"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."  - Maya Angelou 

I believe we all can be transformed by the unique challenges that Life wants us to face.  And when we overcome them we discover we're so much stronger than we thought.  In this week's episode I introduce a new segment called, "Confessions of a Butterfly" where I speak to everyday people some famous, some whose stories have yet to be told about the profound challenges they have gone through and how those challenges transformed them.  If this sounds like you, text "I'm a Butterfly" to 404-737-1450.  You can share a short message like the ones you hear in this episode or I just might invite you on the show so we an go a little deeper.  Join our community of Butterflies making something beautiful out of their challenges.   

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Today I talk with Arlan Hamilton, founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital and author of the book "It's About Damn Time!" available for pre-order on Amazon and Audible.com.   Arlan built a multimillion dollar fund while homeless.  We talk about how her spirit made it through such challenging times to become the success she is today.  

Every caterpillar needs a cocoon, a place to break down and rebuild, to rest and restore, to be reborn into a Butterfly.  A place to shut out everything that is not essentially vital for this intensely personal process, that is what your cocoon is for.  An inner transformation takes place inside the cocoon. The walls of the cocoon converge to create a prism of spiritual reflection and the light of our lives begins performing a Holi festival of colors.

Shoutout to Beautiful Butterflies:  Raquel Willis, Shar Jossell, Serena Sonoma, and Janet Mock.

The Spread - I discuss Mayor Pete's statement on the Ellen Show  "The strongest people are not the loudest people" and introducing him to Sylvia Rivera a trans woman of color who had to yell through a sea of white gays to get them to "quiet down" and listen to the needs of trans and gender nonconforming folks.

Saturday February 8th, Angelica Ross is LIVE as the Keynote speaker at the Tulane University Leadership Summit.

Let's start the new decade off right.  We learned a lot in the last decade about self love, self care, self confidence and now it's time to put it into practice.  To love yourself and others more radically.  Specifically, let's talk about what it takes to love trans people and for trans people what it take to love ourselves, unconditionally.  

(Version with Closed Captions Available on Youtube.)

"Living in Glass Jars" is the title to one of the chapters in my forthcoming memoir "Like A Butterfly".  This chapter focuses on the days during my transition where I was sort of living in a glass jar of privilege.  A handsome man found me crawling towards my destiny and took me home, put me in a glass jar and allowed me to spin my cocoon and transition in a safe environment.  Because of this I experienced a lot of privileges that my trans brothers and sisters do not typically experience.  I learned a lot of hard lessons, but I learned them through one man over the course of several years instead of playing the game of Russian Roulette that is dating while trans.

The Spread - Illinois Medicaid to cover gender reassignment surgery and a 22 black trans woman named Muhlaysia Booker is attacked "mob-style" in Dallas Texas.

Support black trans author Dane Figueroa Edidi by buying her book, "FOR BLACK TRANS GIRLS WHO GOTTA CUSS A MOTHERFUCKER OUT WHEN SNATCHING AN EDGE AIN'T ENOUGH".  

In an increasingly on-demand environment, we see in almost every lane, in every industry people wanting to get in the game and go after their dreams, but not willing to take the time that is necessary to go through the process of becoming that which they wish to become.  In this episode Angelica Ross uses her transition as a trans woman to connect to ways we all can make peace with the process of becoming the highest best form of ourselves.  

Full Party Foul Radio Interview:  https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/actress-angelica-ross-freedom-of-speech-doesnt-mean_us_5a1a5cb5e4b0250a107c000c