The Elijah Winfrey Show

Elijah kicks off the New Year getting you caught up on his mini break. He also answers your email questions.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to The Elijah Winfrey Show, a space for inspiration, impact,
and community connection. Each week, Elijah shares the latest on
his work in the community, answers listener questions, and reflects
on the week that was, from acts of kindness to
real conversations that matter. This is where purpose meets positivity.

(00:23):
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Here's your host,
Elijah Winfrey.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
What's going on, family. I hope everybody's doing well. Welcome
to the Elijah Winfrey Show. I am your host, Elijah Winfrey.
Happy New Year to all of you out there. I
know that this is the time of year where people
talk about resolutions and fresh starts and YadA YadA YadA,
and I listen. I get it to each his own.

(00:56):
I hope that you celebrated the end of twenty twenty five.
You did something fun, You spent quality time with family,
You had a healthy reset, and we are what five
days into no, four days, I'm sorry, four days into
twenty twenty six. I am excited to be with you today.

(01:17):
I had a wonderful I call it a little little
mini vacation. I did some work with my nonprofit, and
I was then able to settle in and really relax
and continue to take care of my wife as she
rehabs her hip replacement. And a quick update on that

(01:39):
she's doing really well. She's walking around without the cane.
You know, she's still you know, being cautious. You know,
there's some things she still has to do to make
sure that the healing process goals as planned. But she is,
in my opinion, ahead of schedule. And it makes me
happy to see her walk around with a smile on

(02:01):
her face. To be able to sleep at night a
bit better now. It just it does a lot for me,
because that's all I want for her is to have
a great quality of life. You know, when she's moving
about the day, whether she's at work or you know,
hanging out at home or with her friends, you know,

(02:21):
it's one less thing to think about, you know. So
she is doing really, really well. Jordan has enjoyed his
vacation as well. He is kind of kicked back and relaxed.
I think he's ready to go back to school. I
think you mentioned that to me once or twice. But
he's enjoyed hanging out with his friends, you know, going

(02:43):
to birthday parties and laughing and that's good to see.
As well. As I said, I am doing pretty well.
I'm still you know, working through this sleep thing, but
I think we're making a little bit of progress, and
you know, I'm thankful for that. You know, I've gotten

(03:04):
on a serious workout routine since the since taking this
little hiatus and from you know, work activities and community activities,
and you know, my body's feeling decent. I am ready
to step back into you know, my roles starting tomorrow
with my nonprofit and me being a pair of educator.

(03:26):
You know, I have some big plans for Team Winfree, uh,
and for myself this year. I I I don't make resolutions.
I just I take everything that I've done the previous
year and I kind of put it in a little
storage box mentally, uh, and I think about what I
want to work on moving forward, you know this year,

(03:49):
you know what's really lacking in my life. That could
be physically, that could be mentally. You know, it could
be a culmination of things. But I really think about that.
So I try to, you know, create a fresh canvas
in my head, and I try very hard not to
look back. Right. I may reflect on some things, but

(04:11):
I try not to look back, because I'm not going
that way. So I'm really excited about this year. Lots
of great ideas, you know, lots of there's gonna be
some there's gonna be some traveling involved. We'll get to
that and you know, maybe another show at another time.
But I'm gonna be doing a lot of things this

(04:33):
year in moderation. Right, I'm still gonna try to follow
as best I can my plan to make sure that
I'm taking care of me first, right, I can't pour
into anything else if I don't take care of me.
So I'm gonna really work on that. And I'm excited
about you know, my schedule this year, I really am.
I feel like it's spaced. I feel like it's going

(04:53):
to allow me to take a step back when I
need to say no one I need to. So I
feel like this is going to be another year of
positive building as far as me being a better human
being goes. What about you, right? What are you working on? Right?
What's the plan for you this year? Send me an email,

(05:15):
let me know. I'd love to read it, think about it,
maybe talk about it on the show. Right. Nonetheless, I
hope that you all had a great time stepping away
from things. And if you didn't step away and you
continue to work through the holidays and through the school break,
I hope that you found you found some quality time

(05:37):
to kind of step away, reflect, give thanks, reset, and
step back in. Right. We have a tremendous show lined
up for you today. We have some amazing questions that
were sent in. I can't wait to get on those questions.
I want to shout out my amazing producer, Great Nice.
We had a great conversation catching up a bit today.

(06:02):
Excuse me this morning, it's still still dark out. We
had a a great time reflecting on the show and
the direction of the show and what we would like
to do moving forward. I was we were very close
to having our first guest this year be on the

(06:23):
show today, but unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, that wasn't
able to work out. We are gonna do our very
best to have some guests on this year. That's been
the topic, you know, in our meeting, and we're gonna
we're gonna definitely work extremely hard to make that happen.

(06:44):
But he is a tremendous producer. He always puts the
show in positions to succeed, you know, without him, you know,
the show and without you as well. But without Greg
the show wouldn't be where it is, is right. I
wouldn't be on iHeart, I wouldn't be on Apple, I
wouldn't be on Spotify, you know, I wouldn't be on

(07:05):
these major podcasting platform stations. So I am extremely thankful
for him for doing that for me, and for going
into the email bag and pulling out some great questions.
And you know, in keeping with tradition, we're gonna always
start the show, or my hopes anyway, that we always

(07:27):
start to show with a question from the at l
from Georgia, you know, and we're gonna get started with
that in just a second. Before we do, I encourage
you all to send me your questions in at Elijah
dot Winfrey at gmail dot com, and we'll do our
very best to get those questions answered, or get those

(07:49):
questions on the show and get them answered. I'm running
a little bit ahead of myself. Greg Is is laughing
in the background. All right, let's get to the first question.
This first is from Tanya and Atlanta, Georgia. The atl
Tanya writes, Happy new Year, Elijah. As we step into
the new year, what does starting the year off right

(08:11):
look like for you personally? And what advice would you
give listeners who want to reset with intention? Well, first off,
happy new Year to you too, Tanya. I think starting
the year off right for me means starting it with purpose. Right.

(08:32):
What am I? What goals have I set right? What's
the purpose? What's the plan? I try to look at
things that way pertaining to my work and my life.
You know, I don't want to rush into anything. And again,
I don't do these resolutions where you know, I want

(08:53):
to get to the gym every day, or I want
to do this and I want to start this. I
try not to think that way. I used to be
like that when I was younger, way younger, but I
started to realize that those things, you know, they wane
and I feel like I'm a bit of a follower
when I do that. And you know, I was never

(09:13):
really comfortable, if I'm being honest with you, right, with
setting resolution. So I try not to rush into anything,
you know, I really try to lean on reflection. Like
I said, I don't look back, but I do reflect
on where I am and what I would like to accomplish.
You know, I think, you know, I try to check

(09:36):
in on myself, do a better job of doing that.
You know, I try to make peace with where I
am and where I'm going, and I try to be
honest in areas that I really need to grow, and
there's some areas I need to grow. You know, there's
no perfect human being. I know that, and you know,
I know there's a lot of work that I need

(09:56):
to do on myself to continue, you know, to evolve
into the person that I want to be, and to
keep the positive vibes up and keep them going. You know,
So I think I kind of start with that. So
I always think of my purpose that's first and foremost,
and I think of my why, Why am I doing
it right? What does it really mean to me? Is

(10:17):
it impactful to me? And when I get through that,
you know, things start to flow, things start to set up.
So I you know, my advice to you, Tanya, and
to anyone listening who's thinking about this, you know, you know,
how you you begin the year, don't try to change

(10:38):
everything all at once. Pick a habit, right, Pick a habit,
and have one mindset about what you want to do
with that habit. One area of your life that you
want to be more consistent, not you're not chasing perfection.
You want to be consistent, and we're on that, and

(11:01):
maybe that takes you a month or two. Then you
pivot into the next thing that you want to work on, right,
or maybe you want to sit in that peaceful block
that you've just created for yourself, right and give thanks
and celebrate yourself. It's okay to do that too. Next

(11:23):
question is from Reggie in Detroit. Reggie writes, Elijah, you're
always juggling so many roles, yep, I am. What are
a couple of personal goals you set for yourself this
year and how do you plan to stay grounded while
pursuing them. That's a great question. I think one of

(11:47):
my one of the goals that I continue to work
on is protecting my piece right mentally, emotionally, spiritually right.
I want to make sure that I'm protecting my space
and my piece. And you know that means that your
circle has to has to become tighter. Right. You shed

(12:11):
some friends or some people. I know, shit may not
be a little a good word to use, but I
just you know what I'm saying, Right, Sometimes people fall
by the wayside as you continue to ascend deeper into
your piece, and so I really I think about that.
I want to be more present, right and and try

(12:33):
to be less reactive. Right, this world is there's a
lot of chaos consistently right every day, and you know,
sometimes it's good to not react to the noise. You know.
I think with the with social media, we're all reactionary.

(12:55):
Everybody's got to response, everybody's got something to say, you know.
So I want to be less reactive. I want to
continue to process things that are around me that are
happening right, and when when it's time for me to
say something or do something, then I'm ready to do it.
I don't I don't want to be rushed into that.
So I I would say, you know, my one of
my goals is protecting my piece, right. It's it's very

(13:16):
valuable to me. You know. If I can stay centered
around that, you know, I'm gonna be good. Another goal
for me is to stay disciplined with my health and fitness.
You know, I get on these routines where I'm really
dedicated and I'm working out hard, and then it becomes sporadic.

(13:39):
I need to do a better job of being consistent,
you know, And I used to have that consistency, and
so I have made it a point to really focus
on my health and fitness this year, more soul than ever.
You know, I bought this. I don't know if any
of you have this device. I'm sure maybe some of
you do. It's it's a human device. A you emmy,

(14:01):
what got the scale and I got the armband. It
kind of tells me you know where my body is,
you know, at points throughout the day. And I feel
like I need that right. It may not be for everybody,
but I know for me personally, I need that. And
you know, if I'm going to be serious about, you know,
getting this stuff or purchasing this stuff, I need to

(14:21):
be really serious about my fitness and about my health
right because when my body feels right, everything else flows right,
everything else flows. I want to continue to, you know,
remember my why and give myself grace. That's a big

(14:42):
one this year. I want to give myself some grace,
more grace to make mistakes. I don't have to be
everything to everyone. I just want to be faithful to me,
and those who rock with me will still be there.
Those who don't, they'll again, they'll fall by the wayside, right,

(15:03):
That's when you find out who's really with you and
who is who isn't. And there's some there's some people
who I won't categorize these people as bad people. I'll
just say like our energies just didn't didn't mess up
as we continue to move forward into this year, and

(15:23):
you kind of separate yourself from them, I have no
problem with doing that. You know, I am a friend
who I don't need to text you every day. I
don't need you to text me every day. I don't
need you to call me every day. When we see
each other, we rock out as if we were just
talking thirty minutes ago. So I have some goals Reggie

(15:48):
that I want to share, and you know it's gonna
I feel like it's gonna work itself out. I do.
I believe that. Next question is from Camilla and Lost
Angels Camilla Wrights Elijah. We love the work you do
in your community. What are your biggest goals this year
for your organization team, Winfrey and how can supporters continue

(16:12):
to be a part of that mission? From Afar, thank you, Camilla.
That really means a lot hearing you you say that.
I think the biggest goal is the same goal. We
want to continue to expand every year to help more families, right,
we want to deepen our impact, all right, I want

(16:34):
to continue to raise autism awareness. Like again, I don't
want to change. I don't want to move the goal post.
I just want to continue to dig deeper and to
help more families. You know, if we can be more
direct in my support for low income families, you know

(16:56):
that kind of thing, continue the collaborations and partnerships that
I have with people in the community who are doing
fabulous things with their organizations helping families as well. I
can't state that enough. It is inspiring to watch some
of these organizations like Restoration of the Arts, who are
so impactful to me personally for the work that they

(17:18):
that they do for kids. And look, one of the
ways that you can stay you know, invested or support
us is continue to spread the word, share the work
that we do. It's important. And if you have it
and you feel like you want to donate it, donate

(17:39):
to our cause. It's all about giving back. It's all
about making someone or something better, you know my motto.
Next question is from Brandon in North Carolina. Brandon asked
Elijah I've got to ask, are we going to see

(18:01):
you on the golf course this year? Okay, okay, any
personal goals, any personal golf goals? Or is it more
about enjoying the game and the piece it brings you.
It's more about enjoying the game and the piece. I
don't play golf anymore competitively, you know. I give lessons

(18:24):
to folks who are interested. I don't. I don't play
so much for the score. Now. You know, it's either
I'm practicing or I'm decompressing. I'm gonna do more of that, right,
go to the range and decompress. You know, golf reminds
me personally to slow down and stay focused and take

(18:48):
take it one shot at the time. Right. It's a
difficult game, but it teaches you about yourself. And you know,
I am learning that and I am grateful for that.
So I won't be playing much. Maybe twice this year,
and there will be an announcement about that in the
coming weeks. But I'm gonna play maybe twice, but I'm

(19:12):
definitely gonna hit the range and do more decompressing right
as I work through things from a business standpoint, Great question,
that one made me. That one made me giggle. Next
question is from Hannah in Columbus, Ohio. Hannah writes, Eli,
there's a buzz about your upcoming fifth children's book. How

(19:32):
does it feel to be releasing another book and what
excites you most about this new story compared to your
previous ones. Ooh, this is good, Hannah, this is good.
Five books is it's a lot in the short span.
I had a friend of mine who said, you're just
pumping them out, and I'm like, yep, Like I just

(19:53):
what I do is if I have an idea write
for a story, I'll just I'll write down, like something
that I was thinking in that moment, put it in
my little green you know book that I have, and
then I'll come back to it and start building. What
excites me about this story is responsibility. We're all either

(20:24):
good at it, we're bad at it. We're somewhere in
the middle of the road. But it's a big deal.
And when I wrote this last summer, I really wanted
to focus on that word. And you know, as much
as the book is for kids, right, it's also for

(20:47):
adults around you know, to kind of dig deeper in
that story and think about, you know, the responsibility they
have right to teach two own things when you make
a mistake. I think this story is about owning something
when you make a mistake and take responsibility to get
it right. And a lot of times in life we

(21:09):
have to get it wrong to get it right. And
I can tell you you know, the book drops Tuesday,
but I can tell you there have been a lot
of pre orders for the book. I'm I'm so happy
for the support that I'm getting. It really means a
lot to me, It really does. So I hope that

(21:33):
you get it, Hannah, and I hope that you share
it because responsibilities, it's a it's a big deal. And again,
it's all about core values and life skills at the
end of the day. Next question is from Malik in Dallas.
Malik rights Eli five books is a huge milestone. What

(21:57):
keeps you motivated to continue writing children's books and what
do you hope kids and parents take away from this
next release. I think what keeps me motivated is I
think these stories matter right, but also tells me how

(22:18):
creative my thinking is. You know, when I when I
start writing these types of stories, they're not I don't
think they are mind breaking or or you know, there
are these huge, you know things. I think they're They're
just issues that we need to talk about and we

(22:39):
all need to get better about. Representation matters. Right An,
I'm a black man writing writing these children's books, and
I know there are a lot of other black men
and women who are writing great children's books, and I
commend them for that. So I I you know, I
think representation matters. I think conversations matter. I want kids

(23:00):
to see themselves in these pages. And I want parents
to sit down and talk about that word responsibility, and
after reading it, if a child feels encouraged or empowered,
then I've done my job. I'm not looking for applause.

(23:21):
It's not about how many books I sell. It's not
about the money. It's about the life lesson. Are we
really teaching it? Right? I feel like that's my responsibility.
Leave your work behind, and I feel like I'm doing that.
I'm doing that now, you know. Next question comes from

(23:42):
Denise and Tacoma, Washington. Denise rights Elijah. With the new
year underway, are you ready to step back into your
role as a very professional How do you balance that
work with everything else you have going on. I'm ready
to step back into it. I think being a pair

(24:03):
of professional or pair of educator. I think it keeps
me grounded. It keeps me connected to the community. You know,
seeing the kids grow and understand things is important. You know.
I think with everything that everything else that I do, like,

(24:24):
I think balancing everything comes down the priorities, right, I know,
first and foremost, my nonprofit is at the top. And
I'm talking about from a work perspective. Right, of course,
family is the end all be all, but well, my
work is concerned. I feel like my nonprofit is is
the first thing because I am building that from the
ground up. Everything else kind of falls in line in

(24:47):
no particular order. And I think once I have that,
prioritize and you know, I disciplined myself. You know, I'm
fine and creating a schedule a healthy balance and where
I'm being pulled, you know, I'm gonna be okay, but
I'm ready to step back into it. I am. I'm excited.

(25:10):
Next question comes from Evan, and It's a Quah. Evan writes, Elijah,
I live here in It's a Quah, and I've heard
amazing things about the work you're doing mentoring high school students.
People are saying you're making a real impact. What does

(25:31):
mentoring mean to you and why is it so important
right now? First of all, Evan, thank you for those
kind of words. That's humbling. You know. I've often said
mentoring means showing up consistently and being authentic. I don't
always have all the answers, but I'm willing to listen,

(25:53):
and I'm willing to help steer individuals in the right direction.
And I know it's not about me. I think, you know,
the more I think about where I am in my
life and and the things that I've had to overcome,
I didn't have any huge role models in my life,

(26:16):
and I feel like our young people need examples more
than speeches, and so I try to be as present
as I can. I know how hard it is living
in this world as a black man, and a lot
of these kids are navigating pressures and uncertainty you know

(26:38):
about you know what they need where they're going to go,
but not being heard. And I think a lot of
times they just need someone who believes in them and
who's gonna listen. And if I can be that person,
you know, I'm where I'm supposed to be. So I
do my best to make sure that I'm hm, I'm

(27:00):
being honest with them, and I'm talking about my shortcomings
and my mistakes. Everything isn't rosy, and I think you
have to be honest with them if you want them
to listen to you and understand your journey. And I
try to do that. Next question is from Monique in Brooklyn,

(27:21):
New York. Monique Monique rites, When you look at your
year ahead, what are you most excited about, not just professionally,
but in terms of growth, joy and purpose. I think,
Monique Monique, I'm excited about alignment. Right. I'm setting things up,

(27:43):
you know. I think I'm doing the work that matches
who I'm becoming, and it's it's pretty exciting to to
feel that and to see it and to sense it. Professionally,
I think there are a lot of great things ahead
as long as I'm patient, and I know there are

(28:04):
going to be some ups and downs, you know, I'm
excited about that. But again, personally, from a personal standpoint,
I'm looking forward to more peace. Right. I want to
experience more joy, you know, I want to laugh more.
You know, I want to be silly, right, I want
to be I want to continue to find that freedom

(28:26):
and being me and being around people who who who
will pick up on that and won't try to change me.
All right, let's take a couple more questions. The next
question is from put It Up on the Street Areago
Nicole in Richmond, Virginia. Nicole writes, Elijah, I follow you

(28:49):
on Facebook and X and I really enjoy the work
you share about your nonprofit in the community. But do
you ever worry that posting comes across as bragging? Is
there a reason you choose to share so much? I
don't worry about it. People who know me, they know
that I share my work and hopes that it will
inspire someone. You know. I share the work because it matters. Again,

(29:13):
representation matters, and I want somebody to see what's possible.
It's never been about ego to me, never. It's always
been about impact. And I'm hoping that it inspires somebody
to jump in and maybe start their own nonprofit or
do something pertaining the service. Hope it opens doors for

(29:36):
people to try something, or I hope it helps one
family feel seen. I share my work hoping that you
know that's the outcome. I can't control what anybody else thinks.
Some may think it's for clout and you know I'm
showing off, but I promise you it's not the case

(29:56):
at all, not one bit. Last question is from Andre
in Phoenix, Arizona. Andrea writes Elijah for listeners who are
trying to find their rhythm early in the year, what's
one habit or mindset shift that's helped you stay focused
and fulfilled? Let me think. I I think the biggest

(30:23):
shift for me personally is understanding that purpose beats perfection
every time. I'm not trying to be perfect. I don't
want to be perfect. I focus on showing up even
when my motivation factor is pretty low. Right, one small
step will always, in my opinion, beat a big plan

(30:45):
that never gets started, Right. I think about it in
those terms. Without commitment, you'll never start, and without consistency,
you'll never finish. And that's how I see it. Great
question from Andrea to close out the show today. Great

(31:08):
questions this week. What a way to kick off the
new year. I want to thank all of you as
always for supporting the show. Let's make this year one
of the best years yet. Let's keep building, Let's keep
showing up for everyone. I really appreciate the love and
support each and every week. I will do my best
to be very consistent this year. You know, I'm sure

(31:32):
there will be times when I'm when i'm when I'm
when I'm needing to take a step a step back,
and I'll do that. But I'm going to be here
for you like you've always been here for me. All Right,
do me a favor this week as you get out
and get back to work and you get back in
your community, check in on your family and friends. All right,
put a smile on someone's face, and remember it doesn't

(31:57):
take a lot of energy to do that at all.
Thank you for listening to the Elijah read for the show.
Please be sure to download this show whatever, download your
favorite podcast. So next week, take care of God bless