Season 2 · Episode 19

Brother Tremain Lasenby of Lasenby Illustrations

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0:00Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of Alienize Photos and this re-talk.
0:09I got my brother right in front of me.
0:11Brother Tremaine Lazenby.
0:14Tremaine X.
0:17What does the X stand for?
0:19It sounds spiritual.
0:21Soldier.
0:22That's a good question, man.
0:24X marks the unknown.
0:27So X marks the unknown.
0:29It's similar to Malcolm X.
0:31You know, we are given a name at birth, so I'm going to keep my first name.
0:36But our last name is normally, especially in this country, is owned by a slave master or a slave owner.
0:44Some way, shape, or form, even if it's from the Caribbeans, the West Indies, the island.
0:51Most of our people here take the name of some type of slave owner or slave master.
0:58So X marks the unknown until you are back to your original state, original name, original lifestyle, the state of mind.
1:09So X is marked the unknown for now.
1:10It's like an equation.
1:11You know, while I figure out the roots, the beginning, the history, X marks the unknown until then.
1:21I love it, I love it, I love it.
1:23You're a master of education, creative director, creative design.
1:30I know you from many different hustles just knowing you over the years.
1:35But what does that look like for you as a creator?
1:42As a creative man, I just really appreciate creating in general.
1:49You know, photography, videography is just a hobby, if you will.
1:56It's a skill, it's a talent, it's a means to an end.
2:00But everything is creation.
2:01We have a creator who created everything, you know, people, trees, earth, plants, tables, chairs, doors.
2:13Everything, every single thing we look at is created.
2:15So I like to create freely in all things, in all aspects.
2:21But you know, I definitely, photography and videography is like a start to a freer life.
2:28Just creating in general, every time I wake up, creating my day, you know.
2:32I love it.
2:33You know, I actually speak about, you know, videography, photography.
2:38You know, you had multiple chances of working with me, alienized photos, media, you know, assisting me.
2:46Thank you, thank you, thank you.
2:48But I honestly feel like I want to quit photography.
2:56Like, I had this thought, like, approaching my late 30s.
3:05And I'm thinking about my first million.
3:07I'm like, can I make my first million with photography and video production?
3:13Can I? The answer is yes.
3:16But will I be tired, burnt out, all this work because we had a pre-production,
3:22the planning, the actual production, the events, and then the editing, all the other stuff that goes into it.
3:30So many hours to burn out, especially with a slim team.
3:35So I thought about, like, either quitting it, putting it on the back burner,
3:44or just having it fuel whatever my next endeavor is.
3:47Right. I think you needed a restart and a reboot, a reinvention.
3:56And I think you have done that over the past year.
3:58And it sounds like, to me, you're not done doing that. And that's OK.
4:03You know, pressing pause is OK. Regrouping is OK.
4:07You know, as far as literally stopping it all together before maximizing something, I don't believe that's OK, though.
4:16Because I think you have stretched yourself just a little too thin.
4:23And maybe we could think a lot bigger on it as well.
4:28Because in any field that you want to do, this is why I ask somebody.
4:31I ask, what's the ideal situation?
4:35You know, it's like if somebody gave you that million dollars right now,
4:41what would you do in a photography and videography realm?
4:45What would you do on a daily? You know what I'm saying?
4:47It's like, if I gave you a team of 15 men, do you think you could get to a million?
4:53How long do you think it would take to get to a million if you had a team of 15 men right now?
4:57If somebody just magically snapped their fingers and said,
4:59you know what, I'm going to give you a team of 15 men and I'm going to give you 100,000 to start with.
5:04How fast do you think you could get to a million?
5:07Like, genuine, genuine question.
5:08How fast do you think you could get to a million with a team of 15 men and 100,000 starting right now today?
5:12So we talk about 15 and then we have 100,000, which is divide that million by 10,
5:21and sometimes only 10, which is good.
5:27Well, that's for the company.
5:29The company will make that, you know, 100,000 and then add that million,
5:36but just me personally, just reaching that first million,
5:41whether if it's like book sales, like you said,
5:44creating and bringing it to an organization or even sales,
5:52I personally don't see it with photography.
5:55Like I said, can I do it? Definitely yes.
5:58Anything is possible, but I also don't want to be burnt out.
6:03And even having 15, you know, support team, our workers, our contractors,
6:11they're still managing, you know, just being that higher off in managing
6:16and having everything on the deadline, fulfilling the deadline.
6:21Like I personally care about everybody who I work out.
6:23So I had those personal relationships.
6:25So it ain't just about the work though.
6:27We got the work done on this transaction.
6:29Like how you doing in life? How you doing in this?
6:32Are you still feeling good about, you know, video, photography, media in general?
6:37Like what is your goals in life?
6:38So that's how I think too.
6:41I think those aspects will make you an even better leader
6:45and get you quicker to whatever goal that you may want to get to.
6:50I think it's more so just the thoughts that you're having
6:53because you telling me that you plan on quitting,
6:55you telling me that I still don't think I can do it,
6:58you pretty much stopping your whole mind, your frequency, your body to not do it.
7:03You almost like...
7:04Well, I don't want to say I'm quitting
7:07because like I said, it could fuel whatever my next endeavor is.
7:09Because your statement was, can I? Yes.
7:14Do I believe I will? No.
7:19Without burnout.
7:20If there's a will, there's a way.
7:22The burnout is due to some aspects.
7:27Burnout is due to you wearing six different hats.
7:31Burnout is you having these certain agendas and certain these certain things
7:37and working so much and so hard.
7:39So burnout is from, you know, it's like a lot of different things that burnout is coming from.
7:45So solving those problems versus checking yourself out the game
7:54is the thought process I would think to have versus it's like you the star player
8:02and you're telling me, hey, I know I brought you to the team,
8:08but I'm thinking about just checking myself out.
8:11Coaches ain't come out the game.
8:13The players look at you like, we're ready for you to score 50.
8:15You're like, man, but I just don't want to.
8:18Can I score 50? Yeah, I can score 50 probably.
8:21But it's going to be hard though.
8:22It's like it was supposed to be easy is the question.
8:26You know, like who said it was supposed to be easy?
8:29Who said it wasn't burnout?
8:30Because the burnout and these different things that you're experiencing
8:34is due to some issues that needs to be solved.
8:37So solve these issues versus checking yourself out completely
8:42because it don't always have to be a bumpy road.
8:47Something hard on me still don't need to be a bumpy road.
8:50You don't have to be depressed.
8:51You don't have to be burnt out.
8:52All these different things because that's easily solvable
8:56if you set your life up the way you want to because you can.
9:00You know, you can set your life up exactly how you want to,
9:02to avoid all the things that you don't want to experience
9:05on this route to a million.
9:08That's the part that can be easily done.
9:11But if you just take yourself out the game,
9:14then we would never know.
9:16You'll never know.
9:17And then you'll be starting from day one with something different
9:20versus starting from day 3,000.
9:24You know?
9:25It could be temporary.
9:29I definitely love video, photography, just capturing those moments.
9:34Just art in general.
9:36I do look at it as art and as a creative,
9:38but also as a way to help different brands and companies for sure.
9:45But I also look at, you know, just me being a Clevender.
9:522016, we had LeBron, Kevin Love, or Smith.
9:58But Mr. Big Shot, Kyrie Irving.
10:01Even him loving the game so much,
10:05took a lot of time off, even a few seasons off,
10:08just to get his self together, his spiritual side together.
10:12And him finding different realizations throughout life
10:17and his next moves outside of basketball.
10:21And I think I'm having that similar epiphany.
10:25What is that next thing?
10:27Like I said, I love it,
10:29but it's like there's something else.
10:33And I listen to these podcasts, read these books,
10:38and biographies about different companies
10:41starting eight months and raising 2.3 billion or some,
10:46even close to a trillion.
10:48So it's like, man.
10:50And I'm, you know, five figures.
10:52Some four or five figures, it's like, man.
10:56So it's like, what is that next step?
10:59Am I going to continue this route
11:03or take my talents and shift to somewhere else?
11:08That's just kind of my philosophy.
11:10And that's, I feel like I was at the same space in life, too,
11:14a few times recently.
11:17You know, thank God that I'm in this space today.
11:21But I think my first crisis was when I turned 30
11:26and just questioning all my future moves, my moves,
11:30where I'm going to be at physically, location-wise, right?
11:33Who is going to be my mate, my partner?
11:36What is going to be my main income source?
11:39And all these things, it's very serious to me
11:42because I felt like it was going to shape the rest of my life.
11:44So I had a lot of questions that needed to be answered.
11:47But then right before that, maybe like two or three years before that,
11:51I went through a completely spiritual journey.
11:55And then fast forward, after that crisis,
11:57I went through another spiritual journey.
11:59I took off work for a whole year.
12:01I have a master's degree.
12:02I didn't use anything in my master's degree.
12:04I didn't use anything from my master's degree.
12:06Master's education.
12:07Right, master's education.
12:11I almost didn't work.
12:13But I did do photography and videography thanks to you.
12:17Thank you.
12:18Sure, yeah.
12:19But it was like a spiritual journey that I needed to go on
12:23just to be free in life for a moment,
12:27just to wake up and get me together.
12:30And that's what it sounded like
12:32will be a great idea for yourself.
12:35It's okay to focus on you.
12:37That's okay.
12:39You don't have to like,
12:41I don't know if you have to rush anything
12:44and get to a certain destination or a certain outcome,
12:51or make that outcome known.
12:53You don't have to just entertain ideas like this,
12:56but quit.
12:57I think you can just focus on you for a moment.
13:00And I think that's okay.
13:02Because at some point,
13:04you will get back to what it is that you truly want to do.
13:07And the way of doing that is actually writing.
13:09That's the most recent prompt that I actually wrote about.
13:12Let me see my most recent prompt.
13:15Don't say that because you say get back to me.
13:18I won't want to turn.
13:19I won't be doing nothing because I love me.
13:22You know, but you loving you,
13:27you still a man, right?
13:30You still plan to have a family.
13:32You have kids.
13:35So loving you doesn't necessarily mean an unrealistic life as a man though,
13:40because we live in a world that costs.
13:44Right.
13:45So, you know, in the midst of you being free,
13:48I'm sure you still want to earn an income, earn a living,
13:54take care of your family and others.
13:57That's kind of where I'm kind of hitting that.
14:00Like, I know I spoke about the million,
14:03but it's also how I get that million.
14:06Yeah, when we do these, you know, video production,
14:10photography, different events,
14:13we have to physically go out there.
14:15So it's like, what is that passive income stream that could also help me,
14:20even if I continue doing what I'm doing now,
14:23but that passive income stream to help me get to that million.
14:26It's like, I don't want to be out there six, seven days a week, you know.
14:34Let me ask you this question.
14:36Yes, sir.
14:37Because I don't know if I'm putting everything in perspective.
14:39Okay, okay.
14:40When we're at these locations, capturing these moments,
14:45capturing life, documenting life,
14:47life is very precious, very important, very beautiful.
14:51I look at myself as a historian.
14:52I'm going to make a statement before I ask you a question.
14:55My statement first is I haven't seen you sad or mad
15:00when you are in your element documenting history.
15:05That's first and foremost my statement.
15:06Oh yeah, facts.
15:07Even if you're tired, you work up 24 hours,
15:12you take a five hour energy, you do whatever you need to do beforehand.
15:15But once you're in that element,
15:17you get the snapping photos, taking videos, talking to people,
15:22listening to people, smiling.
15:25You know, you might even put the camera down for a hot second
15:28and just be in the moment.
15:30And it's almost like you're glowing and you're lighting up, right?
15:34So that's the statement I have.
15:36So the question is why when you think about you're doing these services,
15:44why is it so negative as if it doesn't make you happy while in the moment?
15:49I love that.
15:50Because I'm only on the outside looking in, right?
15:56I have never seen you mad or sad while doing these things,
15:59but when you speak of them, it's just like,
16:03oh man, it's just bad and it's negative and it's just like,
16:06I can't do this, I don't want to do this,
16:08but that's like some of the happiest times I've ever seen you while doing it,
16:15no matter the thoughts before or after though, you know what I'm saying?
16:20And that's where the team and help and solutions to keep you sane
16:24and not burnt out come in.
16:26Because while doing it, I don't see any negatives.
16:31The negatives come before and after.
16:33The negatives come from the attachments.
16:36The negatives come from the problems in life
16:40and the things you need to take care of and these bills and this boom, boom, boom.
16:45It ain't the service itself though.
16:48It's all the things that's like before and after, attached to the service.
16:53Well, like you said, yeah, I do love it,
16:57and I'm a peaceful and loving person, not radiated.
17:03Like I said, I love it.
17:04I love it so much.
17:06It takes me back to my music days, my music and poetry days.
17:11Like, yeah, I love it.
17:13Anybody that know me as a child, I love music.
17:16I love writing.
17:17I love being in the studio.
17:21I could perform, but I consider myself more of a recording artist.
17:27And will I still get in the studio today after leaving, quitting music?
17:32Oh, absolutely.
17:35Now performing, that's a different thing.
17:37The recording, getting in the studio.
17:39Oh, yes.
17:41And it takes me back to that same similar situation
17:45with video photography.
17:46I love it.
17:47I love it.
17:48I love it.
17:49But it's like different stages in life and different maturity points in life.
17:54The more you learn, the more you grow, the more you know.
17:58So much in my mind, so much I want to do.
18:01I know time is ticking.
18:04My daughters are getting older, getting bigger.
18:08I taught them the skill.
18:09If they use it or don't, at least I taught them.
18:13And they know it.
18:17And I know you talk about me, me blowing and lighting up.
18:23I try to do that or be that person no matter what I do.
18:29Now, it comes more natural with me with a camera in my hand
18:33and me networking, talking to different people.
18:38Now, if I was to quit, will I have like a remorse or regret?
18:45I don't know.
18:48But there's also that side of think bigger.
18:53If I didn't have this camera in my hand, I wouldn't make it.
18:56That's kind of how I'm thinking in this time, this period I am.
19:02Could it just be just thoughts that just come in
19:05and free-flowing in my mind?
19:07Maybe.
19:08But that's just where I'm at in this day and age of my life.
19:12That's a good question.
19:13Have you ever found any answers to that question necessarily?
19:17Or is it just open thoughts and brainstorming at the moment?
19:21I would say right now it's open thoughts.
19:23I don't even know what that next endeavor would be
19:26or what I would jump in.
19:28And I've kind of tinkled with tech a little bit.
19:33I could be better and network with different people in tech.
19:37Because I have the same thoughts from time to time.
19:40I let chat and AI help me out.
19:44I felt like I was getting to a point where I have so many thoughts
19:46I just need to organize them.
19:49And then the process of organizing them
19:51and just kind of speaking to them, because I don't go to therapy,
19:54which I would love to and I plan to still.
19:56This is kind of like a little avenue of that at the moment.
19:59And when I speak to it, I notice I'm a little too hard on myself.
20:04And when I'm speaking of certain things,
20:06it tells me the way you're speaking about it
20:09as if you're not as closer to what you think you're not closer to.
20:14It tells me you're actually in a perfect position
20:18just not there on that path.
20:24It's like you're in position.
20:26You just have to go further in this path
20:28and you're actually a lot closer to the destination than you believe.
20:32And then that's when you have these other questions.
20:35Why is that?
20:37Now it's like, why is that?
20:39Right, right, right.
20:39You know what I'm saying?
20:40That's kind of what it is we're here.
20:43Because it's like if you did have a perfect world
20:46and you didn't have to pick the camera in your hand to earn this,
20:49what would it be that you would be doing?
20:54And by all means, you could do that because life is short.
20:58You know, at the same time, when having kids,
21:02when having bills, and having experience and talent in it,
21:07that's the thing that set it apart, though.
21:10It ain't like you just playing around in this.
21:14It's like, no, I have experience, I have connections,
21:16I have relationships, I have clients, I have past work,
21:18I have a whole platform.
21:22That can be an avenue while figuring out these other things.
21:27It don't have to be nothing while figuring these things out.
21:29It can be this path while figuring out these other things.
21:34And I did want to bring up something, too, for this prompt.
21:38I actually just did this Sunday, which was today, didn't I write?
21:43So this prompt was in the book Think and Grow Rich,
21:46but not the original version.
21:47It was Think and Grow Rich, a black choice,
21:50which is a little bit more tailored to black people,
21:54especially in America, with us going through so much
21:59and having so much trauma and so much over the last 400 years or so.
22:04Yes, sir.
22:04And in this prompt, it says spend 60 minutes in one place.
22:09Find that comfortable chair, that comfortable desk,
22:13that comfortable space that when you're in this space,
22:15you feel serene, you feel calm, you feel peace, right?
22:19Yeah.
22:20That's the first thing, the environment, being comfortable in that.
22:23And then it says spend 60 minutes in this one place,
22:29defining exactly what it is you expect to be, to do, and to create.
22:37So making it known, making it clear, right?
22:42Giving yourself time, though.
22:46Time where no distractions, right?
22:49Really figuring these thoughts out,
22:51not just thinking about figuring these thoughts out,
22:52but literally figuring it out, right?
22:54It says first, write down a clear and concise statement
22:59of what you want most in life, what you want most in life, right?
23:07Second, outline your plan of achieving this major goal.
23:10That's the important part for you now.
23:11You're like, man, how?
23:14You have to just shut the world off for a moment.
23:16Just shut it off for a moment and sit down and get to it.
23:21Figure out how, right?
23:22Third, set a definite timetable for achieving this goal.
23:26And then it also said, you know, set many timetables and many plans
23:33so you know that you're in the right direction, right?
23:37But most importantly, put this pan into action, right?
23:40And then it said fourth, memorize your chief aim and your plan
23:44and say it over like it's a prayer, like you praying,
23:47like you getting in tune, create a burning desire for it.
23:53And this is a prompt that I did that helped me out a lot.
23:55But what I did come to find out was I didn't get further away
24:00from all the things that I said over the past years.
24:03I just became more clear on all these different things
24:07that were scattered and just kind of came together
24:09to make a perfect plan in order to get to that.
24:12And then once I get to that, I can do whatever I want to do.
24:17It don't have to take me 15 years to do it.
24:20We have a long life.
24:21I don't think three to five years is a long time for me
24:26to put my head down, work, do what I think that could get me there
24:31because once I'm there, I'm there,
24:34and the problems are still going to be there.
24:37The problem that you have currently,
24:38when you get to a million dollars, it's still going to be there.
24:42It's truly still going to be there
24:44because it ain't really about the money.
24:46It ain't about the million dollars.
24:46It's about your purpose in life and actually fulfilling that.
24:51And we all need a strong foundation to stand on.
24:54You've been a very spiritual man
24:57in studying so many different avenues and thoughts.
24:59You have pulled in so many directions.
25:02So what I like to think about is having a strong foundation
25:05to stand on something.
25:07Not standing on many things.
25:09Finally, it is what you stand on.
25:11Stand on it. Be firm in it
25:13because you stand for something or fall for anything.
25:16So if you've got all these different directions pulling you,
25:20okay, what is it that you're standing on, though?
25:22Stand on it, deal with it, live in it unapologetically,
25:28and that might help as well, too.
25:30That's something that I experienced in life.
25:32It helped because I was a free thinker as well.
25:36I believed in everything,
25:39but believing in nothing at all at the same time
25:42because I believe in everything.
25:43Everything is everything.
25:46Okay, it's like, you know.
25:50I got clear on that, too, aspect,
25:52and then that helped me out a lot.
25:54I think that helped me out tremendously to have a foundation
25:58where I truly know, not like I believe,
26:01where I think I know where I'm going to end up.
26:05If I do fall short of that,
26:07I just know I'm not working hard enough.
26:08That's it. It ain't about me having to do...
26:11I know I'm just not working hard enough.
26:13That's it.
26:14I know I'm just not working hard enough
26:16in my 24 hours of the day.
26:17I have 24 hours.
26:18Am I giving my 24 hours to myself
26:20or am I giving my 24 hours to the powers that be
26:22or the man or somebody else's dream
26:25or somebody else's vision, right?
26:27You got a big vision,
26:29but is you giving your time to your vision
26:32versus other people's vision,
26:34and that's where this burnout may lie as well
26:37because there's so many directions,
26:39so many different things, so many...
26:42You ain't maximized the 24 hours yet
26:44for your own vision, your own dream and yourself.
26:47I know that was a lot, my fault.
26:49I know that was a lot right there.
26:51I know that was like a monologue at that point.
26:54It's a monologue.
26:55I just need to get those thoughts out though, man,
26:57because it's like...
26:57I'll receive it.
26:59It's just all...
27:00Man, it's just really all thoughts, bro.
27:03It's just thoughts, man.
27:05I know what I heard from you every time we meet
27:10and what you're speaking like,
27:12what you're speaking of.
27:15You didn't say none of that for nothing.
27:19You didn't tell me how good you are at this thing
27:21and your passion and your future plans
27:24and you're about to get $1,000 deals.
27:26And all these different things
27:28that you set for yourself and all these different plans
27:31and all these different goals that you had and spoke of
27:34and told me that you were so definite about,
27:37that was a such thing that did come from a genuine place.
27:41You actually meant every single thing that you said.
27:46That was your first mind.
27:48You always follow that first mind
27:49because that's genuinely what you want to think.
27:51That's genuinely what you want to do.
27:53Your first mind is your God mind.
27:55That's the natural state that you were in
27:57when we're having conversations like we're having right now.
28:01You're just speaking, free-forming thoughts,
28:03and you told me all these different things.
28:04Every time we meet, you tell me these different plans
28:06and these different goals and these, boom,
28:09that was a real thing.
28:10So you act on that versus putting all these things
28:13on a back burner or putting them to the side completely.
28:18Sure.
28:20Yeah, and if there was anybody else,
28:23I wouldn't be as candid as I am with you.
28:27We got this working relationship.
28:28We work together.
28:30You help me with your business.
28:31I help you with yours.
28:32But it's versa.
28:34We're actively growing.
28:37So it's also easier for me to say it to you
28:41and actually have these thoughts
28:43and speak them out loud.
28:46You don't get time to say that to any and everybody.
28:49I just met somebody,
28:50look, I'm about to quit what I'm doing now
28:53and do something else.
28:54You can't say that to any and everybody.
28:56And then especially potential clients,
28:58you scare them away.
29:00I'm glad that we're able to have this conversation,
29:03but that was just on my mind.
29:04I know I'm supposed to highlight you on your story,
29:08but it's definitely been on my mind for a couple weeks,
29:13couple months now, on and off.
29:17Yeah.
29:18Thank you for being open and open to myself
29:21and open to the world on your thoughts
29:26and thinking out loud and sharing that
29:27because you don't have to.
29:28That's first and foremost,
29:30and that's actually something very serious,
29:32very personal.
29:33So I want to say thank you on behalf of myself
29:35and whoever else may hear this.
29:39And yeah, thank you.
29:41Yeah, I know.
29:42I'm looking at your shirt, man.
29:44Say, coach.
29:45And that's kind of like the angle I want to get in,
29:48more mentorship, more coaching.
29:50That's why I'm like,
29:51what is something I can do without the camera
29:53that I still enjoy?
29:57It has been coaching.
29:59I love coaching.
30:00I love mentoring, helping people.
30:02I love helping, whether that's capturing their visuals
30:06or speaking through an issue or a problem.
30:09I'm glad you said that, man,
30:11because I think that opens the door
30:13to let you know my vision that I have within this space
30:18because similar to you,
30:21I don't see myself just shooting photography
30:26and videography all my life
30:27or even see myself doing that on a higher level
30:32for such a long period of time.
30:35And if I do do it, I do it because I enjoy it
30:38because I'm gaining a nice lump sum of money from it
30:42or I'm helping other people from it.
30:46Or both.
30:47Or both.
30:48But the vision in itself is much, much, much, much bigger
30:51when it all comes together.
30:54Okay, okay, okay.
30:56So what did you do before you picked the camera back up?
31:00Because I know you were studying when you were younger
31:03and had a camera when you were younger,
31:05but what were you doing when you first set it down
31:08and then made that transition
31:10before you picked the camera back up?
31:12Yeah.
31:13So before I put the camera down,
31:16you know, I went to Cleveland School of Arts
31:18for photography, graphic design, visual arts.
31:22Did it since middle school, high school,
31:23all through the years of just growing up.
31:26The camera was close by.
31:28And then I put it down.
31:30When I put it down, I went through college pretty much
31:33and had a whole collegiate career.
31:36You know?
31:39Bachelor's degree, master's degree, and...
31:43What was that process like?
31:45How long did it take you to complete the whole process
31:48with your master's?
31:50The process in itself was about seven to eight years.
31:54Much longer than it needed to be
31:56because along the journey,
31:58I kind of hit some bumps and bruises along the journey.
32:03And I probably had an extra year on the bachelor's
32:06and an extra year on the master's as well.
32:08But I did finish, so, you know, thankful for that.
32:11And the process was...
32:15It still was always creating in the background, you know?
32:19But the forefront became me helping people,
32:26me finding my purpose in life
32:28past any skill or talent
32:31because I realized that life is much greater
32:35than just a tool that I use.
32:38So I was in the process of answering those questions,
32:41you know, what am I even doing in school?
32:45What is my major going to be?
32:46What can I see myself doing for years and years to come?
32:49And I had to answer those questions.
32:52And in that process,
32:54the photography and the camera became on the back burner.
32:59So kind of similar thoughts that I'm having now,
33:02but just in a different form.
33:03Yeah, just maybe a lot earlier
33:05because I feel like we hit different crises
33:08at different points in our life
33:10at moments that we need these crises though.
33:13Because then we start to answer questions
33:15and we need these questions answered.
33:18And when you find a solution to these questions,
33:21we have a foundation
33:23and a trampoline, if you will,
33:25to jump off of and cut apart from
33:27so we can get that momentum going once again.
33:30Now, I know you're speaking to me about all of this.
33:35I know you mentioned foundations a few times.
33:38But let's say someone younger than us
33:41that just lost and they need a foundation,
33:45what would you recommend or say to them?
33:48Somebody who's completely lost and need a foundation,
33:52I will always ask them, have they tried God?
33:58And if not God, then any type of spiritual presence,
34:04because we are spiritual beings
34:07experiencing a physical life.
34:09Yes, yes.
34:10And we can have all the material things in the world
34:13and it still won't solve
34:15or fill those voids that we have
34:18because life is much greater than me and you.
34:22You know, we can have all the money in the world,
34:24all the clothes, all the shoes, all the cars,
34:28all the material things,
34:31and we still gonna get back to square one
34:33because square one and that foundation
34:35should be something much more greater than ourselves.
34:40That's what I always would get them to try.
34:44And I won't be so complex when we're presenting it to them, though.
34:48You know, we don't need to be in the stars,
34:50in the moon, in the earth.
34:52I might just tell them something simple.
34:53It's like, have you tried to clean your diet?
34:55Have you tried to eat something different, you know?
34:58If somebody gave you a solution to all your problems,
35:01I'd ask them things like that.
35:02If the person gave you a solution to all your problems,
35:04would you take it?
35:05Yeah, I'd take it.
35:07Well, try this.
35:09You know, have you tried to write down some thoughts,
35:10journal, have you tried reading?
35:12You know, just kind of, like,
35:13getting them to expand their mind first,
35:16and that tends to go hand in hand
35:18with any type of spiritual awakening as well.
35:21Well, if they don't want to expand their mind,
35:24if they're so close-minded, like,
35:26oh, they don't even want to talk or respond to you.
35:30Like, they're so sheltered and closed-minded.
35:34I think from there, then,
35:37we have to go even more basic-level things,
35:40and that basic-level thing would be,
35:42do you know who you are?
35:45Right?
35:45Knowledge of self.
35:48That tends to come from a lack of love for self
35:50or a lack of knowledge of self.
35:53You know, do you know where you come from?
35:55Nah.
35:56Have you ever thought about where you come from?
35:57Nah, I'm trying to eat, bro.
35:59I'm hungry.
36:00Let me provide a solution to a necessity
36:03that you're having that's clouding your thoughts,
36:05and in the midst of that, let me just ask her,
36:08let me ask some questions,
36:10because I don't need to give you no answers,
36:11but let me ask some questions to just plant a seed,
36:15because even if they be like,
36:16no, I'm not trying to hear that,
36:18that don't mean a seed wasn't planted,
36:20and I might not water it,
36:21but somebody else may water that seed that I planted,
36:24because words are that powerful.
36:26Now, you know what?
36:27I mean, even you saying that, like,
36:31no, I don't want to hear that.
36:32I'm trying to eat.
36:33Like, there's so many public schools,
36:36inner-city public schools,
36:37especially here in Cleveland,
36:41just speaking on African Americans or black people
36:47versus any other kind of parts, you know,
36:49white, Asian, for the main part.
36:54You know, they don't have those similar
36:56to our same struggles we have.
36:58We some, yes, but for the majority, no.
37:01Like, we can't learn to our best abilities
37:04because we're hungry.
37:05We thinking about what's going on at home,
37:08or how, you know, we're missing our father,
37:10or the dynamics in our home is kind of,
37:13you know, lopsided,
37:14and every problems that we're taking to school,
37:17and that's what we're thinking about,
37:18our stomach rumbling and everything.
37:20Like, how can we focus on this work
37:22and learn the way we should be?
37:25So, I'm glad you say that
37:27because I definitely want to shine awareness on that,
37:30and I'm glad this shift is coming,
37:33and it's changing.
37:36And, yeah, I definitely went through it,
37:38and, you know, a period of my time going through school,
37:41whether it was elementary or up to high school,
37:43you know, I had to change schools
37:46in the middle of high school.
37:47Like, it was either that or,
37:50like, there was no bus route,
37:52so I literally had to walk either three to four hours
37:56to my school or just, you know, start it out.
38:00Yeah, and that's a common problem,
38:03not just for some people,
38:06but majority of our people.
38:08Yeah.
38:08And that's just the fact that we have to sit with.
38:12And then that's when these questions
38:15that we have about our personal lives
38:19can start to get set aside
38:23not because we're thinking about not doing something,
38:25but set aside because we have bigger fish to fry, right?
38:29And it's pretty much like how
38:30I told you before we started the interview.
38:32It's like, you can identify me as anything you want to,
38:34but my main mission and my main goal is saving my people.
38:38My main mission is, you know, sharing light and love
38:45and fighting against evil and weakness
38:48because we are love.
38:49You know, love controls everything.
38:51Love is like, we have that within us.
38:54We are special people, unique people.
38:57I want the young black boys and girls to know that.
39:02I want the original people to know that.
39:03I want anybody who is underrepresented to know that
39:06and lead them to a spiritual awakening
39:10because I think that can touch many people's lives
39:14more than anything I ever thought I could do
39:17will, you know.
39:19For educational purposes,
39:22what would you say is the original people?
39:26Original people?
39:29Well, any people who is melanated,
39:33you know, melanin is a piece of our DNA
39:40that's scientifically proven
39:42that comes from the original people.
39:44So I say original people.
39:45Anybody who has any melanated pigments,
39:48whether that's yellow, red, brown, or black,
39:53you know, any color, really, you know, that's...
39:55Any shade is really, you know,
39:57and even people who is on the outside of that,
40:00they're still human beings and they still are people as well.
40:03I just made it to the station between original people
40:07and non-original people
40:08because original people is normally,
40:12numbers-wise, statistically proven
40:15to be the minority
40:18and the underrepresented individuals
40:21in our society that we live in currently.
40:24Well, taking it even a step deeper,
40:28as far as original people,
40:30do you consider, like, giants, original?
40:35Giants as in, like, physically giants?
40:37Giants, yeah, people that's, like,
40:44I can't say.
40:46I can't say because I'm not sure.
40:48I don't personally know of any giants being original people,
40:54but I wouldn't put anything past it.
40:58But I do know, in many spiritual texts,
41:04whatever the creator looks like,
41:06it normally says that we look like that, you know?
41:10It always tells us how we look like the creator.
41:16You know, as far as I know and have seen and documented,
41:20I'm not sure of any giants,
41:22but anything is possible when you talk about the creator
41:24and his creation, so, you know,
41:27I don't think anything is possible, literally.
41:30Like I said, this is all for educational purposes,
41:33but speaking to, you know,
41:36someone who has their master's in education,
41:38what do you love teaching or educating people on?
41:45I love teaching and educating people on life in itself.
41:51You know, I really just love teaching people
41:56of how important and special they are
42:00because everybody is unique, everybody is special.
42:05I love teaching people about themselves,
42:09and not in the sense of like I personally know them,
42:12but themselves as in how special we are as human beings
42:15in the world that we live in today.
42:18It doesn't show for that, I don't believe, you know?
42:21I don't think it shows for that.
42:23So that's like the main thing I love teaching on,
42:25teaching on just the knowledge of self,
42:28knowledge of the creator,
42:29knowledge of, you know, our enemies
42:31that stop us from knowing ourselves
42:33and knowing the creator and the best light.
42:36And it also, what my desire is as well,
42:39is teaching us on art and creating in general.
42:43Because I feel like since we are in the image of the creator,
42:47we are made to create,
42:49and I think that's when we are at our best
42:51and we are at our most peaceful
42:53when we're just freely creating,
42:56whether that's creating material things,
42:57whether that's creating our day,
43:00creating anything, just creating.
43:02I think that's when we are at our best, you know?
43:06So teaching people art and creating
43:08is something I see myself doing for years to come as well.
43:12And that's part of the three to five year vision
43:14that I was speaking of.
43:16I have a whole vision of what that's going to look like
43:20and I'm so glad to get clear on that vision, you know?
43:23Yeah, I love that you say that.
43:31Just the whole creativity
43:34and teaching people about life.
43:38I'm listening, I'm like,
43:41sound like a life coach could be in the future.
43:43What do you think about that?
43:47Well, that's what my experience speaks towards.
43:50So all my experience professional-wise
43:53was academic and life coaching.
43:58I did it on a college level
43:59and I also did it on a high school level.
44:03I would say probably like the last seven
44:04and eight years of my life
44:05has been life and academic coaching.
44:08And I think when you speak of academic coaching,
44:12you can always show somebody
44:14or give somebody a resource,
44:16but I think actually untapping their,
44:20getting deep in their untapped potential
44:23is like an even better thing to coach them on.
44:26And not showing them the way,
44:27but just kind of getting them to a certain place
44:31and space to find it themselves, you know?
44:35Like, asking just deeper level questions of like,
44:37you know, what I want to do, who am I,
44:40where am I going, where did I come from?
44:42You know, how long?
44:44You just, these deeper level questions
44:46is always a way for a fulfilling life.
44:54Yes, yes, yes, yes.
44:56That's definitely true.
44:59And I've had a thing where I was like,
45:02I'm going to be a life coach
45:04and kind of help people find their light
45:10and their gifts and use it to their maximum capabilities.
45:14Because it's always that one shift that's always needed.
45:19It's not even like teaching or grooming or showing them.
45:22It's just the shift.
45:24And it's mostly a mindset
45:26and, you know, on the podcast I speak a lot on mindset
45:31and mind state.
45:33It's powerful.
45:35Even, you know, before the podcast,
45:36just having that time,
45:39two, three minutes before we started,
45:42just silence, collecting my thoughts,
45:44just, you know, getting me together.
45:47It's definitely important.
45:49And the work you do is important for sure.
45:51One thing I will say is like the best way
45:54that helped me out in coaching, life coaching,
45:57because first you got to feel worthy of doing that
45:59because from time to time I have thoughts of like,
46:01who am I to show somebody away or tell somebody away?
46:07But in the midst of the best solutions that I have,
46:10the best outcome that I normally have
46:12is when I'm just being genuinely myself.
46:14Just being a great person in life,
46:16just striving to be a great person,
46:18treating others how you want to be treated,
46:20and just being a genuine person in young people's lives,
46:25which is something that,
46:26surprisingly, they don't get often.
46:28It's people telling them what they should do,
46:30telling them what they don't need to be doing,
46:35judging and being too authoritative
46:37and, you know, all these different things
46:39where it's like when they,
46:42when I experience a young person, you know,
46:45I just genuinely be myself.
46:47You know what I'm saying?
46:48I'm not trying to put on the front.
46:50I'm not demanding what they should be doing
46:52or what they need to be doing.
46:54I'm more so just sparking thoughts for them
46:57and just being myself.
46:58You know, I normally have everything in question form.
47:02You know, I normally,
47:03sometimes I don't even tell them my answer.
47:05I just question them so they can get their own answer
47:07and form their own opinions and think their own thoughts
47:11because everybody else is,
47:12everybody is unique in their own way.
47:14You know, we just have to start thinking bigger,
47:16expanding our brain, and I just love to do that for kids.
47:19You know what I'm saying?
47:21Yeah.
47:22I think sometimes the best questions are actually,
47:26our best answers are actually questions.
47:28Like, even if you think about Jeopardy,
47:32the game of Jeopardy,
47:35like it's answering the question, what is?
47:37What is?
47:38But yeah, I love that, especially like my young daughters.
47:43Like, what did you do that?
47:48Not necessarily what did you do that for,
47:51but like in a sense,
47:52it could be a combination of these questions
47:54or like how did that make you feel
47:57or how you think that made that person feel
47:59if they did something to somebody else or, you know,
48:02it's just like questions.
48:04Questions.
48:05Not necessarily don't do this, don't do that.
48:09It's to help them realize what they did
48:13and the feelings behind it,
48:15not necessarily their feelings,
48:17but other people's feelings,
48:18how it's going to make other people feel
48:20and how is that making you feel
48:22that you made people feel this way.
48:25Or if someone did something to you
48:27and you never told nobody
48:29and you just keeping it all in,
48:31what do you think it was all going to be?
48:34That just made me think about something
48:36because I actually did do therapy in my life before
48:39because I spoke about doing therapy
48:41and going to therapy and I had a plan to do it.
48:44I actually did do therapy younger.
48:46I did too.
48:47And I remember them,
48:49I remember getting to a certain destination of thought
48:53due to them raising certain questions
48:55that I may not have raised for myself.
48:58And they never even had to say
49:00what the outcome or the answer was.
49:04It was just like the answer was led there
49:07through my own thinking
49:09which caused it to be more effective.
49:11It was like, oh, I get it finally now.
49:17You know what I'm saying?
49:18Which is why this is the ultimate goal.
49:21I do want to share this ultimate goal.
49:22This is the desire.
49:23This is the goal.
49:25The goal is to have an arts and cultural center
49:28in urban neighborhoods,
49:29whether that's one space
49:30or whether that's multiple spaces.
49:33And within this space,
49:35our main thing is being a safe space
49:37for young people and young adults
49:38or even adults to go and learn,
49:41be themselves,
49:42and not have to worry about
49:44certain things in life
49:46that stop them from being
49:48the best version of themselves they could be.
49:52Within this space,
49:54I want to also teach them
49:55or have other people come in and teach them
49:58and share with them
49:59and have workshops
50:03on certain subjects of creating.
50:07And I also want to provide the resources
50:10and the equipment
50:10for these different things as well.
50:13So this is going to be a safe space
50:15that fulfills the mind, body, and spirit,
50:18but also teach them
50:19and give them the space to create
50:21and be free creators
50:23in whatever it is they want to do.
50:25But most importantly,
50:26just being that safe space within chaos.
50:30You know what I'm saying?
50:32So we're going to have equipment there,
50:34maybe a musical studio,
50:35maybe art studios,
50:38all the equipment that they need to do this,
50:41teachers, instructors, presenters,
50:45and then we're also going to be going out
50:46into the community, too,
50:47doing the same thing.
50:49We're going to expose them
50:50to different things in life
50:51so they can raise their level of consciousness
50:54in their thinking,
50:55but they're also going to be hand-in-hand
50:59with anything else that they want to do in life.
51:02So that's like the ultimate goal
51:04that's going to happen at some point, right?
51:08And within that space,
51:09I might still do photography,
51:11still do videography
51:12for different clients and things like that.
51:14I might take students on certain jobs with me,
51:18or I might, you know,
51:21just only do that from time to time
51:23while teaching other people photography, videography,
51:26different forms of art.
51:28But that's like the ultimate plan and goal.
51:32Yeah, that's amazing.
51:33I want to ask,
51:37have you seen or witnessed
51:39any other structures
51:42or buildings or programs
51:44such as what you're trying to build
51:46or what you are building?
51:48Yeah, so actually,
51:50I've been to one personally,
51:52and then I also...
51:53Like through the program or like...
51:55So I've been to one.
51:58I visited one.
51:59So I've been to one,
52:00I visited one,
52:01and I'm going to break down
52:01what it exactly was.
52:02And I also was told about one, too,
52:05when I was speaking this out loud.
52:07So one of the things I've been to was like,
52:09it said it was a church,
52:12art and cultural center,
52:13where it was like the church,
52:14and then it had like a space
52:16that housed people.
52:19It had different rooms and different spaces
52:23where anybody could be
52:24whatever they wanted to be,
52:25but it was rooted in, you know, religion.
52:28And then I saw another space
52:29where it was kind of like
52:31the arts and cultural center
52:33mixed in with a dojo.
52:35So it had like self-defense,
52:36teaching young people self-defense,
52:39spiritual-minded thinking
52:41and combat,
52:44attached with STEM,
52:47attached with art.
52:48So it was like a STEM center,
52:50dojo mixed in
52:52with an art center,
52:53and it all came together,
52:54so it could be like the academia
52:56side of things,
52:58the combat, self-defense,
52:59and spiritual side of things,
53:01as well as the art and creator side of things,
53:03and it was like three different spaces
53:04within one space,
53:06and that's kind of what I see myself having, too.
53:09Me holding a certain aspect down,
53:11but also bringing other people
53:12onto this journey and this vision
53:14so they can fulfill their need in life,
53:17which is probably helping people most likely,
53:19because most people I tend to talk to
53:22and work with,
53:23their ultimate goal is to help people.
53:27So bringing all of us together
53:28on this big vision
53:31to do whatever it is that we see fit,
53:33but just doing it together
53:34in a certain space
53:36because we can do it quicker
53:38and easier and better
53:40when like-minded people
53:42and great people come together
53:44to fulfill these things
53:45that we want to fulfill in life.
53:49That's what I see happening.
53:51I'm not going to do it on my own.
53:53I know it's not possible.
53:54Maybe it is possible,
53:55but I don't want to do it on my own,
53:58because that's not what I'm doing it for anyway.
54:00I'm doing it in the beginning,
54:01you know what I'm saying?
54:03I said, what do you have in place already
54:05and how long do you think
54:06it's going to take you to build
54:08like to your full vision?
54:11I taught myself within three to five years,
54:14this can be a real thing.
54:17What I have in place right now
54:20is a foundation of other people
54:23that I know want the same goal and dream,
54:25but just bringing us together
54:26on the same vision.
54:27So a network.
54:28I know this is what they want to do,
54:31but just getting them to buy in
54:34into this overall bigger vision
54:36that I have for us all,
54:38because it's not about you,
54:39it's not about me,
54:40it's about us all.
54:42And if we came together,
54:43I know it could be done.
54:44I know it.
54:45I know it is.
54:47You know what I'm saying?
54:47When we just kind of sit
54:49these bills and these problems
54:51and these different things
54:51that we're going through in life to the side,
54:54and I was listening to a podcast yesterday
54:55and the podcast said this,
54:56he asked the man,
54:58he said, you a leader of your family,
55:00you got a wife that has no problem with following you,
55:03even your mommy or dad
55:05and all these people follow you now.
55:08He said, how did you do that?
55:09And he told him,
55:10whoever has the biggest vision win.
55:13Whoever has the biggest vision
55:16is the person that need to be leading,
55:19if you consider that even leading,
55:21because it's not necessarily you leading anybody,
55:24it's just y'all coming together
55:26on one vision that everybody plays a part in.
55:30So it's not necessarily leading anybody, it's anything.
55:32If I'm leading anybody in anything,
55:33I'm just leading them to a bigger thought and vision
55:36that we all can come together on.
55:38Because we're all leaders.
55:41I'm not leading, we're all leaders really.
55:44And that's what I have so far.
55:45I have the people, I have the idea,
55:47and I have the plan written down.
55:50I have the vision on how I'm going to get there,
55:52how I'm going to get the money to do it.
55:54That's what I have so far.
55:57And that's the thing that's all I really need
55:58so far right now.
55:59I think that's all you need.
56:00Now I just need to bring to life
56:02these things I already wrote down
56:03and thought about on paper in my head
56:06and my vision.
56:07Just need to see it through.
56:11Right?
56:11Just need patience now right now.
56:13Just see it through.
56:14Yeah, patience is key for sure.
56:17And I know you guys spoke about money
56:19and ways to get the money.
56:21What about how much money you need
56:25to fully build this out?
56:26How much money I don't know just yet
56:30because I'm still in the beginning stages
56:32of completing a few steps
56:33before I even get to that point.
56:35But that is a good question
56:36and something to think about
56:37because I might get to whatever I need
56:39to get to even sooner.
56:41But right now I was thinking about,
56:43okay, how?
56:44The how, you know?
56:45Maybe something like using other people's resources
56:50and coming together and partnering with other people.
56:54You know what I'm saying?
56:55Because it don't necessarily need to be my own money.
56:58This could be a non-profit.
56:59Normally with non-profits.
57:01You can get that paid for.
57:04You can get grants.
57:06There are grants specifically for these type of things
57:09especially within certain neighborhoods as well.
57:12Certain neighborhoods have even more grant money
57:14and more opportunities.
57:17So that's more so the focus
57:19and how I think I'm going to do it.
57:21Oh yeah, especially in the inner city.
57:24Resources, the people, getting there.
57:30About three to five years I think I can see it happening
57:31for sure, for sure.
57:33Even if it happened in ten years, man.
57:37Which I don't think it will happen.
57:38Even if it did happen in ten years,
57:42then it must need to happen in ten years.
57:46I think three to five is good.
57:48More so the five.
57:52I think ten is not a bad number.
57:57It's a long time.
57:59But I know it could happen sooner.
58:03But to fully maximize and even when you have it come to fruition
58:08and it's here, it's like I want to continue to build on it
58:12for what it is now.
58:13And then it's like that constant building and growing now.
58:16And then oh, I didn't think about this.
58:19Oh, we should also include this.
58:22So that's the only reason I would say ten years for sure.
58:27I could see it.
58:29I say four.
58:30Yeah, like ten years would be like maybe it come into its final form
58:36in which the final form probably going to change as well, right?
58:40Because it's always going to be something better.
58:41It's always getting better at it.
58:42But within like three or four years, it could be just a space.
58:47It could be a space that fulfills all these different things.
58:49How big is the space?
58:51How long the space is going to be around?
58:54I'm not sure.
58:55I don't need an office building for this.
58:58I might just need a room.
59:01I might just need a suite.
59:05You know, a suite can turn into a house.
59:07A house can turn into a building, a space, you know, a warehouse.
59:11You know what I'm saying?
59:12A sacred place.
59:15It's just, you know, it's just what do it look like?
59:18And the overall vision of what I see in my head, it is very grand.
59:23It's very big.
59:24So, you know, it's going to take some time to get there.
59:26I'm sure it's going to look like it's going to take different steps
59:30and it's going to look different every single probably year
59:32or every couple of years or so for real, for real.
59:35That's what I see for sure.
59:36Like it's going to look different.
59:38I know it, you know?
59:40Yeah, that's amazing.
59:43Is there any key or powerful partnerships you would see
59:49come into collaboration with this?
59:53Key collaboration or partnerships?
59:55More so just, I guess, any grants or resources available.
1:00:00You know, even if it's government,
1:00:02anything government funded or resources coming together.
1:00:05Any major heavy hitters that's already maybe within these spaces
1:00:09or doing these certain things, you know, I see coming together.
1:00:13I see myself coming together with some brothers
1:00:17that I currently have right now that have dreams and goals
1:00:22of doing these certain things but just like in a different light.
1:00:25You know, that's mainly what I see right now so far.
1:00:30Like, you know, it's still taking the life of its own every single day,
1:00:34you know, when I get clearer and clearer.
1:00:36Every day I get clearer and clearer of how it looks
1:00:38and I find more answers and more ways to get there.
1:00:42What you're saying is wake up and create each day.
1:00:46Wake up and create, man.
1:00:47Starting with the day before, man.
1:00:49Creating your day, you know?
1:00:52Visualizing what do I want my day to look like tomorrow?
1:00:57That's you creating.
1:00:59That is true.
1:01:00You creating your life as you go, you know?
1:01:03I read in the book, thank you, girl,
1:01:04with your black choice that success is not necessarily
1:01:07you get to a certain house, a certain car, a certain end goal.
1:01:12Success looks like this.
1:01:13It looks like you on the route to whatever goal
1:01:16that you set for yourself.
1:01:18That is you being successful
1:01:19because you're moving in a positive direction
1:01:23towards a goal that you have.
1:01:26It's not necessarily fulfilling that goal
1:01:27but it's just you pushing forward on that goal.
1:01:30That is you being successful, right?
1:01:33Like, you're successful and when you get to that goal
1:01:36and you meet it, you know what's going to happen?
1:01:39You're going to create a new goal
1:01:42and you're going to go on that path to fulfill that goal
1:01:44and so on and so forth.
1:01:46It's like, who's to say we're not successful right now
1:01:49just because we don't have a million dollars?
1:01:51Like, who said that?
1:01:53Just because we don't have a million dollars
1:01:54doesn't mean we're not currently successful, man.
1:01:57Your daughter think the world of you.
1:01:58Your daughter think probably the world of you.
1:02:01Oh, yeah, for sure.
1:02:02You know what I'm saying?
1:02:03In her eyes, you very successful, man.
1:02:06You successful is what she needs you to be successful, right?
1:02:11And I'm sure a lot of people look at myself that same way
1:02:14and I get, I didn't have people tell me
1:02:18in the trip me out, man.
1:02:19I didn't have students tell me at one point of like,
1:02:22them literally telling me like,
1:02:24I changed their life by telling them a piece of advice
1:02:28that I gave them or giving them a certain story
1:02:30or just giving them a certain word.
1:02:33And it's like, sometimes I can't comprehend it
1:02:36because all I was just doing was just being myself
1:02:38and just speaking life into them
1:02:40and just giving them love, you know?
1:02:42Yeah.
1:02:42So I don't, I normally don't take the credit.
1:02:45You know, I always refer back to God.
1:02:47I always say like, somebody say to me now,
1:02:48I say, praise be to God, praise be to creator.
1:02:50You know, that's where I normally go
1:02:52because it's like, I know I wasn't, it wasn't me.
1:02:55I'm sure I was just, I was just a vessel
1:02:57or just an instrument or a tool
1:03:00for you to get to wherever you're gonna get to anyway.
1:03:02You know, like, it wasn't me at all.
1:03:04Like, it wasn't me at all.
1:03:06I know it wasn't me.
1:03:081%, 2%, you know?
1:03:10Right place, right time, too.
1:03:11You know, it wasn't me.
1:03:13It was written.
1:03:14That's what it was, you know?
1:03:15And I just was a piece of the puzzle
1:03:17for you to get to wherever you, you know,
1:03:19was gonna get to anyway.
1:03:22I know you, I just spoke about success.
1:03:24I was saying, what would that success look like to you
1:03:27with all these endeavors and dreams?
1:03:30But like, what would you say your definition of success is?
1:03:34Man, success to me, that's a good question, man.
1:03:36But before I even give it heavy thought,
1:03:38I wanted to say with the first thing that came to my mind,
1:03:41success to me is helping as many individuals as possible,
1:03:46whether I help them an opportunity,
1:03:50help them with a piece of advice,
1:03:52help them get to a certain platform,
1:03:54a certain place in life.
1:03:55But most importantly, success also is me
1:03:57providing opportunities for other people
1:03:59who may be in need.
1:04:02And also success look like for me is when I can
1:04:05take the ones that I love
1:04:07and help them get to wherever they want to get to
1:04:09in life as well.
1:04:11You know, if I could just say a certain word
1:04:15or drop a certain price or buy a certain thing
1:04:19for one of my sisters or my brothers
1:04:21to do whatever it is they want to do in life
1:04:23or to take my whole entire family on vacation
1:04:27for them not to think about normal life
1:04:29and just think about, just for them to just
1:04:31let their hair down and just be for a moment
1:04:33and exist.
1:04:35That's like, oh, I think I,
1:04:36if I ever made it, that would be me making it.
1:04:39I made it.
1:04:40I can't put a certain number on that,
1:04:42but the moment I take my whole entire family,
1:04:45my whole inner family on vacation,
1:04:47which I plan on doing, this is on my list of doing,
1:04:49I know I'm gonna do it at some point.
1:04:50Sure, we both are.
1:04:51Right, I'm gonna take my family on vacation
1:04:54to a tropic area and it's gonna be on me.
1:04:59That's when I get to a place where
1:05:01I know what I plan to get to, you know?
1:05:04That's where I'm good.
1:05:05When I can see all my family on a plane
1:05:08and they sitting on the beach
1:05:09and they all just smiling,
1:05:11and I'm just like, dang,
1:05:13that's when I'm like, yeah, that's it for me.
1:05:15I'm good.
1:05:16Whatever happens for me, I'm good.
1:05:17I'm cool now.
1:05:18I'm cool, man.
1:05:19I just seen my grandma and sisters and brothers
1:05:24and smiling on the beach and there's no like,
1:05:26I know I put the work in to get them there.
1:05:29That's life for me.
1:05:30Like, that's it.
1:05:31That's life.
1:05:34That is life.
1:05:35That's something I think about all the time.
1:05:38It's like, I mean, for me personally,
1:05:41I haven't taken a vacation since,
1:05:45like a real vacation since middle school.
1:05:48Wow.
1:05:49So yeah, that's something personally
1:05:51I want to get back to.
1:05:53Wow.
1:05:53Like I've traveled, I've been out of town,
1:05:57I explore places, but it's mainly for business,
1:06:00not necessarily for leisure or pleasure.
1:06:04Now I still enjoy my times, you know,
1:06:06when I travel different places
1:06:08and been everywhere but Ohio.
1:06:13But it's not that true.
1:06:15Vacations in, I don't got to worry about nothing.
1:06:18But even like you said,
1:06:20you get into that fact where you can bring people along
1:06:23and you have your inner family,
1:06:25your family and friends, all that good stuff.
1:06:29Even close business partners,
1:06:31people you're in collaboration with.
1:06:35That's definitely one of my goals.
1:06:37That's what's missing in your life right now.
1:06:39Yeah, like you said, that zen.
1:06:42Yeah, that's what's missing right now.
1:06:43Quiet time.
1:06:44That's what you need.
1:06:47You need a vacation.
1:06:48A genuine vacation where you just let your hair down
1:06:52and you can just be and exist for a moment of time.
1:06:58I think we all need that.
1:06:59But not only do we need that,
1:07:00we need that frequently throughout every year.
1:07:05So for me, I make sure I have that at least,
1:07:09it got to be at least once a year,
1:07:11but really you should plan that out
1:07:12for you and your family.
1:07:14Maybe like three times a year,
1:07:15four times a year, twice a year.
1:07:17That we know, okay, at some point,
1:07:19we're going to do something,
1:07:23take a getaway and just be together for a moment.
1:07:26Going to Disney World, Disneyland.
1:07:28That's healthy.
1:07:29That's something that's needed.
1:07:30Not wanted, but that's something that's needed
1:07:33every year, at least once a year,
1:07:36so we can get rejuvenated to jump back into the fight.
1:07:43You know what I'm saying?
1:07:45Get rejuvenated, get rebooted, get reset
1:07:48so we can go back to that constant everyday uphill road
1:07:54of our dreams and goals.
1:07:56Even as you speak about rejuvenation,
1:08:00like outside of sleep,
1:08:02let's kind of touch on diet
1:08:04or anything else that you want to touch on.
1:08:06How do you get rejuvenated?
1:08:09Man, I get rejuvenated,
1:08:10that's one thing for sure of just like traveling.
1:08:15But most importantly, man,
1:08:18just staying open and clear,
1:08:23like being an open vessel to receive
1:08:26whatever it is that you need to receive.
1:08:29So I fast from time to time.
1:08:31If I need some answers,
1:08:33I definitely make my fast and my intentions clear
1:08:37before I go into fast as well
1:08:39to receive whatever it is
1:08:41that God maybe want me to receive.
1:08:43So I might go into,
1:08:46well, typically speaking,
1:08:48I go into a fast once a month
1:08:50for three days, water fast.
1:08:53That's something that me,
1:08:55as well as my community,
1:08:58that I exist within do
1:09:00as brothers and sisters in our community.
1:09:03We go on a three-day water fast once a month.
1:09:11Also, just kind of fasting daily as well,
1:09:1424-hour fast every day.
1:09:16So just kind of not eating
1:09:20until between the hours of four and six,
1:09:23which is like eating with the day,
1:09:25eating with the world, eating with the earth.
1:09:28It's like being in alignment
1:09:31with that circadian rhythm
1:09:32of when life tells us to eat.
1:09:39You know what I'm saying?
1:09:40Then being intentional on what to eat,
1:09:42at what time, that's all important
1:09:44to just be open and receive
1:09:46whatever it is that you need to receive.
1:09:48So that's always a thing I need to do.
1:09:50If I'm just not thinking right,
1:09:52I'm down, I'm sad,
1:09:53it's like maybe I just need to reset physically
1:09:56because my physical is related to my mental
1:09:57and my spiritual.
1:09:59Maybe I just need to get a fast,
1:10:01I mean just fast,
1:10:02and then hand-to-hand with that food fast,
1:10:04maybe I need to fast with certain music,
1:10:07certain people, certain things.
1:10:11Just fast, man.
1:10:13Just become reset, rebooted, man.
1:10:16So that's something I do actually quite often, man.
1:10:19And I try to, not try, but I tend to stay in
1:10:23throughout my days that definitely keep me going,
1:10:26keep me clear-minded, keep me higher,
1:10:31on a higher frequency in life.
1:10:33Yes, sir.
1:10:34And now you speak about food
1:10:37or even the absence of food and fasting.
1:10:42So when you do eat, it ain't fast food.
1:10:44What are you consuming?
1:10:47Man, mainly what I consume on a daily,
1:10:51I consume what grows from the earth,
1:10:54what God put on the earth for us to eat.
1:10:57Before we had any diet,
1:11:01we just ate what was provided to us.
1:11:03So every day I break my fast with fruits,
1:11:07because fruits normally like purify and then refuel.
1:11:12H2O.
1:11:13The first thing I do is every time it's fruit.
1:11:15And then from there, I keep it light,
1:11:18I try to stay, not try,
1:11:20I stay away from carbs mainly.
1:11:22I stay away from heavy carbs and I don't eat meat at all.
1:11:26And I'm not saying none of these things are bad for us,
1:11:29because God put all these things on earth too.
1:11:30He put animals for us to eat.
1:11:33Bread, some of these things is good,
1:11:34but it's just like, I'm looking for better options.
1:11:38I want to be in tune.
1:11:41I want to use that full potential.
1:11:44You know what I'm saying?
1:11:45I want to think like the creator.
1:11:47I want to think like that.
1:11:49You know what I'm saying?
1:11:49I want to use that full potential.
1:11:50So that's what my diet, because it's mainly like, you know,
1:11:53no meat, no heavy carbs, not too much junk food.
1:11:58I might eat sweets here and there.
1:12:00That's like my only downfall or weakness.
1:12:03But even then, it's not necessarily a weakness
1:12:06if it's still pure ingredients within it.
1:12:09Who made this cake that I'm about to consume?
1:12:12You know what I'm saying?
1:12:13Like, even then you still can make this cake from raw sugar
1:12:16or like, you know, some good flour, unbleached flour,
1:12:18you know, things like that.
1:12:20So that's what my diet kind of consists of,
1:12:24mainly fruits, vegetables,
1:12:29not anything heavy as well.
1:12:32So less sugar as possible.
1:12:34So what are your thoughts,
1:12:36like as we living in this world here, 2026,
1:12:41and especially like the vegetables, the crops,
1:12:45they're contaminated, they're bad,
1:12:48and even they're going down to the GMOs,
1:12:51they're manipulated, seedless.
1:12:54How do you stay away and avoid and know what's right?
1:13:01Yeah.
1:13:02Well, first I think any type of start is a good start.
1:13:07You know what I'm saying?
1:13:07You got to start somewhere before you can get a clear,
1:13:14ultimate, jamming.
1:13:16You got to start somewhere, you know what I'm saying?
1:13:19So before you get to saying, oh man, everything is bad,
1:13:22I can't win, I can't eat nothing.
1:13:24Well, what was you eating to begin with?
1:13:27You know, was you just eating pork and hot Cheetos
1:13:30and fruit juices to begin with, artificial fruits?
1:13:34And if that's the case,
1:13:35then maybe just releasing one thing from your diet
1:13:37just to start somewhere.
1:13:38Maybe just eliminate one bad thing that we are consuming
1:13:42before we get to speaking about all these different bad things
1:13:46that's in the earth, you know what I'm saying?
1:13:47So for me, it's going the organic route,
1:13:51you know what I'm saying?
1:13:53It's certain fruits and vegetables that you can eat
1:13:55that don't need to be organic
1:13:56and then there's some that needs to be organic
1:13:58because they are heavily sprayed with pesticides.
1:14:01Berries being one of them.
1:14:03Berries, it's heavily sprayed with pesticides,
1:14:05so normally you probably get organic blueberries,
1:14:09organic strawberries, things like that.
1:14:11So just kind of like finding the knowledge
1:14:12and the things in the world and starting somewhere.
1:14:16But I think all these are just signs for us
1:14:20to get pushed further into where we need to be in life anyway,
1:14:25such as owning our own land, growing our own food,
1:14:30being completely self-sustained in a society
1:14:35that doesn't have your best interests in mind, right?
1:14:41So we can never point the finger
1:14:43if we're depending on other people, right?
1:14:48So just starting somewhere, maybe working for yourself,
1:14:53growing one plant, changing one thing,
1:14:55just starting somewhere
1:14:57and then gaining more knowledge over time
1:14:59to lead yourself into a completely self-sustained life
1:15:05of doing for yourself, you know, for you and your family.
1:15:08Yeah, I like that.
1:15:11If you could only grow one plant,
1:15:13you have to add a farm,
1:15:15but if you grow one plant, one crop, what would that be?
1:15:19If I can grow one thing and just one thing,
1:15:22it would be the Navy bean.
1:15:27The Navy bean.
1:15:27The Navy bean.
1:15:29Okay.
1:15:31I don't think I ever heard that ever.
1:15:33It would be just one thing I can grow and feast on.
1:15:37The Navy bean is a very spiritual crop,
1:15:43once we learn about it.
1:15:47It's almost like an anti-Asian crop.
1:15:53It helps fight cancers.
1:15:55It clears up your skin.
1:15:57If I can eat one thing a day
1:15:59and I just only can choose one thing,
1:16:01I could eat a bowl of Navy bean soup every day
1:16:04and I can look better, look cleaner.
1:16:06My eyes become more whiter.
1:16:09You know, I start thinking a lot better
1:16:11because that's how special that little Navy bean is.
1:16:16Remember how they gave me some Navy bean.
1:16:18Yeah, Navy bean is a very special crop.
1:16:23That's what I would say.
1:16:25I love it, I love it, I love it.
1:16:27Do you want to give me some?
1:16:28I definitely have some Navy bean soup.
1:16:31It's been a while, so yeah,
1:16:33that's a good reminder to hop back on it.
1:16:36Yeah, Navy bean.
1:16:37There's a lot of crops that we need to stay away from, too.
1:16:40You know, there's a lot of crops we need to stay away from.
1:16:42Like, most things that fall into soul food category,
1:16:44we need to stay away from, honestly.
1:16:46The good old soul food.
1:16:47You know, sweet potato.
1:16:48We don't need to be eating sweet potato.
1:16:50Sweet potato.
1:16:51Collard greens.
1:16:52Collard greens.
1:16:55Cornbread.
1:16:58All these things actually stem from a slave diet.
1:17:03That's why we call it soul food because we took the worst food
1:17:08and we made it into something.
1:17:11But the beginning of that is
1:17:14we was given these certain foods
1:17:16because they were the worst foods for us to eat.
1:17:18They were the scraps of the people who were the rulers at the time
1:17:21and our oppressors.
1:17:23We just, you know, us as, you know,
1:17:26especially black folks, but just all people, you know,
1:17:28you know, original people.
1:17:30We take anything and we make it something.
1:17:33You know what I'm saying?
1:17:33We take anything.
1:17:34We take a house and make it a home, you know?
1:17:36That's right.
1:17:37We take some ingredients and some bread
1:17:40and we make it a meal.
1:17:41You know, we take a broken person and make them whole.
1:17:44So, you know, with that being said,
1:17:45we did that same thing with the food that we was provided in turn.
1:17:49That's why we got soul food.
1:17:50But really it was a diet to make it,
1:17:53to break a powerful being into a slave though.
1:17:57Wow.
1:17:58With the food.
1:17:59With the food.
1:17:59That's like the first thing they needed.
1:18:01That's the first thing that was changed
1:18:03when we got captured from our motherland into this place.
1:18:09The first thing they changed was our diet,
1:18:12which was the process of making a slave
1:18:14because they didn't grab slaves.
1:18:16They grabbed powerful people, engineers, scientists,
1:18:21rulers, and over a process in a generational period,
1:18:24they made them into slaves.
1:18:27But they just didn't capture.
1:18:28We just wasn't slaves to begin with.
1:18:31It was a process to make a person a slave.
1:18:34A process, yeah.
1:18:35And the diet is one thing.
1:18:37The first thing they changed was our diet.
1:18:38The diet controls your mind.
1:18:40I don't know if it's cloudy, foggy, clear.
1:18:43Which is in turn, we changed that.
1:18:46You know what I'm saying?
1:18:46We changed our diet now.
1:18:48And this day and age in 2026,
1:18:51it would be like reversing that process all over again.
1:18:54Yeah.
1:18:55And then we can grow to whatever we want to grow at, you know?
1:19:00Sounds simple, you know?
1:19:02You all know we always making complex.
1:19:05Yeah, yeah.
1:19:05We hear complaining our auntie, our grandma.
1:19:11We used to.
1:19:11So we definitely got to shift as a collective culture,
1:19:18as a whole, for sure.
1:19:20I know you spoke about the Navy bean.
1:19:23Is there another bean that you kind of help
1:19:29rejuvenate yourself, get your energy that you seek?
1:19:35I don't know about another bean,
1:19:37but you know, as far as other crops,
1:19:39there's plenty of crops that's out there
1:19:42that's good for the soul, you know?
1:19:47There's plenty of crops,
1:19:48but I think what's most important is the crops
1:19:50that we don't need to eat.
1:19:52Because we can identify the list of things not to eat,
1:19:55which is going to be surprisingly
1:19:57most of the things that we eat, though.
1:19:59That's going to be the hard part.
1:20:00That's going to be the part that's going to be the shocker.
1:20:01That is the most common, you know?
1:20:02Yeah, the most common things
1:20:05is actually not the original things that we need to eat.
1:20:08So instead of like what we need to eat
1:20:10is more so like what not to eat.
1:20:13And then from there, we can explore
1:20:15the unlimited source of food that we have,
1:20:19such as the apple, for example.
1:20:21I love apples.
1:20:22You know what I'm saying?
1:20:23We just eat the common two or three species of apples,
1:20:28but like there's hundreds of different types of apples
1:20:31at one point in time.
1:20:33There's hundreds of different type of oranges
1:20:36and bananas in this different type, you know?
1:20:39But we just have became, you know, industrialized
1:20:43and like eating the same type of foods
1:20:47and crops and things.
1:20:50But it is endless.
1:20:52It's almost endless.
1:20:52A different type of crops, vegetables,
1:20:54and fruits is out there.
1:20:56It's really endless, you know?
1:20:57What about the coffee bean?
1:20:59What's your thoughts about the coffee bean?
1:21:00Coffee?
1:21:02So it's funny because at first,
1:21:05I was a little bit against coffee, right?
1:21:08I was against coffee.
1:21:09I'm like, man, coffee too bad for me.
1:21:11I see people be addicted to coffee.
1:21:13They can't even think right
1:21:14if they don't have any more than coffee.
1:21:16But then I got introduced on the knowledge of,
1:21:19oh no, that's not the coffee.
1:21:20It's the sugar and the cream that they're addicted to.
1:21:24It's a sugar fix that they is fixed to, right?
1:21:28And then I learned that, oh no, a cup of coffee,
1:21:30a good cup of coffee, you know,
1:21:33is actually a great thing to do in the morning, right?
1:21:37And then you can even add other spices
1:21:42or natural things to your coffee
1:21:44to even lighten and heighten
1:21:47those already positive effects
1:21:49of a one cup of coffee can do for you,
1:21:51you know, in the morning
1:21:52to get your juices flowing and get you heightened, right?
1:21:56You know, after, right, the water, you tell me, right?
1:21:59After the water, drinking the water first?
1:22:00After the water first, yes, yes.
1:22:01You know, as soon as you wake up, drink that water first.
1:22:04But you know, a cup of coffee, it's not bad.
1:22:06You just keep it black, keep it straight
1:22:11and not overdo it as well.
1:22:15So no creamers, no sugars, no...
1:22:19No...
1:22:20Additives.
1:22:20No additives.
1:22:21If I do add it, it's going to be
1:22:22natural things added such as honey,
1:22:25which is something that never goes bad.
1:22:28Honey is the one thing in this earth, food-wise,
1:22:32that doesn't expire.
1:22:34So if that's the case, how special is honey is?
1:22:38Well, you know, we call our mate honey.
1:22:41Hey, honey.
1:22:41Honey.
1:22:42They call heaven the land of milk and honey.
1:22:45Milk and honey.
1:22:46So how special are those two things then
1:22:48if heaven is the land of milk and honey?
1:22:51Well, I don't know so much about milk
1:22:53and that milk does spoil and expire.
1:22:56But definitely honey, for sure.
1:22:57And one thing I did learn about...
1:22:58See, I don't drink milk.
1:22:59I haven't drunk milk yet.
1:23:00I haven't drunk milk in so long.
1:23:02But this is why though,
1:23:05because it's not raw milk, right?
1:23:10Raw milk is actually good for you.
1:23:13But I think, if I'm not mistaken,
1:23:15it's actually illegal to sell in Ohio though.
1:23:18Which we have to ask ourselves,
1:23:19why is that then?
1:23:22Why is that?
1:23:23Why is it so hard to get a bottle of raw milk
1:23:26and if you do find a bottle of raw milk,
1:23:28why is it $20?
1:23:28Why is it so expensive?
1:23:30These are questions we need to ask ourselves, you know?
1:23:34Well, I mean, I'm not sure about the raw milk
1:23:37unless you talk about breast milk.
1:23:40I grew up when I was a baby drinking breast milk,
1:23:45which is some of the best milk that I've known.
1:23:50Yeah.
1:23:51And then we're drinking the milk by the jug,
1:23:57which is mostly cow milk,
1:23:59which is all types of stuff in it
1:24:01that I'm not going to need a name.
1:24:05But yeah, raw milk, okay.
1:24:07But the milk from the gallon is pasteurized
1:24:10and they go through all these different processes
1:24:12and they take all the good things from it
1:24:15and they give you back all the bad, you know what I'm saying?
1:24:17So, but raw milk, which I haven't tasted before,
1:24:24I tell myself if I do or if you get your own cow.
1:24:30But you're still getting it from the cow.
1:24:33The cow is not necessarily a bad animal.
1:24:37I don't think the cow or the goat
1:24:39is not necessarily bad animals to drink or eat from
1:24:43because God also put different animals
1:24:48here on earth for us to consume if you see fit.
1:24:52But it's just a way of going about it, right?
1:24:55Knowing that this is a living thing.
1:24:58This is a sacrifice.
1:25:01This is divine.
1:25:02This is holy.
1:25:04So if you're going to consume something such as that,
1:25:07you consume it the right way,
1:25:10such as kosher or halal, you know, certain different groups.
1:25:15They don't kill an animal.
1:25:16So they might put it out as misery
1:25:18in a very holy and tasteful
1:25:23and, you know, peaceful way
1:25:27before consuming it, right?
1:25:31Because really everything on this earth
1:25:35is for us to experience and consume.
1:25:41You know, like us being in the image of the creator,
1:25:47everything essentially in life is subservient to us.
1:25:52It's just what we do with it
1:25:54is the question and how, right?
1:26:02And with that being said,
1:26:06it's like a good thought process.
1:26:12But I want to speak more on the creative process.
1:26:15Yeah, absolutely.
1:26:17As a creative,
1:26:18you go into your creative process.
1:26:22How would you explain your creative process
1:26:24as a weather forecast?
1:26:27Well,
1:26:29speaking on creative, that's a creative question, you know?
1:26:33From a creative.
1:26:34From a creative in a creative space.
1:26:38If I had to explain my creative process
1:26:42in terms of a weather forecast,
1:26:46I will say
1:26:49it's like a thunderstorm, right?
1:26:53But it's like the full thunderstorm
1:26:56coming and leaving,
1:26:59coming and going, because like the storm doesn't just,
1:27:02life doesn't just start off in the storm.
1:27:04Right.
1:27:04It starts off a sunny day.
1:27:07And then the air starts to cool down,
1:27:10the wind starts to pick up,
1:27:11the night starts to get a little darker.
1:27:13I smell it.
1:27:15The smell start to change, right?
1:27:16Now the storm is coming.
1:27:17Now I'm in the storm, right?
1:27:19But then after the storm, what happens again, right?
1:27:22Sun come right back up.
1:27:24Right.
1:27:24So when I'm in my creative process,
1:27:27I first start off with just ideas,
1:27:29beautiful ideas, endless ideas.
1:27:33No barriers or obstacles in my way.
1:27:36Endless.
1:27:37But then a storm comes, right?
1:27:39Now you got to put these ideas into fruition,
1:27:42into actual form, manifested ideas.
1:27:46And sometimes it's not the easiest.
1:27:48I see some through,
1:27:50some of them I don't see through, right?
1:27:53But if you do move forward in that creative process,
1:27:57which I have seen ideas really come together,
1:27:59such as my business.
1:28:00I've seen my business come together
1:28:02and I've seen a happy client and I've seen it through.
1:28:05That's when the sun comes back out, right?
1:28:07It wasn't easy getting to that point.
1:28:09It wasn't a walk in the park.
1:28:12It's some trials, it's some tribulations.
1:28:15But that's the beautiful thing about creating, right?
1:28:17Like if it was easy,
1:28:18then we probably wouldn't even want to do it, you know?
1:28:19It's like we probably wouldn't even be alive.
1:28:24If something was easy, then we ain't alive, you know?
1:28:25So after all those trials and tribulations
1:28:28and seeing the idea through, it's nothing like that.
1:28:31And that's when that sun come back out
1:28:32after that thunderstorm, you know?
1:28:34So that's how I would describe it.
1:28:36Like the coming and the going of a thunderstorm.
1:28:40Okay, okay.
1:28:41And rain, not necessarily bad.
1:28:42It's not a bad thing because it rain.
1:28:45You just have to adapt to the rain,
1:28:49see the rain for what it is, you know?
1:28:53Knowing that the rain has a purpose as well,
1:28:54even though we don't want to be out in the rain.
1:28:56It's still at the rain.
1:28:58That's how we grow plants.
1:28:59That's how we grow vegetables.
1:28:59That's how we get life, you know?
1:29:01Life come about.
1:29:02How we get water, you know?
1:29:03All these different things.
1:29:04That's how I'd describe it.
1:29:07That's how we definitely grow.
1:29:11Like heavy rain, I kind of avoid heavy rain,
1:29:15even driving through heavy rain.
1:29:17But I love being out in the rain.
1:29:19Like mine is a sunny, warm, sunny day.
1:29:24But you know, with intense heat,
1:29:26you want to cool off, so it's got a little drizzle.
1:29:29Not too heavy of a rain,
1:29:31but light rain where it's a drizzle and it's refreshing.
1:29:35It's like, wow, you know,
1:29:38you got kind of like all the elements.
1:29:41Yeah.
1:29:41The sun, the clouds, the rain.
1:29:43Get you through once again,
1:29:44just a little get you through.
1:29:46Thank you.
1:29:48Even with, you know, your creative process,
1:29:52a lot of us are using AI now,
1:29:56especially for brainstorming.
1:29:59So that's kind of around that you say storm,
1:30:02or the thunderstorm.
1:30:04So how are you using AI?
1:30:06What's your thoughts on AI?
1:30:08I am totally pro AI.
1:30:10Pro AI, okay.
1:30:11I'm totally pro AI because AI is a tool to help us
1:30:16do whatever it is we want to do in life.
1:30:18Yes, there are negative things that could come from AI.
1:30:21Yes, it's negative things that come from anything,
1:30:24but that's on us and not the tool in itself.
1:30:28Right.
1:30:29We use the tool, not that the tool don't use us.
1:30:33In a way, it learns from us.
1:30:36Right.
1:30:37It uses us as far as whatever we give it.
1:30:41Right.
1:30:42It would never be the original though.
1:30:44Oh no.
1:30:45No matter how smart AI could get.
1:30:47It's artificial.
1:30:49It's artificial.
1:30:51It's mimicking us.
1:30:52It's mimicking the human brain.
1:30:55If anything, it shows you what we are capable of doing
1:30:59if we are operating at our full capacity.
1:31:04You know, even a calculator, when it does math
1:31:07in 0.2 seconds, we the first calculators.
1:31:10That's true.
1:31:11We created math, right?
1:31:13So I'm totally pro AI, and I use it more and more,
1:31:17and I always find different ways to use it
1:31:19to help me shift through my thoughts
1:31:22and organize my thoughts and put my thoughts
1:31:24in different compartments so I can get to my goals
1:31:27a lot faster.
1:31:29You know, at this point, I'm using AI
1:31:30as my business partner, my financial advisor,
1:31:35sometimes even similar to a therapist as well.
1:31:38Okay.
1:31:39So those are the avenues that it's helping me with
1:31:41right now, so it's organizing my business,
1:31:44it's helping me get my SOPs,
1:31:46my standard operating procedures together,
1:31:48my mission, my visions, my whys,
1:31:50my hows, helping me answer so many different questions
1:31:55so I can just focus on doing what I love to do,
1:31:59which is creating as a creator.
1:32:02Have more time to do, come up with the ideas
1:32:07and fulfill these ideas versus the in-between things
1:32:09that burn us out, right?
1:32:13Using this AI as a tool that it is
1:32:16so I can continue to just think and act
1:32:20and create versus doing all these in-between
1:32:23little minuscule things that take me away
1:32:25from the bigger dreams of creating
1:32:28and fulfilling things.
1:32:31That's amazing.
1:32:32What was something that blown you away
1:32:34with AI, any tool, the AI tool?
1:32:38That blown me away, man.
1:32:39Right now, I think it's very,
1:32:41I think it's already totally,
1:32:43I think it's pretty advanced, you know,
1:32:45because it's a lot of paid versions
1:32:47and a lot of paid different things out there.
1:32:50Right now, man, I'm not on social media right now,
1:32:55but I did hop on social media
1:32:57from time to time, like Twitter or X,
1:33:00and it amazes me how it literally creates videos
1:33:07of actual people, actual things, actual events,
1:33:11and people actually believe it to be real
1:33:14and accept it as real.
1:33:18That's the dangerous part, right?
1:33:19We talk about dangerous,
1:33:20and it's definitely dangerous of how people use it,
1:33:22but that's what amazes me.
1:33:24The video creation, the voice creations,
1:33:29the creating a narrative,
1:33:30whatever narrative that you want to create
1:33:32and seeing that narrative through,
1:33:34for good or for worse.
1:33:36That's amazing to me.
1:33:38That's amazing to me.
1:33:40I mean, like you said, it's amazing,
1:33:43but also, like you said, with the food,
1:33:47I kind of link it with the food.
1:33:49Like, it's a lot of artificial food out here.
1:33:53It's good. It tastes good,
1:33:54but at the end of the day, it's good.
1:33:58Now, AI is a different thing than food
1:34:01because we consume both of it,
1:34:03but we actually control the AI more
1:34:08than control the food supply.
1:34:11So, I love that connection.
1:34:14I lean more towards good than bad
1:34:16only because it's like any other invention.
1:34:20It's like we have to remember that we are the inventor.
1:34:22Yeah, like that.
1:34:24Any invention is made to make everyday life easier,
1:34:32similar to a cell phone, a calculator,
1:34:35or any other invention out in the world, you know?
1:34:38It takes on a mind of its own from time to time,
1:34:41and it's definitely not meant for the most positive,
1:34:43but it is a tool and used in a righteous
1:34:47or a positive manner.
1:34:49It's made to make life easier, you know?
1:34:53So you can get to go sooner, quicker, easier, you know?
1:34:59There's so many different opportunities within that space.
1:35:03I think it's only the beginning of that, honestly.
1:35:06Yeah, for sure, for sure.
1:35:08And man, as we wrap,
1:35:10because I got to head to Ashley podcast production.
1:35:15I was thinking about me quitting photography
1:35:19and video production.
1:35:20I got to actually do this in like 30 minutes,
1:35:24so I'm actually actually running behind,
1:35:26but this is definitely a fruitful, fruitful interview.
1:35:32Conversation, I don't want to call it an interview.
1:35:35Conversation.
1:35:35Conversation indeed.
1:35:36For sure.
1:35:37Higher level conversation.
1:35:38Higher level.
1:35:40Hey, shout out to 19Keys.
1:35:41Shout out to 19Keys.
1:35:43I just listened to his album, man.
1:35:45We the Gods.
1:35:46Yeah, she has clarity.
1:35:48We the Gods, man.
1:35:49That's a statement in itself, man.
1:35:51You can have a whole podcast on, man.
1:35:52We the Gods.
1:35:53Yeah.
1:35:54We're going to have to do part two for sure.
1:35:56Look at that, man.
1:35:57Because yeah, this film is scratching the surface.
1:35:59There's a lot of, you know, I want to touch on.
1:36:02A lot of we talk about.
1:36:03I'm like, man, we're going to save it for the podcast,
1:36:05but you know, we're going to definitely do part two.
1:36:09But I want to leave you with a couple of questions.
1:36:12Where do you see yourself?
1:36:17And then what do you see your business as you think about legacy?
1:36:26For myself, I see myself with a wife and kids.
1:36:35Finally, fulfilling and enjoying life in the form that it's supposed to be enjoyed.
1:36:40I think we all enjoy life with a significant other,
1:36:45you know, other half, another half, you know, companionship.
1:36:49I think that's something, a part of life as well as creating life too.
1:36:54You know, creating life with a lifelong partner
1:36:56and not creating life with, you know,
1:36:59just an individual that you just happen to have a moment or time with.
1:37:02Yeah.
1:37:02So I see myself, you know, going through life with an individual
1:37:07and creating life with an individual.
1:37:09A wife, my wife, with kids, starting a legacy.
1:37:12I think that's also part of legacy in itself.
1:37:14Yes, sir.
1:37:15You know, your missus and your kids is legacy.
1:37:18You know, that's what legacy is all about.
1:37:20You know, having some healthy kids,
1:37:24doing something positive and righteous in life, man.
1:37:26That sounds like the life I need and going to have.
1:37:30As far as my business, man, just I see it in short term
1:37:38of getting hired in clientele, thinking a lot bigger on my everyday goals,
1:37:46you know, a lot more collaborations
1:37:50and then also more resources using other people's tools, money,
1:37:59getting grants so I can not think about the little things
1:38:04and I can have more room and space to create
1:38:06since I'm not worrying about money or opportunity,
1:38:09having the opportunity, having the money
1:38:11so I can create within this space and actually maximize
1:38:14what I truly do see for myself,
1:38:16creating different videos and pictures.
1:38:20Yeah.
1:38:20And then that's going to be the stepping block
1:38:22for the arts and cultural center
1:38:24that I want to collaborate with others for
1:38:27and teaching other people the same science.
1:38:29I'm going to call it a science, if you will,
1:38:31creating in this science of art.
1:38:34I love it.
1:38:35Science of art.
1:38:36You know, and then also providing opportunities
1:38:39and resources for other people,
1:38:42especially in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods
1:38:47for them to not be so focused on a negative
1:38:51and can be focused, finally focused on a positive
1:38:55and having something better to get to in life.
1:38:59Okay, okay.
1:39:01And yeah, that arts and cultural center is going to be amazing
1:39:04and I'm looking at this hand sanitizer
1:39:07and what do hand sanitizer do?
1:39:10It cleans and get rid of the germs
1:39:13and with what?
1:39:15The active ingredient is in line with the purpose,
1:39:19literally in line with the purpose.
1:39:22It's crazy.
1:39:22I was looking at that as you were saying
1:39:24and everything you have is like active ingredients
1:39:28to your purpose.
1:39:29It's like, wow.
1:39:31I say that's alignment for sure.
1:39:34Alignment, man.
1:39:35That's the part we try to get to, man.
1:39:38Alignment, you know?
1:39:40Alignment, brother.
1:39:42Balance.
1:39:44Patience.
1:39:46So we can find that peace and alignment, brother.
1:39:49Okay.
1:39:50So what is like three to five key takeaways
1:39:55from this interview,
1:39:57whether it's something you said
1:39:58or didn't get a chance to say
1:40:00that you would want somebody to take away
1:40:02from this conversation?
1:40:05I think one thing we touched on a lot,
1:40:07which is not perfect.
1:40:09I don't know if it was a purpose to it or not,
1:40:10but just kind of thinking about this conversation
1:40:13of money, success, business,
1:40:16all these things that we focus on day to day so much.
1:40:19But then when you ask me questions about
1:40:21what is the purpose and what I want to do
1:40:24and what's the end goal,
1:40:26it was like, okay,
1:40:27focusing on things outside of that,
1:40:31actually understanding and seeing
1:40:33that it's a deeper purpose in life.
1:40:36And we all are unique and special in our own way
1:40:40in not having a certain amount of money,
1:40:43not doing a certain type of field
1:40:45or not having certain questions and things figured out.
1:40:47Life doesn't take you away from that greater purpose
1:40:50that you really are fulfilling,
1:40:52whether we see that or not.
1:40:54That's something that I really noticed
1:40:56and kind of just thought about right now.
1:40:58I'm like, wow, we have all these plans
1:41:00to get to this money and different fields
1:41:02and how we gonna do it.
1:41:04But when you just asked me,
1:41:05what did I see for myself?
1:41:07It's like, oh, having a wife,
1:41:08genuine love, kids, healthy kids,
1:41:13just a legacy, that's more important,
1:41:16or helping people,
1:41:18getting other people to see themselves in a higher light.
1:41:23That's the important things in life.
1:41:25And as long as we doing that,
1:41:27I don't need a lot of money to do that right now.
1:41:29That's something I'm doing right now
1:41:30and I can continue doing right now.
1:41:31So I am successful.
1:41:34So that's a good takeaway for sure, for sure, man.
1:41:38And just aiming to make better choices overall in life
1:41:41and knowing that we are worthy to do that.
1:41:44And knowing that it is a positive outcome
1:41:46that comes from making positive decisions
1:41:48and changes in our life.
1:41:50Whether we taking something out of our diet,
1:41:52taking something out of our hobbies,
1:41:54our everyday life,
1:41:56and taking control of our day,
1:41:59taking control of our job,
1:42:01our time, doing for self.
1:42:05There are plenty of positive outcomes from that
1:42:08and we can actually go to our limitless potential
1:42:12that we all have and possess.
1:42:15Wow, it's amazing.
1:42:16I cannot close it out any better than that.
1:42:21You know, for the people out there listening,
1:42:23where can they find you, book you, follow you,
1:42:26all that good stuff?
1:42:29Well, good question.
1:42:32Good question.
1:42:33My website is www.lazabillustrations.com.
1:42:38That would be the best space.
1:42:39How you spell it out for them?
1:42:41L-A-S-E-N-B-Y, Lazenby,
1:42:44which is my born Laz name
1:42:46or my family legacy name.
1:42:50Illustrations, the typical way of spelling it.
1:42:52I-L-L-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N-S.com.
1:42:57So www.lazabillustrations.com.
1:43:00And from there you also can find my email,
1:43:03which is the same thing,
1:43:04lazabillustrations.gmail.com,
1:43:06my phone number, as well as my social media,
1:43:09where I'm not currently on,
1:43:10but it's still there for you to experience
1:43:12all the things that I put out into the world,
1:43:14into those social media spaces.
1:43:17At lazabillustrations on Instagram,
1:43:20at mainline101 for my personal account on Instagram,
1:43:25as well as TikTok, which I don't be on much,
1:43:28and also YouTube as well.
1:43:29Mainline M-A-I-N-L-I-N-E-1-0-1
1:43:34on other platforms as well.
1:43:36And I want to say just thank you for you
1:43:38for sharing this space for me.
1:43:40Genuinely, man, thank you, man.
1:43:42You know what I'm saying?
1:43:42It's been long awaited,
1:43:44but we have these conversations all the time,
1:43:45so it's just another walk in the park, man.
1:43:47You know, just bringing our consciousness together
1:43:51just for a greater cause, man.
1:43:53So I appreciate you, man.
1:43:54And I want to say thank you.
1:43:56Thank you, God, man.
1:43:57You know, thank God just for the opportunities
1:43:59and, you know, just for the spaces
1:44:02and the people that I meet on this journey of life, man.
1:44:05I'm just grateful, brother, just grateful.
1:44:07Hey, I want to say this.
1:44:10Like, first off, thank you and thank you for believing me
1:44:14and coming along with me on these different missions
1:44:18that I call jobs with the photography, video,
1:44:24media, productions, events.
1:44:29But, man, I always knew, like,
1:44:33the time we had or was going to have,
1:44:37like, a sit-down conversation,
1:44:39a formal sit-down conversation like this
1:44:41on the podcast setting,
1:44:43because we both have podcasts,
1:44:44and also shout out your podcast, too.
1:44:46Oh, yeah, Pound De-Rooted podcast, man.
1:44:49That's also an attachment of the brand
1:44:51Liza B Illustrations, man.
1:44:52I have custom clothings on the website as well.
1:44:55Another creative space that I have,
1:44:56Pound De-Rooted.
1:44:58It's a lifestyle.
1:45:00It's a movement, man, you know,
1:45:02just bringing like-minded people together
1:45:05for things such as this, you know, financial literacy,
1:45:08true history of self, true history of the creator,
1:45:12you know, a higher consciousness and frequency, man.
1:45:14Pound De-Rooted is the movement.
1:45:16That's the podcast.
1:45:17That's the clothes.
1:45:18That's the brand.
1:45:20That's hand-to-hand with Liza B Illustrations, man,
1:45:22so I'm grateful for that as well.
1:45:24You know, we are culture.
1:45:25We are knowledge.
1:45:26We are life, man.
1:45:27We everything, man.
1:45:28We the beginning.
1:45:30We, as in all people, everybody,
1:45:31we are the beginning, man,
1:45:32so that calls for something, man.
1:45:33We very special, man.
1:45:34So we deep-rooted, man,
1:45:36a lot more deep-rooted
1:45:36than we believed or know to be.
1:45:39Yes, yes, yes.
1:45:41And again, back to, like, when we first met,
1:45:45ironically, with Troy and Rashad at Tri-C.
1:45:48Yes, sir.
1:45:49Shout-out to earn your leisure.
1:45:51Yeah, literally.
1:45:53Earn your leisure.
1:45:53And that's kind of, like,
1:45:54what this whole conversation has been about,
1:45:57even opening, like, me, quote-unquote,
1:46:00quitting video and photography
1:46:03to something greater, like,
1:46:05for me to earn my leisure.
1:46:08And that's crazy.
1:46:09It's like a full circle moment.
1:46:10We got on that.
1:46:11And even after the event,
1:46:13we spoke for, like, two hours just in the parking lot.
1:46:15First inside, then in the parking lot, bro.
1:46:18First time ever meeting, bro.
1:46:20And I said, well, I'm like,
1:46:22we gonna work together.
1:46:23And, like, we have been working together.
1:46:25We have, man.
1:46:26Man.
1:46:27Earning our leisure.
1:46:28Have, man.
1:46:29I do want to say one thing, though,
1:46:30before we get out of here.
1:46:31Yes, sir.
1:46:33I don't necessarily think I like the word quit, man.
1:46:35The word doesn't move me at all.
1:46:38It is certain things we need to quit.
1:46:39We need to quit in life.
1:46:40But when you paired quit
1:46:43with things that are positive
1:46:44and have did so much for us,
1:46:46it just doesn't sit with my spirit.
1:46:48I love it.
1:46:49I love it.
1:46:49That's probably why I keep on...
1:46:50Talk to me.
1:46:51Talk to me.
1:46:51That's probably why I'm looking at it
1:46:53so, like, side-eyes.
1:46:54Like, you keep saying this word quit.
1:46:56It's like, I don't even like that word to begin with.
1:46:58I don't either, honestly.
1:46:59But, you know, just to be realistic,
1:47:02there are some things in life we do have to quit.
1:47:05But it ain't never nothing positive we need to quit, though.
1:47:08I don't even...
1:47:09I don't like to even use that word quit.
1:47:12Like, just to...
1:47:13I just wanted to put that into the air,
1:47:15into the space of, like...
1:47:16Of how we repeatedly keep saying this word quit, man.
1:47:20It's like, words are powerful.
1:47:22Maybe we're not choosing the right words.
1:47:24You know what I'm saying?
1:47:26Quit.
1:47:27Like, what are we quitting for, man?
1:47:29What are we quitting for?
1:47:30Ain't no quit, man.
1:47:31This is a fact.
1:47:31This life thing is...
1:47:33We ain't quitting, man.
1:47:33We're riding this thing to the end, man.
1:47:36To the winds for love.
1:47:36Well, it's about the end, like...
1:47:38Yeah, we're riding this to the winds for love, man.
1:47:39The end to quit is kind of cousins, though, you know?
1:47:43Nah, man.
1:47:44Nah, it ain't.
1:47:45Quitting is by choice.
1:47:46I say pause.
1:47:46I say pause.
1:47:47Quitting is a choice.
1:47:49Life is gonna be inevitable.
1:47:51It's an end, but it ain't...
1:47:53We ain't ended it, you know?
1:47:54Well, your spirit lasts forever, so...
1:47:56Right.
1:47:57Exactly.
1:47:57You know, we just return back to where we came.
1:48:01So, it's the end of this moment,
1:48:04of this space.
1:48:06But there ain't no quitting, man.
1:48:07There ain't no quitting.
1:48:07We don't quit, man.
1:48:09We're eliminating that word out of vocabulary.
1:48:10We're talking about quitting something bad, man.
1:48:12We're talking about quitting drugs,
1:48:14quitting bad habits,
1:48:16quitting negative things.
1:48:17That's the only time you can say quit.
1:48:18Other than that, we ain't saying quit.
1:48:20We done with that word.
1:48:21We ain't quitting nothing.
1:48:22Mama ain't raising no quitter.
1:48:23Ooh, that's right.
1:48:25We ain't raising no quitter.
1:48:26We ain't saying the word quit.
1:48:27We're gonna save it for part two.
1:48:29I already see where this is going, man.
1:48:31I got to set up for the Pull Up Experience interviews.
1:48:34We got a meeting.
1:48:35We got interviews.
1:48:36All this good stuff.
1:48:37So, it was an eventful evening and night.
1:48:41I appreciate you again, brother.
1:48:42Yes, sir.
1:48:42Thank you, man.
1:48:43I appreciate you, bro.
1:48:43Until next time on Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
1:48:48with your host, photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
1:48:52of Alien Eyes Photos Media,
1:48:54bringing you another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
1:48:59And if you want to book me,
1:49:01you can find me at alieneyesephotos.com
1:49:05and all my social media at Alien Eyes
1:49:09Photos with a Z, Photos with an S on all social media.
1:49:14Again, peace, love, and blessings.
1:49:16Love, love, love always.
1:49:19Peace.
1:49:19Peace.