Speaker 1: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. You're listening to Vitamin
Speaker 1: D where we shed light onto your life to help
Speaker 1: you see the parts of you that have been missing
Speaker 1: so that we may honor and celebrate ourselves. Well in
Speaker 1: case you're wondering, I'm your host on day and um
Speaker 1: I'm here to help you get excited about your life
Speaker 1: and to carry you on that mission. And today I'm
Speaker 1: bringing a sensation of transformation, as I like to call it.
Speaker 1: You know, I think about as we transform into this
Speaker 1: new season with the cold weather and the charm of
Speaker 1: the holidays, I think about how even though it gets cold,
Speaker 1: because you know, the earth tilts away from the sun,
Speaker 1: getting a less light, it still comes back around, putting
Speaker 1: itself in the direction of the light to start up spring,
Speaker 1: to spring into a new thing. See, the earth transforms
Speaker 1: and overcomes. And y'all know that everything big is everything small.
Speaker 1: So what we see with earth, we see with plants,
Speaker 1: with animals, and we see with ourselves. Now, yes, people
Speaker 1: are a little bit more calmplicated, and we are they
Speaker 1: us may seem as though we are stuck in a place.
Speaker 1: You may feel that right now. M heck, God, no,
Speaker 1: I have but Here's the thing. People are able to
Speaker 1: move forward, People are able to grow. People are able
Speaker 1: to see something in themselves that the world may not see,
Speaker 1: and then they are able to acknowledge that, to walk
Speaker 1: in authority of that belief and make the world see
Speaker 1: them as who they really are. So who are you?
Speaker 1: What do I mean by that? I'm talking about transformation
Speaker 1: and overcoming because today I have a special guest. Today,
Speaker 1: I have the phenomenal groundbreaking model Lyris Cross sitting down
Speaker 1: to talk to me about her life, career and her
Speaker 1: new book, Make the World Your Runway. Lyris is a supermodel, actress,
Speaker 1: a motivational speaker, and now author who has made her
Speaker 1: career on showing up where people didn't think she could.
Speaker 1: From helping to put plus size modeling on the map
Speaker 1: to her help but diversifying the industry, Laris has done
Speaker 1: a lot and it's no wonder why she is coined
Speaker 1: as the Naomi Camel of plus size modeling. Hi Heller.
Speaker 1: We talk about the rigors of breaking into the modeling industry,
Speaker 1: but really today's episode is about speaking life and doing
Speaker 1: it and like Laris says, we have to do what
Speaker 1: we can in the natural before God puts a super
Speaker 1: on it. So without further ado, it's time for your
Speaker 1: dose a vitamin D. Getamin D right with me and
Speaker 1: get excited about is she coming? I am here. How
Speaker 1: are you doing larious? I'm good. How are you? I'm
Speaker 1: doing good. It's so good to see your face. Oh,
Speaker 1: thank you. I am loving this red lippy. You have one?
Speaker 1: You know, I just said, let me just pop a
Speaker 1: little color, you know in this fall moment. You did that? Honey, um,
Speaker 1: it's so interesting sing we ran in the circle together.
Speaker 1: So a good friend of mine, who you actually uh
Speaker 1: recorded the intro to his show, Timothy Snell. Yes, so
Speaker 1: I was on the show with Snell. Um. I wasn't
Speaker 1: assistant on the show along with Nasa the cosy. So
Speaker 1: I was talking to the other day. He said, yes,
Speaker 1: you better get her, and so we had a whole
Speaker 1: key key mootment over you. Oh. I love him. I
Speaker 1: think he just has such a beautiful spirit. And you know,
Speaker 1: you already know he has great style, okay, and it's
Speaker 1: just amazing, you know, having that at the forefront, which
Speaker 1: transfers into the conversation that I want to talk to
Speaker 1: you about today. Okay. So you know, and I was
Speaker 1: sitting here, I'm thinking, you know, I talked to Purvis
Speaker 1: and he was saying the raver Gurus about you. And
Speaker 1: of course I am familiar with your body of work.
Speaker 1: I lived in New York myself, and you know vitamin D.
Speaker 1: This podcast, I don't know if you're familiar. It's all
Speaker 1: about shedding light. Okay, it's a count off of my name,
Speaker 1: So I'm shedding light. A different way is to think
Speaker 1: about life and different opportunities. Right, And so as I'm
Speaker 1: gearing up and I'm thinking about having you on here,
Speaker 1: the first thing that came to my mind was the
Speaker 1: whole notion of impossible. And you know how sometimes even
Speaker 1: looking at the word, you know, impossible, but how you've
Speaker 1: been able to separate that to go into a positive
Speaker 1: moment that has propelled you to be such an inspiration
Speaker 1: to so many people. Well, I mean, if you look
Speaker 1: at the word impossible, if you break it up, it's
Speaker 1: I'm impossible, Hello, impossible. And when we remember that, we
Speaker 1: remember that we are able to achieve anything we've really
Speaker 1: put our mind to and if we're really up to
Speaker 1: doing the work. So I actually even have a T
Speaker 1: shirt that X is out that I'm I mean that
Speaker 1: that breaks up the impossible. So you see that it
Speaker 1: means impossible, the possibilities are endless with our work, dedication,
Speaker 1: and sometimes you know, sometimes natural talent, but sometimes it's
Speaker 1: beyond natural talent. It's just the hard work and the
Speaker 1: favor of God opening doors for you. A lot of
Speaker 1: times I think that God is just waiting to see
Speaker 1: what we are willing to do, what we are willing
Speaker 1: to um sacrifice or much hard work we're willing to
Speaker 1: put up to make our dreams come true, and He's like, um,
Speaker 1: actually I did a post about this and my lyrics
Speaker 1: motivates hashtag about how um, we have to do what
Speaker 1: we can in the natural, and then God puts his
Speaker 1: super on it. But he can't put his super on
Speaker 1: anything if you're not doing your part within the natural.
Speaker 1: So you gotta go do your part and then he's
Speaker 1: going to activate and put the souper on what you're
Speaker 1: naturally already doing. That. Thank you, thank you, But it's
Speaker 1: just truth. It's just truth. It's you know, it's kind
Speaker 1: of like that parent who was like, Okay, if you
Speaker 1: show me some a's, then you know, I'll put the
Speaker 1: money up for you to do this. Or do that.
Speaker 1: You know, there's a thing where we have to say
Speaker 1: and I guess that we talked biblically speaking faith with
Speaker 1: our works is day. So we have to make sure
Speaker 1: that we exercise what we have right now and then,
Speaker 1: like you said, put God's hands on it. And it
Speaker 1: made me thinking the notion that um sometimes I think
Speaker 1: we can get in our own way of trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how God is going to do it. And
Speaker 1: I even had this conversation with myself today. Yeah, he
Speaker 1: literally can catch us off guard. And it goes back
Speaker 1: to what I was saying. It's like, just get working,
Speaker 1: start that business, just apply for the for the schools,
Speaker 1: you know, whatever it is that you want to do,
Speaker 1: just get moving. And it's amazing that once you just
Speaker 1: start to work in your purpose or moving your goals,
Speaker 1: how the help starts to come around, the loose ends
Speaker 1: start to tie on, the um way becomes you know,
Speaker 1: you have a way maker out of the way. You
Speaker 1: know what thing starts to happen. But you just have
Speaker 1: to move. You just have to get going. You just
Speaker 1: have to do so once we just start doing and moving,
Speaker 1: it's amazing what what starts to come around us and
Speaker 1: support us and we you know, sometimes it's like overthinking
Speaker 1: is is not trusting in him. We gotta trust. We
Speaker 1: have to let go. They say, if you're gonna worry
Speaker 1: about it, then don't pray about it. We gotta trust
Speaker 1: and we gotta let go. And I love that you
Speaker 1: gotta let go. Oh I think it's gonna happen it's way. Oh,
Speaker 1: it may not happen that way, it may happen this way.
Speaker 1: Just move, just go, just do, just be. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: speaking of just being, And it's so interesting because this
Speaker 1: conversation is going to spearhead of how you allowed your
Speaker 1: yes to yourself propel you in your life because there
Speaker 1: were nose that came your way. Hella knows lots of those,
Speaker 1: still getting those and to know you have the crown
Speaker 1: as like the Naomi Campbell of plus size modeling, Like
Speaker 1: that's a big deal, that's a moment. But see what
Speaker 1: I love about it is just like when we think
Speaker 1: about life, right, we look at oh they started here
Speaker 1: and then the finish, but we realized it's in the journey.
Speaker 1: And in this journey you've propelled and gave birth to
Speaker 1: a beautiful baby. Um, you have your book that we're
Speaker 1: gonna be talking about today about making the world You're
Speaker 1: run way. Yes, my book, my book, I'm so excited
Speaker 1: about that, so excited, available on Amazon, Hello number one.
Speaker 1: But I want to talk about the fact of um,
Speaker 1: you're talking about that because, like you said before, being
Speaker 1: in a position where you believe it in yourself right
Speaker 1: and making sure you hold onto that childlike behavior and
Speaker 1: even piggybacking off of what you said your quote, if
Speaker 1: you think it, you can do it period, right. So
Speaker 1: I want to know a little bit about you and
Speaker 1: how you started off, because how did you know that
Speaker 1: you were possible? Oh? I al would say, it's kind
Speaker 1: of two different things. My father, God rest his soul,
Speaker 1: was just very motivating. Uh. My father spoke life into me.
Speaker 1: My mom as well, but there's just something special about
Speaker 1: a father's love for his daughter. And my father spoke
Speaker 1: life to me. He told me I could do anything.
Speaker 1: He told me I was beautiful, he told me I
Speaker 1: was awesome. And they came together when I decided I
Speaker 1: wanted to move to New York to pursue my mole
Speaker 1: in dreams. They came together and supported me and that
Speaker 1: they gave me their blessing and they're okay. But when
Speaker 1: I was a little girl, my dad was running for congress.
Speaker 1: There was a photographer who came to the house to
Speaker 1: do his brochure pictures and he's taking some pictures and
Speaker 1: my dad and he took pictures of us as a family,
Speaker 1: and then he said, do you lie if I take
Speaker 1: some extra pictures of your daughter. So I'm just hamming
Speaker 1: it up taking my pictures. And you know, back then
Speaker 1: they had to go develop the film and bring it
Speaker 1: back to you like a week or two later. So
Speaker 1: we get the film back and he's printed out this
Speaker 1: about tim front of me, and he said, your daughter
Speaker 1: is really photogenic. You should really get her into my
Speaker 1: and that see I wish I knew this photographer's name
Speaker 1: to this day, but those words were the seed that
Speaker 1: were planted in me that made me believe that I
Speaker 1: could I could model, and I could do anything. And
Speaker 1: then my father was like my first photographer. My father
Speaker 1: loved taking pictures as well as being in front of
Speaker 1: the camera. So you know, I got my practice song
Speaker 1: in front of the camera with my dad as well
Speaker 1: as um as remembering what that photographer said, and it
Speaker 1: stuck for me for years because also I'm a p K.
Speaker 1: So I'm a preacher's kid, so they weren't in a
Speaker 1: rush to get me into my lane. That wasn't like,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, we're gonna push her off into my leg.
Speaker 1: But as I got older and matroit, and they saw like,
Speaker 1: she's really serious about us. And I'm always watching fashion
Speaker 1: TV to see the models doing all the shows out
Speaker 1: in Paris and Milan in London, like she's that modeling
Speaker 1: book still hasn't gone away, and now she's doing the
Speaker 1: local mall fashion show and this and that. But I
Speaker 1: definitely say it is that seed from that photographer, and
Speaker 1: just the seeds of my parents speaking life into me
Speaker 1: and telling me that I can do anything that I
Speaker 1: really put my mind to. Those are the things that
Speaker 1: propelled me to feel I could do what was the
Speaker 1: impossible as far as moving to New York to pursue
Speaker 1: my modeling dreams. That's why I even talk about in
Speaker 1: the book how important it is for parents two embrace
Speaker 1: the different gifts and abilities that are in their children's
Speaker 1: lives um because you never know. You know, you might
Speaker 1: be the parent who's getting upset at your one child
Speaker 1: who always breaks his toys, and it is trying to
Speaker 1: figure out ways to put it back together. That could
Speaker 1: be a future engineer. That child that's uh, very talkative
Speaker 1: and it is always challenging you. Maybe they're supposed to
Speaker 1: be a lawyer. You know. We have to really speak
Speaker 1: life and and help children as well as adults too,
Speaker 1: because there are a lot of adults who are still
Speaker 1: finding their purpose and um or they're shifting from one
Speaker 1: career to a new career because they didn't realize, you know,
Speaker 1: I started doing this job because this is what my
Speaker 1: parents said, was like, you know, guns versus butter, you know,
Speaker 1: type of job. But now I realized I'm really into
Speaker 1: this and I'm gifted in this, and they're doing a shift.
Speaker 1: But we have to support people and and especially children
Speaker 1: with letting them find their ways and embracing the different
Speaker 1: gifts and talents that they have. Because just because your
Speaker 1: sister ailed at it, it doesn't mean that your daughter's
Speaker 1: gonna feel at it. Just because um, miss Jenkins across
Speaker 1: the hall didn't do well in that career, that doesn't
Speaker 1: mean that your son isn't going to do well in
Speaker 1: that career. A lot of times we're pushing our own
Speaker 1: fears on to other people, and it's blocking them, or
Speaker 1: they're allowing what is said to them to block them
Speaker 1: from really going after their purpose, their new career, whatever
Speaker 1: it is. So we have to be mindful and careful
Speaker 1: with that. And I love that because, Um, I am
Speaker 1: a advocate, a component like Larious, I'm so serious about
Speaker 1: speaking life. I have life tattered in my mouth because
Speaker 1: I'm all you want to see, wow, very first tattoo.
Speaker 1: But it's because I'm an advocate. I am so gun
Speaker 1: hole about speaking life, like you said, with that seed
Speaker 1: invested in you so like with my nephews. And in fact,
Speaker 1: I was just watching, um the new film on Netflix
Speaker 1: called Jingle Jangle and it's the forest would occur Monika
Speaker 1: Noni Roses in there and a few other upcoming actors.
Speaker 1: But that was one thing that I thought was key.
Speaker 1: It was like the black version of Disney. And you
Speaker 1: saw the importance of how speaking life into her husband,
Speaker 1: speaking life into this little girl who was unconventional with
Speaker 1: her methodology of putting kinks together, and um, it just
Speaker 1: reminded me. And it's so good to know that there
Speaker 1: are people out there to understand and how important these
Speaker 1: these instruments on the side of our heads are, you know,
Speaker 1: at once I read how someone said that your ears
Speaker 1: are like an embryo. What you feed into them allows
Speaker 1: them to grow. And so we see how this seed
Speaker 1: has propelled you in a life that many people would
Speaker 1: have dreamed, many people who had stopped when the first
Speaker 1: know because guess what, it wasn't a role blocking was
Speaker 1: just a step up. But there's a muscle that takes
Speaker 1: to that. So I think it's so interesting as we're
Speaker 1: talking and about how you literally made your life your runway,
Speaker 1: how you got the looks and the attention of before
Speaker 1: you were going to New York of these model agencies
Speaker 1: saying they want you, but it seemed as though they
Speaker 1: were trying to slight you with hey, you might need
Speaker 1: to lose weight, they did. How did you handle that well?
Speaker 1: I mean at first I did try to lose the weight. Um,
Speaker 1: but when you are just naturally a curvy woman, a
Speaker 1: curby young lady at that time, Uh, you can only
Speaker 1: lose for so much. I mean I played sports year round.
Speaker 1: I did cheerleadings, and I did basketball. Then I did
Speaker 1: track and field, So it wasn't like I was just
Speaker 1: sitting around, you know, not being active and eating a
Speaker 1: bunch of stuff. Every day. I was a really active child.
Speaker 1: I just I'm just naturally being curby ever since I
Speaker 1: was a little girl. So I tried to do it
Speaker 1: their way, and then it just didn't work. I didn't
Speaker 1: fit in. And then I said, let me figure out
Speaker 1: a way to make them adjust to me. Let me
Speaker 1: take the thing that they think is going against me,
Speaker 1: and let me show them that it's not a liability,
Speaker 1: it's actually an asset. So Learis you listen. You get
Speaker 1: me so excited. I talk about your life, bank account,
Speaker 1: and I talk about how my motto is that you
Speaker 1: are your greatest asset. What are the deposits versus liabilities
Speaker 1: you are facing in your life? Girl, you better speak.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, go ahead, but it's the it's the truth. Um.
Speaker 1: A lot of times, the things that we think count
Speaker 1: against us are actually the things that make us you me,
Speaker 1: that makes us different, They make us stand out. So
Speaker 1: when I at the beginning of my career, when I
Speaker 1: was like doing music videos and stuff, I was the
Speaker 1: thickest girl on set. But to me, I felt special
Speaker 1: because because of it. Yeah I may not. I may
Speaker 1: not have felt so special when I go to wardrobe
Speaker 1: and all they have is stuff to fit girls who
Speaker 1: are a size two to a size six, and they
Speaker 1: want to like put you in a bathing suit just
Speaker 1: because that's the only thing they have that really stretches.
Speaker 1: But that's why I would be prepared. I would come
Speaker 1: to set with my own clothes. You're not gonna just
Speaker 1: throw me in anything just because I'm the fullest girl
Speaker 1: on set. So um. So yeah, I figured, let me
Speaker 1: stand in the truth of who I am and also
Speaker 1: let me go where I'm celebrated. So that's why, even
Speaker 1: though I was signed to a major New York agency
Speaker 1: at the time, I said, well, let me go work,
Speaker 1: you know, do some music videos because maybe they'll accept
Speaker 1: me a little bit more and I hope to pay
Speaker 1: the way for fuller bodies and music videos, uh during
Speaker 1: that time. And then I said, well that open doors
Speaker 1: within the urban fashion scene, whether it was like a
Speaker 1: n cha all that stuff, so um and and I'm like,
Speaker 1: they're embracing me, so let me run with it. And
Speaker 1: that's what I did. And I'm glad that I did
Speaker 1: because each level helped to give me skills and ability
Speaker 1: to prepare me for the next level. So okay, I
Speaker 1: mastered this, you know, music videos taught me how to
Speaker 1: get ready to be in front of the camera from
Speaker 1: major acting roles. Not only that, it helped me to
Speaker 1: be a better model, you know, it helped me to
Speaker 1: learn set, terminology, all those things. If you really take inventory,
Speaker 1: learn and be a sponge wherever you are, wherever you are.
Speaker 1: So I mean, I'm really glad that, um that I
Speaker 1: allowed myself to go through the process and I didn't
Speaker 1: allowed the nose to deter me from pushing forward. I
Speaker 1: was glad that I was able to find an agency
Speaker 1: that had I didn't. Truthfully, I didn't even know that
Speaker 1: plus Molly existed when I started the The lady who
Speaker 1: had sent me to my first agency just said, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna send you to an agency that has and I
Speaker 1: look like you. And I was like, okay. I get
Speaker 1: there and it was Wilhelmina Models and it was their
Speaker 1: ten twenty board and they had beautiful women who were
Speaker 1: anywhere between the size eight to a size twenty and
Speaker 1: they just had more meat on their bones. And I'm like,
Speaker 1: if this is where I have to be to be
Speaker 1: able to make my dreams come true, so be it.
Speaker 1: And I got in there and I dug in and
Speaker 1: I just continue to try to find my way. Period.
Speaker 1: So was it easier trying to change yourself or did
Speaker 1: you find it easier being yourself? I found it easier
Speaker 1: being myself. But that doesn't mean that you still aren't
Speaker 1: going through the process with the storm. Because if society
Speaker 1: has a cookie cutter standard requirements or ways that you
Speaker 1: have to fit in an industry it has that, then
Speaker 1: you're trying to fit into what they are asking for,
Speaker 1: you know. But I had to just say, Okay, I'm here,
Speaker 1: but I'm just gonna keep finding my way. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: keep pushing through. And although I'm being myself, sometimes it
Speaker 1: takes a second for people to catch on, appreciate, see
Speaker 1: where you're coming from, and say, you know what, I know.
Speaker 1: We said we were looking for girls school are side six.
Speaker 1: But she's beautiful, and she's got a great body, she
Speaker 1: has a great energy, she's um, she's photogenic. Let's use
Speaker 1: her like we're wasting our time, we're sleeping on her.
Speaker 1: Let's use her. And those are the things that just
Speaker 1: those are the moments that were just started to happen
Speaker 1: and and I helped to create change, and I'm I'm
Speaker 1: thankful for that, you know, It just reminded me. You know,
Speaker 1: you talked about Yeah, I say, how things are boxed in,
Speaker 1: and you know, we hear it all the time. If
Speaker 1: you're a girl that loves to get her a beauty
Speaker 1: you hear about a beauty box. And if we think
Speaker 1: about and trying to conform to sit in a box,
Speaker 1: how uncomfortable. But so here's the thing I was thinking
Speaker 1: about myself. This year has been very transitional, transformational. And
Speaker 1: always tell people that, oh it isn't that it's easy
Speaker 1: because I'm growing in ways right, So we're asking God
Speaker 1: if we're saying, hey, I aspired to be at this level,
Speaker 1: and we even take it back if we want to
Speaker 1: say bibically speaking of just like being in the Potter's
Speaker 1: house and you think about that clay, it's about to
Speaker 1: be molded, it's about to be pulled, it's about to
Speaker 1: be you know, contorting the way so that it can fit.
Speaker 1: And guess what, I still gotta test you under the
Speaker 1: fire because there's some strength that needs to so that
Speaker 1: you can have the capacity to hold. And so I
Speaker 1: love that you said that because I think sometimes just
Speaker 1: the way society is made up, we strive to conform,
Speaker 1: but we forget that we're celebrated for being different. Yes,
Speaker 1: And I call the like the process. I call it
Speaker 1: the prunting because it's like the cutting a way of
Speaker 1: things to make you bloom even more. You know, a flower.
Speaker 1: When we get flowers, that always says, you know, cut
Speaker 1: some of the stems off and it will help your
Speaker 1: flowers to bloom. And you gotta put it, shake that
Speaker 1: little powder and put it in the vase with the water.
Speaker 1: It helps it to bloom even more. But guess what
Speaker 1: cutting come on on those flowers? It hurts, hm, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe putting the flowers in the cold water. You know,
Speaker 1: But when you go through that process and then you're
Speaker 1: able to see the flower in it blooms and the
Speaker 1: vagrance is all over your house and the petals have
Speaker 1: opened up and they've made this beautiful shape, You're like, oh, okay,
Speaker 1: it had to go through the process. And I think
Speaker 1: sometimes what's a little scary about society now A lot
Speaker 1: of people want to jump the process. They want to
Speaker 1: jump the process. But the process is where you get
Speaker 1: the skill and the tools so you're able to maintain
Speaker 1: where you're going. Because if you really want to go
Speaker 1: to another level, you need to be. You need to
Speaker 1: know that you're able to carry this amount of weight.
Speaker 1: You need to know that you're able to go through
Speaker 1: this and that and still come out stronger and better.
Speaker 1: You have to go through the process. The process is
Speaker 1: how you get ready for your next level and your
Speaker 1: next level and your next level and your next level
Speaker 1: and your next level. That's that's just the truth. So
Speaker 1: don't fight the process or abandon the process. Go through
Speaker 1: the process, Be a victor in the process, be a
Speaker 1: champion of the process. Show the process. Who's really boss?
Speaker 1: I love that? And it's just as you're saying, like
Speaker 1: going up to each level and we look at like
Speaker 1: we're sending in our lives. And the reason I think
Speaker 1: it's so important because it's that focus you gotta have
Speaker 1: because that wind is gonna blow, you know, the rain
Speaker 1: is gonna come, But you have to be an assurance
Speaker 1: that as long as you can look up, you can
Speaker 1: get up and you know where you're going, because guess what,
Speaker 1: you've got an idea of where you've been, and if
Speaker 1: you know that's not what you want to be, then
Speaker 1: the question is where are you going and when are
Speaker 1: you going to make the decision? Had a conversation with
Speaker 1: a friend of mine the other day and wants to
Speaker 1: pursue model and a mail and I told him, I said, well,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have to start showing up for yourself, because
Speaker 1: if I had awaited lyrics, I would have never even
Speaker 1: had been on the show with Timothy s Now because
Speaker 1: I would have said I'm not tall enough. And just
Speaker 1: like how you said initially coming to a conversation, how
Speaker 1: important it is to just do it. Came on a
Speaker 1: show to get auditioned, to get a makeover, They said, Dawn,
Speaker 1: like how you said there's a pie and there's a
Speaker 1: way when you walking in your truth, Hey, you already
Speaker 1: have a fashion sense. How would you like to get
Speaker 1: paid to be on the show. Don't tell me how
Speaker 1: my god doesn't work lo and behold Timothy Sails, one
Speaker 1: of my people that I've looked up to industry who
Speaker 1: kind of gave an affirmation that I'm possible. It's Queen Latifa. Oh,
Speaker 1: you just happened to be the premier stylist. But guess what,
Speaker 1: don had to show up. And as you were talking
Speaker 1: and you talked about how the flower and pruning the flower,
Speaker 1: you said something that was interesting that I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people can relate to you talk about this,
Speaker 1: the temperature of the water a little cold, right, And
Speaker 1: we do this thing in life what we like to
Speaker 1: just test it, Oh is it too cold? You're jumping back.
Speaker 1: You're jumping back and and in some instance we can
Speaker 1: review that testing in kind of like our level of confidence.
Speaker 1: And I know that's something that you talk about a lot.
Speaker 1: What is this all deal the importance of confidence? And
Speaker 1: then you talk about the notion of having a curvy confidence. Well, okay,
Speaker 1: confidence is important because when we are able to have confidence,
Speaker 1: we're able to go out into the world. And really,
Speaker 1: I believe staying boldly in our purpose, try different things,
Speaker 1: woo be who we really feel we are when we're confident.
Speaker 1: And curvy confidence is kind of related to my curvy sisters,
Speaker 1: my plus scize sisters, my figure sisters out there. So
Speaker 1: I have to put doves though that and say, curby confidence.
Speaker 1: I want you to stand boldly in your curby confidence.
Speaker 1: I want you to remember that even though you are
Speaker 1: thick or fat, whether that's a p H A T
Speaker 1: or f a T, that you are still awesome and
Speaker 1: beautiful just as you are. That God don't make no job,
Speaker 1: come on period, what period? Period? And um. Your curby
Speaker 1: confidence is important because if we really paid attention to
Speaker 1: the messages that are out there that program us and
Speaker 1: tell us who we are supposed to be. And this
Speaker 1: has been going on for eons, hundreds of years. You know,
Speaker 1: you're supposed to look like this, and your body is
Speaker 1: supposed to be this way. And if you're this size,
Speaker 1: you know all these stigmas attached. Well, if you're over
Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty pounds, you're lazy, you're this, You're
Speaker 1: you're not good enough. That's a lie. So stand in
Speaker 1: your curby confidence. Know who you are. Know that your
Speaker 1: size doesn't limit you from where you can go in
Speaker 1: your life. Your size doesn't limit the fact. It doesn't
Speaker 1: tell you that you aren't beautiful. Please, so the most
Speaker 1: beautiful women I know plus size queens curby queens. So
Speaker 1: stand in your curvy confidence. Because when you are sure
Speaker 1: of who you are in your heart, in your body,
Speaker 1: and in your mind. I'm telling you, when you go
Speaker 1: out into the world that curby confidence, it bleeds into
Speaker 1: everything that you do. It bleeds into how you talk,
Speaker 1: how you walk, how you command a room. So that's
Speaker 1: why your Curby. Confidence is so important. Wow, And I
Speaker 1: just even like how you describe that. And just as
Speaker 1: your book, make the world your runway, because when you
Speaker 1: think about it, when somebody's on the runway, all eyes
Speaker 1: on her, all eyes on him, and we need to
Speaker 1: walk with our heads up as if the world is watching,
Speaker 1: because they are. And like you said, when you decide
Speaker 1: to show up as you are, be confident and bold
Speaker 1: as you are, you give people permission to treat you
Speaker 1: as the king or queen that you are. Yes, and
Speaker 1: and like, make the world's your runway is it's my book.
Speaker 1: Is like, I'm not asking you to be Lyrists, because
Speaker 1: there's only one Lyrists. This is the book for you
Speaker 1: to help you be your best year, for you to um,
Speaker 1: for you to be successful, for you to be confident,
Speaker 1: for you to redefine your purpose. That's what makes the
Speaker 1: world your run way is about. This book is like
Speaker 1: it takes situations from my model life and if you
Speaker 1: were to smash a life class together, that's what this
Speaker 1: book is about. It's the owner's manual for you to
Speaker 1: be your best you because how we show up in
Speaker 1: the world, it's how we color the world with your freckles.
Speaker 1: When you show up with your your you know somebody
Speaker 1: has big red hair. When you show up with your outfit,
Speaker 1: with your fringe or your thigh high boots. Sword. You know,
Speaker 1: how you dress, how you speak, how you command the room,
Speaker 1: how when you look good, you feel good. When you
Speaker 1: feel good, those feelings color the world. So that's you
Speaker 1: making the world your runway. How you show up in life,
Speaker 1: That's how you make the world your runway. Oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: you got me feeling all butterflies and stuff inside. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna start to bust out and start walking up here
Speaker 1: right now. Let's go out, so let's happen to Please
Speaker 1: get the book. The book is on Amazon. Uh you
Speaker 1: can go to amazon dot com put in make the
Speaker 1: World Your Runway, or putting my name Lyris Cross. Or
Speaker 1: if you would like a sign copy, go to my
Speaker 1: website which is lyrict C L I R I s
Speaker 1: C dot com. To look click on the book, tap
Speaker 1: and then scroll down to the papal button in order
Speaker 1: your book. There you have it, and you know, just
Speaker 1: to have an idea of you gracing the covers of
Speaker 1: American Vogue, Essence, British Cosmopolitan Vibe. It goes on and on.
Speaker 1: But now you've you've changed the tune. And I think
Speaker 1: just how you talked about in your book and how
Speaker 1: you've mentioned the first thing you've been talking about is
Speaker 1: just purpose, finding your purpose. And I feel like purpose
Speaker 1: is kind of like roots, right, It's the foundation of
Speaker 1: what we stand on. And thank God, just like you
Speaker 1: had a loving father, both parents, but having that seed,
Speaker 1: that planet, and here you are. You've graced so many covers,
Speaker 1: so many runways, and now you say, you know what,
Speaker 1: let me use this branch and give out some more
Speaker 1: in these pages that are now I can call a
Speaker 1: life in a different way, and we talk about like
Speaker 1: just some of the principalities that you mentioned in your book,
Speaker 1: Um talked about living your purpose. How does one necessarily
Speaker 1: prepare for a success that they may not feel like
Speaker 1: they can it's in grasp with their hands. Oh well,
Speaker 1: this is the thing. We don't know till we try. Hello,
Speaker 1: you don't know till you try. And my thing is this.
Speaker 1: You may try and it may not totally work immediately,
Speaker 1: or it may not be the thing that you realize
Speaker 1: it is for you. But if you try something, you're
Speaker 1: gonna figure out the next move for yourself. There are
Speaker 1: instruments that I've tried, and I'm like, you know what,
Speaker 1: I didn't like I thought I would like this, but
Speaker 1: I didn't like us or I'm not that great at this.
Speaker 1: But then what did it then teach me? It taught
Speaker 1: me an appreciation for different styles and music. It helped
Speaker 1: me to gain a new friend maybe in a class
Speaker 1: or met somebody who was the coach and we have
Speaker 1: a longstanding friendship, and then that person introduced me to
Speaker 1: someone else. The thing is, you never know until you try.
Speaker 1: Prepare though prepared by taking the class, reading the course,
Speaker 1: gathering information, immersing yourself in the culture of whatever it
Speaker 1: is that you want to do. When you come to
Speaker 1: to the situation as prepared as possible, that's the game changer.
Speaker 1: Because think about it, when you prepare for a test,
Speaker 1: you have a certain level of confidence and you're able
Speaker 1: to go after it a whole lot better. So you
Speaker 1: may not be the math with but because you really
Speaker 1: studied and you really got all the information that you
Speaker 1: needed for this test, I guarantee you this, you're gonna
Speaker 1: have a better try and you're probably gonna have way
Speaker 1: better results than if you didn't. So just prepare and
Speaker 1: just try. You're not gonna know if you're gonna succeed
Speaker 1: or not until you try. And as they say, nothing
Speaker 1: be failure, nothing beats failure but to try. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: we also learned from failure some of the things. Think
Speaker 1: about some of the situations in your life that didn't
Speaker 1: work out how you wanted to, but you got a
Speaker 1: lesson or a skill, or you got a perspective that
Speaker 1: helped to change your life for the better. Failure a
Speaker 1: lot of times it's just a rerouting to put us
Speaker 1: on a new path, for a different path, or for
Speaker 1: us to learn something about ourselves. So we can't even
Speaker 1: look as at failure as really failing. Because if you're open,
Speaker 1: come you're able to learn within your mistakes. And being
Speaker 1: open is where like the best things flow and come on,
Speaker 1: because I'm not trying to hold onto it. I'm trying
Speaker 1: to move and flow with it. Yes, yes, I invite
Speaker 1: ease into my life. I don't want to have to
Speaker 1: fight for jobs anymore. I don't want to fight for abundance.
Speaker 1: I believe and ease. I believe in abundance, and I
Speaker 1: just do my part and let life happen. But I'm
Speaker 1: putting my best foot forward. I'm getting as prepared as
Speaker 1: possible for whatever it is that I want to do.
Speaker 1: But I'm I've invited ease into my life and literally
Speaker 1: the past few years have been amazing being I've rested
Speaker 1: in ease. I know I come prepared, I know that
Speaker 1: I'm capable of doing my job, and I'm letting whatever
Speaker 1: jobs or situations or people find me period period. I
Speaker 1: don't want to fight for for what. I don't work
Speaker 1: for many years. I don't work too hard. No, let
Speaker 1: me rest in this ease and know that God is capable,
Speaker 1: God is abundant. God uh sees the work that I'm doing,
Speaker 1: and He's going to continue to put the soup on
Speaker 1: my natural and I'm all about the supernatural. I'm up
Speaker 1: here of just rocket because I just happen to think
Speaker 1: A Purvos this book and it just you know, because
Speaker 1: just like you said, we were constantly in this tug
Speaker 1: of war. It's a fight, and it's like when do
Speaker 1: you stop surviving and understanding that it's time to live?
Speaker 1: And then I just thought A Purvis Taylor and his
Speaker 1: books are thrival. I'm trying to thrive with my life.
Speaker 1: Let's get to the next level and it was just
Speaker 1: so interesting as you were just talking about, um, the
Speaker 1: whole notion of when we're failing, right and how important
Speaker 1: it is because how we find another way not to
Speaker 1: do something. But I look at some opportunities that didn't
Speaker 1: work out as I thought they should have, and I
Speaker 1: realized that indeed, I wasn't ready yet. And I think
Speaker 1: when we get that ease that whole when we allowed
Speaker 1: the supernatural, because we've already put the intentions out there, right,
Speaker 1: so allowing God to do the work. I realized that
Speaker 1: there were some things I had to pick up because
Speaker 1: we're constantly trying to force something to make it happen.
Speaker 1: It's just the same as you're taking a flower of
Speaker 1: the ground and expecting it to thrive for weeks at
Speaker 1: a time. That's not how it works. We gotta cultivate
Speaker 1: the soil. We gotta make sure the nutrients are there,
Speaker 1: and then guess what. And this soil is dirty, yes,
Speaker 1: it's dark, mm hmm, but it's full of life. Yes,
Speaker 1: And even no matter how much the crap everybody want
Speaker 1: to put on, guess what, it ain't none but a
Speaker 1: little fertilizer. That's right. And that's why I think it's
Speaker 1: so interesting in your book as well, Make the World
Speaker 1: You're one way, you talk about this whole notion of
Speaker 1: finding your voice but then also building your it's factor.
Speaker 1: M what is that about your in factor? Is like
Speaker 1: the special thing about you? I feel like we are
Speaker 1: all born with like a secret sauce in factor, the
Speaker 1: thing that makes a special whether it's a skill, or
Speaker 1: whether it's your voice, or whether it's your smile, or
Speaker 1: it's the way you that you see and process things.
Speaker 1: We all have an it factor. We have a thing
Speaker 1: that um, you know, like it's like somebody, well, this
Speaker 1: person is a dancer. About the person that makes that
Speaker 1: person an amazing dancer is they have a certain gene
Speaker 1: said qua about them. So a lot of times we
Speaker 1: have to find, like what is the secret sauce to
Speaker 1: our recipe? What is the thing that is unique about us?
Speaker 1: The things And I'm going back to something I said earlier.
Speaker 1: A lot of times the thing that we think is
Speaker 1: our flaw or our liability a lot of times can
Speaker 1: be our asset. That can be the IT factor, that
Speaker 1: can be the game changer, that can be the difference
Speaker 1: in our lives. So take inventory and find that special
Speaker 1: thing about you, what sets you apart, what makes you different?
Speaker 1: You know, it's just like um, sometimes people will say,
Speaker 1: well that your sheets such a such person. I can't
Speaker 1: believe they stole my idea. But yeah, but that person
Speaker 1: can do the same thing that you do, but they're
Speaker 1: not gonna do it like how you do it. When
Speaker 1: you do it at all, because you are you. So
Speaker 1: when you rest in the it factor and when you
Speaker 1: bring to the table, that's a game changer. That's a
Speaker 1: game changer. I had to exhale because it just reminds me.
Speaker 1: And there's a song I just have a little praise
Speaker 1: going on this morning with Clark's sisters, and there's in
Speaker 1: one song it talks about resting in your father's hands
Speaker 1: and despite what's going on, peace be still. Just be
Speaker 1: easy going with the flow, understanding that the persistence may
Speaker 1: look like it's a resistance, but actually it is an
Speaker 1: assistance to get to where you gotta go. Mm hmmmm.
Speaker 1: So weekend of that, what do you hope people will
Speaker 1: take away when they purchase your book? Oh? Actually, it's
Speaker 1: one of the things that I usually signed inside the book,
Speaker 1: and that is deep in purpose, uh, renewed mindset and
Speaker 1: of course confidence because there's gonna be certain things in
Speaker 1: the book that you're like, oh, I knew that before, Yeah,
Speaker 1: but you needed to be reminded. Hello, somebody you needed
Speaker 1: to be reminded of it, or you know what. I
Speaker 1: went through that situation before, but I didn't look at
Speaker 1: it that way. That's that renewed mindset, you know, or
Speaker 1: if it gives you the confidence. I had a lady
Speaker 1: who um has been a nurse, and she had some
Speaker 1: artistic things that she's always wanted to do, and she said,
Speaker 1: after reading your book, I had the confidence to put
Speaker 1: words to the ideas that I have been holding on
Speaker 1: for years and voice that to my husband and my
Speaker 1: family and say I know that I'm a nurse and
Speaker 1: I know that this is what I do, but I
Speaker 1: also want to do this. And she was like, thank
Speaker 1: you for giving me the confidence through your book to
Speaker 1: find the confidence which was already in me. Because truthfully,
Speaker 1: all the tools that we need, it's already come on,
Speaker 1: Come on, we just have to tap in, tap in.
Speaker 1: They don't say find your true potential. They say tap
Speaker 1: into your true potential. Like like I think it's uh sweedie,
Speaker 1: tap tap tap in? Tap what facts? Facts on facts
Speaker 1: on facts. This is the thing how love somebody? You
Speaker 1: know you were talking and this is something that quote
Speaker 1: that came to me years ago, because I feel like
Speaker 1: I'm old now. But when I was in college, I
Speaker 1: went to Howard h you but uh hey, a quote
Speaker 1: came across me and it said, what allows a diamond
Speaker 1: to shine? All the multitudes of cuts that have been
Speaker 1: placed within it. One of the strongest minerals in the world,
Speaker 1: But it's glorified for its imperfections. What do I mean
Speaker 1: by that? It's those cuts, whether it says no, it's
Speaker 1: those self reflections that may not be easy. It's another
Speaker 1: cut of whatever challenge, your obstacle. But just like you said,
Speaker 1: and how you've been saying in the book since you
Speaker 1: got on here, whether responding your purpose, tapping into your
Speaker 1: true potential, but finding you when you decide to step
Speaker 1: in the light, Hello, Vitamin D. When you decide to
Speaker 1: step in the light, you began to be your great asset.
Speaker 1: And guess what you allow reflection? You start to color
Speaker 1: the world. Because when a diamond shines, what happens we red, blue, yellow, green.
Speaker 1: Now only that we can get that reflection in ourselves.
Speaker 1: So I want to say thank you, thank you for
Speaker 1: that book, thank you, thank you. I'm just I'm so
Speaker 1: proud of how it is helping other people to, like
Speaker 1: you said, see the reflection, see themselves in a new way. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you looked in the mirror every day. But now that
Speaker 1: you've been reading a book, you're looking at yourself real different.
Speaker 1: You're seeing yourself with a set of new eyes. You're
Speaker 1: seeing yourself with a new mindset. So you're stepping outside
Speaker 1: your door and you're attacking life way different than you
Speaker 1: did before. You're stepping out in your purpose. You're being
Speaker 1: your best you, You're being more authentic. And that's what
Speaker 1: it's all about. Because my thing is this, when we
Speaker 1: all truly stepped into our purpose and we are living
Speaker 1: our best lives. Come on, think about the domino effect
Speaker 1: that has on our whole society. How much do you know?
Speaker 1: How they say, how much stronger we are as a unit.
Speaker 1: We're so much stronger when we stand in our purpose,
Speaker 1: When we're living purposefully, when we're living confidently, when we
Speaker 1: are really stepping out and being authentic, we're able to
Speaker 1: really make this world a better place, really make America great. Hello, Hello, Hello,
Speaker 1: um and and just as you said, it's like another thing.
Speaker 1: It is a domino effect, and it's just like a
Speaker 1: magic and we're all these stars twinkling in the sky
Speaker 1: and we aggregated together to be a some type of
Speaker 1: assimilation of that of the sun, the light that we shine.
Speaker 1: And here's the thing when they say, even treat thy
Speaker 1: neighbor as you treat yourself, right, well, if I walk
Speaker 1: in authority and I walk and glorifying who I am
Speaker 1: and who I'm meant to be, it's like dealing with
Speaker 1: somebody that hasn't all white outfit on. We're both making
Speaker 1: sure we stay clean. I'm making sure that you're you're
Speaker 1: good and I'm good because I would want the best
Speaker 1: for myself as I would want for you. And what
Speaker 1: you said, when you do that, it's it's not a
Speaker 1: sense of what's taken. That's the whole fighting thing that
Speaker 1: you talked about. It's an overflow and the whale doesn't
Speaker 1: run dry stop it yes and and sidebar and served
Speaker 1: from your overflow. Come on, I will admit I have
Speaker 1: UM in my life. I've been getting uh guilty. I'm
Speaker 1: not giving to dawn first and not in a selfish sense,
Speaker 1: but to say, let me make sure that I can
Speaker 1: offer my authentic self because whether it be my relation
Speaker 1: and ships, whether it be my job or my family,
Speaker 1: I need to show up as Dawn. And sometimes that
Speaker 1: over extension of yourself is forgetting about yourself. And guess
Speaker 1: what that lack that I gave to myself as the
Speaker 1: lack upon you? And just like you said that dona
Speaker 1: no effect. H yep and and look, and that is
Speaker 1: a balancing act that is always gonna a lot of
Speaker 1: times go out of whack for a lot of us,
Speaker 1: especially being Americans, because we're brought up to go go, go, go,
Speaker 1: go go. But my thing is once you know better,
Speaker 1: you do better. So once you realize, okay, I've been
Speaker 1: putting other people first out, Okay, let me recalibrate, let
Speaker 1: me start over, let me hit the reset button. This month,
Speaker 1: I'm going to focus on getting back on track two.
Speaker 1: So from my overflow and for those people who may
Speaker 1: not understand what we're talking about, you know, it's like
Speaker 1: it's a cup with the saucer is a candle, but
Speaker 1: the cup with the saucer you want to serve from here.
Speaker 1: You don't want to serve from an empty cup because
Speaker 1: you don't ran here, did this for everybody else, and
Speaker 1: then you have nothing left for you. Take care of you,
Speaker 1: be good to you, and then serve from the overflow
Speaker 1: that you have after taking care of you. And then
Speaker 1: when all that's said and done, we need to make
Speaker 1: sure the world knows that it's all runway right. That's right,
Speaker 1: that's right, that's right. So get out there, work if
Speaker 1: you if you want to take one. Okay, you know
Speaker 1: has been some type of year, but I'm gonna work
Speaker 1: on one. I wanna look good, I wanna feel good,
Speaker 1: because when you look good, you feel good, and you
Speaker 1: know you want I want everybody's inside and outside to
Speaker 1: evenly match, you know. And that's what this book is about.
Speaker 1: That's what this book is about. If you can think it,
Speaker 1: you can do it. Mm so tell us again, where
Speaker 1: can we find the book? Please get the book on
Speaker 1: Amazon uh it is available worldwide. And also go to
Speaker 1: my website if you would like a signed copy at
Speaker 1: Lyriccy dot com L I R I s C dot
Speaker 1: com and hit the book tab and then scroll to
Speaker 1: the bottom and click on that PayPal button and I
Speaker 1: will get a signed copy to you as soon as possible.
Speaker 1: I love it and if people are listening and they say, wow,
Speaker 1: this carby Queen is the ship is Nail. I want
Speaker 1: to follow you? Where can they find you? On social media? Yes?
Speaker 1: Lease follow me at um on Instagram, in Twitter at
Speaker 1: lyric c which is l I R I s C.
Speaker 1: On Facebook, I have a public figure page as well
Speaker 1: as a personal page. But my personal page also allows
Speaker 1: you to follow me. But um, those are both under
Speaker 1: lyrist cross My last name is crossed with the a
Speaker 1: E at the end, so I always say Iris with
Speaker 1: an L in front of it crossed with an E
Speaker 1: at the end, so Lyrics crossed. You can find me
Speaker 1: on Facebook. You can find me on uh, Instagram and
Speaker 1: Twitter at lericy. You can find me on TikTok. You
Speaker 1: can find me on YouTube UH as well. So, um,
Speaker 1: just look at my website. I mean my YouTube is
Speaker 1: under YouTube dot com backslash l O a W model
Speaker 1: for that's short for Life of a Working Model. Hello. Yes, well, Lar,
Speaker 1: I want to thank you so much for showing up
Speaker 1: in your authentic self or making the decision to live
Speaker 1: life on purpose and for purpose, to be an advocate
Speaker 1: of something that I have modeled my life after and
Speaker 1: that as far as speak in life and to bless
Speaker 1: in the world with something that you found was an
Speaker 1: asset or a gift to yourself to share and your
Speaker 1: overflow with your book Make the World Your Wrong Way.
Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you. This is a great chat. I
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Show me. Yeah, yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Truth be told, I was really looking forward to having
Speaker 1: living someone because, you know, as a curvy girl, I
Speaker 1: understand the plight of having to make the world see
Speaker 1: you as you are and not who they want you
Speaker 1: to be. And I just love the sense of residents
Speaker 1: that we seem to have in order to make sure
Speaker 1: that we overcame and that we continue to overcome and
Speaker 1: have grace as we are overcoming. And y'all know this
Speaker 1: podcast is a part of that. The world so badly
Speaker 1: wants to put people down, to shout at them, to
Speaker 1: stand their place, to tell them what they can and
Speaker 1: what they cannot do. But when I think of this
Speaker 1: show and all the work of people like Lyris, of
Speaker 1: former guests, and people like you and me who continue
Speaker 1: to do the work to spread positivity and the realm
Speaker 1: of possibility, it brings joy to my heart. So thank
Speaker 1: you Lyris for sitting down to talk with me and
Speaker 1: If you're interested in following Lyrics, you can find her
Speaker 1: on Instagram and Twitter at lyris c and on her
Speaker 1: website at lyris c dot com. You can also get
Speaker 1: a copy of Lyrics's new book, Make the World Your
Speaker 1: run Way on Amazon or on her website. As always,
Speaker 1: you can catch us here in your phone or whichever
Speaker 1: smart device you use every Monday for more inspiring conversations
Speaker 1: and insights. And if you're looking to get even more
Speaker 1: Vitamin D in your life, you can follow me at
Speaker 1: Dawn Day Speaks on Instagram and Twitter. And until next time,
Speaker 1: always remember you are your greatest asset. Two