July 2, 2025 • 36 mins
“You never know where God is going to take you. But embrace the moments. Even in times of change, when it may seem hard, just be open-minded and pivot, rebuild, move forward."
Notable Moments
[00:02:38] – Denella’s career collapse during the 2020 cruise industry shutdown
[00:05:34] – Launching her travel show from scratch
[00:09:18] – Advice on reinventing yourself
[00:11:54] – Personal branding and career resilience
[00:17:09] – The importance of sales skills for entrepreneurs
[00:19:28] – How “Traveling with Denella” episodes come together
[00:25:06] – Launching her children’s coloring book and travel journal
[00:33:00] – Stories of pushing personal limits through travel
[00:35:31] – How travel connects us all
After the cruise industry shut down in 2020, Denella Ri’chard lost her job and faced a major life crossroads. In this episode, joins Jody Maberry to share how she used that moment to rebuild her career by reigniting her broadcast background and launching the syndicated TV show “Traveling with Denella.” She talks about building a brand, finding purpose in uncertainty, and the steps to remaking yourself. Denella also shares her latest passion projects, including a children’s travel-themed coloring book and a faith-based travel journal called “Traveling Grace.” Her story is a reminder that with movement, belief, and connection, it’s possible to rise stronger than ever.
Connect with Denella
Order Denella’s Books
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LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodymaberry/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodymaberry
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign.
Welcome to the Jody Mayberry Show. I'm so happy
to introduce to you this episode Donella
Richard. And I'm gonna tell you how we met and her story. But first, let's
just say hello. Hi, Donnella. Hello, Jody. Jody. Jody.
How are you today? Well, I'm. I'm smiling ear to ear
(00:21):
because I get to talk to you. I have so enjoyed getting to
know you and watch your travels. And so Donnella and I
met at a magical vacation planner conference two or three years
ago. Yeah, three years ago, 2022. And this
is why that's important. Where we met two years before
Donella and I met, Dan Cockrell and I were
(00:44):
speaking at a magical vacation planner conference in Orlando
at Disney World. It was at the Yacht Club on the day
that Disney World announced they were shutting down.
And my goodness, Donella, to be there speaking to
three or four hundred travel advisors, to have every cruise line there
represented. When the travel industry basically
(01:08):
shut down indefinitely, not knowing when it would open, we
saw people's careers, their lives, their
livelihood just tumble away,
maybe because they didn't know what was going on. Okay, so that was
the setting two years before I met Donella. And
Donella happened to work in the cruise industry. At that time, I
(01:30):
didn't know her, but by the time I met her two years later,
Donella had gone from an industry that
crumbled practically overnight. Now it has rebuilt
very well. Maybe we'll talk about that. But she had a career
in an industry that crumbled overnight and
then in two years built something just
(01:53):
spectacular. She's the star of the show, traveling with Donella. She
wins awards. She's a real superstar. She's great on
camera. And it all came after her career
fell apart. And I think it is such a fascinating story,
Danella. Now, did I represent that well? What happened to you?
Absolutely. That was a perfect representation. Okay,
(02:14):
so now in 2020, you have this great
thriving career you think is going to last forever because it's an
industry you love, and all of a sudden you have to remake
yourself. Tell us a little bit about the bottom and
then how the steps. You started to do that. By the time
I met you, two years after that happened, you're a superstar.
(02:38):
Well, Jody, as you said, you know, that year was
2020, and everybody knows when. No one will ever forget that
year, because I think it was life changing for everyone on the
planet, including the animals in the marine life. Right. But
in 2020, you know, I had a thriving career in the
cruise industry. I absolutely love what I did. And
(03:00):
I look forward to continuing my career and one day travel, I mean,
one day retiring right from the cruise industry. But on
March 13, 2020, you know, we were notified
that all ships around the world going to have to come to a
halt. Come in. And our industry was getting ready to
shut down due to COVID 19. And at that time, it
(03:22):
was scary because we were still learning. What is this, COVID 19? At that point,
we didn't have vaccinations. We didn't have a lot of answers. It was scary. But
needless to say, more than any other industry, COVID
19 brought the cruise industry to its knees because
for a year, year and a half, there were ships that had
no passengers. But the harsh reality
(03:44):
for us, and I was working for Holland America at that time, was
that with no passengers, you know, layoffs, they were
imminent, right? So I ended up having to lay off over 40
people from my team. And then as I'm licking my
wounds, I find out the president of my company's being laid off, too. And then
he tells me, well, wait a minute. You being laid off also?
(04:06):
No. So it's like, oh, my God, I can't even feel sorry for myself
because everyone around me, we're, you know, we were all losing
our jobs. So, you know, during that time, you know,
at home, everybody's on lockdown. We can't go to church, we can't go to
the movies, right? We're at home, we're watching tv. The
only thing we could all do is order in food, right? So
(04:29):
I started, you know, ordering in food. I had a bottle of wine
almost every evening, and I started sipping and painting, you
know, on my balcony. I became my own little Picasso and.
And started painting every evening. And it was so funny because one evening my
friend looked at me and he said, wait a minute, Danella. I think you
are sipping more than you are painting.
(04:52):
So it's time for you to figure out what's next. So
I already. My degree is in television. It's in broadcast
journalism. But I, at that point, I had already spent over 20 years in the
travel industry. But I had worked in the television and
broadcast industry early in my career. So I
had an opportunity. A friend called me who had launched a streaming
(05:14):
television station platform at that time and was like, donnella, come back to
tv. Create a travel show. You used to help produce a travel
show for United Airlines back in the 90s. It was called
Destinations. He was like, create your own travel show this time.
And, hey, I'm gonna give you a Prime time spot on my
OTT streaming station. And let's rock and roll. So,
(05:36):
sure enough, we created Traveling with Donella, and we were on
lockdown. So at that time, it was like, you know, interviews, kind of like you
and I are doing right now, right? More of kind of like zoom interview format,
if you will, with heavy B roll. And we made this beautiful show.
And about five episodes in Border started
opening, right? We could start to travel the world again. And so we
(05:58):
started getting calls from destinations like Danello. You know, we saw
your show and. But now you can bring a whole film crew. Come, come, come,
come with the film crew. Come film. We have to show people that they
can travel the world again. We have to give them hope, and you're going to
show them how to do it. And so I'm like, okay, all right.
So with that, you know, got the film crew together, two
(06:21):
videographers, my production manager, and we hit the road. You
know, here we were filming all over the Caribbean. Then we went on over to
South America, including filming in Ecuador. And as
we filmed, we started getting calls from television stations.
So first WSFL in Miami, Florida. And
then before you knew it, the thing just started growing.
(06:43):
So here we are, Jody. We are filming
season eight right now, and we are in February, 40
different cities weekly. So you can see
traveling with Donella every week. And watch
me as we go all over the world bringing these
beautiful destination and cruise stories to life.
(07:05):
So the interesting thing, I went from a corporate executive
in a business suit to a swimsuit, because
on any given episode, you know, I may be in the water
swimming with sharks, swimming with stingrays, you know,
swinging off a cliff at the edge of the world in Ecuador,
or, you know, riding bikes,
(07:28):
embracing the outdoors, meeting with five star
Michelin chefs. You name it, we do it. And it's really
been amazing. So as you said, you know, how did we get here?
It's called the pivot. How did I get here? You know, taking
lemons and turning it into lemonade. And I'll
be honest, originally I was like, oh, you know, a year or two,
(07:51):
and I'll still go back to my corporate job in the cruise industry.
Well, Jody, almost five years later, and
we are flying. You know, we are soaring over here. You
know, traveling with Denella is doing very, very well.
And I'm living my best life traveling the world and bringing these
destination stories to television. So that's my story.
(08:13):
Oh, it's just fantastic. And we'll talk a little more
about the show before we do. I I want to look
more at how you remake yourself
because you did it so well. I get hearing your story.
Some of it was opportunity. Sure. It just you got a
little lucky. But I understand that
(08:36):
luck only happens when you're moving, when you're doing something.
If you had just stayed on your couch sipping wine,
the opportunities wouldn't have come. You were doing something. You
were in the right place when the borders opened and it created
this opportunity. So, yes, you were doing something at the
right time, when the right doors opened. Beyond that, I
(08:58):
know there's way more to it. It's not like
the borders opened and you got a call because you were already doing something.
If someone came to you with that specific question and said,
donnella, I've been laid off. I thought I had my dream job. I've
been laid off. Now I want to remake myself. What are the steps to do
it? Believe in yourself first. Right? You have to
(09:21):
have confidence to move forward because there are always going to be people
around you who are going to want to give advice or, you know, just kind
of be in your head. And I think, you know, once you
decide that you. You want to reinvent,
move in a different direction, you just gotta put the blinders on.
Right. And just move forward. Move
(09:43):
forward. So whatever that means putting those different things in
place. So for me, you know, I had a background in television. I
had always wanted to go back. You know, I always wanted to do a travel
show. So here we were. This was just the perfect
opportunity to go ahead and bring that to life. And I
can't take away from the fact that what made it easy
(10:04):
for me is Jodi, you know, it's people like you. It's
people like in our industry, the travel industry, we're like a big
family, right. And we really do look out for each
other. So it made it easy. When I was, you know, when I said, when
I announced that I'm doing the travel show, I was able to call on my
friends at Disney. I was able to call on my friends at the various
(10:25):
cruise lines at the different destination companies, or they had already
seen press releases and different things, they started calling me.
Right. So that made it a little bit easier
in the sense that I wasn't just starting from fresh. It
wasn't like people in my industry didn't know who I was.
Right. But I will tell, especially any young person,
(10:48):
when they're thinking about getting out here and starting their own business,
you have to at least have some form of a foundation first.
I already worked for the billion Dollar brands, managing
multi million dollar budgets. So I knew that
if I could do this for these companies, why couldn't I do it for myself,
right? And to be honest, the other reality was, as
(11:11):
you said, we know millions of people during that period were laid off
from jobs. I knew coming back into the cruise
industry, it was going to be competitive and I wanted to do
something that was going to make me stand out. Because if I decided to go
back into my corporate job, people better know that during COVID
I was busy, I was making things happen. My name had already
(11:33):
hit their desks. They were aware of what I was up to. So it was
also a part of branding. Who is Donella?
Outside of just being with X company that I was with
before, it was also brand building the brand of
Donella and traveling with Donella and saying that this
is who I am, right? This is who I am. And being
(11:55):
able to take that background in television
and media and merge it with travel, which were my
two loves. And it just really, it all, it
all came together. But if I had to say
why I was able to do it, what made the pivot easier?
It was my travel. Family. It was my family. That's what made
(12:17):
it. It was the relationships. That's what made it possible.
That's what made it easier. Because you've heard the saying,
you know, if you want to go far, you know, or what is it? If
you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go
together. So it was, I knew, reach back out
to those people who were friends, colleagues, co workers,
(12:39):
you know, whatever the case, and they supported me.
And that's how we were able to get to where we are today because
I was not alone. My industry looked out for me.
Oh, it is so great to hear that. There's two big
things that you talked about. I want to come back to the idea of
reaching out. I will admit I'm a Midwestern middle child.
(13:02):
And so sometimes people like me just think
if I do hard work, people will notice. And
sometimes that's true. That's not often true, though.
You have to reach out and tell people what you're up to. You have to
reach out and say, look at me, look what I'm doing. Midwestern middle
children are not good at that. And so I take inspiration from
(13:25):
hearing your story to say, gosh, I need to reach out to more people and
say, look at this, look what I've done. The other thing I want to
touch on, you talked about how the cruise
industry is competitive and you wanted to make sure when you came back
in, people saw what you were doing. It reminds me of something. Lee
Cockrell says he worked for three iconic
(13:47):
brands, Hilton, Marriott and Disney. But he will tell you,
he's told me, I assume he would openly talk about it.
I never worked for Hilton, Marriott or Disney. I worked
for Lee Cockrell. I just happened to be at those
places. And I think that is what a great way
to look at it. Because it didn't matter to Lee where he worked. He was
(14:10):
going to work just as hard. And he was working for Lee, not Marriott,
not Disney. And I think that makes such a difference
because if you are working for Donnella, as you were,
it wouldn't have mattered what cruise line you went back to if it
had played out that way. It turned out you were so good, that never happened.
But if you're working for Donnella, it doesn't matter where you end up.
(14:33):
You're going to work the same, you're going to work just as hard. And you
start to think about the idea of, I may have a
corporate job, but Donnella Richard is a personal brand.
Jody Mayberry is a personal brand. I just happen to get a
paycheck from. Fill in the blank. Whichever cruise line or
maybe Marriott or Disney. And I think that is a great way to
(14:55):
approach a career. You don't have to work for yourself to have that
mindset. You just having a regular
job, regular paycheck, that's how you should approach it.
Exactly. And I love like what you said, what Lee said, and I'll tell you
why it's important. Because if you're out here
and you are working a corporate job and you go through a layoff, if your
(15:17):
identity is in that company, when you're no longer there,
you no longer know who you are. So it's important
that you build your own brand. I'm not saying go
out there and look at me, you know, no, but you
have to be very intentional on who
you are, what your work ethic is, you know, what you're trying to
(15:39):
build, what the end game is, where are you trying to get and where are
you trying to go, Right? And you have to be very
intentional and building that for yourself, as
selfish as that sounds. But the reality is,
if everything about you is built in that job
and it's gone one day you're going to be lost. You're going to
(16:01):
be lost. So someone like a Lee Cockrell or me, when
you no longer have those brands around, you just keep on going because
you know, you know, you, you Know how to run,
how to make companies successful because you've been a part of amazing,
successful brands. So now when you have the opportunity to do it for
yourself, why wouldn't you? The only difference is that
(16:24):
me being a Leo the lion now, you know, every day
I actually get up and I hunt for my own food. You know, you go
on the kill, if you will. Right. And that's the difference in being an
entrepreneur. And I was blessed. A large part
of my career was in sales or sales and marketing.
But the sales piece is so important
(16:47):
because if you're going to go into business for yourself, you better
have some sales skills behind you because you
can't depend on somebody else to sell your business for
you. And you can go hire a whole sales team and they will
produce, but at the end of the day, to get the output that you really
want, you're going to have to be really involved in your own sales.
(17:09):
You're going to have to be involved in that outreach. You're going to have to
be involved in closing those deals, closing those contracts.
So sales becomes a very important
part of any business. And then when you're
done with the sales, it's the marketing, it's keeping your product
out there that becomes an important part. And I'm sure while I
(17:32):
can talk about marketing in a number of ways, I'm sure there are many young
people out there that can even still teach me a little thing or two and
are more about social media marketing and this new age that
we live in. But there are certain skill sets that are
vital if you're, you know, when, especially when you get out
here to start your own business. But I would tell
(17:53):
anyone, start with that first sales
master that if you master that, you can be successful.
Yeah, right. When, when you master sales,
it can cover up the other things you're not good at yet. Because.
Because you could, for example, maybe you're great at spreadsheets and
bookkeeping, but if there's no sales coming in, it doesn't matter.
(18:16):
You could be great at marketing and creating reels for social
media, but if there's no sales, doesn't matter.
Exactly, exactly. And you know, so many times
we hear the word sales, people run from it, they feel like they're going to
be sold older. You know, some people think of like the old used car salesman.
You know, whatever the case, it's the most vital part of any business.
(18:38):
That's where the revenue is coming from. Right. And there's a
reason that when you look at any organization, the sales
team Outside of the executive team, the sales team usually makes the most money
because they're incentivized. They're bonus to bring in the revenue. That
revenue is important to keep any business functioning. Yeah.
Including your own business. Yes. That is
(19:00):
great. Okay, so let's turn to the wonderful
show Traveling With Donella. One of the things I am curious about
when I watch them, they're great, polished
episodes. You look great. They're a lot of fun. I'm wondering
how the story of an episode comes together. So
hypothetically, let's say Bimini reaches out and
(19:22):
says, donella, we need more visitors to Bimini, which is my
favorite island in the Caribbean that I've been to. They say, we need more
visitors in Bimini. Come do an episode of Traveling with
Donella. So that's what you start with? Yes.
What research do you do before? What do you do when you get there? How
do you start to put that episode together in your mind?
(19:45):
So, first and foremost, most people look at my life and they think, I just
wake up and say, oh, I'm going to Bimini today. And I, you know, run
around Bimini and I do all these things, and my film crew records it.
No, that's not how it works. So the first step for me
is working with the destination, you know, whether it's the tourism
board or resort. But there's somebody on the island. Right. That
(20:06):
I'm working with, and they're the ones that are helping to craft
the story that they want to tell. And as you said,
Bimini is a beautiful island in the Bahamas. You know, one
thing right now with the Bahamas, they want people to know about the
family of islands, because so many people think Nassau, you
know, when they think of the Bahamas. But you have Bimini, you have
(20:27):
Exuma, you have Eleuthera, you have all these beautiful islands.
So it's first and foremost working with
the destination to identify what's the story
they want to tell. Right. Identifying who are the
interesting people that can help tell that story. And then
what do you want people to experience on your island
(20:50):
beyond where they're going to stay? What are the things that you want to
do? And so that's how we do it. We work very much in
partnership to make sure we're bringing to life the story that the
destination or that the cruise line wants to tell to our
television audience. Interesting. So
once you understand the story, I imagine
(21:11):
you have a pretty good grasp on that before
you arrive in Bimini, now that you're on the island
and you know what the Story is going to be what happens next. You
probably book your activities based on that, I imagine. And
how often do things come up where you say, now
this just has to be part of the episode. I didn't see it
(21:33):
coming. But we have to include this, right? So as part
of crafting that story, we also work, I work with them to craft that
itinerary. So everything is already an itinerary, you
know, it's already pre planned. So we just start to follow that
itinerary, if you will. But absolutely. Things come
up where I'm like, oh my God, you know, look at, you know, we gotta
(21:56):
include this in the segment. Oh my God, look at the dolphins or,
or this, whatever it is. There absolutely are those
natural moments that just were not on the itinerary
that come up that we capture as well. And then another
important part for us is making sure we support
the locals and the small businesses, making sure we highlight them.
(22:18):
Because so many times when it comes to destinations, people
support the big names on the destination or the things that everybody
knows, you know, like if you're in, in the Bahamas, going to the Atlantis or
whatever. But you know, it's making sure we highlight the
locals, the people, so you get to know them, you get to understand the
culture, you get to hear their personal stories as you know,
(22:40):
and then also supporting the small businesses. So whether it's the
local straw maker, right. Or it's guy on the beach
that's doing the conch at a restaurant, you want to support
the small businesses. Because when we visit
destinations like the Bahamas, tourism is their
number one industry. And we have to remember
(23:02):
that tourism has to feed down. We can't just support
again the big boxes, support the little guy
along the way. That reminds me of one
of the reasons I love Bimini so much. You have,
you've been there, right? Danella, you know what? Yes. We were recently
in Bimini with Virgin Voyages. Yes. So
(23:24):
Bimini is wonderful. I like to go there and give
people my own guided golf cart tours because I've
come to know the island so well. But why I love the island so
much is Ms. Antoinette. She owns a gift shop in town
and I met her on my first trip there and I go see her every
time she invites me to her house. We just sit and talk and
(23:47):
drink tea. Ms. Antoinette is absolutely wonderful.
And I think without Ms. Antoinette, I may have just
said Bimini is beautiful. But it's that
connection with the people and knowing someone and hearing the stories
and that has made me fall in love with Bimini. That's it. It's the people.
It's the people that make the destination. And if you go anywhere
(24:10):
in the world and you don't get a chance to connect with the people, it's
just such a missed opportunity. Right. Because it's one thing
if you go. You go to a resort, you stay on the beach, you know,
you're. You're at the hotel, and you're, you know, on the beach all day and
drinking sipping pina coladas, but you don't really get to know the locals.
You don't really get to know the people. You really don't get to know what's
the backstory to this island. You know, what's the backstory. And
(24:33):
you're only going to get that with connecting with the locals. Like
Ms. Antoinette. Yes. Yes. Ms. Antoinette is
wonderful. Okay, there's one more piece I want to make sure that we
touch on, and that is Donella has
also now ventured into books. She has her first couple of
books out, which is. I was very excited to see. Tell us
(24:56):
a little bit about those. They're. One of them, at least,
is perhaps much different than you would have expected from
Danila. Yes, yes.
So, Jody, where. I'm just super excited
about our books that were recently released and are available on
Amazon. But I'll start with the first one. The first one,
(25:18):
we created a children's coloring book, and it
is called Traveling around the World with
Donella. And in the children's coloring book, you
will find, you know, it's not only teaching kids about
geography, iconic landmarks around the world,
as well as greetings, and in a fun and interactive
(25:40):
way. You know, that was our goal because
we wanted to. We want kids to start dreaming about travel
early. Think about it, Jody. You're probably like me.
The reason we became addicted to this industry is probably you. I'm sure
you traveled as a kid. You know, my mom took us to Disney World. My
mom took us to Vegas. We went to San Francisco every year. We went
(26:02):
to Florida every year. So when kids are
exposed to travel at a young age, it just becomes a
natural part of their story and of their life. And so
that's what I wanted to start inspiring kids young
about traveling and start to, you know, get them
dreaming about travel and wanting to experience these
(26:23):
destinations, but also because it breaks down
barriers, right? It breaks down cultural barriers.
So as they start to learn about whether it's Japan
or whether it's Kenya, they start to understand
that while people may live in different places, we're all
the same, right? We're all a part of, you
(26:45):
know, of God's humanity, of beautiful people. So that was one
of the reasons that, you know, one of the inspirations for starting the
coloring book, traveling with Danella around the world. But the
other one, as you mentioned, which is so, so special to me,
is Traveling Grace. And Traveling
Grace is the travel and
(27:07):
prayer journal. And I have always been
a journaler. In
1995,
I was a study abroad student in Harare,
Zimbabwe. And during that time of living in
Zimbabwe, I used to journal every day. And I spent a lot
of time also in neighboring South Africa, where a new president was
(27:30):
Mr. Nelson Mandela. But no matter where I was, whether I was in
Zimbabwe, whether I was in South Africa, I would write, you know, I would describe
the colors of the rainbow or the monkeys that were running around around
me if I was on safari or, you know, wherever I was.
And it just became this vivid piece of work
that when I got back to college at the end of that year and I
(27:52):
was in my dorm room, you know, some of my suite mates wanted to
see my journal. They wanted to read about this journey. And before I
knew it, my personal journal had made its way around my whole
dorm, right? And people just loved it. But not only
for them, for me to flip back through the years and go, oh, my
God, this is what I was doing. This is how I was
(28:14):
feeling. It really became a cherished, even legacy
piece of my life, right? So it meant
a lot to me to create Traveling Grace
to give people a very special piece that
first and foremost, it is a faith based piece. All right?
So it captures. Allows you to capture five trips.
(28:37):
And each trip we start you off with a prayer, because wherever you're
going, we want you to get there safely. And that's what Traveling Grace is all
about, right? Giving you those prayers for safe travel.
So the first, you know, that's the first thing you're going to come across, and
then the second thing is starting is the thought starter. So, Jody, what do you
want to do while you're in Paris? Where do you want to go? What do
(28:58):
you want to eat? You know, it starts to capture all of those thoughts in
those moments. And then it goes into the free
flowing pages where you can just start to capture your moments,
your story, those important people who you never want to forget along
the way. But that travel journal will
capture, like I said, up to five trips in their travel journal. And when
(29:20):
you get through those five, then you get you another copy of Traveling
Grits. But yes, that is, it is so
Special. It is so special. And everyone that has
gotten a copy of Traveling Grace, they open it and they go, my God,
this is beautiful. It truly is beautiful. It truly
is special. And it's something I'm really proud of
(29:42):
and I look forward to hearing from people as they start
to capture their stories. I look forward to them sharing. And
that's the next part of the evolution of Traveling Grace is
establishing a community so that we can share. And then we also
will be releasing an app soon where you can then maybe even
upload, scan the pages and then it's put into a flip book that we
(30:04):
can all share. And like my, like my roommates back in college
who pass my travel journal around, now we can start to pass it
around online and let people read our story, let them read about
our trips. And one day, one day when we're no
longer here, whether it's your kids or your grandkids, they can
read about all those amazing special moments that you had in different
(30:26):
places around the world. That's what I was thinking
about this, that what a wonderful heirloom
and legacy piece to pass on that imagine
someday you find your grandmother's or your
grandfather's travel journal where they included everything
about that, where you get to see the planning all the way through. I mean,
(30:48):
this, it is, it is wonderful. And from a business standpoint,
Daniela, it's great that it fits five trips and you like it so
much you'll want to buy more. So I think it's great because
you serve people really well and it's open ended. We have to keep
buying more. Yes, absolutely. That's it.
All right, DONNELL Where I know people are just going to be
(31:11):
fascinated with you, as I have been since I first met you, and, and
we're going to want to find out more, watch the show, see what you're up
to. Where can we do that? So first and
foremost, so where can you watch the show? So we're on television
weekly in 40 different cities. So Seattle,
Atlanta, Miami. So if you go to, you
(31:33):
can either go follow me on Instagram and go to my link
tree and it'll give you the list of all the cities where we are so
that you can watch it in your city or ask your remote control traveling
with Donella and it'll usually tell you and take you to where to watch it.
And then of course, we're also on Apple TV as well as
on Tubi, so you can find a streaming as well.
(31:55):
And you know what, we are even on some flights like
Turkish Airways and a Few others. So if you're flying overseas, then just look
in the program guide and look up traveling with Donella and. And let me tell
you, if you have family that are in the military, they're away from home.
The military has a network called the American Forces Network.
We are on AFN every week, also on their Prime
(32:17):
Spectrum channel. So those are all the places where you can watch
traveling with Donella and to just catch up, keep,
you know, catch up with what we're doing. Definitely follow me on Instagram
and definitely with the streaming binge watch, binge watch, catch
up. See, I mean, we've been to Tahiti, we've been to the
Seychelles. We have been all over Europe, the
(32:39):
Caribbean. We've been to so many places in the world. And the show is
all about inspiring you to get out,
travel, see the world, go beyond the resort and
just the beach, right? Or just the city center.
Get out, experience the people, experience the culture, and
also push yourself a little bit to your limits. Because I
(33:01):
have done everything from being like, in Alaska and taking a helicopter
and landing on a glacier. I never thought I would have done that.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the show, I'm afraid of heights and I
have swaying at the edge of the world. I never would have done that.
Right. I have swam with sharks in the
Bahamas. I'm not recommending that one, but I've done it. I
(33:23):
push myself to the limits. And even in Antigua, you know,
out there at Stingray City, and. And don't be confused, because
Stingray City is in the middle of the ocean. It's not like it's a little,
nice little park, right? We're in the middle of the ocean where this beautiful
stingray named Samantha came up to me, and she just let me hold
her and let me swim with her, and I just swam backwards with her on
(33:44):
top of me. So it's like all of those amazing
moments. Traveling pushes you to your limits, it
breaks barriers, it helps you get rid of stereotypes,
and at the end of the day, it just connects us all in
realizing that we are all, you know, one people,
human beings. We might have different likes or different
(34:06):
dislikes, but it's the uniqueness of each and every one of
us that makes us special. And Jodi, I have to add,
you know, you asked me how is it possible to be brave enough
to step forward and produce, you know, my own television
show and get it in national syndication? And I tell you, it's about the people.
It's about the people. And the one thing in this
(34:28):
travel industry. We are a worldly people, we're a
global people. Right. And we truly look out for
each other. I'm not going to say some people don't have their differences. In any
group of people, you're going to have that. But what I have found in this
global travel industry is that we are
there for each other. We are truly there for each
(34:49):
other. And it's through this industry that I have
been able to amass a portfolio of
friends of people from different backgrounds that
speak different languages from different geography.
You know, it's just from different religions. It's
amazing and it's just beautiful. And I think that's what
(35:11):
travel will do for you. It breaks down the stereotypes,
it breaks down the barriers, and it just makes you want to connect
and embrace people who may not always look like us
and find out what's so special. And in finding that specialness, you're
probably going to find out you really like it too.
(35:31):
Donnella has made me want to end this episode and go pack my
bag now and get back out there. Danella, this has been
wonderful. Getting the chance to, to talk to you and hear your story
and how just the way you remade
yourself after 2020 is just phenomenal. It is.
And I'm actually kind of glad it happened to you because without it, we wouldn't
(35:54):
have. Wouldn't have traveling with Donella. So it worked out well for all of us.
I agree. You know, it's. You never know where God is going to take
you. But embrace the moments. Even when in times of change, when it may
seem hard, just be open minded and embrace it
and pivot, rebuild, move forward.
All right, that is a great note to end on. Thank you so much, Danello,
(36:17):
for being here and thank you for listening to the Jody Mayberry Show.
Jay, I don't think anyone's listening.
Foreign.
Welcome to the Jody Mayberry Show. I'm so happy
to introduce to you this episode Donella
Richard. And I'm gonna tell you how we met and her story. But first, let's
just say hello. Hi, Donnella. Hello, Jody. Jody. Jody.
How are you today? Well, I'm. I'm smiling ear to ear
(00:21):
because I get to talk to you. I have so enjoyed getting to
know you and watch your travels. And so Donnella and I
met at a magical vacation planner conference two or three years
ago. Yeah, three years ago, 2022. And this
is why that's important. Where we met two years before
Donella and I met, Dan Cockrell and I were
(00:44):
speaking at a magical vacation planner conference in Orlando
at Disney World. It was at the Yacht Club on the day
that Disney World announced they were shutting down.
And my goodness, Donella, to be there speaking to
three or four hundred travel advisors, to have every cruise line there
represented. When the travel industry basically
(01:08):
shut down indefinitely, not knowing when it would open, we
saw people's careers, their lives, their
livelihood just tumble away,
maybe because they didn't know what was going on. Okay, so that was
the setting two years before I met Donella. And
Donella happened to work in the cruise industry. At that time, I
(01:30):
didn't know her, but by the time I met her two years later,
Donella had gone from an industry that
crumbled practically overnight. Now it has rebuilt
very well. Maybe we'll talk about that. But she had a career
in an industry that crumbled overnight and
then in two years built something just
(01:53):
spectacular. She's the star of the show, traveling with Donella. She
wins awards. She's a real superstar. She's great on
camera. And it all came after her career
fell apart. And I think it is such a fascinating story,
Danella. Now, did I represent that well? What happened to you?
Absolutely. That was a perfect representation. Okay,
(02:14):
so now in 2020, you have this great
thriving career you think is going to last forever because it's an
industry you love, and all of a sudden you have to remake
yourself. Tell us a little bit about the bottom and
then how the steps. You started to do that. By the time
I met you, two years after that happened, you're a superstar.
(02:38):
Well, Jody, as you said, you know, that year was
2020, and everybody knows when. No one will ever forget that
year, because I think it was life changing for everyone on the
planet, including the animals in the marine life. Right. But
in 2020, you know, I had a thriving career in the
cruise industry. I absolutely love what I did. And
(03:00):
I look forward to continuing my career and one day travel, I mean,
one day retiring right from the cruise industry. But on
March 13, 2020, you know, we were notified
that all ships around the world going to have to come to a
halt. Come in. And our industry was getting ready to
shut down due to COVID 19. And at that time, it
(03:22):
was scary because we were still learning. What is this, COVID 19? At that point,
we didn't have vaccinations. We didn't have a lot of answers. It was scary. But
needless to say, more than any other industry, COVID
19 brought the cruise industry to its knees because
for a year, year and a half, there were ships that had
no passengers. But the harsh reality
(03:44):
for us, and I was working for Holland America at that time, was
that with no passengers, you know, layoffs, they were
imminent, right? So I ended up having to lay off over 40
people from my team. And then as I'm licking my
wounds, I find out the president of my company's being laid off, too. And then
he tells me, well, wait a minute. You being laid off also?
(04:06):
No. So it's like, oh, my God, I can't even feel sorry for myself
because everyone around me, we're, you know, we were all losing
our jobs. So, you know, during that time, you know,
at home, everybody's on lockdown. We can't go to church, we can't go to
the movies, right? We're at home, we're watching tv. The
only thing we could all do is order in food, right? So
(04:29):
I started, you know, ordering in food. I had a bottle of wine
almost every evening, and I started sipping and painting, you
know, on my balcony. I became my own little Picasso and.
And started painting every evening. And it was so funny because one evening my
friend looked at me and he said, wait a minute, Danella. I think you
are sipping more than you are painting.
(04:52):
So it's time for you to figure out what's next. So
I already. My degree is in television. It's in broadcast
journalism. But I, at that point, I had already spent over 20 years in the
travel industry. But I had worked in the television and
broadcast industry early in my career. So I
had an opportunity. A friend called me who had launched a streaming
(05:14):
television station platform at that time and was like, donnella, come back to
tv. Create a travel show. You used to help produce a travel
show for United Airlines back in the 90s. It was called
Destinations. He was like, create your own travel show this time.
And, hey, I'm gonna give you a Prime time spot on my
OTT streaming station. And let's rock and roll. So,
(05:36):
sure enough, we created Traveling with Donella, and we were on
lockdown. So at that time, it was like, you know, interviews, kind of like you
and I are doing right now, right? More of kind of like zoom interview format,
if you will, with heavy B roll. And we made this beautiful show.
And about five episodes in Border started
opening, right? We could start to travel the world again. And so we
(05:58):
started getting calls from destinations like Danello. You know, we saw
your show and. But now you can bring a whole film crew. Come, come, come,
come with the film crew. Come film. We have to show people that they
can travel the world again. We have to give them hope, and you're going to
show them how to do it. And so I'm like, okay, all right.
So with that, you know, got the film crew together, two
(06:21):
videographers, my production manager, and we hit the road. You
know, here we were filming all over the Caribbean. Then we went on over to
South America, including filming in Ecuador. And as
we filmed, we started getting calls from television stations.
So first WSFL in Miami, Florida. And
then before you knew it, the thing just started growing.
(06:43):
So here we are, Jody. We are filming
season eight right now, and we are in February, 40
different cities weekly. So you can see
traveling with Donella every week. And watch
me as we go all over the world bringing these
beautiful destination and cruise stories to life.
(07:05):
So the interesting thing, I went from a corporate executive
in a business suit to a swimsuit, because
on any given episode, you know, I may be in the water
swimming with sharks, swimming with stingrays, you know,
swinging off a cliff at the edge of the world in Ecuador,
or, you know, riding bikes,
(07:28):
embracing the outdoors, meeting with five star
Michelin chefs. You name it, we do it. And it's really
been amazing. So as you said, you know, how did we get here?
It's called the pivot. How did I get here? You know, taking
lemons and turning it into lemonade. And I'll
be honest, originally I was like, oh, you know, a year or two,
(07:51):
and I'll still go back to my corporate job in the cruise industry.
Well, Jody, almost five years later, and
we are flying. You know, we are soaring over here. You
know, traveling with Denella is doing very, very well.
And I'm living my best life traveling the world and bringing these
destination stories to television. So that's my story.
(08:13):
Oh, it's just fantastic. And we'll talk a little more
about the show before we do. I I want to look
more at how you remake yourself
because you did it so well. I get hearing your story.
Some of it was opportunity. Sure. It just you got a
little lucky. But I understand that
(08:36):
luck only happens when you're moving, when you're doing something.
If you had just stayed on your couch sipping wine,
the opportunities wouldn't have come. You were doing something. You
were in the right place when the borders opened and it created
this opportunity. So, yes, you were doing something at the
right time, when the right doors opened. Beyond that, I
(08:58):
know there's way more to it. It's not like
the borders opened and you got a call because you were already doing something.
If someone came to you with that specific question and said,
donnella, I've been laid off. I thought I had my dream job. I've
been laid off. Now I want to remake myself. What are the steps to do
it? Believe in yourself first. Right? You have to
(09:21):
have confidence to move forward because there are always going to be people
around you who are going to want to give advice or, you know, just kind
of be in your head. And I think, you know, once you
decide that you. You want to reinvent,
move in a different direction, you just gotta put the blinders on.
Right. And just move forward. Move
(09:43):
forward. So whatever that means putting those different things in
place. So for me, you know, I had a background in television. I
had always wanted to go back. You know, I always wanted to do a travel
show. So here we were. This was just the perfect
opportunity to go ahead and bring that to life. And I
can't take away from the fact that what made it easy
(10:04):
for me is Jodi, you know, it's people like you. It's
people like in our industry, the travel industry, we're like a big
family, right. And we really do look out for each
other. So it made it easy. When I was, you know, when I said, when
I announced that I'm doing the travel show, I was able to call on my
friends at Disney. I was able to call on my friends at the various
(10:25):
cruise lines at the different destination companies, or they had already
seen press releases and different things, they started calling me.
Right. So that made it a little bit easier
in the sense that I wasn't just starting from fresh. It
wasn't like people in my industry didn't know who I was.
Right. But I will tell, especially any young person,
(10:48):
when they're thinking about getting out here and starting their own business,
you have to at least have some form of a foundation first.
I already worked for the billion Dollar brands, managing
multi million dollar budgets. So I knew that
if I could do this for these companies, why couldn't I do it for myself,
right? And to be honest, the other reality was, as
(11:11):
you said, we know millions of people during that period were laid off
from jobs. I knew coming back into the cruise
industry, it was going to be competitive and I wanted to do
something that was going to make me stand out. Because if I decided to go
back into my corporate job, people better know that during COVID
I was busy, I was making things happen. My name had already
(11:33):
hit their desks. They were aware of what I was up to. So it was
also a part of branding. Who is Donella?
Outside of just being with X company that I was with
before, it was also brand building the brand of
Donella and traveling with Donella and saying that this
is who I am, right? This is who I am. And being
(11:55):
able to take that background in television
and media and merge it with travel, which were my
two loves. And it just really, it all, it
all came together. But if I had to say
why I was able to do it, what made the pivot easier?
It was my travel. Family. It was my family. That's what made
(12:17):
it. It was the relationships. That's what made it possible.
That's what made it easier. Because you've heard the saying,
you know, if you want to go far, you know, or what is it? If
you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go
together. So it was, I knew, reach back out
to those people who were friends, colleagues, co workers,
(12:39):
you know, whatever the case, and they supported me.
And that's how we were able to get to where we are today because
I was not alone. My industry looked out for me.
Oh, it is so great to hear that. There's two big
things that you talked about. I want to come back to the idea of
reaching out. I will admit I'm a Midwestern middle child.
(13:02):
And so sometimes people like me just think
if I do hard work, people will notice. And
sometimes that's true. That's not often true, though.
You have to reach out and tell people what you're up to. You have to
reach out and say, look at me, look what I'm doing. Midwestern middle
children are not good at that. And so I take inspiration from
(13:25):
hearing your story to say, gosh, I need to reach out to more people and
say, look at this, look what I've done. The other thing I want to
touch on, you talked about how the cruise
industry is competitive and you wanted to make sure when you came back
in, people saw what you were doing. It reminds me of something. Lee
Cockrell says he worked for three iconic
(13:47):
brands, Hilton, Marriott and Disney. But he will tell you,
he's told me, I assume he would openly talk about it.
I never worked for Hilton, Marriott or Disney. I worked
for Lee Cockrell. I just happened to be at those
places. And I think that is what a great way
to look at it. Because it didn't matter to Lee where he worked. He was
(14:10):
going to work just as hard. And he was working for Lee, not Marriott,
not Disney. And I think that makes such a difference
because if you are working for Donnella, as you were,
it wouldn't have mattered what cruise line you went back to if it
had played out that way. It turned out you were so good, that never happened.
But if you're working for Donnella, it doesn't matter where you end up.
(14:33):
You're going to work the same, you're going to work just as hard. And you
start to think about the idea of, I may have a
corporate job, but Donnella Richard is a personal brand.
Jody Mayberry is a personal brand. I just happen to get a
paycheck from. Fill in the blank. Whichever cruise line or
maybe Marriott or Disney. And I think that is a great way to
(14:55):
approach a career. You don't have to work for yourself to have that
mindset. You just having a regular
job, regular paycheck, that's how you should approach it.
Exactly. And I love like what you said, what Lee said, and I'll tell you
why it's important. Because if you're out here
and you are working a corporate job and you go through a layoff, if your
(15:17):
identity is in that company, when you're no longer there,
you no longer know who you are. So it's important
that you build your own brand. I'm not saying go
out there and look at me, you know, no, but you
have to be very intentional on who
you are, what your work ethic is, you know, what you're trying to
(15:39):
build, what the end game is, where are you trying to get and where are
you trying to go, Right? And you have to be very
intentional and building that for yourself, as
selfish as that sounds. But the reality is,
if everything about you is built in that job
and it's gone one day you're going to be lost. You're going to
(16:01):
be lost. So someone like a Lee Cockrell or me, when
you no longer have those brands around, you just keep on going because
you know, you know, you, you Know how to run,
how to make companies successful because you've been a part of amazing,
successful brands. So now when you have the opportunity to do it for
yourself, why wouldn't you? The only difference is that
(16:24):
me being a Leo the lion now, you know, every day
I actually get up and I hunt for my own food. You know, you go
on the kill, if you will. Right. And that's the difference in being an
entrepreneur. And I was blessed. A large part
of my career was in sales or sales and marketing.
But the sales piece is so important
(16:47):
because if you're going to go into business for yourself, you better
have some sales skills behind you because you
can't depend on somebody else to sell your business for
you. And you can go hire a whole sales team and they will
produce, but at the end of the day, to get the output that you really
want, you're going to have to be really involved in your own sales.
(17:09):
You're going to have to be involved in that outreach. You're going to have to
be involved in closing those deals, closing those contracts.
So sales becomes a very important
part of any business. And then when you're
done with the sales, it's the marketing, it's keeping your product
out there that becomes an important part. And I'm sure while I
(17:32):
can talk about marketing in a number of ways, I'm sure there are many young
people out there that can even still teach me a little thing or two and
are more about social media marketing and this new age that
we live in. But there are certain skill sets that are
vital if you're, you know, when, especially when you get out
here to start your own business. But I would tell
(17:53):
anyone, start with that first sales
master that if you master that, you can be successful.
Yeah, right. When, when you master sales,
it can cover up the other things you're not good at yet. Because.
Because you could, for example, maybe you're great at spreadsheets and
bookkeeping, but if there's no sales coming in, it doesn't matter.
(18:16):
You could be great at marketing and creating reels for social
media, but if there's no sales, doesn't matter.
Exactly, exactly. And you know, so many times
we hear the word sales, people run from it, they feel like they're going to
be sold older. You know, some people think of like the old used car salesman.
You know, whatever the case, it's the most vital part of any business.
(18:38):
That's where the revenue is coming from. Right. And there's a
reason that when you look at any organization, the sales
team Outside of the executive team, the sales team usually makes the most money
because they're incentivized. They're bonus to bring in the revenue. That
revenue is important to keep any business functioning. Yeah.
Including your own business. Yes. That is
(19:00):
great. Okay, so let's turn to the wonderful
show Traveling With Donella. One of the things I am curious about
when I watch them, they're great, polished
episodes. You look great. They're a lot of fun. I'm wondering
how the story of an episode comes together. So
hypothetically, let's say Bimini reaches out and
(19:22):
says, donella, we need more visitors to Bimini, which is my
favorite island in the Caribbean that I've been to. They say, we need more
visitors in Bimini. Come do an episode of Traveling with
Donella. So that's what you start with? Yes.
What research do you do before? What do you do when you get there? How
do you start to put that episode together in your mind?
(19:45):
So, first and foremost, most people look at my life and they think, I just
wake up and say, oh, I'm going to Bimini today. And I, you know, run
around Bimini and I do all these things, and my film crew records it.
No, that's not how it works. So the first step for me
is working with the destination, you know, whether it's the tourism
board or resort. But there's somebody on the island. Right. That
(20:06):
I'm working with, and they're the ones that are helping to craft
the story that they want to tell. And as you said,
Bimini is a beautiful island in the Bahamas. You know, one
thing right now with the Bahamas, they want people to know about the
family of islands, because so many people think Nassau, you
know, when they think of the Bahamas. But you have Bimini, you have
(20:27):
Exuma, you have Eleuthera, you have all these beautiful islands.
So it's first and foremost working with
the destination to identify what's the story
they want to tell. Right. Identifying who are the
interesting people that can help tell that story. And then
what do you want people to experience on your island
(20:50):
beyond where they're going to stay? What are the things that you want to
do? And so that's how we do it. We work very much in
partnership to make sure we're bringing to life the story that the
destination or that the cruise line wants to tell to our
television audience. Interesting. So
once you understand the story, I imagine
(21:11):
you have a pretty good grasp on that before
you arrive in Bimini, now that you're on the island
and you know what the Story is going to be what happens next. You
probably book your activities based on that, I imagine. And
how often do things come up where you say, now
this just has to be part of the episode. I didn't see it
(21:33):
coming. But we have to include this, right? So as part
of crafting that story, we also work, I work with them to craft that
itinerary. So everything is already an itinerary, you
know, it's already pre planned. So we just start to follow that
itinerary, if you will. But absolutely. Things come
up where I'm like, oh my God, you know, look at, you know, we gotta
(21:56):
include this in the segment. Oh my God, look at the dolphins or,
or this, whatever it is. There absolutely are those
natural moments that just were not on the itinerary
that come up that we capture as well. And then another
important part for us is making sure we support
the locals and the small businesses, making sure we highlight them.
(22:18):
Because so many times when it comes to destinations, people
support the big names on the destination or the things that everybody
knows, you know, like if you're in, in the Bahamas, going to the Atlantis or
whatever. But you know, it's making sure we highlight the
locals, the people, so you get to know them, you get to understand the
culture, you get to hear their personal stories as you know,
(22:40):
and then also supporting the small businesses. So whether it's the
local straw maker, right. Or it's guy on the beach
that's doing the conch at a restaurant, you want to support
the small businesses. Because when we visit
destinations like the Bahamas, tourism is their
number one industry. And we have to remember
(23:02):
that tourism has to feed down. We can't just support
again the big boxes, support the little guy
along the way. That reminds me of one
of the reasons I love Bimini so much. You have,
you've been there, right? Danella, you know what? Yes. We were recently
in Bimini with Virgin Voyages. Yes. So
(23:24):
Bimini is wonderful. I like to go there and give
people my own guided golf cart tours because I've
come to know the island so well. But why I love the island so
much is Ms. Antoinette. She owns a gift shop in town
and I met her on my first trip there and I go see her every
time she invites me to her house. We just sit and talk and
(23:47):
drink tea. Ms. Antoinette is absolutely wonderful.
And I think without Ms. Antoinette, I may have just
said Bimini is beautiful. But it's that
connection with the people and knowing someone and hearing the stories
and that has made me fall in love with Bimini. That's it. It's the people.
It's the people that make the destination. And if you go anywhere
(24:10):
in the world and you don't get a chance to connect with the people, it's
just such a missed opportunity. Right. Because it's one thing
if you go. You go to a resort, you stay on the beach, you know,
you're. You're at the hotel, and you're, you know, on the beach all day and
drinking sipping pina coladas, but you don't really get to know the locals.
You don't really get to know the people. You really don't get to know what's
the backstory to this island. You know, what's the backstory. And
(24:33):
you're only going to get that with connecting with the locals. Like
Ms. Antoinette. Yes. Yes. Ms. Antoinette is
wonderful. Okay, there's one more piece I want to make sure that we
touch on, and that is Donella has
also now ventured into books. She has her first couple of
books out, which is. I was very excited to see. Tell us
(24:56):
a little bit about those. They're. One of them, at least,
is perhaps much different than you would have expected from
Danila. Yes, yes.
So, Jody, where. I'm just super excited
about our books that were recently released and are available on
Amazon. But I'll start with the first one. The first one,
(25:18):
we created a children's coloring book, and it
is called Traveling around the World with
Donella. And in the children's coloring book, you
will find, you know, it's not only teaching kids about
geography, iconic landmarks around the world,
as well as greetings, and in a fun and interactive
(25:40):
way. You know, that was our goal because
we wanted to. We want kids to start dreaming about travel
early. Think about it, Jody. You're probably like me.
The reason we became addicted to this industry is probably you. I'm sure
you traveled as a kid. You know, my mom took us to Disney World. My
mom took us to Vegas. We went to San Francisco every year. We went
(26:02):
to Florida every year. So when kids are
exposed to travel at a young age, it just becomes a
natural part of their story and of their life. And so
that's what I wanted to start inspiring kids young
about traveling and start to, you know, get them
dreaming about travel and wanting to experience these
(26:23):
destinations, but also because it breaks down
barriers, right? It breaks down cultural barriers.
So as they start to learn about whether it's Japan
or whether it's Kenya, they start to understand
that while people may live in different places, we're all
the same, right? We're all a part of, you
(26:45):
know, of God's humanity, of beautiful people. So that was one
of the reasons that, you know, one of the inspirations for starting the
coloring book, traveling with Danella around the world. But the
other one, as you mentioned, which is so, so special to me,
is Traveling Grace. And Traveling
Grace is the travel and
(27:07):
prayer journal. And I have always been
a journaler. In
1995,
I was a study abroad student in Harare,
Zimbabwe. And during that time of living in
Zimbabwe, I used to journal every day. And I spent a lot
of time also in neighboring South Africa, where a new president was
(27:30):
Mr. Nelson Mandela. But no matter where I was, whether I was in
Zimbabwe, whether I was in South Africa, I would write, you know, I would describe
the colors of the rainbow or the monkeys that were running around around
me if I was on safari or, you know, wherever I was.
And it just became this vivid piece of work
that when I got back to college at the end of that year and I
(27:52):
was in my dorm room, you know, some of my suite mates wanted to
see my journal. They wanted to read about this journey. And before I
knew it, my personal journal had made its way around my whole
dorm, right? And people just loved it. But not only
for them, for me to flip back through the years and go, oh, my
God, this is what I was doing. This is how I was
(28:14):
feeling. It really became a cherished, even legacy
piece of my life, right? So it meant
a lot to me to create Traveling Grace
to give people a very special piece that
first and foremost, it is a faith based piece. All right?
So it captures. Allows you to capture five trips.
(28:37):
And each trip we start you off with a prayer, because wherever you're
going, we want you to get there safely. And that's what Traveling Grace is all
about, right? Giving you those prayers for safe travel.
So the first, you know, that's the first thing you're going to come across, and
then the second thing is starting is the thought starter. So, Jody, what do you
want to do while you're in Paris? Where do you want to go? What do
(28:58):
you want to eat? You know, it starts to capture all of those thoughts in
those moments. And then it goes into the free
flowing pages where you can just start to capture your moments,
your story, those important people who you never want to forget along
the way. But that travel journal will
capture, like I said, up to five trips in their travel journal. And when
(29:20):
you get through those five, then you get you another copy of Traveling
Grits. But yes, that is, it is so
Special. It is so special. And everyone that has
gotten a copy of Traveling Grace, they open it and they go, my God,
this is beautiful. It truly is beautiful. It truly
is special. And it's something I'm really proud of
(29:42):
and I look forward to hearing from people as they start
to capture their stories. I look forward to them sharing. And
that's the next part of the evolution of Traveling Grace is
establishing a community so that we can share. And then we also
will be releasing an app soon where you can then maybe even
upload, scan the pages and then it's put into a flip book that we
(30:04):
can all share. And like my, like my roommates back in college
who pass my travel journal around, now we can start to pass it
around online and let people read our story, let them read about
our trips. And one day, one day when we're no
longer here, whether it's your kids or your grandkids, they can
read about all those amazing special moments that you had in different
(30:26):
places around the world. That's what I was thinking
about this, that what a wonderful heirloom
and legacy piece to pass on that imagine
someday you find your grandmother's or your
grandfather's travel journal where they included everything
about that, where you get to see the planning all the way through. I mean,
(30:48):
this, it is, it is wonderful. And from a business standpoint,
Daniela, it's great that it fits five trips and you like it so
much you'll want to buy more. So I think it's great because
you serve people really well and it's open ended. We have to keep
buying more. Yes, absolutely. That's it.
All right, DONNELL Where I know people are just going to be
(31:11):
fascinated with you, as I have been since I first met you, and, and
we're going to want to find out more, watch the show, see what you're up
to. Where can we do that? So first and
foremost, so where can you watch the show? So we're on television
weekly in 40 different cities. So Seattle,
Atlanta, Miami. So if you go to, you
(31:33):
can either go follow me on Instagram and go to my link
tree and it'll give you the list of all the cities where we are so
that you can watch it in your city or ask your remote control traveling
with Donella and it'll usually tell you and take you to where to watch it.
And then of course, we're also on Apple TV as well as
on Tubi, so you can find a streaming as well.
(31:55):
And you know what, we are even on some flights like
Turkish Airways and a Few others. So if you're flying overseas, then just look
in the program guide and look up traveling with Donella and. And let me tell
you, if you have family that are in the military, they're away from home.
The military has a network called the American Forces Network.
We are on AFN every week, also on their Prime
(32:17):
Spectrum channel. So those are all the places where you can watch
traveling with Donella and to just catch up, keep,
you know, catch up with what we're doing. Definitely follow me on Instagram
and definitely with the streaming binge watch, binge watch, catch
up. See, I mean, we've been to Tahiti, we've been to the
Seychelles. We have been all over Europe, the
(32:39):
Caribbean. We've been to so many places in the world. And the show is
all about inspiring you to get out,
travel, see the world, go beyond the resort and
just the beach, right? Or just the city center.
Get out, experience the people, experience the culture, and
also push yourself a little bit to your limits. Because I
(33:01):
have done everything from being like, in Alaska and taking a helicopter
and landing on a glacier. I never thought I would have done that.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the show, I'm afraid of heights and I
have swaying at the edge of the world. I never would have done that.
Right. I have swam with sharks in the
Bahamas. I'm not recommending that one, but I've done it. I
(33:23):
push myself to the limits. And even in Antigua, you know,
out there at Stingray City, and. And don't be confused, because
Stingray City is in the middle of the ocean. It's not like it's a little,
nice little park, right? We're in the middle of the ocean where this beautiful
stingray named Samantha came up to me, and she just let me hold
her and let me swim with her, and I just swam backwards with her on
(33:44):
top of me. So it's like all of those amazing
moments. Traveling pushes you to your limits, it
breaks barriers, it helps you get rid of stereotypes,
and at the end of the day, it just connects us all in
realizing that we are all, you know, one people,
human beings. We might have different likes or different
(34:06):
dislikes, but it's the uniqueness of each and every one of
us that makes us special. And Jodi, I have to add,
you know, you asked me how is it possible to be brave enough
to step forward and produce, you know, my own television
show and get it in national syndication? And I tell you, it's about the people.
It's about the people. And the one thing in this
(34:28):
travel industry. We are a worldly people, we're a
global people. Right. And we truly look out for
each other. I'm not going to say some people don't have their differences. In any
group of people, you're going to have that. But what I have found in this
global travel industry is that we are
there for each other. We are truly there for each
(34:49):
other. And it's through this industry that I have
been able to amass a portfolio of
friends of people from different backgrounds that
speak different languages from different geography.
You know, it's just from different religions. It's
amazing and it's just beautiful. And I think that's what
(35:11):
travel will do for you. It breaks down the stereotypes,
it breaks down the barriers, and it just makes you want to connect
and embrace people who may not always look like us
and find out what's so special. And in finding that specialness, you're
probably going to find out you really like it too.
(35:31):
Donnella has made me want to end this episode and go pack my
bag now and get back out there. Danella, this has been
wonderful. Getting the chance to, to talk to you and hear your story
and how just the way you remade
yourself after 2020 is just phenomenal. It is.
And I'm actually kind of glad it happened to you because without it, we wouldn't
(35:54):
have. Wouldn't have traveling with Donella. So it worked out well for all of us.
I agree. You know, it's. You never know where God is going to take
you. But embrace the moments. Even when in times of change, when it may
seem hard, just be open minded and embrace it
and pivot, rebuild, move forward.
All right, that is a great note to end on. Thank you so much, Danello,
(36:17):
for being here and thank you for listening to the Jody Mayberry Show.
Jay, I don't think anyone's listening.
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