Neena Perez: Turning Testimony Into a Kingdom Business – Healing, Hustle & Holy Spirit-Led Growth

Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show, where we share stories of grit, faith, and purpose brick by brick. Today's guest is Nina Perez, a transformational coach, author of Hit Me with Your Best Shot, podcast host of Straight Talk, No Sugar Added. Nina's story is a powerful testimony of resilience, from surviving abuse, domestic violence, and deep poverty to building kingdom-focused coaching businesses that empower women to rise from shame, dismantle limiting beliefs, and step into their God-given purpose. Let's jump into this Purpose by Design and Wisdom to Wealth with Nina Perez. Her signature framework, Purpose by Design and Wisdom to Wealth. What's up, my good people? Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show in association with Believe Network, the podcast that brings you stories behind the success brick by brick. Today we talking about grit, faith, and purpose with my girl Nina Perez. Hey, a transformational coach, author of Hit Me with Your Best Shot. I know that sounds a little familiar because of a little tune that went to that, uh, podcast host of Straight Talk, No Sugar Added. Nina's story is a powerful testimony of resilience, from surviving abuse, domestic violence, and deep poverty to building kingdom-focused coaching businesses that empower women to rise from shame, dismantle limiting beliefs, and step into their God-given purpose. Without further ado, let's jump into this Purpose by Design and Wisdom to Wealth with my girl Nina. Hey, how you doing, Nina?

I am so good, CJ. Thank you for having me on your show. I'm excited.

I thank you for being on here because you a veteran in the game. So I tried to get a little bit where you at, you know. And so, uh, so let me ask you.

Yeah.

Your story is one of grace and of God. Can you take us back to some of those defining moments that shaped you into who you are today?

Yeah. I mean, I think all of our challenges are defining moments if we want them to be. Right? So abuse as a child and all those things, you don't think of those as being defining moments until you start to feel it to heal it. Right? And then when you get into the place of, why did that happen to me? What's going on here? All of that, I realized what I thought was being done against me— and it was in some ways— was also being done for me. Because I was able to utilize that. And of course, the domestic violence. I was almost murdered by my son's father. Put a gun to my head, he pulled the trigger, and the safety got jammed, and that's why I'm here today, you know. So those kind of moments, those big moments in your life, like, you know. And then I got remarried. He left me and the kids for a 17-year-old girl. He was 30. Like, he just walked out, was like, I need to find myself, and found himself with some young girl. And like, you know, depression, anxiety, all the things, right? And then I went homeless for a while. We lost our home and everything and our cars and stuff because I got remarried. I've been with him now 27 years, and we have a great marriage. But that marriage is with God. The other marriages and relationships and situations were not with God, right? So when I started to heal, I realized, you know what, CJ, we could either take all of those things and keep becoming the victim of those things, or we can take those things and say, OK, God, how do I chew the meat and spit out the bones? What are you trying to show me here? What is it that I'm supposed to use here? Because I'm mad. I'm angry about this stuff, you know. And when I started to write my book, like you mentioned, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and I started the podcast, it was for a healing journey, honestly. And it's become bigger than that because then it became, you know, I went back to school. I became a chef back in 2006 or whatever it was. And I started to, now especially because God is taking me back on this road that I'm going to with him now where I was feeling misaligned with what it is He wants me to do. And now it's all culminating into this big thing. So there's a lot of moments, CJ, but one of the biggest moments is when God just shows up and shows out in your life. And when I did not know Him that well, I didn't really know Him at all, honestly. I was just a pagan worshiper. I just, you know, was worshiping other things. And God just snatched me out of that world and into His kingdom. Life has been really hard, but also amazing with God in it.

Now I'm going back to the gun jamming.

Yeah.

You know, it's a young man that go to my church, Damien, and his cousin got killed, and they were going to kill him. They were going to, you know, shoot him. But as God did with you, the gun jammed. So they beat him with a cinder block though. They bashed his head with a cinder block. They was— they were determined, determined to kill them, but God said not so. And so, you know, I'm listening to you and, you know, it's like, wow, you know what I'm saying? Like, what are the chances of somebody like directly with a gun pointed to your head and they pull the trigger and God said not so, you know what I'm saying? So how can, how can we not, you know, at least start at Phantom, like, you know, because by his mercy and grace you're still here and surviving. So I think that even listening to the things that you said after that, you say you got married again, he left you for a 17-year-old, uh, you became homeless, all these other things. Yeah, they were bad things, you know what I'm saying, and tough to cope with. But with God's grace, now I can endure.

That's right, that's right, you know.

And that's right. And so that's what I commend you on, your resilience, you know. Even Even to even trust another man again, because a lot of time when people go through stuff like that, one want to kill me, other one leave me for some little panties, you know what I'm saying? Some little stinky panties. Don't even know how to wipe herself yet, but that's on a whole nother level. But, uh, but then to love and trust somebody again, you know what I'm saying?

That was hard.

27 years.

Yeah, yeah, 27 years. But it wasn't easy either, right? I mean, in the beginning, you know, and through our marriage, there was a moment where there was infidelity on his part, and that that almost destroyed us completely, you know, and it was because of Christ. It literally was because of Christ and Him coming into this, what I thought was a good marriage, and like God just pulled it apart, you know what I mean? Like, oh, you think you're living in a good marriage? Let me show you that you're not because it's time for you guys to heal so that you can have the marriage that I've created. And that's what happened, right? Because forgiveness is huge. In that whole journey of infidelity and feeling betrayed again, right, in life, because I've already been betrayed before. And I saw God's hand in a situation that I didn't think was redeemable. And infidelity and hurt and pain and homelessness and all the things that me and my husband have gone through, God is in it. And because he is in it, it's been, you know, many, many years now. That was back in 2003. 2007 or whatever it was, 2008. You know, me and him have healed. God was the center of it all, still is the center of it all. And we've never had to contend with that again, thank God. But me and my husband are steady on each other about praying every morning together, praying throughout the day, praying in the evening together, making sure that the enemy has no foothold, that he cannot come into this household. But, you know, yeah, those things are tough. And the truth is, is even in a marriage that's been 27 years, nobody can tell me that their marriage is perfect for the whole 27 years. It's just not true.

Everybody has hard times, for sure, especially dealing with a woman, you know what I'm saying? What you just said, hey, you know, you guys aren't that easy either, bro. Let me tell you, we're not, because for one, we're selfish. I think for the most part, men have to come into a marriage, being more willing to compromise, you know, because we don't like to come because we used to— we stuck in our ways, we want to do it what we want to do. But to have a successful marriage, you have to learn how to compromise, you know what I'm saying? Doing some things that you would normally do if you were on your own or whatnot, you just gotta, you know, it's just the way it is, you know. And I might offend some of the brothers out here, you know, that may be listening when I say this Man, you gotta let a woman be a woman and let men stay in a man's place. Too many men are being in women places nowadays, trying to do women things.

And vice versa though, some women—

exactly—

we're just too manly for the man, you know. Let's just keep it real, right? So, and I had to learn that because when me and my husband went through that infidelity moment, we went through therapy because I wanted to leave, and God was like, you're not leaving. I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, right? So I was like, what do you mean I'm not leaving? I was really mad at God for not allowing me to divorce, right? But we went through therapy. We did the things we had to do. And I realized that I was being the man of the house, and I was emasculating him, right? Because I came into the relationship with a lot of baggage, and so did he. But my baggage was, ain't no man going to tell me what to do. You ain't going to be abusing me like my ex, and blah, blah, blah. And I came in with such a stank attitude, my husband did not find his way, his footing in the relationship because why should he? I was the man and the woman in the relationship, right? And I mean, I'm just keeping it real, right?

Yeah, yeah.

So we went to therapy. I'll never forget this. This is what started shifting me and realizing what God says about women submitting to men, but men treating women as if— loving the women as God loves the church. And then that's what started shifting the way I do things, because my attitude was like, I'm going to go do this, bye. You know, like no permission, no whatever. I'm not going to discuss it with you. This is not something we're going to talk about. And I realized that when my husband said, well, you don't let me lead. Like, we were in therapy, and I can't even tell you anything without you flipping. Of course, I flipped on him at the therapist. And they're both looking at me like, you see what he's talking about, right? But you know what I realized, CJ, that yes, I mean, Men do want to be a lot in women's spaces, but women want to be men too, and that is the problem. And I know that's not a popular way to look at things, but I don't care if it's popular or not. That's worked in my marriage. I put my husband in his right position, and he has put God in the right position, and that has helped our marriage.

You asked two things. One, I didn't want to ask you that when you told me at the beginning about the infidelity. I was going to ask you Was it something that you think that you may have brought to the table, you know what I'm saying, because of the situations that you had or whatever? And yes, and too, a lot of times too, men, when we do get women, like, we just don't stand up for ourselves, you know. We, you know, a lot of that's on us, you know what I'm saying. We tend to take the back seat, or, you know, it's fine to say, oh, well, you know, but go ahead, paint the house however you want to paint it, you know. Oh yeah, I love it, that's beautiful. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? But I want to be in there looking at— no, I don't want it this color, I want granite countertops. Come on, man, come on. You know what I'm saying? Now I'm trying to do too much in my space. But as far as, you know, you can only do what you allow somebody to do. And I can't— I can only allow my wife to boss me around unless I allow her to. Now there's certain things you just gotta put your foot down, be like, you know what, I'm not doing that, you know. Yeah, it is what it is. But even when we don't want to do things, I hate to say it, we still tend to wind up doing things that we don't want to do. Like, I don't do baby showers and they get mad at me about that. I don't do baby showers. You get mad?

Why don't you want, as a manly man, to be sitting in a baby shower? I wonder why.

Yeah, yeah, that's so funny. So let me ask you, uh, What inspired your transition from survival mode to becoming a transformational coach and entrepreneur?

You know, one of the biggest transitions I think for me was when I wrote my book. I knew that speaking my truth— this is my autobiography— I knew that it was going to hurt a lot of people, especially my family, because I'm going to be telling the truth. And in a Latino household, what happens in the household stays in the household. We don't talk about it. We don't tell anybody about it. We don't heal from it. We just sit in it. You know? And I decided I didn't want to live like that anymore. And I wanted to speak my voice. But it was a healing moment for me because going through that, I realized how much I needed to heal myself. I cried a lot writing the book. It was something that was very difficult for me. It was a very healing thing for me. And I realized that my story, when I wrote it, CJ, people were reading it and coming to me to tell me what they had gone through. That they never told anyone because it was embarrassing or their family didn't want to hear it or whatever the thing was. And that's what made me realize that these stories, CJ, your story, my story, is not for us. We're not supposed to be living these lives and going through these lessons and having these experiences and then just dying. That's not what it's about. I really believe that we are supposed to be taking that and helping another human. Helping someone else. And that's when I got into neuro-linguistic programming. And I already had already been in Christian leadership for a while. So it was like, kind of like meshing the two, like, what is the mind doing? How do we reframe things, all of that, and then it got into coaching, people kept coming to me about helping them with this and helping them with that. And before I knew it, I had a whole business going. So that's how that kind of evolved.

It's amazing.

Wow.

I was just talking to a young lady about this the other day that went through some internal illnesses and things of that nature. And, you know, she was talking about, you know, it's all in the mind. But it's amazing how he would take a person through so much and so many different things and so many trials and tribulations in life, and this way, that way, so much hurt and pain, only to bring you back full circle to take your pain, to take what you went through, to help others, you know what I'm saying, to get through that. Ain't that something? It's like, yeah, wow, God. But he know what he built you with. He know what he sent you forth with in the beginning, because everybody can't endure everything. Like, you know, back in the day, I really don't know if I could have survived those times, you know what I'm saying. That may not be for CJ, you know, but he built you the way that you are because he knew that once you came to grips with certain things, not only would you hold it for yourself, but you will be a testimony for others, you know, standing behind you. And that's the path that you are on now, man. I love it. Keep paying it forward, Nina, keep paying it forward.

100%. Like, you know, and because I've been an executive chef for many, many years, you know, I was like asking God, what do I do with all the skills that you've given me, God, you know, with Christian leadership and then NLP work and becoming a coach and all the things like, what am I doing? What is happening here? And that's why I'm, you know, right now actually in the midst of launching a whole new project. It's called the Purpose Filled Kitchen. And it's about faith, food, and, you know, community and all the things. And I can't wait, right? Because that's another way of taking what God has given you and nothing is lost. Nothing is for naught, right? I think everything that he gives us is for a purpose, a reason, a person, somebody we're supposed to meet. And, you know, just stop looking at the numbers. Stop looking at the numbers. Stop looking at how many followers you have. Stop, you know, stop, just stop. Because the only thing you need to do is have that vertical relationship with between you and God, have that vertical relationship, and then your horizontal relationships will follow. Right. So I think that's important.

It is. And I agree with you 100%. I got a lot of videos on YouTube, got a lot of videos out here. And I'm not really on social media like that. I don't, you know, like automate, you know what I'm saying, or whatever. I may go on there every now and then because I had to get out of that mindset of worrying about the numbers, worrying about who watching you, who not watching. Yeah, but I have learned that if there are certain people who are looking for you every day to put something out because you inspiring them— may not know who it is, it may be a family member. I like— I got one cousin, uh, uh, Cookie. Hey, shout out to Cookie. Cookie likes everything that I do, repost everything that I do, you know what I'm saying? On my father's side. And so if I— like you said earlier, we did it on your podcast, you said it, right? If it's that one person that I'm out there reaching, you know what I'm saying, then I've done my part. But like you say, the horizontal and the vertical— once everything catch up with everything, God gonna pave the way to do everything else. Just do what you I commissioned to do, you know what I'm saying?

100%. And start trusting him too. It's like, stop trusting on your own little knowledge. You think you all that? You ain't nothing. You know what I'm saying? We don't got every answer or anything, but he does. And if you start to like really seek the Lord with all your heart and understanding, ask him for wisdom and he'll grant it to you. He said he will give you the wisdom if you ask him for it. So let's just start asking him for that. Let's start asking him for connections, relationships, networks, whatever it is that it is that you think you need. But on the end, at the end of the day, CJ, the numbers don't matter. Like, I was talking to a person who's building her business, and she was saying, oh, but I only got, you know, 10 likes. I only got 10 likes. I said, okay. And she goes, that's terrible. I said, is it? Okay, so let's focus like this. You said you're doing it for service, right? She's like, yeah. I said, so what if you were making dinner and 10 people just knocked at your door and said, hey, can we come in and have dinner? Would that seem overwhelming, like a lot of people, or would that seem like, dang, I wish I had 30? Yeah, you know, and she's like, no, 10 is a lot. I'm like, oh, so 10 is a lot? Perspective, my dear, right? Because online, it doesn't mean anything. These are people just click like or whatever. It's the person who engages, is the person who wants to be there. And it's the person that you're reaching that matters. So if it's 1, great. If it's 10, fantastic. You know what I'm saying? If it's none, then you are putting out a service that you are reaching to God for. Let God handle the rest.

This episode is brought to you by CJ Moneyway Media. Where podcast ideas become platforms. Through the Moneyway Lab Masterclass, CJ shares real lessons from the lab for creators building their voices brick by brick. From powerful guest conversations, storytelling that inspires growth, CJ Moneyway Media is about one thing: building legacy through stories. Learn more at CJMoneyWay.com. Music style, music store. I like it. That is— and that's how it is. Like you said earlier, we could talk about so much stuff, you know, but let me ask you this, since you brought this up talking about your Purpose Model, let's talk about your Purpose by Design Model. How does it help women build kingdom businesses?

So what I do is me and the women get together, we do something called the foundation. So we talk about where is your faith lie? Where's your God-given talents and gifts? What are the skill sets that you've developed throughout your life, right? Because we have so many skills. And what is it that you really, you're passionate about and what you feel God is calling you to do? We break all of that down so that then we can talk about what does that look like in messaging? What does that look like, you know, with building your curriculum? What does that look like with reaching your audience? Who is your audience? Who do you want to speak to? So we talk about inner stuff too, because CJ, a lot of times we come to these things and we don't think we're good enough, smart enough, capable enough, whatever the enough lie is, right? And so even like people come to me and say, can you help me start a podcast? I just don't think I could. Why not? Just do one episode, just one. It'll lead to two, it'll lead to three, and so on. Stop trying to build the bridge already without even putting down the first brick. What are you doing? Right? So, we talk about that. We talk about mindset stuff, how to navigate all of that garbage because there's a lot of garbage, a lot of lies that we believe that are not true, right? And so, we dig into God's word and what does that mean for us and our purpose and our businesses. And then we get technical. So, how do we then build out your funnel system? How do we then build out everything? That's all technical stuff. But at the end of the day, I want people and women— I work with a lot of women— but I want people to understand that they are here on purpose for a purpose. What purpose is that? I don't know. But we all have different purposes, right? And like, some people are maybe just here to influence their family, their family unit. Maybe people are here to influence the world. And, you know, me and you spoke about something, and you talked about maybe God was saving you and protecting you from what it would have been to be a big basketball star, a big football star, right? And that is true, CJ, because if you stand back for a moment and realize how toxic all of that really is— like, I was supposed to be in a movie when I was a kid. I don't know if you remember the movie "Breakin'." I was supposed to be in that because I was a breakdancer, all the things.

Ah, get out of here.

Yeah, yeah. Yes.

I was like, really?

Yes. A lot of people don't know that, but it's true. And I sat back the other day because my kids, one is a music engineer, and one, he's into the high hospitality. He's an amazing singer. And I was sitting back, and I'm like, God, you protected us, didn't you? All the things that we thought, oh, I want to do that. I want to be in that whatever. And then I hear all of the things that are toxic that are coming out, like let's say from the Diddy trials, or Epstein, or all the things, right? I'm like, you just protected us. You watched over us. And here it is, we want these desires. And you're going, I don't want you to have that. Those things are not good for you. I want you to do this. But see, the world convinces you that if you don't have no money, you're nobody. If you're this kind of color, you're nobody. If you're not living in this place, you're nobody. And it's all bullcrap. It's all nothing, right? It's all lies. And we have to stop doing that to each other, CJ. We have to stop speaking things out of our mouth that should not be spoken. Because at the end of the day, I don't care who you are, your excuses will not save you. God said you will be accountable for every word that falls out of your lips, okay? So get it together, y'all. Get it together.

And I let enough words fall to the ground. I ain't like Samuel now, you know what I'm saying? I ain't got no virgin mouth. I've said my fair share of stuff, you know. Say some things. I'm not perfect, not on that level, but I like what you're doing, you know what I'm saying? And the things that you're saying is resonate not only with myself, and I hope that it resonates with the audience because this is from the heart. These are things that's happening to society, and in order for someone to see that, you have to reflect on yourself. As you said earlier, when I said that Some things may got derailed on purpose because— and what made me think about that, Nina, was this: because I was a fool without money. Without money, I was saying, yeah, yeah. Had I had money in the midst of that in my 20s, even if I had the job that I have right now, if I had the job that I had right now when I was in my 20s, just graduated, I'd have been fired from that because my mentality wasn't, you know what I'm saying, my maturity level wasn't there. I was just party, party, party, have fun, right? And regardless of how much you may tell your kids this, or our parents told us this, a lot of times you have to find things out the hard way on your own. You gotta have your own wilderness experience, you know what I'm saying? Man, sucks being alone out there by yourself, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. But that's where you learn how to call on the name of Jesus.

Amen to that.

Hey, so I know I can't say—

I used to love that song.

I'd be like your son right now, you know what I'm saying? But let me ask you, what's one common mindset barrier you see holding women back from their purpose and/or their calling?

You know, I think the deepest one is that they're not enough. Right? So they really don't think they're smart enough, an expert enough, maybe pretty enough, or that they can't— that their voice isn't important enough. It's always the enough thing that irritates me. Right? Because that's what they think. They really do believe that. Like, "Oh, I don't think I can do that. I don't think I know enough." You know more than the person that doesn't know at all. Like, you're good. You know? And like, and I think that's the, like, the biggest thing. And it's those ideals of what we're supposed to be doing in the world and We just stop ourselves because God gives you this idea, right? So God gives you this amazing idea. You're excited for a second. And then what do you do? You convince yourself out of it immediately, right? So God told me years ago I was supposed to start this YouTube channel, The Purpose Filled Kitchen, and do these cooking shows where I'm talking about God and faith and food and community and connection and the whole thing. I did it for a little bit, dropped it, eh, right? And now God has brought me all the way, after years, brought me all the way right back to where he started me. Why? Took the detour. I'm the one that decided that I was gonna do 40 years in the freaking wilderness instead of 11-day journey, right? Like, we are no different than the Israelites back then. We always think that we're smarter because we live in this world. You are not smarter. You're actually a little bit dumber because you're not even following God anymore. Like, like, you know, that— so that kind of thing. So it's the enough thing. And I always say to people, like, do you understand The power of what that meant, that the one sperm out of the 50,000 that come out, you made it to the egg. And like, you made it here, and you journeyed 9 months into a belly where God then birthed you. The truth of the matter is, is he knows every hair on our head, and the Bible says that he knows even the hair that falls off of our head. He knows who we are. And for you to think that you are not good enough, whatever the enough crap is that the world tells you, that means you're living more for the world than you're living for God. Start shifting your mindset and start understanding that whatever he's calling you to do— now, you may get it wrong, CJ, you may get it wrong, but that's okay. Get it wrong because what you're doing is you're trying to listen to God's voice and to guide yourself into what it is that he wants you to do. And you may get it wrong until you get it right, period.

I like it. I love it. You know, as much as I love my mother and I feel my mother love me, as much as, you know, I love my wife, I feel she loves me. Who loves us more than God? As you said, he knows the numbers of hairs we have in our head. My mother can't tell me how many hairs I have in my head, right? My wife can't tell me how many hairs I— but he loves us so much that he knows every detail about us. And to add on what you said, he knows our purpose, he knows our beginning, yes, our down sitting, and he knows our ending. Because the Bible say that he is the author and the finisher of our faith. And going back to them Israelites, going back to Israelites, quit complaining about every little thing that's going on in your life. They complained about water, Did you think that God was not gonna bring them out of the land and not give them water? Quit complaining about things that God has already set aside for you.

You're complaining about water when you walk through the ocean? Like, what is wrong with you? And that's the thing, like, we have been through so much already. All of us can tell you stories about our traumas and things we've gone through. And that's what I'm saying, like, you've already shown you can overcome things because you have already Right? And so to think you're not enough now, why? That's a lie from the pit of hell. It's a lie from the enemy. And how many people are in a graveyard right now with all their dreams with them? All their dreams went with them because they didn't do it. Why? Because of fear. Fear is an acronym, y'all. So when you look at fear, just say, you know what? I need to FACE and ELIMINATE all restrictions. That's what fear means. FACE and ELIMINATE all restrictions. Because if you got God, you got all things. And I get fearful too. Don't get me wrong. I mean, there's times I'm like, I don't know if I can. My husband's like, Girl, you always say that, and then you go and kill it. So just go kill it and stop. Just leave this part out of it and go do what you got to do. And I'm like, all right, you're right, you're right, you know. So I think community is also important, right, CJ? Like having people around you that will love, support you, and tell you the truth when you need to be told the truth. And also, you know, like really see the vision with you, you know, like people who really want to see the vision with you. Now make sure you tell the right people. Yeah, the Lord does say to not throw your pearls to the swine. Right? So when God gives you those pearls of wisdom, don't throw them to the swine. So be careful with that.

That was my father's favorite saying right there, you know what I'm saying? Be careful who you throw your pearls to because they will come up and devour. And like you say, and like I told you, my story is the Book of Joseph. You have to be careful who you tell your dreams to too because everybody is not happy for the direction that you going. Yeah, in life. But it's not that they left behind, it's just that God using Nina as a front runner. Because one thing that they didn't understand, and a lot of people that's connected to you, connected to me, and a lot of other people out here in society, a lot of people don't know that your destiny is tied into Nina's dream. But you want to kill Nina's dream, and so you're killing your own destiny. Right. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. And so we have to be bigger. And he has to get, you know, he gives us a broader thought process because everybody don't understand, you know, say, see the vision or know the path. But he gave it to Nina so that she can walk the path and that others can follow her, you know, saying, so she can show them the way. That's just how it is.

And Joseph, the Book of Joseph is a great book too, because it, you know, God won't be mocked, right? So it doesn't matter how much the enemy or others try to kill that dream. If God wants you for that purpose, now you're going to go through some stuff because Joseph went through some stuff, right? But then he was elevated, and when he was elevated, he then elevated his brothers, who then elevated his whole family and the, the whole generations after that. So, you know, just hold on, hold on, hold on. Don't be discouraged, don't be dismayed, you know what I'm saying? Just because you're going through something, so what? Everybody goes through something. It sucks, it's not fun, but start looking at it in a different way. Instead of, oh my world, my— just say, what am I supposed to pull out of this? You know, very quickly, I'll tell you about this one woman who came to me. She had lost her daughter, which is a huge, huge hurt to the heart, right? And her daughter had died because of some drunk driving and all that kind of stuff. And she was telling me about it. And it had been 5 years since her daughter had passed. And she said, "I wake up every day, Nina, and all I can think about is the anger and the rage I have over this incident, right? And I just don't know how to get through it." And I said, "Well, can I ask you a personal question?" She's like, "Sure." I said, "What good can come out of this?" And she goes, "Good!" And she got so mad at me. She goes, "How dare you? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." She hung up on me, the whole thing, right? 2 weeks later, she gets on the call with me and she's like, "I was so mad you. How dare you ask me to look at anything good from this? She said, until I couldn't stop thinking about that question. And she said, and I realized, my daughter, I've held her in that one-day phase as opposed to all the 18 years of beauty and life that she gave me. And then I started to pray, like, what good can come out of this? And she goes, and as angry as I am with you, Nina, what I'm going to do is I'm going to take my daughter's life and I'm going to make it something. So she ended up becoming— a person who talks at different high schools about drunk driving. So who knows how many lives that this woman has saved? And it was from something so horrible and horrific because that is never good to lose someone that you love. But how can God use that anyway? It already happened. So what can we do now to make that something useful for God?

Man, yeah. Like you said, we could talk forever, but I'mma let you go. Look at that. That's it. Isaiah, we go to Isaiah or something like that. He say the king Isaiah died. I saw the Lord. So let me ask you, Nina, I only got a couple more questions for you. I know we've been on here. We did the same thing on my podcast. I'm like, we'll be quick. No. Yeah, we've been together for a while now. So let me ask you, go ahead. So you talk about your culinary leadership and storytelling. You've also mentioned that you've mentored through food and hospitality. How do food, story, and business intersect with your work as of right now?

Mm, you know what? I'm doing something so phenomenal right now, CJ. So I've taken all of my years of being an executive chef and a culinary instructor, and I'm actually right now working with a nonprofit organization where I am serving the underserved community. I'm teaching them culinary, and then we're getting them jobs in the culinary field. So a lot of these people are unhoused, recovering addicts who are trying to change their life. All the things that the underserved community struggle with, not having enough, you know, those kind of things. And we are teaching them how to fish. So they come to the program, I teach them about their value, their worth, you know, who they are while we're learning culinary skills, training, and all of that stuff. And then we teach them, you know, we get them out there, we teach them how to do great interviews, how to get a good job, how to get their resumes out, blah, blah, blah. And then we help them find employment. And it's shifting their lives. Like, they find employment, they end up getting their own place to live, they have a purpose and a call. I mean, it is absolutely the most fun I am having. And I get to do that. I get to do that. And that's just a little bit of what I do. And then, of course, on the Purpose-Filled Kitchen is talking about life and love and God. And, you know, food has a way of bringing people together, even when they're in differences. Good food just kind of breaks that. You know, you have good conversation. You just love each other and culture and all of that stuff. So, yeah, food to me is a gift from God. And it's a gift for me to be able to use it to help others and to just be around other people. It's an amazing experience. I love it.

I love what you're doing.

So thank you.

Before we get out of here, where can we find all these amazing programs and the fishing and all this? You know, what can we find you?

I know I got a lot going on, guys. I know, I know. Okay, go to the Purpose Filled Kitchen on YouTube. That's launching soon. I don't know when the podcast will come out. So hopefully it'll be out by then.

But it's called the Purpose Filled Kitchen.

And you can find me anywhere, Straight Talk No Sugar Added, and Nina Perez, which is N-E-E-N-A-P-E-R-E-Z. If you put in my name anywhere, you'll find me everywhere, everywhere. So thank you, CJ. You are amazing, an amazing host. Y'all better go ahead and give him a 5-star. Make sure you review and rate and subscribe, because that's what helps podcasters like him who are out here telling real, true, authentic stories. That's what helps the channel grow. So do that for him, all right, y'all? Do it!

Do it. Do it. Well spoken. That's just like a veteran in the game. Hey, putting your boy on some game. So before we get out of here, one last thing. Give us one last nugget, something that's on your heart that you would like to share with the audience before we leave.

Listen, you are enough, right? So start looking for who you are in God first. Don't worry about what anybody else says, because once you get that solid, once you get that solid that you are created by the Heavenly God who loves and wants you to thrive and live on this earth the way he has created you, nobody else's opinion is going to matter. So make sure that you understand that you are more than enough for whatever it is God has created you to do.

I like it. I heard she said you are more than a conqueror. Hey, Nina, thank you for—

thank you—

boldly sharing your journey and for showing us what happens when faith meets strategy. To our listeners, grab Nina's book Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Tune into our podcast Straight Talk No Sugar Added where you can catch your boy CJ Moneyway on her show. We had a fabulous time on there and I would love for her to come on again and if she would ever invite me to her— heck yeah, we got a lot to talk about and we still got a lot to talk about and connect with her and learn how to step boldly into your calling. This episode is your reminder that your story is your superpower. Keep building brick by brick like my girl Nina. Until next time, it's your boy CJ Moneyway. We out of here. Peace. You've been listening to the CJ Moneyway Show, with real stories, real lessons, yeah, and real perspective come together. Remember, move with patience, move with purpose. That is the mindset of a Panther. Until next time, keep building your legacy brick by brick by brick by brick. Music style. If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening.

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