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I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here by Jonathan Conyers

@iwstbh

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🌱From Memoir to Movement.
🍃Sharing Stories that Inspire Change.
📧 [email protected]
Powered by @iamjonathanconyers @conyersmedia

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♟️ CHECKMATE

This conversation was bigger than business, success, or the man people see today. I sat down with my brother and award winning author @iamjonathanconyers for @iwstbh and told the truth about the road that brought me here: the pain, the mistakes, the faith, the fatherhood, the forgiveness, and the decision to never allow my circumstances to write the ending of my story.
There were chapters of my life that were meant to break me. Instead, they built me.
I’m sharing this because somewhere there’s a kid from a neighborhood like Washington Heights, a father trying to break a cycle, or a person carrying something they’ve never had the courage to speak about. Your past may explain you, but it does not have to define you.
This is my story. Unfiltered.
The full episode of my IWSTBH interview is now on YouTube. Go watch it from beginning to end. I believe there’s something in this conversation for somebody who needs it today.
Search “IWSTBH Goldin Martinez” on YouTube.

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Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment, share, reach out, and support the clips from my @iwstbh interview with my brother and award-winning author @iamjonathanconyers

The love I’ve received has been overwhelming, and I’m deeply grateful.

But more than anything, I’m grateful that my story did not end where my pain began.

I forgave my grandfather for what he did to me. I forgave my mother for the pain she caused me. And eventually, I had to forgive myself for all the years I believed that what happened to me had the power to determine who I would become.

It doesn’t.

I am not what was done to me. I am the man I chose to become in spite of it.

A loving and protective father. A leader. A man of faith. A follower of Christ. And someone determined to make sure the generational trauma that existed before me does not continue through me.

Breaking a cycle does not mean pretending the past never happened. It means refusing to hand that pain to the next generation.

That may be one of the greatest things I ever accomplish in this life.

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We're thankful to the Carmel Hill Foundation for supporting BDL's efforts in our new initiative Books In Our Hands and for purchasing copies of our co-founder @iamjonathanconyers memoir, I Wasn't Supposed to Be Here, for our students.

We're also grateful to the Teagle Foundation for purchasing copies of Cicero for our campers. Literacy and reading will always be at the core of debate and the BDL. Thank you for helping us move this work forward.

BDL students putting in the work between rounds.
Keep reading. 📖

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Last night I had the honor of being a guest on the incredibly powerful @iwstbh podcast, produced by @conyersmedia and hosted by award-winning author @justjonathanconyers

We talked about my journey, from growing up in the foster care system and navigating a difficult childhood, to becoming the founder of @GetFocused and Executive Chairman of @GoldinBrands

For the first time, I shared parts of my story I’ve never spoken about publicly. Looking back, it’s amazing how some of life’s hardest moves become the very things that prepare you for your purpose.

A huge thank you to the entire production team: @griotz @gabrieltaliaferro @sc00p___ @lareseking for creating a space where I felt comfortable enough to be completely authentic.

I can’t wait for you all to watch this conversation. I have a feeling it’s going to resonate with a lot of people❤️

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@przemyslaw_glowacz #shaunproduction #freestyle #music #hiphop #artist

Good luck 👌👀❤️

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~𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐋𝐘𝐍𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐍~

Today we celebrate the publicist OG Queens Legacy with a gem as she Passes the Torch🔥 of kindness to our up and coming PRs getting into the game

She said this…

“𝘉𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘻 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨/𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 & 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬…𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩!” - 𝐋𝐘𝐍𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐍

#Choosetobekind kinda vibes 🫶🫶🫶🥕

More lyf queen and Thank you 🙏🙏🙏🥕 for this moment…

It’s #Teampassthetorch🔥

And it’s #Sumthinnserious🔥🔥🔥🥕

#happybirthdaytoyou #publicist

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You can try to do this life without GOD, but you will feel the weight of it. Without HIM, the pressure, the confusion, and the constant searching for something to fill a space, will be present. Only GOD can fill that space. I have learned that life makes a lot more sense when you stop trying to control everything and start seeking GOD first.

A legacy is not just what you leave for people. Money fades. Titles fade. Things fade. A real legacy is what you leave in people. It is how you love, how you pour into others, and how you represent GOD when nobody is watching.

JESUS is real. HIS presence is real. HIS grace is real. And when you truly seek HIM, HE will guide you, correct you, and cover you in ways you could never do on your own.

Seek GOD first in all things and not just when life gets hard, but in your daily decisions, your plans, and your purpose. That is where the peace is. That is where the direction is. That is where the real foundation is.

How do you get closer to GOD? Talk to HIM. Pray & fast. Read the Bible. Start with the NEW testament or read the Bible from beginning to end. Seek HIS face. You’ve got this!

#SeekGodFirst #JesusIsReal #FaithOverEverything #GodFirstAlways #LynnHobson

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Good morning, everyone. On behalf of the Jon Conyers Network family, we hope your holidays were special. To start this beautiful Sunday morning, please take a moment to experience this powerful poem from none other than Ian Manuel.

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Ian spent 18 of his 26 years in prison in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is torture. Extensive research shows the devastating physical and mental toll it takes on incarcerated people.

Learn more about Ian’s story in this powerful interview on I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here: The Series.

Full episode out now on the Jon Conyers Network YouTube channel. Link in bio.

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From the lens of @GabrielTaliaferro, inside the studio of @IamJonConyers the creator of “I Wasn’t Supposed To Be Here.” @IWSTBH

The title alone stopped me. Because when I look back at my life…that’s honestly the truth. I wasn’t supposed to make it; not statistically, not circumstantially, not by any logical measure. My mother was a drug addict. My father denied I was his son. And I had to grow up in the broken foster care system and was ultimately abused by the one person who was supposed to protect me.

Yet somehow, by grace, grit, and God…here I am. Still rising. Still building. Still pouring into others.

Thank you to my longtime friend @Jasmineray_NYC for bringing me into this space to support your powerful interview on Political Humanity. Meeting Jon, Gabriel, and their incredible team reminded me why storytelling truly matters. It heals, it lifts, it liberates!

One day soon, I’ll share mine in full, how a 13-year-old boy from Washington Heights, who had every reason to give up, made a promise to build a youth organization that would inspire the next generation.

That vision became @GetFocused and for over 20 years it has impacted thousands of young people across the world. Today, I stand as an executive leading multiple nonprofit ventures and enterprises with one mission: build winners, build leaders, build legacy.

And next year…I finally release the book I wrote in silence. The work has been done, but I had to grow into the man worthy of telling the story.

2026 it all unfolds. It’s time.

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Jasmine Ray opens up about the powerful story behind her book cover and the deep connection she shared with Mayor Eric Adams. She recalls the moment she rubbed a scar on his head, saying it was her way of trying to protect his vulnerabilities. Their connection runs deep, and for the first time, Jasmine is ready to tell it all. Tune in this Monday at 8pm EST exclusively on the Jon Conyers Network. Link in bio.

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For the people. #riseupfreedomisamust a phrase coined by my big brother @rebirth1966

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