0:03

What if every twist in your path, every job, every role, every season has been preparing you for the exact impact you are meant to make.

Caroline: 0:16

This is the Your Next Success podcast, and I'm your host, Dr. Caroline Sangal. I'm a life first career coach and strategist on a mission to normalize questioning your career because I believe each of us is made on purpose for a purpose only we can fulfill. The longer we live out of alignment with who we are, what we do best, and why we're here, the more we miss out, and the more the world misses out on what only we can give. The Your Next Success Podcast is where we explore how to build a career that truly fuels your life. We talk about self-discovery, smart job search strategies, professional growth, and you'll hear stories from people who've navigated big career transitions themselves so you can see what it's really like to make bold changes and feel inspired to create your own version of authentic success, one that is aligned, meaningful, and truly yours.

1:22

Today's guest is Penda L. James, a writer, scribe coach, publisher, and purpose-driven entrepreneur who has helped dozens of people bring their stories to life. She's the founder of Inscribed Inspiration, a company that helps creatives overcome writer's block, organize their ideas and publish meaningful work from books and journals to stage plays and screenplays. Penda professional background spans, social services, child welfare, higher education, nonprofit leadership, AmeriCorps service and entrepreneurship. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Wilberforce University and a master's in training and development from Bowling Green State University, and she has certificates in life coaching, screenwriting and strengths-based family work. In addition to coaching and publishing others, Penda is the author of several inspirational books and journals, and her first novel, Running Between Dandelions is a multi-generational story of motherhood, memory, and healing. In this deep, reflective conversation, Penda and I talk about her layered service driven journey through nonprofit work, education, and storytelling. The early seeds of her calling to write and how she's turned it into a platform, the difference between helping others and being called to serve them. How she supports people through the sacred process of telling their stories, why she no longer wants to chase money or sacrifice peace, and what authentic success means when you stop following other people's rules and finally trust your own rhythm. This conversation is, especially for those who have walked winding paths, carried multiple roles, and still feel that something inside them is asking to be expressed.

Caroline: 3:22

Welcome, Penda L. James to the Your Next Success podcast. I'm super excited about this conversation. Always wonderful to have any time with you. So welcome, welcome.

Penda L. James: 3:34

Thank you.

Caroline: 3:35

Thank you as you know, one of the things that I want to help people with is navigating career transitions. So you are a tremendously successful, amazing, beautiful person, author, helper to so many people. But can you help us understand at the beginning. when you were in school, at what age did you start to think about your career later on and, and how did you think that was gonna go?

Penda L. James: 4:05

Well, this is a really good question because I've had several ideas for careers throughout my life, but writing has always been a thread throughout that like my earliest memories are sitting in my Grandma Dear's king size bed, which was really high up off the ground and reading Shel Silverstein poetry with her and she would always send me books to read and I'd have to do essays and send them back to her in the mail. This was long before email and my aunt was an attorney, so I always thought I was gonna follow in her footsteps and go to law school. And then when I was in college at Wilberforce University, my senior year we went to visit the jail. That changed my mind. I didn't wanna, I didn't wanna go to law school anymore after that.

Caroline: 5:00

What was it about that,

Penda L. James: 5:01

I

Caroline: 5:01

that,

Penda L. James: 5:01

somebody in there that I knew.

Caroline: 5:05

and then what happened and what did that, like, what did that make you experience?

Penda L. James: 5:08

it just made me feel so, uncomfortable that I knew somebody in there. And I knew that I couldn't imagine I just couldn't imagine myself trying to, you know, fight for people that I loved'cause I didn't want to see them in that position, if that makes sense.

Caroline: 5:25

Got you.

Penda L. James: 5:26

So I left there like, I thought I was gonna go into juvenile probation'cause my mentor was a juvenile probation officer, but after going to visit the jail, I was like, mm-hmm. But simultaneously I was taking a counseling class and I loved that class. It was the hardest class, but it was the best class and I think I got like a hundred percent in the class. I loved it so much, but I was a senior and I had never had conversations about what do you really wanna do with your life? Like people would say what you wanna be when you grow up. I wanna be a writer like Maya Angelou. I wanna be a lawyer like my auntie. But nobody really talked to me about what I was good at and what I could do with what I was good at So I thought I was going to one thing, a lawyer, and then am not a lawyer here in my fifties. I haven't done anything like that.

Caroline: 6:25

But you've done a lot of amazing things. So can you walk us through your journey of then after you did leave college, what did you get into, how did you get into to those things? And just let's just walk through a little bit because what happens is. Sometimes it's a student, sometimes it's somebody who is 30, 40, 50, and they're not sure what they could do or they look around them and everybody that they see, they believe is successful and in sometimes they think maybe they're more successful. But what's not really drawn to light is the rollercoaster that happens in between what others view as success and how we really get to that point and how we really see it. So I wanna try to just draw out all of these things as you, know and help other people so beautifully, there's always more to the story and there's always a story. So, could you walk us through, like after you went to college and, and then what and how did that go?

Penda L. James: 7:24

I need to take a step back. In high school, I worked two jobs. So I had a co-op job. I went to a school that, you, we went to school for two weeks and we had a job for two weeks. So I had an

Caroline: 7:34

Oh.

Penda L. James: 7:34

with a lawyer and although I loved what I was doing, I didn't like her. I didn't get along with her, and that was another reason why I think when I went to college, I was like, Hmm, I don't think I didn't like the way she treated me and when I was choosing my major, I wanted to go into communication studies and my father, I don't fault him at all because of the generation that they came from, which was get a job, get good insurance, and do all the things to take care of your family. He didn't let me go into communication studies, so that led me into social work. I studied. Rehabilitation Services and Child Development, which is great. It got me into being a frontline social worker and helping families to be restored and if I had to take people from their homes, I would do that, which was tough, you know, going to court to get the families back together. That ignited something in me, which I love, like strength-based work and things like that. When I graduated from college, my father took me to Bowling Green State University. He knew somebody that worked there. I just mentioned on the fly like, Hey, I went to this career fair and I, I think I applied for grad school at Bowling Green. So my dad and my mom, that's where they met. Daddy took

Caroline: 8:57

Oh.

Penda L. James: 8:57

there and I got into training and development, which is really what my love is. So it's like all of these turns that I took, I didn't realize that the thread was always there, and I just walked along this wonky maze getting to where I am right now, which is really interesting to me. so I took training and development and got a master of education degree there. I thought that I was gonna go into corporate training, and I still want a job in corporate training. I still wanna do that. After I graduated, I did a, year with AmeriCorps and it that led me into nonprofit work because the program that I was in called Public Allies, they trained emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector. Not only was it a job, I worked for Cincinnati Works, which was to help people reentering the workforce and I was an intern there. I did some training there, which I loved. I did recruiting. I loved it, but it was only a nine month program and they didn't have any positions to hire me, so I had to go back home. And when I went back home, I was given a program director job of a nonprofit, which was a program that I actually grew up in in high school called Partners in Success. So I went from working and being trained in nonprofit to running a nonprofit. So I think everything, every twist and turn has led me either into non-profit or to writing or to helping people become self-sufficient, which is what I love to do and didn't realize. So I'm doing communication work. I'm doing all the things that I thought I wanted to do. I just got into them at a different way that I thought I was going to, if that makes sense.

Caroline: 10:48

And so then from that nonprofit work when you were running the nonprofit. How do we get from there to now?

Penda L. James: 10:56

So I'll, I'll say that I've always worked a lot of jobs. Like this is just so interesting, but I was working for Partners in Success and then I had another job where I was, working for America's Promise, which is also Americorps program, and it was Colin Powell's initiative where he wanted to get young people involved in service. So my job was to find service opportunities for young people in the community. So I created a directory. I was calling all these nonprofits and, you know, creating a program booklet that I could pass out to different organizations to give young people opportunities to serve. Loved that job, loved it and then when it was getting close to the end of my term, I got called for jury duty. So I couldn't finish out my term'cause I had four months of jury duty.

Caroline: 11:51

Oh wow.

Penda L. James: 11:52

so that was so I would still go, you know, when I could. But I I couldn't do what I needed to do because I, I had jury and it was grand jury, which is a different kind of jury duty. It was like

Caroline: 12:05

Absolutely.

Penda L. James: 12:06

literally. Then, In 2000 I went to Haiti.

Caroline: 12:10

Oh wow.

Penda L. James: 12:11

Haiti for two weeks and.

Caroline: 12:13

How'd you get to go there?

Penda L. James: 12:14

I was running the nonprofit Partners in Success and the director of the community center where I worked, worked for the local seminary, and he was taking a group of people to Haiti for a service project, and he wanted to incorporate me so that I could take a group of young people the next year. And so

Caroline: 12:37

wow.

Penda L. James: 12:38

me to experience it, so they raised money so that I could go. And when I came home, after two weeks of being in Haiti and my life being changed, I met my husband. While I was in Haiti, he was,

Caroline: 12:54

so,

Penda L. James: 12:54

go ahead.

Caroline: 12:55

oh yeah. Tell us this. Tell us this. Yeah.

Penda L. James: 12:57

Haiti serving and having my life transformed, thinking I was gonna adopt this little girl named Oleta, I loved

Caroline: 13:05

Oh.

Penda L. James: 13:05

little girl. She was just so. She just tugged on my heart so much, came home and I'm like, who is this man working in the center? And it was my future husband and my grandma, she loved him. So while I was in Haiti, grandma's like, oh, we got this new guy. He's been teaching us in the Bible studies and I love how he does his Bible study. You should come and sit in on the class. And I'm like, grandma, no, I'm not coming. It was him. So that shifted my trajectory because he was in the ministry. So then I started to do work with him in the ministry, like serving people. So it was, it was a different type of service. It wasn't like me serving somebody because my heart was being, being led to serve them, but it was. It then became an understanding of my calling to serve them, if that makes sense.

Caroline: 14:01

I see.

Penda L. James: 14:02

so a couple years into our into our, whatever they call it, what do they call it dating life. heard about this opportunity to do a third term for AmeriCorps, I went to Colorado for a year and worked at a residential high school, and I was a fellow in the library. So what I would do is I would order books and check books into the library. I made sure that there were study tables and if classes were held in the library, they had everything they need, like technology and things like that, which led me into teaching. I had already taught some classes. I taught a class. I taught juniors and seniors, and I loved that job. I had most of the jobs I had I loved in my life. But that job I loved because it was a real life. Like these were what they call at risk young people, you know, but all they needed was somebody to listen to them and an opportunity to express themselves. So one of the things that I had'em do was tell us their mission statement and make a presentation about it. And I loved doing that. And I, I will never forget, I had one young lady who was terribly shy, and she did not, I, and she was like, I just miss Penda. I just can't, I can't speak in front of the class. Like she'd be in the back cracking up with her friends, but she didn't wanna talk in the class. And I, I allowed her, this was when we had tapes and I allowed her to record her presentation. With a tape recorder and she pushed play and she had had it all re rehears rehearsed and she did all the things and it was a beautiful presentation. Like I loved that. So that job ended'cause it was nonprofit and so that job ended. I a had a lot of jobs that. That ended because they were a nonprofit. Another position I had after college was working for Central State University in what was called their family life center. And

Caroline: 16:07

Hmm.

Penda L. James: 16:07

did was we had programming in schools and in the community for violence prevention. And so I would teach young people different tools and different things, and he help them to build their leadership. So I would do that. And then in the evenings I would go to one of the local communities, I don't wanna say a project, but one of the local communities and also work with them. a different set of young people the community, but the funding ran out. so most of the jobs that I've had in my life have been either non-profit or temporary things, you know, and then when, we got married, I worked at Sinclair Community College, which I loved that I was a recruiter for African American students'cause, and we had a Hispanic American recruiter, so we worked really closely together. And that position was kind of hard'cause people looked down on community colleges. But that community college in my hometown is great. Like if you go there for two years and then you think about going to a, a full college, you come in as a junior. And so I would try to give them this feedback and people like look down, like, no, I'm not going to 13th grade at Sinclair. You know, and I was trying to work to help them shift their mindset about opportunities and having that opportunity. After, that position, I worked at a residential high school in Colorado, and I love that job. just thinking about that position and how, like I got pranked the first day when I like had to do bed checks. I got pranked the first day. These two young girls came out in their birthday suit and it was like shocking to me and I was just like, oh my god. You know? But I just think about the, you know, being out of my comfort zone when looking at positions and when doing, doing things that I know that I wanna do, but also am afraid to do. It's important to, to feel that fear. Like, to feel like, oh my God, I can't believe them girls came out there like that. But then to not let them see me shaken.

Caroline: 18:25

help me understand, how did you go from all of these amazing experiences, and jobs to then writing or having your own company. when did you write your first book and then how, how did all this unfold?

Penda L. James: 18:42

is an excellent question. I've been writing since I was in the fourth grade. That's the longest. longest, earliest memory that I have of writing, I, I have had journals and actually threw them away which is one of my biggest regrets. But I've been writing, like I told you, my grandmother was, was a stickler about my writing. I was in the first set of public allies, I was in Cincinnati and I was turning 25. every Friday the 24 of us would get together and have like professional development. And one day in our circle. I asked them, you know, I just mentioned like, I'm turning 25 and I don't really know what it means to be a woman. Like, can y'all help me? And so people started to give me poetry or essays or different things. They would just sit in that circle and just pour their hearts out to me. And then outside of that, they would just hand me pieces of paper and that became my first book. Free to Fly, those people sharing with me their heart about womanhood and about their mothers who had passed on, or their daughters that they wanted to teach lessons or themselves that they, they wanted to share with the, with me and with the world, things that they had learned and that became free to fly. And I think the hardest thing was, you know, one of the, one of my colleagues Oscar, he had told us the whole time, I'm gonna be a fireman and, you know, I, after we get done with public lives, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go take the fireman test. And he did. And he died in the line of fire. And so that was like my first funeral of. As an adult like of a friend. And so. There were so many firemen from all over the county, like all over the tri-state area, and we couldn't get in to view him because it was so full. And I just remember like collapsing into my, one of the, the director of the program, like collapsing into his arms and he's like, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. And I think I carry that with me that. He had a dream. Oscar had a dream, fulfilled the dream and he died a hero. And I want to be in my life and in my career and in the things that I do, I want to be all in like that. I wanna be all in. So, Free to Fly came out. So I, I started it while I was there with them in Public Allies. And then Oscar passed away. I took it to my mentor and it took us 10 years to finish it'cause during that, her mom passed, like lots of different things happened. I didn't know what to do with it. I was just like, I know this needs to be something. And in 2009. That, that's when my first book was published of those people in that book became authors as a result of that book, and they would come to me and say, Hey, can you help me? I know you did this, but can you help me? I know I have a different calling to help people. I'm not designed for everybody. The people who come to me to to publish their books. They have special kinds of stories like we all, we all have stories and we all have special kinds of stories, but for me, the audience that I am called to are people who started a book and put it down for 10 years and they feel this push in their back or this this nagging feeling like, I need to publish this because there are people calling to hear it. That's my story. I know that story, and that's

Caroline: 22:44

You did that. So, sometimes people say your mess becomes your message. I'm not saying that's your mess, but like, we have to experience and go through struggles and at the time it's like, seriously, why am I having to do all this? And then later it's like, oh, because. You've been through that you then can help pull the next person and give them resources and guidance that you wish you had had. If only somebody would've helped you, but you had to learn it the hard way.

Penda L. James: 23:13

has become your testimony.

Caroline: 23:16

Oh, I love that your test has become your testimony. Yes. So you put out your first book and then people started coming to you and wanting you to help them with theirs and, and is that when you decided, let me make Inscribed Inspiration?

Penda L. James: 24:23

I had started my business in 2006. I had

Caroline: 24:29

Okay.

Penda L. James: 24:30

writer's conference. I had been going to different writer's conferences, but I wasn't really getting what I needed. there was just something missing at all these conferences and I couldn't figure out what it was. And what happened was I was teaching a class and someone from my hometown, she was my former mentor when I was growing up, she couldn't get in. And it was because she didn't pay to register, but I was like, Hey, I'm in town. You know, come, and come and sit in my class. I didn't think, like, I didn't think that

Caroline: 25:02

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 25:02

register because she was only coming to see me. They didn't

Caroline: 25:06

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 25:07

and she was heartbroken. And so after the conference, you know after I saw like how heartbroken she was, I went to her house and, and her husband just said, do it better. And that became like a motivation for us. Like it was a motivation for us to, to start a company. So she started her company and, and I started mine and I. I know that these people who are coming to me to help them, like I Inscribed Inspiration. It's so funny how the name came to me. My husband and I were at different places looking at the same scripture, so he was at a retreat or something and I was at church, when he came home he said, your business name is Inspiration Inscribed, or Inscribed Inspiration. And I had the same exact note written in my journal.

Caroline: 26:05

That. What did that do? Like did you get chills? Were you like, okay, now this is a higher thing? This,

Penda L. James: 26:11

Yeah, I, I knew that it was confirmation I knew that it was, it was what I needed to do I think about my, so my first book, Free to Fly then Girl, Pray for Me. was my next books. I thought I was just gonna be publishing my own people, my own books. But I have been publishing others and the most recent was A 78-year-old woman who is the longest living breast cancer survivor in like our tri-state area. She had cancer when she breast cancer when she was 21 and she's

Caroline: 26:52

Oh wow.

Penda L. James: 26:53

now. Yeah, so

Caroline: 26:57

is, what is that book called?

Penda L. James: 27:00

Pearly Pearls.

Caroline: 27:02

I love it.

Penda L. James: 27:03

'cause her name is Pearly and she's giving us some of her pearls.

Caroline: 27:08

That's amazing. You've helped dozens of people or, or probably even more, help them write their book. What do you think is the biggest struggle that they have to overcome? Or is, is there one consistent theme?

Penda L. James: 27:22

I think people have to give themselves permission to tell their stories. You know, a lot of times we think, oh, want my brother to know that I'm telling my story. You know, or you, you, you wanna wait till everybody in your family dies before you tell your story. But what I try to teach people is that you tell your story from your lens. So an example would be if I'm, if, you know, if I was talking about riding in the car with my mother, I wouldn't say my mother was driving and she was speeding or whatever. I would say, I would say I, I would tell it from the perspective I was, I was riding in the car and my mother was driving. I don't know how fast she was going. So it's me telling my

Caroline: 28:09

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 28:10

my lens, not me telling about her. I heard a, a, a pastor preaching the other day and he was talking about everything, about everybody else. Like, oh, my son did this and my wife did this. are telling their testimony. Tell your own testimony, and that's what I wanted to scream at the tv, but I didn't. Yeah. So I, I really value that people trust me to help them tell their stories. To me, it's like we're in the birthing room. Like, I don't remember everything about giving birth to my daughter, but what I do remember was that my husband never left my side.

Caroline: 28:51

Yes.

Penda L. James: 28:51

I remember and that, that would be a whole another conversation we could have about maternal black health. But I know that when people came in and outta that room, my husband never left. He never left me. He was always by my side the whole time. Even when I had the blanket over my head,'cause the lights were too bright, he made sure that Fred Hammond was playing in the background. He was positioned to make sure that I was okay and When it was time and they were like, don't push, you know? And my husband's calling them like, you need to come and check on her. I think the baby's coming. They didn't come. They said to him, we are in the middle of shift change. We'll be in there in 30 minutes.

Caroline: 29:32

Oh my goodness.

Penda L. James: 29:34

they came in there, the baby was already in the birth canal. And so when I think about helping people tell their stories, I'm gonna be just like Robert James. I'm not gonna leave your side. I'm gonna make sure you have everything you need. I'm going to advocate for you, I'm going to speak up when you cannot speak up. I'm going to help you tell your story and when the baby comes out, I'm going to make sure that it's in good hands.

Caroline: 29:59

Hmm.

Penda L. James: 29:59

that's important to me. Like I take the work that I do, helping people tell their story very seriously. So when we talk about all these jobs that I've had. They all kind of prepared me to be in the seat that I'm sitting in, where I'm helping people tell their stories. I have a background in nonprofit, in education you know, in social services, in, in the courts, like in community. So I can speak lots of different languages, right? Not like. Spanish and French kind of languages. But I tried Duolingo, but it didn't, I didn't learn a lot. but I can speak lots of different languages that can relate to lots of different people who are trying to tell their story and even though I kind of despise that, I couldn't fulfill all of the things that I wanted to do. Like I still wanna be in corporate training. I still wanna get my doctorate, like there are things that I still hope that life will allow me to accomplish.

Caroline: 30:58

I think they're on your heart. You wouldn't be having them as recurring themes and recurring experiences if it wasn't part of something you are called to be able to do in time. The challenge is, at least for me, I'll have this thing, but it's like my timeline is different than God's timeline, but his is better. But I don't know it yet. Like I, I mean, I know it now, looking back, but looking forward. I don't know. I guess I'm just stubborn. I feel like, well, come on, it's gonna this, this, this, and go that way.

Penda L. James: 31:30

Yeah.

Caroline: 31:31

you experience the same?

Penda L. James: 31:32

do experience the same. I do. I actually was accepted into a doctoral program after I came back from Colorado and I didn't have, I only, I had like$800 that I brought back with me from Colorado and I had an assistantship that they awarded me for$999. I couldn't

Caroline: 31:52

Hmm.

Penda L. James: 31:53

like, I couldn't, it was not enough for me to do what

Caroline: 31:56

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 31:56

do, so I went to try to find an apartment. I couldn't find an apartment. But the day I came home is the day I got engaged. it's

Caroline: 32:05

Ooh.

Penda L. James: 32:05

my daddy used to say like, oh, you chose marriage over getting your doctorate, which is true. I chose that trajectory, but my husband now has his doctorate. I've written letters for people who have their doctorate, so I'm hope, you know,

Caroline: 32:20

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 32:20

that I'll be able to in there and be Dr. Penda too.

Caroline: 32:25

Absolutely. Absolutely. Now you have an interesting perspective'cause some of the people that I'm gonna be interviewing or that I've already interviewed, I just know them as as cool people, and I know you as an amazingly beautiful woman who's also been able to work with me a little bit. So help Others understand. How did you choose to want to like, what was happening that you thought, oh, let me,

Penda L. James: 32:53

That's a good, that's a

Caroline: 32:53

let me see what she

Penda L. James: 32:55

Okay, so we met at a entrepreneurship group and I heard you talking about the work that you do, and at that time, I, I've been here in North Carolina for about three years, and at that time when I reached out to you, I felt very unsettled because I knew that my daughter was preparing to graduate from high school. I knew that I wanted a job, but I didn't really want a job. Like I asked my husband if I could be a stay at home mom because when we moved from Pittsburgh, we had lost both of our mothers and we were taking Amaris away from all of her friends and everything that she knew going to a place that we didn't know anybody, and I wanted to make sure that I could walk with her through that difficult season. It shifted her, like she, she went from a very happy and laughing child to one that was just kind of kept to herself and kind of somber, like being the only child you already are kind of like that Anyway. But knowing that she was, she was preparing to graduate, I was trying to think ahead of my own life. And so I, I heard that you were doing career transition support it did help me to put into perspective like I never considered how much I have in me.

Caroline: 34:24

Hmm.

Penda L. James: 34:24

You know, I'm, I'm thinking, oh, I need a job, or I'm not making enough money in my business and I wanna do all these things, but you help me to see what I do have. And with career assessments and personality assessments and things like that, it confirmed some of the things that I already knew about myself, but also revealed things that I, I really hadn't thought about, like having a business since 2006 and working with all kinds of people, you know, directors of nonprofits and songwriters, people working on their dissertations. People working in the corporate sector, all kind, you know, people in the military, all kinds of people, you allowed me to see that and to see the big picture of what my next success could be. So now, even though I, I don't, I, I'm still like, I, I want a job. I know that it doesn't mean that I need to have a job. It means that if I'm going to dig into all of these gifts and things that I have, I need to take it seriously so that the people who will be attracted to me will take it seriously too. I'm on the precipice, I'm going to use this word. I'm on the precipice of having a short film filmed and launching a novel Running between Dandelions, and these are things that have been on my list of things that I've really wanted to do for a very long time. I think giving myself grace recognize that even though my path hasn't been a straight one, I'm doing what I love and it is always what I've been destined to do.

Caroline: 36:08

So help me understand that pivot from what you thought you wanted to do. Into what you're aligned to do. How, how did that happen or how.

Penda L. James: 36:19

I mean, what I thought I wanted to do was have a job and be a corporate trainer, and I still kind of do wanna do that, but now I understand that I can do it as a consultant through Inscribed Inspiration, I don't have to go find a job that will take me away from things that I love to do, helping people tell their stories, I think I've always put myself on this. Block. Like I told you, for most of my life I've worked two or three jobs at a time. I wasn't taking care of myself. I was always eating in my car or not eating at all. I was tired all the time. I didn't have time for family. You know, now that my daughter is in college and I think back to when she was in kindergarten or or preschool, she still remembers times that I missed things that she was doing. You know, I had to deliver Christmas gifts, this one particular Christmas for my job.'cause I was a caseworker and it was all the way on the other side of town. She had a 15 minute look. I was about to say little singing. It wasn't a little singing, but she had a, like a 15 or 20 minute Christmas program and I missed it because I had to deliver things for other people's children and neglect my own. Thankfully my husband could be there. But we didn't have family around, so I couldn't send my, my mom was deceased. Like I couldn't send anybody else to be in my place. I had to, I had to be there and I wasn't there. And so when I think about looking for a job, I'm, I'm looking for a position now. My next success is as I'm looking for positions, I'm looking for things that are not only in alignment with me and what I believe, you know, spiritually and personally, but also my time. My time, like my husband has, you know, being in the ministry, he has an unpredictable schedule and I don't always get to see him'cause he might have to preach or work or whatever he has to do to do the ministry. if I have a job, we'll never see each other and I don't, I don't want my latter days to continue to, I'm not saying I'm about to. I pass on, but I don't want to set myself up to not enjoy life. And I think for a long time I was so concerned about, know, I gotta make this money, I gotta pay this bill. I don't wanna live like that anymore. I don't, I don't wanna live like that anymore. And so that's kind of what I'm thinking about. If I'm looking, looking at positions, it would be to help somebody who's in alignment with me. virtual assistant or strategy or something like that. But I can also turn my computer off and go watch mom if I want to.

Caroline: 39:18

Absolutely. Yeah, that's, yeah, that's, and that's one of the things that I wanna help people come to be able to do also, is, you know, define that vision of what do you want your life to look like and how can your career fuel that life instead of detract from it? Because I was guilty of that, you know, chasing success defined by other people. And I thought that's what I was supposed to be doing or what I should be doing. And I was very successful by that. And at the same time, I wasn't who I wanted to be for the people that I said were most important and they got the worst of me and they got the snappy and they got, you know, the short temper and the emotionally unavailable or unhealthy responses, like that's what they got. And I can't go back and change that from what happened. I can try to help other people maybe make that shift before they have to have heart surgery or some other kind of kind of things. I'm hoping and just really, you know, this is what we're, we're here for. We're made on purpose for a purpose only we can do all these gifts and talents have been poured into us for a reason. And the longer that we keep doing what we think we should do by other people's standards, not like utilizing all that beautifulness inside of us. We're missing out, our families are missing out, and the world is missing out. So

Penda L. James: 40:44

I think

Caroline: 40:44

I wanna help.

Penda L. James: 40:45

that for me though, and that's what I'm trying to communicate is that

Caroline: 40:49

Hmm.

Penda L. James: 40:49

most of my career, you know, and I've been working since I was 12 years old and having two and three jobs and. I have no money saved. Like I did all of that and I have no, I don't have 10 thousands, you know, thousands of dollars in my, I was getting my hair done and helping my mom and dad take care of the household and buying clothes and, you know, doing all these things. I always was living like Friday to every other Friday when I got paid again. I want to, I, I haven't been in the place where I. could save. Like I was, had a great job in Pittsburgh, but when we moved we, we had to drain our savings. And now, you know, with my baby going to college, like I don't want her to have to worry about college, so I'm gonna dip into my reserves of my 401k or whatever to make sure she doesn't have to worry. My hope is that as I continue to work my business and I'm in alignment with people that are in alignment with me and with God, that I won't chase money. I don't want to chase the dollar anymore, and I don't wanna exchange time for money. And I think

Caroline: 42:07

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 42:07

being driven by that is what made my life so heavy. You know, I, I'm always like, oh, it's not always gonna be this way, Lord. I know you going to take care of me. And I do believe that, but I have to say it differently. Like, Lord, I know

Caroline: 42:25

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 42:26

provider, and is this the person I'm supposed to be working with? Because if it's not, please send me who I'm supposed to work with. I don't wanna put myself in positions anymore where I'm doing it just because I at all money is not good money, period. And

Caroline: 42:43

Hmm.

Penda L. James: 42:44

I have done so much hard work helping people to publish their books and things like that, who. Just kind of drug me down to the ground and I, it wasn't worth it I needed the money. I don't wanna live like that anymore. I think that you helped me to see that, that I offer and what I do and who I am is so much bigger than what I've allowed myself to see. Mm-hmm.

Caroline: 43:13

That's powerful. So authentic success is something I try to help people get to. What is your definition of authentic success for you in this moment?

Penda L. James: 43:24

That's question. I would have to say that the blessings of God make one rich and he adds no sorrow.

Caroline: 43:33

Hmm.

Penda L. James: 43:33

if I am successful, I, it wasn't. It didn't feel heavy. It didn't feel like I gave much more of myself than I needed to, and I wasn't. wasn't reciprocated. Authentic success for me, allows me the opportunity to balance. Some people say that balance doesn't exist, like I said, I wanna be able to see my husband sometimes. I wanna be able to drive up to where my daughter's going to school and take her to lunch if I want to. wanna be able to send my siblings and my nieces and nephews special things in the mail from their auntie and their sister because my parents are gone, and I want to be able to surprise them with good things. And if I'm, if I am able to generate the income that I need and it has no sorrow, I can do that. And that's success for me. It's not about money anymore, although the money is great and it, but it's a,

Caroline: 44:44

I keep saying keep doing the right thing and the money will come. That's what I,

Penda L. James: 44:48

it's about my peace of mind right now. about

Caroline: 44:50

yeah.

Penda L. James: 44:51

mind and my health. It's.

Caroline: 44:54

What would you say to other people who are feeling a little bit unsure, maybe not happy or not satisfied in their, in their jobs or in their life? What, what's your advice for them? That's a good

Penda L. James: 45:06

question. I would say to you, dear friend, if people are asking you to do something you get that same request over and over again, pay attention to it. if somebody says, Hey, girl, I love that sweet potato pie that you made. Keep making those pies. Or if they say, Hey brother, could you help me organize my thoughts over here?'cause I'm all confused, keep doing it. I think of those as God winks. You know, it's reminders of there's something in you and somebody needs it. And if you're in a position right now, a job that you have to be in because you have to make your money and you have to take care of your family, pay attention to those God winks because they will continue to give you joy throughout the day, and that's gonna fuel you doing the thing that you don't wanna do until you can get to the place that you can do what you want to do. I've had to work three jobs. I had to in order to pay all the bills, and it was hard and I hardly slept and I hardly ate. But one day it'll all be worth it. If you hold on to what's really important to you and what you believe is in you to accomplish, don't let it go to sleep. Keep it right with you at all times. Keep reminders of it with you.'cause one day you're gonna be able to get back to it. And you're gonna put your hand to the plow and never let it go.

Caroline: 46:38

That's so beautiful. You have a new book What is that about? Tell, help me understand what is that about?

Penda L. James: 46:45

right, so Running Between Dandelions will be released on December the first. It's my

Caroline: 46:50

Okay.

Penda L. James: 46:50

novel. this is a story of three generations of women, a mother, her daughter, and the granddaughter. And the logline for it is a woman must understand her mother's story in order to confront her fear of being an unfit mother. I wanted

Caroline: 47:14

Oh.

Penda L. James: 47:15

talk about and honor the relationship of mothers and daughters and forgiveness. It's so interesting because there's the, the main character, her name is Knitty. Her real name is Anita, but they call her Knitty because when she was born, her grandmother Annabelle she was gonna knit this family back together in love. And Nitty has a white best friend that she calls her sister. So I wanted to to talk about like relationships and intercultural relationships, what that looks like and what, it looks like to live with anger and, and they, they all have different types of headaches. I don't get headaches like that, but while I was writing, I felt different types of headaches, and so I had to write through what I was feeling in order to personify it for these women, Annabelle, Joyce, and Anita,

Caroline: 48:18

Wow. And how, how can people find you? How can they work with you for those who have their stories and are having a hard time getting it out?

Penda L. James: 48:28

well, you can always find me at my website, Penda L James.com I am on LinkedIn, so linkedin.com/penda L James. I am on Facebook, so you can find information about running between dandelions. facebook.com/runningbetweendandelions Penda L James on Facebook. I'm also on Instagram. I have a Substack and a TikTok, but I mostly live on Facebook right now.

Caroline: 49:00

That's beautiful. Well, I want to thank you so, so very much for sharing more of your story, all the beautiful bits of wisdom that you shared, and thank you for being part of your next success.

Penda L. James: 49:15

you

Caroline: 49:15

I.

Penda L. James: 49:15

having me because I am on my route to next success because of the work that we did together. You open my eyes to see that there's more in me than I was allowing myself to see, almost looking at my, myself with blinders on. And so I would say to anybody that's out there. Who feels like you just need some clarity. Hmm. Reach out to Caroline. Caroline's, Caroline's Got it. She's got it for you. Just

Caroline: 49:46

Thank you, Penda.

Penda L. James: 49:47

questions and then you going to be wide awake sitting at the table like, oh my God. Thank you so much.

Caroline: 49:56

Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that. A couple people have answered my question. They're like, and then you asked me and I was like, oh, I'm just,

Penda L. James: 50:04

It is your

Caroline: 50:05

just doing my job.

Penda L. James: 50:06

It's your gift. It's not a, it's not a job. It's your gift. You're operating your gift, like you are an example of what it's like to pivot and operate in your gift, and that's what you're trying to get us all to do.

Caroline: 50:19

Yeah.

Penda L. James: 50:20

from organic chemistry or whatever the. Polymer Sciences to now helping people transition to their next success. Like amazing and I'm grateful for it. Thank you.

Caroline: 50:32

I. appreciate you. Thank you so much.

50:36

Pendas story is a powerful reminder that success isn't about climbing a ladder. It's about honoring the truth of your life, your gifts, and your timing. Through every season, she has shown up with heart and intention and the deep desire to help others feel seen, and now she's helping others do the same. One story, one voice, one book at a time. To learn more about Pendas work, visit penda l james.com. Her novel running Between Dandelions is available and you can follow her on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram for more inspiration. And if you're navigating your own next chapter and need clarity on what comes next, download the Free Navigating Career Transitions workbook at Next Success career@nextsuccesscareers.com. It's your guide to reconnecting with who you are and building what's next from a place of alignment, purpose and peace. Thanks for listening. Until next time, your story matters and your next success might just start with telling it.

Caroline: 51:44

Thanks for listening to Your Next Success with Dr. Caroline Sangal. Remember, authentic success is yours to define and includes aligning your career to support the life you want.