Jessie From The Block

My efforts at a blog spawned with some form of consistency have failed miserably, so rather than load myself with the sense of failure which accompanies missed deadlines, I have decided to blog only when I feel passionate enough about something to want to share the tale.

If I’m correct then ‘29’ was the last blog I wrote, where I lamented on what a f**king hard year 2009 turned out to be, and how basically it was all the fault of the stars (in the sky as opposed to my clients – though they often add to the strain). Now 30, I can happily say the stars are no longer messing with my chi, and I’m happily ensconced in my third decade, the baby is off to secondary school following 100% in her SATS (go mama!) and I have discovered a wonderful new book and a brand new ‘inner fulfilment for outer success’ mind-set.

Me with the delectable Kelly Rowland on the red carpet at the premiere of the new Twilight movie

I could sit here and write about my escapade on a yacht last weekend and Jagermeister shots, the various movie premiers I have frequented in the last few weeks or my 3-week stint at the Mondrian in Los Angeles as a result of the ash cloud. ‘catastrophe’ However that has passed, so I’ll just stick a few photos of my golden times on the blog to fill in the gaps, and turn my attention to writing about my discovery.

Lunch looked good but I couldn't stomach sushi with my hangover from hell...

The owners of Nikki Beach and us on the aptly named 'Knot Mine' yacht!

I have a habit of being one of the last to know, however I am confident I am not actually the last, and for that reason I will share my finding of The Outliers.

My latest fave book

Sitting on a plane back from the Guinness Music Festival in Dublin with my dear friend Dazzle Dalmeda, we poured over a copy of Oprah Magazine and found her interview with Jay Z and his recommended reading list. The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell was on my bedside table days later thanks to Hova (he didn’t buy it for me he just recommended it) and it has had a profound effect .

New York Times columnist and author extraordinaire Gladwell

The acclaimed bestselling author and New York Times columnist Gladwell, wrote the outliers in an effort to explain why some people achieve so much more than others. I’m talking the Bill Gates, and Tiger Woods of our world. Gladwell looks at everyone from rock stars to professional athletes, software billionaires to scientific geniuses, to show that the story of success is far more surprising than we could have ever imagined. The sleeve promised to “change the way you think about your own life story” and boy did it do that. As a woman who is blessed to be occasionally labelled ‘inspirational’ for shifting my own personal life story from one of mediocrity and under achievement to this blessed journey I now find myself on, I was gripped. There is nothing special about me. Reasonably smart but driven. Impulsive yet hardworking. Erratic, dramatic and several other adjectives ending in ic, Outliers left my mind open and understanding how my pillar of the community Jamaican grandparents meeting in Cuba and falling in love, then sending my dad to England to keep him away from his “undesirable Kingston” sweetheart, all played a part in why I, and not the next media student, landed a job at every media company I interned for. How my parent’s shaky and tumultuous marriage lead to me lunching with the former Prime Minister at No.10. And how my dad working seven days a week as a mini-cab driver even on Christmas day, meant that when he kicked me out post pregnancy, swimming rather than sinking was an inbuilt reaction.

I’ve always known that my daughter was a blessing, and a huge part of why I have awards on my mantel, but Outliers has made me recognise just how every single one of my obstacles was actually a blessing with the wrong label on;

“Outliers are those who have been given opportunities –and who have had the presence and strength of mind to seize them. “ Malcolm Gladwell.

In case that sounds self-congratulatory, I hasten to add that this awe-inspiring piece of writing goes on to explain that Outliers are therefore far from extraordinary, just people who have capitalised on a series of opportunities and good luck handed down by our forefathers. Down to the colour of my skin, the fact my mother was a model, my father a rebel, my job in the hairdressers, and a chance meeting with publicist supremo Connie Filippello in the salon, a counsellor who bothered to say “go back to college,” a university tutor who took a shining to me and Max Clifford needing an intern to cover a sick member of staff – all incidents which had several of them not occurred, there is nothing to suggest I wouldn’t be standing somewhere very different. This book has sparked a new desire to get to know myself better, as surely once you understand yourself a little better you are on a path of improvement.

So thanks to Malcolm, who interestingly also has a Grandmother from St. Elizabeth Jamaica, and Jigga and I guess even Oprah for doing the interview, I have decided to cast aside my focus on grand ambitions and instead shift my gaze on to being a better human being full stop. As that ever-telling gut instinct suggests, inner fulfilment ultimately can only lead to outer success.

Jessica Huie

Mons and I had fantastic fun at Universal studios

My friend Pin-up beauty and actress Nia Long and I with out children, cycling to Venice Beach

Kelly Rowland backstage before her appearance performing 'Commander' on Graham Norton's show.

Jay Z on stage in Birmingham. Bumped into Drake...and randomly Shola Ama backstage