1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,800 How did you get started on this journey? 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:07,680 I got started on this journey originally. 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:14,560 I was diagnosed with asthma at a very early age, at the age of three. 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:21,680 And back then, growing up in the hood, because I come from Brooklyn, New York, we didn't 5 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:23,620 know anything about steroids. 6 00:00:23,620 --> 00:00:32,160 So the inhaler that I was using was steroid-based, but we didn't know the side effects, the adverse 7 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:36,160 effects that it has on people that consume that. 8 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:39,480 And I was angry all the time, all the time. 9 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,760 And I caused a lot of dissension in the family. 10 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:50,640 So anyway, fast forward, there were some people that I met along the way that kind of guided 11 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:55,440 me and helped me, some priests, some mentors. 12 00:00:55,440 --> 00:01:00,200 I didn't know anything about mentorship until I started meeting these powerful, influential 13 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:04,520 men that actually took me by the hand, because they had fruit on the tree. 14 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:08,720 So and some people say they're going to mentor you, and some say they're not going to mentor 15 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:10,520 you, but I didn't worry about that. 16 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,300 All I know is that I did have some good people in my corner. 17 00:01:14,300 --> 00:01:20,620 So fast forward also, like I said, I worked in the one hospital in New York, and I worked 18 00:01:20,620 --> 00:01:22,160 there for 20 years. 19 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:27,920 I started out in security, and then I did mental health as well inside the security, 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,520 because I had to work at psych unit. 21 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,440 So I dealt with all kind of disorders. 22 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,280 And it helped me to be able to understand the human being. 23 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:44,600 And if you can relate to the human being at their basic level and draw a rapport with 24 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:49,260 a person, you can help to kind of de-escalate some situations. 25 00:01:49,260 --> 00:01:53,200 And I've dealt with some very violent, violent individuals. 26 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:59,700 And it was rewarding seeing them turn around, seeing the light come on, because sometimes 27 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:07,000 people suffer in silence, and their way of conveying that is to with aggression. 28 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,720 So but a lot of times you don't have to do that with aggression. 29 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:17,480 So I found those ways of being able to connect and be able to show folks that, listen, if 30 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,000 I did it coming from where I came from, you can do it too. 31 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,560 And especially during COVID, and that happened during COVID. 32 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:28,960 So during COVID, I lost like 39 people, friends, family, relatives in New York. 33 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,280 And it was, as you know, that was the epicenter. 34 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,520 So it was pretty cumbersome, you know? 35 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:35,520 Yeah. 36 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,560 Well, thank you for sharing that. 37 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:43,880 Darren, that goes straight to my next question. 38 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:48,800 What is your why and what is, if you have any stories behind your why, or the story 39 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,000 behind your why, I'd love to hear it. 40 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,880 Oh, I have plenty stories. 41 00:02:54,880 --> 00:03:02,240 But like I told your colleague, my why is in front of me every morning. 42 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,640 I have a picture of four people that's on there. 43 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:13,320 My wife, my mom, who's in about two weeks, she'll be 93 years old, praise God. 44 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,240 And my two boys, and my boys are grown. 45 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:22,640 So my oldest is in his late 30s, my youngest, he's going to be 35 in November. 46 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:32,120 So being able to lead by example, because leadership is so important in today's endeavor, 47 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,560 you know, with social media and everything going on. 48 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:37,560 There's a lot of noise out there. 49 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:39,380 And social media is great. 50 00:03:39,380 --> 00:03:42,740 But also there's a lot of fake stuff on social media. 51 00:03:42,740 --> 00:03:47,280 So a lot of these young kids, they don't realize that some of this stuff is fake. 52 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:48,840 You know, it's fake. 53 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:50,080 Yeah, yeah. 54 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,960 And my saying is I'm real in the field. 55 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,080 So I keep it real and raw. 56 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:03,440 And I'm able to let them know, say, listen, you know, understand, okay, your friend's 57 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,600 saying they're driving this car and that car. 58 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,600 And do you know if the car actually belongs to them or their parents or if they're renting 59 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:10,600 it? 60 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,200 Because I come across that every day here in Florida. 61 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:20,040 So, but making a difference, making a difference with young minds and even helping parents 62 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:21,960 to connect with their children. 63 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:23,960 I'll give you a story real quick. 64 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:29,160 I was in Pensacola, Florida at the time I was working for a nonprofit organization. 65 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,520 And I worked for five different charities. 66 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:38,080 And I became the trainer that trained the trainers in the nonprofit charity. 67 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:45,200 So the charity I was working for was Doctors Without Borders and MSF, as they call it. 68 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:50,280 And they go all over the world and they go into these countries and they provide aid. 69 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:51,700 It's so important. 70 00:04:51,700 --> 00:04:55,040 People don't really realize it until actually something happens. 71 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,040 And then, you know, they're calling for help. 72 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:01,800 So I was at in Pensacola, we was on a road trip. 73 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:05,380 And there's a young lady, she came up to me and she was like, well, I would really love 74 00:05:05,380 --> 00:05:08,920 to donate, but I can't right now. 75 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,520 And I guess I saw that because our spirits kind of connect. 76 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:15,000 I said, what's wrong? 77 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,360 And she was and then she was on the verge of tears. 78 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,320 So I said, are you okay? 79 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,040 And she said, yeah, well, I'm having problems with my daughter. 80 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:24,040 I said, okay. 81 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:25,040 All right. 82 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,080 So I put aside the nonprofit stuff and I said, okay, tell me what's going on. 83 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:35,240 So she went into detail and told me that her daughter is adopted and she had been in forced 84 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:36,960 to care for a long time. 85 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:43,280 So I'm able to deal with forced to care children and children that have gone through the system 86 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:48,780 because the system I can relate to based on my background. 87 00:05:48,780 --> 00:05:53,020 So I said, all right, well, tell me a little bit about and then she started telling me 88 00:05:53,020 --> 00:05:58,600 and I gave her some some avenues of where she could kind of connect with the child. 89 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,920 I said, well, first of all, who do you connect? 90 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,640 Who does she connect with? 91 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:04,840 Your husband or you? 92 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:07,040 And she said, you're right, my husband. 93 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:08,640 I said, okay, I'm sorry. 94 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,360 I said, so she respects a male figure. 95 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:17,720 So because she misses being having parented by a father. 96 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,320 And I said, well, do you know a lot about her past and what she's gone through? 97 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:26,840 And she said, you know, not really, because she doesn't open up to me. 98 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:29,360 I said, well, that's the issue. 99 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,720 You didn't connect with her before you tried to pull. 100 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,760 And I keep it in the basic terms. 101 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:38,440 And she was like, you know, you're right. 102 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,480 I really haven't looked into it. 103 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:50,960 And I said, well, let her talk. 104 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:52,400 What she liked to do. 105 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:57,200 So but overall, she was very satisfied. 106 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:58,200 She thanked me. 107 00:06:58,200 --> 00:06:59,200 She hugged me. 108 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,360 I almost started crying and it was very emotional. 109 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:06,160 And then the guy I was working with, his name is Eric. 110 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,240 He was like, DC, he was like, where did that come from? 111 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:15,520 That came from me being able to share with another person and hopefully uplift and empower 112 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,040 them, you know? 113 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:23,240 What do you and I'm assuming what you're trying to go towards is when you're trying to groom 114 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:28,740 those kids for them to become leaders and take responsibility and grow better and be 115 00:07:28,740 --> 00:07:33,240 better and be that hand that some people didn't get in their lives. 116 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:37,760 So they become those people who lend out hands to other people. 117 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:38,760 Absolutely. 118 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:43,280 What defines a great leader for you? 119 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,640 A great leader is one that's not selfish. 120 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,080 There are other people oriented. 121 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,720 There was a movie a long time ago that impacted me. 122 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,080 It was called Pay It Forward. 123 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:59,400 I don't know if you've ever seen it, but that movie was inspirational. 124 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:03,360 And true leaders pay it forward. 125 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:08,200 And not only do they pay it forward, but they also teach others to be able to pay it forward 126 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:09,200 too. 127 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:11,320 So it goes exponentially. 128 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:20,480 And by paying it forward, it allows your message to resonate long beyond you being on this 129 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:21,480 earth. 130 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,760 Just like with the book, I've already written the book. 131 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:33,760 So now my book, The Message, is going to continue into hopefully for many generations to come 132 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:35,440 in many countries. 133 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,800 I was just overseas a week and a half ago. 134 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:41,400 I was over in Spain. 135 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,040 And I met with a young lady at a shop. 136 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,080 And she was from India. 137 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,200 And I told her that I was an author. 138 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:49,960 And she took my information down. 139 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,880 And she was like, oh my god. 140 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,760 And it was so refreshing just to see the light come on. 141 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:00,200 And her father, he owned several properties and everything. 142 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:07,960 She too kind of told me that the same thing that you were saying as far as connecting. 143 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:12,000 And I have tools that I used over the years. 144 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,480 And these tools came from reading a lot of books. 145 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,400 I've read over 300 books. 146 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:27,680 And I've been in situations where the mentor, the coach, the trainer, they gave into us. 147 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:31,720 And it was up to you to get the nuggets, in other words. 148 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:33,800 Some people, it went over their head. 149 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:40,000 Me, no, I was always with a pen and paper taking notes, always being a student, a student 150 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:46,440 of reality, a student of life, a student of caring about another person. 151 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,080 So yeah, this is a big vision. 152 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:51,080 And it's a big goal. 153 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:57,640 And your podcast will definitely help me to be able to get this message across and be 154 00:09:57,640 --> 00:09:59,160 able to touch millions of lives. 155 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,280 And I appreciate you guys, big time. 156 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:02,960 Thank you for being here today. 157 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:05,440 I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. 158 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,200 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward. 159 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:11,840 This is going to get more and more fun. 160 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:13,960 We'll have more and more engagement as well. 161 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,280 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 162 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,520 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 163 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:35,880 Have an excellent time building out your vision and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.