Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Darius Butler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Darius, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
As a youth, growing up in my faith we learn that God calls those to do things that we may not want to do. I was above average most of the time in grades and sports, while sports especially wrestling for the 2 years I competed in it, I would begin to build my foundation for resilience with the intense training and cutting of weight amongst other things. Throughout my sports and education, I have always been called to lead. I was certainly never comfortable leading but was always thrown in the position because I am a naturally gifted communicator, planner, and delegator. For years I would vent with my mother about how much I did not want to be a leader but always had to take charge.
My first real wake-up call from my mother, after humoring me for so long, she simply asked… Darius, have you ever considered that God has called you to be a leader? The thought had never crossed my mind but I certainly wanted no part of this so-called plan so I ran from this idea every chance I got. Fast forward to college, I have 2 years under my belt, still very much in my mediocre mindset of just doing well enough to earn my degree. Going into my Junior year, I go see my counselor an older Jamacia lady who looks over my transcript so I can apply to the school of business and move forward. I preface that up until this point I had never given my best effort because my normal effort level was more than enough.
She began to just break me down to my core about being another statistic and if I am not going to give it my best to not waste any more time and money, amongst other things… being that I am originally from Zion, Illinois the north side of Chicago, taking the self-initiative to even get to college because it was not an expectation placed upon me because my parents do not have a college education, statistically I had beaten the odds already, getting this far but as I held back the tears. This set a fire inside of me, where I made a convenient with myself that moving forward I would give my absolute best!
My entire college career was working full time as a manager in the quick service restaurant industry so I would work 5 days a week and attend a full college class load 2 days out the week so time management was essential to get through it all. Needless to say, After this moment I would have 1 year or your normal 4 classes per semester. My last year I took 13 credit hours in my last 2 semesters and also attended mini semesters over the summer to ensure my self-promise that I would not be chasing a degree past 2016.
At this point, I had completed a year and a half as a catering director for Chick-fil-A while I finished college. I delivered outstanding results in this role during my previous position. they offered me a Director of Operations Position in October, months before I graduated. Now to bring my story of resilience full circle. With the acceptance of this position, there was also the conversation between God and myself that even though I did not want to lead, because he was and has been the compass to my ship I would become the man needed for his works to be done through me… Since then I have been tested in many different ways through growing as a leader and the various adventures and encounters I have had. Through it all, I never stopped giving my best effort in everything I did when I decided to be great.
Even now as I enter a new stage in life, my long-term goal is to become a Chick-fil-A owner/Operator and I have checked all the boxes needed to with the exception being getting the capital needed to apply. Over the last year, I have been on a mentally transformative journey where I have been honing a new skill as a financial professional teaching financial literacy, and helping individuals protect and invest their hard-earned money to help build generational wealth! I started this part-time believing that it would be just to generate some extra income and it did just that but along the way, the business got into my heart, and with the entrepreneurial spirit that I have been honing, I have come to my conclusion and understanding that a job on average will pay you enough to pay the bills but you never meant to get rich off a job. My resilience in my dream of owning my own Chick-fil-A has brought me to build my own business so that I can accomplish my dream promptly and establish myself as a true entrepreneur! While not forgetting about those behind me in my community, as I have taken on the volunteer work to pass down my wisdom through the Wise Up to Rise Up Foundation.
This journey I know is not for the week as I have gone through every emotion with pursuing my dreams. If everyone could do it, they would have so I understand I have put myself in an elite club of like-minded individuals who create the courage to take the first step in taking your livelihood into your own hands. I know God will not fail me, I know I will not fail myself, and I benefit from having a support system that wants nothing more than to see me win! I am fighting to become the waymaker in my family and I have come too far to give up now, I am in this ride for life!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As I transition to a Financial Professional and Board member of Wise Up to Rise Up, I look forward to continuing the education inside communities about the options and ways people can put themselves in a position of power financially so that they can begin to build generational wealth and provide the headstarts that our ancestors were not able to provide because they had lack of knowledge. I also look forward to building the effect our foundation has within the community because as the name implies the goal is to provide wisdom to the youth so that they can continue to rise up past their current circumstances and ensure a better life for those that come behind them!
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?
1.) Emotional Intelligence is a word most people never hear, I believe it is vitally important to know not only how to process and deal with your own emotions but you also need to know how to deal with others. Enough can’t be said about having this skill, I value EQ over IQ any day and statistically people with high EQs have a higher potential to reach self-actualization.
2.) Conflict Resolution in a world where the world is angry for many reasons, being able to de-escalate a situation and find common ground is an invaluable skill to have in today’s world.
3.) The ability to “agree. to disagree” is a crucial lesson for me in leadership development. As an individual, I do not have to agree with everything presented to me but I also do not have the right to invalidate how someone feels about a subject. I always seek to understand why so even individuals I do not agree with intellectually it is interesting to me to learn how people’s minds work. I have had what would normally be considered taboo conversations with individuals because I can express my ideas and allow others to do the same without placing judgment or being upset. I just make my points, they make theirs and if our minds can be opened one way or another great but if we walk away holding on to our ideals, there is nothing wrong with that as well.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I believe you need to lean in on your strengths but you can also not ignore your weakness. Small examples would be a person with straight A’s and a high IQ who might struggle to find a role because they have no people skills and really can’t make a worthwhile impression on the interviewer. The majority of your high-level leaders were average students but they have very good people skills so their lack of IQ is masked or overshadowed by the fact that you are a likable person.
Me personally, I am dyslexic which mainly affects me in numbers and switching them backward at times. I have no issues reading backward as most people assume I would but when I first thought I would be an accountant this known weakness quickly reminded me that growing my education in an industry run by numbers where one pair of numbers flipped backward could spell financial ruin might not be a great area to build my future on but my awaking nature for leadership can be utilized in a multitude of ways and lends itself toward my strength’s.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://calendly.com/dariusbutler-gfi/45min
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darius-butler-048361113
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