Terri Matthews is a woman, full of light, wisdom and experiences that she chose to use to elevate her and serve her true purpose in life. Throughout this interview, we learn who she is and what contributes to her strength and dedication to serve her family and humanity in general.
She has over 20 years of experience in executive level business, working with some of the most thriving companies in a plethora of industries. She has been featured in Forbes, as well as many other news and media platforms, and she invests herself into helping other people as a lifestyle; whether it’s through her business and economics work, or through her activism and advocacy for Autism.
Terri is a serial entrepreneur, mother, and wife who fits the description of a true super woman; a champion! – And we love that this queen has a king to match her fly; Mr. Lee Woodall, retired NFL linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, and Super Bowl XXIX champion!
She takes her time. She makes calculated moves throughout life and does what’s smart and what’s desired by the Lord for her to do. When I had the pleasure of speaking with Terri, I knew right away that despite her early successes in life throughout the business world, her work inspired by her son Jaden, is what makes her world go round.
She began telling me what it was like for her prior to Jaden being diagnosed with Autism, and how much she has learned and grown as a person since then. We went through the roller coaster of emotions discussing the process of finding out that her life was about to change.
It wasn’t just the fact that her 3 year old son, perfectly normal prior to immunizations and a fever, was now back in diapers and without speech. Throughout the drawn out process of getting him in to doctors, receiving an official diagnosis, and connecting with various resources necessary for accommodating a child who is on the spectrum, she was introduced to the sad reality that most of the inner city communities have no access to the proper care and resources, if their child is Autistic. Experts would visit her beautiful home in her upscale community and have conversations with her about all kinds of things regarding the process of connecting with proper resources to live with Autism.
Terri was always trying to find out more about Autism, especially since she knew nothing about it before it hit her home.
During a conversation with a woman who came to evaluate Jaden, Terri learned that people who didn’t live in neighborhood like hers, could not access services, because no one wants to come out to their homes or set up resources in their communities.
Terri realized here, that this meant minorities and families from places like where she had once come from, could not get the help they needed; the same help she was receiving.
It wasn’t like someone just showed up and said “Hey, your son’s Autistic and I’m just like, Oh, let’s create this foundation! It was really started because people didn’t have a voice, and that’s kind of when the dots of my own life began to come together. It all made sense. Jaden will be 11, and Jaden’s voice has been a 501c3 since he was 3.
When I initially started this, I was in the Welfare system 153 times, because I was allowing people to use my personal address to get services. I never expected for Jaden’s Voice to be this big organization. I really just wanted to help individuals. Till this date I have never taken a check for Jaden’s Voice, and I am the primary donator. In addition to that, all my staff that works for the organization, as well as brick and mortar expenses, are paid out of my own pocket, and 100% of donations we get goes out to servicing our families.
Prior to Jaden being diagnosed, Terri had had a few brief run-ins with opportunities to lend a hand in the world of Autism, but each time ended up turning away from them out of lack of understanding, in addition to the fact that at those times, she was focused on other things and couldn’t see where this aligned with her life.
Once she experienced Autism through Jaden, it seems as if something clicked. She explained a time when she was driving and zoned out in her mind, as God spoke to her directly. She remembered the moment vividly, and explained to me just how grateful she is for that moment.
It was so clear to me that I had not recognized the times that God asked me to stand up. I want to be clear, because I think that with things like this, people tend to think that God is punishing them and it’s really not that. It was a preparation. I feel like I was prepared for this!
In this process, I think I’ve learned more from Jaden than I’ve taught him.
I thought I was a person that loved, I thought I was a person that wasn’t judgmental; I thought I was a person that had levels of patience that tolerated a lot. You know, I’ve been through a lot and life had taught me a lot. God has placed people in my life for seasons whether they knew they were teaching me or not, and I learned. I had to learn from these experiences because there was a level of survival there, I just had to.
I knew at that point that Jaden’s Voice had to be built and that it was with intention and purpose that it had to be built. I knew that I was chosen to do this. Disregarding what it costs, it had nothing to do with that, it was something I had to do.
We began to talk about the passion and strength behind everything she is doing through Jaden’s Voice and I commended her on her courage in making such a huge shift, while still surviving through such a humbling experience. I think she did it and is still doing it with so much grace.
As we chatted it up, she began to touch on some of the ill energy she has received from people who just don’t understand; people who seem to always look for some area on someone else’s journey, to tear down, discredit and criticize.
For the Haters:
How many people would sell their businesses worth millions of dollars, leave my home, reduce my vehicles, change my lifestyle, leave and move back to California which is where I am from, come to a foreign place like Philadelphia where I knew no one, and pour into a community of people that at that time had nothing to give to me. Some of them couldn’t even give me hope! – Any smart person would’ve sold their businesses kept their money and been prepared to take care of their own child. So, it’s very difficult at times because you can’t always explain what God is doing or why he’s doing it in a particular way. One thing I’ve learned in this process is that he will get his way; it’s just a matter of whether or not you’ll fall in line for it.
Terri and I had a great conversation, especially because we share a few similar passions, such as the love for black womanhood, as well as a passion for growing and gaining through interactions with other human beings. When you work in the field of service, it’s easy for people to assume that the work you do is all selfless. Now, where I would agree that considering people like Terri and myself, the intention is completely selfless, but the result ends up being mutually beneficial and ultimately rewarding!
I spoke in Morocco the other day, they hired me to speak there at a Women Empowerment event. I was grateful to be there and grateful to have that platform. Black women from all over the world were in attendance. I mean, even Bozoma Saint John was there; and it was just amazing. I really love her and her personality rocks. She’s represented us well in corporate America.
It’s just easy to pull gains out of the things we give, because when you operate using a growth mindset, you are able to see the positive, the benefits, and the good in almost everything you come in contact with. When you operate this way, sometimes it’s tough for the people watching to calculate the way in which you use every bit of what you experience to create more value and opportunity for yourself. Then they begin to assign solutions in their minds for how you’ve done what you’ve done, simply so that it now makes sense to them, when it was never their vision to begin with.
Terri and I began to talk about how she doesn’t like when people assume that the bulk of her success is due to her connections, especially considering that her husband is a retired NFL player.
I never want to discredit my husband. I was married for a long time, I was single, I dated a time or two, and then I was single, then got remarried again. My husband is a retired NFL player and again, I have a great husband and he’s an excellent dad but my challenge with that is, that I don’t want people to associate all of my success and foot work with my husband’s success and his career. When I met my husband, I was an asset! He jokes all the time, pointing out that I was featured in Forbes long before he came along.
This is where God brought me to, so I say this to say: People see the end result; they want to credit everything around you for your success. Yeah, networks are great, and they help you get there but they don’t help you maintain.
I think the problem we have as women, is that rather than complimenting one another, we compete! It’s like we think God is going to run out of money or opportunities. We see the end result and we see the beginning, but what we don’t see is the middle; we don’t see the struggle. We never saw the late nights, we never saw the courage to move from one city to the next, to potentially start over. No one sees the pressure of all the sweat and tears that come with the end result.
Even with having a child that’s on the spectrum; I remember being out and him having meltdowns, and I would constantly try to explain, and apologize, but I have gotten frustrated. From a business perspective, I am typically poised and patient, but we all have our limits. We get challenged too, and glory be to God, I have less of those moments.
In my case, I definitely apologize as I move. I didn’t say anything that horrible, but I didn’t like what I said, even just the other day, being frustrated. I had to pickup the phone and say, hey, what I said was right, but the way I handled it was wrong, and I want you to know that I apologize. It takes a lot; especially, because there’s an expectation people have when they meet you. We have this ideology about people, based upon what our perception is. The challenge is that when you are an A-list or celebrity/person in lime light, you have to see clearly through and beyond that expectation.
This was deep, because at the end of the day, people with large platforms, celebrities, people who have large amounts of net worth, are real people too. Some people are born into their success, but even those people have major challenges. Their goals look different than ours. They may be working to avoid the very thing you are working to achieve! – But anyhow, Terri and I began talking about the nature of people and the way they tend to focus on the pretty part of the picture, without considering the journey. We talked about the yays and nays of social media and although we both agreed that it is amazing for many things, it also has it’s negative effects.
You don’t just arrive. Social media has created a firestorm of perfectionism. There’s a whole reason why Steve Jobs never wanted his kids on the internet, and he created apple. Social media is great and we can see other people in other places in real time, but the challenge with it is that it has become this firestorm of people with apps and programs that are out there to make you look a certain way, etc. Because of the level of perfectionism we are acting like we need to have, no one is giving you the real story. No one is showing you the dirt and the grime. We are constantly comparing ourselves to something that is not real.
This is why ladies, it is essential to understand self-love; loving who you are, where you came from, and even loving where you’re going! All of that rides heavy on faith, and understanding your purpose in life first and foremost. Speak to your creator, get in tune with what he has planned for your life and learn the reasons behind that breath he allows you to take each morning he wakes you up.
When you are in tune with that and in love with you, you can enjoy things like social media without succumbing to the pressures of this firestorm of perfectionism that Terri is speaking of; because it’s definitely real. I can’t tell you how many of my personal friends and clients that constantly take social media breaks, due to the overwhelming pressures of perfectionism, lifestyle, different exposures to drama and emotions, etc. But if you maintain that steady self-love and understanding of what moves you to make a difference in the world, these things will have much less of an effect.
Let’s get more into this interview with Terri, because she has some truly amazing nuggets that I know will knock a few walls down for some of you that want to break free of some things.
This is what this platform was created for. I am excited about giving women the space and clear opportunity to talk and just release, whatever it is they feel in their womanhood, to share. I am so grateful for Terri, and for her courage and support in being our first feature.
1. Where did you grow up and what inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
I grew up in the San Fransisco Bay area, and I was inspired to be an entrepreneur because no one could pay me my worth. I had to understand and value that.
I think in the beginning I stumbled into it at a particular point, because a lot of things I did were done out of survival. Even in college I wasn’t living in the dorms; I had an apartment, a car and I had a lot of responsibilities at 15. I look at my 15 year old daughter now, and I’m like, oh my God. By her age I was living in my own apartment, going to school on my own everyday; I had a full time job. It wasn’t easy but I will say that I valued the flexibility, and the ability to make the money I needed to make, in order to get things done.
Even still, considering the businesses I own now, I would say I’m blessed out of obedience for sure. But, it’s only done to give me the flexibility to do God’s work.
I was an entrepreneur before Jaden came. I was motivated out of my experiences. I wanted better out of my life at the time, because my parents were making poor choices. I feel as though I raised myself better than they did. In the interim of taking on my own responsibilities, I had siblings at home. I still supplied and supported my younger siblings, who are amazing to this day. But what I’ll say to you is, I am so grateful! I don’t want my daughter to have the same feeling I did about turning that doorknob and coming home at night. I was a Mom by the time I was 18, and my first daughter did a lot for me. I didn’t club, I still have never had alcohol, but I’ve owned an alcohol company!—and still have never had Vodka. I don’t have anything against drinking, it’s just not something I do. I didn’t want to stand in front of a bunch of hotels and keep telling them why they should buy my Vodka over anybody else’s. Although the money was great, and the sales were there, it just wasn’t authentic. How does this compare to Grey Goose? I don’t know!? (laughter) I can tell you it was made out of German starch and I knew all the lingo, but my point in saying that is that although there are great opportunities to make money as an entrepreneur, it is important that you first find out what your purpose is and what you are passionate about. Too many times today we are seeing the ill results of people’s life who only move based on their mentality of, Oh, I can do that! My girlfriend’s going into real estate, I’m going into real estate; or, Brittany writes, I’m going to write! – because they like what they think comes along with it.
As an entrepreneur, that word gets so thrown around. Everyone wants to be an entrepreneur today. Are you an entrepreneur that’s profiting? Do you have a plan to profit? If you’re not getting to a place of profit, then you are just a person who owns a business.
My friend in the office, (we’re best friends) she left her fancy financial job to come work with me. She always tells me she works for me, but I say, no, with me. (laughter) She has told me since we’ve been friends that I play strong second. We actually always have the same decision but we get there differently. It’s good to have strong people around you that you trust.
My payroll is around 7 million a year right now. So for me, in order for me to do these other things that I’m passionate about, I understand that the cost doesn’t matter. This organization doesn’t bring me any money, but I’m passionate about it. For me it’s the tangibles; the families we serve and the fact that they are getting access to resources.
As an entrepreneur, you have to have a strong team. They’re not leaving you, and they aren’t jealous. You need a team that won’t create conflict as to who is doing what and trying to take on other people’s job, etc. When the Lord told me to check Jesus out, and the 12 people he rocked out with, there was a whole reason why. As I built my team I already knew he had 12 disciples ready for me asking what I want them to know. – And there’s always one Judas. You know, Judas always hangs himself. (laughter)
I just love Terri’s humble brilliance! She is clearly a very intelligent woman, but she is not boastful. There is a great difference between being on point and confident, and being prideful. The entire time we spoke, I admired her authenticity, and her calmness in knowing the Lord. She was physically sleepy from having a long few days prior and late-night flight the night before. Even through that, her energy was so large and so illuminating. I was just happy to be able to bring those vibes back to you all, through this interview blog. I was glad to have her reassured support in giving me the goods, anything I felt would help another woman progress.
And we continued…
2. Do you have any advice for women in search of their purpose?
It’s funny you ask that. I was just at Comcast NBC last night speaking in Philadelphia, and this was part of the topic. I was one of the women on the panel, and this question came to me. I am also involved in this group called Generosity Women Doing Well. They reached out to me and you have to have at least 2 million networth, but there’s a bunch of women that are in this room, and I was there to help teach them about the principles of giving; giving with intention and giving with purpose. Although I was there to be a speaker, what I felt was good was that I learned a lot.
The biggest challenge we have is figuring out how to turn our passions and purpose into profit. There are a lot of things that we are good at, but we don’t necessarily know how to make money doing it. I don’t think those are really skill sets that are taught. When you’re going to these classes like Business 101, nobody’s saying how to turn your passions into profit. How do I do what I want to do on a regular basis and not have to worry about how I’m going to pay my rent, or how I am going to eat today, take care of my kids, etc…?
So this is why you see some of us working corporate jobs and still struggling to make a little extra money on the side. I think some of us missed the mark on organizational design and structure. I also don’t think that for us as women, especially women of color, we were ever taught that. In my mind, we are very gifted and talented. I’ve seen it in Africa when they make nothing into something. I feel whole heartedly, especially as black women, we are just built that way.
We get cut out of the opportunities to kind of help point A meet point B. It’s easy to say A B C, but how do we know why A comes first and how it gets to B? We don’t always know the right questions to ask, we don’t always have the right networks, because first and foremost, we aren’t dealing with our true purpose. What is it that we are really destined to do? We’re working at all these things and connecting with people, but we aren’t able to reach that peak that we should because it isn’t where we should be.
I think everybody has to take a time-out. What’s my intention behind doing what I’m doing? Am I really doing this job on the red carpet because I get a microphone, and I look important, and I wear fancy dresses, and I interview celebrities, and I can potentially meet a man!? What is your real reason behind what you’re doing?
I’ll say what TD Jakes once said to me: When you’re sitting in that seat, and that warm fuzzy feeling that you get when somebody’s talking, or those things that you do like realizing, Oh my Gosh this is what I am supposed to be doing! – These are moments that you have if you quiet yourself. When you are quiet, and you get that feeling, it’s probably like when you write. When you sit down and have a good interview, and there’s something that motivates you… or you get a level of inspiration to do an interview here, or talk about this… or you just get those good downloads in the middle of the night: Oh, this would be a great subject!
And you see, all that don’t bring you money, but all that is your passion. It’s taking those things and doing them, along with being able to execute it without being side-tracked. You don’t want the mentality that even though that’s where you should be working, and maybe because right now in this moment you might not be making all the finances, you take some of the energy from that and put it over in these other things, so we can make money over here. Thinking it seems good over here, instead of trusting the process, because that’s not where you’re really destined to be.
It’s very much like the Israelites. They were lost, granted, out of disobedience and not listening, but you’ll be lost in life by not listening to your inner voice. The whole idea is that we assume we won’t make money doing the things we are passionate about. We all have different measurements. We all are responsible for different things. He didn’t create us all the same.
For instance, look how beautiful your shirt is. There’s blue strands, there’s red strands, there’s pink, there’s turquoise and yellow; and that’s just the way we are as people. If that blue strand was just sitting here on the table, it would just be a plain blue strand; but the fact that it’s all interweaved, makes it the beautiful piece that you’re wearing. I feel the same way about what God has done for us. We have our unique abilities to kind of be interwoven and be supportive of what God’s overall plan is.
3. What’s your next big goal for Jaden’s Voice?
Jaden’s Friends; and having it reach all over the world. Think about military families who move to Germany? What’s their plan if they have a kid that’s on the spectrum? Uniquely enough, the United States Airforce and Army do not have resources for them. There are people on bases all the time that can’t get access to care. Our thing is that we want to be able to help those families and individuals as much as we can. One parent is typically deployed, and the other parent is usually managing everything on their own.
My heart is also really pushing for On The Spectrum Tv. I want to be able to show the NBC, the CBS, all of them, that there are more than 4 million people, 2% of our nation, (they say 1% but I know it’s more like 2-3%) living with Autism; and that’s just those who have been officially diagnosed.
There’s somebody on our staff who’s son just got diagnosed and he’s 18. Last night, I had a woman come up to me who is finishing her Masters degree, and after all the struggles she’s been through, she finally went to get testing done and was told that she is on the spectrum for Autism. She has a learning disability. My best friend’s child who is a year behind Jaden, was just diagnosed 2 years ago. He’s still a kid, but there are some adults that are just getting diagnosed.
This is why these are big goals for me. Who knows, one day the world may come to be Autism friendly and there won’t be a need for the database because we’ll just know. We are grateful for those trying to understand and accommodate Autism; places like Chuck E Cheese, and AMC Theater. They now have special theaters for Autistic individuals, there are colleges building dorms for students with Autism; so although a difference is being made, it’s still kind of secret. It’s not out there like something like breast cancer.
One of the next big projects after Jaden’s Friends is going to be working with toy companies. We want to get his emblem on toys. That way when you’re shopping at a store like Target, you’ll be able to recognize the seal and know that the toy is autism-friendly. Believe it or not, Jaden doesn’t get gifts because people don’t really know what to buy him.
4. What is your next big personal goal besides business?
To go to Maldives.
I’m in the middle of writing a book with Brian Tracy, who is a guru in business, and it’s called, What it Takes to Win. I think that process took me through a lot. When I was younger I used to write a lot, but I just don’t have the time right now.
There are some things that I want to do, and I know it probably sounds like it’s for other people, but I just think I was built for service. There are quiet moments that I want to have. I’m not having enough of those in my life. I feel like quiet time is when I get my downloads from the Lord.
When I say Maldives, because when you go there your cell phone doesn’t work, you disconnect from the world, and I really care about those moments. I love being able to resurface and being able to feel refreshed and restored and renewed. What’s crazy is that as much as I love to be able to do it for myself, I want to be able to take women with me. I am serious about chartering up a plane, and taking us there. I think it’s something we all need. When it comes to me, I’ll be honest in reference to this; I want to be able to go to the gym and like it… or at least spend time on a polygon bike and like it. There’s no thing about getting into a certain size, but I don’t want to be forced into having to change my diet, or having to be forced to workout because my heart isn’t right. I want to get to the point where I do lots of yoga, and use my polygon bike. I bought two of them just so I wouldn’t have to do it by myself. (laughter) I done been on that thing one time and had it set up in my house since last year. What’s really getting in my way though, is nothing but excuse. We make time for the things we want to do, so it’s just a matter of now carving that time out. What I am learning too, is that you can’t beat God to the clock. Im used to working all the time because that really all I know; but if I’m crunched for time, sometimes I’ll work more, thinking that I’ll get more done and really that just isn’t the case.
I think God has been showing me this in this season. The Bible tells us that we shouldn’t be lazy, and there are clear scriptures about that, but there’s also things where you can exalt too much energy and put too much time into something. I started switching my timeclock, so that the extra amount of time that I was willing to work, I’m using that extra time to spend with God. I’m also learning that the more time I spend with God, the less time I have to spend doing work. I don’t mean to sound over-religious, I am just being honest; I have a whole prayer room at my house.
That’s where I am supposed to go to pray and chill, and have those moments where I’m quiet.
Yet and still, you know how that enemy works girl. As soon as you get ready to settle, the phone starts ringing, you have to do this and that, this and that – I’ve started to look at my phone like, it’ll be there when I get back, but I need to have this quiet moment. I think that’s what’s important for me. I feel like the older I get, and the more responsibilities I have, the more I need them.
We then began to laugh and discuss the fact that men often mistake maintenance time for women, as leisure time or recreation. We talked about the fact that women should know, touch and agree on that. Let us know what you think in your feedback, because we are interested in what you think about that.
As the interview progressed, we talked and talked about various things that we felt were topics that needed attention within womanhood, but in the beginning of the interview, I explained to Terri that through Woman to Woman Talk, we try to ask things that no one has ever asked, things that pull a brighter emotion out of the person; because interviews period, for people with large platforms, can be draining and repetitive. I was happy to not only ask a first-time-ever question, but one that brought a huge smile and much joy to Terri’s face!
5. How does Jaden feel about all that he has inspired?
Oh!!!! You are the first person ever… like ever! (shouts of joy and laughter) – I think his teacher might’ve said something similar to that, but in reference to interviews, nobody has ever asked me that question! That is the dopest question ever! – You’re going to make me cry!
So, right now at Jaden’s school, they call him the Mayor. (as she talks through smiles and tears)
He just recently got an award for kindness, and for just being an awesome student. He cleans up after all of his friends during lunch, and does all kinds of kind gestures. For Valentine’s Day, he made all of his friends, pop-up cards. He understands every person, and Jaden has multiple classes. He’s in different classes, different percentages of the day because he has different needs. Uniquely enough, Jaden knows the 55 students that he sees throughout his day, and he knows every detail about them.
So, he made 8 teachers and 55 students, pop-up cards! Not just regular cards, he made them cards and had them all in designated bags. For Christmas he made and wrapped all our gifts. I opened my box and he made me a bracelet and a necklace. He made his Dad a hat… and he shows his love and emotion through the way he treats us.
At school they say he walks through the hallways and calls out his website, letter for letter, telling people to check it out and see what Jaden’s Voice is doing. – www.jadensvoice.org
So, we resurface to the original question, and she says:
Let’s ask Jaden!!!
Jaden was present for the interview, and he was playing, just beautifully, as we handled our business. Terri wanted to see what Jaden had to say, but due to his challenges with Autism, he let us know that he didn’t really like the question.
Terri began to explain that sometimes when he can’t communicate the way he feels and what exactly he wants to say, he will shut down and avoid the question.
For me, I had already gotten my answer. He is a beautiful boy with the most bright eyes and happy smile. His energy alone speaks for his sense of excitement. When Terri explained his love for sharing his website, helping others and spreading the word about Jaden’s Voice, I knew how he felt.
Just as mothers do, Terri still made sure she explained the break down to me, as to assure not only that I understand from the Autism perspective, but also that her son is being understood; essentially being his voice.
As much as he seems like he has language, he doesn’t have a lot; so, if he can’t communicate the way he wants to, it gets locked inside and he will shut down and get frustrated.
I will say that I think he’s going to feel like a super hero, like a really smart person. The more he learns about being Autistic, the more he’ll say he’s not. He’s been in class with kids who have severe deficits. He protects those kids a lot too; if he sees anyone making fun of them or imitating sounds, he’ll tell them that that’s not nice. Because he sees people say mean things at times, he’ll deny being Autistic himself because he doesn’t see himself having those challenges. He works really hard to fit in with the typical kid, but he definitely loves sharing his message on his own.
When I gave Jaden his name, yes, I was at Will Smith’s house, doing what grown people do being married… (laughter) – but Jaden’s name in Hebrew actually means, God has heard, which I found out AFTER Jaden’s Voice. I said, God, you were in this the whole time!
The whole reason why Jaden’s Voice is named Jaden’s Voice, is because I had to be his voice when he lost his and no longer could talk. I’ve worked really hard to get this young man to talk. I would jokingly say he’s graduated from Harvard 3x already with 4 degrees; because that’s how much it has cost me to get him the therapies he needed just to help him to say, Hi and Thank you.
In all honesty, I felt like I was the voice of many parents also, until they were strong enough to use their own. That’s our thing; we want families to know that we have their back and will speak up for them when they can’t speak up for themselves. Eventually though, my face won’t be on Jaden’s Voice. I am just responsible for starting it. My position is to place Jaden in a position where will one day be advocating for people who are just like him. It’ll be this young man that will be caring the torch and making a difference.
We are hoping that when people see the Jaden’s Friends symbol displayed on businesses and items, they’ll know that they are willing to be inclusive and accommodating for families.
I closed out the interview with Jaden because I understand the his is a humungous part of inspiration for Terri and the direction her life is going. I wanted to remind her that his growth and experiences through all that she is doing by his name, will be a beautiful testimony of what God has done in her.
I was extremely blessed to have the opportunity to sit down with this amazing woman, learn more about her story, and then share it with you. I hope that you can take from this interview and this entire movement, that no woman is perfect or has all of the answers, but what we do have is a purpose to live, and a job, a duty to carry out our destiny.
It is ultimately up to us to make the best out of the fact that all women have different testimonies. It’s up to us to collect golden nuggets from each woman’s story and keep them safe for moments along our own. If we want to succeed and prosper as individuals, as well as a people, the female community; we need to understand the value in being still and listening, soaking in wisdom from those who walk similar paths wearing different shoes.
We welcome your feedback; we know this is a lot, and much different from other platforms that interview people, but we appreciate you time and attention to this project. Please let us know what you love, what you need more of, and let us know how you think this new project will impact your life.
Photo Credits: Fredric A. Stanley Jr. of Renaizzance Media