In this episode, we hear from DeAntwann Johnson, aka “DJ Johnson”,  a husband, father, author, mentor, coach, counselor, and sports statistician. 

DJ shares his journey with us including going through the Indiana foster care system and suffering child abuse, domestic abuse, and emotional trauma. He talks about growing up feeling like he was stripped of a lot of decisions in his life and feeling like others always made choices for him without asking him. He talks about how going through these experiences made him normalize a lot of harmful behaviors, which he took into his adulthood while holding on to a lot of anger.  DJ talks about at one point, wanting to end his life, but realizing that he was on this earth for a purpose.

DJ talks about the void he felt from the absence of his father, the tense relationships with his other caregivers, and learning to forgive. He talks about turning all his pain into his power. He talks about how he worked hard to overcome a life full of hardships, humiliation, aggression, and self-esteem issues, allowing him to be an active advocate for youth and families and inspiring them to be the best that they can be.

Be sure to connect with DJ on: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djinspiresall/ 

Website: https://djinspires.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/djinspiresall