Why Internet Sensation Tabitha Brown Says You Need to ‘Own Your Business’
In these uncertain times, which can often feel quite dark, Tabitha Brown has distinguished herself as a voice of light. She has amassed a giant online following—3.8 million on Instagram—for her candid, funny, and honest videos that offer a mix of self-love, vegan cooking, and fortitude. This public presence has been an organic progression for the actress and mother, who has been gracing the TV screen for more than a decade.
Now with her first book, Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom, Brown’s likely to catapult to a realm of being a helpful sage for all. The Sunday Paper caught up with Brown to talk about her new book—which reads like you’re having a conversation with her over a (vegan) pizza—and the ways we can all be better advocates for ourselves.
What’s behind the title of your book, Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business)?
Feeding the soul is how we feed ourselves. Our soul is our life—it’s how we live and what we put out. So, it’s our business to do that well. Life is our business and I always tell people: If you don’t take your business—which is your life—seriously, you might go out of business.
You recently shared on Instagram that writing your story set you free. Why do you feel it’s so important to share the good, the bad, the hard—all of it?
It’s so freeing when you share with others. It not only helps me be free, but it helps someone else as well, because somebody needs to know they’re not alone. When they hear a story that they can relate to, it helps them choose freedom and it helps them say, ‘if she got through it, I can too.’
It’s always important to know that things don’t happen to us, but they happen for us. I wanted to put that into book form and not just have these stories live inside of myself. That is also part of being online so much last year, because the more I share, the more you release these stories that are not mine out into the world.
Speaking of getting through hard things, the world is certainly a challenging place right now, both for us collectively and individually. What always helps you find the light through the tough times?
I often tell people that I know this is a pandemic that we’re all in at the very same time together, but we have all been through our own personal pandemics before. We have all felt like our life was in an upside-down pattern and things were all over the place—and we got through those times. What I always encourage people to remember is that it is temporary. It will pass. We will get through it. Even if the light is a small crack, focus on that light. It’s so easy to focus on the negative. It’s easy to accept the darkness. But the light will eventually break open and things will get better. That’s how I got through some of the darkest times of my life.
You are such an advocate of community, but also of “owning one’s business” by doing some big things solo. Why do you believe this?
Self-work is a real thing. And if you include too many other people, you can forget who you are. Sometimes we must do things alone so that we know we’re not influenced by someone else, and we know that we’re making that decision solely on our own. So we know: This is for me and no one else. No one else can tell me how to feel. No one else can tell me what to do in this moment. I don’t need anyone else to fall back on in this moment. This is about me.
Doing this gives us strength. It gives us power. It gives us understanding of self. It helps us know who we are. I believe it was Eric Thomas who said if we don’t know what we want, we’ll fall for anything. That means if you don’t know yourself, you don’t spend enough time with yourself alone, somebody can offer you something and you’ll take it because you don’t know what you like and love. You don’t know who you are. So sometimes you got to be alone to make sure you are solid in yourself. It helps you be a stronger you.
You’re proudly from Eden, North Carolina. What aspects from your Southern roots could someone apply to their life—no matter where they’re from—to find more joy and positivity?
[The South] always reminds me to slow down and to enjoy the small things. That’s what the South is about: There ain’t nobody moving fast. There ain’t no rush hour traffic. It’s all about slowing down and really taking it all in—the fresh-cut grass, being outside, walking and smelling the fresh air, and allowing yourself to just feel and be. Everything doesn’t have to move fast. Let’s take it all in, be present in our moments, and enjoy the small things so that when the big things come, we can really get excited about it.
The greatest thing that I’ve ever learned from my dad is to take your time and don’t rush. The older I get, the more I understand that.
Order Tabitha’s new book, Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business) here.
