# Uplift: Interview discusses her Superpower of how to build authentic personal and business relationships.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 9 Nov 2024, 26 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/950a5221-f75c-42f0-adc3-b2c200fd4c2e/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Jotaka Eaddy. An award-winning strategist and advocate, founder of Win With Black Women (WWBW)—a collective of over 200,000 Black women leaders. Key Highlights from the Interview: 🎙️ Opening Message • Rushion emphasizes the importance of living your own success story and introduces the show’s mission to inspire and educate. 👩🏾‍💼 Guest Introduction: Jotaka Eaddy • First Black woman student body president at the University of South Carolina. • Founder of WWBW, which aims to uplift Black women in leadership, politics, and business. • Works to bridge the gap between Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley. 🌍 Win With Black Women (WWBW) • Originated during the 2020 election cycle in response to sexist and racist attacks on potential Black female VP candidates. • Focuses on: • Combating racism and sexism. • Supporting Black women in elections. • Elevating the economic and cultural power of Black women. • Organized impactful initiatives like theater buyouts for The Little Mermaid to demonstrate economic influence. 💡 On Leadership and Identity • Jotaka reflects on her upbringing in rural South Carolina and the influence of her late mother and community. • She discusses the importance of representation, mentorship, and self-belief. • Emphasizes that leadership is not just about position but about empowering others and evolving daily. 💻 Bridging to Silicon Valley • Shares her journey into tech, overcoming imposter syndrome, and becoming a C-suite executive. • Advocates for demystifying tech careers for Black communities and creating inclusive opportunities. 🧠 Perception vs. Reality • Addresses stereotypes about Black women and contrasts them with data: Black women are the most educated demographic and fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. 💬 Closing Thoughts • Rushion praises Jotaka’s motivational presence and impact. • Jotaka shares her commitment to living a life that uplifts others. #BEST #STRAW #SHMS Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Hi.
[0:00] Speaker 2: I am Rashan McDonald, a host of weekly Money Making
[0:03] Speaker 2: Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show
[0:06] Speaker 2: provides are for everyone. It's time to stop reading other
[0:10] Speaker 2: people's success stories and start living your own. If you
[0:13] Speaker 2: want to be a guest oh my show, please visit
[0:15] Speaker 2: our website, Moneymaking Conversations dot com and click to be
[0:20] Speaker 2: a guest. Button press submit and information will come directly
[0:23] Speaker 2: to me. Now let's get this show started. Welcome to
[0:27] Speaker 2: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. As you know, I'm the host,
[0:29] Speaker 2: I'm gonna show y'all a quote a friend of mine
[0:33] Speaker 2: gave me. I said when I went and visited his
[0:37] Speaker 2: conference recently. This quote moved me because I was just
[0:42] Speaker 2: speaking from the heart. When I was speaking to his conference.
[0:46] Speaker 2: He said, Rashan, you said this, and they moved a
[0:48] Speaker 2: lot of people when you said it. If you don't
[0:50] Speaker 2: start dreaming about what you want today, you won't get
[0:54] Speaker 2: it tomorrow.
[0:56] Speaker 1: Wow.
[0:57] Speaker 2: If you don't start dreaming about what you want today,
[1:00] Speaker 2: I won't get it tomorrow. Basically, what I'm saying is
[1:02] Speaker 2: that they're twenty four hours of the day. Learn to
[1:04] Speaker 2: take advantage of each hour. Basically, what I'm saying is
[1:07] Speaker 2: that when you go to bed and have a plan
[1:10] Speaker 2: as to why you should wake up, this snooze button
[1:13] Speaker 2: is a snooze button is not your friend, it's your enemy.
[1:16] Speaker 2: You can't be a person who says I'm not a
[1:19] Speaker 2: morning person when the stock market closes it three, So
[1:23] Speaker 2: that means that if you don't start early trying to
[1:26] Speaker 2: plan on making money, then guess what you're gonna miss
[1:29] Speaker 2: out on money. So you have to work hard, ladies
[1:32] Speaker 2: and gentlemen to be a winner. And I guess I
[1:34] Speaker 2: bring on my show they educate me. I'm just a storyteller.
[1:38] Speaker 2: My next guest is a person that I wanted to
[1:41] Speaker 2: bring on a show because she is changing the game.
[1:44] Speaker 2: She's from the University of South Carolina. I gotta bring
[1:47] Speaker 2: that because you know, you know, they doing it out
[1:50] Speaker 2: there in the women's basketball world. You know, but they
[1:54] Speaker 2: didn't win this year. A guess what they'll be back.
[1:57] Speaker 2: My next is an award winning strategy as an advocate
[1:59] Speaker 2: who founded When with Black Women that's WWBW. It's the
[2:04] Speaker 2: collective of intergenerational intersectional of more than two hundred thousand
[2:10] Speaker 2: black women leaders from across the nation. That's two hundred
[2:13] Speaker 2: thousand members and growing. She works with corporations, nonprofits, technology
[2:19] Speaker 2: and government organizations by helping the bridge the gap between Washington,
[2:24] Speaker 2: d C. And Silicon Valid. We got a lot to
[2:26] Speaker 2: talk about. Please work with the money making. Please work
[2:29] Speaker 2: with the money making Conversation Master Class. Joe taka Edie,
[2:33] Speaker 2: how you dog? You taker? Did I get the name right? I?
[2:36] Speaker 1: You did? You did? My brother, It's so great to
[2:39] Speaker 1: be with you.
[2:39] Speaker 2: You know, Teylorbody, the name is spelled j O T
[2:43] Speaker 2: A K E e A D D wise, so you know.
[2:48] Speaker 1: Is a person.
[2:48] Speaker 2: You have to really dance with that name a little
[2:51] Speaker 2: bit to make sure you got it right. So I
[2:53] Speaker 2: want to give you much respect. Then, first of all,
[2:55] Speaker 2: welcome to coming on Money Making Conversation master Class. And
[2:58] Speaker 2: the reason I brought up your or the school University
[3:01] Speaker 2: of South Carolina is that you are student body president.
[3:06] Speaker 1: I was. I was the first black woman student by president.
[3:11] Speaker 2: And now I went to University of Houston, which is
[3:13] Speaker 2: in Houston, Texas. I was a student and vice president,
[3:17] Speaker 2: you know. And so but I know, and the guy
[3:21] Speaker 2: asked me to run with him. But to accomplish that task,
[3:25] Speaker 2: Let's talk about you as a person. You know, because
[3:29] Speaker 2: obviously your personality resonates and you have a lot of
[3:32] Speaker 2: confidence to be in a college, to have that type
[3:35] Speaker 2: of confidence, to feel that you could lead a school
[3:39] Speaker 2: in the South University of South Carolina and feel that
[3:42] Speaker 2: you can be a student vice president who injected this
[3:46] Speaker 2: this excitement, this confidence in you.
[3:50] Speaker 1: You know, I, when I think about you, ask who
[3:53] Speaker 1: I am? And I recently lost my mother. Today actually
[3:58] Speaker 1: marks four month anniversary three of her burial. And you know,
[4:02] Speaker 1: when you lose a parent, especially your mother, it forces
[4:06] Speaker 1: you to rethink every aspect of who you are, your life,
[4:09] Speaker 1: every decision you ever made, what path you're on. And
[4:13] Speaker 1: I've been doing a lot of that over the last
[4:15] Speaker 1: four months. And so to ask me that question, I think,
[4:19] Speaker 1: particularly on this day, a day that I've been thinking about,
[4:21] Speaker 1: that I really appreciate because at first, I am a
[4:26] Speaker 1: I am Leonora Abraham Edy and im and Edie's daughter.
[4:31] Speaker 1: I am a black woman that grew up on a
[4:35] Speaker 1: dirt road in a very small town in South Carolina,
[4:38] Speaker 1: And a lot of who I am really comes from
[4:42] Speaker 1: how I grew up. It really comes from the people
[4:46] Speaker 1: that poured into me, mostly people who didn't have a lot,
[4:52] Speaker 1: but they had a lot of love, They had a
[4:54] Speaker 1: lot of a vision for young people like me in
[4:57] Speaker 1: the community. And so my life growing up, and you
[5:02] Speaker 1: know when you ask like, how would you think that
[5:05] Speaker 1: you would go on to University South Carolina and run
[5:07] Speaker 1: for student body president. You know, USC only became integrated
[5:12] Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty three. And it was really because I
[5:16] Speaker 1: grew up around people who told me that I could
[5:18] Speaker 1: do and be anything I wanted to be, and they
[5:21] Speaker 1: cheered me on whether I was doing that Easter speed
[5:25] Speaker 1: we all know about those Eastern speeches growing up, whether
[5:28] Speaker 1: or not I was, you know, in a local oratorical contest.
[5:33] Speaker 1: They made me believe that when I was getting up there,
[5:36] Speaker 1: that I was standing before the un so that when
[5:38] Speaker 1: I fast forward some twenty something years later, when I
[5:41] Speaker 1: am speaking before the un while I may have just
[5:44] Speaker 1: a little bit of nervousness, I don't have fear. And
[5:48] Speaker 1: that's really who and what has inspired me and continues
[5:53] Speaker 1: to inspire me. It started with my parents and my
[5:55] Speaker 1: family and really a strong community of people who took
[6:00] Speaker 1: very little and poured into young people to really try
[6:04] Speaker 1: to grow and help those young people see things that
[6:08] Speaker 1: they only wish that they could see in their life.
[6:11] Speaker 2: Wow, let me ask you this to take them. You know,
[6:16] Speaker 2: when with Black Women, like I said earlier, is a collective, intergenerational,
[6:21] Speaker 2: intersectional or more than two hundred thousand members these are
[6:25] Speaker 2: black women? Why did you create that organization and basically
[6:29] Speaker 2: give us a global perspectives of its purpose?
[6:34] Speaker 1: So when with Black Women started, a lot of people
[6:38] Speaker 1: are more familiar with the Historic Call where there were
[6:42] Speaker 1: forty four thousand people on zoom and I think it's
[6:44] Speaker 1: probably another one hundred thousand people watching that zoom because
[6:47] Speaker 1: they couldn't get on the zoom. But we had actually
[6:50] Speaker 1: started in twenty twenty, and it was around the time
[6:54] Speaker 1: when we were experiencing the presidential election and there was
[7:02] Speaker 1: a big debate and conversation on who was going to
[7:06] Speaker 1: be the next vice president and then Vice President Joe
[7:10] Speaker 1: Biden had made a commitment that he was going to
[7:12] Speaker 1: select a woman, and as a part of that conversation,
[7:15] Speaker 1: several black women, many of them who were people that
[7:18] Speaker 1: I knew former colleagues and friends, were named as potential
[7:22] Speaker 1: vice presidential running mates. And as we always see, there
[7:27] Speaker 1: was this following of ad hominal, racist, sexist attacks against
[7:32] Speaker 1: every last black woman, not on her merit, not on
[7:35] Speaker 1: her policies, but just on her ambition. And I remember
[7:39] Speaker 1: just being outraged. And it was during the pandemic and
[7:42] Speaker 1: I was at home in South Carolina, and I reached
[7:46] Speaker 1: out to a dear friend, Mignon More, and I said, Mignon,
[7:50] Speaker 1: what are we going to do? What are you going
[7:52] Speaker 1: to do? Meaning like, what is your generation, you know,
[7:54] Speaker 1: the anti political, anti generation is going to do? And
[7:57] Speaker 1: I'll never forget. She said, well, what are you going
[7:59] Speaker 1: to do? And I was very convicted by that, you know,
[8:02] Speaker 1: And what she meant was not necessarily what was huge
[8:05] Speaker 1: or take is going to do, but what is your
[8:06] Speaker 1: generation going to do in this moment? And I put
[8:11] Speaker 1: the phone down, and I think it was maybe thirty
[8:13] Speaker 1: minutes later, I picked up my phone and I wrote
[8:18] Speaker 1: an email on my phone and sent it about sixty
[8:20] Speaker 1: five friends and it ranged from everyone from you know,
[8:24] Speaker 1: my good friend Angela Rai and Tamika Mallory to Donna
[8:29] Speaker 1: Brazil and Yolanda Carroway and so many others, and just
[8:34] Speaker 1: put an all call and said we need to come
[8:36] Speaker 1: together as black women in this moment and say not
[8:39] Speaker 1: on our watch. And that night, ninety women got on
[8:42] Speaker 1: a call and we decided to pind an open letter.
[8:45] Speaker 1: Forty eight hours later, we had more than two thousand
[8:48] Speaker 1: black women from across the country signed this open letter,
[8:51] Speaker 1: and then from there we kept fighting and growing and
[8:55] Speaker 1: today When with Black Women has grown to where it
[8:57] Speaker 1: has where it is today, and we focus on three goals.
[9:02] Speaker 1: One making sure we continue to speak out against racism
[9:06] Speaker 1: and sexism against black women. Two, working in our individual
[9:09] Speaker 1: capacities to elect black women up and down the ballot
[9:12] Speaker 1: because representation matters. The third making sure that we uplift
[9:16] Speaker 1: the power and the image of black women. And that's
[9:20] Speaker 1: also about our economic power. So we've done everything from
[9:23] Speaker 1: help support along with other Black women organizations the nomination
[9:29] Speaker 1: and election of the maation's first black woman vice president
[9:32] Speaker 1: or our first US Supreme Court justice, but also when
[9:36] Speaker 1: we saw the backlash against the fact that the Little
[9:39] Speaker 1: Mermaid was cast as Hallie Bailey, that we needed to
[9:43] Speaker 1: show that our economic power mattered as well, and so
[9:45] Speaker 1: we did one hundred theater buy out the opening weekend
[9:48] Speaker 1: to show that representation matters in our dollarge matter. And
[9:52] Speaker 1: that's been the work of Women with Black Women for
[9:54] Speaker 1: the last now almost five years, and We've continued to
[9:57] Speaker 1: grow and really lead in on the collective power of
[10:02] Speaker 1: black women because I think when we're connected, there's nothing
[10:05] Speaker 1: that could stop us. And I think America wins when
[10:07] Speaker 1: black women are winning.
[10:09] Speaker 2: You can talk. You know that you can talk. You
[10:12] Speaker 2: can talk. I was trying to dance my way in
[10:14] Speaker 2: and say to us, and no, she got it. She
[10:17] Speaker 2: got she knows how to connect the word after another
[10:19] Speaker 2: word after another word. You know when you say about
[10:22] Speaker 2: the perception of black women, and I have six sisters,
[10:27] Speaker 2: and I have a daughter, and that matters to me.
[10:30] Speaker 2: My financial planner, she's a female and she's an African American.
[10:36] Speaker 2: What do you think the perception of America's version of
[10:40] Speaker 2: what a black woman is? Since you are at the forefront,
[10:42] Speaker 2: you have an organization called Women with Black Women, so
[10:45] Speaker 2: it means that you are only in a positive light
[10:48] Speaker 2: of what black women are capable of, capable of accomplishing.
[10:52] Speaker 2: What do you think the perception of black women is
[10:55] Speaker 2: in America today?
[10:58] Speaker 1: What was sean, It's what we know the reality of
[11:01] Speaker 1: black women. But to your question, what is the perception?
[11:05] Speaker 1: And sadly, the perception of black women is that we're
[11:09] Speaker 1: not fill in the blank. Enough, we're not smart enough.
[11:13] Speaker 1: We're not you know, we aren't capable of leading, we
[11:19] Speaker 1: aren't capable of being elected. That we can't nor do
[11:24] Speaker 1: we have the ability to manage financial institutions and or
[11:31] Speaker 1: large corporations. All of these negative stereotypes that get cast
[11:35] Speaker 1: upon on black women, and largely it's in the media.
[11:39] Speaker 1: It's reinforced over and over again. But all of those
[11:43] Speaker 1: perceptions are far from the reality. When you look at
[11:46] Speaker 1: black women, we're the most educated demographic in this country.
[11:50] Speaker 1: We start businesses at fast rates that any other demographic
[11:53] Speaker 1: in this country, very highly successful. Black women are leading
[12:00] Speaker 1: across this country. When you look at major cities right now,
[12:04] Speaker 1: across the country country, whether it's Saint Louis, whether it's
[12:07] Speaker 1: Los Angeles, Washington, d C, Philadelphia, New Orleans, all led
[12:12] Speaker 1: by Black women. And we continue to see black women thriving,
[12:17] Speaker 1: whether it's in sports and entertainment. You mentioned my beloved
[12:20] Speaker 1: University of South Carolina. When you look at Don Staley,
[12:24] Speaker 1: she's the highest paid uh female coach that is in
[12:29] Speaker 1: college basketball and a capable, amazing leader. But the perception
[12:37] Speaker 1: that even someone like a Don Staley gets is that
[12:39] Speaker 1: you know, she's too much when she's absolutely enough and
[12:44] Speaker 1: and and more than qualified for the work that she does.
[12:48] Speaker 1: And so I think that it's a continuous struggle for
[12:52] Speaker 1: black women too, sadly, to have to root out the
[12:59] Speaker 1: miss and information about who we are, and also the
[13:04] Speaker 1: work that we have to do with ourselves to cast
[13:06] Speaker 1: out the self doubt that is built in us from
[13:08] Speaker 1: the time that we're born.
[13:10] Speaker 3: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[13:13] Speaker 3: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[13:22] Speaker 3: Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[13:28] Speaker 3: continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
[13:32] Speaker 3: Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[13:36] Speaker 2: Now let me ask you this because stereotypes carry us
[13:39] Speaker 2: a lot, you know, and we talked off air. I
[13:42] Speaker 2: would like to talk to my guests prior to a
[13:43] Speaker 2: phone call. We talked about Silicon Valley, which you know,
[13:46] Speaker 2: in technology, and so when you talking about the perception
[13:49] Speaker 2: of African American women, the perception of black people when
[13:52] Speaker 2: it comes to technology is My degree is in mathematics
[13:55] Speaker 2: and my miners in sociology. So I know whenever I
[13:59] Speaker 2: tell us about it I got math degree, I get
[14:00] Speaker 2: two things. I get a stare and I get really,
[14:04] Speaker 2: I get that, I get a stare and I get
[14:06] Speaker 2: to work. Really when I tell people I have a
[14:07] Speaker 2: degree in mathematics, I get that sometime too, because people
[14:14] Speaker 2: will stereotype you and tell you, Okay, you're different. That's
[14:19] Speaker 2: not normal. And we talked about Silicon Valley. You play
[14:26] Speaker 2: a major role, like we said, from Washington to Wall
[14:29] Speaker 2: Street to Silicon Valley, talk about how you are trying
[14:33] Speaker 2: to bridge that gap of opportunity for African American men
[14:37] Speaker 2: and women in Silicon Valley.
[14:41] Speaker 1: First of all, I think it's absolutely amazing that you
[14:43] Speaker 1: have a mathematics degree. And I say, as you said,
[14:46] Speaker 1: you know, the perception is that black men and black
[14:50] Speaker 1: people that we can't excel in STEM and that's the
[14:55] Speaker 1: furthest thing from the truth. We just don't have opportunity.
[14:58] Speaker 1: I believe that talent is the street equally, but opportunity
[15:01] Speaker 1: is not. And I think that is the reality when
[15:04] Speaker 1: we think about Silicon Valley and what really drove me
[15:08] Speaker 1: to dive deeper into Silicon Valley. I mean, my story
[15:12] Speaker 1: is unique in that I had spent years in politics
[15:15] Speaker 1: and advocacy had been at the NAACP, and I was
[15:20] Speaker 1: recruited in the Silicon Valley. So this was around twenty thirteen,
[15:25] Speaker 1: So this was at a time where people kind of
[15:28] Speaker 1: was talked about Silicon Valley but not really. But there
[15:31] Speaker 1: had been a large number of black folks that had
[15:33] Speaker 1: been existing in Silicon Valley for many, many years, that
[15:38] Speaker 1: had been in the valley been very successful, but you
[15:43] Speaker 1: hadn't really heard about it, you know, folks like Eric
[15:45] Speaker 1: Moore who had been very successful investors. And so when
[15:50] Speaker 1: I went into Silicon Valley though, there had not been
[15:55] Speaker 1: a lot of people like me that had went in,
[15:58] Speaker 1: so folks that had worked in policy or politics or
[16:01] Speaker 1: advocacy that went into the industry. And I remember, quite
[16:05] Speaker 1: honestly having imposter syndrome. Despite the fact that I had
[16:10] Speaker 1: helped win a US Supreme Court case, or I had
[16:12] Speaker 1: lobbied before the un that I had been a senior
[16:17] Speaker 1: advisor to the president of the NAACP, I just did
[16:19] Speaker 1: not see myself in that industry because there was not
[16:24] Speaker 1: a large reflection of black women or people who did
[16:27] Speaker 1: not have a traditional coding background in Silicon Valley. And
[16:32] Speaker 1: so I remembered being very reluctant to take the job.
[16:37] Speaker 1: I remember sitting on the offer for eight months and
[16:40] Speaker 1: the company it really wanted me, and they said, we'll
[16:42] Speaker 1: hold this offer for eight months and when and if
[16:45] Speaker 1: you're ready, you know, we want you to be here.
[16:48] Speaker 1: And this is a company with a financial technology company.
[16:51] Speaker 1: I would have been the first black employee in that company.
[16:55] Speaker 1: I was going in on the executive team. And it
[16:57] Speaker 1: was a company that had been marketing very heavily a
[17:02] Speaker 1: product that heavily relied on adoption from consumers from you know,
[17:09] Speaker 1: black and brown communities, but yet had not any black employees.
[17:13] Speaker 1: And so when I finally took the job and I
[17:16] Speaker 1: went into the industry, what I realized is that my
[17:18] Speaker 1: hesitancy was around this this this preconceived notion that there
[17:24] Speaker 1: wasn't a place for me. But once I got into industry,
[17:27] Speaker 1: what I realized is that not only was there a
[17:30] Speaker 1: place for me, there was a need for me, and
[17:32] Speaker 1: people liked me. And so it became very much a
[17:35] Speaker 1: mission for me to really demystify Silicon Valley for others
[17:42] Speaker 1: because I was like, I'm the type of person my
[17:45] Speaker 1: good friend Donna Brazil often says, is when we walked
[17:48] Speaker 1: through doors. It's important for us to walk through a
[17:52] Speaker 1: door and keep it open and if we can remove
[17:54] Speaker 1: the hinges so the door.
[17:55] Speaker 2: Never to take a eat it or it is an
[18:00] Speaker 2: edi eddie. Edie is edie correct? It got to take
[18:04] Speaker 2: an edie e A d d y to take an
[18:07] Speaker 2: ed Let me recap. Let everybody know who I'm talking to. Okay,
[18:12] Speaker 2: I'm talking to an award winning strategist and advocate, very
[18:15] Speaker 2: smooth talking, very confident. I just love the way you
[18:18] Speaker 2: talked to take a you know, because it was something
[18:21] Speaker 2: interesting when you was talking about when I got my
[18:25] Speaker 2: math degree. You know, as you go through college, you know,
[18:27] Speaker 2: you start out with a bunch of people, and as
[18:29] Speaker 2: you go up, that's I call it the pyramid effect
[18:33] Speaker 2: because it's less and less people as you get to
[18:35] Speaker 2: that point of graduation. I can remember I was in
[18:38] Speaker 2: the class. It wasn't a black person in the class
[18:40] Speaker 2: with me, So that means that I really had enough.
[18:45] Speaker 2: I couldn't relate. I couldn't go to anybody, couldn't go
[18:47] Speaker 2: to my friends, I couldn't go to anybody. So I
[18:50] Speaker 2: understood what you were worried about. It's like who do
[18:54] Speaker 2: you talk to? It's called That's why organizations like your
[18:57] Speaker 2: organization is very powerful. That's why our mentorship is very powerful.
[19:01] Speaker 2: Because my father was a truck driver. My mom, you know,
[19:05] Speaker 2: she graduated from high school, so she could motivate me,
[19:08] Speaker 2: but she couldn't share any experiences with me that could
[19:11] Speaker 2: enable me to understand that Rushan, you belong. You belong
[19:15] Speaker 2: and IBM Rushan, you belong in anything you've done. Look
[19:17] Speaker 2: at your accomplishing in life, and I think that when
[19:20] Speaker 2: I hear you talk, that story you just told reminds
[19:23] Speaker 2: me of why it's important that we share your story
[19:27] Speaker 2: and for people to hear your story so young minds
[19:30] Speaker 2: and young people can understand when that opportunity is presented
[19:33] Speaker 2: to them, don't hesitate, it's yours because you've earned it.
[19:37] Speaker 2: Am I correct when I say that?
[19:38] Speaker 1: To take her? You're absolutely correct in that because society
[19:44] Speaker 1: will try to tell us that we're not enough, that
[19:47] Speaker 1: we don't belong, and we will often like in my
[19:52] Speaker 1: own situation, I was overqualified. Yes you were to be
[19:56] Speaker 1: in Silicon Valley, but I was waiting for this magical notion,
[20:02] Speaker 1: for this idea of what I was supposed to be.
[20:05] Speaker 1: When I was enough with just who I was, and
[20:07] Speaker 1: I think that anybody, particularly a young person that's listening
[20:11] Speaker 1: to this. I grew up on a dirt road in
[20:15] Speaker 1: a town with fourteen hundred people, and I found my
[20:20] Speaker 1: way to the C suite in Silicon Valley at some
[20:24] Speaker 1: of the most successful companies, companies that now have multi
[20:29] Speaker 1: billion dollar valuations. And if I would have just listened
[20:34] Speaker 1: to society, or I would have listened to that high
[20:37] Speaker 1: school guidance council teacher who tried to convince me that
[20:41] Speaker 1: I shouldn't go to the University of South Carolina, where
[20:44] Speaker 1: I ended up becoming the first black woman Sudermighty president,
[20:48] Speaker 1: graduating and going on to do all the things that
[20:52] Speaker 1: I did in my career, I wouldn't be here today.
[20:55] Speaker 1: And I think we have to note that there are
[20:59] Speaker 1: people who are going to try to distract us. But
[21:02] Speaker 1: what we have to recognize and understand is that who
[21:04] Speaker 1: we are and whom we are, and if we can
[21:06] Speaker 1: always remember that and have that purpose and that north star,
[21:10] Speaker 1: there's nothing that can stop us. And I think that's
[21:13] Speaker 1: what's so important in this day and age, particularly when
[21:18] Speaker 1: there are so many detractors, particularly on social media and
[21:24] Speaker 1: other places that lead us to believe that we're not
[21:26] Speaker 1: enough when we are exactly who we are, and we
[21:29] Speaker 1: are more than enough in most cases.
[21:30] Speaker 2: You know what I hear you talk, it's really a
[21:33] Speaker 2: profound You had a question here that says leadership is
[21:36] Speaker 2: it about positions? About motion? Sometimes leadership looks like being
[21:40] Speaker 2: out front of the time, it looks like building space
[21:43] Speaker 2: for others to shine. Either way, it's movement, it's momentum,
[21:48] Speaker 2: it's power. Expound on that for us, Please no.
[21:52] Speaker 1: I think it's a very powerful notion that I think.
[21:57] Speaker 1: Positional leadership is often type of leadership that society focuses on.
[22:04] Speaker 1: But true leadership is your ability to tap into someone
[22:08] Speaker 1: their best self, their sense of unlocking the greatness in themselves,
[22:14] Speaker 1: your ability for other people to see their power, and
[22:17] Speaker 1: for you to really create a platform for that power
[22:21] Speaker 1: to be forced multiplied. I think also that leadership continuously
[22:28] Speaker 1: is motion. It's evolution. I wake up. One of the
[22:31] Speaker 1: things that I say every morning when I wake up
[22:35] Speaker 1: and I tell myself, I said, jo taking, you have
[22:37] Speaker 1: a choice. You're either going to evolve or repeat. Evolve
[22:42] Speaker 1: or repeat, and not every day is it that I
[22:46] Speaker 1: hit that revolve that evolved button. Some days I'm going
[22:49] Speaker 1: to repeat, and we all are human. We're all human.
[22:53] Speaker 1: But my prayer is that I evolve more than I repeat.
[22:57] Speaker 1: And if I can evolve more than I can than
[22:59] Speaker 1: I repeat, that I'm always going to be moving forward.
[23:03] Speaker 2: Wow. You know when you how can we get in
[23:05] Speaker 2: touch with you? I know the organization is UH is
[23:09] Speaker 2: out there, but other ways to reach out to your websites.
[23:13] Speaker 1: Absolutely, you can always go to www. Dot win with
[23:17] Speaker 1: Black Women dot org. I'm also on all socials at
[23:21] Speaker 1: show taka E j O t A k A. I'm producer.
[23:26] Speaker 2: That's unusual. I'm pretty sure it's not a bunch of
[23:29] Speaker 2: joe take us out there. That's another story about how
[23:33] Speaker 2: you got that name. Because I need to meet those parents.
[23:36] Speaker 2: You know, unfortunately your mom has passed away. But when
[23:39] Speaker 2: you when you look at the world that we live in,
[23:42] Speaker 2: to take a I have to say, you have a
[23:46] Speaker 2: personality that that is really very motivating. You grab a person,
[23:51] Speaker 2: you want to hear more from you, you want to
[23:54] Speaker 2: find out. Can I just tag along because something special
[23:58] Speaker 2: is going to happen with you and for you.
[24:01] Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure.
[24:01] Speaker 2: You've heard that a lot, but I just wanted to
[24:03] Speaker 2: remind you that sometimes you need to be reminded how
[24:06] Speaker 2: great you are, even though I'm pretty sure you're aware
[24:09] Speaker 2: of your success. But I have a lot of people
[24:12] Speaker 2: I interview on this show, and you're definitely one of
[24:15] Speaker 2: these motivators, natural motivators that when you wake up, yeah,
[24:21] Speaker 2: you inspired to live a better life for yourself, but
[24:25] Speaker 2: you know that everything you do in your life will
[24:28] Speaker 2: positively impact other people. That's my takeaway from this interview.
[24:33] Speaker 2: And I rarely have said this on this show, but you,
[24:36] Speaker 2: my friend, are very very special.
[24:40] Speaker 1: Thank you, my brother. I truly appreciate that those words
[24:44] Speaker 1: they mean a lot to me, particularly on this day,
[24:47] Speaker 1: on this day, they mean a lot. They mean a
[24:51] Speaker 1: lot of it, and I just hope that I can
[24:52] Speaker 1: just live my life in a way that you know,
[24:56] Speaker 1: it's an old cliche saying I grew up in the church,
[24:59] Speaker 1: but if I can just help somebody along the way,
[25:01] Speaker 1: that my living will not ever be in vain. I
[25:04] Speaker 1: appreciate your words.
[25:05] Speaker 2: Thank you, Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation
[25:07] Speaker 2: master Class and we will talk to the Okay, thank you.
[25:11] Speaker 2: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
[25:14] Speaker 2: hosted by me Rashaun McDonald thank you to our guests
[25:17] Speaker 2: on the show today, and thank you our listening audience now.
[25:21] Speaker 2: If you want to listen to any episodes or want
[25:23] Speaker 2: to be a guest on the show, visit our website,
[25:26] Speaker 2: Moneymakingconversation dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
[25:31] Speaker 2: Join us next week and remember to always leave with
[25:34] Speaker 2: your gifts. Keep winning.

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