thenotetoselfpod-hq

[thenotetoselfpod-hq]

“The answer is yes if you were wondering if y’all were spoiled. Whew, Chile. Don’t ask me for NOTHIN’ else.” Zion chuckled sweetly as she dramatically cleared her throat. “Lets get into it. Welcome back to another episode of the Note to Self podcast where we talk all things self care of the body, spirit, mind, work ethic, sprinkled in with a whole lot of motivation to carry us into a new day. I am your host Zion Taylor and with me in my makeshift studio is my lil baby who listens to all of my problems, my boss friend THEEEEE Brilliant O’neal.” Zion air claps as she smiles over at Brilliant. “How are you on this lovely day, mama?”

“Hey, hey, hey! I’m so excited to speak to the note to self listeners all over, it’s been fun listening in and making my own input here and there but wheww being here feels so rewarding.” She said warmly before playfully exhaling. “I’m doing good, managing like I usually do but good nonetheless. How are you?! What jewels do you plan on dropping for the people today?”

“I’m probably doin’ a little less good than you since you’re managing but girl .. I cannot complain at all. So thankful to have you here for this episode and to just catch up. We’ll get into the tea of it all a little later. We start every episode with a brief recap and I wanted to thank everyone, again, for all of the love. I hope you all were inspired to really keep killing shit in the industry that you’re in and watch the doors open up for you. Last weeks top listeners were the beauty that is known as @royalnike who spoke about her Black Owned Mechanic business and the short term goals that she has for herself in that business. Of course you, Mrs. Brilli Dis, founder and owner of The Glamour Parlor, and the beautiful @syxrai, who I’m obsessed with on IG by the way, but who also is a film producer ALL shared your short term goals which inspired me tremendously. If you missed out on that go give it a listen and drop your own goals in the comment section.

Music is the only thing that gets me through my week sometimes. This week is on you because Channing is still pressed about Good Days so that shit rings in my head every day because of her.” Zion laughed, “What have you been listening to this week? Any new music you wanna share? Put us on.

Brilliant cracked up in laughter at the mention of Channing. “That baby got taste, because that’s my jam! But this week I’ve been on my Gangsta Brilli, I’ve been playing A Gangsta’s Pain by MoneyBagg on repeat. I think his track with Jhené is the perfect vibe, so if y’all need something to vibe to, with a nice little glass of wine, One of Dem Nights, but the whole album bops.”

“Okaaaay. Now see I haven’t always been a MoneyBaggYo fan up until his songs started getting airtime on the radio. I’ma definitely have to give that a listen once Channing is done boppin’ to her fave.

And that brings us right into the TEA for the day. I’ve known Brilliant for several years now and I feel like I’ve only known her as this amazing business women, wife and mother. We both know how crazy it can be going from Hashtag Living Single to Mommy Duties real quick once you’re married and have wifely duties, etc. How long did you know your Husband before you two decided to make it official AND tie the knot? Was marrying young something that you were open to or did it not matter? What’s that young love story you can’t wait to share with your kids?” Zion smiled as she looked over at Brilliant.

“So I always tell people that me and my husband’s love story is literally crazy, and I don’t think it could’ve happened any other way. Because were short on time, for the real how we met tea, watch our YouTube video! But..I think we dated for about a year before I got pregnant and just because of the type of man he is and how in love we were, and how happy we were when our son Justice was born, we got married when he was about 3 months. I honestly didn’t see myself marrying that young or having children..and my life did a whole 180. I just thought damn I’ll probably hate it here but when you have that person to make those defining moments with..it was a breeze and I found myself being happier with my little family than when I ran the streets. I don’t think marrying young is for everyone but when you make the right decision..man the moments you’ll create..priceless. Still a hot girl though, don’t get that twisted.” She said with a playful laugh.

“EXACTLYYY. I have to remind Lex all the time when he sees me playing dress up in my boots and coochie cutters that mama BEEN a stallion, okay?! Hot Girl Summer me, please!” She laughed, “No but seriously the feeeeels. I’m obsessed with the love you two have for each other. It’s infectious. But I’m sure it hasn’t always been cupcakes and rainbows, right. Y’all, shit gets real after the wedding and the vows and even after that honeymoon phase. I know for me and Carmelo, I’m more of the opinionated one and I really had to learn to step down and let my man LEAD our home. We were pregnant before the wedding ... liiike ya girl had her dress taken OUT 4 times before I was satisfied with how my hips looked in it.” She chuckled, “You said something so special, when you have that person to make memories with you will DEFINITELY not want to live a single day without them and expanding that love into children only makes it better. Melo was trying to get me pregnant BEFORE he proposed to me and I wasn’t having it because at the time I was dealing with fertility issues and having a baby seemed damn near impossible. I always say that he spoke the life of our son, Lexington, into existence because I didn’t think that I could physically carry.” She stated, smiling again at the thought.

“I remember you alls last video where you announced the pregnancy of my other child, Jewel” She chuckled, “Um, what was the experience like for you? Having to go through all that you did for the blessing that is currently your literal shadow. She looks like her Daddy but has your everything else. What was that like?”

“That’s your child for sure.” She said with a laugh. “It was actually on the difficult side, she’s my rainbow baby. I suffered a miscarriage and some issues with fertility so I actually got pregnant with Jewel through IVF. I adore her, it’s scary having a mini version of myself. Someone who’s with all my hair, makeup and nail antics because my son Justice is not with it at all! He won’t even let me take his picture half the time.” She laughed momentarily. “I know it’s the same way with you and my baby Channing”

“I can imagine it being extremely difficult. When God’s mind is made up we can only pray that He’s included us in His plans and when he made Channing? He definitely had me in mind.” She laughed. “I still don’t know how we got so lucky but I don’t question anything. She’s obsessed with all of my clothes and hair and everything in between.”

“The last thing I wanted to talk to you about is what’s been going on in the media with Porsha, Falynn, and the Husband who I don’t even know his name yet. So Porsha Williams brought onto the Real Housewives of Atlanta show her friend Falynn a few years ago. Maybe like two seasons ago. This is someone who was also featured on this last season of the RHOA show that was filmed in 2020. Apparently the two are no longer friends and Porsha is now ENGAGED to Falynns’ Husband because they haven’t even gotten a divorce yet. I wan’t to know your thoughts on the whole situation. What type of friendship dynamic do you think they had for Porsha to be comfortable MARRYING this man?”

“Engaged. To. A. Former. Friend’s. Husband.” She said slowly before letting out a low sigh. “Now, the first mistake she made was being engaged or dating a man who is still married. I don’t care what the circumstances are, he is legally married! It is literally code and decency not to date or marry after your friends. If y’all are friends or have ever called each other friends, that’s just unacceptable. I would beat the breaks off anyone I called a friend for going after my husband if we ever were to divorce. That’s just grimy and I don’t think Falynn is mad enough. I do know though, one of my followers who is a hair stylist said how she married one of her old client’s ex husband and child’s father. Do you think that’s acceptable? Say I did a woman’s hair for years and nothing besides that and I went on to date her ex?”

“Absolutely not. Unacceptable and I’m the type of crazy that belongs in jail so you already know how that’s gone gooo. It’ll forever be up until they give me life.” Zion laughed and shook her head, “Period. Porsha is most definitey a fucked up individual but I would LOVE to hear y’alls thoughts on the matter so leave alll comments in the comment section below.” 

“Thank you all so much for listening to me and Brilliant catch up. Brilliant please tell my listeners where they can follow you and how they can support The Glamour Parlour. Alsooo, when’s the next brunch or giveaway?”

“It has been sooo fun talking with you! I’m glad I got the opportunity to talk with to boss friend Zion! I get this question a lot..so often.” She let out a low laugh. “All I’ll say is to stay tuned, we’ll be turning up soon and the giveaways won’t stop!”

“Ayyyy so there it is people, the beautiful Brilliant O’neal. Be sure to check her out across all social media platforms at @brillixdis​ and I’ll talk to you in the next episode. Byyyyyyyye.”

[thenotetoselfpod-hq]

“I know, I know ..y’all ready to beat my ass and I don’t blame you. I can hear my girlfriend in my head right now cussing me out so I HAVE to apologize. There’s an excuse but I won’t waste your time with my shit. We are going to jump directly into todays episode with a recap”

Zion cleared her throat dramatically, “Last episode you all got know a little bit about your favorite host and I want to give a shoutout to the episodes top listeners, follow them on all social media platforms at @brillixdis, @syxrai, @msfarrahzuri and my favorite little cousin who I owe drinks to @dvnasti.

Thank you all for the support, the likes and shares mean a lot. If you’d like to be featured as a top listener all you have to do is interact in the comment section on Apple Podcasts.

It’s time for the good shit. So the episode I had recorded I discussed the influence of DMX and all of those who came before him that made his music so emotional and iconic. They truly don’t make gems like him anymore and I hope he is resting in eternal peace.

To be honest, I haven’t been listening to any new music lately but I do want to just play some of my favorites right now that me and my daughter have in rotation.”

Zion laughed a bit at the thought before she started playing ‘Good Days’. She let 30 seconds play before she started talking again.

“This song is by an LA resident, and goes by the name Major. Her handle is @somajor . Me and my little one have been listening to this every day since it shuffled on a playlist of mine so fo check that out if you haven’t already. A vibe fr.

Not let’s get into the TEA of it all. Hashtag Note to Self, sis ... BE YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES, period. All my life I was told how I should act, how I should talk, how I should move, etc and I can honestly say that when I finally found my freedom in High School to really be myself and be the girl I KNEW I wanted to be, life became less stressful. My grades got better, I started gaining weight aka my lil booty was growing, hair flourishing. Y’all, deadass.

Well recently my boss had me go and meet with a department head at my job about a higher position, for higher pay and they were telling me all of the things that I would have to do to fit the new position that I was trying to get. With the place that I’m in now, my schedule is flexible, I work from home, I have no deadlines, no real pressing responsibilities because I get my work done at a pace and a frequency that works with my department. These demands were unrealistic given the fact that I also care my children during the day now.

The money is about 15 thousand dollars added to my current salary but y’all ... as I was listening to those demands and unrealistic expectations I went back to that 13 year old girl who was always being told how to do something the way that OTHERS wanted me to do. I went back to my boss and I told her that I couldn’t do it.

Do y’all know this lady told me that she was just looking for an opportunity to give me a raise? And that I didn’t have to take the higher position, she’d change my job description and the 15 thousand added to my salary was mine .. all I had to do was sign the new contract.

We’ll get into following your heart and going after your dreams one day but I BEG, wherever you are right now in life — if you continue to be yourself you will see the fruits of that labor play out in ways you never would’ve imagined. While you’re being you, somebody somewhere is watching and waiting to give you your flowers.

Please, in the comment section tell me where you do for a living and a short term goal you have for yourself.

I look forward to reading and responding. Thank for listening yall. I hope I inspired you to continue being the boss you are. Talk to you soon. Byyyyyye.

[thenotetoselfpod-hq]

"I literally cannot believe that I’m finally doing this. Y’all, I’ve never been to fond of hearing myself talk but you know what? I’m tired of talking to my daughter Channing as if she can respond back. Sis be OVER it." Zion laughed a little bit before she continued, "So WELCOME to the first episode of the Note To Self podcast. I am your host, Zion Taylor and today’s episode is all about getting you all familiar with me so this feels more like I'm talking with you instead of at you, you know? 

First let’s get the basics out the way, I’m 26 years old. I’ve been married for 3 years and me and my husband have two little ones that run our entire lives, Lexington and Channing. I work as a Marketing Coordinater for VOGUE, here in Los Angeles and my current lifes work is studying the history of fashion. That's where my passion lies. It can be extremely hard for me to open up to women that I don’t know simply because they may not be able to offer me any assistance in the things that I’ve been through or am currently going through in life. It’s important to note that I am no expert in any of the information that i’ll share on this podcast but I do read, research and make sure I ain’t giving y’all no bullshit. All opinions are mine and those of my guests and do not reflect my place of employment. 

I asked you guys to send in questions so lets get into what you all wanted to know about your host: 

What inspired this podcast? Well, I always find myself rambling on about topics to my husband or talking to myself in the shower or CRINGING while reading think pieces on twitter and I wanna share my input but sometimes its too deep for twitter and we all know how quickly things can go from an opinion about something to insults and blah blah blah. So I figured why not build a community of women who can freely share their opinions, learn from one another and grow in the process. If I have to be the one leading that space, then I'm 1000 percent okay with it. Especially knowing that I have women around me that wouldn't mind opening up and sharing their expertise and opinions, too. Plus, I can get a little ratchet and what better way to be a little ratchet than wit your girls??

Next question says, Will I have special guests on? ABSOLUTELY. Y'all, I'm a talker but I don't know everything. I have some incredible people in my life who are smart as hell and know so much more than me so yes, as the conversation differs, you'll be able to hear from some real, boss ass women.

Also, Will there be topics? YES. I want to keep it very much urban media, socially relevant, and somewhat personal. Gotta keep it INTERESTING for the people. 

And lastly, shoutout to my bossfriend, what was the most self-defining moment in my life? Annnd y'all I can't even lie I was stumped on what to talk about. Like took me longer than it should've to answer this. Honestly, probably landing my job directly out of college. I had been a bomb ass, smart ass college student. I had set myself up for success and knowing that my work wasn't done in vain really put me in a position to be like, Zion your THE shit. Like, you really bagged THE job that you had on your list. I did that shit with so much fear, yall. Till this day I'm still shook that I'm still a relevant asset to the company. My potential STILL fucks me up." She laughed again, 

"If only y'all knew how much of a bad ass kid I was? Like? Girl, please. I was the child that my parents told my teachers they could hit because they knew I would test my fuckin' boundaries. None of em tried that though, they knew better than to touch me BUT did I push their limits? YES. I was also that kid who was smart but did the bare minimun until I watched one of my brothers friends get killed after leaving school for lunch one day. Just a teenager, leaving to go do some dumb shit and loses his life in the process.

I knew that if I kept up with my bullshit I could possibly leave this world doing some dumb shit instead of focusing on a future outside of Brooklyn, New York. There’s nothing wrong with my city but at some point there’s got to be something BETTER to look forward to. So, yeah. I hope that answers that question. Whew.

I don't want these episodes to be too long so I want to share the format of how these Note to Self episodes are going to go and what you can expect in the future. 

Each episode is going to start off with a RECAP. That means that you all will need to respond, share your thoughts, engage in the conversation after the episode, agree or disagree with me or my guests input and even participate in the segments so that I have something to reference and even shout you out during this segment. 

The second segment will be the MUSICCCC. I'll be sharing i've been listening to because I'm a self proclaimed music head even though I listen to the same shit every day. I do step outside of favorites to see what the kids are listening to these days. 

The next segment is going to be the TEA, the topics and whatever else is planned for that day. The last segment will be the Hashtag Note to Self segment where I leave you with a bit of motivation for your week and possibly some homework cause life is about getting better, alright?! Alright. 

Everything will flow so organically. I'm so excited about what's to come. If you didnt get the opportunity to ask a question, leave them below and I will definitely set them aside for some other time. Thank you all for setting this time aside to listen and talk wit ya girl. My name is Zion and until next time, byyyyye.”

[thenotetoselfpod-hq]

Send all Q&A question in to @thenotetoselfpod-hq page before 11:59 PM tonight for our launch Episode on Wednesday!

[thenotetoselfpod-hq]

It’s the support for us!

Thanks for all of the help in reaching our follower goal so fast! We need a little more help before curating our first episode. What’s a good time frame for you to be engaged with the podcast? Drop the emoji in the comments to let our CEO know.

🌷6 PM (Wednesdays)

💓8 PM (Saturdays; prerecorded)

Also, TOPIC suggestions that you want discussed by our CEO Zion and future guests can be sent to our DMs (ask box).

[thenotetoselfpod-hq]

The #NoteToSelf Podcast is officially ready to launch!

We are so excited about the space we will create for women of all ages, cultures, beliefs, etc to be themselves, get some useful advice and become better humans. Follow to keep up! Our first engagement post will be up as SOON as we get 20 followers.

Share, share, share. 💕