What prompted the move to Atlanta?

When I had that dream with my son and then the raid, I didn’t want to be a part of the agency anymore. I shut my agency down. Well, I started shutting it down at that point. Everything just seemed dirty to me…the money, the connections…everything. And when I lost my daughter, well, actually, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I bro I’ll see you later later later later kept getting convicted about Atlanta.

I had never been here before, but I had started learning about ministry. I’d started learning about God and spirit and just stuff like that. Not religion. I’m spiritual and different things would come across TV, and they would say Atlanta, or I’d hear pastor Joyce Meyers, Joel Osteen, or TD Jakes. I would hear their sermons, and Atlanta just kept on popping up. I didn’t know anyone here. That’s the funny thing. I had a friend who knew someone here, and I was like, you know what, I’m going to visit. That’s where I’m moving to. This was when I was pregnant. I was like, I’m going to visit. I want to go down there. We’re moving there. When I lost my daughter, it opened up the door to move here. I wasn’t restricted to staying in Kansas. So, I was like, you know what, that’s where I’m going. I have the thought of nonprofit at the same time and I said I’m going to do ministry. I’m going to do something good. I’m going to do my new chapter. And so, Atlanta was just energy, and things that just kept on manifesting in are things that I would see. It was weird. I just kind of jumped out on a limb if you want to know the truth.

How hard was the transition from making a lot of this money and then moving to Atlanta? Was there any slowdown you that you had to make an insignificant adjustment in terms of being able to take care of yourself?

It was hard. Mentally it was draining. At first, I had thought about changing my life a million times before 2010. I mean, literally, a million times. And people would even say to me; youneed to change your life. You need to change your life. And they were spiritual people. One specific lady told me, “you have to give up everything that you have and walk with God.”

And I told her, “I’m not giving up anything. If that’s your God, and he says, I got to give up all my homes and cars, and what I’m doing, I don’t want to know your God.” Because in my mind,I was still trapped in that lifestyle. And I think she came at me a little too harsh because that shouldn’t have been so, or maybe she didn’t say it appropriately or whatever, but then, you come in contact with certain people or my own energy, I knew I had to make a change. So. that was something that I had to mentally deal with mine with myself and accept. And then, once I acceptthat, I’m going to do with it. And I had that dream. I did it for my son and me because I didn’t want my son to see me in prison.

And like I said, I’d already been raided three times, so I felt like the next time I wasn’t going to be able to get off, or they would come with something totally different that an attorney couldn’t help me with. Mentally shifting from that wasn’t hard. Once I made the decision, I had to emotionally. I had a lot of people say I was crazy and talk trash or say I was running from something. And I wasn’t. I guess I was running from my past, but just for a new future. But finances were hard. And then my son didn’t understand going from having everything to having nothing.

How was that transition for you mentally?

We came down here with a car and clothing in the trunk and nothing. So, going from the in-ground pool too, basketball court, movie theater in your house owning several properties, cars with Lamborghini doors and big rims, and a lot of flexibility to a Taurus and nothing. We were in a Taurus that I bought for $1,700. Going from all of that to nothing was emotionally hard for me and explaining to a 14-year-old this is what we need to do was hard. I told him mommy’s trying to change her life, which is the best for us. He was really upset and pissed off. Like, what are you doing? What is going on with you? The hardest part was the financial and my son’s emotional rollercoaster emotions. I felt like I was tripping. Then I got into ministry.

I started questioning mentally and emotionally because I was a mommy and I had to provide, and I had to figure something out and do it the right way and accept that he may not understand right now, but this is what we need to do. And we have to do.

I can imagine how hard that kind of transition is for both of you because you’ve always been a significant provider for him. And then you feel like you let him down, and in turn,that makes you feel like you’ve let yourself down. But moving into the way of ministry, do you feel like that healed some of the ways you thought?

It did! It opened up parts of me that I had never even dealt with,and it opened up parts of me that were the little girl in me that I had suppressed. And it allowed me to understand that outside of everything that’s happened to me and everything. I know that there is a good way to make a change, and I have to do ministry, you know, just getting spiritual and trying to figure things out and being in church.

And, and I, I mean, I deal with many pastors and go to a lot of different churches and sermons and this and that. Uh, and I’m not religious, but when you hear the word and it speaks to you and it ministers you, it heals you, you know, and it fills up your cup. And, and that is what’s helped me.

I can turn on girl, the gospel channel right now, and certain songs will make me cry. It just allows me to release as a; it’s like a therapy for me. So, I don’t know, you know, about anyone else. And you know, I’m not trying to say that, you know, people have to be, you know, spiritual, this, that, and other, I just know what worked for me, and it’s what’s working for me, and it helps it, you know, the ministry, the spiritual, the word, even though I don’t understand all of it, I get confused sometimes but when it’s broke down, and you have someone ministered to you in it, it opens up your heart, and it heals your wounds. There’s nothing better than that.

What did you do differently to ensure that your son didn’t make the same mistakes that you did?

The last grade I completed was eighth grade, and I dropped out at the beginning of ninth. And after that, I did try to get my GED diploma several times, but it wasn’t for me. Or I made excuses. When I say several, I know at least five or six. I would start going to the classes because I wanted to do that for my son and show him if I could do it, you can do it and I did not get my GED until I was 31 or 32, or something like that and excuses before because I had the money, had the business, and was in this lifestyle drinking and whatever else. So, I didn’t take the GED seriously as I should have.

But one day, when my son got in trouble in north Atlanta, and he said, “mom, why do I have to get my high school diploma? You don’t have one.” I said, okay, “I’m going to do one better for you.” I went online, did the online classes, and within three months, I had my GED. I locked myself in a room and cut off the world because I did not want my son to make that excuse in school. Just because my mom doesn’t have one, I’m not going to. So, my inspiration was my son’s slick mouth. I didn’t even tell him I didn’t have a high school diploma; my sister told him that I didn’t (which he didn’t even know).  That’s the reason I got it and I do have a high school diploma now.

Congratulations. What did that feel like for your son since you made him eat his words? Did he finish high school?

He did. He finished it when he was in prison, and we celebrate, and I congratulated him, and he is so brilliant. And people that are so brilliant sometimes get too antsy and don’t want to sit down long enough because they think they know everything. So, when he got it, that was just one of the major moments that reassured him that he could do anything. And I’m so proud of him for doing that.

So, yeah, he was excited for me. And that also was the reassurance for him to do it. As parents, I don’t think we realized how much our kids watch us and good or bad. It will help them make excuses or push to be who they should be and what they can be. And so, with me, you know, I was, my son was making excuses, you know, so now, I’m holding more accountable, and I’m doing it in action and trying to live better, do better and walk in the right direction.

So, he can see me, follow that lead, and not make excuses.

So, what’s next for you in 2022?

Well, right now, I’m just letting in the energy and kind of flowing with it—the nonprofit definitely in 2022. I wanted to do so much more than it’s been doing and just to manifest a lot of healing and many open doors for clarity, a hundred percent the direction and the mentorship and the awareness and stuff like that. So, the nonprofit is 2022—just full throttle.

I am thinking about doing my book, and I want it to be transparent and hopefully inspiring. Also, just help my son…guide him, direct him on his purpose, what he’s supposed to be doing, and how he’s supposed to be doing it. So, just live and enjoy life in 2022, just heal more and see what happens.

How can people connect with you?

Definitely through the priceless diamond’s website www.pricelessdiamonds.org. There’s a number on the website that goes directly to me. So, if someone needs references or referrals or mentorship or any questions about the nonprofit, that number is on there.

My website is www.giginicole.com. And, of course, I’m on all the platforms under @GigiNicole.

Are there any last words that you would say to inspire someone? What would you tell anyone struggling or feel like they can’t make it?

That when you’re in a dark place is hard to see the light and when you’re wrapped up and habits or ways or people, it’s, it’shard to make a change, but, but, but, but, but if you know it’s needed. You want it, that is your light in the darkness and all it takes is your brain to click or that aha moment for you to transition and start taking steps.

Even if it’s baby steps, just start walking on that new path. However, that looks is just to start and to understand that if you are in that dark place, depending on what place you’re in. And we just got to change that mindset and take the opportunity to get out of it. And there’s always hope, and there’s always a purpose and whoever, and they can do it.