You decide to tell your story . Well, i have been asked for about ten years to tell my cancer story and every time i give a speech or something, people said, oh, you need to write a book. And i said, i only want to talk about my cancer stuff because people have been asking for my cancer journal ever since i had chemotherapy. When i got diagnosed with colon cancer. So one of my assistants finally said, we need to really turn this into a book. And one thing led to another. And i wrote it so that i can hopefully inspire people and give them hope. And then the publishers wanted to go beyond just my cancer story so we could inspire an even broader audience. So i finally decided this was the time to do it because cancer is so prevalent and so many things are going on in the world and i just decided i want to be a part of the solution to give people hope and faith that they can make it through the hard times. And a lot of people are going through hard times. You know, one thing that stands out to me, though, from reading the book is that cancer is the only thing that youve had to overcome. I mean, you dont hold back on the many challenges you faced in your life. Why did you decide to share so many intimate details about your upbringing and even your personal struggles away from work . Okay, so i did not want to do that. As i said, i started out just i started out just wanting to take my cancer journal and publish it so that if somebody is going through cancer, they know i have a loved one thats going through cancer. They can say, okay, this is what happened to her in round six. This is what happened, blah, blah. Well, as im telling the publishers my story, they said theres no way you can actually that you could have gotten through cancer the way you got through it with optimism, with the faith that you had. If there if there wasnt a back story. So they spent time just talking to me and asked me about my life and getting the back story because they figured i had been chosen prior to just being chosen for cancer, that i had been chosen for other things, other adversity in my life. And they thought that that contributed to how i was able to get through cancer. And so when they sent it back to me and all of these stories were in there at first i didnt want to do it. But you know what . I give a lot of speeches and i tell these stories because i am just truly on a mission. Honestly, i believe the lord has chosen me to inspire people to tell the stories. I believe that i have been through a lot of test and you cant have a testimony without the test. And so in order for me to testify to somebody and to tell them to be encouraged and to tell them the lord is going to bring them through it, whatever that looks like, i need to share some of my story in order to have credibility. And so i have theres no shame at all. I will tell the intimate details because i do believe, as my mother said when i got cancer, its all for his glory. Speaking of your mother, tell me about carolyn gardiner. I mean, you describe her as a saint, an angel and a prayer warrior. And if i were to meet her for the first time, what would my impression be be of her and you would love carolyn gardiner. So she is absolutely amazing. She is a strong woman of faith. So every thing she does, her words, her actions, theyre all rooted in scripture. She is all about service, believe it or not, because im kind of loud now and i kind of i write that guide. But she is a soft spoken woman until that voice of power comes out. And so, you know, when the lord that anointing starts rising up because shes all about service, she is all about helping people and on a true mission to make the world better. She loves her children, her grandchildren and her family. Actually, her community. I got my Community Service spirit from my mother and she is a woman of optimism. She she taught us a long time ago that with god, all things are possible. And so she is shes all about the bible. Shes all about jesus. And how much do you credit your success to just having a mother like that and just with her character in her heart . Oh, my goodness. All of it. All of it. I am truly my mothers daughter. Im not. Im not nearly the wonderful saintly woman that she is. Not by not by any means. I mean, i have an alter ego named janelle. My mother probably does not have an alter ego, but she gave. But she gave me a foundation in scripture. She gave me a foundation of optimism and definitely a foundation of faith and not only did she give me that, i watched her. I watched her go through a lot to raise her children. I saw her go through domestic violence. I saw her working two and three jobs. So i know what hard work looks like. So she modeled for me. She modeled for me. What it is to be a strong woman of grace and grit. Yeah. You know, on the flip side, obviously, there was your father, a man who the dark side you shared on numerous occasions in the book. But what was it like growing up at home, having that kind of say . And then, you know, the opposite of that. And in what ways did you sort of balance having that sort of parental situation . Well, i actually think my mother and her faith had the stronger presence in my life because i actually would describe my childhood as a good childhood. I went to good schools and that was just because of our Public Education system and the fact that zip code didnt matter. So i got a good education. I was involved in activities my mother had a Strong Influence on me. My dad actually was very strong on education as well. I mean, they left birmingham, alabama, when i was three months old because they didnt want their kids to grow up in the jim crow segregated south and thought wed have a real shot at a better life, not being segregated. And so both of my parents stressed the education, but my mother was all about just really pouring into us. And so i think she had a stronger presence. He obviously had had his own issues, his own struggles and, you know, was abusive and and what i would describe as a as a mean man, there were also qualities that i think around education that helped with my foundation as well. Yeah. Now, now you mentioned, you know, growing up in the east hill. Yes. Yes. Richmond, california. Not for at all. For. How would you describe that community in what was it like growing up there . And just how did it shape who you became . Richmond is a its a loving community. It always has been. The easter hill Public Housing projects where i grew up had all the elements of a Family Community and then all other elements around poverty. So the things you would associate with poverty, they were happening in our neighborhood. But my mother always taught us, its not where you live, its how you live. I mean, those words ring in my mind every day that she taught us our zip code didnt matter. And sometimes wed have to walk through things in our neighborhood and keep our head down and just have our little backpacks on getting back to the house. But there were some there were some great people right there in the projects with us trying to make it and trying to get out. So i describe it as a loving place with all the elements of poverty that you would associate with it. Yeah, a lot of times when you know peoples life goes sideways, they use the excuse of their product, of their environment that, you know, they didnt see hope. And so all these negative images are just they influenced them and what they became. What did you see there in terms of, you know, your imagination or in real life that made you believe that you could become what you eventually did . Well, i was very fortunate. Again, i had parents focus on education. I had teachers who poured into me. I distinctly remember my sixth grade teacher. I actually skipped the fifth grade, actually. I guess i was in the fifth grade for a couple of days. And so Patricia Rosa was my sixth grade teacher. And so she had something every month where she would name student of the month. And so i often, you know, was the student of the month. And i remember one time in particular, she took me and our group in richmond. So across the bay to San Francisco and she took me to San Francisco for a day, you know, student of the month, saturday and took me to zimmer hamburgers. I never had a big medium rare hamburger and she took me to see my fair lady at this big, big theater with all these big curtains and, you know, dress. It was beautiful. I had never seen anything like it. And then going across the bridge. And so she exposed me to some things. And thats just one example of teachers and Community People that exposed me to things that normally i probably would not have otherwise been exposed to. And through those experiences, through running track and being able to go and visit other places and going to different towns, i was able to see things that not everybody was able to see and i dont think that was too uncommon at the time in my neighborhood. The sense of community was tremendous and people would just come alongside my folks and do big things for us, which was awesome. So i was able to see some things that i normally wouldnt have seen. Yeah, i mean, there are a lot of gripping stories that you that you share in this book and a lot of early on, you know, a lot of them, you know, centered around just your father and one about the time where you first saw a gun pointed at you and saved you. The next time when he actually pointed a gun at you, how did you just grapple with just his complexity in the fact that at one moment he was there to save you and the next moment he was endangering you like, how did you deal with having someone who was seem to have so much going on in that regard . Yeah, i think it goes back to my mom and her desire and her actions actually that supported her desires to create as much of a stable environment as she could for her children. And i know to this day there are some things that she kept away from us, even though there are some things obviously that happened to us and that we saw. And so we were taught, you know, we were taught not to disrespect our father or, you know, dishonor him in any way. But we were also taught that there were some things that really we didnt have to deal with. So when my mom got a divorce when i was 15 years old, that was definitely a message that some of the things that we had seen werent acceptable. And she wasnt going to she wasnt going to tolerate it anymore. I mean, he was my father and, you know, people go through all kinds of things in their life. I mean, bad things do happen to good people. And we had some bad incidents that occurred in our lives. But i think going to church, being involved in activities, having my mother there as an anchor, i truly tip the scales in the opposite direction for all of us. And kept us on a positive path to to to do some good things for me and all of my siblings. Now, obviously, you have a lot of firsts. You were the first black mandatory high school. You went to first black cheerleaders at uc berkeley, and now youre the first black woman ceo and mba. When you started scratching off a lot of these firsts, what will you look back at . What youve been able to accomplish . What stands out . Okay, so first of all, i you know, most of the times when you first you dont know your first because as you just either try out or like when i tried out to be a cheerleader, i didnt know that i was one of the first. I assumed that i mean, people told me i was the first, but i think there was probably another one or two before me. And i keep researching it, but you dont know that there are few people or no people that that have done this that look like you before. And the only time i ever set out to be the first was when i was senior class president because i was at my sisters graduation, High School Graduation as a freshman. And i saw these two white guys on stage and asked my mom if a black girl could be on that stage. And so that i got one of my buddies to run for student body president when we were juniors. And so two black girls ended up on that stage four years ago. So that was the only time i set up to do it. But every time after that it happened when i became the first black female ceo in the nba. I dont think mark cuban was trying to make history. I mean, he was really just trying to make a difference for his team. And so i didnt even know i was first until a reporter actually at told me that. And it was actually kind of sad because in these days and times you shouldnt be first. Maybe back when i was growing up, but but not now. And so what i try to do with it is just use it as encouragement to make sure that im not the last, to make sure that i am working on the pipeline of the first, the second, the third, the fourth. And to make sure that i do a really, really good job so that my colleagues and other people in leadership can be, you know, will be okay with picking somebody that looks like me because they are very well aware that we can do the job as women, as black people, as black women, people of color, that all of us, white people we can all accomplish great things and we can all be strong leaders and placed in powerful positions. So i take it as a real challenge to myself to make sure that im not last, that im first, but not the last. Yeah. And i feel with sports a lot and you know, of, you know, every level ive covered nba for a long time, but i remember having a conversation with dusty baker, who managed the Houston Astros once and we were talking about just being a manager and being a leader. And he said one of the issues that he faced, you know, as a black manager in Major League Baseball was that a number of his players had never dealt with a black authority figure, never dealt with a black person in a position, a leadership position. And so it was unusual for them to take orders from him. And i can only imagine what that was like, you know, as a black person, but also as a woman. And when you were in control and what was that like, just sort of dealing with, you know, as you rose up, you know, in your profession, especially at at t, you know, where there were maybe people who looked at you and just like, why is she telling me what to do . That is that is so true. And first of all, im glad you mentioned dusty baker. I know him. I have so much respect for him. I actually saw him a couple of months ago. I got a chance to throw out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers game, and we were playing against his team. And so my daughter and i got a chance to go and visit with him and just talk San Francisco bay area talk. So it was great. I have so much respect for him. He i mean, hes blazed so many, so many trails and youre actually youre absolutely right there are still to this day in 2022 people who have never worked for a woman or never reported to a person of color, let alone a black woman. And and sometimes i can sense it. I know when its when its going on. And in fact, thats one of the things i ask in interviews of my Leadership Team members. When im interviewing for a job, i ask people if they have experience working in diverse cultures, if they have supervised and led diverse people, if they have actually been managed and supervised by diverse people, because sometimes that is different for people. And i like to address it head on because, you know, were here, were here, we are qualified, were in powerful positions. And yes, you have some people who just refuse to do it. You have some people who think like when mark cuban brought me in that it was some pr stunt and i wouldnt last 90 days because i was a woman and quote unquote, i didnt know basketball and all that. So its very, very real. But as long as you know that youre put in that position for a reason and that youre hired for a reason and that you do bring something to the party. And like the book said, youve been chosen to be there. Itll be all right, but you have to address it head on. It is very, very real. Sometimes surprising, sometimes surprising. But. But, but israel. Yeah, i know that sounds. People are suspicious of your eyes. And i know you mentioned that youre treated as if youre untrustworthy or dishonest. Do you have any specific examples of when you encounter that and how did you overcome that and still push through and just say, you know what, im not going to allow them to define me . Right. You know, several times. And i know i know women and and people of color who have experiences. Ive experienced it where there is a double standard where sometimes, you know, you get more audits than anybody else or you are told, oh, this is not acceptable, but you know it is. And you know, the rules allow it. And, you know, somebody told you that it was okay, but then all of a sudden for you, its an issue or somebody files a complaint that, you know, you just know as crazy, but it has to be looked into. But then all of a sudden, youre youre not being talked to. And the process isnt being followed. So there are times where the rules just seem to apply differently to to people who look like me. And its very real. And you have to just you work your way through it. And i often say, you know, you just have to be, you know, above the law. You know, people will come looking and you just have to make sure they dont find anything when they come looking. And not everybody has to live like that in the workplace on a daily basis. But some of us do. And its okay as long as were operating by a set of values and by a code of conduct. You cant stop the people from looking. You cant pray away the double standard. It just exists. And so you make sure you perform, you deliver the results and you give them no ammunition when they come looking next. Youve obviously had a ton of success and youve said it highlights a lot of black people, women, especially black women, have reached. But you also, frank, that it came at a cost. Looking back on your career and just what youve done, what did you gain from your ambition and your hopes and what, if anything, was lost in that pursuit . You know, its interesting. You use the word ambition, because i actually wouldnt i wouldnt describe myself as ambitious and not that its a bad word. I dont think its a bad word at all. I dont think its a bad word. I just dont think it describes me. I turned down at least four for promotions in my 36 year career at at t because i had two questions i always asked when i got a job and i had 15 different jobs at at t, 13,088 days and those days i always ask the lord, lord, what is it that you want me to do in this job . Because i believe i was always chosen for a job for a different reason. There was something particular that i brought to the table and that i need to accomplish. And then i would always ask the lord, who is it that you want me to touch . So i always felt i mean, from the time i started working in a professional space at 21 years old, i always felt i was on some kind of a marketplace mission, if you will. And so i, i responded to what the lord put in front of me and the jobs that