WEBVTT - Surrendering Identity with Gia Peppers 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:06.820 Welcome to Deeply Well. This show is a soft place 0:00:06.860 --> 0:00:10.200 to land on your journey, a space where we explore 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:14.060 what it truly means to live well from the inside out. 0:00:14.980 --> 0:00:21.870 Not perfectly, but honestly. This is Deeply Well. Welcome back 0:00:21.910 --> 0:00:25.510 to Deeply Well. I'm Debbie Brown. Today, I am joined 0:00:25.550 --> 0:00:30.310 by my friend, Gia Peppers. Gia is an award-winning journalist, 0:00:30.490 --> 0:00:33.640 television host, podcaster, and and the founder of. 0:00:33.700 --> 0:00:34.840 Creatives of Faith. 0:00:35.580 --> 0:00:38.440 With more than a decade in entertainment journalism, Gia has 0:00:38.500 --> 0:00:42.200 interviewed some of the most recognizable and important voices in culture, 0:00:42.659 --> 0:00:46.980 from Pharrell and Kobe Bryant to Kelly Rowland and Danielle Brooks. 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:50.420 Across her work, she creates space for people to share 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:54.380 the fullness of their stories, including the experiences that have 0:00:54.450 --> 0:00:57.630 challenged them, that have changed them, and that have really 0:00:57.910 --> 0:01:01.620 deeply helped them grow. As host and co-executive producer of 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:06.340 the NAACP Image Award-nominated More Than That with Gia Peppers, 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:11.820 she brings audiences conversations that expand what's possible in business, 0:01:12.240 --> 0:01:16.920 financial well-being, and mental health. Through her Healed Girl Era podcast, 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:21.699 Gia invites guests to share lessons from their most transformational seasons, 0:01:22.220 --> 0:01:25.140 building a community where people can heal out loud and 0:01:25.220 --> 0:01:29.060 feel less alone. And through creatives of faith, She brings 0:01:29.100 --> 0:01:32.960 together creatives who want to nurture their gifts while staying 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:37.030 connected to God and their purpose. Today, we are making 0:01:37.110 --> 0:01:41.930 room for the woman behind those powerful conversations, exploring her 0:01:41.990 --> 0:01:47.810 own relationship with faith, with healing, with creativity, and with becoming. Gia, 0:01:47.970 --> 0:01:51.670 you spend so much of your life holding powerful space 0:01:51.710 --> 0:01:55.230 for others in their stories. And today, I'm really excited 0:01:55.270 --> 0:01:58.680 to hold that space for you and yours. Welcome to 0:01:58.700 --> 0:01:59.360 Deeply Well. 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.420 What in the world? Debbie, please don't make me cry. 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:05.490 You just got here two seconds ago. Thank you. I 0:02:05.530 --> 0:02:07.270 need that bio. Who wrote that? You wrote that? Who 0:02:07.290 --> 0:02:09.290 wrote that, y'all? I'm going to take that. Okay, just 0:02:09.310 --> 0:02:09.709 so y'all know. 0:02:09.770 --> 0:02:12.130 It's coming with me. We will send it. My God. 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:15.720 That was beautiful. Thank you. No one has ever done 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:18.679 that for me. I love you. What? Well, put it 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.639 in that way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's interesting to hear 0:02:21.660 --> 0:02:24.660 it all together. It's very hard to like, because, you know, 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:25.160 we're in it. 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:25.760 Yeah. 0:02:25.900 --> 0:02:28.609 We're in it. We're just building it. We're just trying 0:02:28.669 --> 0:02:31.730 to be obedient. We're just trying to make something out 0:02:31.770 --> 0:02:32.929 of this life we've been given. 0:02:32.950 --> 0:02:33.030 Yeah. 0:02:33.550 --> 0:02:35.530 It's like a privilege to live this. And we want 0:02:35.550 --> 0:02:37.669 to serve folks. And like, you know, it's hard. It's 0:02:37.730 --> 0:02:39.000 hard work. So to hear it. 0:02:39.010 --> 0:02:39.739 It's hard work. 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:41.239 Like, it's like, what? Yeah. 0:02:41.260 --> 0:02:41.340 Okay. 0:02:42.530 --> 0:02:43.150 Okay, girl. 0:02:43.190 --> 0:02:44.750 And to see the clear through lines. 0:02:44.850 --> 0:02:46.150 Exactly. 0:02:46.250 --> 0:02:51.650 To really behold the through lines of a real, full, 0:02:51.750 --> 0:02:55.160 purposeful career. Yes. I think that is a lost art 0:02:55.260 --> 0:03:00.320 and a lost piece that I personally just revere and 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.780 love to bring to light on this show because it's like, 0:03:03.820 --> 0:03:07.910 in this culture, in this culture of virality, this culture 0:03:07.950 --> 0:03:13.000 of clips, this culture of validation and performance and, and 0:03:13.070 --> 0:03:19.880 what has turned into sometimes a visibility that predates experience. 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:26.720 It's so important to let people know the other archetypes 0:03:26.810 --> 0:03:30.630 that exist and the way like work actually moves your 0:03:30.669 --> 0:03:35.330 life forward over a long span of time. You know, 0:03:35.350 --> 0:03:38.330 I think that the generations that came in under me, 0:03:38.430 --> 0:03:44.050 under us, um, you know, coming into this quote unquote 0:03:44.090 --> 0:03:50.330 modern age of technology, that piece has been missing. And 0:03:50.370 --> 0:03:53.910 I think people, some people will wake up and not 0:03:54.060 --> 0:03:59.400 realize how detrimental that missing piece may actually be to 0:03:59.420 --> 0:04:02.920 the fullness of like a work that extends through your life. 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:03.540 Yes. 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:06.430 And I feel like One, I'm so honored to be 0:04:06.490 --> 0:04:08.550 back on Deeply Well. This is one of the best 0:04:08.570 --> 0:04:12.850 shows out in the world, and especially in the pod-averse, 0:04:13.290 --> 0:04:15.990 because of how you carry it, because of how you 0:04:16.210 --> 0:04:20.279 are truly just such a vessel for wellness, but also 0:04:20.580 --> 0:04:25.820 the internal conversations we have with ourselves, but articulating those 0:04:25.860 --> 0:04:28.380 feelings and allowing us to feel those feelings and take 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:32.630 that and sit with ourselves and transmute it and come 0:04:32.670 --> 0:04:34.650 together and figure it out but then we come back 0:04:34.710 --> 0:04:37.110 here and it's like oh but it's still it's still 0:04:37.250 --> 0:04:39.090 me i still get to be held here and i 0:04:39.110 --> 0:04:40.650 think you do a beautiful job of that so i'm 0:04:40.770 --> 0:04:43.310 so happy to be back thank you literally i feel 0:04:43.330 --> 0:04:45.180 like i had this song last time too so hey 0:04:46.260 --> 0:04:48.600 you did it i feel like i always wear. 0:04:48.500 --> 0:04:50.380 It it's like i love it we're like very pink 0:04:50.420 --> 0:04:52.600 and green right now and like on the set. 0:04:52.260 --> 0:04:55.120 I mean i'm like but i was like what don't 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:58.890 i have to iron and what is cute amen today 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:00.719 in LA. It's like getting hot. 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:01.940 And yesterday was freezing. 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:03.320 That's what I'm saying. I'm like, here we go. 0:05:03.460 --> 0:05:05.140 And the day before that was raining. And the week 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:06.479 before that was 110 degrees. 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.480 Why are we getting the totality of global. 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:10.640 Warming in Los Angeles? 0:05:10.740 --> 0:05:15.279 I'd really rather opt out. But I'm just like, meanwhile, 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.680 we got things to build and do and become, even 0:05:18.700 --> 0:05:24.550 though the world is literally splitting before our eyes. And 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:26.440 I feel like it's splitting open now. At first, I 0:05:26.460 --> 0:05:28.599 think it was scary to watch the split. But now 0:05:28.660 --> 0:05:31.340 I think we're seeing things that we were ignoring for 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:33.540 so long just because we were so comfortable. And now 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:37.880 nobody's comfortable. Not even the people that might have thought 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.050 they would be comfortable by, you know, voting for somebody 0:05:40.060 --> 0:05:43.049 that was aligned with them. Nobody's comfortable. 0:05:43.730 --> 0:05:44.690 Nobody's comfortable. 0:05:44.710 --> 0:05:47.070 We're not able to look away. We were talking about flights. 0:05:47.089 --> 0:05:48.130 Yeah, we're all churning. 0:05:48.990 --> 0:05:51.270 This morning, I went to go book a flight because 0:05:51.350 --> 0:05:53.470 I'm really traveling back and forth between D.C. and L.A. 0:05:53.529 --> 0:05:54.169 all the time. 0:05:54.190 --> 0:05:54.969 Wow. 0:05:54.990 --> 0:05:55.750 And, yeah. 0:05:55.770 --> 0:05:57.370 That's intense travel. It is. 0:05:57.390 --> 0:05:59.890 It's like because I'm bi-coastal. Like, I'm in L.A., but 0:06:00.210 --> 0:06:02.429 I'm mostly in D.C. I want to build a life there. 0:06:02.490 --> 0:06:03.450 My boyfriend's there. 0:06:03.470 --> 0:06:05.070 Got that man's out there, baby. 0:06:05.089 --> 0:06:06.510 I'm trying to be married. 0:06:06.529 --> 0:06:09.580 Because I'm in the private friends part of your story, 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:11.979 so I've been seeing the things. 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:15.640 I'm trying to be just as happy in my personal life. 0:06:15.900 --> 0:06:16.020 Yeah. 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.600 As I've been in my career, and I think especially 0:06:19.620 --> 0:06:23.180 coming up when we did, you had to fully go 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:26.460 hard at your career. And it was like, man, we'll 0:06:26.500 --> 0:06:26.880 come later. 0:06:27.430 --> 0:06:28.560 That was the only choice. 0:06:28.580 --> 0:06:29.529 That was the only choice. 0:06:29.570 --> 0:06:29.810 Yeah. 0:06:29.830 --> 0:06:34.000 And then later comes, and I'm like... Now, how am 0:06:34.010 --> 0:06:38.179 I supposed to wait? So I was really grateful for 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:40.520 the last couple of years because there were so many 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.580 things that happened that made me realize like, oh, this 0:06:43.660 --> 0:06:44.420 is life now. 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:45.200 Yeah. 0:06:45.300 --> 0:06:48.230 Like there is no later. Yeah. You're in it. What 0:06:48.250 --> 0:06:49.990 are you going to do? Do you want to date? 0:06:50.029 --> 0:06:52.330 And Yvonne Orji was like, you need to start putting 0:06:52.350 --> 0:06:55.290 your cities, wherever you're traveling, because you travel so much, 0:06:55.830 --> 0:06:58.030 into your hinge and wherever you're at so you can 0:06:58.050 --> 0:07:00.200 go on a couple of dates. And so I was 0:07:00.260 --> 0:07:02.909 home a couple of years ago. And I was chilling. 0:07:02.930 --> 0:07:03.570 I love Yvonne. 0:07:03.650 --> 0:07:05.729 She is so good. 0:07:06.230 --> 0:07:08.909 She's so good for pulling you in those like tiny 0:07:08.970 --> 0:07:10.630 detail ways. Yeah. 0:07:10.830 --> 0:07:13.210 And I was like, I, I don't know how to date. 0:07:13.230 --> 0:07:14.640 And she was like, just try to go on a 0:07:14.650 --> 0:07:16.060 couple of dates. And I went on a couple of 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:18.160 dates that week. I was the week before I was 0:07:18.180 --> 0:07:20.880 turning 34 and he was the last date and we 0:07:20.940 --> 0:07:26.460 ain't stopped swogging since. So he's amazing. Yeah. 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.540 Okay. I had a different origin. I was going to 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:33.120 start with, but let's start with love. Someone that works 0:07:33.230 --> 0:07:37.590 so hard, someone that lives and works with purpose. Tell 0:07:37.630 --> 0:07:41.610 me about how it feels and the differences of being 0:07:41.670 --> 0:07:44.070 able to do your work while being loved. 0:07:45.810 --> 0:07:48.090 Come on in here. Wow. All right. We're going to 0:07:48.130 --> 0:07:53.150 go there. I wouldn't have started Creatives of Faith had 0:07:53.250 --> 0:07:54.270 I not had my boyfriend. 0:07:54.610 --> 0:07:56.040 Wow. 0:07:57.080 --> 0:08:01.440 I was like, you know what? You understand this. When 0:08:01.620 --> 0:08:05.320 the industry you work in doesn't quite get you, you 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:09.080 start to wear it. So you start to be like, well, 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.300 they don't think I'm good, so nobody thinks I'm good. 0:08:12.780 --> 0:08:15.590 They don't see me doing anything, so nobody sees me 0:08:15.610 --> 0:08:18.710 doing anything. I can't get on this show, so I'm 0:08:18.740 --> 0:08:22.020 not supposed to be on shows. I can't gather people. 0:08:22.740 --> 0:08:26.220 My numbers don't meet. Everything that was a no, that 0:08:26.260 --> 0:08:28.500 was showing on the opportunities that I was getting and 0:08:28.540 --> 0:08:31.800 the ceilings I was meeting, I was like, okay, so 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:37.439 no one is going to care. It was him who 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.940 was like, man, do you know who you are? Do 0:08:40.980 --> 0:08:43.260 you know how much you mean to people? I've been 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:45.740 by your side for the last year and I see 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.590 how people light up when you enter a room and 0:08:48.610 --> 0:08:53.240 I see how you can, can literally transform an environment 0:08:53.700 --> 0:08:57.500 by speaking and you, you are hiding because you're a 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:00.720 little hurt by what this industry told you, but there's 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:03.540 people waiting for you. Like there's really people waiting for 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:06.060 you really can do it. And like, it took months 0:09:06.179 --> 0:09:09.990 of me being like, Okay, sir. Sure. Ain't nobody coming 0:09:10.010 --> 0:09:11.740 to that. If I do that, nobody's coming. Like if 0:09:11.790 --> 0:09:14.620 I started, cause, cause to be fair and to be honest, 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.380 healed girl era did not go where I thought I 0:09:17.420 --> 0:09:20.000 would have wanted it to go. Like views wise and 0:09:20.020 --> 0:09:21.880 all that stuff. Like when you're selling and pitching, you 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:24.660 know how it goes. Like, it's like, Hey, there's like 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:28.400 Oprah and Michelle Obama are podcasters who need sponsorship. Like 0:09:28.450 --> 0:09:33.020 when we're talking about the playing field right now, it's like, okay. 0:09:33.260 --> 0:09:36.060 You know what that you start to wear it. Like 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:38.760 the things that didn't quite go how you wanted to go, 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:41.280 even though you put your all into it. So I 0:09:41.380 --> 0:09:44.120 took a step back from just creating all types of things. 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:46.970 And I literally had to like, just chill on everything 0:09:47.090 --> 0:09:50.510 output and one, just fall in love. But to the 0:09:50.610 --> 0:09:52.590 mirror that he was able to hold up to me 0:09:52.950 --> 0:09:56.370 that I think I, I blurred my own mirror. He 0:09:56.410 --> 0:09:58.770 was able to help me like little by little, just 0:09:59.590 --> 0:10:04.599 see some different things. And so had I not met him, 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:06.870 I'm not sure there would be a creatives of faith. 0:10:06.910 --> 0:10:08.630 I'm not sure I would be showing up in the 0:10:08.650 --> 0:10:11.370 way that I show up now. Um, because he's able 0:10:11.410 --> 0:10:15.650 to help me see that like, Just because one faction 0:10:15.670 --> 0:10:18.579 of your life didn't work out doesn't mean there's a 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:20.780 million other things that you shouldn't be doing that you're 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:26.160 literally called to be doing. And it's been a beautiful journey. 0:10:27.620 --> 0:10:29.400 God gave me the idea for Creatives of Faith six 0:10:29.420 --> 0:10:32.540 years ago, and I ran from it every step of 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.720 the way. And it had to be the perfect storm, 0:10:34.780 --> 0:10:37.089 and he had to be the perfect person to literally 0:10:37.130 --> 0:10:38.570 hold my hand and be like, you can do this. 0:10:39.070 --> 0:10:42.470 Promise you. Like someone who can see you up close. no, 0:10:42.910 --> 0:10:45.310 no rah-rah, none of that, like, because, you know, we 0:10:45.330 --> 0:10:47.220 put on for our friends, we put on for our parents, 0:10:47.620 --> 0:10:50.300 and eventually you around your old man so much that, like, 0:10:50.900 --> 0:10:53.980 the mask falls, and next thing you know, you crying, 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.640 talking about, you know, whatever, like, we could have been 0:10:56.660 --> 0:10:59.500 talking about popcorn, being good at a movie, and the 0:10:59.540 --> 0:11:00.970 next thing you know, I end up in tears, because, 0:11:01.110 --> 0:11:04.170 you know, something is freeing, like, it's free, I don't 0:11:04.190 --> 0:11:08.569 have to convince you, and that was a, that space 0:11:08.610 --> 0:11:11.920 that he created for me inside of, like, our growing 0:11:11.940 --> 0:11:16.560 and getting to know each other has helped me tremendously. Girl. 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:17.360 Okay. 0:11:17.420 --> 0:11:18.260 He's good. 0:11:18.300 --> 0:11:20.349 He's a good guy. Two places I want to go 0:11:20.410 --> 0:11:22.710 with what you're talking about. I hope my brain lets 0:11:22.770 --> 0:11:27.130 me get both out. The first thing that I want 0:11:27.170 --> 0:11:31.050 to say about what you're saying that is so interesting 0:11:31.090 --> 0:11:35.170 to me is like for most of us, the issue, 0:11:35.270 --> 0:11:37.680 like the thing that we can't break through is just 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:44.920 simply not getting accurate feedback about who we are from 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:48.640 the mirrors that are around us, right? And like, you 0:11:48.660 --> 0:11:51.920 can derail your whole life and trajectory from not getting 0:11:52.020 --> 0:11:52.860 accurate feedback. 0:11:52.900 --> 0:11:55.560 We've seen it. We see it all the time in Hollywood. 0:11:55.700 --> 0:11:57.079 Like Hollywood, we see it. 0:11:57.380 --> 0:12:01.670 In families, in Hollywood, in anything, anywhere you are, if 0:12:02.030 --> 0:12:06.130 you're surrounded by people that aren't giving you honest, clear 0:12:06.350 --> 0:12:10.270 feedback about who and what you are or withholding the 0:12:10.410 --> 0:12:15.010 good feedback about you intentionally or because they don't have capacity, 0:12:15.770 --> 0:12:18.710 you miss a whole way of knowing who you are 0:12:18.750 --> 0:12:23.230 and a whole way of developing self-trust, confidence. Or you 0:12:23.270 --> 0:12:25.650 have to fight to get that, which was kind of 0:12:25.690 --> 0:12:30.949 my story, for yourself if you don't feel that other places. 0:12:31.230 --> 0:12:36.620 And also, so many people right now are getting incorrect 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:40.260 feedback that they are great, that what they're doing is 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:45.270 amazing or this or revolutionary or visionary. Like they're getting 0:12:45.309 --> 0:12:48.530 the wrong feedback because often no, it isn't. Or you're 0:12:48.590 --> 0:12:53.130 moving through ego or that person is celebrating you because 0:12:53.390 --> 0:12:57.310 they actually have a weird relationship with visibility. So they're 0:12:57.330 --> 0:13:00.920 obsessed with your visibility and think that that makes you great. 0:13:01.860 --> 0:13:04.540 And they're not actually looking at or giving you feedback 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.240 about the work or the longevity of your legacy and gifts. 0:13:08.380 --> 0:13:11.260 And like, that is so fascinating to me. It's like, 0:13:11.300 --> 0:13:13.329 and you know, like in this space, we've seen it 0:13:13.390 --> 0:13:16.890 so many there we have seen, I'm saying this with 0:13:17.270 --> 0:13:22.290 no judgment whatsoever. We've just seen so many come and 0:13:22.330 --> 0:13:25.670 go in the industry as a whole. Cause that's how 0:13:25.700 --> 0:13:30.570 the industry operates, right? It's trend-based it's, focused on highlighting 0:13:30.650 --> 0:13:34.130 and lifting up whatever the algorithm catches wind of even 0:13:34.190 --> 0:13:35.770 prior to the algorithm. Exactly. 0:13:35.890 --> 0:13:36.550 That's so true. 0:13:36.590 --> 0:13:39.720 Whatever any random group of people are talking about, you know, 0:13:39.740 --> 0:13:45.080 and very rarely does that equate truth. Does that equate quality? 0:13:45.580 --> 0:13:47.300 Does that equate longevity? You know? 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:48.940 And so it's like, we. 0:13:48.940 --> 0:13:52.260 Always have to refocus to look at ourselves through a 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:56.240 clear lens because it's constantly being clouded by everything. 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:57.220 Yes. 0:13:57.400 --> 0:14:01.520 It's so true. That's why like, artists like Lauryn Hill 0:14:01.900 --> 0:14:05.590 and Jill Scott and Erykah Badu and D'Angelo, may he 0:14:05.650 --> 0:14:09.270 rest in peace, all the folks that actually had the talent, 0:14:09.330 --> 0:14:12.819 the substance, something to say, and then still were able 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:17.460 to make it, able to have these albums that changed 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:20.930 the world. the industry is not letting that through no more. 0:14:20.950 --> 0:14:26.150 We don't even have the infrastructure, much less the ability 0:14:26.210 --> 0:14:30.160 to let, whoever did Neo Soul and made that term up, 0:14:30.190 --> 0:14:34.950 we thank you, because that was the last iteration to 0:14:34.990 --> 0:14:39.210 me of music with substance actually making a mainstream splash. 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:43.520 We live in times where the people with something to 0:14:43.580 --> 0:14:46.720 say don't catch the algorithm's attention, and the people with 0:14:46.820 --> 0:14:50.350 nothing to say Are able to move culture in a 0:14:50.390 --> 0:14:52.880 way that is targeted. 0:14:53.220 --> 0:14:53.550 Yeah. 0:14:54.260 --> 0:14:56.440 Because there are people that own these platforms. 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:57.120 Yeah. 0:14:57.960 --> 0:14:58.360 Yeah. 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:01.200 And we, I think we see it now that like 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:02.960 all of our things are being co-opted. 0:15:03.180 --> 0:15:03.520 Yeah. 0:15:03.580 --> 0:15:05.500 And there are certain messages that are making it through 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:07.800 to us and making us believe that we can't love 0:15:07.820 --> 0:15:09.440 each other. We can't support each other. We can't show 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:10.080 up for each other. 0:15:10.100 --> 0:15:10.440 Right. 0:15:10.460 --> 0:15:12.860 But then when you get offline and you talk to people, 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:14.850 you're like, wait, I actually do need community. Are you? 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:17.870 Are you, me, me, you? And the next thing you know, 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:20.070 they bring two people and you bring two people and 0:15:20.090 --> 0:15:23.130 y'all actually want good for not only yourselves, but the world. 0:15:23.430 --> 0:15:26.290 It's like, we have to watch where we're plugged into 0:15:26.350 --> 0:15:29.310 so much because now these spaces are not even, I 0:15:29.810 --> 0:15:31.050 feel like it used to be a free for all. 0:15:31.170 --> 0:15:33.060 Now it's like, no, this is what you're going to 0:15:33.100 --> 0:15:37.760 care about. Your timeline. I follow like what? 5,000 people. 0:15:38.140 --> 0:15:44.200 I see maybe a hundred. Like they're telling us. what 0:15:44.300 --> 0:15:44.960 we care about. 0:15:45.020 --> 0:15:45.320 Yeah. 0:15:45.380 --> 0:15:47.680 So now I'm like, we even have to double down 0:15:47.830 --> 0:15:51.750 on the spaces that feed us because we're not, it's, 0:15:51.850 --> 0:15:53.830 if you're plugged into the internet and you have to 0:15:53.850 --> 0:15:59.420 work within that space, like we do just to remain, um, it, 0:15:59.950 --> 0:16:02.230 it's a vehicle. It's just to have the channel. You 0:16:02.250 --> 0:16:04.380 have to be mindful of how you plug in and 0:16:04.390 --> 0:16:06.480 the time you put into it. And so I'm always 0:16:06.540 --> 0:16:09.720 mindful of that. Now I'm like, is that really my thought? 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:11.920 Or did I just get that from them? Is that 0:16:11.940 --> 0:16:14.680 my fear? So it's interesting. 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:16.700 It's so real. It's so true. 0:16:16.780 --> 0:16:19.820 Like, yeah, it's force feeding you so many things or 0:16:19.860 --> 0:16:22.640 compounding on something that may be like this size of 0:16:22.700 --> 0:16:25.440 like a pepper inside of you, like, you know, a 0:16:25.460 --> 0:16:28.000 grain of pepper inside of you. And now it's like 0:16:28.340 --> 0:16:31.680 my identity and this is my biggest issue. And I 0:16:31.740 --> 0:16:36.680 just can't like stress enough for people. I know everyone 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:40.510 convinces themselves you have to do it a certain way 0:16:40.670 --> 0:16:43.130 or you have to even, I just want to tell you, 0:16:45.030 --> 0:16:50.230 From 20 plus years of experience, you don't. You really don't. 0:16:50.250 --> 0:16:54.180 I think people even assume I go about things completely 0:16:54.220 --> 0:16:58.720 different than I do. Every meeting I have had in 0:16:58.940 --> 0:17:01.140 the last six years, I'll say, if you ask me 0:17:01.180 --> 0:17:02.750 about my following count, I'm out. 0:17:03.930 --> 0:17:04.490 I don't care. 0:17:04.510 --> 0:17:07.030 And if that's what you care about, you're not the 0:17:07.070 --> 0:17:10.020 place for me. I have a real set of skills, 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.740 a real set of gifts. And like, I don't need 0:17:14.350 --> 0:17:17.790 to question myself. I don't need to lower my trust 0:17:17.830 --> 0:17:21.149 for myself because of a zeitgeist that exists right now 0:17:21.650 --> 0:17:25.669 that will not last, that does not actually matter. And 0:17:25.690 --> 0:17:27.950 I think you really have to train yourself to have 0:17:28.030 --> 0:17:33.169 that level of distance between others validation or support of 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:36.160 what you're doing. And it's like, that's where the face... 0:17:36.290 --> 0:17:40.310 Faith muscle gets built in such a massive and compounded way. 0:17:40.410 --> 0:17:43.609 It's like you could never tell me that something I'm 0:17:43.650 --> 0:17:47.919 doing isn't it because I also don't need it to 0:17:47.980 --> 0:17:51.500 be it. Like I understand that the way God uses me, 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:54.520 what I'm saying today, it might take off today. 0:17:55.859 --> 0:17:56.820 It might take off in 10 years. 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.700 Or it might inspire the person that's going to say 0:18:00.770 --> 0:18:03.350 and do something that takes off, that helps more. And 0:18:03.390 --> 0:18:06.010 I trust that whatever that path is for me, it's 0:18:06.050 --> 0:18:09.990 more than enough. Like more than enough because my life 0:18:10.070 --> 0:18:13.280 is still good. I have a beautiful life that I 0:18:13.380 --> 0:18:18.419 love with things that are so important to me in 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:22.680 it that it's like my witnessing and presence with all 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.889 of that. I can never let the importance of it 0:18:25.950 --> 0:18:28.889 leave me. I can never let like the depth of 0:18:28.930 --> 0:18:31.370 it leave me to care about something that I've learned 0:18:31.990 --> 0:18:34.730 in 20 plus years of being a working adult. It 0:18:34.770 --> 0:18:39.950 just doesn't matter. It just really, truly doesn't, it doesn't 0:18:40.010 --> 0:18:43.570 have real effect on the long-term nature of your life. 0:18:43.590 --> 0:18:46.890 That's so good. I feel like that's going to free 0:18:46.910 --> 0:18:50.510 some people because it's just like, you have to, there 0:18:50.550 --> 0:18:54.260 is this balance of like playing the game. Being outside, 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:56.520 being visible, staying top of mind. And then there's this 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.100 reality that like that burns you out, that wears you 0:18:59.140 --> 0:19:02.159 out over time. And the people who have decided and 0:19:02.180 --> 0:19:06.990 committed to their assignment, their journey, really always find their things. 0:19:07.030 --> 0:19:07.350 Always. 0:19:07.830 --> 0:19:08.149 Period. 0:19:08.170 --> 0:19:11.270 Because it's what God wants. So if it's blessed by God, 0:19:12.510 --> 0:19:15.530 we worried about little resources. He's like, baby, I'm hanging 0:19:15.550 --> 0:19:17.570 stars in the sky. Stop playing. 0:19:18.650 --> 0:19:19.010 Girl. 0:19:19.470 --> 0:19:22.560 I'm infinite. What do you want? Let's talk. I'm infinite. 0:19:22.730 --> 0:19:24.919 I'm going to provide. If I send you there, I'm 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:26.899 providing for you on the way there. I'm going to 0:19:26.940 --> 0:19:28.700 figure it out. You're going to go. I'm going to 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:30.340 give you the things. 0:19:30.619 --> 0:19:32.780 And you know what's so interesting to me about things, right? 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:35.139 And I think about this, especially with someone like you 0:19:35.180 --> 0:19:39.109 and some of what you just shared. You've had really, 0:19:39.570 --> 0:19:46.250 really deeply powerful moments owning stages in a multitude of ways, right? 0:19:46.330 --> 0:19:51.180 Because like you have been in amphitheaters of faith, right? 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:53.420 Like the work that you do with Sarah Jakes Roberts, 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:56.659 you know, and so many others in that space. And 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:59.260 then also it's like on a red carpet or having, 0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:02.679 you know, really profound conversations with Academy Award winners or, 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.080 you know, like the power and the potency and the 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:09.619 real effect and value that that has, right? Because The 0:20:09.630 --> 0:20:12.720 way your light works, you are, I. 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:18.340 Mean, girl, like you are very special. 0:20:19.010 --> 0:20:23.169 And this halo and this radiance that exists in and 0:20:23.210 --> 0:20:27.250 through and around you, you're lighting up someone's life just 0:20:27.270 --> 0:20:29.700 because you're standing in front of them. Then you open 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.940