WEBVTT - Sisterhood, Side Hustles & Soul Work Ft. Jamila Souffrant, Shaina McGregor & Imani Manning 0:00:01.760 --> 0:00:05.200 Hey, ba fam, it's your girl, Mandy Money. Welcome back 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:08.680 to another episode of the show. This is a special one. 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:11.680 This is one that's probably been a couple of years 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:13.600 in the making, at least a year in the making. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:17.800 Ever since the day that I realized Jamila Suffrant, friend 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.720 of the show, host of the Journey to Launch podcast, 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:24.560 author of Your Journey to Financial Freedom book, that she 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:30.400 is just one of three incredible powerhouse sisters. And I 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:32.760 was like, I have to get you and your sister's 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:35.240 on Brown ambition. We have to talk about this sisterhood. 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:39.479 We have to talk about y'all's journey as sisters, as entrepreneurs, 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:42.360 as all the things. And she said yes. They all 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:46.280 said yes, and we made it work. All three of 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.680 the sisters showed up. We have Jamila Suffrant, of course, 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:53.080 we also have her little sister, Shana McGregor, and the 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.520 third sister, Ivanni Manning. Each of these women is carving 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.960 out their own incredible path and together they are reading 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:05.040 of finding what resilience, entrepreneurship and family support look like. Jamila, 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:07.480 who is the big sister of the trio, is a 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:10.840 financial freedom expert. As I mentioned, she's the author of 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:14.720 Your journey to financial freedom. She's inspired people everywhere to 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.720 dream bigger than their cubicle and take control of their money. 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:22.480 While Shana is the creative genius. She's a professional dancer 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:26.039 who's turned wellness coach and is now building her brand 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:29.920 inward Space while pursuing her master's in social work. And 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:34.240 Imani listen, it's hard because we don't have smellvision. I 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.520 can't put you back at the event where Jamila had 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:39.640 her book launch, where I tasted Imani's food for the 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:43.680 first time, but it's so good. Imani is a culinary 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:47.360 queen who's serving up gourmet meals for kids while running 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:50.800 her own catering business. We're going to talk about their journeys, 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:55.040 how they've overcome challenges, how they've embraced pivots and supported 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:58.880 each other along the way, from financial wins to career shifts, 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:03.440 and lessons in giving yourself grace. This conversation is packed 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:06.240 with wisdom that you don't want to miss. So grab 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:09.760 your coffee, glass of wine, grab a basket of laundry, 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:11.720 whatever y'all do on your own time when you're listening 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.200 to the show. That's your business, not my business. Okay, 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:23.960 but let's dive on in. Hey, hey va, fam, I 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:27.079 am your host, Mandy Woodrif Santos. Welcome back to the 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:31.919 Brown Table at Brown Ambition. I am thrilled to get 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:34.440 these ladies back together. I feel like I have brought 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.400 back like Destiny's child, you know, like in a way 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:41.160 and like three powerful women who started all together, grew 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:46.400 up together and have launched their own successful careers. And Jamila, 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:49.480 you sort of started it all. So I'll introduce you first, 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:52.000 or you know her because she has been a multi 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:55.600 time guest on Brown Ambition. We love Jamila, author of 0:02:56.000 --> 0:02:59.920 Journey to Launch, also the same names of her podcast 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.880 she's been doing since twenty seventeen. 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:07.079 Wait, so, Mandy, the book is your Journey to Financial 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.000 Freedom and the podcast is Journey to Launch. 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:11.240 And now why did you do that? Why didn't you 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:14.600 just it's more like your fault than my fault, is 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:19.160 what I feel like. But Okay, the book is. 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:22.760 Right behind me to financial freedom, and. 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:26.280 This is true, but I can only see a little corner. Okay, Okay, 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.000 I took a risk and I failed. It's fine. Be 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:32.240 a family loves it. That's fine, all right. Your Journey 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:34.280 to Financial Freedom, which has been out for you just 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:37.320 had your year celebration, right, your year anniversary in December? 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:39.920 Yeah, yes, a little bit over a year now. 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.440 Yeah, she got a toddler book. But I know how 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.960 hard you worked on that, and I'm so proud of you. 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.840 But Journey to Launch the podcast where you talk about 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:53.440 how to find your financial freedom and how to Yeah, 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:56.760 you talk about your your guak, was it your glack budget. 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:59.160 Black levels, your block levels? You want to live Yep. 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:01.600 It's such a great book. Like if you are someone 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.080 who like maybe you even have a base level of 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:06.880 financial knowledge, but you want to retire early, you want 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:08.680 to figure out how to find your own financial freedom. 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:12.040 Love that book. But it wasn't until your book launch 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:17.720 that I put the connections together that Shane McGregor is 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.679 your sister. Shane and I had met at a separate event, 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:23.360 but that's when I started to see like these were 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:25.920 not just like, oh this is my little sister. You 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:30.040 were the MC for the book launch. You did a 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.240 fantastic job. I was like, is she also famous? Like 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:36.520 I don't understand. Then I started talking to you about 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:40.240 your background. You come from a dance background, a life coach, 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:42.279 you have a life you had a life coach practice. 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:43.880 I'm going to get an update now because I know 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:48.560 in this original interview that y'all did together on Janila's podcast, 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:52.599 you talked about launching that you had just started, and 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:55.560 I'm excited to get the lowdown on that. And then 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.599 at the same event, you just can smell like the 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:02.880 just like I mean, it's not a huge venue, but 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:04.560 like you can look straight to the back and I 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.400 just see this gorgeous spread of food and this is 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.719 not a crue de tey. This ain't like some ranch 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:15.880 dip and a chip and some cucumber slices. This was delicious. 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.440 You had some seafood there, there was all I like, 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:22.240 my proteins, the most amazing food. And then I'm like, 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.719 who made this food? Jamila just casually says, oh, my sister, 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:29.760 I'm Annie. She's just like, I don't know a Micheline 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:31.440 Award winning chef. 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:34.360 Yes, no, keep it. 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.000 And then I didn't have as much time to talk 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:44.520 to you, but I just left that event thinking like, well, damn, 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:47.839 these three women from the same family are all incredible 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.520 in their own right. And that's when I started to 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.000 think about having all on the show. But for whatever reason, 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:55.719 it took me this long to finally make it happen. 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:59.080 But welcome. What do I call you? What's your family name? 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.479 You have a family name? What's y'all's? Like? 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:03.880 I mean, we. 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:05.480 Can, we can go through our family tree a bit, 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.960 but you can just I don't know, I know thinks. 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:13.599 You can get messy. Okay, I got some that are no 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:15.440 longer steps like, it's fine. 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:18.560 Let's she here the maid up name that you came 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:23.120 up with. You look like you have one, Mandy. Mandy 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.240 looks like she had one. Yeah, she looked. 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.360 Like she have one in the but she just don't 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:28.880 want to say it. 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:33.479 And what would the band be called? The band? It's 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:37.880 got to have three in it, the Triple Threat, the 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.919 Triple threat sisters, the Triple Threats. Yeah, I like that, 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:46.360 all right, Jamila, I want to start with you tell 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:51.360 me the story of your journey to financial freedom and 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:54.279 building your podcast. And when did you like suck your 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:58.200 sisters into this life of entrepreneurship. Where how has that been? 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:00.680 Because my siblings don't listen to me at all, so. 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:04.279 I'm well, you know they listen when Yeah? No, So okay, 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:06.880 I think we should go first to the family tree 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.200 and then we'll quickly go to like my backstory, because 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.800 I do want to highlight them and all the amazing 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:15.440 things they're doing. But and so let's see, Shana and 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:19.440 I share the same mom. That's how we're sisters, and 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:21.560 so it's just the two of us for my mom. 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:24.960 Then I'mani and I share the same dad. And it's 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.119 so funny because I'mani. I was you know, I always 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:30.320 forget how many siblings we know of, So. 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.840 I was writing, how. 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:38.400 Right, So I, Bonnie and I have the same dad, 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.000 and but all of us together, there are seven of 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.880 us that we know of that share the same dad. 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:45.880 And so that's kind of like how we're all siblings. 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:47.240 And then the way we work as a family though, 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.600 Imani and Shana are just their siblings just but you know, 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.320 that's how we work as a family. So they're sisters too. 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.880 And I'm the second oldest of my dad. In general, 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:58.760 I'm just the biggest sister. I'm the big sister to everyone. 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:03.040 Okay, I never really enough there now. 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:04.160 Yeah, I'm big sis. 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:04.440 You know. 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:08.000 I was born on the beautiful island of Jamaica, and 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:10.760 I came here to the United States, to New York, 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.080 specifically when I was just under two years old. And 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.800 so ultimately, I think what was amazing about growing up 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.320 and kind of having the Jamaican background and roots is 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.640 that because my father, if you didn't figure out yet, 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.640 was Jamaican and he was in Jamaica. Most of my 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.160 siblings from him were all in Jamaica, and so I 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:30.680 used to go back every summer and spend summers there, 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:32.880 and that's how I met my siblings. And luckily, even 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:35.520 though my father wasn't that involved in my life, my 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:38.800 mom and his family were very close, so she would 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:40.319 be able to send me and that's kind of how 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:42.280 I got this connection with my father's side of the 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:45.640 family and my siblings where it really feels like we 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:48.080 grew up together because I saw them every summer, like 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:50.440 I was the big sister who was in America that 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:52.679 came down and all this stuff. And then Shane and I, 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:55.320 of course we were just in New York together with 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:59.560 my mom. But ultimately I was always like independent, wanted 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:02.960 to live life on my own terms. And then you know, 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.800 life happens where you realize you need to work to 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.480 get money. And as a chew Jamaican, I started working 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:10.720 from the age of fourteen and have been working ever 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:14.040 since and did all the right things, went to college, 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:16.319 bought a condo when I was pretty young, right out 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:19.600 of college, got a full time job. But ultimately I 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:20.880 know why That's not what I wanted to do for 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.160 the rest of my life. I wanted freedom. And it 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.840 wasn't until my early thirties that I said to myself, 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.040 on this long commute to work to this cubicle that 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:31.440 I did not enjoy or love. I needed something different, 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:33.720 and it prompted me to search for ways to quit 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:38.240 my job find financial freedom, and I found podcasts blogs 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:41.000 talking about financial independence. Was like, how can I get 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:41.559 on that train? 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:42.839 How can I learn more? 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.760 And I started to learn over the years, eventually started 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:48.520 my own blog and podcasts Journey to Launch, where I 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:50.680 was documenting how I was going to quit my job 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:53.600 and retire early, which eventually led to me quitting my 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:58.320 job early, writing a book that hopefully is helping people 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:00.880 do the same think about their life, life bigger than 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:03.800 the car and the cubicle, about what they really want. 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:05.840 And that's kind of like where I am today. And 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.000 then with my sisters, they can tell you about their journey, 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:11.280 but honestly, I think they've always also been entrepreneurs at 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:13.800 heart and free spirits, so it doesn't surprise me that 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:15.440 they're in the fields that they're in. 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:19.760 I love it. Can y'all tell me as as Jamila 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.680 is telling her story, because y'all are little sisters. What 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.320 was it like? And y'all have such different perspectives? Imani, 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:27.960 you're watching this happen from Jamaica, Shana, you're here next 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.559 to her. What was your impression? Were you like, I 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:32.280 don't know what's going on with Jamila, Like she don't 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:35.640 quit her job. I don't know what's going on. Were 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.360 you worried? Was it like, oh yeah, I always knew? 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:41.000 What was that like for y'all? 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:42.080 I'll happen. 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.160 I think I'm really up. 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:47.000 Jamilla and I have an age graph that over ten 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:50.000 years now. I feel like we're best the buds were 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:52.599 growing up, She's like, who is this little girl in that? 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:57.120 I'm trying to live my best life. So I feel 0:10:57.120 --> 0:10:57.880 like growing up. 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.079 She was always I'm gonna to her O Lord a 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:01.720 little bit, but she was always like a role model 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:05.360 to me. I saw her as a really cool older 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:07.480 sister that was just doing incredible things. 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:10.240 I wasn't surprised before her job because she told us 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:10.720 she follows. 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:13.000 She was like starting to fall asleep on a wheel 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:15.400 while she was pregnant, and we were like, Okay, I 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:19.600 think some changes need to be like your safety is 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:24.640 that probably shouldn't happened. But you know, our family was 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:28.079 always money conscious. So I feel like the reason why 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:31.000 peoplere like you listened to your older sister. I mean, 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:34.240 granted she went to college, graduated, and bought a Yes, 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:39.480 I'm listening. What did she do and how could I 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.320 do exactly that rented? She took the perfect route. I 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:46.199 took a very creative route, so it was strikingly different. 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.240 But there was something that she did that worked. And 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:51.599 I think virgamilla that a lot of us used in 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:54.080 different ways as a discipline, and I feel like that 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:57.040 discipline and motivation can take you anywhere. And I saw 0:11:57.080 --> 0:12:00.360 that she was so focused, and it also saw that 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:02.520 she was willing to take risk. It's not easy to 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:05.640 have a really cushioning corporate job and then decide to 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:09.440 leave because you are excited about something and you're allowing 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:12.280 yourself to pivot. So I think I saw that and 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:14.560 I've been able to take parts of that in my 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.440 own journey of being able to take risk but also 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:23.320 knowing when to be patient and to delay gratification, and 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:26.400 then also knowing when it's time to pivot. And I've 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.160 taken pieces of those into my own. 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:28.800 Journey as well. 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.720 What about you, Aimani, Yeah, thanks for sharing that. Shana. 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.280 Yeah, I mean, I think me and Shana we have 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.880 the same view, but just from a different angle, like 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.079 and even being in Jamaica, I think he was probably 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:47.200 ten times more exciting at Shana because you and Shamaica, 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:50.960 you're growing up in the country and your sister and 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.640 at the time she was doing that gymnastics stuff, so 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:54.960 she will flip for us. 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:57.800 And we will think it was fool. Yeah. 0:12:57.800 --> 0:12:58.640 We think it was the. 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:03.280 One of those kids who is like and now welcome 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.360 to the Jamila Show. Yeah. 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.679 I did gymnastic so when I was younger. So when 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:09.679 I go to Jamaica, they were. 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:10.880 Like, do a cartwel. 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:18.280 So, so yeah, I would say like from then it 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:23.000 was much more like it was like star quality, like 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.720 you know what. Yeah, even one time I wanted to 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:29.400 cart wheel two. I'm gonna do something cartwheel two. So 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:33.080 I think she always like I don't think sometimes she 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.080 purposely knowing that she's set in the tone for everybody, 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:38.920 but it comes so unnatural. So it's so easy that 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:42.720 Shana said, like, why wouldn't you listen? Why would not 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:44.560 not take an answer? 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:45.160 Advice? 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:47.120 And it's like it's right in front of me. So 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.600 she's always been that it's not new. It's I don't 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:51.959 think it's new to us. 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.760 Not that's so nice to hear. I mean, so, I 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.040 guess y'all don't have that jealous sibling bone like I 0:13:57.120 --> 0:13:59.600 did because I was an older sister and my little 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.640 brother always nipping at my heels and I'm like, no, 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:06.480 I'm gonna do that. There's a bit of like competitiveness, 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:08.080 but you know, I've worked through that in therapy. I'm 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:12.240 glad that you guys are really happy for your sists, 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:17.120 but i'mani Shana. Y'all developed, like Shana, your career in dance, 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:18.880 it didn't go the way that you planned. I mean, 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:21.720 you were like a real dancer, professional dancer. You thought 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:25.600 you would like work for a company, potentially Alvin Ailey 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:28.960 or something like that. So but the last time y'all spoke, 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.880 you were like you had made peace with that and 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:35.040 you had seen what this new chapter could hold for you. 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:37.520 So what did that At the time a few years 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.320 ago you were launching your life coaching business and maybe 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.920 some other side hustles. I'm not sure, but can you 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:43.560 catch us up. 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:50.120 Yes, I'm still dancing, so I think right now, I just. 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:51.480 Really talk it up to you and I talk to 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:53.640 people about how exciting it is to be more my 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:58.320 passionate and that it's okay to go after these different 0:14:58.320 --> 0:14:59.920 parts of ourselves and you don't have to put your 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.280 self in a box. You may not do the thing 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:03.960 the way you thought you were going to do it, 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.080 and every season you're not going to do everything one 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:07.080 hundred percent. 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.160 But there's ways to enforce everything. 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:12.840 So this past weekend I actually flew to Detroit with 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.280 Ali to teach with the Aley Experience, and I was 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:16.880 a teacher. 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.440 So Aley has a lot of different parts to it. 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:21.840 When you think of Ali, everyone immediately thinks of Alvin 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:24.880 Ali American Dance Theater, which is the company, but there's 0:15:24.920 --> 0:15:28.320 also the Aley extension, which mister Ali always believed that 0:15:28.520 --> 0:15:30.480 dance was for the people and should be brought back 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:32.920 to the people. So they have parts of the organization 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.880 that's really heavy in teaching and education. So I would 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.560 say that I both dance and I do the wellness part, 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:43.440 which wellness is inclusive and somatic and dance. In terms 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.680 of dance, I've been performing, so I decided to really 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:50.360 base around project based work and do projects that speak 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:52.160 to me. So it's not as full time as a 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:54.120 company that I'm going to be with all the time, 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:56.600 but if there are projects that I can perform with 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.480 throughout the year, then I'll do that. Along with that, 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.240 I've been teaching and choreographing a bit more so the 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:04.600 teaching side is what brought me to Detroit with the 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:07.920 Alien experience, and I also have shows that are premiering 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.200 this weekend because I've been choreographing on the Extension Dancers 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.680 for the last eight weeks and that has been very exciting. 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:16.960 Like when my younger self, I wanted to dance and 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.720 I wanted to tour, and now I'm touring as an instructor, 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:22.280 so you just don't know what that can look like 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.240 when you're younger. And then I'm still doing the coaching. 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:27.960 I've given it a name and I called my wellness 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:31.280 community and brand Inwards Space, and it's just really designed 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.720 to help people slow down, reconnect with themselves, and to 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:36.200 live lives of joy and intention. 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:39.080 But along with that, I decided to go back to school, 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:40.080 so I'm. 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:43.040 Getting my masses of social work because I wanted to 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:44.280 add therapy. 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:46.640 To my services as well, alongside coaching. 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.360 I think coaching is absolutely wonderful, and there's a space 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:53.040 for therapy and coaching. So the power of pivot and 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.000 allowing yourself to expand there's been a lot of shifts 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.720 since the last episode. I listened to it right before this, 0:16:58.840 --> 0:16:59.400 and I was like. 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.080 What did you think? Were you like? Oh, man, she 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.240 didn't even know what. 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:09.760 I was proud of myself, and I think I've done 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:12.359 so much work to not only think about the points 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:15.240 where I didn't do enough, but also to look at 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.720 something and be like, wow, look at that version of myself. 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.840 I'm so proud. She was so ambitious, so hungry. 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:28.240 I mean, she was talking about being a millionaire by thirty. 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:33.160 What I thought about is that we. 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.560 Don't always know how to different versions of ourselves lead 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:38.639 up to what we're doing now. And I think every 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:42.080 chapter of my twenties has prepared me for this version 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:44.159 of my late twenties that's doing all the things that 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:46.800 I'm really excited about. But I needed to go through 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:48.160 all of those distant versions. 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:49.120 So when people see me. 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:51.720 Speak now, they're like, wow, how are you to show 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:53.560 up in this way? Is because I was a finish 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:57.080 disruptive for so many years. I'm a dance teacher, I'm 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:01.000 a choreographer. I did my first pan last week or 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.600 a couple of weeks ago on a woman in Wellness panel. 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:07.280 All of those versions of me were able to make 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:09.800 me stand the place I am now. So I was 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:12.080 very excited and proud of myself watching that back. 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.720 Yeah, and I start, Mandy, I just have to step 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:19.280 in because I just want to big up and highlight 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.800 some of Shane's accomplishments. If you listen to the first 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:24.600 or my on my podcast, you know this, but just 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:26.920 in case this is your first time. So Shana went 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:29.879 to the famed LaGuardia High School. I mean, this is 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:35.520 like a big deal, like right to audition to get in. 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:38.600 It's fame, right, the musical or the show was based 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:42.600 on that high school. But then she went to fordom 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:45.800 through and for college and the album Ali program, Right, 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:51.600 that's where you you graduated from? So yeah, yes, and 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:55.000 she she mentioned she does this work with Aley, but she. 0:18:54.960 --> 0:18:58.800 Was also mentioned in New York Times recently right for. 0:18:59.560 --> 0:18:59.919 Yes, what. 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:03.720 They were doing like a day a day in the 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:06.119 life and once people take my class. 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:08.320 So I teach twice a week at the Alien Extension. 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:11.400 I teach contemporary classes, and I will say, once people 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:14.280 take my class, once they're hooked, because it's not just 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:16.720 about movement, it's about the space I create. And I 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.880 think we all need a space to underwind, to feel, 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:22.679 and dance is such an incredible place to do that. 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:24.960 And as we get older, we create so much more 0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:28.640 shame around our bodies, about trying new things, around being 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:31.600 around people who maybe are strangers. So I try to 0:19:31.640 --> 0:19:33.639 create a safe space in my classes for people to 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:35.800 just explore and express themselves. 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:38.760 See yeah, I just wanted to make sure we said that. 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:48.239 Yes, are you says the energy Yes? All right, da fan, 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:50.399 We're going to take a quick break more with my 0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:55.240 conversation with the Triple threat Sistas. Jamilus tu Front, Shana McGregor, 0:19:55.280 --> 0:20:01.719 and I'mani Manning. Let me return. It's Mandy Money and 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.879 we are back. Let's get back to the conversation with 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:12.440 the Triple threat Sisters. Themselves, Jamila Imani and Shana, because yeah, 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:16.760 I mean that's so I do know that sibling relationships. 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:20.040 I'm fortunate to have two siblings that I am super 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:22.600