Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Michelle Taylor Willis.
Author, Speaker, Award-Winning Community Leader
🎯 Purpose of the Interview
To explore Michelle’s guidebook “Raising Significance”, which offers practical advice for parents on how to raise children who are not just successful, but significant—meaning they positively impact the world around them. The interview also highlights Michelle’s personal journey, her community work, and the values that drive her.
🔑 Key Takeaways 1. Success vs. Significance
Michelle defines a powerful distinction:
“Success is about you and your immediate circle. Significance is about how you turn your success to work for everybody else.”
Her book aims to help parents raise children who are intentional change-makers, not just achievers.
2. Eight Tenets of Parenting
While not all are listed in the interview, Michelle emphasizes one foundational principle:
“Obey immediately and happily.”
This sets the tone for discipline, respect, and responsiveness in children.
3. Healthy Fear is Necessary
Michelle advocates for instilling a respectful fear of authority and consequences:
“Sometimes you just need to do what I say do… because I’m saving your life.”
4. Music Enhances Critical Thinking
Michelle encourages early musical education:
“All my kids started piano at five… There’s a direct correlation between music, math, and critical thinking.”
Rashawn shares his own experience with music and how it shaped his memory and academic success.
5. Greek Life as a Catalyst
Both Michelle (AKA) and Rashawn (Omega Psi Phi) reflect on how joining Black Greek organizations shaped their discipline, focus, and lifelong networks:
“It was a life-changing event… It expanded my value of relationships and networking.”
6. Community Recognition Matters
Michelle expresses deep gratitude for being honored:
“I will never be sick of somebody telling me they value what I do.”
She views awards not as vanity but as validation of meaningful work.
7. Parenting with Purpose
Michelle’s book is not about perfection but intentionality:
“I’m not a parenting expert… But if you instill these things early, significance won’t be accidental—it’ll be inevitable.”
💬 Notable Quotes
- On parenting:
“You act happy about it. Because if you don’t act happy, then you’re going to make me unhappy. And I promise you, you don’t want me unhappy.”
- On legacy:
“Raising significance is about how you teach your children to change the world—and teach others to do the same.”
- On humility:
“It’s never about me.”
#SHMS #STRAW #BEST
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am Rashan McDonald, a host of weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides are for everyone. It's time to stop reading other
people's success stories and start living your own. If you
want to be a guest on my show, please visit
our website, Moneymaking Conversations dot com and click the be
a Guest button. Chris submit and information will come directly
(00:23):
to me. Now, let's get this show started. My guest
is Michelle Taylor Willis. Michelle is the twenty twenty three
recipient of the one hundred Black Men of South Metro
Atlanta Impact Award. Sometimes she has been recognized as one
of the top one hundred influential women in Georgia, Big
Old Georgia and Atlanta. For a different organization, Michelle is
a member of our aftercaf Alfa, Ferraris Kiwe, Atlanta Business
(00:45):
League and the National Associations are Black Journalist you know,
also brought on on the show to talk about her
book that we're going to delve into. I hope you
want to take phone calls for that raising significance a
guid to raise an independent, well rounded and confident kids.
Please welcome to the money making conversations. That's the class.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Michelle Taylor willis, how are you doing.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Michelle Heyshawn, how are you pretty.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Good that I get enough information out there about you?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
I mean, you gotta know if I mean you didn't mention, like,
you know, my own day in the State of Georgia
or you know, but I meant that important. I mean
it's tomato.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
No no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm sorry. Everybody.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
You know, you go through a bio you got to
like pull out what you think is nuggets. Now I
missed the day. I missed the day in the State
of Georgia. Now that's that's significant.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
To think about it is.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
That you know those things when you get an honored
I will tell people being honored sometimes you know you
want it, but then you get there and you realize
that's such a powerful journey to for somebody to sit
back and say, you know, some we want to show respect,
We want to let you know what you're doing is
well recognized in the community, and we want to give
(01:58):
you this what is trophy a day or moment? How
do you react to that and when people come to
you and recognize you for your community efforts.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Man, I like, literally, I don't mean to sound cliche ish.
I always try to find a different way to say this.
I don't sound like everybody else, but like I count
it an honor. Like I don't think I'm ever going
to get sick of being recognized just because I mean,
you know, I mean Atlanta, and there are a lot
of people doing amazing things right Atlanta. There really are,
(02:31):
you know what I'm saying. And and so I always
like I just I'm always thankful. My husband makes sun
of me because he'll be like, you get like an
award a week, aren't you don't you get sick of it?
And I'm like, no, I don't, Like I will. I
will never be sick of somebody telling me that they
value what I do, they value what my team does,
(02:54):
they value what I do as a collaborator. Like that
will never get older me. So I don't ever want
to be in a position where I'm like, oh, another word, like,
I don't. I don't ever see myself being in that position.
It's an honor and and I don't. I don't. I
don't take that lightly at all.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Well, you know the thing about it is that you
know whenever I see in the resume because I'm a
member of Omega Sci Fi Attorney Incorporate.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Okay, you're a cute wait wait wait wait, are you
a cute dog? Are you an Omega man?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
I am a cute dog. Okay, a cute.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Dog for real? For real, I am. I'm I'm the
real deal here. Okay players thirteen weeks. You know what
I'm saying, wal dog collar, gold boots. You know, my
first step show, I didn't have no shirt on. I
remember the body was painting gold. My my my trucks
(03:46):
were purple and my gold my boots were gold.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
O'days.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I was real cute doll back in college. Now there's
some pictures out there people got to meet. They still
send them to I remember this. I remember that I
tell them where you find that photo, because you know,
back when I would call, you know, I graduated in
college in eighty three, so it wasn't there wasn't no
phones out there.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I don't know what these people got these pictures from,
but it's so many people that pictures of me stepping.
People got pictures of me half I guess you could
say naked because I was in public with shorts on,
no shirt on and just some gold boots and purple shorts.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So but you can tell me nothing.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
You can tell me Sean nothing back in the day.
And so now you you a member of AKA. And
I wanted to bring that up because I know, and
I tell this to everybody that you know, fraternities and
sororities are not for everyone. But I will tell you
this about Rashan McDonald pledging Omega Side Fire fraternity. That's
(04:39):
the fraternity I chose the pledge, and I'm not denouncing
any other fraternity. It changed my life because it gave
me focus. I was wandering around in college. It took
me seven years to graduate Michelle.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Seven years of graduate college. And that was a for real.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Seven years, okay, four and a half years. I was
still a sophomore in college, still sophomore.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
And when I play, it didn't matter, it didn't matter.
I wasn't earning no hours. I wasn't earning no hours,
you know, because because you know, I was just I.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
You know, I had no relationships or an individual I
was when focused, I didn't know what I wanted to do,
but I did maintain my GPA. And so which which
which was enough to allow me to pledge. And when
I pledge, when I when I always talk to people
about that's when I learned about goal setting when I played,
because I was a window that I could reach. The
(05:35):
Playge program said six weeks. It wounded up. They you know,
they didn't tell it two because of thirteen weeks. But
in that thirteen weeks there was a goal I was
able to accomplish. And I tell you, Michelle, it changed
my life because once I was able to accomplish that goal,
guess what two and a half years later, I graduated
from college. Talk about the impact of being a member
of sorority had on your life, a hass on your life?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Excuse me?
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Yeah? And still does I mean to this? No, You're
absolutely right. It was a life changing event. And you know,
I don't want to say I would. I don't know
where I would be if I weren't if I hadn't pledged.
I mean, I'm sure i'd be doing you know, I'd
be doing fine. I'll be doing something. But you know,
one of the things that pledge in AKA taught me
(06:19):
was the value of or expanded my value of relationships,
networking and having you know, kind of an automatic, right,
you have an automatic network of people, right that will
you know, go to that for you so to speak,
and and it you know when you're when you're doing it,
(06:40):
then you can't project fifteen twenty twenty five years down
the road, right, you don't know you're doing it. You know,
service to all mankind right as an AA but as
an adult supporting number. You know, when I talk to
somebody right now, o'shauna. You know this. If I say, hey,
I'm looking to do such an such and such, I
(07:01):
need this, and they're like, oh, connect you this such,
she's a soul war She'll take care of you know
what I mean right right that you know? I mean,
I'm sure it happens to you right when we got you, right,
I mean it's literally like an it's an automatic no
hose Bard like we got you. And I think you know,
for us as black people, that's a great thing to
(07:22):
have because so much historically of what we've done and
what we've accomplished and what we've had to do has
been conditional. Right. The relationships were conditional, Right, the accomplishment
for conditional. There are all these things that if you
do this, this, this, this and this this can happen.
So to be able to be amongst a network of
(07:43):
people that prove themselves over and over again that they
like they are in it for you no matter what,
and there's no condition, right, all you got to do
is say I'm an AKA, so I'm good, right, I mean,
it really is.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I mean, you know it's interesting are you going to
the storytelling about you know, because you get into stereotypes,
you know, because you know organizations are like fraternity and
sororities can be you know, misjudged, you know, a party,
why should I join? But the whole basis of all
of us about academics and community of community.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
That's that is the basis of.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
It all the fabric of all of these organizations really
it's service orients and right to your point, and that's
what we're here for. I mean, whether you're in a
severity or fraternity or not. I mean, at the end
of the day, it's my belief. And you know, I
don't always say that what I say is the absolute truth,
but I believe that we are here for everybody else.
I mean, I just believe that. I don't think we're
(08:44):
here for ourselves, right, So absolutely, I think you know,
the premise of these organizations is to to you know,
get you focused on the fact that that we are
here for everybody else, right, And it's kind of if
you don't believe that, and then you will once once
you're finished. Right.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
These are these are problems, These are these are moments
that allow us to be ourselves, allow us to focus
and become go already successful? What is successful as and
the individuals successful as business leaders, successful as community leaders,
are successful as entrepreneurs. That's important. And I wanted I
want to transition to your book. One of the reasons
I read your guide, I should say a guide, you know,
(09:23):
because it's like fifty nine pages and I read it. Yeah,
I've read it, and uh and and the reason I
wanted to bring it up call is called raising Significance.
And I want you to before we go to break,
I want you to tell everybody what does that title mean?
Because when they come back, we're going everybody gonna know
what the title means. So when we start talking about
the book or the guide that we'll be they'll be
(09:44):
engaged raising significance.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Michelle Taylor willis what does that mean?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Yeah? So real quick, I believe there's a difference between
success and significance.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Success is you've accomplished what you and your family and
society be as what you should have done. Right. You
graduate from college or whatever that looks like. You get
a good job or start a business, you have two
and a half kids, you get a garage or defense,
and you go you wake up, you go to school,
get your kids to school, you go to work, you
come back, close the garage, do or have dinner with
(10:15):
your family and wake up and do it all again.
Right that success and you have an inclosure circle. Success
is about you and your immediate whatever or whoever they are.
Significance is about how you turn your success to work
for everybody else, right, And I think most people are
playing most people who are quote unquote successful or playing
(10:36):
at a successful level, right, but they don't want to,
you know, dive into this realm and sphere of significance.
Significance is how you are using what you can do
to change the world to teach everybody else how to
change the world, so that they can then teach everybody
else to change the world. It's like a huge domino
(10:56):
effect basically of success. And most people are operating in
a successful realm, and the world is kind of falling
apart because people are okay with being successful and nobody's
comfortable with being significant. So raising significance is, you know,
fundamental well. Raising significance is about raising significant children. It's
(11:19):
about like eight things that you can do that I'm
not fool proof. I tell people, I'm not a parenting expert.
My kids aren't perfect. I'm not I'm nowhere near the
perfect parents, right, But they're just these eight tenants that
you can do that if you instill these things into
your children as early as possible, they will become independent,
they'll be well rounded, they'll be out of the box thinkers,
(11:42):
so that significance will not be something they happen upon.
It'll be intentional and they won't have a choice but
to be significant because you have trained them. Wow, that
way cool.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
She set the stage. Michelle Taylor willis the book Raising
Significance will come Back. I'm a delve into various chapters
and also share my feedback of personal just the book
impacted me. You know, I come from her big family,
you know, so I only have one child. So all
these things play a role in how we look in
But the number one thing we always say is that
as a parent, you just want your child to have
(12:14):
a better life than what you have. When we're right
when we'll be right back with more Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Please don't go anywhere.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
We'll be right back with more money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Welcome back to Money Making Conversations master Class hosted by
me Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations master Class continues online
at Moneymaking Conversations dot com and follow money Making Conversations
(12:41):
master Class on Facebook, x and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Parny, you know, I have one daughter, a beautiful daughter,
lover to day if we talk every day, and I
can remember just yesterday her on my laying on my
chest and not being able to push up, and so
all I ever wanted and still want is for her
to live a better life and for her. When I
read your guide, it's about raising significance. It was about
(13:05):
placing a child in the position to win. That was
my takeaway from your book.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Man, you nailed it. You nailed it with san you
nailed it.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
And because of the fact that when it was a
couple of things, I want to bring up and just
give a little history about me so you know where
I'm coming from, because Michelle, you have four boys.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Correct, I do have four boys, and you have.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
One girl, right, one girl.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Personally, I grew up with six sisters and two brothers.
I was the middle child and four older sisters, and
I grew up in the era where you know, you know,
we've still had diapers and safety pins. So they always laughed.
You know, we stuck you. We stuck you a lot
growing up. I was pre pappered, so they did me in.
But the big part about by having a child is
that it is a miracle to have a healthy child.
(13:48):
A lot of people don't understand that until you have
a child, you realize, Wow, I am really really blessed.
And one of the things in reading your book are
raising significance. You said some fear is good good, it
just is.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Yeah, you mean the fear that kids should have of
their parents.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yes, yes, you know of anything, a police, of authority,
of anything, be afraid.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
I did say all that didn't Yes I did. No,
It is because that would keeps you in check, right,
I mean, if you are you know, godly or Christian,
you know you know the whole thing about the healthy
fear of God right. The healthy fear of God should
keep you from doing you know, dumb stuff theoretically right.
(14:34):
And I just had this conversation quick story. We were
at the we were at the football game and we
were getting we were walking back to the car and
a car was I saw the car flying down the road.
And at the same time as I see the car
flying down the road, there's a bug, like a huge bug.
I'm afraid of bugs. I'm just telling you, I don't
(14:56):
like them. I don't care if it's a mesquito or
the biggest bee. I'm going to run from a bug.
I saw this huge bug approaching the car. So I'm
telling him to get in the car as quickly as
possible to avoid the car that's oncoming and to avoid
this big bug that's not to get it out. So
it's like a double you know, a double win.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
An right, heavy metal heavy metal object fly either.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
One either one of these are the enemy, okay, or both.
And I literally say, Pace, get in the car, get
in the car now. And I mean he books that
he opens the car or he gets in the car. Boom,
He like, in like two seconds, he's in the car.
It immediately brought me back to this point in the
(15:42):
book that you're mentioning right now, because what happens is,
you know, we try to have these negotiations with our kids,
and I do think that it's it's good sometimes that
you have these discussions and we want to hear what
they're thinking and what their thoughts are and in their philosophies.
But sometimes you just need to do what I say
do and you don't need to ask me, you don't
(16:03):
need to wonder. You just need to know when I
tell you sometimes you're gonna do it because I'm saving
your life and you should operate when I tell you
that you should operate under the premise, and I'm saving
your life. And when I say, I say it one
time and you do it. And that is the first
the first tenant of the book is obey immediately and happily.
(16:26):
And my kids have been saying that since they were
since take a talk. It's obey immediately and happily. You
do what I say to do, and you act happy
about it, because if you don't act happy, then you're
gonna make me unhappy. And I promise you you don't
want me unhappy.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
You know it is, really and that's because that that
jumped out of me because I'm not saying my daughter
is fearful of me, but my daughter knew. My daughter
knew and who our dad was, and then she knew
when I was upset and uh, and and she knew
when she did wrong. And it is important. And I
think that when we look at you know, look, uh,
(17:03):
my mom was raised when her grandparents were all raised
on a different era of different rules because technology allows
a certain I grew up on the rotary done telephone, okay,
and now I'm living in the video videophones and so
so I don't think that when I hear people talking
about parenting and things like, I think it all goes
back to discipline, It all goes back to consistency, It
(17:25):
all goes back to fear. If they fear the consequences.
I think that's the key word in this whole, because
he feared consequences if he didn't get in that car.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
That's right, correct, right?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, Now we don't know, We don't know what michelle
consequences were.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
All I know is she's instilled in him.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
There are consequences out there that he know about that
if you don't get in this car, we're gonna have.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
Proud that's right. And the thing to your point right
when you said about it to be the police or
the or authority, you know, they need to have a
healthy fear of authority. I mean, we just you. We
don't want to we don't want to have to yield
the people. But it just is the way it is.
You're going to have to yield. If you're gonna work
for somebody or work with you have to learn how
to submit at a certain in a certain way to
(18:13):
authority like these are just it's just the way it is.
Until you are able to call the shots right, and
so it doesn't matter what the consequence is. It's always
going to be a consequence, right, and so sometimes it's
mine and you don't want.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Those right, you know. You know I called you earlier.
You know, you know, we get to talk and when
you talking to people, this is a friendly conversation. You
everybody just happened to be listening to Michelle and I
talked because we weren't going to talk about fraternity as aloraities,
We're gonna be talking about acting. But this book, I
want to make sure I get the time in called
raising significance is that you said, get them piano lists.
(18:51):
And I'm not saying you got to go out and
buy a piano. This is all about music. It's all
about And I called her before this show. I said, wow,
I said, I read. I said, I've read that that chapter.
And I remember in the seventh grade I used to
drag my B flat clarinet and my up to school
and back, you know, because because you know, my parents
(19:11):
can afford to pick me up after school. So when
I stayed at for band practice, I had to walk home,
or to walk home from middle school. Then that was
a long walk, I'm tell you something. And when I
went from B flat clarenet to a tennis saxophone, that
was a really long walk, dragging that big old device
all the way home. But what you're talking about is recall, addition, multiplication,
(19:33):
and rhythm. That was my huge takeaway from that chapter.
And that's what and I told her, I said, guess what,
I said. My degree is in mathematics. And she just smiled.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Because if I didn't do music.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
I don't think i'd be a My degree would have
been in mathematic mathematics.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Today.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
Yeah, it's and it's really it's critical thinking, right, I mean,
what we are lacking as a society and our children.
Like it's critical thinking. And there's several studies I mean,
like I don't I'm certainly not an expert on this,
but I've read enough of them and I've seen enough
of them. Like there's a direct correlate between you know,
classical music and brain ways and young kids and babies. Right,
(20:13):
there's a direct correlation between critical thinking and math. There's
a direct correlation between critical thinking and early introduction of music.
I mean, it's all, it's all connected. I mean, something
happens when classical music is playing and the synapses are
firing at different levels in young children's brains that prepares
(20:36):
them to be able to do things differently. And I mean,
and I was taught, and this is what I've dealt
with all of my children. They all started piano at five,
and they all play musical instruments to this state. Even
my twenty four year old can still play the piano.
He doesn't want to admit it, but when he can't.
But it's all, I mean, they've all done well in
math and science and it's because they had to add
(21:01):
when they were fine.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And my wife, she keeps telling me we got to
get a piano, we got to get a panel. Yeahly,
my greatest disappointment was that I walked away from music
and I didn't maintain that relationship that music incorporated into
my life because of the fact that it really played
(21:23):
a significant role on who I am and my memory was.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Was totally tied to music.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
It was totally enhanced my recall and all of that
good stuff. But as we wrap up this interview with you,
what is the one walk away you'd like to have
for my listeners to.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Know about Michelle Taylor.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Willis the one thing to know about me? Yes, ma'am,
It's never about me.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
I like that because you know what. I like that
because that's what your book is about. Your book is
about raising four men who understand society has a lot
of ups and downs and you want them in a
win any situation. And that's what your book is about.
For any parent who reads that, guy, it's called raising significance.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Yeah, it's never yeah people. Yeah, the people see people
like you or like me, Rashaun, and they think Michelle Michelle,
Michelle Michelle or shall Rashan And it's not about me.
It's about you know what you know, it's about the
team or lord of it. I'm me because I have
a fantastic team. I'm mean because great support. That's right.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations Master Cline.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This has been Money Making Conversations Masterclass with me Rashaun McDonald.
Thanks to our guess and our audience. Visit Moneymaking Conversations
dot com to listen or register to be a guest
on my show. Keep leading with your gifts, keep winning
Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am Rashan McDonald, a host of weekly Money Making
Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
provides are for everyone. It's time to stop reading other
people's success stories and start living your own. If you
want to be a guest on my show, please visit
our website, Moneymaking Conversations dot com and click the be
a Guest button. Chris submit and information will come directly
(00:23):
to me. Now, let's get this show started. My guest
is Michelle Taylor Willis. Michelle is the twenty twenty three
recipient of the one hundred Black Men of South Metro
Atlanta Impact Award. Sometimes she has been recognized as one
of the top one hundred influential women in Georgia, Big
Old Georgia and Atlanta. For a different organization, Michelle is
a member of our aftercaf Alfa, Ferraris Kiwe, Atlanta Business
(00:45):
League and the National Associations are Black Journalist you know,
also brought on on the show to talk about her
book that we're going to delve into. I hope you
want to take phone calls for that raising significance a
guid to raise an independent, well rounded and confident kids.
Please welcome to the money making conversations. That's the class.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Michelle Taylor willis, how are you doing.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Michelle Heyshawn, how are you pretty.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Good that I get enough information out there about you?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
I mean, you gotta know if I mean you didn't mention, like,
you know, my own day in the State of Georgia
or you know, but I meant that important. I mean
it's tomato.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
No no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm sorry. Everybody.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
You know, you go through a bio you got to
like pull out what you think is nuggets. Now I
missed the day. I missed the day in the State
of Georgia. Now that's that's significant.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
To think about it is.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
That you know those things when you get an honored
I will tell people being honored sometimes you know you
want it, but then you get there and you realize
that's such a powerful journey to for somebody to sit
back and say, you know, some we want to show respect,
We want to let you know what you're doing is
well recognized in the community, and we want to give
(01:58):
you this what is trophy a day or moment? How
do you react to that and when people come to
you and recognize you for your community efforts.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Man, I like, literally, I don't mean to sound cliche ish.
I always try to find a different way to say this.
I don't sound like everybody else, but like I count
it an honor. Like I don't think I'm ever going
to get sick of being recognized just because I mean,
you know, I mean Atlanta, and there are a lot
of people doing amazing things right Atlanta. There really are,
(02:31):
you know what I'm saying. And and so I always
like I just I'm always thankful. My husband makes sun
of me because he'll be like, you get like an
award a week, aren't you don't you get sick of it?
And I'm like, no, I don't, Like I will. I
will never be sick of somebody telling me that they
value what I do, they value what my team does,
(02:54):
they value what I do as a collaborator. Like that
will never get older me. So I don't ever want
to be in a position where I'm like, oh, another word, like,
I don't. I don't ever see myself being in that position.
It's an honor and and I don't. I don't. I
don't take that lightly at all.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Well, you know the thing about it is that you
know whenever I see in the resume because I'm a
member of Omega Sci Fi Attorney Incorporate.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Okay, you're a cute wait wait wait wait, are you
a cute dog? Are you an Omega man?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
I am a cute dog. Okay, a cute.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Dog for real? For real, I am. I'm I'm the
real deal here. Okay players thirteen weeks. You know what
I'm saying, wal dog collar, gold boots. You know, my
first step show, I didn't have no shirt on. I
remember the body was painting gold. My my my trucks
(03:46):
were purple and my gold my boots were gold.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
O'days.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I was real cute doll back in college. Now there's
some pictures out there people got to meet. They still
send them to I remember this. I remember that I
tell them where you find that photo, because you know,
back when I would call, you know, I graduated in
college in eighty three, so it wasn't there wasn't no
phones out there.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I don't know what these people got these pictures from,
but it's so many people that pictures of me stepping.
People got pictures of me half I guess you could
say naked because I was in public with shorts on,
no shirt on and just some gold boots and purple shorts.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So but you can tell me nothing.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
You can tell me Sean nothing back in the day.
And so now you you a member of AKA. And
I wanted to bring that up because I know, and
I tell this to everybody that you know, fraternities and
sororities are not for everyone. But I will tell you
this about Rashan McDonald pledging Omega Side Fire fraternity. That's
(04:39):
the fraternity I chose the pledge, and I'm not denouncing
any other fraternity. It changed my life because it gave
me focus. I was wandering around in college. It took
me seven years to graduate Michelle.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Seven years of graduate college. And that was a for real.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Seven years, okay, four and a half years. I was
still a sophomore in college, still sophomore.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
And when I play, it didn't matter, it didn't matter.
I wasn't earning no hours. I wasn't earning no hours,
you know, because because you know, I was just I.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
You know, I had no relationships or an individual I
was when focused, I didn't know what I wanted to do,
but I did maintain my GPA. And so which which
which was enough to allow me to pledge. And when
I pledge, when I when I always talk to people
about that's when I learned about goal setting when I played,
because I was a window that I could reach. The
(05:35):
Playge program said six weeks. It wounded up. They you know,
they didn't tell it two because of thirteen weeks. But
in that thirteen weeks there was a goal I was
able to accomplish. And I tell you, Michelle, it changed
my life because once I was able to accomplish that goal,
guess what two and a half years later, I graduated
from college. Talk about the impact of being a member
of sorority had on your life, a hass on your life?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Excuse me?
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Yeah? And still does I mean to this? No, You're
absolutely right. It was a life changing event. And you know,
I don't want to say I would. I don't know
where I would be if I weren't if I hadn't pledged.
I mean, I'm sure i'd be doing you know, I'd
be doing fine. I'll be doing something. But you know,
one of the things that pledge in AKA taught me
(06:19):
was the value of or expanded my value of relationships,
networking and having you know, kind of an automatic, right,
you have an automatic network of people, right that will
you know, go to that for you so to speak,
and and it you know when you're when you're doing it,
(06:40):
then you can't project fifteen twenty twenty five years down
the road, right, you don't know you're doing it. You know,
service to all mankind right as an AA but as
an adult supporting number. You know, when I talk to
somebody right now, o'shauna. You know this. If I say, hey,
I'm looking to do such an such and such, I
(07:01):
need this, and they're like, oh, connect you this such,
she's a soul war She'll take care of you know
what I mean right right that you know? I mean,
I'm sure it happens to you right when we got you, right,
I mean it's literally like an it's an automatic no
hose Bard like we got you. And I think you know,
for us as black people, that's a great thing to
(07:22):
have because so much historically of what we've done and
what we've accomplished and what we've had to do has
been conditional. Right. The relationships were conditional, Right, the accomplishment
for conditional. There are all these things that if you
do this, this, this, this and this this can happen.
So to be able to be amongst a network of
(07:43):
people that prove themselves over and over again that they
like they are in it for you no matter what,
and there's no condition, right, all you got to do
is say I'm an AKA, so I'm good, right, I mean,
it really is.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I mean, you know it's interesting are you going to
the storytelling about you know, because you get into stereotypes,
you know, because you know organizations are like fraternity and
sororities can be you know, misjudged, you know, a party,
why should I join? But the whole basis of all
of us about academics and community of community.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
That's that is the basis of.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
It all the fabric of all of these organizations really
it's service orients and right to your point, and that's
what we're here for. I mean, whether you're in a
severity or fraternity or not. I mean, at the end
of the day, it's my belief. And you know, I
don't always say that what I say is the absolute truth,
but I believe that we are here for everybody else.
I mean, I just believe that. I don't think we're
(08:44):
here for ourselves, right, So absolutely, I think you know,
the premise of these organizations is to to you know,
get you focused on the fact that that we are
here for everybody else, right, And it's kind of if
you don't believe that, and then you will once once
you're finished. Right.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
These are these are problems, These are these are moments
that allow us to be ourselves, allow us to focus
and become go already successful? What is successful as and
the individuals successful as business leaders, successful as community leaders,
are successful as entrepreneurs. That's important. And I wanted I
want to transition to your book. One of the reasons
I read your guide, I should say a guide, you know,
(09:23):
because it's like fifty nine pages and I read it. Yeah,
I've read it, and uh and and the reason I
wanted to bring it up call is called raising Significance.
And I want you to before we go to break,
I want you to tell everybody what does that title mean?
Because when they come back, we're going everybody gonna know
what the title means. So when we start talking about
the book or the guide that we'll be they'll be
(09:44):
engaged raising significance.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Michelle Taylor willis what does that mean?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Yeah? So real quick, I believe there's a difference between
success and significance.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Success is you've accomplished what you and your family and
society be as what you should have done. Right. You
graduate from college or whatever that looks like. You get
a good job or start a business, you have two
and a half kids, you get a garage or defense,
and you go you wake up, you go to school,
get your kids to school, you go to work, you
come back, close the garage, do or have dinner with
(10:15):
your family and wake up and do it all again.
Right that success and you have an inclosure circle. Success
is about you and your immediate whatever or whoever they are.
Significance is about how you turn your success to work
for everybody else, right, And I think most people are
playing most people who are quote unquote successful or playing
(10:36):
at a successful level, right, but they don't want to,
you know, dive into this realm and sphere of significance.
Significance is how you are using what you can do
to change the world to teach everybody else how to
change the world, so that they can then teach everybody
else to change the world. It's like a huge domino
(10:56):
effect basically of success. And most people are operating in
a successful realm, and the world is kind of falling
apart because people are okay with being successful and nobody's
comfortable with being significant. So raising significance is, you know,
fundamental well. Raising significance is about raising significant children. It's
(11:19):
about like eight things that you can do that I'm
not fool proof. I tell people, I'm not a parenting expert.
My kids aren't perfect. I'm not I'm nowhere near the
perfect parents, right, But they're just these eight tenants that
you can do that if you instill these things into
your children as early as possible, they will become independent,
they'll be well rounded, they'll be out of the box thinkers,
(11:42):
so that significance will not be something they happen upon.
It'll be intentional and they won't have a choice but
to be significant because you have trained them. Wow, that
way cool.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
She set the stage. Michelle Taylor willis the book Raising
Significance will come Back. I'm a delve into various chapters
and also share my feedback of personal just the book
impacted me. You know, I come from her big family,
you know, so I only have one child. So all
these things play a role in how we look in
But the number one thing we always say is that
as a parent, you just want your child to have
(12:14):
a better life than what you have. When we're right
when we'll be right back with more Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Please don't go anywhere.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
We'll be right back with more money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Welcome back to Money Making Conversations master Class hosted by
me Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations master Class continues online
at Moneymaking Conversations dot com and follow money Making Conversations
(12:41):
master Class on Facebook, x and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Parny, you know, I have one daughter, a beautiful daughter,
lover to day if we talk every day, and I
can remember just yesterday her on my laying on my
chest and not being able to push up, and so
all I ever wanted and still want is for her
to live a better life and for her. When I
read your guide, it's about raising significance. It was about
(13:05):
placing a child in the position to win. That was
my takeaway from your book.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Man, you nailed it. You nailed it with san you
nailed it.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
And because of the fact that when it was a
couple of things, I want to bring up and just
give a little history about me so you know where
I'm coming from, because Michelle, you have four boys.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Correct, I do have four boys, and you have.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
One girl, right, one girl.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Personally, I grew up with six sisters and two brothers.
I was the middle child and four older sisters, and
I grew up in the era where you know, you know,
we've still had diapers and safety pins. So they always laughed.
You know, we stuck you. We stuck you a lot
growing up. I was pre pappered, so they did me in.
But the big part about by having a child is
that it is a miracle to have a healthy child.
(13:48):
A lot of people don't understand that until you have
a child, you realize, Wow, I am really really blessed.
And one of the things in reading your book are
raising significance. You said some fear is good good, it
just is.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Yeah, you mean the fear that kids should have of
their parents.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yes, yes, you know of anything, a police, of authority,
of anything, be afraid.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
I did say all that didn't Yes I did. No,
It is because that would keeps you in check, right,
I mean, if you are you know, godly or Christian,
you know you know the whole thing about the healthy
fear of God right. The healthy fear of God should
keep you from doing you know, dumb stuff theoretically right.
(14:34):
And I just had this conversation quick story. We were
at the we were at the football game and we
were getting we were walking back to the car and
a car was I saw the car flying down the road.
And at the same time as I see the car
flying down the road, there's a bug, like a huge bug.
I'm afraid of bugs. I'm just telling you, I don't
(14:56):
like them. I don't care if it's a mesquito or
the biggest bee. I'm going to run from a bug.
I saw this huge bug approaching the car. So I'm
telling him to get in the car as quickly as
possible to avoid the car that's oncoming and to avoid
this big bug that's not to get it out. So
it's like a double you know, a double win.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
An right, heavy metal heavy metal object fly either.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
One either one of these are the enemy, okay, or both.
And I literally say, Pace, get in the car, get
in the car now. And I mean he books that
he opens the car or he gets in the car. Boom,
He like, in like two seconds, he's in the car.
It immediately brought me back to this point in the
(15:42):
book that you're mentioning right now, because what happens is,
you know, we try to have these negotiations with our kids,
and I do think that it's it's good sometimes that
you have these discussions and we want to hear what
they're thinking and what their thoughts are and in their philosophies.
But sometimes you just need to do what I say
do and you don't need to ask me, you don't
(16:03):
need to wonder. You just need to know when I
tell you sometimes you're gonna do it because I'm saving
your life and you should operate when I tell you
that you should operate under the premise, and I'm saving
your life. And when I say, I say it one
time and you do it. And that is the first
the first tenant of the book is obey immediately and happily.
(16:26):
And my kids have been saying that since they were
since take a talk. It's obey immediately and happily. You
do what I say to do, and you act happy
about it, because if you don't act happy, then you're
gonna make me unhappy. And I promise you you don't
want me unhappy.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
You know it is, really and that's because that that
jumped out of me because I'm not saying my daughter
is fearful of me, but my daughter knew. My daughter
knew and who our dad was, and then she knew
when I was upset and uh, and and she knew
when she did wrong. And it is important. And I
think that when we look at you know, look, uh,
(17:03):
my mom was raised when her grandparents were all raised
on a different era of different rules because technology allows
a certain I grew up on the rotary done telephone, okay,
and now I'm living in the video videophones and so
so I don't think that when I hear people talking
about parenting and things like, I think it all goes
back to discipline, It all goes back to consistency, It
(17:25):
all goes back to fear. If they fear the consequences.
I think that's the key word in this whole, because
he feared consequences if he didn't get in that car.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
That's right, correct, right?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, Now we don't know, We don't know what michelle
consequences were.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
All I know is she's instilled in him.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
There are consequences out there that he know about that
if you don't get in this car, we're gonna have.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
Proud that's right. And the thing to your point right
when you said about it to be the police or
the or authority, you know, they need to have a
healthy fear of authority. I mean, we just you. We
don't want to we don't want to have to yield
the people. But it just is the way it is.
You're going to have to yield. If you're gonna work
for somebody or work with you have to learn how
to submit at a certain in a certain way to
(18:13):
authority like these are just it's just the way it is.
Until you are able to call the shots right, and
so it doesn't matter what the consequence is. It's always
going to be a consequence, right, and so sometimes it's
mine and you don't want.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Those right, you know. You know I called you earlier.
You know, you know, we get to talk and when
you talking to people, this is a friendly conversation. You
everybody just happened to be listening to Michelle and I
talked because we weren't going to talk about fraternity as aloraities,
We're gonna be talking about acting. But this book, I
want to make sure I get the time in called
raising significance is that you said, get them piano lists.
(18:51):
And I'm not saying you got to go out and
buy a piano. This is all about music. It's all
about And I called her before this show. I said, wow,
I said, I read. I said, I've read that that chapter.
And I remember in the seventh grade I used to
drag my B flat clarinet and my up to school
and back, you know, because because you know, my parents
(19:11):
can afford to pick me up after school. So when
I stayed at for band practice, I had to walk home,
or to walk home from middle school. Then that was
a long walk, I'm tell you something. And when I
went from B flat clarenet to a tennis saxophone, that
was a really long walk, dragging that big old device
all the way home. But what you're talking about is recall, addition, multiplication,
(19:33):
and rhythm. That was my huge takeaway from that chapter.
And that's what and I told her, I said, guess what,
I said. My degree is in mathematics. And she just smiled.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Because if I didn't do music.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
I don't think i'd be a My degree would have
been in mathematic mathematics.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Today.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
Yeah, it's and it's really it's critical thinking, right, I mean,
what we are lacking as a society and our children.
Like it's critical thinking. And there's several studies I mean,
like I don't I'm certainly not an expert on this,
but I've read enough of them and I've seen enough
of them. Like there's a direct correlate between you know,
classical music and brain ways and young kids and babies. Right,
(20:13):
there's a direct correlation between critical thinking and math. There's
a direct correlation between critical thinking and early introduction of music.
I mean, it's all, it's all connected. I mean, something
happens when classical music is playing and the synapses are
firing at different levels in young children's brains that prepares
(20:36):
them to be able to do things differently. And I mean,
and I was taught, and this is what I've dealt
with all of my children. They all started piano at five,
and they all play musical instruments to this state. Even
my twenty four year old can still play the piano.
He doesn't want to admit it, but when he can't.
But it's all, I mean, they've all done well in
math and science and it's because they had to add
(21:01):
when they were fine.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And my wife, she keeps telling me we got to
get a piano, we got to get a panel. Yeahly,
my greatest disappointment was that I walked away from music
and I didn't maintain that relationship that music incorporated into
my life because of the fact that it really played
(21:23):
a significant role on who I am and my memory was.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Was totally tied to music.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
It was totally enhanced my recall and all of that
good stuff. But as we wrap up this interview with you,
what is the one walk away you'd like to have
for my listeners to.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Know about Michelle Taylor.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Willis the one thing to know about me? Yes, ma'am,
It's never about me.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
I like that because you know what. I like that
because that's what your book is about. Your book is
about raising four men who understand society has a lot
of ups and downs and you want them in a
win any situation. And that's what your book is about.
For any parent who reads that, guy, it's called raising significance.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
Yeah, it's never yeah people. Yeah, the people see people
like you or like me, Rashaun, and they think Michelle Michelle,
Michelle Michelle or shall Rashan And it's not about me.
It's about you know what you know, it's about the
team or lord of it. I'm me because I have
a fantastic team. I'm mean because great support. That's right.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Yeah, thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations Master Cline.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This has been Money Making Conversations Masterclass with me Rashaun McDonald.
Thanks to our guess and our audience. Visit Moneymaking Conversations
dot com to listen or register to be a guest
on my show. Keep leading with your gifts, keep winning
Host
Rushion McDonald
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