Meet Anthony D. Sparks: Speaker | Content Creator | Certified Life Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony D. Sparks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony D., what do you want your legacy to be?
To be honest, I simply want to be remembered as a guy who tried his best to help others live a life OF purpose, ON purpose. That’s my personal mission statement, and that’s why I believe I was put here, to help as many as I can to be purposeful in however long we have on this earth. I hope that in pursuing that mission, I’m also remembered as someone who was real and relatable, just a decent guy trying his best to love and do right by others.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
As the owner and operator of my company, Anthony D. Sparks LLC, I’ve learned a ton along the way! The biggest lesson I probably learned was after a conversation with a trusted mentor of mine, who almost made me rethink my decision. We were having a conversation and all of sudden he just asked me, “what are you doing?” Of course, it caught me off guard so I was like, “what do you mean?” His response floored me: “what qualifies YOU to be doing what you’re doing?” It wasn’t asked in encouragingly challenging type of way, it was asked in a way that said “who are you to think you can do this?” It was at that moment that I realized two types of people exist: Those who do what they’ve seen and those who see what they’ll do. The difference is that the first type of person is the one who takes the beaten path, the more traditional route, the way that’s been cleared; the second type of person is the one who hasn’t seen the path modeled up close and personal, so they choose to do the clearing and carving necessary to bring the vision to life. Remembering that has kept me on track for more than six years now, and I’m so glad we had that conversation, because since then I’ve spoken at hundreds of events, conducted upwards of 200 coaching sessions, started a global podcast, and written four books.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Man, I consider myself a bit of a foodie, so when you talk about going out it’s all about where we eating! I’m one who believes in hitting up the indigenous spots, the places that are specific to a city that you can’t get anywhere else. So, being in Birmingham, we’ve got some amazing spots to literally go on an eating tour! (Shoutout to Commedienne Joy who operates a tour focused on this!) But just to highlight a few spots, you can’t come to Birmingham and leave without hitting up Eugene’s Hot Chicken, K&J’s Elegant Pastries, OvenBird, Saw’s BBQ, Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog (not quite indigenous, but not a “chain” either), Highland’s Bar & Grill, El Barrio, Gianmarco’s, Nikki’s West, Automatic Seafood, STIX, and The Essential…just to name a few lol Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout my wife, Ashley, who has been nothing but supportive and encouraging as I’ve been on this entrepreneurial journey! I’m where I am because she has not only believed in me every step of the way, but supported the vision, propped me up when I’ve been down, and has just trusted me to handle business without one ounce of pressure. So much of my family has been instrumental, but for her to be in the same house, experience the highs and lows, yet continue to be an encourager and driver, it’s made all the difference.

Website: www.AnthonyDSparks.com

Instagram: @AnthonyDSparks

Linkedin: Anthony D. Sparks

Twitter: @AnthonyDSparks

Facebook: Anthony D. Sparks

Other: My Podcast, Crock-Po(d) Conversations, is available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Anchor, Breaker, and more!