Meet Dana “Truly Inspired” Martin of Truly Inspired Martin LLC in Lawrenceville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana “Truly Inspired” Martin.

Dana, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Whew! Where do I start? I am a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and I am currently working on my Masters in Business. I have received many accolades and awards in my adult life, but… let’s talk about the REAL stuff!

I am an only child, born and raised in North Jersey. I was raised in a single-parent household. I lived with my mommy and my father lived in Chicago. I was always the straight A-student. The trophy child to say the least. Well, at least until around middle school; it was a little bit earlier than that, but this is where it really took a turn. During these years of my life is when I truly started to lose myself. I had started hanging with some “interesting” people and started getting my cliques. But I never knew that hanging with one wrong person, one day would lead me into becoming someone I didn’t even know. One day, when I had the opportunity to go to an event with my friend, by ourselves that was supposed to be the happiest day of my life; ended up being the worst! We met up with some guys she knew and we were supposed to go out to eat and let’s just go ahead and fast forward… that night, I was raped. Not only rape in the physical, but a piece of me died that day.

Going forward, I was no longer recognizable to self. We moved to another city, but I couldn’t leave that part of me behind, it was forever sketched into my mind and my heart. I would encounter a lot of bad relationships and dealings with men. I would find myself wrapped up in drowning my pains in alcohol and doing and distributing of some drugs. I would find myself dealing with a lot of internal issues and feeling empty and broken throughout many years of my life. I suffered with “daddy issues” and the inability to formulate a strong bond with my father and even some men. I would find myself in not one, but two domestic violence relationships. I would find myself trying to commit suicide not 1x, but 2x. From the outside looking in, I had it all together. I had people that “wanted my life”. But they did not know I was broken. But see… sometimes, the best of you comes from your brokenness. There is beauty in your tragedy and freedom in your transparency. It took me years to get to the point of self-evaluation and truly forgiving myself. I knew that in order to embrace and BE, exactly who I am supposed to be, I had to face my mess head on! Back in 2007, I started utilizing the name, “Truly Inspired Martin.”

Let’s be honest, it sounded cute! But little did I know, this was going to take on a greater meaning in my purpose for life. See, the woman I was, birth the woman I am. I grew into “Truly Inspired Martin” and now, it has true meaning. Being truly inspired means you will have to TRULY INSPIRE yourself constantly and consistently to be the best version of yourself and become the person someone else is waiting on. Everything I have now become, I always was. And if you think back on your life, so were/are you! I use my story, my teachings in life, my breakdowns; to provide breakthroughs for other teen girls and millennial women now. I am a professional transitional speaker and business owner for Truly Inspired Martin LLC. I am a certified life coach. I am now an Author of the book entitled “ReCrown You.”; which will be available for pre-orders as of late January 2019.  I am the CEO and founder of a non-profit called Spoken 4 Causes; helping women of domestic violence to bridge the gap between your past and your future. I am a philanthropist. I will have a podcast debuting in the first quarter of 2019 geared towards women. I am an entrepreneur and I still do the 9-5 thing. And I am working on some new titles to add to my resume; I let you all in on that soon.

But all of the titles mean nothing if you are not using them to changes lives and provide the help for others that is needed. Your purpose is planted in you, but you are to the fertilize the world with your gift. Someone needs to pull from your garden and use some of your soil; don’t be selfish! I was selfish for years! But it was because my foundation wasn’t strong and I was planted on sinking sand.

And during that period of selfishness, I know many people missed what they needed. I know that it sounds like I went through hell, (and trust me you don’t know the half), but I did! There are more layers to this story than you can imagine. But I refuse to let it consume me anymore. I JUST REFUSE! If I could leave you with one last thought I would remind you to always remember to be truly inspired. Always remember that even when you fall, you have to get back up. Even when this feels like the end for you, create your new beginning. Don’t allow anyone to put their limitations on you and stop putting them on yourself. Quite honestly, you are freaking awesome! Own that!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Heck no! I have lost a lot of me in the process of trying to find me! I had to overcome one of the biggest challenges in life, SELF! If I am being honest, this is the thing that stops many of us from embracing our true inner bada**! We just don’t believe we can. And that is a challenge all in itself. Learning how to get past my past and really deal with me was definitely a hurdle when you don’t even know something is wrong with you to begin with.

I have had many times of feeling like I was failing in business and in life. This is NO EASY ROAD! Trying to balance the work-preneur in me and being a millennial, whew! Talk about learning balance, focus, and consistency! But you know what? For every bump in the road, I learned how to navigate through it or around it; because I still have a destination to get to. Sometimes, you may be required to take a detour. Don’t get discouraged! Let it fuel you and take you where you need to be. Delayed never means denied, you still get there just with a different ETA.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Truly Inspired Martin LLC – what should we know?
Truly Inspired Martin LLC is a professional services, consulting, and coaching company. We provide professional speaking services and help to coach teen girls and millennial women into their greatness by combating past mental and emotional struggles. We focus on helping women restore their lives, reset their minds, and reclaim their futures through motivational speaking, workshops, conferences, seminars, coaching, and other personal development platforms.

Spoken 4 Causes, Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that helps bridge the gap between your past and your future through assisting those involved in the present and the past with domestic violence.

We are currently working on some new things for women and can’t wait to share them with you for 2019! We are currently looking for some amazing people to join our team and push forward our mission as well.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I truly believe perseverance and transparency has a lot to do with my success as a speaker and entrepreneur. I refuse to give up and I will never give in! When you know how to be resilient during all the resistance you know how to make it through anything and nothing can stop you! I also know the power of baring it all and using my transparency in hopes to free others. People just want to know that you came through it; so they know it’s possible for them. Stay committed to the process and more importantly, YOU!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/trulyinspiredmartin
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/trulyinspiredmartin

Image Credit:
Thom Darnell – Photographer/Videographer

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