Building a Legacy Through Purpose and Passion
- Feb 12
- 4 min read
By Jelissa L. Thomas
Legacy always felt like a distant idea to me. People talked about it as something you reflect on later in life, almost like a review of what you left behind. My view is different. Legacy is alive. It grows with you. It shifts as you shift. Legacy is the intention you attach to your work and the impact that follows long after you have moved on to the next chapter.
My own legacy began in a season of disruption. I entered the transportation industry with very little stability, limited resources, and responsibilities that weighed heavily on my shoulders. I did not have a traditional business background or a road map to follow.
I created D3 Delivery at a time when most people would have waited for better conditions. I moved anyway. I built a moving and delivery company in an industry that rarely sees Black women at the forefront. The early days required more grit than strategy. I learned how to negotiate contracts, hire teams, manage equipment, and lead through chaos with very little room for error.
My purpose for founding the company was bigger than transportation. I always believed that economic opportunity can shift the entire trajectory of a person’s life. D3 Delivery became a place where justice involved individuals and people in recovery could work with dignity and structure.
It became a job pipeline for people rebuilding themselves one step at a time. I have always known how powerful it feels to have someone believe in your ability to rise. My company reflects that belief in real time. Every move we complete represents access, stability, and a better day for someone who needed a chance.
My entrepreneurial journey eventually collided with my personal healing journey. Running a company while navigating grief, exhaustion, and life transitions took a toll. Therapy became the place where I learned how to understand my story, not just survive it. I began to recognize patterns, emotional triggers, and the weight of expectations I carried since childhood. This work inside the therapy room changed the trajectory of my leadership. It improved how I showed up for my teams and for myself. It also sparked a new calling.
My healing led me into graduate school to become a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. I now devote part of my work to serving Black men and women in rural communities. Many of them were conditioned to believe that therapy is not for them. Many still carry painful stories that no one has helped them unpack. My counseling work focuses on emotional clarity, attachment patterns, trauma responses, and the internal narratives that shape identity. I use what I learned in therapy and in life to help clients rewrite their stories and move toward healthier relationships with themselves and others.
My legacy sits at the intersection of business and healing. I believe economic stability and emotional wellness operate together. People breathe differently when they have a steady income. People grow differently when they feel emotionally safe. My work in transportation provides structure and opportunity. My work in counseling provides healing and transformation. Both reflect the same purpose. I want to create a world where Black men and women can access support, dignity, and upward mobility without waiting for permission.
My mother taught me the foundation for this work. She raised us with quiet resilience. Her strength was not loud. Her strength was steady, consistent, and rooted in love. She modeled leadership long before I had the language for it. She made sacrifices without recognition and kept going even when life felt unfair. Her example shaped my understanding of purpose. She is the reason I lead with compassion and clarity.
My father’s story shaped the other half of my purpose. He struggled with addiction and reentry. He was misunderstood more often than he was supported. His challenges exposed the gaps that exist for Black men in our communities. Losing him was one of the deepest heartbreaks of my life. His absence pushed me further into my mission. I carry his memory into my work with men who feel unseen, unheard, or left behind by systems that were never built for them. My workshops, programs, and partnerships all carry a piece of his story.
Legacy for a modern woman looks different today. We are not waiting for a perfect timeline. We are not dimming our voices. We are building companies, raising families, earning advanced degrees, and healing generational wounds at the same time. We are redefining what success looks like. We are choosing impact over titles, and clarity over comparison.
My legacy grows through every subcontractor I mentor, every client who finds relief in therapy, every family who trusts my team with their move, and every Black man who discovers that healing is possible. I want my story to encourage women to pursue paths that feel aligned with their purpose even when the path looks unconventional. I want women to know that reinvention is available at any time. I want people to understand that purpose does not require perfection. Purpose requires presence, honesty, and courage.
I am building a legacy rooted in access, healing, and empowerment. My work honors the people I have lost and uplifts the communities I love. My story is still being written, and my impact continues to expand. If my journey inspires someone else to rise, heal, or create something meaningful, then my legacy has already begun its work.
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