We recently connected with Don Williams and have shared our conversation below.
Don, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I happened to stumble up on my purpose after experiencing the death of my brother. When I was incarcerated my brother who had been free from heroin for 8 years went back to using shortly after he was released from prison because the employer that he had been working for fell short on their promise to hold his job for him after he was sentenced to a 6 month sentence for a traffic violation. Three weeks after being released and learning of that news that the employer didn’t hold the job for him as promised he chose to self medicate by resorting back to heroin and because he hadn’t used in so long the strength of the heroin caused him to have a heart attack and his wife found him dead on their bathroom floor the next morning. When I received word back in prison about what happened to my brother I vowed that I would share my brothers story to educate employers as well as help men and women that was returning back to our community from incarceration to find meaningful employment and live the life that God had pre destined for them.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
After 20 years of working in the reentry space I have learned through my own life experiences as well as doing life with others the importance of emotion well-being. In my journey of becoming the best version of myself I had to take a hard look at myself, where I was, where I had been and where I would like to go in life. In order to accomplish that I had to look at how my life experiences had shaped me be it good or bad. As I began to look at myself I realized that emotionally I was unbalanced. I had learned to develop coping skills for the pain that I had encountered throughout my life and was not experiencing the true meaning of joy, in other words I was numb. As I began to peel back the layers of my life and address the wounds I began to experience a deep level of freedom in those areas. With God’s help I discovered who Don Williams was and I wanted others to experience the same freedom and joy that I had found by allowing God to touch those wounded areas and shine a light in the dark places of my life. In 2017 I started my personal development company called P7 Solutions where we provide coaching for individuals that’s interested in breaking free from the chains of the past. I also have had the opportunity to teach workshops and be the keynote speaker at conferences around the country. My motto has always been ” No More Band Aids” and in 2022 I released my first book called No More Band Aids, My Personal Journey to Emotional Wellness.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three most important qualities that I live by is honesty, clear communication, and being consistent with personal growth. For those that are early in their journey of becoming a better version of themselves I strongly suggest that you go back to those wounded areas of your life that you have sept under the rug or developed coping skills in and revisit what happened that put you in that space. Once those things are identified I would seek counseling if needed or process those situations in a healthy manner and properly dispose of those issues so that you can experience true freedom and not allow those experiences to keep you in bondage for the rest of your life.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My mama would always tell me that I can be anything in the world that wanted to be if I put my mind to it. Those words have helped my in my darkest times when it seemed that all hope was lost. I would repeat those words to myself and it never fails to give me the tenacity to get back up and try again.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goodfellaspromo.com
- Instagram: P7 Solutions
- Facebook: Don Williams
- Linkedin: Don Williams
