Sharí Nycole chats with AJ Johnson about fashion , spirituality, changing lives, being an actress & choreographer and more.
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00:00What's going on, Essence family?
00:01It's your girl, Sheree Nicole.
00:02And as you can see, I'm sitting here by myself,
00:04but there's another chair here.
00:05And that's because my guest for today
00:08has to make a very special entrance.
00:10If you don't know who A.J. Akua Johnson is,
00:13I don't know what you've been doing with your life.
00:16She's an incredible actress.
00:19She is fit and fabulous.
00:21She's an advocate, a speaker, a life coach, a writer.
00:25She's all things to many, many people, myself included.
00:29And so, without further ado,
00:31this is the A.J. Akua entrance.
00:33Yes, yes, yes.
00:40You pumped it up so much.
00:41Did I do a good job?
00:42Yeah, I mean, you had to do more.
00:43I was just gonna kind of walk in,
00:44but then you made me, I had to do a throw up with it.
00:46Oh yes, I felt the pressure, and it's you.
00:48So I had to make sure that that was correct.
00:50Sis!
00:51It's, first of all, you look incredible.
00:53I do?
00:54Incredible.
00:55That's more than amazing.
00:57It's definitely more than amazing.
00:57And that's better than you look great.
00:59Oh, absolutely.
01:00Really, what's so incredible?
01:01Well, your light always shines.
01:03That's very easy.
01:04Your hair looks amazing.
01:06And you're fit and fabulous.
01:07You're goals.
01:08Am I?
01:09Yes, yes.
01:10And coming from you, who slams at the gym,
01:12and I'm watching.
01:13Well, you do the same thing, A.J.
01:15Yeah, but it's different.
01:16Your slam is different than mine.
01:17And the good part about it is your slam is inspiring to me.
01:21So, that's amazing.
01:22I inspire A.J.
01:24Oh my gosh.
01:25Well, one thing about you that inspires me
01:27before we dive into this incredible film
01:29that you're a part of is your dual citizenship.
01:32And it's interesting because we went out to dinner.
01:35This was a while ago.
01:36This was maybe three years ago.
01:37And I was referencing your home as L.A.
01:42And you told me, you said,
01:43I don't live in the United States.
01:45That's not my home.
01:47I work in the United States.
01:47I work in the United States is what you told me.
01:50You said, I live in Ghana.
01:51That's my home.
01:52And to be able to watch all the people
01:55you've brought over to Ghana
01:58to experience the motherland in that way,
02:00to be able to watch how it's enhanced
02:01even you as a person and a professional,
02:04I am deeply, deeply inspired.
02:06And I didn't even really have a lot of strong desires
02:08to go to Africa some years back.
02:10Now I want to go really badly,
02:11but you were one of the people that really inspired me
02:13to say, I have to, I have to go.
02:15So, when we look at the scope of everything
02:17that's going on here in the United States,
02:20which is in your home, but also abroad,
02:22what set you to the temperature that's happening,
02:25maybe you're feeling right now
02:27with everything that's happening in our world?
02:31The vision that God gave me in 2020
02:36was that we were headed for steps back.
02:40And what really told me was just the way
02:42that America handled the pandemic.
02:45I got out of America as soon as I could.
02:48That was probably the end of 2020.
02:51And I stayed in Africa until July of 2021.
02:54And while I was on the continent,
02:55I traveled to six different countries,
02:57Gambia, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Benin.
03:03And so I got a chance to see a lot more West Africa
03:07during a time when the world was pretty much shut down.
03:10And it was really, really interesting
03:11to watch how America was suffering, but Africa was not.
03:16And so to be there and watch America cough on Monday
03:20and die by Friday, I was like,
03:23there's something not right.
03:26And it's being allowed.
03:29And that's when I said, okay, I've got to do my part
03:32to create more of a life outside of the US
03:35and show other people that it's possible.
03:37A lot of people that I talked to, that DM me, that email,
03:42I noticed that, especially African-American,
03:44people in general though, but African-American
03:46tend to think I gotta pick up my life and just leave.
03:49And some make that choice because they realize
03:51that there's not much they're waiting for here.
03:54But even if that doesn't seem possible,
03:56you have family here, you have parents here,
04:00be back and forth, I'm back and forth.
04:02And so I've learned in the five years
04:04I've been exploring Africa, I can be in the US
04:07two months, three months tops before I need to put my feet
04:11and my spirit in the soil and get realigned
04:15with who God's calling me to be.
04:18One of the things that I love about you, AJ,
04:19is your intention is unbridled.
04:22It doesn't matter what's going on,
04:23you are always very intentional.
04:26Can you speak to the importance of us having intention,
04:30not just with work, not just I'm gonna go on a vacation,
04:34but in the everyday, in the present moments with God,
04:38the everyday of our lives?
04:40I love that you're bringing this up
04:41because I have a VIP club and we have a monthly theme.
04:45And managing the March madness is what we've been working on
04:50and part of that is having intentions,
04:54but not just having them, living the intentions.
04:56A lot of us have an intention
04:58and then we don't track the progress of it.
05:01And so honestly, February's theme was tracking
05:05our steps forward in February.
05:07And I mean, I track everything.
05:09I track my weight management,
05:10I track my spirit elevation or lack of,
05:14I track my happiness, I track the people I'm praying for.
05:19And what that means is I put together my own system
05:22and formula of checking in on you
05:23and making sure you're where you wanna be,
05:25where I wanna be and all my goals.
05:28I don't think if we don't do that,
05:30then we're not holding ourselves accountable to ourselves.
05:33And our self-honor has to start with our intention
05:37and making it a mission to live it out.
05:42Can I ask you a question?
05:43Yes, I'm still reeling in self-honor.
05:47Well, yeah.
05:49I'm still sitting there, Aja.
05:50Yeah, I mean, that's self-honor.
05:53You can't honor me and therefore you can't be in my life
05:57if I don't teach you how to honor me.
05:59And I can't do that if I don't honor myself.
06:03And so as women, especially African-American women,
06:06we have a tendency to rely on our talents and our fumes
06:11and not getting full.
06:13I got to go.
06:14I can't do this.
06:15If you're gonna go here, I mean, I can't be here.
06:19I just, I refuse to be somebody.
06:22Our fumes, Aja?
06:23That's what we're doing.
06:24And the funny thing is we're talented enough,
06:27we're boss enough women to get by on our fumes.
06:30Our fumes are, everybody else is 120%,
06:32but if we're full, we are unstoppable.
06:35And we've proven to the world we are,
06:36in politics, in nutrition, in sports,
06:39and that's just who we are, but we don't live that.
06:43And so to me, if our intention is to live full,
06:46we got to stop moving on fumes.
06:49So without putting you in a position
06:52where I'm gonna have to,
06:54you're gonna have to invoice me, okay?
06:56Just one, for someone listening
06:59who might be running on fumes right now,
07:01what's one key to moving differently,
07:04to not moving in that respect,
07:05but in the other way that honors themselves?
07:08Make sure that your,
07:11make sure that at least one life goal
07:13is big enough and important enough
07:16that falling short in the journey to it is not an option.
07:25So for example, I know one of my assignments
07:29is to be an exceptional example
07:31in healthy living and fitness.
07:33Now, God and I decide what exceptional looks like,
07:35what it walks like, what it talks like.
07:37So once I understand what that is,
07:39I have to design goals.
07:41Sometimes it's a week goal, a two-week goal,
07:44a 30-day goal, and I'm unwavering,
07:47and I'm steadfast as I journey to it.
07:50And I don't think many people live that strategically
07:53and that intentionally,
07:55but that's who God wants us to be, strategic and intentional.
07:58So I try to live that.
08:00And the food I feed my spirit,
08:04which helps me stay on the path and the journey,
08:07keeps me steadfast and unwavering without apology.
08:10And that's how I reach my goal.
08:12I got friends that go have pizza.
08:14I got friends that say,
08:15girls, happy hour, let's roll.
08:17If I say, you know what, I'll go, but I'll have one drink.
08:18Oh, just have another one.
08:19Nope, I'm out.
08:20And they get mad because I'm so disciplined.
08:24But then they're like, I need your legs,
08:25I need your arms, I need, you know, and I'm like.
08:29I'm showing you.
08:29I can't win.
08:30You don't want to have one cocktail.
08:31You want to have three.
08:33And you know, and it's not easy.
08:34And that's why I want to say onto that,
08:36what's one thing to move different.
08:38Please don't look for it to be easy.
08:40Please don't look for it to be something
08:43where you have a lot of company in the journey.
08:47You know, to be on top of your game is a lonely place,
08:51but we came here alone.
08:54And so God is building us to be our greater selves.
08:58And there may be greater waiting for us
09:00when we get to our goal.
09:02But don't be afraid to let go of
09:05whoever's not working to get you to your next level.
09:09One thing that you are not letting go of
09:11is your connection to God, AJ.
09:13And even as we're talking, God's coming up.
09:16Regardless of what we're talking about, He comes up.
09:20And I'm always in awe of how you make God the forefront
09:25and the priority in your everyday.
09:27So for example, everybody,
09:30I was actually not supposed to interview AJ today.
09:33And I reached out to her.
09:35I said, hey, AJ, I'm going to be at the office.
09:36I'll be at the Essence office same day as you.
09:38I can't wait to see you.
09:39That's all I said.
09:40That's all she said.
09:40And then AJ's like, well, you know,
09:42I want you to interview me.
09:43And I'm like, well, they probably have somebody else
09:46to do it.
09:47I don't want to step on any toes.
09:48And this was Monday.
09:49And this was Monday.
09:50It's Wednesday today, guys.
09:51You're right, exactly.
09:52And I said all this stuff.
09:53I had all these excuses and all this.
09:54And AJ said, we'll see what God says.
09:58So.
09:58We should actually take a screenshot of that conversation.
10:01We're going to roll that in right now.
10:01Yes, yes.
10:02That's what happened.
10:03And God said, we're going to have this conversation.
10:05And with that, you share your downloads with us
10:10all the time on Instagram.
10:11I look forward to them every Sunday.
10:14I got to throw something in here.
10:15Yes.
10:16Because in saying to you, let's see what God does,
10:20I really did let it go.
10:21You did.
10:22It's a surrender.
10:23We didn't talk after that.
10:23We didn't talk about anything.
10:24And if it was, you know, because it was already set up,
10:26you were just saying, hey, I'll be there.
10:27I'll see you on the calendar.
10:28I'll like to see you and hug you.
10:30I said, I can't wait to hug you.
10:31When I said, let's see what God does,
10:32I didn't call anybody.
10:34I didn't talk to my team to try to arrange for you
10:36to do the interview.
10:37I really let it go until I walked in
10:40and found out that you were doing it.
10:41And I was like, you know, it's so,
10:45that's why it's so important to really, really
10:48have the relationship and let God lead.
10:51See, when you say to me, you know,
10:53God always comes up, God always comes up.
10:55I can't help it because God's leading me
10:57through everything I'm doing and everything I'm being.
11:00So.
11:02What would you say to someone, AJ,
11:03who is watching, listening right now and says,
11:06I get what she's saying, but I don't hear from God like that.
11:08I don't, I don't get downloads.
11:10I don't, I don't, I don't know what God wants me to do.
11:13I'm not in step or I feel like I'm not in community
11:16with God right now in this part of my life.
11:18What would you say to them?
11:19I'd say that you're not listening hard enough
11:22because God downloads to everybody.
11:25I'm not special.
11:27We all have a connection to God.
11:29If you believe in it and you want it,
11:32the only difference between someone like that and me
11:35is that I pursue my connection.
11:37I seek the leadership, the divine leadership in my life.
11:41I've made the choice.
11:42I don't move, think, act, do anything without God's guidance.
11:48So whether it's my choice of friends, relationships,
11:51food, career goals, career projects,
11:54I don't do anything without communing with God
11:58and making sure that it's a divine assignment for me.
12:01A lot of people aren't doing that.
12:02So I don't think they're not hearing from God.
12:04I think they're just not focused on it.
12:05It's like, you know, if you're texting
12:07and someone's talking, if your focus is on your text,
12:09you don't even hear what they're saying.
12:11Well, if my focus is hearing God,
12:14then I'm gonna ignore your text.
12:16And so that's the difference, right?
12:18So I think that's what it is.
12:19You talk about divine assignments,
12:21BET plus original film, the Dwyane Curry story.
12:26Fighting to be me.
12:28If you can share, if you're allowed to share,
12:29before the camera started rolling,
12:31you talked about even how this role came about for you.
12:34And I think it's important to share
12:35because we talked earlier
12:36about you being an intentional person.
12:38Guys, AJ doesn't just take any old role that comes her way.
12:42She doesn't, it's not her style.
12:45Everything that you do, there's a reason for it.
12:47And it's a clear cut,
12:49like anybody that's been around you understands.
12:51If I see you on something, whether it's a TV show,
12:54whether it's a movie, I'm like,
12:55no, she's purpose to do that.
12:57She feels connected via purpose to do that.
13:00I never think, oh, AJ, she's just doing something.
13:03No.
13:04No, it's not your style.
13:06And I'm not just saying this, you all,
13:07because I know AJ, it is the truth.
13:09And so with that said, why was it important?
13:11Why was it a necessity?
13:13Why was it a divine assignment for you to do this role?
13:17I gotta tell you, what's really interesting
13:19is that you're absolutely right.
13:21A lot of times, you don't see me as often on camera
13:26because it's not something that I'm led to do purpose-driven.
13:30And I learned, primarily with Baby Boy, to be honest,
13:34I learned with Baby Boy that when I'm on camera,
13:39my acting approach is to deliver a message.
13:43I don't believe, especially at this space and time
13:45in my life and my career,
13:47I don't believe I'm just doing a project
13:48just to be on screen or to work with somebody
13:52that I wanna work with.
13:52Although that's great and that's fun.
13:53And if the script is good, great.
13:55But I really want to deliver a message.
13:57And in whatever character it is,
14:00I always hear God say,
14:02I want you to try to shift just one person.
14:05In whatever you're doing, in whatever your choices are,
14:08make sure you shift one person.
14:09With a scene, with what you say,
14:11with your wardrobe, whatever it is.
14:13And so that sets me on a trajectory
14:16of what's the purpose of me doing a certain thing.
14:18And so I learned with Baby Boy that playing these moms,
14:23and the reason I say these moms
14:24is because right after Baby Boy,
14:25I got offered mom number 57, 58, mom number 65.
14:29And I passed on a lot of them
14:31because I didn't understand my assignment yet.
14:33And that's true.
14:35Do you regret any passing?
14:36Do you regret not taking some of those opportunities
14:39now that you know what you know?
14:43I don't regret not taking some of those opportunities
14:45because I was in a position in my life
14:47where I didn't wanna play the mom back to back to back.
14:50I didn't wanna get pigeonholed as that.
14:53And the scripts weren't that great.
14:55It was just they were trying to leverage the notoriety
14:58and the critical acclaim of Baby Boy.
15:00And so I knew that, I could tell that.
15:02And so I don't regret that.
15:04But when I started to see the response to me and Baby Boy,
15:09whether it's at the TSA line in Atlanta,
15:12or seriously, in the airport,
15:14or whether it's walking down the street
15:15in Times Square in New York,
15:17whether it's on the streets in Ghana,
15:18I mean, it's global.
15:20And when people say, you changed my life,
15:22when women say, oh my gosh,
15:23you showed me a different side to me as a single mom,
15:26I realized, okay, so I am even a voice.
15:30Not only do I have to purposely think,
15:32what am I gonna do to change someone,
15:33but just me in the role.
15:35And my choices happen to be a voice to people.
15:37So coming into fighting to be me,
15:41I decided that doing this project,
15:43I had to speak up in the space.
15:47And in the space means I had to speak up in support
15:50and in love of any family navigating LGBTQ+.
15:55And so you also know, I do a lot of research
16:00so that I know what I'm dealing with.
16:02I don't have a lot of LGBTQ in my family,
16:04but I have friends, I have teams, people on my team.
16:08And so I've never been a judge.
16:10I've never been somebody who doesn't love everyone
16:12for the personality, not for their sexual choice, right?
16:16And so I just decided it was time for me to do my part
16:19in speaking up, especially in the times we're in
16:21in this country and some of the decisions being made.
16:24I just think that our families need to be allowed
16:28to navigate, whatever that means.
16:33Was there one thing in particular
16:35that you were able to kind of excavate
16:37and take away from this role
16:39that you want to continue to pass on
16:43or articulate to other people as you move forward?
16:46Yes.
16:48It's a consistent journey
16:51because our world changes every day.
16:53So what the community is allowed to do, be, represent,
16:58it changes every day.
17:00And so what I believe is what's really necessary
17:03and crucial is support.
17:06And however that shows up, someone has to feel supported.
17:10And so I'm studying Dwyane, this is her story,
17:14studying her deeper than I ever have known her.
17:16She was actually one of my first stylists
17:18when I came to LA.
17:18Really?
17:19Yes.
17:20So there's a personal relationship,
17:22but not deep enough to play her mom, right?
17:24And so doing the research with her, with her mom,
17:27with their friends, their family, other LGBTQ moms
17:31in the 90s, I learned that then they didn't know what,
17:37they didn't have support teams,
17:38they didn't know what life was.
17:39Right.
17:40What they wanted was their loved one to be safe.
17:43Right, right.
17:44In a world that may not accept them.
17:46And so sometimes what I learned is that
17:49they were led by fear.
17:51And you can't, ooh, God just gave me this,
17:53you can't have fear and love at the same time.
17:56You can't.
17:57And so that's one of the things I want everyone to take away
18:01and that I take away from doing this
18:03is that you can't have fear and love at the same time.
18:05And Mama Sin, who I play,
18:08we got very, very close in the process
18:10because of course you can imagine,
18:11I was asking deep, deep, deep questions
18:13to get into her emotional space at that time
18:17to learn there's still healing they're doing in the family
18:19and try, which is why I say it's a consistent journey.
18:22She's the one that said a lot of us will lead in fear,
18:28but we must let love win.
18:31And so if that's the constant challenge and battle
18:34that no matter how I feel, no matter what my opinion is,
18:37even if I don't agree with you
18:39or even if I don't agree with your choices,
18:41I have to make sure that you know I love you.
18:46Was there a part of DeWin's story that stuck with you?
18:50And I know I talked to some actors and they're like,
18:52yo, when I'm done, I'm done.
18:54Like when I'm done with a character or a movie or film,
18:57excuse me, or a TV show, I'm done.
18:59I've left it there.
19:00And there are some people like,
19:01hey, it took me some months to kind of shake that.
19:05It really stuck with me.
19:06Was there something that you just couldn't shake right away
19:09in doing this film?
19:09You know, I got to say,
19:11I rarely shake my roles and my projects.
19:15I mean, you know, Shireen from House Party's still in there.
19:18I mean, you know, her groove,
19:20even though it's different from my groove,
19:22her groove is in here, right?
19:25So, you know, it's hard for me to shake.
19:30Baby Boy, you know, a lot of Juanita
19:33spilled into Mamacita in this,
19:37in her bluntness, in her live in a space
19:40where there's no apology.
19:43So they were very similar that way.
19:45I'm going to say that I don't think I'm going to shake this
19:48because of my purpose drive in the content.
19:51It's not about the movie and just the character.
19:53It's the content of our community and our culture
19:57needs this story, needs this sharing, needs the support,
20:01needs the internal allowance
20:03for us to be as different without judgment.
20:06And so that's ongoing.
20:08That has nothing to do with the movie.
20:10I'm just using the movie as a particular platform
20:12to say, I believe in that.
20:14You just mentioned something that I think
20:15is a bit striking for a lot of us
20:17and it's the moving forward without the apology piece.
20:23I've learned that you don't always get it
20:25and you have to work through that yourself.
20:29But I really want, if you could share with those watching
20:32who may be struggling with this,
20:33especially in the LGBTQ plus community
20:36who are waiting for the sorry,
20:38or who are waiting for a certain level of acceptance
20:40or affirmation from the people that they love,
20:42that say they love them, that they just may not get.
20:46How do you wade those waters and move through that?
20:49You know, I don't think there's a formula for,
20:54I don't think there's one formula for everyone.
20:58I think what we all have to do
21:00is build a life in honesty and truth.
21:04And I watched and learned Dwyane, the real Dwyane,
21:09make those choices and then watch DeLon Burnside
21:14who plays Dwyane brilliantly in this
21:16and was an amazing scene partner emotionally and physically.
21:21I just believe that we have to do our best
21:24to live in your truth and your honesty
21:26because I can't love you, I can't be honest and true
21:30and not love you in your honesty and truth.
21:32Right, right.
21:33So, you know, it's like our honesty and truth
21:35is what connects us and what collaborates us
21:38and I believe what yokes us.
21:40So those people we don't yoke with
21:43is because there's fake going on
21:45when we're trying to be true
21:46or we're being fake when they're trying to be true.
21:49Either way, truth and truth are a marriage
21:52of souls, of spirits, of sense of humors, right?
21:57You know, there's some people, we have a sense of humor
21:59where we don't even have to say anything,
22:00we crack up laughing.
22:01Amen.
22:02So there's a yoke in our sense of humor.
22:04And so it's the same thing.
22:05We have to look for that and not look for the apology
22:09because a lot of times I also feel like
22:13we may be looking for an apology
22:14and this is not just LGBTQ+, this is just people, yeah.
22:17We may be looking for an apology in life
22:21where our step forward doesn't have to come
22:24from another person giving us permission.
22:28And I think the apology is our hidden permission.
22:35So.
22:37Get out of here.
22:39That's so good, AJ.
22:40So I say let the lack of apology be the closure.
22:48Did you hear that?
22:49I did hear that.
22:51Let the lack of apology and forgiveness even
22:54be the closure.
22:55Because if somebody can't love you enough to say,
22:57I'm sorry, I don't understand.
22:59I'm sorry, I don't choose what you choose.
23:01I'm sorry, I can't understand.
23:03That means I love you, I just don't connect.
23:06Right, right, right.
23:07And if somebody can't say that, and I mean anybody,
23:11mother, father, brothers, lovers, friends, coworkers,
23:16because they're disrupting your soul's peace.
23:18Hmm.
23:20And that's what we're here for, is to find our peace.
23:22Yeah.
23:24As we close this, because I could talk to AJ for 20 hours.
23:30We have this film.
23:31Yes. It's incredible.
23:32But you also have a lot of other things going on.
23:34I'm trying to get to AJ's retreat, you all.
23:35I'm not even going, no cap.
23:37And I'm trying to get to AJ's retreat.
23:38I'm trying to get to AJ's retreat.
23:40Yes.
23:41Because what y'all don't know,
23:43if you don't follow her on social media,
23:45is the people tell me, because I know a few people
23:47that go to your retreat.
23:48Yes, repeatedly.
23:50Repeatedly.
23:51AJ doesn't sleep, apparently.
23:53Not on retreat.
23:54She's gonna dance every day, all day.
23:56Yes.
23:57And have the best time in life.
23:57Facts, facts.
23:58So, when is the next retreat?
24:01Next retreat is July 2025.
24:03Okay, because I know you do like a summer,
24:04and then one at the end of the year.
24:05Well, this is the first year.
24:06Okay.
24:07I'm actually doing, well that's not the first year
24:08I'm doing a retreat, it's the first year
24:09I'm doing an international retreat.
24:10Okay.
24:11So we're doing two countries, Senegal and Ghana.
24:12Oh, wow, okay, okay.
24:13That's the first time.
24:14Normally I do a summer retreat in the states,
24:16but tropical in the states.
24:18So it's typically St. Thomas.
24:20Still may happen, because I'm needing a little break.
24:22So a lot of times I'll do that.
24:23I'll decide I'm taking a break and say,
24:24hey, you wanna come?
24:25And then throw it out there and see who wants to come.
24:28And then I do my new year, my annual
24:29new year, new you retreat.
24:32And I'm gonna say in Africa.
24:33It's been Ghana, because that's been my story.
24:36But honestly, after five years,
24:38I think the experience is now the story.
24:40It's not necessarily the geographic location.
24:42Gotcha.
24:43It's the transforming experience.
24:44And so, I may change where, I'm not sure.
24:47But that new year, new you on the continent,
24:50the way that it starts me and everyone else who goes,
24:53there's nothing like it.
24:54It just isn't.
24:55And even if I wasn't AJ producing the retreat,
24:57I still would have this experience.
24:59Because it's just life transforming to start your year
25:02with your feet in the waters of Africa,
25:06telling the ancestors you understand
25:08that you're back home, that you made it.
25:10Everyone's not going to.
25:11And that they understand who you are
25:14and are ready to give you your next assignment
25:16because you made it home.
25:18I mean.
25:20How urgent is it for us to ensure
25:23that we have a connection with the ancestors,
25:26especially in this season, in time?
25:31I believe that any issue you may have in life,
25:39it's foundationed in not fully knowing and understanding
25:43and walking in the truth of who you are.
25:45We haven't been taught that in our school rooms
25:48and our families.
25:49You can't get that level of education
25:52until you go to Africa and listen to the conversations
25:56and pray with the elders and read the histories
25:58on the walls and ask questions of the community.
26:04You just can't get the education.
26:06We think we have African-American history,
26:09but there's a part it starts from
26:11before we even became American.
26:14And so there's parts of us in our DNA
26:17and we dancing all the time.
26:19I was like, why am I that?
26:21I'm not just a party girl.
26:22I love to dance.
26:23Right, right, right.
26:24And so being there, I understand why.
26:27Because everybody's always moving.
26:29It's like how you say hi.
26:32You know, and it's like, hey, hey.
26:33I'm going to start saying hi like that.
26:35Yeah, it's like, hey.
26:36What's up, sis?
26:37Exactly, exactly.
26:38It's like, you know, it's just our movement
26:41is a way of communication.
26:42And it's always been.
26:44Movement has been a way of our language.
26:47It's part of our language.
26:48So, I mean, I just feel like, you know,
26:51if you can come with me, great.
26:52If you can't come with me, please go.
26:54The level of urgency, if you want to be healthier
26:57and more whole, the answers to that are on the soil.
27:03Period.
27:06I got to get my feet on that soil.
27:08I'm telling you.
27:09I got to stick my toes in the soil.
27:10You get off that airplane and hear them drums?
27:14And I'm just saying, and again, you know,
27:16I have musician friends who play African drums,
27:19African rhythms.
27:20It's not the same thing.
27:21Their instrumentation is different.
27:22Their rhythm is different.
27:25The tools they play with are different.
27:28So there's the tools produce different sound.
27:31Right.
27:31So when that drum hits and I feel it in my chest,
27:34I mean, the way you move is different
27:36because it's like, you see that face?
27:38Yeah.
27:39Yeah.
27:40I want to go right now.
27:42Delta.
27:43So all of that.
27:44All of that.
27:45I have to get on a Delta plane.
27:46I want to go right now, AJ.
27:47So, well, you know, I don't give up.
27:49You don't have Instagram.
27:50I'm constantly like, sis.
27:51Whatever God says, we're going to see what God says.
27:54And he going to say yes this year.
27:56I love that.
27:57I've been trying to get to you for two years out there.
27:59I love that.
27:59I got to say one more thing I'm doing.
28:01Yes, of course.
28:02I'm stepping deeper into better health and fitness.
28:05I've been a little quiet.
28:07Okay.
28:08For good reason.
28:09And I've got some supplements coming out.
28:12I've been just kind of, yeah.
28:13I've been just kind of testing them myself.
28:15Yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:16And the results have been mind-blowing.
28:19And so not just to share supplementation,
28:24but to also share the lifestyle.
28:25Yeah.
28:26And you know this.
28:27Yes, yes.
28:28Because we share it.
28:29That a lot of people are still relying
28:30on waist trainers and surgeries.
28:33And I'm not saying I'm against,
28:34because I'm not against that.
28:36But there's a surgery, there's no surgery for the soul.
28:40And so.
28:41AJ, come on.
28:43And so.
28:44I'm overwhelmed.
28:45And so I want to teach because I feel that way.
28:48No surgery for the soul.
28:48And I live the example.
28:49I just, I want to teach.
28:50Wow.
28:51I want to teach what I mean by that.
28:53I don't want to just say it and post it on Instagram.
28:55Right.
28:56Or threads or TikTok.
28:57I want to teach what that means and how to live a life.
29:01So it may be a six month course.
29:02Right.
29:03It may be 12 months in essence.
29:03I don't know.
29:05Just saying, just saying.
29:08But it's time to teach by example.
29:10Yeah.
29:11Speaking of teaching,
29:13life coaching is one of your ways of movement.
29:16You've changed a lot of lives.
29:18Amen.
29:19But I know it's a lot of work.
29:20Yes.
29:21It's a lot of pouring.
29:22Where do you sit with that?
29:23I don't want to just say,
29:24hey guys, hit up AJ on Instagram or social media.
29:27Hit up her website.
29:27So for life coaching.
29:28And that's not necessarily where you're sitting right now.
29:30So what's going on with the life coaching aspect
29:34of your life?
29:34I, it's a divine assignment to always sit there
29:38because somebody always needs a better introduction
29:41to what life therapy is.
29:43Okay.
29:43I also don't believe that, you know,
29:46that you reaching for your better should leave you broke.
29:49So it's also affordable.
29:51I mean, you know, my life coaching sessions,
29:5230 minutes on the phone with me directly.
29:54A lot of people are like, is this really you?
29:56And I'm like, yes, girl, it is me.
29:57Okay, now I hear your voice.
29:59It is you.
30:01You know, I do the 30 minutes for $30.
30:03Even just to check in, to learn what coaching is.
30:06Even if you don't call me again.
30:07Right.
30:09So yeah, for sure doing retreats to do it,
30:11doing calls to do it.
30:12I take virtual clients.
30:14So from all over.
30:15You can be all over the world.
30:17And so I coach clients from the UK, Africa.
30:19Amazing.
30:20You know, Europe, East Coast, West Coast.
30:23So yeah, if you feel like I can help you
30:25in some area of your life,
30:27then let's connect and see if I can.
30:29Now, AJ has one of the biggest hearts you'll ever experience
30:32but you also don't play.
30:34So are there any disclaimers
30:35you'd like to leave with everyone?
30:38Yeah.
30:39Who thinks that they're ready to change their lives?
30:41Yeah, yeah.
30:42And hit you up for life coaching?
30:43Okay.
30:45See, I love that you're doing this interview
30:46because you're so right and I would have never said that.
30:49What that means, I don't play.
30:51Let's be specific.
30:52What it means is if you're asking for my help,
30:55I'm committing and I'm investing to get you to your goal.
31:01And sometimes I commit and invest more than people do
31:05in their own goals.
31:06Yes, yes.
31:07And so, you know, a lot of people have gotten mad at me
31:10because I'm so invested.
31:12And I'm not going to take you on as a client
31:14or life coaching if I don't think
31:16I can help you get to the goal.
31:17So yeah, if you're not serious about your goal
31:20and you're not serious about really investing in yourself,
31:23then I'm not the one.
31:24Because if you really want to reach the goal,
31:26whether it's weight loss, life change, career change,
31:29I'm going to get you there
31:30because I'm not going to quit until we do.
31:33I love how you kept using that word invest.
31:35That was nice.
31:36I like that word.
31:37Because that's what it is.
31:38That's what it is.
31:39I'm investing.
31:40And what I mean when I say that is even, you know,
31:43even down to if one thing doesn't work,
31:45we try something else.
31:46Right.
31:47If another thing doesn't work, we try something else.
31:47But we don't quit.
31:48We don't quit.
31:49It's not an option.
31:51It's not an option.
31:52That desire and that goal has been placed in you
31:54soul deep and heart deep for a reason.
31:57So I believe when you call me,
31:59we're being aligned to reach that goal.
32:03And God knows who I am.
32:04So that's another thing that I don't play.
32:06God knows who I am.
32:07So if you're calling me,
32:11you know, and there's been people
32:12that I haven't said yes to
32:13because I can tell they're not really ready
32:15for the level of work.
32:17And I don't want them to get mad at me.
32:18And I tell people, listen, if you're not ready,
32:20I'm going to get on your nerves.
32:22So let's not do that.
32:24If you're not ready.
32:25When I say weigh in every day, I mean it.
32:27When I say give me seven days of your spiritual devotion
32:29and what God's telling you to do, I mean it.
32:32If Serena Williams told me,
32:33I'll teach you how to play tennis.
32:34Come every day with your racket.
32:36Warm up 10 minutes before I show up.
32:38I mean, she's not going to show up
32:39and I'm sitting on the court chilling
32:42telling her I forgot my racket.
32:45I wouldn't.
32:46Would you?
32:47Nah, I ain't going for that.
32:48Right.
32:49So that's the, I'm not playing.
32:51That's a part of that.
32:52If we're really going to make some life changes,
32:55it takes work.
32:56It takes self-investment.
32:57It takes self-alignment.
32:59It takes self-accountability.
33:02It takes self-honor.
33:05So don't make me love you more than you love you.
33:09Everybody, I have to go.
33:14I'm going to go lay down
33:15and try to process what just happened here.
33:19I warned you all.
33:20I said this was going to happen.
33:22AJ, I love you and I'm so, so grateful
33:25we got to have this conversation.
33:27It's never a dull moment.
33:28And thank you for investing in all of us
33:31whether it be movies,
33:32whether it be television shows,
33:33whether it be books, devotionals,
33:36retreats, life coaching,
33:38you've done it all.
33:39So thank you.
33:40And let me just say,
33:41one, you're very welcomed,
33:42but also the best part about you loving me is I know it.
33:47Do you know I love you?
33:48Yes, I do know that.
33:49Isn't that better than I love you, I love you too?
33:52You know what?
33:54It is.
33:56The best part of you telling me you love me is I know it.
33:59You show me.
34:00Now, do you know I love you?
34:01Yes.
34:02Amen.
34:04Amen.