Kit Cummings with Power of Peace Project and Joanie Chamberland with Rise Up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon, and today’s episode is brought to you in part by our Community Partner program, the Business RadioX Main Street Warriors Defending Capitalism, promoting small business, and supporting our local community. For more information, go to. Main Street warriors.org. And a special note of thanks to our title sponsor for the Cherokee chapter of Main Street Warriors Diesel David, Inc. please go check them out at diesel. David. Dot com you guys are in for a real treat this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast, award winning author and teacher violence prevention specialist with Power of Peace Project, Mr. Kit Cummings. How are you, man? I’m good.

Kit Cummings: It’s good to see you again. Stone. It’s been a minute.

Stone Payton: Oh it has. What a delight to have you back on the show and to visit with us in studio. I got a ton of questions, kit. I know we’re not going to get to them all, but. But let’s start with a kind of a picture. Mission. Purpose. Tell us about power of a peace project and what you’re really out there trying to accomplish with that.

Kit Cummings: Absolutely. And thanks for having us. It’s good to be back. It’s always good to be invited back. You either did a good job the first time or they’re going to give you one more shot. That’s right. We’re not sure which one, but yeah, the Power of Peace project, um, it was born out of pain, really is what it was. Um, just a short little bit about me. So I was the least likely guy to become a preacher Growing up, I mean, nobody saw that coming. I was the other guy. I was wild, and, you know, addiction runs through my family line, and it did not miss me. And and so but I was I was a good athlete. But nobody saw that coming. About age of 25. Met a guy, changed my life and I fell in love. And I started following. And I started learning about things I didn’t know. And I stood on a stage one day and something magical happened in front of that audience. And it’s kind of like, I teach the kids that there’s a gift attached to your soul. We all carry a unique gift, and when it arrives, you know, be paying attention. And that happened to me that day is a light turned on inside of me. And I was like, I don’t know what that was, but I want to do it again.

Kit Cummings: And my nature is I don’t do anything a little bit. I’m all in, you know what I’m saying? I’m either trying to save the world or tear some stuff up. And so it’s like, which way am I going to go? And so, you know, I fell in love with God and I, and I went after it with all I had and I decided, man, if this is true, I got to tell the whole world about it. And I became a preacher. And turns out I had a gift. And, you know, my congregations grew. And then I got more, and then I got more. And by the time I was in my mid 30s, I was in charge of about 4000 people. And my dreams came true. And then it got heavy. And then that old nature, you know, came back around 40. And I had to, had to lose some things to find myself, and I really did. The old nature crept back up and I went through a really dark, tumultuous year where I walked away from the ministry, you know, went through a divorce, unfortunately. And, and then, you know, found freedom from that in 2005. And for me, it was finding sobriety. About one out of ten of your listeners have this genetic difference that I carry. And, and and it.

Stone Payton: Really is a genetic difference. It’s not all environment and culture and there really is a genetic.

Kit Cummings: Piece.

Stone Payton: To this appears.

Kit Cummings: To be. And I mean, it goes through my dad, his dad, his dad, me, you know what I’m saying? And so yeah. So anyway, I broke free in 2005, but then I was I was out of the, the full time ministry, and I was a preacher without a pulpit and I was sober, which was good. But it’s like, well, what am I going to do now? Like, what do you do when all your dreams come true and you have what you want? You found out your purpose in the world and then you squander it. That’s where I found myself. And so I was doing stuff. I was a mortgage banker, you know, and I don’t know, your your viewers can’t see me, but I certainly don’t look like a mortgage banker, whatever that looks like. No, no, no, no, no offense, but I did that. Did a little real estate, a little insurance, just kind of low barriers to entry jobs. Right. But I was dying because I didn’t have a dream. I was in a dreamless state of life and see. And that would lead me to what you know, we’re talking about today. But, um, I really I said a prayer and I meant it. And it was. It changed my life. I said, if you ever let me preach. The preach again, I’ll go to the ones that nobody wants to go to the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick and the prisoner. And I didn’t know what I was praying. It was just like, help me find my way back, I said, but maybe they’ll have me, because it’s not like, you know, a bunch of churches were out there, you know, with want ads for drunken fallen preachers, you know what I’m saying? It’s kind of like I figured I was canceled, I was disqualified, um, but I wasn’t he wasn’t done with me.

Kit Cummings: And so I prayed that prayer, and I stayed sober and started working, and I got married again and really just trying to rebuild my life. And and then that prayer showed up, and it came in the form of a kid that I knew when he was a little boy. Little boy, 12, 13. I mentored him and one of these big churches I was leading, and he’d come up after I preached Mr. Kidd, Mr. Kidd, and he’d tell me what he learned. And, you know, he became my little brother. And then years later, he’s 25 and he’s in big trouble. And he’s looking at a gang related murder charge and a potential death penalty. And this is my little friend Louise. Yeah, it was real. So I started working with him, not realizing that I was walking into that prayer. Yeah, I was I was working with, you know, what he called the least of these. And so I just. Nobody asked me, man, are you willing to work with high level gang leaders? Are you willing to work with these killers? It was it was a young man that I knew, and that was what it was. And so I worked with him for two years, and that set me up when I was invited to go into my first prison. I’ve been in over 100 of them, 100 prisons, jails, detention centers across the country, four continents. The incarcerated became my life.

Kit Cummings: So when I was when I was invited to my very first prison, which happened to be the prison that was the most dangerous in the state of Georgia, I was excited because of my work with Louise, and the same thing that happened on that stage that day. It happened when I walked into that facility. Something turned on and a fire started burning and it never has gone out. So I took that one idea and I started working with some very, very tough guys, and I had a gift. And so then I formed a nonprofit in 2011, and I thought it was going to be about prisons, bringing, you know, prison reform and helping guys break free. Um, but the more that I did it and the more that I was out there, it became about the kids. And so I took a I wrote I published six books, and I think the, I don’t know, 2 or 3 books ago, I wrote a book called Protect the Dream and, and we took that and started working with kids in schools and tried to help kids. And we’re basically working with the ones that that we’re afraid of, worried about, mad at, you know, in today’s world, you know, in the inner city, it’s crime, violence, homicide, gangs. We do work in those places. But in the suburbs it’s self-harm, overdose and suicide. So we’re losing kids. I mean, this generation is in great danger And so I shifted my focus, especially post-pandemic. And we really began to scale the program in the schools. And that’s how I met this young lady, Jojo. Joanne, you probably know her as. Yeah.

Stone Payton: Tell us about Jojo. How did that come together? She.

Kit Cummings: I was speaking at an event in Kennesaw, and, you know, afterwards, you’re kind of meeting and greeting people coming up to you. I had done a keynote, and and she stood in front of me, and I don’t remember what she said, but it’s basically, I want to help. What can you do? You know what I’m saying? I mean, she wasn’t playing, and I was like, I was impressed. And I gave her my card and I said, all right, here, hit me up if you’re serious. And she did. And and our team just fell in love with her. And she, she works with kids. She’s a Brazilian jiu jitsu. I can’t cuss I was going to say bad. She’s she’s bad. But but her skill set and her talent just fit very well with what we’re trying to do with these kids in the schools. And so we brought her on and here she is, and she brought me back to you.

Stone Payton: So, Joanie, what was it that Kit said or did that compelled you to walk up to him and and make that kind of declaration?

Joanie Chamberland: I mean, honestly, if you’ve ever seen Kit speak, you have to you have to be there. It’s it’s an entire experience, right? It’s not like he’s saying this stuff in like, cool. This guy has good points. He just starts talking and you’re like, like everybody in the room was. It was like a roller coaster ride to go talk to Kit afterwards. Like everybody lined up. And I was like, okay, I guess I’ll just wait till the end. And I’m like, I don’t have a problem speaking to people. But I went up and I’m like, um, so, uh, you know, okay, it wasn’t that bad. But I went up to him. I was like, listen, I have no idea how we can work together. But I always had this idea of helping, you know, kids of abuse and doing a jiu jitsu class. And I don’t know what you do exactly, but, like, I just knew I had to speak to you, and it just kind of was that way. He gave me his card and I was like, you know, either he responds to me or doesn’t. And then, of course he did. So I just continued. We had a whole talk and I was like, guys, I have no We met with another team member, Tony, and I was like, I don’t have a plan. I was like, I’ve been, you know, trying to follow this thing of like, you know, just having faith in, like, I had this, go talk to this guy. Cool. Go and talk with him. And I sit down with them and I’m like, I got nothing. I got no plan. It was just I was, I had this I had to go talk with you. And Kit left going like, well, hopefully we can win, win this. And then, um, talk to me the next day and was like, hey, some other team members want to meet you. So it was like there was really no plan. It was just like, I have to talk to this guy, so I’m going to do that.

Stone Payton: So at this point, though, there is some structure, some discipline, some rigor, there is a plan and you are doing some of this work you described, uh, walk us through a day in the life of Giovanni with that hat on serving this constituency.

Joanie Chamberland: So, uh, I mean, honestly, it’s something I had no idea that I would be doing. People had been telling me like, oh, you’ll you’ll be speaking soon. And I was like, I don’t I don’t even know what that means. And for those of you all that don’t know, I teach jiu jitsu and I’ve been doing it for 13 years and I have a leadership program, so I’ve have already been doing stuff where I’m helping kids grow. I’m helping adults learn how to grow. I’m helping them grow together. And so when he told me about the program in the schools, I was like, okay, I resonate with this. And then I, um, before I went to travel, Kit handed me the Protected Dream book. So I read that when I was in the plane and I was like, this is something I really, you know, align with and I can really get behind. And so since then it was we, you know, we meet, we talk about everything, figure out how we’re going to bring it in the schools. And so like every day it’s just me. I’m I went through the program myself. I took a student through it. And it’s just something that’s like it just changes you every day, right? So the everyday life is, is the same as what I was already doing. Right? Because a lot of the stuff I get to do for them is personal growth, is learning how to help others grow. So I was already doing it, but now I, you know, get to do it for a job, not just like a side thing that I do for fun. So not too much has changed. But it’s it’s a really big growth journey for sure.

Stone Payton: So are you going in inside the schools? Are the kids coming to your facility? A little bit of both. What’s the logistics look like?

Joanie Chamberland: So we’re going into the schools right now. We’re in Osborne High School. We’re doing the soccer, baseball, athletic leadership council and looking at women’s wrestling. Correct? Correct. Yep. So we go there and right now kids been heading it because I’ve never run the program before. So we’re kind of learning from him and just speaking a little bit as he’s going to be teaching us how to do this, protect the dream program.

Stone Payton: So you’re going to try to replicate what you’re doing. Of course, Johnny will have to make it her own when she’s the one delivering this message, but you’ll give her some structure and some to kind of get her ramped up.

Kit Cummings: Yeah, absolutely. And she’s built for it because she’s already been in front of kids. You know, she’s used to leading I love and then this other the other young brother, I say young, they’re in their early 30s. Yeah. They’re all young now aren’t they. Kids. But anyway, he happens to be a Brazilian jiu jitsu guy, so. But but it works well because what we do is well, we operate in schools, juvenile courts, juvenile detention Centers partner with law enforcement. So we’re helping kids that are getting in trouble and really trying to catch them before they make that choice. You know what I’m saying? To put that pill in their mouth that could have fentanyl in it. You know, for when they start getting dark and having those self-harm thoughts. We want to be there. We kids need a place to belong. And so we’re trying to catch them before, during and after. You know, they’ve gotten in some trouble, right. Um, but the whole combat sport arena fits really well because ours is a lot about the mental game. And so we start with the student athlete in high school. Could typically he or she has the most influence. People watch what they do. They become the trendsetters right in that school. Unfortunately, a lot of the most popular kids are driving some of the worst behaviors. It’s just, you know what I’m saying?

Stone Payton: Oh, that’s a good I hadn’t thought about that. But you’re absolutely.

Kit Cummings: Right. Right. So like in a and I learned this in the prisons, if I’m going to affect I’m going to try to bring peace to violent prisons. I got to work with the gang leaders. I mean, that’s the only shot is you got to. You got to work with those that are running things. So in the high schools, I’m like, I’m gonna start with football. And I developed this program called Protect the Dream. And then we started branching it off. And it is for all kids. We just kind of lead with, you know, the ones that have the most say so. And it’s about character and leadership development. The whole concept is when a person has a dream that really starts in the soul, goes to the heart, then to the mind, then we begin to express and we create, you know, we imagine and vision our dreams. And these kids have never been taught how to dream, right? How do you design a dream? How do you manifest it? And then how do you protect it? And so this generation, they ain’t all about don’t do this. It’s like, don’t drink that, don’t smoke that, don’t pop that, don’t listen to that. Pull up your pants. Get off the phone. It’s like they’re just like womp womp womp. They’re not trying to hear that. So I figured out, well, what if we focus on what they want? Like, what do you really want? Like, what do you want? Hard and they didn’t have an answer. I mean, half of them are like, I’m going to go to the league. And I’m like, dude, you’re not even starting on your high school, you know, football team. You’re going to go to the league, you know, or I’m going to be a rapper.

Kit Cummings: It’s like really just because, you know, some songs you think you can rap and this generation wants things right here, right now. They don’t know anything about delayed gratification. So dreaming is a new thing for them. But here’s what I found. The bigger the dream, the stronger the pull. Right? When somebody has a big dream, it pulls you through things. You’ll say no to things that trip other people up. You’ll say yes to things that might scare you a little bit. Right? And so that attraction, the big thing, always pulls the small thing. And once you develop that dream, well, then if it’s a valuable dream, like, I want to be the first one to go to college in my family, or I want to get a D1 scholarship, or I want to start my own business, I want to go on to Peace Corps. I don’t care something bigger than yourself that’s worth protecting. And then the game flips to now you got to become a dream protector. What is your threat? So we have seven dream killers. And this is what Jojo and Tony are learning how to facilitate. We talk about irresponsible social media. We talk about drug and alcohol abuse. We talk about bullying. We talk about objectifying the opposite sex or the same sex using people. We talk about unhealthy relationships and disrespect of authority, lowering scholastic standards, things that can shipwreck a dream. If you don’t have a dream, then anything that’s bright and shiny will get your attention. Once you have that dream. Now it’s a matter of how do I get there? And what are the threats and how do I manage them?

Stone Payton: What a marvelous frame. Because the whole time you were talking a moment ago, I’m thinking to myself, man, what a tough crowd. You know, I’ve had a little experience doing some public speaking and facilitation work with people who have written a check and want to learn more about leadership or sales. But I can’t imagine walking into, you know, to try to have a conversation with a group of people who are really running things at the prison. You know, the gang leaders or these or these kids, but that’s the ticket. That’s the foundational piece is the that lens. You have them looking through that frame of of identifying a dream and then protecting it from all of those things that can that’s it.

Kit Cummings: That’s the game. And you’re right. It was like the, the, the laboratory that I learned in was just the toughest. I mean, I’m dealing with hardcore gang leaders tats on their face, cartel guys in Tijuana when you when you try to I mean and those were powerful times. I did a lot of foreign prisons, but Mexican prisons, I’d really dug deep in. Everybody has a dream inside of them. It’s a matter of tapping into it. Yeah. So whether it was doing life sentence or I’ve even worked on death row, I’m trying to tap into what do you love and what could you do if you gave it all your heart? You know what I’m saying? And once I learned how to work with them, people were like, oh man, these teens are hard. I’ll have principals saying, don’t worry if they don’t listen to you. And I’m like, bro, you don’t even know It’s like this is cupcake right here.

Stone Payton: So now in this new chapter with this focus on the on the the youth. What, uh, what are you finding the most rewarding about the work? What’s the most fun about it for you these days?

Kit Cummings: It’s watching a young person begin to walk into their dream and live it. I mean, we’re we’re blessed to have a few of our protected dream kids that we met when they were sophomores, juniors, and were starting to dream and had some talent that are now playing football on Sundays. We’ve got a wonderful kid, one of the best kids I ever coached. B.j. Ojulari plays for the Arizona Cardinals. Um, Myles Murphy plays for Cincinnati. Brother named Chig. That’s incredible. Plays for the Titans. And now they’re becoming spokespersons for pop. You know pop is what they call us. Power of peace prize. Oh, okay. The kids know us is pop. They kind of like that. And so but it’s it’s seeing these kids kind of become and walk into that dream. And then we get to to stand back and applaud, you know what I’m saying? I mean, kids are very impressionable. They just need new impressions. And I found I need people like Jojo. I need young ones. You know what I’m saying? Because one of these days, I’m gonna have to lay it down. You know what I’m saying? And I don’t want my work to die with me. So we got to find the next generation, and that’s what we’re doing.

Stone Payton: So I don’t know the first thing about Brazilian jiu jitsu, but I gotta believe that there are some tenets of that discipline that apply so very well and fit well within this frame that you’re talking about, that, that they really do resonate with you. Giovanni.

Joanie Chamberland: Yeah. So, you know, it’s interesting. I’m listening to kid talk going like what he does is he awakens people’s subconscious because it’s like I’m sitting here thinking about it and I’m like, why didn’t I do all this stuff that I could have done? And it’s like, yeah, I the thing I always told people is like, man, I had the opportunity when I was in, in college, high school, everybody was drinking around me. I didn’t drink, everybody was doing drugs around me. I didn’t do drugs. And it’s just like, and what did I tell people? I got jiu jitsu in the morning. And it’s like legitimately, that is why I didn’t do it. I’m like, I gotta finish college because I don’t want to go, well, I’m 40 working at McDonald’s because I didn’t want to go to school because that is really what I felt. I did not want to go to school, so I did it anyway. And I was doing jiu jitsu at the time, and I made, you know, my school schedule around jiu jitsu because I jiu jitsu was that thing I just loved doing. Like everything else has bored me in my life. But jiu jitsu is the thing that like, no matter how much I do it, it’s still just constantly learning stuff. So I’m going, oh yeah, that was that dream. I didn’t even know. Nobody had those words to say to me of like, oh, what’s this dream that you have inside you? Right? It’s just, that was just it. I just look at people like, no, I y’all can stay up late. But I got to go to bed. I got to get trained tomorrow. I can’t train unless I get this homework done. So I got to get my homework done. So it’s like so many opportunities to do the wrong thing that I didn’t do literally because jiu jitsu.

Kit Cummings: She had something to protect. That’s the thing, something valuable. And that’s what these kids lack. I tell Jojo and Tony. Um, I what? I love that we’re going to be able to teach these kids, and I tell them we’re working with kids. Yesterday is like, everybody has a line out in front of them, and this is when I quit. All right, all of us. Do you know what I’m saying? Pushed hard enough. We have the time, we tap out. And so. And that’s their whole world. So I’m trying to think of. Okay, these kids, a lot of them, they just quit when it gets hard, whether it be the school or whether it be suffering, you know, trauma comes into the life. There’s a lot of things. Storms come. And what does it take to make you quit? Well, these guys are doing combat sports where when they’re gassed and their body is done and their brain is trying to get them to submit, they can’t you can’t just walk in and have a bad day, you know what I’m saying? Or I didn’t really bring it because you’ll get your butt kicked with the way they do it.

Kit Cummings: So I feel like their line is way out in front of them, farther than the typical person about when they quit. And that really bleeds into everything in your life. If you can get kids to chase something that’s valuable. She said she would say no to drinking. Why? Because I got to get up and train, give kids something, a reason to say no, you know, to the things that are coming at them, which is there’s more and more being bombarded on these kids threats, you know, temptations, risks. And so we can take a lot of what comes so natural to somebody that’s been doing this for 16 years and also brag about Jojo. She’s the only female owned Brazilian jiu jitsu gym in the state of Georgia, so she’s very good at what she does. But it’s hard to get her to tap out in life, and that’s what we’re trying to teach these kids. Do not quit. Ever, ever, ever dream big. It’s worth it. Suffer. Grind it. Pain is good. You know? That’s everything that these guys do. I admire it.

Stone Payton: So one of the terms that comes to mind for me is resilience. And my father was a high school basketball coach when I was a young kid, and it was a fairy tale childhood. I mean, it’s pretty cool to be, you know, the head coach’s son. It was it was a neat childhood but I do. And I never got really good at sports, but I was around it enough and played enough that I feel like I picked up some some pretty good characteristics that have served me all the way through my life, and I feel like one of them is I learned how to win, but I also learned how to get knocked down and get back up. And I sense that that’s a that’s a very important piece to all of this, is to not just tell them about that, but give them experiences to to experience to do that. Yeah.

Kit Cummings: That’s it.

Joanie Chamberland: To answer the question that you had asked originally is with jiu jitsu, it’s such a parallel to life in general, because people have been asking me this for a while and trying to come up with how to really phrase this, just like life, right? In jiu jitsu. Like you’ll be winning, winning, winning. And then one day you walk in and like, you’re losing, losing, losing. And you’re like, what’s going on, right? In life, you’re you’re winning and winning. Winning. And all of a sudden something hits you and you’re like, what is going on? And it’s just like, man, you walk in the room that day and maybe you’re on your B game and that person that you’re constantly beating is on their A game. You don’t know. Maybe they’ve been on their C game for so long and the second they step into their A game. Your A game doesn’t beat their A game. So it’s just this constant like you’re getting knocked down. You’re up, you’re down, you’re up, you’re down. And it’s just this thing of like you just don’t realize like that’s one of my favorite things. Teaching jiu jitsu is these kids that come in, they’re like, well, I can’t do that and I can’t do this thing. And people don’t take enough time ever. Looking back, I had a girl who could not do a forward roll, she could not forward roll. And, um, one day I looked back and I told her, I’m like, take a breath, we’re going to roll through this. We do it. She does her forward roll.

Joanie Chamberland: And then, you know, a few months go by and she’s forward rolling with everybody. And I looked at her. I said, do you remember less than a year ago we were sitting in here and you’re crying, tell me that you’re never going to do a forward roll. And she’s like, I never said that kind of look. And she’s like, oh my gosh, no, I did. It’s just like there’s so many things that we’re capable of doing that we don’t realize. And I think Darren Hardy did a good job explaining this where he’s like, well, he looked at a room and he said, okay, everybody raise your hand as high as you can, right? So everybody raises their hand and then he goes, cool. Now raise it higher. And then everybody raises it higher. And he’s like, all right, I’ll give $500 to the person who raises their hand the highest. And then they do it again. And he’s like, this literally shows you what was the first thing I asked. Raise your highest, your hand as high as you can. And then somehow when I said to you, now raise it higher, you did. So it just literally proves to you right there. It’s that simple. Just like a we need people that come in and tell you that you can raise it higher and that show you that, and then you go, oh, look at that. You’re touching the ceiling now. Because what you got innovative, you got on a chair. You stood up, you went and you touched the ceiling because you want that thing.

Joanie Chamberland: So it’s like we all have these limits. We think, oh, well, this is as high as I can raise it, but I’m still sitting down. As soon as I stand up, my hand goes higher. So that’s the thing that we do with this, right? Is it’s showing them that’s what jiu jitsu does. It shows you all the time. Oh you think you can’t breathe here? Like, nah, all you got to do is just turn a little bit and you’re fine. Right. So that’s I think that aspect to that jiu jitsu brings into protected dream is it’s like, man, you’re constantly in these super awkward, uncomfortable. I show kids jiu jitsu in middle school and they’re like, you want us here? And it’s like, you guys are hugging each other and you’re upset because I want you to hold this person. And it’s just like, yeah, because it’s awkward. It’s uncomfortable. You’re not used to doing that thing. Well, guess what? You still have to. I mean, I remember being a white belt, and this was one of the few things I remember as a white belt is I we were doing bridging and shrimping, which are very fundamental movements of jiu jitsu. And I was like, if somebody looks in this window right now, they’re gonna be like, what are these crazy people doing? Like, it just looks insane. But then it’s like when you see that in action, most important movements you could ever make. So it’s doing these things that feel uncomfortable and realizing what they bring to the table.

Stone Payton: So you’re doing the jiu jitsu, you’re teaching all these lessons. And by virtue of of engaging in these activities, they’re picking up these lessons. And there’s also you’re facilitating some are you also sitting down with them and facilitating some conversations Is not unlike the one that we’re having right now. It’s both of those things.

Joanie Chamberland: At my gym, yes. And I. And in the program as well, because we go there weekly to work with them. So they have in the book daily things and actions that they do. And then we meet with them weekly and we talk about like what happened in that week. There’s questions that we posed to them based on these dream killers. And we really like, listen, you know, what they come up with. And it’s it’s super cool because I brought Kaylee, which is my main student, through the program before doing it with Kit and just listening to how she sees and thinks about it. She even was like, I didn’t know anything about Kit or the program, and I really decided to do it because you said Kit was so great. This program is great, so I’m gonna give it a try. And I thought, I don’t know how it’s going to help the kids in my school. And she’s like, I’m just reading this going like, yeah, everybody should do this program. You know? She’s like, it’s just these little changes that are happening inside of you.

Stone Payton: So the speaking, did that come really easy to you right out of the box, or did you put some real effort into studying some mechanics to deliver a message on stage really well or a little bit of both.

Kit Cummings: It was. It was just natural to me. It was like I it was like I was supposed to do it and I knew what to do. And obviously I’ve worked on my craft. You know what I’m saying? I always am. You know, you can always, you know, raise.

Stone Payton: Your hand higher.

Kit Cummings: Right? That’s exactly right.

Stone Payton: That’s right.

Kit Cummings: But but yeah, it was something that, um, that became my passion. And I just loved it. It’s a it’s in a in a good way. It’s intoxicating. You know, the connection that you can develop with an audience or an individual if you speak into them. And that’s what these kids don’t have. They don’t they don’t have people speaking to them and into them. It’s more speaking at them and not listening. And so we give them a platform to share. I mean, these kids are hurting. That’s why they’re doing the things they do. And that’s what I did. That’s what’s cool about our team. Jojo is probably the one that’s done the least damage in life, you know?

Stone Payton: No, you’ve got real street cred when you’re talking to these folks, don’t you?

Kit Cummings: Like you don’t even know you know, all the dream killers, man, I experienced all of them. So I speak from a place of experience and just not just the people I’ve helped in these crazy situations, but all the poor choices I made. Now the curse becomes a blessing. And so, you know, all the things that that are regrets or you’re ashamed of or the bad choices, they can all become a blessing if you turn them around. And so it’s like, tell us about yourself, kid. I told you my worst stuff up front. I led with it. Right, right. My failure. You know, my worst day. And and I do. I want people to to realize that man failures are not final. Your best days are ahead. I don’t care how old you are, but it’s all about dreams. Dreaming is so powerful. When Doctor King, he took that word that the day before. You know, I mean August. Yeah, that.

Stone Payton: Was like a late edit, wasn’t it?

Kit Cummings: Right? I mean, August 27th, you know, before his speech, you know, tell us about your dream. Well, I don’t I don’t remember my dreams, you know, dreaming at night when he said, I have a dream, he took that word and he electrified it. And he gave the nation a vision when they were in a hopeless state about what we could be. And we’re still chasing it. But the same is true. I think a dream lives in the soul and it’s it’s awakened. And that’s our job, is to awaken the dream. Just like Jojo was talking about inside of every one of us. And it could be. It is different for every one of us. I mean, your gift is different than mine and JoJo’s, sure, but this young generation, man, they they are easily inspired if we are authentic with them. I’ll share about my worst days and that helps them trust me. You know what I’m saying? I asked them questions and actively listen. And they feel understood and. And they laugh because they know I’m an older dude, but I act like them. You know, I mean, I become them and they keep me young. That’s why I’m Benjamin Button.

Stone Payton: Sounds like pop has at least a double meaning, right? Yeah.

Kit Cummings: That’s true. They were trying to guess my age yesterday, man. It was fun.

Stone Payton: So how about the writing? Did it come as easy or did? Was that a little bit of a struggle when you started writing the books? Definitely it was.

Kit Cummings: It was one was harder. Yeah. They say if you can communicate, if you’re an effective communicator, you know, good speaker that riding, you know, a lot of times you can do that too. But I read my first book, the one I released my first book in 2010, and I’m like, I don’t even sell that. I don’t want to be with you. It was great content, but I hadn’t learned how to write, and I think I haven’t even got close to to where, you know, I could be with it. Yeah.

Stone Payton: So the structure of this book that’s sitting over there by by your arm. Jojo, tell us about that. Walk us through it a little bit about the kind of content that’s in there and how you use it to serve these kids, and they all get a copy, it sounds like. Yes.

Joanie Chamberland: Correct. So it’s, um, it’s kind of like a journal, I’d say. Okay. Uh, he introduces, you know, how how pop came to be and tells you about some, you know, some of the stuff that’s happened with pop and through pop, it talks about the dream killers. Um, and then one of my favorite things. Halt. And, uh. And then he goes through. And every week he’s got, uh, like, a local flavors, what he calls it. Because Kit is from from Georgia. And so there’s coaches that are from here, from Georgia. And then he talks about, you know, their quotes. And then after that, every day we have one of the like, famous, you know, best athletes that we’ve heard about. And he gives two of their quotes, his perspective on kind of that area. And then the fascinating facts, I think is one of the greatest things that he does through there, where he gives you the things we kind of already know. We can look up, you know, their, their achievements. But this thing that you didn’t really know about them that links in with the message of their quote or his perspective on it to make you think about it. And then there’s a daily action challenge where they have to do different things. Um, some days it’s, you know, help somebody out on your team. Some days it’s, you know, do one more. Some days it’s, you know, look at people that you care about. Give them a hug.

Joanie Chamberland: Thank, you know, whatever things. And every week there’s this caution flag, which is something that Kaley really enjoyed, where it’s just like, you know, pay attention to how much they talk about weapons in in your music today. They’ll do anything with it. Just be aware of it. And, you know, like I’m saying, he awakens that thing in you, right? And that’s the thing is the awareness piece. And so it’s it’s opening your eyes and making you become aware. And it takes at max five minutes a day. I’m a slow reader and it takes about five minutes a day to really sit there. You read it and I think Kaley, she was doing it at night so that she knew the next day what her action challenge was going to be, because if you read it kind of in the middle of the day, you don’t have a chance to do it. So as long as you’re doing it at night, in the morning, but it just leaves that thing in your mind, and it’s so many times you come back and look at it and you’re like, wow, this thing happened in my lap today. And it’s like, no, because you put it out there. So that thing happens. And so it’s like just yeah, every day dreaming while you’re awake is what I would say this kind of does for you. And you’re just constantly relooking at the stuff and making it the forefront of your thoughts.

Stone Payton: So I’m not a troubled teen. I may be troubled in ways I don’t recognize, but I’m definitely not a teen. But I want a book. I mean, I want to buy a book because I feel like I would would benefit from it and people around me would would benefit from it. What? What do you guys need more of? How can we help?

Kit Cummings: Um, we’re I mean, we’re a nonprofit. Okay. You know what I’m saying? So funding is always, always have to find partners that believe in what we’re doing. And I think fundraising is about inspiring. Trust that people believe in you and believe in what you’re doing. I think everybody looks around in today’s Gen Z, and then the Alpha generation is coming after them, the little brothers and sisters of our teenagers and and young 20s, and we’re concerned. I mean, a lot of it has to do with the devices in their hands and all the threats that come with that. But but basically, it’s a generation that is facing more threats and they’re bombarded with so much. They’re listening to gangsta rap, they’re playing Grand Theft Auto, you know everything is is sexual. I mean, it’s like younger and younger kids are being exposed to things that we didn’t see until we were in our teens or later. And now the sudden these young minds, they need new content. So what we do is we provide daily content that’s positive and motivational, instructional, and then the challenges gets it out of their head and into their life, and they have to actually put it into action, which is how we create habits. And then we drill down deep into the things that could threaten their, their dreams. And so everybody, you would love it and we’d love to get you a book. But no, but if you go through the process, it will impact you. It’ll change some things, I’ll bet.

Stone Payton: So funding. Let’s talk about funding. Is there a mechanism to just simply donate money? Is there fundraising programs, events, that kind of thing? Speak to that a little bit?

Kit Cummings: Absolutely. Some people that are listening might just care because they’ve had someone they love or someone that that they know, you know, has family that have tragically died of an accidental death, an overdose, died by suicide, you know, or got incarcerated. It hits home and some people have resources and they love to to donate to a cause. They can simply go to Power of Peace. Project.com. And feel free to donate. We’re looking for corporate sponsors. So when we have an event like the one we’re coming up in December 5th on the square in Marietta, we’re going to have tables that corporate sponsors purchase. So if you want to have your name tied to something that’s positive for our youth, partner with us, I mean volunteer, you know what I’m saying? There’s a lot of ways or if you’re out there in the in the grant world, we’re always looking for granters, you know, people, benefactors that can help us.

Stone Payton: Fantastic.

Joanie Chamberland: We do a corporate nights at restaurants, too. Yeah. So there’s a restaurant, um, Three Amigos, and we’re doing it every other month. So the next one, I believe, is October 12th or 14th, whatever that Tuesday night is, it’s a Monday night. Uh, I will get you all that information, but basically a part of the proceeds that day. Anybody who goes there to eat that night, all you got to do is drop your receipt in and they’ll give a percentage of the proceeds to Power of Peace. So you’ll see us out there and we’ll have those, those events up. But so we’re doing or if you own a restaurant and you want to do that with us like a spirit night or a business and you’d like to have a spirit night, that’s another way that can be very helpful for us with fundraising.

Kit Cummings: Something else that we do that’s really catching on is we do events where it’s cops versus kids because you talk about, you know, natural rivals nowadays. It’s like, yeah, the police officers and young people, it’s it’s it’s dangerous out there. And so we’ll we’ll put on cornhole tournaments. We’re doing a kickball game with some of the student athletes at Osborne against Cobb County Police. And then we’ll just have a lot of people come out and cook out and make it a big time. Um, so we get creative to bring people together, whether it be the popular and unpopular kids, whether it be rival gangs, because we I still do work in the juvenile facilities, and there’s a lot of gang affiliated kids, or if it happens to be our fine men and women in blue trying to because they need that. I mean, they really need ways to connect with the community, and we provide that.

Stone Payton: They do. And I got to believe that there’s, um, there’s room for acquiring a body of knowledge as a parent, a grandparent, an uncle, you know, a sister in law that would help us utilize some of these strategies and, you know, in helping to raise someone in our family. Right. Big time. This is really important stuff. So just to get your hands on that book or to tap into your work and, and see and hear what you’re doing, I got to believe you would walk away with some ideas to impact the kids lives or anyone who’s who’s troubled. In fact, in a lot of our interviews, I will often ask the guest to share a couple of actionable kind of pro tips. You know, like just some things to be thinking about, reading some, you know, a do a don’t. I’d love it if we could leave. You know the layperson, right? That’s not in the trenches like you guys are doing it, but that, you know, the parent or grandparent. Just a couple of things to keep in mind who are trying to impact kids lives. I’d love to leave them with a couple of. And look, the number one pro tip is to tap into this work that Jojo and Kent are doing and get to know what they’re doing. But yeah, a couple ideas on that.

Kit Cummings: Yeah, we teach a lot of what we do is I take brain science and I kind of I dumb it down a little bit because I started in some very tough facilities where maybe education level is not super high or with younger kids. And so we teach some basic elements of brain science about be careful of the content. I mean, your brain, who I call uncle G. We make it fun for the kids. The original Google, the original GH, and the original gangster if you don’t pay attention to him. Um, but anyway, he’s a learning machine. Everything you look at today, everything you touch, taste, feel, smell, experience, everything you speak about, everything you hear, everything you read, whether it be the the EarPods and what you’re listening to or what your eyes are visualizing, it’s all content that is wiring your brain. Whatever you do today is going to be easier tomorrow. And so it’s all about content. The brain is a learning machine. It’s learning everything we do today. It’s going to be easier to do it tomorrow. That’s a blessing or a curse, right? Right.

Kit Cummings: Also, uncle G is a storyteller. Okay. So all day long, it’s the voice in the head that’s chattering mindlessly. Just. And if we don’t get involved in the conversation, then it is. It’s being wired on our behalf. And so it’s a storyteller. It’s a it’s a learning machine. And he’s also a chemist and a dealer and a junkie. I mean, all this chemistry, whether it be adrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, all is triggered by what’s going on in our head. So what we get people to do, whether it be old, young, whatever is pay attention to the voice in the head, get involved in the conversation and get intentional goal setting is huge. Don’t just make the goal. Make it a Smart goal. Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Time bound. Review your goals every day. Make sure Uncle G’s know what you want. He can find you what you want. Just like Google, he can take you where you want to go, just like GPS. But if you leave him alone, he’s going to run the show. I don’t know if that’s a that’s a.

Stone Payton: Fantastic pro-tip, and I love the way you frame everything you’ve been describing today. And now I’m going to walk out just thinking about uncle G. That’s my biggest takeaway. And it is so true.

Kit Cummings: Pay attention to uncle G man.

Stone Payton: All right. Let’s leave our listeners with some coordinates. Yeah. Go ahead.

Joanie Chamberland: Well, I want to give one on the other end is, um, for, for parents especially, and teachers and people that are dealing with these teenagers, remember that they’re not doing this because of you. Like, all teenagers do this because it’s human evolution. They are trying to break free of dependance and they go into dependance or independence. And then you’re trying to go into interdependence. So all these acts of rebellion and all that is nothing to do with the parent or the authorities or any of that. It’s literally human nature, right? So we’ve all been there, we’ve all done that. And you have to remember that when you’re speaking to them, because like he said, all they hear is don’t don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t all day long. Cool. But what is the dues? What are the things that. Why why should I even listen to you? You don’t listen to me. So it’s one of those things like, man, it’s that respect thing that he talks about. Kit being he and all of his books. Right? You got to give him the respect of like, oh, you’re a human being going through the human being thing. And we understand that. Let’s lead you the ways that should work for you. So always remember on the other side, man, I just feel like so many parents, adults, teachers takes everything so personally that these kids say and do. And it’s like, homie, you were doing the same thing, you were doing the same thing, and probably worse, right? So always just remember what it was like being there. It’s that whole generational thing, right? Always the older generation talking about the younger generation, and it’s always the same thing every generation that goes through. So just remember that it’s got nothing to do with you. It’s what they’re going through. Let’s help them through it. They’re already in such a weird, confusing place. So.

Stone Payton: Well said. I’m so glad I asked. All right, let’s leave them, our listeners, with some coordinates. What’s the best way to tap into your work? Find out about the work that you’re doing. Jojo. Any of this, I just whatever you think is appropriate website, email, LinkedIn. But let’s make it where it’s easy to get to you. Yeah.

Kit Cummings: Rise up. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Like I said, the only female owned Brazilian jiu jitsu gym in the state up there in Kennesaw. Recommend it highly. I mean, kids, adults. I mean, she’s she’s awesome at what she does. Power of peace Project.com also Kit cummings.com. We’ve got books there YouTube if you want to look into some podcasts. And we do a lot of stuff around youth there as well. I mean, you can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, our Facebook page is Power Peace Projects. We’re easy to find. Our office space is right off the square in Marietta and I’m also looking for opportunities to spread this message. So I do keynotes, I do workshops, I do seminars so well.

Stone Payton: It has been an absolute delight having you two on the show, and a particular privilege to have you in studio. This has been an inspiring, invigorating conversation. I just thank you so much for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm, your your wisdom. What a marvelous way to invest a Wednesday afternoon man this was and thank you for having us.

Kit Cummings: That means a lot. You’re helping us blast the message and that means a lot. And thank you for what you do.

Stone Payton: Well, it’s my pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today. And everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.