We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cherry Griffin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Cherry thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
I want my legacy to be one of inspiration. I want to be remembered as the person the encouraged others to embrace their uniqueness, not only follow their dreams and passions , but accomplish them, and that I never backed down from adversity. I want to remembered as the woman who dared to be different.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I own Destiny Talk Live Media Group LLC. I started this platform because my children are creatives. I wanted a place or platform that they could share their works, build or improve their talents while helping other new entrepreneurs accomplish their dreams.
We have partnered with businesses just starting out by creating their brand. This includes creating a logo, promotional videos, social media content, writing short stories, etc. We have also created a space where creatives can simply share their work.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
This is a loaded question. I embarked on my new path/journey in 2016. I was at a job I had out grown, I was miserable and started to become resentful towards my employer/job. But like most Americans, without a college degree, or who has struggled with just making enough to cover the essentials needed to survive, you stay at the job because of the fear of being homeless. I was a miserable person until Oct. 3, 2016 changed the way I viewed myself, my life, and it changed the path I was on. On that day I had a TIA (Transient Ischemic attack), a mini stroke. I say it was a blessing in disguise and God’s way of getting my attention and pushing into the direction I needed to go.
During my recovery, I realized that I was miserable because of me and the choices I made. There was no one to blame for my circumstances, but me. I knew in order for me to move on in life and accomplish anything I desired, I had to forgive me. I didn’t need to look for apologies from people who wronged me, because they didn’t matter. The only person that mattered was me. So, I started the process of self healing. I sat in front of the mirror and I talked to the person that was there to listen. I apologized to her for not being a proper guardian of her heart. I asked her to forgive me for not fighting for her, not believing that she could so anything in life she set her mind to, and not protecting her from bad relationships. The next step was seek forgiveness, and tell her how much I loved her and believed in her. I repeated this process for months until I regain her trust and belief in me.
On Sept. 9, 2017, I lunched my podcast Destiny Talk Live on the Sensation Station Network in Atlanta, Ga. On Sept. 17, 2017, I enrolled in college at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA. I was a traditional college student at 50 years old. I attended classes with people who I could have been their mother or grandmother, professors that were the same age as my oldest daughter, or the same age as me, but none of that mattered. I went on to accomplish some amazing things. In 2018, I was selected as a AIRS (Association of Independents in Radio) New Voices Scholar in 2018, a media partner at Black Enterprise Women in Power Conference in 2018, covered designer Megan Fullerton at New York Fashion Week in 2018, and in 2020 I launched Destiny Talk Live Media Group LLC. I accomplished so much by the time I graduated from Oglethorpe in May of 2021 with a double majored in Communications and Film & Media Studies.
I then enrolled to LIU (Long Island University) in Brooklyn, NY for their MA program Writing and Producing for Television program. Although my stay in NY was brief, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the TIDE and DOC NYC Film Festivals. Refusing to give up, I landed in San Antonio, TX, teaching Communications to high school students at San Antonio Preparatory School and enrolled at Full Sail University Online MA degree program New Media Journalism with an expected graduation date in July of 2023.
Why did I share all of this information? I believe in order for you to know where you’re going, you must know where you come from. You can’t be afraid to confront and silence your past, and walk in your truth. I live by this saying, FEAR stands for Find Every Available Resource to accomplish all that you want to achieve in life. If you don’t believe, love, encourage, and trust yourself; how can you expect anyone else to? Success isn’t measured by how much money you have, what kind of car you drive, how big your house is, or what your social economic background is. Success is how you lived your life and what your contribution was to society. Did you help change or redirect someone’s path? or Did you add to the destruction and chaos?
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
It isn’t about the money. It is about the peace of mind, the happiness in doing what I love. I have decided I won’t live my life anymore designed around a job (just over broke). I want to life my life with a career, that will eventually lead to revenue that will sustain me. The more I perfect my craft, and build on my talents, the revenue I desire will come, because I will have developed the skills and confidence needed to obtain my desires.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mydtlorg.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinytalklive/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/destinytalklive
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherry-griffin-0091ab8/. and https://www.linkedin.com/company/64970349/admin/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/destinytalklive
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTBuoSQ5uIFoKfHkKLacwdg
Image Credits
Photos taken by ESKP (Eye So Keen Photography) and by Angelica Cuervo