[00:00:47] Jamesia: Welcome to the Elevate Your Life podcast. I am so glad to have you here. And guys, we're gonna do something a little bit different today. I have a special guest here with me in the studio that's gonna help me have a conversation about my debut book entitled Courage to Conquer.
I'm so glad to have Miss Tanya Dixon. Hey, Tanya.
[00:01:10] Tonya Dixon: Hey, girl.
[00:01:12] Jamesia: How are you doing today?
[00:01:14] Tonya Dixon: You know I'm excited to be here.
[00:01:15] Jamesia: I'm so excited to have you here.
[00:01:17] Tonya Dixon: Yes.
[00:01:18] Jamesia: You know, it is such a full circle moment to have you here, and I know we'll talk a little bit more about that. So let's jump into this conversation.
[00:01:27] Tonya Dixon: Listen, when you asked me about, uh, coming and being on the podcast with you, I was excited.
[00:01:34] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:01:35] Tonya Dixon: But also, I was like, "Wow, so I'm interviewing the interviewer." Is that what, is that what we're doing? That's
[00:01:41] Jamesia: kind of the way it's working.
[00:01:42] Tonya Dixon: Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Just a little bit. Just a little bit. Yeah.
I'm excited for you. Yeah. I'm excited for what's going on in your life. Thank
[00:01:48] Jamesia: you.
[00:01:48] Tonya Dixon: Um, and you know, really what we're here for today-
[00:01:51] Jamesia: Yes ...
[00:01:51] Tonya Dixon: this, this outstanding, awesome book.
[00:01:54] Jamesia: Thank you.
[00:01:54] Tonya Dixon: Courage to Conquer.
[00:01:55] Jamesia: Yes, ma'am.
[00:01:56] Tonya Dixon: I mean, if you don't have it-
[00:01:58] Jamesia: Listen ...
[00:01:58] Tonya Dixon: go get this book.
[00:01:59] Jamesia: Go get
[00:02:00] Tonya Dixon: it. Okay? This is a out- We're gonna dive in.
Yes. We're gonna dive in, but I wanna start by saying this is an outstanding read.
[00:02:06] Jamesia: Thank you.
[00:02:07] Tonya Dixon: You know? Um, I do wanna start with where'd the idea come from? You know, where did the, even the thought to, "I wanna write a book." Yeah.
[00:02:18] Jamesia: Man, okay, so it's an interesting question. Mm. And
[00:02:20] Tonya Dixon: that
[00:02:20] Jamesia: has many layers. Mm-hmm.
Because this book, um, is actually inspired by a message that I preached some years ago-
[00:02:29] Tonya Dixon: Mm ...
[00:02:29] Jamesia: entitled Courage to Conquer. Um, you know, based off of the Book of Joshua. And when I preached that message, I think I was at such a pivotal point in my life, trying to figure some things out, some things weren't quite making sense.
Um, and just the response that I got from that message was, like, man. Right. It really inspired a lot of people to take the next step, to go from paralysis to possession of their promise, right? And so as a result, I kind of felt like God was calling me to do more with that message, 'cause as preachers, we preach things all the time, and then we're like, "Okay, well, you know, that assignment is complete."
But with this one, I still felt a tug- Mm-hmm ... that it was, like, something else I was supposed to do with this. And so after I prayed about it, I felt like the Lord said, "Turn it into a book."
[00:03:19] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:20] Jamesia: And I was like, "Mm, God, do I have enough to turn this into a book?" You know? Um, I was just looking at the manuscript of the message, but I wasn't looking at how much deeper I could go into this message as a whole.
And so when the Lord gave it to me, I was like, "Okay, God, I got a lot going on. How is this gonna work?"
[00:03:38] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:03:38] Jamesia: And then I was like, "Oh, I can get a ghostwriter." And so I was like, "Okay, who do I know that's a ghostwriter that I would actually trust to hand this manuscript over to and say, 'Hey, be led of the Lord, honey.
Map this out.'" And that's why I say it's such a full circle moment. It is. And there's no better person to have this conversation with other than you, because you were my ghostwriter- I was indeed ... when I first started trying to write this book, what? Five, maybe six years ago.
[00:04:06] Tonya Dixon: It was a while ago.
[00:04:07] Jamesia: Yeah, and I think before AI was as prominent as it is now, you know?
Like, no, we actually started writing this book. Mm. This wasn't a prompt we put into- Pen and paper. Pen and paper, huh? Making sure every comma was in the correct place. Right. So, um, yeah, so you really helped me lay the foundation for this book by just being able to take that manuscript and map it out for me in such a way that I would be able to come back and pick it up some years later and actually finish it.
[00:04:39] Tonya Dixon: Yeah. Yeah. And, and that is so amazing to me. Yeah. Um, to be here-
[00:04:42] Joe: Yeah ...
[00:04:43] Tonya Dixon: to see it in print.
[00:04:45] Joe: Yes,
[00:04:45] Tonya Dixon: ma'am. It's amazing to me, but not just because it's in print, because I know, um, the journey-
[00:04:52] Joe: Yeah ...
[00:04:52] Tonya Dixon: of it all. Yeah. And I know you say it started with a, a sermon.
[00:04:56] Joe: Mm-hmm.
[00:04:57] Tonya Dixon: Do you feel like it was, in addition to God saying, "Make it a book"- Yeah
"turn into a book," was he also... Were you preaching to yourself?
[00:05:04] Jamesia: Absolutely. I think- Yeah ... most preachers would tell you if they're being honest, most of their messages come from what they're going through in their own lives- Mm ... at that point in time. Um, you know, just because of vulnerability and not wanna be seen as weak or telling too much of our business is often, you know, cased in a sermon, in a message.
And a lot of times preachers will say, "I'm preaching to myself." Mm-hmm. I was absolutely preaching to myself. Yeah. You know? Because there were just so many things that I felt like the Lord had given me that I was holding back on for whatever reason, be it insecurity, be it, you know, "Oh, I'm not this person, I'm not that person.
Who's gonna support? Who's gonna fund? Who..." All of these questions, right, that we use to talk ourself out of things. Um, but I think there just came a point for me where regret was louder than the attempt to try.
[00:05:59] Tonya Dixon: Mm, that's good. You might wanna say that again.
[00:06:02] Jamesia: Yeah. There came a point for me where regret was louder than the attempt to try.
[00:06:07] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:06:07] Jamesia: And so I would much rather try something, and it may not succeed, or I may have to regroup or go at it another way, than have the constant thought of what if I had tried.
[00:06:18] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:06:19] Jamesia: You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And so I had just reached a point in my life where I was like, you know what? If God said the land is mine, if I just put my feet on it and possess it, I'm gonna trust God at his word, and I'ma try it.
[00:06:31] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:06:32] Jamesia: So I tried it.
[00:06:32] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:06:33] Jamesia: So I started doing different things. I started launching out. I started, you know, putting my feet on it. I started like, "Okay, God, what does this look like?" Right? I'm, I'ma knock on this door. Mm-hmm. It may open, it may not open. It may, it may crack. I may have to go back and kick it down, but I'm at least gonna try.
And I think that really- launched me into where I am now. Mm-hmm. I think some people look at, you know, my life, where I am, things that I've done, and like, "Oh, you're doing such amazing things." Y'all don't know, like, I'm half the time trembling when I'm doing it. Right. You know what I'm saying? Like, courage is not the absence of fear.
[00:07:09] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:07:10] Jamesia: Like, courage- Yeah ... is trusting God enough to say, "Even though I'm afraid, I trust you more."
[00:07:15] Tonya Dixon: Yeah. "
[00:07:15] Jamesia: So I'ma go for it." And so that's just what I've decided to do with my life. I'm just gonna go for it.
[00:07:19] Tonya Dixon: I think there's a, um, I remember a, a part in the book where you said, "Courage doesn't always feel like courage," and I thought that was really profound.
[00:07:28] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:07:28] Tonya Dixon: Because when you think about it- Uh-huh ... from that context- Yeah ... when you think about the definition of courage- Mm-hmm ... when you're in the midst of courage, it doesn't feel like you're being courageous at all. Not
[00:07:38] Jamesia: at all. Not at all. And I think we think courage is some big, grandiose thing- Mm-hmm ... that we have to do every single day.
Like, oh, this, it has to be massive, and I gotta kick this down and knock this over. And to me, courage is just not allowing fear to make your daily decisions.
[00:07:56] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:07:56] Jamesia: Like, it's really simple to me. So I'm like, as you start making courageous steps every day, they mount up to something much bigger.
[00:08:04] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:08:05] Jamesia: And that's the thing that I want people to realize.
Like, you can be afraid and still be courageous.
[00:08:12] Tonya Dixon: That's right.
[00:08:12] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:08:13] Tonya Dixon: That's right.
[00:08:13] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:08:13] Tonya Dixon: You know, even in the, um... I wanna take a step back. Okay. Uh, in the book, you discuss, really it's about Joshua. Mm. There's a, there is a line- Absolutely ... or a thread- Uh-huh ... throughout the whole book-
[00:08:26] Jamesia: Yeah ...
[00:08:26] Tonya Dixon: where you talk about, um- Mm-hmm
Joshua and the children of Ish, Israel-
[00:08:31] Jamesia: Mm-hmm ...
[00:08:31] Tonya Dixon: possessing the land. Yeah. The Promised Land. Yeah. And what that looked like to them. Huh. You know? Right. Um, and from, when you really dive down into it- It looks extremely scary- Yeah ... from their perspective.
[00:08:46] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:08:46] Tonya Dixon: Because Moses was dead.
[00:08:48] Jamesia: Uh-huh.
[00:08:49] Tonya Dixon: They had already been circling the wilderness for forever.
[00:08:52] Jamesia: Right.
[00:08:52] Tonya Dixon: And then God says, "That's yours and you can have it."
[00:08:55] Jamesia: Uh-huh.
[00:08:56] Tonya Dixon: And they're supposed to just take it, when there are people who have already possessed the land that God- Yeah ... says is yours. Yeah. But he said it's yours. Yeah. So talk about what it looks like when God said, "It's mine."
[00:09:08] Joe: Mm-hmm.
[00:09:08] Tonya Dixon: And he told Joshua, uh, you even talk about repetition.
[00:09:12] Joe: Yeah.
[00:09:12] Tonya Dixon: Yeah, yeah. He tell- tells Joshua three times. Yep. "Be strong and of good, good courage." Uh-huh. "Be strong." Yeah. "Fear not." You know, all of that. Talk about what it looks like, what courage looks like from that context, from that perspective. Yeah. You heard God.
[00:09:24] Jamesia: Right. Right, right. No, that is such- It doesn't look, it doesn't look right
oh, my God. That is such a good question, such a great conversation piece. So what we have to realize is, yeah, God gave them the land, told them they can go and possess it, but guess what? There were giants over there.
[00:09:40] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:09:41] Jamesia: And so many of us are looking at our daily struggles, our dreams, our goals, and we're seeing them as giants.
But even in that, he said, Joshua and Caleb, right? Excellent spirit. They said, "Yeah, there are giants over there, but guess what? We're more than able."
[00:09:57] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:09:58] Jamesia: We are still able, not because we're so great and not because we're so wonderful, but because we have a promise from the Lord.
[00:10:05] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:10:06] Jamesia: See, so many people, it's not that we're missing promise, we're missing movement.
That just blessed me. Whoo. Whoo. My God. That just blessed me. It's not that we're missing promise- Mm ... we're missing movement. We're not moving toward what God said. Mm-hmm. Had they not even moved toward what God said, they would not have even known that there were giants over there, right? But- If you continue to look at, look at that text and look at that story, that whole generation had to die out before they could even go in- That's true
and possess it. So a lot of times we have to look at, dang, who do we have around us that's speaking death over the very thing that God said we can have? Mm. And then being willing enough to be an outsider that says, "I don't care what y'all say. God said I can do it. If God said we can have it, I'ma get it."
[00:10:56] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:10:56] Jamesia: Now, you might miss out.
[00:10:58] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:10:58] Jamesia: I'm gonna get it. You know what I'm saying? So I think that's one of the things that we have to realize, and I think, too, in this day of social media and being so exposed to people's lives, we see other people doing these things that look so big, so great. They look like giants.
Like, wow, how are they able to do that? They must have this. They must have that. Oh, it's because they come from that family, or because they have those resources, or because they have those connections. Not realizing, like, hey, if God told you you can have something as well, why would you think that God telling you you can have it is not enough?
Mm-hmm. Like, who's bigger than God?
[00:11:37] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:11:37] Jamesia: You know what I'm saying? Like, who, who is more resourceful than God?
[00:11:42] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:11:42] Jamesia: So if God is your backup, if God is your source, that's all that you need. So yeah, there are giants over there. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. I'm not saying you're just gonna go and walk in, and bam, prop your feet up and you're good.
But even if there are giants, you're well able.
[00:11:58] Tonya Dixon: And I, I think a lot of times we see the giants. Uh-huh. We see somebody's already inhabiting- Yeah ... inhabiting that.
[00:12:05] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:12:06] Tonya Dixon: That, so how can it be- Maybe I'd admit, how can it be mine? How can it be mine? Mm-hmm. I, I love that in the book-
[00:12:11] Jamesia: Yeah,
[00:12:11] Tonya Dixon: yeah ... where you really talk about, well, if someone's already there, it cannot be mine.
Mm-hmm. If someone's already written the book-
[00:12:17] Jamesia: Yeah ...
[00:12:18] Tonya Dixon: if someone has already launched the business- Uh-huh ... it can't be for me. Yeah. I love that, and I think that's a good place to talk about the, how you can be crea- courageous- Mm-hmm ... in the midst of fear. Sure. 'Cause you, you talk about that a lot- Yeah ... in the book.
Yeah. And what that looks like.
[00:12:32] Jamesia: Mm-hmm.
[00:12:33] Tonya Dixon: Um, that movement that you just mentioned.
[00:12:36] Jamesia: Yes.
[00:12:36] Tonya Dixon: Because that's scary.
[00:12:38] Jamesia: It is scary, 'cause I'm like, how do you, how do you look at giants, right, and say, "Okay, well, if God said I can have it, what does that look like?" Mm-hmm. How do I make that practical? I think you make that practical by, number one, going back to the source.
Okay, God, if you said I can have it, it's already occupied, so what do I need to do in order to possess what you promised me? 'Cause listen, the Bible even talks about how the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just, right?
[00:13:06] Tonya Dixon: It does.
[00:13:06] Jamesia: So it goes to tell us, okay, somebody else can have something that may actually still belong to us.
Mm-hmm. Just because they have it does not mean it belongs to them. There's a difference between somebody having something and something belonging to you. Right. That land belonged to them. Just because it was occupied didn't mean they couldn't have it. So okay, so how do we possess that? I think first you have to identify, all right, God, it's a lot going on over there, but you told me I could have it.
So what are the steps? Like, what is it that I need to do in order to position myself to possess what you said I could have? Mm-hmm. One thing that I really love about that text is that before God even tells them to go in and possess it and you can have it, he says, "Listen, Moses is dead." He told him. He said-
[00:13:55] Tonya Dixon: Point blank,
[00:13:56] Jamesia: period
Moses, Moses is dead. Yes. All right? So the leader, what you're accustomed to, the way you thought it was gonna look, that's already gone. So you can't base what God is calling you into based off of what was.
[00:14:09] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:14:10] Jamesia: And guess what? He didn't even necessarily give Joshua a A, B, C, D plan. He gave him his presence.
Mm-hmm. He says, "As I was with Moses, so I'll be with you." So when you start looking at the presence of God being your strategy, the presence of God being your plan, it's really taking that day by day step and just being obedient to the next thing that God told you.
[00:14:32] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:14:33] Jamesia: We would love, I know I would, I would love if God sat me down and said, "Okay, this is how this is gonna work.
This is what I'm calling you to do. You gonna go look, it's gonna be giants over there, but I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that. Then we gonna do this, then we gonna hop over here, then we gonna move like this." I, you know, maybe- Showing
[00:14:48] Tonya Dixon: you everything ...
[00:14:49] Jamesia: showing you everything. Maybe God works like that with some folk.
He don't work like that with me.
[00:14:54] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:14:55] Jamesia: He's like, "Just be obedient to the next thing that I'm telling you to do." Mm-hmm. "And when you be obedient to that thing, then I'll show you the next thing."
[00:15:02] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:15:03] Jamesia: And that's the part, I think, that keeps us in paralysis.
[00:15:06] Tonya Dixon: Oh, that's hard for a lot of
[00:15:07] Jamesia: us. Absolutely. Yes. We don't know how it's gonna work out, but when has God ever failed you?
[00:15:12] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:15:12] Jamesia: You understand what I'm saying?
[00:15:13] Tonya Dixon: Like when- Yeah, as they say, we wanna see the whole staircase. We don't want to see just the next step.
[00:15:18] Jamesia: Yeah,
[00:15:18] Tonya Dixon: yeah. Because what if, what if there's nothing after that next step?
[00:15:21] Jamesia: Yep.
[00:15:22] Tonya Dixon: You know? Yeah. And then not only is it fearful, but it is, can be slightly, "I'm, I, I'm embarrassed if I don't, if this doesn't work out."
[00:15:30] Jamesia: That's
[00:15:30] Tonya Dixon: real. That's real. You
know?
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[00:15:50] Tonya Dixon: I wanna talk about how, you know, we talked about movement. Uh-huh. We talked about stepping out.
[00:15:54] Jamesia: Mm-hmm.
[00:15:54] Tonya Dixon: You, you, in your life, you have done so j- in your adult life-
[00:15:58] Jamesia: Yeah ...
[00:15:58] Tonya Dixon: you've made some major moves. You
[00:16:00] Jamesia: think so?
[00:16:00] Tonya Dixon: Yeah, I know you have.
[00:16:01] Jamesia: Aw.
[00:16:02] Tonya Dixon: I know
[00:16:02] Jamesia: you- I appreciate that. I appreciate that
[00:16:03] Tonya Dixon: you know, um, even in the book- Yeah ... you talk about, um, moving to Atlanta.
[00:16:07] Jamesia: Girl.
[00:16:08] Tonya Dixon: And, you know, that was a big move.
[00:16:10] Jamesia: It was.
[00:16:11] Tonya Dixon: Um- It
[00:16:11] Jamesia: was,
[00:16:12] Tonya Dixon: yeah ... but you didn't have it all mapped out. Not at all. Talk about that in the, in the context of the courage it took.
[00:16:17] Jamesia: Yeah. So it's funny how God will give you a message that you feel like, "Okay, I'm currently living," and then also it is a preview to what you're about to walk into, right?
Mm-hmm. So it was both for me. It wasn't either or, it was both and. I'm currently in it, and this is a preview, right? Mm-hmm. So me packing up to move to Atlanta was very courageous for me because I don't really have any family in Atlanta. I didn't know anybody in Atlanta. Even the role that I stepped into, although I went to school for it, I wasn't currently in that role where I was working.
Yeah. So it was like everything was new. This was really me going in to possess something completely new- Yeah ... that looked completely different. So even in that, just packing up and going was courageous. Mm-hmm. Right? Um, I was fearful. I'm not gonna act like I wasn't, but I'm like, "Mm, no, I feel like the Lord has really called me to this," right?
[00:17:13] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:17:14] Jamesia: And so I get to Atlanta. I find myself in, in rooms with politicians, with celebrities, with singers that I've seen on TV, and I am expected to lead them and to guide them in the sense of media and interviews and how to conduct themselves. And I'm like, "Oh, wow. How did, how did this-" "... little girl from Laurinburg end up here?"
Right. You know?
[00:17:39] Tonya Dixon: It's a lot of pressure.
[00:17:39] Jamesia: It was a lot of pressure, right? Yeah. And so even in that, I would always say, "Okay, God-" I don't know what I'm doing. I do not know what I'm doing. I didn't necessarily have a blueprint, but I'm like, "God, I trust you," right? Mm-hmm. "So I am opening myself up to your leading, your direction, your wisdom, for you to guide me through these situations.
Give me the words to say."
[00:18:01] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm. "
[00:18:01] Jamesia: Give me favor with you and with man," right? And he did.
[00:18:06] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:06] Jamesia: And so those opportunities, like the more I did it, the more courageous I became. And I think that's the thing about courage. The more you do it, and the more you watch God be God and do what he said he was gonna do- Yeah
I'm like, "Oh. Oh, okay, God. Okay, God. I see-" "... what you're doing. I like that. You're doing your big way," you know? And so I think that's what I started to see within myself like, "Okay, God, you really do know what you been talking about." Yeah, yeah. "You know
[00:18:31] Tonya Dixon: what you're doing," you know? And- And you have v- you add value.
[00:18:32] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:18:33] Tonya Dixon: Where he places you, you have... You add value. Um, there is no imposter syndrome, not when he is leading you. Yeah. Not when he is directing you.
[00:18:41] Joe: Yeah.
[00:18:41] Tonya Dixon: You know? So- Yeah ... I'm sure there was a level of intimidation.
[00:18:45] Jamesia: Absolutely. Let me tell you something. I-- as great of an opportunity as Atlanta was, it was a great door-
[00:18:52] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm
[00:18:52] Jamesia: but also with opposition. I came up against a lot.
[00:18:56] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:56] Jamesia: It was giants over there.
[00:18:58] Tonya Dixon: Oh. Now how did that make you feel in relation to this courage- Yeah ... that we talk about? Yeah. That you talk about in this book.
[00:19:06] Jamesia: Yeah. Man, how did that make me feel? Um, at moments, I really felt overwhelmed. Mm. I had so many, um, I think emotional breakdowns that I just never even talked about because it was this sense of embarrassment-
[00:19:21] Tonya Dixon: Mm
[00:19:21] Jamesia: to some degree, right? Mm-hmm. It was this sense of, "God, did I miss you?" Like, how could you pack me up from a place where I was stable, people knew who I was, you know, I think ministry was, was progressive and growing, to bring me to a place where disliked by quite a few people- Mm-hmm ... for various reasons Yes.
You know, and just having to combat a lot of things. It was really my, I say, backside of the mountain season.
[00:19:52] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:19:52] Jamesia: But it was simultaneously a good season, and that's, I think that's the irony of it all. Like, you can be in one of the greatest seasons of your life but still have to face some giants.
[00:20:01] Tonya Dixon: Right.
[00:20:02] Jamesia: But even in that, God still showed himself to be mighty and strong, right? Because the very things that came up against me, they didn't succeed.
[00:20:10] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm
[00:20:11] Jamesia: You know, it just taught me how to pray more. It taught me how to lean on God more. I didn't have somebody right up the street that I could call and say, you know, "Come hang out with me.
I'm having a bad day." Yeah. It was, "Oh, my God," like, "I've gotta figure this out." Right. Like, me and God have to figure this thing out. And so that's what we did. Um, and it just really, I think, fortified my relationship with God even more, and puts me in a position to be able to tell people, like, no, it's... It might be difficult, but you can be courageous in that.
[00:20:39] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:20:39] Jamesia: And so that's what I want people to understand, like, don't just sit back and continuously let your life pass you by year after year, you know? Like, we see people... You know, we're coming up on, on the time where people wanna do vision boards and planning and all this stuff.
[00:20:53] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:20:54] Jamesia: How many years has the same thing been on your vision board?
Right. You understand what I'm saying? Yeah. Like, at some point you've gotta start making those steps. Yes. You've gotta move past paralysis to start possessing what God has told you. Mm. 'Cause time is quick. It is. Mm. Like, the Bible even talks about, you know, how life is but a vapor.
[00:21:15] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:16] Jamesia: And that's... As I'm getting older, I'm realizing my parents always used to say, "The older you get, the quicker time is gonna go."
No, it's not. Yes, it is. All right. Time
[00:21:24] Tonya Dixon: is filled with swift, swift
[00:21:25] Jamesia: transitions. Yes, it is. Okay. Like, it is going by fast. Yes. So I'm like, man, like Jamesisa, you gotta get some stuff done.
[00:21:32] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:21:33] Jamesia: So, yeah.
[00:21:34] Tonya Dixon: You know, you just mentioned we do vision boards. Honey, we will write things, we will journal, and there's nothing wrong with those things. Nothing
[00:21:41] Jamesia: whatsoever.
[00:21:42] Tonya Dixon: It's nothing wrong with it. Those things are good.
Yeah. They, they provide a sense of, um, I don't know, they, they help us internally. They do. You know? Yeah. But at, there comes a point- Mm-hmm ... where you actually have to move.
[00:21:53] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:21:53] Tonya Dixon: You actually have to do something.
[00:21:55] Jamesia: Right. Right.
[00:21:57] Tonya Dixon: Tell me about what that means for you. Yeah. What that, what that has meant for you.
Yeah. Because I know some things in your life personally, um, after Atlanta, you know? Uh-huh. How you- Uh-huh ... uh, where you went next. Yeah. But it came through you taking a leap of faith.
[00:22:11] Jamesia: Absolutely. Yeah, so I, one of the, um, last cohorts that I did with a mentoring group was called From Excuses to Execution, and we focused exactly on that.
Mm-hmm. Because a lot of people, especially high-achieving women, which is the pr- you know, the largest, um, base to my audience, we're phenomenal at making plans. We are phenomenal at writing things down. We got more journals, vision boards, you know- ... pictures. Yes. Notes in our phones that we can't even keep up with.
But the same thing happens to us time and time again. We have all of these ideas, but it's like, dang, how do I make it happen?
[00:22:49] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:49] Jamesia: Right? And then people are inundated with, you know, full-time jobs or being wives or being mothers or being caregivers to aging parents, or just whatever it is that they're doing from a day-to-day basis.
So one of the things that has helped me tremendously is just every day I just give myself, just do one thing, Jamecia.
[00:23:08] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm.
[00:23:09] Jamesia: Just one thing. You don't have to do all the things today. Just do one. And so that's been my focus. That's been able to help me get things done. Mm-hmm. Right? So every day, you know, I work, I work at an amazing place.
I have an amazing job. I love what I do. But every day when I come home, I shift into, all right, it's time to, you know, it's time to make some other things shake, right? So that day- For you ... for me.
[00:23:31] Tonya Dixon: What you need to do.
[00:23:32] Jamesia: Yeah.
[00:23:32] Tonya Dixon: Yes.
[00:23:33] Jamesia: What I need to do. So I, I do. I have a list. Okay, so this is what I wanna do. This is the goal for the next three months.
So now let me break down those goals into everything that I need to do over the next couple of weeks to make this happen in the next three months. Mm-hmm. Okay, so now let me break down this weekly goal into a daily goal. So one day it might be just send the email.
[00:23:52] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm
[00:23:53] Jamesia: Just send the email. That's all you gotta do today, just send the email.
The next day it might be, "Okay, I need to look up how, what, what I need to do in order to accomplish this." Right. So let's say for instance, okay, even with writing my book, every day once the book was written, I was like, "I need it to go through and edit." So every day I just focused on two pages. Just focus on two pages.
Mm-hmm. Tiny steps. Just do the two pages today.
[00:24:16] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:24:16] Jamesia: Break it down.
[00:24:17] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm. '
[00:24:18] Jamesia: Cause when we don't, that's where we get overwhelmed. When you're looking at a list that's got six, seven, eight, nine, 10 things on top of a full-time job- Right ... or things you have to do for kids, or things you have to do for a husband, or, you know, whatever the case may be.
Go to the grocery store, meal prep, go work out, all the things we gotta do.
[00:24:36] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:24:36] Jamesia: It's overwhelming. But if you just give yourself just one task to do that day-
[00:24:42] Tonya Dixon: Mm-hmm ...
[00:24:43] Jamesia: just do that one task, and that's a win.
[00:24:45] Tonya Dixon: I love
[00:24:45] Jamesia: that. Because by the time you get to the end of the week, even if you just do the five... Even if you just do Monday through Friday, by the end of the week, that's five things.
So you've, you've moved the needle.
[00:24:54] Tonya Dixon: Yeah.
[00:24:55] Jamesia: Right? You've moved the needle, and that's the key. Move the needle every day.
[00:25:00] Tonya Dixon: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's, that's hard, difficult for a lot of us. Yeah. As you mentioned, high-achieving women-
[00:25:05] Jamesia: Yes,
[00:25:05] Tonya Dixon: yes, yes ... who feel like we have to write the book in, in a day. You know? We feel like we have to write the book.
We go back- Yeah ... and get the doctorate. Uh-huh. You know, we do all of these- Uh-huh, uh-huh ... start the business, and it all has to be done within a week. Absolutely. You know? That's really hard for, for a lot of us.
[00:25:18] Speaker 3: And that's a wrap on this episode of Elevate Your Life. If you loved today's conversation, be sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps more high-achieving women like you find the show. Follow us on social media @ElevateWithJE and elevatewithje.com for more faith-driven insights and leadership strategies.
Thanks for tuning in. Until next time, keep elevating.
