Hey, hey, Hey, Yes, we're bad. We're Black Mountain Ambition. Ambition is Ambition Studio. Mandy.
Hi, I feel so happy to actually have a regular voice again. I'm sure. I'm sure y'all are y'all are sick and tired of listening to me be sick and tired. So it's so good to see you again. I had to write solo last week.
Yeah, that's all. Yeah, I honestly, I was still in Kenya.
Witch.
Let me tell you something, Mandy, let me tell you something.
Okay.
I went to Kenya and the girls were going up for Brown Ambition. The Kenyan girls in Kenya. They were like, Tam, Mandy.
I'm terrible with access. I love her. I was like, I'm sorry, yes, can you imagine?
Can you tour?
Yeah?
When I tell you, I couldn't believe, not one not to that thing.
I mean, I couldn't believe how many women were like, oh my god, I love you, Budjanista. I listened to brand ambishon all the time. I'm like, and I'm thinking, like, oh, you're here on the trip with us. You live in the US, but you just have to be Kenyan. They're like, no, No, I live in Kenya. I'm like, wait, you listened to Brown and Mission here on the Motherland at Kenya.
They're like, yes, I love it.
I couldn't, honestly, I said, wait till I tell Mandy. So shout out to you Kenyan women.
We love you.
Kenya is popping, like a lot of people are talking about Nairobi and she's like having this whole renaissance and like such a great prid to live. Is that where you were?
Yeah?
So I was in Nairobi and also to oh I flew to we flew to the coach. So I went on this trip called the Safe Journey Retreat that's done by Ijoma Kola.
She is Nigerian.
We actually grew up together and her husband is Kenyan and so she she moved to Kenya, Kenya after marrying him and they now is back in the States. But she went loved it was like the girls have to come out here. So she has this black woman retreat. This was their first one and she asked me to speak.
It was maybe like four or five other speakers. But when I tell you, the sisterhood, it was the perfect way to start the new year because I was there from the first to the ten, so ten days and to be surrounded by amazing, kind, loving, funny, multifaceted Black women. So each a herself is a PhD. So she also has this Black woman PhD community group that she started, so so many of the women there were also PhD. So these brilliant but then you know, black women brilliant,
but also like, girl, let me change something. It was it was when I tell you everything. And then Kenya itself was most places I go and I'm like that was great, but I'm gonna go someplace else because you know, you know, time is money. But Kenya I would go back again so much, so I would go back again this year because to Nairobi was amazing. All the hotels dy and were amazing. You know, we got to go to the museum, we did it so far, which was out of this world. And then we flew into Kenya
to the coast. I think it started with the ann Milani. I'm staying it wrong, but that hotel it looked.
Like a I don't even know, like a.
Moroccan castle and it was right on the beach. It was just every turn was so beautiful. I just honestly not even a ten out of ten a twenty out of ten. It restored, it rejuvenated, It just did all the things that I needed and more because it was the holiday season, if I'm being honest, was really really hard for me this holiday season. It really hit me
that Jirell wasn't here, and it took me out. Like I was like dark room, laying in the bed, could barely get up, didn't want to shower, I didn't want to brush my teeth, and I didn't even want to go to Kenya honestly, Like I didn't pack until like the day before, you know, and I dragged myself to the airport, and it poured back into me everything I
needed and more. And so like if she ever has that retreat again, I recommended had times a thousand, not just for the women, but also have the planned Oh yeah, I mean, you know, like I don't know what I would have done honestly, because it was it really took me out. So yeah, I'm just so grateful, but I'm so happy to be back. And yes, the Kenyan women go up.
That's my brother's hope is that we're going to get my little brother. He's like you me, Dad, were going to make a trip to he wants to do Kenya or South Africa in I was like twenty twenty four because I.
Got the baby's coming.
Baby, the baby is coming.
Yeah.
I just heard his little heartbeat this morning. He's in there kicking on my bladder. Let me know he's there. Yeah, I'm very excited. Yeah I am, I'm almost. I have had lunch with a friend. Remember we talked about before the for like our New Year's episode. We were talking about our intentions for the New year, and I think one of the themes that really resonated was the sense of making time to reconnect. So like you and me, we need some time.
Yes.
And then I saw one of my oldest girlfriends who I hadn't seen since August, which is a damn shame. We used to like you know, when you work together in your twenties. We were just like a cubicle away and we were in each other's business. You know. All I knew everything I knew is she ate for breakfast. I knew how she was feeling about the weather, like everything, And now I just found out she had shingles, She
had a whole illness. Yeah, well, you know we were catching up, but like she had COVID and then shingles, and I'm like, yeah, I have flu and bronchitis and other stuff was happening, new jobs and stuff, but it was so lovely and I got to go to city and felt it felt really good to start reconnecting with just new friends and not new friends old friends. In twenty twenty three, and I'm trying to get it all done, you know, before May, because I got this ticking, this
ticking clock, and we planned speaking up. We're planning like a little baby moon, which will be our first time traveling anywhere since twenty nineteen. Like it's pretty sad, you know, but we're going to Costa Rica.
Ooh excited. I love It's very beautiful and lush.
I just want nature and quiet. And I feel kind of like I feel I need twinge of guilt that Rio is gonna miss out, but like it'll be okay, He's gonna be fine. He'll see the slots another time, you know.
Plus he's still really because how old is Rio?
He's three?
Yeah, So it's like the kind of vacation that he might remember, like a general thing, but not the specific things anyway. So it's like I'll give you one more year before You're like, I remember, I could.
Hardly take two hours on a plane to Atlanta. I don't know how I would do five and a half.
I know, Oh my god.
But I saw some like I wanted to kind of you know, we used to do Buzzworthy back.
In the day.
I wondered if we can bring back brown Ambition buzz. I was like, the ba buzz. Let's call it the ba buzz. There's a lot that's been going on, So yeah, first do we need to we have to talk about this. Have you seen? And and Happy MLK Day everybody? That was we're recording on Tuesday. It was yesterday. But have you seen the statue in Boston the new Cure?
I mean I saw the picture was based off of but I was like, what is giving?
I hate myself because it's like I want I'm one of those people who I want to appreciate artists, you know, their work and all the time and all that. But my husband, I didn't really know there was a new statue I was going to be unveiled, but all like my husband just like puts his phone in front of my face and he's like, what do you think that is? And we're we were potty training Rio this weekend, and all I can think of is is that a like? Is that is that gold turd?
Like?
What am I looking at here? It was so and then I felt so horrible when I learned what it was. But yeah, that thing, it's causing a lot of controversy because it looks like a sexual act. Yes, I just.
Beautiful because I'm just like, how many people did that have to go through for it to be made?
And no one said, that's exactly what our producer Emani said. No one said pick somebody else the sketches. Maybe they had to make like a little mini mirror of means of course they did. Yeah, I mean, what do you do now? You can't there's no overturn.
See, I'm like, this massive, it's just phallic symbol. Yeah, you need to see it.
Maybe need to see it in person, you know, from the right angle. But uh, why just the arms in the hands? Why know torsos or there were heads? I just do. It's gotta be really awkward to be at MLK descendant.
I know they're really like, okay, thank you, oh boy, So we want to know y'all's thoughts on the new MLK statue.
I want to be the kind of person who can find beauty and anything, and like, I just feel bad for the artists because God, like, you know, he put his whole life on hold for that, and you know, art isn't the eye of the beholder or whatever they say. Some good news though, so inflation is it's gotten so bad, like the cost of groceries and especially eating out. We can't even look at door Dash or Uber Eats without spending seventy five dollars. It feels like I'm just a
regular meal. So I even took my butt to Costco and I was like, we're gonna be buying in bulk. It's a new day, it's a new life. I'm feeling good. Oh well, good news is that apparently customers, like consumers, we have been changing our shopping habits. Finally it's like gotten too expensive, and businesses are finally like, okay, we're gonna slow down the price hikes and in some cases
either going back on them. But it seems like most businesses, according to the Wall Street Journal, are just ceasing, you know, additional price hikes. So hopefully a carton of eggs ain't gonna cost girl you know, twelve dollars anymore.
Well, we can't eat eggs around here, that's what that means. We ain't eating them eggs, but we're gonna have chicks to the back, like girl produced, That's what I'm saying.
How much could it cost to have a chicken? I felt so bad. We went to Enrique's my husband's moms for I don't know, like lunch the other day, and Rio loves making eggs. He's not always interested in eating them. And she got the fancy you know, the cage free or and he made her make four of them join up. And he did not eat a single egg. And I was like, Myra, do you need twenty dollars like all paint for these eggs? Oh?
Here, these fancy kids. He's like from gold dust on it.
I was like, Myra, get one of the you know, the blue styrofoam eggs, girl, like, you know, the cheap ones. I was like, get some of them for him to play with next time. Yeah, oh god. Oh. And then I caught a little bit of the Golden Globes just because randomly someone was like tweeting about it. But black people this Award season in Hollywood were cleaning up cleaning up. Have any speeches or any winds touched your heart?
What I didn't see? I mean, I'm so glad for Quinta. Quinta is really like slang. I love that, and I love because you know, I remember Quinta from Oh he got money from her?
Ye, like what I can get on my popcorn got I remember her from that?
So she I just love to see this for he of course, who does not love the incomparable Cherylie Rolf because she's fabulous.
Yes, I was sad she didn't win the Golden Globe because we didn't get a shiry Lee Ralph's speech, but then she won something else, like it was Critics Choice Award. Yes, have you seen that clip that's going viral.
With the one about that Kim Kardashian.
No, oh that one too, but no that was Golden Globes. No this one. She's like giving the speech and she's like, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about you. We should just play a clip because I'm not going to do her justice at all. But basically, it's like, you better love what you see in the mirror. It doesn't matter when anyone else you know thinks about you. Is really moving.
Yes, No, I love that, honestly, I just I'm just really I just love to see that people are getting you know, that people are getting appreciated while they're still here, you know what I mean.
Yeah, And so I just love to see that.
I mean, I mean because Charlie, she says she's been an icon, I mean, from Dreamgirls to I think she woned like miss Jamaica Toshau's mama.
She'd been out here. Yeah, so she ain't new to this, She's true to this.
So it's nice for the bigger I mean, the black girl we knew we were like girl, not not Ryl.
Right, but you know, sorry miss Lee Ralph because you know you're grown. But you know what I mean. But I love when people kind of get a chance.
To cross over and become household names.
Yeah, you know what I mean.
That's what you're wanting, you know what I mean, Because not everybody's wanting that, you know, but that's what you're wanting. And so I'm loving that she's getting kind of like this turn to be seen and appreciated.
So I love that, and the girls are loving what's his face? What's this? Tyler? James Williams the guy who plays mister m As.
Do you like Abbat?
I love it.
You know I don't watch TV, so wait, I know you know what. You don't even shame me, but on stream I know.
I don't read books.
No, I just I've been doing a lot of walking.
I just because I got out of the habit of watching TV when I started the Budgeonessa because who had time. And then it's hard for me to get back in the happen because I get so bored so easily. So I watch the little clips here and there, so like, don't shame me, and I'm actually like act tonight, I told myself, I'm taking myself out on a date, me, myself and I, the three of us, and we're gonna go see Black Panther.
I haven't seen it. Don't get nobody either.
No, no, I haven't because me like a pole babysitter to see it, and then the times are always so inconvenient for babysitter hours. Yeah, no, I'm I'm gonna go. I'm waiting for it to come on streaming. I gave up.
I said I was gonna but I said, you know what, Tiffany, go outside, girl.
I said, Glass slide. I said, you know what, I'm gonna go.
I'm gonna actually gonna treat myself to one of the dining theaters. Girl were gonna be fancy in the WHOA love those girls. So have you seen me out on about and You're like, ooh, she with other people? It's myself and I.
Well, damn it. So I'm gonna have to cross off below deck discussion from my list of buzzworthy because I've been obsessed with below deck, y'all, it's so messy and delicious. All right, Uh an employee and employment news. Well, one thing I just wanted to like, I had a coaching session. I sometimes this is off the record except for you guys when women are let go from their jobs. And like, if I've ever given you a coaching session, if you reach out to me, I'm probably going to offer pro
bono coaching session if you've been let go. And so I met this young woman earlier today and she had been let go from a big tech company. I'm not going to put her business out there, and like, you know, thousands of people were let go from this tech company
and she was so down. I mean, obviously it's it sucks because these layups have been happening, you know, right around the holidays, and it really broke my heart because she's the second, no, the third woman who I've met who was let go the same year that they made
the change to that new job. And the sense of like, when it's hard enough to take a career risk, right, and to move new to move new jobs and all of that, and sometimes we forget like there's this element of shame to being let go and then let and then you have this fear that if people you used to work with find out that they're going to have like they're going to be judgmental about it, like, oh, you were all, you know, cool because you got a
job at this big tech company. And to hear her, I mean, she got she was getting emotional about it, you know, because I was suggesting that she posts on LinkedIn and announces that she's open to work and all of that, but there was this like she really didn't want to do it, and she's just in the thick
of that job search. And so it just reminded me that all these statistics about like layoffs and even though the job market is still strong, there are people suffering from like long term unemployment and long term job searching out there, and so I just want to like acknowledge that and say, you know, if you're feeling shame about it, I really hope that you can be compassionate for yourself. You're so not alone, and I feel like there's so
much I was trying to tell her. There's more to be gained by telling that story and sharing it, I believe than any potential downside of maybe someone passing a judgmental you know, thought about you, Because I feel like, if you don't share it or talk about it sometimes, how do you then open yourself up to the help and support of other people. So that was on my spirit today.
Maybe I could just save in lives.
I don't know if I saved your life in half an hour, but I made her you know what I mean.
Like there's just like sometimes you just need that person to like, you know, pour into you, encourage you.
And so I love that you did.
That for her. Yeah. Please, I mean I'm coming from the person who quit a job, didn't take a job, came back six months later begging for the same job, got the job, got a new job, and quit a month later, and then got laid off from that job that she quit for. That's my story.
Okay.
I know, don't talk to like. I've been there, I've taken their risks, I've fallen on my ass and I'm like, it's okay, you know, it's okay, all right. And our last little news nugget is that if you heard you know what non competes are, you probably do because you
probably have. Yeah, we so the fts Yeah, and like non competes for employees, they can really stop you from being able to work for other big places or like, you know, navigate your career strategically because your company may have a non compete saying you can't work for any other fer months like ours, and if you do, you know, really specific work that could limit your opportunities. So the FTC good news. The FTC is like pushing to ban non competes and employers are losing their damn minds.
Well here's my take.
I mean, I can see like not if you're not working for me anymore, okay, but I don't want someone who is simultaneously because sometimes people have side hustles, which I encourage, but don't side hustle with. Like, although I'm not gonna say I have a competitor or whatever, you know what I mean? So because that's not really but do you know what I mean? Because there a definitely some point where I'm just like, yeah, yeah, I wouldn't want someone working with me and then also working with
someone you know what, that's actually true. For example, Tracy, my publicays, came to me and said, Hey, Tiffany, I've got this potential client. She reached out to me, wants to work with me. But she asked, would this compete with your client the bunch of Nista, And I was like, probably not because she's Tracy has worked with other financial
brands before. But then when she described a woman, I was like, actually that is what I do, you know, because for example, she's worked with people who only talk about investing. No problem because I might cover it lightly, but that's I'm not to invest Innista. You know, I'm more of a if I'm going to be on TV or whatever. As far as a poblicist is concerned, I'm
a generalist. People have me come on a little bit of credit, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, you know, And so if someone is highly specialized in the thing, then no, that's not a compete, even if it's personal finance, you know, or like let's just say, for example, she worked with Tanya from Oh, I forget what it was called before, but she has like a kid's app, a kid's in money app. I forget it was called something else before, but it has
a new name now. Anyway, Tanya Vancourt. She's got this awesome app that helps kids like save money and put money away whatever. So even though Tanya has financial education, but it's a specific she's specifically for kids and the specific app no problem. But like I said, this other person was really kind of like a generalist.
And after when she.
Was describing it, because I told her, I said, you have to think to yourself, if you're going to pitch her, how are you pitching her. Is it for a specific thing or is it for she can do what Tiffany does basically? And so we both talked about it and I was like, I'm glad that that woman, you know, had to Wherewithal was like, think about it before we move forward, and I was just like, oh yeah.
No, yeah to her credit, like she also would want a publicist, you can focus on her pitching her, yes, And Tracy, I mean not only is your publishers also your sister. And I'm like, yes, she's gonna know that it will be weird.
But try to say because I'm my pa says, people just think that.
But I know, girl, whatever, but you know because because she's you're right, because because here's the thing. If I'm being honest, if she's going to pitch, you know who who is she pitching? You know, like, if they're pitching the both of us, you know, not to flex. But I've been doing it longer, so today Sho's gonna be like Tiffany, but he just had it a couple of
weeks ago. Yeah, Tiffany, you know, to me, it wouldn't actually be fair to her because if she's going to pitch, you know, so yeah, so I just thought that that was really you know, like that, I like, I mean, I'm not opposed to non compete. If it's like you are currently working with me, I don't think that you should be working with someone who does exact same thing. But if you're not currently working with me, then you know, like, girl, that's your business, you.
Know, right, But it's about that like trade secret. I mean, how can you stop people from sharing what they learned at a Facebook with a snapchat, you know, if they can't. Yeah, so it's all that. So I just I was like, I wonder, I wonder what because that's like the golden handcuffs a little bit. That's why they give you like sweet equity and stuff. And then they have the non compete, which is like this like carrot and the stick a little bit. That's the stick, like if you leave us,
we're going to come for you. And you have seen people get sued, you know, and lost their jobs because they got a new job. And then they're like, oh, we don't want to go against that big corporation. Yeah, you know, it's a fine for you.
I think there should be some moderation with it because I can understand as a company, you know, because I mean I had somebody on my team that was doing that secretly working for like someone who did the exact same thing and feeding them everything we were doing. What she didn't know is sauce sold separately, so you know, because honest see, the sauce is sold separately. So when I found out, I let them go, and I was like, well, that's not cool. But when I saw how I was
looking on the new person. I was like, well, that's that's what.
She gave you.
Okay, girl, it's not looking the same.
Sen it's because it's a different you know, it navigates differently on other people. But I just didn't like that, like you know, kind of like secret back backyard dealing, you know, because we're literally sometimes we're working through things, so you're you're, you know, you're bringing it to someone else.
I just was like, oh no, girl, you can't stay here. So you know, I definitely have seen it both ways, so.
You're the sauce, just to be clear. So so all right, well that's it for the brown buzz probably wait ba buzz the ba buzz.
I love that?
Really getting back to my uh set, my twelve year old run the school paper roots here. Oh god, all right, let's take a quick break and come back with Brown Boosts Brown.
Break and We're Bad and We're Black fun for Boost to Break, the Boost to Break.
Okay, Oh I forgot, Oh I forgot the song already.
I thought you were bringing us into a new year with a new beat. Girl, I forgot the song the are we gonna boost? I was talking about are we gonna break? Right?
Look at me? My bootstop, break up, boost stop break Are we going to boost? Are we going to break?
Which?
Which are you gonna take? I don't remember anyway, you know we boosting, we break in. You want to go first? Second? Manager? How are you feeling?
I want you to go first? But I got my boost?
Okay, I have a boost too.
So one of the things we did in Kenya that was so transformative for me, because the whole trip was amazing is that we did a service project at this place called Wings, Wings for Hope.
I think that's what it's called, Yes, Wings for Hope, And it was a.
A shelter of some sort, but like a compound, because like a series of buildings for young teen moms.
Some of the girls were as young as twelve years old and pregnant.
You know, all of them obviously had been taken care of, taken advantage of, because you know, you can't be twelve and consenting to whom, you know, But honestly, most of them had been oh well, all of them had been kind of disowned or thrown away by their family as a result of the pregnancy. And some of them were even you know, taking advantage of. And this is just I mean, if you might want to fast forward if
this is going to be triggering. I should have had a trigger warning, but had been taking advantage of by their own fathers and were carrying their father's babies.
It was really heavy, and.
I was just like, I mean, you know, eleven, twelve, thirty, I just and so.
When I was there, I mean, we were.
All fighting tears because it just was so heavy. And the angels that run It's a husband and wife they met while kind of doing the work. The wife was a nurse, and she said that baby would come into the hospital that had been found thrown away in trash bags, hidden in bushes. Yeah, and she was like, where are yes, I'm sorry, Mandy, yes, and she just was like, where's okay? But where are these babies coming from? And so as they started to like the husband was volunteering at the hospital.
It was at the time it was just a guy, you know, like volunteer at the hospital.
And she.
After doing more research, she found out that it was these t young teen girls that were doing this, that the large variority of these babies that were coming to the hospital were as a result of these young young girls who were like I don't know what to do.
I'm twelve, so.
She said, which I think is so beautiful. How do we solve the issue. It's not just like taking care of the baby that when it gets here, can we
take care of that girl? And so they created this beautiful place for the girls, Wings for Hope, where you know, when they find out a girl's been kind of like thrown out of her family as a result, you know, as much as they can, they take them in here and then look after them, give them food, shelter, they get therapy, they get you know, education, they pay for school, they do all these things and based upon all like
donations and things. And so one of the reasons why I said Kenya was restorative is because before I left, like I said, I was drowning in the grief. And this going here like reminded me a lesson that doctor Green, my amazing black therapist, told me a few months after Drill passed away. And because I kept saying, this is the worst thing that could have ever happened, this is the worst thing that could have ever happened, And then one day she said, is it.
The worst thing?
Tiffany and I wanted to jump through the zoom and rock and sock with her, cause I was like, what are you talking about? Of course it is, you know, you know, and so because what she was saying, your parents are still here, your sisters in Roman and Amelia and Lily, and but at the time I was like, and am I trying to hear all that it is the worst thing?
And so.
But this sitting in this compound, you know, with the girls and this amazing husband and wife team, It's like there was a huge prospective shift and it wasn't trauma comparison that instead it opened up for me to see that like is it the worst thing that could have happened to you, Tiffany, Meaning like is it just grief that you're experiencing in your life or is there so many things to be grateful for?
You know?
And it was literally like a line in the sand of the before Tiffany and the after Tiffany. And I said to myself like I was talking to doctor Green about it, like, you know, and she was like, you know, you know, it was a transformation for you because you got to feel simultaneously or your grief but also acknowledge the other grief of the people in that room alongside of you. Without detracting or adding to the grief that you're holding. And then on the third part, I was like,
what can we do to help? And so one of the best ways for anyone to kind of get out of the situation is always education. And so we were asking them, like, you know, how much does it cost for like a year to like, you know, there's about maybe twenty twenty five girls there, because in Africa in many places, although school is free, you have to pay a school fee to go to the next level. So you take your exams in order to get those exam grades,
you have to pay a fee. And for all the girls, like twenty twenty five girls, it's you know, there's a fee, and so it's maybe like fifteen thousand dollars for the year. And I said, okay, that I'm going to pay that, and you know, maybe the year after and the year after and in the year after. And so it was like doctor Green was like, I don't think you realized
what you've unlocked in yourself, Tiffany. And then you can acknowledge your grief, you can acknowledge that it's part of a larger like grief that is in that room, and then you can even from a place of your own sadness, say I want to help with somebody else.
She was like, that's a huge transition. I hope you recognize that.
And so it was just when I say so transformat in it just felt like such a joy to be able to do that. And so I just yeah, like, I'm hoping that Wings for Hope will like start like a because they're a nonprofit in Kenya. They're not based in the United States, and hope they'll have like an you know, like some sort of arm here so.
People can donate and give.
Because so I exchanged emails with the oldest girl there him as say, she's in school in college New Alsara is twenty.
She has a seven year old.
You know, and you know, but to see I could see the joy in her, and she was sharing how she tries to come back from school as much as possible to help the younger ones because some of the younger ones are having such a hard time, you know, they have to stop them from harming their babies sometimes because they don't know what's going on. And so she but I could see the joy in her, I could
see how happy her son was. And I asked her, because you know, sometimes you have these facilities and you're like, is it really good, because sometimes it's more it's worse than where they came from. And she was like, they love us so well here, Tiffany, they love us so well. I don't know what I would have done. And so yeah, I'm just committed to like that type of service. You know.
I certainly I've lived my life in service and teaching and even the BUNCHONISA does an active service and every but this is more concrete for me, and so just looking for opportunities to do this. It just yeah, So that is I mean, I know, I hopefully it's not a Debbie Dowter for y'all, but it just it up did me so much to know that like I can participate in like helping making these like because they look like me, these they are us, these little black girls.
That's just me, just a different circumstance or situation. And so so yeah, that is my brown boost wings for Hope. Thank you so much for the amazing really just amazing miracle work that you do with these beautiful girls. And you know, in the ways I can help and I find more ways that I'm sure you guys are like
I want to help. When I find more ways, I will share them with you because I just think that, like, yeah, because they want to have they want to be at capacity, they want to be at sixty girls, but they can't currently afford it. They don't even have enough beds. And so we're all like kind of working together and figure out what does that look like? How do we help so more girls are not left in the dangerous situation.
They have a safe place to be.
Yeah.
I think it's also a beautiful message of when you travel, just leaving a place better, like even a little bit better, you know, than the way you found it. And even that impulse for me is to cringe and to look away from a story like that, but it doesn't stop the story from being true and those girls needing help. So I love hearing stories like that and the spin is okay, it's a tragedy, but then what good can
come of it? And what can you do? That is beautiful? Yeah, I got to put Kenny on the list for sure, the huge list of where I need to go. All right, well, I'll do a quick little I'll take my bigger boosts and do my quick little one, my little backup boost I wanted to. I read this article in Fortune just today and I thought it was so powerful. It's called the pandemic killed my Ambition and here's how I'm getting
it back. And I thought it was such a I won't read the whole I'm gonna read the whole article, but I love it because this is the kind of conversation I'm having all the time with my BANDI money Makers, about like redefining ambition on our own terms, and where does the ambition like where can we embrace our ambition and our want to learn more and always be growing and you know, developing and all that, and where does that fall with also wanting a softer life and not
wanting to grind ourselves into the dust. And I'm just happy to see an article like this, And we'll post a link in the show notes because I feel like this is it. It's really up to us how we
define ambition. And I mean, for a show called Brown Ambition, what I hope is we can define it in such a way that it gives you time to reflect on what it is that you're striving for and not just what, but why, like the why behind why you're ambitious about a certain opportunity or a certain you know, moving up in a certain way, and just taking time to reflect and personally, like, when I approach twenty twenty three, I have these I do have these big goals for Mandy money,
and I feel this ticking clock of there's a baby coming and I have to I got a lot of shit to do before I go on maternity leave and
all that. But these first few weeks of the new year, I have found myself just like really slowing down and trying to think thoughtfully before just rushing into things, and just trying to be intentional about what it is that I'm doing instead of just going all in, burning myself out, so that I can, like what skin across the finish line into the labor and delivery room and be like, you know, thank God to have a break, you know, a free a freeze, not a free day at a hospital.
I don't want to be like that, you know, I want to I want to have some energy left, you know, for having two little ones at home. So I'll post a link to that. But if you're struggling with that, I feel like women are. If you're struggling with the idea of how can I be ambitious but still want that softer life. I think this is a great article to read and then start like redefining that for yourself.
I love that.
I think I feel like that's the space I always say. I was telling the girls that the and Kenya, like the other Retreat members, I said, I'm in my shadd era right about now, like I used to be in my Beionce era.
So you don't Beyonce like her. I'm talking to Icon. Whatever it takes, the grind, the work, you know, I'm like, we off that for me anyway. Yeah, So I'm in my shad Day era.
So if you know anything about shad Day, she literally comes out with an album every seven to fifteen years. Like she literally would be like, oh, here's a little something, go back to your business, and then she will go back to wherever she's living her best life.
Because Shade is sixty but skin glowing.
She just looks beautiful. She looks well rested, like she minds her business and drinks water, you know. And so I that's the space that I'm in now that I'm not. I don't have the desire to be ambitious anymore in the traditional sense, you know, because even though Shade is not, like you know, out there doing all the interviews or whatever.
I suspect she's still making music for music's sake, you know, meaning like I like, I'm so, I'm still I'm still doing beautiful work, and you know, but I don't have this necessity to be externally gratified by it anymore. I'm just tired and I don't have the desire to go as hard as I used to go. There's nothing wrong with the Beyonce era because there's this place. There's a reason why I can buy that condo cash. It's because
of my Beyonce era. So certainly I'm not going to turn my nose up in somebody who is in that space right now. But even Beyonce, and it ain't even have Beonce era, you know, are the visuals. Girl, If y'all to leave me alone, She says, I have fifty eleven kids. You heard her in a song, I got fifty eleven kids.
Yeah, you know.
So even Beyonce has taken down the Beyonce era. And so because there are moments, you know, I think, then, yeah, many of us make the mistake of staying one place too long, and so like, yeah, so I love that. Honestly, I can't wait to read that because I'm like, you know, to redefine what ambition looks like.
All Right, we're going to keep that show called Brown Ambition, but we're redefining it as we go. Okay, y'all, Oh so good to be back with you, TIV, Happy New Year everybody. Officially, yeah, we'll see y'all next week. We'll see you Friday for BAQ and a bye bye hey ba fam. We could not do this show without your support or the support of our team behind the scenes. The Brown Ambition podcast is produced by Cumulus Podcast Network. It's edited by the wonderful Emani Crosby and produced by
Tanya Bustos. Dennis Taplinsky is our in house tech crew, and I am Bandy Woindchard Santos your co host, and I will see y'all next week.