We recently connected with James Robinson and have shared our conversation below.
James, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
For years I wondered why my mother didn’t abort me. It wasn’t until I realized that I had a purpose bigger than myself to encourage others that I understood that even if she tried to abort me it would have failed because there was a reason for me to be here. I am here for someone who right now wants to give up. I am here to encourage them to have the audacity to keep going because no matter what it looks like right now IT GETS BETTER!
James, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a dad first and foremost. Before I am an author. Before I do any outreach work. Before I speak to an audience of people I am a dad first. My first obligation is to my sons.
I am a full time single dad. I have 6 sisters and 1 brother. I was born and raised on the west side of Charlotte NC to a teenage mother and an incarcerated father.
Life wasn’t easy but prepared me for the work that I currently do. Going through various situations in life paved a rocky path for me and a gateway to go back down that path and bring someone else back out with me.
It is my intent to encourage each person that I come in contact with to have the audacity to keep going. That’s my mission. Life throws enough negativity at each of us daily and I want to be that shining light in the darkness to let people know that they can make it through any situation, but the key is to keep going no matter what.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Growing up on the west side of Charlotte NC and being a young black male my biggest flex was making it back in the house at night alive. Being the product of an incarcerated father didn’t help matters, but I learned at an early age what it is to never give up. Some of us are born in status, but I was born into survival. I can remember being in our apartment many times with my family and having to get as low as we can when gunshots began to ring out in the air. I have learned in my adult years to be content in every situation I find myself in and no matter what to always have the audacity to keep going.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One lesson that I have had to unlearn is the word “yes”. Because I suffered from self esteem issues as a teenagers and having the feeling of “not belonging” become a people pleaser was my coping mechanism. I began at at an early age doing things that people around me wanted me to do because that would bring friends, right? Absolutely not! This opened up the door for people to use me for their own personal gain. It wouldn’t be until my late 20’s that I learned that it’s okay to say “no”. It’s okay to take care of yourself. If you have ever traveled by plane you are told in the event of an emergency to apply your oxygen mask first and then help your neighbor. On my first flight as an adult I realized that I have been living life backwards all this time. I had been helping others with their masks while the very life was being sucked out of me in the process. That day my life changed and I learned to say “no”!
Contact Info:
- Website: allthingzjames.online
- Instagram: itz_justjames
- Facebook: Jay C. Robinson
- Twitter: itz_justjames
- Youtube: itz_justjames