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033 - Impact Over Income: Ron Johnson on Overcoming Trauma, Loss, and Finding Purpose
18 Plays19 days ago
In this powerful and deeply moving episode of Vulnerability Muscle, host Reggie D. Ford sits down with the legendary Ron Johnson—a man whose life story is a testament to resilience, transformation, and the power of impact over income. From growing up in North Memphis as the fifth of ten boys, to excelling as a college football star, to facing unimaginable loss and incarceration, Ron’s journey is one of struggle, redemption, and purpose.
Ron shares intimate details about losing his best friend to violence, the tragic murder of his mother, and how these traumas shaped his path. He opens up about channeling his pain into sports, his time playing football at Tennessee State University, and the pivotal moment when he found himself facing a 40-year federal prison sentence. But his story doesn’t end there. Instead of letting his circumstances define him, Ron found faith, education, and a new mission: helping others break free from cycles of trauma and despair.
Now a speaker, mentor, life coach, and advocate, Ron has dedicated his life to serving others. He talks about the importance of therapy, meditation, and faith in healing from grief—including the recent heartbreaking loss of his daughter. His mantra, “Impact over income,” underscores his belief that true wealth comes from changing lives.
If you’ve ever struggled with adversity, questioned your purpose, or needed inspiration to rise above your circumstances, this episode is for you. Tune in for a raw, unfiltered conversation about pain, perseverance, and the undeniable power of transformation.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Vulnerability Muscle' with Reggie D. Ford
00:00:00
Speaker
Without a doubt that, ah you know, I put my time in to be able to help others find their way because there's a lot of people who've had some the same experiences I've had and or worse.
00:00:11
Speaker
But what I've learned over years is the importance of counseling and the importance of talking to someone about healing through this healing space to Welcome to Vulnerability Muscle, the inspiring podcast, challenging norms, and helping you redefine vulnerability as a strength.
00:00:28
Speaker
I'm your host, Reggie D. Ford. Each episode of Vulnerability Muscle dives into a variety of topics such as mental health, social issues, and mindset shifts. We explore the power of vulnerability and fostering meaningful connections.
00:00:44
Speaker
healing, building resilience, and promoting personal growth. Sometimes these conversations are uncomfortable, but good workouts often are. So join us and flex that vulnerability muscle.
00:00:56
Speaker
Oh,
Conversation with Ron Johnson: Respect and Admiration
00:00:57
Speaker
what's up? We got my unk, my OG, Ron Johnson. How you doing, baby? Hey, I'm good. I'm good. Hey, I'm what the young folks say. I'm Gucci. You Gucci? I'm Gucci, bro. For i I'm so excited to have this conversation because since the day I met you, it's been nothing but love and nothing but respect for you, your journey, and the person that you show up as. And so I can't wait to see where this goes and for this to be shared with the world.
00:01:25
Speaker
Let's go. um So I'm going to start off before we get into I'm going to start off with a couple of rapid response questions. So you just let me know the first things that come to your mind and you just let me, let me know. So first, what is one thing you do to relax when you're feeling stressed?
00:01:42
Speaker
Meditate.
00:01:44
Speaker
Meditate. That's a good Don't talk. Yes. All right. What comes to mind when you hit a word of vulnerability?
00:01:53
Speaker
It's okay. I like that. It's okay. I like that. And then lastly,
Growing Up in North Memphis: Challenges and Sports
00:02:00
Speaker
what is one of your favorite childhood memories? My daddy coming home from work, watching him come in full of country.
00:02:10
Speaker
Because I didn't have a hero from a cartoon. It was Herman Johnson. That was my hero. Herman Johnson. Shout out. Shout out. That's what's up. It reminds me of um my, like one of my earliest memories is of my granddad who was in the army. So I remember him coming home and it's like army, uh, chemo, uh, army fatigue, uh, uniform.
00:02:33
Speaker
And me and my uncle, who was just two years older than me, we run and jump into his arms. And like, I remember that, like, And it might happen a couple of times or a bunch. i don't know. But I just remember that vividly. So that's what's up. That's what's up. So Ron Johnson, can you introduce yourself to the world? Tell people whatever you feel is important that you want to share.
00:02:52
Speaker
Let me tell y'all, um my name is Ron Johnson, and this is an honor and a privilege to be a part of this with your nephew because of since the day we got ordained and put together, it was no mistake. and And the divineness of this has been great.
00:03:10
Speaker
What people need to know and should know about Ron Johnson, I am what I call I'm a gimper. I truly believe that life is about giving. It's about the impact. And for as long as I can remember living, that's been how I've been raised as the fifth of 10 boys growing up in North Memphis.
00:03:29
Speaker
I've always been one that, you know, wanted to give and wanted to help people. And then the other thing is is that you know sports was my outlets.
00:03:40
Speaker
All of the sports I played, but it was the outlets for the anger that I had and all of that. But, you know, I'm a giver. I truly believe that you the more you give, the more you receive.
00:03:53
Speaker
And sometimes I get in trouble for being such a giver. that's
Mentorship and Bonding: Reggie and Ron's Connection
00:03:58
Speaker
powerful and when you give you do receive and and it's uh something that i see in you you give more than like your fair share of time your fair share support resources connections you you are that and you're a connector of all connectors and it's been beautiful i think what did we meet like what was like three it was probably right around covet wasn't it like 2020 yeah yeah something like that years ago two or three years ago something like that right yeah break of COVID there yep right yeah and and I was just blown away by your so you were with me Deshaun uh I think one of his homeboys and and just like gave us game that day like you it was like that's when you became um that's when you became OG from day one just you
00:04:47
Speaker
how honest and vulnerable you were with your story and some of the things that you shared. And I think that's one of the the pieces that made me connect with you so much because you were so open and honest with with what your story was.
00:04:58
Speaker
Do you care to share some of those parts of your story that that are part of your past but have shaped you to this point? Yeah,
Childhood Memories and Adaptation to New Environments
00:05:05
Speaker
but I'd love to. I'll give you a real true example. you know Growing up in Memphis wasn't the easy place easiest place to grow up.
00:05:13
Speaker
I mean, and also, you know, kind of growing up in the project. But before we moved to the projects, you know, I was a little kid that ran around and used to love to ride horses. I used to call myself the Black road Long Ranger. It was the funniest thing.
00:05:27
Speaker
You know, here I am, the littlest guy out there, but I'm on the biggest horse. We had a white stallion. We had a white stallion and two ponies. And I would always get on the big horse out there you know,
00:05:39
Speaker
My daddy would get mad because there were times when he wasn't home and I'd be out there riding horses. I wasn't supposed to, but I would ride anyway. And then I would try and wipe the horse down so he wouldn't know the horse been sweating and running and all that. But he'd always come in and run a key.
00:05:54
Speaker
Lord, I know it's on then. But I'm about to get it. oh But that's the fondest memory then. And then, you know, we moved out of the country into the project. That was one of the things I hated more than anything is leaving from that area where it just seemed to be so quiet, so peaceful to this area where it was just so crowded and so compact.
00:06:15
Speaker
And it was almost
Family Influence and the Role of Faith
00:06:16
Speaker
just like people say today, you had to fight your way through and fight your way out. you know So every day living over there in the projects from the fourth grade all the way up,
00:06:26
Speaker
and and And I don't exaggerate when I say this. And I'd love for my brothers going to be the one to tell the story because they sell it they sell it and tell it much better than me. Because they're the ones who say, man, this boy fought with somebody almost every day.
00:06:40
Speaker
and and And every day seems like ah it's a whole lot. But every day was like two or three times a week I was getting into a fight with somebody. yeah You're getting into a fight with someone as a youngster two or three times a week.
00:06:52
Speaker
That is every day. It may not be seven days, but that's every day. But one of the great things of being and growing up like that My mom made all of her boys, we went to church.
00:07:03
Speaker
Every Sunday we had to go to church. ah Every Wednesday we was at choir practice and all of us had to participate in church. And so we used to have
Sports as an Outlet and Life Navigation Tool
00:07:13
Speaker
this running joke as as brothers.
00:07:15
Speaker
We would play church when we'd go home. you know, we we would play like my mama and daddy, because my mama used to sing and my daddy was a deacon. and And we used to always think that, you know, my mama could just sing a church boy make everybody just get the child music. up.
00:07:31
Speaker
So my brothers and I, we used to we used to be like, man, we believe my mom and dad had that stuff choreographed, you know? you She'll get to singing. it And then, you know, almost like clockwork, my dad would get close enough to it because he knew that she'd get so happy and she'd black out.
00:07:48
Speaker
And he would always be there so she wouldn't hurt herself. And then as I got older, I realized that, you know, it was true. It was real. It was the spirit of God really taking over her.
00:07:59
Speaker
And her being so filled with that love. And my dad, is knowing his wife, knowing my mom so well, he would always be right there. But the other thing was, man, you know, ah and growing up in the project, man, you know, playing sports was our outlet. You know, I boxed.
00:08:15
Speaker
I played football. I played basketball. I ran track. You know, and it was always the contact sports that I liked the most. I always felt like I had to.
00:08:27
Speaker
you know, some contact, you know, that's what I did Taekwondo, you know, I'm a second degree black brother in Taekwondo and I used to love to, you know, I would get into a fight and I'd jump into a karate stand and everybody would start laughing.
00:08:43
Speaker
It was so funny. But I would be at the community center, i' went um I'm doing a karate stand and, you know, but But everybody knew that without a doubt, hey, that boy can fight. too You ain't messing with him. Yeah, don't mess with him. hands boy i had them hands for him. I had them hands. and I believe it It was so funny. But, i you know, that was my outlet. Those
Tragedy and Loss: AJ's Death and Its Impact
00:09:05
Speaker
was my outlet.
00:09:06
Speaker
But sports is really what brought me to it. And you took sports to a high level. You ended up playing football at ah at a pretty high level. Can you talk about that? So, yeah, you know, I got a scholarship to Tennessee State. But let me before I go there, let me tell you kind of good, ah thing not a good thing, but a thing that happened to me my senior year in high school.
00:09:26
Speaker
I was in Hoos, Hoos, American High School football. I was a you know a state champion in the high jump in 1982. So I was a heck of an athlete. But my best friend, Anthony Jones, was, you know, a great athlete just like me.
00:09:42
Speaker
He played one corner and I played the other corner. He and I used to have this little this little running joke. We both were Cowboy fans. That was the other thing. I was Everson Walls and I forgot the other guy that played the other side. I just knew I was Everson Walls because Everson Walls went to Grambling.
00:09:56
Speaker
And I wanted to go to Tennessee State because Ed Tuttle Jones was my favorite athlete of all athletes with the Dallas Cowboys. Well, AJ also was one that used to do a lot of fighting and everything. And so one particular day, he was about to get into a fight. Now, keep in mind, this is our senior year in high school.
00:10:13
Speaker
We were both top athletes there Memphis. And he was about to get into a fight and the project would get in. So back then, every now and then, you'll get a fair fight. And he and this guy decided they're going to go into the back of the village. So didn't get broke up too fast. And they were going to fight fair. And there was a bunch of us.
00:10:30
Speaker
you know, with our little bats and stuff. And and and Michael had a few people with him. And AJ and Michael started to fight. And before you know it, the crowd grew. In the projects, when the fight break out, man, folk come from everywhere. where You see folk, you be like, you live over here? yeah And it's real because they come in the sea to see the fight.
00:10:49
Speaker
Well, AJ and this guy was fighting. AJ was getting the best of this guy, Michael. And all of a sudden, as the crowd grew, I hear my partner, AJ hollering, ah! Ah, by the time another friend of ours named Sean got close enough, Michael had a knife on him, and he had stabbed AJ at least 15 times with that knife, a kitchen knife.
00:11:10
Speaker
Sean hit Michael, knocked the knife out his hand, and AJ takes off running and home to get home. And AJ lived one street over from the project we lived in, he collapsed on a friend of ours, poor's name, Jerry.
00:11:23
Speaker
And I'm holding my buddy in my arms, man, and he's bleeding all over place, and And he just tells me, man, I can't get no air, man. I can't get no air, man. and I'm like, they got help on the way, man. They got, they on the way, AJ.
00:11:37
Speaker
And I'll never forget it as long as I live. This was my senior year in high school. My best friend died in my arms. Telling me he couldn't get no air. Wow. was my, that was my senior year.
00:11:48
Speaker
That was before the football season started. This was the first week or second week of school. And AJ, or stabbed to death.
00:12:00
Speaker
And I'll never
College Football and Personal Tragedy
00:12:01
Speaker
forget it as long as I live. And I think about it and it's like, wow, powerless. Let's fast forward to when I got here at Tennessee State University playing for Coach Gillum, Vic John, and that whole crew there at Tennessee State and playing with some of the greatest football players that ever played a game of football.
00:12:22
Speaker
and in And I have to say, you don't come to Tennessee state and be a freshman to start. That's a rare thing. When my time came, I was on top of the world. So my time came as I played my, paid my dues, waited my turn.
00:12:38
Speaker
And when that opportunity presented itself, showed up and showed out. yeah And it was a moment. And that's the thing about life is about the moment. It was a moment that changed everything. I literally felt like I wanted to quit the football team.
00:12:53
Speaker
I was, With my helmet on, I was crying, and the trainer walked by me. Doc Wayne said, what's wrong? They called me Spider-Man at that time. I got my nickname.
00:13:04
Speaker
you know Everybody got a nickname in college. And he said, what's wrong? I said, Doc, you know none of these guys that he got playing in front of me are better than me. And horrible that it's that way.
00:13:14
Speaker
And these are his words he said to me. said, Spider-Man, you got remember, when opportunity presents itself, you got to take advantage of it. The cream will always rise to the top. One or two plays later, Coach Gillum called me and told me to get in there.
00:13:29
Speaker
This was a live scrimmage. And they started running back on the other side. Come running across, running sweep. And I hit him, knocked him out.
00:13:41
Speaker
Now, I'm 150, soaking wet. This boy was 6'3", Hubba Bubba. They call him Marlon Johnson. They call him Hubba Bubba, like the Bubba guy. I hit him.
00:13:52
Speaker
and knocked him out, both of us. I was concussed and I know he was concussed as well. But i got up, And the coach, the head coach at that time, Bill Thomas, he stopped practice. reg He stopped practice.
00:14:06
Speaker
Anybody that played with us, they'll remember this day. He stopped practice. He looked over at the defensive coordinator and he told him, I don't care what you got to do. He said, but I want to make sure that that GD is on the field every GD time we got.
00:14:22
Speaker
And from that moment there, I was a star. Stripes. All way to this day, I am remembering, not just for that moment, but because when I got that opportunity, I showed up and I showed out.
00:14:34
Speaker
And that's the thing of about life. I believe life is a moment. Like this right here is a moment. yeah My story is what it is. And I got that opportunity. And from there, I just continued to excel.
00:14:46
Speaker
went on to be a starter those three years, 1984. nineteen eighty four I was behind an All-American in 1985. I was a starter in 1986. My senior year, was a starter.
00:14:58
Speaker
And then, you know, i ended up, this was so this was so crazy about it. I ended up getting hurt and thought everything was over. But because of my discipline and my dedication to the game of football, because my ultimate dream was not to graduate from college, which it sounds kind of crazy now.
00:15:17
Speaker
but it was to play professional football. That was the the whole thing. When you go to college, it was to play professional football. But I got to tell you, in 1985, tragedy struck me again.
00:15:30
Speaker
Tell me about that. My junior year. So in 1985, that was the spring I had that moment where I'd made that tackle, all of that, got my starting position. We coming into the fall.
00:15:44
Speaker
And so we getting ready to play the second or third game of the year in the hole. And my mom, my dad, and a couple of my brothers, had they were here to see me play.
00:15:56
Speaker
And I had the game of my life still on the record books. I had two or three interceptions, eight or nine solo topers from Free State. So I called real hard. and And next morning,
00:16:08
Speaker
My mom, my dad, and it was getting ready to head back to Memphis. And, you know, I'm feeling real good because, you know, I'm being interviewed. I'm being talked about all of the news and everything. And I told my my dad, you know, I said, you know, pops, when I get drafted into the NFL next year, going to buy you whatever you want.
00:16:26
Speaker
So my brothers, they ordered a car. Both of them wanted brand new cars. My dad said he just wanted him to win a bagel so we don't have to get a hotel when he traveled the country.
00:16:37
Speaker
But this is what was so amazing about nephew. My mama, she was such a humble person, loving, caring lady like you've never seen. she said, baby, I don't care anything about no big old house or none of that because I told her to you big old house and I'm going us up out of the project. Because that's the young person's dream.
00:16:56
Speaker
yeah Do something incredible for your mom or your family as a whole. She said, i don't care nothing about all that, but be my first son to graduate from college. Wow. I'll be the happiest mom in the whole wide world.
00:17:08
Speaker
Wow. and three days later, it was this month on September 4th, my mom was standing in the door, the projects we lived in.
00:17:22
Speaker
A lady was shooting at my cousin. One shot, one bullet hit my mom in the heart and killed her instantly. Three days later.
00:17:34
Speaker
Wow. On September 4th. September 4th. That's 20 something, 23 days ago. September 4th. Oh my goodness.
00:17:44
Speaker
And you were, you were in college. You were what? A sophomore, junior, junior? Oh my goodness. On top of the world. Just that, giving her that proclamation, but she said she didn't care nothing about no big old house. It's her son.
00:17:59
Speaker
graduate from college and she would be the happiest mom in the whole wide world. That's all she
Coping with Loss: Channeling Emotions through Sports
00:18:03
Speaker
wanted. My mom had a sixth grade education. My dad had a second grade education. Let me ask you. So you you talked about AJ and his passing and being there, holding him as he died, and then having your mom pass away. What did those deaths mean to you and and how did you cope with those at the time?
00:18:24
Speaker
Well, to tell you the truth, I don't think I really coped with them at that time. ah think I just accepted them because it seemed like, you know, not that things like that had been so normal, but for a lot of the ways that I had grown up, seeing death, experiencing death, experiencing people murdered being murdered or what have you was something that I had, you know, growing witnessing Memphis, you know, a lot of friends and what have you. of But never would I have thought that you know my mom, the sweetest person on planet Earth, because I'm concerned, that was the last thing that I ever would have thought.
00:19:01
Speaker
And I have to tell you, during that time, I didn't do any counseling or anything. i i stored all of that, and I used that as fuel to play the game.
00:19:13
Speaker
And I played the game angry, I wouldn't say I was reckless because I was a good football player, but I was angry. So I had no fear to run into anything and anyone.
00:19:26
Speaker
So being a little bitty guy, you know, at that time I'd gotten up to about 180 pounds and could hit the way I would hit on other team scout reports. I was known as a hitter. I had an all American strong safety name called McAfee, who was known as you know, he would knock you out. That's the kind of player he was. But then they had a safe that just, me, right beside would do the same thing, 100 pounds lighter.
00:19:53
Speaker
um So, but my coping with that was taking it out on the football field. well And during all this time that I'm telling you the things that I'm telling you right now, I was kind of like, you know, behind the scenes ah selling drugs. I was selling, you know, nickel bags and dollar joints, you know, just hustling.
00:20:13
Speaker
yeah oh Because when my mama passed away, i just felt like the world opened something and i was so angry about everything. So let's go to my junior year.
00:20:24
Speaker
My junior year, mean my senior year. That was my junior year when my mom passed away. How was that season for you? Were you able to go to school? Were you able to play? where you You were able to do all that?
00:20:35
Speaker
I only set out one game. And the coach was like, you know, week that we buried my mom, ah that week that we buried my mom That was the week I set out. I came back that Tuesday.
00:20:46
Speaker
i said And the coach was like, you know, we cook you could take more time. I said, coach, I got to get on the field. That's where I got it. And I got on the field, and I never looked back. But my teammates, when I tell you my teammates, one of my best friends on planet Earth right now is Roger Holmes, still to this day, was right there.
00:21:05
Speaker
My girlfriend, who later became my wife, Maxine, who bore my kids. He was right there. But one of the things that she reminded me of, because when what happened to my mom, I was ready to quit school. I was ready to be, and I wanted to go and hunt that lady down who actually killed my mom. But here's the thing that's crazy about that lady.
00:21:26
Speaker
The woman who shot and killed my mom, Hassan, was one of my really good friends growing up. You know how it is in the projects. Everybody know everybody. Everybody, yeah. And we went looking for this lady.
00:21:37
Speaker
that That night I got home, we searched for his mom. And what was so bad about it? He got in the car with us to show us anywhere he thought his mom might be for us to kill his mom.
00:21:50
Speaker
That's how crazy it was. It's like he was so angry at his mom in that moment. Yeah. Without thinking, you know, he was like, she was wrong. but You know, wrong with that.
00:22:04
Speaker
Damn, and then you end up, if if anything would have happened, I for an hour, and we all just killing each other at that point. and that I know that's not where your mind is now today, but just knowing that you were in that space, like I can sense it.
00:22:19
Speaker
It was horrible. And knowing that my mom's favorite words were always to me, don't worry about it, baby. Everything's going to be all right. like I even have that tattooed on my arm. It says,
00:22:33
Speaker
is what a picture of her says, don't worry about everything's going to be all right. Those are words
Legal Troubles and Turning Points
00:22:38
Speaker
that echo loud in my head. And I can still hear it. Like even now, I hear her saying, don't worry about it, Ron, everything's going to be all right.
00:22:47
Speaker
yeah And when it's all said and done, everything is always all right. You just got to go through in order to get to. It's hard to go through, though,
00:23:00
Speaker
in order to get to it because of the pain and the heartache. But getting on the other side was where I was able to get. Football was where, you know, mean football was what gave me those outlets that kind of let a lot of that energy out.
00:23:16
Speaker
And I did not do any counseling or anything at that time, you know. I was offered by the coach if I needed to talk to somebody and this, that, the other. And I just told the coach, I just need to play.
00:23:27
Speaker
I just need to play. And I bet a lot of people can relate to that. Cause that like, as a, as a child having friends die and, and family members dies, like I didn't, i didn't go to counseling, go to therapy or anything like that. It was,
00:23:41
Speaker
football or like you said, boxing or basketball or something to just get my mind off of all of that pain. I wanted to suppress it as much as I could. And so I know there's a lot of people that can relate to that.
00:23:53
Speaker
And it it fueled you, like you said. like I was i was a a little DB as well, and I'm smacking whoever. It didn't matter because I had like this reckless abandonment. like I'm going to throw my body, and didn't matter if it hurt me because it didn't hurt hard as much as that pain would have hurt me.
00:24:08
Speaker
you know to think about somebody's death. And so, no, I respect that and I understand that. But you you give me catch me up to the story. so So you started selling selling drugs and you're balling out as a senior and about the transition.
00:24:27
Speaker
Did you graduate? Did you give your mom that dream? Did you give it to her? Man, not only did I graduate, with one, but I graduated with two degrees. Let's go. I'm also a licensed CBT specialist, cognitive behavior training.
00:24:41
Speaker
Let's go. I have certificates in a number of different professional trainings. I am a life coach. So I am a certified life coach. Let me let me correct that. I'm a certified life Stampy.
00:24:55
Speaker
Yeah. No, without a doubt that, oh you know, I put my time in to be able to help others find their way because there's a lot of people who've had some of the same experiences I've had and or worse.
00:25:08
Speaker
um But what I've learned over the years is the importance of counseling and the importance of talking to someone about healing through this healing space because, you know, I just went through a tragedy not five or six months ago now, but before then, you know, I did get a chance to go and try.
00:25:29
Speaker
A couple of times I make the practice squad there in Atlanta. you know But I wild out and messed that up and then came back to Nashville and I just picked up the package and started selling drugs.
00:25:43
Speaker
And in 1994, four ah got caught up. I got charged with 50 kilos of cocaine and 237 pounds weed. I was facing 40 years of life in prison.
00:25:56
Speaker
That was after I had accomplished all those amazing things. And I sat before these federal judges, not believing that I was, I felt like I was dreaming because I would literally pinch myself and say, this cannot be real.
00:26:14
Speaker
But it was, it was real. It was my experience, experiences that I was having. But all I can say during that time, because I believe my mom had prayed so much in advance for me,
00:26:27
Speaker
that there was a hedge of protection around me. There moments where I know without a doubt that I probably should have been the one that got hit and didn't get hit as a raise. The bullets were flying in different situations, and I didn't.
00:26:40
Speaker
But then I remember the judge saying this, and this is where the turning point in my life changed. The judge looked at me and he said, what are you doing with these people? Literally on the stand, he said that.
00:26:52
Speaker
Because here I am, only black guy in my case, two cartel members and two white guys that were my best friends at that time.
00:27:03
Speaker
And they were my my dealing partners. And one of them had turned state on all of us. But God, man, all I can say is but God, I was facing that 40 years of life, kingpin status, 50 kilos of cocaine, 237 pounds of weed. But they only found two hundred and thirty seven pounds a week ah kept They wanted to know if I knew what 50 kilos was at.
00:27:27
Speaker
And I'm like,
Religious Awakening and Personal Growth in Prison
00:27:28
Speaker
no, ain't got it. so And if I did, you think I'm going to tell you to charge me? Come on, please. I don't have it. So they ended up dropping that. Wow. dropped the kingpin charges, but I did take responsibility for 237 pounds of weed. And the judge was given a mandatory minimum. He was given me four years to eight years in federal prison.
00:27:52
Speaker
What's going through your mind when you hear in 40 years, what's going through your mind at that point? And then when you hear it starting to come down with those minimums, what you thinking? ah Well, I just felt like my life was over. I was i told my my my wife, I said, you know what? you You should go ahead on with your life because I probably will never get out of this.
00:28:14
Speaker
And know I don't want you to waste your life waiting on me. I told her that. And she said to me, and I thank God so much that she was that kind of person. And she's such a sweet, she's one of my best friends still now to this day.
00:28:29
Speaker
She said, I ain't going nowhere. ah We ain't got to worry about that. You just go and do what you got to do and come on home. That's what she said. So the judge said, he said, I don't want to sentence you.
00:28:42
Speaker
Now, this is where God's favor really just folds into things where you know that There's something greater than you that's constructing all of these things that's going on around you.
00:28:53
Speaker
You don't understand it and you don't know why, but you know it's happening because you know there is no way that these things are to be ought to be so. And the judge said, my hands are tied.
00:29:06
Speaker
So he couldn't deviate from what he had to sentence me either four years to eight years or anything in between. He said, I'm just going to give you four years, which they don't call it years in the feds. They said 48 months or 50-something months. So you get it in months.
00:29:24
Speaker
And I was given those months. And George said to me, he said, man, go in there and come home and take care your family. Wow. Now, Reggie, I got to tell you how prison was just the beginning, what I was able.
00:29:38
Speaker
So i would he said, how much time you need to get your life together order to start your time? And I tried to get my lawyer chair to tell the judge, I need three months, you know, because be to be honest with you, felt like he gave me three months. I was going to get some money and I was going to get in and win.
00:29:56
Speaker
I was serious. That was the way I was thinking. But as I sat there, the judge said, I'm going to give you two months to get your life done, get your things in order.
00:30:09
Speaker
And then you report to Terre Haute, Indiana, maximum security prison. And you start your time there. Get your family to drive you down there. Now, he let me drive myself to prison. That's a hard drive right there. Oh, my God.
00:30:24
Speaker
oof I can't imagine. My brothers, my dad, and them, they came down here. And my mom's sister, they came down here and drove me. They had a 15-packing van. So I had a big family.
00:30:36
Speaker
And I had a bunch of goodies. like you know I had underwear and T-shirts and all that because I thought you could take it in there with you. You've been a kick in Yeah, well, so I'd get to prison.
00:30:47
Speaker
I'd go in there and I'd tell the guy, you know, I had my bags and stuff. He said, hey, hey, hey. Now, I'm telling my family and they can go. He said, hey, tell your family they don't need to go nowhere because that stuff you got in your hand, you need to give that all to them.
00:31:03
Speaker
of This is the feds. You can't bring that in here. I'm like, whoa. He said, a matter of fact, what you can do is give them everything else that you got on. Because we don't supply all that you need up in here.
00:31:15
Speaker
And I had a blue cover Bible that my uncle had given me when I graduated from college. And I was so mad at him for giving me that Bible. Oh, my God. I was so mad at him.
00:31:27
Speaker
That's crazy. Yeah. Wow. Give me a Bible for graduation. But that was the best thing that I ever could have gotten. Because here's what happened in that moment.
00:31:38
Speaker
I got that Bible. They gave me those orange ah slippers, gave me an orange jumpsuit. I opened that Bible up, Reggie. So help me God. Open that Bible up. I don't remember the name, the scripture, but it says, I will supply all you need according to his riches and glory, which is in Christ Jesus.
00:31:57
Speaker
Wow. Right there. Wow. And from there, I took that there and I never looked back, man, in trusting God. And that was the beginning of the beginning of the rest of my life. That was why I surrendered.
00:32:09
Speaker
And I've never looked back since then. And you haven't looked back. You have turned, and I hate to use the word, turn your life around, because I don't think you were a bad man before.
00:32:20
Speaker
think you were you were ah man earning trying to earn money and trying to provide for a big family and trying to do the things that ah you were exposed to.
00:32:32
Speaker
And so I don't like saying turn your life around, but you you did do different. You came out of the pen doing something totally different than what you did going in. And where did that come from? And can you speak to what that train transition and transformation was like for you?
00:32:49
Speaker
Wow. Let me tell you. So when i when i opened that Bible and had that experience, that to me was eye-opener. It was such an eye opener. And, and I went in there though, I was still angry because keep in mind, I had not still had no counseling or anything to that, of that sort.
00:33:10
Speaker
And there I am going to prison as a 37 year old young man, um, to a maximum security prison in Terro, Indiana. And, um,
00:33:20
Speaker
So I felt like I had to go in there be ready to, one, I'm going to take a brief back, but I'm ready to fight a couple people. So, you know, got in there you know, first thing you happen when you go to prison, they want to know if you can hoop, if you can hold your own.
00:33:34
Speaker
So I'm cold on the basketball court too, so I get out there hooping. And then, you know, Jokers want to try and rough you up? Hey, I played football, so let's go. I get rough with a couple of Jokers, and I'll never forget this.
00:33:47
Speaker
After being there about almost two weeks, I will never forget this long as I live. This older guy, his name was Bill. He was the sheriff in a little town called Hot Town.
00:33:58
Speaker
He and his whole deputy staff had been arrested. I think you could probably Google it. They had all been arrested by the feds. And he'd been jelling for a good little while there. And he said, man, I know you.
00:34:09
Speaker
He said, man, your name is Ron Johnson. They call you Spider-Man. You went to the Atlanta Falcon. He just got to tell me. I was like, whoa. yeah ah He said, let me tell you something, though, young man. He said, you know, if you can come in here and you can act the way you act and they'll find a way to get you home.
00:34:25
Speaker
He said, they'll send you home in a little box or they'll put in that little six by six and you'll lose your mind. And you'll do your time in that space. Or you can just do your time and go home and take care of your family. He said, man, just do your time. ain't got to come in here and act like that.
00:34:39
Speaker
He said, but stay away from that place where the enemy can get you off your square. And that was on the basketball court and worried about trying to use that phone. But that's where Joker got hurt, locked in his sock and beat down.
00:34:51
Speaker
Man, I refocused. I'll never forget. I thanked him for it because that brother took me under his wing. helped me understand how I was reading and understanding because I didn't understand the Bible at first.
00:35:05
Speaker
yeah But that was what I started to do. I started to read the Bible. I read the Bible all the way through at least five times or more, front to back and from Revelation to Genesis and from Genesis to Revelation.
00:35:21
Speaker
It became
Life After Prison: Motivation and Advocacy
00:35:22
Speaker
such an ingrained part of who I am. Um, Like even right now, things that I do come from what what I've learned and allowed to be applied in my life.
00:35:32
Speaker
And I know that without a doubt that when the Bible tells you to be transformed by renewing your mind, that you can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. It is because I'm not that dude, that same guy.
00:35:44
Speaker
My brother, one of my brothers told me when I got out of prison, right you know, he told me, he said, man, I don't know you. Who are you? Wow. He said, I don't know this, Ron. and And the thing that's great about that is, is because I know that I am not that guy.
00:36:00
Speaker
I don't have the same thoughts and the same mentality that I once had. Now, am I still a black belt in this and that the other? Yes. But do I get angry and I'm ready to blow?
00:36:10
Speaker
Because I am in such a greater space. my And what I ended up doing was I presented what I'm telling you right now. I get excited when i talk about this. Go ahead. Because I presented this to the head of Vanderbilt Brain Institute.
00:36:23
Speaker
And i I wanted him to help me because I wanted to teach kids what I taught myself. from being in prison and how I believe I changed my mind. yeah and i and i told And he just rolled back in his chair.
00:36:38
Speaker
Mark, mark ah what was his name? Mark Wallace, Mark Wynn. He was the head of the Brain Institute over at Bandit, still is. He just rolled back in his chair and he said, wow. He said, man, you just got through breaking down to me the last 15 years of my research. i said, what are you doing?
00:36:52
Speaker
He said, because we had been trying to figure out how to help stroke victims through the brain and how strong and powerful the brain is. He said, we used to isolate the side that someone could move and help them strengthen that up and the side that they can't move that they've had the stroke on.
00:37:10
Speaker
or They just, he said, but when we isolate the side that they can move, they're able to fire new runs to fire new movement for this side of the brain, I mean, side of the body to move.
00:37:22
Speaker
And what I had, told him about what I had done, he said, that is exactly their restructs for the last 15 years. Now, ain't never known about that, but that was because I just... Experience and life.
00:37:35
Speaker
Yeah. Experience and life. Experience is a beautiful thing, and I think about that all the time. like ah I look at my experience in the the mental health space and the the ways in which my thought patterns have been change transformed and changed over time because I was in that same...
00:37:53
Speaker
mindset as you is like, like it was, we had to fight. Like that was the way we solved issues. That was the way that things are going to end if we had a dispute. And today i don't even, that's not even close to where my mind goes.
00:38:07
Speaker
And i have different responses rather than the reactions that I used to have. And i mean, I attribute so much of my growth to, had a lot of good people around me who modeled that behavior. So you get to see like, not everybody responds that way.
00:38:23
Speaker
And then i got into yoga. I got into meditation. And you talked about meditation earlier. And I think when I started doing yoga, my friends started telling me I was getting too calm. It was like, you you used to be a hothead. used to be like ready to snap in. And now you just you just breathe. And like, what is that? like yeah and But I think it's a beautiful thing because i don't think we we are meant to be that violent.
00:38:49
Speaker
I think the environments that we grow up in, like it is, we see it and we think that's the way it's supposed to be. But like to connect my hand to another person's body right now feels just wrong.
00:39:01
Speaker
Like it feels so wrong at my core. And that used to be the norm. And so like, where, when did that, when did you start to implement some of those strategies and where did that come from?
00:39:13
Speaker
Well, as I was saying earlier, you know, when I was, when I started reading, That reading became such an ingrained part of me because during the time that I was in college or in school, I only read because I had to.
00:39:28
Speaker
you know That was it. I did not read it because I was like, well, I ended up finding an enjoyment in reading. and realized that my brain, there was something happening and I couldn't explain it.
00:39:41
Speaker
So I would always ask myself, so who can I emulate that's in the Bible? And, you know, in the Bible, it all said, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. but you try So my thing was, I was like, yeah I don't know if I could be like Christ because Boy, I'm still over. Joker slapped me. I might take it, but I'm coming back with two or three more.
00:40:02
Speaker
and so But here's what was so crazy about that. I decided that I wanted to emulate Peter. because it was like upon this rock, God, Jesus said him, I'm gonna build my church.
00:40:14
Speaker
Well, when I looked at Peter, I saw Peter as like me as a Christian, you know, not really, you know, a warrior in a sense, but you know, we'll go to war if I had to, if you mess with my Lord, you got problems, so on and so forth.
00:40:27
Speaker
However, I knew without a doubt that my change was so real that I had to find ways to apply. So the men that was in prison, even a lot of the Muslim guys, the brothers, when they would have gatherings and stuff, because I didn't discriminate. I didn't care if he Muslim or Catholic or what have you.
00:40:46
Speaker
If you wanted me to come and talk about the belief system that I had acquired and what I was working with, I'm down. And it became like something that I was able to model. I didn't have to tell you. saw me walk it out. You saw me live it out. You saw me give it out.
00:41:00
Speaker
And that's the way
Recent Loss and the Importance of Counseling
00:41:01
Speaker
I model my life right now. Faith is an action word. I believe you got to put feet to faith. And then it's like, There's no need for me to do all this talking that I'm doing now because I believe that I preach a sermon every day, but sometimes I use words. It's the action. It's the things that I do is what tells the story and preaches the sermon.
00:41:22
Speaker
And I truly believe that impact over income will make the income come, but we've got to believe that it is the impact that matters the most. Impact over income. Yes, absolutely.
00:41:33
Speaker
you You have done so many amazing things in your life. And I want you to speak to some of those things. and and But I want to frame it in a way of what do you think your superpower is today?
00:41:46
Speaker
Man, so some of the things that I've done, for instance, just as I came home from prison, I landed an incredible job working at a printing company, Quidditch Printing.
00:42:01
Speaker
I made more money in that printing company than I've ever made on any job because I mastered all of those million dollar machines that they had in there in less than six months. That was a crazy time right there. But I mastered those machines, the folding machine, the printing machine. These are big million dollar machines that I was able to master in about six months, which is unheard of because I had a great teacher.
00:42:22
Speaker
And then the other thing was, you know, I really believe that helping people was my superpower. Networking. You know, I have this saying, your network is your network.
00:42:35
Speaker
I truly believe it's connecting others to different things that you connect them to. I believe in, you know, building relationships and friendship is what is the core to success.
00:42:47
Speaker
That's what makes, you know, when your network is your network, that means that I'm never broke because I got a network of millionaires and billionaires that I can call on at any time. I just got to make absolutely sure that the call is one that's worthy and they understand that when Ron calls, Ron needs you. He ain't just calling just to be called. If he's calling and asking for something, yeah that's the thing that has, you know, continued to propel me is helping people.
00:43:12
Speaker
I really believe that that is what keeps me going. That is why I breathe each and every day is to find a way to help somebody. I believe that. and And I think another piece to you to what it is, is like you're not you don't just call when you need some You call to check on people. You call to to offer your support, your condolences, your whatever it is that somebody is going through in life. And I mean, just in a in a couple years that we've been knowing each other, you've been there.
00:43:38
Speaker
You've been there for me and you check in and you you. you know, just a lunch. It ain't got to be no agenda attached to it. And I think that speaks to your character. And when you do call people and they recognize what your character is, it's easy to, to vouch for you. It's easy to put your name, their name out there and put their neck out there for you and and connect you with somebody that's going to get you into that position that you need. And so like that, that's, that's the man, that's the character that you possess. And I want to salute you and give you your flowers for that.
00:44:07
Speaker
Thank you so much for that. Definitely. Definitely. i um you So you you alluded to some grief, some recent grief in the last five, six months.
00:44:19
Speaker
You care to talk about that and and how that has impacted you? Yeah. You know, um there's a thing that we call in the world of trauma is a lot of times, you know, we trauma a bond when we share these things, but we go through trauma and in in sharing the trauma is where you heal and I've learned that over time and I always try to make sure that if I share the trauma, always share the healing from the trauma that I'm sharing.
00:44:46
Speaker
And so back in April, on April the 13th, my little 23 year old daughter, Hayley came home from out with some friends and she went to bed and she didn't wake up the next morning. She died in her sleep.
00:45:02
Speaker
And I don't know at this point still what took her life. We're still waiting on the autopsy and toxicology report to know. um But I know that it has been very hard for me.
00:45:19
Speaker
And I've had some days you know that I don't understand why. i ask God why. have have moments that... um
00:45:36
Speaker
Yeah, your kids should bury you, you know? And so that that becomes, it's tough. It's just very tough. You know, but I can tell you, man, because I've gone through the things that I've gone through, man, I recommend anybody, man, woman, black, white, do it, man.
00:45:58
Speaker
Don't go through these things alone. Go and talk to someone. Counseling is not a bad thing, brother, sister. friends, family, y'all, it's not a bad thing. you know um I would say to myself, yeah, I'm tough and this, then, the other.
00:46:14
Speaker
But I don't know what I would do, would have done and or would be doing right now without counseling because that has been a saving grace for me. Right now, I just started talking to someone about grief because um the last week or so, I've been just a lot of grief and I hadn't talked with a grief counselor
Aspirations and Future Goals: Inspiration and Impact
00:46:40
Speaker
and so I've been talking to someone about grief and yesterday they called me while I was at an event and I stepped out because I know I needed to talk to them and I'm so glad that I did because yeah I've been dealing with some grief where I'll just start crying and don't know all the
00:47:07
Speaker
reasons other than, you know, this this pain right here kind of takes me back to the pain that I felt when my mom was murdered. And there's just so many other different tragic moments. But the thing that I say about healing notes is that, you know, me, you know, three days a week, I have a group of people that that comes to my house and I teach them meditation. But at the same time, it also gives me the energy, the the fortitude and the quietness that I needed to tap into the inner me and make absolutely sure that the inner me don't end up becoming the enemy.
00:47:46
Speaker
And it has been very, very, very good that I have continued to do that during this time, especially because, you know, I yeah go through spaces where I'm angry, get mad, don't understand, question myself,
00:48:03
Speaker
And I ask God, you know, look at my daughter on a picture and just say, why? You know, oh you just have so many things that go on in your head that are unanswered.
00:48:18
Speaker
But I can say that the comfort that God gives me is like no other. And it has continued you know to hold me. And I feel like, you know, that he's still rocking me, even in the midst of this, know,
00:48:33
Speaker
this hard place and this hard time. And I think about the scripture as I've learned, it says we're seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus where he's ever interceding on our behalf. In other words, you know, he's got us in his arm and he's just kind of holding us. And when I have these moments, i feel like, you know, that's when I can just relax, I can meditate because I know he got me, you know, and that's been really good for me.
00:48:58
Speaker
That's beautiful. You said something earlier that I want to touch on. It's just like the the power of therapy and going and getting help. And you got a lot of people out here who are resilient, who are strong. And I say like, yes, you are strong. You wouldn't have made it to this point in your life if you weren't strong, but take your strong ass to therapy. Like you can be strong and get help.
00:49:21
Speaker
You can be strong and need support. You can, you can be both of those. It's a both and situation. It's not an either or like, like we we are strong and you don't get to the point in life where you survive through difficult times without being strong. But It's not about being strong. It's about equipping yourself with tools that help you live and thrive instead of just surviving through life. So I love what you said there. And my condolences to you, to your family. And I know it's a I don't know.
00:49:54
Speaker
That's a tough loss. That's a really tough loss. And I'm going continue to lift you up, especially Cause it's so fresh throughout the holidays, throughout the anniversaries, those things, they, they're hard. And, you know, you can always call on me, just pull up, chop it up, do whatever, but sending my love to you always for real. i appreciate that you count on Absolutely.
00:50:18
Speaker
Absolutely. um You, you've, I mean, like your, your life has been amazing. Like the journey that you've had, you've, Most recently, you were you were working in the mayor's office.
00:50:31
Speaker
you've You've worked with Oasis Center, helping so many people around our our city of Nashville. what what What is next, or what are you up to now? What what is the next for you? So, you know, for three and a half years, I was the director of safety under Mayor Cooper, and I worked with the current mayor for a little while, and then moved over to the health department.
00:50:53
Speaker
The next chapter that I'm believing that that God is having me to write is, one, finishing my book. I'm hoping that I get to finish my book. I need some help. So if there's someone out there that would like to help me tell my story, i would love to entertain that.
00:51:11
Speaker
And then the the other thing that I'm doing and and I'm excited about is that is i'm I'm really reaching out to speak. to to inspire, to educate, to uplift.
00:51:25
Speaker
and and And one of the things that I am really serious about is impact over income. I truly believe that, you know, I would like to come and teach young people, teachers, educators, anyone that would listen, corporations, whoever, help them understand that in this thing called life that we all are living, it's the impact that matters the most.
00:51:50
Speaker
And I think when we when we we work to make the impact, income will come. But I really, really, my open is to say, I am looking to become a prolific speaker, trainer, and educator.
00:52:06
Speaker
And my my theme is to drive home, as Mr. 100 would say, impact over income. Because i truly believe that if we can help people understand the impacts that they're making, income will come.
00:52:21
Speaker
oh man i love
Conclusion: Embracing Vulnerability as Strength
00:52:22
Speaker
that and and that book we like you got you got several copies sold with me so i'm buying i'm buying too many of them so go ahead and finish that thing and i i think i got some people to connect you with to help with help with that process i got i think i got somebody for you so i'm ah i'm gonna hit you up on that and then when it comes to speaking y'all heard him he is a has a phenomenal story has phenomenal wisdom and can impart that on any audience that you can think of. So if you hired me to speak, hire this man to speak. He's going to blow your socks off. ah
00:52:54
Speaker
I just, I can't recommend them enough. And I mean, when I, I inspire a lot of people, but I think when I look at the people who inspire me, I look at you, people like you. You've been you've been an inspiration in my life and ah for so many reasons.
00:53:09
Speaker
But you you your authenticity, your vulnerability, your your your ability to to take the hard things in life and help people see that there is a better way.
00:53:21
Speaker
that there's a different way that we don't have to live in the in the darkness. And you've just, you've been such a blessing in my life. And so i just, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. And I was just show extreme gratitude.
00:53:35
Speaker
And so, Ron, how can people reach you? Where can they find you if they want to book you for speaking, if they want to just reach out, connect, talk about meditation, talk about some of the things you're doing?
00:53:46
Speaker
You know, one of the ways that people can reach me And they can reach me on my, I was going to say my website, but I don't have a website yet. They can reach me through my email.
00:54:00
Speaker
They can reach me at RK – let me make sure I tell it right because it's trjconsulting24. twenty four trjconsulting24 at gmail.com.
00:54:15
Speaker
That's teamronjohnson24. twenty four That's my football number at gmail.com. Definitely. trjconsulting24. j C-O-N-S-U-L-T-I-N-G 24 at gmail.com. They can reach me there.
00:54:32
Speaker
And they can also call me because one of the things that I am, I'm an open book. So you can reach me also by way of calling my cell phone. I always say I ain't never hiding from nobody. And if there's somebody it want to talk to, the phone always go out. and oh And that number is 615-977-2130. Again,
00:54:50
Speaker
nine seven seven two one three zero again That number is 615-977-2130. And and I'll be more than happy to come and talk to your group, your organization, your company.
00:55:06
Speaker
And I guarantee you you will not be disappointed. You won't be. Ron, OG, you the first person to get a phone number out on the pod. So shout out to you for that. i think That's, hey, that's... That's dope.
00:55:20
Speaker
I love it. And almost put that in the show notes so that people can can click on the email, can have the number. You want the number out there um on the website? Hey, it doesn't bother me because that is the real truth. like that I have an open book. like That is real. My people call me from all over the world, honest to God. And I'll talk to them.
00:55:39
Speaker
I have friends in Africa and Europe and their time is way different than their call. that Hey, that's real. i I love that my phone tells me that it's potentially spam when it is. People calling it. I ain't got the number for So I guess I can lean into that. But OG Ron, with all the things that you can do and all the places you could be, ah appreciate you being here with me embracing vulnerability.
00:56:03
Speaker
No doubt. I'm so happy to be here. and Thank you so much for having me. And man, Turn down for what? Let's go, baby. Thank you for joining us in another episode of Vulnerability Muscle.
00:56:15
Speaker
If you've enjoyed these conversations around vulnerability, please consider leaving a review. Your feedback not only motivates us to continue to do the work that we do, but it allows other people to witness the power of vulnerability.
00:56:29
Speaker
Share your thoughts. on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, or wherever you're listening from. And don't forget to spread the word. You can follow us at vulnerabilitymuscle on Instagram and me personally at Reggie D. Ford across all platforms.
00:56:45
Speaker
Visit vulnerabilitymuscle.com for additional resources and support. And remember, embracing vulnerability is not a sign of weakness. It is the source of your greatest strength.
00:56:56
Speaker
Sometimes it's uncomfortable, but most workouts are. So keep flexing that vulnerability muscle.