DeLisa Guerrier is "The Ground Breaker"

February 15th, 2022
AMPstigator
Episode 10: DeLisa Guerrier, The Groundbreaker

Summary: 
DeLisa Guerrier is a real estate developer with nearly a quarter-billion dollars of property under construction right now (Feb.'22). In 2016 she began having a series of dreams about building a community park. When she learned of the abysmal literacy rates in America, she focused her energy toward making a park that would encourage kids to read for fun. Storyville Gardens emerged, the $1 billion theme park opening in 2025.

This episode is for you if: 
-You resonate with a strong Christian message
-You like business-women with real estate backgrounds
-You want to learn the full story behind Storyville Gardens, opening in 2025

What's in this episode?
DeLisa Guerrier is an everyday example of purpose, but her story is far from typical. In her early 20s she began working for her husband’s business which she helped grow from $100,000 a year to $10 million annually. At the same time she began selling homes as a 23-year old realtor, helping friends nearing foreclosure to update and sell their homes.You’ll hear how she went from realtor to developer.

DeLisa also tells the full story of the inception of Storyville Gardens, a park concept that came to her in a dream. You'll also hear the way she chose her lead park designer and what she’s had to battle to bring the park to life.

This episode brings life lessons from a person who has focused and achieved so much with a steady resolve. How she overcame doubters and followed her heart in the pursuit of purpose. 
 

📝 Show Notes & Mentions 📝

Ralph Waldo EMerson “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”

IAPPA Theme park industry conference  

Mel McGowan, Themepark designer behind Storyville Gardens  

Inspirational quotes from Napoleon Hill 

Connect with DeLisa Guerrier
Her development company, Guerrier Development
Storyville Gardens 

Chapters
 0:00 - Intro
1:11 - Best Time/Worst Time
3:44 - DeLisa overcame her nature
7:04 - DeLisa’s purpose
9:34 - Which path to take?
12:53 - DeLisa’s views on money
18:09 - The inception of Storyville
21:05 - The park came in a dream
25:20 - Words create worlds
29:08 - DeLisa hands out life lessons
35:58 - A woman’s connection to intuition
43:53 - Timeline for Storyville
45:35 - Purpose is a multi-year journey
54:39 - Magnetizing with purpose

[Episode transcript]

- DeLisa Guerrier is so unexpected. When you hear about a woman who runs a multimillion-dollar real estate development company, I know I immediately think Shark, "Shark Tank," Barbara Corcoran. But DeLisa is not that. She's meek and mild, sweet as can be. She's always smiling. She got into real estate in her early 20s, and eventually got her contractor's license to develop property. One night a few years ago, she got the idea for a community park in a dream. It's become much bigger than that. Storyville Gardens, the theme park, is set to open in 2025 in Nashville. It's already valued at $1 billion. DeLisa says, up until this interview, she'd never been able to tell the whole story of the park. She'd always left out the role her faith played in this until now. This is DeLisa Guerrier, "The Groundbreaker." So DeLisa, I'd like to start with a little series of questions.

- Okay!

- A little game I like to play. I call it Best Time, Worst Time.

- Okay.

- Okay? You ready to play?

- Let's do it.

- All right, when was the best time in your life?

- Oh my goodness. I would say the best time was, aside from giving birth and gettin' married, I would say that it was actually seeing something that was in my head, which was Storyville, on paper, to actually seeing, it was like giving birth to this goal, this vision, you know. So that was probably the best time.

- When was the worst time in your life?

- Probably the day that I lost my grandmother. She, I think, is who really cultivated this love for me for reading. And she was just an avid reader and writer and published author and things. And the day we lost her and I found out, we were here in Tennessee, my sister and I, and she was back in California. And it just seemed like the world was not the same, you know.

- What was a turning point in your life?

- That's a good question. I would say when I gave my life to the Lord, huge shift, tangible shift.

- When did that happen?

- It happened in 2010? 2010, I think?

- What changed?

- Everything changed. With my business, with my marriage, with my, I mean, you just go down the list. Everything about my life changed that day. I mean, it was a tangible shift. I mean, it's a long story there, but just such a difference.

- When was the greatest moment of clarity in your life?

- Hmm, I think that it was when I realized how God speaks to me.

- And how is that?

- He speaks in different ways. Sometimes it's through dreams. Sometimes it's audibly, sometimes it's in my, in my heart. But I think it was really just knowing what was Him and what was my own thoughts, you know, and having that moment of clarity or understanding.

- Wow, we could do a masterclass on that. We'll get back.

- Absolutely.

- Let's remember that one, and come back to it. What's something about your nature that you've been able to recognize and overcome?

- Ooh, so when I first started in real estate, they did this personality assessment on me and wanted to see just what my normal nature was. And they looked at me and they said, "DeLisa, you're probably not gonna do very good in real estate, because you're not aggressive. You don't have that, you know, you know, you're a little probably passive to." So they said, "What we recommend is for you to dive in, and make all your mistakes." And so I really held onto that for a minute, and I tried not to internalize it. But I realized there is a difference between being aggressive and assertive. And if you can be assertive, then, you know, you can get the job done.

- What's the difference? How do you know it to be.

- Oh man, I think that people come off as aggressive when they are overbearing. Or maybe not overbearing, but when they are, when they push, when they know how to push, right? I think that assertive is allowing everyone else to see the perspective, and make the right decision, you know? And I think that that was something my husband and I laugh a lot, because he is aggressive. And in real estate, he always says, "I should go sell houses." I'll, you know, I'll do this, I'll. And I'm like, that's not the best. But I've learned, in my real estate career, when I used to sell houses, I don't need to sell a house. There's absolutely nothing that I can do to make somebody fall in love with this house. And aggressive people sometimes do that. I always took the stance, the home will sell itself. If it's for them, there's nothing I can do or say to make them, you know? And that was sort of the transitional point mentally for me, to know that I can overcome what this personality assessment that says that I won't do well. And obviously I did pretty good, so.

- I think so. I think you did. What do you find yourself saying a lot lately? Is there a phrase that keeps coming out of your mouth? What is that?

- It's not faith if you can see it.

- I love that. What have you had to say it about lately?

- Oh, everything. You know, there's nothing. So if you look at real estate development, you know, you can go to a property, you can't see what's there, or what there will be there. And so it's like in every essence of my life, that is sort of the underlying narrative. And now the Bible says that blessed are those who believed and not have seen, you know? And so, I don't know, that's just the, how do you build a $300 million amusement park? I saw it before it was there, so.

- And it's still not there. You saw it before it was even drawn,

- Right? It's still not. And I talk about it like it's there. I'm at opening day already.

- Because it is there.

- It is there.

- Yeah, it's there in your heart, it's there in your mind. It's been there for four years.

- And every single thing has lined up for it to be physical, where everybody else can enjoy it. I'm already there.

- I love that. I love that you're doing this. What's your purpose right now?

- My purpose is to be obedient. That is my purpose. And what's exciting about that is, because it's this constant evolution of the physical side, right? So I could say that my purpose is to build an amusement park. But the truth is, is that I'm just being obedient. It's somethin' that the Lord put in my, in my spirit, He gave me the vision for, and He gave me the tools to execute, right. Just like Noah and Noah's Ark. And all it took for Noah was to be obedient, no matter how many people thought he was crazy, no matter, you know, everything that's stacked up against you, so.

- Did people think you were crazy with this idea?

- Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I've had people say, "DeLisa, not everybody in your circle is in your corner." And I saw that, because there were people on my team who didn't really believe, you know?

- How did you handle that?

- I prayed, and I allowed them to weed themselves out. And I never burn bridges. I have great relationships with everyone. But the people, there is a season, right, and a reason for everyone throughout this. But the spirit of discernment, just being able to know and see who's supposed to be where, to get it, to get the job done.

- Hmm. When did you know your purpose was your purpose?

- When the Lord tells you to do something, and you don't do it, that feeling is how I knew that I needed to be obedient for the rest of my life, you know. I heard someone say, "If you wanna live a miserable life, don't do what He's telling you to do." And so, because of that, I think that, more than anything, I chase the feeling of fulfillment. And it's so much different from anything else. I don't chase a project because, you know, because it's pretty or because it'll make a lot of money. It's more about that peace, that feeling of fulfillment that drives me every day.

- Yeah, that's so wonderful. Let's take a step back to when you started in real estate, when someone told you this wouldn't work out for you, tell me where you were, how old you were, what was goin' on in your life?

- So starting off in real estate?

- Mm-hmm.

- So I had the decision to either, I had to make the decision of either going to medical school, which is, I was biology pre-med in undergrad, or dropping everything I was doing to help my husband grow his automotive company. I had no desire to be in the automotive industry. Actually, I grew up, my biological father is in the automotive industry, and I said I would never marry a man in automotive.

- Because you're like, "No, none of him."

- I know.

- Movin' past that.

- Exactly, the hours, the, you know, just all that stuff. So I dropped everything I was doing, and I helped my husband grow his business. And we grew it from just about $100,000 a year, to doing just under 10 million a year. And I was running the entire back end of that operation for probably six years.

- How did you do that? You not having, I mean, you were thinking you were going into medical school. How did you apply what you do, and how you do it, to grow that business at, I mean, how old were you? Like 23?

- I was 21.

- 21!

- I was 21 when I first started.

- Wow!

- And when I, the day that I decided I was gonna help him, I didn't even know how to write a check. I mean, I had absolutely no business experience at all. But there's, what I did have was.... What's the word? Common sense? Right? And you look around, and you see what's missing. I think that I've always been a problem solver all my life. To this day, I cannot go a day without doing a puzzle, whether it's on the phone, you know, wherever it is.

- Really?

- It is just.

- Does it keep you sharp?

- I think it keeps me sharp. That is what it, that is the fulfillment for my brain. Even if I'm watching a movie, I'm at the same time, doin' a puzzle or somethin'. It is the oddest thing. My husband hates it. But anyway. So I've always been a problem solver. So I look around and I'm, and I'm thinking, what are we missing? Well, he doesn't even have a business license, you know. And just looking at different things that I know that you need, and if I didn't know, I'd Google what's missing. And then I took just one step every day to fill that. And I don't have an accounting background, but I know that I was always really good with numbers. So if you look at, you know, a business, I didn't know anything about business.

- You were 21, too.

- I was, I was.

- It's incredible.

- But you know, that here's an invoice, here's the income, right? And you do simple math, that's all it was. And then as we grew, of course, the math was still simple, but the numbers changed. There were quite a bit more commas and zeros, but.

- I find that part interesting to you, because, or interesting to me rather, about your story. You went from dealing with $100,000 in a business, your husband's business. Now you're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in the business that you've grown. Is there ever a point that you look at those numbers and go, wow, that's a lot of money? Or how do you treat money now?

- Such a good question. So I think that I went through this training. I look at the dealership as a training. It taught me everything I needed to know, not only about real estate, about everything. I was depositing anywhere between 60 to 300,000 a day, you know? And what it did was it removed any feeling that I had about money. I was no longer connected. There was no longer any feeling.

- Like an emotional connection with money.

- There was no emotional connection with money. All it was was numbers. And the numbers were this, it was simple math. And as the numbers grew, it just became simple math. And so now, you know, I have just over a quarter billion dollars' worth of real estate development goin' on, not including the theme park. And it's just simple math.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

- So okay, let's talk about how you guys got out of cars, how you, or not even got outta cars, how you started going into real estate development. 'Cause you were doing both at the same time, weren't you, for a long time?

- Oh yeah. Yes, for a long time. So in 2011, I became a licensed realtor, and I just thought, "Well, this will be something fun for me to do, because my husband's running his car dealership." And funny story about that. I started at Keller Williams, and I said, "Well, now I'm licensed. I've got a brokerage. I'm leaving the automotive industry. I'm gonna go and sell real estate," so.

- Were you 24 at this time?

- I think I was, my math might be off, I think I was probably like 22 or 20, I mean, it happened right after. And so I dropped everything I was doin', and I started goin' to the Keller Williams office. And for two weeks I sat there and I'm like, "Okay, I'm about to sell some houses. Where are the people?" You know? "Who am I selling to?" And they're looking at me, like, you've gotta go get the people.

- To find people.

- Yeah. And so I looked at my husband, I said, "Well, I don't think it's gonna work out with me in real estate, so I guess I'll just come back, and help you at the dealership again." And he said, he was like, "That's fine," you know? And so I started. That month I had seven houses under contract.

- In your first month?

- From his clients.

- Wow.

- So I was doing-

- In 2011. I mean, the economy was still terrible in 2011.

- It was coming up. I mean, and we're in Nashville, so things were a little different here than they were in the rest of the country. But it was also a very interesting time, because there were people who were, they had 13% interest rates, you know, they needed to get out of their home that was eating them up. And they would, they came and they said well, we might have to short sale, or you know, I'm almost in foreclosure. I haven't paid my mortgage in this amount of time. And I looked at them, and I looked at my husband, and I said, "We could probably help them, because here are families who, you know, really just needed help." And so we would invest in their home.

- You would spend your own money in their house.

- We did, we did. And it was really feel-good work. These are people who were longtime customers and so we would catch up their mortgage. We would move them out. And then we would fix up their home, because there was profit there, but they just couldn't access it because, you know, because they didn't have the capital to do it. And so we would sell the homes for a profit, and split the profit, or, you know, and it helped us help families just maintain dignity, and save their credit.

- And they're people you know, right. So you're keeping them, saving their credit, which has longterm implications. And then they're friends of yours, and then you're making money here and there on that process.

- Right.

- How many years did you do that for before you started moving into some other space?

- Probably a couple, I mean, you know, there was this market increase, so it was just really during that time, probably two years or so. And then we had clients come to us that needed on get out our partnerships, or they needed to sell land. And so before we knew it, we were buying property just as we were running the dealership, as I was selling houses. And we owned a lot of land around the city. So naturally, you know, you see raw dirt and you think, "What does a community need here?" So we would hire an architect, we'd hire a builder to come in and develop the property. And so that just, it grew. And one day I realized that my mom builds bridges, I can probably build a house. So I went and got my contractor's license, and started building for ourselves.

- That's amazing, how many years ago did you do that, your contractor's license?

- 2015.

- Wow. So this has been many years on now that you've been doing this.

- Yes. So walk me through the point that you decided a theme park. Now I know, I know it wasn't always a theme park. I know it was something different in your mind. So start with where it, where it began.

- You know, it started off really with a need. So I'm a mom of three. We were driving to Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, in order to go find things to do that were engaging for the whole family. And, you know, I always say in real estate development, I'm tasked with the responsibility of creating something that'll last a lifetime and ultimately impact generations. And when you look at just the need here for families, Nashville's the, you know, best bachelorette place

- Yeah, right.

- and tourists place there is. But when people are bringing their families here, and you see a five year old walking down Broadway, it just kind of makes you cringe a little bit.

- It feels icky, right? I think the same thing. And I've had friends come into town, I'm like, "There are places you can go, and lemme tell you where those are." Here's where you can go.

- Yes, yes.

- But you wanted to create something even more than that.

- That's right. So I grew up in Oakland, California. And we always had some sense of adventure. I don't know, it was probably just my mom, just always wanting us to feel like children. And so on the other side to that, what's his name, Ralph Waldo Emerson said that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children. Which means that we have a responsibility to be intentional, intentional about everything that we do. And so that fueled me in ways it's hard to describe. But on the other side to that, the literacy statistics are a huge problem. So there's this study that I was in, I was in this conference and I heard about this study that was done, and they said that four out of five children are not up to grade-level reading.

- Four out of five. This is all-

- in the state of Tennessee.

- Oh my gosh.

- We are number 48 out of 50 with our literacy statistics. And they said that if we can get a child to read for fun, based on this study, test scores will increase. And it just unlocked something in my mind, and connected the dots with me, already on this path of wanting to bring just something whimsical and fun for families and children. If we can do it with the intent to promote literacy, then we can truly make an impact, you know. There's that intentionality that's missing in so many places. And so, that was how everything got started.

- I love though that, you know, in our society, we always say, well, I have this dream to do this, this is my dream, this is my dream. You had literal dreams, and continue to have literal dreams,

- Yes.

- about Storyville.

- Yes. It was interesting after that moment where I realized that this is what the Lord was calling me to do, and those dots were connected. He guided me through dreams. He guided me through just messages in different ways. But interesting sort of story about how I chose my design company. I went to this big convention, it's called IAPA. It happens every year in Orlando. It's the whole theme park industry. And I met all these different designers. And I happened to meet this one guy, at the most unlikely place, and his name's Mel McGowan. He was one of the designers of California Disneyland, and has just done some monumental things in the theme park industry. And he told me about his company, Storyland Studios in Southern California. And he really wanted to talk about doing, you know, bringing my vision to life on paper and being one of the designers. And I was just about to go under contract with another firm. And I kept having dreams every single night that I was in the park, and it was terrible.

- Which is awful. I mean, that's a nightmare. Would you wake up and go,

- I woke up- "This is terrible, this is terrible."

- I would wake up my husband, and I'm like, "I was in the park, and it was terrible." And he said, "I don't know, I don't know what to tell you," right? And so-

- In your heart though, you knew, right, something was wrong.

- Something was, but I didn't connect it to the designer. It was just an interesting thing. And then the day that I was gonna sign that other contract, I received a connection request on LinkedIn from Mel McGowan, and I said, "Wow." I said, "Let me call him. I remember him from." And I called him and he said, "My team and I are comin' to Nashville in two weeks. We'd love to sit and talk to you. We'd love to do a Blue Skies at that time, to really pull your vision out. And we'll match whatever price the other company was doing."

- Oh wow.

- And I went to, I said, "Okay, I'll think about it. Send me over a proposal, I'll look at it." I went to sleep that night. I had a dream that I was in the park, and it was perfect.

- Do you remember any of the details, 'cause-

- I could not remember one detail. When it was terrible, I remembered everything. I couldn't remember one detail. And I woke up and I laughed, and I told my husband, I said, "That's the guy."

- This is it.

- That's the guy.

- When was that? How many years ago?

- That was 2017?

- Still 2017.

- 2017, early. Oh, nope. It may have been early, early 2018. Because they came out in early 2018, and we did a huge, big Blue Sky event with just some key people in the city.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

- That's amazing. So, I mean, in the four years, since that time, I mean, there's been so much that's happened. I know we've talked about before about, you know, when you initially set out, you thought this is gonna be just a small thing.

- Yes.

- Just be small, just a thing that for families here and there.

- Yes.

- It's become so much bigger.

- So much bigger. And you know, my original vision was to do this 8, 10-acre park, that was just whimsical, based off of books and stories from all over the world. But we ended up hiring a feasibility consultant and really looking at the market, right? Because that's what drives the numbers. That's what drives the cost. That's what ties back to that simple math. And we found out that Nashville is one of two places in the entire United States that had a successful amusement park, that's no longer in operations. Opryland had, they did 2 1/2 million people a year, back in the 90s.

- I had no idea.

- Before Nashville was, you know what. And so it's interesting now, every day, there's someone who comes up to me, and tells me a personal story about Opryland. It was their childhood.

- Wow.

- And so the most fulfilling thought is to bring, you know, this next generation coming up, of children and young adults, that they'll have their childhood, they'll have their park, you know.

- Yeah, that's amazing.

- It is.

- Something that's really stood out to me about, not just your story, but what you're about to create. And it comes from just even being on the, the website for Storyville Gardens, and seeing the tagline that's been created in kind of concert with this concept, and it's "Words Create Worlds."

- Yes.

- And when I read that, it hit me, because I thought, I mean, certainly it's, 1,000% it fits what you're saying, words create worlds. We read a, we read the words, and then we are transported to a world. There it is.

- Yes.

- But there's something so much deeper and so much grander and bigger to that. That I feel like kids don't understand. Only adults really begin to understand. It's like the words we say, create the world that we're in. We have that power. When they brought those words to you and said, "This is what it's gonna be, Words Create Worlds," what was that moment like for you?

- Oh my goodness. So it's so many layers, right? I mean, it's so many layers to that. It's hard to even, we don't even have enough time, but.

- Try me.

- But, so I, as I said, I grew up in Oakland, California, right. And so if you imagine just the hustle and bustle of a big city, right? You hear the noise, you hear the traffic, you hear the dogs barking. And then there's these four walls. And in these four walls sat a little girl who had the privilege of traveling all over the world. She traveled to mystical places, worlds that hadn't been created yet. Yet she didn't leave the confines of those four walls. And that was me, and I did it through books. And so, you know, the essence that words create worlds, is true. And it is, it's not only true in just, in reading and stories and children, but even how we're here, at least the best book to me, the Bible. The Lord said, "Let there be light." Those words were spoken. And so it's so many layers, and that was that moment of it just all came full circle.

- Yeah, well I think it probably comes back to something you've said before, which is, it's not faith if you can see it. You know, we have to say the words that we want, the things that we want, the world that we want.

- Yes, we do.

- My mom, I'm from a very religious family, very spiritual family. And I mean, oh gosh, I grew up always, you've gotta speak it. You've gotta speak it, you gotta speak it. And there's, I think only now in adulthood, do I understand the power of our words. Whether someone's spiritual or not, there's neuroscience now that backs this up, that the words we say have that much power.

- So much power.

- Where is there a time in your life where you felt like you've had to speak something to make it so?

- Oh my goodness. I feel like that happens every day. You know, it's like we're on this journey to whatever it is that we're doing, and you have the ability to choose, not only what you speak, but also what you think, right? And you see the physical manifestations of that every day, you know, whether you choose to. I think it was Napoleon Hill said, whether you, whether, what is the? He said, whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way you're right. And so, it's such a huge power behind words, that I cannot wait for the children, the families, to just come and engage with what we're planning for Storyville.

- Yeah. Well, how about in your own life? Let's talk about that.

- Okay.

- You know, because it's so easy for me to sit here, and I'm talking to you, because of what is in motion.

- Yes.

- You know? Like I know you because of what you're planning, what you're building. The time this episode comes out, you'll be announcing where you're building this incredible, however-many acre theme park in Nashville, and it's a huge undertaking. So that's just how I know you. But there is no overnight success. I mean, you've been working toward this, you know, chipping away at things like this since you were 21 years old.

- That's right.

- So what were the worlds you were creating with your words at 21 and 22 and 23?

- I feel like I went through this interesting process socially, right? Where it was time, it wasn't time for fun and games anymore. It wasn't time for hanging out and going to, you know, to bars with friends, and that impacted my social life, but it was time to focus. It was time to get the work done. And I think that we we over or underestimate, not only our words, but other words that are spoken from other people. And so, you know, sometimes we're pregnant right, with these ideas, and you share it. Maybe you share it to a friend. Maybe you share it to someone who doesn't see it like you do. And their words kill your vision, because you allowed them in. And so there was this time of a focus for me to really just pay attention, get the work done. And now I look back, and it's been, you know, 13 years, but.

- Yeah, I wanna explore that more with you, that inner focus, that it's almost like a resoluteness, right, that you have to have. I mean, what's the point that you understand what you're creating. I mean, it could be anything. But what in your mind is the point where you say, I am creating something that's gonna be so big and so important, no one needs to know. No one deserves to know yet. Because they're not, no one else gets a say.

- Yep, so the small part of this, and when I really saw this was when I was pregnant with my first child, I happened to be 22 or so. And everybody asked me, "Well, what are you gonna name him?" And I started telling everybody his name. And everybody had opinions.

- Yeah, oh gosh.

- And that was when I realized I don't need anyone else's opinion on something that I'm carrying.

- Yeah, it's not their choice.

- It's not their choice. And it didn't only translate to pregnancy, it was a life lesson for me that what I am carrying, what I am birthing in business, in life, whatever, I don't need anyone else's opinion. I need to trust that the Lord has given me, you know, what I need to get it there. And now, there's a point where you have to start building a team. And that team has come from me from all different places to really get us where we are. And those were people that I did share it with. And they added to it, right. But it wasn't just for talk when I shared it, it was because I knew that someone had something to bring to it.

- I wonder if this has happened to you. I've been in the place too, you know, over the years, where I've, I too have shared things that were special or important, had them shot down by people I love and who love me, and it was devastating. And I too said, oh, wow, it's not their choice. I became very hurt by those kinds of episodes. And I closed myself off. And I don't, I mean, I feel like even now, maybe as a woman in her mid 30s, I feel like I'm only now beginning to climb out of that hole that I built for myself. Because I couldn't deal with the hurt from that. What would you say to that situation? Have you been in that before?

- I would say, people don't realize that they're tearing down. You know, I think that a lot of people we surround ourselves with have good intentions, but I think sometimes have limited vision. You know, a lot of people have, they have opinions about things that aren't their vision.

- It's not theirs, right? It's not theirs. They weren't given that. That wasn't theirs. They were given something else.

- That's right.

- And whether they choose to do something with it, that's them.

- That's theirs, but I think there was this interesting time too, where I realized that not everybody's definition of comfortable is the same. Not everybody's definition of being fulfilled is the same. Most people never even know to seek fulfillment.

- Yeah, well what is fulfillment to you?

- Ah man. How do you describe it?

- Well, it's different for you, so we'll have to figure out a way, right?

- I'm trying to think how. How do I describe fulfillment? I would say that there's this, there's this thing that comes into my gut, right, that there is, that something needs to be done, and not being able to rest until it's done. Is that fulfillment for me. One example is my church. I've been in a part of building this ministry for awhile. And for the last five years, we've been in this small, little 1,600 square-foot space, in a strip mall in between two liquor stores, that we were renting, you know. But it's okay, that's where, you know, God put us. And we were praying for a new building. And it's funny, because I bought a new house, and I was so excited about my house, but I felt something in my spirit, just somethin' was off.

- Something was off, right?

- And I prayed that the Lord would help me find a home for that church, and I found it. And I bought it for the church. And that feeling of fulfillment, it was better than buying a home.

- To me that, I wanna push you on that, 'cause that, to me, that doesn't sound like fulfillment, that sounds like obedience, right, which is back to your purpose.

- And I think the two are so parallel. They're so parallel. To me, you receive that fulfillment through obedience, even when I feel like the Lord is telling me to do something, that in my entire physical body does not wanna do. There is some element of fulfillment.

- I wanna ask you about this. Based on your experience, I'm just curious. Do you feel that women have a different connection to spirit, to gut, than men?

- Different? Yes.

- Just different.

- I think it's different for sure, yes.

- And how do you see it as different?

- I think that we naturally are more emotional. And so, I'm thinking about my husband. In order for him to do what the Lord says, it's like the Lord has to push him to do it. I'm like, God only has to tell me once. And it's funny because I have three children, two boys and one girl, and I see it. I see the difference with them as well. My daughter, she's five, she just started singing in the choir. Nobody asked her to do it.

- She's just doin' it.

- She's just doing it, because she felt, she said, "I wanna go and do this," you know. And so it's just a, I think that there's, that there's an extra level of sensitivity sometimes with, you know, with us.

- Yeah, and I do feel that, and I wonder, I feel like I became so much more attuned to it once I became a mother. Like you, I also have two boys and a girl. Our kids' ages are just different, but. You know, it's interesting. It's just interesting how much, you know, I feel like from my own per perspective, becoming a mother helped me give myself grace. It helped me give other people grace. I was always such a like, push, push, push, push, push, go, go, go, go, go. And the only thing that knocked me back, and slowed me down, was children. Because you just suddenly, I mean, you're just responsible for so much. You have to go so much slower, because you're dealing with these tiny humans. They need you, and if you have a heart at all, you give them what they need.

- I know.

- You know. And so I, you know, I feel like having that, and then having this connection to these tiny people, it forces you to think so differently, because from the very early days, I mean, you're communicating with someone who can't communicate.

- That's right.

- So you have to rely so much on, this child needs this, this child needs this. So I feel like women, I think as women, we just get this workout all the time of that.

- You know, by the sound that they make, what they need, you know. And so, and there's this sensitivity that is just sharpened through motherhood, at least for me, and sounds like for you too.

- And how did that, how did that affect you in business, becoming a mother?

- I would say that it heightened my spirit of discernment. And it's interesting, because there is a sensitivity you need to have when it comes to who do you partner with. Who do you bank with? Who do you, you know, especially in growing a company, as we have, what property do you, you know? You buy a property and then you realize it has a sink hole, you know. You just never know. And being able to go with that, you know, that spirit of discernment, that sensitivity to make decisions, it's what's gotten me here.

- Yeah, trusting that, right?

- Trusting that.

- And I think, I think there's so much that each person individually can do to get to that point. I mean, it doesn't have to be over multimillion dollar decisions. It can be the smallest things.

- It's like a muscle, I say. I say it all the time, it's like a muscle. You use it, and it grows. And the more you use it, the more that it grows.

- That's so interesting. I love that. Do you feel like you teach other people on your team that, or do you bring people on your team that already have that ability?

- I think that, well, I have, I have a few different teams and so, and I think that-

- You're a busy lady.

- I know. I think that everyone brings something different, and they lean on me and ask questions, but the interesting part is I'm, you know, 20 years younger than most of the people on my team.

- Wow.

- And so, you know, it's this, it's an interesting balance, but we have, we have good conversations.

- Do you feel like you've taken a role as advisor, as teacher, as mentor? What do you think your most prominent role is right now in your life?

- Hmm. In terms of

- Just life.

- Life.

- Or do you feel like, do you feel like they've all sort of meshed into one, one role all the time? Or are there like lots of hats all the time

- I think I have lots of hats. I think professionally, I'm trying to get used to being in the, you know, in the boss seat. It's not that I'm not used to being in it, but now here I am, you know, doing all these things that requires me to be the ultimate decision maker. And so it's a, it's a interesting place to be. And it was a natural progression there. I've always, I think, been in that position, but now I'm just dealing with a lot more.

- Right, and everybody's looking to you, 'cause they wanna, I mean, look, they wanna make you happy, right?

- Right.

- They wanna execute what you want and-

- That's right.

- I have to tell you, I just think it's, it's just incredible to me, because when I was reading your rap sheet, all the things you've done, I mean, the fact that you're already in the hall of fame for enterprising woman. You have done so much at 34.

- Yes.

- By 34, you've done so much. It would make a person's head spin. And if you were gonna say to me, "Lauren, carve out the person, who's gonna walk in the door, and be this mogul. Carve out, who is that person, and what are they like?" I would've never expected someone so meek and mild and pleasant, and I mean, I thought of a Shark. I thought Lori Greiner, I thought Barbara Corcoran. But she's gonna be hard, hard, hard, all the time. And sharp, man, you gotta be on your toes. And then you grace my doorstep. And you are the kindest and gentlest and calmest person.

- That's so funny.

- It's so funny, which is why I love that story you told. I love your story of like, maybe you can't do this. Boy, were they wrong.

- They were wrong. Well, and I think that that all boils back down to the assertiveness, right. And I'll pray all the time, and I say, "Lord, teach me when to be a lion and when to be a sheep." And so the lion's there when it needs to be. But usually through being assertive, and I think through having the ability to forward think, and to look at every single angle, it's like puttin' a puzzle together.

- Yeah.

- That it keeps the team balanced. It keeps everything on track. And usually it keeps me from having to put out fires.

- I do feel like women have a better sense of that truly, of when to be that, and when not to be that. You know, when it's needed and when it's not.

- That's right, yeah. You haven't met my husband yet, but he,

- He doesn't have that sense?

- I'm the nice one, so.

- Do you have to play like good cop, bad cop? Don't let me call my husband.

- I think naturally, you know, naturally I've had one of my project managers say, "Well, we should sick your husband on 'em," you know.

- He's just-

- Don't do that, oh Lord.

- He's just a different. He's just a different type of guy, but he's definitely a man of integrity. And you know, so.

- He just runs at a different speed, doesn't he?

- Yes he does.

- Like he's just a, he's just runnin' up here.

- He's like a jet, yes. No, and I'm just, you know, cruisin'.

- Maybe it's tortoise and the hare.

- That's right!

- Who always wins? Let's talk about timeline for Storyville. So, you know, anybody who's sees this, they're gonna say, well, oh my gosh, like tell me more about this place, that, you know, hasn't been built. What your timeline, and when will people be able to be in this place that you've created, and your team has created?

- Lauren, I am not a good secret keeper. I am like, I am bursting at the seams.

- You don't have to keep any secrets. You can share.

- Oh! I would probably get in trouble from all of my consultants and lawyers. But I am burstin' at the seams to just get through the next step. But there's some, you know, technical things that need to happen first on the back end. So we're planning to announce the location. That's step one. All of our design team is in full throttle on our location and just, you know, moving plans forward so we can hit our design, so that we can hit our groundbreaking.

- Yeah, so what's, groundbreaking is when?

- Groundbreaking will be in 2022, so probably fall. You know, we were hoping spring, but you know, nothin' moves as fast as you want it to.

- Right. It doesn't, it doesn't move at the speed of DeLisa, that's for sure.

- No, it doesn't.

- All right, so then when will people be stepping foot into this-

- Openin' the doors 2025.

- That's incredible.

- It's gonna be great.

- So from the point, like, I just wanna think through this math here, because from the point that you first envisioned this place,

- Yes.

- it's 2017,

- Yes.

- right? And to the point, people can be feet on the ground, it's 2025.

- That's right.

- I have this thought about purpose, and this kind of illustrates it. I think when you, when you think about purpose, purpose isn't a single year event.

- No.

- Purpose isn't a, this is what I'm gonna do this month, and it's over.

- That's right.

- It's multi, multiyear, multifacet. Don't you feel that?

- Which is why I think my answer to the question of purpose is just being obedient. Because I know that if I answered you based on what I'm doing right now, you know, that's gonna change. Honestly, the park is not my, it's not my end all. You know, I have visions for multiple parks all over the US.

- You'll be 37 by the time this one opens. I mean, you got a lot of life left.

- I've gotta lot to do. I'm just gettin' started. I don't even know what else is comin' but,

- You'll just be obedient for when it comes.

- I'm just doin' it. Yes.

- Yeah, I love that. I don't know, did we talk specifically about where the idea came from? I mean, weren't you with your husband, and you had this idea on a car ride.

- Oh my goodness. So several things happened. So first there, you know, me growing up, and going to this small, little park called Fairyland in Oakland, California, really just, I don't know what it was, but it was this place where when I walked there, and we saw these, it's almost like these pearly gates, right. It was when-

- You're a child, I bet.

- It was like the most whimsical, every time that I went there or thought of it, this feeling in my, you know, in my spirit just, it was just joy. Then I look at my children, and I think about, what are we doing?

- They need an opportunity or an experience like that to feel activated.

- Exactly, and so I had this, you know, this desire to bring them joy like that. And not only them, but all the children in the Southeast, you know? And so as we walked, as we walked down that path and I said, "Well we should just build a small, little park. I'm thinking it'll cost us like $3 million, and have 10 acres of land with some cute little books." I was on the airplane, headed back from California. And I think this was probably about December of 2016. And this lady was sitting behind me on the plane, and my kids were jumpin' and playin' and talkin'. And she and I started talking and I asked her, "What was the most fulfilling thing you've done in your life?" And she said, "I built a park." And so all my whiskers stood up, right.

- You're like, this is the person I'm supposed to sit to, sit next to.

- This is who I was supposed to see. And she said, "I built a park, and it was a community park." It was just right across the street from her house. It was this empty land. And she fundraised the money to get swings and all these things, and she helped design it. She helped fundraise for it. And it was her vision, and the community loves it to this day. And I looked at my husband and I said, "We can build this park. We can do this." And he said, "Okay." He said, "You need to find a way." So there was this seed planted for the park and the adventure and the joy. And then later, I was in this convention, as I shared, where they were talking about literacy statistics and the challenges that our children of this next generation, and what are we, you know, gettin' ourselves into with allowing this to just morph outta control. And the dots were connected, just on the basis that if we can get them to read for fun, then the test scores will be increased. So here we are, we added a couple zeros and commas to that original budget. But every single, every single attraction in the park, there's an intention behind it. There is a thought and purpose behind it for a child interacting with words, for the young adults being immersed in these books and stories. So, here's one example. Last Christmas I bought my older boys the book series, "Trapped in a Video Game," written by Dustin Brady, awesome series, it's a book series. My oldest read it, and then my, he was 6 at the time, he read the whole, or almost the whole series. And I had this theory, I said, "Let me call my illustrator." I didn't tell anyone. I called my illustrator, "Draw a ride around this book." So he illustrated several images of a ride around "Trapped in a Video Game." And so later that night, when I received the images, I sat my boys down, and I showed them the images. And one of 'em, he jumped out of his chair. The other one started screaming, they are running. They were like, "The sand dunes, the claw!" And they're in this ride, and they're going through the TV, and there's these big, huge soda cans and all these things. And they are seeing on paper, what they imagined from reading the book.

- And up to this point, the only things, the only examples we have like that are from movies, right? I mean, Disney gave us movies.

- That's right.

- And we have rides of the movies. So in a way, those images already existed, because we've seen them in the movie. And so then we're seeing them again in a ride. What you're doing is pulling it out of, I mean, you're going to people who their purpose and their super power in this life, is to create these incredible things, and you're going to them and you're, you are helping pull purpose out of other people just through your dream.

- So to me, there is a power behind storytelling. And the power that is behind it is unlocking the imagination. And there's so much, they're so far. I was a little girl in the inner city with all of these things goin' around me, in the middle of the drug epidemic, right, in the 1980s, that plagued a lot of families, including mine. And I wasn't impacted by it, because I was able to go into books and stories, and experience the world.

- You escaped.

- I escaped. And so when I had that illustration done, and saw this now-tangible connection between the reaction of my children from this story that they were extremely excited about, and now they get to go experience it, and see it, it unlocked something in me by seeing how much they, honestly, it's no different from Harry Potter. If you see what has happened with Harry Potter, it just shows us that there is a connection between this reading, and of course they did a movie too, so that-

- Well sure, but it was, it was, they made a movie, because it was such a cult following series anyway.

- Exactly, and so if we can do that on every single level, so I'm talking about the 3 year old, the 18 year old, and allow them to step into these books, to step into these stories and to be a part, I mean, just what that's gonna do. And honestly, after I showed my boys that, they went and finished the series.

- Oh.

- And then I contacted the author, and started talking to him about-

- Well, that was gonna be what I was gonna ask, is actually, how does that on the business side of things, how does that work out?

- Every story is public domain.

- Oh, okay.

- Every single one that we have in the park is public domain. It's stories that have withstood the test of time.

- Gotcha.

- And so what we've been excited about, is carving out some sections though, where we can bring some books to life that people love of this day, at this time, like "Trapped in a Video Game."

- Yeah, that's sweet. I just love that. I love that. And you get to see that visceral reaction from your own children, who you love. And in many ways, I mean, this is, you're doing this for them. Yes, you're being obedient, but this would've never come without children.

- That's right.

- You would've never been attuned to that without knowing how excited they would be.

- It was solving the problem and seeing what was missing and realizing that, you know, there's this void of joy. I mean, we can go to the movies every weekend. We can go to the zoo once a summer, or twice a summer, but.

- Yeah. I do find something else that I find really interesting about your story, is something that I see, you know, I've, over the years, I've interviewed so many people, specifically people who have purpose. And something I find over and over and over again, is the magnetic nature of a person who has purpose. Because I feel like when's someone chooses to be obedient, when someone chooses that path, that purposeful path, it stops becoming about themselves. It starts becoming about everybody else. But when someone chooses that, others begin to draw toward it, because it's not that it's unusual, but it is. It's unusual to see someone buck the trend, and follow their heart, you know, follow whatever's in there, and say, "This is what I'm gonna do." So people are magnetized to that. And your story has a lot of magnetic tendencies, too. People have just come to you to help you with this.

- That's true. I think that the secret behind that is the execution. You know, we can dream and we can talk, we can, you know, play all day. But until we execute, and for me, what that journey has looked like, is I'm the type of person where I can see the whole tree, the whole forest, but I need to focus on this tree right here in front of me. And if I look at the whole picture, I may get overwhelmed. And a lot of people get overwhelmed, and try not to, just don't move forward. But I wake up every day and I say, "I need to do one thing today that gets me closer. I don't need to focus on the big picture. I don't need, I know that it's there. I know where I'm, what direction I'm heading in, but what is it that I can do today?" And that's what I've been doing for the last, you know, 13 years, since I really entered into business. And then you look back, and you see how far you've come.

- Well, one thing every day starts to add up to be something really big.

- That's right. And that execution I think is, then people come in, and they see these tangible next steps. What is it that I can do? You do this. And then let's meet here, you know? And so it's been a, it's been a fun journey.

- Uh, I'm just,

- Fun, fun.

- I'm just so excited for you. You know, because that's the funny thing too, about it's like, it's numbers again, you know. It might start off like this, but eventually the curve starts going, and when the curve goes, the curve goes fast. And I feel like the attention toward what you're doing, is there now. You know, you've spent several years with just a little bit of growth, a little bit of growth, and now everybody's, everybody's on board with you. And so it's like, f-shew!

- Oh my goodness.

- You know? It's huge.

- You know, it really was for me. I've always seen it, right?

- Of course you have.

- And so when I was finally able to announce it to the world, you know, and we chose to announce it when it got to a certain point where everybody else could see the credibility, even though we didn't announce the locations. We sort of were really careful about all of that, just because we needed to be. To announce it was like this weight lifting.

- Well, you've been keeping a secret for a long time.

- That's right.

- Everybody was on NDAs.

- It's like hiding a pregnancy.

- That's right. That's right. And now it's like everybody,

- And now it's out.

- here's the baby.

- I don't have to wear these tight pants anymore. It'll be fine.

- Exactly. Unbutton my, unbutton my jacket.

- Unbutton it, you'll be fine now. Oh, DeLisa, thank you so much.

- Oh, of course.

- This has been so fun.

- It's been so good.

- I really appreciate your time.

- It's been good, thank you so much for having me.