Kevin Olusola and Donovan Dee Donnell talk ‘Designed to Succeed’

Most people spend years chasing a version of success that was never really theirs. Kevin Olusola, beatboxer for the Grammy Award-winning group Pentatonix, and life coach Donovan Dee Donnell know that story well enough to have lived it. Designed to Succeed is what they found on the other side. 

After winning a Grammy with Pentatonix, you still felt something was missing. What was that like?

Kevin: I don’t think I’ve said this very publicly, but getting the Grammy was only a way to try to validate my existence. I grew up going to schools like Andover, then Yale. So many of my friends did impressive things, and God was calling me into music. That’s why I worked so hard for Grammys and multi-platinum albums. 

In so many ways, I was just trying to validate the reason I was even here. After having done that, it didn’t validate anything. I still felt depleted, I still felt the same way. That’s when I had to redefine my definition of success. I went on a journey for quite some time, and I realized, who am I when I’m not doing? 

When I’m not doing, I’m somebody who loves God and wants to be a worshiper. From that place, everything I now do is an expression of love, joy, and peace, because I’m already validated by the King. Once I knew that, it was easy to really enjoy my work. Not just when you get the accolades, but on the day-to-day.

You went from exotic dancing to becoming a life coach. What pushed you to make that change?

Donovan: Me and Kevin align here. There’s this idea of what success is supposed to look like. You chase it, you achieve it, and it doesn’t feel right. It’s wild when you’ve won and you still feel like you lost. At some point, that moment will sit you down. 

When it sits you down, reflection comes. You start questioning how you got there, what path you took, whether you knew that’s where you were going. That’s the perfect place to begin any new journey. Me and Kevin talk about that in the book. Taking time to examine, verify, purify, and look at how you defined success. Who told you this was what you were supposed to chase, and how did you verify they were a reliable source? 

For me, having all that money, local fame, and the possessions I wanted, I still found myself sitting on the edge of a bed one day on vacation, dissatisfied. I prayed and said, “God, what do I do?” And I heard one word. “Quit.” 

I quit the club, because I thought that was the only thing I was holding onto. Through that journey, He showed me a lot of things I needed to quit. In one of my lowest moments, I was living in the basement of a church on an air mattress that would not hold air. I would wake up every morning on the floor. I remember looking in the mirror one day after praying, and God said, “you’ll never know what’s within until you have to live without.” 

Once I was able to see that God had a plan for me, and His love was never going to leave me, I stopped trying to chase success from a place of desperation. It became something I did out of being accepted by the one who created me.

Why did you decide to write a book together?

Kevin: How opposite we look on the outside, the fact that we came to the same conclusions about success and alignment means God is at work. We should not be working on this book together, that’s what people would say. But we’ve both learned something deeper. Success has to come from the inside out. There are so many people who haven’t figured that out yet. 

I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago who was in my class at Yale. She said, “I’ve done everything I was supposed to do. I went to college, got the good job, I work at one of the top companies in the world, I make amazing money, I have the title of my dreams. So why do I not feel any happier? Why do I feel like I’m looking for what’s next? I thought I was supposed to arrive.” 

A lot of us have been sold that lie. In this book, we want to help you understand what God sees in people, so you can live a life that is authentic to your purpose.

Donovan: The fact that me and Kevin come from two different spaces gives us a unique opportunity to let people know that no path is safe from temptation. You can go the scholarly route and do all the seemingly right things or you can go in full rebellion mode like I did. Temptation will be waiting for you on every path. There will always be an opportunity for you to compromise your morals. 

Both of us coming from two polar opposite ends and seeing the same things will help people understand how necessary alignment is. Personal development plus alignment times faith is an equation we put in the book, and it applies to any path God puts you on.

What practical advice do you have for someone feeling stuck or unfulfilled?

Kevin: You cannot be aligned unless you have a daily reflection process. It’s hard to know where you are, who you are, and whose you are unless you take the time to truly reflect every day. In such a fast-paced world, it is harder to do that, especially when we’re so distracted by our phones. You have to be intentional about reflecting on your life so you stay aligned and are able to do every day what you’re called to do.

Donovan: One of the most important things I shifted in my life was when I started taking a Sabbath. My girlfriend at the time was a dancer, like I was, and she went to Sabbath. She refused to dance on Saturdays. She taught me how to keep a proper Sabbath. 

There was something about that time with God that brought needed clarity to what the purpose of life was. No relationship grows without quality time. It’s the same thing with God. Spending time with God opened up my eyes to who I was, what I’ve been called to do. Once I started getting a glimpse of that, it started pulling me away from the things that weren’t for me. 

The practical thing I would suggest to anyone is time with God. It gives you access to the wisdom, the comfort, the healing, and what it’s going to take to start the transformation you’re looking for.

Designed to Succeed is available now wherever books are sold, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The audiobook, narrated by both authors, is also available. Their podcast, Imagine Faith, can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms. Follow Kevin Olusola @kolusola and find Donovan Dee Donnell at donovandeedonnell.com.