March 15, 2025 • 42 mins
Join Chantée Christian as she sits down with Ramall Johnson, a man whose journey exemplifies living with purpose, faith, and service. From mortgage lending to managing an Apple store and now Wells Fargo, Ramall shares how each step has been guided by a deep commitment to serving others.
In this episode, Ramall reflects on the distinction between hard work and obedience to God’s calling, challenging us to consider whether we’re simply working hard or truly following divine guidance. He also emphasizes the importance of surrounding ourselves with the right people during moments of doubt, as they can either fuel our success or serve as an excuse for failure.
Show your support for the show in the form of a review, rating, like, follow and/or subscribe. It makes a huge difference with the algorithmic overlords!
Tag us & share your biggest takeaway using #MyBestShiftPodcast.
________________________
SUPPORT US BY SUPPORTING OUR PARTNER(S)
Buzzsprout – Following this link let's Buzzsprout know we sent you, gets you a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for a paid plan, and helps support our show https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1381600.
Headliner – Following this link let’s Headliner know we sent you https://make.headliner.app/referral/info_AwIgqs.
________________________
THE DREAM TEAM -- CREDITS
Audio Engineering: Superb Media (kevinwatkins.nyc@gmail.com)
Music Composition: Hitz Muzic Group, LLC (hitzmuzicgroup@gmail.com)
Photography: Peculiar Images by R.J. Paulk (rj@peculiarimages.us)
Hair: Rob Fooks Hair Salon (rob@robfooks.com)
Custom Artwork: Janae Danielle Consulting and Design (janaedanielleco@gmail.com)
Get your copy of "Awareness Put Me On" Today!
Follow us @MyBestShift_LLC on Instagram.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chantée Christian (00:03):
Welcome to the my Best Shift Podcast.
I'm your host, ChantéeChristian.
In today's episode, I'll betalking about purpose, faith and
the power of staying true toyour calling with Ramall.
Hi Ramall, how are you doingtoday?
Ramall Johnson (00:19):
Fantastic.
How are you?
Chantée Christian (00:20):
I'm doing great.
So before we get too far intoour conversation today, why
don't you tell the people alittle bit about yourself?
Ramall Johnson (00:27):
Sure, absolutely .
My name is Ramall Johnson.
I currently live in Houston,texas, but I'm originally a
native of Louisiana.
I've moved to Texas probablyabout 15 years ago or so, so
been here at that time.
Currently I work with WellsFargo as a branch manager, been
with those guys for five years.
For the decade prior to that, Iactually ran an Apple store out
(00:48):
here.
Chantée Christian (00:49):
Every time you say Apple, I get excited.
Wells Fargo maybe not so much,but I won't go there today.
And I think that it's reallycool how we met, because I
wouldn't say that it wasexpected.
Why don't you tell them yourversion of how we met and then
(01:10):
I'll tell my version of how wemet.
Ramall Johnson (01:11):
I noticed how you put that my version and your
version.
Let's just go with the trueversion, which will probably be
mine.
Well, for the people who don'tknow, we were at a conference it
was actually a churchconference out here in Houston,
texas, and this conference hadtons of people who were there
and so as we get there,everyone's checking in.
They're trying to get organized, to see where the lines are.
(01:34):
I happen to see someone causinga ruckus in line.
I won't say her name, but she'srunning this podcast right now
and so I am a natural character.
So you know, when I see peoplewith that energy, I'm kind of
drawn to them.
So you know, I'll be truthful,I got in line and I started
being messy and you know, justpicking with them and the people
(01:57):
around and really just having agreat time.
But from there this connectionwas formed and it's been like
that ever since.
Chantée Christian (02:04):
So you know perception is real.
Ok, because actually our mutualfriend, who is also a former
podcast guest and friend of thepodcast, jd, and I were at this
conference together and she waswalking up to people randomly
asking them if they knew wherewe were supposed to go to get
(02:26):
into the building.
You just so happen to be one ofthose people that she walked up
to and then the foolishnessensued I was minding my business
you were an innocent bystanderalways, always, and and then,
next thing you know, she'ssitting there telling you all of
(02:47):
my business and I was like shedid so when she listens back to
this, I'm sure she's gonna haveher version of the story,
correct, correct.
Let's give her a shout out whatup jd always, always, what I
loved about the conferencebecause, yes, it was a
church-based conference.
However, it was heavy onwalking in your purpose, right.
(03:09):
It was heavy on releasing thethings that have been holding
you back in order to be true towhat you've heard, right, and
when I say what you've heard,what you've heard from God, what
did you actually hear him sayand how are you moving?
In that and through that, Ilearned that you had this desire
to write and we had, like,these amazing conversations
(03:32):
about your ideas around children, books and all the things, and
so, when I had the idea forAwareness Put Me On, it just
felt like a course moment thatyou would be in Awareness Put Me
On.
I'm curious because what?
It's been two years, I guess,since then, and so when you
(03:55):
think about your life and howthings have transitioned and
transformed over that time,what's been going on with you?
Ramall Johnson (04:02):
Oh, yes, there's definitely been a lot that has
been going on.
You know from that time what'sbeen going on with you.
Oh yes, there's definitely beena lot that has been going on.
You know, from that time I've,since gotten married so got
married at the end of last yearin November been doing a lot of
traveling as well.
Also, my wife and I we openedup two additional businesses as
(04:22):
well that we're currentlyworking on right now.
Open up two additionalbusinesses as well that we're
currently working on right now.
You know we are working on aninvention that we patented.
There's two patents on it rightnow.
So in the process of gettingthat up and running and out in
the stores also.
So definitely a full life andhonestly attempting to, as you
said walk in that purpose.
Chantée Christian (04:41):
So if you were to articulate your purpose
for us, what would that be?
Ramall Johnson (04:48):
As in us.
Give me that my personalpurpose in terms of what I feel
God has me here for.
Chantée Christian (04:53):
I mean listen , we're here.
Yes, we are here.
So whatever it is that, iscoming up.
Ramall Johnson (05:01):
That's what we want to know.
Chantée Christian (05:02):
We are here, so whatever it is that is coming
up.
That's what we want to know.
Ramall Johnson (05:05):
Absolutely so for me.
You know, honestly, I havealways, even as a child, as I
wrote in a book, I was neverthat individual.
When you asked you know, whatdo you want to do, what do you
want to be for a living, therewas never an answer that I had
that felt genuine or felt trueto myself, Not that I couldn't
do it.
So you asked do you want to bea doctor?
I could say yes, I could do it,but that never felt right in my
(05:28):
heart.
Attorney, astronaut, fireman,all those things you say never
rang as part of my purpose.
The one thing that, honestly,was clear and evident in
everything that I did was Iwanted to help people and in
some capacity I wanted to beable to help, whether that's
inspire people, whether that'smotivate, whether that's provide
(05:48):
direction, whether that's bethat little push in that moment
when they may have this justinkling of doubt that's there,
that's about to take seed, tohopefully be the one that help
kind of yank that up before ittakes root.
And so, for me, everything thatI do has been guided in terms of
how can I help someone andtruly help them.
So you know, one of my personalphilosophies is anyone who is
(06:10):
in your life right now.
If you are not a positiveinfluence in them whether that's
physically, mentally,spiritually, financially,
emotionally if their life is notbetter because you're there,
then why are you there?
And that's the way that I tryto live my life every single day
.
That's also in terms of how Ilook at the people who are in my
(06:30):
life.
I want to make sure that I'msurrounding myself with people
who add value to my life.
There's enough craziness andnegativity in the world that you
don't need to bring that intoyour inner circle.
Chantée Christian (06:40):
Yeah, I love that.
It also reminds me of anoffline conversation that we've
had around Job and around how itapplies to now, right, and how
it applies to staying steadfast,because I think about purpose
and, as a coach, a lot of peoplecome to me like, how did you
(07:04):
know?
And, as a coach, a lot ofpeople come to me like how did
you know?
And I'm like it didn't happenovernight and there was a lot of
resistance to it.
Right, it was a whole, wholelot of resistance, because that
wasn't what I saw to be true.
It wasn't that I didn't believeit to be true, it wasn't that
it didn't happen over and overagain as proof of truth.
(07:24):
But my acceptance of the truthwas different, right, and so
when you're talking about, younever were the person to be like
, oh, I want to be this when Igrow up that inspiring others
(07:47):
and being of service and beingin community was something that
you were able to do withoutbeing a title.
Ramall Johnson (07:52):
Very good question.
You know, honestly, as I thinkback to it I think back to kind
of how I was brought up mygrandparents played a big role
in bringing along with my mom,and they all had this servant
mentality and my entire life Igrew up seeing them help people.
I grew up seeing them.
It didn't matter how exhaustedthey were, how tired they were,
(08:13):
they would always be willing tohelp people and that's something
that was instilled in me,observing that as a child, it
just was naturally a part ofwhat I expected you were
supposed to do.
If someone needs help, you help.
You know, someone would go tomy grandmother nearly me or my
grandfather Carol, or my momLoretta, and they need help.
Guess what?
They got help and it didn'tmatter if they were exhausted,
(08:35):
it didn't matter if they weretired, it didn't matter if they
had just worked a 12-hour shift.
If they had the capacity tohelp, then they would help.
And so for me, that was kind ofthe natural flow of what I saw,
and as children we oftenimitate what we have seen, which
is why it's definitelyimportant that we are setting
the right example for our kids.
And so, as I matured and gotolder and really having a
(09:00):
different career path that I'vetaken throughout my lifetime.
I mean different career paththat I've taken throughout my
lifetime.
I mean I've done everythingfrom mortgages to sold a million
dollars worth of chemicals torun an electronic store
financing as well, and that truenorth.
In every single one of thoseendeavors there's been certain
people that I've been drawn to,that I've gravitated to, that
(09:20):
I've been able to hopefully help.
There's strangers who I've metthat honestly, even after having
conversations with them, theywould literally tell me I don't
know why I initially came heretoday, but I'm glad I did and
there was something that I wasable to hopefully share with
them that helped them.
And again, that just goes partof just what I've always
believed.
(09:40):
I think that everybody you meet, there's usually a couple of
things that's supposed to happen.
There's something you'resupposed to learn from them,
there's something you aresupposed to help them with as
well.
And as long as you're doingthose two things, then you're
moving in the right direction.
Chantée Christian (09:54):
Oh, I like this, so OK, so stay there for a
second.
So those two things, everyonethat you meet, you're supposed
to help them with something, andwhat was the that you meet?
You're supposed to help themwith something, and what was the
?
Ramall Johnson (10:04):
There's something that you're supposed
to learn from them Okay.
It should be a almost symbioticrelationship, and that could be
something that you learn aboutthem or, honestly, something
that you learn about yourself.
Chantée Christian (10:14):
Okay, okay, okay.
So because you know why not?
So our relationship us fromwhat you know now, right, how
would you apply us to that?
Ramall Johnson (10:33):
Absolutely.
I could tell honestly from thevery first time we met and I
really think back to thoseconversations we had, literally
from the very first conversationwe had down after that first
session and it was over with andwe went to that little spot.
It was just a group of us andwe sat there and talked and I
(10:54):
heard your passion for what youdo.
Literally I heard it and it wasalmost that you could not just
hear it, but you felt it and youreally saw an individual who
was committed to the career paththat they have chosen, that
they were in this mode ofconquering the world, which I
know you're still in, and youknow seeing that is
(11:15):
inspirational.
Like I told you, I always try tosurround myself with people who
add to your life, and so thepeople who I choose to surround
myself with are individuals whothey may be excelling in
different areas of their life orthey may have that fire or that
drive that.
You see it, iron sharpens ironand you want to be in
association with thoseindividuals who are driven like
(11:36):
that.
So, for you, what I took awayfrom it is that drive that you
had, that fearlessness that youhad as well.
I don't even want to sayfearlessness, because you will
have fear but you will pushthrough it and you're willing to
take those actions and thosesteps to push through it, to
achieve whatever that goal isthat you were looking to
accomplish.
I saw the work ethic that youput in, like you literally
(11:59):
wearing 27 hats doing 97 thingsat the same time.
Twenty seven hats doing ninetyseven things at the same time.
So all of those were thingsthat, as I see them, and things
that, as I look at, thosequalities that help make people
successful, those are some ofthe things that I definitely
attribute to you and people aresuccessful.
And so, again, seeing that andobserving that, those are
(12:19):
qualities that I'm like you know, I love that.
Let me observe, let me be thatsponge kind of steel and take
away from that as well.
Chantée Christian (12:27):
I love that and we're going to be using that
as a clip just to let you know.
No, I really do appreciate that, and I remember that night too
and it's always interesting whatpeople see and what people hear
and what people feel because Ifelt in that moment right, full
transparency, that I was upagainst the wall.
(12:49):
I felt like I was fighting formy life in the eighth round, and
what you saw as passion, Iheard and felt as desperation,
and so that is a reminder to metoo, that just because I'm
(13:10):
experiencing something doesn'tmean that it's still not
beneficial for someone else inone way, shape or form.
But it looked like you wereabout to say something.
Ramall Johnson (13:18):
Yeah, I want you to think about.
So we talked about what I tookfrom you.
What did I say?
My purpose was for me.
Chantée Christian (13:25):
To help people.
Ramall Johnson (13:26):
To help people To literally see.
So with you I felt that too.
So I felt, like you said, thatsense of desperation, but that
was small compared to thepassion that I saw and for me, I
knew there are always momentsin life that we have where we
will sit there and we willquestion can I do this?
Can I do this, like I've beentrying?
(13:49):
I want to get this done.
Do I have it within me tocontinue pushing?
That is a critical moment inmost people's lives, and what a
lot of people don't understandis who you surround yourself
with in those moments can eitherdetermine your success or be
the excuse for your failure orquitting for sure and so for me,
(14:09):
seeing you, I felt that thatwas a moment for me to hopefully
speak life, and not just speaklife, but honestly hold up the
mirror yeah, because.
I think there are times where weget so just engrossed in
everything we're doing andthere's that old saying you
can't see the forest for thetrees and everything that I saw
you, because you were focused,like we said, on 27 things.
(14:32):
You did not see the totality ofall that you were, and so, for
me, the only thing that I triedto do with you is, even in those
moments, is you know, how couldI be encouraging, how could I
be uplifting, how could I pushto be you?
Do you unapologetically, do you?
Chantée Christian (14:47):
Yeah, no, and I appreciate that and I
remember that too, because Iremember saying okay, maybe I
won't go burn down theirbuilding because anybody that
knows, me knows.
I'm quick to say I'm gonna goburn something down.
I'm really not, I know.
Ramall Johnson (14:59):
the only thing I'm burning is some candles and
some sage, maybe a little PaloPalo Santo.
Chantée Christian (15:04):
But it's one of the first thing I'm like.
I want to burn it down becauseI feel like when you burn things
down, it gives it anopportunity to regrow.
Ramall Johnson (15:12):
Unless you get arrested first.
Chantée Christian (15:14):
You know I mean small things.
Small things, no, but it's alsoone of those moments where I
think it's important to rememberthat if you're really walking
in your purpose, it's not alwaysroses and rainbows and
butterflies.
And when you have anopportunity like so, I started
(15:36):
off saying JD told you all mybusiness when she sat down and.
I was like ma'am, because Ibelieve in, so I believe it down
to my core that you got to beso careful with who you share
your vision with.
Ramall Johnson (15:52):
Absolutely.
Chantée Christian (15:53):
Especially when you're on rocky terms.
Ramall Johnson (15:56):
Absolutely.
Chantée Christian (15:57):
And part of me going to this conference for
me was to get stable, because Ifelt really waffly and not about
my purpose.
But am I supposed to be doingthis right?
Is this really the calling thatI heard, or is this a calling
that I paid up?
Do I have pieces of it?
Am I playing it small or likeall of the things?
(16:17):
And for those listening, I wasgetting ready to record for the
TV show, so we were a month awayfrom recording for the TV show.
So we were a month away fromrecording for the TV show and I
had all of the angst that couldcome along with preparing and
just being in a space where holysmokes like I get the
opportunity to go do a TV show,say what, say who, how, when,
(16:40):
where, and then I'm supposed tohave all those answers.
So I was like what in the hellis answers?
Ramall Johnson (16:46):
Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Chantée Christian (16:48):
My God and I wanted to put the crown down.
Ok, and so I remember that, butI also remember, clear as day,
you saying, well, what'sstopping you from doing it?
I was like, oh well, let metell you.
However, as I was saying it, Iwas like, okay, wait a minute,
(17:13):
these aren't really barriers,right?
I mean, some of them felt verybarrier like.
However, they weren't thingsthat were going to stop me from
doing what I had alreadycommitted to what me into the
process because I had gotten sobogged down in.
(17:45):
These are all the things I gotto do.
This is just my god, somebodycome else.
I don't have anybody else, Idon't have money for everything
else, and then get out of thewhat I don't have and then
really focus on what I do have.
So that part I really doappreciate that and I just I
remember just that wholeconference.
Like I left there sick the onlyperson out of a I don't know 10
(18:07):
person crew sick and I was likehow does this work?
I was like, okay, god, you'redetoxing me.
Ramall Johnson (18:14):
I guess that's what it is.
Chantée Christian (18:18):
But no, I do.
I recall that and I also recallyou having, which I mentioned
earlier, a vision that we talkedabout and, if I recall
correctly, what have you donewith that vision?
Ramall Johnson (18:34):
That vision is still going, so I have still
been writing and, truthfully,with the, just where we are
right now, I think it's moreimportant than ever being able
to empower kids to seethemselves throughout not just
this world, but throughouthistory, and truly understanding
the contribution that ourpeople have made to this world.
(18:56):
This world, and regardless ofwhether or not that's shielded
or that's hidden, we have toprovide those avenues for kids
to learn that and provide it ina way and a manner in which they
can not only see the story butsee themselves in the story, and
there's an inspiration thatcomes from that, and kids are
willing then to maybe fightthrough some of the adversity
(19:18):
that they see.
Chantée Christian (19:19):
Yeah, I think it's important too, because I
kind of like how we were talkingabout earlier, I had never seen
someone look like me, with mybackground, do the things I have
been talking and dreaming aboutdoing, and so there wasn't this
wild space of it's possible, ofit's possible, and so for you
(19:47):
to author books and createspaces where youth can see
themselves, I think is reallyimpactful, because the buzzwords
around representation andseeing yourself, yes, and it
really is important to be ableto see yourself in spaces, to
even dream or know that they'repossible.
Ramall Johnson (20:03):
Absolutely.
I can look back honestlythrough my life and there were
key individuals at differentmoments in my life that I saw,
who looked like me, who spokelike me, who would achieve
levels of success that, when Isaw it, it inspired me, it gave
me the confidence that, hey, Icould do that too.
And not only did it give me theconfidence, they also imported
(20:25):
that confidence in me as well byspeaking life into me and
encouraging me to push forward.
And you know just, hey, man,you can do this too.
And I think that's one of thethings that is vital, especially
with kids coming up, and noteven kids, but even adults a
certain standpoint too, becauseadults have those same fears,
they have those same doubts, andif they have not seen an
(20:45):
example of an individual who'sdoing it, especially one who
looks like them, then there'sthis belief that, oh, I can't do
that, oh, that's beyond myreach.
And the reality is, nothing isbeyond your reach.
Because if you're willing toput work to it and if God has it
in his plan for you to do, thenthat's something that can't
happen.
We just have to have that faithto push forward and to do the
(21:08):
work, to gain the knowledge andpress on until we get to it.
Chantée Christian (21:13):
Yeah, I agree and I feel like God has a funny
sense of humor.
That's not really that funnysometimes.
Ramall Johnson (21:23):
Oh, he does, he does.
Chantée Christian (21:25):
And so I feel like sometimes it's less of us
doing the work and more of usbeing obedient.
Right, because sometimes hejust wants us to do a thing.
Right, because sometimes hejust wants us to do a thing, and
(21:57):
if we do a thing, theneverything else opens up.
So often we are afraid to giveup something Right, wonder why,
on the other side, the rewarddoesn't seem like we thought it
should, or the favor isn't whereit ought to be, and a lot of
times it's because we didn't dowhat we were told to do.
Right, and so there was a timewhere I thought hard work meant
(22:20):
that you get certain levelswithin organizations, it meant
that you got certain recognition.
No, no, no.
Yes, you work hard, yes, youhave a hard work ethic.
However, to what extent are youobedient?
Absolutely, to what extent areyou?
Ramall Johnson (22:39):
obedient, absolutely For me.
I love that too, because I'vealways said this that God will
never send your blessings towhere you are.
He's going to send yourblessings to where he told you
to be.
Oh, and if you do not movewhere he tells you to be, then
those blessings is not there.
Not there, they are wherethey're supposed to be.
(22:59):
You just aren't aligned withwhat he told you to do.
And a lot of that comes withobedience, a lot of that comes
with.
You know, as you shared, weoften think that we can work our
way to it.
We've all have that FrankSinatra complex, I call it.
I did it my way, and we thinkwe can move forward, push
through it and get to it.
When God told you, do this onething, yeah, and when you do
(23:23):
that one thing, as you shared,those other doors will open up
for you.
And not only will other doorsopen up for you, but when you
and this is a little Bible now,habakkuk 2.2,.
It says write the vision andmake it plain so that others who
see it will run with it.
And make it plain so thatothers who see it will run with
it.
So when you are clear in termsof what you're trying to do,
there are other people who willcome alongside you, not only
(23:45):
support you, but push you andrun with you as you're doing it.
But a lot of that comes withobedience and it's a matter of
okay.
God, I know this is what I want, but is that what he wants?
And if your want doesn't alignwith his want, which want is
going to win out?
Because only one is going towork out good for you, and
that's the choice we all have tomake internally with ourselves.
Chantée Christian (24:08):
Yeah, I like that.
I love the part B of thatscripture because so often we
only stick to the write it downand make it plain write it down
and make it plain and forgettingthat the write it down and make
it plain isn't for us, it's forthe other people to understand,
so that they too can come along, and it's a reminder to me for
(24:31):
a few things that I got going on.
However, it's also even whenyou were talking about when we
first met right.
I had wrote it down and made itso clear that, when I was able
to articulate it in a way thatthere was no mistake about what
I was doing, right, even thoughI may have been feeling waffly I
(24:51):
was on solid ground.
Ramall Johnson (24:53):
Right.
There's one other thing tooabout that, as you mentioned,
that feeling of waffling.
I've always believed this Ifyour dream is small enough that
you can accomplish it on yourown, it's not a dream.
That dream has to be big enoughthat it scares you, and it has
to be big enough that itrequires God to step in and do
what only he can do, because Idon't think he ever intended any
(25:15):
of us to play small.
He gets no glory by us beingsmall of us to play small.
He gets no glory by us beingsmall.
He gets glory by us magnifyinghis name, doing the work,
impacting the world positivelyand, through that, allowing
people to see what he's able todo in not only our lives but, by
extension, their lives.
Chantée Christian (25:34):
Who in the world thought we were going to
have Bible study?
What in the world is going onnow?
Ramall Johnson (25:39):
Look, I got Bible study coming up in about
an hour or so.
What is this?
I'm getting ready.
Chantée Christian (25:48):
And, in all seriousness, right, because I
believe that we are.
We're not linear, right, and soit's also really important to
have a full awareness of whereyou derive you from.
So, for people who are notChristians and or not believers,
(26:08):
what I want them to hear fromthis conversation is that you
got to get grounded in your whatand understand the why, in
order to keep going, to keeppushing to stay in consistency,
because it's not aboutperfection, it's not about the
(26:32):
hard work.
I know it doesn't sound like it, trust me, it's not about the
hard work, it is aboutconsistency.
It is about staying true to whoyou are when you figure out who
you are when you figure out whyyou're here.
Ramall Johnson (26:50):
when you figure out all of those things, Then
what One thing that I always do,especially when I'm training my
staff the primary focus that wehave, being in the industry I
am, which is finance andservicing and helping people.
It's really how outwardlyfocused are you?
Are you really observant of theindividuals who are coming in,
(27:11):
who you're entrusted to help?
And then, based upon that, whatare those principles that we
have set forth in terms ofexpectations, of how you are
expected to show up every singleday, how you're expected to
help these individuals and workwith these individuals and
really make a positive impact intheir life?
And that's truly understandingwhat is the true north that we
have in terms of how we're goingto guide and direct every
(27:34):
interaction we have.
And then, once you have that,you have that clear baseline
that you can then look at yourinteractions that you have with
people.
Ok, does that align with whatthat true north is?
You can look at thoseactivities that you have and do
when no one's looking.
Does that align with what thattrue north is?
And that's an integrity thing.
(27:55):
At that point, you know, areyou true to who you say you are?
Are you true to who you say youwant to be?
Point, you know.
Are you true to who you say youare, are you true to who you
say you want to be?
And that same person that youare when no one's looking should
be the same person you are whenyou're on stage.
And there's a level ofauthenticity that comes with
that and you know some peoplecall it realness and that's that
genuineness that you have, thathow you present and show
(28:17):
yourself to the world everysingle day, so that you don't
feel like you're wearing a mask,but you are genuinely being
yourself.
Chantée Christian (28:24):
Yeah, and I love that, because when you show
up as you, that's when the realmagic happens, that's when
people are drawn to you, that'swhen people are amenable to what
you have to say and how you canbe of service to them and them
(28:45):
to you, because everyinteraction, like you mentioned
earlier, has an exchange and howthe two people in the
conversation or in theinteraction are experiencing it
differently.
But that doesn't mean that bothof you didn't take something
away from it, and so I thinkthat it's just really powerful
(29:05):
to understand how you show up,how it's in alignment with who
you are or who you think you are, and being okay and flexible
enough to say there areopportunities for me to make
some shifts and some changeshere.
Ramall Johnson (29:21):
Absolutely, and when that version of who you
think you are and who you reallyare does not align, that gives
you, honestly, a greatopportunity to really do some
self work and figure out OK,this is who I say I want to be,
but let's evaluate who I havebeen up to this moment and if
(29:42):
this is who I've been and howI've shown up, what are those
things that I immediately needto change in order to become
that individual?
There's a thing that I've donewith friends and even with my
kids.
I'll show you how my mind works.
I work backwards, you know.
(30:04):
I tell each of them I forgotwhich book I got this from, but
it said imagine you wereattending your own funeral and
there are four groups of peoplewho are going to speak.
One is your family, one is yourfriends, one is your church,
one is maybe your coworkers.
What do you want thoseindividuals to say about you and
how present you were in theirlife, the impact you had in
their life?
And when you sit and you thinkabout that, then you work your
way backwards to today's timeand it gives you a picture of
(30:24):
how you need to show up in thoseinteractions with the
individuals at this current timeand using that as kind of a
guide to help you come to thatrealization of who you really
want to be.
Because who we are now is theproduct of our experiences.
We've had individuals we've met, whether that's past traumas,
past successes, books we've read.
(30:45):
All of those things have aninfluence on us and we are
beings who are meant to continueto grow, meant to continue to
evolve, and we have power overthat.
And so are we taking thosesteps to become that individual
who we want to be.
Chantée Christian (31:02):
Hmm, Because I'm so unserious.
As soon as you started listingall those groups and people, I
was like my God, that's about tobe a long funeral.
Now we're in the Southernhospitality I was like my.
God that's a lot of groups ofpeople.
Ramall Johnson (31:25):
Are we going to have one representative?
And they got two minutes youknow, I was like, oh, I don't
know.
You know how people do.
There's a lot of love in thatroom.
Chantée Christian (31:34):
You know how your people do I do.
You know how your people do Iabsolutely do, but.
I like that.
It's similar to a legacyquestion that I typically like
to ask around what is the legacythat you want to leave?
However, when I define legacy,it is not when you're dead and
(31:54):
gone.
It's about the imprints thatyou're leaving right now.
And so when you think aboutright now, the legacy that you
are leaving, the imprint thatyou're leaving on the world,
what is that?
Ramall Johnson (32:08):
Absolutely.
A couple of things.
Definitely, number one as youknow, I am a Christian.
God is the head and the centerof my life and as I continue to
grow, continue to evolve, Irecognize how little of me there
is and how much more of himthere is me there is and how
much more of him there is.
(32:29):
And so the legacy that I wantto leave is that when people see
me, they see a flawedindividual who continually
searches for him andcontinuously strives to get
better every single day.
I don't always get it perfect,like you said, it's not
perfection, but it is progressand daily making that progress
when it comes to that personalrelationship that I have with
him, hopefully pointing otherpeople towards him as well,
whether that's verbally or theexample that I live.
(32:51):
The second thing I would say interms of that legacy is the
people who you have in your life.
That's like I said earlier howare you showing up for those
individuals?
How are you there for thoseindividuals in those moments
when they need it?
And even in those moments whenthey don't need it, are you
making a positive impact, apositive influence in them to
where they can look back and belike man?
(33:13):
I'm so glad I met Ramon, like Iam genuinely glad that he was
there in that moment that Ineeded him, because we all need
that.
We all need those individualswho are willing to step in in
those moments where we don'tbelieve in our ourselves, maybe,
or have the strength that weneed to push forward.
We need that support group ofindividuals who are there to
(33:34):
help.
And so when individuals thinkabout me, even in this current
day, I want them to feel that,and feel that from a genuine and
personal connection that I havebuilt and established with them
.
Chantée Christian (33:45):
That's really it.
Mine isn't as prolific.
I remember Cicely Tyson did aninterview and they asked her
essentially like what's yourlegacy, or what's the legacy
that you're leaving, somethingto that effect, and she said
(34:07):
that I did a good job.
And I would say, for me it'snot just that I did a good job,
but I did what was uncomfortablefor me and sometimes
uncomfortable for others, and Istill held space Right.
(34:27):
I know that every interactionwith me is not a comfortable
interaction.
My job is not to make thingscomfortable.
I am literally a disruptor,before I even had a name for it,
like that's what I did, and soI understand that with that
comes a responsibility, and Ihope that by the time this airs
(34:53):
it'll be the right.
So, with these 42 years undermy belt, as a disruptor that
people know the intent and canembrace the impact, even if they
didn't agree.
And even if they didn't agree.
Sorry, that was personal, yeah,personal, but like no, I love
(35:16):
that though because, at the endof the day, I know without a
shadow of a doubt that mypurpose is to cultivate these
spaces for growth, for inspiredaction and for change.
And in order to do that, therehas to be resistance.
There has to be pushback Right,and so I want some people to be
(35:39):
like, well, ok, she gone.
And I want other people to belike you know what I remember
when she was there, how andwhere you know.
Ramall Johnson (35:52):
I love that and really you hit it on the head
because growth I don't thinkgrowth ever happens in comfort.
Oh God no, if you are toocomfortable and it's flowing, I
promise you you are not growing.
If anything, you're probablydying at that point.
So growth is never a byproductof living in comfort.
And you have to have thatagitation, that thing that
(36:12):
stretches your thoughts,stretches your expectation of
what you think you can do, andthat thing that obviously, at
times would be like I don't eventalk to you anymore.
You need that individual or,like you said, that disruption
to help you excel and grow.
There's one thing my wife Tracysaid and she said it very early
(36:33):
on and I paid attention to it,but I didn't.
But there was a particularmoment where it really stood out
to me.
She said you know, what Ramallpeople are watching is what she
said, and what she meant by thatis that God has an expectation
of who we are supposed to be,how we're supposed to live and
how we're supposed to presentourselves to the world.
And I remember we were at abirthday party for a good friend
(36:56):
of mine, adrian.
His wife threw him a surprisebirthday party, even though he
wasn't surprised because hewalked in there dressed to the
nines, you know, looking good.
Walked in there dressed to thenines, you know, looking good.
And so we were at this partyand they were playing some music
and she and I were in kind ofthis real connection moment
where, honestly, it felt like noone else was in this party.
(37:16):
And we're there dancing andlaughing and talking to each
other, and someone snapped thisphoto of us in that moment and
neither did she or I see theindividual who did it, and it's
one of those things thatcrystallized the fact that
there's always a lens on you,and how you show up in the world
is going to inspire, is goingto help, it's going to
(37:39):
facilitate change.
You know, having, you know, mytwo kids, dale and Amaya one
thing that I am always aware ofis how do I look to them?
You know, forget the world.
How do I look within them?
Have I lived a life where theysee a man of integrity, where
they see someone who's hadadversity, someone who's had
challenges, but someone who'salways pushed through and
(38:00):
someone who is willing tocontinue pushing through for
goals and dream and to continuefighting?
And so those are things thatmake up your character and make
up who you are, and so I lovethat you shared that information
about being that agitator,because I can definitely see
that in you and I think that'shonestly one of your biggest
strengths, that you have as well.
Chantée Christian (38:19):
Yeah, only child yeah.
It's only child.
It does that, it does that.
So I feel like this is a greatspot to ask you my last question
.
We've covered a few things.
We took the people to Biblestudy and brought them back, and
(38:39):
so I'm curious what is it thatyou want to leave the people
with?
Ramall Johnson (38:44):
For me, I always want to leave the people with.
We often hear and see otherpeople do things.
We always see individuals fromafar, and there are times where
you see individuals who've hadsuccess or who've had failure,
and there are lessons that canbe learned in both, and so, for
(39:04):
me, the thing that I wouldalways leave to people is you
know, when you evaluate yourlife, when you look at what you
hold value with whether that'ssuccessful individuals you've
seen or whether you have traumaor things that you've shrugged
with throughout your life whatare those lessons within each of
those that you can gain andlearn from to help you continue
(39:26):
to move forward?
Because it is about continuingto move forward.
It is about, regardless of whatclimate is going on in the
current world, how do you moveforward with becoming your full
and authentic self and reallybecoming that individual who you
?
When you were a little child,you made that promise to
yourself that this is who I amgoing to be.
(39:48):
You made that promise toyourself that this is who I am
going to be it may not have beena particular career, but it may
be who, the type of person youwanted to be and people love.
So how are you really strivingand moving forward to that?
And I would say for the peoplewho are out there honestly, man,
look at that every single dayand look at that and celebrate
those little wins too.
A lot of times we get so boggeddown with wanting that massive
(40:10):
victory and we don't realizethat.
I made a little bit of growthevery day over the last six
months and when you look at howyou were with the TV show, that
pressure you felt, I wouldventure to say right now that
(40:32):
wouldn't even be the case.
You would probably get in thereand get it done and be ready to
move on to the next.
And I think with us as wecontinue to grow and evolve, or
we continuously pushingourselves to move closer towards
who we want to be and who weshould be.
Chantée Christian (40:48):
That's good stuff.
Thank you for being on mypodcast with me.
Ramall Johnson (40:52):
Absolutely.
I'm glad I made the cut.
It's always one, it's alwaysone.
Chantée Christian (41:02):
I enjoy talking with Ramall about
embracing obedience, walking infaith, surrounding yourself with
the right people, and how itcan shape your journey.
Thank you for joining us andremember to stop doing shit that
doesn't serve you.
For more information or ifyou'd like to reach out to us,
(41:22):
visit at mybestshift underscoreLLC on Instagram.
See you later.
Welcome to the my Best Shift Podcast.
I'm your host, ChantéeChristian.
In today's episode, I'll betalking about purpose, faith and
the power of staying true toyour calling with Ramall.
Hi Ramall, how are you doingtoday?
Ramall Johnson (00:19):
Fantastic.
How are you?
Chantée Christian (00:20):
I'm doing great.
So before we get too far intoour conversation today, why
don't you tell the people alittle bit about yourself?
Ramall Johnson (00:27):
Sure, absolutely .
My name is Ramall Johnson.
I currently live in Houston,texas, but I'm originally a
native of Louisiana.
I've moved to Texas probablyabout 15 years ago or so, so
been here at that time.
Currently I work with WellsFargo as a branch manager, been
with those guys for five years.
For the decade prior to that, Iactually ran an Apple store out
(00:48):
here.
Chantée Christian (00:49):
Every time you say Apple, I get excited.
Wells Fargo maybe not so much,but I won't go there today.
And I think that it's reallycool how we met, because I
wouldn't say that it wasexpected.
Why don't you tell them yourversion of how we met and then
(01:10):
I'll tell my version of how wemet.
Ramall Johnson (01:11):
I noticed how you put that my version and your
version.
Let's just go with the trueversion, which will probably be
mine.
Well, for the people who don'tknow, we were at a conference it
was actually a churchconference out here in Houston,
texas, and this conference hadtons of people who were there
and so as we get there,everyone's checking in.
They're trying to get organized, to see where the lines are.
(01:34):
I happen to see someone causinga ruckus in line.
I won't say her name, but she'srunning this podcast right now
and so I am a natural character.
So you know, when I see peoplewith that energy, I'm kind of
drawn to them.
So you know, I'll be truthful,I got in line and I started
being messy and you know, justpicking with them and the people
(01:57):
around and really just having agreat time.
But from there this connectionwas formed and it's been like
that ever since.
Chantée Christian (02:04):
So you know perception is real.
Ok, because actually our mutualfriend, who is also a former
podcast guest and friend of thepodcast, jd, and I were at this
conference together and she waswalking up to people randomly
asking them if they knew wherewe were supposed to go to get
(02:26):
into the building.
You just so happen to be one ofthose people that she walked up
to and then the foolishnessensued I was minding my business
you were an innocent bystanderalways, always, and and then,
next thing you know, she'ssitting there telling you all of
(02:47):
my business and I was like shedid so when she listens back to
this, I'm sure she's gonna haveher version of the story,
correct, correct.
Let's give her a shout out whatup jd always, always, what I
loved about the conferencebecause, yes, it was a
church-based conference.
However, it was heavy onwalking in your purpose, right.
(03:09):
It was heavy on releasing thethings that have been holding
you back in order to be true towhat you've heard, right, and
when I say what you've heard,what you've heard from God, what
did you actually hear him sayand how are you moving?
In that and through that, Ilearned that you had this desire
to write and we had, like,these amazing conversations
(03:32):
about your ideas around children, books and all the things, and
so, when I had the idea forAwareness Put Me On, it just
felt like a course moment thatyou would be in Awareness Put Me
On.
I'm curious because what?
It's been two years, I guess,since then, and so when you
(03:55):
think about your life and howthings have transitioned and
transformed over that time,what's been going on with you?
Ramall Johnson (04:02):
Oh, yes, there's definitely been a lot that has
been going on.
You know from that time what'sbeen going on with you.
Oh yes, there's definitely beena lot that has been going on.
You know, from that time I've,since gotten married so got
married at the end of last yearin November been doing a lot of
traveling as well.
Also, my wife and I we openedup two additional businesses as
(04:22):
well that we're currentlyworking on right now.
Open up two additionalbusinesses as well that we're
currently working on right now.
You know we are working on aninvention that we patented.
There's two patents on it rightnow.
So in the process of gettingthat up and running and out in
the stores also.
So definitely a full life andhonestly attempting to, as you
said walk in that purpose.
Chantée Christian (04:41):
So if you were to articulate your purpose
for us, what would that be?
Ramall Johnson (04:48):
As in us.
Give me that my personalpurpose in terms of what I feel
God has me here for.
Chantée Christian (04:53):
I mean listen , we're here.
Yes, we are here.
So whatever it is that, iscoming up.
Ramall Johnson (05:01):
That's what we want to know.
Chantée Christian (05:02):
We are here, so whatever it is that is coming
up.
That's what we want to know.
Ramall Johnson (05:05):
Absolutely so for me.
You know, honestly, I havealways, even as a child, as I
wrote in a book, I was neverthat individual.
When you asked you know, whatdo you want to do, what do you
want to be for a living, therewas never an answer that I had
that felt genuine or felt trueto myself, Not that I couldn't
do it.
So you asked do you want to bea doctor?
I could say yes, I could do it,but that never felt right in my
(05:28):
heart.
Attorney, astronaut, fireman,all those things you say never
rang as part of my purpose.
The one thing that, honestly,was clear and evident in
everything that I did was Iwanted to help people and in
some capacity I wanted to beable to help, whether that's
inspire people, whether that'smotivate, whether that's provide
(05:48):
direction, whether that's bethat little push in that moment
when they may have this justinkling of doubt that's there,
that's about to take seed, tohopefully be the one that help
kind of yank that up before ittakes root.
And so, for me, everything thatI do has been guided in terms of
how can I help someone andtruly help them.
So you know, one of my personalphilosophies is anyone who is
(06:10):
in your life right now.
If you are not a positiveinfluence in them whether that's
physically, mentally,spiritually, financially,
emotionally if their life is notbetter because you're there,
then why are you there?
And that's the way that I tryto live my life every single day
.
That's also in terms of how Ilook at the people who are in my
(06:30):
life.
I want to make sure that I'msurrounding myself with people
who add value to my life.
There's enough craziness andnegativity in the world that you
don't need to bring that intoyour inner circle.
Chantée Christian (06:40):
Yeah, I love that.
It also reminds me of anoffline conversation that we've
had around Job and around how itapplies to now, right, and how
it applies to staying steadfast,because I think about purpose
and, as a coach, a lot of peoplecome to me like, how did you
(07:04):
know?
And, as a coach, a lot ofpeople come to me like how did
you know?
And I'm like it didn't happenovernight and there was a lot of
resistance to it.
Right, it was a whole, wholelot of resistance, because that
wasn't what I saw to be true.
It wasn't that I didn't believeit to be true, it wasn't that
it didn't happen over and overagain as proof of truth.
(07:24):
But my acceptance of the truthwas different, right, and so
when you're talking about, younever were the person to be like
, oh, I want to be this when Igrow up that inspiring others
(07:47):
and being of service and beingin community was something that
you were able to do withoutbeing a title.
Ramall Johnson (07:52):
Very good question.
You know, honestly, as I thinkback to it I think back to kind
of how I was brought up mygrandparents played a big role
in bringing along with my mom,and they all had this servant
mentality and my entire life Igrew up seeing them help people.
I grew up seeing them.
It didn't matter how exhaustedthey were, how tired they were,
(08:13):
they would always be willing tohelp people and that's something
that was instilled in me,observing that as a child, it
just was naturally a part ofwhat I expected you were
supposed to do.
If someone needs help, you help.
You know, someone would go tomy grandmother nearly me or my
grandfather Carol, or my momLoretta, and they need help.
Guess what?
They got help and it didn'tmatter if they were exhausted,
(08:35):
it didn't matter if they weretired, it didn't matter if they
had just worked a 12-hour shift.
If they had the capacity tohelp, then they would help.
And so for me, that was kind ofthe natural flow of what I saw,
and as children we oftenimitate what we have seen, which
is why it's definitelyimportant that we are setting
the right example for our kids.
And so, as I matured and gotolder and really having a
(09:00):
different career path that I'vetaken throughout my lifetime.
I mean different career paththat I've taken throughout my
lifetime.
I mean I've done everythingfrom mortgages to sold a million
dollars worth of chemicals torun an electronic store
financing as well, and that truenorth.
In every single one of thoseendeavors there's been certain
people that I've been drawn to,that I've gravitated to, that
(09:20):
I've been able to hopefully help.
There's strangers who I've metthat honestly, even after having
conversations with them, theywould literally tell me I don't
know why I initially came heretoday, but I'm glad I did and
there was something that I wasable to hopefully share with
them that helped them.
And again, that just goes partof just what I've always
believed.
(09:40):
I think that everybody you meet, there's usually a couple of
things that's supposed to happen.
There's something you'resupposed to learn from them,
there's something you aresupposed to help them with as
well.
And as long as you're doingthose two things, then you're
moving in the right direction.
Chantée Christian (09:54):
Oh, I like this, so OK, so stay there for a
second.
So those two things, everyonethat you meet, you're supposed
to help them with something, andwhat was the that you meet?
You're supposed to help themwith something, and what was the
?
Ramall Johnson (10:04):
There's something that you're supposed
to learn from them Okay.
It should be a almost symbioticrelationship, and that could be
something that you learn aboutthem or, honestly, something
that you learn about yourself.
Chantée Christian (10:14):
Okay, okay, okay.
So because you know why not?
So our relationship us fromwhat you know now, right, how
would you apply us to that?
Ramall Johnson (10:33):
Absolutely.
I could tell honestly from thevery first time we met and I
really think back to thoseconversations we had, literally
from the very first conversationwe had down after that first
session and it was over with andwe went to that little spot.
It was just a group of us andwe sat there and talked and I
(10:54):
heard your passion for what youdo.
Literally I heard it and it wasalmost that you could not just
hear it, but you felt it and youreally saw an individual who
was committed to the career paththat they have chosen, that
they were in this mode ofconquering the world, which I
know you're still in, and youknow seeing that is
(11:15):
inspirational.
Like I told you, I always try tosurround myself with people who
add to your life, and so thepeople who I choose to surround
myself with are individuals whothey may be excelling in
different areas of their life orthey may have that fire or that
drive that.
You see it, iron sharpens ironand you want to be in
association with thoseindividuals who are driven like
(11:36):
that.
So, for you, what I took awayfrom it is that drive that you
had, that fearlessness that youhad as well.
I don't even want to sayfearlessness, because you will
have fear but you will pushthrough it and you're willing to
take those actions and thosesteps to push through it, to
achieve whatever that goal isthat you were looking to
accomplish.
I saw the work ethic that youput in, like you literally
(11:59):
wearing 27 hats doing 97 thingsat the same time.
Twenty seven hats doing ninetyseven things at the same time.
So all of those were thingsthat, as I see them, and things
that, as I look at, thosequalities that help make people
successful, those are some ofthe things that I definitely
attribute to you and people aresuccessful.
And so, again, seeing that andobserving that, those are
(12:19):
qualities that I'm like you know, I love that.
Let me observe, let me be thatsponge kind of steel and take
away from that as well.
Chantée Christian (12:27):
I love that and we're going to be using that
as a clip just to let you know.
No, I really do appreciate that, and I remember that night too
and it's always interesting whatpeople see and what people hear
and what people feel because Ifelt in that moment right, full
transparency, that I was upagainst the wall.
(12:49):
I felt like I was fighting formy life in the eighth round, and
what you saw as passion, Iheard and felt as desperation,
and so that is a reminder to metoo, that just because I'm
(13:10):
experiencing something doesn'tmean that it's still not
beneficial for someone else inone way, shape or form.
But it looked like you wereabout to say something.
Ramall Johnson (13:18):
Yeah, I want you to think about.
So we talked about what I tookfrom you.
What did I say?
My purpose was for me.
Chantée Christian (13:25):
To help people.
Ramall Johnson (13:26):
To help people To literally see.
So with you I felt that too.
So I felt, like you said, thatsense of desperation, but that
was small compared to thepassion that I saw and for me, I
knew there are always momentsin life that we have where we
will sit there and we willquestion can I do this?
Can I do this, like I've beentrying?
(13:49):
I want to get this done.
Do I have it within me tocontinue pushing?
That is a critical moment inmost people's lives, and what a
lot of people don't understandis who you surround yourself
with in those moments can eitherdetermine your success or be
the excuse for your failure orquitting for sure and so for me,
(14:09):
seeing you, I felt that thatwas a moment for me to hopefully
speak life, and not just speaklife, but honestly hold up the
mirror yeah, because.
I think there are times where weget so just engrossed in
everything we're doing andthere's that old saying you
can't see the forest for thetrees and everything that I saw
you, because you were focused,like we said, on 27 things.
(14:32):
You did not see the totality ofall that you were, and so, for
me, the only thing that I triedto do with you is, even in those
moments, is you know, how couldI be encouraging, how could I
be uplifting, how could I pushto be you?
Do you unapologetically, do you?
Chantée Christian (14:47):
Yeah, no, and I appreciate that and I
remember that too, because Iremember saying okay, maybe I
won't go burn down theirbuilding because anybody that
knows, me knows.
I'm quick to say I'm gonna goburn something down.
I'm really not, I know.
Ramall Johnson (14:59):
the only thing I'm burning is some candles and
some sage, maybe a little PaloPalo Santo.
Chantée Christian (15:04):
But it's one of the first thing I'm like.
I want to burn it down becauseI feel like when you burn things
down, it gives it anopportunity to regrow.
Ramall Johnson (15:12):
Unless you get arrested first.
Chantée Christian (15:14):
You know I mean small things.
Small things, no, but it's alsoone of those moments where I
think it's important to rememberthat if you're really walking
in your purpose, it's not alwaysroses and rainbows and
butterflies.
And when you have anopportunity like so, I started
(15:36):
off saying JD told you all mybusiness when she sat down and.
I was like ma'am, because Ibelieve in, so I believe it down
to my core that you got to beso careful with who you share
your vision with.
Ramall Johnson (15:52):
Absolutely.
Chantée Christian (15:53):
Especially when you're on rocky terms.
Ramall Johnson (15:56):
Absolutely.
Chantée Christian (15:57):
And part of me going to this conference for
me was to get stable, because Ifelt really waffly and not about
my purpose.
But am I supposed to be doingthis right?
Is this really the calling thatI heard, or is this a calling
that I paid up?
Do I have pieces of it?
Am I playing it small or likeall of the things?
(16:17):
And for those listening, I wasgetting ready to record for the
TV show, so we were a month awayfrom recording for the TV show.
So we were a month away fromrecording for the TV show and I
had all of the angst that couldcome along with preparing and
just being in a space where holysmokes like I get the
opportunity to go do a TV show,say what, say who, how, when,
(16:40):
where, and then I'm supposed tohave all those answers.
So I was like what in the hellis answers?
Ramall Johnson (16:46):
Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Chantée Christian (16:48):
My God and I wanted to put the crown down.
Ok, and so I remember that, butI also remember, clear as day,
you saying, well, what'sstopping you from doing it?
I was like, oh well, let metell you.
However, as I was saying it, Iwas like, okay, wait a minute,
(17:13):
these aren't really barriers,right?
I mean, some of them felt verybarrier like.
However, they weren't thingsthat were going to stop me from
doing what I had alreadycommitted to what me into the
process because I had gotten sobogged down in.
(17:45):
These are all the things I gotto do.
This is just my god, somebodycome else.
I don't have anybody else, Idon't have money for everything
else, and then get out of thewhat I don't have and then
really focus on what I do have.
So that part I really doappreciate that and I just I
remember just that wholeconference.
Like I left there sick the onlyperson out of a I don't know 10
(18:07):
person crew sick and I was likehow does this work?
I was like, okay, god, you'redetoxing me.
Ramall Johnson (18:14):
I guess that's what it is.
Chantée Christian (18:18):
But no, I do.
I recall that and I also recallyou having, which I mentioned
earlier, a vision that we talkedabout and, if I recall
correctly, what have you donewith that vision?
Ramall Johnson (18:34):
That vision is still going, so I have still
been writing and, truthfully,with the, just where we are
right now, I think it's moreimportant than ever being able
to empower kids to seethemselves throughout not just
this world, but throughouthistory, and truly understanding
the contribution that ourpeople have made to this world.
(18:56):
This world, and regardless ofwhether or not that's shielded
or that's hidden, we have toprovide those avenues for kids
to learn that and provide it ina way and a manner in which they
can not only see the story butsee themselves in the story, and
there's an inspiration thatcomes from that, and kids are
willing then to maybe fightthrough some of the adversity
(19:18):
that they see.
Chantée Christian (19:19):
Yeah, I think it's important too, because I
kind of like how we were talkingabout earlier, I had never seen
someone look like me, with mybackground, do the things I have
been talking and dreaming aboutdoing, and so there wasn't this
wild space of it's possible, ofit's possible, and so for you
(19:47):
to author books and createspaces where youth can see
themselves, I think is reallyimpactful, because the buzzwords
around representation andseeing yourself, yes, and it
really is important to be ableto see yourself in spaces, to
even dream or know that they'repossible.
Ramall Johnson (20:03):
Absolutely.
I can look back honestlythrough my life and there were
key individuals at differentmoments in my life that I saw,
who looked like me, who spokelike me, who would achieve
levels of success that, when Isaw it, it inspired me, it gave
me the confidence that, hey, Icould do that too.
And not only did it give me theconfidence, they also imported
(20:25):
that confidence in me as well byspeaking life into me and
encouraging me to push forward.
And you know just, hey, man,you can do this too.
And I think that's one of thethings that is vital, especially
with kids coming up, and noteven kids, but even adults a
certain standpoint too, becauseadults have those same fears,
they have those same doubts, andif they have not seen an
(20:45):
example of an individual who'sdoing it, especially one who
looks like them, then there'sthis belief that, oh, I can't do
that, oh, that's beyond myreach.
And the reality is, nothing isbeyond your reach.
Because if you're willing toput work to it and if God has it
in his plan for you to do, thenthat's something that can't
happen.
We just have to have that faithto push forward and to do the
(21:08):
work, to gain the knowledge andpress on until we get to it.
Chantée Christian (21:13):
Yeah, I agree and I feel like God has a funny
sense of humor.
That's not really that funnysometimes.
Ramall Johnson (21:23):
Oh, he does, he does.
Chantée Christian (21:25):
And so I feel like sometimes it's less of us
doing the work and more of usbeing obedient.
Right, because sometimes hejust wants us to do a thing.
Right, because sometimes hejust wants us to do a thing, and
(21:57):
if we do a thing, theneverything else opens up.
So often we are afraid to giveup something Right, wonder why,
on the other side, the rewarddoesn't seem like we thought it
should, or the favor isn't whereit ought to be, and a lot of
times it's because we didn't dowhat we were told to do.
Right, and so there was a timewhere I thought hard work meant
(22:20):
that you get certain levelswithin organizations, it meant
that you got certain recognition.
No, no, no.
Yes, you work hard, yes, youhave a hard work ethic.
However, to what extent are youobedient?
Absolutely, to what extent areyou?
Ramall Johnson (22:39):
obedient, absolutely For me.
I love that too, because I'vealways said this that God will
never send your blessings towhere you are.
He's going to send yourblessings to where he told you
to be.
Oh, and if you do not movewhere he tells you to be, then
those blessings is not there.
Not there, they are wherethey're supposed to be.
(22:59):
You just aren't aligned withwhat he told you to do.
And a lot of that comes withobedience, a lot of that comes
with.
You know, as you shared, weoften think that we can work our
way to it.
We've all have that FrankSinatra complex, I call it.
I did it my way, and we thinkwe can move forward, push
through it and get to it.
When God told you, do this onething, yeah, and when you do
(23:23):
that one thing, as you shared,those other doors will open up
for you.
And not only will other doorsopen up for you, but when you
and this is a little Bible now,habakkuk 2.2,.
It says write the vision andmake it plain so that others who
see it will run with it.
And make it plain so thatothers who see it will run with
it.
So when you are clear in termsof what you're trying to do,
there are other people who willcome alongside you, not only
(23:45):
support you, but push you andrun with you as you're doing it.
But a lot of that comes withobedience and it's a matter of
okay.
God, I know this is what I want, but is that what he wants?
And if your want doesn't alignwith his want, which want is
going to win out?
Because only one is going towork out good for you, and
that's the choice we all have tomake internally with ourselves.
Chantée Christian (24:08):
Yeah, I like that.
I love the part B of thatscripture because so often we
only stick to the write it downand make it plain write it down
and make it plain and forgettingthat the write it down and make
it plain isn't for us, it's forthe other people to understand,
so that they too can come along, and it's a reminder to me for
(24:31):
a few things that I got going on.
However, it's also even whenyou were talking about when we
first met right.
I had wrote it down and made itso clear that, when I was able
to articulate it in a way thatthere was no mistake about what
I was doing, right, even thoughI may have been feeling waffly I
(24:51):
was on solid ground.
Ramall Johnson (24:53):
Right.
There's one other thing tooabout that, as you mentioned,
that feeling of waffling.
I've always believed this Ifyour dream is small enough that
you can accomplish it on yourown, it's not a dream.
That dream has to be big enoughthat it scares you, and it has
to be big enough that itrequires God to step in and do
what only he can do, because Idon't think he ever intended any
(25:15):
of us to play small.
He gets no glory by us beingsmall of us to play small.
He gets no glory by us beingsmall.
He gets glory by us magnifyinghis name, doing the work,
impacting the world positivelyand, through that, allowing
people to see what he's able todo in not only our lives but, by
extension, their lives.
Chantée Christian (25:34):
Who in the world thought we were going to
have Bible study?
What in the world is going onnow?
Ramall Johnson (25:39):
Look, I got Bible study coming up in about
an hour or so.
What is this?
I'm getting ready.
Chantée Christian (25:48):
And, in all seriousness, right, because I
believe that we are.
We're not linear, right, and soit's also really important to
have a full awareness of whereyou derive you from.
So, for people who are notChristians and or not believers,
(26:08):
what I want them to hear fromthis conversation is that you
got to get grounded in your whatand understand the why, in
order to keep going, to keeppushing to stay in consistency,
because it's not aboutperfection, it's not about the
(26:32):
hard work.
I know it doesn't sound like it, trust me, it's not about the
hard work, it is aboutconsistency.
It is about staying true to whoyou are when you figure out who
you are when you figure out whyyou're here.
Ramall Johnson (26:50):
when you figure out all of those things, Then
what One thing that I always do,especially when I'm training my
staff the primary focus that wehave, being in the industry I
am, which is finance andservicing and helping people.
It's really how outwardlyfocused are you?
Are you really observant of theindividuals who are coming in,
(27:11):
who you're entrusted to help?
And then, based upon that, whatare those principles that we
have set forth in terms ofexpectations, of how you are
expected to show up every singleday, how you're expected to
help these individuals and workwith these individuals and
really make a positive impact intheir life?
And that's truly understandingwhat is the true north that we
have in terms of how we're goingto guide and direct every
(27:34):
interaction we have.
And then, once you have that,you have that clear baseline
that you can then look at yourinteractions that you have with
people.
Ok, does that align with whatthat true north is?
You can look at thoseactivities that you have and do
when no one's looking.
Does that align with what thattrue north is?
And that's an integrity thing.
(27:55):
At that point, you know, areyou true to who you say you are?
Are you true to who you say youwant to be?
Point, you know.
Are you true to who you say youare, are you true to who you
say you want to be?
And that same person that youare when no one's looking should
be the same person you are whenyou're on stage.
And there's a level ofauthenticity that comes with
that and you know some peoplecall it realness and that's that
genuineness that you have, thathow you present and show
(28:17):
yourself to the world everysingle day, so that you don't
feel like you're wearing a mask,but you are genuinely being
yourself.
Chantée Christian (28:24):
Yeah, and I love that, because when you show
up as you, that's when the realmagic happens, that's when
people are drawn to you, that'swhen people are amenable to what
you have to say and how you canbe of service to them and them
(28:45):
to you, because everyinteraction, like you mentioned
earlier, has an exchange and howthe two people in the
conversation or in theinteraction are experiencing it
differently.
But that doesn't mean that bothof you didn't take something
away from it, and so I thinkthat it's just really powerful
(29:05):
to understand how you show up,how it's in alignment with who
you are or who you think you are, and being okay and flexible
enough to say there areopportunities for me to make
some shifts and some changeshere.
Ramall Johnson (29:21):
Absolutely, and when that version of who you
think you are and who you reallyare does not align, that gives
you, honestly, a greatopportunity to really do some
self work and figure out OK,this is who I say I want to be,
but let's evaluate who I havebeen up to this moment and if
(29:42):
this is who I've been and howI've shown up, what are those
things that I immediately needto change in order to become
that individual?
There's a thing that I've donewith friends and even with my
kids.
I'll show you how my mind works.
I work backwards, you know.
(30:04):
I tell each of them I forgotwhich book I got this from, but
it said imagine you wereattending your own funeral and
there are four groups of peoplewho are going to speak.
One is your family, one is yourfriends, one is your church,
one is maybe your coworkers.
What do you want thoseindividuals to say about you and
how present you were in theirlife, the impact you had in
their life?
And when you sit and you thinkabout that, then you work your
way backwards to today's timeand it gives you a picture of
(30:24):
how you need to show up in thoseinteractions with the
individuals at this current timeand using that as kind of a
guide to help you come to thatrealization of who you really
want to be.
Because who we are now is theproduct of our experiences.
We've had individuals we've met, whether that's past traumas,
past successes, books we've read.
(30:45):
All of those things have aninfluence on us and we are
beings who are meant to continueto grow, meant to continue to
evolve, and we have power overthat.
And so are we taking thosesteps to become that individual
who we want to be.
Chantée Christian (31:02):
Hmm, Because I'm so unserious.
As soon as you started listingall those groups and people, I
was like my God, that's about tobe a long funeral.
Now we're in the Southernhospitality I was like my.
God that's a lot of groups ofpeople.
Ramall Johnson (31:25):
Are we going to have one representative?
And they got two minutes youknow, I was like, oh, I don't
know.
You know how people do.
There's a lot of love in thatroom.
Chantée Christian (31:34):
You know how your people do I do.
You know how your people do Iabsolutely do, but.
I like that.
It's similar to a legacyquestion that I typically like
to ask around what is the legacythat you want to leave?
However, when I define legacy,it is not when you're dead and
(31:54):
gone.
It's about the imprints thatyou're leaving right now.
And so when you think aboutright now, the legacy that you
are leaving, the imprint thatyou're leaving on the world,
what is that?
Ramall Johnson (32:08):
Absolutely.
A couple of things.
Definitely, number one as youknow, I am a Christian.
God is the head and the centerof my life and as I continue to
grow, continue to evolve, Irecognize how little of me there
is and how much more of himthere is me there is and how
much more of him there is.
(32:29):
And so the legacy that I wantto leave is that when people see
me, they see a flawedindividual who continually
searches for him andcontinuously strives to get
better every single day.
I don't always get it perfect,like you said, it's not
perfection, but it is progressand daily making that progress
when it comes to that personalrelationship that I have with
him, hopefully pointing otherpeople towards him as well,
whether that's verbally or theexample that I live.
(32:51):
The second thing I would say interms of that legacy is the
people who you have in your life.
That's like I said earlier howare you showing up for those
individuals?
How are you there for thoseindividuals in those moments
when they need it?
And even in those moments whenthey don't need it, are you
making a positive impact, apositive influence in them to
where they can look back and belike man?
(33:13):
I'm so glad I met Ramon, like Iam genuinely glad that he was
there in that moment that Ineeded him, because we all need
that.
We all need those individualswho are willing to step in in
those moments where we don'tbelieve in our ourselves, maybe,
or have the strength that weneed to push forward.
We need that support group ofindividuals who are there to
(33:34):
help.
And so when individuals thinkabout me, even in this current
day, I want them to feel that,and feel that from a genuine and
personal connection that I havebuilt and established with them
.
Chantée Christian (33:45):
That's really it.
Mine isn't as prolific.
I remember Cicely Tyson did aninterview and they asked her
essentially like what's yourlegacy, or what's the legacy
that you're leaving, somethingto that effect, and she said
(34:07):
that I did a good job.
And I would say, for me it'snot just that I did a good job,
but I did what was uncomfortablefor me and sometimes
uncomfortable for others, and Istill held space Right.
(34:27):
I know that every interactionwith me is not a comfortable
interaction.
My job is not to make thingscomfortable.
I am literally a disruptor,before I even had a name for it,
like that's what I did, and soI understand that with that
comes a responsibility, and Ihope that by the time this airs
(34:53):
it'll be the right.
So, with these 42 years undermy belt, as a disruptor that
people know the intent and canembrace the impact, even if they
didn't agree.
And even if they didn't agree.
Sorry, that was personal, yeah,personal, but like no, I love
(35:16):
that though because, at the endof the day, I know without a
shadow of a doubt that mypurpose is to cultivate these
spaces for growth, for inspiredaction and for change.
And in order to do that, therehas to be resistance.
There has to be pushback Right,and so I want some people to be
(35:39):
like, well, ok, she gone.
And I want other people to belike you know what I remember
when she was there, how andwhere you know.
Ramall Johnson (35:52):
I love that and really you hit it on the head
because growth I don't thinkgrowth ever happens in comfort.
Oh God no, if you are toocomfortable and it's flowing, I
promise you you are not growing.
If anything, you're probablydying at that point.
So growth is never a byproductof living in comfort.
And you have to have thatagitation, that thing that
(36:12):
stretches your thoughts,stretches your expectation of
what you think you can do, andthat thing that obviously, at
times would be like I don't eventalk to you anymore.
You need that individual or,like you said, that disruption
to help you excel and grow.
There's one thing my wife Tracysaid and she said it very early
(36:33):
on and I paid attention to it,but I didn't.
But there was a particularmoment where it really stood out
to me.
She said you know, what Ramallpeople are watching is what she
said, and what she meant by thatis that God has an expectation
of who we are supposed to be,how we're supposed to live and
how we're supposed to presentourselves to the world.
And I remember we were at abirthday party for a good friend
(36:56):
of mine, adrian.
His wife threw him a surprisebirthday party, even though he
wasn't surprised because hewalked in there dressed to the
nines, you know, looking good.
Walked in there dressed to thenines, you know, looking good.
And so we were at this partyand they were playing some music
and she and I were in kind ofthis real connection moment
where, honestly, it felt like noone else was in this party.
(37:16):
And we're there dancing andlaughing and talking to each
other, and someone snapped thisphoto of us in that moment and
neither did she or I see theindividual who did it, and it's
one of those things thatcrystallized the fact that
there's always a lens on you,and how you show up in the world
is going to inspire, is goingto help, it's going to
(37:39):
facilitate change.
You know, having, you know, mytwo kids, dale and Amaya one
thing that I am always aware ofis how do I look to them?
You know, forget the world.
How do I look within them?
Have I lived a life where theysee a man of integrity, where
they see someone who's hadadversity, someone who's had
challenges, but someone who'salways pushed through and
(38:00):
someone who is willing tocontinue pushing through for
goals and dream and to continuefighting?
And so those are things thatmake up your character and make
up who you are, and so I lovethat you shared that information
about being that agitator,because I can definitely see
that in you and I think that'shonestly one of your biggest
strengths, that you have as well.
Chantée Christian (38:19):
Yeah, only child yeah.
It's only child.
It does that, it does that.
So I feel like this is a greatspot to ask you my last question
.
We've covered a few things.
We took the people to Biblestudy and brought them back, and
(38:39):
so I'm curious what is it thatyou want to leave the people
with?
Ramall Johnson (38:44):
For me, I always want to leave the people with.
We often hear and see otherpeople do things.
We always see individuals fromafar, and there are times where
you see individuals who've hadsuccess or who've had failure,
and there are lessons that canbe learned in both, and so, for
(39:04):
me, the thing that I wouldalways leave to people is you
know, when you evaluate yourlife, when you look at what you
hold value with whether that'ssuccessful individuals you've
seen or whether you have traumaor things that you've shrugged
with throughout your life whatare those lessons within each of
those that you can gain andlearn from to help you continue
(39:26):
to move forward?
Because it is about continuingto move forward.
It is about, regardless of whatclimate is going on in the
current world, how do you moveforward with becoming your full
and authentic self and reallybecoming that individual who you
?
When you were a little child,you made that promise to
yourself that this is who I amgoing to be.
(39:48):
You made that promise toyourself that this is who I am
going to be it may not have beena particular career, but it may
be who, the type of person youwanted to be and people love.
So how are you really strivingand moving forward to that?
And I would say for the peoplewho are out there honestly, man,
look at that every single dayand look at that and celebrate
those little wins too.
A lot of times we get so boggeddown with wanting that massive
(40:10):
victory and we don't realizethat.
I made a little bit of growthevery day over the last six
months and when you look at howyou were with the TV show, that
pressure you felt, I wouldventure to say right now that
(40:32):
wouldn't even be the case.
You would probably get in thereand get it done and be ready to
move on to the next.
And I think with us as wecontinue to grow and evolve, or
we continuously pushingourselves to move closer towards
who we want to be and who weshould be.
Chantée Christian (40:48):
That's good stuff.
Thank you for being on mypodcast with me.
Ramall Johnson (40:52):
Absolutely.
I'm glad I made the cut.
It's always one, it's alwaysone.
Chantée Christian (41:02):
I enjoy talking with Ramall about
embracing obedience, walking infaith, surrounding yourself with
the right people, and how itcan shape your journey.
Thank you for joining us andremember to stop doing shit that
doesn't serve you.
For more information or ifyou'd like to reach out to us,
(41:22):
visit at mybestshift underscoreLLC on Instagram.
See you later.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.