From Rock Bottom to Breakthrough | Meme Mulugeta | 026

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It was a big hit on my ego, a
big hit on my finances, a big

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hit for my family.
So I felt like I hit rock bottom

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and I was just like, what else
is there?

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I, I, I couldn't think of
anything that was making me

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happy.
And I said, you know what?

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Let me just try this God thing.
That's literally in my head.

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What I said, let me just try
this God thing.

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I know this sounds so bad, but
it's the truth.

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Welcome to When You Look, where
ordinary people share their

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extraordinary experiences and
you get to decide, was it

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coincidence or God?
Mimi, thanks so much for being

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on When You Look.
Really excited to have you here.

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Thank you, I'm super excited as
well.

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Yeah, awesome.
Well, we are pumped to hear your

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amazing story.
But before we get into that,

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tell us a little bit about
yourself.

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Yeah, absolutely.
My name is Mimi Muligaita and I

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am a mother of a 20 year old
son.

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I am an author.
I am also a business owner.

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The business is called The One
and Only Publishing.

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And most importantly, I am a
child of God that stands firm on

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His foundation.
So that's who I am.

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Wow, awesome.
So mom, author, business owner,

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child of God, praise be to God,
super excited to have you here.

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Let's get into your story.
Give us a little bit of the back

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story so that we've got the
right context for things, and

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then walk us through as they
happened for you.

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Absolutely, you know, make I was
actually praying about this

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before I got on this podcast and
I asked the Lord to lead me and

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sharing my story because I
really wanted this to be

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impactful for those who are
listening and something I don't

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typically typically share is
really the the starting point of

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my really walk with Christ prior
to that.

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So back in college, I ended up
getting pregnant and I had prior

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to that been brought up in the
church.

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Both my parents were ministers
and I pretty much grew up in New

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York City in a very small
church, but we were very

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community oriented and I felt
like everyone around in that in

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that church raised me.
But when I got pregnant, they

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turned their back on me and they
really pushed me out, if that

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makes sense.
And so I realized at that point,

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being 19 years old, being
pregnant, I said to myself in my

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heart, if this is you God, then
I want nothing to do with it.

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And so for 17 years, I kept
myself very far away from the

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Lord, although he always had his
hand on me.

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I really made sure that I I
hardly ever stepped into a

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church during that time.
I was completely like against

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anything that had to do with God
because I was very much church

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hurt and I didn't have a
relationship with the Lord at

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the time.
So I attributed a relationship

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with the his people, his people
was was him instead of he being

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himself on his own.
So Fast forward, I had started a

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business and business went
really well for a little while

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and then it completely plummeted
and I lost hundreds of thousands

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of dollars.
And during that those 17 years I

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was very much confused.
I was, I had this hole inside of

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me, but and I tried to fill it
with so many different things

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that I want to get like short
term satisfaction from it, but

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not something that would would
linger and stay within me.

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Finally, once that business
failed, I kind of said to the

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Lord, well, I've tried
everything.

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I filled my life with so many
things that I thought would

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fulfill me.
I, I was very successful in my

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corporate job and I had really
great friends at the time and I

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just, and I had money at the
time and I was just happy in the

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short term, but it wasn't true
joy.

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And so really I turned to God
and I said, well, you know what,

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I've tried everything, let's see
if this works, you know, so I

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walked into a church one day and
I decided to just be there.

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And it felt very foreign to me,
very weird hadn't been in the

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church for that long makes you
feel very weird and very

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uncomfortable.
And I had been going for about 3

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weeks on Thursdays and Sundays
and not feeling anything, not

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really staying engaged.
I would just be there

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physically.
And then one day the the

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minister's wife did an altar
call.

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And that was the first time an
altar call was ever called in

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that church.
And I just remember when she did

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the altar call, I felt like the
Holy Spirit literally lifted my

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legs and said to me like it,
it's time for you to give your

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life to the Lord.
And I walked to the altar and I

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basically bawled my eyes out and
I was just out of this world

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would never cry in front of
people.

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I've never cry in general crying
in front of strangers.

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This is just unspeakable.
But it was the Holy Spirit

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filling me.
And I felt the embrace of the

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Holy Spirit's love around me.
And I kept hearing in my ear, I

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got you, I got you, I love you,
I got you.

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So that was really the
beginnings of my, my journey

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with the Lord.
And the reason why I feel like

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it's important for me to bring
that up was because this next

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story really shares what I
believe is truly God's hand.

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And that is, you know, after
that time, I knew in my heart

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God was calling me for his
Kingdom to do something on earth

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for him.
I didn't believe it was on a

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pulpit.
I knew it was about doing

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something creative for him, but
I just couldn't put my finger on

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him.
And so I would pray to him over

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and over.
God, give me creative ideas to

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serve you.
Give me creative ideas to serve

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you.
Lord, I just want to serve you.

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And I knew that I was very tired
of my nine to five job.

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I was pouring in my gifts and
talents into something that I

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knew was not glorifying him.
I also knew in my heart that,

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you know, ultimately I was
called to something that was

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unique, but I just didn't have
an idea of what that was.

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And and mind you, my business
had failed the year prior.

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So I was also extremely in debt.
So I was like, God, I need

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money, give me money.
And so, you know, obviously that

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was the young immature side of
me.

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And I realized like, no, it's
about doing his purpose and all

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will be added on to me.
So that was my prayer for about

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a year.
God give me creative ideas, give

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me creative ideas.
And so Fast forward, I remember

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speaking to my father, my
father, like I said as a

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minister and he was in a, a low
point at that moment.

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He gave me a call and he was
just like, no, I just don't feel

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the favour of God on my life.
And I said to him, well, if God

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had to have done something,
you've been in ministry for like

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40 years, there had to be some
type of favor.

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And I was like, go back into
your life.

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Tell me, tell me, tell me how
you gave your life to learn.

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And I was just prompting him.
And then he started talking

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about what God has done for him
when he was younger through his

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young adulthood, and then so on
and so forth.

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And as he was speaking, he just
felt this lift of a burden that

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was upon him.
And he was like, Oh my gosh, I

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do have favor.
God has changed my life.

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God has had his hand over me,
but after that call, you would

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think that it would have been
like just the, the, the most

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exciting part was him just
feeling that release.

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But for me, it was like, whoa,
I've known my father at the time

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I was 38 years old.
I've known my father for 38

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years and I never even knew half
of these stories.

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And it blessed me so much to
hear how God had changed,

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transformed and, and, and had
such an impact in his life.

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And I said to myself, like, he
should write a book, You know,

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that this should be this should
be something we preserve.

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And the Holy Spirit said, I want
you to write a book.

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And I was like, no, no, no, God,
I don't think what me right?

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I'm not writing a book.
There's no way I'm writing a

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book.
And so I ignored it and I was

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very much disobedient in that
process.

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And I still said that prayer.
God give me creative ideas to

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serve you and I prayed that
again for another couple of

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months.
God give me creative ideas and I

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felt disunction write this book,
but I was like, I'm not a

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writer, so this is not for me.
So one day I, someone told me

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about digital marketing and I
was like, OK, maybe God is

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leading me to digital marketing
because I was very in tune with

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paying attention to things
around me, people telling me

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things.
And if I heard it more than

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once, I'm like, maybe that's
God, you know, And I was just

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really trying to see if that
might have been what I needed to

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do.
So that that night I said, OK,

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God, if you're calling me to do
digital marketing, you have to

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tell me what digital product I
should create, you know?

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So I said, Father God tonight as
I sleep, just show me.

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And so I went to bed and I had a
dream.

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And in this dream, I was pretty
much in a place where I met this

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woman.
And I said to this woman, well,

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what do you do?
What?

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What do you do?
I don't remember the exact

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question I asked her, but it was
something on along that those

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lines.
And she said, well, I help

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people remember the goodness of
God and you're supposed to be

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writing a book.
And I said what I was like, OK,

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And it was a matter of a second.
I woke up, it was 3 like 311.

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AMI remembered that specifically
because I looked at my clock and

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I and I, I grabbed my laptop and
I said, OK, God, this is no

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joke.
I'm going to go ahead and get

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started with writing this book.
So I sat at 3:11 in the morning

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and wrote the introduction to my
book and I went to bed and prior

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to going to bed I said, Lord, I,
I don't know what you want me to

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write about.
I have no idea what you want me

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to focus on.
So if you give me the topics, I

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make a covenant with you that I
will not lay my head to sleep

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until I write out that
particular topic.

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And so I woke up the next day
and for 14 days straight God was

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dropping topics.
It was either through a Co

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worker, a friend, it would be
something that maybe a thought

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that came into my mind and it
would be something from ATV

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show.
It would be it was so weird, but

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it it was so it was highlighted.
Those topics were highlighted to

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the point where I knew the Holy
Spirit was like that right about

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that focus on that.
And so, like I said in my

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covenant to the Lord, I would
write down what he wanted me to,

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you know, flush out in that
particular topic.

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And I did that for 14 days
straight.

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And then after I got to my 30th
chapter, the Lord said, you're

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finished.
Your ministry has started.

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As we all know, the 30th, Jesus
started his ministry at age 30.

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So that's a very prophetic
number.

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You know, at that time, I didn't
connect the dots.

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So I was just like, OK,
whatever, you know?

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And I put my manuscript inside
and I was like, there is

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absolutely no way I'm going to
publish this book.

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And like I was obedient.
I did what you asked me to do

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and I'm good.
So I kind of put in the back and

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like the in in the back of my
mind, not something that I

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really thought was going to do
and I was going to do anything

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with.
So Fast forward, I was supposed

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to be attending a women's
conference at my church.

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And before going to the women's
conference, I was having some

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issues at my job that was
causing me a little bit of

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stress now.
And at that point, to give you

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perspective, remember I was
grossly in debt and lost this

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business.
Like my job was super important

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to me at the bare minimum to
maintain the life that I was

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living, you know, And so I was
stressed out.

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Like bottom line, I was stressed
out.

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And I said, you know what, I'm
going to go to this conference

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and I'm going to ask God for a
breakthrough at my job, you

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know, so that nothing bad
happens.

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Day one of the conference, the
Holy Spirit just said, we're not

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going to focus on your job.
You're going to focus on just

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seeking me.
So for the that weekend, I just

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said, OK, I'll just focus on
you, Lord, just just show me

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your glory, show me your face.
Tell me what you need me to

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know, you know, And that was my
fervent prayer throughout the

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women's conference.
So Sunday hits and there is an

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evening, evening service.
And the minister says the Lord

223
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,920
is calling everyone to sacrifice
something in your life.

224
00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,880
And I'm like in my, my internal
dialogue is saying like, OK,

225
00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,360
well, God, I don't have much
money as you already know.

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00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,480
So I am going to give you my
time.

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00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,360
You know, I love to sleep.
So I'm going to wake up at 3:00

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00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,960
AM every night and every
morning.

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00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,400
And I'm going to pray, you know,
I'm going to spend time with

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00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:50,800
you.
The Holy Spirit said flat out,

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00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,000
no.
And I said, OK, alright,

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00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:54,400
alright.
You can have all my money.

233
00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:56,640
You can have everything that's
in my bank account.

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00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,120
That's a real sacrifice.
And the Holy Spirit said no.

235
00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:03,960
And in frustration, I said to
the Holy Spirit, well, what do

236
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,640
you want?
You know, what kind of sacrifice

237
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,000
can I give you?
And he said, I want you to

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00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:14,080
sacrifice your family.
And I said what?

239
00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,520
And I remember just saying what
at that moment, and tears

240
00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:21,960
started flowing down my eyes.
It was as the Holy Spirit was

241
00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,000
asking me to give his my right
hand to cut it off right then

242
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,240
and there.
And to give you a little more

243
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,160
context, my family is like has
always been the backbone of of

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00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:37,120
everything I do, the motivation
of every decision I've made,

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00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,880
every path I've taken.
It's for and has always been for

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00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,920
my family.
So for him to say, give me your

247
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,760
family, it felt overwhelmingly
like I was giving up something

248
00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:54,880
significant when in actual like
hindsight, I'm just giving,

249
00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,880
giving them to dedicating them
to him to take care of, you

250
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:00,640
know, it's not my
responsibility.

251
00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,360
But at that moment I, I couldn't
see past my, my current

252
00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,480
situation.
So I went ahead and said finally

253
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,920
after crying and and and
bartering and going back and

254
00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,800
forth with the Lord, I said,
fine, Lord, you can have my

255
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,360
family.
So I, I didn't know what it

256
00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,960
meant, but I gave it to him.
And so the next day was Monday

257
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:23,440
and I was supposed to be going
to work.

258
00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,840
I was getting ready to get
dressed and I was looking at my

259
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,640
closet.
And once again I just felt this

260
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:34,240
overwhelmingly like intense
feeling like Lord, just give me

261
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,760
creative ideas to serve you
Lord, just give me creative

262
00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:42,720
ideas.
And in a split up a second, God

263
00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:46,160
gives me this download.
And when I say a download, I'm

264
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,160
not just talking about like, oh,
this wonderful idea.

265
00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:54,040
I'm talking about a 10 year
blueprint of a business he

266
00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:58,960
wanted me to start.
And it was so intense that I had

267
00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,600
to sit down and be like, whoa,
whoa, this is too much.

268
00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,120
I got to write this down.
Like that's how I was talking to

269
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,360
the Holy Spirit.
Like hold on, hold on, hold on.

270
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:08,600
Huh?
You want me to do what?

271
00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:13,760
Why?
How A and I said to the Holy

272
00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,960
Spirit, no problem, I'm going to
create this business while I

273
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:22,400
work my 9:00 to 5:00 job, you
know, And so the Holy Spirit, I

274
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,200
felt good about it.
Holy Spirit told me everything I

275
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,800
thought I needed at that moment.
And so I go to work for that

276
00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:33,320
week and on Friday I get laid
off.

277
00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:39,760
And I just remember when I got
laid, it was actually on a Zoom

278
00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,880
meeting.
So I was like looking at the

279
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,440
camera and they told me, you
know, I'll no longer be working

280
00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,400
for the company.
And I, I just remember like

281
00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:53,440
looking at my current supervisor
at the time and, and the Holy

282
00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,120
Spirit was literally speaking
out of his mouth saying,

283
00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:00,960
remember, I got you, I got you.
And I was just like, OK.

284
00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:02,640
And I kind of left it alone and
all.

285
00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,520
And I, and I, I didn't feel
anything at that moment other

286
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,079
than I'm fine.
Like I have this whole 10 year

287
00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:11,040
blueprint from God.
Like I'm good, you know.

288
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,800
And so ultimately after that I
said to the Holy Spirit, I said,

289
00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,720
you know, I, I'm going to go
full-fledged with this business.

290
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:23,119
However, I am also going to
start looking for jobs to so

291
00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,200
that at least I have something
to supplement my income.

292
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:31,520
And to give you some
perspective, I have about 15 to

293
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:36,440
20 years total of experience in
the financial industry.

294
00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,320
And so I knew finding another
job wasn't going to be a

295
00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:43,600
problem.
Hunters reach out to me all the

296
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,520
time, you know, so I, I just
knew it wasn't going to be a big

297
00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:50,320
deal.
So I'm applying to jobs and I'm

298
00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,200
just doing my thing thinking I'm
going to get interviews.

299
00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:57,160
When I say doors were closing, I
meant like I wasn't even getting

300
00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,680
my foot in the door.
Like no one was even taking my

301
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,720
at my resume.
Like, and I was just like, God,

302
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:06,320
what do you want me to do about
this?

303
00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:12,640
You know, I need to support my
family and he said you gave me

304
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:18,840
your family, remember, And I
said, OK, father God, so I will

305
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,680
do this full fledge.
I don't know where the my next

306
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:23,120
how I'm going to pay my
mortgage.

307
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,760
I do not know how I'm going to
pay my, my loans, my debt, all

308
00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:28,520
of that, but I'm going to trust
you.

309
00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,960
So I started working on this
business and flushing this

310
00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:35,080
business out and it's the one
and only publishing.

311
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:40,840
And you know, God is just so
faithful because mind you, I

312
00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:42,400
came from the financial
industry.

313
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,320
I had no experience in
publishing, right?

314
00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:48,920
None at all, not zero.
I've never even thought in my

315
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,360
mind, I want to start a
publishing company.

316
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:54,960
It was never even a figment of
my imagination.

317
00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:59,720
I love reading, you know, books,
but not that much, you know, not

318
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:01,320
to the point where I had a book
mother.

319
00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,960
She come gonna eat, you know,
let's be real.

320
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,600
And so I was just like, well,
God, I I feel like an imposter.

321
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:12,360
You know, I don't feel good
being in this particular, you

322
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:17,320
know, industry.
And mind you, it was around

323
00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,920
October of of 2024.
And so the Holy Spirit just kept

324
00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,920
telling me, just learn, focus on
learning right now.

325
00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:27,360
Learn running a business has
never is not foreign to me, but

326
00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:29,200
a publishing company was the
foreign part.

327
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:33,000
So I was just learning more
about the publishing company and

328
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,000
I kept feeling like I was in an
island on my own.

329
00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,480
And I remember saying in my
heart, not even a prayer.

330
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,000
It was just like, man, I wish I
had a mentor right now.

331
00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:46,760
And so I went to an event where
they asked me to be a speaker,

332
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:51,360
to talk about financial aspect
of businesses and I went to just

333
00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:53,400
help them out.
It was a friend who had this

334
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,400
event.
I I spoke at the event and then

335
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,600
a woman got up on the stage and
she was talking about how she is

336
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,440
a minister called to the
marketplace.

337
00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,840
And the Holy Spirit said, that's
going to be your mentor.

338
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:11,160
And I said, OK, so I approached
her and we met and I told her

339
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,400
what God had given me this 10
year blueprint.

340
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,440
And I, I'm telling her
everything because she's the

341
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,360
first person I ever get get to
talk about this with, you know,

342
00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:23,600
and she says to me, normally I
charge it was an astronomical

343
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,080
amount to mentor someone.
And I was just like, I don't got

344
00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:28,680
nobody.
So that's not going to happen,

345
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:30,760
you know?
And she said, but the Lord is

346
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:35,360
telling me to do this for free.
And I said, whoa, OK, God,

347
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:38,600
you're so good.
And so she started mentoring me.

348
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,840
And so as I was doing more
research on the, on book

349
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,200
publishing, there was one
particular area that you cannot

350
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,040
find anywhere like I, I, it's
either you're in the industry

351
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,440
and you know it, but it's not
like surprisingly somewhere

352
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:54,840
where you could like Google for
some reason.

353
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:59,760
So I was like, I'm stuck, like,
I have no idea what I'm going to

354
00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,800
do if I get, if I get encounter
this with a client.

355
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,480
And so I remember going to the
gym and telling my friend, like

356
00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,560
just giving her an update on my
research on book publishing.

357
00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,520
I'm like, man, I'm so confused
about this and this area.

358
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,920
And she was like, boy, I'm sure
you could find it somewhere, you

359
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:16,880
know.
And so we were just

360
00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,840
brainstorming while we were
working out and a woman was at

361
00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:23,920
on the machine next to us and
she's like, Hey, I happen to

362
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:28,680
hear your conversation.
And I, I don't mean to pry, but,

363
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,080
you know, I just want to let you
know.

364
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,400
And she told me she was an
executive for one of the largest

365
00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,120
publishing companies in the DC
metropolitan area.

366
00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,840
And she says, you know, I would
be happy to help you with this.

367
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:44,200
And I said, oh, OK, how much,
you know, 'cause I don't have

368
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:45,320
money.
That's the first thing I'm

369
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,560
thinking about.
And she was like, oh, I'll do it

370
00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,800
for free, no problem.
And I was like, whoa, OK, God,

371
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:57,920
you are not joking, you know,
And it's so beautiful to see the

372
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,520
goodness of God because even
Fast forward, right?

373
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,560
So I, I, it's time my business
is launched.

374
00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:07,240
I have this website up.
I have, you know, the ability to

375
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,360
now take clients in.
And I'm like, I need to, you

376
00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:13,640
know, start marketing because
everybody markets their

377
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,560
business, you know, and I'm
using my worldly brain to say,

378
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,520
this is what I need to do to
market, you know, and I'm, I'm,

379
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,600
I'm making all these steps, not
even consulting with the one who

380
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:25,560
actually told me to start this
business.

381
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,760
And I start spending money that
I really should not be spending.

382
00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,440
But I'm thinking this is going
to bring in so many clients.

383
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,560
It brought in zero clients, like
0.

384
00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:41,360
And so I was just so frustrated
because I thought, this is God's

385
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:43,000
business.
Of course, people are just going

386
00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,000
to love it and come.
And I said to the Lord, like,

387
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,240
Lord, did I hear you right?
Is this the business that you

388
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,840
really wanted me to start?
And I, I, you know, I, I, I laid

389
00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:59,120
it on him like you told me to do
this and I spent this and I did

390
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:01,600
this.
And the Holy Spirit said, I need

391
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:05,960
you to be still.
And being still is not easy for

392
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:07,160
me.
I'm a doer.

393
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:11,160
So being still was probably the
hardest request that he has ever

394
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:13,760
given me thus far in my entire
life.

395
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,480
So I just said, OK, I'll be
still.

396
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,200
And I just, all I did is just
spend time with him.

397
00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,160
I didn't worry too much about
the business.

398
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,640
And then one of my friends who I
happened to just help for free

399
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,440
to publish their books, they
were sort of like my test dummy

400
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,280
in a sense.
She was like, you know, I have a

401
00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,400
cousin that would like to
publish their book.

402
00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:37,200
And she was like, can you give
them a call?

403
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,840
So I give the person a call and
she's like, yeah, you know, I'm

404
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:44,200
part of this organization and
they're looking for a publishing

405
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,240
company that they can work with.
I would love to connect you with

406
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,600
them.
And so I get connected with with

407
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:54,040
that the owner of the corporate,
the company that she's referring

408
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,760
to, and I'm sharing my story and
everything.

409
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,840
And she's like, yeah, I would
love to bring you on our team

410
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:08,520
and we assist about 600 thousand
women and I would love for you

411
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,000
to be our preferred publisher.
I said what?

412
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,520
This is crazy.
This is crazy.

413
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:22,160
God, God, God was like I said, I
told you be stills, you know,

414
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:25,240
that was like the beginning
point of my, of the business and

415
00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:29,880
I was just like just so
personally, just so in awe of,

416
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,120
of what he was doing.
But even over time, I was having

417
00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,400
issues with like having a
consistent flow of clients.

418
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,600
I remember fasting one time
'cause I was like, man, God,

419
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,960
like, I can't do this sporadic
client.

420
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:47,760
Here's sporadic client there I I
have any consistency and I was

421
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,960
like, give me some insight, give
me clarity because I feel like

422
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:52,960
I'm not really hearing you the
right way.

423
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,360
So I started fasting the first
day of the fast.

424
00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:58,520
A person that I actually was on
their podcast.

425
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,400
She also has a publishing
company.

426
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,320
She reaches out to me and she's
like, hey, first day.

427
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,320
I'm still 4 four hours into my
fast, which I had planned on

428
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:07,760
fasting until I got breakthrough
right.

429
00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:10,680
Four hours into my fast, she
calls me and she's like, hey,

430
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,960
I've been I was praying this
weekend and the Lord put you on

431
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:15,440
my heart.
I think that we should be

432
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,000
working together.
I have a whole bunch of people,

433
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,640
but I don't have the
infrastructure to take on more

434
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:24,280
clients.
Boom that that happened, right?

435
00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:28,640
So I'm like, yes, Amen.
Then, you know, I realized I

436
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:33,320
really needed to give my
customers the ability to

437
00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:36,880
properly market their book.
And I, I felt really like that

438
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:40,080
was the biggest, most important
thing for this business, which I

439
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,000
don't normally see in publishing
companies.

440
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,640
So I had been on the prowl of
finding marketing companies that

441
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,560
I could work with, finding
tactics that I could use, that I

442
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:52,400
could implement, because I
really wanted not just to build

443
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,240
a legacy for someone, but also
have them give that that legacy

444
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,720
to the world.
So, you know, I kept asking God

445
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,280
about it.
And the same person that said we

446
00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,360
should work together, she
connected me with a marketing

447
00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:08,080
specialist who had been in the
industry for 15 years.

448
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,440
And she was like, I would love
to have me and my team work with

449
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,760
you, to work with your clients.
God took care of that as well.

450
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,040
And it's just, it just never
stops.

451
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,760
The minute I hit a roadblock,
God just comes in.

452
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,720
And so, yeah, that's, that's my
story.

453
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,200
And it, it's something that I'm
so excited about.

454
00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:29,880
But you know, I hope your
audience loves it.

455
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:32,000
You know.
Wow.

456
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,120
Well, praise God, Mimi, where
are things now?

457
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,520
Yeah.
So we are on our way.

458
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:43,720
We've, we've, we've pretty much
launched every particular thing

459
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,000
that God had asked me to do.
Year one, year 1, he wanted me

460
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,000
to roll out audiobooks.
He wanted me to roll out being

461
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,000
able to translate books in other
languages.

462
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:59,320
And so those were the two things
that I knew was part of my

463
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,120
blueprint.
And it's already in effect, we

464
00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:05,560
are already helping clients with
audio versions of their book and

465
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,360
we're helping clients translate
their books in other languages.

466
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:14,120
And we're just, we're, we
continuously get a, a consistent

467
00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:17,440
flow of people, more than I've
ever even thought of.

468
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:19,440
Like I'm going to be honest with
you.

469
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,040
Like there are things that I
never even thought about doing

470
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,480
until God really intervened and
I just kind of stepped back.

471
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:28,920
Like we've started an affiliate
program.

472
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:32,880
This affiliate program has
opened up so many doors for not

473
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,880
just our company, but for people
to earn an additional stream of

474
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,440
income.
So that has also opened up doors

475
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:41,560
for us.
So every month we're busy.

476
00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:44,720
Every month I'm hiring new
people because we just have to

477
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,160
keep up with the, you know,
demand that is out there at this

478
00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,160
time.
And as time goes by, I know that

479
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,400
God is going to continue to be
faithful.

480
00:27:56,360 --> 00:27:59,680
But most importantly, one of the
things that I am super excited

481
00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,800
about because God shared with me
over and over, this is not a

482
00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:04,720
business.
This is also a ministry.

483
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,280
So one of the things that I have
been very excited about is to be

484
00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,000
able to help people who don't
have the funds to create a book

485
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,640
sponsor get book sponsorship,
something that it's not offered

486
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:16,520
by any publishing company to
date.

487
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:21,920
And so I was really passionate
about that and it was a very

488
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,760
important part of component of
this business.

489
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:28,240
And I'm so excited that now we
have the ability to sponsor

490
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:32,160
books now and be able to help
people create their legacies and

491
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:35,680
to the world without having to
spend even a single dollar for

492
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:37,200
some of them who can't afford
it.

493
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,640
So that is what it's happening
now.

494
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:44,120
Wow, thank you for recapping all
of that.

495
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,520
That's really, really neat.
I want to explore a couple

496
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,800
different things with you.
So let's do some rewinding.

497
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:57,200
Many years ago.
It sounds like you have this 17

498
00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:02,160
year block where you basically
didn't go into church and as you

499
00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,960
described it, have essentially
almost no or truly no

500
00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,560
relationship with God, at least
from your perspective.

501
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:19,360
What prompts you or how did you
get to the point where you said

502
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:24,520
I'm going to go and then you
actually went to church?

503
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:32,720
Yeah, I think that what prompted
me is because I exhausted all my

504
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,720
options.
I thought first all I need is

505
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,680
love, right?
So let me, let me be with

506
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,680
somebody that loves me
unconditionally and I love him

507
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,680
unconditionally.
And when I got a glimpse of

508
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,360
that, I was like, this is not
it.

509
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:48,720
This is not filling that that
space.

510
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,200
And then I thought it would be
my career.

511
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:55,520
Let me grow in my career.
And I know God will I, I know I

512
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:57,760
will.
I will feel so good when I go up

513
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,480
that ladder.
I had 7 promotions in 14 years,

514
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,480
you know, So that didn't fulfill
me.

515
00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:08,040
Let me make more money that
didn't fulfill me.

516
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:12,800
Let me pour into my child only
and make him my life in my

517
00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,080
world.
Oh my gosh, that absolutely did

518
00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,760
not fill me the way it should
have in my mind, you know?

519
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:25,480
So I was trying every single
option and when I would finally

520
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:30,000
achieve it, I felt empty.
I felt empty.

521
00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,520
So when I finally took that big
leap and started the company

522
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,680
that I told you about and it
failed, it was sort of like at

523
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:40,720
that moment, I had hit rock
bottom for myself because there

524
00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:44,920
was something that I put my
everything in my all in.

525
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:48,400
And prior to that, everything
that I've done always went was

526
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,240
successful.
But this one business that I

527
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:54,920
gave my all did not turn out the
way I expected.

528
00:30:55,240 --> 00:31:00,080
And it was a big hit on my ego,
a big hit on my finances, a big

529
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,160
hit for my family.
So I felt like I hit rock bottom

530
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,760
and I was just like, what else
is there?

531
00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,440
Like I even I, I, I couldn't
think of anything that was

532
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,440
making me happy.
And I said, you know what, let

533
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:15,600
me just try this God thing.
That's literally in my head.

534
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,720
What I said, let me just try
this God thing.

535
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:19,840
I know this sounds so bad, but
it's the truth.

536
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:24,440
So that's what prompted me.
Like I knew in my heart that in

537
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,920
my deepest hearts I it wasn't
something I was willing to admit

538
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:31,040
to myself, but I knew my deepest
hearts that your joy is with

539
00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:32,800
God.
I grew up in the church, but I

540
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:37,200
just didn't believe that that
was the only route to having

541
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,200
eternal joy.
And I had to be proven wrong to

542
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,160
be able to turn back to Him.
So God was patient with me.

543
00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:54,400
Yeah, wow, rock bottom and I'm
gonna just try this God thing

544
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:59,040
essentially again, but I wow,
yeah, I get it.

545
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,600
I get it.
Seriously, I get it.

546
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,320
Wow, so good.
OK, So a lot of what you have

547
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:11,400
talked about through sharing all
of this are these indications,

548
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:16,080
these promptings, these
communications, two way

549
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,840
communications ultimately with
you and the Holy Spirit.

550
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:22,920
So a lot of people ask me, and
so I'm going to ask you this

551
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:28,000
same question.
How have you heard from God or

552
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:35,240
the Holy Spirit?
Like, literally yeah.

553
00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,800
OK, Tell us like how you've
experienced it and and how you

554
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:42,520
know, Yeah, that it's from him.
That's a really good question

555
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:47,560
because this was like a ongoing,
It was a problem for me because

556
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:50,520
I already have an internal
dialogue, you know, inside of me

557
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:54,200
and I talked to myself all the
time, like all the time.

558
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:59,240
So in the very beginning, when I
was tuning my ear to the Holy

559
00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:04,320
Spirit, it was work.
I had to almost, not necessarily

560
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,640
test, but really it was a test
for myself.

561
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,600
I would feel like I heard, heard
something in my heart, you know,

562
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:15,080
and I would say, is that me or
is that the Holy Spirit?

563
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:19,400
And if it was like just to do
something simple like go, I've

564
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:20,800
even had, I've heard the Holy
Spirit once.

565
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:22,440
I thought I heard the Holy
Spirit say, go.

566
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,840
It was like 3:00 AM in the
morning, go to this place and

567
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:30,000
there's going to be someone
there and tell them that Jesus

568
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,320
loves them, give them $20 and
walk away.

569
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,160
And I was like, all right, I
have a choice here.

570
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,160
I could be obedient and there's
no one there and I sound like a

571
00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:41,880
crazy, I look like a crazy
person, or I'm just going to be

572
00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,200
obedient and do it.
So I would have moments with

573
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:49,000
like that.
And over time, as I became more

574
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,480
and more obedient to what He was
telling me, and when I could see

575
00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:56,520
that the outcome was what it
really was, I could understand,

576
00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:58,920
OK, this is the Holy Spirit
speaking.

577
00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,720
This is me.
Now with that being said, one of

578
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,720
my I would like to call it a
hack, but it's not really a

579
00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,600
hack.
I used to say this prayer before

580
00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:10,360
I would ask the Holy Spirit
anything.

581
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,880
I would say Father God, I need
you to steal the voice of the

582
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:18,000
world, steal the voice of the
enemy, and steal the voice of

583
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,440
myself.
Let your voice speak loud and

584
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:26,040
clear to me.
And when I would pray that

585
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:32,080
prayer, I would hear him so well
in my heart, in my head.

586
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,600
I don't know how to explain it
unless you know what, what, what

587
00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:36,560
you mean.
But it's almost like an internal

588
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:38,360
dialogue, but it's someone else
speaking.

589
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:43,800
And it's, you could even hear
the difference in your, the

590
00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,360
cadence in your voice versus the
Holy Spirit's voice.

591
00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,800
Because I'm a naturally
excitable, excitable person.

592
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:55,320
So I speak with like passion and
typically very loud, but the

593
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:59,680
Holy Spirit was always the most
stillest voice inside of me and

594
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:01,680
I could hear him almost like a
whisper.

595
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,640
So that is how I would hear the
Holy Spirit speaking to me.

596
00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:09,160
But with the Holy Spirit
speaking to me, I always saw I

597
00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:14,240
could see images in my mind as
well and I've always been able

598
00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:16,840
to see images in my mind.
The minute I I heard the Holy

599
00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:19,920
Spirit tell me to start this
business, I can literally see

600
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,840
all the images of everything he
was saying to me in my head.

601
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,840
So it made it more like, and
it's not something I create.

602
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:31,400
I can't create those things.
It just would come in a vision.

603
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:36,320
But yeah, that's, that's how I
hear the Lord's voice.

604
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,880
But that prayer is very
effective, especially like in in

605
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:42,920
the beginning stages of my walk
with Christ of really tuning my

606
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:44,360
voice.
I would say that prayer

607
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:48,440
religiously every single time I
needed to hear the voice of the

608
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,480
Lord, still the sound of the
world, still the sign of

609
00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:53,680
yourself, and still the sound of
the enemy.

610
00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:57,400
And let your voice speak loud
and clear to me, and it just

611
00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,160
would come.
Yeah.

612
00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:05,880
Well, it also sounds like you
have some experience fasting

613
00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:09,360
because you mentioned that.
So tell us about that.

614
00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:15,240
Fasting is not fun.
I'm not going to lie.

615
00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:19,200
I love food.
I am a fruitie.

616
00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:25,120
So when when the Lord calls me
to fast, it is a true sacrifice

617
00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:26,840
for me.
Like it, It's not a joke.

618
00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:32,000
But one of the things that my
mentor that I told you about

619
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,760
earlier, she would tell me
religiously, she would say, hey,

620
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:40,440
Mimi, what you're going to be
doing is creating books that are

621
00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,240
going to free people and change
people's lives.

622
00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:46,000
And the enemy is not going to be
happy about that.

623
00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:48,920
So you need to get comfortable
with fasting.

624
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:51,960
You need to get better with it.
It needs to be part of your

625
00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:58,080
everyday life, almost like you
have it, a fasting day every

626
00:36:58,080 --> 00:37:02,840
week to ensure that you are
preparing yourself and building

627
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:07,520
your capacity.
So fasting has been in the very

628
00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:08,880
beginning was very difficult for
me.

629
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:11,560
I, I, I would tell the Lord, OK,
Lord, I'm going to fast for

630
00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,360
three days and I would break my
fast after an hour.

631
00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,640
I'll break my fast after a day
like it was bad.

632
00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:22,040
And I'll be like, I would go and
I would, I would get through a

633
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:25,160
whole day and I'll be like, OK,
it's time for me to go to bed.

634
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,880
And I would get so hungry and I
would be like, God, is it OK if

635
00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:31,120
I eat a banana?
And as soon as I put that

636
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:34,360
banana, if I'm out to eat, it
would open up the floodgates to

637
00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:38,520
me wanting to eat more.
So anyways, that is, it's a,

638
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:40,600
it's a, it's a muscle.
You got to build it.

639
00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:42,200
You know, it's not something you
do overnight.

640
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:48,120
So I, I asked the Holy Spirit
for grace and for the ability to

641
00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,240
help me through the fast.
But one time in particular, God

642
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:53,880
really wanted me to fast for
three days.

643
00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:58,560
And I just knew.
He told me he was like, I need

644
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:00,680
you to fast for three days.
That's what he said, I need you

645
00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:03,120
to fast for three days.
And I said, whoa, I've never

646
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,440
heard him actually say fast for
three days.

647
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,760
It's always been like my own
desire to want to fast.

648
00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:11,400
And I said, fine, you know, I'm
going to fast.

649
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:15,520
And for some reason, those three
days were the easiest 3 days of

650
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:18,640
my life.
I mean, fasting was so simple.

651
00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,080
And because it was spirit LED,
you know, and I, I would, you

652
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:25,160
know, when you fast, one of the
things that I, I really

653
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,000
encourage anyone who fast is
that the minute you get hungry,

654
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:32,480
obviously great, grab water and
drink, but you grab your Bible

655
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:35,480
if you are able to and start
reading because we're, we're

656
00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:38,240
living off of the daily bread,
you know, at that point.

657
00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:42,840
So read your Bible to, to be
able to fill yourself with some

658
00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:45,320
with, with the word of God.
So that's what I was doing for

659
00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:47,880
those three days.
And I didn't know what he wanted

660
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,840
me to fast for.
I just wanted to be obedient.

661
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,960
I would just ask the Holy Spirit
to lead my prayers because I had

662
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:57,120
no real understanding of where
it was going, just being

663
00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:01,400
obedient.
And after the third day of the

664
00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:04,720
fast, he said it was broken.
And I said what?

665
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:10,680
And then probably 6 or 7 hours
later, my brother calls me and

666
00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:12,960
he says I've given my life to
the Lord.

667
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:17,960
And I didn't know, you know, my
brother had been battling with,

668
00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:22,160
you know, addictions and all of
those things.

669
00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:27,080
And he's been our ongoing prayer
in our family for years, years.

670
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:31,720
And he told me he encountered
the Lord at the AT that that

671
00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:36,440
night and the he's decided to
give his life to the Lord and

672
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,760
the Holy Spirit confirmed in me
that was the reason why he

673
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:43,800
wanted me to fast.
So fasting is powerful.

674
00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:46,640
It is powerful.
I would say when you, when I

675
00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:50,320
talk about stealing the voices
in your head and in the world

676
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:55,440
and with the enemy, my God, when
you fast, they are automatically

677
00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:57,840
stilled.
All you hear is the Lord.

678
00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,120
All you get is downloads from
the Lord.

679
00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:02,800
You get you can you just It's so
clear.

680
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,800
The clarity of who he is and
what he wants you to know and

681
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:09,720
how you should move become so
much easier.

682
00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:14,440
And to be honest with you, now I
use fasting as a, a way to fight

683
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:17,840
back with the enemy because I
experienced a lot of warfare

684
00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,040
with the enemy when I first
started this business.

685
00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:25,160
And you know, once I knew the
power of fasting, I was like,

686
00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:30,680
oh, you're messing with me,
fasting for one day and keep

687
00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:32,800
messing with me.
I'm going to fast for two days

688
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:36,800
until you leave me alone.
And honestly, like nowadays, I'm

689
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:40,000
not, you know, God is good and
he's been for my protector.

690
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,400
But the warfare is not the way
it used to be because the enemy

691
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,080
knows not to mess with me
because I'm not messing.

692
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,240
I'm I'm going to give when he
fights me.

693
00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:51,720
I am going to fast when he
fights me.

694
00:40:51,720 --> 00:40:55,480
I am going to do everything the
opposite direction to what he

695
00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:59,160
expects me to do when he's
giving me, you know, grief or

696
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:03,200
problems in my life.
Wow, praise God.

697
00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:07,760
Amen.
We should not overlook what you

698
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:11,560
shared about your brother.
And the Spirit LED fast.

699
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:15,200
So praise be to God that that
occurred and that you were

700
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:20,240
obedient in all of that.
Truly like that is amazing.

701
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:30,120
That's absolutely amazing.
Wow, Mimi, Oh my gosh.

702
00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,000
There's, there's there's so much
here.

703
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:39,480
There's so much here.
OK.

704
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:47,680
Why be obedient and start the
business that, as you said, you

705
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:57,600
had no experience in?
A few reasons I would say the

706
00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:02,640
most important reason was at
that time and now you know, I, I

707
00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:08,880
genuinely love the Lord.
I know that my life would not be

708
00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:13,040
where it's at or where it would
have or honestly where it

709
00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,200
probably would have gone if I
had not given my life to the

710
00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:19,800
Lord.
But I just love him so much.

711
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:24,640
And when you love someone so
much, you just, you do things

712
00:42:24,640 --> 00:42:30,160
that may seem a bit crazy to
other people, you know, And my

713
00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:33,840
obedience, I know that through
my obedience, breakthroughs are

714
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:37,120
going to occur.
And I knew God had called me to

715
00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:39,680
creative ideas.
I had hoped it would have been

716
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:42,560
something that I felt well
experienced in.

717
00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:47,200
But I've realized over time that
God, you know, and I hear the

718
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:50,200
same all the time, but it's a
true saying that God qualifies

719
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:53,400
the cold, right?
And I think that through my

720
00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:57,680
obedience, God wanted to show
myself and the world that it's

721
00:42:57,680 --> 00:42:59,800
not me.
I didn't do this business.

722
00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:02,200
I didn't start this business.
This is the way I this could

723
00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:04,320
have happened.
It had to be him.

724
00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:08,240
And he made it so that it would
be impossible for me to say it

725
00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:10,680
wasn't me because it wasn't me,
it was him.

726
00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:14,720
So my obedience is because I've
chosen to surrender to God.

727
00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:17,720
Every day I make that decision
to surrender to God.

728
00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:21,560
And my obedience is a testament
to that.

729
00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:25,400
It is the reason why I
surrender.

730
00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:29,000
So they're they work hand in
hand, but they're most important

731
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:32,520
thing is choosing to surrender
requires obedience.

732
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:37,320
And I I believe that so much is
going to happen from this

733
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:41,080
business and more because of the
obedience that I've chosen to

734
00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:44,160
take.
Wow, thanks for breaking that

735
00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:46,400
down.
That's really good.

736
00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:55,320
So define for us what giving up
the family really meant with you

737
00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:58,600
and the Holy Spirit.
Yeah, that, that's good.

738
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:06,360
So old Mimi would have not
gotten, you know, those doors

739
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,040
would have closed right when I
was trying to look for another

740
00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:15,720
job and I would drop everything
and I would say, all right,

741
00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:19,280
well, if those doors close, I
will get this job and I will

742
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:20,960
work this job and work myself
up.

743
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:27,640
I would have went through hell
and high water to find another

744
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:30,680
source of income.
I would have put the business on

745
00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:35,640
the backboard burner just so I
could have Peace of Mind that at

746
00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:38,280
the end of the day we will still
have a roof over our head.

747
00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:42,280
You know all the bills are paid.
My family has food in their

748
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,640
stomach.
Not for my sake.

749
00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:46,920
Honestly, I could live on the
couch for the rest of my life in

750
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:48,720
someone's house and not make a
big deal out of it.

751
00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,160
I I'm I'm low maintenance in
that sense.

752
00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:55,200
But for my family's sake, it was
very important that I gave them

753
00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:59,080
the life that they deserved and
I didn't want my mistakes to be

754
00:44:59,080 --> 00:45:02,080
something that they ultimately
experienced.

755
00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:06,000
So I would have felt it
important and responsibility

756
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:07,800
upon myself to make sure they
had that.

757
00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:13,600
So the mindset of sacrificing my
family was understanding that

758
00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:19,320
I'm not going to go above and
beyond be past what the Lord has

759
00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:22,680
asked me to do to ensure my
family is good.

760
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:26,320
Because I've given my family to
you and because I've given my

761
00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:29,400
family to you, your
responsibility is to make sure

762
00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:32,280
that they are taken care of.
It is not my job anymore.

763
00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:35,520
So that's why I stopped when I
tried to look for jobs and it

764
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:36,920
didn't happen.
The Holy Spirit said, I just

765
00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:38,320
want you to focus on this
business.

766
00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:45,920
I just literally stopped.
And what is so crazy is that I,

767
00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:47,520
I used to pay all the bills in
the house.

768
00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:52,040
Like my mom lives with me now my
brother lives with me, my my son

769
00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:54,160
lives with me and all these
people live in this house.

770
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:56,720
It's a, it's a Ethiopian house.
It's a foreign house, right?

771
00:45:56,720 --> 00:46:00,400
We got a lot of people and
because I paid all the bills,

772
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:05,600
like they, you know, they made
whatever money they made is

773
00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:09,480
their money.
But once I lost my job, not only

774
00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:16,240
did my son like my son does day
trading, all of a sudden all

775
00:46:16,240 --> 00:46:18,960
this money just came out of
nowhere that he was making from

776
00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:22,360
day trading.
God was just blessing him, just

777
00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:25,960
opening up his eyes to identify
things that he would have never

778
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:27,120
saw.
And he's just like, it's so

779
00:46:27,120 --> 00:46:28,920
weird.
I, I look at trading so

780
00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:34,160
differently now, my mother
promotion upon promotion at her

781
00:46:34,160 --> 00:46:37,960
job where she's earning so much
more money than she's ever

782
00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:42,640
earned in our entire life.
You know, my brother, same

783
00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:46,480
situation making money.
So it's, I've been put in a

784
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:50,360
position where I don't even have
to take care of them because God

785
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:54,720
has blessed their life so much
that they're able to sustain on

786
00:46:54,720 --> 00:46:57,640
their own, which was necessary
ultimately, you know, for them

787
00:46:57,640 --> 00:46:59,240
to be able to sustain on their
own.

788
00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:02,200
But I was, I was blocking their
blessings.

789
00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:03,840
Let's be real.
That's what I was doing.

790
00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:07,160
I was the one that was trying to
save them when they didn't need

791
00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:08,800
to be saved.
The Lord had them the whole

792
00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:12,680
time.
So he wanted me to, he wanted to

793
00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:18,120
tie my hands back and say, let
me do this young child of mine.

794
00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:21,800
And I got this and he did.
He took care of them and in

795
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:23,720
turn, it has taken care of this
household.

796
00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:29,000
I I don't have to worry about
the finances of the home because

797
00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:32,360
they are taken care of.
So this home is taken care of.

798
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:36,000
Now I can focus on the business
and make that my priority.

799
00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:40,960
Praise God.
Yeah, That's great.

800
00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:44,920
That's so good.
Well, Mimi, did you write the

801
00:47:44,920 --> 00:47:48,920
book or did I should say, did
you publish the book that you

802
00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:50,680
wrote?
I did.

803
00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:54,560
I published a book.
It's called Testified Steps.

804
00:47:54,560 --> 00:47:58,720
And yeah, my pen name is Esther
Joy.

805
00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:01,400
At the time I was like, I don't
want to use my real name, but,

806
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:05,440
you know, now obviously I will.
But yeah, it's called Testify

807
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:10,080
Steps by Esther Joy.
And it's for the new Christian,

808
00:48:10,240 --> 00:48:14,480
for the new believer who has a
bunch of questions, even to tune

809
00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:17,920
your ear to the Holy Spirit.
These things that we may not

810
00:48:17,920 --> 00:48:22,360
have maybe mentors or ministers
that really take us under a wing

811
00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:24,600
and we're kind of figuring out
with the Holy Spirit.

812
00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:27,840
I dealt with that for the first
year of my with my relationship

813
00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:30,160
with the Lord and I journaled a
lot about it.

814
00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:34,040
And the Lord had me bring those
stories back in those situations

815
00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:37,360
back and put in a book and, you
know, have scripture and

816
00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:40,400
reflections to be able to help
the new believer.

817
00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:42,920
Yeah, very cool.
Yeah.

818
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:47,760
Well, Mimi, we browned these
conversations out with two

819
00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:51,400
questions and I got a pretty
good idea of how you're going to

820
00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:54,480
respond to the first one, but we
ask it anyway.

821
00:48:54,920 --> 00:49:00,520
And that is was everything that
you have described coincidence

822
00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:05,120
or God and this?
Of course it was God.

823
00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:10,760
Of course 100% is.
There's no way I take no credit

824
00:49:10,880 --> 00:49:13,400
for any of it.
God did it all it.

825
00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:16,040
It's all him.
Eat.

826
00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:23,200
Yeah, Well, how has your life
changed as a result of all of

827
00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:27,240
which you've described?
Would say in so many different

828
00:49:27,240 --> 00:49:29,400
ways.
First and foremost, I used to be

829
00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:33,760
a person that was filled with
anxiety of the future.

830
00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:38,000
You know, I was so fearful of
what's to come.

831
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:41,360
And that anxiety is completely
gone.

832
00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:46,680
Once you have that big oi, call
it the big O because it's that

833
00:49:46,680 --> 00:49:50,520
big obedience that changes the
trajectory of your life.

834
00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:54,120
There's always one time where
you'll experience that for a,

835
00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:57,320
for any believer, I promise you,
I have yet to meet one that

836
00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:01,000
hasn't experienced it.
But once you make that leap and

837
00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:04,840
you are obedient and your life
has changed and you continuously

838
00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:09,920
start seeing the Lord in so many
ways, you get to a point where

839
00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:13,560
you're like, I don't know what's
going to happen tomorrow, but

840
00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:18,560
I'm good.
Like God has taken me this far.

841
00:50:18,560 --> 00:50:20,240
He's only going to take me
further.

842
00:50:20,240 --> 00:50:23,480
Like you just, you build that
muscle and you just depend on

843
00:50:23,480 --> 00:50:27,640
him and you really look to him.
And you when things go bad, you

844
00:50:27,640 --> 00:50:29,760
kind of shake it off and you're
like, it's OK.

845
00:50:29,760 --> 00:50:31,680
Like God got it.
It's not my problem.

846
00:50:31,680 --> 00:50:33,200
It's God's problem.
He got it.

847
00:50:33,560 --> 00:50:40,720
So I no longer I've been freed
of anxiety, you know, but most

848
00:50:40,720 --> 00:50:44,080
importantly, I would say my
life, my, my relationship with

849
00:50:44,080 --> 00:50:50,080
the Lord has deepened my reach
for, you know, his people and

850
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:54,320
for those who are lost and
broken has expanded.

851
00:50:54,600 --> 00:51:00,320
And I just every day, every time
we publish a book in my mind, I

852
00:51:00,320 --> 00:51:04,360
just believe and know that that
book is going to change someone

853
00:51:04,360 --> 00:51:06,760
else's life.
And that gives me so much joy

854
00:51:06,760 --> 00:51:11,480
and so much peace that we're
creating legacies that will last

855
00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:14,440
beyond that person's, the
author's life.

856
00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:19,160
And that would change so many
people who actually get a hold

857
00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:21,720
of it.
And that to me is sort of my way

858
00:51:21,720 --> 00:51:25,680
of being an evangelist that I'm,
I'm being a part of that, you

859
00:51:25,680 --> 00:51:32,640
know, so through, through the
ability to, you know, ultimately

860
00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:35,640
start this business and all of
that stuff, I just see that the

861
00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:39,200
lives of people that we've
touched change businesses

862
00:51:39,200 --> 00:51:44,280
started ministries, started the
ability to speak at events,

863
00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:47,400
started through the extension of
so many people.

864
00:51:47,400 --> 00:51:50,760
And I just know that God has
been using me for that fact.

865
00:51:50,760 --> 00:51:55,320
So I'm, I'm just so excited and
so many other things that I just

866
00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:57,760
won't touch on right now, but so
many things have changed.

867
00:51:57,760 --> 00:52:01,480
But besides that.
Yeah, Thank you so much for

868
00:52:01,480 --> 00:52:05,480
sharing.
You use the phrase big Oi have

869
00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:10,520
not heard that before as in big
obedience.

870
00:52:10,520 --> 00:52:16,080
That is so, so neat and
essentially sort of the removal

871
00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:18,440
of anxiety that you were talking
about.

872
00:52:18,440 --> 00:52:20,760
And it sounds like the
replacement of joy.

873
00:52:20,760 --> 00:52:25,240
But one of the things that as
you were sharing about the Big O

874
00:52:25,920 --> 00:52:32,160
and the lack of anxiety you
talked about, I don't really

875
00:52:32,160 --> 00:52:34,600
have to worry about this because
I know God's got it.

876
00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:39,280
And it was recently shared with
me a phrase that goes something

877
00:52:39,280 --> 00:52:41,600
like this.
And it was basically, I can no

878
00:52:41,600 --> 00:52:45,680
longer doubt him because I know
too much about him.

879
00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:49,120
And I was like, that was my
reaction.

880
00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:51,880
I was like, put that on a bumper
sticker.

881
00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:57,920
That is good, you know, and man,
it's just, it's, it's so

882
00:52:57,920 --> 00:53:04,120
wonderful to hear you describe
God being glorified, you making

883
00:53:04,120 --> 00:53:08,760
the decision to be obedient and
then ultimately whether there

884
00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:12,240
was blessing in a sense or not,
because you've decided to be

885
00:53:12,240 --> 00:53:14,920
obedient, you've decided to be
obedient period.

886
00:53:15,680 --> 00:53:20,160
But God has blessed you with
freedom from the anxiety, the

887
00:53:20,160 --> 00:53:24,000
filling of joy and then as you
were describing as well, the

888
00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:30,200
legacy that the work that he has
put in you to do is is able to

889
00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:33,160
produce for others and
ultimately you as well because

890
00:53:33,160 --> 00:53:36,560
you did you know Ester joy or
not, you did put it out there

891
00:53:36,560 --> 00:53:41,000
even though you said I'm never
going to publish this so famous

892
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:45,400
last words right.
Maybe it's been a true pleasure

893
00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:49,520
having you on the when you look
show what a great conversation

894
00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:52,960
and an amazing story.
All glory be to God.

895
00:53:52,960 --> 00:53:56,920
Thank you, thank you, thank you
for being the show Chat soon it.

896
00:53:57,840 --> 00:53:59,560
Was a great, it was great being
on here.

897
00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:05,680
Thank you.
Well, there you have it.

898
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:10,800
Was it coincidence or God?
You decide for yourself, but I

899
00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:14,840
believe you just heard a story
for His glory.

900
00:54:15,720 --> 00:54:18,880
When You Look is powered by the
stories that guests share.

901
00:54:19,040 --> 00:54:22,080
So if you have a story to tell,
let us know by going to

902
00:54:22,080 --> 00:54:26,080
whenyoulook.com and click on Be
a Guest or click on the link in

903
00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:29,480
the description below.
Please subscribe to the channel.

904
00:54:29,680 --> 00:54:31,920
Like this video?
Tell us what you think in the

905
00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:35,800
comments and share it with
somebody that will be impacted

906
00:54:35,960 --> 00:54:39,000
by the story.
Thanks and God bless.