Leap of Faith

What happens when purpose meets courage? In this episode, we spotlight a man who took a bold leap of faith and turned his vision into a movement. Using character education as his foundation, he’s inspiring and transforming the lives of young people in powerful ways.  Tune in to hear his journey, the challenges he faced, and how faith, passion, and purpose came together to create lasting change.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome, welcome to MJ Unscripted. I am MJ. Thank you so much for being with us today. We are so lucky to have you here. How do you know that you're in the right space? Because you are a person who wants to become a better version of yourself. I have an amazing guest with me today by the name of Al Janon Hall. Thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Thank you for having me. Oh my God. I'm excited. I'm charged.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

You're always charged up. Always charged. And I could not wait to get you here. When I told you that I wanted to start a podcast, you were one of the first people that I called.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

I remember that call.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

And I remember saying, Hey, would you mind? You say yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Yes. You didn't even know what it was. Right. So I'm so blessed to have you here.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

I'm honored to be here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Can you just tell us a little bit about who is Al Janine Hall? Let's start off that way.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

First and foremost, um, a man of God. Um I'm a father, um, I'm a fiance, I'm a motivator.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Um I'm a dreamer. Right? I'm a dreamer. Um, I'm a I'm a person that that's um that's driven every single day to be the best that I can be.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

To be 1% better than I was yesterday.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

I like that.

unknown 1:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

So let's start with you weren't always the motivational speaker. You weren't, you may not have even always been a dreamer initially, right? So let's start us back from where did you begin? Like where did your journey actually begin?

SPEAKER_02 1:30

My journey started off in East Orange. Okay. Um So I moved to East Orange, New Jersey when I was um like two years old. Okay. Went to um went to Kent, went to Stockton, went to Hart Middle.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

And um it started off. The only dream that I had as a young black man at East Orange was I wanted to go to the NFL.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

So I was super fast, I was gifted athletically. I always played um street football with the bigger kids. And I wanted to be the quarterback at East Orange High.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Until my parents came to me after the seventh grade years and said we were moving.

unknown 2:04

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

And I said, Where we where we going?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Uh-huh. Where we going?

SPEAKER_02 2:06

We're going to Newark.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

And I only knew about downtown Newark. Right.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Right, right, right. Why are we doing that?

SPEAKER_02 2:13

So they wanted to pursue the American dream. We were renting that entire time. So they purchased a home.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Um, and then I went went to Newark. Um still was focused on that dream, but I wasn't really engaged the way that I should have been academically. And as I progressed and got to my senior year, a lot of opportunities that I had early on in high school, they were no longer there.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Because I didn't have the grades.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Um had football stopped at this point?

SPEAKER_02 2:38

It didn't stop. I had an opportunity. I went to Alabama State University. Okay. Um, but that was my first experience of doubt. So, regardless of what I had accomplished in Jersey, um, being MVP on my team, being all city, being all county, being all state. Um, when I got down on that campus on the yard with these country boys, uh-huh from Alabama, from Georgia.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

You saw your competition. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Yeah, and it was like I ain't even give myself a chance.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Okay. You know, um mentally, you had already shared.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Yeah, mentally, I I had kind of I was battling that doubt. Okay. And I used that as an excuse.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

You know, so um ended up transferring back up to up north. Um, still was trying to pursue that dream, had a um a bad injury. I tore my quad. I was training um to go to the Canadian Football League. I tore my quad.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

And um I didn't get it repaired.

unknown 3:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:38

It healed naturally. Oh, wow. So unfortunately, when I flex my quad and extend my leg, there's a hole there still to this day.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Because you never took care of it.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Yeah, I didn't do it the right way.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Um, so I realized early on, um I wanted to work. I was working at FedEx.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

And um I remember my grandmother when I left Alabama State in tears saying, baby, I need you to finish. And I didn't know. I just knew that school was gonna be, college was gonna be a better vehicle for my tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 4:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Based on a lot of my friends, a lot of kids that I went to school with, um, in the street, getting caught up, doing goofy stuff. Right. I just knew that. So it took me 10 years to get my undergraduate degree.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Oh, amen, though.

SPEAKER_02 4:23

Um, 10 years. Um, I was determined to fan.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

On and off, on and off.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Nah, it was steady, but I was working full time.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Um, so um, and I was the one that would come to campus, take my classes, and I would go to work.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

But early on, um, I got into FedEx as an investigator.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

After the first year of being on the job, I saw this guy. He was the one, only man in there wasn't doing no work, it looked like.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Okay, what was he what was he doing?

SPEAKER_02 4:52

He was um what they call a corporate security officer, a corporate officer for FedEx. I said, Well, what do you do? I said, I'm a corporate officer. I said, What you have to do to get that position? He said, You got military, law enforcement?

SPEAKER_03 5:04

No.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

You know, he said correction, going to school for criminal justice. He said, There you go. So I had 60 credits at the time. Okay. And that's how I got my foot in the door.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

So at that time, I was the youngest um person, youngest employee involved in corporate security at New York Airport. So it was a good job. Here I am, 20 something years old, and I'm making $50,000.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

You know what I'm saying? So so that was a real come up for me.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:29

And then um, I spent uh a lot of time at FedEx.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

So that's so FedEx's job one.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yeah, that was job one.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Job one. When I just said FedEx is job one, you kind of made a face a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Yeah, yeah. Um I I I I feel a certain type of way about FedEx.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

Okay. And but did you feel in that moment like that you were doing what you were called to do? It was it was just a job.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

I didn't know. It was just a job.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

It's something that that um, and this is one of my talks, I call it, you know, you from East Orn, you can appreciate it. Not OPP, other people's property, not Naughty by nature. Right. Um, it's an acronym that I created, OPE.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

College gave me opportunities, OPE, opportunities, possibilities, uh-huh, and exposure.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

That's what it did for me. Okay. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. That's what my education has done for me.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

And since then I got my undergraduate and I got an MBA, and it's just opened doors for me.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Okay, so let's talk about the doors. So we're at FedEx, and clearly one day something says there's more.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Not something. God. Yeah. God said there's more.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

What was the more that he planted?

SPEAKER_02 6:39

So when I was in the MBA program, I went to Dallin College, and I initially went into this program with aspirations of being promoted within FedEx. Okay. I wanted to go into management. Okay. I had always been a leader. I always stood out, was always vocal. I was a quarterback. I was always vocal. I was always a motivator.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

Always that that rah-rah dude. You call me crazy horse on a football team.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

High energy all the time.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

But when I got into the program, I immediately started to see myself and identify myself as an entrepreneur. I had always been creative. And then my mind, my mindset started to shift at that point. And then when I had finished the program and I started looking at opportunities or trying to figure out what direction I would go, I initially was being a copycat.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

How so?

SPEAKER_02 7:33

What I would what I did was I would identify with people that I knew, or identify what other people were doing to be successful.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

And I initially felt like, okay, I'm an entrepreneur. I can go in any lane. I could, but I didn't understand my lane.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Your lane. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

I didn't know that didn't even come up.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

So I tried multiple things, had a little success, sputtered, but it wasn't my lane, and I knew it immediately.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Because you're not passionate about it. Yeah. You're not excited about it.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

But that's fair though, because we need to hop into all the lanes because typically we don't just get placed where we're supposed to be.

SPEAKER_03 8:13

Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Right? We appreciate where we're got where God wants us because we've experienced these other places where it didn't feel like home.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

100%.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

100%. And you feel that.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

And I remember, you know, um living, I was married at the time. I remember, you know, being at my church, Living Faith Christian Center, and this pastor Lamont, late Pastor Lamont McLean, he was what they called a king and a priest.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

And so he had a um a non-denominal church that was a mega church and pen talking. But he also was a CEO of a technology company. And so he started this ministry called Entrepreneurs for Christ.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

And I remember being in that first session, and you know, I had been in church, Mount Olive in East Orange, with my parents, but I wasn't in church. I was going to church.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

I wasn't in church. Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

And so he started, you know, he started us really breaking down, seek ye first the kingdom of God, all things will be added to you. And that stuck with me. And at that time, I was really, really thirsty. I wanted to find my lane.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

And I remember, I'm like, I'm gonna see if this works. Sound good. Does this work? I remember getting up early. I'm an early riser. Remember going downstairs in the family room, 4 30, 5 o'clock in the morning, just praying, just sitting there, trying to hear from God. And after day two, God immediately started started to speak to me.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

What'd he say?

SPEAKER_02 9:42

He said, Children's Entertainment Company. Let's go. And what's crazy about it was God started to show me the gifts that I had already had. That I wasn't class clown in high school, but I was a clown. I had the ability to manipulate my voice.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

I was very creative.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Um, I loved kids.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

But I also had a passion to impact kids on the seed stage, especially understanding what I dealt with coming up in East Orange in North and what the kids were going through now. At that particular time in 2008. So I'm sitting there in the cane to me, I said, Lord, like what you what you mean?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

You want me to be a Elmo like that? Big bird.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

Like I make it plain for you. Right, right, right. I understand. You want me to do parties? What does that mean? Like, no character education, because at the time, character education was the buzzword. Correct. And so, character education, create a character, something unique.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

Alright. No lion, no bear, no bear. That's what was flooded on television, the characters. Tony the Tiger.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Yes. You know, all these other bad bar, at one point the elephant.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Hip hop Harry, and they just came koala bear. And so I had this image of a koala bear, and then God started to set the table. And what I mean by that is I'm in the church and I had so many resources. So the first thing I did was I needed somebody to sketch it.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

There was a guy that I didn't even know in the church named Vince Banyer. Um, Vince Banyer um uh Masterpiece Design Group. Gave him my vision. You know, whenever I talk about Jubilee, whenever I talk about my ministry, my business, I'm passionate, I'm excited. You feel that?

SPEAKER_01 11:27

I can feel it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

And um he was like, all right, he sketched Jubilee. Didn't charge me. He was so in tune, so excited for me. He was like, I just want to sew this to you. I had to create it, I had to bring it to life. God said you need it to be durable. So you can get a costume made for $1,500, but I need it to be durable. I emailed, I mean, I emailed, I Googled costume makers. I came across Yvette Haleen in Brooklyn. Okay, she created a little bill for Bill Cosby, the Rug Rats.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Cost me $800.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

$8,500 to make the to make the koala.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

I had never spent $8,500 in my life.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

But look at what's happening.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Took a line of credit out on the house, took a leap of faith.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Got this seven foot koala, took the rendering to Yvette Helene. She created Jubilee.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Then I also have I'm gifted in the arts as well. I was athletic, but I could sing, I can hold a tune, I could dance, I'm silly. There was a producer in the church. Um and he I had this vision, I had written these songs, he put me in the studio. So all Jubilee's voice and as well the songs was me singing on these tracks.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

Didn't even charge me.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:43

And so now I have this, I have these pieces, these components. Now it's time for me to go into schools. And God told me, You're going to impact and you're going to perfect this in the church.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

So Jubilee was initially going into the church, to children's church.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

And it was just me, it was somebody else.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

And I would wear a lapel mic.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:04

And I'm 53 years young and I'm older, and it's in the morning. And um, I had a long week. I've been talking all week. But so you hear my voice now?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

I had the ability, and I'm gonna see if I could do it.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Hi guys, it's Julie! Oh.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

So all my tracks was in this high-pitched voice. So I would get into the costume with this lapel mic, show it with a big band speaker, play my tracks, and I was able to pause it and I would interact with the kids.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Oh, the kids would eat this up. They eat this up.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

And that was a unique thing. Most characters don't talk.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

And koala bears.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

Yeah, so I deviated from that.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

To make that experience more memorable with the character talking to the child.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Yeah. Like, you know, Monique, how did you know my name? Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 13:50

Why did I just jump? And then it hit me, I was like, yo, like, I can record all this and I could put somebody else in the costume.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

So then it grew. And I never forget being at um, I had a principal's meeting in Trenton. Because I was starting to gain some traction. It went from being in the preschools to being in the elementary school.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

And then it started to blossom because as an entrepreneur, as a creator, I'm a problem solver.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

So I'm able to listen to administrators, to teachers, to directors, see what that pulse is and create something for them to meet that need. Yeah. Which Dreamcatchers was created and evolved. And that programming is for the middle school. It's actually from three grades three all the way up to 12.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

I was gonna say through high school.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Yeah, you know, and the Jubilee is for, you know, pre-K through two.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 14:39

So I provide multiple programming for schools, um, from SEL programming, um uh parent engagements, professional development, as you know, yeah, mentoring programs. Right. We do pep rallies.

SPEAKER_03 14:52

Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Um I'm the catch line was we are the ultimate tool and resource for educators.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

I'm gonna pause I'ma pause you for a minute because I'm looking at your sleeve and I see Jeremiah 29.11 on here. Right. So yeah, tell me about that.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Yeah, so Jeremiah 29.11 is is is my one of my favorite scriptures because it reminds me of where I've come from.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:19

It reminds me of where I currently am.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

When I feel stretched, right, when I feel doubt.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Um, it's a reminder to me that God has plans for me. Yeah. Or this was his plan.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

He always had the plan. He always had the plan. He just needed you to say yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

And and to actually like move your feet, right? Because sometimes he drops the plan. Yeah. And we're like, oh, okay, that's cool. Right. And we sit and we're like, well, how and how? And he's like, don't worry about all of that. Right. Right. So you moved your feet by I'ma just start this at children's church.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

Yeah. Yeah. Just get out the way. Yeah. And what I can honestly say this, and and I, and I fight, I fight this daily because, you know, as gifted as we are as people, as as children of God, sometimes we get so caught up life in. Yeah. We got all these great ideas. Right. But is it for from for God from God? Correct. Correct. But I know for sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 16:15

And the reason why it's grown and it's prospering is because that was from God.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

And I believe you. Right. So we got to experience it for the first time. I'm going to say three years ago, maybe, when you came to our school. And I was staring the whole time because three years ago was when I first started, let's say, public speaking and things like that. And I'm like, this dude is doing like you found Elaine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because it wasn't happening in the schools.

SPEAKER_03 16:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

We weren't getting anything like that. We weren't having any kind of pet rallies that were going on, the school put it together. We weren't having this outside company come in, cater towards a pre-K through two. Yeah. Really reeling my middle schoolers who are typically bored to be in a assembly. Yeah. Right. And they're like, when they hear you're coming, it's like work.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Rock star.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

Yeah. They and I'm and then we come down and you got the music going, nuggets already turned up. And it's such a good feeling. It's such a good vibe. And you have created this area where team building is fun.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

And it's a thing. Yeah. And they know if you're coming that day, I gotta do everything I gotta do to get down the steps. Right. They don't want to miss it. Right. Right. Wow. Praise God. Praise God because you said yes. Yeah. So congratulations to you for uh being obedient to that calling.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

How does it feel though? Like you're here now. Like looking back, because I know you I know you're reflected. Where are you?

SPEAKER_02 17:49

Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

It's more than seen. It's more.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

It's more. I'm still in the way. Yeah, okay. Real talk. Like that's the struggle. Wow. I'm still in the way. You're trying to control a little bit? Still in the way. Yeah, like not controlling, but you know, I was talking to um an administrator down in Blackwood, New Jersey, and even some of my assemblies, it's still times. Like we did 324 assemblies last year from September to June.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

324.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

There's still times when I go into school, a few times, a lot of times, where I'm nervous. They're gonna look at me like I'm crazy.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Well, I like nerves, right? Because I always tell anybody out, though.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

You still gotta make it.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

Well, nerves keep us humble, right? And they allow God to lead.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

So I look for nerves. I was nervous this morning brushing my teeth. Now I've done this a few times, and I was still nervous, and that excites me though. Yeah. Because it lets me know that, okay, the decision that I'm making is of you. Right. Um and that he's gonna make sure that everything is good though. Right. So I don't need to worry. Right. Right. I think there's a difference between nerves and being, but see, doubt doesn't have to be negative either. Because because I'm learning now that doubt creates it questions for me.

SPEAKER_03 19:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

When I start to doubt, I can question God. I can ask him for more clarity. I don't think he's upset about that. I think true doubt when it leads to fear becomes the problem. Right. Because fear is gonna stop us.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

100%.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Right. So I can doubt a little bit, like, well, God, what about this? And just to dig a little deeper into his word to get closer to him, I think it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Yes, yeah, 100%. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Just staring at you because this is like I feel like even just in the three years, I've watched something continuously grow.

SPEAKER_02 19:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

Like you started where you started, however, you've grown so much and picking up new schools and it's crazy because um, you know, I had a moment on Monday, you know, there's so many folks in this um industry as far as being an educational consultant um that are struggling to get contracts, that are struggling, um, that did what I did, whether working a job or not working a job and trying to develop traction.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

But what a lot of people don't understand is like I've been doing this since 08.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

Oh eight.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

But off of a leap of faith. You just walked away from a job.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Nah.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

You didn't walk away?

SPEAKER_02 20:25

Nah. It was mutual.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

100% I got fired.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Okay. However, leap of faith to start this business.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yeah, it it was a poor where the business was already started. Again, I was doing it since 08. Right. Um, it was for a long time, it was a glorified part-time job. Okay. And what was happening was when I got divorced, I had all these responsibilities. And I'm speaking to somebody right now. I had child support, I had private school, I had where I was living at, I had to take care of. I eventually, you know, got into a relationship, got engaged, and I didn't think or believe that I can carry that load with my with Jubilee children's entertainment.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

So for a long time, I stayed, I stood at the in that job because it was comfortable.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 21:23

It didn't require a lot of me. I had a ton of flexibility, it allowed me to grow my job. And I just gotta also speak, it worked out for me, but what I also had conviction about was I wasn't a good steward over what I had.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:36

I had the job, but I was leaving early. I took advantage of my flexibility. God had been speaking to me the entire time. Um, and then one day there was a management shift, and and um, and I felt they were coming for me. You know, um, because I was so passionate about my business. Business, yes, and I was putting so much into my business right that things started to fall, but started my production at work started to suffer.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

I was an investigator.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

So I was I'm in charge of making sure people don't steal.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

So your presence, doing interviews, a lot of things that you do, like maintenance and stuff like that. Like, I'm about my business. Okay. And so I remember going through a walk, me and my fiance was walking in through the development, and it became frustration because they weren't, when I was focused and locked in, they weren't promoting me. They were hiring external people from outside the company that didn't look like me, that had less education, less experience. I mean, right in my backyard, and I was driving from Morris County to Cherry Hill and to Newcastle, Delaware. No traffic, it was two hours.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:52

One way. Right. And I just felt like I was taking advantage of, but I also knew that they weren't utilizing my skills.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

I don't want to say you got fired. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

I technically did, but I didn't. It was mutual. I fired them.

SPEAKER_01 23:07

I don't, I was gonna say, I just think God released you so that this can be birthed. Both couldn't exist at the same time. So I don't it to me, it was like something had to, it was either Jubilee was gonna suffer or this is gonna suffer. And this is where God was placing you. So FedEx had to go. I just don't want to view it like fired is such a negative word. It was kind of like But it's real. It is, but my time was up.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Yeah, 100%. And that's how I see it. That's how I see it. And it's funny because the few people that I shared my my hopes and dreams with, they said, bro, I was always seeing looking at Al, like, why is he here?

SPEAKER_01 23:46

Yeah, well, I mean, it was a stepping stone.

SPEAKER_02 23:48

Like, why are you here? And it's funny, like, I got this this friend Rob Dunbar. He was like, Ah, I knew. And he goes on Facebook, he said, Look at my brother.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Look at my brother. He said, Man, I'm so happy for you. Of course. And he said, You just had to believe. That's it. We was waiting on it. I remember being on the term, probably dropping down there in tears, like crying like God, like, like, like them rides, like, like a lot of things time. No radio. Right. Like, because I was on the road at 5, 4:30 in the morning.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Right.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

Like crying, like God, like I'm struggling with this. Right. And then going through that wall, when I when I mentioned to my fiance, she said, forget that job. Like, I looked at her. And then that was it. And then the first after I left FedEx, I made them calls. Say, look, I'm full time. This is this. I started getting connected. I started getting into administrators' networks. And then I'm grinding. December, this happened. September 27, 2022. And I looked up in December, three months. I made my salary. I looked, I said, babe.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

I made in three months what I was making at FedEx. Off of your business. Like I was getting 75,000. I was like, yo, that's good for doing nothing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I had my business. It was glorified. You know what I'm saying? But I'm like, yo, like, God, like, are you serious? Yes, he's serious. I feel like God was saying, yeah, you playing with dude. I've been told. You know what I'm saying? But you know, like, like you said, time. Right. Timing. Yeah. So I don't look at it. It's funny because everything that I incorporate, many of the things that I incorporate now into my business, I learned at FedEx. Like the presentation. You had to work there. The presentation. Yeah. Creating PowerPoints. It gave me a lot of experience talking to people. I had to interview people. I had to talk to upper management. So that allows me to talk to administrators, superintendent.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

You had to work there to gain those skills so God can move you forward.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

So I under I understand that that was a part of my process.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

He was refining you. Yes, he was.

SPEAKER_03 26:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

And if you could give advice to anyone, one piece of advice, just based on your own experience, what would it be?

SPEAKER_02 26:15

I would just say dream, believe, make history. And what I mean by that is dream and believe, because every day we're writing our world's bestseller.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

And the make it history part is just walk by faith, not by sight. I like that. Just do it. One of my biggest fears. And that what keeps me going, God forbid, if something happens to me and I leave this earth, I don't want to show up God, you know, he interviewed me, he got the clipboard. Yeah. Bro, you ain't do this. Right. You ain't do this. Right. You ain't do this. Why? And I don't want to say I ain't believe. I ain't trust.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

Because I gave you all the resources.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Like I like I want to be empty.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 27:07

So dream.

SPEAKER_02 27:09

Believe.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Believe. Make history. Make history.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 27:13

That's it. I thank you so much for joining us today. If there's anything that you loved, saw, heard, please do not forget to subscribe, hit like, share it out. I can be found on all pod uh all podcast platforms, YouTube included. I pray that your day is filled with love, laughter, and learning, and we'll talk to you soon.

SPEAKER_02 27:36

Appreciate you.