Take Nothing When I Die

We're officially halfway through Season 1!

Stephanie Ghoston Paul gives a midseason recap for Episode 15! In this solo episode, you'll hear:

1. Three signature solo segments: "How are you doing (the for real, for real version)", "What's bringing you pleasure?", and "The Future is Now: How are you practicing being free, whole and enough?";

2. Five life-changing lessons Stephanie learned about confidence, systems, her voice, time, and having fun;

3. AND six superlative guest awards for: The Funniest Episode, The Most Surprising Episode, The Most Soothing Episode, The Most Popular Episode, The Longest Episode, and The Shortest and Sweetest Episode!

Her #TNWIDTakeaway is paraphrased from one of Arlan Hamilton's Twitter quotes: “Do not change who you are. You gotta be yourself so that people who are looking for you can find you.” For more information, including the show notes, click here (https://stephanieghoston.com/tnwid-episode-15)

Meet Chari Chin-Young Caston! She came through for Episode 14 and shared:

1. How traveling and reverse culture shock have changed her life;

2. Her hatred of the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?";

3. And how her fear of missing out (FOMO) sabotaged inspiration and success.

Chari, adventurous, peacemaker & co-founder of the World Peace Connection. After quitting their jobs in 2015, Chari & Dane served in local communities during their two-year long backpacking journey in Southeast Asia. In the midst of following their own inspirations of traveling & helping others, they turned it into their profession by developing their non-profit organization called World Peace Connection.

World Peace Connection's mission is to help individuals put action behind their inspiration, while getting others to join them by answering their infamous question, “What inspires you the most about life & living?” Through this question, they’ve collected over 200 inspiring stories in over 25 different cities, while funding over 8 different international projects.

In recent works, they’ve been recognized for creating an innovative curriculum called Peace Projects designed for companies, schools & entrepreneurs who are looking to put action behind their inspiration. World Peace Connection has started a new project called Common-Unity, taking two highschool graduates to a one-week cross-cultural leadership trip to Bogota, Colombia.

World Peace Connection has been featured for their impactful works & community contributions from different platforms such as Build your own Brand, Impact46, Huffington Post, Black and Abroad, YNPN Atlanta 30 under 30, New York University, Discovery High School, Central Gwinnett High School, to name a few.

Chari's #TNWIDTakeaway: "You’re given this life and you have to make a decision to live."

Check out the rest of the show notes here! (https://stephanieghoston.com/tnwid-episode-14)

Episode 13 is filled with bars on bars from former emcee turned fatherhood guru Glen Henry aka Beleaf in Fatherhood! Press play to hear him explain how to protect your genius, how his 'mommy issues' work in his favor, and how he found something he's willing to die for.

Glen Henry is the visionary behind the brand Beleaf in Fatherhood. His mission statement says: “Fathers can make mistakes that traumatize and wound their children. I was reluctant to become a father because I was afraid of this outcome. Once I was mentored by a good father, that all changed. Everyone deserves to see what being a good father looks like. I created Beleaf in Fatherhood to be the proof. To equip fathers, bring hope to mothers, and inspire children. My hope is that real stories of fatherhood will bring connection and healing to people everywhere.”

His videos cover fatherhood, marriage, and life. He is YouTube’s 2018 Creator for Change Award recipient and has been featured on the Dad 2.0 Summit, TED, and Plywood People stages. You may have also heard OR seen him on the podcast he hosts with his wife Evette called, “How Married Are You?”

Glen's #TNWIDTakeaway: "What's it gonna take to help you understand how valuable your time is and how much you cannot play? You don't ask for permission, activate yourself."

Check out the rest of the show notes here!

Episode 12 is NOT one to miss! Arlan Hamilton stopped by to share more about her new book called "It's About Damn Time: How to turn being underestimated into your greatest advantage". Listen in to hear her advice on how to shield against 'hustle porn' and how she's thinking about self-reinvention these days. She even breaks down "the seed doesn't see the petal" gem from her mother!

Arlan Hamilton built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a fund that is dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT.

Started from scratch in 2015, Backstage has now raised more than $10 million and invested in more than 130 startup companies led by underestimated founders. In 2018 Arlan co-founded Backstage Studio which launched four accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London. Arlan was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine in October 2018 as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so, and her new book "It's About Damn Time" comes out on Penguin Random House's business imprint Currency on May 5, 2020.

Arlan's #TNWIDTakeaway: "Work smarter, not harder. No one is taking score. And if they are taking score, they have too much time on their hands and they are not doing what they should be doing."

Check out the rest of the show notes here!

Laura E. Knights is our special guest for the Take Nothing When I Die Podcast Episode 11! This episode is all about her work as a reformed workaholic, her mission to empower people to create their own legacy and how being a 'bad employee' led to being a successful entrepreneur! You don't want to miss out on what she shares.

Laura E. Knights is an author, speaker, and relationship expert that helps people discover solutions, techniques, and strategies to achieve desired outcomes in their personal and professional relationships. Her expertise and background in business, organizational development, adult learning and education, and as a licensed clinical social worker has uniquely equipped her to teach others how to deal with both the "head work" and "heart work" required to succeed at work and in life.  She has been developing both personal and professional programs in this vein for the last 16 years. Laura is also the Founder and Lead Consultant of Knights Consulting LLC, a leadership development consultancy focused on strengthening leaders and teams, and enhancing workplace culture through coaching, training, and consulting services.

Over the years, her multi-passionate adventures have taken her in many directions as a serial entrepreneur. Laura has worked as a wedding planner, social worker, licensed family therapist, non-profit program developer and administrator, and small business advisor, just to name a few.  Today, she spends her time providing leadership development consulting to organizations and providing relationship coaching to couples. No matter how she’s spending her time, Laura is a teacher at heart.  With all her activities, she always aims to fulfill her WHY —To educate and empower people so that they can uncover their full potential, walk boldly in it, and create their own legacy.  She looks at life as one big adventure, and she always has her eyes open for the next leg of the journey.

Laura's #TNWIDTakeaway: "The energy that you spend on thinking you aren't going fast enough, you aren't doing things big enough, you are not 'on the timeline' will literally rob of your time, of your happiness, of your creativity, which is one of the most valuable things that we have."

Check out the rest of the show notes here!

While we're physically distancing due to COVID-19, there's still a need to set boundaries, especially emotional and energetic ones! 

Episode 10 is a solo episode with Stephanie Ghoston Paul that covers the essentials of boundaries, including COVID-specific suggestions. Listen in to hear Stephanie explain how boundaries are "where someone ends and you begin",  common reasons why people do NOT set boundaries (and how to fix that), and a simple framework to help you set boundaries with other people. Her #TNWIDTakeaway is: “Be proactive so other people’s emergencies do not become your own.” For more information, including the show notes, click here!

Meet Jasmine Williams, our guest for the Take Nothing When I Die Podcast Episode 9! Press play to hear Jasmine explain: how she adopted an IDGAF lifestyle; how a college textbook helped her open a pop-up shop; and why you (yes YOU!) aren't doing the thing you really want to do.  

Jasmine Williams is a recovering attorney turned designer who focuses her work on helping brainy people activate their ideas and bring good things into the world. Armed with 20+ years of experience in nonprofit, legal, and government environments, Jasmine brings an analytical and strategic edge to projects with the goal of creating things that look good and do good. Before moving to the Carolinas, Jasmine worked as a Staff Attorney for the Indiana Supreme Court with her work focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the judicial and legal education systems.

Jasmine's #TNWIDTakeaway: "Life is shorter than you think it is. You have less time than you think you do. So live well, do good and be kind"

Check out the rest of the show notes here!

Mariel Kanene graced us with his presence for Episode 8! In this interview, you'll hear about what wakes him up in the morning, how fitness and blogging relate to fundraising, and an alternative to keeping a bucket list (hint: it's called a Life List).

By day, Mariel spends his days slowly trying to change the world—one meaningful interaction at a time. As the U.S. Strategic Partnerships Lead for Ubongo, a pan-African edutainment company, Mariel works to mobilize support and funding in the US and beyond, for Ubongo’s work in Africa which focuses on using top quality, localized educational entertainment to help Africa’s 440 million kids learn and leverage their learning to change their lives. When Mariel is not in the office, he spends his free time writing and crafting stories on people, place, and purpose for his blog TheArtOfPerspective.co. When not blogging, he invests is time in various athletic pursuits and building his fitness brand GymWithMK. Mariel was born in Kinshasa, Congo, grew up in Dallas, Texas, and became a grown-up in Washington, DC. Mariel now resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Mariel's #TNWIDTakeaway: "Not everyone is built like you and you are not built like everyone else...Find what a growth mindset looks like in your own situation"

Check out the rest of the show notes here!

Melinda Weekes-Laidlow stopped by for Episode 7 and we loved the wisdom she shared! Tune in to hear Melinda explain what “doing the work your soul must have” means to her, and how she created a life where she doesn't have to be just one role. 

Melinda Weekes-Laidlow is a social change architect, expert facilitator, ordained minister and social entrepreneur. She is the President of Weekes In Advance Enterprises, an organizational development firm offering consulting, facilitation, coaching and professional development services in arts and culture, social innovation, racial equity and collaborative leadership spaces. Melinda is also graduate Professor of Management at Marlboro College in Brattleboro, VT and served for several years as the Managing Director for Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation. Previously, Melinda founded and operated her own transactional law firm in New York City and was a Senior Associate at the Interaction Institute for Social Change, where she now serves on its Board. Melinda is on the Advisory Board of Wesleyan University’s Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship and serves on the ministerial staff at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York. In  2015, Echoing Green named Melinda its first-ever Social Entrepreneur in Residence which supported her work as Founder/CEO of Beautiful Ventures, a platform to disrupt anti-Blackness and elevate perceptions of people of African descent through inclusive storytelling in popular culture. Melinda holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Harvard University and New York University School of Law. As a native New Yorker born in the Bronx, Melinda flows between the Big Apple and the Big Peach - Atlanta, GA - where she now makes home and community.

Her #TNWIDTakeaway: "The world is waiting for 'the sound of the genuine' within us"

Check out the rest of the show notes here!

If you've ever asked yourself or been forced to answer the quintessential question "Can I Really Have It All?" then this episode is for you! Episode 6 is a solo episode with Stephanie Ghoston Paul that answers that age-old question. No matter what your “All” is, Stephanie helps guide you to get clear on the WHAT, WHEN and HOW of your “All” before walking you through three essential steps to navigating this dilemma successfully. Her #TNWIDTakeaway is: "If I wanna fully be in this journey, I'm gonna have to learn to enjoy the process just as much as what comes out of this journey." For more information, including the show notes, click here!