About Shai

Hours
Sunrise to Sundown

Email
ShaiLittlejohn@gmail.com

Location
Houston, Texas

I left my Ohio home at the age of 18 and moved to Washington DC where I was instantly intimidated by the city streets. Growing up in the midwest, I had never felt the whiz of cars zooming by, inches from my feet. I spent my entire first year, trying to blend in but wishing I could leave. By the beginning of year two, I came to understand that Washington D.C. was actually a good place to be due to one word: opportunity. Education was my opportunity. I earned my BA in Communications and then a JD, both from Howard University.

Soon after graduation from law school, I transformed into a disheartened and overworked Washington DC lawyer, and this is how I lived for a decade. I had allowed my intense focus to fit into a workplace that didn’t suit me, trap me, delaying my evolution into the full and balanced person I was meant to be. I didn’t realize that you aren’t supposed to pursue every opportunity you see.

Now, I’m a mission-driven corporate attorney, speaker, and writer of Here In The Highlands which is my journal on life and leadership. My latest project, The Beautiful Things Company, shares the lessons I’ve learned over my career journey. I’ll help you find your way back from tired and stuck to the supportive and inspired place where you ultimately want to be. Coming soon.

From Where I Started to Who I Am

  • My Greatest Champion & Me

    By the time I hit the age of 8, my mother’s focus turned to climbing the corporate ladder. This meant that, most days, it would be my dad, my sister, and me. My sister and I followed dad to community meetings and court sessions, after which we’d file papers at his law office in exchange for a daily pay rate of a cheeseburger and two pieces of chocolate. My dad taught me my first lessons on leadership: instilling in people confidence and growing their self esteem.

  • The Little Girl With Her Own Voice

    My mom was a polished, c-suite executive, but at times I gave her the business, if you know what I mean. I was outspoken, and when she wasn't complaining about “that mouth,” she was taking me shopping (so I knew how to buy quality clothes) or teaching me how to bake German Chocolate cakes. I opinions, and I rarely resisted the urge to share them. My consequence: hearing my mom snap, “Shai, go to your room and don’t come out until I tell you!” I’d then grab my headphones, pump up my walkman, and transform into the greatest hairbrush singer ever known.

  • Mission Oriented Creative

    I’m a music and arts advocate, for youth and working professionals because music and the arts lead to focus, self expression, and self discovery. I currently serve on the National Board of Directors of Music Will, Inc. a non-profit that facilitates a network of teachers to provide free music education in all 50 states, over 1 million kids served and counting. Please consider donating at www.MusicWill.org.

  • On Sustainable Careers and Lives

    Know who you are and what you value, and own it. This is what’s required to make choices that create sustainable careers and lives. “Stuck” is not sustainable. “Underutilized” is not sustainable. We must help our teams deploy their personalities, education, interests, and talents to develop well-rounded lives. This is my philosophy of leadership. It’s the only way to create the movement and change we want to see.