I'm coming out with my line of shoes and my very first shoe is

There are moments in a person’s life when creation becomes not just an act of ambition, but of self-declaration — when art, design, or invention becomes the vessel through which identity itself is reborn. So it was when NeNe Leakes, the bold and charismatic figure known from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, declared: “I’m coming out with my line of shoes and my very first shoe is called ‘The Nethia.’ How we came up with the name is that my legal name is Linnethia and we shortened it.” Beneath these words lies more than a business announcement; it is a statement of power, of authenticity, and of the eternal truth that creation is an extension of the self. To name one’s work after one’s own name is to declare, “This is who I am — and I will walk the earth in my own image.”

The origin of this quote lies in Leakes’s foray into the world of fashion and entrepreneurship — a world often defined by vanity and imitation. But rather than borrowing a label or hiding behind abstraction, she rooted her creation in her own identity, drawing upon her given name, Linnethia, as the wellspring of inspiration. By shortening it to The Nethia, she transformed her personal name into a symbol of artistry — a bridge between the woman she was born and the woman she chose to become. In that act of naming, she did what every artist, ruler, and creator of history has done: she claimed her own narrative. For as the ancients knew, to name something is to give it life, and to name it after oneself is to give it one’s soul.

From the dawn of civilization, names have carried power. When Alexander the Great founded new cities, he named many of them Alexandria, not out of arrogance, but out of the recognition that what he built bore his spirit. When Queen Cleopatra sailed under her own banner upon the Nile, her very presence turned that vessel into a living emblem of her reign. So too, in her own century, NeNe Leakes joined that lineage — for her shoe line, and its first creation, became not just a product, but a continuation of her being. She understood what so many forget: that when one’s creation bears one’s name, one’s reputation and purpose become forever intertwined with it. It is both an offering and a vow — a promise that what is made in your name must be worthy of your truth.

There is also in her words a lesson about transformation. The act of shortening Linnethia into The Nethia mirrors the journey of refinement — stripping away what is unnecessary to reveal the essence beneath. It is a metaphor for evolution, for becoming more distilled and defined through time and struggle. Just as stone is chiseled into sculpture, or rough ore refined into gold, so too the self, through trial and vision, becomes something more focused and radiant. NeNe’s choice reflects a wisdom found in all great creators: that to endure, one must continually transform, yet never lose the origin from which one’s strength flows.

Her story also stands as a hymn to self-belief and reinvention. Before she was an icon of television and business, Leakes faced adversity and doubt, as do all who seek to build something lasting. But by forging her identity into her work, she affirmed what every great teacher of old has known — that confidence in one’s self is the cornerstone of all creation. When Leonardo da Vinci signed his paintings, or Michelangelo carved his name into the Pietà, they too declared to the world that their work was inseparable from their soul. So too does NeNe’s shoe, The Nethia, carry that same spirit of defiance and self-ownership: a statement that her legacy will walk wherever she walks, worn by those who believe in strength, boldness, and individuality.

And yet, her quote also whispers a universal truth: that names are memory. In a world where brands rise and fade, where trends consume one another like waves upon sand, the only thing that endures is the identity behind the creation. To name her first design after herself is to ensure that even when the shoe is forgotten, the essence — the Nethia — remains. In this, she teaches the wisdom of continuity: that success means nothing if it is disconnected from who you are. The ancients carved their names into stone; today, we carve ours into the living clay of culture. Both acts spring from the same desire — to be remembered not only for what we built, but for who we became.

So let this teaching pass down as both inspiration and commandment: create in your own name, not in imitation of another. Whatever your craft — be it word, art, or enterprise — let it bear the stamp of your spirit. Do not fear to make your identity your foundation, for the world has always been shaped by those who had the courage to declare, “This is me.” Like NeNe Leakes, take what you were given — your name, your story, your journey — and fashion from it something that will walk beyond you. For though the styles of the age may change, the power of authenticity is eternal. And those who dare to stand behind their own names, as she did with The Nethia, will leave footprints not only upon the earth — but upon the very soul of time itself.