I’m excited to share our latest episode of On the Brink with Andi Simon, where I interview exceptional individuals to help others “get off the brink.” This is actually our 400th episode. To focus on inspiring wellness is awesome, and reflects our commitment to helping people “see, feel, and think” in new ways so they can soar again and again.
This episode features the extraordinary Dr. Renette Dallas, a true powerhouse in health and wellness. I think of Dr. Dallas as an inspiring wellness leader, pushing us forward in her Wellness Revolution. We should all join her! Get your TRUE POP popcorn ready for our podcast.
Dr. Dallas is a naturopathic doctor (N.D.), minister, author, lecturer, certified fitness trainer, and raw food chef. With a rich architecture and civil engineering background and a U.S. Air Force veteran, her diverse expertise makes her a dynamic force for change. She’s best known for her innovative product, TRUE POP, an organic snack that embodies her preventive, holistic care philosophy.
How a Health Crisis Inspired a Movement towards Wellness
Her life’s journey into wellness was triggered when she contracted tuberculosis and found that all the treatments were failing her. Dr. Dallas is a multifaceted expert in holistic health, combining her extensive knowledge as a naturopathic doctor, minister, author, lecturer, certified fitness trainer, and raw food chef. Her nutritional and herbal detoxification and healing expertise has positioned her as a leading preventive, holistic care voice. Throughout our conversation, Dr. Dallas shared her journey and her mission to empower individuals, especially women, to take charge of their health and well-being through informed choices about food and lifestyle.
Inspiring Wellness: The Journey to Holistic Health
Dr. Dallas’s journey into holistic health is a testament to the power of personal transformation. With degrees and twelve years of professional experience in Architecture and Civil Engineering, along with her service in the United States Air Force, she brings a unique perspective to the field. Her transition into naturopathy and holistic wellness was driven by a profound desire to address the root causes of health issues rather than just treating symptoms. Her unique approach, which combines her diverse expertise and personal experience, sets her apart in the field of holistic health.
“I realized that true health care reform begins with education and prevention,” Dr. Dallas explained. “Our healthcare system is often reactive, focusing on treating diseases after they occur. My goal is to shift that focus to prevention and holistic care.”
Building Confidence to Inspire Wellness Through Education
Dr. Dallas’s approach is deeply rooted in education. She firmly believes that knowledge is power and that empowering individuals with the correct information can lead to significant health improvements. Her mantra, inspired by Hippocrates, “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food,” underscores the empowering importance of diet in maintaining health.
Dr. Dallas reached a broad audience through the live fitness and wellness radio and TV programs she hosted for seven years, spreading awareness about the benefits of a holistic lifestyle. Her presentations leave a lasting impact, motivating and inspiring attendees to adopt healthier habits.
Empowering Women to Take Charge of Their Well-being
Much of our discussion focused on how Dr. Dallas inspires women to take charge of their health and well-being. She recognizes women’s unique challenges, particularly in balancing various roles and responsibilities. Her holistic approach offers practical solutions that women can integrate into their daily lives. Dr. Dallas’s work is not just about health, but about empowering women to prioritize their well-being and make informed choices about their health.
“Women are often the caretakers, balancing their careers, families, and health. They must prioritize their well-being,” Dr. Dallas noted. “By making small, manageable changes in their diet and lifestyle, they can significantly improve their health outcomes.” Her message resonates deeply with women who attend her lectures and presentations. They are motivated and equipped with the tools and knowledge to make positive changes. Dr. Dallas’s approach is not about drastic overhauls but sustainable, long-term improvements.
Addressing Health Disparities
Another critical aspect of Dr. Dallas’s work is her unwavering commitment to addressing health disparities in minority communities. She highlights the importance of accessibility and education in bridging these gaps. Her focus on cancer prevention, impotence, and fibroid reversal, which are particularly prevalent in these communities, is a testament to her dedication.
Conclusion
As a corporate anthropologist and advocate for women entrepreneurs, I found Dr. Dallas’s story incredibly inspiring. She exemplifies how women leaders can bring innovative solutions to big problems. Tune in to this episode to discover how Dr. Dallas is leading the charge in healthcare reform and making a significant, inspiring impact.
Join us on this journey of empowerment and transformation!
If you prefer to watch the On the Brink with Andi Simon Podcast, you can find Dr. Dallas’s video here:
You can learn more about Dr. Dallas here:
And on her websites:
- lifebydallas.com (Company)
- dallaspopcorn.com (Company)
Listen to others who can help you become the best you can be:
398: Donny Willis: How to Intentionally Build a Better Life
384: Roberta Fernandez—Can Changing Your Thinking Change Your Life? AHARA Says Yes
377: Rose Fass—What If We Could Truly Progress As Humans, One Conversation At A Time
Additional resources for you
- My two award-winning books: Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Businessand On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights
- Our new book, Women Mean Business: Over 500 Insights from Extraordinary Leaders to Spark Your Success, coauthored with Edie Fraser and Robyn Freedman Spizman
- Our website: Simon Associates Management Consultants
From Observation to Innovation,
CEO | Corporate Anthropologist | Author
Simonassociates.net
Info@simonassociates.net
@simonandi
LinkedIn
Read the transcript of our podcast below:
Andi Simon: (00:00:02) – Welcome to On the Brink with Andi Simon. Remember, my job is to take you off the brink. So I’m your anthropologist who’s going to help you see, feel and think in new ways so that you can improve, change, make this a better life for yourself, and learn from people who really have some great wisdoms, lessons learned, and ideas to share with you. So the podcast has become a marvelous vehicle for me to help other people do. What I like to do so well is provide them with the wisdom they need to see things through a fresh lens. And that’s what we’re going to do today. I’m honored to have Doctor Dallas with us. She’s going to tell you her story, but I met her at a J.P. Morgan event that we did for our book Women Mean Business, and that’s our new book, co-authored with Eddie Fraser and Robin Spaceman. And the book has been a wide-open opportunity for women to rise and really tell their wisdoms and share their lessons learned and the kinds of things that matter to help other women.
Andi Simon: (00:01:06) – we call it celebrate, elevate and educate. But this is a time of transformation. And Doctor Dallas is smiling because this is all about helping others really find their pathway and do what they’re meant to do. So the journey is ours. Let me introduce her briefly with her bio. And then, as I always do, ask her to tell us about her journey. So Doctor Dallas is a nurturer, a nerd, a neutral, pathetic, pathetic, and a neutral pathetic doctor. And indeed, forgive me for missing that one up. A minister, an author, a lecturer, a certified fitness trainer, a raw food chef with expertise in nutritional and herbal detoxification and healing. That’s a whole lot of stuff for one person to be, but it all ties together in terms of her person, her purpose and her passion. She’s hosted live fitness and wellness radio and TV programs for seven years. She has degrees in 12 years of professional experience in architecture and civil engineering. And you’re going to say, oh, this is so interesting.
Andi Simon: (00:02:11) – She’s a doctor on the one hand and an architecture and civil engineering person on the other. She’s also a vet, a veteran of the Air Force and perhaps best known as the creator of healthy organic snack product True Pup. Now she doesn’t want to be called the Popcorn Lady, but she has really done something quite remarkable by making popcorn a healthy snack. And we’ll talk about it. But I want you to Think about her is a much more complex and interesting woman who’s here to do much more than just manufacture popcorn, although that’s really important. She believes health care reform starts with preventive holistic care and education. And I do think, as she tells you her story, you’re going to see why that’s so important. this is a time for us to all inspire others. And so she’s on a personal crusade to educate and encourage individuals to become offensive in the war against the Big three, maybe for obesity, heart disease and diabetes and even cancer before. And I do think that the impact of the pandemic showed us that while you might say you only live once, you can live it in a very healthy way.
Andi Simon: (00:03:20) – Improve your well-being. And I love the science of well-being and what it’s taught us about kindness, conversation and happiness. And so when I met her, I said, I’d love to share your story. Doctor Dallas, thank you for being with me today.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:03:33) – Thank you for having me. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here. I just I’ve been looking forward to just having time with you. Every now and then, you meet an individual that has just this incredible energy. And I felt that when I met you, Andy. So I am just grateful that I’m here. And I’m hoping that I can share something with your audience today that will inspire them and give them hope.
Andi Simon: (00:03:55) – Let’s start because you’re an author of several books. You’ve done all kinds of wonderful things. Who is Doctor Dallas? Let’s share your journey, because what it does is open other people’s minds and their stories to what can become them. Please. Who are you? Why is that? Well.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:04:13) – I am all of those things that you talked about.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:04:16) – And, the simple girl that makes sure that she gets out on the morning trail for four miles every morning. And I really believe that that is my. My daily off the brink peace that brings me more joy than anything else. And that’s when I am just in communion with the birds and God’s handiwork. And it’s just it takes me to an entirely different place. And that feeling that I get, I want other people to experience that. And is that going to happen after they just go on a walk? No. There are a lot of other little pieces that have to go into the development of being able to get the joy, the hope and the inspiration from looking at a bird and flowing water. And so today I’m happy to be here. But I often tell people that as a minister, I say that our purpose in life is to get people to come in here and go and tell. And so for me to just communicate with your audience would be just to be like a reservoir. But I like to be considered the river.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:05:18) – So I want you to take in and take in in a manner that you can allow it to flow into the lives of others. So everything that I’m about to say that has been a part of my journey, I believe, inevitably, is to be a part of everybody’s journey, and that is to follow your passion, that is, to live life in a manner. My ethos in life is to make a difference in the lives of others. I don’t feel comfortable if I go to bed at night and I haven’t had an impact on someone else’s life. And the other piece to that, that’s very important, because a lot of times, lucky me, in business I have a tangible product, but you may not be able to see the results that you make in the lives of others. So it’s so important to be true to yourself and to live in a way that your light shines. And so it could be a person that’s way off in the darkness, and that glow is there, and it’s going to manifest and it’s going to make a difference in your life.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:06:12) – So with me, it started out just trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life. You ask people, are you doing what you dream that you would be doing when you were a child? When you were a child, what did you want to be? When I was a child, when I was a child, nine years old, ten years old. I am a native Washingtonian. I wanted to redesign the white House. Who thinks of that when they’re ten years old. It’s a child that when your parents put you in the backyard with your other four siblings and they’re off chasing people, playing hide and seek, and I’m like, what is the point in that? I’m going to be hiding somewhere for 30 minutes and you may or may not find me? I don’t think so. I’m going to go in the other side of the backyard. I’m going to paint a rock, or I’m going to do something that makes me feel like this is more important. This is the mind of a ten year old.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:07:00) – So when you read all of those things in my bio, it has a lot to do with the way God created me. And so I’m moving through life. And I decided in order to redesign the white House, I’ve got to be an architect. I go to school for architecture, and I get out and we can design these incredible buildings, but we’re clueless as to how they stand up. And so I, the ten year old child that didn’t want to play games, go back to school to get a degree in civil engineering so that I can understand the structural aspects of how this building stands up. And somewhere in between when I was studying with my college, mates at, the University of Maryland, we were all in engineering groups, and we’d be set off someplace, and my classmates had to rent homes, because at that time, less than 20% of the University of Maryland had housing. And so I decided, long story short, to take a class on how to buy a house with no money down.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:07:58) – I ended up purchasing my home when I was 21, so now I have a degree that I’m actually working in the industry as an architect, but I’m going to school at night to get a degree in civil engineering, and I’m a homeowner trying to keep up with my neighbors who are keeping their yards meticulous. So by the time I finally finished my civil engineering degree and had all this time on my hands, and that’s when I went into the Air Force, a lot of people think I went in after school, and so I see a commercial and there’s this woman, she’s like, it’s oh 5:00 and I’ve already done XYZ. And I was like, wow, I want to fly planes. I go out to Andrews Air Force Base and they’re like, you’re way too old to fly planes. You’re 32. The cutoff is 30. So while I’m waiting for a commission because they convince me to sign up, they’re like, you have two degrees. We could use you in civil engineering. And so I signed up for civil engineering.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:08:49) – This is taken a minute, but it’s a part of the story. And so I ended up going to Korea for an assignment, a 45 day assignment. I get there and other people are like, oh, we can use your hair, we can use your hair. So it got extended and another 30 days extension. Collectively, I was there 279 days straight, which is important because that would later certify me as a full blown veteran, because my time in the military was very short. Because when I returned back to the States, I found that I had tuberculosis that lasted for six months, at which point they really didn’t know what to do with me because I wasn’t getting better, and they didn’t think that I was going to make it. And so I finally left the military, care and went to Georgetown University. And I wish I knew the physician’s assistant name because she said to me, looking at me, I used to do bodybuilding. I was running marathons. She was like, your body probably is just not good for this pharmaceutical therapy.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:09:43) – I heard that if you do a diet that’s completely raw, it can reverse whatever type of illness or disease that you have. Wow. Only a person that wanted to paint rocks has a degree in architecture, has a degree in engineering, is like, wow, I need to look into this and what you can do on google.com today in just a couple of seconds. Back then, took a couple of weeks of research and after the research Andi remember I went to a math science high school reading this information and taking in the knowledge of the close connection between the characteristics of food and how the body works in terms of your organs, tissues and glands and healing. I was like, this is fascinating. I came up with various ingredients, put this little drink together, the Green Veggie Detox, I still call it today. It was raw garlic, cucumber, celery, jalapeno peppers, lemon and sea salt. Made batches of. It started to consume close to a gallon a day. And I kid you not, in less than six days, six days, 123456I felt incredible.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:10:46) – Not only better than I felt for the six months that I had been ill, but my entire 32 years that I had been living at that point so convincingly so that I left engineering on a dime. And this is important for our takeaways and for our wisdom points and all the things that we talk about in terms of success. It was important to hone in on that principle because I felt better than my entire life. But my entire life I had not been a sick individual. I was running marathons; I was doing bodybuilding. I came from a family where we spent our summers on a farm in Alabama. So the sweetest thing we’d have in the summer was vanilla ice cream and bananas as the only reason we had to go to market. But it was something at that time that said, this can help other people. Yeah. Not me. It’s like, wow, if I can do this in six days by drinking this green tree, we literally could change the entire health paradigm of the underserved African American communities where I can visibly see on a daily basis obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer is wiping out my race.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:11:51) – I’m going to bring this drink and people are going to be well. And then that’s when hope. Is that what you call hope? That disappoints the hope of the excitement and the anticipation of what can happen based on the facts of this, is what happened to me. That changes the dynamic of our people are dying. They don’t have to die, and you get there and no one wants to do it. And the most disappointing thing, and this is another wisdom point, because you will be disappointed in your journey in business, but don’t allow that to deter you because someone will always benefit. And so the disappointment was, is that people didn’t even want to try it. It’s not like they said, you know what, I did this for three days. It’s not working for me. It was like, I can’t do that liquid diet. I don’t think so. I’ve got to be chewing on something. No. Can I chew the drink? You know. So I resounding, I’m hearing the same echo.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:12:43) – This is important in life because. Harvard Business School. Other people will tell us, this is how you have to run your business. You have to have a plan. You have to stick to that plan. What’s your plan? You’ve got to stick to your plan and you’ve got to have this time frame. You’ve got to listen yes to what the people want and need. And the people were saying, I can’t do this thing that is going to change my life. So you take people where they are. So what’s the problem? The problem is, is I can’t do liquid. I’ve got to be chewing. I’ve got. So you do a little further research and you find this is the reason that people can’t do this. Because nine out of ten Americans snack two and a half times a day. And if you are snacking on fast food, processed foods and foods that contribute to heart disease, diabetes and diabetes, hey, here’s another change the paradigm angle. Let’s at least get people to start snacking better.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:13:35) – So we simply decided. I simply decided, let’s come up with a snack that is better for you. And what do we do but further research. What do people like? Popcorn happens to be one of the most liked snacks in America. In the world, actually. But how do people like their popcorn? Buttery and cheesy. And what contributes to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity? Butter and cheese. And so let’s take this thing that people love because we’re taking them where they are. We have what the real problem is. You know, society says the problem is obesity, heart disease. People are lazy. They just don’t want to cook. But but then people want to chew. So we take a popcorn product. First of all, we ever pop it to make sure that the dietary fiber is intact. We spray on an oil so that it’s just a small amount of oil, but it allows some type of thing that’s going to make it taste cheesy to stick to it. And so we use nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:14:31) – And for its namesake nutritional yeast, it’s got a ton of nutrients in it. So we’re sneaky, sneaky, sneaky, allowing people to get what they want and then tricking them into giving their body something that they didn’t want to do it from the green drink that had all of these same nutrients in it. And then, you know, everybody’s different. So we come up with different flavors, and why not use some herbs which are just vegetables that have medicinal properties associated with it to make it taste better? The nutritional yeast just happens to make it taste like it has cheese on it. But you get all this other great stuff as well. And we know that table salt is a huge contributor to hypertension. So we use sea salt which comes from the sea, which is where life begins and ends. So it obviously has an abundance of nutrients, you know, micronutrients. So let’s use sea salt. So they have that salty flavor, but they’re doing the body good. And who would have ever thunk it with a you thunk it that within six months of popping in my kitchen, in my garage and in my basement, that 40 Whole Foods stores would be carrying our popcorn in Ziploc bags, here’s another wisdom point.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:15:41) – You may not be or have the financial resources to make things look the way they’re supposed to look, but you’ve got to love Gen X because they’re usually not concerned with the appearance. It’s the content. And I had something in that Ziploc bag with a print label off of a LaserJet inkjet printer that people loved, and they were buying it in globs. But at the same time, this is not the end goal. The end goal is to change lifestyle habits so that yes, you have this healthy snack, but why not have a salad? Also, why not drink some fresh fruit and vegetable juices on a regular basis? So I went and I took to radio and I started doing local TV cable shows, teaching people how to go into their kitchen and do things different. And I had an angle I could come in with this tangible product that people love. So come out and try our popcorn. And while you’re trying our popcorn, stay for a 20 minute lecture and listen to this, this and this.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:16:38) – And at the end of the lectures, people would have so many questions and they were the same repetitive questions. 90% of the questions were the same. So let’s just put this a little booklet together that answers these questions so that I don’t have to continuously and we can sell them $15 for a book. You know, I ordered 10,000 books. We sold 1000 the first day. It ended up being a dollar per book at $15. There’s my whole entire cost for the 10,000 books. And you just wisdom. Point number three follow the passion. Continue to have a purpose, a real purpose, not a purpose. Just to make financial gains, but a purpose to one change people’s lives. Allow them to have an easy resource, to be able to have a practical manner in which to change things. And the doors will open, the revenue will come, and you won’t even feel like you’re working. I was working 40, 60 hours a week, and it felt like fun because people were coming to me saying, I let my grandmother try this and she’s feeling better.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:17:36) – You know what gives you more gratification? Not selling millions of bags of popcorns but making a difference in millions of people’s lives. And before you know it, you’ve been in business for. Ten years and 15 years, and you passed the markers where people say most businesses fail and you’re like, and people are asking you, where are you getting your funding from? People would come to me and say, we just want to give you $10,000 because you’re making such a difference in the community, you know? So family and friends, I mean, it’s just like everything that I needed was there. But we were in whole food stores. We were in the Wegmans. We were in the high end health food stores. The community that I initially sought to change. That’s not their stomping ground. They’re not shopping there. So now what? So now we have to do more of the public speaking, holistic healing, putting books together and trying to bring that community to the understanding that this is what happens. And how does that happen? How do you change people’s mind? You’ve got to have something that they’re excited about.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:18:35) – And so the whole gender of people don’t feel good when they wake up in the morning. People have slept for eight hours. They get up, they’re tired. How does that happen? You know, so helping people understand why that’s happening. Hey, try this. If someone you want to change the trajectory of your life, someone gives you some advice. That someone has to be in a place that you want to be. So for me, I had to at least look the part. So for me to work out. So I get a group of women and, you know, meet me in the park at 5:00 in the morning. I’m going to take you through these exercises five days a week for 60 minutes. No talking. This is a bootcamp and you’re forcing people to focus internally, you know, can I do that extra jumping Jack? Can I get up to the top of that hill? And once they’ve achieved that, when a woman does her first set of ten pushups unassisted, she wants to start her own company.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:19:30) – She wants to leave an abusive relationship. So these are all the other success points that I was having an opportunity to experience. So when people talk about how’s your journey been in business, her journey, this has been just a fun time, you know, and seeing the difference in and really changing people’s lives where you can literally help them live another 5 or 10 years, you can take the quality of what they’re doing. And the most beautiful thing, I think, Andy, is that when people take on your character, your energy, where they begin to live, to make a difference in other people’s lives. And so that’s the real journey. We made millions in the popcorn, but I could I wasn’t smart enough to figure out how to do the distribution network, where I could hire the capacity individuals that needed a six figure income, where I could literally take my hands off of it and focus on the things that I really wanted to focus on. I did begin being the chaplain at a very affluent nursing home in Washington, DC, where I met some incredible Orthodox Catholics, and I am a true Baptist, and it made such a difference.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:20:46) – These are in the lives of people that literally are leaving this earth and moving on to transition from life to eternity, and to be a part of that transition is indescribable. That’s not business. That’s just life meaningful in and of itself. And so that 13-year experience where I had the opportunity to bury some 150 people, most of them did not look like me because they came from silver spoons and just incredible centenarians. it was at a nursing home that I called the Ritz-Carlton Country Club. Look, nothing like a nursing home. This is where really; really rich people went to die. And I went there one day to speak to the staff on how they could improve the quality of these people’s lives, whether their person had introduced me, I was like, oh, Doctor Dallas is also an ordained minister. And the guy comes to me and he’s like, we don’t have any gospel services. What’s a gospel service? That’s where we can’t get the black people to come down. And so can you. Come out one Sunday, I came out one Sunday, and the next thing I knew, I had been there 56, 54 Sundays in a row, and that went on for 13 years.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:21:57) – And that experience changed my life. We weren’t scaling the popcorn business up at all, we were just maintaining visibility. But what I was doing in the lives of these people, and the things that I experienced and the people that I met and the doors that it ultimately opened were just it’s that’s the real story. So I probably taken up all of our time, and I don’t know if people understand how I got to where I am. And now I’m at a position where I’m entertaining Pepsi-Cola, possibly buying us for millions and millions and millions. And that wisdom point is the most significant point. And that is, is when you wake up in the morning and it’s not about you, but it’s about making a difference in the lives of others. God will take you and place you where you need to be.
Andi Simon: (00:22:45) – Now stay on that thought because you may have wanted to build a new white House when you were ten. But whether that plan turned into the plan that you lived wasn’t terribly important to you. You have a wonderful life experience of showing up.
Andi Simon: (00:23:07) – You don’t really know. As I listen to you what it’s going to mean or how it’s going to come about, but that’s okay. You know, and as you put together your green drink and I would like that recipe because you believe it. I’m not a popcorn eater, but a green drink would be an interesting to add to my diet. But what you’re doing is you’re hearing what’s going on around you, and you’re turning it into, I’ll use a word purpose for the moment, but something that is meaningful for you, but bigger than just you. Nothing you’ve told us is about you. When you come right down to it, it’s all about, you know, helping others through their life, helping others get healthy, about finding ways to take your experiences and sharing them. It’s it’s interesting because I have a wonderful colleague in Sri Kumar. We often talk about serendipity and he said, I said my life has been just one serendipitous one I show up in somehow. You and I met by chance, and here you are on my podcast and I’m listening and my I’m going, I’m inspired.
Andi Simon: (00:24:09) – I hope my listeners can really understand that Doctor Dallas isn’t here telling them about Doctor Dallas. She’s telling them about themselves and how to. And I say these words carefully, see what’s happening, feel it, and then think about what they can do to transform it in some fashion. And all of it is a little by chance you showed up, and next thing you know, you’re ministering. You’re doing a gospel ministry for 54 weeks. You go into the military and you spend 30 weeks and then 40 weeks and then more weeks. I mean, none of that is by I’ll call life plan, but it is about a Doctor Dallas plan, which is I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m willing to sit around and figure out what’s good or not. Have you had any failures?
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:24:58) – Of course, of course.
Andi Simon: (00:25:00) – Any, any to share because it’s becoming quite popular for people to ask, okay, what’s your failure? Because we learn from it. and it gives us some humility at the same time.
Andi Simon: (00:25:12) – But if you’d rather not, we can. We cannot do it. Well, you.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:25:15) – Know, interesting enough, I always tell people that. Especially from a Christian standpoint. Values are. Things that we experienced so that we can share that experience with others that ultimately will have that type of failure. The best way to to to lift someone up who’s gone through bankruptcy is to have experienced bankruptcy yourself for me here recently. So the popcorn was this thing that’s there. And, you know, unlike. Excuse me. I’m like selling my books. You have this residual income. But to make more money in the popcorn, you’ve already got to pay the manufacturer. I had my own manufacturing company for eight years. I don’t know if I mentioned that. We’re selling globs of popcorn, and the best way to do it was to get into an actual building. And so I got a warehouse, redesigned it, did manufacturing for eight years, and doing that eight year period, I probably advance more in age than my entire 25 years that we’re celebrating this year.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:26:20) – But I also realized, Andy, that though I was a businesswoman and I had started down this path, that was the first opportunity to actually have employees. And very quickly I realized that I’m not the type of person that needs to be in charge of adults. And then I and then I found myself in a real frenzy because I’m saying, well, how are you going to be a business owner? And it’s like, okay, that’s the million dollar question. But I had my hands in it and I just kind of put my head down and grinded it out. But that was probably the worst experience for me. It’s taking care of people and their problems and their personalities and understanding that we live in a culture where people. Don’t really want to work. I mean, their ethical values and integrity is not like yours. And you have to deal with all of this, or else you’re going to be there popping popcorn by yourself in the middle of the night. Experience that. And so I decided that the mission of helping people and that I was on the right path, but I need it to have more financial resources to be able to speak on the other side of the country and pay my flying.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:27:30) – Because, you know, when you’re coming in as a minister to a megachurch, if you’re not coming in teaching the people how to make more money so that they can put more money in church, you know, they’re really not interested in anything else that you have to say, not in terms of paying you. You could come in and speak for free all night long, which is what I did, because I had materials I could go in and, and and forsake a speaking fee and know that if I’m speaking to 1500 people, I’m going to sell 1500 books, at least 1500 bags of popcorn. It was such a grind. So it’s a hustle, but it was important and we did that. But I needed to get to a position where I honestly wanted true pop popcorn to be a household name. How can I make that happen? And it wasn’t about the millions that we could make. If it was a household name, it was about if people would just snack on this two times a day.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:28:19) – We could wipe out a lot of what this country is dealing with. And so since I had been in distribution, somewhat, I decided to look into how could we get the popcorn bags at the United States Department of Agriculture, where there are 10,000 employees that go through the cafeteria every day? They would love this popcorn. We could be selling 10,000 bags of popcorn. And so that’s when people started saying, well, you’ve got to get certified. You’re a woman, a veteran, a female can get all kinds of certifications and get the government contracts. And what I did, it was an arduous process initially just to get certified with the Department of Transportation. And I did all of these things. And right after I completed that, we had a pandemic. There will never be 10,000 employees at the USDA ever, ever again. And it was just, you know, it was like God was telling me you decided to go down this path. I didn’t really send you down this path, but lesson learned.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:29:18) – I’m going to help you where you are anyway. And I think the first meeting that I ever went to, I was supposed to have gone to another meeting, and there was a lady at the home who, in the middle of the night, got an infection, and she was about to have her leg amputated. She wakes up and she doesn’t have a leg. She wants to, you know, just not be here anymore. The nursing home calls me. I forego a very important meeting to go and pray with this woman and minister to her and the guy that long story short, it ended up working to my benefit because they scheduled another meeting for me and that was the first and only government meeting I ever had to go to. Contractor meeting, and Aramark Foods decided to pick me up as their subcontractor. My first contract was 12% of $156 million contract for six years, where I was able to sub out most of the work and just be the project manager, which required little or no of my time.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:30:12) – Yeah, or a very decent, you know, and it’s just that’s how things work. And you take that money to be able to do more of that. And that’s where I found myself in here recently, one of my main subcontractors. Just, lost the building. So my headquarter office in a 75,000 square foot warehouse in order to maintain the continuity of that contract, which guarantees me serious sustainability for the next eight years, I had to up and relocate in 35 days, 35 days. And so if I look a little fatigue, we’re just coming off of that 35 days. And just less than a year ago, I think about $22,000 into the place because I found myself there more hours a week than I want it to be, and I needed the place to exude the type of energy that I need to stay in my sunshine. And so for me, that was an incredible lesson. I don’t look at it as a mistake or failure, but. You’re in business with someone, that you’re giving them $6 million worth of work a year.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:31:19) – I consider us to be partners. I think you were less than forthcoming with information. So how do you do that? Takes a little more. Everyone’s not like you every night. It’s not going to be as honest as you are. People aren’t going to have the same integrity. So the due diligence, at least in having those hard conversations with people, I have people that owe me thousands of dollars, and I am not the type of person that says, excuse me, can I get my $15,000 that you owe me back? I just I don’t like those conversations. You know, you owe me $15,000. Why don’t we have to talk about that? And so.
Andi Simon: (00:31:52) – Doctor Dallas and I’m listening to you. I’m glad I asked you the question. Okay? Cause I don’t want any of our listeners or our viewers to think that life is so simple. You come up. And so the story part. Remember, when we build the story, we select the parts that we want that come together when we, you know, we’re we make meaning and we make it in a way that makes it all seem simple.
Andi Simon: (00:32:18) – And yet it is hardly simple. And all of them, the word failure is inappropriate. It’s life and all the twists and turns and the unexpected. And we’ve all lived it. And and yet I think that we need to be humble enough for our audience to know that this isn’t simple, guys. This requires some tenacity, persistence, creativity, and I understanding that what you have today when you go to sleep may not be what you have tomorrow when you wake up. And y’all may not see it coming, but it’s okay because we rise to the occasion and we are able to find a way to get past it, because the good so outweighs the not so good, and the not so good is here for a reason. So I can learn a whole new set of skills that overcoming. Am I reflecting well on what you said?
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:33:08) – Absolutely. And I love the the the adjectives that you use. I think the one other adjective that I would squeeze in there would be the sacrifice. Yes. You know, when other people are off doing whatever, your employees may not show up, but the work needs to be done.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:33:24) – And I guess a little of that military background, my father was just a very strict disciplinary, you you do the things that need to be done. Some people don’t. That’s why a lot of their businesses fail. But they’re going to be times when you know what I don’t like when I do panel discussions sometimes, and you’re sitting here and you’ve gotten to that point where you’re making millions and you’ve got an audience of young entrepreneurs and they’re just like, eager. And we’re people are making them think that they’ve always made millions. And I really try and emphasize that. There were times when you had to literally make the decision, are we keeping the lights on this month or the water, you know, and it just it doesn’t last forever. No.
Andi Simon: (00:34:06) – My husband’s a serial entrepreneur, and I went into business 22 years ago, and before that I was in corporate. And before that I was a tenured professor, all of which were pretty secure relative to going and launching a business about something. You know, you’re a corporate anthropologist.
Andi Simon: (00:34:21) – What are you doing helping business? Well, businesses are small scale societies that need a hand on how to see things and do better. You live it. You are a living anthropological mindset who can see, feel and think of new ways and make things come alive. But we also, at the end of our podcast, as much as I could spend a long time listening to you help others begin to see the world through a fresh idea, you know, let’s wrap up with a couple of things that I want, and you want the listeners to walk away with and say, I’m going to do that. And I want your recipe for your green drink. But other than that, some things that we can leave them with that will inspire them to aspire to higher heights. What do you think?
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:35:05) – I think the first thing is, is that you have to have. Passion about what it is that you’re doing, and that’s not something that’s superficial. I think that we’re so busy that we don’t have a moment to just step away and be out amongst the trees where you don’t hear the noise, you don’t see the emails to think about that thing that you truly love, because it’s in all of us.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:35:28) – And that thing that’s important to make a difference in other people’s lives. At the end of the day, it’s got to be about. Loving thy neighbor, and so always just have something and follow it no matter what, and always know that things, not all of us are going to be the success that America thinks we’re supposed to be. Your success may come in very, you know, think about the person that. Was the Sunday school teacher that made a difference in Billy Graham’s life. She was a Sunday school teacher, but because of her and how she impacted him, look at the difference that he made on the world. So we’re all a part of this 10,000 piece puzzle. Be the piece of the puzzle that you’re supposed to be, and be the best that you can be at that. Also, I love you coming off the brink, and for me, that might look like making sure that I get my four and a half mile walk in. But whatever it is for self-care, to make sure that you are as whole as possible mentally, physically and spiritually, you have to have that balance.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:36:26) – We’ve allowed the world to invade us too much. I tell people, you have access to me 24 over seven, but that doesn’t mean that you have access to me. Just because you can connect to me does not mean that I’m supposed to be checking my emails and messages every ten minutes, so give yourself that time to schedule, time to be daily off the brink and analyze yourself consistently. Where am I in life? Am I happy? Am I making an impact on other people’s lives? What are people going to say at my funeral? Yes. Are they going to be moved that this person is no longer here? Or are they just going to be looking forward to going downstairs at me in a piece of chicken?
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:37:03) – The things that I would say, but, sacrificial, be willing to do for others and let it be sacrificial. You know.
Andi Simon: (00:37:11) – I do think, though, that your life story has offered those folks who come to our podcast an opportunity to reflect on their own life’s journey.
Andi Simon: (00:37:23) – And so I’ll add a few of my wisdoms into your wisdoms, because, you know, the science of well-being has taught us that acts of kindness improve our sense of well-being. And Doctor Dallas is kindly sharing with you the ups and the downs of of life, of growing, and how to really show up and listen. Because that is really an important thing for you to think about. It’s really, how do I show up? The second thing is listen to hear what someone is to say. I find that the podcast is a very interesting medium, because it’s really hard for me, who likes to be a lecturer and a teacher to listen to listen hard to what Dallas Doctor Dallas is saying or another interview guest. Because I really want them to be the stage on the stage showing what they want to have. I think that the quote, if you can’t see it, you can’t be. It is so powerful because here’s the opportunity for me to be able to show you what other people have done. And I want you to begin to think about what Doctor Dallas and try for popcorn, but also try her life, which is about finding ways to help others live healthy again.
Andi Simon: (00:38:35) – So between her popcorn and her green drink and just her joy, it’s truly been a joy. Let me wrap up, my friends. Thank you for coming, as always. On the brink with Andy Simon is here to get you off the brink, and my job is to help you see, feel and think in new ways and take your observations and turn them into innovations. Our books, my books are all available on Amazon. On the brink is there, Rethink Smashing the Myths of Women in Business and the new book Women Mean Business, co-authored with Eddie Frazier and Robin Spaceman, are all there for you to discover our wisdom, ready to help you see feeling, thinking new ways. And I’m always in awe of the emails you send us at info at Andy simon.com, where you can tell us about what you’ve discovered and some insights that you have. Doctor Dallas, any last thought? How can they reach you if they’d like to find you?
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:39:27) – LifebyDallas.com is our website and you may email me directly.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:39:32) – Dallas at Life by dallas.com. we do have celebrating 25 years this year, a Wellness on purpose kit to get you started with all the basics that you need to get a copy of both of our books, as well as my e-book, which is my most proud possession. It will walk you through the steps. It has 5 or 6 videos that are there to help you transition to make more healthy lifestyle choices. And of course, you would get a package of our popcorn and one of our true pot t shirts, and that’s $99 and that’s available at our website as well.
Andi Simon: (00:40:03) – Good. I have a hunch you’re going to have a lot of folks come to visit you to get the t shirt and the popcorn, because I think they’re both equally important. So goodbye, everyone. Have a wonderful day. And and please, you know, be kind. It’s a good time for us to emphasize the kindness and talk to people and enjoy them. Bye bye now. Thanks again, Doctor Dallas, for joining me today.
Dr. Renette Dallas: (00:40:26) – Thank you for having me.
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