Brilliant Black Woman (w/ Deja Vu)

aspect of your life. What in life shows up with you everywhere you So I'm here to show you the different ways to utilize yourself through inspirational conversations with inspirational people.

As we move into Women's History Month, I'm constantly thinking about what it means to be a woman in We have a long history of ancestors and mentors, mothers, grandmother's, matriarchs who we need to celebrate and remember as much as we also have to look at women of today who are doing it for themselves as well as those who are doing it for the days to come. I'm talking about the women making history right now with their

lives going against the expectations of this world. So with that in mind, I knew who I had to reach out to and bring on the show today. I decided to bring on a woman who has been instrumental in my development, who I see as a mentor. Hey, you might even call this a mentor. Monday Deja Vu is a media personality and broadcaster known for her hilarious personality and sharp with on her own show w b LS is Deja Vu in the Afternoons, which airs in New York,

and the syndicated beat Deja vusham Um. We sat down and she shared with me to talk about knowing when it's personal and when it's business, when to let go, the importance of balance, and what it means to go full out for your dream and that includes igniting the hustle. Okay, that fool knowing how brilliant you are. So I know that you're going to enjoy because I know I did.

So without further ado, it's time for your dose a Vitamin D. Get your Vitamin D right with me and get excited about hi Ja v day all day, every day. And how are you doing? Are going? Oh? Good? Good? How are you? I'm excellent, no complaints at all, living life girl. I'm so happy you're here. I just want to let you know that we're live on it's recording. So um, but you said, how am I doing? I'm grateful. I love your voice done. I was telling my sister, I was trying to describe it, and I said, she

had such a full, rich, how am I doing? It was just so pretty? Do you know how much that means coming from you? Girl? Please, it's beautiful. But you've had this voice. I was telling her. I said, you had maybe recently graduated college of your years, and you still had that full, warm, that sound, and I'm glad to see you using it. Thank you, And I want to say that I'm grateful for you for believing in me.

You you you always made the time for me. And I was just thinking, like, you know, being a Women's History month, I had to think about, like who are the women that I admired, People that helped paved the way, you know, shed light on the way, just spend time as I was on my way, and I'm like, deja day, I mean taking it back like you were talking about a few years after college, deja I had a dream of being a worldwide At first, I used to say motivation,

but as I talked to a mentor, he said, you know, you get motivated to get started, but you gotta get inspired to change your life. And I said, okay, inspirational speaker, but da it was you. They gave you the official moment to speak at a high school. We were in Jersey. I remember that you took it on me days. That means so much. That's crazy that you remember that way back then. And yes, but you rocked it. You rocked it. So you're getting emotional now because I don't think people

realize that. People don't realize how important it is to have mentors in your life. Absolutely, and I guess even having you today, I want to talk about that with you because you know, you look at you and it's like you're in a number one market at WBLS. You're syndicated on ABC Radio with the Deja Busha. I mean, you're you're doing live announcements for Ryan and Kelly like or Kelly and Ryan like, oh my gosh voice over.

It's like, and here's the thing. People get on this journey for this dream, right right, and you know you're thinking like, oh, I'm a run and I'm gonna arrive and it's just like I guess Michelle Obama's book and she's always she's talks about becoming because we're always becoming. And like you said, you talked a little woll Dawn fresh out of college. Here we are looking like almost ten years later, girl, and I'm still twenty nine in holding the thing. I was thinking back, I said, how

does stage is still look the same? Listen, girl, But no, you know what, it's a grateful thing to be on this journey. We're steadily evolving, right, and the fact that we are now in this moment of our lives in the world, that we have time for us to be able to take our time. Remember back in the day, it seemed like by the time you were thirty, life

is over. You were sitting down, they were putting you out the pasture and all that stuff you would see if you see the older movies, you're like, thet was only thirty five, and why would she mean put back? Now you see women doing things in I mean all the me up until whenever they want to stop. Seriously, So I just think it's amazing, and not just women, but men too. We've been afforded this opportunity to be able to continue to grow in our passions and be

able to still live out those dreams. That's the blessing of being where we are right now at this present time. Yes, And when you said present time, it's about the gift of now and living out your dreams and how that takes courage, how it's going to take you to stretch and so looking at you and how you come like I got so many questions as to how I want

to start, because I'm approaching. I feel as though the women that I worked with starting it's ubls like now I'm taking a chance and I'm seeing the viewpoint I'm seeing, you know, whether or not you know, whether you're hiring personnel, how you're focusing your dreams, how you're starting to think about, you know, relationship, how you're thinking about, you know, standing up to a family, also dignifying your worth. You know.

It's so then dealing with the fact that you are getting old or more exactly although twenty nine and holding serious the grateful part and the gracious and grateful part of it is again like I said that we're still working. I did an interview recently with Biblica and she was mentioning that same kind of thing. She's like, the baby woman are killing it out here. I didn't realize that she had just got finished doing her twenty five lifetime

movie producing. Right, we don't see that because sometimes she's not in front of the camera. But she just got finished producing these movies. Then you see to Roggie, all these women are fifty and over now who are still living their best lives and looking sexy. That ever did you see Holly Berry hanging upside now doing her SUPs on a fighting on a punching bag. Says it's old, says says school me. So then I will know when I approach consis why not I see you twenty nine

and holdings right? Brilliant black Woman's dad is let me see that shirt? What is actually like it? We'll see you one. It's my new thing, brilliant black woman? What is that? Okay? Women's History Month, brilliant black What is this about? Well? You know, I have all these different phases of what I do. So I have my hustle, hers have your night, your hustle. But I just was looking at something and I saw something and someone said,

and I still have. I have my Black Woman series, so I have the proud black woman, the strong black woman. And somebody said, why do we always have to be proud and strong? Why can't we just be brilliant. And I said, boom, there is black woman. So behold the brilliant black woman T shirt. And I am going to be gifting you one and set amounts of different people and I sell them as well. So yeah, we gotta

we have to own who we are, right. We've seen so many of these message tease this and not saying this and whatever, But I say, own who we are and what we are. This is the time for us to be proud. People are saying black girl magic. Yet we are magical as well as brilliant, and let's go ahead and step in and live in that. Why not let us sink in and be proud about it. I was looking at something from I forgot what it was.

I think it was something on PBS, and they had a thing where they were transitioning out of the sixties civil rights to the seventies when people were like, I'm saying loud, I'm black and I'm proud and they have the afros and they were finally living that and sinking into and being proud of their blackness their brilliance. And it was amazing to see it after having come look at that where we're on the second end of it. But they were coming from the civil rights movement, who

slavery and all that, and they were enjoying it. And right now we're seeing everything that's happened in the past few years. Let us sit and enjoy our blackness and be brilliant in the midst of it. So what does it mean to be brilliance and black completely? As far as Stasia it's concerned Florida, Jacksonville, Florida. For me, it means that you are living your purpose. It means that

you are walking in that divine purpose. That you are spiritually fit, you are professionally fit, and you are financially fit. You're working on your way. We're steadily evolving in our brilliance, but it's a continual thing. We're always growing and always learning. Right, But while we're here, we're experiencing this brilliantness. I am I did something. I am somebody in words of Jesse, Reverend Jesse, I am somebody. But no, we're letting our

lights shine, no matter vitamin A, matter the circumstances. You know, that's what vitamin D is all about. Shedding night right, come on, come on, so vitamin D. You know it's upon off my name. You know vitamin D from the sun. So this podcast is all about shedding light and believe it or not, day Ja. I started vitamin D back in twenty and right when I was in I was working at VLS, I was working at Music Choice, and it came back from my love of music. I remember.

I remember because you were using lyrics, I remember, and you would send out the emails and everything. I remember and look at you now, this is the brilliance of it. Before I was talking to Joy and I was talking to my sister, and then we were talking about you, and I said, Dawn has been doing our thing because we talked started talking about your voice. But I was telling her what you did, and I said, I don't

know if you remember this. You were the one when I first got to w b l S to actually train me on the w BLS board in the sound system and everything how it went down. I had no clue. And that's how you and I got to build out report and I'm friend you told me and taught me how to do that. I didn't know I was coming from another station, so you filled me in on how everything was going on over at w BLS. Wow. Right now, that you put it back. Yeah, that because that was

our moment. Yes, and now look at this, look at you, I said, Now she's doing all this stuff. She's got her I already a podcast. He's doing stuff with Steve Harvey. I said, you were on reality shows and John you're are you? You're doing a lot of acting and everything. Now, so's try to about that. Look at me, I'm interviewing you improve I'm doing improv at the groundlings. I think it's so amazing. So where does this go? Where do you go from the improv? What is what's the next

evolution for you and your brilliance? Well? Hello as uh yeah, I'm gonna be big in an old rotation. And so remember when you had your opera moment? Which one or the article? Yes? Amen, thank you, hallelujah, thank you God. I want to have a yes and cons what you say? Which one? Okay? I wasn't sure you were talking about my article in the New York Times, but the time about when I was because the article said a voice for radio with Oprah's ambition, right, And weren't you on

the show just on the show I was talking about? Yes, I remember, Oh I was on the show. For Queen Sugar and so what it was. I had an opportunity to ask one of the questions to the cast, and you know, you had Oprah and you had Ava de Renee and then she said Dawnte, Dawnte, and I asked my question and then uh Ava said she said, Dawn, we ought to get you on the writer's wrong. So I didn't wait a minute. And then one of the

actors I ran into him, uh Timan. I can't think of his last name, but he is the husband to the actress with my same name. I think it's Dawn Dawn. Yes. He I ran Intohim on the red carpet at the Bounce Awards and he from with me. He was like, I've met you. I said, Amy, I'm gonna get theim with my pack is yeah, walking into it because I'm still going on days and I'm still figuring it out. I'm so proud of you just letting me know what

I am. Thank you, and just I keep saying, but thank you for seeing me, because you know people be talking about this journey and you know you say proud, you stay strong. But even in the part of the brilliance, like is there a moment to be weak. Absolutely, that's all encompassing. That's a part of it because even in our brilliance, we do have those weak moments when we're feeling like, Oh God, how am I gonna do this? What's happening now? Why is this happening to me? Why? God? Why?

When God went, did you forget about me? Hello? I'm still down here grinding. But then there's a little uh something, a phrase. It's phrase. I didn't coin this, but it's called a god wink God to do a little something like look at you. Come on, And if it's not God for you, maybe it's universe, the universal or matterfests something for you to be like, look at this. They

haven't been forgotten. I have not been forgotten. And even in my career, I've been in it since I was five, since I'll you know, holding I've been in this career thing for a minute, right, and even certain things that happened now to this day. Uh, you know, here's the thing. I'll say it because regardless of the center age, the thing that's amazing that people is not a spread. This is a marathon and people need to know that's the

thing that is. But that's the beauty and where we are now, dawn, because back in the day, my eyes will waking. I got a little bit of love your work. I love your work. I study every day. But but listen, there wasn't time. And I keep saying this because it was when people would try and shut you out. And even still in our entertainment industry, they want to aid you out of certain things. But because technology is evolving, we're able to be here front and center in your face.

We can do this. We can extend our rands in many different directions. So even after I've been in it as a seasoned professional for a minute now, things will just happen. Certain things will just pop up and people will say stuff, or you know, you'll get somebody to call and say, hey, I was thinking about using you for such and such. Really, okay, thank you. I have

not been forgotten. I am still on this journey. And so that lets me know even in my weak moments, in those value moments, I know that God is still with me because my steps have already been ordered. It's already ordained. And I don't know how you all believe, but this, this is how believes, and this is what I go through. Hey, I know that everything is already pre played and predestined, and we're just walking in it, you know what I mean. So I'm just excited right now.

I'm excited, get excited about your lot. I tell people that all the time. And it's everything that you've been embarkeding on. Talking about the whole thing of standing a moment and being present, understanding your values and your goals, but then also understanding the value of yourself. And that's what I talk about being your greatest asset, And it's that thing, having the connection of knowing who you are. Once you lose the identification of who you are, then

therefore you have nothing to stand on. And if you have nothing to stand on, what are your roots holding on? As you grow tall? Because guess what, the seasons will change. And to that point, I was in the change of seasons when I met you, because if you remember, I had just recently been let go from a company that I built my career with. I had been with him for a while and then I gotten let go. But but within like thirty days I was still with another company,

which is a blessing for you. That was a hard heard I mean, because it happened so suddenly and thankfully I had saved you know, a little nest egg or whatever, and had and I got. You know, they compensated me, but professionally, but emotionally, but egotistically. What you can't fire me off? What I do? So on? So o for the station I'm on, pl I'm on ten other stations for you guys? How can you let me go? I didn't do anything? And that's what we remember. It's not

about you. It's business, right. So this is where I learned. This is what I learned. Number one, it's not always about what you've done. This is their company. If you don't own your own thing, you're always at the hands of someone else because, you know what, They can run their companies the way they want to, because why it's their business. If they feel that putting down here and deja here is the best for their business and their bottom line, that's what they're gonna do. Yes, it hurts,

but guess what, we don't own it. That's why I tell everyone, please make sure you own something. DVS Media that's mine, the Deja Bus show, that's mine. You cannot take that from me. So I had to learn that, though it took me a while it took me getting knocked down and getting fired to learn that you mentioned the DBS studio. I didn't know about that. That's MYEKS Media, that's mine, and that's that's what we're doing. We're branching out and doing some things. But that's where all of

my things are falling under. So my dejab show falls under that, my ignite, your hustle falls under that. But I started. I learned that I had to hustle and that will benefit me, not just these businesses. So you know what I you. I come in, I do my show for the corporation, and then I work on my corporation, building my brand and my business to make sure I have something to fall back on. Now, trying to get that to be leverage to where I am, it's been.

It's been a journey, but I'm working there and it's mine. So you can't even if they fire me tomorrow from where I am, God forbid, I still have mine, you know what I'm saying. I still have my ventures and I have my other hustles. They say the average millionaire has what seven different streams of income, So if you don't have all that stuff lined up, if one just pulls out. Like we saw during the pandemic, people lost jobs. It wasn't their fault, it was just what happened. It

was life. But if you didn't have anything else coming in, you might have been left out there kind of hanging. So I have multiple things going on. I learned that from getting fired. That's when I was in my valley and I'm like, okay, am I gonna lose my house. As soon as I made up my mind, I said, all right, well here's my strategy. Yes, but this is what happens. I said, okay, well here's the strategy. If I have to, I can storage everything up, I can

shrink down my husband. I will go down into whatever apartment or maybe we'll go back into our rental property. Those people out and go into that little space and we'll just make it work. As soon as I did that and let it all go, when I tell you, Skip was like, hey, we're thinking about doing some other things. Skipp was my boss at w b LS forever and I will for always be appreciative of him, as well as Barbara dey Lalu. But you know Barbara was just

here last week. Okay, go ahead, sorry, but uh but yeah, because she's the one who introduced me the skip. We'll talk about that later too, But at any rate, all of that, when I was in that process of trying to figure out what was going to come next, God just took it all out out of my hands. When I said, all right, I surrendered to you. Here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna do this, and I'll be

patient and I will wait in this. In this sometimes you have to sit in those hard moments, right and it's uncomfortable, it's prickly, and you're like, I don't know what to do, but I'm gonna sit here. I'm gonna endure this, this cramp, this pain, this this headache right here, I'm gonna endure it, and I'm gonna find peace in it, and God's gonna teach me the lesson in it. And when as soon as I was doing all that, girl, they were like, well, we want to make some chains.

You want to do so and so and so, and the next thing, you know, rolling And because I got fired from that one particular company, I was at a certain rate over the years that that has happened. That was ten years ago. Now it's been ten years. Um, I have made more money in my career now than I did in those whole ten years. Shut the front door. I'm so serious in the calendar years I've made because

I've had so many other opportunities flow from that. I did not know that, but sometimes that's how life works for us, right. You might have to be kicked down from something that you thought this was your destiny or where you were supposed to be, and then you're really being being aligned and positioned. Had I not been aligned and positioned by getting fired and being on WBLS, then I would not have been contacted in that way by my ABC people because they saw me doing Facebook live

on WBLS. They heard me on WBLS. That's where they were looking. They weren't looking where I was before. So it all works together for my good and just like you said, even to find the piece, it just reminds me of a song with the Clark's Sisters Blessed and highly favor I'm just resting in my father's hands, even though the winds will come stand hills not my forte. No, but don it's just been a journey and it's been an amazing thing. I mean, you can attest you know

how ups and the radio industries up and down. In media industry is up and down. So many opportunities with the streaming platforms for us to be able to grow and extend even with podcasting what you're doing right now. Ten years ago podcasting was around, but it wasn't like

this right and now you are right. And I was telling them, was like, Dawn, you know you kind of been doing this with the vitamin dikause I had it up on SoundCloud and it's just now it's just on a different platform as an I Heart Radio and the rest. But you're right, and you know, I just I love what you said about the ebbs and flows and letting go.

There were so many things that you hit on, because that's what I want people to really grasp when we talk about vitamin D, when we talk about living life on purpose, when we talk about being excited, it does not mean that you're not going to have the sun and you're not gonna have the night, because they have to coexist. You can't have one without the other. And with the appreciation of one, you understand the appreciation of another.

No one wants to be up seven a day. So hence that's why the sun has to go down, and when it does, that's the time for rest. That's the retime for rejuvenation. That's for the check in season. Kind of like what you're talking about. And I love that you said that because I don't think people understand what happens when you press into a grape and you make that grape juice. You understand the appreciation of that. I

love you get that oil. You even understand when that seed goes into to the dirt and that darkness she got to bring into guys when you press it in in nobody. But look, you don't want to be pressed. You don't want to be prune. You don't want to be pricked. But that's where the making comes in. That's where the shaping is when you're trying by that fire,

but you're coming out as pure goal. Come on, Clark's sisters. Okay, So I guess the thing that I guess I was thinking about when you were saying that about your ebbs and flow. Tell me why you feel is so important to let go. I think that you're holding onto the past or what was, if you're continuing to hold on. You've heard the adage you can't hold on it and receive something new. If you're still holding it in your

hands are clothes. You have to open it up to receive the new blessings that are gonna take you to the next way. And it always some well, sometimes things don't look like we thought they would, right, but you're still being able to live out that dream. Is just not the way that you thought it would be. I thought I would be over here doing whatever whatever. Actually I thought I was gonna be doing TV stuff. That's where I really wanted to go when I first got

into the industry. I did my radio and I thought I was gonna do TV. But now I'm doing radio and then TV stuff is coming later. So it didn't go way that I thought it would. But it gets you there eventually, right, And you have to let go of that old thing because that's all that's rotten, that the expiration that was already there. You open up the can. It's sour. Yeah, it's still something in the can, but it's soured now, So you have to let that go.

There's a new bottle of whatever right over here, a bottle of greatness, a bottle of lessons right over on the other side. But you have to go through here and then you get to that. So you have to be able to let it go. But there's there's bravery in that letting go. You can do it, you just have to dig deep into it. And just to say spiritually balanced, that to me has been my key and everything,

my key to success and everything. No matter whether you are Jewish, Muslim, whatever your beliefs are, atheists, I think there should be some kind of spiritual balance for whomever so that you can have that place that you go to when you're meditating, when you're praying. There has to be something that's greater than us where you go to center. That's that to me is so key that you can get to that next level you said snoring. It's like, you know, I don't know if we've ever talked about this.

I have my belief in God, but I don't subscribe to Christianity. But there are a lot of things in the scripture that I understand that I understand that I see it as a way of communications so that I can understand who God is in my life. And just like you're saying, of having that thing to hold onto a center, you know, greater is he who was in

me than he was in the world. So all it takes is in the moment when you were talking about being in that valley you sat down with days at the end of the day, it's just, however you need to get to inside of you, kind of like I'm pulling because I just thought about what I read on your bio, the interview coaching. It's the interview because even I don't think it's even if you look at the word into me in the in the it's in the

in me, it's in the me. Everything that involves is just kind of like in ourselves and how we can become outside of ourselves. And as you were talking about this whole thing of holding onto something, another thing I piggyback on you said, we're done, what's the comp I'm living out everything. And that's one thing that in this season in my life of blessings, I had to understand to let go my mother. She uh, that's hard. Well, not necessarily I didn't complete it. My mother's passing. Her

anniversary was just the other day. But I'm saying as far as my mother holding onto things, and what I mean by that, it's a it's a jug because if you're a person in situation where you've lost you're just trying to hold onto something the whole you, sanity, but not realizing that the thing that you hold on could very well be that circle. And you keep thinking of

a change. So with my mother, of my father dying when my was three months, my sisters three years old, you know, her mother died a year after I was born, then being diagnosed with cancer after that, lost loss, whether it's loss of your job, whether it's loss of you know, the mobility of your body. And so with that, hell with that, I shouldn't say help with that affected me

in the sense there's a hoarding sense. My mother held onto everything deja and you know, it's something that a lot of shame, you know, for a while, if not

wanting to admit. But it's like if I'm talking about shedding the light, and that's what I'm saying when I talk to people about vitamin D. It's cutting the light on the good and the bad, and it's shedding light that if you cannot live in a place of shame, because you need light to grow, whether you're gonna talk about literally vitamin D from the sun, you need inspiration, you need positivity. But if we want to walk in a place of hiding so much of this fear, of

this anxiety. We can't. I'm noticing the abundance that's happening in my life, and I've talked about it on previous episodes of just me getting rid of things and clutter because I thought I had to hold onto it, even relationships, even with people, relationships, even friendships, sometimes you have to clear that stuff out. Now, as far as clutter, I can't turn this camera around right now because we'd see that.

But but yes, to your point, we do have to rid ourselves some of those things, those things so we can make space. We gotta make space for the blood things you're holding on to all this other stuff. And even in the relationships, especially our friendships, sometimes that have just run its course. Some people are supposed to be there for what a reason and a season, and then you have to release them and let them go, and that's how you continue to grow and evolve over time.

But we have to learn that it's a it's a maturity level, you know what I mean. You have to get to that point. Everybody's not there. And I don't think it's an age thing. It's just a personal development and growth thing where you have to get to that point where you realize and you understand, okay, we have to we have to go ahead and make moves now.

And you know, even like when you said that's not an age thing, I guess always trying to think of ways of how to make a sense, like if we can use a real life example so that somebody can see it. It's just like in the Work for Wors. You know, everybody can be on the career to be a president of a company and despite the agent, it depends on what did you turn? Did you miss that turn? I was in Place Verdes and this is right before the whole thing happened with Tiger Woods and his accident.

But I was like, man, I'm gonna have my house out here. I was like, listen to this. I said, you can be in some areas. They may have a stray cat, they may have a dog. They got peacocks, they got cocks. That's the kind of lifestyle I want. So I say, all, I said, that's that's what I want. I want. I want to make sure that the pe I'm not about to hit the peacock. But this is what I'm saying. I was trying to find my way over to Bluff Cove hiking with Barbara. Were in a

card together and um, we kept missing the turns. Its body in l al too. Hey you speak that over her because this is what she wants to be in California. But you know she's using several times so hey, she visited, we're calling her over here. But we were talking about it at that moment because we were trying to find our way to the coastal Hike and guess what if you miss one turn, it takes you all the way around. Wow,

that's a good one. And so what could have been a left term for that five minutes and you would have been there. Now you got to spend an extra fifteen twenty minutes. So even as you're talking about the whole holding onto things and how you're talking about the maturity process, what it says to me is that you gotta be able to catch it and receive it, because

what happens. Have you had a situation in your life where so you wanted something and you got it, but then you realized that you did not have the capacity to hold it. M M. What wasn't when I got to certain positions in my job. I I had titles, but I was not there maturity wise or ability wise. I had to learn those things kind of had to learn. Or the fly learned to build the plane as I was flaying it. So I got there, and I almost

lost certain things because I wasn't to snuff. So I had to actually do the work and put an extra time on that, and it could have lost those things. But I know that I was given stuff where I needed room to grow. But it was up to me to be able to try and get to that growth. If I had not sped up and someone hadn't tapped me on the shoulder, he says, you need to handle your business. Some people would come to days you need to handle your businesses. So I had to step up

my level and get to that part. Otherwise it would have been taken away from me. But I was given the tools so I could go ahead and make it and keep holding onto it. But there were other opportunities or other situations where that that could have just slipped out of my hands had I not had those people around me to help me get to that level. But yes,

I know exactly what you're talking about. When you get stuff and you're not ready for You see a lot of the hip hop stars, they get the celebrity, this huge fame. They're doing this, and you don't know that you have to have another hit coming up behind that. That money doesn't always keep flowing you out of here flashing and doing the phone call with the bricks of the money. I want to do that one day, but anyway, but no, but you have to make sure that you

have something else to balance that out. Is the career gonna look like? What is it gonna look like in five years? To shoot bump that two years? Because you know, we have a short time attention span, right, If you're not focused on what's happening, you can go ahead and miss that same thing, that next opportunity for you because you're so busy flaunting, but you're not working and grinding and getting that thing out, the next music, that next hit,

that next level of your success out. You have to be ready for it and be able to hold onto it. Just like you're saying, all right, and it's interesting, you know you use the word you said you missed the opportunity. Um, I guess my. The way I'm looking at life has so many ebbs and flows and ups and downs. I'm wondering do we have do we ever miss what's truly ours? You missed that go around. It's certainly some of what

you're saying. You took that extra detour. Like in the Bible they went around the wilderness for forty years when it was an eleven day trip. You just missed this turn forty years. That's that's generations, all right. The lastes are getting checkled on. But now you want to round and a round and around and around the wilderness for forty freaking years. We're in the eleven day trip because

you weren't paying attention. Yeah you're gonna get there, but it might take your forty years you don't pay your attention. Can I tell you? Let me tell you what happened to me. You know, I went to Howard. I will never forget this day. I'm on student council and uh, this is time. It's amazing. First of all, everything I'm doing in my career right now is kind of the same thing I was doing for my fellowship as far

as filming at a radio station. But I'm the sergeant arms and so it's all about just thinking of different programs and stuff for the students and bodimen and or whatever. So I was on Entertainment Careers dot dot. That was my goal to for all of my internships, for all my jobs. I'm checking on there. What I had the alarm set. There was for Sony Pictures in Culford City, California. They were gonna do a fellowship or internship at the

at the network. And I don't know if Queen Latifa show was there, just the act, but I was like, I'm going to applied for that. So I got the call from the network. They call right I'm in the car. I don't know if I'm on the on the bowl or whatever, but I'm heading from Hyattsville and I'm who headed to the school to see Howard University, coming from the towers. I get a call. So in l A or California, the area codes are three one up. In Maryland the area code is three old one Asia. I'm

in my little Grand Vatar Suzuki. I'm leaving out the driveway. I'm I just got out the parking garage. I get a call. Stay focused. I get a call Dawn. Stay focused. I get a call. How is this Dawn? Um? We're calling to such as such I'm so busy worrying about the next thing, and that whole thing that you talked about earlier being the present. Um, hey, I know that you applied for blah blah blah. Said, Oh, can I give you a call back? I told Sony, just can

I give you a call back? This is Dawn at twenty. She said, do you have the numbers? Pay attention, Dawn. I'm looking at the number. It's like three, what is it? It's like three one oh four or five six the Trump numbers. I'm like, yeah, I have the numbers. She said. There she said, okay, I'll call you back in the rush. In the haste, I get to the student council meeting. I'm telling me the young lady who's the vice president of the time. I was like, yeah, you know, I

just for this job. She said, Wait a minute, this could have waited. That opportunity didn't come like that again. And what I'm saying is just a testament of what you're saying about paying attention and when you have to be ready, because those opportunities you can so call you know. Miss. Now fast forward five, six, seven years later, you know I'm in l A. I've been to the studio. I've had opportunity to uh attend to taping a Queen Lativa show as well as you know to be on that.

But you're right looking at how that path. But I'm wondering even with you, you know your brand is all hustle her, it's all about the hustle. Why is the hustle so important? And how can the hustle set you back? Some people don't like the word hustle because it just means you're distracted, you're moving too fast, you're all over the place. I think of it more as you're moving and you're strategic, and you're hustling and you are taking

care of your opportunities. Now for me to hustle, like I said, means to get out here and make moves, make moves that are gonna predict how I'm going to be spending my future. It can set you back when it overwhelms you. But in everything, there's balance, right, We have to remember to balance a lot of conversation is going on right now about mental health. We have to remember to take that mental health break. We have to have a time where we're just gonna be like, Okay,

the hustles, We're positive. Right now, I'm taking a nap. I will be back on Monday. This weekend is mine, But that too is a part. It's a part of everything that you do. It's a part of the brilliance. It's a part of the hustle. It's all encompassing. Do you understand. It's a part of life. So when you break it down, your hustle is about your strategic steps right and your goals and get into where you need

to be. But in that, a part of taking care of yourself is knowing that even though we're hustling, I still have to pause and give myself a mental break. I still have to spend some quality time with my husband. I still have to spend time with my family. That's around that. But they helped to build it up because they're gonna ask me about things, they're gonna encourage me,

They're gonna pour back into that. Well. You know, when you do your hustle thing, you can do such and such and such stage when you do, you're not your hustle academy. You should really do so and so and so. So. It's still a part of it. It's still working, but you find balance and silence in moments of silence when you need to. But I think the thing is people get overwhelmed and things that I have to be doing, have to be doing, have to be doing well. If

you make I'm sorry, I'm stuck here. If you make strategic moves, you don't have to do all the time. They're ways that when I set up my show, I can work things in advance so when that comes, I don't have to do that all the time because guess what, that's already done. So I'm chilling for a minute, you know what I mean, my brains one pause for a second. I'm chilling out. I'm vegging out on some crazy mess

on Netflix or whatever. But the hustle will continue, right So I think that's what I mean when I'm talking about ignite your hustle, or we're getting out there and we're moving and making strategic steps to get to where we need to be goals, action, plans, and results, and then you have time to chill. That's boss, because you know, you know, I think about the hustle. I was like,

I'm gonna hustle my entire life. But that's anybody. That's if you've run in the circles with people in New York and radio and media entertainment to l A. You know, everyone has been on some sort of hustle, you know, but I had to learn that dawn when I got to New York. From being down south. I didn't know that. I didn't know about trying to hustle. That's important to me. I learned how to hustle when I got to New York. I didn't know. I just sat there. I'm like, I

have a job. Okay, I'm cool again. It goes back to me just being like, oh okay, I'm here. But I wasn't as focused on those particular professional goals. So that's where I am, or that's where it was for me. So how did you how did from from quote unquote not hustling, I guess in the you know, the big city. How did you get that opportunity to get to New York? How did you get in that room? I have a mentor, Doc Winter, who is with my heart. Yes, yes, Doc

hit me. I'm way way back in the day. But he was in Jacksonville, UM earlier in his career, in his career, and he was just guiding me throughout my career and one year, one day I was in Richmond because I was programming a station there. W J W B h J, bt B t J B t J is so many there's so many call letters. But anyway, bt J and Richmond, Virginia. And he asked me first, did I want to go to Virginia because I was

at that time working in St. Louis. And he's like, hey, do you want to go to Richmond to be a program director? What? Let me see? Okay, I'm not married, I'll have any kids, how how anything holding me back? Yes? Hello? So I went to Richmond, Virginia, and I'm programming there, running the station, doing a thing and all that stuff. I hadn't even un packed and unboxed everything, and maybe had just thrown out one of my big boxes. Eight

months later it was he called me. He says, listen, we have a project we're gonna be doing in New York. Would you like to come Richmond, Virginia and New York City. It in a hard decision, so I you know, I didn't mind getting up and going back in the day. That's what you did. You picked up and moved wherever the opportunities were. Because if you sat there and waited like you know some of the legacy folks who had been on the air in New York. You have a

funk Master, flex Or and Angie Martinez. They've been in New York forever, and I gotta sit there and wait on them. No, you have to move around. So I was was Enrichmond, but I decided I wanted to move around. You have to go where the opportunities were. So the opportunities were there with this new station at the time, it was Power one of five one that we launched in New York City, and that's where I came. That's why I got here. Did you know that I didn't.

I did not know the plug with Doc wins Or. I knew you were a part one on five one, but I didn't know. I didn't know that you were in rich Man. I didn't know that part. Yeah, I've been knowing docsins way back in the days when I was just getting into radio. I think maybe I met him a year or so into my radio or two into my radio career. Okay, well let's talk, because then this is the real part. You know, you know, you eat someone like the hustle. How did you find the balance?

How did you meet your husband? And here's the thing, being such a boss station, you're a boss. Anybody's listened to this podcast right now, you could tell dere's the boss. Boom boom boom. ABC. How did you balance that out? Y'all? When I tell you? Okay, we'll talk about ABC stuff later. But I met my husband broadcasting. I was at I was in Columbus, Georgia or no Augusta, Georgia for an event for one of my stations that I was voice tracking four at the time, Power one on seven seven.

But I wanted guest and now with the Deja bo on another station. But anyway, um, and one of my record reps was there and she's like, who are you dating now? I say, girl, ain't nobody New York for me today? It's just whacked. These guys are bananas blah blah blah. And she's like, I got this guy that I want to introduce you to. And so I said, okay, cool, um hook me up. So she gave him my number. He called me that week I was in Georgia. So

I came back to New York that week. He called me and asked me if I wanted to go to a concert. And I was like, dude, I don't know. You want to no concert, there's no first date, so that's okay. So we ended up meeting in Times Square at a record store Kump dump dump Dom. They had those things back there where you went and body records. They don't have those anymore anyway. It was Virgin Mega Store of Virgin Records in Times Square. I can still

remember the building. We met there. We went to Virgil's barbecue. It had some dinners and lunch or whatever. I had on this little great dress and I got from H and M A M hell. I remember it all. But any who, we were just friends. But we met on that blind date. So we stayed friends for quite a while, maybe like three years and then three at year three, that's when we got serious and stopped dating. Of the people in all and that's our story, but on a

blind date. But he is industry adjacent, so he understood what I was doing. To your point, how do you balance? He understood that, and you make time for that. But he had to be secure and who he was too, because here's this woman who's out here with these guys. He's wearing these outfits. How do I deal with that? He didn't care. You know he understood the game. He knows the game. You know, you have to be out there.

I used to date one guy. He got mad because I was interviewing somebody and he said it sounded like I was flirting. I proughtly, was that's what you do? You hey, when you're looking fine, are you don't like let me some about you know? You do those little things you make, the little snarky comments. It's all a part of the ginning actor and actress. When you're on the mic. Amen as you you balanced that part of your relationship. Now, did you ever want to have kids?

I did. We thought about having children. Um, I had some medical issues going on. And that's a whole other story, girl, because that that's ups and downs too, and balancing in the relationship and dealing with that. We neither run of us have children. He didn't have kids from a previous relationship. Neither did I. But when you have those pitfalls and you hit those moments, you're like, what is your relationship

built on? And that took us through some things too, because you had to come to the realization that Okay, this is not this is not gonna happen. It's is gonna be you and I right, and now we're cool with that. We're cool with that. Girl. I got my little baby knees, I have my little godson, my cousins. But I don't know for me, even if the physical limitations weren't there, I don't know if that really been high on my list of things for children because my

life is so busy. But my mother says, oh girl, it will change you, and I probably would have adapted. I've seen some when my girls adapt, but a lot of them have had kids later on in life versus earlier in our careers because there was really no time. Yeah, you know, it's a real thing. I'm at that age where it's like, you know, you gotta really think about I said, well, hey, I can't do it with cast but right now, but fraze your eggs. Let me tell you, if you want to do and phrase your eggs, you

can always thought out y'all right. And that's that's the one thing that I'm embarking. I'm looking on that because you know, I think about that times. Like the way my lifestyle is, you know, I go go, go, I do do do, and like you said, I can pick up and go when I want um like the best on ever because I love my nephews and I gather,

you know, just letting everyone in. But that's something really to think about and to balance it because I put everything in my dreams and I know that when I have children, these will just at least that's what I'm thinking. But I guess you don't make realm for them because of the love of what you're doing, and you'll incorporate them into what you're doing. I've seen parents. You've seen these parents bring the kids to one and have showls with them, and it's amazing because they're part of it,

and it just kind of seems, you know, seamless almost. See. That's why I love improv. You asked me about the whole acting what was next, and it's like, I'm gonna be a cast member on SNL, but improv at the groundings and I guess improve of the wall. But my introduction was always the yes. And And it's so interesting even in this conversation of every thing we're saying, well,

you're talking about igniting, when you're talking about hustle. Everything has been that you said about expansion, and that's the way we have to live our life. And that's the way that as far as from me, improv has taught me. Yes and yes, I'm receiving what I am. I'm sitting in my mess. Now how can I build? Yes, I have to let go of this, but now I've received an opportunity. Um. Yes, I may not be able to have children, but you kind of had children you a

different way. All the people you mentor Flavor Unit. Tell me about Flavor Unit. Is it still going on? I have the Flavor Unit. It's starting out as a focus group. Way back in the day. I would have the high school kids come up to the radio stations, um, just to find out what they were into. At the time, I was on one of the hip hop stations, and we wanted to stay on the cuspop of what was next. And you know, the high school kids predict the trends, so we would talk to them. But then I really

started doing some things. I wanted to be more mission minded and like, listen, we have to make a difference in our community. That's the entire mission of the Flavor Unit, to make a positive change in today's society through community service. So we would partner with those bigger organizations like your Salvation Army or the Food Bank and do different things with them. We'd go and uh, there's a volunteer match dot org if I think it's still around, but it

has all kinds of volunteer opportunities for people. And we have the kids come up to the station and you the kids needed um community service credit hours. That's a part of their enrichment or extracurricular and so they would get that. They got the bonus of being at the station. Sometimes artists would be up there on time. Jay Z was up there. The kids got to run and change them.

It was just cool for them. But it was good for me too because it made me feel like I was getting back and those are my babies and now to look at them even like Karina fifteen years old. Karina was fifteen years old in my plaving unit. She is now a morning show personality in Dallas. Did you say first chair? Did you say first chair? Which is she's first chair? Yes, first chair on the morning show.

She's helming it herself, a female and she was like, I want to be a radio personality, Cary, whatever you don't you hear the kids say it all the time. And this chick took it to the next level. But she's not the only one. I've had another one, Jane Nixon Atlanta turned out to be a radio personality uh DJ critical as a DJ. I have several other what is Alan's name? I forgot Allan's name. Alan is a DJ. Several of my Flavor Union kids have ended up being announcers,

but others have gone on. They did the program in high school and they've gone on to college and created their own community service programs. Shout south to Sylvia who did that, and they started doing more things on their campuses as well. And then one of my girls, Priscilla, she is now where is she? She sells media commercials and spots and stuff because she got into it for the love of what was going on at the radio station. So I just think it's amazing and the impact and

those are my babies. Do you see what we have to celebrate you on Women's History Mom? That God, you know what when you asking about that, I forgot about some of those. Yeah, Like that's amazing because that's what we talked about, planting seas and I'm just here. It's like, why is giving back to you so important? Like why why doing it it's just been a mission. I actually I don't know. It's it's innate in me because my sister is like, I didn't get that change. I don't

want to. Me have been a slue kids. I said, come on, that's just not for me. I said, come on, we have to give back, we have to help. I have been so blessed in my life and I don't even know. It's just been something that's been on my heart.

I have my phone because I screenshot something earlier, um from a journal that I had when I was in high school and I was talking about what I wanted to do, and I had a prayer for my girlfriends that I wanted to pray for and help them, and and and it it says something with the teenagers that I want to my heart. I have a heart for teenagers. I was a teenager myself when I wrote this, and

I think it's just been in me. I can remember being we weren't rich, you know, my mom is a teacher, a dads electrician, but they still had their rough patches, right. So I can remember going on one of my feel trips for a club I was in and I just really didn't have a lot of money. My mom and them didn't have money to spare, and so I only had a little bit, and my teachers looked out for me. They gave me money. You know. Of course I felt a little embarrassed or whatever, but I was so grateful.

Oh my god, I'm gonna start crying down. God. Um, I was so grateful, you know what I mean. I was so grateful. I remember her ms Broun says, she was so sweet. And then like even my band director, these people poured into me and they did things for me, and so I said, I want to make sure that if their children, their high school kids, who are in need, who just need something, I want to be there for them. So I was like the big sister. I would have

them driving around. We were driving me around all in New York City and all of the cities that I wore broadcasting. I always did the blaby unit and they were just like my they're my babies. But I just think it's been an eight in me that I feel like I want to leave an impact and I feel that people have been such a blessing to me throughout my life, my career. Growing up. I have friends who shouts out to Joe Nathan who locked me into the production room and made me learn how to cut commercials.

I was getting frustrated. He's like, you're not leaving until you get this right. I had people who planted those seeds and me, and that's why I feel I have a responsibility to give back. It's just not this is not just for me, this is I have to do this. You know what I mean? Do you re me here crying, Because that's what it's about, you know myself up. We

asked God to grow and it starts raining. Girl. That was I didn't thought about Mr Brunston in a while, but I can't remember being on a trip and not having any money to go and get any field or whatever, and they those teachers looked out for me. And because my parents were in a difficult spot at the time, I felt like I couldn't ask them for a lot of stuff because I knew what they were going through.

And it was the teachers or around me. And that's why it's so important for us to to be cognizant of what's going on around us with the young people who were mentoring right, and not even just young people, adults as well learn to pick up on cues and to and to deserve what's going on with people. If you get a little nudging to check on somebody, check on them. If you have something that says, hey, call

this person, call that person. They might need you and they might not feel comfortable asking, but you feel something like, hey, is everything Okay, Hey, let me just bless you with some ice cream money right here? That's what I do. My aunt said that's to me one time before. So now I still live, rest in peace and still if I just want to give somebody something, I just here, here's some ice cream money. Go get you some ice cream.

Give him a couple of bucks, hundred bucks, twenty. But whatever it is you have that you feel led to give, blessed them and they will be so grateful. You never know if that person is in need, which is too afraid to ask, you know, save life. Okay, I'm not talking anymore, don No, this is great. So how did you so going through high school? Is that where you found into radio book? No? I was an announcer since I was eight years old. Okay, wait I was this

knew I should not. Like I've been announcing since I was eight years old, Like for real, my my mom bought me um something called a recorder. I don't know if you guys know what those are. A tape recorder for those of you who don't know, it's this ancient thing. At any rate, I had the tape recorder. A girl when I heard the sound of my voice, said I could record. I was hooked. I was interviewing everybody, so what do you think about this? And what do you

think about that? And la lah lah. And then when I was twelve, so I would announce different things at school and stuff and different church activities. I was twelve. Mr Jenkin is my band director, gave me a microphone. It was not attached to anything. He just gave me the mic And so he's like here because I would walk around with the paper towel holder and I had my radio station w x y z f M nighty two, your radio station. So anyway, that's the way I said it.

So Mr Jenkins, game in my thing, gir. I you know the little label makers from back in the day. I don't know if you remember, don, but they had label makers and you can make letters. So I put X y Z on my mic. I will go around school interviewing people. That was my thing. And then when I got to high school, I did the announcements, good morning Eagles, there would be no band practice today, you know, that kind of thing. But that's I knew that I

wanted to do broadcasting. I still have cassettes. Those are ancient things people, um from when I was in high school, and any girl, when you got the little mini cassette thing, you couldn't tell me nothing because you don't have to have a pig when you have the little mini come on now, yes, but yes, I still have recordings of that stuff. One of them melted in the car of my heart broke. It was so hot in the car

I had. I had it and it melted. I wanted to cry, like real tears because it was when I was like thirteen years old, and I would record people on the radio and then I come back and record over the announcer and say my own partner, there are you? Are you the latest one? That's Shannon Jackson, um whatever, that's the way love goes or whatever whatever whatever. On w x y Z after nightting two, here's an old even goody for song. Yes, so I'm gonna ask you

this because you know it's woman says three months. Come on, who told you that you were possible? My mother? My mother told me that I could do this because I thought I was gonna be uh oncologist and oncologist. But I didn't know any I just thought it sounded great. What okay, I liked the word. I wanted to help people with cancer. I was not good at science, nor was I good at math. My mother knew my strengths,

so she poured into those. But she was like, you know, why don't you think about something like broadcasting because you're always doing it, and you're so good. You have a great voice, and you're always interviewing people. This is before me. I was already interviewing people simultaneously, right, But I just thought that oncology would be a great thing. But she said, you know, you're really good at such and such because she knew that I wasn't gonna be following through with math.

Me I get hide just thinking about it. But and when she said that, it just started kind of clicks. And then I started seeing Oprah. Then I started seeing the news people, the Barbara Walters of the world, um kind of Chung of the world. Now you can really I'm dating myself, but yes, those were like the announcements. I'm like, wow, I want to be like that. And then when Oprah started blowing up and getting bigger, You're like, whoa, I really want to be like that. So that's kind

of where I went with the broadcasting it. But my mother was the one who planted that sea to me, I ain't that amazing with mothers too, are just really figuous And you know, just like you said, that's why I tell people all the time, when you find somebody that takes a liking to you, hold on because as always, it's not a situation of you know, and I say this, I'm learning, and I'll being on the other side that

I'm building a team. I'm learning how my communication goes, learning how to balance, learning how to keep that barrier, but always wanting to give that opportunity. But I try to stress all the time when somebody puts their eyes on you make sure you give them something to see. And like you said, come on, I like that. I know I just can't that right, yeah, um, because there's a reason they're putting an investment. And if you know

somebody's intention, know that it's only for the betterment. Because I look back at some of the mentors that I've had and both experience, I have treasure good and bad things that I've seen how I can matrore on and now that I'm in a different age, I can see probably their viewpoint and the thing that I look at you and I think of our mentorship that develops in a friendship, and you know you always have the patience and understanding and that it explains because of your mentoring

of the young teenagers to understand where they're coming from, to know that you see me. So that's just so appreciative. It is. And I just want to stress the people if you get somebody, hold on because it's not easy. And I look at how I'm matured just coming up. You know it's so easy, like oh you want to be on arrow, Oh you want to do that? And it's like, do you know how many years it took for somebody to get in this room before? Do you even open your mouth? Talk about it? Please, because you

have so many folks who are this's microwave technology. They think that it's gonna happen overnight. I'm gonna be fifteen seconds because I held up I've spoken to a microphone at one time and during a podcast or maybe somebody's spotlight me. Now I'm a radio personality. No I do radio. No I do radio. It's you might be getting there, honey, I do this. Okay, do this. And you have to work your way in. You have to learn all angles.

And here's another thing we're talking mentorship. Remember that your mentor does not necessarily have to look like you. One of my very first music mentors outside of DOC was Colleen, the Vinyl Queen, Colleen Cassidy and COLLEENI. It's just she has this long black hair's all gray now smoking. Hey, d so do you think so? It's Colleen girl. Colleen knew her music, she knew the formulas right. So when she taught me when I became a music director, she

taught me. She and her husband Um taught me the basics of how to program and what to look for and how to trend and see spot the trends and and pick the hits and went to know when it's not a hit even though you love it, but the people don't love it. And she taught me that had I just been looking on the outside, would have been

like a related on know nothing. You have to be open to get the knowledge from where it's coming from and be able to let us sink in and soak in and you know, parslt what doesn't apply to right. But don't don't turn away because that person does not look like you, or it's not the same gender as you, or does not believe like you, because they still can have things that say something that could resonate and teach you something something that you can always you know, take

and apply. That's the thing. Apply, it's an addition in your life. You don't need it. Let it go. It's not a takeaway exactly, but again it goes back to you getting to that point and learning those things done. I think being in New York has opened me up a lot from my little bubble of just being in the South and doing this, going to this church, doing that, and that's all I did. When I got to New York, it was a whole different world. I'm like, what is

this even just talking religion stuff. I never knew about the ashes people put on their head for ash Wednesday, had never seen it until I moved to New York. And I was a full growl woman. Okay, I was like, what what I sense? What's going on. I had never seen it because I'm down south. We're in a nondenominational church. That's where I went. I didn't go to where else.

I didn't go to the people I didn't see. I didn't know any Catholic folks who were practicing, and if they were Catholic, they weren't really going and getting ashes and stuff like that. I had never even seen it. So expand your minds, think about things that are not just about you, and it helps you grow into a fuller person. It helps your personal development. So we're always talking about our success and our professional development, but we have to learn to grow. And I think that's what

you're viting and d does, Dawn. It helps people be able to explore those concepts of thinking, a sting and growing. I don't know, just expanding your mindset from being in your own little bubble. Expand. Pop the bubble out there, Poppa the bubble, take off the roof, no sailings. Let's just expand and grow. But you know, just as much as you said about the whole expansion, let's not forget at the roots. Gotta get deep, yes, get your roots

in there, get your roots. That's the building of the Foundation, and we were talking about earlier. You said something about you have to be ready for those things, those opportunities that come, and I wanted to go back to kind of like where we are in the present, stay ready so you don't have to get ready. I had what all those situations happened recently with the Kelly and Ryan Show, and Ryan Seacrest called out, never happens. Dude is always there,

but he's you know, doing whatever. But I guess he was a little when feel well and wanted to air on the side of cautution. Whatever the heck. They needed someone to do something on the show, and to fill out this segment they were having a game show kind of thing because Ryan was gonna play the host and Kelly was gonna play one of the participants as well as the person who was there. And so they were like, who were gonna get? Who we're gonna get? And they're like, Dija,

would you mind doing so? And so now you know, deep down inside, I'm like, what I'm mind? Are you crazy? I was built a come on, let's do it. Yeah, yeah, I love to, But you're because I had already been practicing in my room at home back in the old days. I've always been talking, I've been broadcasting, I've been ready. I was beating my face even though I wasn't on anybody's camera, just because I needed to look right. I have my little white boots on because I wanted to

look right for me. So when they say let's go, guess who was ready? I was rest to go. I was a little nervous, my hands were sweating, but I was there and I had the opportunity. Carpet d M sees the day, sees, the opportunity just to get up in there and hold a microphone and say, hey, listen, let's play the game. We'll be right back in a minute. You never know who saw that. You never know who saw that. After that, the president of ABC New York came and said, hey, I just want to introduce myself

to you. What come on, say how you do? Hi? Nice to meet you as well. Thank you, it's nice to meet you. What you never know when those opportunities are gonna come, So you have to be ready. You have to be studying your craft, honing your craft. You have to be ready so when it strikes, you're there and you're ready for it. Right girl, They put me

on camera. What I mean just announcing right, I'm normally in a booth by myself, you know, just sitting in there, and I, you know, see through them, and I hear people talking to my headphones and everything, and they put me on national television. Just let me get this one big toe up in the door, baby plea. But no, seriously, it was an amazing experience, just that one little moment. And that's another one of those little godwins, like, Hey, I've forgot about you. I know what you want to do.

Your steps are already being ordered to say, I got you. Hold on, I know what's happening behind this curtain. We don't act one right now at one thing too. We haven't even gotten to the next year, right And I just need you to be right here and right here, guys. Using every information that you need right here is knowing who you are and staying ready right here is walking in your authority. Essentially, That's all I feel as though

we are designed to do in life. Walk in your authority and guess what it's given to us when we were a child. You know. It's just as though you put this money, this down payment in a bank account, put it on your life, put on your dreams, and invest in it and in this process of life, right, treat it just like an account. What are you depositing in?

What are you taking it out? And like you said, because you cannot control the valleys, you cannot control when the mountains come, you cannot control when the hill the cliff will be there. But what you can say is there's balance. And just like any account when you're establishing credit, balance, right, girl, that balance y'all gonna check the balances? No, but seriously,

that's it's what you're saying. You have to be ready, you have to be right, and you have to check the balances of everything that goes on in your life. That's how we are fully grown and fully evolved people. That's that's all there is doing. But don't don't think that your moment has passed you by. Just keep on going, keep on grinding, keep on doing what you're doing, and it's gonna work out. But why for what? Why are you? Why do you keep going? I keep going because I

know there's more and it doesn't stop. My mom has been retired for about ten ten years now and she just published her second book, self published, Go Mom, Come mom, and she was like, you know, saying that what's next? What am I doing? What am I doing? What's next? And my mother is going on seventy, you know, she still wants to do stuff. She's like, I wanted I want to do something else, she said. She wrote in her journal that she wanted to do something else and

she wanted something more. The next the very next day, someone called her about teaching at Bible College. The very next day that she put it out there. You keep going because it's a continual process. Remember, we're still evolving in our brilliance and we continue to go on. And you want to go on because that's what living life is about, right, you have more to offer even at seventy. My dad was just ordained the preacher at seven me, so he can still go on. He's still in Bible

College at seven days. So you know your parents were boring in about what around fifty one because my mom she would have been seventy one. Yeah, she would have been seventy of this year. Yeah, so parents the same age. My dad was born in forty four, right, So I'm trying to sell you that because when you're trying to say, oh, you're so seasoned. You're making me seem like I'm so seasoned. Ghaz trying to do math. We're talking, stop trying to

do mathematical equations in your head. And no. But I just I think that you can continue to go on. That's all I'm saying. You continue to go on, and you can continue to thrive. That's what life is about. Your work is not done until you take that last breath, and even then, whatever you've put in place, your legacy will continue. That's I just read. Did you see that article about the man who gave the twenty million? He

and his wife gave twenty million to Morgan State. He was a student there for two years, he had to drop out because of financial issues. He went on to work at UPS as a driver and worked his way up. I don't know what the heck I'm doing. Maybe I need to go at UPS because this man had twenty millions to give. Wow, twenty million dollars and he's already they've already put forty something kids through school. Yes, he's already going to he and his wife. But I just say,

that's the legacy part. So right now, I heard Luda say, he's like he's the legacy building time of his life. So now this is everything that I'm doing now is gonna harken back to whomever comes after. And if I don't have physical children, then it's gonna be my cousins and my nieces. The scholarship fund that I'm gonna be doing that will continue. What's the scholarship can we can people if? Well, right now I don't all together, but the dreams, the reality foundation will be where it's gonna be.

I really wanted to do and I know they're trying to um give school years free, but until they do that, I really want to do something called first year free. I want to do it for the first year because some people I had a difficult time financially trying to cover that, so I want to do that for those people. And that's just a goal. It's not in set in stone anywhere. It's just here. And I've already got the domain name, of course, but just put it, put it

on out there. But those are the legacy type things I want to leave for people. That's you know why I appreciate that everything that you've said and what you've done, and anybody that's been watching listening definitely has an essence of who Desia is and why it's so important um to be in the wrong with you, to be in my air, on your audiobox, wherever you are coming through, because there are gems that you constantly deposit, and it's coming from a fruitful tree. I'm not talking about plastic.

I'm talking about somebody that knows what it's like for somebody to give a hand out to somebody, for somebody to just see you and say I believe in you. For somebody that's coming from like you're saying, doing radio to a fledgling that's still got breast smelk coming off the mouth to be humbled up to say, this young lady is gonna sit here and show me how to run the board. This young lady, I will sit down and talk to her, you know, to give her a moment,

you know. And then also this young lady who wants to be a speaker, I'm gonna give opportunity. Now. Look, ten years later, this young lady is working on a syndicated radio show we can't segment. Thank you that it's because of you, Tasia, Thank you, Dasia, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this, this movement you have going on. So wait before we go, what's next for you doing? What are you doing next? Well? Next, um,

I'm I'm speaking in to existence. Uh the show that I was on for the Love of Jason, which is on the All Black TV. Uh, they got renewed for season two, so hopefully you will be seeing my character come back for that. Also, I'm still in up Groundling's program, so constantly putting up sketches and so forth. Soon you're gonna see me on that stage and then we're gonna get on s and l um. But uh, yeah, we're just we're taking vitamin D, expanding it more and more

to share the life. And you know I'm doing my voice overs. I want to days you inspire me. I want to announce a war. Shows like go and that thing just came as a fluke to when I tell you what this is why, I say, even though you may have gone a certain distance and you may feel like whatever God has not forgotten about you, that man, let me tell you hold on take my water. I was parted up in here. Shout out to David. David was the guy who contacted me, the producer who contacted

me for Live with Kelly and Ryan. He said that he sent me an email on my social on on Insta, on Facebook, and on my website. Anas like not on emails. Girl. I was in Florida right scurorel with it because sometimes I have so many pictures, things get crowded and I don't get every message. So I was deleting deletely. I'm sitting on the couch in Florida in October, late October too, and I see a picture, I mean a message so onside from ABC Live with Kelley, and I'm like, what, girl.

I looked at it. The man had said this thing to me like three weeks prior. Don He's like, uh, yeah, we would love to get you to come on and be a guest announcer for Live with Kelly Ryan. I said what, So I email. I was like, I'm just girl. I hit him back at eleven thirty. I'm just seeing your email blah blah blah. How crazy did I look? For anyway? When I tell you, When I woke up Sunday morning, it was another email response from him. Halla. So he was like, yo, I didn't really think you

were interested because I hit you here and here. I had never seen the girl. I finally went back through all my messages because you know, as a personality, you get all these crap spam bots and everybody's saying I don't like this svice, and so I just some of them. I don't really check all the time, guys, so it gets muddled down. So at any rate, I finally found his other email that he had sent me. He was

asking if I want to come on. This was weeks to go, so they had already booked somebody else to do the auditions because they were holding on this, and so they still technically are. But he said we're holding auditions and he said, well, we won't be able to get you in until the end of the year. I said, okay, I'm good. Whatever you want me. I'm here. I'm here, I'm drinking my water, making sure my voices. Right, do you know they called me. He's like, listen, there's gonna change.

Can you come in earlier? So they called me in early November. I was like what, So he calls me in. I do my thing. They're like, well, would you like to stay to December? What do I like to stay? Are you kidding me? So? I've just been here, so technically we're still in in a audition phase or whatever. However, some things are on the way, but we'll leave well, we'll leave it there. But girl, when I tell you that God is opening doors that you can't even fathom,

I'm just saying. So, if it's happening for littlo me, Dawn, you are amazing. Things are gonna be blowing up and opening people who are listening. Go ahead and open up your hands, oh my hands right now, and be able to accept those blessings because they're coming coming and pull down to you boom here. It is an expected all right. When I tell you, I don't think that because you are twenty five or thirty five or forty five, sixty years old, It does not matter the age. What's for

you is for you. Even if this changes to something else people have already seen in contact with me from this one opportunity. When I tell you, be ready, be ready. Oh that's the notion, be ready for expansion. Okay, So is there anything and not like you haven't said, is there anything that we should be looking out for? UM? My podcast will eventually launch, and Jesus name you pray a man, I've been trying and do all this. Um,

my Hustle Earth podcast. So we're getting it, and do you have to return the favor for me then I will really interview you. Okay, all right, And Mike not your Hustle Academy is going to be launching this spring as well. So that's gonna be for people who are trying to get those dreams off the back burner, trying to get that business launched, that that next move for you. We're gonna be talking about just basics of setting up something so it's your own right, and even maximizing our

social media. I think that we play so much, we post so many things, we're doing so many challenges. But are you banking off of this social media? Are you making anything? Are you building any contacts? Do you have a list of people that you're talking to on a regular basis. That's the stuff that we're gonna be covering in our agnitious of Academy. So look up for that. Oh well, I got my eyes pilled wide open. Hey.

So one thing I always ask for everyone who comes on the podcast, as you know, we're all about vitamin D. It's all about making depositans in your life bank account and shedding light. Is there a dose of vitamin D that you would like to share. I know you've been really going on and talking about the importance of igniting and hustling. Anything you want to say to anyone that's listening, um to anyone that's listening for vitamin D, I just say, get out there and try. You never know what you

can do until you try. Just get out there. If you feel, pick yourself up, scratch off the dust that's on you, get the duft dust off your shoulders, and keep going. But put some effort into something, because if you don't do anything, if you're just sitting there, nothing is gonna happen. You have to put a little bit of spunk to get the thing rolling. You gotta press the gas pedal a little bit to be able to roar and come to life, and put that thing and dried.

Even if your car is not in, if the car is not moving, if you don't put the pedal to foot on the pedal, pedal to the metal, as they say, I just say, get out and try do a little something, and don't forget to constantly be learning and evolving. And that's it. Come on, learning and evolving, growing. Oh my gosh, well, thank you Dasha, thank you. This was fun, This was somber I had. I mean, we went on a whole roller coaster from joy. It's a joyful tears night. Thank

you so much. Thank you, don Daye. I love you, love you too. Oh my gosh. Yes, it was so nice to have days your own one and to just talk. You know, I completely forgot that. I taught her the board of b LS call your mentors. But yeah, that was just such a great conversation. And you know what really stuck out to me, how Daisa just let it

go when she lost her job. She had faith and all it took was faith the size of a mustardcy Come on, somebody, and it's that same amount of faith that can propel you through a valley and that umph to get over that hill and check this out. While the hills and the valleys are many, we know that we have come so far because we are able, and if we weren't, you wouldn't have survived and thrived through life trials and trouble lations to be here today. I mean,

just think about it. You have survived of your worst days. So what are you worried about now? Yes, you may have lost your job, but don't disregard the fact that you have several more opportunities standing right there in front of you. Just think about it. How many opportunities can you create from this? It's endless. Remember that the life bank account only pays out the dividends you're investing into it. You just can't sit on your laurels and think, because

you've created a pretty vision, it's just going to happen. No, faith without works is dead. One foot in front of the other. They saying, inch by inch, life's ascent yard by yard. Life is hard. So understand that you've gotta build and there has to be a level of accumulation because if you don't, it will just stay the same forever. And see, what we know is is that change is

the only thing that's constant. And every day that you wake up above ground, every day that you have breath inside your lungs, No, you got a chance for a new dawn of a new day. And you better know that if you stay ready, you ain't gotta get ready.

Are you interested in keeping up with Deja Vu? You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at Deja Vu Speaks, and you can keep an eye out for her Ignite your Hustle Academy on our website Deja vu Speaks dot com and it's always You can catch us here in your phone or whichever smart device you're using every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with more inspirational conversations and insights. And now, if you want to keep up with me to getting even more Vitamin D in your life, follow me at

Dawn day Speaks on all social media. And before you go, I want to close with this, always remember you are your greatest asset.