Darren "Professa D" Douglas

Born and raised in Saint Louis Missouri, Darren “Professa D” Douglas is a self-published author, coach, consultant and motivational speaker specializing in “personal leadership” skills. As a child he was home-schooled by his parents and he recounts this as being one of the most significant developmental periods of his life.

Throughout his youth he exhibited a great degree of intelligence, talent, charisma and charm that made him a natural at captivating audiences. He possessed a deep passion for music and by the time he was twelve years old he was writing and performing his own hip-hop songs at local talent shows around St. Louis. His songs quickly became known for containing deep inspirational messages and it was at this time that he began using the alias “Professa”. At age thirteen, he wrote a hip-hop song to help his younger brother learn his multiplication facts and it proved to be very effective.

Shortly after graduating high school and investing two years as a student in the field of Computer Networking Technology, Professa D decided his success was in entrepreneurship. Over the years his ventures included an independent record label and a education company in which he produced music-based learning materials for young children.

Despite his many achievements however, Professa D secretly battled with depression, low self-esteem and many other personal demons. He has witnessed first-hand the devastating effects that not knowing how to lead oneself can have on a person's life, and through the course of healing his own personal struggles he learned vitally important cognitive and emotional practices that can enable a person to take charge of their life and effectively “lead themselves” out of trying times and difficult situations. It was also during this difficult time in his life that he connected with his calling to be a teacher and he says that from the very moment he realized this everything changed.

As a result of his willingness to overcome his personal struggles he has become a passionate advocate of personal and spiritual development and has begun his journey as a motivational speaker and author, sharing his story of triumph with others and for the past five years, Professa D has traveled to various cities across the country speaking to different organizations about the importance of personal leadership skills, and helping people from all walks of life with their personal and spiritual growth.

His new book “The Sleeping Giant – 5 Simple Steps To Awaken The Leader In You” is a powerful and comprehensive reference guide that serves to help “the common person” discover and awaken their inner leader. “My mission is to awaken people to the power that lies within them that they may not realize they have” he says. “The secret to changing the world is changing what you see in the mirror, when you've done that, you've done your part”.