About Shai

Hours
Sunrise to Sundown

Email
ShaiLittlejohn@gmail.com

Location
Houston, Texas

I left my Ohio town at the age of 18 and moved to Washington DC. As I walked the city streets, the long concrete blocks intimidated me. I grew up in the midwest, so I wasn’t accustomed to encountering strangers on the street. I hadn’t felt the whiz of cars zooming by just inches from my feet. I didn’t fit in. I wanted to leave, but I stuck with it. By the beginning of year two, I knew that Washington D.C. was the place to be. Howard University had become my home. I declared journalism as my major with a minor in business. I earned my BA and then a JD, after which I landed my first job as a lawyer in the third largest law firm in the United States.

Within a couple of years, I had grown into a disheartened, and overworked Washington DC lawyer, and this is how I lived for quite a few years. I had allowed my intense focus on career to essentially trap me and keep me from becoming the complete person I was meant to be. My mindset had been my limitation. The illness and death of my mother and a health diagnosis caused me to reflect and refocus. Once I found out what was missing, life opened up to me. I am now corporate counsel for an ethical, publicly traded corporation, a writer, an award winning songwriter, and a performer.

Here In The Highlands is a state of mind that says focus on the beautiful things that life can bring. Your first job is to know what you value most so that you can live the life of your choosing and become the best you that you can possibly be.

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.