“Parenting, Purpose and Presence: Olaolu Ogunyemi on Leadership, Family, and Connection”

Welcome to The CJ Moneyway Sh$w, where faith, focus, and leadership collide. Today’s guest is Olaolu Ogunyemi — U.S. Marine Officer, mentor, award-winning children’s author, and founder of Parent-Child-Connect. Raised in a loving but imperfect home, Olaolu faced the same pressure, doubt, and decisions many young Black men encounter — and chose leadership, service, and fatherhood rooted in purpose. As a father of three and author of Crow From the Shadow, Olaolu’s mission is to help parents, educators, and leaders build intentional connections that strengthen the next generation. His work blends real-life military wisdom with emotional intelligence and practical parenting tools. In this episode, we talk about: How to build presence over perfection as a parent Lessons from military leadership applied at home The story behind Crow From the Shadow Why every leader needs vulnerability to thrive Listen now and learn how connection can transform your leadership at home and beyond. Verified Show Notes Links ️ Listen & Follow the Show: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-c-j-moneyway-show/id1707761906 Universal Listen Link: https://pod.link/1707761906 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themoneywayshow8493 Rate & Review the Show: https://ratethispodcast.com/cjmoneyway CJ Moneyway Official Links: Website: https://cjmoneyway.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=corwin-johnson-3b7b51aa PodMatch Profile: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/cjmoneyway3206 Guest Resources: Parent-Child-Connect: https://parent-child-connect.com/about/ Buy Crow From the Shadow (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Crow-Shadow-Overcoming-Self-Doubt-Parent-Child-Connect-ebook/dp/B0921V785J Olaolu Ogunyemi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olaolu-ogunyemi-465ba453 Episode Outline 00:00 – Intro & Guest Context 02:00 – Childhood, Doubt & Discipline 08:30 – Becoming a Marine & Defining Leadership 14:00 – Why Parenting Is a Leadership Assignment 20:00 – Crow From the Shadow & Overcoming Inner Critic 27:00 – Building the Parent-Child-Connect Movement 34:00 – Presence vs. Perfection in Fatherhood 40:00 – Vulnerability, Faith, and Black Fatherhood 46:00 – Final Takeaway & Where to Find Olaolu 49:00 – Outro & CJ’s Reflections Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.