Waiting To Excel Podcast w/Durrel K. Douglas

Poverty in Black Families by

There's both an ART and a SCIENCE to "Stacking Paper," let's talk about it.

I'm back after a 4-year break! I'm in Detroit, Toledo, and Houston these days. A lot has changed since the last time we spoke!

I'm Baaaack EP 34 by

Samantha Blair is only 25 but she already hosts a radio show on Houston's 97.9 the box, produces a TV show on ABC 13, and is a force in local politics... today, she joins the podcast. We talk about vision boards, planning your goals, and turning them into reality!

If you've ever moved to a new city, you know it's a daunting task, but it's very rewarding. I've moved to a different city 5 times in the last 7 years. No, I'm not running from the law LOL, I just believe in taking opportunities that align with my goals when they present themselves. I regret none of the moves, and each of them set me up better than the last one. In addition to planning and research, you really want to make sure you're in the right mental space. Get used to taking risks. The money situation will never be perfect, the job situation will never be perfect, and if you keep waiting on one of those things to change, you'll never change yourself. You'll remain where you are. Eventually, you have to take a deep breath and DO IT!

Could you go 90 days without sex? Well, Rocko took on this challenge leading up to the release (no pun intended) of his book "Rescue Your Gift" and his birthday. Rocko is the type of mystical figure that just emits positive energy constantly. In this first of 3 conversations, he talks a bit about this 90 day challenge, and the strength that comes from such discipline.

Before you can make a big order, you have to take inventory to see what's selling--or sailing-- at the store. In this ramble, I talk about ways to truly improve our lives by paying attention to the impact we allow the outside world to have on our momentum. Who are you spending the most time around? Who's on your cell phone's call log? Which small decisions are you making these days? Where are you going?

She's a single mother, she travels, she's in college, and her name is R. Lee. She drops a few nuggets on what drives her to do it all, and what inspired her to go back to school in the first place. What's holding you back from excelling?

I met Issa at work a few years ago, and she's now one of my best friends. She took a leap of faith and quit her job in politics to become an electrical apprentice. She's now headed to her second Bachelors Degree and following her dreams.

Are you building your Ark? Noah's task in life was to build the Ark, but what are you here for? Are you a good cook? Is there a book inside you waiting to be written? How long have you talked about starting that podcast? Do something TODAY to get you one step closer to your goal. If you're listening out there, I'd love to hear from you: ddouglas@houstonjustice.org

Marcus has a unique model: he launches a business, gets it up and running, then sells it to someone else. In this episode, he talks about the ups and downs of starting his first business, an auto detailing shop, then a bit about the restaurant, moving company, and boutiques he's owned as well. In my intro rant, I talk about vision boards. It's important to know what your goals are, and to be reminded of them everyday. Whether you're looking to start a business like Marcus did, move to a new city, or write that book, a vision board is a great place to start. Here's a link to an article that talks a bit more about vision boards: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-rider/the-scientific-reason-why_b_6392274.html

Sure it's easy to talk about your goals: that business you want to start, the book you want to write, or how you want to get in shape. If you're not setting and tracking the progress of your goals, you may as well just give up! In this episode, I talk about my process for goal setting, and the most important part: EXECUTION. I talk about suggestions to make your surroundings prone to success, and how to break your ideas down into digestible pieces.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down to dinner w/my mother and younger brother before he'd move to another city for his new job as band director of a high school in Tyler, Texas. I asked him "What made you want to be in the band in the first place?" to which he responded with a sharp side-eye, and the words "You know!" So, him seeing his older brother play trumpet years ago led to him wanting to pick up one, too. Well, know who inspired me to pick up a Trumpet? Today's guest, Mark Gordon, who was the director of the band at the high school my cousin played football for. While my dad would look at the field, I was constantly looking at the band. This episode is long, but inspirational. Many of the nuggets he drops about building a band program are transferable to your organization, business, etc. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Justin has authored four books, starred in an online reality show---he's degreed, an educator, and WINNING at life. Check out my conversation with the Tri-Coastal man himself.

Elisabeth E. Johnson is an author, philanthropist, organizer and millennial politico. If you like Episode 2 "How to choose Your Friends," you'll love this episode as well. Ever wonder how people juggle work, school, church, and everything else? Well, Elisabeth is one of those people who juggle. She talks about tactics she uses to keep the train on the tracks. Hope you enjoy.

Aisha Koroma and her mother fled war in the West African country of Sierra Leone almost 20 years ago before ending up in Senegal, New York and finally Houston, Texas where I met her my senior year at Westbury High School. She now works as a counselor at the very agency that assisted her family when she touched down in Houston. Not only is Aisha resilient, she's also brilliant. I love her theory of change. You see, when you ask most people how you can "help" their project, they almost always reply with a Paypal link. Not Aisha. She FIRST wants people to be aware. You see, with awareness, a person has a better idea of the issue at hand before reaching in their wallet. With awareness, they'd probably reach a little deeper, and truly understand the impact. She wants us to know that refugees are PEOPLE first. Just like you. People who didn't ask to be refugees. Imagine war breaking out in your country. Imagine stepping over the remains of those who lost their lives at the hand of an ongoing war. Imagine doing all of this at 13. Now, think about THIS story the next time you hear about a travel ban. I know I will.

With so many of my friends now being single mothers, I thought it'd be interesting to bring the best mother in the world to the podcast, my mother! In this episode we talk about what it was like being a single mother, the decisions my mom made, and what she'd do differently if she could go back in time.

Torrey is going to be an artist...well, in my book, Torrey is already an artist. What are you? Where are YOU going? In the 20th installment of my podcast, I sit down with one of my best friends for a conversation about DREAMS. What happens to a dream deffered? The poem by Langston Hughes could've been a book. We made it a podcast.

This episode picks up right where I left off in Episode 1. When thinking about your career change, WHY do you want to do what you do next? Is there a reason? For instance, if you want to be a cook or chef, do you LIKE cooking? These are among the questions one should ask themselves when thinking about next steps.

In PART ONE of this 2-Part episode, I talk about how I ended up with a job in political advocacy. I talk about what led me to the decision, and, the steps I took to land my first gigs. This episode is mostly background to illustrate what led to my "WHY."

It's often been said that if you take the average of 5 people you hang around the most, you'll see yourself. We also know that negativity is contagious, so keeping positive people in your circle is a must! I chat with the amazing Kimberly Willis about this and related topics.

Kaleb Elijah is one of those amazing individuals who you follow on Facebook that are always emitting positive energy, so I just had to have him on the podcast. We talk a little bit about HOW he influences his thoughts, and how those thoughts influence his actions. Hopefully, you find this as valuable as I did.

Today, Kristopher J. Mosely is a band director at a high school just outside Houston, Texas. In this episode he talks about what led him to music, and a few nuggets of encouragement that will work no matter what field you work in. One of my favorite pieces from this conversation was how he studies the rehearsal processes of other bands. When asked "Why?" He says a band only performs 10% of the time at most.... the rest of that time is spent rehearsing...and that's where the magic happens!

Niesha Whitt is one of my Facebook friends who's about to take a leap of faith going into a new career as a traveling RN. We talk about that toward the end of the show, but we start with the topic: Dating: Broke and Boujie LOL. She sent me a screenshot of an Ebony article titled: Dear "Broke" Men: Don't Punish a Woman for Not Wanting to Date You. Whoa!!! Right? I have so many degreed Black female friends that are versions of the main character in the "Being Mary Jane" series. After we shut the interview down, we started chopping it up and came up with a plan to do a series on dating. OMG. It's going to be lit! What do you think about this?

Darryl Williams is the current Director of Bands at Texas College in Tyler, Texas, but I met him when he was my high school band director at Westbury High School in the early 2000's. Since then, he took a leap of faith leaving his full time job to finish his graduate degree before checking off one of his goals: to become a collegiate band director. What are your goals? If you cant think of any, no worries. Where do you want to be in 5 years? What do you need to do today to move in that direction. What do you need to have accomplished by next year to be on track? Is there anything currently holding you back from doing these things? If so, what do you need to do to

Cailon and I go way back to 9th Grade World Geography. We start off catching up on old times before rolling in to talk a bit about her short stint at a Women's Prison in Texas, the importance of family, and that's about it before she has to hop off and get to a meeting. I'll bring her back for Episode 13.

How do you keep your head above water when you have a million things going on at the same time? Well, my friend Irnise is the personification of grace, resourcefulness, intelligence and strength---even in the midst of everything. She talks about her activism, how she balances her marriage, motherhood and work.

Ian "Scooter" Haddock is the curator of thenormalanomaly.com, an activist and advocate currently living in Houston, Texas. A few years ago, he took a HUGE step leaving his former career to dive deeeeeeep into his passion for advocacy. He's a fascinating person, so I KNEW this conversation would be easy.

Every movement needs allies, but all allies don't know how they can be most effective in their activism. In this episode, I talk to Lisa Marie Hayes who I've coined "a cool ass White Lady" as we talk about how she came to be as conscious as she is today, how she became such a passionate ally, and advice for other White people who want to understand their place in today's climate. Lisa founded Washington For Good Policing W4PG.COM to bring police accountability to Washington State. I met her through an initiative last year and have admired her tenacity and transparency. Lisa's not afraid to ask my unabashed opinion on certain subjects, because she understands she doesn't have the "Black Perspective," and I always give it to her.

Chris West Jr. owns GetAutomodeals.com, a concierge car-buying experience in Houston, Texas. He talks about how he found his love for cars, and later how he's making money off of that same love. In this episode are also a few nuggets about choosing your circle of support, traveling abroad, and saving money. Chris is a very driven, disciplined individual whose growing business will surely have him on the map soon. What's your dream career?

How many times have you said "Yes" and regretted it later? Saying "No," can be a POWERFUL thing if you do it right, and it can have a positive impact on your goals. In this podcast, I talk about my new challenge to streamline my efforts by saying "No" to the things that cloud up my world and keep me from my goals. Don't forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher. Oh, and shoot me an email with your thoughts: durrel@live.com

Terrance Thomas is a writer whose been published on Huffington Post, Afro Punk and Medium. We talk about how he ended up on these huge platforms, and how he's taking his writing to the next level with terrancewrites.com, his own writing portfolio. I met Terrance at one of the Houston Justice Coalition meetings, and followed his musings on Facebook and Twitter ever since then. Here's a brief synopsis of the hour-long conversation that's TOTALLY worth the listen: -The aftermath of the Trump Election -How his writing subjects come about -The Baby Boomer/Millennial Divide -WAPS (Weak Ass Progressives) -Blackness

Is it time for you to quit your damn job? Are you not respected/appreciated? Are you not growing anymore? Have you been PLANNING to start your business for years, only to keep it on the back burner? If you answered "Yes" to any of the questions above, THIS is a podcast you need to listen to! I start off talking about how I made the big JUMP, a quick activity to take inventory of YOUR situation and planning your escape. I highly recommend doing a vision board and hanging it somewhere you'll see it often, so that your thoughts and actions will be guided by your far-reaching goals. Then I bring in part of a conversation I had with personal trainer and entrepreneur Chris Green, owner of FitFactory Houston. Below is a link to connect with Chris via Facbook. I'll throw up my entire conversation with Chris later this week. Don't forget to subscribe via iTunes and Google Play! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/durrel-k.-douglas/id1191878874 https://play.google.com/music/podcasts/portal/u/0#p:id=playpodcast/series&a=101317918

Akua Fayette is an author, artist, activist and entrepreneur full of good advice. In this unedited episode, we talk about her decision to work for herself, the power of words and the importance of finding your passion.

Under the leadership of Nathan Haymer, the Southern University's "Human Jukebox" continues the legacy of those coming before him. Still in his 30's, Haymer who was once a member of the band himself, never imagined coming back and taking the reigns of the institution that inspired his music career in the first place. While he could've boasted about attending the Grammy's, performing for the fight of the century at the request of Floyd Mayweather, or a myriad of other subjects, Mr. Haymer talked about his early years as a band director, gave advice to upcoming music educators and talked about which instruments are in high demand at his band. In addition to what the public sees when the band performs, as Director of Bands, much of his work is behind-the-scenes administrative stuff like managing his staff and keeping a tight eye on the budget. A very motivating conversation from a very driven man.

Did you know you could choose your circle of friends? In this episode I talk to one of my friends, TJ Edmond, the 25 year-old owner of Lanespur Staffing Agency about work/life balance, self care and being intentional about choosing who you allow to influence your thoughts and actions. This is part one of a three part conversation with TJ going over a list of topics. Here's a quick list to think through when doing inventory of your friends list: 1.) What are your goals/resolutions for this year? The next 5 years? The next 10 years? Here's a blog about creating a vision board if you hadn't thought that far. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-rider/the-scientific-reason-why_b_6392274.html 2.) Over the past couple of weeks, who have you talked to the most over the phone? In person? Make a list and use it for the next items in the list. 3.) Who on your list have you talked about your goals/resolutions? 4.) Who on your list seemed interested during the conversation? 5.) Who on the list discouraged you from your goals or didn't seem to take them seriously?

In the first episode of Waiting to Excel w/Durrel K. Douglas, I show you how to start your own podcast, too! I believe we make our communities stronger by sharing tips and encouraging each other! I walk through these steps: 1.) Coming up with a concept 2.) Software (audacity.sourceforge.net/download/) 3.) Equipment (My mic https://goo.gl/iahMAH) 4.) Free graphics creation (canva.com) 5.) Make your own website (www.squarespace.com) I'd love to hear your thoughts by commenting here, or shooting me an email at durrel@live.com!