Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Interview of the Week: Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Michelle Williams, is "Getting Real about Depression

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Interview of the Week: Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Michelle Williams, is "Getting Real about Depression · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she has the
1:39
Speaker 1: secrets of success experience firsthand by marketing and Brandon expert
1:43
Speaker 1: Rashan McDonald. I will know he's giving me advice to
1:46
Speaker 1: many occasions. In the case you didn't notice, I'm not broke,
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Speaker 1: you know, he'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs and industry
1:53
Speaker 1: decision makers. It's what he likes to do, It's what
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Speaker 1: he likes to share. Now it's time to hear from
1:57
Speaker 1: my man, Rashan McDonald. They make a conversations here. We
2:02
Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversation. I'm your host, Rashaan McDonald.
2:05
Speaker 1: I always tell people every time on this show it's
2:08
Speaker 1: time to stop reading other people's success stories and really
2:10
Speaker 1: start writing your own. I always tell people to leave
2:13
Speaker 1: with your gifts, gifts I call your passion, and don't
2:15
Speaker 1: let your age, friends, family, or coworkers stop you from
2:18
Speaker 1: planning living your dreams. My next guest is really in
2:22
Speaker 1: that Ain't that era? What I'm talking about? A lot
2:24
Speaker 1: of people can tell you're gifted in certain areas, you
2:26
Speaker 1: can go into that direction. I'm gonna talking about some
2:28
Speaker 1: of my experiences that she shared some of experiences, and
2:31
Speaker 1: my next guest is Michelle Williams. Who is Michelle Williams.
2:34
Speaker 1: She's a Grammar Award winning recording artists and actress. One
2:36
Speaker 1: of my favorite people who rose to stardom as the
2:39
Speaker 1: member of the R and B R and B Mega
2:41
Speaker 1: Group or Iconic Mega Group, Destiny Child, and most recently
2:44
Speaker 1: appeared as the butterfly I Saw on the hit series
2:48
Speaker 1: Mass Singer Michelle is passionate about raising awareness and mental health,
2:53
Speaker 1: about sharing the lessons she has learned in her own
2:55
Speaker 1: struggle with depression. She's on the show discussed her very
2:58
Speaker 1: first book, Checking in How Getting Real about Depression Saved
3:01
Speaker 1: My life and can save yours. Michelle says an intermitted
3:05
Speaker 1: never before told stories about how, even in the midst
3:08
Speaker 1: of enormous famous success, she battled depression, leading to her
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Speaker 1: to find a true calling as an advocate for mental health,
3:14
Speaker 1: especially her own. Please work with the money making conversations
3:18
Speaker 1: to Nitra Michelle Williams, how you do it? Yes, whole
3:27
Speaker 1: name name, Yeah, I'm gonna start out with the name first,
3:32
Speaker 1: because my name is Rushan McDonald and a lot of
3:36
Speaker 1: people over the years have always I remember. I remember
3:39
Speaker 1: like twenty two years old, and this guy came to me.
3:41
Speaker 1: I was working with what is your name because people
3:43
Speaker 1: will say I let people say Russian Rushawn or they
3:47
Speaker 1: just said in any kind of way. He said, make it.
3:50
Speaker 1: He said, make make a decision about your name. And
3:53
Speaker 1: when when I made that decision about my name, it
3:55
Speaker 1: really defined who I am today because I stuck with
3:58
Speaker 1: I fought forward and I held onto it and that
4:01
Speaker 1: and today it defines me. I would tell people I
4:04
Speaker 1: was a Rickey or Ronald or or anything else, I
4:07
Speaker 1: probably wouldn't be the person I am in some ways
4:10
Speaker 1: I'll be successful. But it gave me an extra bonus.
4:13
Speaker 1: And to here, when I started reading about this in
4:15
Speaker 1: the very early part of the book your name, it
4:18
Speaker 1: played a big role. I want to talk about that
4:21
Speaker 1: whole process because it plays out today. And when I
4:25
Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that I introduce you with your
4:27
Speaker 1: whole name, not just the middle name, Michelle to Nietro,
4:30
Speaker 1: a beautiful name. Let's talk about that. Thank you so much. Yes,
4:35
Speaker 1: So my first name is Tantra. My middle name is Michelle,
4:40
Speaker 1: and I remember having to make that decision on me
4:45
Speaker 1: not using Tantra. And um, if you read the book,
4:51
Speaker 1: you know the reason we're shine because you read the book.
4:54
Speaker 1: So I don't know if I want to give away
4:56
Speaker 1: the reason. Well, I I don't think that. I'm not
4:59
Speaker 1: asking you give away a reason. I think because my
5:01
Speaker 1: reason was and there's a lot of people said down there,
5:04
Speaker 1: that's why the book is relatable to me, because you
5:06
Speaker 1: know we do you know we didn't. You can continue Michelle. Yes, sir,
5:10
Speaker 1: so I you know making that decision. Well do I
5:14
Speaker 1: want to go by Tunitra or Michelle? Um, now the
5:18
Speaker 1: reason presented, you're gonna have to get the book because
5:22
Speaker 1: I don't want to if I give it away. Okay,
5:26
Speaker 1: so um, but what I will say is obviously I didn't.
5:35
Speaker 1: I didn't go on to have a problem with the
5:38
Speaker 1: name changed because I felt like it afforded me. It
5:43
Speaker 1: afforded my family to have a piece of me still
5:48
Speaker 1: because the world is getting everything right now there, you
5:52
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. I'm away from home on having
5:54
Speaker 1: to sacrifice being at graduations, baby showers, fish fries, every
6:00
Speaker 1: thing that I normally would be with my family, and
6:02
Speaker 1: so when I come home, I felt like they were
6:06
Speaker 1: getting to Nitra right. But then at the same time,
6:10
Speaker 1: it's like, well, so you're saying, so, then what was
6:12
Speaker 1: the world getting were getting you and who you really are?
6:16
Speaker 1: And it's like, yes, you were, But there are so
6:19
Speaker 1: many entertainers who I mean, you've got people like say
6:25
Speaker 1: The Rock for instance, You're still getting him, but I
6:29
Speaker 1: don't know if his parents or family members are calling
6:33
Speaker 1: him the Rock. Get what I'm saying. You know, the
6:36
Speaker 1: interesting thing about it is that you're not the first
6:38
Speaker 1: person that deals definite I remember talking to him about that.
6:44
Speaker 1: You know, The Rock says called me Dwayne Johnson, fifty
6:46
Speaker 1: cents Curtis Jackson. So there are a lot of issues
6:50
Speaker 1: with names because they can't define you. And it's important
6:53
Speaker 1: that people understand that names respect and also accountability and
6:58
Speaker 1: also in this case, branding. You know, you're branded right
7:01
Speaker 1: now as Michelle Williams and an incredible singer, member of
7:06
Speaker 1: the iconic Destiny's Child, a great actress, the motivator, uh,
7:10
Speaker 1: an entrepreneur. But then there Isntra, you know, yeah, and
7:16
Speaker 1: I feel like that definitely, at least the past ten years.
7:20
Speaker 1: For sure, y'all have been getting to n okay. And
7:26
Speaker 1: that's the blessing of this conversation because I, you know,
7:29
Speaker 1: because we should sit in my office and when I
7:31
Speaker 1: was in Chicago all the time and Steve Harvey Talk
7:34
Speaker 1: show and we'd have conversations and so and I and I.
7:38
Speaker 1: You know, I'm not saying I noticed anything, but I
7:40
Speaker 1: started seeing a different level of independence. And youre trying
7:44
Speaker 1: to find yourself, your your when you put your footprint
7:47
Speaker 1: in is that my footprint is somebody else's footprint. But
7:49
Speaker 1: we can talk about those journeys. And that's why I
7:51
Speaker 1: want to talk about because it led to your book.
7:53
Speaker 1: It led to the revelations that I'm not being me
7:56
Speaker 1: because success is really and that's what I loved about
8:00
Speaker 1: the book because it talks about success and defining how
8:03
Speaker 1: success can lead to destructive behavior or destructive lifestyle, just emotionally.
8:08
Speaker 1: And sometimes people think destructive physically has to be physical
8:12
Speaker 1: and then but the mental part of it is really
8:15
Speaker 1: the part that could also hurt the most. Correct. Absolutely,
8:19
Speaker 1: there are so many people coming into the entertainment industry
8:24
Speaker 1: or even in the world of sports. Um physically, obviously
8:31
Speaker 1: you might be doing all right, you're strong and football
8:34
Speaker 1: you're doing you know, you've got scouts going to the combine,
8:38
Speaker 1: you're you're running fast, or in the world of entertainment,
8:41
Speaker 1: you're looking good, you're singing good, or you act really good,
8:44
Speaker 1: whatever that, whatever that is. But so many of us
8:48
Speaker 1: are coming into these spaces um with dysfunction, with wounds
8:57
Speaker 1: really that stem from childhood and then they start to
9:01
Speaker 1: manifest um tremendously in your adulthood. And when it's gone
9:08
Speaker 1: un checked, it can lead to some really serious problems, right,
9:14
Speaker 1: you know, and like you have beautiful parents. First of all,
9:16
Speaker 1: the book is dedicated to your dad. So let's let's
9:18
Speaker 1: let's make sure we get that clear. You know when
9:21
Speaker 1: she says those statements, you know, uh, you know brothers
9:24
Speaker 1: and sisters, twin sisters, brother so you know, all these
9:28
Speaker 1: the facts you get from the book. See, that's how
9:29
Speaker 1: I kind of no one left better that because I
9:32
Speaker 1: read in this book here when I when I started
9:35
Speaker 1: looking at myself as that. Because this is what I
9:38
Speaker 1: love about the book that we're talking about talking to
9:40
Speaker 1: Michelle Williams checking in how getting real about depression saved
9:44
Speaker 1: my life and can save yours. Is that when you
9:46
Speaker 1: live a life out in the open book, that's when
9:49
Speaker 1: it becomes especially with social media, because you your career
9:52
Speaker 1: was tied to social media. You know, it blew up
9:55
Speaker 1: during that era, the Internet era blew up during Destiny's
9:57
Speaker 1: Child era, So you couldn't hide, you couldn't run. Your
10:01
Speaker 1: photos were taken, they were being posted, so everything. So
10:04
Speaker 1: you almost from an emotional standpoint, you really couldn't live
10:08
Speaker 1: a life of secrecy because you was always being exposed
10:12
Speaker 1: by cameras and paparazzi's and tmz. That led a lot
10:16
Speaker 1: to you trying to define yourself. And let's talk about
10:19
Speaker 1: defining who Michelle is and and and when I say that,
10:23
Speaker 1: I want you to talk a little bit. But then
10:24
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go back to you know, you attending Illinois
10:27
Speaker 1: State because I think that's a part of the conversation
10:29
Speaker 1: we need to talk about, because it helps to find
10:32
Speaker 1: where we're gonna go with the future. Because I think
10:34
Speaker 1: your future is going back to college. So that's that's Rashaan.
10:40
Speaker 1: I kid you not. Literally, maybe about ten minutes before
10:46
Speaker 1: I logged on here, I literally was finishing up my
10:49
Speaker 1: conversation with the university about my fall enrollment to get
10:55
Speaker 1: a bachelors in psychology. Yeah, I was telling my staff,
11:00
Speaker 1: I said, I said, because they always say, Richelle, you
11:02
Speaker 1: know you're gonna tell people what's on your mind anyway,
11:04
Speaker 1: you know you And I said, I gotta tell us
11:07
Speaker 1: you gotta go back to college. I said, because that's
11:10
Speaker 1: a part of our life that's important to defining herself.
11:13
Speaker 1: Because you're successful, Michelle, you know, and now I just
11:16
Speaker 1: want you to live your life. Now. You don't have
11:18
Speaker 1: to prove anything to anybody. You're beautiful, you gifted, you care,
11:23
Speaker 1: you have a legacy. Now what is your legacy? But
11:25
Speaker 1: you're You're I'm talking to your legacy. You're like, you know.
11:28
Speaker 1: One of the reasons, you know, when I talk about
11:31
Speaker 1: my my life with Steve Harvey, and I was telling
11:33
Speaker 1: my team was that I remember when, um, you know
11:37
Speaker 1: a lot of people and I as a stand up comedian.
11:39
Speaker 1: And so that's how Steve Harvey and I met. We
11:41
Speaker 1: were doing stand up. He was my opening act and
11:44
Speaker 1: he became successful and uh and I was still being
11:47
Speaker 1: the stand up and people just always tell me, what, Sean,
11:49
Speaker 1: you're just as funny as Steve Harvey. I go that
11:51
Speaker 1: I don't want to do stand up. Oh no, why hey,
11:56
Speaker 1: I don't want to stand up? Okay, just because that's
11:58
Speaker 1: a decision I met making so and so, and I'm
12:01
Speaker 1: that very happy I decided not to do stand up
12:04
Speaker 1: because I'm doing what I want to do. I love
12:06
Speaker 1: to do, said, I love managing, I love being creative.
12:09
Speaker 1: And then God is giving me these gifts. And so
12:12
Speaker 1: God gives us a lot of blessing. That doesn't mean
12:14
Speaker 1: that you have to act on the blessing. And so
12:16
Speaker 1: God is giving this tremendous gift to sing to entertain,
12:20
Speaker 1: but just one of the blessings. And so that's what
12:23
Speaker 1: my conversation today when I said to my team, as
12:26
Speaker 1: I gotta tell my sheelf, she gotta go back to college.
12:28
Speaker 1: She gotta go. She had to live out that blessing
12:30
Speaker 1: that God put her down that path and another gift
12:34
Speaker 1: took her offer. But she got to go back to
12:36
Speaker 1: the original blessing when she wanted to be criminal justice
12:39
Speaker 1: in the Illinois state. She has to go back for that.
12:42
Speaker 1: And to hear you say that this perfect phone call,
12:45
Speaker 1: perfect phone, it's amazing. And like you said, living a
12:49
Speaker 1: life of you know, being able to do what you
12:53
Speaker 1: want to do. Music has afforded me this chance to
12:57
Speaker 1: you know, a legacy of a person where I feel
13:00
Speaker 1: that I've been resilient, I've displayed courage, and UM, I
13:07
Speaker 1: want to make sure that I am excellent in every
13:12
Speaker 1: path that I take. You know, you're being excellent in music,
13:17
Speaker 1: excellent and Broadway in theater. You know. Now it's time
13:20
Speaker 1: to take that because I get confirmation daily of this
13:25
Speaker 1: next path, and that is to help others. Now I
13:29
Speaker 1: can continue to help others just through my testimony, but
13:33
Speaker 1: a part of me is like, well, what if I
13:35
Speaker 1: want to take it a next step and counsel people legally,
13:41
Speaker 1: you know, because you know, you have to have at
13:44
Speaker 1: least some type of certification UM to go into counseling.
13:48
Speaker 1: I really want to help people in entertainment and sports
13:52
Speaker 1: because I don't feel like we have to live these
13:56
Speaker 1: lives with so much with with with dysfunction or not
14:01
Speaker 1: identifying hurts that trigger certain behaviors and responses, because just
14:08
Speaker 1: because I was hurt in my childhood does not mean
14:12
Speaker 1: does not give me the right to go hurting people
14:15
Speaker 1: as an adult. It's like, identify what's got you angry,
14:20
Speaker 1: upset or sad or depressed or friddled with anxiety. Let's
14:25
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14:29
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14:32
Speaker 1: need medications. Sometimes the root just uprooting something, just by
14:37
Speaker 1: talking about something and identifying it. And then I really
14:41
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14:45
Speaker 1: um and and have great quality relationships. Because if every
14:50
Speaker 1: relationship around you is crumbling, whether it be in your
14:53
Speaker 1: career or personal relationships, it's okay to sit down and
14:57
Speaker 1: process that with somebody, and for someone to say, Okay,
15:01
Speaker 1: let's get down to the root of it. Now, you're
15:02
Speaker 1: gonna have to make a lot of apologies to some
15:04
Speaker 1: people you hurt, but let's get to the root of it. Wow,
15:09
Speaker 1: this is not the girl who was in my Chicago offense,
15:12
Speaker 1: I love, this is the girl in your Chicago office.
15:15
Speaker 1: I was scared. It was like I wanted to do everything, Rashawn.
15:21
Speaker 1: I even asked you, I say, can you help me?
15:23
Speaker 1: And and it's like my mother says, I love when
15:27
Speaker 1: my mother would always say keep living, baby, keep living.
15:31
Speaker 1: You will eventually find that passion in your college. Because Reshaun,
15:35
Speaker 1: you could have. You told me to do a lot
15:37
Speaker 1: of things you saw I could have been doing a
15:39
Speaker 1: lot of things. But what is now my passion and
15:44
Speaker 1: what I believe is just another addition to my purpose.
15:49
Speaker 1: And that's the conversation we're having right now. Absolutely, I
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Speaker 1: Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper
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Speaker 1: And I would tell people about gifts. And I talked
18:39
Speaker 1: about gifts. And I always says the day about talking
18:41
Speaker 1: about daughter this weekend, because I was talking about empowering
18:44
Speaker 1: her to be more than just an individual tie to
18:47
Speaker 1: one vision. She said, what do you mean? I said, Well,
18:49
Speaker 1: in October. October, that's a day I was talking to God.
18:54
Speaker 1: I was saying, I say, if you allow me to
18:58
Speaker 1: just explore all my talent, I would give one to everything.
19:02
Speaker 1: I will not cheat you. I will so over. People
19:04
Speaker 1: always say, why are you multitazed? You're such good because
19:07
Speaker 1: I made a commitment. I made a commitment that he
19:09
Speaker 1: he told me, I can do all these things. I
19:11
Speaker 1: have to I have to do what I say. And
19:14
Speaker 1: so so when I look at you, you're one of
19:16
Speaker 1: those people with a lot of talents. And so now
19:20
Speaker 1: when and what's been fortunate for me, I've been able
19:23
Speaker 1: to complete some of those things, like I got my
19:25
Speaker 1: to college degree. You know everything that you know. I
19:28
Speaker 1: went to IBY. I wanted to do that. I wanted
19:29
Speaker 1: to be successful comedian. I wanted to be one. So
19:31
Speaker 1: I'm willing to walk away from certain things. And so
19:34
Speaker 1: when I read the book, this is what's happened to
19:37
Speaker 1: you that I want to use the word courage, but
19:40
Speaker 1: the willingness to look in the mirror. So you know,
19:42
Speaker 1: so I'm good with that. I'm good. I can walk
19:45
Speaker 1: away and be Michelle. And when I'm hearing you talk
19:47
Speaker 1: right now, it didn't matter that you I didn't want
19:50
Speaker 1: to hear you sing. I wanted you were motivating me.
19:52
Speaker 1: You were encouraging me, you were empowering me because I
19:57
Speaker 1: heard an honest tone of like uplift from you and
20:00
Speaker 1: you didn't sing a note. And that's why it was
20:02
Speaker 1: so beautiful, and that's why I was like, this is
20:05
Speaker 1: gonna be a great interview because for the first time,
20:08
Speaker 1: she and I can just talk and talk about my flaws,
20:11
Speaker 1: talk about her flaws, talk about how her book is
20:14
Speaker 1: making me a better person and making me understand that
20:18
Speaker 1: I too walk that journey and how I handle it
20:21
Speaker 1: and maybe I can help her with some advice on
20:24
Speaker 1: how she can handle it too. But my number one
20:26
Speaker 1: thing is be yourself. Hmm. That's so good. Let's see
20:31
Speaker 1: every time you and I talking, you just give me,
20:34
Speaker 1: even if it's just something practical. I appreciate you for that.
20:37
Speaker 1: Thank you well. I appreciate you. I've always appreciated you
20:40
Speaker 1: in this book. Um, when I when I, when I
20:43
Speaker 1: look at this book, and because I interview a lot,
20:45
Speaker 1: I probably read. I've interviewed probably with six people on
20:48
Speaker 1: money making conversations, read at least a hundred and fifty books,
20:51
Speaker 1: and each book tells a different story. But when I
20:54
Speaker 1: get a book like your book that talks about decisions,
20:58
Speaker 1: talk about living your gifts, about making the decisions for you,
21:01
Speaker 1: and that's what this book is about right now, Michelle,
21:03
Speaker 1: So as we as we go into this interview, why
21:07
Speaker 1: was it so important to really write this book? WHOA, Um, Well,
21:15
Speaker 1: you have probably encouraged people to tell their own stories
21:18
Speaker 1: and not to let anybody else tell the story for them.
21:22
Speaker 1: And that's just where I was. UM. When I go
21:25
Speaker 1: back to the year eighteen and when I was when
21:29
Speaker 1: I was hospitalized in you know, I could imagine the
21:33
Speaker 1: thoughts that were running in people's heads. Not that it's
21:37
Speaker 1: really anybody's business, but by the time I felt like
21:43
Speaker 1: the way in which I had to release a statement
21:46
Speaker 1: about my hospitalization because TMZ found out and I did
21:52
Speaker 1: not want some narrative out there. So you know, I
21:58
Speaker 1: was able to craft a statement while I'm in the
22:00
Speaker 1: hospital seeking treatment for depression and anxiety. UM, I had
22:07
Speaker 1: to release a statement and tell people, yes, I in
22:09
Speaker 1: fact have been in the hospital. I'm actually you know,
22:12
Speaker 1: taking the advice that I myself give to others, which
22:16
Speaker 1: is to seek help and m And then fast forward
22:22
Speaker 1: to the year twenty nineteen when the book process started.
22:25
Speaker 1: It was healing for me and it was restored it
22:28
Speaker 1: for me. And I don't know if it's a part
22:30
Speaker 1: of me that wants to have a little bit of control,
22:33
Speaker 1: but it was to kind of take the power back
22:36
Speaker 1: in the shame that we're in those two words checking
22:40
Speaker 1: in because I felt like a hypocrite. I was embarrassed,
22:44
Speaker 1: especially when I people kind of found out I didn't.
22:49
Speaker 1: Now that's the good thing about being Tunitra is you
22:51
Speaker 1: know I called myself being able to check into the
22:54
Speaker 1: hospital under that name, but someone still found out. Um.
23:00
Speaker 1: But it was to take the power back, um, and
23:04
Speaker 1: to tell my own story, but to give another person
23:10
Speaker 1: maybe a name to maybe what it is they're feeling
23:12
Speaker 1: because I didn't get a proper diagnosis until I was
23:14
Speaker 1: in my thirties. So can you imagine a young person
23:18
Speaker 1: right now that's reading that book that can say, oh,
23:21
Speaker 1: my gosh, maybe this is what it is. But I
23:23
Speaker 1: still advise you to go get an assessment. Don't just
23:26
Speaker 1: read my book and say, oh, I'm depressed. It's the
23:28
Speaker 1: same thing as going on Google. Google gonna tell you
23:31
Speaker 1: fit a die, you know when you try to when
23:33
Speaker 1: you google a symptom or something. So please, by all means,
23:36
Speaker 1: it's just to give a be a supplement and a
23:40
Speaker 1: guide to maybe what someone else is going through and
23:44
Speaker 1: how they can overcome. I am I'm just there and
23:51
Speaker 1: at you and with a smile. I'm actually talking to
23:56
Speaker 1: a beautiful person who is defining their future. This is amazingly,
24:03
Speaker 1: this is an amazing encouragement for me, for anybody who's listening.
24:07
Speaker 1: And because what happens is, you know changed, it's a
24:12
Speaker 1: it's a big fear for a lot of people because
24:13
Speaker 1: it walks into our known You're walking into our own.
24:16
Speaker 1: And so because knowing is your singer, knowing is you're
24:19
Speaker 1: an actress, knowing is you're famous. But the unknown is
24:23
Speaker 1: does anybody want to hear this? But I'm gonna just
24:25
Speaker 1: tell you something right now, to Nietra, I want to
24:28
Speaker 1: hear it because you are articulating it in such a
24:32
Speaker 1: tone of motivation, honesty of uh, your captain and my
24:38
Speaker 1: imagine that you you wanted me, you know, if we
24:41
Speaker 1: was at the church. This this, this is the call
24:43
Speaker 1: to the automon Listen. You know what you said something
24:48
Speaker 1: about defining I'm defining my future and um, a friend
24:54
Speaker 1: of mine, we've been dissecting that word future literally the
24:57
Speaker 1: past few weeks. We've been dissect be that word future
25:01
Speaker 1: and future means um the time or a period of
25:05
Speaker 1: time following speaking or writing. HM. We define our futures
25:14
Speaker 1: by what we speak or what we write. And I
25:19
Speaker 1: was like, wait a minute, because we know the future
25:22
Speaker 1: to be as something to come, Like, oh, I can
25:29
Speaker 1: define my future by what I'm speaking and by what
25:32
Speaker 1: I'm writing. The past. If you look up the word past,
25:36
Speaker 1: it's the same thing. The past is something that was
25:41
Speaker 1: spoken or written. Now, how can I maybe read better
25:47
Speaker 1: from my past? Start speaking better, start writing better, start
25:54
Speaker 1: sewing better seeds, and your your future would be a
25:58
Speaker 1: little brighter my thoughts, and I see it happening in
26:02
Speaker 1: my life. Wow. T Nitra Michelle Weeves, she's on my show.
26:07
Speaker 1: She's on my show. She's talking about a new book,
26:09
Speaker 1: her first book in fact checking, in how getting real
26:12
Speaker 1: about depression saved my life, meaning her and can save Yoursen.
26:17
Speaker 1: That was a moment where she had to take control
26:19
Speaker 1: of her life. And this is what this interview is
26:21
Speaker 1: about taking control of your life and so many people
26:24
Speaker 1: and you know what, I love that perspective, taking control
26:27
Speaker 1: of my life because going on three years now, that's
26:32
Speaker 1: what I've had to do. I didn't have anybody to
26:34
Speaker 1: hold my hand. It was a decision that I made.
26:40
Speaker 1: And Brushing, do you think it's a decision people make
26:45
Speaker 1: as we get older because I'm forty one. Adoption of
26:49
Speaker 1: teens from foster care is a topic not enough people
26:51
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Speaker 1: and the ad Council. Well, I would tell you that
28:21
Speaker 1: I found out who Sean McDonald was in his forties.
28:23
Speaker 1: In my forties, you know when I really you know,
28:26
Speaker 1: because I was just going through the process making money.
28:29
Speaker 1: A lot of great decisions were being made in my
28:31
Speaker 1: career for me or by me, or and but but
28:34
Speaker 1: people to tell me I was successful, But I didn't
28:36
Speaker 1: understand success. I didn't understand my gifts. And so my
28:40
Speaker 1: whole thing now is that for the for your living,
28:43
Speaker 1: your decision. So in my forice, I started living my
28:45
Speaker 1: life as with Sean McDonald. I stopped using words like lucky,
28:48
Speaker 1: right place at the right time, because your book talks
28:50
Speaker 1: about that, and the beginning. You look at your book
28:52
Speaker 1: talking about somebody made a phone call and you just
28:55
Speaker 1: happen to get this. The word luck comes into play there,
28:58
Speaker 1: and it's really not. Your gifts came into play there,
29:01
Speaker 1: but you were not clearly understanding your gifts. They were
29:05
Speaker 1: just it just it just pushed you in a certain
29:07
Speaker 1: direction that the opportunity was tied to that to that moment.
29:10
Speaker 1: And so now in my in my forties, I realized
29:13
Speaker 1: that I'm not lucky, I'm gifted. God is giving me
29:17
Speaker 1: all these gifts. Now you have to apply them properly.
29:20
Speaker 1: And one of the person who achieved that foundation of me,
29:23
Speaker 1: the resolution of understanding what words, was Steve Harvey. And
29:27
Speaker 1: so because all those gifts were poured into his career
29:30
Speaker 1: and allowed him to become the person and we both
29:32
Speaker 1: benefited from that level of success. So when you say
29:35
Speaker 1: it's it's a some people get it in eighteen. Some
29:37
Speaker 1: people get from the sixteen have a clear understanding the direction.
29:40
Speaker 1: All you're getting right now, Michelle, is an undis assessment
29:45
Speaker 1: of yourself and what you want to do. That's what
29:47
Speaker 1: you're doing right now. That's why it's important that we talk.
29:51
Speaker 1: I can't wait to see you because I owe you
29:54
Speaker 1: a big hug. I owe you sit down and walk
29:57
Speaker 1: in the park. Just just something normal, just a normal
30:01
Speaker 1: Rashan McDonald talking to a normal Michelle to Nutra Michelle Williams,
30:05
Speaker 1: that's what I want. Where are you based Atlanta? Okay,
30:10
Speaker 1: well come on now, I'll owe your meal. We will
30:12
Speaker 1: connect this week. Seriously. I literally I just became an
30:15
Speaker 1: official Georgia resident. I got my license. Well you real,
30:19
Speaker 1: then we won't connect because I got I bought a
30:21
Speaker 1: building here. I believe me. We're going to talk because
30:27
Speaker 1: I would love that because before we run out of time,
30:29
Speaker 1: I want to talk about the book to it that
30:30
Speaker 1: you're kind of coming up here. You know, the topics
30:32
Speaker 1: ranging for all these celebrities or your book to the
30:34
Speaker 1: story that made twenty eight you know Roger P. Hanson,
30:39
Speaker 1: L Craze, that's my boy, Tina Loss and that's mc
30:41
Speaker 1: girl Antonia Luckhead. Let's talk about this, uh, this book
30:44
Speaker 1: to it just virtual to it that you're hosted. Correct, Yes,
30:47
Speaker 1: it's a conversations with Michelle Williams. Um as it relates
30:52
Speaker 1: to my book Checking In, and some of the topics
30:54
Speaker 1: are identity, anxiety, depression, singleness. Um, and we've got some
31:02
Speaker 1: great names. We've got Divon Franklin chand Lamore, Tabatha Brown.
31:06
Speaker 1: She's gonna we're gonna be talking about what the topic
31:08
Speaker 1: was supposed to be community, but she and I just
31:10
Speaker 1: talked about so much her health and um like Taragi,
31:15
Speaker 1: like you said, Lacrai, LaToya luck At, Tina Los Saint,
31:17
Speaker 1: Chloe Bailey. Dr Caroline Leif who is a neural scientist
31:22
Speaker 1: and can break stuff down. She is phenomenal. Dr India
31:26
Speaker 1: Phillips as well, Um, some a great mixture of um,
31:32
Speaker 1: you know, celebrities you know, given some practical advice. And
31:35
Speaker 1: then we've got to we've got Dr India Phillips that's
31:38
Speaker 1: a psychologist. And I named Dr Caroline Leaf as a neuroscientist, um,
31:42
Speaker 1: who can also kind of scientifically, um, kind of breakdown
31:46
Speaker 1: what the mind and brain goes through. Well, you know,
31:50
Speaker 1: I'm just I am smiling. I am at you because
31:56
Speaker 1: I am talking to I'm talking to you now, I'm
31:59
Speaker 1: talking to Nitra. I'm talking to a person. You know
32:03
Speaker 1: the words. Nobody has written a song for you. Now,
32:06
Speaker 1: nobody has told you a beat, nobody's told you a
32:09
Speaker 1: chore at craft to move it in this conversation. And
32:12
Speaker 1: I want these interviews. I want you to be you.
32:15
Speaker 1: I want you to be to Nitra. I want you
32:17
Speaker 1: to be that eighteen year old who wanted to go
32:20
Speaker 1: to Illinois State, who wanted to major in criminal justice.
32:23
Speaker 1: But they had this big old gift, this ability to sing.
32:27
Speaker 1: And you will you and you will, and you will,
32:30
Speaker 1: uh say not sure how to go because you're a
32:33
Speaker 1: church girl and you had that second over there, that
32:35
Speaker 1: second that you know, battling that so you always had
32:38
Speaker 1: that battle. And so so what God has done for you, now,
32:43
Speaker 1: this is what He's done for you. He's set you
32:45
Speaker 1: on another path to be you. And these interviews Claude Bailey,
32:49
Speaker 1: you know, j p hen to look craz These ain't
32:51
Speaker 1: names you just throw out that people don't. I'm these people.
32:55
Speaker 1: These people, they spend time with you, they love you,
32:57
Speaker 1: they believe in and you know, Tarager Jess finished a
33:00
Speaker 1: healing show for faith Facebook watch when we were talking
33:04
Speaker 1: about people coming in. She just finished a healing show. Look,
33:06
Speaker 1: Craze just came off that book Healing, Finding God, Understanding
33:10
Speaker 1: Religion his Way, you know, And and so I just
33:13
Speaker 1: look at all this divine. Frankly, we all know about him.
33:16
Speaker 1: And Tamar Bractice interviewed her, and you know, so when
33:20
Speaker 1: I look at you and this tour, I just see
33:23
Speaker 1: the next step for you and what I want to
33:25
Speaker 1: say to you, Michelle, be you, Be you girl, Be
33:29
Speaker 1: the person I'm talking to right now. Be honest, uh
33:33
Speaker 1: and lead us and lead these people. Don't be don't
33:36
Speaker 1: don't be caught up, and they might be leading them
33:38
Speaker 1: like I've been leading people for years. Sitting there telling
33:41
Speaker 1: the truth. You are a leader, young lady. You are
33:44
Speaker 1: talking the truth. Share your story and when you share
33:48
Speaker 1: your story, people will listen. And when they listen, they
33:51
Speaker 1: want to hear how they can be led and they
33:53
Speaker 1: be led in a positive manner. You're you're so close
33:57
Speaker 1: to what you want to be in life. Now, don't stop.
34:01
Speaker 1: You're on the edge. You're looking, You're looking across the
34:04
Speaker 1: mountain top. Go over it. Climate, That's all I'm saying
34:08
Speaker 1: right now, Come on, come on, That's all I'm saying. Now.
34:10
Speaker 1: When I go over, I'm gonna need to parachute. Don't
34:14
Speaker 1: worry about it. Don't worry. It's gonna be so many
34:16
Speaker 1: people waiting on you with their arms open, talking about
34:19
Speaker 1: thank you, talking about I need you, talking about who
34:24
Speaker 1: else you can help. It's gonna be so many people
34:26
Speaker 1: waiting for this to need your Michelle Williams. This version
34:31
Speaker 1: that you of life, this is your next version of life.
34:34
Speaker 1: This is your conversion. This is I've lived many lives
34:37
Speaker 1: in my and I've been for I'm living in another
34:39
Speaker 1: path when I left, really living a life I wanted
34:42
Speaker 1: to live when I was eighteen or twenty four. That's
34:44
Speaker 1: when I'm living right now. And so I'm just telling
34:47
Speaker 1: you right now, that eighteen year old kid, you're you're
34:51
Speaker 1: living that life right now. And so what happens. I
34:54
Speaker 1: always tell people between eighteen and twenty four, that's really
34:57
Speaker 1: when you wanted to be, when you ambitious, when you
35:00
Speaker 1: had dreams and that were different from other people. Now
35:04
Speaker 1: you're living a life right now that will make that
35:07
Speaker 1: eighteen to twenty four years work for you. Just leading
35:11
Speaker 1: with honestly good yes, sir, yes, sir, yeah, leading with honesty,
35:16
Speaker 1: leading with the ability to understand that you are great.
35:19
Speaker 1: I just wanted to take the time just to talk
35:21
Speaker 1: to you. You are in Atlanta. We will connect. I'm
35:24
Speaker 1: bringing buy the office when we're dinner because I got
35:26
Speaker 1: a built in We're gonna desert you asking for all
35:28
Speaker 1: that people to take photos. But more important, I got
35:31
Speaker 1: a garden in the back. I got ocre back that
35:33
Speaker 1: to maade Us, back that collar, green back, that all
35:35
Speaker 1: that I need about seven pounds, don't worry about, don't
35:40
Speaker 1: worry about when you leave. I'm gonna leave you and
35:43
Speaker 1: leave with the cake. But Chell, first of all, I
35:45
Speaker 1: want to wrap in this interview and just say I
35:47
Speaker 1: am so blessed to talk to you now this version.
35:53
Speaker 1: Don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong. You always
35:56
Speaker 1: be one of my favorite people. But to hear you
36:00
Speaker 1: talking to where you're talking now as t Nitra, Yeah,
36:05
Speaker 1: oh my god, oh my god. The blessings are gonna
36:09
Speaker 1: be just over. So go to that mountaintop. When you
36:11
Speaker 1: look over, I swear to you, it's gonna be so
36:14
Speaker 1: many people are gonna make you cry, and you're gonna
36:16
Speaker 1: slide down out here because you're gonna have to. They're
36:18
Speaker 1: gonna to part the ways, They're gonna go what what
36:20
Speaker 1: took you so long? Where it took me for the
36:22
Speaker 1: one year? But I'm here, y'all, I'm here, y'all. Come on, Yes,
36:27
Speaker 1: thank you. Thank you Michelle coming on Tunitra, Michelle Williams
36:31
Speaker 1: for coming on Money Making Conversation. Thank you, Thank you
36:33
Speaker 1: Mr Rashaan McDonald for having me on your show, Money
36:37
Speaker 1: Making Conversations. Any any Man interviews. Don't see any main interviews,
36:42
Speaker 1: please go to Money Making Conversation dot com. I'm Rashan McDonald.
36:45
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