Toure Roberts - How to move FWD and WIN

Hey family, it’s PT, and one of the things that I love to do— in fact, what I live for— is to touch people, hear their stories, and connect with them. I use whatever tools God has entrusted to me, whether it’s speaking, a podcast, or a book called Balance, to help elevate the people God has entrusted to me. I’m excited to talk to a young man today, and our topic will revolve around the sense of worthiness, particularly feeling worthy of abundance when you come from an environment that lacks it.

So, I want to introduce my guest. We are going to have a wonderful conversation. He’s an outstanding, hardworking, and successful young man, and as I read his story, it reminds me a lot of myself. I say that not out of self-grandizing, but because of what he’s overcome. It resonates with me in many ways. So without further ado, I want to bring on Darnell Brown. We’ll be discussing feeling worthy of the abundance that awaits us. Darnell, how are you doing, man?

What’s up, man? I’m doing pretty good. It’s awesome to connect with you and talk. I believe our conversation will not only sharpen us but also benefit those who might be in a similar situation, helping them wrap their minds around the abundance assigned to their lives in order to realize it. Thank you for taking the time to talk, and I want to hear a bit of your story. I know you’re 27 and grew up in South Central, like me, and things didn’t always go the way you wanted them to. You had a challenging start; tell us about yourself.

Yeah, so I’m born and raised in South Central. I lived in Compton when I was younger, but then my mom struggled with drugs. She was addicted to crack when I was born, and that continued throughout my life. However, she got herself back together, and now she’s been 20 years clean and sober. I moved back in with her when she had her life somewhat figured out. I went to Henry Clay, Crenshaw, and Washington, so I dabbled in the streets a bit— you know how it goes. I was heavily involved but also went to church at the Power of Love on Manchester and Normandy. After I left that church, I kind of walked away from God for a while.

Then I met my girlfriend, who suggested I try a new church. At first, I was like, «Do I need to wear a suit?» She assured me that it’s a cool church where I could dress however I wanted. I checked it out, and it changed my life. That relates to what you shared earlier about not feeling enough. I remember when I was making this transition; it was hard for me because I think that feeling of inadequacy is a principal issue in South Central. People often lack aspirations and tend to gravitate toward negativity, which has been part of my experience.

What’s crazy, Darnell, is that we were exposed to people dying young, going to prison, and witnessing short life spans. Even if we lived long, it often meant living in prison because of what we observed. Subconsciously, we’re wired to believe we aren’t going to live long or do well, leading us to make poor choices. We live for the moment, not realizing we have broken a cycle. It’s challenging to embrace an abundance mentality, even though if you consider where you’ve come from to where you are now, you’re already living in abundance. But sometimes there’s that fear— the «boogeyman» coming to take it all away.

For me, it took until I was almost 40 years old to believe that I not only survived but that I was also called to thrive. From what I understand, you read something, right? I believe you got a copy of Balance, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.