 Y'all we are done with the boxes. We're done with the limits. We are done with all of it. As soon as we convince ourselves, all right? Keep watching to find out what I'm talking about today. This is Kyla DeNanio and today we are talking about why you gotta be you. This book is written by Brandon Kyle Goodman. Okay? Kyle means chief. My name is Kyla so I'm female version of a chief so we're vibing there. The genre of the book is nonfiction. The theme of the book is memoir self-motivation. So, Brandon, I had no idea. No idea who he was, where his reach was, the importance of it all. With his cute top voice, this about it's given Spike Lee and I was like let's just read it right? There is a quote on page 57 and I just got to read it to you okay? Instead of choosing to fit into a box, I choose to expand into my life. Expand into my life and so that's a couple chapters in right? So you're reading and Brandon talks about how he knew he was gay. It's like when he told his mother what it was like growing up knowing that he was an other right? Later on he talks about being married and what happened when he felt that he was non-binary. How does that change everything? When he's this huge advocate for gay black men and now he feels that he's non-binary. Is that going to take away from his story? Is it going to add to his story? And so you're reading it and then you're just like he literally could have wrote that quote at the beginning of every single chapter. I choose to expand into my life. So first of all, what does it mean to expand into your life? Okay? Brandon goes on to talk about how yes it's a great thing to be a black gay icon. How so ever? That is still a box. Yes it's great to be a New Yorker. That's a box. It's great to be a preacher's kid. That's a box. It's great to be married. That's a box. This is so profound to me because a lot of times we put ourselves in these boxes and we didn't even realize it right? So I went to law school and my whole thing was I'm about to be this boy or watch out. Here I come and my path went a little bit different. I did end up working in big law but I was not working as an associate or partner right? I did not receive. I did not earn my borrow number but I was still influential. I was still making an impact. I was still making a difference. I was still living a great life but it took a really long time for me to value that because I did not obtain this. I was still on the outside of the attorney box okay? And so then I started podcasts. Oh that's scary because I don't see that many other black women podcasters definitely not in the legal space. Will it work? Is it a viable option? What's gonna happen? Yeah I create this box. And so then I wanted to get into YouTube. Well I don't really see that many people talking about what I want to talk about on YouTube that look like me. Well that means that I need to do it. I need to create it. And so for me to expand to fit my life. Right now my life looks like YouTube videos, podcast hosts, and podcast coaching for small businesses. But that's right now my life could expand to be even more right? Like y'all my life could expand in 2024. It could expand in 2025. It could expand this year. Who knows? And so I love that quote because it's giving you permission to do all of the things. So the things that serve you right now the things that'll serve you in the future because your life is ever changing ever growing and you can always expand to fit your life. Okay? Like all the repetition but Brandon got me together. And I just had to share it with y'all. Okay?