We recently connected with Devante Barnes and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Devante thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
This story will begin in the year 2020. The year 2020 was a significant year, not only for the world, but for me and my personal life aswell. This year would come to be; what I didn’t know at that time my last year working as a police officer. I found myself 4 years into a career that I had dreamed of as a kid feeling extremely disappointed, angry and dissatified with my life. I’d grown over those 4 years to see the world for what it really is. The biggest lesson I took away from this period in my life dispite my dissatifaction, is the only thing I could control was myself. I had to accept that I was apart of a problem that I hadn’t yet figured out how to solve. It was a huge pill to swallow, but as I searched my soul for answer’s I had a revelation that drew me closer and closer into God’s word/truth. Once I had my spiritual awakening this assured me of who I truly am in Christ. This is when I knew that I needed to make a huge change not only with my career, but also with the life that I was living. That was the moment I decided to step out of the darkness and surrender to God’s will for my life.
Since that day i’ve watched years go by effortlessly. As I look back to reflect with no regret’s, it has been quite a journey. I’ve had plenty of good and bad day’s but that’s just life. I never expected things to be easy, but I can say that I have come a very long way. I have faced persecution, rejection, abandoment, betrayal and homelessness in this proccess of transformation, and through it all God has never left my side.
The bible say’s the pathway to peace is very narrow and few find it. Today I can testify that I have found true peace through it all. My pain has been transformed into beauty, light, and positivity which i’ve learned to express daily through my social media content. Instead of becoming bitter from my trials, I’ve decided to become the change i’ve prayed for in my youth. The best part of it all is that I’ve been able to share my journey, spread hope and inspire other’s along the way. My main goal today is to continue to be that beacon of light to anyone in need during dark and light times.
True risk requires faith and the willinginess to believe that your capable of more than you currently are. At that time I didn’t know where that risk would take me, but I just believed beyond my current situation and capacity to see with my physical eye’s. As time passed I put one foot in front of the other. Step by step, day by day, I grew stronger, I grew wiser and things became clearer. Today I stand as a changed man free from shame, guilt, and worry. The best part is, this is only the beginning!!!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
Our brand represents strength, faith, integrity, and resilience. Our goal and vision is to spread joy, hope, and inspiration to as many people as possible. The way we do that is by first living in our truth. Second we make and stick to the plan to follow our goals and aspirations. Last we work towards those goals on a daily basis. This is what I believe has helped us get to where we are today.
When I first got into content creation, my main focus was just documenting and traking my own personal growth and development. I had no intentions on doing it for other’s, but God had a different plan in mind. As time progressed, a daily mundane chore soon became the love of my life. As our audience grew, I grew in confidence. This is the period where I became more intentional with my craft. I soon realized a strong connection developing between me, our content, and our audience on social media. It was then that I became aware of the impact/value our content produced for others. Looking back It’s funny how it all began documenting my life during my darkest hour.
March 8th, 2022 is the day that I became homeless. I was forced into this situation unexectedly when the family member I was living with at the time betrayed me. I was homeless, living in a 1998 Ford Ranger, scared and didn’t know what to do next. This is when I came face to face with purpose. It was then that I started documenting and recording my day to day life on Youtube. Soon after things went from bad to worst.
April 19th, 2022 is the day my truck broke down in a pizza hut parking lot, on a side of town that was foreign to me. Drained of all my connections and resouces I felt completely trapped. I knew that I had no one to call on but God. This was by far the scariest and hardest part of my journey. Eventhough I was afraid and unaware of what to do next, I just knew to never give up so I kept moving foward.
I lived in that parking lot from April 19th-July 5th, 2022. During this time I grew stronger spiritually. As the days progressed, what seemed to be an impossible situation that would never end became smaller and smaller as I compared it to God. As I faced my goliath I used my voice through social media content and the audience became the driving force for my hope. There were many times I felt like giving up. But in my weakest moments God will show just how powerful he really is.
What started out as a small seed, has now grown in to a full fledged social media outlet. Today im able to share my journey across 9 different social media platforms which include: Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Tik Tok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, Pintrest, and Linkedin.
This is why I will forever be thankful, and in a state of graditude, because in a time where I was at my lowest, God has given me beauty for ashes.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
What has always helped me in any area of my life has been authenticity. Im a firm believer of being yourself. This way im able to display my true character. The more I practice being who I truly am this builds confidence, and with that comes integrity, and reliablability.
I make sure that anything I attach my name to, I do it with all my heart, and to the best of my ability. Overtime I allow my work to talk for me. Im willing to do the work necessary to get the results I desire.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?
The most awarding aspect of being a creative is being able to showcase the fullness of who I am. This helps me realize how human I truly am, nobody’s perfect I make mistakes all the time. The fact that im able to embrace and accept my flaws is a beautiful thing. I’ve realized how many other’s are in a state of fear due to insecurities. So I use my creativity to bring awareness, so that other’s can also produce and express themselve’s free of fear. That’s what makes it worth it for me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/_strangebehavior_
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/devante-barnes-190506248
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/barnezjunk?s=11&t=kXodVr8QM1r6WkS7ury7zQ
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqmFya0xEk3DVIWiL0Ls6XA
- Other: Tik Tok:(http://www.tiktok.com/@_strangebehavior_) Snapchat: (https://www.snapchat.com/add/bar-nez93) Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064484680769) Reddit: (https://www.reddit.com/u/Substantial-Lie135/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) Pintrest: (https://pin.it/vg9IZpl)