Protecting Your Purpose in the 9-5 Grind | AJ McQueen x Tech Me As I Am

The 9-to-5 will try to consume you. So how do you protect what's really driving you? In this episode, Brittani sits down with writer, poet, and rapper AJ McQueen and the conversation goes deep fast.

From journal entries that turned into music people cry to in their cars, to sitting at the CEO table before he had the title AJ brings the kind of energy that reminds you who you are before the world told you to shrink.

We talk about:

• How AJ's song "Sit Yuh Self Down" was born from a journal entry on a heavy day
• The power of inner conversation and why talking to yourself is a spiritual practice, not a red flag
• Auditing your life friendships, habits, and the emotional baggage you're still carrying that isn't even yours anymore
• Why "No" is the most powerful word you'll ever learn
• How to stay rooted in your purpose while still showing up to the grind
• Generational trauma, self-love, and why we forgive everyone except ourselves
• Being consistently delusional and why that's actually the strategy

🎤 "Delay is not denial. Don't detour just stay true to your purpose." — AJ McQueen

The conversation delves into Torrance Evans' journey into tech, highlighting his resilience, sacrifices, and self-study. It explores the challenges of being black in tech and the importance of giving back and mentorship. The discussion also covers coping strategies, consistency, childhood experiences, and advice on present-mindedness.

Takeaways

• Resilience
• Self-talk

Chapters

• 00:00 Advice and Present-Mindedness

In today’s episode of Tech Me As I Am, I sit down with Damion Wright, Head of Talent & Acquisition at Intuit, for a powerful conversation about identity, leadership, and the courage it takes to evolve beyond who the world first drafts you to be.

Damion’s journey from athlete to executive isn’t just about changing careers — it’s about rewriting internal narratives, learning how to lead with authenticity, and choosing self-love in environments that often reward performance over wholeness.

Together, we unpack what it means to bring your full self into corporate spaces, how leadership evolves when you understand who you are at your core, and why authenticity is not a destination — it’s a lifelong practice.

This conversation explores how positive affirmation, self-reflection, and emotional awareness shape not only better leaders, but healthier humans. From navigating different personalities to finding inspiration through music, this episode reminds us that the same discipline that fuels athletes can also anchor executives — when purpose leads the way.

• Authenticity as an ongoing journey, not a fixed state
• Leading others starts with understanding yourself
• The role of self-love and affirmation in personal and professional growth
• Translating athletic discipline into emotionally intelligent leadership
• Using reflection and music as tools for grounding and inspiration

00:00 Introduction to Tech Me As I Am
05:05 Courage and Self-Reflection
11:25 Understanding and Leading Different Personalities
17:08 Seeking Positive Affirmation and Growth
23:27 Music for Inspiration

In today’s episode of Tech Me As I Am, I sit down with Tone Levels — an artist & entrepreneur whose healing began in the quietest place possible: his journal with entries speaking to self. What eventually “Therapy Session,” was originally a private moment of honesty, written to give his emotions a place to go. And in doing this, his pain became the healing ground for my own escape during workplace burnout. Tone wasn’t always a fan of his own art. Music wasn’t a dream — its the mission. A release valve. A way to survive the weight he was carrying. His pen became the first safe space where he could tell the truth without judgment, and those early journal entries slowly transformed into the raps that would one day resonate far beyond him. What Tone didn’t know was that his escape would become mine. During a season when I felt emotionally overwhelmed, disconnected, and burnt out, “Therapy Session” was one of the songs that helped me breathe again. His self-talk became the echo I needed. His healing became a place for me to rest. This conversation opens up the reality of creative escapism — how the outlets artists build for themselves become the emotional oxygen the rest of us consume. When we speak to ourselves with truth, we end up speaking to others with resonance. Together, we explore the art we run to, the pain behind it, and the beautiful ecosystem that forms when one person’s coping mechanism becomes another person’s survival tool.

IN THIS INTERVIEW, TONE OPENS UP ABOUT: Why “Therapy Session” was the journal entry — and how it still found its way to people who needed it in the form of art. The shadow work needed to create space for self growth

We often try to escape our lives through music, scrolling, silence, or art — not realizing that someone else escaped into the creation of the very thing that’s helping us cope. Tone Levels wrote a message to himself. Somehow, it became a message the rest of us needed too. This conversation is an invitation to reflect on the art that saves us, the truth we run from, and the healing that happens when we finally listen inward. Always stay courageous ✌🏾 Brittani

EPISODE RESOURCES & GUEST LINKS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloodthatheals/

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In today’s episode of Tech Me As I Am, I sit down with Quinton Lewis co-founder of the nationally recognized skincare brand Herb n’ Eden, a business that grew from a kitchen craft book experiment into a multimillion-dollar operation built on two things most entrepreneurs overlook: consistency and self-worth. Quinton didn’t come into entrepreneurship with investors, privilege, or a roadmap. He came with grit, intention, and an unwavering commitment to show up even when the numbers were silent. While many founders spend years searching for validation, external signals, or a lucky break, he learned early that sustainable success is born from the habits you repeat and the value you refuse to negotiate. Herb n’ Eden didn’t scale because of luck. They scaled because they never stopped. Not the ads. Not the effort. Not the belief in what they were building. Today, Quinton opens up about the deeper emotional and strategic layers of entrepreneurship, the parts nobody talks about on social media. This isn’t just a conversation about business; it’s a blueprint for anyone building something from the ground up while battling doubt, delays, and pressure. Together, we explore the identity shifts entrepreneurship demands, the cost of stopping and restarting, and the self-respect required to invest in your visibility even when you don’t feel “ready.” This is a conversation about belief, discipline, and the courage it takes to honor your value before the world does. In this interview, Quinton opens up about: Why consistency is the real competitive advantage How showing up every day, regardless of outcome, becomes your most powerful business asset. What most entrepreneurs get wrong about paid advertising Why turning off your ads is the fastest way to kill momentum, and why visibility must be treated like a monthly bill, not a luxury. The emotional toll of starting over too often How self-doubt, comparison, and impatience sabotage growth long before data ever does. Knowing your value and pricing your worth Why entrepreneurs undercharge, underinvest, and underestimate themselves — and how Herb n’ Eden broke that cycle. Building a business without a roadmap How Quinton and his partner learned the business game by refusing to quit, even when the industry shifted around them. Why most founders fail before their breakthrough The “quiet deaths” in entrepreneurship the moments you lose belief in yourself before the business ever fails.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• How consistency compounds even when results are slow • Why paid ads matter more than talent or timing

• How to break the cycle of starting over

• Why knowing your value determines your future revenue

• How emotional resilience fuels sustainable entrepreneurship

• The mindset shifts every founder must make to scale

• What separates long-term brands from short-lived ones

• Why your business can’t grow faster than your belief in it • How Herb n’ Eden built a multimillion-dollar brand with intention, discipline, and grit Success isn’t an event...it’s a rhythm.

Consistency pays today’s bills. Knowing your value pays tomorrow’s future.

In today’s episode of Tech Me As I Am, I sit down with Tes Speaks — a coach, author, and motivational speaker whose life and purpose were shaped by one of the most painful experiences any human can endure: losing someone you love to suicide.

Before her journey into advocacy and emotional healing work, Tes spent years working in IT. On paper, she embodied the version of “success” we’re conditioned to chase — the stable job, the benefits, the predictable path. But life shook her awake through grief, silence, and unanswered questions. In the depth of that darkness, she found a calling that no corporate title could ever match. Grief didn’t just break her open — it redirected her toward purpose.

Today, Tes dedicates her life to helping others navigate the emotional pain they’ve been trained to hide. Through her platform Success Over Suicide, she challenges the belief that success is defined by material achievement and reminds us that emotional fulfillment, inner peace, and mental well-being are the true markers of a life worth living. She brings voice to the silent suffering that so many high achievers, professionals, and caregivers carry behind their polished exteriors.

Together, we explore the emotional suicides people experience long before the physical ones — the quiet deaths that happen when you’re high-functioning on the outside but breaking on the inside. We talk about the pressure to perform, the isolation that comes with grief, and the courage it takes to redefine your life before it redefines you.

The emotional roots of suicide and why unmet needs turn silent
She explains how emotional neglect, isolation, and feeling unseen can slowly erode a person’s inner world long before anyone notices the signs.

Redefining success beyond material milestones
Tes reveals why the title, the house, the salary, and the image mean nothing if your heart is empty and your spirit is exhausted.

The invisible battles high achievers fight
Most “successful” people are wearing emotional armor, performing strength while quietly unraveling under pressure.

• How to recognize emotional suicide long before it becomes physical
• How to redefine success on your own terms
• Why emotional fulfillment matters more than achievement
• How unhealed pain shows up in your career, relationships, and identity
• Why the world needs a new definition of success
• How Tes transformed her deepest loss into her greatest purpose
• The power of acknowledging your emotional needs
• Why choosing yourself is an act of survival, not selfishness

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, look inward, and ask yourself:

What does success really mean to me — beyond the performance?

Always stay courageous ✌🏾
Brittani

@tes_speaks
Website: https://www.tesspeaks.com/

Instagram: /shes_courageous
YouTube: Tech Me As I Am
Website: www.techmeasiam.com

As we celebrate the neighboring months of Black History Month and Women's History Month, we want to emphasize the importance of the intersectionality of being a Black woman in work spaces by embracing and celebrating natural black hair in the workplace. It is important to recognize that black hair is diverse and unique, and it deserves to be appreciated and respected just like any other hair type. So join us as we get vulnerable in discussing why Black hair is professional.

In this segment we interview with Shontay Lundy the CEO, Creator, and Founder of Black Girl Sunscreen (BGS). In 2016, when Shontay became tired of using sunscreen that left a white residue, so she decided to leverage her MBA and knack for business to develop a melanin-friendly option for women who weren't being thought of on the shelves of your local stores.

Episode Includes:

Reminders to take care of yourself, Inclusivity, resiliency and what it takes to build products that haven't been created yet.