Unlocking Your Inner Power: A Transformative Conversation with Marcus Black

You are now tuning in to discover your potential with Radio Talk Show host Dan Gilman. So listen, participate, be inspired, know that you can discover your potential. Here he is, Dan Gilman. It seems so simple at first. From the time that you were born and your parents saw that very first twinkle in your eye, you were filled with dreams and imagination with all of the endless possibilities of who and what you would become in your life. But somewhere along the way, you lost control. And now you find yourself merely existing. A sleep at the wheel going through the motions day after day after day, desperately doing everything in your power to shake the massive void that you fill in your heart. You see somewhere along the way between your childhood and this very moment, your dreams begin to wither and fade away into distant memories because someone told you that you aren't good enough, you aren't smart enough, you don't have what it takes, you're too big, you're too small, you're a failure, you're a mistake, and you bought the lives they told. I noticed because I bought them too. You may even have days where you begin to question your very purpose and reason for being on the planet. Oh, but if that's you then I'm here to tell you it's time for you to wake up. If you woke up today and warm blood runs through your veins and the breath of life feels your lungs, you never need to question your purpose again. It's time for you to shake the lives they told you once and for all. See, you were handcrafted by the Almighty and you are enough, you are good enough, you are strong enough and capable of becoming anything you aspire to be. The life may have given you lemons and almost became too much to bear, but notice I said all most, life through its best shots at you, but you're still standing and now it's time for you to rise up and step into the life of passion and purpose that you were created for. From this very moment no more taking your life for granted, no more going through the motions, no more negative self-top, no more, your life matters in every single second you spend above ground on this earth is an opportunity to make the most of it and build the life you always wanted. Sherry's every moment of your precious life because it is a tremendous gift. It's time for you to take back control of your life. It's time for you to take back. I'm calling it out of you right now. I'm tearing you to leave all your words, doubts, fears and the rearview mirror and stepping to the life of greatness that you were created for. My biggest goal in passion is simply this. I want you to truly live and not just be alive and I don't want you to live life, but I want you to love life. Hello everyone. Welcome to Discover Your Potential. I'm your host, Aunt Gilman. And I really have a very extraordinary and special guest today. His name is Marcus Black and he is a, a, a, actually a former pastor, really interesting and he's a traveling inspirational speaker, life coach and host of the Vialize podcast. Hi Marcus, it's so good to see you. Thank you so much for joining Discover Your Potential. Hello, hello, hello my brother, my friend, all you incredible individuals who are listening to the sound of our voices. I am excited, elated, ecstatic and all the other e-words you could potentially think of to be here in your presence today. Well, that's great. It's an honor. I had a, so I just wanted to start kind of introduce you. I know you're, you're a motivational speaker, inspirational speaker, life coach. And also you have a podcast too, but I'd love to talk about who you are, you know, what, what you're doing. And then I'd love to get into, you know, your, your past, your history and what inspired you. And I know something traumatic happened with you at, at age of 18, but I'd love to have the audience here about your, your life and how that's, you know, affected you. Man, absolutely, absolutely. So I, I'm a person that comes from humble beginnings. Into the day, my family, I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, raised in Mississippi in the heart, deep in the heart of the South. And so I'm a Southern boy, by nature, that's who I am. And my family were hard workers. They were, they did the best they could. They were trying to fight a lot of different things culturally to try to break some generational curses of poverty and different things and my dad, man, that's kind of where my story starts, man, he, he had a lot of things that he was struggling with internally. And within those things that he was struggling with, I actually caused him to turn to start making some decisions to try to feel a void that he had in his heart and his soul. And you guys know as well as I, when you start to feel your heart and your soul trying to feel the void with destructive things, it only leads to destruction. So you turn to alcohol and gambling it. Some of the these things that had some addictions and that is where my story begins. It's a young kid. I saw I got new they were fighting, but I didn't understand and there was anger. And then there was a verbal abuse as a part of my story that I always felt like I was walking on eggshells and then I start to really have some difficulties because I started struggling with crippling anxiety over the fear of death and dying and what is really life anyway. And that was like, it was just like a cycle of chaos, trauma. Now don't get me wrong. Like I had loving moments like it wasn't all bad, all dark, nothing is right. No human being is all good or all bad. We all have a little bit of both. That's where my story begins, but it was a significant moment where I was turned 18 as Dan to share with you guys. And I had an accident, a dance with death. So to speak where my car literally fast and furious style flew off of a highway, a elevated highway, nearing a bridge and car flies down literally 30 feet into this massive ditch. The car is spinning. It's like trees are slapping me in my face. Glasses shattering everywhere. My head is shaking back and forth before boom, we hit a massive tree at 75 miles per hour at that impact. I can think of a million in one ways I could have should have would have been dead. I'm not supposed to be here. I am living on borrowed time. That was an experience that was shaped the rest of my life and my trajectory moving forward for a very long time. It shaped me because it was a wake up call. It let me know that all this time you spent worrying about that which you cannot control. All this time you spent worrying about fear of death and dying. Guess what? It's inevitable. You have no control over that but you almost just lost your life without ever having lived because you allow fear to dictate what's going on with you. And so I use that experience to wake up to the world around me and be more aware of the gift that is life. That was, that was everything. That's the symbol. You guys can't all see it. But on my head I wear a heart with the vital sign of life inside of it. It just means living love is what it's all about. Are you living every single day and are you experiencing and practicing love? No, that's extraordinary. That must have been quite scary as you're flying through the year. I can't imagine what you were thinking at that point. I'd love to hear more about your programs and your inspiration and your speaking life in your life coach. And no people would be very interested in hearing more about that. Yeah, man. So it's funny. I never really wanted to get into speaking. I didn't choose that it chose me. I ran from it. Oh my goodness. I failed public speaking in college. It's like, what how is this guy? Who are you to get up on the stage and think you can impact and inspire someone. But all I am is a person with a big heart and a lot of conviction and I communicate that if you guys cannot tell already. That's just something that I do. So what happened was I was kind of in this 10 year journey. So I had that experience of the accident, but it didn't just change over night. It was like 10 years of trying to figure out, but what is it for? What am I supposed to do? What how do I leverage my experiences and my pain and turn that into purpose? I didn't know I was fighting to to the nail claw. And I mean, I was just trying to figure it out before I got to this point that I was hired actually by a church, a big church. And so I didn't go to school for that. I went to school for like psychology, family studies, family systems. That was my thing. But this church hired me and I didn't understand because I was like, man, I don't have all these credentials and all of this fancy stuff. And it was a big church doing major things. And they said, you have the only credentials you need. And that's a heart for God and his people. I was like, I know that blew me away. And so that that's how I got into speaking because they were like the first week. They're like, all right, now we start your stage training. I was like, oh, no, there's no stage. I don't do stage. And they're like, you do. And I was like, I don't. They're like, you will. And I was like, I want and they're like, you want the job? I was like, huh. So they put me in an uncomfortable position of learning to leverage words to impact and move people. And it was to the nail. It was a fight for years before I eventually stopped running and just started to embrace the gift and the calling. And Adelaide met some crazy things and some doors opening. And then when the things started stirring in my heart, I was supposed to do something different. I wound up walking out of that. And I wound up going and saying, all right, I'm out to go, Ali. And I feel like there's a lot of people in the world who are hurting right now, who need love, who need support, who need care, who need hope. And I'm going to be the one to go and give it to him. Whatever that looks like, I'm going to express every opportunity to give hope and love and life to the world. So I created the vitalized podcast. It's three seasons right now. You can go in and just be impacted heart and soul. I didn't advertise it. I was coaching, but someone reached out and said, you overcame a lot. How'd you do it? How'd you get here? I'm like, well, I just, and I started explaining to them, they're like, can you walk me through how to do that for myself? So coaching chose me. I did that with one person. Next thing, no, no, the person reached out. They're like, hey, I heard you help this person. Can you help me? Next thing, no, it's two more people. I'm like, what is happening? I haven't even put this out. This is a thing that I do. But I had these clients who were coming and they were re-upping because they were like, we just need that little extra push. We need someone to walk through us, someone who's been through the fire, who's been the hell and back, and who is resilient enough to keep pushing, who's learned some things along the way. So I just walk people on this journey. So I'm doing that as well. And I know there's information about that on my website. And then the speaking is like what lights my heart and my soul to be able to go out and stand on a stage before people and light fires into the hearts and soul. So that you accomplish your goal, your dream, your mission, because life is not going to wait on you. You got to go get it. Yeah, I know you've been recently written about the magazines, actually, a lot of magazines. Can you enlighten us about the type of magazines that you're written up by? Absolutely, man. It was crazy when that stuff started. It's funny. I'm going to tell you my first one, what you might not know about the first article about me and my story was actually highlighted by one of the top women's magazines in the United Kingdom. And that was a really incredible experience. So it was a global woman, global woman magazine. Oh, nice. So if you look that is really big. And I got and they covered the story and that led to some connections. And next thing you know, I was actually featured in LA Weekly as one of the top 10 keynote speakers to watch in all of 2021, which that blows my mind. You guys just heard me say, I felt public speaking. But when you got something that's inside of your heart and your soul and you unapologetically pursued and you invest in it, you find coaches, you find programs how to met them because we are doing the same thing. We're investing in ourselves with one of the legendary coaches and speakers and mentors and figures in the personal development industry, Mr. Les Brown. Because we want to invest in that gift and that craft. And then when you do that, people start to see it and buzz creates and actually know all these people are reaching out. Hey, can you talk here? Can you talk to my company? They're not clubhouse started happening, which is a social media app for those who do not know social audio app. And I just showed up and started pouring my whole heart and soul out. And I started meeting people and it's like all these magazine people there and publicists. I met my publicist. So it was just an incredible experience. And then like I told you, I got into coaching and really been working with some people and they got some really significant results. And that led me to also being featured in Will insider magazine as one of the top coaches to follow for next year. So it's a preview of the people you need to be looking for. So I'm just overwhelmed that that's even a reality. You know, like I said, I just care for people and I want to see you transform. I don't want to see you take this information, feel good for a minute and sit on it. I want you to transform and go get everything you want. Yeah. And you mentioned just a minute ago that you've found your publicist done clubhouse. Did you say or found my publicist on clubhouse. And here's the thing. I had a lot of publicist reaching out to me and you know, you got to be careful with that and just being honest to you guys because there are all these people who will take your money and say they can promise you things. So to do your vetting work, but I actually heard this publicist and watched the work they did, she never reached out to me. I reached out to her. And then we had a conversation. She let me know what she can offer. She already knew who I was. So she was like, it's a no brainer. Let's do it. Also, I'd love to talk to you about the vitalized project. Can you explain what that is to our listeners? I'm sure they absolutely. Absolutely. So when I walked away from my full-time job, I have a crazy story. I took some very big risk. And when I walked away from my job at the church, they had a bright future for me. They let me know like, we're going to take care of you and your family. We're going to provide everything you need, insurance, salary because you're doing incredible work. But what I felt in my heart is this is really good. But it's not what I'm supposed to do. There's a parallel road. This is like a parallel road. There's another road headed in the same direction. That's the one I'm supposed to be on. So leaving that was incredibly scary. I'm not going to lie. This episode of Discover Your Potential is brought to you by Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that helps you turn your ideas into reality. Imagine you've always wanted to share your story, start a business, or launch that passion project you've been dreaming about. With Squarespace, you can bring it to life, just like countless creators, entrepreneurs, and dreamers who built their online presence from scratch. 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And I looked it up and I kept the definition in my phone and the notes out, but I didn't do anything with it. And it was almost five years later, when I was walking away from my job in the church to build something. So I'm supposed to build a platform that doesn't exist. I am supposed to build something that does not exist. And I was really scary, but the platform was to be a platform to reach people all over the world, no matter what they believe, to inspire their hearts with love and life and hope. And so the vitalized project was my personal mission to build a platform where I literally am going to the far reaches of the earth, the four corners everywhere to speak life, to build up and to give people hope again. And so I do that in my community. I do that and it started to become international, much faster than I thought it would. And that's why you hear that word a lot. Anytime you hear me, my brand will be synonymous with life, life giving information. If you are tired, if you've been weary, if you've been going through pain, if you've been going through anything other than feeling hopeful about your future, then that's what vitalize is for us to literally give you that boost, that vital shock so that you can step up and become what you want to become so that you have the inspiration, the motivation, but most importantly, the application to transform your life. That's great. And this resonates with me because that's my mother was all about helping and touching people's lives. Hence, I've inherited the show, discovery your potential. That was kind of her brand for well over 30 years, but this is the epitome. This is the essence of discovering your potential. I know you wrote a book called The Sleep at the Wheel and I wanted listeners to be able to find it. If you could talk about your book, that would be great. Absolutely, man. So that book, oh my goodness, it was one I wanted to write from the like literally two years after the accident. I said, I need to tell a story. I need to tell my story, but I didn't know how to write a book. I did not tell a story. I didn't know how to do anything. So I just kept living. And it was once I made the choice to go all in. This is what I helped my people do. I helped my people jump off the cliff. We're not playing safe like Mr. Nipsy hustle, Rest in Peace. If you want to slice, sometimes you got to roll the dice. You got to learn to take appropriate risk, whatever you can handle, what's your risk tolerance. And that's what I helped the people do. But I went all in and I did take the risk and I left my job and I started a podcast thinking no one would listen. And six months later, it was in 27 countries. I was like, that's crazy. And I published your family through my podcast and they reached out and they helped me tell my story, something I've been wanting to do for so long. And it's called a sleep at the wheel because so many people, so many people are going through the motion. I call it AMC and you probably heard me say it before, but it's like sleep. You're walking dead. You are literally just going through life, going through the motions. You're not even living anymore. You just are existing. And so I'm like, I see that happening around me in every conversation I was having over the course of years where people say, I'm unhappy and I just hate life and I'm just tired and I don't want to go anymore and I don't want to live anymore. And I don't feel like there's anything to fight for. And I'm so sad and I'm just like, you are alive. But you don't realize it unless there's a pattern in Toronto. Because yet there's always something to complain about. Life is good and bad. It's a compilation of up and down, it's highs and lows. But if you're breathing, it's not over and there's always another opportunity for you to step into something greater. So I literally wrote this book to be a wake-up call. Like imagine me literally grabbing your shoulders and giving you a stern shake so that you know there's so much more left for you. There is a purpose walk and a journey that you are on that you don't even realize because you're taking it for granted and you can never get those seconds back. So I really take you back to the beginning of your journey. Start with the difficulties you've been through. Help you realize that you're not defined by those and give you a new perspective so that you always forever walk in purpose moving forward intentionally not taking it for granted. That's incredible. Not to keep jumping from subject to subject but my mother was very big into meditation and I know you do a morning meditation and motivation. I'd love to hear more about that and how can people find that information or content? Is that on the website? It is a free download on my website. So if you go to mblackspeaks.com, mblackspeaks.com with an S on the end, you can find those downloads and I don't even ask for your email just to give them. You can give me a email just if you want. I'll do the letter but you can get those literally for free. I'm not asking you for anything and what it is is one for every day of the week. It's a three to five minute of me starting in a very calm soothing demeanor just to get you to breathe, just to get you to like pause. Reflect. Just calm your soul. That's the meditation part and after we get that, then we go. Now it's time to get your day started and I give you some motivation and some big energy and send you on your way so that you can go make to make whatever you want to accomplish happen. Nice. Well, I'm going to try that. So is that when they go on your website, do they download it or is it connected to your podcast? No, it's a you can listen to it straight from the website so you can stream them right off the stream or there is a download link that you can push download and have them on your phone if you rather have them. That's great. That's terrific. Yeah, and I know you're doing an event actually recently or coming up soon. I'd love to have the listeners hear about your upcoming event that sounds really exciting. Man, talk about dreams coming true. I never know why in my wildest dreams would have thoughts that I would have an opportunity to be a part of something so powerful, something so impactful and something with such an incredible human being. I have partnered with a lady, a brilliant lady, a world changer by the name of Ashley Faye Brandstetter and who she is is she's an entrepreneur who's built a mega business but it's a community of women who have all these different shopping networks and boutiques who are making a difference and impacting people and sharing, caring and supporting each other. Amazing, right? But she had something else on her heart and the heart was to I want to go and travel the world and do the same thing I wanted to do which was light up hearts. Let people know that it's possible that dream you dream is not only possible. It's probable if you're willing to take the leap and learn the different tactics and strategies you need to become successful. And so that's what she wanted to do. So we cross paths because the clubhouse and we decided to join together. And so we're taking this show on the road. It is the embrace your ambition, life experience and there's no other word for it other than experience. We got live concerts happening. We got some of the top thought leaders in the world who have committed to come and break bread with us. One of my mentors, dear brother and friend Mr. Trent Shelton, one of the top thought leaders in the world is coming. He's key noting for us. Also, Devon Steele, who was a former NFL superstar who walked away from his dream, the game of the NFL football at the peak of his game because his daughter was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. And he wanted to help her fight for her life. And she he did. He saved her life. And now he's one of the biggest child cancer advocates in the world. He's key noting for us. Amber Lee Lago, one of the top female speakers in the world who had an incredible insane accident that should have taken her life. She's had over 30 reconstructive surgeries. She's still here. She's still breathing. She's still fighting. And she's breaking bread. And that's just the name of you. We have a whole list of docket of speakers who are going to give you everything you need. Practical, practical, mindset, motivation, marketing. I mean, you name it. We got it. We accounting. We got it all there to help you flourish as an entrepreneur, as a dreamer. And as someone who wants to accomplish your God-sized dream. So me and Ashley Faye are partnered up to do it. And she actually talked to me just before this. And because you guys are a part of this incredible community and discover your potential, we are offering you guys something special. And that is look, because you guys are connected to them. His incredible show, his mom, her legacy. We want to give you guys $50 off a virtual ticket. It's literally this coming weekend. So you got all day Friday, all day Saturday, half a day Sunday of content. And if you can't watch it live because life is busy and you got things to do, you get the replays. So you can watch the replays. And $50 off that ticket for you if you use code, discover your potential. That's just for you guys. And if you share it with a friend, that's okay. But discover your potential. And if you want to figure out how to get tickets, you just go to www.e-a-con.com. That's short for embrace your ambition conference. And you can go to that website, make sure you put your code in or just go to Eventbrite and look up embrace your ambition, Dallas, and put your code in. And we'll see you this weekend. How about that? So Marcus, is there anything that you want to give to the audience today to share with the audience today? Just a word of wisdom or just something that they can take from you that they can learn from you? I'd love for them one, obviously, to check out your podcast. I'm certainly going to be doing that. And I'll be putting it in notes, of course. But I'd love to get your, you know, your feedback. Absolutely, man. This is what I'll give you. If I could leave you guys with a nugget that will bless your heart and your soul, I will tell you this. Whew! Life is short. It is. It's brief. Even if you live 80 years, life is so brief. And it will pass you by. It's not time. It's waiting on no one. So that thing that you've always dreamed, listen, I know life is hard. I know life will throw some Mike Tyson haymakers at you and cause you to feel like, maybe I was wrong. Maybe I don't have something to share. Maybe the people who told me I was crazy or right. Maybe the people who told me I don't have a gift to give were right. Maybe the people who told me I was too stupid, not smart enough, not good enough, not educated enough, not intelligent enough. Maybe they were right. And I'm telling you, that's false. Nobody gave you your purpose. They didn't give it to you. They can't take it from you either. It doesn't matter what they said. What matters is that you learn two vital steps that will transform your entire life. If you're willing to put them in the action. And the first one is learning to believe in yourself. Listen, belief is the bedrock. Belief is the foundation of everything that happens in your life. They've always said all the great minds and thought leaders in the world have said, you've become what you believe. This is true. When I started to believe that I was actually a speaker and I would be one of the best in the world door started opening and I started being in magazines. Crazy things started happening because I believe, what do you believe about yourself? Because whether you believe you can or you can't, you're typically right. So if you believe that I'm just here and I'm not anything special, then you're going to become that. And I don't want that for you. If you know that's the outcome, why not believe that you were meant for more? Why not believe you can accomplish something greater? And when you start to believe that is the beginning of your transformation process, but belief alone is not enough. You can believe all day. But the next step is to act on those beliefs because action is the activator. That goal and that dream that lives in your heart is motion activated. So if you are willing to start taking steps, guess what? I don't know the steps to take. I didn't know the steps to take. I didn't know how to do a podcast. I didn't know how to write a book. But when I started taking steps, people started coming into my life that didn't know. Coaches started coming into my life that did know. Door started opening that does not even make sense, but it's happening. And I communicate with a lot of passion and a lot of conviction because I need you to understand that that which is inside of you is not only possible. It's probable. But are you willing to climb the mountain? Are you willing to fight for what you want? Because you are going to fight either way. Struggling through life is a fight. It's a hard fight just to wake up and get out the bed and exist. So I need some of you to get tired of fighting that fight and start fighting for that which you won't start fighting for your passion, start fighting for your potential, start fighting for your purpose. And if you're willing to do that, things will change. But I need you to know it's possible. And it can happen. Believe in a team act and receive and watch what will happen. Transform your life in every single area where you can actually build a life that you really love living. So take the step today, take the leap, whatever it is. I don't know what it is, but you do. You already know the thing. It's already been on your mind this whole time. So take the step because you can. You can. I don't care who told you you can't. I'm telling you, you can. I just want to thank you, Marcus. Thank you for being here and discover your potential. I truly appreciate it. Your gift to the world and your gift to many people. And I'm so glad that you're here and you're touching so many people's lives. And that's really what matters in life. Man, that means the world to me. I'm so grateful to call you a brother and a friend and family now. And all of you guys discover your potential. You guys are family as well. Anything you want to do, you want to reach out to me. The best way to contact me is on Instagram at M Black Speak. So send me a message. I'll respond. And I want to connect and just check me out the things I'm doing. I love you guys and I'm grateful. And I hope to see you again. Excellent. And that's just so the listeners know, so it's M Black speaks on Instagram. They could just. That's the best way to connect. I'm on all social medias at M Black speaks. I'm on Tik Tok Twitter Club House all the same name, but the best way to contact me is on Instagram at M Black speaks. Wow, that's great. Terrific. Well, thank you, Marcus. And I just want to say thank you very much for everybody for listening. And until next time, as my mother would say, do something nice for yourself and do something nice for others. And I hope it's okay with you all for me to keep it a little real tonight because I don't believe in coming here acting like everything is perfect all the time. Because the one thing I know about pain and any type of difficult season in your life, in his universal, it is no one is exempt. It's not them. It's not the job. It's not the employer. It's not the family. It's not the friend. It's you. Because nobody has the power to take from you that which is yours except for you. If you let go of your belief, you forfeit your miracle. You cannot stop believing ever. Because if you do, I might show up in your dreams with that voice. So we don't want that. True. So to double change your world and everybody around you. Be cause you can. Thanks for listening to discover your potential. Remember your journey is just beginning. Keep learning, keep growing and keep discovering your potential. See you next time.