Top 60 Karen Civil Quotes

I’m just me. I’m that cool girl who – as I like to say, I have that Carson Daly effect, where, if you watched ‘TRL,’ he was able to do interviews with NSYNC, blend right in, and then he would do interviews with Cash Money and blend in there, and you just naturally liked him.

I was born to Haitian parents, and the idea of giving back is really just a part of our culture. So, I don’t think there was ever a moment that I questioned my call to philanthropy, but I can say that the more I’ve grown, the bigger that call has become.

Chances have been taken, opportunities granted, and because of such, I find myself in a position where some of my biggest dreams are in arm’s reach.

This is random, but I thought I was going to have the biggest Backstreet Boys fansite. I’m not even gonna lie: I thought I was gonna marry one of the Backstreet Boys, and I was gonna be his Yoko Ono.

I’m doing activations with companies you would never think of. Not to say this in a braggadocious way, but I’m not putting myself in a box. The only thing that goes in a box is Chinese food and your sneakers – not me.

I make sure I eat before I go anywhere just in case they don’t have a vegan-friendly option.

With Drake, I was a big fan of ‘Degrassi.’

I am not quick to call someone a friend. It is OK to have acquaintances and be associates. We make these words sound bad, but it is about understanding everyone’s place in your life. I have a great group of people around me. I value them more than anything.

When I had dial-up, my mom got me a phone so I wouldn’t tie up the phone. She used to really pick up the phone, push some buttons, and hang it up so the connection could mess up. Now, it’s a joke with her, like, ‘Look, the Internet’s 24/7. I have WiFi now.’

Being in this business and surviving day-to-day can be a constant struggle. It’s about learning how to be your own super hero, put on your own cape, and be a well-rounded individual.

The blueprint, for me, was having an understanding of self because this business will try to make you somebody other than yourself or make you change with the times. A lot of times, people will want you to do everything for free, work for free, to be down to do this after you paid your dues.

I always knew I wanted to do something in entertainment. Since I could not sing, had no rhythm, and did not want to be a baby mama, I thought I would explore the Video DJ route.

I clung to my vegan friends for more support than anyone because they helped guide me and made the transition much easier. My family was a bit skeptical, as they felt like I wasn’t getting enough protein in my vegan diet.

Society sets us up to be everything but ourselves, but I want to take a moment and say to people, love yourself. Find your purpose. You are unique, and that makes you great. I pursued my dreams. You can do it, too.

When I was young, I originally wanted to be a radio on-air personality. Once I realized I may not be fit for that – I was infatuated with hip-hop – that I still wanted to be a part and give back the community, so I decided to carve my own path and make my own lane.

I come from a great home and fully supportive family that helped to nurture my dreams. A lot of people don’t have those same things in their household.

I did the ‘right’ thing and got a corporate job on Wall Street. That did not last long. I felt like I was throwing all my years of hard work and relationship-building down the toilet. I eventually quit, went and bought a camera, and built a website. That was the birth of KarenCivil.com.

It’s a feeling I can’t describe, to see my work in action. The best is when an artist is appreciative.

Now, I’m not 100% there, but every day I wake up, I’m happy being me, and I just feel fulfilled.

I just tell myself I gotta get up at 8 A.M. I don’t even use an alarm clock.

I believe that God has blessed me in immeasurable ways so that I can, in return, bless and help others.

I have my own marketing company, Always Civil, where I help artists create their online identity. I have worked with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Pusha T – the list goes on.

Me myself, I wanna wear sweats with my Jordans one day or a dress with my Jeffrey Campbell.

I took business and economics courses. More than anything, I learned the proper steps and the things that need to be outlined. You have to keep your books: how much money you made, how much money you’re spending, what you profited, and what you’re gonna need for expenses.

You work hard, you sacrifice for everything you do, and in one second, someone can tarnish your name – someone can bad-mouth you, and someone can say things. People let all of the good things gets washed away because someone spoke ill of them.

What are you doing to magnify and grow your business? What are you doing for yourself? You have to self-motivate. I had to learn a million things on Google until I was able to meet people who I could partner with for help.

It’s all about how you use your social platform. Right now, I’m just using mine to empower people, get my entertainment and my news. Other people use their platform for different things.

I give people on my team the opportunity to excel as well, and I think that’s what continues to keep me ahead. I may not be able to show or do an interview; I give them the opportunity to run the show, and that has been working.

I am the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of Marathon Agency, a new venture with my business partner Steve Carless. It’s a management, branding, marketing, and business strategy. I’m in charge of marketing and branding clients like Nick Cannon, Nicki Minaj, and more.

The assistants, the managers, the PR, the person whose coordinating, the person in production – those are the people I loved communicating with and building network relationships with.

For me, for a very long time, I was in denial because when you say you’re sad or you’re overwhelmed, we consider it whining or complaining. People say, ‘Count your blessings,’ and it’s like, ‘Yeah, I am, but I’m still sad. Something is wrong with me.’ I had to acknowledge it.

Do you want to be the girl that’s envied, or do you want to be the girl that inspires you? Most people don’t know that I am super shy and timid, but online people think I have a big personality. Make sure whatever you do has an overall message and has value.

Growing up in America, even in the rougher parts of Elizabeth, I had two nice playgrounds to choose from as a child.

When I was in eighth grade, I created a Backstreet Boys fan site. I came in third place in a fan site contest and got to meet them.

Never stray from life’s purpose. Refrain from counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.

Nobody is going to love and honor your dreams like yourself. It’s really not looking for someone to be your superhero but for us to save ourselves and to really understand that. I’ve been at the lowest of lowest of my life, and it took that for me to realize that I want to do better and to be better.

I didn’t have a resume when Lil Wayne hired me. I didn’t have a resume when Beats by Dre flew me across the country to be their 12th employee. I still don’t have a resume!

In high school, I created a fan group for J.D. Williams, who played Bodie on ‘The Wire.’ I had the chance to meet him, and he took me to have lunch at IHOP. At that point in my life, I noticed this Internet thing was giving me the chance to check off goals off of my bucket list.

Growing up was very interesting for me. If you were Haitian, people just automatically assumed that English was a second language. So they had a special class for my brother and I, but we spoke proper English.

I tell people to use me as example of what they can do if they don’t give up. I like people to see me as a ‘girl next door’ who conquered and went after what she wanted.

You don’t know what’s going to happen to you in the next hour. So you just live your life, live to the best of your potential, and just be happy.

That’s the wonderful thing about picking and choosing who we want to work with, because I’ve been in situations where I’ve worked with someone, and they thought they were gonna be on the cover of ‘XXL’ in two months. I’m like, ‘That’s not how it works.’

Social media can help or hurt you. People are more into other people’s lives than their own. Everyone sees everyone else’s success online, and we allow it to magnify our own failure.

It’s unfortunate that cyberbullying is something that happens to 13-year-old kids in junior high and adults in the workplace. It’s something that we have to deal with as Americans.

I’d worked in music for years and built all these relationships, so I bought a camera, built a website, and decided to go for it.

Coming from a Haitian-American home, I thought it was necessary to give back to the country in which my parents were raised. That is why I believe in Project PlayWorld’s efforts to to provide secure playing spaces for the children of Haiti with the Live Civil Playground.

Now, metaphorically, I sit at any table that I want. I can sit with the jocks, I can sit with the gang members, I can sit with the politicians, I can sit with the CEOs. My brand can fit anywhere.

Nothing is ever quick. You have to grow an audience, keep them engaged, give them a reason to keep coming back so it will never be an overnight success. Have patience!

Be You, Live Civil was a tour that I started, and it’s just always something that I’ve been to myself. ‘Be you, live civil’ is like ‘live my life.’ That was my short version of saying to live my life.