From 'Rags to Riches': An Inspirational Conversation with Donna Smith Bellinger
10/27/20 • 40 min
#025: What are you doing to invest in yourself? We’re living in a world with readily available information that you can easily use to break through your challenges. It is important to understand that only you hold the key to create what you need to have both personally and professionally.
In this episode of Beyond the Culture with Dr. David M. Walker, we have Donna Bellinger, a businesswoman, a revenue accelerator, a professional speaker, and an author. She specializes in working with people who’ve hit the wall in both personal and professional growth.
Donna shares her story from ‘rags to riches’ and how she now uses it to help impact other women’s lives. Listen in to learn the importance of financial literacy and how you can use smart networking to breakthrough business.
Quotes:
· “With the right attitude, the circumstances do not matter.”- Donna [20:38]
· “Information acquired but not acted upon is just a souvenir.”- Donna [24:34]
What you will learn in this episode:
· [2:24] Donna describes her upbringing as diverse with a lot of experience.
· [4:41] She narrates her story of how she went from daughter to mother, mother to leader- leading sales teams, and now taking control of everything around her.
· [11:07] How Donna’s rags to riches story have helped impact the lives of many women.
· [13:59] How she helps experts communicate their solutions to their clients and teaches sales to various groups and corporations.
· [18:49] Learning how to be open and willing to create what you need to have.
· [22:47] The importance of investing in yourself before looking for a mentor.
· [25:36] Donna shares how a lack of financial literacy held her back when she first started which is why she insists on the importance of financial education.
· [29:23] She talks about her book You Lost Me @ Hello which talks about smart networking to breakthrough business.
· [34:22] She describes some of her favorite authors on positivity and marketing.
· [37:16] Why you shouldn’t allow people who don’t have the authority to tell you, yes, to tell you no.
Relevant Links:
Websites: https://donnasmithbellinger.com/ https://askdsb.com/
#025: What are you doing to invest in yourself? We’re living in a world with readily available information that you can easily use to break through your challenges. It is important to understand that only you hold the key to create what you need to have both personally and professionally.
In this episode of Beyond the Culture with Dr. David M. Walker, we have Donna Bellinger, a businesswoman, a revenue accelerator, a professional speaker, and an author. She specializes in working with people who’ve hit the wall in both personal and professional growth.
Donna shares her story from ‘rags to riches’ and how she now uses it to help impact other women’s lives. Listen in to learn the importance of financial literacy and how you can use smart networking to breakthrough business.
Quotes:
· “With the right attitude, the circumstances do not matter.”- Donna [20:38]
· “Information acquired but not acted upon is just a souvenir.”- Donna [24:34]
What you will learn in this episode:
· [2:24] Donna describes her upbringing as diverse with a lot of experience.
· [4:41] She narrates her story of how she went from daughter to mother, mother to leader- leading sales teams, and now taking control of everything around her.
· [11:07] How Donna’s rags to riches story have helped impact the lives of many women.
· [13:59] How she helps experts communicate their solutions to their clients and teaches sales to various groups and corporations.
· [18:49] Learning how to be open and willing to create what you need to have.
· [22:47] The importance of investing in yourself before looking for a mentor.
· [25:36] Donna shares how a lack of financial literacy held her back when she first started which is why she insists on the importance of financial education.
· [29:23] She talks about her book You Lost Me @ Hello which talks about smart networking to breakthrough business.
· [34:22] She describes some of her favorite authors on positivity and marketing.
· [37:16] Why you shouldn’t allow people who don’t have the authority to tell you, yes, to tell you no.
Relevant Links:
Websites: https://donnasmithbellinger.com/ https://askdsb.com/
Previous Episode
"If You Can Speak It": A Candid Conversation with Veronica Blakely
#024: There’s nothing wrong with your dialect- it is part of your culture and who you are- but you need to learn how to code-switch between that and standard American English. This will help you compete with everyone else in your eventual work environment.
In this episode of Beyond the Culture with Dr. David M. Walker, we have Veronica Blakely, the owner of V’s Voice Communications where she teaches people how to level up their communications skills. She is an educator, a community volunteer, a former corporate manager, a speech coach, and communication skills trainer.
Veronica describes how her childhood growing up in the inner urban city contributed to her career choice in communications. Listen in to learn the importance of having a mentor as a young person of color navigating America’s corporate scene.
Quote:
“There is no such thing as talking white; it’s called standard American English, you need to read it, write it, speak it so that you’ll be able to successfully compete in the world you’re trying to eventually work in.”- Veronica [12:27]
What you will learn in this episode:
· [3:03] Veronica explains how she became interested in teaching standard American English as a form of communication in all settings.
· [7:04] She explains how she went from the corporate world to a high school and college teacher teaching business and communication courses for 13 years.
· [11:20] How she teaches people to code-switch to know when to use their dialect and when to use standard American English.
· [15:40] How her childhood contributed to her interest in public speaking plus the state of the public speaking business.
· [20:01] Why she wishes she had known about business earlier on and had enough entrepreneurial support.
· [24:46] The importance of having a mentor when navigating corporate America as a person of color.
· [28:42] She talks about a certain college professor that influenced her to strive to do what her heart set out to do.
· [32:11] Veronica talks about the books she’s written and why she likes to write titles that get attention.
· [39:04] Learning to choose and focus on what is positive to increase it.
Relevant Links:
Website: https://www.veronicablakely.biz/
Next Episode
“A Black First”: An Enduring Journey Through the Challenges of Racism and Bigotry with Peter Carter
#026: Peter Carter reveals portions of his journey as an “African-American, Black, Negro, colored man” who weathered the storms of racism and bigotry and became a prominent educator in the State of New Jersey. Peter provided riveting excerpts from his book A Black First. From his arrival in the United States as a two-year-old at a tenement building in black Harlem, New York City. To his retirement from a wealthy white school district in Northern New Jersey.
Click the link to listen to the FULL episode on Apple iTunes and Spotify https://www.buzzsprout.com/1022125/6080293 or go to the website: www.beyondtheculturepodcast.com to hear the episode.
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You can also watch the FULL episode on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCcJVEX3YVJFW8ZTngumUYPA.
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