For the past 2 years, Zimbabwean Radio & TV Personality, MisRed has been on a personal journey exploring a thought of writing that had been stuck in her mind.
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown came in as an added advantage to her becoming more consistent with her journaling, taking note of all the life lessons that she felt would be of use to the next person.
This is how her debut book: “Be Faithful To Your Happiness” was birthed.
Radio lovers were introduced to the soothing voice of MisRed in 2013 when she joined the breakfast team of one of Zimbabwe’s leading commercial radio stations, ZiFM Stereo.
MisRed describes her first day on radio as UNREAL, as she could not believe that she was joining 2 of the country’s legendary on-air personalities, Teekay The Big Dawg and Marc Pozzo.
She recalls having to unlearn a lot of things that she thought radio was and also reconfiguring herself to what being a morning drive voice was.
She takes us through the journey of becoming MisRed, highlighting how she had no idea of where she was headed and who she would become when she was much younger.
Just like any other young girl, she merely wanted to live life, be happy and party, life ambitions were non-existent because life wasn’t actually clear at that moment.
The ambitious Author, Radio and TV Personality speaks with a huge smile on her face on how the younger she would be so proud of the authentic grown MisRed who is bold, unapologetic and strong.
Talking about those that have helped her grow in her career path, MisRed speaks highly of her mentor, former CEO of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Cooperation and CEO of AB Communications - Susan Makore, who has become a big sister and mother to her.
Mrs. Makore, who is a jewel in the Zimbabwean media space, has played a huge role in constantly keeping MisRed’s fire burning and helping her discover herself throughout her journey.
MisRed goes on to mentioning Nigeria’s Media Personality - Toke Makinwa as one individual she draws inspiration from and can easily relate to some parts of her story.
“Goodness, I am in love with Nigeria’s Media Moghul - Mo Abudu, she is the quintessential definition of media mogul to me.
At a point where you feel like you have lost everything, her story shows you how you can build up and become even bigger than you could ever imagine.
Producer, Business Owner and Actress, Mary Njoku has also set a path for every woman who would want to own a platform and proved that indeed, it is possible. I would definitely not end my list without talking of American filmmaker - Ava Duverney, an amazing storyteller who is a force when it comes to storytelling for the black community.
It has never been more important than now for us to own our stories. I see myself in all of these phenomenal women and I hope to achieve as they have.
They have managed to build businesses and brands that will outlive them and create a legacy.”
With the above as her inspiration, there is no reason why MisRed should not be taking over Zimbabwe and the continent at large. With her hunger and perseverance, she has gone to work with some of the leading brands and hosted prestigious events, respectively.
Talking about how she bags all these gigs, MisRed highlights her hunger and consistent pursuit of excellence, wanting to learn and challenge the status quo.
She indicates that one cannot stay on top of their game if they are not learning and bettering themselves.
Before partying ways with the afternoon drive host on ZiFM Stereo, Author and TV Personality, we simply had 5 specific questions to ask her.
Your story is inspirational! What are the key lessons you have learnt about yourself and the industry as a whole?
One can never get to a place of arrival, a destination where you take a break and forget about what is next. You cannot be pretentious, soon people will see through it. It is important to be yourself, authenticity is gold and there can never be another you.
It sounds so cliche because it might have been said so often, fortunately, it is the truth.
You never stop learning. There is a new app, innovation and ways of doing things that are being introduced to us every day. Seek knowledge in your areas of interest and learn.
You have a notable passion for philanthropy, what projects have you worked on in the past and are you working on now?
I started an initiative called Beyond October movement which is mainly focused on pushing the conversation on Breast Cancer all year and I also partnered with Girl R Us to help fight period poverty.
Recently I started the #RedMarketSunday which is very close to my heart. There are many small businesses and start-ups owned and being run by the youth that don’t have marketing and advertising budgets but needs visibility in order to just break even in some cases.
I happen to have a sizable following on Twitter and I use this audience to help market businesses for FREE. #RedMarketSunday is my way of giving back to my community and supporting all these businesses.
Seeing the hashtag trend every Sunday really is a confirmation that we are doing something right and we hope to develop it beyond just social media.
With so much wisdom, this is why you have a book now. Congratulations, we cannot wait to read it. Kindly take us through your writing process and what we should expect or take away from ‘Be Faithful To Your Happiness’?
The process of actually writing the book took a few months but trimming it and choosing the right material that fits the concept of the book took about a year.
For a long time, my happiness was attached to material things, a person or a place but the turning point came when I didn’t want my happiness to be a guessing game anymore.
Is there a possibility of another book or bigger project coming along the way?
There is absolutely room for a lot more in the near future. If the list of the women that inspire me is anything to go by, then you all are in for some surprises. I am unfortunately not at liberty to give details but watch this space.
Words by Gilmore Tee
