AnTonia Jackson about the gift of today and the magic of a great vision

AnTonia Jackson was introduced to me by her mother Dr. Latarsha Holden who I had the honor to have as a guest on this podcast before. AnTonia is an incredible young woman, it’s amazing what she accomplished at the age of 19. She is a four times published author, a spoken word artist, a serial entrepreneur and a motivational speaker. I’m so excited to see what the future holds for her! Talking with AnTonia gives me so much hope and such a good feeling, I hope that you’ll experience the same! Let’s dive right in.

As always, we start with the questions: What brings you joy and how do you create joy?

«I always try to find something every day that is fun, full of happiness, just like a free-flowing day», AnTonia

AnTonia says that she enjoys going to the park, looking at the scenery and the birds, having a good joyful car ride, having a great conversation with her husband and «just enjoy the fact, that you have another 24 hours, that you’re out there and living, that’s the most important thing».

We talk about people that might now think «yeah yeah… it’s all very well for you to talk like this, but I'm in a bad state of mind…» and I ask AnTonia what her answer to that would be.

«You have to be mentally stable, mentally prepared to get out of that mindset», AnTonia answers. «It’s something you have to work on within yourself. Usually when people say something to you, you’re either going to take their advice or you don't, so it’s really not up to another person to tell you how you can get out of that mental state, it’s really up to you. Ask yourself: “Do I want to stay in that state? Do I want to stay depressed, sad and lonely? OR could I change my mental for the better and think positive about myself, think positive about the life I’m in?” Sometimes you can change your bad situations into good ones».

«You have to know how to keep your mental strong», AnTonia

AnTonia says that there are many things you can do for that: «You can meditate, you can read books, you can listen to cool, calm music, you can just talk to people. Talking to people is probably the best thing to do so you won’t feel lonely, so you won’t feel like you’re in this alone».

«It’s the responsibility for your own happiness. When you own it, everything gets easier and you see the next steps», Ronja

We talk about the role her mother plays on AnTonia’s journey to that strong mindset full of faith and will.

«The main thing my mother gave all her six children is love», AnTonia says. Faith came from her mother, but also through homelessness that they went through as a family and the things she experienced as a teenager.

AnTonia explains that you can’t just say «I believe this is going to happen» if you don’t really believe it. «Faith is one of the hardest things that human beings can have, because you don’t know what’s in front of you. No one knows the future; we’re only promised today».

«Faith is something where you have to trust the unknown», AnTonia

I ask AnTonia how she found to her profession(s), how she became an author and a spoken word artist.

AnTonia says that it all started when she was 12 years old. Her mother took her to a community center with speaking events, workshops and where you could volunteer too. That’s when AnTonia became a youth advocate and started speaking publicly. Inspired by the famous spoken word artist Ernestine Johnson Morrison, AnTonia fell in love with spoken word art. «I loved the art of it and just the whole concept of it». At the age of 15 AnTonia saw her mother writing books and thought to herself «Oh, I want that too!», so she sat down with her mum and eventually published her first book «Answers from God». It’s about two sisters that go down two different paths in life, but God unites them through their dreams. The second book, that AnTonia published a year later is called «Call on me». It’s about a wealthy atheist woman who suddenly realizes her money can't save her when she becomes ill. Her third book is a children’s book called «I’m flawsome» and it has the truly inspiring message that no matter what flaws children have, they’re still awesome! And finally (but I’m sure there are many more to come! : )) AnTonia published a self-help book for women aged 16 to 21 that is called «Sister Gurl».

It is such a pleasure hearing about the things AnTonia has brought into life! I think it’s so beautiful when peers are teaching peers and AnTonia is a great role model! We’re not even done here, AnTonia also created and published a game! It’s a board game called «Accountability Money Box» and it teaches children three major life lessons:

• How to count money
• How to think positive about themselves
• How to do something nice for someone else

You have to listen to the podcast where AnTonia tells the story about how she got the idea and what an incredible conversation motivated her to go through with her plans. It’s truly inspiring!

It’s so important to talk with children about money because having a positive attitude from children’s age on is so valuable.

«Money is energy, money is power», Ronja

I ask AnTonia how she finds the strength to put the ideas that she downloads into reality.

«It’s more than just faith. You never know when it’s your last day on earth, so if you want to start writing that book, creating that business, do it! You only have one life to live, and tomorrow is not promised to no one» AnTonia answers. She adds that life is simply too short to sit on your desk and regret all the things you haven’t done. «Especially right now in the midst of the pandemic, a lot of people have time on their hands, so get it done!».

«I just let it flow. If it becomes a success, it does, if it doesn’t, that’s fine too, but I know for sure, that I got done what I wanted to get done», AnTonia

«Procrastination is so big, it will stop you from achieving your dreams», AnTonia

I think procrastination in the dream department is fear of failure. But when you procrastinate when you should do things you simply don’t enjoy, change things up. Change your project. Delegate. Yes, there are things that we have to do and we don’t enjoy but many things can be changed!

What about security? What about what other’s say? What about all the if’s…???

«Fear is always going to get in the way, but you can’t let fear get in the way, you can’t let procrastination get in the way, you can’t get other people’s nose in the way», AnTonia

«You have to follow your dreams, follow your mind and stick to the plan», AnTonia

«Everybody has free will and they can do what they want to do», AnTonia

You can start small and build up your business or write a book in the evening, while other people are watching Netflix.

«What is there to wait for? You don’t have any excuse!», AnTonia

«Everybody has the potential to be the greatest that they can be», AnTonia

If you listened to the episode, you heard us both somewhat awestruck pause because yeah, it is actually that simple!

AnTonia adds: «It’s your mental that you have to control, it’s your mental that you have to say “this isn’t the life I want to live, this isn’t me, I want to be better than what my family history is, I want to break generational curses, I want to build generational wealth, that’s what you have to tell yourself».

What is your personal vision? Where do you want to go?

«One thing that I will always say that I want out of life is to make an income while making an impact», AnTonia

«The future is the generation now, this generation is the future», AnTonia

«I want to be able to help – one, as a former homeless youth and two, as a young adult now, who has learned the true meaning of giving back, who has learned to follow my dreams. I want to be able to go back and help the youth become amazing human beings, whatever they want to do. But it starts young, it starts in the family. I want to be that light, that brings a positive impact to youth, because they need it», AnTonia explains after I ask her where she wants to make a big impact.  

AnTonia says, that she read in a research, that kindness changes the brain and that selfless acts of giving provides physical and emotional benefits needed for well-rounded individuals.

In 2021 AnTonia wants to write three more children’s books based on the three lessons that the game teaches and to create an app for the game. AnTonia has learned her business skills through her mother and research, but she also wants to go to a school to learn more about business administration and communications.

AnTonias vision is to have her game at schools, at homeless shelters, at foster homes… and to speak within the next 3 years to crowds of 100 to 500 people. You go, lady!!

«I want to continue to help people the best that I can, that’s my dream goal», AnTonia

I have an exercise that I love, where you write down 100 things that bring you joy and I ask AnTonia to spontaneously say things that bring her joy. Her answer is: «Juice, going to the park, car rides, date nights, food in general, especially hot wings, family, love, being kind to someone, seeing kindness within other people, waking up, nature, fresh air, the little things». If you haven’t done this exercise yet try it too! 100 things might at first seem like a lot but you’ll be surprised how many things you’ll be able to write down. : ) Here is the link to a blog article, that I’ve created about this topic, https://www.joyismycompass.com/blog/8-100things.

AnTonia, what is your message to the world?

«Do not spend another day procrastinating, do not spend another day of fear, go after your dreams, do want you want to do in life, be you, be free, be authentic, the best thing you can be is to be yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you no, don’t let the naysayers get to you and always, always, always be persistent and have discipline».

And with that ends another awesome talk with an awesome woman whose vision just waits to be fulfilled, because it’s coming right from her heart and it will benefit so many people. I’m excited to follow AnTonia on her journey.

This is where you can find AnTonia:

Website: https://www.antoniamfwilliams.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ton.will.984 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awokenvoice/ 
Board game: https://accountabilitymoneybox.games/
Support Anti-Racism: https://linktr.ee/action 

People and resources we talked about:

Ernestine Johnson Morrison
Rachel Rodgers, hello7.co
Suzy Ashcroft

Blog article about the exercise to what brings you joy: https://www.joyismycompass.com/blog/8-100things