Healthy Relationships Start With You

Your childhood “village” does not just raise you, it trains you for every relationship you will ever try to build. Carlene sits down with Michael T. Brown, LPC, a licensed counselor and leadership consultant based in Virginia, to talk about how faith communities, family influence, and early belonging shape identity, purpose, and the way we connect with partners, friends, and coworkers.

We get real about technology and modern dating culture too. Social media and dating apps can introduce you to people faster than ever, but Michael challenges us to remember the basics: trust, communication, presence, and people skills. If a phone stays on the table, so does emotional distance. We unpack what it looks like to “use the technology, not let the technology use you,” and why healthy relationships still demand face-to-face connection, clear boundaries, and the ability to hold an honest conversation.

Then we move into mental health, therapy, and trauma healing with compassion and practicality. Michael explains why awareness is the first step toward change, why the better question is often “what happened to you,” and how counseling helps you process pain without getting stuck in it. We also explore mentors, books, and imagination as sources of hope and vision, plus the leadership mindset behind real success: goals rooted in purpose, a supportive community, and doing the heavy lifting for your own life.

If you enjoy thoughtful relationship advice, counseling insights, and grounded conversations about purpose and connection, subscribe to Diva Tonight, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome To Diva Tonight

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to Diva Tonight with Carleen Humphrey, a relationship podcast with a focus on life, love, and friendship. Welcome to Diva Tonight.

Carlene 0:12

Hi, I'm Carleen, and this is Diva Tonight. We are in the Zoom studio with Michael T. Brown. He's in Virginia. He's a licensed counselor, leader, author, and leadership development. Thanks so much for joining me, taking the time to be on the show. And you know, the show's about like relationships and the relationships we have with our friends and our family. And, you know, I I looked up your background, and you know, like your dad was a pastor. And I always find it interesting. People who grew up in a faith-based household, it can either take you in that direction or it can steer you away if it doesn't align with your beliefs.

Growing Up In A Church Family

Carlene 1:01

So as someone who grew up in the church, and what was that like for you?

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Yeah, I'd say it was a positive experience. You know, my parents, you know, really worked hard to try to well, we let me put, we were engaged in it. So it wasn't just like, you know, come and just kind of sit and get, you know, it's kind of we were, you kind of put to work. So it's like, you know, and when it's when you get the opportunity, when you got friends there, and obviously, you know, it kids when you have a chance to have a positive experience and you get a chance to actually engage in ministry, you know, it feels less like work and it feels for us in many ways, it felt like family. So I'd say, yeah, it was by and large a positive experience. Yeah.

Carlene 1:43

Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah, it felt like family. And so, like, I I think like your dad like instilled a lot of like core beliefs for you. And do you feel like that kind of got you to where you are here and now, like as a counselor?

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Certainly. My dad played a significant role. And you know, there's an African prover proverb, you know, that says, right, you know, it takes a village to raise a child. And I say my parents did a really good job of having a village surrounded, surrounding us. And he certainly played uh, you know, a tremendous impact in that um he had quite a you know a story and background himself. Both my parents did as far as you know, navigating life and some challenges in life. And, you know, we all are going to experience difficulty and pain in life. And I think that's a big part of what gravitated, what that allowed me to gravitate towards church and the message, you know, centered in church. And that is that, you know, none of us are perfect.

Carlene 2:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

We all have experiences that lead us to where we are, and that our faith can play an integral part in helping us discover our purpose. And I think, you know, faith communities, when done well, can help us tap into some of the bigger, larger questions of life. You know, why am I here? What am I called to do? Can I be a part of something bigger than myself? You know, that goes beyond, I think, just religion or dogma, you know, right, or doctr or doctrine. That helps us tap into our identity and our purpose. And now being able to look back and see, thinking about those investments that were deposited into me in a at a young age, you know, those those seeds that were planted will grow and they'll help us, help lead us to what we're called to do now. So, yeah, I'd say by and large, a positive experience. Not perfect. It was always like challenges and ups and downs, but yeah, I'd say it's an integral part to who I

Family Influence And Finding A Calling

SPEAKER_01 3:35

am.

Carlene 3:35

Um, I mean, uh, you know, I I reference your dad and like, you know, what about your mom? Like, was she like the preacher's role wife or was she does she have her own career path too?

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Pastor's wife, she worked as well. Uh, you know, various jobs, but yeah, she was a key part of, you know, that that local ministry as well. And it's interesting, you know, my my dad who who's who's now transitioned, um, I got to experience some some different walks of life. So when I was uh, you know, early in my college years, my dad transitioned away from full-time pastoring and got into you know some entrepreneurial endeavors. He still would minister. So I got to experience, you know, growing up in a preacher's home, but I also got to experience seeing that shift and that transition where he was no longer, you know, pastoring a church. So all those experiences, you know, helped shape who I am.

Carlene 4:26

Yeah. Do you feel like well, did you feel like there was a pressure to like, you know, work within the church because you were grew up in that environment? I feel like there's that stigma. Do you feel that?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yeah. Well, I was a musician. So I played, you know, play trumpet and drums. So I again, I would say it was not so much a pressure, but it was kind of just kind of ingrained in a way. When you you just grow up in uh imagine somebody who works in a restaurant, if their parents own a restaurant, right? It's kind of like, you know, did you feel pressure taken out the trash? Like, that's just what kind of what we do, right? You know, it's just kind of the family business in a way. So pressure in that sense. And a big part of that is because, again, once you're engaged and and you have friends and you you form a community, now there's certain pressures, you know, maybe some scrutiny, you know, being a pastor's child, but uh it's hard to compare when it's just what you grew up in.

Carlene 5:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. So based on like, you know, your own personal experience, was that something that you knew? Like you said, being in that environment kind of like gives you your purpose or you know, draws you to your career path. Do you feel like there was something that spoke to you about like this is where I want to go?

SPEAKER_01 5:42

I think in many ways it chose me versus I I chose it. Yeah, and I think a lot of people can relate to that, right? Where you know, you feel something on the inside, you feel a passion or a calling or a burden towards something, or you just naturally gravitate towards certain things. And, you know, going into education, uh, I couldn't I wouldn't have told you as a child that's what I would do, but I kind of got led towards it. You know, things just kind of get revealed to you and you just feel drawn in a certain area. I knew that helping people, uh, I felt a sense that that was going to be my lane. I didn't know exactly what that capacity was gonna be. But uh yeah, I got I got led

From School Counseling To Private Practice

SPEAKER_01 6:19

towards it.

Carlene 6:19

Oh yeah, I mean uh and then you know, doing that for the amount of time that you did, I I I mean, 10 years. I think they they say it's it's not 10 years, but 10,000 hours in any skill is is your profession in in in that role. So you feel like as being a counselor in school, do you feel like it kind of led you to where you are now in private practice?

SPEAKER_01 6:42

I do, and actually uh I spent 10 years as a middle school counselor, but a total of 17 years as a school counselor. So yeah, those years certainly was preparation for for private practice, I would say. Spending you talk about right those 10,000 hours, right, that it that that many consider a benchmark to consider yourself an an area expert in something. Yeah, I think I think 17 years working in the school system, working with families and students was a nice training ground to to prepare me for what I'm doing now in private practice. Yeah, so I I I really see the connection in all of it.

Carlene 7:17

Do you have a moment or like moments where you look back to those experiences, you know, with students? I guess the students then and the students now, I feel like, you know, we're different generation, right? Um a lot has changed, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:32

A lot has changed. I remember when I started in as a as a school counselor when MySpace was first coming

Social Media Changed How We Connect

SPEAKER_01 7:39

on.

Carlene 7:39

Oh my gosh, MySpace, I remember that.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

You remember MySpace?

Carlene 7:42

Okay, like a MySpace again. Yeah, I remember that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah, I remember when that and everybody was like, man, what is this? And you know, it it that was the start, right? For a lot of people getting into social media and to see that how it's transitioned over time and how it's grown and how, you know, it's changed a lot of our habits. Yeah, what a what a shift, right? Over time. We can learn a lot about ourselves when we look at how we interact with each other online. And, you know, I I think um in many ways a lot of people are realizing, right, with a lot of the laws that are coming out that we need how we need to connect, not just through our phones and through media, but through person-to-person interactions. Now the media can certainly help with that, like we're doing here now, right? You know, the the technology allows us to do things like this to connect in different locations. But I think in many ways, we need to get back to the the the way we did it, the way we did some things back in the day, as far as just person-to-person contact.

Carlene 8:44

Yeah. Oh, definitely. I feel like being a child back then and going out to play and like just, you know, doing stuff and not having to worry about like certain things. Obviously, we did have like some hard times too, but I I think I remember like, you know, just walking home from school, like whereas now, I don't think many people would do that with the child with their kids now unless their school's really close, but it's it's a different time. And so I think there's a lot of things that are novelty. Like, you know, I went out with my sisters on the weekend and I just remember we were talking about like the things that you do when you're a kid and like get yourself into trouble and stuff, and um, just not having a cell phone or you know, knowing your parents not knowing where you are, but you have to get home by this time, you know what I mean? And and so I think there's something to be said about that because the the change in time and just our experiences were totally different, you know. Yeah, so the the students that you counsel as a counselor, like do you feel like you would give different advice now? Because you're talking about interaction and like and you know, that one-to-one medium versus like virtual, right?

Dating Apps Are Tools Not Substitutes

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah, good question. You know, in many ways, the more things change, the more things stay the same. There's something oftentimes about one generation that often looks back and thinks their generation is so much different from the other generation. You know, back in my day, and it clearly there's been some changes, no question about it. And particularly when you think about how fast the technology is has has moved and how we can interact. So there's no underestimating the power of social media and technology. However, you know, well, let's take it even to the dating realm, right? I know you talk a lot about relationships, right?

Carlene 10:34

So let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

You think about you you talk about you know, in dealing with young people or dating, you know, social media or the apps, dating apps, are just tools to connect people. But you still are eventually, are you gonna go on a date, right? I mean, it's so eventually you're gonna need to have that one-on-one con you know, contact. So as far as speaking to youth and speaking to adults for that matter, you know, use the technology, don't let the technology use you.

Carlene 11:04

Can you elaborate with that?

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Understand that it's a tool to connect you, but you still need to have people skills.

Carlene 11:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Right? You know, if you go out on that date, are you just gonna sit there and scroll on your phone or you're gonna put it away and act and be able to hold a conversation? So the tool, the the app may connect you, but if you're eventually gonna form a relationship, you're gonna have to form it outside the phone or outside of text messaging or outside of just FaceTime. Eventually, right, we need to connect and meet people and be able to interact and communicate well. So I don't put too much credence on, you know, this whole idea that so much has so much is different. At the end of the day, relationships are right, in order to be healthy, we need to have good communication, we need to have good people skills, we need to be able to build trust, we need to be able to build connection. And well, for example, the county that I live in here in Virginia, the school division said no to cell phones. The kids can't have them in class. So we're getting back to some things. You get it? So there the pendulum tends to swing where, you know, now some some of the tech companies, a lot of the scrutiny that's coming on that. A lot of parents are getting more involved, and they're you may get a teen account now, and there's certain more protections and things that are coming. And so, you know, the more things change in many ways, the more they stay the same. Remember the parents in the 60s? Well, can you imagine them saying, right, you know, how different they were from the 50s? Of course. Where are these afros and bell bottoms coming from, right? They thought maybe the sky was falling. Come to find out, trends, fashions, things change. Technology certainly shifts things. We're in a different era when it comes to that. But we're still human beings and we're still looking for a lot of the same things we always have.

Carlene 12:49

With the advancement in technology, though, I feel like there's some things that do need to change because the progression is going a lot faster than I think we could have anticipated. I mean, we saw it coming. I mean, yeah, I'm sure you've lived through many of like the changes. Like I'm I grew up, uh I was born in the 80s, and so now it's like you're looking at things and I'm thinking back to like, you know, Terminator and the movie AI and a lot of these things.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

And I don't know, I you probably didn't have a walk, man. You probably had a what, a C D player?

Carlene 13:26

I had a CD player, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You probably missed walk, man, with the tapes, but it was C D player, yeah.

Carlene 13:33

I did.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Then then uh yeah, iPod. Right. And then right, yeah.

Carlene 13:41

Yeah, I remember like when it was my CD player, it was my friends were like, it's time to get an MP3, Carly.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

And like then it was obsolete. Yeah, it moved so quickly. Yeah.

Carlene 13:50

Yeah, yeah. Oh, so I mean, we're talking about like technology and like relationships, but um, how do we build healthy relationships?

Two Healthy People Build Better Love

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Great question. You know, I think it starts by making sure that we build a healthy individual first.

Carlene 14:06

Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

Yeah, when we love ourselves, when we value ourselves, when we show up whole, then I think two whole people that meet are gonna have a much better chance at a healthy relationship. So making sure that our mental health, our physical health, our emotional health, our own personal spiritual health is healthy. And when you get two healthy people that meet, then you know things can kind of take off from there. Where they can communicate well with each other. They have a connection, a chemistry, a camaraderie that it's not just one way or one-sided, but that both understand the principle of give and take. And that, you know, everybody needs to bring something to the potlock, right? Come with something to share. And I think that's key. I believe healthy relationships are made up of healthy individuals. So I commend you for doing podcasts like this. The more content, right, we can get out there with people that they can absorb good information like this, that's their investment into themselves to be to work on themselves. And then when they meet somebody with similar values, similar interests, similar goals, then that's gonna make for a more healthy relationship. Knowing what you want in a person, right? You know, becoming what you want in many ways. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Diva tonight, glamour for your ears.

Healing Trauma By Telling Your Story

Carlene 15:25

So with the clients that you have or you've had or over the years, if there's unresolved trauma or all unresolved issues that that person needs to work on, how do you help them, you know, work on those things? Because I I find like therapy or counseling, it's some people don't think they need it.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Well, usually by the time right by the time I meet someone in therapy, they've already checked that box because they've reached out for counseling.

Carlene 15:55

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

So that's good for starters, right? The whole idea that they've identified they want to work on some things or they might need some help in some areas, and awareness is the first step towards change, right? Knowing that we may have an issue or have a problem. So that's key, awareness.

Carlene 16:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Right? And then, you know, a big part of it is understanding who they are in their story. You talked about trauma. And we all are gonna experience, you know, some pain or difficulty or adversity in life. Some people, it falls in the category of trauma where it's, you know, maybe more on the extreme end, that's more debilitating. But realizing that we can heal, we can work through our pain, our difficulty, our trauma, and work towards our goals. And in therapy, that's kind of where the magic happens, where we start unpeeling some of those things, understanding what happened to you. I learned this early on, you know, before we ask what's wrong with someone, ask what happened to them. And hearing their story and un and saying, Where do you want to go? Spending the time working through any past pain or trauma, but ultimately pointing to where you want to go, towards your goals. And that process that happens in therapy when done well with someone who really wants to change and really wants to grow. We can heal, we can process, we can forgive, we can hit the reset button and move forward. Now we may have to walk with a limp, we may have some scars, but still moving forward nonetheless.

Carlene 17:17

Yeah. I I heard you say, like you're talking about, you know, we can walk with a limp, and and you've talked a lot about, like I've heard you say about influence and how some books can be an influence, or you know, that movie or that uh video can be an influence. And and for those people who had the trauma, um, maybe they were able to find the influence in a book that they read when they were younger to see something. Because sometimes you seeing is a lot easier than you know and I don't know if it's seeing, but like you were talking about it in that way, and and I resonated with that because I think when you're in an experience in life, you know what I mean? Um, what do you say? There's you're trying to escape it in in many ways, and I guess that's what you help your clients do, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:08

So that's right, that's right. You know, the human spirit, Carleen, is indomitable, is powerful. There's something in us, right? That often knows there's more. I was listening to uh, you know, Jesse Jackson passed away, you know, here recently.

Carlene 18:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

And uh I was listening to watching some of checking out some of his stuff, you know, some of his videos, and he said he would have a line that he would say to people in in crowds, and you know, when he would meet with people, he'd say, you know, you may have been born in the slums, but the slums was not born in you. There's something about the human spirit that wants fuller expansion, that wants to strive, that wants to achieve. It's in us. And maybe it's a coach, maybe it's a mentor, maybe it's a teacher, maybe it's a friend who sees something in us that maybe we don't see in ourselves, and maybe they put a book in our hand or they expose us or they took us to their house. Or we saw, you know, it was like in this side of town, or you know, you talked earlier before we started recording, right? How books impacted you. And, you know, as children, you know, well, as adults, people tell us oftentimes, don't daydream. But as children, that's one of our greatest gifts, sitting and daydreaming, or going out in the yard, just looking up at the sky, just creating our own imagination. Children have a great ability, right, to tap into imagination, creativity. A lot of folks out there listening may have had a, you know, uh a make-believe friend or you know, or a pop rock or whatever, right? Why? Because they were using their creativity, their imagination. In books, movies, videos, give us a glimpse into another world. There's somebody who's listening right now, who may be on the other part of the world. 10 years from now, isn't that powerful to think how powerful technology is? Somebody may watch this video 40 years from now, right? You know, may hear something. Isn't that cool, right? That they may hear something in another part of the world, another part of the country that sparks them. Maybe it's a book, and they start using their creativity, their imagination. They just start dreaming and exploring of what could take me out of this situation. Somebody may be living in a painful experience or a painful relationship or grew up in a diff with a difficult home life, but they would imagine what they could be, or they would picture themselves in that book in another world. And that's not just hopeless daydreaming, that's casting a vision. Why? Because the human spirit wants to grow, it wants to expand, it wants to achieve. So that's why it's so important that village that we grew up in. It's so important to use the technology to as fuel to help take us to the next level. There's online mentors that we can have of people we never even met.

Carlene 20:48

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Who died already, who've transitioned, and we're still learning from them through their books, through their videos, through their content. Yeah. So we talk a lot about the technology. We talk people talk a lot about the negative aspects of technology. But I see so many positives. And so if we'll use it the right way.

Carlene 21:04

Yeah. Oh, you said that. That's so true. Like for me, you know, Muhammad, like you talked about, like the I forgot who you mentioned. Yeah. Jesse Jackson. Yeah. And and and for me, like, um, I look back at like, you know, Muhammad Ali and like, you know, um, so many great speeches that he had. And I always feel like, even though he like he was a rest, like a boxer, I felt like he had so much spoken word and like so many things that he said that we still can relate to now, you know what I mean? And so there's someone who he knew at such a young age that um he's like, I'm gonna be a champ, you know, at 12 years old or something. I think it was what I saw there. So I mean, you you say a lot about that vision, and and sometimes I think, like you said, like when you see your clients, like it's the the vision is blurred. And I think that's what I think of sometimes, where it takes something. People a little bit longer to get there than for some people who already knew, right?

SPEAKER_01 22:05

Yeah. Yeah. Well said. Well said. And the process of counseling, the process of therapy. But well, for some people it's therapy, it's counseling. For somebody, it's maybe phoning a friend or having a mentor or a coach or a colleague or somebody that shows us a different path, a different way. Ultimately, we have to do the heavy lifting. It needs to be our own vision, right? For our own lives. There's no substitute for that. But other people can sometimes see things in us that we might not be able to see in ourselves. Or the trauma or the pain disrupts us on our path. But we can find our way back onto that path or find a new path, a different path. Because I believe at the end of the day, we all were born with a purpose and have greatness on the inside of us. We just got to tap into it.

Goals, Purpose, Village, And Legacy

Carlene 22:52

Yeah. So as someone who has private practice now and like you teach a lot on leadership and relationships, what are the important keys to success?

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Great question. I think the I think it starts with a goal and understanding what it's going to take to reach that goal. Who, what, where, when, why, how. When we start answering those some of those questions, what is it that I want to accomplish? What is it that I want to achieve? What's my passion? What's my purpose? You know, if the goal is to just seek money, then people may go down some paths that they might not be as passionate about. A lot of times they get disinterested and don't have the staying power. But if you if we change our purpose, in many ways, I think, you know, resources will follow us. So I think it really starts with a goal. What is it that I want to accomplish? What is it that I really want to achieve? I remember as a school counselor, I would ask that question, and I still ask people this question to this day. If money were not an issue and you got to choose a career purely based upon passion, meaning I get I'm excited about waking up and doing this every day, what would that choice be? And that question, right, can pull on us to really self-examine of what is it that I really want? Oftentimes we start talking ourselves out of what we really want. Well, you know, I really want it, but you know, I don't have this, or I don't have that, or I don't have the training, or I don't have the background, or I don't have the money. And we get it. You know, it needs to be realistic goals. It might not just be a hobby, but something that's a viable calling or a purpose or a career mission. I think it needs to start with a passion, with purpose, and casting that vision. And then once we get the what right, what is it that I want to do? We can really lean into the how and who can help.

Carlene 24:38

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:39

I heard a quote here recently that that I really like that says when it and this ties into who can help me. One of the greatest hands we're ever going to be given is the one that's at the end of our own wrist. It's something about when we use our own hands towards our own goals that propels us forward.

Carlene 24:54

Wow. Yeah, those are those are some deep words right there. Yes, definitely. I think it's it always starts from you. And and I mean, you talk about your village, and so what did your village look like to get you to here and now? Because I mean you are successful in in what you do, and you had the village, and what did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yeah, Dr. King calls it right, you know, a beloved community.

Carlene 25:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

And, you know, family members, friends, I have siblings, older siblings, you know, I uh one younger sibling. So family looks like village, our school community, uh being involved in athletics and music. I encourage people to get young people involved in something positive, you know, to get them just off those phones and get them into an activity. I used to say, you know, be be too busy to get in trouble. Busy doing the right thing. Yeah, true. Idle hands, devil workshop, idle mind, or devil workshop. So that's what it looked like. You know, being a part of things bigger than myself, being a part of sports teams, being a part of bands, you know, you were one of a group. It wasn't all about you. You had to be a team player, or you didn't, you know, or you wasn't gonna work. So that's what it looked like for me. And I think that's what it looks like for a lot of people. What what about for you, Carlene? What was what would you say was key, has been key to you doing some of the things you're doing, some of the your accomplishments. What did it look like for you?

Carlene 26:19

Um, no, I think you're right. Yeah. I had a like my friend who's always like a couple of my friends always believed in the podcast, even when I stopped doing it. So, like those people that remind you, you know, um, to get back at it and having a good mentor. And I think when I think back, COVID was that reminder that I read something, someone posted something. And if if time was an issue for you to get things done now that you have more time, be able to do that. So I was like, there's no excuse now, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Yeah, and you paid attention to it and you acted on it.

Carlene 26:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

And here, and here we are.

Carlene 26:58

Here we are, yeah. Yeah, it's amazing for sure. So are you the oldest out of your sibling?

SPEAKER_01 27:05

No, second to youngest.

Carlene 27:06

Oh very interesting. Yeah, yeah, okay. And so I have another one last question to ask. As someone who is very thoughtful with their words, thank you. What is you're welcome. What is the legacy that you want to leave behind?

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Great question. You know, I think about this question of legacy. Um I have kind of a maybe somewhat of a different view on legacy. And I think legacy is not something that I can answer. I think legacy is the byproduct of the work that we do. And so in many ways, legacy is for someone else to answer. My hope is that, you know, gifts, skills, opportunities, blessings, I was able to tap into and try my best to maximize. And my goal is to help other people reach their goals. Yes, for me to reach my own personal goals, right? Obviously, that's that's important for me to have my own goals. But my goals in many ways are connected to other people reaching their goals. So I hope that a life of service, a life of impact will be a part of what I contribute. The question of legacy, that'll be for those who've been touched by it and impacted by it. And I would say the way so many people have touched my life. My hope is that, you know, we'll continue to inspire others to do the same. Just like you're doing through this podcast. So keep up the good work.

Carlene 28:32

Thank you so much. I appreciate

Where To Find Michael T. Brown

Carlene 28:34

you. And yeah, so it's Brown's Leadership Consulting LLC. And are you your client? Most of your clients are in Virginia. Do you do a lot of interviews?

SPEAKER_01 28:44

I got folks I see across the country. Um, I see folks here in person here, and I also, you know, like this when I get speaking opportunities, you know, or training opportunities. So yeah, I have a private practice, and within that, you know, I can work with businesses or organizations uh on things around leadership and trainings and development, so and speaking opportunities. So yeah.

Carlene 29:06

Oh, that's amazing. And where can we find you?

SPEAKER_01 29:09

Yep, they can f you can Google me, Michael T. Brown LPC, and uh you can find my got a few different websites out there where you can contact me. Uh Brownsleadership.com. And uh I'm on X at MT Brown98, and they can find me on LinkedIn as well. Same handle.

Carlene 29:25

That's amazing. Well, thank you so much, Michael T. Brown, for sharing your words of wisdom.

When To Get Professional Help

Carlene 29:32

And I think I think the the one other thing though is through like now more than ever, I think mental health is a is a concern. And so Absolutely. What do you think should like if someone is thinking that, you know, maybe I do need to ask for help, like, even though you always say there's like your friend or someone that you look up to that like, you know, just starting.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

Yeah, we if you if you notice you're struggling and you got or you got some issues that are pervasive and you keep running into stumbling blocks, or you or you just need you really need somebody from a professional, non-biased perspective to to to talk to or or work through things. I encourage people to find a good therapist in your area. And for people who have you know medical insurance, they can oftentimes it's pay for it through a copay there, or you know, go online, uh find a recommendation, do your homework. And a lot of times a therapist will give you a free, you know, 15-minute or 30-minute consultation that way you can ask them questions and learn more about them and see if it'll be a good fit. But um, in many ways, I think the stigma is coming down. We all know right on a certain level, whether it's therapy or not, it's great to have people to talk to. And if you need it, it's okay to ask for help.

Carlene 30:51

Yeah, for sure. Thank you so much. I'm Carleen, and this is Diva Tonight with Michael T. Brown.

Follow, Text, And Closing Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 30:58

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