What is your name, and what do you do?

My name is Antoine McNutt, and I am a person who is very passionate about seeing people be made whole in the broken areas of their lives. By profession I am a Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, and am the assistant director of a program that provides social emotional support and life skill guidance to 16-21 year old wards of the state who have been or are currently involved in the criminal justice system.

What is your educational and professional background?

I attended the University of Illinois at Champaign- Urbana with a major in speech communications and completed my education at Tennessee State University in Nashville with a major in social science. After graduation, I played in the NFL & NFLE. Since then I have founded Antoine L. McNutt Consulting which provides life coaching services to professional and collegiate athletes and provides motivational speaking in the areas of youth/children, sports/athletics, relationships, image/self esteem, and vision/purpose. I have also, since my departure from the NFL/E, dedicated a significant portion of my time in various capacities in the field of social service tending to and tackling the issues of troubled youth/young adults and their families.

You are co-author of the book Straight Talk to The Soul. Briefly share with the AOL Black Voices audience what this book is about, why they should read it, and where they can purchase it.

Straight Talk to the Soul was released in 2010 and is a motivational and inspirational book that provides straightforward advice for dealing with circumstances we as humans find ourselves in and offers further discussion on other important aspects such as love, hate, relationships, the inability to forgive, etc. Straight Talk to the Soul is currently sold on amazon.com, booksamillion.com, and barnesandnoble.com. For purchases of 20 or more please email straighttalktothesoul@yahoo.com for a bulk discounted rate.

You mentioned that you are currently the assistant director of a program that provides support and guidance to youth ages 16-21 involved in the criminal justice system. What is the name of this program, through what means does it achieve helping troubled youth, and where can readers find more information?

It is called Youth Advocate Programs. I am the assistant director over the Regenerations program in our Chicago office. The program assigns each client to an advocate(s) that provides around the clock support, counseling, and models effective life skill practices with the ultimate goal of preventing future recidivism back into the criminal justice system. Readers can find more information by visiting www.yapinc.org, and selecting the link for Illinois.

Having played in the NFL, you also mentor and coach young men looking to enter the NFL. What is one big key of advice you share with all of your mentees?

There isn't one big key of advice that I provide. I prefer to share a series of small but valuable nuggets for success that I derive from my own personal successes and failures while in the NFL and NFLE.

A few of examples of these nuggets are as follows:

Nugget 1) 'Good Enough' is the enemy of Great.

Nugget 2) Winners win even when they lose because winners discover how and why they lost and adjust their strategies moving forward.

Nugget 3) People will love and hate you for the same reasons or things, so just be comfortable being you.

Nugget 4) Your life can change in seconds, your decisions can make or break you.

Do you have any advice for other aspiring young African Americans who wish to follow in your footsteps?

I would tell them to focus on what they can do, versus focusing on what they can't do. I would also advise them to do something where they have passion and purpose. When passion and purpose meet there is always success. Lastly, I would advise them to not be afraid to FOLLOW their dream; LIVE their dream; and BECOME the dream........

Is there anything else you'd like to share with our AOL Black Voices audience?

Life is a journey not a race. For a great journey have a vision, purpose, and goals. But most importantly, have God. I would also like to share my contact information:

For speaking engagements and/or life coaching services, I can be reached at antoinemcnuttconsulting@gmail.com. I can also be contacted via Facebook.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the bookBlack American Money To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. To suggest a subject for a Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight, please click here. To follow Dr. Boyce on Facebook, please click here.