From DJ to Family Man: Balancing Career and Parenthood

In this episode of the Messages of Positivity podcast, I enjoyed interviewing Cory Miller, also known as DJ Razor. Cory is not only a talented DJ but also a devoted family man. We delved into his journey as a father and the challenges he has faced along the way.

Cory shared that he has five beautiful children, three girls and two boys, and a loving wife named Kendra. He admitted that he never planned on having kids, as he enjoyed the freedom of being a DJ and living life on his terms. However, everything changed when he had his first child. Becoming a father transformed him and made him realize the importance of family.

We discussed the balancing act of being a DJ and a father. Cory admitted that there is no perfect balance, but he relies on prayer and does his best to juggle both responsibilities. He emphasized the significance of a strong support system, including his three brothers and wife, who have been there for him throughout his journey. Cory expressed gratitude for their support, especially during challenging times, such as when his wife was out of work.

One of the highlights of our conversation was Cory's exceptional co-parenting skills. Despite the initial difficulties and anger from his divorce, Cory never gave up on fighting for his children. He acknowledged that rebuilding trust and establishing a healthy co-parenting relationship with his ex-wife took time. However, through perseverance and a focus on the well-being of their children, they have managed to create a positive co-parenting dynamic. Cory's current wife, Kendra, has also played a significant role in supporting him and understanding the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with his ex-wife for the children's sake.

We also touched on Cory's DJ career and involvement in various community initiatives. He shared that he has been DJing for 18 years and has worked on over 700 weddings, parties, and events. Additionally, he actively participates in charity events, such as the toy run and Toys for Tots, to ensure that children in need have a memorable Christmas.

Throughout the interview, Cory emphasized the importance of kindness and doing one kind thing each day. He encouraged listeners to make a positive impact in a harsh and unkind world, no matter how small.

Overall, Cory Miller's story is a testament to the power of family, resilience, and the impact of small acts of kindness. His dedication to his children, ability to navigate co-parenting, and commitment to his community make him an inspiring guest on the Messages of Positivity podcast.

Transcript

Intro: Welcome to the Messages of Positivity podcast, where we share great stories of overcoming challenges and messages you can use to live a positive life. Now, here's your host, Norman Morris.

Norman Morris: Welcome to Messages of Positivity. This is your host, Norman Morris. Today, I've got one of my former students, Corey Miller. He's also known as DJ Razor. So Corey, thank you for joining us. I appreciate that. What's up, man? What's up? Hey, I appreciate that. Good. So So like I always want to do with people, I just want to just kind of get a little background by yourself. So kind of share a little bit about yourself, who you are, where you're from, what you do and love about your family and stuff. So take it away.

Cory Miller: Well, let's see from Lester, North Carolina. Some of you guys call it Lee Sester. I call it Lester. That's home for me. I've got five beautiful kids, three girls, two boys, a beautiful wife. Her name's Kendra. She is spoiled rotten. I don't care what anyone else says about her. Well, Well, you know, you know, I married her for a reason. So I'm, I'm happy. My career is being a DJ. I've done that for 18 years in December, you know, just living the best life, man, living the best life.

Norman Morris: Excellent. Excellent. So, all right. So five kid, that's a lot.

Cory Miller: I couldn't pull out of a driveway.

Norman Morris: Hey, now, Hey, family show. All right.

Cory Miller: That's a family thing. It's it's family.

Norman Morris: So yeah, I know you're making them. Right.

Cory Miller: But no more, no more for us. We are, we are done.

Norman Morris: We were good at five, but I'm telling you that that's a lot. I had my hands full with one. Okay. Let alone five. So you work. And so you obviously you guys support the family. So, so how do you balance family life and work life?

Cory Miller: Oh God. Um, well, there's really no balance between it. You just kind of hope really is a lot of prayer praying, if you will. just doing the best you can with what you can do. If you'd asked me 12 years ago if I wanted kids, I did not. I liked doing the fun stuff, being a DJ and being with whoever I wanted to, however, what time, coming home or whatnot. But having my first child really changed me and having my last child has really, really grounded me. It's just a lot of work and you've got to have a good support system. I've got three brothers that are really helping me and my wife really kind of being there for me and, you know, and vice versa, me being there for her as well. So, and she's been out of work since March, April of this year. So it's been a little tricky, but we're getting through it and you know, it is what it is and you know, it's fun. There's never a dull moment having kids.

Norman Morris: I bet you that's true. So to kind of give our audience perspective, you said you, you've been doing the DJ, you've been working as a DJ for 12 years. How old are you? Or are you talking about, you said 12 years. If you asked yourself 12 years ago, you would not want a kid. So now you're excited about having kids. How old are you right now? Oh gosh.

Cory Miller: If you ask my kids, I'm 19, but in reality I'm 36.

Norman Morris: Okay. So about, so when you're 24, yeah. So a lot of people in their early twenties aren't thinking about having kids or thinking about just their careers and stuff. And, and you're kind of right. You just have to, you have to make do. So no matter what your situation is, if you've got a family, you don't really have a choice. You can't just lay down and just, you know, roll over. You, you've got to, you've got to figure out a way to make that work.

Cory Miller: Yeah. It's, you know, it's, um, my, my big thing is, uh, a family comes first. So, and I'm, I'm instilling that in my girls. I'm still in that world. The two year old really doesn't understand yet. Cause he's meaner than a rattlesnake right now that the terrible twos, if you will. I didn't really have that. I really didn't have with the girls, but now that I have a boy, it's just like, he really keeps me on my toes. He really is the one that, the one that, you know, it just, you know, it was, but again, a blessing.

Norman Morris: And what's the age range of your children?

Cory Miller: God, anywhere from 11 to, Two months old.

Norman Morris: Okay. Wow. So that's a pretty, that's a pretty broad range there. So, so the one thing you mentioned that I, that I think is important and I, and with all my other interviews is that you've got the family support. And so talk about that a little bit more. I mean, how, like how important is that? And what do they do to help you out?

Cory Miller: Keep me grounded. There's, there's days where I want to scream. There's other days where I'm just like, you know, I need to get away for a little while and They're, they're there, you know, if they're the, you know, you know, Ryan, Tony and Matt, they're my brothers and they're, you know, each kind of brings their own thing to the table to help me, but they are a lot of what I need. And, you know, with, with Kendra as well, like I said, it's, it's, you know, you know, I see these people that, you know, don't have very good support systems and, you know, these kids, end up being in trouble, going to jail and things like that. So I'm kind of really happy and blessed to know that where I'm at now, I think my kids going into the long run will be not as affected as these kids that don't have a bad, a good structure, if you will.

Norman Morris: Absolutely. Almost sounds like the old neighborhoods. So people know me, I'm in my late forties and it's kind of like, you know, if, if something happened to me, you know, down the road, my mom usually knew because the neighbors were talking to each other. Yeah. So they all kind of worked with each other. And so it's kind of sounds like you have that structure there. So, you know, if dad's not available right now, they can go to uncle Ryan and go to uncle Tony. And so it's like, they've got a great support system there. So they do, they do.

Cory Miller: And, uh, I tell them that, you know, I'll tell the brothers if I'm not around buster butts, you know, they, they, we, we still believe in that. And you know, we still believe in good values. Yes, sir. No, sir. Please. And thank you. And the girls know that my oldest one is really good. My oldest daughter, then my middle child's really good. My, my, you know, my seven year old, she just turned seven today. So she's still learning. She's very, very sassy. She's very, she's, you know, so we lost her. So they always say the next baby after the rainbow, after the loss of your child is a rainbow baby. And they always say there's two in one child. There's no denying Parker is she's, sweet. And she's also sassy. So she's sweet and sour all the time. And there's really no in-between with her. She either does her own thing and you let her be or she's mad at the world and you let her do her own thing. And that's a different process. But without the teamwork we've got going on now, it's… I've been a lot It'd be kind of a more worse situation, but we're doing good, man. I'm kind of happy and proud to be where I'm at today. Excellent.

Norman Morris: Okay. Excellent. Well, this is a good breaking point. And so we're going to commercial and we'll be right back. Hey, Norman here. As you may know, I and my partner agency, Cornerstone Senior Services, help people live a more positive life after age 65 by helping them choose the right Medicare solutions for them. I can help guide you or your loved ones through the Medicare maze to ensure they are covered. Visit NormanMorrisInsurance.com or call 828-400-1829. Welcome back. We are back with Message Positivity. This is Norm Morris, and I've got Corey Miller, also known as DJ Razor. So we're talking about family support. One thing, Corey, you know that you've got five children, you've got three from your first marriage, and then you've got two from your current marriage, correct? Yes. One thing I've always admired about you is your co-parenting skills. That's one thing that a lot of families are divorced and a lot of families struggle with co-parenting, but you seem to do very well with that. You and your first wife. How do you all manage that?

Cory Miller: Well, I can tell you it did not start out that easy. Circumstances did not start out that easy. It takes an I think anger at the beginning of, you know, when you get divorced and confusion, anger, lots of anger on my end, especially the circumstances. But we, you know, we, I didn't quit fighting for my kids. And I think that's, that was one of the reasons why I like she kind of backed off and was seeing it from my point of view. There's some fathers that were just like, you know, screw it. You know, I don't want to be part of their life and I can live without my family and I can live without my girls. So it's taken about five years. to get where we are now. She comes over regularly, sees the girls, gets the girls on her weekends. I have full custody of them now. So she comes over and she came over today and she wanted to make dinner for the girls because Parker wanted a specific dinner. And that was nice. I didn't have to… Me and my wife didn't have to cook tonight. So that was nice. But there's a lot of there has to be a lot of give and take and a lot of trust was lost at the beginning. And there's still a lot of trust that's not there yet, but hopefully one day it'll be a hundred percent trust. And I can, you know, we can be, you know, more of a family, but you have those pictures of, you know, like stepmother, stepmother, stepfather, dad kind of thing. And that's where we're at. So, and Kendra, my wife, my new wife, if you will, she's the, probably one of the best people, you know, they always say God puts people in your life for a particular reason. And on his time, I waited 36 years for Kendra, but you know, she's, she's helped me out. And she, you know, if I get angry or we don't really, you know, my wife and I really don't argue as much as our last was my, as my last one did. And she doesn't yell at me. She sits down and talks to me, we get aggravated at each other, but that's, you know, that's, any marriage. So she's my blessing and I've prayed for her and I've got her and I'm not gonna let her go.

Norman Morris: Excellent. Well, the co-parenting is just so difficult. And you're right. When it first happens, a lot of times there is a lot of anger and distrust among each other. But I have to say the one thing… You're absolutely right. Fighting for your kids is real important. Too many kids don't have a father figure. And so that is truly amazing. Hats off to you for sticking with that and realizing the importance of that. But one thing I have to say, and the audience doesn't realize, is that not only did you work with your first wife in regards to that, to continue to be in the lives of your children, but you also reached a situation where your first wife ended up coming back and living with you and your current wife. And so I mean, I don't actually imagine that. I mean, I'm, I'm not a fan. I don't know if I could have my ex-wife living. And so I, how did y'all, so God tell me, how did you manage that? Because, and I've actually seen you all together because, and there's really, I mean, I'm just surprised that there's, I mean, maybe they're screaming behind closed doors or something, but you all kind of acted like y'all were Oh my God, how does this happen? I said, man, this guy needs to write a book about.

Cory Miller: So, well, if I started writing a book, I misspell words. So we won't, we won't do any of the book writing. She was the reason why it was kind of, she was staying here a couple of nights because she, you know, she didn't have a place to live. And I'm not trying to say, I'm not saying that to hurt her feelings or if she was sitting here, she, you know, she really didn't have a pod to pee in. So my wife and I, She was my girlfriend at the time. But my wife, she didn't really have a pod to be in and was living out of her car. I found out about it through one of our mutual friends and I let her… Our roommates at the time moved out and I had an extra room and I said, listen, you can move in with us so you get back on your feet. But she stayed busy. I didn't really see her except at night. And she didn't, you know, I didn't really see her during the weekends because, you know, I try to, we would do, me and Kendra would do things so she could have the house herself and have, you know, the girls to herself at the time. So, I mean, it was, it was very weird at first, but then, you know, she found her own place and was able to convince her own by herself. But you know, some people think it's weird and it was weird, but I don't, I'm not the kind of person to say, you screw you, I'm not going to help you. I'd give you the shirt off my back. And especially with my children's mom, you know, I couldn't do that as a human being. Sure. And my wife totally understood. And she, you know, totally understood. And she was, she had my back. So, and I knew that, and I knew exactly, I knew she was the one when she was like, okay, we can do this. It's for the kids. So, and the other, a lot of other women wouldn't have done that. So, and I'm again, grateful for Kendra.

Norman Morris: And I gotta say, you really nailed down that it's for the kids. And it's not like the mother of your girl stayed for a few nights. This lasted for a while. How long did she end up staying with you?

Cory Miller: Right about a year.

Norman Morris: Okay. So full year. Oh, I'm telling you. Amazing. Okay. And you know, that's one thing I think the kids reflect upon that because I know my, the first door I shared with this podcast was what happened with my ex-wife in regards to what she did in regards to our son and the charges she brought against me and stuff like that. And children feed off that anger towards the, towards your spouse. And it can be very dangerous and unhealthy for them. But when I realized that I needed to show our son that I had respect for his mother, that helped quite a bit. I remember when he first came back to me, you know, I was taking an art class and he wanted to make a painting for his mother. And so not only did I allow him to do that, but I also framed it for him so that he could give it to her as a nice mother's day present. I was kind of chuckled because she'd always, you know, she said, well, I don't want this painting and stuff. But I remember he took pictures of the house for video one day and there that painting was in the front living room. And I'm like, so she didn't want it. But now sitting in the living room is basically the centerpiece of the living room. So it's awesome. Yeah. But, you know, I always, you know, just a little stuff like that, but I think you're right. It's kind of, you know, you do it for the kids, no matter what you feel about the other spouse, it's still their mother and you want to show the respect for her, because if you show respect, then they're going to show respect as well. So excellent point there as well. So, all right. So you've been a DJ. So use that in past tense. Does that mean you are looking to retire as a DJ?

Cory Miller: I've, I've, I've talked about it. I, uh, my, my stubborn brother does not want me to retire quite just quite yet. So I'm going to stick around for a little bit longer. Yeah. I was, I was going to retire, but I, you know, I just think that toward the end of DJ season, and I've done this for 18 years, I kind of get, I kind of need to recharge. Like I need, I need time to recharge. I need, I mean, it takes a lot out of you. You've seen it. I've had over 700 weddings, parties, dances, the whole month of October and November were booked. And we're still trying to… We still have to find time to move to our new place. And that's an hour and 45 minutes from here. So when I haven't, you know, my brother does plumbing and we haven't had time to do the flooring and plumbing and all that stuff. So back to your question, we, I always feel like I need to recharge like toward the end of the year. It's I'm over it. You know, I'm over it. I'm not as excited as I was at the beginning of the year. So I've been saying I'm wanting to retire for a couple of years now. So, but I'm, I'm really on the fence of, okay, I'm going to give it another year or so. And then I'm just going to, give it to my brother and say, it's all yours, man.

Norman Morris: So excellent. And not only do you do DJing, but you've also tied in some other avenues of business as well with your DJing as well with weddings and stuff, haven't you? Yes, I have. Okay. Well, what have you done there to do that as well?

Cory Miller: Well, we took a break from doing podcasts. We did them in 2020 and 2021 with weddings from we had over 60 weddings in 2020. And then we had six, but we had six or eight in 2020 at the end of the year. So, and they have all pushed back the last year and this year. So we've been 2020 was kind of a curse, a lot of people, but it's really been a blessing toward us. Cause we've like, we were consistently and busy. And you know, I, I, I also work with the toy run in Western North Carolina and we, you know, we also do toys for Todd's toy run. I work with, I work with a Eblen, toward the end of the year to give these babies Christmas really because Christmas is my favorite holiday right beside the 4th of July. So I try to help. We donate a lot of our time for especially the toy run for the kids. So we're just blessed and very humbled to be part of the community still and being able to do that as well. We do downtown dribble for the Downtown Association. So we're still working with them and it's It's been quite a trip.

Norman Morris: I tell you Corey, you are certainly the package deal and Pender's lucky to have you. A man of God, a man of faith, a family man, man of the community. So you are the epitome of the saying, the man, the myth, the legend. I wish my wife would say that. Let her have dinner with me one night and I'll throw it away. So.

Cory Miller: All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Definitely. Definitely. She loves a good, good meal.

Norman Morris: Uh-huh. Definitely. Hey, so as always in my interviews with the one final question is if you're able to pass on some advice to the younger generation, what would you say to them?

Cory Miller: That's a loaded question. You know, you don't want to be too cliche, you know, don't have sex, don't do drugs, but you know, I would say to them, you're not promised tomorrow. So do something kind, do one kind thing a day, even if it's opening a door for somebody, you know, just just do that. Because like I said, I've had friends that have passed away at 17, 18 years old and I'm 36. So I've been blessed. So I try to… Even if you're having a bad day, guys, you're having a crappy day and you're just like, Man, I don't want to do this anymore. Open a door for someone. Say something nice to somebody. Be kind at least once a day. This world's scary in a very mean place, but you know, just a little, little ounce of happiness will spread a long ways. So, uh, do something kind to, to have someone body once a day.

Norman Morris: Yeah. Kind of like the old random act of kindness. And like you said, it doesn't take much just, you know, like today, for example, you know, I was having kind of a rough day. I was in a hurry. I got behind, I was trying to get to an event. And I had to go to the grocery store, grab something real quick and only had three items. This lady had a buggy full of stuff and she looked at me and she goes, you look like you're in a hurry. Go ahead of me. I thought, what a great gesture. Oh, that's all. Yeah. And it didn't take anything. It took her, it cost her maybe two minutes extra over time and how nice that was. Oh yeah, for sure. It doesn't take a lot just to do something nice with someone. Corey Miller, aka DJ Razor. Thank you for your interview tonight. I appreciate that. It was my pleasure.

Cory Miller: I had a good time, Mr. Morris.

Norman Morris: Oh, thank you. And remember, make it a great day or not. The choice is yours. Thank you again.