Daily Inspiration: Meet Darrell Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darrell Jones.

Hi Darrell, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I got the idea of starting the Less of a Man podcast first when I was going through a deep depression, finding out my son of seven years wasn’t biologically mine. I was kind of suffering in silence cause I didn’t feel like it was a place that I can truly express myself. It was affecting my personal and professional life. I was told that my job could be in jeopardy because I was walking around with a very short-tempered attitude and in that moment, I decided to get some professional help.

I started going to therapy and it help me out so much. I was able to have deeper conversations with my friends and found out they were going through similar situations, but as especially black men, we are told to bottle up our emotions. With my partners Edward Cook, Charmorge Miller, and Rawdon Lorde we tried to bring the conversations that we were having in private to the public. Topics like mental health, police interaction. Physical health, toxic masculinity, relationships, and financial freedom. We want to show that no matter what you are going through, no matter how you feel and how you view the world, you are never less of a man.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has been very difficult. First, we had to work on perfecting the actual show and making sure the sound quality was where we wanted it to be. We had to learn on the fly about creating a website and finding what platform to house our podcast. Now it’s trying new strategies on how to grow the podcast and reach more people if it’s now having a quest on or coming up with giveaways.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our podcast is catered to young black men and the experiences that we go through. We want to talk about the emotional trauma that came from being told how a man is supposed to act and family relationships with most of us growing up without our dads in the home. We also talk about ways were can overcome to our hardships with education, looking at one’s inner self and especially therapy.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
In my opinion, the first step is trying to figure out what do you want in a mentor. Do you want a friend, someone to give you advice, or more like a father figure. Then its finding someone you can be open and honest about your experiences and how you view the world. The last thing is to have the ability to be open to listen and understand other people’s viewpoints and why they might see something different than what you see it.

Contact Info:

• Email: lessofamanpodcast@gmail.com
• Website: https://lessofamanpodcast.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lessofamanpodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lessofamanpodcast
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lessofaman
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvjqByN8zrTybGscaUWjDaA
• Other: https://anchor.fm/lessofaman