Meet Donna Hawkins: Performing Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Donna Hawkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Donna, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?
I am a mother of two and grandmother of two. My grandchildren call me Mimah. I just couldn’t reconcile them calling me “grandma”, “G-ma” and definitely not “Nanny”! I’m just too swag for that! I was very young when I got married and had my children. I had no clue about life or about who I was and I made some of the mistakes that a young, naive mother would make. The biggest, I feel, was not really seeing who my children were in their own uniqueness. I couldn’t. I was in the dark about myself. I began to look for answers about life, and my life in particular, after I had a heart attack at 33 years of age. I began to value being a parent; having my children and wanting to give them my best. It took another 10 years before I met Day Adeogba, through my dearest friend, Chanda. I thought I was “going to a gym to get healthy, physically”. What actually happened was I got my entire life out of it through this Health and Fitness Game called the YourDay Balance Game (YDBG). The Game helped me build my health through addressing my fitness, my lifestyle and my consciousness. I had no idea that my thinking was impacting how I experienced my life, my health and my parenting! My children have witnessed my growth. They watched me go from 214 pounds to 140 pounds. They saw my choice to be responsible for my life. They’ve seen me choose healthy, intimate relationships over casual sex and they’ve watched me create abundance from principles. And now, they all live here in Atlanta and are playing the YDBG themselves! I remain humbled.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a musical artist, bassist, vocalist, writer, producer and I’m inspired in all of these facets of myself. I’m most excited about stepping into the realm of Musician Lifestyle Coaching. It’s a “new” expression of myself that I’ve been doing for quite some time. I was inspired to make it “official” by my coach, Day, and the Core of the YourDay Balance Game. Musicians are still suffering and dying for what they love – music. Most musicians are playing the losing game of chasing the check, the gig and the lifestyle at the expense of their health. The overall lifestyle of the musician is unhealthy. It’s the guidance from Day and the YourDay community that supports me in carving out and growing my niche. This is totally new and challenging for me. I’m learning to be patient with myself and the process. I don’t know of anyone else who is doing this — definitely not in the way that I’m addressing it – using health, fitness and awareness. I’m being stretched beyond what I thought I knew about myself. It’s important that I keep my heart open and that has created some pretty scary moments for me. I get to be human every day; and that’s one of the beautiful things about being a coach. In these experiences, I get to practice being a woman. I used to be very hard and guarded and now I’m finding comfort in the unique, empowered expression of my femininity as a bassist.

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?
HA HA! Now, this may sound cliche’. I would definitely have them come to the YourDay Playground (gym) and meet my family. Those who are close to me already know I would do this. It’s the atmosphere at YourDay; it’s everyone being so loving and welcoming. They truly are loving every day! Sharing empowering conversations about truly winning in life through fully accepting ourselves, are the experiences that we enjoy at YourDay. I see this as a great way to care for the people in my life. YourDay changed my life and sharing it with those I love is the greatest gift, in my opinion. We would visit Stone Mountain, the Belt Line and Ponce City Market. We’d enjoy healthy meals at Surin and Rumi’s. I absolutely LOVE healthy food and awesome company! It just feeds me beyond the physical! Oh, and they’d definitely visit my Circle of Influence accountability group! It’s a group of 7 people who I live life with through a really high level of trustworthiness. We support one another in being our greatest selves using empowering tools from the Balance Game. We’d top the week off with a live concert with 3D The Boss. We’re a Health & Fitness Pop group that uses our original music to inspire our listeners to love and live a healthy lifestyle. I’m the Musical Director. Now that’s a full week, right there! Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Day Adeogba (Coach/Mentor) The YourDay Balance Game (CEO- Day Adeogba) Chanda Adeogba (Mentor/Friend/Life Partner to Day) Circle of Influence (7 member accountability group within the YourDay ‘Community) You Can Heal Your Life (Book by Louise Hay) 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Book by Steven Covey) Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself (Book by Joe Dispenza)

Website: https://www.3dtheboss.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladybassist

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-hawkins-6b50a352

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Donnabass1068

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donna.hawkins.bass

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/68dbass

Image Credits
Stacey S. Weiss