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Koya Webb

Podcast Episode 67 Evolyn Brooks – Self Discovery Through DIY

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Wellness visionary & inspirational speaker, author of Let Your Fears Make You Fierce, & Founder of The Get Loved Up Community. My core mission is to promote daily self-care, oneness & eco-friendly living.

Hi, I'm Koya

Hi, love. I’m so grateful to have you with me today.

In this episode, we’ll be talking about something that I think is essential for everyone to hear about — healing and personal transformation.

From a young age, many of us were told to think about our life’s goals and put our best efforts forward to achieve them. We get ourselves into these lessons and seminars. We live and breathe by the lessons they teach us. We’re confident that we have everything figured out, but life is filled with surprises. So, how do we deal with what life throws at us?

Businesswoman and producer Evolyn Brooks understands the importance of giving a proper response to life’s challenges. Despite being extremely successful in life and business, Evolyn went through unforgettable experiences that led her to living a life filled with intention. This intentional lifestyle was what drew me into her, and I’m excited that she’s here to share her insights about it.

In this interview, Evolyn allowed herself to open up about the pain she experienced growing up. We also talked about ways on how to practice daily self-care. Lastly, we discussed how to handle tough challenges and thrive in this world. Evolyn Brooks is courageously shining her light, and I feel blessed to share her insights in this episode of Get Loved Up.

Who Is Evolyn Brooks?

Evolyn Brooks is a Reiki practitioner, RYT 200 yoga teacher, award-winning television producer and showrunner, author, journalist, and breast cancer survivor.

She is a founder of, In My Solitude LA, a well-being company designed to help women create supportive intentions and goals through mindfulness, yoga, Reiki, meditation, wellness products, and experiential events.

Often, Evolyn shares a message of healing and personal transformation through the Intention Candle Making Experience. She describes it as self-discovery through DIY, where attendees create and personalize their own Intention Candle journal and set new life goals and inspirations. They also make daily mantras, experience Reiki and meditation. She started this experience for brands like YouTube, Bumble, BFF, Athleta, DaVita healthcare, Lorna Jane, and more. Her work is featured in the Los Angeles Times, Blogher, Santa Monica Daily Press, and Yoga and Spa Magazine.

Evolyn began her professional career and television news. She worked as an anchor reporter, talk show host, and producer at WNWO TV 21 in Toledo and WKYC TV in Cleveland, Ohio. She is also a Producers Guild of America member with significant national market credentials with Lifetime, Bravo, WE network, MTV, CBS, and NBC.

Evolyn has produced shows with celebrities, such as Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington, Mary J Blige, Halle Berry, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, and Tyra Banks. She has also been nominated for the 34th annual Emmy television awards and was the recipient of an NAACP image award.

Aside from all these achievements, she also hosts a podcast that explores the origin stories and growth strategies of female founders, pioneers, and entrepreneurs called Built By A Boss.

Evolyn is genuinely an extraordinary individual, and I’m so excited to share her message with you all.

How Are You Letting Your Light Shine Through?

I believe that life is guiding each one of us. It reaches us in different ways, sometimes through the people we meet or the careers we take. Sometimes, life’s voice also nudges us through our gains or our loss. For Evolyn, life’s way of guiding her started with a painful experience.

“I always wanted to be a person who shared information. That’s why I went into journalism to make sure that people understood what was really happening in the world. But then my mother passed away from breast cancer. It was then that I realized that it was just hard for me to interview someone who was in pain and say, ‘How are you feeling?’” – Evolyn Brooks

Her mother’s death put Evolyn’s life off balance. It seemed like everything she had planned for her life suddenly didn’t make sense anymore. After processing her grief, she decided to move to New York and worked as a producer. While managing the program, Kids Hurting Kids, where gang members, parents, teachers, and community leaders gathered together to discuss positive change, something was awakened in Evolyn. It tugged her heart so intensely that she couldn’t resist what the universe was trying to tell her.

“I realized that I don’t just have to hold the microphone to share my truth. I could help build a community, and I can help change it. I can be a vehicle and a vessel for that.” – Evolyn Brooks

That led her to where she is now. But many of us might wonder, “Did she ever have moments when she doubted her path?” The answer is a simple yes. This did not stop Evolyn, though, as she believed in the importance of listening to her inner voice.

“When I was in the news and producing, I always felt like I could be doing more. It was a feeling that I was seeking. When I was writing, I felt an alignment where I felt like I’m helping somebody. I felt a sense of flow, and I want it to feel more of that. ” – Evolyn Brooks

Like Evolyn, we all have had similar experiences. We feel this still small voice telling us about our life’s deepest desires. Depending on our circumstances, we sometimes choose to heed them or ignore them completely. However, Evolyn decided to go with the flow. She used this method as a source of courage and finally took a leap of faith.

“In My Solitude is all about going inward and really tapping into that voice that guides you and listening to your intuition and being intentional. When I decided to create it, I had no expectations that I can make a living out of it. But it was mine. It was something that I could develop in my own time. Then I saw the response that I would get from people. That’s what kept me going.” – Evolyn Brooks

I absolutely love everything about what Evolyn said. I also followed the divine flow when I decided to move from Tennessee to the West as a young girl. I saw how trusting the universe personally transformed my life.

I also believe that we all have something to give, something to contribute. We all have that light residing in our hearts and souls. But I want you to reflect on this, “How are you letting it shine through you?”

Living a Life of Intention

When you let life guide you and you validate what it tells you, abundance follows. Your mindset shifts, and you start exploring your gifts. Opportunities appear to be limitless. This continuous flow of positivity and energy can cause different trajectories in your career and lead you to feel overwhelmed. When I asked Evolyn how she balances all of the things that she’s great at, she answered that it’s all about knowing your intention.

“I think you could do everything that you can do. … But I think you should do it all with intention. You need to carefully choose, decide, and really understand why you’re doing it. In that way, whatever happens, you are never the victim in whatever choice you make. You took personal responsibility for starting out. … That’s how I try to do everything that I love by just deciding.” – Evolyn Brooks

But how about those circumstances that she’s not expecting? How does Evolyn take what the universe throws at her and still remain intentional? What helps her maintain that harmony? Evolyn says that she tries to stay open to what will come that she wasn’t expecting. She also has rituals and routines that she follows to help her maintain harmony.

“Every morning, I get up really early. I watch the sun come up. It makes me feel a part of something bigger, and its consistency reminds me that I can keep my focus, too. ” – Evolyn Brooks

Evolyn also engages in Reiki and regularly prays so she can be a vessel to others. Believing that there’s something more significant than her works as a constant balancing act that gives her courage and confidence. She also sees writing things down as a powerful way to get things finished. Then she tries to do a little yoga so that she can have the quiet time she needs.

Like Evolyn, I am also a believer in the importance of self-care in our daily routine. Despite how busy life can get, we must take some time to look after our needs, whether it’s physically, mentally, or spiritually. It shows love and kindness for ourselves. It can also be instrumental in keeping us in tune with our higher power and personal transformation.

Healing and Thriving in a Difficult World

As part of her self-care routine, Evolyn actively engages in meditation. At times, she does it by studying nature. She believes that nature is a natural teacher that helps us understand things. She shares a particular story that resonated with this belief.

“There’s this one huge tree that’s outside of my window, and I’ve watched it change through the seasons. So now it’s bare bones, not a leaf on it. But I remember when it was full of leaves and when its flowers were bouts of bud. It made me think of loss. But just like the tree, we don’t really lose anything. Things just change form. So if we’re attached to the leaves, let the leaves go. If we’re attached to the flowers when they’re blooming it, let that go. If we can’t, then we’re going to suffer.” – Evolyn Brooks

The revelation that dawned on Evolyn is Buddhism’s non-attachment principle. By allowing things to change their form, we’ll have less pain from holding onto them. By not letting go of tangible items or unpleasant emotions, we’ll slow ourselves down and hinder our own path to healing.

Aside from non-attachment, Evolyn also believes in the power of healing the mind. She remembers when she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer back in 2013. Today, as a breast cancer survivor, she believes that it’s one thing to heal the body, but you have to heal your mind, too. And she doesn’t shy away on how being a candle maker can do just that.

“I thought, well, we’re all going through this journey of life, experiencing the same things, just different types of challenges. I learned many things from candle making that I felt were valuable, so I thought, how can I share this with someone else? The thing is, the candle is a reminder of the intentions that you set. It becomes a part of the process. When you pour your intentions into the candle, you let yourself undergo self-discovery.” – Evolyn Brooks

I think that it’s beautiful that you can have a whole meditation through a task as simple as candle making. Because in reality, it allows you to focus, create an intention and have this purposeful work. By allowing yourself to engage in mindfulness, a lot of great things can really happen. And for Evolyn, it really helped her to face the tough challenges this world gives her.

“I had cancer, and I did everything I could to heal my body. But I also worked on my heart, and particularly, my mind in the process. I even called my tumor ‘Cranberry’. I never went through the process of calling it cancer because I claimed my healing the moment I got that news from my doctor.” – Evolyn Brooks

I’m a big believer in the book You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. Thoughts are vibrations, and we create this vibrational frequency in our bodies. We make these frequencies that can likely cause different things to turn up. But if we can create these frequencies, we can also cause them to change and shift things 100%.

So love, remember that you hold your life’s power to heal and thrive in this harsh world.

Get Loved Up with Evolyn Brooks

Evolyn Brooks shared such powerful insights, and I was so honored to have her on the show. There is still so much inspiration that her life story has to offer, so make sure to check out the whole interview here. You’ll learn more about Evolyn’s wisdom and practical tips to help you find your own divine purpose.

If you want to know more about Evolyn’s work, you can go to her website or connect with her on Instagram or Twitter. You should also listen to her podcast Built by A Boss. The strength of her words will deeply move you to take control of your life.

I absolutely love this interview. I appreciate Evolyn’s reminder about the importance of self-love in our lives, which is what Get Loved Up is all about. She’s truly inspiring, and I hope that you find value in what she shared with us. If so, please tag her, @evolynbrooksmack, and me, @koyawebb, on Instagram with a screenshot of the episode and your best takeaways. Knowing that you’ve learned something from us inspires us to continue making a positive impact in this world.

Until next time, love — allow yourself to heal, so it’ll lead you to personal transformation.