my whole team said ‘No! It's got to be RitaRicks.com!’
Angela Lightfoot: Sometimes people are so caught up in living from moment to moment and that they don't even really tap into what their true calling is so they can really live to the fullest? Sometimes I just feel like I'm surrounded by people that are just floundering and flow minute to minute, because there's no purpose. They don't have any vision. Visions pull us forward. There's so much happening now in the world. We're like always running to the next thing, so the vision piece pulls you. I too want to help people especially young people find their vision.
Shelby Brown: How do you all make it work?
Angela Lightfoot: I think when it comes to being in partnership with Rita she made me love the Rita Ricks brand, as much as if it was my own name. She made me believe in this company at such a high level where I can just see the proof is in the pudding. I can see myself in it. I know her daughters and granddaughters and I feel like I’m part of the family.
Rita Ricks: Angela allowed me in and we listened to the silence and it changed something for her. It made it so that we are able to operate the way God wants us to operate. So it's good stuff.
We are so proud with what we do. I don't care if we meet with five people, or if we sell out a packed house, our mission is to minister to a million individuals. I consistently emphasize the importance of ‘believing in the journey.’ There exists an abundance of potential clients for everyone. What belongs to us here at Rita Ricks, LLC is ours and what belongs to others is rightfully theirs. Numerous individuals require our expertise, even though they may not be aware of it today. Our efforts are focused on altering the situation and each individual we assist in the process creates a lasting impact for their own future. - M.M.G
To learn more about the services offered by Rita Ricks & Angela Lightfoot, please visit RitaRicks.com.
