“Imagine Faith Talk,” a Christian podcast that launched this month, features “two men on different paths.” The podcast is a collaboration between Kevin Olusola, a former medical student who’s now a musician with Pentatonix, and Donovan Dee Donnell, a former exotic dancer who’s now an author, speaker, and life coach. A new episode is posted every Wednesday.
The two men are joining forces to help listeners “maximize your uniqueness” and achieve dreams in God-honoring ways.
Former Exotic Dancer: God Told Me to Quit
Donnell, author of Before the “I Do” and Evolving the Entrepreneur, says a friendly dare to dance onstage led to a stripper lifestyle filled with money but devoid of joy. All the wealth, cars, fame, and attention “did not equal fulfillment” or satisfaction, he admits.
Donnell figured there “has to be more” to life, and during a chat with God, he heard the word quit. His initial response was, “Quit and do what? This seems to be the only thing I’m good at.” But then, Donnell says, God revealed that “You’ll never know what’s within until you have to live without. And when he took everything from me, I was able to see what he had prepared for me—what he had already put inside of me.”
Donnell, 42, says God helped him realize that “entertainment and carnal pleasures” weren’t his purpose. “The life-changing moment for me was when I stopped praying for what I wanted, and prayed for what God had prepared for me,” he says.
Deciding to pursue the abundant life that Jesus offers was a game-changer for Donnell. Now he works to encourage other people to be vessels for fulfilling God’s will here on earth. Donnell also shares videos on his YouTube channel “with the hope that someone will hear/see my story & have hope for theirs.” On Instagram, he indicates that another book of his is “coming soon.”
Podcast: Pursue Godly Goals Without Compromising
The title of the first podcast episode summarizes a key message of its creators: “You don’t have to sell your soul to obtain your dreams.” Donnell and Olusola emphasize that faith in God is “the key to unlocking everything you’ve been dreaming.”
