We recently connected with Dr. Latoya Appleton and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Latoya , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Taking a life-changing risk doesn’t always seem to be the best Idea in the moment. I found that the reward often outweighs the risk. I managed to finish a Doctoral degree while in the midst of a divorce and then launched a podcast “Black Girl, Say Something” to discuss my realizations to get to the point where I can speak freely and with peace. The most significant risk was finding my voice and not being afraid of judgment and moving from shame to healing from the pain. I manage to handle all of my adversities while running a Mobile and virtual Optical Top Notch Eyewear (topnotcheyes.com), being a mother and an advocate for women and infant nutrition.
Dr. Latoya , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Since launching my podcast I have found that many women are now brave enough to speak about their experiences. My story is a shared experience for so many women. There is healing in telling your truth. Instead of hiding behind the adversity, I chose to talk about it, My business Top Notch Eyewear is my origin story. I’m still the best Optician according to the people and my business continues to be award-winning. It is my hope that my transition into podcast host can have the same great success. “Black Girl, Say Something” is available on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, Spotify, and Anchor FM.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn is that you can operate in all of your talents and skills and be successful in all of them. My realization of this came about when completing my Doctorate degree. Yes, I’m an Optician, as well as a phlebotomist, a breastfeeding counselor, and now a Podcast host. I had a week in July 2022, where I got to do all those things and felt so fulfilled because I love them. I found that when I limited myself to just one of my talents I still wanted to do more. Many of the skills I possess are things I’ve done for a while. WIth the podcast being the newest. I have always spoken and encouraged people. Now I’m doing it from a healed place and it is incredible. So, I’m saying yes you can have it all; you just have to release what is holding you back.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
My success required that I kept learning. Obtaining a doctorate means having solutions to problems and using the process of application. I found that I became even more focused, driven and solution based in my business and new endeavors. I found that my execution of ideas and processes were easier to roll out and lacked little complication.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://anchor.fm/blackgirlsaysomething
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/blackgirlsaysomething?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackgirlsaysomething
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/latoyaappleton/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/blackgirlsay
- Other: https://topnotcheyes.com