DERRICK Interview with Fitness Expert Damue Bagwell

Alive! With Damue is a dynamic new health and fitness DVD by Damue Bagwell designed to help maintain and lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels and diabetes. The fact is that these three problems affect millions of Americans today and although complication from these ailments can be prevented, most people do not know the simple steps to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, many others don’t take these steps until their health is already seriously compromised.

Damue discovered that he suffered from high blood pressure at the age of 18. He had an unhealthy diet of fried foods and foods containing high volumes of salt. Unaware that his diet and high blood pressure were a serious problem, his kidney function went down to 5%. With Damue’s kidneys functioning so poorly he was forced to undergo dialysis and later received a kidney transplant. As Damue explains, ”Getting a second chance with life I felt rejuvenated, but I didn’t see the same joy in others. I noticed that they were always complaining and had serious depression issues. My social workers would ask me to come to meetings to be an example for others to see that they could live a normal life with a transplant.

D is for Dream:

My dreams and goals are to help people with Diabetes and hypertension around the nation to prevent them from having a stroke or kidney failure.

E is for Education:

My education comes from may sources, school , and wise seniors, my major in school was biology.

R is for Resources:

My resource is my experience of going through kidney failure and exercises to prevent me from having high blood pressure and diabetes.

R is for Ready:

I knew I was ready when I had a dream from God Telling me to make a DVD to help people with health problems.

I is for Individual:

I the person I think people should know about is David Canas, this person is a attorney that helps people in the community with no income and have no representation.

C is for Challenges:

The biggest challenges I think I’ll have is having people enjoy doing the DVD 5 times a week to help their issues so they can have a longer life.

K is for Keys to Success:

The keys to success are to be patient, focus and never give up. Keep negative energy away from you and tell yourself everyday you will become what you are searching for.

Visit Damue for more information.

DERRICK Interview with 90 Days From Right Now Mychal Connolly

Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives a DERRICK Interview by asking 7 questions through each letter of his first name to give you an insightful perspective from other experts, entrepreneurs, celebrities and up and coming super stars.

Today’s DERRICK Interview is with Mychal Connolly the Co-Founder of the baby-gift company Stinky Cakes was named one of 100 Urban Entrepreneurs by it’s non profit TheCASHFLOW. After neglecting his health while building his brand Stinky Cakes, Connolly became diabetic, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol and this led Mychal to launch 90 Days From Right Now health & fitness challenge to help people stay in shape, lose weight and get the nutrition their bodies need.

D is for Dream. What is your dream, goals or what have you achieved?

My dream is to be the best at everything I do. As a youth they called me BUGS Best Until God’s Gift Stops and God’s gift is life. I also want Whoever is affiliated with me to be the best that they can be.  Help people become the best that they can be and I have seen that are numerous level and by being recognized. Once you put our your best everything comes into play and people begin to recognize you.  

E is for Encourage. What encourages you?

Having the ability to set a really great example for the kids especially the ones in the Urban environment. Urban communities are very diverse and I get to put my hands back and help others reach for their dreams by leaving a blueprint for them.  

R is for Resource. What resources do you bring to the table that makes you unique or stand out?

I think the fact that I launched my first company at the age of 9, it helps me so much because I understand what I wanted and needed when I was as a kid.  People are normally impressed with the things I do but I tell them all the time that the 9 year old and teenage version of me would be disappointed at the 30 year old version of me.  The thing that was missing was that I did not have a mentor but now that I went through it and have done so many things I can turn around now and mentor others.  My life experiences and things that I have been through mentally and emotionally as an entrepreneur makes me a valuable resource for someone who is willing to go through what it takes to become successful.

R is for Ready. When did you realize you were ready for what you are doing now?

I realized being in ICU that it is very important for me to be healthy because all the things I want to do or achieve can’t be done if I’m not healthy and even worse if I’m not around so when I launched the 90 Days From Right Now mission to help others get healthy I knew that was I needed to do. I knew that everything I had been through in the last 5 to 6 years put me in the space where I’m at now. 6 years ago I was 205 and I got up to 285 so I had not gained all the weight and became unhealthy I don’t think I would  empathize as much with someone in the same position that I was in.

I is for Individual. Name at least one person that you know that you feel others should learn about and why?

Entrepreneur Michael Kittredge was who the Founder of the Yankee Candle Company sold it for 500 million dollars. He always put his family and health first. He made money but did not put it first. He taught others how to manage and balance life.  

C is for Continue. When you fail, things look bleak or are not optimistic what makes you want to continue?

I want to continue because when most people quit they are right there at the top, right close to their goals. What keeps me going is that I have my supporters (wife, mother, stepfather wife, in-laws, and friends) that want to see me succeed so I have to keep going. I don’t want to give others that want to see me fail the satisfaction of being able to say hey look at him he tried it and he failed. I welcome people to throw the lemons at me because the people that care about my clients I have enjoy the lemonade, Italian ice, lemon water, lemon popsicles that we make with those lemons. You have to keep pushing one step and one day at a time.

K is for Keys. What keys to success can you leave for upcoming entrepreneurs and leaders?

Don’t feed your ego, feed your bank account. You either going to be cool or make money. Sometimes cool and making money does not go together. Do the things that it will take to be successful. Most people if they saw success walking down the street they would walk right by it and not give it a second look. They would not say hi to it .they would not embrace it or engage it in conversation. Success is boring looking, plain, simple looking, tedious, and it’s not attractive. Successful and non successful people have one similarity in that they hate to do what it takes to be successful it is just that  successful people do what it takes anyway. Also learn the power of leveraging, residual income, and the power of your network.

Is there anything that we did not touch on that you would like to inspire others with?

Read books like, Think and Grow Rich, 1O Inch Rule by Van Cardone, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and The Pumpkin Plan.

Visit Mychal Connolly for more information.

DERRICK Interview with Celebrity Trainer Christopher Sasha

Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes gives a DERRICK Interview by asking 7 questions through each letter of his first name to give you an insightful perspective from other experts, entrepreneurs, celebrities and up and coming super stars.

Today’s DERRICK Interview is with Celebrity Trainer Christopher Sasha who is a Chicago native and client of my good friend Beatrice Davis. Sasha as they call him is currently working on a program to help reverse diabetes where it helps you learn how to reduce or eliminate medications through a healthier lifestyle. For more information please contact Christopher Sasha.

D is for Dream. What is your dream or what would you will like to achieve?

I’m focused on helping people believe in themselves. At the age of eight, I was bounced around from foster home to foster home after my mother had died. It seemed as though every time I started to make new friends at the myriad of elementary schools I attended during those foster home years, it was time for me to pack my clothes and move to a different foster home – and a different elementary school. I began isolating myself from the other kids at the schools, locking myself in my bedroom at the foster homes, and despising my life.

I developed a dangerously low level of self-worth, self-respect, and confidence because I felt as though I didn’t belong anywhere. And through my adolescent and young adulthood years I nurtured a negative tape recorder in my head that repeatedly whispered to me that I was not good enough for love, friendship, happiness, or anything that bonds the human race together. That negative tape recorder in my head soon became my best friend, which led me to acting out my detrimental beliefs about myself. I was in a self-destructive mode for most of my life. Some artists use music and lyrics to get their anger out, some comedians use jokes to release their anger. Me? I used the heavy bag and weights at the gym as a way to get rid of some of my anger in life. The gym was my refuge. I felt calmer and more at peace within after physically torturing my body with insane workout sessions that sometimes lasted four hours.

Through the years, my workouts in the gym embedded in me discipline, hard work, setting goals and achieving them, pushing myself beyond what I thought were my own capabilities, and believing in myself. The gym taught me how to believe in myself. Exercise and proper nutrition can alter your body both inside and out. Oftentimes, an amazing thing happens when a person looks better and feels better about him/herself. A feeling of self-worth and confidence are usually not far behind.

E is for Encourage. What Encourages you?

I’m a sucker for the underdog. When an underdog becomes a victor, I get an adrenaline rush that reinforces me to keep moving forward with my own challenging endeavors. Whenever I feel like I can’t accomplish a goal that I set for myself, I watch the movie Rocky IV. Compared to Drago (Russian fighter), Rocky is miniscule. It’s very symbolic for me because I associate myself as the underdog Rocky going against the mammoth boxer, Drago. Every time Rocky gets knocked down, he gets back up – and eventually triumphs the fight. And that exemplifies what makes one successful in life. There will always be obstacles to overcome in anything you try to accomplish. The difference between success and failure is the acceptance to keep getting up and moving forward.

R is for Resource. What resources do you bring to the table that makes you unique or stand out?

My personal experiences and determination to be successful brings copious amounts of understanding with people who don’t believe in themselves. I’ve been in almost all walks of life from living in poverty-stricken governmental housing projects and jail to walking among financial giants. I’ve been emaciated and weak as well as borderline obese. I was basically illiterate at age 23 but turned that around when I put myself through prestigious DePaul University as an A-B student.

I was self-destructive most of my life because I had a negative belief that I was worthless and deserved misery. I changed that negative belief during the march I took to transform my physique. The transition from low self-esteem to self-confidence evolved through a sequence of baby steps. I can relate to peoples’ demons because I have lived with countless demons myself. I pushed myself and conquered my demons, and I can help others do the same.

R is for Ready. When did you realize you were ready for what you are doing now?

Are any of us really ready for anything we do? Most of the time when I am standing before a significant crossroad and worried about what will happen to me if I make the wrong decision, I am forced into a particular direction. One way or another, good or bad, a choice is made for me.

At age 13, for instance, my father and I got into a fistfight and he kicked me out of his home. I dreamt of the day I would leave long before that day but didn’t have the strength. Immediately after I saw the back door to his house close behind me, I knew in my heart that I wasn’t supposed to be there. And that somewhere there was a better place for me at that particular time in my life. That day was the first time I realized that I was a fighter. I learned that I’m much stronger than I perceive myself to be, and the best way for me to do anything of significance is to dive into it and trust that I’m going to be okay.

Am I ready to be doing what I’m doing now? I don’t know. But I do know that I have the focus and determination to succeed to help others transform their beliefs about their self-worth by transforming their physiques.

I is for Individual. Name at least one person that you know that you feel others should learn about, and why?

Alfred Jones. He was a friend who died several years ago. He came to America in the 1960s not knowing a word of English (except the word “okay”), less than $100, and a determination to live the American dream. He eventually owned a small empire of rental properties with a net worth of over $10 million. He was successful, happily married, and a grandfather to five grandchildren. He would always tell me, “If I could do it, you can do it!”

C is for Continue. When you fall, things look bleak or are not optimistic. What makes you want to continue?

This is an interesting question because I used to quit everything. If I didn’t succeed at something with the first try, I would quit. As I got older, I learned that the only way to success is through failure. The difference for me now than a few years ago is that I reflect on my failures so that I can learn from them. You’ve heard of Einstein’s definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I’ve learned to take different routes when I’m trying to reach a goal and fail. Sometimes I fail miserably many times for many years before I achieve my goal – it took me seven years to earn my finance degree from DePaul University. But I’ve acquired some powerful qualities during my troubled years. Embedded traits like determination, focus, perseverance, and discipline are what I apply when taking on laborious goals. I’m constantly reminded of the saying, “Quitters never win and winners never quit.”

K is for Keys. What keys to success can you leave for upcoming entrepreneurs and leaders?

Besides applying the facets I have already mentioned (discipline, focus, perseverance, and determination), I believe that one has to know WHY he/she wants to succeed in whatever it is he/she is trying to achieve. Willpower is not enough to get through obstacles that seem unattainable. Willpower is a great initial motivator. But it will slowly dissipate with each grueling obstacle that needs to be overcome. Knowing WHY the goal is important and truly believing in that reason will give tremendous strength to continue.

Also, VISUALIZE what it will be like when the goal is achieved. The greatest athletes utilize visualization before each game. Michael Jordan (regarded as the best basketball player of all time) used to visualize making the game winning shot in his mind hundreds of times before actually making the shot. Ask yourself… How will you emotionally feel when you accomplish the goal? What will others be saying when the goal is accomplished? How will you physically look when the goal is accomplished?

These answers will be compelling reasons to keep moving forward to attain the goal. Above all, you must believe in yourself! If you don’t believe in yourself, how could you believe you can succeed in anything?

Is there anything that we did not touch on that you would like to inspire others with?

I don’t believe in the word “Impossible.” I believe in the words “I’m Possible.” This world can be a dark, vile place. Believe me. I talk from first-hand experience. It can knock you down to the ground. And when it does, you have the choice to either let it keep you down or get up and keep moving forward. The only way to be happy and successful is to choose the latter.

Please support Christopher Sasha who is the Author of Transforming Your Lifestyle One Belief At a Time.