Coffee With E

The Power of Purpose: From Pain to Impact with Sade' Truiett

• Erica Rawls

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🌟 “Only God can bring you to your point of purpose through so much pain.”

In this powerful and emotional episode, Sade' Truiett, founder of Girl Talk, shares how heartbreak, grief, and identity struggles led her to discover her purpose: mentoring and empowering young women.

Now a missionary-in-the-making and nonprofit leader, Sade' opens up about going from a shelter church girl to mentoring over 1,000 girls through real talk, vulnerability, and obedience to God’s call.

Whether you’re navigating your twenties or stepping into your own calling, this episode will meet you exactly where you are.

✨ You’ll Hear:

        •        How Girl Talk started with 6 girls and exploded into a movement

        •        The loss that shifted her ministry forever

        •        What her mentees taught her about healing, advocacy, and self-worth

        •        The identity battle of being a church girl, a preacher’s kid, and an NBA sibling

        •        Her personal encouragement for anyone “waiting” on God

💡 “The wait is not a punishment, it’s preparation. Prepare well.”
🎯 Help us reach 1,000 subscribers by June 30!
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🏠 Powered by The Erica Rawls Team

#CoffeeWithE #SadeTruiett #GirlTalk #PurposeDriven #FaithAndHealing #WomenInMinistry #MentorshipMatters #HealingJourney #BlackWomenLeaders #ChristianPodcast #EmpowerYoungWomen #DivinePurpose #GriefToGrace #NonprofitLeadership #TheWaitingSeason



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Erica Rawls:

Hey you, welcome to another episode of Coffee with E. When I tell you this one, you are going to get so much energy just from the sound of her amazing voice. You know, when you know someone is anointed, or just have so much favor, like you know, god is living with them, walking in their purpose. I promise you, this one is not going to disappoint, and if you stay to the end, or listen to the end, if you're watching, you're going to probably see me cry, because she literally brought me to tears. And we're talking about none other than Sade Truitt. She has a message, she is a missionary, evangelist Don't even know it yet, y'all and she has this amazing nonprofit business called Girl Talk and she is uplifting women in Delaware. We're going from 10 to about over a thousand women that she's being able to impact in such a positive way.

Erica Rawls:

I need you to stay tuned, y'all, because this one is sure to lift your spirits, is sure to lift your spirits. Hi, you are in my seat. I am. You know what. I'm really excited because you may be the furthest distance guest that we had, the first one. So, coming from Delaware, she came from Delaware, y'all, to sit down and have coffee with me, yes, yeah. So I'm really excited about it. You know why I'm excited? Because the mutual connection that we actually have.

Erica Rawls:

So today we're just going to have a conversation. Some good old girl talk yeah, some good old girl talk, that's right. So then, why is it important for us to sit down? Because you are dynamic. That's why and I don't know if you've had an opportunity to look at our platform to see what we're all about just being your authentic self, love it, love it, life into the young people. I really think it's really important. So sitting down with you is just something I think is going to add value to the community. So, yeah, so they're probably like well, why? Why Miss Erica, why Auntie? Right? Well, let's check this out. What do you do?

Erica Rawls:

And I want to get a little bit of background information on your family and how you've become into the space that you're in today. Can we start there? Yeah, we can. I mean, it's a loaded question, but we're going to go there. We are going to go there. We have some time. Yeah, we got some time. We got a coffee. You got your water. Yeah, I got my water, all the things.

Sade' Truiett:

So, first of all, I'm just honored that to be sitting with you. You know, a lot of times I get a lot of phone calls, a lot of requests, but I'm very prayerful about the things that I take, because when you are a purpose-driven woman, you have to kind of adjust your access and availability. And so driving from Delaware was a purpose move tonight. It wasn't a let's just go, it was because God sanctioned this moment and not to be all deep and super spiritual, but that's just how I flow. So that's why I'm here, that this is purpose, it's an assignment. Somebody somewhere is going to hear this and they're going to need whatever we have in this conversation to edify them, to get them to that next level. Because it's your season two, right, it's your season two. Like you're not just doing this just to talk, it's your season two, it's a divine, it's a divine moment.

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah, so who is Sade? So, military brat born in Panama. My dad was in the military. Born in Panama, honey, I think I'm Panamanian, right, my dad? I tell people that.

Erica Rawls:

No, you need to tell people that my

Sade' Truiett:

mom was from Charleston, south Carolina, my dad from Baltimore, and I am Panamanian in my mind, okay. So, born boarding Panama, my dad's, my parents, last base was Dover Air Force Base, which, being a military brat child, was like the best time of my life. I didn't even know a world outside of our military base existed, because of just how much love I have. Like I met my best friends at two years old and we still are best friends to this grown-up age, like that's just how

Erica Rawls:

that is awesome,

Sade' Truiett:

you know, sacred that was. And I have an older brother, LaRon, and I have a younger brother, Josh, and LaRon was a superstar in basketball. He played in the NBA, um, and then I have a team, uh, Washington Wizards, the LA Lakers. So he's been. Then he went overseas international. So could you imagine, like, and then I was a sheltered church girl. So my mom, I was a sheltered church girl and then I had this superstar brother. So there was a lot of trying to balance that world and looking for identity and all that stuff. We'll get to that, but so that.

Sade' Truiett:

So went to school in Delaware, graduated from Cesar Rodney, went to the Delaware State University, got a degree. The Delaware State University,

Erica Rawls:

okay, hornet,

Sade' Truiett:

yes, what'd you know about Hornet?

Erica Rawls:

Well, my son graduated from Delaware State.

Erica Rawls:

Yes,

Sade' Truiett:

what BSU?

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, oh, he played football there too.

Sade' Truiett:

I just love it. What so you know, okay, we Hornet, I do know we Hornet proud, yeah, he does, we horn it proud. So got a degree there in English education, got a master's in public administration. Taught for a hot second Like a hot second. I taught.

Erica Rawls:

Okay

Sade' Truiett:

, that was not middle school,

Erica Rawls:

lord Jesus. Okay,

Sade' Truiett:

yeah, that was not my calling. But what was my calling was teen girls.

Sade' Truiett:

And so, in the middle of leaving teaching and going into a school leadership as a program director, I was program director at a Title I school. So Title I schools are the lack of a better word the schools that have not a lot of resources. It's a vulnerable population, mostly black and brown kids, normally in the inner city part of the town, and so, as the only black woman in school leadership at that particular school, there were girls that were always the black girls would always find their way to my office and they would knock on the door and, being that the school, they told me that, Truiett, we're just putting you here, they're going to close the school down in three years. You're just going to be there just to kind of keep it going. Yeah, ain't. No, keep it going on, sade Wash. No, we're going to renew and get some things together. Like you, I said no, no, no, we're going to renew it. So, with the help of an amazing team there and the parents there, the school got renewed for five years.

Sade' Truiett:

But in the middle of that, these girls just kept knocking on my door and so one day I said you know what girls? Because I was in the middle of a moment, I'm going to come on Saturday, I'm going to open up the building, we're going to go in the gym, I'll order some how to get y'all home. Just be here at 12. Honey, they came, oh, they came, and for a year they did it. Oh, my god,

Erica Rawls:

They were craving it.

Sade' Truiett:

Yo, like, had no idea and as and at that time I was like 26, you know, looking for identity for my own self, you know, just graduating from college, all the things were happening at that time. So we did it and from six girls to 30 girls, to 100 girls, to 200 girls, to the whole school, every girl in the school was in Girl Talk. To now, the program has served over a thousand girls across our state and I mentor two girls in Africa.

Sade' Truiett:

Only God, right, only God, only God. A shelter church girl who didn't know how to do. It Went through a crazy heartbreak when I was in the end of my high school years into my college years looking for answers, found God in the middle of that Like only only only God can bring you to your point of purpose through so much pain. And so I'm so grateful to mentor these girls and I still do, and we're we're having to redefine it because of just where life is taking me, to more ministry assignments and things of that nature. But I mean I had girls that were told they weren't going to make it. I've been to girls' houses in the middle of drug busts. I've girls had temporary custody of.

Sade' Truiett:

I mean, like I was in the grind and at the time, even though I was mentoring Erica, I was like I'm just helping the girls, like this is what good people do. We just help people.

Erica Rawls:

That's when you know you're in your purpose right. When you don't know that you're mentoring you're just doing the activity, you're walking in that space and being the person that they need. Yeah, you're filling in the gaps.

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah, and like some of them call me mom and for some, for so many years I cringed at that because I'm like I never birthed these girls but as you get, would you, when you understand your purpose, you know what a mother does, you know? And I'm like, yeah, I do nurture them. Yes, I am that go-to person and I'm so blessed I get emotional talking about my girls because I'm just, they have overcome things that I mean. My goodness, thank God for my little shelter, church girl life. Cause I'd be like that's happening, like where is this happening? Like what? Um, they've overcome some amazing things and they graduated from Spelman and Hampton university and Howard university and one of my girls is working for one of the biggest technology firms in the world. Like they're doing amazing building houses, getting married, having babies, breaking generational curses and drama, coming back to say thank you, you know,

Erica Rawls:

wait, wait, wait. We got to stop. We got to stop because there's a lot. There's a lot.

Erica Rawls:

Hey, I'm hoping you're enjoying this episode of Coffee with E. I had to take 30 seconds to share with you one of our sponsors for this episode Top Construction. They are a premier construction company located in central PA, so if you live in Dauphin, cumberland, lancaster and Lebanon counties, you want to check them out. Not only are they reliable, they are reasonable and they get the job done. Now let's go back to the episode.

Erica Rawls:

Okay, so how long have you been doing this? How did you grow from maybe four or five people up to over thousands, thousands of people Like where did that? How'd that happen?

Sade' Truiett:

So we started in 2014, just meeting in the gym for a year.

Erica Rawls:

So 11 years.

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah, my baby, yeah, yeah, my baby.

Erica Rawls:

You started in a gym,

Sade' Truiett:

Literally in a gym, in a circle. And I heard what the, things they were talking about I was like ooh they need some self-esteem building, ooh they need some leadership, ooh she needs some etiquette, ooh we gotta talk about this relationship stuff. Ok! we gotta talk about this mother and dad dynamic, Ooh we gotta put some respect on it. Ooh, ok, I started hearing all the things they were going through, and so from that I would develop topics from that stuff. But then I also add fun things like we did Zumba one day.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah

Sade' Truiett:

Erica, I took them to a hotel for a sleepover. Probably 90% of them have never been, had never been to a hotel before.

Sade' Truiett:

So I rent out Dover Downs and like just Dover Downs. I know now, yes, even kidding me, dover Downs. I know that, yes, Bally's now officially. But like I had called a friend that was working at Dover Downs, I was like, hey, I'm going to have a soup over for my girls. They gave me like four rooms adjacent to the Dover Downs. Some of them never went to a pool before I took them to the buffet there. They never had a dining experience, but I wanted to give give them the truth of it is we're really really honest is I never had a big sister.

Sade' Truiett:

I always wanted a sister. My brothers are A1, a, nobody can replace LaRon, Josh. Okay, they're my bestest, best, best best friends. They are A1, but I think because I've always admired woman and I always wanted someone to just have a big sister. You know, my mom is great, but she's mom Right so, but I always wanted to have that. So I was blessed to have, you know, my Godsister, just different ones coming to my life.

Sade' Truiett:

But I always wanted to make sure that I wanted to be with what I needed for these girls and in doing that I was healing myself and didn't even know it. I was healing the part of me that wanted something that I was able to give to someone else. So I was just being big sis Sade', like you know, church girls. We're going on trips and conferences, that's what we do. So I brought some of that stuff into the school and when I left the school the program just wouldn't leave. So I had a great friend I shout out to Lamont and Vashita Pierce, who are pastors, and they had a church and they said you can use our building on Saturdays to continue your mentoring program. And so I continue the mentor program. Yes, on Saturdays I continue the program, christmas parties and guest speakers and I would call my friends and be like who wants to sponsor lunch this week for the girls? And they'd be like I got you this week, I got you next week, here's some money. You know, like my village wrapped around it because they were seeing you know the work that was happening in these girls and the lives that were being changed for my girls to call me and say you know what.

Sade' Truiett:

I had an opportunity to really go off on my teacher, but I remember what we talked about in Girl Talk. You know what I mean.

Erica Rawls:

You were making an impact.

Sade' Truiett:

You know, like Christmas, they were like can we go to church with you? I'm like what? Like, yes, like so. And then, like the, some of them have their mothers in their lives. Moms will be like girl, you're the only one I can get through. Thank you for what you're doing. You know so it matters. You know that matters. They're my heart and soul. Like I know that. I know that. I know that God put me on this earth to mentor young girls and women now. So it's totally expanding. Now there's a whole ministry that God has given me that I'm blessed to be able to go all over the place and speak and all those things. But I liken this to David in the field, like there was no cameras and nobody taking a social media clips of this stuff, like this is me in the grind and I had no idea that God was preparing me in that season for the next seasons of my life, life, that those girls taught me so much about me that it's just mind-blowing. So I love them.

Erica Rawls:

Okay, so how did they teach you Like, give us a glimpse into what they had taught you about yourself?

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah, I think how to deal with a lot of different personalities. You know, like I come from a very like you do what I say, say as I do world, whereas children, especially women, didn't have a voice. Well, these chicks was like, nah, we got something to say. It is saying no, we hear what you have to say about relationships and boys.

Sade' Truiett:

But back in your day it wasn't social media, it wasn't all these things happening. Like, listen to us, like let us talk, let us, let us brainstorm together. So that part I'm like, you're right, you do have agency in this. You're right, I am the adult in the room, but you're absolutely correct, you have agency in this. You know, tell me what you need. How can I help you?

Sade' Truiett:

So that was a big thing for me and learning how to speak up for my own self. I was telling them to advocate for themselves and speak up, but I would go in boardrooms and have to negotiate contracts and I would be quiet in there and I had to learn no, no, no, no, no. You're not going to tell these girls to be wonderful and great.

Erica Rawls:

So do you think being quiet in the boardroom ties a little bit to like our upbringing in church?

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah, 1000%.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah,

Sade' Truiett:

you can be seen, but not to be heard. Yes, and that's my. That was my thing growing up in the church was I love the order and respect. Where women had a place,

Erica Rawls:

they have a place.

Sade' Truiett:

You guys, the women are selling dinners in the kitchen. Right, the women are over here. You know the women.

Sade' Truiett:

You can give the inspirational message, but you can't preach on Sunday morning. The woman has to look a certain type of way. I was going to hell for what I have over and I'm fully covered today, so I'm all right today. But this lipstick, honey, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Right, like that.

Sade' Truiett:

It bothered me, Erica.

Erica Rawls:

No, you're, I'm laughing because you are not lying

Sade' Truiett:

, you're not gonna treat you. Yeah, it's bothered me. I'm like why can I not show up and be my best self?

Erica Rawls:

Yeah

Sade' Truiett:

, why am I not enough, even in this setting? And if this is the God that we're serving, then I'm really confused, so confused.

Erica Rawls:

So I had so many questions for God. Yeah, like what in the world? Yeah,

Sade' Truiett:

you're like there's so much more to life and I think, mentoring those girls. And then I think it also matters when I begin to. I gotta got a.

Sade' Truiett:

You know I left. You know I went to my mom at 16 and said you know, mom, I really love our upbringing, I really love our church family, but this is the church that we're at is not where I need to be anymore. And I and I was prepared for mom to give me all the rebuttal of why, you know, I had to stay because I was still living at home. I was 16 when I went to her with this. I was just like I have got to grow and my mom and dad were like go find the church that you're going to grow and blossom at. And that was the best.

Erica Rawls:

Those are some good parents

Sade' Truiett:

. What?

Erica Rawls:

Some good parents.

Sade' Truiett:

I'm so blessed.

Erica Rawls:

Yes,

Sade' Truiett:

and I went at 17. I will never forget this day.

Sade' Truiett:

In order to be a member of my church that I'm at now, Crossroad Christian Church Pastor Anthony Wallace shout out to him. He had to be 18 to become a member and I went to orientation. I was like to be a member of the church because the other sign I was a minor, yes, I was coming to all the things. But in order to be like an official member and I never got into orientation, pastor Wallace said she's fine, she's fine.

Erica Rawls:

I want to take two seconds to share with you that this particular episode is brought to you by Rob Shaw and Allstate Insurance. If you're looking for someone to give you insurance, whether it's home insurance, car insurance, go to him. He is your guy. Thank you, Rob, for sponsoring this show

Sade' Truiett:

and for and that.

Sade' Truiett:

Erica, it did something to me. It brought me into. I felt like, wow, I'm seen here. There's a place for me here. And this man has already sanctioned me with saying I got her.

Erica Rawls:

Wow,

Sade' Truiett:

I got her, she's

Erica Rawls:

you felt seen, you felt heard.

Sade' Truiett:

All the things

Erica Rawls:

I can figure it out here

Sade' Truiett:

. I can figure it out here. You know, like that was a big thing.

Sade' Truiett:

And that was the first time, I think, in my Christian walk I stood up for myself in that way. I was just like you know who, at 16, is saying they don't want to. You know you do what your parents say. But you know I had a relationship with God for myself. You know I was God. You know I got this. You know we got to shake some things up. Like, all right, I'm going to live for you. But this right here, like these rules, is making me nervous. Like

Erica Rawls:

well, whose rules were they? You know what I mean?

Erica Rawls:

You know we had. Well, I grew up in Pentecostal church, me too. Yeah, so a lot of those rules, I believe you know, although they're biblical based, I think that we put some extra sauce on it, yeah, yeah. So it's just like it was hard, like, yeah, and being a preacher kid living in a fishbowl was just like, well, I couldn't handle. Yeah, it was a lot, it was a lot,

Sade' Truiett:

it was a lot.

Sade' Truiett:

But I think, even at 17, to prepare me for my mentoring with the girls, is being able to speak to them about Jesus and relationship, and be like well the choice is yours, right, and I'm going to love you whatever you choose. You know my girls live all kind of lifestyles that they know mom don't really approve of. But I love you. So I love you enough to look beyond that, because you won't come along, you can't stay connected to me Right and not get into alignment with what God has for your life. So I'm going to let you go through a little season. But it gave me the freedom to say I love them. Regardless of what you choose, whoever you become, I love you, yeah, and I know that the love that I have for you is going to make you want to live in a way that is pleasing to whatever your purpose and alignment is. But yes, my babies are everything to me. I'm always on the phone texting and graduation party. I think I have like 17 parties to go to.

Erica Rawls:

How do you handle it all? You by yourself. You're not a woman show, are you?

Sade' Truiett:

so

Sade' Truiett:

Uh, unexpectedly, um, my dear friend who, um, helped me with all of this work, who was my bestest best friend, uh passed away in December 27th of 2024. So she was the one that kind of like she organized all the things and you know she helped a lot. But Sade' is also a businesswoman at heart. So when I saw that I was leaving education, I began to partner with school districts, and so I do Girl Talk during the academic school day.

Erica Rawls:

Oh, that's awesome.

Sade' Truiett:

So I go to the schools now Instead of having to find a place feed them all the things.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah,

Sade' Truiett:

I partner with school districts, so it makes my life so much easier. So I do.

Sade' Truiett:

I like to show up for Girl Talk. I do have some people that I use on standby, um, to come in and do it, but as much as I can go, I do, and I and I and I scheduled around my availability to do it. But Kim was my person that did all the background. So, no, I haven't found the, the amazing person to help with that yet. Um, but she was. Yeah, they're coming, they gotta come, and this is god's person. He got us in the person.

Erica Rawls:

I know that's right.

Sade' Truiett:

So, yeah, she was the one that did all of that travel with me, all the things.

Sade' Truiett:

So, but that was a good life lesson in itself for me as well. You know, I had to make some necessary transition and make some things and do some things differently. Yeah, you know how we do. We adjust, we cry and we scream and we upset, but when purpose is on you at some point you got to change your garments and be like you know what I said yes to God.

Erica Rawls:

And the girls are looking at you how you handle.

Sade' Truiett:

I know for sure, more than I know.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah,

Sade' Truiett:

more than I know.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, a hundred percent.

Erica Rawls:

So the people that graduated, are they coming back and say, hey, how can I help?

Sade' Truiett:

Yes, a lot of them. They do a lot. Do so. To answer your question about how I decide I've gotten to the point now that I don't feel bad anymore. So if it fits into my schedule and I can go, I go. But I am, you know, I'll send the cash app. I am texting mom. Whoever's organizing the parties, let them know I love them. My scent is on it somewhere. Whether you know whether I send the balloon money, whether I, whatever, I make sure my scent is on it somewhere so they know that I'm there. Whatever, I make sure my scent is on it somewhere so they know that I'm there. But if it fits into the schedule, it fits, and if it doesn't, it doesn't.

Sade' Truiett:

And what's so funny? I told my mom the other day one of my mentees, I was, I called. I was like I'm so sorry I haven't called you back. And then she was like you're about the Father's business.

Erica Rawls:

I know

Sade' Truiett:

we understand that you on a mission and those that don't understand, mom, they, they're not the one for you. So I was like they get it. You know, they understand now, which I'm so blessed, you know, and I think that I stay connected with them.

Sade' Truiett:

We have several group chats and so every week I am in constant communication with them. In our group text messages, when things happen, I give a phone call, real quick, or a voice memo. I'm always somewhere, connected to them and they have learned to just tap into me. Like I have a speaking engagement and they'll just show up. Like yesterday I had to speak somewhere and they're like we're here. I love you guys. You know they were, they'll just show up.

Erica Rawls:

That's because you showed how much you cared, you poured into them, so of course they're going to show up for you.

Sade' Truiett:

I love that.

Erica Rawls:

And that's just the way it goes. You know what I mean. You planted those seeds like okay, yeah, this is how you show up for people. You showed them how to show up for people.

Sade' Truiett:

It's important, yeah, you know.

Sade' Truiett:

Sometimes I think, even with our own girlfriend circles, it's like I can't always be the whatever, but I can show up in some way. You know I can come to the, to the event and be in the back. I can make sure you got your flags to switch out when you, after you get done speaking or whatever, like it matters. Those little things really matter and you know I am big on that with. You know, as busy as my world is, I try to always make sure that the people that I love my scent is somewhere there. I and as much as I can show up. I want to show up. I really really do so. I try my hardest. I don't feel bad anymore.

Erica Rawls:

What's the legacy that you want to leave? I mean this is huge. I mean because if you graduated from Del State wait, you can't be but in your early 30s right,

Sade' Truiett:

early 30s child, I just I just had a birthday last week. I was still processing it.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah,

Sade' Truiett:

I turned 37 last Tuesday. Well, that's the first time I've said girls, that's awesome.

Erica Rawls:

So you're, you're still young, yeah, so what, like? What legacy do you plan? Did you intend to leave?

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah, I mean in a world where you could be anything, be kind, in a world where you can be anything, be kind, people at the core of Girl Talk is just me just extending kindness to these girls, just being nice to people. People are having all kinds of things happening that we have no idea about, and if I'm going to live for God on my bad day, I still have to send kindness to you. And so, for me, the legacy that I want my girls to always remember that I don't care how someone treats you, what they say to you yes, there's boundaries and all that stuff, but at the end of the day, be kind. There have been seasons in my life that I was fighting battles that no one knew about, but someone would come along and just give me a hug or say you're doing your thing, girl. Girl, thank you for showing up today. Those things matter, those things. In a world where you can be anything, society is going to tell you all day long who you should be, who you need to be, what you need to do, what you need to have. What does success look like?

Erica Rawls:

It's ,exhausting yeah, and it costs you nothing. It costs you nothing to be kind.

Sade' Truiett:

That's the thing I love about God. You know, at the end of the day, with all I mess up, with all the things that I deal with. God's love and his kindness draws me every single day. He don't hold it against me. Yeah, he don't hold it against me.

Sade' Truiett:

I went out to dinner a few weeks ago and the waiter was terrible. I mean, she had to come back and apologize. She was so terrible and I'm not moved by that stuff. Right, get it. She probably rushing to work. She got a kid at home.

Erica Rawls:

What happened to her? You know what I mean. Yeah, just be kind,

Sade' Truiett:

because she's going to have to deal. She's going to think about that later and I still tipped her.

Erica Rawls:

Good for you,

Sade' Truiett:

you know what I mean, because we have to be kind. And here's the thing. We went back to that restaurant. That girl came running out the kitchen to apologize. I had a terrible week last week.

Erica Rawls:

See,

Sade' Truiett:

it's all good. Sweetheart, I get it.

Sade' Truiett:

Child, I want somebody to be nice to me on a bad day. You know what I mean. But in the world we could be anything. My legacy is that, and one day, when I have a daughter, the one thing I want my daughter to be just be nice to people. You know how to be around nice people. You can't wait to get around them. I wait. They just sweet and loving and so you're not going to act up and cut up with those people because they're just like. I can't wait to get around them. Right, just be nice to people. People are fighting battles. That, whoo, my goodness, that. Thank God we don't have to fight, you know. So be kind, always, remember how you make them fail. Yeah, always.

Sade' Truiett:

Mother Teresa, like she's one of my biggest like inspirations in life, because people always ask me you know, if you were not doing anything, what would you be doing? I would be traveling the world, doing missions, work, digging wells, building schools. That's what I want to do

Erica Rawls:

Really.

Sade' Truiett:

Yes, yeah,

Erica Rawls:

wow,

Sade' Truiett:

yeah, like that's. That's my ultimate dream. Like my prayer is like, god, make my schedule so that three months out the year, I can do. I'm hearing you say I love my church girl. Yes, she better go. Yeah, so yeah, that is awesome.

Erica Rawls:

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Erica Rawls:

So then growing up with your you know, with your brother, and the spotlight, and then there's just, you know, there's you over here trying to figure it out. Well, I want to do something, you know, big and impactful, like, how did that? Like, how do you figure out what your identity was? And through all of that right, and also with you know, at the church and you know people looking at you, expecting you to work or live a certain way and how did that all?

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah, so I have to. She's like, yeah, yeah, I think we're gonna take this.

Sade' Truiett:

I have to say that in our household, that my mom and dad made it very clear there's no superstars in our household.

Erica Rawls:

I know

Sade' Truiett:

like your brother,

Erica Rawls:

I'm loving your parents,

Sade' Truiett:

yeah, they're good people, they're good. They are like helicopter parents, but they good people. Oh, child, they helicopter, but they good, they mean well, honey, they mean well, they mean well, they mean well. But my mom and dad made it very clear Like there are no superstars in this family. Your brother just happens to play basketball. He's very good at it, and we're a very family. He's very good at it.

Erica Rawls:

Happened to be in the NBA, you know.

Sade' Truiett:

You know, yeah, and I think, because we have crisis in our family that, like you know, we are family. People Like Bernetta shuts it, that's my mom. She don't care if I'm in Africa with Oprah or Michelle Obama, on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and your birthday, yall all need to be home we are going to celebrate together. Like my mom is very family oriented and I love that about our family. So we we're very close. So I think that before he even ascended to where he was, we were already we're very cool, we're in each other's business all the time, like we are very close, close family to the point that we're like all right back up, all right. So, um, but honestly, Erica, it was very hard to go to. Leron played at the university in Maryland college park and then went to the NBA.

Sade' Truiett:

And I'm around women who don't look like me.

Erica Rawls:

Age age difference

Sade' Truiett:

Um, nine years, okay. Um, I'm around women who don't look like me. I'm a, you know, they're light skin, they're girl, they're these women on music videos they're. Some of them are nice, some of them not nice. All they want is my brother's attention, oh my God. So, and coming from where I come from, you know we dress modestly, you know I'm all the things there's just feeling like you just didn't belong, you didn't look like them. My brother wasn't dating women that looked like me and we've had that conversation years prior and he understood, like you know now, yeah, and so then he goes to the NBA. Where I'm around, you know Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and all the people.

Sade' Truiett:

It was overwhelming. I mean I did my best to show up as a supportive sister. But I will never forget the night that is my 16th birthday and LaRon and the Washington Wizards had just won the championship game, their playoff game. It's my 16th birthday and we're at a playoff game. Everyone is like excited about you know, oh my god, going to playoff game. I was out of attitude the whole game. I mean you were turning 16 and nobody could care less. Nobody could care less. It was just a big deal. And so at the end of the night we go to Old Epic Grill, which is one of my favorite restaurants in DC, and like people come out to have a birthday dinner. Everybody's like what is wrong with you? Like you just have an attitude. But what they didn't know was like I always have to share my world with these moments. I've never seen. It's always La'Ron's sister this season of my life. Right, it's always La'Ron's sister. I'm always.

Sade' Truiett:

You know, it was just too much, it was a lot, it was too much. And being around all of that and not and no fault to my family. They were navigating it too, so nobody knew how to check in, to say

Erica Rawls:

New territory for everybody.

Sade' Truiett:

It was too much. And then I felt ungrateful because I should be excited. I mean, my brother is like, we're best friends on and off the basketball court. But it was hard finding an identity because then I see these girls who I look up to and admire, with these men. So I want to be in a relationship. I'm like 17, 18. I want to know what it is, you know, to be in all this whatever. And it was a lot. And then I began to attract, want to be your friend because your brother plays in the NBA.

Erica Rawls:

Oh man,

Sade' Truiett:

right, you know what I mean. Who doesn't want a front row ticket to an NBA game? Who doesn't want to say there with Sade' and whatever? So navigating that Erica was very hard and I made some bumps and bruises along the way. And this is where this is where purpose found me right. So in that honey, I met this.

Sade' Truiett:

So, vacation Bible school, I was like 15 or 16 of, I was in LeRon was at the height of his career and I met who I thought I was going to be with for the rest of my life. Birthdays are saved. They bore two minutes apart. And if Daddy is a preacher, come on, we're 15 and he's already 6'6, with blue eyes, and he wants who. Who does he want? He wants me. And Bernadette don't like nobody, but she loved this particular one. She just needed to follow. I mean, he came to my house and sat in a living room with me and she didn't say anything. Yeah, so you couldn't tell me that this was not going to be my husband.

Sade' Truiett:

In the middle of all this, and at that time, you know, I'm looking for identity, I want to be loved, I want to be seen. So honey fell in love with this boy. Make a long story short. He took my best friend to prom instead of me, like cheated, lied Girls wanted to jump me in the Dover Mall over him. But you know, you know what narsis say Never it's you that I want Girl. So 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

Erica Rawls:

Not gaslighting back

Sade' Truiett:

. Yeah, they terrible. So, whatever, whatever. So I would never. This is the crux of the story. I would never get this day. So we had gotten to a really big argument and again, the gaslighting you're tripping. It's not you, whatever, whatever. But in my heart of hearts like this is the one for me. This is the one God has for me, blah, blah, blah. So I would never get was in my African-American lit class and I went home and my mom would tell the story that she found me on my bedroom floor and so we went to the doctor and the doctor said I want you to know that your daughter had an anxiety attack.

Sade' Truiett:

That was almost a nervous breakdown. She could have lost her mind because I was so heartbroken over this relationship, girl, I got up off that floor. I said never again would no man, woman, boy or child cause me to lose my mind. Like I was that far gone in that relationship. You know what I mean. And I think that I begin to see that like I gotta find, I gotta figure some other stuff out, like I gotta like something has to shift in just how I'm operating in my life and in my world and I cannot make this person in my world that if I'm looking for love, like it gotta be somewhere else and that's that's really in. Like when I was 23, I really began to follow with God. Then God led me to these mentees and all the other things. So heartbreak brought me to purpose,

Erica Rawls:

heartbreak brought you to purpose

Sade' Truiett:

Heartbreak, heartbreak and disappointment.

Erica Rawls:

Wow,

Sade' Truiett:

yeah,

Erica Rawls:

just in case you don't know, these episodes are brought to you and funded majority from my real estate team, the Erica Ross team. So thank you for continuing to support this channel and if you're looking to sponsor in any way, one of the best gifts you can give us is a referral. So if you know anyone that's looking to buy or to sell, reach out to us. We are here to help.

Erica Rawls:

This was so good. You're going to touch somebody? I know you are. Yeah, because one.

Erica Rawls:

The age group, right, it's that 25 to about 30-ish. You're trying to figure out life and you think you have it all together and then you talk from a church girl perspective. I mean there's so many gems and then the impact that you actually made with these young girls' lives and you continue on and you grew it to be something that's just so abundant, like thousands, like this is crazy, over 11 years span.

Sade' Truiett:

God is good,

Erica Rawls:

He is good. I mean that's just favor all over you, all over you. What is the last words that you like to share with our audience? Now, remember that the age group here is like 25 to 35. I mean, it's right in your wheelhouse, right? If it's the one thing that you wish someone would have told you when you were going through that age range, what would it be?

Sade' Truiett:

The waiting is not in vain. So, whatever you're waiting for, whatever you are believing to happen in your life, that the wait is not there to be anything but preparation for you. And so we often let the wait waiting to be married, waiting to buy the house, waiting for the job, waiting for the breakthrough, waiting for the decision, waiting to be chosen to frustrate us and it becomes a physical weight that we stay there. But I would encourage someone in this age where anybody that's listening, to just endure the weight. And as you're waiting, you prepare, you live your best life. That's how you prepare, you do all the things you want to do. You start the business, you write the book, you go to Africa, you jump, you go bungee jumping, you travel, you experience new restaurants, you go to therapy that in that way, whatever you're waiting for, that you take the time to prepare.

Sade' Truiett:

Don't let the wait be the season that you waste and then, when you get what you want, you're like I'm not ready, I'm not ready, I'm not ready, and then it passes you by. So I would encourage every man, woman, boy and girl that's listening to just let the wait be your preparation phase, like. It's going to be worth the while. It's going to be worth the while. It's going to be worth the wait. It's going to be worth the wait. It's going to be worth the wait. It's going to be worth the wait Exceedingly, abundantly and beyond. It's going to be worth the wait that your waiting is not in vain. So wait, well, wait with joy, drink some coffee and wait.

Erica Rawls:

Girl, she's going to have me cry again. I love you.

Sade' Truiett:

This. You're so sweet, you're so good, you're so you know.

Sade' Truiett:

I don't know if we're still recording, but when I talked to you the other, when I talked to you the other day, I saw all over you that you're stepping into a new season. I saw a divine flipping of the page and I don't know what the page is turning to be. But everything that you've endured, every loss that you take, you have learned to suffer so well, in secret and silent, you know how to show, because that's who God has made you to be. But I want you to know that your waiting has not been in vain and that Amos 9: 13 says that, Erica, in this next season that your head is going to go like this. You're going to be calling people and saying it's too good to be true. But I'm telling you what I know that God has honored you and favored you and that your weight, your weight, your weight, the place that you're in, is too small for you right now. But your weight is not a vain and God gonna blow your mind.

Sade' Truiett:

Yeah,

Erica Rawls:

I was not expecting this yall. I was not expecting this. Thank you so much.

Sade' Truiett:

I love you. You're like my sister. You are my new. Yes, yes, call me when you need me. Call me when you need me. I got your back, me. I got your back.

Erica Rawls:

Okay, y'all, I can't. I have to go. I have to go. This was so great. I was not expecting the tears. This was such a good. You have been a blessing today. Yeah, she's all the way to Delaware just to sit and have some coffee.

Sade' Truiett:

That's what happens when you were. Just have a sister girl talk. That's exactly. We heal each other.

Erica Rawls:

That's exactly what this is about. Thank you so much.

Sade' Truiett:

Thank you for having me.

Erica Rawls:

We know you love what she said. I better see you in the comments Until next time we'll see you, thank you.

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