October 14, 2025 • 62 mins
From the Gridiron to Growth: LaTanya Edenburghs Playbook for Life
In this heartfelt and inspiring episode of the Stuck In My Mind Podcast, host Wize El Jefe sits down with LaTanya Edinburgh—a true trailblazer whose journey spans professional women’s football, empowerment coaching, and passionate advocacy for healing and growth. Together, they explore the unpredictable paths of life, the power of resilience, and what it really means to break barriers in both sports and society.
A Candid Start, A Powerful Conversation
Wize kicks off the episode admitting to a rare off day—lost notes and a late start—but LaTanya quickly sets the tone with compassion and grace, reminding us all to embrace life’s hiccups, breathe, and move forward with kindness toward ourselves and others. This natural and unfiltered beginning sets the stage for a discussion full of authenticity and deep insights.
LaTanya’s Football Journey: Pioneering on the Field
Listeners are treated to an inside look at LaTanya’s groundbreaking entry into professional women’s football at the turn of the millennium. Initially working behind the scenes in administration, her competitive spirit could not be contained—soon, she found herself donning full pads and taking the field. Her stories of playing full-contact football, choosing defense (“let me do the hitting!”), and traveling the country shed light on the challenges and triumphs of being a woman in a vastly male-dominated sport.
LaTanya reflects on being a pioneer during those early days—before widespread visibility or support for women in football existed. She discusses how her league overcame significant barriers simply through unbreakable team spirit, mutual support, and a shared belief that women belonged on that gridiron. Her pride in seeing the rise of women’s flag football and ongoing progress in women’s sports today is palpable, highlighting the impact of those foundational years.
From Athlete to Empowerment Coach: A Purposeful Pivot
The conversation then evolves beyond athletics. LaTanya shares that her calling to empower and uplift others began as a child, long before her football days. Today, she’s a multi-certified empowerment coach specializing in everything from therapeutic art to grief coaching. Her business, Illuminate Your Journey, is dedicated to helping youth, athletes, and adults heal from trauma, embrace personal growth, and step boldly into their purpose.
Through storytelling, LaTanya explains how she tailors her coaching—drawing from her various certifications and her intuitive gifts—to fit each client’s unique needs. Whether through art, life coaching, or grief work, her central mission remains the same: to guide people from loss to understanding so they can live with empowerment, purpose, and longevity.
Healing, Forgiveness, and Community Uplift
A critical theme in this episode is the role of healing and forgiveness. LaTanya delves deep into the concept of grief—not just related to death, but the “invisible griefs” that stem from unmet potential, transitions, or cultural and societal pressures. She passionately believes in creating safe spaces for people—especially in marginalized communities—to be vulnerable, seek support, and shed the stigma attached to therapy and emotional openness.
The conversation moves into broader community issues, touching on financial literacy, the importance of life insurance, and breaking generational cycles through knowledge and support. Both LaTanya and Wize share personal stories, from loss and hardship to finding hope and purpose, underscoring how critical it is to have honest conversations about mental wellness, money, and personal growth in the Black and Brown communities.
Women in Sports: Visibility, Equity, and the Road Ahead
As women’s sports like the WNBA reach record-breaking attendance and national attention, LaTanya reflects on what it means to finally see the “light shining” on female athletes. She dreams of a future where women receive not just recognition and fair compensation, but real support from across the spectrum—fans, families, and fellow athletes alike.
She’s candid about the double standards still present: how women are often labeled as having “an attitude” for displaying the same competitive drive admired in men, and how society must evolve to support women athletes (and women in general) without bias or belittlement.
Coaching Young Athletes: On and Off the Field
LaTanya brings her coach’s mentality into youth empowerment, describing her hands-on approach: meeting athletes where they are, speaking their language, and addressing the personal and practical barriers to their success. Her coaching philosophy is holistic, recognizing that athletes—especially young women—need more than just technical skills; they need tools to navigate transitions, build self-worth, and unlock their full potential at eve
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Sa
(00:32):
Foreign
and welcome to another episode of Sucking My Mind
podcast. And I know I'm running a little late today,
but thank, thank God for my guest because
(00:53):
she's willing to record a little bit later. So we're running a
little a late night, late night edition of Stuck
in My Mind podcast. I'm excited. My next guest is
phenomenal. So I'm just. It's gonna, it's been
a long day, everybody. I just hope everybody's having a great
day. Give me a moment while I set up and bring my
(01:15):
guest on. I'm excited to have her on, but
because of my tardiness, I'm not quite prepared just
yet. I don't know why. Hold on.
And the crazy thing is I am usually on point with this.
(01:41):
Okay, hold on. I think I got it now.
Well,
this is gonna be fun explaining this.
(02:01):
All right, well, I have an intro and I can't find.
All right, anyway, I have. All right, Latonya, I
do have an intro for you. I have. And for some reason I can't find
my notes now. This is going great. It's okay. Take your time. Look here, take
a deep breath. You know what life happens.
He cannot understand that that's a problem.
(02:24):
And we have to understand that some days just don't flow like we
normally want it to, so. Absolutely right. And I know this.
I, I, yes, we beat ourselves up. We beat
ourselves up. So just take a deep breath, man. Just
take a deep breath and we're gonna get through this slow
(02:44):
in a positive way. So.
This is just. It happens and this. And that's why I love going live also,
because it's just natural and things happen.
There's always, sometimes, sometimes you have difficulties and,
and just lose track of things. But like you
said, take more and taking a deep breath. Yes.
(03:07):
You know, find what I need to find. Yeah.
Because you know, we're so
triggered on making sure everything is perfect
and that we're doing everything that we're supposed to, which is natural
generally, but things happen. But it seems like it's
the minute that something hiccups, that's
(03:29):
when someone wants to attack or want to blame or look at this,
you know, and that's not the situation and people need to understand that
and we need to learn to be graceful to each other
and especially our young men too. Our men, because you
already carrying a lot on your shoulders. So it's okay.
Breath. We gonna be all right. We're not gonna beat ourselves
(03:52):
up. We gonna have fun in this podcast and hopefully they
still will enjoy it or get it or understand it. Like, you know
what? Yeah. All right, so no, now I'm. I got it now I got
my questions. I got everything. So Tanya, already. Yes,
Take us back. How did your journey into professional football
begin? Because I didn't get to. I didn't get to say my
(04:14):
intro piece about you, but if you want, I can give matter of fact
list. Yes. All right. So today's guest is a powerhouse who went from breaking
tackles on the football field to breaking barriers in life.
A best in an author, former WAFL
NWFA professional football player and multi certified
empowerment coach has lived a journey of resilience,
(04:37):
healing and inspiration. She's the
founder of the Illuminated Journey where she empowers
athletes, youth and adults to find healing, embrace growth
and step into purpose. From pioneering women's football to
champion mental health and equ. Inequality, equity,
her story is proof that no barrier is too strong to break.
(04:59):
Let's welcome to the Stuck in My Mind Latonya Edinburgh.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Will. It is an honor to be
here and a privilege to be here with you and stuck in.
So how did your journey start in professional football?
Oh, my God, 2000.
(05:20):
Yeah, I think it was 2000 when professional football started for
women. And it was
just an opportunity. And I started off working in
administration, helping up, helping out behind
the scenes. But I'm a natural athlete. I just love to have
fun. I love competition. And as I
(05:42):
continue to work, I'm like, I want to be on the field. I want to
be on the field. I want to be on the field. I want to knock
somebody out. And I was just like, okay, let's
go. And that's how it started. And it was really,
truly, it, it was like
being that pioneer for women
(06:04):
because we had the wnba. Yeah. And
you know, in basketball. So it's like, yes,
let's set this up for our women. Coming up for football.
And I'm not talking about football. Where it's the fun.
I'm so sorry. I didn't expect that. Where
(06:25):
it's the fun.
Victor, I'm wearing full pads.
Yes. Full pads, full tackle. So
that's where I'm at. I am so sorry. Oh, it
happens. The way
(06:46):
this show has begun has been great
now. So, yeah. Full pad, full tackles.
And then I just remember when I, you know, I
just enjoyed. I enjoyed at that time. I was traveling, I was like, why not?
I'm here anyway. Why not be part of this opportunity?
And I was just asked, I end up being,
(07:13):
do I want to play defense or do I want to play offense? And I
went with defense because it was like, do you want to get hit or do
the hitting somebody? Yeah, let me do the hitting.
Let me do the hitting. So that's where I am. And I. I
really and truly loved it. And it inspires me to see
when I see these young ladies out here and how popular flag
(07:34):
football is taking off, you know, so
it. When I see that, it is like a very
heartwarming thing because I feel like I was part of that
and giving it that opportunity. Yes, it's not full tackle, but still,
just to see women to grow and go
(07:54):
into the field of flag football
is just as powerful, especially when we get up into our college leads and things
like that. Listen, flag football
still, it still takes some skills to play. It's not simple.
You got to try to grab the flag. So exactly as
easy. It's easier probably to tackle somebody than to grab a flag sometimes.
(08:17):
So, yes, it does take a very unique technique, but
it's so much fun. It is so much fun.
But being a pioneer,
I can imagine the league faced a lot of barriers,
especially it's a male dominated sport. How did you
guys in the league get through that? How
(08:41):
did y' all just like, you know what? We're gonna show you guys that we
know how to play this sport.
Of course there's barriers. However, it was
just the heart. The heart for it,
the. The karate,
the heart for the. Just the. Just for all of us getting together and
(09:05):
supporting each other on and off the field
and coming together to try to figure out ways that we can
beat the situations and the people that
were against us in a positive way, you know, and. And
mentally and physically to be able to support each other.
(09:25):
Yes, there were barriers, but yet
we just continued just to move and groove through it and
heal and support each other. And I think that's how we generally
actually got through it. Yeah.
At what point did you know your calling went beyond football
field? At what point? One more time. At what
(09:49):
point did you know your calling went beyond the football field?
Ooh. As
an empowerment coach. Yeah. As every. Yeah,
I say it went beyond the
football team feel since I've been a child
(10:11):
and I just was
able to, luckily to be able to take what I had
onto the football field to support my sisters.
So I'm.
That's how I see that, is that it just allowed what
(10:32):
I do, how I see people, how I
vision things, how I
empower people of all
ages. It just went beyond
the football field of Course. But yes, I brought it in. It got
stronger and then out of the football field into
(10:55):
what I'm doing. So
you're known as Ms. Iyrj. How did that
name and Persona come about? From Illuminate your Journey?
Just from Illuminate your Journey. That's how that came about.
Just putting a little urbanness into it with the r. But yeah, Ms.
(11:16):
Iyrj, Illuminate youe Journey. Because I, I
was, I like to emcee
and when I am seeing or doing something having that stage name,
it's iyrj. I just felt like that was just something that was
kind of cool. Illuminate your journey. And
then it'd be at. Then people ask me to. What does IYRJ stands for?
(11:38):
Illuminate your Journey. Let me, let me help you illuminate your journey. So.
Yes. Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. So you
hold multiple certifications from therapeutic art to grief
coaching. How did you blend these into your practice?
Right now.
(11:59):
I would say I blend them into my practice based
on my clients needs.
And the reason why I say that is because
I also consider myself a visionarist. So when I see
or I reach people or come in contact
(12:20):
with people based off of what they need, I
have this feeling, intuition
that is very powerful and it's something that I've had for since
I've been a child as well. And
based off of what they need, you know, everybody's journey is not the
(12:40):
same. Just because I made two people may be going through
divorce, it may not be the
same need. So. Or two people who
might be fighting how to unlock their full potential
and maybe a career or to get to another goal in their
life may not be the same journey. So
(13:03):
based off of what they need and their likes and
dislike, I go into my repertoire and pull
out one of those certifications or blend the certifications together
in order to help my clients and whatever they need to
help them unlock, to empower them. Because I'm all about
empowerment as well. It's not just about that one
(13:25):
situation. How can I empower you
for success and longevity? You know, a lot of times when we're dealing with
something, we want to deal with just that, that piece.
But with my certifications, I'm able to
empower you not just for that peace, but
also for success and longevity. Because if
(13:48):
we can't get it together with that one piece and continue on,
you might hit that hiccup again. And even if you do hit that hiccup again,
it happens at least hopefully you have something. And then I
also like to stay in contact with my clients as well, to
continue to progress through different things.
So, so what role does healing and forgiveness play in the empowerment work
(14:11):
you do?
It plays a. It plays a huge role in everything I do. Because
we have to heal in order to move forward.
(14:31):
We have to understand
our grief. And grief is not just
when someone has passed away. It could be invisible
grief. And that's something that I enjoy
is talking to a person and
(14:51):
listening to what they're saying
and being able to dig in
and find different things that may have affected
them that is actually a grief or barrier
that keeps them from moving. So
(15:14):
I use all these different things to help with
healing. And then once you're able to heal
from situations and understand it, you know, taking people
from grief to understanding is the key.
A lot of times we don't understand why we're going through things
(15:34):
and as a minority, a lot of times we're taught to push
things down. Don't talk about it, you're going to figure it out. You da da
da da da da da. But we gotta understand
why we are going through these things. And by
understanding it, it's a part of healing
(15:54):
and as a part of healing is able to illuminate your journey
towards your success and longevity.
What's your approach to coaching young athletes and helping them find equal
opportunities in sports?
My approach to young athletes is
(16:16):
meet them on the court, meet them on the court, meet them
on the field. Let's talk about it, let's break it down.
Being an athlete, if I got to talk in basketball terms, I've got to talk
of football terms, soccer terms, Batman terms,
just being able to help them understand their
(16:38):
full potential. A lot of times in different levels
of athletes from high school to
WNBA is or,
or in, or NFL, it just depends. It depends
on what their need needing in that particular moment. And
when I say meet them on the court, but when I meet them on the
(16:59):
court, I'm also taking them off that court so that we can
back, back, look at the feel
as a hold and then distinguish
what is it? What? How do we
unlock your full barriers? Where are you trying to go?
What has caused that? You know, a lot of times we transition
(17:23):
our athletes to different stages in life, but we're not giving them the
tools to be successful in those different realms of
a level of life. And I, and I think that is so
important to be able to regroup,
reground yourself and figure out what it is I
need at these different levels so I can be successful and unlock my Full
(17:45):
potential for success.
Yeah. So
right now, women's professional sports is gaining
a lot of visibility. What does that mean to you
as a pioneer of women in women's sports?
(18:05):
What it means to me is that we are finally able to allow our
light to shine. It's no longer the
beacon of light behind someone else.
We are becoming the beacon of light for ourselves
in all areas of sports. It's empowering
us as young ladies. It is allowing
(18:28):
us to love ourselves, themselves,
not from behind someone, but in front of everyone.
It is, It's a beautiful thing.
It just to see. To
be able to be yourself and,
(18:49):
and just not be guilty for it,
you know, or feeling like we have to
hide what we know. So
it's very honorable to see. Very
honorable.
What's your dream for the next generation of female
(19:12):
athletes that are coming up?
I would say my dream for the next
season of athletes and beyond
will be
(19:35):
to further support.
Receive more support from all realms of life,
to see our fellow athletes
work together as one and not against each other.
(19:56):
I think that is so important,
to see our fellow athletes get the
compensation that they need as a powerful athlete,
because that is still a struggle for athletes
in the professional field
(20:17):
to be seen as not just an athlete,
but as a.
A woman who can
(20:38):
show a mixture of it all with respect.
Yeah. Yeah, that's.
And it's. I asked that question because right now, the
wnba, these women are, are killing it right now. They're,
they're. They have some of their best attendance records, some of the best
(20:59):
ratings. You got Caitlin
Clark, Asia Wilk, you got all these great players right now,
and it's shining a real light, real bright on women's
sports and everything. So I'm, I'm hoping to see. Yeah,
I, I would love to see women here, especially
women here, make much more money in sports. But
(21:22):
the only way that's going to happen is if people go out and support it
and people, if the fans could go out and enjoy these games
and, and, and of course, build up
revenue. But they've been having a. Attendance
records, players are getting signature shoes.
So I think right now it's, it's a great time
(21:43):
and I'm excited for what hold
the future holds a lot of these women in sports.
Yeah. I mean, it's so important and, and just to
be recognized. Just to be recognized,
be supported. Just to be supported by men, by children,
by women, you know, and not to be labeled
(22:06):
either in this process, you know, not to be labeled.
And. You know, a lot
of times we don't understand why, you know,
some women, we may feel like they have an attitude, but
do they really have an attitude or do they have to really just fight
to be them? You know, but yet we see
(22:30):
them as having an attitude. No, these young ladies have to fight
to be them. They have to fight. And that's
hard and that's frustrating and that's,
that's mental. That's mentalness. But yet in order
to be strong, we gotta fight. And fighting does become
(22:50):
very hard,
but yet we get judged for that. And you can't, you
know, and I always say, you know, and I'm hoping I'm
gonna use probably an appropriate word, but I'm trying. I'll try not to. But when
a man is very dominant, it's go, go, go.
He did a good job. Look at him. He's running, he's running his, his,
(23:13):
his, his ship or whatever. But as soon as a woman
does it, why she gotta be a.
Why she gotta. Why she got to be acting like that? But
she can do this. She can use the same words as that man,
but she's labeled. But that man is labeled as
he's running, he's doing a good job. We got
(23:35):
to stop that and we got to look at the bigger picture of
what these women athletes all around,
women in general, are doing and stop
belittling them because of their uncomfortability
of embracing what is happening
in this world with our women in a positive
(23:59):
way. Absolutely.
Beyond sports, how do you want your coaching and speaking to impact
communities. Beyond sports? I want my
coaching to give the community
a release, give them the opportunity to have a
safe environment where they feel that they can let
(24:21):
go, where they can feel that they're not judged, where they feel
that it's okay
to
not know, that it's okay to cry,
that it's okay to
(24:42):
admit and understand that there's
something going on. And I think, or
not, I think in our community, we're afraid. We're
afraid to do those things because that's what we've been taught, you know,
let's embrace our softness.
Females, males, children, let's embrace our softness. Softness
(25:05):
does not mean that I have to be like
all the time, you know, and there's a time and place
for everything. And I want our
community to know that it's okay to
have a life coach, an empowerment coaching. It's okay to go to
therapy. Yeah. But go
(25:29):
ahead. Just, just. No, because even because being
people of color is something that it's a
joke. It's like, oh, you go into therapy. Oh. Oh, my God.
It's not something that
I have no issue. I've said it plenty of times. I've gone to therapy because
(25:50):
I needed it to help turn my life around and whatever it
was. And I have no shame about
showing my emotions because I was actually raised by two
strong, independent women. Oh, cool. Oh.
But it's. It's a stigmatism in the black and
brown community that. Oh, no, you don't. You don't go
(26:13):
talk to a head doctor. Don't go. No head doctor. I'm
not going. No shrink, you know. Yeah, yeah.
So, yeah, you know, you, you know, we're taught, you know what, you don't show
weakness. You know, you don't do this, you don't do that. Pull up
your bootstraps, do this, do. Do that. You.
You'd be like. So we're taught to just
(26:35):
shrink, but yet with. But we
shrinked inside and we put on this mask,
and when we put on this mask, it hides everything
and it becomes very
hard to let
it out, you know, and to talk. And then the thing about.
(26:59):
When I think about community, I want that stigma to be broken.
I want us to be able to teach our young children
and the people beside us at our age or
whatever that it's okay and
it does not mean that you're weak. You know, and
unfortunately, too, in our community, as a minority, you know, we think about money.
(27:23):
Money is a problem when it comes to therapy or,
you know, or any of the necessary.
It's not something. Financial literacy isn't something that's
taught in our community. Yes, that's
not taught in our community. It took me to my
late 30s to, to. To start putting
(27:45):
away into 401k. Start invested in a Rafael.
These aren't things. These aren't things that I was taught growing up.
This, this wasn't something shared.
It wasn't because my mom didn't know about
investments. She didn't know about owning property
(28:06):
or any of that. She, she. This wasn't something she just
know. Knows to work and pay the bills. And it
wasn't, it wasn't like. Now her sister, on
the other hand, she's. Now that I'm realizing she's the one who owned
property, she. She knew what to do. And, and so
she was kind of financially literate and, and, and
(28:28):
knew about investments and all. So
now that I'm. I think I'm about to turn 50 next
year. It took me the
last 10, 12 years to build up whatever I have
now in retirement. Yeah. And you know, when
it comes to financial, that's another part because I started off as an accountant when
(28:51):
I started in college. So I love money and figuring things
out. And I was raised in that type of community where my
parents own a convenience store and you know,
they're self entrepreneurs. So I was blessed to be able to have
that, you know, and financial literacy is so important. Like I'll put together
different financial workshops and things and it needs to start young.
(29:14):
Like I'm getting ready to put one together for preteens because if you can teach
them at the age of 10, 11 and 12, you know about
credit and debit and savings and checking and
what a credit score is. And because of the time that we,
we're in, you know, everything is cash, app or debit
card, they're not really looking. We, we no longer have that checkbook that
(29:36):
we can look at and see what our balance is, you know, so that's going
to be even more
an issue. So I, financial literacy is so important.
Life insurance, you know, things like that. And well,
I'm here in Pennsylvania, I'm licensed to sell life insurance. That
was something. Yes, yes. That's something that I, I,
(29:59):
I'm very, to me, it's, it's important. I do believe people
and it's a shame that again in our
community they're like, why do I need life
insurance? So I'm not, it's protection. It's
not you're gonna die then and there. It's
just to protect you in case something does happen.
(30:21):
Protecting those that you love, that you love
and, and you don't want to leave
them having to start a GoFundMe page because
you didn't have coverage or whatever. But we don't want
to talk about it. We don't want to, I don't want to talk about that.
I want to talk about life insurance. But there was a, many years ago,
(30:43):
there was this lady, my
principal that I worked under, and she was like, when you get it,
when you get life insurance or when you get these type of things, those who
have them don't need it. It's the ones who don't have it that needs it.
I was like, that makes sense. But we don't get it. We don't
see that. We understand it. We don't understand it. Yeah, exactly. We don't understand
(31:05):
that, that life insurance can be your bank at some point if you get the
right one. And I didn't learn about that until later on in life and I'm
just like, oh my God, I can have how many millions
in my life insurance that I can borrow from my bank versus going. Going to
a bank, you know, so is financial literacy is so important
in our community? You know, and it makes me. And then
(31:27):
sometimes people are embarrassed. And that's another thing about
the. My coaching is about healing in all different
types of rams. Because like you're saying you have your mom
who doesn't know about financially, but then you have an aunt that does.
It's like, what is the barrier that's. There.
(31:48):
Or, or what needs to be. Or healing what needs to be that. That we're
not picking it up. You know, what is it? You know,
have we embarrassed? And I'm not saying your people in particular. I'm just thinking for
me, you know, families, like, what is it,
what is it that I'm, I'm showing you these things.
I'm willing to walk your hand through it. But what is it?
(32:10):
What's keeping you from this opportunity?
Yeah. And most of the time it's
knowledge based is not. It's not having the information, is not knowing the
information. Yeah. And
even, but even if you try to teach them, sometimes we just can't pick
(32:31):
it up or we don't want to, or we're embarrassed.
I. One thing I have found out in, in the black community
and in a few others is when you see
somebody doing well, you're
embarrassed. And because of your embarrassment,
(32:54):
you don't put forth the effort, you don't celebrate them.
No. No. And then you wondering why your years are passing
by. But yet this person is willing to walk you
through. But the embarrassment keeps you from
moving through. You know,
it's. It's very interesting. It's definitely interesting. But
(33:17):
that's why I say I'm all about. And that's part of grief. What part.
What invisible grief kept you from this? And that's what I'm about
is taking people from grief, identifying that
grief and understanding. Understanding why.
Why? So we can illuminate
longevity, success. No, absolutely. Believe me,
(33:40):
I. I know it.
There was a time where my, My journey. My journey
began in, in, in early
2000s. And then it really started
when. In 08, when my wife passed away
in a car accident. But the crazy thing was
(34:02):
prior to that, she, she started introducing me to the world
of self development. Just
learning and wanting to improve. And, and so I, I
think she was kind of preparing me for what was to come. And
so it was. I lose her in 08 and
then the very next year I reunite with my
(34:24):
father after 28 years of not knowing anything about him.
I go see him Father's Day weekend, Friday,
Saturday morning, he passes away. And then he
goes. I lose my
uncle and brother, who are two major roles
in my, in my development and growth
(34:47):
as a man. And
my brother that I had reunited from my father's side, dies
from overdose. And then my aunt, the one that I told you, the
entrepreneur, she passes away. So it was just,
it was like a four year span where I was just. And
I was going through struggles, just was
(35:11):
angry with life, with God,
with everything. Like, why me? Why is all this happening?
And so for a while I was very self destructive
and didn't have a. And my path was just not the way
it was supposed to go. Yeah. And then this
voice is like, this isn't you. This isn't what you're
(35:34):
supposed to be doing. This is not your path. You need
to start changing. You need to start getting your life
together. So I started going to therapy,
started turning my life around,
was able to just
get licensed in New York state as a security
(35:57):
guard and started doing security and
just started piece my life back together. Then 2013,
I meet my wife that I'm with now.
2014, she convinces me to move to Pennsylvania. I moved
my family from New York City up to Pennsylvania with
(36:18):
me and we've been. Been up here
since. And I landed a job as, at a
casino, as, as a security guard.
And now I'm, I've been there 11 years. Now I'm a pit
boss. And
so I've gone from
(36:40):
where I was at to now. And then 20,
20 hits, I get furloughed from work, the pandemic,
I launch my podcast, start
finding out that I'm actually, I do have a voice.
And I found something that I'm passionate about and I love
and, and the reaction that I'm getting from people
(37:02):
listening to the podcast and the people I start interviewing and
the messages I started receiving from people and I'm like,
this is what I love to do. This is my purpose, being able to create
this platform and interview people and talk to people and have them share
their message because there are people out there that need to hear these messages.
And so being able to start the podcast and
(37:25):
start learning so many, like I had no idea about RSS
feeds, thumbnails,
descriptions, intro, none of that.
But I was like, yeah, I want
to learn YouTube university, started taking
courses, going to YouTube, asking questions, started connecting with people,
(37:47):
started learning so many different things to the point now where
besides today, I usually have a nice smooth Running
show. No, no, not
besides today. Including today. Including today.
But for the most. Yeah, no, today. But we still having a great conversation. Yes,
(38:07):
exactly. It might have not started out the way it
usually starts out, but it's still turning out into
something that's amazing. But
being able to find my voice and know that because
I wasn't in media, like I said, pit boss.
Yeah. I started off as a dealer, so
(38:29):
of course I built up my skills communicating with people.
And because you have to be personable when you're
dealing to players, because you work for tokes, you
work for tips. So of course you have to. So I
was able to build up that side of
what I'm doing now. So it kind of helped me with
(38:53):
leading into this, into launching a podcast, launching
a production company, being able to learn how to self
publish books, launch the Internet
radio station, all these different things
in the past five years. And because I started with
(39:14):
my podcast. See, that's what I'm talking
about. I am so, like, oh, that just makes me feel so good,
especially to hear the different things that you went
through, because it is. It's very easy to get stuck,
you know, like you say, stuck in my mind, it's very easy to
get stuck. And going through so much, much. You were
(39:36):
able to crawl
because you had to crawl before you can walk, you know, but. And
that's another thing that we don't do. We don't celebrate the small steps.
And just like a baby, when a baby starts to crawl, we like,
yeah, look at the baby. Why can't we say, yay,
look at you. Look what you're doing, you know, and then you start to walk.
(39:59):
You take those starts. Yes. You may fall while you try to
learn how to walk again. But. But that's okay, you
know, And I'm. I, you
know, Will, this is my first time meeting you, but I. My hat is off
to you because especially as a black young man, this
is hard. I see so many that just suffer,
(40:21):
suffer in pain and don't know why, you know.
So my hat's off to you and your family for
supporting you, you know, your wife and things. So my hat is
off to you. And I'm not a therapist, but I am a life
coach. So people don't understand that. That's two different things. You
know, my coaching comes in where from this point,
(40:43):
we're going to continue to heal, moving forward. So from
present to future. But people don't understand that. They. I'm not a
therapist. I'm not that person. Come in. We're gonna sit on the couch, I'm gonna
dig in, you know, so, so. One, so
one of my, one of my goals was
to get certified as a life coach, which I did a couple
(41:05):
of years ago. It was something that I was like, you know, this is something
that, it's important to me. So yeah, certified.
And like you said, yes, you're not a therapist, but. And you like, and you
like to dig in. That's what you're supposed to do. Because, because.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and I love the fact that you're
talking about being self published, you
(41:27):
know, so that is really cool because I have a.
Being a best selling author. If I knew then what I knew that now
it's a co author book that is
best selling author. And then I have my,
My Hero's New Journey that's coming out which is a children's book which is
talked about, you know, feelings and going
(41:50):
through them and understanding that. And then something else I have also
coming out is three journals. And I'm got my, I'm putting
everything together because self publishing, well, my
Hero's New Journey is through Christian,
Christian faith publishing. That's who's publishing that
one. And then my journals are me.
(42:12):
So it's, it's a trilogy. Beneath the Silence,
between the Silence and beyond the Silence. And each journal is 30
days that will take you through that will guide you through
different types of grief that you may be going through
so that you can illuminate in your journey. So
yeah, I love, I. It just makes me, you know, I'm
(42:36):
just happy just to hear you say that you went through so much
and that you came out of it to where you are now. Oh
no. Yeah. No, I, I've. And, and at first, like when I first
started, I didn't understand how important sharing my
story was. Right. Because you always think that, oh
no, my story doesn't matter, doesn't. It's not important.
(42:59):
And then, but when you do share it and people hear it, they're like what,
what are you talking about? You, you do have something to share. You do have
a story. And we all, everyone does. Everyone has their story
and everyone has that, their journey and everyone goes through the experience,
but it's again sound. It's cliche, but
it's how you bounce back up. Yes,
(43:23):
yes. People don't understand that. And by sharing your story
you're further able to understand your own
story. And people don't realize that even in the classroom
when I'm teaching, teaching reading or teaching English, I tell
My kids, you are author too. They'd be like, Ms. Edenburg, I'm
(43:43):
author. Yes, you are an author. When that fight broke out,
didn't you not come back and tell that story? Did you not give
a tone? You know, did you not?
I was like, you was telling a story. You are a author. You put
somebody in a certain mood, you know, or I say,
you're an author. When you come in and you go to your mom and you'd
(44:05):
be like, hey, mama. You put her in a good. How you feel? You put
her in a mood, you give her a mood. And your tone has changed. Hey,
I want to go out. If I do this, that's telling your story
too. They was like, wow, you know, and I don't think we
elevate people enough to help them understand that they are telling
their stories in different ways. So. Yeah,
(44:28):
I know. And, and it's, it's funny because if you would have told
me five years ago that I would have self published books,
I would have made. Nah, not possible. I'm not enough. I
don't do. But doing the podcast and the conversations and,
and a lot of the courses that I've taken and a
(44:48):
lot of the reading that I've been doing and just to develop my
self development and growth and, and so yeah, I had a lot of stuff that
I wanted to share and express and put out there. So. Yeah. Yes.
What's the name of your book? Oh, the Power of Purpose. The Power of
Purpose. I love it because people don't understand that
I didn't realize that I knew what I mean, I
(45:10):
enjoy what I been doing. Yeah. I didn't know my purpose,
but now. I'm just truly, I didn't know it was my purpose. I
didn't, I didn't know it was my purpose. And I just realized that probably within
the last year or so and it's like, it's what I do. People always come
to me, people always ask me questions, but I just didn't know. But now I
really and truly understand that being
(45:32):
an empowerment coach, a visionaries, a life coach,
it's my purpose. I enjoy it. I enjoy,
you know, if I'm somewhere and I see someone, I can just, hey,
you're gonna be okay. I may not even know this person, but I, my
vision feels them and then they'd be like, well, how did you. I was like,
I just, I just see it and it feels so good.
(45:55):
Oh, it feels amazing. Yeah.
I tell people like, I wish you could feel how I feel when,
when I get to do my podcast or I get to have these wonderful
conversations or anything that, that involves
me being creative and collaborating and help to
empower others. It's a wonderful feeling for me.
(46:17):
I just, I just have such a great time when I'm on the mic
and just creating content and just being able to,
to do the things that I'm doing. There's something that I'm working
on right now for, for next year. Okay.
But I'm, I'm starting to process now because my goal, like, is
to have. And I'm gonna put out there because it's gonna happen.
(46:41):
I'm, I've already started the process, started reaching out to some places, but
I want to have a retreat up here a few days,
book podcasters to come and, and collaborate and, and
we work, have a couple of workshops, have a
couple of keynote speakers, come down and just
(47:01):
enjoy the, the beautiful Pocono Mountains and, and create content and, and
learn all these different skills. And so I've started that process.
I've started working with, talking with people. Let's
send them. Showing them my proposals, proposal, what I want to do. And it's
exciting because now other people are seeing the vision and they're
excited. Like, my wife isn't
(47:24):
really involved, but when I showed her the proposal and I showed her the place
that I was looking at, and now every day she's asking me like, did they,
did they reach back out to you? Did this happen? And she's
excited. And then few friends that I showed
it to and, and they're like, what can we do to be a project? I'm
like, listen, let's start a committee. Let's start working together and getting this going. So
(47:46):
it was like, it's just like been a snowball. Like, the
idea came and I was like, okay,
let's make this happen. Let's see what do we need to do? And then
like I said, I just put it out there and people just started reacting to
it and I'm like, all right, now it's just
work is just going and, and my goal is next year to be
(48:10):
sometime in the fall to be up having my retreat and
helping others. Oh, this is so cool. Because I'm actually putting
together a retreat as well. Yes.
And mine is going to start in October. It's an urban. It's
starting off on a Friday, an urban retreat. And it's a
passport. So each month we're going to do something. Something. And then next
(48:33):
fall, I wanted to lead up to a two day
retreat. Oh. As well. But you know, through
the whole process, we're going through different
healing opportunities and journeys
and doing different things in the community. That's going to actually lead
up to a two day retreat. So I think
(48:54):
that is so awesome. I think that is so awesome because you, yeah.
And hey, maybe we need to come to the Poconos and support you, you
know, because that's what it's all about. That's support. Like I said,
I will be looking for some speakers.
Well, you talk about the mic. I love the mic when I'm MC and I,
I. It's funny, right? Because like I
(49:16):
said, I'm a coach. I want to get into speaking because I'm doing the podcast
and it's not very easy to go find stages, right?
So I'm like, you know what? Okay, let's, let's just create. Let's create
him. Let's right, this retreat, like, I'm gonna go
up, I'm gonna do a presentation.
Any of my friends who interested, they want, I got. And of course,
(49:39):
I've networked with so many different people and connected with so many different people and
built some amazing relationships that they're like, I have people
who already, like, I'd be like, hey, are you interested in.
Oh, hell yeah. Without hesitation.
So it's amazing, those relationships
and knowing that people
(50:02):
even. Like a lot of us, we've met just virtually. We haven't,
but we've been friends probably for the last five years
since I started podcasting or 3, 4, 5,
whatever it is. But it's relationships that are
turning into lifelong friendships. Like, I've been
blessed this past year, last couple of years, to actually
(50:24):
connect with people in person, like either
going to events or going to support a friend
who opened the theater in Pittsburgh. Shout out to Jeff.
So last year he opened a podcasting theater
and last year I went to Pittsburgh. We had a great time.
(50:45):
We went live for two days hosting other podcasters and
it was amazing to go and connect with him, meet his family, meet his wife.
He met my wife. It was amazing to
see someone that I had been hanging out
with virtually in person and get to really connect with them and build
that relationship on a real personal level.
(51:08):
Yeah, it is really cool when you are meeting someone virtually and
you get to actually meet them in person. It's like a whole new different level.
So. So I do have to totally agree with that. Totally, totally agree
with that. So, yeah, I think this is so awesome. I'm excited because
even like with me, I set up my podcast
through yard. What is it? Yard. I can't think of
(51:30):
the yard. Streamyard. Yes, stream yard.
It's set up. But have I launched? No, I haven't done anything yet. You know,
he's. Exactly. Why haven't I?
Exactly. But it is what it is. I'm gonna get to
it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no. Not gonna get to it. No.
(51:54):
You're either gonna do it or you're not. It's. It's not. You're gonna get to
it. I. When. When are you gonna do it? My goal
is to start next year in the fall, in the
summer. I know, I know, I know, I know. I'm writing.
I. I'm mc.
Doing some motivational speaking. I'm trying to
(52:15):
figure things out. I'm still working. I'm still growing. All right,
but don't. Don't say you're. Now don't. Like, if you're gonna
start the podcast started. Just. If not, just hold off until you're
ready, but don't. Yeah. Nah. And if you need any help, let me know.
I would love to help you. I appreciate that. And same here.
(52:36):
I would definitely appreciate that, because, you know, that's what it's about
is really and truly valuing each other.
Not taking advantage. No. But yet
supporting each other, and people don't realize that, you know,
and I've. I've built those relationships where if there's something
I know and I can help my friends with, I'm there.
(52:59):
It's. It's. And of course, if I need something for
hesitation, they're like, oh, this is what you need to do. So
I love the fact that I've been able to build those relationships. And
again, it's not
both of us. It's like exchanging of value.
(53:20):
It's like if I don't know something and they know it,
they're more than willing to help me. And they know if I have something
that I'm always bursting to share, like, if I get a new
tool, a new something, I'm always messaging one of my.
Like, yo, you need to check this out. You need to do. Yes, yes, yes,
yes, yes. Because I think it's something that you should
(53:43):
learn. Hey, listen, I'm not gonna. I'm not trying to hoard everything I
want my friends to. To learn
just as much as I learn. Yes. And I, you know, and I think
that's the part there that we
tend to not do as much as share, you know,
share. Uplift each other.
(54:05):
It. It. It could be those small Things that really and truly can
change a person's life, and it's so important. But
we. I don't know if we're scared to. I. I don't know what
it is, but I totally agree. And people always say, don't give everything away.
Don't give all your. Your knowledge away, you know, but if I
see and I'm able to give some information, I'm just hoping that it
(54:28):
comes back to me in another way. It does. It does. People.
People. You shouldn't give her like. No, you should.
You should. Because believe me,
the stuff you share, it's important.
Yes. But it's.
It's the results that you. That. That are.
(54:51):
That are happening from it. Like, if it's benefiting someone and it's
uplifting someone, you. Yes. You might not see
monetary value from it, but something. Something's gonna
happen in such a positive way that you're gonna be like, oh, man,
this is. This is what. This is my reward. This is what I'm
getting. People get
(55:14):
uplifted in or whatever it is that. That makes you happy. Because again,
yes, everybody wants to make money, but again,
it doesn't breed happiness. You're not. You're not going to be happy
just because you're making a lot of money. That's true. And, you know, and I
just look at it as part of my stewardship, you know, and
I don't look for anything back. I really, truly don't. I
(55:37):
do things because I just love to do it. It's just. I. I just
enjoy it. Yes. I want to get to a point where
I'm making, you know, you know, doing this and doing
that, you know, like, I want
it, but yet when I can share it, just to
share, because it's something that a person needs.
(55:59):
I rather share with you because you need
and see you shine than to hold it back
for some selfish reasons. So. And.
And you know what's amazing, right? The. The person who made
this happen, she connected us
together. Angela,
(56:22):
let's lose. Okay. Yes, yes, yes. And.
And that's what I'm talking about. It's. It's people like that who. Who feel like,
listen, I want to connect. I want to connect you guys because
I could see something happening. I could see magic happening. And
it's those people that are amazing. It's people like Angela who is
like, I need to connect these two people. I need to connect this person.
(56:45):
I need to connect. And that's amazing to have
that gift, to be a connector
and know that, oh, man, now these Two people, they'll make some
magic together. Yes. Oh, my God. Me and
I met Angela last September. September in
California at the Emmys. And
(57:08):
I was. I was doing my part, she was doing her part
there. And we were able to connect
afterwards a little bit more. And even at that moment, I was just
giving her a few different pointers, advice. You just release that
tension and the stress of everything. And
from there we grew. And then we were
(57:30):
met again for the super bowl during the event around
the super bowl in New Orleans this year. And we
end up communicating and bonding. And then she end
up being my. My agent to us, you know, helping
me with different things with my business. And since
she has been on my team to support. Support me and to
(57:53):
guide me, she is amazing. And then she has her Monday
night events where it's like, ask me anything. Where she has like a
webinar and a podcast and a bunch of entrepreneurs and
people who are trying to get there is there. You can feel the
pureness in her heart when she's teaching us and
educating us, you know, so she's amazing. She is so
(58:15):
amazing. I have the funniest story you with her, because
I thought she was pr. I thought she did PR for people.
No, that's not what she does because.
Because she just started. She. She sent me an email. She's like, oh, I have
such and such. I want to introduce you to this person. So I'm thinking, all
right, okay. I guess she's their PR because she. She introduced me
(58:38):
to four or five people, including.
And so when one day I send a link and I'm thinking, actually, I thought
I was interviewing you, and it was actually her,
and I'm like, I thought
I was. She's like, no, you're interviewing me. I'm like, you're not pr.
(59:00):
She says, no, I'm like.
I said, but you're so good at it. She is.
And you know, even for her, because I told her, you know, and I think
that's the cool thing too. When you have someone that's on your team
and you're working together, it's like you. You
uplift and push each other out your comfort zones. And that's why it's
(59:21):
like, why are you not doing podcasts? You getting. You getting me on these podcasts.
Why are you not doing them? Why are you not doing this? You. You're
good at it, you know, and it's. It's the matter of us
once again supporting each other. And
even in the NFL, when we said our. In our event and
(59:41):
there was things going on, and I was like, have you thought about this?
And she was like, oh, my God, I didn't do it. But it was an
invisible grief that she had that she didn't even realize,
you know, and to bring that to light. But Angela is
amazing. And things that she knows.
I know, I know. You have to go. So we are okay? I'm okay.
(01:00:03):
I'm okay. I still got a few more minutes before I pick up my son
for football. Yeah, no, no. Yeah. I don't. Yeah, but no,
but we. We are going to have another conversation. This
has to be a part two. This definitely has to be a part two. But
thank you so much for being such a wonderful guest. I love it. But now
we've come to the part of the show where you get the solo screen and
you get to plug away and let everybody know where they find you. Okay,
(01:00:26):
thank you. My name, I have my business
Illuminate your journey. I am a empowerment
coach. I take you from
grief and or find your grief
and illuminate your journey. You can find me at WW
IY RJ coaching
(01:00:50):
dot com. So WW IYRJ coaching
dot com. Thank you. Awesome,
awesome, awesome. Thank you so much for being such a great guest.
I'm closing the show out right quick, so you chat right quick before you leave.
But thank you so much once again. Thank you for inviting me, Will. And it
will be a privilege to be back on your show again. Oh, no, you're
(01:01:11):
gonna be back on the show because this. This has to go. This one. This
one too fast. Okay, awesome. All
right, all right. Thank you. But let me. All right, everybody.
Another great episode. Thank you, everybody who tuned in. If. If
Latonya's story moved you, go connect with her at illuminate your journey and
discover the resources she's created to empower the next generation. And if you
(01:01:33):
know someone stuck in their own struggle, share this episode with them. Because
sometimes hearing the right story at the right time is the first step to
change. Stay resilient. Stay focused. Stay wise. Night
boy. Wise does it. Peace out. Sa.
Sa
(00:32):
Foreign
and welcome to another episode of Sucking My Mind
podcast. And I know I'm running a little late today,
but thank, thank God for my guest because
(00:53):
she's willing to record a little bit later. So we're running a
little a late night, late night edition of Stuck
in My Mind podcast. I'm excited. My next guest is
phenomenal. So I'm just. It's gonna, it's been
a long day, everybody. I just hope everybody's having a great
day. Give me a moment while I set up and bring my
(01:15):
guest on. I'm excited to have her on, but
because of my tardiness, I'm not quite prepared just
yet. I don't know why. Hold on.
And the crazy thing is I am usually on point with this.
(01:41):
Okay, hold on. I think I got it now.
Well,
this is gonna be fun explaining this.
(02:01):
All right, well, I have an intro and I can't find.
All right, anyway, I have. All right, Latonya, I
do have an intro for you. I have. And for some reason I can't find
my notes now. This is going great. It's okay. Take your time. Look here, take
a deep breath. You know what life happens.
He cannot understand that that's a problem.
(02:24):
And we have to understand that some days just don't flow like we
normally want it to, so. Absolutely right. And I know this.
I, I, yes, we beat ourselves up. We beat
ourselves up. So just take a deep breath, man. Just
take a deep breath and we're gonna get through this slow
(02:44):
in a positive way. So.
This is just. It happens and this. And that's why I love going live also,
because it's just natural and things happen.
There's always, sometimes, sometimes you have difficulties and,
and just lose track of things. But like you
said, take more and taking a deep breath. Yes.
(03:07):
You know, find what I need to find. Yeah.
Because you know, we're so
triggered on making sure everything is perfect
and that we're doing everything that we're supposed to, which is natural
generally, but things happen. But it seems like it's
the minute that something hiccups, that's
(03:29):
when someone wants to attack or want to blame or look at this,
you know, and that's not the situation and people need to understand that
and we need to learn to be graceful to each other
and especially our young men too. Our men, because you
already carrying a lot on your shoulders. So it's okay.
Breath. We gonna be all right. We're not gonna beat ourselves
(03:52):
up. We gonna have fun in this podcast and hopefully they
still will enjoy it or get it or understand it. Like, you know
what? Yeah. All right, so no, now I'm. I got it now I got
my questions. I got everything. So Tanya, already. Yes,
Take us back. How did your journey into professional football
begin? Because I didn't get to. I didn't get to say my
(04:14):
intro piece about you, but if you want, I can give matter of fact
list. Yes. All right. So today's guest is a powerhouse who went from breaking
tackles on the football field to breaking barriers in life.
A best in an author, former WAFL
NWFA professional football player and multi certified
empowerment coach has lived a journey of resilience,
(04:37):
healing and inspiration. She's the
founder of the Illuminated Journey where she empowers
athletes, youth and adults to find healing, embrace growth
and step into purpose. From pioneering women's football to
champion mental health and equ. Inequality, equity,
her story is proof that no barrier is too strong to break.
(04:59):
Let's welcome to the Stuck in My Mind Latonya Edinburgh.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Will. It is an honor to be
here and a privilege to be here with you and stuck in.
So how did your journey start in professional football?
Oh, my God, 2000.
(05:20):
Yeah, I think it was 2000 when professional football started for
women. And it was
just an opportunity. And I started off working in
administration, helping up, helping out behind
the scenes. But I'm a natural athlete. I just love to have
fun. I love competition. And as I
(05:42):
continue to work, I'm like, I want to be on the field. I want to
be on the field. I want to be on the field. I want to knock
somebody out. And I was just like, okay, let's
go. And that's how it started. And it was really,
truly, it, it was like
being that pioneer for women
(06:04):
because we had the wnba. Yeah. And
you know, in basketball. So it's like, yes,
let's set this up for our women. Coming up for football.
And I'm not talking about football. Where it's the fun.
I'm so sorry. I didn't expect that. Where
(06:25):
it's the fun.
Victor, I'm wearing full pads.
Yes. Full pads, full tackle. So
that's where I'm at. I am so sorry. Oh, it
happens. The way
(06:46):
this show has begun has been great
now. So, yeah. Full pad, full tackles.
And then I just remember when I, you know, I
just enjoyed. I enjoyed at that time. I was traveling, I was like, why not?
I'm here anyway. Why not be part of this opportunity?
And I was just asked, I end up being,
(07:13):
do I want to play defense or do I want to play offense? And I
went with defense because it was like, do you want to get hit or do
the hitting somebody? Yeah, let me do the hitting.
Let me do the hitting. So that's where I am. And I. I
really and truly loved it. And it inspires me to see
when I see these young ladies out here and how popular flag
(07:34):
football is taking off, you know, so
it. When I see that, it is like a very
heartwarming thing because I feel like I was part of that
and giving it that opportunity. Yes, it's not full tackle, but still,
just to see women to grow and go
(07:54):
into the field of flag football
is just as powerful, especially when we get up into our college leads and things
like that. Listen, flag football
still, it still takes some skills to play. It's not simple.
You got to try to grab the flag. So exactly as
easy. It's easier probably to tackle somebody than to grab a flag sometimes.
(08:17):
So, yes, it does take a very unique technique, but
it's so much fun. It is so much fun.
But being a pioneer,
I can imagine the league faced a lot of barriers,
especially it's a male dominated sport. How did you
guys in the league get through that? How
(08:41):
did y' all just like, you know what? We're gonna show you guys that we
know how to play this sport.
Of course there's barriers. However, it was
just the heart. The heart for it,
the. The karate,
the heart for the. Just the. Just for all of us getting together and
(09:05):
supporting each other on and off the field
and coming together to try to figure out ways that we can
beat the situations and the people that
were against us in a positive way, you know, and. And
mentally and physically to be able to support each other.
(09:25):
Yes, there were barriers, but yet
we just continued just to move and groove through it and
heal and support each other. And I think that's how we generally
actually got through it. Yeah.
At what point did you know your calling went beyond football
field? At what point? One more time. At what
(09:49):
point did you know your calling went beyond the football field?
Ooh. As
an empowerment coach. Yeah. As every. Yeah,
I say it went beyond the
football team feel since I've been a child
(10:11):
and I just was
able to, luckily to be able to take what I had
onto the football field to support my sisters.
So I'm.
That's how I see that, is that it just allowed what
(10:32):
I do, how I see people, how I
vision things, how I
empower people of all
ages. It just went beyond
the football field of Course. But yes, I brought it in. It got
stronger and then out of the football field into
(10:55):
what I'm doing. So
you're known as Ms. Iyrj. How did that
name and Persona come about? From Illuminate your Journey?
Just from Illuminate your Journey. That's how that came about.
Just putting a little urbanness into it with the r. But yeah, Ms.
(11:16):
Iyrj, Illuminate youe Journey. Because I, I
was, I like to emcee
and when I am seeing or doing something having that stage name,
it's iyrj. I just felt like that was just something that was
kind of cool. Illuminate your journey. And
then it'd be at. Then people ask me to. What does IYRJ stands for?
(11:38):
Illuminate your Journey. Let me, let me help you illuminate your journey. So.
Yes. Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. So you
hold multiple certifications from therapeutic art to grief
coaching. How did you blend these into your practice?
Right now.
(11:59):
I would say I blend them into my practice based
on my clients needs.
And the reason why I say that is because
I also consider myself a visionarist. So when I see
or I reach people or come in contact
(12:20):
with people based off of what they need, I
have this feeling, intuition
that is very powerful and it's something that I've had for since
I've been a child as well. And
based off of what they need, you know, everybody's journey is not the
(12:40):
same. Just because I made two people may be going through
divorce, it may not be the
same need. So. Or two people who
might be fighting how to unlock their full potential
and maybe a career or to get to another goal in their
life may not be the same journey. So
(13:03):
based off of what they need and their likes and
dislike, I go into my repertoire and pull
out one of those certifications or blend the certifications together
in order to help my clients and whatever they need to
help them unlock, to empower them. Because I'm all about
empowerment as well. It's not just about that one
(13:25):
situation. How can I empower you
for success and longevity? You know, a lot of times when we're dealing with
something, we want to deal with just that, that piece.
But with my certifications, I'm able to
empower you not just for that peace, but
also for success and longevity. Because if
(13:48):
we can't get it together with that one piece and continue on,
you might hit that hiccup again. And even if you do hit that hiccup again,
it happens at least hopefully you have something. And then I
also like to stay in contact with my clients as well, to
continue to progress through different things.
So, so what role does healing and forgiveness play in the empowerment work
(14:11):
you do?
It plays a. It plays a huge role in everything I do. Because
we have to heal in order to move forward.
(14:31):
We have to understand
our grief. And grief is not just
when someone has passed away. It could be invisible
grief. And that's something that I enjoy
is talking to a person and
(14:51):
listening to what they're saying
and being able to dig in
and find different things that may have affected
them that is actually a grief or barrier
that keeps them from moving. So
(15:14):
I use all these different things to help with
healing. And then once you're able to heal
from situations and understand it, you know, taking people
from grief to understanding is the key.
A lot of times we don't understand why we're going through things
(15:34):
and as a minority, a lot of times we're taught to push
things down. Don't talk about it, you're going to figure it out. You da da
da da da da da. But we gotta understand
why we are going through these things. And by
understanding it, it's a part of healing
(15:54):
and as a part of healing is able to illuminate your journey
towards your success and longevity.
What's your approach to coaching young athletes and helping them find equal
opportunities in sports?
My approach to young athletes is
(16:16):
meet them on the court, meet them on the court, meet them
on the field. Let's talk about it, let's break it down.
Being an athlete, if I got to talk in basketball terms, I've got to talk
of football terms, soccer terms, Batman terms,
just being able to help them understand their
(16:38):
full potential. A lot of times in different levels
of athletes from high school to
WNBA is or,
or in, or NFL, it just depends. It depends
on what their need needing in that particular moment. And
when I say meet them on the court, but when I meet them on the
(16:59):
court, I'm also taking them off that court so that we can
back, back, look at the feel
as a hold and then distinguish
what is it? What? How do we
unlock your full barriers? Where are you trying to go?
What has caused that? You know, a lot of times we transition
(17:23):
our athletes to different stages in life, but we're not giving them the
tools to be successful in those different realms of
a level of life. And I, and I think that is so
important to be able to regroup,
reground yourself and figure out what it is I
need at these different levels so I can be successful and unlock my Full
(17:45):
potential for success.
Yeah. So
right now, women's professional sports is gaining
a lot of visibility. What does that mean to you
as a pioneer of women in women's sports?
(18:05):
What it means to me is that we are finally able to allow our
light to shine. It's no longer the
beacon of light behind someone else.
We are becoming the beacon of light for ourselves
in all areas of sports. It's empowering
us as young ladies. It is allowing
(18:28):
us to love ourselves, themselves,
not from behind someone, but in front of everyone.
It is, It's a beautiful thing.
It just to see. To
be able to be yourself and,
(18:49):
and just not be guilty for it,
you know, or feeling like we have to
hide what we know. So
it's very honorable to see. Very
honorable.
What's your dream for the next generation of female
(19:12):
athletes that are coming up?
I would say my dream for the next
season of athletes and beyond
will be
(19:35):
to further support.
Receive more support from all realms of life,
to see our fellow athletes
work together as one and not against each other.
(19:56):
I think that is so important,
to see our fellow athletes get the
compensation that they need as a powerful athlete,
because that is still a struggle for athletes
in the professional field
(20:17):
to be seen as not just an athlete,
but as a.
A woman who can
(20:38):
show a mixture of it all with respect.
Yeah. Yeah, that's.
And it's. I asked that question because right now, the
wnba, these women are, are killing it right now. They're,
they're. They have some of their best attendance records, some of the best
(20:59):
ratings. You got Caitlin
Clark, Asia Wilk, you got all these great players right now,
and it's shining a real light, real bright on women's
sports and everything. So I'm, I'm hoping to see. Yeah,
I, I would love to see women here, especially
women here, make much more money in sports. But
(21:22):
the only way that's going to happen is if people go out and support it
and people, if the fans could go out and enjoy these games
and, and, and of course, build up
revenue. But they've been having a. Attendance
records, players are getting signature shoes.
So I think right now it's, it's a great time
(21:43):
and I'm excited for what hold
the future holds a lot of these women in sports.
Yeah. I mean, it's so important and, and just to
be recognized. Just to be recognized,
be supported. Just to be supported by men, by children,
by women, you know, and not to be labeled
(22:06):
either in this process, you know, not to be labeled.
And. You know, a lot
of times we don't understand why, you know,
some women, we may feel like they have an attitude, but
do they really have an attitude or do they have to really just fight
to be them? You know, but yet we see
(22:30):
them as having an attitude. No, these young ladies have to fight
to be them. They have to fight. And that's
hard and that's frustrating and that's,
that's mental. That's mentalness. But yet in order
to be strong, we gotta fight. And fighting does become
(22:50):
very hard,
but yet we get judged for that. And you can't, you
know, and I always say, you know, and I'm hoping I'm
gonna use probably an appropriate word, but I'm trying. I'll try not to. But when
a man is very dominant, it's go, go, go.
He did a good job. Look at him. He's running, he's running his, his,
(23:13):
his, his ship or whatever. But as soon as a woman
does it, why she gotta be a.
Why she gotta. Why she got to be acting like that? But
she can do this. She can use the same words as that man,
but she's labeled. But that man is labeled as
he's running, he's doing a good job. We got
(23:35):
to stop that and we got to look at the bigger picture of
what these women athletes all around,
women in general, are doing and stop
belittling them because of their uncomfortability
of embracing what is happening
in this world with our women in a positive
(23:59):
way. Absolutely.
Beyond sports, how do you want your coaching and speaking to impact
communities. Beyond sports? I want my
coaching to give the community
a release, give them the opportunity to have a
safe environment where they feel that they can let
(24:21):
go, where they can feel that they're not judged, where they feel
that it's okay
to
not know, that it's okay to cry,
that it's okay to
(24:42):
admit and understand that there's
something going on. And I think, or
not, I think in our community, we're afraid. We're
afraid to do those things because that's what we've been taught, you know,
let's embrace our softness.
Females, males, children, let's embrace our softness. Softness
(25:05):
does not mean that I have to be like
all the time, you know, and there's a time and place
for everything. And I want our
community to know that it's okay to
have a life coach, an empowerment coaching. It's okay to go to
therapy. Yeah. But go
(25:29):
ahead. Just, just. No, because even because being
people of color is something that it's a
joke. It's like, oh, you go into therapy. Oh. Oh, my God.
It's not something that
I have no issue. I've said it plenty of times. I've gone to therapy because
(25:50):
I needed it to help turn my life around and whatever it
was. And I have no shame about
showing my emotions because I was actually raised by two
strong, independent women. Oh, cool. Oh.
But it's. It's a stigmatism in the black and
brown community that. Oh, no, you don't. You don't go
(26:13):
talk to a head doctor. Don't go. No head doctor. I'm
not going. No shrink, you know. Yeah, yeah.
So, yeah, you know, you, you know, we're taught, you know what, you don't show
weakness. You know, you don't do this, you don't do that. Pull up
your bootstraps, do this, do. Do that. You.
You'd be like. So we're taught to just
(26:35):
shrink, but yet with. But we
shrinked inside and we put on this mask,
and when we put on this mask, it hides everything
and it becomes very
hard to let
it out, you know, and to talk. And then the thing about.
(26:59):
When I think about community, I want that stigma to be broken.
I want us to be able to teach our young children
and the people beside us at our age or
whatever that it's okay and
it does not mean that you're weak. You know, and
unfortunately, too, in our community, as a minority, you know, we think about money.
(27:23):
Money is a problem when it comes to therapy or,
you know, or any of the necessary.
It's not something. Financial literacy isn't something that's
taught in our community. Yes, that's
not taught in our community. It took me to my
late 30s to, to. To start putting
(27:45):
away into 401k. Start invested in a Rafael.
These aren't things. These aren't things that I was taught growing up.
This, this wasn't something shared.
It wasn't because my mom didn't know about
investments. She didn't know about owning property
(28:06):
or any of that. She, she. This wasn't something she just
know. Knows to work and pay the bills. And it
wasn't, it wasn't like. Now her sister, on
the other hand, she's. Now that I'm realizing she's the one who owned
property, she. She knew what to do. And, and so
she was kind of financially literate and, and, and
(28:28):
knew about investments and all. So
now that I'm. I think I'm about to turn 50 next
year. It took me the
last 10, 12 years to build up whatever I have
now in retirement. Yeah. And you know, when
it comes to financial, that's another part because I started off as an accountant when
(28:51):
I started in college. So I love money and figuring things
out. And I was raised in that type of community where my
parents own a convenience store and you know,
they're self entrepreneurs. So I was blessed to be able to have
that, you know, and financial literacy is so important. Like I'll put together
different financial workshops and things and it needs to start young.
(29:14):
Like I'm getting ready to put one together for preteens because if you can teach
them at the age of 10, 11 and 12, you know about
credit and debit and savings and checking and
what a credit score is. And because of the time that we,
we're in, you know, everything is cash, app or debit
card, they're not really looking. We, we no longer have that checkbook that
(29:36):
we can look at and see what our balance is, you know, so that's going
to be even more
an issue. So I, financial literacy is so important.
Life insurance, you know, things like that. And well,
I'm here in Pennsylvania, I'm licensed to sell life insurance. That
was something. Yes, yes. That's something that I, I,
(29:59):
I'm very, to me, it's, it's important. I do believe people
and it's a shame that again in our
community they're like, why do I need life
insurance? So I'm not, it's protection. It's
not you're gonna die then and there. It's
just to protect you in case something does happen.
(30:21):
Protecting those that you love, that you love
and, and you don't want to leave
them having to start a GoFundMe page because
you didn't have coverage or whatever. But we don't want
to talk about it. We don't want to, I don't want to talk about that.
I want to talk about life insurance. But there was a, many years ago,
(30:43):
there was this lady, my
principal that I worked under, and she was like, when you get it,
when you get life insurance or when you get these type of things, those who
have them don't need it. It's the ones who don't have it that needs it.
I was like, that makes sense. But we don't get it. We don't
see that. We understand it. We don't understand it. Yeah, exactly. We don't understand
(31:05):
that, that life insurance can be your bank at some point if you get the
right one. And I didn't learn about that until later on in life and I'm
just like, oh my God, I can have how many millions
in my life insurance that I can borrow from my bank versus going. Going to
a bank, you know, so is financial literacy is so important
in our community? You know, and it makes me. And then
(31:27):
sometimes people are embarrassed. And that's another thing about
the. My coaching is about healing in all different
types of rams. Because like you're saying you have your mom
who doesn't know about financially, but then you have an aunt that does.
It's like, what is the barrier that's. There.
(31:48):
Or, or what needs to be. Or healing what needs to be that. That we're
not picking it up. You know, what is it? You know,
have we embarrassed? And I'm not saying your people in particular. I'm just thinking for
me, you know, families, like, what is it,
what is it that I'm, I'm showing you these things.
I'm willing to walk your hand through it. But what is it?
(32:10):
What's keeping you from this opportunity?
Yeah. And most of the time it's
knowledge based is not. It's not having the information, is not knowing the
information. Yeah. And
even, but even if you try to teach them, sometimes we just can't pick
(32:31):
it up or we don't want to, or we're embarrassed.
I. One thing I have found out in, in the black community
and in a few others is when you see
somebody doing well, you're
embarrassed. And because of your embarrassment,
(32:54):
you don't put forth the effort, you don't celebrate them.
No. No. And then you wondering why your years are passing
by. But yet this person is willing to walk you
through. But the embarrassment keeps you from
moving through. You know,
it's. It's very interesting. It's definitely interesting. But
(33:17):
that's why I say I'm all about. And that's part of grief. What part.
What invisible grief kept you from this? And that's what I'm about
is taking people from grief, identifying that
grief and understanding. Understanding why.
Why? So we can illuminate
longevity, success. No, absolutely. Believe me,
(33:40):
I. I know it.
There was a time where my, My journey. My journey
began in, in, in early
2000s. And then it really started
when. In 08, when my wife passed away
in a car accident. But the crazy thing was
(34:02):
prior to that, she, she started introducing me to the world
of self development. Just
learning and wanting to improve. And, and so I, I
think she was kind of preparing me for what was to come. And
so it was. I lose her in 08 and
then the very next year I reunite with my
(34:24):
father after 28 years of not knowing anything about him.
I go see him Father's Day weekend, Friday,
Saturday morning, he passes away. And then he
goes. I lose my
uncle and brother, who are two major roles
in my, in my development and growth
(34:47):
as a man. And
my brother that I had reunited from my father's side, dies
from overdose. And then my aunt, the one that I told you, the
entrepreneur, she passes away. So it was just,
it was like a four year span where I was just. And
I was going through struggles, just was
(35:11):
angry with life, with God,
with everything. Like, why me? Why is all this happening?
And so for a while I was very self destructive
and didn't have a. And my path was just not the way
it was supposed to go. Yeah. And then this
voice is like, this isn't you. This isn't what you're
(35:34):
supposed to be doing. This is not your path. You need
to start changing. You need to start getting your life
together. So I started going to therapy,
started turning my life around,
was able to just
get licensed in New York state as a security
(35:57):
guard and started doing security and
just started piece my life back together. Then 2013,
I meet my wife that I'm with now.
2014, she convinces me to move to Pennsylvania. I moved
my family from New York City up to Pennsylvania with
(36:18):
me and we've been. Been up here
since. And I landed a job as, at a
casino, as, as a security guard.
And now I'm, I've been there 11 years. Now I'm a pit
boss. And
so I've gone from
(36:40):
where I was at to now. And then 20,
20 hits, I get furloughed from work, the pandemic,
I launch my podcast, start
finding out that I'm actually, I do have a voice.
And I found something that I'm passionate about and I love
and, and the reaction that I'm getting from people
(37:02):
listening to the podcast and the people I start interviewing and
the messages I started receiving from people and I'm like,
this is what I love to do. This is my purpose, being able to create
this platform and interview people and talk to people and have them share
their message because there are people out there that need to hear these messages.
And so being able to start the podcast and
(37:25):
start learning so many, like I had no idea about RSS
feeds, thumbnails,
descriptions, intro, none of that.
But I was like, yeah, I want
to learn YouTube university, started taking
courses, going to YouTube, asking questions, started connecting with people,
(37:47):
started learning so many different things to the point now where
besides today, I usually have a nice smooth Running
show. No, no, not
besides today. Including today. Including today.
But for the most. Yeah, no, today. But we still having a great conversation. Yes,
(38:07):
exactly. It might have not started out the way it
usually starts out, but it's still turning out into
something that's amazing. But
being able to find my voice and know that because
I wasn't in media, like I said, pit boss.
Yeah. I started off as a dealer, so
(38:29):
of course I built up my skills communicating with people.
And because you have to be personable when you're
dealing to players, because you work for tokes, you
work for tips. So of course you have to. So I
was able to build up that side of
what I'm doing now. So it kind of helped me with
(38:53):
leading into this, into launching a podcast, launching
a production company, being able to learn how to self
publish books, launch the Internet
radio station, all these different things
in the past five years. And because I started with
(39:14):
my podcast. See, that's what I'm talking
about. I am so, like, oh, that just makes me feel so good,
especially to hear the different things that you went
through, because it is. It's very easy to get stuck,
you know, like you say, stuck in my mind, it's very easy to
get stuck. And going through so much, much. You were
(39:36):
able to crawl
because you had to crawl before you can walk, you know, but. And
that's another thing that we don't do. We don't celebrate the small steps.
And just like a baby, when a baby starts to crawl, we like,
yeah, look at the baby. Why can't we say, yay,
look at you. Look what you're doing, you know, and then you start to walk.
(39:59):
You take those starts. Yes. You may fall while you try to
learn how to walk again. But. But that's okay, you
know, And I'm. I, you
know, Will, this is my first time meeting you, but I. My hat is off
to you because especially as a black young man, this
is hard. I see so many that just suffer,
(40:21):
suffer in pain and don't know why, you know.
So my hat's off to you and your family for
supporting you, you know, your wife and things. So my hat is
off to you. And I'm not a therapist, but I am a life
coach. So people don't understand that. That's two different things. You
know, my coaching comes in where from this point,
(40:43):
we're going to continue to heal, moving forward. So from
present to future. But people don't understand that. They. I'm not a
therapist. I'm not that person. Come in. We're gonna sit on the couch, I'm gonna
dig in, you know, so, so. One, so
one of my, one of my goals was
to get certified as a life coach, which I did a couple
(41:05):
of years ago. It was something that I was like, you know, this is something
that, it's important to me. So yeah, certified.
And like you said, yes, you're not a therapist, but. And you like, and you
like to dig in. That's what you're supposed to do. Because, because.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and I love the fact that you're
talking about being self published, you
(41:27):
know, so that is really cool because I have a.
Being a best selling author. If I knew then what I knew that now
it's a co author book that is
best selling author. And then I have my,
My Hero's New Journey that's coming out which is a children's book which is
talked about, you know, feelings and going
(41:50):
through them and understanding that. And then something else I have also
coming out is three journals. And I'm got my, I'm putting
everything together because self publishing, well, my
Hero's New Journey is through Christian,
Christian faith publishing. That's who's publishing that
one. And then my journals are me.
(42:12):
So it's, it's a trilogy. Beneath the Silence,
between the Silence and beyond the Silence. And each journal is 30
days that will take you through that will guide you through
different types of grief that you may be going through
so that you can illuminate in your journey. So
yeah, I love, I. It just makes me, you know, I'm
(42:36):
just happy just to hear you say that you went through so much
and that you came out of it to where you are now. Oh
no. Yeah. No, I, I've. And, and at first, like when I first
started, I didn't understand how important sharing my
story was. Right. Because you always think that, oh
no, my story doesn't matter, doesn't. It's not important.
(42:59):
And then, but when you do share it and people hear it, they're like what,
what are you talking about? You, you do have something to share. You do have
a story. And we all, everyone does. Everyone has their story
and everyone has that, their journey and everyone goes through the experience,
but it's again sound. It's cliche, but
it's how you bounce back up. Yes,
(43:23):
yes. People don't understand that. And by sharing your story
you're further able to understand your own
story. And people don't realize that even in the classroom
when I'm teaching, teaching reading or teaching English, I tell
My kids, you are author too. They'd be like, Ms. Edenburg, I'm
(43:43):
author. Yes, you are an author. When that fight broke out,
didn't you not come back and tell that story? Did you not give
a tone? You know, did you not?
I was like, you was telling a story. You are a author. You put
somebody in a certain mood, you know, or I say,
you're an author. When you come in and you go to your mom and you'd
(44:05):
be like, hey, mama. You put her in a good. How you feel? You put
her in a mood, you give her a mood. And your tone has changed. Hey,
I want to go out. If I do this, that's telling your story
too. They was like, wow, you know, and I don't think we
elevate people enough to help them understand that they are telling
their stories in different ways. So. Yeah,
(44:28):
I know. And, and it's, it's funny because if you would have told
me five years ago that I would have self published books,
I would have made. Nah, not possible. I'm not enough. I
don't do. But doing the podcast and the conversations and,
and a lot of the courses that I've taken and a
(44:48):
lot of the reading that I've been doing and just to develop my
self development and growth and, and so yeah, I had a lot of stuff that
I wanted to share and express and put out there. So. Yeah. Yes.
What's the name of your book? Oh, the Power of Purpose. The Power of
Purpose. I love it because people don't understand that
I didn't realize that I knew what I mean, I
(45:10):
enjoy what I been doing. Yeah. I didn't know my purpose,
but now. I'm just truly, I didn't know it was my purpose. I
didn't, I didn't know it was my purpose. And I just realized that probably within
the last year or so and it's like, it's what I do. People always come
to me, people always ask me questions, but I just didn't know. But now I
really and truly understand that being
(45:32):
an empowerment coach, a visionaries, a life coach,
it's my purpose. I enjoy it. I enjoy,
you know, if I'm somewhere and I see someone, I can just, hey,
you're gonna be okay. I may not even know this person, but I, my
vision feels them and then they'd be like, well, how did you. I was like,
I just, I just see it and it feels so good.
(45:55):
Oh, it feels amazing. Yeah.
I tell people like, I wish you could feel how I feel when,
when I get to do my podcast or I get to have these wonderful
conversations or anything that, that involves
me being creative and collaborating and help to
empower others. It's a wonderful feeling for me.
(46:17):
I just, I just have such a great time when I'm on the mic
and just creating content and just being able to,
to do the things that I'm doing. There's something that I'm working
on right now for, for next year. Okay.
But I'm, I'm starting to process now because my goal, like, is
to have. And I'm gonna put out there because it's gonna happen.
(46:41):
I'm, I've already started the process, started reaching out to some places, but
I want to have a retreat up here a few days,
book podcasters to come and, and collaborate and, and
we work, have a couple of workshops, have a
couple of keynote speakers, come down and just
(47:01):
enjoy the, the beautiful Pocono Mountains and, and create content and, and
learn all these different skills. And so I've started that process.
I've started working with, talking with people. Let's
send them. Showing them my proposals, proposal, what I want to do. And it's
exciting because now other people are seeing the vision and they're
excited. Like, my wife isn't
(47:24):
really involved, but when I showed her the proposal and I showed her the place
that I was looking at, and now every day she's asking me like, did they,
did they reach back out to you? Did this happen? And she's
excited. And then few friends that I showed
it to and, and they're like, what can we do to be a project? I'm
like, listen, let's start a committee. Let's start working together and getting this going. So
(47:46):
it was like, it's just like been a snowball. Like, the
idea came and I was like, okay,
let's make this happen. Let's see what do we need to do? And then
like I said, I just put it out there and people just started reacting to
it and I'm like, all right, now it's just
work is just going and, and my goal is next year to be
(48:10):
sometime in the fall to be up having my retreat and
helping others. Oh, this is so cool. Because I'm actually putting
together a retreat as well. Yes.
And mine is going to start in October. It's an urban. It's
starting off on a Friday, an urban retreat. And it's a
passport. So each month we're going to do something. Something. And then next
(48:33):
fall, I wanted to lead up to a two day
retreat. Oh. As well. But you know, through
the whole process, we're going through different
healing opportunities and journeys
and doing different things in the community. That's going to actually lead
up to a two day retreat. So I think
(48:54):
that is so awesome. I think that is so awesome because you, yeah.
And hey, maybe we need to come to the Poconos and support you, you
know, because that's what it's all about. That's support. Like I said,
I will be looking for some speakers.
Well, you talk about the mic. I love the mic when I'm MC and I,
I. It's funny, right? Because like I
(49:16):
said, I'm a coach. I want to get into speaking because I'm doing the podcast
and it's not very easy to go find stages, right?
So I'm like, you know what? Okay, let's, let's just create. Let's create
him. Let's right, this retreat, like, I'm gonna go
up, I'm gonna do a presentation.
Any of my friends who interested, they want, I got. And of course,
(49:39):
I've networked with so many different people and connected with so many different people and
built some amazing relationships that they're like, I have people
who already, like, I'd be like, hey, are you interested in.
Oh, hell yeah. Without hesitation.
So it's amazing, those relationships
and knowing that people
(50:02):
even. Like a lot of us, we've met just virtually. We haven't,
but we've been friends probably for the last five years
since I started podcasting or 3, 4, 5,
whatever it is. But it's relationships that are
turning into lifelong friendships. Like, I've been
blessed this past year, last couple of years, to actually
(50:24):
connect with people in person, like either
going to events or going to support a friend
who opened the theater in Pittsburgh. Shout out to Jeff.
So last year he opened a podcasting theater
and last year I went to Pittsburgh. We had a great time.
(50:45):
We went live for two days hosting other podcasters and
it was amazing to go and connect with him, meet his family, meet his wife.
He met my wife. It was amazing to
see someone that I had been hanging out
with virtually in person and get to really connect with them and build
that relationship on a real personal level.
(51:08):
Yeah, it is really cool when you are meeting someone virtually and
you get to actually meet them in person. It's like a whole new different level.
So. So I do have to totally agree with that. Totally, totally agree
with that. So, yeah, I think this is so awesome. I'm excited because
even like with me, I set up my podcast
through yard. What is it? Yard. I can't think of
(51:30):
the yard. Streamyard. Yes, stream yard.
It's set up. But have I launched? No, I haven't done anything yet. You know,
he's. Exactly. Why haven't I?
Exactly. But it is what it is. I'm gonna get to
it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no. Not gonna get to it. No.
(51:54):
You're either gonna do it or you're not. It's. It's not. You're gonna get to
it. I. When. When are you gonna do it? My goal
is to start next year in the fall, in the
summer. I know, I know, I know, I know. I'm writing.
I. I'm mc.
Doing some motivational speaking. I'm trying to
(52:15):
figure things out. I'm still working. I'm still growing. All right,
but don't. Don't say you're. Now don't. Like, if you're gonna
start the podcast started. Just. If not, just hold off until you're
ready, but don't. Yeah. Nah. And if you need any help, let me know.
I would love to help you. I appreciate that. And same here.
(52:36):
I would definitely appreciate that, because, you know, that's what it's about
is really and truly valuing each other.
Not taking advantage. No. But yet
supporting each other, and people don't realize that, you know,
and I've. I've built those relationships where if there's something
I know and I can help my friends with, I'm there.
(52:59):
It's. It's. And of course, if I need something for
hesitation, they're like, oh, this is what you need to do. So
I love the fact that I've been able to build those relationships. And
again, it's not
both of us. It's like exchanging of value.
(53:20):
It's like if I don't know something and they know it,
they're more than willing to help me. And they know if I have something
that I'm always bursting to share, like, if I get a new
tool, a new something, I'm always messaging one of my.
Like, yo, you need to check this out. You need to do. Yes, yes, yes,
yes, yes. Because I think it's something that you should
(53:43):
learn. Hey, listen, I'm not gonna. I'm not trying to hoard everything I
want my friends to. To learn
just as much as I learn. Yes. And I, you know, and I think
that's the part there that we
tend to not do as much as share, you know,
share. Uplift each other.
(54:05):
It. It. It could be those small Things that really and truly can
change a person's life, and it's so important. But
we. I don't know if we're scared to. I. I don't know what
it is, but I totally agree. And people always say, don't give everything away.
Don't give all your. Your knowledge away, you know, but if I
see and I'm able to give some information, I'm just hoping that it
(54:28):
comes back to me in another way. It does. It does. People.
People. You shouldn't give her like. No, you should.
You should. Because believe me,
the stuff you share, it's important.
Yes. But it's.
It's the results that you. That. That are.
(54:51):
That are happening from it. Like, if it's benefiting someone and it's
uplifting someone, you. Yes. You might not see
monetary value from it, but something. Something's gonna
happen in such a positive way that you're gonna be like, oh, man,
this is. This is what. This is my reward. This is what I'm
getting. People get
(55:14):
uplifted in or whatever it is that. That makes you happy. Because again,
yes, everybody wants to make money, but again,
it doesn't breed happiness. You're not. You're not going to be happy
just because you're making a lot of money. That's true. And, you know, and I
just look at it as part of my stewardship, you know, and
I don't look for anything back. I really, truly don't. I
(55:37):
do things because I just love to do it. It's just. I. I just
enjoy it. Yes. I want to get to a point where
I'm making, you know, you know, doing this and doing
that, you know, like, I want
it, but yet when I can share it, just to
share, because it's something that a person needs.
(55:59):
I rather share with you because you need
and see you shine than to hold it back
for some selfish reasons. So. And.
And you know what's amazing, right? The. The person who made
this happen, she connected us
together. Angela,
(56:22):
let's lose. Okay. Yes, yes, yes. And.
And that's what I'm talking about. It's. It's people like that who. Who feel like,
listen, I want to connect. I want to connect you guys because
I could see something happening. I could see magic happening. And
it's those people that are amazing. It's people like Angela who is
like, I need to connect these two people. I need to connect this person.
(56:45):
I need to connect. And that's amazing to have
that gift, to be a connector
and know that, oh, man, now these Two people, they'll make some
magic together. Yes. Oh, my God. Me and
I met Angela last September. September in
California at the Emmys. And
(57:08):
I was. I was doing my part, she was doing her part
there. And we were able to connect
afterwards a little bit more. And even at that moment, I was just
giving her a few different pointers, advice. You just release that
tension and the stress of everything. And
from there we grew. And then we were
(57:30):
met again for the super bowl during the event around
the super bowl in New Orleans this year. And we
end up communicating and bonding. And then she end
up being my. My agent to us, you know, helping
me with different things with my business. And since
she has been on my team to support. Support me and to
(57:53):
guide me, she is amazing. And then she has her Monday
night events where it's like, ask me anything. Where she has like a
webinar and a podcast and a bunch of entrepreneurs and
people who are trying to get there is there. You can feel the
pureness in her heart when she's teaching us and
educating us, you know, so she's amazing. She is so
(58:15):
amazing. I have the funniest story you with her, because
I thought she was pr. I thought she did PR for people.
No, that's not what she does because.
Because she just started. She. She sent me an email. She's like, oh, I have
such and such. I want to introduce you to this person. So I'm thinking, all
right, okay. I guess she's their PR because she. She introduced me
(58:38):
to four or five people, including.
And so when one day I send a link and I'm thinking, actually, I thought
I was interviewing you, and it was actually her,
and I'm like, I thought
I was. She's like, no, you're interviewing me. I'm like, you're not pr.
(59:00):
She says, no, I'm like.
I said, but you're so good at it. She is.
And you know, even for her, because I told her, you know, and I think
that's the cool thing too. When you have someone that's on your team
and you're working together, it's like you. You
uplift and push each other out your comfort zones. And that's why it's
(59:21):
like, why are you not doing podcasts? You getting. You getting me on these podcasts.
Why are you not doing them? Why are you not doing this? You. You're
good at it, you know, and it's. It's the matter of us
once again supporting each other. And
even in the NFL, when we said our. In our event and
(59:41):
there was things going on, and I was like, have you thought about this?
And she was like, oh, my God, I didn't do it. But it was an
invisible grief that she had that she didn't even realize,
you know, and to bring that to light. But Angela is
amazing. And things that she knows.
I know, I know. You have to go. So we are okay? I'm okay.
(01:00:03):
I'm okay. I still got a few more minutes before I pick up my son
for football. Yeah, no, no. Yeah. I don't. Yeah, but no,
but we. We are going to have another conversation. This
has to be a part two. This definitely has to be a part two. But
thank you so much for being such a wonderful guest. I love it. But now
we've come to the part of the show where you get the solo screen and
you get to plug away and let everybody know where they find you. Okay,
(01:00:26):
thank you. My name, I have my business
Illuminate your journey. I am a empowerment
coach. I take you from
grief and or find your grief
and illuminate your journey. You can find me at WW
IY RJ coaching
(01:00:50):
dot com. So WW IYRJ coaching
dot com. Thank you. Awesome,
awesome, awesome. Thank you so much for being such a great guest.
I'm closing the show out right quick, so you chat right quick before you leave.
But thank you so much once again. Thank you for inviting me, Will. And it
will be a privilege to be back on your show again. Oh, no, you're
(01:01:11):
gonna be back on the show because this. This has to go. This one. This
one too fast. Okay, awesome. All
right, all right. Thank you. But let me. All right, everybody.
Another great episode. Thank you, everybody who tuned in. If. If
Latonya's story moved you, go connect with her at illuminate your journey and
discover the resources she's created to empower the next generation. And if you
(01:01:33):
know someone stuck in their own struggle, share this episode with them. Because
sometimes hearing the right story at the right time is the first step to
change. Stay resilient. Stay focused. Stay wise. Night
boy. Wise does it. Peace out. Sa.
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