Waiting To Excel Podcast W/durrel K. Douglas

In PART ONE of this 2-Part episode, I talk about how I ended up with a job in political advocacy. I talk about what led me to the decision, and, the steps I took to land my first gigs. This episode is mostly background to illustrate what led to my "WHY."

It's often been said that if you take the average of 5 people you hang around the most, you'll see yourself. We also know that negativity is contagious, so keeping positive people in your circle is a must! I chat with the amazing Kimberly Willis about this and related topics.

Kaleb Elijah is one of those amazing individuals who you follow on Facebook that are always emitting positive energy, so I just had to have him on the podcast. We talk a little bit about HOW he influences his thoughts, and how those thoughts influence his actions. Hopefully, you find this as valuable as I did.

Today, Kristopher J. Mosely is a band director at a high school just outside Houston, Texas. In this episode he talks about what led him to music, and a few nuggets of encouragement that will work no matter what field you work in. One of my favorite pieces from this conversation was how he studies the rehearsal processes of other bands. When asked "Why?" He says a band only performs 10% of the time at most.... the rest of that time is spent rehearsing...and that's where the magic happens!

Niesha Whitt is one of my Facebook friends who's about to take a leap of faith going into a new career as a traveling RN. We talk about that toward the end of the show, but we start with the topic: Dating: Broke and Boujie LOL. She sent me a screenshot of an Ebony article titled: Dear "Broke" Men: Don't Punish a Woman for Not Wanting to Date You. Whoa!!! Right? I have so many degreed Black female friends that are versions of the main character in the "Being Mary Jane" series. After we shut the interview down, we started chopping it up and came up with a plan to do a series on dating. OMG. It's going to be lit! What do you think about this?

Darryl Williams is the current Director of Bands at Texas College in Tyler, Texas, but I met him when he was my high school band director at Westbury High School in the early 2000's. Since then, he took a leap of faith leaving his full time job to finish his graduate degree before checking off one of his goals: to become a collegiate band director. What are your goals? If you cant think of any, no worries. Where do you want to be in 5 years? What do you need to do today to move in that direction. What do you need to have accomplished by next year to be on track? Is there anything currently holding you back from doing these things? If so, what do you need to do to

Cailon and I go way back to 9th Grade World Geography. We start off catching up on old times before rolling in to talk a bit about her short stint at a Women's Prison in Texas, the importance of family, and that's about it before she has to hop off and get to a meeting. I'll bring her back for Episode 13.

How do you keep your head above water when you have a million things going on at the same time? Well, my friend Irnise is the personification of grace, resourcefulness, intelligence and strength---even in the midst of everything. She talks about her activism, how she balances her marriage, motherhood and work.

Ian "Scooter" Haddock is the curator of thenormalanomaly.com, an activist and advocate currently living in Houston, Texas. A few years ago, he took a HUGE step leaving his former career to dive deeeeeeep into his passion for advocacy. He's a fascinating person, so I KNEW this conversation would be easy.

Every movement needs allies, but all allies don't know how they can be most effective in their activism. In this episode, I talk to Lisa Marie Hayes who I've coined "a cool ass White Lady" as we talk about how she came to be as conscious as she is today, how she became such a passionate ally, and advice for other White people who want to understand their place in today's climate. Lisa founded Washington For Good Policing W4PG.COM to bring police accountability to Washington State. I met her through an initiative last year and have admired her tenacity and transparency. Lisa's not afraid to ask my unabashed opinion on certain subjects, because she understands she doesn't have the "Black Perspective," and I always give it to her.

Chris West Jr. owns GetAutomodeals.com, a concierge car-buying experience in Houston, Texas. He talks about how he found his love for cars, and later how he's making money off of that same love. In this episode are also a few nuggets about choosing your circle of support, traveling abroad, and saving money. Chris is a very driven, disciplined individual whose growing business will surely have him on the map soon. What's your dream career?

How many times have you said "Yes" and regretted it later? Saying "No," can be a POWERFUL thing if you do it right, and it can have a positive impact on your goals. In this podcast, I talk about my new challenge to streamline my efforts by saying "No" to the things that cloud up my world and keep me from my goals. Don't forget to subscribe via iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher. Oh, and shoot me an email with your thoughts: durrel@live.com

Terrance Thomas is a writer whose been published on Huffington Post, Afro Punk and Medium. We talk about how he ended up on these huge platforms, and how he's taking his writing to the next level with terrancewrites.com, his own writing portfolio. I met Terrance at one of the Houston Justice Coalition meetings, and followed his musings on Facebook and Twitter ever since then. Here's a brief synopsis of the hour-long conversation that's TOTALLY worth the listen: -The aftermath of the Trump Election -How his writing subjects come about -The Baby Boomer/Millennial Divide -WAPS (Weak Ass Progressives) -Blackness

Is it time for you to quit your damn job? Are you not respected/appreciated? Are you not growing anymore? Have you been PLANNING to start your business for years, only to keep it on the back burner? If you answered "Yes" to any of the questions above, THIS is a podcast you need to listen to! I start off talking about how I made the big JUMP, a quick activity to take inventory of YOUR situation and planning your escape. I highly recommend doing a vision board and hanging it somewhere you'll see it often, so that your thoughts and actions will be guided by your far-reaching goals. Then I bring in part of a conversation I had with personal trainer and entrepreneur Chris Green, owner of FitFactory Houston. Below is a link to connect with Chris via Facbook. I'll throw up my entire conversation with Chris later this week. Don't forget to subscribe via iTunes and Google Play! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/durrel-k.-douglas/id1191878874 https://play.google.com/music/podcasts/portal/u/0#p:id=playpo

Akua Fayette is an author, artist, activist and entrepreneur full of good advice. In this unedited episode, we talk about her decision to work for herself, the power of words and the importance of finding your passion.

Under the leadership of Nathan Haymer, the Southern University's "Human Jukebox" continues the legacy of those coming before him. Still in his 30's, Haymer who was once a member of the band himself, never imagined coming back and taking the reigns of the institution that inspired his music career in the first place. While he could've boasted about attending the Grammy's, performing for the fight of the century at the request of Floyd Mayweather, or a myriad of other subjects, Mr. Haymer talked about his early years as a band director, gave advice to upcoming music educators and talked about which instruments are in high demand at his band. In addition to what the public sees when the band performs, as Director of Bands, much of his work is behind-the-scenes administrative stuff like managing his staff and keeping a tight eye on the budget. A very motivating conversation from a very driven man.

Did you know you could choose your circle of friends? In this episode I talk to one of my friends, TJ Edmond, the 25 year-old owner of Lanespur Staffing Agency about work/life balance, self care and being intentional about choosing who you allow to influence your thoughts and actions. This is part one of a three part conversation with TJ going over a list of topics. Here's a quick list to think through when doing inventory of your friends list: 1.) What are your goals/resolutions for this year? The next 5 years? The next 10 years? Here's a blog about creating a vision board if you hadn't thought that far. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-rider/the-scientific-reason-why_b_6392274.html 2.) Over the past couple of weeks, who have you talked to the most over the phone? In person? Make a list and use it for the next items in the list. 3.) Who on your list have you talked about your goals/resolutions? 4.) Who on your list seemed interested during the conversation? 5.) Who on the list disco

In the first episode of Waiting to Excel w/Durrel K. Douglas, I show you how to start your own podcast, too! I believe we make our communities stronger by sharing tips and encouraging each other! I walk through these steps: 1.) Coming up with a concept 2.) Software (audacity.sourceforge.net/download/) 3.) Equipment (My mic https://goo.gl/iahMAH) 4.) Free graphics creation (canva.com) 5.) Make your own website (www.squarespace.com) I'd love to hear your thoughts by commenting here, or shooting me an email at durrel@live.com!