Who I am, and What I do

It's a video of me!

Mostly it's stuff you Dreamers already know. But I'm doing a business challenge, and this is one of the tasks.

You wouldn't guess this, but I'm surprised when...

"Oh?"

... other people say I'm successful.

Yes. Really.

#TimeManagement: Make a Plan, and Do the Work.

"Oh, we're supposed to invest our extra income?

What did Mahlena say about how to make more money?"

In the words of a fallen member of the black community, "If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail."

It's okay to deviate from your plan, but if you have no plan in the first place, where are you going?

Toonces does not know.

Let me tell you a story.

It was senior year of high school.

I got accepted to my first-choice university.

I also decided to attend this institution, because it was where I needed to be.

Soon after I made this decision, two of my classmates told me that they didn't get into this school because I applied.

Save Time and Save Money: The Top 5 Ways your Dream Board will help.

"What would you do if I gave you this Tubman, Girlfriend?"

Save Time.

Save Money.

First of all, I like to spend my time doing things I enjoy and invest my money in ways to enrich my life. Those are the images I put on my Dream Boards to inspire me to greatness

However, the phrases "save time" and "save money" rank higher in Google search terms.

So here we are.

These are the top 5 ways Dream Boards will help you Save Time and Save Money!

FIND TIME for ME: How to Write a Book edition

"I always wanted to write a book."

How do you write a book?

Start writing.

"And when you come to the end, stop."

For you Dreamers saying, "I have no time to do anything, much less write a book!", start over here for a Quick Fix.

"Off to get my Quick Fix!"

For the rest of you Dreamers who have some time, but don't know where to start, let me spin you a yarn about my book writing journey.

I will, Sir Idris Elba!

You're Right. You Don't Have Time for everything. Here's a Quick Fix.

C'est tout.

You don't have to do it all.

How can you move forward?

How can you get more done?

"Well, I'll tell you, Nicki."

"How does she do it all?" I don't. You shouldn't either.

"For real, tho?"

Yes, for real.

Let me spin you a tale. A Mother's Day tale.

How was this a movie?

For this Mother's Day, I had quite a morning planned for myself that would start with celebratory public outing with hundreds of other families, and commence with lunch and a nap in the afternoon. I had been organizing this for weeks, sending emails, making multiple calls, arranging printouts and pick-ups and drop-offs, because I knew it would be something my family would enjoy.

Note that I had orchestrated much of this myself, even though I have capable people in my family that could have made some plans on their own for me, the Mother in question.

On the Saturday night before Mother's Day, as I was going to bed, I realized I was feeling ill. But maybe my malady would go away by the morning.

It did not go away by morning.

I felt worse.

Now what?

#TimeManagement: How your Dream Board can help you "make time for me"

"Can't stop, won't stop... Help."

You're a lady (or a gentleman?) with a lot on your plate.

You're always doing everything for everyone else.

Yes, but...

You need some "me time".

Some time for you.

Right now, Nathan Fillion!

First, if you don't have a Dream Board, or you'd like to make a new one, here's How to Build Your First Dream Board.

Second, if you do have a Dream Board, Congratulations!

You're welcome, Beyoncé.

Here are three ways your Dream Board can help you with time management, so you can make time for yourself (instead of everyone else):

You've made Your Dream Board! Now what?

"Uh...You tell me!"

Congratulations! You've learned How to Build Your First Dream Board. You did the work. And your Dream Board is complete.

"We did it!"

So, what's your next step?

Here are the three best things to do once you've made your Dream Board:

How to Get Anything You Want: the You Better Ask Somebody edition

"But whom should I ask?"

The first Somebody is You.

Yes, you, Xo.

Before you ask someone else for help with your goal, you need to put that goal on your Dream Board.

Next, you need to ask yourself these questions:

Diversity does not mean 'Black', and Family does not mean 'Children'.

"The situation is a lot more nuanced than that."

A couple years ago, I was attending yet another diversity in entertainment panel, this one hosted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a pioneer in the field of actually studying issues like why children's television shows have only 1 female character for every 2 male characters.

One of the panelists, veteran diversity executive Tiffany Smith-Anoa'i, stated that when addressing the lack of accurate representation on U.S. television, "Diversity does not mean 'Black.'" Meaning, you can't simply add a black character to an otherwise all-white show and declare your program "diverse." That's not how diversity works. Literally. It's insulting to black people, dismissive of all other forms of inclusion, and bad for your bottom line.

"Don't forget about us hapas of Indonesian descent!"

Similarly, when I say "family", or,  "If you want to build your family, put it on your Dream Board", I don't mean "put a baby on your Dream Board."

How to Find Your Soulmate (with a Dream Board) in 3 Easy Steps

"Is this my soulmate? Maybe.

Either way, he's got to be better that Tyrese."

Hello! So you think you want a soulmate. A human companion and partner in love. Someone who doesn't complete you but compliments you.

If you want a soulmate, then you deserve a soulmate.

Here are three easy steps to Find Your Soulmate with a Dream Board.


The first two steps are questions you must answer. The third step is an action you must take.


1. What?

Take out your list.

You know the one.

How to Build Your First Dream Board

I made a new video! As you can tell from the title of this post, and the thumbnail, it's called How to Build Your First Dream Board.

The only tools you need to build your first Dream Board are

How to Get Anything You Want: the Be Specific edition

"We did it (despite the patriarchy excoriating our every move)!"

How do you get anything you want?

Put it on your Dream Board.

"But I did that already, Mahlena." 

 Has it worked?

"Not yet."

Then let's do something different.

Who's in Your Head?

Is it Rose's grandmother?

I recently watched Get Out, the best motion picture of 2017 until I see The Fate of the Furious.

Since the release of the movie's trailer in 2016, countless (meaning I don't want to Google them and count) thinkpieces and pontifications have been written, recorded, and distributed about multifaceted meaning of Jordan Peele's masterpiece.

Now you get to read my take, specifically as Get Out relates to Dream Boards.

"Oh, I see what you're doing."

If you haven't seen Get Out, please schedule a time to see the movie, purchase your ticket, then continue reading my post.

If you have seen Get Out, let's talk about it! Tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Back to you and your Dream Board and how it relates to the movie.

 "This better be good."

Why I don't use magazines to make Dream Boards

To build their Dream Boards, many people use magazines to cut and paste pictures and bring their visions to life.

I no longer do that.

Here's why:

1. Magazine pages are mostly ads.

2. Most magazine ads feature women who are "young, thin, white, beautiful, carefully groomed, and polished."

3. I am not a young, thin, white woman.


"But, Mahlena; what if I am a young, thin, white woman?"

Build a bridge, and get over yourself (i.e. myself).

"You have not truthed with yourselves." - Shazza Zulu

How am I qualified to tell anyone what to do?

Welcome to I Have A Dream Board!

Here's the latest video from I Have A Dream Board, explaining what we do and whom we would like to help.

Thanks for watching!

How to Build a Dream Board that will Help You Make More Money

"Do you want to make more money? Sure, we all do."

As I write this post, I have been watching O.J.: Made in America for over seven hours this "Presidents' Day" weekend. It's a compelling film. It's also very long.

How does this relate to making money through your Dream Board?

Well, in the documentary, Mr. Simpson decides to make money from his jail cell by writing autographs and having his management team sell his signed products to fans. He made over $3 million signing football cards while incarcerated so that he could fund his $50,000 per day defense team for his murder trial.

Then, after the civil case against him was ruled, Mr. Simpson had his family and associates hide his assets so that the court could not sell them to pay off his debt.

Most of you Dreamers (I hope) are not currently in the same situation as Mr. Simpson. Yet, we can draw lessons from his actions:

The "I" in "I Have A Dream Board" also means "You".

"Me?" Yes, you.

Over the past few weeks, I have been connecting with family members, friends, colleagues, associates, acquaintances, and strangers asking them if they would be interested in the topic of this website: Teaching people how to achieve their personal and professional goals through creating Dream Boards.

Most of the people who I have emailed haven't responded.

And some people replied to my email with, "No, thank you."

But...