May 23, 2024 • 33 mins
Have you ever felt like you're on the brink of something transformative, yet the scars of your past seem to hold you back? You're about to meet Jeanita Castille, whose compelling narrative from the projects to the spotlight of entrepreneurship and photography is nothing short of a masterclass in resilience and purpose. This episode peels back the layers of a journey marked by sheltered beginnings, the courage to face social uncertainties, and a quest for self-discovery that led to the birth of Power Magazine. The road to self-empowerment is often paved with trials that test our faith and purpose. Her story serves as a beacon for anyone seeking to harness their trauma as a source of strength and inspiration.
As we celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit that Jeanita embodies, we traverse her evolution from a focused brand manager to a photographer with a mission—to capture the essence of women through her lens. Her narrative is not just a lesson in pivoting with purpose but a call to action for all of us to recognize the power of our contributions. Her experiences underscore the beauty in heeding divine assignments and the magnetic force they exert on our life's direction—a potent reminder that your story, your voice, carries a weight that can shape the world.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chuck (00:10):
Hey, welcome back to another episode of Lets Just
Talk About it podcast.
I'm your host, chuck, and ifyou're here for the first time,
this platform was created togive genuine people just like
you an opportunity to share aportion of your life's journey.
So, with that being said, todayI have Jeanita Castille on with
me today.
Share a portion of your life'sjourney.
So, with that being said today,I have Jeanita casti on with me
today, sharing a part of herjourney growing up in the city
of Norfolk, Virginia, and alsowhat she's up to now as a
(00:32):
photographer and as the founderof power magazine.
So, hey, you don't want to missthis amazing conversation today
.
As a matter of fact, do me afavor go and grab your husband,
your wife, children, or evencall a friend and gather around
to listen to my conversationwith Jeanita on Lets Just Talk
About it podcast.
Hey, let's jump right in.
(00:59):
Welcome back to another episodeof Lets Just Talk About it
podcast.
Today, I have special guestbrand manager, author, publisher
, pusher, coach, photographer,minister and founder of Power
Magazine, Jeanita Castille, onwith me today.
How's it going?
Jeanita Castille (01:13):
Great.
How are you Doing?
Chuck (01:14):
good.
Thank you so much for being apart of this episode.
I appreciate it.
Jeanita Castille (01:19):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you for having me,absolutely.
Chuck (01:22):
Jeanita, I love to jump right into my interviews to have
those genuine conversationswith genuine people just like
yourself, and I usually startoff with this question when are
you from?
Jeanita Castille (01:33):
I am from Norfolk Virginia.
Chuck (01:37):
Wow, what part of Norfolk.
Jeanita Castille (01:39):
So I grew up right in the Camp Estella area,
Diggs Park, right in theprojects.
Chuck (01:46):
Got you Shout out to Norfolk and Diggs Park.
I'm familiar with it.
Jeanita Castille (01:48):
Absolutely yeah, yep, wow, that's where I
grew up.
Chuck (01:53):
Got you, how was that for you growing up?
You know everybody has theirown experience growing up.
How was it for you?
Jeanita Castille (02:02):
Back in the day it was the norm.
My mother was raised in thesame projects.
Her mother was raised in thesame project.
Most of my family had grew upthere and so my mother was a
single parent and she raised mysister and I separately, because
my sister and I are 11 yearsapart.
(02:23):
So it was the norm.
I was kind of sheltered.
So when I tell people fromthere, if you don't know me, you
know I'm not saying youwouldn't know, as if I'm trying
to like hide that I'm from.
You know that I grew up in aproject.
That's not a shame, that's mybackground.
But I was sheltered.
(02:44):
So if you didn't know my mother, you didn't know my family, you
didn't see me, unless you sawme in school, because my mother
was very strict.
She didn't let me hang out, shedidn't let me go anywhere.
I could hardly go on the porch.
So if you didn't know, if youdidn't know what was going on in
my household, it was reallyclose to the family.
It was like you know where wereyou?
(03:04):
You know you weren't hangingwith this person, that person,
this group, that group.
So yeah, wow.
Chuck (03:10):
So we get older and oftentimes we can't wait to
leave the house.
You know we're old right so howwas that for you when you
finally, you know got out of thehouse?
Jeanita Castille (03:20):
yeah.
So one would think that that'swhat I saw as well.
You know, when girls left thehouse who were sheltered, they
just went.
Look, wow, I can't say thatnecessarily happened for me.
When I left the house, I feltlike a fish out of water.
I felt like a peon in a worldthat was so big.
(03:43):
I felt like the world wascrushing me because I didn't
know how to socialize, while Iwas a very good student, I did
well in school, and so, uponleaving the house, I went to
college Well, norfolk State,right down the street, but I
moved on campus, and so campus,everybody knows it's a world in
(04:04):
itself.
Street, but I moved on campus,and so campus, everybody knows
it's a world in itself.
So it doesn't matter if youlive in the same town or the
same city as the school.
When you go on campus, you meetpeople from all over the world,
and so it's a world inside of acity.
And so it crushed me because Ididn't know how to make friends.
I was reserved, I just was,like you know, very
uncomfortable.
Chuck (04:22):
Wow, so you had to learn how to communicate with people
outside.
I'm still learning, you'restill learning.
Jeanita Castille (04:27):
Yeah, I'm still learning Gotcha.
Yeah, yep, yep, I had to learnhow to come out of the box.
Chuck (04:34):
Wow, is this hard for you?
Like to do the interview now?
Jeanita Castille (04:39):
Oh no, not at all.
I do huge events, I do a lot ofthings and my motto is go big
or go home.
So if I do something, you know,I want everybody and their mama
to come out, and so if I'm incontrol of the situation, I can
put on for days.
I can stand and talk in frontof people and actually, you know
(05:00):
, in school they would alwayspick me to public speak.
You know, in school they wouldalways pick me to public speak.
I won first place at, like, acontest at Botanical Gardens,
first place in the whole city ofNorfolk for best public speaker
when I was a kid.
So if I'm in control, I cantalk to thousands of people at
once.
What do you mean If I'm incontrol of the room?
(05:23):
If it's something that I'vegathered, if it's something
where I set the tone for it, um,you know, if, if I can speak in
and gain control of the room,you know, but going to places,
like going into crowds, where Ihave to conform to what's going
on, that's where I have.
(05:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's where theproblem comes, because you know
that is still, you know, a bitof an issue for me, but I'm
working through that, even at.
You know my age now I'm stillworking through being social and
and learning people and peoplelearning me, you know, I think
that's ongoing.
Yeah, and it's just the grace ofGod.
(06:05):
You know it's like.
You know, when God calls you todo something, you know those
things don't hold you back.
You know he doesn't allow yourpast to dictate.
You know your mission,absolutely the mission and
assignment that he has for you,and so it's only in his strength
that I get to do those things,because he gave me those ideas,
(06:29):
gave, and so it's only in hisstrength that I get to do those
things because he gave me thoseideas, gave me ideas for the
women's events that I do.
He gave me the idea to stand infront of people and you know to
talk or to come up with things.
I'm a creative, so I come upwith a lot of stuff and so, um,
I go in his strength to do thatand then, after I go back in my
little, my little pocket, yeah,I heard somebody say he puts his
super on your natural.
So absolutely right absolutely.
Chuck (06:49):
There's so many young girls that I know you inspire
them, you know, because theyfeel insecure, like they can't
do or be outspoken or do thingsthat are creative.
What would you say to a younglady right now if you was to
meet her and she reminds you ofyou growing up, what would you
say?
Jeanita Castille (07:07):
Well, I would just take her back to.
You know, when I found my voice.
You know I didn't find my voiceuntil I came into discovering
my purpose.
You know, when you discover whoyou are, you know you become
unstoppable.
You know because now you havemeaning, now you have substance.
Unstoppable, you know becauseyou, now you have meaning, now
you have substance, now you havevalue and no one and nothing
(07:30):
can take that away from you.
You know I went through a lot ofbad relationships or you know a
lot of failed friendships andthings like that.
You know the people used totake advantage of me.
I used to feel like like Idon't have any direction in life
.
But it wasn't until, you know,I really started seeking God,
because that's where yoursubstance comes from, that's
(07:51):
where your value comes from,that's where your meaning comes
from.
It's like you can't live a lifeof meaning if you don't go to
the person or to the thing thatmade you.
You know what I'm saying.
And so when I started puttingGod first in my life, when I
started seeking him, you knowwith Tim who revealed to me OK,
this is the plan for your life.
You know, and so that's myadvice to everybody Seek God.
(08:13):
You know.
If you're looking for meaning,if you're looking for, you know.
What am I made for, what's mypurpose.
You know anything.
You go to God and he'll tellyou.
You powerful, and so, when Ifound out, when I discovered who
I was in him, I was able toconquer.
Chuck (08:29):
Wow when you say discover, that means knowing
your value.
Knowing your worth.
Jeanita Castille (08:34):
You know what I mean Knowing my worth, but not
worth as you know I've.
You know, anyone gave it to meor I gave it to myself.
My worth is because of Jesus.
You know what I'm saying, andso, um, and you know, giving it
all back to him.
I don't care what I do or whatwe do in this earth, it all
comes from him, you know.
So I always put it back on God,you know, and so on, cause I
(08:57):
never want to be boastful, Inever want to, always want to be
humble, you know.
And so when I discover who I amin him, you know, that's when I
, when I feel confident.
I'm most confident when I'mdoing what God has told me to do
.
Chuck (09:10):
Your inspiration.
I can hear it.
I can hear it and I always sayyou never know who's listening,
who you're going to speak to.
You know, listen to your storyof how you overcome and how you
find your value in God.
That's powerful, right?
Yeah, I love that.
So what things excite you themost?
Jeanita Castille (09:29):
What excites me?
A lot of people would say I'm avery serious person.
I mean, I do love to joke andplay around, but as far as like,
when it comes to life, I takeit very seriously.
And the thing that came withdiscovering who I was, I just
went full throttle.
Like you know, this is what I'mdoing.
This is what God told me to do.
(09:49):
Nothing's going to stop me.
Get out of my way, Move, youknow.
Chuck (09:55):
Yeah.
Jeanita Castille (09:56):
Because I was so passionate about, you know,
just doing what God says.
I'm very passionate abouttiming.
I'm very passionate about, youknow, when God says, do you know
, do it.
I'm very passionate aboutexecution and that's one of the
no procrastination.
I'm not saying that I don't getstuck in seasons where I'm
(10:17):
wondering or I'm doubting, but Ican say that I'm known for
execution because I believe whenGod places something on your
heart for you to do, you knowthat he has a timing for that to
happen.
And a lot of people their youknow mission, their purpose is
also connected to what you'redoing.
(10:39):
So if you don't do what you'redoing, then you may be holding
somebody else up Right, and soI'm very serious about doing
those things.
And so that's really what Ithink about every day.
All day it's like okay, god, amI doing what you told me to do?
Am I doing it right?
You know, fix my character so Ican be a better person.
You know what I'm saying.
Fix all these traumas andwounds from the past so that I
(11:01):
can be the best person I can befor the people you called me to.
And so, you know, daily I'mthinking you know, how can I be
a better Christian?
How can I be a better woman?
Because he called me to women,but I had a very strained
relationship with my mother andso I'm like okay, so you chose
me to speak into women's lives?
(11:22):
Talk about it.
I need everything that you wantme to give them.
Chuck (11:26):
I need also that's the way it usually goes, though.
Jeanita Castille (11:30):
That's the way it usually goes, and I'm like
Lord, I keep feeling it at thisstage, but he keeps giving it
back to me Double, double,double.
Like you know, I feel oneperson and then he sends me, you
know, 20, 30, 100 more, and soyou know it's like this is what
he's called me to and I don'twant to miss the mark.
That's what excites me, youknow, just being on mark with
God.
Chuck (11:50):
Could you say that what you needed, you're giving to
other women?
Jeanita Castille (11:56):
Could you say that Absolutely what I needed.
I'm learning to give because,as he fine tunes me, you know,
now I'm able to help fine-tunein those areas where he's
working on me, so powerful.
You know what I'm saying.
(12:18):
A lot of people would say youcan't start things or go into
things until you're fully healed.
But from experience I know thatGod put me out there and I would
have never really discoveredsome areas that I still needed
healing in or where I was hurtor where I was guarded and where
I had an issue with women thatI didn't even know, because my
mother, you know she was veryabusive, emotionally, physically
(12:40):
, verbally, and so you know thatwoman that was supposed to love
me, nurture me, care for me,you know, and God rest her soul.
I don't have anything againstmy mother, I love her.
I love her still to this day,but she had her own issues, she
had her own traumas that she,you know absolutely that she put
on me, and so it took me awhile to really even dig deep
(13:05):
and say man, I deal with this.
You know, I still have thishurt, I still have this pain, I
still have this scar, I stillhave this wound that I covered
and thought that time healed allwounds, but it absolutely did
not.
And so, um, it would show inthe way I would come across to
people, it would show in the wayI dealt with people.
You know it showed and I'm likeGod, why'd you call me to this?
(13:33):
And I just keep, you know, Ijust keep feeling that it.
I mean he called me to itbecause I had to see.
You know, Janita, this is whatyou deal with, this is what I
want you to work on.
You know what I'm saying andGod, in all of his grace and all
of his mercy you know what I'msaying Allowed me to see myself
and still caught me.
Chuck (13:48):
Wow, that is so powerful .
This is considered mentalhealth month.
So when you talk about traumaand, like I said, you never know
who's listening, who's dealingwith the same thing, how do you
walk through that?
How do you grow through whatyou've been through?
You know what I mean, right?
Yeah, how do you?
(14:08):
How do you go by day to daydealing with that past trauma?
Jeanita Castille (14:13):
um for one, you know, like I said, allowing
the Holy Spirit to reveal it toyou.
You know asking, okay, show me,you know, holy Spirit, show me,
um, the areas that I need workin, show me my heart.
You know, know and reading.
You know reading the word Um, Idid, you know, seek out some
therapy, um, for a while.
And a lot of people say, oh,you know Jesus and therapy, as
(14:38):
if you know what I'm saying, I,I, I definitely agree that we
need, you know we need therapy,but you know, I don't think god
was ever against or the churchwas ever against you know,
therapy.
I think now people are justdiscovering that you can really
go talk to someone, and god isokay with you talking to someone
you know, but I absolutely willnot go to someone that's not,
(15:00):
um, that doesn't know god.
You can't help me steer my lifeif you, you know, if you don't
know the one that you pray, ifyou're not connected to the
source.
And so I believe in therapy, Ibelieve in you know talking to
someone.
I believe in you know the HolySpirit revealing to you, hey,
you deal with this.
Hey, this is why, and get intothe root of it.
(15:22):
You always have to get to theroot.
If you see some fruit in yourlife, that isn't good, you got
to get to the root.
You can't just pluck the fruitoff the tree.
You got to cut it at the root.
And so I read a lot of books.
You know, just all of thosethings combined.
And then having people aroundyou that point out things to you
, you know, having people thatsay, hey, you know, you could
(15:43):
have dealt with that a littlebetter.
You know what I'm saying.
Or you did great.
You know we need people to tellus that we did a good job also,
absolutely.
Chuck (15:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
And here's another one.
Not beating yourself up becausewe can't be perfect Absolutely
not.
Jeanita Castille (15:58):
Right Right, right right.
We are our own worst enemyRight, because God's grace is
available to us.
You know his mercies, I knewevery morning, and so why am I
beating myself up when?
Chuck (16:11):
God, you know, doesn't look at me that way.
Yeah, yeah, love thisconversation, so kind of
switching gears.
I looked at your page.
I love what you put on.
When you was identifying thethings that you do, you know you
put her at the end ofeverything.
Jeanita Castille (16:23):
I love that.
Chuck (16:25):
I saw that you said brand manage her.
Jeanita Castille (16:30):
Author her.
Chuck (16:30):
Publish her Pusher.
I saw all of that Photographer.
I love that.
Jeanita Castille (16:36):
Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's powerful.
Chuck (16:38):
What made you do that?
That's dope.
I like it.
Jeanita Castille (16:42):
Because everything I do is for women,
everything I should get that.
You know, since the beginningI'm like okay, so, and then it
just played out like every wordwas had the.
You know er, where I could putthe h in and say her.
You know, photographer, becauseI take photos of women, we're
going there.
You know, I hope women publishtheir stories, you know.
(17:04):
So I, um, yeah, it just workedout that way it was.
You know I'm a creative, sothat's very creative.
You know a lot of people havedone that, though, you know.
So it's not like you know Icame up with it, but first time
seeing it so yeah, so it's abunch out there.
Chuck (17:24):
Yeah, I love it.
You're a photographer.
I'm learning how to do that,too, in videography, so let's
talk about how did you getstarted with that?
Jeanita Castille (17:34):
So I started off and well, long story short,
in 2018, god had impressed uponme to leave the workplace, and
so I was a deputy sheriff here.
I moved to Northern Virginia.
I was working with children indetention and I was in a
(17:55):
transition period because I'vebeen saved since I was 16, but I
hadn't always had a verypersonal relationship with God.
He always.
He has always kept his hand onme and always preserved me in
certain areas of my life, but Ihad a large portion where I was
just out there being crazy, andso I mean, I wasn't I don't want
(18:18):
to say that I wasn't too farout there, but you know I was
just I was not walking with God,and so, right, right,
absolutely.
And so when I moved to NorthernVirginia which I think this was
really God getting me away from, you know some things I was
dealing with here, and you knowI didn't know anyone there I had
(18:42):
started a new job and I had,you know, cut some ties with
some things here and I justreally started to dive deep into
God, and so I only worked 14days out of the month there at
that job, and so the other twoweeks I would take these long
road trips to just nowhere.
(19:03):
I would just go drive New York,drive to the mountains, drive
to the mountains, drive toAtlanta, drive everywhere, and
so on these road trips.
God would meet me in the car onthese road trips and I would.
I fell in love with worship,music, and I would just drive in
the car and just worship and,you know, god would speak to me
(19:25):
and it was just like that's howI started to develop my
relationship back with God.
And so, on one of those roadtrips well, it wasn't a one time
thing, it was just a deep,heavy, nagging, impressing, you
know, impression that God wantedme to leave my job.
And I'm like, ok, well, what amI?
(19:46):
What am I gonna do, you know?
And so it got to the pointwhere it was so strong, you know
, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna doit when and he actually gave me
a date, and so it was June.
It was June of that year, um2018, and he said leave in
October, october 12th.
He gave me the date and so Iwent to work and in June, I put
(20:10):
a notice in to leave in Octoberand, um, they were like, okay,
so what?
You mad today, you know what'sgoing on.
Talk about you leaving inOctober, right, you and your
feelings today.
So are you leaving in October?
Just leave it like, hit us backin October?
And I'm like, no, I gotta dothis now.
You know, I have to put it innow and make it official, right?
(20:31):
And so I'm like God, you gotall these months to tell me that
this just me and not you.
And so October came, right.
October came and I left.
I moved back here to Virginiaand I'm not gonna say I didn't
have an entrepreneur mind, but Ijust wanted to live in purpose.
Whether that wasentrepreneurship, whether that
was entrepreneurship, whetherthat was the workplace, whether
that was selling all my stuffand go sit on a mountain, I
(20:54):
don't know.
Whatever it looked like, that'swhat I wanted to do.
And so when I left, I said, ok,you know what now?
And so he started putting womenin my life who had these ideas
for me.
You know someone I had becomefriends with upon moving back
home.
They were like you know whatyou're good at?
(21:15):
You're good at marketing,because you get all these people
to these events.
You know, all the women comeout, you get hundreds of people
there at a time and you canstart marketing for other people
.
You can start marketing forwomen.
So that's how the brand managercame about, because I started
helping people market and takingover their social media pages
and all of that other stuff,right, and it was just from an
(21:36):
idea that someone had given me.
So now I'm making money from anidea that God gave someone else
to give to me, something that Ididn't even know I knew how to
do for other people.
Yeah, right.
And so, um, I was doing that, Ihad a contract somewhere where
I was helping people, you know,do their social media, brand
management and things like that.
(21:57):
And then the contract ended and, um, this was in 2020.
And I was like, okay, god,what's next?
I went to sleep and he spoke tome and he said use what's in
your hands.
And I said, well, what doesthat mean?
Use what's in my hands.
And so I had recently bought acamera off of this guy in
(22:17):
Maryland for like 300 bucks,only because the women that I
was doing their social media for, I would have to send them out
to photographers to get theircontent and to get their photos.
But they weren't necessarilyposed the way I wanted them to
pose, or they just didn't lookthe way I wanted them to look.
And so I said, well, I'm sorry,I'm going to start learning
(22:38):
myself to do it.
And so I had a friend at thetime who was kind of trying to
teach me to do it or whatever.
But he had all this high techequipment that I I couldn't
learn.
I had this little small $300Canon camera, and so I had the
camera.
I hadn't used it in a while,and when he said, use what's in
your hands, and I'm like what?
And then all of a sudden thecamera was kind of like
(22:58):
highlighted to me.
I'm like, yeah, I don't evenknow what I'm doing for real.
And so a contract had justended.
I was in need of some money andalso asking God what was the
next thing?
And so he said and when I say,he said I know you know how God
(23:18):
speaks to you, but for peoplewho don't know the voice of God
you know what I'm saying itcould be an audible voice.
He could speak to you in adream.
He can speak to you by you know, prophecy.
It's just so many ways God canspeak to you in a dream.
He can speak to you by you know, um prophecy.
It's just so many ways god canspeak to you, and so I've had
all of those experiences.
And so, just listening to youknow the holy spirit, you know,
you hear that voicing spirit.
(23:39):
And, um, I got this idea to doempowerment photos for women
because everything I do connects, it all connects, it's all to
help women expose their gifts,expose themselves by photography
.
You expose your gifts, yourtalents.
You get what you need for yourgod-given business with the
photography, you know.
And so I said, okay,empowerment photos.
(24:01):
So I put out a post on socialmedia and because I know what to
say, I know how to market, I'mlike come on and get your
empowerment photos.
You know, come feel, come, feelbeautiful, come in.
You know, get business photos.
I said it's time to step out,it's time to step out of your
box and, you know, really standup and be the woman God called
you to be.
And so I put a $50 price tag onit.
(24:22):
I didn't have a link or websiteat the time, I think I just put
my cash app up there, orsomething like that.
I took a nap.
I woke up I had 100 bookings.
Wow, I had 100 bookings.
And I'm like, what am I goingto do?
First of all, I don't know whatI'm doing, ok.
Secondly, wow.
(24:43):
And so at the time, of course,I didn't have a link, so I'm
writing down names like OK,calling people, ok, so you come
at this time, you come at thistime.
And so I set up downtown Norfolkin one spot right in front of
the Icon apartment building, andI set up there.
I was there the entire summerand I was booked almost every
(25:03):
single day from a $50empowerment photo shoot and so
people would come out there.
I had people lined up.
It would be 10, 15 people outthere at a time and they would
all be talking to each other andgetting to know one another.
I mean I was out there prayingfor people, people were praying
for me.
I mean it was just a wholeexperience for the most part out
(25:25):
there and I never stopped, andso I'm still doing photography
for me.
I mean it was just a wholeexperience for the most part out
there and I never stopped, andso I'm still doing photography
for women.
You know what I'm saying.
But that's how it started, justreally got just giving me that
idea, and I didn't know muchabout photography.
You know, people tell me allthe time how beautiful my
pictures are.
I mean, you know, beautiful issubjective.
(25:47):
You know what I'm saying.
However, you know, I'm like ifyou only knew.
I still really don't know whatI'm doing.
I'm like if you only knew.
They're like you've been doingthis for a long time.
I was like, no, I have not.
And so um, but yeah, and sothat really transitioned into
the magazine, you know.
Chuck (26:08):
And so power 100 god spoke to me at the power 100.
Jeanita Castille (26:12):
So god spoke to me about doing the magazine
and, um, you know, I used thephotography for the.
For that now, because I, youknow, love being the
photographer, the editor, youknow, just putting everything
together and having the know-howand creativity to do it myself.
Chuck (26:28):
Yeah, I love it.
Wow, you never know whereyou'll end up if you just take
that first step right, right,right, absolutely wow.
What do you see yourself in thenext five years with all of?
Jeanita Castille (26:41):
Five years, or maybe two, Two years, so in two
years.
Well, my goal for Power 100magazine is to travel around the
world, you know, justinterviewing women on their
stories, and I believe that's away of getting people really to
(27:03):
heal.
You know, we're in a time nowwhere you hear a lot of stories,
a lot of people doinginterviews, a lot of people
doing podcasts.
It's just like you know a thingthat people say, oh saturated,
everybody doing the podcast.
But I believe God is reallywanting people to overcome.
You know what I'm saying by ourtestimony, right, and so it's
like absolutely.
(27:23):
And so as you talk about thethings that you've gone through
and the things that God hashealed you from, then you heal
the next person, you know.
So I think a lot of those arepopping up now and it's on our
hearts to do that, because it'stime for people to come out of
hiding and really share what Godhas done.
You know what I'm saying.
It brings glory to God for one,For two.
(27:45):
It continues to free you.
When you continue to talk aboutwhat you've been healed from
and what you've been deliveredfrom, you're in a constant state
of deliverance from it becauseyou're not hiding it and you're
able to free other people andyou create is just to simply,
(28:07):
you know, travel and to reallygather stories.
You know, and really blesswomen with the things that I
offer with the magazine.
I want it to be, you know, ahousehold name.
You know.
I want really God to shed alight on it for people to see.
Hey, you know, literature isn'tdead, Magazines aren't dead.
(28:29):
You know, a lot of people havecut their magazines off because,
like, oh, no one's readinganymore.
I don't believe that to be true.
You know, I don't believepeople aren't buying magazines.
They'll buy the right magazine.
Yeah, you know, somethingthat's going to add value to
them, you know, and so that's it.
I just want to add value to theworld.
Chuck (28:47):
Amazing.
Jeanita Castille (28:48):
That's it.
Chuck (28:50):
So where can people find you?
You know social media.
Jeanita Castille (28:53):
So people can find me real easy on Facebook,
janita R Castile, and on myPower 100 magazine page, and
also on Instagram at PowerBag100.
Chuck (29:07):
Wow, amazing.
So I'm really glad that I had achance to have this
conversation with you before youtravel all over the world
Africa, asia.
I can say I had an interviewwith her Catch me now.
Jeanita Castille (29:22):
catch me now, you know.
Chuck (29:23):
Yeah, as we wrap it up, two quick questions.
Janita, what would you say tothe younger you if you could go
back right now and say anythingto the younger Janita?
Jeanita Castille (29:35):
Jeez, would you want me to cry?
Would you want me?
What is this?
A therapy session?
Oh, would you have just sprungthat on me.
You could have gave me thatbeforehand and told me you were
going to ask me that.
Just sprung that on me.
You could have gave me thatbeforehand and told me you're
gonna ask me that.
Man, I listen, that's a loaded.
Chuck (29:50):
That's a loaded question wow, because she's powerful now
.
So would you change anything?
Jeanita Castille (29:58):
oh yeah, I absolutely, um, would change
things, to be honest with you.
Ah, man, that's sensitive.
I can't even say right now, Ican't even say Gotcha, I can't
even say.
Chuck (30:13):
Gotcha, wow, all right.
Last question If you coulddescribe the Janita today, right
now, what would you say abouther?
Jeanita Castille (30:23):
Hmm, so the Janita today she is powerful,
but not powerful because of myown doing, because of my own
strength.
She's powerful because she'sfound the one who gives her
power and that's Jesus Christ.
You know, she is confident, sheis courageous because she's had
(30:51):
to walk through some things andshe is growing, yep.
Chuck (30:58):
And evolving.
I love it and evolving, I loveit.
Thank you so much for being apart of this episode.
Man, I'm excited to have you on.
So thanks again, thanks again.
Jeanita Castille (31:09):
anything you want to say before we get off,
you want to say to the listeningaudience I, I just appreciate
you for you know, calling me andasking me to to be a part and,
um, you know, my message toeveryone all the time is to seek
God for your assignment.
I believe we all are put here onearth for a particular reason
(31:30):
and I think we spend lifesearching for that reason.
We explore a lot of thingssearching for that reason.
But when you seek, you know,when you seek God, he'll give
you that reason and he'll sendyou out on an assignment, and
that assignment is vital to yourlife and is vital to the lives
(31:52):
around you.
And your calling yourassignment, your purpose, is
connected to many other peoplewho are waiting on you to step
up to the call, to step up toanswer and say, yes, I'll go.
You know, and so I put a chargeout there for people to really
open their eyes and see that, nomatter what you've gone through
(32:12):
, no matter what you'veexperienced, no matter how fast
life is going, that God hassomething for you to do.
And I just want everyone toknow that you have purpose and
you have meaning and you havevalue and the world needs what
you have inside of you wow, yeah, amazing wisdom, amazing wisdom
(32:33):
.
Chuck (32:33):
Thank you so much, janita castell, for being on.
Let's just talk about itpodcast.
I really appreciate you thankyou.
Thanks again.
Wow, what an amazingconversation.
Shout out to Janita for havingthis dialogue with me.
You know Janita shared so manyamazing things in our
conversation today, but the onething that I love, that's woven
throughout this wholeconversation, was her ability to
(32:54):
not allow the obstacles sheexperienced in her past to
regulate nor determine herfuture success as a photographer
and founder of Power Magazine.
So shout out to you, janita,for being an inspiration to us.
Again, thank you so much foralways tuning in to let's Just
Talk About it podcast, andplease check out my website.
Just Google let's Just TalkAbout it podcast dot com and
(33:16):
then hit that subscribe buttonto receive all the new episodes
every Friday.
You can also find me onFacebook.
Just type in Chuck L-J-T-A-I,which means let's just talk
about it.
So, as always, until next time,don't hold it in, but let's
just talk about it.
Talk to you soon, you.
Hey, welcome back to another episode of Lets Just
Talk About it podcast.
I'm your host, chuck, and ifyou're here for the first time,
this platform was created togive genuine people just like
you an opportunity to share aportion of your life's journey.
So, with that being said, todayI have Jeanita Castille on with
me today.
Share a portion of your life'sjourney.
So, with that being said today,I have Jeanita casti on with me
today, sharing a part of herjourney growing up in the city
of Norfolk, Virginia, and alsowhat she's up to now as a
(00:32):
photographer and as the founderof power magazine.
So, hey, you don't want to missthis amazing conversation today
.
As a matter of fact, do me afavor go and grab your husband,
your wife, children, or evencall a friend and gather around
to listen to my conversationwith Jeanita on Lets Just Talk
About it podcast.
Hey, let's jump right in.
(00:59):
Welcome back to another episodeof Lets Just Talk About it
podcast.
Today, I have special guestbrand manager, author, publisher
, pusher, coach, photographer,minister and founder of Power
Magazine, Jeanita Castille, onwith me today.
How's it going?
Jeanita Castille (01:13):
Great.
How are you Doing?
Chuck (01:14):
good.
Thank you so much for being apart of this episode.
I appreciate it.
Jeanita Castille (01:19):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you for having me,absolutely.
Chuck (01:22):
Jeanita, I love to jump right into my interviews to have
those genuine conversationswith genuine people just like
yourself, and I usually startoff with this question when are
you from?
Jeanita Castille (01:33):
I am from Norfolk Virginia.
Chuck (01:37):
Wow, what part of Norfolk.
Jeanita Castille (01:39):
So I grew up right in the Camp Estella area,
Diggs Park, right in theprojects.
Chuck (01:46):
Got you Shout out to Norfolk and Diggs Park.
I'm familiar with it.
Jeanita Castille (01:48):
Absolutely yeah, yep, wow, that's where I
grew up.
Chuck (01:53):
Got you, how was that for you growing up?
You know everybody has theirown experience growing up.
How was it for you?
Jeanita Castille (02:02):
Back in the day it was the norm.
My mother was raised in thesame projects.
Her mother was raised in thesame project.
Most of my family had grew upthere and so my mother was a
single parent and she raised mysister and I separately, because
my sister and I are 11 yearsapart.
(02:23):
So it was the norm.
I was kind of sheltered.
So when I tell people fromthere, if you don't know me, you
know I'm not saying youwouldn't know, as if I'm trying
to like hide that I'm from.
You know that I grew up in aproject.
That's not a shame, that's mybackground.
But I was sheltered.
(02:44):
So if you didn't know my mother, you didn't know my family, you
didn't see me, unless you sawme in school, because my mother
was very strict.
She didn't let me hang out, shedidn't let me go anywhere.
I could hardly go on the porch.
So if you didn't know, if youdidn't know what was going on in
my household, it was reallyclose to the family.
It was like you know where wereyou?
(03:04):
You know you weren't hangingwith this person, that person,
this group, that group.
So yeah, wow.
Chuck (03:10):
So we get older and oftentimes we can't wait to
leave the house.
You know we're old right so howwas that for you when you
finally, you know got out of thehouse?
Jeanita Castille (03:20):
yeah.
So one would think that that'swhat I saw as well.
You know, when girls left thehouse who were sheltered, they
just went.
Look, wow, I can't say thatnecessarily happened for me.
When I left the house, I feltlike a fish out of water.
I felt like a peon in a worldthat was so big.
(03:43):
I felt like the world wascrushing me because I didn't
know how to socialize, while Iwas a very good student, I did
well in school, and so, uponleaving the house, I went to
college Well, norfolk State,right down the street, but I
moved on campus, and so campus,everybody knows it's a world in
(04:04):
itself.
Street, but I moved on campus,and so campus, everybody knows
it's a world in itself.
So it doesn't matter if youlive in the same town or the
same city as the school.
When you go on campus, you meetpeople from all over the world,
and so it's a world inside of acity.
And so it crushed me because Ididn't know how to make friends.
I was reserved, I just was,like you know, very
uncomfortable.
Chuck (04:22):
Wow, so you had to learn how to communicate with people
outside.
I'm still learning, you'restill learning.
Jeanita Castille (04:27):
Yeah, I'm still learning Gotcha.
Yeah, yep, yep, I had to learnhow to come out of the box.
Chuck (04:34):
Wow, is this hard for you?
Like to do the interview now?
Jeanita Castille (04:39):
Oh no, not at all.
I do huge events, I do a lot ofthings and my motto is go big
or go home.
So if I do something, you know,I want everybody and their mama
to come out, and so if I'm incontrol of the situation, I can
put on for days.
I can stand and talk in frontof people and actually, you know
(05:00):
, in school they would alwayspick me to public speak.
You know, in school they wouldalways pick me to public speak.
I won first place at, like, acontest at Botanical Gardens,
first place in the whole city ofNorfolk for best public speaker
when I was a kid.
So if I'm in control, I cantalk to thousands of people at
once.
What do you mean If I'm incontrol of the room?
(05:23):
If it's something that I'vegathered, if it's something
where I set the tone for it, um,you know, if, if I can speak in
and gain control of the room,you know, but going to places,
like going into crowds, where Ihave to conform to what's going
on, that's where I have.
(05:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's where theproblem comes, because you know
that is still, you know, a bitof an issue for me, but I'm
working through that, even at.
You know my age now I'm stillworking through being social and
and learning people and peoplelearning me, you know, I think
that's ongoing.
Yeah, and it's just the grace ofGod.
(06:05):
You know it's like.
You know, when God calls you todo something, you know those
things don't hold you back.
You know he doesn't allow yourpast to dictate.
You know your mission,absolutely the mission and
assignment that he has for you,and so it's only in his strength
that I get to do those things,because he gave me those ideas,
(06:29):
gave, and so it's only in hisstrength that I get to do those
things because he gave me thoseideas, gave me ideas for the
women's events that I do.
He gave me the idea to stand infront of people and you know to
talk or to come up with things.
I'm a creative, so I come upwith a lot of stuff and so, um,
I go in his strength to do thatand then, after I go back in my
little, my little pocket, yeah,I heard somebody say he puts his
super on your natural.
So absolutely right absolutely.
Chuck (06:49):
There's so many young girls that I know you inspire
them, you know, because theyfeel insecure, like they can't
do or be outspoken or do thingsthat are creative.
What would you say to a younglady right now if you was to
meet her and she reminds you ofyou growing up, what would you
say?
Jeanita Castille (07:07):
Well, I would just take her back to.
You know, when I found my voice.
You know I didn't find my voiceuntil I came into discovering
my purpose.
You know, when you discover whoyou are, you know you become
unstoppable.
You know because now you havemeaning, now you have substance.
Unstoppable, you know becauseyou, now you have meaning, now
you have substance, now you havevalue and no one and nothing
(07:30):
can take that away from you.
You know I went through a lot ofbad relationships or you know a
lot of failed friendships andthings like that.
You know the people used totake advantage of me.
I used to feel like like Idon't have any direction in life
.
But it wasn't until, you know,I really started seeking God,
because that's where yoursubstance comes from, that's
(07:51):
where your value comes from,that's where your meaning comes
from.
It's like you can't live a lifeof meaning if you don't go to
the person or to the thing thatmade you.
You know what I'm saying.
And so when I started puttingGod first in my life, when I
started seeking him, you knowwith Tim who revealed to me OK,
this is the plan for your life.
You know, and so that's myadvice to everybody Seek God.
(08:13):
You know.
If you're looking for meaning,if you're looking for, you know.
What am I made for, what's mypurpose.
You know anything.
You go to God and he'll tellyou.
You powerful, and so, when Ifound out, when I discovered who
I was in him, I was able toconquer.
Chuck (08:29):
Wow when you say discover, that means knowing
your value.
Knowing your worth.
Jeanita Castille (08:34):
You know what I mean Knowing my worth, but not
worth as you know I've.
You know, anyone gave it to meor I gave it to myself.
My worth is because of Jesus.
You know what I'm saying, andso, um, and you know, giving it
all back to him.
I don't care what I do or whatwe do in this earth, it all
comes from him, you know.
So I always put it back on God,you know, and so on, cause I
(08:57):
never want to be boastful, Inever want to, always want to be
humble, you know.
And so when I discover who I amin him, you know, that's when I
, when I feel confident.
I'm most confident when I'mdoing what God has told me to do
.
Chuck (09:10):
Your inspiration.
I can hear it.
I can hear it and I always sayyou never know who's listening,
who you're going to speak to.
You know, listen to your storyof how you overcome and how you
find your value in God.
That's powerful, right?
Yeah, I love that.
So what things excite you themost?
Jeanita Castille (09:29):
What excites me?
A lot of people would say I'm avery serious person.
I mean, I do love to joke andplay around, but as far as like,
when it comes to life, I takeit very seriously.
And the thing that came withdiscovering who I was, I just
went full throttle.
Like you know, this is what I'mdoing.
This is what God told me to do.
(09:49):
Nothing's going to stop me.
Get out of my way, Move, youknow.
Chuck (09:55):
Yeah.
Jeanita Castille (09:56):
Because I was so passionate about, you know,
just doing what God says.
I'm very passionate abouttiming.
I'm very passionate about, youknow, when God says, do you know
, do it.
I'm very passionate aboutexecution and that's one of the
no procrastination.
I'm not saying that I don't getstuck in seasons where I'm
(10:17):
wondering or I'm doubting, but Ican say that I'm known for
execution because I believe whenGod places something on your
heart for you to do, you knowthat he has a timing for that to
happen.
And a lot of people their youknow mission, their purpose is
also connected to what you'redoing.
(10:39):
So if you don't do what you'redoing, then you may be holding
somebody else up Right, and soI'm very serious about doing
those things.
And so that's really what Ithink about every day.
All day it's like okay, god, amI doing what you told me to do?
Am I doing it right?
You know, fix my character so Ican be a better person.
You know what I'm saying.
Fix all these traumas andwounds from the past so that I
(11:01):
can be the best person I can befor the people you called me to.
And so, you know, daily I'mthinking you know, how can I be
a better Christian?
How can I be a better woman?
Because he called me to women,but I had a very strained
relationship with my mother andso I'm like okay, so you chose
me to speak into women's lives?
(11:22):
Talk about it.
I need everything that you wantme to give them.
Chuck (11:26):
I need also that's the way it usually goes, though.
Jeanita Castille (11:30):
That's the way it usually goes, and I'm like
Lord, I keep feeling it at thisstage, but he keeps giving it
back to me Double, double,double.
Like you know, I feel oneperson and then he sends me, you
know, 20, 30, 100 more, and soyou know it's like this is what
he's called me to and I don'twant to miss the mark.
That's what excites me, youknow, just being on mark with
God.
Chuck (11:50):
Could you say that what you needed, you're giving to
other women?
Jeanita Castille (11:56):
Could you say that Absolutely what I needed.
I'm learning to give because,as he fine tunes me, you know,
now I'm able to help fine-tunein those areas where he's
working on me, so powerful.
You know what I'm saying.
(12:18):
A lot of people would say youcan't start things or go into
things until you're fully healed.
But from experience I know thatGod put me out there and I would
have never really discoveredsome areas that I still needed
healing in or where I was hurtor where I was guarded and where
I had an issue with women thatI didn't even know, because my
mother, you know she was veryabusive, emotionally, physically
(12:40):
, verbally, and so you know thatwoman that was supposed to love
me, nurture me, care for me,you know, and God rest her soul.
I don't have anything againstmy mother, I love her.
I love her still to this day,but she had her own issues, she
had her own traumas that she,you know absolutely that she put
on me, and so it took me awhile to really even dig deep
(13:05):
and say man, I deal with this.
You know, I still have thishurt, I still have this pain, I
still have this scar, I stillhave this wound that I covered
and thought that time healed allwounds, but it absolutely did
not.
And so, um, it would show inthe way I would come across to
people, it would show in the wayI dealt with people.
You know it showed and I'm likeGod, why'd you call me to this?
(13:33):
And I just keep, you know, Ijust keep feeling that it.
I mean he called me to itbecause I had to see.
You know, Janita, this is whatyou deal with, this is what I
want you to work on.
You know what I'm saying andGod, in all of his grace and all
of his mercy you know what I'msaying Allowed me to see myself
and still caught me.
Chuck (13:48):
Wow, that is so powerful .
This is considered mentalhealth month.
So when you talk about traumaand, like I said, you never know
who's listening, who's dealingwith the same thing, how do you
walk through that?
How do you grow through whatyou've been through?
You know what I mean, right?
Yeah, how do you?
(14:08):
How do you go by day to daydealing with that past trauma?
Jeanita Castille (14:13):
um for one, you know, like I said, allowing
the Holy Spirit to reveal it toyou.
You know asking, okay, show me,you know, holy Spirit, show me,
um, the areas that I need workin, show me my heart.
You know, know and reading.
You know reading the word Um, Idid, you know, seek out some
therapy, um, for a while.
And a lot of people say, oh,you know Jesus and therapy, as
(14:38):
if you know what I'm saying, I,I, I definitely agree that we
need, you know we need therapy,but you know, I don't think god
was ever against or the churchwas ever against you know,
therapy.
I think now people are justdiscovering that you can really
go talk to someone, and god isokay with you talking to someone
you know, but I absolutely willnot go to someone that's not,
(15:00):
um, that doesn't know god.
You can't help me steer my lifeif you, you know, if you don't
know the one that you pray, ifyou're not connected to the
source.
And so I believe in therapy, Ibelieve in you know talking to
someone.
I believe in you know the HolySpirit revealing to you, hey,
you deal with this.
Hey, this is why, and get intothe root of it.
(15:22):
You always have to get to theroot.
If you see some fruit in yourlife, that isn't good, you got
to get to the root.
You can't just pluck the fruitoff the tree.
You got to cut it at the root.
And so I read a lot of books.
You know, just all of thosethings combined.
And then having people aroundyou that point out things to you
, you know, having people thatsay, hey, you know, you could
(15:43):
have dealt with that a littlebetter.
You know what I'm saying.
Or you did great.
You know we need people to tellus that we did a good job also,
absolutely.
Chuck (15:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
And here's another one.
Not beating yourself up becausewe can't be perfect Absolutely
not.
Jeanita Castille (15:58):
Right Right, right right.
We are our own worst enemyRight, because God's grace is
available to us.
You know his mercies, I knewevery morning, and so why am I
beating myself up when?
Chuck (16:11):
God, you know, doesn't look at me that way.
Yeah, yeah, love thisconversation, so kind of
switching gears.
I looked at your page.
I love what you put on.
When you was identifying thethings that you do, you know you
put her at the end ofeverything.
Jeanita Castille (16:23):
I love that.
Chuck (16:25):
I saw that you said brand manage her.
Jeanita Castille (16:30):
Author her.
Chuck (16:30):
Publish her Pusher.
I saw all of that Photographer.
I love that.
Jeanita Castille (16:36):
Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's powerful.
Chuck (16:38):
What made you do that?
That's dope.
I like it.
Jeanita Castille (16:42):
Because everything I do is for women,
everything I should get that.
You know, since the beginningI'm like okay, so, and then it
just played out like every wordwas had the.
You know er, where I could putthe h in and say her.
You know, photographer, becauseI take photos of women, we're
going there.
You know, I hope women publishtheir stories, you know.
(17:04):
So I, um, yeah, it just workedout that way it was.
You know I'm a creative, sothat's very creative.
You know a lot of people havedone that, though, you know.
So it's not like you know Icame up with it, but first time
seeing it so yeah, so it's abunch out there.
Chuck (17:24):
Yeah, I love it.
You're a photographer.
I'm learning how to do that,too, in videography, so let's
talk about how did you getstarted with that?
Jeanita Castille (17:34):
So I started off and well, long story short,
in 2018, god had impressed uponme to leave the workplace, and
so I was a deputy sheriff here.
I moved to Northern Virginia.
I was working with children indetention and I was in a
(17:55):
transition period because I'vebeen saved since I was 16, but I
hadn't always had a verypersonal relationship with God.
He always.
He has always kept his hand onme and always preserved me in
certain areas of my life, but Ihad a large portion where I was
just out there being crazy, andso I mean, I wasn't I don't want
(18:18):
to say that I wasn't too farout there, but you know I was
just I was not walking with God,and so, right, right,
absolutely.
And so when I moved to NorthernVirginia which I think this was
really God getting me away from, you know some things I was
dealing with here, and you knowI didn't know anyone there I had
(18:42):
started a new job and I had,you know, cut some ties with
some things here and I justreally started to dive deep into
God, and so I only worked 14days out of the month there at
that job, and so the other twoweeks I would take these long
road trips to just nowhere.
(19:03):
I would just go drive New York,drive to the mountains, drive
to the mountains, drive toAtlanta, drive everywhere, and
so on these road trips.
God would meet me in the car onthese road trips and I would.
I fell in love with worship,music, and I would just drive in
the car and just worship and,you know, god would speak to me
(19:25):
and it was just like that's howI started to develop my
relationship back with God.
And so, on one of those roadtrips well, it wasn't a one time
thing, it was just a deep,heavy, nagging, impressing, you
know, impression that God wantedme to leave my job.
And I'm like, ok, well, what amI?
(19:46):
What am I gonna do, you know?
And so it got to the pointwhere it was so strong, you know
, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna doit when and he actually gave me
a date, and so it was June.
It was June of that year, um2018, and he said leave in
October, october 12th.
He gave me the date and so Iwent to work and in June, I put
(20:10):
a notice in to leave in Octoberand, um, they were like, okay,
so what?
You mad today, you know what'sgoing on.
Talk about you leaving inOctober, right, you and your
feelings today.
So are you leaving in October?
Just leave it like, hit us backin October?
And I'm like, no, I gotta dothis now.
You know, I have to put it innow and make it official, right?
(20:31):
And so I'm like God, you gotall these months to tell me that
this just me and not you.
And so October came, right.
October came and I left.
I moved back here to Virginiaand I'm not gonna say I didn't
have an entrepreneur mind, but Ijust wanted to live in purpose.
Whether that wasentrepreneurship, whether that
was entrepreneurship, whetherthat was the workplace, whether
that was selling all my stuffand go sit on a mountain, I
(20:54):
don't know.
Whatever it looked like, that'swhat I wanted to do.
And so when I left, I said, ok,you know what now?
And so he started putting womenin my life who had these ideas
for me.
You know someone I had becomefriends with upon moving back
home.
They were like you know whatyou're good at?
(21:15):
You're good at marketing,because you get all these people
to these events.
You know, all the women comeout, you get hundreds of people
there at a time and you canstart marketing for other people
.
You can start marketing forwomen.
So that's how the brand managercame about, because I started
helping people market and takingover their social media pages
and all of that other stuff,right, and it was just from an
(21:36):
idea that someone had given me.
So now I'm making money from anidea that God gave someone else
to give to me, something that Ididn't even know I knew how to
do for other people.
Yeah, right.
And so, um, I was doing that, Ihad a contract somewhere where
I was helping people, you know,do their social media, brand
management and things like that.
(21:57):
And then the contract ended and, um, this was in 2020.
And I was like, okay, god,what's next?
I went to sleep and he spoke tome and he said use what's in
your hands.
And I said, well, what doesthat mean?
Use what's in my hands.
And so I had recently bought acamera off of this guy in
(22:17):
Maryland for like 300 bucks,only because the women that I
was doing their social media for, I would have to send them out
to photographers to get theircontent and to get their photos.
But they weren't necessarilyposed the way I wanted them to
pose, or they just didn't lookthe way I wanted them to look.
And so I said, well, I'm sorry,I'm going to start learning
(22:38):
myself to do it.
And so I had a friend at thetime who was kind of trying to
teach me to do it or whatever.
But he had all this high techequipment that I I couldn't
learn.
I had this little small $300Canon camera, and so I had the
camera.
I hadn't used it in a while,and when he said, use what's in
your hands, and I'm like what?
And then all of a sudden thecamera was kind of like
(22:58):
highlighted to me.
I'm like, yeah, I don't evenknow what I'm doing for real.
And so a contract had justended.
I was in need of some money andalso asking God what was the
next thing?
And so he said and when I say,he said I know you know how God
(23:18):
speaks to you, but for peoplewho don't know the voice of God
you know what I'm saying itcould be an audible voice.
He could speak to you in adream.
He can speak to you by you know, prophecy.
It's just so many ways God canspeak to you in a dream.
He can speak to you by you know, um prophecy.
It's just so many ways god canspeak to you, and so I've had
all of those experiences.
And so, just listening to youknow the holy spirit, you know,
you hear that voicing spirit.
(23:39):
And, um, I got this idea to doempowerment photos for women
because everything I do connects, it all connects, it's all to
help women expose their gifts,expose themselves by photography
.
You expose your gifts, yourtalents.
You get what you need for yourgod-given business with the
photography, you know.
And so I said, okay,empowerment photos.
(24:01):
So I put out a post on socialmedia and because I know what to
say, I know how to market, I'mlike come on and get your
empowerment photos.
You know, come feel, come, feelbeautiful, come in.
You know, get business photos.
I said it's time to step out,it's time to step out of your
box and, you know, really standup and be the woman God called
you to be.
And so I put a $50 price tag onit.
(24:22):
I didn't have a link or websiteat the time, I think I just put
my cash app up there, orsomething like that.
I took a nap.
I woke up I had 100 bookings.
Wow, I had 100 bookings.
And I'm like, what am I goingto do?
First of all, I don't know whatI'm doing, ok.
Secondly, wow.
(24:43):
And so at the time, of course,I didn't have a link, so I'm
writing down names like OK,calling people, ok, so you come
at this time, you come at thistime.
And so I set up downtown Norfolkin one spot right in front of
the Icon apartment building, andI set up there.
I was there the entire summerand I was booked almost every
(25:03):
single day from a $50empowerment photo shoot and so
people would come out there.
I had people lined up.
It would be 10, 15 people outthere at a time and they would
all be talking to each other andgetting to know one another.
I mean I was out there prayingfor people, people were praying
for me.
I mean it was just a wholeexperience for the most part out
(25:25):
there and I never stopped, andso I'm still doing photography
for me.
I mean it was just a wholeexperience for the most part out
there and I never stopped, andso I'm still doing photography
for women.
You know what I'm saying.
But that's how it started, justreally got just giving me that
idea, and I didn't know muchabout photography.
You know, people tell me allthe time how beautiful my
pictures are.
I mean, you know, beautiful issubjective.
(25:47):
You know what I'm saying.
However, you know, I'm like ifyou only knew.
I still really don't know whatI'm doing.
I'm like if you only knew.
They're like you've been doingthis for a long time.
I was like, no, I have not.
And so um, but yeah, and sothat really transitioned into
the magazine, you know.
Chuck (26:08):
And so power 100 god spoke to me at the power 100.
Jeanita Castille (26:12):
So god spoke to me about doing the magazine
and, um, you know, I used thephotography for the.
For that now, because I, youknow, love being the
photographer, the editor, youknow, just putting everything
together and having the know-howand creativity to do it myself.
Chuck (26:28):
Yeah, I love it.
Wow, you never know whereyou'll end up if you just take
that first step right, right,right, absolutely wow.
What do you see yourself in thenext five years with all of?
Jeanita Castille (26:41):
Five years, or maybe two, Two years, so in two
years.
Well, my goal for Power 100magazine is to travel around the
world, you know, justinterviewing women on their
stories, and I believe that's away of getting people really to
(27:03):
heal.
You know, we're in a time nowwhere you hear a lot of stories,
a lot of people doinginterviews, a lot of people
doing podcasts.
It's just like you know a thingthat people say, oh saturated,
everybody doing the podcast.
But I believe God is reallywanting people to overcome.
You know what I'm saying by ourtestimony, right, and so it's
like absolutely.
(27:23):
And so as you talk about thethings that you've gone through
and the things that God hashealed you from, then you heal
the next person, you know.
So I think a lot of those arepopping up now and it's on our
hearts to do that, because it'stime for people to come out of
hiding and really share what Godhas done.
You know what I'm saying.
It brings glory to God for one,For two.
(27:45):
It continues to free you.
When you continue to talk aboutwhat you've been healed from
and what you've been deliveredfrom, you're in a constant state
of deliverance from it becauseyou're not hiding it and you're
able to free other people andyou create is just to simply,
(28:07):
you know, travel and to reallygather stories.
You know, and really blesswomen with the things that I
offer with the magazine.
I want it to be, you know, ahousehold name.
You know.
I want really God to shed alight on it for people to see.
Hey, you know, literature isn'tdead, Magazines aren't dead.
(28:29):
You know, a lot of people havecut their magazines off because,
like, oh, no one's readinganymore.
I don't believe that to be true.
You know, I don't believepeople aren't buying magazines.
They'll buy the right magazine.
Yeah, you know, somethingthat's going to add value to
them, you know, and so that's it.
I just want to add value to theworld.
Chuck (28:47):
Amazing.
Jeanita Castille (28:48):
That's it.
Chuck (28:50):
So where can people find you?
You know social media.
Jeanita Castille (28:53):
So people can find me real easy on Facebook,
janita R Castile, and on myPower 100 magazine page, and
also on Instagram at PowerBag100.
Chuck (29:07):
Wow, amazing.
So I'm really glad that I had achance to have this
conversation with you before youtravel all over the world
Africa, asia.
I can say I had an interviewwith her Catch me now.
Jeanita Castille (29:22):
catch me now, you know.
Chuck (29:23):
Yeah, as we wrap it up, two quick questions.
Janita, what would you say tothe younger you if you could go
back right now and say anythingto the younger Janita?
Jeanita Castille (29:35):
Jeez, would you want me to cry?
Would you want me?
What is this?
A therapy session?
Oh, would you have just sprungthat on me.
You could have gave me thatbeforehand and told me you were
going to ask me that.
Just sprung that on me.
You could have gave me thatbeforehand and told me you're
gonna ask me that.
Man, I listen, that's a loaded.
Chuck (29:50):
That's a loaded question wow, because she's powerful now
.
So would you change anything?
Jeanita Castille (29:58):
oh yeah, I absolutely, um, would change
things, to be honest with you.
Ah, man, that's sensitive.
I can't even say right now, Ican't even say Gotcha, I can't
even say.
Chuck (30:13):
Gotcha, wow, all right.
Last question If you coulddescribe the Janita today, right
now, what would you say abouther?
Jeanita Castille (30:23):
Hmm, so the Janita today she is powerful,
but not powerful because of myown doing, because of my own
strength.
She's powerful because she'sfound the one who gives her
power and that's Jesus Christ.
You know, she is confident, sheis courageous because she's had
(30:51):
to walk through some things andshe is growing, yep.
Chuck (30:58):
And evolving.
I love it and evolving, I loveit.
Thank you so much for being apart of this episode.
Man, I'm excited to have you on.
So thanks again, thanks again.
Jeanita Castille (31:09):
anything you want to say before we get off,
you want to say to the listeningaudience I, I just appreciate
you for you know, calling me andasking me to to be a part and,
um, you know, my message toeveryone all the time is to seek
God for your assignment.
I believe we all are put here onearth for a particular reason
(31:30):
and I think we spend lifesearching for that reason.
We explore a lot of thingssearching for that reason.
But when you seek, you know,when you seek God, he'll give
you that reason and he'll sendyou out on an assignment, and
that assignment is vital to yourlife and is vital to the lives
(31:52):
around you.
And your calling yourassignment, your purpose, is
connected to many other peoplewho are waiting on you to step
up to the call, to step up toanswer and say, yes, I'll go.
You know, and so I put a chargeout there for people to really
open their eyes and see that, nomatter what you've gone through
(32:12):
, no matter what you'veexperienced, no matter how fast
life is going, that God hassomething for you to do.
And I just want everyone toknow that you have purpose and
you have meaning and you havevalue and the world needs what
you have inside of you wow, yeah, amazing wisdom, amazing wisdom
(32:33):
.
Chuck (32:33):
Thank you so much, janita castell, for being on.
Let's just talk about itpodcast.
I really appreciate you thankyou.
Thanks again.
Wow, what an amazingconversation.
Shout out to Janita for havingthis dialogue with me.
You know Janita shared so manyamazing things in our
conversation today, but the onething that I love, that's woven
throughout this wholeconversation, was her ability to
(32:54):
not allow the obstacles sheexperienced in her past to
regulate nor determine herfuture success as a photographer
and founder of Power Magazine.
So shout out to you, janita,for being an inspiration to us.
Again, thank you so much foralways tuning in to let's Just
Talk About it podcast, andplease check out my website.
Just Google let's Just TalkAbout it podcast dot com and
(33:16):
then hit that subscribe buttonto receive all the new episodes
every Friday.
You can also find me onFacebook.
Just type in Chuck L-J-T-A-I,which means let's just talk
about it.
So, as always, until next time,don't hold it in, but let's
just talk about it.
Talk to you soon, you.
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