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HP#189 | From Extreme Poverty to One of the Richest Women in the World

Jul 31, 2024

Discover the incredible journey of a woman who rose from extreme poverty in the segregated South to create a billion-dollar company. Born into a large family, she defied odds to become the first black woman to reach such heights. The discussion highlights the transformative power of an abundance mindset instilled by her parents. Hear how determination and dreaming big can shatter barriers, making for a truly inspirational tale.

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ANECDOTE

Grit in Segregated South

Janice Bryant Howroyd grew up in a racially segregated, economically poor but spiritually rich community in 1950s Tarboro, North Carolina.
Her parents instilled an abundant mindset and encouraged education without restricting career dreams, shaping her faith in possibilities despite adversity.

ANECDOTE

Inspiration from Train Porters

The 'Georges' were African American train porters who brought black-focused magazines to segregated communities like Janice's.
These magazines inspired her, showing what Black people and women could achieve, fueling her belief in her place in America.

INSIGHT

Faith as Power Against Adversity

Despite daily racism and suppression, Janice's faith in America and her potential to shape it was strong.
This faith, inspired by her parents, was her power to overcome barriers and pursue her dreams.

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Transcript:

[00:00:00]

Chris: She was born in the segregated south in extreme poverty, one of 11 kids, and she built a billion dollar company. You guys welcome to the high-performance tip number 189. Of our podcast. And today I want to feature Janice Bryant. Howroyd Janice is one of the most inspirational people that I've interviewed out of 500 people.

And what's really amazing about her is that, like I mentioned, she started in a segregated south born in 1952, where there was white people on one side of the neighborhood and black people on the other side of the neighborhood and she was born one of 11 kids in extreme poverty.

Nevertheless, she still made her way to found and build a billion dollar company. And not only that, she was the first black woman to build a billion dollar company.

She stands at the top of the list as the 38th richest woman in the world, and, she talks specifically in this episode, how she gained an abundance mindset and how her family, her parents taught her to have an abundance mindset and to dream. Even though she's in an extremely racist and suppressive environment during her youth for the first 24 years of her life. Let's hop into it with Janice Bryant.

Howroyd.

Janice: I was born in 1952 One of 11 kids, the fourth of 11 kids, same mom, same dad in Tarboro, North Carolina. , , so that can tell you a lot about just what was happening in my community at that time

we were a segregated community, Um, , we were segregated in many ways, not just racially, but racial segregation. offered the segregation of economics and I'm glad you said we were economically poor because we were spiritually rich, quite wealthy if you think of it, and aspirationally we were full.

Mom and dad wanted for us the world that they dreamed was possible, but they didn't put boundaries on us about how that could be achieved, meaning they didn't want us to only do the things they thought we should do. Nobody had to be a doctor or lawyer, you know, a candlestick butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker.

But they did insist that education would be a platform for that. That was the hard hitting thing in my home growing up. And I never saw anybody outside of a teacher or a preacher who held a professional job who was African American unless I got pictures and stories of them from old print magazines. , there was Essence.

Ebony. Essence came later. There was Ebony. There was Sepia. And are you, are you familiar with the Georges? , the family? No, no, no. The Georges were, were the, , porters along trains. Along the rail tracks that ran from south to north on the east coast. And rather than bother to learn John or Fred or Joseph's name, everyone was called George or boy.

Okay. Okay. Wow. The George is my, my grandfather was a George. Okay. He hated it. His name was Daniel. He worked that line for many years. And nobody knew his name. , and so, they would bring products and, and, and, , items to us that we couldn't get locally. So nobody was selling black magazines in Tarboro, North Carolina.

Black focused magazines. So we'd get Ebony, Jet. Sepia delivered by the George's and everybody waited for the train to come in on the day that the magazines would come and that's where I started to get ideas about the possibility of what a black person could do And a black woman could do . We weren't seeing black people on TV.

And that was so big for us. We'd all rush home. What does that got to do with the way I grew up? Everything I grew up with a full faith in what America is and what the world is like, and, um, and could be for me and that I had a place to shape it despite what was going on day to day.

And that was the power. And I think the faith that our mom and dad put in front of us,

[00:04:54]

Chris : There you haven't you guys, what do you think? Hearing stories like that make our difficulties in 2024 seem incredibly small. And irrelevant. And I would imagine very few listening to the podcast grew up in an environment that has equal or worse than Janice's, but nonetheless hearing a story like that really makes us think that anything is possible. Not only any, not only is anything possible, but, what is important. Is that we focus on the positive side of life. And we surrender to our dreams . And go after them with everything that we have. So, leaving you with that. I want to ask you.

What did you take away from Janice's story? It's a powerful one. If you haven't heard Janice's full episode, I recommend you checking it out. I believe it's episode number 544. , interviewing the 38th richest woman in the world. Janice Bryant. Howroyd. And if you want to make sure you don't miss any of these tips, please subscribe, leave us or view. And share with your friends, see you on the next episode.