Episode 475: How Following Your Intuition Can Unlock Freedom and Unexpected Opportunities w/ Damali Alexander

Damali Alexander 0:02

Abundance to me, just really means unlimited. It's just not limited. So I always work towards keeping my mind open and keeping myself open. And that is work. That is work, and so that's where I put a lot of energy.

Unknown Speaker 0:17

Welcome to the journey to launch podcast with your host, Jamila Souffrant as a money expert who wants her talk she helps brave journeyers like you get out of debt, save, invest and build real wealth, join her on the journey to launch to financial freedom in 54321,

Unknown Speaker 0:38

you.

Jamila Souffrant 0:44

If you want the episode show notes for this episode, go to journey to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this episode. In the show notes, you'll get the transcribed version of the conversation, the links that we mentioned and so much more also, whether you are an OG journeyer or brand new to the podcast, I've created a free jumpstart guide to help you on your financial freedom journey. It includes the top episodes to listen to, stages to go through to reach financial freedom resources and so much more you can go to journey, to launch.com/jumpstart

Unknown Speaker 1:19

to get your guide right now. Okay, let's hop into the episode.

Jamila Souffrant 1:25

Hey, hey, hey, journeyers, welcome to the journey to launch podcast in the guest seat this week, I have on someone I know very dearly, or actually I know, but I feel like I'm gonna get to know a lot more about her. Name is Damali Alexander, and while I personally have known Damali for a while now, let me just give you a rundown of her bio. Damali is a seasoned board certified behavior analyst and entrepreneur. She has excelled as a special educator, Director of Quality Assurance, and as the owner of a successful last mile delivery company in New York City with over 75 employees, she specialized in leading behavior change for individuals, teams and organizations across diverse sectors. I am so excited to have Diwali on the podcast. Hi Junior. So happy to be here. Yes, a quick backstory. How I know Diwali? I don't even know it's been a decade. Maybe I feel like we met in college. Well, I was in college, I think when we met. So what happened? Yes, so you both were in college, and my dear, dear friend Tiffany is damalis cousin, and she started a nonprofit. I think we met because you were also on the board of this nonprofit. Maybe it was that way or just through social interactions. Were founding board members, yes, so I've known her for a long time, and I've always admired and saw Jamala as like this light like this, like a very bright, shining light, wherever she enters the room, like you notice and full of personality and positive and when I met you years ago, I believe you were still a special ed teacher. You were still, you know, working in the system. And then, as I've seen you throughout the years, here and there, and then getting updates from our from your cousin, my friend, like you were always doing something, whether that was traveling, opening a business. And then you were also so thoughtful. Where I remember, you sent me a I forgot the name of the book, but you sent me a book. You were like, Jamila, I think you'd like this book and emailed it to me. And you just, you just, you just seem different.

Jamila Souffrant 3:27

Appreciate that. And you followed my journey also, and listened to the podcast. And I remember you sent me a text because you listened to a recent podcast, and you were like, something like, yeah, if you ever want to talk, let me know. And I thought you were talking about coming on the show. So I was like, oh, Jamali wants to come share her journey. And you were like, no, no. I didn't mean that. I just meant, if you want to talk about opening, like, owning something in Jamaica, because that's you listen to one of those episodes. And I was like, oh, anyway, long story short, that miscommunication, though, led you to be like, come on. So I'm glad you're here. I want to share your journey with the world, because I do think you have a lot to share, and a lot of people can learn from you. So welcome to the show. Jamali,

Damali Alexander 4:06

thank you so much. Jamila, yes, I absolutely followed your career and admired the direction you've taken. I've watched you drive hours to and from work for years. We would definitely, while we weren't ever like super we weren't close, we were beyond familiar with one another and where we would see each other, you know, Tiffany's events or anything like that, we always found ourselves in a nice long conversation about things and hearing about what your visions were and sharing and all of that stuff. So I've always admired you, for sure. Jamila, you've always been on my radar. You are absolutely alike as well, so I'm not surprised that you're doing this, that you've become who you are, and you're going to continue to shine well. So I'm super happy.

Jamila Souffrant 4:50

Oh, thank you. Okay, so I think where would be interesting to start is your journey from kind of like the traditional career path of being a teacher.

Jamila Souffrant 5:00

Here to where you are now. As an entrepreneur, you own a couple I think I know every time I see you doing something different, like you own properties in Jamaica, you would tell me about your rehabbing a property in Jersey, all these amazing things. So, Westchester, Westchester, Westchester. So tell me about just the start of that. And then why you like because so many people will start as teachers and want to do more, and then they don't. So what caused you to pivot and do other things? So we'll go all the way back. So like you said, we met in college, and my undergrad, I went to Baruch College. I'm a CUNY girl studying. My degree is a Bachelor's of Business Administration with a concentration computer information systems. So I was doing computer programming and all that stuff. And while I enjoyed that and could do that, when I had an internship my senior year, I realized that no one talked to one another. And I mean, your listeners can't tell now. I'm actually very social. I love people. I love to engage. And I was like, Whoa, this is not gonna work for me, like for my life. And so in my senior year, I didn't change my major. I said I'll just get a job in corporate. I'll figure something out, right? So I've not had a very clear direction or, like plan, like I want to be a doctor, or I want to be this or that. It was more like, I know the things I enjoy and how you feel. So after college, I got a job in advertising. I was at BBDO, and the accounts,

Damali Alexander 6:28

the accountant worked on the Frito Lay account that I worked on was a freedom lay account, and I was at the accounts like, I guess portion of that, the reason I can't speak to it so much is that I only stayed a year, so I can't speak too much,

Damali Alexander 6:41

like, specifically, like the advertising industry. But one of the things I did know, like, I enjoyed the people I work with, but I always looked around and I would look at who's above me and ask myself, do I want to be them? Right? And the reason why I think I was always someone who knew that anything I did I'm going to do, well, that's just part of I tell myself all the time, I don't get out of bed to be mediocre. So if I'm going to get up out of my bed to do something, I'm going to do my best, right? And I looked up, I realized I didn't want to be my boss, not because her job looked terrible. It just didn't seem like the way I wanted my life to feel, and the lifestyle like I like freedom, and we'll get to that. And I do remember that my counterpart at that time was when she was leaving, she was waiting to become a New York City Teaching Fellow. Didn't know what that was. Was a teacher. I had no interest necessarily becoming an educator. I never thought about that. But what I knew at that time was that I also needed another job because I knew I wanted to buy an apartment. This was 2000 and

Damali Alexander 7:45

that was 22 at the time, and I knew that on my $27,000

Damali Alexander 7:50

a year salary at the time, that was not going to be possible. So I said I had to get another job. So I made a little list. I got another job. I became like an executive assistant, but in a really big company, so my salary jumped like $10,000 so I was making like 37 I was still living at home at the time. Like that, I think is also very key to mention me, I was living with my grandmother. Because I lived with my grandmother through college. We all can get into my life like back and forth, but born and raised in New York, family moved to Florida when I was in high school, so I actually, like, did High School in Florida, but was not a Florida person. So came back to New York right after that. So I lived with my grandmother, all from college. So when you met me, I was living with my grandma, and so I'm still living at home. When I got my new job, and I didn't have any bills, I think I paid for the laundry like my grandmother didn't ask for anything, like, contributed in ways, but I didn't have, like, rent or anything like that, so I was able to save some money. I did find a co op in Crown Heights, and at that time, this is now we're fast forwarding to 2004

Damali Alexander 8:54

and no, I wanted to buy something, and no one was looking at Crown Heights at the time. But I'm a Brooklyn girl. I'm from Brooklyn, and so I was like, Oh, I'm comfortable here. Like the apartment was $77,000

Damali Alexander 9:06

at the time. I didn't even have the 10% all the 10% to put down, but I borrowed it from my mom, and then I got an apartment. And what I also had kind of glazed over in that timeframe and having that new job, is that three weeks into that new job, not the advertising industry. I knew this was not for me, very it was a financial environment,

Damali Alexander 9:30

high stress, everything, those personalities. That's part of the reason I'm not mentioning the name of the company. But it was intense. And I said, Okay, I will not be staying here long, but let me get my goal, which is the purchase department. And I remember my cousin at the time, another cousin we have, a lot of them, was saying, I'm going to apply to the New York City Teaching Fellows. This is now the second time I've heard this thing, because the girl last year. So I said, Me too, and I applied for that in 2004

Jamila Souffrant 10:00

So you became a teacher fellow, and how long did you spend your time as a teacher? So I applied for the teaching fellows. I want to say September of 2004 ended up closing on my apartment, November 2004

Damali Alexander 10:15

and began the program in June of 2005

Damali Alexander 10:19

cohort 10.

Damali Alexander 10:21

Like with this program, it's very similar. It's modeled after the Teach for America. So for any of your listeners that are not in New York, they may not know what the teaching levels is, if they're ever they've ever heard of Teach for America. The New York City Teaching films was modeled exactly after that, but specific to New York City, you know, to fill the needs of the high needs areas, and they didn't want people that had traditional educational background. I think that was their attempt at education reform. So I started in 2000 June, 2005 for the training, I was selected to be a special education teacher in New York City's public Special Education District, which is district 75 so I just went with it. I never planned to be a teacher. I wasn't like, I want to teach math. I need to teach science. They said you're going to be a special ed teacher. I said, Okay. They said you're going to be a district 75 I said, Okay, I didn't know anything. Like, that's still something I do. Like, I'll say yes to things without doing too much research. You have to do a little but I don't go too deep down in the analysis paralysis situation, if it feels right, if I'm getting these internal like my gut says, Go, I'm gonna go, that's something. Got it stay, yeah, and you did that for how long? I was a teacher for three years. So within this program, you get your Masters. So I got my master's and did a year more after that to get my certification. So I became certified in that time. Of course, I was exposed to other educators, and one of the senior teachers, not a fellow teacher, had been around. She said to me, you know, I see with your students and blah, blah, blah, have you ever heard of ABA, which stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. And I said, No. She said, I think you would do really well with early intervention. She was using all these terms, and I'd never heard anything. And I said, Okay, well, tell me more. So then she connected me with the agency that I explored, and that's what opened me up to the science of human behavior, which how I eventually became a board certified behavior. So I did the teaching in the system for three years after that, left started contracting right now, services to the state of New York in their early intervention, doing ABA therapy home base with children three and under who have developmental delays. So I did that. I started that in 2010

Damali Alexander 12:47

and did that from 2010 to 2020 essentially. And there's you will, if you do the math, there's a little gap, right? Because I did it. I did teaching June 2005

Damali Alexander 12:58

to 2008 but then I moved to Brazil for six months. And you remember that time? Yes, it's been a little Yeah, stopping books. My gosh, yes. And you know, as you're talking, I'm remembering a couple things. I'll come back to that. But Brazil, yes, I remember when you said, I think we did something, I think we saw you before you left. And then you were like, Yeah, moving to Brazil. And I'm like, what like for someone for like, as me, who was, I think, at the time, I don't know if I was either engaged or just more settled, and I couldn't, and I couldn't picture like moving to another country. So to see someone who was doing that, and this was before, I think I even had journey to launch as an idea like this is when I was working full time. So to see in real life, like someone kind of just doing their own thing, leaving behind the stability to try things and travel, it was inspiring. So you spent how long in Brazil? So I moved to Brazil twice, and the time you're referring to the second time when I moved, like sold my apartment that I mentioned, and like move, but the first time I went down, it's too I went to Brazil for vacation, the first time in 2006 because I was a teacher. So I never worked summer school. I was like, the benefit of being a teacher is to have time off. So I didn't care how much they wanted to pay. I wanted to explore and get my regular salary while not working. So I went to Brazil with a friend and spent three weeks in between July and August of 2006, and fell in love with just the energy. It felt also very familiar in a lot of ways. I'm also Jamaican, like you. Was born in the States, so I'm jamalican, let's say so I remember feeling very it got very familiar. And I never knew a person from Brazil. I never heard Portuguese until I got to Brazil. But it was, there was just a connection. And it was easy. I came back. Friends of mine were like, You look like you had such a great time. And I was like I did. And then I went back after carnival, February of 2008

Unknown Speaker 14:58

and after that trip, there.

Jamila Souffrant 15:00

Was something super strong inside that was, like, you need to spend more time here. I'm like, what? I got a lot of like, internal pings. I don't know that makes me sound crazier. I definitely feel like I'm very connected to myself. Or, I don't know, people call things different things. In my spirit, I just

Damali Alexander 15:21

I received messages, okay? And I try and I trust them. Yes, I think that's I think we all receive messages whether or not we can recognize them, and then even if you can recognize whether or not we trust them and follow is another thing. Those are all various different steps. I trust and follow the messages, but I also don't always in the time, because I was like, This is crazy place. My job, I can't just go Brazil. And I remembered, in the time of visiting Brazil, I had met some people, some American people would have been lived there. And a friend of mine had called him once, and I said, I have this really strong desire to spend some more time. And he was like, just go. And maybe just go. This guy's crazy. Like, so ignore him. Fast forward that same year, 2008

Damali Alexander 16:03

a former co worker, that teacher, sent me an email that was sent teach English in Brazil. This is, I wouldn't say, July, August, of 2008 so for the school year is going to soon start. And that receiving that email, I was like sign and so I said to myself, Okay, I'm going to open this link. If it's an easy, you know, just upload your resume and fill out a few fields. I'll apply. If it's something that requires, like an essay, personal statement, I'm not doing it Sure enough, fill in a few fields, upload your resume, apply. So I got selected to go down to Brazil and teach English as a foreign language. So it was a was a certification program the first time. And so I did. I went down from October 2008 and I was there for six months. That first round, to April 2009 is when I came back. Okay, and so you had to quit your job, or did you pause? Thank you. That's a very good question. I totally would have missed. I requested a leave of absence, which I submitted for. And again, I'm still working at New York City public schools. The Department of Education submitted that did not hear any news about whether the leave was approved or not, but I wouldn't. I was already gone, right? Because it's gone. I want to say in December, because I went in October, the end of October, and I heard news in December of 2008 that my leave was denied. You're gone already. So yes, I'm already here. And so I said, I spoke to another senior teacher who I respected. I think part of what's coming out of this is also forge foster relationships everywhere you go, right? So because I had really good relationships with people in the workplace, I feel like I always had different people I could reach out to about things that I think they could help me. So Mr. Chris, who was the art teacher was always so positive, kind of how some of the things you said about me always so positive and encouraging. And someone I saw that

Damali Alexander 18:09

wasn't very fear based. So I also selected to ask, right? So I called him, and I said, this is what's happening. I don't know what to do, but he was also senior in the system, so he also understood the system more than I did. And I said, I don't know what to do. He said, Well look. He said, You know what you'd be coming back to if you choose to come back, but you don't know what lies ahead. Should you choose to stay? That stood out to me. And I said, You know what, I'm gonna just stay. And so I informed them that I'm not gonna I'll be returning. I'm not going to be returning until we get back, which would be in April. And then we could sit down and talk about, I guess, my future with the school or so have you so during that six month time, I fell in love with the fashion of Brazil, specifically in Rio, the ease and the movement, just the way I would say the women were so and I understood why so many people in the world deem Brazilian women is so beautiful. They are absolutely beautiful, right? But when I think about physicality, they don't look different to me than to women across other places in the world. And that's not anything. That's just They're beautiful men everywhere in the world. But there is a way in which the Brazilian women move and and I do think it has a lot to do with the way the clothing is made. Clothing is made for the way a woman's body naturally moves, versus, I think in the States and other places, a woman's body has to fit into the clothes, where it's the other way around there, and so a woman can actually move effortlessly, and that is very attractive, right? In general. So, yeah, so that's what I've mentioned that because when I came back and did all the things when I was moving there in 2012 it is because I was exploring the I was about to start my first business endeavor, which.

Damali Alexander 20:00

Was the Brazilian brand, not the Brazilian Carrie, Brazilian clothing, swimmer and accessories. So that's when, that's what you're remembering. When I was moving, I probably had a party or something when I was leaving. Yes, yes. Okay, so many great points, so many great, amazing things that I just pulled out listening to you, ranging from like knowing who to ask for is a forging relationships. And you know the people who kind of you aspire to or you respect and enjoy, you feel as though these are people I want to, I want to hear from, not people who are negative or fear based. And then the other thing is this, this thing about you that follows your intuition and trust your intuition, because there's so many times where we are scared, but there is something pulling to say, like, this is like, this is the next step. Maybe this is a good point to bring up here, but Vipassana, I I forgot

Unknown Speaker 20:58

about that too,

Jamila Souffrant 21:00

right? So one of the things too, why I felt like you do have a significance in my life, because every time I did see you and you were doing something different, like I was inspired. And so I remember going, I don't know where we were, but I remember going somewhere and you said, Oh, I just came back from a 1011, day silent retreat. And I actually think I mentioned this story in the book, my book, Your journey to financial freedom. I do because I say, I don't think I say your name or anything, but I think I said, like, I had a friend who told me about this silent day retreat. And again, it's like, I think you're similar to this, where you hear something that piques your interest, and then you follow the breadcrumbs. You kind of, you know, you look into it. And so I did that when you told me, You sent me the site and I went on the same retreat, this 11 day silent meditation, where you get up at like 5am you meditate silently for all day. Basically you only stop to eat.

Jamila Souffrant 21:54

And it was the most amazing experience. I did it, and then my I had a friend do it after me, and my mom even did it. I remember your mom after I did it, but it came from hearing you do it, and so you were having these experiences and trying new things in life. And I just feel like there's so many of those opportunities for us out there, and just have to be as big as going away for 1011, days, or moving to Brazil, but where we can explore other ways to be and live and and kind of follow the winding road that life has to offer for us completely. I forgot about that. That was I went in 2009 It was after I came back from Brazil that six months. Yeah, that was huge for me. I my family was very upset with me because my I didn't go to my aunt's wedding because that was the time, you know, and that, if you remember, like, that's not something you can just reschedule anytime. I didn't know you were getting married. So, you know, anyway, but everyone's fine now. But, you know, I'm happy I mentioned that because that is something important to say.

Damali Alexander 23:00

You sometimes have to say no to the people you love, right? And that is not an easy thing to do.

Damali Alexander 23:07

Since I was a child, I always followed that whatever, and I hate for it. Let's just say, I gotta say I got heat for it. I don't know how much of it has to do with the type of culture we're from. You know, I was never rude, because we know respect is huge. I've always known how to but at the end of the day, I've always listened to myself. And I will say I have to give my parents a lot of credit. While I'm sure it wasn't easy for them, they definitely, I think once they realized I wasn't reckless or making like, poor choices or things that could endanger me. It was more like, Well, the thing that she was trying to do is not like problematic. So let her be like, let her flourish, yes, Leave her be. So I have had space, and I have to give my, my family, credit for that, especially being

Damali Alexander 23:58

so, especially also being a girl child, you know, in a Caribbean world. So I will definitely have to give them some credit there. But I've always had space, and I think because I've had space, I've also created space for myself, because I'm accustomed to having some space, and I think that's very important for people to realize that they must create spaces for themselves, however small, however large, wherever they can Right? Like you're going to have to disappoint, you might disappoint, and people, you're going to have to follow your own. Yeah, you will. Capital W, capital I, capital L, L. And that is very scary, because I think sometimes, and I can speak for myself, I felt like, if I do this, am I going to, you know, cut myself off from the people I love? Am I going to lose them? Am I going to be, you know, we're concerned about being alone in this world, or lonely, you know? And one of the things that I learned and throughout the years, is that lonely has nothing to do with being alone. I've.

Damali Alexander 25:00

In a single woman the majority of my life, of course, dated. I've had a relationship. I'm in a relationship now, and been for the last like two years, but I have moved through my life primarily unattached, let's say unattached, which I know for sure has made it very possible, but and not lonely, and not lonely, because I've been in relationships where I felt lonely, right? I've been alone but not lonely. And I think people do really have to understand the distinction. There is a difference between the two. Lonely is a feeling, an internal feeling that doesn't and alone is just space, like you're by yourself.

Damali Alexander 25:39

I don't even remember how I learned, but I do remember, I think I learned of it in Brazil, and that's I learned of it in Brazil, and then when I signed up for it in the States, I think that's how that happened. And they're still doing these retreats. It was completely free, completely free. At first. I was like, What the hell. But, and it was great, because I was like, Well, I know Damali went so I don't think it's any, you know. I think legit. She survived it. So I will actually link the website, because I actually it's something that I want to do again one day. I, you know, I don't think I'm at a place now where I can

Jamila Souffrant 26:15

it was so transformative. So I'll, I'll link that in the show notes.

Jamila Souffrant 26:22

Hey, journeyers, if you are loving this podcast, then you will love my book, Your journey to financial freedom, a step by step guide to achieving wealth and happiness. I wrote this book for you. This book is for you. If you want a clear and enjoyable path to having more money options and a rich life. This book is for you. If you hate your commute and the fact that you need to seek approval or permission from a boss, I hated that when I worked. This book is for you. If you weren't born into wealth, you didn't marry rich or win the lottery, but you still want freedom. This book is for you. If you're at a crossroads, a major decision or event is imminent. Maybe a career change, marriage, starting a family, pressures are reaching a tipping point, and the discomfort and the desire for more can no longer be ignored, and this book is for you. If you find yourself zoned out at meetings, looking out the window or daydreaming about the life you truly want. So go pick up your journey to financial freedom.com. So I can show you how to map out how to get from where you are today to where you ultimately want to be. And enjoy the journey while you're on the path, head over to your journey to financial freedom.com.

Jamila Souffrant 27:35

To see where you can pick the book up. It's available on Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, your local bookstore everywhere go to your journey to financial freedom.com to get the book now.

Jamila Souffrant 27:49

So you come back from Brazil, what made you come back to the States, and then what was your next move from there? Okay, I know I like this, like I think about it. This is a puzzle. So came back. Came back after the six months in 2009 in 2010 started doing early intervention. Like I mentioned before, the home base contracted my services, so I'm no longer an employee. At this time. I'm now self employed. So contracted my services with various agencies, so I'm controlling my time. However, if I don't work, I don't get paid. So there's that component to it. And I always knew there was a book I read in 2009

Damali Alexander 28:26

everyone knows Robert Kiyosaki, and everyone knows Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which I've read the book though, that really shifted how it looked at things. Is the Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. I mentioned that because that broke down the four quadrants, employee, self employed, business owner and investor, and to find those four so for me, I think once I learned that in 2009 after I read that book, I I moved from employee to self employed. And then I always okay, next you have to move to business owner. Now what that business would have been, I didn't know at the time, but I had direction. So was doing early intervention for years. Again, beautiful things. I control my time. So I'll be back and forth to Brazil, checking out the feasibility of this business that I want to start, so I can move to the business owner quadrant,

Damali Alexander 29:19

and in 2012

Damali Alexander 29:22

I said, Okay, everything's set up. Let me move to Brazil, because to do business in a country like Brazil as well as country Jamila, it's there. It's a lot of face time, and they do business. It's still very personal. Business is still very interactive. It's not as click, you know, like it is in the States. So I knew I had to be there in order to make that come to life. So I sold my apartment, the apartment that I bought 2004

Damali Alexander 29:49

and by that time, Crown Heights was actually popping so I did well there. And the reason I sold it is because I couldn't I looked at the numbers in terms of keeping it in rents.

Damali Alexander 30:00

It, but I wouldn't be able to afford. I couldn't rent it for enough to cover it and to live off of it in the fine Jamila, right? I can't, so I had to sell it. And at that time was when I said, Okay, I'll never buy an apartment again. I'm always gonna buy multifamily something, because I could, even if I rent mine out, that's not gonna come my income, that kind of thing. So

Damali Alexander 30:21

did that. What made me move there was that business. So I launched that business officially early 2013 I moved in December of 2012 and while living there, I love Brazil, and I still love Brazil to this day, when you live in a place like this is like home. Now you start to you're not looking at it through the lens of a visitor. You're looking at it as the way you look at your home. And so that's when you're able to start to see things that you never would have noticed before. And I think for me, what I started to feel was I started to feel far from home, and it wasn't the physical distance. I think that's where I started to feel the cultural difference, whereas the thing that attracted me was similarities. And there still are many like as it is in like Jamaica to Brazil in particular, but it just started to feel far. And I think also at the time, I was single. At the time, being a single woman in a foreign country, very different culture. It was a lot. It was just a lot. Nothing ever happened to me. Always been safe and none of the horror story things. I just started to feel far from home, and that's what made me move back. And I moved back December 2013

Damali Alexander 31:37

and in that time, what I also forgot to mention is that from 2010 to 12, I started the coursework to become a board certified behavior analyst. The course, it's a coursework field work sit, where the exam is a big process. So yeah, when I came back in 2013 I decided, okay, Jamali, complete this. I could do your field work and complete the certification. So I came back focused on that and became board certified. Sat in my exam in 2015 because the field work did take about two years, and became board certified in 2015 and there's that. So what did you do so you were able to fund most of your lifestyle through selling your condo, your co op. What did you do from 2015 onward? Were you making enough money through Well, you were you had your individual practice, right? Yes, I wasn't able to fund my lifestyle from 2013 to 2015 but those proceeds, darling, no, I was able to fund the lifestyle from 2012 to 2013

Damali Alexander 32:41

and then, yeah, so I when I came back to New York, while doing the field work, I'm working with my practice, like still doing, conducting those private sessions with families, home base, some centers, not really many. But yes, I was working and supporting myself. Got it so you're working. And then I'll just jump forward a little bit, because now just kind of give us, like a base for how far you've come with your flexibility so you now own a business, own home, like, multi families, home in Jamaica, also apartment in Jamaica, apartment in Jamaica. Still that mean, property in Jamaica. What that debt jump? I mean, I know that's a lot that happened between that time. But like, how did you know what the next step was? Or, like, how did you go from solepreneur or entrepreneur to business owner and then investor? Because I feel like now you are business owner, investor, yes, doing a lot on this side. So how did you make those moves, or describe those big moves that you took? Okay, definitely. So once I became board certified, I this is important. So in that time, end of 2015 beginning 2016 I think Obamacare made private health insured. Made it required that private health insurance cover ABA services for individuals diagnosed with autism, because of, obviously the increase in that diagnosis, and as a result, it created a lot more access for families to have this service for their aging children with autism, and it created an opportunity for a lot of different agencies to pop up that are solely insurance funded. One Agency that I worked for.

Damali Alexander 34:22

I was contracting my services with them, initially, proud women's ABA, and I was contracting my services with them from January 2016 and then I remember I was in Jamaica for a month the following year, because I'm still working with my own time. August 2017 I got an email from the CEO of that agency, and they told me that they were expanding, the company was growing, and they're building a department called quality assurance, and they think I'd be the right fit. So I wasn't looking for a job. I don't think I'm a good employee, not because I don't do good work, but because I need to control my time, and the very few employers who allow for that in the way I need. And I.

Damali Alexander 35:00

I'm always open to a conversation. So even though I wasn't looking for this, I'm open. There's no harm in a conversation. It costs nothing, but some time. So I sat down with him. They told me what it about, what they thought. They didn't even know what it was going to look like, to be honest. And so that's also an opportunity in my mind. I'm like, Oh, I get to create whatever possibly. And I said, at this time, this is 2017 so I've been essentially hustling, right, like exchanging my time for money since 2010 to 2017 I said, you know, it might not be a bad time to have a salary, like a set little salary, take a little break. So in the conversation, I said, you know, this could be an opportunity. I saw a lot of ways that I could grow. I will be building a team, managing a team I'd have the opportunity to create and have an impact in a larger organization. And I think these are skills that I always believed I have, but I didn't have any proof. And here was a way for me to kind of prove that on somebody else's dime. So like I said, Yes, and

Damali Alexander 36:01

did very well in that role, so much so that I'm not saying because of my specific role, but that company got quiet by private equity in 2019

Damali Alexander 36:13

and I was identified as a key member in that deal. So I was looked at as an employee that they wanted to keep on, and so therefore equity was offered, and that conversation happened something I never thought about. So now we're in 2019, I said yes, of course, because what they presented to me is nothing I ever imagined for myself along that road, though, private equity is quite interesting, and I just basically, how can they say this?

Damali Alexander 36:43

It was no longer as much a fit as it was initially, where I had a lot more freedoms to do, right? You know, and produce, how I produce, I need that space to produce at the level I produce. And so I did decide in 2020 that this is no longer a fit, and it's 2020 as well as we all know what's happening, right? Pandemic, yeah, it was kind of like, don't have to deal with a lot of these things. At the time in March, a friend of mine had told me about an opportunity for actually, Amazon was good. Was giving contracts, right? Not give offering contracts to people who were interested in exploring the transportation, logistics space. I was not per se, but a friend of mine said, Jamali, this is something you could do with your eyes closed. I don't know what you're talking about, but okay, and at the time, I was open to different things that I knew things just weren't fitting for me, and so I

Damali Alexander 37:37

threw my my name at the hat and was offered a contract with Amazon. So that's how I started my business

Damali Alexander 37:45

in

Jamila Souffrant 37:46

the third party space, and the money that you because you didn't need money to start that private equity kind of that you got the Deal or No, my my salary, my own savings, my salary, my salary and bonuses and so forth. So I had, I had a little nest egg for myself already. Yeah, right. I love that. So you took that risk. So just a couple of things. I mean, someone called you, you identified because of what you're able to do as just a regular employee through the company, or someone who was being contracted to work that, wow, this person can do this job like or help expand. And like you said, you weren't necessarily, you know, looking to do that, but you thought of the bigger picture about the skills, like investing in yourself, like I always say, you are your biggest asset. So how can this role or position or thing I'm going through help develop me? Because I can always take the skills somewhere else, because it lives inside of me exactly. So it's just a testament to even if you're currently not in a situation that is ideal or that you want to be in, it's like, what can you learn from here that can take you somewhere else? And also just the value of doing your best, because you don't know who's watching, who can identify you as the person that, hey, this person we're going to take with us to the next level. So I think that's really inspiring to hear, especially when you when you're in maybe positions that you don't feel like you want to be in, it's just like that's just a stepping stone for something else. I tell my employees this all the time, and you've met them. I brought you in to speak with my team, to educate, because I believe in professional development, and I tell them all the time, what are the skills like? It may not be a dream job, you know, driving and or delivering, but there are levels to everything, right? So I was just doing ABA services, but then I knew, Oh, the highest level is to become board certified. So I went for that, right? Because that opened up more opportunities. If you want to be a driver, do you have a CDL or what kind of license Do you have? There's always another level where you can take things, and I encourage them to identify, what are the skills that you're learning from this experience, focus on that and then take those skills with you somewhere else. So yes, definitely. I.

Jamila Souffrant 40:00

Okay, all right, so you now are a business, a legit business owner. You have employees and on the side, still again, when I saw you a couple years ago or last year, you know, you brought me to come in and do some professional development around personal finance, you were like, Yeah, you know, you bought something in Westchester. You were rehabbing that. And you were like, Yeah, and I bought something in Jamaica, and I'm like, here she goes again. Yes,

Damali Alexander 40:26

at that time, I bought my land in Portland, which I'm so excited to whatever that's gonna be, I don't know, right? So I do feel like this is just like part one of, like, a Damali like, update, because, like, in five years, like, there's gonna be a lot more to share. But can you just talk about that process, because the through line I see, and we kind of pulled them out about some of these lessons, is that, you know, there's opportunities that will someone from from the outside, people will be like, Oh, they're just kind of given to you. But I don't think that's the case. I feel like one you put yourself in a position to take advantage of the opportunities when they're available, and you take the risk you need to take to do that. So talk about maybe just a little bit your venture into real estate, and then even Brian property in Jamaica. What are your plans for that? So real estate in general, like I would say, my remember my aunt. I think you've definitely met my aunt Tanya before she purchased

Damali Alexander 41:20

a multifamily, two family home, man. I mean, I was, I wasn't 20, and she actually, like the first in our family. I'm, like, on both sides of my family, actually, to graduate college, and I remember when she bought that, and I remember she always talked, she always shared that kind of stuff with us. And so in addition to her doing it, I always remembered hearing my family say, don't rent. Stay till you can buy something. Even though they were rented, like in New York, it was more stable until you can buy something. And I think that's why, when I moved out of the living with my grandmother, I moved into my place. I was kind of have that somewhere. And with the multifamily thing, the first introduction to that was definitely my Tanya, and I saw the financial freedom it allowed for her. And so I think I always had that. So once I started my business, and things literally leveled up for me significantly. I said, Okay, I have to do something with this. And so I purchased the poor family in Westchester, which I'm still working on. So there are things to learn, but in the grand scheme, it will definitely pay off, but it's not easy at the moment, so I'm going to be also honest, not every decision I've made has been a straight bull's eye, but I learned, and actually I got this from you. You said to me many years ago, you call it tuition.

Damali Alexander 42:36

I definitely know for sure you are the first person I heard say it as that, and it's exactly that, because we all like those of us who went away to school or paid for college, we paid tuition, and we never complained about the money we spent. We complain about the student loan, but we never complain about the actual money that went into it, whether you're using that degree or that knowledge you gained from that experience, enough. And so I've given myself grace when it comes to the things I may have invested in that I didn't see the financial return that I may have wanted or expected to see. But I always again focus on, what did I learn? What did I learn here? Because I am a wise person. I may not be the smartest person, but I'm wise. And I say I'm wise, because when I make mistake, I learn from you will not see me do that same thing again. You know, I will definitely take that information, so I move in that kind of way. So, yeah, definitely that. I call it tuition. So giving yourself grace, not everything, and that will reckless. I don't take everything I have. I don't take everything you take what you can right, and whatever that means, everyone's life situation is different. I started from very humble beings and beginnings. I don't know, I don't want to, because obviously I didn't talk about my background. My parents were teenagers when they had me. I remember we lived with my like grandparents till I was like four, and then when we moved into our home place, we lived in a studio apartment. So I'm really coming from humble beginnings, but one of the things I will also say that I'm that's new for me and becoming very clear for me. I never, I've never been poor, if that makes sense. I see poor as a mindset and a mentality. We were broke, but I was never poor, and so while we didn't have a lot, I never had I always had an abundance mindset, is what I'm really saying. I never had a scarce mindset. I've always been able to find an opportunity, and I think it has a lot to do, because abundance, to me, just really means unlimited. It's just not limited. So I've always work towards keeping my mind open and keeping myself open, and that is work. That is work. And so that's where I put a lot of energy. Yeah, I think the possibilities are endless, and there's so many lanes and things lanes that people have taken opportunities that we don't even know exist.

Jamila Souffrant 45:00

Yet that can change your life. That reminds me of when I found out about the fire movement, and I was like, it just felt like this was like another plane people were living on. I had no idea. And like, how many different landscapes or planes and parallel universes people are doing different things that, if you just look up and believe that you too, maybe can learn something or do something like that, can open up a new wormhole and and then you're like, stepping into a life that you you don't even know to dream about yet because you didn't think it could exist. And I just feel like you are a walking example of that so and I'm so glad I know that, like, we didn't cover everything, but I want to say, like we, if you listen to this, so thankful for Damali, because it's not like she has anything to really promote, like a book or like social media, like she's not even another thing I love about you, you're not really, you're not on social media. You just you live your life like you're one of those people. If you did have social media and you talked about this, you could just be making millions just about talking about it, and so I love that you just like it's not about that you're just living your life, doing your thing, and inspiring people along the way. So I just want to thank you for sharing. Thank you, Jamila, thank you for this platform. Thank you for being so open and sharing your life and your journey for so long, you know, with everyone, because, trust me, you are impacting so many people, including myself, which is why I never May. I'm always watching. I'm always watching on the sidelines and seeing you, and I check your stuff, and I love everything that you're doing, and when I see you on other podcasts that I also follow, like girl, like I love it. It makes me so proud. You just are below it. I hope to see you actually in May, you need to come to Jamaica. We'll talk about that. Yeah, let's talk about it. We got it. We got to catch up offline. But Jamala, thank you so much again for coming on the podcast and sharing your journey with other journeyers. Absolutely. Thank you, Jamila. Don't forget, you can get the episode show notes for this episode by going to journey to launch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this. And you can still grab your jumpstart guide for free to help you on your journey to financial freedom by going to journey to launch.com/jumpstart

Jamila Souffrant 47:21

if you want to support me and the podcast and love the free content and information that you get here, here are four ways that you can support me and the show. One, make sure you're subscribed to the podcast wherever you listen, whether that's Apple podcasts, that purple app on your phone, your Android device, YouTube, Spotify wherever it is that you happen to listen. Just subscribe so you are not missing an episode, and if you're happening to listen to this in Apple podcasts, rate review and subscribe there. I appreciate and read every single review. Number two, follow me on my social media accounts. I'm at journey to launch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and I love, love, love interacting with journeyers. There three, support and check out the sponsors of this show. If you hear something that interests you, sponsors are the main ways we keep the podcast lights on here, so show them some love for supporting your girl. Four. And last but not least, share this episode, this podcast, with a friend or family member or co worker so that we can spread the message of Journey to launch. All right, that's it until next week. Keep on journeying. Journeyers. You.

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