Hosts: Jade and Deniece
Guest: David King Raj
ABOUT THE EPISODE
In this episode, our hosts feature an author and successful entrepreneur, David King Raj. David shares the inspiring story of how he overcame adversity against overwhelming odds, and turned his life around by changing his values and belief system
A MILLENNIAL MESS
EPISODE 23 PODCAST SHOW NOTES
Episode Timeline:
[02:00] Today's episode features David, an Ex-convict who studied while in prison, came out and became an entrepreneur. Being in prison for a total of 8 years, David completed his O and A levels behind bars, after which he still did double majors in SMU, Masters in the UK. He then moved on to graduate in NLP in the US which allows him to license people to become life coaches people as well as coaching people himself.
[06:43] David narrates the experiences that led to his incarceration: David shares that he was arrested for rioting and violent behavior but no life was lost in the process. He explains that while his parents loved him, the approach towards parenting at the time was mostly to leave him to grow up by himself and provide for his basic needs, which is different from parenting today. This left him unchecked, to build his values from wrong places like the TV, and joining gangs. He also notes the role of his personality and Enneagram type, pointing out his inability to say No when necessary; it is important to focus on the weakness of your personality type and work on it.
[15:55] How was prison life for you? David describes that his entry into prison was quite traumatic for him, and he had to find extreme privacy to let out his emotions. Generally, the first experience is terrifying for most people, however, over time some people go as far as making it a second home they return to from time to time.
[27:40] David's turning point: The major change for David came as he started to go to the chapel in prison and learn more about God, although initially, he had completely ulterior motives for going to church. Eventually, he heard God speak to him and got his values from the Bible. "We all need someone to strongly influence our values and beliefs" One of the major things David learned from the Bible was to forgive and love his enemies. He also learned the importance of humility and having a role model to follow as a growing Christian.
[35:18] What were some of the learning points that fueled your career choices? David highlights that a key lesson he learned was having the courage to say No when necessary, as this was a major flaw for him. Another learning point was thinking for the future, and visualizing what he wanted to be like. This was the inspiration for him to take up his studies and build a career. "Sometimes we are so busy we don't even have 5 minutes to close our eyes and reflect about the future"
[43:15] Emphasizing the importance of being able to reflect and meditate, Deniece shares a quote "You cannot pour from an empty cup"; it is important to take 5 minutes a day to set your priorities right.
[43:36] David is currently working on converting his course to an online format to have an international reach. He has also written two books with the first titled "From Adversity to University" and the second upcoming one, "Neural Hack" which uses NLP (Neo Linguistic Programming) to work with the subconscious and help students change habits, values, and beliefs. NLP is particularly useful for changing habits.
[53:50] Advice from David: The initial phase of change is very difficult because people will judge, mock or harass you, but you have to persevere and focus on what you want. You fight so that the next phase will be much easier.
[58:26] All our experiences shape us, however, a lot of us don't reflect on these experiences as a motivation to change our decisions in the future. If we don't have that process of reflection, then we will make these same decisions and mistakes in the future.
[59:04] David also encourages youths nowadays to aspire to be entrepreneurs.
[59:40] How to contact David:
Website - www.ministryofempowerment.com
Instagram - David King Raj
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Hosts:
http://instagram.com/jade.kerr
http://instagram.com/deniecefoo