Care To Elaborate? (w/ Taylor & Travarus)

Affirming Kids, Healing Parents: "My Shining Star" Book Launch

• Taylor Falls, Travarus Fauntleroy • Season 3 • Episode 3

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Purchase "My Shining Star" Here!

Ever wished bedtime did more than quiet the room? We’re cracking open "My Shining Star", a new children’s book born from one dad’s nightly affirmations and a decade-long dream to give kids language for courage. This conversation traces the journey from stacks of picture books to a vibrant, rhymed keep-safe designed to help little ones fall asleep knowing they are enough—and to help parents believe it too.

We talk about why confidence has to be built early, especially with social media turning up the volume on comparison and criticism. You’ll hear how simple, musical lines like I am joy, I laugh, I sing, I can do anything stick in a child’s mind and resurface during hard moments at school or on the playground. We also dig into the art choices—an ever-present adult tiger beside the cub—that quietly teaches kids they aren’t alone. From the first drafts to the launch-day jitters, this is a candid look at creativity, fatherhood, and the power of routine to shape identity.

If you care about children’s confidence, early literacy, and positive parenting, this one’s for you. We share practical ways to turn bedtime into a daily ritual of resilience, why you can’t give what you don’t feel, and how reading I am enough out loud can lift a parent after a tough day. You’ll also get details on formats and where to buy—paperback on Amazon for easy gifting and a hardcover keepsake direct from the author’s site. Join us, take a breath, and imagine a generation raised on kinder words.

Love what you hear? Subscribe, share this with someone who reads to a kid, and leave a review telling us your favorite affirmation from the episode. Your support helps more families find tools that build calm, courage, and connection.

Purchase "My Shining Star" Here!


Chapters

00:00 Celebrating a New Release
02:32 Inspiration Behind 'My Shining Star'
10:07 The Importance of Affirmations
10:45 Creating a Legacy Through Literature
13:29 The Power of Rhyming in Children's Literature
16:09 Parenthood and Storytelling
18:52 The Importance of Tailored Children's Books
21:21 Affirmations for Parents and Children
23:57 Legacy and Creative Expression
26:37 The Impact of My Shining Star
29:08 Final Thoughts and Messages for Children

Affirmations Work For Everyone

SPEAKER_04

What I want the parent to take away from My Shining Star is that this works for YouTube. Affirmations are not a one-way street. The universe doesn't actually know that you're talking to your child. As you're speaking, I am enough, I am enough. I enjoy a laugh I sing. You're reading a book to your child about affirmations, but at the same time, it is being deposited into you as well. You can't give what you don't feel.

Welcome To Care To Elaborate

SPEAKER_01

Oh, wait, let's let's you can't give what you don't feel. Y'all need to screenshot that. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Care to Elaborate. I am Taylor and I'm here with my co-host, Shavaris.

SPEAKER_04

Shvaris, tell the people, what's up? Today is the day that my book comes out, 1111, 2025. Period. My shining star, bedtime affirmations for your brightest stars out today, today, today. Not the echo.

SPEAKER_01

So I was gonna ask Shavaris how he's feeling, but I mean, based on the way that he just low-key stole the intro from me, it's given that he's feeling real good today, I guess. You are you feeling good or what?

Launch Day: My Shining Star

SPEAKER_04

I'm excited. This has been a labor of love, and I feel like after, I don't know, two months of like really intense, hard work of making it happen. It's today's the day, man. I I just can't explain the feeling. So I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_01

It only took two months?

SPEAKER_04

No, the two well, if we're being honest, yeah. I started writing it in August, late August. But the writing it was easy. The process, everything else, the other the backside was very difficult.

SPEAKER_01

But it's low-key giving Dr. Dr. Seuss. Wait, was Dr. Seuss racist? We can assume that everybody back then had a little tinge. I might y'all comment down below. Let me know was Dr. Seuss racist or not. I really don't know.

SPEAKER_04

That is a good question.

SPEAKER_01

I need to look that up. But Javarz is feeling good today because his book is coming out, My Shining Star. You need to make sure that you order that on Amazon. Make sure y'all go ahead now, add it to your cart. Okay. I know you got some snotty nose nephews and nieces and smart ones. Or smart. Sorry. Sorry, y'all. They may not be snotty nose. Even the smart ones got snotty noses, though. They be facts. That's a fact.

SPEAKER_04

You might be cute and snotty. You're right.

SPEAKER_01

Cute and snotty. But you you don't have to have a kid or a niece or nephew. You can read it to your dog, your cat, even your pet goldfish. If you got one of them goldfish to rot in the tank, read it to your gold, read it to yourself.

SPEAKER_04

Read it to yourself.

Why Write A Children’s Book

SPEAKER_01

Everyone needs to be affirmed. So then we're gonna get into Travaris's book and he's gonna tell us a little bit more about what My Shining Star is, what it stands for, and also what inspired him to write it. So okay. So Travaris, tell me, what inspired My Shining Star? Like, what is this book about? What made you pick up the pen and like be like, I'm gonna write this right now?

SPEAKER_04

What inspired the book was I've been reading stories to my daughter every night for the better part of a year and some change. She's three. So we read her books, like three to four books per night. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to have a children's book. And it was one night that I was just looking at the stack of books that she had. So I'm like, how dope would it be if she had a book that was written by her dad that was inspired by her? And it's kind of where I started. So the energy around that became like, well, why can't I? What's the first steps and how do I make that happen? So it was inspired by a true story. But truth be told, since 2010, it's been on my mind to write a children's work. 2010. Yeah, it's been it's been in it in the back of my mind. But when you think about a goal, you may not know the steps that are in it. Like, you don't know how what it what it would taste. It's like, I would love to do that one day. And that's kind of it. But having a child, having children, it dawned on me like, you, I'm holding physical manifestations of other people's ideas. And why can't I have my own?

SPEAKER_01

I see. I see. Hey, Travers, I have a question. How old were you in 2010?

SPEAKER_04

2010, I was 24.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Oh, you're my age. Okay, period. You could have read the book for me. I was, I was, you know, about that age where you could have, I would have read the children's book. Okay, I see. So your daughter, Taylor, also she's funny.

SPEAKER_04

Cyborg when so she calls you Big Taylor.

SPEAKER_01

I love that.

SPEAKER_04

And what's funny about that is when the podcast drive, I put it in the morning, I put it on so like she can see it. And she's like, is that Taylor? Like, yeah. She said, does she have the same name as me? Like, yeah. She said, is she Big Taylor? And I'm Little Taylor. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly, Lil Taylor. Now I gotta come see her again. Because now we big and little Taylor. Like, we gotta take over the world together.

SPEAKER_04

Like, I feel like there's so much more than a chance to do it. When you pull her for a for a duo. Hi, Taylor. She's she's she's aware. She's she's in she's in the mix.

SPEAKER_01

I said, What's up, Lil Taylor? We tell her when she wake up in the morning, tell her that Big Taylor said, Hey.

SPEAKER_04

I will.

Social Media, Self-Esteem, And Armor

SPEAKER_01

Yes. So Little Taylor inspired Charris to write this book. And I think that's so beautiful that you, you know, realized that there was an opportunity for you to positively impact your daughter's life, like long term, outside of you already speaking those affirmations into her every day. But for her to have something tangible and for your son too, to have something tangible, I feel like that is that is so important. For you also to share the wealth with other parents as well. I feel like that is a that is a big thing. Because I, you know, in today's world, a lot of people don't know how to affirm their kids. They don't know if they should affirm their kids. Um, and you know, in this world where everyone is being beat down by all the stuff on social media or bullying or whatever the case may be, it is so important to have that positive self-talk. So I love that you're like pushing that um and implementing that into her daily routine as a child.

SPEAKER_04

That's that's some good stuff, man. No, precisely. Just like that. I mean, you grew up directly in the social media era, so you can understand how certain ideas or things spread very fast and how somebody can say something about you and it just continues to like impact your self-esteem if you're not prepared, if you're not armed with enough affirmations, if you're not armed with enough positivity about yourself, you can easily fall into a trap of not believing that you are enough for anything or not worthy of anything. And I figure if we start when, you know, her being two to build her up, and my son will also get uh specialized treatment in that regard. He's only five months. But if I start to build my wife and I start to build that into her now, she'll be impenetrable in terms of you can't shake her confidence when she's 14, 15, which is that time where you begin to compare yourself and you begin to feel certainly.

SPEAKER_01

They'd be starting at like nine.

SPEAKER_04

Because I'm sure because of socials.

SPEAKER_01

Mm-hmm. I mean, and also like, you know, your children are just more aware. Um, I was actually watching uh, what was I watching? I was watching a documentary the other day, and it's like around age eight or nine is when girls start like having that that um idea in their head that they have to compare themselves to other people. Um, that's often when girls start to have like body image issues because they're looking at either other people they see in person, online, on the TV, whatever the case may be. And even if it starts like subconsciously, it's often around that age when it first starts to permeate in the mind. So yeah, it's it's so important that they have that positive self-talk to counteract that. Because that that negative self-talk would be loud.

SPEAKER_04

It'd be real loud. It's always loud, it'd be bolded. It might be even be it's blinking, it it calls your name and that flashlight on it. We're not having that in the Follower family. I know that's right. Okay.

Words Shape Identity

SPEAKER_01

Okay. So speaking of that, speaking of like affirmations, I I want to ask, like, when did you first realize that words, especially the ones that you were speaking to your child, how they shape the way that they view themselves and how they, you know, see the world.

SPEAKER_04

So I realized that words have the power to really shape the perspective of children. From actually my dad and my sister. So uh I wrote my personal statement for grad school about my dad and my sister. My dad used to, he called my sister pretty girl to this day. So from the time that she was zero to my sister's 30 something. Pretty girl, pretty girl, pretty girl, right? And what I realized is like she never lacked her confidence. Never, right? And I made the correlation like, wow, like that's my dad wasn't doing that for that reason, but one plus one equals two. My dad called her pretty girl. My sister continues to have very a lot of confidence. And it she never let anybody shake her foundation of confidence. So when I realized that, like, oh, there's a name for that, my dad was affirming her every single day. And once you have language for that, you can use it in, you know, I can't say weaponized, but you could use it for good in your own regard. So as long as my daughter was able to talk, I've been able to affirm her. And we have these affirmations that we do every night. The first one is, uh, I am special, I am beautiful, I'm intelligent. I need her to know that she's smart, I need her to know that she's beautiful, I need to know that she's different than everybody else. That was our little talk to each other. But then I began to figure like, we need more, and how can I do that in a written form? And that's where the book, the affirmations via the book came because how can I continue to like these words and have these words for her when I'm not around? If she's feeling sad one day or she's feeling not so great. Um, or you know, unfortunately, if I'm not here anymore, how can she still hear my voice? And that's why the book contains, well, hopefully leave a legacy longer than I'll be here.

SPEAKER_01

You took the words in my mouth. I was gonna say legacy, like really, and I I think it's also just beautiful that you're not only leaving the legacy for your daughter, but you're leaving your legacy in what's about to be something that's global. Um that's really amazing that you know parents will be able to take your words and use them for their own children, like have that positive impact. This this giving, this given worldwide, okay. If you in Australia, if you in a couple of somewhere in Europe, UK, you know, wherever you at.

SPEAKER_04

New Zealand, Ghana, Hawaii, Brazil, Ireland. Talk to me. You Brazil got you. It's a it's everywhere.

SPEAKER_01

It's on Prime.

SPEAKER_04

It's on Prime.

Legacy Parents Can Read Aloud

SPEAKER_01

Amazon, prime. You but get, you know, Christmas coming. Let me even say Christmas. The holiday season is coming up. And y'all need to be affirm. Them kids, be mean. Make sure you're affirming your children. It's not only is that, you know, gonna allow them to feel good inside, but it's gonna allow them to be nicer to other people. You might have valedictorian or the miscongeniality on your hands or something. Who knows?

SPEAKER_04

You never know. But you have to continue to cultivate and and affirm and continue to build that positivity into them into them so they can become what you expect them to be.

SPEAKER_01

Now, speaking of that, the world right now is it's it's I don't know, it's in a little, it's in a a little, a lot of turmoil. There's a lot of stuff going on, um, and it's affecting everyone. So why did you feel like this was the right time to create this book?

SPEAKER_04

I think it's a perfect time based on the way the state of the world plus the socials uh affecting people's self-esteem. And I don't know if there's enough positivity at this age to counteract that. You had the OGs like the Good Night Moon and uh the brown bear, brown bear, but the messaging that I wanted to come through is very personal and specific around how you could be the best that you can be. And to hear it from your parents' voice, and also for you to be able to to, as a child, to to repeat the words with your parents, I think now is a perfect time. We are also in a time where kids aren't reading as much.

SPEAKER_01

Y'all, the children really cannot read. If you are listening to this and you have a young person in your life, please read with them. Please.

Why Rhymes Stick And Delight

SPEAKER_04

And that's a the literacy, literacy plus the confidence hopefully leads to more people feeling like they can like walk with their head up and shoulders straight and they can really feel really good about themselves. And that's what I really want this to come through. I want I want that to come through. I want parents to feel confident and proud to read this to their children. I want kids to feel like they want to put this in their backpack that they're having a not so great day. It can really open up any of these pages and remind themselves that they are enough. So I think now is a perfect time. We just chatted about how when you were growing up, President Obama was your president from first grade to when you got to high school. And think about the kind of environment that was, or what kind of spirit you probably gained from just the atmosphere. That opposite could also happen if you're turning on a TV and you see politicians arguing and yelling and not collaborating, you can embody that same thing. I never want it. I don't want my kids to have that as the only option. Like there's more that we can do.

SPEAKER_01

Expanding their horizons and their opportunities. That's so important. And I mean, to your point, I think who I hope that people really buy this book and that they really read it to their child and that it's something that they keep and pass down. Because to your point, like, you know, once once you read something a couple of times, like it's gonna get it's gonna get stuck up in there. Um you're gonna take the necessary action from what you've learned. So I really hope that who this is something that parents are really taking advantage of because right now, especially more than ever, there's just so much noise, and it's important, important that, you know, in order to counteract that noise, we have some some more positive noise. Some affirmations in the background. Okay. Now I haven't read my shining star, because y'all, Travis ain't sending me no copy for me to read to my dog. But anyway, it's fine. It's fine because I'll buy a copy on Amazon because I'm a real supporter, and you should too, like I said. But I haven't read it, but I heard that it rhymes instead of being a traditional story. So why did you choose rhyming affirmations versus regular ones?

SPEAKER_04

I think because it's six. You made the joke about Dr. Seuss earlier. We remember Dr. Seuss things because they rhymed. Whether they were good or bad rhymes, they do rhyme. I'll tell you my Taylor's favorite page. This is something that she yells out every single time that we read it. I'll read it to her every night, which is not a secret. Her favorite page is I am joy, I laugh, I sing, I can do anything.

SPEAKER_01

Like it's just Oh, for our visual people, that tiger is cute. Travaris, that's supposed to be in it.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And it has music notes.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know, Tavaris, that tiger looks a little cuter than you, but uh It's okay.

Fatherhood And Storytelling

SPEAKER_04

It's okay. Hopefully he'll sell some books. But but the rhyming scheme is supposed to entice people to feel like even have more fun while reading it. I think that, I'm not sure, I'm not a neuroscientist, but I believe that when things rhyme, we remember them better.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, for sure. That's why songs are a thing.

SPEAKER_04

100%. So that was the intention behind the rhyming scheme. So all pages, they all rhyme. Let's see if I can give you another one.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, let me let me hear it, because I'm still waiting on my copy, but it's okay because I'm gonna buy mine on November 11th.

SPEAKER_04

I am strong, my steps are true. There is nothing that I cannot do. I am kind, my heart is wide, love and laughter live inside. So all of them rhyme and they all aspire to. Yeah. When I when I showed it to somebody before, it was like in manual form, it was like still like email and like PDF. Somebody was like, Are you a poet? Like, nah, I just, I just I wanted to take my time with this. But it's literally inspired by my kids, man. Like, I I sometimes I I forget that I'm a parent. Like, I'm I'm like, wow, like I'm somebody's parent.

SPEAKER_01

You are somebody's dad. I am. What a crazy thing to say.

SPEAKER_04

It's wild.

SPEAKER_01

You're responsible for not only the life of one person, but the life of two people. Yeah. Yes. Jump scare.

SPEAKER_04

It's crazy. It's crazy. But that same level of uh surprise, that same level of like, oh my god, works the other way. Where it's like the amount of confidence and ambition that I have, and uh I just feel like a superman, I feel like a superhero being able to do this stuff.

SPEAKER_01

So super dad. Somebody get this man a cape.

SPEAKER_04

Give it to me, I'll take it.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, put the super dad, the SD on the back, period. Okay, so speaking of being, I guess what we'd call you super dad, maybe you should dress up as like Mr. Incredible or something. I'll take that next year. We should we should definitely talk about that after this. But how did becoming a father kind of change or affect your relationship with storytelling?

SPEAKER_04

A lot. You recognize as a parent that when you were a child, you had these random memories. You don't know how they got there, right? Like you remember random days, and I was like, yo, I am gonna be the parent. I'm gonna be a parent that's gonna try to provide every day to be great, but we're human, so things are gonna fall through the cracks. But I think the ways in which we try to expose our kids to certain things will inform the way they see the world, right? And we have to tell them a story in a sense. Like, we took her to the aquarium when she was one, but now she's three, she has a different appreciation for the aquarium, and it'll stick more. And even the way that we have to explain things to her, it has to be in the in like at an event. If it's food that she doesn't want to eat, how do we explain it to her to get her interested, right? Okay, tell her if you eat, you know, we're having quesadillas tonight, she'll be like, wow, quesadillas, but you have to also eat your brosine in order to make sure that you get your quesadilla. And if you eat that, then we have the extra playtime.

SPEAKER_01

We have to put it in a way that incentivize them, name apply.

What’s Missing In Kids’ Books

SPEAKER_04

It has to be persuasive, it has to entice, it has to be entertaining. So as a parent, you're constantly telling the story, whether you know it or not. And um it really influenced the ability to like put one foot in front of the other and write in this book. So I think storytelling obviously is important to how we all have our brains process. But as a parent, my relationship with storytelling is a lot different now because I have to persuade this girl to do all types of things, even at this young age of three.

SPEAKER_01

My parents needed this back in the day. Because I'm just like Taylor. Anything that had to do with anything, I wasn't doing it. What do you mean? I do, do, no. My favorite word was no. I'm not no. Same, same thing today. Maybe I need to read the book today. Uh because, yeah, to persuade. I'm not doing that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and she'll, you know, I can talk about her forever, but like when she wakes up, she's mommy daddy, and she'll walk into the room, and then I take her, you know, ever use the bathroom, and then like she has her puppy in one hand and has her water bottle in the other hand. She gave me both for us to go downstairs, and she's like, Hold me. Okay, get downstairs. And she's like, uh, daddy, can you open up the windows? Open up the blinds. I said, You can do it. You acting a lot of questions.

SPEAKER_01

You're requesting a lot of things for it to be seven.

SPEAKER_04

You can do it. That's what she tells me. She said, You can do whatever you want, Daddy. That's how she says it. You can do whatever you want. That means do it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, right now.

SPEAKER_04

So, yes, this she would be well versed and get somebody else to do it.

Parents Need Affirmations Too

SPEAKER_01

Shout out to all the parents out there. Um I am the ripe age of 24 and having someone wake me up at 7 a.m. talking about some juice or or open the windows, I would crash out. I would literally crash out. So shout out to all the parents out there being patient, you know, reading my shining star, doing all the things. Because if somebody come and and tap on me at 7 a.m., they got another person.

SPEAKER_04

You're talking about on the dot. Steven, how'd she even get out the bed? So her bed is on the ground. She's like one of those princess beds. So she so she just rolls out the She get out the bed and she get her she get her water bottle and her puppy and she come to our room and she and she she don't even gotta she make her presence known. Mind you, the boy in the in the in his bassinet sleeping, she don't care. I'm up, we all up.

SPEAKER_01

What happens if you just you just fake sleep? What what happens?

SPEAKER_04

Oh no, she's gonna climb up. See, I can't daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, I'm here. I'm awake. No, no, no, no. That's what she'll say. Daddy, it's a sun up? It's the sun up. It's the I told her that one time. She was like, no, no, no, look, look. I looked at my window.

SPEAKER_01

And she said, look, look. Let me get up. Get up and look.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, yes, daddy. Look at the window.

SPEAKER_01

Bruh. She ain't slick. I see what she's cooking.

SPEAKER_04

She don't play, man. She don't play.

SPEAKER_01

I would have been like, how about you look out the window?

SPEAKER_04

No, and she would. And she said, come see, Daddy, come see.

SPEAKER_01

Uh she knows too much.

SPEAKER_04

And the thing, you know, the she's been here before. And it's so cute that I can't help it.

SPEAKER_01

Like This is why I don't need one. I don't care about cute. You don't need one. Y'all need one. I'd be I'd be quick to mush kids. You know, do you ever been mushed? Yeah, like anyway, back to the book. I'm sorry, y'all. I don't be mish I don't be mushing other people. Well, I don't got no kids, so maybe I do be. Anyway, anyway. Um, I don't be mushing kids sometimes. Let's talk about speaking of today and mushing kids. You know, a lot of times, I don't have any kids, but from what I've seen, it's not really that many like new children's books out. May other than like Miss Rachel and uh what's that girl? What's that black girl name? Dr. McStuffins and Oh, Dr.

SPEAKER_04

McSuffins, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I there aren't really like any new books out that have really been eye-catching, at least not that I've seen. Yeah. I will say now, Blueie got some heat y'all.

SPEAKER_04

Bluey, Blueie is Blueie's that girl.

Many Hats, One Legacy

SPEAKER_01

Watch her. Did y'all know Bluey was a girl? Anyway, let's back on the topic. Blueie is a girl. What's missing in children's books today that you wanted to bring to my shining star? Because to your point, like I remember Good Night Moon. I remember um what's that book with the with the lady that that's singing to the the baby and the baby gear? Whatever that book, one of them books that's real important for my childhood. But I don't think there have been that many impactful books since then. So, like, what's missing today that you wanted to bring with your book, Shabars?

SPEAKER_04

I think what's missing in the book space is the attention to the reader, the kid. Like, it's not, this is not broad. This is very tailored to you. This is speaking to you about what you can do, reminding you that you are enough. If you're having a great day, you can read this book. If you have a not so great day, you can read this book. There's enough of the range of emotions that are there that kind of can make you feel like I am, I, I, I am light. I am I am great. I am kind. I am sweet. I am what I think, I am what my parents have have have taught me to be. I think it's a real tailored experience for every kid to feel all the emotions within like 24 pages. I'm not sure if I've if I've seen a book, and like I said, I read three to four of these things to my daughter every night, where it's like it evokes a certain emotion every time because whatever emotion you're feeling, it's there. But it's always uplifting, right? For instance, there's a book, a page where the dad is talking to the daughter. And where is this page? If things feel big or nights feel long, I'll always remember that I belong. So whatever you're dealing with, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00

Like there's an opportunity for you to feel like oh, look at this big old eyes.

SPEAKER_04

You see the eyes?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, oh, that is so sweet.

SPEAKER_04

And then there's another page very similar to this where it kind of just reminds you like of who you are. Let me get to that page. I am enough. I know it's true, there's nothing more I need to do.

SPEAKER_01

No, that's sweet. I love this.

SPEAKER_04

So, so when you have these reminders of like, I'm having a bad day, but I can still like read this book and feel affirmed, right?

SPEAKER_02

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04

But it's not also if you're having a bad day, if you're having a great day, you can kind of remind yourself, like I mentioned, I enjoy, I laugh, I sing, I can do anything. So I think what's missing is that real tailored perspective of this is bespoke, this is for me. And everybody can feel that way when they read it.

You’re Never Alone: The Tigers

SPEAKER_01

Speaking of everybody, I I know you mentioned how it's not tailored to the reader or the the child, but what do you want parents to get when they read this book to their children? Because I mean, obviously, like you're reading this to your daughter because she's getting to the point where she can read. A lot of parents will be also reading this to their children who are just starting to read. So, what do you want the parents to take away from this as well?

SPEAKER_04

This is a great question. What I want the parent to take away from my shining star is that this works for you too. I know that's right. Affirmations are not a one-way street. The universe doesn't actually know that you're talking to your child. As you're speaking, I am enough, I am enough, I enjoy, I laugh, I sing, I am kind, my heart, my my love and live inside of me. The universe doesn't know that you're speaking this to your child. You're saying I. It's a two-way street. You as a parent are delivered, you're reading a book to your child about affirmations, but at the same time, it is being deposited into you as well. I want parents to feel confident in themselves. You really can't give what you don't feel.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, wait, let's, let's, you can't give what you don't feel. Y'all need to screenshot that.

Back-Cover Promise And Global Reach

SPEAKER_04

You can't, so while you're, you can't manufacture the feelings that you want your kids to have. You need to embody that saying you have to walk that walk. So as you're reading this book, I'm hoping that parents get more confident as they read these words, because that allows the kids to feel a bit more whole about, wow, like, yeah, like I am, I am enough. I know it's true. There is nothing I can't do. Like, I want you, I want parents to even, you know, like when it comes to like Miss Rachel or Gracie, Racist Corner, you find yourself singing these songs like because it's stuck in your head. I want parents like they have a bad day at work, like, I am enough. I know it's true. There's nothing I cannot do. I want you to repeat it to yourself. It's a children's book, but I could have easily made this a self-help book.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I feel like I need to read this. I feel like I feel like I might need to, because I used to be very good at writing my affirmations like daily. But yeah, you know, you get a little biz, you get a little old. Yeah. And you fall off of things. But you know, it don't take much to read a little couple of affirmations every day.

SPEAKER_04

It don't.

SPEAKER_01

People are gonna be like, why do you gotta people gonna come into my thing and be like, you got kids? Oh.

SPEAKER_04

It's for me. You know, this book, this this book is like candy. It's for all ages. It's for everybody. It's for everybody. But yeah, that's that's my hope. It's for parents to really let that sink into them as well, and not just reading it to your kids. Like, how you check in with you. Are you good? Do you need some uplifting, you know?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because being a parent can take a lot out of you. I know, I mean, on our one of our previous episodes, you talked about how, you know, work, being a parent, all of this stuff, it can it can be a lot to to manage. And, you know, you just really have to learn how to balance it. And in doing that, one of the things that's really important is like self-care, self-love, mental health. And I want to ask, you know, on top of that, is as I just mentioned, you wear a lot of hats.

SPEAKER_02

I do.

SPEAKER_01

You lead programs, you a husband, you create dog on everything, you got a podcast, you got a clothing brand, you got a book. It's probably some more shit. I don't know the shit that you created. Stuff. Sorry, children. You're a father. I mean, I d I feel like I'm missing some hats. But how do those worlds kind of overlap or how are they intertwined within this project for you?

SPEAKER_04

Legacy. Everything that I do is tied to how I want to be remembered. It feels morbid, you know what I mean? But I I want my kids to know that they dad was an ill nigga, yo.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know, that's great. What's the um what's that J. Cole song? Your daddy was a real you know that one. Yeah. Play your eyes on it.

Where To Buy And Formats

SPEAKER_04

I want, I want my kids to know that, like, I want there to be any gaps in how they remember me. Like, my dad was a creative. My dad took care of business. My dad was was a bad motherfucker. That's what I want my kids to know. And to your point earlier, if I'm imparting wisdom upon my kids, I know that there are kids out there that also don't have father figures, don't have people who they can lean on. If this book has somehow gotten my kids or my relatives or people who mess with me through, why can't you send this book to them to say, like, you know, I know that your father isn't there, but you know, my uncle wrote this book, or my dad wrote this book, and I think it can help you through. So I really want everything, all those creative endeavors kind of all tie into I'm looking to build a legacy for my kids to know who their dad was, but also for me, kind of get all this out because I don't want to leave here with any creativity bottled up. Like I want it all to come out, I want my my talents to be on full display. And whether they're appreciated now or or later, they will be appreciated. So it all bubbles up to legacy.

SPEAKER_01

I love that. And you know, one of the questions that I had was how do you want this book to live beyond you? But I mean, it seems as if you've answered that question in the regard and like your children or whoever's reading this book can pass it down to other people. And it it truly is living beyond you. I mean, the fact that, again, it's not only for your kids, but this is about to go worldwide. Like you'll truly be impacting the lives of not only, you know, hundreds or thousands of children, but also their parents or their caretakers or whoever. Yeah. Because I mean, the list can go on of, you know, who will be reading this book. And it's it's so cool to see that, you know, something that's maybe categorized as a children's book is really something that can have a positive impact on somebody, no matter if they're two or eighty two. So I really love that, you know, built into it is is something for everybody. Something for everybody.

Closing And Strong CTA

SPEAKER_04

I had uh uh ten people become readers. For the book, so they can give me reviews. And one of the people was like, I needed to read this book. I'll read it to my son, but like I needed to hear this. And at that moment, it dawned on me that like what's bigger than just for the kids.

SPEAKER_01

Bigger. It's yeah.

SPEAKER_04

It's bigger and it's broader. I have never ever been more proud of something that I've created. With my, you know, obviously my kids, but I've never been more proud of something that I create, like a product. I don't know what it is about this book that I feel so strongly about. I feel like it's gonna catch on. I feel like when people read it and they see the images and the and the messaging, I feel like the whole package is like, I don't I don't think you can deny how infectious and how No, it looks good.

SPEAKER_01

I'm ready for my copy.

SPEAKER_04

And I can't wait for everybody to get it in their hands because I've been, you know, it seems like I've been writing this book for a couple months, but when lightning strikes, it strikes. And for I just can't describe like the day that I got this book in my hand, okay, I near cried. Seeing the like, you know what I mean? Like, you know, seeing the pages and touching it and reading it, and like I had to take a deep breath to like really like take it all in, like, man. You did that. Ever every aspect of this book from page colors to it is very vibrant.

SPEAKER_01

I love it.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah, and that's that's the intention, is to make sure that everybody can you very enjoyable. You know what tiger's.

SPEAKER_01

I really like these tiger's eyes. I gotta think. You know, my eyes big as shit.

SPEAKER_04

So that was intentional because I think all of that helps to like drive her in. Yeah. Yeah, it's the emotion. Like, but I am incredibly excited to get my shining star, bad time affirmations for your brightest star to you. Before we wrap up, I want to read the back. I think the back really encapsulates what this book is supposed to be about. So the back of the book says, Every child deserves to fall asleep wrapped in words of love and strength. My shining star offers gentle affirmations that help little ones drift into dreams, knowing they are enough. They are love, they are bright, and they are deeply loved. Perfect for nightly routines. This book is a keepsacer mind that your child is and always will be a shining star.

SPEAKER_01

Just finna knock Dr. Seuss off the map. Oh no, that's right. Who is he? Cat in the who? Playing cat in the head.

SPEAKER_04

Done. Finish.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, peace. Now wait. Before we get off, I do want to ask one final question.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And if your book could tell every child one message, what would that be?

SPEAKER_04

There's nothing that can stop you.

SPEAKER_01

Period.

SPEAKER_04

Elaborating on that, because that's what we do here. The the journey of achieving anything requires stress and requires armor, right? And the first time you get hit with something that you don't like, maybe the first inclination is to like cower and go home. So if you read this book, I hope that you recognize that you can do anything that you want to do. You can continue to persevere, you can continue to go through. One thing that I thought was giving myself credit that I wanted to highlight in this book is every step of the way, where the where the child tiger is, the adult tiger is. You're never alone. There's never, there's no page in this book where the one tiger, the baby tiger is there where the adult tiger is not. You're not alone. And there's even a page where they're in school and the adult tiger is like looking in, like making sure like, I'm here, don't trip. I got you. Um I'm not too far away. And as we get older, we kind of forget that we have those protectors. And, you know, whether they're here earths or they're their guardian angels, you're never alone. Like you are protected, you are good. So I want kids to know that you can do whatever you want and you are protected when you try to take your chances. You have a soft place to land because those who love you are always around the protection.

SPEAKER_01

That was wonderful, Javaris. I feel all warm and fuzzy and cuddly inside. That really, that really, uh, that was just beautiful. Um, and I hope that those listening really feel that warm feeling too, because that it truly just shows that you put so much love and intention into this book. And I hope that other people feel that every time that they read it, no matter if that's the first time or the 100th time. I mean, the message on the back too is just, I just love that. So thank you for sharing my shining star with me, with our audience. And thank you to Little Taylor for inspiring the book. Because it's it's truly just beautiful to see you put so much passion into something. And for it to be something like tangible right now that we can get in our hand very soon. So if you're listening, what's what day? I'm about to say October. It's November. November 11th. Today, today.

SPEAKER_04

Today they're listening to this.

SPEAKER_01

It's out. You need to go get it. Go tell your mother your cousin, your brother, your dog, your hamster, whoever. Anybody with an Amazon account, they need to go get that.

SPEAKER_04

And you can get the hardcover at Travisfontlerory.com. T-R-A-V-A-R.

SPEAKER_01

We're gonna link it. We're gonna link it down below. We're gonna be there. No matter if you're on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, it's linked in the What you see here is the hardcover.

SPEAKER_04

I would prefer for you to get the hardcover is more of a keepsake. You can't get this on Amazon. You have to go to my website to get this one. Uh the if you get the one from Amazon, the story's the same. It's a paperback. But your kids might rip it. And so be mindful. They they be grubby. The ages is from two to two to seven, but obviously, as we've been chatting, this book is for everybody, for anybody and everybody. I'm so excited, man. Like, I haven't been excited about a day like this. Outside of my wedding day and the days my kids were being born. Outside of that, I don't think I've ever been this excited to, I don't know, man. Like, it's surreal.

SPEAKER_01

Give me a copy. I'm about to, I'm telling you, I'm about to read this to my dog. I affirm her every morning. And I hope you hope you and your dog gonna re it gonna resonate. Yeah, for sure. That dog thinks she's the baddest dog walking. You should see her walking down the street.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, you know, you know how your dog uh be jumping on you as soon as we done recording. She knows. She be knowing.

SPEAKER_01

Shout out, you ready for the you about to I'm about to read you this book. She ready, y'all. Here she comes. Anyway, thank you for joining us for this week's episode of Care to Elaborate. We will see you all next week. Don't you click off this episode without going to get that book. I see you. Go get that book.

SPEAKER_04

Link is in the description.