Meet Dijon McCain

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dijon McCain. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Dijon, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

To be quite honest, I am still developing confidence and self-esteem. I don’t think that is something I will ever fully master in this life time. We live in a society that often reminds us of what we are not. Since moving to Los Angeles, I have learned that this place is centered on status. How much money do you make, how many followers do you have on instagram, and my favorite question that I get asked, what do you do for a living or why did you move to Los Angeles?

These are questions that I have been asked my entire life, but especially since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. It doesn’t bother me being asked these questions but what does is the intent. Our world is so focused on material things that we use “small talk” as validation to prove how successful we are, figure out what someone can do for you, or how much better our life is than the next person. Failing to realize that we are spiritual beings inside of the physical, sent here from god to enhance the next persons life with love. What has been helping me develop confidence is growing aware of and believing in this reality.

When I started to see myself as more than what society labeled me as, only then I grew to appreciate life. Specifically, I read a lot of spiritual books such as ‘ The Four agreements’ ‘Think and Grow Rich’ “Think like a Monk’ and my current read ‘The Courage to be disliked’ and the bible. These books have opened my soul and have made me aware of my purpose in this world. Also, I am big into prayer, meditation, and health. I listen to affirmations etc, but most importantly I open my mind to new beginnings, and that is how I am growing confident.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Hi, my name is Dijon McCain and I am a journalist from Minneapolis, Minnesota! My entire life i’ve always seen myself on television. When I was a kid I use to watch TRL on MTV and 106 & Park on BET. I loved these shows! Ultimately, they fueled my passion for becoming a journalist.

Something I rarely talk about is, as a journalist I aspire to have my own talk show one day. One of my biggest influences is Oprah Winfrey. I have so much admiration for how she was a reporter who executives didn’t believe in, but they were obligated to honor her television contract. So, they took her off of WJZ-TV and gave her a small show, not knowing it would be one of the biggest of all time.

I aspire to create a nationally syndicated show. As a black man I hope to empower people from all over the world. For me it’s not about the fame or the “I made it” mindset, it’s about aiding in healing the world through one story at a time. I want to be one of the most attentive interviewers the world has ever seen, making it cool to be vulnerable and talk about real life. One of the ways I plan to do that is by launching my own podcast. It will be a health and wellness podcast that covers topics on mental health. If all goes well I am aiming to launch it this fall 2024!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The areas of knowledge that have been most impactful in my journey is; open-mindedness, discipline, and faith. Open-mindedness is so important because it is the quality to being receptive to new ideas. For me specifically, it means to be open to creating new possibilities. This quality alone has led to me becoming a risk taker. I’ve never allowed fear to prevent me from taking calculated risks. Within reason, I pride myself on doing things that people are afraid to do. I believe that to truly grow one must seek comfort in discomfort. Discipline has aided me my whole life. From being a former athlete in high school, to attaining my bachelors degree in college. It is critical to have discipline in all we do. What I learned is discipline breeds consistency, which usually lead to success. Lastly, let’s discuss faith. As Einstein once said and as mentioned in the bible “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” What this means to me is that our imagination is the preview of lifes coming attractions. If you can see it in your imagination then it can become your reality. Without faith nothing can manifest into physical matter. I want everyone who is early in their journey to know that no matter what happens in your life, if you can remain faithful you can overcome it!

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The ability to surrender has been and is still one of the hardest things I am trying to overcome. Surrender to me means to ‘Let go’ and allow what is naturally supposed to happen to occur. It means to remove your expectations and live in the NOW and WHAT IS. Eckhart tolle is a spirtual teacher and self help author and he has an amazing book out that changed my life called ‘The Power of Now’. The focal point of the book is, there is no past or future only present. Tolle encourages readers to live in the now. This has been very challenging for me.

The last four years i’ve felt lost, afraid, and alone. I graduated in December of 2019, three months later around the time when COVID-19 was imminent (February 2020) I had to bury my grandmother, a month after that (march 2020) the pandemic was in full effect, two months later and two days after my birthday (may 25th 2020) George Floyd was murdered, four months later (September 2020) I relocated to Los Angeles, five months later (February 2021) my father passed away, the year after (2022) my grandfather passed away. To put it simple, the last four years have been the hardest part of my life. It has made me question my existence in this world.

I have buried someone every year. It has been a season of mourning for me. Mourning the loss of loved ones, the loss of moving to a new city, and the loss of my own expectations. I use to tell people I graduated from college and the world ended, now I have a new found perspective. Perhaps, I graduated and the world began, a beautiful one. Could it be possible that these experiences have shaped me into the man I am today? To resolve this challenge I lead with gratitude. I thank god that I am not being buried I am being watered, I thank him for the lessons, the pain, the tears because my tears will water seeds of my future happiness. Developing this mindset has aided me tremendously and I am so excited for whats to come for me.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

1. Anthony Hoard
2. Dijon McCain
3. Darrin Barber

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