The School of Greatness - You've Been BLOCKING your BLESSINGS! Do THIS To Get Into ALIGNMENT & MANIFEST Like CRAZY! | Tabitha Brown

Episode Date: April 10, 2024

Today we have an incredibly inspiring guest with us, the one and only Tabitha Brown. Tabitha is a social media sensation, actress, and vegan foodie who has captured the hearts of millions with her inf...ectious positivity and wisdom. But her journey to success was not without its challenges. From battling health issues to navigating the complexities of Hollywood, Tabitha has faced it all with grace and resilience. In this episode, she shares her story of finding freedom and abundance by aligning with her true self and deepening her spiritual connection.Buy her new book for yourself and a friend – I Did a New Thing: 30 Days to Living Free (A Feeding the Soul Book)In this episode you will learnthe importance of authenticity and how it can transform your life and career.strategies for deepening your spiritual connection and how it impacts your overall well-being.how to identify and overcome the challenges that prevent you from living in alignment with your true self.the keys to manifesting your dreams and attracting the life you desire.valuable insights into maintaining a successful relationship and the impact of personal growth on your partnerships.For more information go to www.lewishowes.com/1600For more Greatness text PODCAST to +1 (614) 350-3960More SOG episodes we think you’ll love:Eckhart Tolle – https://link.chtbl.com/1463-podRhonda Byrne – https://link.chtbl.com/1525-podJohn Maxwell – https://link.chtbl.com/1501-pod

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome back to the School of Greatness, everyone. I'm your host, Lewis Howes, and today we have an inspiring guest on. Her name is Tabitha Brown. She's an actress, a vegan foodie, and she's captured the hearts of millions with her infectious positivity and wisdom. And today she talks a lot about overcoming health issues and navigating the complexities of Hollywood, all the different things that she's faced with grace and resilience. In this episode, she shares her story of finding freedom and abundance and aligning with her true self and deepening her spiritual connection. I really think you're going to love this one. So let's go ahead and dive in. A goal, you can be like, I didn't make that goal or I did it,
Starting point is 00:00:41 but the dream won't let you rest. Even when you've manifested and it comes, it still is persistent. There's more to do until we are called home. The dream is just, it lives inside of us. Emmy award-winning actress, CEO of several major product lines, social media star with millions of followers, and a New York Times best-selling author. Please welcome the amazing Tabitha Brown.
Starting point is 00:01:04 The very thing that I used to cover about myself is the thing people love about me the most now. Wow. I believed what I was sold. Somebody sold me a lie, and I bought it. But now, honey, I returned it and got all my money back. When you are pretending to be someone else, God can't bless who you're not.
Starting point is 00:01:21 Ooh. If I am pretending to be somebody else, what are these blessings that I'm getting? Those aren't mine. That's something I created. Freedom and being true to who you're not. If I am pretending to be somebody else, what are these blessings that I'm getting? Those aren't mine. That's something I created. Freedom and being true to who you are is the best gift you can give to yourself. I wasn't ready for everything I was gonna gain.
Starting point is 00:01:34 I also wasn't ready for everything I was gonna lose. What did you lose? Friendships, relationships. When I started walking in my freedom, they started to disappear. But God revealed to me, He said, everybody's not ready to walk in their freedom. So being close to you while you're in yours is disturbing their spirit.
Starting point is 00:01:49 Oh. What do you think is the true key to attracting and manifesting exactly what is meant for us in life? I think. Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring Tavitha Brown in the house. So good to see you. Very good. Thank you for having me, honey. Welcome., to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest. We have the inspiring Tabitha Brown in the house. So good to see you. Very good.
Starting point is 00:02:07 Thank you for having me. Welcome to the show. It's been amazing to watch your journey, specifically over the last five years, just kind of expand and explode in a positive, powerful way. about how when you fully stepped into who you authentically were, that's when everything started to expand and you started to attract the right things for your life. You started to magnify your audience and community. You started to expand financially, relationally, with positive abundance. And I think it's really cool that this all happened for you. And I'm curious, your new book, it's called I Did a New Thing, 30 Days to Living Free. I'm curious, what was the thing right, for quite some time, about a year and seven months. And I really thought in that dark season, because, you know, I was sick and doctors can tell me what was wrong with me. They were doing, you know, running tests all the time and giving me guinea
Starting point is 00:03:18 pig medication is what I would call it because they can't diagnose you. But try this and see if you feel better, right? You fall into this depression, which I did, because it's like, I know something's not right with my body. I know I don't feel normal. And they can't tell me anything, right? And I thought God had forgotten about me. And so I think when I got to that lowest point, I was like, you know, I'm from North Carolina. I grew up in the church and I used to be this person and I still am who was excited to be a woman of faith. Right. And I was like, here I am really thinking like I have all this faith, but I feel like God has left me. Really? And so I was like, okay, Lord, this time, because what I also realized was I was habitually praying. And that means I was just praying out of habit.
Starting point is 00:04:09 But I wasn't really meaning or believing what I was saying. Can you give me an example? You know how you grow up and it's like, just for example, like God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for this food, right? You taught that as a kid on how to pray for your food. That's a habit that we pick up. It wasn't an intention. It wasn't intentional.
Starting point is 00:04:27 Feeling it. Like even though I was praying, God, please help me to feel better. God, please heal me. Like I was just saying, because it's like, oh, this is what we do at church. So I realized like, oh, wait, I need to unlearn how to habitually pray. And I really need to seek him truly and let him have me. Wow. Right. What's the difference between habitual prayer and seeking God and faith and allowing him to be inside of you? The difference is habitually you're taught.
Starting point is 00:04:58 I was taught how to pray that way. I was taught how to be a person of faith. I was taught how to go to church, how to worship. But when I said, God, I'm going to strip me clean, my prayer was, God, if you heal me, you can have me. Wow. That meant I'm not going to do it my way anymore and how I was taught. I'm going to do it the way you created me to do it that meant I'm gonna allow you to deposit inside of me like only you can nobody else will get this credit or the glory for it right and so that's what got me free I started taking layers off and when I prayed that prayer I was in my bathroom I remember and my prayer my prayer was, God, if you heal me, you can have me. Something changed that day.
Starting point is 00:05:48 I can't explain it. I just felt different. I wasn't healed in the moment. But when I left the bathroom, I felt different. And from that day, I've just been taking layers off ever since and allowing myself to be who God has called me to be. Wow. So, yeah. Do you feel like you were sick physically and depressed emotionally or mentally
Starting point is 00:06:11 because you were out of alignment with who you were meant to be? Absolutely. I definitely think that plays a huge, huge role in it. I think that I also have a gift, right? So we all have gifts. I was born with the gift of where I can dream things that come to pass. I see things. I can hear things.
Starting point is 00:06:30 And I remember a time when I tried to pray that away because it was scary, you know, growing up that way. And, you know, people think you're crazy because you can dream something and tell them and then it happens or you see something and you tell them. It wasn't a fun gift to have as a kid or as a young adult right but I remember I went like a good felt like about six years where I prayed like God I don't want this anymore and when I didn't have it as often it felt like I was missing a part of wow right but what I realized is when I would have a dream and I'm supposed to give a message to somebody, if I didn't, I would get sick. Wow. I would not like, I would get nauseous. My head would spin. I would have to lay down. But the moment I got it out, I'd be
Starting point is 00:07:20 completely fine. So you had a lot of premonitory dreams or? Yeah, like just, it's crazy. Like a vision or like a message? Yeah, visions. I can dream it while I'm asleep or sometime while I'm awake. Like right now I'm looking at you and then something could appear right beside you. I cannot control it. It just happens. Wow.
Starting point is 00:07:36 But like sometimes like a movie screen, like a little box, and I could see something play out. Sometimes it's an actual, just a vision. Just as clear as you sitting there, you can sit right here. Wow. And when you wouldn't speak it? When I won't say. Like there's times when God shows me something, but it's not meant for me to say anything.
Starting point is 00:07:55 It's just for me. To be aware of. To be aware. When you feel like you're supposed to say it and you don't. Oh, I'm not well. Interesting. Yeah, so I feel like because I wasn't living my truth for so long, I had created this Tabitha that I thought would win.
Starting point is 00:08:10 Like I was suffocating through me, so I couldn't breathe. Wow. And so the more and more layers I took off, the better I got. Why did you feel like you needed to put a mask on for the either the industry you're in or the relationships you're in or whatever it might be i mean i i know from a personal experience i wore a mask to feel like i needed to fit in and feel safe for many years yeah uh growing up playing sports and school and you know as a young adult i felt like i needed to protect myself with a mask but why did you wear masks for many reasons one you know i'm from north carolina
Starting point is 00:08:45 right from the south i grew up learning how to code switch and conform watching my mama right so we go to the bank and if she's talking to you know the white lady that work at the bank but her voice is different i'm like oh wait is this how we talk interesting oh okay if my mama came to school and talked to teachers and you know, all my teachers were white and my town was only black and white. There was no in between. I ain't seen like Hispanics or any of that stuff until I grew up and became an adult. She would change her voice. So I learned very early, oh, this is how we have to talk to people who are not black. I didn't know that that was code switching back then, but it was like, oh, to be treated a certain way, to be respected, to be seen.
Starting point is 00:09:27 That's what we have to do. And then growing up and working in corporate America, being told like in a call center, people hear my voice say, oh, are you black? I don't want to speak to somebody black. No way. Oh, absolutely. Come on. Oh, absolutely, honey. absolutely honey and so I would learn to mask it even more to to to push it down even more and then getting into entertainment hearing oh you you sound country you're gonna have to learn to to cover that so it became like I'm doing it for you know just my normal school and in work I'm doing for corporate America now I'm doing it for entertainment America. Now I'm doing it for entertainment. And then it came to like, oh, you can come to LA. I used to have, my hair was already natural, but they were like, your skin complexion, straighter hair. Okay. Certain size, sound neutral. Used to be the word I would always be given. No accent. Yeah. No accent. Be as neutral. No one should know where you're from. And I believe that. And so I created that Tabitha to get jobs. Right.
Starting point is 00:10:35 The one thing that my mom and they named me Tabitha. So my first job at Winn-Dixie, I never forget. I put in the application, dropped it off and I got a call and they were like, oh, we want to bring you in for an interview. I said, okay, great. So I get there and the assistant manager, when I walked up, clearly thought I was white from my name and how I sounded on the phone, right? So when she looked at me, I was like, I'm here for an interview. She's like, did somebody call you for an interview? I was like, yes, ma'am. Said her name and it was her. She was like, I'll be right back. Ended up getting a job because the actual store manager had came, his name was David. He was an older man who was great.
Starting point is 00:11:09 He was like, I'll interview him. And so he loved me and I worked there for a while, but my name always used to get me jobs, crazy enough, because people thought I was white. They want no black Tabitha's around. It was like, it's a Bewitched name, it was named from Bewitched. Wow. That's where my mama named me from.
Starting point is 00:11:30 So it was conforming to survive. My ancestors had to do it to survive, right? And it was passed down, but we don't have to do that anymore. I'm enough just as I am from Eden, North Carolina. Honey, the very thing that I used to cover about myself, it's the thing people love about me the most now. Wow. It's crazy.
Starting point is 00:11:49 But I didn't know. I believed what I was sold. Somebody sold me a lie and I bought it. But now, honey, I returned it and got all my money back. And that's with interest. Yeah. Do you feel like it was more challenging you know in North Carolina growing up trying to succeed or get opportunities or more challenging in Los Angeles Hollywood oh definitely uh Los Angeles really oh yeah yeah in the south it's like you is the thing about the
Starting point is 00:12:20 south is especially North Carolina I love my my know, North Carolina is the best place in the world. I mean, I love it. But it was always very clear. It wasn't hidden. You know exactly who you're talking to. Interesting. Right? Ain't no secret about it.
Starting point is 00:12:34 Right? Whether they like you or not. Yeah. It's clear. Yeah. If I want you around or not, like it's very clear. Out here.
Starting point is 00:12:40 Out here. It's Hollywood, honey. They hide the truth. You don't know that they don't really fool with you until after the fact, right? Or if you find it out in an email or you see it in the trades or whatever, you're like,
Starting point is 00:12:50 oh, wait a minute. You acted like we was cool, but we really won't. You didn't really like me, you know? So it's more hidden here. People be out here acting. They be wearing masks out here.
Starting point is 00:13:03 Yeah. They say they want to do a project, but then they don't talk to you. Right. And you know what? I don't even care about that. Like, whatever's meant for me, I wholeheartedly, in this season of my life, I truly know what God has for me, it is for me. And if it ain't,
Starting point is 00:13:18 it ain't. Absolutely. Yeah. I was just saying this to my fiancée, Martha, recently, actually. I was like, you know, I was telling you, she got excited. She did a great audition recently for something. And she was really excited about the possibility. I go, you're going to get this if it's meant for you. And if it's in alignment with your truth and your future, and if you don't get it, it wasn't meant for you. It wasn't meant for you, huh? That's right.
Starting point is 00:13:40 You don't need to be upset about it. Or, you know, maybe you can have a little moment of like, oh, okay. This idea of, I wish I could have got it, but you don't want to be upset about it or, you know, maybe you can have a little moment of like, oh, OK, this idea of I wish I could have got it. But you don't want to go through years of stress on something that's not meant for you. That's right. That's right. Listen, when the thing is meant for you, there is nothing that will stop it. Like God is not even complicated. He's not. He's very clear. We complicate things. We're in our head too much. Yeah, we're in our head too much. We're overthinking it. We'll get an opportunity. And before the opportunity is ours, we will play out every single thing. Oh, if I do this and then I do this and we ain't even got it yet. Let's see if it works out for us first and then we can expand on it. What do you think is the true key to
Starting point is 00:14:19 attracting and manifesting exactly what is meant for us in life. I think walking in your truth will do that, right? Showing up exactly who you are allows the things that belong to you to come, you know, because when we create a different person, as I did for myself, right? When you are pretending to be someone else, God can't bless who you're not. Ooh, he can only bless who you are. So if I am pretending to be somebody else, what are these blessings that I'm getting? Those aren't mine. That's something I created. But when I just
Starting point is 00:14:58 be me, I can get everything he has for me. And the interesting thing, you see people who are blessed for being someone they're not. They're usually depressed, anxious, stressed, or it's never enough. It's never good enough because they still aren't good enough. They're not being who they're meant to be. They're always chasing something else. Exactly. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:17 And that's almost a greater challenge. It's like you're being blessed, but you don't feel enough. Right. You have everything, but you feel worthless. Or empty. Empty. No don't feel enough. Right. You have everything, but you feel worthless. Or empty. Empty. No peace. No peace.
Starting point is 00:15:27 Yeah. I mean, that's the freedom and being true to who you are. It's the best gift you can give to yourself. How can someone know what their truth is when they've been wearing a mask for so long? Oh, honey, we all, I feel like we know our truth, right? Your truth is in your silence when no one else is around, right? It's the things that you say to yourself. It's the things that you do, like childhood memories before you were taught that you weren't enough and before you believed it, right?
Starting point is 00:16:03 That's your truth. Sometimes we have to go back to our childlike thoughts because as children, we're free. We're born knowing what we're supposed to do, but we're taught how to have fear. We're taught no, we're taught yes, right? We're taught how to speak, all the things, but we're also influenced by our parents, by our friends and peers and different things. Sometimes unintentionally, it just naturally happens in your influence. But what your truth is, how you feel when you're alone, the things that you used to enjoy doing as a kid that nobody had to tell you to do, like that's your truth, right? Sometimes that's also your passion and purpose.
Starting point is 00:16:47 We have to go back to that before we were taught, oh, no, you can't have that dream. Oh, no, you can't do that because, you know, they don't make money. You should do this X, Y and Z. You go back to what did you used to love to play when you were a kid? Right. Did you love to play office? Did you love to play sports? Did you love to play?
Starting point is 00:17:02 You know, did you take care of dolls and treat them like you were a doctor? Like, what was your thing that you did every day without hesitation until somebody told you that that was just a game? Sometimes that's your purpose. That's the thing that you were put here to do before somebody told you you couldn't. And so you go back to that and then it's like, oh, that was my truth that I let somebody tell me was a lie. But that belongs to me. You know, those are your feelings. Those are your things that still matter for you. But we have to tap back into it. Got to get back to that. And when you were in that bathroom having that conversation with God, what was it again you said? If you heal me, you can have me. If you heal me, you can have me. And that's powerful. And you said when you left that, something shifted inside of you. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:17:48 I felt lighter. Interesting. I felt lighter and I just felt different. You know, it's hard to explain that. But every day from that day, it was just like something is happening. something is happening. I have this thing sometimes where I can walk outside and the air will feel different on my skin.
Starting point is 00:18:11 And I know a shift is happening. Like I know it's coming. I'm like, oh, something's about to happen. It's a weird thing, but I can feel it. I remember I used to work this job. I used to work in a nine to five in LA
Starting point is 00:18:24 and we had a warehouse and then we had office space and so I would go because I was in charge of like shipping and coordinating so I would go to warehouse sometime to take paperwork and then walk back to my office and there was a very long hallway and this particular day I had felt the wind shift and so when I had left the warehouse to come back down this long hallway, I, and I sometimes still do this, but I remember this day I would close my eyes and I wouldn't even care about where I was going. I would just walk with my eyes closed this long hallway because it was just, I could just envision whatever the shift was like, God got something else for me that's coming.
Starting point is 00:19:02 And I remember a girl that was working, she was coming out of the bathroom. So she was like standing in the hallway. She was like, Tabitha, Tabitha. She had her eyes closed, walking in. And it started me. She was like, you were just walking with your eyes closed. I was like, oh girl, honey, sometime, honey, I do that because I'm just seeing where he's taking me.
Starting point is 00:19:20 You know, it's a weird thing. I can't even, I can't explain why I do some of the things I do. Also, I feel like it's part of the gift. Absolutely. You know, but after I left the bathroom that day, it was about two or three weeks later, I had this dream. And in the dream, I saw myself on a show, right? But the screen was small. And I've told this story many times.
Starting point is 00:19:46 And when I woke up, I was like, okay, Lord, reveal that to me. Because during this time, I'm not really auditioning. I'm not doing any acting. I wouldn't do a stand-up. I wouldn't do any of the things that would land me on the show. Because I was not well. And I had a conversation with God. And he said, start doing videos.
Starting point is 00:20:03 And I was like, I'm not doing no videos. Honey, I'm an actress, a broke actress, but an actress nonetheless. I'm not doing that social media thing. I ain't doing that. Why would I do that?
Starting point is 00:20:12 And also because, you know, as an actor, then we were always told when I would go to action classes or different things, stay away from social media. They won't take you serious in Hollywood.
Starting point is 00:20:21 And I believed it. Okay. And so the voice was clear. Start doing videos. And I was like, Lord, I don't want to do videos. And he believed it. Okay? And so the voice was clear. Start doing videos. And I was like, Lord, I don't want to do videos. And he was like, listen, when you were out doing stand-up, you were trying to get a TV show. And them little, you know, open mic nights, you were getting 15, 30 people to see
Starting point is 00:20:35 you a night. You start doing videos, you reach thousands in minutes. And I was like, that's where I got you because I ain't got thousands of followers to reach in minutes. The voice again start doing videos. So I was like, I don't want to do followers to reach in minutes. The voice again, start doing videos. So I was like, I don't want to do that. So then he reminded me. He said, remember in the bathroom, he said, if I heal you, I can have you.
Starting point is 00:20:51 Oh, and I said, do you want to be healed or not? I was like, oh, he caught me on a bad day that day. But I did say that. Did I really say that? Did I really say that? You know, I was having a bad day that day. But that's the only reason I started doing videos. Wow.
Starting point is 00:21:06 Right? Because you heard the voice that said start doing videos. Yeah. And you didn't have a big audience then? No. I had my regular Facebook family put 3,000 to 5,000 people, whatever your thing is on Facebook. I might have had like, I don't know, 1,300 followers or something on my Facebook actor page. Small.
Starting point is 00:21:24 Oh, as small as you can get it. And probably the same on Instagram. I don't know, 1300 followers or something on my Facebook actor page. Small, small. Oh, as small as you can get it in, you know, probably the same on Instagram. And I was like, well, I ain't got thousands of followers to watch me. Thousands of minutes. What are you talking about? And I was like, OK, but I also was trying to live a life of obedience. So I was like, OK, I got to start doing these videos. And I was like, Lord, what am I going to do a video about?
Starting point is 00:21:50 So when I first started doing the videos, I was telling jokes and telling stories of, you know, being a mama and a wife. Same stuff I used to kind of tell on stage. And during that time, those same few weeks, my daughter had came home and told me about the documentary to watch that she watched at school. What the hell? Because she knew I was sick. We watched it as a family and I decided to do a 30-day vegan challenge. And after the 30 days, I was like, oh, I was feeling better. Ten days, the first ten days, I'd had a headache for a year and seven months in the back of my head every day. Wow.
Starting point is 00:22:18 Every day. I would fall when I would walk. I lost my vision for a day. My body was just attacking itself. First 10 days, my headache disappeared. After every drug, I was getting shots in my head. I was getting everything they offered me. If anything, it was probably making me worse. Nothing worked. 10 days of implants, headache disappeared. And so I told my husband, I was like, I think this is going to be my life. I think I think I'm gonna go vegan and the moment I said that out of my mouth on that day 30 I was like I'm not gonna
Starting point is 00:22:50 go back I think I'm gonna be vegan the same boy said told me to start doing videos like a hummingbird would fly by your ear that's how I can explain it it that's how it sounds it was like now tell people what you're eating in your videos wow and I said oh lord i don't know if i want to do that because that makes it kind of permanent like i'm from north carolina i'm not doing a challenge right i'm doing for real this my life i'm gonna be vegan and i never wanted people to feel like i was trying to shame anybody or anything and i was just like i don't know i had also shaved off all my hair at the time because my hair was always long and straight. So I was just doing a whole new transformation. And so I was like, okay, I just started telling people, yeah, I'm going vegan. And when I find
Starting point is 00:23:34 food items, I'm going to share it with y'all. I'm going to cook some recipes and share when I find good vegan food. And that's how it started. And nobody was watching. I was like, it's 33 people on here, Lord. I'm cooking live. You said thousands of minutes. Where are they? I would cry because I'd be like, I don't know why God has me doing this. I don't know what I'm doing. And, you know, that was August of 2017.
Starting point is 00:23:57 And I think by October I started, I was feeling so much better. I started driving Uber because I didn't go back to work. I'd been on disability for over a year. And so I told my husband, I was like, I don't want to go back to a nine to five. I'm going to just see what God got out here for me. I'm in L.A. I'm going to drive Uber, probably pick up a producer or director. They're going to love me.
Starting point is 00:24:16 I'll call you from set. That's how I think. I'm like, I'm about to get discovered in my car out here in L.A. And December 30th of 2017, I dropped somebody off by Whole Foods, driving Uber that morning. Went in there and got me a breakfast sandwich because I was still, you know, vegan. New to being vegan, but Whole Foods always got a vegan option. So I was like, oh, I'm going in and get me breakfast. Had never heard of vegan bacon at that time.
Starting point is 00:24:39 They had a sandwich in the, you know, the prepared food section. And it was called a TLTA. And it was like tempeh, bacon, and lettuce, tomato, avocado. I was like, oh, I ain't never heard of that. Throw me a little pickle on there, honey, a little onion and stuff. Ate the first half so fast, I was like, oh, wait, I need to do a video to tell people I found a new vegan option. Sat in my car because I was on my Uber break.
Starting point is 00:25:00 Did a video, posted it, went on back to driving Uber. By the time I got home, that video had like 50,000 views. I was like, who watching this video? Next morning, over 100-something thousand. I was like, I told my husband, I said, I think I'm going viral. He was like, what that mean? I was like, I don't know. We were watching, though.
Starting point is 00:25:16 Exactly. He was like, you going to make any money? I was like, I have no idea. Four days later, Whole Foods reached out, and they were like, we saw your video. On Facebook, they DM'd me. And they were like, we would love to work with you. And I became a brand ambassador for plant-based living, did over 15 campaigns and the rest is history. Yep.
Starting point is 00:25:33 Honey, ain't drove Uber since, but I will if I have to, but I haven't. And my life has been on this journey ever since. That's amazing. So December 2017. December 30 of 2017. And you started making videos a couple months prior. So December 2017. December 30 of 2017. And you started making videos a couple months prior. August. Wow.
Starting point is 00:25:49 Yep. Isn't it interesting? What if after like a month of doing these videos, you just said, you know what? This isn't working. I'm not getting thousands of views right away. So I'm going to stop. Yeah. What do you think your life would be if you stopped a day before you post that video?
Starting point is 00:26:02 Just said, I don't want to do this anymore. It's not working right away. You know, God don't wanna do this anymore. It's not working right away. God said it would happen right away. It's not happening. I'm gonna stop. Where do you think your life would be? I'd probably be working, still auditioning, but I'd be working a nine to five.
Starting point is 00:26:17 Yeah, I'd still be pursuing the dream of acting. And the thing about acting is, and I told you this before, that used to be my my only focus right I had put myself in this box where all I thought about was like oh I want to be a series regular or you know of course I would love to be a you know the lead in a film those were my big break ideas and God was like you can do that you can do that Tabith, you can do that. You can do that, Tabitha. You can do that. But let me show you what I can do. Wow. This is what he can do.
Starting point is 00:26:50 This is my fourth book, but my third New York Times bestseller. I never ever even had an idea to write a book. Wow. Right? I have seasonings. I have a hair care line. I have a major partnership with Target. I have my own food, my own clothes, my own furniture,
Starting point is 00:27:07 right? I have all these things that I never imagined. And that's because God says it's more than what you can imagine if you trust me. And so I do. Wow. This is inspiring. It's inspiring. Yeah. If someone is feeling maybe not like in a complete depression or completely sick or completely out of it, but they just know there's something more for them. Maybe their relationships aren't where they want them to be or maybe their career is just off a little bit. Or they just feel like, I just don't feel like the fire inside of me is driving me to where I need to be. You talk about 30 days to living free. What's the first few steps someone can take in starting to live free to get that alignment back inside of them? Yeah, it's so funny because this is why I started this challenge, right? This is
Starting point is 00:27:57 a challenge that I started in 2014 because I was trying to, because what you're describing is feeling stuck, right? It's like, you know, there's something else, but you don't know what it is. We get in such a routine that we forget we haven't done anything outside of our routine for so long. So I always say, start with doing something new. It can be as simple as driving a different way to work or a different way to a friend's house, whatever, or walking a a different way just so that your eyes can see something it's never seen before something new that shifts the brain right um like even wearing something you normally don't wear like for me i always tell people if you wear black all the time throw some color on i gotta throw some color on soon yeah right like for me i don't like wearing
Starting point is 00:28:42 black but i found this and i was like you got a little color on it's cool. Like for me, I don't like wearing black, but I found this and I was like, you got a little color on it. It's cool. I'm doing a new thing. Right. And so it's little things, even trying a new food, you know, going to a dinner or lunch by yourself.
Starting point is 00:28:55 You know how many people are afraid to eat alone? I know. Doing things that challenge you, that will open up a new space inside of you. That's what doing a new thing does for us. And that's how we start to think, oh, okay. And then going back to like, what is your dream? Like, what's the thing that won't let you rest?
Starting point is 00:29:13 And I talked about this recently because people sometimes they get confused by a dream versus a goal. Goals are things that we create. Dreams are deposited inside of us. Let's go. We don't make them up. They live there.
Starting point is 00:29:28 That's why we can't rest because they're constantly nagging us. A goal, you can be like, I didn't make that goal. Or I did it, Chet. But the dream won't let you rest. Even when you manifest it and it comes, it still is persistent. There's more to do until we are getting you know called home the dream is just it lives inside of us yes it's it's born inside of us so i always say do one small thing every day towards your dream even if you're stuck in the nine to five job or in a
Starting point is 00:29:58 relationship that you know or or um business whatever the case is that makes you feel like oh I don't have time to do something towards me right which we are worthy of doing something toward ourselves every day yes do one small thing whether it's reading something that can help open up you know an idea in your mind to help you get closer to your dream whether it's watching a movie or a TV show or listening to a podcast that can help inspire or open up something in your mind. Something small. Every day. One little thing.
Starting point is 00:30:32 There's a lot of people that want to achieve their dreams or be successful so quickly. If they haven't made it by 27, it's like they're a failure. I don't know who put that time frame on us. Lord. But you started to really gain traction in your late 30s, early 40s, right? Yes. What was the biggest lesson for you for, I guess, having success later in your 30s and early 40s versus in 20s? What did you learn about yourself?
Starting point is 00:31:01 I learned that I was not ready when I thought I was. I wouldn't have had nothing to show for it, right? I needed to do, as my daddy would say, keep on living. I needed to do more living before it came so that I could, A, know how to pray for it, right? Because a lot of times I used to pray, pray, pray for all these things to happen. Oh,, I want my dreams to come true. And you know, I'm fast and I'm praying on it, but I was never praying God when I get it, prepare me to keep it. Let's go. This is the biggest challenge for a lot of people. I'm so glad you said this because early on, I was probably 25, 26. I remember being broke, living on my sister's couch for a year and
Starting point is 00:31:43 a half, no money. Yeah. I had a mentor at the time that I was working for for free, learning from him. And I was like, man, I'm really struggling. I could really use some money right now. And he said, money comes to you when you're ready for it. I was like, I feel pretty ready. I feel ready for this. But he's like, it'll come to you when you're ready for it. Otherwise, if you get it too early, you'll probably lose it. And I think it's similar to like having a come to you when you're ready for it. Otherwise, if you get it too early, you'll probably lose it. Yeah. And I think it's similar to like having a dream. Like if you're not prepared for success or prepared for the pressures that might come with it. Yeah. You might cause, you might sabotage it.
Starting point is 00:32:15 You might lose it. You might squander it. You might not be ready for all of the responsibility, the weight that potentially could come with it. Right. That's right. So you don't feel like you would have been ready for it in your 20s or early 30s, right? No, absolutely not.
Starting point is 00:32:27 I wasn't ready for everything I was going to gain. I also wasn't ready for everything I was going to lose. What did you lose? Friendships, relationships, right? Things that, people that I thought I would have in my life forever. And when I started walking in my freedom, they started to disappear.
Starting point is 00:32:47 Wow. But God revealed to me, he said, everybody's not ready to walk in their freedom. So being close to you while you're in yours is disturbing their spirit.
Starting point is 00:32:54 Oh. And I couldn't allow that to affect me in a way that I know it would have affected me in my 20s or early 30s. Oh my gosh. But in this 45,
Starting point is 00:33:02 I'm all right with it. I love them, but I understand. Forty five feeling alive. Right. Forty five feeling alive. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. So, man, I can resonate with that because, you know, in my teens or my early 20s, there were certain relationships that I had formed that made me feel good and safe. Right. Yep. And I remember losing relationships almost every few years. Yeah. And I would be really sad that I was losing these relationships that people want to call me back or they didn't want to hang out anymore. Yeah. But I also know that I was in such a pursuit of
Starting point is 00:33:36 my mission and pursuing things that later I found out that some of my friends told me like it scared them. Right. Because I was pursuing certain things and they weren't pursuing the things they wanted. Yeah. So I felt really hurt that they didn't want to hang out anymore. But it also kind of set me free to have more time for mentors or people that were wiser or older than me who I can learn from and build relationships with them to give me counsel. Yes. And to kind of guide me forward. That's right.
Starting point is 00:34:07 And that's one of the most challenging things, I think, is leaving the friend tribe. Yeah. When you want to bring people with you, but they may not be ready for your next level. They can't all go. Everybody can't go. You know, I feel like a lot of times we feel bad because we, especially when you love people. I love people. Me too.
Starting point is 00:34:28 I'm a people lover. You're a loyal person. All these things, right? And you always want to turn around and bring them back. And God revealed one day to me, he said, listen, everyone who you need to bring along, you don't have to turn around to get them. He said, because when you turn around, that's when you get distracted from it. You got to keep your eye forward. The moment moment you do this you might have just crashed he said the people were supposed to come all you got to do is go like this you never got to turn around they right there they right
Starting point is 00:34:54 there it's just like a hand off a baton you watch a a marathon they ain't never turning around to reach for it they're just right here right so the ones who are supposed to come with you, you don't have to turn around and go get them. So you've been married for 20 plus years, right? Yep. How has that worked with your relationship and marriage, you know, with you and your husband? Have you, did you have struggle when you started to step into your authentic self? Because you became a different person. Maybe you became the person you always were. Yeah. Was there ever challenges in your marriage or relationship as you started to thrive or was there alignment right away and just like everything was perfect? Oh, honey, listen, my husband was so happy. He was like, finally, the world get to see who I know. Wow. Yeah. I mean, for years he hated the industry of Hollywood
Starting point is 00:35:41 because he saw how it changed me. He would always say, why you can't just be you? He would, I mean, it would be all the time. Why you can't just be Tab? You know, the same Tab that talked to your daddy. And I'm like, that ain't what they want. I gotta be this Tab. Those were the arguments and all the no's I would get and all the hard work I would be studying and
Starting point is 00:36:05 going to class and he was like you're doing all of this and they still don't like you so he hated the industry for a long time so when I became free and started walking in my freedom walk he was like now the world gets to see who I love and I was like you was kind of right about it I guess all along but no it actually has made our relationship better and stronger. That's great. Yeah. I think Jim Carrey had a quote, I'm going to paraphrase it, where he said like his father got fired from a career that he didn't love.
Starting point is 00:36:36 And then he wasn't his main thing he wanted to do. He always wanted to be a comedian, but he never pursued the dream. And he said something like, you can get fired at what you don't love, what you're not good at, so you might as well go after what you do love. Yes. You know, it's kind of like you. It's like people weren't choosing you for who you weren't, so you might as well be who you want to be.
Starting point is 00:36:54 Exactly. Yeah. And get not chosen for who you are. Exactly. A hundred percent. Something you brought up earlier about the walking in the hallway, closing your eyes. It reminded me of the Helen Keller quote. I'm paraphrasing where she said something like, a lot of people have sight but no vision.
Starting point is 00:37:15 And you were like able to close your eyes and visualize, you know, literally walking and not hitting the walls. But also visualizing the dream that you had for yourself in those moments. If you're able to have vision, a lot of us are seeing, but we don't have vision. Right. What do you think is blocking us from having true vision? I think a lack of faith, right? Because faith is, you know, believing things unseen, right? So I think that, you know, but what is the word is walk by faith, not by sight. And so I have faith in the things I feel, the things that I believe I have faith that they're going to work. Even if you haven't seen them yet. Even if I haven't seen them. Right. I've never seen God's face, but I believe. Right.
Starting point is 00:38:09 but I believe, right? I've heard a voice. I believe. I have faith in the visions that he has shown me in my dreams or while I'm awake. I have faith in those things. I believe in confirmation, right? I remember people used to ask me and still ask me often, how did you keep going after all this time? It took you over 20 years to get to success. Like on the moments where you felt like giving up, like what were the things that kept you going? And I always tell people, I would look at the signs of confirmation, right? I remember I used to work in a staffing company in Greensboro, North Carolina, and I was on my lunch break, went through the drive-thru, and a little guy, when I got to the drive-thru to pay, he was like,
Starting point is 00:38:49 hey, I was like, hey. He was like, aren't you the lady on the show? Aren't you on the, like, Nickelodeon or something like that? I was like, oh, no, I work at Selective Staff off of High Point Road. He was like, okay. I was like, okay. He was like okay i was like okay he was like no don't you have the show with the kids i was like i don't know what you're talking about honey i must look like somebody and i remember thinking like huh why did he say that you know back then and
Starting point is 00:39:17 and god spoke to my spirit and said because he can see your destiny so little moments like that would confirm and we're talking 2003, 2004 when that happened. I just want an Emmy for my children's show that I didn't even dream of having all 20 years later. I never thought I was going
Starting point is 00:39:37 to have a children's show. It was confirmation, right? So if we pay attention to the little signs. I remember thinking, like, I used to work at a nursing home, assistant living home, and we had to wear our uniforms. It was like khaki pants and polo shirts. And I worked the night shift.
Starting point is 00:39:57 And it was hard. It was hard. That shit was hard. This was like 2010. Wow. And I remember I would take breaks and, you know, go to the bathroom and put water on my face. Because overnight, you're working at 11 at night to 7 in the morning and I'm trying to stay awake. And I would just stare at myself in the mirror and some days I would just cry.
Starting point is 00:40:12 I was like, I look at myself and for a flash I would see myself on a red carpet. And I would be like, I'm clearly in khakis and a blue polo. But for a quick second, I could see, I could see myself. I said, something is coming. And it would just give me this boost. I would just get excited. I would get so excited. And I know from being there, so many things happen, very supernatural things. And I used to be like, oh, why?
Starting point is 00:40:44 Because I kept getting drawn to go work in a nursing home. My mother was a hospice worker. She was a social worker. But as a kid, she always taught me to respect our elders and just understand how much wisdom they hold, right? And so I would read to them when I was a kid.
Starting point is 00:41:00 So after she passed away, I had this urge to go work in a nursing home. And specifically the night shift, which was crazy. Right. So all these supernatural things would happen when I was there. And I feel like God had me there because one day I'll make a show about it. Right. Also, because seniors and elderly people are the best people in the world. They are the funniest. They don't care. There's no more fear. They don't care about what you think about them. They've seen it all, done it all, right? And so sometimes I think the flash that I saw of myself
Starting point is 00:41:36 on these like red carpets and like lights and stuff, maybe it's because I'll do a show, I'll create a show about my experience there and then I'll win, you know, maybe some awards or something for it. I don't know. But little things like that were always signs for me. So I always tell people, look for your signs. Sometimes you can be, I don't know, you know, talking to a friend that you have a certain relationship with, but you don't tell them your dreams. But they may say to you one day just out of nowhere, you ever thought about doing such and such?
Starting point is 00:42:06 And it's the thing that lives inside of you. That's your sign. You never told them that. How did they say that? That's your sign. Right. That's confirmation. That's how you keep going.
Starting point is 00:42:17 Look for your signs. You have a quote that I saw that said, obedience is better than sacrifice. Yeah. What does that mean? Oh, honey, because obedience is the thing that it's hard to do. Right. It's hard to be obedient sometimes because sometimes we want to be in control.
Starting point is 00:42:38 You know, that feeling you get under you, that gut feeling, as we call it, I call that the gift under the tummy. That's what I say gut stands for because we all got it. That's obedience, obeying that. Like when something is happening, you got to make a decision. You got to be obedient. Sometimes it's not the thing you want to sacrifice to do. Sometimes it's the thing that you have to be obedient and do so that you can go to the next place, because I think that we all have a certain amount of grace God gives us all.
Starting point is 00:43:10 But I feel like we can we can get out of a road that has a left and a right. Sacrifices to the left, obedience is to the right. He also gives us the grace to make a decision. One turn might get us there quicker. Blessings may feel better. The other turn may be a whole different, uncomfortable ride. Really? Right. So obedience is better than sacrifice. Where was a time in your life where you sacrificed as opposed to were obedient? And what happened for you? So many times. I mean, about 20 years, I was living a lot of sacrifice. And what's, what's, how does it look different
Starting point is 00:43:53 for someone when they do something based on making a sacrifice and maybe they think they're supposed to do this versus being obedient? I think sometimes we can say some people, you know how you may want to start a business, right? And so you may sell your house, but something inside you feels like, this is not right. But you make the sacrifice and you do it anyway. Business fails.
Starting point is 00:44:20 You ignore the obedience. You ignore the thing that said, don't do it that way. because you thought you were in control and that your way, your idea was better. Right. And sometimes it's hard to decipher, like, is this my thinking or is this the gift? Is this is this God speaking to me? Is this the thing that lives inside of me? Right. Is God speaking to me? Is this the thing that lives inside of me? Right. And so I always say, like, if you can come up with the idea and you can write it down and, you know, it's great. You can kind of come back to it. But you can also kind of forget about it a little bit.
Starting point is 00:44:57 That's you thinking. But if he's giving it to you. It's not going to let you rest. It's going to keep on nagging. And also signs will come to confirm it. And i said before he ain't complicated it's a little bit easier sometimes sometimes there's roadblocks because now they're roadblocks sometimes but if we read this sign on the roadblock it may not be a roadblock it may just be okay there's a little bump here but read the sign you can still go this way it's just gonna be a little bit harder reward Reward will be greater later. But we just got to make sure we know which way we're going. Wow.
Starting point is 00:45:30 And so I've done that many times. But every time I went against that thing, I get burned every time. Really? Oh, every time. Something doesn't work out. It just doesn't. I remember this happened recently. I had an opportunity to go in business
Starting point is 00:45:46 with somebody to do a restaurant and absolutely love my business partner. His name is Neiman. Love him. He has a restaurant in Chicago that I fell in love with. Killed my name. And so he was like, I want to open one in LA. I was like, I'll be your business partner. I ain't never did restaurant business. I did food, but I ain't never did restaurant business. Like I didn't know all this stuff. Right. But I was like, I know I can get people to come type of thing. And so I invested and did it. A lot of things happened with this building. A lot of things happened that we couldn't keep the business open. Really? Right. And so while we were in the process of before we ever opened I kept coming here I was like I don't know I got a feeling um maybe this is not the right location
Starting point is 00:46:34 and he kept saying oh no no I know it is and he had his reasons he had his his own reasons and so I said okay we'll go with it and my prayer was, if it's not meant to be, don't let it last. End it quick. And baby, it ended quick. It was grand opening, grand closing. Wow. That's how it felt. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:52 But I had so much peace with it because I knew. I was like, I went against the devil. Yeah. But he's still doing amazing and successful with his restaurant in Chicago. That's right. Yep. And it's almost, you know, the greatest blessing had you went against your obedience, but it ended quickly. It didn't go on for five years of misery. Right. Like at least it ended within a year or something. Oh yeah. And it
Starting point is 00:47:15 was okay. I only lost a little bit and it didn't work out. It didn't take all my time and energy as opposed to years where some people are disobedient and they stay in a relationship for 20 years too long. Oh, honey. Yeah. Or they stay in a business because they have pride. Well, I started this and I want to make sure it doesn't fail. Yeah. And they go against obedience and they suffer more. Yeah. And then the hope is that when you come out of it, that you learned. Yeah. Because I definitely learned to me. It was like God is saying, okay, now remember, I've already shown you this. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:47:47 Don't do it again. Don't do it again. Or it might be more painful. Or you know what is going to happen. Exactly. So, yeah. It might be more painful. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:47:52 How did you know you were prepared and ready for the pressure and the weight of the success that came your way or the abundance that started coming your way, you know, five, six years ago? in your way, you know, five, six years ago? I think because I didn't necessarily know I was necessarily ready, but I felt normal, if it makes sense. You know, my husband used to say, he talks about this sometimes, but, you know, we've been together for 26 years this year. So he's been with me
Starting point is 00:48:25 since I've been pursuing acting and all this stuff and entertainment. And when we first moved to L.A., it didn't matter what I auditioned for. This is it. I would come home and be like,
Starting point is 00:48:35 this is going to be it, honey. I know this is the road that's going to take me here. It could have been a short film. It could have been a commercial. Whatever it was, it was always a thing. Wow.
Starting point is 00:48:45 And I would come home just overly excited. Like, oh, I can't wait. We're going to win the film festival. I would just be all over the place excited. And that went on for years, right? This stuff started happening in the last, we'll say the last, you know, five years. But about three years ago, 2020, things really just went crazy. Went off.
Starting point is 00:49:08 So much was happening. I mean, campaigns, money, brand deals, products, everything. And I was very calm, very grateful, always in a state of gratitude, but very calm. So my husband came to me. He said, hey, listen, I'm a little concerned. I said, why? What's going on? He was like, so for years when you was doing the acting thing
Starting point is 00:49:31 and you were not making money, we were struggling, you would be so excited, so, so, so excited about, oh, this is it, this is it, and it wasn't it. He said, now this is it, And you're not excited, excited the same way. And I said, oh, I said, oh, I get it now. I said, because back then my flesh was excited and I was all over the place. But my spirit was like, girl, no, no, no. You got to keep on going. This ain't it. This this not it. I said, well well now my spirit and flesh we are in alignment so this feels like home it feels normal to me yeah your nervous system is safer it's it's
Starting point is 00:50:13 safe it feels like oh I feel balanced I was out of balance before because I won't in alignment I said so now I can be in a full state of gratitude. I cry a lot because I'm so happy, but I'm not all over the place. I was like, so now I know this is what God had prepared me for. So I feel at peace. And so it gives me when we're at peace and we have a understanding that I'm doing what God has has planned for me and has purposed me to do. I know I'm ready for it. Wow. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:50:48 Also don't have a problem saying no. That's how you really know when you're ready. Yeah. And someone's trying to give you money and you're like, no, I'm all right. God bless y'all. I'm all right.
Starting point is 00:50:57 That's big. That's a big move. Yeah. That's like, yeah. Obedience at a high level. Yeah. Cause I said no to a whole lot of things,
Starting point is 00:51:04 um, in the beginning of this journey before money started coming in um and it was money good money and i was like that's not an alignment where god has taken me yeah i gotta say i gotta pass on it and that's how i knew that i really was living and believing what god has for me is for me that I really was living and believing what God has for me is for me. Because I'm like, we need that money, but I don't, I'm not going to sacrifice. I'm going to have to be obedient. Yeah, that's so good because, you know, we've been doing this show for 11 years. We've never taken, I've never been drunk in my life or high. I don't just tell them to do drugs or anything.
Starting point is 00:51:38 And we've had different, you know, gambling companies or alcohol companies always wanted to sponsor. And I just said no to all of it. And they've got big money. Yeah. Like, okay, that money could be nice and I could hire more people and do these things. But if it's not in alignment with me, it just doesn't feel right. Not saying that other people shouldn't take that. Right. That's somebody else's blessing. Exactly. It's not for you. That's right. And I feel like I feel good, even though I haven't taken that type of money or those opportunities. And I feel like it's growing in the way that I want it to grow. You know, I don't need those things. I think that's really hard for people to say no. Yeah. When it's
Starting point is 00:52:16 out of alignment. Yeah. And so that's, that's, it's challenging to do. Yeah, it is when you, you have to get to a place where you can do that. But I also understand desperation. Yeah. Yeah. You might have to take stuff. Sometimes. Yeah. I mean, back in the day, some of the movies and stuff I've done from way back, I'd be like, oh, Lord. But I was like, I got paid $500 to do that or $5,000. And that $5,000 was the only money I made for six months. Right. So I'm grateful for all of it though, because it's my story. You know, I did scripts that were terrible and, you know, I thought were funny. And now I'm like, Oh God, it was not funny. You know, just learning, but that's, that's my,
Starting point is 00:52:57 that's my story to tell, you know, and that's also can help inspire somebody else that is in that season in their life. We%. We all go through different seasons. What have you learned about the keys to having a healthy relationship and successful marriage? When you didn't have the success, the fame, the notoriety, you know, for the first, I guess, 15 years, to now having more of that, what have you learned as one person in a relationship, you know, gets more famous and successful and financially well off? What, what have you learned
Starting point is 00:53:32 or what advice would you give others in relationships? For us, it's always been, we all we got, right? Um, you know, the saying, don't believe the hype. I live by that. you know, the saying, don't believe the hype. I live by that. Don't believe the hype. My husband, we are our foundation. That's where it begins. It's God first and then us, right? Then the children and all the things. But together, we can do everything together. You know, my husband was, we moved to LA and so that I could pursue my dreams. For 15 years, he was a Los Angeles police officer. He was like, I can go get this job and we can at least have one solid income that has benefits, you know, because we had kids and you could pursue your dream. Wow.
Starting point is 00:54:20 And never have to get, you know, a career like a job job. Although I always had a job, but I might have a job for a year or two and then quit or, you know, whatever. So he sacrificed. Right. He did that. And I used to tell him five years, I'm going to blow up out here in L.A. And I'm going to take you out of there. He'd be like, don't I don't care about that. I just want I'm fine. Pursue your dream. Pursue your dream your dream right we did that together and so didn't happen in five years but after 15 years I was like listen this don't even make sense for you to be working no more please retire like from LAPD and do something that you want to do you know something else so being together and never letting the noise in like people start believing the hype i am tabitha brown only
Starting point is 00:55:08 because i carried my husband's last name right so i am a a wife first like that's that's what it is like me and my husband that's that's it Everything else is added on. That's all. It's just work is work. But we never let it. I don't know how to explain it. I think that people, sometimes they forget that marriage should be first. You know? And for me, it's family first.
Starting point is 00:55:44 It's going to always be that that my career is my bonus that i get to live right that all the other things it's the bonus my dream god gave me i also feel like my husband was part of my dream right that's part of who i am like this is who he chose for me right right to do this life with. What's his name? Chance. Chance. What's the thing you love about Chance the most? Honey, he makes me feel safe, but Chance is not going to do nothing that Chance don't want to do. You'd be like, hey, you want to go to? Nope, not doing that. Like it's, some days it gets on my nerves, but it's also admirable. Like,
Starting point is 00:56:27 oh, you're not easily influenced. He's authentic. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Absolutely. I guess at a marriage, you got to have to do a certain things you don't want to do.
Starting point is 00:56:35 Oh yeah. Let me tell you now, it's many days though. He get on my nerves with that. I'd be like, you know what? I can't stand that about you. And then other days like,
Starting point is 00:56:41 I love that about you. You know? Um, but I think another thing is he's a phenomenal father I've been able to witness my husband in all stages of his life right yeah we grew up together we've known each other pretty much our whole life since we were 10 and so I've seen him as a boy I've seen him as a young man and now, you know, a man, man, you know, he's 45. And it's been an honor to watch him evolve and grow and mature. But fatherhood has been one of the best things to
Starting point is 00:57:19 witness. That's beautiful. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Chance the man man um you know you talk about fears a lot in the book i did a new thing what do you think was the biggest fear when you were not fully obedient or fully living the most authentic life that that was meant for you and what is the biggest fear now stepping into owning you 100 i is the biggest fear now? Stepping into owning you 100%. I think the biggest fear before was, you know, dying with this thing inside of me. Like never letting it be seen. Right. Right.
Starting point is 00:58:07 be seen right um fear now doesn't necessarily live with me as much i don't know if i have um unnecessarily like i don't i don't know if i have a fear I want to I want to change people right I want to I want to affect them in the best way possible right and sometimes trying to spread love and positivity people don't want to buy into that sometimes. Why is that? I think misery loves company, you know, and sometimes happiness scares people. You know, you can have people that everything's going great
Starting point is 00:58:58 and they'll be like, I know something bad's going to happen. Why? We're allowed to go through it either way you know so I think sometimes I I don't necessarily fear it but I am concerned am I doing enough with spreading love and trying to reach people am I doing it the right way even though I feel at peace about it I always you know I'm in prayer like God is this really what you want me to do I want to make sure I'm I'm not ever being triggered to get back into being in control because you know healing is a
Starting point is 00:59:38 journey and so sometimes we can be triggered to going back to our old things and my old thing is being, I'm in control. Instead of, no, no, I'm letting God be in control and I'm walking. And I never want to go back. I never want to go back. How do you know when you're on the right path in surrender versus in control? I think it's that feeling for me. versus in control? Hmm. I think it's that feeling.
Starting point is 01:00:13 For me, it's the feeling off balance. When you feel like you're trying to control things? Yeah. You feel more off balance. Yeah, and when nothing seems to be lining up, oh, Tab, you're trying to do this. Step back. Step back and let's look at every piece of the puzzle and make sure you're not trying to create the puzzle,
Starting point is 01:00:32 create the pieces, and put it all together. Sit back and let God do what God does. We still have to do our part because faith without work is dead, right? But still you got to let him orchestrate. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. What do you feel like will be the thing that holds you back the most moving forward?
Starting point is 01:00:55 Besides, you know, being in trying to be in control or not be obedient. Is there anything else? You don't have the fears anymore. What are you preparing for? Like with the abundance coming your way, what are you preparing for to make sure you don't get in your own way i think just staying true to who i am right i don't i don't fear um i don't fear or project negative. I'm not preparing for negative.
Starting point is 01:01:29 I'm expecting the unexpected. Which I'm always in my mind thinking of God saying it's more than what I can imagine. That's greatness. That's what I'm looking forward to. I don't look forward to cloudy days, although
Starting point is 01:01:44 I know they will come but they're not it's not something I'm like oh I'm I'm planning for a bad day now I'm planning for all good days I'm I am being mindful and intentional with joy right so I don't think and listen that may be the thing that holds me back and if it does then we we'll cross that bridge when we get to it but i don't plan on allowing anything to shift me outside of the position god has put me in. I think that. I trust God. I believe that he has me on this journey and I'm all right with whatever come my way. There you go. That's just kind of how I feel about it.
Starting point is 01:02:35 What do you think is the greatest lesson God has taught you? I was always enough. I didn't need to try to do his job. I didn't need to try to do his job. Because the thing about when you conform and when you try to, you know, create another person, that's me saying, God, you didn't do a good enough job on me. I had to fix me. But he taught me. He did a great job and I was enough just as he created me to be. Wow.
Starting point is 01:03:07 It's inspiring. You've done what, three books in the last four years? Yeah. Is that right? Three in the last four? Yeah, in a little journal, like a workbook journal, but yeah. I was keeping track. I know. Four books in four years, yeah. This one's called I Did a New Thing by Tabitha Brown.
Starting point is 01:03:20 You're the number one New York Times bestselling author, multiple New York Times bestselling author. This is all about the 30 days to living free. You talk about how to really create new habits and a framework around setting yourself up for freedom, stepping into your truth, overcoming your fears. I'm excited for people to get a copy of I Did a New Thing. What else are you most excited about these days that you're working on and how we can support and serve you? Yes. I know we were talking about it. I'm excited to get back into doing more
Starting point is 01:03:48 acting and I love that you know sometimes and this is important for somebody to hear somebody needs to be reminded of this sometimes we have a dream right but our journey to get to it doesn't always look like how we envision it and so God took me on this whole different path that has led me back to be able to do the thing that I've been dreaming of since I was a kid. And so more acting, I just finished a film, television, you know, doing things that really matter to me, making people laugh, sometimes making them cry, right? That's what we do as actors, making people feel.
Starting point is 01:04:24 That's what we do as actors, making people feel, that's it. Creating more products that people can use in everyday life because I think that's the most important. And I know my fan base, I know my, as I call them, my fam base, they my family. And, you know, feeding people good food, good recipes, but also feeding their soul with inspiration and staying true. Right. And I'm expanding with my hair care line. I don't know if you know my hair. Her name is Donna.
Starting point is 01:04:55 I named my hair. She twisted up right now. And I normally have a big old afro and her name is Donna. So I have Donna's recipe because I don't do desserts. But Donna, she can give you desserts for your hair. So I have a sweet potato pie collection of hair products. It's at Ulta Beauty, also at Target now. Nice. And we're expanding the line and doing more things with that. So just trying to, you know, build an empire, but off of truth. Just like you said, you'll never put your name on no alcohol
Starting point is 01:05:26 because that's not an alignment. I'll never just throw my name on a product. It's going to be something that you know, oh wait, that's definitely Tab because this is how she live her life. So I just keep on doing things that matter and that are real to me. That's beautiful.
Starting point is 01:05:41 Yeah. I am Tabitha Brown on all of our social media. Your TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. to me that's beautiful yeah i am tabitha brown on all of her social media uh your tiktok instagram facebook you know youtube is blown up as well you got amazing recipes alexandra she's vegan she told me yeah and she was talking about how she wants to try one of your latest recipes i think it was like a carrot and bacon oh yeah that sounds incredible so i'm gonna have to have someone make it up and that was like one of my first uh videos on tiktok that took me through the roof in 2020 so i gotta try that yeah someday yeah um so people can get all your content on social media website is the same i'm tabitha brown.com as well but make sure to get the new book i did a new thing i've got a couple final
Starting point is 01:06:23 questions for you tabithaa. The first one, before I ask the final two questions, I want to acknowledge you, Tabitha, for the transformation you've made and for sharing your transformation so publicly and the success that you've received by owning your truth. I think a lot of people wear masks in the world. I wore masks for many years to protect myself, to fit in, to feel like I belonged, all these different things because I was afraid. And we can only create so much success with a mask on, but I think we can create true fulfillment and greatness as our authentic selves. So I acknowledge you for leaning into that, listening to the voice and being obedient to what you felt was right for you. And the impact you've made by the continual actions you take and how you show up is just really inspiring. So I really acknowledge you for listening to the voice and taking action to be of service to so many people
Starting point is 01:07:18 that watch and listen to you and read your books. So congrats on everything. Thank you for being. Of course. This question is called the three truths. So congrats on everything. Thank you for being. Of course. This question is called the three truths. So it's a hypothetical scenario. Imagine you get to live from this moment for as many years as you want to live, but it's eventually your last day on this earth. Okay. And in this hypothetical scenario, you get to create all of your dreams. They all come true. You live the life you envision and you, you know, you have unexpected things that come to your life as well that are beautiful, but it's the last day. And for whatever reason on this last day, you have to take all of your work with you. So no one has
Starting point is 01:07:55 access to this book anymore, this interview and anything you create for whatever reason, it's got to go with you. Okay. But you get to leave behind three lessons to the world. And this is all we would have to remember you by. I call it the three truths. What would be those three truths for you? Oh, live free. Mm-hmm. Spread love.
Starting point is 01:08:24 And eat well. I like it. Simple. Yeah. And powerful. Final question, Tabitha. What is your definition of greatness? Definition of greatness is freedom.
Starting point is 01:08:42 Right? Being completely free in your world and in everybody else's. I hope today's episode inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today's show with all the important links.
Starting point is 01:08:59 And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcast. If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels at Lewis Howes. I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better. And if you want more inspiration from our world-class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness Newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.
Starting point is 01:09:44 And if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.

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