Anastasia: 0:04

hello and welcome back to anastasia speaks, where sacred spaces are created to heal the invisible scars and build communities of love whilst illuminating the magic of you. I'm your host, anastasia, and on today's show we're back with aj1 filmmaker, father producer, writer. Filmmaker, father producer, writer, poet, actor and all-round master, creative, hello, hello. So we're going to start with authenticity and what that means to you.

AJ Wone: 0:36

Authenticity is the genuineness of believing in what you say. I've always been a stickler in memorization with poetry and one of the reasons why some of us might have a hard time memorizing poems is because we may not be authentically connected or may not necessarily believe what we're saying, and it'll be hard to retain it. Authenticity is so very important trusting and believing in what you say and using your poetry I know we're not just talking about poetry, it's not exclusive to poetry, but anything that we do. We have to trust and believe in what we do, and I believe in everything I do, what I say, what I think, how I inhabit and consume information and media. Anything that I put out is tried and true. Trust it because I believe in it or I came from it.

Anastasia: 1:38

You spoke right from the gut right, right from the truth of you, right from the gut right, right from the truth of you. And oftentimes we just don't. We become accustomed to not having that and seeing that, and so hearing you speak is.

AJ Wone: 1:54

Authentic.

Anastasia: 1:57

It's potent, the frequency is potent, the vibrations are true. Right, this is more of what I was speaking to and what I'm talking about. So to hear you articulate once again so accurately is also part and parcel of what makes you you so, because you're quite dynamic, you have many titles and wear a number of hats. How do you maintain a strong sense of authenticity when being amongst people who want to put you in a box and label you into one thing?

AJ Wone: 2:34

that's all about self-belief, self-awareness, and it was instilled in me when I was a child from my grandparents, my mother. Obviously she is the most important piece in the development of my character and who I became because of how she came up. She didn't want me to live and have the life that she lived. I also had two dads, you know, two fathers, two daddies. However way it goes, people know Cepheus Jackson was my mother's second husband, her first husband, 50% of my life.

AJ Wone: 3:11

Give her Allen House, my father, you know, who put and attributed a lot of things to me genetically. That cold is strong with him. If you see him, meet him, hear him, you say, oh, that's AJ, because he was the first AJ. And when it comes to Cepheus, cepheus Jackson, he put a different kind of spin on the masculinity and the creativity. He taught me how to write theater, to act, understanding theater and stage and audio video, running the lights, running the audio. He put me up on a lot of that while I was breakdancing and pop locking in uh, sitting out in the park out in Inglewood. So my father gave me 18th street, gave me his mother and father, who are my grandparents, who I love dearly, and they love me too, all my aunts and uncles, uh, my father had nine siblings and we lost three of them, and three of them were so very important, as well as Ramsey and Papa.

AJ Wone: 4:31

So maintaining authenticity in a world where people will put you in a box, guess what? People are always going to put you in a box. There's nothing that you can do, nothing that you can say. You can't convince or have everybody like you. So it's about maintaining self-awareness and keeping with your identity and knowing who you are, and you have to know how to temper the fact that people will always put you in a box. Oh man, you a player. Look at them eyes, them blue eyes, wooo, your sexy ass. Lady just said that today I had a fruit cup. She said take two of them with your sexy ass lady. Lady just said that today I had a fruit cup. She said take to up with your sexy ass. And I laughed, you know, I thought it was funny.

AJ Wone: 5:14

But it's this part complimentary and then it could be part objectification. You know, women deal with it all the time and they figure if a man deals with it, then it's a compliment, you know. But when being labeled a player gets in the way all the time. When you're doing business, when you're working in politics, when you're working in the community, doing service, and people make those assumptions all the time. It can get in the way of being effective as a leader if people continually put you in that box. So you have to be self-aware, you have to have an identity and you have to have discipline to be able to not lock and load into saying, oh, if you think I am, then I'm going to be that. So I've maintained back and away from what people's perceptions of me are, because it's a whole bunch of them all the time. You know and don't nobody care, don't nobody care about anybody anyway. So why, why would I be consiring trying to convince one person? Don't think that, don't say that.

Anastasia: 6:20

There's greatness in that, you know, and people find it difficult, aj, to not feel as though other people's comments and how they're perceived is necessary or it concerns them. You know and you know we're one in the same, in that way, like it, it doesn't bother me about what people say or think of me, because I know who I am and I know I will never be in here. You know, um, it doesn't bother me about what people say or think of me, because I know who I am and I know I will never be in who. You know, um, I won't be. So as a man, tell us what it's like when you go from all the people that you love and care about and that care about you, loving on you and adoring you like family right, and then, outside of that navigating, everyone's gonna have this perception of you or put you in a box and doesn't love you like your family does sometimes your own family won't love you.

AJ Wone: 7:18

So family doesn't equate to love, it's not just family. Sometimes family can can put you in a box and question your authenticity, and you end up having to go outside and find love through family that don't come from your blood.

Anastasia: 7:34

So, uh, humility is the answer to how to adapt and adjust when you're in a public setting, with people who may not recognize or know who you are you said to me in our last conversation being on stage, or say you had comments, feedback and in general, that you would sort of be like an antagonizer, right, and this was something that, yes, you said. When people would give you feedback or say something, you would say give a response in an antagonizing way. Do you remember that?

AJ Wone: 8:14

No no.

Anastasia: 8:19

Well, let me jog your memory.

AJ Wone: 8:22

I'm a politician now. No, no, I'm sorry, I do not remember that at all. Can you move on to the next question please? I do not antagonize, not me, not me, so what you did, no. I antagonize like a motherfucker. Right, I'm ready. I'm ready for that. Okay, I'm ready to answer the question.

Anastasia: 8:50

Okay, like a motherfucker. Right, I'm ready. I'm ready for that. Okay, I'm ready to answer the question. Okay, now I'm back to me. I wanted to ask you, being your most authentic self, right and trying to find humility and finding it in in pockets. Whenever aj might have gotten comfortable because of what he was hearing or what was being asked to him, and you would the response was to antagonize. When was it and what was it that made you realize that that was a way out of sharing or answering something?

AJ Wone: 9:13

I'm always answering questions. I was raised not to say I don't know. If I don't know, find. If I don't know, find the answer, find somebody who has the answer. One part of that is, I think, part of this I'm going to try to customize or repurpose the question.

AJ Wone: 9:39

And the village raised me Gramsci, papa, aunties, uncles, uncle Eddie, uncle Ed. You know, uncles, uncle Eddie, uncle Ed, you know. They told me stories that I didn't remember as a child. Well, I was here, I was there, all type of shit going on. Aj was there and I just would calculate through that. You know what I mean Stomping through everything. You know I've been coming to a complete stop, going head first into the windshield for a very long time, wiping the blood off and continuing to push. So we are earthquakes, we are hurricanes, we are tornadoes. We go through that when we have nausea, vomiting, dizzying. All of these things are disasters internally and they're reflections of what the universe experiences on the daily. So we rain, we snow, you know we overheat, you know we're brush fires. And you have to learn from mistakes or learn from observing other people and their experiences. You have to deeply connect to the universe in order to better understand how to live this life.

Anastasia: 10:48

By listening to the universe and the things that happened, you recognize that there was a pattern or you recognize that this was a pathway for you to shift things right and you would shift. There was pockets of things. That lead me on to what I'm about to say, and that is your service to the world, right as AJ, we're talking about authenticity and we can't talk about authenticity and AJ without laughter, without storytelling, without humor. Right, and I had recently said this to you that my belief and knowingness regarding your service and how you love is through bringing joy. It's through bringing joy and happiness to people with your humor, and that's how you serve the community, that's how you serve the planet. You know, through laughter and loving hard, through that vessel. You know, tell us how it feels to serve, to know that, to serve and did you know? You know we had this conversation, but it'd be good to air it out in regards to how you feel about the fact that this is what you do. This is your service in love.

AJ Wone: 12:00

uh, laughter when I was a little itty bitty, itty, itty itty, baby mama was on Soul Train she was introduced by. It was a woman named Lisa Jones that introduced my mother to Dick Griffey. Lisa Jones was messing with Richard Pryor at the time. Richard Pryor, of course, had David Banks and Paul Mooney as his writers. We all know Paul Mooney. Not many people know. Rest in peace, david Banks. Those are three of the funniest people in the 70s that architected everybody from Eddie Murphy, dave Chappelle. You know Dave had Paul Mooney on his show and David Banks has been known for years as one of the funniest brothers who put a lot of people Marshall Warfield and Sandra Bernhardt a lot of people on the map.

AJ Wone: 13:05

I grew up around them. Cepheus was a showrunner, a producer in Englewood Playhouse for Comedy in the Hood, where artists like Rusty Cundiff, robin Harris Simply Marvelous, cundiff, robin Harris, simply Marvelous. There's a whole comedic childhood that I had where I was listening to the very best of comedians, learning the timing Hip-hop came out at the time. Hip-hop was very comedic at a time with Will Smith, parents Just Don't understand. And uh, slick rick and dana dane go see the doctor. Uh, I shouldn't have done it, you know. Uh, so many different comedic elements in my childhood when it came to comedy, hip-hop and uh, that's what I grew up in, that was my environment and that's healing. I chose to become a doctor through comedy and art. I wasn't going to become a doctor through medicine, because I don't be fucking with medicine. You know what I mean the medicinal therapy in comedy, in art and studying history and knowing full well about my blackness and my rich, beautiful black history, that's the medicine. And with comedy and art, those two are the healing properties when it comes to communicating and really getting people into emotionally, drawing into each other. Comedy does that sense of humor.

AJ Wone: 14:55

Women say it all the time. I want to have me a man with a sense of humor. I want him to be God-fearing, I want him to have a job. You know he don't have to be all good-looking, just as long as he can make me laugh. And you know he got a plan at least with us. And see, homer, that's always the first thing, you know, one of the first things, and I can see, because there's a lot of ugly comedians out there that get tons of women, woo. So imagine how Eddie was killing the game back in the 80s. Boy eddie, you know, comedy is, is is really key, really key, uh, and just being, you know, laughter, laughter it's a beautiful gift that you give to the world.

Anastasia: 15:47

So much to say.

AJ Wone: 15:48

Am I funny. Am I funny?

Anastasia: 15:51

Are you?

AJ Wone: 15:52

I'm asking you Do you have any experiences of me being funny at all? You're laughing now, but I didn't even say that.

Anastasia: 16:01

You are extremely funny and it's really interesting that you I never I never knew that women wanted a funny man. I kind of always wanted the opposite. It's really interesting, however, and I kind of got the opposite and I was okay with it. And then I met a guy who was I thought was hilarious, and so I didn't know that that was a thing. So it's funny that you mentioned that. And now it's like oh, of course I want someone who's got a sense of humor, you know how much funnier am I than him?

AJ Wone: 16:38

Whoever that is, keep this in the podcast. The audio shit, the video shit. Yeah, because I want people commenting up underneath. I want to hear Now how much more funnier am I than the dude that you're talking about?

Anastasia: 16:52

Go ahead, I'll wait. Go ahead, guys Looking like uncles, go ahead oh my gosh, stop.

Anastasia: 17:11

Um, severely, severely, so much so. So I think I might have gained wrinkles from the amount of time that we've spent together and laughed together like I. I think I do that. The creases is deeper because of how much I laugh with you. You are, you are on a different scale, like you are. Just you just blow everybody out of the water. You're so funny, you're so funny. And it's not because I admire you, it's not because I respect you, it's not because I have that love for you, it's because you are.

Anastasia: 17:50

You know, will Smith said he was on a show and they were heckling and there was some, I think, racial stuff. And then immediately the comedian who was on stage made a joke. And now everyone's busting up. So we turned from rage potentially having a fight to laughter, everyone's busting up. So we turned from rage potentially having a fight to laughter, and something clicked in his brain that the only thing we're doing when we're laughing is loving, is is the frequency of love, because there's no room for anything else when you're barely laughing. That's it. It's just pure joy and you exude that like. You exude that in your spirit, like let's forget the nuances which we'll come to later, but this is, you know, part and parcel of you and what's authentic to you. For me, it's the, the service that you bring, it's the joy, it's the love through the laughter and through the humor. What would you say? It currently gives you energy, and how do you go about bringing more of that into your life?

AJ Wone: 18:46

well the energy came from, or the energy that I get now is the energy I've had for about 22 years, which is being a father.

AJ Wone: 19:00

That gives me the ultimate energy that gives me the sense of humor it enhances, it gives me the humility, it gives me the authenticity, it gives me the basis of this entire interview. It say what you want to be, man. You're going to be a model. You're going to be an actor or musician. I said I want to be a father. I want to be a father. That's what I want to be. And I became that and I am that.

AJ Wone: 19:38

That's the energy that drives me is seeing as I set them out into the world and they make their decisions as men. What kind of men are they going to be? I don't know. I just know what my position was and what I was able to present and provide for them while they were with me, under my care, and I wanted them to have unique names because they were going to carve a unique path based on the unique homeschooling techniques that I gave them all. And they are phenomenal, fantastic, incredible people, and that is the greatest act or greatest form of wealth that I've experienced. I don't need a penny. Well, I do need a penny because I eat a lot of food all the time. I just got some food a couple days ago and all that shit's gone, I mean two days ago.

AJ Wone: 20:39

Yeah, that's right.

Anastasia: 20:40

That's right. So I need a penny.

AJ Wone: 20:42

I definitely need a penny. Everybody Shoot me a penny, Shoot me a love tip.

Anastasia: 20:48

It's the perfect segue to talk about connection.

Anastasia: 20:52

Then, aj, you know our running joke is humble much, you know, whenever the ego gets real loud and obnoxious, it's one of the first things, you know, I said to AJ, and I guess it made a telling impression.

Anastasia: 21:06

I guess because now we're here, there's been so much growth on, in the sense that, you know, you didn't kind of discard me and disconnect like you usually do. You know, um, and said that you do um. There's been so much growth on both sides and there's so much actually that's happened since since the last time we spoke, all of which I don't even think we have time to get into, to be honest, and I want to make every second count. You said in the first part that you acknowledged being a more evolved version of yourself, peeling back the layers through poetry right and having the insights on all of that, and also when you retired from poetry, you also matured. You also said understanding the levels of comfort and safety in how you connect is important, right, and it's something you said that we all need and we all seek when it comes to connection. With this also comes the intimacy, the long-term connection and compatibility, where one can begin to be open and become more vulnerable with just the opening.

AJ Wone: 22:20

Is this the opening of anastasia speaks? This sounds like I could have swore this is the opening of Anastasia Speaks. This sounds like I could have swore this is the opening of how it starts. Everything you just said is like opening.

Anastasia: 22:28

Well, this came out of your mouth, I'm quoting. You See, it's already getting uncomfortable for AJ.

AJ Wone: 22:36

Chew the ocean waves.

Anastasia: 22:40

Chew the ocean waves, like I was saying okay, this all came from your mouth, mouth, guys, all you have to do is go back and watch episode five and hear this man say all of you guys gonna go back and watch that one.

AJ Wone: 22:53

Go ahead and no guys going back to watch that. If you say guys, you better be talking about girls that's not true.

Anastasia: 23:02

first of all days, go ahead and go and have a look. You know, you also said the comfort and the security gives space to addressing things and feelings maybe you might not want to address, usually right and when you really connect with someone. However, you also stated that you have been a disconnector, you have been a detacher, and so then it becomes important to ask what the incentive is or what the incentive was for you to no longer be detached from connecting or quickly disconnecting, right or quickly disconnecting right or quickly, or quickly.

AJ Wone: 23:50

I'm an only child. I went to 20 schools. My heart was broken as a senior in Hollywood School. That makes me no good for anybody. You know, if we go by the old wives' tale or the myth of whatever I just heard folks say there was something about a boy gets his heart broken in third grade, you can never get him, or something. I jacked that whole thing up. But whoever knows or understands that that's supposed to be the rule. And what would have me not have such a hair trigger to dip out or to cut something off is if there is a reminder of the uplift in my childhood. Is there any semblance or any behavior that reflects the joy of my childhood where there was this sincerity, this undying love of protection and safety and security? You know, as a man, we don't talk about safety and security because we're men. You can't make me safe or secure. That's my job. I'm supposed to make you safe.

AJ Wone: 25:16

There is a world out there that's not built for us to thrive. There is a system designed to work against us all the time. It don't matter where you came from or what you're doing. It's just not set for you to get up in there. I mean, everybody can move up, but it's a special set of miracles that have to take place in order for that to happen. And out there it's a cold world. It's a cold world. Even when it don't rain In the hottest summer, it's still cold. It's a cold world. Even when it don't rain in the hottest summer, it's still cold.

AJ Wone: 25:48

And we see that with modern day executions on smartphones. We see that with folks getting 10, 25 to life for minor charges based on the color of their skin, you know, based on their upbringing, where they came from, we still get profiled, you know, and uh, I need to feel like the people that I'm in the company with don't remind me of the outside world that's trying to get at me and eat me and me up. So I find that after a while, sometimes, when you're in the company of people who feel competitive or envious, or they're not able to cope with one's dynamism or their skill set or their talent, then oftentimes they'll be out to get you, and you know what I like you, but now I hate you today as humans, we we tend to go dip in and out because we're being pulled right things, and some people are so accustomed to not vibrating in that frequency or having that frequency of unconditional love in their sphere that they don't really know the difference or understand it.

Anastasia: 27:00

It's only love, it's only about love. You know, this is my whole deal and I do things from that place and recognizing within yourself I only come from love. Yeah, life had to life right and we had to life exactly.

AJ Wone: 27:17

Life definitely had to life, right, right, you got to have a whole collection of these like shirts, refrigerator magnets, bumper stickers. You'll be a millionaire Every time you take a word and you double word. That life has to life. Dance just has to dance. You know act has to act. You know people who act, they have to act and that act be acting. I love the way those actors be acting. Well, that seems regular, but I got to do it better than that.

Anastasia: 27:47

The recognition. The recognition and the foundation is love. I think it's a beautiful thing. We cannot skip over this, because if more people live their life, maybe you might look to times in your life where you understood and understand you weren't fully vibrating in the embodiment of love. You can see the difference. I know I see the difference with that. Then, on the basis of love and connection, what's the first thing that comes to mind when I say relationship escape? Wow, okay, 100%, wow. Tell us about that.

AJ Wone: 28:34

Oh.

Anastasia: 28:38

Why, why, why is the first thing that comes to your mind is escape.

AJ Wone: 28:42

Mommy, mommy, I had a friend. His name is Peter Vernon. Excellent, that was your last day of school. What happened? We're going to California. Okay, that's that answer, right?

Anastasia: 29:10

there it's deep.

AJ Wone: 29:19

That's the answer, that the curse behind that is, if you're not finding somebody who came up the same way with the village, raising them with the incorporation of music and rhythm and soul and comedy and hip hop and just this universal thirst to connect through art, entertainment, a person who aspires to become a parent as a career choice, if you don't find somebody that's even remotely close to that shit, you're not going to have anything that's going to be of value long term because you're not from the same genus, not from the same class, not from the same order. So for me, relationships nothing's worked. For me, nothing's worked. It's like, oh boy, you're going to be the lonely billionaire.

AJ Wone: 30:29

And I've told myself that for a long time and I've been creating that world where I've happy creatively and unhappy romantically and think well, should I strive for happy romance? Does that mean that I'm going to pursue unhappy creativity? Can I have them both? Unhappy creativity, can I have them both? I thought that I could thrive as a father and as an entertainer at the same time. Nope, you have to father full time. And if you're lucky, you got some more time left over and you have some more desire and impetus to continue to thrive upon your gift.

AJ Wone: 31:28

Then you got a nice little window crank it out. So I'm in my window to crank that out creatively. I don't know where the window ever was open or cracked open for romance. Open for romance? I didn't aspire to it and I never saw it work anywhere in my childhood. It never worked. My mother, my father, the fake father, the daddy so I never saw interaction between man and woman work in a functional way. I didn't see happiness from my mother. She was loving me, but she wasn't loving the people that was with her and they weren't loving to her.

Anastasia: 32:18

So even with your grandparents, you didn't see the example of happiness with them.

AJ Wone: 32:27

You know, they got married in the 40s 50s. That's a whole different era. Loyalty was way more of an essential at that time. Respect and honor was a tremendous thing. Respect and honor were being written into policy at that time. Being written into policy at that time with the Loving Act, the Mildred Loving, you know, the interracial, you know thing, discrimination, segregation.

AJ Wone: 33:02

You had to stick with a person that you loved. It wasn't no option to get the hell out there and be scrolling through your feeds. We're in an open and weekend type of life now. We can't play the long game, not in a world where it's just this microwave theory of just you know, opening weekend, they got 200 million and you never hear about whatever that movie is after the opening weekend and this is hey, you can do what you want to do. Now, this is what freedom and liberation is. You can say what you want to say, do what you want to do, feel how you want to feel any kind of day. So what we're doing is we're pulling people out of consistency, we're pulling people out of commitment, we're pulling people out of loyalty, pulling them out of respect and love, pulling them out of long-term thoughts, you understand.

Anastasia: 33:46

So how I feel is fucked up, it's deep, it's deep, aj.

AJ Wone: 34:00

And hopefully we get to unpack more of that, yeah. So that's it, Perfect, perfect Prince of Zamunda. When I have this, I feel like this is some coming to coming to America like a mother Prince of Zamunda. When I have this, I feel like this is coming to America.

Anastasia: 34:23

Prince of Zamunda, he's got his own money. We back on it. Excuse me, do what you say you're going to do and be consistent. Does that translate over to you, aj? Can you say that you go through and are in your relationships the same way, or do you notice that that is almost like a power struggle for you in personal relationships?

AJ Wone: 34:42

I naturally want to be trustworthy. By nature I want to be dependable, reliable, and sometimes in that imbalance I don't have the patience if it's not reciprocated. So I will do it, but conditionally.

Anastasia: 35:15

In a private conversation between you and I, you mentioned to me that you actually experienced two deaths when your mother passed, and we all grieve in different ways and we all grieve different things when certain people leave us in in the physical realm. How did that combination of grieving deaths impact and shape what you felt? Felt about connecting with people, moving forward?

AJ Wone: 35:51

The discernment and the wisdom is coming authentically. It's coming through the genuineness of learned experience, learned behavior. And what I thought and what I realized when my mother died was that I thought I was God. I didn't want my mother to leave without seeing the fruits of her labor, bearing the bounty. The universe had a different outcome, a different narrative to share. I lost all my upper family, so I don't see counsel, no more, for nobody. So guess what? I'm the council, I'm the advice giver, I'm the wisdom. I'm sitting in the chair now, so it ain't no more time to question. I have to provide the answers and protect the people around me, because that's now my job. This is what we do when we transition from chair to chair. I have to be fearless, so I have to carve and craft and resurrect from the death that I experienced of myself and my mother.

Anastasia: 37:21

How does one step into their greatness, trying to heal from the disconnection you've had in series your whole life?

AJ Wone: 37:31

right, right, uh, thank you, thank you. Stepping into the greatness was this is gonna fuck me up. Or? January 5th, I started a 40-day fast, no food, and I was about 240, a big, hefty 240. I had to do the fast because things are going to be detrimental. I had to face a new challenge. I was eating all the time. You know, fuck this, I'm going to go ahead and get me a double cheeseburger you know three of them.

AJ Wone: 38:17

I was by myself in the funk and in the fuckery of why them, why the two of them? You know, just didn't even make no sense, you know. So I knew I had to step into it because nobody else was going to do it.

AJ Wone: 38:37

It had to be me it was. They did what they did to inspire and motivate and protect and provide, and it's called transition for a reason you become appointed for good reason. That means that you're qualified, you're capable and able, and they need to know that you're all right. And once they know that you're all right, then you're ready to do it.

Anastasia: 39:04

So I was already great before either of them passed away you answered my my next question, which was going to be what were the lessons you learned from your mother's passing and also lessons you've learned about love? And I just want to pause for a second before you answer that as humans, we get so caught up in the grieving. Now I want to say this you must grieve.

Anastasia: 39:26

Aj has spoken about not grieving, but he grieved and you have to grieve, otherwise it just eats at you in your body. If you don't find a way and you know whether it's poetry, whether it's humor, it doesn't matter how. Or crying, it doesn't matter how just get it out, just do the grieving, because it will be there and it has to be there because there's lessons in the grieving. Like AJ said, there's transition, there's a process happening. We have to trust the process and oftentimes, when we're grieving, we don't understand that that is a process and that, yes, they transition, but it's a transition for us too, in our spirits, in our bodies, in our minds, minds, in our hearts, and that's big with that. Then, what was the lessons you learned about love from your mother's passing?

AJ Wone: 40:18

that she didn't have none. Wow her whole life wow, what she did.

AJ Wone: 40:24

She had you. That's a different kind of love when you're talking about affection and a touch, and a kind, affectionate touch of a man that is protecting, providing only child, no sister, no brother. She saw me as the, as the lifesaver for her. Uh, she left 16 foster homes. So when you awarded the state, that means that you don't have a family. So she's going from spot to spot. That's how I ended up going school to school. You know what I mean. It was the same. She went to 16 foster homes. I went to 20 schools. Her life was materialized by the bounce. She was bouncing all day long. So I bounced with her. When I became a man, I started bouncing in relationships, bouncing. I ain't messing with you. What you say, oh, that's all I need. I'm out of here. See, it's the wiring. It's not necessarily me. I might want to love and touch and hold and kiss and hug and sit and watch a full movie and not fall asleep in the first 15 minutes.

Anastasia: 41:31

But I think that's also fatherhood and parenthood, the falling asleep that quick.

AJ Wone: 41:35

Right, and it also is before. Fatherhood and parenthood is just I don't like this movie or I don't like the lady I'm watching the movie with. You know what I mean. So that's the other thing. So it was a constant reminder of her being abandoned. Now, when you have a constant perpetuation of abandonment, that can fuck you up from birth to death. Mama didn't have no love. She had a lot of men that was trying to take her down. Oh man, she fine. That's when I learned early that what you look like don't mean shit. I learned that as a child from how she was treated. So imagine how I felt when I was a man and I had hair on all parts of my body and somebody talking about you, a player or you got a whole bunch of I'm like yo. You got to see my mother and my father. This is genetics. Genetics did this. You know, don't activate me. You know what I mean. But for me it seemed like it was peaceful because I was always happy. I always had some type of device to record my voices. Do my voices? As a child, I was always singing, dancing, had some little puppy or some little cat to play with. That was like the brother or the sister had my toys, constant toys.

AJ Wone: 43:01

We all have different fingerprints. Nobody has the same fingerprint. We've got similar personality types because we came from a specific genus, order, class, species. We ain't that different, but we have unique fingerprints for a purpose. We've got unique identify. I call them artificial tags of identity, you know, and we put so many things ahead of us, ahead of our humanity, and it causes so much confusion for us because we got to represent on behalf of those artificial tags. You know.

AJ Wone: 43:40

So mama didn't have no love. She was very upset the last decade of her life. The only person, the only people that she was happy with was her son and her grandchildren. And if I was able to peer into my future by seeing the type of lack of affection that she had and I just told you about an hour ago that my contribution will be through my art and my creative offering and not the romantic stimulation it seems like I couldn't be put headed on the same path, because I don't. I don't think that I deserve.

AJ Wone: 44:25

If I'm searching, if I'm looking for, then I'm trying to make her what I want her to be. She got to just be. I find myself in relationships and trying to craft and mold. Like a woman is Play-Doh or she's clay, and I have the ability to speak anything into existence. So I take my opportunity to mold and clay a woman into what, my idea of what she should be. And when she isn't, and when she decides she's not going to be that, then I leave, or I discard her or I leave her to the rest of the world. And I've done it consistently, consistently, and why, I don't know. I've never been able to figure out why I just can't allow, and I think it has to do with the search. You know, the search is something that doesn't warrant me deserving If she appears maybe, maybe.

Anastasia: 45:59

So we have had a little bit of a technical difficulty there, hopefully. Um, it doesn't translate. In case it did, we are going to try and meet the spot back where we left it. So, um, the last question was the lessons you had learned, and you had mentioned a number of things not having any love in terms of unconditional love from a romantic partner, and also there was this abandonment going on, right, abandonment with her, yes, and you kind of witnessing that. It's a lot to witness, to process right, and I guess consistently you've been processing in your own relationships with self.

Anastasia: 46:32

I don't know. You tell me if I'm wrong about that. At what point does it feel or seem necessary for you to not only connect with people, so pull back from the automatic response that says flee, response that says flee or time to bounce and bouncing and actually trusting people, or leaning into the potential of trusting people, maybe even not abandoning them, because the disconnect can feel like abandonment and sometimes it actually shows up that way. So when did it become necessary for you to learn not to do that?

AJ Wone: 47:12

being a father, one thing I know that I couldn't do is go. There was always that option to go, always having multiple options to go. So I always having multiple options to go. So I stayed and it was a great feeling. I was able to eat cashews with Keros on my lap as the webcam was on and I would just record us eating cashews and I wanted him to get used to seeing his father with him and he said no, what is it, son? That's me Priceless, priceless.

AJ Wone: 48:16

I will record my children every day, film them Film them every day, take photos all the time. I want them to see their growth. I want them to experience their evolution and my evolution as well. So that was when I knew that it was time to stay and there was no fleeing option. You stay there, present. That's what you said. You wanted to be in your career, brother. You said you wanted to be a father. Now you're a father, a lot.

Anastasia: 48:59

I would say one of your biggest contributions to the world. Also, we've talked about a few of them. You're a father. You're a father of four gorgeous boys and you know you chose fatherhood as a career. You have chosen fatherhood. You did choose fatherhood as a career. Why do you think that was so important for you to do?

AJ Wone: 49:21

Well, you know, grandfather, uncles, you know I did, but I didn't have a male influence. They were around and I was just happy to be held and watched by Uncle Andre, papa, uncle Eddie, rolling out. You know my dad, sometime my father, you know my dad, sometime my father. But being an only child, not having siblings, bouncy lifestyle, mama, ward of the state, not having affection, every time I went to 18th Street, gramsci and Papa would be there making tacos, sour cream and ketchup, avocado, the whole shebang. I cherished that and that's what I wanted. I wanted that Dr Karamo Chilombo, janae, Aiko, her father, jamila, you know he's got nine children. When I was young and I would see him come into the rehearsal with his wife and children.

AJ Wone: 50:42

I wanted that. I wanted to have the stimulation and the responsibility of taking care of other people and imparting with them your own teachings, your observations. And I wanted that because I knew who I was. I knew I was going to make an impact, even as a child, as a poet, a filmmaker. If politics calls, then so be that. I'm capable and I'm living on this planet, capable anything I do. So I wanted and I needed to have, so I wanted and I needed to have children to carry that philosophy, to carry that name, because I had it but I didn't have it. You know what I mean. Like I just told you aunties, uncles, papa, gramsie, my mama, but I didn't have the structure of the consistent figure.

Anastasia: 51:57

I introduced fatherhood the way that I did for you, because to me you know I don't say it just because I'm a mother right, I feel like I was a mother before. I was a mother, constantly mothering people, including my own. You know from way back when you know as a kid, and it's one of the biggest contributions you make on this plane period, right, that surpasses you like a bodily expiry date. Whatever you do accolades everything you know, because they're going to still be here when you're not and they're still going to be teaching, they're still going to be giving, and I believe parenthood is one of the most spiritual pathways one can undergo.

Anastasia: 52:41

It's a sorts of rites of passage and not everyone gets to because it's not meant right and therefore you hold that responsibility regarding being the messenger of certain divine channels or messages that use the teachings, and it teaches us about oneself. It teaches people about, about morals, your misalignments, character values, the value of people, how you do value people just by being a parent, just by parenting or even having children. You know, one of the things parenthood also teaches us is humility. You know, you said it and I know you were homeless and you briefly spoke about that. Tell us how fatherhood, tied in with being homeless, taught you about life, taught you about love, taught you about change.

AJ Wone: 53:35

That strengthened me beyond belief. It was homelessness for real, amazing, not chilling at the uncle's house for a couple of days. Five of us stashed in a truck and I hated it. I was humiliated and all my confidence, esteem, wonderment, joy, love of the family everything that I had was in question of the family. Everything that I had was in question.

AJ Wone: 54:14

As I said, how do I end up in this position? Was this something I did? Is this something that I deserve? Is this from zipping out on these relationships? Is this karma? Does this have nothing to do with that? Is it just some shit that you got to deal with? And that's what I went with?

AJ Wone: 54:39

It was something that I had to deal with and it was another tester to test my resolve and to see if I was resilient enough to maintain my composure and manage this situation and keep the composure of the children and give them the best fun experience that I could possibly have with them. And it bonded us of the origin. I felt bigger than American or black or I felt like a Martian on that situation, because I said this is how we're doing shit from the basics all the way back, before there was anything else. We didn't have dependence or reliance on anything but that which didn't come from man. We trusted in the sun. We trusted in the water, the nature, the wind, the elements, and that became our parent, that became our guide, that became the answer to what we needed.

AJ Wone: 55:52

A future aspiration is to have a food bank similar to Sova. It was a Jewish family organization that were feeding families uh called silver, and when I say silver to the children, um, those initials are just as powerful as their last name, because if I were to say silver, they would light up like oh, yeah, I remember the food bank.

AJ Wone: 56:23

We used to stand in line for like four hours and they give us all this stuff. Had it not been for those institutions, those agencies, we'd have been, you know, we'd still been all right, but it'd have been a harder road to hoe, so to speak.

Anastasia: 56:45

What would you then say to those who feel like they are in the same position and feel like they've gotten more than they can chew?

AJ Wone: 56:54

Everything that you come across, anything that you endure, is just a temporary thing and it's only a test. It's only a test. We're going to go through a battery of tests and challenges through life and you may find it in the relationship that you're in or some type of predicament where you end up lost for a couple of days. It's okay and it's going to pass. There's a reason why there's seasons, you know, and you know we're not going to have a whole year of snow. It don't happen like that.

AJ Wone: 57:32

We have to deal with I don't want to go back to it, but I'm always going back to it. It's the universe. We have to deal with the hurricanes, the monsoons, the atmospheric rivers, the brush fires. You know we go through that all the time. There's always going to be opposing elements and there's going to be a compatibility of forces that come together to push you through the resolve of getting out of it on the other side. But I just ask for anybody that's listening that goes through anything that's adverse. It's a temporary condition and there's always going to be hope on the other end of it. Going to be hope on the other end of it. You just have to. The only way to get out of it is you have to believe that you're capable of getting out of it.

Anastasia: 58:40

I've lived all of my life by those teachings which is it's only temporary, it's always only going to be temporary which my mom instilled, and in that also there is the preciousness and the gift and the opportunity to be present and the wisdom to find discernment, to find hope, to find joy, to find peace, to find love, and that's of great importance. So you know, for anyone that is listening, that is going through adversities, like AJ said, it's it's only, but temporary. You know, it's like they say, life is but a dream. This it flashes in like a blip and on to the next transition. You know, was there a painful experience that sticks out to you in your mind regarding fatherhood, and how did you overcome that? That would be first, and then how the upbringing influenced that.

AJ Wone: 59:43

Yeah, the painful thing was when I had my first son. I was told to give him to someone else and be young out there just without a child, still keep on living in my 20s, and I said, hell, no, that's not happening. So what ended up happening is a whole mess of events from the fact that I said I'm gonna be a father, I'm not gonna not be a father and have my seed just pushing through out in this world swimming, and with that. You know, society is real cold for for those brothers that feel like they don't want to follow instructions. So I didn't follow instructions. The pain and suffering of not following instructions just made me a stronger father.

AJ Wone: 1:01:05

I said so many things without saying much of anything Are you going to elaborate on? Well, I took my son from Portland to LA, despite the court asking me to do so, and I was in contempt of court, assumed armed and dangerous, reckless child endangerment. When I said I'm going to be father to my son, the move that I made, I could have just did what the judge said I wouldn't have had three more with the same woman at the same time. So I think everybody liked my decision the mama, the courts, my son, their brothers. Brothers, that's what it is. You got to be fearless. You know all this shit out here is. It's tough, but it's only tough to those that ain't tough, those that's tougher than the situation or the circumstance. It ain't shit.

Anastasia: 1:02:22

Dust your shoulders off which is a perfect segue to say what's something then your parents told you which you didn't realize. Then maybe let's say but you now see the truth in it.

AJ Wone: 1:02:37

So my mother had a lot of sayings and observations and visions that she experienced in her childhood. So when her baby came into this world she tried to keep me away from a lot of the things that she saw and she wasn't really putting me up on game. She didn't have no talk about sex with me. She didn't want to hear about anything. She didn't want to check in my underwear to see if I was in there exploring my joy. She just wasn't messing with none of that.

AJ Wone: 1:03:14

It was only one time when she said well, I found out about this later and I guess us grown folks will notice. I don't know if parents will understand this, but she asked me to come into the bathroom because I pissed in the toilet but I didn't flush it. So she looked in the toilet and she saw it was really bubbly. You know, it was like a whole bunch of bubbles, like a lot of acid in the in the toilet water, and she said is your urine like this all the time? And I said no, sometimes it's. It's bubbly with the, with the bubble stuff in there, and she went okay, okay, flush the toilet after you're done, please.

AJ Wone: 1:04:04

And uh, I just didn't know like why was this an issue and she knew. I realized then, and I wrote a poem about it, that she knew I was jacking off at that time as a youngster. Um, and that was my way years later as a man, figuring out the uh, the acid or the protein or something after you ejaculate and you go and you piss in the toilet. Mom's was on another level. She said a whole bunch of stuff silently you know what I mean. And then I found out about things later with the total recall of certain situations that happened and I said, oh okay.

Anastasia: 1:04:48

I'd like to take the opportunity to talk about what's on the horizon for AJ in 2023. Tell us about what projects you are working on and your intentions for the rest of the year.

AJ Wone: 1:05:03

Well, well, well, I have a couple of projects coming out. I have currently working on a science fiction, afrofuturistic TV series called Machination. I am working on the pilot. I'll be shooting the pilot in March of this year and it is sure to be the most talked about television show in quite some time. Also, I have two spoken word live performances that I'm choreographing, which is Blacque Sistory and Bitches Brew, and these are long form epic dedications to 299 prominent African American women that have contributed to American history significantly, and it's a wonderful poem that's centered around a dream interpretation, an actual dream that I did have.

AJ Wone: 1:06:32

But the piece has taken 24 years to craft to one of my favorite musicians, miles Dewey Davis, and I mentioned it in a previous question before. It's dedicated to him and it's titled Bitches Brew, which was a very poignant turning point for jazz as he incorporated fusion, had Chick Corea, ron Carter, had a lot of all-star musicians, jack McLaughlin and I wrote a piece that was my dedication to him, to jazz, all the aficionados and the experts. They'll love this. It's a calculated experience, so I'll be performing those live here in Los Angeles. I don't know where. I'd like to have it at Walt Disney Concert Hall, if possible? Did you hear me? Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Anastasia: 1:07:54

It's definitely possible.

AJ Wone: 1:07:57

Right right and publishing some books. This year is just about outputting content, and I've held on to a lot of content for a while, just building a canon of work, and I just wanted to sit on it, let it age a little bit and fall deeper in love with it Long term, not bounce, but just stay consistent with the creativity and continually build upon the craft and exercise the gift that I was given. So there's a lot of wonderful projects that's on the way, in addition to an animated documentary for Joel Martin, called A Lifetime to be Free, and he's a wonderful jazz classical pianist that is giving honor to an Armenian ethnomusicologist by the name of Komataz and he's putting a jazz classical spin on Komatase's work. So he's giving rise and recognition to the Armenian culture and their musical heritage and he's putting his his funk spin on it well, with that jazz classical twist. And I am going to articulate that vision for him through a short film documentary that should be released as well in November of this year.

Anastasia: 1:09:35

We look forward to seeing all of these beautiful works of contribution, creativity, art, mastery be delivered. I think we've waited long enough. The world's ready, you are ready, and I look forward to seeing more potentially collaborating.

AJ Wone: 1:09:58

I look forward to seeing more of these. I'm almost filled up with my journal and I'm going to need some more of my journals, please.

Anastasia: 1:10:13

I will definitely do about For those watching and those not listening.

AJ Wone: 1:10:19

Get yourself Purple Smoke and Blue Clouds.

Anastasia: 1:10:26

Thank you or Flower of Life.

AJ Wone: 1:10:27

Thank you All, flower of life.

Anastasia: 1:10:30

Thank you.

AJ Wone: 1:10:31

We need to support. We need to support each other and make sure that we recognize a living doll when we see one, With the eloquence and intelligence of a royal dignitary and when you were there just asking these questions and very, very insightful questions that evoke a lot of my memories of the past. I want to also commend you for the work that you've done. The community that you kept through Clubhouse and through your brand, Anastasia Speaks. We want the world to understand that you speak brilliantly, beautifully and boldly, and I thank you for inviting me to be here, to be one of the first guests. It's been a pleasure.

Anastasia: 1:11:38

I just want to say thank you again for being my first guest, and so it's only right it's only right to cement all of this richness and joy and laughter that I ask you to perform a poetry piece I have to do a little bit of Black's history then. Okay, yes, come on through honey. Okay, are you ready?

AJ Wone: 1:12:11

Tonight is the gladdest night that I'd be well enough to let my pen free To deliver a sister we that's as cold as Natalie, rebecca J and Dr JohnnettaB. More Campbell soups at Terry McMillan. Chilling diner with CC Wine as by the CCH pounder set to impress In a Mildred E Blunt dress, sharp like Didi on a bridge over the untroubled waters of Ethel and Maxine Butterflies. My queen Latifah's a dream. I need a baker to make Phyllis's Wheatley cake. Maybe Josephine could battle beside Kathleen as a team. Now wouldn't that be mean? Leontine's price was so nice that when Alice became a walker in Rosa's purple-colored parks outsparks.

AJ Wone: 1:12:50

Dominic Dawes, pretty as a ruby, defying all laws of gravity, told me she would go see Lola Felana tomorrow in a concert by Tony, tony, tony, that's Morrison Braxton and Kay Bambara, or a carol sung by Grand Diane. And after she's done, nancy, cassandra and Mary will. Signs are shining bright. Together they might reach a height. Dorothy Danridge couldn't manage. I'm the stubborn kind of fella to tell a Tammy Terrell or Ella Rejoice the Fitzgerald and Angel sings. I know why a flossy bird flies higher on Mary McLeod number nine as Dr Maya. I know why a flossy bird flies higher on Mary McLeod, number nine as Dr Maya Angelo. You know, she creates timely rhyme for the mind. Is it a cry to say to Sade? I do tell life Erica by. Do us part Well, on, and on, and on and on. It must start in the musical home of Sylvia Rohn, then spill to Stephanie Mills. She says she never knew money love like this before. So could you put some more Melba on those peaches, james, or I won't chew the pit man. Angela Davis will take me there faster than Mabel Staples can.

AJ Wone: 1:14:01

Since we, on the topic of Carol Speed, watch Julie Dash on strong from the past of Suzanne's baton, I tried to warn her that Jackie and Florence Griffith then went in turns with Joyner. She didn't hear me. I said Sandra Patrick is cat quick and Marion is the only Jones y'all ain't keeping up with Evelyn Ashford and Valerie. Nah, not Simpson, but Briscoe hooked the show when 84 ain't no track hard enough for preventing the sisters from sprinting tough. Is there any doubt when Flattened Girl Divas turns it out? But coming off as Wilma Rudolph pushing the soul pedal down for the gold medal crowd, she won't ever be beat.

AJ Wone: 1:14:43

Now it's time for me to eat, so I'm gonna go to the diner on Washington and upon walking in. All I said was what's up? Della touched me like an angel and said hush up, old boy, eat this peanut butter cup, a margarita made by Ross Barnett. I drank that up. She's a political scientist when she's not bartending, sending me into saying my Sherry and Grace. I had Shirley Caesar salad. Susan L Taylor made for my palate, pure essence. Linda Johnson's ebony rice plate was great.

AJ Wone: 1:15:17

The Renaissance flaunts class and flair. After Dr Mary, frances, halle and Lorraine hands berries to me, I'm out of there. It was called a nice Dream Parlor, somewhat similar to a raisin in Marla Gibbs' song. I'll See you Later. Tennis anyone. Love means everything, never nothing. That's no fun.

AJ Wone: 1:15:37

So today I'll catch a play at the Cabaret around the way with Karma McRae, janelle Monae, layla Hathaway hey, here's the deal I heard. Rochelle Ferrell is for real, vivica A Foxy Brown and Laila Rashad performing Round Town. Now see, foxy got a few pointers from her sisters, ruth Elaine HalleQ and Dorothy LeVie. After all, we are family. Which was the sledge pledge? Okay, see Vanette Carroll direct three sets of vignettes on Broadway featuring the multi-facets of Angela Bassett's talented action, from Dr Betty Shabazz and Tina turning into Katherine Jackson with a brick-top body. Chisholm like Shirley, but don't worry, linda Murray and Laura Corvell, cold Rock, miss Olympia's party. Well, carla Dunlap's around those tracks too. So tell nothing but the whole Sojourner truth To the judge, jane Bowling. And as soon as my aunt Harriet Elizabeth Bird gets out the tub, man, I'm Esther Rowland Underground To this bomb get-together going down. I ain't misbehaving. I'll quarter my nails and call my girl Raven Simone. Her mama, nina, says she can come on with me. You know why, anastasia? Because Whitney's in Houston, misha's in Paris, donna's gone all summer.

Anastasia: 1:16:59

Whoopee.

AJ Wone: 1:17:02

That's just a little bit of it right there. That's a little bit. It's a little taste of it for you.

Anastasia: 1:17:07

Listen, my snaps aren't loud enough. I should really be clapping. Mastery, mastery, that's it. That's it, just mastery, aj Spitz's piece. It was on your website. Is it still on your website? The Black Sistery piece?

AJ Wone: 1:17:27

No, because I had to. No because I I had to revise it. I had to revise it. Yeah, yeah, I'll post it back up guys, go back, replay this.

Anastasia: 1:17:35

You need to hear it more than twice. Just mastery beautiful, and you know it touches me and it should touch you. It should touch those who identify as black, because this man is giving reverence and honor to our culture, to our greatness, to our achievements, to our richness, to our depth, to our roots, to our blackness, to our beyond blackness.

AJ Wone: 1:18:04

To you, to you Right.

Anastasia: 1:18:16

To you beyond blackness, to you, to you, right to you. You know it's just so much of the again the, the reminder of get it together, plant your feet in the ground and do work. Do the work. Be in the school system so you can teach these babies some shit, that ain't slavery. Teach these baby racism. To be in law in the courts, to pass the better judgment against the people who profile us and discriminate and do the things that keep us in chains.

Anastasia: 1:18:45

This piece, there's so much it's. It just gives me goosebumps every time because there's so much to be said. We have to make our own curriculums and I so love. AJ gave his boys their own curriculum and they're gonna do the same.

Anastasia: 1:19:00

We have to be and become accustomed to doing this in our little ways. We might not be as brave and as bold and as courageous as AJ, but we have to find ways that we can teach our children how to become greater, how to dwell in their greatness, understand and cultivate more greatness within them and remind them of where they came from, remind them that all they have to do is tap in and all they have to do is be with self enough, you know, and supporting one another like this, sharing this video. This needs to be seen and we have to be seen. We have to get comfortable with being seen, with being our authentic self, with recognizing and acknowledging what that is, and recognizing it in other people and saying go brother, go king. You know, this is what matters. So I'm really, really grateful for you sharing that phenomenal piece on this show. Guys, this is only but a snippet of what he cultivates and creates, so do look out.

AJ Wone: 1:20:07

Support, share, comment like and invite me here uh, twice, and just even calling on me to do it, you know, to break the ice on the video because the world needs to see so much more of you.

AJ Wone: 1:20:23

And and every memory I've ever had as a teenager when we had BET, teen Summit and 106 and Park and all those beautiful black people that we had on BET and all of it just got stripped away the past 10, 15 years they just took everybody Ed Gordon, tavis, miley, lisa Johnson, rachel Stewart, everybody, sherry Carter and when I see you it's like, okay, we have our person.

AJ Wone: 1:21:01

We got our person here and you have to be international and this is going to kick it off. This might be the first and only anastasia speaks video podcast here, because you're going to get a contract internationally to be on, to be a tv host with with something, because it needs to be there. I knew we were going to work and help each other in the process. Your questions were wonderful and your persona and your energy is even more wonderful. So I appreciate everything that you did, calling me in here to do it a couple times, and I wish you nothing but the greatest success in what this is going to do to springboard your impact for the world, for your contributions.

Anastasia: 1:21:51

Thank you again for your honesty, your openness and transparency today To all our listeners. Thank you for listening. Don't forget to share, like, comment and subscribe. Please check out our guest. AJ, spelled A-J-W-O-N-E.

AJ Wone: 1:22:10

Get the books, get the, get the journals. Go up into anastasiaspeaks. com. Get your journal support. It is a must that, while you enjoy this, it don't have to be no promotion. It should be just by design that you say I love this, this is great. Let's support our people. Anastasia is wonderful, absolutely wonderful, and just recently released her journal, of which I have one. I'll have the second one coming. It's on the way. I would like for it to be autographed. Quite possibly it's not a demand but a request. Oh, that's on the way. I would like for it to be autographed. Quite possibly it's not a demand but a request. Oh, that's on its way and that's it. That's it. This is the kind of love right here that I don't get this. I don't get this. I got this love. And what three, four hours we've been on this thing for.

AJ Wone: 1:23:07

Oh no, don't tell the people three, four hours, this kind of love. I had this in three or four years. You know what I mean. So it's been. It's an honor. It's an honor to have you peel the layers back and say, hey, what's up, man, who are you, where you been, where you going, what, what's going on with your people, your mama, your children, you know, your father. It's an honor, it's a beautiful thank you for serving me this way. This is incredible.

Anastasia: 1:23:40

It's been an honour for me. Likewise, love For all of our listeners. You can join the tribe and connect over on Facebook, twitter, instagram. Love for all of our listeners. You can join the tribe and connect over on facebook, twitter, instagram and clubhouse searching Anastasia speaks or go to Anastasia speaks. com for more. Remember seeking more means you can no longer stay small. Thank you for listening and don't forget to subscribe. The key is always radical self-acceptance. Just know, delay is not denial. Missteps happen so we get the chance to realign and you are not alone. Love louder to release all fear, and we'll see you on the next episode. Thank you, AJ thank you.