#61 - When Achievement Forces You to Rebuild Everything with Precious L. Williams

In this episode of Scales Of Success Podcast, host Marcus Arredondo connects with Precious L. Williams for a raw, grounded conversation about ambition, resilience, and what success really asks of you. This is not a highlight reel or a victory lap. It is an honest look at rebuilding after loss, redefining achievement, and choosing a path that still feels whole. If you are chasing big goals and quietly wondering about the cost, this episode will stay with you.

Precious L. Williams is the Founder and CEO of The Perfect Pitch Group, a Shark Tank alum, and a 13-time National Elevator Pitch Champion. She is a 5x #1 bestselling author and internationally recognized speaker who trains entrepreneurs, leaders, and Fortune 100 teams to communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact. Precious has worked with global brands including Verizon, BMW, Blackstone, HubSpot, Harvard University, and Columbia University, and is known worldwide for helping people turn powerful ideas into results.

Learn more about Precious L. Williams:
Website: https://perfectpitchgroup.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/precious-l-williams/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perfectpitchgroup/?hl=en
Newsletter: https://perfectpitchgroup.com/subscribe
Book Links: https://perfectpitchgroup.com/books/
Work 1 on 1 with her: https://perfectpitchgroup.com/experienceprecious/

FREE Gifts (first chapter of Rainmaking 101 and “Making it Rain in Your Business” PDF: https://perfectpitchgroup.com/free-gifts/ 

Episode highlights:
(2:26) Losing everything after Shark Tank
(6:56) Why losing law created freedom
(8:05) Choosing identity over tragedy
(12:24) Turning pain into confidence
(15:11) Performing under emotional pressure
(20:19) The power of reading books
(26:24) The most successful pitches
(33:19) Why being bold beats being liked
(38:50) Through the open door and partnerships
(48:24) How the pitching started
(53:23) Writing poetry
(59:54) Building purpose after addiction
(1:02:29) Outro

Connect with Marcus

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-arredondo/
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/cus

Scales of Success 

• Website: scalesofsuccesspodcast.com
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/scalesofsuccess
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scalesofsuccesspod/
• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scalesofsuccess
  
  

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ScalesofSuccess

—--

Leave a Review

If you enjoyed listening to the podcast, we’d love for you to leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts to help others discover the show.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scales-of-success-podcast/id1773864140

Get in Touch

You can also Tweet @cus with any feedback, ideas or thoughts about the lessons you’ve learnt from the episodes and we can thank you personally for tuning in.

Transcript

Note: The transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors.

Precious Williams

(0:00) My job is not to make anybody sound like me at all. (0:04) Introvert, introvert, extrovert, even tech, scientific, product services or whatever. (0:09) I don't want you to sound like me and I don't, I want you to sound like the best version of you.(0:13) And I'm going to pull the things out of you that you're afraid to put out there that will actually bring more to you that will help you bait and attract the right clients and customers.

Marcus Arredondo

(0:22) Today's guest is Precious Williams, former lawyer, speaker, pitch strategist, and someone who knows what it means to rebuild from absolute zero. (0:29) What struck me most is how she talks about acceptance. (0:33) After appearing on Shark Tank, her life unraveled.(0:35) She faced homelessness, disbarment, addiction, and a near-fatal breaking point. (0:40) Yet instead of fighting to reclaim what she lost, she accepted that the door had closed and chose who she would be next. (0:46) Even at her lowest, she never introduced herself as broken.(0:49) We talk about identity beyond credentials, confidence built through survival, and the power of having something to prove. (0:56) Precious's story shows that reinvention begins with honesty and the conviction to move forward. (1:01) Let's start the show.(1:02) Hi, Precious. (1:03) Welcome. (1:04) Hey, happy to be here.(1:05) Thanks for coming on. (1:06) So you're the first Shark Tank contestant we've had on, which is exciting, but your background, I think, is super fascinating. (1:14) I want to talk about your entrepreneurial endeavors.(1:17) I want to talk about some of your speaking and leadership sales component, but I want to start where I think the most interesting thing I know and researched and saw. (1:31) You're an attorney, but you weren't always an attorney. (1:34) You at one point had a pretty low part in your life.(1:37) I feel like I want to start there because there's something common among many of the entrepreneurs I speak to on this podcast, a lot of the most successful people. (1:50) I don't want to say it's a turning point. (1:52) Everybody has multiple turning points, I think, throughout their career.(1:55) Maybe it comes in seasons, but there is a point of, I don't want to say bottoming out or hitting rock bottom, hitting a point where maybe you sort of let go of some prior preconceptions because you had to start with a new canvas, so to speak.

Precious Williams

(2:11) Very much so. (2:12) Very much so.

Marcus Arredondo

(2:13) So I'm wondering if you might just kick us off. (2:15) Give us some background on, you can take it direction you want, but I know that there was a rough time, including some homelessness. (2:22) I just want to start there because I think that's really informative for the audience.

Precious Williams

(2:26) Yes. (2:27) Right after I was on Shark Tank season eight in 2016, the love of my life died. (2:33) I got into it with my business partner.(2:36) It was a very dark, dark, dark time. (2:40) I went home to St. Louis to take my life on my 38th birthday. (2:44) I'm 46, so obviously I'm still here.(2:47) My friend who was a social worker, who is still a social worker, she was looking for me and she called my aunt and found out that I was in a hospital in St. Louis. (2:56) And she moved heaven and earth for them to put me on a Greyhound bus to bring me back to New York. (3:02) And I was homeless.(3:05) I didn't have a place to stay. (3:06) I didn't have anything but a blue dress, a blue coat, and a book bag. (3:09) She got me to the Bowery Mission Women's Center.(3:13) And that's a Christ-centered life transformation program. (3:15) I was very upset, very angry, thought God had forgotten about me. (3:21) How could this happen?(3:22) I had a big life. (3:23) I came from nothing, made something out of myself, and look at what happened. (3:29) Towards the end of my tenure at the Bowery Mission, which was almost two years, you get a job.(3:35) You find a job for yourself. (3:37) And so I went on my first interview and got that job. (3:41) And I was like, I haven't worked for anybody in years.(3:43) How does this happen? (3:45) And so I was a business development manager at a training company. (3:51) And I went into work one day, and I felt like everybody was acting really weird.(3:56) And then the CEO called me into her office and sat me down. (4:01) And she said, Precious, basically I'm going to have to let you go. (4:04) And I'm like, why?(4:06) And she said, you've been disbarred. (4:11) Newsflash! (4:12) I didn't know I was disbarred.(4:14) And then she handed me the paper. (4:16) I think they were going to put me in Crane's business as a person on the move. (4:22) And I was so stunned.(4:24) Number one, when you're homeless, do you think you have an address? (4:28) So I'm sure they were looking for me and couldn't find me. (4:32) But when I looked at everything, I mean, and they had to walk me out with security.(4:36) So if you've ever been walked out, everybody knows you've been fired and walked out, right? (4:41) And went to the Bowery Mission and just cried, thinking that was the end of my life. (4:46) It was over.(4:48) And I asked them to give me two weeks to get myself together. (4:52) I went on another interview, got that job. (4:56) And it was the very last job I ever had at a place called Worthy.(5:01) In those two weeks of knowing I was disbarred, there came relief, too. (5:10) Which sounds so strange, because they either got to find a way or make one.

Marcus Arredondo

(5:16) So tell me more about the relief, though. (5:18) That's super interesting.

Precious Williams

(5:19) The relief is you can't go down that road again. (5:22) And I know people today are like, oh, you could always go back and Gabriel and say, yes, I can. (5:28) But it also freed me to go after what I really wanted to do, which is to go back to teaching and training and pitching and now sales.(5:36) And so I was going to go after that full force. (5:38) And I did. (5:42) And that relief, I can't fall back on that.(5:48) I'm not Precious L. (5:48) Williams Esquire. (5:50) But if I could make it in business, if I could redeem myself in that way, I'm back.(5:58) And you know what? (6:00) I wrote a book called Rain Making 101 From Day One, Packaging, Positioning, and Pitching for Attorneys. (6:06) That book came out almost three years ago.(6:09) Do you know who I work with today? (6:12) Attorneys, law firms, real estate firms, financial services firms and tech companies. (6:18) So it all comes full circle at the time.(6:21) Yes, it was very devastating to hear that, to know that. (6:25) But that was I'm going to make it in a different way and I'm going to make it in such a way where there's no there'll be no disrespect of my name. (6:32) I will make sure that my clients succeed.(6:34) I will make sure of all these things. (6:36) And so when I've had conversations with attorneys, I don't hide it. (6:43) It's easy to be found out.(6:46) But I feel like I've redeemed myself because I went into business and I went in with a totally different mindset. (6:51) I can't fall back. (6:53) All I can do is move forward.(6:55) And I have.

Marcus Arredondo

(6:57) I don't want to skip over this. (6:58) So anything you could share about why you got disbarred?

Precious Williams

(7:01) There was $67 taken out of my attorney trust account. (7:05) I don't know how, I don't remember way back when, but I do remember $67.

Marcus Arredondo

(7:11) And that was it? (7:13) Yes. (7:14) So what I also find appealing about this, super interesting, is when you're down on the mat and you've got no other choice, there's an element of non-resistance.(7:27) I don't know if you're like this at all, but for me, I probably would want to, like, I'll go figure out how to get, I would have years ago said, well, how do I, how do I get that back? (7:38) How do I reclaim that identity? (7:40) But there's something, and I've gone through this recently myself.(7:43) So I can relate a little bit to this, that once something's taken away, you know, if you're not open-minded, you're sort of closing the doors to other opportunities. (7:53) Maybe, I think I heard, I heard on a podcast, Jaleel White wrote a book and he said, rejection is God's protection. (8:02) Something along those lines.

Precious Williams

(8:04) It is. (8:05) And again, I was in my, I've already been at rock bottom several times, and I knew that there was an open door. (8:15) And I knew that every day I was in the Bowery Mission Women's Center, I went to sleep hearing, your second chapter is going to be better than your first.(8:21) Now I could have went back and be reinstated, but I was still homeless. (8:24) So I felt like it would have taken too much time to go back and fight for all of that. (8:29) What can I put my mind to?(8:31) What am I uniquely gifted at? (8:34) And I'm going through the open door. (8:36) I don't know where it's going to lead me.(8:38) And I had met other attorneys who had been disbarred and it was just the end of everything. (8:44) And I was determined. (8:45) I said, he did not put me on this earth for this to be the end.(8:48) It cannot be. (8:49) I came out of poverty. (8:51) I came out of all of this for it to end.(8:54) No, I got to go through the open door. (8:56) And I was blessed to take that talent and go to an event, the Toy Embrace Ambition Summit. (9:03) And I don't know how a homeless woman gets a ticket to that, but I did.(9:06) And sitting next to me was the program manager of Bottomless Closet. (9:10) And I'm telling her I'm the killer pitch master. (9:13) I didn't talk anything about homelessness.(9:15) And I was a client at the time of Bottomless. (9:19) And she hires me to do a teaching, do a training on pitching. (9:25) And it was standing room only.(9:26) I hadn't seen that in a couple of years. (9:29) And from there, I got booked by Viacom for Smart and Sexy Day. (9:35) And the lesson that I learned is that you don't have to tell people the tragedy.(9:43) Who am I? (9:44) I'm still a killer pitch master. (9:46) I still slay all competition with a killer pitch.(9:48) I'm still a 13-time national elevator pitch champion. (9:51) I've still beaten Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, cool tech companies. (9:54) I've beaten them all.(9:55) And I'm still Black on both sides, no Brazilian butt lip, no six-pack abs. (9:59) I'm still that girl. (10:01) I'm still her.(10:03) And the confidence in being able to say that, instead of saying, you know, I'm currently homeless. (10:10) I'm currently... (10:10) No, I am.(10:13) It's powerful.

Marcus Arredondo

(10:14) That's a really interesting dichotomy. (10:17) So tell me, this is so powerful because how do you... (10:21) Your energy is contagious, for the record.

Precious Williams

(10:23) You always say that.

Marcus Arredondo

(10:25) So I want to go back a little bit and unpack a couple of things. (10:29) One, your unique qualities. (10:31) Dan, I don't know if you are a strategic coach, follower, Dan Sullivan, but he talks about unique ability and sort of honing in, taking sort of people want to do more.(10:41) And I think in reality, you're better off doing less and doing what you sort of excel at, what you enjoy. (10:49) What is that for you? (10:50) And how did you unearth that with confidence?

Precious Williams

(10:54) I've been speaking since I was 16 years old. (10:56) And my grandmother, precious Delores Williams, knew I was gifted at speaking before I knew. (11:02) And she told me, Oprah's going to know your name.(11:04) We're in the inner city of St. Louis, Missouri. (11:06) What is my grandmother saying to me? (11:07) She's like, when you speak, people listen, grown folks.(11:10) She said, you are going to make it off of the strength of how you speak and your gift of connection. (11:16) This is a hood grandmother. (11:18) Did she lie?(11:20) My first speaking engagement was for the mayor of the city of St. Louis. (11:25) Standing ovation. (11:27) Next governor of Missouri.(11:28) Twice. (11:30) How many people start off doing that? (11:32) And I don't think it's because I had confidence.(11:34) I think it was just kind of like, when you're 16, what are you afraid of? (11:38) What are you afraid of? (11:39) You can stand in front of all these people.(11:40) I didn't write my speeches. (11:42) My English teachers did. (11:45) But I knew what to do.(11:46) I could look at words on a page and I just know what sets it on fire. (11:49) When it came to pitching though, I feel like I came to life. (11:54) When no one wants to invest in your company that you know, and they think that all you can do is being an attorney, which is not a bad thing if that's all I can do.(12:02) But for me, it was like, I'm tired of everyone who looks nothing like me being told, follow your bliss. (12:08) Give yourself permission. (12:09) Well, I'm going to give myself permission to start a lingerie company for full figure divas and plus size fashionistas.(12:15) So at 327 pounds, I want to rock the world of business. (12:18) I'm a rocket. (12:19) I'm going to come in.(12:21) I'm a whole snack. (12:22) Come fetch me. (12:23) Shout out to cupcake.(12:24) And I needed to be the best representative. (12:27) So this confidence is born out of repetition, but it's also born out of what have I faced in my life that most people cannot. (12:35) What have I gone through?(12:36) I've almost been murdered by my mom. (12:37) I'm almost taking my own life by my own hands. (12:40) I've almost been sold for drugs by my father.(12:43) I came out of darkness. (12:45) So the ability to speak my way out of situations and the ability to believe that there's a reason why I'm on this earth and at the Bowery Mission Women's Center, which again is a Christ-centered life transformation program. (12:56) I remember when I read the story of David and Goliath, it's one thing to hear it in a church and you're just like, but when you read it, I was like, David, my slingshot is pitching.(13:07) My slingshot is my communication skills. (13:09) My slingshot is when I walked through the door, you're going to feel my energy before I ever walked through. (13:13) So let me tap into that.(13:16) It won't be me being a litigator in court. (13:19) I've done that. (13:21) It will be when people see me and know what is really possible.(13:26) You can be an influencer at 46. (13:28) You can make moves at 36. (13:31) You can do a lot of things past the age that people think you can.(13:35) And it starts with this belief that it can be done. (13:39) And if it hasn't been done by anybody else, it's going to be done by me.

Marcus Arredondo

(13:42) Talk to me a little bit more about being able to inhabit two simultaneously conflicting states, being to go and pitch with confidence and gusto and theatrics. (13:57) I don't want to take anything away, but I think it was Patton who said 50% of leadership is theater. (14:04) And I think there's a lot of truth to that because you got to believe it.(14:07) And I think it's so doing, you also start to invoke some belief in yourself as well while you're doing it. (14:13) But as someone who struggled with it himself, I've had to go into pitches, I've had to do meetings and everybody's going through something. (14:22) And especially I became a parent three years ago and you start to realize there's a lot of stuff.(14:29) My house in my head is not all rainbows and roses. (14:35) There's one room that's shining light and there's another room that's in flames and one that's got skeletons and it's falling apart. (14:44) But you got to show up with what best foot forward you can muster.(14:49) So that's a long backdrop, but I want to give you some context of how I'm asking this question. (14:54) How do you exist in those two concurrent emotional states and pull on one so well that it can at least mask or put the other in its right place for that time?

Precious Williams

(15:11) So I think of myself as an Olympic athlete. (15:14) Imagine all that they're going through. (15:16) And in this in 10 seconds, a minute or whatever, you got to put on the best performance of your life.(15:22) I have 30 years professional speaking excellence. (15:26) So anything that could go wrong, like even on a stage, anything that could go wrong on a screen has happened to me and I've had to just adjust. (15:36) Listen, I remember I gave a presentation to Microsoft and my cousin literally had died of an opioid overdose and my cousin had called me and all I could think is I'm professional grade regardless.(15:50) My heart is hurt. (15:53) My heart is breaking, but I'm here for a reason and I'm not cutting out. (16:02) And I think that's probably one of the best performances.(16:04) It's almost like Sasha Fierce and Beyonce, like make me mad, make me upset because now I'm out to go ham and cheese and peanut butter and jelly on you. (16:13) And also listen, you can fall between that at different moments in time. (16:18) You can wake up and man, I'm a slug in a dish.(16:21) I'm the worst case scenario, the wretched of the earth. (16:24) Start putting on your clothes, start getting yourself together. (16:26) I'm like, oh no, don't let me get in my zone.(16:29) Don't let me get in my zone. (16:31) Oh, it's time now. (16:32) And I'm ready.(16:34) And I feel like you got that armor on, you got yourself together. (16:38) I think of my grandparents and all that they had taken in a 15 year old when they're in their sixties and seventies, driving her to and from school in the hood, making sure I was always prepared and everything. (16:50) And they had never graduated from high school.(16:52) That's a harder road. (16:54) So for me, I'm going to honor them. (16:56) I'm going to honor God who created me.(16:58) And that's just the nature of the beast. (17:00) I don't know too many people who haven't gone through hard times and still had to perform regardless. (17:06) Cause no one's going to say to a football NFL player.(17:10) And we know you just, we know you just lost your wife. (17:14) They're out there. (17:15) Like, um, we went in or not.

Marcus Arredondo

(17:17) Yeah. (17:17) Yeah.

Precious Williams

(17:18) You can take that up later, but right now people are watching and they need to be taken out of their own place. (17:25) So when I come in with energy, fire, funk and noise, I never forget. (17:29) I'm still professional grade and professionals can, can categorize and they can, they can compartmentalize because I can't deal with this right now.(17:40) What is the object before me? (17:41) What is the goal before me? (17:43) And from point a to point B I'm going, I'm going in.

Marcus Arredondo

(17:46) So you're, you're alluding to something actually that I'm, I'm finding I utilize with my son. (17:52) Um, I read an article not that long ago in, uh, the New Yorker, uh, written by the head of surgery at a hospital in New York, um, about the power of coaches and how, you know, you have coaches and teachers throughout your whole life. (18:05) And then you go to medical school and you've got teachers there and, and then you do your residency.(18:11) And so you're having somebody sort of look over you. (18:13) And then once you start your professional career, you're, you're sort of in free fall, right? (18:16) You're, there's no one around you and how valuable that, uh, to have coaches, to have people, you know, uh, your own colleagues, your own peers sort of give you feedback.(18:26) And he used the analogy of somebody like Tiger Woods or, you know, uh, LeBron James who have a nutritionist, who've got psychological trainers, who've got a swing coach, who've got a shooting coach, whatever it may be to spot the blind spots that you don't always see. (18:44) And I, I'm, I'm sort of bringing this up because, well, a couple of different things. (18:49) One is like, somehow we forget the power of that avatar, that ability to take on a new persona and have that psychological coach come tell you, because, because even now I'm, I'm doing it to my son and, and having a child is such a remarkable experience for me to understand all the things I forgot how to do, including down, regulate how to like calm myself down, how to de-stress.(19:10) I really had, you know, when you have to teach somebody else, you realize the flaws, the lack of a true understanding of what is entailed. (19:19) And I'm curious on, on sort of two different fronts. (19:22) One, why do you think we lose that?(19:24) Right? (19:25) Why do you, how did you find that avatar? (19:27) I sort of think you has to come at some part from the enormous ups and downs you've had in your life.(19:35) That is, you're a limited, um, you're in thin air of people who have been able to accomplish what you've been able to do with the setbacks you were born into. (19:47) Um, that's on one side, but secondly, I want to, I want to use that as a segue into some of your coaching work, um, on pitching. (19:56) So I'm going to, I'm going to just give you that sense of that's where we're going.(19:59) And I have more questions on that specific topic, but on the avatar point, why do you think we lose it? (20:05) Where does it come from for you? (20:06) And what have you found to be a meaningful way to call upon it to, to re-inhabit those sensations, to bring that to bear in front of people?

Precious Williams

(20:19) I loved, I grew up loving, loving reading books. (20:23) I can tell worlds that just like, I can't even explain it. (20:32) Just, just reading books and just being someone else or turning someone else.(20:37) I remember the bookmobile. (20:38) That's how hard I go back. (20:41) And I also remember this vision when I was five years old and I saw the billboard in Times Square.(20:47) I don't even know what Times Square is. (20:49) I saw me speaking and everybody loving it. (20:53) And it felt real because as you're reading books, you're stepping into the role of who the protagonist and everything is, or whoever you feel is in the story and you're like, you know what?(21:05) Maybe I'll never be the Barbie. (21:07) Maybe I'll never be the princess, but maybe there's something else out there for me. (21:12) Maybe there's something else.(21:14) And so in my home, I was either ignored or abused. (21:21) But the thing that kept me going is they don't know who I am yet. (21:25) I'm a star.(21:27) And although my mom talked about how pretty my sister was and how she's going to marry well and all this kind of thing, she didn't recognize a star was right there the entire time, Cinderella. (21:41) And I nurse that they just don't know who I am yet. (21:45) I'm covered in other things.(21:47) I can't control my skin color. (21:50) I can't control that. (21:51) Back then I was really thin.(21:53) It might be hard for people to believe. (21:54) I was really, really thin. (21:56) And physically, I didn't have the looks to be the beauty in the story, but I had a personality and actually worked on my personality.(22:11) I listened to people because it wasn't gonna be looks that people came up to me for. (22:16) So I listened and I knew how to make people feel comfortable. (22:20) But it really just started in books and taking me into worlds that I hoped that I would get a chance to see.(22:26) What's it like to frolic through the fields? (22:28) What is it like to have high tea? (22:31) What is it like to eat food from around the world but you're sitting in your home?(22:36) What is it like to be sought after? (22:41) What's it like to look at a contract and see a number you've never seen before because you're like, really? (22:49) What is it like to have people stay in four and a half hours in line for you to sign your own book?(22:57) And you're not on television yet.

Marcus Arredondo

(23:00) What is it like?

Precious Williams

(23:01) It was amazing. (23:02) It was at BMW. (23:03) I will never forget that.(23:05) I've never seen a line like that in my life. (23:09) And my friends actually came. (23:11) You know your friends think they know what you do.(23:13) I'm gonna be honest. (23:13) They think they know what you do. (23:15) Yeah.(23:15) Have a line four and a half hours of you signing books, hugging, and everything. (23:22) After an hour or two, they sat down. (23:24) I'm still going in.(23:25) And they're like, why? (23:28) I said, because remember those boy banders or those people from back then? (23:32) They used to be at Tower Records.(23:33) They had to sign all of that. (23:34) I said, I wanted that experience.

Marcus Arredondo

(23:37) Yeah.

Precious Williams

(23:37) I want to know what it's like to be able to transform people's lives with a song or a word or a book or something. (23:44) I'm a bad bitch with the power of pitching. (23:45) I wrote the book that led to a billboard in Times Square that led to Forbes magazine reviewing this and pitching this bitch.(23:52) And what? (23:54) What? (23:55) This is like the dream.(23:57) But you live it. (23:57) And no, I'm not a boy bander. (23:59) I'm not Britney Spears.(24:01) I'm not any of those. (24:02) I'm Precious effing Williams. (24:04) And I'm looking at these people and I'm looking at the line and my friends are taking these videos.(24:10) And I'm like, I was unwanted, abused, tossed to the curb. (24:15) I've been home. (24:16) And this is after homelessness.(24:17) This is after being disbarred. (24:19) This is after. (24:21) And so that decision I made is to go through the open door and see what happens and commit to it and be the Olympic athlete.(24:29) Yeah. (24:30) I might not always win, but I'm going to die trying.

Marcus Arredondo

(24:34) So what do you, this is terrific. (24:36) So what do you find? (24:39) A couple of things that I just observationally, one, I actually think of Oprah a lot when you're speaking just because of how articulate you are and how avid a reader she is as well.(24:49) And I think among the most empathetic and compassionate people, people who can read people really well, in my opinion, comes from oftentimes they are terrific readers. (25:02) They're avid readers. (25:03) And I think it in enables people to embody different personalities, different emotional states to come from different perspectives, because it requires so much proactive participation in building that image in your head.(25:20) And that comes out. (25:21) I can see how it's disarming to be around you. (25:24) And that allows for openness, right?(25:28) You know, people dropping their guards and actually engaging. (25:32) I'm wondering if you see that in among the more successful pitches that you are coaching or witnessing. (25:39) I want to talk, I mean, if you can bring in Shark Tank into this conversation as well, because I'm curious how you got on the show, what that experience was like.(25:49) But what stands out to me in how you present is not just the consonance of your verbiage. (25:58) It's not the, not only that, it's also the phrasing, which are, you're patent worthy, copyright worthy, right? (26:07) You know, it's branding, right?(26:08) There's a marketing element to it, but more than anything, it's the distillation of a lot of content into more succinct, meaningful words that punch above their weight.

Precious Williams

(26:23) The most successful pitches that I have seen, whether they're introverts, extroverts, or ambiverts, is there's an emotional connection to it. (26:33) So you could be a techie in getting people emotional. (26:36) And I've also often thought of myself as the emotional speaker.(26:39) You will feel something with me, even if it's hate it or love it, there's a reaction to me. (26:45) And I'd rather you do that, like in a Bible, like Luke 1, we don't want Luke 1. (26:48) I want you to have a physical reaction to me.(26:51) The most successful pitches, in my opinion, usually cause you to rethink something or to look at something with new eyes. (27:01) So Shark Tank, you know, writing pitches for seven of my clients who were funded on Shark Tank, I knew they were going to say my name. (27:09) I knew.(27:10) How'd you come up? (27:12) I knew. (27:13) So when it came time for me and I got that phone call to create a video and send it to the producers, there was no standing in line.(27:22) There was no, I didn't go through all that. (27:25) They liked the video of me and I'm standing outside. (27:28) I'm in the Bronx.(27:29) I happen to be in the Bronx at my friend's house. (27:31) I'm in the Bronx doing a video in a yellow dress and they liked it and told me to fill out the application. (27:38) I flew out September 11th.(27:39) Why would you fly out of New York on September 11th? (27:41) We're not even going to address that issue from New York, but I did. (27:46) And I also came with a plan.(27:49) See, most people look at pitching for the words or they think it's the product or the service. (27:56) And I think pitching takes a whole lot more than that. (28:00) Who is the audience?(28:01) Who are you really pitching in front of? (28:03) What's in it for them? (28:05) What's going to stick with them?(28:06) That's why there's a difference between your elevator, your media, your investor, your sales, your speaker, or your interview pitches. (28:12) And most people probably know the elevator, the media, or the investor, but there are others. (28:18) And so when you understand which one you're doing and what your audience needs to hear, you're better able to do that.(28:27) So I'm precious. (28:30) My company is what we do. (28:32) This is who we say.(28:33) Do you know how boring that is to listen to? (28:35) And I know all of us have been at networking events and we're like, gouge my eyes out with a spoon, just gouge it. (28:42) The second thing I think, just because I'm an emotional speaker and I want to hit the head and the heart too, is that numbers tell stories.(28:53) Numbers tell a lot and they can be infused into a story. (28:57) How well you do that? (29:00) Are you the right jockey for the horse?(29:02) Are you the right one that I should invest in, refer, hire, book? (29:07) Are you the right one? (29:08) I know there are some companies that will never hire me because I'm a little too much and that's okay because I know who my audience is, who loves me and who rocks with me.(29:20) Shark Tank, to me, is one of the highlights of my life. (29:26) I remember walking into that tank and looking at each shark from Mark Cuban to Damon John to Mr. Wonderful to Laura Grenier to Robert Herjavec as I stood on my ex and I realized we only got one shot at this. (29:41) So let's go hour 15, hour 20, let's go.(29:44) And I remember when I walked in, I heard, Nas, all I need is one mic, one mic. (29:49) But looking at them like, Jack Nicholson, where did they get a load of me? (29:54) And my low-cut canary yellow peplum dress and my opera and extreme makeup.(29:59) Because you got to understand, the general public is watching, so I got to give them a show. (30:04) The sharks, I know they're waiting for the numbers and story. (30:07) The people at home, how dare this 327 pound woman?(30:11) Oh, oh, oh, that's what she talk. (30:13) Oh, oh, oh, oh, drop the phone. (30:16) Oh, she going in, she going ham and cheese.(30:19) And I'm looking them in the eye because I'm not afraid. (30:21) I know that people who look like me may not have done well on this show before, but I'm a 13-time National Elevator Pitch Champion. (30:29) I've been asked every question under the sun and I'm gonna make this fun for the both of us.(30:33) I'm gonna bring Mussie TV to the table. (30:36) I'm ready. (30:38) And so as, you know, as I was pitching and I could see their eyes and how they were looking at me, I remember when Mark Cuban said, you go girl.(30:45) And Robert Herjavec said, watching you is like watching a master at their craft. (30:50) Or even stumping Mr. Wonderful because I had something in my pitch ready for him. (30:55) Like, I ain't afraid of you.(30:56) I'm not afraid. (30:57) Ain't no 40 cents of perfituity. (30:58) Let's get it.(30:59) I want you to know I'm standing here ready. (31:01) I'm anticipating questions in this pitch and I'm gonna go ham and cheese on you all. (31:05) When my four-figure divas came out, I said, y'all not ready for what we're about to do.(31:10) And I also understood that so many people told me I was too fat, too black, no Ivy League degree. (31:16) Those same people who said that years ago have seen me come up but never saw this day. (31:22) And I'm gonna rock this.(31:24) I'm gonna rock it for my grandparents. (31:26) I'm gonna rock it for St. Louis, Missouri, where I'm from. (31:29) I'm gonna rock it for my college, my law schools.(31:31) I'm gonna rock it for New York City. (31:32) I'm gonna rock it for those who felt like no one ever saw them, that they didn't look, sound, and act like everybody else. (31:38) I still have an accent, haven't lost it.(31:40) Listen, New York has probably infiltrated the St. Louis accent too. (31:44) But there was so much riding on that moment. (31:48) And I wanted to rise to the occasion and not allow fear to take hold of me.(31:55) I wanted to put on the performance of a lifetime. (31:57) And I did. (31:58) And I earned the respect from each and every shark.(32:03) And you can't put a price on that. (32:05) So when it was over, I just cried my eyes out because I did it. (32:11) And that felt like the gold medal.

Marcus Arredondo

(32:14) That's a great story. (32:15) I want to talk a little bit more about your entrepreneur, becoming an entrepreneur, what that experience has been like for you. (32:21) But before we do, one question that you said that stood out, and it's resonating with me because it's something that I don't think I really came to terms with or became more comfortable with until more recently, which is not being lukewarm.(32:34) For a large part of my life, I was very conscientious, and I still am, about not wanting to offend people. (32:39) And I clearly don't want to offend anyone in general. (32:42) But I also sort of learned there are certain boundaries that I can't take responsibility for.(32:48) I can't make other people happy. (32:50) And I'm also not responsible for making them unhappy as well. (32:53) I might have a contribution to that.(32:55) But that being said, there's an extraordinary power. (32:58) Most of the entrepreneurs that I meet who've had tremendous success have that lightning rod sort of approach, meaning whether it's 50% or 80% that are going to love you, and the other part are going to hate you, it's way better than everyone sort of forgetting you. (33:15) How did you come to that conclusion?(33:17) Have you always been like that?

Precious Williams

(33:19) Well, I told you as a little girl, I was either ignored or abused. (33:22) And so I'm not into being ignored. (33:26) Not ignored at all.(33:29) Now, am I always talking or stuff like that today? (33:31) No. (33:32) But back then, it was clear to me that to be ignored is a feeling worse than death.(33:38) And I think if you look at young people today, they want to be influencers. (33:43) They want to be on television because they know that being ignored or being treated as less than is not the move. (33:52) I didn't have social media back then, which is a good thing.(33:56) I knew that boldness would make me stand out, but I'm also Black. (34:00) So there's a lot of things ascribed to me that have nothing to do with me. (34:06) That I'm lazy or I'm DEI or I'm all of this.(34:09) And I was like, have you checked? (34:10) Can we run them receipts? (34:11) Run your receipts and run mine.(34:13) The only thing that's missing is I don't have a family. (34:16) My family doesn't have wealth. (34:18) I didn't go to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Columbia, but I'm not someone who just got here just on the strength of being a chocolate woman who's glowing up at 46 years old.(34:28) That's just not how I got here. (34:30) And so it was important for me that my receipts are counted and I will make sure you know that. (34:37) So stats I got to have.(34:39) The other thing is I'm always going to offend people who choose to see me as I need to be quiet or I need to say things in a certain way that has to be delicate when you don't ask other people to do the same thing. (34:52) At 327 pounds, I was already offensive as a fat Black woman. (34:57) But here I'm dating a very famous Hollywood actor that I know you wish you could too.(35:04) I'm talking about lingerie and some women didn't even know they could wear lingerie. (35:09) I'm an attorney and I didn't barely get through law school. (35:13) I live in New York City, not where you think I live or my life reflects where I grew up.(35:20) So my very stance nature and power and position already offends certain people. (35:25) It just does. (35:25) Or they want to categorize me into certain places that I refuse.(35:30) So there's certain things I do not do. (35:32) I will not be defined by just my race or my gender. (35:36) Where's my talent?(35:37) Where's the receipts and all of this? (35:39) Because I need all of that brought to the table. (35:41) And even in my Shark Tank pitch, that had to be brought out.(35:44) When it comes to being an entrepreneur, I'm just going to keep it as clean and as a book as I can. (35:51) If you're coming from corporate America, let's say you train small business owners. (35:55) It is nothing like when you experience being an entrepreneur, all of that.(35:59) Oh, the business plan and oh, the product market fit. (36:03) It sounds so good to you got to find clients yourself. (36:07) You've got to find customers.(36:09) Oh, you really don't understand why entrepreneurs pull their hair out or regulation means everything is over. (36:14) A new administration stops things. (36:16) You really don't know what you're talking about.(36:18) You're talking about perfect conditions. (36:21) You're telling you what it is. (36:24) You can, as much as you want to plan, can you plan for a pandemic, economic downturn, social unrest, inflation, recession?(36:34) No, no. (36:36) There's a reason why most businesses aren't a hundred years. (36:39) There's so much that can change.(36:40) I feel like in the last five years, we've seen so much change. (36:42) The fact that I'm still here tells you I didn't, wasn't this on 15 years. (36:48) And so it's important for me that if people are coming from corporate America and you do decide you're going to understand really quickly, unless you come from money, unless you have, you know, independent wealth, this is harder than you think it is.(37:01) And the audience you think will buy from you might not because there's another audience you've never considered. (37:06) Why do I talk about the open door? (37:08) When I started, it was small business owners and teaching them how to win pitch competitions.(37:15) I felt like that makes sense. (37:17) But what happens when I wanted to enter colleges and universities and Ivy league institutions, even though I don't have an Ivy league degree to this day. (37:24) And now having taught at Harvard and Columbia's business schools and law schools, I set my sights on tech companies.(37:31) Do I have a tech degree? (37:31) I have an English degree with a minor in art history, pre-law. (37:34) And I have a law degree.(37:36) What made me think I could go there? (37:38) Because I knew that whoever created this technology couldn't sell it. (37:43) They didn't know how to talk about it.(37:45) Who can understand and break it down and teach your sales teams? (37:49) Me. (37:50) And then, you know, financial services companies and real estate firms.(37:55) What? (37:56) And as a former attorney, I'm going to look at rain making very differently from attorneys in the firm. (38:03) You know, I'm first generation.(38:05) So no one taught me about rain making. (38:07) I never stayed in the law long enough to come up for partner or anything, but I understood entrepreneur rain making from an entrepreneurial perspective, eating what you kill and making your, you know, being able to bait, attract and close with ease. (38:20) What are the right rooms and spaces to be in?(38:22) How do you find clients in different industries like pitching? (38:26) I literally thought was just this whole little business thing. (38:30) It would start here and it has just really put me in all these different places.(38:34) I've keynoted, I've trained, I've spoken, I've written books, all these amazing training programs, all these things. (38:43) But that's not when I was 2010, when Curvy Girls came into being, I did not know this was possible. (38:48) I did not know.(38:50) But look at where it's taken me over 15 years. (38:53) And yes, I went through homelessness. (38:55) Yes, I went through severe alcohol addiction.(38:58) I mean, lots of things happen when you lose the love of your life, when you feel when the world turns against you and you are no longer the it thing. (39:06) You're like, that's hard when a business completes and you feel like you're complete. (39:12) It'll never happen again.(39:15) And I've had two and three bites at the apple. (39:19) So through the open door and being open and when those doors shut, I wasn't trying to go back through that door. (39:25) Who else would need me?(39:27) What other industries needed me? (39:29) How do I make myself available? (39:31) How do I show up and show out even if it is giving my elevator pitch?(39:35) What am I going to say that's going to, oh, oh, she's talking to me. (39:40) She's not talking about herself. (39:42) What has she been able to do?(39:43) If she's trained thousands of pitch champions, if she's helped her speaker clients get corporate training contracts, if she's been able to keynote around the world and still black on both sides, no Brazilian butt lift, no six pack abs, does not sound like a newscaster and yet working with the Blackstones and the Verizons of the world. (40:03) What? (40:03) Who is this woman?(40:05) I am Precious Williams, Proud Founder and CEO of The Perfect Pitch Group. (40:09) We show you how to make it rain and what slay the game.

Marcus Arredondo

(40:13) Do you ever have imposter syndrome or nervousness?

Precious Williams

(40:20) Listen, I have fear, worry, and doubt like most humans. (40:24) I do not subscribe to imposter syndrome at all. (40:27) I don't.(40:28) I think that's a word when it started to hit critical mass and people just said, I'm like, I don't subscribe to that. (40:34) I just got fear, worry, and doubt like everybody else. (40:38) Never been an imposter.(40:39) You remember Cardi B said nothing fake about me, but the, well, I don't have anything fake on me, but nothing fake for her boobs. (40:45) I said, no, I know who I am. (40:47) And I have my moments where I'm like, is that enough?(40:51) And then it's great to have a great support network around you. (40:55) Cause if I can't put on my big girl panties, I can tell you, I can call, let me help you put on your bigger pants, smack you around a little bit. (41:03) They're not my yes people at all.(41:05) They're like, did you forget what you have done? (41:07) Did you forget what God has blessed you to be able to do? (41:10) Do you remember when you spoke at last week?(41:11) Do you remember? (41:12) And I'm like, you're right. (41:14) Let's go.

Marcus Arredondo

(41:19) Uh, what do you think's been most surprising about being an entrepreneur? (41:22) I know you had, uh, a partnership.

Precious Williams

(41:26) What's been the most surprising is that there's still opportunities to start and launch and grow companies. (41:36) Even if, even every day, I'm sure on the news, it's got people distracted so much. (41:41) They take no action.(41:42) So I look at it as distraction to inaction. (41:46) And I like things that challenge me. (41:50) And so even in a world of AI and all these other things coming, I've never seen AI get on stage and talk with me.(42:00) I've never been asked a question and said, well, let's let AI answer that question while I sit here. (42:05) I love that I can read rooms and I can read people and that God has blessed me with the vision to know when it's time to move on. (42:20) So when I moved out of pitching, even though probably was no more than two years before pitch, the pitching world brought me right back.(42:29) But why did they do that? (42:30) Because I'd made a name for myself and I cut my teeth in that. (42:35) And there was a trust that I was still, I could still go in.(42:41) Something else that surprises me is that where's the roadmap for what I do.

Marcus Arredondo

(42:51) I love Oprah. (42:54) I wanted to be on her show, but I knew I could never be Oprah.

Precious Williams

(43:01) I knew I could never. (43:03) The best I've ever done and she did it. (43:06) But I wanted to be the best Precious Williams.(43:10) And I wanted my name to go down in history, not because I defrauded and hurt people, but because I helped them give birth to their dreams and watch it grow. (43:21) The last five years, there were moments where you're just trying to hold on. (43:31) And there are other moments you're like, can you believe this?(43:37) I live in New York City. (43:38) This is, I feel like this is the city of dreams too. (43:41) If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.(43:43) I've been here 20 years. (43:45) I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I'm still here. (43:50) So what surprises me is there's still ways to make it.(43:55) And if you've grown up around hustlers your whole life, growing up, you will find a way or make one.

Marcus Arredondo

(44:01) What'd you learn about partnerships?

Precious Williams

(44:03) I learned about partnerships at Spelman College, a strictly Black institution for women. (44:12) I've been a lone wolf most, you know, growing up most, but I had to do it by myself. (44:20) And I was afraid that all the girls had money and they grew up well.(44:23) So I was afraid that what people told me, I'd never be able to compete. (44:27) I'd never. (44:28) And when I tell you they loved me from day one, they hugged me, helped me put on my big girl panties, reminded me of who I am, who I was.(44:43) And some of those relationships have stood the test of time. (44:49) I've been brought in to speak at people's companies. (44:52) I've been brought in to talk to their daughters about things.(45:01) And sisterhood is real. (45:03) It's not a grift. (45:05) They accepted me and my insecurity.(45:11) And it's funny when I talk to some of my Spelman, my Spelmanites, my Spelman women, they're like, you were always larger than life. (45:19) Newsflash! (45:20) I didn't think that.(45:23) I also think that having been in law school twice, you realize that my insecurities crept back up at Georgetown. (45:33) My mom and my dad weren't diplomats, governors, mayors, or anything like that. (45:38) So I felt so bad about myself.(45:41) And then when I went to Rutgers, I realized law school was just going to be like this. (45:46) But at Rutgers, I was really surrounded by people, even my queen in career services, Wendy, or Nikki Funerato, who was in financial aid. (45:53) They loved me, put me on game with things.(45:57) And so when I say partnerships, I mean, there's a win-win for both. (46:02) As I entered the business world and I had that first partnership, it was soul-crushing. (46:11) And it made me swear off never wanting a partner again.

Marcus Arredondo

(46:16) What made it soul-crushing?

Precious Williams

(46:18) We never should have been partners anyway.

Marcus Arredondo

(46:21) How come?

Precious Williams

(46:22) I have two severe mental disabilities. (46:29) And I was partnered with a queen who may have seen the things that I do, and it looked easy until she had to do it herself. (46:40) Our partnership imploded over Shark Tank and her not being on the show and not being in the home visit.(46:48) But I started that company by myself. (46:51) And sometimes interests change. (46:53) So I think for speakers, for directors, for people who everything we do looks easy, even if there's a 30-year track record behind it or 10 years.(47:02) And so people think you just get on stage and just talk and that's it. (47:05) And it's like, there's a method to it. (47:08) Just like there's a proprietary formula that I have for pitching.(47:11) My job is not to make anybody sound like me at all. (47:14) Introvert, introvert, extrovert, even tech, scientific, product services, or whatever. (47:20) I don't want you to sound like me.(47:21) And I don't, I want you to sound like the best version of you. (47:23) And I'm going to pull the things out of you that you're afraid to put out there that will actually bring more to you that will help you bait and attract the right clients and customers. (47:32) When you are not equally yoked, if you all don't have different skill sets that can come together and combine, it's a recipe for disaster.(47:41) But you know what? (47:42) I wish her the best that life has to offer because where I was left to die, I'm still here. (47:50) And she's still here.(47:52) So our partnership should never have started. (47:55) But even if I look back, it served its purpose. (48:00) The partnerships I have now with companies and stuff like that, it's a beautiful symbiotic relationship.(48:06) My friendships, I feel, are partnerships because sometimes I'm so weak in this area and they're so strong in this. (48:12) So partnerships can work. (48:14) And one bad partnership does not mean everybody else is throw away because they're not.

Marcus Arredondo

(48:20) What drew you to pitching?

Precious Williams

(48:22) Nobody would invest in them. (48:24) My family and friends would invest.

Marcus Arredondo

(48:25) Right.

Precious Williams

(48:26) And I had a Hail Mary moment. (48:32) If I'm before the producers of MSNBC, I got to say something that gets them. (48:37) I don't know what it's going to have them do.(48:39) So I made up a pitch on a spot in front of them and they loved it. (48:42) Did I know it was a pitch? (48:44) No.(48:45) And they loved it. (48:47) Is that your first person to pitch to us? (48:48) Oh, you're so confident.(48:49) Oh, you'd be great for the show. (48:55) And I appeared February 9th, 2012. (48:59) Rockefeller said it.(49:07) Fifty-four seconds, half a million dollars. (49:09) So, yeah. (49:11) Sometimes you got to know a lot.(49:13) And I think it goes back to something you asked me earlier. (49:15) Like, how do you have those two things in mind? (49:18) My friend was supposed to do my makeup and she did not believe I was going to be on TV.(49:21) She did not. (49:22) So I went in with no makeup and the makeup people got me together. (49:25) And I remember like, I need to succeed like my next breath.(49:30) And I don't know about the rest of you. (49:30) That's how I feel at times. (49:31) Like I have to succeed like my next breath.(49:33) My client, I know last week and a week before the last two of my clients won their pitch competitions. (49:38) Do you know I cried as if it was me?

Marcus Arredondo

(49:40) Yeah, I can see that.

Precious Williams

(49:42) As if it were me. (49:43) And I remember showing the video of one of her $10,000 check and that was her second pitch competition ever. (49:50) And I remember when she didn't even believe in herself.(49:54) She was team no sleep up until she had to pitch and she walked out with $10,000. (49:59) I remember what $1 would have did for me, for my business. (50:05) So it keeps me going.(50:08) This is why I do what I do. (50:09) Because there's a love there, but there's also a, I'm trying to lead his game, the goat.

Marcus Arredondo

(50:16) How do you coach an introvert, for example, to lead with the head and the heart, with numbers, with stories? (50:22) How do you bring people around to actually, we can't take your secret sauce in a handful of minutes here, but how would you advise somebody start to develop their style that was more in line with what you're prioritizing?

Precious Williams

(50:37) So even though I have a proprietary framework, when I'm working with my clients one on one, I'm getting to know them too. (50:46) So there's a written component and an oral component before we really get together. (50:51) Because I'm trying to hear what they sound like in both forms.(50:55) When we're meeting, I'm pulling things out of them. (50:58) They can't even hear that I'm pulling out of them. (51:00) And oftentimes by the time it's over, I have a pitch already created in my mind for them.(51:06) And I won't say it to them at that time, but I'll send it and say, this is what I heard. (51:11) What do you think? (51:14) And I think about for introverts, like my granddaddy, my granddaddy did not say he was a man of few words, but when he said it, you know, it was like this, a man, a few words.(51:26) So if you're a person, a few words, or you get nervous, I give you tips and tricks and techniques to hold space and hold your power. (51:35) So that we know when you're going to start, when you're going to end, what if you get distracted, all these sorts of things are preparing you for all of that. (51:41) But most importantly, I want you to feel comfortable within your own skin.(51:45) If you never have for the first time you're seen by me, I see you, I hear you. (51:52) So it's like, you know, I always say, you read a person, you can look at them. (51:55) And there's so much that comes to me, their fears, their worries, their doubts that they have not said to me.(52:01) But also I want them to feel the power of when they stand in place and own the best of their business. (52:08) They're able to answer these questions because they've been prepped and it comes out of their mouth in their words, not mine. (52:16) You can tell I have a cadence.(52:18) I have a certain way of speaking. (52:19) That's not everybody. (52:21) It's not everybody.(52:22) Now have people called me and said, I can tell, I can tell a couple of your clients we're on short term because I can see the, I can hear you. (52:28) I'm like, yeah, I have similar personality as well. (52:31) But my introverts, my ambiverts and my extroverts is special for them.(52:39) And that's why it's important for them to know I see them before we get down to the business.

Marcus Arredondo

(52:46) You, I think you're a, you're a writer that happens to be a pitch person. (52:53) Is that fair?

Precious Williams

(52:55) You know, when I was younger, I wanted to write the great American novel.

Marcus Arredondo

(52:58) You are a writer. (53:00) Thank you. (53:01) I mean, it comes out in your words, but also in some of the pre-work that we did before the show and you know how you write, you've also written a book.

Precious Williams

(53:06) I write poetry too.

Marcus Arredondo

(53:07) Yeah. (53:08) So what's your, what's your day like?

Precious Williams

(53:09) I'm writing poetry in the psych ward, just so we're clear.

Marcus Arredondo

(53:12) You wrote poetry in the psych ward?

Precious Williams

(53:14) Yes. (53:15) I couldn't, you know, you know, You're dropping that at the end of this conversation now?

Marcus Arredondo

(53:20) You're dropping that, you waited to drop that till the end of this conversation?

Precious Williams

(53:23) Oh yeah, most definitely. (53:24) So, you know, I used to be in and out of psych wards before I went to go and, you know, try to take my life and say, so, and I, they used to call me the mayor of the psych ward because my friends would come through with a whole lot of food because they knew you're not just feeding me. (53:38) Some of these people never get visits.(53:39) So my people's new, you know, when people know, but I remember sitting there was this old man and I said, I really want to write poetry. (53:46) I want my stuff to rhyme. (53:47) He said, just write.(53:49) I don't know what happened. (53:50) I went into my room and it was like magic came out of me. (53:55) And so they were really about fighting or love or friendship, but it was the fighting, you know, like the battles and things like that.(54:05) I loved that. (54:07) And I would always read it to him. (54:08) And then some of the other people in the psych ward, they were like, well, read to us.(54:11) And I would read it like after I wrote it, like, I just want to know what does it sound like? (54:15) It's like pitching. (54:16) Like for me, it was like, what do you think?(54:19) And it was so precious to, you know, have the staff members looking at me hold the psych ward spellbound by words. (54:27) I, yes. (54:29) So that's, that was, was it 2015?(54:32) And so I try to write a poem a week because I think that that's going to be one of my books is a book of my poetry. (54:39) And at my 46th birthday event, I wanted to introduce him to P the poet. (54:45) And so I shared some of my poems.

Marcus Arredondo

(54:47) Another avatar.

Precious Williams

(54:49) Huh?

Marcus Arredondo

(54:49) Another avatar.

Precious Williams

(54:50) Yeah. (54:51) P the poet. (54:52) And they were like, you're good.(54:55) I was like, thank you.

Marcus Arredondo

(55:00) So you talk about tips, tricks, and techniques. (55:03) What do you think has helped you most come back from the low points, not just following the death of your partner, but also what you've endured as a young child all throughout and not just come back, but not have a negative disposition toward the world. (55:30) I feel like there's a lot of people that would go through your, your same shoes and be at the very least adversarial and worse, you know, being really just disagreeable in a number of different ways.(55:45) Maybe you are off camera, but I don't, that doesn't come off to me.

Precious Williams

(55:49) I think we have to think about the Kings and Queens and the angels that blessed my life in the darkest of moments. (55:57) When I think about Ms. Francis, who was my social worker, why was she even looking for me? (56:03) Why?(56:05) And it's because she talked to my family and those doctors and they got me back, back to New York. (56:10) She said, we know precious. (56:12) Y'all don't.(56:14) And she made it her mission. (56:15) I got into the Bowery Mission Women's Center. (56:17) She came every two weeks.(56:18) She said, when nobody visits someone that gives maybe staff the idea that they can harass or do the, that didn't happen to the Bowery Mission, but I'm just telling you, you know, when you're visited, when you're loved, I think about Pam Coolness and Bottomless Closet or Dress for Success or all of these places. (56:35) They didn't look at me as a downtrodden hood recipient. (56:38) They saw me and that this item of clothing or this coaching session was going to bring out the very best of me.(56:46) They knew I would be back on top. (56:48) I can't tell you how many people when I was in the darkest that kept saying, oh, you won't be, I'm gonna see you on TV. (56:54) I'm gonna see you this and that.(56:55) I'm thinking, what? (56:57) And they believed it because they had encountered the God in me. (57:01) And that's why it's important for me to volunteer, to raise money.(57:04) That's why I'm on the board of Savvy Ladies and we're about financial empowerment for women. (57:08) Cause I know what it's like to not be financially empowered or to watch women around me struggle and survive. (57:13) That's why I don't have children today because I didn't know if I would be healed enough to bring a whole child into this world.(57:20) So if I can give birth to people's business dreams or to their relational dreams, that's why I'm here. (57:27) Do I have my moments where I want to smash edges and smash waves? (57:30) Of course, but that is few and far between.(57:33) I've been blessed way too much and favor ain't fair. (57:37) And I've been favored quite often. (57:39) So even in the darkest one, especially the darkest of homelessness and you know, I'm nine years clean and sober next year, nine years.(57:47) The last time I had a drink was on my 38th birthday. (57:51) I'm turning 47 in like two months. (57:54) Do you know how beautiful it is to be in a room full of people that you love and care about?(57:58) And they may be having alcoholic drinks and food. (58:00) I tell them if you bring the food, right, man, you're going to feel the same anyway. (58:04) I'm just going to remember everything.(58:05) You know what I mean? (58:07) And that I can be truthful and honest and authentic. (58:10) This is really me.(58:11) How many years was I somebody else? (58:13) How many years was a high precious Williams? (58:15) I'm so delighted to be here with all of you today.(58:18) That is so not my personality. (58:21) It's not I'm colorful. (58:22) I'm bright.(58:23) And it took the second chapter to bring that out and to say that, yeah, I have some bad days yesterday. (58:31) I was yesterday. (58:32) I was feeling so I was cold.(58:34) I had chills and all these other kinds of things. (58:36) And then I realized that was a day to rest because there was nothing I was supposed to do, but just rest. (58:43) So that way I could wake up today and just bless the world.(58:47) I think of, I think of five people every day that I reach out to. (58:50) It's like, I see you. (58:51) I love you.(58:52) What we're getting into today. (58:53) And that can come in a text. (58:54) It can come in a voice note because it's important while people are here that they hear that.(58:59) Cause I didn't grow up hearing that. (59:01) And I don't want to leave this earth when my time is up and that dash is complete, that I did not do enough to bring positivity into the world, that I didn't push in sales and pitching and rainmaking and to make a concerted effort that it can be done. (59:21) And if everything is technology, man, I would have failed at everything then.(59:25) I would have failed because I don't have, my brain isn't tech. (59:28) My brain is human and words and colors, but you can fuse that with tech to make things work. (59:34) And the secret to my success is building real relationships.(59:38) And when it's time to say goodbye, it's goodbye with love.

Marcus Arredondo

(59:42) I know we're coming up on time. (59:43) So I want to be sensitive to that, but a few last questions. (59:46) What did you take away from your experience in the psych ward and the Bowery center and the people there?

Precious Williams

(59:54) I took away from the psych ward. (59:56) There are many incredibly brilliant people in a psych ward who feel that they can't make it in the real world. (1:00:02) Their brilliance, you wouldn't think that their brilliance is too much.(1:00:07) And that I was amongst my own. (1:00:13) I was just blessed to be able to go to school and all that kind of stuff. (1:00:17) The Bowery Mission Women's Center is, we paint broad strokes over people who are homeless and assume that was their whole life or that the best thing they could ever do is be in retail or something like that.(1:00:30) I think a lot of people are one or two paychecks away from being homeless and they just don't know it. (1:00:35) And so when it does happen to you, you'll have a different framework. (1:00:38) You'll have a different perspective that everybody's not bad.(1:00:43) Mental illness can take you out. (1:00:44) Medical debt can take you out. (1:00:46) Losing everything can take you out.(1:00:49) So be very mindful before you wind up in a situation that everybody is not who you think they are. (1:00:55) It's not a race thing. (1:00:56) It's not a gender thing.(1:00:57) It's a life thing. (1:00:59) And do be life.

Marcus Arredondo

(1:01:01) This has been, I was excited about this conversation, but this sort of blew it out of the water for me. (1:01:06) I want to end by asking if there's anything you think we might have missed or you have any closing thoughts?

Precious Williams

(1:01:15) Yes. (1:01:16) Fortune favors the bold. (1:01:17) And I hope that your audience, when listening to this, knows you can be introverted and still bold.(1:01:24) You can extrovert and still bold. (1:01:26) But had I kept looking at that closed door, that closed relationship, I never would have moved forward. (1:01:33) And if I didn't declare what my goals and achievements were going to be, I wouldn't have made it.(1:01:39) And you have to dream big, but you have to ask bigger of yourself and everyone around you to make it happen. (1:01:48) I am blessed to be 46 by my hands and my mother's hands. (1:01:54) I speak to my parents now.(1:01:56) We don't talk about the past and how bad it was. (1:02:00) We talk about where we are today and how blessed I am that I was born of those two and I get to live the life that none of us thought I could. (1:02:12) And I pray that our younger people know it may look bleak right now and it's dark, it's dark and hell is hot, but it's not over by a long shot.(1:02:22) And my name is Precious Williams, Proud Founder and CEO of The Perfect Pitch Group. (1:02:26) We'll be sure to tag you.

Marcus Arredondo

(1:02:30) Thank you, Precious. (1:02:31) We really appreciate it.

Precious Williams

(1:02:32) Thank you.

Marcus Arredondo

(1:02:35) Thanks for listening. (1:02:36) For a detailed list of episodes and show notes, visit scalesofsuccesspodcast.com. (1:02:41) If you found this conversation engaging, consider signing up for our newsletter where we go even deeper on a weekly basis, sharing exclusive insights and actionable strategies that can help you in your own journey.(1:02:51) We'd also appreciate if you subscribed, rated, or shared today's episode. (1:02:54) It helps us to attract more illuminating guests, adding to the list of enlightening conversations we've had with New York Times bestsellers, producers, founders, CEOs, congressmen, and other independent thinkers who are challenging the status quo. (1:03:06) You can also follow us for updates, extra content, and more insights from our guests.(1:03:11) We hope to have you back again next week for another episode of Scales of Success. (1:03:15) Scales of Success is an Edgewest Capital Production.