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Machine-generated transcripts from Alien Eyez Photos Industry Talk, not manually corrected. Wording, including names, may contain transcription errors. Episode 92 is excluded.

1. Shawn Lee Jones of Creative Healing Foundation and G6 Landscaping

Season 2 · Episode 20

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  1. 00:00:01.010 – 00:00:06.730 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  2. 00:00:07.410 – 00:00:10.810 with your host, photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
  3. 00:00:10.810 – 00:00:13.330 at Alienize Photos Media.
  4. 00:00:14.310 – 00:00:17.870 And I have a special, special, special, special guest,
  5. 00:00:18.750 – 00:00:23.030 Mr. Sean Lee Jones, a veteran entrepreneur,
  6. 00:00:23.330 – 00:00:25.510 photographer, filmmaker, community builder
  7. 00:00:25.510 – 00:00:28.310 whose life reflects service, creativity,
  8. 00:00:28.310 – 00:00:32.150 resilience, and legacy, which is important.
  9. 00:00:33.310 – 00:00:37.450 After serving 17 years, six months, and five days
  10. 00:00:37.450 – 00:00:41.690 to be exact in the military, Sean redirected,
  11. 00:00:42.680 – 00:00:45.750 Sean redirected his discipline and leadership
  12. 00:00:45.750 – 00:00:47.150 into entrepreneurship.
  13. 00:00:48.830 – 00:00:53.450 He is the president of G6 Landscaping and Snow Removal
  14. 00:00:53.450 – 00:00:55.350 and Ohio Sea Corporation,
  15. 00:00:55.350 – 00:00:59.030 built around battery-powered landscaping operations,
  16. 00:00:59.790 – 00:01:02.390 efficiency, and sustainable growth.
  17. 00:01:03.370 – 00:01:06.650 He is also the co-founder of Creative Feeling Foundation,
  18. 00:01:07.410 – 00:01:10.330 where photography, media, storytelling, and agriculture,
  19. 00:01:10.970 – 00:01:13.750 and creative education are used to strengthen
  20. 00:01:13.750 – 00:01:15.390 individuals and communities.
  21. 00:01:16.470 – 00:01:19.810 Through Liquid Vision Film,
  22. 00:01:21.050 – 00:01:24.370 Sean continues his work as visual storyteller,
  23. 00:01:24.370 – 00:01:27.730 documenting people, organization, events,
  24. 00:01:27.910 – 00:01:29.410 and meaningful life experiences.
  25. 00:01:30.990 – 00:01:33.050 His business journey is deeply connected
  26. 00:01:33.050 – 00:01:35.650 into family, mentorship, ownership,
  27. 00:01:36.290 – 00:01:37.690 and generational legacy.
  28. 00:01:39.130 – 00:01:41.790 Sean believes success is not simply measured
  29. 00:01:41.790 – 00:01:43.390 by money or recognition,
  30. 00:01:44.090 – 00:01:46.530 but by the ability to create opportunity
  31. 00:01:46.530 – 00:01:48.630 should knowledge serve others
  32. 00:01:48.630 – 00:01:52.070 and leave something meaningful for the next generation.
  33. 00:01:52.590 – 00:01:53.470 That's right.
  34. 00:01:53.710 – 00:01:56.730 Sean Lee Jones, my brother, my mentor, how you doing?
  35. 00:01:57.030 – 00:02:00.470 Hey, bro, I'm glad we was able to get this sit down.
  36. 00:02:00.770 – 00:02:02.650 Our schedules finally came together
  37. 00:02:02.650 – 00:02:04.690 and we were able to make something happen, right?
  38. 00:02:04.930 – 00:02:07.270 Yeah, we are here, we are here, we're here.
  39. 00:02:07.450 – 00:02:09.330 It came a long way, so it's gonna,
  40. 00:02:09.750 – 00:02:13.810 just the next phase is exciting to see where it go.
  41. 00:02:14.310 – 00:02:14.790 Yes, sir.
  42. 00:02:15.670 – 00:02:19.050 And it's funny, I think about, oop.
  43. 00:02:19.050 – 00:02:19.710 Man down.
  44. 00:02:19.710 – 00:02:24.380 We got equipment falling, that's never a good sign.
  45. 00:02:25.380 – 00:02:26.600 But it happens.
  46. 00:02:26.880 – 00:02:28.720 Yes, it happens, it happens, it happens.
  47. 00:02:30.140 – 00:02:32.800 But you just think about G6, it's like,
  48. 00:02:33.100 – 00:02:36.860 wow, we kind of knew each other for six, six years,
  49. 00:02:36.880 – 00:02:38.140 so that's right on point.
  50. 00:02:38.840 – 00:02:41.920 But for the community that may not know G6,
  51. 00:02:42.020 – 00:02:43.040 what is G6?
  52. 00:02:43.620 – 00:02:45.620 So G6 is?
  53. 00:02:49.510 – 00:02:50.750 The sixth letter after the alphabet.
  54. 00:02:51.550 – 00:02:52.590 It really is, right?
  55. 00:02:53.230 – 00:02:54.250 A, B, C, D, E, E.
  56. 00:02:54.570 – 00:02:56.110 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
  57. 00:02:56.210 – 00:02:57.670 It's the sixth letter in the alphabet
  58. 00:02:57.670 – 00:03:00.570 and everybody always ask what G6 is.
  59. 00:03:01.130 – 00:03:02.990 How did you come up with that?
  60. 00:03:03.450 – 00:03:09.610 Is there some particular meaning to the G or the six?
  61. 00:03:11.470 – 00:03:16.900 And all it really is is a representation
  62. 00:03:17.500 – 00:03:21.840 of why I do this, what keeps me on focus.
  63. 00:03:22.840 – 00:03:25.060 At the time, it was my six grandkids.
  64. 00:03:25.820 – 00:03:26.140 Okay.
  65. 00:03:26.620 – 00:03:27.420 Now there's seven,
  66. 00:03:27.440 – 00:03:29.580 so I'm gonna come up with something else for him.
  67. 00:03:30.860 – 00:03:33.900 But for the six that started it,
  68. 00:03:34.180 – 00:03:36.280 it was just about building legacy,
  69. 00:03:36.300 – 00:03:39.800 trying to figure out what to name it.
  70. 00:03:41.900 – 00:03:48.910 G6 has this introduction before it even had a name.
  71. 00:03:50.150 – 00:03:53.730 And that was, I wanna say, six years prior.
  72. 00:03:53.850 – 00:03:55.010 Wow, yeah.
  73. 00:03:55.770 – 00:04:00.130 Yeah, so it was six years before it even got a name, G6.
  74. 00:04:00.970 – 00:04:04.850 In 2016, I bought my first Ego more
  75. 00:04:06.010 – 00:04:08.190 and had a really small yard.
  76. 00:04:08.190 – 00:04:09.630 Yard wasn't as big as this room.
  77. 00:04:11.520 – 00:04:14.920 And the battery just cut the grass two, three times
  78. 00:04:14.920 – 00:04:16.560 and still had battery.
  79. 00:04:16.899 – 00:04:21.380 At the time, I was pushing a five amp hour battery
  80. 00:04:21.380 – 00:04:24.300 on one 21 inch more
  81. 00:04:25.060 – 00:04:27.240 and had enough to do my yard.
  82. 00:04:27.340 – 00:04:30.200 I would then jump over to Ms. Dot's yard, my neighbor.
  83. 00:04:30.320 – 00:04:31.840 I would do her front yard.
  84. 00:04:32.280 – 00:04:35.640 And then I had another neighbor on the other side of me.
  85. 00:04:36.140 – 00:04:38.660 I would do her yard.
  86. 00:04:39.180 – 00:04:41.640 And then I would jump across the street
  87. 00:04:41.640 – 00:04:43.760 and do another yard.
  88. 00:04:44.120 – 00:04:46.140 Then there was a field next door to that
  89. 00:04:46.140 – 00:04:47.960 that I would do that
  90. 00:04:47.960 – 00:04:49.380 because that's where I walk my dog at.
  91. 00:04:50.220 – 00:04:53.980 So all of that was still operating on one battery
  92. 00:04:53.980 – 00:04:57.480 and not having to go to the gas station.
  93. 00:04:59.060 – 00:05:03.160 The whole idea of landscaping from that was just there.
  94. 00:05:03.260 – 00:05:04.140 I mean, just cutting grass.
  95. 00:05:04.280 – 00:05:05.120 It wasn't even landscaping.
  96. 00:05:05.140 – 00:05:06.720 Just cutting grass was different
  97. 00:05:06.720 – 00:05:09.360 because you didn't have to do all of the preparations.
  98. 00:05:09.480 – 00:05:11.940 Went and grabbed a more proper battery in there
  99. 00:05:11.940 – 00:05:12.620 and you was gone.
  100. 00:05:13.080 – 00:05:14.600 Battery, when it did die,
  101. 00:05:14.680 – 00:05:16.500 put it on the charger, charge up.
  102. 00:05:16.640 – 00:05:18.680 You're gonna go do whatever you're gonna do.
  103. 00:05:19.000 – 00:05:21.100 And then you come back, battery charged,
  104. 00:05:21.180 – 00:05:22.520 pop it back in and you go.
  105. 00:05:23.310 – 00:05:27.280 You wasn't dealing with no oils, no spark plugs,
  106. 00:05:28.580 – 00:05:30.080 no, you know, no gas.
  107. 00:05:31.020 – 00:05:34.340 And it just, the idea behind it as a young kid,
  108. 00:05:34.380 – 00:05:35.520 I used to go down south
  109. 00:05:36.600 – 00:05:39.000 and I would be sent down to cut grass,
  110. 00:05:39.720 – 00:05:41.460 10, 11, 12 years old.
  111. 00:05:41.980 – 00:05:43.400 And it was work.
  112. 00:05:43.940 – 00:05:45.060 I remember it at work
  113. 00:05:45.060 – 00:05:47.980 because you had to pull the lawn mower out of the shed,
  114. 00:05:48.260 – 00:05:50.320 help you get stung by no bees.
  115. 00:05:51.040 – 00:05:54.400 You didn't get chased out, you know, in that aspect.
  116. 00:05:55.400 – 00:05:57.140 Then dealing with the spark plug.
  117. 00:05:57.160 – 00:05:58.480 You gotta go find some gas.
  118. 00:05:58.580 – 00:05:59.680 You got the gas can.
  119. 00:05:59.800 – 00:06:02.600 You gotta go, somebody take you to the gas station
  120. 00:06:02.600 – 00:06:04.980 and get the, it was a whole build out
  121. 00:06:04.980 – 00:06:06.520 to just cut the grass.
  122. 00:06:07.280 – 00:06:09.900 And when I came back up north and up to Cleveland,
  123. 00:06:10.620 – 00:06:11.680 we stayed at the projects.
  124. 00:06:12.000 – 00:06:13.460 So we didn't have no grass.
  125. 00:06:13.600 – 00:06:15.720 The maintenance men cut the grass, you know.
  126. 00:06:16.040 – 00:06:17.920 So where there was grass, there it is.
  127. 00:06:18.620 – 00:06:21.140 And I used to always think like, wow, you know,
  128. 00:06:21.140 – 00:06:24.560 if we went up to the heights and cut grass,
  129. 00:06:25.780 – 00:06:26.800 we could make money,
  130. 00:06:26.980 – 00:06:29.800 but we ain't had no grass.
  131. 00:06:30.060 – 00:06:32.980 We didn't even have one.
  132. 00:06:33.700 – 00:06:37.440 So I fast forward through all of growing up,
  133. 00:06:38.540 – 00:06:40.820 2016 turns into 2017.
  134. 00:06:42.240 – 00:06:44.400 Key Bank comes on to Kimberly Street
  135. 00:06:44.400 – 00:06:47.300 and they do this whole block cleanup thing.
  136. 00:06:47.520 – 00:06:50.860 And I'm like, oh cool, I'm gonna participate in that
  137. 00:06:50.860 – 00:06:52.940 and see how many yards I can cut.
  138. 00:06:53.140 – 00:06:56.680 And I cut like 11 to 14 yards on that,
  139. 00:06:56.980 – 00:06:59.580 just front yards on that street.
  140. 00:07:00.860 – 00:07:02.520 And my feet was killing me though.
  141. 00:07:07.650 – 00:07:09.950 I said, well, if they ever come out with a zero turn,
  142. 00:07:10.450 – 00:07:12.090 I wanna see what that does.
  143. 00:07:17.480 – 00:07:19.520 For those who don't know what a zero turn is,
  144. 00:07:19.620 – 00:07:20.160 what's a zero turn?
  145. 00:07:20.180 – 00:07:23.600 Zero turn is the riding lawn mower that you sit on.
  146. 00:07:23.780 – 00:07:25.380 You got the little controllers on it.
  147. 00:07:25.860 – 00:07:27.920 Go-kart with blades on it.
  148. 00:07:27.940 – 00:07:28.420 Go-kart.
  149. 00:07:28.780 – 00:07:29.900 Go-kart on the grass.
  150. 00:07:29.900 – 00:07:31.200 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
  151. 00:07:31.500 – 00:07:32.340 It's a good way to look at it.
  152. 00:07:32.460 – 00:07:35.220 So if you've never rode one, it's fun.
  153. 00:07:36.080 – 00:07:37.640 It's a grown man's toy.
  154. 00:07:38.700 – 00:07:41.000 You get a chance to get something accomplished
  155. 00:07:41.000 – 00:07:41.800 at the same time.
  156. 00:07:41.880 – 00:07:43.120 You get a chance to have some fun
  157. 00:07:43.120 – 00:07:44.540 and relax at the same time.
  158. 00:07:45.260 – 00:07:47.240 You're concentrating on what you're doing.
  159. 00:07:48.440 – 00:07:50.420 It's not work first of all.
  160. 00:07:51.480 – 00:07:55.020 It's accomplishing something that you putting pride into.
  161. 00:07:55.240 – 00:07:57.120 You're putting your attention into it
  162. 00:07:57.120 – 00:07:59.400 and you're not rushing through it.
  163. 00:07:59.400 – 00:08:00.860 So it becomes enjoyable.
  164. 00:08:04.390 – 00:08:06.830 2020, they came out with it.
  165. 00:08:07.190 – 00:08:08.550 And I told my wife, I said,
  166. 00:08:08.670 – 00:08:10.270 look, I gotta get one of those.
  167. 00:08:10.410 – 00:08:13.930 I got this idea of this landscaping business.
  168. 00:08:14.370 – 00:08:18.670 I'm about to retire in a couple of more years.
  169. 00:08:18.950 – 00:08:21.890 And if I can do what I wanna do,
  170. 00:08:22.030 – 00:08:24.210 I just wanna make enough money cutting grass
  171. 00:08:24.210 – 00:08:26.310 so I can take you on a trip once a year.
  172. 00:08:26.490 – 00:08:29.290 So I figure six, seven grand cutting grass
  173. 00:08:29.290 – 00:08:32.330 is not many yards, not many flowers planted
  174. 00:08:32.330 – 00:08:33.250 and all of that.
  175. 00:08:33.870 – 00:08:36.230 And that was the thought process.
  176. 00:08:36.650 – 00:08:38.470 And from there, it grew wings.
  177. 00:08:40.549 – 00:08:43.429 First year I went out and I did it like that.
  178. 00:08:44.049 – 00:08:45.650 I didn't have a truck at first.
  179. 00:08:45.810 – 00:08:47.230 That was the first part about it.
  180. 00:08:47.230 – 00:08:48.010 I didn't have a truck.
  181. 00:08:48.110 – 00:08:48.930 I had an SUV.
  182. 00:08:50.670 – 00:08:53.010 So that was his own process.
  183. 00:08:53.730 – 00:08:56.010 And I finally transitioned over to a truck,
  184. 00:08:56.130 – 00:08:58.710 which was the best, oh man, the best.
  185. 00:08:58.710 – 00:08:59.410 Great investment.
  186. 00:08:59.630 – 00:09:01.050 Great investment, great investment.
  187. 00:09:01.530 – 00:09:04.050 Always understood the importance of a man having a truck.
  188. 00:09:04.590 – 00:09:06.410 But when I had a buddy in Texas
  189. 00:09:06.410 – 00:09:08.050 that used to tell me all the time,
  190. 00:09:08.230 – 00:09:09.570 Pat, he was like, man, you need to get a truck.
  191. 00:09:09.770 – 00:09:11.050 Man, ain't nobody gonna take you seriously.
  192. 00:09:12.050 – 00:09:13.430 Trailer and no truck.
  193. 00:09:13.710 – 00:09:15.490 I'm like, man, but I got a MDX.
  194. 00:09:15.730 – 00:09:17.870 I'm pulling a trailer with the MDX.
  195. 00:09:18.010 – 00:09:19.190 I can drive this trailer.
  196. 00:09:19.870 – 00:09:21.790 And then I can steal, skrrt, skrrt.
  197. 00:09:21.970 – 00:09:24.250 And you know, I enjoyed that.
  198. 00:09:24.410 – 00:09:27.390 That was one of the best vehicles
  199. 00:09:28.170 – 00:09:31.610 I ever had the experience of driving.
  200. 00:09:34.200 – 00:09:34.720 Great ride.
  201. 00:09:35.080 – 00:09:36.160 Acura did their thing.
  202. 00:09:36.260 – 00:09:37.860 It was a 2016 in itself.
  203. 00:09:38.500 – 00:09:42.350 And I enjoyed that build.
  204. 00:09:42.630 – 00:09:44.190 But I had to go to the truck.
  205. 00:09:44.470 – 00:09:46.690 I got it with South Euclid.
  206. 00:09:46.870 – 00:09:50.150 I ran into a young lady that worked in
  207. 00:09:50.150 – 00:09:51.790 the one South Euclid nonprofit.
  208. 00:09:52.930 – 00:09:54.710 And one day we was just talking at the park
  209. 00:09:54.710 – 00:09:56.450 and she was like, Sean, what do you do?
  210. 00:09:56.550 – 00:09:57.930 And I went down the list.
  211. 00:09:58.150 – 00:10:00.670 Well, I'm trying to retire from VA.
  212. 00:10:01.570 – 00:10:02.410 I'm a veteran.
  213. 00:10:03.050 – 00:10:04.470 She's like, you're just a renaissance, man.
  214. 00:10:04.470 – 00:10:05.990 You just do everything, huh?
  215. 00:10:06.170 – 00:10:07.610 Cause I had my camera with me.
  216. 00:10:07.610 – 00:10:09.070 I was taking pictures that day.
  217. 00:10:09.490 – 00:10:15.550 And from there, she told me about the senior program.
  218. 00:10:16.070 – 00:10:18.250 But somehow we got into talking about cutting grass
  219. 00:10:18.250 – 00:10:19.070 and all that stuff.
  220. 00:10:19.110 – 00:10:20.790 And she told me, well, if you had a truck
  221. 00:10:20.790 – 00:10:22.790 and you can do snow removal,
  222. 00:10:23.370 – 00:10:25.590 you can do senior program.
  223. 00:10:25.910 – 00:10:27.350 And I was like, oh, that's right on my alley.
  224. 00:10:27.410 – 00:10:28.370 That's what I wanna do.
  225. 00:10:28.570 – 00:10:31.590 I don't wanna charge people for cutting the grass
  226. 00:10:31.590 – 00:10:34.110 cause I don't wanna have to deal with that aspect of it.
  227. 00:10:34.370 – 00:10:35.550 I'm not in it for the money.
  228. 00:10:36.050 – 00:10:39.090 So that's not truly important with me.
  229. 00:10:39.490 – 00:10:41.850 I'm cutting seniors and veterans grass
  230. 00:10:41.850 – 00:10:44.710 and you still gonna pay me for it on top of it?
  231. 00:10:44.890 – 00:10:46.130 Oh, that's a win or win.
  232. 00:10:48.660 – 00:10:51.680 I looked at landscaping, the entry into it
  233. 00:10:51.680 – 00:10:53.600 has always been the equipment.
  234. 00:10:54.060 – 00:10:55.740 Nobody wants to buy a lawn mower,
  235. 00:10:56.400 – 00:10:59.660 especially if you don't got a house.
  236. 00:11:01.160 – 00:11:02.380 Nobody, what am I gonna do with a lawn mower?
  237. 00:11:02.380 – 00:11:05.200 I'm gonna spend six, seven, $800 on a lawn mower.
  238. 00:11:05.380 – 00:11:05.940 For what?
  239. 00:11:06.160 – 00:11:09.520 I can do all of this with that instead of a lawn mower.
  240. 00:11:09.880 – 00:11:13.260 And I just understood what lawn mowers do.
  241. 00:11:13.700 – 00:11:17.440 And when you take the gas aspect out of it,
  242. 00:11:17.460 – 00:11:19.680 the profit margin, the money just changed.
  243. 00:11:21.960 – 00:11:23.060 It's just been a great thing.
  244. 00:11:23.520 – 00:11:27.740 Yeah, especially as the gas prices steadily increase,
  245. 00:11:27.740 – 00:11:29.960 like it's out of control.
  246. 00:11:30.760 – 00:11:34.540 This season here has been one for the records.
  247. 00:11:35.580 – 00:11:37.660 And every landscaper that I've talked to,
  248. 00:11:37.920 – 00:11:39.040 they feel it, they feel it at the pump.
  249. 00:11:39.320 – 00:11:41.460 It's been a whole thing across the whole industry
  250. 00:11:41.460 – 00:11:47.180 on the web that's dealing with going electric,
  251. 00:11:47.520 – 00:11:49.420 one, and raising prices.
  252. 00:11:51.060 – 00:11:57.000 Miss Smith been paying $25 for the last 14 years
  253. 00:11:57.000 – 00:12:02.640 to get her grass cut bi-weekly is what they consider it.
  254. 00:12:03.560 – 00:12:07.160 And now prices end up, that one yard and that's $50.
  255. 00:12:08.060 – 00:12:10.280 And Miss Smith ain't trying to pay it,
  256. 00:12:10.540 – 00:12:15.380 but she don't understand how that price went up.
  257. 00:12:17.040 – 00:12:18.480 I understand, okay, gas prices went up.
  258. 00:12:18.620 – 00:12:20.280 I understand grocery prices went up,
  259. 00:12:20.460 – 00:12:23.260 but you're gonna raise the price
  260. 00:12:23.260 – 00:12:26.640 on doing the same service that you've been doing?
  261. 00:12:27.240 – 00:12:28.620 Oh, explain it to me.
  262. 00:12:28.760 – 00:12:31.520 And that drives them a little bit
  263. 00:12:31.520 – 00:12:34.340 toward battery-operated equipment,
  264. 00:12:34.500 – 00:12:38.520 but they'll go purchase it themselves, which is cool.
  265. 00:12:38.680 – 00:12:39.720 Great for the environment,
  266. 00:12:40.060 – 00:12:42.220 but at the same time, the landscapers are like,
  267. 00:12:42.240 – 00:12:45.300 hey, hold on, gotta go up on these prices
  268. 00:12:46.180 – 00:12:48.280 and the average person just not gonna get out there
  269. 00:12:48.280 – 00:12:49.300 and do a great job.
  270. 00:12:51.520 – 00:12:55.140 Well, it sounds like processes and systems is important.
  271. 00:12:58.680 – 00:13:00.040 I guess I stumbled on this.
  272. 00:13:00.040 – 00:13:03.020 It wasn't intended to be what it is
  273. 00:13:03.020 – 00:13:08.240 and the future of where I'm looking for it to go is off.
  274. 00:13:08.880 – 00:13:12.700 The imagination is just so vast.
  275. 00:13:12.940 – 00:13:15.260 I mean, you can make it what you wanna make it,
  276. 00:13:15.260 – 00:13:16.480 but at the same time,
  277. 00:13:17.160 – 00:13:20.080 I'm looking and thinking into franchising,
  278. 00:13:20.380 – 00:13:25.060 I'm looking and thinking into youth entrepreneurial programs,
  279. 00:13:26.920 – 00:13:28.080 just building it out.
  280. 00:13:28.080 – 00:13:30.100 I mean, in this, I had a,
  281. 00:13:30.140 – 00:13:32.700 so one of the other things that got me into this was,
  282. 00:13:32.920 – 00:13:36.380 or is, a neighbor that I have, Brother Anderson.
  283. 00:13:37.640 – 00:13:38.780 Shout out to Brother Anderson.
  284. 00:13:40.120 – 00:13:44.640 Brother Anderson is 96 years old.
  285. 00:13:44.880 – 00:13:49.820 He'll be 97 come this upcoming March in 2027.
  286. 00:13:53.450 – 00:13:55.170 When I first moved into South Euclid,
  287. 00:14:01.060 – 00:14:06.440 Arkansas dude moved into Cleveland in like the 1940s
  288. 00:14:06.440 – 00:14:08.700 and he talked to me like I was here with him
  289. 00:14:08.700 – 00:14:09.880 when he moved here.
  290. 00:14:10.040 – 00:14:12.000 So it was just the coolest conversations.
  291. 00:14:12.740 – 00:14:15.300 Yeah, you remember, Brother Anderson.
  292. 00:14:15.940 – 00:14:17.900 St. Clair looked completely different
  293. 00:14:17.900 – 00:14:20.520 when you saw it for the first time
  294. 00:14:20.520 – 00:14:21.740 and when I go to it now.
  295. 00:14:23.520 – 00:14:25.980 And from there, I just seen what he was doing.
  296. 00:14:26.040 – 00:14:27.380 He got up every day.
  297. 00:14:31.200 – 00:14:33.340 He cut grass until he was 95.
  298. 00:14:34.060 – 00:14:40.940 95, that's when he called me and told me I'm done.
  299. 00:14:40.940 – 00:14:46.720 And at that time, I was into my second, third year of cutting.
  300. 00:14:48.160 – 00:14:51.220 So he said, listen, I'm gonna do the first year.
  301. 00:14:51.280 – 00:14:52.400 Now this is to catch with it
  302. 00:14:52.400 – 00:14:54.980 because the first year he did his yard
  303. 00:14:54.980 – 00:14:57.100 and two yards on the side of it.
  304. 00:14:57.160 – 00:14:58.200 That's 95.
  305. 00:14:59.260 – 00:15:02.300 96, he just started doing his own yard.
  306. 00:15:04.220 – 00:15:06.700 So looking at him and what he was doing,
  307. 00:15:07.060 – 00:15:08.400 he was one, staying busy.
  308. 00:15:10.040 – 00:15:13.540 Two, he wasn't a troublemaker, wasn't in any trouble.
  309. 00:15:14.040 – 00:15:17.810 And he was helpful to the community.
  310. 00:15:19.760 – 00:15:22.080 The South Euclid Magazine did a nice write-up on him
  311. 00:15:22.080 – 00:15:24.820 at one point when I moved into the neighborhood
  312. 00:15:25.820 – 00:15:27.900 and got a chance to hear his story,
  313. 00:15:28.080 – 00:15:29.160 how he got into it.
  314. 00:15:29.160 – 00:15:30.800 He got into landscaping.
  315. 00:15:31.400 – 00:15:33.900 And what I learned also was
  316. 00:15:33.900 – 00:15:35.780 there's a difference between landscaping
  317. 00:15:35.780 – 00:15:36.820 and yard maintenance.
  318. 00:15:37.080 – 00:15:38.820 Cutting grass is just yard maintenance.
  319. 00:15:39.540 – 00:15:43.200 A whole different level than landscaping.
  320. 00:15:43.440 – 00:15:46.280 Culturally, we just see somebody outside in the yard
  321. 00:15:46.280 – 00:15:49.620 and they raking, blowing leaves or whatever
  322. 00:15:49.620 – 00:15:52.000 and we just give them the title of landscaping.
  323. 00:15:55.740 – 00:15:57.080 You get into the industry,
  324. 00:15:57.500 – 00:15:59.340 you learn the different terminology,
  325. 00:15:59.460 – 00:16:03.660 you learn how and why it's different
  326. 00:16:05.000 – 00:16:06.280 and the prices come.
  327. 00:16:06.880 – 00:16:09.640 And then the different services you do come.
  328. 00:16:10.140 – 00:16:11.500 Because people gonna ask you to do everything.
  329. 00:16:11.500 – 00:16:13.740 They want you to cut this branch down here.
  330. 00:16:13.740 – 00:16:16.020 They want you to move this plant here to here.
  331. 00:16:16.220 – 00:16:17.920 They want you to throw mulch here.
  332. 00:16:18.180 – 00:16:22.640 So it gets more and more from just cutting grass.
  333. 00:16:22.720 – 00:16:26.280 But at the same time, myself,
  334. 00:16:28.870 – 00:16:30.950 I have to figure how do you build this out?
  335. 00:16:30.950 – 00:16:32.230 How do you grow the team?
  336. 00:16:32.490 – 00:16:33.050 It's money.
  337. 00:16:33.930 – 00:16:35.790 So, hey, let me pay somebody else to do this.
  338. 00:16:37.350 – 00:16:39.490 And when you find someone that wants to work
  339. 00:16:39.490 – 00:16:43.630 for a fair wage, you explain to them,
  340. 00:16:43.750 – 00:16:46.130 hey, listen, this isn't hourly work right here.
  341. 00:16:46.130 – 00:16:48.170 This is production.
  342. 00:16:49.050 – 00:16:50.630 You get paid based on what you do.
  343. 00:16:50.670 – 00:16:52.370 You go cut this yard, you get paid.
  344. 00:16:52.650 – 00:16:54.890 You don't come in and clock in for six hours
  345. 00:16:54.890 – 00:16:56.890 and make $10 an hour,
  346. 00:16:57.030 – 00:17:00.310 but you can go cut this yard over here and make $20.
  347. 00:17:00.530 – 00:17:03.690 Go make this $20 and be done in three hours.
  348. 00:17:04.550 – 00:17:06.849 For a kid, when I say kid,
  349. 00:17:06.890 – 00:17:11.849 I'm talking about 15, 16 year old, maybe 17.
  350. 00:17:14.750 – 00:17:16.630 That's enough in a sense.
  351. 00:17:17.349 – 00:17:19.790 It's enough work and it's enough in your pocket
  352. 00:17:19.790 – 00:17:22.310 for you to go do what you want to do.
  353. 00:17:22.510 – 00:17:24.810 That's one day, but what if you do two days?
  354. 00:17:24.950 – 00:17:25.990 What if you do three days?
  355. 00:17:27.250 – 00:17:30.050 What if you learn something else to do
  356. 00:17:30.050 – 00:17:31.830 with that tool over there
  357. 00:17:31.830 – 00:17:35.630 and now you can go knock on somebody's door and say,
  358. 00:17:36.210 – 00:17:38.410 this is my resume, this is what I can do.
  359. 00:17:39.930 – 00:17:41.690 What service can I offer you?
  360. 00:17:42.150 – 00:17:44.110 And then that comes into the training aspect
  361. 00:17:44.110 – 00:17:46.470 and then that gets into the entrepreneurial part
  362. 00:17:48.010 – 00:17:49.850 of one, being creative,
  363. 00:17:50.310 – 00:17:52.330 two, wanting to have some bread in your pocket.
  364. 00:17:54.840 – 00:17:58.920 As I've grown, I learned.
  365. 00:18:00.380 – 00:18:03.640 When you get to the point where you want to be productive,
  366. 00:18:04.800 – 00:18:07.480 it's best to find something positive to get.
  367. 00:18:08.970 – 00:18:11.700 The negative stuff is going to be.
  368. 00:18:11.700 – 00:18:13.460 If you go down that wrong path
  369. 00:18:13.460 – 00:18:16.480 and you end up in the wrong situation at a young age
  370. 00:18:16.480 – 00:18:18.200 just because you're trying to put some money
  371. 00:18:18.200 – 00:18:20.340 in your pocket so you can impress this girl
  372. 00:18:20.340 – 00:18:22.280 or you can go hang out with your fellas,
  373. 00:18:24.240 – 00:18:25.500 life can fuck you up real,
  374. 00:18:25.600 – 00:18:27.240 I don't know if I can say that on here or not,
  375. 00:18:28.300 – 00:18:30.600 throw you a curve real quick
  376. 00:18:30.600 – 00:18:33.820 and some brothers don't recover from those
  377. 00:18:33.820 – 00:18:39.220 and it's already hard becoming a man,
  378. 00:18:41.260 – 00:18:47.180 a black man stereotype because we're different.
  379. 00:18:48.560 – 00:18:50.260 It's a little different.
  380. 00:18:51.020 – 00:18:53.660 So finding something positive to get into
  381. 00:18:53.660 – 00:18:55.540 that's going to put some money in your pocket
  382. 00:18:55.540 – 00:19:00.820 is how G6 is building its legacy on helping
  383. 00:19:02.080 – 00:19:05.640 young entrepreneurs are more focused,
  384. 00:19:06.140 – 00:19:08.280 more mission driven and let me teach you something.
  385. 00:19:08.280 – 00:19:09.000 Let me show you something,
  386. 00:19:09.020 – 00:19:11.040 because the other part about it is
  387. 00:19:11.040 – 00:19:14.300 when you're in a truck and you ride,
  388. 00:19:15.420 – 00:19:17.440 you can do a couple of different things
  389. 00:19:17.440 – 00:19:20.120 from point A to point B,
  390. 00:19:20.120 – 00:19:21.880 but when you turn the music off
  391. 00:19:21.880 – 00:19:24.000 and it's just a hum of the engine
  392. 00:19:24.630 – 00:19:27.040 and now you're getting familiar with one another,
  393. 00:19:28.640 – 00:19:32.580 conversation, now you got a young soul
  394. 00:19:32.580 – 00:19:36.120 that's willing to open up and have a conversation
  395. 00:19:36.120 – 00:19:40.280 with an older soul and hopefully that older soul
  396. 00:19:40.280 – 00:19:43.720 has some wisdom to him and now he can pass on
  397. 00:19:43.720 – 00:19:48.400 to that 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 year old and so on
  398. 00:19:48.400 – 00:19:52.400 because at that point, it's how we learn,
  399. 00:19:54.610 – 00:19:59.710 seeing, doing, hearing, you start asking questions
  400. 00:19:59.710 – 00:20:02.570 and they do and that's the coolest part to it about me,
  401. 00:20:02.570 – 00:20:04.610 when I get around the younger guys
  402. 00:20:05.210 – 00:20:08.760 and open up and start asking questions,
  403. 00:20:09.180 – 00:20:13.720 they start talking about and coming from that
  404. 00:20:13.720 – 00:20:17.320 understanding and knowing that it don't happen
  405. 00:20:17.320 – 00:20:18.840 the way that you want it to happen
  406. 00:20:18.840 – 00:20:21.140 and it definitely don't happen in the timeline
  407. 00:20:21.140 – 00:20:22.480 that you want it to happen in.
  408. 00:20:22.720 – 00:20:23.460 Yeah, for sure.
  409. 00:20:26.990 – 00:20:30.890 I know when I asked you to send your bio,
  410. 00:20:30.970 – 00:20:33.970 you also recommended that you ask your mother
  411. 00:20:33.970 – 00:20:35.370 to write a bio about you.
  412. 00:20:35.370 – 00:20:41.430 Yeah, that was coincidental on that part.
  413. 00:20:42.530 – 00:20:45.330 My mother's birthday was on the 5th
  414. 00:20:45.330 – 00:20:49.850 and I'm in the process of putting something together
  415. 00:20:49.850 – 00:20:53.410 for her and at the same time, you asked me that,
  416. 00:20:53.590 – 00:20:57.830 it was, hey, man, check this out, what would you say?
  417. 00:20:58.190 – 00:20:59.610 And it just came out that way
  418. 00:20:59.610 – 00:21:04.010 and she sent me her thing and I said,
  419. 00:21:04.010 – 00:21:09.230 okay, we got the ability now to throw it into chat GPT
  420. 00:21:09.710 – 00:21:11.930 and chat GTT said, hey, listen,
  421. 00:21:12.130 – 00:21:14.790 I'm gonna keep the same language
  422. 00:21:14.790 – 00:21:20.620 and the same tone directions here and there
  423. 00:21:20.620 – 00:21:22.060 within the way this was written
  424. 00:21:22.060 – 00:21:23.840 and then it came out like, man,
  425. 00:21:23.880 – 00:21:29.740 I said, oh wow, that's how that came about.
  426. 00:21:30.000 – 00:21:32.520 But I thank you, cause if you never would have asked me
  427. 00:21:33.990 – 00:21:36.790 and I asked her and it never wouldn't have got
  428. 00:21:36.790 – 00:21:37.630 back to you.
  429. 00:21:37.630 – 00:21:41.850 The conversation and yeah, one thing she said was,
  430. 00:21:41.850 – 00:21:43.830 you know, you ask the questions
  431. 00:21:43.830 – 00:21:46.210 and you research before doing something
  432. 00:21:46.210 – 00:21:49.850 and that's something that you instill back into the youth.
  433. 00:21:49.850 – 00:21:51.270 I see that, yeah.
  434. 00:21:51.870 – 00:21:54.330 Yeah, that's how I, I mean, it's helped me
  435. 00:21:54.330 – 00:21:57.550 through life, you know, being able to have people
  436. 00:21:57.550 – 00:22:00.850 to ask questions, cause sometimes you have people
  437. 00:22:00.850 – 00:22:03.350 that you can't ask questions, you know.
  438. 00:22:03.930 – 00:22:06.850 Some people don't know the answers to the questions
  439. 00:22:06.850 – 00:22:09.950 that you may ask and some people,
  440. 00:22:09.950 – 00:22:11.430 they'll just tell you anything.
  441. 00:22:11.910 – 00:22:13.630 Maybe because they just like talking
  442. 00:22:14.150 – 00:22:16.190 or maybe because they just don't wanna feel
  443. 00:22:16.190 – 00:22:17.070 like they don't know.
  444. 00:22:17.870 – 00:22:19.530 But when you're asking questions,
  445. 00:22:19.910 – 00:22:22.070 my grandfather used to tell me this thing
  446. 00:22:22.070 – 00:22:23.750 where he said, don't ever ask a question
  447. 00:22:23.750 – 00:22:25.210 that you don't know the answer to.
  448. 00:22:31.190 – 00:22:32.430 Hit me a certain type of way.
  449. 00:22:32.450 – 00:22:33.970 I remember when I was younger
  450. 00:22:35.690 – 00:22:38.070 and in life, it got me to that point
  451. 00:22:38.690 – 00:22:41.230 where if I'm gonna ask you a question about something,
  452. 00:22:41.230 – 00:22:43.830 at least I wanna have some information about it.
  453. 00:22:43.910 – 00:22:49.280 I don't wanna ask you about a subject
  454. 00:22:49.280 – 00:22:51.300 that I have no interest in.
  455. 00:22:51.720 – 00:22:52.160 Right.
  456. 00:22:52.280 – 00:22:54.080 How do I know what you're telling me is the truth?
  457. 00:22:55.980 – 00:22:59.040 I'm just gonna listen to what somebody else say.
  458. 00:23:00.360 – 00:23:01.780 My grandfather used to always say,
  459. 00:23:02.520 – 00:23:04.580 have your own mind, think for yourself.
  460. 00:23:04.680 – 00:23:05.800 I remember them words, yeah.
  461. 00:23:07.080 – 00:23:09.620 You're gonna have somebody else always think for you.
  462. 00:23:11.540 – 00:23:12.600 Yeah, you live in their life.
  463. 00:23:12.680 – 00:23:14.280 You live in the life that they want you to live.
  464. 00:23:15.160 – 00:23:20.380 So that's some Pearson words
  465. 00:23:20.380 – 00:23:22.900 because we live in an age of AI
  466. 00:23:22.900 – 00:23:26.600 where a lot of people are stuck with this technology
  467. 00:23:26.600 – 00:23:29.220 and always on AI,
  468. 00:23:29.900 – 00:23:32.100 which a computer is thinking for them
  469. 00:23:32.740 – 00:23:35.040 and not a human thinking for themselves.
  470. 00:23:35.860 – 00:23:39.740 So how do we balance the two
  471. 00:23:39.740 – 00:23:41.580 where we use this as research
  472. 00:23:41.580 – 00:23:43.760 and also as a thinking partner,
  473. 00:23:44.380 – 00:23:47.380 but we may become overly consumed with it
  474. 00:23:47.380 – 00:23:50.460 versus going back to meditating and reading
  475. 00:23:50.460 – 00:23:52.240 and journaling your thoughts?
  476. 00:23:53.860 – 00:23:55.120 For everybody is different
  477. 00:23:56.750 – 00:24:01.390 and everybody wakes up at a different point.
  478. 00:24:04.250 – 00:24:07.750 There's a generation now, they're growing up with it.
  479. 00:24:07.750 – 00:24:09.670 They're not gonna have the understanding
  480. 00:24:09.670 – 00:24:12.010 of what life was without it.
  481. 00:24:12.790 – 00:24:16.410 So that in itself is gonna make a really big difference
  482. 00:24:17.270 – 00:24:20.230 in the future as we move forward
  483. 00:24:20.230 – 00:24:27.610 because it's like, looking at my age group, 51,
  484. 00:24:28.570 – 00:24:32.410 our grandparents, 9.9 out of 10,
  485. 00:24:32.730 – 00:24:38.180 had outhouses when they were moved up,
  486. 00:24:38.240 – 00:24:39.680 got grown, moved to the city,
  487. 00:24:39.780 – 00:24:40.880 they had indoor plumbing.
  488. 00:24:42.000 – 00:24:43.940 But when they went back down south,
  489. 00:24:44.640 – 00:24:49.370 they still had outhouses, had to learn how to,
  490. 00:24:49.450 – 00:24:50.850 they learned to deal with both.
  491. 00:24:50.850 – 00:24:53.890 It wasn't a thing about going back to the outhouse
  492. 00:24:53.890 – 00:24:57.130 because you knew where you had to go to relieve yourself.
  493. 00:25:00.110 – 00:25:03.010 I'm saying that to say the difference is gonna be
  494. 00:25:03.010 – 00:25:05.910 for my generation coming into this
  495. 00:25:05.910 – 00:25:08.150 and the generation above me,
  496. 00:25:08.390 – 00:25:13.630 learning to use it productively,
  497. 00:25:15.940 – 00:25:18.820 just becoming consumers of information.
  498. 00:25:19.800 – 00:25:22.060 People can tell you any and everything.
  499. 00:25:22.160 – 00:25:23.880 I love watching these videos
  500. 00:25:23.880 – 00:25:27.500 where somebody's telling you what to do.
  501. 00:25:30.340 – 00:25:35.220 Where's the expertise in them to tell you what to do?
  502. 00:25:36.480 – 00:25:38.720 We don't even look at it like that anymore.
  503. 00:25:39.200 – 00:25:43.280 Media, although it was screwed, was censored.
  504. 00:25:43.860 – 00:25:46.360 You could only put factual information out.
  505. 00:25:47.340 – 00:25:53.160 You couldn't talk down about a particular product
  506. 00:25:53.160 – 00:25:56.160 unless you did it in a certain way, things like that.
  507. 00:25:58.400 – 00:26:00.940 Now, you can say whatever you want to say.
  508. 00:26:01.600 – 00:26:04.260 This is as good, as bad, as indifferent, whatever.
  509. 00:26:04.440 – 00:26:06.800 And somebody's gonna look at it
  510. 00:26:06.800 – 00:26:08.820 and then they have to determine for themselves
  511. 00:26:08.820 – 00:26:10.980 how they're gonna use that information.
  512. 00:26:11.780 – 00:26:13.600 And that's the scariest part
  513. 00:26:13.600 – 00:26:15.540 because when somebody come to you,
  514. 00:26:15.700 – 00:26:16.840 like say your daughter,
  515. 00:26:16.860 – 00:26:18.020 she come to you and she say,
  516. 00:26:18.420 – 00:26:21.880 daddy, this right here is what I was told
  517. 00:26:21.880 – 00:26:28.130 and I shouldn't eat broccoli anymore.
  518. 00:26:30.980 – 00:26:35.480 Somebody on Facebook said broccoli was nasty, dude.
  519. 00:26:35.740 – 00:26:40.500 It had lead in it and it tastes like coppers.
  520. 00:26:40.880 – 00:26:42.940 I'm just throwing stuff out there.
  521. 00:26:43.120 – 00:26:46.760 But at the same time, somebody formed an opinion about it
  522. 00:26:46.760 – 00:26:48.740 and to get likes or a post or whatever,
  523. 00:26:49.340 – 00:26:51.020 that's what they put out there.
  524. 00:26:51.580 – 00:26:52.520 Somebody gonna like this.
  525. 00:26:52.760 – 00:26:53.980 I've seen a video.
  526. 00:26:55.200 – 00:26:57.220 You get to see the videos of people killing people.
  527. 00:26:57.640 – 00:26:58.880 I mean, this isn't a movie.
  528. 00:26:58.880 – 00:27:01.020 This is really live video.
  529. 00:27:01.280 – 00:27:02.920 Oh, he just shot her.
  530. 00:27:04.550 – 00:27:07.890 She dead and you're getting exposed to that
  531. 00:27:09.050 – 00:27:11.510 because it's available through technology.
  532. 00:27:11.810 – 00:27:13.550 And now they got the AI videos
  533. 00:27:13.550 – 00:27:15.650 where you don't know the video real or not.
  534. 00:27:15.730 – 00:27:17.250 So now you looking to see,
  535. 00:27:17.470 – 00:27:19.450 okay, yeah, that's out of context.
  536. 00:27:19.590 – 00:27:22.570 Yeah, that's not a real video.
  537. 00:27:24.680 – 00:27:26.340 So yeah, but I'm glad it's here.
  538. 00:27:26.420 – 00:27:28.180 I'm glad I get a chance to experience it.
  539. 00:27:28.180 – 00:27:29.360 It's been fun.
  540. 00:27:29.360 – 00:27:36.780 Yeah, that's like bending the dimensions and reality
  541. 00:27:36.780 – 00:27:43.320 like combining and transforming life into reality
  542. 00:27:44.140 – 00:27:45.900 mixed with technology,
  543. 00:27:46.340 – 00:27:49.600 mixed with the metaverses and stuff like that,
  544. 00:27:50.200 – 00:27:52.740 which is, it's a lot.
  545. 00:27:52.860 – 00:27:54.460 It's a wild, yeah, it's a lot.
  546. 00:27:56.920 – 00:27:59.920 Back in that day, my biggest thing was
  547. 00:27:59.920 – 00:28:01.320 like being an astronaut.
  548. 00:28:03.720 – 00:28:07.400 Now you add this technology layer to it.
  549. 00:28:08.790 – 00:28:09.930 Like what is the astronaut?
  550. 00:28:10.730 – 00:28:13.150 You don't even have to be an astronaut anymore
  551. 00:28:13.150 – 00:28:14.930 to see what outer space looks like.
  552. 00:28:15.530 – 00:28:16.670 You don't have to be an astronaut
  553. 00:28:16.670 – 00:28:18.810 to even see what outer space feels like.
  554. 00:28:19.170 – 00:28:20.270 They got places you can go
  555. 00:28:20.270 – 00:28:22.570 to get that experience right here.
  556. 00:28:23.530 – 00:28:24.550 So like you say, yeah,
  557. 00:28:24.790 – 00:28:26.990 what is being an astronaut today
  558. 00:28:26.990 – 00:28:31.830 compared to being an astronaut in the 60s and the 70s?
  559. 00:28:31.830 – 00:28:33.430 Yeah, it was a...
  560. 00:28:33.430 – 00:28:34.550 I didn't even know it was,
  561. 00:28:34.630 – 00:28:38.410 that was something that people actually became
  562. 00:28:38.410 – 00:28:40.470 in that sense where you would just say,
  563. 00:28:40.510 – 00:28:41.750 hey, I wanna be an astronaut
  564. 00:28:41.750 – 00:28:44.490 and then you go to school to become an astronaut.
  565. 00:28:45.350 – 00:28:45.370 Yeah.
  566. 00:28:47.810 – 00:28:50.970 That's kind of funny because a lot of people in school,
  567. 00:28:51.030 – 00:28:52.450 what you wanna be when you grow up?
  568. 00:28:52.830 – 00:28:54.990 I wanna be a firefighter, I wanna be a police,
  569. 00:28:55.090 – 00:28:56.110 or I wanna be a doctor.
  570. 00:28:56.250 – 00:28:58.890 And I just, my big mind, I'm like,
  571. 00:28:58.890 – 00:28:59.770 I wanna do something different.
  572. 00:28:59.770 – 00:29:02.030 I wanna be what everybody else wanna be
  573. 00:29:02.030 – 00:29:03.590 or do what everybody else do.
  574. 00:29:03.970 – 00:29:04.970 I wanna be an astronaut,
  575. 00:29:05.090 – 00:29:07.530 not even knowing what an astronaut was at the time.
  576. 00:29:08.290 – 00:29:09.530 So it's like, wow.
  577. 00:29:10.630 – 00:29:12.510 And now everybody call me alien.
  578. 00:29:12.650 – 00:29:15.970 So it's like, it never left me in a sense,
  579. 00:29:16.130 – 00:29:20.130 just that bigger picture, that outer space,
  580. 00:29:23.900 – 00:29:25.660 that thinking bigger.
  581. 00:29:25.900 – 00:29:27.220 Outside the box.
  582. 00:29:27.280 – 00:29:27.700 Yeah.
  583. 00:29:27.800 – 00:29:28.880 Where everybody else is.
  584. 00:29:28.880 – 00:29:29.780 No box, having no box.
  585. 00:29:30.100 – 00:29:31.180 Yeah, having no box.
  586. 00:29:31.400 – 00:29:32.640 And that's, you know, like you say,
  587. 00:29:32.640 – 00:29:34.220 and growing up in school,
  588. 00:29:34.400 – 00:29:36.020 that's the first thing they put us in is a box
  589. 00:29:36.020 – 00:29:37.720 to say, okay, what do you wanna be?
  590. 00:29:38.140 – 00:29:38.840 That part, yeah.
  591. 00:29:38.900 – 00:29:40.720 And you have to figure it out
  592. 00:29:40.720 – 00:29:44.680 and determine your life course
  593. 00:29:44.680 – 00:29:46.720 based on what you see as you wanted to be.
  594. 00:29:47.660 – 00:29:51.300 Not having any input on why you were put here
  595. 00:29:51.300 – 00:29:52.060 in the first place.
  596. 00:29:52.320 – 00:29:53.260 What were you put here to be?
  597. 00:29:53.320 – 00:29:54.360 What were you put here to do?
  598. 00:29:54.620 – 00:29:55.900 Who were you put here to help?
  599. 00:29:56.000 – 00:29:57.960 How were you put here to help whom?
  600. 00:29:58.400 – 00:29:58.980 All right.
  601. 00:30:01.000 – 00:30:03.660 And that takes it to a whole different level
  602. 00:30:03.660 – 00:30:05.480 because now we're in positions
  603. 00:30:05.480 – 00:30:07.760 because we were taught to get a job,
  604. 00:30:07.840 – 00:30:10.580 to go to work, to earn money
  605. 00:30:10.580 – 00:30:11.920 so that we could pay bills.
  606. 00:30:13.380 – 00:30:15.340 I tell kids, and I'm talking to them,
  607. 00:30:15.420 – 00:30:17.700 I say, listen, stay home as long as you can.
  608. 00:30:18.260 – 00:30:21.040 But don't be a freeloader, you know?
  609. 00:30:21.140 – 00:30:23.040 Don't come to the point where, okay,
  610. 00:30:23.060 – 00:30:25.460 just because you can still stay in your parents' home,
  611. 00:30:25.840 – 00:30:26.900 you're not contributing.
  612. 00:30:28.000 – 00:30:28.220 You know?
  613. 00:30:28.820 – 00:30:30.580 Figure out, like I told one cat,
  614. 00:30:30.740 – 00:30:31.680 I said, hey man, listen,
  615. 00:30:31.960 – 00:30:33.800 go home and I'll just ask for the sewer bill.
  616. 00:30:34.240 – 00:30:35.460 Just tell him, you know, don't worry about it.
  617. 00:30:35.460 – 00:30:36.920 I'm gonna pay the sewer bill.
  618. 00:30:36.920 – 00:30:37.980 He said, sewer bill?
  619. 00:30:38.120 – 00:30:39.000 Well, what's the sewer bill?
  620. 00:30:39.180 – 00:30:41.180 Like, yeah, exactly, you know?
  621. 00:30:41.520 – 00:30:43.080 Still that training, too.
  622. 00:30:43.840 – 00:30:45.460 Getting to that point of understanding,
  623. 00:30:45.520 – 00:30:46.680 just because you made some money.
  624. 00:30:47.220 – 00:30:48.160 I had another cat tell me,
  625. 00:30:48.220 – 00:30:49.420 he had some money in his pocket
  626. 00:30:49.420 – 00:30:50.860 and he was burning a hole in his pocket.
  627. 00:30:51.240 – 00:30:52.460 He wanted to stop at the store
  628. 00:30:52.460 – 00:30:53.900 and he wanted to grab something here
  629. 00:30:53.900 – 00:30:54.620 and he wanted to stop
  630. 00:30:54.620 – 00:30:55.900 and he wanted to grab something here.
  631. 00:30:55.900 – 00:30:57.220 And it's like, okay, you know what?
  632. 00:30:57.540 – 00:30:59.060 It's cool, you can spend your money like that
  633. 00:30:59.060 – 00:30:59.620 because guess what?
  634. 00:30:59.680 – 00:31:00.800 You don't got no responsibility.
  635. 00:31:01.540 – 00:31:02.520 You're 17, right?
  636. 00:31:02.680 – 00:31:03.420 Enjoy it.
  637. 00:31:03.420 – 00:31:05.460 Because in a minute, you're gonna be 18.
  638. 00:31:06.160 – 00:31:07.980 And when you get 18, guess what?
  639. 00:31:08.280 – 00:31:10.000 Now you're gonna come certain responsibilities.
  640. 00:31:10.860 – 00:31:13.100 Now you gotta, your clothes are dirty.
  641. 00:31:13.680 – 00:31:15.980 Yeah, mom's bought the detergent
  642. 00:31:15.980 – 00:31:18.920 or sent you to the store to get the detergent.
  643. 00:31:19.520 – 00:31:22.750 Now you gotta provide the detergent.
  644. 00:31:22.870 – 00:31:24.170 Where you gonna wash your clothes at?
  645. 00:31:24.670 – 00:31:26.330 Yeah, there's a laundry man up on the corner.
  646. 00:31:28.820 – 00:31:30.300 Now you gotta go get the quarters.
  647. 00:31:30.540 – 00:31:33.160 But you didn't know it cost $7 a load.
  648. 00:31:34.300 – 00:31:35.860 And you're looking for free dry.
  649. 00:31:38.020 – 00:31:40.720 And those are the things and the hurdles in life
  650. 00:31:40.720 – 00:31:44.220 that I wanna help young people avoid.
  651. 00:31:45.360 – 00:31:47.240 I wanna help young people understand
  652. 00:31:47.240 – 00:31:49.140 that yeah, this is what's next.
  653. 00:31:51.310 – 00:31:52.690 You need to get prepared for it now
  654. 00:31:52.690 – 00:31:53.550 because it's coming.
  655. 00:31:53.750 – 00:31:55.330 It ain't that it's not coming, it's coming.
  656. 00:31:55.410 – 00:31:56.030 It's here.
  657. 00:31:56.450 – 00:31:59.430 Yeah, yeah, you just 17 now.
  658. 00:31:59.850 – 00:32:00.870 Wait till you're 19.
  659. 00:32:02.070 – 00:32:04.590 19, what do you think 21 gonna look like?
  660. 00:32:04.930 – 00:32:06.210 Feel like it.
  661. 00:32:06.370 – 00:32:08.850 You ain't been 25 yet, but guess what?
  662. 00:32:08.850 – 00:32:10.030 I have.
  663. 00:32:10.770 – 00:32:12.750 And to get that break in the insurance costs,
  664. 00:32:12.870 – 00:32:16.830 oh, that feel like money in your pocket.
  665. 00:32:18.170 – 00:32:21.290 But at the same time, what do you do with it?
  666. 00:32:26.430 – 00:32:28.710 Well, I say even when it's out of your pocket,
  667. 00:32:29.850 – 00:32:31.770 because like you said, you could spend it
  668. 00:32:31.770 – 00:32:33.630 and you could save it, you can invest it,
  669. 00:32:33.670 – 00:32:37.810 you could donate it, invest in yourself,
  670. 00:32:37.890 – 00:32:39.470 which is the biggest thing you can do.
  671. 00:32:41.790 – 00:32:43.830 When I was a young younger guy,
  672. 00:32:44.350 – 00:32:45.310 had a photographer,
  673. 00:32:45.750 – 00:32:47.950 because all I ever wanted to do was be a photographer.
  674. 00:32:48.870 – 00:32:51.190 I just wanted to take pictures, make a living.
  675. 00:32:54.590 – 00:32:56.070 When was the first time you picked up a camera?
  676. 00:32:56.570 – 00:32:57.270 Your very first camera.
  677. 00:32:57.330 – 00:32:59.750 The very first time I picked up a camera,
  678. 00:32:59.870 – 00:33:02.810 I was probably about five or six years old
  679. 00:33:02.810 – 00:33:03.930 in Cincinnati.
  680. 00:33:05.690 – 00:33:09.590 And attic, my aunt Juro, my grandmother's sister,
  681. 00:33:10.210 – 00:33:11.630 they had all of this stuff
  682. 00:33:12.150 – 00:33:13.690 that was just up in the attic.
  683. 00:33:14.050 – 00:33:16.510 And I don't know what we were doing down there,
  684. 00:33:16.510 – 00:33:18.010 but I found this little camera.
  685. 00:33:19.170 – 00:33:20.930 And I was going around, I didn't have no film,
  686. 00:33:21.030 – 00:33:23.390 but all of the buttons worked and it made noise.
  687. 00:33:23.790 – 00:33:26.170 And I went around and I'm ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.
  688. 00:33:26.970 – 00:33:29.090 And that's the earliest I remember.
  689. 00:33:29.530 – 00:33:31.270 I have a lot of memories with cameras.
  690. 00:33:32.930 – 00:33:36.110 It wasn't until high school
  691. 00:33:37.870 – 00:33:39.670 that I made the determination
  692. 00:33:39.670 – 00:33:41.330 that that's what I really wanted to do.
  693. 00:33:42.030 – 00:33:44.050 But I was going to school for dental technology,
  694. 00:33:44.070 – 00:33:45.910 so I learned how to make crowns and bridges
  695. 00:33:45.910 – 00:33:46.690 in high school.
  696. 00:33:47.450 – 00:33:51.930 And then high school gave me a trajectory in life,
  697. 00:33:52.010 – 00:33:54.190 because I only did three years of high school.
  698. 00:33:54.650 – 00:33:56.390 So that fourth year,
  699. 00:33:56.530 – 00:33:59.610 I was already working in a dental lab,
  700. 00:33:59.970 – 00:34:02.230 living the life of an adult,
  701. 00:34:02.570 – 00:34:04.570 living in my parents' basement.
  702. 00:34:06.890 – 00:34:07.570 I couldn't say no more.
  703. 00:34:08.650 – 00:34:11.030 Full-time job, got up every morning,
  704. 00:34:11.170 – 00:34:12.570 went to work five days a week,
  705. 00:34:12.909 – 00:34:13.989 but I couldn't say no more.
  706. 00:34:14.790 – 00:34:18.110 So I had to figure, ask the questions for myself.
  707. 00:34:18.770 – 00:34:20.110 Why can't I save no money?
  708. 00:34:20.370 – 00:34:23.650 I want to give me a car, I want to move out,
  709. 00:34:23.770 – 00:34:26.489 give me an apartment, but everything costs.
  710. 00:34:27.389 – 00:34:29.210 But why can't I save any money?
  711. 00:34:29.610 – 00:34:32.190 So I had to go through the process of figuring that out,
  712. 00:34:32.530 – 00:34:33.750 and then I had to say,
  713. 00:34:33.790 – 00:34:36.409 okay, I'm going to change that,
  714. 00:34:36.510 – 00:34:38.770 because now I'm going to save me some money,
  715. 00:34:38.810 – 00:34:39.850 because that's important.
  716. 00:34:40.190 – 00:34:41.510 So I had to give up some things,
  717. 00:34:41.510 – 00:34:42.710 and I got to that point,
  718. 00:34:42.710 – 00:34:44.429 saved a few dollars up,
  719. 00:34:44.610 – 00:34:46.889 and still didn't have enough to give me a camera.
  720. 00:34:48.270 – 00:34:50.150 So I joined the army,
  721. 00:34:51.409 – 00:34:52.710 and joining the army,
  722. 00:34:52.989 – 00:34:55.870 my whole goal was to buy me a camera.
  723. 00:34:58.630 – 00:35:02.830 The same bridge that I saw just two years prior,
  724. 00:35:03.550 – 00:35:06.290 being laid down by the army engineers
  725. 00:35:06.290 – 00:35:08.430 going over into Bosnia from Hungary.
  726. 00:35:08.890 – 00:35:10.910 I remember laying on the floor
  727. 00:35:11.810 – 00:35:14.170 in the living room, watching TV,
  728. 00:35:15.990 – 00:35:19.730 and big news, CNN talking about them laying this bridge
  729. 00:35:19.730 – 00:35:21.290 and how they did it and everything.
  730. 00:35:21.730 – 00:35:23.470 I'm just talking down on them.
  731. 00:35:23.470 – 00:35:25.870 Oh man, they some fools going over there,
  732. 00:35:26.050 – 00:35:27.690 fighting this war and all of this stuff
  733. 00:35:27.690 – 00:35:28.970 and everything like that.
  734. 00:35:30.050 – 00:35:32.090 And two years later, I crossed the same bridge.
  735. 00:35:33.710 – 00:35:35.790 So it was a life lesson for me.
  736. 00:35:36.170 – 00:35:38.410 Well, I think it goes back to that exposure,
  737. 00:35:38.610 – 00:35:40.070 you know, what you exposed to.
  738. 00:35:41.990 – 00:35:45.810 Would it kind of unconsciously be coming in your mind
  739. 00:35:45.810 – 00:35:47.230 and you see it on TV?
  740. 00:35:50.110 – 00:35:53.710 Also, look at it like you had this ambition
  741. 00:35:53.710 – 00:35:54.690 to get what you wanted.
  742. 00:35:55.490 – 00:35:58.170 You wanted that camera, you wanted to purchase that,
  743. 00:35:58.170 – 00:35:59.910 and you found it.
  744. 00:36:01.770 – 00:36:04.490 You know, and when you bring it all together,
  745. 00:36:04.570 – 00:36:06.170 I really just didn't want to fuck up.
  746. 00:36:06.870 – 00:36:07.730 I really just didn't want to.
  747. 00:36:07.730 – 00:36:08.110 Like in life?
  748. 00:36:08.250 – 00:36:10.410 In life, I really just didn't want to be a fuck up.
  749. 00:36:10.630 – 00:36:12.970 I really just didn't want to find myself
  750. 00:36:12.970 – 00:36:15.950 in a situation where I wasn't moving forward.
  751. 00:36:16.690 – 00:36:19.910 You know, the dental lab was the starting point
  752. 00:36:19.910 – 00:36:22.880 of I don't want to do this for,
  753. 00:36:25.440 – 00:36:28.380 and I learned that in less than three years.
  754. 00:36:28.400 – 00:36:30.940 It was like two and a half years, I learned that.
  755. 00:36:31.700 – 00:36:33.000 You telling me I got to do this
  756. 00:36:33.000 – 00:36:36.760 for another 40 years to retire?
  757. 00:36:37.880 – 00:36:39.980 And then they said, well, if you joined the military,
  758. 00:36:40.060 – 00:36:42.320 you only got to do 20 years, so you cut that in half.
  759. 00:36:43.320 – 00:36:46.080 But then they said, when you join the military,
  760. 00:36:46.080 – 00:36:48.800 you got to go active, and you got to do 20 years active
  761. 00:36:48.800 – 00:36:50.300 to retire in 20 years.
  762. 00:36:51.160 – 00:36:52.560 So it was like all of these different,
  763. 00:36:52.680 – 00:36:54.260 you get a little information,
  764. 00:36:54.640 – 00:36:56.860 and then the rabbit hole get a little deeper,
  765. 00:36:56.860 – 00:36:57.840 and it's like, okay.
  766. 00:36:58.540 – 00:37:00.440 And then I found out, they said, hey, listen,
  767. 00:37:00.480 – 00:37:03.140 once you get in the military, just don't ever get out.
  768. 00:37:04.460 – 00:37:06.580 Stay in for as long as you can.
  769. 00:37:08.380 – 00:37:11.000 I did that, and that put me at 17 years,
  770. 00:37:11.080 – 00:37:12.380 six months, and five days.
  771. 00:37:13.880 – 00:37:15.840 And I'm proud of that time,
  772. 00:37:15.840 – 00:37:21.920 because although everything that I looked to do in my life,
  773. 00:37:22.540 – 00:37:28.110 I wasn't always making the right choices.
  774. 00:37:29.620 – 00:37:35.680 But I learned how to not give up,
  775. 00:37:36.060 – 00:37:40.940 to keep the vision, to let the passion burn enough
  776. 00:37:40.940 – 00:37:45.160 to the point where I didn't have cameras
  777. 00:37:46.260 – 00:37:47.880 over and over again.
  778. 00:37:49.470 – 00:37:51.050 I gave it up twice.
  779. 00:37:51.790 – 00:37:54.430 When I met you, you don't know,
  780. 00:37:54.590 – 00:37:56.910 but that was the first time I had been out shooting
  781. 00:37:56.910 – 00:37:58.610 in like five years.
  782. 00:38:00.750 – 00:38:02.770 And that was me trying to figure out,
  783. 00:38:02.930 – 00:38:04.710 okay, if I'm gonna get back into this,
  784. 00:38:04.810 – 00:38:06.630 how do I wanna get back into it?
  785. 00:38:06.790 – 00:38:08.610 Because the first time I got into it,
  786. 00:38:08.730 – 00:38:10.370 I was just shooting Polaroids.
  787. 00:38:10.650 – 00:38:12.350 And I was doing the bars,
  788. 00:38:12.630 – 00:38:14.990 because that was $5 a shot.
  789. 00:38:15.530 – 00:38:18.690 And at $5 a shot, that was enough money in your pocket
  790. 00:38:18.690 – 00:38:22.110 from the dope boys and the girls dressing up
  791. 00:38:22.110 – 00:38:24.490 on Friday and Saturday night to say,
  792. 00:38:25.070 – 00:38:27.270 man, now if I can do this, this,
  793. 00:38:27.510 – 00:38:29.290 and get a birthday party here,
  794. 00:38:30.490 – 00:38:32.710 and do a wedding in the summer.
  795. 00:38:33.190 – 00:38:34.950 And then I'm looking and I'm finding out
  796. 00:38:34.950 – 00:38:36.790 what people are charging for these things.
  797. 00:38:36.790 – 00:38:39.830 And it's like, wow, you can take something
  798. 00:38:39.830 – 00:38:45.150 that's worth $2 and sell it for $20?
  799. 00:38:46.410 – 00:38:48.110 Because you added value to it
  800. 00:38:48.110 – 00:38:49.330 because of what you put on.
  801. 00:38:52.110 – 00:38:53.850 Those numbers make sense to me.
  802. 00:38:54.550 – 00:38:56.590 And that's how I saw it.
  803. 00:38:57.410 – 00:38:59.630 And the 80s, I grew up through that,
  804. 00:38:59.870 – 00:39:01.990 running into the 90s.
  805. 00:39:02.070 – 00:39:08.750 Economy started doing what it was doing in 94, 95, 96.
  806. 00:39:10.710 – 00:39:13.790 And I was thankful to be able to take that move
  807. 00:39:13.790 – 00:39:16.790 and move forward and join the service.
  808. 00:39:17.690 – 00:39:23.190 Again, I only did three and a half years active with that.
  809. 00:39:23.970 – 00:39:25.890 So life for me, time-wise,
  810. 00:39:26.070 – 00:39:29.910 has just always been broken up a little different
  811. 00:39:30.630 – 00:39:33.490 than traditionally how they say you gotta do it.
  812. 00:39:33.490 – 00:39:35.650 You gotta do four years in the military.
  813. 00:39:36.090 – 00:39:38.010 Then they say if you do four, you might as well do eight.
  814. 00:39:38.030 – 00:39:39.770 If you do eight, you might as well do 12.
  815. 00:39:39.850 – 00:39:41.370 If you do 12, you might as well go ahead
  816. 00:39:41.370 – 00:39:42.890 and retire out of there in 20.
  817. 00:39:42.890 – 00:39:48.490 And we don't have the hindsight moving forward
  818. 00:39:48.490 – 00:39:50.830 to see where that's a good idea.
  819. 00:39:51.330 – 00:39:52.790 Because we're looking at saying, man,
  820. 00:39:53.470 – 00:39:55.030 I know what I wanna do next year.
  821. 00:39:55.530 – 00:39:57.470 I know what I wanna do next season.
  822. 00:39:58.070 – 00:39:59.890 I know what I want for Christmas.
  823. 00:40:01.410 – 00:40:06.130 So how does that play a part in the decisions
  824. 00:40:06.130 – 00:40:08.230 that we make moving forward?
  825. 00:40:13.020 – 00:40:15.660 Wanna stop in, definitely wanna say thank you
  826. 00:40:15.660 – 00:40:18.000 for your service, service and time.
  827. 00:40:19.220 – 00:40:21.060 I definitely appreciate it.
  828. 00:40:23.360 – 00:40:25.880 But kind of shifting gears,
  829. 00:40:27.300 – 00:40:30.380 I know you said you was getting back into photography
  830. 00:40:30.380 – 00:40:31.820 like when you first met me
  831. 00:40:31.820 – 00:40:34.180 and I was just starting my photography journey.
  832. 00:40:35.160 – 00:40:38.240 Like just thinking back as a child, kindergarten,
  833. 00:40:38.460 – 00:40:40.560 five years old, six years old,
  834. 00:40:40.580 – 00:40:43.440 going to the zoo for a field trip
  835. 00:40:43.440 – 00:40:46.460 and my mother purchased a little 12-shot camera
  836. 00:40:46.460 – 00:40:47.440 and wound it up.
  837. 00:40:48.040 – 00:40:51.100 And I remember wasting all my shots
  838. 00:40:51.100 – 00:40:54.280 as soon as we got off the bus, just a little animal.
  839. 00:40:55.360 – 00:40:56.780 I only got like two shots.
  840. 00:40:56.900 – 00:40:58.180 I'm seeing a number at the bottom.
  841. 00:40:58.340 – 00:41:00.400 I was like, is that the, let me see.
  842. 00:41:00.900 – 00:41:01.760 Yep, it changed.
  843. 00:41:02.120 – 00:41:03.820 I got one shot left.
  844. 00:41:05.200 – 00:41:06.720 And that was my first moment.
  845. 00:41:07.140 – 00:41:08.480 So holding the camera,
  846. 00:41:08.680 – 00:41:10.540 experiencing the camera in the film days.
  847. 00:41:10.720 – 00:41:13.400 I'm like, wow, never saw that film ever
  848. 00:41:13.400 – 00:41:16.240 but just the experience of this,
  849. 00:41:16.240 – 00:41:17.700 taking a picture I always love.
  850. 00:41:17.920 – 00:41:20.720 Like, wow, I could freeze time,
  851. 00:41:21.000 – 00:41:23.920 capture a moment and remember it now.
  852. 00:41:24.140 – 00:41:24.740 It's digital.
  853. 00:41:24.800 – 00:41:26.440 You can really remember it instantly.
  854. 00:41:26.600 – 00:41:27.440 You can see it instantly.
  855. 00:41:27.760 – 00:41:29.720 You can do so much digitally now
  856. 00:41:29.720 – 00:41:32.240 where it's not even the camera anymore.
  857. 00:41:32.500 – 00:41:34.200 It's the, you have a phone
  858. 00:41:34.920 – 00:41:38.360 and get as creative as you wanna get where,
  859. 00:41:38.420 – 00:41:40.720 like I've done a wedding on a phone before.
  860. 00:41:40.720 – 00:41:45.240 And when I first, it was a guy that taught me photography.
  861. 00:41:45.460 – 00:41:47.200 One of my first mentors, Mickey.
  862. 00:41:48.740 – 00:41:50.840 And Mickey used to take a camera
  863. 00:41:51.440 – 00:41:53.960 and he'll throw what he called a hammer on it.
  864. 00:41:54.560 – 00:41:56.980 And then he'll put a light on it.
  865. 00:41:57.040 – 00:41:59.000 And then he'll put a soft box on it.
  866. 00:41:59.000 – 00:42:01.300 And if you've never seen all of those things,
  867. 00:42:01.620 – 00:42:02.980 it's like, wow.
  868. 00:42:03.540 – 00:42:07.620 I mean, and it looks professional.
  869. 00:42:08.020 – 00:42:09.360 It looks polished.
  870. 00:42:09.360 – 00:42:13.340 It looks like, man, he took care of that, you know?
  871. 00:42:14.860 – 00:42:18.660 So the idea behind, it was a piece of equipment
  872. 00:42:18.660 – 00:42:21.460 that he just took and transformed into something else
  873. 00:42:21.460 – 00:42:25.760 that was just, and then learning what everything did.
  874. 00:42:25.980 – 00:42:27.940 The hammer was so you could mount the flash.
  875. 00:42:28.000 – 00:42:30.200 The flash needed to sit above the lens
  876. 00:42:30.200 – 00:42:35.220 so it could run so that it can push the light
  877. 00:42:35.220 – 00:42:36.140 through the shadows.
  878. 00:42:36.520 – 00:42:39.340 The soft box was so that it can soften the light.
  879. 00:42:39.340 – 00:42:40.900 And you wouldn't get hard shadows.
  880. 00:42:41.400 – 00:42:44.200 So once you learned all of those things for myself,
  881. 00:42:45.020 – 00:42:46.440 it got really interesting.
  882. 00:42:46.780 – 00:42:49.240 Because now I knew something
  883. 00:42:50.060 – 00:42:51.680 and it was just always interesting
  884. 00:42:51.680 – 00:42:52.940 that nobody else wanna learn.
  885. 00:42:53.580 – 00:42:56.120 It was like, they were too intimidated
  886. 00:42:56.860 – 00:42:59.640 by all of the knobs and the numbers and everything.
  887. 00:42:59.680 – 00:43:01.500 And that was the most exciting thing for me
  888. 00:43:01.500 – 00:43:02.200 about the camera.
  889. 00:43:02.380 – 00:43:03.580 Yeah, it was like math.
  890. 00:43:03.860 – 00:43:06.060 Yeah, yeah, it was literally, it's math.
  891. 00:43:06.260 – 00:43:07.860 It's solving a problem.
  892. 00:43:07.860 – 00:43:11.720 And when I first started with Polaroid,
  893. 00:43:11.840 – 00:43:13.180 and you said you had one shot left,
  894. 00:43:13.580 – 00:43:15.520 you started off with one shot.
  895. 00:43:15.940 – 00:43:19.140 So you had to not only learn how to compose the shot,
  896. 00:43:19.520 – 00:43:22.560 you had to make sure, and the Polaroids are light hogs.
  897. 00:43:22.800 – 00:43:27.000 Oh wow, they ambient light don't got nothing
  898. 00:43:27.000 – 00:43:27.980 on the Polaroid.
  899. 00:43:28.140 – 00:43:30.620 You about to have the blackest, darkest picture.
  900. 00:43:30.820 – 00:43:33.200 You know who it is just because you took it
  901. 00:43:33.200 – 00:43:35.120 and you knew what that scenery was.
  902. 00:43:35.120 – 00:43:37.880 But yeah, you ever look through somebody's photo album
  903. 00:43:37.880 – 00:43:40.320 and you get to the Polaroids and it's like,
  904. 00:43:41.630 – 00:43:43.190 yeah, yeah, yeah.
  905. 00:43:45.310 – 00:43:46.970 And I learned that way.
  906. 00:43:47.430 – 00:43:49.270 And then I was tested.
  907. 00:43:50.150 – 00:43:55.030 And the test came into, now go take a shot.
  908. 00:43:56.610 – 00:43:58.230 Now did somebody, did they like that shot?
  909. 00:43:58.270 – 00:43:59.150 Because if they liked that shot,
  910. 00:43:59.170 – 00:44:00.090 they gonna give you $5.
  911. 00:44:01.050 – 00:44:03.230 And they give you $5, you owe me a dollar
  912. 00:44:03.230 – 00:44:05.350 because that's how much the film costs
  913. 00:44:05.350 – 00:44:06.990 and you got 10 of those in there.
  914. 00:44:07.410 – 00:44:09.590 So you come back and give me $10,
  915. 00:44:09.750 – 00:44:12.290 I'm gonna go buy another pack of film
  916. 00:44:12.830 – 00:44:14.390 and then you get to do it on Lover again.
  917. 00:44:14.850 – 00:44:16.790 And to me, that was just the exciting part.
  918. 00:44:17.150 – 00:44:19.630 And then he told me something that stuck
  919. 00:44:19.630 – 00:44:21.210 as soon as he said it.
  920. 00:44:21.210 – 00:44:24.530 He said, I don't know how invested you are in this.
  921. 00:44:28.530 – 00:44:29.970 Wow, cause he let me borrow his cameras.
  922. 00:44:30.090 – 00:44:31.770 I go knock on the door, boom, boom, boom.
  923. 00:44:31.950 – 00:44:35.750 I was there, you know, 16, 17 year old,
  924. 00:44:35.750 – 00:44:37.410 you know, going down to Gordon Park.
  925. 00:44:37.410 – 00:44:39.130 Hey, Mickey Young, hey, can I get a camera?
  926. 00:44:39.710 – 00:44:43.230 He had 35 millimeters, Pentex, Minotas,
  927. 00:44:43.890 – 00:44:45.870 Nikons, yeah, go ahead, grab you one.
  928. 00:44:47.370 – 00:44:50.950 Going out there and now people looking at me like,
  929. 00:44:50.990 – 00:44:53.350 cause I got this camera and I'm this young dude
  930. 00:44:53.350 – 00:44:55.910 and it's, oh man, cameraman, picture man,
  931. 00:44:56.050 – 00:44:57.050 hey, come take this picture.
  932. 00:44:58.070 – 00:45:01.890 From that part, it was enjoyable, man.
  933. 00:45:01.950 – 00:45:04.910 It was, I thought it was enough to,
  934. 00:45:05.190 – 00:45:06.830 I seen him making a living at it.
  935. 00:45:06.830 – 00:45:08.690 And then I seen other photographers
  936. 00:45:08.690 – 00:45:10.670 that was in the community doing it.
  937. 00:45:10.750 – 00:45:13.090 And I said, oh, okay, I can do that too.
  938. 00:45:14.010 – 00:45:15.950 And I knew what to stay away from,
  939. 00:45:16.170 – 00:45:17.310 cause you're in the clubs.
  940. 00:45:17.950 – 00:45:20.750 So everybody drinking, everybody smoking,
  941. 00:45:21.910 – 00:45:23.330 whatever kind of drug you into,
  942. 00:45:23.390 – 00:45:25.350 that's what you into, you know.
  943. 00:45:25.410 – 00:45:27.610 And I just knew to stay away from all of that.
  944. 00:45:28.430 – 00:45:33.670 And that's what really, I say saved me
  945. 00:45:33.670 – 00:45:36.750 because I didn't get caught up into the community.
  946. 00:45:37.150 – 00:45:38.470 I didn't get caught up into,
  947. 00:45:38.810 – 00:45:40.890 even though I was in the clubs and the bars
  948. 00:45:40.890 – 00:45:48.490 at 17, 18, caught up in, you know.
  949. 00:45:48.690 – 00:45:49.950 Mickey used to say, you know,
  950. 00:45:52.740 – 00:45:54.840 I don't know if I can say this the way he used to say
  951. 00:45:54.840 – 00:46:00.010 it, but the way it was put was a woman,
  952. 00:46:02.280 – 00:46:06.380 if she hang out with you and she give you something,
  953. 00:46:06.960 – 00:46:08.280 that ain't gonna pay no bills.
  954. 00:46:09.560 – 00:46:10.760 But you got that camera
  955. 00:46:12.000 – 00:46:14.500 and she camera free,
  956. 00:46:14.960 – 00:46:16.600 cause she wants you to take pictures.
  957. 00:46:17.240 – 00:46:19.600 Oh, now you go to the 35 millimeter and now you,
  958. 00:46:19.640 – 00:46:21.860 oh, okay, this photo shoot right here is $75.
  959. 00:46:23.240 – 00:46:24.680 And every time they man this,
  960. 00:46:25.860 – 00:46:34.310 I didn't have brides wanna sleep with you
  961. 00:46:34.310 – 00:46:36.130 just so you can take their pictures for their wedding.
  962. 00:46:40.260 – 00:46:42.940 It's a cost and they don't want to pay the cost.
  963. 00:46:45.320 – 00:46:46.900 Wedding, three, $4,000
  964. 00:46:47.840 – 00:46:52.520 for the pictures you say you won't, it's the cameraman.
  965. 00:46:54.380 – 00:46:55.660 No, no, that don't pay no bills.
  966. 00:46:55.920 – 00:46:57.040 All right.
  967. 00:46:57.500 – 00:46:58.680 And then you had to figure out
  968. 00:46:58.680 – 00:47:01.280 do you want to be labeled that type of photographer?
  969. 00:47:02.120 – 00:47:03.720 Cause she gonna tell all her friends,
  970. 00:47:04.060 – 00:47:05.380 yeah, you gonna hang out with Sean,
  971. 00:47:05.500 – 00:47:06.500 yeah, he take all your pictures.
  972. 00:47:07.360 – 00:47:07.420 Yeah.
  973. 00:47:11.660 – 00:47:14.280 Yeah, that's the important business lesson,
  974. 00:47:14.480 – 00:47:16.700 especially if you want to be in business,
  975. 00:47:16.980 – 00:47:18.260 any business for real.
  976. 00:47:18.960 – 00:47:20.260 Yeah, yeah.
  977. 00:47:20.820 – 00:47:23.480 And it goes on both sides, male and female.
  978. 00:47:23.480 – 00:47:25.320 You're gonna do business, do business.
  979. 00:47:25.820 – 00:47:27.500 Don't mix the two.
  980. 00:47:30.800 – 00:47:33.280 Especially not setting out to do that.
  981. 00:47:33.900 – 00:47:35.900 I'm not saying you're not gonna find your,
  982. 00:47:36.020 – 00:47:36.920 cause you got a lot of people
  983. 00:47:36.920 – 00:47:38.100 that are listening to this type of stuff.
  984. 00:47:38.680 – 00:47:40.500 I ain't saying you not gonna go out there
  985. 00:47:40.500 – 00:47:43.520 and find your husband or your wife
  986. 00:47:43.520 – 00:47:46.960 or your significant other in the field
  987. 00:47:46.960 – 00:47:48.120 because that's what you do.
  988. 00:47:48.480 – 00:47:49.620 I'm saying don't go out there
  989. 00:47:49.620 – 00:47:52.160 and get caught up in it and end up,
  990. 00:47:52.380 – 00:47:54.120 your camera's not making you money.
  991. 00:47:54.770 – 00:47:58.040 Your camera's not supporting you like the tool it is
  992. 00:47:58.040 – 00:47:59.180 because it's just another tool
  993. 00:47:59.180 – 00:48:00.600 and another form of a toolbox.
  994. 00:48:02.000 – 00:48:04.080 What's in your camera bag is just equivalent
  995. 00:48:04.080 – 00:48:07.060 to what a mechanic got in his tool chest.
  996. 00:48:07.600 – 00:48:10.100 It's how you use it that makes the difference.
  997. 00:48:11.060 – 00:48:13.920 Yeah, and I think that also goes to the vision,
  998. 00:48:14.340 – 00:48:21.300 which you focusing your vision on and vision and see.
  999. 00:48:26.060 – 00:48:27.800 Don't be scared to try different things.
  1000. 00:48:27.800 – 00:48:30.200 For sure, I tried something,
  1001. 00:48:31.040 – 00:48:33.200 this for this podcast and then,
  1002. 00:48:33.200 – 00:48:36.140 but for time I went back to the old method.
  1003. 00:48:36.340 – 00:48:36.900 Old faithful.
  1004. 00:48:37.420 – 00:48:39.260 Old faithful, yeah, you know, supporting.
  1005. 00:48:40.500 – 00:48:42.660 Yeah, yeah, ain't nothing less because the more,
  1006. 00:48:43.380 – 00:48:47.080 and this particular craft is so forgiving now
  1007. 00:48:47.080 – 00:48:49.360 where you got Lightroom, you got Photoshop,
  1008. 00:48:50.060 – 00:48:52.460 you got all type of audio equipment
  1009. 00:48:52.460 – 00:48:54.960 that you can go back and make sound,
  1010. 00:48:55.060 – 00:48:56.020 do what you want it to do.
  1011. 00:48:56.020 – 00:48:58.920 You can pull it and push it, you know.
  1012. 00:48:59.100 – 00:48:59.420 Yeah.
  1013. 00:49:01.600 – 00:49:04.660 There's luts when you get into videography.
  1014. 00:49:05.020 – 00:49:10.780 There's so much to it that you can use to create
  1015. 00:49:10.780 – 00:49:11.800 and correct with.
  1016. 00:49:13.690 – 00:49:15.670 And one of the things that I liked about photography
  1017. 00:49:16.470 – 00:49:19.730 was when I got into the learning process of it,
  1018. 00:49:19.830 – 00:49:23.950 it was the only craft that I saw that was teaching,
  1019. 00:49:24.690 – 00:49:26.370 learn all of the rules first
  1020. 00:49:26.370 – 00:49:28.970 and then learn how to break them as best you can.
  1021. 00:49:31.060 – 00:49:32.400 And then that's when you get to the point
  1022. 00:49:32.400 – 00:49:34.100 where you now become creative.
  1023. 00:49:35.100 – 00:49:37.560 And like the first time around for me
  1024. 00:49:37.560 – 00:49:40.860 trying to do photography as a business,
  1025. 00:49:41.000 – 00:49:44.300 I did okay, I did cabarets.
  1026. 00:49:45.500 – 00:49:47.540 I was probably one of the first photographers
  1027. 00:49:47.540 – 00:49:51.900 in Cleveland with printers.
  1028. 00:49:52.500 – 00:49:56.600 I used to go out with these HP 1100 printers
  1029. 00:49:56.600 – 00:49:59.000 and I went from doing Polaroids
  1030. 00:49:59.000 – 00:50:01.200 I need your eight by 10 right now.
  1031. 00:50:01.960 – 00:50:04.480 Oh you can, eight by 10, how much?
  1032. 00:50:04.780 – 00:50:10.320 Now I'm going from $5, $10 shot to 20, 25.
  1033. 00:50:11.060 – 00:50:13.580 Let me see if I can get 35 off of this one right here.
  1034. 00:50:14.200 – 00:50:15.600 And people were paying.
  1035. 00:50:16.160 – 00:50:19.120 And the economy messed up
  1036. 00:50:19.120 – 00:50:21.580 and people got a little tighter on their pockets.
  1037. 00:50:22.180 – 00:50:24.360 And as you see, that all does this too
  1038. 00:50:24.360 – 00:50:28.800 because I experienced that in the early 2000s.
  1039. 00:50:29.720 – 00:50:34.020 And then that's when I knew I had a motorcycle accident.
  1040. 00:50:34.620 – 00:50:37.120 And that was the first time
  1041. 00:50:37.120 – 00:50:47.740 life showed me something where you had no money coming in
  1042. 00:50:47.740 – 00:50:51.530 and you couldn't go make any money.
  1043. 00:50:59.100 – 00:51:01.060 Mentally get yourself in a situation
  1044. 00:51:01.060 – 00:51:03.280 where now you'll be holding to other people
  1045. 00:51:03.880 – 00:51:11.470 or you can put on your boots and hey, get back at it.
  1046. 00:51:11.550 – 00:51:16.290 And I remember my first event back was in July.
  1047. 00:51:16.350 – 00:51:18.450 It was a cotillion and I was on crutches.
  1048. 00:51:19.290 – 00:51:21.030 And it was one of those events.
  1049. 00:51:21.110 – 00:51:23.410 I had sold off a couple of weddings that I had had.
  1050. 00:51:23.510 – 00:51:26.370 I had stopped taking events for about three months
  1051. 00:51:28.290 – 00:51:29.850 and I didn't have a lot.
  1052. 00:51:30.090 – 00:51:34.870 But what I did have quickly, groceries here,
  1053. 00:51:35.390 – 00:51:38.550 you got to pay for this, bills still due.
  1054. 00:51:39.170 – 00:51:41.790 So that pushed that.
  1055. 00:51:42.170 – 00:51:45.150 But I was still in the military.
  1056. 00:51:45.430 – 00:51:47.370 I was still in the national guard.
  1057. 00:51:48.880 – 00:51:56.900 What that did was it pushed me to get back in the drill
  1058. 00:51:58.960 – 00:52:01.020 to do extra drills.
  1059. 00:52:03.150 – 00:52:05.590 And then I started looking at,
  1060. 00:52:05.850 – 00:52:07.990 well, what am I gonna do if this ever happened again?
  1061. 00:52:08.430 – 00:52:10.290 This was a motorcycle accident.
  1062. 00:52:11.030 – 00:52:17.180 What happened if something else happened and I can't work?
  1063. 00:52:18.180 – 00:52:19.460 Well, I got to get a job.
  1064. 00:52:20.740 – 00:52:24.440 And for me, I understood Cleveland in that area
  1065. 00:52:24.440 – 00:52:26.720 where certain jobs, you want to get a job,
  1066. 00:52:26.780 – 00:52:30.500 you want to get a certain job so that it's gonna pay well
  1067. 00:52:30.500 – 00:52:33.360 and you can get some longevity into it.
  1068. 00:52:33.420 – 00:52:36.640 Because now I had went and reverted back to the,
  1069. 00:52:36.740 – 00:52:39.300 I got to have a job and this photography
  1070. 00:52:39.300 – 00:52:40.340 is just my hustle.
  1071. 00:52:41.650 – 00:52:45.610 It wasn't until later in life that I looked at it
  1072. 00:52:45.610 – 00:52:47.230 as an entrepreneurial type of journey.
  1073. 00:52:47.710 – 00:52:50.570 It was a creative hustle for me.
  1074. 00:52:51.190 – 00:52:53.630 And it could pay enough for a lifestyle.
  1075. 00:52:53.870 – 00:52:55.290 And I was cool with that.
  1076. 00:52:56.050 – 00:53:02.750 Now I'm like, man, sucks to be broke all over again
  1077. 00:53:02.750 – 00:53:04.230 and starting over.
  1078. 00:53:04.570 – 00:53:07.310 So the job came with benefits and all of that.
  1079. 00:53:07.650 – 00:53:09.530 And being a veteran, I went straight to the VA.
  1080. 00:53:10.130 – 00:53:14.330 And for about two, three weeks,
  1081. 00:53:15.650 – 00:53:16.670 probably like every Monday,
  1082. 00:53:17.070 – 00:53:19.110 as you were every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,
  1083. 00:53:19.530 – 00:53:22.090 I went up to the VA, sat in the cafeteria,
  1084. 00:53:22.570 – 00:53:25.010 looked at applications, what was available
  1085. 00:53:25.010 – 00:53:26.390 and I put in for them.
  1086. 00:53:28.460 – 00:53:30.600 I ended up getting two cars
  1087. 00:53:30.600 – 00:53:32.240 with two different jobs at the VA.
  1088. 00:53:32.660 – 00:53:34.000 And I went on an interview.
  1089. 00:53:34.680 – 00:53:36.060 In the interview I went on,
  1090. 00:53:37.640 – 00:53:40.800 the lady that interviewed me, we talked about clothes.
  1091. 00:53:41.220 – 00:53:45.100 We talked, I had on a Tweed sports coat.
  1092. 00:53:47.140 – 00:53:49.120 And we talked, she was a Marine.
  1093. 00:53:49.600 – 00:53:50.820 And we just talked.
  1094. 00:53:52.300 – 00:53:54.380 It was for, it was a student position
  1095. 00:53:54.380 – 00:53:57.240 because I was still a student at Cleveland State
  1096. 00:53:57.240 – 00:53:58.040 at the time.
  1097. 00:53:59.900 – 00:54:01.720 And after that, okay, cool.
  1098. 00:54:02.580 – 00:54:05.160 She called me back and offered me the position.
  1099. 00:54:05.340 – 00:54:06.980 I said, yeah, I'll take it, yeah, cool.
  1100. 00:54:08.200 – 00:54:10.660 Then I had another position for the EMS department
  1101. 00:54:10.660 – 00:54:14.000 because I was a veteran in how that process went for me.
  1102. 00:54:14.600 – 00:54:18.040 I just got a call and said, go do a physical.
  1103. 00:54:18.980 – 00:54:20.240 And when I went and did the physical,
  1104. 00:54:21.540 – 00:54:24.440 came back and said, okay, the physical checked off good.
  1105. 00:54:25.740 – 00:54:26.960 You start on this day.
  1106. 00:54:28.460 – 00:54:29.260 Okay, cool.
  1107. 00:54:30.060 – 00:54:31.000 Now I got two jobs.
  1108. 00:54:31.880 – 00:54:32.940 And one was a night job
  1109. 00:54:32.940 – 00:54:34.660 and one was a day job at the VA.
  1110. 00:54:35.580 – 00:54:38.800 And I got a call from HR and they said, Mr. Jones,
  1111. 00:54:40.040 – 00:54:41.460 I'm sitting here on my desk
  1112. 00:54:41.460 – 00:54:44.940 and I got you in two job positions here at the VA.
  1113. 00:54:45.740 – 00:54:48.900 And she said, you can't have both of them.
  1114. 00:54:48.900 – 00:54:50.220 You only can have one.
  1115. 00:54:51.440 – 00:54:54.140 And I said, asked her a couple of questions, you know.
  1116. 00:54:54.480 – 00:54:56.960 Which one was more permanent?
  1117. 00:54:57.240 – 00:55:00.160 What was I getting over one and the other one?
  1118. 00:55:00.160 – 00:55:04.320 And it came down to the student position.
  1119. 00:55:04.720 – 00:55:06.340 I could wear my own clothes
  1120. 00:55:07.240 – 00:55:10.860 but I could only be in that position while I was in school.
  1121. 00:55:11.140 – 00:55:15.200 If I stopped going to school, position cease.
  1122. 00:55:17.080 – 00:55:20.120 The other position, I'm an EMS worker,
  1123. 00:55:21.910 – 00:55:27.760 work third shift and I wear a uniform and it's permanent.
  1124. 00:55:30.860 – 00:55:33.160 And that's how my career in the VA started.
  1125. 00:55:33.940 – 00:55:39.400 And I did that 17 years.
  1126. 00:55:40.820 – 00:55:44.260 And I got up to the point where at 46,
  1127. 00:55:44.920 – 00:55:48.160 I was 90% disabled through the army
  1128. 00:55:48.940 – 00:55:51.980 and my body wasn't doing what it was doing
  1129. 00:55:51.980 – 00:55:53.840 when I was 32 no more.
  1130. 00:55:54.280 – 00:55:57.960 And I looked up and said, man,
  1131. 00:55:58.440 – 00:56:00.660 social security sent me this letter and they said,
  1132. 00:56:01.560 – 00:56:05.640 well, at 67, you'll be eligible for a full retirement.
  1133. 00:56:07.060 – 00:56:09.520 And they had a number associated with it.
  1134. 00:56:09.560 – 00:56:13.360 And I said, wow, that's 20 years.
  1135. 00:56:13.360 – 00:56:18.300 I gotta work another 20 years just for you to give me
  1136. 00:56:18.300 – 00:56:20.280 the money that's on this piece of paper.
  1137. 00:56:20.300 – 00:56:22.220 And it ain't a lot, it ain't a lot.
  1138. 00:56:23.020 – 00:56:24.900 And you telling me if I retire early,
  1139. 00:56:25.240 – 00:56:29.080 it's just gonna be a couple of dollars less.
  1140. 00:56:32.520 – 00:56:33.480 Less than a hundred dollars.
  1141. 00:56:33.940 – 00:56:37.180 From 62 to 67, that five years,
  1142. 00:56:37.520 – 00:56:40.240 you only losing like 80 something dollars.
  1143. 00:56:41.990 – 00:56:43.610 But I gotta get to 62.
  1144. 00:56:44.150 – 00:56:46.090 I'm 46 at the time.
  1145. 00:56:46.670 – 00:56:48.750 And this don't make sense.
  1146. 00:56:48.830 – 00:56:51.330 Why am I working that hard like this?
  1147. 00:56:51.830 – 00:56:53.590 And I said, I only did my numbers
  1148. 00:56:53.590 – 00:56:55.150 and put some things in play.
  1149. 00:56:55.690 – 00:56:59.170 And that's everything started happening at the same time.
  1150. 00:57:00.050 – 00:57:04.730 That's when G6 started, it's built.
  1151. 00:57:06.610 – 00:57:08.990 And I said, look, went to my wife and I told her,
  1152. 00:57:08.990 – 00:57:13.230 I said, look, I can't do this job at the VA
  1153. 00:57:13.230 – 00:57:18.110 and build this landscaping from what I see in my head.
  1154. 00:57:19.270 – 00:57:21.990 Something gotta get, and it ain't gonna be my dream.
  1155. 00:57:22.810 – 00:57:25.850 So I don't know when, but I'm telling you,
  1156. 00:57:25.850 – 00:57:27.310 one day I'm gonna go to work
  1157. 00:57:27.310 – 00:57:29.590 and that's gonna be the last day I go to work.
  1158. 00:57:30.250 – 00:57:33.950 And from there, it's just gonna have to do what it do.
  1159. 00:57:34.790 – 00:57:35.870 And she ain't like that.
  1160. 00:57:36.470 – 00:57:40.350 I would say what was your thought process
  1161. 00:57:40.350 – 00:57:42.770 in making a decision like that?
  1162. 00:57:43.070 – 00:57:47.290 Economics, being able to know the number
  1163. 00:57:47.290 – 00:57:49.810 and being able to afford life.
  1164. 00:57:50.230 – 00:57:55.450 Life is an affordable lesson that we go through.
  1165. 00:57:57.140 – 00:57:59.180 We go through the same seasons over and over again.
  1166. 00:57:59.300 – 00:58:00.060 It's about to be fall.
  1167. 00:58:00.100 – 00:58:01.720 How many falls have you been through?
  1168. 00:58:02.560 – 00:58:03.840 After fall comes winter.
  1169. 00:58:04.020 – 00:58:08.370 We in Cleveland, it's gonna do what it do.
  1170. 00:58:08.610 – 00:58:10.510 Spring is right around the corner,
  1171. 00:58:10.510 – 00:58:12.370 but it's not gonna start until April.
  1172. 00:58:14.140 – 00:58:16.000 And it does the same thing over and over again.
  1173. 00:58:16.260 – 00:58:17.560 No matter how you look at it,
  1174. 00:58:17.680 – 00:58:19.400 it's the same thing over and over again.
  1175. 00:58:19.400 – 00:58:20.820 You can go different places.
  1176. 00:58:21.060 – 00:58:22.800 It's the same thing over and over again.
  1177. 00:58:23.100 – 00:58:24.400 The question comes is,
  1178. 00:58:24.640 – 00:58:26.220 how do you afford month to month?
  1179. 00:58:26.900 – 00:58:30.380 How do you get from point A to point B?
  1180. 00:58:30.720 – 00:58:31.240 It's a number.
  1181. 00:58:31.880 – 00:58:33.700 I don't care if it's rent, mortgage,
  1182. 00:58:34.060 – 00:58:37.780 car note, maintenance, groceries, gas.
  1183. 00:58:38.020 – 00:58:38.680 It's a number.
  1184. 00:58:38.680 – 00:58:43.060 And every month, every year,
  1185. 00:58:43.460 – 00:58:45.900 you're paying what that cost is.
  1186. 00:58:46.700 – 00:58:48.760 But the only way to figure out what that cost is
  1187. 00:58:48.760 – 00:58:51.000 is not to project what it is,
  1188. 00:58:51.260 – 00:58:52.480 it's to add up last month.
  1189. 00:58:52.980 – 00:58:54.320 How much did I spend last month?
  1190. 00:58:55.880 – 00:58:58.000 You know the season changed last October.
  1191. 00:58:58.140 – 00:58:59.820 Well, how much did I spend last October?
  1192. 00:59:00.080 – 00:59:01.880 Well, I'm gonna pretty much do the same shit
  1193. 00:59:01.880 – 00:59:02.880 all over again,
  1194. 00:59:05.360 – 00:59:07.900 but now you can choose because you know what you did.
  1195. 00:59:09.140 – 00:59:13.540 You know if you spent $600 in groceries
  1196. 00:59:13.540 – 00:59:18.900 through the month of October, 94,
  1197. 00:59:20.660 – 00:59:22.200 you're gonna do the same thing again in 95?
  1198. 00:59:22.420 – 00:59:23.820 Because if you're not gonna do the same thing,
  1199. 00:59:23.820 – 00:59:24.860 what's gonna change?
  1200. 00:59:25.460 – 00:59:31.240 Because in 94, if it was a lot of eating out,
  1201. 00:59:33.830 – 00:59:36.430 you're gonna do the same thing in 95?
  1202. 00:59:37.790 – 00:59:39.250 Then I had to make that decision.
  1203. 00:59:39.910 – 00:59:44.330 Listen, I spent $600 last year and just going to eat.
  1204. 00:59:45.290 – 00:59:46.530 I ain't gonna do that again.
  1205. 00:59:47.470 – 00:59:49.310 So I'm gonna buy more groceries.
  1206. 00:59:54.700 – 00:59:56.680 Driving is the same thing, gas.
  1207. 00:59:57.440 – 00:59:59.020 And the military helped me with that
  1208. 00:59:59.020 – 01:00:00.700 because in the gas aspect,
  1209. 01:00:01.240 – 01:00:04.420 in the military, my first job duty was a fueler.
  1210. 01:00:04.620 – 01:00:07.420 So I pumped fuel into a lot of vehicles.
  1211. 01:00:08.040 – 01:00:10.020 And I see not many gallons,
  1212. 01:00:10.220 – 01:00:13.260 because I rode around with 2,500 gallons on me
  1213. 01:00:13.260 – 01:00:15.260 at any given point in time.
  1214. 01:00:15.760 – 01:00:17.520 And I had to get that off to somebody
  1215. 01:00:17.520 – 01:00:18.860 so I can go get some more.
  1216. 01:00:19.300 – 01:00:23.140 And I had a sergeant who took me under his wing.
  1217. 01:00:23.580 – 01:00:25.700 And now I was the one that was going
  1218. 01:00:26.380 – 01:00:29.260 to get the fuel from the boat places
  1219. 01:00:29.260 – 01:00:31.660 and not just stand in the truck,
  1220. 01:00:31.660 – 01:00:32.760 because we got there.
  1221. 01:00:33.540 – 01:00:34.660 And that came to,
  1222. 01:00:34.740 – 01:00:36.440 now you get the chance to see the paperwork.
  1223. 01:00:36.840 – 01:00:38.840 And when you find out that you just filled up
  1224. 01:00:38.840 – 01:00:41.560 four hemorrhoids and that cost,
  1225. 01:00:42.900 – 01:00:44.620 got a couple of commas in it.
  1226. 01:00:48.200 – 01:00:50.820 I ain't know we had to pay for this, just gas.
  1227. 01:00:51.360 – 01:00:53.620 Yeah, this coming out of the government budget right here.
  1228. 01:00:54.160 – 01:00:56.180 But in the military, it's just a signature.
  1229. 01:00:56.300 – 01:00:57.320 You just signed for shit.
  1230. 01:00:58.300 – 01:01:00.180 You signed $40,000 worth of fuel
  1231. 01:01:00.180 – 01:01:01.680 and you ain't even know it.
  1232. 01:01:02.080 – 01:01:03.540 And then when I started doing that,
  1233. 01:01:03.540 – 01:01:04.600 I started paying attention.
  1234. 01:01:04.880 – 01:01:06.900 Like, oh, if we doing that
  1235. 01:01:06.900 – 01:01:08.560 and we just training this week
  1236. 01:01:10.100 – 01:01:12.800 and we got other units that's doing the same thing,
  1237. 01:01:12.800 – 01:01:16.840 I wonder how much the first infantry's budget is
  1238. 01:01:16.840 – 01:01:18.760 for just fuel.
  1239. 01:01:20.480 – 01:01:21.780 And then you start asking questions
  1240. 01:01:21.780 – 01:01:23.320 and then people start looking at you weird
  1241. 01:01:23.320 – 01:01:24.840 because you are private
  1242. 01:01:24.840 – 01:01:26.780 and you're not supposed to be asking
  1243. 01:01:26.780 – 01:01:29.780 sergeants and lieutenants these type of questions.
  1244. 01:01:30.000 – 01:01:31.720 And it's like, hey, man, I just want to know
  1245. 01:01:31.720 – 01:01:32.780 how much is on?
  1246. 01:01:33.900 – 01:01:37.240 And then it's fuel, then it's food,
  1247. 01:01:37.700 – 01:01:38.800 then it's clothing.
  1248. 01:01:39.960 – 01:01:41.620 And it just became, okay.
  1249. 01:01:41.620 – 01:01:44.040 And I used to see the spreadsheets and everything
  1250. 01:01:44.040 – 01:01:44.680 when you're on it.
  1251. 01:01:44.800 – 01:01:47.380 And then I started keeping my own spreadsheets
  1252. 01:01:48.080 – 01:01:49.460 and writing shit out.
  1253. 01:01:49.620 – 01:01:51.180 Because when you see it,
  1254. 01:01:51.180 – 01:01:52.960 it makes all the difference in the world.
  1255. 01:01:53.700 – 01:01:54.560 Going back to that vision.
  1256. 01:01:55.300 – 01:01:56.740 But you can't deny it.
  1257. 01:01:56.880 – 01:01:57.940 And now it's concrete.
  1258. 01:01:58.060 – 01:01:59.960 And now you have to change it.
  1259. 01:01:59.960 – 01:02:01.480 Because if you want to do better.
  1260. 01:02:09.130 – 01:02:11.810 Let's shift gears to the Creative Healing Foundation.
  1261. 01:02:12.710 – 01:02:14.550 Amazing Creative Healing Foundation.
  1262. 01:02:14.970 – 01:02:15.330 Man.
  1263. 01:02:17.080 – 01:02:18.020 I remember the birth.
  1264. 01:02:18.020 – 01:02:19.340 I remember, you know,
  1265. 01:02:20.360 – 01:02:22.760 originated the idea first came to me
  1266. 01:02:22.760 – 01:02:24.480 and we birthed it, made it happen.
  1267. 01:02:25.400 – 01:02:27.800 But how important is that,
  1268. 01:02:27.800 – 01:02:29.440 that give back, that mentorship,
  1269. 01:02:29.640 – 01:02:30.900 even that ownership,
  1270. 01:02:31.640 – 01:02:33.540 like, you know, providing the tools
  1271. 01:02:33.540 – 01:02:37.780 for the community and also heal.
  1272. 01:02:39.420 – 01:02:41.940 I found it a challenge getting to the community.
  1273. 01:02:43.990 – 01:02:45.390 It's one thing to come
  1274. 01:02:45.830 – 01:02:47.930 with the idea of what you want to do.
  1275. 01:02:48.250 – 01:02:51.580 It's another thing getting others
  1276. 01:02:52.380 – 01:02:55.860 to invest into the idea of what you want to do.
  1277. 01:02:56.260 – 01:02:57.820 So it was like when we first came out
  1278. 01:02:57.820 – 01:03:00.840 and we first started with Creative Healing Foundation,
  1279. 01:03:01.640 – 01:03:04.340 you know, I mean, you in there too.
  1280. 01:03:04.980 – 01:03:06.620 You know, you was definitely,
  1281. 01:03:07.560 – 01:03:09.300 I mean, you're the youngest person.
  1282. 01:03:09.460 – 01:03:11.940 Out of the five heads that sat at the table,
  1283. 01:03:12.060 – 01:03:13.280 you're the youngest one sitting there
  1284. 01:03:13.280 – 01:03:15.760 when we came up with the Creative Healing Foundation.
  1285. 01:03:16.320 – 01:03:18.560 And the idea behind it was just,
  1286. 01:03:18.560 – 01:03:19.700 we just wanted to create.
  1287. 01:03:20.340 – 01:03:23.240 If it wasn't for going down to the arcade
  1288. 01:03:23.240 – 01:03:24.760 and getting put out,
  1289. 01:03:25.660 – 01:03:26.960 the Creative Healing Foundation
  1290. 01:03:26.960 – 01:03:28.360 probably never would have been,
  1291. 01:03:28.500 – 01:03:30.340 came the Creative Healing Foundation
  1292. 01:03:30.340 – 01:03:32.180 because we didn't have a reason to.
  1293. 01:03:32.600 – 01:03:34.840 That was just something that sparked an idea like,
  1294. 01:03:35.060 – 01:03:36.460 hey, you know, we don't want to get put out no more.
  1295. 01:03:36.580 – 01:03:36.900 Guess what?
  1296. 01:03:37.200 – 01:03:39.660 We develop an organization.
  1297. 01:03:40.080 – 01:03:43.060 And I got that information because I had the ear
  1298. 01:03:43.980 – 01:03:51.610 of an older, wiser, other father,
  1299. 01:03:52.290 – 01:03:57.180 Uncle Juro was just all of that in the one.
  1300. 01:03:57.780 – 01:03:59.920 And his profession allowed him,
  1301. 01:04:00.740 – 01:04:02.380 not only we were in COVID,
  1302. 01:04:03.620 – 01:04:05.460 every Sunday I had his ear.
  1303. 01:04:05.920 – 01:04:09.040 So here we are every Sunday going to churches
  1304. 01:04:09.040 – 01:04:10.500 to do these videos.
  1305. 01:04:11.760 – 01:04:14.660 And I'm having the conversations with him
  1306. 01:04:14.660 – 01:04:15.920 that we're having.
  1307. 01:04:16.280 – 01:04:18.220 And he's giving his advice like,
  1308. 01:04:18.420 – 01:04:19.660 hey, well, okay, this is how you do this
  1309. 01:04:19.660 – 01:04:20.500 and this is how you do that.
  1310. 01:04:20.700 – 01:04:22.080 And at the same time,
  1311. 01:04:22.640 – 01:04:24.440 the paperwork part of it,
  1312. 01:04:24.440 – 01:04:25.880 he's willing to help.
  1313. 01:04:26.460 – 01:04:28.440 So if it wasn't for Uncle Juro
  1314. 01:04:28.440 – 01:04:30.400 willing to help bring the idea
  1315. 01:04:30.400 – 01:04:33.480 and the visions that we had into fruition,
  1316. 01:04:35.000 – 01:04:36.740 there wouldn't be a Creative Healing Foundation.
  1317. 01:04:37.400 – 01:04:39.720 Because economically on that side,
  1318. 01:04:41.200 – 01:04:44.640 what people were paying in 2020 to start nonprofits
  1319. 01:04:45.260 – 01:04:50.480 cost us a fraction of the app part in itself
  1320. 01:04:51.100 – 01:04:54.480 is what got the Creative Healing Foundation
  1321. 01:04:54.480 – 01:04:59.380 off the ground and started into being a 501c3.
  1322. 01:05:00.020 – 01:05:01.780 And now this is part of it.
  1323. 01:05:01.780 – 01:05:04.080 This is part of that transition
  1324. 01:05:05.340 – 01:05:09.800 from being a creative to wanting to teach
  1325. 01:05:09.800 – 01:05:11.060 and show people,
  1326. 01:05:12.060 – 01:05:13.780 hey, photography saved me.
  1327. 01:05:14.380 – 01:05:16.420 I can show you how it saved me.
  1328. 01:05:16.540 – 01:05:18.340 I can point a finger at a picture
  1329. 01:05:18.340 – 01:05:20.460 and tell you the story about this picture
  1330. 01:05:20.460 – 01:05:22.800 and how this picture helped save me.
  1331. 01:05:24.640 – 01:05:26.200 Now let me show you how to take the picture.
  1332. 01:05:28.230 – 01:05:29.010 I have a camera.
  1333. 01:05:29.390 – 01:05:31.110 Don't worry about it, you can use one of mine.
  1334. 01:05:32.660 – 01:05:34.900 And then that's the part where it gets
  1335. 01:05:35.920 – 01:05:37.540 to sharing and caring.
  1336. 01:05:38.020 – 01:05:40.700 You know, a lot of times we wanna possess things.
  1337. 01:05:42.380 – 01:05:43.760 Mickey shared with me.
  1338. 01:05:43.780 – 01:05:45.720 Mickey shared his camera with me
  1339. 01:05:45.720 – 01:05:47.440 and it wasn't just one.
  1340. 01:05:47.980 – 01:05:50.060 But he let me know at the same time,
  1341. 01:05:50.200 – 01:05:52.460 hey man, I know how important this is with you.
  1342. 01:05:52.980 – 01:05:55.320 So for me running into,
  1343. 01:05:55.820 – 01:05:56.680 and I've always been,
  1344. 01:05:56.680 – 01:05:58.020 so I'm the oldest from my mother.
  1345. 01:05:58.440 – 01:06:01.500 So I've always been around older people
  1346. 01:06:01.500 – 01:06:03.040 and then younger people.
  1347. 01:06:03.260 – 01:06:07.560 And it wasn't never really people around my age group
  1348. 01:06:07.560 – 01:06:12.360 with my mindset that I had to communicate with.
  1349. 01:06:12.660 – 01:06:14.260 So I was either up here with them
  1350. 01:06:14.260 – 01:06:16.440 or I was down here playing with them.
  1351. 01:06:17.140 – 01:06:20.100 So bringing that together was kind of always tricky,
  1352. 01:06:20.100 – 01:06:22.520 especially when everybody wanna tell you
  1353. 01:06:22.520 – 01:06:24.120 how to do what's in your head to do.
  1354. 01:06:27.410 – 01:06:30.710 The seed was planted within you,
  1355. 01:06:31.170 – 01:06:32.450 but at the same time,
  1356. 01:06:32.550 – 01:06:34.910 you're sharing the information with others.
  1357. 01:06:35.210 – 01:06:38.150 And then they wanna take your information
  1358. 01:06:38.150 – 01:06:41.070 and tell you what to do with it.
  1359. 01:06:41.070 – 01:06:44.070 And it's like, come on, let's go back a little bit.
  1360. 01:06:44.310 – 01:06:45.710 Let's start back over again.
  1361. 01:06:46.230 – 01:06:47.570 Let's just learn how to work.
  1362. 01:06:47.590 – 01:06:48.710 The camera works.
  1363. 01:06:49.550 – 01:06:51.310 And now let's go take pictures
  1364. 01:06:51.310 – 01:06:54.930 because I'm explaining to you that you're gonna need to know
  1365. 01:06:54.930 – 01:06:57.530 how to put them batteries in there before we get out there
  1366. 01:06:57.530 – 01:06:59.410 and you're looking like an idiot.
  1367. 01:07:01.410 – 01:07:03.130 I did it, trust me.
  1368. 01:07:03.650 – 01:07:05.370 They all don't work the same.
  1369. 01:07:06.410 – 01:07:09.810 And for me, that was the biggest lesson moving forward
  1370. 01:07:09.810 – 01:07:13.690 where wanting to help,
  1371. 01:07:13.970 – 01:07:18.890 wanting to help those that didn't see what I saw.
  1372. 01:07:20.130 – 01:07:22.430 And I saw photography, I saw,
  1373. 01:07:22.430 – 01:07:26.010 my vision, my dream was shooting Polaroids was,
  1374. 01:07:26.170 – 01:07:28.090 man, I wish I can take pictures forever
  1375. 01:07:28.090 – 01:07:31.690 and didn't have to do one shot, one kill.
  1376. 01:07:34.010 – 01:07:38.510 So the testing that Mickey had for me in shooting was,
  1377. 01:07:38.770 – 01:07:42.310 there was this one bar that had mirrors against the wall
  1378. 01:07:43.110 – 01:07:44.830 and to take pictures in this bar,
  1379. 01:07:44.830 – 01:07:47.130 you had to know how to angle the light.
  1380. 01:07:48.170 – 01:07:50.310 So you were either bouncing it off the ceiling,
  1381. 01:07:50.770 – 01:07:52.150 bouncing it out of corners,
  1382. 01:07:52.150 – 01:07:54.490 without getting a reflection.
  1383. 01:07:57.060 – 01:08:01.780 And when I first seen it, I didn't understand it.
  1384. 01:08:01.780 – 01:08:03.500 But then I got a chance to try it.
  1385. 01:08:03.500 – 01:08:05.940 And when I had the hands-on part about it
  1386. 01:08:05.940 – 01:08:07.720 and taking the picture, it was,
  1387. 01:08:07.880 – 01:08:08.900 okay, I gotta take this picture
  1388. 01:08:08.900 – 01:08:10.700 and they're not gonna give me no money
  1389. 01:08:10.700 – 01:08:14.680 if I don't get this flash not in their eyes.
  1390. 01:08:16.319 – 01:08:18.859 So, okay, I saw what he did, boom, boom, boom.
  1391. 01:08:19.680 – 01:08:24.560 And the Polaroids, you just got a viewfinder.
  1392. 01:08:25.399 – 01:08:28.220 So you gotta frame everything up in this viewfinder.
  1393. 01:08:28.540 – 01:08:32.180 And it's not exactly what's gonna be on the picture,
  1394. 01:08:32.240 – 01:08:34.300 but every camera works different.
  1395. 01:08:34.359 – 01:08:37.319 So you gotta figure out how that particular camera work.
  1396. 01:08:38.319 – 01:08:40.760 And they didn't want their feet cut off.
  1397. 01:08:40.819 – 01:08:42.680 They wanted head to toe shots.
  1398. 01:08:43.359 – 01:08:43.859 Full body.
  1399. 01:08:44.220 – 01:08:46.580 They want three people in the shot.
  1400. 01:08:46.580 – 01:08:48.740 And you gotta, okay.
  1401. 01:08:49.660 – 01:08:51.779 And they don't even want the elbow cut off.
  1402. 01:08:52.560 – 01:08:56.100 So you gotta find out where those cut-off lines at.
  1403. 01:08:56.420 – 01:08:58.540 And you don't got the little cute stuff
  1404. 01:08:58.540 – 01:09:00.300 that you got in cameras and the phone.
  1405. 01:09:00.580 – 01:09:01.720 No, you don't got no bridge.
  1406. 01:09:02.359 – 01:09:02.880 Crosshairs.
  1407. 01:09:03.279 – 01:09:04.340 No, no, no.
  1408. 01:09:04.359 – 01:09:05.899 You gonna find that one by yourself.
  1409. 01:09:06.380 – 01:09:06.819 Yeah, okay.
  1410. 01:09:08.140 – 01:09:09.880 And learning that way,
  1411. 01:09:10.580 – 01:09:12.560 it taught me so much about photography.
  1412. 01:09:13.000 – 01:09:14.899 And then it helped teach me about people.
  1413. 01:09:15.420 – 01:09:18.740 It helped me learn confidence.
  1414. 01:09:20.260 – 01:09:21.580 Learn how to talk to people.
  1415. 01:09:23.279 – 01:09:24.479 Learn how to be a leader.
  1416. 01:09:25.500 – 01:09:27.660 Learn how to be in control of an environment.
  1417. 01:09:28.040 – 01:09:28.560 That's the worst thing.
  1418. 01:09:28.700 – 01:09:29.640 You had a birthday party.
  1419. 01:09:29.740 – 01:09:31.540 Everybody drinking except for you.
  1420. 01:09:32.220 – 01:09:34.240 You 17, 18 years old,
  1421. 01:09:34.279 – 01:09:36.880 and you trying to get 16 people together for a photo.
  1422. 01:09:37.120 – 01:09:37.779 Oh yeah, who?
  1423. 01:09:38.140 – 01:09:38.660 Even wedding.
  1424. 01:09:38.939 – 01:09:39.840 No, nobody want a car.
  1425. 01:09:40.000 – 01:09:41.520 And you always got the one asshole
  1426. 01:09:41.520 – 01:09:43.260 that just want to be an asshole,
  1427. 01:09:43.560 – 01:09:44.819 just to be an asshole.
  1428. 01:09:44.819 – 01:09:45.779 You know?
  1429. 01:09:46.120 – 01:09:47.240 But you got to get this picture.
  1430. 01:09:47.740 – 01:09:49.740 Everybody want to see everybody's eyes.
  1431. 01:09:50.140 – 01:09:52.340 You know, everybody's head got to be in the picture.
  1432. 01:09:52.520 – 01:09:53.000 You know?
  1433. 01:09:53.460 – 01:09:58.020 So all of that was interesting to me.
  1434. 01:09:58.040 – 01:09:59.120 I enjoyed it.
  1435. 01:10:01.130 – 01:10:03.330 I liked the idea of,
  1436. 01:10:03.670 – 01:10:05.190 after it was all sitting over with,
  1437. 01:10:05.330 – 01:10:06.250 they ate the cake,
  1438. 01:10:06.850 – 01:10:07.910 the food gone,
  1439. 01:10:08.810 – 01:10:10.410 the dress back in the closet.
  1440. 01:10:11.150 – 01:10:11.530 Yeah.
  1441. 01:10:11.730 – 01:10:12.770 But you got that picture.
  1442. 01:10:14.960 – 01:10:15.660 Made it work.
  1443. 01:10:16.780 – 01:10:18.340 And that's what it was all about.
  1444. 01:10:18.420 – 01:10:19.520 I didn't want to fuck up.
  1445. 01:10:19.860 – 01:10:20.980 Didn't want to fuck up the picture.
  1446. 01:10:21.580 – 01:10:21.900 You know?
  1447. 01:10:21.940 – 01:10:24.080 Cause I wanted you to have the picture forever.
  1448. 01:10:24.220 – 01:10:25.780 So when somebody else look at that picture,
  1449. 01:10:26.160 – 01:10:28.340 like I'm at a point now in life when,
  1450. 01:10:28.500 – 01:10:30.300 you know, we're doing these home going services.
  1451. 01:10:30.440 – 01:10:33.240 I got one of my brothers, he do obituaries.
  1452. 01:10:33.380 – 01:10:34.700 Shout out to Anthony.
  1453. 01:10:36.400 – 01:10:40.620 And you see people send him 20, 30 pictures.
  1454. 01:10:42.340 – 01:10:44.100 You see the Polaroids come through.
  1455. 01:10:44.100 – 01:10:45.080 Yeah, man.
  1456. 01:10:45.180 – 01:10:46.280 I wonder if that's one that I took.
  1457. 01:10:46.460 – 01:10:47.260 If that's one that I took.
  1458. 01:10:47.400 – 01:10:49.000 And every once in a while you find something,
  1459. 01:10:49.420 – 01:10:50.800 you know, see something that you didn't took.
  1460. 01:10:51.540 – 01:10:53.720 And it's a good feeling that, you know,
  1461. 01:10:53.740 – 01:10:55.380 now it's like 20, 30 years
  1462. 01:10:55.380 – 01:10:57.480 and somebody held on to that.
  1463. 01:10:59.970 – 01:11:01.630 That feeling that it gives
  1464. 01:11:01.630 – 01:11:04.490 crosses into that feeling that I get
  1465. 01:11:04.490 – 01:11:06.010 when I go cut grass.
  1466. 01:11:07.050 – 01:11:07.990 It's not a job.
  1467. 01:11:08.490 – 01:11:10.630 It's something that I want to do.
  1468. 01:11:10.890 – 01:11:11.150 You know?
  1469. 01:11:11.150 – 01:11:14.470 It's something that gives me that inner glow
  1470. 01:11:16.610 – 01:11:19.310 where after I walk off this yard,
  1471. 01:11:19.450 – 01:11:21.750 I want to be satisfied
  1472. 01:11:21.750 – 01:11:25.250 that I put in not only my best efforts,
  1473. 01:11:26.030 – 01:11:28.210 but now I got something that somebody else gonna come.
  1474. 01:11:28.250 – 01:11:29.930 That's the best one when they ain't even home
  1475. 01:11:29.930 – 01:11:30.510 when you cut.
  1476. 01:11:30.890 – 01:11:32.910 And then they come home and then they roll up
  1477. 01:11:32.910 – 01:11:33.930 and you wonder like,
  1478. 01:11:33.930 – 01:11:35.470 I wonder if they passed they house
  1479. 01:11:35.470 – 01:11:36.790 cause they didn't know, you know,
  1480. 01:11:36.870 – 01:11:38.330 the grass was cut type shit.
  1481. 01:11:39.890 – 01:11:43.250 And all of that just, it's just,
  1482. 01:11:43.250 – 01:11:44.830 it's being creative.
  1483. 01:11:45.470 – 01:11:45.650 You know?
  1484. 01:11:45.850 – 01:11:47.510 Like I tow up my yard.
  1485. 01:11:48.010 – 01:11:50.230 You know, one of the first thing I called my wife one day
  1486. 01:11:50.230 – 01:11:51.350 I was like, hey, listen,
  1487. 01:11:52.450 – 01:11:53.370 let you know now,
  1488. 01:11:53.690 – 01:11:54.910 doing something to the yard.
  1489. 01:11:55.250 – 01:11:56.870 I'm putting these flower beds in
  1490. 01:11:56.870 – 01:11:58.350 and I just rented this,
  1491. 01:11:58.350 – 01:12:01.050 it's called a bed edger.
  1492. 01:12:04.260 – 01:12:05.700 I started where I was just going
  1493. 01:12:05.700 – 01:12:08.140 put this one little line in
  1494. 01:12:08.840 – 01:12:10.140 and then it got fun.
  1495. 01:12:10.320 – 01:12:11.980 I'm pushing the machine around.
  1496. 01:12:12.140 – 01:12:12.980 I was like, oh yeah.
  1497. 01:12:14.080 – 01:12:16.600 And I like, it was a corner lot.
  1498. 01:12:16.700 – 01:12:17.600 So it was a lot of land
  1499. 01:12:17.600 – 01:12:21.740 and you go back and forth so many times.
  1500. 01:12:22.040 – 01:12:24.260 You know, so I was like, yeah, okay.
  1501. 01:12:24.560 – 01:12:26.740 So I kinda, I created in my mind,
  1502. 01:12:26.960 – 01:12:27.980 which was racetrack.
  1503. 01:12:29.560 – 01:12:31.000 So I had my starting point,
  1504. 01:12:31.060 – 01:12:33.300 my end point and then even when I cut the grass,
  1505. 01:12:33.420 – 01:12:35.140 I'm riding it like this
  1506. 01:12:35.140 – 01:12:37.740 and then I'm going around this bed and all of that.
  1507. 01:12:37.800 – 01:12:39.580 But I had to tear all of that up
  1508. 01:12:39.580 – 01:12:41.580 in order to create all of that.
  1509. 01:12:42.320 – 01:12:43.960 And my wife didn't understand
  1510. 01:12:45.430 – 01:12:47.450 because that first season,
  1511. 01:12:47.790 – 01:12:50.070 oh man, the yard was terrible.
  1512. 01:12:52.240 – 01:12:53.520 I started letting it grow
  1513. 01:12:53.520 – 01:12:55.100 and then I started letting it grow
  1514. 01:12:55.100 – 01:12:56.840 and I got mad at something
  1515. 01:12:57.220 – 01:12:58.220 and I just said, fuck,
  1516. 01:12:58.400 – 01:13:00.020 I ain't cutting this right here.
  1517. 01:13:00.200 – 01:13:02.660 And then I would cut patterns in the yard
  1518. 01:13:02.660 – 01:13:04.320 and it would grow over here
  1519. 01:13:05.600 – 01:13:07.120 and snake through this.
  1520. 01:13:07.120 – 01:13:08.380 I just did all type of stuff
  1521. 01:13:08.380 – 01:13:09.980 because at that point,
  1522. 01:13:09.980 – 01:13:13.580 I was at a point where it's mine.
  1523. 01:13:15.740 – 01:13:18.120 I can cut my grass however I wanna cut my grass.
  1524. 01:13:18.120 – 01:13:20.200 Why do I have to cut my grass
  1525. 01:13:20.760 – 01:13:22.640 the same way everybody else cut their grass?
  1526. 01:13:23.220 – 01:13:23.560 Right, indeed.
  1527. 01:13:23.640 – 01:13:26.960 And that creativity fell into
  1528. 01:13:28.140 – 01:13:30.200 the enjoyment that I get
  1529. 01:13:30.200 – 01:13:32.520 from being able to create something
  1530. 01:13:32.520 – 01:13:35.760 and have that instant gratification from it.
  1531. 01:13:36.740 – 01:13:39.140 Landscaping as you work, cutting grass,
  1532. 01:13:39.580 – 01:13:40.900 it's the same as cooking.
  1533. 01:13:41.340 – 01:13:43.320 You have that instant gratification.
  1534. 01:13:43.420 – 01:13:44.160 It tastes good.
  1535. 01:13:44.520 – 01:13:45.220 Yeah, you happy.
  1536. 01:13:46.000 – 01:13:47.000 Cake didn't fall.
  1537. 01:13:47.000 – 01:13:47.720 You happy.
  1538. 01:13:48.280 – 01:13:50.120 You set the blades right.
  1539. 01:13:51.380 – 01:13:52.300 Blades were sharp.
  1540. 01:13:52.500 – 01:13:53.220 They wasn't dull.
  1541. 01:13:54.400 – 01:13:55.700 The grass wasn't wet.
  1542. 01:13:56.440 – 01:13:57.960 It all went up in the bag.
  1543. 01:13:58.580 – 01:13:59.600 You ain't had to get out
  1544. 01:13:59.600 – 01:14:01.840 50 times to unclog the chute.
  1545. 01:14:03.340 – 01:14:04.820 Now you get to edge it.
  1546. 01:14:08.240 – 01:14:09.160 Then you sit back
  1547. 01:14:09.160 – 01:14:10.980 and you get a chance to enjoy it
  1548. 01:14:10.980 – 01:14:13.240 and then other people get a chance to enjoy it.
  1549. 01:14:14.520 – 01:14:16.260 So now later it becomes a conversation.
  1550. 01:14:16.360 – 01:14:17.920 Why did you do that like that?
  1551. 01:14:18.920 – 01:14:20.240 Because Citi came and asked me.
  1552. 01:14:20.240 – 01:14:21.200 They said, yeah, okay,
  1553. 01:14:22.220 – 01:14:24.000 grass can't be over six inches.
  1554. 01:14:25.420 – 01:14:29.100 And I had shit that was three feet.
  1555. 01:14:32.060 – 01:14:33.360 Coolest thing in the world.
  1556. 01:14:34.040 – 01:14:34.840 It's natural.
  1557. 01:14:34.940 – 01:14:36.160 Let it do what it do.
  1558. 01:14:36.300 – 01:14:37.080 Yeah, like here.
  1559. 01:14:38.140 – 01:14:40.460 They said, no, because you remember
  1560. 01:14:40.460 – 01:14:42.260 Cleveland Heights did a thing one year
  1561. 01:14:42.260 – 01:14:44.440 where they had a no-grow season.
  1562. 01:14:44.800 – 01:14:47.480 They didn't cut the grass for,
  1563. 01:14:47.480 – 01:14:50.100 I think for like May and June
  1564. 01:14:50.880 – 01:14:52.900 or April and May or something like that.
  1565. 01:14:52.900 – 01:14:53.860 They didn't cut the grass.
  1566. 01:14:53.980 – 01:14:55.900 It was like a no-grow zone.
  1567. 01:14:56.260 – 01:14:58.320 And I seen what the grass was doing
  1568. 01:14:58.320 – 01:15:00.260 and I thought that that was just the coolest thing.
  1569. 01:15:00.360 – 01:15:01.380 And I said, okay, yeah,
  1570. 01:15:01.600 – 01:15:03.840 I'm gonna put some no-grow areas in my yard
  1571. 01:15:03.840 – 01:15:07.380 and it was an experience.
  1572. 01:15:08.000 – 01:15:10.460 Yeah, and going back to that experience,
  1573. 01:15:12.840 – 01:15:15.260 you got a lot of good memories
  1574. 01:15:15.260 – 01:15:17.540 that created those experiences.
  1575. 01:15:19.020 – 01:15:21.560 And that helps me reflect on
  1576. 01:15:22.560 – 01:15:24.320 kind of why I got into photography.
  1577. 01:15:25.080 – 01:15:26.440 And why I do what I do
  1578. 01:15:26.440 – 01:15:29.000 because I look at myself as a historian
  1579. 01:15:29.660 – 01:15:33.520 where a photo could just be
  1580. 01:15:35.620 – 01:15:38.940 documenting my first childhood home,
  1581. 01:15:39.180 – 01:15:41.400 which is now torn down.
  1582. 01:15:42.940 – 01:15:46.040 My house that I grew up in,
  1583. 01:15:47.980 – 01:15:49.620 kindergarten all the way to
  1584. 01:15:50.200 – 01:15:52.020 like a freshman in high school.
  1585. 01:15:52.320 – 01:15:53.460 It's just a lot of land.
  1586. 01:15:54.720 – 01:15:56.500 Elementary school, torn down.
  1587. 01:15:58.660 – 01:16:00.580 Hospital, Euclid Hospital, gone.
  1588. 01:16:01.160 – 01:16:02.520 Like I have no memories,
  1589. 01:16:03.240 – 01:16:06.200 like always envision it like MTV Cribs,
  1590. 01:16:06.360 – 01:16:08.140 like they go on past a old neighborhood.
  1591. 01:16:08.520 – 01:16:09.800 I used to grew up in that house.
  1592. 01:16:10.540 – 01:16:13.800 I can't say these things, it's just, it's gone.
  1593. 01:16:14.400 – 01:16:17.500 But if I had that memory, that photo,
  1594. 01:16:17.620 – 01:16:21.740 that video to visually show people, it'd be different.
  1595. 01:16:22.280 – 01:16:25.320 But I want to ask how important is a photo to you?
  1596. 01:16:26.480 – 01:16:28.420 Like not taking photos for others,
  1597. 01:16:28.980 – 01:16:31.020 but someone taking a photo of you
  1598. 01:16:31.020 – 01:16:32.580 or a moment in your life.
  1599. 01:16:33.400 – 01:16:39.100 So it was a very long time before I had a photo.
  1600. 01:16:39.160 – 01:16:40.320 Let me say it like this.
  1601. 01:16:45.240 – 01:16:48.480 I wasn't always crazy about having my picture taken.
  1602. 01:16:49.640 – 01:16:53.180 So getting behind the camera was a shield
  1603. 01:16:53.800 – 01:16:55.880 at the same time away from that.
  1604. 01:17:03.110 – 01:17:15.830 I noticed that when you go over people's houses,
  1605. 01:17:16.670 – 01:17:18.950 they got pictures on the mantle of people
  1606. 01:17:18.950 – 01:17:20.930 and pictures on the wall and stuff.
  1607. 01:17:21.110 – 01:17:22.710 Like certain people's houses, I would go over
  1608. 01:17:22.710 – 01:17:24.570 and just have pictures of places.
  1609. 01:17:25.010 – 01:17:29.490 We grew up in the projects where we had this one wall
  1610. 01:17:30.130 – 01:17:32.230 where stepfather had all of these pictures
  1611. 01:17:32.230 – 01:17:33.110 on the whole wall.
  1612. 01:17:34.010 – 01:17:39.460 And it was like somebody did that.
  1613. 01:17:39.780 – 01:17:41.800 I want to be able to do that.
  1614. 01:17:41.800 – 01:17:44.780 And that double exposure picture,
  1615. 01:17:44.920 – 01:17:46.840 I thought that was the coolest thing ever.
  1616. 01:17:46.840 – 01:17:49.160 You had two pictures on one piece of paper.
  1617. 01:17:49.340 – 01:17:50.300 I said, oh man.
  1618. 01:17:50.800 – 01:17:52.020 And I couldn't draw.
  1619. 01:17:52.740 – 01:17:57.320 So that was my only outlet created.
  1620. 01:17:58.580 – 01:18:01.660 And the more I learned from the camera,
  1621. 01:18:04.240 – 01:18:10.220 the more I got interested in what else I could do.
  1622. 01:18:10.760 – 01:18:14.780 And then war came and I left and went to war.
  1623. 01:18:16.140 – 01:18:18.960 2008, I was deployed and I got rid
  1624. 01:18:18.960 – 01:18:20.720 of all of my cameras and everything.
  1625. 01:18:21.220 – 01:18:23.580 Cause I wanted, unlike any other,
  1626. 01:18:23.640 – 01:18:25.600 every other deployment that I went on,
  1627. 01:18:26.760 – 01:18:28.920 I took my cameras with me.
  1628. 01:18:28.920 – 01:18:30.360 How many cameras did you have?
  1629. 01:18:31.020 – 01:18:32.440 At one point in time.
  1630. 01:18:32.940 – 01:18:37.580 I remember my first camera was a KRS Super from Sears.
  1631. 01:18:37.760 – 01:18:39.000 I got it from a pawn shop.
  1632. 01:18:39.320 – 01:18:42.900 Cost me $150 and I went to the pawn shop
  1633. 01:18:42.900 – 01:18:44.440 cause I heard that's where you gonna get
  1634. 01:18:44.440 – 01:18:46.920 a good used 35 millimeter camera from.
  1635. 01:18:47.860 – 01:18:50.380 And went down on paying to the only pawn shop
  1636. 01:18:50.380 – 01:18:52.420 that I knew of and walked in there
  1637. 01:18:52.420 – 01:18:53.740 and I seen the camera in there
  1638. 01:18:53.740 – 01:18:56.380 and it just looked like a 35 millimeter camera.
  1639. 01:18:56.680 – 01:19:00.240 I didn't know what it was named.
  1640. 01:19:00.440 – 01:19:03.260 Didn't have a price tag on it, which was my fault.
  1641. 01:19:03.720 – 01:19:04.560 I said, let me see that.
  1642. 01:19:04.820 – 01:19:06.520 And the guy pulled the camera out.
  1643. 01:19:06.700 – 01:19:07.580 I knew they hit the button
  1644. 01:19:07.580 – 01:19:09.780 to make sure the trigger worked and everything.
  1645. 01:19:10.440 – 01:19:11.860 Make sure the curtains stay open.
  1646. 01:19:12.140 – 01:19:14.020 These are all the things that I learned from Mickey.
  1647. 01:19:15.260 – 01:19:19.690 And I said, okay, I'll take this.
  1648. 01:19:21.190 – 01:19:23.170 And he said something, something, something.
  1649. 01:19:23.310 – 01:19:25.470 I said, yeah, yeah, I'll take the camera or whatever.
  1650. 01:19:25.770 – 01:19:27.110 He took the lens off the camera,
  1651. 01:19:27.230 – 01:19:28.950 put the lens back in the case,
  1652. 01:19:29.570 – 01:19:32.570 put the lens cap on the cover on the camera.
  1653. 01:19:32.650 – 01:19:33.830 He said that'd be $100.
  1654. 01:19:34.550 – 01:19:36.790 And I said, I can't do nothing without the lens.
  1655. 01:19:37.650 – 01:19:38.770 I need the lens.
  1656. 01:19:39.510 – 01:19:40.930 He said, that'd be another $50.
  1657. 01:19:41.430 – 01:19:42.430 And I said, ooh.
  1658. 01:19:42.750 – 01:19:44.810 And that was my lesson in photography
  1659. 01:19:44.810 – 01:19:46.170 that everything costs.
  1660. 01:19:49.880 – 01:19:51.800 From there to the light stands,
  1661. 01:19:52.620 – 01:19:56.480 to all of the different brackets and everything costs.
  1662. 01:19:56.580 – 01:19:59.640 And if you want it, you're gonna pay for it.
  1663. 01:19:59.660 – 01:20:01.040 Because it's the only way to get it.
  1664. 01:20:01.180 – 01:20:02.300 If you take anything,
  1665. 01:20:02.660 – 01:20:04.600 you got the repercussions that go along with that.
  1666. 01:20:04.760 – 01:20:05.800 And that ain't never cool.
  1667. 01:20:06.760 – 01:20:09.180 So you understand the value
  1668. 01:20:10.040 – 01:20:11.700 behind everything you purchase.
  1669. 01:20:12.180 – 01:20:14.400 I know you got little shit in your camera bag
  1670. 01:20:14.400 – 01:20:16.880 that's this motherfucking big that costs $80.
  1671. 01:20:16.880 – 01:20:18.060 Real small, yeah.
  1672. 01:20:18.520 – 01:20:21.180 And you might not use it, but twice a year.
  1673. 01:20:21.920 – 01:20:25.140 But when you need it, it's good to have it there.
  1674. 01:20:25.400 – 01:20:25.940 It's good to have.
  1675. 01:20:26.160 – 01:20:27.980 I use an ND filter.
  1676. 01:20:28.900 – 01:20:33.480 I was outside for a fest, and I don't ever use it.
  1677. 01:20:33.500 – 01:20:35.920 But I know it's good to retain the highlights.
  1678. 01:20:36.580 – 01:20:38.120 It's like retaining five stops,
  1679. 01:20:38.200 – 01:20:39.500 which is kind of an overkill.
  1680. 01:20:40.520 – 01:20:42.620 But I mean, it did what it did
  1681. 01:20:42.620 – 01:20:44.740 for what it needed to do and that purpose.
  1682. 01:20:44.740 – 01:20:46.960 But I do a lot of indoor events.
  1683. 01:20:47.740 – 01:20:51.600 So, you know, it got its day of time this weekend.
  1684. 01:20:53.040 – 01:20:53.520 Yeah.
  1685. 01:20:54.000 – 01:20:54.300 Yeah, yeah.
  1686. 01:20:54.380 – 01:20:55.720 And that costs me like 120.
  1687. 01:20:56.240 – 01:20:58.980 So use it like once or twice a year.
  1688. 01:20:58.980 – 01:20:59.840 But it's needed.
  1689. 01:21:00.400 – 01:21:03.440 And that's the tool that's in the toolbox,
  1690. 01:21:03.600 – 01:21:04.280 like the mechanic.
  1691. 01:21:04.420 – 01:21:07.060 The mechanic don't always use every socket on every job.
  1692. 01:21:07.600 – 01:21:09.400 But he gotta have all those sockets.
  1693. 01:21:11.200 – 01:21:13.000 Once you, I think once,
  1694. 01:21:13.180 – 01:21:15.800 as a creative who digests that part,
  1695. 01:21:18.400 – 01:21:20.640 the next thing that you need,
  1696. 01:21:21.500 – 01:21:23.040 it changes the game.
  1697. 01:21:23.200 – 01:21:25.940 Cause when you got the pieces,
  1698. 01:21:26.580 – 01:21:28.620 you can make something out of it.
  1699. 01:21:28.740 – 01:21:31.160 Yeah, that goes back to,
  1700. 01:21:31.300 – 01:21:33.520 I had my first camera and, you know,
  1701. 01:21:33.520 – 01:21:36.380 when we first met and I told you
  1702. 01:21:36.380 – 01:21:38.000 that I wanted to get into photography.
  1703. 01:21:38.180 – 01:21:41.120 I was transitioning from music and poetry
  1704. 01:21:41.120 – 01:21:42.000 into photography.
  1705. 01:21:42.220 – 01:21:43.640 I wanted to take it more seriously.
  1706. 01:21:44.400 – 01:21:46.320 And I told you, I'm like, well,
  1707. 01:21:46.320 – 01:21:49.540 I definitely got to be a man of my word.
  1708. 01:21:50.500 – 01:21:53.520 And I told this to somebody, my vision, my dream.
  1709. 01:21:53.580 – 01:21:55.720 And I was actively studying it,
  1710. 01:21:56.540 – 01:21:58.220 even purchased my first camera,
  1711. 01:21:58.540 – 01:21:59.540 practicing on my own,
  1712. 01:22:00.660 – 01:22:02.160 looking at different videos,
  1713. 01:22:02.620 – 01:22:03.960 just going to different events,
  1714. 01:22:04.360 – 01:22:05.820 practicing, doing stuff for free.
  1715. 01:22:07.360 – 01:22:09.440 And I remember you took me out one time,
  1716. 01:22:09.500 – 01:22:11.340 we was at the downtown arcade.
  1717. 01:22:12.400 – 01:22:14.320 And you was telling me, get this, get that.
  1718. 01:22:14.320 – 01:22:16.200 And I'm like, man, it's so much stuff.
  1719. 01:22:16.880 – 01:22:19.460 Go get the light, go get the 50 millimeter.
  1720. 01:22:19.620 – 01:22:20.400 I'm like, 50 millimeter?
  1721. 01:22:21.080 – 01:22:22.420 Do they say 50 on it?
  1722. 01:22:22.520 – 01:22:26.520 Looking at the, it's got 24, 50, it's Zoom.
  1723. 01:22:26.740 – 01:22:27.580 I don't know.
  1724. 01:22:27.700 – 01:22:29.000 Oh, get this, get that.
  1725. 01:22:29.360 – 01:22:30.000 Do B-Row.
  1726. 01:22:30.160 – 01:22:32.000 I don't know what B-Row is.
  1727. 01:22:32.160 – 01:22:34.360 It's video though, I just get video.
  1728. 01:22:34.980 – 01:22:38.400 Behind the scenes, B-Row, behind the scenes,
  1729. 01:22:38.580 – 01:22:39.320 same thing, right?
  1730. 01:22:39.980 – 01:22:44.060 But just learning and just really enjoying the moment
  1731. 01:22:44.060 – 01:22:48.100 and the relaxed atmosphere and having fun and creating.
  1732. 01:22:48.800 – 01:22:50.320 I mean, that's what you did too,
  1733. 01:22:50.780 – 01:22:52.720 is having fun, creating, directing.
  1734. 01:22:53.360 – 01:22:54.900 And I just seen that like, wow,
  1735. 01:22:55.200 – 01:22:56.800 it is definitely levels to it.
  1736. 01:22:56.840 – 01:22:57.460 And like you said,
  1737. 01:22:57.480 – 01:23:00.560 you never know what you may need in a toolkit.
  1738. 01:23:03.930 – 01:23:07.510 I mean, I've went through periods where
  1739. 01:23:07.510 – 01:23:10.090 instead of letting money burn a hole in my pocket,
  1740. 01:23:10.950 – 01:23:12.390 sit down with a piece of paper in the pencil
  1741. 01:23:12.390 – 01:23:13.830 and figure out what else I need
  1742. 01:23:15.400 – 01:23:18.480 and paying for things intentionally
  1743. 01:23:19.140 – 01:23:23.400 helped save the crisis later down the line.
  1744. 01:23:23.540 – 01:23:25.820 Because when it occurred, it was, okay, I got that.
  1745. 01:23:25.980 – 01:23:27.420 Okay, I got that.
  1746. 01:23:28.460 – 01:23:31.960 Man, like that 70 to 200 lens.
  1747. 01:23:32.660 – 01:23:32.880 Yeah, wow.
  1748. 01:23:33.520 – 01:23:37.200 That is, boy, the story that goes along with that,
  1749. 01:23:38.360 – 01:23:43.280 it was, I paid twice as much as what it cost.
  1750. 01:23:44.080 – 01:23:44.840 Ain't that expensive?
  1751. 01:23:44.840 – 01:23:50.590 I mean, yeah, but I made it affordable,
  1752. 01:23:51.960 – 01:23:53.480 paid for it over time.
  1753. 01:23:53.820 – 01:23:55.560 And I looked at it and said,
  1754. 01:23:55.560 – 01:23:59.140 I'd rather have it now than need it later.
  1755. 01:24:01.540 – 01:24:05.120 And that one lens, just from the,
  1756. 01:24:05.180 – 01:24:07.100 just from people seeing me shooting,
  1757. 01:24:08.120 – 01:24:10.800 changed everything before they even seen my work.
  1758. 01:24:11.340 – 01:24:19.280 And that's what helped me into this realm of photography
  1759. 01:24:20.220 – 01:24:22.560 where I knew everything to get
  1760. 01:24:23.160 – 01:24:24.980 when I got back into photography.
  1761. 01:24:26.830 – 01:24:30.870 And I knew what it was gonna cost in order to get it.
  1762. 01:24:31.230 – 01:24:33.970 So I had to put a budget together
  1763. 01:24:33.970 – 01:24:36.670 and I had to explain that budget to my wife
  1764. 01:24:36.670 – 01:24:37.650 at the same time.
  1765. 01:24:37.810 – 01:24:39.610 Like, listen, I'm gonna spend a lot of money
  1766. 01:24:39.610 – 01:24:41.450 over a short period of time.
  1767. 01:24:41.630 – 01:24:43.330 You're gonna see a lot of things come in here
  1768. 01:24:43.330 – 01:24:45.210 and I'm telling you everything that I get,
  1769. 01:24:45.570 – 01:24:46.430 I'm gonna need.
  1770. 01:24:47.650 – 01:24:49.110 Why you need six bags?
  1771. 01:24:51.690 – 01:24:53.390 Wow, yeah.
  1772. 01:24:54.290 – 01:24:57.410 You got six different camera bags.
  1773. 01:24:57.470 – 01:24:59.970 What do you need six different camera bags for?
  1774. 01:25:00.190 – 01:25:02.710 Well, it depends on what type of shoot I'm going to.
  1775. 01:25:03.870 – 01:25:07.750 Different camera bags carry equipment differently.
  1776. 01:25:08.850 – 01:25:09.930 And when you show up,
  1777. 01:25:09.970 – 01:25:12.030 you always wanna show up as a professional.
  1778. 01:25:12.390 – 01:25:14.350 So you don't want a rinky dink bag.
  1779. 01:25:15.050 – 01:25:16.470 You don't wanna come in,
  1780. 01:25:16.530 – 01:25:17.910 instead of having a camera book bag,
  1781. 01:25:17.970 – 01:25:20.330 you just come in with a book bag.
  1782. 01:25:21.510 – 01:25:25.470 It changes the way people perceive you as a profession.
  1783. 01:25:26.010 – 01:25:28.770 If you walk with your chin up and your chest poked out,
  1784. 01:25:28.950 – 01:25:32.750 people gonna respect you and look at you different.
  1785. 01:25:33.210 – 01:25:36.390 And that's what I knew going into it.
  1786. 01:25:36.430 – 01:25:40.350 If you talk with a louder voice,
  1787. 01:25:41.390 – 01:25:42.810 no matter if it's deep or loud,
  1788. 01:25:42.830 – 01:25:46.370 but if you project, people gonna listen more.
  1789. 01:25:46.650 – 01:25:48.390 They gonna take direction more
  1790. 01:25:48.390 – 01:25:50.330 than if you whisper everything that you say.
  1791. 01:25:50.810 – 01:25:53.990 But whispering also has its own benefit
  1792. 01:25:53.990 – 01:25:55.790 when you're in small groups.
  1793. 01:25:55.910 – 01:25:58.790 Because if you want somebody to really pay attention
  1794. 01:25:58.790 – 01:26:01.210 to what you're saying, they gotta lean in.
  1795. 01:26:02.170 – 01:26:03.650 Now you know who's interested.
  1796. 01:26:08.480 – 01:26:11.140 It all comes kind of like full circle
  1797. 01:26:11.140 – 01:26:12.760 because you learn different things.
  1798. 01:26:12.800 – 01:26:14.820 And I'm quite sure in your walking life,
  1799. 01:26:14.860 – 01:26:18.360 you've learned things not necessarily
  1800. 01:26:19.160 – 01:26:20.980 that was photography related,
  1801. 01:26:22.300 – 01:26:26.100 but helped you in your craft and photography
  1802. 01:26:26.100 – 01:26:29.720 because of the skill that you possess from what you are.
  1803. 01:26:35.970 – 01:26:37.110 And I wanna ask you,
  1804. 01:26:37.150 – 01:26:41.790 what would you say to a young creative entrepreneur
  1805. 01:26:43.070 – 01:26:45.730 that wants to get in their field,
  1806. 01:26:45.750 – 01:26:50.130 whether it's acting or photography, video,
  1807. 01:26:50.870 – 01:26:53.790 or any other creative field and become an entrepreneur,
  1808. 01:26:53.870 – 01:26:54.710 what would you say to them?
  1809. 01:26:54.990 – 01:26:56.070 Get in it.
  1810. 01:26:56.070 – 01:26:57.690 Get in it.
  1811. 01:27:00.480 – 01:27:04.900 However it works for you, get in it.
  1812. 01:27:04.900 – 01:27:06.940 Don't sit on the sidelines talking about
  1813. 01:27:06.940 – 01:27:11.020 what you wanna do and you're not actively doing it.
  1814. 01:27:11.020 – 01:27:12.960 You're not actually pursuing it.
  1815. 01:27:14.740 – 01:27:17.560 Now you have YouTube University.
  1816. 01:27:18.440 – 01:27:24.990 You have so many places you can go to the library.
  1817. 01:27:25.090 – 01:27:25.890 It used to be the only place
  1818. 01:27:25.890 – 01:27:27.330 you can go to get information.
  1819. 01:27:28.130 – 01:27:29.790 Now you can do internships.
  1820. 01:27:32.130 – 01:27:35.850 Surf the web, chat GPT, Google.
  1821. 01:27:40.100 – 01:27:42.420 And learning isn't just consuming.
  1822. 01:27:43.100 – 01:27:45.020 I'm gonna sit here and I'm gonna watch four videos
  1823. 01:27:45.020 – 01:27:47.460 about lenses and, okay.
  1824. 01:27:47.940 – 01:27:49.580 But what did you obtain from that?
  1825. 01:27:50.320 – 01:27:51.260 Where your notes at?
  1826. 01:27:51.740 – 01:27:54.020 What you gonna sit back when it's screen not there
  1827. 01:27:54.020 – 01:27:55.680 and you gonna go over and say,
  1828. 01:27:56.220 – 01:28:00.910 okay, yeah, that's what the triangle is.
  1829. 01:28:03.220 – 01:28:05.060 ISO, what is ISO, ISO?
  1830. 01:28:06.500 – 01:28:11.460 Oh, okay, okay, this is why ISO is one to 100, 200.
  1831. 01:28:11.500 – 01:28:13.000 That's the film speed, okay.
  1832. 01:28:13.480 – 01:28:16.540 Now you got the references to go back to
  1833. 01:28:16.540 – 01:28:21.640 and you're not just trying to hoard
  1834. 01:28:21.640 – 01:28:24.940 or download all of this information into you.
  1835. 01:28:25.240 – 01:28:27.660 Just because you watch it, you gonna remember it.
  1836. 01:28:28.240 – 01:28:29.500 Just because you watch it,
  1837. 01:28:29.700 – 01:28:33.220 that's not telling the culture
  1838. 01:28:33.220 – 01:28:35.020 that that's what you're interested in.
  1839. 01:28:35.540 – 01:28:37.900 If you wanna be a dancer, hey.
  1840. 01:28:39.020 – 01:28:41.020 Buy some dance clothes, you know.
  1841. 01:28:41.400 – 01:28:44.540 Don't be scared to say, hey, play this music
  1842. 01:28:44.540 – 01:28:46.200 and now people gotta watch you dance.
  1843. 01:28:46.320 – 01:28:46.660 Right.
  1844. 01:28:48.480 – 01:28:50.660 Yeah, so you gotta do it.
  1845. 01:28:50.760 – 01:28:53.840 You wanna, and it could be anything.
  1846. 01:28:54.160 – 01:28:56.840 You wanna be a doctor, you know.
  1847. 01:28:57.440 – 01:29:00.780 Get you a, get you a telescope, you know.
  1848. 01:29:00.820 – 01:29:02.220 Go around and anything.
  1849. 01:29:02.320 – 01:29:04.920 Hey, can I listen to your heartbeat?
  1850. 01:29:05.180 – 01:29:05.500 Yeah.
  1851. 01:29:06.100 – 01:29:08.340 I think we do it as kids
  1852. 01:29:08.340 – 01:29:09.860 but not necessarily as adults.
  1853. 01:29:10.440 – 01:29:12.620 Like, you know, especially Halloween kids
  1854. 01:29:12.620 – 01:29:15.380 be different things every other year
  1855. 01:29:15.380 – 01:29:16.600 using their imagination.
  1856. 01:29:17.160 – 01:29:18.940 Or even when they're playing together,
  1857. 01:29:19.180 – 01:29:22.620 or they're dinosaur, they be whatever they wanna be.
  1858. 01:29:23.140 – 01:29:25.040 But we get older and we kinda lose that.
  1859. 01:29:25.060 – 01:29:27.880 And that's the worst experience that we have as adults
  1860. 01:29:27.880 – 01:29:32.960 because we get pushed out to having to have a job.
  1861. 01:29:33.300 – 01:29:37.440 And for us as black men, having to provide.
  1862. 01:29:38.340 – 01:29:41.340 When you go out here and you've been creating life,
  1863. 01:29:41.860 – 01:29:43.480 now you're not only providing for yourself
  1864. 01:29:43.480 – 01:29:44.960 but you're providing for others.
  1865. 01:29:46.800 – 01:29:51.040 Now, you don't got the time for the imagination.
  1866. 01:29:51.860 – 01:29:52.580 Time or energy.
  1867. 01:29:52.840 – 01:29:54.340 Because you gotta produce.
  1868. 01:29:55.420 – 01:29:57.940 And in that producing, you burning that energy
  1869. 01:29:57.940 – 01:29:59.760 so now you don't have the energy
  1870. 01:29:59.760 – 01:30:04.200 to put toward the imagination and the vision.
  1871. 01:30:04.200 – 01:30:06.640 And when you, as humans,
  1872. 01:30:08.280 – 01:30:11.120 and we don't have humans around us
  1873. 01:30:11.120 – 01:30:13.840 to fuel our imagination,
  1874. 01:30:14.640 – 01:30:17.780 to ask the questions, to get the answers,
  1875. 01:30:18.100 – 01:30:20.000 to go out and experience it,
  1876. 01:30:21.860 – 01:30:24.620 then we have no choice but to fall in line
  1877. 01:30:24.620 – 01:30:26.780 and get a job, go to work, pay the bills.
  1878. 01:30:27.440 – 01:30:30.700 And after a while, from the experience of it,
  1879. 01:30:30.720 – 01:30:31.520 it's mind-numbing.
  1880. 01:30:32.120 – 01:30:32.900 I gotta get up again.
  1881. 01:30:33.400 – 01:30:36.020 Mondays, we dread Mondays.
  1882. 01:30:36.180 – 01:30:39.180 Monday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
  1883. 01:30:39.400 – 01:30:41.200 hope it's a three-day, four-day weekend.
  1884. 01:30:42.700 – 01:30:44.120 Now go back to work.
  1885. 01:30:44.900 – 01:30:48.860 And we grow up in an environment that teaches
  1886. 01:30:49.800 – 01:30:50.860 this is sad.
  1887. 01:30:54.150 – 01:30:55.610 Yeah, like the hamster will of life
  1888. 01:30:55.610 – 01:30:58.090 is keep going and going and going, nothing changed.
  1889. 01:30:58.850 – 01:31:00.750 You're not doing what you wanna do.
  1890. 01:31:01.290 – 01:31:02.670 You're doing what you gotta do now.
  1891. 01:31:02.750 – 01:31:03.810 Doing what you gotta do, yeah.
  1892. 01:31:03.810 – 01:31:06.330 And now let somebody step on your toe.
  1893. 01:31:06.650 – 01:31:09.170 Or now let somebody bump into you.
  1894. 01:31:09.250 – 01:31:11.970 Or now let somebody talk to you any kind of way.
  1895. 01:31:14.010 – 01:31:16.430 You know, you're having these dreams,
  1896. 01:31:16.450 – 01:31:18.550 but you're living in somebody else's dream.
  1897. 01:31:19.650 – 01:31:20.630 Thought you gotta pay the bills.
  1898. 01:31:21.530 – 01:31:23.810 So what I try to tell the young men,
  1899. 01:31:24.750 – 01:31:26.290 hey, first thing you need to do
  1900. 01:31:27.730 – 01:31:29.150 is you need to provide,
  1901. 01:31:29.450 – 01:31:31.090 learn how to provide for yourself.
  1902. 01:31:31.850 – 01:31:34.510 Once you learn how to provide for yourself,
  1903. 01:31:35.370 – 01:31:36.790 learn the responsibility.
  1904. 01:31:40.770 – 01:31:43.710 And the first responsibility comes shelter.
  1905. 01:31:44.950 – 01:31:46.450 I don't care if you're living in your car,
  1906. 01:31:47.470 – 01:31:48.950 but you have to have that shelter.
  1907. 01:31:50.030 – 01:31:53.590 You gotta get to the point where you have the ability
  1908. 01:31:53.590 – 01:31:57.310 to move in this realm, this world,
  1909. 01:31:58.290 – 01:31:59.770 the way life pulls you to.
  1910. 01:32:00.170 – 01:32:02.430 Everybody gonna go to sleep, everybody gonna wake up.
  1911. 01:32:02.550 – 01:32:03.630 What time you gonna get up?
  1912. 01:32:04.630 – 01:32:07.290 The military taught me,
  1913. 01:32:07.470 – 01:32:11.790 listen, your day can start at 3.30 a.m.
  1914. 01:32:14.060 – 01:32:15.720 And it's a full day.
  1915. 01:32:17.840 – 01:32:21.860 And when you lay down at 8 p.m., lights.
  1916. 01:32:26.290 – 01:32:28.390 If I never would've left Cleveland,
  1917. 01:32:30.230 – 01:32:31.910 never would've experienced that.
  1918. 01:32:32.290 – 01:32:35.070 Never would've experienced that whole,
  1919. 01:32:35.170 – 01:32:36.690 I joined the military when they,
  1920. 01:32:36.750 – 01:32:38.330 we'd do more before 6 a.m.
  1921. 01:32:38.330 – 01:32:39.730 than most people do all day.
  1922. 01:32:39.990 – 01:32:40.410 Yeah.
  1923. 01:32:40.410 – 01:32:41.090 Wow.
  1924. 01:32:41.510 – 01:32:41.990 Yeah.
  1925. 01:32:42.530 – 01:32:46.890 But some people, they don't get up until 11, 12 o'clock,
  1926. 01:32:47.530 – 01:32:50.590 one o'clock, and they wanna make it sound
  1927. 01:32:50.590 – 01:32:54.330 like it was exciting that they slept all fucking day.
  1928. 01:32:55.630 – 01:32:57.390 Yeah, I ain't get up to 12 o'clock.
  1929. 01:32:58.310 – 01:33:00.170 Yeah, I ain't get up until I was,
  1930. 01:33:00.210 – 01:33:02.170 I ain't get out the house til 1.30, man.
  1931. 01:33:02.630 – 01:33:04.370 Yeah, and that's exciting.
  1932. 01:33:05.830 – 01:33:08.370 I'm supposed to congratulate.
  1933. 01:33:09.100 – 01:33:11.650 Nah, you missed the whole damn day.
  1934. 01:33:12.110 – 01:33:12.390 Oh yeah.
  1935. 01:33:12.930 – 01:33:14.690 Life just passed you by.
  1936. 01:33:15.630 – 01:33:18.050 I had one young cadet with me, he's 17.
  1937. 01:33:19.470 – 01:33:21.050 We out at seven o'clock in the morning.
  1938. 01:33:21.130 – 01:33:22.910 I picked him up about 7.30.
  1939. 01:33:23.330 – 01:33:27.190 We riding around, going to a cut.
  1940. 01:33:28.570 – 01:33:32.090 And he's seeing people working for the city.
  1941. 01:33:32.570 – 01:33:33.450 He's seeing traffic.
  1942. 01:33:33.770 – 01:33:35.830 He's seeing people moving, doing things.
  1943. 01:33:36.310 – 01:33:39.830 And he like, man, I ain't know there's too many people up
  1944. 01:33:39.830 – 01:33:41.250 this time of the day.
  1945. 01:33:41.610 – 01:33:43.470 Yeah, man, there's a whole world out here.
  1946. 01:33:44.170 – 01:33:44.790 Whole world.
  1947. 01:33:45.870 – 01:33:48.290 And you ain't left off the east side of Cleveland.
  1948. 01:33:50.030 – 01:33:52.050 So let me explain to you, get out here.
  1949. 01:33:52.290 – 01:33:54.650 I tell them, get out here and experience it, man.
  1950. 01:33:55.150 – 01:33:59.110 Get out here and learn that life is a lot.
  1951. 01:34:05.810 – 01:34:06.710 It is what we making.
  1952. 01:34:10.760 – 01:34:12.300 You know, we spoke on imagination.
  1953. 01:34:12.680 – 01:34:14.600 Imagination is definitely big.
  1954. 01:34:15.300 – 01:34:17.700 It's going back to camera having that image.
  1955. 01:34:18.740 – 01:34:22.360 But as we sit here in this room here,
  1956. 01:34:22.640 – 01:34:24.800 shooting the podcast or filming the podcast,
  1957. 01:34:26.460 – 01:34:29.700 I know this space will be transformed
  1958. 01:34:29.700 – 01:34:34.100 to a podcast space and location people could come to.
  1959. 01:34:34.440 – 01:34:36.040 How soon can we expect that?
  1960. 01:34:36.980 – 01:34:39.480 I'm looking at, see, October.
  1961. 01:34:39.780 – 01:34:40.920 It's in like, we here now.
  1962. 01:34:42.260 – 01:34:44.440 It's available now.
  1963. 01:34:45.080 – 01:34:47.540 It's just not the way I want it to be.
  1964. 01:34:47.640 – 01:34:49.780 It's not where my imagination has it at.
  1965. 01:34:52.800 – 01:34:57.060 Those are foam panels in those bags right there.
  1966. 01:34:57.220 – 01:34:58.980 Those go up, you know.
  1967. 01:34:59.120 – 01:35:01.600 This just got tables and chairs sitting around the place.
  1968. 01:35:01.660 – 01:35:04.900 And we came and we put some lights up and, you know,
  1969. 01:35:07.780 – 01:35:09.940 so it's a...
  1970. 01:35:09.940 – 01:35:11.480 Just doing it, you know, no excuses.
  1971. 01:35:11.740 – 01:35:12.240 Just doing it.
  1972. 01:35:12.340 – 01:35:13.420 You know, this setup right here,
  1973. 01:35:13.420 – 01:35:15.440 I just set this up last night
  1974. 01:35:15.440 – 01:35:17.960 because I wanted to see what the space will provide.
  1975. 01:35:17.960 – 01:35:21.280 Could I set three tables up in here?
  1976. 01:35:21.540 – 01:35:22.260 What would it look like?
  1977. 01:35:22.340 – 01:35:23.880 What would it feel like, you know?
  1978. 01:35:24.100 – 01:35:26.420 It was just me in here and I'm moving this stand around
  1979. 01:35:26.420 – 01:35:27.220 like it's a person.
  1980. 01:35:27.320 – 01:35:30.000 Like, okay, I want to see what that space looks like
  1981. 01:35:30.000 – 01:35:32.760 for somebody sitting across the table from.
  1982. 01:35:33.980 – 01:35:35.880 So this right here is a setup
  1983. 01:35:36.760 – 01:35:40.340 that wasn't even part of the idea of the setup,
  1984. 01:35:40.340 – 01:35:45.260 but it's being used within that setup, you know?
  1985. 01:35:45.260 – 01:35:46.480 We just came.
  1986. 01:35:46.680 – 01:35:47.620 Hey, I told you, go in here.
  1987. 01:35:47.640 – 01:35:50.680 Hey, go, make yourself at home and find a spot, you know?
  1988. 01:35:50.940 – 01:35:52.040 You ain't come in and say,
  1989. 01:35:52.080 – 01:35:53.520 hey, let's move this right here
  1990. 01:35:53.520 – 01:35:54.680 and put this over here.
  1991. 01:35:54.860 – 01:35:55.520 I want it done.
  1992. 01:35:56.560 – 01:35:58.580 Pulled up the chairs, sat down and said,
  1993. 01:35:58.640 – 01:35:59.200 all right, boom,
  1994. 01:35:59.300 – 01:36:00.400 this is where we're going to do this.
  1995. 01:36:02.220 – 01:36:04.800 That's the biggest part of starting.
  1996. 01:36:05.460 – 01:36:07.740 You know, a lot of times we want it to start for us.
  1997. 01:36:07.760 – 01:36:11.800 We want somebody else to get the momentum going.
  1998. 01:36:11.920 – 01:36:14.700 We want somebody else to have the vision
  1999. 01:36:14.700 – 01:36:16.780 and we want to come take their vision
  2000. 01:36:18.840 – 01:36:21.380 and now do something with it.
  2001. 01:36:21.380 – 01:36:25.200 And it's like, don't work like that.
  2002. 01:36:31.820 – 01:36:32.520 It's a nation.
  2003. 01:36:33.180 – 01:36:36.320 And when we can come together and we can create together,
  2004. 01:36:36.660 – 01:36:38.420 it's like, when we go out and we shoot,
  2005. 01:36:39.060 – 01:36:41.320 we can take pictures of the same exact thing.
  2006. 01:36:42.520 – 01:36:46.040 But when we sit back and now we're critiquing our work,
  2007. 01:36:46.680 – 01:36:48.440 damn, that was a,
  2008. 01:36:48.540 – 01:36:50.720 you saw that Gatorade bottle from that angle?
  2009. 01:36:51.180 – 01:36:52.760 Right, perspective, yeah.
  2010. 01:36:53.220 – 01:36:54.840 What was you shooting that with?
  2011. 01:36:56.220 – 01:36:57.660 Cause that made a difference.
  2012. 01:36:59.140 – 01:37:01.600 That depth of field, oh man, wow.
  2013. 01:37:08.290 – 01:37:11.490 But you take all of that and you bring it together.
  2014. 01:37:11.750 – 01:37:13.070 And then when you have people,
  2015. 01:37:13.410 – 01:37:15.670 see another thing I like about photography is,
  2016. 01:37:16.030 – 01:37:19.690 when you have people who have never worked together,
  2017. 01:37:20.610 – 01:37:21.750 but know what they're,
  2018. 01:37:24.980 – 01:37:26.800 you don't even have to know what you're doing
  2019. 01:37:26.800 – 01:37:27.520 half the time,
  2020. 01:37:27.520 – 01:37:29.300 you just got to know some of the terminology
  2021. 01:37:29.300 – 01:37:31.380 and be willing to help.
  2022. 01:37:32.380 – 01:37:34.000 Willing to do something
  2023. 01:37:34.000 – 01:37:36.240 that you don't always got your hand out for.
  2024. 01:37:36.940 – 01:37:39.360 Cause in this field I learned,
  2025. 01:37:40.960 – 01:37:43.320 it's like, it covers the same thing
  2026. 01:37:43.320 – 01:37:44.340 with cutting grass.
  2027. 01:37:45.440 – 01:37:46.720 I can't take every picture.
  2028. 01:37:46.920 – 01:37:48.420 I can't cut every yard.
  2029. 01:37:49.380 – 01:37:53.380 But if I know enough people that have lawnmowers,
  2030. 01:37:54.280 – 01:37:56.580 I know enough people that have cameras,
  2031. 01:37:57.280 – 01:37:59.300 when they come down to when the phone ring
  2032. 01:37:59.300 – 01:38:00.060 and somebody say,
  2033. 01:38:00.320 – 01:38:01.840 hey Sean, can you come cut this?
  2034. 01:38:02.140 – 01:38:03.460 Can you come take this?
  2035. 01:38:03.500 – 01:38:06.900 And I can say, no, I can't, but alien can.
  2036. 01:38:08.040 – 01:38:09.280 No, I can't.
  2037. 01:38:09.680 – 01:38:11.940 But this young dude over here,
  2038. 01:38:12.120 – 01:38:13.860 I know he need to make some money
  2039. 01:38:13.860 – 01:38:15.820 and he been in the house for two days.
  2040. 01:38:16.160 – 01:38:17.340 He need to get out.
  2041. 01:38:24.240 – 01:38:24.720 I want him to do.
  2042. 01:38:27.860 – 01:38:32.540 I ask all my creative people this question.
  2043. 01:38:35.120 – 01:38:38.260 You know, thinking of your creative process
  2044. 01:38:38.260 – 01:38:40.960 as a weather forecast, what would that be?
  2045. 01:38:43.470 – 01:38:44.930 Create, say that again.
  2046. 01:38:45.730 – 01:38:48.510 So we all have this thought process
  2047. 01:38:48.510 – 01:38:50.150 and this creative process.
  2048. 01:38:51.650 – 01:38:53.470 Throughout your creative process,
  2049. 01:38:53.770 – 01:38:56.630 how would you explain it if it was a weather forecast?
  2050. 01:38:59.300 – 01:39:00.140 In the morning,
  2051. 01:39:02.250 – 01:39:05.090 sun might come out with a rainbow around noon.
  2052. 01:39:05.310 – 01:39:06.090 It's not promised.
  2053. 01:39:07.010 – 01:39:09.650 Like if you look up, you just might see it.
  2054. 01:39:12.620 – 01:39:13.760 Be ready.
  2055. 01:39:14.820 – 01:39:15.940 Cause the weather gonna change.
  2056. 01:39:16.200 – 01:39:16.520 Like Cleveland.
  2057. 01:39:17.000 – 01:39:17.460 Like Cleveland, yeah.
  2058. 01:39:17.840 – 01:39:19.860 The weather, you can prepare
  2059. 01:39:19.860 – 01:39:23.260 for what the forecast say is gonna be,
  2060. 01:39:23.380 – 01:39:25.420 but be prepared for if it's not.
  2061. 01:39:27.450 – 01:39:29.750 And that's pretty much landscape
  2062. 01:39:29.750 – 01:39:30.850 and photography the same thing.
  2063. 01:39:30.870 – 01:39:33.530 I wake up some days and I have a shot that I did.
  2064. 01:39:41.820 – 01:39:44.540 Cause the shot, it burned the,
  2065. 01:39:44.540 – 01:39:47.220 I say it burned the image in my brain
  2066. 01:39:47.220 – 01:39:48.680 over the course of time.
  2067. 01:39:49.500 – 01:39:52.900 Where I saw the shot before I went and took the shot.
  2068. 01:39:54.300 – 01:39:56.440 And when I got there to the location,
  2069. 01:39:56.720 – 01:39:58.500 it was a certain time of the morning
  2070. 01:39:58.500 – 01:40:00.920 that you had to get there in order to get the shot.
  2071. 01:40:01.120 – 01:40:03.560 So you had to backtrack to prepare
  2072. 01:40:03.560 – 01:40:06.940 to be there before the sun came up.
  2073. 01:40:10.000 – 01:40:12.760 When I got there, everything,
  2074. 01:40:12.960 – 01:40:14.280 the ride there was great.
  2075. 01:40:14.500 – 01:40:19.340 You know, I'm always excited about the transition
  2076. 01:40:19.340 – 01:40:21.180 from point A to point B
  2077. 01:40:21.180 – 01:40:23.740 because we spent so much time doing that.
  2078. 01:40:23.760 – 01:40:25.440 Why can't that be exciting too?
  2079. 01:40:27.240 – 01:40:28.380 Enjoy the journey.
  2080. 01:40:29.480 – 01:40:31.640 And in the journey to get there,
  2081. 01:40:35.280 – 01:40:36.980 birds flying all over the place.
  2082. 01:40:37.640 – 01:40:39.380 I didn't see the birds in my vision.
  2083. 01:40:40.980 – 01:40:43.620 So the anxiety set in,
  2084. 01:40:44.360 – 01:40:46.140 the stress set in.
  2085. 01:40:49.020 – 01:40:50.580 I got tools in my toolbox now,
  2086. 01:40:50.580 – 01:40:51.880 so let me deal with that.
  2087. 01:40:52.500 – 01:40:53.940 Yeah, and some breathing exercises.
  2088. 01:40:58.150 – 01:40:59.730 I'm still gonna take this picture.
  2089. 01:41:00.410 – 01:41:03.930 And like how you said with the filter, the ND filter.
  2090. 01:41:04.630 – 01:41:07.870 I had the variable ND filter on there.
  2091. 01:41:08.590 – 01:41:10.730 So now the sun is starting to come up.
  2092. 01:41:10.850 – 01:41:12.010 I'm in location.
  2093. 01:41:12.770 – 01:41:16.430 And now I'm twisting this filter ever so slightly.
  2094. 01:41:16.650 – 01:41:19.830 I'm shooting digital raw, so I can just keep.
  2095. 01:41:24.580 – 01:41:26.140 You know, when you get the shot
  2096. 01:41:26.140 – 01:41:28.240 and you know when you hit it and it's the one,
  2097. 01:41:28.360 – 01:41:32.140 you say, ooh, the light did something
  2098. 01:41:32.140 – 01:41:35.020 where it didn't came and hit something
  2099. 01:41:35.020 – 01:41:37.500 and it didn't, something that happened
  2100. 01:41:37.500 – 01:41:42.320 and you just say, ooh, and you just, and it's bird.
  2101. 01:41:42.560 – 01:41:46.300 I was comfortable with the shot,
  2102. 01:41:46.300 – 01:41:48.400 but I didn't expect the birds.
  2103. 01:41:48.440 – 01:41:50.040 And when I printed the shot,
  2104. 01:41:53.360 – 01:41:54.940 when you look at the picture,
  2105. 01:41:55.200 – 01:41:57.120 you can just never stop counting the birds.
  2106. 01:41:57.140 – 01:41:58.380 And it's so relaxing.
  2107. 01:41:59.020 – 01:42:02.880 It's like the shot for me is just so cool.
  2108. 01:42:03.140 – 01:42:06.220 And it's all of these birds in the shot.
  2109. 01:42:06.320 – 01:42:08.460 And when you first look at it, you don't see the birds.
  2110. 01:42:08.460 – 01:42:11.360 You see the sunrise, you see the lake,
  2111. 01:42:12.020 – 01:42:13.580 you see the silhouettes of the building.
  2112. 01:42:14.200 – 01:42:16.920 And then you say, hold on, that's a bird.
  2113. 01:42:17.120 – 01:42:18.260 That's a bird, that's a bird.
  2114. 01:42:18.440 – 01:42:19.500 Then you start counting the bird.
  2115. 01:42:20.280 – 01:42:22.120 I've still yet to count all the birds
  2116. 01:42:22.120 – 01:42:28.400 and I've counted a lot of birds.
  2117. 01:42:28.540 – 01:42:30.080 I was saying, did I ever see that one?
  2118. 01:42:30.640 – 01:42:34.390 I don't know, no.
  2119. 01:42:34.610 – 01:42:35.310 I took it to my-
  2120. 01:42:35.310 – 01:42:36.090 Did you print that one?
  2121. 01:42:36.330 – 01:42:37.250 I printed it.
  2122. 01:42:37.370 – 01:42:38.950 I posted it before, I know that.
  2123. 01:42:39.050 – 01:42:40.770 But when I printed it, I took it to the VA.
  2124. 01:42:40.930 – 01:42:44.090 It took it, I'm hanging in my counselor's office.
  2125. 01:42:44.910 – 01:42:46.970 And that was a transition for me
  2126. 01:42:46.970 – 01:42:51.830 because that gave me the ability to shoot for me.
  2127. 01:42:52.470 – 01:42:53.890 When you're shooting pictures of people,
  2128. 01:42:53.950 – 01:42:55.170 you're shooting for those people.
  2129. 01:42:55.190 – 01:42:56.630 Because I want to take a picture of you
  2130. 01:42:56.630 – 01:42:57.470 that you gonna like.
  2131. 01:42:58.070 – 01:42:59.890 And that's how I got into photography
  2132. 01:42:59.890 – 01:43:02.450 because you gonna pay me for the picture
  2133. 01:43:02.450 – 01:43:03.570 that I take of you.
  2134. 01:43:04.770 – 01:43:07.270 But now if I can take a picture of something,
  2135. 01:43:07.550 – 01:43:10.190 a flower, a bus,
  2136. 01:43:10.750 – 01:43:14.010 you know, six, seven people might like that picture.
  2137. 01:43:15.270 – 01:43:17.390 Sunrise, sunset, you know,
  2138. 01:43:17.590 – 01:43:19.290 some more people might like that picture.
  2139. 01:43:19.970 – 01:43:23.010 And if they like it enough, they'll pay for it.
  2140. 01:43:23.370 – 01:43:26.030 And now you've created a whole nother revenue stream
  2141. 01:43:26.030 – 01:43:29.370 because you have pictures that multiple people like.
  2142. 01:43:32.730 – 01:43:34.010 Taking pictures of other people
  2143. 01:43:34.010 – 01:43:36.190 would call me be so, you know,
  2144. 01:43:36.190 – 01:43:37.650 to that person or the family
  2145. 01:43:37.650 – 01:43:39.610 or people that know them directly, so.
  2146. 01:43:40.330 – 01:43:44.210 But like you said, the iconic shot, Count the Birds,
  2147. 01:43:45.130 – 01:43:46.770 you know, that could be thousands, millions.
  2148. 01:43:49.220 – 01:43:56.160 I kind of, the strangest photo shoot I ever did
  2149. 01:43:56.540 – 01:44:00.260 was I took a wedding photo to blind people.
  2150. 01:44:03.890 – 01:44:08.730 Their reasoning for wanting to have pictures
  2151. 01:44:08.730 – 01:44:12.570 of the wedding was they had a daughter
  2152. 01:44:13.350 – 01:44:15.710 and she was a little infant kid at the time,
  2153. 01:44:15.710 – 01:44:16.550 but she wasn't blind.
  2154. 01:44:17.390 – 01:44:22.620 And they wanted to have that memory
  2155. 01:44:22.620 – 01:44:25.720 for her to see when she got out.
  2156. 01:44:31.020 – 01:44:32.640 So this, you know, this,
  2157. 01:44:34.020 – 01:44:35.640 it can take you some places.
  2158. 01:44:39.970 – 01:44:40.770 Me, yeah, man.
  2159. 01:44:42.810 – 01:44:44.250 It's been an experience.
  2160. 01:44:44.350 – 01:44:45.290 I've enjoyed it.
  2161. 01:44:45.290 – 01:44:48.910 I'm excited about the next phase of it.
  2162. 01:44:49.670 – 01:44:52.030 I'm excited about what this is gonna do.
  2163. 01:44:52.370 – 01:44:54.410 I'm excited about what that's gonna do.
  2164. 01:44:54.610 – 01:44:56.810 I'm excited about what that's gonna do.
  2165. 01:44:56.810 – 01:45:05.050 You know, it's just exciting, man.
  2166. 01:45:05.330 – 01:45:08.410 It's to be, for me, to be 51
  2167. 01:45:08.410 – 01:45:10.810 and be in the position that I am in
  2168. 01:45:12.250 – 01:45:16.830 is so inspiring for me to keep moving forward
  2169. 01:45:16.830 – 01:45:20.630 because I see what I see
  2170. 01:45:20.630 – 01:45:24.530 and I learned that trying to get somebody else
  2171. 01:45:24.530 – 01:45:27.990 to see what you see is hard as hell,
  2172. 01:45:28.110 – 01:45:30.110 but I can show you.
  2173. 01:45:30.810 – 01:45:33.070 The only way I can show you is if I do the things
  2174. 01:45:33.070 – 01:45:35.490 that it does in order to get to that point,
  2175. 01:45:35.890 – 01:45:37.050 like coming in.
  2176. 01:45:37.710 – 01:45:40.970 And I believe that life put things in front of you
  2177. 01:45:40.970 – 01:45:44.270 to help make you understand
  2178. 01:45:44.270 – 01:45:46.510 that you're on the right path,
  2179. 01:45:46.830 – 01:45:48.930 just like it can put things in front of you
  2180. 01:45:48.930 – 01:45:51.190 to say you're on the wrong path.
  2181. 01:45:51.890 – 01:45:54.930 You know, I woke up this morning looking for a door
  2182. 01:45:54.930 – 01:46:00.120 to build a wall and coming here today,
  2183. 01:46:00.900 – 01:46:05.820 I was late because I saw a door on the side of the road
  2184. 01:46:05.820 – 01:46:07.900 and said, okay, let me backtrack around
  2185. 01:46:07.900 – 01:46:10.860 and pick that up because that was there for me.
  2186. 01:46:11.180 – 01:46:13.140 That wasn't just there.
  2187. 01:46:13.580 – 01:46:17.320 That was there for me.
  2188. 01:46:18.400 – 01:46:19.780 How it was placed there,
  2189. 01:46:19.800 – 01:46:21.900 even the person that put it there
  2190. 01:46:21.900 – 01:46:24.460 don't even know and understand.
  2191. 01:46:24.980 – 01:46:27.520 But I would have been foolish
  2192. 01:46:28.400 – 01:46:33.280 to ride past that door and not stop to check it
  2193. 01:46:33.280 – 01:46:35.080 to say, okay, I wonder if, guess what?
  2194. 01:46:35.440 – 01:46:36.320 Is this intact?
  2195. 01:46:37.900 – 01:46:39.820 Because we throw things away all the time.
  2196. 01:46:39.860 – 01:46:41.060 All the time, you know?
  2197. 01:46:41.340 – 01:46:42.880 But we don't want it no more
  2198. 01:46:42.880 – 01:46:45.060 because we got a stain on it.
  2199. 01:46:45.620 – 01:46:47.020 But guess what, I can put some paint over that.
  2200. 01:46:49.230 – 01:46:50.570 Is it still in one piece?
  2201. 01:46:51.430 – 01:46:53.730 You know, is the hinges broke on it or something?
  2202. 01:46:54.230 – 01:46:55.730 You know what, they just threw this door away
  2203. 01:46:55.730 – 01:46:57.950 because it didn't fit the new look
  2204. 01:46:57.950 – 01:46:59.070 that they was going for.
  2205. 01:47:00.490 – 01:47:04.570 And that door was there for me and I got it.
  2206. 01:47:07.790 – 01:47:09.470 After hearing you today,
  2207. 01:47:09.730 – 01:47:14.610 it's definitely a story of, you know,
  2208. 01:47:14.850 – 01:47:16.130 executing off creativity
  2209. 01:47:16.130 – 01:47:18.870 and then also it's that layer of resilience.
  2210. 01:47:22.430 – 01:47:26.090 You know, also here, you know, you're always learning.
  2211. 01:47:26.610 – 01:47:27.530 You're always growing.
  2212. 01:47:29.030 – 01:47:32.290 Even through me, you know, you say you learn things
  2213. 01:47:33.010 – 01:47:35.250 and that's, I think exactly one,
  2214. 01:47:35.350 – 01:47:39.210 one and a half years in age difference.
  2215. 01:47:40.570 – 01:47:46.370 Maybe exactly, wow, 30, 34, 17, yeah, 51, wow.
  2216. 01:47:49.510 – 01:47:51.570 Like I said, you always learning, always growing.
  2217. 01:47:51.650 – 01:47:54.630 How important it is always learning
  2218. 01:47:54.630 – 01:47:56.090 no matter how old you get.
  2219. 01:47:57.670 – 01:48:00.530 Cause if you stop, it stops.
  2220. 01:48:01.210 – 01:48:02.330 If you stop learning,
  2221. 01:48:02.570 – 01:48:03.730 just think if I never would have learned
  2222. 01:48:03.730 – 01:48:05.170 how to use a digital camera
  2223. 01:48:05.170 – 01:48:07.650 or I was never interested in figuring out
  2224. 01:48:07.650 – 01:48:10.770 what wifi was or if I was fixed on,
  2225. 01:48:10.770 – 01:48:12.330 I mean, when I got my first cell phone.
  2226. 01:48:13.290 – 01:48:18.680 Oh man, this is, now I have a history with cell phones
  2227. 01:48:18.680 – 01:48:20.420 that go back to the nineties
  2228. 01:48:20.420 – 01:48:24.360 when we didn't have cell phones.
  2229. 01:48:24.420 – 01:48:26.280 We were still running through pager.
  2230. 01:48:27.860 – 01:48:30.320 But my experience with cell phones,
  2231. 01:48:30.500 – 01:48:33.080 when I went to Germany in 99,
  2232. 01:48:33.280 – 01:48:34.560 they didn't have house phones.
  2233. 01:48:34.560 – 01:48:35.820 They had cell phones.
  2234. 01:48:36.600 – 01:48:38.160 And it was like, wow.
  2235. 01:48:38.740 – 01:48:38.820 I was-
  2236. 01:48:38.820 – 01:48:39.940 Was it a satellite phone or?
  2237. 01:48:40.060 – 01:48:42.400 No, these were cell phones, cell phones.
  2238. 01:48:42.660 – 01:48:45.540 And it gave me the information
  2239. 01:48:45.540 – 01:48:49.340 on how fast technology was for them.
  2240. 01:48:49.580 – 01:48:52.540 I got introduced to the internet in Germany.
  2241. 01:48:53.280 – 01:48:56.500 I got my first Yahoo account in Germany.
  2242. 01:48:57.440 – 01:48:58.600 When I came back home,
  2243. 01:48:58.620 – 01:49:02.400 I was already familiar with computers.
  2244. 01:49:02.400 – 01:49:03.720 But at the same time,
  2245. 01:49:03.720 – 01:49:04.700 I didn't know what they were gonna do.
  2246. 01:49:07.180 – 01:49:09.940 But I was interested enough to say, ah.
  2247. 01:49:10.600 – 01:49:12.740 And then I was around enough people
  2248. 01:49:12.740 – 01:49:14.620 that I was interested in them to say,
  2249. 01:49:14.840 – 01:49:16.920 hey, this is what this is doing right now.
  2250. 01:49:17.100 – 01:49:19.840 Cause I remember Photoshop 5.0.
  2251. 01:49:21.440 – 01:49:22.320 7.0.
  2252. 01:49:22.900 – 01:49:24.780 I had another photographer friend tell me,
  2253. 01:49:24.880 – 01:49:25.280 he said, listen,
  2254. 01:49:26.040 – 01:49:27.700 I'll teach you how to use Photoshop
  2255. 01:49:27.700 – 01:49:28.760 if you buy the disc.
  2256. 01:49:29.540 – 01:49:31.460 And the disc was $749.
  2257. 01:49:32.140 – 01:49:32.580 Yeah.
  2258. 01:49:35.820 – 01:49:37.620 You can't go get a bootleg copy of it.
  2259. 01:49:37.620 – 01:49:39.420 You gotta buy it.
  2260. 01:49:39.420 – 01:49:40.880 That's the way it was explained to me.
  2261. 01:49:43.940 – 01:49:46.420 And it was, it's just always been,
  2262. 01:49:49.780 – 01:49:54.000 if you want it enough and you understand
  2263. 01:49:54.960 – 01:49:57.140 it's not gonna happen in your time,
  2264. 01:49:57.860 – 01:49:59.540 but if you stay after it, yeah.
  2265. 01:49:59.720 – 01:50:00.660 It's like Lailaway.
  2266. 01:50:01.200 – 01:50:03.100 I don't gotta tell you I want this
  2267. 01:50:03.100 – 01:50:06.160 and give you $10 and you go put it in the closet
  2268. 01:50:06.160 – 01:50:08.100 and tell me when I finish paying for it,
  2269. 01:50:08.140 – 01:50:09.160 you give it to me.
  2270. 01:50:09.760 – 01:50:11.040 I know that's what I want.
  2271. 01:50:11.040 – 01:50:13.000 I know it's gonna cost me.
  2272. 01:50:13.080 – 01:50:15.520 I know, okay, when I do make some money,
  2273. 01:50:15.920 – 01:50:17.920 this is what I need to do with the money.
  2274. 01:50:18.940 – 01:50:21.100 Cause if I don't, guess what?
  2275. 01:50:21.600 – 01:50:23.640 Everybody else got something to tell you
  2276. 01:50:23.640 – 01:50:25.280 what to do with your money.
  2277. 01:50:26.300 – 01:50:28.360 Everybody else got a reason
  2278. 01:50:28.360 – 01:50:32.260 that your money is so important
  2279. 01:50:32.260 – 01:50:35.640 for them to have to pay a bill,
  2280. 01:50:36.080 – 01:50:37.260 to get what they want,
  2281. 01:50:37.880 – 01:50:39.580 to do what they needed to do.
  2282. 01:50:40.480 – 01:50:43.120 And once you learn how to say no,
  2283. 01:50:43.560 – 01:50:47.840 it changes all of that because it's yours.
  2284. 01:50:48.420 – 01:50:49.220 You earned that.
  2285. 01:50:50.680 – 01:50:52.600 Now what you gonna do with it?
  2286. 01:50:52.820 – 01:50:55.240 And that's the hardest thing,
  2287. 01:50:55.300 – 01:50:58.140 I think we have to learn in life
  2288. 01:50:58.140 – 01:51:00.540 and it's a time thing.
  2289. 01:51:00.980 – 01:51:03.720 You have to get that time behind you
  2290. 01:51:03.720 – 01:51:10.050 to understand and being put in the position
  2291. 01:51:11.090 – 01:51:14.130 so that you can get the information the right way.
  2292. 01:51:14.990 – 01:51:16.890 Some people go to jail to figure out,
  2293. 01:51:17.010 – 01:51:18.230 hey, that's not where I wanna be.
  2294. 01:51:21.320 – 01:51:22.540 Why do you gotta go there to find out
  2295. 01:51:22.540 – 01:51:23.700 that's not where you wanna be?
  2296. 01:51:25.380 – 01:51:29.000 Every story that I ever heard about jail
  2297. 01:51:29.580 – 01:51:32.280 told me that's not where I wanna be.
  2298. 01:51:32.720 – 01:51:33.500 Exactly, yeah.
  2299. 01:51:33.940 – 01:51:36.440 So why do I have to put myself in a position
  2300. 01:51:36.440 – 01:51:40.520 to be there for me to understand and realize
  2301. 01:51:40.520 – 01:51:42.660 that's not where I wanna be?
  2302. 01:51:43.680 – 01:51:44.740 Not that curious.
  2303. 01:51:48.710 – 01:51:50.090 And that's the part of it.
  2304. 01:51:50.370 – 01:51:52.670 I do right because it's right to do right.
  2305. 01:51:52.830 – 01:51:55.070 I do right because it feels good to do right.
  2306. 01:51:55.190 – 01:51:57.150 I sleep better at night.
  2307. 01:51:57.310 – 01:52:01.010 When I do right, I ain't saying I always did right.
  2308. 01:52:01.690 – 01:52:05.050 I did some wrong shit too and I don't sleep well.
  2309. 01:52:06.990 – 01:52:12.230 That wasn't a restful night when I fucked up.
  2310. 01:52:12.970 – 01:52:15.830 I made that decision and I didn't,
  2311. 01:52:15.830 – 01:52:17.810 no, I didn't, no, no, no, no, no.
  2312. 01:52:17.930 – 01:52:18.790 I shouldn't have did that.
  2313. 01:52:23.300 – 01:52:25.000 I lived and I learned, man,
  2314. 01:52:25.000 – 01:52:28.520 and I'm at a position in life now
  2315. 01:52:28.520 – 01:52:29.940 where life is the lesson.
  2316. 01:52:31.080 – 01:52:33.240 I'm not just telling people anything
  2317. 01:52:33.240 – 01:52:36.380 that this is how you should do it.
  2318. 01:52:37.240 – 01:52:42.080 I've lived this 51 years, 14 before.
  2319. 01:52:42.200 – 01:52:44.720 I know what 14 feels like.
  2320. 01:52:45.460 – 01:52:47.640 I still know what 14 feels like.
  2321. 01:52:48.380 – 01:52:50.860 I know what 16 feels like.
  2322. 01:52:52.500 – 01:52:59.540 I know what 17, 18, 21, 25, 32, 33, 35, 41, 40s.
  2323. 01:52:59.540 – 01:53:05.680 I know what that feels like and I don't mind sharing.
  2324. 01:53:09.990 – 01:53:14.130 With it all being said, as we wrap up the interview,
  2325. 01:53:15.890 – 01:53:19.170 what would you say is your legacy
  2326. 01:53:20.050 – 01:53:23.930 for everything you built business-wise
  2327. 01:53:23.930 – 01:53:25.090 and then you individually?
  2328. 01:53:28.360 – 01:53:32.420 The legacy part is I want everything
  2329. 01:53:32.420 – 01:53:33.880 that I've become a part of
  2330. 01:53:33.880 – 01:53:35.820 and the things that I'm gonna become a part of
  2331. 01:53:35.820 – 01:53:38.560 in the future to continue to exist,
  2332. 01:53:38.680 – 01:53:40.120 to continue to grow.
  2333. 01:53:41.020 – 01:53:42.620 This flesh, this body,
  2334. 01:53:44.060 – 01:53:46.460 all of this one day not be here.
  2335. 01:53:47.000 – 01:53:50.240 But because of technology, now we have things like this.
  2336. 01:53:50.860 – 01:53:53.240 Somebody somewhere might hear this video
  2337. 01:53:53.240 – 01:53:56.040 and it might help them in life.
  2338. 01:53:56.040 – 01:54:00.020 I had a chance at the end of the school year
  2339. 01:54:00.020 – 01:54:05.660 to go to Daniel Morgan and talk to,
  2340. 01:54:05.820 – 01:54:09.140 man, I talked to some five-year-olds.
  2341. 01:54:09.440 – 01:54:12.260 They wasn't even born in 2020.
  2342. 01:54:12.480 – 01:54:13.920 These are the COVID babies.
  2343. 01:54:15.000 – 01:54:18.720 And I talked to first graders, second graders,
  2344. 01:54:18.960 – 01:54:21.980 third graders, and I couldn't wait to get
  2345. 01:54:21.980 – 01:54:22.760 to the eighth graders
  2346. 01:54:22.760 – 01:54:24.260 because that's who I was there for.
  2347. 01:54:24.260 – 01:54:26.780 And they were the last ones for me to talk to.
  2348. 01:54:27.740 – 01:54:29.680 And that kept me there
  2349. 01:54:30.560 – 01:54:33.480 because I remember when I was in the eighth grade,
  2350. 01:54:33.700 – 01:54:36.120 I remember when I almost lost my life
  2351. 01:54:37.590 – 01:54:41.390 and I remember the things that led up to me
  2352. 01:54:41.390 – 01:54:42.810 almost losing my life.
  2353. 01:54:43.350 – 01:54:46.130 And that experience in itself was something
  2354. 01:54:46.130 – 01:54:49.510 that I wanted to talk to an eighth grader about
  2355. 01:54:49.510 – 01:54:50.730 because, hey, man, listen,
  2356. 01:54:50.870 – 01:54:52.530 I know this summer is about to happen.
  2357. 01:54:52.810 – 01:54:54.690 I know next year you're going to high school
  2358. 01:54:54.690 – 01:54:55.790 and guess what?
  2359. 01:54:56.010 – 01:54:57.490 I know the things that you wanted
  2360. 01:54:57.490 – 01:54:58.930 and things that you want to do,
  2361. 01:55:00.880 – 01:55:02.340 but I can tell you, guess what?
  2362. 01:55:03.620 – 01:55:05.660 This, doing it like this and doing it like this,
  2363. 01:55:05.800 – 01:55:09.720 it ain't worth it because time,
  2364. 01:55:10.640 – 01:55:13.160 it's not standing still for nobody.
  2365. 01:55:15.100 – 01:55:16.700 And just like you're going to go to the ninth grade,
  2366. 01:55:16.840 – 01:55:17.900 you're going to go to the 10th grade.
  2367. 01:55:19.810 – 01:55:22.530 But if you get stuck on this stupid right here,
  2368. 01:55:25.180 – 01:55:26.520 I can be the rest of your life.
  2369. 01:55:27.760 – 01:55:29.300 I seen a video on YouTube
  2370. 01:55:29.300 – 01:55:32.580 and I think I let you go on this one
  2371. 01:55:32.580 – 01:55:36.640 where this guy, they pushed him through,
  2372. 01:55:36.900 – 01:55:39.840 he climbed through the window to open the door
  2373. 01:55:39.840 – 01:55:42.120 for a house that they were going to break into.
  2374. 01:55:43.720 – 01:55:48.390 He was the driver, not the doer.
  2375. 01:55:50.080 – 01:55:52.180 A man and his daughter lost their lives
  2376. 01:55:53.700 – 01:55:56.420 through this craziness.
  2377. 01:55:57.870 – 01:55:59.710 But when he sat in there with the police,
  2378. 01:56:00.230 – 01:56:01.610 he explained to them,
  2379. 01:56:02.210 – 01:56:03.810 and if you listen to the interview,
  2380. 01:56:04.330 – 01:56:05.950 he was really, man, listen,
  2381. 01:56:05.950 – 01:56:10.660 I didn't want to, they made me.
  2382. 01:56:11.900 – 01:56:13.420 That wasn't what I was,
  2383. 01:56:13.960 – 01:56:17.740 I didn't have nothing to do with them killing them people.
  2384. 01:56:18.660 – 01:56:21.780 But you didn't already made yourself complicit
  2385. 01:56:22.480 – 01:56:24.160 to the actual act
  2386. 01:56:24.160 – 01:56:26.920 because now you've given them the information
  2387. 01:56:27.600 – 01:56:29.760 that you didn't know not to give them
  2388. 01:56:29.760 – 01:56:32.800 and now this young man doing 50 years of life.
  2389. 01:56:35.260 – 01:56:36.700 And you didn't even do the crime,
  2390. 01:56:36.760 – 01:56:38.000 you was just there
  2391. 01:56:38.620 – 01:56:40.660 because you wasn't strong enough to say,
  2392. 01:56:40.840 – 01:56:42.640 no, I'm not climbing through that window.
  2393. 01:56:46.290 – 01:56:47.110 Life gone.
  2394. 01:56:54.600 – 01:56:59.260 I had someone that had a similar thing,
  2395. 01:56:59.720 – 01:57:01.500 no lives were lost though.
  2396. 01:57:12.570 – 01:57:14.130 Caught up in the wrong environments,
  2397. 01:57:14.510 – 01:57:16.090 caught around the wrong people
  2398. 01:57:16.670 – 01:57:18.530 or people that don't even have a legacy
  2399. 01:57:18.530 – 01:57:21.590 or that vision or that good direction in life.
  2400. 01:57:21.950 – 01:57:23.170 Like you said earlier,
  2401. 01:57:23.850 – 01:57:25.910 getting caught up in something that's positive,
  2402. 01:57:26.630 – 01:57:29.030 doing stuff that's good for the environment,
  2403. 01:57:29.030 – 01:57:30.130 doing right,
  2404. 01:57:31.210 – 01:57:32.070 which is needed.
  2405. 01:57:33.230 – 01:57:35.510 And I just applaud you
  2406. 01:57:35.510 – 01:57:36.990 and thank you for being that example.
  2407. 01:57:39.940 – 01:57:41.000 As we wrap up,
  2408. 01:57:41.240 – 01:57:43.080 how can everybody find you,
  2409. 01:57:43.420 – 01:57:45.480 locate you if they want to book you
  2410. 01:57:45.480 – 01:57:49.640 or reach out to G6 or Liquid Vision Films?
  2411. 01:57:50.000 – 01:57:50.620 How can they do that?
  2412. 01:57:50.960 – 01:57:52.400 G6 No Gas,
  2413. 01:57:53.920 – 01:57:55.060 that's the tag,
  2414. 01:57:56.320 – 01:57:57.840 Instagram, Facebook.
  2415. 01:57:59.260 – 01:58:01.120 I'm working on a YouTube page now.
  2416. 01:58:01.120 – 01:58:02.360 YouTube, okay.
  2417. 01:58:04.920 – 01:58:08.340 Underscore Liquid V Film on Instagram.
  2418. 01:58:09.080 – 01:58:11.320 It's where I post some of my work at.
  2419. 01:58:12.620 – 01:58:13.320 But other than that,
  2420. 01:58:13.400 – 01:58:16.200 I mean, it's really just stay tuned
  2421. 01:58:16.200 – 01:58:18.020 because it ain't even started yet.
  2422. 01:58:18.220 – 01:58:21.080 It's just getting to that point.
  2423. 01:58:22.830 – 01:58:26.050 And I just hope that I can help somebody
  2424. 01:58:27.050 – 01:58:28.730 down the line,
  2425. 01:58:29.310 – 01:58:31.770 make better decisions for themselves
  2426. 01:58:31.770 – 01:58:33.970 as life move forward
  2427. 01:58:33.970 – 01:58:38.670 because we need something to do.
  2428. 01:58:38.750 – 01:58:41.290 And if this is something that you enjoy doing,
  2429. 01:58:41.810 – 01:58:43.770 you just gotta get around the right people
  2430. 01:58:43.770 – 01:58:46.250 that's doing what you enjoy to do.
  2431. 01:58:47.310 – 01:58:48.370 And they gonna feed you
  2432. 01:58:48.370 – 01:58:50.170 and they gonna teach you how to feed yourself.
  2433. 01:58:50.530 – 01:58:51.990 That's the most important part.
  2434. 01:58:55.220 – 01:58:56.080 Yes, yes.
  2435. 01:58:56.840 – 01:58:57.680 And there you have it.
  2436. 01:58:57.740 – 01:58:59.180 This is photographer Jackson,
  2437. 01:58:59.320 – 01:59:02.340 Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media
  2438. 01:59:02.340 – 01:59:04.640 bringing you another episode
  2439. 01:59:04.640 – 01:59:06.840 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  2440. 01:59:06.840 – 01:59:10.640 with Mr. Sean Lee Jones, my mentor, my brother.
  2441. 01:59:11.560 – 01:59:13.440 Hey, taking this one to the top.
  2442. 01:59:14.020 – 01:59:16.540 And if you wanna find me and book me,
  2443. 01:59:16.540 – 01:59:19.960 visit alienizephotos.com
  2444. 01:59:19.960 – 01:59:24.200 and follow me on all social media at Alienize Photos.
  2445. 01:59:24.640 – 01:59:25.860 All right, till next time.
  2446. 01:59:26.160 – 01:59:26.420 Peace.
  2447. 01:59:27.120 – 01:59:27.620 Peace.

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2. You Should Not Need a Setback to Get Focused Do the Work, Get Your Rest Creative Entrepreneurs

Season 1 · Episode 58

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.000 – 00:00:06.940 welcome everyone this is photographer Jackson and I'm sorry if I sound
  2. 00:00:06.940 – 00:00:16.630 nasally and all that currently under the weather getting better definitely had
  3. 00:00:16.630 – 00:00:22.510 to update you speak my mind and do the work while I take a little break and
  4. 00:00:22.510 – 00:00:35.950 recover it's as funny as you know we feel ill on the path of healing they feel
  5. 00:00:35.950 – 00:00:45.450 sick or whatever the case may be just not a hundred percent it's it's like we
  6. 00:00:46.050 – 00:00:54.510 journey and all of a sudden we get hyper focus once we get a hundred percent we
  7. 00:00:54.510 – 00:01:01.190 just we just do the work and that's kind of kind of what I'm on the path of
  8. 00:01:01.190 – 00:01:09.490 doing right now it's funny to say just just doing the work and being
  9. 00:01:09.490 – 00:01:16.170 hyper focused like I got so much done today after just recovering I'm almost
  10. 00:01:16.170 – 00:01:22.350 a hundred percent as you can hear I'm still nasally like I was going through
  11. 00:01:22.350 – 00:01:31.590 it I don't even speak about the past few days it's been aching and sore it's been
  12. 00:01:31.590 – 00:01:39.710 crazy but the recovery is good I'm feeling much better and I just been
  13. 00:01:39.710 – 00:01:45.010 getting work done I've just been knocking out a lot of things I had time to sit
  14. 00:01:45.010 – 00:01:53.250 there lay there think about everything I had to do once I found the strength had
  15. 00:01:53.250 – 00:02:01.170 the energy to do all these things I've just been doing it I've been really
  16. 00:02:01.170 – 00:02:06.330 really knocking out everything I had on my list that I'm supposed to do
  17. 00:02:06.330 – 00:02:14.130 should be doing could be doing pass through I just begin to done so I'm
  18. 00:02:14.130 – 00:02:21.950 encouraging anyone to get sick or ill or any of those things but try to get hyper
  19. 00:02:21.950 – 00:02:32.050 focus don't don't let you know these misfortunes and setbacks be the only
  20. 00:02:32.050 – 00:02:40.550 way to catapult you forward that's more so a word and lesson for me but
  21. 00:02:40.550 – 00:02:47.690 if you could receive it take it in definitely do but I just want to say wow
  22. 00:02:47.690 – 00:03:00.670 you got what to do just do it it's crazy how big is these situations all
  23. 00:03:00.670 – 00:03:08.230 of a sudden it may be like a handicap but what is a handicap are you giving
  24. 00:03:08.230 – 00:03:14.890 yourself that handicap we forget to be thankful be full of gratitude because
  25. 00:03:14.890 – 00:03:21.710 any moment these could turn around our life could change in an instant and mine
  26. 00:03:21.710 – 00:03:28.010 definitely did I know the seasons just change in the weather is changing you
  27. 00:03:28.010 – 00:03:33.510 know definitely around a lot of different people so I didn't expect
  28. 00:03:34.210 – 00:03:40.910 but you know it helped me be more grateful when I'm at full health and a
  29. 00:03:40.910 – 00:03:45.450 hundred percent or even over a hundred percent I know I haven't been
  30. 00:03:45.450 – 00:03:51.390 getting a lot of rest or much rest like I should be average like four and
  31. 00:03:51.390 – 00:04:00.990 a half hours five hours maybe max my day you know sometimes even two and a
  32. 00:04:00.990 – 00:04:08.250 three hours which is like insane you know compared to the amount of work
  33. 00:04:09.430 – 00:04:15.410 that should be accomplished it needs to be done you know compared to that the
  34. 00:04:15.410 – 00:04:21.450 average is like seven to eight and a half hours of rest each day and I
  35. 00:04:21.450 – 00:04:28.030 would love to get that definitely one day someday someday soon you know I'm
  36. 00:04:28.030 – 00:04:35.390 thinking about what my full capability would be if I got eight hours of rest
  37. 00:04:35.390 – 00:04:42.470 each and every day if I'm at full energy each and every day if I'm at
  38. 00:04:42.470 – 00:04:58.010 full mental capacity each and every day but I'm always grateful I'm always
  39. 00:04:58.810 – 00:05:02.030 some take what's given it to you and make it even better
  40. 00:05:03.510 – 00:05:09.910 so these past few days I've honestly been catching up on rest I did nothing
  41. 00:05:09.910 – 00:05:20.990 at all I spent time with my daughter and my girl but uh other than that like I just
  42. 00:05:20.990 – 00:05:29.590 in and in the bed as you can see well as you can hear it's just a lazily I'm sorry
  43. 00:05:29.590 – 00:05:34.950 for this I cut this short just so y'all want to deal with this and you know y'all
  44. 00:05:34.950 – 00:05:41.910 gonna have a full better episode but I just wanted to hop on and just remind y'all just
  45. 00:05:41.910 – 00:05:46.770 do the work no matter what like I'm doing the work and I'm not even a hundred percent
  46. 00:05:46.770 – 00:05:53.090 you still gotta put in the work the effort you know I'm waiting for files to load
  47. 00:05:53.170 – 00:06:01.690 export so I'm like well let me update my people my creative entrepreneurs my entrepreneurs
  48. 00:06:01.690 – 00:06:09.610 small business owners my creative artists my photographers all my good people
  49. 00:06:10.890 – 00:06:19.380 my service base providers y'all have to do what y'all gotta do
  50. 00:06:20.140 – 00:06:25.000 applaud yourself for what you've gotten this far don't take it for granted
  51. 00:06:25.960 – 00:06:33.300 give yourself that achievement even if nobody else do you know what you did you know
  52. 00:06:33.300 – 00:06:39.960 applaud yourself celebrate yourself celebrate the small words it's all about that gratitude
  53. 00:06:39.960 – 00:06:47.620 for the littlest things when the big things happens gratitude will be one times 10 times
  54. 00:06:47.620 – 00:06:57.560 100 and the whole world could recognize it and celebrate with you so no matter what just
  55. 00:06:58.180 – 00:07:06.420 stay focused do the work get your rest take your vitamins drink plenty of water do your
  56. 00:07:06.420 – 00:07:15.380 exercises because that's something I've been lacking this past few days and I'm ready to jump
  57. 00:07:15.380 – 00:07:26.660 back out there so tomorrow I should be 100% you know I hope so but I think I should be
  58. 00:07:27.830 – 00:07:34.780 I will go to bed much earlier today I don't have anything on the schedule or anything
  59. 00:07:34.780 – 00:07:42.920 that's urgent so I'm definitely getting my rest I've done a lot of work I got a master class
  60. 00:07:42.920 – 00:07:52.780 in about 30 minutes that I'm attending so with one of my uh community so I'll be doing that
  61. 00:07:52.780 – 00:08:01.020 the next 30 minutes so I'm just prepping myself I've been doing a liquid fast
  62. 00:08:02.280 – 00:08:12.760 um something something different I was just going to fast but I know when you're going through
  63. 00:08:12.760 – 00:08:18.100 it and under the weather you got to stay hydrated and flush all the stuff out and
  64. 00:08:20.050 – 00:08:27.710 I had to I had to eat something at this well yesterday evening but I tried to fast
  65. 00:08:27.710 – 00:08:34.490 and liquid fast as long as I can throughout the day I'm gonna try the same thing today
  66. 00:08:36.010 – 00:08:40.049 and just try to overeat every evening kind of like Ramadan
  67. 00:08:41.169 – 00:08:48.290 so y'all take care of yourself couldn't know what else will or would
  68. 00:08:49.310 – 00:08:59.050 you are your own healer you are your own provider you are your own boss
  69. 00:08:59.870 – 00:09:08.750 you just remember that but I am wanting to also mention a few things that's coming up
  70. 00:09:09.890 – 00:09:20.410 um let's say the pull-up experience we are currently at 332 episodes and counting
  71. 00:09:20.410 – 00:09:32.640 me beauty told is almost at 100 eyes photos industry told almost at 100 so it's definitely
  72. 00:09:32.640 – 00:09:39.300 accomplishment for you know my podcast and the podcast that I produce and behind
  73. 00:09:41.560 – 00:09:46.500 this is it's amazing a shout out to overflow studios with the partnership with
  74. 00:09:47.620 – 00:09:53.980 overflow studios who just took it to a higher level and you know I'm a part of it be more
  75. 00:09:53.980 – 00:10:02.280 behind the scenes not directly so I'm proud of all of it but you could catch us all at
  76. 00:10:03.420 – 00:10:12.040 futureland this year will be presenting once again or podcasting so we collectively have over
  77. 00:10:12.780 – 00:10:22.960 you know 500 published episodes collectively as a team and we're bringing you the blueprint
  78. 00:10:22.960 – 00:10:32.240 and you know showing you some of our tactics and even for those who are aspiring podcasters
  79. 00:10:32.860 – 00:10:38.880 they wanted to get started in podcasts especially if you have a business and let me repeat that
  80. 00:10:38.880 – 00:10:44.240 especially if you have a business I only recommend podcasting if you have a business
  81. 00:10:44.240 – 00:10:49.120 that's just me you know I'm not telling you what to do or you just want to gossip
  82. 00:10:49.120 – 00:10:56.060 have a podcast and talking yeah talking yeah that's what you do but I'm all about
  83. 00:10:57.520 – 00:11:03.980 businesses having a podcast having an offer you know showing your expertise
  84. 00:11:03.980 – 00:11:11.160 and bringing guests on to be potential partners or even clients so you can catch us at this
  85. 00:11:11.160 – 00:11:21.980 futureland November 21st, 2026 at the Midtown Collaboration Center
  86. 00:11:21.980 – 00:11:33.240 MCC Midtown Collaboration Center November 21st, 2026 and the presentation is at
  87. 00:11:33.240 – 00:11:41.000 11 a.m to 2 p.m and I think the tickets are free but we also have a podcast bootcamp
  88. 00:11:42.120 – 00:11:47.520 where we're going to put you through the wringer and get you started put you through
  89. 00:11:47.520 – 00:11:54.660 different obstacle courses even you know have you conduct a podcast with broken equipment
  90. 00:11:55.320 – 00:12:02.700 so if you want to be part of that there's limited slots that is I think later in the day
  91. 00:12:02.700 – 00:12:09.380 for the podcast bootcamp and I think the tickets are like $25 and I think it's only
  92. 00:12:09.380 – 00:12:18.800 eight slots and three has already been taken so yeah join us for the podcast presentation
  93. 00:12:18.800 – 00:12:24.400 in the a.m and then you know later for the bootcamp it's going to be a great time at the
  94. 00:12:24.400 – 00:12:30.800 Midtown Collaboration Center near Midtown Cleveland, Ohio
  95. 00:12:32.300 – 00:12:38.480 kind of near downtown 55th area if you're you know in the city definitely come out check out
  96. 00:12:38.480 – 00:12:43.920 the whole futureland conference so much to learn so much to gain so many connections
  97. 00:12:43.920 – 00:12:50.480 so many power players are in the building and if you've never been to a creative meetup
  98. 00:12:51.440 – 00:12:56.480 power by futureland you definitely have to attend their monthly creative meetups
  99. 00:12:56.480 – 00:13:02.820 and I've been helping them grow and promote the document you know the whole process with
  100. 00:13:02.820 – 00:13:09.630 the creative meetups is only getting better it definitely joined their new
  101. 00:13:10.950 – 00:13:27.030 uh flux application flx by futureland and it's a join flx.com join flx.com
  102. 00:13:27.030 – 00:13:34.070 they just made an announcement with their flex app you know shout out to my main man brent
  103. 00:13:34.710 – 00:13:41.250 for building a whole layout and I've seen it from the beginning all the way to now
  104. 00:13:41.890 – 00:13:48.610 you know put yourself on the map that's one of the videos today that I just
  105. 00:13:49.390 – 00:13:56.910 finish and put together and shout out to Brianna Casanova my lady
  106. 00:13:57.630 – 00:14:05.850 lady b for putting it together the bones of it together and I tweaked a little things
  107. 00:14:05.850 – 00:14:12.510 and polished it but for the main part she did her thing with that video as always if you see
  108. 00:14:12.510 – 00:14:22.410 her work if you need a podcast producer podcast editor she is your go-to woman all right you
  109. 00:14:22.410 – 00:14:31.110 before I start you know piled up with a lot of work because everybody knows me alien hospitals
  110. 00:14:31.110 – 00:14:42.090 industry talk is an audio first podcast or audio based podcast and if I was ever to jump to video
  111. 00:14:42.090 – 00:14:47.250 which could be any moment now you know she would definitely be behind the scenes and cutting
  112. 00:14:47.250 – 00:14:54.150 these clips up and it's only a matter of time before I jump to video so definitely book her
  113. 00:14:54.150 – 00:15:03.330 while y'all can and you can catch her at overflow studios.com I think it's overflow
  114. 00:15:03.330 – 00:15:13.110 studios.com but definitely tap in her social media I think it's overflow underscore studios
  115. 00:15:14.070 – 00:15:22.630 but you know you can catch us on a creative frequency on a creative frequency
  116. 00:15:23.330 – 00:15:31.350 or social media and you could find both of us there really alienize photos and overflow studios
  117. 00:15:31.350 – 00:15:38.470 so yeah if you want us both to produce your podcast and really take it to a new level
  118. 00:15:38.910 – 00:15:47.530 so do it behind the scenes content with the photos get us behind the scenes videos
  119. 00:15:48.390 – 00:15:55.870 I'm doing your show notes your SEO titles all that good stuff and you know of course she's
  120. 00:15:55.870 – 00:16:03.010 filming editing chopping it up for you let me just package it up definitely book us both
  121. 00:16:03.010 – 00:16:09.910 it's gonna be at a hefty price just to let you know but if it's doable for you
  122. 00:16:09.910 – 00:16:15.710 you want to take your podcast to another level definitely book us we're here for you
  123. 00:16:16.530 – 00:16:25.250 and I want to say thank you all for tuning in to another episode this this has been a
  124. 00:16:26.060 – 00:16:31.830 sorry if y'all I'm gonna cut it short because I gotta I actually gotta blow my nose
  125. 00:16:32.690 – 00:16:38.370 oh man excuse me but check me out at alienizephotos.com
  126. 00:16:39.290 – 00:16:47.730 and at alienize photos or on social media until next time y'all peace love and blessings
  127. 00:16:47.730 – 00:16:48.370 continue

Back to contents

3. What Is a Creative Entrepreneur? Turning Creativity Into a Profitable Business

Season 1 · Episode 57

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.850 – 00:00:04.110 Are you a creative entrepreneur?
  2. 00:00:05.550 – 00:00:07.250 Now, everyone asks me,
  3. 00:00:08.230 – 00:00:10.310 what is a creative entrepreneur?
  4. 00:00:10.510 – 00:00:14.750 Are you talking about a creative entrepreneur?
  5. 00:00:14.950 – 00:00:20.230 Is it a creative artist, a business owner, entrepreneur?
  6. 00:00:21.810 – 00:00:23.290 It's a creative entrepreneur.
  7. 00:00:24.430 – 00:00:28.450 And a creative entrepreneur is an individual
  8. 00:00:28.450 – 00:00:34.070 who builds a business based on their unique creative talents,
  9. 00:00:35.550 – 00:00:40.570 artistic skills, and or intellectual property.
  10. 00:00:41.730 – 00:00:45.450 They bridge the gap between artistic expression
  11. 00:00:45.830 – 00:00:48.730 and commercial viability,
  12. 00:00:49.630 – 00:00:53.070 turning ideas like design, writing, art, fashion,
  13. 00:00:53.390 – 00:00:58.430 and most of all, media into a society.
  14. 00:00:58.450 – 00:01:00.550 A sustainable enterprise.
  15. 00:01:02.090 – 00:01:04.470 And unlike traditional entrepreneurs
  16. 00:01:04.470 – 00:01:08.010 who may focus solely on market gaps,
  17. 00:01:09.250 – 00:01:14.890 creative entrepreneurs prioritize passion and innovation
  18. 00:01:14.890 – 00:01:17.250 as their core business drivers.
  19. 00:01:18.210 – 00:01:21.190 And we have different industries
  20. 00:01:21.190 – 00:01:24.250 under creative entrepreneurs,
  21. 00:01:24.250 – 00:01:32.030 such as design and visual art, media, content, crafts,
  22. 00:01:32.290 – 00:01:38.550 and physical products, or that builds physical products,
  23. 00:01:39.410 – 00:01:42.030 performing, fine arts.
  24. 00:01:42.890 – 00:01:46.850 And I'm gonna get into a little deeper
  25. 00:01:46.850 – 00:01:48.730 versus just the industries.
  26. 00:01:48.850 – 00:01:51.210 Let me go more inside the industries.
  27. 00:01:51.800 – 00:01:55.970 Like for me in media, you have your podcasters,
  28. 00:01:56.290 – 00:01:59.490 your YouTubers, photographers, videographers,
  29. 00:01:59.790 – 00:02:03.630 your actors, filmmakers, authors,
  30. 00:02:04.250 – 00:02:07.510 copywriters, digital content creators,
  31. 00:02:07.870 – 00:02:11.970 which has blown up these past 10 years
  32. 00:02:11.970 – 00:02:14.210 and being a YouTuber now,
  33. 00:02:14.330 – 00:02:17.410 I think podcasting has really taken off.
  34. 00:02:17.470 – 00:02:19.070 Everybody wanna be a podcaster.
  35. 00:02:19.750 – 00:02:22.730 First it was YouTube, I wanna be a YouTuber now.
  36. 00:02:23.070 – 00:02:25.770 Everybody wanna be a podcast and have a podcast.
  37. 00:02:26.450 – 00:02:29.030 And then we gonna stay in that media
  38. 00:02:29.030 – 00:02:31.170 with the visual arts and design,
  39. 00:02:31.430 – 00:02:36.330 graphic designers, illustrators, fashion designers,
  40. 00:02:37.030 – 00:02:41.170 interior decorators are actually creative entrepreneurs.
  41. 00:02:42.470 – 00:02:45.390 Photography is also in that category as well
  42. 00:02:45.390 – 00:02:47.010 as far as visual art.
  43. 00:02:50.230 – 00:02:55.290 And we're going to more of the arts and the craft
  44. 00:02:55.610 – 00:02:58.750 or anybody to do any type of arts and craft
  45. 00:02:58.750 – 00:03:06.210 or even sometimes architecture and construction,
  46. 00:03:07.310 – 00:03:12.250 the way things are made and built to woodworkers
  47. 00:03:12.250 – 00:03:16.670 and apparel makers like clothing designers
  48. 00:03:16.670 – 00:03:18.210 and things like that.
  49. 00:03:20.730 – 00:03:23.890 Pottery, a lot of those things,
  50. 00:03:24.330 – 00:03:26.230 that's creative entrepreneur,
  51. 00:03:26.630 – 00:03:28.210 you're using your creative ability
  52. 00:03:29.030 – 00:03:34.030 to generate funds and solve a problem.
  53. 00:03:35.290 – 00:03:37.250 So it's a beautiful thing
  54. 00:03:37.250 – 00:03:42.050 and going to performing arts with musician
  55. 00:03:42.050 – 00:03:52.310 and dancers, actors, painters, exhibitors, digital artists,
  56. 00:03:54.740 – 00:03:56.180 live artists.
  57. 00:03:59.220 – 00:04:04.480 So it's a thin line between being an artist
  58. 00:04:04.480 – 00:04:08.700 who is an entrepreneur or an entrepreneur
  59. 00:04:08.700 – 00:04:11.460 who is an artist.
  60. 00:04:11.460 – 00:04:14.000 I think that's totally separate
  61. 00:04:14.730 – 00:04:19.000 from being a creative entrepreneur.
  62. 00:04:19.800 – 00:04:27.080 Like me, I am the definition of a creative entrepreneur.
  63. 00:04:29.320 – 00:04:31.000 And welcome, welcome, welcome.
  64. 00:04:31.940 – 00:04:36.460 This is Steve Jackson, photographer Jackson
  65. 00:04:36.760 – 00:04:39.500 of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  66. 00:04:39.500 – 00:04:45.920 and this is Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  67. 00:04:47.810 – 00:04:49.550 And I've been getting these questions
  68. 00:04:49.550 – 00:04:54.210 on creative entrepreneurship as I speak much
  69. 00:04:54.210 – 00:04:58.510 and highly on creative entrepreneurship
  70. 00:04:58.510 – 00:05:01.270 and being a creative entrepreneur
  71. 00:05:02.410 – 00:05:07.690 who I felt for me was a great definition
  72. 00:05:07.690 – 00:05:09.950 on like how to describe me.
  73. 00:05:10.910 – 00:05:14.710 Like even being a musician and doing poetry,
  74. 00:05:14.790 – 00:05:17.290 I always had that business mindset
  75. 00:05:17.290 – 00:05:19.110 in the back of my head.
  76. 00:05:20.330 – 00:05:23.470 It was things that I would study and practice
  77. 00:05:24.650 – 00:05:28.370 and listen and read different business books.
  78. 00:05:28.970 – 00:05:33.430 So it was always ingrained in my head
  79. 00:05:33.430 – 00:05:37.170 but I was such an artist.
  80. 00:05:37.690 – 00:05:40.130 Now I think it kind of flip-flopped
  81. 00:05:40.130 – 00:05:44.610 where I'm more business-minded, more than I'm an artist
  82. 00:05:46.780 – 00:05:48.510 but I'm still creative.
  83. 00:05:50.050 – 00:05:51.570 You know, I have to be creative.
  84. 00:05:51.570 – 00:05:52.930 I have to create.
  85. 00:05:53.610 – 00:05:57.750 The solutions I bring to my clients
  86. 00:05:57.750 – 00:06:02.270 involves me creating, even creating a plan,
  87. 00:06:03.430 – 00:06:05.550 creating how it's gonna look,
  88. 00:06:05.550 – 00:06:07.930 capturing it, documenting it,
  89. 00:06:08.030 – 00:06:12.190 putting it all together, making sure it's polished visually
  90. 00:06:13.750 – 00:06:18.890 because I get my clients visible.
  91. 00:06:20.670 – 00:06:24.110 Their brand becomes visible after working with me
  92. 00:06:24.830 – 00:06:28.890 and that's always the goal but I have to create them
  93. 00:06:30.880 – 00:06:34.720 and through my creation I get paid
  94. 00:06:35.500 – 00:06:37.080 based on the results.
  95. 00:06:43.120 – 00:06:45.460 So anyone that's,
  96. 00:06:47.730 – 00:06:49.530 because I heard it a lot being a poet,
  97. 00:06:49.730 – 00:06:51.630 like there's no money in poetry.
  98. 00:06:52.130 – 00:06:56.230 There's no money writing poetry.
  99. 00:06:57.790 – 00:06:59.490 You know, poets don't make money.
  100. 00:07:00.390 – 00:07:02.430 You know, I heard that a lot
  101. 00:07:03.190 – 00:07:06.230 when I was actively doing poetry,
  102. 00:07:06.590 – 00:07:07.990 performing and writing.
  103. 00:07:09.970 – 00:07:15.870 And I mean, if I would've just shift gears
  104. 00:07:15.870 – 00:07:18.390 and had the mindset that I had, you know,
  105. 00:07:20.380 – 00:07:25.970 like, oh my goodness, oh my goodness.
  106. 00:07:28.830 – 00:07:30.190 And I'm saying oh my goodness
  107. 00:07:30.190 – 00:07:35.010 because it's something that I could really do right now
  108. 00:07:35.670 – 00:07:37.630 because I have a lot of past work
  109. 00:07:37.630 – 00:07:40.050 and a lot of unreleased work
  110. 00:07:41.300 – 00:07:45.480 that I think y'all may be hearing exclusive.
  111. 00:07:45.480 – 00:07:48.940 Like, I just gave myself a good thought
  112. 00:07:48.940 – 00:07:50.260 just doing this podcast.
  113. 00:07:50.300 – 00:07:51.200 Like, why?
  114. 00:07:52.140 – 00:07:54.560 I mean, yeah, I could've done it
  115. 00:07:54.560 – 00:07:55.420 if I had a mindset.
  116. 00:07:55.660 – 00:07:57.520 Now, I have the mindset right now
  117. 00:07:57.520 – 00:07:58.860 and I still have the content
  118. 00:07:58.860 – 00:08:00.240 and the poetry and the writing.
  119. 00:08:01.840 – 00:08:04.700 So, huh, I'ma put something together.
  120. 00:08:05.860 – 00:08:07.020 Yeah, I'ma just leave it at that.
  121. 00:08:07.300 – 00:08:11.200 I'ma put something together with my past work.
  122. 00:08:11.260 – 00:08:14.560 I'ma add some new stuff too, you know.
  123. 00:08:15.740 – 00:08:17.520 I'm still right here and there,
  124. 00:08:19.910 – 00:08:21.930 but, you know, that's more so for me
  125. 00:08:21.930 – 00:08:24.730 and for, you know, not necessarily for fun,
  126. 00:08:24.750 – 00:08:26.250 but just for the sport.
  127. 00:08:26.710 – 00:08:29.110 I'ma just not do it here and there,
  128. 00:08:29.110 – 00:08:30.270 but not like how I used to.
  129. 00:08:30.270 – 00:08:33.210 I used to be up all day and night.
  130. 00:08:33.270 – 00:08:35.669 I'm talking about dedicated.
  131. 00:08:35.929 – 00:08:40.429 Like, I was making it to the league type of dedication.
  132. 00:08:40.490 – 00:08:42.870 That's how I was with music and poetry
  133. 00:08:42.870 – 00:08:45.370 and, you know, with my writings and wrote books
  134. 00:08:45.370 – 00:08:52.410 that I ended up losing through a bad computer crash
  135. 00:08:52.410 – 00:08:53.970 and lost everything.
  136. 00:08:55.410 – 00:08:57.770 Yeah, it devastated me for a long time.
  137. 00:08:57.810 – 00:09:00.970 Like, I didn't want to write anything anymore.
  138. 00:09:01.050 – 00:09:03.910 Like, I had books ready to publish.
  139. 00:09:04.130 – 00:09:07.690 I'm talking about books with a capital S.
  140. 00:09:09.630 – 00:09:13.550 And it was so much that I lost
  141. 00:09:13.550 – 00:09:15.810 and it just damaged me.
  142. 00:09:17.350 – 00:09:19.530 And I didn't want to do anything,
  143. 00:09:19.690 – 00:09:21.890 especially anything creative alone
  144. 00:09:21.890 – 00:09:23.950 when I was like that, like, ugh.
  145. 00:09:25.790 – 00:09:28.550 And with music, I just started freestyle.
  146. 00:09:28.890 – 00:09:32.070 Like, I stopped writing and just started freestyling
  147. 00:09:32.710 – 00:09:34.770 and just doing it like that.
  148. 00:09:36.890 – 00:09:39.450 And it kind of took away, I enjoyed it.
  149. 00:09:39.450 – 00:09:42.130 I liked it and I was pretty decent,
  150. 00:09:42.130 – 00:09:48.280 but not like how I wanted or felt
  151. 00:09:51.740 – 00:09:55.440 how I wanted to market myself and be out there.
  152. 00:09:55.840 – 00:09:57.160 Freestyling wasn't the way
  153. 00:09:57.160 – 00:10:02.220 because I always had a powerful mind and powerful thoughts.
  154. 00:10:03.360 – 00:10:07.000 And I wanted to articulate that correctly,
  155. 00:10:07.000 – 00:10:09.960 not just by the spur of the moment.
  156. 00:10:10.280 – 00:10:13.020 I wanted to actually paint the picture
  157. 00:10:13.420 – 00:10:16.780 of what I was saying correctly in detail,
  158. 00:10:17.040 – 00:10:19.540 not just the first thing that came to mind
  159. 00:10:19.540 – 00:10:21.300 because the first thing that come to mind
  160. 00:10:21.300 – 00:10:23.800 is always not the right thing
  161. 00:10:23.800 – 00:10:26.640 or the most polished thing or the best thing
  162. 00:10:27.200 – 00:10:29.380 or what you should be saying in general.
  163. 00:10:33.020 – 00:10:35.300 So eventually I got back to writing.
  164. 00:10:36.380 – 00:10:42.840 I had to get out that dark hole
  165. 00:10:43.960 – 00:10:46.600 and I mean, even through that process,
  166. 00:10:47.000 – 00:10:50.680 I ended up, the studio I was going to,
  167. 00:10:50.680 – 00:10:56.500 the engineer closed the studio and, you know,
  168. 00:10:58.420 – 00:11:00.380 I was young at the time,
  169. 00:11:00.380 – 00:11:03.820 so that kind of set me back to
  170. 00:11:05.130 – 00:11:10.830 as far as being creative and actively creating.
  171. 00:11:13.300 – 00:11:17.380 So it was like two dark holes,
  172. 00:11:17.880 – 00:11:22.300 two negative things around creating
  173. 00:11:22.300 – 00:11:25.120 and being an artist and really being passionate.
  174. 00:11:25.660 – 00:11:28.840 Like it sucked the life out of me really.
  175. 00:11:29.660 – 00:11:32.980 Like it took years for me to get back to that
  176. 00:11:32.980 – 00:11:39.260 and have that courage within myself
  177. 00:11:40.620 – 00:11:43.400 to pull it through and finding the strength
  178. 00:11:43.400 – 00:11:44.980 to actually do it again.
  179. 00:11:45.060 – 00:11:47.200 Like it was hard, you know.
  180. 00:11:47.720 – 00:11:49.380 You know, I had to motivate myself.
  181. 00:11:49.400 – 00:11:53.680 I had to get re-inspired and, you know,
  182. 00:11:59.340 – 00:12:03.040 I mean, even to this day,
  183. 00:12:03.180 – 00:12:10.280 like I've definitely done things on a lower scale.
  184. 00:12:14.440 – 00:12:19.680 Whether this is, you know, this music, poetry,
  185. 00:12:19.680 – 00:12:24.580 you know, taking photos, doing videos, of course,
  186. 00:12:24.580 – 00:12:26.120 you know, at my own will
  187. 00:12:26.900 – 00:12:30.480 and creating what I want to create now for a client.
  188. 00:12:31.960 – 00:12:33.940 You know, me just being a pure artist.
  189. 00:12:35.360 – 00:12:37.640 I haven't done that in a while actually,
  190. 00:12:37.840 – 00:12:40.940 to be honest and I know I should
  191. 00:12:41.640 – 00:12:45.460 and they say especially if you do both,
  192. 00:12:45.480 – 00:12:47.280 like you're a content creator
  193. 00:12:47.280 – 00:12:50.580 or you create content for your brand
  194. 00:12:51.120 – 00:12:52.940 and you also serve clients,
  195. 00:12:53.260 – 00:12:58.200 you should split that up to 70, 30, 70%, you know,
  196. 00:12:58.260 – 00:13:01.900 for clients 30% is for you and your business
  197. 00:13:01.900 – 00:13:04.480 and you know, you're creating freely.
  198. 00:13:05.940 – 00:13:08.400 And I honestly want to get back to that.
  199. 00:13:08.500 – 00:13:10.900 I know we get caught up in the whole business side
  200. 00:13:10.900 – 00:13:14.000 and I kind of lost meaning of
  201. 00:13:14.000 – 00:13:15.880 being a creative entrepreneur
  202. 00:13:15.880 – 00:13:18.300 and I just became more of an entrepreneur.
  203. 00:13:18.560 – 00:13:21.520 Like, oh, I got to make six figures
  204. 00:13:21.520 – 00:13:24.460 and that's still a goal, you know,
  205. 00:13:24.580 – 00:13:26.120 making my first six figures.
  206. 00:13:28.660 – 00:13:32.000 I could say this may not be the year, honestly,
  207. 00:13:32.160 – 00:13:34.780 but this has been a big, you know,
  208. 00:13:34.960 – 00:13:38.320 catapulting year, a big planning stage
  209. 00:13:38.320 – 00:13:41.500 from maybe next year or even the year to come
  210. 00:13:41.500 – 00:13:42.540 right after that.
  211. 00:13:45.120 – 00:13:48.720 But it would have been lovely to make my six figures
  212. 00:13:48.720 – 00:13:52.980 but I know, you know, life and business,
  213. 00:13:53.880 – 00:13:57.820 it said I wasn't ready and I've accepted that.
  214. 00:13:58.400 – 00:14:00.620 And we're in the third quarter,
  215. 00:14:01.940 – 00:14:07.140 so it's still time, but, you know,
  216. 00:14:08.620 – 00:14:12.940 realistically, I probably won't get it this year,
  217. 00:14:13.060 – 00:14:14.560 which I'm totally fine,
  218. 00:14:15.040 – 00:14:19.320 but I've definitely became more of a business person,
  219. 00:14:19.780 – 00:14:23.700 more of an entrepreneur versus a joint,
  220. 00:14:24.240 – 00:14:27.140 creative entrepreneur, a creative entrepreneur.
  221. 00:14:28.160 – 00:14:31.460 So I wanted to get back
  222. 00:14:32.880 – 00:14:36.720 and y'all heard earlier on the podcast,
  223. 00:14:38.080 – 00:14:40.880 exclusively on Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  224. 00:14:40.880 – 00:14:43.700 that I'ma put together something
  225. 00:14:43.700 – 00:14:48.480 with my old poetry and I don't know what it's gonna be yet,
  226. 00:14:48.480 – 00:14:49.640 but stay tuned, I wanna,
  227. 00:14:50.560 – 00:14:54.980 I gotta find means to re-joke my creativity
  228. 00:14:54.980 – 00:14:57.360 and I know it will help me in my business,
  229. 00:14:57.480 – 00:14:59.460 I just know it will.
  230. 00:15:00.140 – 00:15:02.160 And that's why I'm saying it's been catapulted
  231. 00:15:02.160 – 00:15:05.720 because I'm not even using my own personal skills
  232. 00:15:05.720 – 00:15:12.340 and talents as I should and oh, I'm ready.
  233. 00:15:14.160 – 00:15:17.580 So six figures, here you come, here you come,
  234. 00:15:17.580 – 00:15:21.460 here you come to me because I'm attracted,
  235. 00:15:21.540 – 00:15:24.960 I'm not chasing, but I know the first time
  236. 00:15:24.960 – 00:15:30.660 I gotta also kinda put that hustle in and go get it,
  237. 00:15:30.680 – 00:15:36.860 but I'm also attracted and attracting the right clients
  238. 00:15:36.860 – 00:15:40.580 versus chasing, I've never really been a chaser
  239. 00:15:40.580 – 00:15:46.300 in anything in my life or even like chasing women
  240. 00:15:46.300 – 00:15:50.580 or whatever, like it's never been my style
  241. 00:15:51.080 – 00:15:52.840 or the way I did business.
  242. 00:15:53.960 – 00:15:58.320 So I know it's interesting in most situations,
  243. 00:15:58.560 – 00:16:02.720 like oh, you have to have that hustle in you
  244. 00:16:04.020 – 00:16:08.080 to be at the level you want to be
  245. 00:16:08.080 – 00:16:11.660 and that's not always the case and I've seen it
  246. 00:16:11.660 – 00:16:14.920 and I've experienced it, I've also witnessed it
  247. 00:16:14.920 – 00:16:17.040 with other people and their business
  248. 00:16:17.720 – 00:16:19.940 are just like the people they attract
  249. 00:16:19.940 – 00:16:22.500 and things and opportunities they attract,
  250. 00:16:23.460 – 00:16:25.320 so it's possible.
  251. 00:16:27.770 – 00:16:31.050 But to all my creative entrepreneurs,
  252. 00:16:33.810 – 00:16:37.350 keep that spark, never lose that spark,
  253. 00:16:37.350 – 00:16:44.990 that creative touch, but you also need to be making money.
  254. 00:16:45.110 – 00:16:47.510 I know you don't always have to build a business
  255. 00:16:47.510 – 00:16:51.330 around your art or have your art as a business,
  256. 00:16:53.150 – 00:16:56.770 but you should be getting paid to speak
  257. 00:16:56.770 – 00:17:00.530 and I'm saying that as a former performing poet,
  258. 00:17:01.310 – 00:17:03.290 you should be getting paid to speak.
  259. 00:17:03.290 – 00:17:11.849 If I book you to be at my event, you're getting paid.
  260. 00:17:13.890 – 00:17:20.480 So everybody else that books you should pay you
  261. 00:17:22.240 – 00:17:24.940 and I am happy to set that tone.
  262. 00:17:25.660 – 00:17:29.000 Again, as a former poet, I know
  263. 00:17:29.000 – 00:17:30.500 because I've been through it
  264. 00:17:30.500 – 00:17:34.160 and so many countless shows that I've done for free
  265. 00:17:34.160 – 00:17:36.880 are for a couple dollars, literally.
  266. 00:17:38.580 – 00:17:41.620 I know and I know how it is being out in the field
  267. 00:17:41.620 – 00:17:45.420 and just wanting to do you and do your art,
  268. 00:17:45.520 – 00:17:47.640 perform your art, showcase your art.
  269. 00:17:47.980 – 00:17:50.640 I know and I get it and I understand.
  270. 00:17:52.000 – 00:17:55.980 It is tough, but stay firm.
  271. 00:17:56.220 – 00:17:57.960 If they want you, they would pay.
  272. 00:18:00.310 – 00:18:01.510 That's all I got to say.
  273. 00:18:02.750 – 00:18:04.650 Never lose your creative touch, that spark.
  274. 00:18:05.650 – 00:18:10.770 Be a creative entrepreneur on purpose with a purpose.
  275. 00:18:12.370 – 00:18:15.190 Again, this is Steve Jackson,
  276. 00:18:15.430 – 00:18:19.750 Pataka Jackson of Alienize Photos Media
  277. 00:18:20.550 – 00:18:25.650 and this is Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  278. 00:18:26.610 – 00:18:28.490 And if you want to book me
  279. 00:18:28.490 – 00:18:31.450 and have a one-on-one consultation,
  280. 00:18:32.110 – 00:18:35.350 a nice strategy call, ideation session,
  281. 00:18:35.510 – 00:18:39.970 just to build your business or just to pick my brain,
  282. 00:18:42.280 – 00:18:44.720 even to book me as an event photographer
  283. 00:18:44.720 – 00:18:48.120 or you want a podcast production
  284. 00:18:48.120 – 00:18:51.660 or even some video recaps.
  285. 00:18:51.900 – 00:18:53.700 For all of that good stuff,
  286. 00:18:54.480 – 00:18:58.720 visit alienizephotos.com.
  287. 00:18:58.720 – 00:19:02.360 That's Alienize with a Z,
  288. 00:19:02.900 – 00:19:06.780 Photos with a S, dot com.
  289. 00:19:07.600 – 00:19:11.000 And also follow me on all social media,
  290. 00:19:11.800 – 00:19:14.340 even YouTube, I've been posting a little bit on YouTube.
  291. 00:19:14.420 – 00:19:17.840 I got to get better on TikTok, but I'm on there.
  292. 00:19:18.360 – 00:19:23.240 But on all social media, Alienize Photos.
  293. 00:19:23.240 – 00:19:28.620 All right, y'all, until next time, peace.

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4. Brother Tremain Lasenby of Lasenby Illustrations

Season 2 · Episode 19

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.690 – 00:00:08.690 Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of Alienize Photos and this re-talk.
  2. 00:00:09.750 – 00:00:11.690 I got my brother right in front of me.
  3. 00:00:11.690 – 00:00:13.690 Brother Tremaine Lazenby.
  4. 00:00:14.290 – 00:00:15.710 Tremaine X.
  5. 00:00:17.250 – 00:00:19.030 What does the X stand for?
  6. 00:00:19.750 – 00:00:20.770 It sounds spiritual.
  7. 00:00:21.450 – 00:00:21.870 Soldier.
  8. 00:00:22.330 – 00:00:23.530 That's a good question, man.
  9. 00:00:24.470 – 00:00:25.790 X marks the unknown.
  10. 00:00:27.250 – 00:00:29.030 So X marks the unknown.
  11. 00:00:29.250 – 00:00:30.610 It's similar to Malcolm X.
  12. 00:00:31.350 – 00:00:36.630 You know, we are given a name at birth, so I'm going to keep my first name.
  13. 00:00:36.770 – 00:00:44.170 But our last name is normally, especially in this country, is owned by a slave master or a slave owner.
  14. 00:00:44.830 – 00:00:50.350 Some way, shape, or form, even if it's from the Caribbeans, the West Indies, the island.
  15. 00:00:51.070 – 00:00:58.110 Most of our people here take the name of some type of slave owner or slave master.
  16. 00:00:58.450 – 00:01:08.810 So X marks the unknown until you are back to your original state, original name, original lifestyle, the state of mind.
  17. 00:01:09.270 – 00:01:10.810 So X is marked the unknown for now.
  18. 00:01:10.870 – 00:01:11.750 It's like an equation.
  19. 00:01:11.750 – 00:01:20.630 You know, while I figure out the roots, the beginning, the history, X marks the unknown until then.
  20. 00:01:21.030 – 00:01:23.250 I love it, I love it, I love it.
  21. 00:01:23.950 – 00:01:29.590 You're a master of education, creative director, creative design.
  22. 00:01:30.110 – 00:01:35.010 I know you from many different hustles just knowing you over the years.
  23. 00:01:35.970 – 00:01:39.010 But what does that look like for you as a creator?
  24. 00:01:42.560 – 00:01:48.000 As a creative man, I just really appreciate creating in general.
  25. 00:01:49.680 – 00:01:56.300 You know, photography, videography is just a hobby, if you will.
  26. 00:01:56.760 – 00:01:59.480 It's a skill, it's a talent, it's a means to an end.
  27. 00:02:00.300 – 00:02:01.840 But everything is creation.
  28. 00:02:01.840 – 00:02:12.420 We have a creator who created everything, you know, people, trees, earth, plants, tables, chairs, doors.
  29. 00:02:13.060 – 00:02:15.480 Everything, every single thing we look at is created.
  30. 00:02:15.560 – 00:02:19.860 So I like to create freely in all things, in all aspects.
  31. 00:02:21.060 – 00:02:28.280 But you know, I definitely, photography and videography is like a start to a freer life.
  32. 00:02:28.280 – 00:02:31.880 Just creating in general, every time I wake up, creating my day, you know.
  33. 00:02:32.040 – 00:02:33.320 I love it.
  34. 00:02:33.500 – 00:02:37.920 You know, I actually speak about, you know, videography, photography.
  35. 00:02:38.740 – 00:02:46.020 You know, you had multiple chances of working with me, alienized photos, media, you know, assisting me.
  36. 00:02:46.220 – 00:02:48.060 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  37. 00:02:48.780 – 00:02:54.940 But I honestly feel like I want to quit photography.
  38. 00:02:56.140 – 00:03:05.100 Like, I had this thought, like, approaching my late 30s.
  39. 00:03:05.860 – 00:03:07.780 And I'm thinking about my first million.
  40. 00:03:07.940 – 00:03:13.300 I'm like, can I make my first million with photography and video production?
  41. 00:03:13.720 – 00:03:16.000 Can I? The answer is yes.
  42. 00:03:16.840 – 00:03:22.040 But will I be tired, burnt out, all this work because we had a pre-production,
  43. 00:03:22.040 – 00:03:29.820 the planning, the actual production, the events, and then the editing, all the other stuff that goes into it.
  44. 00:03:30.360 – 00:03:35.060 So many hours to burn out, especially with a slim team.
  45. 00:03:35.840 – 00:03:42.320 So I thought about, like, either quitting it, putting it on the back burner,
  46. 00:03:44.480 – 00:03:47.780 or just having it fuel whatever my next endeavor is.
  47. 00:03:47.780 – 00:03:56.080 Right. I think you needed a restart and a reboot, a reinvention.
  48. 00:03:56.140 – 00:03:58.580 And I think you have done that over the past year.
  49. 00:03:58.600 – 00:04:01.820 And it sounds like, to me, you're not done doing that. And that's OK.
  50. 00:04:03.020 – 00:04:06.460 You know, pressing pause is OK. Regrouping is OK.
  51. 00:04:07.360 – 00:04:15.160 You know, as far as literally stopping it all together before maximizing something, I don't believe that's OK, though.
  52. 00:04:16.920 – 00:04:22.900 Because I think you have stretched yourself just a little too thin.
  53. 00:04:23.600 – 00:04:26.700 And maybe we could think a lot bigger on it as well.
  54. 00:04:28.060 – 00:04:31.720 Because in any field that you want to do, this is why I ask somebody.
  55. 00:04:31.960 – 00:04:33.820 I ask, what's the ideal situation?
  56. 00:04:35.000 – 00:04:39.040 You know, it's like if somebody gave you that million dollars right now,
  57. 00:04:41.200 – 00:04:44.260 what would you do in a photography and videography realm?
  58. 00:04:45.220 – 00:04:47.180 What would you do on a daily? You know what I'm saying?
  59. 00:04:47.280 – 00:04:52.480 It's like, if I gave you a team of 15 men, do you think you could get to a million?
  60. 00:04:53.060 – 00:04:57.220 How long do you think it would take to get to a million if you had a team of 15 men right now?
  61. 00:04:57.620 – 00:04:59.660 If somebody just magically snapped their fingers and said,
  62. 00:04:59.680 – 00:05:03.840 you 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.
  63. 00:05:04.700 – 00:05:06.700 How fast do you think you could get to a million?
  64. 00:05:07.380 – 00:05:08.380 Like, genuine, genuine question.
  65. 00:05:08.500 – 00:05:12.800 How fast do you think you could get to a million with a team of 15 men and 100,000 starting right now today?
  66. 00:05:12.800 – 00:05:21.500 So we talk about 15 and then we have 100,000, which is divide that million by 10,
  67. 00:05:21.680 – 00:05:25.600 and sometimes only 10, which is good.
  68. 00:05:27.440 – 00:05:28.800 Well, that's for the company.
  69. 00:05:29.240 – 00:05:36.120 The company will make that, you know, 100,000 and then add that million,
  70. 00:05:36.120 – 00:05:41.460 but just me personally, just reaching that first million,
  71. 00:05:41.460 – 00:05:44.400 whether if it's like book sales, like you said,
  72. 00:05:44.500 – 00:05:50.860 creating and bringing it to an organization or even sales,
  73. 00:05:52.500 – 00:05:55.160 I personally don't see it with photography.
  74. 00:05:55.500 – 00:05:58.060 Like I said, can I do it? Definitely yes.
  75. 00:05:58.140 – 00:06:01.740 Anything is possible, but I also don't want to be burnt out.
  76. 00:06:03.440 – 00:06:10.060 And even having 15, you know, support team, our workers, our contractors,
  77. 00:06:11.400 – 00:06:15.060 they're still managing, you know, just being that higher off in managing
  78. 00:06:16.220 – 00:06:20.700 and having everything on the deadline, fulfilling the deadline.
  79. 00:06:21.660 – 00:06:23.900 Like I personally care about everybody who I work out.
  80. 00:06:23.940 – 00:06:25.620 So I had those personal relationships.
  81. 00:06:25.640 – 00:06:27.180 So it ain't just about the work though.
  82. 00:06:27.240 – 00:06:29.480 We got the work done on this transaction.
  83. 00:06:29.480 – 00:06:31.880 Like how you doing in life? How you doing in this?
  84. 00:06:32.200 – 00:06:36.820 Are you still feeling good about, you know, video, photography, media in general?
  85. 00:06:37.240 – 00:06:38.840 Like what is your goals in life?
  86. 00:06:38.860 – 00:06:40.920 So that's how I think too.
  87. 00:06:41.700 – 00:06:45.040 I think those aspects will make you an even better leader
  88. 00:06:45.040 – 00:06:49.320 and get you quicker to whatever goal that you may want to get to.
  89. 00:06:50.140 – 00:06:52.580 I think it's more so just the thoughts that you're having
  90. 00:06:53.240 – 00:06:55.600 because you telling me that you plan on quitting,
  91. 00:06:55.700 – 00:06:58.040 you telling me that I still don't think I can do it,
  92. 00:06:58.040 – 00:07:03.060 you pretty much stopping your whole mind, your frequency, your body to not do it.
  93. 00:07:03.420 – 00:07:04.280 You almost like...
  94. 00:07:04.280 – 00:07:06.360 Well, I don't want to say I'm quitting
  95. 00:07:07.020 – 00:07:09.820 because like I said, it could fuel whatever my next endeavor is.
  96. 00:07:09.980 – 00:07:14.320 Because your statement was, can I? Yes.
  97. 00:07:14.680 – 00:07:16.880 Do I believe I will? No.
  98. 00:07:19.340 – 00:07:20.160 Without burnout.
  99. 00:07:20.340 – 00:07:21.940 If there's a will, there's a way.
  100. 00:07:22.120 – 00:07:26.280 The burnout is due to some aspects.
  101. 00:07:27.540 – 00:07:31.200 Burnout is due to you wearing six different hats.
  102. 00:07:31.720 – 00:07:37.120 Burnout is you having these certain agendas and certain these certain things
  103. 00:07:37.120 – 00:07:39.160 and working so much and so hard.
  104. 00:07:39.960 – 00:07:43.920 So burnout is from, you know, it's like a lot of different things that burnout is coming from.
  105. 00:07:45.120 – 00:07:52.520 So solving those problems versus checking yourself out the game
  106. 00:07:54.420 – 00:08:01.880 is the thought process I would think to have versus it's like you the star player
  107. 00:08:02.580 – 00:08:08.160 and you're telling me, hey, I know I brought you to the team,
  108. 00:08:08.220 – 00:08:10.960 but I'm thinking about just checking myself out.
  109. 00:08:11.540 – 00:08:12.920 Coaches ain't come out the game.
  110. 00:08:13.360 – 00:08:15.560 The players look at you like, we're ready for you to score 50.
  111. 00:08:15.900 – 00:08:17.920 You're like, man, but I just don't want to.
  112. 00:08:18.200 – 00:08:20.700 Can I score 50? Yeah, I can score 50 probably.
  113. 00:08:21.060 – 00:08:22.380 But it's going to be hard though.
  114. 00:08:22.380 – 00:08:26.480 It's like it was supposed to be easy is the question.
  115. 00:08:26.800 – 00:08:29.200 You know, like who said it was supposed to be easy?
  116. 00:08:29.240 – 00:08:30.220 Who said it wasn't burnout?
  117. 00:08:30.920 – 00:08:34.120 Because the burnout and these different things that you're experiencing
  118. 00:08:34.120 – 00:08:37.360 is due to some issues that needs to be solved.
  119. 00:08:37.900 – 00:08:41.900 So solve these issues versus checking yourself out completely
  120. 00:08:42.860 – 00:08:46.900 because it don't always have to be a bumpy road.
  121. 00:08:47.940 – 00:08:50.200 Something hard on me still don't need to be a bumpy road.
  122. 00:08:50.200 – 00:08:50.980 You don't have to be depressed.
  123. 00:08:51.060 – 00:08:52.560 You don't have to be burnt out.
  124. 00:08:52.580 – 00:08:56.000 All these different things because that's easily solvable
  125. 00:08:56.000 – 00:09:00.340 if you set your life up the way you want to because you can.
  126. 00:09:00.480 – 00:09:02.520 You know, you can set your life up exactly how you want to,
  127. 00:09:02.520 – 00:09:05.860 to avoid all the things that you don't want to experience
  128. 00:09:05.860 – 00:09:07.460 on this route to a million.
  129. 00:09:08.500 – 00:09:10.700 That's the part that can be easily done.
  130. 00:09:11.860 – 00:09:14.340 But if you just take yourself out the game,
  131. 00:09:14.840 – 00:09:15.900 then we would never know.
  132. 00:09:16.420 – 00:09:17.340 You'll never know.
  133. 00:09:17.340 – 00:09:20.700 And then you'll be starting from day one with something different
  134. 00:09:20.700 – 00:09:23.630 versus starting from day 3,000.
  135. 00:09:24.940 – 00:09:25.140 You know?
  136. 00:09:25.680 – 00:09:27.320 It could be temporary.
  137. 00:09:29.080 – 00:09:33.740 I definitely love video, photography, just capturing those moments.
  138. 00:09:34.320 – 00:09:35.580 Just art in general.
  139. 00:09:36.200 – 00:09:38.680 I do look at it as art and as a creative,
  140. 00:09:38.940 – 00:09:44.960 but also as a way to help different brands and companies for sure.
  141. 00:09:45.600 – 00:09:50.620 But I also look at, you know, just me being a Clevender.
  142. 00:09:52.400 – 00:09:56.620 2016, we had LeBron, Kevin Love, or Smith.
  143. 00:09:58.500 – 00:10:00.960 But Mr. Big Shot, Kyrie Irving.
  144. 00:10:01.900 – 00:10:05.080 Even him loving the game so much,
  145. 00:10:05.580 – 00:10:08.440 took a lot of time off, even a few seasons off,
  146. 00:10:08.560 – 00:10:12.840 just to get his self together, his spiritual side together.
  147. 00:10:12.840 – 00:10:17.600 And him finding different realizations throughout life
  148. 00:10:17.600 – 00:10:20.420 and his next moves outside of basketball.
  149. 00:10:21.120 – 00:10:24.020 And I think I'm having that similar epiphany.
  150. 00:10:25.240 – 00:10:27.320 What is that next thing?
  151. 00:10:27.980 – 00:10:29.760 Like I said, I love it,
  152. 00:10:29.780 – 00:10:33.180 but it's like there's something else.
  153. 00:10:33.420 – 00:10:37.000 And I listen to these podcasts, read these books,
  154. 00:10:38.000 – 00:10:41.160 and biographies about different companies
  155. 00:10:41.160 – 00:10:46.500 starting eight months and raising 2.3 billion or some,
  156. 00:10:46.500 – 00:10:48.140 even close to a trillion.
  157. 00:10:48.360 – 00:10:49.500 So it's like, man.
  158. 00:10:50.240 – 00:10:52.860 And I'm, you know, five figures.
  159. 00:10:52.940 – 00:10:55.800 Some four or five figures, it's like, man.
  160. 00:10:56.420 – 00:10:59.580 So it's like, what is that next step?
  161. 00:10:59.900 – 00:11:02.320 Am I going to continue this route
  162. 00:11:03.680 – 00:11:08.180 or take my talents and shift to somewhere else?
  163. 00:11:08.340 – 00:11:10.500 That's just kind of my philosophy.
  164. 00:11:10.500 – 00:11:13.960 And that's, I feel like I was at the same space in life, too,
  165. 00:11:14.460 – 00:11:15.940 a few times recently.
  166. 00:11:17.140 – 00:11:20.920 You know, thank God that I'm in this space today.
  167. 00:11:21.280 – 00:11:26.980 But I think my first crisis was when I turned 30
  168. 00:11:26.980 – 00:11:29.960 and just questioning all my future moves, my moves,
  169. 00:11:30.140 – 00:11:33.140 where I'm going to be at physically, location-wise, right?
  170. 00:11:33.480 – 00:11:35.640 Who is going to be my mate, my partner?
  171. 00:11:36.680 – 00:11:39.020 What is going to be my main income source?
  172. 00:11:39.020 – 00:11:42.060 And all these things, it's very serious to me
  173. 00:11:42.060 – 00:11:44.860 because I felt like it was going to shape the rest of my life.
  174. 00:11:44.860 – 00:11:47.460 So I had a lot of questions that needed to be answered.
  175. 00:11:47.980 – 00:11:50.700 But then right before that, maybe like two or three years before that,
  176. 00:11:51.200 – 00:11:54.280 I went through a completely spiritual journey.
  177. 00:11:55.600 – 00:11:57.740 And then fast forward, after that crisis,
  178. 00:11:57.740 – 00:11:59.340 I went through another spiritual journey.
  179. 00:11:59.600 – 00:12:01.200 I took off work for a whole year.
  180. 00:12:01.440 – 00:12:02.760 I have a master's degree.
  181. 00:12:02.920 – 00:12:04.420 I didn't use anything in my master's degree.
  182. 00:12:04.600 – 00:12:06.300 I didn't use anything from my master's degree.
  183. 00:12:06.300 – 00:12:07.500 Master's education.
  184. 00:12:07.980 – 00:12:09.120 Right, master's education.
  185. 00:12:11.240 – 00:12:13.000 I almost didn't work.
  186. 00:12:13.880 – 00:12:16.980 But I did do photography and videography thanks to you.
  187. 00:12:17.180 – 00:12:18.000 Thank you.
  188. 00:12:18.220 – 00:12:18.960 Sure, yeah.
  189. 00:12:19.340 – 00:12:23.180 But it was like a spiritual journey that I needed to go on
  190. 00:12:23.180 – 00:12:26.260 just to be free in life for a moment,
  191. 00:12:27.660 – 00:12:29.940 just to wake up and get me together.
  192. 00:12:30.020 – 00:12:32.000 And that's what it sounded like
  193. 00:12:32.000 – 00:12:34.940 will be a great idea for yourself.
  194. 00:12:35.720 – 00:12:37.520 It's okay to focus on you.
  195. 00:12:37.860 – 00:12:38.600 That's okay.
  196. 00:12:39.960 – 00:12:40.820 You don't have to like,
  197. 00:12:41.960 – 00:12:44.600 I don't know if you have to rush anything
  198. 00:12:44.600 – 00:12:50.860 and get to a certain destination or a certain outcome,
  199. 00:12:51.740 – 00:12:53.780 or make that outcome known.
  200. 00:12:53.840 – 00:12:56.380 You don't have to just entertain ideas like this,
  201. 00:12:56.780 – 00:12:57.060 but quit.
  202. 00:12:57.280 – 00:13:00.640 I think you can just focus on you for a moment.
  203. 00:13:00.920 – 00:13:02.120 And I think that's okay.
  204. 00:13:02.520 – 00:13:04.020 Because at some point,
  205. 00:13:04.020 – 00:13:07.200 you will get back to what it is that you truly want to do.
  206. 00:13:07.780 – 00:13:09.060 And the way of doing that is actually writing.
  207. 00:13:09.700 – 00:13:11.720 That's the most recent prompt that I actually wrote about.
  208. 00:13:12.500 – 00:13:13.720 Let me see my most recent prompt.
  209. 00:13:15.060 – 00:13:17.660 Don't say that because you say get back to me.
  210. 00:13:18.060 – 00:13:19.080 I won't want to turn.
  211. 00:13:19.500 – 00:13:22.180 I won't be doing nothing because I love me.
  212. 00:13:22.700 – 00:13:25.600 You know, but you loving you,
  213. 00:13:27.930 – 00:13:30.250 you still a man, right?
  214. 00:13:30.650 – 00:13:32.850 You still plan to have a family.
  215. 00:13:32.890 – 00:13:34.150 You have kids.
  216. 00:13:35.490 – 00:13:40.350 So loving you doesn't necessarily mean an unrealistic life as a man though,
  217. 00:13:40.570 – 00:13:43.710 because we live in a world that costs.
  218. 00:13:44.350 – 00:13:44.870 Right.
  219. 00:13:45.330 – 00:13:47.890 So, you know, in the midst of you being free,
  220. 00:13:48.670 – 00:13:52.890 I'm sure you still want to earn an income, earn a living,
  221. 00:13:54.070 – 00:13:56.630 take care of your family and others.
  222. 00:13:57.670 – 00:14:00.030 That's kind of where I'm kind of hitting that.
  223. 00:14:00.030 – 00:14:03.630 Like, I know I spoke about the million,
  224. 00:14:03.690 – 00:14:05.850 but it's also how I get that million.
  225. 00:14:06.430 – 00:14:09.950 Yeah, when we do these, you know, video production,
  226. 00:14:10.130 – 00:14:12.490 photography, different events,
  227. 00:14:13.110 – 00:14:14.950 we have to physically go out there.
  228. 00:14:15.330 – 00:14:20.250 So it's like, what is that passive income stream that could also help me,
  229. 00:14:20.250 – 00:14:22.930 even if I continue doing what I'm doing now,
  230. 00:14:23.010 – 00:14:26.870 but that passive income stream to help me get to that million.
  231. 00:14:26.870 – 00:14:34.590 It's like, I don't want to be out there six, seven days a week, you know.
  232. 00:14:34.730 – 00:14:36.450 Let me ask you this question.
  233. 00:14:36.610 – 00:14:37.210 Yes, sir.
  234. 00:14:37.370 – 00:14:39.490 Because I don't know if I'm putting everything in perspective.
  235. 00:14:39.570 – 00:14:40.350 Okay, okay.
  236. 00:14:40.770 – 00:14:44.070 When we're at these locations, capturing these moments,
  237. 00:14:45.490 – 00:14:47.250 capturing life, documenting life,
  238. 00:14:47.550 – 00:14:50.290 life is very precious, very important, very beautiful.
  239. 00:14:51.090 – 00:14:52.230 I look at myself as a historian.
  240. 00:14:52.370 – 00:14:54.810 I'm going to make a statement before I ask you a question.
  241. 00:14:55.390 – 00:15:00.230 My statement first is I haven't seen you sad or mad
  242. 00:15:00.230 – 00:15:05.570 when you are in your element documenting history.
  243. 00:15:05.650 – 00:15:06.910 That's first and foremost my statement.
  244. 00:15:06.910 – 00:15:07.610 Oh yeah, facts.
  245. 00:15:07.870 – 00:15:11.970 Even if you're tired, you work up 24 hours,
  246. 00:15:12.030 – 00:15:14.590 you take a five hour energy, you do whatever you need to do beforehand.
  247. 00:15:15.470 – 00:15:16.910 But once you're in that element,
  248. 00:15:17.070 – 00:15:22.010 you get the snapping photos, taking videos, talking to people,
  249. 00:15:22.010 – 00:15:24.410 listening to people, smiling.
  250. 00:15:25.750 – 00:15:28.030 You know, you might even put the camera down for a hot second
  251. 00:15:28.030 – 00:15:29.510 and just be in the moment.
  252. 00:15:30.010 – 00:15:34.310 And it's almost like you're glowing and you're lighting up, right?
  253. 00:15:34.330 – 00:15:35.670 So that's the statement I have.
  254. 00:15:36.090 – 00:15:43.950 So the question is why when you think about you're doing these services,
  255. 00:15:44.030 – 00:15:49.410 why is it so negative as if it doesn't make you happy while in the moment?
  256. 00:15:49.650 – 00:15:50.970 I love that.
  257. 00:15:50.970 – 00:15:56.030 Because I'm only on the outside looking in, right?
  258. 00:15:56.310 – 00:15:59.630 I have never seen you mad or sad while doing these things,
  259. 00:15:59.650 – 00:16:03.350 but when you speak of them, it's just like,
  260. 00:16:03.550 – 00:16:06.390 oh man, it's just bad and it's negative and it's just like,
  261. 00:16:06.910 – 00:16:08.370 I can't do this, I don't want to do this,
  262. 00:16:08.390 – 00:16:15.080 but that's like some of the happiest times I've ever seen you while doing it,
  263. 00:16:15.400 – 00:16:20.340 no matter the thoughts before or after though, you know what I'm saying?
  264. 00:16:20.340 – 00:16:24.700 And that's where the team and help and solutions to keep you sane
  265. 00:16:24.700 – 00:16:26.360 and not burnt out come in.
  266. 00:16:26.420 – 00:16:30.980 Because while doing it, I don't see any negatives.
  267. 00:16:31.640 – 00:16:33.200 The negatives come before and after.
  268. 00:16:33.740 – 00:16:35.700 The negatives come from the attachments.
  269. 00:16:36.480 – 00:16:40.460 The negatives come from the problems in life
  270. 00:16:40.460 – 00:16:45.080 and the things you need to take care of and these bills and this boom, boom, boom.
  271. 00:16:45.440 – 00:16:48.680 It ain't the service itself though.
  272. 00:16:48.680 – 00:16:52.480 It's all the things that's like before and after, attached to the service.
  273. 00:16:53.540 – 00:16:57.080 Well, like you said, yeah, I do love it,
  274. 00:16:57.420 – 00:17:02.640 and I'm a peaceful and loving person, not radiated.
  275. 00:17:03.460 – 00:17:04.859 Like I said, I love it.
  276. 00:17:04.880 – 00:17:05.980 I love it so much.
  277. 00:17:06.280 – 00:17:11.220 It takes me back to my music days, my music and poetry days.
  278. 00:17:11.800 – 00:17:13.660 Like, yeah, I love it.
  279. 00:17:13.660 – 00:17:16.339 Anybody that know me as a child, I love music.
  280. 00:17:16.420 – 00:17:17.319 I love writing.
  281. 00:17:17.319 – 00:17:21.060 I love being in the studio.
  282. 00:17:21.599 – 00:17:26.119 I could perform, but I consider myself more of a recording artist.
  283. 00:17:27.579 – 00:17:31.920 And will I still get in the studio today after leaving, quitting music?
  284. 00:17:32.820 – 00:17:33.940 Oh, absolutely.
  285. 00:17:35.260 – 00:17:37.180 Now performing, that's a different thing.
  286. 00:17:37.360 – 00:17:39.120 The recording, getting in the studio.
  287. 00:17:39.580 – 00:17:40.300 Oh, yes.
  288. 00:17:41.480 – 00:17:45.280 And it takes me back to that same similar situation
  289. 00:17:45.280 – 00:17:46.820 with video photography.
  290. 00:17:46.960 – 00:17:47.740 I love it.
  291. 00:17:47.740 – 00:17:48.360 I love it.
  292. 00:17:48.360 – 00:17:49.240 I love it.
  293. 00:17:49.880 – 00:17:54.440 But it's like different stages in life and different maturity points in life.
  294. 00:17:54.540 – 00:17:57.560 The more you learn, the more you grow, the more you know.
  295. 00:17:58.220 – 00:18:00.780 So much in my mind, so much I want to do.
  296. 00:18:01.500 – 00:18:03.680 I know time is ticking.
  297. 00:18:04.640 – 00:18:07.160 My daughters are getting older, getting bigger.
  298. 00:18:08.060 – 00:18:09.360 I taught them the skill.
  299. 00:18:09.580 – 00:18:13.940 If they use it or don't, at least I taught them.
  300. 00:18:13.940 – 00:18:15.800 And they know it.
  301. 00:18:17.360 – 00:18:21.440 And I know you talk about me, me blowing and lighting up.
  302. 00:18:23.240 – 00:18:28.780 I try to do that or be that person no matter what I do.
  303. 00:18:29.780 – 00:18:33.800 Now, it comes more natural with me with a camera in my hand
  304. 00:18:33.800 – 00:18:37.600 and me networking, talking to different people.
  305. 00:18:38.540 – 00:18:44.920 Now, if I was to quit, will I have like a remorse or regret?
  306. 00:18:45.400 – 00:18:46.280 I don't know.
  307. 00:18:48.620 – 00:18:52.800 But there's also that side of think bigger.
  308. 00:18:53.300 – 00:18:56.460 If I didn't have this camera in my hand, I wouldn't make it.
  309. 00:18:56.980 – 00:19:02.300 That's kind of how I'm thinking in this time, this period I am.
  310. 00:19:02.560 – 00:19:05.680 Could it just be just thoughts that just come in
  311. 00:19:05.680 – 00:19:07.060 and free-flowing in my mind?
  312. 00:19:07.060 – 00:19:07.660 Maybe.
  313. 00:19:08.000 – 00:19:11.360 But that's just where I'm at in this day and age of my life.
  314. 00:19:12.300 – 00:19:13.320 That's a good question.
  315. 00:19:13.460 – 00:19:16.620 Have you ever found any answers to that question necessarily?
  316. 00:19:17.420 – 00:19:21.100 Or is it just open thoughts and brainstorming at the moment?
  317. 00:19:21.680 – 00:19:23.680 I would say right now it's open thoughts.
  318. 00:19:23.920 – 00:19:26.320 I don't even know what that next endeavor would be
  319. 00:19:26.320 – 00:19:27.700 or what I would jump in.
  320. 00:19:28.080 – 00:19:32.540 And I've kind of tinkled with tech a little bit.
  321. 00:19:33.180 – 00:19:36.040 I could be better and network with different people in tech.
  322. 00:19:37.400 – 00:19:40.340 Because I have the same thoughts from time to time.
  323. 00:19:40.940 – 00:19:43.680 I let chat and AI help me out.
  324. 00:19:44.320 – 00:19:46.880 I felt like I was getting to a point where I have so many thoughts
  325. 00:19:46.880 – 00:19:48.480 I just need to organize them.
  326. 00:19:49.200 – 00:19:51.040 And then the process of organizing them
  327. 00:19:51.040 – 00:19:53.800 and just kind of speaking to them, because I don't go to therapy,
  328. 00:19:54.080 – 00:19:56.580 which I would love to and I plan to still.
  329. 00:19:56.940 – 00:19:59.900 This is kind of like a little avenue of that at the moment.
  330. 00:19:59.940 – 00:20:04.200 And when I speak to it, I notice I'm a little too hard on myself.
  331. 00:20:04.200 – 00:20:06.100 And when I'm speaking of certain things,
  332. 00:20:06.720 – 00:20:09.500 it tells me the way you're speaking about it
  333. 00:20:09.500 – 00:20:14.080 as if you're not as closer to what you think you're not closer to.
  334. 00:20:14.160 – 00:20:18.900 It tells me you're actually in a perfect position
  335. 00:20:18.900 – 00:20:23.840 just not there on that path.
  336. 00:20:24.180 – 00:20:25.700 It's like you're in position.
  337. 00:20:26.220 – 00:20:28.540 You just have to go further in this path
  338. 00:20:28.540 – 00:20:32.700 and you're actually a lot closer to the destination than you believe.
  339. 00:20:32.700 – 00:20:35.720 And then that's when you have these other questions.
  340. 00:20:35.900 – 00:20:36.760 Why is that?
  341. 00:20:37.000 – 00:20:38.780 Now it's like, why is that?
  342. 00:20:39.240 – 00:20:39.720 Right, right, right.
  343. 00:20:39.800 – 00:20:40.300 You know what I'm saying?
  344. 00:20:40.420 – 00:20:42.700 That's kind of what it is we're here.
  345. 00:20:43.340 – 00:20:46.040 Because it's like if you did have a perfect world
  346. 00:20:46.040 – 00:20:49.400 and you didn't have to pick the camera in your hand to earn this,
  347. 00:20:49.500 – 00:20:53.080 what would it be that you would be doing?
  348. 00:20:54.160 – 00:20:58.080 And by all means, you could do that because life is short.
  349. 00:20:58.080 – 00:21:01.820 You know, at the same time, when having kids,
  350. 00:21:02.680 – 00:21:07.360 when having bills, and having experience and talent in it,
  351. 00:21:07.640 – 00:21:10.740 that's the thing that set it apart, though.
  352. 00:21:10.900 – 00:21:13.920 It ain't like you just playing around in this.
  353. 00:21:14.100 – 00:21:16.040 It's like, no, I have experience, I have connections,
  354. 00:21:16.200 – 00:21:18.680 I have relationships, I have clients, I have past work,
  355. 00:21:18.920 – 00:21:21.100 I have a whole platform.
  356. 00:21:22.280 – 00:21:27.440 That can be an avenue while figuring out these other things.
  357. 00:21:27.440 – 00:21:29.700 It don't have to be nothing while figuring these things out.
  358. 00:21:29.760 – 00:21:34.100 It can be this path while figuring out these other things.
  359. 00:21:34.740 – 00:21:37.520 And I did want to bring up something, too, for this prompt.
  360. 00:21:38.280 – 00:21:42.200 I actually just did this Sunday, which was today, didn't I write?
  361. 00:21:43.640 – 00:21:45.900 So this prompt was in the book Think and Grow Rich,
  362. 00:21:46.280 – 00:21:47.620 but not the original version.
  363. 00:21:47.840 – 00:21:50.140 It was Think and Grow Rich, a black choice,
  364. 00:21:50.640 – 00:21:54.720 which is a little bit more tailored to black people,
  365. 00:21:54.720 – 00:21:59.240 especially in America, with us going through so much
  366. 00:21:59.240 – 00:22:03.940 and having so much trauma and so much over the last 400 years or so.
  367. 00:22:04.100 – 00:22:04.460 Yes, sir.
  368. 00:22:04.920 – 00:22:08.340 And in this prompt, it says spend 60 minutes in one place.
  369. 00:22:09.820 – 00:22:13.000 Find that comfortable chair, that comfortable desk,
  370. 00:22:13.040 – 00:22:15.680 that comfortable space that when you're in this space,
  371. 00:22:15.720 – 00:22:19.840 you feel serene, you feel calm, you feel peace, right?
  372. 00:22:19.920 – 00:22:20.280 Yeah.
  373. 00:22:20.660 – 00:22:23.520 That's the first thing, the environment, being comfortable in that.
  374. 00:22:23.520 – 00:22:27.580 And then it says spend 60 minutes in this one place,
  375. 00:22:29.180 – 00:22:36.600 defining exactly what it is you expect to be, to do, and to create.
  376. 00:22:37.920 – 00:22:42.160 So making it known, making it clear, right?
  377. 00:22:42.180 – 00:22:43.800 Giving yourself time, though.
  378. 00:22:46.690 – 00:22:49.450 Time where no distractions, right?
  379. 00:22:49.910 – 00:22:51.110 Really figuring these thoughts out,
  380. 00:22:51.210 – 00:22:52.910 not just thinking about figuring these thoughts out,
  381. 00:22:52.970 – 00:22:54.150 but literally figuring it out, right?
  382. 00:22:54.150 – 00:22:59.750 It says first, write down a clear and concise statement
  383. 00:22:59.750 – 00:23:05.370 of what you want most in life, what you want most in life, right?
  384. 00:23:07.150 – 00:23:10.070 Second, outline your plan of achieving this major goal.
  385. 00:23:10.150 – 00:23:11.410 That's the important part for you now.
  386. 00:23:11.470 – 00:23:12.450 You're like, man, how?
  387. 00:23:14.050 – 00:23:16.610 You have to just shut the world off for a moment.
  388. 00:23:16.830 – 00:23:21.090 Just shut it off for a moment and sit down and get to it.
  389. 00:23:21.370 – 00:23:22.510 Figure out how, right?
  390. 00:23:22.510 – 00:23:25.750 Third, set a definite timetable for achieving this goal.
  391. 00:23:26.970 – 00:23:32.130 And then it also said, you know, set many timetables and many plans
  392. 00:23:33.210 – 00:23:36.870 so you know that you're in the right direction, right?
  393. 00:23:37.550 – 00:23:40.110 But most importantly, put this pan into action, right?
  394. 00:23:40.310 – 00:23:44.890 And then it said fourth, memorize your chief aim and your plan
  395. 00:23:44.890 – 00:23:47.970 and say it over like it's a prayer, like you praying,
  396. 00:23:47.970 – 00:23:52.190 like you getting in tune, create a burning desire for it.
  397. 00:23:53.070 – 00:23:55.590 And this is a prompt that I did that helped me out a lot.
  398. 00:23:55.950 – 00:24:00.050 But what I did come to find out was I didn't get further away
  399. 00:24:00.050 – 00:24:02.290 from all the things that I said over the past years.
  400. 00:24:03.150 – 00:24:07.890 I just became more clear on all these different things
  401. 00:24:07.890 – 00:24:09.930 that were scattered and just kind of came together
  402. 00:24:09.930 – 00:24:12.150 to make a perfect plan in order to get to that.
  403. 00:24:12.390 – 00:24:17.130 And then once I get to that, I can do whatever I want to do.
  404. 00:24:17.130 – 00:24:20.250 It don't have to take me 15 years to do it.
  405. 00:24:20.570 – 00:24:21.690 We have a long life.
  406. 00:24:21.890 – 00:24:25.010 I don't think three to five years is a long time for me
  407. 00:24:26.110 – 00:24:31.150 to put my head down, work, do what I think that could get me there
  408. 00:24:31.150 – 00:24:33.970 because once I'm there, I'm there,
  409. 00:24:34.490 – 00:24:36.150 and the problems are still going to be there.
  410. 00:24:37.290 – 00:24:38.410 The problem that you have currently,
  411. 00:24:38.550 – 00:24:42.410 when you get to a million dollars, it's still going to be there.
  412. 00:24:42.970 – 00:24:44.430 It's truly still going to be there
  413. 00:24:44.430 – 00:24:46.110 because it ain't really about the money.
  414. 00:24:46.250 – 00:24:46.890 It ain't about the million dollars.
  415. 00:24:46.890 – 00:24:50.350 It's about your purpose in life and actually fulfilling that.
  416. 00:24:51.130 – 00:24:53.630 And we all need a strong foundation to stand on.
  417. 00:24:54.730 – 00:24:56.890 You've been a very spiritual man
  418. 00:24:57.370 – 00:24:59.570 in studying so many different avenues and thoughts.
  419. 00:24:59.690 – 00:25:01.290 You have pulled in so many directions.
  420. 00:25:02.010 – 00:25:05.510 So what I like to think about is having a strong foundation
  421. 00:25:05.510 – 00:25:06.570 to stand on something.
  422. 00:25:07.370 – 00:25:08.990 Not standing on many things.
  423. 00:25:09.110 – 00:25:11.250 Finally, it is what you stand on.
  424. 00:25:11.750 – 00:25:13.610 Stand on it. Be firm in it
  425. 00:25:13.610 – 00:25:15.690 because you stand for something or fall for anything.
  426. 00:25:16.590 – 00:25:19.810 So if you've got all these different directions pulling you,
  427. 00:25:20.230 – 00:25:22.710 okay, what is it that you're standing on, though?
  428. 00:25:22.710 – 00:25:27.630 Stand on it, deal with it, live in it unapologetically,
  429. 00:25:28.170 – 00:25:30.390 and that might help as well, too.
  430. 00:25:30.670 – 00:25:32.270 That's something that I experienced in life.
  431. 00:25:32.390 – 00:25:34.890 It helped because I was a free thinker as well.
  432. 00:25:36.410 – 00:25:38.090 I believed in everything,
  433. 00:25:39.670 – 00:25:42.230 but believing in nothing at all at the same time
  434. 00:25:42.230 – 00:25:43.590 because I believe in everything.
  435. 00:25:43.950 – 00:25:45.170 Everything is everything.
  436. 00:25:46.610 – 00:25:49.830 Okay, it's like, you know.
  437. 00:25:50.270 – 00:25:52.470 I got clear on that, too, aspect,
  438. 00:25:52.490 – 00:25:54.190 and then that helped me out a lot.
  439. 00:25:54.290 – 00:25:57.150 I think that helped me out tremendously to have a foundation
  440. 00:25:58.030 – 00:26:00.770 where I truly know, not like I believe,
  441. 00:26:01.010 – 00:26:04.890 where I think I know where I'm going to end up.
  442. 00:26:05.670 – 00:26:07.210 If I do fall short of that,
  443. 00:26:07.250 – 00:26:08.790 I just know I'm not working hard enough.
  444. 00:26:08.930 – 00:26:11.510 That's it. It ain't about me having to do...
  445. 00:26:11.510 – 00:26:13.190 I know I'm just not working hard enough.
  446. 00:26:13.250 – 00:26:13.730 That's it.
  447. 00:26:14.170 – 00:26:16.230 I know I'm just not working hard enough
  448. 00:26:16.230 – 00:26:17.210 in my 24 hours of the day.
  449. 00:26:17.270 – 00:26:18.310 I have 24 hours.
  450. 00:26:18.890 – 00:26:20.330 Am I giving my 24 hours to myself
  451. 00:26:20.330 – 00:26:22.930 or am I giving my 24 hours to the powers that be
  452. 00:26:22.930 – 00:26:25.030 or the man or somebody else's dream
  453. 00:26:25.030 – 00:26:27.870 or somebody else's vision, right?
  454. 00:26:27.970 – 00:26:29.190 You got a big vision,
  455. 00:26:29.890 – 00:26:32.030 but is you giving your time to your vision
  456. 00:26:32.030 – 00:26:34.010 versus other people's vision,
  457. 00:26:34.010 – 00:26:36.350 and that's where this burnout may lie as well
  458. 00:26:37.190 – 00:26:39.030 because there's so many directions,
  459. 00:26:39.030 – 00:26:41.470 so many different things, so many...
  460. 00:26:42.150 – 00:26:44.210 You ain't maximized the 24 hours yet
  461. 00:26:44.210 – 00:26:46.170 for your own vision, your own dream and yourself.
  462. 00:26:47.950 – 00:26:49.250 I know that was a lot, my fault.
  463. 00:26:49.350 – 00:26:50.490 I know that was a lot right there.
  464. 00:26:51.870 – 00:26:53.730 I know that was like a monologue at that point.
  465. 00:26:54.070 – 00:26:54.830 It's a monologue.
  466. 00:26:55.410 – 00:26:57.170 I just need to get those thoughts out though, man,
  467. 00:26:57.190 – 00:26:57.850 because it's like...
  468. 00:26:57.850 – 00:26:59.230 I'll receive it.
  469. 00:26:59.790 – 00:27:00.490 It's just all...
  470. 00:27:00.490 – 00:27:02.550 Man, it's just really all thoughts, bro.
  471. 00:27:03.230 – 00:27:04.610 It's just thoughts, man.
  472. 00:27:05.230 – 00:27:10.250 I know what I heard from you every time we meet
  473. 00:27:10.250 – 00:27:12.070 and what you're speaking like,
  474. 00:27:12.090 – 00:27:13.350 what you're speaking of.
  475. 00:27:15.530 – 00:27:17.250 You didn't say none of that for nothing.
  476. 00:27:19.070 – 00:27:21.650 You didn't tell me how good you are at this thing
  477. 00:27:21.650 – 00:27:24.450 and your passion and your future plans
  478. 00:27:24.450 – 00:27:26.230 and you're about to get $1,000 deals.
  479. 00:27:26.590 – 00:27:28.270 And all these different things
  480. 00:27:28.270 – 00:27:31.230 that you set for yourself and all these different plans
  481. 00:27:31.230 – 00:27:34.590 and all these different goals that you had and spoke of
  482. 00:27:34.590 – 00:27:36.650 and told me that you were so definite about,
  483. 00:27:37.430 – 00:27:41.530 that was a such thing that did come from a genuine place.
  484. 00:27:41.870 – 00:27:45.070 You actually meant every single thing that you said.
  485. 00:27:46.390 – 00:27:47.490 That was your first mind.
  486. 00:27:48.350 – 00:27:49.670 You always follow that first mind
  487. 00:27:49.670 – 00:27:51.310 because that's genuinely what you want to think.
  488. 00:27:51.490 – 00:27:52.770 That's genuinely what you want to do.
  489. 00:27:53.450 – 00:27:55.090 Your first mind is your God mind.
  490. 00:27:55.170 – 00:27:57.630 That's the natural state that you were in
  491. 00:27:57.630 – 00:28:00.650 when we're having conversations like we're having right now.
  492. 00:28:01.170 – 00:28:03.410 You're just speaking, free-forming thoughts,
  493. 00:28:03.410 – 00:28:04.690 and you told me all these different things.
  494. 00:28:04.850 – 00:28:06.690 Every time we meet, you tell me these different plans
  495. 00:28:06.690 – 00:28:08.330 and these different goals and these, boom,
  496. 00:28:09.030 – 00:28:10.910 that was a real thing.
  497. 00:28:10.930 – 00:28:13.830 So you act on that versus putting all these things
  498. 00:28:13.830 – 00:28:17.990 on a back burner or putting them to the side completely.
  499. 00:28:18.810 – 00:28:19.210 Sure.
  500. 00:28:20.250 – 00:28:22.970 Yeah, and if there was anybody else,
  501. 00:28:23.090 – 00:28:26.970 I wouldn't be as candid as I am with you.
  502. 00:28:27.150 – 00:28:28.650 We got this working relationship.
  503. 00:28:28.910 – 00:28:30.010 We work together.
  504. 00:28:30.110 – 00:28:31.410 You help me with your business.
  505. 00:28:31.810 – 00:28:32.890 I help you with yours.
  506. 00:28:32.890 – 00:28:33.770 But it's versa.
  507. 00:28:34.230 – 00:28:35.470 We're actively growing.
  508. 00:28:37.070 – 00:28:41.730 So it's also easier for me to say it to you
  509. 00:28:41.730 – 00:28:43.750 and actually have these thoughts
  510. 00:28:43.750 – 00:28:45.330 and speak them out loud.
  511. 00:28:46.130 – 00:28:49.790 You don't get time to say that to any and everybody.
  512. 00:28:49.950 – 00:28:50.750 I just met somebody,
  513. 00:28:50.950 – 00:28:53.550 look, I'm about to quit what I'm doing now
  514. 00:28:53.550 – 00:28:54.250 and do something else.
  515. 00:28:54.470 – 00:28:56.110 You can't say that to any and everybody.
  516. 00:28:56.410 – 00:28:58.510 And then especially potential clients,
  517. 00:28:58.650 – 00:28:59.430 you scare them away.
  518. 00:29:00.670 – 00:29:03.290 I'm glad that we're able to have this conversation,
  519. 00:29:03.350 – 00:29:04.670 but that was just on my mind.
  520. 00:29:04.810 – 00:29:08.030 I know I'm supposed to highlight you on your story,
  521. 00:29:08.910 – 00:29:13.810 but it's definitely been on my mind for a couple weeks,
  522. 00:29:13.890 – 00:29:17.010 couple months now, on and off.
  523. 00:29:17.610 – 00:29:18.030 Yeah.
  524. 00:29:18.150 – 00:29:21.850 Thank you for being open and open to myself
  525. 00:29:21.850 – 00:29:26.050 and open to the world on your thoughts
  526. 00:29:26.050 – 00:29:27.730 and thinking out loud and sharing that
  527. 00:29:27.730 – 00:29:28.810 because you don't have to.
  528. 00:29:28.810 – 00:29:29.730 That's first and foremost,
  529. 00:29:30.530 – 00:29:32.150 and that's actually something very serious,
  530. 00:29:32.150 – 00:29:32.910 very personal.
  531. 00:29:33.350 – 00:29:35.910 So I want to say thank you on behalf of myself
  532. 00:29:35.910 – 00:29:38.910 and whoever else may hear this.
  533. 00:29:39.550 – 00:29:41.310 And yeah, thank you.
  534. 00:29:41.310 – 00:29:41.990 Yeah, I know.
  535. 00:29:42.630 – 00:29:44.230 I'm looking at your shirt, man.
  536. 00:29:44.330 – 00:29:44.990 Say, coach.
  537. 00:29:45.030 – 00:29:47.990 And that's kind of like the angle I want to get in,
  538. 00:29:48.090 – 00:29:49.930 more mentorship, more coaching.
  539. 00:29:50.090 – 00:29:50.970 That's why I'm like,
  540. 00:29:51.270 – 00:29:53.930 what is something I can do without the camera
  541. 00:29:53.930 – 00:29:55.990 that I still enjoy?
  542. 00:29:57.190 – 00:29:58.870 It has been coaching.
  543. 00:29:59.030 – 00:29:59.950 I love coaching.
  544. 00:30:00.170 – 00:30:01.990 I love mentoring, helping people.
  545. 00:30:02.050 – 00:30:05.530 I love helping, whether that's capturing their visuals
  546. 00:30:06.230 – 00:30:09.170 or speaking through an issue or a problem.
  547. 00:30:09.890 – 00:30:11.410 I'm glad you said that, man,
  548. 00:30:11.430 – 00:30:13.090 because I think that opens the door
  549. 00:30:13.090 – 00:30:18.710 to let you know my vision that I have within this space
  550. 00:30:18.710 – 00:30:21.170 because similar to you,
  551. 00:30:21.170 – 00:30:26.170 I don't see myself just shooting photography
  552. 00:30:26.170 – 00:30:27.750 and videography all my life
  553. 00:30:27.750 – 00:30:31.130 or even see myself doing that on a higher level
  554. 00:30:32.330 – 00:30:34.610 for such a long period of time.
  555. 00:30:35.030 – 00:30:38.150 And if I do do it, I do it because I enjoy it
  556. 00:30:38.150 – 00:30:42.770 because I'm gaining a nice lump sum of money from it
  557. 00:30:42.770 – 00:30:45.190 or I'm helping other people from it.
  558. 00:30:46.050 – 00:30:47.190 Or both.
  559. 00:30:47.550 – 00:30:48.010 Or both.
  560. 00:30:48.010 – 00:30:51.130 But the vision in itself is much, much, much, much bigger
  561. 00:30:51.130 – 00:30:52.950 when it all comes together.
  562. 00:30:54.770 – 00:30:55.750 Okay, okay, okay.
  563. 00:30:56.170 – 00:31:00.470 So what did you do before you picked the camera back up?
  564. 00:31:00.530 – 00:31:03.490 Because I know you were studying when you were younger
  565. 00:31:03.490 – 00:31:05.090 and had a camera when you were younger,
  566. 00:31:05.170 – 00:31:08.830 but what were you doing when you first set it down
  567. 00:31:08.830 – 00:31:10.370 and then made that transition
  568. 00:31:10.370 – 00:31:11.890 before you picked the camera back up?
  569. 00:31:12.190 – 00:31:12.570 Yeah.
  570. 00:31:13.190 – 00:31:16.110 So before I put the camera down,
  571. 00:31:16.110 – 00:31:18.570 you know, I went to Cleveland School of Arts
  572. 00:31:18.570 – 00:31:21.490 for photography, graphic design, visual arts.
  573. 00:31:22.470 – 00:31:23.830 Did it since middle school, high school,
  574. 00:31:23.910 – 00:31:25.930 all through the years of just growing up.
  575. 00:31:26.850 – 00:31:28.210 The camera was close by.
  576. 00:31:28.850 – 00:31:30.570 And then I put it down.
  577. 00:31:30.630 – 00:31:33.750 When I put it down, I went through college pretty much
  578. 00:31:33.750 – 00:31:35.050 and had a whole collegiate career.
  579. 00:31:36.550 – 00:31:37.690 You know?
  580. 00:31:39.290 – 00:31:43.110 Bachelor's degree, master's degree, and...
  581. 00:31:43.110 – 00:31:45.010 What was that process like?
  582. 00:31:45.270 – 00:31:48.730 How long did it take you to complete the whole process
  583. 00:31:48.730 – 00:31:49.770 with your master's?
  584. 00:31:50.250 – 00:31:54.190 The process in itself was about seven to eight years.
  585. 00:31:54.890 – 00:31:56.690 Much longer than it needed to be
  586. 00:31:56.690 – 00:31:58.650 because along the journey,
  587. 00:31:58.930 – 00:32:03.470 I kind of hit some bumps and bruises along the journey.
  588. 00:32:03.950 – 00:32:06.190 And I probably had an extra year on the bachelor's
  589. 00:32:06.190 – 00:32:08.150 and an extra year on the master's as well.
  590. 00:32:08.450 – 00:32:11.910 But I did finish, so, you know, thankful for that.
  591. 00:32:11.910 – 00:32:15.030 And the process was...
  592. 00:32:15.030 – 00:32:18.890 It still was always creating in the background, you know?
  593. 00:32:19.970 – 00:32:24.890 But the forefront became me helping people,
  594. 00:32:26.210 – 00:32:28.930 me finding my purpose in life
  595. 00:32:28.930 – 00:32:31.570 past any skill or talent
  596. 00:32:31.570 – 00:32:35.930 because I realized that life is much greater
  597. 00:32:35.930 – 00:32:38.090 than just a tool that I use.
  598. 00:32:38.690 – 00:32:41.730 So I was in the process of answering those questions,
  599. 00:32:41.730 – 00:32:43.970 you know, what am I even doing in school?
  600. 00:32:45.190 – 00:32:46.790 What is my major going to be?
  601. 00:32:46.870 – 00:32:49.970 What can I see myself doing for years and years to come?
  602. 00:32:49.990 – 00:32:52.050 And I had to answer those questions.
  603. 00:32:52.450 – 00:32:53.710 And in that process,
  604. 00:32:54.530 – 00:32:58.070 the photography and the camera became on the back burner.
  605. 00:32:59.850 – 00:33:01.970 So kind of similar thoughts that I'm having now,
  606. 00:33:02.070 – 00:33:03.310 but just in a different form.
  607. 00:33:03.570 – 00:33:05.230 Yeah, just maybe a lot earlier
  608. 00:33:05.230 – 00:33:07.950 because I feel like we hit different crises
  609. 00:33:08.650 – 00:33:10.290 at different points in our life
  610. 00:33:10.290 – 00:33:13.290 at moments that we need these crises though.
  611. 00:33:13.830 – 00:33:15.410 Because then we start to answer questions
  612. 00:33:15.410 – 00:33:17.050 and we need these questions answered.
  613. 00:33:18.030 – 00:33:20.270 And when you find a solution to these questions,
  614. 00:33:21.370 – 00:33:23.230 we have a foundation
  615. 00:33:23.870 – 00:33:25.430 and a trampoline, if you will,
  616. 00:33:25.550 – 00:33:27.330 to jump off of and cut apart from
  617. 00:33:27.330 – 00:33:29.510 so we can get that momentum going once again.
  618. 00:33:30.570 – 00:33:35.230 Now, I know you're speaking to me about all of this.
  619. 00:33:35.690 – 00:33:38.930 I know you mentioned foundations a few times.
  620. 00:33:38.930 – 00:33:41.470 But let's say someone younger than us
  621. 00:33:41.470 – 00:33:44.930 that just lost and they need a foundation,
  622. 00:33:45.090 – 00:33:46.910 what would you recommend or say to them?
  623. 00:33:48.230 – 00:33:51.330 Somebody who's completely lost and need a foundation,
  624. 00:33:52.470 – 00:33:56.730 I will always ask them, have they tried God?
  625. 00:33:58.170 – 00:34:03.490 And if not God, then any type of spiritual presence,
  626. 00:34:04.610 – 00:34:07.190 because we are spiritual beings
  627. 00:34:07.190 – 00:34:09.670 experiencing a physical life.
  628. 00:34:09.830 – 00:34:10.550 Yes, yes.
  629. 00:34:10.989 – 00:34:13.550 And we can have all the material things in the world
  630. 00:34:13.550 – 00:34:15.469 and it still won't solve
  631. 00:34:15.929 – 00:34:18.150 or fill those voids that we have
  632. 00:34:18.150 – 00:34:21.130 because life is much greater than me and you.
  633. 00:34:22.190 – 00:34:23.929 You know, we can have all the money in the world,
  634. 00:34:24.670 – 00:34:27.330 all the clothes, all the shoes, all the cars,
  635. 00:34:28.850 – 00:34:30.170 all the material things,
  636. 00:34:31.050 – 00:34:33.790 and we still gonna get back to square one
  637. 00:34:33.790 – 00:34:35.630 because square one and that foundation
  638. 00:34:35.630 – 00:34:38.830 should be something much more greater than ourselves.
  639. 00:34:40.610 – 00:34:43.630 That's what I always would get them to try.
  640. 00:34:44.110 – 00:34:48.250 And I won't be so complex when we're presenting it to them, though.
  641. 00:34:48.710 – 00:34:50.650 You know, we don't need to be in the stars,
  642. 00:34:50.710 – 00:34:51.810 in the moon, in the earth.
  643. 00:34:52.210 – 00:34:53.530 I might just tell them something simple.
  644. 00:34:53.670 – 00:34:55.350 It's like, have you tried to clean your diet?
  645. 00:34:55.489 – 00:34:57.430 Have you tried to eat something different, you know?
  646. 00:34:58.410 – 00:35:01.350 If somebody gave you a solution to all your problems,
  647. 00:35:01.430 – 00:35:02.330 I'd ask them things like that.
  648. 00:35:02.630 – 00:35:04.430 If the person gave you a solution to all your problems,
  649. 00:35:04.430 – 00:35:05.370 would you take it?
  650. 00:35:05.510 – 00:35:06.810 Yeah, I'd take it.
  651. 00:35:07.890 – 00:35:08.850 Well, try this.
  652. 00:35:09.190 – 00:35:10.930 You know, have you tried to write down some thoughts,
  653. 00:35:10.930 – 00:35:12.130 journal, have you tried reading?
  654. 00:35:12.510 – 00:35:13.830 You know, just kind of, like,
  655. 00:35:13.850 – 00:35:15.930 getting them to expand their mind first,
  656. 00:35:16.590 – 00:35:18.690 and that tends to go hand in hand
  657. 00:35:18.690 – 00:35:20.910 with any type of spiritual awakening as well.
  658. 00:35:21.810 – 00:35:24.110 Well, if they don't want to expand their mind,
  659. 00:35:24.230 – 00:35:26.350 if they're so close-minded, like,
  660. 00:35:26.510 – 00:35:30.950 oh, they don't even want to talk or respond to you.
  661. 00:35:30.950 – 00:35:33.250 Like, they're so sheltered and closed-minded.
  662. 00:35:34.810 – 00:35:36.810 I think from there, then,
  663. 00:35:37.290 – 00:35:40.450 we have to go even more basic-level things,
  664. 00:35:40.550 – 00:35:42.790 and that basic-level thing would be,
  665. 00:35:42.890 – 00:35:43.970 do you know who you are?
  666. 00:35:45.430 – 00:35:45.650 Right?
  667. 00:35:45.870 – 00:35:46.950 Knowledge of self.
  668. 00:35:48.470 – 00:35:50.910 That tends to come from a lack of love for self
  669. 00:35:50.910 – 00:35:52.450 or a lack of knowledge of self.
  670. 00:35:53.490 – 00:35:55.190 You know, do you know where you come from?
  671. 00:35:55.350 – 00:35:55.810 Nah.
  672. 00:35:56.070 – 00:35:57.390 Have you ever thought about where you come from?
  673. 00:35:57.650 – 00:35:59.490 Nah, I'm trying to eat, bro.
  674. 00:35:59.490 – 00:35:59.930 I'm hungry.
  675. 00:36:00.410 – 00:36:03.690 Let me provide a solution to a necessity
  676. 00:36:03.690 – 00:36:05.330 that you're having that's clouding your thoughts,
  677. 00:36:05.750 – 00:36:08.770 and in the midst of that, let me just ask her,
  678. 00:36:08.790 – 00:36:10.070 let me ask some questions,
  679. 00:36:10.230 – 00:36:11.430 because I don't need to give you no answers,
  680. 00:36:11.550 – 00:36:14.750 but let me ask some questions to just plant a seed,
  681. 00:36:15.310 – 00:36:16.490 because even if they be like,
  682. 00:36:16.570 – 00:36:17.670 no, I'm not trying to hear that,
  683. 00:36:18.450 – 00:36:19.950 that don't mean a seed wasn't planted,
  684. 00:36:20.010 – 00:36:21.170 and I might not water it,
  685. 00:36:21.470 – 00:36:23.870 but somebody else may water that seed that I planted,
  686. 00:36:24.890 – 00:36:26.270 because words are that powerful.
  687. 00:36:26.810 – 00:36:27.650 Now, you know what?
  688. 00:36:27.650 – 00:36:31.030 I mean, even you saying that, like,
  689. 00:36:31.090 – 00:36:32.170 no, I don't want to hear that.
  690. 00:36:32.170 – 00:36:32.970 I'm trying to eat.
  691. 00:36:33.610 – 00:36:36.250 Like, there's so many public schools,
  692. 00:36:36.530 – 00:36:37.710 inner-city public schools,
  693. 00:36:37.890 – 00:36:39.130 especially here in Cleveland,
  694. 00:36:41.550 – 00:36:46.030 just speaking on African Americans or black people
  695. 00:36:47.030 – 00:36:49.530 versus any other kind of parts, you know,
  696. 00:36:49.550 – 00:36:52.190 white, Asian, for the main part.
  697. 00:36:54.410 – 00:36:56.430 You know, they don't have those similar
  698. 00:36:56.430 – 00:36:58.130 to our same struggles we have.
  699. 00:36:58.270 – 00:37:00.990 We some, yes, but for the majority, no.
  700. 00:37:01.410 – 00:37:04.270 Like, we can't learn to our best abilities
  701. 00:37:04.270 – 00:37:05.170 because we're hungry.
  702. 00:37:05.350 – 00:37:07.990 We thinking about what's going on at home,
  703. 00:37:08.110 – 00:37:10.450 or how, you know, we're missing our father,
  704. 00:37:10.690 – 00:37:13.410 or the dynamics in our home is kind of,
  705. 00:37:13.410 – 00:37:14.530 you know, lopsided,
  706. 00:37:14.670 – 00:37:17.290 and every problems that we're taking to school,
  707. 00:37:17.330 – 00:37:18.570 and that's what we're thinking about,
  708. 00:37:18.790 – 00:37:20.470 our stomach rumbling and everything.
  709. 00:37:20.570 – 00:37:22.190 Like, how can we focus on this work
  710. 00:37:22.190 – 00:37:25.070 and learn the way we should be?
  711. 00:37:25.070 – 00:37:27.530 So, I'm glad you say that
  712. 00:37:27.530 – 00:37:30.690 because I definitely want to shine awareness on that,
  713. 00:37:30.690 – 00:37:33.410 and I'm glad this shift is coming,
  714. 00:37:33.470 – 00:37:34.670 and it's changing.
  715. 00:37:36.790 – 00:37:38.790 And, yeah, I definitely went through it,
  716. 00:37:38.790 – 00:37:41.230 and, you know, a period of my time going through school,
  717. 00:37:41.430 – 00:37:43.530 whether it was elementary or up to high school,
  718. 00:37:43.590 – 00:37:46.070 you know, I had to change schools
  719. 00:37:46.070 – 00:37:47.370 in the middle of high school.
  720. 00:37:47.630 – 00:37:50.090 Like, it was either that or,
  721. 00:37:50.430 – 00:37:52.110 like, there was no bus route,
  722. 00:37:52.110 – 00:37:56.950 so I literally had to walk either three to four hours
  723. 00:37:56.950 – 00:38:00.710 to my school or just, you know, start it out.
  724. 00:38:00.790 – 00:38:03.650 Yeah, and that's a common problem,
  725. 00:38:03.650 – 00:38:05.370 not just for some people,
  726. 00:38:06.450 – 00:38:07.970 but majority of our people.
  727. 00:38:08.130 – 00:38:08.650 Yeah.
  728. 00:38:08.870 – 00:38:11.910 And that's just the fact that we have to sit with.
  729. 00:38:12.750 – 00:38:15.410 And then that's when these questions
  730. 00:38:15.410 – 00:38:17.670 that we have about our personal lives
  731. 00:38:19.130 – 00:38:23.170 can start to get set aside
  732. 00:38:23.170 – 00:38:25.790 not because we're thinking about not doing something,
  733. 00:38:25.810 – 00:38:29.110 but set aside because we have bigger fish to fry, right?
  734. 00:38:29.110 – 00:38:30.810 And it's pretty much like how
  735. 00:38:30.810 – 00:38:32.630 I told you before we started the interview.
  736. 00:38:32.810 – 00:38:34.910 It's like, you can identify me as anything you want to,
  737. 00:38:34.910 – 00:38:38.490 but my main mission and my main goal is saving my people.
  738. 00:38:38.630 – 00:38:42.750 My main mission is, you know, sharing light and love
  739. 00:38:45.940 – 00:38:48.160 and fighting against evil and weakness
  740. 00:38:48.160 – 00:38:49.440 because we are love.
  741. 00:38:49.700 – 00:38:51.720 You know, love controls everything.
  742. 00:38:51.840 – 00:38:54.520 Love is like, we have that within us.
  743. 00:38:54.560 – 00:38:56.800 We are special people, unique people.
  744. 00:38:57.180 – 00:39:01.840 I want the young black boys and girls to know that.
  745. 00:39:02.180 – 00:39:03.380 I want the original people to know that.
  746. 00:39:03.400 – 00:39:06.680 I want anybody who is underrepresented to know that
  747. 00:39:06.680 – 00:39:10.420 and lead them to a spiritual awakening
  748. 00:39:10.420 – 00:39:14.780 because I think that can touch many people's lives
  749. 00:39:14.780 – 00:39:17.920 more than anything I ever thought I could do
  750. 00:39:17.920 – 00:39:18.920 will, you know.
  751. 00:39:19.600 – 00:39:22.020 For educational purposes,
  752. 00:39:22.500 – 00:39:25.660 what would you say is the original people?
  753. 00:39:26.620 – 00:39:27.540 Original people?
  754. 00:39:29.960 – 00:39:32.990 Well, any people who is melanated,
  755. 00:39:33.880 – 00:39:39.500 you know, melanin is a piece of our DNA
  756. 00:39:40.300 – 00:39:42.380 that's scientifically proven
  757. 00:39:42.380 – 00:39:44.060 that comes from the original people.
  758. 00:39:44.600 – 00:39:45.440 So I say original people.
  759. 00:39:45.440 – 00:39:48.620 Anybody who has any melanated pigments,
  760. 00:39:48.660 – 00:39:52.320 whether that's yellow, red, brown, or black,
  761. 00:39:53.280 – 00:39:55.700 you know, any color, really, you know, that's...
  762. 00:39:55.700 – 00:39:57.660 Any shade is really, you know,
  763. 00:39:57.960 – 00:40:00.720 and even people who is on the outside of that,
  764. 00:40:00.920 – 00:40:03.080 they're still human beings and they still are people as well.
  765. 00:40:03.820 – 00:40:07.060 I just made it to the station between original people
  766. 00:40:07.060 – 00:40:08.420 and non-original people
  767. 00:40:08.420 – 00:40:12.940 because original people is normally,
  768. 00:40:12.940 – 00:40:15.300 numbers-wise, statistically proven
  769. 00:40:15.940 – 00:40:18.200 to be the minority
  770. 00:40:18.200 – 00:40:21.740 and the underrepresented individuals
  771. 00:40:21.740 – 00:40:23.700 in our society that we live in currently.
  772. 00:40:24.040 – 00:40:27.340 Well, taking it even a step deeper,
  773. 00:40:28.720 – 00:40:30.740 as far as original people,
  774. 00:40:30.860 – 00:40:34.400 do you consider, like, giants, original?
  775. 00:40:35.500 – 00:40:37.300 Giants as in, like, physically giants?
  776. 00:40:37.780 – 00:40:42.920 Giants, yeah, people that's, like,
  777. 00:40:44.060 – 00:40:45.660 I can't say.
  778. 00:40:46.140 – 00:40:48.100 I can't say because I'm not sure.
  779. 00:40:48.940 – 00:40:53.860 I don't personally know of any giants being original people,
  780. 00:40:54.700 – 00:40:57.760 but I wouldn't put anything past it.
  781. 00:40:58.140 – 00:41:03.480 But I do know, in many spiritual texts,
  782. 00:41:04.460 – 00:41:05.960 whatever the creator looks like,
  783. 00:41:06.140 – 00:41:10.340 it normally says that we look like that, you know?
  784. 00:41:10.340 – 00:41:13.360 It always tells us how we look like the creator.
  785. 00:41:16.540 – 00:41:20.120 You know, as far as I know and have seen and documented,
  786. 00:41:20.740 – 00:41:21.940 I'm not sure of any giants,
  787. 00:41:22.200 – 00:41:24.820 but anything is possible when you talk about the creator
  788. 00:41:24.820 – 00:41:27.140 and his creation, so, you know,
  789. 00:41:27.160 – 00:41:29.560 I don't think anything is possible, literally.
  790. 00:41:30.580 – 00:41:32.960 Like I said, this is all for educational purposes,
  791. 00:41:33.500 – 00:41:35.940 but speaking to, you know,
  792. 00:41:36.040 – 00:41:38.920 someone who has their master's in education,
  793. 00:41:38.920 – 00:41:43.880 what do you love teaching or educating people on?
  794. 00:41:45.260 – 00:41:51.400 I love teaching and educating people on life in itself.
  795. 00:41:51.980 – 00:41:56.340 You know, I really just love teaching people
  796. 00:41:56.340 – 00:42:00.400 of how important and special they are
  797. 00:42:00.400 – 00:42:03.520 because everybody is unique, everybody is special.
  798. 00:42:05.760 – 00:42:08.670 I love teaching people about themselves,
  799. 00:42:09.760 – 00:42:11.480 and not in the sense of like I personally know them,
  800. 00:42:12.240 – 00:42:15.260 but themselves as in how special we are as human beings
  801. 00:42:15.260 – 00:42:17.100 in the world that we live in today.
  802. 00:42:18.040 – 00:42:20.760 It doesn't show for that, I don't believe, you know?
  803. 00:42:21.780 – 00:42:23.320 I don't think it shows for that.
  804. 00:42:23.360 – 00:42:25.120 So that's like the main thing I love teaching on,
  805. 00:42:25.240 – 00:42:27.500 teaching on just the knowledge of self,
  806. 00:42:28.160 – 00:42:29.120 knowledge of the creator,
  807. 00:42:29.400 – 00:42:31.200 knowledge of, you know, our enemies
  808. 00:42:31.200 – 00:42:33.280 that stop us from knowing ourselves
  809. 00:42:33.280 – 00:42:35.740 and knowing the creator and the best light.
  810. 00:42:36.420 – 00:42:39.100 And it also, what my desire is as well,
  811. 00:42:39.320 – 00:42:42.500 is teaching us on art and creating in general.
  812. 00:42:43.600 – 00:42:47.040 Because I feel like since we are in the image of the creator,
  813. 00:42:47.460 – 00:42:49.140 we are made to create,
  814. 00:42:49.320 – 00:42:51.300 and I think that's when we are at our best
  815. 00:42:51.300 – 00:42:53.700 and we are at our most peaceful
  816. 00:42:53.700 – 00:42:56.100 when we're just freely creating,
  817. 00:42:56.300 – 00:42:57.580 whether that's creating material things,
  818. 00:42:57.620 – 00:42:58.860 whether that's creating our day,
  819. 00:43:00.740 – 00:43:02.600 creating anything, just creating.
  820. 00:43:02.820 – 00:43:06.260 I think that's when we are at our best, you know?
  821. 00:43:06.700 – 00:43:08.060 So teaching people art and creating
  822. 00:43:08.520 – 00:43:11.540 is something I see myself doing for years to come as well.
  823. 00:43:12.140 – 00:43:14.900 And that's part of the three to five year vision
  824. 00:43:14.900 – 00:43:15.960 that I was speaking of.
  825. 00:43:16.180 – 00:43:20.800 I have a whole vision of what that's going to look like
  826. 00:43:20.800 – 00:43:23.540 and I'm so glad to get clear on that vision, you know?
  827. 00:43:23.540 – 00:43:29.300 Yeah, I love that you say that.
  828. 00:43:31.560 – 00:43:33.220 Just the whole creativity
  829. 00:43:34.360 – 00:43:36.700 and teaching people about life.
  830. 00:43:38.500 – 00:43:40.320 I'm listening, I'm like,
  831. 00:43:41.040 – 00:43:43.420 sound like a life coach could be in the future.
  832. 00:43:43.760 – 00:43:44.800 What do you think about that?
  833. 00:43:47.400 – 00:43:50.000 Well, that's what my experience speaks towards.
  834. 00:43:50.840 – 00:43:53.520 So all my experience professional-wise
  835. 00:43:53.520 – 00:43:56.560 was academic and life coaching.
  836. 00:43:58.020 – 00:43:59.780 I did it on a college level
  837. 00:43:59.780 – 00:44:02.040 and I also did it on a high school level.
  838. 00:44:03.060 – 00:44:04.280 I would say probably like the last seven
  839. 00:44:04.280 – 00:44:05.200 and eight years of my life
  840. 00:44:05.200 – 00:44:07.240 has been life and academic coaching.
  841. 00:44:08.300 – 00:44:11.180 And I think when you speak of academic coaching,
  842. 00:44:12.380 – 00:44:13.700 you can always show somebody
  843. 00:44:14.440 – 00:44:15.900 or give somebody a resource,
  844. 00:44:16.060 – 00:44:19.800 but I think actually untapping their,
  845. 00:44:20.720 – 00:44:23.020 getting deep in their untapped potential
  846. 00:44:23.020 – 00:44:26.100 is like an even better thing to coach them on.
  847. 00:44:26.240 – 00:44:27.700 And not showing them the way,
  848. 00:44:27.700 – 00:44:31.120 but just kind of getting them to a certain place
  849. 00:44:31.120 – 00:44:34.200 and space to find it themselves, you know?
  850. 00:44:35.320 – 00:44:37.960 Like, asking just deeper level questions of like,
  851. 00:44:37.960 – 00:44:40.220 you know, what I want to do, who am I,
  852. 00:44:40.340 – 00:44:42.380 where am I going, where did I come from?
  853. 00:44:42.840 – 00:44:43.940 You know, how long?
  854. 00:44:44.100 – 00:44:46.260 You just, these deeper level questions
  855. 00:44:46.260 – 00:44:52.040 is always a way for a fulfilling life.
  856. 00:44:54.050 – 00:44:55.390 Yes, yes, yes, yes.
  857. 00:44:56.050 – 00:44:57.350 That's definitely true.
  858. 00:44:59.670 – 00:45:02.750 And I've had a thing where I was like,
  859. 00:45:02.910 – 00:45:04.010 I'm going to be a life coach
  860. 00:45:04.010 – 00:45:10.150 and kind of help people find their light
  861. 00:45:10.150 – 00:45:14.130 and their gifts and use it to their maximum capabilities.
  862. 00:45:14.270 – 00:45:19.130 Because it's always that one shift that's always needed.
  863. 00:45:19.450 – 00:45:22.750 It's not even like teaching or grooming or showing them.
  864. 00:45:22.890 – 00:45:24.230 It's just the shift.
  865. 00:45:24.810 – 00:45:26.570 And it's mostly a mindset
  866. 00:45:26.570 – 00:45:31.470 and, you know, on the podcast I speak a lot on mindset
  867. 00:45:31.470 – 00:45:33.210 and mind state.
  868. 00:45:33.650 – 00:45:34.630 It's powerful.
  869. 00:45:35.170 – 00:45:36.810 Even, you know, before the podcast,
  870. 00:45:36.950 – 00:45:38.870 just having that time,
  871. 00:45:39.130 – 00:45:41.010 two, three minutes before we started,
  872. 00:45:42.350 – 00:45:44.050 just silence, collecting my thoughts,
  873. 00:45:44.870 – 00:45:46.330 just, you know, getting me together.
  874. 00:45:47.350 – 00:45:48.790 It's definitely important.
  875. 00:45:49.390 – 00:45:51.350 And the work you do is important for sure.
  876. 00:45:51.950 – 00:45:54.670 One thing I will say is like the best way
  877. 00:45:54.670 – 00:45:56.930 that helped me out in coaching, life coaching,
  878. 00:45:57.070 – 00:45:58.850 because first you got to feel worthy of doing that
  879. 00:45:59.350 – 00:46:01.510 because from time to time I have thoughts of like,
  880. 00:46:01.510 – 00:46:06.570 who am I to show somebody away or tell somebody away?
  881. 00:46:07.410 – 00:46:10.910 But in the midst of the best solutions that I have,
  882. 00:46:10.930 – 00:46:12.230 the best outcome that I normally have
  883. 00:46:12.230 – 00:46:13.990 is when I'm just being genuinely myself.
  884. 00:46:14.990 – 00:46:16.450 Just being a great person in life,
  885. 00:46:16.650 – 00:46:18.450 just striving to be a great person,
  886. 00:46:18.650 – 00:46:20.270 treating others how you want to be treated,
  887. 00:46:20.270 – 00:46:24.830 and just being a genuine person in young people's lives,
  888. 00:46:25.230 – 00:46:26.350 which is something that,
  889. 00:46:26.530 – 00:46:27.710 surprisingly, they don't get often.
  890. 00:46:28.250 – 00:46:29.970 It's people telling them what they should do,
  891. 00:46:30.690 – 00:46:32.770 telling them what they don't need to be doing,
  892. 00:46:35.350 – 00:46:37.450 judging and being too authoritative
  893. 00:46:37.990 – 00:46:39.650 and, you know, all these different things
  894. 00:46:39.650 – 00:46:41.690 where it's like when they,
  895. 00:46:42.890 – 00:46:45.030 when I experience a young person, you know,
  896. 00:46:45.410 – 00:46:46.830 I just genuinely be myself.
  897. 00:46:47.950 – 00:46:48.470 You know what I'm saying?
  898. 00:46:48.470 – 00:46:49.770 I'm not trying to put on the front.
  899. 00:46:50.810 – 00:46:52.750 I'm not demanding what they should be doing
  900. 00:46:52.750 – 00:46:53.970 or what they need to be doing.
  901. 00:46:54.650 – 00:46:57.450 I'm more so just sparking thoughts for them
  902. 00:46:57.450 – 00:46:58.810 and just being myself.
  903. 00:46:58.990 – 00:47:01.990 You know, I normally have everything in question form.
  904. 00:47:02.650 – 00:47:03.690 You know, I normally,
  905. 00:47:03.970 – 00:47:05.230 sometimes I don't even tell them my answer.
  906. 00:47:05.310 – 00:47:07.850 I just question them so they can get their own answer
  907. 00:47:07.850 – 00:47:11.510 and form their own opinions and think their own thoughts
  908. 00:47:11.510 – 00:47:12.890 because everybody else is,
  909. 00:47:12.890 – 00:47:14.110 everybody is unique in their own way.
  910. 00:47:14.210 – 00:47:16.030 You know, we just have to start thinking bigger,
  911. 00:47:16.030 – 00:47:19.210 expanding our brain, and I just love to do that for kids.
  912. 00:47:19.690 – 00:47:20.310 You know what I'm saying?
  913. 00:47:21.090 – 00:47:21.490 Yeah.
  914. 00:47:22.490 – 00:47:25.610 I think sometimes the best questions are actually,
  915. 00:47:26.790 – 00:47:28.280 our best answers are actually questions.
  916. 00:47:28.990 – 00:47:32.030 Like, even if you think about Jeopardy,
  917. 00:47:32.790 – 00:47:33.790 the game of Jeopardy,
  918. 00:47:35.030 – 00:47:37.730 like it's answering the question, what is?
  919. 00:47:37.830 – 00:47:38.430 What is?
  920. 00:47:38.810 – 00:47:42.330 But yeah, I love that, especially like my young daughters.
  921. 00:47:43.350 – 00:47:48.620 Like, what did you do that?
  922. 00:47:48.740 – 00:47:51.220 Not necessarily what did you do that for,
  923. 00:47:51.340 – 00:47:52.860 but like in a sense,
  924. 00:47:52.880 – 00:47:54.580 it could be a combination of these questions
  925. 00:47:54.580 – 00:47:57.120 or like how did that make you feel
  926. 00:47:57.120 – 00:47:59.660 or how you think that made that person feel
  927. 00:47:59.660 – 00:48:02.780 if they did something to somebody else or, you know,
  928. 00:48:02.840 – 00:48:04.120 it's just like questions.
  929. 00:48:04.760 – 00:48:05.080 Questions.
  930. 00:48:05.340 – 00:48:09.300 Not necessarily don't do this, don't do that.
  931. 00:48:09.840 – 00:48:13.120 It's to help them realize what they did
  932. 00:48:13.120 – 00:48:15.280 and the feelings behind it,
  933. 00:48:15.460 – 00:48:17.260 not necessarily their feelings,
  934. 00:48:17.360 – 00:48:18.440 but other people's feelings,
  935. 00:48:18.480 – 00:48:20.240 how it's going to make other people feel
  936. 00:48:20.240 – 00:48:22.940 and how is that making you feel
  937. 00:48:22.940 – 00:48:24.800 that you made people feel this way.
  938. 00:48:25.560 – 00:48:27.320 Or if someone did something to you
  939. 00:48:27.320 – 00:48:29.020 and you never told nobody
  940. 00:48:29.020 – 00:48:30.760 and you just keeping it all in,
  941. 00:48:31.320 – 00:48:32.800 what do you think it was all going to be?
  942. 00:48:34.040 – 00:48:35.460 That just made me think about something
  943. 00:48:36.080 – 00:48:38.420 because I actually did do therapy in my life before
  944. 00:48:39.700 – 00:48:41.960 because I spoke about doing therapy
  945. 00:48:41.960 – 00:48:44.120 and going to therapy and I had a plan to do it.
  946. 00:48:44.120 – 00:48:46.420 I actually did do therapy younger.
  947. 00:48:46.800 – 00:48:47.340 I did too.
  948. 00:48:47.420 – 00:48:48.340 And I remember them,
  949. 00:48:49.440 – 00:48:53.020 I remember getting to a certain destination of thought
  950. 00:48:53.020 – 00:48:55.460 due to them raising certain questions
  951. 00:48:55.460 – 00:48:57.320 that I may not have raised for myself.
  952. 00:48:58.380 – 00:49:00.740 And they never even had to say
  953. 00:49:00.740 – 00:49:04.260 what the outcome or the answer was.
  954. 00:49:04.520 – 00:49:07.140 It was just like the answer was led there
  955. 00:49:07.800 – 00:49:09.040 through my own thinking
  956. 00:49:09.040 – 00:49:11.560 which caused it to be more effective.
  957. 00:49:11.560 – 00:49:16.900 It was like, oh, I get it finally now.
  958. 00:49:17.000 – 00:49:17.620 You know what I'm saying?
  959. 00:49:18.540 – 00:49:21.000 Which is why this is the ultimate goal.
  960. 00:49:21.080 – 00:49:22.560 I do want to share this ultimate goal.
  961. 00:49:22.820 – 00:49:23.840 This is the desire.
  962. 00:49:23.980 – 00:49:24.520 This is the goal.
  963. 00:49:25.580 – 00:49:28.280 The goal is to have an arts and cultural center
  964. 00:49:28.280 – 00:49:29.460 in urban neighborhoods,
  965. 00:49:29.980 – 00:49:30.980 whether that's one space
  966. 00:49:30.980 – 00:49:32.520 or whether that's multiple spaces.
  967. 00:49:33.420 – 00:49:34.600 And within this space,
  968. 00:49:35.120 – 00:49:37.120 our main thing is being a safe space
  969. 00:49:37.120 – 00:49:38.660 for young people and young adults
  970. 00:49:38.660 – 00:49:41.360 or even adults to go and learn,
  971. 00:49:41.660 – 00:49:42.740 be themselves,
  972. 00:49:42.740 – 00:49:44.700 and not have to worry about
  973. 00:49:44.700 – 00:49:45.720 certain things in life
  974. 00:49:46.520 – 00:49:48.340 that stop them from being
  975. 00:49:48.340 – 00:49:50.760 the best version of themselves they could be.
  976. 00:49:52.460 – 00:49:53.660 Within this space,
  977. 00:49:54.080 – 00:49:55.700 I want to also teach them
  978. 00:49:55.700 – 00:49:58.620 or have other people come in and teach them
  979. 00:49:58.620 – 00:49:59.680 and share with them
  980. 00:49:59.680 – 00:50:01.220 and have workshops
  981. 00:50:03.900 – 00:50:06.820 on certain subjects of creating.
  982. 00:50:07.800 – 00:50:10.040 And I also want to provide the resources
  983. 00:50:10.040 – 00:50:10.860 and the equipment
  984. 00:50:10.860 – 00:50:12.860 for these different things as well.
  985. 00:50:13.280 – 00:50:14.920 So this is going to be a safe space
  986. 00:50:15.840 – 00:50:18.760 that fulfills the mind, body, and spirit,
  987. 00:50:18.760 – 00:50:19.900 but also teach them
  988. 00:50:19.900 – 00:50:21.440 and give them the space to create
  989. 00:50:21.440 – 00:50:23.160 and be free creators
  990. 00:50:23.710 – 00:50:25.280 in whatever it is they want to do.
  991. 00:50:25.980 – 00:50:26.680 But most importantly,
  992. 00:50:26.860 – 00:50:30.010 just being that safe space within chaos.
  993. 00:50:30.540 – 00:50:30.920 You know what I'm saying?
  994. 00:50:32.680 – 00:50:34.480 So we're going to have equipment there,
  995. 00:50:34.580 – 00:50:35.920 maybe a musical studio,
  996. 00:50:35.920 – 00:50:37.660 maybe art studios,
  997. 00:50:38.360 – 00:50:40.760 all the equipment that they need to do this,
  998. 00:50:41.800 – 00:50:44.580 teachers, instructors, presenters,
  999. 00:50:45.160 – 00:50:46.380 and then we're also going to be going out
  1000. 00:50:46.380 – 00:50:47.400 into the community, too,
  1001. 00:50:47.500 – 00:50:48.220 doing the same thing.
  1002. 00:50:49.320 – 00:50:50.800 We're going to expose them
  1003. 00:50:50.800 – 00:50:51.880 to different things in life
  1004. 00:50:51.880 – 00:50:54.300 so they can raise their level of consciousness
  1005. 00:50:54.300 – 00:50:55.320 in their thinking,
  1006. 00:50:55.860 – 00:50:57.920 but they're also going to be hand-in-hand
  1007. 00:50:59.360 – 00:51:01.360 with anything else that they want to do in life.
  1008. 00:51:02.480 – 00:51:04.640 So that's like the ultimate goal
  1009. 00:51:04.640 – 00:51:08.020 that's going to happen at some point, right?
  1010. 00:51:08.260 – 00:51:09.080 And within that space,
  1011. 00:51:09.080 – 00:51:10.480 I might still do photography,
  1012. 00:51:11.120 – 00:51:12.620 still do videography
  1013. 00:51:12.620 – 00:51:14.360 for different clients and things like that.
  1014. 00:51:14.540 – 00:51:17.440 I might take students on certain jobs with me,
  1015. 00:51:18.000 – 00:51:20.260 or I might, you know,
  1016. 00:51:21.540 – 00:51:23.620 just only do that from time to time
  1017. 00:51:23.620 – 00:51:26.280 while teaching other people photography, videography,
  1018. 00:51:26.460 – 00:51:27.540 different forms of art.
  1019. 00:51:28.260 – 00:51:31.100 But that's like the ultimate plan and goal.
  1020. 00:51:32.200 – 00:51:33.740 Yeah, that's amazing.
  1021. 00:51:33.740 – 00:51:36.220 I want to ask,
  1022. 00:51:37.240 – 00:51:39.000 have you seen or witnessed
  1023. 00:51:39.000 – 00:51:41.740 any other structures
  1024. 00:51:42.320 – 00:51:43.960 or buildings or programs
  1025. 00:51:44.420 – 00:51:46.520 such as what you're trying to build
  1026. 00:51:46.520 – 00:51:48.040 or what you are building?
  1027. 00:51:48.840 – 00:51:49.720 Yeah, so actually,
  1028. 00:51:50.460 – 00:51:51.700 I've been to one personally,
  1029. 00:51:52.600 – 00:51:53.420 and then I also...
  1030. 00:51:53.420 – 00:51:55.780 Like through the program or like...
  1031. 00:51:55.780 – 00:51:58.000 So I've been to one.
  1032. 00:51:58.000 – 00:51:58.760 I visited one.
  1033. 00:51:59.140 – 00:52:00.340 So I've been to one,
  1034. 00:52:00.380 – 00:52:01.000 I visited one,
  1035. 00:52:01.020 – 00:52:01.680 and I'm going to break down
  1036. 00:52:01.680 – 00:52:02.760 what it exactly was.
  1037. 00:52:02.760 – 00:52:05.440 And I also was told about one, too,
  1038. 00:52:05.440 – 00:52:07.060 when I was speaking this out loud.
  1039. 00:52:07.540 – 00:52:09.140 So one of the things I've been to was like,
  1040. 00:52:09.200 – 00:52:11.160 it said it was a church,
  1041. 00:52:12.340 – 00:52:13.320 art and cultural center,
  1042. 00:52:13.420 – 00:52:14.620 where it was like the church,
  1043. 00:52:14.920 – 00:52:16.960 and then it had like a space
  1044. 00:52:16.960 – 00:52:18.940 that housed people.
  1045. 00:52:19.880 – 00:52:21.900 It had different rooms and different spaces
  1046. 00:52:23.160 – 00:52:24.380 where anybody could be
  1047. 00:52:24.380 – 00:52:25.640 whatever they wanted to be,
  1048. 00:52:25.780 – 00:52:27.800 but it was rooted in, you know, religion.
  1049. 00:52:28.520 – 00:52:29.840 And then I saw another space
  1050. 00:52:29.840 – 00:52:31.760 where it was kind of like
  1051. 00:52:31.760 – 00:52:33.160 the arts and cultural center
  1052. 00:52:33.160 – 00:52:34.740 mixed in with a dojo.
  1053. 00:52:35.220 – 00:52:36.640 So it had like self-defense,
  1054. 00:52:36.800 – 00:52:38.540 teaching young people self-defense,
  1055. 00:52:39.540 – 00:52:41.380 spiritual-minded thinking
  1056. 00:52:41.380 – 00:52:42.940 and combat,
  1057. 00:52:44.100 – 00:52:45.140 attached with STEM,
  1058. 00:52:47.350 – 00:52:48.230 attached with art.
  1059. 00:52:48.330 – 00:52:49.990 So it was like a STEM center,
  1060. 00:52:50.710 – 00:52:52.610 dojo mixed in
  1061. 00:52:52.610 – 00:52:53.730 with an art center,
  1062. 00:52:53.810 – 00:52:54.890 and it all came together,
  1063. 00:52:54.950 – 00:52:56.870 so it could be like the academia
  1064. 00:52:56.870 – 00:52:57.950 side of things,
  1065. 00:52:58.490 – 00:52:59.910 the combat, self-defense,
  1066. 00:52:59.990 – 00:53:01.170 and spiritual side of things,
  1067. 00:53:01.170 – 00:53:03.490 as well as the art and creator side of things,
  1068. 00:53:03.490 – 00:53:04.970 and it was like three different spaces
  1069. 00:53:04.970 – 00:53:06.110 within one space,
  1070. 00:53:06.310 – 00:53:09.050 and that's kind of what I see myself having, too.
  1071. 00:53:09.530 – 00:53:11.310 Me holding a certain aspect down,
  1072. 00:53:11.310 – 00:53:12.650 but also bringing other people
  1073. 00:53:12.650 – 00:53:14.370 onto this journey and this vision
  1074. 00:53:14.370 – 00:53:17.310 so they can fulfill their need in life,
  1075. 00:53:17.350 – 00:53:19.150 which is probably helping people most likely,
  1076. 00:53:19.290 – 00:53:22.130 because most people I tend to talk to
  1077. 00:53:22.130 – 00:53:22.770 and work with,
  1078. 00:53:23.790 – 00:53:25.630 their ultimate goal is to help people.
  1079. 00:53:27.050 – 00:53:28.790 So bringing all of us together
  1080. 00:53:28.790 – 00:53:30.270 on this big vision
  1081. 00:53:31.310 – 00:53:33.590 to do whatever it is that we see fit,
  1082. 00:53:33.590 – 00:53:34.850 but just doing it together
  1083. 00:53:34.850 – 00:53:36.270 in a certain space
  1084. 00:53:36.270 – 00:53:38.290 because we can do it quicker
  1085. 00:53:38.290 – 00:53:40.030 and easier and better
  1086. 00:53:40.690 – 00:53:41.970 when like-minded people
  1087. 00:53:42.650 – 00:53:44.150 and great people come together
  1088. 00:53:44.150 – 00:53:45.450 to fulfill these things
  1089. 00:53:45.450 – 00:53:46.730 that we want to fulfill in life.
  1090. 00:53:49.600 – 00:53:50.760 That's what I see happening.
  1091. 00:53:51.640 – 00:53:53.140 I'm not going to do it on my own.
  1092. 00:53:53.200 – 00:53:54.540 I know it's not possible.
  1093. 00:53:54.900 – 00:53:55.840 Maybe it is possible,
  1094. 00:53:55.840 – 00:53:57.780 but I don't want to do it on my own,
  1095. 00:53:58.540 – 00:54:00.660 because that's not what I'm doing it for anyway.
  1096. 00:54:00.660 – 00:54:01.220 I'm doing it in the beginning,
  1097. 00:54:01.440 – 00:54:01.980 you know what I'm saying?
  1098. 00:54:03.140 – 00:54:05.320 I said, what do you have in place already
  1099. 00:54:05.320 – 00:54:06.220 and how long do you think
  1100. 00:54:06.220 – 00:54:07.800 it's going to take you to build
  1101. 00:54:08.500 – 00:54:10.580 like to your full vision?
  1102. 00:54:11.940 – 00:54:14.520 I taught myself within three to five years,
  1103. 00:54:14.780 – 00:54:16.520 this can be a real thing.
  1104. 00:54:17.960 – 00:54:19.260 What I have in place right now
  1105. 00:54:20.900 – 00:54:23.140 is a foundation of other people
  1106. 00:54:23.140 – 00:54:25.120 that I know want the same goal and dream,
  1107. 00:54:25.180 – 00:54:26.140 but just bringing us together
  1108. 00:54:26.140 – 00:54:26.940 on the same vision.
  1109. 00:54:27.040 – 00:54:27.740 So a network.
  1110. 00:54:28.440 – 00:54:30.420 I know this is what they want to do,
  1111. 00:54:31.980 – 00:54:34.520 but just getting them to buy in
  1112. 00:54:34.520 – 00:54:36.540 into this overall bigger vision
  1113. 00:54:36.540 – 00:54:37.920 that I have for us all,
  1114. 00:54:38.700 – 00:54:39.580 because it's not about you,
  1115. 00:54:39.620 – 00:54:40.240 it's not about me,
  1116. 00:54:40.240 – 00:54:41.960 it's about us all.
  1117. 00:54:42.520 – 00:54:43.560 And if we came together,
  1118. 00:54:43.600 – 00:54:44.680 I know it could be done.
  1119. 00:54:44.720 – 00:54:45.440 I know it.
  1120. 00:54:45.440 – 00:54:46.540 I know it is.
  1121. 00:54:47.040 – 00:54:47.320 You know what I'm saying?
  1122. 00:54:47.360 – 00:54:48.900 When we just kind of sit
  1123. 00:54:49.520 – 00:54:51.160 these bills and these problems
  1124. 00:54:51.160 – 00:54:51.960 and these different things
  1125. 00:54:51.960 – 00:54:53.760 that we're going through in life to the side,
  1126. 00:54:54.120 – 00:54:55.400 and I was listening to a podcast yesterday
  1127. 00:54:55.400 – 00:54:56.820 and the podcast said this,
  1128. 00:54:56.820 – 00:54:57.800 he asked the man,
  1129. 00:54:58.200 – 00:54:59.940 he said, you a leader of your family,
  1130. 00:55:00.040 – 00:55:03.560 you got a wife that has no problem with following you,
  1131. 00:55:03.860 – 00:55:05.300 even your mommy or dad
  1132. 00:55:05.300 – 00:55:07.480 and all these people follow you now.
  1133. 00:55:08.440 – 00:55:09.500 He said, how did you do that?
  1134. 00:55:09.520 – 00:55:10.560 And he told him,
  1135. 00:55:10.640 – 00:55:12.540 whoever has the biggest vision win.
  1136. 00:55:13.740 – 00:55:16.540 Whoever has the biggest vision
  1137. 00:55:16.540 – 00:55:18.240 is the person that need to be leading,
  1138. 00:55:19.740 – 00:55:21.180 if you consider that even leading,
  1139. 00:55:21.240 – 00:55:23.640 because it's not necessarily you leading anybody,
  1140. 00:55:24.360 – 00:55:26.020 it's just y'all coming together
  1141. 00:55:26.680 – 00:55:30.260 on one vision that everybody plays a part in.
  1142. 00:55:30.280 – 00:55:32.100 So it's not necessarily leading anybody, it's anything.
  1143. 00:55:32.460 – 00:55:33.440 If I'm leading anybody in anything,
  1144. 00:55:33.580 – 00:55:36.140 I'm just leading them to a bigger thought and vision
  1145. 00:55:36.140 – 00:55:37.600 that we all can come together on.
  1146. 00:55:38.620 – 00:55:40.100 Because we're all leaders.
  1147. 00:55:41.540 – 00:55:43.680 I'm not leading, we're all leaders really.
  1148. 00:55:44.200 – 00:55:45.200 And that's what I have so far.
  1149. 00:55:45.280 – 00:55:47.720 I have the people, I have the idea,
  1150. 00:55:47.840 – 00:55:49.840 and I have the plan written down.
  1151. 00:55:50.240 – 00:55:52.200 I have the vision on how I'm going to get there,
  1152. 00:55:52.200 – 00:55:54.620 how I'm going to get the money to do it.
  1153. 00:55:54.740 – 00:55:56.080 That's what I have so far.
  1154. 00:55:57.260 – 00:55:58.540 And that's the thing that's all I really need
  1155. 00:55:58.540 – 00:55:59.260 so far right now.
  1156. 00:55:59.340 – 00:56:00.140 I think that's all you need.
  1157. 00:56:00.320 – 00:56:02.560 Now I just need to bring to life
  1158. 00:56:02.560 – 00:56:03.920 these things I already wrote down
  1159. 00:56:03.920 – 00:56:06.760 and thought about on paper in my head
  1160. 00:56:06.760 – 00:56:07.700 and my vision.
  1161. 00:56:07.720 – 00:56:09.540 Just need to see it through.
  1162. 00:56:11.120 – 00:56:11.520 Right?
  1163. 00:56:11.560 – 00:56:13.020 Just need patience now right now.
  1164. 00:56:13.080 – 00:56:13.900 Just see it through.
  1165. 00:56:14.180 – 00:56:16.180 Yeah, patience is key for sure.
  1166. 00:56:17.140 – 00:56:19.080 And I know you guys spoke about money
  1167. 00:56:19.080 – 00:56:21.840 and ways to get the money.
  1168. 00:56:21.840 – 00:56:25.080 What about how much money you need
  1169. 00:56:25.080 – 00:56:26.760 to fully build this out?
  1170. 00:56:26.940 – 00:56:29.080 How much money I don't know just yet
  1171. 00:56:30.400 – 00:56:32.740 because I'm still in the beginning stages
  1172. 00:56:32.740 – 00:56:33.900 of completing a few steps
  1173. 00:56:33.900 – 00:56:35.400 before I even get to that point.
  1174. 00:56:35.680 – 00:56:36.780 But that is a good question
  1175. 00:56:36.780 – 00:56:37.620 and something to think about
  1176. 00:56:37.620 – 00:56:39.840 because I might get to whatever I need
  1177. 00:56:39.840 – 00:56:41.200 to get to even sooner.
  1178. 00:56:41.740 – 00:56:42.780 But right now I was thinking about,
  1179. 00:56:43.040 – 00:56:43.780 okay, how?
  1180. 00:56:44.140 – 00:56:45.220 The how, you know?
  1181. 00:56:45.620 – 00:56:49.560 Maybe something like using other people's resources
  1182. 00:56:50.360 – 00:56:53.740 and coming together and partnering with other people.
  1183. 00:56:54.720 – 00:56:55.280 You know what I'm saying?
  1184. 00:56:55.580 – 00:56:57.920 Because it don't necessarily need to be my own money.
  1185. 00:56:58.160 – 00:56:59.280 This could be a non-profit.
  1186. 00:56:59.460 – 00:57:00.580 Normally with non-profits.
  1187. 00:57:01.940 – 00:57:03.620 You can get that paid for.
  1188. 00:57:04.460 – 00:57:05.540 You can get grants.
  1189. 00:57:06.420 – 00:57:09.420 There are grants specifically for these type of things
  1190. 00:57:09.420 – 00:57:12.260 especially within certain neighborhoods as well.
  1191. 00:57:12.700 – 00:57:14.720 Certain neighborhoods have even more grant money
  1192. 00:57:14.720 – 00:57:15.740 and more opportunities.
  1193. 00:57:17.220 – 00:57:19.920 So that's more so the focus
  1194. 00:57:19.920 – 00:57:21.320 and how I think I'm going to do it.
  1195. 00:57:21.320 – 00:57:22.780 Oh yeah, especially in the inner city.
  1196. 00:57:24.040 – 00:57:27.020 Resources, the people, getting there.
  1197. 00:57:30.040 – 00:57:31.940 About three to five years I think I can see it happening
  1198. 00:57:31.940 – 00:57:32.820 for sure, for sure.
  1199. 00:57:33.860 – 00:57:35.880 Even if it happened in ten years, man.
  1200. 00:57:37.280 – 00:57:38.100 Which I don't think it will happen.
  1201. 00:57:38.160 – 00:57:39.940 Even if it did happen in ten years,
  1202. 00:57:42.240 – 00:57:43.840 then it must need to happen in ten years.
  1203. 00:57:46.080 – 00:57:48.580 I think three to five is good.
  1204. 00:57:48.580 – 00:57:51.400 More so the five.
  1205. 00:57:52.400 – 00:57:56.880 I think ten is not a bad number.
  1206. 00:57:57.500 – 00:57:58.620 It's a long time.
  1207. 00:57:59.600 – 00:58:02.320 But I know it could happen sooner.
  1208. 00:58:03.620 – 00:58:08.420 But to fully maximize and even when you have it come to fruition
  1209. 00:58:08.420 – 00:58:12.160 and it's here, it's like I want to continue to build on it
  1210. 00:58:12.160 – 00:58:13.660 for what it is now.
  1211. 00:58:13.900 – 00:58:16.920 And then it's like that constant building and growing now.
  1212. 00:58:16.920 – 00:58:19.020 And then oh, I didn't think about this.
  1213. 00:58:19.220 – 00:58:21.120 Oh, we should also include this.
  1214. 00:58:22.780 – 00:58:26.820 So that's the only reason I would say ten years for sure.
  1215. 00:58:27.260 – 00:58:28.960 I could see it.
  1216. 00:58:29.080 – 00:58:29.940 I say four.
  1217. 00:58:30.280 – 00:58:35.340 Yeah, like ten years would be like maybe it come into its final form
  1218. 00:58:36.500 – 00:58:40.040 in which the final form probably going to change as well, right?
  1219. 00:58:40.100 – 00:58:41.320 Because it's always going to be something better.
  1220. 00:58:41.460 – 00:58:42.860 It's always getting better at it.
  1221. 00:58:42.860 – 00:58:47.040 But within like three or four years, it could be just a space.
  1222. 00:58:47.100 – 00:58:49.940 It could be a space that fulfills all these different things.
  1223. 00:58:49.960 – 00:58:51.160 How big is the space?
  1224. 00:58:51.980 – 00:58:53.780 How long the space is going to be around?
  1225. 00:58:54.280 – 00:58:54.940 I'm not sure.
  1226. 00:58:55.780 – 00:58:58.160 I don't need an office building for this.
  1227. 00:58:58.640 – 00:59:00.780 I might just need a room.
  1228. 00:59:01.860 – 00:59:04.220 I might just need a suite.
  1229. 00:59:05.140 – 00:59:07.680 You know, a suite can turn into a house.
  1230. 00:59:07.780 – 00:59:10.820 A house can turn into a building, a space, you know, a warehouse.
  1231. 00:59:11.760 – 00:59:12.260 You know what I'm saying?
  1232. 00:59:12.260 – 00:59:13.960 A sacred place.
  1233. 00:59:15.140 – 00:59:18.500 It's just, you know, it's just what do it look like?
  1234. 00:59:18.840 – 00:59:23.500 And the overall vision of what I see in my head, it is very grand.
  1235. 00:59:23.620 – 00:59:24.420 It's very big.
  1236. 00:59:24.940 – 00:59:26.880 So, you know, it's going to take some time to get there.
  1237. 00:59:26.980 – 00:59:30.360 I'm sure it's going to look like it's going to take different steps
  1238. 00:59:30.360 – 00:59:32.820 and it's going to look different every single probably year
  1239. 00:59:32.820 – 00:59:35.220 or every couple of years or so for real, for real.
  1240. 00:59:35.680 – 00:59:36.580 That's what I see for sure.
  1241. 00:59:36.720 – 00:59:37.720 Like it's going to look different.
  1242. 00:59:38.640 – 00:59:40.100 I know it, you know?
  1243. 00:59:40.100 – 00:59:42.260 Yeah, that's amazing.
  1244. 00:59:43.160 – 00:59:49.100 Is there any key or powerful partnerships you would see
  1245. 00:59:49.640 – 00:59:51.220 come into collaboration with this?
  1246. 00:59:53.160 – 00:59:55.100 Key collaboration or partnerships?
  1247. 00:59:55.260 – 01:00:00.460 More so just, I guess, any grants or resources available.
  1248. 01:00:00.740 – 01:00:02.120 You know, even if it's government,
  1249. 01:00:02.220 – 01:00:05.080 anything government funded or resources coming together.
  1250. 01:00:05.700 – 01:00:09.080 Any major heavy hitters that's already maybe within these spaces
  1251. 01:00:09.080 – 01:00:12.740 or doing these certain things, you know, I see coming together.
  1252. 01:00:13.160 – 01:00:17.900 I see myself coming together with some brothers
  1253. 01:00:17.900 – 01:00:22.320 that I currently have right now that have dreams and goals
  1254. 01:00:22.320 – 01:00:24.880 of doing these certain things but just like in a different light.
  1255. 01:00:25.760 – 01:00:29.700 You know, that's mainly what I see right now so far.
  1256. 01:00:30.520 – 01:00:34.560 Like, you know, it's still taking the life of its own every single day,
  1257. 01:00:34.560 – 01:00:36.260 you know, when I get clearer and clearer.
  1258. 01:00:36.380 – 01:00:38.540 Every day I get clearer and clearer of how it looks
  1259. 01:00:38.540 – 01:00:41.540 and I find more answers and more ways to get there.
  1260. 01:00:42.760 – 01:00:45.920 What you're saying is wake up and create each day.
  1261. 01:00:46.240 – 01:00:47.700 Wake up and create, man.
  1262. 01:00:47.700 – 01:00:49.420 Starting with the day before, man.
  1263. 01:00:49.460 – 01:00:52.040 Creating your day, you know?
  1264. 01:00:52.800 – 01:00:55.620 Visualizing what do I want my day to look like tomorrow?
  1265. 01:00:57.660 – 01:00:58.400 That's you creating.
  1266. 01:00:59.120 – 01:00:59.940 That is true.
  1267. 01:01:00.260 – 01:01:02.740 You creating your life as you go, you know?
  1268. 01:01:03.200 – 01:01:04.640 I read in the book, thank you, girl,
  1269. 01:01:04.740 – 01:01:07.580 with your black choice that success is not necessarily
  1270. 01:01:07.580 – 01:01:10.640 you get to a certain house, a certain car, a certain end goal.
  1271. 01:01:12.000 – 01:01:13.640 Success looks like this.
  1272. 01:01:13.680 – 01:01:16.900 It looks like you on the route to whatever goal
  1273. 01:01:16.900 – 01:01:17.940 that you set for yourself.
  1274. 01:01:18.000 – 01:01:19.480 That is you being successful
  1275. 01:01:19.480 – 01:01:23.100 because you're moving in a positive direction
  1276. 01:01:23.100 – 01:01:24.900 towards a goal that you have.
  1277. 01:01:26.100 – 01:01:27.660 It's not necessarily fulfilling that goal
  1278. 01:01:27.660 – 01:01:30.500 but it's just you pushing forward on that goal.
  1279. 01:01:30.560 – 01:01:33.520 That is you being successful, right?
  1280. 01:01:33.680 – 01:01:36.960 Like, you're successful and when you get to that goal
  1281. 01:01:36.960 – 01:01:39.500 and you meet it, you know what's going to happen?
  1282. 01:01:39.920 – 01:01:41.100 You're going to create a new goal
  1283. 01:01:42.000 – 01:01:44.900 and you're going to go on that path to fulfill that goal
  1284. 01:01:44.900 – 01:01:46.120 and so on and so forth.
  1285. 01:01:46.240 – 01:01:49.620 It's like, who's to say we're not successful right now
  1286. 01:01:49.620 – 01:01:51.260 just because we don't have a million dollars?
  1287. 01:01:51.340 – 01:01:52.420 Like, who said that?
  1288. 01:01:53.320 – 01:01:54.460 Just because we don't have a million dollars
  1289. 01:01:54.460 – 01:01:56.760 doesn't mean we're not currently successful, man.
  1290. 01:01:57.260 – 01:01:58.780 Your daughter think the world of you.
  1291. 01:01:58.820 – 01:02:01.060 Your daughter think probably the world of you.
  1292. 01:02:01.100 – 01:02:01.960 Oh, yeah, for sure.
  1293. 01:02:02.000 – 01:02:02.620 You know what I'm saying?
  1294. 01:02:03.900 – 01:02:06.240 In her eyes, you very successful, man.
  1295. 01:02:06.240 – 01:02:10.800 You successful is what she needs you to be successful, right?
  1296. 01:02:11.180 – 01:02:14.340 And I'm sure a lot of people look at myself that same way
  1297. 01:02:14.340 – 01:02:18.000 and I get, I didn't have people tell me
  1298. 01:02:18.000 – 01:02:19.060 in the trip me out, man.
  1299. 01:02:19.060 – 01:02:21.240 I didn't have students tell me at one point of like,
  1300. 01:02:22.060 – 01:02:24.220 them literally telling me like,
  1301. 01:02:24.560 – 01:02:28.740 I changed their life by telling them a piece of advice
  1302. 01:02:28.740 – 01:02:30.820 that I gave them or giving them a certain story
  1303. 01:02:30.820 – 01:02:32.400 or just giving them a certain word.
  1304. 01:02:33.040 – 01:02:36.820 And it's like, sometimes I can't comprehend it
  1305. 01:02:36.820 – 01:02:38.840 because all I was just doing was just being myself
  1306. 01:02:38.840 – 01:02:40.500 and just speaking life into them
  1307. 01:02:40.500 – 01:02:41.800 and just giving them love, you know?
  1308. 01:02:42.360 – 01:02:42.720 Yeah.
  1309. 01:02:42.960 – 01:02:45.680 So I don't, I normally don't take the credit.
  1310. 01:02:45.820 – 01:02:47.640 You know, I always refer back to God.
  1311. 01:02:47.760 – 01:02:48.920 I always say like, somebody say to me now,
  1312. 01:02:48.980 – 01:02:50.740 I say, praise be to God, praise be to creator.
  1313. 01:02:50.900 – 01:02:52.040 You know, that's where I normally go
  1314. 01:02:52.040 – 01:02:55.060 because it's like, I know I wasn't, it wasn't me.
  1315. 01:02:55.860 – 01:02:57.580 I'm sure I was just, I was just a vessel
  1316. 01:02:57.940 – 01:02:59.820 or just an instrument or a tool
  1317. 01:03:00.380 – 01:03:02.300 for you to get to wherever you're gonna get to anyway.
  1318. 01:03:02.520 – 01:03:04.260 You know, like, it wasn't me at all.
  1319. 01:03:04.740 – 01:03:06.120 Like, it wasn't me at all.
  1320. 01:03:06.140 – 01:03:07.260 I know it wasn't me.
  1321. 01:03:08.040 – 01:03:09.380 1%, 2%, you know?
  1322. 01:03:10.560 – 01:03:11.960 Right place, right time, too.
  1323. 01:03:11.980 – 01:03:13.240 You know, it wasn't me.
  1324. 01:03:13.480 – 01:03:14.360 It was written.
  1325. 01:03:14.440 – 01:03:15.540 That's what it was, you know?
  1326. 01:03:15.540 – 01:03:17.920 And I just was a piece of the puzzle
  1327. 01:03:17.920 – 01:03:19.620 for you to get to wherever you, you know,
  1328. 01:03:19.680 – 01:03:20.560 was gonna get to anyway.
  1329. 01:03:22.700 – 01:03:24.620 I know you, I just spoke about success.
  1330. 01:03:24.760 – 01:03:27.580 I was saying, what would that success look like to you
  1331. 01:03:27.580 – 01:03:30.240 with all these endeavors and dreams?
  1332. 01:03:30.240 – 01:03:33.960 But like, what would you say your definition of success is?
  1333. 01:03:34.260 – 01:03:36.560 Man, success to me, that's a good question, man.
  1334. 01:03:36.700 – 01:03:38.540 But before I even give it heavy thought,
  1335. 01:03:38.680 – 01:03:40.640 I wanted to say with the first thing that came to my mind,
  1336. 01:03:41.100 – 01:03:46.900 success to me is helping as many individuals as possible,
  1337. 01:03:46.940 – 01:03:49.400 whether I help them an opportunity,
  1338. 01:03:50.520 – 01:03:51.900 help them with a piece of advice,
  1339. 01:03:52.620 – 01:03:54.200 help them get to a certain platform,
  1340. 01:03:54.240 – 01:03:55.300 a certain place in life.
  1341. 01:03:55.820 – 01:03:57.840 But most importantly, success also is me
  1342. 01:03:57.840 – 01:03:59.440 providing opportunities for other people
  1343. 01:03:59.440 – 01:04:01.280 who may be in need.
  1344. 01:04:02.140 – 01:04:05.160 And also success look like for me is when I can
  1345. 01:04:05.880 – 01:04:07.700 take the ones that I love
  1346. 01:04:07.700 – 01:04:09.740 and help them get to wherever they want to get to
  1347. 01:04:09.740 – 01:04:10.660 in life as well.
  1348. 01:04:11.800 – 01:04:15.500 You know, if I could just say a certain word
  1349. 01:04:15.980 – 01:04:18.640 or drop a certain price or buy a certain thing
  1350. 01:04:19.300 – 01:04:21.200 for one of my sisters or my brothers
  1351. 01:04:21.200 – 01:04:23.360 to do whatever it is they want to do in life
  1352. 01:04:23.360 – 01:04:26.520 or to take my whole entire family on vacation
  1353. 01:04:27.440 – 01:04:29.160 for them not to think about normal life
  1354. 01:04:29.160 – 01:04:31.160 and just think about, just for them to just
  1355. 01:04:31.160 – 01:04:33.040 let their hair down and just be for a moment
  1356. 01:04:33.040 – 01:04:33.840 and exist.
  1357. 01:04:35.240 – 01:04:36.460 That's like, oh, I think I,
  1358. 01:04:36.800 – 01:04:39.080 if I ever made it, that would be me making it.
  1359. 01:04:39.080 – 01:04:39.620 I made it.
  1360. 01:04:40.140 – 01:04:42.100 I can't put a certain number on that,
  1361. 01:04:42.520 – 01:04:44.880 but the moment I take my whole entire family,
  1362. 01:04:45.100 – 01:04:46.980 my whole inner family on vacation,
  1363. 01:04:47.040 – 01:04:49.440 which I plan on doing, this is on my list of doing,
  1364. 01:04:49.480 – 01:04:50.760 I know I'm gonna do it at some point.
  1365. 01:04:50.920 – 01:04:51.700 Sure, we both are.
  1366. 01:04:51.940 – 01:04:53.520 Right, I'm gonna take my family on vacation
  1367. 01:04:54.420 – 01:04:58.300 to a tropic area and it's gonna be on me.
  1368. 01:04:59.880 – 01:05:01.600 That's when I get to a place where
  1369. 01:05:01.600 – 01:05:03.860 I know what I plan to get to, you know?
  1370. 01:05:04.940 – 01:05:05.720 That's where I'm good.
  1371. 01:05:05.800 – 01:05:08.520 When I can see all my family on a plane
  1372. 01:05:08.520 – 01:05:09.820 and they sitting on the beach
  1373. 01:05:09.820 – 01:05:10.740 and they all just smiling,
  1374. 01:05:11.860 – 01:05:13.220 and I'm just like, dang,
  1375. 01:05:13.460 – 01:05:15.180 that's when I'm like, yeah, that's it for me.
  1376. 01:05:15.180 – 01:05:15.640 I'm good.
  1377. 01:05:16.260 – 01:05:17.360 Whatever happens for me, I'm good.
  1378. 01:05:17.420 – 01:05:18.080 I'm cool now.
  1379. 01:05:18.800 – 01:05:19.820 I'm cool, man.
  1380. 01:05:19.820 – 01:05:23.400 I just seen my grandma and sisters and brothers
  1381. 01:05:24.260 – 01:05:26.320 and smiling on the beach and there's no like,
  1382. 01:05:26.320 – 01:05:28.960 I know I put the work in to get them there.
  1383. 01:05:29.800 – 01:05:30.640 That's life for me.
  1384. 01:05:30.700 – 01:05:31.180 Like, that's it.
  1385. 01:05:31.220 – 01:05:31.740 That's life.
  1386. 01:05:34.220 – 01:05:34.960 That is life.
  1387. 01:05:35.800 – 01:05:38.200 That's something I think about all the time.
  1388. 01:05:38.320 – 01:05:41.420 It's like, I mean, for me personally,
  1389. 01:05:41.560 – 01:05:44.860 I haven't taken a vacation since,
  1390. 01:05:45.240 – 01:05:48.240 like a real vacation since middle school.
  1391. 01:05:48.660 – 01:05:49.100 Wow.
  1392. 01:05:49.520 – 01:05:51.420 So yeah, that's something personally
  1393. 01:05:51.420 – 01:05:53.020 I want to get back to.
  1394. 01:05:53.640 – 01:05:53.880 Wow.
  1395. 01:05:53.880 – 01:05:56.620 Like I've traveled, I've been out of town,
  1396. 01:05:57.320 – 01:06:00.680 I explore places, but it's mainly for business,
  1397. 01:06:00.940 – 01:06:03.440 not necessarily for leisure or pleasure.
  1398. 01:06:04.300 – 01:06:06.760 Now I still enjoy my times, you know,
  1399. 01:06:06.880 – 01:06:08.920 when I travel different places
  1400. 01:06:08.920 – 01:06:12.100 and been everywhere but Ohio.
  1401. 01:06:13.000 – 01:06:15.080 But it's not that true.
  1402. 01:06:15.340 – 01:06:17.940 Vacations in, I don't got to worry about nothing.
  1403. 01:06:18.860 – 01:06:20.240 But even like you said,
  1404. 01:06:20.240 – 01:06:23.400 you get into that fact where you can bring people along
  1405. 01:06:23.400 – 01:06:25.200 and you have your inner family,
  1406. 01:06:25.280 – 01:06:28.720 your family and friends, all that good stuff.
  1407. 01:06:29.500 – 01:06:31.320 Even close business partners,
  1408. 01:06:31.600 – 01:06:34.020 people you're in collaboration with.
  1409. 01:06:35.180 – 01:06:36.840 That's definitely one of my goals.
  1410. 01:06:37.000 – 01:06:39.160 That's what's missing in your life right now.
  1411. 01:06:39.800 – 01:06:41.540 Yeah, like you said, that zen.
  1412. 01:06:42.320 – 01:06:43.660 Yeah, that's what's missing right now.
  1413. 01:06:43.900 – 01:06:44.520 Quiet time.
  1414. 01:06:44.640 – 01:06:45.800 That's what you need.
  1415. 01:06:47.020 – 01:06:48.040 You need a vacation.
  1416. 01:06:48.860 – 01:06:51.040 A genuine vacation where you just let your hair down
  1417. 01:06:52.220 – 01:06:56.060 and you can just be and exist for a moment of time.
  1418. 01:06:58.320 – 01:06:59.440 I think we all need that.
  1419. 01:06:59.460 – 01:07:00.440 But not only do we need that,
  1420. 01:07:00.500 – 01:07:05.140 we need that frequently throughout every year.
  1421. 01:07:05.580 – 01:07:09.460 So for me, I make sure I have that at least,
  1422. 01:07:09.520 – 01:07:11.100 it got to be at least once a year,
  1423. 01:07:11.100 – 01:07:12.460 but really you should plan that out
  1424. 01:07:12.460 – 01:07:13.560 for you and your family.
  1425. 01:07:14.020 – 01:07:15.260 Maybe like three times a year,
  1426. 01:07:15.300 – 01:07:16.880 four times a year, twice a year.
  1427. 01:07:17.440 – 01:07:19.400 That we know, okay, at some point,
  1428. 01:07:19.460 – 01:07:22.640 we're going to do something,
  1429. 01:07:23.440 – 01:07:26.320 take a getaway and just be together for a moment.
  1430. 01:07:26.400 – 01:07:28.240 Going to Disney World, Disneyland.
  1431. 01:07:28.500 – 01:07:29.280 That's healthy.
  1432. 01:07:29.540 – 01:07:30.660 That's something that's needed.
  1433. 01:07:30.740 – 01:07:32.900 Not wanted, but that's something that's needed
  1434. 01:07:33.660 – 01:07:36.440 every year, at least once a year,
  1435. 01:07:36.900 – 01:07:42.980 so we can get rejuvenated to jump back into the fight.
  1436. 01:07:43.180 – 01:07:43.780 You know what I'm saying?
  1437. 01:07:45.200 – 01:07:47.540 Get rejuvenated, get rebooted, get reset
  1438. 01:07:48.300 – 01:07:54.180 so we can go back to that constant everyday uphill road
  1439. 01:07:54.780 – 01:07:56.240 of our dreams and goals.
  1440. 01:07:56.980 – 01:07:59.800 Even as you speak about rejuvenation,
  1441. 01:08:00.120 – 01:08:01.660 like outside of sleep,
  1442. 01:08:02.120 – 01:08:04.620 let's kind of touch on diet
  1443. 01:08:04.620 – 01:08:06.520 or anything else that you want to touch on.
  1444. 01:08:06.580 – 01:08:08.200 How do you get rejuvenated?
  1445. 01:08:09.640 – 01:08:10.840 Man, I get rejuvenated,
  1446. 01:08:10.840 – 01:08:13.840 that's one thing for sure of just like traveling.
  1447. 01:08:15.580 – 01:08:16.939 But most importantly, man,
  1448. 01:08:18.720 – 01:08:22.760 just staying open and clear,
  1449. 01:08:23.060 – 01:08:26.520 like being an open vessel to receive
  1450. 01:08:26.520 – 01:08:28.620 whatever it is that you need to receive.
  1451. 01:08:29.020 – 01:08:31.040 So I fast from time to time.
  1452. 01:08:31.960 – 01:08:33.240 If I need some answers,
  1453. 01:08:33.560 – 01:08:37.359 I definitely make my fast and my intentions clear
  1454. 01:08:37.359 – 01:08:39.220 before I go into fast as well
  1455. 01:08:39.220 – 01:08:41.140 to receive whatever it is
  1456. 01:08:41.140 – 01:08:42.779 that God maybe want me to receive.
  1457. 01:08:43.840 – 01:08:45.640 So I might go into,
  1458. 01:08:46.279 – 01:08:48.260 well, typically speaking,
  1459. 01:08:48.359 – 01:08:50.920 I go into a fast once a month
  1460. 01:08:50.920 – 01:08:52.319 for three days, water fast.
  1461. 01:08:53.020 – 01:08:54.779 That's something that me,
  1462. 01:08:55.080 – 01:08:57.560 as well as my community,
  1463. 01:08:58.319 – 01:09:00.760 that I exist within do
  1464. 01:09:00.760 – 01:09:03.140 as brothers and sisters in our community.
  1465. 01:09:03.140 – 01:09:09.160 We go on a three-day water fast once a month.
  1466. 01:09:11.020 – 01:09:14.319 Also, just kind of fasting daily as well,
  1467. 01:09:14.720 – 01:09:16.819 24-hour fast every day.
  1468. 01:09:16.960 – 01:09:19.200 So just kind of not eating
  1469. 01:09:20.640 – 01:09:22.859 until between the hours of four and six,
  1470. 01:09:23.000 – 01:09:25.380 which is like eating with the day,
  1471. 01:09:25.600 – 01:09:28.020 eating with the world, eating with the earth.
  1472. 01:09:28.340 – 01:09:31.319 It's like being in alignment
  1473. 01:09:31.319 – 01:09:32.880 with that circadian rhythm
  1474. 01:09:32.880 – 01:09:37.500 of when life tells us to eat.
  1475. 01:09:39.399 – 01:09:39.979 You know what I'm saying?
  1476. 01:09:40.140 – 01:09:41.979 Then being intentional on what to eat,
  1477. 01:09:42.180 – 01:09:44.300 at what time, that's all important
  1478. 01:09:44.300 – 01:09:46.600 to just be open and receive
  1479. 01:09:46.600 – 01:09:48.100 whatever it is that you need to receive.
  1480. 01:09:48.180 – 01:09:50.200 So that's always a thing I need to do.
  1481. 01:09:50.300 – 01:09:52.359 If I'm just not thinking right,
  1482. 01:09:52.380 – 01:09:53.479 I'm down, I'm sad,
  1483. 01:09:53.580 – 01:09:56.160 it's like maybe I just need to reset physically
  1484. 01:09:56.160 – 01:09:57.960 because my physical is related to my mental
  1485. 01:09:57.960 – 01:09:58.700 and my spiritual.
  1486. 01:09:59.700 – 01:10:01.040 Maybe I just need to get a fast,
  1487. 01:10:01.060 – 01:10:01.960 I mean just fast,
  1488. 01:10:02.520 – 01:10:04.840 and then hand-to-hand with that food fast,
  1489. 01:10:04.880 – 01:10:06.440 maybe I need to fast with certain music,
  1490. 01:10:07.000 – 01:10:09.380 certain people, certain things.
  1491. 01:10:11.700 – 01:10:13.000 Just fast, man.
  1492. 01:10:13.420 – 01:10:16.000 Just become reset, rebooted, man.
  1493. 01:10:16.040 – 01:10:18.900 So that's something I do actually quite often, man.
  1494. 01:10:19.000 – 01:10:21.700 And I try to, not try, but I tend to stay in
  1495. 01:10:23.060 – 01:10:26.960 throughout my days that definitely keep me going,
  1496. 01:10:26.960 – 01:10:30.940 keep me clear-minded, keep me higher,
  1497. 01:10:31.060 – 01:10:32.680 on a higher frequency in life.
  1498. 01:10:33.020 – 01:10:33.520 Yes, sir.
  1499. 01:10:34.060 – 01:10:37.740 And now you speak about food
  1500. 01:10:37.740 – 01:10:41.300 or even the absence of food and fasting.
  1501. 01:10:42.100 – 01:10:44.820 So when you do eat, it ain't fast food.
  1502. 01:10:44.900 – 01:10:46.060 What are you consuming?
  1503. 01:10:47.960 – 01:10:50.860 Man, mainly what I consume on a daily,
  1504. 01:10:51.700 – 01:10:54.700 I consume what grows from the earth,
  1505. 01:10:54.700 – 01:10:57.180 what God put on the earth for us to eat.
  1506. 01:10:57.660 – 01:11:01.020 Before we had any diet,
  1507. 01:11:01.100 – 01:11:03.100 we just ate what was provided to us.
  1508. 01:11:03.980 – 01:11:06.580 So every day I break my fast with fruits,
  1509. 01:11:07.780 – 01:11:11.500 because fruits normally like purify and then refuel.
  1510. 01:11:12.700 – 01:11:13.220 H2O.
  1511. 01:11:13.380 – 01:11:15.400 The first thing I do is every time it's fruit.
  1512. 01:11:15.980 – 01:11:18.080 And then from there, I keep it light,
  1513. 01:11:18.220 – 01:11:20.240 I try to stay, not try,
  1514. 01:11:20.360 – 01:11:21.920 I stay away from carbs mainly.
  1515. 01:11:22.480 – 01:11:25.840 I stay away from heavy carbs and I don't eat meat at all.
  1516. 01:11:26.400 – 01:11:28.660 And I'm not saying none of these things are bad for us,
  1517. 01:11:29.060 – 01:11:30.720 because God put all these things on earth too.
  1518. 01:11:30.840 – 01:11:32.920 He put animals for us to eat.
  1519. 01:11:33.240 – 01:11:34.940 Bread, some of these things is good,
  1520. 01:11:34.960 – 01:11:37.820 but it's just like, I'm looking for better options.
  1521. 01:11:38.920 – 01:11:40.500 I want to be in tune.
  1522. 01:11:41.440 – 01:11:43.860 I want to use that full potential.
  1523. 01:11:44.700 – 01:11:45.220 You know what I'm saying?
  1524. 01:11:45.300 – 01:11:47.460 I want to think like the creator.
  1525. 01:11:47.540 – 01:11:48.700 I want to think like that.
  1526. 01:11:49.360 – 01:11:49.720 You know what I'm saying?
  1527. 01:11:49.720 – 01:11:50.700 I want to use that full potential.
  1528. 01:11:50.700 – 01:11:53.640 So that's what my diet, because it's mainly like, you know,
  1529. 01:11:53.660 – 01:11:58.800 no meat, no heavy carbs, not too much junk food.
  1530. 01:11:58.880 – 01:12:00.180 I might eat sweets here and there.
  1531. 01:12:00.200 – 01:12:01.720 That's like my only downfall or weakness.
  1532. 01:12:03.460 – 01:12:06.440 But even then, it's not necessarily a weakness
  1533. 01:12:06.440 – 01:12:09.820 if it's still pure ingredients within it.
  1534. 01:12:09.860 – 01:12:12.320 Who made this cake that I'm about to consume?
  1535. 01:12:12.460 – 01:12:13.000 You know what I'm saying?
  1536. 01:12:13.560 – 01:12:16.240 Like, even then you still can make this cake from raw sugar
  1537. 01:12:16.240 – 01:12:18.940 or like, you know, some good flour, unbleached flour,
  1538. 01:12:18.940 – 01:12:20.280 you know, things like that.
  1539. 01:12:20.820 – 01:12:24.580 So that's what my diet kind of consists of,
  1540. 01:12:24.760 – 01:12:26.780 mainly fruits, vegetables,
  1541. 01:12:29.100 – 01:12:31.480 not anything heavy as well.
  1542. 01:12:32.000 – 01:12:33.140 So less sugar as possible.
  1543. 01:12:34.440 – 01:12:36.060 So what are your thoughts,
  1544. 01:12:36.500 – 01:12:40.380 like as we living in this world here, 2026,
  1545. 01:12:41.720 – 01:12:45.380 and especially like the vegetables, the crops,
  1546. 01:12:45.380 – 01:12:48.520 they're contaminated, they're bad,
  1547. 01:12:48.640 – 01:12:51.460 and even they're going down to the GMOs,
  1548. 01:12:51.540 – 01:12:54.080 they're manipulated, seedless.
  1549. 01:12:54.980 – 01:13:00.740 How do you stay away and avoid and know what's right?
  1550. 01:13:01.040 – 01:13:01.440 Yeah.
  1551. 01:13:02.440 – 01:13:05.960 Well, first I think any type of start is a good start.
  1552. 01:13:07.100 – 01:13:07.340 You know what I'm saying?
  1553. 01:13:07.340 – 01:13:09.860 You got to start somewhere before you can get a clear,
  1554. 01:13:14.800 – 01:13:15.760 ultimate, jamming.
  1555. 01:13:16.680 – 01:13:18.540 You got to start somewhere, you know what I'm saying?
  1556. 01:13:19.160 – 01:13:21.880 So before you get to saying, oh man, everything is bad,
  1557. 01:13:22.080 – 01:13:23.940 I can't win, I can't eat nothing.
  1558. 01:13:24.780 – 01:13:27.160 Well, what was you eating to begin with?
  1559. 01:13:27.840 – 01:13:30.260 You know, was you just eating pork and hot Cheetos
  1560. 01:13:30.260 – 01:13:33.920 and fruit juices to begin with, artificial fruits?
  1561. 01:13:34.180 – 01:13:35.260 And if that's the case,
  1562. 01:13:35.380 – 01:13:37.180 then maybe just releasing one thing from your diet
  1563. 01:13:37.180 – 01:13:38.540 just to start somewhere.
  1564. 01:13:38.540 – 01:13:42.020 Maybe just eliminate one bad thing that we are consuming
  1565. 01:13:42.020 – 01:13:46.120 before we get to speaking about all these different bad things
  1566. 01:13:46.580 – 01:13:47.920 that's in the earth, you know what I'm saying?
  1567. 01:13:47.980 – 01:13:51.520 So for me, it's going the organic route,
  1568. 01:13:51.680 – 01:13:52.420 you know what I'm saying?
  1569. 01:13:53.060 – 01:13:55.060 It's certain fruits and vegetables that you can eat
  1570. 01:13:55.060 – 01:13:56.160 that don't need to be organic
  1571. 01:13:56.160 – 01:13:58.100 and then there's some that needs to be organic
  1572. 01:13:58.100 – 01:14:01.180 because they are heavily sprayed with pesticides.
  1573. 01:14:01.420 – 01:14:02.780 Berries being one of them.
  1574. 01:14:03.140 – 01:14:05.340 Berries, it's heavily sprayed with pesticides,
  1575. 01:14:05.340 – 01:14:09.160 so normally you probably get organic blueberries,
  1576. 01:14:09.620 – 01:14:11.040 organic strawberries, things like that.
  1577. 01:14:11.200 – 01:14:12.700 So just kind of like finding the knowledge
  1578. 01:14:12.700 – 01:14:16.380 and the things in the world and starting somewhere.
  1579. 01:14:16.500 – 01:14:20.900 But I think all these are just signs for us
  1580. 01:14:20.900 – 01:14:25.260 to get pushed further into where we need to be in life anyway,
  1581. 01:14:25.680 – 01:14:30.000 such as owning our own land, growing our own food,
  1582. 01:14:30.000 – 01:14:35.960 being completely self-sustained in a society
  1583. 01:14:35.960 – 01:14:41.080 that doesn't have your best interests in mind, right?
  1584. 01:14:41.680 – 01:14:43.240 So we can never point the finger
  1585. 01:14:43.240 – 01:14:48.950 if we're depending on other people, right?
  1586. 01:14:48.970 – 01:14:52.590 So just starting somewhere, maybe working for yourself,
  1587. 01:14:53.030 – 01:14:55.330 growing one plant, changing one thing,
  1588. 01:14:55.470 – 01:14:57.130 just starting somewhere
  1589. 01:14:57.130 – 01:14:59.810 and then gaining more knowledge over time
  1590. 01:14:59.810 – 01:15:05.930 to lead yourself into a completely self-sustained life
  1591. 01:15:05.930 – 01:15:08.190 of doing for yourself, you know, for you and your family.
  1592. 01:15:08.870 – 01:15:10.550 Yeah, I like that.
  1593. 01:15:11.230 – 01:15:13.290 If you could only grow one plant,
  1594. 01:15:13.670 – 01:15:14.930 you have to add a farm,
  1595. 01:15:15.250 – 01:15:18.570 but if you grow one plant, one crop, what would that be?
  1596. 01:15:19.270 – 01:15:22.050 If I can grow one thing and just one thing,
  1597. 01:15:22.070 – 01:15:24.410 it would be the Navy bean.
  1598. 01:15:27.000 – 01:15:27.800 The Navy bean.
  1599. 01:15:27.980 – 01:15:29.020 The Navy bean.
  1600. 01:15:29.780 – 01:15:30.380 Okay.
  1601. 01:15:31.640 – 01:15:33.320 I don't think I ever heard that ever.
  1602. 01:15:33.940 – 01:15:36.680 It would be just one thing I can grow and feast on.
  1603. 01:15:37.160 – 01:15:43.080 The Navy bean is a very spiritual crop,
  1604. 01:15:43.500 – 01:15:46.020 once we learn about it.
  1605. 01:15:47.760 – 01:15:52.700 It's almost like an anti-Asian crop.
  1606. 01:15:53.180 – 01:15:54.800 It helps fight cancers.
  1607. 01:15:55.740 – 01:15:57.140 It clears up your skin.
  1608. 01:15:57.860 – 01:15:59.800 If I can eat one thing a day
  1609. 01:15:59.800 – 01:16:01.660 and I just only can choose one thing,
  1610. 01:16:01.680 – 01:16:04.020 I could eat a bowl of Navy bean soup every day
  1611. 01:16:04.020 – 01:16:06.460 and I can look better, look cleaner.
  1612. 01:16:06.500 – 01:16:08.140 My eyes become more whiter.
  1613. 01:16:09.320 – 01:16:11.200 You know, I start thinking a lot better
  1614. 01:16:11.200 – 01:16:15.220 because that's how special that little Navy bean is.
  1615. 01:16:16.200 – 01:16:17.960 Remember how they gave me some Navy bean.
  1616. 01:16:18.200 – 01:16:20.940 Yeah, Navy bean is a very special crop.
  1617. 01:16:23.280 – 01:16:24.480 That's what I would say.
  1618. 01:16:25.360 – 01:16:27.200 I love it, I love it, I love it.
  1619. 01:16:27.340 – 01:16:28.300 Do you want to give me some?
  1620. 01:16:28.440 – 01:16:30.760 I definitely have some Navy bean soup.
  1621. 01:16:31.980 – 01:16:33.580 It's been a while, so yeah,
  1622. 01:16:33.660 – 01:16:36.080 that's a good reminder to hop back on it.
  1623. 01:16:36.100 – 01:16:37.340 Yeah, Navy bean.
  1624. 01:16:37.380 – 01:16:39.340 There's a lot of crops that we need to stay away from, too.
  1625. 01:16:40.120 – 01:16:41.520 You know, there's a lot of crops we need to stay away from.
  1626. 01:16:42.140 – 01:16:44.800 Like, most things that fall into soul food category,
  1627. 01:16:44.880 – 01:16:45.960 we need to stay away from, honestly.
  1628. 01:16:46.240 – 01:16:47.680 The good old soul food.
  1629. 01:16:47.740 – 01:16:48.720 You know, sweet potato.
  1630. 01:16:48.800 – 01:16:50.260 We don't need to be eating sweet potato.
  1631. 01:16:50.360 – 01:16:51.020 Sweet potato.
  1632. 01:16:51.120 – 01:16:51.980 Collard greens.
  1633. 01:16:52.400 – 01:16:53.060 Collard greens.
  1634. 01:16:55.340 – 01:16:55.860 Cornbread.
  1635. 01:16:58.080 – 01:17:02.780 All these things actually stem from a slave diet.
  1636. 01:17:03.540 – 01:17:07.360 That's why we call it soul food because we took the worst food
  1637. 01:17:08.160 – 01:17:10.100 and we made it into something.
  1638. 01:17:11.000 – 01:17:14.400 But the beginning of that is
  1639. 01:17:14.400 – 01:17:16.100 we was given these certain foods
  1640. 01:17:16.100 – 01:17:17.900 because they were the worst foods for us to eat.
  1641. 01:17:18.420 – 01:17:21.940 They were the scraps of the people who were the rulers at the time
  1642. 01:17:21.940 – 01:17:23.680 and our oppressors.
  1643. 01:17:23.940 – 01:17:25.900 We just, you know, us as, you know,
  1644. 01:17:26.000 – 01:17:28.080 especially black folks, but just all people, you know,
  1645. 01:17:28.840 – 01:17:29.700 you know, original people.
  1646. 01:17:30.580 – 01:17:33.260 We take anything and we make it something.
  1647. 01:17:33.680 – 01:17:33.940 You know what I'm saying?
  1648. 01:17:33.940 – 01:17:34.760 We take anything.
  1649. 01:17:34.940 – 01:17:36.920 We take a house and make it a home, you know?
  1650. 01:17:36.980 – 01:17:37.520 That's right.
  1651. 01:17:37.600 – 01:17:40.280 We take some ingredients and some bread
  1652. 01:17:40.280 – 01:17:41.240 and we make it a meal.
  1653. 01:17:41.620 – 01:17:43.740 You know, we take a broken person and make them whole.
  1654. 01:17:44.200 – 01:17:45.560 So, you know, with that being said,
  1655. 01:17:45.560 – 01:17:49.060 we did that same thing with the food that we was provided in turn.
  1656. 01:17:49.080 – 01:17:50.300 That's why we got soul food.
  1657. 01:17:50.300 – 01:17:52.900 But really it was a diet to make it,
  1658. 01:17:53.240 – 01:17:56.440 to break a powerful being into a slave though.
  1659. 01:17:57.340 – 01:17:57.820 Wow.
  1660. 01:17:58.200 – 01:17:58.840 With the food.
  1661. 01:17:59.260 – 01:17:59.860 With the food.
  1662. 01:17:59.960 – 01:18:01.180 That's like the first thing they needed.
  1663. 01:18:01.720 – 01:18:03.680 That's the first thing that was changed
  1664. 01:18:03.680 – 01:18:09.020 when we got captured from our motherland into this place.
  1665. 01:18:09.740 – 01:18:11.380 The first thing they changed was our diet,
  1666. 01:18:12.660 – 01:18:14.320 which was the process of making a slave
  1667. 01:18:14.320 – 01:18:16.580 because they didn't grab slaves.
  1668. 01:18:16.660 – 01:18:20.220 They grabbed powerful people, engineers, scientists,
  1669. 01:18:21.540 – 01:18:24.380 rulers, and over a process in a generational period,
  1670. 01:18:24.580 – 01:18:26.460 they made them into slaves.
  1671. 01:18:27.440 – 01:18:28.560 But they just didn't capture.
  1672. 01:18:28.680 – 01:18:30.920 We just wasn't slaves to begin with.
  1673. 01:18:31.640 – 01:18:34.720 It was a process to make a person a slave.
  1674. 01:18:34.820 – 01:18:35.580 A process, yeah.
  1675. 01:18:35.700 – 01:18:37.060 And the diet is one thing.
  1676. 01:18:37.100 – 01:18:38.520 The first thing they changed was our diet.
  1677. 01:18:38.860 – 01:18:40.760 The diet controls your mind.
  1678. 01:18:40.960 – 01:18:43.480 I don't know if it's cloudy, foggy, clear.
  1679. 01:18:43.960 – 01:18:46.160 Which is in turn, we changed that.
  1680. 01:18:46.220 – 01:18:46.800 You know what I'm saying?
  1681. 01:18:46.880 – 01:18:48.360 We changed our diet now.
  1682. 01:18:48.360 – 01:18:50.180 And this day and age in 2026,
  1683. 01:18:51.040 – 01:18:54.080 it would be like reversing that process all over again.
  1684. 01:18:54.420 – 01:18:54.940 Yeah.
  1685. 01:18:55.460 – 01:18:59.440 And then we can grow to whatever we want to grow at, you know?
  1686. 01:19:00.300 – 01:19:02.280 Sounds simple, you know?
  1687. 01:19:02.960 – 01:19:04.520 You all know we always making complex.
  1688. 01:19:05.340 – 01:19:05.600 Yeah, yeah.
  1689. 01:19:05.900 – 01:19:10.140 We hear complaining our auntie, our grandma.
  1690. 01:19:11.440 – 01:19:11.820 We used to.
  1691. 01:19:11.820 – 01:19:18.040 So we definitely got to shift as a collective culture,
  1692. 01:19:18.060 – 01:19:19.340 as a whole, for sure.
  1693. 01:19:20.620 – 01:19:22.960 I know you spoke about the Navy bean.
  1694. 01:19:23.160 – 01:19:28.880 Is there another bean that you kind of help
  1695. 01:19:29.480 – 01:19:34.100 rejuvenate yourself, get your energy that you seek?
  1696. 01:19:35.360 – 01:19:37.340 I don't know about another bean,
  1697. 01:19:37.880 – 01:19:39.800 but you know, as far as other crops,
  1698. 01:19:39.800 – 01:19:42.760 there's plenty of crops that's out there
  1699. 01:19:42.760 – 01:19:44.640 that's good for the soul, you know?
  1700. 01:19:47.110 – 01:19:48.190 There's plenty of crops,
  1701. 01:19:48.290 – 01:19:50.390 but I think what's most important is the crops
  1702. 01:19:50.390 – 01:19:51.590 that we don't need to eat.
  1703. 01:19:52.370 – 01:19:55.090 Because we can identify the list of things not to eat,
  1704. 01:19:55.270 – 01:19:56.470 which is going to be surprisingly
  1705. 01:19:57.170 – 01:19:58.850 most of the things that we eat, though.
  1706. 01:19:59.090 – 01:20:00.070 That's going to be the hard part.
  1707. 01:20:00.110 – 01:20:01.610 That's going to be the part that's going to be the shocker.
  1708. 01:20:01.670 – 01:20:02.890 That is the most common, you know?
  1709. 01:20:02.990 – 01:20:04.790 Yeah, the most common things
  1710. 01:20:05.270 – 01:20:08.510 is actually not the original things that we need to eat.
  1711. 01:20:08.510 – 01:20:10.970 So instead of like what we need to eat
  1712. 01:20:10.970 – 01:20:13.470 is more so like what not to eat.
  1713. 01:20:13.650 – 01:20:15.830 And then from there, we can explore
  1714. 01:20:15.830 – 01:20:19.050 the unlimited source of food that we have,
  1715. 01:20:19.710 – 01:20:21.290 such as the apple, for example.
  1716. 01:20:21.310 – 01:20:22.190 I love apples.
  1717. 01:20:22.570 – 01:20:23.090 You know what I'm saying?
  1718. 01:20:23.130 – 01:20:27.770 We just eat the common two or three species of apples,
  1719. 01:20:28.010 – 01:20:31.490 but like there's hundreds of different types of apples
  1720. 01:20:31.490 – 01:20:32.750 at one point in time.
  1721. 01:20:33.390 – 01:20:36.290 There's hundreds of different type of oranges
  1722. 01:20:36.290 – 01:20:38.690 and bananas in this different type, you know?
  1723. 01:20:39.030 – 01:20:43.590 But we just have became, you know, industrialized
  1724. 01:20:43.590 – 01:20:47.510 and like eating the same type of foods
  1725. 01:20:47.510 – 01:20:48.630 and crops and things.
  1726. 01:20:50.150 – 01:20:51.810 But it is endless.
  1727. 01:20:52.030 – 01:20:52.650 It's almost endless.
  1728. 01:20:52.710 – 01:20:54.750 A different type of crops, vegetables,
  1729. 01:20:54.870 – 01:20:55.810 and fruits is out there.
  1730. 01:20:56.050 – 01:20:57.250 It's really endless, you know?
  1731. 01:20:57.610 – 01:20:59.130 What about the coffee bean?
  1732. 01:20:59.730 – 01:21:00.810 What's your thoughts about the coffee bean?
  1733. 01:21:00.810 – 01:21:01.250 Coffee?
  1734. 01:21:02.350 – 01:21:05.290 So it's funny because at first,
  1735. 01:21:05.290 – 01:21:07.190 I was a little bit against coffee, right?
  1736. 01:21:08.830 – 01:21:09.850 I was against coffee.
  1737. 01:21:09.950 – 01:21:11.290 I'm like, man, coffee too bad for me.
  1738. 01:21:11.310 – 01:21:12.770 I see people be addicted to coffee.
  1739. 01:21:13.290 – 01:21:14.250 They can't even think right
  1740. 01:21:14.250 – 01:21:15.330 if they don't have any more than coffee.
  1741. 01:21:16.490 – 01:21:19.590 But then I got introduced on the knowledge of,
  1742. 01:21:19.770 – 01:21:20.570 oh no, that's not the coffee.
  1743. 01:21:20.630 – 01:21:23.410 It's the sugar and the cream that they're addicted to.
  1744. 01:21:24.490 – 01:21:28.130 It's a sugar fix that they is fixed to, right?
  1745. 01:21:28.130 – 01:21:30.370 And then I learned that, oh no, a cup of coffee,
  1746. 01:21:30.710 – 01:21:33.330 a good cup of coffee, you know,
  1747. 01:21:33.330 – 01:21:37.370 is actually a great thing to do in the morning, right?
  1748. 01:21:37.830 – 01:21:41.210 And then you can even add other spices
  1749. 01:21:42.810 – 01:21:44.510 or natural things to your coffee
  1750. 01:21:44.510 – 01:21:47.630 to even lighten and heighten
  1751. 01:21:47.630 – 01:21:49.550 those already positive effects
  1752. 01:21:49.550 – 01:21:51.890 of a one cup of coffee can do for you,
  1753. 01:21:51.890 – 01:21:52.830 you know, in the morning
  1754. 01:21:52.830 – 01:21:56.510 to get your juices flowing and get you heightened, right?
  1755. 01:21:56.830 – 01:21:59.110 You know, after, right, the water, you tell me, right?
  1756. 01:21:59.150 – 01:22:00.490 After the water, drinking the water first?
  1757. 01:22:00.490 – 01:22:01.550 After the water first, yes, yes.
  1758. 01:22:01.550 – 01:22:03.530 You know, as soon as you wake up, drink that water first.
  1759. 01:22:04.250 – 01:22:06.390 But you know, a cup of coffee, it's not bad.
  1760. 01:22:06.490 – 01:22:08.690 You just keep it black, keep it straight
  1761. 01:22:11.170 – 01:22:13.270 and not overdo it as well.
  1762. 01:22:15.010 – 01:22:19.230 So no creamers, no sugars, no...
  1763. 01:22:19.230 – 01:22:20.010 No...
  1764. 01:22:20.010 – 01:22:20.470 Additives.
  1765. 01:22:20.750 – 01:22:21.410 No additives.
  1766. 01:22:21.570 – 01:22:22.930 If I do add it, it's going to be
  1767. 01:22:22.930 – 01:22:25.270 natural things added such as honey,
  1768. 01:22:25.950 – 01:22:28.110 which is something that never goes bad.
  1769. 01:22:28.110 – 01:22:32.050 Honey is the one thing in this earth, food-wise,
  1770. 01:22:32.190 – 01:22:33.130 that doesn't expire.
  1771. 01:22:34.230 – 01:22:36.450 So if that's the case, how special is honey is?
  1772. 01:22:38.230 – 01:22:40.810 Well, you know, we call our mate honey.
  1773. 01:22:41.090 – 01:22:41.610 Hey, honey.
  1774. 01:22:41.790 – 01:22:42.190 Honey.
  1775. 01:22:42.810 – 01:22:45.710 They call heaven the land of milk and honey.
  1776. 01:22:45.910 – 01:22:46.510 Milk and honey.
  1777. 01:22:46.710 – 01:22:48.830 So how special are those two things then
  1778. 01:22:48.830 – 01:22:50.970 if heaven is the land of milk and honey?
  1779. 01:22:51.030 – 01:22:53.230 Well, I don't know so much about milk
  1780. 01:22:53.230 – 01:22:55.530 and that milk does spoil and expire.
  1781. 01:22:56.130 – 01:22:57.330 But definitely honey, for sure.
  1782. 01:22:57.330 – 01:22:58.830 And one thing I did learn about...
  1783. 01:22:58.830 – 01:22:59.830 See, I don't drink milk.
  1784. 01:22:59.890 – 01:23:00.930 I haven't drunk milk yet.
  1785. 01:23:00.950 – 01:23:02.250 I haven't drunk milk in so long.
  1786. 01:23:02.390 – 01:23:03.670 But this is why though,
  1787. 01:23:05.950 – 01:23:09.410 because it's not raw milk, right?
  1788. 01:23:10.270 – 01:23:13.130 Raw milk is actually good for you.
  1789. 01:23:13.750 – 01:23:15.490 But I think, if I'm not mistaken,
  1790. 01:23:15.570 – 01:23:17.330 it's actually illegal to sell in Ohio though.
  1791. 01:23:18.230 – 01:23:19.390 Which we have to ask ourselves,
  1792. 01:23:19.510 – 01:23:20.450 why is that then?
  1793. 01:23:22.410 – 01:23:23.310 Why is that?
  1794. 01:23:23.350 – 01:23:26.310 Why is it so hard to get a bottle of raw milk
  1795. 01:23:26.310 – 01:23:27.910 and if you do find a bottle of raw milk,
  1796. 01:23:28.030 – 01:23:28.830 why is it $20?
  1797. 01:23:28.990 – 01:23:29.990 Why is it so expensive?
  1798. 01:23:30.670 – 01:23:32.750 These are questions we need to ask ourselves, you know?
  1799. 01:23:34.870 – 01:23:37.770 Well, I mean, I'm not sure about the raw milk
  1800. 01:23:37.770 – 01:23:40.630 unless you talk about breast milk.
  1801. 01:23:40.990 – 01:23:45.010 I grew up when I was a baby drinking breast milk,
  1802. 01:23:45.250 – 01:23:49.490 which is some of the best milk that I've known.
  1803. 01:23:50.250 – 01:23:50.730 Yeah.
  1804. 01:23:51.950 – 01:23:57.010 And then we're drinking the milk by the jug,
  1805. 01:23:57.350 – 01:23:58.830 which is mostly cow milk,
  1806. 01:23:59.650 – 01:24:01.750 which is all types of stuff in it
  1807. 01:24:01.750 – 01:24:03.810 that I'm not going to need a name.
  1808. 01:24:05.610 – 01:24:07.470 But yeah, raw milk, okay.
  1809. 01:24:07.590 – 01:24:10.810 But the milk from the gallon is pasteurized
  1810. 01:24:10.810 – 01:24:12.590 and they go through all these different processes
  1811. 01:24:12.590 – 01:24:15.150 and they take all the good things from it
  1812. 01:24:15.150 – 01:24:17.590 and they give you back all the bad, you know what I'm saying?
  1813. 01:24:17.590 – 01:24:22.750 So, but raw milk, which I haven't tasted before,
  1814. 01:24:24.190 – 01:24:28.150 I tell myself if I do or if you get your own cow.
  1815. 01:24:30.460 – 01:24:32.400 But you're still getting it from the cow.
  1816. 01:24:33.240 – 01:24:36.240 The cow is not necessarily a bad animal.
  1817. 01:24:37.640 – 01:24:39.440 I don't think the cow or the goat
  1818. 01:24:39.440 – 01:24:42.600 is not necessarily bad animals to drink or eat from
  1819. 01:24:43.620 – 01:24:47.280 because God also put different animals
  1820. 01:24:48.520 – 01:24:51.960 here on earth for us to consume if you see fit.
  1821. 01:24:52.860 – 01:24:55.060 But it's just a way of going about it, right?
  1822. 01:24:55.100 – 01:24:58.560 Knowing that this is a living thing.
  1823. 01:24:58.760 – 01:25:00.200 This is a sacrifice.
  1824. 01:25:01.520 – 01:25:02.780 This is divine.
  1825. 01:25:02.820 – 01:25:03.720 This is holy.
  1826. 01:25:04.420 – 01:25:07.320 So if you're going to consume something such as that,
  1827. 01:25:07.860 – 01:25:09.440 you consume it the right way,
  1828. 01:25:10.060 – 01:25:14.880 such as kosher or halal, you know, certain different groups.
  1829. 01:25:15.460 – 01:25:16.820 They don't kill an animal.
  1830. 01:25:16.820 – 01:25:18.760 So they might put it out as misery
  1831. 01:25:18.760 – 01:25:23.160 in a very holy and tasteful
  1832. 01:25:23.160 – 01:25:26.920 and, you know, peaceful way
  1833. 01:25:27.780 – 01:25:30.880 before consuming it, right?
  1834. 01:25:31.780 – 01:25:35.180 Because really everything on this earth
  1835. 01:25:35.820 – 01:25:40.820 is for us to experience and consume.
  1836. 01:25:41.340 – 01:25:46.160 You know, like us being in the image of the creator,
  1837. 01:25:47.440 – 01:25:51.020 everything essentially in life is subservient to us.
  1838. 01:25:52.160 – 01:25:54.700 It's just what we do with it
  1839. 01:25:54.700 – 01:25:58.160 is the question and how, right?
  1840. 01:26:02.480 – 01:26:04.220 And with that being said,
  1841. 01:26:06.260 – 01:26:10.470 it's like a good thought process.
  1842. 01:26:12.990 – 01:26:15.070 But I want to speak more on the creative process.
  1843. 01:26:15.510 – 01:26:16.350 Yeah, absolutely.
  1844. 01:26:17.610 – 01:26:18.590 As a creative,
  1845. 01:26:18.590 – 01:26:21.570 you go into your creative process.
  1846. 01:26:22.190 – 01:26:24.450 How would you explain your creative process
  1847. 01:26:24.450 – 01:26:25.750 as a weather forecast?
  1848. 01:26:27.290 – 01:26:27.850 Well,
  1849. 01:26:29.250 – 01:26:32.870 speaking on creative, that's a creative question, you know?
  1850. 01:26:33.250 – 01:26:33.830 From a creative.
  1851. 01:26:34.230 – 01:26:36.770 From a creative in a creative space.
  1852. 01:26:38.850 – 01:26:40.730 If I had to explain my creative process
  1853. 01:26:42.390 – 01:26:44.610 in terms of a weather forecast,
  1854. 01:26:46.090 – 01:26:47.630 I will say
  1855. 01:26:49.330 – 01:26:52.310 it's like a thunderstorm, right?
  1856. 01:26:53.610 – 01:26:56.930 But it's like the full thunderstorm
  1857. 01:26:56.930 – 01:26:58.430 coming and leaving,
  1858. 01:26:59.490 – 01:27:02.010 coming and going, because like the storm doesn't just,
  1859. 01:27:02.230 – 01:27:04.010 life doesn't just start off in the storm.
  1860. 01:27:04.350 – 01:27:04.710 Right.
  1861. 01:27:04.710 – 01:27:06.090 It starts off a sunny day.
  1862. 01:27:07.170 – 01:27:09.850 And then the air starts to cool down,
  1863. 01:27:10.030 – 01:27:11.110 the wind starts to pick up,
  1864. 01:27:11.150 – 01:27:13.150 the night starts to get a little darker.
  1865. 01:27:13.970 – 01:27:14.930 I smell it.
  1866. 01:27:15.110 – 01:27:16.510 The smell start to change, right?
  1867. 01:27:16.670 – 01:27:17.750 Now the storm is coming.
  1868. 01:27:17.850 – 01:27:19.490 Now I'm in the storm, right?
  1869. 01:27:19.750 – 01:27:21.950 But then after the storm, what happens again, right?
  1870. 01:27:22.630 – 01:27:24.130 Sun come right back up.
  1871. 01:27:24.610 – 01:27:24.790 Right.
  1872. 01:27:24.850 – 01:27:26.630 So when I'm in my creative process,
  1873. 01:27:27.310 – 01:27:28.790 I first start off with just ideas,
  1874. 01:27:29.070 – 01:27:31.390 beautiful ideas, endless ideas.
  1875. 01:27:33.070 – 01:27:35.870 No barriers or obstacles in my way.
  1876. 01:27:36.250 – 01:27:36.710 Endless.
  1877. 01:27:37.470 – 01:27:38.890 But then a storm comes, right?
  1878. 01:27:39.030 – 01:27:42.150 Now you got to put these ideas into fruition,
  1879. 01:27:42.150 – 01:27:45.430 into actual form, manifested ideas.
  1880. 01:27:46.170 – 01:27:47.270 And sometimes it's not the easiest.
  1881. 01:27:48.350 – 01:27:49.470 I see some through,
  1882. 01:27:50.510 – 01:27:52.770 some of them I don't see through, right?
  1883. 01:27:53.410 – 01:27:56.990 But if you do move forward in that creative process,
  1884. 01:27:57.090 – 01:27:59.830 which I have seen ideas really come together,
  1885. 01:27:59.890 – 01:28:00.590 such as my business.
  1886. 01:28:00.650 – 01:28:02.150 I've seen my business come together
  1887. 01:28:02.150 – 01:28:04.710 and I've seen a happy client and I've seen it through.
  1888. 01:28:05.170 – 01:28:06.930 That's when the sun comes back out, right?
  1889. 01:28:07.250 – 01:28:09.050 It wasn't easy getting to that point.
  1890. 01:28:09.050 – 01:28:12.390 It wasn't a walk in the park.
  1891. 01:28:12.590 – 01:28:14.650 It's some trials, it's some tribulations.
  1892. 01:28:15.570 – 01:28:17.750 But that's the beautiful thing about creating, right?
  1893. 01:28:17.790 – 01:28:18.590 Like if it was easy,
  1894. 01:28:18.670 – 01:28:19.930 then we probably wouldn't even want to do it, you know?
  1895. 01:28:19.970 – 01:28:23.950 It's like we probably wouldn't even be alive.
  1896. 01:28:24.070 – 01:28:25.610 If something was easy, then we ain't alive, you know?
  1897. 01:28:25.990 – 01:28:28.290 So after all those trials and tribulations
  1898. 01:28:28.290 – 01:28:30.850 and seeing the idea through, it's nothing like that.
  1899. 01:28:31.150 – 01:28:32.530 And that's when that sun come back out
  1900. 01:28:32.530 – 01:28:33.830 after that thunderstorm, you know?
  1901. 01:28:34.150 – 01:28:36.330 So that's how I would describe it.
  1902. 01:28:36.330 – 01:28:38.550 Like the coming and the going of a thunderstorm.
  1903. 01:28:40.890 – 01:28:41.230 Okay, okay.
  1904. 01:28:41.350 – 01:28:42.850 And rain, not necessarily bad.
  1905. 01:28:42.930 – 01:28:44.970 It's not a bad thing because it rain.
  1906. 01:28:45.850 – 01:28:48.530 You just have to adapt to the rain,
  1907. 01:28:49.950 – 01:28:52.930 see the rain for what it is, you know?
  1908. 01:28:53.090 – 01:28:54.930 Knowing that the rain has a purpose as well,
  1909. 01:28:54.930 – 01:28:56.230 even though we don't want to be out in the rain.
  1910. 01:28:56.610 – 01:28:58.150 It's still at the rain.
  1911. 01:28:58.170 – 01:28:59.010 That's how we grow plants.
  1912. 01:28:59.030 – 01:28:59.890 That's how we grow vegetables.
  1913. 01:28:59.950 – 01:29:01.870 That's how we get life, you know?
  1914. 01:29:01.910 – 01:29:02.630 Life come about.
  1915. 01:29:02.690 – 01:29:03.730 How we get water, you know?
  1916. 01:29:03.730 – 01:29:04.430 All these different things.
  1917. 01:29:04.930 – 01:29:06.350 That's how I'd describe it.
  1918. 01:29:07.670 – 01:29:10.270 That's how we definitely grow.
  1919. 01:29:11.590 – 01:29:14.550 Like heavy rain, I kind of avoid heavy rain,
  1920. 01:29:15.530 – 01:29:17.630 even driving through heavy rain.
  1921. 01:29:17.850 – 01:29:19.330 But I love being out in the rain.
  1922. 01:29:19.570 – 01:29:24.190 Like mine is a sunny, warm, sunny day.
  1923. 01:29:24.850 – 01:29:26.250 But you know, with intense heat,
  1924. 01:29:26.450 – 01:29:29.370 you want to cool off, so it's got a little drizzle.
  1925. 01:29:29.830 – 01:29:31.770 Not too heavy of a rain,
  1926. 01:29:31.890 – 01:29:34.750 but light rain where it's a drizzle and it's refreshing.
  1927. 01:29:35.830 – 01:29:38.710 It's like, wow, you know,
  1928. 01:29:38.790 – 01:29:40.770 you got kind of like all the elements.
  1929. 01:29:41.630 – 01:29:41.770 Yeah.
  1930. 01:29:41.890 – 01:29:43.470 The sun, the clouds, the rain.
  1931. 01:29:43.650 – 01:29:44.810 Get you through once again,
  1932. 01:29:44.910 – 01:29:46.590 just a little get you through.
  1933. 01:29:46.990 – 01:29:48.150 Thank you.
  1934. 01:29:48.530 – 01:29:51.390 Even with, you know, your creative process,
  1935. 01:29:52.070 – 01:29:54.330 a lot of us are using AI now,
  1936. 01:29:56.350 – 01:29:59.270 especially for brainstorming.
  1937. 01:29:59.370 – 01:30:01.870 So that's kind of around that you say storm,
  1938. 01:30:02.690 – 01:30:03.950 or the thunderstorm.
  1939. 01:30:04.630 – 01:30:06.310 So how are you using AI?
  1940. 01:30:06.450 – 01:30:07.770 What's your thoughts on AI?
  1941. 01:30:08.310 – 01:30:10.070 I am totally pro AI.
  1942. 01:30:10.270 – 01:30:11.170 Pro AI, okay.
  1943. 01:30:11.710 – 01:30:16.590 I'm totally pro AI because AI is a tool to help us
  1944. 01:30:16.590 – 01:30:18.230 do whatever it is we want to do in life.
  1945. 01:30:18.370 – 01:30:20.950 Yes, there are negative things that could come from AI.
  1946. 01:30:21.770 – 01:30:24.110 Yes, it's negative things that come from anything,
  1947. 01:30:24.210 – 01:30:26.930 but that's on us and not the tool in itself.
  1948. 01:30:28.330 – 01:30:28.370 Right.
  1949. 01:30:29.850 – 01:30:32.930 We use the tool, not that the tool don't use us.
  1950. 01:30:33.430 – 01:30:35.930 In a way, it learns from us.
  1951. 01:30:36.870 – 01:30:37.330 Right.
  1952. 01:30:37.510 – 01:30:41.230 It uses us as far as whatever we give it.
  1953. 01:30:41.530 – 01:30:41.910 Right.
  1954. 01:30:42.990 – 01:30:44.810 It would never be the original though.
  1955. 01:30:44.990 – 01:30:45.690 Oh no.
  1956. 01:30:45.750 – 01:30:47.550 No matter how smart AI could get.
  1957. 01:30:47.910 – 01:30:48.330 It's artificial.
  1958. 01:30:49.270 – 01:30:50.470 It's artificial.
  1959. 01:30:51.190 – 01:30:52.370 It's mimicking us.
  1960. 01:30:52.890 – 01:30:54.430 It's mimicking the human brain.
  1961. 01:30:55.610 – 01:30:59.710 If anything, it shows you what we are capable of doing
  1962. 01:30:59.710 – 01:31:03.590 if we are operating at our full capacity.
  1963. 01:31:04.790 – 01:31:07.030 You know, even a calculator, when it does math
  1964. 01:31:07.030 – 01:31:10.130 in 0.2 seconds, we the first calculators.
  1965. 01:31:10.190 – 01:31:10.710 That's true.
  1966. 01:31:11.030 – 01:31:13.310 We created math, right?
  1967. 01:31:13.670 – 01:31:17.390 So I'm totally pro AI, and I use it more and more,
  1968. 01:31:17.470 – 01:31:19.650 and I always find different ways to use it
  1969. 01:31:19.650 – 01:31:22.310 to help me shift through my thoughts
  1970. 01:31:22.310 – 01:31:24.670 and organize my thoughts and put my thoughts
  1971. 01:31:24.670 – 01:31:27.730 in different compartments so I can get to my goals
  1972. 01:31:27.730 – 01:31:28.630 a lot faster.
  1973. 01:31:29.430 – 01:31:30.710 You know, at this point, I'm using AI
  1974. 01:31:30.710 – 01:31:34.250 as my business partner, my financial advisor,
  1975. 01:31:35.290 – 01:31:38.530 sometimes even similar to a therapist as well.
  1976. 01:31:38.890 – 01:31:39.370 Okay.
  1977. 01:31:39.490 – 01:31:41.530 So those are the avenues that it's helping me with
  1978. 01:31:41.530 – 01:31:44.110 right now, so it's organizing my business,
  1979. 01:31:44.230 – 01:31:46.650 it's helping me get my SOPs,
  1980. 01:31:46.710 – 01:31:48.290 my standard operating procedures together,
  1981. 01:31:48.370 – 01:31:50.770 my mission, my visions, my whys,
  1982. 01:31:50.770 – 01:31:55.350 my hows, helping me answer so many different questions
  1983. 01:31:55.350 – 01:31:59.030 so I can just focus on doing what I love to do,
  1984. 01:31:59.190 – 01:32:00.830 which is creating as a creator.
  1985. 01:32:02.110 – 01:32:07.010 Have more time to do, come up with the ideas
  1986. 01:32:07.010 – 01:32:09.770 and fulfill these ideas versus the in-between things
  1987. 01:32:09.770 – 01:32:12.750 that burn us out, right?
  1988. 01:32:13.490 – 01:32:16.390 Using this AI as a tool that it is
  1989. 01:32:16.390 – 01:32:20.410 so I can continue to just think and act
  1990. 01:32:20.410 – 01:32:23.510 and create versus doing all these in-between
  1991. 01:32:23.510 – 01:32:25.830 little minuscule things that take me away
  1992. 01:32:25.830 – 01:32:28.030 from the bigger dreams of creating
  1993. 01:32:28.030 – 01:32:29.010 and fulfilling things.
  1994. 01:32:31.460 – 01:32:32.220 That's amazing.
  1995. 01:32:32.560 – 01:32:34.560 What was something that blown you away
  1996. 01:32:34.560 – 01:32:38.060 with AI, any tool, the AI tool?
  1997. 01:32:38.340 – 01:32:39.440 That blown me away, man.
  1998. 01:32:39.480 – 01:32:40.800 Right now, I think it's very,
  1999. 01:32:41.740 – 01:32:43.100 I think it's already totally,
  2000. 01:32:43.160 – 01:32:45.720 I think it's pretty advanced, you know,
  2001. 01:32:45.720 – 01:32:47.800 because it's a lot of paid versions
  2002. 01:32:47.800 – 01:32:49.540 and a lot of paid different things out there.
  2003. 01:32:50.040 – 01:32:53.220 Right now, man, I'm not on social media right now,
  2004. 01:32:55.320 – 01:32:57.700 but I did hop on social media
  2005. 01:32:57.700 – 01:32:59.700 from time to time, like Twitter or X,
  2006. 01:33:00.100 – 01:33:06.540 and it amazes me how it literally creates videos
  2007. 01:33:07.320 – 01:33:10.460 of actual people, actual things, actual events,
  2008. 01:33:11.140 – 01:33:14.640 and people actually believe it to be real
  2009. 01:33:14.640 – 01:33:16.740 and accept it as real.
  2010. 01:33:18.200 – 01:33:19.720 That's the dangerous part, right?
  2011. 01:33:19.800 – 01:33:20.480 We talk about dangerous,
  2012. 01:33:20.660 – 01:33:22.720 and it's definitely dangerous of how people use it,
  2013. 01:33:22.840 – 01:33:24.060 but that's what amazes me.
  2014. 01:33:24.080 – 01:33:27.920 The video creation, the voice creations,
  2015. 01:33:29.160 – 01:33:30.660 the creating a narrative,
  2016. 01:33:30.880 – 01:33:32.700 whatever narrative that you want to create
  2017. 01:33:32.700 – 01:33:34.600 and seeing that narrative through,
  2018. 01:33:34.640 – 01:33:35.760 for good or for worse.
  2019. 01:33:36.380 – 01:33:37.380 That's amazing to me.
  2020. 01:33:38.420 – 01:33:39.860 That's amazing to me.
  2021. 01:33:40.780 – 01:33:43.140 I mean, like you said, it's amazing,
  2022. 01:33:43.140 – 01:33:47.180 but also, like you said, with the food,
  2023. 01:33:47.240 – 01:33:48.600 I kind of link it with the food.
  2024. 01:33:49.780 – 01:33:52.460 Like, it's a lot of artificial food out here.
  2025. 01:33:53.240 – 01:33:54.920 It's good. It tastes good,
  2026. 01:33:54.920 – 01:33:58.080 but at the end of the day, it's good.
  2027. 01:33:58.420 – 01:34:00.820 Now, AI is a different thing than food
  2028. 01:34:01.660 – 01:34:03.840 because we consume both of it,
  2029. 01:34:03.840 – 01:34:08.180 but we actually control the AI more
  2030. 01:34:08.840 – 01:34:10.720 than control the food supply.
  2031. 01:34:11.780 – 01:34:13.740 So, I love that connection.
  2032. 01:34:14.240 – 01:34:16.140 I lean more towards good than bad
  2033. 01:34:16.920 – 01:34:19.700 only because it's like any other invention.
  2034. 01:34:20.000 – 01:34:22.360 It's like we have to remember that we are the inventor.
  2035. 01:34:22.960 – 01:34:23.660 Yeah, like that.
  2036. 01:34:24.020 – 01:34:29.240 Any invention is made to make everyday life easier,
  2037. 01:34:32.100 – 01:34:35.180 similar to a cell phone, a calculator,
  2038. 01:34:35.360 – 01:34:37.900 or any other invention out in the world, you know?
  2039. 01:34:38.480 – 01:34:41.000 It takes on a mind of its own from time to time,
  2040. 01:34:41.000 – 01:34:43.400 and it's definitely not meant for the most positive,
  2041. 01:34:43.460 – 01:34:47.520 but it is a tool and used in a righteous
  2042. 01:34:47.520 – 01:34:49.160 or a positive manner.
  2043. 01:34:49.520 – 01:34:52.020 It's made to make life easier, you know?
  2044. 01:34:53.520 – 01:34:58.340 So you can get to go sooner, quicker, easier, you know?
  2045. 01:34:59.580 – 01:35:03.560 There's so many different opportunities within that space.
  2046. 01:35:03.660 – 01:35:05.920 I think it's only the beginning of that, honestly.
  2047. 01:35:06.700 – 01:35:08.240 Yeah, for sure, for sure.
  2048. 01:35:08.240 – 01:35:10.640 And man, as we wrap,
  2049. 01:35:10.700 – 01:35:15.340 because I got to head to Ashley podcast production.
  2050. 01:35:15.520 – 01:35:18.240 I was thinking about me quitting photography
  2051. 01:35:19.120 – 01:35:20.540 and video production.
  2052. 01:35:20.740 – 01:35:23.480 I got to actually do this in like 30 minutes,
  2053. 01:35:24.240 – 01:35:26.240 so I'm actually actually running behind,
  2054. 01:35:26.400 – 01:35:31.580 but this is definitely a fruitful, fruitful interview.
  2055. 01:35:32.980 – 01:35:34.780 Conversation, I don't want to call it an interview.
  2056. 01:35:35.200 – 01:35:35.480 Conversation.
  2057. 01:35:35.820 – 01:35:36.800 Conversation indeed.
  2058. 01:35:36.920 – 01:35:37.480 For sure.
  2059. 01:35:37.480 – 01:35:38.600 Higher level conversation.
  2060. 01:35:38.720 – 01:35:39.420 Higher level.
  2061. 01:35:40.020 – 01:35:41.660 Hey, shout out to 19Keys.
  2062. 01:35:41.820 – 01:35:43.140 Shout out to 19Keys.
  2063. 01:35:43.260 – 01:35:45.380 I just listened to his album, man.
  2064. 01:35:45.420 – 01:35:46.040 We the Gods.
  2065. 01:35:46.900 – 01:35:48.280 Yeah, she has clarity.
  2066. 01:35:48.880 – 01:35:49.680 We the Gods, man.
  2067. 01:35:49.680 – 01:35:51.060 That's a statement in itself, man.
  2068. 01:35:51.060 – 01:35:52.840 You can have a whole podcast on, man.
  2069. 01:35:52.840 – 01:35:53.420 We the Gods.
  2070. 01:35:53.840 – 01:35:53.860 Yeah.
  2071. 01:35:54.420 – 01:35:56.000 We're going to have to do part two for sure.
  2072. 01:35:56.000 – 01:35:56.840 Look at that, man.
  2073. 01:35:57.040 – 01:35:59.840 Because yeah, this film is scratching the surface.
  2074. 01:35:59.900 – 01:36:02.240 There's a lot of, you know, I want to touch on.
  2075. 01:36:02.320 – 01:36:03.600 A lot of we talk about.
  2076. 01:36:03.660 – 01:36:05.680 I'm like, man, we're going to save it for the podcast,
  2077. 01:36:05.680 – 01:36:08.920 but you know, we're going to definitely do part two.
  2078. 01:36:09.440 – 01:36:11.820 But I want to leave you with a couple of questions.
  2079. 01:36:12.980 – 01:36:16.780 Where do you see yourself?
  2080. 01:36:17.460 – 01:36:22.660 And then what do you see your business as you think about legacy?
  2081. 01:36:26.150 – 01:36:32.830 For myself, I see myself with a wife and kids.
  2082. 01:36:35.180 – 01:36:40.840 Finally, fulfilling and enjoying life in the form that it's supposed to be enjoyed.
  2083. 01:36:40.960 – 01:36:45.460 I think we all enjoy life with a significant other,
  2084. 01:36:45.620 – 01:36:49.300 you know, other half, another half, you know, companionship.
  2085. 01:36:49.440 – 01:36:54.120 I think that's something, a part of life as well as creating life too.
  2086. 01:36:54.600 – 01:36:56.440 You know, creating life with a lifelong partner
  2087. 01:36:56.440 – 01:36:58.220 and not creating life with, you know,
  2088. 01:36:59.020 – 01:37:02.220 just an individual that you just happen to have a moment or time with.
  2089. 01:37:02.440 – 01:37:02.920 Yeah.
  2090. 01:37:02.920 – 01:37:07.120 So I see myself, you know, going through life with an individual
  2091. 01:37:07.120 – 01:37:08.880 and creating life with an individual.
  2092. 01:37:09.680 – 01:37:12.560 A wife, my wife, with kids, starting a legacy.
  2093. 01:37:12.640 – 01:37:14.400 I think that's also part of legacy in itself.
  2094. 01:37:14.840 – 01:37:15.100 Yes, sir.
  2095. 01:37:15.140 – 01:37:18.020 You know, your missus and your kids is legacy.
  2096. 01:37:18.400 – 01:37:20.020 You know, that's what legacy is all about.
  2097. 01:37:20.800 – 01:37:22.640 You know, having some healthy kids,
  2098. 01:37:24.180 – 01:37:26.420 doing something positive and righteous in life, man.
  2099. 01:37:26.520 – 01:37:30.120 That sounds like the life I need and going to have.
  2100. 01:37:30.120 – 01:37:38.140 As far as my business, man, just I see it in short term
  2101. 01:37:38.140 – 01:37:45.200 of getting hired in clientele, thinking a lot bigger on my everyday goals,
  2102. 01:37:46.220 – 01:37:50.570 you know, a lot more collaborations
  2103. 01:37:50.920 – 01:37:58.420 and then also more resources using other people's tools, money,
  2104. 01:37:59.600 – 01:38:04.100 getting grants so I can not think about the little things
  2105. 01:38:04.100 – 01:38:06.120 and I can have more room and space to create
  2106. 01:38:06.120 – 01:38:08.840 since I'm not worrying about money or opportunity,
  2107. 01:38:09.660 – 01:38:11.000 having the opportunity, having the money
  2108. 01:38:11.000 – 01:38:14.560 so I can create within this space and actually maximize
  2109. 01:38:14.560 – 01:38:16.540 what I truly do see for myself,
  2110. 01:38:16.800 – 01:38:19.760 creating different videos and pictures.
  2111. 01:38:20.080 – 01:38:20.520 Yeah.
  2112. 01:38:20.560 – 01:38:22.380 And then that's going to be the stepping block
  2113. 01:38:22.380 – 01:38:24.780 for the arts and cultural center
  2114. 01:38:24.780 – 01:38:27.140 that I want to collaborate with others for
  2115. 01:38:27.140 – 01:38:29.640 and teaching other people the same science.
  2116. 01:38:29.700 – 01:38:31.120 I'm going to call it a science, if you will,
  2117. 01:38:31.180 – 01:38:34.340 creating in this science of art.
  2118. 01:38:34.500 – 01:38:35.620 I love it.
  2119. 01:38:35.620 – 01:38:36.560 Science of art.
  2120. 01:38:36.800 – 01:38:39.460 You know, and then also providing opportunities
  2121. 01:38:39.460 – 01:38:42.100 and resources for other people,
  2122. 01:38:42.520 – 01:38:47.100 especially in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods
  2123. 01:38:47.100 – 01:38:50.680 for them to not be so focused on a negative
  2124. 01:38:51.680 – 01:38:55.060 and can be focused, finally focused on a positive
  2125. 01:38:55.060 – 01:38:58.540 and having something better to get to in life.
  2126. 01:38:59.460 – 01:39:00.780 Okay, okay.
  2127. 01:39:01.040 – 01:39:04.380 And yeah, that arts and cultural center is going to be amazing
  2128. 01:39:04.380 – 01:39:07.340 and I'm looking at this hand sanitizer
  2129. 01:39:07.340 – 01:39:09.960 and what do hand sanitizer do?
  2130. 01:39:10.420 – 01:39:13.400 It cleans and get rid of the germs
  2131. 01:39:13.400 – 01:39:14.720 and with what?
  2132. 01:39:15.400 – 01:39:19.200 The active ingredient is in line with the purpose,
  2133. 01:39:19.460 – 01:39:21.080 literally in line with the purpose.
  2134. 01:39:22.040 – 01:39:22.680 It's crazy.
  2135. 01:39:22.680 – 01:39:24.360 I was looking at that as you were saying
  2136. 01:39:24.360 – 01:39:28.280 and everything you have is like active ingredients
  2137. 01:39:28.280 – 01:39:29.700 to your purpose.
  2138. 01:39:29.980 – 01:39:31.080 It's like, wow.
  2139. 01:39:31.640 – 01:39:33.740 I say that's alignment for sure.
  2140. 01:39:34.340 – 01:39:34.780 Alignment, man.
  2141. 01:39:35.860 – 01:39:38.060 That's the part we try to get to, man.
  2142. 01:39:38.080 – 01:39:39.500 Alignment, you know?
  2143. 01:39:40.600 – 01:39:41.500 Alignment, brother.
  2144. 01:39:42.340 – 01:39:42.900 Balance.
  2145. 01:39:44.180 – 01:39:44.740 Patience.
  2146. 01:39:46.420 – 01:39:48.920 So we can find that peace and alignment, brother.
  2147. 01:39:49.680 – 01:39:50.200 Okay.
  2148. 01:39:50.900 – 01:39:55.140 So what is like three to five key takeaways
  2149. 01:39:55.140 – 01:39:56.800 from this interview,
  2150. 01:39:57.060 – 01:39:58.440 whether it's something you said
  2151. 01:39:58.440 – 01:40:00.680 or didn't get a chance to say
  2152. 01:40:00.680 – 01:40:02.660 that you would want somebody to take away
  2153. 01:40:02.660 – 01:40:03.880 from this conversation?
  2154. 01:40:05.460 – 01:40:07.680 I think one thing we touched on a lot,
  2155. 01:40:07.820 – 01:40:08.860 which is not perfect.
  2156. 01:40:09.060 – 01:40:10.560 I don't know if it was a purpose to it or not,
  2157. 01:40:10.600 – 01:40:13.680 but just kind of thinking about this conversation
  2158. 01:40:13.680 – 01:40:16.740 of money, success, business,
  2159. 01:40:16.740 – 01:40:19.660 all these things that we focus on day to day so much.
  2160. 01:40:19.880 – 01:40:21.620 But then when you ask me questions about
  2161. 01:40:21.620 – 01:40:24.040 what is the purpose and what I want to do
  2162. 01:40:24.040 – 01:40:25.320 and what's the end goal,
  2163. 01:40:26.000 – 01:40:26.920 it was like, okay,
  2164. 01:40:27.280 – 01:40:30.060 focusing on things outside of that,
  2165. 01:40:31.440 – 01:40:33.260 actually understanding and seeing
  2166. 01:40:33.260 – 01:40:35.160 that it's a deeper purpose in life.
  2167. 01:40:36.160 – 01:40:39.620 And we all are unique and special in our own way
  2168. 01:40:40.600 – 01:40:42.720 in not having a certain amount of money,
  2169. 01:40:43.720 – 01:40:45.500 not doing a certain type of field
  2170. 01:40:45.500 – 01:40:47.820 or not having certain questions and things figured out.
  2171. 01:40:47.880 – 01:40:50.540 Life doesn't take you away from that greater purpose
  2172. 01:40:50.540 – 01:40:52.420 that you really are fulfilling,
  2173. 01:40:52.460 – 01:40:53.900 whether we see that or not.
  2174. 01:40:54.480 – 01:40:56.660 That's something that I really noticed
  2175. 01:40:56.660 – 01:40:58.780 and kind of just thought about right now.
  2176. 01:40:58.840 – 01:41:00.900 I'm like, wow, we have all these plans
  2177. 01:41:00.900 – 01:41:02.980 to get to this money and different fields
  2178. 01:41:02.980 – 01:41:03.920 and how we gonna do it.
  2179. 01:41:04.580 – 01:41:05.480 But when you just asked me,
  2180. 01:41:05.800 – 01:41:06.940 what did I see for myself?
  2181. 01:41:07.040 – 01:41:08.200 It's like, oh, having a wife,
  2182. 01:41:08.860 – 01:41:12.400 genuine love, kids, healthy kids,
  2183. 01:41:13.560 – 01:41:16.580 just a legacy, that's more important,
  2184. 01:41:16.700 – 01:41:17.660 or helping people,
  2185. 01:41:18.880 – 01:41:22.480 getting other people to see themselves in a higher light.
  2186. 01:41:23.520 – 01:41:25.020 That's the important things in life.
  2187. 01:41:25.140 – 01:41:26.240 And as long as we doing that,
  2188. 01:41:27.000 – 01:41:28.900 I don't need a lot of money to do that right now.
  2189. 01:41:29.400 – 01:41:30.360 That's something I'm doing right now
  2190. 01:41:30.360 – 01:41:31.700 and I can continue doing right now.
  2191. 01:41:31.900 – 01:41:33.080 So I am successful.
  2192. 01:41:34.180 – 01:41:36.740 So that's a good takeaway for sure, for sure, man.
  2193. 01:41:38.540 – 01:41:41.760 And just aiming to make better choices overall in life
  2194. 01:41:41.760 – 01:41:43.720 and knowing that we are worthy to do that.
  2195. 01:41:44.080 – 01:41:46.260 And knowing that it is a positive outcome
  2196. 01:41:46.260 – 01:41:48.960 that comes from making positive decisions
  2197. 01:41:48.960 – 01:41:50.020 and changes in our life.
  2198. 01:41:50.180 – 01:41:51.860 Whether we taking something out of our diet,
  2199. 01:41:52.020 – 01:41:53.480 taking something out of our hobbies,
  2200. 01:41:54.060 – 01:41:55.080 our everyday life,
  2201. 01:41:56.480 – 01:41:59.420 and taking control of our day,
  2202. 01:41:59.520 – 01:42:00.860 taking control of our job,
  2203. 01:42:01.700 – 01:42:04.200 our time, doing for self.
  2204. 01:42:05.700 – 01:42:08.540 There are plenty of positive outcomes from that
  2205. 01:42:08.540 – 01:42:12.140 and we can actually go to our limitless potential
  2206. 01:42:12.140 – 01:42:14.140 that we all have and possess.
  2207. 01:42:15.120 – 01:42:16.600 Wow, it's amazing.
  2208. 01:42:16.840 – 01:42:20.020 I cannot close it out any better than that.
  2209. 01:42:21.040 – 01:42:23.060 You know, for the people out there listening,
  2210. 01:42:23.920 – 01:42:26.580 where can they find you, book you, follow you,
  2211. 01:42:26.600 – 01:42:27.440 all that good stuff?
  2212. 01:42:29.020 – 01:42:31.800 Well, good question.
  2213. 01:42:32.840 – 01:42:33.320 Good question.
  2214. 01:42:33.440 – 01:42:38.020 My website is www.lazabillustrations.com.
  2215. 01:42:38.020 – 01:42:39.280 That would be the best space.
  2216. 01:42:39.640 – 01:42:41.220 How you spell it out for them?
  2217. 01:42:41.720 – 01:42:44.400 L-A-S-E-N-B-Y, Lazenby,
  2218. 01:42:44.680 – 01:42:46.660 which is my born Laz name
  2219. 01:42:46.660 – 01:42:48.380 or my family legacy name.
  2220. 01:42:50.160 – 01:42:52.300 Illustrations, the typical way of spelling it.
  2221. 01:42:52.300 – 01:42:57.400 I-L-L-U-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N-S.com.
  2222. 01:42:57.660 – 01:43:00.740 So www.lazabillustrations.com.
  2223. 01:43:00.860 – 01:43:02.900 And from there you also can find my email,
  2224. 01:43:03.620 – 01:43:04.460 which is the same thing,
  2225. 01:43:04.600 – 01:43:06.660 lazabillustrations.gmail.com,
  2226. 01:43:06.660 – 01:43:09.320 my phone number, as well as my social media,
  2227. 01:43:09.400 – 01:43:10.560 where I'm not currently on,
  2228. 01:43:10.580 – 01:43:12.460 but it's still there for you to experience
  2229. 01:43:12.460 – 01:43:14.700 all the things that I put out into the world,
  2230. 01:43:14.840 – 01:43:16.260 into those social media spaces.
  2231. 01:43:17.520 – 01:43:19.740 At lazabillustrations on Instagram,
  2232. 01:43:20.920 – 01:43:24.860 at mainline101 for my personal account on Instagram,
  2233. 01:43:25.240 – 01:43:28.080 as well as TikTok, which I don't be on much,
  2234. 01:43:28.100 – 01:43:29.820 and also YouTube as well.
  2235. 01:43:29.820 – 01:43:34.880 Mainline M-A-I-N-L-I-N-E-1-0-1
  2236. 01:43:34.880 – 01:43:36.680 on other platforms as well.
  2237. 01:43:36.680 – 01:43:38.680 And I want to say just thank you for you
  2238. 01:43:38.680 – 01:43:40.660 for sharing this space for me.
  2239. 01:43:40.920 – 01:43:42.060 Genuinely, man, thank you, man.
  2240. 01:43:42.140 – 01:43:42.540 You know what I'm saying?
  2241. 01:43:42.660 – 01:43:44.000 It's been long awaited,
  2242. 01:43:44.000 – 01:43:45.440 but we have these conversations all the time,
  2243. 01:43:45.500 – 01:43:47.240 so it's just another walk in the park, man.
  2244. 01:43:47.300 – 01:43:51.400 You know, just bringing our consciousness together
  2245. 01:43:51.960 – 01:43:53.680 just for a greater cause, man.
  2246. 01:43:53.700 – 01:43:54.820 So I appreciate you, man.
  2247. 01:43:54.880 – 01:43:56.580 And I want to say thank you.
  2248. 01:43:56.720 – 01:43:57.660 Thank you, God, man.
  2249. 01:43:57.660 – 01:43:59.320 You know, thank God just for the opportunities
  2250. 01:43:59.320 – 01:44:02.420 and, you know, just for the spaces
  2251. 01:44:02.420 – 01:44:05.380 and the people that I meet on this journey of life, man.
  2252. 01:44:05.380 – 01:44:07.340 I'm just grateful, brother, just grateful.
  2253. 01:44:07.920 – 01:44:10.340 Hey, I want to say this.
  2254. 01:44:10.840 – 01:44:14.660 Like, first off, thank you and thank you for believing me
  2255. 01:44:14.660 – 01:44:18.700 and coming along with me on these different missions
  2256. 01:44:18.700 – 01:44:24.180 that I call jobs with the photography, video,
  2257. 01:44:24.180 – 01:44:27.560 media, productions, events.
  2258. 01:44:29.280 – 01:44:33.120 But, man, I always knew, like,
  2259. 01:44:33.180 – 01:44:37.160 the time we had or was going to have,
  2260. 01:44:37.880 – 01:44:39.480 like, a sit-down conversation,
  2261. 01:44:39.760 – 01:44:41.620 a formal sit-down conversation like this
  2262. 01:44:41.620 – 01:44:43.000 on the podcast setting,
  2263. 01:44:43.460 – 01:44:44.700 because we both have podcasts,
  2264. 01:44:44.780 – 01:44:46.300 and also shout out your podcast, too.
  2265. 01:44:46.400 – 01:44:49.020 Oh, yeah, Pound De-Rooted podcast, man.
  2266. 01:44:49.660 – 01:44:51.300 That's also an attachment of the brand
  2267. 01:44:51.300 – 01:44:52.400 Liza B Illustrations, man.
  2268. 01:44:52.400 – 01:44:55.120 I have custom clothings on the website as well.
  2269. 01:44:55.500 – 01:44:56.680 Another creative space that I have,
  2270. 01:44:56.880 – 01:44:57.480 Pound De-Rooted.
  2271. 01:44:58.080 – 01:44:59.080 It's a lifestyle.
  2272. 01:45:00.680 – 01:45:02.500 It's a movement, man, you know,
  2273. 01:45:02.500 – 01:45:05.720 just bringing like-minded people together
  2274. 01:45:05.720 – 01:45:08.160 for things such as this, you know, financial literacy,
  2275. 01:45:08.860 – 01:45:11.100 true history of self, true history of the creator,
  2276. 01:45:12.280 – 01:45:14.320 you know, a higher consciousness and frequency, man.
  2277. 01:45:14.340 – 01:45:15.960 Pound De-Rooted is the movement.
  2278. 01:45:16.440 – 01:45:17.360 That's the podcast.
  2279. 01:45:17.460 – 01:45:18.320 That's the clothes.
  2280. 01:45:18.780 – 01:45:19.620 That's the brand.
  2281. 01:45:20.360 – 01:45:22.300 That's hand-to-hand with Liza B Illustrations, man,
  2282. 01:45:22.300 – 01:45:23.780 so I'm grateful for that as well.
  2283. 01:45:24.640 – 01:45:25.580 You know, we are culture.
  2284. 01:45:25.640 – 01:45:26.380 We are knowledge.
  2285. 01:45:26.440 – 01:45:27.300 We are life, man.
  2286. 01:45:27.580 – 01:45:28.460 We everything, man.
  2287. 01:45:28.460 – 01:45:29.420 We the beginning.
  2288. 01:45:30.280 – 01:45:31.500 We, as in all people, everybody,
  2289. 01:45:31.600 – 01:45:32.580 we are the beginning, man,
  2290. 01:45:32.580 – 01:45:33.860 so that calls for something, man.
  2291. 01:45:33.860 – 01:45:34.920 We very special, man.
  2292. 01:45:34.960 – 01:45:36.040 So we deep-rooted, man,
  2293. 01:45:36.060 – 01:45:36.800 a lot more deep-rooted
  2294. 01:45:36.800 – 01:45:38.500 than we believed or know to be.
  2295. 01:45:39.440 – 01:45:40.480 Yes, yes, yes.
  2296. 01:45:41.640 – 01:45:43.760 And again, back to, like, when we first met,
  2297. 01:45:45.400 – 01:45:48.620 ironically, with Troy and Rashad at Tri-C.
  2298. 01:45:48.620 – 01:45:49.400 Yes, sir.
  2299. 01:45:49.500 – 01:45:50.880 Shout-out to earn your leisure.
  2300. 01:45:51.500 – 01:45:52.840 Yeah, literally.
  2301. 01:45:53.020 – 01:45:53.820 Earn your leisure.
  2302. 01:45:53.960 – 01:45:54.900 And that's kind of, like,
  2303. 01:45:54.900 – 01:45:57.740 what this whole conversation has been about,
  2304. 01:45:57.740 – 01:46:00.680 even opening, like, me, quote-unquote,
  2305. 01:46:00.920 – 01:46:03.240 quitting video and photography
  2306. 01:46:03.240 – 01:46:05.460 to something greater, like,
  2307. 01:46:05.800 – 01:46:07.900 for me to earn my leisure.
  2308. 01:46:08.300 – 01:46:09.040 And that's crazy.
  2309. 01:46:09.120 – 01:46:10.560 It's like a full circle moment.
  2310. 01:46:10.600 – 01:46:11.540 We got on that.
  2311. 01:46:11.840 – 01:46:13.060 And even after the event,
  2312. 01:46:13.080 – 01:46:15.540 we spoke for, like, two hours just in the parking lot.
  2313. 01:46:15.660 – 01:46:18.240 First inside, then in the parking lot, bro.
  2314. 01:46:18.860 – 01:46:20.340 First time ever meeting, bro.
  2315. 01:46:20.920 – 01:46:21.960 And I said, well, I'm like,
  2316. 01:46:22.040 – 01:46:23.160 we gonna work together.
  2317. 01:46:23.360 – 01:46:25.100 And, like, we have been working together.
  2318. 01:46:25.460 – 01:46:25.960 We have, man.
  2319. 01:46:26.340 – 01:46:26.720 Man.
  2320. 01:46:27.240 – 01:46:27.980 Earning our leisure.
  2321. 01:46:28.340 – 01:46:28.860 Have, man.
  2322. 01:46:29.120 – 01:46:30.880 I do want to say one thing, though,
  2323. 01:46:30.880 – 01:46:31.600 before we get out of here.
  2324. 01:46:31.680 – 01:46:32.220 Yes, sir.
  2325. 01:46:33.000 – 01:46:35.360 I don't necessarily think I like the word quit, man.
  2326. 01:46:35.860 – 01:46:37.640 The word doesn't move me at all.
  2327. 01:46:38.380 – 01:46:39.680 It is certain things we need to quit.
  2328. 01:46:39.680 – 01:46:40.660 We need to quit in life.
  2329. 01:46:40.860 – 01:46:42.860 But when you paired quit
  2330. 01:46:43.420 – 01:46:44.860 with things that are positive
  2331. 01:46:44.860 – 01:46:46.240 and have did so much for us,
  2332. 01:46:46.240 – 01:46:48.500 it just doesn't sit with my spirit.
  2333. 01:46:48.820 – 01:46:49.240 I love it.
  2334. 01:46:49.280 – 01:46:49.500 I love it.
  2335. 01:46:49.700 – 01:46:50.860 That's probably why I keep on...
  2336. 01:46:50.860 – 01:46:51.500 Talk to me.
  2337. 01:46:51.560 – 01:46:51.920 Talk to me.
  2338. 01:46:51.920 – 01:46:53.460 That's probably why I'm looking at it
  2339. 01:46:53.460 – 01:46:54.600 so, like, side-eyes.
  2340. 01:46:54.640 – 01:46:55.940 Like, you keep saying this word quit.
  2341. 01:46:56.120 – 01:46:58.280 It's like, I don't even like that word to begin with.
  2342. 01:46:58.340 – 01:46:59.300 I don't either, honestly.
  2343. 01:46:59.860 – 01:47:01.880 But, you know, just to be realistic,
  2344. 01:47:02.720 – 01:47:05.020 there are some things in life we do have to quit.
  2345. 01:47:05.820 – 01:47:07.840 But it ain't never nothing positive we need to quit, though.
  2346. 01:47:08.700 – 01:47:09.240 I don't even...
  2347. 01:47:09.240 – 01:47:11.320 I don't like to even use that word quit.
  2348. 01:47:12.900 – 01:47:13.620 Like, just to...
  2349. 01:47:13.620 – 01:47:15.280 I just wanted to put that into the air,
  2350. 01:47:15.320 – 01:47:16.620 into the space of, like...
  2351. 01:47:16.620 – 01:47:20.200 Of how we repeatedly keep saying this word quit, man.
  2352. 01:47:20.260 – 01:47:21.680 It's like, words are powerful.
  2353. 01:47:22.440 – 01:47:24.380 Maybe we're not choosing the right words.
  2354. 01:47:24.760 – 01:47:25.420 You know what I'm saying?
  2355. 01:47:26.820 – 01:47:27.080 Quit.
  2356. 01:47:27.400 – 01:47:28.940 Like, what are we quitting for, man?
  2357. 01:47:29.180 – 01:47:30.060 What are we quitting for?
  2358. 01:47:30.640 – 01:47:31.320 Ain't no quit, man.
  2359. 01:47:31.400 – 01:47:31.820 This is a fact.
  2360. 01:47:31.880 – 01:47:32.780 This life thing is...
  2361. 01:47:33.380 – 01:47:33.920 We ain't quitting, man.
  2362. 01:47:33.940 – 01:47:35.940 We're riding this thing to the end, man.
  2363. 01:47:36.000 – 01:47:36.800 To the winds for love.
  2364. 01:47:36.820 – 01:47:38.300 Well, it's about the end, like...
  2365. 01:47:38.300 – 01:47:39.880 Yeah, we're riding this to the winds for love, man.
  2366. 01:47:39.880 – 01:47:42.900 The end to quit is kind of cousins, though, you know?
  2367. 01:47:43.140 – 01:47:43.900 Nah, man.
  2368. 01:47:44.020 – 01:47:44.740 Nah, it ain't.
  2369. 01:47:45.220 – 01:47:46.580 Quitting is by choice.
  2370. 01:47:46.580 – 01:47:46.680 I say pause.
  2371. 01:47:46.780 – 01:47:47.440 I say pause.
  2372. 01:47:47.600 – 01:47:48.680 Quitting is a choice.
  2373. 01:47:49.580 – 01:47:51.540 Life is gonna be inevitable.
  2374. 01:47:51.780 – 01:47:53.060 It's an end, but it ain't...
  2375. 01:47:53.060 – 01:47:54.420 We ain't ended it, you know?
  2376. 01:47:54.560 – 01:47:56.360 Well, your spirit lasts forever, so...
  2377. 01:47:56.360 – 01:47:56.780 Right.
  2378. 01:47:57.100 – 01:47:57.500 Exactly.
  2379. 01:47:57.580 – 01:47:59.540 You know, we just return back to where we came.
  2380. 01:48:01.040 – 01:48:03.680 So, it's the end of this moment,
  2381. 01:48:04.580 – 01:48:05.600 of this space.
  2382. 01:48:06.140 – 01:48:07.100 But there ain't no quitting, man.
  2383. 01:48:07.100 – 01:48:07.700 There ain't no quitting.
  2384. 01:48:07.860 – 01:48:08.760 We don't quit, man.
  2385. 01:48:09.220 – 01:48:10.800 We're eliminating that word out of vocabulary.
  2386. 01:48:10.900 – 01:48:12.260 We're talking about quitting something bad, man.
  2387. 01:48:12.260 – 01:48:13.440 We're talking about quitting drugs,
  2388. 01:48:14.240 – 01:48:15.620 quitting bad habits,
  2389. 01:48:16.320 – 01:48:17.060 quitting negative things.
  2390. 01:48:17.160 – 01:48:18.040 That's the only time you can say quit.
  2391. 01:48:18.160 – 01:48:19.840 Other than that, we ain't saying quit.
  2392. 01:48:20.100 – 01:48:20.940 We done with that word.
  2393. 01:48:21.260 – 01:48:21.940 We ain't quitting nothing.
  2394. 01:48:22.200 – 01:48:23.100 Mama ain't raising no quitter.
  2395. 01:48:23.980 – 01:48:24.900 Ooh, that's right.
  2396. 01:48:25.200 – 01:48:25.960 We ain't raising no quitter.
  2397. 01:48:26.140 – 01:48:27.360 We ain't saying the word quit.
  2398. 01:48:27.440 – 01:48:28.920 We're gonna save it for part two.
  2399. 01:48:29.240 – 01:48:30.700 I already see where this is going, man.
  2400. 01:48:31.080 – 01:48:33.600 I got to set up for the Pull Up Experience interviews.
  2401. 01:48:34.360 – 01:48:35.240 We got a meeting.
  2402. 01:48:35.520 – 01:48:36.520 We got interviews.
  2403. 01:48:36.720 – 01:48:37.600 All this good stuff.
  2404. 01:48:37.760 – 01:48:40.280 So, it was an eventful evening and night.
  2405. 01:48:41.160 – 01:48:42.220 I appreciate you again, brother.
  2406. 01:48:42.240 – 01:48:42.480 Yes, sir.
  2407. 01:48:42.480 – 01:48:42.960 Thank you, man.
  2408. 01:48:43.000 – 01:48:43.700 I appreciate you, bro.
  2409. 01:48:43.960 – 01:48:48.280 Until next time on Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  2410. 01:48:48.280 – 01:48:52.260 with your host, photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
  2411. 01:48:52.260 – 01:48:54.300 of Alien Eyes Photos Media,
  2412. 01:48:54.880 – 01:48:59.000 bringing you another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  2413. 01:48:59.360 – 01:49:01.200 And if you want to book me,
  2414. 01:49:01.300 – 01:49:05.380 you can find me at alieneyesephotos.com
  2415. 01:49:05.380 – 01:49:09.560 and all my social media at Alien Eyes
  2416. 01:49:09.560 – 01:49:13.700 Photos with a Z, Photos with an S on all social media.
  2417. 01:49:14.460 – 01:49:16.620 Again, peace, love, and blessings.
  2418. 01:49:16.980 – 01:49:18.500 Love, love, love always.
  2419. 01:49:19.280 – 01:49:19.540 Peace.
  2420. 01:49:19.800 – 01:49:20.140 Peace.

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5. Always Be Launching How Consistency Focus & Doing the Work Drive Business Growth

Season 1 · Episode 56

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.330 – 00:00:08.850 Welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alienize Photos industry talk.
  2. 00:00:09.610 – 00:00:15.630 And this is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media.
  3. 00:00:16.730 – 00:00:20.890 And I want to reflect on these past two weeks.
  4. 00:00:21.450 – 00:00:24.190 I did my first virtual conference.
  5. 00:00:24.330 – 00:00:25.550 Okay, let me take it back.
  6. 00:00:26.910 – 00:00:36.770 I helped produce and be in the background and service my first virtual conference.
  7. 00:00:37.110 – 00:00:48.310 Along with the host, my friend, my sister, also client, Nicole D. Miller.
  8. 00:00:48.450 – 00:00:54.390 So shout out to Nicole D. Miller during her first virtual conference.
  9. 00:00:54.390 – 00:01:01.290 It was amazing. We show up live, we create content.
  10. 00:01:01.750 – 00:01:08.010 But to put on our first conference, starting with the virtual, it was so amazing.
  11. 00:01:09.070 – 00:01:15.070 It was a lot of work put into it on the front end, even during.
  12. 00:01:16.430 – 00:01:22.030 Now it's just getting the content after, which you could breathe a little bit once it's all over.
  13. 00:01:22.870 – 00:01:27.070 But doing it and being in it, it's amazing.
  14. 00:01:27.830 – 00:01:31.670 And it's like, launch, launch.
  15. 00:01:31.830 – 00:01:43.190 And even this past weekend, the To You Wine presents the South Euclid Wine and Dine Festival.
  16. 00:01:43.310 – 00:01:46.870 Also with Fort Bistro in the city of South Euclid.
  17. 00:01:46.870 – 00:01:53.470 So always launch, launch, launch, launch.
  18. 00:01:53.550 – 00:02:02.910 And that's words from one of my mentors, Donnie Wiggins, in the Social Proof Circle with David Shands.
  19. 00:02:03.050 – 00:02:06.950 And Donnie always says launch, launch, launch.
  20. 00:02:06.990 – 00:02:09.810 Always be in launch mode. Always launch something.
  21. 00:02:10.490 – 00:02:12.110 Always be prepared to launch.
  22. 00:02:12.110 – 00:02:18.610 You're always launching. No matter what stage in your business, you're always launching.
  23. 00:02:19.270 – 00:02:20.950 Launch, launch, launch.
  24. 00:02:22.090 – 00:02:33.330 And during those moments where we were in the launch segment of our mentorship and our activities,
  25. 00:02:34.250 – 00:02:40.170 I launched a podcast every single day in the month of August.
  26. 00:02:40.170 – 00:02:45.790 Except for like the last two, because I was just so burnt out in so many things.
  27. 00:02:46.570 – 00:02:48.490 And I had the virtual conference.
  28. 00:02:48.770 – 00:02:56.030 I had my own stuff, my own events, my own projects and work to do.
  29. 00:02:56.250 – 00:02:58.510 And then the South Euclid Wine and Dine Festival.
  30. 00:02:58.710 – 00:03:02.770 It was like so many things. It was like, oh man.
  31. 00:03:05.350 – 00:03:09.150 But I published as many as I could.
  32. 00:03:09.150 – 00:03:14.790 I really want to count how many I published within the month of August,
  33. 00:03:14.870 – 00:03:28.470 because I know I started on like the third and just went straight into, I don't know, the 27th, 28th of August.
  34. 00:03:29.270 – 00:03:35.410 I'm about to find this and really count it live to see if I really.
  35. 00:03:35.410 – 00:03:38.430 Let's just see how many I did. Let's see.
  36. 00:03:38.970 – 00:03:57.600 I have the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, the 20th again.
  37. 00:03:57.600 – 00:04:08.960 Two on the 20th, the 21st, 22nd, 24th, the 24th again, 25th, 26th, 27th and the 31st.
  38. 00:04:09.000 – 00:04:15.380 So let me see how many episodes I published at the month of August.
  39. 00:04:15.380 – 00:04:36.340 That's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26.
  40. 00:04:36.840 – 00:04:40.800 26 episodes in the month of August.
  41. 00:04:40.800 – 00:04:42.180 You talk about launching.
  42. 00:04:44.320 – 00:04:56.940 I think I was trying to prove a point or something, but I also had a back catalog where I just wanted to just get everything out also so I looked at it as a good opportunity to do that.
  43. 00:04:57.480 – 00:04:58.720 And I did just that.
  44. 00:04:59.360 – 00:05:09.520 But again, shout out to the South Euclid Wine and Dime Fest powered by To You Wines, Miss Nakia Hudson.
  45. 00:05:11.520 – 00:05:14.140 You did it again. This is the third annual.
  46. 00:05:15.180 – 00:05:16.880 Stay tuned for the fourth annual.
  47. 00:05:18.280 – 00:05:24.480 And we had DJ Lowkey, we had DJ E-Spins, we had Davey with Freedom Papers.
  48. 00:05:25.520 – 00:05:28.500 Man, we had so many different vendors.
  49. 00:05:28.780 – 00:05:32.680 I'm talking about lines out of this world.
  50. 00:05:32.980 – 00:05:38.440 Like even the wine lines to get wine samples and to purchase your wine and wine bottles.
  51. 00:05:39.320 – 00:05:40.560 The lines were long.
  52. 00:05:40.940 – 00:05:43.140 Like I was more so assistant.
  53. 00:05:43.260 – 00:05:44.560 I took a few pictures.
  54. 00:05:45.400 – 00:05:47.540 I captured some videos as well.
  55. 00:05:47.960 – 00:05:51.740 But I was more so hands on working support.
  56. 00:05:51.740 – 00:05:55.800 And what needed to be done, who needed to be helped.
  57. 00:05:56.620 – 00:05:59.880 That's what I did and focused on this year.
  58. 00:06:02.260 – 00:06:05.220 I was pretty much sober until the end.
  59. 00:06:05.280 – 00:06:10.560 I had a couple of sips but not like, you know, previous years actually enjoying myself.
  60. 00:06:11.360 – 00:06:17.380 Enjoying the festivities, enjoying the wine vendors and trying the different wines that I haven't tried.
  61. 00:06:18.400 – 00:06:24.420 But I had a little siu wines at the end.
  62. 00:06:25.100 – 00:06:33.840 So and then also Zesty Compass taste their spicy sangria.
  63. 00:06:33.960 – 00:06:35.640 It was something like that.
  64. 00:06:35.680 – 00:06:36.740 Spicy sangria.
  65. 00:06:37.320 – 00:06:38.380 So something different.
  66. 00:06:38.940 – 00:06:46.600 But for the most part, I was more so focused on making the event a success and whatever needed to be done.
  67. 00:06:48.280 – 00:07:00.300 Like even, you know, sometimes when people are not engaging in the artist, you have to kind of help out that situation.
  68. 00:07:00.340 – 00:07:01.960 Just me being a former artist.
  69. 00:07:02.060 – 00:07:06.660 And I know Davey kind of leaned on me in that situation.
  70. 00:07:06.660 – 00:07:16.280 You know, even telling experience at the time, just increase the volume because it's perfect when you're in the tent.
  71. 00:07:16.400 – 00:07:24.300 But when you're not in the tent, you're out, you know, enjoying the fest or sitting around outside the tent.
  72. 00:07:24.640 – 00:07:26.100 It's a different experience.
  73. 00:07:26.640 – 00:07:32.200 So it's just like playing all parts that kind of need to be played to jack of all trades.
  74. 00:07:33.400 – 00:07:35.260 I did not mean for that to rhyme.
  75. 00:07:35.260 – 00:07:38.040 But, hey, I may use that.
  76. 00:07:38.080 – 00:07:38.940 I'm going to use it.
  77. 00:07:39.120 – 00:07:40.740 I am going to use it.
  78. 00:07:41.540 – 00:07:41.960 Wow.
  79. 00:07:42.340 – 00:07:43.020 That was amazing.
  80. 00:07:43.060 – 00:07:44.160 Right on that spot.
  81. 00:07:44.820 – 00:07:45.340 Freestyling.
  82. 00:07:45.520 – 00:07:46.400 Going back to my origins.
  83. 00:07:47.540 – 00:07:52.620 But I also had a good conversation with my mentor, Sean Lee Jones.
  84. 00:07:52.680 – 00:07:54.920 We finally got an episode in the book.
  85. 00:07:54.980 – 00:07:57.260 So definitely look out for that as well.
  86. 00:07:57.260 – 00:08:06.060 So there's a lot I've been doing and working on creating this video.
  87. 00:08:06.200 – 00:08:14.560 My first speaker reel for a client and which is like, wow, I got to get a speaker reel for myself.
  88. 00:08:14.680 – 00:08:24.940 But even before that, like a reel just for me promoting my photography business, you know, something different than the advertisement.
  89. 00:08:24.940 – 00:08:32.360 But it still showcases who I am, what I do, what I like, you know, all those things.
  90. 00:08:32.360 – 00:08:33.600 So it's like, wow.
  91. 00:08:34.700 – 00:08:44.460 You know, I'm getting exposed to a lot of good things and a lot of good situations, a lot of good ideas and a lot of things like I need to do this.
  92. 00:08:45.860 – 00:08:48.020 So it's a feel good moment.
  93. 00:08:49.020 – 00:08:50.940 Feel good feeling also.
  94. 00:08:52.080 – 00:08:53.640 So it's always good.
  95. 00:08:53.640 – 00:09:00.200 But shout out to Nicole D. Miller for her first virtual conference.
  96. 00:09:01.100 – 00:09:03.060 It was amazing to witness.
  97. 00:09:03.800 – 00:09:06.380 It was amazing to be a part of.
  98. 00:09:07.360 – 00:09:17.680 It was amazing to, you know, just really live in it, especially the topic, which was faith.
  99. 00:09:19.280 – 00:09:20.740 Faith, faith, faith.
  100. 00:09:20.740 – 00:09:23.900 They love not their lives.
  101. 00:09:25.260 – 00:09:27.440 Virtual Conference 2026.
  102. 00:09:28.080 – 00:09:30.940 So I'm just thinking.
  103. 00:09:32.420 – 00:09:33.960 Next year.
  104. 00:09:35.000 – 00:09:37.840 What is they love not their lives.
  105. 00:09:38.580 – 00:09:39.880 Conference is going to be.
  106. 00:09:40.300 – 00:09:41.600 And we had talks.
  107. 00:09:43.020 – 00:09:47.860 And to make this an in-person conference is definitely to go.
  108. 00:09:50.600 – 00:09:52.680 So I'm excited for that.
  109. 00:09:52.740 – 00:09:54.360 I'm excited to see that.
  110. 00:09:54.960 – 00:10:00.080 I enjoyed everyone living in a purpose and sharing a message and wisdom.
  111. 00:10:01.020 – 00:10:03.140 Their faith message and their prayers.
  112. 00:10:04.480 – 00:10:05.740 It was something different.
  113. 00:10:06.840 – 00:10:09.320 And I was glad I was a part of that.
  114. 00:10:09.460 – 00:10:15.960 I'm glad Nicole asked me to be a part of it and assist her and just help her.
  115. 00:10:15.960 – 00:10:18.040 It was amazing.
  116. 00:10:19.180 – 00:10:20.120 Shout out to you.
  117. 00:10:20.540 – 00:10:22.340 Shout out to all you do.
  118. 00:10:22.860 – 00:10:26.640 Shout out to your publishing company and the Miller Publishing.
  119. 00:10:27.860 – 00:10:29.380 Shout out to Girl Talk.
  120. 00:10:30.420 – 00:10:35.160 And I was a panelist on Girl Talk for one of her events.
  121. 00:10:36.120 – 00:10:38.840 And you can check out the episode.
  122. 00:10:39.240 – 00:10:41.400 Girl Talk podcast.
  123. 00:10:42.220 – 00:10:45.700 And then also on YouTube, the actual panel discussion.
  124. 00:10:47.120 – 00:10:52.320 I was with my four brothers, my four older brothers.
  125. 00:10:52.340 – 00:10:54.780 I like to say because I'm the youngest of the bunch.
  126. 00:10:56.900 – 00:11:04.580 I had some feedback that I didn't say too much or I didn't elaborate on a lot of things.
  127. 00:11:04.580 – 00:11:06.780 Kind of like the others did.
  128. 00:11:08.020 – 00:11:14.860 But those who know me know I'm kind of short-winded, a man of a few words.
  129. 00:11:14.880 – 00:11:16.700 I like to get straight to the point.
  130. 00:11:18.520 – 00:11:19.820 That's not all the time.
  131. 00:11:19.860 – 00:11:24.900 Of course, I got this podcast to even challenge that.
  132. 00:11:25.220 – 00:11:29.720 So I'm more long-form, you know, speaking for a long period of time.
  133. 00:11:29.720 – 00:11:35.580 Having an interview, so I'm speaking for an hour at a time and challenging myself.
  134. 00:11:36.240 – 00:11:40.080 That's the biggest part of it all, just challenging yourself.
  135. 00:11:41.840 – 00:11:48.540 But I definitely wanted to shed light on the Cody Miller and the Kia with 2U1s.
  136. 00:11:48.580 – 00:11:54.440 Both my partners, family, clients, all that good stuff.
  137. 00:11:54.440 – 00:12:00.420 And shout out to the pull-up experience, who me and the Kia is also part of.
  138. 00:12:00.600 – 00:12:08.220 And the pull-up experience showed up and showed out as far as supporting and assisting, being all hands on deck.
  139. 00:12:08.880 – 00:12:11.900 That's the importance of having a team and a community.
  140. 00:12:12.440 – 00:12:15.460 So shout out to the entire pull-up experience.
  141. 00:12:15.500 – 00:12:19.520 And we also did interviews, and like I said, I did video and pictures as well.
  142. 00:12:19.520 – 00:12:25.280 So I was working the slushy machine too, working on the slushy lines.
  143. 00:12:25.740 – 00:12:29.700 It was long and wow, it was like amazing.
  144. 00:12:30.800 – 00:12:32.740 So we're going to run it back next year.
  145. 00:12:33.140 – 00:12:37.700 We're going to try to get another slushy machine and a better system for this all.
  146. 00:12:38.400 – 00:12:46.240 You know, I asked the thing, just me, just wanted to play different roles just to see how much the event could grow.
  147. 00:12:46.240 – 00:12:48.540 You know, the wine fest can grow.
  148. 00:12:49.540 – 00:12:52.500 So self-ugly wine and dine fest could be a staple.
  149. 00:12:54.120 – 00:13:01.320 We just post about it and people show up instead of just promoting and constantly promoting.
  150. 00:13:01.440 – 00:13:02.660 I don't have to worry about promoting.
  151. 00:13:02.860 – 00:13:06.740 We just post a date, boom, to get sold out already.
  152. 00:13:07.560 – 00:13:10.940 Like Jay-Z at the Madison Square Garden when we sold out, boom.
  153. 00:13:10.940 – 00:13:24.340 So that's where I want to get every event that I'm a part of, whether if it's my event or someone else's event or even an event I'm attending or supporting.
  154. 00:13:25.240 – 00:13:33.940 I want that event to sell out or be at its maximum, you know, capability and volume and capacity.
  155. 00:13:34.660 – 00:13:38.520 You know, that's always the goal, especially with my event.
  156. 00:13:38.800 – 00:13:49.420 So, of course, I wanted to sell out and, you know, for it to be a success and for it to be a monetary success, at least break even or get a couple dollars over.
  157. 00:13:50.080 – 00:13:54.080 But, you know, the goal is to definitely break even.
  158. 00:13:54.080 – 00:14:03.760 But you win, you know, viewers, you win a new audience, a client, partnerships, visibility by breaking even.
  159. 00:14:04.040 – 00:14:09.060 And then if you make money over that, then that's profit, which is also good.
  160. 00:14:09.060 – 00:14:27.000 You know, because, yeah, you want to pay your expenses, but you also want to pay your business forward and invest in yourself and have capital left over and expendable, you know, money, funds to do what you need to do and also want to do.
  161. 00:14:27.000 – 00:14:34.200 It's important to grow in the business, having money in the bank, capital, being profitable.
  162. 00:14:35.260 – 00:14:41.720 And nobody doesn't like a profitable business or having investors invest in something that's profitable.
  163. 00:14:41.720 – 00:14:46.040 So, I've seen it, but you don't hear about it often.
  164. 00:14:46.320 – 00:14:57.400 You hear about companies that are profitable, profitable companies that are seen as they can be invested into.
  165. 00:14:58.160 – 00:15:05.120 And that's where you want your business to be, even if you're not having someone invest in your business.
  166. 00:15:05.380 – 00:15:19.420 It's you growing it, you building your team, hiring your staff, getting interns, you know, having different positions, W2 employees, contractors, the combination of it all.
  167. 00:15:21.080 – 00:15:28.460 It is, it's important and it's important for you to also know your identity.
  168. 00:15:29.600 – 00:15:46.540 And that's what I've seen with Nokia and Nicole, as they stay true to their identity and what they wanted their brand to represent, what they wanted their event to represent, what they wanted their fest, their conference, all that to represent.
  169. 00:15:47.760 – 00:15:48.960 It's important.
  170. 00:15:49.840 – 00:16:05.460 And for me, just being behind the scenes, being in the background, assistant, supporting, you know, you see different things and you're like, oh, this can be improved, this needs to be done.
  171. 00:16:06.360 – 00:16:15.200 You also look at your own self and your own business, your own brand, like, oh, this could be done, this needs to be done.
  172. 00:16:15.200 – 00:16:20.320 Oh, I could do this better. And there's a lot of things that I could do better.
  173. 00:16:20.780 – 00:16:28.860 You know, sometimes it go from a short list of things that need to be done, all the way to a long list that needs to be done all the way to a whole book.
  174. 00:16:29.720 – 00:16:40.580 Sometimes there's only one thing that needs to be done, but, you know, as time goes on and life moves on as your business, you know, each day is out here.
  175. 00:16:40.580 – 00:16:44.920 There's different things that need to be done as you knock stuff off the list.
  176. 00:16:45.020 – 00:16:50.620 But, you know, a couple of days later, there's a whole bunch more that's on the list that you got to do.
  177. 00:16:51.240 – 00:16:58.860 You know, it's like being at a W2 job or whatever job, whatever job that needs to be done.
  178. 00:16:58.880 – 00:17:02.040 I'm sure there's more work coming soon.
  179. 00:17:02.920 – 00:17:08.680 Yeah, you only got a little break or whatever or you almost done until it piles back up.
  180. 00:17:08.680 – 00:17:10.220 It's only a matter of time.
  181. 00:17:10.920 – 00:17:13.760 We all know that even in our businesses.
  182. 00:17:14.400 – 00:17:20.619 It's always work that needs to be done instead of working a nine to five, you know, eight hours a day.
  183. 00:17:20.800 – 00:17:29.320 We work in sun up to sundown and most times 12 hours a day, you know, 14 sometimes.
  184. 00:17:29.400 – 00:17:31.220 So that's overtime theoretically.
  185. 00:17:31.220 – 00:17:35.500 And we don't always make money in that time.
  186. 00:17:35.720 – 00:17:45.780 It's doing the X, Y, and Z things all the way from A, all the way from zero, all the way to 101 and then two.
  187. 00:17:46.220 – 00:17:53.840 It's always stuff that needs to be done in life and business, with work, with parenting, whatever.
  188. 00:17:54.060 – 00:17:57.640 It's always work that needs to be done.
  189. 00:17:57.640 – 00:18:03.440 And I just want to leave off with that message that it's always work that needs to be done
  190. 00:18:03.440 – 00:18:09.940 because you always supposed to improve, always supposed to elevate, always supposed to grow,
  191. 00:18:10.340 – 00:18:16.160 always supposed to get better, always supposed to be moving forward and progressing and going up.
  192. 00:18:16.980 – 00:18:18.220 It's like you want your money.
  193. 00:18:18.300 – 00:18:21.000 If you invest in a stock, you want it to go up, right?
  194. 00:18:21.860 – 00:18:29.240 So you should always go up and elevate your mind, your mindset and, you know, read the books, B and E's,
  195. 00:18:29.340 – 00:18:31.900 workshops, boot camps, master classes.
  196. 00:18:32.400 – 00:18:46.040 Like I invested so much, I invested so much in education and different conferences, different workshops,
  197. 00:18:47.460 – 00:18:58.600 e-books, courses, like it was like July and August, just alone this year, July and August.
  198. 00:18:59.100 – 00:18:59.840 So much.
  199. 00:19:00.080 – 00:19:03.100 I just bought the last thing.
  200. 00:19:03.380 – 00:19:07.600 I asked the Kirkwood who's about to come on in 30 minutes.
  201. 00:19:08.560 – 00:19:12.760 So it's like I'm always improving, always learning.
  202. 00:19:14.300 – 00:19:24.160 There's so much I want to do and I'm challenging myself to read 10 pages a day,
  203. 00:19:26.390 – 00:19:33.090 whether that's the same book or between a combination of two books or whatever.
  204. 00:19:33.570 – 00:19:42.190 But I want to challenge myself to read 10 pages a day, starting today and just make it a daily habit.
  205. 00:19:43.050 – 00:19:50.810 You know, sometimes I may fall short and only read five or seven pages, but the goal is 10.
  206. 00:19:50.870 – 00:19:57.590 I know there's days where I may read a few chapters or even 50 pages.
  207. 00:19:57.670 – 00:20:06.710 So I know every day will look different, but the goal is to open the book, at least get to 10 pages.
  208. 00:20:06.710 – 00:20:11.070 I know it won't always happen.
  209. 00:20:12.150 – 00:20:18.870 I give myself grace and give myself grace now, forgive myself for falling short.
  210. 00:20:19.610 – 00:20:24.470 But it's all about setting the goal and hitting the goal.
  211. 00:20:25.270 – 00:20:27.910 Sometimes we fall short, but don't beat yourself up.
  212. 00:20:28.550 – 00:20:29.890 But also put in that work.
  213. 00:20:30.250 – 00:20:31.130 Don't be lazy.
  214. 00:20:31.310 – 00:20:32.230 Don't procrastinate.
  215. 00:20:32.230 – 00:20:36.250 Do the work, stay focused, eliminate the distractions.
  216. 00:20:37.310 – 00:20:43.230 With that being said, check out my social media sabbatical series.
  217. 00:20:43.410 – 00:20:48.910 It was a 10-day social media sabbatical and I documented it all.
  218. 00:20:49.390 – 00:20:52.850 I kind of talk about eliminate distractions.
  219. 00:20:52.850 – 00:21:03.350 Also, when I was going to try out for the NBA G League, the Cleveland charge of the Cavaliers,
  220. 00:21:03.510 – 00:21:11.450 Cleveland Cavaliers and me being a big basketball fan and also watching basketball in the NBA from time to time,
  221. 00:21:12.250 – 00:21:17.930 I even made an episode on deleting all distractions, even the NBA,
  222. 00:21:19.470 – 00:21:26.290 because I was also building out this podcast when I first got the opportunity to try out for the G League.
  223. 00:21:27.830 – 00:21:35.050 And I was like, wow, if I make it to the G League, that's one step closer of actually being in the NBA,
  224. 00:21:35.270 – 00:21:37.910 playing in the NBA, closer to my childhood dream.
  225. 00:21:39.110 – 00:21:43.930 But, you know, looking at myself and looking at my age and my physicality,
  226. 00:21:43.930 – 00:21:54.070 like, if I would have kept training up to this point, you know, I haven't played basketball in like two years
  227. 00:21:54.070 – 00:22:01.130 or at least consistently for sure, like once a week or even once a month.
  228. 00:22:01.130 – 00:22:06.910 It was like, it's bad as far as like me claiming to be a basketball player.
  229. 00:22:08.550 – 00:22:12.210 It's been years since I've like actively done it.
  230. 00:22:12.210 – 00:22:18.010 In my early 20s, I used to go to the gym like every day or every other day, you know,
  231. 00:22:18.130 – 00:22:22.590 play basketball with the indoor or outside sometimes.
  232. 00:22:23.450 – 00:22:25.510 But I had to eliminate it.
  233. 00:22:25.510 – 00:22:27.370 Like I'm going to I just built this podcast.
  234. 00:22:27.950 – 00:22:29.210 My business is growing.
  235. 00:22:29.830 – 00:22:31.350 I need to focus on this.
  236. 00:22:31.470 – 00:22:36.210 Like I had to eliminate it and eliminate it from my thoughts and my brain.
  237. 00:22:36.370 – 00:22:40.850 Like, no, stay focused and build the podcast, build the business.
  238. 00:22:40.850 – 00:22:49.730 I'm about to invest this money into this, this tryout, as you could say, and it's gas and I'm going to be tired.
  239. 00:22:50.270 – 00:22:54.710 It was a day that I had to work the previous night and it was early.
  240. 00:22:54.750 – 00:23:02.330 I think it was like a 10, 10 to 12 a.m. workout and tryout.
  241. 00:23:02.830 – 00:23:07.130 And it was like, do I want to make this 45-minute drive?
  242. 00:23:07.230 – 00:23:07.750 I'm tired.
  243. 00:23:07.750 – 00:23:13.150 I know I'm not going to get rest, you know, probably not going to eat.
  244. 00:23:14.870 – 00:23:16.510 It was just so many factors.
  245. 00:23:16.750 – 00:23:20.510 And it was a cost to it as well, you know, just to try out.
  246. 00:23:20.890 – 00:23:23.530 But of course, I'm like, well, yeah, let me do it.
  247. 00:23:23.530 – 00:23:24.730 I got to go for the experience.
  248. 00:23:24.830 – 00:23:25.830 This is my time.
  249. 00:23:25.870 – 00:23:34.530 If I don't make it OK, at least, you know, I get to meet some of the people that could become future stars, you know,
  250. 00:23:34.530 – 00:23:38.310 future NBA icons and superstars.
  251. 00:23:38.850 – 00:23:39.690 You never know.
  252. 00:23:39.830 – 00:23:47.630 I'm right here in Cleveland, my city, and I played with them before they came to the NBA.
  253. 00:23:47.830 – 00:23:50.110 It was just like, I'm going to do it anyway.
  254. 00:23:50.810 – 00:23:51.650 But I'm like, you know what?
  255. 00:23:51.770 – 00:23:52.470 No, I'm not.
  256. 00:23:52.770 – 00:23:59.070 I got to take care of myself, take care of my body, take care of my priorities, you know, take care of my business,
  257. 00:23:59.850 – 00:24:03.370 maintain my business, continue to grow my business, stay focused,
  258. 00:24:03.370 – 00:24:07.410 continue to build out this podcast, continue to drop episodes.
  259. 00:24:07.770 – 00:24:10.790 And I'm almost on episode 100, y'all.
  260. 00:24:11.290 – 00:24:11.850 Consistency.
  261. 00:24:13.130 – 00:24:17.050 But, you know, definitely check out that episode.
  262. 00:24:17.070 – 00:24:23.290 And also my social media, 10-day social media sabbatical, day one through day 10.
  263. 00:24:23.290 – 00:24:31.050 But I also have day 11, where day 10, 11, I did in Las Vegas because I was out there for a conference.
  264. 00:24:31.050 – 00:24:34.750 So no matter what, I didn't stop and I kept my promise.
  265. 00:24:35.010 – 00:24:36.470 I said I'm going to document the journey.
  266. 00:24:36.850 – 00:24:37.990 And I did that.
  267. 00:24:38.670 – 00:24:45.530 But I'm still getting that social media sabbatical, like the book together.
  268. 00:24:46.950 – 00:24:51.690 I was going to do it right after that series, but I'm like, I'm going to actually take my time with it.
  269. 00:24:52.610 – 00:24:54.670 So that will be dropping soon.
  270. 00:24:54.670 – 00:24:58.170 And I may do another social media sabbatical series.
  271. 00:24:58.170 – 00:25:01.550 So yeah, check out those episodes.
  272. 00:25:02.330 – 00:25:05.610 Just lock in, focus, do the work.
  273. 00:25:06.290 – 00:25:07.610 Eliminate distractions.
  274. 00:25:08.190 – 00:25:09.390 You know, make goals.
  275. 00:25:10.230 – 00:25:11.570 Make internal goals.
  276. 00:25:11.870 – 00:25:12.950 Talk to yourself.
  277. 00:25:14.950 – 00:25:17.250 And yeah, let it all happen.
  278. 00:25:17.390 – 00:25:18.630 Make it all come true.
  279. 00:25:19.930 – 00:25:25.170 But as we wrap, thank you for tuning in and listening, as always.
  280. 00:25:25.170 – 00:25:35.990 This is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media, bringing you another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  281. 00:25:37.230 – 00:25:39.470 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
  282. 00:25:39.650 – 00:25:49.170 I know for those who want to book me or for more information, please visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  283. 00:25:52.530 – 00:25:53.930 Alieneyesphotos.com.
  284. 00:25:53.930 – 00:25:59.310 And then follow me on all social media, especially Instagram and threads.
  285. 00:25:59.590 – 00:26:03.990 Follow me at alieneyesphotos.
  286. 00:26:04.770 – 00:26:11.350 And that's eyes with a Z. Alieneyesphotos.
  287. 00:26:12.630 – 00:26:14.710 All right, y'all. I am out. Peace.

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6. Shcarra Benn The Creative Leo of Creative Leo Designs

Season 2 · Episode 18

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  1. 00:00:01.070 – 00:00:07.590 Welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:08.189 – 00:00:14.410 And I have a special guest, a special creative here in Cleveland, Ohio.
  3. 00:00:15.490 – 00:00:19.970 The creative Leo herself, Shakara Ben.
  4. 00:00:20.390 – 00:00:27.210 We're talking Goldman Sachs, small 10,000, small business cohort attendee.
  5. 00:00:28.810 – 00:00:30.870 Who's who in Cleveland?
  6. 00:00:32.310 – 00:00:34.030 Acting you, alumni.
  7. 00:00:34.470 – 00:00:35.350 Like, come on.
  8. 00:00:36.030 – 00:00:38.850 It's representing Ohio at the fullest.
  9. 00:00:39.990 – 00:00:45.690 Ms. Shakara, I know you could introduce yourself more polished and better than I can.
  10. 00:00:46.230 – 00:00:49.150 So tell the people who you are and what you do.
  11. 00:00:51.180 – 00:00:52.460 Hello, everyone.
  12. 00:00:52.460 – 00:01:05.560 I am Shakara Ben, yes, aka the creative Leo of creative Leo designs where I feel that creativity is in everyone's DNA, and that it is up.
  13. 00:01:05.740 – 00:01:09.920 It is for creativity to be seen and heard in every space that you're in.
  14. 00:01:10.320 – 00:01:14.140 We do graphic design and commercial printing.
  15. 00:01:14.140 – 00:01:18.220 We also do a lot of creative consultancy as well.
  16. 00:01:18.620 – 00:01:21.300 So I am like a creative guru.
  17. 00:01:21.880 – 00:01:29.500 And so what that means is that, as I said, creativity is in everybody and each person has their different types.
  18. 00:01:29.880 – 00:01:33.160 So for me, I used to do event planning.
  19. 00:01:33.360 – 00:01:40.420 So I love doing things of that nature with decor and floor arrangements and things of that nature.
  20. 00:01:40.420 – 00:01:50.320 I also love doing graphic design, but I also love doing set design as far as like on a movie set or something like that as well.
  21. 00:01:50.360 – 00:01:53.900 So it's just not graphics that I do.
  22. 00:01:54.640 – 00:01:58.580 So, yeah, I miss creative here in the city of Cleveland.
  23. 00:01:59.560 – 00:02:00.940 Okay, set design.
  24. 00:02:01.200 – 00:02:03.000 I love it.
  25. 00:02:03.000 – 00:02:04.040 Cool, cool, cool.
  26. 00:02:05.080 – 00:02:11.060 So, when did you first learn about creativity?
  27. 00:02:12.020 – 00:02:17.360 Like, when you first heard the word and you learned what it was, when was that?
  28. 00:02:19.670 – 00:02:24.730 I would say when I was younger, my parents used to say, Oh, you're so creative.
  29. 00:02:24.730 – 00:02:27.570 Were you so artistic and things like that?
  30. 00:02:27.590 – 00:02:44.510 Because as a kid, I was that one who had her crayon box and her drawing pad or her coloring boots and things of that nature and was designing clothes and doing all types of stuff, drawing architectural buildings, you name it.
  31. 00:02:44.830 – 00:02:51.130 But I cannot draw the best or anything, but my dad, he can draw amazing.
  32. 00:02:51.130 – 00:02:55.250 And so I would say I first heard it from my parents.
  33. 00:02:56.110 – 00:03:10.870 But I will say that I didn't believe in my creativity until about maybe six years ago, to be honest, because I had to become confident with my creativity as it stands.
  34. 00:03:12.910 – 00:03:22.390 Wow, so like in the midst of COVID, just about when everybody started launching businesses or finding themselves.
  35. 00:03:24.050 – 00:03:29.650 Yeah, COVID stopped my event planning side of the business completely.
  36. 00:03:30.470 – 00:03:37.730 And I had to figure out how do I stay afloat, how do I keep the business going because I was not willing to cave in and so I turned to graphics.
  37. 00:03:37.730 – 00:03:45.350 I used to do graphics quite a bit, but it was more so connected to events that I was going to be doing.
  38. 00:03:46.090 – 00:03:52.450 Well, I started designing COVID t-shirts, COVID mugs, COVID you name it during that time.
  39. 00:03:52.470 – 00:04:01.190 And I made it through COVID, the front end of COVID that way, which actually made it able for me to get my commercial printer.
  40. 00:04:02.690 – 00:04:04.610 And so that's how I transitioned.
  41. 00:04:05.310 – 00:04:09.710 But like year five, right, it was something down the road that I planned to do.
  42. 00:04:09.990 – 00:04:15.650 But then I ended up bumping it up because during COVID, a lot of people were passing away.
  43. 00:04:16.630 – 00:04:19.610 And that's when I also lost my grandmother as well.
  44. 00:04:20.310 – 00:04:29.810 And one of the things that happened during that time was it came time to do her obituary and my family and everybody believed that I could do it.
  45. 00:04:29.810 – 00:04:33.130 You know, you can do it, Cara. I'm like, nah.
  46. 00:04:33.190 – 00:04:36.310 And I sat in front of the computer for days trying to do it.
  47. 00:04:36.310 – 00:04:38.030 And I could not bring myself to do it.
  48. 00:04:38.510 – 00:04:43.250 And so I told my aunt, hey, how the funeral home do it.
  49. 00:04:43.310 – 00:04:44.170 So I just couldn't.
  50. 00:04:45.390 – 00:04:50.910 Like the creativity just shut off. I don't know if it's because of my grandmother's or I don't know.
  51. 00:04:50.950 – 00:04:55.750 It just went away. And I really felt defeated by that though.
  52. 00:04:56.190 – 00:04:59.270 Because when I saw her obituary while it was nice, it was.
  53. 00:04:59.270 – 00:05:02.450 I knew I could have did it once I saw what was done.
  54. 00:05:02.630 – 00:05:04.710 And I said, oh, I could have did this.
  55. 00:05:05.390 – 00:05:14.090 But after that, I realized that for my family, at least, I wanted to make our obituaries.
  56. 00:05:14.370 – 00:05:17.990 You know, I didn't want to feel like I let the family down in that way.
  57. 00:05:18.310 – 00:05:24.990 So I started doing my family's obituaries, unfortunately, as time went on until now.
  58. 00:05:24.990 – 00:05:27.990 But I started doing obituaries, period.
  59. 00:05:28.250 – 00:05:36.390 And I do a lot of obituaries now and work with federal homes here in the city and some kind of out of state.
  60. 00:05:38.010 – 00:05:41.690 And so my creativity began to expand and grow.
  61. 00:05:42.710 – 00:05:50.190 Also, I never thought that I would do obituaries, by the way, because it's a sensitive area and still is for me.
  62. 00:05:50.190 – 00:05:52.150 Still is. Still is.
  63. 00:05:52.790 – 00:05:59.090 But I began to look at it differently from a different perspective, is that I'm preserving someone's legacy.
  64. 00:06:01.530 – 00:06:05.330 And culturally, in the back family, we passed out obituaries.
  65. 00:06:05.410 – 00:06:07.790 They become part of the family.
  66. 00:06:09.130 – 00:06:11.290 So I wanted to be a part of that.
  67. 00:06:11.290 – 00:06:21.910 And so I have been a part of creating the one thing that can last within that person's legacy and print for.
  68. 00:06:22.730 – 00:06:24.090 So I look at it that way.
  69. 00:06:27.610 – 00:06:28.990 That's amazing to hear.
  70. 00:06:29.250 – 00:06:31.390 And I definitely commend you for that.
  71. 00:06:32.250 – 00:06:37.450 Like, for me, a similar story, just to keep it short.
  72. 00:06:38.160 – 00:06:48.770 The reason I got back into photography was it was like more so when I was a young kid, like kindergarten, first grade,
  73. 00:06:50.330 – 00:06:58.690 walking around with a 12-shot wound up film camera, disposable film camera, and always wasted shots in like two minutes.
  74. 00:07:01.070 – 00:07:10.090 I saw like a lot of my history dissolving and fading away and didn't have that documentation, that photograph,
  75. 00:07:10.230 – 00:07:14.770 the show, a family member, a friend, a loved one, key dates.
  76. 00:07:15.690 – 00:07:21.730 Like, you know how they have MTV Cribs, they rolling down the street like, yeah, I grew up in that house when I was a kid.
  77. 00:07:22.110 – 00:07:23.650 I graduated from this school.
  78. 00:07:23.650 – 00:07:27.170 Like, my hospital, Euclid Hospital, gone.
  79. 00:07:27.830 – 00:07:29.410 Elementary, gone.
  80. 00:07:30.850 – 00:07:33.530 Childhood, home, tore down.
  81. 00:07:34.390 – 00:07:38.810 Now, now, Collingwood, my high school, it's no longer in this.
  82. 00:07:38.890 – 00:07:41.090 Like, it's crazy, all these things.
  83. 00:07:41.870 – 00:07:43.910 It's more, but it's so much.
  84. 00:07:43.990 – 00:07:47.050 And it's like, wow, I really don't have a record of this.
  85. 00:07:47.050 – 00:07:52.910 So I'm like, in a sense, me being a photographer, yeah, I capture moments,
  86. 00:07:53.030 – 00:07:57.330 but it's more so me positioning myself as a historian.
  87. 00:07:58.290 – 00:07:58.810 Right.
  88. 00:07:58.810 – 00:08:00.390 Like you say, event planner.
  89. 00:08:00.530 – 00:08:03.490 That's why I love event planners, because y'all get it.
  90. 00:08:03.630 – 00:08:09.990 And like, I just spent three hours on the call yesterday going over an event, and we got the foundation down pack.
  91. 00:08:10.050 – 00:08:13.670 That's good, but there's still a lot more to talk about.
  92. 00:08:14.670 – 00:08:20.750 And each event only happens that day and that period of time.
  93. 00:08:20.750 – 00:08:22.470 So go back to that historian.
  94. 00:08:23.110 – 00:08:27.410 And that's why I felt compelled to, like, just go all in.
  95. 00:08:27.810 – 00:08:35.450 From an artist being on stage to an artist behind the camera documenting key moments.
  96. 00:08:36.390 – 00:08:37.270 For sure.
  97. 00:08:37.270 – 00:08:48.690 You know, because as creatives, we have a way of how we can let our legacy live, you know?
  98. 00:08:49.390 – 00:08:52.430 And we all can capture it in many different ways.
  99. 00:08:54.250 – 00:09:02.150 I know that I always tell people, it's crazy because I was going to do a post about this coming up, but it's true.
  100. 00:09:02.150 – 00:09:07.730 I wanted to tell people, hey, in your life, you know, make sure you take pictures.
  101. 00:09:08.310 – 00:09:10.510 Make sure you go get some professional pictures.
  102. 00:09:11.010 – 00:09:13.390 Make sure you take pictures with family and friends.
  103. 00:09:13.430 – 00:09:14.270 Make sure.
  104. 00:09:14.670 – 00:09:22.310 Because I can't tell you how many obituary cover pictures I've gotten, and the family say, well, this is all we had.
  105. 00:09:23.290 – 00:09:31.290 And honestly, I had a moment one day, and I didn't know the person I was doing the obituary for at all.
  106. 00:09:31.290 – 00:09:32.870 But I got emotional.
  107. 00:09:33.370 – 00:09:41.670 And I think it might be because I wanted to know the story, but the family said, we only have the driver license picture.
  108. 00:09:43.230 – 00:09:46.730 And I just couldn't process it, but I had to.
  109. 00:09:47.310 – 00:09:48.970 And that was the picture I had to use.
  110. 00:09:49.050 – 00:09:52.530 And in my head, I kept thinking, why?
  111. 00:09:53.230 – 00:09:56.210 Why would you only have a driver's license picture?
  112. 00:09:57.370 – 00:10:00.330 You know, did no one want to take pictures of you?
  113. 00:10:00.330 – 00:10:01.390 Did you not?
  114. 00:10:01.690 – 00:10:12.550 And obviously, I would never have the answers, but it made me emotional because I feel like we all should be celebrated while we're living in Africa.
  115. 00:10:14.170 – 00:10:18.230 And I just was curious, like, how could you not have pictures?
  116. 00:10:18.910 – 00:10:23.050 And how do you go through, you know, without having any?
  117. 00:10:23.050 – 00:10:27.370 And again, I won't have the answers, but it just made me feel sad.
  118. 00:10:27.470 – 00:10:32.590 And I just want people to know, celebrate, take pictures, capture these moments.
  119. 00:10:34.390 – 00:10:37.250 They can be passed down as you see it.
  120. 00:10:37.270 – 00:10:48.810 And so I just want for us to really kind of think about the end, even though we may not want to.
  121. 00:10:48.810 – 00:10:50.650 It's a real thing.
  122. 00:10:52.490 – 00:10:54.930 And what's going to be on that front cover?
  123. 00:10:55.250 – 00:10:56.750 Are you going to have a picture?
  124. 00:10:58.630 – 00:11:04.790 So, yeah, I resonate with the capturing moments for sure.
  125. 00:11:05.390 – 00:11:05.910 Wow.
  126. 00:11:06.850 – 00:11:07.190 Wow.
  127. 00:11:07.670 – 00:11:10.030 That is heavy.
  128. 00:11:10.190 – 00:11:22.870 And I'm thinking like, wow, just the driver's license picture is the only, in a sense, memory we have to show the only memory we have to look back at.
  129. 00:11:23.250 – 00:11:26.850 It's like, wow, that's powerful.
  130. 00:11:27.010 – 00:11:32.270 And, you know, we have access to these smartphones now that comes with cameras.
  131. 00:11:32.270 – 00:11:37.770 So everybody could take a picture every second of the day if they wanted to.
  132. 00:11:38.370 – 00:11:38.470 Right.
  133. 00:11:40.520 – 00:11:43.080 So, I mean, really, it's no excuse.
  134. 00:11:43.180 – 00:11:50.640 But like you said, it's good to get those professional pictures and pictures with family and friends and business partners as well.
  135. 00:11:51.720 – 00:11:56.800 Like, it took a while to get professional pictures with my team.
  136. 00:11:57.060 – 00:11:57.920 Like, it's crazy.
  137. 00:11:59.300 – 00:12:00.440 So yeah, it's important.
  138. 00:12:01.680 – 00:12:02.700 It is.
  139. 00:12:02.960 – 00:12:10.740 It's actually making me think like, wow, I need to share my story.
  140. 00:12:12.340 – 00:12:13.020 Yeah.
  141. 00:12:14.580 – 00:12:16.540 Yeah, photos are important.
  142. 00:12:20.300 – 00:12:22.320 I might have to do some self-reflection after this.
  143. 00:12:25.220 – 00:12:32.000 Yeah, my outlook has been changed drastically because I do a picture race every week.
  144. 00:12:33.260 – 00:12:36.560 Is that, would you say, like a target audience?
  145. 00:12:39.120 – 00:12:45.100 No, I would say my target audience is still creativity.
  146. 00:12:46.040 – 00:12:52.240 And what I mean by that is, you know, I love to be called upon for any types of creativity.
  147. 00:12:54.500 – 00:12:58.460 It's not the only thing that I want to print or, you know, things like that.
  148. 00:12:59.080 – 00:13:11.400 But it is something that I sometimes it's hard for me to kind of tease it out.
  149. 00:13:11.480 – 00:13:12.840 That makes sense.
  150. 00:13:13.480 – 00:13:14.370 So let's talk about it.
  151. 00:13:14.970 – 00:13:19.730 Yeah, so like I want to so I do a bit to where she is, but also do logos.
  152. 00:13:19.930 – 00:13:20.470 I do flyers.
  153. 00:13:20.950 – 00:13:22.050 I do websites.
  154. 00:13:22.890 – 00:13:23.890 I do business cards.
  155. 00:13:23.950 – 00:13:25.050 I do billboards.
  156. 00:13:25.530 – 00:13:27.770 You know, I do brand strategies.
  157. 00:13:27.770 – 00:13:29.590 I am a creative strategist.
  158. 00:13:30.850 – 00:13:36.510 I work with businesses to creatively think about how they can market their business.
  159. 00:13:36.650 – 00:13:39.510 How can they position their business for growth?
  160. 00:13:40.390 – 00:13:48.130 How can they position their business for different growth levels that may make, you know, phase one, two, three and four.
  161. 00:13:48.630 – 00:13:51.630 My creativity comes on everything that I do.
  162. 00:13:52.170 – 00:13:52.550 Right.
  163. 00:13:53.670 – 00:13:58.270 But does it mean that it's only one thing I want to do?
  164. 00:13:58.510 – 00:13:58.790 No.
  165. 00:13:59.090 – 00:14:02.510 And I couldn't see myself doing one thing.
  166. 00:14:02.870 – 00:14:03.750 You know what I mean?
  167. 00:14:04.830 – 00:14:10.590 So that's the thing I'm, you know, sometimes I have a hard time with.
  168. 00:14:10.950 – 00:14:14.450 But there are some things that I just know I'm just not in the space no more of doing.
  169. 00:14:14.650 – 00:14:19.050 So like event planning, I'm going to refer that out.
  170. 00:14:19.130 – 00:14:26.770 Hey, I know someone else because I can't I don't have the capacity anymore to do the work that has to go into that.
  171. 00:14:26.770 – 00:14:37.790 But it doesn't mean that I can't maybe creatively strategize with you for your event to help you understand different angles you can use with it and leave it at that.
  172. 00:14:38.610 – 00:14:40.770 So it's just interesting.
  173. 00:14:41.950 – 00:14:46.370 I'm in different projects, multiple projects.
  174. 00:14:47.290 – 00:14:50.550 What would you say is your dream project?
  175. 00:14:50.850 – 00:14:54.570 Like if you could wake up and be like, I'm ready to get to work.
  176. 00:14:55.230 – 00:14:56.810 What would that be?
  177. 00:14:58.650 – 00:15:04.990 My dream project is I want to do the graphics for a movie.
  178. 00:15:06.730 – 00:15:09.650 I would like to do opening credits, ending credits.
  179. 00:15:09.790 – 00:15:13.410 I would like to do the graphics within the movie.
  180. 00:15:14.630 – 00:15:25.150 As far as like, like you may, you know how we might see a city and the bus may say that city's metropolitan bus district, da da da da.
  181. 00:15:25.430 – 00:15:30.050 But that's really not real. It's graphics that's put in within the filming.
  182. 00:15:30.830 – 00:15:32.690 So it can look like it's there.
  183. 00:15:33.490 – 00:15:37.090 So I want to be on a movie set.
  184. 00:15:37.090 – 00:15:42.170 And I want to be active in that space.
  185. 00:15:42.590 – 00:15:46.410 So I joined the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.
  186. 00:15:47.770 – 00:15:57.910 I went to learn how you could become a TA on a set and, you know, really putting in some time, really trying to network that space.
  187. 00:15:58.450 – 00:16:06.210 But I know I can do it, you know, or have the opportunity to do set design for a movie.
  188. 00:16:06.210 – 00:16:09.490 In that space or play or something.
  189. 00:16:10.270 – 00:16:18.950 Again, I'm talking about on a large scale movie at that, but, you know, some something big.
  190. 00:16:19.030 – 00:16:21.070 But yeah, that's my dream.
  191. 00:16:21.330 – 00:16:22.970 Have you ever done a movie before?
  192. 00:16:24.170 – 00:16:29.390 No, I've done some set designs, but not for a major movie at all.
  193. 00:16:30.390 – 00:16:33.670 So I could tell you the story.
  194. 00:16:35.750 – 00:16:41.730 A movie starts with an S, been around for a while, originated in Cleveland.
  195. 00:16:43.590 – 00:16:46.270 Superhero. You know what that movie is?
  196. 00:16:47.470 – 00:16:48.150 Superman.
  197. 00:16:49.570 – 00:16:51.110 Yeah. Yep.
  198. 00:16:51.110 – 00:17:06.010 So I kind of got shining really, really cute and looked frowned upon because this was my first movie ever that I got to work on set for.
  199. 00:17:06.450 – 00:17:09.530 My first day and I learned Superman as a PA.
  200. 00:17:10.829 – 00:17:14.650 And people were just bashing me out.
  201. 00:17:15.290 – 00:17:20.410 How you get this? I've been working in the movie for seven years and I couldn't get it.
  202. 00:17:20.770 – 00:17:23.150 It was like so much like dang.
  203. 00:17:23.630 – 00:17:29.990 But it's going back to who you know and going back to the Cleveland Film Commission who helped get me back.
  204. 00:17:30.770 – 00:17:36.210 I'm working with the people, the staff of Warner Brothers in New Orleans.
  205. 00:17:36.470 – 00:17:38.970 And it's about the network.
  206. 00:17:39.870 – 00:17:43.630 It is. Networking is huge in that industry.
  207. 00:17:43.830 – 00:17:46.350 It was huge period. Don't get me wrong.
  208. 00:17:46.510 – 00:17:49.990 But in that industry, it's way bigger.
  209. 00:17:51.010 – 00:17:52.970 And actually learning who people are.
  210. 00:17:52.970 – 00:18:01.010 But I feel like networking in general is something you have to do to get out here to be seen and heard.
  211. 00:18:01.190 – 00:18:06.170 You cannot just expect people to heard about you.
  212. 00:18:06.330 – 00:18:08.750 And then it don't work like that.
  213. 00:18:08.930 – 00:18:14.930 Because even in those cases, people want to see you showing up.
  214. 00:18:14.950 – 00:18:17.450 They want to see you getting active in different things.
  215. 00:18:17.450 – 00:18:25.630 And so I keep trying to be active as best possible in that space.
  216. 00:18:27.410 – 00:18:29.370 Because I know one day it's going to happen, right?
  217. 00:18:29.370 – 00:18:32.790 And I got to be ready. But that is my dream.
  218. 00:18:34.530 – 00:18:40.050 And just being in some type of production space as well, I actually like that type of stuff.
  219. 00:18:40.830 – 00:18:41.810 Okay, okay.
  220. 00:18:41.830 – 00:18:43.650 So that's why I say I'm a creative.
  221. 00:18:43.650 – 00:18:46.430 It's not just I do the graphics.
  222. 00:18:46.690 – 00:18:53.190 No, I can also probably be on set and lean to other different areas creatively.
  223. 00:18:56.490 – 00:18:57.770 Creative chameleon.
  224. 00:19:00.570 – 00:19:02.550 I like that. I like that.
  225. 00:19:03.090 – 00:19:08.410 So yeah, I was speaking with my daughter yesterday, my oldest daughter.
  226. 00:19:08.410 – 00:19:14.810 I was telling her about, like you said, event planning, going over different events.
  227. 00:19:16.130 – 00:19:17.770 And one of the aspects was networking.
  228. 00:19:17.890 – 00:19:19.010 And she's like, what's networking?
  229. 00:19:19.570 – 00:19:25.390 So I was just explaining to her, you meet someone typically new that you may not know.
  230. 00:19:25.530 – 00:19:31.450 Tell them about yourself, what you do, what they need help in, and how you could possibly help them.
  231. 00:19:33.150 – 00:19:37.050 So yeah, networking is definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely powerful.
  232. 00:19:38.290 – 00:19:40.490 And that movie is going to come through.
  233. 00:19:41.230 – 00:19:48.210 Maybe even if we got to come up with a movie script and create a movie set, it's going to happen.
  234. 00:19:48.630 – 00:19:50.050 Trust me, it's going to happen.
  235. 00:19:52.710 – 00:19:58.990 Because I'm like, you know, I'm like, okay, you know how you had a bucket list for life?
  236. 00:19:59.970 – 00:20:06.030 I'm like, okay, maybe as I get older or something, I'll be on the set or things like that.
  237. 00:20:06.030 – 00:20:08.770 And I'll just see it, you know, and I'll feel it.
  238. 00:20:08.790 – 00:20:10.510 And so I'm like, okay, it's coming.
  239. 00:20:10.930 – 00:20:15.130 You know, but I have my list in general, though.
  240. 00:20:15.170 – 00:20:16.630 So that's one thing on the list.
  241. 00:20:16.850 – 00:20:19.570 But I still got my list of things I want to do.
  242. 00:20:20.490 – 00:20:22.370 So yeah, yeah.
  243. 00:20:23.190 – 00:20:24.350 Oh yeah, it's coming.
  244. 00:20:24.990 – 00:20:28.170 And I know they do, I think, quarterly networking events.
  245. 00:20:29.010 – 00:20:29.270 Yep.
  246. 00:20:29.470 – 00:20:29.850 I'm not sure.
  247. 00:20:32.590 – 00:20:37.570 It's definitely a great networking ecosystem to be a part of.
  248. 00:20:37.950 – 00:20:38.490 It is.
  249. 00:20:39.110 – 00:20:42.070 Is that where we met or did we meet at something else?
  250. 00:20:42.270 – 00:20:47.370 I feel like we met or seen each other so many times, but we officially met.
  251. 00:20:49.890 – 00:20:51.890 I think it was some event with Ray.
  252. 00:20:53.290 – 00:20:55.790 It was, but I think it was the commission event.
  253. 00:20:56.190 – 00:20:56.850 I really do.
  254. 00:20:58.430 – 00:20:59.210 Two years ago?
  255. 00:21:00.690 – 00:21:01.170 Yeah.
  256. 00:21:03.110 – 00:21:07.510 I believe it was at one of their events.
  257. 00:21:08.790 – 00:21:11.890 We met, but we didn't talk talk, but we met.
  258. 00:21:12.330 – 00:21:16.050 And then later on we talked and began to talk.
  259. 00:21:16.250 – 00:21:18.310 But yeah, pretty sure.
  260. 00:21:19.790 – 00:21:21.090 Look, we be out here.
  261. 00:21:21.270 – 00:21:22.250 That's how much.
  262. 00:21:22.250 – 00:21:23.290 I know, right?
  263. 00:21:23.430 – 00:21:24.550 We blend together.
  264. 00:21:24.550 – 00:21:26.350 And the memory not helping.
  265. 00:21:26.710 – 00:21:29.350 The memory is a little bit glitchy.
  266. 00:21:30.610 – 00:21:32.750 I know you, you know me.
  267. 00:21:33.350 – 00:21:35.610 Yeah, that's what matters now.
  268. 00:21:35.650 – 00:21:37.230 We know each other, like you said.
  269. 00:21:40.070 – 00:21:47.150 So I know you transitioned from event planning and more of the creative field.
  270. 00:21:48.010 – 00:21:59.910 I know creative is more, like you said, that creative, a different side of your brain than event planning, which may be more logical and logistical.
  271. 00:22:00.490 – 00:22:05.270 So how did you kind of shift your brain and mindset to be more creative?
  272. 00:22:08.130 – 00:22:15.230 So first I had to start to trust my creativity and be confident in my creativity.
  273. 00:22:16.090 – 00:22:23.690 As I said, you know, a few years ago, I made that that that switch mentally.
  274. 00:22:24.190 – 00:22:32.330 I was being very hard on myself about my creativity and critiquing it and and all types of things, honestly.
  275. 00:22:32.650 – 00:22:38.810 But I realized that our creativity is supposed to be unique.
  276. 00:22:38.810 – 00:22:47.930 And so because it's not to be duplicated because it's connected to that person and no one person can be duplicated.
  277. 00:22:48.610 – 00:22:59.250 So if that's the case, then my creativity can be liked by someone else, just as well as someone else's creativity can also be liked by the same person.
  278. 00:22:59.470 – 00:23:04.190 But it doesn't mean that I shouldn't like my creativity versus the other person's right.
  279. 00:23:04.190 – 00:23:08.670 Like somebody else's creativity shouldn't dictate if yours is good or not.
  280. 00:23:09.710 – 00:23:11.930 All creativity is good.
  281. 00:23:12.550 – 00:23:13.630 All creativity.
  282. 00:23:15.030 – 00:23:18.370 Yeah, I feel like all creativity is needed.
  283. 00:23:19.690 – 00:23:27.310 Because I do feel like if we didn't have it, the world would stand still and would not have evolved.
  284. 00:23:29.210 – 00:23:37.730 Because I feel like creativity also is creating solutions to problems that society is facing.
  285. 00:23:38.690 – 00:23:48.470 Whether it's somebody creatively, critically thought about something, then it helps, right?
  286. 00:23:48.710 – 00:23:54.910 So the stoplight, you know, somebody said, hey, you know, we got not somebody.
  287. 00:23:54.910 – 00:23:57.330 But it actually happened here in Cleveland.
  288. 00:23:59.490 – 00:24:06.810 So when the stoplight was created, it was like, you know, hey, we need to do something to control traffic more better.
  289. 00:24:07.210 – 00:24:08.490 People are getting killed.
  290. 00:24:09.150 – 00:24:10.590 You know, these are happening.
  291. 00:24:11.270 – 00:24:18.250 So families were losing people or things of that nature because of an issue, a problem.
  292. 00:24:18.250 – 00:24:23.910 And then it was solved by having traffic lights, you know, to keep people safe.
  293. 00:24:25.050 – 00:24:30.530 That's something that has withstand the test of time, period, hands down.
  294. 00:24:31.030 – 00:24:37.050 And it's actually one of like my little quirky, corny things that I love as far as that has been created.
  295. 00:24:37.630 – 00:24:45.210 I'm a very creative nerd when it comes to how things are made or why they were made and things like that.
  296. 00:24:46.200 – 00:24:54.330 But without that, you know, if we didn't have stoplights right now, what would be going on?
  297. 00:24:55.350 – 00:24:58.630 Well, how would this be processing, you know?
  298. 00:24:59.390 – 00:25:02.310 And so each and that was in that space.
  299. 00:25:02.410 – 00:25:06.570 Right. So I just like creativity in different spaces matter.
  300. 00:25:07.330 – 00:25:12.130 You can have open heart surgery now with microscopic arms.
  301. 00:25:13.050 – 00:25:14.930 Somebody had a thought first.
  302. 00:25:15.150 – 00:25:19.090 Creativity always starts with a thought before action happens.
  303. 00:25:19.950 – 00:25:25.330 Then it gets turned into the action that it needs to be or however in each different spaces.
  304. 00:25:25.710 – 00:25:28.370 I'm not in the medical space at all.
  305. 00:25:29.630 – 00:25:38.310 But if people are able to have open heart surgery or that massive surgeries without having open heart and risking that and things like that, that's amazing.
  306. 00:25:39.030 – 00:25:40.910 That's helping somebody.
  307. 00:25:41.710 – 00:25:43.990 If I had a heart problem, I would be happy.
  308. 00:25:44.370 – 00:25:48.570 Somebody creatively begin to engineer that and to create it.
  309. 00:25:49.250 – 00:25:53.710 You know, so I just say that creativity is needed.
  310. 00:25:54.010 – 00:26:00.830 Like everybody needs it in their space because it's saving lives in that case.
  311. 00:26:01.610 – 00:26:01.710 Right.
  312. 00:26:02.210 – 00:26:04.810 And then it's saving lives with the traffic light.
  313. 00:26:04.810 – 00:26:15.190 But at the same time, in the medical field, you know, the when they're pumping air, when you're doing a CPR first day, somebody thought about that.
  314. 00:26:15.930 – 00:26:16.530 That's it.
  315. 00:26:16.530 – 00:26:25.050 It's things out here that is when you sit back and really look at things around you, you will see creativity totally different.
  316. 00:26:25.970 – 00:26:30.030 But you're like, wait a minute, or, oh, they made it this way for that reason.
  317. 00:26:31.510 – 00:26:34.450 This is adapting to evolution.
  318. 00:26:36.090 – 00:26:37.490 Our creations are adapted.
  319. 00:26:38.210 – 00:26:40.110 This is why we got iPhone 17.
  320. 00:26:40.650 – 00:26:45.170 When I first got an iPhone, I was sophomore in college and I was so excited.
  321. 00:26:45.310 – 00:26:48.090 I had an iPod and an iPhone 4.
  322. 00:26:48.490 – 00:26:49.310 I had a 4.
  323. 00:26:49.370 – 00:26:50.550 Now we have 17.
  324. 00:26:51.390 – 00:26:57.770 If you go look at the versions of iPhones and the versions of Androids over the time,
  325. 00:26:57.770 – 00:27:01.110 mind you, I'm only 38.
  326. 00:27:01.710 – 00:27:07.410 I used to have to hit A, B, C, you know, J, K, L to text.
  327. 00:27:08.470 – 00:27:12.010 Now I can just talk to my phone, you know, text.
  328. 00:27:12.230 – 00:27:13.750 I can record it to the voice note.
  329. 00:27:14.550 – 00:27:20.830 That is because of creativity and evolution over time.
  330. 00:27:21.370 – 00:27:21.930 Period.
  331. 00:27:22.210 – 00:27:23.150 Started with thought.
  332. 00:27:24.210 – 00:27:24.710 Yeah.
  333. 00:27:25.510 – 00:27:37.390 Well, when I ask all creativity, because, you know, you've seen these chat GPT flyers,
  334. 00:27:37.410 – 00:27:39.650 and I want to get your opinion on that too.
  335. 00:27:39.930 – 00:27:42.310 Is that still creativity?
  336. 00:27:44.530 – 00:27:46.230 For me, it is.
  337. 00:27:46.270 – 00:27:47.190 Here's what I'm going to say.
  338. 00:27:47.710 – 00:27:53.730 Now, is the output not the best when it comes to if they start looking alike?
  339. 00:27:53.730 – 00:27:56.110 No, but I am going to say this.
  340. 00:27:56.230 – 00:28:00.030 You can also talk to it differently to make it change the look as well.
  341. 00:28:00.870 – 00:28:04.230 I think AI in itself is creativity.
  342. 00:28:05.470 – 00:28:07.550 Hands down, it is.
  343. 00:28:07.890 – 00:28:11.770 We watch futuristic movies all the time, right?
  344. 00:28:12.970 – 00:28:15.790 I do believe one day there's going to be some hover cars.
  345. 00:28:15.910 – 00:28:23.430 I might not live to see it as far as like the actual cars that people are using or things like that.
  346. 00:28:23.430 – 00:28:27.830 But I do believe that technology is going to continue to advance.
  347. 00:28:28.530 – 00:28:32.510 It's going to advance because we are advancing it.
  348. 00:28:32.650 – 00:28:34.690 We are creating the advancement.
  349. 00:28:35.270 – 00:28:36.750 And it's just the truth.
  350. 00:28:38.430 – 00:28:47.310 For instance, the other day, I was on the airplane, and I'm used to the airplane having plugs or the port to plug on my phone.
  351. 00:28:48.170 – 00:28:49.890 And this airplane didn't have that.
  352. 00:28:49.890 – 00:28:53.870 And I was just, my mouth was wide open, like, where's the plugs?
  353. 00:28:55.010 – 00:28:57.830 Acting as if I was not born in 87.
  354. 00:28:59.010 – 00:29:04.270 When we, you know, growing up, no plugs or no airplane, you know what I mean?
  355. 00:29:06.630 – 00:29:12.930 But technology is convenient for us.
  356. 00:29:14.430 – 00:29:16.490 And it makes things easier.
  357. 00:29:16.490 – 00:29:22.450 We are becoming a society that is adapting to easier.
  358. 00:29:26.030 – 00:29:28.430 Kids now, you know, can I get an Uber?
  359. 00:29:29.310 – 00:29:30.270 Can I get a Lyft?
  360. 00:29:30.630 – 00:29:32.510 They're not doing the RTA.
  361. 00:29:32.730 – 00:29:33.450 I don't know.
  362. 00:29:34.250 – 00:29:36.270 You know, we didn't have money for taxis.
  363. 00:29:36.610 – 00:29:37.010 Okay.
  364. 00:29:37.210 – 00:29:45.330 So you had to go ahead, bust that move, get on Auntie Rita, get to where you got to get to go into if you want to meet your friends now.
  365. 00:29:45.330 – 00:29:46.050 Or walk.
  366. 00:29:46.870 – 00:29:48.010 Yeah, or walk.
  367. 00:29:48.290 – 00:29:48.770 You're right.
  368. 00:29:50.370 – 00:29:52.310 You got to, can we get an Uber?
  369. 00:29:52.370 – 00:29:56.990 And kids ultimately don't want to do stuff because they, I don't have a ride.
  370. 00:29:57.570 – 00:29:58.570 Get on the bus.
  371. 00:29:58.630 – 00:29:59.990 No, I'm not doing that.
  372. 00:30:00.510 – 00:30:02.030 Times are changing.
  373. 00:30:02.450 – 00:30:07.030 But it's because of creativity that is changing.
  374. 00:30:07.390 – 00:30:14.550 So if the Uber app was never thought, it never happened, Lyft never happened, what would these kids be doing?
  375. 00:30:16.730 – 00:30:18.710 They can't have money for the taxi, right?
  376. 00:30:18.710 – 00:30:19.850 So they need to get on the bus.
  377. 00:30:20.330 – 00:30:24.830 The bus system will still be active, but times keep changing.
  378. 00:30:25.310 – 00:30:29.690 So I think that AI is a part of our time change.
  379. 00:30:30.970 – 00:30:36.990 And then eventually, you know, the next decade and decade after that, things are going to continue to evolve.
  380. 00:30:37.750 – 00:30:49.330 But it's not necessarily a bad, bad thing unless, unless people begin to rely on it in such a way where they forget the fundamentals.
  381. 00:30:50.570 – 00:30:57.910 So would you say you stuck somewhere if it's an emergency versus getting on the bus?
  382. 00:30:58.190 – 00:30:59.950 Like would you not get on the bus?
  383. 00:31:00.230 – 00:31:01.850 You know, that type of stuff.
  384. 00:31:01.850 – 00:31:09.510 When it begins to maybe alter the mind process of thinking, I'll say, OK, we got some problems.
  385. 00:31:10.150 – 00:31:16.570 But for some people and for some designers, they're not liking AI.
  386. 00:31:16.690 – 00:31:17.970 I get it.
  387. 00:31:18.090 – 00:31:21.930 I mean, because it can affect us, you know, honestly.
  388. 00:31:22.870 – 00:31:30.190 But at the same time, I know that AI can't do some of the stuff we can do still.
  389. 00:31:31.190 – 00:31:34.130 Now, again, maybe down the road, who knows?
  390. 00:31:34.210 – 00:31:34.790 I don't know.
  391. 00:31:34.970 – 00:31:41.610 But I know it's not going to stop because the creativity, the evolution of creativity is evolving.
  392. 00:31:42.410 – 00:31:44.310 And we can't stop it.
  393. 00:31:44.470 – 00:31:54.630 We can't stop it because we if we did stop it or if it does stop society, the world will stop.
  394. 00:31:55.350 – 00:31:57.330 I mean, you know, I mean, we will be stuck in time.
  395. 00:31:57.330 – 00:32:06.310 You know, just. Just imagine, you know, when I remember being gas being 99 cent when I was younger.
  396. 00:32:06.770 – 00:32:08.470 What have we stayed in that?
  397. 00:32:08.610 – 00:32:10.050 What if it stayed right?
  398. 00:32:10.870 – 00:32:19.130 You know, what the with that pricing that's going up, would the economy be able to withstand if things stayed at a certain cost?
  399. 00:32:19.470 – 00:32:22.390 So that means that minimum wage will stay where it's at.
  400. 00:32:22.950 – 00:32:25.650 Everything is evolving with or without us.
  401. 00:32:25.650 – 00:32:27.010 We can't stop it.
  402. 00:32:27.150 – 00:32:29.290 It just it's naturally happening.
  403. 00:32:32.530 – 00:32:35.290 I mean, it'd be nice if we'd spend 99 cent a gallon.
  404. 00:32:35.350 – 00:32:36.390 Don't get me wrong.
  405. 00:32:36.610 – 00:32:39.890 And I wouldn't mind my 25 cent bag of chips, you know.
  406. 00:32:41.090 – 00:32:46.090 But yeah, no, that's that's that's a pastime now.
  407. 00:32:46.650 – 00:32:49.810 And only some of us are going to know the pastime at that.
  408. 00:32:49.810 – 00:32:54.490 You know, someone who's 18 don't know about 25 cent bag chips.
  409. 00:32:55.490 – 00:32:55.970 Period.
  410. 00:32:57.130 – 00:32:58.450 Four for a dollar.
  411. 00:32:58.730 – 00:33:00.250 OK, four for a dollar.
  412. 00:33:00.970 – 00:33:02.190 You know, you have three dollars.
  413. 00:33:02.770 – 00:33:06.290 You come back with a nice little store for a nice little bag from the corner store.
  414. 00:33:06.470 – 00:33:08.110 You know, a couple days.
  415. 00:33:08.650 – 00:33:09.110 Yeah.
  416. 00:33:10.410 – 00:33:11.890 Right. Not right.
  417. 00:33:12.390 – 00:33:13.330 And so it's crazy.
  418. 00:33:13.390 – 00:33:18.510 So it's kind of like, do we want things to be bought or do we want things to stand still?
  419. 00:33:18.510 – 00:33:24.530 And I think selfishly, some of us to a degree, we want some pieces to stay the same
  420. 00:33:24.530 – 00:33:26.410 and we want some pieces to get better.
  421. 00:33:26.850 – 00:33:27.290 Yeah.
  422. 00:33:27.390 – 00:33:33.270 And then, you know, I can honestly say there's some things I'm like, oh, we need to do better with this.
  423. 00:33:33.650 – 00:33:36.530 But there's some areas I'm like, no, let's just keep it the same.
  424. 00:33:37.050 – 00:33:38.870 Like some recipes have changed.
  425. 00:33:39.990 – 00:33:42.890 You know, McDonald's fries back in the day used to.
  426. 00:33:43.170 – 00:33:44.570 Yeah, those was good.
  427. 00:33:44.570 – 00:33:46.510 Now, I don't know what that means.
  428. 00:33:46.750 – 00:33:47.850 It's disgusting.
  429. 00:33:48.370 – 00:33:49.730 You know what I mean?
  430. 00:33:50.250 – 00:33:54.950 And so but I remembered a good version of a milkshake.
  431. 00:33:55.470 – 00:33:58.890 And so some things I just don't think should have changed.
  432. 00:33:59.950 – 00:34:04.670 But how do you go through years without changing?
  433. 00:34:04.970 – 00:34:07.290 Because there's going to be new thoughts, right?
  434. 00:34:07.430 – 00:34:09.449 There's going to be new ways to do things.
  435. 00:34:10.750 – 00:34:17.770 If you think about like the movie The Hunger Games, how they would have all the holograms
  436. 00:34:17.770 – 00:34:20.670 and stuff pop up and things like that.
  437. 00:34:20.810 – 00:34:23.030 Well, that's a real thing.
  438. 00:34:23.909 – 00:34:26.949 We just haven't seen it out facing yet.
  439. 00:34:27.350 – 00:34:28.270 You know what I mean?
  440. 00:34:28.929 – 00:34:32.310 But that's possible because this is what I say.
  441. 00:34:33.139 – 00:34:41.370 The things we see in movies, the thoughts behind it has to have some possibility.
  442. 00:34:42.750 – 00:34:43.170 Some.
  443. 00:34:44.250 – 00:34:45.870 I'm not saying all, but some.
  444. 00:34:46.449 – 00:34:53.510 If you can create it in a movie, even if it's digitally, you can maybe create it for real.
  445. 00:34:53.550 – 00:34:55.429 And that's why people are evolving.
  446. 00:34:58.050 – 00:35:01.090 I've had the, if I can go back in time.
  447. 00:35:01.090 – 00:35:01.730 All right.
  448. 00:35:01.850 – 00:35:04.190 So again, my corny moment.
  449. 00:35:04.490 – 00:35:11.030 But I would love to go to like one of those old school, like 1912 world fairs.
  450. 00:35:11.030 – 00:35:15.010 You go see the new inventions coming up and what people are trying to do.
  451. 00:35:15.230 – 00:35:16.850 I would love to go see that.
  452. 00:35:18.070 – 00:35:23.970 Because I know it was creativity in its purest moment, per se.
  453. 00:35:24.710 – 00:35:27.390 And so from that type of things to now,
  454. 00:35:27.970 – 00:35:31.610 if we had a world fair now, what would it look like?
  455. 00:35:32.950 – 00:35:33.890 Well, let's do it.
  456. 00:35:33.950 – 00:35:34.910 Let's bring it back.
  457. 00:35:36.090 – 00:35:40.090 You know, I thought about it and I really, really, it was on my spirit.
  458. 00:35:40.570 – 00:35:41.530 It's on my list.
  459. 00:35:41.630 – 00:35:43.050 Let me say that it's on my list.
  460. 00:35:43.130 – 00:35:45.150 And I do want to do one.
  461. 00:35:46.350 – 00:35:48.750 Only because I feel like creativity again.
  462. 00:35:49.050 – 00:35:55.630 Don't people see creativity as art, artistic form, drawing, color?
  463. 00:35:55.870 – 00:35:56.230 No.
  464. 00:35:56.230 – 00:35:58.230 I don't see it that way.
  465. 00:35:58.450 – 00:35:59.590 That's a component.
  466. 00:36:00.810 – 00:36:03.470 But creativity is in so many different ways.
  467. 00:36:04.150 – 00:36:06.750 You can take a picture that can touch millions.
  468. 00:36:08.070 – 00:36:10.110 You know, that's powerful.
  469. 00:36:10.630 – 00:36:11.530 That's powerful.
  470. 00:36:12.010 – 00:36:13.210 You didn't draw it.
  471. 00:36:13.430 – 00:36:14.830 You didn't color it.
  472. 00:36:14.910 – 00:36:16.250 You didn't paint it.
  473. 00:36:16.550 – 00:36:18.750 You know, that's creativity, right?
  474. 00:36:18.750 – 00:36:25.850 A person can have some spoken word or a speech that can move people.
  475. 00:36:26.550 – 00:36:32.330 You know, when Barack Obama won the presidency,
  476. 00:36:34.230 – 00:36:35.610 everybody in the world was crying.
  477. 00:36:36.990 – 00:36:38.850 His speech was that powerful.
  478. 00:36:39.990 – 00:36:42.430 Whoever wrote it, if it was him, I don't know.
  479. 00:36:42.630 – 00:36:44.450 But it was powerful.
  480. 00:36:44.550 – 00:36:46.950 Those words were powerful.
  481. 00:36:48.050 – 00:36:54.890 Creativity has the ability to move people in many ways.
  482. 00:36:57.950 – 00:37:01.510 So that's my, I mean, it's my outlook on AI.
  483. 00:37:03.910 – 00:37:05.690 But it's a fad.
  484. 00:37:05.770 – 00:37:09.610 I think the fire thing will eventually begin to switch up.
  485. 00:37:09.870 – 00:37:10.290 We'll see.
  486. 00:37:12.370 – 00:37:14.290 It's constantly evolving.
  487. 00:37:14.290 – 00:37:21.050 I try to read an article or watch a video on it at least once a week
  488. 00:37:21.050 – 00:37:23.370 just to keep my head around it.
  489. 00:37:23.370 – 00:37:24.570 I'm like, oh, okay.
  490. 00:37:25.030 – 00:37:26.370 Boy, they got nanobanana now.
  491. 00:37:27.290 – 00:37:28.750 Oh, they got GPT.
  492. 00:37:28.930 – 00:37:30.370 Got a new imaging system now.
  493. 00:37:31.630 – 00:37:35.710 And so it's like every week, every month, there's a new thing.
  494. 00:37:35.950 – 00:37:39.370 And if you don't stay on top of it,
  495. 00:37:39.930 – 00:37:42.730 it's so much to catch up on and you will get lost.
  496. 00:37:43.730 – 00:37:52.150 But do you see any negatives or any harms in being too creative?
  497. 00:37:55.630 – 00:38:00.730 I think some negatives may be not harmful,
  498. 00:38:00.730 – 00:38:08.630 but some negatives may be that your type of creativity may not resonate with some.
  499. 00:38:09.630 – 00:38:12.350 And so you may get some pushback.
  500. 00:38:12.350 – 00:38:18.190 You may get some naysayers or non-supporters,
  501. 00:38:19.630 – 00:38:22.410 which can negatively impact that person.
  502. 00:38:24.190 – 00:38:31.330 But one thing I am noticing is that somebody's creativity is going to be for somebody.
  503. 00:38:33.010 – 00:38:37.630 It may not be for you, but it can be for somebody, right?
  504. 00:38:37.630 – 00:38:41.630 And one of the things that made me think about that is
  505. 00:38:42.910 – 00:38:48.370 R&B music versus heavy metal.
  506. 00:38:50.590 – 00:38:56.210 Totally different crowd that may attract and things like that, right?
  507. 00:38:57.790 – 00:39:00.230 But there's still an audience for both.
  508. 00:39:00.230 – 00:39:07.650 One leads to more relaxed love or kickback feel vibes.
  509. 00:39:07.790 – 00:39:12.210 And the other one is more high energy.
  510. 00:39:13.590 – 00:39:15.350 Well, yeah, high energy.
  511. 00:39:15.670 – 00:39:20.470 The words may be twisted in such a way and things of that nature.
  512. 00:39:20.710 – 00:39:25.910 For some people may feel like I'm not sure what they're saying and things of that nature.
  513. 00:39:25.910 – 00:39:30.710 And so I think that it's okay to understand that
  514. 00:39:30.710 – 00:39:34.350 the negative sides of creative and being creative
  515. 00:39:34.770 – 00:39:38.470 is that you're going to have someone who may not see your vision,
  516. 00:39:38.870 – 00:39:42.210 but it doesn't mean your vision can't be seen.
  517. 00:39:42.510 – 00:39:45.150 One more time, one more time.
  518. 00:39:46.970 – 00:39:50.590 So you may, as a creative, you have to realize
  519. 00:39:50.590 – 00:39:55.410 that your vision may not be seen by other people,
  520. 00:39:55.410 – 00:39:59.170 but it does not mean that your vision should not be seen.
  521. 00:40:02.920 – 00:40:06.280 So that's how I kind of walk my creative walk.
  522. 00:40:06.420 – 00:40:11.080 And also, even when I'm looking at others creative,
  523. 00:40:11.340 – 00:40:14.940 make sure my perspective is aligned with no biases.
  524. 00:40:16.480 – 00:40:18.740 Because it don't have to resonate with me.
  525. 00:40:18.760 – 00:40:22.320 It don't mean it's not creative, you know?
  526. 00:40:22.320 – 00:40:30.780 Wow, this is one of my favorite, my top creative conversation.
  527. 00:40:30.860 – 00:40:32.320 I don't have too many creative conversations.
  528. 00:40:32.520 – 00:40:33.560 This is refreshing.
  529. 00:40:34.640 – 00:40:38.120 I haven't got this high from talking about creativity
  530. 00:40:38.120 – 00:40:42.200 or even reading about it since Rick Rubin's book.
  531. 00:40:43.180 – 00:40:43.540 Okay.
  532. 00:40:44.140 – 00:40:45.020 Like how he wrote that.
  533. 00:40:45.400 – 00:40:50.820 I've never heard another author or writer write like that.
  534. 00:40:50.820 – 00:40:52.920 So yeah, this is refreshing.
  535. 00:40:56.360 – 00:40:59.960 Well, I didn't say this, but my book will be coming out on my birthday.
  536. 00:41:02.000 – 00:41:04.640 Being intentional with my movements.
  537. 00:41:05.680 – 00:41:09.300 And because it's August Leo, so August 14th,
  538. 00:41:09.300 – 00:41:12.060 I am going to be releasing my creative book
  539. 00:41:12.060 – 00:41:15.180 that is about creativity being in our DNA.
  540. 00:41:16.520 – 00:41:17.340 Do you have a title?
  541. 00:41:17.340 – 00:41:21.260 Is the title able to be shared at this moment?
  542. 00:41:21.620 – 00:41:23.260 Almost, almost.
  543. 00:41:24.220 – 00:41:27.420 I have to meet with my mother and I want to talk to my dad
  544. 00:41:27.420 – 00:41:29.340 and then I'm going to finalize it.
  545. 00:41:29.420 – 00:41:33.220 I do have like three, but I want them to weigh in on it
  546. 00:41:33.220 – 00:41:35.840 because I feel like they made me creative that I am.
  547. 00:41:38.690 – 00:41:40.010 Definitely be on the lookout.
  548. 00:41:40.730 – 00:41:44.690 And once it's out, I'll definitely add it to the show notes.
  549. 00:41:46.130 – 00:41:46.610 Wonderful.
  550. 00:41:47.190 – 00:41:47.870 Oh yeah.
  551. 00:41:48.710 – 00:41:52.670 So let's keep on this conversation about creativity
  552. 00:41:52.670 – 00:41:55.210 and what people see in their perspectives
  553. 00:41:55.850 – 00:41:57.730 because we know we have art.
  554. 00:41:58.170 – 00:41:59.870 You know, people put their time in.
  555. 00:41:59.870 – 00:42:02.010 I'm talking about sometimes years.
  556. 00:42:03.010 – 00:42:07.750 And it sells for like $10, $20, $100 maybe.
  557. 00:42:08.270 – 00:42:11.910 And then you have those people that just make a dot,
  558. 00:42:11.910 – 00:42:16.710 a small dot on a white canvas or a stripe
  559. 00:42:16.710 – 00:42:19.950 across the diagonal corner.
  560. 00:42:20.370 – 00:42:22.190 And it sells for millions.
  561. 00:42:23.090 – 00:42:25.050 What's your thoughts on that?
  562. 00:42:26.370 – 00:42:31.290 My thoughts on that is all about how did they creatively
  563. 00:42:31.290 – 00:42:34.550 market into a brand themselves?
  564. 00:42:36.630 – 00:42:41.010 Because your story and who you are
  565. 00:42:41.010 – 00:42:47.310 behind your work is what's going to also sell it, right?
  566. 00:42:49.350 – 00:42:55.210 How did they position themselves and or who positioned them?
  567. 00:42:57.090 – 00:43:01.810 So, for instance, if you have an art release
  568. 00:43:01.810 – 00:43:04.950 and you have Beyonce coming,
  569. 00:43:05.730 – 00:43:09.650 folks don't buy your blue line on your white canvas, period.
  570. 00:43:11.330 – 00:43:13.230 Influence is huge.
  571. 00:43:14.530 – 00:43:16.290 But one thing I'm going to say,
  572. 00:43:17.750 – 00:43:20.130 and this is what I've been tapping into lately,
  573. 00:43:21.530 – 00:43:24.810 is what is my creative influence?
  574. 00:43:27.310 – 00:43:30.990 How does that actually resonate, right?
  575. 00:43:30.990 – 00:43:34.610 So we do social media content, things of that nature.
  576. 00:43:34.710 – 00:43:36.850 And I personally do some content,
  577. 00:43:37.030 – 00:43:39.110 but I decided that I want to do more.
  578. 00:43:39.110 – 00:43:42.970 I decided that I'm going to start to speak my raw,
  579. 00:43:43.190 – 00:43:46.170 creative truth on a daily, right?
  580. 00:43:46.930 – 00:43:50.430 And a lot of people say that,
  581. 00:43:51.510 – 00:43:53.650 oh, I know you can draw.
  582. 00:43:53.810 – 00:43:57.130 And I say, well, I appreciate that, but I can't.
  583. 00:43:58.610 – 00:44:00.050 I can draft.
  584. 00:44:00.450 – 00:44:04.470 I can, you know, draft buildings or something, room scapes,
  585. 00:44:04.470 – 00:44:11.250 but I cannot free and draw for sale, in my opinion, right?
  586. 00:44:12.270 – 00:44:16.030 But it had me thinking one day, people think I can,
  587. 00:44:16.370 – 00:44:19.470 and they probably, you know, okay, I like it, right?
  588. 00:44:19.910 – 00:44:25.510 It's all about the influence of how you kind of come off the people.
  589. 00:44:25.990 – 00:44:30.250 It's also the same creative influence
  590. 00:44:30.250 – 00:44:33.710 that I think political people have to utilize.
  591. 00:44:34.910 – 00:44:39.650 Because you cannot reach millions of people without having it.
  592. 00:44:40.110 – 00:44:40.730 You know what I mean?
  593. 00:44:40.830 – 00:44:41.830 It's just the truth.
  594. 00:44:42.450 – 00:44:44.870 Even musicians and things like that.
  595. 00:44:45.810 – 00:44:49.900 So when you are like in a social space,
  596. 00:44:50.430 – 00:44:52.670 you have to begin to look at your creative influence
  597. 00:44:52.670 – 00:44:54.350 when it comes to your artwork
  598. 00:44:55.550 – 00:44:57.890 or whatever you're creating and putting out.
  599. 00:44:59.130 – 00:45:01.430 I did see a show that was in New York.
  600. 00:45:02.110 – 00:45:04.390 I didn't go to it, but I seen it online.
  601. 00:45:05.770 – 00:45:11.690 And she had crocheted basically watercolor paintings.
  602. 00:45:12.250 – 00:45:16.410 It was like, imagine watercolor, but in crochet.
  603. 00:45:17.830 – 00:45:23.510 And she didn't have a good sale, but I thought the work was amazing.
  604. 00:45:23.770 – 00:45:26.670 I'm like, how did you do that with crochet, y'all?
  605. 00:45:26.830 – 00:45:27.610 And I was like, wow.
  606. 00:45:28.470 – 00:45:33.490 And so she went on social media and started talking about it.
  607. 00:45:33.510 – 00:45:35.810 I was like, you know, I really put a lot into this
  608. 00:45:35.810 – 00:45:37.130 and this, this, this, that, and a third.
  609. 00:45:38.390 – 00:45:42.770 And somebody ended up sharing one somebody
  610. 00:45:42.770 – 00:45:45.030 and then another somebody and then another somebody.
  611. 00:45:45.770 – 00:45:51.030 And actually, you know, she's crying because her collection got sold out.
  612. 00:45:53.730 – 00:45:57.240 So was it the people who shared it, the influence?
  613. 00:45:58.370 – 00:46:00.670 Was it her story that did the influence?
  614. 00:46:00.830 – 00:46:02.430 Was it a combination of both?
  615. 00:46:03.130 – 00:46:09.950 Either way, when you create, my premise is to be confident
  616. 00:46:09.950 – 00:46:12.530 that your work is a million dollars.
  617. 00:46:12.790 – 00:46:17.290 Because the way you see it is how other people will see it,
  618. 00:46:17.290 – 00:46:19.210 you know, at the end of the day.
  619. 00:46:19.210 – 00:46:24.630 And so I had to get out of my own creative self-doubting head
  620. 00:46:26.470 – 00:46:33.050 that my designs can move, my designs can empower,
  621. 00:46:33.690 – 00:46:37.690 my designs can change things, you know?
  622. 00:46:38.390 – 00:46:44.440 And so I wanted to make sure that when we're creating,
  623. 00:46:44.780 – 00:46:48.960 no matter what you're doing, realize that it's a purpose.
  624. 00:46:48.960 – 00:46:53.240 You're creating with a purpose for a reason.
  625. 00:46:54.260 – 00:46:55.740 And you're good from there.
  626. 00:46:56.220 – 00:47:02.910 But also, too, and say that red dot, right?
  627. 00:47:04.930 – 00:47:06.110 Perspective is key.
  628. 00:47:07.390 – 00:47:09.630 That red dot may mean something for one person,
  629. 00:47:09.790 – 00:47:11.210 but something different for the other.
  630. 00:47:11.750 – 00:47:13.510 We used to do this when we was in school.
  631. 00:47:13.510 – 00:47:16.050 When I was in college, we would have our art classes.
  632. 00:47:16.670 – 00:47:20.730 You would have to put your work up on the easel and sit down.
  633. 00:47:21.410 – 00:47:25.070 And you had to take, you know, people's feedback,
  634. 00:47:25.250 – 00:47:26.610 whether it was good or bad.
  635. 00:47:27.190 – 00:47:30.070 And then we always would also share what we saw.
  636. 00:47:30.430 – 00:47:34.950 Before you say anything, it was what the audience saw.
  637. 00:47:35.370 – 00:47:39.070 And it always blew my mind how people were seeing
  638. 00:47:39.070 – 00:47:40.970 something totally different than what I intended.
  639. 00:47:41.510 – 00:47:42.070 Yeah.
  640. 00:47:42.070 – 00:47:47.150 But then I realized that if that piece resonates with them in that way,
  641. 00:47:48.490 – 00:47:53.310 then that's what makes this click and connect, right?
  642. 00:47:54.930 – 00:47:57.910 So yeah, I went to the fashion talks,
  643. 00:47:58.710 – 00:48:01.710 fashion show yesterday under the chandelier.
  644. 00:48:02.630 – 00:48:05.610 It was a great show, so many different designs.
  645. 00:48:06.710 – 00:48:08.890 But one of the biggest things that I fell in love with
  646. 00:48:08.890 – 00:48:14.830 about the whole fashion show was the music choice that they used
  647. 00:48:14.830 – 00:48:16.690 for the collection that was walking,
  648. 00:48:17.850 – 00:48:22.670 to the point where I shazamed each song and I listened to each one
  649. 00:48:23.830 – 00:48:28.250 because creativity is more than just what we were looking at.
  650. 00:48:28.650 – 00:48:33.350 It was the words of the song that resonated with the pieces.
  651. 00:48:33.350 – 00:48:35.970 I was just like, well, my mind was blown.
  652. 00:48:39.130 – 00:48:42.530 But everybody enjoyed, you know, people having a good time,
  653. 00:48:43.050 – 00:48:46.470 but you never know what resonates with a person.
  654. 00:48:49.430 – 00:48:52.710 So was it some pieces that I personally wouldn't wear?
  655. 00:48:52.950 – 00:48:54.430 Sure, absolutely.
  656. 00:48:55.090 – 00:48:56.730 But it don't mean that they wasn't nice.
  657. 00:48:56.950 – 00:48:58.870 It don't mean that they were creatively done
  658. 00:48:58.870 – 00:49:02.270 and it was artistic in the way it looked, sure.
  659. 00:49:02.270 – 00:49:04.230 But it made me think like,
  660. 00:49:04.550 – 00:49:06.770 oh, just because I won't wear somebody else's, right?
  661. 00:49:08.830 – 00:49:13.870 It's your design, your creative, your eye is here for somebody.
  662. 00:49:14.090 – 00:49:16.630 And that's just, I can't keep saying that enough.
  663. 00:49:17.490 – 00:49:20.910 You know, it's for somebody, period.
  664. 00:49:21.170 – 00:49:22.750 You just got to do it.
  665. 00:49:23.490 – 00:49:25.910 And social media haven't told us that by now.
  666. 00:49:28.010 – 00:49:30.370 You know, back in the day when we didn't have,
  667. 00:49:31.550 – 00:49:34.390 Facebook came out my first year in college.
  668. 00:49:35.030 – 00:49:37.550 It took a while just for that to get going into how it was.
  669. 00:49:40.210 – 00:49:43.910 But before you had all of that type of influence,
  670. 00:49:45.410 – 00:49:48.530 you kind of had to hit the street, you know, hit the pavement more.
  671. 00:49:49.250 – 00:49:51.510 You would see people set up a lot more back then.
  672. 00:49:51.790 – 00:49:56.070 But now we can showcase, yeah, you saw it, right?
  673. 00:49:56.070 – 00:50:00.070 But now you can showcase yourself in such a way.
  674. 00:50:00.950 – 00:50:12.670 So I say that use your creative influence to influence, basically.
  675. 00:50:14.010 – 00:50:14.550 Wow.
  676. 00:50:17.470 – 00:50:20.110 That's the segment right there.
  677. 00:50:20.310 – 00:50:23.570 Use your creative influence to influence.
  678. 00:50:23.570 – 00:50:30.710 And I love when I see creatives, you know,
  679. 00:50:30.850 – 00:50:36.050 getting in the political world and helping the politics and politicians
  680. 00:50:36.470 – 00:50:40.470 and social causes and using their voice, using their art,
  681. 00:50:40.770 – 00:50:44.790 their creativity to help drive that impact.
  682. 00:50:45.750 – 00:50:47.010 It's amazing.
  683. 00:50:47.940 – 00:50:55.030 But I want to ask, as I ask every creative that I have on a podcast,
  684. 00:50:56.010 – 00:51:01.210 this question on creativity, so more about your process.
  685. 00:51:02.430 – 00:51:09.750 So I want you to describe your creative process as if it was a weather forecast.
  686. 00:51:12.510 – 00:51:13.210 Okay.
  687. 00:51:16.100 – 00:51:25.080 So I would say my creative process is going to involve some sunny skies,
  688. 00:51:26.500 – 00:51:31.820 it's going to involve a quiet storm,
  689. 00:51:34.140 – 00:51:39.040 and then I would say that it would ultimately also involve some heavy rains.
  690. 00:51:41.410 – 00:51:47.650 Then I would say that it's going to describe or include potentially
  691. 00:51:47.650 – 00:51:52.490 some drop in weather late at night.
  692. 00:51:53.330 – 00:51:57.770 I mostly create at night, I'm up all night,
  693. 00:51:58.550 – 00:52:02.510 just something about the nighttime and still the calm of it for me,
  694. 00:52:03.330 – 00:52:05.990 and the energy, you know, everybody's at rest.
  695. 00:52:08.790 – 00:52:12.430 Then I would say it's going to include some cloudy skies,
  696. 00:52:13.830 – 00:52:17.270 and sometimes I have to step back from a design,
  697. 00:52:17.970 – 00:52:19.610 and I may have to go listen to music,
  698. 00:52:19.690 – 00:52:26.570 or I may have to go take a breather or a pause before I can come back to it.
  699. 00:52:27.530 – 00:52:30.590 But then after those clouds have moved,
  700. 00:52:30.830 – 00:52:32.890 we're back to the bright sunny skies,
  701. 00:52:32.890 – 00:52:38.590 and I'm in my Zen space of finishing what I'm working on,
  702. 00:52:39.670 – 00:52:46.250 but I ultimately sometimes have to sit and think out my creativity,
  703. 00:52:46.930 – 00:52:48.430 or I have to hear it.
  704. 00:52:50.810 – 00:52:55.570 So I would say that that's where the other storms come from,
  705. 00:52:56.170 – 00:52:57.850 is listening to someone talk.
  706. 00:52:59.190 – 00:53:04.550 Most of my clients, I need to hear what they're envisioning.
  707. 00:53:04.970 – 00:53:08.930 Usually when I hear it, I can take it on and get it going
  708. 00:53:08.930 – 00:53:11.230 because I'm an audio visual learner.
  709. 00:53:12.530 – 00:53:15.470 So I just kind of hear that's where the storm comes from,
  710. 00:53:15.570 – 00:53:17.390 is them talking to me.
  711. 00:53:18.570 – 00:53:26.390 And then I'll also say, so the rain is the ideas pouring.
  712. 00:53:28.310 – 00:53:31.910 Once I kind of hear different things, ideas get to going.
  713. 00:53:32.330 – 00:53:34.090 I start seeing it.
  714. 00:53:34.150 – 00:53:36.650 I'm like, okay, I got it, right?
  715. 00:53:37.090 – 00:53:41.530 But I also have started projects, and then like I said, I hit that block,
  716. 00:53:41.530 – 00:53:45.110 and that's where the clouds come from because I'm a little foggy.
  717. 00:53:45.110 – 00:53:48.010 I'm like, hold on, okay, see, okay, wait.
  718. 00:53:48.390 – 00:53:50.150 And I have to go readjust, you know what I'm saying,
  719. 00:53:50.410 – 00:53:52.810 realign and come back to the sunny skies.
  720. 00:53:54.450 – 00:53:58.210 So I would say my creative process includes that and a whole lot of music.
  721. 00:54:00.520 – 00:54:07.160 I create with music of all types of genres while I'm creating.
  722. 00:54:07.800 – 00:54:12.000 Listening to music a lot, probably 10 hours of my day if not more.
  723. 00:54:12.000 – 00:54:14.820 I was going to ask, what is that song,
  724. 00:54:14.900 – 00:54:19.600 your go-to song when you want to get in your creative mindset?
  725. 00:54:21.440 – 00:54:25.500 Okay, so I am a big instrumental person,
  726. 00:54:27.200 – 00:54:31.820 big band type person to a degree, if that makes sense.
  727. 00:54:32.540 – 00:54:38.940 And I used to play the clarinet and was real big into music.
  728. 00:54:38.940 – 00:54:42.600 And so as far as like when I was growing up.
  729. 00:54:44.380 – 00:54:48.080 So when I was younger, I used to play the B-flat clarinet,
  730. 00:54:48.540 – 00:54:52.260 and I loved band music and I loved instrumentals and things like that.
  731. 00:54:52.260 – 00:54:58.460 But I love music that can make you feel like you're moving
  732. 00:54:58.460 – 00:55:00.980 or you can feel the energy.
  733. 00:55:01.920 – 00:55:09.240 So one of my songs I listen to quite a bit is the dawn of the planet of the apes.
  734. 00:55:09.240 – 00:55:10.960 It's on that movie soundtrack.
  735. 00:55:11.760 – 00:55:16.580 It's the great eight processional, it's the name of the song.
  736. 00:55:17.160 – 00:55:17.720 Okay.
  737. 00:55:18.680 – 00:55:26.250 And it makes me just feel like I can conquer Mount Kilimanjaro or something,
  738. 00:55:26.710 – 00:55:27.730 to be quite honest.
  739. 00:55:27.930 – 00:55:31.830 And so that's a song that I really kind of get into for sure.
  740. 00:55:34.110 – 00:55:35.410 Okay, I'm about to check that out.
  741. 00:55:35.410 – 00:55:42.190 See, I love photo editing because you get to listen to music, like you said,
  742. 00:55:42.230 – 00:55:46.270 but when I'm doing videos, I got to listen to the audio and the dialogue
  743. 00:55:46.270 – 00:55:49.930 and this and that, so it's not a lot of music time.
  744. 00:55:50.490 – 00:55:53.210 But yeah, editing photos.
  745. 00:55:54.730 – 00:55:57.590 I know I listened to, it was this one soundtrack.
  746. 00:55:57.810 – 00:56:00.350 It was a car movie.
  747. 00:56:00.370 – 00:56:01.930 I'm trying to think which one it was.
  748. 00:56:01.930 – 00:56:06.790 But they had a nice intro song to the soundtrack.
  749. 00:56:06.930 – 00:56:11.750 It was, man, I had that on repeat for hours.
  750. 00:56:14.270 – 00:56:15.910 Trying to think who it was.
  751. 00:56:16.110 – 00:56:19.330 I know it was some car movie in the last five years.
  752. 00:56:21.090 – 00:56:23.630 But man, yeah, I love a good instrumentalist.
  753. 00:56:23.990 – 00:56:28.970 I always find that one or two good songs in a movie, like you said,
  754. 00:56:28.970 – 00:56:31.910 to examine different songs at different events.
  755. 00:56:32.190 – 00:56:34.350 Like when I go to a movie, I'm like,
  756. 00:56:34.490 – 00:56:37.830 oh, I love how they created that scene with this song.
  757. 00:56:38.430 – 00:56:40.870 You know, you listen to the song sometimes without the movie.
  758. 00:56:41.150 – 00:56:42.270 It's like, ah, duh.
  759. 00:56:42.790 – 00:56:43.310 Exactly.
  760. 00:56:43.490 – 00:56:48.850 You see, and that's like why I love all aspects of creativity, right?
  761. 00:56:48.970 – 00:56:49.490 Yeah.
  762. 00:56:49.870 – 00:56:51.850 Because you got the person who wrote the script,
  763. 00:56:52.310 – 00:56:56.270 but the person who scored the music made it come to life, right?
  764. 00:56:56.270 – 00:56:57.930 The script was fired,
  765. 00:56:58.330 – 00:57:02.430 but you had to build the layers of creativity to make it be.
  766. 00:57:02.710 – 00:57:06.090 Right now, the person who wrote the script may not be good at scoring.
  767. 00:57:06.510 – 00:57:07.390 You know, they don't.
  768. 00:57:07.390 – 00:57:08.590 They ain't they cup of tea.
  769. 00:57:09.110 – 00:57:14.570 But with these layers, we are creating masterpieces as creatives.
  770. 00:57:14.830 – 00:57:18.950 And I'm here for it every day.
  771. 00:57:19.410 – 00:57:22.430 We don't hear that word anymore.
  772. 00:57:22.750 – 00:57:25.550 Like back in the day, oh, this is my masterpiece.
  773. 00:57:25.550 – 00:57:27.770 You don't hear that anymore.
  774. 00:57:28.190 – 00:57:30.050 No, you don't.
  775. 00:57:30.150 – 00:57:30.490 You do.
  776. 00:57:30.650 – 00:57:31.510 You don't.
  777. 00:57:31.610 – 00:57:32.250 We got to bring that.
  778. 00:57:32.250 – 00:57:33.250 You don't.
  779. 00:57:34.170 – 00:57:34.850 We do.
  780. 00:57:35.330 – 00:57:36.050 We do.
  781. 00:57:36.430 – 00:57:38.650 I might just make that on my T-shirt.
  782. 00:57:40.010 – 00:57:41.290 This is my masterpiece.
  783. 00:57:42.870 – 00:57:43.390 Yes.
  784. 00:57:44.310 – 00:57:45.450 Yeah, we're bringing it back.
  785. 00:57:46.350 – 00:57:48.010 We're bringing back all the good times.
  786. 00:57:48.510 – 00:57:49.650 All the good times.
  787. 00:57:49.650 – 00:57:52.110 The 25 cent.
  788. 00:57:52.670 – 00:57:55.890 You might not get as much, but it's still going to be 25 cent.
  789. 00:57:56.310 – 00:57:56.690 Right.
  790. 00:57:57.910 – 00:58:03.230 Man, can you imagine if they had a store that was kind of price-like back then?
  791. 00:58:03.970 – 00:58:04.490 Shoosh.
  792. 00:58:04.590 – 00:58:06.370 I think they'd be sold out.
  793. 00:58:06.650 – 00:58:08.270 They'd come out with a store, right?
  794. 00:58:11.160 – 00:58:12.900 Well, not a store like that.
  795. 00:58:13.020 – 00:58:14.640 I can't even do no convenience store.
  796. 00:58:14.640 – 00:58:16.340 I mean...
  797. 00:58:16.340 – 00:58:18.660 Maybe I'll sell some stuff in it.
  798. 00:58:19.920 – 00:58:25.340 Now I'm getting this vision, have a back-in-the-day event,
  799. 00:58:25.940 – 00:58:30.340 where you get that feel, and even teaching a younger generation
  800. 00:58:30.340 – 00:58:34.220 what it was like to live in different time periods.
  801. 00:58:35.000 – 00:58:36.060 Mm-hmm.
  802. 00:58:36.380 – 00:58:39.260 That's my historian brain coming to me, in fact.
  803. 00:58:40.440 – 00:58:41.300 I love it.
  804. 00:58:41.580 – 00:58:42.660 That's different.
  805. 00:58:43.500 – 00:58:44.220 I like it.
  806. 00:58:44.580 – 00:58:45.280 I'm alien.
  807. 00:58:45.320 – 00:58:46.220 I got to be different.
  808. 00:58:47.300 – 00:58:47.840 Yes.
  809. 00:58:47.840 – 00:58:52.920 That's my higher level, higher consciousness.
  810. 00:58:53.860 – 00:58:58.090 I think creativity is one of the highest levels of consciousness.
  811. 00:58:59.120 – 00:58:59.680 It is.
  812. 00:59:00.780 – 00:59:03.220 Whatever you imagine to come alive, you should think about it.
  813. 00:59:03.220 – 00:59:06.700 You definitely can and will and shall.
  814. 00:59:06.780 – 00:59:09.520 You just got to do it, you know?
  815. 00:59:09.900 – 00:59:14.280 Yeah, the doing it, the execution is the key part.
  816. 00:59:14.280 – 00:59:19.220 And I think that the low noise is every four to five minutes,
  817. 00:59:19.520 – 00:59:20.900 four and a half, five minutes.
  818. 00:59:23.220 – 00:59:27.880 But, yeah, creativity, to me, is a lifesaver.
  819. 00:59:29.000 – 00:59:32.440 I know being depressed, especially as a teenager,
  820. 00:59:33.220 – 00:59:35.340 before I even knew what depression was,
  821. 00:59:37.180 – 00:59:38.500 creativity, it helped me.
  822. 00:59:38.580 – 00:59:43.000 I'm not a freehand jar, but sometimes I just need to draw it out.
  823. 00:59:43.000 – 00:59:46.660 Like I'm more of a writer and a musician.
  824. 00:59:47.440 – 00:59:51.360 And sometimes that don't work because you in this mind state,
  825. 00:59:51.380 – 00:59:54.660 but just drawing it out, still being creative,
  826. 00:59:55.580 – 01:00:01.500 or doing something unorthodox, like writing on a roll or something.
  827. 01:00:01.860 – 01:00:04.620 Like, uh, being a creative mess.
  828. 01:00:05.680 – 01:00:10.820 And then, like you said, like that rain and then the sunshine come out
  829. 01:00:10.820 – 01:00:12.140 after the clouds.
  830. 01:00:13.600 – 01:00:17.680 Like my creative process as a weather forecast
  831. 01:00:18.660 – 01:00:25.880 is a warm, sunny day with light drizzle rain to refresh you occasionally.
  832. 01:00:30.350 – 01:00:32.050 Because, you know, intense heat sometimes,
  833. 01:00:32.290 – 01:00:35.530 like all right, it's a little overwhelming in that rain.
  834. 01:00:36.210 – 01:00:40.710 Almost like you see a loved one that you ain't seen in a long time.
  835. 01:00:40.710 – 01:00:44.350 Or, you know, if it's a husband or a wife,
  836. 01:00:44.350 – 01:00:46.350 you ain't seen them in weeks.
  837. 01:00:46.710 – 01:00:49.670 And then it's like, man, I've been struggling.
  838. 01:00:50.770 – 01:00:51.990 I'm going to get out this rut.
  839. 01:00:52.030 – 01:00:55.550 And then they come around or even be your best friend or something.
  840. 01:00:56.370 – 01:01:00.110 And they come around and just change your whole mood and momentum of your day.
  841. 01:01:00.970 – 01:01:03.890 Yeah, the whole mood and momentum.
  842. 01:01:05.330 – 01:01:07.870 That's what I aim for with everything.
  843. 01:01:07.870 – 01:01:12.550 I mean, like, with my poetry, it was like that horror, that gritty,
  844. 01:01:12.770 – 01:01:13.930 like, oh, you're going to feel it.
  845. 01:01:13.930 – 01:01:16.150 You're going to feel what I had to go through.
  846. 01:01:16.530 – 01:01:20.430 But it's always ending it on a positive note, someway, somehow.
  847. 01:01:22.410 – 01:01:24.730 Even if I didn't reach that positive note yet.
  848. 01:01:25.830 – 01:01:27.330 Yeah, and that's the thing.
  849. 01:01:27.590 – 01:01:31.970 So I love the positivity that creativity can give.
  850. 01:01:33.430 – 01:01:34.270 It's so natural.
  851. 01:01:34.410 – 01:01:35.330 It's so pure.
  852. 01:01:35.330 – 01:01:36.850 It's kind.
  853. 01:01:38.210 – 01:01:39.030 And it's uplifting.
  854. 01:01:39.450 – 01:01:40.570 And it can be supportive.
  855. 01:01:41.070 – 01:01:42.430 You know, it can even be funny.
  856. 01:01:44.830 – 01:01:46.670 When need be, right?
  857. 01:01:47.170 – 01:01:47.930 I'll never forget.
  858. 01:01:48.450 – 01:01:50.330 I don't like going to the doctor's.
  859. 01:01:51.210 – 01:01:53.650 I get scared and just all types of stuff.
  860. 01:01:54.010 – 01:01:54.890 But I never forget.
  861. 01:01:55.530 – 01:02:00.570 The nurse told my doctor that I was like, I have white coat syndrome,
  862. 01:02:00.570 – 01:02:06.330 like I just get really have anxiety or anxious when I met the doctors.
  863. 01:02:06.390 – 01:02:12.530 My doctor came in walking like a running a tank or something.
  864. 01:02:12.970 – 01:02:16.610 And I'm going to stop laughing like, um, hello.
  865. 01:02:16.810 – 01:02:18.870 First time meeting this doctor, by the way.
  866. 01:02:19.870 – 01:02:20.850 And I'm cracking up.
  867. 01:02:21.070 – 01:02:22.010 I'm like, oh, hello.
  868. 01:02:22.210 – 01:02:24.070 He's like, what's your name?
  869. 01:02:24.070 – 01:02:29.330 Talking like a whole like monkey type situation.
  870. 01:02:29.330 – 01:02:31.210 Oh, it was hilarious.
  871. 01:02:31.950 – 01:02:33.050 He was like, you feel better?
  872. 01:02:33.130 – 01:02:34.170 I was like, yeah.
  873. 01:02:34.370 – 01:02:35.270 I was like, why did you do that?
  874. 01:02:35.270 – 01:02:36.750 He told me why.
  875. 01:02:37.230 – 01:02:43.370 And I just felt so happy and supported in that moment because I was by myself.
  876. 01:02:43.970 – 01:02:48.130 And his creativity said, let me go in here and make her laugh.
  877. 01:02:49.190 – 01:02:49.930 Loved it.
  878. 01:02:49.930 – 01:02:54.110 You know, changed the game and made me feel more relaxed for my appointment,
  879. 01:02:54.630 – 01:02:57.330 which wasn't nothing too crazy, but I just didn't want to be there.
  880. 01:02:57.350 – 01:02:58.310 I'm like, I'm ready to go.
  881. 01:02:58.310 – 01:02:58.850 Hurry up.
  882. 01:02:58.890 – 01:02:59.710 Get me out of here.
  883. 01:03:00.170 – 01:03:03.190 And it was like he didn't have to do that.
  884. 01:03:03.930 – 01:03:04.210 Right.
  885. 01:03:04.430 – 01:03:10.410 I appreciated his creative thought and that moment, his caringness and willing to make
  886. 01:03:10.410 – 01:03:13.710 himself look like a whole orangutan or whatever.
  887. 01:03:14.810 – 01:03:18.210 And so I'll never forget that moment sticks with me.
  888. 01:03:18.510 – 01:03:18.670 Right.
  889. 01:03:19.230 – 01:03:23.350 It's always like people say, well, you can be kind and nice to somebody, you
  890. 01:03:23.350 – 01:03:24.490 know, and things like that.
  891. 01:03:24.490 – 01:03:30.170 But the way he chose to do it was his form of creativity in his space.
  892. 01:03:30.310 – 01:03:30.490 Right.
  893. 01:03:30.490 – 01:03:31.390 He's a doctor.
  894. 01:03:32.130 – 01:03:35.390 So he didn't, you know, he didn't have to do it that way because he just
  895. 01:03:35.390 – 01:03:38.230 hate on, you know, but he took that time.
  896. 01:03:39.350 – 01:03:43.930 So I just love what creativity can bring in many spaces.
  897. 01:03:45.010 – 01:03:45.410 Yeah.
  898. 01:03:45.410 – 01:03:47.690 I love that and love people like that.
  899. 01:03:47.710 – 01:03:51.610 Like they say, take your job seriously.
  900. 01:03:51.610 – 01:03:55.930 I feel like even though people will be like, oh, he's I got a doctor that's
  901. 01:03:55.930 – 01:03:57.290 playing or I act like a monkey.
  902. 01:03:57.290 – 01:03:58.030 He's childish.
  903. 01:03:58.310 – 01:04:01.950 No, he took his job seriously because at the end of the day, like you
  904. 01:04:01.950 – 01:04:07.670 said, you laugh and laughter is the best medicine ever.
  905. 01:04:07.670 – 01:04:08.210 Mm hmm.
  906. 01:04:08.630 – 01:04:09.470 Like it heals.
  907. 01:04:10.810 – 01:04:16.890 Like even looking back, like even me being the co-founder of creative
  908. 01:04:16.890 – 01:04:26.350 Healing Foundation, nonprofit, like when we all sat down and came, put our
  909. 01:04:26.350 – 01:04:32.550 minds together to have it come about, like we do see creativity as a healing
  910. 01:04:32.550 – 01:04:33.350 mechanism.
  911. 01:04:33.870 – 01:04:37.430 And what ways can we heal creatively?
  912. 01:04:37.630 – 01:04:39.190 Mm hmm.
  913. 01:04:39.190 – 01:04:48.260 I asked you, especially in the early stages, mostly as a kid, teenager, what
  914. 01:04:49.170 – 01:04:54.010 avenues did you see that helped healed you that was creative?
  915. 01:04:59.810 – 01:05:02.770 What avenues that have healed me that's creative?
  916. 01:05:05.650 – 01:05:09.480 Music, for sure.
  917. 01:05:10.000 – 01:05:15.060 When I am going through trying times, I resort to music.
  918. 01:05:16.760 – 01:05:17.720 Drawing.
  919. 01:05:18.200 – 01:05:19.240 What type of music?
  920. 01:05:20.340 – 01:05:23.800 So I really listen to all types of music.
  921. 01:05:25.340 – 01:05:29.200 So I love reggae music.
  922. 01:05:29.680 – 01:05:31.500 It's my number one.
  923. 01:05:32.680 – 01:05:36.200 Afrobeat, soca, but I also love classical.
  924. 01:05:37.380 – 01:05:39.000 I also love contemporary.
  925. 01:05:40.940 – 01:05:46.320 I love house music, as it would be called, or techno.
  926. 01:05:46.840 – 01:05:47.200 Yeah.
  927. 01:05:49.940 – 01:05:55.830 And I love instrumentals and band music.
  928. 01:05:56.110 – 01:06:00.670 So I like to listen to band cadences and drum lines and things like
  929. 01:06:00.670 – 01:06:01.430 that.
  930. 01:06:01.950 – 01:06:02.670 Okay.
  931. 01:06:02.670 – 01:06:05.570 But I also like listening to DJ mashups.
  932. 01:06:07.070 – 01:06:08.550 Love it, love it, love it.
  933. 01:06:08.610 – 01:06:11.930 Because you never know how they're going to do a lead out or a lead in.
  934. 01:06:12.010 – 01:06:16.530 And they may do a mashup to chew and even expect them for them to do, but
  935. 01:06:16.530 – 01:06:21.730 because of their creative ear, they heard that undertone beat from the
  936. 01:06:21.730 – 01:06:22.830 one song to the next.
  937. 01:06:23.030 – 01:06:25.110 And so I love that.
  938. 01:06:28.830 – 01:06:31.590 Drawing or doodling, I'll call it doodling.
  939. 01:06:32.250 – 01:06:32.650 I don't know.
  940. 01:06:33.250 – 01:06:35.510 Doodling, I'll doodle.
  941. 01:06:37.010 – 01:06:38.290 Doodly doodly do.
  942. 01:06:42.050 – 01:06:47.410 Oh, but I was in school, I used to doodle a lot in my books and stuff
  943. 01:06:47.410 – 01:06:50.150 and to the point where they call my parents, like, she's not focusing.
  944. 01:06:51.150 – 01:06:55.070 And I kept telling them I'm having a hard time focusing, you know, and
  945. 01:06:55.070 – 01:07:00.510 you know, us as creatives, most of us have some type of neurodivergency
  946. 01:07:00.510 – 01:07:02.350 going on somewhere and somewhere.
  947. 01:07:03.230 – 01:07:06.770 And so I didn't find out until I got to college.
  948. 01:07:07.890 – 01:07:10.350 And so I doodle sometimes.
  949. 01:07:11.250 – 01:07:12.810 It helps my mind escape.
  950. 01:07:13.490 – 01:07:14.790 I might doodle anything.
  951. 01:07:15.330 – 01:07:20.430 I might be doing a whole battle on Mortal Kombat just happening.
  952. 01:07:21.110 – 01:07:24.850 This is my version of my, you know, what I'm drawing, but I might do
  953. 01:07:24.850 – 01:07:28.910 that when sometimes I'll write a little, like it's a comic book or
  954. 01:07:28.910 – 01:07:32.990 sometimes I'll write, like, love stories as far as, like, in the
  955. 01:07:32.990 – 01:07:34.510 little quotes and stuff.
  956. 01:07:35.270 – 01:07:36.610 That helps my mind escape.
  957. 01:07:38.750 – 01:07:45.790 Another creative area that I really zen out to is watching movies.
  958. 01:07:46.530 – 01:07:51.370 I'm a big movie buff, but when I'm overwhelmed, I'll legitimately
  959. 01:07:51.370 – 01:07:55.150 even go to the movies and pick a movie, watch it.
  960. 01:07:55.150 – 01:07:56.910 Don't matter what it is, none of that.
  961. 01:07:56.910 – 01:07:58.390 Don't read it.
  962. 01:07:58.690 – 01:07:59.090 None of that.
  963. 01:07:59.150 – 01:08:01.070 Say, okay, which one's coming up?
  964. 01:08:01.210 – 01:08:01.910 Pick that one.
  965. 01:08:02.030 – 01:08:02.350 Okay.
  966. 01:08:02.770 – 01:08:03.890 Watch it.
  967. 01:08:04.190 – 01:08:06.830 I like the creativity that movies give.
  968. 01:08:08.110 – 01:08:10.850 Most especially when you begin to look at the deep symbolism or
  969. 01:08:10.850 – 01:08:12.550 certain things and things like that.
  970. 01:08:13.730 – 01:08:22.090 So I would say I always look to kind of decompress with other
  971. 01:08:22.090 – 01:08:24.090 creative things that's around me.
  972. 01:08:26.970 – 01:08:28.170 Do you have a favorite artist?
  973. 01:08:30.950 – 01:08:34.270 As far as music?
  974. 01:08:35.210 – 01:08:42.670 Music, painting, someone that's like you, creative community.
  975. 01:08:42.689 – 01:08:47.050 So my favorite artist is Andy Warhol.
  976. 01:08:49.069 – 01:08:51.729 I like his work.
  977. 01:08:52.370 – 01:08:58.910 My favorite architect is Courtney, well, generic, but it's Frank
  978. 01:08:58.910 – 01:08:59.770 Boy, right?
  979. 01:09:01.310 – 01:09:03.970 Because I like the stories behind his work.
  980. 01:09:04.270 – 01:09:06.950 When you look at his buildings and the story that's behind it,
  981. 01:09:06.950 – 01:09:09.010 you can see it.
  982. 01:09:11.490 – 01:09:19.529 My favorite artist, Reggae, or I would say it's Jacqueer,
  983. 01:09:19.529 – 01:09:25.050 Egyptian, I mean, this goes on with them.
  984. 01:09:26.189 – 01:09:28.550 But those men.
  985. 01:09:29.990 – 01:09:36.710 And then my favorite band to listen to is Clark Atlanta.
  986. 01:09:38.330 – 01:09:50.819 And then I also like, I like mystery movies.
  987. 01:09:51.420 – 01:09:57.290 Like movies that make you think, like, okay, you thought it was
  988. 01:09:57.290 – 01:09:58.890 that person, but it wasn't.
  989. 01:09:59.230 – 01:10:04.490 So almost like clue movies, but I like that type of movie.
  990. 01:10:05.530 – 01:10:09.410 Kind of what my mind needs to kind of relax is that.
  991. 01:10:09.410 – 01:10:12.510 And then I also would watch romance movies.
  992. 01:10:13.310 – 01:10:18.650 Only because I'm a sappy chick, so I'd be sitting there crying.
  993. 01:10:19.090 – 01:10:20.330 And I'm a lovey dovey chick.
  994. 01:10:20.330 – 01:10:22.850 It's got to be a rom-com.
  995. 01:10:23.630 – 01:10:25.050 It's got to be a laugh.
  996. 01:10:25.990 – 01:10:28.090 I like rom-coms.
  997. 01:10:29.070 – 01:10:30.810 Cheesy, but rom-coms.
  998. 01:10:32.930 – 01:10:35.530 I like rom-coms too.
  999. 01:10:36.170 – 01:10:37.490 But I'm definitely a hard marching.
  1000. 01:10:41.430 – 01:10:44.790 Oh, that's good.
  1001. 01:10:44.990 – 01:10:45.550 That's good.
  1002. 01:10:46.670 – 01:10:50.150 And transition more on the business side.
  1003. 01:10:50.950 – 01:10:53.550 When was that moment that it clicked?
  1004. 01:10:53.870 – 01:10:54.450 Like, you know what?
  1005. 01:10:54.450 – 01:10:58.830 I can use my creativity for business purposes.
  1006. 01:11:00.170 – 01:11:02.750 Do you remember what our occurrence was?
  1007. 01:11:05.140 – 01:11:08.040 So my occurrence was interesting.
  1008. 01:11:08.060 – 01:11:15.980 It was because my professor was on my neck when I was in college.
  1009. 01:11:15.980 – 01:11:19.000 And I felt like he was picking on me.
  1010. 01:11:19.280 – 01:11:24.600 And one day, he thought that I was in my phone.
  1011. 01:11:25.580 – 01:11:28.540 And I wasn't, but I was.
  1012. 01:11:30.240 – 01:11:32.560 So he was like, Shakur, come up here.
  1013. 01:11:32.620 – 01:11:35.020 And I'm like, man, why this man calling me up here?
  1014. 01:11:35.060 – 01:11:35.620 Dang.
  1015. 01:11:36.540 – 01:11:40.740 And it was only two black students in my whole program.
  1016. 01:11:41.340 – 01:11:43.800 And it was me, one other female.
  1017. 01:11:45.260 – 01:11:49.260 And he was like, I felt like he was picking on me, right?
  1018. 01:11:49.400 – 01:11:55.980 And all my professors were non-minority.
  1019. 01:11:57.020 – 01:12:02.030 So he says, what's going to be your legacy as a designer?
  1020. 01:12:03.310 – 01:12:05.650 And I made this face, and he made it back.
  1021. 01:12:06.310 – 01:12:11.490 He said, well, I'm thinking, call me up here to ask me this right now.
  1022. 01:12:11.510 – 01:12:12.470 It's all random.
  1023. 01:12:12.470 – 01:12:15.470 Like literally, while he was lecturing, he did it.
  1024. 01:12:15.990 – 01:12:18.090 And so I was like, I'm a creative Leo.
  1025. 01:12:18.530 – 01:12:19.450 He was like, we're proving.
  1026. 01:12:19.590 – 01:12:20.630 I was like, all right.
  1027. 01:12:20.950 – 01:12:26.270 So I started my business a month later.
  1028. 01:12:27.450 – 01:12:33.670 Now, when I started it, truthfully, it was because of that moment.
  1029. 01:12:34.170 – 01:12:43.050 But I did not have the mental thought that I would do something with the business.
  1030. 01:12:44.090 – 01:12:49.110 I was studying to be an interior designer, and that's what I was about to go do in life.
  1031. 01:12:49.730 – 01:12:52.050 And yeah, sophomore year of college.
  1032. 01:12:53.090 – 01:12:56.150 And so he became my first client.
  1033. 01:12:57.270 – 01:13:02.490 He asked me to design a flyer for his Christmas party at his house.
  1034. 01:13:03.930 – 01:13:05.790 He invited me to the Christmas party.
  1035. 01:13:06.050 – 01:13:06.470 I went.
  1036. 01:13:06.470 – 01:13:10.250 And again, I'm still thinking, why does man invite me to this Christmas party?
  1037. 01:13:10.670 – 01:13:13.150 But I went and had a great time.
  1038. 01:13:13.690 – 01:13:17.710 And I asked him, why you be being so hard on me?
  1039. 01:13:18.150 – 01:13:20.270 He said, because you don't see your own potential.
  1040. 01:13:23.070 – 01:13:27.210 And honestly, looking back, that was the moment.
  1041. 01:13:27.970 – 01:13:34.210 You know, for when I realized that I do have what it takes,
  1042. 01:13:34.210 – 01:13:37.110 I just need to apply myself and do better.
  1043. 01:13:38.470 – 01:13:44.970 And so then I started taking design classes on the graphic side, fell in love with that as well.
  1044. 01:13:46.130 – 01:13:48.670 And then began to do different things.
  1045. 01:13:49.870 – 01:13:53.490 And my family would always have, like, events and parties and stuff.
  1046. 01:13:54.250 – 01:13:55.370 So I started.
  1047. 01:13:55.870 – 01:13:57.670 I took my business serious.
  1048. 01:13:57.670 – 01:14:03.050 Maybe like, I don't say probably like seven or eight months later,
  1049. 01:14:03.350 – 01:14:07.250 he was having something and I wanted to like brand myself.
  1050. 01:14:07.370 – 01:14:12.230 And so I started figuring out how one of my business logo to be what it is.
  1051. 01:14:12.370 – 01:14:14.910 It took all that time to do that.
  1052. 01:14:14.910 – 01:14:28.670 And he ended up telling me later on down the road down the years that, you know, he was proud of me.
  1053. 01:14:28.710 – 01:14:33.650 He was happy to see me still sticking with being the creative Leo.
  1054. 01:14:35.850 – 01:14:39.250 And I graduated and got a job.
  1055. 01:14:40.250 – 01:14:43.550 The business was still something on the side that I did.
  1056. 01:14:43.550 – 01:14:45.870 It was cool, but it was still something on the side.
  1057. 01:14:46.730 – 01:14:52.110 And then one day I realized I was running somebody else's company and I have my own that I could run.
  1058. 01:14:54.610 – 01:14:55.490 And then.
  1059. 01:14:56.830 – 01:15:04.630 My so the company I was with, they was a situation that happened and basically eluded to that I was not being trustworthy.
  1060. 01:15:05.190 – 01:15:07.150 But somebody was lying on me.
  1061. 01:15:07.550 – 01:15:09.590 So they end up coming out in the rents later.
  1062. 01:15:09.590 – 01:15:20.150 But, you know, so I realized that I wanted to be somewhere of value where I could be valued and, you know, appreciated and not seen in the light that I never would do.
  1063. 01:15:21.170 – 01:15:27.830 So I took that leap of faith and go full time in the business and have not looked back.
  1064. 01:15:30.190 – 01:15:39.890 It's been an interesting journey because, again, there's been so many challenges that have come my way, but I refuse to give up.
  1065. 01:15:39.890 – 01:15:41.630 I refuse to cave in.
  1066. 01:15:41.930 – 01:15:43.650 And, you know, I'm going to try to keep pushing.
  1067. 01:15:44.230 – 01:15:59.550 But I had a couple of different aha moments business wise that solidified me being on this journey, especially that no look back.
  1068. 01:15:59.770 – 01:16:04.510 I'll say if you did look back, we would have never met this conversation.
  1069. 01:16:04.610 – 01:16:07.750 This podcast would have never been had.
  1070. 01:16:07.750 – 01:16:09.610 Like it's so many moments.
  1071. 01:16:10.450 – 01:16:13.230 We went right into so many of the same rooms.
  1072. 01:16:14.330 – 01:16:15.310 That works.
  1073. 01:16:17.690 – 01:16:24.090 But even started an office on like you just jumped and did it and wanted to prove yourself.
  1074. 01:16:24.590 – 01:16:35.570 So where did you learn business from, or was it parents pure experience, pure experience and then I ended up going to get a business degree.
  1075. 01:16:37.330 – 01:16:41.190 I wanted to make sure that I understood it better.
  1076. 01:16:41.870 – 01:16:52.670 So I changed my major and did it up, switching the business and then getting a business degree and then
  1077. 01:16:54.930 – 01:16:58.410 applying what I have learned in my business.
  1078. 01:16:59.350 – 01:17:04.490 And then, but the rest of it was through the trenches.
  1079. 01:17:05.650 – 01:17:10.450 To be honest, just, you know, learn about trial and error.
  1080. 01:17:10.910 – 01:17:13.410 Realize, oh, I was supposed to do that this way.
  1081. 01:17:14.570 – 01:17:18.630 Oh, I need to go fix that my bad, you know.
  1082. 01:17:20.190 – 01:17:27.630 But that type of those moments made me begin to really want to learn more and really make sure that I'm taking this serious.
  1083. 01:17:27.930 – 01:17:34.170 And I realized that I'm only going to get as far as I can based off of what I put in.
  1084. 01:17:34.970 – 01:17:41.630 So I've been putting in, pouring in, learning more and more and more to elevate my business.
  1085. 01:17:43.390 – 01:17:46.050 Yeah, I definitely testify to that.
  1086. 01:17:46.250 – 01:17:46.910 Yes, you are.
  1087. 01:17:47.090 – 01:17:55.830 And even being in the same rooms, like I said, and learning from the same people and same colleges, college programs.
  1088. 01:17:56.870 – 01:17:58.030 Like, yes, you are.
  1089. 01:17:58.070 – 01:17:58.630 Yes, you are.
  1090. 01:17:58.690 – 01:18:00.050 Yes, you are.
  1091. 01:18:00.590 – 01:18:05.670 About that growth and constant learning and the more you learn, the more creative you could be.
  1092. 01:18:06.450 – 01:18:06.970 Absolutely.
  1093. 01:18:07.910 – 01:18:11.890 The more you're exposed to different things, the more you see, the more you hear.
  1094. 01:18:12.150 – 01:18:14.810 The different stories that's being shared.
  1095. 01:18:16.190 – 01:18:18.130 The different angles, the different perspectives.
  1096. 01:18:18.230 – 01:18:20.950 It's always something to learn from.
  1097. 01:18:21.750 – 01:18:27.490 Even if people that, they draw the same picture over and over and over.
  1098. 01:18:28.410 – 01:18:32.710 It gradually evolves or changes and gets better.
  1099. 01:18:33.170 – 01:18:35.930 Because they did it 10,000 times.
  1100. 01:18:35.930 – 01:18:42.010 But the million time they did it, it may look completely different from the first time they did it.
  1101. 01:18:42.730 – 01:18:43.690 But it's the same picture.
  1102. 01:18:48.810 – 01:18:55.190 Did you have a biggest business lesson already or is this something that's still in the works?
  1103. 01:18:57.790 – 01:18:59.370 Biggest business lesson?
  1104. 01:19:02.940 – 01:19:06.680 I'm going to have to go with this.
  1105. 01:19:06.820 – 01:19:09.840 I'm learning through the $10,000 Small Business Program.
  1106. 01:19:10.880 – 01:19:12.680 Knowing your numbers.
  1107. 01:19:14.820 – 01:19:20.760 That, to me, that's been my biggest stand-in-all moment so far on this journey.
  1108. 01:19:21.540 – 01:19:25.700 That I wish I'd approached and known my numbers the way I know them now.
  1109. 01:19:26.180 – 01:19:29.640 To help me make decisions that I probably would be further ahead.
  1110. 01:19:30.140 – 01:19:31.300 Oh, I like that.
  1111. 01:19:31.420 – 01:19:37.060 And I probably wouldn't have made some of the mistakes I made, you know, financially and things like that.
  1112. 01:19:37.060 – 01:19:38.740 If I knew the numbers.
  1113. 01:19:39.300 – 01:19:45.760 But sometimes when you're in business, you, just like in life, you're like, okay, well, I feel this is right or I feel this.
  1114. 01:19:46.220 – 01:19:50.140 No, everything in business, run the numbers.
  1115. 01:19:50.740 – 01:19:52.920 Let the numbers dictate your decision.
  1116. 01:19:54.180 – 01:19:54.700 Period.
  1117. 01:19:55.420 – 01:19:57.160 Don't add up.
  1118. 01:19:57.380 – 01:20:00.160 If it makes sense number-wise, don't do it.
  1119. 01:20:00.260 – 01:20:04.240 Or see how you need to alter it to maybe make the sense for the numbers.
  1120. 01:20:04.240 – 01:20:09.480 But if I would have just had that beforehand.
  1121. 01:20:10.320 – 01:20:11.240 Oh, my goodness.
  1122. 01:20:13.140 – 01:20:15.680 I just would just so many things differently.
  1123. 01:20:16.060 – 01:20:18.720 So now I don't make no decisions without knowing my numbers.
  1124. 01:20:19.780 – 01:20:24.140 So before you knew your numbers and you was making those decisions, what was that like?
  1125. 01:20:25.900 – 01:20:31.120 It was me feeling like, okay, this seems like it'll be right, you know?
  1126. 01:20:31.120 – 01:20:37.500 Or I think people will buy this shirt, right?
  1127. 01:20:38.160 – 01:20:40.520 But I didn't do no research.
  1128. 01:20:41.100 – 01:20:42.480 I didn't do no perspectives.
  1129. 01:20:43.100 – 01:20:45.540 So I'm going off what I think I feel.
  1130. 01:20:47.920 – 01:20:49.460 That's fine and dandy.
  1131. 01:20:50.740 – 01:20:58.100 But I think I feel only go so far if you didn't test out what you're thinking of, you know?
  1132. 01:21:00.000 – 01:21:03.740 Kind of like when you're doing research and development.
  1133. 01:21:04.420 – 01:21:07.520 If you got a product, that's the reason why they test it.
  1134. 01:21:07.800 – 01:21:11.580 That's the reason you got to test products because you got to know the numbers behind it.
  1135. 01:21:11.740 – 01:21:16.600 When you did the product testing, how many people liked it?
  1136. 01:21:16.740 – 01:21:17.220 Didn't like it?
  1137. 01:21:17.220 – 01:21:17.940 The taste was great.
  1138. 01:21:17.940 – 01:21:18.860 Taste was bad.
  1139. 01:21:18.980 – 01:21:19.920 The smell was good.
  1140. 01:21:19.960 – 01:21:20.980 The smell was bad.
  1141. 01:21:21.440 – 01:21:22.680 The after effect was this.
  1142. 01:21:22.860 – 01:21:24.100 How many did you do?
  1143. 01:21:24.340 – 01:21:26.400 Test 100 people or not?
  1144. 01:21:27.140 – 01:21:29.280 Because what if they do no testing?
  1145. 01:21:30.880 – 01:21:39.300 And you say, like I remember I bought for my printer, I should have bought one pack of paper, tested it out.
  1146. 01:21:39.360 – 01:21:44.560 No, I bought a whole three cases of this paper because it was a good deal.
  1147. 01:21:45.340 – 01:21:49.840 The paper ended up being not the best paper for the obituary.
  1148. 01:21:49.840 – 01:21:57.460 So now we're stuck with three cases of this paper that you can't return, right?
  1149. 01:21:58.980 – 01:22:01.400 So I should have tested it out.
  1150. 01:22:01.400 – 01:22:04.180 There's some R&D on that paper, right?
  1151. 01:22:04.980 – 01:22:07.580 But not even looking at the cost of running the numbers.
  1152. 01:22:08.140 – 01:22:11.540 How much is it going to cost me if this is not good paper?
  1153. 01:22:12.260 – 01:22:13.360 I didn't look at that.
  1154. 01:22:14.900 – 01:22:17.140 So that was a waste of money.
  1155. 01:22:17.140 – 01:22:19.200 Should have did some numbers.
  1156. 01:22:19.420 – 01:22:28.600 Should have looked at the cost better and should have realized the cost was going to be substantial if the paper didn't work out.
  1157. 01:22:29.280 – 01:22:32.320 But I went with the, I think it might work.
  1158. 01:22:33.780 – 01:22:37.700 And because they had to sell a cut to three cases.
  1159. 01:22:39.480 – 01:22:47.930 So yeah, that was a fail for sure because I never, you know what?
  1160. 01:22:47.950 – 01:22:51.030 To this day that paper is in my storage unit.
  1161. 01:22:51.290 – 01:22:53.390 Come to think of it.
  1162. 01:22:53.930 – 01:23:04.690 Well, I know you hold different workshops and you have almost 500 plus attendees at these workshops.
  1163. 01:23:05.430 – 01:23:07.070 I think you could use them at your workshops.
  1164. 01:23:08.310 – 01:23:11.030 If I probably should just use a prescribed paper.
  1165. 01:23:11.830 – 01:23:13.470 I probably should.
  1166. 01:23:13.850 – 01:23:19.670 I really should because I can't print on it, you know, or I can even, you know what?
  1167. 01:23:19.990 – 01:23:21.310 I probably can't even donate.
  1168. 01:23:22.550 – 01:23:27.610 Now I'm talking to you through other programs that they're doing with the Youth in the City Artwise.
  1169. 01:23:28.050 – 01:23:30.410 I can maybe donate it.
  1170. 01:23:30.570 – 01:23:32.870 And that's probably should do something.
  1171. 01:23:33.150 – 01:23:35.170 It's definitely sitting there.
  1172. 01:23:35.170 – 01:23:36.390 It has a new home.
  1173. 01:23:38.570 – 01:23:40.510 I didn't get rid of it.
  1174. 01:23:40.590 – 01:23:43.510 You know, I didn't have to thought of repurposing and use it.
  1175. 01:23:44.110 – 01:23:47.550 But I had a little delay on my actions.
  1176. 01:23:50.710 – 01:23:52.210 Some come abouts, cool.
  1177. 01:23:54.090 – 01:23:54.610 Yes.
  1178. 01:23:54.930 – 01:23:55.770 Well, know your numbers.
  1179. 01:23:56.430 – 01:23:56.630 Yeah.
  1180. 01:23:56.850 – 01:23:58.350 So know your numbers.
  1181. 01:24:00.210 – 01:24:02.210 How much do your dream cost?
  1182. 01:24:02.350 – 01:24:03.350 You know your numbers.
  1183. 01:24:03.350 – 01:24:08.510 You want to do set design and graphics for a movie.
  1184. 01:24:08.790 – 01:24:15.770 If the right movie was to approach you with a limited budget, what would you charge them?
  1185. 01:24:22.040 – 01:24:24.220 Probably 100,000.
  1186. 01:24:27.160 – 01:24:27.740 Know your numbers.
  1187. 01:24:27.840 – 01:24:30.640 Why you come up with that number specifically?
  1188. 01:24:32.580 – 01:24:40.920 Because you look at maybe how much time it's going to take to do the filming and things like that.
  1189. 01:24:40.920 – 01:24:43.460 And maybe how many hours, you know.
  1190. 01:24:43.740 – 01:24:47.180 So when you break all that down, what does it equal to?
  1191. 01:24:47.280 – 01:24:50.140 And then you also got to think about if you're going to have to pay somebody.
  1192. 01:24:50.940 – 01:24:54.700 But that is for like a three month film time.
  1193. 01:24:55.800 – 01:24:58.660 Now, if it was six months, then we tripling it.
  1194. 01:24:58.660 – 01:24:59.880 I mean doubling it, I'm sorry.
  1195. 01:25:00.760 – 01:25:08.260 But yeah, because I might have to pay somebody within that time frame to assist or something like that.
  1196. 01:25:08.260 – 01:25:13.940 So it depends on the type of set, but I'm thinking like a smaller set.
  1197. 01:25:16.230 – 01:25:21.170 Now we got like eight different rooms, two hospital views.
  1198. 01:25:21.230 – 01:25:22.290 That's a different story.
  1199. 01:25:24.310 – 01:25:26.350 But I'm thinking something small.
  1200. 01:25:27.690 – 01:25:28.330 Okay.
  1201. 01:25:30.090 – 01:25:34.350 And as you mentioned, team, you need these key players.
  1202. 01:25:34.350 – 01:25:35.610 Excuse me.
  1203. 01:25:35.770 – 01:25:39.290 Not just for the movie, but for your business right now.
  1204. 01:25:39.710 – 01:25:41.330 The creative Leo.
  1205. 01:25:42.310 – 01:25:45.610 What are some of the people that you need on your team right now?
  1206. 01:25:48.050 – 01:25:58.710 I need fellow creative strategists that can take on different key project areas.
  1207. 01:26:00.250 – 01:26:04.230 So as I said, we do commercial printing, but we also do graphics.
  1208. 01:26:04.230 – 01:26:11.270 So someone that can be over a commercial printing side would be cool and try to drive that area.
  1209. 01:26:11.290 – 01:26:13.290 Someone to drive the graphic area.
  1210. 01:26:14.610 – 01:26:26.950 And then myself will more or less kind of play a role in those key areas, but also drive the creative brand side of things as well.
  1211. 01:26:29.040 – 01:26:29.220 Okay.
  1212. 01:26:29.220 – 01:26:37.040 And when you say creative strategist, because I mean, I consider myself as a creative strategist in a sense.
  1213. 01:26:38.300 – 01:26:42.620 Not necessarily brand myself as that, but a wink wink.
  1214. 01:26:43.000 – 01:26:44.900 We could definitely talk about it.
  1215. 01:26:51.050 – 01:26:53.470 But wrapping up, wrapping up, wrapping up.
  1216. 01:26:54.470 – 01:27:03.310 When we think about legacy, what does legacy mean for you and then also for your business?
  1217. 01:27:06.130 – 01:27:19.080 For me, legacy means how did I make people feel when they met me or when they spoke to me or when they saw me?
  1218. 01:27:19.080 – 01:27:25.280 Legacy for me personally is about community impact as well.
  1219. 01:27:25.280 – 01:27:33.840 I'm big on the community, big on volunteering, big on helping out where I can in any way.
  1220. 01:27:34.200 – 01:27:44.340 Because I feel like my community poured into me as I was growing up and I feel that it still does.
  1221. 01:27:45.660 – 01:27:48.900 On a business side, connecting to a community.
  1222. 01:27:51.700 – 01:27:57.180 You're asking the community to support your business, but not support the community as a business.
  1223. 01:27:57.340 – 01:27:59.120 It's crazy work to me.
  1224. 01:28:00.440 – 01:28:06.960 Because there's areas as business owners we can have great impact when it comes to our community.
  1225. 01:28:06.960 – 01:28:15.920 Whether you donate into local community center to help them with feed, doing meals or something like that.
  1226. 01:28:16.460 – 01:28:19.000 The impact can go all the way.
  1227. 01:28:19.800 – 01:28:24.280 And most especially when you collaborate with other business owners to make a bigger impact.
  1228. 01:28:25.940 – 01:28:36.400 Legacy for my business is how can we preserve certain moments in time and become a part of history
  1229. 01:28:36.400 – 01:28:39.880 that will ultimately evolve history.
  1230. 01:28:44.200 – 01:28:46.660 I would say that's my legacy.
  1231. 01:28:49.260 – 01:29:00.840 And as you talk about preservation, I just took a walk last year downtown multiple times.
  1232. 01:29:01.520 – 01:29:07.180 Just around downtown looking at the buildings, looking at the art, looking at the statues.
  1233. 01:29:08.320 – 01:29:12.420 You see a lot of grief, a lot of sadness.
  1234. 01:29:13.460 – 01:29:20.900 War and poverty and these statues and monuments and even the architecture on the buildings.
  1235. 01:29:21.120 – 01:29:28.640 If you really look at the detail of certain buildings downtown, it's grief and it's sadness.
  1236. 01:29:29.840 – 01:29:33.240 And then it reflects the city.
  1237. 01:29:33.240 – 01:29:35.800 And when people look at that, it's almost like a mirror.
  1238. 01:29:35.980 – 01:29:37.840 They reflect what they see.
  1239. 01:29:38.800 – 01:29:44.340 And you see the homelessness, the poverty, the war with the shootings and everything.
  1240. 01:29:44.820 – 01:29:46.960 Because our downtown looks like this.
  1241. 01:29:46.960 – 01:29:48.340 This is what we're reflecting.
  1242. 01:29:49.420 – 01:29:56.160 What is your thoughts on those images,
  1243. 01:29:57.180 – 01:30:03.500 visualization pieces that are used downtown and on these buildings and statues?
  1244. 01:30:06.960 – 01:30:09.080 You said what is some of the visualization?
  1245. 01:30:10.800 – 01:30:18.020 What's your thoughts on the visualization and the images, the imagery that's used on these buildings?
  1246. 01:30:21.740 – 01:30:26.260 So, you know, obviously going to school for interior design,
  1247. 01:30:26.460 – 01:30:29.040 you really learn and we have to learn architectural history.
  1248. 01:30:29.680 – 01:30:32.600 And we have to be able to look at a building or look at a house
  1249. 01:30:32.600 – 01:30:37.360 and tell you all the designs features and write them down for a test.
  1250. 01:30:38.460 – 01:30:41.800 So, I totally get where you're coming from.
  1251. 01:30:42.980 – 01:30:47.900 I think these features and these things tell history.
  1252. 01:30:50.000 – 01:30:59.620 Just like 50 years from now, the signs, the walls, the monuments,
  1253. 01:30:59.780 – 01:31:06.460 or the areas that have George Floyd on them, the murals, things like that,
  1254. 01:31:07.820 – 01:31:11.220 people are going to go back and look that up.
  1255. 01:31:11.220 – 01:31:15.240 And it's going to speak to our history and our time.
  1256. 01:31:16.730 – 01:31:21.230 But if you go back to some historical parts of Cleveland
  1257. 01:31:22.290 – 01:31:25.990 and you go back and realize that you're standing on a street
  1258. 01:31:27.530 – 01:31:31.050 that was considered a segregated area
  1259. 01:31:31.810 – 01:31:38.510 and you are in a part of it where your ancestors were not welcomed,
  1260. 01:31:40.080 – 01:31:44.300 it changes your whole perspective as you stand in that moment.
  1261. 01:31:45.920 – 01:31:48.240 Because you're now looking at a house
  1262. 01:31:48.240 – 01:31:52.420 or something that stood during that time frame
  1263. 01:31:53.080 – 01:31:55.680 that was a part of the historical society.
  1264. 01:31:56.700 – 01:31:59.100 And it will tell you different histories and stuff.
  1265. 01:31:59.620 – 01:32:04.060 And you're like, whoa, okay, so this house was this.
  1266. 01:32:04.580 – 01:32:06.860 In Akron, John Brown House,
  1267. 01:32:07.620 – 01:32:09.820 so you just live in Akron but not Akron U.
  1268. 01:32:10.320 – 01:32:13.600 But the John Brown House is there in Akron, it still stands.
  1269. 01:32:17.200 – 01:32:19.900 And going to go see that and reading the history
  1270. 01:32:20.380 – 01:32:25.060 and seeing where it is now, it's not on a bad side of town or nothing.
  1271. 01:32:25.720 – 01:32:30.440 It's just like, what did this look like?
  1272. 01:32:30.940 – 01:32:33.940 You know in a movie where they can stand in the middle
  1273. 01:32:33.940 – 01:32:38.140 somewhere and everything around them rewinds.
  1274. 01:32:39.480 – 01:32:43.120 I think that what we see is a part of history,
  1275. 01:32:44.060 – 01:32:47.180 most especially in certain architectural designs
  1276. 01:32:47.180 – 01:32:49.980 and things of that nature as well.
  1277. 01:32:52.240 – 01:32:55.740 The reason why some buildings have gargoyles on them
  1278. 01:32:55.740 – 01:33:04.280 or like Grecian people or all that is the story behind it.
  1279. 01:33:06.940 – 01:33:13.300 And they creatively, to me, preserved history by putting that there,
  1280. 01:33:13.300 – 01:33:17.080 which is why murial walls and things like that
  1281. 01:33:17.080 – 01:33:20.980 where people, artists who are creatively expressing their feelings
  1282. 01:33:20.980 – 01:33:30.560 about maybe what's going on in society, if it still stands, you know.
  1283. 01:33:31.580 – 01:33:37.300 You surely influenced me and stopped me from cussing out the city of Cleveland.
  1284. 01:33:37.300 – 01:33:38.960 Y'all need to change this.
  1285. 01:33:40.780 – 01:33:42.020 It's a different perspective.
  1286. 01:33:43.000 – 01:33:45.260 That's actually different.
  1287. 01:33:47.740 – 01:33:48.220 Okay.
  1288. 01:33:49.420 – 01:33:55.220 And for someone that's listening to this as we explore your creative mind,
  1289. 01:33:56.580 – 01:34:01.040 what is three to five takeaways from this podcast interview
  1290. 01:34:01.040 – 01:34:03.340 that you would love to leave?
  1291. 01:34:06.730 – 01:34:12.050 Understand that your creativity deserves to be seen and heard.
  1292. 01:34:14.610 – 01:34:18.370 Make sure that you use your creativity to influence.
  1293. 01:34:20.810 – 01:34:24.290 And ask yourself, what will your legacy be with your creativity?
  1294. 01:34:29.050 – 01:34:30.610 I would say those are minds.
  1295. 01:34:33.870 – 01:34:40.790 Creative influence is like the overarching theme in my mind for this.
  1296. 01:34:42.510 – 01:34:43.530 This has been beautiful.
  1297. 01:34:44.810 – 01:34:48.790 But I know you said you have a shop, a book.
  1298. 01:34:49.490 – 01:34:52.810 How can we find more information about that?
  1299. 01:34:53.130 – 01:34:56.490 Or can they look you up, book you, all that good stuff?
  1300. 01:34:57.670 – 01:34:58.150 Sure.
  1301. 01:34:58.350 – 01:35:04.370 So I'm on Instagram at the underscore Creative Leo
  1302. 01:35:05.530 – 01:35:09.030 or at Creative Leo Designs, business-wise,
  1303. 01:35:09.030 – 01:35:13.270 I'm on Facebook, Creative Leo Designs,
  1304. 01:35:13.330 – 01:35:19.250 or my name, which is spelled S-H-C-A-R-R-A.
  1305. 01:35:19.910 – 01:35:23.350 Last name being with two N's, B-E-N-N.
  1306. 01:35:23.770 – 01:35:24.930 I'm on LinkedIn.
  1307. 01:35:25.810 – 01:35:27.550 Connect with me where you may like.
  1308. 01:35:28.130 – 01:35:31.770 If you want to have more conversations or dialogue about creativity,
  1309. 01:35:32.730 – 01:35:35.810 how you view it, what you think, I'm here for it.
  1310. 01:35:35.810 – 01:35:41.210 If you're interested in maybe understanding what your creativity may be,
  1311. 01:35:41.210 – 01:35:45.570 I'm here for that as well because I help people understand that, you know,
  1312. 01:35:45.610 – 01:35:46.650 you have it as well.
  1313. 01:35:46.990 – 01:35:51.050 And so I normally, I have yet to not bring it out of somebody
  1314. 01:35:51.830 – 01:35:55.050 because I want to make sure everybody understands their creativity
  1315. 01:35:55.050 – 01:35:56.650 and why it's needed.
  1316. 01:35:57.950 – 01:36:01.130 So book will be coming out August 14th,
  1317. 01:36:01.150 – 01:36:04.310 named to be determined by collaborating with Mom and Dad.
  1318. 01:36:06.130 – 01:36:11.250 And my Creative Hub, again, will be opening August 14th,
  1319. 01:36:11.250 – 01:36:13.970 if everything goes well, as well.
  1320. 01:36:14.810 – 01:36:16.450 So August 14th is my birthday.
  1321. 01:36:16.790 – 01:36:18.690 We're going to be celebrating a lot of different things,
  1322. 01:36:18.830 – 01:36:21.090 but ultimately that day we celebrate creativity.
  1323. 01:36:21.810 – 01:36:24.590 So follow me for more so you can come out and support.
  1324. 01:36:26.050 – 01:36:30.590 Creative Freak, I was going to say, yeah, August 14th,
  1325. 01:36:30.590 – 01:36:33.230 you're definitely living it up creatively.
  1326. 01:36:34.770 – 01:36:35.050 Yes.
  1327. 01:36:35.850 – 01:36:36.730 I'll be there.
  1328. 01:36:36.730 – 01:36:40.650 I'll be in the building and also purchasing a book.
  1329. 01:36:41.050 – 01:36:45.450 I love to see the progress and love to read what you got
  1330. 01:36:45.450 – 01:36:47.450 and your thoughts with all you've written.
  1331. 01:36:48.450 – 01:36:51.170 If it's anything like this conversation, oh yeah,
  1332. 01:36:51.210 – 01:36:52.730 I know the book is going to be great.
  1333. 01:36:54.270 – 01:36:57.070 Yes, it's me, 100%.
  1334. 01:36:58.250 – 01:36:59.010 1000%.
  1335. 01:36:59.010 – 01:36:59.610 Yes.
  1336. 01:37:01.070 – 01:37:03.810 Yes, I appreciate you and taking the time.
  1337. 01:37:03.870 – 01:37:04.650 This is beautiful.
  1338. 01:37:05.870 – 01:37:06.370 Absolutely.
  1339. 01:37:06.430 – 01:37:07.950 Thank you for having me.
  1340. 01:37:08.810 – 01:37:09.570 Yeah.
  1341. 01:37:10.490 – 01:37:13.290 And then y'all know me, Mr. Photographer Jackson,
  1342. 01:37:13.470 – 01:37:16.970 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  1343. 01:37:17.650 – 01:37:23.290 And this is another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  1344. 01:37:23.290 – 01:37:26.590 with Shakara Ben, the creative Leo.
  1345. 01:37:27.450 – 01:37:34.670 And you can find me online at Alien Eyes Photos on all media.
  1346. 01:37:35.250 – 01:37:40.710 And check out the website and book me, alieneyesphotos.com.
  1347. 01:37:41.210 – 01:37:46.050 And everybody know we love holding creative entrepreneurs accountable
  1348. 01:37:46.050 – 01:37:50.310 and getting them started, getting them over that hump.
  1349. 01:37:50.310 – 01:37:54.130 We are purpose pushers for creative entrepreneurs
  1350. 01:37:54.130 – 01:37:57.910 helping you stay on a creative frequency.
  1351. 01:37:58.690 – 01:38:04.510 So follow us on a creative frequency on all media, especially Instagram.
  1352. 01:38:05.670 – 01:38:09.770 And hey, again, this is another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  1353. 01:38:10.630 – 01:38:11.570 Shakara, we did it.
  1354. 01:38:11.730 – 01:38:13.110 It's another one in the books.
  1355. 01:38:14.010 – 01:38:14.290 Absolutely.
  1356. 01:38:14.610 – 01:38:15.150 History.
  1357. 01:38:15.150 – 01:38:19.930 History, history, history with the creative and the historian.
  1358. 01:38:21.230 – 01:38:23.290 We are out.
  1359. 01:38:24.150 – 01:38:24.530 Bye.

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7. Stop Chasing Quick Results The Truth About Building a Successful Business

Season 1 · Episode 55

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.650 – 00:00:09.430 Walk on, walk on, walk on back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:10.850 – 00:00:14.190 And let's talk about quick results.
  3. 00:00:15.670 – 00:00:19.010 This is your host, photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson.
  4. 00:00:20.290 – 00:00:25.250 And I know a lot of people want overnight success,
  5. 00:00:25.630 – 00:00:29.930 overnight results, overnight solutions.
  6. 00:00:31.110 – 00:00:38.930 Just for instance, you know, a lot of people get married and many people get divorces.
  7. 00:00:39.910 – 00:00:47.970 And then I break up, there's still feelings and emotions and attachment and lifestyle and habits and memories.
  8. 00:00:49.050 – 00:00:52.350 And it takes time. It takes time to heal.
  9. 00:00:52.450 – 00:00:56.750 You can't just go out the next day and start dating someone else.
  10. 00:00:56.750 – 00:01:02.630 I mean, you can, but it's not healthy to. You're not healed.
  11. 00:01:02.730 – 00:01:05.510 You're not taking that moment in time for yourself.
  12. 00:01:05.610 – 00:01:11.950 You're not refinding yourself, rediscovering yourself, like who you really are outside of this relationship.
  13. 00:01:12.390 – 00:01:18.470 Because now being a single person again off of this time period or being with this person
  14. 00:01:18.470 – 00:01:24.010 and doing similar lifestyles, having a combined lifestyle, it is different.
  15. 00:01:24.010 – 00:01:26.770 It takes time.
  16. 00:01:27.410 – 00:01:30.810 Just like being a champion.
  17. 00:01:32.090 – 00:01:40.710 You're not just going to be a champion off of your first, you know, match, your first game, whatever that may be.
  18. 00:01:41.630 – 00:01:48.430 It takes time and it's a process and then it's the season and then it's the playoffs and there's the actual championship game.
  19. 00:01:48.430 – 00:01:53.190 And you have to get it, steps to it. Just follow the steps.
  20. 00:01:54.410 – 00:02:05.710 But a lot of us want to push the button down, wait 20 to 30 seconds and expect money to pop up.
  21. 00:02:06.030 – 00:02:09.410 You want the bread. You want the bread to pop up.
  22. 00:02:09.889 – 00:02:13.270 That's what you want. And I get it. I like bread too.
  23. 00:02:13.270 – 00:02:16.710 You know, the money as you call it, bread.
  24. 00:02:17.450 – 00:02:20.010 But I do like toast, toast with butter and jelly.
  25. 00:02:20.890 – 00:02:22.910 That's been a classic growing up.
  26. 00:02:24.710 – 00:02:32.550 Everybody want these microwave quick results, like put it in the microwave, two minutes later, bing, it's done.
  27. 00:02:34.370 – 00:02:39.310 And especially with this AI, people are really expecting these results.
  28. 00:02:39.310 – 00:02:44.370 Like, oh, I don't need a photo shoot. Oh, I don't need video production.
  29. 00:02:44.990 – 00:02:47.130 Oh, I don't need podcasts.
  30. 00:02:47.410 – 00:02:51.530 I don't need this. Oh, I don't need a consultant. Oh, I don't need it.
  31. 00:02:51.770 – 00:02:56.530 I got AI. I got chatty. I got Claude.
  32. 00:02:56.590 – 00:02:59.370 I got Gemini. I got Grog.
  33. 00:03:00.410 – 00:03:03.470 I got perplexity. I've been doing my research.
  34. 00:03:05.530 – 00:03:09.730 Like, AI is not, well, let me take that back.
  35. 00:03:09.850 – 00:03:12.230 I'm going to say AI is not here to save the day.
  36. 00:03:13.250 – 00:03:19.270 But to make it your N-R-B-R, you want that quick result.
  37. 00:03:21.090 – 00:03:29.050 And you put it into work beforehand and then using AI as a tool and then also working with it.
  38. 00:03:29.050 – 00:03:34.890 And then also using it at the end to wrap it all up.
  39. 00:03:35.530 – 00:03:36.790 That should be the process.
  40. 00:03:37.050 – 00:03:43.110 Not just you input into AI and you just roll with it and they controlling you.
  41. 00:03:43.110 – 00:03:44.090 You work for it.
  42. 00:03:44.370 – 00:03:50.990 And there's actually a website that's for AI hired humans.
  43. 00:03:52.270 – 00:03:53.930 So, yeah, it's real.
  44. 00:03:53.930 – 00:04:02.590 So if that's the case, just go do that versus, you know, whatever AI spits out at you.
  45. 00:04:02.670 – 00:04:09.490 You take it and roll with it, even with pictures and these flyers and content creation with it.
  46. 00:04:12.580 – 00:04:15.840 Never take the first one. Just do it again.
  47. 00:04:15.840 – 00:04:27.020 It's like, give me one more or even say give me two to three versions of this versus just one or whatever they come up with.
  48. 00:04:27.480 – 00:04:28.520 That's it.
  49. 00:04:30.200 – 00:04:34.540 And it's going back to that microwave quick results.
  50. 00:04:34.920 – 00:04:40.920 You want to push the button down on the toaster, wait 20, 30 seconds.
  51. 00:04:42.060 – 00:04:48.280 And want something magical to pop up like, you wanted to shock you, catch you off guard.
  52. 00:04:48.480 – 00:04:50.260 Wow, it really happened.
  53. 00:04:50.460 – 00:04:52.400 It popped. Wow, it's done.
  54. 00:04:52.680 – 00:04:53.840 I've got the solution.
  55. 00:04:54.500 – 00:04:55.980 It's finally done.
  56. 00:04:56.060 – 00:04:57.340 It's finally here.
  57. 00:04:57.520 – 00:04:59.580 I finally feel success.
  58. 00:05:00.740 – 00:05:06.830 But to pop that bubble, it takes time.
  59. 00:05:07.190 – 00:05:10.650 It really takes time, time to build.
  60. 00:05:10.650 – 00:05:14.950 Time to get the skills to where they need to be.
  61. 00:05:15.530 – 00:05:18.990 Time for consistency to keep compounded and building.
  62. 00:05:19.990 – 00:05:21.650 It takes time.
  63. 00:05:21.710 – 00:05:22.870 And take your time.
  64. 00:05:23.490 – 00:05:26.110 Don't be afraid and take your time.
  65. 00:05:26.550 – 00:05:36.690 You have to have patience, especially as a business owner, as an entrepreneur, creative entrepreneur, small business owner,
  66. 00:05:38.410 – 00:05:48.270 founder, CEO, you have to take that time and take time for yourself.
  67. 00:05:48.870 – 00:05:57.390 Whether if it's once a week, twice a week, take time for yourself, even if it's a half day.
  68. 00:05:58.210 – 00:05:59.970 Take that half day for yourself.
  69. 00:06:00.050 – 00:06:00.710 You know what?
  70. 00:06:02.710 – 00:06:09.350 This afternoon all the way to the evening and nighttime, this is my time.
  71. 00:06:09.570 – 00:06:17.770 This is my time once a week, once every two weeks, once every month.
  72. 00:06:17.970 – 00:06:19.150 But start somewhere.
  73. 00:06:22.020 – 00:06:28.120 I would say start with one full day and see how it works out for you.
  74. 00:06:28.480 – 00:06:29.220 Balance out.
  75. 00:06:29.340 – 00:06:30.460 But you need that time.
  76. 00:06:30.460 – 00:06:32.860 The time to yourself is powerful.
  77. 00:06:33.880 – 00:06:40.540 Even having that micro time each day, whether it's just waking up and taking that time, taking that time to meditate,
  78. 00:06:40.820 – 00:06:45.400 taking that time for yourself, taking your time to reflect, writing your journal.
  79. 00:06:47.120 – 00:06:48.360 Do what you got to do.
  80. 00:06:50.120 – 00:06:51.760 That time is for you.
  81. 00:06:52.300 – 00:06:55.640 Because the world is so, so loud.
  82. 00:06:56.080 – 00:06:58.760 Like, oh, I can't even hear myself, hear my thoughts.
  83. 00:06:58.760 – 00:07:00.320 I'm always in different conversations.
  84. 00:07:00.540 – 00:07:01.180 Oh, I got to network.
  85. 00:07:01.420 – 00:07:02.600 Oh, I got to do this production.
  86. 00:07:02.920 – 00:07:03.840 Oh, I got to direct.
  87. 00:07:04.140 – 00:07:05.800 Oh, I got to have this consultation.
  88. 00:07:06.020 – 00:07:09.080 Oh, I got to have this pre-production call, this discovery call.
  89. 00:07:09.500 – 00:07:10.880 Oh, I got to do this sales call.
  90. 00:07:10.920 – 00:07:11.980 Oh, I got to do this email.
  91. 00:07:12.140 – 00:07:16.020 This world is so loud and so much going on at once.
  92. 00:07:16.280 – 00:07:23.100 So many things going on at the same time at once.
  93. 00:07:24.180 – 00:07:25.140 So loud.
  94. 00:07:25.780 – 00:07:27.160 I want to hear myself.
  95. 00:07:27.160 – 00:07:30.580 I want to be one with myself.
  96. 00:07:31.440 – 00:07:41.100 It's cool to be one with the world, but you must first be one with yourself, especially as a solo entrepreneur.
  97. 00:07:42.020 – 00:07:51.680 It's important because you want the right people around you once you start adding team members and hiring and getting interns
  98. 00:07:52.660 – 00:07:58.360 and consultants, accountants, lawyers, like all of that.
  99. 00:07:59.400 – 00:08:05.780 You want to have the right people in place and people that you can trust and that are skillful.
  100. 00:08:06.640 – 00:08:15.400 So when you have that moment and that time away and be able to take months off, you know,
  101. 00:08:15.480 – 00:08:19.360 even a year if you wanted to have the right people in place,
  102. 00:08:19.360 – 00:08:26.800 you train them and you know their skills, you know their value, their worth, their worth and their work ethic.
  103. 00:08:27.640 – 00:08:29.480 Like, it takes time.
  104. 00:08:31.630 – 00:08:34.909 It really, really takes time.
  105. 00:08:37.350 – 00:08:41.990 And remember, you are your own competition.
  106. 00:08:42.990 – 00:08:54.550 You are to get better each day and not wait for things to just go of course.
  107. 00:08:55.990 – 00:09:01.380 Like magically something's going to happen by complaining.
  108. 00:09:03.660 – 00:09:05.240 So take that step back.
  109. 00:09:06.520 – 00:09:09.780 Be consistent and doing great things.
  110. 00:09:09.780 – 00:09:13.940 Reach for perfection, the awesomeness.
  111. 00:09:13.940 – 00:09:19.460 If you have that and you keep that, all the great things are going to come.
  112. 00:09:19.880 – 00:09:24.120 All the success that you're dying for and earning for is going to come.
  113. 00:09:25.040 – 00:09:30.920 All of the things you constantly think about when you're up at night and you land and stand at the ceiling
  114. 00:09:30.920 – 00:09:35.860 and looking at the wall, these things are going to come with hard work.
  115. 00:09:35.860 – 00:09:38.680 Get yourself out of that rut.
  116. 00:09:39.740 – 00:09:40.920 You have to do it.
  117. 00:09:40.920 – 00:09:42.680 You have to show up for you.
  118. 00:09:43.000 – 00:09:43.940 You first.
  119. 00:09:44.280 – 00:09:45.120 Be strong.
  120. 00:09:46.360 – 00:09:48.560 But you can't wait for quick results.
  121. 00:09:49.420 – 00:09:50.980 Take that time for yourself.
  122. 00:09:53.190 – 00:09:54.210 Be patient.
  123. 00:09:56.030 – 00:09:58.630 The greatness and your time is coming.
  124. 00:09:59.730 – 00:10:00.710 I promise you.
  125. 00:10:01.130 – 00:10:04.330 And if you was already there and you kind of got knocked off,
  126. 00:10:05.150 – 00:10:05.890 guess what?
  127. 00:10:05.970 – 00:10:08.330 Your time is going to come again.
  128. 00:10:11.880 – 00:10:13.060 It's going to happen.
  129. 00:10:13.420 – 00:10:13.960 It's life.
  130. 00:10:14.340 – 00:10:16.680 It's like hills and valleys, the peaks.
  131. 00:10:17.240 – 00:10:20.420 Climbing the mountain one time you're up, one time you're down.
  132. 00:10:20.700 – 00:10:21.960 Or reach the biggest peak.
  133. 00:10:22.360 – 00:10:23.520 Oh no, look at that.
  134. 00:10:23.800 – 00:10:25.000 There's something even greater.
  135. 00:10:25.900 – 00:10:26.820 It's life.
  136. 00:10:27.660 – 00:10:28.660 Know that it's going to happen.
  137. 00:10:28.800 – 00:10:30.000 So be patient with it.
  138. 00:10:30.440 – 00:10:31.760 Be patient with your life.
  139. 00:10:37.160 – 00:10:41.910 It will all come.
  140. 00:10:41.990 – 00:10:43.910 Don't rely on these quick results.
  141. 00:10:43.910 – 00:10:47.550 Don't rely on these magical wishes.
  142. 00:10:49.090 – 00:10:50.370 The blessings is going to come.
  143. 00:10:50.730 – 00:10:52.310 Trust me.
  144. 00:10:52.650 – 00:10:53.970 All right, y'all.
  145. 00:10:54.390 – 00:10:56.830 I got to hop on this Zoom call.
  146. 00:10:57.750 – 00:11:03.350 I am Mr. Photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  147. 00:11:04.150 – 00:11:10.970 And this has been another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  148. 00:11:11.790 – 00:11:13.230 Thank you for tuning in.
  149. 00:11:13.230 – 00:11:19.230 And if you want to follow me, you can follow me at Alien Eyes Photos
  150. 00:11:20.230 – 00:11:27.330 and also at A-E-P-I-T-P-O-D.
  151. 00:11:27.530 – 00:11:30.550 That's A-E-P-I-T Pod.
  152. 00:11:32.550 – 00:11:37.590 And check me out for more information or to book me directly
  153. 00:11:37.910 – 00:11:39.550 and get on my calendar.
  154. 00:11:40.370 – 00:11:45.950 Or if you need a podcast shot, your event covered,
  155. 00:11:46.630 – 00:11:50.970 definitely visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  156. 00:11:51.250 – 00:11:52.870 All the booking information.
  157. 00:11:53.750 – 00:11:57.270 Some of my old galleries, portfolios up there.
  158. 00:11:57.310 – 00:11:59.730 I got to update that, but I'm going to be serious.
  159. 00:12:00.310 – 00:12:01.430 But people like it.
  160. 00:12:01.950 – 00:12:04.610 But they see my work now, they're like, wow.
  161. 00:12:05.210 – 00:12:06.130 They're blown away.
  162. 00:12:06.310 – 00:12:08.750 So that's kind of the little ripple effect.
  163. 00:12:08.750 – 00:12:11.650 Like, oh, you like my past or you don't really like me now.
  164. 00:12:12.310 – 00:12:14.850 But yeah, visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  165. 00:12:15.070 – 00:12:15.810 I am out.

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8. The Pull Up Experience Episode 321 with Photographer Steve Jackson (repurposed)

Season 1 · Episode 54

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.140 – 00:00:03.880 What's going on everybody welcome to the post
  2. 00:00:08.560 – 00:00:14.220 So for the one the only mrs. Steven the Jackson
  3. 00:00:18.300 – 00:00:19.820 Yes, sir
  4. 00:00:23.420 – 00:00:30.120 If you you know, so funny you I know you've seen it every time where I was Steve Steve is a with
  5. 00:00:31.020 – 00:00:33.200 Sure and the crazy
  6. 00:00:33.200 – 00:00:36.100 photography scene just to see
  7. 00:00:37.060 – 00:00:39.340 What the scene on you, okay
  8. 00:00:44.000 – 00:00:47.900 One of the with there will be no close friends about sensei
  9. 00:00:47.900 – 00:00:52.980 And I wanted one of your father because listen since they've been down
  10. 00:00:53.640 – 00:00:59.080 We talked about snow sleep. He's been there. He's been there making sure it was a little great
  11. 00:00:59.080 – 00:01:03.060 Now he's liberating to make sure it's afforded into goddess. Yeah
  12. 00:01:04.400 – 00:01:11.200 But I can't take me time we have conferences where he literally from podcast to life in general
  13. 00:01:15.520 – 00:01:17.600 That's the podcast right there
  14. 00:01:17.600 – 00:01:19.540 I'm all the tears. It's done
  15. 00:01:22.280 – 00:01:25.700 But you really are the heart yeah
  16. 00:01:27.640 – 00:01:32.000 Appreciate your beautiful introduction. I know a lot of people say that but like now I feel it
  17. 00:01:36.520 – 00:01:37.080 Okay
  18. 00:01:37.080 – 00:01:37.400 I
  19. 00:01:41.040 – 00:01:48.700 Because beauty told has had the pleasure of having you behind the scenes doing what you do best making sure that
  20. 00:01:48.700 – 00:01:50.940 everything is
  21. 00:01:50.940 – 00:01:57.340 Photo to a tee. Okay, and I am blessed to have you any time you come through that though
  22. 00:01:57.340 – 00:01:59.560 I know it's not to be is my beauty
  23. 00:01:59.560 – 00:02:00.540 good
  24. 00:02:01.760 – 00:02:02.320 Okay
  25. 00:02:07.500 – 00:02:13.720 So, thank you for all that you do. Thank you for all that you have done don't do all that
  26. 00:02:13.720 – 00:02:19.200 No, I appreciate y'all like five years and to make it in counting
  27. 00:02:24.760 – 00:02:31.780 A lot of podcasters fall off within the first year even businesses don't even make it to the second year
  28. 00:02:31.780 – 00:02:36.780 So just to attest to that like then kudos to you and we still doing still growing
  29. 00:02:37.080 – 00:02:39.960 I'm glad hey glad that you have
  30. 00:02:43.420 – 00:02:44.980 Yes, sir
  31. 00:02:55.120 – 00:03:00.300 St. Claire
  32. 00:03:00.900 – 00:03:01.420 Where
  33. 00:03:05.260 – 00:03:08.300 56 you know, it's just you know, we just organic
  34. 00:03:09.440 – 00:03:11.820 We'll be hitting numbers all day
  35. 00:03:12.640 – 00:03:13.840 game show
  36. 00:03:14.960 – 00:03:18.460 Yeah, hundred fifty six percent clarify six bricks
  37. 00:03:20.280 – 00:03:25.900 Between start off Lake Shore Grove would and then most of my year childhood years saying clear
  38. 00:03:27.100 – 00:03:31.380 Wow, even my school of St. Claire, but it's crazy like
  39. 00:03:31.380 – 00:03:36.060 You know just my origin story becoming a photographer. I
  40. 00:03:36.060 – 00:03:38.900 Call it 12 shots because y'all remember them 12 shot cameras
  41. 00:03:39.640 – 00:03:41.340 Cameras you wanted up. Yes
  42. 00:03:42.400 – 00:03:48.440 Oh, I had a field trip. My mother brought me a camera and I use all of it within the first couple minutes
  43. 00:03:49.820 – 00:03:52.920 So that's my origin story behind the camera, but
  44. 00:03:53.760 – 00:04:00.900 Document everything because my my childhood hospital gone childhood homes gone childhood high school
  45. 00:04:00.900 – 00:04:02.300 Go on my elementary
  46. 00:04:02.300 – 00:04:06.840 Preschool a lot of things or even at Collinwood now is shut down
  47. 00:04:06.840 – 00:04:12.600 So like all of my history is gone. So I don't have no photos or nothing to document
  48. 00:04:12.600 – 00:04:15.720 And that's why I'm like, I'm more of a historian to anything
  49. 00:04:16.140 – 00:04:16.540 Wow
  50. 00:04:19.820 – 00:04:24.900 Documentation I'm making history literally so like, you know how they had MTV Cribs
  51. 00:04:24.900 – 00:04:28.300 I can't ride past my childhood home. I grew up in that home
  52. 00:04:28.900 – 00:04:34.160 So that's the main reason I personally became a photographer and you know
  53. 00:04:34.160 – 00:04:38.260 I know I know I'm kind of jumping the gun, but just giving more of my ordinary story
  54. 00:04:39.980 – 00:04:42.880 Well, I like it goes back to the throwback with the click click
  55. 00:04:45.740 – 00:04:48.000 You know I'm saying because you have a kid it's like
  56. 00:04:51.720 – 00:04:55.060 But one thing I prefer is but you are created for it
  57. 00:04:55.060 – 00:05:01.400 Yes, sir, you are like any facet I feel like you have dabble in it and master it to a certain extent
  58. 00:05:01.400 – 00:05:03.320 I love it poetry
  59. 00:05:05.280 – 00:05:11.060 Make music you've done these things. So have you always that kid that a talent show
  60. 00:05:11.060 – 00:05:15.020 We know more Steve up there or it was something that you grassy
  61. 00:05:16.120 – 00:05:20.660 A lot of people want to be performed just like the camera. I'm more behind the scenes
  62. 00:05:20.660 – 00:05:23.990 I would write it be in the studio. But as far as like
  63. 00:05:24.700 – 00:05:29.630 publicly performing I did a couple of talent shows in school, but it didn't come to
  64. 00:05:31.220 – 00:05:37.600 Whoo my later years in my 20s when I actually start performing performing constantly. I remember doing over
  65. 00:05:38.560 – 00:05:40.980 50 plus shows in one year
  66. 00:05:40.980 – 00:05:44.720 So that you gotta think about that's like multiple shows each week
  67. 00:05:48.780 – 00:05:55.670 Well, I'm gonna actually I don't say shy but I'm introverted but that helps help me
  68. 00:05:56.360 – 00:06:02.520 Broadcast my emotion feelings and thoughts. I'm always having the thoughts. I got a million thoughts running in my mind at once
  69. 00:06:04.720 – 00:06:06.670 So it just helped me
  70. 00:06:07.770 – 00:06:14.650 Structure and just get it all out my head and that became poetry and then poetry became music, you know
  71. 00:06:19.510 – 00:06:25.330 It's funny because my producer my first producer was my brother and then he fell off I'm like
  72. 00:06:25.330 – 00:06:31.830 I'm gonna continue that and still write and like I remember having those, you know instrumentals with the CDs
  73. 00:06:32.850 – 00:06:36.390 You know where they had a single but they also had instrumental
  74. 00:06:36.670 – 00:06:43.730 Like I'll rupture anything just freestyling just I'm talking about Barry White that that long timid
  75. 00:06:45.430 – 00:06:47.190 Just freestyling anything
  76. 00:06:48.590 – 00:06:53.590 Little Wayne in the before little Wayne little way. I was actually one of my favorite artists back in the hot boys days
  77. 00:06:53.590 – 00:06:55.070 I'm like he gonna blow up
  78. 00:06:58.410 – 00:07:00.010 So by the way
  79. 00:07:01.650 – 00:07:04.750 You are you are you are avid basketball player
  80. 00:07:06.990 – 00:07:09.530 Oh fun fact about you
  81. 00:07:10.370 – 00:07:12.600 It's crazy I have a episode
  82. 00:07:14.490 – 00:07:21.150 Eliminate all distractions even the NBA and I was gonna try out for the NBA G League
  83. 00:07:21.150 – 00:07:28.130 For the Cavs G League team the charge. I took a step back. I'm like, it's a time investment
  84. 00:07:28.130 – 00:07:32.550 Financial investment. I'm gonna be tired cuz I have to work. It was like
  85. 00:07:33.430 – 00:07:37.470 I'm like, I'm older than most cats. They coming fresh out of high school college
  86. 00:07:38.430 – 00:07:39.990 taller fashion like
  87. 00:07:40.710 – 00:07:45.230 But I end up not doing it and focus more on my podcast my business
  88. 00:07:45.970 – 00:07:50.290 Alienize photos, so check that episode out alienize photos industry talk
  89. 00:07:51.170 – 00:07:55.130 Eliminate all distractions even the NBA but yeah, I love basketball
  90. 00:07:56.550 – 00:08:01.390 I played in high school middle school when undefeated my eighth grade year
  91. 00:08:06.330 – 00:08:07.570 MVP of my
  92. 00:08:07.570 – 00:08:11.470 So I didn't make this funny I didn't make the varsity our
  93. 00:08:12.230 – 00:08:15.130 Junior varsity, but they had a freshman team. Okay
  94. 00:08:15.130 – 00:08:22.670 I ended up making MVP of that captain of that captain across country, which I became the only runner everybody else fell off
  95. 00:08:22.670 – 00:08:30.490 So by default captain of the cross country team tracks. I was like, you know, just just being out here
  96. 00:08:30.750 – 00:08:32.070 An athlete
  97. 00:08:45.430 – 00:08:47.690 16 16 for
  98. 00:08:47.690 – 00:08:54.170 and might have elevated out. So we're in the staircase. We had to go up to the sixth floor.
  99. 00:08:55.230 – 00:09:01.750 Sensei is gone. He's gone. I'm like, what is this? With the cake, with the birthday cake.
  100. 00:09:02.030 – 00:09:12.010 I am dying in the stairwell. It was hot. I've never seen Sensei. He was like, come on,
  101. 00:09:12.010 – 00:09:20.630 come on, come on, come on. Oh, he was coached, Sensei. So that makes sense. I mean, he could go.
  102. 00:09:23.270 – 00:09:28.970 Well, I ain't slim for nothing. I got a little dad bod now, but you know, I try to, I try to,
  103. 00:09:28.970 – 00:09:34.170 you know, be out there. I used to be a fitness coach for a few months with Herbal Life.
  104. 00:09:36.290 – 00:09:41.930 What? We find out so much about Sensei. Yeah, you know, I'm a dad bod in it, but I had a lot
  105. 00:09:41.930 – 00:09:46.790 of people run hills. So I can't just say, oh, run these hills. I do it with you. I ain't
  106. 00:09:46.790 – 00:09:50.950 going to tell you, dude. I do it with you. That's how I am, you know, with my teaching and
  107. 00:09:50.950 – 00:09:58.130 I do it with you. Okay. I'm pretty sure. That's why we're here. Yeah, we was like,
  108. 00:09:58.130 – 00:10:06.690 wait for this episode. Okay. So we are realizing that we have so many different hats that you're
  109. 00:10:06.690 – 00:10:10.810 wearing at such a young age in your life, you know, cause you're in your early twenties and
  110. 00:10:10.810 – 00:10:14.890 you're really starting to like dibble and dabble and everything. Now they say everything
  111. 00:10:14.890 – 00:10:20.870 happens in seasons. So was it poetry first and then that transition to music and what
  112. 00:10:21.430 – 00:10:26.970 I guess led you to start one and then end one to start something new.
  113. 00:10:26.970 – 00:10:34.010 It was all together. I would say poetry came first because it was just writing my thoughts out
  114. 00:10:34.010 – 00:10:40.890 and then my brother started producing with Fruity Loops FL Studio. I'm like, oh yeah. Then he
  115. 00:10:40.890 – 00:10:46.410 went over to Japan and the military and kind of got straight away. I'm like, so what's up,
  116. 00:10:46.510 – 00:10:51.290 man? We, you know, we brothers, we get one, two punch it like that. So I just had to,
  117. 00:10:51.290 – 00:10:56.150 you know, continue myself. I've always been a writer, whether that's books, poetry, music.
  118. 00:10:56.150 – 00:11:02.090 I just love writing, you know, so that's how it all started is writing, just writing is writing.
  119. 00:11:02.550 – 00:11:10.730 Wow. That's impressive. Now. Okay. So you, you realize so poetry and music is together.
  120. 00:11:10.730 – 00:11:16.610 So I guess maybe my next question is when does photography come into play? Cause we,
  121. 00:11:16.790 – 00:11:22.310 we talked about, you know, rewind when you had the little clickety click and that was like
  122. 00:11:22.310 – 00:11:27.830 first little trial into, you know, being able to know about photos and the importance of
  123. 00:11:27.830 – 00:11:32.270 documenting. So how does that, you know, moving forward come into play?
  124. 00:11:32.830 – 00:11:38.450 Going from the film days, um, can't say I'm a film photographer naturally, but
  125. 00:11:38.450 – 00:11:47.230 all the way to, I would say it's the end, end of my music poetry career,
  126. 00:11:47.890 – 00:11:56.330 where I used to host, perform, be featured, but I would still film others and take pictures on my
  127. 00:11:56.330 – 00:12:00.470 phone. I'm like, this is content that I want for myself. If I'm an artist, I want to, you
  128. 00:12:00.470 – 00:12:05.710 know, have video to post and take pictures, remember the day, see myself in action,
  129. 00:12:06.010 – 00:12:10.450 critique myself. So I'm like, let me just do it for others. Even if it's like a couple
  130. 00:12:10.450 – 00:12:14.550 minutes, you know, boom, boom, boom, send it to them. Oh, thanks, man. This is dope.
  131. 00:12:14.550 – 00:12:21.090 I'm like, Oh, really is dope. So I'm like, I'm seeing how a lot of people are getting paid.
  132. 00:12:21.110 – 00:12:27.250 It was mainly through, you know, photography, video at different events. Like I said,
  133. 00:12:27.250 – 00:12:31.310 I was doing 50 plus shows. So I'm starting to see the whole, just standing back,
  134. 00:12:31.450 – 00:12:36.190 just seeing the whole event structures and how they set up and the flow and everything.
  135. 00:12:36.330 – 00:12:41.750 I'm like, Oh, how to move, how the money's moving. And they say it's not a lot of money
  136. 00:12:41.750 – 00:12:47.810 in poetry or poets don't get paid, which is true. And with my music, a lot of people
  137. 00:12:47.810 – 00:12:52.530 didn't want to pay my rate. So it's like almost default to poetry. Like they want me to do
  138. 00:12:52.530 – 00:12:58.250 something free. You get like a palm or two. That's it. I ain't enjoying the song. Like,
  139. 00:12:58.270 – 00:13:03.130 cause that's, I do a performance like Michael Jackson. I ain't just up there reciting,
  140. 00:13:03.430 – 00:13:06.630 oh, hey, yeah, yeah. Like, no, I'm moving. I'm coming from the ceiling.
  141. 00:13:06.630 – 00:13:11.290 I remember one. I gotta see the video for this. Oh, man.
  142. 00:13:13.490 – 00:13:17.670 I'll come from there. You hear my voice from the back room and like, where you got?
  143. 00:13:17.810 – 00:13:21.490 And then I just come out like, oh, like, you know, make it.
  144. 00:13:21.670 – 00:13:25.590 You know where we seen that? Futureland where he's on stage. Sensei, we all on
  145. 00:13:25.590 – 00:13:28.790 stage. Sensei said, no, I'm going to be right in front. Yeah. Remember when he jumped
  146. 00:13:28.790 – 00:13:36.610 down and he was out there. He was down there with the audience. That's my, that's
  147. 00:13:36.610 – 00:13:41.010 I didn't know y'all was on stage yet. Like I'm yelling through the halls. It's like,
  148. 00:13:42.510 – 00:13:47.510 they're on stage. I'm like, oh, that's, that's my people. I'm supposed to be on stage too.
  149. 00:13:47.970 – 00:13:55.830 I'm on a hype like, yeah. I'm like, I didn't know we was on stage. So I came back and then
  150. 00:13:55.830 – 00:13:58.310 like our slides were on. It was like a whole bunch of-
  151. 00:13:58.310 – 00:14:01.450 It was a whole bunch. We'll talk about it. We'll talk about the part of pivot.
  152. 00:14:01.650 – 00:14:01.850 Yeah.
  153. 00:14:01.850 – 00:14:05.370 So I was already off the stage trying to work with that behind the scenes.
  154. 00:14:05.370 – 00:14:10.270 So I was just like, well, just, you know, I want to interact with her. I like walking and moving
  155. 00:14:10.710 – 00:14:14.470 sitting right down next to you. You know, this is what I've been through in my life.
  156. 00:14:14.550 – 00:14:17.750 You know what I mean? Like engaging with the crowd and feeling them. You know,
  157. 00:14:17.750 – 00:14:24.210 that connection and that, that I kind of like really, you know, like Michael Jackson on
  158. 00:14:24.210 – 00:14:28.650 stage, they are already fainting and usher. What if they came and sit down next to you?
  159. 00:14:28.750 – 00:14:29.650 It's a different experience.
  160. 00:14:29.950 – 00:14:33.490 Oh my gosh. Yeah. It's a memorable one because those are the things that
  161. 00:14:33.490 – 00:14:35.930 people remember 5, 10, 20 years.
  162. 00:14:36.050 – 00:14:37.270 It's like, I'm like, Jesus, am I going out now?
  163. 00:14:37.270 – 00:14:37.330 Yeah.
  164. 00:14:37.330 – 00:14:40.790 If I go to a concert with the performers, just, come on, y'all say it.
  165. 00:14:41.050 – 00:14:41.410 Yes.
  166. 00:14:41.570 – 00:14:41.870 Okay.
  167. 00:14:42.170 – 00:14:43.970 They call it that. Everybody had their style, you know?
  168. 00:14:44.890 – 00:14:48.390 But sometimes you get a little old. Love you Mary J. Blige, but girl,
  169. 00:14:48.470 – 00:14:49.450 you're going to have to pick it up now.
  170. 00:14:54.070 – 00:14:54.790 Yes, yes.
  171. 00:14:55.070 – 00:14:59.250 So I do have to ask this. So I'm very curious to know.
  172. 00:14:59.490 – 00:14:59.850 Okay.
  173. 00:14:59.850 – 00:15:06.590 Child of the podcast. But when you said that you ended your poetry
  174. 00:15:06.590 – 00:15:12.670 in your basically a music scene to be able to now start going into photography, what,
  175. 00:15:13.150 – 00:15:18.510 what was the, what was the sign that you knew that it was time to end that season?
  176. 00:15:18.650 – 00:15:21.050 I know everything goes in season, but what was your like,
  177. 00:15:21.270 – 00:15:22.870 yeah, I'm gonna have to hang this up.
  178. 00:15:23.230 – 00:15:26.230 Like towards the end, I'll end up losing my grandfather.
  179. 00:15:26.910 – 00:15:32.290 Like my first time crying in front of an audience, in front of people publicly,
  180. 00:15:33.050 – 00:15:35.610 like it just all came out. So I couldn't even get my words right.
  181. 00:15:35.650 – 00:15:37.790 One of my staple poems, like,
  182. 00:15:39.830 – 00:15:42.350 like can't remember the words and this is all okay.
  183. 00:15:42.430 – 00:15:45.050 I'm like, look, I'm going to just talk to y'all, you know,
  184. 00:15:45.110 – 00:15:48.230 whatever you've been through, you know, just really giving them a heart
  185. 00:15:48.230 – 00:15:51.210 and what I felt at the time, like I ain't going to perform.
  186. 00:15:51.250 – 00:15:54.670 I'm just giving a real raw me. And that's also spoken word. That's poetry.
  187. 00:15:54.810 – 00:15:55.870 You know, it's just that raw.
  188. 00:15:56.390 – 00:16:01.190 Emotion. But when I, when I go into something,
  189. 00:16:01.990 – 00:16:03.910 I like studying it, practicing it.
  190. 00:16:04.010 – 00:16:06.630 So I'm like, if I'm going to go in photography and video,
  191. 00:16:07.210 – 00:16:08.530 I'm going to go all in. I'm going to study.
  192. 00:16:08.730 – 00:16:12.090 So I did countless hours study, whole bunch of free events,
  193. 00:16:12.170 – 00:16:15.190 just going to different events, always bringing my camera everywhere I go.
  194. 00:16:15.890 – 00:16:18.110 Now everybody assume, oh, you got your camera.
  195. 00:16:18.190 – 00:16:19.030 Can you get a picture here?
  196. 00:16:19.030 – 00:16:22.530 So I stopped bringing it with me because that's when I started
  197. 00:16:22.530 – 00:16:25.610 transitioning into a business and learning more about the business.
  198. 00:16:25.870 – 00:16:29.010 As a photographer first and then add a video.
  199. 00:16:29.510 – 00:16:31.390 You are a mentor to so many others, right?
  200. 00:16:31.690 – 00:16:33.870 But when you first started out, who was the mentors or people
  201. 00:16:33.870 – 00:16:37.090 who were showing you the photography side at all?
  202. 00:16:37.490 – 00:16:38.310 Because I had nobody.
  203. 00:16:38.710 – 00:16:40.710 So you got to trial and error.
  204. 00:16:41.310 – 00:16:44.110 Yes. Not, not till later in my career.
  205. 00:16:44.150 – 00:16:47.150 I was fortunate to meet Sean Lee Jones.
  206. 00:16:49.130 – 00:16:52.130 Yes, yes, yes. I know he's been a couple of events.
  207. 00:16:52.430 – 00:16:54.990 He was at the podcast workshop we did.
  208. 00:16:55.770 – 00:16:57.830 He's real good friends with Asia.
  209. 00:16:58.350 – 00:17:01.530 So, yeah, like, man, he took me.
  210. 00:17:01.630 – 00:17:04.869 He's like, grab this 50 millimeter.
  211. 00:17:05.069 – 00:17:06.869 Now I'm like, 50. I'm looking at it.
  212. 00:17:06.869 – 00:17:08.810 Do I say five? Like, which one?
  213. 00:17:09.369 – 00:17:11.369 I don't know. He's like, shoot B-roll.
  214. 00:17:12.150 – 00:17:15.270 I ain't no B-roll, man. Get this, get that.
  215. 00:17:15.369 – 00:17:15.770 I'm like.
  216. 00:17:15.910 – 00:17:19.190 I'm sorry, since you got to say what B-roll is,
  217. 00:17:19.349 – 00:17:20.250 still don't know what it is.
  218. 00:17:20.329 – 00:17:21.750 When you say B-roll, what do you mean?
  219. 00:17:24.060 – 00:17:25.180 Now y'all already know.
  220. 00:17:25.180 – 00:17:28.540 So, so the main camera is the A-roll,
  221. 00:17:28.620 – 00:17:30.280 which you mainly see in front of you.
  222. 00:17:30.300 – 00:17:33.320 And then behind the scenes, the complimentary footage,
  223. 00:17:33.360 – 00:17:35.140 that's the B-roll with the secondary.
  224. 00:17:35.460 – 00:17:37.440 Like that's more so B-roll.
  225. 00:17:37.580 – 00:17:40.680 And that's the main, like, you know.
  226. 00:17:40.860 – 00:17:42.520 Or we show a picture of the setup,
  227. 00:17:42.700 – 00:17:43.660 like that'd be B-roll.
  228. 00:17:44.000 – 00:17:45.780 Oh, okay. Now I know.
  229. 00:17:45.840 – 00:17:48.000 Thank you, Brandon, for pointing that out.
  230. 00:17:48.780 – 00:17:50.020 Anytime, you know.
  231. 00:17:50.760 – 00:17:51.800 Yeah. So what about y'all?
  232. 00:17:51.860 – 00:17:53.480 When y'all first started getting into,
  233. 00:17:54.160 – 00:17:55.400 production and podcast,
  234. 00:17:55.480 – 00:17:56.840 and what were y'all initial thoughts?
  235. 00:17:57.880 – 00:17:59.160 Well, that was you, Sensei.
  236. 00:17:59.580 – 00:18:00.260 The hands down.
  237. 00:18:01.480 – 00:18:03.520 Well, but even before, like even a thought,
  238. 00:18:03.640 – 00:18:05.400 like what made you want to start a fire there?
  239. 00:18:05.720 – 00:18:06.280 You already know.
  240. 00:18:06.380 – 00:18:07.340 It's the Davis Shands.
  241. 00:18:07.640 – 00:18:07.840 Forever.
  242. 00:18:08.660 – 00:18:09.020 Okay.
  243. 00:18:09.200 – 00:18:09.880 Shout out to Davis Shands.
  244. 00:18:10.380 – 00:18:11.300 Shout out to Davis Shands.
  245. 00:18:11.400 – 00:18:11.980 No, hands down.
  246. 00:18:12.160 – 00:18:13.780 I will forever be grateful for that man,
  247. 00:18:14.800 – 00:18:17.040 because listen to the group, man.
  248. 00:18:17.080 – 00:18:18.560 You actually got me hip to Davis Shands.
  249. 00:18:18.760 – 00:18:19.120 Me too.
  250. 00:18:19.340 – 00:18:21.380 I didn't know anything about him until you.
  251. 00:18:21.740 – 00:18:21.760 What?
  252. 00:18:21.760 – 00:18:22.040 Yeah.
  253. 00:18:22.320 – 00:18:22.640 Yeah.
  254. 00:18:22.740 – 00:18:23.100 Okay.
  255. 00:18:23.100 – 00:18:25.060 And Donnie just happened to be a bonus,
  256. 00:18:25.060 – 00:18:26.740 because I definitely knew about her.
  257. 00:18:26.920 – 00:18:27.300 Man, listen.
  258. 00:18:27.360 – 00:18:28.180 I loved them together.
  259. 00:18:28.380 – 00:18:29.380 Dave and Donnie are my friends.
  260. 00:18:30.040 – 00:18:30.220 Absolutely.
  261. 00:18:30.340 – 00:18:30.840 No, no, listen.
  262. 00:18:31.100 – 00:18:31.480 I'll listen.
  263. 00:18:32.440 – 00:18:33.780 You want something about hours,
  264. 00:18:33.860 – 00:18:35.660 hours consuming podcast,
  265. 00:18:36.680 – 00:18:37.080 commutes,
  266. 00:18:37.360 – 00:18:38.040 anytime, free time,
  267. 00:18:38.140 – 00:18:39.900 I'm going to cut the ground with the podcast or what not.
  268. 00:18:40.120 – 00:18:41.240 Hey, same, same.
  269. 00:18:41.360 – 00:18:43.180 That and audiobooks, like man.
  270. 00:18:43.380 – 00:18:45.700 After music, it's like I heard somebody say,
  271. 00:18:45.800 – 00:18:47.680 if you're not rich, you shouldn't be listening to music.
  272. 00:18:47.720 – 00:18:48.760 You should be learning.
  273. 00:18:49.520 – 00:18:50.880 So I'm like, I'm learning until I'm rich.
  274. 00:18:51.180 – 00:18:52.520 Somebody said the same thing about TV.
  275. 00:18:53.180 – 00:18:55.680 You ain't rich, you shouldn't be watching TV, movies.
  276. 00:18:55.980 – 00:18:56.820 That's why I'd be like,
  277. 00:18:57.080 – 00:18:58.460 you ain't never seen so-and-so?
  278. 00:18:58.680 – 00:19:00.140 I'm like, I ain't watch TV.
  279. 00:19:01.300 – 00:19:02.980 I'm either working, studying.
  280. 00:19:03.220 – 00:19:04.500 I don't even have a TV in my bedroom.
  281. 00:19:04.540 – 00:19:05.760 That's how serious it is.
  282. 00:19:06.420 – 00:19:07.760 Well, for me, I can use a break though.
  283. 00:19:08.020 – 00:19:08.920 So I'm like, we can watch TV.
  284. 00:19:08.920 – 00:19:09.980 No, man, yeah.
  285. 00:19:10.480 – 00:19:11.880 Sometimes, but you know,
  286. 00:19:12.180 – 00:19:13.800 my lady behind the camera.
  287. 00:19:14.420 – 00:19:15.520 Whoop, whoop, shout out to her.
  288. 00:19:16.900 – 00:19:18.940 Brie, you know, be getting mad at me.
  289. 00:19:18.940 – 00:19:20.260 Oh, we about to watch so-and-so.
  290. 00:19:23.300 – 00:19:26.020 All right, it's funny because my daughter's seven.
  291. 00:19:26.780 – 00:19:29.660 She'd be like, oh, you know, are we going to the movies?
  292. 00:19:29.780 – 00:19:31.340 I'd be like, yeah, are we going to the movies?
  293. 00:19:31.540 – 00:19:32.920 Oh, just to go to sleep.
  294. 00:19:32.920 – 00:19:34.020 You pay for a nap.
  295. 00:19:34.280 – 00:19:35.820 She'd pay for a nap, my profession.
  296. 00:19:36.720 – 00:19:37.300 I'd be kicking.
  297. 00:19:39.020 – 00:19:39.760 She'd be like, I'm-
  298. 00:19:39.760 – 00:19:41.720 She's more of an entrepreneur, if you ask me.
  299. 00:19:42.060 – 00:19:42.460 Yeah.
  300. 00:19:42.580 – 00:19:44.900 Well, if a lot of movies start slow,
  301. 00:19:45.220 – 00:19:47.020 that's the importance of a hook.
  302. 00:19:47.480 – 00:19:48.920 With anything you do, your content,
  303. 00:19:48.940 – 00:19:50.780 your podcast videos and movies,
  304. 00:19:50.780 – 00:19:51.720 you got to have that.
  305. 00:19:51.780 – 00:19:52.600 But you got to draw them in
  306. 00:19:52.600 – 00:19:55.880 because a movie start off slow and I'm-
  307. 00:19:55.880 – 00:19:57.200 Yeah, you ain't the only one.
  308. 00:19:57.220 – 00:19:58.020 I do so much.
  309. 00:19:58.180 – 00:19:58.680 I'm tired.
  310. 00:19:58.920 – 00:20:01.280 My mind be going like, man, it's dark.
  311. 00:20:02.500 – 00:20:03.160 I'm going to sleep.
  312. 00:20:06.940 – 00:20:09.220 Man, I mean, even outside of that,
  313. 00:20:09.240 – 00:20:10.300 it was like, events.
  314. 00:20:10.560 – 00:20:12.820 I'm like, man, I could be doing so much other stuff.
  315. 00:20:13.700 – 00:20:16.000 But you know, we already make the most out of it.
  316. 00:20:16.340 – 00:20:16.520 That's true.
  317. 00:20:16.740 – 00:20:18.040 You got your friends in the moment since then.
  318. 00:20:18.340 – 00:20:19.680 What about you with the podcast though?
  319. 00:20:20.240 – 00:20:21.720 Before you get too far.
  320. 00:20:23.360 – 00:20:25.300 I wanted to do podcasting
  321. 00:20:25.300 – 00:20:27.740 because of being on the full of experience.
  322. 00:20:29.500 – 00:20:30.400 I didn't know.
  323. 00:20:30.480 – 00:20:31.560 But you know, sometimes you don't realize
  324. 00:20:31.560 – 00:20:34.220 how God sets everything up
  325. 00:20:34.220 – 00:20:37.120 and he's very crafty at what he does.
  326. 00:20:38.500 – 00:20:40.260 So I didn't know that all my journals
  327. 00:20:40.260 – 00:20:41.000 that I had been journaling
  328. 00:20:41.000 – 00:20:44.720 during the most painful moments of my life
  329. 00:20:44.720 – 00:20:47.400 would eventually be the foundation
  330. 00:20:47.400 – 00:20:49.820 of what U2TOE would be born off of.
  331. 00:20:50.240 – 00:20:51.660 Beautiful podcast, by the way.
  332. 00:20:52.140 – 00:20:52.600 Thank you.
  333. 00:20:52.660 – 00:20:53.260 Thank you.
  334. 00:20:53.280 – 00:20:54.260 And it's even more beautiful,
  335. 00:20:54.380 – 00:20:55.140 which I'll help.
  336. 00:20:55.480 – 00:20:55.840 Hallelujah.
  337. 00:20:56.500 – 00:20:58.960 Well, yeah, you know, I will appreciate it.
  338. 00:20:59.060 – 00:21:00.800 And I think a lot of studios.
  339. 00:21:01.220 – 00:21:01.820 For sure.
  340. 00:21:02.180 – 00:21:03.760 I'm like, wow, this is amazing.
  341. 00:21:03.860 – 00:21:05.580 Even stuff that I don't do,
  342. 00:21:06.020 – 00:21:08.520 like, you know, you could teach somebody things,
  343. 00:21:08.920 – 00:21:11.340 but, you know, they surpass you.
  344. 00:21:11.820 – 00:21:13.560 That's even amazing for them.
  345. 00:21:13.620 – 00:21:14.600 For sure.
  346. 00:21:14.980 – 00:21:17.040 And you've talked about how you,
  347. 00:21:17.040 – 00:21:18.600 when you decided to go into photography,
  348. 00:21:18.920 – 00:21:21.700 you spoke on how you kind of self-taught yourself.
  349. 00:21:22.380 – 00:21:24.880 But what did that all include
  350. 00:21:24.880 – 00:21:27.260 was that U2TOE University was that,
  351. 00:21:27.260 – 00:21:29.240 I know you said later became a mentor,
  352. 00:21:29.340 – 00:21:31.220 but what did you do prior to the mentor
  353. 00:21:31.220 – 00:21:32.760 as far as educating yourself?
  354. 00:21:33.540 – 00:21:35.900 Well, you could always sit down with U2TOE
  355. 00:21:35.900 – 00:21:36.820 and watch videos.
  356. 00:21:37.060 – 00:21:40.100 Like I purchased a lot of e-books, courses,
  357. 00:21:40.660 – 00:21:42.080 whether if I finish them or not,
  358. 00:21:42.080 – 00:21:43.620 it's up to, you know,
  359. 00:21:43.920 – 00:21:45.200 I try to, I spend money.
  360. 00:21:45.380 – 00:21:45.920 For sure.
  361. 00:21:46.340 – 00:21:48.020 It's just about getting out in the field,
  362. 00:21:48.060 – 00:21:49.360 you know, practicing, we're all like,
  363. 00:21:49.420 – 00:21:51.680 oh, you won't never know until you try it.
  364. 00:21:51.680 – 00:21:52.840 Like, I didn't know what,
  365. 00:21:53.280 – 00:21:54.880 how shutter speed affects the aperture,
  366. 00:21:54.900 – 00:21:55.900 affects the ISO.
  367. 00:21:56.160 – 00:21:57.160 I know y'all looking at me like,
  368. 00:21:58.020 – 00:22:00.640 Well, Brandon, he's looking very confused.
  369. 00:22:01.160 – 00:22:02.240 That's how I was.
  370. 00:22:02.320 – 00:22:03.080 I mean, even Bree,
  371. 00:22:03.160 – 00:22:04.360 like just breaking it down to her,
  372. 00:22:04.420 – 00:22:05.120 she's like, what is what?
  373. 00:22:05.220 – 00:22:05.860 So I'm like, okay,
  374. 00:22:06.240 – 00:22:08.100 if I could teach it to somebody else,
  375. 00:22:08.340 – 00:22:10.560 I know that I could master it
  376. 00:22:10.560 – 00:22:11.380 and understand it better.
  377. 00:22:11.460 – 00:22:13.640 Like even teaching my daughter's photography,
  378. 00:22:14.220 – 00:22:15.820 like, you know, two days.
  379. 00:22:15.820 – 00:22:17.260 So I know, you know,
  380. 00:22:17.260 – 00:22:17.900 I could teach anybody,
  381. 00:22:17.940 – 00:22:20.060 if I could teach a little kid in two days.
  382. 00:22:20.460 – 00:22:21.940 So, but yeah,
  383. 00:22:22.000 – 00:22:24.480 just bringing my camera wherever I go,
  384. 00:22:24.640 – 00:22:26.220 just practicing in the dark,
  385. 00:22:26.800 – 00:22:29.060 bright outside, inside,
  386. 00:22:29.600 – 00:22:31.100 like different environments,
  387. 00:22:31.240 – 00:22:32.580 just practice, practice, practice,
  388. 00:22:32.620 – 00:22:33.400 practice, practice, practice.
  389. 00:22:33.600 – 00:22:35.420 Sometimes they don't even see the picture.
  390. 00:22:35.540 – 00:22:36.920 It's just me just getting my reps.
  391. 00:22:37.880 – 00:22:38.560 And me and Bree,
  392. 00:22:38.620 – 00:22:41.140 we all about reps replace doubt.
  393. 00:22:41.180 – 00:22:41.800 Come on now.
  394. 00:22:42.120 – 00:22:43.320 I feel it, that's our mantra.
  395. 00:22:43.660 – 00:22:44.400 That's our mantra.
  396. 00:22:44.400 – 00:22:45.960 And also purpose push it.
  397. 00:22:46.100 – 00:22:47.300 We got to push that.
  398. 00:22:47.300 – 00:22:47.620 Figure it out.
  399. 00:22:47.780 – 00:22:48.460 Yeah, we got to figure it out.
  400. 00:22:48.460 – 00:22:49.100 But the reps though,
  401. 00:22:49.220 – 00:22:50.280 you know, the reps, man.
  402. 00:22:50.960 – 00:22:51.960 Just like the gym.
  403. 00:22:52.560 – 00:22:54.360 Now you're doing your sleep now, Sensei.
  404. 00:22:55.600 – 00:22:55.620 Yeah.
  405. 00:22:55.620 – 00:22:57.300 I'm just going to show me the move
  406. 00:22:57.300 – 00:22:58.900 when you come up or whatnot,
  407. 00:22:59.160 – 00:23:00.180 when you're recording.
  408. 00:23:00.440 – 00:23:00.840 The panning.
  409. 00:23:00.960 – 00:23:02.000 Yeah, the panning, the panning.
  410. 00:23:02.420 – 00:23:03.560 Listen, I feel like that's why
  411. 00:23:03.560 – 00:23:04.340 my signature move.
  412. 00:23:04.460 – 00:23:05.260 That's your signature move.
  413. 00:23:05.400 – 00:23:06.140 I love it.
  414. 00:23:06.140 – 00:23:06.680 I love it.
  415. 00:23:06.680 – 00:23:07.260 I love it.
  416. 00:23:07.680 – 00:23:09.100 You know, everybody got a signature move,
  417. 00:23:09.260 – 00:23:09.940 just like Spike Lee,
  418. 00:23:09.980 – 00:23:10.860 he got that like.
  419. 00:23:11.080 – 00:23:12.340 Yeah, that's true.
  420. 00:23:12.440 – 00:23:13.500 So I was like, what can I do?
  421. 00:23:13.500 – 00:23:15.500 I still haven't perfected myself
  422. 00:23:15.500 – 00:23:16.880 so what I really want to do,
  423. 00:23:16.920 – 00:23:18.460 but I'm always changing, you know.
  424. 00:23:18.960 – 00:23:20.640 So, you know, coming down from the ceiling
  425. 00:23:20.640 – 00:23:22.400 and like I did a lot of that
  426. 00:23:22.400 – 00:23:23.220 in the early days.
  427. 00:23:23.400 – 00:23:24.420 So if y'all see that
  428. 00:23:24.420 – 00:23:25.320 with the pull up experience,
  429. 00:23:25.340 – 00:23:28.300 the early days coming in the scene.
  430. 00:23:28.640 – 00:23:29.640 So just trying things.
  431. 00:23:31.220 – 00:23:31.660 Experimentation.
  432. 00:23:31.860 – 00:23:32.840 Oh yeah, you brought it back
  433. 00:23:32.840 – 00:23:35.400 when you did my little promo,
  434. 00:23:35.400 – 00:23:36.360 real thing.
  435. 00:23:36.740 – 00:23:37.480 You keep trying stuff.
  436. 00:23:37.540 – 00:23:38.460 I said, okay.
  437. 00:23:38.680 – 00:23:40.200 Like if I wasn't a creative,
  438. 00:23:40.260 – 00:23:41.140 I'd be a scientist,
  439. 00:23:41.180 – 00:23:42.700 which is still creativity to me.
  440. 00:23:43.620 – 00:23:44.740 A mad scientist,
  441. 00:23:44.920 – 00:23:45.700 being in a lab,
  442. 00:23:46.000 – 00:23:46.600 testing it,
  443. 00:23:46.740 – 00:23:48.100 pouring to you wines,
  444. 00:23:48.360 – 00:23:49.180 pouring this and that
  445. 00:23:49.180 – 00:23:50.220 with a drink of cranberry juice.
  446. 00:23:50.500 – 00:23:51.360 Let's think about this.
  447. 00:23:51.540 – 00:23:52.440 I feel like there's nothing
  448. 00:23:52.440 – 00:23:54.340 that you cannot do, brother,
  449. 00:23:54.380 – 00:23:55.260 because you do it
  450. 00:23:55.740 – 00:23:56.960 and you're going to try it
  451. 00:23:56.960 – 00:23:57.560 and you're going to even,
  452. 00:23:58.080 – 00:23:59.060 and with enough time,
  453. 00:23:59.280 – 00:23:59.740 you just like,
  454. 00:23:59.860 – 00:24:00.920 if you're going to give the child
  455. 00:24:00.920 – 00:24:04.740 enough of equipment or something
  456. 00:24:04.740 – 00:24:05.440 or time or something,
  457. 00:24:05.440 – 00:24:06.320 they're going to figure it out.
  458. 00:24:06.480 – 00:24:07.240 I feel like that's the same thing
  459. 00:24:07.240 – 00:24:07.920 with you, man.
  460. 00:24:07.980 – 00:24:08.220 Yeah.
  461. 00:24:08.540 – 00:24:09.240 Like you just,
  462. 00:24:09.240 – 00:24:10.460 I'm naturally inquisitive
  463. 00:24:10.460 – 00:24:12.220 and you're going to actually sell it, man.
  464. 00:24:12.760 – 00:24:14.740 Well, just not being afraid to fail,
  465. 00:24:14.740 – 00:24:15.240 you know,
  466. 00:24:15.240 – 00:24:16.640 and then even with the failures,
  467. 00:24:16.640 – 00:24:17.580 you know,
  468. 00:24:17.640 – 00:24:18.980 it's lessons you learn,
  469. 00:24:18.980 – 00:24:19.500 you know,
  470. 00:24:19.560 – 00:24:20.260 just with me,
  471. 00:24:20.640 – 00:24:22.240 like I didn't use flash
  472. 00:24:22.240 – 00:24:22.920 for the longest.
  473. 00:24:23.180 – 00:24:23.560 I'm like,
  474. 00:24:23.920 – 00:24:24.940 I'm just using my camera,
  475. 00:24:24.980 – 00:24:26.480 but just adding the light
  476. 00:24:26.480 – 00:24:27.540 and seeing how better
  477. 00:24:27.540 – 00:24:28.740 the pictures come out
  478. 00:24:28.740 – 00:24:29.300 and like,
  479. 00:24:29.580 – 00:24:30.700 especially like with art complex,
  480. 00:24:30.760 – 00:24:31.920 like darker complexions,
  481. 00:24:32.080 – 00:24:33.320 you don't need that light.
  482. 00:24:34.180 – 00:24:35.120 You're going to need that light.
  483. 00:24:35.180 – 00:24:37.020 Man, I got sensei stories
  484. 00:24:37.020 – 00:24:38.560 off all day,
  485. 00:24:38.720 – 00:24:40.740 but I remember he was teaching me
  486. 00:24:40.740 – 00:24:41.080 that point.
  487. 00:24:41.140 – 00:24:41.940 Well, first of all,
  488. 00:24:42.300 – 00:24:43.800 I don't know if you talk to others,
  489. 00:24:43.800 – 00:24:45.520 but he's like master of the iPhone.
  490. 00:24:45.620 – 00:24:46.680 For sensei,
  491. 00:24:46.840 – 00:24:48.520 I know I didn't know anything
  492. 00:24:48.520 – 00:24:49.100 about the timer.
  493. 00:24:49.220 – 00:24:51.440 I know about the levels.
  494. 00:24:51.560 – 00:24:52.280 I know anything about
  495. 00:24:53.820 – 00:24:55.180 actually using the iPhone
  496. 00:24:55.180 – 00:24:56.560 to do both for targeting.
  497. 00:24:56.940 – 00:24:57.100 Yeah.
  498. 00:24:57.100 – 00:24:57.320 Sensei,
  499. 00:24:57.320 – 00:24:58.260 I'm used to the practice.
  500. 00:24:58.540 – 00:24:58.760 Okay.
  501. 00:24:58.980 – 00:24:59.420 Now I'm like,
  502. 00:24:59.620 – 00:25:00.220 I can do it.
  503. 00:25:00.220 – 00:25:01.000 I can do it now,
  504. 00:25:01.040 – 00:25:01.400 you know?
  505. 00:25:01.560 – 00:25:01.980 Yes, sir.
  506. 00:25:02.120 – 00:25:02.380 I love it.
  507. 00:25:02.400 – 00:25:03.660 I was showing just,
  508. 00:25:03.780 – 00:25:04.480 well, one time,
  509. 00:25:04.580 – 00:25:04.940 I was like,
  510. 00:25:04.980 – 00:25:05.860 show me what you do with your iPhone.
  511. 00:25:06.400 – 00:25:06.920 Man, listen,
  512. 00:25:07.140 – 00:25:08.900 you are the goat.
  513. 00:25:09.300 – 00:25:09.500 Okay.
  514. 00:25:09.520 – 00:25:09.920 For sure.
  515. 00:25:09.960 – 00:25:11.280 Well, I started with iPhone,
  516. 00:25:11.280 – 00:25:13.080 that's how I kind of master
  517. 00:25:13.080 – 00:25:14.480 before I purchased the camera.
  518. 00:25:14.660 – 00:25:14.880 You know,
  519. 00:25:16.200 – 00:25:16.760 first, you know,
  520. 00:25:17.560 – 00:25:18.660 $800 and then,
  521. 00:25:18.700 – 00:25:19.180 like, okay,
  522. 00:25:19.180 – 00:25:21.180 I need actually a more professional camera
  523. 00:25:21.180 – 00:25:22.560 and then we get into the thousands
  524. 00:25:22.560 – 00:25:23.580 and stuff like that.
  525. 00:25:24.680 – 00:25:25.880 Yeah, I started with the iPhone.
  526. 00:25:26.440 – 00:25:27.760 I still shoot a lot of good content
  527. 00:25:27.760 – 00:25:28.200 with the iPhone.
  528. 00:25:28.240 – 00:25:28.820 I'm like, man,
  529. 00:25:28.820 – 00:25:29.460 I miss it.
  530. 00:25:30.260 – 00:25:31.900 I know y'all see me be doing that.
  531. 00:25:31.940 – 00:25:33.800 I do see you doing that.
  532. 00:25:34.140 – 00:25:35.320 Because it's light too.
  533. 00:25:35.540 – 00:25:36.460 So I get to,
  534. 00:25:36.540 – 00:25:37.740 I'm a mover,
  535. 00:25:37.980 – 00:25:38.540 like even,
  536. 00:25:39.120 – 00:25:40.000 I love moving.
  537. 00:25:40.220 – 00:25:41.020 Like with video,
  538. 00:25:41.600 – 00:25:42.980 I could stand still,
  539. 00:25:42.980 – 00:25:43.480 but it's like,
  540. 00:25:43.680 – 00:25:44.320 that's not me.
  541. 00:25:45.100 – 00:25:45.760 I'm like, say,
  542. 00:25:45.860 – 00:25:46.420 an athlete.
  543. 00:25:46.660 – 00:25:47.480 I love movement,
  544. 00:25:48.220 – 00:25:48.780 being engaged
  545. 00:25:48.780 – 00:25:49.900 and showing the action
  546. 00:25:49.900 – 00:25:51.360 and different angles,
  547. 00:25:51.580 – 00:25:52.620 seeing the emotion
  548. 00:25:52.620 – 00:25:53.860 from different people.
  549. 00:25:54.160 – 00:25:55.220 So that's your style right there.
  550. 00:25:55.440 – 00:25:56.140 That's my style.
  551. 00:25:56.780 – 00:25:56.820 Okay.
  552. 00:25:56.860 – 00:25:57.340 Okay.
  553. 00:25:57.660 – 00:25:58.300 So I'm going to get back
  554. 00:25:58.300 – 00:25:58.860 to the journey, brother,
  555. 00:25:58.920 – 00:25:59.320 because,
  556. 00:25:59.840 – 00:26:00.860 so, you start,
  557. 00:26:00.980 – 00:26:01.440 you start,
  558. 00:26:02.900 – 00:26:04.560 you're like a,
  559. 00:26:04.560 – 00:26:05.120 not a novice,
  560. 00:26:05.180 – 00:26:06.020 but you still,
  561. 00:26:06.020 – 00:26:06.500 you still amateur,
  562. 00:26:06.620 – 00:26:07.020 but you still,
  563. 00:26:07.020 – 00:26:08.100 you do affect the crowd.
  564. 00:26:08.620 – 00:26:09.880 Where does launch art
  565. 00:26:09.880 – 00:26:11.840 play into the scheme of things?
  566. 00:26:13.160 – 00:26:14.660 Again, shout out to mentors.
  567. 00:26:14.740 – 00:26:15.840 Shout out to my mentors,
  568. 00:26:15.980 – 00:26:17.640 Sean Lee Jones,
  569. 00:26:17.800 – 00:26:18.880 who introduced me
  570. 00:26:18.880 – 00:26:21.320 to the CEO of LaunchArts,
  571. 00:26:21.700 – 00:26:23.060 Mr. Jamar Newell.
  572. 00:26:24.640 – 00:26:26.280 And then becoming
  573. 00:26:26.280 – 00:26:27.640 another mentor.
  574. 00:26:27.780 – 00:26:28.020 So it's like,
  575. 00:26:28.160 – 00:26:29.360 I have two mentors
  576. 00:26:29.360 – 00:26:30.200 in media.
  577. 00:26:31.380 – 00:26:32.000 And man,
  578. 00:26:33.540 – 00:26:33.820 man,
  579. 00:26:33.880 – 00:26:34.420 we just built
  580. 00:26:34.420 – 00:26:35.840 a beautiful relationship
  581. 00:26:35.840 – 00:26:36.860 and ended up becoming
  582. 00:26:36.860 – 00:26:37.720 vice president
  583. 00:26:37.720 – 00:26:39.120 at the production side
  584. 00:26:39.120 – 00:26:39.860 of the business.
  585. 00:26:40.260 – 00:26:40.880 So like,
  586. 00:26:41.060 – 00:26:42.380 just him trusting me
  587. 00:26:42.380 – 00:26:43.620 and sending me
  588. 00:26:43.620 – 00:26:45.100 even sometimes by myself
  589. 00:26:45.100 – 00:26:45.680 or with,
  590. 00:26:45.680 – 00:26:46.000 you know,
  591. 00:26:46.080 – 00:26:47.120 other team members,
  592. 00:26:48.020 – 00:26:48.820 just building that trust,
  593. 00:26:48.920 – 00:26:49.800 building that reps.
  594. 00:26:49.980 – 00:26:50.920 We did it together
  595. 00:26:50.920 – 00:26:51.860 for so long.
  596. 00:26:51.920 – 00:26:52.500 So it's like,
  597. 00:26:53.180 – 00:26:54.120 if we could kind of have
  598. 00:26:54.120 – 00:26:55.180 an A and a B team,
  599. 00:26:55.240 – 00:26:56.060 we could build it out
  600. 00:26:56.060 – 00:26:56.960 even faster.
  601. 00:26:58.260 – 00:26:58.560 You know,
  602. 00:26:58.560 – 00:26:59.420 we just kept
  603. 00:26:59.420 – 00:27:00.420 in communication,
  604. 00:27:00.660 – 00:27:00.980 growing,
  605. 00:27:01.140 – 00:27:01.900 just being honest
  606. 00:27:01.900 – 00:27:02.780 with each other,
  607. 00:27:02.920 – 00:27:04.540 even outside of the production,
  608. 00:27:04.720 – 00:27:05.180 just becoming,
  609. 00:27:05.180 – 00:27:05.680 you know,
  610. 00:27:05.820 – 00:27:06.400 friends.
  611. 00:27:07.340 – 00:27:08.360 And, you know,
  612. 00:27:08.360 – 00:27:10.360 he telling me personal things
  613. 00:27:10.360 – 00:27:10.960 even, you know,
  614. 00:27:10.980 – 00:27:12.400 with his family is like,
  615. 00:27:12.600 – 00:27:12.940 you know,
  616. 00:27:12.940 – 00:27:13.780 I get it, you know.
  617. 00:27:14.940 – 00:27:16.640 Even outside of business
  618. 00:27:16.640 – 00:27:17.320 and production,
  619. 00:27:17.460 – 00:27:19.100 we still have our personal lives.
  620. 00:27:20.040 – 00:27:20.340 You know,
  621. 00:27:20.340 – 00:27:21.840 I just didn't want him
  622. 00:27:21.840 – 00:27:23.040 to never forget that.
  623. 00:27:23.500 – 00:27:24.060 And that's just
  624. 00:27:24.060 – 00:27:25.160 with anybody in life,
  625. 00:27:25.520 – 00:27:25.840 you know,
  626. 00:27:25.940 – 00:27:26.900 with y'all, you know.
  627. 00:27:27.100 – 00:27:28.100 It ain't always business,
  628. 00:27:28.220 – 00:27:29.900 ain't always podcasting,
  629. 00:27:29.980 – 00:27:31.060 like, you know,
  630. 00:27:31.100 – 00:27:31.720 whatever y'all,
  631. 00:27:31.720 – 00:27:32.100 you know,
  632. 00:27:32.200 – 00:27:32.800 want to talk about,
  633. 00:27:32.900 – 00:27:33.760 need to talk about,
  634. 00:27:33.860 – 00:27:34.320 we can.
  635. 00:27:35.000 – 00:27:35.420 Listen,
  636. 00:27:35.820 – 00:27:36.300 Steve and,
  637. 00:27:36.300 – 00:27:37.400 Steve in mediated,
  638. 00:27:37.400 – 00:27:39.200 Steve to be the first thing,
  639. 00:27:39.240 – 00:27:40.020 shoot an engagement,
  640. 00:27:40.160 – 00:27:41.160 Steve, you see,
  641. 00:27:41.260 – 00:27:42.060 we family, okay?
  642. 00:27:42.260 – 00:27:43.040 For sure.
  643. 00:27:43.300 – 00:27:44.000 We gang gang.
  644. 00:27:44.260 – 00:27:44.760 But I want to own,
  645. 00:27:44.760 – 00:27:45.860 I want to be part of Jamar, man.
  646. 00:27:45.960 – 00:27:46.300 Because one,
  647. 00:27:46.880 – 00:27:47.280 Jamar,
  648. 00:27:47.440 – 00:27:48.040 his hand up,
  649. 00:27:48.240 – 00:27:49.280 he's an entrepreneur.
  650. 00:27:50.100 – 00:27:50.500 Man.
  651. 00:27:50.760 – 00:27:51.160 Entrepreneur,
  652. 00:27:51.400 – 00:27:52.140 I want to be part of that,
  653. 00:27:52.200 – 00:27:52.880 because like,
  654. 00:27:53.060 – 00:27:53.860 he built a launch artist,
  655. 00:27:53.860 – 00:27:54.460 that was phenomenal.
  656. 00:27:54.600 – 00:27:55.120 But because he,
  657. 00:27:55.280 – 00:27:55.960 since this industry,
  658. 00:27:56.140 – 00:27:57.380 so Jamar was out there,
  659. 00:27:57.700 – 00:27:59.100 and seeing how a launch artist was,
  660. 00:27:59.160 – 00:28:00.060 the teamwork y'all did.
  661. 00:28:00.360 – 00:28:00.780 Let's see,
  662. 00:28:01.240 – 00:28:02.660 we were at that,
  663. 00:28:02.920 – 00:28:03.400 have a discussion
  664. 00:28:03.800 – 00:28:04.520 on that,
  665. 00:28:04.560 – 00:28:05.560 was it Space 65,
  666. 00:28:05.640 – 00:28:06.000 whatever.
  667. 00:28:06.000 – 00:28:08.220 And y'all had the whole team there,
  668. 00:28:08.280 – 00:28:09.560 and I know you're doing this thing,
  669. 00:28:09.600 – 00:28:10.220 and I'm seeing,
  670. 00:28:10.640 – 00:28:11.320 and how easily,
  671. 00:28:11.500 – 00:28:12.060 and how you lead,
  672. 00:28:12.080 – 00:28:13.100 and how y'all are directing.
  673. 00:28:13.660 – 00:28:13.780 Yeah.
  674. 00:28:13.780 – 00:28:14.540 It's about more work, man.
  675. 00:28:14.940 – 00:28:15.400 Oh, yeah.
  676. 00:28:15.660 – 00:28:16.060 That's,
  677. 00:28:16.220 – 00:28:16.400 like,
  678. 00:28:16.400 – 00:28:17.440 I didn't have no,
  679. 00:28:18.440 – 00:28:18.640 like,
  680. 00:28:18.640 – 00:28:20.140 I could do like the switcher,
  681. 00:28:20.180 – 00:28:20.520 which is,
  682. 00:28:20.520 – 00:28:20.720 you know,
  683. 00:28:20.760 – 00:28:21.900 you switch a lot of time,
  684. 00:28:21.920 – 00:28:22.420 but like,
  685. 00:28:22.480 – 00:28:23.020 it was like,
  686. 00:28:23.640 – 00:28:23.760 yeah,
  687. 00:28:23.760 – 00:28:24.900 I could do that,
  688. 00:28:24.900 – 00:28:27.080 but I'd just rather bring in my team.
  689. 00:28:27.120 – 00:28:27.460 Like,
  690. 00:28:27.460 – 00:28:28.520 I took a pay cut,
  691. 00:28:28.540 – 00:28:29.600 I even lost money,
  692. 00:28:29.640 – 00:28:30.180 because,
  693. 00:28:31.400 – 00:28:31.800 yeah,
  694. 00:28:31.860 – 00:28:33.140 they kind of flaked on,
  695. 00:28:33.500 – 00:28:33.900 you know,
  696. 00:28:33.900 – 00:28:35.300 that's when I had payment plans,
  697. 00:28:35.300 – 00:28:35.980 six months.
  698. 00:28:36.420 – 00:28:36.940 And yeah,
  699. 00:28:36.960 – 00:28:38.080 that's a whole another story,
  700. 00:28:38.080 – 00:28:38.680 but yeah,
  701. 00:28:38.700 – 00:28:40.060 just the business lessons
  702. 00:28:40.060 – 00:28:41.480 you learn along the go,
  703. 00:28:41.600 – 00:28:41.800 like,
  704. 00:28:41.860 – 00:28:41.920 no,
  705. 00:28:41.980 – 00:28:43.420 you get payment up front now.
  706. 00:28:43.440 – 00:28:43.760 Like,
  707. 00:28:43.760 – 00:28:44.560 you mess it up for everybody.
  708. 00:28:46.000 – 00:28:46.180 Oh,
  709. 00:28:46.180 – 00:28:46.960 that's good.
  710. 00:28:47.260 – 00:28:47.540 Actually,
  711. 00:28:47.540 – 00:28:49.680 I think that that's a very important piece,
  712. 00:28:49.680 – 00:28:51.720 because I know early in our conversation
  713. 00:28:51.720 – 00:28:52.440 that you mentioned,
  714. 00:28:52.460 – 00:28:54.440 as you were getting your feet wet
  715. 00:28:54.440 – 00:28:55.300 in photography,
  716. 00:28:55.440 – 00:28:56.860 that you were doing things for free,
  717. 00:28:56.880 – 00:28:57.560 just so that way,
  718. 00:28:57.560 – 00:28:58.240 you could be able to,
  719. 00:28:58.240 – 00:28:58.380 like,
  720. 00:28:58.460 – 00:28:59.300 build that portfolio,
  721. 00:28:59.420 – 00:29:00.640 and get your name out here.
  722. 00:29:01.080 – 00:29:02.960 When did free become a feat?
  723. 00:29:05.300 – 00:29:06.220 That's crazy.
  724. 00:29:06.880 – 00:29:08.680 My good friend,
  725. 00:29:09.020 – 00:29:09.660 E-Rod Beats,
  726. 00:29:09.800 – 00:29:10.500 he is actually,
  727. 00:29:11.380 – 00:29:13.220 he was actually one of my last producers
  728. 00:29:13.220 – 00:29:13.780 I worked with
  729. 00:29:13.780 – 00:29:15.460 when I was actively doing music,
  730. 00:29:15.800 – 00:29:16.520 and it's crazy,
  731. 00:29:16.740 – 00:29:17.780 all the songs he produced,
  732. 00:29:17.800 – 00:29:20.740 I don't think I'll publicly publish,
  733. 00:29:23.420 – 00:29:24.940 but they just often to cut
  734. 00:29:24.940 – 00:29:25.680 in the storage,
  735. 00:29:25.740 – 00:29:27.000 you know.
  736. 00:29:27.240 – 00:29:28.140 In a vault,
  737. 00:29:28.640 – 00:29:29.980 just collecting junk.
  738. 00:29:31.180 – 00:29:31.780 so,
  739. 00:29:32.240 – 00:29:34.160 he was actually my first client.
  740. 00:29:34.540 – 00:29:36.360 I charged $50 for his,
  741. 00:29:36.740 – 00:29:38.280 a birthday session with him,
  742. 00:29:38.600 – 00:29:38.980 you know,
  743. 00:29:39.020 – 00:29:40.820 I'm proud and,
  744. 00:29:40.820 – 00:29:41.080 you know,
  745. 00:29:41.180 – 00:29:42.580 happy he trusted me,
  746. 00:29:43.360 – 00:29:44.280 and was like,
  747. 00:29:44.600 – 00:29:44.720 man,
  748. 00:29:44.840 – 00:29:45.080 here,
  749. 00:29:45.240 – 00:29:46.400 this is,
  750. 00:29:46.520 – 00:29:47.480 this is what I got.
  751. 00:29:47.580 – 00:29:47.920 So I'm like,
  752. 00:29:48.040 – 00:29:48.360 okay,
  753. 00:29:48.480 – 00:29:50.680 so I end up keeping that $50
  754. 00:29:50.680 – 00:29:51.740 as a benchmark
  755. 00:29:52.200 – 00:29:53.120 for a while,
  756. 00:29:53.160 – 00:29:54.640 and then slowly increasing,
  757. 00:29:54.780 – 00:29:57.000 and that became $150,
  758. 00:29:57.280 – 00:29:58.020 and da da da da,
  759. 00:29:58.060 – 00:29:59.460 so all the way where I'm at now,
  760. 00:29:59.640 – 00:30:00.020 to where,
  761. 00:30:00.420 – 00:30:01.440 even doing research
  762. 00:30:01.440 – 00:30:02.500 on the market in Cleveland,
  763. 00:30:02.540 – 00:30:03.920 I can't charge thousands,
  764. 00:30:03.920 – 00:30:04.180 like,
  765. 00:30:04.180 – 00:30:05.320 if I went somewhere else,
  766. 00:30:05.420 – 00:30:06.020 California,
  767. 00:30:06.160 – 00:30:06.520 Atlanta,
  768. 00:30:06.520 – 00:30:07.340 New York,
  769. 00:30:07.700 – 00:30:08.900 so just knowing your market
  770. 00:30:08.900 – 00:30:09.920 and doing your research,
  771. 00:30:09.920 – 00:30:10.720 because a lot of people
  772. 00:30:10.720 – 00:30:11.640 are not going to pay that,
  773. 00:30:11.880 – 00:30:12.800 but you also want to,
  774. 00:30:12.800 – 00:30:13.140 you know,
  775. 00:30:13.140 – 00:30:13.760 know your work
  776. 00:30:13.760 – 00:30:15.120 and charge your work for sure.
  777. 00:30:15.720 – 00:30:16.160 Okay.
  778. 00:30:16.460 – 00:30:16.660 Well,
  779. 00:30:16.660 – 00:30:17.840 I think that's a good tip
  780. 00:30:17.840 – 00:30:18.520 for those,
  781. 00:30:18.520 – 00:30:18.840 you know,
  782. 00:30:18.940 – 00:30:20.820 entrepreneurs that are trying to figure out
  783. 00:30:20.820 – 00:30:22.740 how to navigate their pricing.
  784. 00:30:23.520 – 00:30:24.700 It's very important
  785. 00:30:24.700 – 00:30:25.800 that you do the research
  786. 00:30:25.800 – 00:30:27.540 and just see where the market is.
  787. 00:30:27.560 – 00:30:28.120 So like you said,
  788. 00:30:28.160 – 00:30:29.400 you're not overcharging,
  789. 00:30:29.420 – 00:30:30.480 but you're not under,
  790. 00:30:30.480 – 00:30:31.520 you know,
  791. 00:30:31.720 – 00:30:31.900 value.
  792. 00:30:32.320 – 00:30:32.520 I'm not overcharged,
  793. 00:30:32.540 – 00:30:32.900 no.
  794. 00:30:34.280 – 00:30:34.720 Well,
  795. 00:30:34.720 – 00:30:35.180 I mean,
  796. 00:30:35.240 – 00:30:35.960 they might be wondering
  797. 00:30:35.960 – 00:30:37.060 why the phone ain't ringing,
  798. 00:30:37.320 – 00:30:38.480 but I get what you're saying.
  799. 00:30:38.780 – 00:30:40.540 And I guess that is the risk,
  800. 00:30:40.960 – 00:30:41.980 you know,
  801. 00:30:42.060 – 00:30:43.720 with being an entrepreneur
  802. 00:30:43.720 – 00:30:44.200 is that,
  803. 00:30:44.400 – 00:30:44.660 you know,
  804. 00:30:44.720 – 00:30:45.560 there are some people
  805. 00:30:45.560 – 00:30:46.420 that's just not going to be willing
  806. 00:30:46.420 – 00:30:47.120 to pay that fee
  807. 00:30:47.120 – 00:30:48.460 and are you okay with it?
  808. 00:30:48.860 – 00:30:49.180 Yeah,
  809. 00:30:49.180 – 00:30:50.740 like I've been burnt out.
  810. 00:30:50.740 – 00:30:52.400 That's what made me increase.
  811. 00:30:52.480 – 00:30:52.820 I'm like,
  812. 00:30:52.980 – 00:30:53.460 I'm doing,
  813. 00:30:54.020 – 00:30:55.160 I'm doing the event.
  814. 00:30:55.160 – 00:30:56.220 That's time right there.
  815. 00:30:56.220 – 00:30:57.180 And then I'm coming home
  816. 00:30:57.180 – 00:30:58.360 and doing homework.
  817. 00:30:58.440 – 00:30:59.420 Like in school,
  818. 00:30:59.460 – 00:31:00.560 I love school.
  819. 00:31:00.600 – 00:31:01.540 Like I really did,
  820. 00:31:01.900 – 00:31:03.080 but I didn't like homework.
  821. 00:31:03.140 – 00:31:05.020 I'm not bringing work home
  822. 00:31:05.020 – 00:31:05.820 and doing work
  823. 00:31:05.820 – 00:31:07.300 I want to play,
  824. 00:31:08.140 – 00:31:09.320 you know what I mean?
  825. 00:31:09.420 – 00:31:10.380 Like I want to do what I do,
  826. 00:31:10.500 – 00:31:11.240 play basketball,
  827. 00:31:11.480 – 00:31:12.580 play video games,
  828. 00:31:12.900 – 00:31:13.600 make music.
  829. 00:31:13.860 – 00:31:14.760 Like I don't want to be stuck
  830. 00:31:14.760 – 00:31:15.500 doing homework.
  831. 00:31:15.640 – 00:31:17.380 And that's what I start to feel
  832. 00:31:17.380 – 00:31:18.320 like coming home
  833. 00:31:18.320 – 00:31:20.480 and having to edit long hours,
  834. 00:31:20.480 – 00:31:21.880 especially when I did my first wedding.
  835. 00:31:22.040 – 00:31:22.320 I'm like,
  836. 00:31:23.040 – 00:31:24.280 it's like four,
  837. 00:31:24.280 – 00:31:24.940 five,
  838. 00:31:25.140 – 00:31:25.400 six,
  839. 00:31:25.420 – 00:31:26.180 seven weeks.
  840. 00:31:26.300 – 00:31:26.740 I'm like,
  841. 00:31:26.840 – 00:31:26.980 dang,
  842. 00:31:26.980 – 00:31:28.100 I've got my life back.
  843. 00:31:28.300 – 00:31:28.840 My daughter came,
  844. 00:31:29.160 – 00:31:30.300 can we go to the park?
  845. 00:31:30.660 – 00:31:31.300 I got to edit.
  846. 00:31:32.240 – 00:31:33.220 Like I'm like,
  847. 00:31:33.320 – 00:31:33.440 yeah,
  848. 00:31:33.460 – 00:31:34.460 something got to change
  849. 00:31:34.460 – 00:31:35.800 and that's the importance of
  850. 00:31:35.820 – 00:31:37.540 team hiring staff
  851. 00:31:37.540 – 00:31:38.340 and charging,
  852. 00:31:38.340 – 00:31:38.960 you know,
  853. 00:31:39.700 – 00:31:40.160 accordingly.
  854. 00:31:41.380 – 00:31:43.300 So it's all a trial and error.
  855. 00:31:43.460 – 00:31:44.660 It definitely is.
  856. 00:31:45.400 – 00:31:47.020 So what's the biggest lesson
  857. 00:31:47.020 – 00:31:48.300 that you've learned
  858. 00:31:48.300 – 00:31:49.300 from,
  859. 00:31:49.300 – 00:31:49.660 I guess,
  860. 00:31:49.740 – 00:31:51.680 the business aspect of things?
  861. 00:31:52.300 – 00:31:52.720 What would you say
  862. 00:31:52.720 – 00:31:53.920 is the biggest lesson learned?
  863. 00:31:55.480 – 00:31:58.600 Don't be afraid to reach out.
  864. 00:31:58.620 – 00:31:59.760 And this is more so
  865. 00:31:59.760 – 00:32:00.640 like lead generation.
  866. 00:32:00.680 – 00:32:01.940 Don't be afraid to reach out
  867. 00:32:01.940 – 00:32:03.580 and the power of the follow-up.
  868. 00:32:03.640 – 00:32:05.760 Like I met so many clients
  869. 00:32:05.820 – 00:32:07.940 and great opportunities
  870. 00:32:08.860 – 00:32:11.080 because I simply did not follow up
  871. 00:32:11.080 – 00:32:12.720 or because I was too busy
  872. 00:32:12.720 – 00:32:13.440 or tired.
  873. 00:32:14.560 – 00:32:15.140 Like, man,
  874. 00:32:15.540 – 00:32:17.220 that follow-up is everything.
  875. 00:32:17.420 – 00:32:18.660 Don't be afraid to reach out.
  876. 00:32:18.780 – 00:32:20.420 If somebody that you want to work with,
  877. 00:32:21.140 – 00:32:22.100 reach out.
  878. 00:32:22.440 – 00:32:23.520 The worst they can say is no.
  879. 00:32:33.220 – 00:32:35.400 It was actually all in the same year
  880. 00:32:35.400 – 00:32:36.780 launch arts and pull-up experience.
  881. 00:32:36.780 – 00:32:39.240 So like almost like identical same time.
  882. 00:32:39.760 – 00:32:40.640 It was July
  883. 00:32:41.660 – 00:32:43.580 and then August for launch.
  884. 00:32:43.660 – 00:32:46.300 So it was like right at the same time.
  885. 00:32:49.400 – 00:32:50.660 I'm saying that's all like
  886. 00:32:50.660 – 00:32:52.200 we got to kind of build this out.
  887. 00:32:52.320 – 00:32:53.080 We got the production,
  888. 00:32:53.260 – 00:32:54.020 you know what I mean?
  889. 00:32:54.560 – 00:32:55.700 And it's still in the works,
  890. 00:32:55.960 – 00:32:56.680 you know,
  891. 00:32:56.740 – 00:32:57.880 what it could actually look like
  892. 00:32:57.880 – 00:32:59.420 with the power collaboration
  893. 00:32:59.420 – 00:33:01.280 between my brand and launch arts.
  894. 00:33:01.360 – 00:33:02.040 Like I literally
  895. 00:33:02.040 – 00:33:03.820 got it on the back of the shirt.
  896. 00:33:03.820 – 00:33:05.080 All right, all right.
  897. 00:33:05.320 – 00:33:05.980 I got it.
  898. 00:33:06.340 – 00:33:07.680 Y'all got it.
  899. 00:33:07.920 – 00:33:09.800 We get it.
  900. 00:33:10.020 – 00:33:10.680 Good knees to the knee.
  901. 00:33:10.860 – 00:33:12.100 I'm going to do it slowly.
  902. 00:33:13.360 – 00:33:14.300 But you know,
  903. 00:33:14.360 – 00:33:15.360 it's just everything.
  904. 00:33:15.620 – 00:33:15.820 You know,
  905. 00:33:15.820 – 00:33:18.820 I'm always promoting rather than my brand
  906. 00:33:18.820 – 00:33:20.420 or pull-up experience exclusively,
  907. 00:33:20.660 – 00:33:21.680 launch arts exclusively,
  908. 00:33:22.020 – 00:33:23.240 my podcast exclusively,
  909. 00:33:23.380 – 00:33:25.020 somebody else's brand exclusively.
  910. 00:33:25.560 – 00:33:26.400 So you want like,
  911. 00:33:26.680 – 00:33:27.780 it doesn't matter.
  912. 00:33:28.040 – 00:33:29.260 I'm going to always promote,
  913. 00:33:29.400 – 00:33:29.560 you know,
  914. 00:33:29.560 – 00:33:31.520 like I could wear polo
  915. 00:33:31.520 – 00:33:33.360 or Sean John
  916. 00:33:33.360 – 00:33:35.200 or Tommy Hilfiger
  917. 00:33:35.200 – 00:33:36.520 or any other brand,
  918. 00:33:36.880 – 00:33:38.200 but why not brands
  919. 00:33:38.200 – 00:33:39.800 that I actually work with
  920. 00:33:39.800 – 00:33:41.840 that I'm a part of
  921. 00:33:41.840 – 00:33:42.700 and that I'm building.
  922. 00:33:43.180 – 00:33:44.200 You got the pull-up experience,
  923. 00:33:44.240 – 00:33:45.240 the pull-up experience.
  924. 00:33:45.560 – 00:33:46.560 We could wear anything.
  925. 00:33:46.600 – 00:33:47.980 Why not promote yourself?
  926. 00:33:48.240 – 00:33:48.860 Come on.
  927. 00:33:49.060 – 00:33:50.180 So that's how I look at it.
  928. 00:33:50.180 – 00:33:50.800 That's huge.
  929. 00:33:51.200 – 00:33:52.940 Speaking of wearing yourself,
  930. 00:33:54.740 – 00:33:55.240 you know,
  931. 00:33:55.340 – 00:33:57.500 when it comes to photographer Jackson,
  932. 00:33:57.560 – 00:33:58.740 when it comes to
  933. 00:33:58.740 – 00:34:00.200 the importance of a name,
  934. 00:34:02.760 – 00:34:05.600 when did Alienize Photo
  935. 00:34:05.600 – 00:34:06.680 become the name
  936. 00:34:06.680 – 00:34:09.159 and how did that come about in general?
  937. 00:34:09.320 – 00:34:11.659 Boy, you're getting me scared for a minute.
  938. 00:34:12.060 – 00:34:13.199 You sound like Maury,
  939. 00:34:13.300 – 00:34:15.260 like you are not the father
  940. 00:34:15.260 – 00:34:16.719 when it comes to,
  941. 00:34:17.340 – 00:34:18.040 I'm like,
  942. 00:34:19.800 – 00:34:20.600 you are.
  943. 00:34:20.780 – 00:34:22.179 We found some tweets in 05.
  944. 00:34:24.760 – 00:34:25.739 I got a couple,
  945. 00:34:26.260 – 00:34:28.520 but the importance of a name,
  946. 00:34:28.520 – 00:34:34.110 so my first artist name was
  947. 00:34:34.110 – 00:34:35.409 DJ Powerhouse
  948. 00:34:35.409 – 00:34:36.909 because my nickname is DJ,
  949. 00:34:36.969 – 00:34:38.170 family name DJ,
  950. 00:34:38.350 – 00:34:39.110 S DJ,
  951. 00:34:39.210 – 00:34:40.370 but I dropped the S.
  952. 00:34:41.230 – 00:34:43.610 So I was called DJ
  953. 00:34:44.690 – 00:34:46.889 and I put it in front of player,
  954. 00:34:47.110 – 00:34:47.850 so DJ player
  955. 00:34:47.850 – 00:34:49.630 because I'm walking down the street,
  956. 00:34:49.830 – 00:34:51.230 like I didn't like getting my haircut,
  957. 00:34:52.310 – 00:34:53.050 as y'all can see,
  958. 00:34:53.670 – 00:34:54.110 growing up
  959. 00:34:54.110 – 00:34:55.790 because I didn't have my father in my life.
  960. 00:34:56.030 – 00:34:57.770 So it's like going to the barbershop.
  961. 00:34:57.770 – 00:34:59.050 It just felt like that emptiness
  962. 00:34:59.050 – 00:35:00.090 and that loneliness.
  963. 00:35:01.290 – 00:35:02.970 But every time I did,
  964. 00:35:03.470 – 00:35:04.490 hey player, what's up player?
  965. 00:35:04.710 – 00:35:05.730 Hold your head up, player.
  966. 00:35:05.990 – 00:35:07.530 So player stuck in my head,
  967. 00:35:07.610 – 00:35:08.430 I'm like, oh player.
  968. 00:35:08.810 – 00:35:09.710 And you think about players,
  969. 00:35:09.910 – 00:35:11.190 smooth and I was smooth with the words.
  970. 00:35:12.990 – 00:35:15.910 So I put DJ and player
  971. 00:35:15.910 – 00:35:17.850 and then everybody's getting me mixed up
  972. 00:35:17.850 – 00:35:19.030 with an actual DJ,
  973. 00:35:19.310 – 00:35:19.850 like wicked wicked,
  974. 00:35:20.650 – 00:35:21.770 but I'm like,
  975. 00:35:21.790 – 00:35:22.970 how can I rebrand myself?
  976. 00:35:23.010 – 00:35:24.290 So I dropped the DJ
  977. 00:35:24.290 – 00:35:26.810 and put I in front of player,
  978. 00:35:27.130 – 00:35:28.270 so I am player,
  979. 00:35:28.770 – 00:35:29.170 I'm player.
  980. 00:35:29.350 – 00:35:30.430 Shout out to Apple,
  981. 00:35:30.450 – 00:35:32.030 which I have equity in.
  982. 00:35:34.530 – 00:35:36.290 And from I'm player,
  983. 00:35:36.890 – 00:35:38.450 I added alien,
  984. 00:35:38.710 – 00:35:40.510 which, you know,
  985. 00:35:40.590 – 00:35:42.190 my daughter's mother at the time,
  986. 00:35:42.630 – 00:35:43.610 we performed together.
  987. 00:35:43.730 – 00:35:44.450 She was a unicorn.
  988. 00:35:44.530 – 00:35:44.910 So I'm like,
  989. 00:35:45.010 – 00:35:46.310 what matches the unicorn?
  990. 00:35:46.950 – 00:35:49.050 And that's how alien became born.
  991. 00:35:49.050 – 00:35:50.370 You got to be out of this world.
  992. 00:35:50.950 – 00:35:51.350 Okay.
  993. 00:35:51.470 – 00:35:52.870 I was trying to still make the connection.
  994. 00:35:52.870 – 00:35:53.190 Okay.
  995. 00:35:53.310 – 00:35:53.730 I got you.
  996. 00:35:53.730 – 00:35:54.350 I follow along.
  997. 00:35:54.470 – 00:35:55.130 Y'all follow me.
  998. 00:35:55.270 – 00:35:57.070 That's how you got alien I'm player.
  999. 00:35:57.070 – 00:35:58.390 So that was my artist name.
  1000. 00:35:58.530 – 00:35:58.750 And I just,
  1001. 00:35:58.890 – 00:35:59.910 everybody knew me as alien.
  1002. 00:36:00.030 – 00:36:01.250 Hey, alien, alien, alien.
  1003. 00:36:01.810 – 00:36:02.790 So I took that alien.
  1004. 00:36:03.010 – 00:36:05.890 So now coming from behind the mic,
  1005. 00:36:06.810 – 00:36:07.650 dropping the mic
  1006. 00:36:07.650 – 00:36:09.410 and now got the lens.
  1007. 00:36:09.770 – 00:36:11.450 So eyes as you can see,
  1008. 00:36:11.570 – 00:36:13.670 now alien can see with the eyes.
  1009. 00:36:13.830 – 00:36:14.790 So alien eyes
  1010. 00:36:14.790 – 00:36:16.630 and what I'm doing is taking photos.
  1011. 00:36:17.550 – 00:36:18.170 So and I'm like,
  1012. 00:36:18.170 – 00:36:19.550 it's going to be bigger than photos.
  1013. 00:36:19.670 – 00:36:21.150 So I added media
  1014. 00:36:21.150 – 00:36:22.970 and a lot of people don't see
  1015. 00:36:22.970 – 00:36:24.930 the media in production.
  1016. 00:36:25.070 – 00:36:26.250 So I just say media.
  1017. 00:36:27.630 – 00:36:29.490 But it's actually media and production.
  1018. 00:36:29.950 – 00:36:31.470 So yeah, the whole shebang.
  1019. 00:36:31.570 – 00:36:31.930 Cause I'm thinking,
  1020. 00:36:31.930 – 00:36:33.430 I was thinking bigger at the time.
  1021. 00:36:33.450 – 00:36:34.910 Like it ain't just going to be photo.
  1022. 00:36:35.030 – 00:36:35.690 It ain't going to be,
  1023. 00:36:35.750 – 00:36:37.010 it's going to be a production.
  1024. 00:36:38.490 – 00:36:38.630 Okay.
  1025. 00:36:38.630 – 00:36:40.270 I know it's going to be like alien.
  1026. 00:36:41.950 – 00:36:42.330 Yeah.
  1027. 00:36:42.390 – 00:36:43.210 What's up with Sensei?
  1028. 00:36:43.830 – 00:36:43.910 Okay.
  1029. 00:36:44.630 – 00:36:45.010 Sensei.
  1030. 00:36:45.550 – 00:36:46.810 I can tell where Sensei came from.
  1031. 00:36:47.530 – 00:36:47.710 Yeah.
  1032. 00:36:47.710 – 00:36:48.570 What Sensei came from?
  1033. 00:36:48.570 – 00:36:50.010 Yeah, you might as well tell us.
  1034. 00:36:50.130 – 00:36:50.250 You know,
  1035. 00:36:50.310 – 00:36:51.510 cause the people probably don't understand
  1036. 00:36:51.510 – 00:36:52.270 where that come from.
  1037. 00:36:52.290 – 00:36:54.090 We just started saying that out of nowhere
  1038. 00:36:54.090 – 00:36:55.290 and it's just sticking and going.
  1039. 00:36:55.290 – 00:36:58.110 And now you're going to call him Sensei.
  1040. 00:36:58.370 – 00:36:58.730 Right.
  1041. 00:36:58.890 – 00:36:59.650 So now I'm like, okay,
  1042. 00:36:59.770 – 00:37:00.570 so which one are you doing?
  1043. 00:37:00.930 – 00:37:01.990 Alien, Alien, Sensei,
  1044. 00:37:02.090 – 00:37:02.650 which one we going?
  1045. 00:37:02.790 – 00:37:03.050 Right, right, right.
  1046. 00:37:03.070 – 00:37:04.710 You guys just made a many hats, you know.
  1047. 00:37:05.310 – 00:37:06.470 But no, if anybody know,
  1048. 00:37:07.890 – 00:37:09.230 this is one thing about me.
  1049. 00:37:09.270 – 00:37:10.130 If you got nicknames,
  1050. 00:37:10.290 – 00:37:11.050 I don't rock you.
  1051. 00:37:11.270 – 00:37:11.410 Okay.
  1052. 00:37:11.410 – 00:37:11.850 That's right.
  1053. 00:37:11.870 – 00:37:12.830 You ain't part of the gang.
  1054. 00:37:13.150 – 00:37:13.370 Okay.
  1055. 00:37:13.710 – 00:37:14.910 Everybody around me got nicknames.
  1056. 00:37:15.050 – 00:37:15.750 They don't even know it.
  1057. 00:37:15.910 – 00:37:16.210 Right.
  1058. 00:37:16.470 – 00:37:17.650 Cause I know somebody that don't know it.
  1059. 00:37:18.170 – 00:37:19.490 But Sensei only made sense
  1060. 00:37:19.490 – 00:37:21.610 because I promise you
  1061. 00:37:21.610 – 00:37:23.130 that in the mean time I'll text Steve
  1062. 00:37:23.130 – 00:37:23.930 on a random like,
  1063. 00:37:24.430 – 00:37:24.830 man,
  1064. 00:37:24.830 – 00:37:26.810 anybody's on this real quick or hey,
  1065. 00:37:27.050 – 00:37:28.490 this is another or photography
  1066. 00:37:28.490 – 00:37:29.930 or this or anything.
  1067. 00:37:30.110 – 00:37:30.510 Okay.
  1068. 00:37:30.510 – 00:37:31.050 I'm like, man,
  1069. 00:37:31.130 – 00:37:32.230 every time I hit him up
  1070. 00:37:32.230 – 00:37:33.450 and I remember I was watching
  1071. 00:37:33.450 – 00:37:34.730 I was watching a comic movie or whatnot.
  1072. 00:37:35.610 – 00:37:36.710 And it was meditating.
  1073. 00:37:37.150 – 00:37:38.470 I was like,
  1074. 00:37:38.470 – 00:37:39.990 I'm the Sensei,
  1075. 00:37:41.110 – 00:37:41.510 Sensei,
  1076. 00:37:41.710 – 00:37:42.290 there we go.
  1077. 00:37:42.350 – 00:37:43.230 Make sense.
  1078. 00:37:43.230 – 00:37:44.190 Yeah, we're going to make sense.
  1079. 00:37:44.250 – 00:37:45.090 It felt right.
  1080. 00:37:45.230 – 00:37:45.630 You know what I'm saying?
  1081. 00:37:46.030 – 00:37:46.170 Yeah.
  1082. 00:37:46.610 – 00:37:47.010 It still do.
  1083. 00:37:47.130 – 00:37:48.450 A good donation should feel right.
  1084. 00:37:48.530 – 00:37:48.930 It does.
  1085. 00:37:49.390 – 00:37:49.730 It fits.
  1086. 00:37:50.550 – 00:37:50.770 It does.
  1087. 00:37:50.790 – 00:37:51.730 I like that.
  1088. 00:37:55.890 – 00:37:56.530 No, yeah.
  1089. 00:37:56.530 – 00:37:57.530 No, like I said,
  1090. 00:37:57.530 – 00:37:58.470 I appreciate you, man.
  1091. 00:37:58.570 – 00:37:59.010 Like I said,
  1092. 00:37:59.410 – 00:38:00.450 if it's even personal,
  1093. 00:38:00.590 – 00:38:02.130 if it's pocket is,
  1094. 00:38:02.130 – 00:38:02.930 brother, you have been there
  1095. 00:38:02.930 – 00:38:03.750 and I appreciate that.
  1096. 00:38:03.810 – 00:38:04.150 You know what I'm saying?
  1097. 00:38:04.290 – 00:38:05.750 You always thank their God.
  1098. 00:38:06.570 – 00:38:07.430 It's just a younger me,
  1099. 00:38:07.530 – 00:38:07.890 you know what I'm saying?
  1100. 00:38:07.990 – 00:38:08.910 Let me just pull it out of there.
  1101. 00:38:09.010 – 00:38:09.550 You know what I mean?
  1102. 00:38:09.750 – 00:38:10.230 He got me.
  1103. 00:38:10.390 – 00:38:11.090 Let me just pull it out of there.
  1104. 00:38:11.410 – 00:38:12.830 That's a good lesson for them.
  1105. 00:38:13.670 – 00:38:14.570 It doesn't matter the age.
  1106. 00:38:15.530 – 00:38:16.150 Oh, trust me.
  1107. 00:38:16.210 – 00:38:18.270 I am not too proud to learn
  1108. 00:38:18.270 – 00:38:19.790 from a child or a kid
  1109. 00:38:19.790 – 00:38:20.670 or a teenager
  1110. 00:38:20.670 – 00:38:21.890 or someone younger than me.
  1111. 00:38:22.470 – 00:38:24.030 These kids out here streaming,
  1112. 00:38:24.170 – 00:38:24.730 I'm talking about,
  1113. 00:38:24.810 – 00:38:25.490 we at the zoo,
  1114. 00:38:25.550 – 00:38:26.070 me and my daughter,
  1115. 00:38:26.110 – 00:38:26.710 we at the zoo.
  1116. 00:38:27.010 – 00:38:28.490 They out there four deep streaming.
  1117. 00:38:28.670 – 00:38:29.270 I'm like, oh,
  1118. 00:38:29.910 – 00:38:31.150 I'm like at the zoo though.
  1119. 00:38:32.130 – 00:38:32.710 Anywhere in the world.
  1120. 00:38:33.130 – 00:38:33.610 But like, hey,
  1121. 00:38:33.650 – 00:38:34.570 they making content
  1122. 00:38:34.570 – 00:38:35.690 and making money.
  1123. 00:38:35.950 – 00:38:37.030 More money than I know.
  1124. 00:38:38.250 – 00:38:39.310 And they just living their life.
  1125. 00:38:40.470 – 00:38:41.670 We using a letter.
  1126. 00:38:42.190 – 00:38:42.430 Brittany,
  1127. 00:38:42.590 – 00:38:43.710 she's a streamer.
  1128. 00:38:45.210 – 00:38:46.510 She's a streamer.
  1129. 00:38:46.990 – 00:38:47.770 Oh, no, brother.
  1130. 00:38:47.990 – 00:38:48.210 I believe.
  1131. 00:38:48.430 – 00:38:49.690 Hey, it's your girl, Brett.
  1132. 00:38:50.370 – 00:38:51.050 Look at this.
  1133. 00:38:51.110 – 00:38:51.510 Look at this.
  1134. 00:38:51.670 – 00:38:52.150 Look at this.
  1135. 00:38:52.950 – 00:38:54.190 I was like, okay.
  1136. 00:38:54.230 – 00:38:55.430 I'm trying, y'all.
  1137. 00:38:55.450 – 00:38:55.870 I'm trying.
  1138. 00:38:55.910 – 00:38:58.270 I feel like I'm trying to figure it out.
  1139. 00:38:59.510 – 00:39:00.370 You get them going.
  1140. 00:39:00.510 – 00:39:01.010 I'm like, yeah.
  1141. 00:39:01.030 – 00:39:02.170 Even the behind the scenes,
  1142. 00:39:02.310 – 00:39:02.750 I'll be like,
  1143. 00:39:04.050 – 00:39:04.930 Brittany, be like,
  1144. 00:39:05.010 – 00:39:05.450 I'll be like,
  1145. 00:39:05.550 – 00:39:06.470 oh, okay.
  1146. 00:39:06.710 – 00:39:07.310 I like it.
  1147. 00:39:07.650 – 00:39:08.050 Yeah.
  1148. 00:39:08.850 – 00:39:09.250 Documented.
  1149. 00:39:09.350 – 00:39:09.890 I love it.
  1150. 00:39:09.970 – 00:39:11.270 A lot of people don't do that.
  1151. 00:39:11.330 – 00:39:13.290 And like, you really do that.
  1152. 00:39:13.470 – 00:39:14.930 Like behind the scenes,
  1153. 00:39:15.670 – 00:39:16.570 you're almost beating me.
  1154. 00:39:16.650 – 00:39:17.330 That's what I'm saying.
  1155. 00:39:17.390 – 00:39:18.770 Like, I could teach somebody,
  1156. 00:39:18.770 – 00:39:20.530 but like, man,
  1157. 00:39:20.690 – 00:39:21.510 y'all got your own skills.
  1158. 00:39:22.170 – 00:39:23.630 When they take what you learn,
  1159. 00:39:23.730 – 00:39:24.410 and they go on a date,
  1160. 00:39:24.630 – 00:39:25.350 they take it first.
  1161. 00:39:25.590 – 00:39:26.430 Or even, you know,
  1162. 00:39:26.470 – 00:39:27.550 finding your own lane.
  1163. 00:39:28.590 – 00:39:29.330 Like, you know,
  1164. 00:39:29.490 – 00:39:30.450 Brittany, you know,
  1165. 00:39:30.570 – 00:39:31.390 streaming, vlogging,
  1166. 00:39:31.790 – 00:39:32.450 doing behind the scenes.
  1167. 00:39:32.530 – 00:39:33.630 She didn't need me for that,
  1168. 00:39:33.770 – 00:39:36.250 but that's something she likes doing.
  1169. 00:39:36.990 – 00:39:37.630 For sure.
  1170. 00:39:37.970 – 00:39:39.550 And I, and thank you.
  1171. 00:39:39.610 – 00:39:40.430 I appreciate that.
  1172. 00:39:40.430 – 00:39:40.870 For sure.
  1173. 00:39:40.930 – 00:39:42.590 And I think that that's very important
  1174. 00:39:42.590 – 00:39:44.250 because, you know,
  1175. 00:39:44.370 – 00:39:45.310 when Brie was doing
  1176. 00:39:45.310 – 00:39:47.510 a lot of my episodes for Beauty Told,
  1177. 00:39:47.510 – 00:39:49.910 you know, she's capturing those moments.
  1178. 00:39:49.990 – 00:39:51.950 And I, I got to thinking to myself
  1179. 00:39:51.950 – 00:39:53.290 as myself and was sitting next to me.
  1180. 00:39:53.370 – 00:39:55.190 I'm like, when do you guys get
  1181. 00:39:55.190 – 00:39:56.690 the camera thrown on y'all?
  1182. 00:39:56.710 – 00:39:58.730 So that way people can be able to catch
  1183. 00:39:58.730 – 00:40:00.990 y'all doing what y'all love to do.
  1184. 00:40:00.990 – 00:40:03.010 The passion, the purpose behind it.
  1185. 00:40:03.110 – 00:40:04.170 How will anybody know
  1186. 00:40:04.170 – 00:40:06.210 if there's nothing documented about y'all?
  1187. 00:40:06.390 – 00:40:08.570 So that's what really started making me
  1188. 00:40:08.570 – 00:40:09.990 realize to, you know,
  1189. 00:40:10.050 – 00:40:11.250 get out that selflessness.
  1190. 00:40:11.490 – 00:40:12.290 So for y'all, you know,
  1191. 00:40:12.810 – 00:40:13.490 that's, you know,
  1192. 00:40:13.570 – 00:40:15.010 maybe in that same situation,
  1193. 00:40:15.070 – 00:40:16.230 if y'all some podcasters
  1194. 00:40:16.230 – 00:40:17.210 want to be a podcaster,
  1195. 00:40:17.250 – 00:40:19.530 remember that it ain't always about the
  1196. 00:40:19.530 – 00:40:20.810 film being on y'all,
  1197. 00:40:20.990 – 00:40:22.410 the lens being on y'all.
  1198. 00:40:22.550 – 00:40:24.450 Pick up and make sure that y'all are,
  1199. 00:40:24.450 – 00:40:25.830 you know, reciprocating that
  1200. 00:40:25.830 – 00:40:27.390 towards those who are helping you
  1201. 00:40:27.390 – 00:40:28.310 because that really,
  1202. 00:40:28.890 – 00:40:29.870 that benefits y'all.
  1203. 00:40:29.950 – 00:40:30.970 That helps to be able to,
  1204. 00:40:31.030 – 00:40:32.770 for more eyes to be able to see
  1205. 00:40:32.770 – 00:40:33.710 y'all in the act.
  1206. 00:40:33.750 – 00:40:35.530 And that way people become curious.
  1207. 00:40:35.530 – 00:40:36.490 They want to know,
  1208. 00:40:37.030 – 00:40:38.430 how can I get that person?
  1209. 00:40:38.670 – 00:40:39.210 You know?
  1210. 00:40:39.310 – 00:40:40.890 Who gets the photographer?
  1211. 00:40:41.210 – 00:40:42.830 That's like the biggest thing.
  1212. 00:40:43.090 – 00:40:43.930 It's like a memoir.
  1213. 00:40:44.790 – 00:40:45.270 Yeah.
  1214. 00:40:45.430 – 00:40:45.910 Oh,
  1215. 00:40:47.250 – 00:40:48.910 who gets the photographer?
  1216. 00:40:48.950 – 00:40:49.850 For sure.
  1217. 00:40:50.330 – 00:40:51.670 Three, two, one.
  1218. 00:40:52.310 – 00:40:53.770 And speaking of just,
  1219. 00:40:53.770 – 00:40:55.010 just this overall,
  1220. 00:40:55.230 – 00:40:55.750 because you,
  1221. 00:40:55.790 – 00:40:56.730 now you're teaching.
  1222. 00:40:57.330 – 00:40:57.730 Yeah.
  1223. 00:40:58.070 – 00:40:59.470 Shots of you in Sese yet.
  1224. 00:40:59.650 – 00:40:59.990 You know what I'm saying?
  1225. 00:41:00.050 – 00:41:01.830 Because y'all were teaching
  1226. 00:41:02.590 – 00:41:05.710 on just how to conduct a podcast.
  1227. 00:41:05.790 – 00:41:06.330 And we're talking about
  1228. 00:41:06.330 – 00:41:07.470 my first podcast in a minute.
  1229. 00:41:07.770 – 00:41:09.050 But you guys are not only just,
  1230. 00:41:10.270 – 00:41:10.630 not only,
  1231. 00:41:10.830 – 00:41:11.590 not saying you got the master,
  1232. 00:41:11.650 – 00:41:13.610 but you guys are helping others,
  1233. 00:41:13.610 – 00:41:14.630 but you guys are also teaching.
  1234. 00:41:14.750 – 00:41:15.750 Let's talk about that.
  1235. 00:41:15.990 – 00:41:17.190 What made you want to teach?
  1236. 00:41:17.270 – 00:41:18.230 Yeah, let's see.
  1237. 00:41:18.310 – 00:41:19.590 You won't come in front again.
  1238. 00:41:21.510 – 00:41:23.110 So it's just amazing.
  1239. 00:41:23.230 – 00:41:24.290 Even right before this,
  1240. 00:41:24.410 – 00:41:27.350 we had a consultation with someone
  1241. 00:41:27.350 – 00:41:31.390 that we filmed their first video podcast.
  1242. 00:41:31.430 – 00:41:33.490 They're doing audio like myself.
  1243. 00:41:34.350 – 00:41:36.230 So they got that going already,
  1244. 00:41:36.230 – 00:41:37.830 but they wanted to introduce video
  1245. 00:41:37.830 – 00:41:40.430 because we shot their first video podcast
  1246. 00:41:40.430 – 00:41:41.030 in Atlanta.
  1247. 00:41:41.910 – 00:41:44.210 So they wanted to take a step further
  1248. 00:41:44.210 – 00:41:45.690 with what they can do on their own.
  1249. 00:41:45.750 – 00:41:47.590 So we had a consultation with them
  1250. 00:41:47.590 – 00:41:50.170 and even providing value,
  1251. 00:41:50.270 – 00:41:51.470 giving them extra time.
  1252. 00:41:51.690 – 00:41:53.050 We really, really care
  1253. 00:41:53.570 – 00:41:55.550 because we really want to see people win.
  1254. 00:41:55.850 – 00:41:57.470 And if you come to us,
  1255. 00:41:57.550 – 00:41:58.570 we're going to make it look good.
  1256. 00:41:59.450 – 00:42:01.090 No, we really want to see this
  1257. 00:42:01.090 – 00:42:02.930 in what you're doing and executing
  1258. 00:42:02.930 – 00:42:04.770 and how you could change.
  1259. 00:42:04.830 – 00:42:06.070 It ain't always about money.
  1260. 00:42:06.110 – 00:42:07.270 It's about the relationship.
  1261. 00:42:08.070 – 00:42:09.910 So just knowing that,
  1262. 00:42:10.050 – 00:42:10.890 the money going to come.
  1263. 00:42:11.770 – 00:42:12.290 Hello.
  1264. 00:42:13.890 – 00:42:15.230 I'm always a teacher.
  1265. 00:42:15.630 – 00:42:16.290 Like you said,
  1266. 00:42:16.470 – 00:42:17.590 you hit me up,
  1267. 00:42:17.690 – 00:42:18.570 just send me a text.
  1268. 00:42:18.830 – 00:42:19.150 Like, I mean,
  1269. 00:42:19.150 – 00:42:20.750 I might not get back right away
  1270. 00:42:20.750 – 00:42:22.090 because I'm doing XYZ.
  1271. 00:42:22.150 – 00:42:23.830 I'm a parent running a business.
  1272. 00:42:24.390 – 00:42:25.450 I'm in a relationship.
  1273. 00:42:25.650 – 00:42:27.090 So you got to spend that time
  1274. 00:42:27.090 – 00:42:28.210 where it's allocated.
  1275. 00:42:29.090 – 00:42:31.530 But I will get back to you for sure.
  1276. 00:42:32.230 – 00:42:34.290 But we did our first workshop.
  1277. 00:42:34.930 – 00:42:35.690 We always say,
  1278. 00:42:35.830 – 00:42:37.330 yeah, we can do much bigger
  1279. 00:42:37.330 – 00:42:38.430 and do greater.
  1280. 00:42:38.670 – 00:42:39.530 Even you learn.
  1281. 00:42:39.530 – 00:42:41.610 You know, you write with us.
  1282. 00:42:41.630 – 00:42:43.190 And the story about how since
  1283. 00:42:43.190 – 00:42:44.610 they had me feel embarrassed
  1284. 00:42:45.250 – 00:42:46.050 at the workshop,
  1285. 00:42:46.050 – 00:42:47.010 I want to hear this.
  1286. 00:42:47.170 – 00:42:47.910 I want to hear this.
  1287. 00:42:47.930 – 00:42:48.810 Not embarrassed.
  1288. 00:42:48.970 – 00:42:49.630 No, no, no.
  1289. 00:42:49.670 – 00:42:50.510 So I never get to listen.
  1290. 00:42:50.670 – 00:42:51.030 Yeah.
  1291. 00:42:51.230 – 00:42:52.210 I never get to lie.
  1292. 00:42:52.350 – 00:42:52.730 She was like,
  1293. 00:42:52.930 – 00:42:54.950 if you're not going to do a one angle,
  1294. 00:42:55.610 – 00:42:56.050 it's basic.
  1295. 00:42:57.510 – 00:42:58.370 I was like,
  1296. 00:42:58.730 – 00:43:00.250 I felt, you know how I used to pass you.
  1297. 00:43:00.350 – 00:43:00.870 I was like,
  1298. 00:43:00.870 – 00:43:02.570 oh, I want to cover my face when I do this.
  1299. 00:43:02.570 – 00:43:03.430 I was like, oh, no.
  1300. 00:43:08.940 – 00:43:10.280 I didn't say it was basic.
  1301. 00:43:10.280 – 00:43:12.180 I said it didn't align properly
  1302. 00:43:12.180 – 00:43:13.200 with modern trends.
  1303. 00:43:13.780 – 00:43:14.100 Yes, she did.
  1304. 00:43:14.360 – 00:43:14.760 She did.
  1305. 00:43:14.840 – 00:43:15.420 Yes, ma'am.
  1306. 00:43:15.560 – 00:43:16.000 Yes, ma'am.
  1307. 00:43:16.280 – 00:43:16.720 Okay.
  1308. 00:43:17.680 – 00:43:18.840 Here, I was like,
  1309. 00:43:18.840 – 00:43:19.460 you know what?
  1310. 00:43:20.000 – 00:43:20.940 And it was like,
  1311. 00:43:21.000 – 00:43:22.000 you know, Mark Jordan did
  1312. 00:43:22.540 – 00:43:23.680 on the last dance.
  1313. 00:43:23.840 – 00:43:24.940 I heard that's personal.
  1314. 00:43:25.280 – 00:43:25.740 I was going to say.
  1315. 00:43:25.760 – 00:43:26.480 Next week,
  1316. 00:43:26.780 – 00:43:27.600 I brought ACAMS.
  1317. 00:43:27.820 – 00:43:28.400 He did, y'all.
  1318. 00:43:28.420 – 00:43:28.800 Yeah, he did.
  1319. 00:43:29.040 – 00:43:30.600 I came in like,
  1320. 00:43:30.820 – 00:43:32.000 what's all of this?
  1321. 00:43:32.340 – 00:43:33.200 We're going to use it, though.
  1322. 00:43:33.300 – 00:43:34.400 Let's have fun, you know.
  1323. 00:43:34.420 – 00:43:35.380 No, no, no, no.
  1324. 00:43:35.700 – 00:43:37.300 But no, I said it because like,
  1325. 00:43:37.380 – 00:43:38.120 once again, it made me think,
  1326. 00:43:38.120 – 00:43:39.660 okay, I would sub the podcast
  1327. 00:43:39.660 – 00:43:43.460 so no, I just can't get it for you guys.
  1328. 00:43:43.820 – 00:43:44.320 That's what I love about singing.
  1329. 00:43:44.420 – 00:43:45.480 We're always educating each other.
  1330. 00:43:45.520 – 00:43:47.060 You know what I love about y'all, man?
  1331. 00:43:47.540 – 00:43:48.420 Y'all are just like me.
  1332. 00:43:48.420 – 00:43:49.980 Y'all are students to the game.
  1333. 00:43:50.040 – 00:43:50.800 No matter what y'all do,
  1334. 00:43:50.800 – 00:43:51.600 y'all are students.
  1335. 00:43:51.860 – 00:43:53.120 Like, you didn't have to implement that
  1336. 00:43:53.120 – 00:43:53.780 and taking it to her.
  1337. 00:43:53.780 – 00:43:54.880 I'm glad you did, though.
  1338. 00:43:55.340 – 00:43:55.540 Yeah.
  1339. 00:43:56.420 – 00:43:56.920 Level up.
  1340. 00:43:57.480 – 00:43:58.720 That means improvement.
  1341. 00:43:58.760 – 00:43:59.740 You want to get better.
  1342. 00:44:00.200 – 00:44:02.000 That's what I love seeing about people.
  1343. 00:44:02.200 – 00:44:03.800 If I don't see you want to improve,
  1344. 00:44:04.640 – 00:44:06.620 even being in prior relationships,
  1345. 00:44:07.000 – 00:44:08.600 like, if I don't see the progress
  1346. 00:44:08.600 – 00:44:09.600 so we're just stagnant.
  1347. 00:44:09.720 – 00:44:10.460 We ain't getting nowhere.
  1348. 00:44:10.880 – 00:44:11.380 You know, evolution.
  1349. 00:44:12.040 – 00:44:13.300 You're not thinking big for yourself.
  1350. 00:44:13.380 – 00:44:15.420 You just want to be in a basic job.
  1351. 00:44:16.180 – 00:44:16.580 Right.
  1352. 00:44:17.120 – 00:44:18.320 I know that's right.
  1353. 00:44:18.380 – 00:44:20.860 I mean, it's just not going nowhere.
  1354. 00:44:21.120 – 00:44:22.320 You know, you're just going to be in the same.
  1355. 00:44:23.000 – 00:44:24.200 So, you know, even, you know,
  1356. 00:44:24.200 – 00:44:25.580 we all could be doing better.
  1357. 00:44:25.860 – 00:44:27.220 Or even my podcast, like,
  1358. 00:44:27.220 – 00:44:28.680 it could be so much better.
  1359. 00:44:28.700 – 00:44:31.960 So it's always that next step we can take
  1360. 00:44:31.960 – 00:44:33.480 and that we want to take.
  1361. 00:44:33.560 – 00:44:34.000 Yeah.
  1362. 00:44:34.080 – 00:44:35.720 And that's the biggest thing that we want to.
  1363. 00:44:35.740 – 00:44:36.260 That's good.
  1364. 00:44:36.400 – 00:44:37.080 That's good.
  1365. 00:44:37.780 – 00:44:40.120 So that brings me that that brings me to the fact
  1366. 00:44:40.120 – 00:44:40.720 that, like you said,
  1367. 00:44:40.720 – 00:44:41.880 we don't just take this information
  1368. 00:44:41.880 – 00:44:44.160 and just, you know, bottle it up.
  1369. 00:44:44.160 – 00:44:46.080 We actually are moving on it.
  1370. 00:44:46.080 – 00:44:48.000 You know, I have a word every year in this year
  1371. 00:44:48.000 – 00:44:49.700 and Brie knows it's execute.
  1372. 00:44:50.080 – 00:44:52.140 So, okay, it's nice to know you have that information,
  1373. 00:44:52.140 – 00:44:53.480 but when do you execute on it?
  1374. 00:44:53.480 – 00:44:55.660 When you start making those those steps.
  1375. 00:44:55.780 – 00:44:57.120 So, like you said, it can be just small steps
  1376. 00:44:57.120 – 00:44:58.920 that eventually lead to before you know it,
  1377. 00:44:58.920 – 00:45:01.040 like, oh, my God, I went from there to here.
  1378. 00:45:01.180 – 00:45:03.320 Like, so you have to move.
  1379. 00:45:03.540 – 00:45:06.080 And I think that for you brought up a good point
  1380. 00:45:06.080 – 00:45:08.020 and for entrepreneurs that are watching this,
  1381. 00:45:08.200 – 00:45:10.120 that it's just important to have those
  1382. 00:45:10.120 – 00:45:12.440 that are going to help you to level up.
  1383. 00:45:12.760 – 00:45:15.420 That's going to be able to show you some things
  1384. 00:45:15.420 – 00:45:17.360 and have your back and give you tips
  1385. 00:45:17.360 – 00:45:18.220 and give you tricks
  1386. 00:45:18.220 – 00:45:20.260 and that you actually take that in
  1387. 00:45:20.260 – 00:45:21.540 and run with it, you know,
  1388. 00:45:21.540 – 00:45:22.660 and actually do something with it
  1389. 00:45:22.660 – 00:45:23.960 because that's going to better you
  1390. 00:45:23.960 – 00:45:25.100 and that's going to better everybody.
  1391. 00:45:25.600 – 00:45:26.540 I mean, my mother used to say,
  1392. 00:45:26.640 – 00:45:27.500 Brie, let's set the block together.
  1393. 00:45:27.540 – 00:45:29.800 So if we all is trying to move towards greatness,
  1394. 00:45:29.800 – 00:45:32.440 I feel like that's much better than us just doing
  1395. 00:45:33.360 – 00:45:34.300 what you're doing today.
  1396. 00:45:34.300 – 00:45:35.520 And it's the same old same old.
  1397. 00:45:36.280 – 00:45:37.980 We came to Atlanta deep.
  1398. 00:45:38.120 – 00:45:38.760 That's what I'm like, man.
  1399. 00:45:38.760 – 00:45:39.660 We got a whole team.
  1400. 00:45:39.980 – 00:45:42.660 People come in individually or with their couple
  1401. 00:45:42.660 – 00:45:44.860 as a couple, but like we came with a team.
  1402. 00:45:46.240 – 00:45:48.620 And I'm like, yeah, we could really, you know,
  1403. 00:45:48.840 – 00:45:50.320 make waves, not just in Cleveland,
  1404. 00:45:50.500 – 00:45:51.520 but outside of Cleveland.
  1405. 00:45:51.580 – 00:45:52.660 That's when I first saw it.
  1406. 00:45:52.660 – 00:45:55.220 I'm like, we really got something,
  1407. 00:45:55.340 – 00:45:56.560 something special too.
  1408. 00:45:56.660 – 00:45:58.520 And like, we could really travel with this.
  1409. 00:45:58.760 – 00:46:01.020 Even teaching workshops like podcast 101,
  1410. 00:46:01.540 – 00:46:04.460 podcast 102 and like everything we do.
  1411. 00:46:04.460 – 00:46:06.520 See, poor than they know it.
  1412. 00:46:08.850 – 00:46:11.690 You know, we took a risk on ourselves
  1413. 00:46:11.690 – 00:46:13.450 by going down there and traveling,
  1414. 00:46:13.830 – 00:46:15.330 like our first conference together.
  1415. 00:46:15.330 – 00:46:18.630 I go to conferences all the time by myself,
  1416. 00:46:19.250 – 00:46:22.230 but you know, we stepped out on faith
  1417. 00:46:22.230 – 00:46:24.430 and just been different,
  1418. 00:46:24.890 – 00:46:26.070 doing something different.
  1419. 00:46:26.710 – 00:46:31.070 And I can say it definitely transformed all of us,
  1420. 00:46:31.270 – 00:46:34.890 even the team in certain ways.
  1421. 00:46:35.830 – 00:46:38.790 Don't know, we gotta speak on that.
  1422. 00:46:39.410 – 00:46:42.930 But I'm just saying it did because, you know.
  1423. 00:46:44.450 – 00:46:46.530 It transformed as a whole because now,
  1424. 00:46:46.670 – 00:46:50.470 because then I feel like the podcast transformed.
  1425. 00:46:51.110 – 00:46:52.710 It got, it went in a different direction.
  1426. 00:46:52.870 – 00:46:53.350 Sure.
  1427. 00:46:53.750 – 00:46:55.290 Yep. And then from that, you know,
  1428. 00:46:55.350 – 00:46:58.150 we, I feel like then we had more direction.
  1429. 00:46:58.390 – 00:47:00.670 We more had more intention going forward.
  1430. 00:47:00.930 – 00:47:02.350 At the latter it was like, okay,
  1431. 00:47:02.390 – 00:47:03.930 we about to go in this direction.
  1432. 00:47:04.050 – 00:47:05.470 And we even stopped yet.
  1433. 00:47:05.470 – 00:47:06.130 That's true.
  1434. 00:47:06.710 – 00:47:09.550 I just think we kind of do the same,
  1435. 00:47:09.790 – 00:47:12.190 but like we have these high names
  1436. 00:47:12.190 – 00:47:14.970 and you know, people that have this high status
  1437. 00:47:15.710 – 00:47:17.910 and being at, you know, podcasts,
  1438. 00:47:18.130 – 00:47:18.990 some of our different conferences,
  1439. 00:47:19.150 – 00:47:21.830 such as that they're approachable
  1440. 00:47:21.830 – 00:47:23.570 and accessible and willing to talk
  1441. 00:47:23.570 – 00:47:26.030 and you know, spend that time with,
  1442. 00:47:26.170 – 00:47:27.590 you know, I don't say anybody,
  1443. 00:47:27.830 – 00:47:29.710 but pretty much anybody.
  1444. 00:47:30.390 – 00:47:31.190 Like they know, oh,
  1445. 00:47:32.030 – 00:47:33.410 like it's coming, get that camera on my face
  1446. 00:47:33.410 – 00:47:35.270 and like, oh, they sit down with you,
  1447. 00:47:35.770 – 00:47:37.790 and have a quick interview with you
  1448. 00:47:37.790 – 00:47:38.670 and talk with you.
  1449. 00:47:39.530 – 00:47:41.750 So just like you said,
  1450. 00:47:42.090 – 00:47:43.310 birds of a feather flock together.
  1451. 00:47:43.570 – 00:47:45.310 You've seen that you want to model that.
  1452. 00:47:45.350 – 00:47:45.830 Sure.
  1453. 00:47:46.550 – 00:47:49.450 And others get encouraged and influenced too.
  1454. 00:47:49.670 – 00:47:51.570 You know, we've both,
  1455. 00:47:51.810 – 00:47:52.990 you know, we've all individually
  1456. 00:47:52.990 – 00:47:56.730 and collectively have grown our brands
  1457. 00:47:56.730 – 00:47:58.550 to the point where people know us,
  1458. 00:47:58.550 – 00:48:00.810 you know, not just as a pull of experience,
  1459. 00:48:00.910 – 00:48:02.330 but they know us as alien photos.
  1460. 00:48:02.410 – 00:48:03.890 They know us as overflow studios
  1461. 00:48:03.890 – 00:48:05.250 or beauty toe.
  1462. 00:48:05.530 – 00:48:07.250 And I think that that just helps to
  1463. 00:48:08.270 – 00:48:10.130 set the tone for when we continue
  1464. 00:48:10.130 – 00:48:11.510 to just catapult this thing
  1465. 00:48:11.510 – 00:48:14.130 and just take it to a whole other dimension.
  1466. 00:48:14.630 – 00:48:15.030 Absolutely.
  1467. 00:48:15.390 – 00:48:15.790 Okay.
  1468. 00:48:16.750 – 00:48:18.910 Listen, I said the other day in an interview,
  1469. 00:48:19.250 – 00:48:20.530 I said this because someone asked the other day,
  1470. 00:48:20.750 – 00:48:21.110 like, you know what I'm saying?
  1471. 00:48:22.030 – 00:48:23.450 Like someone asked what is a pull of experience?
  1472. 00:48:23.550 – 00:48:26.270 Well, I say it's a glomerate of entrepreneurs
  1473. 00:48:26.270 – 00:48:28.610 who are doing something phenomenal
  1474. 00:48:28.610 – 00:48:29.770 for the city of Cleveland and beyond.
  1475. 00:48:30.130 – 00:48:30.450 Yeah.
  1476. 00:48:30.670 – 00:48:31.890 I like to simply say
  1477. 00:48:31.890 – 00:48:33.790 it's an entrepreneur elevation group.
  1478. 00:48:34.290 – 00:48:35.790 Because, you know, we don't,
  1479. 00:48:35.950 – 00:48:37.650 we only elevate ourselves.
  1480. 00:48:37.990 – 00:48:40.170 We elevate everybody around us
  1481. 00:48:40.170 – 00:48:42.510 in the community that we're building.
  1482. 00:48:42.750 – 00:48:45.810 An amazing community that you started to help build.
  1483. 00:48:46.310 – 00:48:48.090 Like, and then now you're adding all the pieces.
  1484. 00:48:48.230 – 00:48:49.430 We just continue building.
  1485. 00:48:49.710 – 00:48:50.490 And our, like you said,
  1486. 00:48:50.610 – 00:48:53.070 our separate brands is like one merge.
  1487. 00:48:54.170 – 00:48:54.810 Like, that's what I'm saying.
  1488. 00:48:54.830 – 00:48:57.450 We ain't even maximizing everything yet.
  1489. 00:48:57.730 – 00:48:59.510 But like, once we really, really do.
  1490. 00:49:01.130 – 00:49:01.810 Look at how we're going.
  1491. 00:49:01.810 – 00:49:02.730 We're going to do this every day.
  1492. 00:49:03.850 – 00:49:05.590 But what do you say?
  1493. 00:49:05.890 – 00:49:09.130 He owned 923 episodes.
  1494. 00:49:09.710 – 00:49:10.650 That was remarkable.
  1495. 00:49:11.110 – 00:49:11.770 That was, that was couple weeks ago.
  1496. 00:49:11.910 – 00:49:13.370 He might be on 950 now.
  1497. 00:49:13.610 – 00:49:14.350 Yeah, who knows?
  1498. 00:49:15.010 – 00:49:16.950 That is phenomenal for sure.
  1499. 00:49:17.630 – 00:49:20.410 So what has been, for you,
  1500. 00:49:20.450 – 00:49:24.650 what's been the most rewarding in your,
  1501. 00:49:24.970 – 00:49:25.770 in the entrepreneur space?
  1502. 00:49:25.870 – 00:49:27.750 What's been the most rewarding for you?
  1503. 00:49:28.170 – 00:49:30.270 Just, just hearing the feedback.
  1504. 00:49:33.310 – 00:49:38.430 And just the, just the accomplishment from someone else.
  1505. 00:49:39.330 – 00:49:41.630 But they also give me the recognition
  1506. 00:49:41.630 – 00:49:43.910 that I documented and captured it in a way
  1507. 00:49:43.910 – 00:49:46.950 that tells their story effectively.
  1508. 00:49:47.330 – 00:49:48.770 Not just capturing this to capture,
  1509. 00:49:48.970 – 00:49:51.270 but really telling their story,
  1510. 00:49:51.810 – 00:49:52.850 getting the B-roll.
  1511. 00:49:54.290 – 00:49:55.950 You know, showing that emotion.
  1512. 00:49:59.010 – 00:50:01.670 And man, just, just the testimonies.
  1513. 00:50:01.990 – 00:50:02.910 And like I said,
  1514. 00:50:02.930 – 00:50:06.310 we just got off a consultation call
  1515. 00:50:06.310 – 00:50:08.310 about podcasting right after this.
  1516. 00:50:08.730 – 00:50:11.470 And like just everything she is saying about both of us
  1517. 00:50:11.470 – 00:50:13.370 and just the experience we gave her
  1518. 00:50:13.370 – 00:50:15.730 and that it wasn't just transactional.
  1519. 00:50:16.110 – 00:50:17.370 It was transformational
  1520. 00:50:17.370 – 00:50:19.210 and that we kept that relationship going.
  1521. 00:50:19.310 – 00:50:20.170 Like it wasn't just,
  1522. 00:50:20.410 – 00:50:21.890 oh, you recorded my podcast, that's it.
  1523. 00:50:22.270 – 00:50:23.690 Like, no, we were right there,
  1524. 00:50:23.690 – 00:50:25.310 like holding your hand almost.
  1525. 00:50:25.530 – 00:50:29.170 Like we, we're not just, you know,
  1526. 00:50:29.430 – 00:50:31.710 a transaction, like our client or where,
  1527. 00:50:31.710 – 00:50:33.090 like we're family at the end.
  1528. 00:50:33.390 – 00:50:35.090 Once you rock with us, we family.
  1529. 00:50:35.790 – 00:50:37.430 Like we ain't gonna let everybody in our house.
  1530. 00:50:37.990 – 00:50:39.190 That's, that's, you know, lame,
  1531. 00:50:39.450 – 00:50:41.570 but like whatever you need,
  1532. 00:50:41.570 – 00:50:43.630 like don't be afraid to reach out.
  1533. 00:50:44.610 – 00:50:45.810 I mean, going back to even,
  1534. 00:50:46.410 – 00:50:48.510 you know, someone that's starting the business
  1535. 00:50:48.510 – 00:50:51.230 and when they need those first customers,
  1536. 00:50:51.490 – 00:50:54.130 those leads, don't be afraid to reach out.
  1537. 00:50:54.250 – 00:50:57.130 I mean, that's just about even with a mentor or a coach
  1538. 00:50:57.130 – 00:51:00.910 and you're gonna need a mentor in or a coach, for sure.
  1539. 00:51:01.930 – 00:51:03.990 And I could be a mentor or a coach,
  1540. 00:51:04.110 – 00:51:06.370 one of these lovely people here,
  1541. 00:51:06.590 – 00:51:08.850 even Breed and my daughter or something like,
  1542. 00:51:09.830 – 00:51:13.170 no matter who it is or who you want to work with,
  1543. 00:51:13.210 – 00:51:14.650 reach out, you know,
  1544. 00:51:14.830 – 00:51:18.090 or they might even have recommendations for you.
  1545. 00:51:18.590 – 00:51:19.070 Yeah.
  1546. 00:51:20.010 – 00:51:21.570 So real quick, because you, you,
  1547. 00:51:21.670 – 00:51:24.450 you're not nearly as true as you awesome podcast.
  1548. 00:51:24.730 – 00:51:25.650 Oh, yeah.
  1549. 00:51:26.090 – 00:51:27.470 You talk about what made kids,
  1550. 00:51:27.610 – 00:51:29.350 because you, like I said, you were behind the camera.
  1551. 00:51:29.390 – 00:51:30.170 What made you wonder?
  1552. 00:51:30.170 – 00:51:32.570 Well, you've been on podcast.
  1553. 00:51:32.710 – 00:51:33.230 Sometimes.
  1554. 00:51:34.610 – 00:51:36.630 What made you want to start your own podcast?
  1555. 00:51:36.890 – 00:51:37.150 Yeah.
  1556. 00:51:37.450 – 00:51:39.810 So, interestingly, when I was doing music,
  1557. 00:51:40.210 – 00:51:42.050 I did start a podcast.
  1558. 00:51:43.190 – 00:51:45.230 It was called Lyrical Logic Podcast,
  1559. 00:51:45.310 – 00:51:46.950 where I break down different lyrics
  1560. 00:51:46.950 – 00:51:48.490 of different songs and poems.
  1561. 00:51:48.850 – 00:51:50.650 And then each artist that I brought on,
  1562. 00:51:50.710 – 00:51:51.750 I had them perform
  1563. 00:51:51.750 – 00:51:54.730 and then we break down their song or poem.
  1564. 00:51:55.050 – 00:51:57.370 So like, I'm always thinking about what's the meaning,
  1565. 00:51:57.370 – 00:51:59.450 because I'm, like, you can hear a good beat
  1566. 00:51:59.450 – 00:52:01.210 or, you know, a good song, whatever,
  1567. 00:52:01.770 – 00:52:02.930 but what are you really saying?
  1568. 00:52:03.570 – 00:52:06.870 So I was getting more into the weeds of the lyrics
  1569. 00:52:06.870 – 00:52:08.830 and the meanings, you know, origin.
  1570. 00:52:09.510 – 00:52:11.130 You know, like, it's always a deeper story.
  1571. 00:52:11.170 – 00:52:12.590 Like, I could take it one way,
  1572. 00:52:12.870 – 00:52:15.110 but the artists know exactly what they're doing.
  1573. 00:52:15.390 – 00:52:15.730 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
  1574. 00:52:15.850 – 00:52:16.930 I'm like, okay.
  1575. 00:52:18.150 – 00:52:20.470 But even fast forwarding back to production,
  1576. 00:52:20.530 – 00:52:24.110 I'm like, I have a business.
  1577. 00:52:25.030 – 00:52:26.050 I'm an introvert.
  1578. 00:52:26.050 – 00:52:28.150 I don't really like doing this and doing that,
  1579. 00:52:28.290 – 00:52:31.210 but what can I do to market my business?
  1580. 00:52:31.930 – 00:52:34.530 I'm like, every business should have a podcast,
  1581. 00:52:34.570 – 00:52:36.190 so why shouldn't my business?
  1582. 00:52:37.550 – 00:52:37.850 You know?
  1583. 00:52:38.050 – 00:52:41.130 So I started Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  1584. 00:52:42.030 – 00:52:43.810 I'm currently on, I'll just be recording.
  1585. 00:52:43.910 – 00:52:46.310 I'm probably like on 70 or something like that.
  1586. 00:52:47.950 – 00:52:50.830 But publicly, like 50, 59,
  1587. 00:52:51.070 – 00:52:52.430 but I got like 70.
  1588. 00:52:52.990 – 00:52:54.730 Wow, so you got something in the vault.
  1589. 00:52:54.810 – 00:52:55.390 Ready that long.
  1590. 00:52:55.390 – 00:52:56.630 I got something from a lot.
  1591. 00:52:56.770 – 00:52:57.010 Yeah.
  1592. 00:52:57.030 – 00:52:57.770 And that's about ironic.
  1593. 00:52:57.830 – 00:53:00.730 He's a photographer who does audio podcasts.
  1594. 00:53:01.150 – 00:53:02.730 I know that is ironic.
  1595. 00:53:03.130 – 00:53:03.690 I know.
  1596. 00:53:04.630 – 00:53:06.270 But I thought about this,
  1597. 00:53:06.510 – 00:53:08.010 like, because I've taken it back to music.
  1598. 00:53:08.070 – 00:53:10.510 I used to record voice notes in my car
  1599. 00:53:10.510 – 00:53:11.150 while I'm driving.
  1600. 00:53:11.750 – 00:53:15.230 Like, my song's like, hey, I gotta go harder.
  1601. 00:53:15.430 – 00:53:16.490 I'm so smarter.
  1602. 00:53:16.750 – 00:53:18.410 So I'm like, I just took that same principle.
  1603. 00:53:18.630 – 00:53:22.530 I'm like, I record a 20-minute podcast while I drive,
  1604. 00:53:23.010 – 00:53:25.670 and I try to keep it within 20 to 30 minutes,
  1605. 00:53:25.790 – 00:53:27.190 like the old school shows.
  1606. 00:53:28.450 – 00:53:30.950 Let that be a testament to anybody with a pocket.
  1607. 00:53:31.370 – 00:53:33.970 He's commuting, it's a good reason to shoot in his pocket.
  1608. 00:53:34.530 – 00:53:35.230 What's your excuse?
  1609. 00:53:36.550 – 00:53:37.430 Do it.
  1610. 00:53:38.030 – 00:53:39.490 Do it now.
  1611. 00:53:39.830 – 00:53:41.210 Yeah, because like, I don't gotta worry about,
  1612. 00:53:41.530 – 00:53:42.690 like, even before this,
  1613. 00:53:42.870 – 00:53:45.810 how long did it honestly take for us to set up
  1614. 00:53:45.810 – 00:53:47.990 and, you know, minus, minus the sun.
  1615. 00:53:49.350 – 00:53:51.550 Before that, the lights, the cameras, the mics,
  1616. 00:53:51.550 – 00:53:55.310 I can just put the mics in my phone, record, you know,
  1617. 00:53:55.370 – 00:53:56.070 wherever I want.
  1618. 00:53:56.190 – 00:53:57.210 Like, I got this thought in my head.
  1619. 00:53:57.230 – 00:53:58.170 I want to get it right there.
  1620. 00:53:58.170 – 00:54:00.010 I don't want her to worry about how I look.
  1621. 00:54:01.330 – 00:54:03.390 Most of the times, like, I don't need to retwit.
  1622. 00:54:03.450 – 00:54:04.650 I don't need to retwit right now.
  1623. 00:54:05.070 – 00:54:07.610 But I'm not worried about how I'm showing up on camera.
  1624. 00:54:07.850 – 00:54:09.050 I don't gotta worry about the lights,
  1625. 00:54:09.130 – 00:54:10.390 or I gotta charge this.
  1626. 00:54:10.610 – 00:54:11.370 Less equipment.
  1627. 00:54:11.490 – 00:54:13.030 I can do it wherever I want,
  1628. 00:54:13.310 – 00:54:15.510 just press record and get my thoughts out.
  1629. 00:54:15.590 – 00:54:17.490 Because you think about a podcast,
  1630. 00:54:18.710 – 00:54:19.850 it's audio only.
  1631. 00:54:21.070 – 00:54:23.110 That's how it started, like radio.
  1632. 00:54:23.530 – 00:54:23.910 That's true.
  1633. 00:54:24.370 – 00:54:26.470 And then we started introducing, you know,
  1634. 00:54:26.670 – 00:54:28.010 cameras with video.
  1635. 00:54:28.410 – 00:54:30.430 Even radio stations, they have video now.
  1636. 00:54:31.410 – 00:54:34.750 So podcasts have helped, you know, evolve the radio.
  1637. 00:54:36.370 – 00:54:38.730 But yeah, adding camera and everything,
  1638. 00:54:39.730 – 00:54:41.450 like, even with Lyrical Logic podcast,
  1639. 00:54:41.570 – 00:54:42.890 it was audio only.
  1640. 00:54:44.130 – 00:54:45.150 So you could do it everywhere.
  1641. 00:54:45.390 – 00:54:47.430 I was recording in the car, recording,
  1642. 00:54:47.870 – 00:54:49.090 you know, on the couch,
  1643. 00:54:49.090 – 00:54:50.230 boom, boom, boom.
  1644. 00:54:50.330 – 00:54:51.630 It's like, I don't gotta worry about it.
  1645. 00:54:51.630 – 00:54:53.170 Because I like also moving.
  1646. 00:54:53.390 – 00:54:54.930 Because I'll walk away from the camera
  1647. 00:54:54.930 – 00:54:55.930 and forget the camera rolling.
  1648. 00:54:56.630 – 00:54:57.630 I like moving.
  1649. 00:54:57.850 – 00:54:58.710 Like, I'm a pacer.
  1650. 00:54:58.790 – 00:55:00.650 That's how I get my thoughts down.
  1651. 00:55:00.690 – 00:55:02.070 That's how I used to write a lot of songs.
  1652. 00:55:02.110 – 00:55:04.750 I cannot stay still most of the time.
  1653. 00:55:04.850 – 00:55:07.070 It's like that energy is always emotion.
  1654. 00:55:07.890 – 00:55:10.410 So I'm like, why can't my thoughts,
  1655. 00:55:10.490 – 00:55:11.450 my thoughts are emotional,
  1656. 00:55:11.690 – 00:55:13.590 energy, emotion, everything just flowing.
  1657. 00:55:15.030 – 00:55:16.070 That's good, that's good.
  1658. 00:55:16.070 – 00:55:17.850 Listen, I'm a podcast, by the way.
  1659. 00:55:17.950 – 00:55:19.430 I'm a podcast connoisseur.
  1660. 00:55:19.690 – 00:55:20.230 Thank you.
  1661. 00:55:20.530 – 00:55:21.710 I like how you take,
  1662. 00:55:22.530 – 00:55:23.330 and I'm just, it's not,
  1663. 00:55:23.430 – 00:55:24.990 and you think this would be all photography industry,
  1664. 00:55:24.990 – 00:55:26.350 you take different industries.
  1665. 00:55:27.050 – 00:55:27.790 People with different issues.
  1666. 00:55:27.950 – 00:55:28.690 So shout out to you, brother.
  1667. 00:55:28.730 – 00:55:29.470 Yeah, interview.
  1668. 00:55:29.490 – 00:55:30.610 You go a little deeper.
  1669. 00:55:31.710 – 00:55:32.750 I try, you know,
  1670. 00:55:32.890 – 00:55:34.850 interview different people from different industries.
  1671. 00:55:34.910 – 00:55:35.970 And we all can assist.
  1672. 00:55:36.350 – 00:55:38.770 Like, what can we learn from the relationship industry
  1673. 00:55:38.770 – 00:55:40.110 and apply it to our business?
  1674. 00:55:40.270 – 00:55:42.390 What can we learn with podcasts
  1675. 00:55:42.390 – 00:55:44.890 and building the community into our business?
  1676. 00:55:44.890 – 00:55:47.230 What can you learn from photography industry
  1677. 00:55:47.750 – 00:55:50.650 and media industry for our own business?
  1678. 00:55:50.650 – 00:55:51.710 We all need media.
  1679. 00:55:52.830 – 00:55:55.410 And then we all need tags, housing.
  1680. 00:55:55.570 – 00:55:56.890 We all need these things.
  1681. 00:55:57.110 – 00:55:59.050 And what are they doing in their industry
  1682. 00:55:59.050 – 00:56:00.690 that we can apply to our own?
  1683. 00:56:02.950 – 00:56:05.590 So that's what I do when I interview different people.
  1684. 00:56:06.190 – 00:56:07.610 But with my solo podcast,
  1685. 00:56:07.810 – 00:56:11.410 I look like I take it as master classes
  1686. 00:56:11.410 – 00:56:12.950 and different things that
  1687. 00:56:13.510 – 00:56:15.250 I could take and have for myself.
  1688. 00:56:15.550 – 00:56:20.650 If they want to book me for a speech on podcasts,
  1689. 00:56:20.730 – 00:56:22.550 I already have episodes about that.
  1690. 00:56:22.810 – 00:56:24.890 So I just kind of listen to my own stuff
  1691. 00:56:24.890 – 00:56:26.610 and already have the blueprint
  1692. 00:56:27.610 – 00:56:29.130 or confidence, motivation.
  1693. 00:56:29.190 – 00:56:31.050 I already had these topics, mindset.
  1694. 00:56:31.550 – 00:56:33.310 I already had these topics on my podcast,
  1695. 00:56:33.430 – 00:56:34.590 just listening to podcasts.
  1696. 00:56:34.950 – 00:56:35.950 And then for me,
  1697. 00:56:36.310 – 00:56:37.650 I could also listen to it like,
  1698. 00:56:38.090 – 00:56:39.450 oh, yeah, mindset.
  1699. 00:56:39.570 – 00:56:40.570 Okay, touch on this.
  1700. 00:56:40.770 – 00:56:41.610 Okay, touch on this.
  1701. 00:56:42.130 – 00:56:44.690 And seeing what resonates with the audience.
  1702. 00:56:45.190 – 00:56:47.610 So that's why I love the podcast.
  1703. 00:56:48.270 – 00:56:51.230 And it just helps me in many different ways,
  1704. 00:56:51.250 – 00:56:52.570 not just marketing my business,
  1705. 00:56:52.710 – 00:56:55.430 but like I said, using it as a master class
  1706. 00:56:55.430 – 00:56:58.410 or people want to book me for speeches
  1707. 00:56:58.410 – 00:56:59.670 like with Futureland,
  1708. 00:56:59.970 – 00:57:01.630 they had, you know,
  1709. 00:57:01.690 – 00:57:02.730 I speak on stage,
  1710. 00:57:02.830 – 00:57:04.490 every business should have a podcast.
  1711. 00:57:04.950 – 00:57:06.510 That's what it's an episode
  1712. 00:57:06.510 – 00:57:09.130 on Alien Hospital's industry talk.
  1713. 00:57:09.130 – 00:57:11.830 A-E-P-E-I-T.
  1714. 00:57:12.010 – 00:57:14.770 I'm going to say E, A-E-P-I-T.
  1715. 00:57:15.150 – 00:57:16.450 Okay, all right.
  1716. 00:57:16.650 – 00:57:17.930 Love it, love it.
  1717. 00:57:18.290 – 00:57:19.670 So I think that, you know,
  1718. 00:57:19.670 – 00:57:21.710 it's very important to your point
  1719. 00:57:21.710 – 00:57:22.730 to have a podcast
  1720. 00:57:23.270 – 00:57:25.290 just to be able to get your voice
  1721. 00:57:25.290 – 00:57:26.410 to have it be heard.
  1722. 00:57:26.930 – 00:57:27.790 You know, David Shands,
  1723. 00:57:27.830 – 00:57:28.610 when he came to Cleveland,
  1724. 00:57:28.990 – 00:57:29.950 explained the importance
  1725. 00:57:29.950 – 00:57:32.710 of being able to document something
  1726. 00:57:33.750 – 00:57:35.570 because you want to leave that.
  1727. 00:57:35.630 – 00:57:37.770 That can now be part of your legacy.
  1728. 00:57:38.410 – 00:57:40.430 Um, you know, when we leave this earth,
  1729. 00:57:40.590 – 00:57:41.810 you know, so it's very important.
  1730. 00:57:41.810 – 00:57:43.530 Now, not only have you decided
  1731. 00:57:43.530 – 00:57:46.530 to do podcasting for yourself,
  1732. 00:57:46.530 – 00:57:47.590 but you also have decided
  1733. 00:57:47.590 – 00:57:50.530 to go back behind the lens,
  1734. 00:57:51.130 – 00:57:53.450 make it a business with your partner.
  1735. 00:57:53.870 – 00:57:57.070 And my first pod, like, um,
  1736. 00:57:57.070 – 00:58:00.330 phenomenal how you guys took an idea,
  1737. 00:58:01.350 – 00:58:03.010 strategize it thoroughly
  1738. 00:58:03.010 – 00:58:04.510 thanks to Overflow Studios.
  1739. 00:58:05.090 – 00:58:05.510 Okay.
  1740. 00:58:05.650 – 00:58:07.330 Shout out to Overflow Studios.
  1741. 00:58:07.330 – 00:58:08.510 Shout out to her.
  1742. 00:58:09.630 – 00:58:10.290 And not only that,
  1743. 00:58:10.350 – 00:58:12.150 but you guys moved on it.
  1744. 00:58:12.390 – 00:58:13.790 You know, it wasn't just an idea
  1745. 00:58:13.790 – 00:58:15.290 that sat and sat for years and years.
  1746. 00:58:15.410 – 00:58:17.030 You move and you move quickly.
  1747. 00:58:17.630 – 00:58:19.550 So tell us how that experience
  1748. 00:58:19.550 – 00:58:20.930 has been to be able to
  1749. 00:58:22.010 – 00:58:23.610 now be another business venture
  1750. 00:58:23.610 – 00:58:24.390 for yourself.
  1751. 00:58:25.990 – 00:58:27.110 So I want to say
  1752. 00:58:27.110 – 00:58:28.430 it's a business venture,
  1753. 00:58:28.490 – 00:58:30.150 but it's one of our main offers
  1754. 00:58:30.150 – 00:58:30.910 for sure.
  1755. 00:58:31.170 – 00:58:32.990 And shout out to Brianna
  1756. 00:58:32.990 – 00:58:34.430 for that for sure.
  1757. 00:58:34.550 – 00:58:36.290 She initially brought me the idea
  1758. 00:58:36.290 – 00:58:38.650 like, oh, we should do this.
  1759. 00:58:38.710 – 00:58:40.310 And she thought her name my first pod.
  1760. 00:58:40.430 – 00:58:42.750 I'm like, it's kind of cheesy,
  1761. 00:58:42.750 – 00:58:44.990 but now like sitting with it,
  1762. 00:58:44.990 – 00:58:46.510 like, I'm like, that is brilliant.
  1763. 00:58:46.570 – 00:58:47.570 That is amazing.
  1764. 00:58:47.650 – 00:58:49.570 Like, it's literally my first pod.
  1765. 00:58:49.690 – 00:58:50.730 Like, I'm like,
  1766. 00:58:50.730 – 00:58:52.290 we got to do more with this too.
  1767. 00:58:52.490 – 00:58:54.630 And then I just helped build it out more.
  1768. 00:58:54.750 – 00:58:56.310 But when she initially came to him,
  1769. 00:58:57.690 – 00:58:59.770 like, no, I wasn't feeling it,
  1770. 00:58:59.950 – 00:59:01.790 but just trust in the process
  1771. 00:59:01.790 – 00:59:03.910 and trust in your partner.
  1772. 00:59:04.250 – 00:59:05.190 That part.
  1773. 00:59:05.190 – 00:59:06.510 So many things I bring her,
  1774. 00:59:06.570 – 00:59:07.470 she'd be like, no.
  1775. 00:59:10.750 – 00:59:12.150 But, you know,
  1776. 00:59:12.250 – 00:59:13.950 just just trusting a partner,
  1777. 00:59:14.130 – 00:59:16.370 even outside of that with business,
  1778. 00:59:16.370 – 00:59:18.890 you have to build that trust.
  1779. 00:59:18.950 – 00:59:19.350 You do.
  1780. 00:59:19.470 – 00:59:21.110 They got to know you, like you,
  1781. 00:59:21.590 – 00:59:22.830 but most of all, trust you.
  1782. 00:59:22.930 – 00:59:24.670 I got episodes on that too.
  1783. 00:59:26.390 – 00:59:29.310 So yeah, we're always building it,
  1784. 00:59:29.310 – 00:59:30.970 but that's something
  1785. 00:59:30.970 – 00:59:32.550 we actually talked about recently
  1786. 00:59:32.550 – 00:59:34.750 where we're actually going to show fit
  1787. 00:59:35.370 – 00:59:36.870 for later because,
  1788. 00:59:38.190 – 00:59:39.150 you know, just reviewing
  1789. 00:59:39.150 – 00:59:40.990 and reflecting and like, okay,
  1790. 00:59:41.510 – 00:59:44.630 are we really getting out of it
  1791. 00:59:44.630 – 00:59:46.810 what we really want to get out of it?
  1792. 00:59:47.970 – 00:59:49.390 Yes, with the production.
  1793. 00:59:49.870 – 00:59:50.830 Yes, with the relationship
  1794. 00:59:50.830 – 00:59:53.290 and helping people financially,
  1795. 00:59:53.330 – 00:59:54.970 we are taking a loss.
  1796. 00:59:55.030 – 00:59:57.010 Like, if you book us regularly
  1797. 00:59:57.010 – 00:59:59.310 with all our services together,
  1798. 00:59:59.330 – 01:00:00.630 like, it's much more
  1799. 01:00:00.630 – 01:00:01.370 than what we're offering
  1800. 01:00:01.370 – 01:00:02.370 with my first pod.
  1801. 01:00:03.010 – 01:00:06.090 We want to help people launch
  1802. 01:00:06.090 – 01:00:07.290 their first podcast
  1803. 01:00:07.290 – 01:00:08.690 and give them that confidence
  1804. 01:00:08.690 – 01:00:11.070 and let them know that it's possible
  1805. 01:00:11.070 – 01:00:12.890 and do it with quality.
  1806. 01:00:12.950 – 01:00:14.330 Shout out to Overflow Studios
  1807. 01:00:14.330 – 01:00:16.650 because I could help film,
  1808. 01:00:16.710 – 01:00:18.350 take pictures behind the scenes,
  1809. 01:00:18.890 – 01:00:19.730 but the editor.
  1810. 01:00:20.430 – 01:00:21.370 God bless her.
  1811. 01:00:21.550 – 01:00:22.750 God bless her.
  1812. 01:00:24.850 – 01:00:25.950 Shout out to the editor.
  1813. 01:00:27.650 – 01:00:29.010 Bless y'all.
  1814. 01:00:29.210 – 01:00:30.050 Bless y'all.
  1815. 01:00:30.050 – 01:00:31.250 Because I know.
  1816. 01:00:31.990 – 01:00:32.850 Behind the scenes
  1817. 01:00:32.850 – 01:00:33.810 on the camera right now.
  1818. 01:00:38.980 – 01:00:39.940 So sensitive.
  1819. 01:00:40.280 – 01:00:41.700 We talk about the future
  1820. 01:00:41.700 – 01:00:43.620 but the kids, my first pod,
  1821. 01:00:44.500 – 01:00:45.520 I think it's phenomenal idea.
  1822. 01:00:45.880 – 01:00:46.520 That's crazy.
  1823. 01:00:47.140 – 01:00:48.160 Speaking about music,
  1824. 01:00:48.240 – 01:00:49.120 going back to my music,
  1825. 01:00:49.220 – 01:00:52.180 I had a mixtape called
  1826. 01:00:53.100 – 01:00:54.660 Pass the Future.
  1827. 01:00:56.380 – 01:00:58.240 That was way before Alien
  1828. 01:00:58.240 – 01:00:58.620 so I'm like,
  1829. 01:00:58.640 – 01:00:59.920 this is all coming alive.
  1830. 01:01:00.140 – 01:01:01.080 It does.
  1831. 01:01:01.720 – 01:01:03.140 Funny how that works.
  1832. 01:01:03.440 – 01:01:04.440 I love that.
  1833. 01:01:05.600 – 01:01:07.160 Because it all kind of co-exist.
  1834. 01:01:08.740 – 01:01:10.280 But I'm about to interrupt you.
  1835. 01:01:10.480 – 01:01:11.760 I just want to throw that in.
  1836. 01:01:12.340 – 01:01:12.980 What do we expect
  1837. 01:01:12.980 – 01:01:13.840 for the future from you, brother?
  1838. 01:01:14.440 – 01:01:15.200 Because listen,
  1839. 01:01:15.620 – 01:01:16.460 the sky's living with you.
  1840. 01:01:16.460 – 01:01:16.840 Sure.
  1841. 01:01:17.100 – 01:01:17.680 We know,
  1842. 01:01:17.800 – 01:01:18.500 literally, if you say
  1843. 01:01:18.500 – 01:01:19.780 since this is my own,
  1844. 01:01:19.880 – 01:01:20.760 be I or should not.
  1845. 01:01:22.120 – 01:01:22.460 Darn it.
  1846. 01:01:22.460 – 01:01:22.940 He going to be there.
  1847. 01:01:23.460 – 01:01:25.160 Well, it's crazy that you said that.
  1848. 01:01:26.020 – 01:01:28.120 I actually did once I was,
  1849. 01:01:28.640 – 01:01:29.500 when I was little
  1850. 01:01:29.500 – 01:01:30.260 because
  1851. 01:01:31.280 – 01:01:31.700 you know,
  1852. 01:01:31.900 – 01:01:33.280 we all had those questions.
  1853. 01:01:33.340 – 01:01:33.920 What you want to be
  1854. 01:01:33.920 – 01:01:34.660 when you grow up?
  1855. 01:01:34.800 – 01:01:35.220 What you want to be
  1856. 01:01:35.220 – 01:01:35.840 when you grow up?
  1857. 01:01:36.160 – 01:01:37.080 Even till now,
  1858. 01:01:37.120 – 01:01:38.020 you can still grow up.
  1859. 01:01:38.520 – 01:01:39.600 What did you want to be
  1860. 01:01:39.600 – 01:01:40.500 when you were a kid?
  1861. 01:01:40.780 – 01:01:41.760 I wanted to be a singer.
  1862. 01:01:42.080 – 01:01:43.020 What you wanted to be?
  1863. 01:01:43.280 – 01:01:43.860 Kenair Wayans.
  1864. 01:01:46.380 – 01:01:47.920 But y'all are unique.
  1865. 01:01:48.500 – 01:01:49.220 But you hear,
  1866. 01:01:49.620 – 01:01:50.560 oh, I'm a police officer,
  1867. 01:01:50.680 – 01:01:51.460 a firefighter,
  1868. 01:01:51.600 – 01:01:52.300 or this or that.
  1869. 01:01:52.340 – 01:01:53.060 Nurse, doctor.
  1870. 01:01:53.920 – 01:01:54.280 I'm like,
  1871. 01:01:54.320 – 01:01:55.420 what's different about you?
  1872. 01:01:55.420 – 01:01:56.300 I want to be an astronaut.
  1873. 01:01:56.920 – 01:01:58.360 I didn't know what astronaut was.
  1874. 01:01:59.040 – 01:02:01.160 So I want to be something different.
  1875. 01:02:01.200 – 01:02:02.520 I always love being different,
  1876. 01:02:02.660 – 01:02:03.360 being original,
  1877. 01:02:03.480 – 01:02:04.080 doing something,
  1878. 01:02:04.320 – 01:02:04.800 somebody else.
  1879. 01:02:04.940 – 01:02:06.300 Everybody using chat GPT,
  1880. 01:02:06.320 – 01:02:07.080 I was using Claude.
  1881. 01:02:08.800 – 01:02:09.740 And everybody was getting Claude.
  1882. 01:02:09.780 – 01:02:11.060 I started shifting in Gemini.
  1883. 01:02:11.300 – 01:02:11.820 But I don't really like,
  1884. 01:02:11.940 – 01:02:13.500 I'm still sticking with what I like best,
  1885. 01:02:13.740 – 01:02:14.720 which is Claude,
  1886. 01:02:14.900 – 01:02:15.140 A.I.
  1887. 01:02:15.240 – 01:02:17.040 as far as the A.I.s.
  1888. 01:02:17.160 – 01:02:18.760 The three big top ones.
  1889. 01:02:20.240 – 01:02:21.360 No shade to Grock,
  1890. 01:02:21.420 – 01:02:23.300 but I think those are the three tops.
  1891. 01:02:24.320 – 01:02:25.780 Chat, Gemini, and Claude.
  1892. 01:02:28.820 – 01:02:30.560 It's just about me being different.
  1893. 01:02:31.300 – 01:02:31.980 And like I said,
  1894. 01:02:31.980 – 01:02:33.500 I didn't know what an astronaut was,
  1895. 01:02:33.520 – 01:02:35.300 but if I don't know what it is,
  1896. 01:02:35.320 – 01:02:36.260 I'm going to research it.
  1897. 01:02:36.300 – 01:02:37.620 I'm like, oh, it's kind of different.
  1898. 01:02:37.720 – 01:02:38.080 Okay.
  1899. 01:02:38.780 – 01:02:41.940 Like, I know you probably never heard this,
  1900. 01:02:43.280 – 01:02:44.260 but I was like,
  1901. 01:02:44.320 – 01:02:45.720 if I get married,
  1902. 01:02:47.220 – 01:02:48.480 I want to get married on the moon.
  1903. 01:02:53.600 – 01:02:55.320 That's just how I like to be different.
  1904. 01:02:55.460 – 01:02:55.760 Like, well,
  1905. 01:02:55.760 – 01:02:57.180 I've never heard of that before.
  1906. 01:02:57.180 – 01:02:59.200 How many people got married on the moon?
  1907. 01:03:03.880 – 01:03:04.760 Well, well,
  1908. 01:03:04.800 – 01:03:06.080 we're just going to have to pull up.
  1909. 01:03:06.100 – 01:03:06.340 No.
  1910. 01:03:08.260 – 01:03:08.960 No, that's a destination.
  1911. 01:03:08.960 – 01:03:10.300 We're going to be floating there, boy.
  1912. 01:03:10.500 – 01:03:12.140 Yeah, that's a destination wedding for sure.
  1913. 01:03:12.620 – 01:03:14.560 I don't know how we all going to get up there.
  1914. 01:03:18.440 – 01:03:20.020 It may take us some years.
  1915. 01:03:20.140 – 01:03:21.300 I don't know how the time shall look
  1916. 01:03:21.300 – 01:03:22.980 with the, you know,
  1917. 01:03:23.060 – 01:03:24.460 the rocks and the outer space
  1918. 01:03:24.460 – 01:03:25.880 and, you know, being an astronaut.
  1919. 01:03:25.880 – 01:03:28.240 But however long it take,
  1920. 01:03:29.180 – 01:03:31.100 I don't really know too much about it.
  1921. 01:03:31.660 – 01:03:33.620 But I know, like I said,
  1922. 01:03:33.700 – 01:03:34.400 I never traveled.
  1923. 01:03:34.600 – 01:03:36.060 How many people really explored
  1924. 01:03:36.060 – 01:03:36.920 and traveled the moon
  1925. 01:03:36.920 – 01:03:39.520 but to get married on the moon?
  1926. 01:03:41.770 – 01:03:42.630 Now, you know what they say,
  1927. 01:03:42.770 – 01:03:43.850 oh, heads over the moon,
  1928. 01:03:44.150 – 01:03:45.570 or however that saying go.
  1929. 01:03:46.370 – 01:03:47.610 Why not just take it to the moon?
  1930. 01:03:48.370 – 01:03:49.630 The cow jumped over the moon,
  1931. 01:03:49.690 – 01:03:50.470 so did the aliens.
  1932. 01:03:51.090 – 01:03:52.590 Wow, all right.
  1933. 01:03:53.010 – 01:03:54.410 Let's see some aliens up there.
  1934. 01:03:54.410 – 01:03:55.030 They might be.
  1935. 01:03:55.870 – 01:03:58.270 Might be part of the attendees.
  1936. 01:03:58.890 – 01:03:58.910 Right.
  1937. 01:03:59.550 – 01:04:00.090 Okay.
  1938. 01:04:00.230 – 01:04:00.630 You know.
  1939. 01:04:00.890 – 01:04:01.870 So one aspect of it,
  1940. 01:04:02.250 – 01:04:03.510 but what can we expect
  1941. 01:04:03.510 – 01:04:04.510 for you to be professionally?
  1942. 01:04:05.870 – 01:04:06.410 Professionally?
  1943. 01:04:07.050 – 01:04:09.030 I think me doing more teaching,
  1944. 01:04:09.410 – 01:04:10.250 more workshops,
  1945. 01:04:10.690 – 01:04:13.630 me stepping away from the camera more,
  1946. 01:04:13.930 – 01:04:14.210 even, you know,
  1947. 01:04:14.310 – 01:04:16.030 building out a team training
  1948. 01:04:16.030 – 01:04:19.190 and finding different, you know,
  1949. 01:04:19.290 – 01:04:21.550 people to mentor and interns
  1950. 01:04:21.550 – 01:04:22.770 and building them up.
  1951. 01:04:22.770 – 01:04:23.170 Sure.
  1952. 01:04:25.050 – 01:04:27.130 Just really stepping away
  1953. 01:04:27.130 – 01:04:29.050 because I thought about this.
  1954. 01:04:31.110 – 01:04:32.270 You know, like my first million.
  1955. 01:04:33.110 – 01:04:34.790 You know, will it come from photography?
  1956. 01:04:34.950 – 01:04:36.210 Yeah, I could grind away,
  1957. 01:04:36.210 – 01:04:38.230 but I'll be tired and all this.
  1958. 01:04:38.710 – 01:04:40.210 I'm where I really enjoy.
  1959. 01:04:40.350 – 01:04:41.230 Yeah, I can make a million,
  1960. 01:04:41.350 – 01:04:43.970 but I'll have to do X, Y, and Z events
  1961. 01:04:43.970 – 01:04:45.810 or so many productions.
  1962. 01:04:45.910 – 01:04:47.150 So it's like, okay,
  1963. 01:04:47.770 – 01:04:48.930 what is that next tier,
  1964. 01:04:49.090 – 01:04:50.250 that next level
  1965. 01:04:51.190 – 01:04:53.370 besides, you know, photography, video
  1966. 01:04:53.370 – 01:04:55.390 that would help me make my first million,
  1967. 01:04:55.410 – 01:04:56.410 which I'm still building
  1968. 01:04:56.410 – 01:04:57.530 and working on in my head.
  1969. 01:04:57.550 – 01:04:58.990 Like I have a bunch of ideas.
  1970. 01:04:59.290 – 01:05:01.810 So this is just about sitting down,
  1971. 01:05:02.010 – 01:05:02.930 strategizing, planning,
  1972. 01:05:03.090 – 01:05:04.990 having that time with self
  1973. 01:05:04.990 – 01:05:07.410 and seeing what really is effective,
  1974. 01:05:07.450 – 01:05:08.350 what really works
  1975. 01:05:08.350 – 01:05:09.990 and what, you know, I love.
  1976. 01:05:10.190 – 01:05:12.290 Like, because you could do something,
  1977. 01:05:12.510 – 01:05:14.010 but do you really love it?
  1978. 01:05:14.010 – 01:05:14.150 That's good.
  1979. 01:05:14.170 – 01:05:16.430 You'll get burnt out either way, you know.
  1980. 01:05:17.710 – 01:05:17.950 So.
  1981. 01:05:17.950 – 01:05:18.570 I'm good.
  1982. 01:05:19.530 – 01:05:21.150 Yes, it's a work in progress,
  1983. 01:05:21.150 – 01:05:22.850 but you know the futures,
  1984. 01:05:23.050 – 01:05:24.470 it could change.
  1985. 01:05:24.490 – 01:05:26.490 Yeah, I can say one day like,
  1986. 01:05:26.490 – 01:05:27.750 oh, I could be an astronaut,
  1987. 01:05:27.750 – 01:05:29.690 but tomorrow I'm a scientist.
  1988. 01:05:30.550 – 01:05:31.770 Next day I'm back rapping.
  1989. 01:05:32.090 – 01:05:32.850 You never know.
  1990. 01:05:33.290 – 01:05:35.270 So, but the fact that these things
  1991. 01:05:35.270 – 01:05:36.790 is all possible to you,
  1992. 01:05:36.890 – 01:05:39.170 since that's possible for all of us.
  1993. 01:05:40.310 – 01:05:41.150 Listen, I know people,
  1994. 01:05:41.850 – 01:05:43.450 they they they studied on one thing.
  1995. 01:05:43.450 – 01:05:46.370 You said, hey, I can do it.
  1996. 01:05:46.570 – 01:05:47.790 Yeah, that's good.
  1997. 01:05:48.910 – 01:05:50.730 I respect and admire that, bro,
  1998. 01:05:51.870 – 01:05:53.170 because I know what I'm good at
  1999. 01:05:53.170 – 01:05:54.750 and I stick to that.
  2000. 01:05:54.890 – 01:05:57.030 Well, don't be afraid to try new things,
  2001. 01:05:57.070 – 01:05:58.370 you know, like you even being
  2002. 01:05:58.370 – 01:05:59.290 behind the camera more,
  2003. 01:05:59.410 – 01:06:00.790 saying you like being behind the camera.
  2004. 01:06:00.890 – 01:06:02.530 You want to step from
  2005. 01:06:02.530 – 01:06:03.570 in front of the camera
  2006. 01:06:03.570 – 01:06:05.250 and be behind the scenes more.
  2007. 01:06:05.390 – 01:06:06.310 I'm like, oh, really?
  2008. 01:06:06.550 – 01:06:08.250 Oh, speaking as lightning, you know.
  2009. 01:06:08.470 – 01:06:10.670 Yeah, you know, you know.
  2010. 01:06:13.510 – 01:06:16.150 So I'm actually excited for this joint
  2011. 01:06:16.150 – 01:06:18.290 because you have you have sat around
  2012. 01:06:18.290 – 01:06:20.530 for 300 plus answers to these questions.
  2013. 01:06:20.530 – 01:06:22.210 Yeah, get sensei's answers.
  2014. 01:06:22.250 – 01:06:23.490 I'm excited about this.
  2015. 01:06:23.490 – 01:06:26.370 Yeah, like I never heard this before.
  2016. 01:06:26.370 – 01:06:27.410 We're just going to ask.
  2017. 01:06:27.710 – 01:06:28.710 Right with these questions.
  2018. 01:06:28.790 – 01:06:31.210 So everybody knows we have stable questions.
  2019. 01:06:31.730 – 01:06:32.870 Yeah, like I said, it's hard.
  2020. 01:06:32.910 – 01:06:34.110 She even heard them all, right?
  2021. 01:06:34.310 – 01:06:35.210 But I know you're going to have
  2022. 01:06:35.210 – 01:06:37.930 his his specific answer to the question.
  2023. 01:06:38.790 – 01:06:40.690 But Cleveland said you clean one array
  2024. 01:06:40.690 – 01:06:41.850 and you've seen it.
  2025. 01:06:42.250 – 01:06:44.830 And another one of you flowers, man,
  2026. 01:06:45.050 – 01:06:45.830 collaboration, brother.
  2027. 01:06:46.150 – 01:06:46.890 You are a man.
  2028. 01:06:47.730 – 01:06:49.270 You know what I'm saying?
  2029. 01:06:49.610 – 01:06:52.190 Hands down, like he says the message clever.
  2030. 01:06:52.810 – 01:06:54.150 He he's bringing me in clever.
  2031. 01:06:54.310 – 01:06:55.410 So I'm like, I'll be part of collaboration.
  2032. 01:06:55.530 – 01:06:57.810 But I'm like, no, since they're going to do clever.
  2033. 01:06:58.370 – 01:06:59.610 Well, I get credit for it.
  2034. 01:06:59.650 – 01:07:00.730 Because since they know I'm high,
  2035. 01:07:00.730 – 01:07:03.110 I am a level headed person.
  2036. 01:07:03.470 – 01:07:05.150 So I don't I don't I don't be level headed.
  2037. 01:07:05.170 – 01:07:06.230 It's just like, all right, man.
  2038. 01:07:06.570 – 01:07:10.270 Yeah, but I started to say collaboration.
  2039. 01:07:10.410 – 01:07:11.790 It's just like.
  2040. 01:07:11.870 – 01:07:12.930 I'm for you to have the stigma
  2041. 01:07:12.930 – 01:07:14.710 of not being a clever place.
  2042. 01:07:14.710 – 01:07:17.190 So let's say you've been in my collaborator.
  2043. 01:07:18.930 – 01:07:20.110 How do you feel like we can change
  2044. 01:07:20.110 – 01:07:21.790 the narrative of Cleveland?
  2045. 01:07:22.530 – 01:07:24.470 Change the stigma of not being clever place.
  2046. 01:07:26.530 – 01:07:29.890 I think just being collaborative, like.
  2047. 01:07:31.370 – 01:07:34.090 I think it started for me with music.
  2048. 01:07:34.630 – 01:07:36.410 Like, I wanted to collaborate with everybody.
  2049. 01:07:36.690 – 01:07:39.710 Pop artists, rock artists, other rappers, singers.
  2050. 01:07:39.870 – 01:07:41.570 I love collaborative singers.
  2051. 01:07:42.170 – 01:07:43.750 Like, I think I'm making my best hits.
  2052. 01:07:44.510 – 01:07:45.530 With singers.
  2053. 01:07:46.670 – 01:07:49.550 So I just took that same principle just throughout life.
  2054. 01:07:50.010 – 01:07:52.530 Like, even being a kid in school,
  2055. 01:07:52.670 – 01:07:55.170 I could sit at any lunch table with any crowd.
  2056. 01:07:55.870 – 01:08:00.310 Like, I'm not with the jocks or the high people.
  2057. 01:08:00.310 – 01:08:01.950 Like, I could be with anybody.
  2058. 01:08:03.030 – 01:08:05.350 You know, the isolated people to the popular people.
  2059. 01:08:05.810 – 01:08:07.750 Like, I'm sitting at a new lunch table each day.
  2060. 01:08:08.330 – 01:08:09.810 Like, what y'all got going on?
  2061. 01:08:09.830 – 01:08:10.990 Like, I can sit by myself.
  2062. 01:08:11.430 – 01:08:12.830 And I don't mind sitting by myself.
  2063. 01:08:12.830 – 01:08:14.670 A lot of people don't sit with themselves.
  2064. 01:08:15.210 – 01:08:17.910 But once you sit with yourself, you learn yourself.
  2065. 01:08:18.290 – 01:08:20.270 And that way, you're going to open it up more.
  2066. 01:08:21.710 – 01:08:23.689 Like, I could be in front of the camera.
  2067. 01:08:23.810 – 01:08:25.149 You know, with that pull-up spin.
  2068. 01:08:25.189 – 01:08:26.810 I could be behind the scenes.
  2069. 01:08:27.210 – 01:08:28.029 I could be off the scenes.
  2070. 01:08:28.130 – 01:08:28.770 I don't got to do nothing.
  2071. 01:08:28.770 – 01:08:30.390 I could be doing a show notes.
  2072. 01:08:30.450 – 01:08:32.630 I could be doing, you know, administrative work.
  2073. 01:08:32.630 – 01:08:34.130 I could do so many different tasks.
  2074. 01:08:34.189 – 01:08:35.569 But it's about that flexibility
  2075. 01:08:35.569 – 01:08:37.910 and know what team you're a part of
  2076. 01:08:37.910 – 01:08:39.890 and what collaboration you're part of.
  2077. 01:08:40.410 – 01:08:41.609 You know, but also.
  2078. 01:08:42.830 – 01:08:44.370 It's just being open.
  2079. 01:08:45.529 – 01:08:46.790 Like, even being with the pull-up spin.
  2080. 01:08:46.850 – 01:08:48.130 It's just being open, you know.
  2081. 01:08:48.670 – 01:08:50.330 And shout out to Angie Arlo.
  2082. 01:08:50.330 – 01:08:51.529 Shout out to Arlo.
  2083. 01:08:51.750 – 01:08:52.870 Because I could have been like,
  2084. 01:08:52.890 – 01:08:54.290 what, they ain't paying me.
  2085. 01:08:56.850 – 01:08:58.670 And I could say anything.
  2086. 01:08:58.870 – 01:09:01.229 I'd be like, I don't know these people.
  2087. 01:09:02.370 – 01:09:04.750 But what was crazy was,
  2088. 01:09:05.270 – 01:09:06.890 I'm always open to collaboration.
  2089. 01:09:07.069 – 01:09:08.710 At least if it's just one day or whatever.
  2090. 01:09:09.130 – 01:09:12.529 But I wanted to start a business podcast.
  2091. 01:09:13.189 – 01:09:15.430 All right, you know, full of entrepreneurs.
  2092. 01:09:15.450 – 01:09:17.370 And that's what y'all were doing.
  2093. 01:09:17.550 – 01:09:21.630 So I'm like, I could have my business podcast,
  2094. 01:09:21.649 – 01:09:23.290 but I don't have to be the face of it.
  2095. 01:09:23.410 – 01:09:25.170 And so I thought it was perfect for me.
  2096. 01:09:25.170 – 01:09:26.750 Because I didn't want to be your face.
  2097. 01:09:26.790 – 01:09:28.930 And like, this has been beautiful.
  2098. 01:09:30.350 – 01:09:34.090 But just collaborating with Overflow Studios a lot.
  2099. 01:09:34.149 – 01:09:36.410 Even when LaunchArts, the pull-up experience,
  2100. 01:09:36.850 – 01:09:38.670 you know, Futureland, Crayon Meetups.
  2101. 01:09:39.149 – 01:09:42.109 Like, it's just about being open and saying yes.
  2102. 01:09:42.109 – 01:09:45.250 Because it could be a one-time thing.
  2103. 01:09:45.670 – 01:09:47.970 But you don't know where it could go if you don't never try.
  2104. 01:09:49.550 – 01:09:52.770 So along with the trying, never give up.
  2105. 01:09:54.470 – 01:09:55.170 Never give up.
  2106. 01:09:55.230 – 01:09:55.810 Never quit.
  2107. 01:09:55.950 – 01:09:56.790 Never give up.
  2108. 01:09:57.890 – 01:09:59.990 But try once at least, you know.
  2109. 01:10:00.090 – 01:10:01.470 Maybe it don't work out.
  2110. 01:10:01.870 – 01:10:05.690 You know, I would love to see weird collaborations
  2111. 01:10:05.690 – 01:10:07.330 between Coke and Pepsi.
  2112. 01:10:07.710 – 01:10:08.870 Like, whoop, they came together.
  2113. 01:10:09.830 – 01:10:11.770 I love seeing stuff like that.
  2114. 01:10:11.770 – 01:10:16.690 Things that naturally don't work together or collaborate.
  2115. 01:10:19.170 – 01:10:22.010 So it's all about the what-ifs, the possibilities,
  2116. 01:10:22.110 – 01:10:25.730 and just being open and trying at least once.
  2117. 01:10:27.810 – 01:10:30.970 So, Sensei, I believe everyone wants your product.
  2118. 01:10:31.230 – 01:10:33.570 And this thing about, I feel like you collaborate
  2119. 01:10:33.570 – 01:10:34.730 with a good portion of the people.
  2120. 01:10:35.210 – 01:10:38.010 But who can we hope for you to collaborate in the future?
  2121. 01:10:38.070 – 01:10:39.650 Who would you like to collaborate in the future, Sensei?
  2122. 01:10:39.670 – 01:10:40.930 Because I can think about it.
  2123. 01:10:40.930 – 01:10:41.470 You know what I'm saying?
  2124. 01:10:41.770 – 01:10:42.870 A lot of people.
  2125. 01:10:43.370 – 01:10:47.010 Well, if you were asking me this like a month ago,
  2126. 01:10:47.070 – 01:10:50.030 I'd have probably said David Shands on the podcast summit.
  2127. 01:10:50.230 – 01:10:53.230 We kind of did in a way and did some interviews
  2128. 01:10:53.230 – 01:10:54.930 at Creative Clubhouse.
  2129. 01:10:55.210 – 01:10:56.530 Come on, that's major.
  2130. 01:10:56.830 – 01:10:58.230 Shout out to y'all.
  2131. 01:10:58.330 – 01:10:58.970 That's major.
  2132. 01:10:59.970 – 01:11:03.910 So, but outside of that, I would say,
  2133. 01:11:05.630 – 01:11:08.470 I mean, everybody that I'm collaborating with now,
  2134. 01:11:08.470 – 01:11:13.470 just more, maybe something, music.
  2135. 01:11:15.530 – 01:11:16.490 It's crazy.
  2136. 01:11:16.530 – 01:11:17.830 I know they're not here right now,
  2137. 01:11:17.830 – 01:11:20.970 but I want to collaborate with Tupac, Michael Jackson,
  2138. 01:11:21.530 – 01:11:23.650 their legacy and things like that.
  2139. 01:11:23.850 – 01:11:24.870 They are progressive, though.
  2140. 01:11:26.210 – 01:11:33.030 I want to collaborate with companies from the tech industry
  2141. 01:11:33.030 – 01:11:37.370 because I think my knowledge with media
  2142. 01:11:38.470 – 01:11:42.430 I think tech has a lot less media attention,
  2143. 01:11:42.650 – 01:11:45.690 but if I could bring that side and that awareness,
  2144. 01:11:45.930 – 01:11:46.750 that visibility,
  2145. 01:11:47.470 – 01:11:50.090 I think it would just open the world up even more.
  2146. 01:11:52.250 – 01:11:54.330 It's no specific company or entity,
  2147. 01:11:54.970 – 01:11:56.470 but I'm kind of wink-winking,
  2148. 01:11:57.590 – 01:12:00.610 whoever aligns with my values, goals, beliefs,
  2149. 01:12:00.750 – 01:12:03.930 and also the money, reach out.
  2150. 01:12:04.090 – 01:12:06.770 I'm always open to collaborate just about anybody.
  2151. 01:12:06.770 – 01:12:11.210 As long as you're positive, have a good story, a mission,
  2152. 01:12:11.890 – 01:12:13.830 you're not doing nothing negative in the world
  2153. 01:12:13.830 – 01:12:14.790 or hurting people.
  2154. 01:12:15.010 – 01:12:16.010 I'm willing to collab.
  2155. 01:12:16.250 – 01:12:16.690 I'm open.
  2156. 01:12:20.390 – 01:12:24.150 I mean, that's why I started coming around beauty talk.
  2157. 01:12:24.270 – 01:12:25.530 I'm like, we got to collab more.
  2158. 01:12:25.590 – 01:12:27.890 You're getting close to that 100 episode.
  2159. 01:12:28.170 – 01:12:31.010 I want to be there to see your progress
  2160. 01:12:31.010 – 01:12:36.310 and everything that you do leading up to this 100th episode.
  2161. 01:12:36.310 – 01:12:38.090 Like you said, you want to have a live event,
  2162. 01:12:38.310 – 01:12:39.430 so I specialize.
  2163. 01:12:39.430 – 01:12:43.110 Thank you, you and Brie putting that in my ear and my baby.
  2164. 01:12:44.210 – 01:12:45.170 I specialize with live events.
  2165. 01:12:45.410 – 01:12:46.530 I want to help you in that,
  2166. 01:12:46.910 – 01:12:48.230 but to be able to help you,
  2167. 01:12:48.230 – 01:12:50.550 I got to be around more and understand your process
  2168. 01:12:50.550 – 01:12:52.170 and your flow.
  2169. 01:12:52.450 – 01:12:53.850 And now I'm learning that better.
  2170. 01:12:53.990 – 01:12:57.430 It's like, okay, we did the 50th at Tower City.
  2171. 01:12:58.090 – 01:12:59.490 I'm about to do 100.
  2172. 01:12:59.730 – 01:13:01.710 We did 200 with David Shands.
  2173. 01:13:02.410 – 01:13:05.050 So it's like these milestones.
  2174. 01:13:05.670 – 01:13:09.530 It's like, I want you to focus on the podcast.
  2175. 01:13:09.890 – 01:13:12.030 Like when it comes to a live event, I got you.
  2176. 01:13:12.070 – 01:13:13.030 I can help you with that.
  2177. 01:13:13.350 – 01:13:13.710 For sure.
  2178. 01:13:14.830 – 01:13:15.530 So, you know what I'm saying?
  2179. 01:13:15.650 – 01:13:16.850 Even with the pull of the spans,
  2180. 01:13:16.930 – 01:13:19.430 we're about to be on 500 next year.
  2181. 01:13:19.970 – 01:13:20.570 Probably next year.
  2182. 01:13:20.570 – 01:13:21.630 I guess we'll do something for 350.
  2183. 01:13:21.790 – 01:13:22.570 Nah, I think about it.
  2184. 01:13:22.990 – 01:13:25.630 Yeah, we can't even, yeah.
  2185. 01:13:26.030 – 01:13:27.490 It is, it is.
  2186. 01:13:28.810 – 01:13:29.250 Awesome.
  2187. 01:13:29.830 – 01:13:31.890 Well listen, I think that we know
  2188. 01:13:31.890 – 01:13:35.250 and y'all know that the legacy for you
  2189. 01:13:35.250 – 01:13:37.190 is just out of this world.
  2190. 01:13:38.050 – 01:13:45.310 Okay, you are doing so much from born day to now
  2191. 01:13:45.310 – 01:13:47.570 and then you continue to do so
  2192. 01:13:47.570 – 01:13:49.230 and you have to have your daughter
  2193. 01:13:49.230 – 01:13:52.050 that is mimicking everything
  2194. 01:13:52.050 – 01:13:54.130 and really just taking that in as a sponge.
  2195. 01:13:54.450 – 01:13:57.410 And I can't wait to see what comes about with that
  2196. 01:13:57.410 – 01:14:00.910 because she's very much very passionate about it.
  2197. 01:14:00.910 – 01:14:02.470 Just like her dad.
  2198. 01:14:03.810 – 01:14:06.710 So, legacy, legacy, phenomenal.
  2199. 01:14:07.030 – 01:14:07.750 It's coming.
  2200. 01:14:08.430 – 01:14:11.570 And for that, what would you like the legacy
  2201. 01:14:11.570 – 01:14:15.490 to be for yourself as Stephen D. Jackson?
  2202. 01:14:16.350 – 01:14:17.430 Or would you like the legacy
  2203. 01:14:17.430 – 01:14:18.450 to be for everything?
  2204. 01:14:18.670 – 01:14:19.830 Entrepreneur, because I mean,
  2205. 01:14:19.910 – 01:14:20.950 the list goes on and on.
  2206. 01:14:20.950 – 01:14:23.530 I can start off with alien eyes, photos,
  2207. 01:14:23.530 – 01:14:26.110 but it's obviously more underneath that umbrella.
  2208. 01:14:27.190 – 01:14:28.390 Personally, is this all,
  2209. 01:14:28.390 – 01:14:34.270 when people think about alien, or photographer Jackson,
  2210. 01:14:34.610 – 01:14:40.430 or Steve, or Stephen D. Jackson, one of those names.
  2211. 01:14:41.350 – 01:14:42.210 Or even our player,
  2212. 01:14:42.450 – 01:14:44.690 like just raising that consciousness.
  2213. 01:14:44.910 – 01:14:46.150 Like when y'all come around me,
  2214. 01:14:46.290 – 01:14:49.870 it's like that intuitiveness,
  2215. 01:14:50.270 – 01:14:53.110 that inquisitiveness, that wisdom.
  2216. 01:14:53.530 – 01:14:55.790 And that's what I'm like, man, who is Stephen?
  2217. 01:14:56.090 – 01:14:57.490 I'm almost like, what would Jesus do?
  2218. 01:14:58.130 – 01:14:58.910 Who is Stephen?
  2219. 01:14:59.710 – 01:15:01.150 I said themself quite a bit.
  2220. 01:15:01.250 – 01:15:01.910 I ain't gonna lie to y'all.
  2221. 01:15:02.530 – 01:15:03.370 Who is Stephen?
  2222. 01:15:03.390 – 01:15:04.170 Who is Stephen?
  2223. 01:15:04.630 – 01:15:05.890 Right, it's like that moment,
  2224. 01:15:07.330 – 01:15:09.730 even with alien, when you think about aliens,
  2225. 01:15:09.970 – 01:15:12.510 what do you think about, or where are they?
  2226. 01:15:13.970 – 01:15:15.350 In another galaxy.
  2227. 01:15:15.470 – 01:15:16.430 And when you think about galaxy,
  2228. 01:15:16.530 – 01:15:18.110 where is that compared to you,
  2229. 01:15:18.230 – 01:15:19.310 in relationship to you?
  2230. 01:15:20.030 – 01:15:22.770 I mean, born far, far away.
  2231. 01:15:22.950 – 01:15:25.010 Far away, higher, you'd be higher, like stars.
  2232. 01:15:25.010 – 01:15:26.270 Yeah, definitely higher.
  2233. 01:15:26.270 – 01:15:30.150 Raising your level of thinking, your consciousness,
  2234. 01:15:30.670 – 01:15:33.210 and just positivity, good energy.
  2235. 01:15:35.010 – 01:15:39.330 That's the things I want to leave behind in this world
  2236. 01:15:39.330 – 01:15:40.970 and have that compounding effect,
  2237. 01:15:41.230 – 01:15:43.030 not just with me, but my businesses,
  2238. 01:15:43.510 – 01:15:46.130 my family, everybody that I'm around.
  2239. 01:15:46.570 – 01:15:47.690 It's just like, man.
  2240. 01:15:49.250 – 01:15:52.260 I lost a mentor even before I got into
  2241. 01:15:52.260 – 01:15:55.560 you know, like photography and video.
  2242. 01:15:57.700 – 01:15:59.640 It's the Silver B. Richards, you know, RP.
  2243. 01:16:02.060 – 01:16:04.740 Who I was studying behind in radio,
  2244. 01:16:04.960 – 01:16:06.360 interning with him in radio.
  2245. 01:16:07.000 – 01:16:10.140 So just a full circle, me coming back to a podcast
  2246. 01:16:10.140 – 01:16:11.840 and it reminds me of that,
  2247. 01:16:11.920 – 01:16:14.080 being in the radio for four years,
  2248. 01:16:14.300 – 01:16:18.200 reaching that number one spot in different categories.
  2249. 01:16:19.380 – 01:16:21.320 So it's just about leaving an imprint
  2250. 01:16:21.880 – 01:16:27.040 with consciousness, positivity, wisdom, and good moments.
  2251. 01:16:28.840 – 01:16:31.620 For my business, it's like I said,
  2252. 01:16:32.580 – 01:16:37.720 with the photos is one thing, the media, yeah, production,
  2253. 01:16:37.920 – 01:16:39.920 but like that big calamity.
  2254. 01:16:40.860 – 01:16:43.400 Like when I seen Tyler Perry with his plays
  2255. 01:16:43.400 – 01:16:46.900 and then some movies to the whole big studio.
  2256. 01:16:48.240 – 01:16:48.880 It's amazing.
  2257. 01:16:48.880 – 01:16:52.820 So I want it to be big as that.
  2258. 01:16:53.640 – 01:16:57.780 And, you know, have media in different schools
  2259. 01:16:57.780 – 01:17:01.000 and where people and students, not just students,
  2260. 01:17:01.160 – 01:17:03.140 but like even older people, you know,
  2261. 01:17:03.160 – 01:17:04.900 they can learn and take upon
  2262. 01:17:04.900 – 01:17:06.780 and even explore, experiment.
  2263. 01:17:08.040 – 01:17:10.420 And my biggest thing is just with my business
  2264. 01:17:10.420 – 01:17:13.280 is just experiment and explore
  2265. 01:17:14.260 – 01:17:16.560 that exploration, that alien.
  2266. 01:17:17.820 – 01:17:19.580 Yeah, I'm telling you.
  2267. 01:17:19.880 – 01:17:20.740 Oh, we missed a buzzer.
  2268. 01:17:20.880 – 01:17:21.840 It's cool, it's cool.
  2269. 01:17:22.700 – 01:17:23.440 We're gonna add it in.
  2270. 01:17:23.720 – 01:17:26.120 Yeah, there we go.
  2271. 01:17:26.740 – 01:17:31.840 Well, listen, I mean, we have long awaited this episode,
  2272. 01:17:31.840 – 01:17:35.500 I mean, for a long time and it's finally come.
  2273. 01:17:35.520 – 01:17:37.820 And I know that there's no doubt
  2274. 01:17:37.820 – 01:17:39.840 that someone that is watching, someone listening
  2275. 01:17:39.840 – 01:17:45.980 is inspired, encouraged, and just educated now as well
  2276. 01:17:45.980 – 01:17:47.440 on some of the things, you know,
  2277. 01:17:47.520 – 01:17:49.660 that you have been able to do and achieve
  2278. 01:17:49.660 – 01:17:51.920 in your short span of life
  2279. 01:17:51.920 – 01:17:53.480 because, you know, we've got so much more to go.
  2280. 01:17:54.580 – 01:17:57.180 So for those that, you know,
  2281. 01:17:57.440 – 01:18:01.020 do want to take this interview episode
  2282. 01:18:01.020 – 01:18:04.660 and really wrap it into three gyms,
  2283. 01:18:04.860 – 01:18:06.620 what would your gyms be for them?
  2284. 01:18:08.970 – 01:18:10.410 I'm gonna just list a whole bunch
  2285. 01:18:10.410 – 01:18:12.130 because, you know, for some people,
  2286. 01:18:12.270 – 01:18:13.790 three maybe is not enough.
  2287. 01:18:14.350 – 01:18:17.070 Be open, be creative, be collaborative,
  2288. 01:18:17.070 – 01:18:20.050 always study, being open to learning,
  2289. 01:18:20.310 – 01:18:23.370 being open to mentors and learning from anybody,
  2290. 01:18:23.650 – 01:18:25.010 even people younger than you.
  2291. 01:18:26.150 – 01:18:29.350 But my biggest thing is always elevate.
  2292. 01:18:30.090 – 01:18:31.370 Yes, come on.
  2293. 01:18:32.970 – 01:18:33.930 Always elevate.
  2294. 01:18:34.230 – 01:18:36.350 I like that, I like that a lot.
  2295. 01:18:36.390 – 01:18:38.150 Three, two, one, even three, two, one.
  2296. 01:18:38.830 – 01:18:40.590 So a lot of people that know me,
  2297. 01:18:40.810 – 01:18:43.430 know I have the angel number one, two, three,
  2298. 01:18:43.450 – 01:18:45.350 three, two, one, any variation of those numbers.
  2299. 01:18:45.350 – 01:18:48.610 And then my last track wasn't even a song,
  2300. 01:18:48.610 – 01:18:50.350 it was an affirmation track.
  2301. 01:18:51.910 – 01:18:54.870 Alien Eyes, affirmations one, two, three.
  2302. 01:18:56.050 – 01:18:57.970 So shout out to the reverse of this,
  2303. 01:18:58.050 – 01:19:00.430 three, two, one, episode three, two, one.
  2304. 01:19:00.990 – 01:19:02.630 Thank you, thank you for having me on.
  2305. 01:19:02.930 – 01:19:04.410 So I got to ask Sensei,
  2306. 01:19:04.550 – 01:19:06.390 and you've been here since the beginning,
  2307. 01:19:06.730 – 01:19:08.410 but who would you like to see on the full experience
  2308. 01:19:08.410 – 01:19:09.510 in your opinion next up?
  2309. 01:19:13.600 – 01:19:15.720 Oh, I knew that was coming.
  2310. 01:19:15.720 – 01:19:22.220 I want to see you, you, you, you watching this,
  2311. 01:19:22.680 – 01:19:24.580 and also the person behind the camera,
  2312. 01:19:24.840 – 01:19:27.200 Ms. Brianna Casanova, most importantly,
  2313. 01:19:27.380 – 01:19:29.560 but you, you watching this,
  2314. 01:19:29.720 – 01:19:31.460 you have to become on the pull-up experience.
  2315. 01:19:31.860 – 01:19:33.180 If you have a business,
  2316. 01:19:34.380 – 01:19:35.940 if you are an entrepreneur,
  2317. 01:19:36.180 – 01:19:37.760 if you're doing something good in the community,
  2318. 01:19:37.820 – 01:19:38.960 if you've got a good story,
  2319. 01:19:39.620 – 01:19:42.320 you've got to be on the pull-up experience.
  2320. 01:19:42.800 – 01:19:46.260 You know, you could be all the way up here,
  2321. 01:19:46.360 – 01:19:47.540 you could be just starting off,
  2322. 01:19:47.540 – 01:19:48.620 you could be in between.
  2323. 01:19:49.200 – 01:19:54.560 I do want to see Ms. Brianna Casanova's official episode.
  2324. 01:19:55.740 – 01:19:57.800 It's coming, it's coming, it's coming.
  2325. 01:19:58.000 – 01:19:58.640 Going for you, man.
  2326. 01:19:59.220 – 01:20:01.500 But even, even more of a long shot too,
  2327. 01:20:01.500 – 01:20:04.160 I want to see my daughter, Ms. Sevin Jackson.
  2328. 01:20:04.500 – 01:20:08.320 No, Sevin, Sevin, Sevin, I'm going to be Sevin this episode.
  2329. 01:20:08.600 – 01:20:09.840 Hey, I love it, I love it.
  2330. 01:20:09.840 – 01:20:10.880 I like that.
  2331. 01:20:10.880 – 01:20:10.980 Yeah.
  2332. 01:20:12.400 – 01:20:15.300 No, listen, we appreciate you, man.
  2333. 01:20:15.320 – 01:20:15.680 Yeah.
  2334. 01:20:16.440 – 01:20:17.720 And just want to be able to get flowers, man,
  2335. 01:20:17.740 – 01:20:20.500 because once again, you have been from the beginning,
  2336. 01:20:20.720 – 01:20:21.480 not even here from the beginning,
  2337. 01:20:21.580 – 01:20:24.080 but you have been, I can't hide it,
  2338. 01:20:24.440 – 01:20:26.380 just a staple in the pull-up experience.
  2339. 01:20:26.540 – 01:20:28.360 There wouldn't be no pull-up experience without your brother.
  2340. 01:20:29.300 – 01:20:30.680 So we want to thank you for that, man.
  2341. 01:20:31.180 – 01:20:33.160 I mean, you're the face of it, man.
  2342. 01:20:34.200 – 01:20:35.920 You know, man, you keep it going though.
  2343. 01:20:36.160 – 01:20:38.480 You're purpose-pushing, you keep us out there.
  2344. 01:20:38.640 – 01:20:39.160 That is.
  2345. 01:20:39.160 – 01:20:42.660 I remember doing 20 episodes in a week one time.
  2346. 01:20:42.900 – 01:20:43.360 Oh my gosh.
  2347. 01:20:43.360 – 01:20:44.200 At least it felt like it.
  2348. 01:20:44.740 – 01:20:47.880 I don't know what I signed up for, unofficially.
  2349. 01:20:49.800 – 01:20:50.860 Hey, we still going strong.
  2350. 01:20:51.400 – 01:20:51.500 We still going.
  2351. 01:20:51.500 – 01:20:54.280 And I can say, listen, I know some groups,
  2352. 01:20:54.460 – 01:20:56.360 listen, we still going strong though,
  2353. 01:20:56.560 – 01:20:57.720 and I appreciate that about us.
  2354. 01:20:57.780 – 01:20:58.240 Yes, sir.
  2355. 01:20:58.440 – 01:20:59.820 Lastly, since the work people learn,
  2356. 01:21:00.000 – 01:21:00.900 more people can book you,
  2357. 01:21:01.020 – 01:21:02.700 where can they get on with my first pop,
  2358. 01:21:02.800 – 01:21:03.680 all that good information, man.
  2359. 01:21:03.960 – 01:21:06.440 Yeah, so just reach out to me,
  2360. 01:21:06.440 – 01:21:10.360 all social media at Alien Eyes Photos.
  2361. 01:21:10.380 – 01:21:14.460 That's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S,
  2362. 01:21:14.700 – 01:21:17.560 and then also alieneyesphotos.com.
  2363. 01:21:18.260 – 01:21:21.180 And I just started a podcast page for the podcast.
  2364. 01:21:21.180 – 01:21:22.360 Woo-hoo.
  2365. 01:21:22.560 – 01:21:24.860 A-E-P-I-T, pod.
  2366. 01:21:25.220 – 01:21:29.980 So that's Alien Eyes Photos industry pod for the podcast.
  2367. 01:21:30.540 – 01:21:32.960 And then check it out on all audio media.
  2368. 01:21:33.700 – 01:21:33.940 Love it.
  2369. 01:21:33.940 – 01:21:34.960 Our lights, cut it out.
  2370. 01:21:35.060 – 01:21:35.920 We shall do it.
  2371. 01:21:35.920 – 01:21:37.000 They kicking us out, y'all.
  2372. 01:21:37.100 – 01:21:37.660 They kicking us out.
  2373. 01:21:37.900 – 01:21:38.120 It is done.
  2374. 01:21:38.280 – 01:21:39.080 That's a good night, okay?
  2375. 01:21:39.080 – 01:21:40.500 We are still here rocking.
  2376. 01:21:40.620 – 01:21:41.060 That's right.
  2377. 01:21:41.180 – 01:21:41.400 That's right.
  2378. 01:21:41.520 – 01:21:42.500 Except that we ain't breezy, brother.
  2379. 01:21:43.000 – 01:21:44.240 This is actually a 3-2-1.
  2380. 01:21:44.380 – 01:21:45.780 It's a very special one.
  2381. 01:21:47.560 – 01:21:48.400 Till next time, y'all.
  2382. 01:21:48.540 – 01:21:48.940 All right?
  2383. 01:21:49.180 – 01:21:49.420 Peace.
  2384. 01:21:50.000 – 01:21:50.320 Peace.

Back to contents

9. You Don’t Have to Be Superman Avoiding Decision Fatigue Finding Balance & Building a Business

Season 1 · Episode 53

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.140 – 00:00:08.020 Do you know learning styles can hinder, hurt,
  2. 00:00:10.060 – 00:00:13.140 or make progression on your understanding
  3. 00:00:13.650 – 00:00:15.160 on the way you learn?
  4. 00:00:16.300 – 00:00:23.130 It took me some time to reflect on
  5. 00:00:24.250 – 00:00:26.410 why I wasn't grasped in subjects.
  6. 00:00:26.550 – 00:00:29.250 Like I'm currently studying coding,
  7. 00:00:31.130 – 00:00:33.030 getting more and more into tech space,
  8. 00:00:33.030 – 00:00:35.870 studying coding, getting into coding,
  9. 00:00:37.130 – 00:00:40.310 and eventually I would start dabbling around
  10. 00:00:40.310 – 00:00:44.790 with vibe coding, which is using natural language
  11. 00:00:44.790 – 00:00:48.810 versus the coding language, computer language.
  12. 00:00:50.090 – 00:00:54.370 But I want to know both, and effectively.
  13. 00:00:54.930 – 00:00:58.790 So starting from the basis all the way to coding.
  14. 00:00:59.790 – 00:01:05.050 And I listened to a lot of my information
  15. 00:01:05.690 – 00:01:09.750 rather than as partners or even clients
  16. 00:01:09.750 – 00:01:11.650 working on different projects
  17. 00:01:11.650 – 00:01:14.170 with video production and marketing,
  18. 00:01:17.090 – 00:01:21.670 but with podcasts and lectures to add to that
  19. 00:01:21.670 – 00:01:24.130 because I'm driving most of the time
  20. 00:01:24.130 – 00:01:25.850 and having phone conversations,
  21. 00:01:29.580 – 00:01:32.180 that auditory is my biggest thing.
  22. 00:01:34.780 – 00:01:37.580 But knowing me and doing some reflections,
  23. 00:01:37.920 – 00:01:44.640 like wow, in school I was more of a visual learning
  24. 00:01:44.640 – 00:01:48.500 and kinesthetic, like I was so hands on
  25. 00:01:48.500 – 00:01:50.240 and I had to see it.
  26. 00:01:50.640 – 00:01:52.800 I had to see it, show me the graphs,
  27. 00:01:53.020 – 00:01:55.040 show me this, show me that, I was visual.
  28. 00:01:55.760 – 00:02:02.200 Like for us men, even seeing a beautiful woman is visual.
  29. 00:02:02.520 – 00:02:08.180 We see them first, then for me it's more so doing
  30. 00:02:08.180 – 00:02:11.680 and being together, hands on experience.
  31. 00:02:12.920 – 00:02:17.960 And my lady could definitely say that as I'm a filler.
  32. 00:02:20.780 – 00:02:23.740 And my love language is physical touch.
  33. 00:02:24.840 – 00:02:29.120 Which kind of plays along with the learning style.
  34. 00:02:30.260 – 00:02:36.860 If I was a mechanic, I would have to do it.
  35. 00:02:37.080 – 00:02:39.540 I would have to feel the tools, play with the tools,
  36. 00:02:39.860 – 00:02:42.920 notice the size, lugs and all of this and that.
  37. 00:02:45.190 – 00:02:48.690 And then visual also, just seeing it in repetitions
  38. 00:02:48.690 – 00:02:52.790 and seeing how things are placed and should be placed
  39. 00:02:53.350 – 00:02:56.230 and all aligned, I mean alignment isn't right
  40. 00:02:56.230 – 00:02:58.350 because you don't want an unbalanced car
  41. 00:02:58.350 – 00:03:01.350 or things out of place or loose,
  42. 00:03:01.870 – 00:03:03.890 so things have to be aligned.
  43. 00:03:06.840 – 00:03:09.440 But I would say that was my learning style,
  44. 00:03:09.820 – 00:03:11.540 kinesthetic visual learner.
  45. 00:03:12.960 – 00:03:16.560 You know, I had to do, I had to see, I had to touch.
  46. 00:03:17.860 – 00:03:19.320 And those were my biggest things
  47. 00:03:19.320 – 00:03:24.240 and as I kind of shift towards my learning ability,
  48. 00:03:25.160 – 00:03:28.300 and even the opportunity to sense.
  49. 00:03:28.380 – 00:03:31.940 Like I said, I'm more of an auditory
  50. 00:03:32.700 – 00:03:34.700 and I think that's a balance,
  51. 00:03:34.780 – 00:03:37.540 it's like a split third place,
  52. 00:03:38.780 – 00:03:40.380 just like kinesthetic and visual.
  53. 00:03:41.380 – 00:03:47.330 Reading and writing and that's tied with auditory.
  54. 00:03:48.950 – 00:03:52.750 But like I said, I'm always driving or on the go
  55. 00:03:52.750 – 00:03:55.850 or editing photos or doing this and that.
  56. 00:03:55.850 – 00:04:00.210 So in the background, I'm listening to different podcasts
  57. 00:04:00.210 – 00:04:02.950 and lectures and audio books.
  58. 00:04:04.260 – 00:04:09.430 And that's like my third learning style
  59. 00:04:09.430 – 00:04:16.050 as far as being effective in me learning and understanding,
  60. 00:04:17.130 – 00:04:20.190 which I say it can hinder, hurt,
  61. 00:04:21.089 – 00:04:22.510 or make beautiful progression.
  62. 00:04:22.750 – 00:04:23.850 It could all be beautiful.
  63. 00:04:24.730 – 00:04:28.590 But you never know and sometimes it's situational.
  64. 00:04:29.990 – 00:04:33.290 Sometimes I do need to read and write,
  65. 00:04:33.710 – 00:04:35.810 take notes, cause I am a note taker,
  66. 00:04:36.190 – 00:04:41.550 so in different settings and different things work.
  67. 00:04:43.660 – 00:04:45.220 Yeah, being in that balance
  68. 00:04:45.220 – 00:04:48.560 between the kinesthetic and visual learner,
  69. 00:04:49.860 – 00:04:52.400 I know I wanna shift a lot of things in my business
  70. 00:04:52.400 – 00:04:57.800 and how I retain the knowledge,
  71. 00:04:58.980 – 00:05:01.020 which simply by doing.
  72. 00:05:03.590 – 00:05:06.190 And most visual learners have that good retention.
  73. 00:05:07.490 – 00:05:13.470 So, but I read this article by Bay Atlantic University,
  74. 00:05:14.450 – 00:05:19.030 translating abstract ideas into visual metaphors,
  75. 00:05:20.430 – 00:05:23.290 visual learners improve memory recall,
  76. 00:05:23.290 – 00:05:25.510 enjoy increased focus,
  77. 00:05:26.150 – 00:05:27.850 and can independently grabs,
  78. 00:05:28.110 – 00:05:30.490 organize and analyze information,
  79. 00:05:31.090 – 00:05:34.510 making learning more efficient and enjoyable.
  80. 00:05:36.090 – 00:05:38.990 That's what I love, the beauty, the thrill,
  81. 00:05:39.950 – 00:05:41.230 me just being curious.
  82. 00:05:41.390 – 00:05:44.870 Once I'm curious, I will lock in
  83. 00:05:44.870 – 00:05:46.930 and try to understand it the best way
  84. 00:05:46.930 – 00:05:50.050 that I can go all in,
  85. 00:05:50.050 – 00:05:54.970 like I'm slowly getting to coding, like I mentioned.
  86. 00:05:56.370 – 00:06:01.090 So if anyone wants to help or have a coding course,
  87. 00:06:02.350 – 00:06:06.290 something more shorter where I could just digest it.
  88. 00:06:07.330 – 00:06:11.170 Mainly on the go, but if you wanna do a one-on-one,
  89. 00:06:11.230 – 00:06:12.750 like I said, I'm wearing hands-on
  90. 00:06:12.750 – 00:06:15.890 and we can go through some examples and some build-outs
  91. 00:06:15.890 – 00:06:18.130 cause I have a lot of great ideas,
  92. 00:06:18.910 – 00:06:22.470 especially in this entrepreneur space
  93. 00:06:22.470 – 00:06:25.710 with my creative entrepreneurs, my business owners.
  94. 00:06:27.170 – 00:06:28.870 I have a lot of great ideas
  95. 00:06:28.870 – 00:06:30.650 and I know I'm only one person.
  96. 00:06:31.930 – 00:06:34.470 We have 24 hours a day
  97. 00:06:35.190 – 00:06:37.910 and a third of that we must get some sleep
  98. 00:06:38.610 – 00:06:40.370 to functionally operate.
  99. 00:06:41.110 – 00:06:43.310 At least you should be getting that much of sleep.
  100. 00:06:44.250 – 00:06:46.930 If you listen to my previous episode,
  101. 00:06:47.070 – 00:06:51.090 33 minutes of sleep, working while I'm tired,
  102. 00:06:51.210 – 00:06:55.850 building while I'm tired, yeah, it gets real sometimes,
  103. 00:06:55.850 – 00:06:59.210 but that's not all days and I always shoot
  104. 00:06:59.210 – 00:07:02.030 for that six to eight hours of sleep.
  105. 00:07:02.570 – 00:07:05.250 If I could get to that divine nine sometime,
  106. 00:07:05.450 – 00:07:07.170 oof, you'd love it when I'm around.
  107. 00:07:07.930 – 00:07:12.150 I would love to, I would surely love to,
  108. 00:07:12.150 – 00:07:17.450 but right now sometimes it is 33 minutes
  109. 00:07:17.450 – 00:07:19.810 out of the 24 hours in a day.
  110. 00:07:21.310 – 00:07:23.390 Something like once or twice a year,
  111. 00:07:23.450 – 00:07:28.530 I try not to, at least minimum three and a half
  112. 00:07:29.310 – 00:07:34.350 where I could just be almost fully functional.
  113. 00:07:35.490 – 00:07:37.090 It's because I'm used to it,
  114. 00:07:37.950 – 00:07:42.050 but once I get that seven, eight hours of rest, sleep,
  115. 00:07:42.650 – 00:07:46.710 I am golden and I am ready to perform at a high level.
  116. 00:07:47.350 – 00:07:50.530 And for my clients, that's what I am learning.
  117. 00:07:51.010 – 00:07:53.450 That's why I'm not taking on a lot of projects,
  118. 00:07:53.570 – 00:07:57.210 a lot of coaching clients, saying yes to everything.
  119. 00:07:58.190 – 00:07:59.970 Because I wanna get more rest
  120. 00:07:59.970 – 00:08:02.770 and perform at a higher level
  121. 00:08:03.350 – 00:08:07.390 than what most people even see me be more creative
  122. 00:08:07.910 – 00:08:10.650 and be more ambitious and focused.
  123. 00:08:10.650 – 00:08:15.660 I wanna give it more, more of my all,
  124. 00:08:16.320 – 00:08:21.240 not just 80, 85%, I wanna give 101 at least,
  125. 00:08:22.340 – 00:08:23.820 at least.
  126. 00:08:24.900 – 00:08:27.900 When rest and knowing your learning style
  127. 00:08:27.900 – 00:08:30.880 and communication style, it helps.
  128. 00:08:31.980 – 00:08:33.820 It helps tremendously.
  129. 00:08:35.860 – 00:08:37.679 And it was just something I was thinking about
  130. 00:08:37.679 – 00:08:39.559 and reflect upon like dang,
  131. 00:08:39.559 – 00:08:42.500 I remember in school we had these learning styles.
  132. 00:08:43.200 – 00:08:46.920 Why am I not implying that to my adult life,
  133. 00:08:47.000 – 00:08:49.280 to my business, how I'm learning about
  134. 00:08:49.280 – 00:08:53.300 different businesses and different industries and coding?
  135. 00:08:55.340 – 00:08:58.360 So it's something to think about for yourself.
  136. 00:08:59.140 – 00:09:04.380 Take that time maybe in silence and meditation,
  137. 00:09:04.380 – 00:09:06.900 paper, a pen, journal,
  138. 00:09:08.400 – 00:09:12.700 however you do it, whatever your learning style is,
  139. 00:09:12.800 – 00:09:14.420 whatever your love language is,
  140. 00:09:14.460 – 00:09:16.720 whatever your communication style is,
  141. 00:09:17.460 – 00:09:19.000 which is all important.
  142. 00:09:22.220 – 00:09:24.000 It is all important.
  143. 00:09:25.600 – 00:09:28.640 And once you love, going back to love language,
  144. 00:09:28.980 – 00:09:31.000 once you love what you're doing,
  145. 00:09:31.680 – 00:09:32.940 love what you're learning,
  146. 00:09:34.380 – 00:09:36.500 you wanna be almost obsessed with it.
  147. 00:09:38.320 – 00:09:42.360 And sometimes it gets to that point where you be up
  148. 00:09:42.360 – 00:09:50.040 24, 25, 26, 27 hours in a day and counting,
  149. 00:09:52.010 – 00:09:53.010 which I've done.
  150. 00:09:54.590 – 00:09:58.250 I've been up 32 hours straight one time,
  151. 00:09:59.950 – 00:10:01.870 just fascinated, curious.
  152. 00:10:04.720 – 00:10:09.660 And now I'm doing research on historical entrepreneurs
  153. 00:10:10.420 – 00:10:13.340 and I might have a series coming out.
  154. 00:10:13.780 – 00:10:15.520 So stay tuned for that.
  155. 00:10:15.780 – 00:10:17.000 That's gonna be amazing.
  156. 00:10:18.380 – 00:10:21.900 Something new, switch it up some time or two.
  157. 00:10:23.360 – 00:10:25.720 But yeah, I just wanna take the time
  158. 00:10:25.720 – 00:10:28.580 and reflect on learning style and my learning style
  159. 00:10:28.580 – 00:10:34.420 and how you can and I can apply it to our business.
  160. 00:10:35.240 – 00:10:36.400 Our business is.
  161. 00:10:37.840 – 00:10:42.660 But this is a wrap, another episode in the books.
  162. 00:10:42.940 – 00:10:45.880 Again, this is about learning styles.
  163. 00:10:46.480 – 00:10:51.440 It can help you or it can hinder you, hurt you,
  164. 00:10:51.980 – 00:10:53.420 or it can make beautiful progression
  165. 00:10:53.420 – 00:10:57.800 and help you beautifully, absolutely amazingly.
  166. 00:10:59.240 – 00:11:02.300 And this is photographer Jackson,
  167. 00:11:03.140 – 00:11:07.840 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  168. 00:11:09.360 – 00:11:14.140 And this is another episode of Alien Eyes Photos
  169. 00:11:14.140 – 00:11:20.340 Industry Talk, Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  170. 00:11:21.560 – 00:11:28.540 And follow me at Alien Eyes Photos on all media.
  171. 00:11:29.060 – 00:11:34.520 That's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S.
  172. 00:11:35.080 – 00:11:37.760 And then check out my website to book me
  173. 00:11:37.760 – 00:11:39.280 or for more information,
  174. 00:11:39.920 – 00:11:42.760 even the podcast is on the website too.
  175. 00:11:48.080 – 00:11:53.280 Alieneyesphotos.com, that's alieneyesphotos.com.
  176. 00:11:54.180 – 00:11:56.660 Thank you for tuning in to another episode
  177. 00:11:56.660 – 00:11:59.860 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  178. 00:12:00.210 – 00:12:05.300 with photographer Jackson and I am out, peace.

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10. Jeweled Justice - Finding Your Voice Through Spoken Word Poetry

Season 2 · Episode 17

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.440 – 00:00:09.520 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk, and I'm going to jump
  2. 00:00:09.520 – 00:00:10.280 right into it.
  3. 00:00:10.300 – 00:00:17.120 I got a special guest next to me, a good friend in the art industry, poetry industry
  4. 00:00:17.120 – 00:00:19.780 to be exact, but we do a lot of creative things.
  5. 00:00:20.560 – 00:00:23.180 I'm sitting here with Ms. Jewel Justice.
  6. 00:00:23.960 – 00:00:26.220 Hello, it's good to see you again.
  7. 00:00:26.380 – 00:00:27.040 All right.
  8. 00:00:27.140 – 00:00:27.920 It's been a while.
  9. 00:00:28.200 – 00:00:29.160 Has been a while.
  10. 00:00:29.160 – 00:00:34.320 We don't, you know, get out and kick it and have a lot of shows together because I'm not
  11. 00:00:34.320 – 00:00:36.680 actively performing, but how have you been?
  12. 00:00:37.500 – 00:00:38.500 I've been well.
  13. 00:00:39.140 – 00:00:40.940 Poetry has been treating me nicely.
  14. 00:00:41.900 – 00:00:49.140 I haven't modeled in a few seasons, but I still support that community, and I've
  15. 00:00:49.140 – 00:00:56.480 just been branching out more with performances and features, and I'm currently for National
  16. 00:00:56.480 – 00:00:59.180 Poetry Month taking on the 30 for 30 Challenge.
  17. 00:00:59.820 – 00:01:04.860 So I'm writing a new poem every day for the month of April.
  18. 00:01:05.640 – 00:01:11.280 I did that for about a couple months with a good friend who's a good model in the
  19. 00:01:11.280 – 00:01:11.560 city.
  20. 00:01:11.560 – 00:01:13.220 I'm up here with Dinesha Jones.
  21. 00:01:13.880 – 00:01:19.540 We had a period where, yeah, it was like two to three months of just writing
  22. 00:01:19.540 – 00:01:20.180 every day.
  23. 00:01:20.180 – 00:01:24.920 We have a prompt or just a word and we just make a poem about it.
  24. 00:01:24.920 – 00:01:29.860 So that was that was my little 30 for 30, even though I went a little longer.
  25. 00:01:30.320 – 00:01:32.160 But, you know, I'm glad to hear that.
  26. 00:01:32.260 – 00:01:33.840 I'll not look out for it.
  27. 00:01:33.940 – 00:01:38.840 Yeah, I'm currently backlogged on posting them, so I'm playing catch up with
  28. 00:01:38.840 – 00:01:45.160 posting. I've been putting them over on threads and then I also create imagery
  29. 00:01:45.160 – 00:01:47.740 to put them on my Instagram accounts.
  30. 00:01:50.290 – 00:01:55.030 Just for the audience that may not know who Jewel Justice is.
  31. 00:01:55.110 – 00:01:56.390 Who is Jewel Justice?
  32. 00:01:57.030 – 00:02:00.990 Jewel Justice is a poet and creative supporter.
  33. 00:02:01.690 – 00:02:08.850 By that, I mean, I utilize words to convey a message to audiences, to.
  34. 00:02:09.130 – 00:02:17.030 Invoke emotions and critical thinking and for a creative supporter, I support
  35. 00:02:17.030 – 00:02:20.510 the arts in any capacity that they exist.
  36. 00:02:21.470 – 00:02:25.390 I'm glad you said creative supporter, because that's actually how I got
  37. 00:02:25.390 – 00:02:30.830 started in the photography industry and video production, you know, the.
  38. 00:02:31.910 – 00:02:36.830 Performing at shows, hosting, feature, whatever the case may be, but I get off
  39. 00:02:36.830 – 00:02:38.890 stage, pull out the iPhone.
  40. 00:02:39.070 – 00:02:42.790 Yes, iPhone and record, take pictures.
  41. 00:02:42.790 – 00:02:47.550 I'm like, let me just invest in the actual camera and do it that way.
  42. 00:02:48.130 – 00:02:51.790 And I did study the game, learned all that I could.
  43. 00:02:52.510 – 00:02:53.970 I never looked back.
  44. 00:02:53.970 – 00:03:02.530 Yes, it's interesting when artists are multifaceted, it takes a lot of strength
  45. 00:03:02.530 – 00:03:06.270 and courage to not allow yourself to be boxed into one craft.
  46. 00:03:11.000 – 00:03:12.260 It's actually refreshing to hear.
  47. 00:03:12.360 – 00:03:17.040 You know, I don't hear that often, you know, for someone who also does,
  48. 00:03:17.040 – 00:03:21.140 you know, a lot of things create creatively.
  49. 00:03:22.620 – 00:03:24.100 So that's that's the question.
  50. 00:03:25.420 – 00:03:28.540 So what are some of the things you love to support?
  51. 00:03:29.020 – 00:03:36.720 Like if I could go to X, Y, Z and whatever state, country or even a Cleveland,
  52. 00:03:37.320 – 00:03:38.780 what type of show would it be?
  53. 00:03:38.820 – 00:03:45.800 First of all, and then what would that itinerary is lengthy?
  54. 00:03:47.660 – 00:03:52.420 I'm not sure if you're aware, but Cleveland's theater district is only
  55. 00:03:52.420 – 00:03:54.860 second to Broadway in New York.
  56. 00:03:54.860 – 00:04:00.760 So I spent a great deal of time with my daughter and my family elder
  57. 00:04:00.760 – 00:04:07.340 before she passed on going to plays at Playhouse as well in Caramoo.
  58. 00:04:08.160 – 00:04:12.840 We I recently had the privilege and the honor to take my daughter
  59. 00:04:12.840 – 00:04:18.700 to see the Cleveland Orchestra play the film score of the Black Panther
  60. 00:04:18.700 – 00:04:20.680 while the Black Panther played.
  61. 00:04:21.600 – 00:04:24.780 And she until two years ago
  62. 00:04:24.780 – 00:04:26.740 played the violin herself.
  63. 00:04:27.320 – 00:04:33.380 And so she was able to see what you can do with classical music
  64. 00:04:33.380 – 00:04:38.460 and how it can ebb and flow and advance and change and shift
  65. 00:04:38.460 – 00:04:44.380 and how it is relevant to more than just traditional orchestra.
  66. 00:04:45.320 – 00:04:47.400 And so she enjoyed herself.
  67. 00:04:48.120 – 00:04:54.040 So singing, we have gone to see and support the Cleveland Chorale.
  68. 00:04:54.040 – 00:04:57.720 I was a part of the Cleveland Chorale when they performed
  69. 00:04:57.720 – 00:05:02.220 their first performance with the NBA All Stars.
  70. 00:05:03.680 – 00:05:07.220 When the Real Black Friday took over Tower City.
  71. 00:05:08.160 – 00:05:09.680 Last year before last year?
  72. 00:05:10.140 – 00:05:13.740 Yeah, maybe it has maybe been two or three years. Yeah, OK.
  73. 00:05:14.740 – 00:05:20.820 So music, I support a lot of the various Cleveland artists.
  74. 00:05:20.980 – 00:05:22.900 I don't want to start naming names.
  75. 00:05:22.900 – 00:05:26.660 So we so we don't have to play charges in my heart and not my head.
  76. 00:05:26.740 – 00:05:31.800 But there is a plethora of available talent in Cleveland
  77. 00:05:31.800 – 00:05:36.660 from traditional arts to untraditional arts to informal
  78. 00:05:37.960 – 00:05:40.700 and contemporary and to dance.
  79. 00:05:41.200 – 00:05:44.180 And the list goes on. So I support it all.
  80. 00:05:45.300 – 00:05:48.760 And if I'm not able to support in person or financially,
  81. 00:05:48.760 – 00:05:53.640 I support by informing others what is available to be
  82. 00:05:54.440 – 00:05:55.820 indulged in in the city.
  83. 00:05:59.040 – 00:06:01.280 You touched on a lot of a lot of good things,
  84. 00:06:01.340 – 00:06:04.760 but just to circle back around, you might have forgot to.
  85. 00:06:05.700 – 00:06:10.020 What what type of event would you go to if you had to choose?
  86. 00:06:10.580 – 00:06:13.060 OK, let's say it's a lot of events going on in the city.
  87. 00:06:13.520 – 00:06:16.500 Why? What type of event would you like?
  88. 00:06:17.200 – 00:06:20.100 I love this type of thing.
  89. 00:06:20.120 – 00:06:21.540 I love modeling. I love poetry.
  90. 00:06:22.240 – 00:06:24.660 I love. What type and then?
  91. 00:06:25.980 – 00:06:28.620 Like, I don't say organization, I don't think anybody out there.
  92. 00:06:28.620 – 00:06:30.520 Let's just start with what type of event.
  93. 00:06:31.220 – 00:06:34.000 OK, I guess I'm going to have to cheat festivals.
  94. 00:06:34.740 – 00:06:37.220 OK, I love it. I see what you did there.
  95. 00:06:37.860 – 00:06:41.680 Because at a festival, you can catch a little bit of everything.
  96. 00:06:43.440 – 00:06:45.660 There's two festivals that I've
  97. 00:06:47.180 – 00:06:48.140 supported recently.
  98. 00:06:48.860 – 00:06:52.100 One is newer and one has been around for a few years.
  99. 00:06:52.200 – 00:06:55.960 And what they have on display is they have stages available
  100. 00:06:55.960 – 00:07:00.320 for various arts and artists to be able to showcase their work,
  101. 00:07:00.640 – 00:07:04.340 as well as having vendor areas for artists to be able to sell
  102. 00:07:04.340 – 00:07:08.500 their work, as well as having active workshops going on
  103. 00:07:08.500 – 00:07:12.280 so you can see the work, the artists live and in action.
  104. 00:07:12.780 – 00:07:17.440 So by being able to be in a space of a festival, you have the
  105. 00:07:17.440 – 00:07:21.200 collective community of collaboration and creatives
  106. 00:07:21.200 – 00:07:22.800 coming together in one place.
  107. 00:07:23.660 – 00:07:28.570 I love that, like you said, creative collaboration like that is.
  108. 00:07:30.780 – 00:07:34.740 You know, those two words just rings my bell and you put them together
  109. 00:07:34.740 – 00:07:38.040 just like, you know, me as an entrepreneur and also as a creative.
  110. 00:07:38.360 – 00:07:39.580 I'm a creative entrepreneur.
  111. 00:07:39.900 – 00:07:44.960 So I love that connected joint pieces
  112. 00:07:45.940 – 00:07:50.080 like creative entrepreneur collaboration, like put those two together.
  113. 00:07:50.460 – 00:07:52.840 Then, you know, that sums up me and what I stand for.
  114. 00:07:52.940 – 00:07:54.500 I'm all about that and support.
  115. 00:07:54.540 – 00:07:58.180 I love supporting others and especially people that's doing
  116. 00:07:58.180 – 00:08:02.180 positive things, have a positive message and always say,
  117. 00:08:02.180 – 00:08:03.720 I elevate positive stories.
  118. 00:08:05.360 – 00:08:10.120 So I know I asked you at the creative meetup a few weeks back.
  119. 00:08:12.180 – 00:08:15.040 It was along the lines of your creative process
  120. 00:08:15.040 – 00:08:19.760 and living in Cleveland, or some may even say New York,
  121. 00:08:19.980 – 00:08:21.320 but we're here in Cleveland, Ohio.
  122. 00:08:22.420 – 00:08:26.720 The weather, it becomes gloomy and sunny and rainy and snowy
  123. 00:08:26.720 – 00:08:28.480 all in one day sometimes.
  124. 00:08:29.600 – 00:08:33.220 So how would you describe your creative process
  125. 00:08:33.220 – 00:08:35.140 if it was a weather forecast?
  126. 00:08:38.000 – 00:08:40.240 The phenomenon
  127. 00:08:40.240 – 00:08:45.260 that I would use to describe my creative process
  128. 00:08:45.630 – 00:08:50.800 is not common to the Cleveland or even Ohio area.
  129. 00:08:50.880 – 00:08:55.000 OK, there it's volcano volcano erupting.
  130. 00:08:55.240 – 00:09:00.320 Yes. It is a delicate
  131. 00:09:00.320 – 00:09:05.560 juxtaposition between life and destruction.
  132. 00:09:05.560 – 00:09:08.780 Creation and destruction, life and death,
  133. 00:09:08.880 – 00:09:14.700 the power of words and language can either pour into someone
  134. 00:09:14.700 – 00:09:20.060 and create life and create prosperity or can create destitution.
  135. 00:09:20.740 – 00:09:26.520 And so I've become more mindful of being able to use language
  136. 00:09:26.520 – 00:09:31.200 and my craft with poetry to speak life
  137. 00:09:31.200 – 00:09:35.540 and to speak into existence, things that I want to be
  138. 00:09:35.560 – 00:09:37.240 in a positive manner.
  139. 00:09:37.740 – 00:09:41.220 But I am fully cognizant and aware of the times
  140. 00:09:41.220 – 00:09:45.100 where I've used language in a destructive manner.
  141. 00:09:45.640 – 00:09:49.380 And even when I have been on the receiving end
  142. 00:09:49.380 – 00:09:54.320 of destructive language and I am in a process of learning
  143. 00:09:54.320 – 00:10:01.220 how to recreate the narrative, not to take away
  144. 00:10:01.220 – 00:10:07.480 from what has existed, but to learn how to better edify
  145. 00:10:07.480 – 00:10:12.520 the truths that I not want to believe because I'm creating
  146. 00:10:12.520 – 00:10:16.100 a utopia, but want to believe because.
  147. 00:10:17.660 – 00:10:20.800 If not, there's the only option is death
  148. 00:10:20.800 – 00:10:23.160 if I don't believe that life is possible.
  149. 00:10:25.530 – 00:10:28.670 Some powerful words, and I know I know you personally
  150. 00:10:28.670 – 00:10:32.650 and know we have a similar style as far as pushing
  151. 00:10:32.650 – 00:10:36.490 positivity and, you know, big on words and language.
  152. 00:10:37.010 – 00:10:38.650 So how do you balance that?
  153. 00:10:38.690 – 00:10:43.950 Like, there's a lot of darkness, negativity around you,
  154. 00:10:44.030 – 00:10:47.310 you know, because it's natural to write about it and talk about it.
  155. 00:10:47.310 – 00:10:49.850 But how do you turn that into a positive light?
  156. 00:10:51.250 – 00:10:56.600 A lot of the times it's I'm learning recently
  157. 00:10:56.600 – 00:10:59.720 that a lot of the ways that I've been expressing myself
  158. 00:10:59.720 – 00:11:03.260 and have been allowed voice isn't just me.
  159. 00:11:03.260 – 00:11:07.100 It comes from my faith in God.
  160. 00:11:07.500 – 00:11:12.500 It comes from me allowing him to guide my words and my footsteps.
  161. 00:11:12.980 – 00:11:15.900 And for a while, I ran away from that.
  162. 00:11:17.460 – 00:11:19.740 Not because I feared.
  163. 00:11:21.160 – 00:11:25.300 So it was because I feared the responsibility
  164. 00:11:25.300 – 00:11:29.900 and the mantle and the calling that I knew that I was supposed to serve in
  165. 00:11:29.900 – 00:11:35.060 and being from a place where I was constantly told
  166. 00:11:35.060 – 00:11:38.540 that I wasn't worth feeling that need.
  167. 00:11:40.050 – 00:11:41.510 How did you prepare for that?
  168. 00:11:41.710 – 00:11:42.950 How did you know you were worthy?
  169. 00:11:43.850 – 00:11:49.410 I still question it, but I have been left with no choice
  170. 00:11:49.410 – 00:11:51.230 but to follow and move.
  171. 00:11:51.530 – 00:11:56.250 So I have a poem where I talk about how God treats you
  172. 00:11:56.250 – 00:11:58.750 like the two year old you take to the bowling alley
  173. 00:11:58.750 – 00:12:02.030 and they have the bumpers up to cover the gutter.
  174. 00:12:02.110 – 00:12:05.150 So you have no choice but to stay in your lane.
  175. 00:12:06.310 – 00:12:11.590 So some events have happened in my life where I have no choice
  176. 00:12:11.590 – 00:12:16.470 but to be focused because what I was using as a coping mechanism
  177. 00:12:16.470 – 00:12:18.670 or a distraction have been removed.
  178. 00:12:19.650 – 00:12:22.050 And it was not a fun process.
  179. 00:12:25.550 – 00:12:28.530 Take me back in just to mention for the audience,
  180. 00:12:28.570 – 00:12:30.390 how long have you been in the poetry industry?
  181. 00:12:31.270 – 00:12:36.330 I have been writing poetry since I've known how to use words.
  182. 00:12:36.810 – 00:12:41.770 OK, so let's just take us all back.
  183. 00:12:43.550 – 00:12:46.530 So I love discussing different industries.
  184. 00:12:46.810 – 00:12:50.550 So how was the poetry scene or poetry industry
  185. 00:12:51.150 – 00:12:54.570 for you when you first started versus how it is now?
  186. 00:13:01.080 – 00:13:03.080 I'm a poet in the traditional sense.
  187. 00:13:04.000 – 00:13:10.120 I am a poet in that I use my poetry to record my lived experiences
  188. 00:13:10.120 – 00:13:12.760 or the lived experiences of those around me.
  189. 00:13:15.260 – 00:13:21.760 I am coming to accepting my poetry is not for entertainment.
  190. 00:13:24.100 – 00:13:26.540 My poetry is to convey a message.
  191. 00:13:26.800 – 00:13:29.340 It is to enlighten the mind.
  192. 00:13:29.360 – 00:13:31.340 It is to stir the heart.
  193. 00:13:31.620 – 00:13:39.640 It is to cause one to look at self and reflect on
  194. 00:13:39.640 – 00:13:41.860 whether or not the person they currently are
  195. 00:13:41.860 – 00:13:43.800 is who they want to continue to be.
  196. 00:13:45.020 – 00:13:49.940 It is to challenge the perceptions that people build around themselves.
  197. 00:13:51.810 – 00:13:57.890 When I came into poetry, the poetry that I came into growing up in,
  198. 00:13:58.570 – 00:14:00.890 in the poets that were around me,
  199. 00:14:01.190 – 00:14:04.850 they used their poetry to activate, for advocacy,
  200. 00:14:05.710 – 00:14:08.270 to speak out against injustice.
  201. 00:14:09.030 – 00:14:12.030 And that's not entertainment.
  202. 00:14:12.450 – 00:14:13.590 That's not fun.
  203. 00:14:14.010 – 00:14:19.130 That's not going to always garner laughs and claps and adoration.
  204. 00:14:20.070 – 00:14:24.670 It's going to cause people to admonish you occasionally
  205. 00:14:25.790 – 00:14:28.690 because it's uncomfortable when you step,
  206. 00:14:29.010 – 00:14:33.670 when you make a statement and someone feel as if their toes have been stepped on.
  207. 00:14:34.430 – 00:14:36.770 And instead of going
  208. 00:14:36.770 – 00:14:39.550 and getting the first aid kit to mend themselves,
  209. 00:14:39.890 – 00:14:41.310 they'd rather place blame.
  210. 00:14:43.870 – 00:14:48.870 And so I didn't grow up in what a lot of people
  211. 00:14:48.870 – 00:14:51.970 and I'm coming to know the term is slam poetry
  212. 00:14:52.890 – 00:14:55.570 or competitions with poetry.
  213. 00:14:56.570 – 00:14:58.770 I don't memorize my poetry.
  214. 00:14:59.050 – 00:15:00.130 I read it.
  215. 00:15:01.730 – 00:15:05.310 And one thing that speaking to a fellow poet
  216. 00:15:05.310 – 00:15:09.450 that does similarly read their poetry has stated to me
  217. 00:15:09.450 – 00:15:12.890 and we even are working on a project together.
  218. 00:15:13.810 – 00:15:18.230 They said my emotions are my punctuation.
  219. 00:15:20.240 – 00:15:24.120 And that stuck with me because when I do read my poems,
  220. 00:15:24.140 – 00:15:26.860 I can vividly go back to the emotions
  221. 00:15:27.420 – 00:15:31.580 that I was expressing during the poem and that comes out when I read it
  222. 00:15:33.180 – 00:15:36.920 without having to practice
  223. 00:15:36.920 – 00:15:39.660 theatrics to go along with the poem.
  224. 00:15:40.300 – 00:15:45.040 And so the way that I speak, the cadences that I use,
  225. 00:15:45.440 – 00:15:50.840 the words that I convey, the motions when I do use movement.
  226. 00:15:51.820 – 00:15:53.080 It's sincere.
  227. 00:15:55.130 – 00:16:00.330 And I'm not saying that those that participate in slam poetry are insincere.
  228. 00:16:00.650 – 00:16:05.430 It's just not my style of poetry and it's not how I grew up in poetry.
  229. 00:16:05.430 – 00:16:09.890 Now, I've attempted to do a few slams here and there.
  230. 00:16:10.690 – 00:16:15.490 And recently, I actually received positive feedback that I'm doing better
  231. 00:16:15.490 – 00:16:19.590 considering when I first slammed a few years ago. Yeah.
  232. 00:16:20.230 – 00:16:21.690 But it's still.
  233. 00:16:23.270 – 00:16:25.130 It's a difference for me.
  234. 00:16:26.670 – 00:16:30.650 And even when I did participate in this most recent slam,
  235. 00:16:31.610 – 00:16:35.970 because of the rules that were established around this particular slam,
  236. 00:16:35.970 – 00:16:40.270 I ended up doing something that most people don't know I'm capable of,
  237. 00:16:40.610 – 00:16:41.710 which is freestyling.
  238. 00:16:44.600 – 00:16:47.980 And I freestyle without a prompted word.
  239. 00:16:50.950 – 00:16:53.410 And I ended up making it.
  240. 00:16:53.610 – 00:16:56.290 I didn't make it to the last round, but I made it further
  241. 00:16:56.290 – 00:17:02.290 than I made it previously with attempting to participate in a slam.
  242. 00:17:02.310 – 00:17:08.050 And I was proud of myself and allowing myself that time to.
  243. 00:17:09.329 – 00:17:13.089 Express from a pure place of creativity.
  244. 00:17:13.849 – 00:17:21.700 Very pure to have you freestyle a little bit later or maybe read.
  245. 00:17:21.839 – 00:17:23.660 I don't want to put you in the spot, but you know,
  246. 00:17:24.380 – 00:17:28.460 I give you that option, freestyle or a read poem that you've written.
  247. 00:17:29.820 – 00:17:33.540 And I was actually one of my questions about slam poetry, because
  248. 00:17:34.520 – 00:17:39.160 I can slam, but I prefer more performance poetry.
  249. 00:17:39.160 – 00:17:40.620 Like, that's not my style.
  250. 00:17:40.680 – 00:17:45.140 Like you said, some people do it for different reasons and slam poetry.
  251. 00:17:45.460 – 00:17:46.560 It's like that.
  252. 00:17:46.640 – 00:17:48.180 It's a whole nother level.
  253. 00:17:48.820 – 00:17:50.580 And it's not me.
  254. 00:17:50.780 – 00:17:53.220 I love making people feel good.
  255. 00:17:53.400 – 00:17:57.560 It's like that chilling, kind of like you put on a record from Common
  256. 00:17:58.280 – 00:18:02.190 or, you know, a lot of positive artists.
  257. 00:18:03.110 – 00:18:04.330 That's that's just me.
  258. 00:18:05.270 – 00:18:07.750 So I want to ask you the question
  259. 00:18:08.590 – 00:18:09.430 for the audience
  260. 00:18:09.430 – 00:18:13.490 that may not know the difference between performance and slam poetry.
  261. 00:18:13.710 – 00:18:21.320 We're under the key differences in your opinion.
  262. 00:18:22.500 – 00:18:26.860 So even for me, there's performance poetry,
  263. 00:18:27.560 – 00:18:35.800 there's slam poetry, and then there is poetry for the sake of poetry.
  264. 00:18:36.900 – 00:18:40.380 And also written versus spoken word.
  265. 00:18:40.780 – 00:18:43.740 Yes. And for me, what those differences are
  266. 00:18:43.740 – 00:18:47.500 slam poetry, traditional slam poetry,
  267. 00:18:47.580 – 00:18:52.080 because we even know that within slam poetry, there are deviations.
  268. 00:18:53.080 – 00:18:56.160 I'm coming to learn that traditional slam poetry.
  269. 00:18:57.400 – 00:19:07.890 Three minute limit memorized is typically no prop usage.
  270. 00:19:08.530 – 00:19:12.550 And you have to convey the message within the time frame
  271. 00:19:12.550 – 00:19:16.150 without stuttering and capture the audience
  272. 00:19:16.710 – 00:19:20.330 and be cognizant of the connectivity of your
  273. 00:19:20.330 – 00:19:24.470 how your piece connects from one stanza to the next.
  274. 00:19:25.610 – 00:19:29.390 It's not always about format, although sometimes there is
  275. 00:19:29.390 – 00:19:30.870 can be format included.
  276. 00:19:32.530 – 00:19:36.770 It's more about the punch lines, the metaphors,
  277. 00:19:37.130 – 00:19:40.970 the similes, the imagery, the pictures that you can paint
  278. 00:19:40.970 – 00:19:45.250 with the words that you use to sway the audience and or the judges.
  279. 00:19:45.250 – 00:19:49.010 And that performance poetry.
  280. 00:19:50.890 – 00:19:52.650 Borrowed from slam.
  281. 00:19:53.750 – 00:19:57.850 And that it is traditionally memorized.
  282. 00:19:58.630 – 00:20:03.050 It adds a theatrical element, so prop usage is available.
  283. 00:20:04.010 – 00:20:09.030 Full body is available for movement to similar
  284. 00:20:09.030 – 00:20:14.510 to a stage play, which some poems such as Shakespeare are actually
  285. 00:20:14.510 – 00:20:16.050 play play length.
  286. 00:20:17.170 – 00:20:22.290 And so it engages the creation of character usage
  287. 00:20:22.290 – 00:20:24.970 and storytelling into the poetry,
  288. 00:20:25.830 – 00:20:31.570 whereas the poetry that I write doesn't always use a character.
  289. 00:20:31.710 – 00:20:36.170 I may not always use metaphors or similes or puns.
  290. 00:20:36.190 – 00:20:37.390 I know what they are.
  291. 00:20:38.270 – 00:20:41.510 I know how to utilize analogy and simile
  292. 00:20:41.510 – 00:20:45.690 and rhyme scheme and sonnets versus haiku.
  293. 00:20:45.890 – 00:20:47.570 I know my foundations.
  294. 00:20:48.930 – 00:20:53.150 I am a free verse writer, so I write what comes to me.
  295. 00:20:53.410 – 00:20:57.910 And the main literary tool that I use the most is word connotation.
  296. 00:20:58.090 – 00:21:02.710 So that means I play with the way words are perceived,
  297. 00:21:02.990 – 00:21:07.010 not just the etymology of a word, which is the definition of the word
  298. 00:21:07.010 – 00:21:10.190 and where it is coming from,
  299. 00:21:10.190 – 00:21:14.970 but also with how the person in the audience
  300. 00:21:14.970 – 00:21:20.410 will perceive the word that I've used based on their personal lived experiences.
  301. 00:21:20.890 – 00:21:24.870 So that lends the word to be interpreted amongst
  302. 00:21:24.870 – 00:21:29.970 even people in the same room differently because of their personal impact.
  303. 00:21:30.570 – 00:21:35.730 And so that's what I utilize the most with my poetry.
  304. 00:21:37.400 – 00:21:41.480 And so it causes you to sit back and think a little bit more
  305. 00:21:41.480 – 00:21:44.120 than just feeling good in the moment.
  306. 00:21:47.610 – 00:21:50.290 So who would you say your favorite artist is?
  307. 00:21:50.690 – 00:21:52.670 Like, I know you're big with words.
  308. 00:21:53.350 – 00:21:56.530 So to me, it may sound like your favorite artist.
  309. 00:21:56.830 – 00:21:59.150 Maybe you're good with words and how to use words.
  310. 00:21:59.470 – 00:22:01.390 But who is your favorite artist or artistess?
  311. 00:22:03.190 – 00:22:04.650 Besides me, you know.
  312. 00:22:05.930 – 00:22:08.670 You about to get me in some trouble.
  313. 00:22:09.770 – 00:22:14.210 So we go start this off with charge it to my head and not my heart.
  314. 00:22:14.210 – 00:22:19.750 I love all of my poets, some that stand out to me.
  315. 00:22:20.730 – 00:22:22.970 Because we both have artists, friends, so you know how that is.
  316. 00:22:23.430 – 00:22:25.210 Exactly. We we're about to.
  317. 00:22:26.110 – 00:22:30.190 So it could be mainstream or underground mixed roles.
  318. 00:22:31.690 – 00:22:32.870 For her theatrics,
  319. 00:22:34.350 – 00:22:37.430 you her theater background and her creative back,
  320. 00:22:37.790 – 00:22:41.430 her very diverse creative background comes out
  321. 00:22:41.430 – 00:22:44.910 not only in her writing, but her stage presence and performance.
  322. 00:22:47.670 – 00:22:49.990 Complexity, I would say, M.C.L.X.
  323. 00:22:50.730 – 00:22:58.650 He is a poet that the way that he mixes concepts
  324. 00:22:58.650 – 00:23:03.330 and word usage together in a way that you would not think
  325. 00:23:03.330 – 00:23:05.770 something should be correlated together.
  326. 00:23:05.830 – 00:23:09.090 Who is the poet M.C.L.X.
  327. 00:23:09.090 – 00:23:14.610 OK. It's he has a poem, two poems
  328. 00:23:14.610 – 00:23:18.370 that he's become known for traffic and sleep deprivation.
  329. 00:23:18.710 – 00:23:23.010 And the way that he uses and tells stories
  330. 00:23:23.010 – 00:23:27.930 and uses analogy and metaphor and symbolism.
  331. 00:23:28.990 – 00:23:32.090 And it takes you on an entirely different journey.
  332. 00:23:32.270 – 00:23:35.390 And then by the time you get to the end of the poem,
  333. 00:23:35.470 – 00:23:38.210 you realize that he stayed on topic.
  334. 00:23:38.210 – 00:23:42.010 But he took you to a lot of different deviated
  335. 00:23:42.610 – 00:23:44.930 side road shows in the process.
  336. 00:23:50.060 – 00:23:52.820 I would say Ray McHale, because she
  337. 00:23:54.460 – 00:23:57.100 does great with personification.
  338. 00:23:58.100 – 00:24:00.900 Like she the she has this poem
  339. 00:24:00.900 – 00:24:04.220 where by the time you get to the end of the poem,
  340. 00:24:04.820 – 00:24:08.140 you realize that what you thought the original subject was
  341. 00:24:08.140 – 00:24:09.840 was not the subject at all.
  342. 00:24:10.760 – 00:24:14.620 And you don't realize what it is that she's personifying
  343. 00:24:14.620 – 00:24:16.880 until she reaches the end of the poem.
  344. 00:24:17.080 – 00:24:20.160 So she takes you on this outer world
  345. 00:24:20.160 – 00:24:22.480 journey before she brings you back.
  346. 00:24:25.760 – 00:24:28.780 And so that that's just a few
  347. 00:24:28.780 – 00:24:33.160 perform like far as poets that are.
  348. 00:24:34.620 – 00:24:38.540 Before me, or that I look up to,
  349. 00:24:40.290 – 00:24:41.370 I would say liberty.
  350. 00:24:43.290 – 00:24:46.490 She was one of the first poets that I had
  351. 00:24:46.490 – 00:24:49.530 saw that can freestyle on the mic.
  352. 00:24:50.250 – 00:24:53.450 Like she'll start with something that may be pre-read
  353. 00:24:53.450 – 00:24:56.090 and then she'll just get in the zone.
  354. 00:24:56.470 – 00:24:59.370 And if you once you get to know her, you can tell when she's gotten
  355. 00:24:59.370 – 00:25:02.150 to that zone and she'll just start freestyling.
  356. 00:25:02.150 – 00:25:04.530 And it seems like it was one cohesive
  357. 00:25:06.470 – 00:25:08.170 memorized piece, and it wasn't.
  358. 00:25:08.810 – 00:25:13.550 Yeah, I definitely had a chance to witness it quite a few times
  359. 00:25:13.550 – 00:25:15.470 and actually have a poetry album.
  360. 00:25:17.030 – 00:25:18.350 This is amazing.
  361. 00:25:18.750 – 00:25:22.150 And you know, now her her son is in the modeling.
  362. 00:25:22.930 – 00:25:24.890 Doing a lot of modeling shows.
  363. 00:25:25.030 – 00:25:26.750 And so I work with them in a different light.
  364. 00:25:27.950 – 00:25:29.150 So yes.
  365. 00:25:30.190 – 00:25:32.910 And one other poet I'll mention
  366. 00:25:32.910 – 00:25:35.270 before I get in trouble for naming names,
  367. 00:25:35.710 – 00:25:39.470 I would be remiss if I did not mention my poetic mother,
  368. 00:25:39.850 – 00:25:40.770 Miss Honeybell Bass.
  369. 00:25:43.750 – 00:25:48.810 The not only the way her stage presence, her style,
  370. 00:25:49.110 – 00:25:55.230 because when I say she is meticulous about her theme matching,
  371. 00:25:56.110 – 00:25:59.250 if she has a if she's wearing.
  372. 00:26:00.790 – 00:26:04.470 If the if the colors of the event are going to be purple
  373. 00:26:04.470 – 00:26:09.610 and gold, she's she walking in head to toe drift.
  374. 00:26:09.890 – 00:26:11.190 Everything's coordinated.
  375. 00:26:11.650 – 00:26:14.730 So not only does she make sure she's matching whatever theme
  376. 00:26:14.730 – 00:26:19.630 she's established, she's bringing with her things to match.
  377. 00:26:19.850 – 00:26:22.190 So I remember she had did
  378. 00:26:22.970 – 00:26:26.970 an event and the poem that she was sharing with or
  379. 00:26:26.970 – 00:26:31.430 poem or sermon she was sharing was about seashells
  380. 00:26:31.430 – 00:26:37.050 and how crab hermit crabs line up to change shells.
  381. 00:26:37.610 – 00:26:40.510 And the message was how
  382. 00:26:41.310 – 00:26:44.650 we have to learn how to get in line for our blessings.
  383. 00:26:44.870 – 00:26:48.130 We can't always be in competition with one another
  384. 00:26:48.130 – 00:26:51.850 because we never know if what we're growing out of
  385. 00:26:51.850 – 00:26:55.250 may be the perfect fit for the person coming behind us.
  386. 00:26:56.030 – 00:27:00.370 And she actually had shells to pass out
  387. 00:27:00.370 – 00:27:06.590 to remind you to pass on your shell once you've outgrown it.
  388. 00:27:07.570 – 00:27:10.430 And so, yes, her the her whole dynamic
  389. 00:27:10.430 – 00:27:15.350 and she's the poet that taught me about using poetry for advocacy
  390. 00:27:16.050 – 00:27:17.610 and for education.
  391. 00:27:18.810 – 00:27:23.510 And yeah, that just she's she's so over the top with it.
  392. 00:27:23.510 – 00:27:29.410 But I love the way that that dynamic fits her and her personality so well.
  393. 00:27:30.370 – 00:27:31.970 That's that's a beautiful thing.
  394. 00:27:32.030 – 00:27:34.010 And like you said, I'm passing on.
  395. 00:27:34.090 – 00:27:37.070 So that's in a sense, that's that's marketing
  396. 00:27:38.130 – 00:27:41.570 and a way to be remembered also that impact.
  397. 00:27:42.890 – 00:27:46.690 So how do you market yourself personally as an artist,
  398. 00:27:49.210 – 00:27:50.410 multifaceted artist?
  399. 00:27:51.470 – 00:27:56.730 So one thing I have definitely become known for is my shades.
  400. 00:27:57.950 – 00:28:03.990 I have them in a plethora of colors, of sizes, of shapes.
  401. 00:28:04.930 – 00:28:08.730 And it came from a place of my introvertedness,
  402. 00:28:08.930 – 00:28:13.390 of me not wanting to be center stage, of not wanting to see the audience.
  403. 00:28:13.930 – 00:28:20.410 So my first set of shades was as dark as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder
  404. 00:28:20.410 – 00:28:23.510 put together, because you ain't you can't see me.
  405. 00:28:23.510 – 00:28:24.550 I can't see you.
  406. 00:28:24.550 – 00:28:26.690 We're going to say these words and we're going to disappear.
  407. 00:28:28.860 – 00:28:32.200 Now I've become a lot more confident and comfortable on the stage.
  408. 00:28:32.840 – 00:28:36.260 However, shades is just going to be a part of the package from now on,
  409. 00:28:36.260 – 00:28:38.640 because I spent too much money.
  410. 00:28:38.640 – 00:28:41.900 Right, right, right. I'm all in now.
  411. 00:28:43.540 – 00:28:45.700 Also, on the fashion side,
  412. 00:28:46.200 – 00:28:51.420 I've become known for how I present myself when I go onto the stage,
  413. 00:28:51.680 – 00:28:53.460 even if it's just an open mic.
  414. 00:28:53.460 – 00:28:57.180 I had one poet tell me they don't remember
  415. 00:28:57.180 – 00:29:00.160 if they've ever seen me in the same outfit twice.
  416. 00:29:00.640 – 00:29:03.480 Not that I own that many clothes, I don't think.
  417. 00:29:07.920 – 00:29:10.380 But after a few
  418. 00:29:11.420 – 00:29:15.340 months back out in community and the creative community,
  419. 00:29:16.100 – 00:29:22.260 I ran into I was following a fellow creative around that I grew up around,
  420. 00:29:22.260 – 00:29:26.120 because the person is older than me, but I grew up around them.
  421. 00:29:26.240 – 00:29:30.420 And so I was finally grown enough to support them in their creative endeavors.
  422. 00:29:30.440 – 00:29:31.620 And so I did so.
  423. 00:29:31.880 – 00:29:35.820 So the more that I saw their name, the more that I followed them around
  424. 00:29:35.820 – 00:29:38.540 and the more that I followed them around, the more people I met.
  425. 00:29:38.840 – 00:29:43.040 And in following this person, I ran into an owner
  426. 00:29:43.040 – 00:29:46.340 of a clothing boutique for curvy women.
  427. 00:29:47.380 – 00:29:51.500 And I went to the boutique and liked what I saw.
  428. 00:29:51.500 – 00:29:53.380 And they had a model call out.
  429. 00:29:54.180 – 00:29:58.220 And during that time, I would have been frequenting a lot of fashion shows.
  430. 00:29:58.820 – 00:30:01.680 And my daughter had also given me an ultimatum
  431. 00:30:01.680 – 00:30:05.000 that if I was going to go to another show, I needed to be walking.
  432. 00:30:07.110 – 00:30:10.530 So things aligned that she put out a model call.
  433. 00:30:10.930 – 00:30:15.350 I went asked her whether or not I needed to have modeled before.
  434. 00:30:15.410 – 00:30:17.390 And she said, no, it was amateur friendly.
  435. 00:30:17.830 – 00:30:19.850 And I got selected for the model call.
  436. 00:30:20.650 – 00:30:24.970 And I walked in my first show for her and then she had another show.
  437. 00:30:24.970 – 00:30:28.750 And I think I walked in about four or five shows for her,
  438. 00:30:28.750 – 00:30:33.530 including being able to walk during the NBA All-Stars.
  439. 00:30:35.620 – 00:30:40.150 And so that just boosted my confidence because prior to that.
  440. 00:30:41.460 – 00:30:43.480 Being a foolish figured woman.
  441. 00:30:44.520 – 00:30:48.700 There were not a lot of stylistic options to wear.
  442. 00:30:49.240 – 00:30:54.080 And I had spent so much of my young adult
  443. 00:30:54.080 – 00:30:58.980 and late teens being berated for my size
  444. 00:30:59.580 – 00:31:03.840 and being told that I was less than because of my size,
  445. 00:31:04.000 – 00:31:08.000 that I was very self conscious about how I presented myself.
  446. 00:31:08.460 – 00:31:12.740 So I would wear oversized garments
  447. 00:31:13.340 – 00:31:18.040 that were not necessarily flattering to my figure simply to hide myself.
  448. 00:31:18.040 – 00:31:27.650 And it wasn't until I had seen that there is fashion
  449. 00:31:27.650 – 00:31:33.550 and not fast fashion, but fashion that is size appropriate and flattering
  450. 00:31:34.810 – 00:31:37.170 that I started to embrace.
  451. 00:31:38.910 – 00:31:39.970 Who I am.
  452. 00:31:41.620 – 00:31:45.620 And so because of that, it transitioned to also my confidence
  453. 00:31:45.620 – 00:31:49.040 on the stage, because I was now able to access
  454. 00:31:49.040 – 00:31:53.380 stylists, garments that may have been one of kind pieces
  455. 00:31:53.380 – 00:31:56.120 and wear them in a way that only I could.
  456. 00:31:58.840 – 00:32:02.140 So as far as marketing, you could say your biggest marketing
  457. 00:32:03.040 – 00:32:04.440 tactic is networking.
  458. 00:32:05.980 – 00:32:11.280 So so how how has you taken it, you know, as an introvert?
  459. 00:32:11.600 – 00:32:15.900 Yes. How how is it networking and getting yourself out there?
  460. 00:32:16.300 – 00:32:19.100 You know, or what are some tactics that you use?
  461. 00:32:19.100 – 00:32:22.740 OK, I got to focus on three people once I get my three.
  462. 00:32:23.040 – 00:32:25.480 OK, I can leave. Or is it China?
  463. 00:32:26.160 – 00:32:30.080 OK, let me just see what comes about.
  464. 00:32:30.600 – 00:32:32.780 You have a certain person in mind.
  465. 00:32:33.960 – 00:32:36.420 What are some of your networking tips for other,
  466. 00:32:36.420 – 00:32:38.580 you know, introverted artists or entrepreneurs?
  467. 00:32:40.240 – 00:32:42.460 First, to be comfortable with with yourself.
  468. 00:32:42.460 – 00:32:44.900 And if you're not comfortable with yourself,
  469. 00:32:45.940 – 00:32:47.780 get comfortable with your accomplishments.
  470. 00:32:47.780 – 00:32:51.060 If you I know a lot of people will tell you
  471. 00:32:51.060 – 00:32:53.420 not to put your worth in your accomplishments,
  472. 00:32:54.100 – 00:32:56.940 but sometimes that's the only place you have to start.
  473. 00:32:58.040 – 00:33:01.420 What also boosted my confidence to step out
  474. 00:33:01.420 – 00:33:07.440 the way that I I have now become known to doing is I
  475. 00:33:07.440 – 00:33:11.440 serve my country and community as an AmeriCorps
  476. 00:33:11.440 – 00:33:15.740 VISTA volunteer, this demeaning volunteers and service to America.
  477. 00:33:15.740 – 00:33:20.580 During that time, what the organization I was stationed with,
  478. 00:33:21.000 – 00:33:25.400 I had made close professional relationships
  479. 00:33:26.060 – 00:33:29.900 and those professional relationships became personal friendships.
  480. 00:33:31.160 – 00:33:35.500 And in talking to the individuals surrounding me at that time.
  481. 00:33:36.560 – 00:33:41.360 I had to disclose because again, we had started professionally,
  482. 00:33:41.440 – 00:33:43.480 so they had access to my LinkedIn account,
  483. 00:33:44.100 – 00:33:48.440 and they had took the time to actually purview my LinkedIn account.
  484. 00:33:49.280 – 00:33:52.040 And they came back to me and they was like,
  485. 00:33:52.120 – 00:33:55.460 how are you sitting quiet and unknown
  486. 00:33:55.460 – 00:34:02.280 when you've accomplished more in a five, ten year span?
  487. 00:34:02.600 – 00:34:04.920 She was like, you are in your 20s
  488. 00:34:04.920 – 00:34:09.239 and you have more accreditation than somebody in their 40s.
  489. 00:34:09.239 – 00:34:13.860 And she started just pouring on this praise that I had not received.
  490. 00:34:14.639 – 00:34:19.179 And she was like, why do you go and do all of this stuff?
  491. 00:34:19.260 – 00:34:21.980 I was like, one, when I get bored, I can't sit still.
  492. 00:34:22.000 – 00:34:24.460 So I'll find something to get into.
  493. 00:34:24.639 – 00:34:28.100 And then when I couldn't find employment, well, I'm not going.
  494. 00:34:28.480 – 00:34:31.120 I'd already knew not to have a gap on my resume.
  495. 00:34:31.139 – 00:34:34.159 So I'm going to fill it with somebody's workshop or class.
  496. 00:34:34.199 – 00:34:36.219 And I just kept doing it.
  497. 00:34:37.179 – 00:34:44.880 And so that encouraged me to start speaking with more authority.
  498. 00:34:45.199 – 00:34:49.280 So when I would go into rooms, a question would be asked
  499. 00:34:49.280 – 00:34:53.500 and I would be able to answer the question or I would ask a question
  500. 00:34:53.500 – 00:34:57.060 because I've become also known for at podcasts and different things,
  501. 00:34:57.060 – 00:34:59.560 asking a question that shakes the whole room.
  502. 00:35:01.540 – 00:35:07.240 It came from not knowing value of self,
  503. 00:35:07.240 – 00:35:09.800 so putting value in accomplishments.
  504. 00:35:10.780 – 00:35:14.860 And so knowing that I got this certification from an organization
  505. 00:35:14.860 – 00:35:20.280 that has credentialing helped me support myself
  506. 00:35:20.280 – 00:35:23.940 and navigate through various conversations because I knew
  507. 00:35:23.940 – 00:35:29.140 I had some accolade that I could say, well, I am certified in this
  508. 00:35:29.140 – 00:35:32.880 by so and so standard to speak on such and such topic.
  509. 00:35:34.320 – 00:35:35.680 So it started there.
  510. 00:35:35.880 – 00:35:42.170 And then it would also be I would quite literally be a wallflower
  511. 00:35:42.170 – 00:35:43.490 at the networking events.
  512. 00:35:43.510 – 00:35:44.950 I would stand on the wall.
  513. 00:35:45.770 – 00:35:48.830 And then I would look at who else was standing on the wall.
  514. 00:35:49.350 – 00:35:53.330 And then I'd go and lean on the wall against them.
  515. 00:35:53.330 – 00:35:55.150 And we'd look at each other and look at the wall,
  516. 00:35:55.410 – 00:35:57.270 the rest of the room and look at each other.
  517. 00:35:57.270 – 00:36:01.530 And then we'd say, so you're uncomfortable, too.
  518. 00:36:01.850 – 00:36:03.350 Yes, I'm very uncomfortable.
  519. 00:36:03.610 – 00:36:06.410 You want to be uncomfortable together. Sure.
  520. 00:36:06.690 – 00:36:08.970 And we'd sit and have a one on one conversation
  521. 00:36:08.970 – 00:36:12.310 about how we ended up in this room that we were both too uncomfortable
  522. 00:36:12.310 – 00:36:15.270 to converse with anybody else other than the fact
  523. 00:36:15.270 – 00:36:17.090 that we spotted another wallflower.
  524. 00:36:18.250 – 00:36:23.990 And so that has become what my networking strategy has been
  525. 00:36:23.990 – 00:36:27.570 individual one on one conversations
  526. 00:36:27.570 – 00:36:31.190 where I'm able to be open and honest with people
  527. 00:36:31.190 – 00:36:33.790 about what my experiences are
  528. 00:36:34.430 – 00:36:37.910 and using empathy to understand their experiences
  529. 00:36:37.910 – 00:36:41.810 and building rapport and connections that have led
  530. 00:36:41.810 – 00:36:46.750 to more opportunities, opportunities.
  531. 00:36:47.170 – 00:36:50.190 So I want to touch on some of your accomplishments
  532. 00:36:50.190 – 00:36:55.210 or what is one of your proudest or grandest accomplishments?
  533. 00:36:56.580 – 00:36:58.910 Finally, acknowledging my worth.
  534. 00:37:01.200 – 00:37:02.100 That's it.
  535. 00:37:02.400 – 00:37:03.500 I love that.
  536. 00:37:04.180 – 00:37:06.060 And a lot of this
  537. 00:37:06.060 – 00:37:10.540 our reason I started this podcast is to get more introspective
  538. 00:37:10.540 – 00:37:14.720 with the self behind the business versus the business
  539. 00:37:14.720 – 00:37:18.140 and, you know, sales marketing and all that X, Y, Z,
  540. 00:37:18.220 – 00:37:21.920 the bells and whistles to run a business or a creative endeavor.
  541. 00:37:22.240 – 00:37:23.940 But they're more internal.
  542. 00:37:24.460 – 00:37:28.400 So I'm glad you said that because it's not a true award
  543. 00:37:28.400 – 00:37:30.360 or accomplishment that you hang on the wall.
  544. 00:37:30.640 – 00:37:32.300 That's that's inside.
  545. 00:37:34.760 – 00:37:37.220 Yeah, I mean, projected out, you know,
  546. 00:37:37.400 – 00:37:40.120 and I'm finally learning how to do that.
  547. 00:37:40.760 – 00:37:43.800 It's taken quite a bit of time for me to get here.
  548. 00:37:43.800 – 00:37:45.260 Quite a bit of work,
  549. 00:37:48.060 – 00:37:49.180 various disappointments.
  550. 00:37:50.260 – 00:37:54.240 Stepping on my own self to spite my face occasionally.
  551. 00:37:55.900 – 00:37:58.940 And some hard decisions.
  552. 00:37:59.440 – 00:38:02.160 But at the end of the day, I can't put the weight
  553. 00:38:02.700 – 00:38:08.480 on the amount of workshops I've accomplished on the certifications
  554. 00:38:08.480 – 00:38:11.800 and the amount of alphabet soup that I can put at the end of my name.
  555. 00:38:14.840 – 00:38:18.300 Because if I am not able to.
  556. 00:38:21.260 – 00:38:22.540 Acknowledge myself
  557. 00:38:22.540 – 00:38:28.120 and my value without having to be judged
  558. 00:38:28.120 – 00:38:31.440 by someone else's perception of what should be valued.
  559. 00:38:32.540 – 00:38:34.880 Then where is the true word?
  560. 00:38:35.300 – 00:38:40.740 Because when, say, at any given time, especially in today's climate,
  561. 00:38:41.480 – 00:38:45.360 one of those certifications lose their accreditation rights,
  562. 00:38:45.960 – 00:38:50.280 then what is the value of what I learned?
  563. 00:38:50.280 – 00:38:55.760 Is it simply because ABC Company said that they taught me something?
  564. 00:38:56.020 – 00:38:58.780 Or is it because I was able to pull
  565. 00:38:59.400 – 00:39:04.200 knowledge from ABC Company, mix it with my lived experiences
  566. 00:39:04.200 – 00:39:08.500 and convey a collective message to the next person?
  567. 00:39:16.120 – 00:39:18.260 Passing it on to the next person.
  568. 00:39:20.540 – 00:39:24.900 What sensory systems do you use, if any at all?
  569. 00:39:25.660 – 00:39:27.880 Touch, feel, sight, smell.
  570. 00:39:29.400 – 00:39:32.260 Or if not some that you would like to include.
  571. 00:39:39.140 – 00:39:43.660 Some people love burning candles and writing or putting on music,
  572. 00:39:44.100 – 00:39:46.640 writing, freestyling sometimes.
  573. 00:39:47.480 – 00:39:48.860 Some people have a dark room.
  574. 00:39:49.980 – 00:39:52.300 And what are some sensory systems that you use?
  575. 00:39:57.890 – 00:39:59.210 Lived experiences.
  576. 00:40:01.840 – 00:40:07.180 Sometimes it will be a song that I'm listening to that.
  577. 00:40:08.540 – 00:40:12.720 Makes me have a thought, like when I wrote the poem Diva.
  578. 00:40:17.400 – 00:40:21.900 A few years ago, I was I mean, I think it was the BET Awards or something.
  579. 00:40:22.980 – 00:40:24.980 Beyonce's song, A Diva is a.
  580. 00:40:26.560 – 00:40:29.720 I don't even know the lyrics, because all I know now is my acronym.
  581. 00:40:30.380 – 00:40:30.800 Yes.
  582. 00:40:32.320 – 00:40:35.440 And I was like, is that all the divas capable of being?
  583. 00:40:36.820 – 00:40:39.200 Can't a diva be more?
  584. 00:40:40.140 – 00:40:43.880 Then what is currently being mainstreamed?
  585. 00:40:44.960 – 00:40:50.060 And so then the acronym came about a daughter invested in Victoria's Achievement.
  586. 00:40:50.380 – 00:40:54.660 It gives an entirely different definition to diva.
  587. 00:40:54.900 – 00:40:59.080 It's more than just a prima donna that has her head
  588. 00:40:59.080 – 00:41:03.400 so far up the clouds that she can't see what's in front of her.
  589. 00:41:03.860 – 00:41:07.320 It gives it a meaning of someone that
  590. 00:41:08.920 – 00:41:13.600 recognizes their humility, recognizes that they are.
  591. 00:41:15.180 – 00:41:17.800 Subject to someone else's authority,
  592. 00:41:18.140 – 00:41:22.880 recognizes that they are responsible for the mantle that they carry.
  593. 00:41:24.060 – 00:41:29.440 And so now my daughter runs around talking about diva, this diva, that,
  594. 00:41:29.440 – 00:41:31.340 and she's referring to my poem.
  595. 00:41:32.940 – 00:41:38.340 And so now it's again, words have power and two edged sword.
  596. 00:41:38.360 – 00:41:43.620 So now I have to deal with an 11 year old running around telling me,
  597. 00:41:43.720 – 00:41:49.260 well, you told me I'm a diva, so I'm not going and we not going.
  598. 00:41:50.060 – 00:41:56.480 And I don't settle for I was like, OK, let's reevaluate
  599. 00:41:58.220 – 00:42:01.320 the standards and definitions of what we're going to use.
  600. 00:42:01.620 – 00:42:05.160 So now when we have conversations and it's time
  601. 00:42:05.160 – 00:42:09.400 and it's a moment where she needs to be redirected,
  602. 00:42:10.360 – 00:42:13.200 I'll remind her, OK, you said you're a diva.
  603. 00:42:13.420 – 00:42:15.240 What is the definition of a diva?
  604. 00:42:15.420 – 00:42:17.360 What is the responsibility of a diva?
  605. 00:42:18.840 – 00:42:21.960 Did the actions and the words that you speak,
  606. 00:42:22.640 – 00:42:25.800 did they characterize what a diva is supposed to be?
  607. 00:42:25.800 – 00:42:29.540 And the definition that you have for diva, or is it
  608. 00:42:30.280 – 00:42:31.740 the other definition?
  609. 00:42:31.960 – 00:42:36.020 And so she has to sit down and reevaluate and take time
  610. 00:42:36.020 – 00:42:40.660 to reflect on behaviors and actions and see if it lines up
  611. 00:42:40.660 – 00:42:44.420 with the standards that she set for me to follow for her.
  612. 00:42:45.700 – 00:42:48.260 And so it allows that evaluative tool.
  613. 00:42:51.810 – 00:42:57.420 And so that that's covering music site.
  614. 00:42:57.420 – 00:43:01.840 Sometimes I will see something in my community
  615. 00:43:02.620 – 00:43:07.360 and it will stir me to have to write, to express
  616. 00:43:07.360 – 00:43:13.750 what emotions arise from what I've seen, touch.
  617. 00:43:14.850 – 00:43:19.830 There's been some poems that are born of relationships
  618. 00:43:19.830 – 00:43:24.990 that I've had and the dreams and aspirations
  619. 00:43:24.990 – 00:43:28.290 that I've had for those relationships,
  620. 00:43:28.290 – 00:43:29.850 even though they are no longer.
  621. 00:43:31.150 – 00:43:37.590 So it comes from a myriad of muses and sources.
  622. 00:43:39.450 – 00:43:42.370 Speaking on, you know, relationships,
  623. 00:43:42.590 – 00:43:44.510 whose relationships are important
  624. 00:43:45.310 – 00:43:49.470 for thriving and long term success and achievements.
  625. 00:43:50.390 – 00:43:52.110 You have to have good relationships.
  626. 00:43:52.110 – 00:43:54.350 That's in business or in the creative realm.
  627. 00:43:55.810 – 00:43:59.690 But when was the last time you heard a poem
  628. 00:44:01.450 – 00:44:16.900 that made you physically unable to speak one?
  629. 00:44:17.140 – 00:44:21.010 Because I don't. Yes.
  630. 00:44:22.630 – 00:44:23.850 I know I've had some in the past.
  631. 00:44:24.050 – 00:44:27.210 I can't recall the specific title or the artist,
  632. 00:44:27.230 – 00:44:32.020 but I know I had even yours is, you know, you definitely,
  633. 00:44:32.060 – 00:44:35.260 like you said, thought provoking and kind of had me stunned.
  634. 00:44:35.640 – 00:44:37.440 Like, wow, you really just said that?
  635. 00:44:37.840 – 00:44:41.000 Yeah, I would have I would I would have to say I don't.
  636. 00:44:41.980 – 00:44:44.700 I couldn't even attempt to name names.
  637. 00:44:44.960 – 00:44:48.340 Oh, but I do remember the feeling.
  638. 00:44:48.560 – 00:44:53.140 I do remember being shook by the emotion
  639. 00:44:53.140 – 00:44:57.200 that was invoked by being staggered
  640. 00:44:57.200 – 00:45:03.200 by someone else's raw, vulnerable expression
  641. 00:45:04.580 – 00:45:08.520 and knowing that they were either channeling
  642. 00:45:08.520 – 00:45:11.680 on behalf of someone else's experience,
  643. 00:45:11.680 – 00:45:15.780 because that is a possibility, especially as a creative
  644. 00:45:15.780 – 00:45:17.580 and an empathetic creative.
  645. 00:45:17.900 – 00:45:21.200 You are very you open yourself
  646. 00:45:22.020 – 00:45:24.500 to the energies of others.
  647. 00:45:27.300 – 00:45:32.480 And so you you can tell when a piece that is
  648. 00:45:33.320 – 00:45:37.340 that was written and that is being performed or even read.
  649. 00:45:37.860 – 00:45:41.880 If it's coming from that person's personal
  650. 00:45:41.880 – 00:45:45.740 lived experience or an experience of one close to them
  651. 00:45:45.740 – 00:45:47.460 and they were retelling that story.
  652. 00:45:55.040 – 00:45:59.900 To see the artists, artists in the city, you know,
  653. 00:46:00.380 – 00:46:04.860 you know, speaking for myself, I would travel with it, you know, south
  654. 00:46:04.860 – 00:46:07.420 south and east, not so much the West Coast.
  655. 00:46:07.420 – 00:46:11.840 So I haven't, you know, had a chance to witness a lot of West Coast artists.
  656. 00:46:12.280 – 00:46:14.660 But, you know, south and east and of course, the Midwest.
  657. 00:46:16.140 – 00:46:17.960 Some powerful, powerful
  658. 00:46:19.260 – 00:46:21.380 pieces, even music
  659. 00:46:23.200 – 00:46:24.320 that comes about.
  660. 00:46:24.680 – 00:46:29.260 I even, you know, shocked myself once when I when I was writing frequency.
  661. 00:46:29.440 – 00:46:33.480 I'm like, wow, I had to do that all in one sitting
  662. 00:46:33.480 – 00:46:38.680 because it was just so, so, so powerful and spiritual.
  663. 00:46:39.320 – 00:46:43.380 Like I can say that was my first in depth spiritual poem.
  664. 00:46:43.460 – 00:46:48.300 That's kind of how I left and ended my, you know, performing career.
  665. 00:46:51.710 – 00:46:55.550 Like I said, I'm blessed to be around so many artists
  666. 00:46:55.550 – 00:47:01.330 that take their craft seriously and have a story to tell
  667. 00:47:01.330 – 00:47:04.070 and tell, like you said, other people's story.
  668. 00:47:04.410 – 00:47:06.130 I would say, you know,
  669. 00:47:06.290 – 00:47:09.750 ever me and Maya and Mowgrey's like those two.
  670. 00:47:11.050 – 00:47:14.130 Especially Mowgrey, you could go real, real deep
  671. 00:47:14.130 – 00:47:18.970 in my personal, which, you know, a sense of vulnerability is
  672. 00:47:18.970 – 00:47:21.990 to me was unmatched at the time we was doing it.
  673. 00:47:23.050 – 00:47:23.950 So kudos to him.
  674. 00:47:24.070 – 00:47:27.330 I think he kind of hung it up too, kind of fell back.
  675. 00:47:28.170 – 00:47:31.430 But, you know, if you haven't heard the nappy
  676. 00:47:32.890 – 00:47:38.350 who's it, the nappy chronicles or nappy head chronicles, my bad.
  677. 00:47:38.710 – 00:47:40.450 Mowgrey. Yeah, check it out.
  678. 00:47:41.130 – 00:47:46.820 Mowgrey's on all streaming platforms and I also want to ask
  679. 00:47:46.820 – 00:47:49.720 what helps you get into your creative mode in space?
  680. 00:47:53.440 – 00:47:57.800 It just comes and sometimes it's so highly irritating.
  681. 00:47:58.460 – 00:48:01.620 I occasionally suffer from insomnia
  682. 00:48:02.800 – 00:48:07.360 and it will be moments where I know I finally fell asleep
  683. 00:48:08.120 – 00:48:11.020 and then all of a sudden, all of these thoughts start
  684. 00:48:11.020 – 00:48:15.820 running through my mind and then I'm up and I'm on my phone
  685. 00:48:15.820 – 00:48:19.280 because I finally converted to technology so I don't write
  686. 00:48:19.280 – 00:48:22.740 my poems physically anymore because that became a problem.
  687. 00:48:22.980 – 00:48:25.380 I have both, I'll say.
  688. 00:48:25.880 – 00:48:29.440 It became a problem for me because if I'm physically writing
  689. 00:48:29.440 – 00:48:33.400 while feeling the emotion that's overcoming me.
  690. 00:48:34.700 – 00:48:37.580 I am not writing in the English language.
  691. 00:48:38.000 – 00:48:41.560 I am writing in Egyptian hieroglyphics.
  692. 00:48:42.320 – 00:48:44.620 It is. And then if I.
  693. 00:48:46.160 – 00:48:50.260 Put my pen down, walk away from the poem and come back.
  694. 00:48:51.420 – 00:48:55.480 It's only by the grace of God that he gives me the poem back
  695. 00:48:55.480 – 00:48:58.020 because half the time I cannot go back and reread it.
  696. 00:48:58.700 – 00:49:01.600 And it don't matter how I try and pace myself.
  697. 00:49:01.960 – 00:49:04.280 It don't matter if I start off writing in print.
  698. 00:49:04.340 – 00:49:05.940 I'm going to switch to cursive.
  699. 00:49:06.040 – 00:49:08.160 And when I write in cursive, it doesn't matter
  700. 00:49:08.160 – 00:49:10.320 if I have the page tilted one way.
  701. 00:49:11.180 – 00:49:14.660 My handwriting always slants to the opposite direction
  702. 00:49:14.660 – 00:49:16.940 that the page was sitting on.
  703. 00:49:16.940 – 00:49:22.140 And so it just and I think I've shown you some of my old writing.
  704. 00:49:23.660 – 00:49:27.040 It's I could have been a doctor writing prescriptions at
  705. 00:49:28.280 – 00:49:29.920 point my handwriting.
  706. 00:49:30.520 – 00:49:34.560 I still have a poem that I have it unencrypted because
  707. 00:49:35.340 – 00:49:39.520 I was trying something new back in the early 2000s.
  708. 00:49:39.520 – 00:49:43.300 It was a cool thing to like write your poem in random shapes.
  709. 00:49:43.700 – 00:49:46.220 So I tried writing a poem in a spiral
  710. 00:49:46.940 – 00:49:49.060 and then I ran out of space on the paper.
  711. 00:49:49.320 – 00:49:51.920 So I inverted the spiral on itself.
  712. 00:49:52.280 – 00:49:55.780 So now I do not know which part of the spiral is the start
  713. 00:49:55.780 – 00:49:57.500 or the end of the poem.
  714. 00:49:59.790 – 00:50:03.570 Another time I did not have an ink pen or a regular paper.
  715. 00:50:03.690 – 00:50:08.550 I just had this yellow or orange flyer from church
  716. 00:50:09.150 – 00:50:11.750 and I wrote on the back of it with a yellow highlighter.
  717. 00:50:14.250 – 00:50:17.030 That poem took about two,
  718. 00:50:17.610 – 00:50:20.190 maybe five years to figure out what it said.
  719. 00:50:20.490 – 00:50:23.130 And, you know, by that time, the highlighter has faded.
  720. 00:50:24.510 – 00:50:27.850 The orange has faded into the highlighter like it was.
  721. 00:50:29.350 – 00:50:33.550 I don't even know how other than I know God gave me that poem back
  722. 00:50:33.550 – 00:50:38.360 to finally share with the world because you touched on something,
  723. 00:50:38.380 – 00:50:41.360 even with business notes and like things for our business.
  724. 00:50:41.380 – 00:50:43.060 You know, I'm always writing things down.
  725. 00:50:43.180 – 00:50:44.280 It could be a napkin.
  726. 00:50:44.500 – 00:50:47.140 It'd be a piece of paper, like you said, a flyer.
  727. 00:50:47.140 – 00:50:51.220 Yeah, a skin, an arm sometimes, back of the hand.
  728. 00:50:51.860 – 00:50:56.180 You know, whatever I could write physically on with a pen, I'm going to do it.
  729. 00:50:56.460 – 00:50:58.720 And, you know, I'm going to transfer it to my phone
  730. 00:50:58.720 – 00:51:02.500 or, you know, laptop later or wherever I keep my notes.
  731. 00:51:02.720 – 00:51:04.500 So I definitely can relate.
  732. 00:51:05.680 – 00:51:07.700 But now I love technology.
  733. 00:51:07.700 – 00:51:09.440 So sometimes I may write something.
  734. 00:51:09.520 – 00:51:12.540 I could take a picture of it and have the ability
  735. 00:51:12.540 – 00:51:15.400 to copy and paste the picture onto a note.
  736. 00:51:15.400 – 00:51:17.920 So I love technology.
  737. 00:51:18.240 – 00:51:21.920 So here's where I use technology to to my advantage.
  738. 00:51:22.280 – 00:51:26.260 Going back to me being a freestyle, free verse writer.
  739. 00:51:27.760 – 00:51:30.220 Recently, I've been freestyling more often
  740. 00:51:30.880 – 00:51:34.820 and it's I shouldn't say more often because I've always freestyle.
  741. 00:51:35.000 – 00:51:37.240 It's just half the time those poems was lost
  742. 00:51:37.240 – 00:51:41.520 because once I get in the zone and I start talking to myself out loud
  743. 00:51:41.520 – 00:51:45.380 and it be a poem that I'm not writing it down.
  744. 00:51:45.400 – 00:51:49.760 And we already established I don't remember my poems.
  745. 00:51:49.760 – 00:51:52.480 So that would just said to the wind and gone.
  746. 00:51:53.700 – 00:51:57.080 I now stop myself.
  747. 00:51:57.740 – 00:52:01.060 Turn on my voice recording app in my phone.
  748. 00:52:01.780 – 00:52:04.920 Say whatever it is my heart desire is.
  749. 00:52:05.280 – 00:52:05.940 Turn it off.
  750. 00:52:06.080 – 00:52:09.100 And at first, before voice recording technology caught up,
  751. 00:52:09.240 – 00:52:13.120 I would have to pause place replay just to type it out into notes.
  752. 00:52:13.320 – 00:52:15.100 Now I can transcribe it.
  753. 00:52:15.720 – 00:52:19.500 From voice to text and then just go in and do my little edits.
  754. 00:52:19.840 – 00:52:21.800 And it has saved me a lot.
  755. 00:52:23.350 – 00:52:28.010 Yeah, that's that that part because, you know, I travel a lot and.
  756. 00:52:29.210 – 00:52:31.010 You know, I listen to a lot of podcasts.
  757. 00:52:31.030 – 00:52:34.690 So it's like our our audiobook.
  758. 00:52:34.890 – 00:52:37.410 So it's like a university wide drive.
  759. 00:52:37.770 – 00:52:41.810 But, you know, I would be in traffic and, you know, I can't always type.
  760. 00:52:42.110 – 00:52:46.170 So I will audio record a lot of, like I say,
  761. 00:52:46.170 – 00:52:50.090 either business notes or poems, songs or, you know,
  762. 00:52:50.190 – 00:52:52.710 just freedom of expression, how I felt that day.
  763. 00:52:53.270 – 00:52:56.770 And it got me through a lot of tough seasons.
  764. 00:52:57.210 – 00:52:59.710 Like you talk about being your own best friend,
  765. 00:53:00.230 – 00:53:03.250 your own personal hear yourself or hear your thoughts,
  766. 00:53:03.250 – 00:53:06.250 you know, that self love, even that words of encouragement.
  767. 00:53:06.330 – 00:53:07.510 Like, I really did this.
  768. 00:53:07.990 – 00:53:11.210 And going back to accomplishments and things that you did.
  769. 00:53:11.970 – 00:53:14.670 And sometimes people remind me like, man, you really did.
  770. 00:53:15.210 – 00:53:16.830 Like, you really be out here.
  771. 00:53:17.350 – 00:53:18.290 I was like, really?
  772. 00:53:18.470 – 00:53:23.210 Like, it's interesting hearing other people's viewpoint of you.
  773. 00:53:24.030 – 00:53:26.830 Yes. And that that's like I said earlier,
  774. 00:53:26.830 – 00:53:31.150 that's what made me start to reevaluate how I
  775. 00:53:33.270 – 00:53:40.070 the equation that I used to equate what meant worth, because it took.
  776. 00:53:40.790 – 00:53:42.030 It took a while.
  777. 00:53:42.370 – 00:53:47.930 And I'm going to you lucky I know you
  778. 00:53:49.130 – 00:53:52.190 because you you you pulling back some stuff
  779. 00:53:52.190 – 00:53:55.310 that I think I was going to be sharing publicly this soon.
  780. 00:53:55.590 – 00:53:57.190 Power power relationships.
  781. 00:54:00.210 – 00:54:01.750 I'm a firstborn child.
  782. 00:54:04.240 – 00:54:06.960 My mother and not just a firstborn child.
  783. 00:54:07.100 – 00:54:08.860 I am a firstborn daughter.
  784. 00:54:09.880 – 00:54:13.680 My mother, my biological mother, firstborn daughter
  785. 00:54:13.680 – 00:54:15.760 and the firstborn child.
  786. 00:54:16.480 – 00:54:21.280 My grandmother, the firstborn daughter and the firstborn child.
  787. 00:54:21.680 – 00:54:26.240 And I believe my great grandmother was as well.
  788. 00:54:26.380 – 00:54:30.580 So that's more and my daughter is a firstborn child, firstborn daughter.
  789. 00:54:31.560 – 00:54:35.860 Being the eldest child comes with a mantle of responsibility
  790. 00:54:36.440 – 00:54:38.480 that is not always discussed.
  791. 00:54:39.280 – 00:54:43.320 And being that firstborn and being a daughter
  792. 00:54:43.320 – 00:54:48.700 in a society where the firstborn
  793. 00:54:48.700 – 00:54:52.740 traditionally should have been male, you carry
  794. 00:54:53.340 – 00:54:55.420 a different type of responsibility.
  795. 00:54:56.820 – 00:54:58.860 I have two younger siblings.
  796. 00:55:00.780 – 00:55:05.360 I have been in foster care and was adopted.
  797. 00:55:08.040 – 00:55:11.420 It was my responsibility as the eldest
  798. 00:55:12.140 – 00:55:14.440 to keep tabs on my two younger siblings,
  799. 00:55:14.440 – 00:55:16.700 even though we were in separate foster homes.
  800. 00:55:17.140 – 00:55:19.440 We all got adopted into separate homes.
  801. 00:55:20.460 – 00:55:22.660 I because I was the oldest,
  802. 00:55:23.160 – 00:55:25.780 they are four and six years younger than me,
  803. 00:55:26.980 – 00:55:30.260 meaning they didn't remember much about biological family.
  804. 00:55:30.420 – 00:55:32.440 If when I when I was removed from the family
  805. 00:55:32.440 – 00:55:35.180 because we were moved at the same time, I was 10.
  806. 00:55:37.480 – 00:55:41.380 So it was up to me to one, remind them
  807. 00:55:41.380 – 00:55:45.820 who they came from, that there was a family that still loved them
  808. 00:55:45.820 – 00:55:50.140 despite circumstances, how to have access to this family.
  809. 00:55:50.600 – 00:55:53.120 And that I'm still there for them.
  810. 00:55:53.400 – 00:55:57.560 And that has become
  811. 00:55:58.400 – 00:56:04.560 a mantle that became so heavy to carry.
  812. 00:56:05.060 – 00:56:11.100 It has affected my ability to partake in romantic relationships
  813. 00:56:11.100 – 00:56:16.780 because it wasn't understood why when my phone would ring,
  814. 00:56:17.300 – 00:56:20.840 didn't matter what time it was, if it was one of their numbers,
  815. 00:56:21.800 – 00:56:23.780 everything stopping is coming to a halt
  816. 00:56:23.780 – 00:56:25.700 and I'm going to see what they need.
  817. 00:56:27.520 – 00:56:31.600 And it was thought of to be an abnormal relationship
  818. 00:56:31.600 – 00:56:35.640 without the understanding that in their eyes,
  819. 00:56:36.120 – 00:56:38.300 because of how young they were when they were removed
  820. 00:56:38.300 – 00:56:39.600 from the rest of the family,
  821. 00:56:40.780 – 00:56:42.960 I'm the only blood family they got.
  822. 00:56:43.720 – 00:56:45.540 So I'm the only one they can call.
  823. 00:56:45.980 – 00:56:47.980 I'm the only one they can lean on.
  824. 00:56:48.280 – 00:56:51.460 And that's heavy considering
  825. 00:56:53.060 – 00:56:56.960 what emotional traumas that I had to endure
  826. 00:56:58.100 – 00:57:01.580 during the time that I was in foster and adoptive care and
  827. 00:57:02.380 – 00:57:05.080 still be strong for those around me
  828. 00:57:05.080 – 00:57:10.200 and not know where it will be safe to unburden myself
  829. 00:57:13.310 – 00:57:16.690 because proper discernment didn't come till later.
  830. 00:57:17.290 – 00:57:21.810 So I would go to people thinking that I could share my cares
  831. 00:57:21.810 – 00:57:26.130 with them and have a shoulder to talk to
  832. 00:57:26.130 – 00:57:29.390 when, in fact, it was a set of ears connected to a mouth
  833. 00:57:29.390 – 00:57:31.190 that would go and tell someone else.
  834. 00:57:31.410 – 00:57:33.390 And so that caused more damage.
  835. 00:57:33.910 – 00:57:36.330 And so that created lack of trust.
  836. 00:57:38.600 – 00:57:46.400 So in relationship building, it's it's different having to
  837. 00:57:47.120 – 00:57:51.720 learn how to trust and lean and ask for help
  838. 00:57:51.720 – 00:57:55.540 from someone when you're so used to being the answer.
  839. 00:57:59.660 – 00:58:04.250 So that was heavy.
  840. 00:58:04.850 – 00:58:05.790 I wasn't expecting it.
  841. 00:58:05.870 – 00:58:09.270 And I'm going to connect you with my good friend Kayla,
  842. 00:58:11.290 – 00:58:12.350 who was an adoptee.
  843. 00:58:12.510 – 00:58:14.170 She goes by the unshattered adoptee.
  844. 00:58:14.250 – 00:58:15.170 I don't know if you met her or not.
  845. 00:58:16.210 – 00:58:19.710 But yeah, it has a nonprofit, you know, around that.
  846. 00:58:20.230 – 00:58:22.950 And I think, yeah, y'all connection really, you know,
  847. 00:58:22.950 – 00:58:25.750 together with flourish in many different ways.
  848. 00:58:26.550 – 00:58:30.290 But being someone who's strong and there for others,
  849. 00:58:31.030 – 00:58:34.070 but sometimes on the back end, you know, I can speak for myself
  850. 00:58:34.070 – 00:58:37.250 being strong and, you know, assertive in a community.
  851. 00:58:38.190 – 00:58:40.230 We don't get that in return.
  852. 00:58:41.190 – 00:58:47.190 So how are let me say,
  853. 00:58:48.070 – 00:58:52.930 how has it been or even do you have people that
  854. 00:58:54.520 – 00:58:57.880 are there for you, you know, who's there for the strong
  855. 00:58:57.880 – 00:59:00.660 and, you know, the strongest for everybody else?
  856. 00:59:03.240 – 00:59:06.720 I can finally say that I finally found my tribe of people.
  857. 00:59:08.000 – 00:59:13.160 But even in finding them, it took a while to trust.
  858. 00:59:14.100 – 00:59:18.260 And for me, trust doesn't just come from you saying you're there.
  859. 00:59:18.980 – 00:59:22.440 For me, it took actions and it took repetitive action.
  860. 00:59:22.440 – 00:59:25.300 Oh, I have a girl.
  861. 00:59:25.480 – 00:59:29.600 Well, two girlfriends that both of my close friends are both older than me.
  862. 00:59:30.220 – 00:59:33.460 Well, just to find girlfriends for because some people were like,
  863. 00:59:33.460 – 00:59:36.740 Oh, my homegirls, they got my back.
  864. 00:59:37.340 – 00:59:41.200 I was born in the 90s is the original definition.
  865. 00:59:41.420 – 00:59:43.240 Look up the TV sitcom.
  866. 00:59:43.860 – 00:59:46.860 I just like the clarification.
  867. 00:59:47.580 – 00:59:52.660 Oh, both of them.
  868. 00:59:52.740 – 00:59:56.180 We again, these were professional relationships that became personal
  869. 00:59:56.180 – 00:59:58.000 because I met them in the professional place.
  870. 01:00:00.420 – 01:00:02.100 They saw me.
  871. 01:00:02.360 – 01:00:06.040 And again, because I'm younger than them, they would be they would see me
  872. 01:00:06.040 – 01:00:08.260 doing certain things and moving in a certain way.
  873. 01:00:08.320 – 01:00:09.700 And they were like, why do you do that?
  874. 01:00:11.670 – 01:00:12.890 And I would brush them off.
  875. 01:00:13.150 – 01:00:16.950 And then at one point, they seen that I was struggling with things.
  876. 01:00:17.350 – 01:00:21.770 And so this is where having friends
  877. 01:00:21.770 – 01:00:24.410 that are older than you is a blessing and a curse,
  878. 01:00:24.650 – 01:00:27.710 because one day they your homegirl and the next day they talking to you
  879. 01:00:27.710 – 01:00:29.050 like, hey, your mammy.
  880. 01:00:32.570 – 01:00:37.250 So I guess I triggered the mama and my one homegirl
  881. 01:00:37.250 – 01:00:40.330 because she was like, yeah,
  882. 01:00:41.130 – 01:00:45.270 I did X, Y and Z, and you're going to accept X, Y and Z.
  883. 01:00:45.310 – 01:00:46.950 And we're doing X, Y and Z.
  884. 01:00:46.970 – 01:00:48.290 And you're just going to show up.
  885. 01:00:49.960 – 01:00:53.820 And she showed up for me in that way more than once.
  886. 01:00:54.600 – 01:00:58.320 And it took a while for me to realize that I could actually trust her.
  887. 01:00:59.040 – 01:01:01.640 So when something came up with my family,
  888. 01:01:02.360 – 01:01:06.880 I had no one else that I could trust to be that vulnerable with.
  889. 01:01:07.220 – 01:01:11.900 I called her and she was like, I'm shocked that you actually asked for help.
  890. 01:01:12.320 – 01:01:17.020 So the first thing that she said, other than asking about the situation.
  891. 01:01:18.540 – 01:01:20.800 Well, she told me she was proud that I asked for help.
  892. 01:01:23.200 – 01:01:26.260 How much that just sunk in my heart, like I really felt that in my heart
  893. 01:01:26.260 – 01:01:29.020 because I'm someone that doesn't ask for help.
  894. 01:01:29.240 – 01:01:30.160 I'm I'm introverted.
  895. 01:01:30.160 – 01:01:31.380 I'm to myself a lot.
  896. 01:01:31.540 – 01:01:34.440 I love, you know, taking initiative on things
  897. 01:01:34.440 – 01:01:38.080 I love doing or have to do, but by myself.
  898. 01:01:38.640 – 01:01:43.500 And like, you know, like I said, being a strong person and helping other people.
  899. 01:01:44.040 – 01:01:47.320 There's not too many people that, you know, help me or, you know,
  900. 01:01:47.420 – 01:01:52.320 not that I also I don't ask for the help, but I appreciate those that,
  901. 01:01:52.320 – 01:01:56.040 you know, take the time out like, you know, let me assist you.
  902. 01:01:56.040 – 01:01:59.380 Let me give you some resources, even if you want to do it by yourself.
  903. 01:01:59.380 – 01:02:02.860 Let me, you know, set you up so you can do it by yourself even better.
  904. 01:02:03.680 – 01:02:07.100 Right. I appreciate that, you know, because I'm I'm a creative
  905. 01:02:07.100 – 01:02:08.900 and I'm structured a certain way.
  906. 01:02:08.900 – 01:02:12.600 I'm trying to be more structured and, you know, allow more people in
  907. 01:02:12.600 – 01:02:16.520 and allow, you know, like you said, that tribe and the community to assist.
  908. 01:02:17.200 – 01:02:19.940 And, you know, sometimes it's hard, you know.
  909. 01:02:20.800 – 01:02:24.140 It could be a trust thing, but for me, it's not necessarily trust.
  910. 01:02:24.860 – 01:02:26.020 It's a it's a habit.
  911. 01:02:26.060 – 01:02:29.000 You know, I'm used to being by myself and doing stuff by myself.
  912. 01:02:29.840 – 01:02:32.860 Having to, you know, love myself,
  913. 01:02:33.960 – 01:02:37.940 you know, my own best friend, you know, do business by myself.
  914. 01:02:38.400 – 01:02:43.040 Like, you know, in this current stage, 2025, I am my only employee, you know.
  915. 01:02:44.000 – 01:02:48.040 So I do work on a lot of teams and I know how it is,
  916. 01:02:48.060 – 01:02:49.600 you know, starting off.
  917. 01:02:50.460 – 01:02:54.680 Do you have any encouraging words for, you know, a new entrepreneur, a new artist?
  918. 01:02:55.980 – 01:02:58.480 And see, that's where me and you knock heads,
  919. 01:02:58.540 – 01:03:01.040 because you kept calling me an entrepreneur a few years ago,
  920. 01:03:01.040 – 01:03:02.360 and I would say, no, I'm not.
  921. 01:03:06.220 – 01:03:07.480 I was still saying.
  922. 01:03:08.500 – 01:03:09.460 I'm a creative.
  923. 01:03:10.500 – 01:03:13.200 I am. So wait, wait, wait.
  924. 01:03:13.320 – 01:03:15.540 Let's rewind, because I ain't going to let you question.
  925. 01:03:17.600 – 01:03:21.000 So. Do you make money for poetry?
  926. 01:03:21.140 – 01:03:26.060 Yes. I just started making money for poetry within the last year.
  927. 01:03:26.060 – 01:03:28.620 Because, OK, well, well.
  928. 01:03:28.940 – 01:03:36.220 Yes. Within the last year, prior to that, it was it was my therapy.
  929. 01:03:36.440 – 01:03:40.040 It was my outlet. It was how I expressed myself.
  930. 01:03:40.620 – 01:03:43.320 It was how I was able to.
  931. 01:03:43.460 – 01:03:44.740 And it still is.
  932. 01:03:45.080 – 01:03:48.300 It's how I'm able to communicate and convey messages to people
  933. 01:03:48.300 – 01:03:50.480 when I'm not able to talk to them directly.
  934. 01:03:50.780 – 01:03:55.320 Or I feel that there is a hindrance between how I'm able to communicate.
  935. 01:03:56.080 – 01:04:01.200 And poetry has always been my voice in those moments
  936. 01:04:01.200 – 01:04:03.520 where I feel that I can't use my actual voice.
  937. 01:04:06.520 – 01:04:08.020 That's how it was with music.
  938. 01:04:08.300 – 01:04:10.840 I mean, I got to say poetry, too, and they're both, you know,
  939. 01:04:10.980 – 01:04:11.720 one and the same.
  940. 01:04:14.490 – 01:04:18.150 And I appreciate you with your deep emotions.
  941. 01:04:19.530 – 01:04:21.110 And there's a couple more questions,
  942. 01:04:21.110 – 01:04:23.150 and I was kind of pressed with time today.
  943. 01:04:23.830 – 01:04:27.530 But how has media influenced your market?
  944. 01:04:28.410 – 01:04:33.390 And industry, as far as like poetry, modeling, just the artist scene
  945. 01:04:33.970 – 01:04:39.730 in general, you know, I'm into media and photography and video production.
  946. 01:04:40.530 – 01:04:44.490 How has that influenced maybe the past 10 years up to now?
  947. 01:04:45.110 – 01:04:47.670 And, you know, both have advanced and evolved.
  948. 01:04:48.470 – 01:04:53.270 So I guess that I tie into your previous question with this one.
  949. 01:04:54.090 – 01:04:56.970 What I would advise someone coming up
  950. 01:04:58.450 – 01:05:03.890 in wanting to be a paid artist
  951. 01:05:04.550 – 01:05:10.810 is to find what skills you have from whatever your professional day job is
  952. 01:05:10.810 – 01:05:15.490 and how you can tie them into what you do creatively.
  953. 01:05:16.330 – 01:05:20.650 So going back to those accolades that I said that I have
  954. 01:05:20.650 – 01:05:25.650 on the professional side of things, I went when I was in high school,
  955. 01:05:25.650 – 01:05:29.970 I did Oracle Database Modeling and then also some robotic engineering.
  956. 01:05:34.150 – 01:05:39.650 So I got a bit of IT designing background when I was at the rec center
  957. 01:05:39.650 – 01:05:42.770 and I would volunteer because Mr.
  958. 01:05:42.950 – 01:05:45.310 Howard understood that I was going to be at the rec every day
  959. 01:05:45.310 – 01:05:46.430 because I didn't want to be at home.
  960. 01:05:46.470 – 01:05:47.590 He put me to work.
  961. 01:05:48.430 – 01:05:52.110 Miss Denise was the tech admin at the time,
  962. 01:05:52.110 – 01:05:55.970 and this was when Windows 93 was still a thing.
  963. 01:05:56.010 – 01:05:58.090 Yes, I'm dating myself. Good Lord.
  964. 01:05:58.190 – 01:05:59.350 You don't say it too loud.
  965. 01:05:59.490 – 01:06:02.290 The young folks were like, oh, you were born in the 1900s?
  966. 01:06:04.250 – 01:06:08.350 So this was back when Canva was not even a dream.
  967. 01:06:08.450 – 01:06:10.190 We had Microsoft Publisher.
  968. 01:06:11.050 – 01:06:15.710 And so I learned under her how to manipulate and create flyers
  969. 01:06:15.710 – 01:06:19.570 and create banners and all of that good stuff in Publisher.
  970. 01:06:19.570 – 01:06:25.050 I even ended up becoming responsible for making the anniversary flyers
  971. 01:06:25.050 – 01:06:29.950 for my church because of the way I could build and stack the word art
  972. 01:06:29.950 – 01:06:34.490 and the designs and the images and drop the pictures in and all of that.
  973. 01:06:35.630 – 01:06:41.770 So I then Canva came about and my best friend, my twin,
  974. 01:06:42.590 – 01:06:46.910 he does graphic designing, and so we both would play off of each other.
  975. 01:06:46.910 – 01:06:53.210 And so I started using my graphic design abilities to showcase my poetry
  976. 01:06:53.790 – 01:06:56.890 and even other things on my Instagram.
  977. 01:06:57.310 – 01:07:00.650 So majority of the things on my Instagram,
  978. 01:07:00.730 – 01:07:06.590 even when I was just showcasing someone else's art that and I attended the event,
  979. 01:07:06.910 – 01:07:08.090 I did that design.
  980. 01:07:08.170 – 01:07:11.350 I dropped it in Canva and I did the video edits myself.
  981. 01:07:11.410 – 01:07:13.590 I did the audio edit adding.
  982. 01:07:13.830 – 01:07:15.990 I did all of that myself.
  983. 01:07:16.630 – 01:07:20.010 The crop work, the formatting in the words,
  984. 01:07:20.230 – 01:07:22.850 I would start with the available templates,
  985. 01:07:22.850 – 01:07:27.910 but I will always edit them to what my aesthetic was for the day.
  986. 01:07:28.150 – 01:07:31.290 So even now with me doing the 30 for 30 challenge,
  987. 01:07:31.590 – 01:07:34.990 the reason it's taken me a bit longer to post them over on Instagram
  988. 01:07:34.990 – 01:07:40.230 versus threads is because I'm actually doing the work to edit
  989. 01:07:40.230 – 01:07:44.410 and create the designing in Canva to make it fit.
  990. 01:07:45.690 – 01:07:47.810 And post or some of them will be real.
  991. 01:07:47.970 – 01:07:50.530 Some of them will be slide bags.
  992. 01:07:50.890 – 01:07:52.310 So, yeah.
  993. 01:07:52.930 – 01:07:57.630 So you use your skills across the board
  994. 01:07:57.630 – 01:08:03.870 and see how they are able to coalesce and correlate to one another.
  995. 01:08:06.270 – 01:08:09.430 Just you expressing all of that sounds like an entrepreneur to me,
  996. 01:08:09.430 – 01:08:11.950 you know, as far as marketing and get yourself out there,
  997. 01:08:11.950 – 01:08:16.029 which a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners have to do.
  998. 01:08:17.410 – 01:08:20.569 So to kind of wrap it up in a summit,
  999. 01:08:22.250 – 01:08:26.430 sum it up and wrap it up in a bow reviewing this interview.
  1000. 01:08:26.670 – 01:08:28.790 What are some key takeaways?
  1001. 01:08:29.310 – 01:08:32.050 Maybe three to five things that you mentioned
  1002. 01:08:32.050 – 01:08:33.810 or maybe haven't mentioned.
  1003. 01:08:37.420 – 01:08:39.560 What do you want people to take away from this interview
  1004. 01:08:39.560 – 01:08:45.279 before even listening to it or if they listen to it?
  1005. 01:08:49.140 – 01:08:53.479 Take the time to find your own equation to self-worth.
  1006. 01:08:53.479 – 01:08:54.710 One more time.
  1007. 01:08:56.420 – 01:09:01.160 Take the time to find your own equation for self-worth.
  1008. 01:09:05.810 – 01:09:08.029 Enjoy that life is a journey.
  1009. 01:09:11.000 – 01:09:12.660 Stop to smell the roses.
  1010. 01:09:13.340 – 01:09:15.760 Don't always be focused on where you're headed.
  1011. 01:09:21.910 – 01:09:26.370 It's okay to ask for help, but use discernment.
  1012. 01:09:38.200 – 01:09:41.020 Acronym that I've been using recently is
  1013. 01:09:41.760 – 01:09:45.819 live your life VIP, victory in progress.
  1014. 01:09:48.960 – 01:09:50.859 Can't close even better than it.
  1015. 01:09:50.859 – 01:09:52.040 Well, let me take that back.
  1016. 01:09:52.160 – 01:09:55.020 Maybe we can because I still want you to do a poem.
  1017. 01:09:56.640 – 01:09:59.140 I thought I was going to get away with that.
  1018. 01:09:59.220 – 01:09:59.980 I can't.
  1019. 01:10:00.260 – 01:10:04.140 I mean, I've expressed on this podcast in my Sunday episodes,
  1020. 01:10:04.380 – 01:10:09.780 like one of these days y'all hear a poem or a song from me,
  1021. 01:10:09.900 – 01:10:12.220 but, you know, I have artist friends
  1022. 01:10:12.880 – 01:10:15.140 and what better way to do it?
  1023. 01:10:15.140 – 01:10:20.380 You know, I can even start it off with my snippet of frequency.
  1024. 01:10:20.840 – 01:10:22.260 One of my staple poems.
  1025. 01:10:24.300 – 01:10:24.780 Frequency.
  1026. 01:10:26.020 – 01:10:27.740 Frequency is what you frequently see.
  1027. 01:10:29.040 – 01:10:32.240 Vibrations all in the universe and also inside of me.
  1028. 01:10:37.440 – 01:10:39.800 I was about to say, because if you're going to do frequency,
  1029. 01:10:39.940 – 01:10:41.360 that means I got to find the version
  1030. 01:10:41.360 – 01:10:43.000 that I wrote after hearing that one.
  1031. 01:10:43.220 – 01:10:44.820 That one's in the archives.
  1032. 01:10:45.080 – 01:10:47.400 All right, y'all about to get a real treat.
  1033. 01:10:48.240 – 01:10:50.360 So is you really about to do frequency?
  1034. 01:10:50.680 – 01:10:51.820 I mean, only do a snippet.
  1035. 01:10:51.860 – 01:10:53.500 Maybe they get a, you know, one day.
  1036. 01:10:55.480 – 01:10:57.080 I think you need a little more.
  1037. 01:10:57.320 – 01:10:58.940 It's just in the wild.
  1038. 01:10:59.440 – 01:11:01.100 Look, now I got to find mine.
  1039. 01:11:01.560 – 01:11:03.420 It's in the archives.
  1040. 01:11:03.740 – 01:11:04.500 It's all good.
  1041. 01:11:05.600 – 01:11:06.260 So frequency.
  1042. 01:11:08.120 – 01:11:10.160 Your frequency is what you frequently see.
  1043. 01:11:11.340 – 01:11:14.360 Vibrations all in the universe and also inside of me.
  1044. 01:11:15.060 – 01:11:16.920 Alien to the world society.
  1045. 01:11:17.400 – 01:11:19.880 Shooting stars consciously.
  1046. 01:11:20.500 – 01:11:21.260 Righteously.
  1047. 01:11:21.640 – 01:11:24.220 Until every dust particle unites in me.
  1048. 01:11:24.480 – 01:11:25.240 Sparkling.
  1049. 01:11:25.780 – 01:11:29.320 As water wine and jewelry and jewelry see.
  1050. 01:11:29.760 – 01:11:32.280 I shine bright beyond my time of infinity.
  1051. 01:11:32.800 – 01:11:33.540 Living sea.
  1052. 01:11:33.720 – 01:11:36.180 Speckles around my eyes as vicinity.
  1053. 01:11:37.040 – 01:11:37.420 Vividly.
  1054. 01:11:38.040 – 01:11:38.800 Femininity.
  1055. 01:11:39.160 – 01:11:40.940 Raise my higher divinity.
  1056. 01:11:41.580 – 01:11:42.560 Sacred trinity.
  1057. 01:11:42.920 – 01:11:45.000 Reflects my divine masculinity.
  1058. 01:11:46.020 – 01:11:47.020 Felt in the trenches.
  1059. 01:11:47.020 – 01:11:48.260 Relentless.
  1060. 01:11:48.660 – 01:11:52.140 Lost my human mind to gain my spiritual senses.
  1061. 01:11:53.000 – 01:11:53.680 Defenseless.
  1062. 01:11:54.240 – 01:11:54.920 Elevation.
  1063. 01:11:55.700 – 01:11:57.420 Through focus and meditation.
  1064. 01:12:00.580 – 01:12:02.360 Frequency is a little snippet.
  1065. 01:12:04.100 – 01:12:09.720 One of these days, you know, I may even have a creative outlet on this podcast,
  1066. 01:12:09.780 – 01:12:13.720 but I focus more on the business and creative entrepreneur side.
  1067. 01:12:14.500 – 01:12:22.380 You know how more so newer entrepreneurs thrive as far as marketing and branding purposes.
  1068. 01:12:25.620 – 01:12:29.180 So I am torn whether or not I should do the piece that
  1069. 01:12:29.180 – 01:12:33.740 I wrote that was inspired by that piece or do something new.
  1070. 01:12:40.890 – 01:12:47.390 It kind of correlates since, you know, I've dropped it in, you know.
  1071. 01:12:48.110 – 01:12:50.710 How about I do both?
  1072. 01:12:51.390 – 01:12:51.970 Okay.
  1073. 01:12:54.870 – 01:12:56.370 Or how about a snippet of each other?
  1074. 01:12:56.570 – 01:12:56.830 That's fair.
  1075. 01:13:03.630 – 01:13:06.550 You got me digging through the archives looking for poetry.
  1076. 01:13:08.610 – 01:13:11.010 I'm going to do my closing words for the podcast.
  1077. 01:13:12.010 – 01:13:17.490 This has been, and stay tuned, because she's about to drop some nice thought-provoking
  1078. 01:13:17.490 – 01:13:18.670 poetry for y'all.
  1079. 01:13:19.690 – 01:13:25.890 So I appreciate everyone tuning in to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  1080. 01:13:25.890 – 01:13:32.330 as I cover different industries and give different business insights and tips
  1081. 01:13:32.330 – 01:13:38.110 for new entrepreneurs and speak about my personal journey as a creative entrepreneur.
  1082. 01:13:39.730 – 01:13:45.810 And I think Ms. Jewel Justice is about to drop some nice words for you all.
  1083. 01:13:49.110 – 01:13:50.250 Do you deserve me?
  1084. 01:13:51.350 – 01:13:53.490 Will you work to reserve me?
  1085. 01:13:53.990 – 01:13:56.090 Will you help preserve my energy?
  1086. 01:13:56.950 – 01:13:59.370 Because lately I feel so understated.
  1087. 01:14:00.390 – 01:14:01.850 This feeling is overrated.
  1088. 01:14:02.510 – 01:14:06.870 I've been giving access to my energy to people that don't deserve it.
  1089. 01:14:07.130 – 01:14:08.870 They don't appreciate it.
  1090. 01:14:09.030 – 01:14:12.750 They come back for refills like they are entitled to it.
  1091. 01:14:12.830 – 01:14:14.830 While I'm cutting off the tap.
  1092. 01:14:15.090 – 01:14:16.790 Revoking your access.
  1093. 01:14:17.250 – 01:14:20.630 Installing a gatekeeper you'll need permission to pass.
  1094. 01:14:21.050 – 01:14:25.810 Will you be found worthy of the privilege to gain access to that backstage pass?
  1095. 01:14:26.090 – 01:14:28.830 Or will you be headed off at the start?
  1096. 01:14:29.390 – 01:14:32.810 Because your intentions are not unadulterated.
  1097. 01:14:33.450 – 01:14:35.710 Will your heart be found contaminated?
  1098. 01:14:37.030 – 01:14:38.970 And that's just a snippet of that one.
  1099. 01:14:43.650 – 01:14:45.530 I just want to shout out my media partners.
  1100. 01:14:45.930 – 01:14:49.450 As we're here at LaunchArts recording this episode.
  1101. 01:14:50.390 – 01:14:55.590 Yes, definitely check out LaunchArts media video production partners.
  1102. 01:14:56.450 – 01:14:59.190 Vice president over the vice production.
  1103. 01:14:59.190 – 01:15:01.630 I said vice production twice didn't I?
  1104. 01:15:01.890 – 01:15:02.550 Video production.
  1105. 01:15:02.650 – 01:15:03.890 It was two VVP.
  1106. 01:15:04.010 – 01:15:05.490 Video production and vice president.
  1107. 01:15:05.610 – 01:15:06.590 He had VP VP.
  1108. 01:15:07.930 – 01:15:10.810 And then also the Pull Up Experience.
  1109. 01:15:11.310 – 01:15:14.430 Fastest growing podcast here in Cleveland, Ohio.
  1110. 01:15:14.970 – 01:15:16.790 Business podcast is at that.
  1111. 01:15:17.370 – 01:15:21.030 And we had the opportunity to travel this past year.
  1112. 01:15:21.890 – 01:15:23.310 You know brunch out a little bit.
  1113. 01:15:23.750 – 01:15:26.770 So tap into the Pull Up Experience podcast.
  1114. 01:15:27.070 – 01:15:28.430 We're big on YouTube.
  1115. 01:15:28.430 – 01:15:30.390 That's our biggest platform right now.
  1116. 01:15:30.610 – 01:15:34.170 And we just started releasing a lot of the audio episodes.
  1117. 01:15:34.170 – 01:15:34.990 So stay tuned.
  1118. 01:15:36.950 – 01:15:38.650 And also I can't forget about my brand.
  1119. 01:15:38.930 – 01:15:39.030 Right?
  1120. 01:15:39.090 – 01:15:41.130 Alienize Photos Media.
  1121. 01:15:41.470 – 01:15:45.830 Where I focus on a lot of event photography nationally.
  1122. 01:15:45.950 – 01:15:48.210 Soon to be globally.
  1123. 01:15:49.330 – 01:15:53.770 So if you're looking for an event photographer or just even consulting.
  1124. 01:15:54.690 – 01:15:58.270 Contact me at alienizephotos.com.
  1125. 01:15:58.270 – 01:16:00.190 Scroll down to the bottom.
  1126. 01:16:01.370 – 01:16:02.610 I'm reconstructing my site.
  1127. 01:16:02.810 – 01:16:03.870 Because I've been learning.
  1128. 01:16:04.350 – 01:16:06.530 So to put your contact info up top.
  1129. 01:16:06.890 – 01:16:08.330 But scroll down to the bottom.
  1130. 01:16:08.870 – 01:16:10.210 Or hit the booking link.
  1131. 01:16:10.710 – 01:16:12.650 And send me some information about it.
  1132. 01:16:13.050 – 01:16:16.130 And we can set up a call and see if it works for the both of us.
  1133. 01:16:17.130 – 01:16:18.390 And then if you want coaching.
  1134. 01:16:18.510 – 01:16:20.990 I do a lot of ideation sessions.
  1135. 01:16:21.030 – 01:16:23.550 I love bouncing off ideas with others.
  1136. 01:16:23.670 – 01:16:25.430 Especially other creatives.
  1137. 01:16:25.610 – 01:16:26.590 Not just entrepreneurs.
  1138. 01:16:26.710 – 01:16:27.470 Not just artists.
  1139. 01:16:28.110 – 01:16:29.590 Creative entrepreneurs.
  1140. 01:16:30.110 – 01:16:31.570 So if you love coaching.
  1141. 01:16:31.830 – 01:16:32.570 You need strategy.
  1142. 01:16:32.790 – 01:16:34.350 You want to build your brand more.
  1143. 01:16:34.350 – 01:16:35.710 You can have a session.
  1144. 01:16:35.750 – 01:16:40.770 So contact me if any of those fit your needs or wants or desires.
  1145. 01:16:42.190 – 01:16:44.750 So we'd like to close out this episode.
  1146. 01:16:44.850 – 01:16:45.950 Miss Jewel Justice.
  1147. 01:16:46.390 – 01:16:48.450 And where can everybody find you at?
  1148. 01:16:49.430 – 01:16:52.430 So my poetry can be found on Instagram.
  1149. 01:16:52.430 – 01:16:58.670 At J-E-W-E-L-E-D-G-E-M-S underscore.
  1150. 01:17:00.290 – 01:17:04.030 And the link in my bio will take you to any other interviews I have.
  1151. 01:17:04.050 – 01:17:05.650 As well as my threads account.
  1152. 01:17:05.690 – 01:17:07.110 My YouTube page.
  1153. 01:17:07.770 – 01:17:11.150 My primary Instagram is Jewel Justice.
  1154. 01:17:11.430 – 01:17:13.650 That's where you will find all things me.
  1155. 01:17:14.130 – 01:17:19.570 And that's J-E-W-E-L-E-D-J-U-S-T-I-C-E.
  1156. 01:17:20.330 – 01:17:21.090 That's them.
  1157. 01:17:21.230 – 01:17:24.810 And then, you know, I will have it all connected to the show notes.
  1158. 01:17:24.970 – 01:17:29.330 So if you're getting catching or if you're driving or anything of that sort.
  1159. 01:17:29.890 – 01:17:31.230 It will be in the show notes.
  1160. 01:17:32.790 – 01:17:37.070 So I'm going to close this out with I've been writing these poems.
  1161. 01:17:37.450 – 01:17:39.730 It is a poetry prompt that ran a while.
  1162. 01:17:39.730 – 01:17:43.030 I believe either in February or the latter part of March.
  1163. 01:17:45.670 – 01:17:49.510 King Luce challenged me to the challenge that he had been challenged in.
  1164. 01:17:49.570 – 01:17:53.690 And I think King Kamea.
  1165. 01:17:53.690 – 01:17:55.170 I know I'm butchering that name.
  1166. 01:17:57.050 – 01:17:58.910 Originally issued the challenge.
  1167. 01:17:59.950 – 01:18:06.510 So I've been writing these poems to express the recessed thoughts of my mind
  1168. 01:18:06.510 – 01:18:13.930 is more like a device to unwind, unbind, unravel, rewrite the prerequisites of my life.
  1169. 01:18:13.970 – 01:18:18.930 See, I write these poems, songs of praise to God that created me
  1170. 01:18:18.930 – 01:18:21.470 because he saw me when I didn't see myself.
  1171. 01:18:21.810 – 01:18:26.730 I write these poems as encouragement for others still traveling through the dark.
  1172. 01:18:26.930 – 01:18:31.350 I'll be the light shining at the end of the tunnel showing you
  1173. 01:18:31.350 – 01:18:33.270 there's better on the other side.
  1174. 01:18:33.270 – 01:18:38.370 I write to show you that you can photosynthesize pain into your own chlorophyll.
  1175. 01:18:38.450 – 01:18:43.730 I write to show you you can overwrite, remix, retwist, re-encrypt to decrypt
  1176. 01:18:43.730 – 01:18:45.790 those things you felt you were stuck in.
  1177. 01:18:45.790 – 01:18:51.470 I write these poems so you don't feel as if you have to be buried in a crypt of your pain.
  1178. 01:18:51.590 – 01:18:54.350 I write these poems to transmute energy.
  1179. 01:18:54.970 – 01:19:01.810 I write these poems as more than a way to showcase my ability to take letters,
  1180. 01:19:02.190 – 01:19:06.790 transform them into words, words into metaphors, metaphors into puns,
  1181. 01:19:06.790 – 01:19:09.850 puns into similes, similes into fast meal thoughts.
  1182. 01:19:09.890 – 01:19:14.810 I write as if it's the only way I'm capable of breathing.
  1183. 01:19:14.810 – 01:19:19.770 I write these poems to intone the stories of those that have gone on before me.
  1184. 01:19:20.270 – 01:19:24.010 I write to inform the future so they don't forget their past.
  1185. 01:19:24.350 – 01:19:28.430 To carry on the existence of today so it's transcribed through time.
  1186. 01:19:28.710 – 01:19:32.690 I write this poem because I'm just the vessel it flows through.
  1187. 01:19:32.950 – 01:19:37.010 I write so these bits and bytes can be computed into your mind.
  1188. 01:19:37.090 – 01:19:41.930 I write and release into the atmosphere that the power of the tongue
  1189. 01:19:41.930 – 01:19:48.970 and the power of the pen are something to behold, to treasure, to cherish.
  1190. 01:19:49.830 – 01:19:54.150 But most of all is not there to be misperched by your fear.
  1191. 01:19:54.650 – 01:19:57.250 I've been writing these poems.
  1192. 01:19:58.310 – 01:20:01.270 Wow, we cannot close better than that.
  1193. 01:20:01.630 – 01:20:05.200 And it's been a while since we had to catch a live show because
  1194. 01:20:06.160 – 01:20:10.760 yeah, your poetry has always struck a nerve.
  1195. 01:20:11.020 – 01:20:14.870 And like you said, it's very thought-provoking and I appreciate that.
  1196. 01:20:15.760 – 01:20:22.320 Again, this has been Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk with photographer Jackson
  1197. 01:20:22.320 – 01:20:27.840 interviewing the well-known, word-crafted poet.
  1198. 01:20:28.880 – 01:20:30.140 I don't want to limit you to Cleveland.
  1199. 01:20:30.980 – 01:20:31.640 You're national.
  1200. 01:20:31.700 – 01:20:32.760 You're national now.
  1201. 01:20:33.920 – 01:20:34.540 Thank you.
  1202. 01:20:34.540 – 01:20:35.820 Your justice.
  1203. 01:20:36.120 – 01:20:36.860 Thank you again.
  1204. 01:20:37.360 – 01:20:38.700 Thank you so much, Alien.
  1205. 01:20:39.180 – 01:20:39.820 Yes, yes.
  1206. 01:20:40.060 – 01:20:42.000 I appreciate y'all until next time.
  1207. 01:20:42.520 – 01:20:46.020 Like, share, subscribe, run back the previous episode.
  1208. 01:20:46.380 – 01:20:48.080 Check out the solo episodes.
  1209. 01:20:48.560 – 01:20:53.940 And yeah, remember, check out alieneyesphotos.com and also on social media.
  1210. 01:20:54.100 – 01:21:00.360 You can follow me at alieneyes with a Z, photos with an S on all social media,
  1211. 01:21:00.360 – 01:21:01.700 and also fan base.
  1212. 01:21:01.700 – 01:21:06.820 If you haven't downloaded fan base, check the fan base app out.
  1213. 01:21:07.140 – 01:21:08.740 It's the app for creators.
  1214. 01:21:08.900 – 01:21:11.140 I appreciate y'all.
  1215. 01:21:11.620 – 01:21:14.140 Godspeed, self-love, motivation.
  1216. 01:21:15.200 – 01:21:16.340 You gotta love yourself.
  1217. 01:21:16.760 – 01:21:20.280 If you don't love you, then no one else will.
  1218. 01:21:21.040 – 01:21:22.720 And that's all I have for today.
  1219. 01:21:22.760 – 01:21:23.920 I am out.
  1220. 01:21:24.580 – 01:21:24.740 Peace.

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11. I Just Want to Be Human: The Cost of Being an Entrepreneur

Season 1 · Episode 52

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.820 – 00:00:08.690 We just want to live life. We just want to be human beings
  2. 00:00:09.550 – 00:00:11.890 Be with our loved ones be with our family
  3. 00:00:13.270 – 00:00:15.390 Not be in decision fatigue
  4. 00:00:16.550 – 00:00:22.650 You know we want to be creative we want to be these entrepreneurs
  5. 00:00:23.530 – 00:00:27.050 These business owners run a business have a brand
  6. 00:00:28.370 – 00:00:30.830 Make money lots of money
  7. 00:00:31.870 – 00:00:33.750 And just live life
  8. 00:00:34.290 – 00:00:36.690 Have a normal life be normal
  9. 00:00:36.690 – 00:00:41.430 Not always having to be Superman and for my women not always having to be superwoman
  10. 00:00:41.430 – 00:00:51.180 I want to have quiet time too. I want to relax rest sleep
  11. 00:00:51.180 – 00:00:56.480 And as you should in moderation take that time for yourself and give yourself the proper breaks
  12. 00:00:56.480 – 00:01:00.080 Not only throughout the day, but throughout the year throughout your business
  13. 00:01:00.780 – 00:01:07.140 You can give your business a break one or two days. Just give it a break a
  14. 00:01:07.140 – 00:01:07.780 quick break
  15. 00:01:07.780 – 00:01:10.040 Get back to work rest with charge
  16. 00:01:10.680 – 00:01:14.700 Get your mind right because doing the same thing over and over and over is insanity
  17. 00:01:15.320 – 00:01:19.740 And we don't want to drive ourselves insane like I
  18. 00:01:19.740 – 00:01:21.320 make so many decisions
  19. 00:01:22.740 – 00:01:24.400 every day and
  20. 00:01:26.000 – 00:01:32.560 To be honest, this is one of those days that I did not want to do anything. I did not want to get up
  21. 00:01:32.560 – 00:01:36.060 We got like four hours, maybe four and a half hours of rest
  22. 00:01:38.020 – 00:01:39.480 Sleep you can try
  23. 00:01:40.120 – 00:01:42.400 Could not but I'd be up at a certain time
  24. 00:01:43.660 – 00:01:44.940 Or back up at a certain time
  25. 00:01:47.050 – 00:01:51.070 You know, I'm a parent. So I'd be a father. I
  26. 00:01:51.070 – 00:01:55.250 Gotta run a business. I even have an event to film tonight
  27. 00:01:56.450 – 00:01:57.250 this evening
  28. 00:01:57.250 – 00:01:59.510 Bring in my daughter with me
  29. 00:02:00.990 – 00:02:04.350 So again, I have to be a father I have work to do have an event
  30. 00:02:06.050 – 00:02:08.370 Even after it all I have work to do
  31. 00:02:09.490 – 00:02:15.490 You know, I even have a physical job a nine-to-five many call it just over broke jail be job
  32. 00:02:16.960 – 00:02:21.220 Just listen to the dialogue sometime being in an environment, you know
  33. 00:02:21.220 – 00:02:25.460 I can't wait to get off to do X Y & Z y'all can't wait to get off the boat sleep
  34. 00:02:25.460 – 00:02:30.200 Oh just this job. This is not distant. But at the end of the day, you know what you signed up for
  35. 00:02:30.880 – 00:02:34.780 And people complain like it would be better. It's it's like any other environment
  36. 00:02:34.780 – 00:02:39.100 But make sure you're in the right environments because I hear this all the time. It's like
  37. 00:02:39.100 – 00:02:46.020 I got to get out and you know, there's nobody around me
  38. 00:02:46.020 – 00:02:52.420 That's like me or even have a business or even a feeling motivate all can't wait to retire when you hear that. Oh
  39. 00:02:54.340 – 00:02:57.340 Do another 30 40 years
  40. 00:02:57.340 – 00:02:59.860 You don't have dreams go like what?
  41. 00:03:01.400 – 00:03:08.980 So it's hard for me to be around many people because I don't know their goals
  42. 00:03:08.980 – 00:03:11.480 They're ambitious and dreams their mindset
  43. 00:03:11.980 – 00:03:16.820 Because it rubs off on me. Just I can't wait to get off to play the new game the PS
  44. 00:03:18.040 – 00:03:18.600 five
  45. 00:03:20.320 – 00:03:23.380 2k whatever in Madden Call of Duty
  46. 00:03:24.080 – 00:03:31.640 All these other games and watch anime just chill people live in a life should they get off and they good
  47. 00:03:32.220 – 00:03:34.380 Eight hours. They're good
  48. 00:03:35.160 – 00:03:36.280 I'm doing
  49. 00:03:36.800 – 00:03:37.240 Who
  50. 00:03:38.960 – 00:03:43.420 Almost 24 hours the time and I sleep, you know, again, I'm a parent that is apparent
  51. 00:03:43.420 – 00:03:46.280 I take time to drive time to move from these places
  52. 00:03:47.900 – 00:03:56.380 Operated business vice president of another business director and producer of two podcasts. Oh
  53. 00:03:56.380 – 00:03:57.760 Have my own podcast
  54. 00:03:58.800 – 00:04:04.040 You listen to the podcast alien. I saw those industry talk and I came in strong and I wanted to
  55. 00:04:04.040 – 00:04:06.280 Know you didn't hit a welcome just like whoa
  56. 00:04:07.520 – 00:04:15.700 But it reminds me using my nine to five to leverage my life
  57. 00:04:16.459 – 00:04:18.740 to leverage my business
  58. 00:04:19.700 – 00:04:21.620 To one day I won't
  59. 00:04:22.260 – 00:04:25.760 Need a job not saying that I need a job right now
  60. 00:04:28.350 – 00:04:29.390 but I
  61. 00:04:29.390 – 00:04:30.750 Could take a chance on myself
  62. 00:04:31.930 – 00:04:36.690 But also will be taking a chance on my children or my nieces or my nephews
  63. 00:04:36.690 – 00:04:40.230 You know the younger generation family and
  64. 00:04:43.090 – 00:04:44.950 We all have to eat
  65. 00:04:45.890 – 00:04:48.150 The babies need clothes
  66. 00:04:49.170 – 00:04:53.850 Need endless stuff have to pay for school this this and now all the little stuff. I take care of yourself
  67. 00:04:56.180 – 00:04:59.300 so to have that security as
  68. 00:04:59.300 – 00:05:00.040 entrepreneur
  69. 00:05:00.700 – 00:05:05.480 One who sometimes have to take risks sometimes have to work long hours
  70. 00:05:05.480 – 00:05:10.620 Sometimes we don't know when the next dollar is gonna come in our business or what we have to pay for keep paying for
  71. 00:05:10.620 – 00:05:11.680 What would happen?
  72. 00:05:12.840 – 00:05:14.620 So to have that extra security I do
  73. 00:05:15.280 – 00:05:18.580 Work a job a JLB just over broke a nine to five
  74. 00:05:21.920 – 00:05:28.000 Just my children my family and I know one day
  75. 00:05:30.430 – 00:05:34.090 Like an ambitious goal that I set out for I
  76. 00:05:34.090 – 00:05:35.530 Want to make my first six figures?
  77. 00:05:37.590 – 00:05:40.570 So the only thing I didn't do is put a time limit on it
  78. 00:05:40.570 – 00:05:44.470 Myself a year, so I'll just say the end of
  79. 00:05:44.470 – 00:05:46.190 2025 so the end of
  80. 00:05:46.190 – 00:05:48.990 2026 by this time next year in January or
  81. 00:05:49.910 – 00:05:51.890 December leading up to January I
  82. 00:05:52.610 – 00:05:59.870 Will say January would be my deadline, but December would be the year mark to make my first six figures
  83. 00:06:01.890 – 00:06:09.810 That's one with five zeros or as nine with multiple nines and other numbers I
  84. 00:06:09.810 – 00:06:15.390 Special six figures it's an ambitious go
  85. 00:06:15.970 – 00:06:18.650 But I know I could attain it. I
  86. 00:06:18.650 – 00:06:20.730 have some vicious dreams and big dreams and
  87. 00:06:22.390 – 00:06:26.930 Great imaginations a lot of things and work a lot of projects. I want to work on
  88. 00:06:26.930 – 00:06:30.910 I just want to live life and be human and to know a lot of people feel that way to like
  89. 00:06:30.910 – 00:06:33.830 Oh, I just want to create all I want to make me some song
  90. 00:06:33.830 – 00:06:37.670 I just want to shoot all I just want to film all I just want to edit
  91. 00:06:38.430 – 00:06:43.950 All I just want to do business all I just want to play chess all to my play basketball all I want to do is
  92. 00:06:43.950 – 00:06:51.160 Relax and I feel it. I understand it. I feel the pain
  93. 00:06:51.720 – 00:06:55.000 Like so many decisions I have to make in business
  94. 00:06:56.200 – 00:06:57.080 my life
  95. 00:06:57.880 – 00:06:58.320 children
  96. 00:07:00.760 – 00:07:01.640 Co-parenting
  97. 00:07:01.640 – 00:07:02.980 being a relationship
  98. 00:07:03.800 – 00:07:06.500 You know the different decisions we have to make as a unit
  99. 00:07:08.160 – 00:07:13.060 Sometimes I have to make the decision for both of us and it's like, oh I
  100. 00:07:13.060 – 00:07:14.820 Don't know in this moment, but
  101. 00:07:15.600 – 00:07:17.720 The decision is needed to be made
  102. 00:07:18.660 – 00:07:19.180 so
  103. 00:07:20.620 – 00:07:21.960 like the decision
  104. 00:07:23.700 – 00:07:25.580 But you know we get decision fatigue
  105. 00:07:26.840 – 00:07:29.900 mentally fatigue physically fatigue spiritually fatigue
  106. 00:07:31.320 – 00:07:32.360 verbally fatigue
  107. 00:07:33.220 – 00:07:36.960 You just need to rest especially me as an introvert introvert
  108. 00:07:37.560 – 00:07:39.280 Introvert we have to rest
  109. 00:07:40.040 – 00:07:42.060 Yes, I have to rest
  110. 00:07:43.460 – 00:07:50.270 Lot go through life
  111. 00:07:52.150 – 00:07:54.330 We dream or at least we should dream
  112. 00:07:56.950 – 00:07:59.750 We don't always fulfill our dreams or go after our dreams
  113. 00:08:00.630 – 00:08:07.290 But we watch other people live their dream be ambitious and do what they want to do a life and live a normal life
  114. 00:08:08.310 – 00:08:09.910 when they can
  115. 00:08:09.910 – 00:08:11.790 want to and feel
  116. 00:08:12.590 – 00:08:14.630 It'd be him a be a human
  117. 00:08:14.630 – 00:08:20.910 Experience life. I know we all got to do we got to do
  118. 00:08:22.350 – 00:08:24.760 And that's the only way to do
  119. 00:08:25.510 – 00:08:34.010 Until you set yourself up to the point. We could do whatever you want to do, but it starts with the work
  120. 00:08:34.799 – 00:08:37.669 It starts with taking a rest need it
  121. 00:08:39.120 – 00:08:47.770 It start with aligning yourself with the right goals being in the right environments. It takes work
  122. 00:08:48.960 – 00:08:51.240 set of sacrifice and dedication
  123. 00:08:52.240 – 00:08:55.240 Like if I went all in on my business
  124. 00:08:57.020 – 00:09:02.300 Right now. I mean I wouldn't be satisfied so I'm making more
  125. 00:09:03.320 – 00:09:05.240 my w-2
  126. 00:09:05.240 – 00:09:10.080 That I am in my business right now. This is year two of my business and
  127. 00:09:10.920 – 00:09:12.760 another reason to start
  128. 00:09:13.320 – 00:09:15.600 You know speaking more
  129. 00:09:15.600 – 00:09:17.280 and starting this podcast
  130. 00:09:17.280 – 00:09:20.040 just to help market and
  131. 00:09:20.040 – 00:09:25.140 Get the word out of my business alien eyes photos media
  132. 00:09:25.860 – 00:09:29.160 hence the name alien eyes photos industry talk
  133. 00:09:31.040 – 00:09:32.000 podcast and
  134. 00:09:33.400 – 00:09:35.720 It was a decision I had to make I know
  135. 00:09:35.720 – 00:09:41.060 I'm already doing a lot already have a lot of projects to go on a lot of things that I want to do
  136. 00:09:41.060 – 00:09:45.400 a lot of businesses that I want to partner with and be involved with
  137. 00:09:46.280 – 00:09:51.840 But I know it takes time. I don't I know I don't want to
  138. 00:09:53.140 – 00:09:57.800 Keep putting myself in so many things and so many situations and so many opportunities
  139. 00:09:57.800 – 00:10:06.000 where it feels like I'm dibbling and dabbling and going from this to that to this to that and
  140. 00:10:06.000 – 00:10:08.220 photography has
  141. 00:10:08.220 – 00:10:10.280 Well led me to videography
  142. 00:10:11.300 – 00:10:17.800 You know being able to work on video productions and film and podcast along with the photography
  143. 00:10:17.800 – 00:10:22.860 I'm at events doing both videography and photography not just one
  144. 00:10:24.160 – 00:10:24.800 and
  145. 00:10:24.800 – 00:10:27.620 I'm glad people trust me with both
  146. 00:10:28.520 – 00:10:35.320 Being that value creator bring a value to their business and their events and their coverage and their documentation
  147. 00:10:37.120 – 00:10:46.960 Being an ally partner they can trust and as event photography is alien eyes photos media bread and butter
  148. 00:10:48.280 – 00:10:50.600 Also do events and have a team
  149. 00:10:50.600 – 00:10:58.820 You have a bigger team outside of my team will launch arts media and I am
  150. 00:10:58.820 – 00:11:02.160 valuable piece in the video production department
  151. 00:11:02.160 – 00:11:11.360 As I continue to help and bring fresh ideas and be there on set at events at the
  152. 00:11:11.360 – 00:11:13.540 Different gallus
  153. 00:11:13.540 – 00:11:15.640 different productions
  154. 00:11:17.540 – 00:11:18.200 meetings
  155. 00:11:21.100 – 00:11:25.040 And sometimes I feel like I'm not even doing a lot
  156. 00:11:25.040 – 00:11:32.980 I know I have impact, but I know there's always more and I feel like all right now with everything that I do
  157. 00:11:32.980 – 00:11:36.760 Everything that I'm a part of I want to give more and show up
  158. 00:11:37.480 – 00:11:40.540 Better than what I'm already showing up. I
  159. 00:11:40.540 – 00:11:42.300 Want to be better. I just don't want to be in it
  160. 00:11:42.300 – 00:11:47.380 I want to thrive and I want everything around me everything I touch. I want it to be successful
  161. 00:11:47.380 – 00:11:53.960 I want it to thrive. I want to see it rise
  162. 00:11:53.960 – 00:11:56.060 Build grow nourish
  163. 00:11:56.840 – 00:11:58.340 Be able to give back
  164. 00:11:58.980 – 00:12:01.320 Community be a part of different communities
  165. 00:12:03.100 – 00:12:05.120 Everything that I'm part of
  166. 00:12:05.960 – 00:12:08.960 Because if not, why am I doing it for anyway?
  167. 00:12:10.820 – 00:12:11.380 so
  168. 00:12:11.380 – 00:12:16.160 I'm very intentional of what I get a part of opportunities that I take
  169. 00:12:20.160 – 00:12:21.280 very very
  170. 00:12:21.280 – 00:12:23.020 intentional like
  171. 00:12:23.020 – 00:12:28.960 You know, I do a lot of events. I don't do many birthday parties like at all
  172. 00:12:28.960 – 00:12:34.140 Because that's just not my lane, but if you give me a conference a workshop a networking event
  173. 00:12:35.260 – 00:12:37.940 video production a podcast that actually
  174. 00:12:38.780 – 00:12:42.580 brings value to not only my life my world
  175. 00:12:42.580 – 00:12:45.180 But the world and community
  176. 00:12:47.030 – 00:12:53.370 Our communities that I'm a part of at least that I feel like that are positive and nourishing and that are needed
  177. 00:12:53.370 – 00:12:59.630 Now there were some podcasts. I had to decline to do, you know behind the scenes and production for
  178. 00:13:00.390 – 00:13:03.690 But I helped them get set up and I didn't leave them in the cold
  179. 00:13:03.690 – 00:13:10.170 I didn't leave them in the rain. I did give them proper resources and guidance that you know, hope they use
  180. 00:13:13.750 – 00:13:15.250 There's always things
  181. 00:13:16.010 – 00:13:17.730 That's needed to be done
  182. 00:13:17.730 – 00:13:20.270 Needed to be said needed to be felt
  183. 00:13:20.970 – 00:13:23.150 when we go through all these emotions as
  184. 00:13:24.510 – 00:13:28.270 An entrepreneur as a creative as artists as a creative entrepreneur
  185. 00:13:29.630 – 00:13:30.790 as a business owner
  186. 00:13:31.730 – 00:13:33.470 as a father as a
  187. 00:13:34.690 – 00:13:36.590 Husband as a wife
  188. 00:13:36.590 – 00:13:39.660 even boyfriend girlfriend a couple
  189. 00:13:41.780 – 00:13:43.720 friendships even
  190. 00:13:43.720 – 00:13:48.080 business partners, but
  191. 00:13:48.860 – 00:13:50.940 Always say
  192. 00:13:51.680 – 00:13:57.130 Don't react all free emotion and always find that common ground
  193. 00:13:58.280 – 00:14:06.730 Of communicating our way to communicate and those both go hand and
  194. 00:14:08.170 – 00:14:10.340 But it starts with
  195. 00:14:12.350 – 00:14:13.830 Having that
  196. 00:14:13.830 – 00:14:18.630 Emotional balance being as sane
  197. 00:14:20.020 – 00:14:20.760 Calm
  198. 00:14:20.760 – 00:14:27.180 As you would be always and be grateful and be happy. I don't want to forget those got to be grateful
  199. 00:14:27.180 – 00:14:37.070 We've got to be happy got to stay in the gratitude vibration the positive vibrations
  200. 00:14:37.690 – 00:14:38.990 even speak
  201. 00:14:38.990 – 00:14:40.170 positive
  202. 00:14:40.770 – 00:14:41.350 vibrations
  203. 00:14:42.710 – 00:14:47.010 Which are positive words words are vibrations music is vibrational
  204. 00:14:48.550 – 00:14:55.750 So think about the vibrations you are putting in your life putting in the world and as I'm
  205. 00:14:55.750 – 00:14:59.990 Recording this taking time for myself before I had to pick my daughter up for school
  206. 00:15:01.370 – 00:15:06.370 And then get something to eat and head to this event that I'm filming this evening
  207. 00:15:07.510 – 00:15:10.150 You know, I look at this as time to myself and
  208. 00:15:11.190 – 00:15:12.510 time to reflect
  209. 00:15:12.950 – 00:15:14.350 like a verbal journal
  210. 00:15:14.890 – 00:15:16.850 So you hear my thoughts
  211. 00:15:16.850 – 00:15:18.430 in my journey
  212. 00:15:19.150 – 00:15:21.510 You're my encouragement to you
  213. 00:15:22.870 – 00:15:31.260 Listen, yes taking this in it's like medicine to the ears medicine to the brain there medicine to the soul
  214. 00:15:33.750 – 00:15:34.390 It's fruitful
  215. 00:15:34.390 – 00:15:35.750 It's encouraging
  216. 00:15:36.530 – 00:15:38.410 And even speaking about fruitful
  217. 00:15:39.230 – 00:15:45.390 Just being more conscious and aware of what I eat, especially as we come off these holidays
  218. 00:15:45.990 – 00:15:48.090 You know, you know these holiday meals
  219. 00:15:50.270 – 00:15:51.470 Stuffed plates
  220. 00:15:51.470 – 00:15:57.740 that we conscious of what we constantly eat and
  221. 00:15:57.740 – 00:16:04.780 Just be more alive because whatever you eat you are what you eat is gonna make you feel a certain way
  222. 00:16:04.780 – 00:16:11.040 so just drink more water, especially in these times these holiday meals these stuffed plates and
  223. 00:16:11.740 – 00:16:12.340 And
  224. 00:16:12.340 – 00:16:15.940 Definitely get your fruit be more fruitful
  225. 00:16:16.580 – 00:16:22.760 And eat more foods that are electrifying that gives you energy make you feel good make you move just right
  226. 00:16:24.650 – 00:16:32.490 This can't stay calm with the rage and the blood that be all in these meats from you know slaughtered animals
  227. 00:16:32.490 – 00:16:40.460 so there's some things to think about but it's a lot of things I want to discuss, but
  228. 00:16:41.340 – 00:16:43.460 gave myself a
  229. 00:16:43.460 – 00:16:49.480 20-minute timer and I'm at that 20 minutes. I have to get ready for
  230. 00:16:49.480 – 00:16:53.120 This event get my daughter for school grab something to eat and
  231. 00:16:54.100 – 00:16:57.780 Yeah, and at this event slightly early so I could prepare
  232. 00:16:58.980 – 00:17:01.160 But um, it's always been a blessing
  233. 00:17:01.980 – 00:17:04.060 It's been great kind of
  234. 00:17:04.060 – 00:17:06.819 Getting this off my heart as it was on my heart the last few days
  235. 00:17:06.819 – 00:17:12.380 Especially, you know while being at work and you know catching up on different projects and really not having the time to sit down
  236. 00:17:13.460 – 00:17:17.460 As I would want to just being tired, but I'm like, you know, I'm tired anyway
  237. 00:17:17.460 – 00:17:24.980 so I think this would be a great way to kind of express myself and how I feel in these moments in this season and
  238. 00:17:26.420 – 00:17:31.320 You know things are seasonal so don't take it to heart always but I
  239. 00:17:31.320 – 00:17:33.220 Appreciate you always tuning in and listening
  240. 00:17:33.800 – 00:17:36.160 They'll catch up on the episodes if you're missing some
  241. 00:17:37.060 – 00:17:40.720 It's a lot of gold in these episodes Bailey Niles photos industry talk
  242. 00:17:41.380 – 00:17:44.070 And you know, I'd be listening back myself like wow
  243. 00:17:44.980 – 00:17:51.070 Said that that's amazing. I mean, you know really taking it in reflecting on it and meditating like wow
  244. 00:17:53.060 – 00:17:55.640 You know giving myself that encouraged me
  245. 00:17:56.340 – 00:18:01.120 And I hope you are, you know taking it in the same and getting value from this
  246. 00:18:01.120 – 00:18:04.110 And also that motivation encouragement that you need
  247. 00:18:05.480 – 00:18:10.810 Appreciate everyone that trust me being a guy and want me to coach them
  248. 00:18:11.470 – 00:18:12.750 mentor them
  249. 00:18:12.750 – 00:18:17.230 partner with them all that good stuff a
  250. 00:18:17.230 – 00:18:22.050 Lot of people reach out to me on the unknown for different events
  251. 00:18:22.050 – 00:18:29.350 So if you want to book me for an event photography session, that's your event or have video coverage
  252. 00:18:30.270 – 00:18:33.430 visit alien eyes photos
  253. 00:18:34.070 – 00:18:37.010 Dot-com that's alien eyes with a Z
  254. 00:18:37.510 – 00:18:39.790 photos with an S
  255. 00:18:39.790 – 00:18:47.130 Alien eyes photos dot-com you can follow me over at alien eyes photos on all social media at
  256. 00:18:47.130 – 00:18:49.470 alien eyes photos
  257. 00:18:51.230 – 00:18:58.210 Look out for the social media sabbatical my 10-day social media fast
  258. 00:18:58.210 – 00:18:59.590 Yes
  259. 00:18:59.590 – 00:19:04.630 I'm not sure the official title of the e-book that is coming out
  260. 00:19:06.410 – 00:19:13.510 But it's based off my 10-day fast I promised I was going to turn it into a book I decided to
  261. 00:19:13.510 – 00:19:19.510 You know take a heart on that and just release it for my birthday March 26
  262. 00:19:21.470 – 00:19:23.910 2026 so look out in March
  263. 00:19:24.770 – 00:19:28.130 for the 10-day sabbatical as
  264. 00:19:28.130 – 00:19:29.810 You know check out that whole series
  265. 00:19:29.810 – 00:19:34.270 They want to 11 so I did like 10 and a half to 11 days
  266. 00:19:34.970 – 00:19:41.450 So the 11 day I just did as a recap of all the 10 days of my 10-day sabbatical off social media
  267. 00:19:41.450 – 00:19:43.550 You know, it's a fast from social media
  268. 00:19:44.690 – 00:19:49.990 It was you just gotta check out the episodes and I gave some great, you know
  269. 00:19:50.550 – 00:19:54.390 Nuggets as you can hold on to take in and use for yourself
  270. 00:19:55.090 – 00:19:59.980 But again, this is photographer Jackson Steve Jackson of alien eyes photo yo
  271. 00:20:00.770 – 00:20:06.160 podiums ha ha photos media bring you alien eyes photos industry talk
  272. 00:20:08.990 – 00:20:13.010 Parts let me get some water get out of here. I appreciate y'all. Peace

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12. Honoring MC Chill at Cleveland History Center AAHCC 2026

Season 1 · Episode 51

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  1. 00:00:01.200 – 00:00:04.280 Hey, welcome, welcome, welcome.
  2. 00:00:04.680 – 00:00:07.480 This is photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
  3. 00:00:07.480 – 00:00:09.800 of Alienize Photos Media.
  4. 00:00:10.340 – 00:00:13.160 And this is Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  5. 00:00:13.820 – 00:00:17.860 And this is a special African-American heritage
  6. 00:00:17.860 – 00:00:22.120 and cultural celebration episode,
  7. 00:00:22.340 – 00:00:25.120 the AAHCCAAHCC.
  8. 00:00:27.260 – 00:00:28.080 AAHCC.
  9. 00:00:29.880 – 00:00:34.320 And today we were at the Cleveland History Center.
  10. 00:00:34.920 – 00:00:38.120 Now I'm hip to the Cleveland History Museum,
  11. 00:00:38.480 – 00:00:43.420 but I've never been to the Cleveland History Center.
  12. 00:00:44.420 – 00:00:48.280 OMG, definitely somewhere to check out
  13. 00:00:49.140 – 00:00:51.400 if you're in the city of Cleveland,
  14. 00:00:52.360 – 00:00:54.320 if you just love history.
  15. 00:00:54.580 – 00:00:57.840 The Cleveland History Center is where it's at.
  16. 00:00:58.820 – 00:01:03.700 But on today, August 22nd, 2026,
  17. 00:01:05.379 – 00:01:11.080 we honor the legacy, the 40 year anniversary
  18. 00:01:11.460 – 00:01:17.640 as we celebrate Mr. MC Chill, legendary MC Chill
  19. 00:01:19.180 – 00:01:22.360 at the African-American Heritage
  20. 00:01:22.360 – 00:01:27.640 and Culture Celebration, along many other activities
  21. 00:01:27.640 – 00:01:30.520 as I reconnected with some fellow poets
  22. 00:01:30.520 – 00:01:34.200 that I used to do poetry with during that time.
  23. 00:01:34.340 – 00:01:36.740 And they had a pop-up poetry slam,
  24. 00:01:37.820 – 00:01:40.940 even my old producer, like man,
  25. 00:01:40.960 – 00:01:43.240 shout out to E-Rock and Young Thomas,
  26. 00:01:43.540 – 00:01:45.360 Jewel Justice, Quiet Kid.
  27. 00:01:46.080 – 00:01:47.900 Like they all did, they themed,
  28. 00:01:48.140 – 00:01:50.780 people who I've shared the stage with,
  29. 00:01:50.780 – 00:01:52.760 been in different shows with,
  30. 00:01:53.920 – 00:01:56.920 back when I used to be on the mic and do poetry
  31. 00:01:56.920 – 00:02:01.860 and just hearing their words saying that I inspired them
  32. 00:02:02.700 – 00:02:04.760 when, you know, it's a big circle.
  33. 00:02:05.060 – 00:02:06.140 We inspire each other.
  34. 00:02:06.580 – 00:02:08.940 I inspire you, you inspire me.
  35. 00:02:09.919 – 00:02:12.240 But just to hear some of those, you know,
  36. 00:02:12.440 – 00:02:13.740 stories about inspiration,
  37. 00:02:13.840 – 00:02:16.760 how I inspired them back in the day
  38. 00:02:16.760 – 00:02:21.000 with some of my words and performance, which is amazing.
  39. 00:02:22.900 – 00:02:29.720 But today we honor Mr. MC Chill,
  40. 00:02:32.080 – 00:02:34.940 the 40 year anniversary of MC Chill
  41. 00:02:34.940 – 00:02:39.900 becoming Cleveland's first national rap recording artist
  42. 00:02:40.440 – 00:02:45.400 and is also the first non-New York solo rap act
  43. 00:02:45.400 – 00:02:47.480 to chart nationally.
  44. 00:02:48.260 – 00:02:49.920 Won the billboards.
  45. 00:02:51.320 – 00:02:52.200 Isn't that amazing?
  46. 00:02:52.240 – 00:02:55.720 Right here in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. MC Chill,
  47. 00:02:57.000 – 00:03:03.760 first of many, straight out of Kent State University,
  48. 00:03:05.680 – 00:03:07.500 but born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio,
  49. 00:03:07.820 – 00:03:12.780 representing Cleveland and so much history.
  50. 00:03:13.320 – 00:03:18.920 And we had, also had Carlos Jones in the Plus band,
  51. 00:03:19.060 – 00:03:23.520 The Lord Jazz, Mix Master Ice, Rick Robinson,
  52. 00:03:24.600 – 00:03:26.740 Vince Robinson also.
  53. 00:03:27.580 – 00:03:29.380 Man, so many legendary.
  54. 00:03:29.420 – 00:03:30.940 I even ran into, you know,
  55. 00:03:31.000 – 00:03:34.100 one of my idols, DJ Code Cheese.
  56. 00:03:34.900 – 00:03:36.480 Shout out to DJ Code Cheese,
  57. 00:03:36.540 – 00:03:41.020 who I had to formally introduce myself as, you know,
  58. 00:03:41.020 – 00:03:44.200 we've been exchanging messages here and there
  59. 00:03:44.200 – 00:03:45.880 for the past year.
  60. 00:03:45.880 – 00:03:47.620 I wanted him on my podcast.
  61. 00:03:47.960 – 00:03:50.520 He's on my list to be on my podcast.
  62. 00:03:50.580 – 00:03:54.500 And I reached out to him last year when I was in Atlanta
  63. 00:03:54.500 – 00:03:56.460 because he moved from Cleveland to Atlanta.
  64. 00:03:58.680 – 00:04:00.300 And it didn't happen.
  65. 00:04:00.420 – 00:04:03.540 It didn't go through, but I did not get discouraged.
  66. 00:04:04.800 – 00:04:09.580 And I just knew he'd be at this legendary event
  67. 00:04:10.100 – 00:04:12.420 honoring Mr. MC Chill,
  68. 00:04:14.340 – 00:04:18.339 because he was actually the first DJ to bring MC Chill out,
  69. 00:04:18.720 – 00:04:20.339 which is wild and crazy.
  70. 00:04:20.380 – 00:04:23.580 So much history in Cleveland,
  71. 00:04:23.660 – 00:04:26.700 but so much history with those two alone,
  72. 00:04:27.100 – 00:04:30.240 MC Chill and DJ Code Cheese.
  73. 00:04:31.280 – 00:04:36.840 And I've been blessed to hear DJ Code Cheese
  74. 00:04:36.840 – 00:04:38.380 grace the mic.
  75. 00:04:39.380 – 00:04:42.340 Like that was before my time when, you know,
  76. 00:04:42.680 – 00:04:47.900 Freeze, D Frost, when he was an artist.
  77. 00:04:49.140 – 00:04:53.080 But I knew him when I was a little kid growing up
  78. 00:04:53.080 – 00:04:56.720 listening to the radio, like 107.9,
  79. 00:04:57.060 – 00:04:58.480 hearing them scream his name.
  80. 00:04:58.660 – 00:05:00.720 Yeah, DJ Code Cheese, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah.
  81. 00:05:01.040 – 00:05:04.500 Like, man, they're playing some good music.
  82. 00:05:05.260 – 00:05:07.800 Shout out to DJ Code Cheese.
  83. 00:05:09.400 – 00:05:12.660 But, you know, we took a couple pictures, did a video.
  84. 00:05:13.420 – 00:05:17.300 He said, yeah, let's reschedule this and make it happen.
  85. 00:05:18.380 – 00:05:22.460 So look out for that DJ Code Cheese episode.
  86. 00:05:23.380 – 00:05:25.560 Probably happening next year when I'm in Atlanta.
  87. 00:05:26.840 – 00:05:28.880 So stay tuned for that.
  88. 00:05:29.740 – 00:05:30.840 And I'm just honored.
  89. 00:05:32.280 – 00:05:34.080 There's so many, so many vendors.
  90. 00:05:34.080 – 00:05:38.580 I did not get a chance to support today
  91. 00:05:38.580 – 00:05:41.180 or go around like I usually do.
  92. 00:05:41.360 – 00:05:42.340 I'm sorry.
  93. 00:05:43.340 – 00:05:48.440 I was running late, had a third shift
  94. 00:05:48.440 – 00:05:51.600 and working off a couple hours of rest,
  95. 00:05:52.580 – 00:05:53.940 but wanting to show up.
  96. 00:05:54.100 – 00:05:57.840 Definitely wanted to support and honor and celebrate
  97. 00:05:57.840 – 00:06:01.620 their legacy as so many hip hop pioneers,
  98. 00:06:02.380 – 00:06:05.500 people in Cleveland, the whole music scene,
  99. 00:06:06.340 – 00:06:09.140 especially in the hip hop music scene here in Cleveland.
  100. 00:06:10.260 – 00:06:12.080 I had to show up and support.
  101. 00:06:13.660 – 00:06:15.700 And shout out to my fellow poets,
  102. 00:06:16.400 – 00:06:18.060 still doing their thing.
  103. 00:06:21.310 – 00:06:24.550 But yeah, that's why I didn't get the chance to support
  104. 00:06:24.550 – 00:06:27.230 or check out any of the food vendors
  105. 00:06:27.230 – 00:06:28.790 or anything like that.
  106. 00:06:29.150 – 00:06:31.090 I was locked in.
  107. 00:06:31.090 – 00:06:34.670 Supporting, supporting, supporting, supporting my people,
  108. 00:06:35.450 – 00:06:37.770 people who I've looked up to growing up,
  109. 00:06:38.190 – 00:06:41.190 people who I've looked up to during my career.
  110. 00:06:42.550 – 00:06:44.850 So I made that priority.
  111. 00:06:45.530 – 00:06:47.290 I didn't even eat.
  112. 00:06:49.030 – 00:06:51.930 As you can see, I didn't support any of the vendors,
  113. 00:06:52.550 – 00:06:53.890 which is unlike me,
  114. 00:06:53.890 – 00:06:58.610 but I did purchase a few items and T-shirts
  115. 00:06:58.610 – 00:07:02.830 from people who were selling them, just walking around.
  116. 00:07:03.390 – 00:07:08.370 So I made sure I did that at least.
  117. 00:07:09.550 – 00:07:14.170 I got to support some way somehow, and I did that.
  118. 00:07:14.990 – 00:07:16.690 Because support goes a long way.
  119. 00:07:17.710 – 00:07:19.710 And shout out to Jay Glover.
  120. 00:07:21.150 – 00:07:24.880 Man, trying to think of,
  121. 00:07:25.060 – 00:07:28.180 is it 216 in Atlanta?
  122. 00:07:30.440 – 00:07:32.200 Laterland, 216 in Atlanta,
  123. 00:07:32.200 – 00:07:35.660 I think it's called, docu-series.
  124. 00:07:39.210 – 00:07:42.310 Documenting a lot of the early pioneers,
  125. 00:07:42.610 – 00:07:45.210 like MC Chill, DJ Cochise.
  126. 00:07:45.810 – 00:07:49.270 So many, so many others, just go check it out.
  127. 00:07:50.250 – 00:07:53.210 I'm actually opening up the shirt right now,
  128. 00:07:54.330 – 00:07:56.830 so I make sure I got the right.
  129. 00:07:58.690 – 00:08:01.390 216, Legends of the Land.
  130. 00:08:02.190 – 00:08:06.030 Yes, L-O-T-L.
  131. 00:08:07.570 – 00:08:12.130 Laterland, also known as Legends of the Land.
  132. 00:08:13.390 – 00:08:18.850 216, Legends of the Land, docu-series by Jay Glover.
  133. 00:08:18.970 – 00:08:21.650 Shout out to Jay Glover for doing this thing.
  134. 00:08:23.440 – 00:08:24.500 Cause the docu-men.
  135. 00:08:26.720 – 00:08:31.100 It's crazy, I'm in my car, and he just walked past.
  136. 00:08:32.580 – 00:08:35.159 That's so ironic, that's the universe.
  137. 00:08:36.880 – 00:08:39.320 But yeah, this is a day of celebration.
  138. 00:08:39.500 – 00:08:44.320 And shout out to the official MC Chill Day,
  139. 00:08:44.340 – 00:08:48.080 August 21st, and as we celebrate today,
  140. 00:08:48.340 – 00:08:52.800 August 22nd, 2026, 40 years.
  141. 00:08:52.800 – 00:08:54.500 Yes, that's amazing.
  142. 00:08:55.380 – 00:08:58.180 And going back to my previous episode
  143. 00:08:58.180 – 00:09:01.680 about me producing, hosting,
  144. 00:09:02.360 – 00:09:08.440 and recording collectively, 10,000 podcast episodes.
  145. 00:09:10.000 – 00:09:11.820 And when I think about 40 years,
  146. 00:09:11.880 – 00:09:14.280 I think about that too, just that legacy,
  147. 00:09:14.480 – 00:09:16.360 that history, that pioneer,
  148. 00:09:17.480 – 00:09:20.480 that consistency, that showing up,
  149. 00:09:20.480 – 00:09:25.580 staying in the game, showing up being part of the game,
  150. 00:09:26.240 – 00:09:29.300 and bringing others with you, cause it's important.
  151. 00:09:31.680 – 00:09:33.560 But yeah, shout out to the whole
  152. 00:09:38.040 – 00:09:42.960 AAHCC African American Heritage and Cultural Celebration
  153. 00:09:42.960 – 00:09:44.460 here in Cleveland, Ohio.
  154. 00:09:45.220 – 00:09:47.320 And for hosting the whole event,
  155. 00:09:47.700 – 00:09:51.120 shout out to the Cleveland History Museum,
  156. 00:09:52.700 – 00:09:54.940 CHC, my first time there.
  157. 00:09:55.280 – 00:09:58.400 They even had a Ring Around the Rosie carousel,
  158. 00:09:58.480 – 00:10:01.140 the horsey carousel,
  159. 00:10:01.160 – 00:10:04.040 I'm gonna have to bring my daughter back on a day,
  160. 00:10:04.340 – 00:10:10.380 on a regular day, and just explore the whole building.
  161. 00:10:11.180 – 00:10:13.260 Because I didn't get a chance to,
  162. 00:10:13.400 – 00:10:16.780 I said I was gonna be back, and that is a must.
  163. 00:10:17.040 – 00:10:19.440 I checked out some old cars.
  164. 00:10:20.140 – 00:10:24.000 And man, I'm just blown away about the history,
  165. 00:10:25.100 – 00:10:26.940 the airplane, like just the,
  166. 00:10:28.320 – 00:10:30.460 sometimes I take history for granted,
  167. 00:10:30.480 – 00:10:33.680 and I know I did in school because it was so boring to me,
  168. 00:10:33.680 – 00:10:35.080 and I didn't like it.
  169. 00:10:35.400 – 00:10:39.080 One of my worst subjects as far as like test grades go,
  170. 00:10:40.600 – 00:10:44.340 but I still did good, I still put in that effort.
  171. 00:10:44.540 – 00:10:47.920 And even to this day, I'm still researching,
  172. 00:10:47.920 – 00:10:51.020 and I'm still learning about my history,
  173. 00:10:51.220 – 00:10:55.220 learning about history, especially American history,
  174. 00:10:56.080 – 00:10:57.200 because it's important.
  175. 00:10:57.320 – 00:10:59.060 But the history of your city,
  176. 00:11:00.260 – 00:11:02.040 the history of the people in your city,
  177. 00:11:02.480 – 00:11:05.980 the people who came before you, it's important.
  178. 00:11:07.840 – 00:11:12.480 And the business lesson that I wanna leave today,
  179. 00:11:12.760 – 00:11:14.600 and take away from today is
  180. 00:11:16.120 – 00:11:18.780 always support and show up,
  181. 00:11:18.820 – 00:11:23.400 especially for the people who show up and support you.
  182. 00:11:25.440 – 00:11:26.700 Reciprocate it.
  183. 00:11:27.060 – 00:11:30.040 Reciprocate that support, keep showing up,
  184. 00:11:30.180 – 00:11:31.900 keep clapping, keep celebrating.
  185. 00:11:33.000 – 00:11:36.720 I don't care if it's your first episode, celebrate,
  186. 00:11:37.080 – 00:11:39.280 or your hundredth episode, celebrate,
  187. 00:11:39.580 – 00:11:42.340 or your thousandth episode, celebrate.
  188. 00:11:42.940 – 00:11:45.480 You clap it up, you clap it up, you clap it up.
  189. 00:11:45.480 – 00:11:48.840 I don't care if it's your first day in business, celebrate.
  190. 00:11:49.460 – 00:11:53.180 I don't care if it's your third year in business, celebrate.
  191. 00:11:53.640 – 00:11:56.400 I don't care if it's your 20th year in business,
  192. 00:11:56.800 – 00:11:59.580 clap it up and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate.
  193. 00:12:00.520 – 00:12:01.760 And when you're celebrating,
  194. 00:12:03.600 – 00:12:05.560 make sure you got people around you
  195. 00:12:05.560 – 00:12:08.940 who truly support you and really wanna see you win,
  196. 00:12:09.280 – 00:12:10.740 who really wanna see you grow
  197. 00:12:10.740 – 00:12:12.480 and take it to the next level,
  198. 00:12:12.480 – 00:12:14.900 because it's all about the elevation.
  199. 00:12:15.980 – 00:12:19.460 You gotta elevate and be part of that evolution.
  200. 00:12:20.460 – 00:12:22.220 It's monumental, it's powerful.
  201. 00:12:22.460 – 00:12:23.920 Grow, grow, grow.
  202. 00:12:25.060 – 00:12:29.480 Be supportive, get support, get love, give love.
  203. 00:12:31.610 – 00:12:34.150 Keep it in your reciprocation, keep it in the loop.
  204. 00:12:34.530 – 00:12:36.850 Keep, keep it, keep it, keep it.
  205. 00:12:36.850 – 00:12:37.750 It's important.
  206. 00:12:38.710 – 00:12:43.630 And I'm seeing that people who've been together
  207. 00:12:43.630 – 00:12:49.610 40, 50, 60 plus years and still rocking together,
  208. 00:12:49.810 – 00:12:52.470 still rocking out and supporting and showing up,
  209. 00:12:53.350 – 00:12:54.230 it is amazing.
  210. 00:12:55.270 – 00:12:58.590 So check your support system, build your support system,
  211. 00:12:58.670 – 00:12:59.750 grow your support system,
  212. 00:13:00.030 – 00:13:01.570 be there for your support system.
  213. 00:13:02.090 – 00:13:04.750 Make sure your support system is always there for you
  214. 00:13:04.750 – 00:13:06.630 when you need them the most,
  215. 00:13:07.050 – 00:13:10.110 especially through tough and trying times,
  216. 00:13:10.110 – 00:13:13.050 whether that's your personal life or your business,
  217. 00:13:14.150 – 00:13:17.050 or you just need an air just to get advice,
  218. 00:13:18.430 – 00:13:20.750 get the right support system around you
  219. 00:13:21.270 – 00:13:24.750 and support the people who really support you
  220. 00:13:24.750 – 00:13:28.210 and that you really wanna support and be there for.
  221. 00:13:29.250 – 00:13:31.950 It's two different ones, but it all coincide.
  222. 00:13:33.070 – 00:13:35.130 Just support, it's the biggest thing.
  223. 00:13:35.990 – 00:13:42.150 But again, I wanna celebrate and continue celebrating
  224. 00:13:42.150 – 00:13:46.470 and honoring MC Chill and all the pioneers
  225. 00:13:46.470 – 00:13:48.870 and legends that showed up for him today.
  226. 00:13:50.010 – 00:13:51.830 Congrats, Mr. MC Chill.
  227. 00:13:52.890 – 00:13:54.800 You did it, you did it, you did it 40 years
  228. 00:13:55.230 – 00:13:56.110 and counting.
  229. 00:13:56.990 – 00:14:01.870 Cleveland history, I'm proud of you and you're a great MC.
  230. 00:14:02.950 – 00:14:05.770 And shout out to everybody that I named earlier
  231. 00:14:05.770 – 00:14:12.570 in this episode, Vince Robinson, DJ Cochise,
  232. 00:14:12.910 – 00:14:15.590 my brother, E Rock Beats, my brother,
  233. 00:14:15.590 – 00:14:19.370 brother Pat, Jewel of Justice.
  234. 00:14:20.790 – 00:14:23.510 We have Quiet Kid, Young Thomas,
  235. 00:14:24.730 – 00:14:27.510 and all the other individuals
  236. 00:14:27.510 – 00:14:30.690 that I just met earlier today.
  237. 00:14:31.130 – 00:14:33.910 Shout out to you, I support you.
  238. 00:14:34.090 – 00:14:36.250 I'm there for you, I love you, I care.
  239. 00:14:37.210 – 00:14:38.310 Let's grow together.
  240. 00:14:39.550 – 00:14:43.010 And with that, peace, love and blessings.
  241. 00:14:43.750 – 00:14:46.610 This is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  242. 00:14:46.610 – 00:14:48.830 of Alienize Photos Media.
  243. 00:14:50.130 – 00:14:52.330 Again, bringing you another episode
  244. 00:14:52.330 – 00:14:54.810 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  245. 00:14:55.570 – 00:15:00.770 as we celebrate MC Chill.
  246. 00:15:04.510 – 00:15:05.590 Freeze, defrost.
  247. 00:15:07.010 – 00:15:15.210 Shout out to my new homie, DJ Cochise.
  248. 00:15:16.230 – 00:15:18.010 And yeah, I'm excited for this episode
  249. 00:15:18.010 – 00:15:20.350 even more than I was last year
  250. 00:15:21.210 – 00:15:24.150 as it gets closer and closer to that time,
  251. 00:15:24.150 – 00:15:24.970 to that moment.
  252. 00:15:25.670 – 00:15:28.810 Never give up on your dream, never give up on a goal.
  253. 00:15:29.630 – 00:15:32.370 It was one of my goals and I never gave up.
  254. 00:15:32.470 – 00:15:33.530 I never lost sight.
  255. 00:15:34.190 – 00:15:35.430 And I saw him, I'm like,
  256. 00:15:35.590 – 00:15:40.090 I gotta reach out and say what's up and tell him.
  257. 00:15:40.350 – 00:15:42.150 Like, I know we didn't make it happen,
  258. 00:15:42.950 – 00:15:45.210 but hey, I appreciate you all.
  259. 00:15:45.450 – 00:15:47.150 You do, how you doing?
  260. 00:15:47.870 – 00:15:51.390 Hey, I appreciate, he was just about to perform
  261. 00:15:51.390 – 00:15:52.450 and I didn't even know.
  262. 00:15:52.450 – 00:15:55.910 So, you know, we interacted right before he got on stage
  263. 00:15:55.910 – 00:15:57.430 was even more amazing.
  264. 00:15:58.010 – 00:16:01.210 I captured some good footage and photos of him.
  265. 00:16:01.210 – 00:16:03.410 Man, shout out to DJ Cochise, man.
  266. 00:16:03.450 – 00:16:06.030 You've been around for a while and doing your thing.
  267. 00:16:06.110 – 00:16:08.130 You're a real pioneer as well.
  268. 00:16:08.750 – 00:16:10.570 But yeah, let's continue the celebration
  269. 00:16:10.570 – 00:16:12.750 and honoring the people in our lives,
  270. 00:16:13.190 – 00:16:15.790 whether they're distant or super close.
  271. 00:16:16.490 – 00:16:19.850 Support, support, support, honor, honor, honor,
  272. 00:16:20.350 – 00:16:21.690 all that good stuff.
  273. 00:16:22.470 – 00:16:25.270 But if you wanna follow me,
  274. 00:16:25.430 – 00:16:28.990 follow me at Alien Eyes Photos
  275. 00:16:28.990 – 00:16:34.390 and check out my website, alieneyesphotos.com
  276. 00:16:34.390 – 00:16:37.770 if you wanna book me or for more information.
  277. 00:16:39.030 – 00:16:41.670 All right, continue that celebration, y'all.
  278. 00:16:41.910 – 00:16:43.250 Peace, peace, peace.

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13. How to Produce 10,000 Podcasts Episodes & Master Your Creative Craft

Season 1 · Episode 50

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:02.510 – 00:00:08.350 I have an ambitious goal to host, produce,
  2. 00:00:09.250 – 00:00:16.910 record 10,000 podcasts in my lifetime.
  3. 00:00:18.310 – 00:00:23.050 You know, they say 10,000 hours you become a pro,
  4. 00:00:25.660 – 00:00:33.960 an expert, professional, a master after 10,000 hours.
  5. 00:00:33.960 – 00:00:41.140 So after 10,000 produced shows or 10,000 shows,
  6. 00:00:42.660 – 00:00:48.940 I've hosted, recorded, filmed,
  7. 00:00:53.110 – 00:00:56.650 but a collective of all my network,
  8. 00:00:57.810 – 00:01:00.130 the podcasts that I produce for,
  9. 00:01:00.750 – 00:01:03.470 all my solo episodes, all my interviews,
  10. 00:01:06.760 – 00:01:12.220 but do I create and count the strategy sessions?
  11. 00:01:13.400 – 00:01:20.980 Like that's ours, because a lot of them,
  12. 00:01:22.400 – 00:01:25.340 you know, they thrive on just the sessions
  13. 00:01:26.300 – 00:01:29.480 without me, you know, producing or recording,
  14. 00:01:30.500 – 00:01:37.860 no production, but just words and wisdom and guidance.
  15. 00:01:39.200 – 00:01:42.260 Do that count towards the 10,000?
  16. 00:01:43.240 – 00:01:47.020 Cause if that's the case, I might be closer than I think,
  17. 00:01:48.010 – 00:01:50.540 but I have this ambitious goal
  18. 00:01:51.840 – 00:01:57.710 to collectively produce, host, record,
  19. 00:01:58.660 – 00:02:07.840 do production for collective 10,000 podcast episodes.
  20. 00:02:11.920 – 00:02:16.190 And I know it's possible.
  21. 00:02:20.730 – 00:02:24.890 And it almost, it almost chokes me up
  22. 00:02:24.890 – 00:02:29.810 because it's like, when you get to that 10,000,
  23. 00:02:31.690 – 00:02:32.250 then what?
  24. 00:02:36.210 – 00:02:39.110 You are a master, you've been a master,
  25. 00:02:41.530 – 00:02:45.810 but to have that trust, to have that dedication,
  26. 00:02:46.050 – 00:02:51.640 to have that consistency, that's a whole nother level.
  27. 00:02:55.000 – 00:03:04.300 That's the legendary, longevity, purpose.
  28. 00:03:05.200 – 00:03:07.080 Always go back to that purpose
  29. 00:03:07.080 – 00:03:08.760 and your values and your beliefs.
  30. 00:03:11.050 – 00:03:12.610 Why are you doing this?
  31. 00:03:13.650 – 00:03:16.310 Before you start anything, always ask yourself,
  32. 00:03:16.410 – 00:03:17.710 why am I doing this?
  33. 00:03:18.510 – 00:03:20.150 What do I wanna get out of it?
  34. 00:03:20.450 – 00:03:22.130 What do I wanna learn from this?
  35. 00:03:22.670 – 00:03:23.910 How do I wanna grow?
  36. 00:03:24.810 – 00:03:26.650 How do I wanna grow from this?
  37. 00:03:27.590 – 00:03:29.910 I cannot evolve because of this.
  38. 00:03:31.430 – 00:03:34.190 What information do I need to learn from this?
  39. 00:03:37.070 – 00:03:37.990 You need to grow.
  40. 00:03:38.970 – 00:03:40.390 And that's what I learned
  41. 00:03:41.850 – 00:03:46.530 after all the podcast episodes, all the talks,
  42. 00:03:47.630 – 00:03:51.810 even the before and after the podcast cuts off,
  43. 00:03:52.310 – 00:03:53.290 it's done.
  44. 00:03:55.880 – 00:04:01.200 It's always these gems, these motivations,
  45. 00:04:01.740 – 00:04:04.820 this insight, this inspiration, that encouragement,
  46. 00:04:05.540 – 00:04:12.060 that emotion, authenticity, passion, care,
  47. 00:04:15.720 – 00:04:18.200 and just that same hunger to wanna evolve
  48. 00:04:18.200 – 00:04:19.740 and do better and elevate.
  49. 00:04:21.019 – 00:04:22.720 And that's why I love podcasts
  50. 00:04:22.720 – 00:04:25.000 because it's just that intimate conversation.
  51. 00:04:25.220 – 00:04:30.300 Let's just be transparent and real and build and grow.
  52. 00:04:31.740 – 00:04:34.080 I don't know, let me hear your story.
  53. 00:04:37.670 – 00:04:39.630 Maybe my story can help yours
  54. 00:04:41.860 – 00:04:48.990 and be yours can help mine in a thousand.
  55. 00:04:51.410 – 00:04:54.350 And just think of all of that,
  56. 00:04:56.980 – 00:05:03.600 that I will help moderate for other creative entrepreneurs
  57. 00:05:05.560 – 00:05:11.040 and we all just gain insight from each other
  58. 00:05:13.380 – 00:05:18.570 with no matter the industry, no matter the background,
  59. 00:05:20.520 – 00:05:24.900 no matter the skin color, we learn from each other.
  60. 00:05:26.970 – 00:05:34.010 And that's what Industry Talks is about, 10,000.
  61. 00:05:34.810 – 00:05:36.870 I'm hype, I'm motivated.
  62. 00:05:38.940 – 00:05:40.720 I might have to put this on a t-shirt,
  63. 00:05:40.780 – 00:05:42.740 write this all over some walls.
  64. 00:05:43.620 – 00:05:48.440 10,000 podcast episodes, host, produce, and recorded.
  65. 00:05:49.900 – 00:05:52.660 It's going down, I'm probably,
  66. 00:05:54.420 – 00:05:57.720 I might be a 10th of the way there
  67. 00:05:59.840 – 00:06:03.760 or a little under a 10th, maybe 11th of the way there.
  68. 00:06:05.540 – 00:06:11.580 So yeah, maybe in about, say a good 10, 10 years,
  69. 00:06:11.740 – 00:06:14.740 I could definitely accomplish this.
  70. 00:06:15.340 – 00:06:21.280 It's almost like you podcast a day or every other day.
  71. 00:06:22.320 – 00:06:24.440 So let's make it happen.
  72. 00:06:25.300 – 00:06:29.480 And what is your ambitious goal that you have in mind?
  73. 00:06:29.480 – 00:06:33.600 Like that big dream in your head
  74. 00:06:33.600 – 00:06:36.100 that you wanna put out into the universe
  75. 00:06:36.100 – 00:06:38.680 and make it happen and make it come into fruition
  76. 00:06:39.320 – 00:06:40.920 and let it all become true.
  77. 00:06:42.000 – 00:06:43.200 What is that big dream?
  78. 00:06:43.280 – 00:06:44.380 What is that big goal?
  79. 00:06:44.440 – 00:06:48.800 What is that big idea that you're holding onto
  80. 00:06:48.800 – 00:06:53.640 that you want to get out into this universe
  81. 00:06:53.640 – 00:06:57.460 and let it all exist with you and with others
  82. 00:06:57.940 – 00:07:01.640 and make the universe a better world to be in?
  83. 00:07:03.520 – 00:07:05.500 And I'm just speaking on Earth.
  84. 00:07:06.000 – 00:07:08.460 I know people know me as Alien,
  85. 00:07:09.120 – 00:07:12.540 Mr. Photographer Jackson, or Alien,
  86. 00:07:13.540 – 00:07:16.140 which is from my artist name, Alien, not Player.
  87. 00:07:17.220 – 00:07:19.740 My last track wasn't even music,
  88. 00:07:19.840 – 00:07:21.360 it was an affirmation track.
  89. 00:07:22.080 – 00:07:24.500 But I've done music and poetry
  90. 00:07:25.460 – 00:07:27.720 throughout middle school,
  91. 00:07:28.140 – 00:07:35.000 all the way up to my older years, my late 20s.
  92. 00:07:35.140 – 00:07:39.060 And then I started to focus on visual media,
  93. 00:07:39.360 – 00:07:42.520 photography, video, video production,
  94. 00:07:43.780 – 00:07:46.320 and just kept that audio element,
  95. 00:07:46.880 – 00:07:48.740 hence this audio podcast,
  96. 00:07:49.480 – 00:07:53.140 Alienize Photos Industry Talk podcast.
  97. 00:07:55.740 – 00:07:59.840 And I get fired up and it just bring me back
  98. 00:07:59.840 – 00:08:02.860 to my music days, just being in the studio
  99. 00:08:02.860 – 00:08:07.740 and just really recording and sharing my thoughts,
  100. 00:08:08.700 – 00:08:15.930 sharing my raw emotion, feelings, thoughts, experiences.
  101. 00:08:18.840 – 00:08:22.140 This really brings me back and just sharing my insight
  102. 00:08:22.840 – 00:08:25.720 and what I've learned throughout my journey
  103. 00:08:25.720 – 00:08:27.400 and what I'm learning, what I'm building,
  104. 00:08:27.400 – 00:08:31.060 and what I'm growing, and what I'm doing,
  105. 00:08:31.160 – 00:08:34.820 how I'm evolving, am I evolving.
  106. 00:08:36.659 – 00:08:41.080 And I'm glad for anybody that's on this journey with me,
  107. 00:08:42.320 – 00:08:47.400 just recording themselves in real time,
  108. 00:08:48.040 – 00:08:50.240 just taking that moment of reflection
  109. 00:08:51.440 – 00:08:54.880 and setting something like a goal or a plan
  110. 00:08:54.880 – 00:08:56.320 and put it into action.
  111. 00:08:57.720 – 00:08:59.200 And documented it.
  112. 00:09:00.440 – 00:09:04.320 And this is me documenting my ambitious goal
  113. 00:09:04.320 – 00:09:09.480 of 10,000 produced episodes, podcast episodes.
  114. 00:09:10.940 – 00:09:13.360 So I'm about to go make it happen.
  115. 00:09:14.560 – 00:09:17.400 Leave in the comments wherever you're listening
  116. 00:09:17.400 – 00:09:23.140 to this in or at, what is your ambitious goal?
  117. 00:09:24.140 – 00:09:28.240 What is your big idea, your big dream?
  118. 00:09:30.400 – 00:09:31.240 Let me know.
  119. 00:09:32.540 – 00:09:35.060 But if those who do not know me,
  120. 00:09:35.400 – 00:09:39.040 I am photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  121. 00:09:39.040 – 00:09:42.260 of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  122. 00:09:43.380 – 00:09:46.020 And I am bringing you another episode
  123. 00:09:46.020 – 00:09:49.580 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  124. 00:09:50.580 – 00:09:52.520 Thank you for tuning in.
  125. 00:09:52.880 – 00:09:58.080 You can find me on all social media at Alien Eyes Photos
  126. 00:09:58.620 – 00:10:01.560 and check out the website for more information
  127. 00:10:01.560 – 00:10:06.700 or to book me at alieneyesphotos.com.
  128. 00:10:08.420 – 00:10:10.040 All right, y'all, peace, love, and blessings.
  129. 00:10:10.300 – 00:10:10.600 Take care.

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14. How to Build A Creative Media Business from Scratch with Special Guest Sevenn Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 49

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.720 – 00:00:05.760 Welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:06.480 – 00:00:08.200 And I'm your host, Steve Jackson,
  3. 00:00:08.500 – 00:00:11.280 photographer Jackson of Alienize Photos Media,
  4. 00:00:11.980 – 00:00:15.220 also host of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  5. 00:00:15.700 – 00:00:17.380 But I have my daughter with me.
  6. 00:00:17.600 – 00:00:18.960 Introduce yourself, young lady.
  7. 00:00:19.440 – 00:00:22.300 Hi, my name is Seven Jackson
  8. 00:00:22.300 – 00:00:25.080 and I like to help my dad with photography
  9. 00:00:25.080 – 00:00:28.160 and I also like modeling.
  10. 00:00:28.720 – 00:00:29.660 Modeling, okay.
  11. 00:00:30.860 – 00:00:33.760 And where did you have some questions for me?
  12. 00:00:33.860 – 00:00:36.240 I see this big paper, this long list.
  13. 00:00:36.640 – 00:00:38.880 You wanted to ask me some questions about business?
  14. 00:00:39.360 – 00:00:39.780 Yeah.
  15. 00:00:40.180 – 00:00:41.000 Let's do it.
  16. 00:00:41.520 – 00:00:48.400 Okay, what is your favorite thing about your business?
  17. 00:00:49.220 – 00:00:51.240 My favorite thing about my business
  18. 00:00:51.240 – 00:00:52.900 is serving people,
  19. 00:00:53.080 – 00:00:54.960 knowing that I'm doing a great job
  20. 00:00:54.960 – 00:00:56.700 and helping their business grow.
  21. 00:00:56.740 – 00:00:57.840 When their business grow,
  22. 00:00:57.840 – 00:01:00.000 when my business grow,
  23. 00:01:00.380 – 00:01:02.960 we would reciprocate and help each other.
  24. 00:01:03.400 – 00:01:06.560 So when they're smiling and having a good time
  25. 00:01:06.560 – 00:01:07.700 and their business is growing,
  26. 00:01:07.800 – 00:01:09.080 they're making more money
  27. 00:01:09.080 – 00:01:10.860 and they're doing what they have to do,
  28. 00:01:11.240 – 00:01:12.960 I feel like my heart is fulfilled
  29. 00:01:12.960 – 00:01:14.800 by doing what I need to do.
  30. 00:01:15.560 – 00:01:18.320 Okay, how did you make your business?
  31. 00:01:19.400 – 00:01:22.000 Well, first you have to register your business
  32. 00:01:22.000 – 00:01:22.580 with the state.
  33. 00:01:22.600 – 00:01:23.920 So we're in the state of Ohio.
  34. 00:01:24.240 – 00:01:26.340 So I go to the second area of state,
  35. 00:01:26.340 – 00:01:28.020 you have to register your business.
  36. 00:01:28.440 – 00:01:31.800 And then there's other background things you have to do,
  37. 00:01:32.420 – 00:01:34.380 like open a business bank account,
  38. 00:01:34.920 – 00:01:37.820 make sure you have your agreements together.
  39. 00:01:38.120 – 00:01:40.360 So whether you're setting up as a LLC
  40. 00:01:40.360 – 00:01:43.320 or S Corp, C Corp as a corporation
  41. 00:01:43.900 – 00:01:45.120 or a partnership,
  42. 00:01:45.220 – 00:01:47.300 like if I go on a partnership with you,
  43. 00:01:47.500 – 00:01:48.480 that'd be a partnership.
  44. 00:01:48.680 – 00:01:50.060 But if you're doing it by yourself,
  45. 00:01:50.460 – 00:01:51.860 most people do a LLC,
  46. 00:01:52.040 – 00:01:54.200 which is what I started with
  47. 00:01:54.200 – 00:01:56.140 on both of my first businesses,
  48. 00:01:56.140 – 00:01:59.080 my publishing and then my media business.
  49. 00:01:59.680 – 00:02:01.180 So first you have to register,
  50. 00:02:01.900 – 00:02:03.000 open up your bank account
  51. 00:02:03.000 – 00:02:05.860 and then first you have to know what you're doing,
  52. 00:02:06.220 – 00:02:07.280 come up with a plan,
  53. 00:02:07.800 – 00:02:08.960 plan, plan, plan.
  54. 00:02:09.900 – 00:02:10.979 Yes, okay.
  55. 00:02:12.900 – 00:02:17.140 How much podcast episodes do you have?
  56. 00:02:17.480 – 00:02:19.140 How many podcast episodes I have?
  57. 00:02:19.240 – 00:02:22.920 I have right now, 81 episodes.
  58. 00:02:22.980 – 00:02:25.640 No, I released one last night.
  59. 00:02:25.640 – 00:02:28.600 So 82 episodes currently.
  60. 00:02:29.280 – 00:02:31.940 And it is in August, 2026.
  61. 00:02:32.020 – 00:02:34.380 I currently have 82 episodes.
  62. 00:02:34.820 – 00:02:37.440 About 20 of them are interviews,
  63. 00:02:37.520 – 00:02:40.260 the rest are solo episodes of myself.
  64. 00:02:41.040 – 00:02:43.620 Okay, and how much episodes do you want to make?
  65. 00:02:44.600 – 00:02:46.520 I want to make a million episodes.
  66. 00:02:46.560 – 00:02:47.340 That is a lot.
  67. 00:02:47.500 – 00:02:48.940 Nobody's done it before,
  68. 00:02:48.940 – 00:02:50.940 but I want to make a million episodes
  69. 00:02:50.940 – 00:02:52.740 and that's throughout my whole lifetime.
  70. 00:02:54.240 – 00:02:54.720 Okay.
  71. 00:02:55.360 – 00:02:56.960 That's my ambitious goal.
  72. 00:02:59.040 – 00:03:04.440 What do you do with your business?
  73. 00:03:05.340 – 00:03:07.320 So I help creative entrepreneurs
  74. 00:03:07.320 – 00:03:09.580 and business owners gain visibility
  75. 00:03:10.020 – 00:03:12.460 through visual and audio medium
  76. 00:03:12.460 – 00:03:17.140 and that's with photography, video and podcast.
  77. 00:03:17.460 – 00:03:18.880 So I help them get discovered
  78. 00:03:18.880 – 00:03:21.840 by photography, video and podcast.
  79. 00:03:22.400 – 00:03:23.020 Okay.
  80. 00:03:24.340 – 00:03:27.520 And who works with you in your business?
  81. 00:03:28.280 – 00:03:30.560 So right now it's just me and my business
  82. 00:03:30.560 – 00:03:34.220 and then I have people that help me like yourself.
  83. 00:03:34.260 – 00:03:37.700 I may have Bree, I may have Tramaine,
  84. 00:03:37.860 – 00:03:38.700 brother Tramaine.
  85. 00:03:39.360 – 00:03:42.760 So other than that, I collaborate with people.
  86. 00:03:43.720 – 00:03:46.120 So right now it's just me and my business.
  87. 00:03:46.120 – 00:03:48.280 Right now they call it a solopreneur,
  88. 00:03:48.600 – 00:03:51.840 but also collaborate a lot with many different people.
  89. 00:03:51.840 – 00:03:54.220 I collaborate with Futureland,
  90. 00:03:54.620 – 00:03:56.360 I collaborate with Overflow Studio,
  91. 00:03:56.560 – 00:03:57.920 I collaborate with the Pull Up Experience,
  92. 00:03:58.040 – 00:03:59.920 I collaborate with Launch Arts Media.
  93. 00:04:00.560 – 00:04:02.900 I collaborate with so many different people
  94. 00:04:02.900 – 00:04:05.460 that even though it is just me,
  95. 00:04:05.460 – 00:04:07.980 I'm able to bring people in where it's needed
  96. 00:04:08.640 – 00:04:12.720 or where I need assistance directly
  97. 00:04:12.720 – 00:04:15.020 or if they need assistance directly.
  98. 00:04:15.840 – 00:04:18.459 We keep on exchanging and building our network
  99. 00:04:18.459 – 00:04:19.420 through collaboration.
  100. 00:04:20.040 – 00:04:21.700 Collaboration is a superpower.
  101. 00:04:23.640 – 00:04:24.120 Okay.
  102. 00:04:25.040 – 00:04:28.360 That is, that's very, very, very good.
  103. 00:04:29.220 – 00:04:32.140 And how long have you had your business for?
  104. 00:04:32.940 – 00:04:35.160 So I'm in my third year of business.
  105. 00:04:35.360 – 00:04:36.760 I've been in business for three years
  106. 00:04:36.760 – 00:04:38.520 with Alienize Photos Media.
  107. 00:04:39.060 – 00:04:40.820 I've had a publishing company,
  108. 00:04:41.300 – 00:04:42.980 but it's kind of been on a back burner
  109. 00:04:42.980 – 00:04:45.160 and that's been for five years.
  110. 00:04:45.400 – 00:04:47.460 Five years with S.D.J. Books
  111. 00:04:47.720 – 00:04:50.740 and then three years with Alienize Photos Media.
  112. 00:04:52.040 – 00:04:52.540 Okay.
  113. 00:04:53.580 – 00:04:57.020 What is your business called?
  114. 00:04:58.280 – 00:04:59.680 What's my business called?
  115. 00:05:00.580 – 00:05:04.200 My business is called Alienize Photos Media
  116. 00:05:04.200 – 00:05:05.320 and Productions.
  117. 00:05:05.740 – 00:05:08.880 And it's not just photos, it's a media company.
  118. 00:05:09.380 – 00:05:11.100 It's a production house.
  119. 00:05:11.400 – 00:05:15.220 So we focus on everything visual,
  120. 00:05:15.220 – 00:05:19.160 whether that's photography, making move boards,
  121. 00:05:19.720 – 00:05:22.680 setting up a production, doing a production,
  122. 00:05:23.580 – 00:05:27.220 and video, it's a production, not just photos.
  123. 00:05:27.440 – 00:05:30.660 So Alienize Photos Media and Production.
  124. 00:05:31.220 – 00:05:32.940 Where's your business at?
  125. 00:05:33.860 – 00:05:37.320 So my business is no physical location,
  126. 00:05:37.400 – 00:05:39.840 even though it's birthed in Cleveland, Ohio,
  127. 00:05:40.380 – 00:05:43.940 but there's no physical location yet, but stay tuned.
  128. 00:05:45.600 – 00:05:46.760 Okay.
  129. 00:05:51.740 – 00:05:55.900 And what is the most difficult...
  130. 00:05:56.560 – 00:06:00.700 What is the most difficult decision
  131. 00:06:00.700 – 00:06:03.560 you've made in your business?
  132. 00:06:04.860 – 00:06:08.260 The most difficult decision I've made in my business
  133. 00:06:08.260 – 00:06:14.260 was to buy two cameras when I only had one
  134. 00:06:15.100 – 00:06:18.640 and I was just purchasing another camera
  135. 00:06:18.640 – 00:06:20.900 one day before an event.
  136. 00:06:21.500 – 00:06:26.540 And I'm glad I did because that camera ended up breaking
  137. 00:06:27.680 – 00:06:32.440 and I decided to buy two more cameras
  138. 00:06:32.440 – 00:06:34.580 just to replace that one camera.
  139. 00:06:36.660 – 00:06:39.520 It was kind of the best decision I've made
  140. 00:06:40.080 – 00:06:42.800 because I felt down and out,
  141. 00:06:42.800 – 00:06:44.700 like, oh, camera broke, oh, that's money,
  142. 00:06:44.940 – 00:06:46.140 oh, I could just hang it up,
  143. 00:06:46.260 – 00:06:48.000 like, oh, let me just hang up the business.
  144. 00:06:48.520 – 00:06:51.880 But I kept it going and I continued to do
  145. 00:06:51.880 – 00:06:55.720 what I had to do and by investing in two cameras,
  146. 00:06:55.840 – 00:06:58.640 I'm able to use multiple cameras on different events
  147. 00:06:58.640 – 00:07:00.520 or lend out a camera if needed
  148. 00:07:00.520 – 00:07:03.960 when I bring somebody on like yourself in seven.
  149. 00:07:05.120 – 00:07:07.360 And you get the most work done,
  150. 00:07:07.360 – 00:07:09.420 you get more bang for your buck,
  151. 00:07:09.420 – 00:07:13.220 you have more equipment working for you.
  152. 00:07:16.020 – 00:07:20.300 What's one problem your business has today?
  153. 00:07:21.700 – 00:07:24.560 One problem my business have today
  154. 00:07:24.560 – 00:07:29.320 is consistent high ticket clients.
  155. 00:07:29.720 – 00:07:32.720 And I don't really have a traditional high ticket offer
  156. 00:07:32.720 – 00:07:35.140 which is a great offer,
  157. 00:07:35.220 – 00:07:38.800 maybe it's for working with each other for a year
  158. 00:07:38.800 – 00:07:41.460 or maybe six months or something
  159. 00:07:41.460 – 00:07:44.080 that really grabs transformation
  160. 00:07:44.080 – 00:07:47.760 or change in their business for the better
  161. 00:07:47.760 – 00:07:49.960 because you always want your business to grow.
  162. 00:07:51.320 – 00:07:53.900 So those are things that we focus on.
  163. 00:07:56.320 – 00:07:59.160 Tell me about your last episode.
  164. 00:08:00.640 – 00:08:04.380 My last episode was with Mr.
  165. 00:08:05.720 – 00:08:06.820 Well, it wasn't with,
  166. 00:08:06.940 – 00:08:10.320 but it was about Damon Darling who's a comedian.
  167. 00:08:10.320 – 00:08:13.200 He recently got banned at Walmart.
  168. 00:08:14.500 – 00:08:17.460 So I wanted to do an episode about that,
  169. 00:08:17.620 – 00:08:18.780 reflecting my thoughts
  170. 00:08:18.780 – 00:08:21.920 and extracting the business lesson around that,
  171. 00:08:22.380 – 00:08:25.280 which is your personal brand is everything.
  172. 00:08:26.240 – 00:08:28.240 When you're doing things in public,
  173. 00:08:28.580 – 00:08:29.780 it reflects your brand.
  174. 00:08:30.100 – 00:08:31.440 It may grab attention,
  175. 00:08:31.640 – 00:08:35.159 but also is it damaging with your business deal.
  176. 00:08:35.240 – 00:08:36.720 So that's one thing to look at.
  177. 00:08:38.750 – 00:08:39.450 Okay.
  178. 00:08:41.490 – 00:08:44.150 Who's your favorite person to work with?
  179. 00:08:45.190 – 00:08:50.130 My favorite person to work with is 7 Jackson.
  180. 00:08:50.850 – 00:08:52.050 When she listens.
  181. 00:08:52.970 – 00:08:54.010 When she listens.
  182. 00:08:55.050 – 00:08:58.110 Yeah, she's an amazing person outside of that.
  183. 00:08:58.550 – 00:09:01.690 I have Ms. Brianna Casanova.
  184. 00:09:02.030 – 00:09:04.610 I also have Jermaine.
  185. 00:09:04.610 – 00:09:06.250 I also have Jamar.
  186. 00:09:06.910 – 00:09:08.830 I love the entire pull-up experience,
  187. 00:09:08.830 – 00:09:11.390 but those are some people I love working with.
  188. 00:09:14.160 – 00:09:17.600 Has anyone ever quit or got mad at you?
  189. 00:09:18.560 – 00:09:21.720 Well, I haven't hired anybody directly,
  190. 00:09:21.800 – 00:09:23.380 but even the contractors
  191. 00:09:23.380 – 00:09:25.660 and people that I collaborate and bring in,
  192. 00:09:26.120 – 00:09:27.720 nobody has ever quit with me.
  193. 00:09:27.760 – 00:09:30.040 We always had a conversation beforehand.
  194. 00:09:30.560 – 00:09:32.320 This is something that we both wanna do.
  195. 00:09:32.380 – 00:09:33.900 And if we both say yes,
  196. 00:09:34.280 – 00:09:36.300 we're gonna stick to that and keep our word.
  197. 00:09:36.780 – 00:09:39.040 So there's no quitting, no giving up,
  198. 00:09:39.340 – 00:09:41.180 no getting mad, no getting frustrated.
  199. 00:09:41.180 – 00:09:42.540 Let's do business.
  200. 00:09:43.540 – 00:09:47.040 So I've never had it happen.
  201. 00:09:47.380 – 00:09:49.240 And great that I never had it happen.
  202. 00:09:49.420 – 00:09:51.160 I never gave up on nobody.
  203. 00:09:51.360 – 00:09:55.240 I don't want nobody to give up on me or get mad.
  204. 00:09:57.160 – 00:09:59.960 So you attract what you give off.
  205. 00:10:00.360 – 00:10:01.720 You give off what you attract.
  206. 00:10:01.880 – 00:10:03.140 So it's one big cycle.
  207. 00:10:04.300 – 00:10:06.140 You are what you put in the universe.
  208. 00:10:07.820 – 00:10:08.180 Okay.
  209. 00:10:08.360 – 00:10:10.180 And that is all my questions for you.
  210. 00:10:10.180 – 00:10:10.720 Questions.
  211. 00:10:11.940 – 00:10:12.320 All right.
  212. 00:10:12.600 – 00:10:15.040 And what would you like to be when you grow up, young lady?
  213. 00:10:16.060 – 00:10:18.400 Either a teacher or a police officer.
  214. 00:10:18.820 – 00:10:20.220 Teacher or police officer, okay.
  215. 00:10:21.180 – 00:10:21.600 And-
  216. 00:10:21.600 – 00:10:22.740 And I have my own business.
  217. 00:10:22.800 – 00:10:23.900 And if you had a show,
  218. 00:10:24.000 – 00:10:25.500 what would be the title of your show?
  219. 00:10:31.060 – 00:10:32.640 Seven Minutes with Seven.
  220. 00:10:32.820 – 00:10:34.000 Seven Minutes with Seven.
  221. 00:10:34.160 – 00:10:35.280 Let's see, say that again.
  222. 00:10:35.500 – 00:10:36.240 Let's say it.
  223. 00:10:36.580 – 00:10:37.640 What's the title of your show?
  224. 00:10:38.580 – 00:10:40.560 Seven Minutes with Seven.
  225. 00:10:40.760 – 00:10:41.540 Let's say it together.
  226. 00:10:41.620 – 00:10:43.320 Three, two, one.
  227. 00:10:43.320 – 00:10:45.200 Seven Minutes with Seven.
  228. 00:10:45.360 – 00:10:46.140 I like that.
  229. 00:10:46.260 – 00:10:47.160 Seven Minutes with Seven
  230. 00:10:47.160 – 00:10:50.220 on the Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk Show.
  231. 00:10:50.860 – 00:10:52.340 Rebirth your podcast.
  232. 00:10:53.100 – 00:10:54.100 Seven Minutes with Seven.
  233. 00:10:54.380 – 00:10:55.020 I love it.
  234. 00:10:55.020 – 00:10:55.820 Let's do it.
  235. 00:10:56.380 – 00:10:57.040 All right, y'all.
  236. 00:10:57.240 – 00:10:59.720 This is photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
  237. 00:10:59.720 – 00:11:01.360 of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  238. 00:11:01.360 – 00:11:05.600 bringing you another, another special episode
  239. 00:11:05.600 – 00:11:08.080 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  240. 00:11:08.640 – 00:11:10.380 And if you want to follow me,
  241. 00:11:10.380 – 00:11:14.780 you can find me over at Alien Eyes Photos.
  242. 00:11:15.120 – 00:11:18.840 Again, that's Alien Eyes Photos on all media.
  243. 00:11:19.500 – 00:11:21.440 You may catch my daughter on some of them
  244. 00:11:21.440 – 00:11:24.040 and some of the content, even this video.
  245. 00:11:24.200 – 00:11:25.080 Ha ha ha.
  246. 00:11:25.520 – 00:11:28.100 But if you want to book me,
  247. 00:11:28.220 – 00:11:30.780 find more information about me and my business,
  248. 00:11:31.400 – 00:11:34.860 check out alieneyesphotos.com.
  249. 00:11:35.380 – 00:11:38.700 Again, this is Steve Jackson, AKA Alien,
  250. 00:11:38.700 – 00:11:41.320 also known as Photographer Jackson.
  251. 00:11:41.680 – 00:11:43.100 And I'm signing out.
  252. 00:11:43.480 – 00:11:44.320 Say bye.
  253. 00:11:44.840 – 00:11:45.460 Peace.
  254. 00:11:46.240 – 00:11:47.040 Peace, peace.
  255. 00:11:47.300 – 00:11:48.120 Peace and love, everybody.

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15. Damon Darling Vs Walmart and Sam's Club Ban

Season 1 · Episode 48

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.000 – 00:00:04.019 So you guys are both gonna get issued a trespass rewardings from Walmart, okay?
  2. 00:00:04.059 – 00:00:09.980 You guys are no longer allowed to go to any Walmart's any Sam's clubs or any Murphy gas station for life
  3. 00:00:09.980 – 00:00:15.080 Okay, so there's a life ban whose issue in that what whose issue in the Walmart is
  4. 00:00:17.700 – 00:00:22.420 So what would we do? That's any private business can I didn't go to Walmart?
  5. 00:00:22.660 – 00:00:27.340 I came as I can't just do it for no reason again, even if no reason even if we're not they don't
  6. 00:00:36.320 – 00:00:37.360 A
  7. 00:00:37.360 – 00:00:38.540 Life ban
  8. 00:00:39.140 – 00:00:44.420 Not come back in 90 days five years ten years
  9. 00:00:44.420 – 00:00:46.120 50 years
  10. 00:00:46.120 – 00:00:52.190 He's not even 50 not a ban till the holidays
  11. 00:00:53.330 – 00:00:55.590 but for life
  12. 00:00:56.330 – 00:01:01.770 This man now has a better shot at getting in a member's only golf club
  13. 00:01:02.770 – 00:01:04.129 Than Walmart
  14. 00:01:04.989 – 00:01:07.130 especially in the state of Ohio
  15. 00:01:08.010 – 00:01:11.610 But welcome welcome welcome welcome
  16. 00:01:11.990 – 00:01:15.150 back to alienize photos industry talk
  17. 00:01:15.150 – 00:01:25.130 with your host photographer Jackson and I just wanted to share some light and my personal reflections on
  18. 00:01:25.750 – 00:01:28.050 Damon Darlin's
  19. 00:01:28.050 – 00:01:29.930 band from Walmart and
  20. 00:01:29.930 – 00:01:38.090 Just being a creative entrepreneur as he is a comedian, which is a form of creativity
  21. 00:01:38.970 – 00:01:45.310 Through your vocal telling jokes and also educating people so no
  22. 00:01:46.130 – 00:01:48.450 personally a
  23. 00:01:48.450 – 00:01:50.410 lot of comedians that I know are
  24. 00:01:51.190 – 00:01:56.090 educators are they put history and current events in
  25. 00:01:56.690 – 00:01:58.910 You know their stand-up
  26. 00:01:58.910 – 00:02:00.530 Which I feel
  27. 00:02:00.530 – 00:02:02.870 very very important
  28. 00:02:03.910 – 00:02:04.710 now
  29. 00:02:05.350 – 00:02:08.729 I've never been to one of his stand-up
  30. 00:02:08.729 – 00:02:10.250 comedic shows
  31. 00:02:10.250 – 00:02:17.290 But plan on it in the future when he comes to Ohio, maybe my hometown, Cleveland
  32. 00:02:17.290 – 00:02:19.730 See it at the funny bone
  33. 00:02:20.390 – 00:02:23.970 Definitely check it out. I definitely want to support and
  34. 00:02:23.970 – 00:02:24.430 And
  35. 00:02:25.930 – 00:02:30.500 But just just me being an entrepreneur I wanted to
  36. 00:02:31.390 – 00:02:33.930 Just reflect that
  37. 00:02:33.930 – 00:02:36.050 You know one thing
  38. 00:02:37.370 – 00:02:43.490 Close multiple doors like one incident can close multiple doors like
  39. 00:02:43.490 – 00:02:46.690 You know you getting banned from Walmart
  40. 00:02:47.650 – 00:02:52.050 Who was also affiliated with Sam's Club and Murphy?
  41. 00:02:52.810 – 00:03:01.470 USA gas stations, they're all connected and a band for one can be a band from thousands of locations and
  42. 00:03:02.230 – 00:03:03.650 multiple brands
  43. 00:03:04.330 – 00:03:08.630 not just you know the Walmart's the Sam Clubs, but
  44. 00:03:08.630 – 00:03:14.350 Multiple brands that they are affiliated with not directly but you know
  45. 00:03:14.350 – 00:03:19.450 They may have partners or people who they do business with so
  46. 00:03:20.010 – 00:03:25.290 You know my lesson from that is before acting or acting out or acting up
  47. 00:03:26.150 – 00:03:29.010 map the corporate relationships
  48. 00:03:30.010 – 00:03:33.910 The blast radius can be small
  49. 00:03:34.550 – 00:03:40.310 But it's bigger than you think you know
  50. 00:03:40.810 – 00:03:47.190 They say why did he get banned and oh f Walmart work boycott in Walmart?
  51. 00:03:48.030 – 00:03:51.430 I mean all he's being good. He's doing good
  52. 00:03:52.470 – 00:03:58.130 Doing these charitable acts. He's giving money away. He's paying for groceries. He's paying for people
  53. 00:03:58.650 – 00:04:00.450 X Y & Z
  54. 00:04:00.450 – 00:04:05.850 You know speaking life and encouragement to people
  55. 00:04:07.030 – 00:04:11.590 but how Walmart took it as
  56. 00:04:11.590 – 00:04:16.769 disruptive behavior disruptive to their shoppers and
  57. 00:04:17.190 – 00:04:26.810 You know just a respect and being you know shopping in peace and I get that but I
  58. 00:04:26.810 – 00:04:28.730 Know when I heard that
  59. 00:04:28.730 – 00:04:33.310 Life ban is like wow for someone being banned
  60. 00:04:33.310 – 00:04:41.470 For life not just a couple months not just a year not five ten years before the life I
  61. 00:04:42.510 – 00:04:46.210 had to do my own research and I
  62. 00:04:46.210 – 00:04:51.110 Watched a lot of Damon Darlin's videos mainly on Instagram
  63. 00:04:51.110 – 00:04:55.410 But some something told me to dive a little deeper and I watch
  64. 00:04:56.010 – 00:04:57.290 some of his
  65. 00:04:57.290 – 00:05:02.210 YouTube episodes like the long form content versus the short form
  66. 00:05:02.210 – 00:05:06.730 which is a contrast and especially like those older videos like
  67. 00:05:07.330 – 00:05:14.250 It on social media doesn't show him clipping his toenail or getting someone to clip his toenails
  68. 00:05:14.250 – 00:05:18.610 or him pouring milk on us like I did not see that on Instagram, so
  69. 00:05:18.610 – 00:05:23.550 Me checking out his YouTube. It was like a different person to me like wow I
  70. 00:05:24.770 – 00:05:27.370 Did not know that like I was surprised so it
  71. 00:05:28.350 – 00:05:33.890 It made me take a step back. It's still me back a little bit. I'm not gonna even you know lie on that
  72. 00:05:34.710 – 00:05:35.190 but
  73. 00:05:36.050 – 00:05:37.810 I'm like wow I
  74. 00:05:39.090 – 00:05:40.530 Did not know
  75. 00:05:41.190 – 00:05:45.170 And I'm not thinking in the other way, but
  76. 00:05:46.630 – 00:05:49.030 That definitely hurt your brand
  77. 00:05:49.870 – 00:05:57.190 And I know his biggest drive was to get his coffee brand me mom's field coffee and
  78. 00:05:57.190 – 00:06:01.070 All the Walmart's but just going back to what I said earlier
  79. 00:06:01.790 – 00:06:03.830 You know one
  80. 00:06:03.830 – 00:06:07.650 Action of yours what incident can close multiple doors
  81. 00:06:07.650 – 00:06:10.470 And he can't take it somewhere else
  82. 00:06:11.550 – 00:06:19.670 Have different partners different relationships, but to me I feel like he should have went about it a different way
  83. 00:06:20.350 – 00:06:28.750 No partner with a nonprofit to do these charitable acts to buy people's gas and groceries and give back
  84. 00:06:29.670 – 00:06:33.850 Donate or even partner with Walmart's own
  85. 00:06:33.850 – 00:06:36.030 You know a charitable
  86. 00:06:36.030 – 00:06:38.090 foundations Walmart foundation
  87. 00:06:38.090 – 00:06:45.990 The one that Sam's Club have you can find it all on no Walmart org for their no
  88. 00:06:45.990 – 00:06:48.350 nonprofit and charity acts
  89. 00:06:48.890 – 00:06:53.030 but if he didn't want to do any of that just starting a
  90. 00:06:53.030 – 00:07:00.530 Nonprofit and keep a record of all of this and have people you know donate to his cause and he you know
  91. 00:07:00.530 – 00:07:05.790 Recycle and give it back and partner with other nonprofits or
  92. 00:07:06.370 – 00:07:10.350 You know there's there's other ways, but what I?
  93. 00:07:10.650 – 00:07:13.950 Would have want to see you know in some of these videos
  94. 00:07:14.990 – 00:07:20.770 Because there's a lot of homeless people as you know
  95. 00:07:20.770 – 00:07:23.370 Passing away from hunger starvation
  96. 00:07:24.330 – 00:07:27.130 lack of good quality water and care
  97. 00:07:28.070 – 00:07:31.590 You know see some of those charitable acts
  98. 00:07:32.350 – 00:07:35.950 with you know the homelessness that's on these streets and
  99. 00:07:36.970 – 00:07:39.990 Being from where I'm coming from in the state of Ohio
  100. 00:07:39.990 – 00:07:43.650 Which were both from no couple hours apart
  101. 00:07:45.090 – 00:07:47.110 it is
  102. 00:07:47.110 – 00:07:51.310 It's evident and is a solution is needed definitely
  103. 00:07:52.410 – 00:07:53.170 but
  104. 00:07:53.170 – 00:07:58.390 You know giving back to the middle class or lower middle class and
  105. 00:07:58.410 – 00:08:06.110 You know people that struggling I get it, and it makes more of a story, and it's more interesting then
  106. 00:08:06.110 – 00:08:10.850 you know what I just proclaim and just stated, but
  107. 00:08:11.550 – 00:08:13.950 at the same time
  108. 00:08:13.950 – 00:08:16.040 If we're going to do it
  109. 00:08:17.030 – 00:08:19.580 Let's just start at the lowest level work our way up
  110. 00:08:20.630 – 00:08:23.480 Especially in our home state or home town
  111. 00:08:24.870 – 00:08:26.310 It's only right
  112. 00:08:27.510 – 00:08:28.150 but
  113. 00:08:29.230 – 00:08:35.710 You know to each his own I'm proud of what he's doing, but I just want him to recognize that
  114. 00:08:36.789 – 00:08:41.929 You know being banned from Walmart, which is a big big corporation
  115. 00:08:41.929 – 00:08:48.260 we all know and when these other organizations are
  116. 00:08:51.700 – 00:08:54.680 doing their research when a
  117. 00:08:54.680 – 00:08:56.780 Deal was being made or offer
  118. 00:08:56.780 – 00:09:03.520 To get his coffee brand me mom's coffee fuel coffee in you know one of these other stores
  119. 00:09:05.440 – 00:09:10.180 It's gonna be hard cuz that's gonna be the first thing they see like a live band and
  120. 00:09:11.180 – 00:09:16.980 You know that's gonna raise a red flag and raise their eyebrows like should we do this
  121. 00:09:18.540 – 00:09:20.920 Without doing even
  122. 00:09:20.920 – 00:09:22.660 more research
  123. 00:09:23.680 – 00:09:25.540 It's hard for them, so
  124. 00:09:27.140 – 00:09:34.120 This is something I thought about and something I want every no entrepreneur business owner
  125. 00:09:35.180 – 00:09:36.860 content creator
  126. 00:09:36.860 – 00:09:43.680 Creative entrepreneur to really really think about as you're building your own brand as you're growing your brand
  127. 00:09:43.940 – 00:09:45.900 and your public awareness
  128. 00:09:46.580 – 00:09:48.840 and it's in it's hard because
  129. 00:09:50.040 – 00:09:51.560 You know
  130. 00:09:51.560 – 00:09:53.580 the chaos and
  131. 00:09:53.580 – 00:09:55.380 the pranks
  132. 00:09:55.380 – 00:09:56.640 The jokes
  133. 00:09:56.640 – 00:10:03.240 You know the negative stuff the fights the all that gets attention and goes viral
  134. 00:10:03.800 – 00:10:08.220 versus all the good acts and
  135. 00:10:08.220 – 00:10:11.480 All the positivity that could be seen
  136. 00:10:12.680 – 00:10:16.920 Like it needs to change and it hurts that
  137. 00:10:17.280 – 00:10:18.880 you know
  138. 00:10:18.880 – 00:10:24.120 Having to do these pranks and jokes sometimes and being in chaos
  139. 00:10:24.120 – 00:10:28.920 Gets the attention the fire the viral attention
  140. 00:10:31.450 – 00:10:33.730 man, it hurts
  141. 00:10:34.570 – 00:10:36.610 And it's like why?
  142. 00:10:37.550 – 00:10:39.050 can it be different because
  143. 00:10:39.990 – 00:10:43.390 Doing those different acts hurt your brand
  144. 00:10:45.020 – 00:10:47.600 it hurts your brand and
  145. 00:10:48.580 – 00:10:50.760 That's one thing I always
  146. 00:10:51.860 – 00:10:53.980 pride in just
  147. 00:10:53.980 – 00:10:59.020 The brand especially as a personal brand and him being a face
  148. 00:10:59.860 – 00:11:02.480 literally the face of his coffee brand
  149. 00:11:03.340 – 00:11:10.560 Kind of depth damage the reputation in public and different brands and corporations and companies
  150. 00:11:12.340 – 00:11:13.180 so
  151. 00:11:13.180 – 00:11:17.920 Just something I wanted to take from this all
  152. 00:11:18.600 – 00:11:24.740 You know kind of share light on especially to my audience my followers everybody that
  153. 00:11:24.740 – 00:11:31.500 Trust me or come to me for advice like this is a lesson that I definitely wanted to document and
  154. 00:11:32.220 – 00:11:36.080 You know documentation becomes intellectual property
  155. 00:11:36.680 – 00:11:38.820 everything you post as an asset
  156. 00:11:39.840 – 00:11:42.060 but on the flip side
  157. 00:11:42.680 – 00:11:44.700 If you do something
  158. 00:11:44.700 – 00:11:50.620 You know like that milk stunt and all the pranks like having someone clip this toenail
  159. 00:11:51.100 – 00:11:53.000 in the middle of the story like what's
  160. 00:11:53.940 – 00:11:59.220 but um, yeah that you know come back fire even years later, so
  161. 00:12:01.800 – 00:12:04.920 Just be careful what you do what you put out
  162. 00:12:05.980 – 00:12:08.300 Messages you portray
  163. 00:12:10.380 – 00:12:12.680 Give off and tell
  164. 00:12:13.920 – 00:12:18.040 Just just being more aware and more conscious of what you're doing
  165. 00:12:18.820 – 00:12:23.460 It's good to uplift people give back to people
  166. 00:12:23.460 – 00:12:31.700 And do good things for people and know everything doesn't have to be
  167. 00:12:31.700 – 00:12:38.780 Glaring glam or chaotic or something negative just to get attention
  168. 00:12:39.720 – 00:12:41.400 But remember
  169. 00:12:41.400 – 00:12:45.160 Hey, make it interesting make it fun
  170. 00:12:45.160 – 00:12:47.700 Make it great make it powerful
  171. 00:12:49.400 – 00:12:52.620 You are the best you could be
  172. 00:12:53.760 – 00:12:58.300 And I'm just I'm just proud of Damon Darling success and
  173. 00:12:59.220 – 00:13:00.600 You know
  174. 00:13:00.600 – 00:13:02.600 Just the numbers
  175. 00:13:02.600 – 00:13:06.960 Across YouTube Facebook Instagram tick-tock
  176. 00:13:08.960 – 00:13:10.720 Coming across
  177. 00:13:10.720 – 00:13:13.080 almost 8 8 million
  178. 00:13:13.080 – 00:13:15.240 This is in August so
  179. 00:13:16.120 – 00:13:17.600 maybe by the end of
  180. 00:13:18.120 – 00:13:19.960 2026 or beginning of
  181. 00:13:20.560 – 00:13:26.020 2027 if I have a collective billion followers, which is amazing
  182. 00:13:26.680 – 00:13:28.580 that doesn't even
  183. 00:13:28.580 – 00:13:34.580 Testify for the people that doesn't have social media or who haven't even subscribed
  184. 00:13:34.580 – 00:13:41.300 But really support him in real life and people who speak over, you know him in real life
  185. 00:13:42.460 – 00:13:44.580 Positivity and praying
  186. 00:13:44.580 – 00:13:46.780 prayers and all that good stuff
  187. 00:13:47.600 – 00:13:51.600 Like I said, I definitely want to check out and support
  188. 00:13:52.360 – 00:13:53.960 one of his
  189. 00:13:53.960 – 00:14:00.200 Comedy shows upcoming stand-up comedy shows. I think I
  190. 00:14:01.420 – 00:14:04.100 Think he is stopping in Ohio at funny bone
  191. 00:14:04.100 – 00:14:09.680 So I definitely get my tickets or if not, I know he had one in Columbus
  192. 00:14:09.680 – 00:14:12.380 So I'll check that out either one
  193. 00:14:13.080 – 00:14:14.700 We will see
  194. 00:14:15.080 – 00:14:18.860 Yeah, this has been like a wake-up call to me like
  195. 00:14:19.860 – 00:14:24.220 be more mindful your brain even the people you collaborate with and everything just
  196. 00:14:25.400 – 00:14:28.020 Man, it's like a wake-up call. Like I said
  197. 00:14:29.080 – 00:14:36.420 That life ban is different Damon Darling versus Walmart versus Sam's Club versus Murphy
  198. 00:14:36.420 – 00:14:38.120 USA gas station
  199. 00:14:38.740 – 00:14:41.160 and this is
  200. 00:14:41.160 – 00:14:42.720 photographer Jackson
  201. 00:14:42.720 – 00:14:48.140 Steve Jackson of alien eyes photos media
  202. 00:14:48.140 – 00:14:54.280 Bringing you another episode of alien eyes photos industry talk
  203. 00:14:54.280 – 00:14:57.820 And this one is on Dame darling
  204. 00:14:58.180 – 00:14:59.260 versus
  205. 00:14:59.260 – 00:15:00.540 Walmart
  206. 00:15:01.240 – 00:15:03.780 since he was banned from Walmart, I
  207. 00:15:04.620 – 00:15:11.020 Just wanted to report and share my light and teach a little lesson that your brand
  208. 00:15:11.020 – 00:15:19.060 Especially personal brand is viable and one door closed can close multiple doors without you even knowing
  209. 00:15:19.900 – 00:15:22.120 So just stay conscious of that
  210. 00:15:22.620 – 00:15:27.260 Continue to raise your vibrations your consciousness and your peace and love
  211. 00:15:27.620 – 00:15:29.720 in this universe
  212. 00:15:30.260 – 00:15:35.300 Again, I am photographer Jackson and I am signing out
  213. 00:15:36.480 – 00:15:38.300 But before I go
  214. 00:15:39.140 – 00:15:41.550 Subscribe share this podcast
  215. 00:15:42.460 – 00:15:47.530 Alien eyes photos industry talk is growing and I cannot do it without you
  216. 00:15:47.920 – 00:15:50.720 But visit alien eyes photos
  217. 00:15:50.720 – 00:15:51.960 calm
  218. 00:15:51.960 – 00:15:54.900 And you can follow me at
  219. 00:15:54.900 – 00:15:57.940 Alien eyes and that's what is he?
  220. 00:15:58.260 – 00:15:59.980 photos with s
  221. 00:16:00.520 – 00:16:06.140 Alien eyes photos in the podcast now has social media
  222. 00:16:06.140 – 00:16:10.340 So check out AEP IT
  223. 00:16:10.980 – 00:16:15.020 POD that's AEP IT pod
  224. 00:16:15.020 – 00:16:20.160 Check me out on Instagram and we're building and we're growing and
  225. 00:16:21.160 – 00:16:24.380 Hey, you are too, and I'm proud of you and all that you do
  226. 00:16:25.060 – 00:16:26.620 signing out peace

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16. Self Analysis Refines Business Values

Season 1 · Episode 47

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:04.130 – 00:00:07.810 Welcome, welcome, welcome.
  2. 00:00:08.990 – 00:00:15.090 Welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  3. 00:00:15.780 – 00:00:21.910 with your host, photographer, Jackson, Steve Jackson
  4. 00:00:21.910 – 00:00:24.110 of Alienize Photos.
  5. 00:00:24.630 – 00:00:27.070 Welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  6. 00:00:27.410 – 00:00:29.350 And if this is your first time,
  7. 00:00:29.350 – 00:00:31.110 I want you to get excited.
  8. 00:00:31.910 – 00:00:33.250 I want you to get motivated.
  9. 00:00:33.990 – 00:00:35.250 I want you to get educated.
  10. 00:00:36.110 – 00:00:38.830 I want you to seek and search for the wisdom
  11. 00:00:39.350 – 00:00:41.470 and allow it to come to you.
  12. 00:00:41.910 – 00:00:43.550 I want you to take it in.
  13. 00:00:43.890 – 00:00:45.310 Use it. Don't just sit on it.
  14. 00:00:45.310 – 00:00:46.990 Don't just hold it in your mind.
  15. 00:00:48.670 – 00:00:49.770 Teach it.
  16. 00:00:50.090 – 00:00:51.570 Implement it.
  17. 00:00:51.910 – 00:00:53.610 Use it to your advantage.
  18. 00:00:55.210 – 00:00:55.770 Exhale.
  19. 00:00:56.710 – 00:00:57.790 Keep progressing.
  20. 00:00:58.370 – 00:00:59.170 Keep going.
  21. 00:00:59.750 – 00:01:01.550 Keep doing what you got to do.
  22. 00:01:02.670 – 00:01:04.650 Yes, keep doing what you got to do
  23. 00:01:04.650 – 00:01:06.930 even when you don't want to do it.
  24. 00:01:07.690 – 00:01:08.970 Be who you need to be
  25. 00:01:08.970 – 00:01:11.450 even when you don't want to be that person.
  26. 00:01:12.210 – 00:01:13.610 When you don't want to do nothing.
  27. 00:01:13.650 – 00:01:15.110 When you don't want to get out of bed.
  28. 00:01:15.230 – 00:01:16.730 When you just want to be lazy.
  29. 00:01:17.350 – 00:01:18.910 But you got to do the work.
  30. 00:01:19.630 – 00:01:20.410 Wouldn't like he say?
  31. 00:01:20.770 – 00:01:21.830 Just do it.
  32. 00:01:22.690 – 00:01:24.670 And we look at these slogans
  33. 00:01:24.670 – 00:01:26.650 it's like admission and vision.
  34. 00:01:27.790 – 00:01:29.770 And these slogans are who we are.
  35. 00:01:30.270 – 00:01:31.370 What are our values?
  36. 00:01:31.670 – 00:01:32.850 What value do we bring?
  37. 00:01:32.930 – 00:01:34.130 What do we stand for?
  38. 00:01:34.750 – 00:01:36.910 And we have to remember that in business
  39. 00:01:37.750 – 00:01:41.850 and have these self reflections.
  40. 00:01:43.130 – 00:01:44.210 Self analysis.
  41. 00:01:45.190 – 00:01:48.050 We do analysis on our entrepreneur journey
  42. 00:01:48.050 – 00:01:49.290 and in our businesses.
  43. 00:01:50.410 – 00:01:52.490 But when do we do a self analysis
  44. 00:01:52.490 – 00:01:54.890 on ourselves and our lives?
  45. 00:01:56.690 – 00:01:59.670 Like when we started off in business
  46. 00:01:59.670 – 00:02:03.510 our client could be a more broader thing
  47. 00:02:03.510 – 00:02:06.790 but now it's more tighter, more niche
  48. 00:02:07.730 – 00:02:10.250 more enclosed, more specific.
  49. 00:02:12.210 – 00:02:14.270 So are we attracting those same clients?
  50. 00:02:14.470 – 00:02:16.810 Maybe you're having a headache
  51. 00:02:16.810 – 00:02:21.870 or not wanting to deal with the stuff
  52. 00:02:21.870 – 00:02:24.810 you started business with for 5, 10 years.
  53. 00:02:24.950 – 00:02:26.070 Nothing changed at all.
  54. 00:02:26.150 – 00:02:26.930 Not your values.
  55. 00:02:27.110 – 00:02:28.030 Not your value.
  56. 00:02:29.410 – 00:02:32.230 Because a business that's staying the same
  57. 00:02:32.790 – 00:02:35.250 over a long period of time in revenue
  58. 00:02:35.250 – 00:02:37.090 are slightly decreasing.
  59. 00:02:37.770 – 00:02:39.590 It's going to eventually go out of business.
  60. 00:02:39.650 – 00:02:40.670 You have to progress.
  61. 00:02:40.770 – 00:02:41.770 You have to increase.
  62. 00:02:42.490 – 00:02:44.390 It's okay to maintain for a little while.
  63. 00:02:44.710 – 00:02:45.530 Yeah, maintain.
  64. 00:02:46.430 – 00:02:47.830 To get you over the hump.
  65. 00:02:48.450 – 00:02:50.090 Maybe even go down a little bit
  66. 00:02:50.090 – 00:02:51.170 but you have to bounce back
  67. 00:02:51.170 – 00:02:52.610 and you have to continue to grow.
  68. 00:02:53.090 – 00:02:54.390 It's all about the elevation.
  69. 00:02:55.210 – 00:02:56.450 This entrepreneur journey
  70. 00:02:57.170 – 00:02:59.890 this creative entrepreneur journey
  71. 00:02:59.890 – 00:03:02.190 this business
  72. 00:03:02.190 – 00:03:03.910 this business life
  73. 00:03:04.670 – 00:03:06.010 this journey
  74. 00:03:07.250 – 00:03:08.550 you have to grow.
  75. 00:03:08.590 – 00:03:09.650 It's the only way.
  76. 00:03:10.770 – 00:03:12.730 You have to continue to grow.
  77. 00:03:14.270 – 00:03:17.410 You have to feel inspired
  78. 00:03:17.410 – 00:03:19.190 be excited, be motivated.
  79. 00:03:19.750 – 00:03:20.510 Do the work.
  80. 00:03:20.510 – 00:03:24.870 Do the work even when you don't feel like doing the work.
  81. 00:03:25.230 – 00:03:28.110 And I have many days like that a lot.
  82. 00:03:29.370 – 00:03:31.870 But still, give yourself that grace
  83. 00:03:31.870 – 00:03:33.550 that self love, that self care.
  84. 00:03:34.270 – 00:03:35.430 You know, take that break.
  85. 00:03:35.550 – 00:03:36.490 Take a moment.
  86. 00:03:37.110 – 00:03:38.110 Go on that vacation.
  87. 00:03:40.290 – 00:03:42.350 But when you get back, you got to do that work.
  88. 00:03:42.890 – 00:03:44.150 And put in the work.
  89. 00:03:44.770 – 00:03:46.850 To get to the point where that
  90. 00:03:47.570 – 00:03:48.910 vacation is enjoyable.
  91. 00:03:48.970 – 00:03:50.330 That break is enjoyable.
  92. 00:03:50.330 – 00:03:52.010 Take that breath.
  93. 00:03:52.110 – 00:03:55.470 Take that extra deep breath in another one.
  94. 00:03:55.910 – 00:03:56.830 Feel good.
  95. 00:03:57.850 – 00:04:00.150 Feel all the love in your heart just radiating.
  96. 00:04:01.090 – 00:04:02.410 That excitement brewing.
  97. 00:04:03.270 – 00:04:03.930 Heart beating.
  98. 00:04:04.070 – 00:04:05.050 You're like, yes.
  99. 00:04:05.430 – 00:04:06.830 I can't wait to get back to work.
  100. 00:04:07.130 – 00:04:08.050 Put in the work.
  101. 00:04:08.490 – 00:04:09.710 Keep elevating.
  102. 00:04:10.290 – 00:04:11.030 Keep growing.
  103. 00:04:12.510 – 00:04:15.030 And again, do that self analysis.
  104. 00:04:16.170 – 00:04:17.649 As well as in your business.
  105. 00:04:20.209 – 00:04:21.209 What are your values?
  106. 00:04:23.210 – 00:04:24.450 What is your value?
  107. 00:04:24.570 – 00:04:25.290 What do you bring?
  108. 00:04:25.390 – 00:04:25.950 What do you do?
  109. 00:04:26.070 – 00:04:26.950 What don't you do?
  110. 00:04:27.370 – 00:04:28.630 What won't you do?
  111. 00:04:30.270 – 00:04:31.610 What can you outsource?
  112. 00:04:32.350 – 00:04:34.010 What partners can you bring in?
  113. 00:04:35.230 – 00:04:36.510 But how can you grow?
  114. 00:04:38.470 – 00:04:39.930 That should be the main target.
  115. 00:04:41.830 – 00:04:42.730 Continue to grow.
  116. 00:04:44.010 – 00:04:45.250 Continue to be great.
  117. 00:04:46.110 – 00:04:47.090 Continue to elevate.
  118. 00:04:48.310 – 00:04:49.150 Continue to blossom.
  119. 00:04:50.490 – 00:04:51.650 Continue to flourish.
  120. 00:04:53.740 – 00:04:55.420 Continue to be wise.
  121. 00:04:56.780 – 00:04:59.380 And when you get the wisdom, teach it.
  122. 00:04:59.420 – 00:05:00.080 Implement it.
  123. 00:05:00.080 – 00:05:00.900 Don't just sit on it.
  124. 00:05:00.900 – 00:05:01.860 Don't just hold it in.
  125. 00:05:04.440 – 00:05:05.740 You have to put in the work.
  126. 00:05:09.630 – 00:05:11.030 You've got to act on it.
  127. 00:05:12.370 – 00:05:16.770 I know many years, like, I'm well studied in, you know,
  128. 00:05:16.950 – 00:05:19.250 multiple subjects and multiple industries.
  129. 00:05:20.770 – 00:05:28.350 And for a while, I just sat on it, like, wait, I'm
  130. 00:05:28.350 – 00:05:34.510 going to just, instead of going to school, just hire these
  131. 00:05:34.510 – 00:05:38.770 beautiful experts whenever I need them.
  132. 00:05:39.050 – 00:05:40.330 They're having a master class.
  133. 00:05:40.350 – 00:05:40.930 I'm there.
  134. 00:05:40.970 – 00:05:41.650 I'm attending.
  135. 00:05:42.630 – 00:05:43.670 They need help with something.
  136. 00:05:43.730 – 00:05:44.450 Let's do something.
  137. 00:05:44.550 – 00:05:45.070 Let's barter.
  138. 00:05:45.150 – 00:05:46.450 Let's work something out.
  139. 00:05:47.450 – 00:05:48.370 Work for each other.
  140. 00:05:48.570 – 00:05:49.110 Let's partner.
  141. 00:05:49.410 – 00:05:50.150 Let's do something.
  142. 00:05:50.210 – 00:05:51.330 Let's grow.
  143. 00:05:52.790 – 00:05:57.010 And, you know, the constant support with a lot of people
  144. 00:05:57.010 – 00:06:01.090 in my network for the events that I do, events that I
  145. 00:06:01.090 – 00:06:05.690 hold, you know, as well as the reciprocation and support,
  146. 00:06:06.230 – 00:06:09.970 you know, their businesses and their events, their
  147. 00:06:09.970 – 00:06:13.850 services, their products, what they got going on, you
  148. 00:06:13.850 – 00:06:15.690 know, even if it's just helping with marketing,
  149. 00:06:16.190 – 00:06:19.650 helping word of mouth, getting the promo out there,
  150. 00:06:19.650 – 00:06:20.270 you know.
  151. 00:06:22.400 – 00:06:23.500 And it takes community.
  152. 00:06:23.960 – 00:06:25.420 You cannot do this alone.
  153. 00:06:25.420 – 00:06:28.260 So that's another thing with the growth.
  154. 00:06:28.840 – 00:06:31.780 So you cannot always do things alone.
  155. 00:06:32.180 – 00:06:36.480 And if you want to go farther, sometimes even faster,
  156. 00:06:37.900 – 00:06:45.220 you have to bring in others, others that compliment you,
  157. 00:06:45.780 – 00:06:49.660 others that help you succeed, that help you elevate as you
  158. 00:06:49.660 – 00:06:50.820 elevate each other.
  159. 00:06:51.520 – 00:06:54.040 And that's the way it should be in any relationship.
  160. 00:06:54.040 – 00:06:57.700 And relationships are important, especially the
  161. 00:06:57.700 – 00:06:59.260 right ones and the healthy ones.
  162. 00:07:00.360 – 00:07:04.380 They will get you so far, I swear, in life and business.
  163. 00:07:04.720 – 00:07:06.220 It's so many things.
  164. 00:07:06.820 – 00:07:07.560 It's powerful.
  165. 00:07:08.980 – 00:07:11.760 But I just wanted to jump in here real quick.
  166. 00:07:13.000 – 00:07:15.860 Actually, a lot of this got deleted.
  167. 00:07:16.440 – 00:07:17.720 So I'm sorry.
  168. 00:07:17.820 – 00:07:19.340 This is supposed to be longer.
  169. 00:07:20.380 – 00:07:21.420 And, ooh, I was in it.
  170. 00:07:21.420 – 00:07:24.120 And my mic cut off, and I didn't realize it.
  171. 00:07:24.800 – 00:07:29.020 So I had to, yeah, kind of summarize what I said.
  172. 00:07:29.960 – 00:07:32.180 Even, you know, the free-flowing, I said,
  173. 00:07:32.400 – 00:07:33.820 some added on things.
  174. 00:07:33.880 – 00:07:36.620 So hopefully you still found this beneficial.
  175. 00:07:37.420 – 00:07:41.660 I appreciate you always for tuning in to Alienize Photos
  176. 00:07:41.660 – 00:07:48.280 Industry Talk with your host, Steve, photographer Jackson
  177. 00:07:48.280 – 00:07:51.680 of Alienize Photos.
  178. 00:07:51.900 – 00:07:56.440 And if you want to book me or find more information on me
  179. 00:07:56.440 – 00:08:03.700 and my business, Alienize Photos, visit AlienizePhotos.com.
  180. 00:08:04.480 – 00:08:12.140 Alienize with a Z, Photos with a S, AlienizePhotos.com.
  181. 00:08:12.260 – 00:08:17.540 And follow me on all social media, AlienizePhotos.
  182. 00:08:17.540 – 00:08:21.640 Yes, at AlienizePhotos.
  183. 00:08:22.040 – 00:08:28.100 Also on fan base, who I happen to be a well-investor in.
  184. 00:08:28.660 – 00:08:32.780 So also follow me on fan base, AlienizePhotos.
  185. 00:08:32.940 – 00:08:34.260 You cannot miss me.
  186. 00:08:34.280 – 00:08:36.400 I have the verification badge.
  187. 00:08:37.380 – 00:08:39.740 So yeah, definitely connect.
  188. 00:08:40.400 – 00:08:42.900 We seek to get creators paid.
  189. 00:08:43.559 – 00:08:46.100 So yes, you get paid off your content on fan base.
  190. 00:08:46.100 – 00:08:49.620 So definitely add your content on fan base.
  191. 00:08:50.400 – 00:08:51.940 And add me, follow me.
  192. 00:08:52.140 – 00:08:53.760 Give me some likes and loves.
  193. 00:08:54.160 – 00:08:59.260 I see there I also have some exclusive programming on there.
  194. 00:08:59.320 – 00:09:01.140 So yeah, you want to tune in.
  195. 00:09:03.900 – 00:09:05.120 I think that's it.
  196. 00:09:05.240 – 00:09:07.820 If you want to book me as a coach, event photography,
  197. 00:09:08.380 – 00:09:09.280 you're having a wedding.
  198. 00:09:10.160 – 00:09:14.400 Oh yeah, those are my three top services.
  199. 00:09:16.100 – 00:09:16.560 I love it.
  200. 00:09:16.600 – 00:09:17.040 I love it.
  201. 00:09:17.040 – 00:09:18.280 I love what I do.
  202. 00:09:18.520 – 00:09:20.160 Just actually wrapped up a wedding.
  203. 00:09:22.100 – 00:09:23.080 Yeah, it was beautiful.
  204. 00:09:23.200 – 00:09:24.360 That's all I got to say.
  205. 00:09:25.600 – 00:09:27.640 And I'm in a post-production mode.
  206. 00:09:28.400 – 00:09:31.660 I have my team there backing me up.
  207. 00:09:31.760 – 00:09:32.800 They did well.
  208. 00:09:32.920 – 00:09:33.800 They're amazing.
  209. 00:09:34.460 – 00:09:36.340 I've seen some of the content.
  210. 00:09:36.400 – 00:09:38.360 They've got some BTS content.
  211. 00:09:38.800 – 00:09:41.760 So look at that, especially on all the social media
  212. 00:09:41.760 – 00:09:42.640 platforms.
  213. 00:09:43.500 – 00:09:46.400 Yeah, it's going to be a lot coming your way.
  214. 00:09:46.460 – 00:09:49.640 I got a lot of things in motion in the background.
  215. 00:09:51.920 – 00:09:57.020 Took a minor break with LaunchArts Media, LaunchArts
  216. 00:09:57.020 – 00:10:00.400 Media and the Pull Up Experience.
  217. 00:10:01.220 – 00:10:06.640 Both my media partners and definitely the team
  218. 00:10:06.640 – 00:10:10.060 around both of them, as we all come together,
  219. 00:10:10.960 – 00:10:14.620 mentors and how mastermind we all come together
  220. 00:10:14.620 – 00:10:19.400 and also collaborate and do events and productions
  221. 00:10:19.400 – 00:10:19.940 together.
  222. 00:10:19.980 – 00:10:21.180 So it's a beautiful thing.
  223. 00:10:21.940 – 00:10:23.520 So shout out to my media partners.
  224. 00:10:23.860 – 00:10:28.900 But it was just ironic this year that we all
  225. 00:10:28.900 – 00:10:31.760 took a break around the same time.
  226. 00:10:33.590 – 00:10:37.030 So that was my mini break from LaunchArts Media
  227. 00:10:37.030 – 00:10:40.350 who I'm the vice president of the video
  228. 00:10:40.350 – 00:10:44.750 production department on the leadership team,
  229. 00:10:45.070 – 00:10:48.230 leadership committee, and then the creative
  230. 00:10:48.230 – 00:10:52.510 director, lead photographer of the Pull Up
  231. 00:10:52.510 – 00:10:53.230 Experience.
  232. 00:10:55.190 – 00:10:58.190 So, you know, definitely follow them on social
  233. 00:10:58.190 – 00:10:59.590 media as well.
  234. 00:11:00.210 – 00:11:03.110 Or you could just check out my bio at Alienize
  235. 00:11:03.110 – 00:11:05.930 Photos and you can see them linked to my
  236. 00:11:05.930 – 00:11:07.110 page in my bio.
  237. 00:11:09.290 – 00:11:10.290 But, yeah, it felt good.
  238. 00:11:10.330 – 00:11:12.810 But I've still been working, doing work, you
  239. 00:11:12.810 – 00:11:14.950 know, working more on my business, working more
  240. 00:11:14.950 – 00:11:18.350 on my systems, working more on my growth,
  241. 00:11:19.070 – 00:11:22.050 working more on my revenue and, you know,
  242. 00:11:22.250 – 00:11:23.770 getting finances in line.
  243. 00:11:23.810 – 00:11:27.770 Sometimes we let things slip by or, you know,
  244. 00:11:27.850 – 00:11:31.510 I'm paying, you know, $1,000, you know,
  245. 00:11:31.650 – 00:11:34.450 re-incurring for something I don't use.
  246. 00:11:34.490 – 00:11:36.550 I'm like, well, that's a big loss.
  247. 00:11:36.550 – 00:11:38.970 We've got to, yeah, okay, let's get this
  248. 00:11:38.970 – 00:11:39.930 charge reversed.
  249. 00:11:40.490 – 00:11:41.490 Let's get this refund.
  250. 00:11:42.850 – 00:11:44.270 Let's put a stop to this.
  251. 00:11:45.530 – 00:11:48.010 So, you know, do that self-analysis, like I
  252. 00:11:48.010 – 00:11:48.310 said.
  253. 00:11:49.310 – 00:11:52.570 Again, if you need me, visit alienizephotos.com.
  254. 00:11:54.850 – 00:11:55.890 Alienizephotos.com.
  255. 00:11:56.630 – 00:11:59.570 If you want to sponsor on a podcast, be a
  256. 00:11:59.570 – 00:11:59.970 sponsor.
  257. 00:12:00.230 – 00:12:02.530 If you want a partner, reach out.
  258. 00:12:03.190 – 00:12:06.030 I'm always open to ideas, collaboration.
  259. 00:12:06.030 – 00:12:08.990 So, you never know until you ask.
  260. 00:12:09.750 – 00:12:10.010 All right.
  261. 00:12:10.150 – 00:12:11.470 Peace, love, and blessings, everyone.
  262. 00:12:11.750 – 00:12:12.230 Take care.

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17. Importance Of Networking

Season 1 · Episode 46

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.820 – 00:00:08.780 Walk on, walk on, walk on to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:09.040 – 00:00:11.240 Yes, yes, yes, yes.
  3. 00:00:11.640 – 00:00:17.500 With your host, Mr. Steve, Photographer Jackson,
  4. 00:00:18.420 – 00:00:20.760 or Photographer Jackson for short.
  5. 00:00:21.040 – 00:00:25.160 Most people call me Alien from my music days,
  6. 00:00:25.480 – 00:00:28.900 Alienize Player, or even now with my business,
  7. 00:00:28.900 – 00:00:31.280 Alienize Photos Media.
  8. 00:00:32.920 – 00:00:35.700 And yes, I just want to jump on real quick
  9. 00:00:35.700 – 00:00:37.720 and speak about networking.
  10. 00:00:38.060 – 00:00:39.400 And throughout my podcast,
  11. 00:00:39.400 – 00:00:41.480 I will be speaking about networking
  12. 00:00:41.480 – 00:00:43.840 and the importance of networking.
  13. 00:00:44.880 – 00:00:47.950 So yes, let's definitely jump into it.
  14. 00:00:49.040 – 00:00:52.040 Again, this is Steve Jackson.
  15. 00:00:52.760 – 00:00:56.820 Most know me as a photographer, creative artist,
  16. 00:00:56.820 – 00:01:02.100 business coach, a strategist, and a power networker,
  17. 00:01:02.140 – 00:01:03.460 because I'm like the glue.
  18. 00:01:04.739 – 00:01:05.319 Yeah.
  19. 00:01:05.840 – 00:01:08.700 And it's important to connect with other peoples.
  20. 00:01:09.240 – 00:01:10.560 If you want to grow your business,
  21. 00:01:10.620 – 00:01:12.020 if you want to grow your following,
  22. 00:01:12.120 – 00:01:15.280 if you want to grow anything, you have to network.
  23. 00:01:16.000 – 00:01:19.020 If you want more opportunities, you have to network.
  24. 00:01:20.000 – 00:01:24.600 I go to networking events twice a month,
  25. 00:01:25.350 – 00:01:26.960 a lot more than that,
  26. 00:01:27.000 – 00:01:30.840 but I try to push for at least twice a month, at least.
  27. 00:01:31.400 – 00:01:34.040 At least, even when I don't feel like it,
  28. 00:01:34.040 – 00:01:39.060 even if I only stay 30 minutes, I still show up.
  29. 00:01:40.810 – 00:01:44.670 I show up for myself, I show up for my business,
  30. 00:01:45.270 – 00:01:46.430 and I show up for others.
  31. 00:01:46.830 – 00:01:48.570 You got to have a support system.
  32. 00:01:49.370 – 00:01:51.710 You could do it as a team or you could do it solely.
  33. 00:01:52.550 – 00:01:53.810 Throw your own events.
  34. 00:01:53.810 – 00:01:56.650 And to get people to come out to your event,
  35. 00:01:57.290 – 00:01:59.050 how do you do that?
  36. 00:02:00.030 – 00:02:00.910 By networking.
  37. 00:02:02.390 – 00:02:03.710 By networking.
  38. 00:02:05.010 – 00:02:07.970 And like I said, this is going to be real short
  39. 00:02:08.770 – 00:02:10.910 because I'm going to be speaking about networking
  40. 00:02:10.910 – 00:02:12.730 throughout this podcast.
  41. 00:02:14.250 – 00:02:15.010 And yeah.
  42. 00:02:15.950 – 00:02:18.570 So my daughters gave me the thumbs up
  43. 00:02:18.570 – 00:02:20.970 that the files are done.
  44. 00:02:20.970 – 00:02:23.530 I had a couple photo shoots today,
  45. 00:02:24.250 – 00:02:29.190 and then more recently, a video production for a podcast.
  46. 00:02:30.110 – 00:02:32.870 So I'm like, well, while these files load up,
  47. 00:02:33.110 – 00:02:35.390 I'm going to record an episode real quick
  48. 00:02:35.390 – 00:02:38.530 just to give y'all the importance of networking
  49. 00:02:38.530 – 00:02:39.770 or just that reminder.
  50. 00:02:39.870 – 00:02:41.570 You may know the importance of networking,
  51. 00:02:42.170 – 00:02:45.330 but just to give you that reminder to don't be afraid.
  52. 00:02:45.930 – 00:02:47.570 Step outside your comfort zone
  53. 00:02:47.570 – 00:02:51.370 if you think you're not able to network effectively.
  54. 00:02:52.670 – 00:02:53.870 Just test it.
  55. 00:02:54.250 – 00:02:58.490 Get three contacts and sit in the corner out of that
  56. 00:02:58.490 – 00:03:01.070 or get three contacts and leave.
  57. 00:03:02.310 – 00:03:04.190 But definitely challenge yourself.
  58. 00:03:04.790 – 00:03:06.150 Make them connections.
  59. 00:03:06.250 – 00:03:07.470 Get those contacts.
  60. 00:03:07.590 – 00:03:08.590 Build your network.
  61. 00:03:09.350 – 00:03:12.430 Your net worth is based off your network
  62. 00:03:13.250 – 00:03:14.270 and vice versa.
  63. 00:03:15.050 – 00:03:16.510 So yeah.
  64. 00:03:16.510 – 00:03:18.450 Or I ain't going to say vice versa.
  65. 00:03:18.790 – 00:03:21.530 Your net worth is mostly your network.
  66. 00:03:22.850 – 00:03:24.630 So who's in your network?
  67. 00:03:25.530 – 00:03:26.830 How's your network doing?
  68. 00:03:26.910 – 00:03:30.270 How big your network is is all important,
  69. 00:03:30.270 – 00:03:31.970 especially for your net worth.
  70. 00:03:33.270 – 00:03:34.010 And yeah, like I said,
  71. 00:03:34.030 – 00:03:35.290 my daughter gave me the thumbs up
  72. 00:03:35.290 – 00:03:36.910 that the files are done.
  73. 00:03:37.230 – 00:03:39.130 So I'm going to wrap up real quick
  74. 00:03:39.130 – 00:03:41.790 because it's been a long day
  75. 00:03:41.790 – 00:03:45.450 and we've been at the studio for hours,
  76. 00:03:45.450 – 00:03:46.890 even a couple of hours
  77. 00:03:46.890 – 00:03:49.870 because the production carried over a little bit.
  78. 00:03:50.190 – 00:03:52.070 But hey, that's media.
  79. 00:03:53.290 – 00:03:55.590 And yeah, we're pretty hungry.
  80. 00:03:55.990 – 00:03:57.010 And it's dinner time.
  81. 00:03:57.890 – 00:04:01.850 And she had some schoolwork, summer schoolwork
  82. 00:04:01.850 – 00:04:03.950 and knocked it out.
  83. 00:04:04.590 – 00:04:09.330 So she's ready to get home to her toys before bed.
  84. 00:04:09.990 – 00:04:11.890 So I'm going to wrap this up.
  85. 00:04:12.310 – 00:04:14.050 Remember to get out there and network.
  86. 00:04:14.570 – 00:04:15.850 Shed your skin.
  87. 00:04:16.089 – 00:04:18.510 Even sometimes I have to talk to myself
  88. 00:04:18.510 – 00:04:19.649 and hype myself up.
  89. 00:04:19.870 – 00:04:21.550 Like, look, you're here now.
  90. 00:04:22.270 – 00:04:23.590 Just shake a couple of hands,
  91. 00:04:23.950 – 00:04:25.170 meet new people,
  92. 00:04:25.670 – 00:04:28.050 be intentional as possible.
  93. 00:04:28.650 – 00:04:32.350 You may be coming into a blind networking thing.
  94. 00:04:32.450 – 00:04:35.470 Like you don't know anybody or who will be there,
  95. 00:04:35.650 – 00:04:37.630 but it's best to do your research
  96. 00:04:37.630 – 00:04:39.190 for the people that will be there.
  97. 00:04:39.330 – 00:04:40.950 Maybe there's a speaker,
  98. 00:04:41.070 – 00:04:42.090 maybe there's a panel,
  99. 00:04:42.150 – 00:04:43.150 maybe there's a host,
  100. 00:04:43.150 – 00:04:45.830 maybe there's a company sponsoring.
  101. 00:04:46.510 – 00:04:49.350 So you kind of want to look those companies up,
  102. 00:04:50.110 – 00:04:51.850 see who the key players are,
  103. 00:04:52.490 – 00:04:54.470 see if they align with what you do
  104. 00:04:54.470 – 00:04:55.630 and what you want to do
  105. 00:04:55.630 – 00:04:57.910 and maybe the opportunities you want to set for.
  106. 00:04:58.070 – 00:04:59.690 Or maybe you want to partner with them
  107. 00:04:59.690 – 00:05:03.510 or hire them or they may hire you.
  108. 00:05:03.850 – 00:05:05.330 So you never know,
  109. 00:05:05.830 – 00:05:07.330 but you got to get out there and network
  110. 00:05:07.330 – 00:05:08.890 and build your network
  111. 00:05:09.520 – 00:05:11.630 and it builds your net worth.
  112. 00:05:12.050 – 00:05:14.190 And also raise your value,
  113. 00:05:14.510 – 00:05:16.010 but it all ties together.
  114. 00:05:16.190 – 00:05:17.930 So don't be afraid,
  115. 00:05:17.950 – 00:05:19.070 get out there and network.
  116. 00:05:19.710 – 00:05:21.470 Again, I'm going to keep it real short.
  117. 00:05:21.510 – 00:05:22.850 So I'm going to wrap this up.
  118. 00:05:23.210 – 00:05:28.450 Again, this is Alien Eye player throwback.
  119. 00:05:29.290 – 00:05:31.510 Alien Eye's Photos Industry Talk
  120. 00:05:31.510 – 00:05:32.430 with your host,
  121. 00:05:32.710 – 00:05:34.330 photographer Jackson,
  122. 00:05:34.870 – 00:05:36.570 Steve Jackson.
  123. 00:05:37.770 – 00:05:39.310 Give me your importance on networking.
  124. 00:05:40.410 – 00:05:43.610 And if you ever need me as a business coach
  125. 00:05:43.610 – 00:05:45.750 or event photography
  126. 00:05:45.750 – 00:05:48.330 or to be your wedding photographer
  127. 00:05:48.330 – 00:05:51.730 or video production, podcast production,
  128. 00:05:52.430 – 00:05:54.490 consultant, business coaching,
  129. 00:05:55.430 – 00:05:57.150 just a talk strategy,
  130. 00:05:57.510 – 00:05:58.670 ideation sessions,
  131. 00:05:59.590 – 00:06:00.790 kind of whatever you need
  132. 00:06:00.790 – 00:06:05.130 on a high level visual marketing spectrum,
  133. 00:06:05.970 – 00:06:07.070 I can help you.
  134. 00:06:07.170 – 00:06:08.290 Or I have a network
  135. 00:06:08.290 – 00:06:10.170 that can help you as well.
  136. 00:06:10.310 – 00:06:12.470 So definitely reach out to me
  137. 00:06:12.470 – 00:06:15.210 at alieneyesphotos.com.
  138. 00:06:15.370 – 00:06:17.830 That's Alien Eyes with a Z
  139. 00:06:17.830 – 00:06:19.910 and Photos with a S.
  140. 00:06:21.030 – 00:06:22.310 Alieneyesphotos.com.
  141. 00:06:22.610 – 00:06:25.070 And you can follow me on all social media
  142. 00:06:25.070 – 00:06:30.190 at Alien Eyes Photos.
  143. 00:06:31.510 – 00:06:32.990 Alien Eyes Photos.
  144. 00:06:33.230 – 00:06:34.110 Yes, everybody.
  145. 00:06:34.690 – 00:06:35.750 Follow me,
  146. 00:06:35.930 – 00:06:37.030 contact me,
  147. 00:06:37.030 – 00:06:38.710 reach out to me,
  148. 00:06:38.870 – 00:06:40.970 like, share, comment,
  149. 00:06:41.290 – 00:06:42.270 all that good stuff.
  150. 00:06:42.470 – 00:06:44.350 Share this podcast with a friend,
  151. 00:06:44.830 – 00:06:46.170 especially this episode.
  152. 00:06:46.710 – 00:06:48.590 And I thank you for tuning in.
  153. 00:06:48.810 – 00:06:50.070 Till next time, everybody.
  154. 00:06:50.930 – 00:06:51.490 Peace.

Back to contents

18. How to Get A Quarter Raise

Season 1 · Episode 45

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.690 – 00:00:03.110 Welcome, welcome, welcome.
  2. 00:00:03.850 – 00:00:06.370 This is photographer Steve Jackson
  3. 00:00:07.150 – 00:00:09.170 of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  4. 00:00:09.870 – 00:00:13.290 And this is Alien Eyes Photos industry talk.
  5. 00:00:14.910 – 00:00:16.890 Thank you for tuning in.
  6. 00:00:17.470 – 00:00:23.510 And I was just reflecting and kind of reminiscing.
  7. 00:00:25.660 – 00:00:29.540 I like to do reflections even of my younger self
  8. 00:00:30.480 – 00:00:34.220 and just thinking about how I am on my entrepreneur journey
  9. 00:00:34.880 – 00:00:39.120 from an artist, now creative entrepreneur.
  10. 00:00:41.880 – 00:00:45.720 I haven't always started there or even as an artist.
  11. 00:00:47.180 – 00:00:50.360 Well, art was always a part of my life,
  12. 00:00:50.380 – 00:00:54.640 but as far as making money from my art and as an artist.
  13. 00:00:57.280 – 00:00:59.080 Of course, we had to work jobs
  14. 00:00:59.080 – 00:01:06.060 and I remember just being under value for three years.
  15. 00:01:06.920 – 00:01:09.720 You know, I've got a quarter raise
  16. 00:01:10.100 – 00:01:13.040 and then even the next year I got another quarter raise.
  17. 00:01:13.060 – 00:01:14.320 It was like a quarter.
  18. 00:01:15.060 – 00:01:16.520 So before that even happened,
  19. 00:01:16.520 – 00:01:21.960 I wanted to renegotiate the raise way beforehand
  20. 00:01:21.960 – 00:01:25.240 before that quote unquote quarter hit again.
  21. 00:01:26.140 – 00:01:29.380 Like given tasks and duties,
  22. 00:01:30.340 – 00:01:33.780 job duties that you didn't sign up for originally.
  23. 00:01:34.580 – 00:01:38.880 Now you're doing four different departments, same pay.
  24. 00:01:39.320 – 00:01:41.420 At the end of the year, you get a quarter raise
  25. 00:01:41.420 – 00:01:50.080 like 25 cent raise after doing the job for five people
  26. 00:01:50.980 – 00:01:53.660 and people that's supposed to be replaced
  27. 00:01:53.660 – 00:01:57.740 that got fired or injured, never got replaced
  28. 00:01:57.740 – 00:01:59.620 and you're picking up the slack,
  29. 00:02:00.480 – 00:02:03.160 having to stay after late,
  30. 00:02:03.740 – 00:02:08.280 not getting paid overtime or additional wages,
  31. 00:02:09.380 – 00:02:12.400 also doing other things within a company.
  32. 00:02:15.880 – 00:02:18.300 It just makes you think like, you know,
  33. 00:02:18.420 – 00:02:20.000 starting off as an entrepreneur,
  34. 00:02:21.240 – 00:02:23.100 you will be wearing many hats,
  35. 00:02:23.860 – 00:02:25.860 you know, doing a lot of everything,
  36. 00:02:26.460 – 00:02:29.120 but of course you would like it
  37. 00:02:29.120 – 00:02:31.720 and you enjoy it because it's something you're building.
  38. 00:02:32.680 – 00:02:35.420 You're not going to always like it or always enjoy it
  39. 00:02:35.420 – 00:02:39.080 but there will be aspects that you will enjoy
  40. 00:02:39.540 – 00:02:43.780 and there'll be phases that keep you
  41. 00:02:45.160 – 00:02:48.900 not doing the things that you're supposed to do
  42. 00:02:49.650 – 00:02:52.500 but you have to continue to do
  43. 00:02:52.500 – 00:02:55.880 what you're supposed to do for you
  44. 00:02:55.880 – 00:02:58.300 and where you want to be.
  45. 00:02:59.320 – 00:03:01.320 Like I didn't join the military
  46. 00:03:01.320 – 00:03:05.200 after being approached by military officers,
  47. 00:03:05.440 – 00:03:07.020 you know, recruiting officers
  48. 00:03:07.020 – 00:03:09.260 for different military branches
  49. 00:03:10.420 – 00:03:13.860 and I was considering it since they, you know,
  50. 00:03:14.040 – 00:03:15.620 pay for your college and housing,
  51. 00:03:15.620 – 00:03:17.140 like this and I'm like, okay,
  52. 00:03:17.640 – 00:03:21.820 there's nice benefits to it and pay is decent
  53. 00:03:23.360 – 00:03:25.900 and you get to retire after 20 years,
  54. 00:03:25.980 – 00:03:28.260 I'm like, oh, that's actually hurt
  55. 00:03:28.260 – 00:03:30.180 but I'm thinking like, okay,
  56. 00:03:30.720 – 00:03:34.340 especially now I'm thinking how I'm moving in life,
  57. 00:03:35.700 – 00:03:40.960 like first 20 years of my life was just more music
  58. 00:03:41.780 – 00:03:45.300 and now transition to more visual
  59. 00:03:45.880 – 00:03:48.960 where it's more photography and video.
  60. 00:03:49.760 – 00:03:55.320 So I'm like, what's the next 420 is going to be after 40
  61. 00:03:55.320 – 00:03:57.640 and what's the next 20 after that
  62. 00:03:58.500 – 00:04:05.480 and that 80 years of age all the way to 100,
  63. 00:04:06.160 – 00:04:07.700 what that's going to be vital,
  64. 00:04:08.140 – 00:04:09.820 like what am I going to focus on,
  65. 00:04:09.820 – 00:04:12.400 what is going to be my art form at that time
  66. 00:04:14.160 – 00:04:17.000 and, you know, just looking at it like that.
  67. 00:04:18.380 – 00:04:19.899 I declined in the military
  68. 00:04:20.459 – 00:04:24.820 because I said they didn't have any musical jobs,
  69. 00:04:26.380 – 00:04:27.900 anything that has to do with music,
  70. 00:04:27.920 – 00:04:30.480 I want to be a musician, I want to be an artist.
  71. 00:04:31.760 – 00:04:34.580 So I declined, I said, I figured it out
  72. 00:04:35.340 – 00:04:38.360 and I'm glad I always took risks,
  73. 00:04:38.760 – 00:04:44.150 just going back to that job, you know,
  74. 00:04:44.950 – 00:04:49.390 all of a sudden they said they are relocating,
  75. 00:04:49.410 – 00:04:52.550 you know, for somewhere that was going back to 20,
  76. 00:04:52.910 – 00:04:57.330 like 20, 25 minutes further than, you know,
  77. 00:04:57.630 – 00:04:59.850 as convenient, it was a neighborhood job.
  78. 00:05:00.930 – 00:05:05.370 It was 10, 15 minutes, not too far for me.
  79. 00:05:06.110 – 00:05:07.930 So I gave it grace,
  80. 00:05:07.930 – 00:05:11.410 but yeah, that quarter at 25 cent raise,
  81. 00:05:12.250 – 00:05:13.510 it just wasn't enough.
  82. 00:05:13.630 – 00:05:20.830 Like I was 16, 17, 18 working at a grocery store.
  83. 00:05:21.810 – 00:05:24.270 Started a little above minimum wage
  84. 00:05:24.270 – 00:05:28.670 and, you know, I used to give 50 cent, a dollar increases
  85. 00:05:28.670 – 00:05:31.110 like, you know, that's still not a lot
  86. 00:05:31.110 – 00:05:34.210 for, you know, people that make, you know,
  87. 00:05:34.510 – 00:05:36.870 millions and billions and I'm just thinking about that,
  88. 00:05:36.870 – 00:05:41.230 and then I just, I'm pretty sure you got a large fraction
  89. 00:05:41.230 – 00:05:44.870 close to that, you know, million, billion,
  90. 00:05:45.110 – 00:05:47.330 just like these millionaires and billionaires,
  91. 00:05:47.790 – 00:05:50.430 you know, this is vital work.
  92. 00:05:51.090 – 00:05:52.950 I'm not sure of all the overhead costs,
  93. 00:05:53.030 – 00:05:55.910 but I'm sure what you're getting paid
  94. 00:05:55.910 – 00:05:59.490 is way much more than I'm getting paid
  95. 00:05:59.490 – 00:06:02.410 as a, you know, 20 year old.
  96. 00:06:03.490 – 00:06:09.330 But I was always business minded, entrepreneur minded,
  97. 00:06:09.330 – 00:06:13.250 and I had to develop that as an artist
  98. 00:06:13.250 – 00:06:17.270 and I wasn't always monetized and know what I knew now.
  99. 00:06:18.250 – 00:06:20.150 And then like, I just knew I had to learn
  100. 00:06:20.150 – 00:06:21.470 the whole business side.
  101. 00:06:21.910 – 00:06:26.190 So I also applied that when I went to different jobs
  102. 00:06:26.190 – 00:06:27.730 and worked for different employers,
  103. 00:06:28.350 – 00:06:30.250 I still kept with business
  104. 00:06:30.250 – 00:06:31.950 and treated myself like a businessman
  105. 00:06:31.950 – 00:06:34.030 and even asked different questions.
  106. 00:06:34.490 – 00:06:36.330 And then I shocked people like, wow,
  107. 00:06:36.470 – 00:06:39.190 I didn't expect you to say that or ask this
  108. 00:06:39.190 – 00:06:39.970 or this and that.
  109. 00:06:41.870 – 00:06:45.570 And I had no quitting after I found out,
  110. 00:06:46.470 – 00:06:51.650 well, it was months later I stayed as long as I could,
  111. 00:06:52.790 – 00:06:57.630 but the whole relocation and the avoidance
  112. 00:06:58.370 – 00:07:01.090 for three and a half straight weeks
  113. 00:07:01.970 – 00:07:03.930 of we're supposed to have this meeting
  114. 00:07:03.930 – 00:07:05.950 or something just happens.
  115. 00:07:06.610 – 00:07:08.730 Oh, well, we'll get to it next Friday
  116. 00:07:08.730 – 00:07:12.730 and then don't even show up like,
  117. 00:07:14.250 – 00:07:15.330 almost like the whole week.
  118. 00:07:16.130 – 00:07:20.270 So it's things like that and not even honoring that,
  119. 00:07:20.290 – 00:07:22.410 you know, a meeting was set
  120. 00:07:23.090 – 00:07:26.950 and multiple times basically didn't show up.
  121. 00:07:27.010 – 00:07:29.470 It was just that act of avoidance, okay.
  122. 00:07:31.090 – 00:07:35.950 So I just knew my power and the power
  123. 00:07:35.950 – 00:07:38.670 of just standing up for yourself and having a voice,
  124. 00:07:39.510 – 00:07:41.930 no matter what you do or where you at,
  125. 00:07:42.590 – 00:07:45.030 is standing up for yourself and having that voice
  126. 00:07:45.030 – 00:07:47.050 and standing on your dream.
  127. 00:07:47.450 – 00:07:49.890 Like, you know, you are worth more.
  128. 00:07:51.410 – 00:07:56.030 And those are some things I just was reflecting on,
  129. 00:07:57.350 – 00:07:59.470 just came to mind, came to heart.
  130. 00:07:59.470 – 00:08:02.410 And it's like, yeah, I'm glad I am doing better
  131. 00:08:03.330 – 00:08:06.770 and showing up for myself and learning
  132. 00:08:07.870 – 00:08:10.670 and applying all that I need to apply
  133. 00:08:10.670 – 00:08:13.770 to get to where I need to be.
  134. 00:08:16.380 – 00:08:18.260 But stay focused out there.
  135. 00:08:18.980 – 00:08:22.600 Whatever you wanna do, you have to do it.
  136. 00:08:23.260 – 00:08:25.780 And this is just a reminder from my reflections
  137. 00:08:25.780 – 00:08:28.040 from my entrepreneur journey,
  138. 00:08:28.600 – 00:08:33.720 continue to layer with me, you know, go down my path.
  139. 00:08:34.340 – 00:08:39.059 Some of my journey, hopefully it helps you
  140. 00:08:39.059 – 00:08:43.340 to become a better creative, a better entrepreneur,
  141. 00:08:44.100 – 00:08:49.950 a better creative entrepreneur, a better person,
  142. 00:08:50.690 – 00:08:56.030 man, woman, whatever you wanna be,
  143. 00:08:56.330 – 00:08:57.370 remember you can do that.
  144. 00:08:58.430 – 00:08:59.730 All right, y'all gotta get out of here.
  145. 00:08:59.830 – 00:09:01.370 This is photographer Jackson,
  146. 00:09:01.370 – 00:09:04.710 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  147. 00:09:05.290 – 00:09:08.930 And this is Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  148. 00:09:09.830 – 00:09:13.270 And you can follow me at alieneyesphotos,
  149. 00:09:13.270 – 00:09:18.450 that's alieneyesphotos with a S,
  150. 00:09:19.690 – 00:09:21.370 but the I's is with a Z.
  151. 00:09:22.070 – 00:09:25.010 And alieneyesphotos.com, again,
  152. 00:09:25.350 – 00:09:28.150 that's alien eyes like your eyeballs,
  153. 00:09:28.430 – 00:09:34.870 but with a Z, I's with a Z, Photos with a S.com,
  154. 00:09:34.990 – 00:09:40.930 alieneyesphotos.com and at alieneyesphotos on all media.
  155. 00:09:41.930 – 00:09:43.170 All right, y'all, peace.

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19. Value In Leisure

Season 1 · Episode 44

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.230 – 00:00:11.450 Walk on, walk on, walk on, walk on to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk with your host,
  2. 00:00:11.650 – 00:00:19.690 photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media, bringing you Alien Eyes
  3. 00:00:19.690 – 00:00:28.430 Photos Industry Talk, and I don't want to be too long because I have to eat, it's
  4. 00:00:28.430 – 00:00:34.930 midnight, just got home from this event. I'm sounding a little nasally, feeling a little
  5. 00:00:34.930 – 00:00:43.430 nasally, so that's how you know this is real and authentic, and I'll just give you my journey as
  6. 00:00:43.430 – 00:00:52.370 promised anyway. Like I could be, you know, getting ready for bed, really be working,
  7. 00:00:53.000 – 00:00:58.570 getting ready for bed, relaxing, or, you know, I got a meal, I want to eat it while it's hot,
  8. 00:00:59.370 – 00:01:10.190 and I'm out all day, and, you know, I enjoyed myself being out today coming from this event,
  9. 00:01:10.890 – 00:01:19.870 you know, I know most of the organizers of the event, you know, it's something I always look
  10. 00:01:19.870 – 00:01:30.820 forward to when they do anything. I was, to be candid, I was supposed to be the contracted
  11. 00:01:30.820 – 00:01:42.940 media for this event, and, you know, just handling business and doing business. You
  12. 00:01:42.940 – 00:01:53.150 have a price and a price point, you adjust as needed, yes, but when someone undercuts your
  13. 00:01:53.150 – 00:02:04.260 budget, I would just do not take it, you know, say, you would save it for the opportunity for
  14. 00:02:04.260 – 00:02:13.120 someone else, or maybe someone who needs the opportunity, who haven't had many opportunities,
  15. 00:02:14.420 – 00:02:20.300 but I work with a team, and I have to pay my team, I have to pay myself,
  16. 00:02:21.400 – 00:02:29.290 and, you know, the first couple years I never took from the company, as far as paying myself,
  17. 00:02:29.840 – 00:02:46.410 I always work, I'm actually still an employee somewhere, but you have to stand,
  18. 00:02:47.870 – 00:02:56.010 or what you stand on, your price is your price, unless it's free, just think about it like that,
  19. 00:02:56.690 – 00:03:04.770 because even though I wasn't officially hired, I still contribute, I still supported, I still
  20. 00:03:05.390 – 00:03:14.230 got media for this favorite event of mine, and that's a bad quote when I see it,
  21. 00:03:14.230 – 00:03:22.780 it's been annual, it's year after year, and I love it, so I'd rather do it for free,
  22. 00:03:24.320 – 00:03:30.720 and enjoy myself, and not have that pressure, or just be working and feel like I'm undervalued,
  23. 00:03:30.740 – 00:03:39.180 or anything like that, so just take that pressure, that alleviation of that tightness,
  24. 00:03:39.180 – 00:03:48.140 like, uh, no, it's good to say no, it's good to walk away from deals that are not yours,
  25. 00:03:49.780 – 00:03:57.690 are we still cool? Yeah, we know business is business, but catch me on the next one,
  26. 00:04:00.310 – 00:04:08.770 oh yeah, sometimes negotiation is good, sometimes negotiation is bad, sometimes
  27. 00:04:09.410 – 00:04:18.510 you cannot negotiate anything, like, no, this is, this is it, take it or leave it, some cases,
  28. 00:04:19.149 – 00:04:25.070 yeah, it's good to negotiate, talk about it, work something out, be in the middle,
  29. 00:04:27.350 – 00:04:35.360 but I'll let you be the judge of that, you are your own individual, you are your own entity,
  30. 00:04:36.080 – 00:04:45.380 we make our own decisions, but I'm just giving you the options, so, but I use both,
  31. 00:04:46.600 – 00:04:53.560 there's a lot of times, especially like non-profits, so any non-profits listening to
  32. 00:04:53.560 – 00:05:01.740 this, don't try to take advantage of me now, but I try to work with them a little more,
  33. 00:05:01.740 – 00:05:12.560 because I see the impact, I've been a part of so many, and it brings that emotion out of you,
  34. 00:05:12.580 – 00:05:19.480 like, almost even to tears sometimes, as a man, just feeling the impact of so many
  35. 00:05:20.080 – 00:05:28.680 of these non-profits that's doing great work, like, wow, so I do negotiate stuff like that,
  36. 00:05:29.420 – 00:05:34.880 even do some things for free, like I believe in, everyone gets that free one, maybe it's a free
  37. 00:05:34.880 – 00:05:40.200 picture, that first one is free, but after that, I'm gonna have to charge you, you know,
  38. 00:05:40.200 – 00:05:46.020 the game is free, but if you really want to continue on and accelerate and do this long
  39. 00:05:46.020 – 00:05:56.980 time, it's gonna cost you, it's a fee to things, so, yeah, my entrepreneur journey
  40. 00:05:56.980 – 00:06:03.360 has been so, so fruitful, just me and so many people like I have at this event,
  41. 00:06:04.020 – 00:06:10.560 and just go out to events, network, the key to going out is to network,
  42. 00:06:11.300 – 00:06:16.540 if you're gonna step out, you meet one person at least, they gotta go, especially if you're
  43. 00:06:16.540 – 00:06:22.920 introverted, I am introverted, but I've grown to know so many people that have always been
  44. 00:06:22.920 – 00:06:27.940 out, people are like, dang, you everywhere, I see you everywhere, what are you just saying?
  45. 00:06:29.140 – 00:06:36.880 Yes, it's my frequency, even with the days and months, sometimes I'll just be inside y'all,
  46. 00:06:37.840 – 00:06:43.380 months away, people would finally pop out again, people are like, wow, I see you everywhere,
  47. 00:06:43.880 – 00:06:48.560 I'm like, look, I've been in the house for a month, really? Oh, it's the same,
  48. 00:06:48.560 – 00:06:56.280 yeah, because I'm outside, what many people don't go out, or go out to, or potentially network,
  49. 00:06:57.180 – 00:07:04.820 or even if it's not attention, but just build their network, build their brand, connect,
  50. 00:07:05.320 – 00:07:10.540 shake hands, talk with people, experience new things, different events, different industries,
  51. 00:07:10.540 – 00:07:16.500 shout out to alien hospitals, industry talk, industry talk,
  52. 00:07:18.420 – 00:07:24.080 as I cover different industries and interview guests from different industries,
  53. 00:07:25.240 – 00:07:34.620 specialists, professionals, and then we all come together as a community, bring it together
  54. 00:07:35.300 – 00:07:46.000 as a humanity, like, we all grow together, you know, we could all be in this together,
  55. 00:07:46.500 – 00:07:53.600 what are you learning? What is your industry doing that my industry could apply? What is
  56. 00:07:53.600 – 00:08:00.080 that? And that's why I wanted to start this podcast, and that's why going out to events
  57. 00:08:01.140 – 00:08:04.840 is important, that's why I wanted to take the night off,
  58. 00:08:05.580 – 00:08:10.720 I didn't want to work, I wanted to actually attend, be an attendee, enjoy myself,
  59. 00:08:11.680 – 00:08:15.980 still create context, I'm a content creator, this is what I do, I'm going to do it regardless,
  60. 00:08:18.020 – 00:08:25.400 but enjoy myself, and network, and meet people, I even did a podcast at the event,
  61. 00:08:26.780 – 00:08:35.280 and produced with the Pull Up Experience, as always, my production partner, shout out
  62. 00:08:35.280 – 00:08:45.080 to the Pull Up Experience, man, if you're not following us on Instagram, it's the Pull Up EXP,
  63. 00:08:45.080 – 00:08:50.900 the Pull Up EXP, but check out our YouTube, all our interviews,
  64. 00:08:52.540 – 00:09:01.520 all our interviews, we're past episode 300, I lost count, I lost count, but yes,
  65. 00:09:03.000 – 00:09:09.580 check out the Pull Up Experience on YouTube, the Pull Up Experience podcast, oh my gosh,
  66. 00:09:09.580 – 00:09:17.520 out of Cleveland, Ohio, we are doing it, tap in, please, and I want to shout out my other media
  67. 00:09:17.520 – 00:09:24.660 partners, LaunchArts Media, and I am the Vice President of LaunchArts Media, the video department
  68. 00:09:24.660 – 00:09:31.600 help me contribute great visuals to these brilliant clients, brilliant partners,
  69. 00:09:32.760 – 00:09:38.280 everybody that needs the digital market and content, the visuals,
  70. 00:09:41.960 – 00:09:51.340 oh, tap in, LaunchArts Media, we get your notice, I want to shout out Alien Eyes Photos
  71. 00:09:52.520 – 00:09:59.000 Media, I don't shout out Alien Eyes Photos Media that much, especially since I've been
  72. 00:09:59.000 – 00:10:05.680 starting the podcast and building it up more, but your go-to for event photography
  73. 00:10:06.380 – 00:10:13.480 and video production, specializing in behind the scenes podcasts
  74. 00:10:14.640 – 00:10:20.700 and live events, shout out to Creative Frequency,
  75. 00:10:21.940 – 00:10:30.060 yes, I could not do that alone as far as the consistency, so you can join us at Creative
  76. 00:10:31.080 – 00:10:40.400 Frequency on all platforms, on a Creative Frequency, on a Creative Frequency on social
  77. 00:10:40.400 – 00:10:52.470 media, that is me and Bri, Brianna Casanova, oh man, we're just artists, genius, genius
  78. 00:10:52.470 – 00:11:01.550 artists, I don't, we just like, so talented in so many different art forms,
  79. 00:11:02.870 – 00:11:09.150 we're creative and we are creatives, and as I talk to you creative entrepreneurs,
  80. 00:11:10.930 – 00:11:19.990 follow us, Creative Frequency, as we continue to show you how to be
  81. 00:11:19.990 – 00:11:27.950 consistently creative and that's the frequency you want to be on, you want to frequently be
  82. 00:11:27.950 – 00:11:35.850 creative and that's why we name ourselves Creative Frequency, again that's on a Creative
  83. 00:11:36.630 – 00:11:45.830 Frequency, on a Creative Frequency, all right, but I'm about to wrap this up because I got to
  84. 00:11:45.830 – 00:11:55.870 leave, so follow me at Alien Eyes Photos, that's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with an S,
  85. 00:11:56.430 – 00:12:03.190 and then if you want more information or to book me as a photographer or consultant,
  86. 00:12:05.730 – 00:12:13.530 visit alieneyesphotos.com, that's alieneyesphotos.com, and this has been
  87. 00:12:13.530 – 00:12:22.150 another edition of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk, and I am your host photographer Jackson,
  88. 00:12:22.910 – 00:12:29.610 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media, Alien Eyes Photos Media, we everywhere,
  89. 00:12:29.610 – 00:12:32.090 art your piece about.

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20. Getting Your Reps (Why You Must Get Your Reps)

Season 1 · Episode 43

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.580 – 00:00:03.940 Get your reps
  2. 00:00:05.120 – 00:00:13.660 Be in the power position and the habit of getting your reps
  3. 00:00:15.520 – 00:00:20.360 Walk on walk on walk on walk on walk on walk on walk on walk on
  4. 00:00:21.580 – 00:00:28.280 To alien eyes photos industry talk and this is photographer Jackson
  5. 00:00:28.920 – 00:00:35.540 This is all about getting your reps are more so a reminder for
  6. 00:00:35.540 – 00:00:37.760 getting your
  7. 00:00:37.760 – 00:00:39.560 reps and
  8. 00:00:40.500 – 00:00:43.460 If you follow creator frequency
  9. 00:00:43.460 – 00:00:50.720 All media on a creative frequency, you know me and Brianna preach about
  10. 00:00:51.220 – 00:00:53.060 getting our
  11. 00:00:53.060 – 00:00:53.660 reps
  12. 00:00:53.660 – 00:01:02.520 We had a show segment about getting our reps is giving us room and space and also a platform
  13. 00:01:04.080 – 00:01:07.580 To get our reps and getting our reps means
  14. 00:01:09.540 – 00:01:10.740 practice our
  15. 00:01:11.520 – 00:01:19.220 Number of repetitions that we get just practice on things that we normally may not do
  16. 00:01:19.220 – 00:01:21.720 but in our own space and
  17. 00:01:22.240 – 00:01:30.540 See we're wrong. We're right. We'll correct what we could fix what we like what we didn't like how we can make it better
  18. 00:01:31.140 – 00:01:36.440 before we serve our customers and that's the beauty of
  19. 00:01:36.440 – 00:01:42.440 Being in the relationship where you both do the same type of things or at least
  20. 00:01:42.440 – 00:01:44.220 compatible things
  21. 00:01:45.220 – 00:01:49.980 So with us kind of being in the same industry like we slightly
  22. 00:01:49.980 – 00:01:54.520 Have different styles and serve different clients
  23. 00:01:54.520 – 00:01:59.060 but for the most part our skill and our technician and
  24. 00:02:00.320 – 00:02:03.940 Flow is the same business. It's the same
  25. 00:02:04.820 – 00:02:05.540 so
  26. 00:02:06.820 – 00:02:14.680 That's good to have a complementary things that we can almost like a couple going to the gym and working out together
  27. 00:02:14.900 – 00:02:19.960 We working out we trying different workouts. We we doing this we doing that
  28. 00:02:19.980 – 00:02:21.580 We're doing this many reps
  29. 00:02:21.580 – 00:02:27.180 We're doing this many reps on this one and just trying different things and what we like
  30. 00:02:27.180 – 00:02:32.560 You know at the end of the day, we don't have to be in a cookie cutter system. Like, okay
  31. 00:02:32.560 – 00:02:34.900 We do this we do this we do this
  32. 00:02:34.900 – 00:02:39.100 We do this we do this we do this we do this we do this we do this
  33. 00:02:39.100 – 00:02:41.260 I know we do this
  34. 00:02:41.980 – 00:02:46.380 Then we do that and then we do this do this do that do that and he would do this
  35. 00:02:46.980 – 00:02:49.060 We do that do that do that do this
  36. 00:02:49.060 – 00:02:57.800 So just having all the different combinations and having a space to be open to learn and grow and perfect
  37. 00:02:58.560 – 00:03:02.980 And when you are getting your reps you are on the road to perfection
  38. 00:03:04.340 – 00:03:05.880 You're on a road
  39. 00:03:05.880 – 00:03:12.640 For constant progress getting better. If you haven't listened to my show
  40. 00:03:14.300 – 00:03:15.820 Getting better
  41. 00:03:15.820 – 00:03:18.620 Definitely check that out
  42. 00:03:19.600 – 00:03:24.040 It's a short episode. I believe about five minutes long
  43. 00:03:25.600 – 00:03:32.140 It's quick easy to digest a great reminder. I love giving these reminders on my entrepreneur journey
  44. 00:03:32.140 – 00:03:37.800 It's also like a mirror reflection to me and reminders to me
  45. 00:03:37.800 – 00:03:41.820 But also reminders to you, but if you're hearing it for the first time
  46. 00:03:41.820 – 00:03:48.100 That's even more beautiful. You know, you get introduced to different perspective and concepts and growth
  47. 00:03:48.100 – 00:03:52.060 You know, you got to be exposed to grow to grow
  48. 00:03:53.220 – 00:03:58.960 You have to be exposed to growth to grow
  49. 00:03:59.740 – 00:04:01.740 it's like maybe
  50. 00:04:03.920 – 00:04:05.520 Exposed to
  51. 00:04:05.520 – 00:04:10.620 You know your environment. Maybe there's a lot of
  52. 00:04:10.620 – 00:04:16.320 You know killings going on. There's a lot of cracks. It's
  53. 00:04:16.320 – 00:04:18.079 Just a lot of traffic jam
  54. 00:04:18.920 – 00:04:22.300 There's a lot of this. There's a lot of that
  55. 00:04:23.620 – 00:04:30.900 So if you're always around it, that's what you are supposed to constantly that's all you see
  56. 00:04:31.860 – 00:04:33.740 There's a high percentage
  57. 00:04:35.200 – 00:04:40.700 That you're going to be caught up in that that's what I happen to you xy see
  58. 00:04:42.060 – 00:04:44.180 But if you expose yourself
  59. 00:04:44.180 – 00:04:50.440 To the beautiful life and around people who are investors people who are
  60. 00:04:50.440 – 00:04:53.560 Nice people who are continuously learning
  61. 00:04:53.560 – 00:04:56.720 people who run successful businesses
  62. 00:04:57.460 – 00:05:01.940 Those who are successful in their career are in their art endeavors
  63. 00:05:02.700 – 00:05:04.520 those who continuously
  64. 00:05:05.060 – 00:05:06.180 grow
  65. 00:05:06.180 – 00:05:08.360 When you around growth
  66. 00:05:09.000 – 00:05:16.280 You tend to grow and you continuously doing that by getting your reps
  67. 00:05:16.280 – 00:05:21.480 You got to keep getting your reps and I could keep going back to getting your reps
  68. 00:05:21.480 – 00:05:24.940 You have to get your reps get your reps
  69. 00:05:25.900 – 00:05:30.120 And you get a new piece of equipment or buy new software
  70. 00:05:30.860 – 00:05:35.060 Get your reps and learn in the system learning that
  71. 00:05:35.580 – 00:05:41.880 There may be phone and maybe a camera it may be a new machinery in your factory business
  72. 00:05:41.880 – 00:05:44.980 It may be a new tool in the bakery
  73. 00:05:45.500 – 00:05:49.810 It could be a new computer system for your office
  74. 00:05:51.040 – 00:05:52.680 Whatever you
  75. 00:05:52.680 – 00:05:54.440 Whatever it may be
  76. 00:05:54.440 – 00:05:57.790 continue to learn it get your reps like
  77. 00:05:58.760 – 00:06:01.750 Honestly humans, we cannot let
  78. 00:06:03.150 – 00:06:05.450 Computers technology and AI
  79. 00:06:05.450 – 00:06:09.030 surpass us when we taught it
  80. 00:06:09.030 – 00:06:14.050 Yes, like our child in a way where we kind of birthed it made it
  81. 00:06:15.450 – 00:06:19.390 And it's supposed to be better than us. Just like our children
  82. 00:06:20.330 – 00:06:21.050 so
  83. 00:06:22.590 – 00:06:28.910 There's one thing to be good, but let's be great. Let's be excellent
  84. 00:06:29.650 – 00:06:31.350 And then that's so
  85. 00:06:31.350 – 00:06:32.250 effectively
  86. 00:06:33.230 – 00:06:35.030 Communicating getting our reps
  87. 00:06:35.790 – 00:06:44.310 With each other would work with didn't work. We like what we don't like I we constantly have to do that as humans
  88. 00:06:45.130 – 00:06:51.490 Amongst each other not just to ourselves like I don't like that. Oh, yeah, they're keeping that inside
  89. 00:06:52.670 – 00:06:58.610 But you have to have it inside and also out can't just keep it inside
  90. 00:06:58.610 – 00:07:06.170 Some things are meant to be let out and shared and that's how we grow not only as
  91. 00:07:07.150 – 00:07:11.330 Individuals but as human beings of a whole as a collector
  92. 00:07:11.970 – 00:07:19.890 Just think about we are all one. We all should grow together and be towards that constant progression like I love
  93. 00:07:20.410 – 00:07:28.310 Upward and forward motion that constant progression. I even made a song about constant progression because it's so
  94. 00:07:28.310 – 00:07:28.910 important
  95. 00:07:29.830 – 00:07:31.830 and the way you get your
  96. 00:07:32.710 – 00:07:37.610 Be on that road to the constant progression. It's just about getting your reps
  97. 00:07:38.210 – 00:07:45.430 Continue to get your reps get your reps. I am getting my reps get your reps
  98. 00:07:45.430 – 00:07:50.850 I am getting my reps get your reps. I am getting my reps
  99. 00:07:50.850 – 00:07:54.910 Get your reps. I am getting my reps
  100. 00:07:55.950 – 00:07:56.750 We
  101. 00:07:57.750 – 00:08:02.370 And that is so important. I might have to do a part two
  102. 00:08:03.310 – 00:08:05.850 I'm about to uh go guest film
  103. 00:08:06.810 – 00:08:09.170 Be co-director
  104. 00:08:09.170 – 00:08:11.950 On set of beauty toe
  105. 00:08:11.950 – 00:08:14.710 I know she's on the road
  106. 00:08:14.710 – 00:08:17.850 Getting a hundred episodes. So i'm gonna start
  107. 00:08:18.430 – 00:08:20.770 start popping in and uh
  108. 00:08:21.650 – 00:08:26.830 Kind of gear up towards the hundred episode. I know that's big for miss britney knight
  109. 00:08:27.170 – 00:08:30.350 And shout out to the queen assist
  110. 00:08:30.350 – 00:08:37.289 You are doing it keep going keep elevating if you haven't checked out beauty toe
  111. 00:08:37.850 – 00:08:40.510 also produced by
  112. 00:08:40.850 – 00:08:43.090 My co-founder creator frequency
  113. 00:08:45.170 – 00:08:52.390 Brianna casanova of overflow studio. Shout out to the team. I am proud of both of you
  114. 00:08:52.390 – 00:08:54.290 Keep doing it
  115. 00:08:54.290 – 00:08:58.050 Like I said, i'm a sis and help out when I can and you know
  116. 00:08:58.050 – 00:09:01.130 Even if you spend like 10 15 minutes after the show
  117. 00:09:01.890 – 00:09:07.170 Uh on multiple shows that is brilliant. You know where we could kind of
  118. 00:09:07.170 – 00:09:11.810 Uh come back to the drum board game plan mastermind and
  119. 00:09:12.580 – 00:09:19.130 Figure out some things so stay tuned of what we're going to do for her hundred episode
  120. 00:09:19.680 – 00:09:22.120 And I wonder what ideas she has so
  121. 00:09:22.610 – 00:09:23.790 Stay tuned
  122. 00:09:24.480 – 00:09:28.030 And then you know, we are all part of the pull-up
  123. 00:09:28.030 – 00:09:29.110 experience
  124. 00:09:29.110 – 00:09:35.100 the number one entrepreneur elevation group in cleveland, ohio
  125. 00:09:35.880 – 00:09:40.120 Like we are big on entrepreneurship. We are big on community
  126. 00:09:40.120 – 00:09:44.120 We are big on making an impact and connecting others
  127. 00:09:44.900 – 00:09:47.020 Collaboration is the name
  128. 00:09:47.580 – 00:09:49.460 And we are big on collaboration
  129. 00:09:49.460 – 00:09:56.640 And if you haven't checked out the pull-up experience podcast, please check out the pull-up experience podcast
  130. 00:09:56.640 – 00:09:58.120 on youtube
  131. 00:09:58.700 – 00:10:02.160 We're a little backed up on the audio but we're getting caught up
  132. 00:10:02.160 – 00:10:09.780 But youtube is our golden platform if you want to check out our newest and latest episodes some great
  133. 00:10:09.780 – 00:10:10.660 interviews
  134. 00:10:10.660 – 00:10:15.760 Of many many entrepreneurs business owners community leaders
  135. 00:10:16.880 – 00:10:18.160 public officials
  136. 00:10:20.220 – 00:10:22.020 Listen to their story
  137. 00:10:22.860 – 00:10:26.440 And it's always a good time when you with the pull-up experience. So just
  138. 00:10:27.460 – 00:10:31.620 Come along you when you listen to beauty toe for your relational
  139. 00:10:32.220 – 00:10:38.500 If you want some great interviews with entrepreneurs business owners and community leaders
  140. 00:10:39.560 – 00:10:44.100 The pull-up experience podcast which you should listen to
  141. 00:10:45.000 – 00:10:49.300 And if you want to hear more about a perspective that's different
  142. 00:10:50.020 – 00:10:52.280 For creative entrepreneurs
  143. 00:10:52.280 – 00:10:55.660 And sometimes I may interview people here
  144. 00:10:56.700 – 00:11:00.200 But if you want to hear my voice and learn
  145. 00:11:00.780 – 00:11:05.320 And see what you could take away with some great insights and stay connected
  146. 00:11:06.260 – 00:11:11.640 Check out this podcast alien eyes photos industry talk
  147. 00:11:12.200 – 00:11:15.760 Again, that's alien eyes photos industry talk
  148. 00:11:16.480 – 00:11:19.460 And if you want to follow the podcast that's at
  149. 00:11:20.540 – 00:11:24.840 Alien eyes photos right now and that's my business
  150. 00:11:24.840 – 00:11:34.020 Or you can check out alien eyes photos.com you can find a podcast on their alien eyes photos
  151. 00:11:34.020 – 00:11:34.760 dot
  152. 00:11:35.940 – 00:11:36.820 com
  153. 00:11:37.560 – 00:11:38.440 Yes
  154. 00:11:38.440 – 00:11:44.000 And i'm connected with the pull-up experience on that page
  155. 00:11:44.000 – 00:11:51.440 And also beauty toe and i'll be connecting them both so y'all can find it and follow
  156. 00:11:52.400 – 00:11:55.200 But you can find it at beauty toe
  157. 00:11:55.720 – 00:11:59.300 I think it's an underscore somewhere, but beauty toe
  158. 00:11:59.940 – 00:12:01.360 on ig
  159. 00:12:02.240 – 00:12:06.020 and the pull up exp
  160. 00:12:06.560 – 00:12:08.560 The pull-up experience on ig
  161. 00:12:09.140 – 00:12:11.520 Yeah, follow and tag
  162. 00:12:11.960 – 00:12:14.040 Let us know that you're listening
  163. 00:12:14.560 – 00:12:16.760 We surely appreciate it, but
  164. 00:12:17.240 – 00:12:21.000 Just like with me even like my intros and outros
  165. 00:12:21.000 – 00:12:24.300 That's perfect timing for me to get my reps. Okay
  166. 00:12:24.900 – 00:12:29.380 I need a little more energy here. Oh, I need to reflect my voice a little more here
  167. 00:12:29.380 – 00:12:35.680 Oh, I need to enunciate a little more crunch my way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
  168. 00:12:35.680 – 00:12:38.640 Sometimes it's about getting your reps. Okay
  169. 00:12:38.640 – 00:12:41.340 I was tired that day
  170. 00:12:42.000 – 00:12:43.820 Even though I still made it happen
  171. 00:12:43.820 – 00:12:44.200 Okay
  172. 00:12:44.200 – 00:12:50.080 I still gotta push through and give it that effort that energy that it deserves that is needed
  173. 00:12:50.080 – 00:12:54.100 for this episode for this conversation for this dialogue for
  174. 00:12:55.420 – 00:13:03.280 The velocity of the word to the volume and pitch and cue and sonically
  175. 00:13:04.940 – 00:13:10.060 For my listeners just getting my reps
  176. 00:13:10.880 – 00:13:12.800 They are not on a stage
  177. 00:13:13.260 – 00:13:20.100 But me having my own platform my own podcast my own talk show with the say
  178. 00:13:21.000 – 00:13:26.540 I am getting my reps and just speaking and articulating my thoughts
  179. 00:13:27.760 – 00:13:30.600 Putting it out in the universe. So like I said
  180. 00:13:30.600 – 00:13:36.280 For years, I was keeping it in getting my reps of keeping it in inside me
  181. 00:13:36.860 – 00:13:38.380 You know mostly
  182. 00:13:38.380 – 00:13:40.340 known as a writer
  183. 00:13:41.060 – 00:13:42.720 and recording artists
  184. 00:13:43.460 – 00:13:48.200 Which I would frequently express myself, but since I haven't been doing those things
  185. 00:13:48.200 – 00:13:55.420 Sometimes it's hard. You know, i'm a photographer event photographer at that so I specialize in events
  186. 00:13:57.700 – 00:14:03.000 It's not too many times you can be created, especially when you're doing client work
  187. 00:14:03.000 – 00:14:07.960 It's best to get your reps outside of your client work
  188. 00:14:08.680 – 00:14:10.900 The work you do for clients
  189. 00:14:11.880 – 00:14:14.100 Just go outside one day
  190. 00:14:14.660 – 00:14:18.040 Or practice with a friend that's in the industry
  191. 00:14:18.980 – 00:14:21.560 At ease talks at ease simulations
  192. 00:14:22.520 – 00:14:24.240 Play around with different stuff
  193. 00:14:24.240 – 00:14:27.480 And that's how you grow and that's how you learn
  194. 00:14:28.040 – 00:14:31.260 And that's how you be on the road to perfection
  195. 00:14:34.040 – 00:14:35.020 It's great
  196. 00:14:35.020 – 00:14:36.880 To be perfect
  197. 00:14:37.480 – 00:14:39.500 And are you always going to be perfect?
  198. 00:14:40.100 – 00:14:41.240 There's a possibility
  199. 00:14:42.200 – 00:14:44.140 That's also on you
  200. 00:14:46.600 – 00:14:50.180 I can't preach it enough get your reps
  201. 00:14:50.180 – 00:14:51.260 be
  202. 00:14:51.260 – 00:14:54.100 Sure to practice if you want
  203. 00:14:54.100 – 00:14:54.860 to
  204. 00:14:54.860 – 00:14:56.100 Be perfect
  205. 00:14:56.420 – 00:14:58.160 You have to practice
  206. 00:14:58.680 – 00:14:59.320 perfectly
  207. 00:15:01.180 – 00:15:05.100 You have to be great good excellent amazing
  208. 00:15:06.140 – 00:15:13.490 Just gotta blow it out the water by getting your reps
  209. 00:15:15.060 – 00:15:17.260 I cannot preach enough
  210. 00:15:17.260 – 00:15:18.420 get
  211. 00:15:18.420 – 00:15:19.820 your
  212. 00:15:19.820 – 00:15:20.660 reps
  213. 00:15:21.880 – 00:15:25.980 All right, y'all gotta get ready for beauty tobe
  214. 00:15:26.420 – 00:15:28.720 Got to set up
  215. 00:15:28.720 – 00:15:30.100 got about
  216. 00:15:30.100 – 00:15:35.300 40 minutes and I need about 15 to get ready and pack up so
  217. 00:15:36.340 – 00:15:41.400 This is photographer jackson of alien eyes photos media
  218. 00:15:42.340 – 00:15:48.220 This has been another edition of alien eyes photos industry talk
  219. 00:15:48.820 – 00:15:53.460 Again, if you want to follow me, you can follow me at alien eyes
  220. 00:15:54.340 – 00:15:55.100 photos
  221. 00:15:55.330 – 00:16:00.220 And you're going to book me for event photographer or coaching
  222. 00:16:01.660 – 00:16:02.500 visit
  223. 00:16:02.500 – 00:16:05.040 alien eyes photos
  224. 00:16:05.040 – 00:16:06.520 dot com
  225. 00:16:06.520 – 00:16:08.160 that's alien
  226. 00:16:09.020 – 00:16:11.460 eyes with a z
  227. 00:16:11.460 – 00:16:13.790 Photos with a s
  228. 00:16:14.020 – 00:16:16.120 alien eyes photos
  229. 00:16:16.120 – 00:16:18.420 dot com
  230. 00:16:18.420 – 00:16:21.670 Again, this is your host photographer jackson
  231. 00:16:22.230 – 00:16:26.030 Steve jackson of alien eyes photos media
  232. 00:16:26.030 – 00:16:30.390 And this is alien eyes photos industry talk
  233. 00:16:31.030 – 00:16:33.610 Thank you everyone for tuning in and listening
  234. 00:16:35.070 – 00:16:37.710 Get your reps
  235. 00:16:38.710 – 00:16:39.910 All right
  236. 00:16:39.910 – 00:16:41.770 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

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21. Start Before You Are Ready The Creative Entrepreneur's Guide to Growth

Season 1 · Episode 42

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.850 – 00:00:06.710 Welcome, welcome, welcome to alienize Vodos industry talk.
  2. 00:00:08.170 – 00:00:14.430 I just want to reminisce on when I first picked up a camera
  3. 00:00:16.480 – 00:00:23.810 was maybe four or five and go all the way to now.
  4. 00:00:25.110 – 00:00:32.870 After putting the camera down and about 20, 2016, 2017
  5. 00:00:32.870 – 00:00:37.190 and picking the camera up again for the first time
  6. 00:00:39.190 – 00:00:46.030 and really diving into it like the end of 2018
  7. 00:00:47.950 – 00:00:53.310 jumping back in almost 10 years, it's 2026.
  8. 00:00:53.670 – 00:00:57.170 I think almost 10 years I picked up a camera again
  9. 00:00:59.600 – 00:01:04.900 but just reminiscing on a time where I had to really
  10. 00:01:04.900 – 00:01:08.420 learn it and learn it in the professional manner
  11. 00:01:08.420 – 00:01:12.920 the technicalities and settings and all the terminology.
  12. 00:01:15.300 – 00:01:19.500 Just learning how things work.
  13. 00:01:21.120 – 00:01:26.660 Not just the camera but one set when you're doing a film
  14. 00:01:26.660 – 00:01:31.360 or taking photos and how lighting works
  15. 00:01:31.360 – 00:01:34.420 the different lighting you need, the modifiers
  16. 00:01:34.420 – 00:01:38.980 the fusions, the interaction with customers.
  17. 00:01:44.010 – 00:01:49.170 So me not knowing like much of this coming from
  18. 00:01:49.170 – 00:01:53.530 an artist's background and being an artist all my life
  19. 00:01:54.270 – 00:01:57.310 I did not really know the business side
  20. 00:01:57.310 – 00:02:02.650 or how to take professional and high quality photos.
  21. 00:02:03.950 – 00:02:08.650 Like everybody have a phone, we take pictures or videos
  22. 00:02:09.490 – 00:02:16.790 but actually monetizing what you do with a camera
  23. 00:02:19.320 – 00:02:25.000 doing professional, high quality work is a difference.
  24. 00:02:26.360 – 00:02:30.720 I remember my first two years before I charged anyone
  25. 00:02:30.720 – 00:02:38.120 anything I helped other photographers with their work
  26. 00:02:38.560 – 00:02:42.760 being a second shooter, helping them on set
  27. 00:02:42.760 – 00:02:45.460 just being a PA that's a production assistant
  28. 00:02:45.880 – 00:02:48.200 doing the same thing with video production
  29. 00:02:48.200 – 00:02:55.240 and podcast and commercials, even movie I had
  30. 00:02:56.260 – 00:03:01.540 the luxury to be on set for Superman
  31. 00:03:02.140 – 00:03:03.520 when it was filmed in Cleveland
  32. 00:03:06.760 – 00:03:09.120 and that was my first movie set ever
  33. 00:03:09.120 – 00:03:12.400 people were surprised like I've worked all these years
  34. 00:03:12.400 – 00:03:15.580 my butt off and I barely could get on the set
  35. 00:03:15.580 – 00:03:18.280 and you just walk in and you get Superman?
  36. 00:03:19.940 – 00:03:24.280 Well, it's about connections and relationships
  37. 00:03:25.270 – 00:03:28.120 and just being dedicated and willing to grow
  38. 00:03:28.120 – 00:03:30.060 and learn and put yourself out there.
  39. 00:03:30.820 – 00:03:33.900 And that's what I did like the first two years
  40. 00:03:33.900 – 00:03:37.340 jumping in I did not charge anything,
  41. 00:03:37.960 – 00:03:42.480 I helped other people and outside of that
  42. 00:03:42.480 – 00:03:46.440 I brought my camera wherever I went.
  43. 00:03:47.660 – 00:03:50.140 I'm an artist, I'm known to perform
  44. 00:03:50.140 – 00:03:54.140 multiple shows sometimes in a single day
  45. 00:03:54.140 – 00:03:56.380 but multiple shows a week.
  46. 00:03:57.280 – 00:04:00.320 So I just did that same thing with my camera
  47. 00:04:00.320 – 00:04:01.640 instead of like an open mic.
  48. 00:04:02.240 – 00:04:04.720 I grabbed my camera and went to one event
  49. 00:04:06.860 – 00:04:08.520 shot all the photos.
  50. 00:04:15.020 – 00:04:17.820 You know, my first time doing it was very,
  51. 00:04:18.800 – 00:04:24.370 very different, I'm like, is this how people
  52. 00:04:25.830 – 00:04:35.300 making a living but still my next almost 150 events
  53. 00:04:36.200 – 00:04:40.940 for free later that's when I'm like,
  54. 00:04:41.200 – 00:04:43.380 okay, let me put some numbers behind it
  55. 00:04:44.340 – 00:04:48.760 and I booked my first client, my brother Erock actually
  56. 00:04:49.520 – 00:04:54.560 it was his birthday and he needed some more artists
  57. 00:04:54.560 – 00:04:59.160 profile photos and I charged him $50.
  58. 00:05:01.120 – 00:05:04.440 If it was someone else, most likely it would have been
  59. 00:05:05.100 – 00:05:07.960 that higher number starting off,
  60. 00:05:10.660 – 00:05:14.560 but yeah I charged $50, that was the family discount.
  61. 00:05:15.960 – 00:05:19.400 But I was like, well, let me stick to it
  62. 00:05:19.400 – 00:05:25.500 maybe charge people 55, like I wasn't running
  63. 00:05:25.500 – 00:05:29.940 as a business so it wasn't until years later
  64. 00:05:30.480 – 00:05:35.920 I developed Alienize Photos and Alienize Photos Media
  65. 00:05:36.560 – 00:05:40.200 and Alienize Photos industry talk years later.
  66. 00:05:41.200 – 00:05:44.800 So everything compounded off starting for free
  67. 00:05:44.800 – 00:05:47.600 just doing the work, jumping in,
  68. 00:05:47.780 – 00:05:51.500 being around other people that's doing high quality
  69. 00:05:51.500 – 00:05:56.260 work and being at the level that you strive to be
  70. 00:05:56.260 – 00:06:00.040 and want to be, you have to be around these people,
  71. 00:06:00.340 – 00:06:04.400 ask, can you carry your bags, take them out to coffee,
  72. 00:06:04.720 – 00:06:07.660 go out to lunch, pick the brand for a few minutes,
  73. 00:06:08.880 – 00:06:11.520 can I ask you three questions over a coffee?
  74. 00:06:12.100 – 00:06:14.480 Little dude, see what it comes about,
  75. 00:06:14.920 – 00:06:16.560 can I help you on one of your sets?
  76. 00:06:17.000 – 00:06:18.320 Can I help you behind the scenes?
  77. 00:06:18.380 – 00:06:19.840 Can I take photos of you?
  78. 00:06:19.840 – 00:06:23.220 Can I shadow you in a production call?
  79. 00:06:23.560 – 00:06:28.480 Like, just be open and that's the benefits
  80. 00:06:28.480 – 00:06:31.460 of having a mentor and having a coach
  81. 00:06:32.000 – 00:06:35.000 and I can assist you with that.
  82. 00:06:35.660 – 00:06:41.960 Anybody in media, especially on the visual medium side,
  83. 00:06:43.260 – 00:06:47.460 I can help you, anyone in business
  84. 00:06:48.310 – 00:06:53.400 and want to just get their business organized
  85. 00:06:53.400 – 00:06:57.440 and have a better strategy and direction,
  86. 00:06:58.680 – 00:07:00.320 I can help with that.
  87. 00:07:01.360 – 00:07:07.340 You want marketing or promotion to bring a content plan
  88. 00:07:07.340 – 00:07:09.820 to your business and around your business,
  89. 00:07:10.640 – 00:07:12.100 I can help with that.
  90. 00:07:12.900 – 00:07:15.900 If you have a great event in mind
  91. 00:07:15.900 – 00:07:18.740 that's very impactful for the community
  92. 00:07:18.740 – 00:07:22.420 or you're putting on a conference or a boot camp
  93. 00:07:22.420 – 00:07:26.440 or a networking event, I can help with that.
  94. 00:07:28.120 – 00:07:29.880 Let me help you with that
  95. 00:07:31.660 – 00:07:33.870 and if you're familiar with Creative Frequency,
  96. 00:07:33.890 – 00:07:38.630 you know we're big on work with us.
  97. 00:07:38.690 – 00:07:43.790 We're showing you us doing work in real time.
  98. 00:07:44.570 – 00:07:49.670 Like me and Brianna just really, really, really
  99. 00:07:50.930 – 00:07:52.750 taking it to a whole nother level.
  100. 00:07:53.390 – 00:07:57.810 Hosting every single day and even behind the scenes
  101. 00:07:57.810 – 00:08:01.070 of some of the things we're doing and working on.
  102. 00:08:02.470 – 00:08:03.850 We are really doing the work
  103. 00:08:03.850 – 00:08:06.950 and we're documenting in real time
  104. 00:08:06.950 – 00:08:10.890 and showing this sometimes not in real time
  105. 00:08:10.890 – 00:08:14.530 but it's documented and we put it out over time
  106. 00:08:14.530 – 00:08:16.510 and have it at our body of work.
  107. 00:08:17.510 – 00:08:21.610 So some of the things we may have filmed a week ago
  108. 00:08:21.610 – 00:08:23.270 or just now put it out
  109. 00:08:23.270 – 00:08:26.090 because we keep that body of content.
  110. 00:08:26.110 – 00:08:30.930 We try to document our life and our projects
  111. 00:08:30.930 – 00:08:36.230 and our successes and just content that we put together
  112. 00:08:36.230 – 00:08:39.070 and tailor to our audience
  113. 00:08:39.490 – 00:08:44.930 which is creative entrepreneurs, artists, business owners,
  114. 00:08:45.950 – 00:08:48.250 you know the collection of our brands,
  115. 00:08:49.270 – 00:08:51.690 not just brand, our brands.
  116. 00:08:52.210 – 00:08:54.030 So we have alienized photos, media,
  117. 00:08:54.230 – 00:08:55.870 we have overflow studios,
  118. 00:08:56.510 – 00:08:58.670 lady beat music, alienized playing music.
  119. 00:08:59.090 – 00:09:00.770 We have Creative Frequency
  120. 00:09:01.150 – 00:09:07.110 and then we're tied to other organizations and entities
  121. 00:09:07.110 – 00:09:09.210 and just community.
  122. 00:09:09.790 – 00:09:13.370 So we think about all of that
  123. 00:09:13.370 – 00:09:15.210 and the audience that we serve
  124. 00:09:15.210 – 00:09:17.370 and the people that we love talking to
  125. 00:09:17.370 – 00:09:20.730 and helping and love seeing when.
  126. 00:09:21.590 – 00:09:23.270 Like we love seeing people when,
  127. 00:09:23.430 – 00:09:25.270 we love being around other people
  128. 00:09:25.270 – 00:09:28.310 that love seeing other people when
  129. 00:09:28.310 – 00:09:32.350 and it's like that selflessness on both sides
  130. 00:09:32.350 – 00:09:33.450 and all sides.
  131. 00:09:33.730 – 00:09:35.910 We all come together, we all grow
  132. 00:09:37.450 – 00:09:42.530 and I just got all of that just by starting off for free,
  133. 00:09:42.830 – 00:09:44.910 just doing the work, practicing.
  134. 00:09:45.470 – 00:09:48.170 It's like wanting to be on the basketball team,
  135. 00:09:48.210 – 00:09:49.870 you know tryouts is in the month.
  136. 00:09:50.710 – 00:09:52.110 I'm picking up a basketball,
  137. 00:09:52.230 – 00:09:53.470 if I don't have a basketball,
  138. 00:09:53.790 – 00:09:54.830 I'm borrowing a basketball.
  139. 00:09:54.910 – 00:09:56.370 If I cannot borrow a basketball,
  140. 00:09:56.990 – 00:09:58.490 I'm buying a basketball.
  141. 00:09:58.650 – 00:10:01.390 If I cannot buy a basketball because I have the money,
  142. 00:10:01.710 – 00:10:03.950 I am gonna find some way to get the money
  143. 00:10:03.950 – 00:10:05.370 to buy a basketball.
  144. 00:10:06.010 – 00:10:07.590 So I can get to the gym,
  145. 00:10:07.830 – 00:10:09.890 so I can bounce it around the basement,
  146. 00:10:10.090 – 00:10:11.730 go outside, dribble it up and down the street,
  147. 00:10:11.750 – 00:10:13.690 go to the park, go to the court,
  148. 00:10:14.250 – 00:10:17.170 play pickup games, practice, practice, practice,
  149. 00:10:17.170 – 00:10:18.510 practice, practice, practice.
  150. 00:10:18.970 – 00:10:21.210 And that's the same thing I did with my camera.
  151. 00:10:23.030 – 00:10:25.390 Learning my camera and the insides and out,
  152. 00:10:25.650 – 00:10:26.430 knowing how it'll work,
  153. 00:10:26.730 – 00:10:28.270 knowing how long the battery works,
  154. 00:10:28.790 – 00:10:31.990 knowing how long things take.
  155. 00:10:32.550 – 00:10:34.750 Like recycling time on a flash,
  156. 00:10:34.750 – 00:10:36.990 like when a flash, flash off,
  157. 00:10:37.190 – 00:10:39.710 usually takes two to three seconds to recycle
  158. 00:10:39.710 – 00:10:41.810 before you could flash into the flash.
  159. 00:10:42.130 – 00:10:43.730 I had to learn that with photography,
  160. 00:10:44.330 – 00:10:47.090 doing weddings where things move at a fast pace
  161. 00:10:47.090 – 00:10:48.270 in a fast motion,
  162. 00:10:48.710 – 00:10:51.490 and these events, especially high energy,
  163. 00:10:51.830 – 00:10:55.550 like concerts and music, fast pace.
  164. 00:10:56.410 – 00:10:58.950 That flash needs to go off at a certain time,
  165. 00:10:58.990 – 00:11:00.750 and I had to realize that,
  166. 00:11:00.750 – 00:11:05.010 well, the flash I have, it takes four seconds for me
  167. 00:11:05.010 – 00:11:07.310 to reload and cycle back
  168. 00:11:07.310 – 00:11:09.590 until I could flash another shot.
  169. 00:11:09.970 – 00:11:12.850 I miss my moment, or I could take the picture,
  170. 00:11:13.190 – 00:11:14.370 but the flash won't go off,
  171. 00:11:14.450 – 00:11:15.750 so it will be real dark
  172. 00:11:15.750 – 00:11:17.730 and nobody will be able to see it.
  173. 00:11:18.010 – 00:11:20.610 There will be low quality because there's no light.
  174. 00:11:22.050 – 00:11:25.910 So I had to invest in the right tools
  175. 00:11:25.910 – 00:11:27.450 and lighting for me,
  176. 00:11:27.450 – 00:11:30.330 what works with me and my system and my workflow.
  177. 00:11:31.170 – 00:11:33.590 And that's one thing you get by just practicing,
  178. 00:11:33.950 – 00:11:35.450 doing it, doing it for free.
  179. 00:11:35.830 – 00:11:38.570 I still take my camera mostly,
  180. 00:11:39.110 – 00:11:41.410 not everywhere, but mostly everywhere I go.
  181. 00:11:42.210 – 00:11:43.770 I used to take it all the time.
  182. 00:11:43.990 – 00:11:46.830 Now, I keep it at home a lot of times,
  183. 00:11:46.830 – 00:11:49.830 and I don't want to get in that habit
  184. 00:11:49.830 – 00:11:54.350 where people think they can just get something for free
  185. 00:11:54.350 – 00:11:57.010 anytime, or, oh, you're doing it anyway.
  186. 00:11:58.810 – 00:12:00.610 And I never wanted to get to that point.
  187. 00:12:00.690 – 00:12:03.890 I saw it getting to that point at one time, too.
  188. 00:12:04.770 – 00:12:07.590 Just respecting my boundaries in my business.
  189. 00:12:09.860 – 00:12:11.900 I definitely had to start charging
  190. 00:12:12.520 – 00:12:14.260 and then also cutting back
  191. 00:12:14.260 – 00:12:15.880 and keeping my camera at home.
  192. 00:12:16.340 – 00:12:19.380 Maybe I'm going back to how I started with the iPhone
  193. 00:12:19.880 – 00:12:24.160 and just capturing pictures and mainly video on that.
  194. 00:12:24.160 – 00:12:27.380 So I'm like, well, no camera.
  195. 00:12:29.040 – 00:12:30.240 I use the phone.
  196. 00:12:31.620 – 00:12:34.660 So I'm still doing it or still make,
  197. 00:12:34.800 – 00:12:37.480 take a couple, I call it snapshots
  198. 00:12:37.480 – 00:12:40.940 because the camera is a picture for the phone.
  199. 00:12:41.360 – 00:12:42.240 It's a snapshot.
  200. 00:12:42.720 – 00:12:45.360 Can you get good quality photos from a phone?
  201. 00:12:45.900 – 00:12:47.760 Yes, it really know what you're doing
  202. 00:12:47.760 – 00:12:50.540 and you practice, practice, practice,
  203. 00:12:50.940 – 00:12:52.860 just like you had an actual camera.
  204. 00:12:55.890 – 00:12:58.890 But take that to wherever you do,
  205. 00:12:59.050 – 00:13:00.510 whatever industry you're in,
  206. 00:13:00.550 – 00:13:02.470 whatever business you're in or running
  207. 00:13:02.470 – 00:13:04.990 or thinking about running and starting up.
  208. 00:13:06.710 – 00:13:09.150 Practice, practice, practice.
  209. 00:13:09.510 – 00:13:10.730 Get inside a community.
  210. 00:13:11.050 – 00:13:13.690 Be around other like-minded people
  211. 00:13:13.690 – 00:13:17.370 or people that's on a higher level than you
  212. 00:13:17.370 – 00:13:21.370 by one or two, sometimes three,
  213. 00:13:21.510 – 00:13:23.510 depending on where you want to go.
  214. 00:13:24.030 – 00:13:29.970 And the fast pace or how quick you want to develop
  215. 00:13:29.970 – 00:13:35.350 and really grow or even when you wanna scale your business.
  216. 00:13:36.750 – 00:13:40.570 Get around people that's just a couple steps
  217. 00:13:41.350 – 00:13:48.520 past you, above you, it's important.
  218. 00:13:51.460 – 00:13:55.660 So practice, be in the right communities,
  219. 00:13:56.000 – 00:13:57.660 having the right coaches, mentors.
  220. 00:13:59.260 – 00:14:04.370 And I'll say lastly, do it for free,
  221. 00:14:06.250 – 00:14:09.770 especially that first one, even the second one,
  222. 00:14:10.430 – 00:14:11.790 maybe even the third one.
  223. 00:14:13.150 – 00:14:17.010 So if you bake cakes, give three cakes away.
  224. 00:14:17.890 – 00:14:19.270 The first three cakes away.
  225. 00:14:19.370 – 00:14:21.110 Oh, it's your birthday, let me bake you a cake.
  226. 00:14:21.630 – 00:14:22.750 This is my treat.
  227. 00:14:23.730 – 00:14:26.270 Just make sure you shout me out.
  228. 00:14:26.710 – 00:14:29.310 You take pictures of it, post them on social media.
  229. 00:14:29.570 – 00:14:30.810 That's all I ask.
  230. 00:14:33.230 – 00:14:36.310 Three times, the fourth one charge.
  231. 00:14:37.810 – 00:14:40.430 How much your supplies cost, the ingredients,
  232. 00:14:40.650 – 00:14:42.230 how long it takes to bake it,
  233. 00:14:42.530 – 00:14:44.250 if it's been delivered, the packaging.
  234. 00:14:44.990 – 00:14:48.270 Keep all that consideration, then labor costs,
  235. 00:14:48.830 – 00:14:53.170 marketing, all that on your fourth.
  236. 00:14:54.370 – 00:14:56.830 And I'll tell you by your 25th cake,
  237. 00:14:56.930 – 00:15:01.130 you're gonna, our 25th purchase,
  238. 00:15:02.090 – 00:15:07.290 you will realize what you need to do to adjust your pricing.
  239. 00:15:08.470 – 00:15:11.470 If you need to increase, are my prices too high?
  240. 00:15:12.250 – 00:15:16.110 Our cost of products and ingredients is increasing.
  241. 00:15:17.430 – 00:15:20.730 So sometimes you need to increase based on that.
  242. 00:15:21.590 – 00:15:23.050 Are you quite a business?
  243. 00:15:23.830 – 00:15:27.110 Because you're no longer running a profitable business.
  244. 00:15:28.410 – 00:15:30.990 You're running a donation, a charity at that point.
  245. 00:15:31.130 – 00:15:33.190 Doing it as a hobby.
  246. 00:15:34.750 – 00:15:36.790 So you don't wanna fall in that trap either.
  247. 00:15:37.870 – 00:15:41.210 So do it for free, be in the right community.
  248. 00:15:42.170 – 00:15:45.530 And that's either having a good coach or a good mentor,
  249. 00:15:46.470 – 00:15:49.290 or just being in different communities
  250. 00:15:49.290 – 00:15:52.450 to where you all help each other,
  251. 00:15:52.570 – 00:15:53.730 keep each other accountable,
  252. 00:15:53.890 – 00:15:55.670 or you learn the same things.
  253. 00:15:56.890 – 00:15:59.550 And then lastly, practice.
  254. 00:16:00.310 – 00:16:03.610 Practice, practice, practice, get out there.
  255. 00:16:03.730 – 00:16:06.830 And just do it, test new things.
  256. 00:16:07.830 – 00:16:09.230 That's the only way you're gonna grow.
  257. 00:16:11.240 – 00:16:16.080 And if you're new, if you're just starting your business,
  258. 00:16:17.740 – 00:16:19.100 if you're a creative entrepreneur,
  259. 00:16:19.220 – 00:16:21.560 you don't even know how to make your first dollar,
  260. 00:16:23.650 – 00:16:25.530 this is for you.
  261. 00:16:26.910 – 00:16:30.110 And this is Alien Eyes Photos Industry.
  262. 00:16:30.110 – 00:16:35.070 Talk with your host, photographer Jackson,
  263. 00:16:35.930 – 00:16:39.370 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  264. 00:16:40.610 – 00:16:42.990 And this is another episode
  265. 00:16:43.760 – 00:16:45.850 for all my creative entrepreneurs,
  266. 00:16:46.150 – 00:16:47.450 especially my photographers,
  267. 00:16:48.490 – 00:16:50.470 but whatever business you in,
  268. 00:16:50.850 – 00:16:52.310 whatever business you run,
  269. 00:16:52.970 – 00:16:55.960 whatever industry you partake in,
  270. 00:16:57.090 – 00:16:58.390 whatever industry you're growing,
  271. 00:16:58.390 – 00:17:00.770 because I know you're growing that industry.
  272. 00:17:02.940 – 00:17:05.060 This is for you.
  273. 00:17:06.599 – 00:17:09.700 Or if you're a mentor or a coach,
  274. 00:17:10.700 – 00:17:12.599 give them this episode.
  275. 00:17:13.819 – 00:17:15.060 They need it.
  276. 00:17:17.339 – 00:17:19.800 But if you wanna find more information
  277. 00:17:19.800 – 00:17:23.119 or even about the podcast and the choir,
  278. 00:17:23.760 – 00:17:25.800 scroll all the way down to the website
  279. 00:17:25.800 – 00:17:28.720 of Alien Eyes Photos.
  280. 00:17:28.720 – 00:17:31.160 That's alieneyes.com.
  281. 00:17:38.740 – 00:17:41.240 Visiting alieneyesphotos.com,
  282. 00:17:41.500 – 00:17:42.900 scroll to the bottom,
  283. 00:17:43.880 – 00:17:45.420 type in your information,
  284. 00:17:45.980 – 00:17:46.920 tell me what it's about,
  285. 00:17:47.060 – 00:17:50.040 whether it's an event or to inquire on the podcast,
  286. 00:17:51.100 – 00:17:52.820 and put a date on it.
  287. 00:17:52.880 – 00:17:54.420 If the date is available,
  288. 00:17:54.700 – 00:17:57.260 I will give you that date.
  289. 00:17:58.260 – 00:18:01.140 Or we could find another date together
  290. 00:18:01.140 – 00:18:03.260 that works for the both of us.
  291. 00:18:05.400 – 00:18:07.500 And then you could follow me
  292. 00:18:08.520 – 00:18:11.420 on a creative frequency.
  293. 00:18:12.060 – 00:18:14.320 That's me and Brianna Casanova
  294. 00:18:14.320 – 00:18:16.620 with Oliver Float Studios.
  295. 00:18:19.580 – 00:18:22.100 And then individually with my business
  296. 00:18:22.100 – 00:18:25.600 and brand, Alien Eyes Photos,
  297. 00:18:25.900 – 00:18:30.220 that's Alien Eyes Photos on all media.
  298. 00:18:31.560 – 00:18:33.940 And you can check the podcast out,
  299. 00:18:34.260 – 00:18:35.340 share it with a friend,
  300. 00:18:35.440 – 00:18:37.540 share it with a business partner or colleague,
  301. 00:18:37.600 – 00:18:39.260 share it with your community.
  302. 00:18:40.720 – 00:18:43.700 Send them this episode of Alien Eyes Photos
  303. 00:18:43.700 – 00:18:44.620 industry talk.
  304. 00:18:45.280 – 00:18:48.580 But there's hundreds of more episodes
  305. 00:18:49.340 – 00:18:52.200 between the Pull Up Experience podcast,
  306. 00:18:53.280 – 00:18:55.400 Alien Eyes Photos industry talk.
  307. 00:18:55.920 – 00:18:59.080 If you want that business and entrepreneurship,
  308. 00:19:00.680 – 00:19:03.480 and then even going internal
  309. 00:19:04.380 – 00:19:08.840 with your faith and relationship issues.
  310. 00:19:09.720 – 00:19:11.240 Well, I don't want to call them issues,
  311. 00:19:11.520 – 00:19:18.360 but topics and encouragement and insight and guidance.
  312. 00:19:19.280 – 00:19:24.480 Check out Beauty Toe with Ms. Brittany Knight.
  313. 00:19:26.380 – 00:19:28.240 Shout out to the whole team
  314. 00:19:28.800 – 00:19:29.760 the Pull Up Experience,
  315. 00:19:29.960 – 00:19:32.420 because we are all a part of the Pull Up Experience.
  316. 00:19:32.780 – 00:19:35.860 From Brandon Gates to Nikia Hudson,
  317. 00:19:36.640 – 00:19:41.500 Sam Walks, Michelle Gates, Brianna Casanova,
  318. 00:19:42.000 – 00:19:45.280 Steven D. Jackson or photographer Jackson,
  319. 00:19:45.480 – 00:19:46.800 many know me as.
  320. 00:19:48.000 – 00:19:51.900 We are really doing it.
  321. 00:19:52.580 – 00:19:54.960 We're building brands and building brands
  322. 00:19:54.960 – 00:19:56.520 and building brands.
  323. 00:19:56.520 – 00:20:00.500 Not just internally, but also other people brands.
  324. 00:20:02.520 – 00:20:04.600 We need all come together
  325. 00:20:05.020 – 00:20:09.540 and really showcase our potential.
  326. 00:20:17.560 – 00:20:20.120 Stay along the journey with Alien Eyes Photos
  327. 00:20:20.120 – 00:20:23.080 industry talk and trust me,
  328. 00:20:23.080 – 00:20:24.640 you'll be the first to know.
  329. 00:20:25.420 – 00:20:26.600 All right, y'all.
  330. 00:20:26.780 – 00:20:27.320 Peace.

Back to contents

22. Test Yourself, Don’t Be Afraid To Test Yourself

Season 1 · Episode 41

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.710 – 00:00:06.590 Walk em, walk em, walk em, walk em, walk em, walk em.
  2. 00:00:07.970 – 00:00:17.370 This is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media bringing you Alienize
  3. 00:00:17.370 – 00:00:27.270 Photos industry talk and I'm testing out a new microphone so if it sounds you know
  4. 00:00:27.270 – 00:00:33.190 inconsistent with the audio that you're used to hearing I apologize in advance but I'm
  5. 00:00:33.190 – 00:00:45.050 gonna jump right into it and even even though I am testing you know I'm a man of experimenting
  6. 00:00:45.050 – 00:00:52.150 and changing and improving and elevating I'm testing this mic but I also want to
  7. 00:00:52.150 – 00:01:03.330 talk about testing, testing yourself, checking yourself because after the test it has to
  8. 00:01:03.330 – 00:01:03.970 be checked.
  9. 00:01:04.810 – 00:01:10.970 You can have an accountability partner where you both test each other or you test yourself
  10. 00:01:10.970 – 00:01:14.710 and have them check it or a combination of both.
  11. 00:01:17.910 – 00:01:26.320 You always gotta be testing yourself, testing your abilities, testing your will,
  12. 00:01:28.600 – 00:01:36.900 testing your boundaries, testing your work, testing your skills.
  13. 00:01:39.630 – 00:01:47.320 You know there's nothing wrong with friendly competition but you know don't put competition
  14. 00:01:47.320 – 00:01:52.560 too far where you fall out of collaboration and you know arguments and fights and chaos
  15. 00:01:52.560 – 00:01:59.240 start to happen but test yourself.
  16. 00:02:02.450 – 00:02:08.509 How can a teacher know where you at in learning something new, the new concept
  17. 00:02:11.460 – 00:02:20.740 if they don't test you and figure that out that's data and what you get in return
  18. 00:02:20.740 – 00:02:34.840 is data so come up with a test once a month for yourself.
  19. 00:02:37.780 – 00:02:47.600 Like my test is gonna be not being on social media at night you know though like
  20. 00:02:49.680 – 00:03:07.780 close to a little before noon and then late at night like peak time for work and anything
  21. 00:03:07.780 – 00:03:14.880 out there 1.30 a.m. you know I'm pretty tired I'm doing it tired studying tired
  22. 00:03:14.880 – 00:03:23.340 editing tired going over clients materials and work tired you know I know when it's
  23. 00:03:23.340 – 00:03:29.560 like exhaustion and stuff and it's just like okay I just need to go to sleep but
  24. 00:03:29.560 – 00:03:36.280 some days I push through because I really want to get this done and while I have that
  25. 00:03:36.280 – 00:03:41.680 momentum you want to push through while it's on my heart while it's on my mind
  26. 00:03:41.680 – 00:03:45.880 because when I lay down it's gonna all I think about and I'm just gonna stay
  27. 00:03:45.880 – 00:03:53.660 up anyway so it's just like best I just work to you know I demand of myself to
  28. 00:03:53.660 – 00:04:05.110 know so test yourself test test your past knowledge you know some some things
  29. 00:04:05.110 – 00:04:10.190 change as the world constantly evolves you know we got to evolve as human
  30. 00:04:10.190 – 00:04:17.029 beings I know there's a lot of AI coming out but don't lose your touch
  31. 00:04:17.029 – 00:04:28.320 as a human as a human being you know never lose your touch never lose who
  32. 00:04:28.320 – 00:04:37.020 you are your identity your self-identity you know your self-love be in tune with
  33. 00:04:37.020 – 00:04:42.760 yourself your mind your thoughts your spirit your being the universe higher
  34. 00:04:42.760 – 00:04:55.870 power your brothers your sisters your family friends business partners or lose
  35. 00:04:55.870 – 00:05:02.930 that identity of who you are but you got to test yourself maybe you don't
  36. 00:05:03.670 – 00:05:11.310 just test yourself oh I love ice cream ten years later test yourself if you
  37. 00:05:11.310 – 00:05:18.010 still love ice cream go to an ice cream contest you see if you still like
  38. 00:05:18.010 – 00:05:27.860 it the same way or not I'm sure there's people who been in a hot dog
  39. 00:05:27.860 – 00:05:33.680 eating contest you know pork hot dogs like that and you know they converted
  40. 00:05:34.040 – 00:05:38.680 life started eating healthier and you know gaining awareness where they stop
  41. 00:05:38.680 – 00:05:49.330 eating you know these things so you got to test yourself you know you
  42. 00:05:49.330 – 00:05:56.340 change things change the universe change the world change many things
  43. 00:05:56.340 – 00:06:05.100 change and that's a good question if things are the same do that mean is
  44. 00:06:05.700 – 00:06:14.660 it still changing in a way because it's changing this navigation through each
  45. 00:06:14.660 – 00:06:19.980 day each second each you know encounterment with other energies and
  46. 00:06:19.980 – 00:06:26.000 people it's like adapting so is that changing it's changing the
  47. 00:06:26.000 – 00:06:34.710 environment but the thing behind that is the consistency which backs it up
  48. 00:06:35.990 – 00:06:47.400 and which defines it because consistency is I would say better than talent you
  49. 00:06:47.400 – 00:06:50.920 know if you consistently doing the right things and you know as I'm
  50. 00:06:50.920 – 00:07:00.610 consistently elevating myself rise and do these things as I do these
  51. 00:07:00.610 – 00:07:14.850 things I know there's change and then after that change needs to be
  52. 00:07:14.850 – 00:07:26.250 transformation and with that transformation becomes the testimony and
  53. 00:07:26.250 – 00:07:32.930 what's at the beginning of testimony the test and then you get the money
  54. 00:07:32.930 – 00:07:39.830 you get it when people shy from you they want to know that you're credible
  55. 00:07:39.830 – 00:07:43.890 and you want to hear past clients testimonies like how what they think
  56. 00:07:43.890 – 00:07:48.890 about you would have you done for them what work have you done for them you
  57. 00:07:49.910 – 00:07:55.130 know versus somebody that's new and foreign or a stranger and something
  58. 00:07:55.130 – 00:08:06.360 they probably don't even need but if you you know showing your proof you
  59. 00:08:06.360 – 00:08:11.060 know without you know being overbearing I know some some people
  60. 00:08:11.060 – 00:08:14.620 take it to the highest limits and being overbearing and just all in
  61. 00:08:14.620 – 00:08:19.960 people's face you know however I respect it you know you marketing
  62. 00:08:19.960 – 00:08:26.940 trying to put yourself out there I get it but okay let's just tone it down
  63. 00:08:26.940 – 00:08:35.070 slightly you know you got to believe in your boundaries not only as a
  64. 00:08:35.070 – 00:08:40.750 business owner but as a human being you know sometimes you got to step away
  65. 00:08:40.750 – 00:08:51.360 from work or your job or your career for you you know test test test your
  66. 00:08:51.360 – 00:09:02.440 job test your career test your business step away for a week or two and be with
  67. 00:09:02.440 – 00:09:12.080 you and then when you go back to it you will you will find some answers that
  68. 00:09:12.080 – 00:09:21.630 one you were maybe looking for and two stuff you never even thought of but
  69. 00:09:21.630 – 00:09:25.190 you got to test yourself test your business and that's the only way to get
  70. 00:09:25.190 – 00:09:35.120 better you know setting challenges and overcoming it reaching a goal whether
  71. 00:09:35.120 – 00:09:43.020 that's big or small starts with the test so don't be afraid to test
  72. 00:09:43.020 – 00:09:50.590 yourself you know whatever that test may be on the other side you will see
  73. 00:09:50.590 – 00:10:03.700 if it was all meant to be by testing yourself yeah that's a that's
  74. 00:10:03.700 – 00:10:08.320 that's a wrap for today y'all test yourself or don't be afraid to test
  75. 00:10:08.320 – 00:10:16.040 yourself again this is photographer Jackson Steve Jackson of alienize photos
  76. 00:10:16.040 – 00:10:22.780 media bringing you alienize photos industry talk this has been an episode
  77. 00:10:22.780 – 00:10:33.000 about testing testing yourself testing the things around you but keep it
  78. 00:10:33.000 – 00:10:38.940 internal again this is an intro specter business podcast and as
  79. 00:10:38.940 – 00:10:47.180 business leaders and entrepreneurs we need to go internal with ourselves and
  80. 00:10:47.800 – 00:10:52.240 really be in tune with our mental health and our health and in general
  81. 00:10:52.240 – 00:10:55.480 make sure we're going to the gym taking our vitamins you know getting
  82. 00:10:55.480 – 00:11:04.840 meditation more rest more quiet time do that it's important again this is
  83. 00:11:04.840 – 00:11:12.620 Steve Jackson of alienize photos media in partnership with the pull up
  84. 00:11:12.620 – 00:11:20.600 experience and also launch arts media we do a lot of creative things digital
  85. 00:11:20.600 – 00:11:30.090 marketing social media management video production live interviews even with
  86. 00:11:30.090 – 00:11:38.850 business coaching like you know these are the teams that I run with and I'm
  87. 00:11:38.850 – 00:11:47.510 always open to collaborate I'm guaranteeing you know people that I work
  88. 00:11:47.510 – 00:11:55.420 with love collaboration so you know the bigger you want this to be we can
  89. 00:11:55.420 – 00:12:09.690 but again I gotta discuss budgets please come with a respectable budget because
  90. 00:12:09.690 – 00:12:14.350 we have families in our time it's not free and any time away from the
  91. 00:12:14.350 – 00:12:21.450 business is deducting so you know I had to it has to be you know
  92. 00:12:21.450 – 00:12:31.090 worthwhile gotta be reasonable again respectable gonna show up the best we
  93. 00:12:31.090 – 00:12:38.590 can you know keeping communications deliver the best final outcome and
  94. 00:12:38.590 – 00:12:49.100 results alright you can find me over at alien eyes photos alien eyes photos
  95. 00:12:49.260 – 00:12:59.640 on all media alien eyes photos.com that's alien eyes with a z photos with
  96. 00:12:59.640 – 00:13:10.940 a s.com yeah also check out creative frequency you can follow us on a
  97. 00:13:11.520 – 00:13:18.340 creative frequency on a creative frequency on our social media and
  98. 00:13:18.340 – 00:13:26.880 also YouTube check out me and Brianna Casanova you know really teaching
  99. 00:13:26.880 – 00:13:32.600 people how to stay creative and elevate their wavelength creative wavelength
  100. 00:13:33.680 – 00:13:39.900 and be in sync with their selves and make it through purpose because
  101. 00:13:39.900 – 00:13:46.860 purpose drives it all creativity fuels it all keeping that passion and
  102. 00:13:46.860 – 00:13:52.180 motivation and you never know where you'll be especially if you test
  103. 00:13:52.180 – 00:13:55.260 yourself alright peace

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23. Affirmations For Creative Entrepreneurs

Season 1 · Episode 40

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.140 – 00:00:03.900 Walk on, walk on, walk on.
  2. 00:00:04.720 – 00:00:09.880 If you are into affirmations, this one is for you.
  3. 00:00:10.940 – 00:00:16.140 If you are a creative entrepreneur, this is for you.
  4. 00:00:17.680 – 00:00:22.260 Now, anyone that knows me, Mr. Photographer Jackson here,
  5. 00:00:23.120 – 00:00:27.320 over on Alienize Photos Industry Talk,
  6. 00:00:29.530 – 00:00:31.250 I love affirmations.
  7. 00:00:31.870 – 00:00:34.830 I have my own affirmation track,
  8. 00:00:35.850 – 00:00:39.270 Alien Affirmations, one, two, three.
  9. 00:00:39.750 – 00:00:42.310 Alien Affirmations, one, two, three.
  10. 00:00:42.750 – 00:00:45.170 For Alien Oplaya.
  11. 00:00:45.530 – 00:00:47.690 Check it out, it's a good eight-minute track.
  12. 00:00:48.350 – 00:00:51.050 It's a powerful affirmation, I just, I am good.
  13. 00:00:51.670 – 00:00:54.610 I am great, I get deeper.
  14. 00:00:56.150 – 00:00:59.890 And I'm gonna give you some affirmations
  15. 00:01:00.710 – 00:01:02.950 to go about your day, something to kind of
  16. 00:01:02.950 – 00:01:05.370 get you motivated, give you that reminder.
  17. 00:01:06.210 – 00:01:08.890 You can say it along with me, I'm gonna say it twice.
  18. 00:01:10.010 – 00:01:11.050 Let's go.
  19. 00:01:12.290 – 00:01:16.330 I am grateful for the many blessings in my life.
  20. 00:01:18.710 – 00:01:23.230 I am grateful for the many blessings in my life.
  21. 00:01:27.960 – 00:01:34.540 I can pay my wants, needs, and desires effortlessly.
  22. 00:01:38.950 – 00:01:45.950 I can pay my wants, needs, and desires effortlessly.
  23. 00:01:50.400 – 00:01:53.060 I am worthy, and I am enough.
  24. 00:01:56.900 – 00:01:59.780 I am worthy, and I am enough.
  25. 00:02:02.360 – 00:02:06.960 I am in tune with the abundant nature of the universe.
  26. 00:02:09.250 – 00:02:14.530 I am in tune with the abundant nature of the universe.
  27. 00:02:17.560 – 00:02:20.300 I am building a money mansion.
  28. 00:02:23.330 – 00:02:26.270 I am building a money mansion.
  29. 00:02:29.050 – 00:02:31.750 I am abundantly abundant.
  30. 00:02:34.880 – 00:02:38.040 I am abundantly abundant.
  31. 00:02:42.770 – 00:02:47.150 I love myself, I love my life.
  32. 00:02:49.540 – 00:02:53.900 I love myself, I love my life.
  33. 00:02:58.000 – 00:02:59.600 Now you don't have to repeat this,
  34. 00:02:59.720 – 00:03:01.560 but I'm gonna give you some words of wisdom.
  35. 00:03:04.010 – 00:03:07.750 Life is a continuous movie of a journey
  36. 00:03:07.750 – 00:03:12.290 of love, peace, and educated guesses
  37. 00:03:14.850 – 00:03:17.710 and many situations and experiences.
  38. 00:03:19.610 – 00:03:21.510 Life is an educated guess.
  39. 00:03:22.690 – 00:03:27.070 Always continue to learn and get educated.
  40. 00:03:28.270 – 00:03:29.970 Hence the educated guess.
  41. 00:03:34.850 – 00:03:36.790 But never guessed about yourself.
  42. 00:03:38.250 – 00:03:42.210 Always speak kind, gentle words over yourself
  43. 00:03:42.890 – 00:03:44.210 and through yourself.
  44. 00:03:46.730 – 00:03:50.770 Like I am rich, wealthy, and full of abundance.
  45. 00:03:52.650 – 00:03:56.270 I am rich, wealthy, and full of abundance.
  46. 00:03:58.370 – 00:04:02.650 I always wake up energized and ready to conquer the day.
  47. 00:04:04.050 – 00:04:08.290 I always wake up energized and ready to conquer the day.
  48. 00:04:09.770 – 00:04:13.670 My business is growing every single day.
  49. 00:04:14.830 – 00:04:19.610 My business is growing every single day.
  50. 00:04:21.250 – 00:04:25.190 As I am expanding, my business expands.
  51. 00:04:27.110 – 00:04:31.030 As I am expanding, my business expands.
  52. 00:04:32.370 – 00:04:35.750 I am learning and developing as a human being.
  53. 00:04:37.070 – 00:04:40.750 I am learning and developing as a human being.
  54. 00:04:42.190 – 00:04:46.870 Positive opportunities follow me.
  55. 00:04:48.700 – 00:04:52.060 Positive opportunities follow me.
  56. 00:04:54.090 – 00:04:58.270 I get paid easily and often.
  57. 00:05:00.130 – 00:05:05.120 I get paid easily and often.
  58. 00:05:06.660 – 00:05:09.120 Money is pouring into my life.
  59. 00:05:10.860 – 00:05:13.600 Money is pouring into my life.
  60. 00:05:15.460 – 00:05:16.840 I am positive.
  61. 00:05:19.500 – 00:05:21.080 I am positive.
  62. 00:05:23.660 – 00:05:25.040 I love myself.
  63. 00:05:27.140 – 00:05:28.400 I love myself.
  64. 00:05:30.770 – 00:05:32.910 I'm an amazing creative entrepreneur.
  65. 00:05:35.370 – 00:05:37.670 I am an amazing creative entrepreneur.
  66. 00:05:38.710 – 00:05:39.890 And we're gonna end with,
  67. 00:05:40.410 – 00:05:44.030 we are a amazing creative entrepreneur.
  68. 00:05:45.900 – 00:05:52.020 I am a creative entrepreneur
  69. 00:05:52.680 – 00:05:54.440 that happens to be amazing.
  70. 00:05:56.300 – 00:05:59.220 I am a creative entrepreneur
  71. 00:06:00.220 – 00:06:02.540 that happens to be amazing.
  72. 00:06:04.600 – 00:06:07.060 I am an amazing entrepreneur.
  73. 00:06:09.920 – 00:06:13.120 I am an amazing creative.
  74. 00:06:15.480 – 00:06:18.040 I am an amazing creative entrepreneur.
  75. 00:06:20.700 – 00:06:23.140 I am an amazing creative entrepreneur.
  76. 00:06:24.720 – 00:06:26.020 Stay blessed.
  77. 00:06:26.760 – 00:06:30.360 This is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson,
  78. 00:06:30.760 – 00:06:33.680 AKA Mr. Alienar Player.
  79. 00:06:33.680 – 00:06:36.500 If you wanna check out more affirmations,
  80. 00:06:36.920 – 00:06:40.800 check out Alien Affirmations 1, 2, 3.
  81. 00:06:41.080 – 00:06:44.780 Yes, Alien Affirmations 1, 2, 3
  82. 00:06:44.780 – 00:06:49.180 by Alienar Player on Apple, Spotify,
  83. 00:06:49.360 – 00:06:51.420 wherever you stream your tracks.
  84. 00:06:51.880 – 00:06:53.080 It is everywhere.
  85. 00:06:54.600 – 00:06:59.420 Again, photographer Jackson of Alienar's Photos Media
  86. 00:07:00.000 – 00:07:02.660 and Alienar's Photos Industry Talk.
  87. 00:07:03.680 – 00:07:06.480 Catch me at alien eyes.
  88. 00:07:07.020 – 00:07:10.740 It's eyes with a Z and photos.
  89. 00:07:11.120 – 00:07:16.400 Photos with a S on all social media and at the dot com.
  90. 00:07:16.580 – 00:07:18.820 So alienarsphotos.com
  91. 00:07:18.820 – 00:07:21.860 if you wanna book me up for more information.
  92. 00:07:22.600 – 00:07:24.100 Thank you for tuning in.
  93. 00:07:24.440 – 00:07:26.900 Let me know how you like these affirmations.
  94. 00:07:26.980 – 00:07:28.340 Shoot me a message like,
  95. 00:07:28.600 – 00:07:30.280 hey, we want some more affirmations.
  96. 00:07:30.300 – 00:07:31.180 This was good.
  97. 00:07:31.180 – 00:07:31.980 This is needed.
  98. 00:07:32.480 – 00:07:34.140 I have a whole track.
  99. 00:07:35.420 – 00:07:40.320 I was supposed to put out an album of affirmations,
  100. 00:07:40.400 – 00:07:42.720 but I postponed it.
  101. 00:07:43.660 – 00:07:45.980 So if you like this style,
  102. 00:07:46.320 – 00:07:47.880 I could offer you more
  103. 00:07:47.880 – 00:07:52.260 because I have so many that I just got out of my head
  104. 00:07:52.260 – 00:07:56.580 that I just wrote down over the past five years,
  105. 00:07:57.100 – 00:07:58.500 the personal affirmations
  106. 00:07:58.500 – 00:08:02.560 that got me through some tough times, hard times
  107. 00:08:02.560 – 00:08:06.940 and that I truly believe in and really that I believe.
  108. 00:08:08.600 – 00:08:13.100 So if you want more of these affirmations, let me know.
  109. 00:08:13.700 – 00:08:17.580 Again, photographer Jackson of Alienar's Photos Media
  110. 00:08:18.130 – 00:08:20.460 and Alienar's Photos Industry Talk.
  111. 00:08:21.480 – 00:08:24.040 Let me know how you like these affirmations.
  112. 00:08:24.880 – 00:08:25.680 All right.
  113. 00:08:26.200 – 00:08:26.860 Take care.

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24. Tybo Audio Studio Jesus - Expert Studio and Production Specialist

Season 2 · Episode 16

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.000 – 00:00:02.260 I would like to introduce Mr. Tybo.
  2. 00:00:02.300 – 00:00:03.720 And I'm not talking about the workout,
  3. 00:00:03.940 – 00:00:05.640 the cardio workout with Billy Banks.
  4. 00:00:05.980 – 00:00:07.860 I'm not talking about Tybo, Nevada.
  5. 00:00:07.980 – 00:00:09.580 I'm not talking about a typo.
  6. 00:00:09.600 – 00:00:12.160 I'm talking about Tybo, audio.
  7. 00:00:12.720 – 00:00:14.500 Everything around me was just like chaotic.
  8. 00:00:14.660 – 00:00:16.020 And I was like, man, I gotta be the person
  9. 00:00:16.020 – 00:00:18.040 to make that change, make that difference.
  10. 00:00:18.360 – 00:00:19.860 So one day when I was 16 years old,
  11. 00:00:19.920 – 00:00:21.740 I walked to this college I'd never been to.
  12. 00:00:21.900 – 00:00:22.840 And I just told him, I said,
  13. 00:00:22.840 – 00:00:23.720 I wanna go to school here.
  14. 00:00:23.920 – 00:00:25.280 Yeah, that was the day my life changed.
  15. 00:00:25.480 – 00:00:26.840 I know there's a change
  16. 00:00:26.840 – 00:00:28.440 because you're a testimony to that.
  17. 00:00:28.520 – 00:00:29.700 It took a lot of pressure.
  18. 00:00:29.700 – 00:00:32.360 A lot of darkness, the type of environment
  19. 00:00:32.360 – 00:00:33.700 it takes to make a diamond.
  20. 00:00:33.940 – 00:00:35.520 It's not a pretty environment.
  21. 00:00:36.120 – 00:00:37.620 So ever since I touched down in Atlanta,
  22. 00:00:37.640 – 00:00:40.140 I've been like, yo, let me prove my worth
  23. 00:00:40.140 – 00:00:41.740 and I know you'll pay me.
  24. 00:00:41.800 – 00:00:43.760 Cause I've been doing it like that since I was 17.
  25. 00:00:43.900 – 00:00:46.380 I show up at any studio, fix everything.
  26. 00:00:46.640 – 00:00:49.020 I was like, bro, I just made $500 in two hours.
  27. 00:00:49.440 – 00:00:51.700 And I'm like 17, 18 at the time.
  28. 00:00:51.940 – 00:00:54.320 But you said all of your clients are like your mentors.
  29. 00:00:54.820 – 00:00:56.760 Majority of my clients are my mentors actually.
  30. 00:00:56.940 – 00:00:58.300 Just because you love something,
  31. 00:00:58.300 – 00:00:59.800 love learning about something,
  32. 00:00:59.860 – 00:01:01.860 it doesn't mean you need to turn it into a career.
  33. 00:01:02.720 – 00:01:04.959 Welcome, welcome, welcome
  34. 00:01:04.959 – 00:01:07.900 to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  35. 00:01:07.900 – 00:01:10.120 with your host photographer Jackson,
  36. 00:01:10.360 – 00:01:13.620 Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media.
  37. 00:01:14.400 – 00:01:17.200 And to my right, I have a special, special guest,
  38. 00:01:17.660 – 00:01:19.540 a production specialist.
  39. 00:01:20.220 – 00:01:22.260 And yeah, look at the studio.
  40. 00:01:22.880 – 00:01:25.660 Creator Clubhouse here in Atlanta, Georgia,
  41. 00:01:25.660 – 00:01:30.720 fresh off the podcast summit, 26, or 26.
  42. 00:01:31.880 – 00:01:34.280 And I would like to introduce Mr. Tybo.
  43. 00:01:34.300 – 00:01:35.760 And I'm not talking about the workout,
  44. 00:01:35.940 – 00:01:37.660 the cardio workout with Billy Banks.
  45. 00:01:37.980 – 00:01:39.860 I'm not talking about Tybo, Nevada.
  46. 00:01:39.960 – 00:01:41.600 I'm not talking about a typo.
  47. 00:01:41.600 – 00:01:44.100 I'm talking about Tybo audio.
  48. 00:01:44.720 – 00:01:45.700 How you doing, my brother?
  49. 00:01:45.900 – 00:01:46.680 I'm feeling good, brother.
  50. 00:01:46.720 – 00:01:47.520 I'm blessed to be here.
  51. 00:01:47.620 – 00:01:49.340 I'm surprised you know about Tybo, Nevada.
  52. 00:01:49.520 – 00:01:50.760 Nobody knows about that.
  53. 00:01:50.800 – 00:01:51.820 You did your research.
  54. 00:01:51.900 – 00:01:52.820 I did my research.
  55. 00:01:52.820 – 00:01:53.280 Yes, sir.
  56. 00:01:53.280 – 00:01:55.880 So I did a little brief introduction,
  57. 00:01:56.100 – 00:01:57.780 but nobody could do it better than yourself.
  58. 00:01:58.200 – 00:01:59.760 Introduce yourself to the people.
  59. 00:02:00.000 – 00:02:01.040 Yeah, no, my name is Tybo.
  60. 00:02:01.440 – 00:02:04.440 I set up studios for entrepreneurs and creators,
  61. 00:02:04.620 – 00:02:07.340 and I specialize in audio, lighting, and video.
  62. 00:02:08.539 – 00:02:09.720 I would say which one is your favorite?
  63. 00:02:10.380 – 00:02:13.140 Probably audio, because that's where I started off.
  64. 00:02:13.220 – 00:02:15.200 I have a deep love for music.
  65. 00:02:16.240 – 00:02:17.300 Yeah, so probably audio.
  66. 00:02:17.720 – 00:02:20.060 Okay, so you say you have a deep love for music
  67. 00:02:20.060 – 00:02:22.020 that you use to do music, produce,
  68. 00:02:22.020 – 00:02:23.700 or more like an artist.
  69. 00:02:23.980 – 00:02:25.840 I've done every aspect of audio
  70. 00:02:25.840 – 00:02:27.660 as far as like I've been a rapper,
  71. 00:02:27.860 – 00:02:29.540 I've been a producer, I've made beats,
  72. 00:02:29.680 – 00:02:32.400 I've played piano, I've taken vocal lessons,
  73. 00:02:32.780 – 00:02:34.840 I've been on tours, I've mixed and mastered.
  74. 00:02:35.100 – 00:02:37.060 Anything you can think of as far as audio,
  75. 00:02:37.120 – 00:02:38.700 I've gotten paid a lot of money
  76. 00:02:38.700 – 00:02:40.320 to do it at some point, so yeah.
  77. 00:02:40.540 – 00:02:44.420 Okay, so you say you've been a performing artist,
  78. 00:02:44.660 – 00:02:45.440 recording artist.
  79. 00:02:45.620 – 00:02:47.100 Where can we find some of this music?
  80. 00:02:47.400 – 00:02:49.480 You can look up Tybo audio on all platforms.
  81. 00:02:49.520 – 00:02:50.980 You're gonna see all of my older music.
  82. 00:02:50.980 – 00:02:52.940 I haven't released music in like six or seven years,
  83. 00:02:52.980 – 00:02:54.840 but yeah, I did like 55 songs.
  84. 00:02:54.860 – 00:02:56.440 I dropped like five different projects,
  85. 00:02:56.820 – 00:02:58.820 all produced by me, all written,
  86. 00:02:59.500 – 00:03:00.760 recorded, everything done by me.
  87. 00:03:01.060 – 00:03:01.780 That is amazing.
  88. 00:03:01.800 – 00:03:03.440 I used to be a recording artist myself.
  89. 00:03:03.480 – 00:03:05.480 That's actually how I got into production
  90. 00:03:05.480 – 00:03:07.240 and being a photographer.
  91. 00:03:08.140 – 00:03:10.280 I would get off stage, perform in our host
  92. 00:03:10.280 – 00:03:12.060 and record other artists on my iPhone.
  93. 00:03:12.120 – 00:03:14.120 I'm like, let me invest in the camera.
  94. 00:03:14.360 – 00:03:15.540 So when I did that,
  95. 00:03:15.720 – 00:03:17.420 I started studying and practicing,
  96. 00:03:17.600 – 00:03:18.700 studying and practicing,
  97. 00:03:19.000 – 00:03:20.760 then kind of left the music scene.
  98. 00:03:20.760 – 00:03:23.160 Music and poetry, can't forget the poetry
  99. 00:03:23.720 – 00:03:25.660 and just never look back.
  100. 00:03:26.600 – 00:03:29.120 Here now, I'm in front of the camera,
  101. 00:03:29.180 – 00:03:30.780 but I'm usually behind the camera.
  102. 00:03:31.700 – 00:03:32.860 It's good to have that balance.
  103. 00:03:33.240 – 00:03:34.000 Oh yeah.
  104. 00:03:35.040 – 00:03:36.880 So who's your favorite artist?
  105. 00:03:37.260 – 00:03:39.620 Favorite artist of all time had to be Stevie Wonder.
  106. 00:03:40.560 – 00:03:42.280 If I had to choose like rap music,
  107. 00:03:42.340 – 00:03:43.100 like my favorite rapper,
  108. 00:03:43.220 – 00:03:44.540 I had to go Kendrick Lamar.
  109. 00:03:45.880 – 00:03:47.480 But yeah, and then favorite band.
  110. 00:03:48.160 – 00:03:50.240 I always tell people it's a hard choice
  111. 00:03:50.240 – 00:03:51.860 between either Earth, Wind and Fire
  112. 00:03:51.860 – 00:03:53.480 or a band called Steely Dan.
  113. 00:03:53.700 – 00:03:56.840 They both are like the top bands for me.
  114. 00:03:58.680 – 00:04:01.020 I love Earth, Wind and Fire.
  115. 00:04:01.280 – 00:04:02.340 And then to repeat,
  116. 00:04:02.860 – 00:04:05.220 I like Michael Jackson and Tupac.
  117. 00:04:05.620 – 00:04:08.620 I say since my name is Steve Jackson
  118. 00:04:08.620 – 00:04:11.860 and I say Michael Jackson is my uncle
  119. 00:04:12.270 – 00:04:13.980 and then Tupac is my father.
  120. 00:04:16.700 – 00:04:19.420 So even jumping back to the early days,
  121. 00:04:19.420 – 00:04:22.540 I know let's see your presentation yesterday.
  122. 00:04:22.540 – 00:04:26.020 You say you dropped out of school in middle school,
  123. 00:04:26.140 – 00:04:26.760 like sixth grade.
  124. 00:04:27.160 – 00:04:29.020 Yeah, sixth grade was my last official grade
  125. 00:04:29.020 – 00:04:30.100 in like public school.
  126. 00:04:30.620 – 00:04:33.320 And then I did like four or five years, no school.
  127. 00:04:33.440 – 00:04:34.340 I was just in the streets,
  128. 00:04:34.500 – 00:04:35.840 kind of roaming around doing my own thing.
  129. 00:04:35.860 – 00:04:37.000 And then finally at 16,
  130. 00:04:37.300 – 00:04:39.820 I decided to get my GED and go to college.
  131. 00:04:39.980 – 00:04:43.020 And I ended up being in this scholarship program
  132. 00:04:43.020 – 00:04:45.820 that paid for my college education from 16 to 21.
  133. 00:04:46.160 – 00:04:47.820 I took as many classes as I could.
  134. 00:04:47.820 – 00:04:50.000 I learned as many things as I could in that time
  135. 00:04:50.000 – 00:04:52.800 and got two degrees and been doing this ever since.
  136. 00:04:53.620 – 00:04:55.300 So going back to that sixth grade,
  137. 00:04:55.560 – 00:04:56.500 what made you drop out?
  138. 00:04:56.620 – 00:04:57.540 What happened around that time?
  139. 00:04:57.920 – 00:04:59.240 So I was going through a lot of family stuff.
  140. 00:04:59.420 – 00:05:01.080 My dad went to prison when I was 10 years old.
  141. 00:05:01.100 – 00:05:03.040 And by the time he was released,
  142. 00:05:03.040 – 00:05:05.340 he was super institutionalized.
  143. 00:05:05.340 – 00:05:07.200 And my mom was dealing with homelessness
  144. 00:05:07.200 – 00:05:09.300 and drug addiction and all of these things.
  145. 00:05:09.320 – 00:05:12.160 So just my family life was just chaotic at that time.
  146. 00:05:13.060 – 00:05:14.820 So school just wasn't in the picture for me.
  147. 00:05:15.160 – 00:05:16.100 Oh wow.
  148. 00:05:16.100 – 00:05:18.300 And then what influenced you to go back to school?
  149. 00:05:19.140 – 00:05:20.160 Seeing the people around me,
  150. 00:05:20.220 – 00:05:21.500 like the situations I was in,
  151. 00:05:21.620 – 00:05:24.600 I'd lost a couple friends and my dad in and out of jail,
  152. 00:05:24.660 – 00:05:25.960 my brother in and out of jail,
  153. 00:05:26.140 – 00:05:28.580 like just everything around me was just like chaotic.
  154. 00:05:28.620 – 00:05:30.100 And I was like, man, I gotta be the person
  155. 00:05:30.100 – 00:05:32.120 to make that change, make that difference.
  156. 00:05:32.300 – 00:05:33.960 So one day when I was 16 years old,
  157. 00:05:33.960 – 00:05:35.420 I decided to just,
  158. 00:05:35.600 – 00:05:36.520 literally I was sitting in this house
  159. 00:05:36.520 – 00:05:37.780 and I turned this TV off.
  160. 00:05:37.940 – 00:05:39.700 I was just sitting there watching TV.
  161. 00:05:39.980 – 00:05:41.100 I turned it off and I was like,
  162. 00:05:41.180 – 00:05:41.940 yo, this is the day.
  163. 00:05:42.060 – 00:05:43.980 And I walked to this college and never been to.
  164. 00:05:44.460 – 00:05:45.420 And I just told him, I said,
  165. 00:05:45.420 – 00:05:46.340 I wanna go to school here.
  166. 00:05:46.500 – 00:05:48.380 And the funny thing is like I was in the wrong building.
  167. 00:05:48.460 – 00:05:49.800 I was in like the sports building there.
  168. 00:05:49.840 – 00:05:51.160 Like you need to go to administration
  169. 00:05:51.160 – 00:05:52.620 and sign up and do all this.
  170. 00:05:53.340 – 00:05:54.880 But yeah, that was the day my life changed.
  171. 00:05:55.360 – 00:05:56.560 I love that for you.
  172. 00:05:56.600 – 00:05:59.180 And I know so many countless people
  173. 00:05:59.180 – 00:06:01.200 going through it, especially young ones,
  174. 00:06:01.700 – 00:06:03.560 lost their parents or just struggling
  175. 00:06:03.560 – 00:06:04.640 to figure a way out,
  176. 00:06:04.640 – 00:06:05.860 just being in the streets,
  177. 00:06:06.240 – 00:06:07.920 hanging around the same people.
  178. 00:06:08.620 – 00:06:09.940 I know there's a change
  179. 00:06:09.940 – 00:06:11.660 because you're a testimony to that.
  180. 00:06:12.120 – 00:06:14.320 Is there a message you can share
  181. 00:06:14.320 – 00:06:15.240 for a younger person
  182. 00:06:15.240 – 00:06:16.620 that's going through something similar?
  183. 00:06:17.560 – 00:06:19.320 Yeah, I say pressure makes diamonds.
  184. 00:06:19.980 – 00:06:23.600 So you guys see this finished product here,
  185. 00:06:23.600 – 00:06:24.880 but it took a lot of pressure,
  186. 00:06:25.620 – 00:06:26.420 a lot of darkness.
  187. 00:06:26.860 – 00:06:29.400 The type of environment it takes to make a diamond,
  188. 00:06:29.920 – 00:06:31.720 it's not a pretty environment.
  189. 00:06:32.080 – 00:06:34.640 But then when you get that diamond shining,
  190. 00:06:34.800 – 00:06:37.140 it's bright, so it's worth it in the end.
  191. 00:06:37.480 – 00:06:38.540 So just don't give up.
  192. 00:06:38.940 – 00:06:39.560 Don't give up.
  193. 00:06:39.680 – 00:06:41.360 I'm a firm believer in that.
  194. 00:06:41.360 – 00:06:45.120 Take breaks, take pauses, but don't give up.
  195. 00:06:45.340 – 00:06:46.220 Never, never stop.
  196. 00:06:46.300 – 00:06:46.880 I love that.
  197. 00:06:47.520 – 00:06:49.380 And we're sitting in one of the studios
  198. 00:06:49.380 – 00:06:51.220 you built or helped build, create.
  199. 00:06:51.520 – 00:06:54.020 What was the process behind it
  200. 00:06:54.020 – 00:06:55.480 and how long did it take?
  201. 00:06:55.480 – 00:06:58.100 So I met Dave two years ago at a mastermind.
  202. 00:06:58.220 – 00:06:59.280 It was one of his masterminds.
  203. 00:06:59.280 – 00:07:00.940 Dave does these masterminds,
  204. 00:07:00.940 – 00:07:02.760 I want to say maybe like once or twice a year.
  205. 00:07:02.760 – 00:07:04.440 He gets all the biggest podcasters,
  206. 00:07:04.940 – 00:07:08.600 biggest entertainers in Atlanta all in one space.
  207. 00:07:08.600 – 00:07:10.600 And we just politic, we connect,
  208. 00:07:10.720 – 00:07:12.480 we share thoughts and ideas.
  209. 00:07:12.600 – 00:07:14.580 But I got invited to one of these masterminds.
  210. 00:07:14.620 – 00:07:16.220 I never heard of David Chan's before,
  211. 00:07:16.220 – 00:07:17.820 never seen the Social Proof podcast.
  212. 00:07:18.220 – 00:07:20.120 But somebody invited me to this mastermind
  213. 00:07:20.120 – 00:07:22.020 and I walked in, it was this big old mansion
  214. 00:07:22.400 – 00:07:24.020 actually owned by one of my clients, Neo.
  215. 00:07:24.160 – 00:07:24.820 Shout out, Neo.
  216. 00:07:24.980 – 00:07:25.600 Shout out, Neo.
  217. 00:07:26.360 – 00:07:28.320 So I walked in and there was a bunch of people
  218. 00:07:28.320 – 00:07:29.300 that I already worked with
  219. 00:07:29.300 – 00:07:31.860 and I didn't know it was David Chan's event,
  220. 00:07:31.920 – 00:07:33.860 but essentially two of my clients stood up
  221. 00:07:33.860 – 00:07:35.420 and they're like, yo, everybody in this room
  222. 00:07:35.420 – 00:07:36.900 needs to connect with this guy, Tybo.
  223. 00:07:36.920 – 00:07:38.240 He's the dopest producer.
  224. 00:07:38.240 – 00:07:39.320 He's the dopest engineer.
  225. 00:07:39.440 – 00:07:41.000 You guys gotta get with this guy.
  226. 00:07:41.520 – 00:07:42.640 And so David took notice.
  227. 00:07:42.760 – 00:07:43.300 He was like, wait a minute,
  228. 00:07:43.300 – 00:07:44.480 I've never even seen that dude.
  229. 00:07:44.660 – 00:07:45.840 And he's at my mastermind.
  230. 00:07:46.160 – 00:07:47.140 So he walked up to me.
  231. 00:07:47.180 – 00:07:49.900 He's like, hey bro, just want to introduce myself.
  232. 00:07:49.960 – 00:07:51.360 He's like, you gotta come by my studio.
  233. 00:07:51.480 – 00:07:53.220 And I was like, bet I'll come by whenever.
  234. 00:07:53.300 – 00:07:54.620 He's like, can you stop by tomorrow?
  235. 00:07:55.040 – 00:07:56.340 And I was like, yep, let's do it.
  236. 00:07:56.700 – 00:07:59.580 So I came here the next day, it was like 10 a.m.
  237. 00:08:00.280 – 00:08:02.380 And I walked in and I'd just seen everything
  238. 00:08:02.380 – 00:08:04.640 and I was like, you guys can make
  239. 00:08:04.640 – 00:08:06.560 some crazy upgrades to this space
  240. 00:08:06.560 – 00:08:07.880 because you guys already have,
  241. 00:08:08.160 – 00:08:09.700 they had this room built out.
  242. 00:08:09.700 – 00:08:10.600 They had the back room,
  243. 00:08:10.600 – 00:08:12.820 but it just wasn't really cohesive.
  244. 00:08:13.000 – 00:08:14.680 Everything wasn't optimized.
  245. 00:08:15.580 – 00:08:17.260 So I pulled David to the side and said,
  246. 00:08:17.260 – 00:08:19.140 yo, let me get you right.
  247. 00:08:19.380 – 00:08:22.320 Let me fully utilize this building
  248. 00:08:22.320 – 00:08:23.960 to its fullest potential.
  249. 00:08:24.680 – 00:08:26.020 So he was like, all right,
  250. 00:08:26.080 – 00:08:27.160 well, how much are you gonna cost?
  251. 00:08:27.500 – 00:08:29.920 And I was like, this stuff ain't cheap.
  252. 00:08:30.280 – 00:08:32.220 So he already spent thousands of dollars
  253. 00:08:32.220 – 00:08:32.780 in this building.
  254. 00:08:32.840 – 00:08:34.120 So he was like, all right.
  255. 00:08:34.440 – 00:08:36.100 So I told him, I was like, yo, let's do this.
  256. 00:08:36.100 – 00:08:36.659 Let's do that.
  257. 00:08:36.659 – 00:08:38.400 So now all of the rooms are connected.
  258. 00:08:38.400 – 00:08:39.440 You can live stream.
  259. 00:08:39.580 – 00:08:41.980 You can sit in this room and do an interview
  260. 00:08:41.980 – 00:08:43.740 and everybody can see you in the event room.
  261. 00:08:44.039 – 00:08:46.380 And you can use this room as a green room now
  262. 00:08:46.380 – 00:08:47.480 because we used to do events,
  263. 00:08:47.760 – 00:08:49.520 but people always had to be in there to watch.
  264. 00:08:49.560 – 00:08:51.880 Now you can sit in here and watch the event from here.
  265. 00:08:52.400 – 00:08:53.780 So turning this place to like
  266. 00:08:53.780 – 00:08:55.400 a full fledged production house,
  267. 00:08:55.600 – 00:08:56.580 like that was my goal.
  268. 00:08:56.880 – 00:08:57.640 So, and now we here.
  269. 00:08:58.120 – 00:08:58.760 Yeah, it is.
  270. 00:08:58.920 – 00:09:00.840 I've been here a few days this week
  271. 00:09:00.840 – 00:09:02.040 and I'm like amazed.
  272. 00:09:02.220 – 00:09:04.100 So just to see it, I'm like, wow.
  273. 00:09:04.600 – 00:09:06.480 And the creator behind it, it's amazing.
  274. 00:09:07.040 – 00:09:07.560 Yeah, thank you, bro.
  275. 00:09:07.900 – 00:09:09.340 So what about this panel wall?
  276. 00:09:09.960 – 00:09:11.240 Like how long did it take to build?
  277. 00:09:11.460 – 00:09:13.000 Like what's behind the wall?
  278. 00:09:13.160 – 00:09:15.440 So this was actually drywall a couple months ago.
  279. 00:09:16.180 – 00:09:18.100 There's a guy, Walls of Georgia.
  280. 00:09:18.140 – 00:09:19.180 I might be saying it wrong,
  281. 00:09:19.180 – 00:09:20.600 but we can try to find it, put it on the screen.
  282. 00:09:20.600 – 00:09:22.060 I think Dave Shans did mention him too.
  283. 00:09:22.100 – 00:09:23.920 Yeah, so I think it's Walls of Georgia.
  284. 00:09:23.980 – 00:09:25.860 He did the one in the office.
  285. 00:09:25.900 – 00:09:28.260 He did another wall, but he did this one.
  286. 00:09:28.440 – 00:09:29.220 I'm not gonna lie.
  287. 00:09:29.280 – 00:09:32.200 I'm not a big fan of visible light on camera
  288. 00:09:33.080 – 00:09:34.660 because some of the things I talk about,
  289. 00:09:35.060 – 00:09:35.900 like luminance values,
  290. 00:09:36.120 – 00:09:38.180 sometimes when you have the brightest thing on screen,
  291. 00:09:38.240 – 00:09:40.440 people's eyes automatically go towards it.
  292. 00:09:40.980 – 00:09:43.040 So me personally, I don't like to put a lot
  293. 00:09:43.040 – 00:09:45.520 of visible lights in the background of my shots, but.
  294. 00:09:45.520 – 00:09:46.480 Can we turn the lights down a little?
  295. 00:09:46.660 – 00:09:47.740 No, no, no.
  296. 00:09:47.920 – 00:09:48.840 You're good, no, you're good.
  297. 00:09:49.080 – 00:09:51.100 But what I will say is the wow factor.
  298. 00:09:51.380 – 00:09:52.940 Anytime somebody comes in this room,
  299. 00:09:53.080 – 00:09:54.820 they're immediately wowed.
  300. 00:09:54.900 – 00:09:56.820 So it's like this trade-off of like.
  301. 00:09:57.520 – 00:09:59.840 I think it's the colors, the, you know, the.
  302. 00:09:59.840 – 00:10:00.880 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
  303. 00:10:00.880 – 00:10:03.200 But honestly, the look in here when you post it,
  304. 00:10:03.200 – 00:10:04.040 it looks good.
  305. 00:10:04.420 – 00:10:04.940 So like. It does.
  306. 00:10:05.520 – 00:10:06.520 Yeah, you can't deny that.
  307. 00:10:06.860 – 00:10:08.020 Yeah, that is, that is true.
  308. 00:10:08.040 – 00:10:08.840 Okay, okay.
  309. 00:10:09.360 – 00:10:11.780 So for someone that's just starting out
  310. 00:10:11.780 – 00:10:13.200 that doesn't have a big budget
  311. 00:10:13.200 – 00:10:14.720 and is still using an iPhone,
  312. 00:10:15.320 – 00:10:16.960 what are some things you would recommend for them?
  313. 00:10:18.560 – 00:10:20.840 Study photography, study composition,
  314. 00:10:21.160 – 00:10:22.340 study the rule of thirds,
  315. 00:10:22.460 – 00:10:23.420 some of the stuff that we went over.
  316. 00:10:23.620 – 00:10:25.520 Like honestly, all of those things
  317. 00:10:25.520 – 00:10:28.240 translate right over to a iPhone
  318. 00:10:28.240 – 00:10:29.520 or a professional camera.
  319. 00:10:29.520 – 00:10:33.640 And if you take those same types of just like frameworks,
  320. 00:10:33.660 – 00:10:35.160 you can transfer them to any camera.
  321. 00:10:35.240 – 00:10:38.400 I can put, I can take a Canon, Sony,
  322. 00:10:39.240 – 00:10:40.080 Blackmagic, whatever,
  323. 00:10:40.120 – 00:10:41.740 and I can apply those same principles
  324. 00:10:41.740 – 00:10:43.420 and it still won't look professional,
  325. 00:10:43.420 – 00:10:44.680 it's gonna still look cinematic.
  326. 00:10:45.260 – 00:10:48.220 So just study, you know, exposure, you know,
  327. 00:10:48.460 – 00:10:49.680 lighting, all of those things,
  328. 00:10:49.680 – 00:10:52.100 and you can make an iPhone look incredible.
  329. 00:10:52.500 – 00:10:55.180 Yeah, I've definitely done it too.
  330. 00:10:56.240 – 00:10:58.720 I shot a podcast, three iPhones for someone
  331. 00:10:58.720 – 00:10:59.760 that didn't have the budget,
  332. 00:10:59.940 – 00:11:01.280 but they had multiple iPhones.
  333. 00:11:01.500 – 00:11:02.620 I'm like, oh, just use this.
  334. 00:11:03.600 – 00:11:05.560 So what were some of the first tools
  335. 00:11:05.560 – 00:11:07.080 and equipment you had starting out?
  336. 00:11:07.860 – 00:11:10.140 Microphone, I bought my first microphone super young
  337. 00:11:10.140 – 00:11:12.300 and I forget what it was.
  338. 00:11:13.160 – 00:11:14.940 I want to say it was a Shure or something,
  339. 00:11:14.940 – 00:11:16.480 but it was like one of the condenser microphones.
  340. 00:11:16.500 – 00:11:18.080 So I always, I started off with audio.
  341. 00:11:18.720 – 00:11:21.660 First light I bought must have been a Godox,
  342. 00:11:21.940 – 00:11:23.580 one of those little Amazon Godox lights.
  343. 00:11:24.060 – 00:11:26.720 And then video, my first camera was a Sony,
  344. 00:11:26.720 – 00:11:29.920 like a 6100, it didn't even do video.
  345. 00:11:30.420 – 00:11:32.640 Or like you could record a video and it was like 30,
  346. 00:11:32.720 – 00:11:34.120 so it was like really bad for video,
  347. 00:11:34.120 – 00:11:35.320 but it was good for photos.
  348. 00:11:35.820 – 00:11:38.960 So those were like the kind of the three first tools
  349. 00:11:38.960 – 00:11:39.840 I ever invested in.
  350. 00:11:40.280 – 00:11:42.520 Okay, what about some of the tools you use
  351. 00:11:42.520 – 00:11:43.960 or that you love right now?
  352. 00:11:44.920 – 00:11:46.420 We use a lot of FX 30s.
  353. 00:11:46.420 – 00:11:47.160 I'm a Sony shooter.
  354. 00:11:47.600 – 00:11:48.980 Ever since I bought my first Sony,
  355. 00:11:49.480 – 00:11:50.860 you know, I've been Sony gang,
  356. 00:11:50.940 – 00:11:52.600 but I use a lot of black magics.
  357. 00:11:52.680 – 00:11:53.820 I love Nikon.
  358. 00:11:54.260 – 00:11:56.040 Honestly, it's more about the lens and the lighting
  359. 00:11:56.040 – 00:11:57.460 for me, like the camera body,
  360. 00:11:57.940 – 00:11:59.640 I can switch that out and most people,
  361. 00:11:59.820 – 00:12:01.760 nine out of 10 people wouldn't even be able to recognize
  362. 00:12:01.760 – 00:12:03.880 like, oh, this is a Nikon versus a Sony
  363. 00:12:03.880 – 00:12:04.780 versus a black magic.
  364. 00:12:04.900 – 00:12:07.560 It's cause the lighting and the lens is really pristine.
  365. 00:12:08.160 – 00:12:08.880 I love that, I love that.
  366. 00:12:08.980 – 00:12:11.460 I know people get caught up in the names
  367. 00:12:11.460 – 00:12:13.080 and all that, it's just a tool.
  368. 00:12:13.380 – 00:12:13.780 Absolutely.
  369. 00:12:13.920 – 00:12:16.700 I mean, same with AI, like chat GBT,
  370. 00:12:16.900 – 00:12:19.260 Gemini, Claude, it's just a tool.
  371. 00:12:19.660 – 00:12:20.240 Whoa, whoa, whoa, now they,
  372. 00:12:20.460 – 00:12:22.180 those aren't all the same now.
  373. 00:12:22.400 – 00:12:24.220 Like those, I use them all differently.
  374. 00:12:24.360 – 00:12:26.020 Like I got Claude, I got-
  375. 00:12:26.020 – 00:12:26.740 Break it down.
  376. 00:12:27.020 – 00:12:28.560 Yeah, we don't want to go too deep in AI,
  377. 00:12:28.780 – 00:12:30.380 but like Gemini, I feel like I'd use Gemini
  378. 00:12:30.380 – 00:12:32.500 just for like photos, the nano banana,
  379. 00:12:32.660 – 00:12:33.980 like, and the thing is like,
  380. 00:12:34.080 – 00:12:35.840 I think of Google as an infrastructure
  381. 00:12:35.840 – 00:12:37.560 that's been around for so long
  382. 00:12:37.560 – 00:12:39.980 that they have Google search engine.
  383. 00:12:40.220 – 00:12:43.200 They have things that chat GBT or open AI
  384. 00:12:43.200 – 00:12:45.220 just doesn't have access to,
  385. 00:12:45.420 – 00:12:47.860 versus, you know, Claude, their research tools.
  386. 00:12:47.920 – 00:12:50.460 Like each one of them has a very specific,
  387. 00:12:50.460 – 00:12:53.640 like strong set and I feel like utilizing each one.
  388. 00:12:54.000 – 00:12:55.820 But yeah, they're all the tool at the end of the day.
  389. 00:12:56.560 – 00:12:57.460 That's right, that's right.
  390. 00:12:58.400 – 00:12:59.980 And I mean, to go even deeper,
  391. 00:13:00.140 – 00:13:02.420 I know Google has some, you know,
  392. 00:13:02.760 – 00:13:05.560 investments in Claude and Tropic.
  393. 00:13:06.160 – 00:13:06.400 Yep.
  394. 00:13:06.940 – 00:13:08.620 But even talking about AI,
  395. 00:13:08.960 – 00:13:12.560 where do you see the future of it for like production
  396. 00:13:12.560 – 00:13:16.160 and recording and just the whole industry
  397. 00:13:16.160 – 00:13:17.240 like five years from now?
  398. 00:13:17.420 – 00:13:19.100 I'm actually AI, this is,
  399. 00:13:19.440 – 00:13:21.200 I'm an AI person right now.
  400. 00:13:21.620 – 00:13:21.740 No, I'm kidding.
  401. 00:13:22.180 – 00:13:24.300 No, the future for AI is going to be like,
  402. 00:13:24.320 – 00:13:25.060 it's like the internet.
  403. 00:13:25.060 – 00:13:26.800 I tell people like,
  404. 00:13:26.960 – 00:13:30.360 people were back in the day were looking at phone books
  405. 00:13:30.360 – 00:13:32.060 and being like, oh, you know,
  406. 00:13:32.060 – 00:13:33.720 I can put my stuff in the phone book
  407. 00:13:33.720 – 00:13:34.960 and then the internet came out
  408. 00:13:34.960 – 00:13:37.240 and then phone books got wiped away.
  409. 00:13:37.380 – 00:13:40.040 So I feel like AI is almost like the new internet.
  410. 00:13:40.360 – 00:13:40.900 You know what I mean?
  411. 00:13:41.080 – 00:13:41.880 Like I like that.
  412. 00:13:42.480 – 00:13:44.260 So yeah, you got to utilize AI.
  413. 00:13:44.320 – 00:13:46.720 I feel like all of these big platforms,
  414. 00:13:46.860 – 00:13:48.740 you know, Facebook, Instagram,
  415. 00:13:48.800 – 00:13:50.300 like they're all integrating AI.
  416. 00:13:50.420 – 00:13:52.600 So it's like, why aren't you integrating AI
  417. 00:13:52.600 – 00:13:54.360 into some sort of workflow for you?
  418. 00:13:54.360 – 00:13:57.220 I don't use like voice, I don't use video,
  419. 00:13:57.220 – 00:13:59.540 I don't use anything like that for my content,
  420. 00:13:59.580 – 00:14:01.100 but on the back end of stuff,
  421. 00:14:01.160 – 00:14:03.680 I'm using ideas, scripting, all of that stuff.
  422. 00:14:04.080 – 00:14:05.040 Okay, okay.
  423. 00:14:05.340 – 00:14:07.680 For people that want to shy away from AI,
  424. 00:14:08.000 – 00:14:09.520 mostly like the older generation,
  425. 00:14:09.780 – 00:14:11.460 is there words that you would love to say to them?
  426. 00:14:12.120 – 00:14:13.400 Just adopt it slowly.
  427. 00:14:13.760 – 00:14:15.420 I mean, it's one of those tools
  428. 00:14:15.420 – 00:14:17.560 where you can't really avoid it.
  429. 00:14:17.580 – 00:14:18.980 Like I said, like if you have a phone,
  430. 00:14:19.000 – 00:14:19.820 if you have a computer,
  431. 00:14:19.940 – 00:14:23.320 all of the companies are starting to utilize AI.
  432. 00:14:23.320 – 00:14:25.520 So it's like, I think subconsciously,
  433. 00:14:25.600 – 00:14:27.480 you might be like, oh, I don't want to use AI,
  434. 00:14:27.480 – 00:14:29.400 but it's like, you kind of are low key.
  435. 00:14:29.420 – 00:14:30.500 Like if you use iPhone
  436. 00:14:30.500 – 00:14:33.040 or if you use like any of these platforms.
  437. 00:14:33.340 – 00:14:35.120 So I feel like it's kind of inevitable.
  438. 00:14:35.500 – 00:14:37.700 It's almost like trying not to use electricity.
  439. 00:14:38.180 – 00:14:38.680 You know what I mean?
  440. 00:14:38.720 – 00:14:39.600 It's like, at some point,
  441. 00:14:39.640 – 00:14:40.880 you're going to use some electricity.
  442. 00:14:41.420 – 00:14:42.560 Speaking about electricity,
  443. 00:14:42.660 – 00:14:45.800 I know they say it's consuming the water.
  444. 00:14:46.220 – 00:14:49.020 I know people get like big on that.
  445. 00:14:49.040 – 00:14:51.080 Like it's affecting the water system,
  446. 00:14:51.240 – 00:14:52.440 inspecting this, inspecting that,
  447. 00:14:52.440 – 00:14:53.980 all the towers, this and this and that.
  448. 00:14:54.220 – 00:14:55.700 Yeah, there's a lot of misinformation.
  449. 00:14:55.960 – 00:14:58.580 One dude, I think his name is Todd Hanks.
  450. 00:14:58.780 – 00:15:00.460 I may be getting his name wrong,
  451. 00:15:00.600 – 00:15:03.000 but he's a big YouTuber and he's done,
  452. 00:15:03.340 – 00:15:06.600 he was on the science channel and he's done a lot.
  453. 00:15:06.720 – 00:15:08.040 He's a white guy with glasses,
  454. 00:15:08.040 – 00:15:09.580 but he did a very good breakdown
  455. 00:15:09.580 – 00:15:12.400 of water consumption, electricity consumption.
  456. 00:15:12.560 – 00:15:14.160 And one thing he pointed out
  457. 00:15:14.160 – 00:15:17.840 is that corn fields actually are like 10 times
  458. 00:15:17.840 – 00:15:19.660 or a hundred times worse
  459. 00:15:20.180 – 00:15:23.560 than AI built for water consumption and electricity.
  460. 00:15:23.780 – 00:15:26.060 And then the thing is what's crazy is he pointed out
  461. 00:15:26.060 – 00:15:30.960 is we're using like 10 times as much water for corn.
  462. 00:15:31.600 – 00:15:33.920 And then what we do is we turn around and just burn it.
  463. 00:15:34.340 – 00:15:37.060 So it's like, if we really wanted to like
  464. 00:15:37.060 – 00:15:38.320 crack down on the environment
  465. 00:15:38.320 – 00:15:39.540 and actually make some differences,
  466. 00:15:39.640 – 00:15:41.640 we would go to some of these big old corn fields
  467. 00:15:41.640 – 00:15:43.520 versus like these AI data centers.
  468. 00:15:43.580 – 00:15:45.860 And I'm not saying these AI data centers aren't bad,
  469. 00:15:45.860 – 00:15:48.100 but I'm saying there are other things
  470. 00:15:48.100 – 00:15:50.420 that are way bigger in proportion
  471. 00:15:50.420 – 00:15:52.800 that are ruining the planet and water
  472. 00:15:52.800 – 00:15:53.640 and all of this stuff.
  473. 00:15:54.100 – 00:15:55.720 So I feel like we need people like him
  474. 00:15:55.720 – 00:15:57.160 who are pointing this out and being like,
  475. 00:15:57.180 – 00:15:58.380 don't fall for the propaganda
  476. 00:15:58.380 – 00:16:00.480 and don't fall for like the click-baity kind of stuff
  477. 00:16:00.480 – 00:16:01.860 and actually trust somebody
  478. 00:16:01.860 – 00:16:03.280 who knows what they're talking about.
  479. 00:16:03.620 – 00:16:05.660 Yeah, so even speaking about corn,
  480. 00:16:05.760 – 00:16:08.560 I know it doesn't break down in your body very well
  481. 00:16:08.560 – 00:16:10.160 and I think you're vegan, right?
  482. 00:16:10.400 – 00:16:10.860 Yeah, I'm vegan.
  483. 00:16:11.180 – 00:16:15.100 So is corn a vegetable that you should consume?
  484. 00:16:15.660 – 00:16:17.040 It's mainly the cellulose,
  485. 00:16:17.040 – 00:16:19.580 I think is, you can't break it down.
  486. 00:16:19.720 – 00:16:22.140 But the thing is like the inner parts of a corn,
  487. 00:16:22.360 – 00:16:24.940 like it still has starch, it still has carbohydrates.
  488. 00:16:25.200 – 00:16:26.700 So it's one of those trade-offs.
  489. 00:16:26.860 – 00:16:29.720 Like if you have pre-existing health conditions,
  490. 00:16:29.900 – 00:16:31.440 corn may not be good for you.
  491. 00:16:31.440 – 00:16:32.620 Like if you have digestive issues
  492. 00:16:32.620 – 00:16:34.340 like that cellulose and that fiber,
  493. 00:16:34.480 – 00:16:36.220 it might cause some issues.
  494. 00:16:36.240 – 00:16:37.900 But if you have a healthy digestive system,
  495. 00:16:38.320 – 00:16:40.400 piece of corn, corn on the cob, cornbread,
  496. 00:16:40.860 – 00:16:41.700 that ain't gonna mess you up.
  497. 00:16:42.500 – 00:16:44.180 And it's about that time of the year
  498. 00:16:44.180 – 00:16:45.400 to start eating that stuff, huh?
  499. 00:16:45.400 – 00:16:48.540 It's 4th of July, bro, we gonna cook out tonight.
  500. 00:16:49.580 – 00:16:50.460 Independence Day.
  501. 00:16:51.280 – 00:16:54.320 So even talking about like health, health is wealth.
  502. 00:16:54.960 – 00:16:56.760 When was that transition to like
  503. 00:16:56.760 – 00:16:58.060 when you wanted to start a business
  504. 00:16:58.060 – 00:16:59.040 and start making money?
  505. 00:16:59.120 – 00:17:00.160 When was that time period?
  506. 00:17:00.600 – 00:17:01.920 I've always been a hustler,
  507. 00:17:02.220 – 00:17:04.260 always like my mom told me this story.
  508. 00:17:04.319 – 00:17:05.900 She was like, yeah, when you were 10 years old,
  509. 00:17:06.560 – 00:17:07.599 you were in the front yard
  510. 00:17:07.599 – 00:17:09.359 and you had all your toys lined up.
  511. 00:17:09.359 – 00:17:10.920 And I came outside and I was like,
  512. 00:17:10.920 – 00:17:13.140 why are you putting your toys in the lawn like this?
  513. 00:17:13.160 – 00:17:14.000 And she was like,
  514. 00:17:14.000 – 00:17:15.800 you said you were gonna do a yard sale
  515. 00:17:15.800 – 00:17:16.740 and sell all your toys
  516. 00:17:16.740 – 00:17:17.980 because you wanted to make money.
  517. 00:17:18.020 – 00:17:19.140 I love that.
  518. 00:17:19.579 – 00:17:20.720 But my dad was an entrepreneur.
  519. 00:17:20.780 – 00:17:21.900 My dad had three jobs.
  520. 00:17:22.579 – 00:17:24.859 He detailed boats for rich white men.
  521. 00:17:25.319 – 00:17:26.900 He drove a taxi on the side
  522. 00:17:26.900 – 00:17:28.200 and he was doing some stuff on,
  523. 00:17:28.520 – 00:17:29.480 making some extra money.
  524. 00:17:30.300 – 00:17:31.780 So he was always a hustler.
  525. 00:17:31.840 – 00:17:33.500 So I always watched my dad be an entrepreneur.
  526. 00:17:34.060 – 00:17:35.540 He always, he actually taught me math
  527. 00:17:35.540 – 00:17:36.480 at a very young age,
  528. 00:17:36.500 – 00:17:38.200 like two or three years old by counting money.
  529. 00:17:38.360 – 00:17:40.600 So like, I think that that was like the early stages
  530. 00:17:40.600 – 00:17:43.060 of me just being a entrepreneur, a hustler.
  531. 00:17:43.060 – 00:17:45.880 I used to go to school and I'd buy a box of candy bars
  532. 00:17:45.880 – 00:17:48.720 and try to sell them, you know, cans of soda, whatever.
  533. 00:17:48.900 – 00:17:50.600 Like any way I could make money.
  534. 00:17:50.720 – 00:17:52.260 Like I remember when I was like 14,
  535. 00:17:52.380 – 00:17:53.380 there was a big festival.
  536. 00:17:53.940 – 00:17:55.840 We ended up taking Kool-Aid,
  537. 00:17:56.120 – 00:17:57.260 filling them up with Kool-Aid
  538. 00:17:57.260 – 00:17:59.160 and taking like a splash of alcohol
  539. 00:17:59.160 – 00:18:00.780 and putting it in the water bottle
  540. 00:18:00.780 – 00:18:02.440 and selling them for $5 each.
  541. 00:18:02.960 – 00:18:05.340 That was the first time I ever made like,
  542. 00:18:06.020 – 00:18:07.660 like a good chunk of money.
  543. 00:18:07.660 – 00:18:11.220 I remember I spent $100 on like the alcohol,
  544. 00:18:11.220 – 00:18:12.940 the Kool-Aid, the bottles, everything.
  545. 00:18:13.000 – 00:18:14.360 And I made like $800.
  546. 00:18:14.940 – 00:18:15.340 Wow.
  547. 00:18:15.880 – 00:18:18.100 And I was like, wait a minute, I just took $100
  548. 00:18:19.000 – 00:18:22.140 and I went outside for a day and I made like 800.
  549. 00:18:22.300 – 00:18:23.260 I was like, I made 700.
  550. 00:18:23.860 – 00:18:25.400 That was like the moment.
  551. 00:18:25.520 – 00:18:27.360 I was like, yes, I love this feeling.
  552. 00:18:27.780 – 00:18:28.780 I need to do this.
  553. 00:18:29.160 – 00:18:31.340 So I did that, you know, legal stuff.
  554. 00:18:31.340 – 00:18:33.340 But then by the time I was 16, 17,
  555. 00:18:33.480 – 00:18:35.160 got into college, people were like,
  556. 00:18:35.160 – 00:18:36.620 yo, you can get paid to do this stuff.
  557. 00:18:36.620 – 00:18:37.900 And that was the moment.
  558. 00:18:37.940 – 00:18:38.960 I was like, bet.
  559. 00:18:38.960 – 00:18:40.720 So I remember my first corporate job,
  560. 00:18:40.720 – 00:18:42.360 showed up at like 7 a.m.
  561. 00:18:42.400 – 00:18:43.320 I set up some microphones,
  562. 00:18:43.680 – 00:18:45.760 left by nine o'clock, $500.
  563. 00:18:46.080 – 00:18:48.420 I was like, bro, I just made $500 in two hours.
  564. 00:18:48.920 – 00:18:51.120 And I'm like 17, 18 at the time.
  565. 00:18:51.360 – 00:18:53.300 People around me is not making that kind of money.
  566. 00:18:53.500 – 00:18:55.980 And I was just like, bro, this is it.
  567. 00:18:56.200 – 00:18:58.620 So I like just hit the ground running, always like,
  568. 00:18:58.700 – 00:18:59.920 yo, you need this, you need that.
  569. 00:19:00.200 – 00:19:02.540 And for me, what it taught me is
  570. 00:19:02.540 – 00:19:04.740 provide as much value and the pay will come.
  571. 00:19:05.080 – 00:19:06.880 And a lot of people do it backwards,
  572. 00:19:07.040 – 00:19:07.660 especially in Atlanta.
  573. 00:19:07.760 – 00:19:09.560 Like I've met a lot of people, they're like,
  574. 00:19:09.560 – 00:19:11.440 yeah, pay me first and then I'll give you the value.
  575. 00:19:12.040 – 00:19:13.340 Ever since I touched down in Atlanta,
  576. 00:19:13.360 – 00:19:16.100 I've been like, yo, let me prove my worth
  577. 00:19:16.100 – 00:19:17.660 and I know you'll pay me.
  578. 00:19:17.740 – 00:19:19.740 Because I've been doing it like that since I was 17.
  579. 00:19:19.880 – 00:19:22.800 I show up at any studio, fix everything.
  580. 00:19:23.080 – 00:19:23.880 They didn't even ask.
  581. 00:19:23.940 – 00:19:25.680 And they'd be like, bro, what the heck?
  582. 00:19:25.780 – 00:19:27.180 Like this dude came in and like,
  583. 00:19:27.260 – 00:19:28.480 we had this problem, this problem.
  584. 00:19:28.520 – 00:19:29.520 He literally fixed it.
  585. 00:19:30.040 – 00:19:32.860 My engineers who've been on payroll for a whole year
  586. 00:19:32.860 – 00:19:33.660 didn't even fix this.
  587. 00:19:33.680 – 00:19:35.960 This dude didn't even charge me anything, he fixed it.
  588. 00:19:36.740 – 00:19:38.300 So having that kind of work ethic,
  589. 00:19:38.900 – 00:19:40.940 I feel like that's what takes you further
  590. 00:19:40.940 – 00:19:42.020 in this industry.
  591. 00:19:43.080 – 00:19:45.520 Yeah, I had a similar story.
  592. 00:19:45.760 – 00:19:48.280 When I was young, maybe like four or five,
  593. 00:19:48.400 – 00:19:51.380 used to have like the penny rappers.
  594. 00:19:51.420 – 00:19:53.200 So I just had a whole pile of pennies
  595. 00:19:53.200 – 00:19:53.940 for them, the rappers.
  596. 00:19:53.980 – 00:19:56.160 My mother's like, oh, you could do that.
  597. 00:19:56.240 – 00:19:57.660 You're like a bank teller.
  598. 00:19:57.760 – 00:19:59.220 You count the pennies and this and that.
  599. 00:19:59.500 – 00:20:00.580 Ended up getting the machine.
  600. 00:20:00.960 – 00:20:02.640 So that was my early days.
  601. 00:20:02.720 – 00:20:04.380 I'm like, hmm, I just love money.
  602. 00:20:04.580 – 00:20:06.800 Or counting money, like counting money, counting money.
  603. 00:20:06.800 – 00:20:09.420 But I didn't know entrepreneurship until I got older.
  604. 00:20:10.180 – 00:20:12.400 And I'd always been a writer, writer first
  605. 00:20:12.400 – 00:20:15.160 and start writing music, start writing poetry.
  606. 00:20:15.760 – 00:20:18.140 And it all just turned to where I am today.
  607. 00:20:18.200 – 00:20:18.820 That's fire.
  608. 00:20:19.100 – 00:20:21.700 And then you said when you touched down to Atlanta,
  609. 00:20:21.980 – 00:20:22.740 where were you before?
  610. 00:20:23.340 – 00:20:24.440 I'm from Seattle, Washington.
  611. 00:20:24.620 – 00:20:27.580 So I was pretty much raised in Seattle, Washington.
  612. 00:20:27.660 – 00:20:29.160 I was born in Texas, strange enough,
  613. 00:20:29.160 – 00:20:30.520 but I didn't spend any time there.
  614. 00:20:31.200 – 00:20:33.040 So yeah, raised in Seattle, Washington.
  615. 00:20:33.040 – 00:20:35.460 And then during 2021, during the pandemic,
  616. 00:20:35.460 – 00:20:37.940 all of the studios and all the productions in Seattle
  617. 00:20:37.940 – 00:20:39.980 I was working, they pretty much shut down.
  618. 00:20:40.220 – 00:20:41.780 Thankfully, one of the studios I worked at
  619. 00:20:41.780 – 00:20:42.500 gave me unemployment.
  620. 00:20:42.660 – 00:20:44.860 So I was making good money in the pandemic.
  621. 00:20:45.240 – 00:20:46.500 When I was thinking about it,
  622. 00:20:46.500 – 00:20:47.380 I was like, where should I move to?
  623. 00:20:47.380 – 00:20:49.860 Where should I go to start from ground,
  624. 00:20:50.300 – 00:20:51.280 just start from fresh?
  625. 00:20:51.880 – 00:20:53.580 I was like, Atlanta is the spot.
  626. 00:20:54.520 – 00:20:55.840 And yeah, I've moved here.
  627. 00:20:56.200 – 00:20:57.440 And I had this thing in my mind.
  628. 00:20:57.520 – 00:20:59.820 I was like, if I can't find work with,
  629. 00:20:59.900 – 00:21:02.060 because I wanted to work with entrepreneurs, rappers.
  630. 00:21:02.100 – 00:21:04.000 I wanted to do all the big stuff, right?
  631. 00:21:04.000 – 00:21:05.920 If I can't do any of that,
  632. 00:21:06.080 – 00:21:07.300 nobody wants to pay me for that,
  633. 00:21:07.600 – 00:21:10.700 my backup plan is to work at a church.
  634. 00:21:11.380 – 00:21:13.160 Because churches will always need somebody
  635. 00:21:13.160 – 00:21:15.600 who has good audio skills, good lighting skills,
  636. 00:21:15.640 – 00:21:16.420 good video skills.
  637. 00:21:16.480 – 00:21:18.720 I was like, I will find at least one church
  638. 00:21:18.720 – 00:21:19.980 who will hire me and pay me.
  639. 00:21:20.000 – 00:21:21.560 So that was like my backup plan.
  640. 00:21:21.720 – 00:21:23.580 I was like, if I can't find anything,
  641. 00:21:23.720 – 00:21:25.440 I was like, I'm just gonna walk to each church
  642. 00:21:25.440 – 00:21:26.900 and be like, yo, I'm an audio engineer,
  643. 00:21:26.980 – 00:21:28.560 I'm lighting, let me help you, let me work.
  644. 00:21:29.280 – 00:21:31.900 And funny enough, within a week of landing here,
  645. 00:21:32.160 – 00:21:33.180 somebody called me and they're like,
  646. 00:21:33.180 – 00:21:34.780 yo, we need a lighting guy.
  647. 00:21:35.280 – 00:21:35.780 It's church.
  648. 00:21:36.200 – 00:21:37.140 I said, bet, let me do it.
  649. 00:21:37.140 – 00:21:38.560 I don't care how much, I'll be there.
  650. 00:21:38.840 – 00:21:40.560 I ended up working with Darius Daniels
  651. 00:21:40.560 – 00:21:41.340 with Change Church.
  652. 00:21:41.620 – 00:21:42.840 I don't know if you're familiar with them,
  653. 00:21:42.840 – 00:21:44.580 but they're one of the largest churches.
  654. 00:21:44.840 – 00:21:46.100 You think of mega churches,
  655. 00:21:46.260 – 00:21:47.460 Change Church is one of those.
  656. 00:21:48.080 – 00:21:50.740 So yeah, that was a blessing in disguise
  657. 00:21:50.740 – 00:21:52.240 because I got to meet so many people
  658. 00:21:52.660 – 00:21:53.820 through that church.
  659. 00:21:54.500 – 00:21:55.900 And honestly, I think that that was
  660. 00:21:55.900 – 00:21:57.420 the first connection that I made
  661. 00:21:57.420 – 00:21:59.020 where it was meeting all these people
  662. 00:21:59.020 – 00:22:00.460 and then they realized I did audio
  663. 00:22:00.460 – 00:22:02.260 and then they realized I did camera
  664. 00:22:02.260 – 00:22:04.480 and then they were just fully utilizing everything
  665. 00:22:04.480 – 00:22:05.700 and then I met a bunch of people
  666. 00:22:05.700 – 00:22:07.780 and yeah, hit the ground running.
  667. 00:22:08.220 – 00:22:08.660 Wow.
  668. 00:22:09.020 – 00:22:12.040 And did you just go by faith
  669. 00:22:12.040 – 00:22:13.860 or did you do detailed research
  670. 00:22:13.860 – 00:22:14.940 from Atlanta before coming?
  671. 00:22:15.780 – 00:22:18.860 I had a cousin here and I had visited in 2019
  672. 00:22:18.860 – 00:22:20.620 for maybe two weeks,
  673. 00:22:20.800 – 00:22:21.720 but it wasn't like,
  674. 00:22:21.740 – 00:22:23.780 I never had idea of moving out here.
  675. 00:22:23.920 – 00:22:25.360 I just came out here to visit him
  676. 00:22:25.360 – 00:22:26.800 because I wanted to go on vacation
  677. 00:22:27.360 – 00:22:30.160 and he took me around and he's a photographer
  678. 00:22:30.160 – 00:22:31.480 so he took me to some clubs,
  679. 00:22:31.480 – 00:22:33.720 he showed me around and I was just so impressed
  680. 00:22:33.720 – 00:22:35.740 by how many black people were here,
  681. 00:22:35.800 – 00:22:37.140 how many successful black people were,
  682. 00:22:37.140 – 00:22:38.320 I was just like, yeah.
  683. 00:22:38.620 – 00:22:40.040 And I think if that planted a seed,
  684. 00:22:40.300 – 00:22:41.400 because this is 2019,
  685. 00:22:42.240 – 00:22:44.600 I did a podcast six or seven months later
  686. 00:22:44.600 – 00:22:46.680 with my boss at one of the studios in Seattle
  687. 00:22:46.680 – 00:22:47.920 and he goes, where do you see yourself
  688. 00:22:47.920 – 00:22:48.780 in two to three years?
  689. 00:22:49.480 – 00:22:50.320 And I was like, honestly,
  690. 00:22:50.660 – 00:22:52.020 I kind of want to move to Atlanta.
  691. 00:22:52.460 – 00:22:53.580 And he goes, I lived in Atlanta
  692. 00:22:53.580 – 00:22:54.760 and I was in the tech industry there.
  693. 00:22:54.800 – 00:22:55.620 He's like, what do you feel like
  694. 00:22:55.620 – 00:22:59.160 you can contribute to the tech world down there?
  695. 00:22:59.800 – 00:23:01.300 And I was like, honestly,
  696. 00:23:01.420 – 00:23:03.980 I feel like my understanding of all this stuff
  697. 00:23:03.980 – 00:23:05.840 is just so deep that I was like,
  698. 00:23:05.840 – 00:23:07.360 I feel like they need somebody
  699. 00:23:07.360 – 00:23:10.120 who really is deep in the rabbit hole
  700. 00:23:10.120 – 00:23:12.000 and can understand this stuff.
  701. 00:23:12.040 – 00:23:12.640 Because here's the thing,
  702. 00:23:12.700 – 00:23:14.620 I meet photographers and videographers
  703. 00:23:14.620 – 00:23:15.860 who are really dope.
  704. 00:23:16.280 – 00:23:17.840 They know how to get the dopest shot
  705. 00:23:17.840 – 00:23:19.360 and literally they'll shoot you
  706. 00:23:19.360 – 00:23:20.340 the most cinematic stuff,
  707. 00:23:20.960 – 00:23:23.280 but it's like, I start asking about
  708. 00:23:23.280 – 00:23:26.420 the little shutters, just little details
  709. 00:23:26.420 – 00:23:28.400 and they're like, yeah, I know what it means
  710. 00:23:28.400 – 00:23:30.720 but they don't really know it, know it.
  711. 00:23:31.080 – 00:23:31.940 And I'm like, dang.
  712. 00:23:31.940 – 00:23:33.020 So what do you mean know it, know it?
  713. 00:23:33.100 – 00:23:34.080 Because I know shutter speed.
  714. 00:23:34.080 – 00:23:36.460 Well, not like shutter, even color science,
  715. 00:23:36.660 – 00:23:39.320 going into frame rate.
  716. 00:23:39.460 – 00:23:41.320 There's just little production things,
  717. 00:23:42.040 – 00:23:45.680 32-bit float and matching the kilohertz
  718. 00:23:45.680 – 00:23:48.280 and Nyquist frequencies.
  719. 00:23:48.620 – 00:23:49.860 I've never heard of Nyquist, what's that?
  720. 00:23:50.400 – 00:23:52.560 It's just all of these little things
  721. 00:23:52.560 – 00:23:53.440 where it's like, okay,
  722. 00:23:53.620 – 00:23:55.060 I've been deep in the rabbit hole,
  723. 00:23:55.060 – 00:23:57.880 the manuals, so I know how to apply this
  724. 00:23:57.880 – 00:23:58.840 to production.
  725. 00:24:00.040 – 00:24:02.540 This is ultimately why I ended up in the podcast space
  726. 00:24:02.540 – 00:24:05.620 is because being a videographer,
  727. 00:24:05.820 – 00:24:07.500 you're really good with the camera
  728. 00:24:07.500 – 00:24:08.820 and framing all of that,
  729. 00:24:08.880 – 00:24:11.120 but that doesn't mean you know about
  730. 00:24:11.120 – 00:24:13.460 syncing cameras and multi-camera angles.
  731. 00:24:14.260 – 00:24:16.080 That's a whole other world.
  732. 00:24:16.900 – 00:24:19.940 So just being a videographer doesn't mean
  733. 00:24:19.940 – 00:24:21.940 you have all of the production skills.
  734. 00:24:22.500 – 00:24:24.960 Oh, the audio and making sure this audio cable
  735. 00:24:24.960 – 00:24:26.420 doesn't cross any power cables
  736. 00:24:26.420 – 00:24:28.260 because that's how you introduce interference.
  737. 00:24:28.460 – 00:24:31.840 So it's like, I wanted to cohesively wrap everything
  738. 00:24:31.840 – 00:24:34.160 and be like, no, this is how you need
  739. 00:24:34.160 – 00:24:35.220 to look at everything.
  740. 00:24:36.200 – 00:24:38.580 So I pretty much said that on a podcast 2019
  741. 00:24:38.580 – 00:24:41.660 with my boss and pretty much manifested all of that.
  742. 00:24:41.760 – 00:24:42.480 I told him, I was like, yeah,
  743. 00:24:42.480 – 00:24:43.160 I just want to go out there.
  744. 00:24:43.180 – 00:24:44.200 I want to work with all the big people
  745. 00:24:44.200 – 00:24:44.920 and blah, blah, blah.
  746. 00:24:45.280 – 00:24:46.340 So then now we're here.
  747. 00:24:46.760 – 00:24:47.100 Wow.
  748. 00:24:47.360 – 00:24:49.520 So what was the biggest production?
  749. 00:24:50.340 – 00:24:52.880 20, 30 cameras, microphones,
  750. 00:24:53.060 – 00:24:54.980 what was the biggest production, something like that?
  751. 00:24:55.640 – 00:24:57.560 I mean, any arena we've worked in,
  752. 00:24:57.660 – 00:24:59.500 I mean, we did some stuff at State Farm.
  753. 00:24:59.720 – 00:25:02.080 We've done stuff at the Coca-Cola Roxy.
  754. 00:25:02.220 – 00:25:04.320 We've done stuff like any venue,
  755. 00:25:04.900 – 00:25:06.920 like big venue, we've done stuff
  756. 00:25:06.920 – 00:25:07.960 like back home in Seattle.
  757. 00:25:08.640 – 00:25:10.060 There's a couple of venues downtown
  758. 00:25:10.060 – 00:25:11.720 we've sold out, done shows.
  759. 00:25:12.440 – 00:25:14.360 So any of those, yeah,
  760. 00:25:14.420 – 00:25:15.800 it's like more than a thousand people.
  761. 00:25:15.860 – 00:25:17.280 Like even the podcast summit,
  762. 00:25:17.700 – 00:25:19.240 you was there like those are big.
  763. 00:25:20.000 – 00:25:21.740 Yes, I did two of those with David Shams
  764. 00:25:21.740 – 00:25:22.860 before I was ever on stage.
  765. 00:25:22.940 – 00:25:24.660 So I was backstage running the production
  766. 00:25:24.660 – 00:25:26.760 for last year and the year before that.
  767. 00:25:27.020 – 00:25:28.680 Yeah, I was there last year.
  768. 00:25:28.740 – 00:25:29.620 I was a tenny this year.
  769. 00:25:29.760 – 00:25:30.380 I'm a vendor.
  770. 00:25:30.800 – 00:25:32.740 So it was definitely a great experience.
  771. 00:25:33.320 – 00:25:35.600 And how long does it usually take to set up?
  772. 00:25:35.660 – 00:25:38.220 I know it's like sometimes days before
  773. 00:25:38.220 – 00:25:39.980 people that don't see the work,
  774. 00:25:39.980 – 00:25:41.220 how long does it usually take?
  775. 00:25:41.680 – 00:25:43.420 For the bigger ones, yeah, it's just a whole day.
  776. 00:25:43.720 – 00:25:45.960 Like we'll show up 7 a.m. the day before
  777. 00:25:45.960 – 00:25:47.760 and we don't leave until like 7 p.m.
  778. 00:25:48.060 – 00:25:49.840 And then we'll show up back again.
  779. 00:25:50.100 – 00:25:51.640 Like it depends on what time you start.
  780. 00:25:51.660 – 00:25:52.920 It's like a 10 a.m., 9 a.m. start.
  781. 00:25:52.920 – 00:25:55.700 Yeah, you got to show up the day before,
  782. 00:25:55.960 – 00:25:56.780 get everything prepped.
  783. 00:25:56.800 – 00:25:57.740 But if it's like a noon,
  784. 00:25:57.780 – 00:25:59.280 you could show up sometimes like 7 a.m.,
  785. 00:25:59.280 – 00:26:00.720 get it all done four or five hours.
  786. 00:26:00.740 – 00:26:02.140 It just depends what it is.
  787. 00:26:02.500 – 00:26:05.560 Okay, so for people that's new to business,
  788. 00:26:05.840 – 00:26:07.260 they usually, you know, bill up front
  789. 00:26:07.260 – 00:26:11.800 for the time that they're on set or on location.
  790. 00:26:13.500 – 00:26:17.100 Is that something that they should be factoring in
  791. 00:26:17.100 – 00:26:18.920 like that pre-time to set up,
  792. 00:26:18.960 – 00:26:21.140 that pre-production and also the time to set up?
  793. 00:26:21.140 – 00:26:23.260 It depends on what role you're in, right?
  794. 00:26:23.320 – 00:26:25.120 Because if you're just like a stagehand
  795. 00:26:25.120 – 00:26:26.540 or somebody who like, yeah,
  796. 00:26:26.620 – 00:26:28.160 hourly would probably be the better route.
  797. 00:26:28.280 – 00:26:30.480 So you can, you know, because if you stay over,
  798. 00:26:30.600 – 00:26:33.380 then you know, you want to get paid for that time over.
  799. 00:26:33.840 – 00:26:35.260 But honestly, for the people who like
  800. 00:26:35.260 – 00:26:37.360 are more in the production role and overseeing stuff,
  801. 00:26:37.380 – 00:26:39.120 I mean, it's usually just a flat rate.
  802. 00:26:39.780 – 00:26:41.620 So that's what I typically owe
  803. 00:26:41.620 – 00:26:43.320 is a day rate or just a project rate.
  804. 00:26:43.500 – 00:26:45.180 It's definitely good to know for my,
  805. 00:26:45.480 – 00:26:46.880 people that are starting out,
  806. 00:26:46.880 – 00:26:50.740 I know a lot of beginner photographers and videographers,
  807. 00:26:50.740 – 00:26:52.520 people that want to be in production
  808. 00:26:52.520 – 00:26:55.440 and even a podcast production.
  809. 00:26:56.100 – 00:26:58.360 You know, I hear it all the time and I'm,
  810. 00:26:58.600 – 00:27:01.000 what I tell them is, you know,
  811. 00:27:01.120 – 00:27:03.720 charge with your worth, charge for your time
  812. 00:27:03.720 – 00:27:05.420 and also the value provided.
  813. 00:27:06.400 – 00:27:07.880 Now, you know, with that equation,
  814. 00:27:08.060 – 00:27:09.920 they can figure out the numbers themselves,
  815. 00:27:09.920 – 00:27:11.900 but that's kind of what I tell them.
  816. 00:27:11.960 – 00:27:12.400 Absolutely.
  817. 00:27:12.820 – 00:27:14.800 So do you have any like mentors
  818. 00:27:14.800 – 00:27:18.420 that you, you know, work under or consult with?
  819. 00:27:18.840 – 00:27:19.480 Yeah, no, absolutely.
  820. 00:27:19.480 – 00:27:22.920 So David Shands, obviously a great mentor of mine.
  821. 00:27:23.780 – 00:27:24.540 Nehemiah Davis.
  822. 00:27:24.860 – 00:27:26.040 Honestly, all of my clients
  823. 00:27:26.040 – 00:27:28.080 give me some form of mentorship.
  824. 00:27:28.340 – 00:27:30.620 But you said all of your clients are like your mentors.
  825. 00:27:31.360 – 00:27:32.060 Honestly, they are,
  826. 00:27:32.080 – 00:27:34.740 because I've provided so much value to them
  827. 00:27:34.740 – 00:27:36.620 that they are like, yo, we want to pay you
  828. 00:27:36.620 – 00:27:38.940 and provide more value to you as a person.
  829. 00:27:39.560 – 00:27:40.960 So I've been super blessed.
  830. 00:27:41.260 – 00:27:42.440 Like even yesterday,
  831. 00:27:42.440 – 00:27:44.440 I'm not sure if you met Ashley Kirkwood.
  832. 00:27:44.680 – 00:27:46.520 She was the speaker way to cash.
  833. 00:27:46.620 – 00:27:48.860 I was in the hot seat with Ashley yesterday.
  834. 00:27:48.860 – 00:27:50.280 Yeah, so like even her,
  835. 00:27:50.360 – 00:27:52.780 like she always blessed me with wisdom and knowledge.
  836. 00:27:53.040 – 00:27:55.060 And like, I feel like all of the people that I'm around,
  837. 00:27:55.180 – 00:27:56.700 they're just such great people.
  838. 00:27:56.800 – 00:27:57.960 They just want to see me win.
  839. 00:27:58.000 – 00:27:59.740 So they're like, yo, you should do this.
  840. 00:27:59.840 – 00:28:00.460 You should try that.
  841. 00:28:00.540 – 00:28:01.620 You should connect with this person.
  842. 00:28:01.620 – 00:28:03.680 So like, honestly, I feel like
  843. 00:28:03.680 – 00:28:05.780 a majority of my clients are my mentors, actually.
  844. 00:28:06.000 – 00:28:08.320 But the biggest ones, I'd say David Shands,
  845. 00:28:08.800 – 00:28:10.800 Neo, Nehemiah Davis, shout out him.
  846. 00:28:10.820 – 00:28:12.680 And then I'm gonna say Katie Bo.
  847. 00:28:13.160 – 00:28:15.780 He owns a studio called The Content Factory.
  848. 00:28:16.340 – 00:28:18.300 That's like a person who's-
  849. 00:28:18.300 – 00:28:18.800 Here in Atlanta.
  850. 00:28:19.040 – 00:28:21.340 Yeah, he's here in Atlanta, but he's a really good guy.
  851. 00:28:21.580 – 00:28:22.560 He's a voiceover.
  852. 00:28:22.560 – 00:28:24.260 He did gospel radio for a long time.
  853. 00:28:24.280 – 00:28:26.300 You've heard his voice all over the radio in Atlanta,
  854. 00:28:26.320 – 00:28:27.880 but he's another great mentor.
  855. 00:28:28.020 – 00:28:29.680 So those three dudes, shout out to them.
  856. 00:28:29.700 – 00:28:32.940 They have completely transformed my life as a man.
  857. 00:28:33.200 – 00:28:33.580 So yeah.
  858. 00:28:33.980 – 00:28:36.140 I've never heard that answer before.
  859. 00:28:36.780 – 00:28:40.040 Like my clients or like my mentors are my mentors.
  860. 00:28:40.400 – 00:28:42.540 Like, wow, I've never heard that.
  861. 00:28:42.980 – 00:28:43.540 That's amazing.
  862. 00:28:43.580 – 00:28:45.680 I'm fortunate to work with some really dope people
  863. 00:28:45.680 – 00:28:48.160 in Atlanta, so if I need tax advice,
  864. 00:28:48.220 – 00:28:50.380 if I need business advice, I just worked with,
  865. 00:28:50.580 – 00:28:52.420 I just connected with that trademark lawyer yesterday.
  866. 00:28:52.700 – 00:28:53.060 Okay, yeah.
  867. 00:28:53.060 – 00:28:54.800 And she's like, yeah, I work with all of your clients,
  868. 00:28:54.860 – 00:28:56.200 so I'm gonna help you get your trademark.
  869. 00:28:56.300 – 00:28:57.660 So it's like little things like that.
  870. 00:28:57.780 – 00:29:00.880 It's like, she's gonna pay me to set up her studio,
  871. 00:29:00.900 – 00:29:02.840 but then I also get trademark services.
  872. 00:29:03.020 – 00:29:05.560 It's like, how blessed is that of an opportunity?
  873. 00:29:06.020 – 00:29:08.300 Sounds like I need to make a move to Atlanta myself.
  874. 00:29:08.560 – 00:29:09.840 Absolutely, I'm gonna see you here, brother.
  875. 00:29:10.020 – 00:29:11.420 Okay, hey, I'm gonna be around.
  876. 00:29:12.000 – 00:29:14.260 And even going back to like Washington.
  877. 00:29:15.100 – 00:29:17.520 So Seattle, what would you say you left behind?
  878. 00:29:17.620 – 00:29:19.580 Like what are the top three things
  879. 00:29:19.580 – 00:29:20.720 you would say they're known for?
  880. 00:29:21.360 – 00:29:22.980 The cloudiness and the raininess
  881. 00:29:22.980 – 00:29:25.800 and just like the gloomy depression.
  882. 00:29:26.580 – 00:29:28.460 Seattle is known for being just rainy
  883. 00:29:28.460 – 00:29:29.560 and gray all the time.
  884. 00:29:29.580 – 00:29:31.020 We get two months in the summer
  885. 00:29:31.020 – 00:29:32.180 where it's really nice out.
  886. 00:29:32.300 – 00:29:33.860 It'd be like 80 degrees, clear skies.
  887. 00:29:34.060 – 00:29:37.020 And then from like September all the way back
  888. 00:29:37.020 – 00:29:38.920 to like May, it's just rainy and gray.
  889. 00:29:39.140 – 00:29:40.680 So like, I don't miss that.
  890. 00:29:41.020 – 00:29:43.420 I went through a lot of seasonal affect disorder.
  891. 00:29:43.420 – 00:29:44.460 Have you ever heard of that?
  892. 00:29:44.460 – 00:29:44.740 No.
  893. 00:29:45.000 – 00:29:46.080 So I did that on the presentation
  894. 00:29:46.080 – 00:29:46.820 where I talked about,
  895. 00:29:46.820 – 00:29:48.620 it's called seasonal affect disorders.
  896. 00:29:48.660 – 00:29:49.660 It stands for SAD.
  897. 00:29:49.900 – 00:29:52.080 But it's when you don't get enough vitamin D
  898. 00:29:52.080 – 00:29:53.180 and you don't get enough sunlight,
  899. 00:29:53.400 – 00:29:54.720 you actually can get depression
  900. 00:29:54.720 – 00:29:56.660 because you're not getting the hormones
  901. 00:29:56.660 – 00:29:57.180 and you're not,
  902. 00:29:57.520 – 00:29:59.020 because like vitamin D is really important
  903. 00:29:59.020 – 00:30:01.300 to all of your like vital organs
  904. 00:30:01.300 – 00:30:03.660 and how your body's like hormone regulation,
  905. 00:30:03.680 – 00:30:04.240 all of that.
  906. 00:30:04.760 – 00:30:06.140 So I don't think I was up,
  907. 00:30:06.180 – 00:30:08.000 in Seattle, I just wasn't getting outside enough.
  908. 00:30:08.060 – 00:30:09.140 I wasn't getting enough sunlight.
  909. 00:30:09.540 – 00:30:11.760 And yeah, it's just, it's sadness, depression.
  910. 00:30:11.760 – 00:30:13.640 But as soon as I moved out here,
  911. 00:30:13.660 – 00:30:15.360 got in the sun, this Atlanta heat, bro,
  912. 00:30:15.380 – 00:30:16.360 all that stuff went away.
  913. 00:30:16.460 – 00:30:17.920 I'm like, I'm outside now.
  914. 00:30:18.380 – 00:30:18.560 So.
  915. 00:30:18.560 – 00:30:18.940 Yeah, that's good.
  916. 00:30:19.060 – 00:30:19.900 You look vibrant too.
  917. 00:30:20.140 – 00:30:20.520 Exactly.
  918. 00:30:21.160 – 00:30:24.840 So that's actually a good segue to my questions.
  919. 00:30:25.020 – 00:30:27.060 I like to ask creatives,
  920. 00:30:27.360 – 00:30:29.440 thinking about your creative process
  921. 00:30:29.440 – 00:30:31.360 as a weather forecast,
  922. 00:30:31.980 – 00:30:34.320 how would you explain that?
  923. 00:30:34.540 – 00:30:36.680 Your creative process as a weather forecast?
  924. 00:30:37.500 – 00:30:38.960 It's very much like
  925. 00:30:40.260 – 00:30:41.400 Atlanta or Seattle.
  926. 00:30:41.400 – 00:30:42.440 So like at one minute,
  927. 00:30:42.460 – 00:30:43.860 it could be really clear out
  928. 00:30:43.860 – 00:30:45.040 and then 10 minutes later,
  929. 00:30:45.960 – 00:30:46.860 a great cloud rolls in.
  930. 00:30:46.940 – 00:30:48.280 So it's like, it's almost like,
  931. 00:30:48.980 – 00:30:50.580 you can't plan for something.
  932. 00:30:50.660 – 00:30:52.880 Like you almost gotta just go with the flow
  933. 00:30:52.880 – 00:30:56.240 and you gotta be prepared for things to shift and change.
  934. 00:30:57.180 – 00:30:58.040 Sometimes like,
  935. 00:30:58.680 – 00:31:00.680 I explain it almost like cooking, right?
  936. 00:31:00.680 – 00:31:02.980 Like I have these ideas
  937. 00:31:02.980 – 00:31:05.780 and I keep some of them on the main burner
  938. 00:31:06.160 – 00:31:07.480 because I gotta like cook them
  939. 00:31:07.480 – 00:31:08.560 and I gotta like stir fry,
  940. 00:31:08.620 – 00:31:10.040 make sure that it's getting cooked.
  941. 00:31:11.000 – 00:31:11.720 Other ideas,
  942. 00:31:11.740 – 00:31:13.760 sometimes I push them to the back burner
  943. 00:31:13.760 – 00:31:16.240 and I put the pot on and I let it simmer on low.
  944. 00:31:16.920 – 00:31:17.560 So it's like,
  945. 00:31:17.580 – 00:31:19.300 I got this ebook that I've been working on
  946. 00:31:19.300 – 00:31:20.240 for like four months.
  947. 00:31:20.680 – 00:31:22.480 I was going hard, going hard, going hard.
  948. 00:31:22.520 – 00:31:24.480 And then I had to put a pause on that.
  949. 00:31:24.520 – 00:31:25.520 I had to put it on the back burner
  950. 00:31:25.520 – 00:31:26.680 because I had to do some other stuff,
  951. 00:31:26.680 – 00:31:27.360 push it to the front.
  952. 00:31:27.460 – 00:31:30.340 So it's like, that's how creatively I move is like,
  953. 00:31:30.340 – 00:31:31.360 okay, what is priority?
  954. 00:31:31.440 – 00:31:34.140 What needs to go on that main big eye on the stove
  955. 00:31:34.140 – 00:31:35.380 where you like cooking up
  956. 00:31:35.380 – 00:31:39.080 versus what can go in the back on the back burner
  957. 00:31:39.080 – 00:31:40.060 and kind of just simmer.
  958. 00:31:41.360 – 00:31:43.280 I mean, speaking about cooking up,
  959. 00:31:43.880 – 00:31:45.720 what are some things you're gonna enjoy later on?
  960. 00:31:46.340 – 00:31:48.940 I got reservations for a Filipino restaurant.
  961. 00:31:49.120 – 00:31:49.620 I'm Filipino.
  962. 00:31:49.840 – 00:31:52.180 So there's a Filipino restaurant down the street
  963. 00:31:52.180 – 00:31:54.040 and me and my family like to go there.
  964. 00:31:54.620 – 00:31:57.100 So treat my family to dinner tonight and yeah.
  965. 00:31:57.620 – 00:31:58.620 Okay, okay.
  966. 00:31:59.140 – 00:31:59.460 Definitely.
  967. 00:31:59.640 – 00:32:00.660 What about your favorite dish?
  968. 00:32:01.320 – 00:32:02.000 I'm Filipino.
  969. 00:32:02.100 – 00:32:03.480 So anything with rice, honestly,
  970. 00:32:03.620 – 00:32:06.320 curries, stir fries, anything rice based,
  971. 00:32:06.400 – 00:32:07.640 I would tear it up.
  972. 00:32:08.200 – 00:32:10.100 Okay, okay, okay, okay.
  973. 00:32:10.760 – 00:32:14.720 So anybody else trying to get in, mentor, intern,
  974. 00:32:15.300 – 00:32:16.840 have a talk, you do coffee?
  975. 00:32:17.640 – 00:32:18.440 I do tea.
  976. 00:32:18.620 – 00:32:20.840 Sometimes I do coffee, but yeah, a little bit.
  977. 00:32:21.060 – 00:32:23.160 A little wink, wink if anybody want to know.
  978. 00:32:24.200 – 00:32:27.140 Curry, stir fry with the rice and tea.
  979. 00:32:28.200 – 00:32:29.240 So what's your favorite tea?
  980. 00:32:30.060 – 00:32:32.200 I drink a tea called Puerh.
  981. 00:32:32.300 – 00:32:36.200 It's P-U-E-R-H and it's a fermented tea.
  982. 00:32:36.200 – 00:32:37.900 So a lot of people don't know this about tea,
  983. 00:32:38.520 – 00:32:40.660 but all tea comes from one plant.
  984. 00:32:40.960 – 00:32:41.800 One plant, okay.
  985. 00:32:41.900 – 00:32:43.860 So if it doesn't come from this one plant,
  986. 00:32:44.020 – 00:32:45.420 it technically isn't even a tea.
  987. 00:32:45.700 – 00:32:47.680 And I think it's called a Camellia cemensis plant.
  988. 00:32:47.840 – 00:32:50.320 That's where you get green tea, black tea, white tea,
  989. 00:32:50.360 – 00:32:52.240 all of the teas come from this one plant.
  990. 00:32:52.540 – 00:32:55.120 When you grow this one plant, Camellia cemensis,
  991. 00:32:55.660 – 00:32:57.240 you can chop down the leaves
  992. 00:32:57.240 – 00:32:59.300 and depending on what you do with those leaves,
  993. 00:32:59.320 – 00:33:01.420 you can get green tea, you can get black tea,
  994. 00:33:01.500 – 00:33:03.040 you can get oolong tea, you can get.
  995. 00:33:03.360 – 00:33:04.860 But if it doesn't come from that plant,
  996. 00:33:04.860 – 00:33:07.920 it's actually just herbal water.
  997. 00:33:08.520 – 00:33:10.940 It's like herbal tea, but it's not even a tea really.
  998. 00:33:11.060 – 00:33:11.900 You can't call it a tea.
  999. 00:33:12.680 – 00:33:15.740 So like when you drink mint tea or any other tea,
  1000. 00:33:15.740 – 00:33:16.880 if it doesn't come from that plant,
  1001. 00:33:16.880 – 00:33:17.600 it's not really a tea.
  1002. 00:33:17.920 – 00:33:21.100 But since they take the Camellia cemensis plant,
  1003. 00:33:21.180 – 00:33:23.960 they chop it down, they dry the leaves,
  1004. 00:33:24.320 – 00:33:25.480 you can get green tea.
  1005. 00:33:25.820 – 00:33:27.720 If you roast it, you can get black tea.
  1006. 00:33:27.740 – 00:33:30.260 And then if you ferment it, you get puerh tea.
  1007. 00:33:30.280 – 00:33:33.620 And when you ferment, you get probiotics and prebiotics
  1008. 00:33:33.620 – 00:33:36.160 and that's where you get a lot of like the healthy
  1009. 00:33:36.680 – 00:33:38.460 microbiome, gut health kind of stuff.
  1010. 00:33:38.540 – 00:33:40.260 Like, I'm not sure if you ever took prebiotics
  1011. 00:33:40.260 – 00:33:42.800 or probiotics, but it's usually something fermented
  1012. 00:33:42.800 – 00:33:46.020 like kimchi, sauerkraut, any of those things
  1013. 00:33:46.020 – 00:33:48.020 because they have living organisms in it
  1014. 00:33:48.020 – 00:33:50.520 that will help feed the good bacteria in your body.
  1015. 00:33:50.940 – 00:33:53.500 Wow, you sound like a holistic medical doctor.
  1016. 00:33:53.720 – 00:33:54.620 You know what's funny enough is actually
  1017. 00:33:54.620 – 00:33:56.840 my whole first year of college was to become a doctor.
  1018. 00:33:57.400 – 00:34:00.440 I switched my major in college to become an engineer.
  1019. 00:34:01.180 – 00:34:01.560 Wow.
  1020. 00:34:02.220 – 00:34:03.580 So I love learning about health.
  1021. 00:34:03.700 – 00:34:06.400 I love talking about anything spiritual health,
  1022. 00:34:06.400 – 00:34:07.920 you know, all of that stuff.
  1023. 00:34:08.120 – 00:34:09.199 Okay, okay, okay.
  1024. 00:34:09.480 – 00:34:10.280 I love that.
  1025. 00:34:10.780 – 00:34:12.540 Because it's always needed going back
  1026. 00:34:12.540 – 00:34:14.219 to that health as well.
  1027. 00:34:14.620 – 00:34:16.239 And then what made you make that shift
  1028. 00:34:16.239 – 00:34:19.800 from studying to be a doctor into like audio?
  1029. 00:34:20.580 – 00:34:22.500 You know what's funny is I interviewed a black doctor.
  1030. 00:34:22.960 – 00:34:24.380 So they told me, they said,
  1031. 00:34:24.420 – 00:34:25.719 hey, if you want to become a doctor,
  1032. 00:34:25.820 – 00:34:28.260 you got to go find somebody who does
  1033. 00:34:28.260 – 00:34:30.020 what you want to do and interview them.
  1034. 00:34:30.020 – 00:34:31.219 And I said, bet.
  1035. 00:34:31.460 – 00:34:32.360 So I went online.
  1036. 00:34:32.360 – 00:34:34.780 I found this doctor,
  1037. 00:34:34.920 – 00:34:37.780 because I wanted to study naturopathic medicine.
  1038. 00:34:38.159 – 00:34:39.620 So I found this naturopathic doctor.
  1039. 00:34:39.920 – 00:34:40.920 He was this black dude.
  1040. 00:34:41.000 – 00:34:42.060 And I was like, bet.
  1041. 00:34:42.400 – 00:34:43.480 You look like me.
  1042. 00:34:43.540 – 00:34:44.719 You do what I want to do.
  1043. 00:34:44.840 – 00:34:45.639 I emailed him.
  1044. 00:34:46.020 – 00:34:47.540 I was like, yo, I want to do an interview for you.
  1045. 00:34:47.560 – 00:34:49.100 I'm studying to become a naturopathic doctor.
  1046. 00:34:49.199 – 00:34:50.639 He goes, responded right away.
  1047. 00:34:50.719 – 00:34:51.860 He's like, bet, let's do it.
  1048. 00:34:52.080 – 00:34:54.880 So we hop on Zoom and,
  1049. 00:34:55.000 – 00:34:56.699 or actually it was Skype at the time or something.
  1050. 00:34:56.719 – 00:34:59.520 So we hop on a video call and we're talking
  1051. 00:34:59.520 – 00:35:02.520 and he goes, do you actually want to wake up
  1052. 00:35:02.520 – 00:35:03.940 every day and work with sick people?
  1053. 00:35:04.280 – 00:35:06.880 And I had not ever thought of that.
  1054. 00:35:07.160 – 00:35:09.380 My whole entire first year of like,
  1055. 00:35:09.380 – 00:35:10.140 I want to become a doctor.
  1056. 00:35:10.180 – 00:35:11.320 I want to be telling all my counselors,
  1057. 00:35:11.460 – 00:35:12.160 everyone around me is like,
  1058. 00:35:12.160 – 00:35:13.260 yeah, he's going to become a doctor.
  1059. 00:35:13.880 – 00:35:16.220 He framed it in a way I was like, dang.
  1060. 00:35:16.620 – 00:35:17.640 One question, why?
  1061. 00:35:17.820 – 00:35:18.700 I was like, dang.
  1062. 00:35:18.780 – 00:35:20.380 I was like, I do not want to wake up
  1063. 00:35:20.380 – 00:35:21.940 every morning and work with sick people.
  1064. 00:35:22.420 – 00:35:25.480 And he goes, just because you love learning
  1065. 00:35:25.480 – 00:35:26.700 about something doesn't mean you need
  1066. 00:35:26.700 – 00:35:27.740 to turn it into a career.
  1067. 00:35:27.740 – 00:35:30.100 One more time, one more time, one more time.
  1068. 00:35:30.400 – 00:35:31.820 Just because you love something,
  1069. 00:35:32.080 – 00:35:33.800 love learning about something doesn't mean
  1070. 00:35:33.800 – 00:35:36.200 you need to turn it into a career, right?
  1071. 00:35:36.240 – 00:35:39.920 I could love knitting or I could love golfing.
  1072. 00:35:39.920 – 00:35:42.000 That doesn't mean I need to turn that into my career.
  1073. 00:35:42.040 – 00:35:43.440 It could just mean something that you love
  1074. 00:35:43.440 – 00:35:44.780 learning about and that you're passionate about.
  1075. 00:35:44.860 – 00:35:46.460 It doesn't need to become your career.
  1076. 00:35:46.800 – 00:35:48.920 So the minute he said that, I was like, dang.
  1077. 00:35:49.220 – 00:35:51.440 Okay, maybe I just love learning about natural medicine
  1078. 00:35:51.440 – 00:35:53.420 and I was like, maybe I don't want to become
  1079. 00:35:53.420 – 00:35:54.480 a naturopathic doctor.
  1080. 00:35:54.840 – 00:35:57.300 And all that doubt, I think he started seeing it.
  1081. 00:35:57.300 – 00:35:59.640 And he goes, let me ask you this.
  1082. 00:36:00.080 – 00:36:02.180 What is something you could wake up
  1083. 00:36:02.180 – 00:36:03.820 and do every single day?
  1084. 00:36:04.300 – 00:36:06.820 And I was like, music.
  1085. 00:36:08.060 – 00:36:10.340 And he goes, because I was already making music
  1086. 00:36:10.340 – 00:36:11.180 every day at the time.
  1087. 00:36:11.260 – 00:36:12.800 I'm with my homies, we're writing raps,
  1088. 00:36:12.880 – 00:36:14.300 we're downloading beats on YouTube,
  1089. 00:36:14.400 – 00:36:15.720 we're trying to figure out how to record
  1090. 00:36:15.720 – 00:36:16.520 and all this stuff.
  1091. 00:36:16.980 – 00:36:18.060 We're doing this every day.
  1092. 00:36:18.360 – 00:36:20.280 And I'm like, dang, he's right.
  1093. 00:36:20.820 – 00:36:22.800 So I'm like, yeah, I can do music every single day.
  1094. 00:36:22.800 – 00:36:23.860 He says, do that.
  1095. 00:36:25.140 – 00:36:26.760 That was the end of that phone call.
  1096. 00:36:27.660 – 00:36:28.980 I just had this pit in my stomach.
  1097. 00:36:29.120 – 00:36:29.700 I was like, dang.
  1098. 00:36:30.000 – 00:36:31.100 So I went back to my counselor
  1099. 00:36:31.100 – 00:36:33.280 and I said, yo, switch all my classes.
  1100. 00:36:33.680 – 00:36:34.580 He goes, what do you mean?
  1101. 00:36:34.840 – 00:36:36.280 And I had 23 credits at the time.
  1102. 00:36:36.380 – 00:36:37.720 I was like, bro, switch all my classes.
  1103. 00:36:37.780 – 00:36:40.200 He's like, but we picked out a school,
  1104. 00:36:40.340 – 00:36:41.660 we had this map played out.
  1105. 00:36:41.680 – 00:36:43.640 I was like, bro, we gotta pivot.
  1106. 00:36:44.000 – 00:36:45.060 I was like, bro, we gotta pivot.
  1107. 00:36:45.180 – 00:36:47.700 I was like, sign me up for every single music class.
  1108. 00:36:48.480 – 00:36:50.040 And he was just like, are you serious?
  1109. 00:36:50.280 – 00:36:51.360 And I was like, sign me up
  1110. 00:36:51.360 – 00:36:53.300 for every single music class.
  1111. 00:36:53.980 – 00:36:55.240 And I was like, bet.
  1112. 00:36:56.020 – 00:36:58.760 So the next day I literally walked to the music building
  1113. 00:36:58.760 – 00:37:00.420 and in the college I went to,
  1114. 00:37:00.520 – 00:37:02.220 it's like you got the science department,
  1115. 00:37:02.300 – 00:37:04.140 you got the automotive, you got all these buildings
  1116. 00:37:04.140 – 00:37:07.080 and then way off on the side is this music building
  1117. 00:37:07.080 – 00:37:09.400 because we make all this noise and it's loud
  1118. 00:37:09.400 – 00:37:10.700 so they put us off in the cut.
  1119. 00:37:11.320 – 00:37:13.660 I remember walking through this trail to get there
  1120. 00:37:13.660 – 00:37:15.380 and I'm like, man, this place is crazy.
  1121. 00:37:15.420 – 00:37:15.880 I'm like, what?
  1122. 00:37:16.580 – 00:37:19.100 I walk in the first doors
  1123. 00:37:19.100 – 00:37:21.980 and all I hear is music coming from every direction.
  1124. 00:37:22.120 – 00:37:23.160 I hear people singing.
  1125. 00:37:23.160 – 00:37:25.740 I hear pianos, I hear saxophones, I hear,
  1126. 00:37:26.200 – 00:37:29.320 and that just like, it just this warm feeling in my body.
  1127. 00:37:29.400 – 00:37:30.760 I was like, this is where I need to be.
  1128. 00:37:31.180 – 00:37:32.420 I was like, this is it.
  1129. 00:37:32.900 – 00:37:35.860 And I walked in and I took one piano class
  1130. 00:37:35.860 – 00:37:36.860 and I was sold.
  1131. 00:37:37.020 – 00:37:38.020 I was like, this is, I'm like,
  1132. 00:37:38.200 – 00:37:39.340 I literally that day I was like,
  1133. 00:37:39.340 – 00:37:40.440 I'm getting every music degree.
  1134. 00:37:41.000 – 00:37:42.640 I seen every music degree they offered
  1135. 00:37:42.640 – 00:37:43.920 and I was like, I'm getting all of them.
  1136. 00:37:44.440 – 00:37:46.580 My counselor is like, bet, let's do it.
  1137. 00:37:46.920 – 00:37:49.480 So I took like 23, 24 credits per quarter,
  1138. 00:37:50.220 – 00:37:52.680 vocal lessons, bass lessons, music production,
  1139. 00:37:52.680 – 00:37:55.660 I took any class that they offered.
  1140. 00:37:55.860 – 00:37:57.460 I took it, I was just like, I wanna learn it.
  1141. 00:37:57.820 – 00:38:00.120 And ended up about a year into that
  1142. 00:38:00.120 – 00:38:02.100 they noticed me at the studios
  1143. 00:38:02.100 – 00:38:04.480 because the studios were ran by these managers
  1144. 00:38:04.480 – 00:38:05.980 and the manager was like,
  1145. 00:38:06.000 – 00:38:09.920 hey, who's that kid that shows up at 7 a.m.
  1146. 00:38:09.960 – 00:38:10.480 every morning?
  1147. 00:38:10.600 – 00:38:11.940 He's like, he's here before I am.
  1148. 00:38:12.300 – 00:38:13.960 Like the boss showed up at eight.
  1149. 00:38:14.060 – 00:38:15.080 I was there before him
  1150. 00:38:15.080 – 00:38:18.420 and then he left at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.
  1151. 00:38:18.420 – 00:38:19.220 and I was still there.
  1152. 00:38:19.220 – 00:38:22.660 He goes, yo, that dude is here every single day
  1153. 00:38:22.660 – 00:38:23.900 and they're open on the weekends.
  1154. 00:38:23.920 – 00:38:25.280 I'm there literally Monday
  1155. 00:38:25.740 – 00:38:27.760 all the way back again till next Monday.
  1156. 00:38:28.560 – 00:38:30.380 And I'm in there like learning how,
  1157. 00:38:30.460 – 00:38:31.640 like what is his microphone?
  1158. 00:38:31.840 – 00:38:33.480 I'm like learning how to make cable.
  1159. 00:38:33.580 – 00:38:34.900 I'm literally learning everything.
  1160. 00:38:34.940 – 00:38:36.640 And then the studio manager pulled me to the side.
  1161. 00:38:36.660 – 00:38:39.540 He goes, hey bro, you're here so much
  1162. 00:38:39.540 – 00:38:42.940 and I can clearly see you have like a deep hunger
  1163. 00:38:42.940 – 00:38:44.220 and a deep passion for all this stuff.
  1164. 00:38:44.240 – 00:38:46.680 He goes, I wanna open up the work study program for you.
  1165. 00:38:46.680 – 00:38:48.380 He's like, I closed it a couple of years ago
  1166. 00:38:48.960 – 00:38:51.880 but he's like, I just haven't seen a student this hungry.
  1167. 00:38:51.940 – 00:38:55.260 And he goes, I wanna hire you on as a work study.
  1168. 00:38:55.680 – 00:38:57.160 So from that day on,
  1169. 00:38:57.280 – 00:39:00.900 I was making I think $12 an hour being there.
  1170. 00:39:01.520 – 00:39:03.240 Cause he was like, bro, you're already here
  1171. 00:39:03.240 – 00:39:05.460 every single day for like more than 10 hours.
  1172. 00:39:05.480 – 00:39:07.500 He was like, you might as well get paid to be here.
  1173. 00:39:08.140 – 00:39:10.180 He blessed me with that job at 18.
  1174. 00:39:10.860 – 00:39:12.480 And then by the time I graduated,
  1175. 00:39:12.840 – 00:39:13.880 the work study had ended
  1176. 00:39:13.880 – 00:39:15.920 cause work study is only for students.
  1177. 00:39:16.440 – 00:39:18.400 So I graduated and he goes,
  1178. 00:39:18.520 – 00:39:20.420 hey bro, I wanna offer you a full time position here.
  1179. 00:39:20.920 – 00:39:21.780 And I was like, bet.
  1180. 00:39:22.320 – 00:39:24.700 So and then I ended up not taking the full time
  1181. 00:39:24.700 – 00:39:25.800 because I had so many other gigs
  1182. 00:39:25.800 – 00:39:27.520 but I ended up doing a part time there.
  1183. 00:39:28.640 – 00:39:30.800 And yeah, that was just a huge blessing
  1184. 00:39:30.800 – 00:39:31.920 working in those studios.
  1185. 00:39:32.320 – 00:39:33.920 And people would come to the studios and be like,
  1186. 00:39:33.920 – 00:39:36.740 hey, we need somebody for this project or whatever.
  1187. 00:39:37.080 – 00:39:37.960 I was the first person.
  1188. 00:39:38.000 – 00:39:39.460 They were like, you gotta get Tybo.
  1189. 00:39:39.480 – 00:39:41.100 So I did weddings, I did conferences.
  1190. 00:39:41.220 – 00:39:43.480 I did all of these things just working at that studio
  1191. 00:39:43.880 – 00:39:45.300 and made so many connections
  1192. 00:39:45.300 – 00:39:48.980 and built a reputation in Seattle for like the tech.
  1193. 00:39:49.260 – 00:39:50.780 So you go out to Seattle and they're like,
  1194. 00:39:50.800 – 00:39:51.480 oh, you need a honey?
  1195. 00:39:51.740 – 00:39:53.220 They'll probably be like, oh, get Tybo.
  1196. 00:39:53.340 – 00:39:54.520 I'm like, I don't even live there no more.
  1197. 00:39:54.840 – 00:39:55.760 So yeah.
  1198. 00:39:56.160 – 00:39:58.440 And that's amazing, amazing, amazing story.
  1199. 00:39:58.980 – 00:40:01.980 So even talking about hobbies outside of music,
  1200. 00:40:02.160 – 00:40:04.580 outside of studying natural medicine,
  1201. 00:40:05.140 – 00:40:06.980 what are some of your hobbies or passions?
  1202. 00:40:07.360 – 00:40:08.020 Bro, I got too many.
  1203. 00:40:08.120 – 00:40:08.700 I got too many.
  1204. 00:40:08.800 – 00:40:10.780 Like I literally, if you come to my house,
  1205. 00:40:10.800 – 00:40:11.780 I got a three bedroom house.
  1206. 00:40:11.940 – 00:40:13.860 Every single room is a studio
  1207. 00:40:13.860 – 00:40:15.120 and I'm always doing something.
  1208. 00:40:15.800 – 00:40:17.260 Like different types of studios.
  1209. 00:40:17.500 – 00:40:18.600 Yeah, so I got a virtual studio.
  1210. 00:40:18.680 – 00:40:20.540 I got like green screen where you can like click a button
  1211. 00:40:20.540 – 00:40:22.460 and do any backdrop and it looks like,
  1212. 00:40:22.640 – 00:40:24.700 most people when I'm on the green screen,
  1213. 00:40:24.700 – 00:40:25.580 they don't even know.
  1214. 00:40:25.940 – 00:40:27.720 Like they're like, bro, you got a new studio?
  1215. 00:40:27.880 – 00:40:29.140 I'm like, click another button, it changes.
  1216. 00:40:29.280 – 00:40:30.940 They're like, wait, what just happened?
  1217. 00:40:32.300 – 00:40:33.680 I do 3D printing.
  1218. 00:40:33.920 – 00:40:35.700 I do laser engraving.
  1219. 00:40:35.800 – 00:40:36.760 I make jewelry.
  1220. 00:40:37.260 – 00:40:38.340 You'll see me on my story.
  1221. 00:40:38.380 – 00:40:39.900 I got a bunch of gold and silver.
  1222. 00:40:40.140 – 00:40:41.220 I melted down.
  1223. 00:40:41.260 – 00:40:42.700 I'll play with diamonds and stuff.
  1224. 00:40:42.760 – 00:40:44.960 So I've made chains for myself.
  1225. 00:40:44.960 – 00:40:47.460 I've made Cuban bracelets.
  1226. 00:40:47.620 – 00:40:49.720 I've made a bunch of rings for the shorties
  1227. 00:40:49.720 – 00:40:50.740 that I'm dating and stuff.
  1228. 00:40:51.040 – 00:40:51.460 So yeah.
  1229. 00:40:51.900 – 00:40:52.780 So I love jewelry.
  1230. 00:40:53.000 – 00:40:54.600 I love anything arts and crafts,
  1231. 00:40:54.600 – 00:40:55.800 anything creative, honestly.
  1232. 00:40:55.880 – 00:40:57.200 Like I love cooking as well.
  1233. 00:40:57.560 – 00:40:59.660 I'll see a recipe on TikTok of that.
  1234. 00:40:59.760 – 00:41:00.780 I want to try to make that.
  1235. 00:41:01.020 – 00:41:01.900 So anything creative.
  1236. 00:41:01.920 – 00:41:04.320 I'm like a real big creative person.
  1237. 00:41:04.900 – 00:41:05.780 So yeah.
  1238. 00:41:06.300 – 00:41:06.720 Wow.
  1239. 00:41:06.980 – 00:41:07.740 I love that.
  1240. 00:41:07.900 – 00:41:10.460 Even got a chance to check out the green screen
  1241. 00:41:10.460 – 00:41:14.220 yesterday and that's just amazing where technology is.
  1242. 00:41:14.220 – 00:41:17.560 I know green screen has been around for a long time
  1243. 00:41:17.560 – 00:41:19.860 in the Hollywood movies and like you said,
  1244. 00:41:19.900 – 00:41:20.820 virtual setups.
  1245. 00:41:21.980 – 00:41:22.720 It's amazing.
  1246. 00:41:23.380 – 00:41:25.720 So for someone that wants to get into green screening
  1247. 00:41:25.720 – 00:41:27.440 where there's some equipment that they'll need.
  1248. 00:41:27.780 – 00:41:28.960 You need lighting, good lighting.
  1249. 00:41:29.200 – 00:41:31.280 I mean, if you give me some really good lights
  1250. 00:41:31.280 – 00:41:33.380 on the iPhone, I could make some green screen footage
  1251. 00:41:33.380 – 00:41:36.140 and really you don't need a lot of like back
  1252. 00:41:36.140 – 00:41:38.340 in the day you used to need like Adobe
  1253. 00:41:38.340 – 00:41:39.840 and you need all this software.
  1254. 00:41:40.140 – 00:41:41.920 And then honestly you got CapCut.
  1255. 00:41:42.020 – 00:41:43.760 CapCut got green screen removal.
  1256. 00:41:44.640 – 00:41:45.460 Blink, boom.
  1257. 00:41:45.820 – 00:41:47.100 Now you just put whatever you want.
  1258. 00:41:47.180 – 00:41:48.440 Now you got AI backgrounds.
  1259. 00:41:48.700 – 00:41:51.560 Like I used, even like a year ago I used to design.
  1260. 00:41:52.160 – 00:41:54.120 Like I used to have to go into the software
  1261. 00:41:54.120 – 00:41:56.480 and create each element and place a plant.
  1262. 00:41:56.520 – 00:41:59.020 Like I was in a 3D software creating these rooms.
  1263. 00:41:59.080 – 00:42:00.000 Now you got AI.
  1264. 00:42:00.020 – 00:42:01.980 You just prompt 60 seconds.
  1265. 00:42:02.280 – 00:42:03.720 It generates you whatever you want.
  1266. 00:42:04.160 – 00:42:05.320 And then you can revise it.
  1267. 00:42:05.400 – 00:42:07.860 You know, put my logo in the back or put this.
  1268. 00:42:07.920 – 00:42:09.640 I was like, there's no excuse
  1269. 00:42:09.640 – 00:42:11.940 of why you can't do no green screen content nowadays.
  1270. 00:42:11.940 – 00:42:15.340 It used to be the entry was like really, really high
  1271. 00:42:15.340 – 00:42:17.240 but now it's like you could do it from, you know,
  1272. 00:42:17.400 – 00:42:19.220 cell phones and bring lights off.
  1273. 00:42:20.380 – 00:42:20.500 Wow.
  1274. 00:42:21.780 – 00:42:22.960 So, so much to learn.
  1275. 00:42:23.080 – 00:42:25.700 And like you said, technology is advancing
  1276. 00:42:25.700 – 00:42:28.760 so it's like no excuse at all.
  1277. 00:42:28.840 – 00:42:30.220 No excuse at all.
  1278. 00:42:30.560 – 00:42:31.460 One popular way.
  1279. 00:42:33.200 – 00:42:36.580 So going back to them early days,
  1280. 00:42:37.240 – 00:42:40.400 starting a business, hustling, doing all of that,
  1281. 00:42:41.340 – 00:42:43.820 what did you see yourself in those moments?
  1282. 00:42:43.980 – 00:42:46.280 Like, did you see yourself in a position you are now
  1283. 00:42:46.280 – 00:42:49.480 or do you say someday I'ma make it?
  1284. 00:42:49.640 – 00:42:50.680 Someday I'ma make it.
  1285. 00:42:50.700 – 00:42:52.020 Someday it's gonna be this way.
  1286. 00:42:52.640 – 00:42:53.600 Like what was your mindset?
  1287. 00:42:53.760 – 00:42:55.320 I was one of those delusional people.
  1288. 00:42:55.800 – 00:42:57.260 Like at 12 years old, 13 years old,
  1289. 00:42:57.260 – 00:42:58.320 I'm telling all my friends like,
  1290. 00:42:58.400 – 00:43:00.420 hey bro, I'm about to get that Lambo.
  1291. 00:43:00.520 – 00:43:01.820 I'm about to get it.
  1292. 00:43:01.980 – 00:43:04.800 And everybody around me is like, yeah, right.
  1293. 00:43:05.460 – 00:43:07.980 Yeah, like bro, I literally come from homelessness,
  1294. 00:43:08.080 – 00:43:08.740 from the street.
  1295. 00:43:08.740 – 00:43:11.160 I used to hold up signs to get money, like all of it.
  1296. 00:43:11.660 – 00:43:13.280 And I'm delusional in my mind.
  1297. 00:43:13.460 – 00:43:15.420 I'm like, no, bro, I used to be like,
  1298. 00:43:15.460 – 00:43:17.380 yeah, no, I get that high rise crib.
  1299. 00:43:17.420 – 00:43:18.440 I'm about to get that car.
  1300. 00:43:19.300 – 00:43:19.700 And-
  1301. 00:43:19.700 – 00:43:20.920 So you had to visualize.
  1302. 00:43:21.200 – 00:43:21.960 Oh, absolutely.
  1303. 00:43:22.060 – 00:43:22.820 And then the thing is,
  1304. 00:43:22.880 – 00:43:24.600 if you read any of my horoscope stuff,
  1305. 00:43:24.620 – 00:43:25.600 I got this birthday book.
  1306. 00:43:25.900 – 00:43:28.040 Any birthday book or horoscope that I've ever read,
  1307. 00:43:28.420 – 00:43:29.980 it always says something about manifestation.
  1308. 00:43:30.360 – 00:43:34.000 So I literally have been able to manifest anything
  1309. 00:43:34.000 – 00:43:34.880 that I've ever thought of.
  1310. 00:43:35.400 – 00:43:38.540 And what's crazy is I used to manifest bad stuff.
  1311. 00:43:38.540 – 00:43:39.960 I used to be like, man, I hate that person.
  1312. 00:43:40.040 – 00:43:41.440 I wish something bad would happen.
  1313. 00:43:41.500 – 00:43:42.480 And then stuff would happen.
  1314. 00:43:42.640 – 00:43:43.460 I'd be like, ooh.
  1315. 00:43:43.700 – 00:43:46.280 I'm like, yo, I probably shouldn't think bad stuff.
  1316. 00:43:46.340 – 00:43:49.100 And that's why the power of the mind is so strong.
  1317. 00:43:49.500 – 00:43:52.660 So I only like to consume healthy stuff.
  1318. 00:43:52.760 – 00:43:55.580 Even my feed, I try not to consume anything negative
  1319. 00:43:55.580 – 00:43:56.260 or anything bad,
  1320. 00:43:56.260 – 00:43:58.480 because those things will plant seeds in my mind
  1321. 00:43:58.480 – 00:43:59.820 and those seeds can grow.
  1322. 00:44:01.140 – 00:44:03.680 So I've always been good with manifesting.
  1323. 00:44:05.460 – 00:44:07.120 Even what's crazy about podcast summit
  1324. 00:44:07.560 – 00:44:10.180 is I was getting all of these podcast summit ads
  1325. 00:44:10.180 – 00:44:11.860 before I even went to podcast summit.
  1326. 00:44:12.100 – 00:44:14.160 I remember the two years ago,
  1327. 00:44:14.220 – 00:44:16.340 it was like ad, ad, ad, all on my feed.
  1328. 00:44:16.780 – 00:44:19.000 And it used to piss me off because I used to be like,
  1329. 00:44:19.120 – 00:44:21.460 bro, I've shot over 400 episodes of the podcast.
  1330. 00:44:21.680 – 00:44:24.620 I know more about podcasts than any of those people.
  1331. 00:44:24.840 – 00:44:27.440 I'm like, and I was like, bro, I deserve to be there.
  1332. 00:44:27.720 – 00:44:29.540 Literally, that's what I'm saying.
  1333. 00:44:29.620 – 00:44:30.820 And I'd never been to a podcast summit.
  1334. 00:44:30.880 – 00:44:31.720 I'm seeing these ads.
  1335. 00:44:32.420 – 00:44:35.620 One day I get a call, and it's David Shands.
  1336. 00:44:36.160 – 00:44:37.560 I answer it.
  1337. 00:44:37.720 – 00:44:40.840 He's like, hey, bro, I need somebody at podcast summit.
  1338. 00:44:40.960 – 00:44:41.760 Are you available?
  1339. 00:44:42.360 – 00:44:43.520 Look at God right there.
  1340. 00:44:43.820 – 00:44:44.780 Look at God, wow.
  1341. 00:44:45.060 – 00:44:46.360 It's literally, I've seen the ads
  1342. 00:44:46.360 – 00:44:47.700 for like two or three weeks,
  1343. 00:44:47.760 – 00:44:49.260 and I'm like, I need to be there.
  1344. 00:44:49.300 – 00:44:50.720 I deserve to be there.
  1345. 00:44:51.180 – 00:44:52.800 Boom, I get a call from David Shands.
  1346. 00:44:52.800 – 00:44:53.960 He's asking me to be there.
  1347. 00:44:54.360 – 00:44:56.340 So it's like stuff like that,
  1348. 00:44:57.180 – 00:44:59.440 just simple manifestations of like,
  1349. 00:44:59.700 – 00:45:01.660 or even I DM'd people
  1350. 00:45:01.660 – 00:45:04.880 that I wanted to set up studios for a year ago.
  1351. 00:45:05.290 – 00:45:06.760 And now those people are hitting me up,
  1352. 00:45:06.760 – 00:45:07.980 bro, how much you cost?
  1353. 00:45:07.980 – 00:45:09.400 I'm like, bro, I'll pay you right away.
  1354. 00:45:09.680 – 00:45:12.380 So it's like, yeah, no, exactly.
  1355. 00:45:12.460 – 00:45:13.900 Like chasing all these people,
  1356. 00:45:13.900 – 00:45:15.700 and then now these people are chasing you.
  1357. 00:45:15.940 – 00:45:17.980 So it's like, yeah.
  1358. 00:45:18.620 – 00:45:19.980 Like you said, manifestation,
  1359. 00:45:20.360 – 00:45:23.820 even like you said, the thoughts and the seeds,
  1360. 00:45:24.020 – 00:45:25.000 like even the words,
  1361. 00:45:25.460 – 00:45:28.220 like even coming from a recording artist standpoint,
  1362. 00:45:29.360 – 00:45:30.920 my last track wasn't a song.
  1363. 00:45:31.380 – 00:45:32.720 It was an affirmation track,
  1364. 00:45:32.720 – 00:45:34.260 like an eight-minute affirmation track
  1365. 00:45:34.260 – 00:45:37.960 called Alien Affirmations, one, two, three,
  1366. 00:45:38.360 – 00:45:39.700 which is like my angel number.
  1367. 00:45:40.600 – 00:45:42.940 And then alien stems from my whole brand,
  1368. 00:45:43.080 – 00:45:44.480 my artists, Alien Eye Play,
  1369. 00:45:44.560 – 00:45:46.040 and then now Alien Eye's photo.
  1370. 00:45:46.620 – 00:45:49.100 So yeah, people are like, oh, what's your last song?
  1371. 00:45:49.260 – 00:45:50.960 It was actually an affirmation track.
  1372. 00:45:51.320 – 00:45:52.800 You know, shift in your mindset.
  1373. 00:45:53.660 – 00:45:55.360 My last song was fuck 2020.
  1374. 00:45:56.560 – 00:45:57.860 So 2020 was your last?
  1375. 00:45:57.860 – 00:45:59.860 Yeah, that was the pandemic.
  1376. 00:46:00.040 – 00:46:00.920 I had a lot of feelings.
  1377. 00:46:01.300 – 00:46:01.760 Yeah, exactly.
  1378. 00:46:01.760 – 00:46:03.640 I was like, yo, and I think I made it
  1379. 00:46:03.640 – 00:46:04.260 right at the end of the year.
  1380. 00:46:04.300 – 00:46:06.500 I was like, yeah, this year has been shitty.
  1381. 00:46:06.640 – 00:46:08.200 I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna make a diss track
  1382. 00:46:08.200 – 00:46:10.860 to 2020, and everybody back home was like,
  1383. 00:46:10.940 – 00:46:11.780 yeah, fuck 2020.
  1384. 00:46:12.620 – 00:46:15.800 What about your favorite song that you made?
  1385. 00:46:16.060 – 00:46:17.160 Favorite song that I made?
  1386. 00:46:18.420 – 00:46:20.480 I would probably say anything off my first album,
  1387. 00:46:21.120 – 00:46:22.860 because here's the thing, is when I first started,
  1388. 00:46:22.920 – 00:46:25.700 I was like, I put so much effort and time.
  1389. 00:46:25.700 – 00:46:27.600 I spent one year making my first album,
  1390. 00:46:27.640 – 00:46:28.760 and it was only eight songs.
  1391. 00:46:29.600 – 00:46:33.180 But each phase, I had to go through the beat selection,
  1392. 00:46:33.820 – 00:46:36.720 the writing, the mixing, the mastering.
  1393. 00:46:38.000 – 00:46:41.560 I described it as if you had to make 100 burgers, right?
  1394. 00:46:42.500 – 00:46:44.500 You wouldn't go in and just make one burger,
  1395. 00:46:44.820 – 00:46:46.460 wrap it up, make the next one, right?
  1396. 00:46:46.840 – 00:46:47.960 What you would do is you would prep.
  1397. 00:46:48.100 – 00:46:49.400 You would lay out all the buns.
  1398. 00:46:49.780 – 00:46:51.140 You put the patties on.
  1399. 00:46:51.520 – 00:46:52.760 You would lay all the tomatoes.
  1400. 00:46:52.860 – 00:46:54.820 Like, you would do it all in a batch, right?
  1401. 00:46:54.840 – 00:46:56.020 So you could do it more efficiently.
  1402. 00:46:56.400 – 00:46:57.500 So when I made my first album,
  1403. 00:46:57.500 – 00:46:58.460 I did it just like that.
  1404. 00:46:58.460 – 00:46:59.780 I selected all the beats.
  1405. 00:47:01.040 – 00:47:02.440 I selected all the song tracks.
  1406. 00:47:02.620 – 00:47:03.940 I went and wrote all the things.
  1407. 00:47:04.100 – 00:47:04.840 I went into the recording.
  1408. 00:47:04.880 – 00:47:06.780 So each one of those was a stage,
  1409. 00:47:07.660 – 00:47:09.580 and that took a whole year to make.
  1410. 00:47:09.660 – 00:47:11.260 And I feel like that process,
  1411. 00:47:11.980 – 00:47:14.420 it just made these tracks that I'm like,
  1412. 00:47:14.700 – 00:47:15.740 I'm really proud of.
  1413. 00:47:15.900 – 00:47:18.340 Anything after that, I stopped putting that effort in,
  1414. 00:47:18.340 – 00:47:23.200 because I realized that music is about consumption, right?
  1415. 00:47:23.360 – 00:47:24.840 If it took me one year
  1416. 00:47:24.840 – 00:47:27.980 to make all the eight of these tracks,
  1417. 00:47:28.440 – 00:47:30.340 and it only takes you 20 minutes to listen,
  1418. 00:47:30.820 – 00:47:32.520 I'm like, was it really worth it?
  1419. 00:47:32.700 – 00:47:34.320 And then that's when I started realizing,
  1420. 00:47:34.520 – 00:47:36.120 okay, let me get better at creating
  1421. 00:47:36.120 – 00:47:38.420 to where I can literally make a whole album in a month.
  1422. 00:47:39.120 – 00:47:39.860 And I was like, yo,
  1423. 00:47:39.880 – 00:47:41.420 I need to get better with the creativity
  1424. 00:47:41.420 – 00:47:42.400 where I can crank.
  1425. 00:47:42.460 – 00:47:45.720 It was more about, what is it?
  1426. 00:47:46.480 – 00:47:47.800 Not quality over quantity.
  1427. 00:47:48.180 – 00:47:48.960 I was trying to go,
  1428. 00:47:49.220 – 00:47:51.540 I started with quality over quantity,
  1429. 00:47:51.680 – 00:47:52.460 but then I switched.
  1430. 00:47:52.520 – 00:47:53.780 I was like, yo, let's do quantity.
  1431. 00:47:53.780 – 00:47:55.820 And so then I started cranking out tracks.
  1432. 00:47:55.820 – 00:47:58.900 And I feel like that is what got me that muscle,
  1433. 00:47:59.020 – 00:48:00.900 where it's like, now, if we sit down,
  1434. 00:48:00.900 – 00:48:01.980 you play one beat right now,
  1435. 00:48:01.980 – 00:48:03.720 I could write you a track in 20 minutes,
  1436. 00:48:03.720 – 00:48:04.840 record it, mix it.
  1437. 00:48:04.880 – 00:48:06.740 We can have a track done by four o'clock.
  1438. 00:48:07.040 – 00:48:08.640 Okay, I got to be out there.
  1439. 00:48:08.780 – 00:48:09.040 We gone?
  1440. 00:48:09.500 – 00:48:09.860 Exactly.
  1441. 00:48:09.980 – 00:48:11.380 And that's where I wanted to be.
  1442. 00:48:11.680 – 00:48:14.080 But before, my creativity process was like,
  1443. 00:48:14.080 – 00:48:15.180 oh, now I got to select a beat.
  1444. 00:48:15.220 – 00:48:16.660 I got to get inspired to write.
  1445. 00:48:16.920 – 00:48:17.740 I got to get...
  1446. 00:48:17.740 – 00:48:19.540 So I was like, no, I got to crank these out.
  1447. 00:48:19.680 – 00:48:21.760 So anything off my first album, to answer your question,
  1448. 00:48:21.760 – 00:48:23.760 my first track is called Tybo Intro.
  1449. 00:48:24.180 – 00:48:26.700 I just love that song, you know, play it anytime.
  1450. 00:48:26.880 – 00:48:29.020 And I just, it's a vibe, but yeah.
  1451. 00:48:29.600 – 00:48:30.940 Well, as you would say,
  1452. 00:48:31.140 – 00:48:33.440 explaining and explaining the process in different stages
  1453. 00:48:33.440 – 00:48:37.140 sounds like editing, like multi-cam editing,
  1454. 00:48:37.640 – 00:48:38.360 post-production.
  1455. 00:48:38.920 – 00:48:41.620 So is there like a workflow you have for editing?
  1456. 00:48:42.440 – 00:48:45.240 I've talked about the pre, the production and the post.
  1457. 00:48:45.740 – 00:48:46.860 I think that's trance.
  1458. 00:48:47.060 – 00:48:48.900 Yeah, the three P's or the five P's.
  1459. 00:48:48.900 – 00:48:53.040 I think that, I think I think about all production
  1460. 00:48:53.040 – 00:48:53.640 in that way.
  1461. 00:48:53.980 – 00:48:55.260 Like, even though I was talking about my album,
  1462. 00:48:55.460 – 00:48:58.040 I went into pre-production, then I went into production,
  1463. 00:48:58.300 – 00:48:59.460 then I went into post-production.
  1464. 00:48:59.900 – 00:49:01.500 So if you're asking mainly about
  1465. 00:49:01.500 – 00:49:02.680 the post-production process,
  1466. 00:49:02.720 – 00:49:05.280 I feel like that is when I'm transferring everything
  1467. 00:49:05.280 – 00:49:07.780 and making sure like, I always use references.
  1468. 00:49:08.240 – 00:49:10.520 Like, I feel like as an engineer,
  1469. 00:49:11.060 – 00:49:13.140 they taught me how to use references early on,
  1470. 00:49:13.200 – 00:49:15.260 and I transferred that into every other skill
  1471. 00:49:15.260 – 00:49:15.800 that I used.
  1472. 00:49:15.980 – 00:49:17.280 Break that down, references.
  1473. 00:49:17.280 – 00:49:20.520 Yeah, so when you're mixing a song,
  1474. 00:49:20.520 – 00:49:22.320 let's say you just recorded this track and you say,
  1475. 00:49:22.580 – 00:49:25.000 hey Tybo, I want you to mix and master this track.
  1476. 00:49:25.800 – 00:49:26.940 What I'm gonna ask you for is,
  1477. 00:49:27.240 – 00:49:30.340 hey, I want you to find a song that is similar to this
  1478. 00:49:30.920 – 00:49:32.500 that we can use as a reference
  1479. 00:49:32.500 – 00:49:34.500 so we know that the final product
  1480. 00:49:34.500 – 00:49:36.800 should look something like this, right?
  1481. 00:49:37.140 – 00:49:39.180 And it's the same thing if you're a photographer,
  1482. 00:49:39.360 – 00:49:39.460 I'd say.
  1483. 00:49:39.460 – 00:49:42.400 Wait, wait, wait, because you hit a key point.
  1484. 00:49:43.440 – 00:49:45.100 Something like this, not exactly,
  1485. 00:49:45.100 – 00:49:47.180 but something like this.
  1486. 00:49:47.460 – 00:49:48.320 Because I get that a lot.
  1487. 00:49:48.500 – 00:49:50.240 Like, oh, it's not, it's something like that.
  1488. 00:49:50.320 – 00:49:51.680 No, exactly, same with photography.
  1489. 00:49:51.700 – 00:49:54.300 Like, if I'm a photographer and I'm like, hey,
  1490. 00:49:54.800 – 00:49:55.780 or if I'm a model, I'm like,
  1491. 00:49:55.780 – 00:49:57.080 hey, I want to shoot with this photographer.
  1492. 00:49:57.260 – 00:49:58.740 I'm gonna give him reference photos.
  1493. 00:49:58.860 – 00:50:01.440 I'm gonna say, hey, I like these, these looks.
  1494. 00:50:01.660 – 00:50:03.280 I want to go for something like this.
  1495. 00:50:03.560 – 00:50:05.860 So I always use references for everything I do,
  1496. 00:50:05.920 – 00:50:07.600 whether it's lighting, video.
  1497. 00:50:07.820 – 00:50:09.960 Like, I'll look at a diary of a CEO.
  1498. 00:50:10.000 – 00:50:11.200 I'm like, oh, is this a reference?
  1499. 00:50:11.360 – 00:50:12.300 You want it like this?
  1500. 00:50:12.360 – 00:50:13.940 This is moody, this is dark, this is intimate.
  1501. 00:50:13.940 – 00:50:15.380 And they're like, no, I want more light,
  1502. 00:50:15.520 – 00:50:17.560 or I want more like, I want Joe Rogan,
  1503. 00:50:17.580 – 00:50:20.280 or I want this Call Me Daddy podcast, whatever.
  1504. 00:50:20.540 – 00:50:22.500 Like, I used them as a reference point, essentially,
  1505. 00:50:22.840 – 00:50:24.540 to get the client to where they want to go.
  1506. 00:50:24.880 – 00:50:26.220 Okay, okay, okay.
  1507. 00:50:26.900 – 00:50:30.540 Now, as we approach the end of this episode,
  1508. 00:50:31.040 – 00:50:33.420 I would like to hear your biggest lesson
  1509. 00:50:33.420 – 00:50:35.760 that you learned throughout your whole career.
  1510. 00:50:36.680 – 00:50:40.380 I would say, provide value, and the money will come.
  1511. 00:50:40.600 – 00:50:43.760 Like, that's really the biggest lesson
  1512. 00:50:44.680 – 00:50:46.520 everywhere I go, I'm trying to provide value.
  1513. 00:50:46.760 – 00:50:48.500 And that's before I even think about money.
  1514. 00:50:48.980 – 00:50:51.760 And I think that the people who provide the most value
  1515. 00:50:51.760 – 00:50:52.960 will never have a money problem.
  1516. 00:50:53.500 – 00:50:54.820 I love that, that is true.
  1517. 00:50:55.440 – 00:50:58.560 What about the biggest or the greatest insight,
  1518. 00:50:58.760 – 00:50:59.960 a business insight that you learned?
  1519. 00:51:00.840 – 00:51:03.080 You know what's crazy is I don't do this now,
  1520. 00:51:03.580 – 00:51:06.140 but somebody said that if you don't have
  1521. 00:51:06.140 – 00:51:07.960 monthly recurring revenue in your business,
  1522. 00:51:07.980 – 00:51:09.160 you don't have a real business.
  1523. 00:51:11.080 – 00:51:13.320 And I thought of that, and I was just like,
  1524. 00:51:13.320 – 00:51:14.740 man, that's a really good concept,
  1525. 00:51:14.820 – 00:51:16.380 because if you think about Netflix
  1526. 00:51:16.380 – 00:51:17.900 and all of these streaming platforms,
  1527. 00:51:18.060 – 00:51:20.720 they have your money every month coming in.
  1528. 00:51:21.840 – 00:51:23.800 So as entrepreneurs and creators,
  1529. 00:51:23.940 – 00:51:26.900 if we are starting from ground zero every month,
  1530. 00:51:27.260 – 00:51:29.460 where we have to go out and find new gigs,
  1531. 00:51:29.500 – 00:51:30.460 new clients, or whatever,
  1532. 00:51:30.600 – 00:51:32.620 it's like, do you really have a real business?
  1533. 00:51:32.740 – 00:51:33.480 And I was like, dang.
  1534. 00:51:33.900 – 00:51:35.720 So that's kind of something new that I'm thinking about
  1535. 00:51:35.720 – 00:51:41.040 is like, okay, how do I work in that monthly revenue?
  1536. 00:51:41.200 – 00:51:42.600 Where it's like, and you know,
  1537. 00:51:42.600 – 00:51:44.080 and especially for me,
  1538. 00:51:44.480 – 00:51:47.440 I know if I did a school community where I taught this stuff,
  1539. 00:51:47.520 – 00:51:49.940 it's like people easily would join my Patreon,
  1540. 00:51:50.140 – 00:51:51.400 my school community, whatever,
  1541. 00:51:51.720 – 00:51:53.480 and that's that monthly revenue
  1542. 00:51:53.480 – 00:51:55.560 where it's like people just every month
  1543. 00:51:55.560 – 00:51:59.080 are getting that value, but also paying, so.
  1544. 00:51:59.480 – 00:52:00.040 That is true.
  1545. 00:52:00.060 – 00:52:02.640 So we can see a school community or Patreon coming soon?
  1546. 00:52:03.260 – 00:52:04.380 Honestly, yeah, no, probably.
  1547. 00:52:04.920 – 00:52:08.240 I'm just so busy with this high ticket studio stuff.
  1548. 00:52:08.480 – 00:52:11.260 It's like the energy that it takes for that.
  1549. 00:52:11.260 – 00:52:13.760 I gotta kind of weigh out the options,
  1550. 00:52:14.040 – 00:52:15.360 but soon enough, you guys will probably see.
  1551. 00:52:15.680 – 00:52:17.500 Well, you know, you don't always have to be
  1552. 00:52:17.500 – 00:52:19.040 the face of it or run it.
  1553. 00:52:19.080 – 00:52:22.440 You can always hire someone or have someone organize it
  1554. 00:52:22.440 – 00:52:25.700 or have prerecorded videos and then.
  1555. 00:52:25.940 – 00:52:27.000 But you know, me being a passion,
  1556. 00:52:27.120 – 00:52:28.880 like I view everything like my baby.
  1557. 00:52:29.000 – 00:52:30.380 So I'm like, that's my child that I get.
  1558. 00:52:30.500 – 00:52:32.640 Even if you paid me like $99 a month
  1559. 00:52:32.640 – 00:52:34.160 or even $20 a month, right?
  1560. 00:52:34.580 – 00:52:35.700 You're gonna get the same treatment
  1561. 00:52:35.700 – 00:52:37.640 as my 5,000, $10,000 client,
  1562. 00:52:37.640 – 00:52:40.460 because I don't view the money as like,
  1563. 00:52:40.460 – 00:52:42.220 oh, you paid me more, I'm gonna give you more value.
  1564. 00:52:42.260 – 00:52:44.660 It's like, no, you're coming to me.
  1565. 00:52:44.680 – 00:52:46.180 You're gonna get the value no matter what.
  1566. 00:52:46.540 – 00:52:50.060 So that's why I prioritize more of the higher ticket stuff.
  1567. 00:52:50.240 – 00:52:51.640 I'm like, do I really wanna do the community?
  1568. 00:52:51.720 – 00:52:53.860 But eventually I will, like what you're saying.
  1569. 00:52:54.540 – 00:52:56.260 Okay, no, it's nothing wrong with it.
  1570. 00:52:56.320 – 00:52:58.200 A high ticket is definitely a good thing.
  1571. 00:52:59.540 – 00:53:01.920 My audience is creative entrepreneurs,
  1572. 00:53:02.180 – 00:53:03.900 mainly beginning creative entrepreneurs.
  1573. 00:53:04.640 – 00:53:06.500 What is one thing that you would leave them?
  1574. 00:53:07.000 – 00:53:08.700 I already said this, but don't give up,
  1575. 00:53:08.700 – 00:53:10.260 because here's the thing.
  1576. 00:53:10.580 – 00:53:12.820 We are so quick to beat ourselves up,
  1577. 00:53:13.780 – 00:53:15.680 but really let the world do that.
  1578. 00:53:15.880 – 00:53:17.320 You should be encouraging yourself.
  1579. 00:53:17.360 – 00:53:18.520 You should be uplifting yourself.
  1580. 00:53:18.840 – 00:53:21.280 So the minute I hear somebody talking down about themselves
  1581. 00:53:21.280 – 00:53:22.640 or beating themselves up, I'm like,
  1582. 00:53:22.680 – 00:53:24.240 yo, don't do that.
  1583. 00:53:24.420 – 00:53:25.780 The world will do that for you.
  1584. 00:53:26.020 – 00:53:27.700 You need to be the one uplifting.
  1585. 00:53:27.860 – 00:53:28.780 You need to be the encouragement.
  1586. 00:53:28.900 – 00:53:30.380 You need to be the vessel,
  1587. 00:53:30.580 – 00:53:32.440 because you are the most important thing
  1588. 00:53:32.440 – 00:53:33.220 at the end of the day.
  1589. 00:53:33.420 – 00:53:34.600 Nobody's gonna give you that motivation.
  1590. 00:53:34.700 – 00:53:35.620 Nobody's gonna wake you up
  1591. 00:53:35.620 – 00:53:37.100 and do the things that you have to do.
  1592. 00:53:37.100 – 00:53:39.800 So, you know, work in that internal,
  1593. 00:53:40.140 – 00:53:42.780 like, you know, let it shine from the inside out.
  1594. 00:53:43.540 – 00:53:44.620 I love it.
  1595. 00:53:45.140 – 00:53:48.200 And this was an amazing, amazing interview,
  1596. 00:53:48.980 – 00:53:51.660 but for someone that has a couple minutes,
  1597. 00:53:52.140 – 00:53:55.280 what is three to five takeaways you would like to share?
  1598. 00:53:56.180 – 00:53:57.680 Give me a topic, give me.
  1599. 00:53:58.060 – 00:53:59.220 This whole interview,
  1600. 00:53:59.240 – 00:54:01.520 even if it's something you didn't get to mention.
  1601. 00:54:02.340 – 00:54:04.740 Audio, I wanna go over audio real quick.
  1602. 00:54:06.020 – 00:54:07.880 Try to get your microphone as close as you can.
  1603. 00:54:08.320 – 00:54:10.340 Like, if you get this microphone right here,
  1604. 00:54:10.340 – 00:54:12.060 you guys are gonna hear the difference, right?
  1605. 00:54:12.080 – 00:54:13.240 It's gonna be bassy.
  1606. 00:54:13.340 – 00:54:15.300 It's gonna be, it's gonna sound like I'm on the radio
  1607. 00:54:15.300 – 00:54:17.260 versus if you just move it slightly back,
  1608. 00:54:17.740 – 00:54:20.560 like even this, the frequency response
  1609. 00:54:20.560 – 00:54:22.600 from one to two inches of movement,
  1610. 00:54:22.740 – 00:54:24.080 like, it's crazy.
  1611. 00:54:24.220 – 00:54:25.400 Like, you can hear it.
  1612. 00:54:25.400 – 00:54:27.120 Like, if I'm like, yo, hey guys, what's up?
  1613. 00:54:27.200 – 00:54:28.540 Versus, hey guys, what's up?
  1614. 00:54:28.880 – 00:54:31.080 So, try to get as close as you can to the microphone.
  1615. 00:54:31.340 – 00:54:33.140 That would be my one thing about audio.
  1616. 00:54:33.680 – 00:54:34.900 Two, I'm gonna go over lighting.
  1617. 00:54:36.260 – 00:54:37.880 One thing about lighting people don't realize
  1618. 00:54:37.880 – 00:54:40.920 is every time you double your distance,
  1619. 00:54:41.240 – 00:54:43.380 you lose 75% of the power.
  1620. 00:54:43.660 – 00:54:44.220 Now, let me, let me.
  1621. 00:54:44.420 – 00:54:46.580 Double your distance, you lose 75%.
  1622. 00:54:46.580 – 00:54:47.420 Now, I'm gonna break it down.
  1623. 00:54:47.420 – 00:54:48.260 These are gonna be some numbers.
  1624. 00:54:48.320 – 00:54:49.580 You might have to show some stuff on the screen,
  1625. 00:54:49.600 – 00:54:50.020 but check this out.
  1626. 00:54:50.040 – 00:54:50.660 Yes, yes.
  1627. 00:54:51.500 – 00:54:53.680 If I have this light in front of me
  1628. 00:54:53.680 – 00:54:57.360 and it's at 100%, right?
  1629. 00:54:58.300 – 00:55:02.660 If I have it four feet away and at 100%,
  1630. 00:55:02.660 – 00:55:04.180 if I move it back eight feet,
  1631. 00:55:04.620 – 00:55:06.960 you'd be like, oh, it went down to 50%.
  1632. 00:55:06.960 – 00:55:09.420 But really, it went down to 25%.
  1633. 00:55:09.880 – 00:55:11.560 So, a lot of people don't realize
  1634. 00:55:11.560 – 00:55:13.120 the closer you have the light,
  1635. 00:55:13.260 – 00:55:16.300 the more luminance you actually get.
  1636. 00:55:16.720 – 00:55:18.460 So, it's called the inverse law.
  1637. 00:55:18.920 – 00:55:20.860 It's the inverse law theory.
  1638. 00:55:21.160 – 00:55:23.260 It's like the, pretty much just saying
  1639. 00:55:23.260 – 00:55:26.580 every time you double a distance, you lose 75%.
  1640. 00:55:26.580 – 00:55:29.340 So, try to keep your lights as close as you can.
  1641. 00:55:29.540 – 00:55:30.580 Like, as close as you can,
  1642. 00:55:30.620 – 00:55:32.300 especially if you don't have a really bright light.
  1643. 00:55:32.300 – 00:55:33.840 You can notice the distance too.
  1644. 00:55:34.020 – 00:55:36.400 Like, you just move the light closer.
  1645. 00:55:36.560 – 00:55:38.480 You're like, whoa, how'd it get way more brighter?
  1646. 00:55:38.660 – 00:55:41.000 Like, it's just, it's a law of physics.
  1647. 00:55:41.560 – 00:55:42.400 So, that's for that.
  1648. 00:55:42.720 – 00:55:43.500 And then video,
  1649. 00:55:44.120 – 00:55:45.700 make sure you pay attention to the skin tones.
  1650. 00:55:46.260 – 00:55:48.080 Like, I see a lot of these videos,
  1651. 00:55:48.580 – 00:55:50.020 the skin tones would be crazy.
  1652. 00:55:50.480 – 00:55:54.400 It'd be all purple or green or just like the red
  1653. 00:55:54.400 – 00:55:56.600 or it's like, use a reference.
  1654. 00:55:56.700 – 00:55:58.040 We went over the reference photo.
  1655. 00:55:58.160 – 00:55:58.440 Yes.
  1656. 00:55:58.980 – 00:56:00.180 Make sure that those skin tones
  1657. 00:56:00.180 – 00:56:01.340 look like the reference photo.
  1658. 00:56:01.340 – 00:56:03.220 And if you don't have a good reference photo,
  1659. 00:56:03.220 – 00:56:05.540 use like news stations and broadcasts
  1660. 00:56:05.540 – 00:56:06.560 and like real television.
  1661. 00:56:06.940 – 00:56:09.480 Cause they're gonna give you like the accurate skin tone
  1662. 00:56:09.480 – 00:56:11.100 that are actual colors and you can look
  1663. 00:56:11.100 – 00:56:14.040 and be like, wait a minute, my skin looks real pale.
  1664. 00:56:14.300 – 00:56:16.680 Like, why it look like, my stuff look gray,
  1665. 00:56:16.820 – 00:56:18.640 look like alien-ish, like.
  1666. 00:56:18.720 – 00:56:19.040 Alien.
  1667. 00:56:19.280 – 00:56:20.880 Exactly, I forgot that in there.
  1668. 00:56:21.140 – 00:56:23.480 But yeah, no, so pay attention to your skin tones
  1669. 00:56:23.480 – 00:56:24.520 when it comes to video.
  1670. 00:56:24.700 – 00:56:26.800 And if you can't get like the right look,
  1671. 00:56:27.380 – 00:56:29.800 believe it or not, chat GBT knows how to make luts now.
  1672. 00:56:29.800 – 00:56:34.720 So you can actually drop in an image of like,
  1673. 00:56:34.720 – 00:56:36.020 let's say a Batman movie and you're like,
  1674. 00:56:36.080 – 00:56:38.940 hey, I want this look on this footage.
  1675. 00:56:39.080 – 00:56:40.840 It will literally make you a cube file.
  1676. 00:56:40.920 – 00:56:42.560 It'll make you a lookup table file.
  1677. 00:56:42.800 – 00:56:44.240 Like, and then you can take that lookup table
  1678. 00:56:44.240 – 00:56:46.200 and just drop it into Premiere or whatever pro.
  1679. 00:56:46.400 – 00:56:48.520 You can get that same exact look, so.
  1680. 00:56:51.760 – 00:56:53.760 Well, I know you mentioned something yesterday
  1681. 00:56:53.760 – 00:56:57.120 about like the background from the subject
  1682. 00:56:57.120 – 00:56:58.980 to like 10 feet minimum.
  1683. 00:56:59.320 – 00:57:00.260 The further the better.
  1684. 00:57:00.260 – 00:57:01.300 Or the bokeh.
  1685. 00:57:01.460 – 00:57:04.140 Like even if we just did a small example of this,
  1686. 00:57:04.280 – 00:57:06.400 like we would move this all the way.
  1687. 00:57:06.440 – 00:57:08.060 Like we would be up against the wall.
  1688. 00:57:08.100 – 00:57:10.180 Like I tell people, you're gonna feel uncomfortable
  1689. 00:57:10.180 – 00:57:10.940 the way I set it up.
  1690. 00:57:10.980 – 00:57:12.460 You're gonna be like up on the wall,
  1691. 00:57:12.740 – 00:57:14.080 but it's gonna look crazy.
  1692. 00:57:14.160 – 00:57:15.260 Like it's gonna look good
  1693. 00:57:15.260 – 00:57:17.160 like when you actually see the final product
  1694. 00:57:17.160 – 00:57:18.900 because you're so separated from the wall
  1695. 00:57:18.900 – 00:57:21.400 and it just looks blurry and looks good.
  1696. 00:57:21.900 – 00:57:23.480 Okay, so we gonna move these chairs up
  1697. 00:57:23.480 – 00:57:25.260 for the next, okay, okay, okay.
  1698. 00:57:25.760 – 00:57:27.940 But a lot of spaces can't, you can't do that.
  1699. 00:57:28.160 – 00:57:29.820 So you gotta leave room for the lights
  1700. 00:57:29.820 – 00:57:31.800 and now you gotta adjust everything, so yeah.
  1701. 00:57:31.980 – 00:57:32.860 Yeah, unfortunately.
  1702. 00:57:33.520 – 00:57:36.480 But what is one question that I didn't ask
  1703. 00:57:36.480 – 00:57:37.640 that I should have asked?
  1704. 00:57:40.920 – 00:57:42.960 Honestly, I feel like you had really good questions, bro.
  1705. 00:57:42.980 – 00:57:44.880 I can't even think of anything you didn't ask.
  1706. 00:57:45.060 – 00:57:46.720 Like you had some really good questions, brother.
  1707. 00:57:47.340 – 00:57:49.980 Or to flip it, what is one powerful question
  1708. 00:57:49.980 – 00:57:52.280 that you were asked throughout your whole lifetime?
  1709. 00:57:54.820 – 00:57:56.300 When did you know you were special?
  1710. 00:57:58.160 – 00:58:01.320 And I'd have to say is like when I was like homeless,
  1711. 00:58:01.320 – 00:58:02.940 like in the shelters and everything,
  1712. 00:58:03.000 – 00:58:05.580 like I remember all of the people,
  1713. 00:58:05.640 – 00:58:07.000 like even like the homeless bums
  1714. 00:58:07.000 – 00:58:10.140 and like you're around some characters in the streets,
  1715. 00:58:10.320 – 00:58:12.480 but even then they saw this light within me
  1716. 00:58:12.480 – 00:58:15.100 and I felt like, I was like, okay, I am special.
  1717. 00:58:15.120 – 00:58:17.420 Even though I'm like in these crazy predicaments
  1718. 00:58:17.420 – 00:58:19.540 and these crazy situations, I was like, I always knew.
  1719. 00:58:24.090 – 00:58:25.790 And then last question,
  1720. 00:58:26.710 – 00:58:30.930 what is legacy for you, Tybal Audio as a person
  1721. 00:58:30.930 – 00:58:32.990 and then as a business entrepreneur?
  1722. 00:58:33.510 – 00:58:35.450 People talk about like heaven and hell, right?
  1723. 00:58:35.490 – 00:58:40.170 And I think that the concept for me is like your legacy.
  1724. 00:58:40.610 – 00:58:43.910 When you think of a name like Bob Marley, right?
  1725. 00:58:43.910 – 00:58:46.090 You think great things, right?
  1726. 00:58:46.090 – 00:58:51.230 And I think that his legacy is living heavenly, right?
  1727. 00:58:51.230 – 00:58:53.690 Because people think great things of him.
  1728. 00:58:53.930 – 00:58:56.770 Versus you think of somebody like Adolf Hitler.
  1729. 00:58:57.810 – 00:59:00.250 That's like, you don't think of good stuff, right?
  1730. 00:59:00.250 – 00:59:03.910 So I think that his legacy is living in hell, right?
  1731. 00:59:04.250 – 00:59:06.950 I don't know if these places are actual places we go,
  1732. 00:59:06.950 – 00:59:08.330 but as far as your legacy,
  1733. 00:59:08.470 – 00:59:11.170 like I wanna be a heavenly legacy
  1734. 00:59:11.170 – 00:59:12.990 where my legacy lives in heaven.
  1735. 00:59:13.150 – 00:59:15.410 Like people praise and talk good about me.
  1736. 00:59:15.490 – 00:59:16.770 Like I don't want anybody to be like,
  1737. 00:59:16.910 – 00:59:18.710 yeah, you screwed me over, you scared me, whatever.
  1738. 00:59:18.910 – 00:59:20.850 Because that's how you get a negative legacy
  1739. 00:59:20.850 – 00:59:22.430 and your name lives in hell.
  1740. 00:59:22.990 – 00:59:25.090 So like that's kind of how I view legacy
  1741. 00:59:25.090 – 00:59:27.190 is like just what you're leaving behind
  1742. 00:59:27.190 – 00:59:28.810 and what people remember you for.
  1743. 00:59:29.790 – 00:59:31.190 Okay, okay, okay.
  1744. 00:59:31.770 – 00:59:33.510 And last and final question.
  1745. 00:59:33.730 – 00:59:37.190 Where can people find you, book you, all that good stuff?
  1746. 00:59:37.450 – 00:59:40.310 Yeah, y'all can find me at Tybo Audio on all platforms.
  1747. 00:59:40.450 – 00:59:43.630 T-Y-B-O-A-U-D-I-O.
  1748. 00:59:44.470 – 00:59:45.490 And if you guys wanna connect with me,
  1749. 00:59:45.510 – 00:59:47.590 you guys can just go to UpgradeMyStudio.com
  1750. 00:59:47.590 – 00:59:49.050 or just shoot me a DM, honestly.
  1751. 00:59:49.530 – 00:59:52.050 And we can talk in there and we can get you all set up.
  1752. 00:59:52.570 – 00:59:54.910 Yes, and make sure you don't hit that typo.
  1753. 00:59:55.010 – 00:59:57.910 It's typo, not like the cardio, Billy Banks.
  1754. 00:59:58.190 – 01:00:01.590 And thank you again, this is photographer Jackson Steve.
  1755. 01:00:01.590 – 01:00:03.910 Jackson of Alienize Photos Media
  1756. 01:00:03.910 – 01:00:05.670 bringing you another episode
  1757. 01:00:05.670 – 01:00:08.050 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  1758. 01:00:08.550 – 01:00:13.110 You can follow me on social media at Alienize Photos
  1759. 01:00:13.110 – 01:00:16.570 and then AlienizePhotos.com if you wanna book,
  1760. 01:00:16.810 – 01:00:18.950 consult, all that good stuff.
  1761. 01:00:19.370 – 01:00:20.650 Thank you again, Tybo.
  1762. 01:00:20.850 – 01:00:21.290 My brother.
  1763. 01:00:21.670 – 01:00:22.230 Appreciate you.
  1764. 01:00:22.490 – 01:00:23.110 Thank you.

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25. Sell Old Material and Content

Season 1 · Episode 39

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.940 – 00:00:04.200 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome
  2. 00:00:04.920 – 00:00:08.680 back to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:09.220 – 00:00:10.500 I got about 10 minutes,
  4. 00:00:10.500 – 00:00:12.920 but something's just been on my mind.
  5. 00:00:13.560 – 00:00:16.160 Like I've been talking with my creative friends,
  6. 00:00:16.239 – 00:00:20.080 my old creative friends that used to do music, poetry,
  7. 00:00:20.540 – 00:00:24.060 a lot of painting, and they kind of transitioned as well.
  8. 00:00:25.260 – 00:00:29.950 And I was thinking, we have these books,
  9. 00:00:30.890 – 00:00:35.710 we have all this old work and albums and artwork,
  10. 00:00:36.730 – 00:00:41.010 paintings, a lot of things, you know?
  11. 00:00:43.900 – 00:00:46.000 And I was just wondering even to myself
  12. 00:00:46.000 – 00:00:49.320 that I consider myself as a retired poet,
  13. 00:00:49.920 – 00:00:53.660 a retired musician, and even like a,
  14. 00:00:53.660 – 00:00:54.920 well, I can't say a retired author
  15. 00:00:54.920 – 00:00:57.520 because I'm writing a new book, a couple new books.
  16. 00:00:57.660 – 00:01:00.700 I've always been writing, so I can't really say that,
  17. 00:01:00.700 – 00:01:04.780 but a retired poet, a retired musician,
  18. 00:01:06.400 – 00:01:10.100 I have books, poetry books, and it's like,
  19. 00:01:11.650 – 00:01:16.370 can I really sell this old book
  20. 00:01:16.370 – 00:01:20.030 even though I'm not a active performing poet?
  21. 00:01:20.350 – 00:01:23.650 Because usually, you know, you a performing poet
  22. 00:01:24.430 – 00:01:26.510 promoting your poetry book.
  23. 00:01:27.450 – 00:01:32.710 So how do I promote if I'm not active?
  24. 00:01:35.360 – 00:01:40.280 I know I have the rights who still sell it as I should,
  25. 00:01:40.900 – 00:01:45.240 and people are interested, and it's my personality,
  26. 00:01:46.500 – 00:01:50.960 my experience, my mind, my heart, my feelings, emotions,
  27. 00:01:52.240 – 00:01:56.940 all in that artwork, that music, the poetry,
  28. 00:01:57.630 – 00:02:05.180 the books, but for an old car salesman,
  29. 00:02:06.400 – 00:02:09.060 a veteran, maybe 20, 30 years
  30. 00:02:09.530 – 00:02:11.520 in the car salesman industry,
  31. 00:02:13.590 – 00:02:17.890 a great guy selling cars, making it happen,
  32. 00:02:18.210 – 00:02:20.810 wrote a book, two books.
  33. 00:02:21.590 – 00:02:25.130 Now he's a travel agent doing something else,
  34. 00:02:25.630 – 00:02:26.730 whole another industry.
  35. 00:02:27.930 – 00:02:29.530 Well, it's still traveling, I guess,
  36. 00:02:29.530 – 00:02:32.070 but different position.
  37. 00:02:33.630 – 00:02:35.930 Haven't been in a dealership in years.
  38. 00:02:37.070 – 00:02:38.710 Should he still sell that book?
  39. 00:02:39.630 – 00:02:42.050 Even though he's in a whole another industry,
  40. 00:02:42.850 – 00:02:44.690 haven't even been to a dealership in years,
  41. 00:02:45.050 – 00:02:47.710 he, you know, bought his car, and he's good.
  42. 00:02:49.130 – 00:02:51.910 But he wrote this book with this information.
  43. 00:02:53.070 – 00:02:55.250 He've done it for 20, 30 years.
  44. 00:02:55.510 – 00:02:57.910 Should he still sell that book?
  45. 00:02:58.650 – 00:03:01.930 Even though he's not active in that industry,
  46. 00:03:03.130 – 00:03:07.430 should that painter sell their old artwork?
  47. 00:03:07.810 – 00:03:08.530 Should they?
  48. 00:03:10.420 – 00:03:12.000 But like I said, they had the right,
  49. 00:03:14.580 – 00:03:20.540 but should they do something that was like timestamp,
  50. 00:03:20.540 – 00:03:23.710 like maybe a protest, and they document it?
  51. 00:03:25.100 – 00:03:26.540 Should they sell it?
  52. 00:03:28.590 – 00:03:30.890 Or is it like a time limit or something?
  53. 00:03:35.650 – 00:03:39.550 Or what about a plumber?
  54. 00:03:41.410 – 00:03:43.410 Should they teach a workshop on plumbing
  55. 00:03:43.410 – 00:03:45.670 if they haven't touched any tools
  56. 00:03:45.670 – 00:03:48.410 or did any plumbing for 20 years?
  57. 00:03:50.680 – 00:03:51.880 Something to think about.
  58. 00:03:53.320 – 00:03:56.660 But what are you doing that you can sell
  59. 00:03:58.710 – 00:04:02.510 that you could package up, put into a book,
  60. 00:04:03.550 – 00:04:09.390 put into a course, make it to a workshop or a website?
  61. 00:04:09.950 – 00:04:11.930 A workshop, an event?
  62. 00:04:15.450 – 00:04:18.029 What is something that you're doing that you did
  63. 00:04:18.610 – 00:04:20.810 and having a lot of knowledge on,
  64. 00:04:21.149 – 00:04:23.090 a lot of insight, a lot of tips
  65. 00:04:23.890 – 00:04:26.290 that a lot of people may not know
  66. 00:04:27.150 – 00:04:29.910 or someone that wants to begin in this?
  67. 00:04:30.890 – 00:04:32.210 This is your perspective.
  68. 00:04:34.270 – 00:04:35.950 This is your thoughts,
  69. 00:04:37.270 – 00:04:39.010 your facts that you accumulated,
  70. 00:04:39.410 – 00:04:41.210 your experience that you accumulated,
  71. 00:04:41.650 – 00:04:43.370 your skills that you accumulated,
  72. 00:04:43.790 – 00:04:46.930 your hard work that you compounded
  73. 00:04:46.930 – 00:04:49.090 and done over and over and over again,
  74. 00:04:49.210 – 00:04:50.950 all the repetition that you did.
  75. 00:04:53.110 – 00:04:54.110 You did it.
  76. 00:04:56.520 – 00:05:00.460 You have that right to do it.
  77. 00:05:03.320 – 00:05:06.040 No matter how long ago you did, you did it.
  78. 00:05:07.020 – 00:05:08.020 Talk about it.
  79. 00:05:09.860 – 00:05:14.420 Maybe somebody 50 years younger than you
  80. 00:05:15.520 – 00:05:17.920 will appreciate that, like wow.
  81. 00:05:18.440 – 00:05:20.700 You know they used to do this back in the like,
  82. 00:05:21.060 – 00:05:22.180 this guy did this.
  83. 00:05:23.180 – 00:05:24.020 This is genius.
  84. 00:05:25.740 – 00:05:26.900 But you never know.
  85. 00:05:27.220 – 00:05:28.680 Talk about your experience.
  86. 00:05:30.480 – 00:05:31.600 Sell that old work.
  87. 00:05:34.130 – 00:05:35.530 Sell the old frameworks,
  88. 00:05:35.670 – 00:05:37.130 what they used to do back in the day
  89. 00:05:37.130 – 00:05:38.790 before phones and internet.
  90. 00:05:40.230 – 00:05:41.330 Share some of that.
  91. 00:05:43.960 – 00:05:46.200 Things are timeless and let it be timeless.
  92. 00:05:47.760 – 00:05:50.260 But you don't have to promote it as something new.
  93. 00:05:50.860 – 00:05:55.360 If it's not, especially if you're not in the industry.
  94. 00:05:56.900 – 00:05:58.500 Keep it real, keep it transparent.
  95. 00:05:59.380 – 00:06:00.480 But people need to hear it.
  96. 00:06:00.500 – 00:06:01.760 People want to hear it.
  97. 00:06:01.860 – 00:06:02.900 I want to hear it.
  98. 00:06:02.900 – 00:06:03.880 Send it to me.
  99. 00:06:07.990 – 00:06:09.590 And sales is crucial.
  100. 00:06:12.030 – 00:06:14.930 Crucial for us entrepreneurs or creative entrepreneurs,
  101. 00:06:16.910 – 00:06:18.870 our creatives, our artists.
  102. 00:06:21.250 – 00:06:22.070 It is crucial.
  103. 00:06:22.710 – 00:06:24.370 So get into sales,
  104. 00:06:25.130 – 00:06:27.210 get into public speaking,
  105. 00:06:29.250 – 00:06:30.010 communication.
  106. 00:06:32.200 – 00:06:35.000 Like me, I wouldn't say I'm the biggest salesman.
  107. 00:06:37.690 – 00:06:39.430 I know it's something that's
  108. 00:06:41.310 – 00:06:45.930 continuously a learning journey for me.
  109. 00:06:46.830 – 00:06:48.610 But I'm more of a marketer.
  110. 00:06:50.370 – 00:06:53.250 Hence my brand Alien Eyes Photos
  111. 00:06:53.250 – 00:06:58.410 where I focus on visual media, visual marketing,
  112. 00:06:59.250 – 00:07:01.970 and also the copy of marketing.
  113. 00:07:02.090 – 00:07:03.570 So help you with your copywriting
  114. 00:07:03.570 – 00:07:05.830 and your message write.
  115. 00:07:07.070 – 00:07:09.250 Having your message match your audience.
  116. 00:07:10.430 – 00:07:11.570 But the sales,
  117. 00:07:14.750 – 00:07:17.450 should that old car salesman
  118. 00:07:18.480 – 00:07:21.310 for 20, 30 years sell that book?
  119. 00:07:23.380 – 00:07:24.380 Yes, he should.
  120. 00:07:25.220 – 00:07:29.680 Should that artist sell their own work, their own art?
  121. 00:07:30.260 – 00:07:31.380 Yes, they should.
  122. 00:07:32.160 – 00:07:37.380 Should that poet sell his book or her book
  123. 00:07:38.340 – 00:07:41.020 or they book
  124. 00:07:43.750 – 00:07:49.830 if they haven't performed in 10, 15 years,
  125. 00:07:50.770 – 00:07:52.570 haven't wrote any material,
  126. 00:07:53.270 – 00:07:55.810 any new content or anything,
  127. 00:07:56.450 – 00:07:58.190 for 10 to 15 years.
  128. 00:08:00.520 – 00:08:01.680 But what would you do?
  129. 00:08:03.880 – 00:08:08.260 Would you just let it be piled in a closet,
  130. 00:08:09.020 – 00:08:10.220 lost under the bed,
  131. 00:08:10.720 – 00:08:13.600 in the treasure chest, toy box,
  132. 00:08:14.120 – 00:08:16.300 thrown away in the garbage, in the landfill,
  133. 00:08:18.620 – 00:08:22.020 but sell it.
  134. 00:08:22.400 – 00:08:23.620 Generate that revenue.
  135. 00:08:24.620 – 00:08:27.940 Fund your growth and your new endeavors, you know?
  136. 00:08:30.180 – 00:08:34.539 Continue to build that business skill of selling.
  137. 00:08:35.840 – 00:08:38.539 Understand the market, customers.
  138. 00:08:40.220 – 00:08:41.380 Use it as practice.
  139. 00:08:43.059 – 00:08:44.880 If you in the tech industry now,
  140. 00:08:44.900 – 00:08:46.640 but you have this old,
  141. 00:08:47.180 – 00:08:49.520 you know, collectibles you wanna sell,
  142. 00:08:50.340 – 00:08:51.620 practice selling the collectibles
  143. 00:08:51.620 – 00:08:54.800 so when you sell this tech, this new software,
  144. 00:08:55.720 – 00:08:57.040 it's easy for you.
  145. 00:08:59.330 – 00:09:00.590 But that's all I wanna say.
  146. 00:09:01.170 – 00:09:02.850 I gotta pick up my daughter.
  147. 00:09:03.130 – 00:09:04.930 So it's been a great one.
  148. 00:09:04.930 – 00:09:07.350 I appreciate y'all always tuning in,
  149. 00:09:07.350 – 00:09:10.290 listening and sharing and re-listening.
  150. 00:09:11.310 – 00:09:13.310 These are like my master classes
  151. 00:09:13.310 – 00:09:15.110 for creative entrepreneurs.
  152. 00:09:16.090 – 00:09:18.050 I appreciate y'all feedback.
  153. 00:09:18.250 – 00:09:20.070 Always tuning in,
  154. 00:09:20.170 – 00:09:22.090 telling me what episodes y'all like
  155. 00:09:22.090 – 00:09:23.790 and what episodes y'all wanna hear.
  156. 00:09:24.490 – 00:09:26.090 I'm listening, I'm listening.
  157. 00:09:26.170 – 00:09:27.410 I'm glad you are listening.
  158. 00:09:27.990 – 00:09:29.290 Thank you for tuning in
  159. 00:09:29.290 – 00:09:31.910 to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  160. 00:09:32.550 – 00:09:34.810 And I am photographer Jackson,
  161. 00:09:35.210 – 00:09:38.590 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  162. 00:09:39.710 – 00:09:42.290 And if you need visual media, event photography,
  163. 00:09:42.430 – 00:09:45.930 video production, podcast production or tips,
  164. 00:09:46.650 – 00:09:49.210 or just, you know, you wanna pick my brain,
  165. 00:09:50.210 – 00:09:55.050 definitely contact me at alieneyesphotos.com.
  166. 00:09:57.330 – 00:09:59.090 Alieneyesphotos.com.
  167. 00:10:00.130 – 00:10:03.670 And also follow me at Alien Eyes Photos.
  168. 00:10:04.270 – 00:10:07.910 Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S.
  169. 00:10:09.470 – 00:10:12.610 Yeah, peace.

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26. Terrance TDames Productions Music Consistency

Season 2 · Episode 15

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:02.580 – 00:00:09.960 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos industry talk with your host
  2. 00:00:09.960 – 00:00:15.940 photographer Jackson Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media bringing you
  3. 00:00:15.940 – 00:00:22.480 another episode with a special guest my old producer long time producer when I
  4. 00:00:22.480 – 00:00:27.120 used to do music see bringing that music back around in my origins the
  5. 00:00:28.060 – 00:00:34.460 now this is gonna be a testimony to that my good friend my brother T Dames how
  6. 00:00:34.460 – 00:00:39.760 you feeling yo yo yo I'm good I'm good man I'm blessed to be alive man blessed
  7. 00:00:39.760 – 00:00:46.340 to be here man how you doing man? I'm lovely I'm fired up just came back
  8. 00:00:46.340 – 00:00:51.640 from filming another podcast that I'm director and producer for so and now
  9. 00:00:51.640 – 00:00:55.480 we here I know it's late so I appreciate you for accommodating me
  10. 00:00:55.480 – 00:01:02.760 I'm still being up to this so I'm a night out still man yes yes oh nah never
  11. 00:01:02.760 – 00:01:09.620 forget yeah I mean speak about oh nine that brings me back to almost 20 years
  12. 00:01:09.620 – 00:01:14.280 but just to say 20 years you've been producing about like 20 years right 20
  13. 00:01:14.280 – 00:01:21.180 plus years for real yeah it's ongoing since about 2005 got introduced to that
  14. 00:01:21.180 – 00:01:27.480 FL studio making them homeroom beats in Collingwood for the audience I don't
  15. 00:01:27.480 – 00:01:32.680 know FL what's FL? FL studio one of the most popular dogs out here to create
  16. 00:01:32.680 – 00:01:38.800 music. Oh Fruity Loops. Yes sir Fruity Loops is top dog when it
  17. 00:01:38.800 – 00:01:43.540 comes to making quick beats. Have you ever used something outside of Fruity
  18. 00:01:43.540 – 00:01:49.320 Loops? Yeah I use studio one I use Reeze and I used to use that a lot
  19. 00:01:49.320 – 00:01:53.680 after Fruity Loops and then I went right back to Fruity Loops because my workflow
  20. 00:01:53.680 – 00:01:59.600 was all messed up I tried to keep up with Reeze but I had to go right back to
  21. 00:01:59.600 – 00:02:06.840 FL and kept it going. So what about for a beginner what program would you
  22. 00:02:06.840 – 00:02:12.020 recommend? FL for sure because everybody liked to click it in so
  23. 00:02:12.020 – 00:02:15.220 you can actually click in what you hear if you don't have that luxury of
  24. 00:02:15.220 – 00:02:20.000 having a mini keyboard around you just click all the notes in and it's
  25. 00:02:20.000 – 00:02:25.600 easy and copy paste and move stuff around some other ones is like that too
  26. 00:02:25.600 – 00:02:30.540 but it seemed like it's quicker on FL maybe because I've been using it maybe I
  27. 00:02:30.540 – 00:02:37.880 got some type of favoritism for it. You need a Fruity Loops partnership at this
  28. 00:02:37.880 – 00:02:42.340 rate. I know. Hey we're gonna talk about it we're gonna make it
  29. 00:02:42.340 – 00:02:47.120 happen that's a must. Like even the type of things I focus on too
  30. 00:02:47.120 – 00:02:55.120 like brand partnerships stuff like that so yeah. Oh yeah that'd be a good book. But uh what's
  31. 00:02:55.120 – 00:03:00.660 what's like the I don't want to say a favorite because I know I know that's
  32. 00:03:00.660 – 00:03:03.840 kind of subjective but like some of your favorite instrumentals that you
  33. 00:03:03.840 – 00:03:08.620 created it could be something you release or you know something that you
  34. 00:03:08.620 – 00:03:14.100 haven't released. A couple of beats I did for PB Trump was one of my
  35. 00:03:14.100 – 00:03:20.220 favorites both of my favorites I should say and then the one I gave you back
  36. 00:03:20.220 – 00:03:24.620 against the wall that's still one of my favorites. Man that was one of my favorites. It's so
  37. 00:03:24.620 – 00:03:31.820 unique like I don't know how it could be. Will Weston and he collab with me. Yes sir. Yeah. I don't know how I created that I
  38. 00:03:31.820 – 00:03:37.200 created that like four in the morning. I felt pain in that like a story of
  39. 00:03:37.200 – 00:03:50.120 pain and like man that was organic like it was just man. It sounded like nobody else. That's yeah. And it's another one. I got some tucked away. I like
  40. 00:03:50.120 – 00:03:56.500 Fliz's uh I did actually a few of Fliz he an artist that's local to as
  41. 00:03:56.500 – 00:04:01.580 well. I did some unique beats for him and he he did his thing on them.
  42. 00:04:02.120 – 00:04:09.280 Shout out to you Fliz. We're gonna play and we're gonna have maybe have a behind the
  43. 00:04:09.280 – 00:04:17.980 scenes session see what I could work out with the man behind the scenes. Yes sir. But yeah I definitely could see you teaching like classes
  44. 00:04:17.980 – 00:04:29.480 courses or even doing like tutorials basic tutorials and monetizing it. Having a site monetizing it. Yeah I might one day. I still be feeling like I'm
  45. 00:04:29.480 – 00:04:38.140 learning. I mean but from someone I never even opened a program. Yeah. I'd even maybe they
  46. 00:04:38.140 – 00:04:48.140 aspire to be a producer but I don't even know how to get started. You know like I like my realm is like early stage creative entrepreneurs. Like that's my
  47. 00:04:48.140 – 00:05:01.180 focus and that's who I coach as well. So yeah because I definitely started from just a compact computer and a keyboard with a keyboard on it.
  48. 00:05:01.180 – 00:05:13.500 Shout out to Six Man because he bought that from me. Six Man aka Thomas. He bought that from me and I was like I ain't never seen nothing like this in my life. I was making beats on the piano under the keyboard. It's crazy.
  49. 00:05:14.500 – 00:05:30.120 Yeah I mean like I said somebody that never even opened a program like you got 20 years of experience. You could teach them how to even start and then they need to figure out something else along the way. I'm sure you got that recipe as well.
  50. 00:05:30.120 – 00:05:38.480 Yeah I can do that. 20 years. That's a whole Bible. It's almost a quarter of a century. It's crazy.
  51. 00:05:40.800 – 00:05:46.640 Time flying. Somebody spun the world. They spun around like basketball on the tip of your finger.
  52. 00:05:47.360 – 00:05:53.960 Just kept spinning that boy. Yeah that's so how you get started in production. I got started so
  53. 00:05:53.960 – 00:06:00.020 I was always into tech. So I was always using the computers as much as I could in the class.
  54. 00:06:00.600 – 00:06:10.780 Because my computer was it was all right. The home one. Yeah let me check these deals out. And then
  55. 00:06:12.980 – 00:06:19.840 so I was in math class and I was messing around with stuff and then my boy was like
  56. 00:06:20.420 – 00:06:24.800 shot a P watch. He was like hey man since you mess with this computer stuff man
  57. 00:06:25.400 – 00:06:31.100 I need you to make me some beats and I'll pay you for it. I'm like shoot all right I'll learn it real quick.
  58. 00:06:31.580 – 00:06:39.120 So you came out the gate monetize. Yeah I did. And I ain't even know how to export beats right.
  59. 00:06:39.560 – 00:06:44.940 I was just letting it record and then looping it myself. It's just crazy. I think I started
  60. 00:06:44.940 – 00:06:53.300 like that when I was dabbling into producing. I was doing stuff. I thought I was like alright
  61. 00:06:53.300 – 00:06:58.480 sound good to me but I know public probably ain't gonna like this. I need you to cook.
  62. 00:06:58.480 – 00:07:06.600 Oh yeah. Yes sir. That's what's up. That's kind of like some of your first like the
  63. 00:07:06.600 – 00:07:15.960 Wads brothers man. Yeah UTC. Some of the early some of the early artists. Yes sir.
  64. 00:07:16.680 – 00:07:24.620 T Shane, D Wads, P Wads and Vette. Yeah they had a group called UTC. That's for 156 in
  65. 00:07:24.620 – 00:07:29.700 Clare. So they dropped us some heat around that time on the mixtape. I'll tell you what
  66. 00:07:29.700 – 00:07:34.800 I got their CD upstairs too and the quality was pretty good. They used to mess with
  67. 00:07:35.740 – 00:07:42.940 uh with a bassline record. Shout out bassline. Yeah it's classic man. It is all one big you
  68. 00:07:42.940 – 00:07:49.980 know family man. Some were closer some were distant but we all you know from the Collinwood
  69. 00:07:49.980 – 00:07:55.040 area. Shout out to the railroaders. Collinwood railroad. That's history. I don't think it's
  70. 00:07:55.040 – 00:08:01.780 even over. That's crazy right. Yeah and we about to do the last tour on 22nd or 23rd so
  71. 00:08:01.780 – 00:08:10.120 man they closing up shop. It's crazy. Right that's man. Time is flying by. Yeah. Like
  72. 00:08:10.120 – 00:08:14.720 literally history like and that's that's the beauty of what I do. I mean not only just
  73. 00:08:16.420 – 00:08:23.500 photography like my childhood house got you know torn down. If I had a photo of that
  74. 00:08:23.500 – 00:08:27.640 now I can't prove you know how they be on MTV Cribs and like oh this is my old house.
  75. 00:08:28.100 – 00:08:32.500 I can only say it's a plot of land. There's open space right here. That used to be my
  76. 00:08:32.500 – 00:08:36.460 that's crazy. I don't have no picture or no visual that are people you know with their
  77. 00:08:36.460 – 00:08:41.940 grandparents they don't have pictures. So it's like me as a photographer I'm a historian.
  78. 00:08:41.940 – 00:08:47.700 I'm from freezing time and really capturing moments that's important as you know impactful.
  79. 00:08:48.620 – 00:08:53.820 Yeah that's true. And it's crazy because my childhood house is knocked down too.
  80. 00:08:53.820 – 00:08:58.540 It's crazy. I was there for years and so we was holding it down on the front yard.
  81. 00:08:58.600 – 00:09:07.560 Now it's a plot of land. Yeah right up the street up. Yeah so it's crazy like just seeing
  82. 00:09:07.560 – 00:09:13.320 the importance of it like the documentation alone like even with this podcast is documenting
  83. 00:09:13.320 – 00:09:19.100 my journey especially when I do solo episodes it's like almost like master classes like
  84. 00:09:19.760 – 00:09:24.760 you know somebody you want to invite me on the stage already have you know multiple episodes on
  85. 00:09:24.760 – 00:09:28.980 it so I can pull from this and have it 80 percent of the way done and I just tailor
  86. 00:09:28.980 – 00:09:34.900 it to the event or the speech. Yeah true. Yeah I try to keep photos and stuff too.
  87. 00:09:34.900 – 00:09:41.600 I know it's how significant it is. I take random photos people be forgetting to take photos.
  88. 00:09:42.000 – 00:09:45.520 They take videos of certain situations in front of them but forget to take a photo
  89. 00:09:45.520 – 00:09:50.040 or video of themselves in that moment you know. Right. We don't have Polaroids like that
  90. 00:09:50.040 – 00:09:54.860 no more. Like well they got it as an option but people don't even remember to do that no
  91. 00:09:54.860 – 00:10:01.120 more. We had at least you know paper documentation of our family tree and situations
  92. 00:10:01.120 – 00:10:06.260 that was going on and that's all everybody's thinking all digital but that can be gone in a
  93. 00:10:06.260 – 00:10:14.020 second. Yeah that's true. That's very true. It'll be harder to at least get rid of photo albums
  94. 00:10:14.020 – 00:10:19.980 then you know them digital albums so people need to tap into that if everybody can remember
  95. 00:10:19.980 – 00:10:24.380 hey you can send your digital photos to Walgreens like we used to back in the day.
  96. 00:10:24.660 – 00:10:29.780 You can just send it over the waves now and get it printed out. Yeah. Start opening up your
  97. 00:10:29.780 – 00:10:35.140 creativity and getting them books together and putting those photos in there capturing
  98. 00:10:35.140 – 00:10:42.600 memories man and make sure you write on the back of them too. Write the dates. Right yeah
  99. 00:10:42.600 – 00:10:48.340 that's important. It's almost like a title like man it's the meta the metadata.
  100. 00:10:49.180 – 00:10:57.050 Yeah man put your name in all that. That's important yeah. I mean I like a lot of old
  101. 00:10:57.050 – 00:11:05.500 school methods for real. Like you just think about a lot of principles like just Thomas.
  102. 00:11:05.500 – 00:11:15.540 Yes sir. Definitely is. That's cool. So who are some of the producers you learned from
  103. 00:11:15.540 – 00:11:20.560 as you were just beginning and started now as you was trying to tinker with the computer and
  104. 00:11:21.480 – 00:11:30.760 figure the programs out? So in the beginning I used to cook up beats in homeroom and then
  105. 00:11:30.760 – 00:11:36.360 had somebody named Jet Lee. He made a lot of stuff for Boss Bird and local artists around
  106. 00:11:36.360 – 00:11:45.100 that time and we was tapping into our own sound so we was inspired heavily by Texas rappers.
  107. 00:11:45.900 – 00:11:51.720 So I don't know if people know that but Cleveland music is kind of rooted in Texas
  108. 00:11:51.720 – 00:12:00.640 rap for real. Cap rap is literally the brother of Texas rap. So I learned I was learning
  109. 00:12:00.640 – 00:12:08.440 how to make certain sounds sound like some Texas beats as well. I needed a hit like that but my
  110. 00:12:08.440 – 00:12:13.520 ears was like I was trying to train my ears so I was fresh. I had fresh ears. I had to figure
  111. 00:12:13.520 – 00:12:18.760 out how to do that. So how did you train your ear? So I trained my just trained my ear with
  112. 00:12:18.760 – 00:12:24.540 experience basically. Experience and repetition. Yeah so that's good because I got this one quote
  113. 00:12:24.540 – 00:12:30.980 rep replaced out. That's something if anybody follow creative frequency on a creative frequency
  114. 00:12:30.980 – 00:12:35.880 rest replaced out like showing the word keep doing the words the more you do it
  115. 00:12:35.880 – 00:12:44.200 you know the more consistent you be. Yeah true true. Yep and then as time progressed
  116. 00:12:44.200 – 00:12:49.180 and I got better the person that really captured me was Zaytoven Sound because I
  117. 00:12:49.180 – 00:12:54.590 ain't never heard no beats that sound like that at that time. I definitely was trying
  118. 00:12:54.590 – 00:12:59.110 to make some of my beats sound like he is. Oh yeah he was doing that too man yeah.
  119. 00:13:01.190 – 00:13:06.450 I finally stepped back and I was like nah I need to chill because I still have my own sound too
  120. 00:13:06.450 – 00:13:14.790 though. I was just making stuff but I wanted to replicate some Zaytoven beats. Lex Luger's
  121. 00:13:14.790 – 00:13:21.870 beats and stuff like that. Maybe Metro because Metro was around too back in the day and I
  122. 00:13:21.870 – 00:13:28.170 was listening so I was tapped into a lot of Atlantis music scene mixtapes and stuff like that
  123. 00:13:28.170 – 00:13:33.650 but every time that I learned how to make a beat from somebody else creating beats and stuff
  124. 00:13:33.650 – 00:13:41.150 like that they do on YouTube too. I basically mimic they beat make my own beats and create
  125. 00:13:41.150 – 00:13:49.270 my own style. So I mean it's gonna be like a segue to my question after this one but
  126. 00:13:50.140 – 00:14:00.680 how would you describe your your style your production style? My style let's see
  127. 00:14:02.160 – 00:14:11.560 my style is like it's a mix of Midwest and a mix of the south like ATL Tennessee style
  128. 00:14:12.360 – 00:14:18.790 and I'm starting to sprinkle a little bit of the west coast into it as well
  129. 00:14:19.770 – 00:14:28.450 and get more like more melodies basically now more bass lines that stand out because
  130. 00:14:28.450 – 00:14:35.990 everybody using the same ATL weights and stuff like that. I don't want to sound the same so
  131. 00:14:35.990 – 00:14:42.870 be in the pack. That's crazy that's uh like a quote I was uh saying earlier you know if
  132. 00:14:42.870 – 00:14:48.490 you follow the if you follow the crowd you will never get ahead. Yeah that's true
  133. 00:14:49.590 – 00:14:54.290 yeah and the only thing I hate about the music game right now or production game I should say
  134. 00:14:54.710 – 00:14:58.170 is everybody is looking for tight beats that sound like somebody else's
  135. 00:15:00.450 – 00:15:06.450 just use this beat I'm gonna give you it's a T-Dance beat you sound good on it you'll go
  136. 00:15:06.450 – 00:15:14.850 good on here trust the process. So with that being said I'd like to ask creatives this question
  137. 00:15:16.930 – 00:15:27.120 how would you describe your creativity if it was a weather forecast? I'd do one better
  138. 00:15:28.140 – 00:15:41.500 it's like a summer day in the late 90s. That was a good time okay this you can smell it you
  139. 00:15:41.500 – 00:15:48.840 wake up in the morning get that morning dew in your nose like it's early I feel like I slept
  140. 00:15:48.840 – 00:15:57.100 good yeah yeah so it's that tight that refresh me when you wake up yes sir that's what clear
  141. 00:15:57.100 – 00:16:05.280 weather okay I don't think I ever heard that one before 73 degrees that's perfect yeah that's
  142. 00:16:05.280 – 00:16:09.600 yeah got the window cracked you feel that little breeze like oh that feels good and
  143. 00:16:09.600 – 00:16:18.640 stop it but I don't still feel good take it take it okay that's what's up yes sir so I want to
  144. 00:16:18.640 – 00:16:24.760 kind of change change directions I know you were into to tech as well man I'm thinking about
  145. 00:16:24.760 – 00:16:31.560 like the music industry you got to have those connections those circuits those systems just
  146. 00:16:31.560 – 00:16:36.480 like you know a computer when you're building a computer and it's the same in business and
  147. 00:16:36.480 – 00:16:41.320 music industry you got to have those same connections and circuits and systems in place
  148. 00:16:41.920 – 00:16:48.540 so what type of systems you have in place for your production business right now
  149. 00:16:49.160 – 00:16:56.220 the foundation is registering your name please register your production let's go back to the
  150. 00:16:56.220 – 00:17:00.840 foundations give us let's give uh some new artists some checklists even new producers
  151. 00:17:00.840 – 00:17:07.720 I'm still learning as I go but I know for sure your checklist should be at least register your
  152. 00:17:07.720 – 00:17:15.560 name if you want to do business register as a dba you're doing business as so you can be a
  153. 00:17:15.560 – 00:17:23.380 sole prop register your sole prop get an ein pay the extra fee to do your dba as your producer
  154. 00:17:23.380 – 00:17:29.740 name so you can get paid in that and open up a business account open up some type of business
  155. 00:17:29.740 – 00:17:34.780 account uh it's a free one I forgot the name of it off the top of my dome because I just kind of
  156. 00:17:34.780 – 00:17:40.260 got it recently but uh you tap into that you're paying into that now you got a check that got
  157. 00:17:40.260 – 00:17:46.980 your name on there now these big companies can actually pay you as a company now you're good
  158. 00:17:46.980 – 00:17:54.460 on that part now you need to go ahead and get yourself out here now it's 2026 so everybody
  159. 00:17:54.460 – 00:18:01.260 off line like all it take is one beat and it can be the most random but you think it's trash
  160. 00:18:01.260 – 00:18:08.560 that boy gonna go viral as soon as like the right ears pick it up and if people use it a
  161. 00:18:10.440 – 00:18:17.180 that depends though you drop it up on there that's free or at least so yeah you taking
  162. 00:18:17.180 – 00:18:22.940 a risk with that but um you should do that you should have a place where you can get your
  163. 00:18:22.940 – 00:18:30.070 bought at like beat stars what is the error I forgot the name of the other one but I guess
  164. 00:18:30.070 – 00:18:36.390 it's not air table I think is it I can't remember the name of it it's air something I know that
  165. 00:18:36.390 – 00:18:42.250 air bit that's what it's called yeah yeah yeah and um if you want to do it on your own just
  166. 00:18:42.250 – 00:18:46.730 buy the premium membership from beat stars and upload your stuff there but you have to have
  167. 00:18:46.730 – 00:18:50.930 a logo in place for that you know get your logo together too as well for your brand and
  168. 00:18:51.570 – 00:18:57.830 because they don't know your your name from that logo as well the logo gotta be
  169. 00:18:57.830 – 00:19:01.750 it gotta be good a good presentation of you man yes sir
  170. 00:19:03.790 – 00:19:08.050 and deal with certain artists I want to say honestly blow up with artists that you mess
  171. 00:19:08.050 – 00:19:11.770 with locally or something like that find somebody that's dope and put your effort
  172. 00:19:11.770 – 00:19:16.370 behind them y'all do your split sheets please do your split sheets in the background what's
  173. 00:19:16.370 – 00:19:24.010 a split sheet for the new artists split sheet is you getting your proper payments and your back
  174. 00:19:24.010 – 00:19:30.450 end so artists gets a percentage producer gets a percentage you can also be a writer
  175. 00:19:30.450 – 00:19:39.610 as producer as well so get all that stuff tapped in you good I want to say smooth selling
  176. 00:19:39.610 – 00:19:45.230 it's gonna be a lot to learn read your contracts too contracts ain't any law you read
  177. 00:19:45.230 – 00:19:50.910 contract to figure out what should be paid or what should be done in order for you to get
  178. 00:19:50.910 – 00:20:01.710 these residuals and signing with these companies and getting caught up in a 360 deal which a lot
  179. 00:20:01.710 – 00:20:09.250 of early artists that we kind of look up to in our younger days have but what's uh
  180. 00:20:09.250 – 00:20:16.710 do you see any benefits in a 360 deal not really short-term benefits yeah they
  181. 00:20:16.710 – 00:20:22.210 blow you up and everything they put everything behind you right after that oh we're gonna need
  182. 00:20:22.210 – 00:20:28.590 that money back we had to recoup the money back that we signed you with oh you had a fee
  183. 00:20:28.590 – 00:20:34.390 for all the travel that you had to do oh you had a fee for engineering oh forgot about the
  184. 00:20:34.390 – 00:20:39.390 fee for the advertisements we did oh we put some people behind the advertisements as well
  185. 00:20:39.390 – 00:20:45.350 so you gotta pay them too oh you bought in the hole oh hold on you owe us about four
  186. 00:20:45.350 – 00:20:51.570 albums don't you oh wait wait a minute no no not four more albums we own your name so
  187. 00:20:51.570 – 00:20:57.870 you with us forever just read it please yeah and that's going back to registering yourself
  188. 00:20:57.870 – 00:21:05.290 like registering your name having ownership uh just just thinking about as an independent
  189. 00:21:05.290 – 00:21:14.160 artist like how can you get ahead and i know distribution is one thing marketing is another
  190. 00:21:14.160 – 00:21:18.660 investing in yourself is another because like if you don't invest it invest in yourself and put
  191. 00:21:18.660 – 00:21:24.240 in that time you know labels or even other artists and producers ain't gonna want to work
  192. 00:21:24.240 – 00:21:30.740 with you so definitely invest in yourself invest in your craft learn your craft study your craft
  193. 00:21:30.740 – 00:21:36.500 practice your craft like even if you sing good keep keep practicing working on different
  194. 00:21:36.500 – 00:21:42.220 techniques and your voice control it's always ways to improve and you know if you were a
  195. 00:21:42.220 – 00:21:47.440 songwriter i had different type of you know melodies and song structures like challenge
  196. 00:21:47.440 – 00:21:53.120 yourself broaden yourself yeah sure and go ahead and press some keyboard keys man you
  197. 00:21:53.120 – 00:21:59.770 gotta click in everything you gotta cop loops from everything either and please invest in
  198. 00:21:59.770 – 00:22:06.890 yourself yeah what's the last thing you invested in computer equipment all this computer
  199. 00:22:07.450 – 00:22:15.090 something got invested in you gotta keep it running it uh software as well matter of fact
  200. 00:22:15.090 – 00:22:24.370 had to buy some vsts also let's see what else did i buy what about what about ram because i
  201. 00:22:24.370 – 00:22:28.450 think a lot of people are jumping into it like you said that old computer like what's
  202. 00:22:28.450 – 00:22:34.470 what's like the basic ram specs a new producer should have 16 gigabytes of ram at least
  203. 00:22:36.790 – 00:22:43.290 you should at least have an ssd in your computer 512 gigabyte of that and some type of a decent
  204. 00:22:43.290 – 00:22:49.310 processor it can be an i3 as long as it ain't from 20 years ago you should be okay and
  205. 00:22:51.070 – 00:22:55.630 a decent screen maybe on the laptop if you got a laptop please have a decent screen them
  206. 00:22:55.630 – 00:23:01.830 720p screens be leaving your vsts all toe up you can't see the corner to close it out
  207. 00:23:01.830 – 00:23:10.630 oh man yeah so i see that a lot yeah definitely 16 gigs is your minimum
  208. 00:23:11.330 – 00:23:17.590 i prefer 32 that's the optimal you should be set once you go higher than that oh you must
  209. 00:23:17.590 – 00:23:33.520 got 30 000 vsts in your stuff you must be a master mixer or something like that what kind
  210. 00:23:33.520 – 00:23:40.160 of projects you working on at the moment i'm working with timeless to mc this is the first
  211. 00:23:40.740 – 00:23:46.860 me even speaking on this by the way but we cooking up something and my nephew young zay
  212. 00:23:47.560 – 00:23:52.040 i'm cooking up something with him and it's the first time i spoke with that too
  213. 00:23:55.760 – 00:24:00.620 shout out to my nephew man it's a beauty to see you man you've been cooking
  214. 00:24:01.240 – 00:24:09.680 and we go cook some more oh yeah what about uh any collaborations you may see
  215. 00:24:10.400 – 00:24:19.300 in the future whether that's another producer or artist a brand company you might see me
  216. 00:24:19.300 – 00:24:25.540 collabing with 1990 now no you're gonna see me collabing with him for real okay that's my boy
  217. 00:24:25.540 – 00:24:31.220 we got something cooking i know he cooking up something but whenever he need me i'm ready to
  218. 00:24:32.020 – 00:24:39.740 um collab a mooc on the beat pretty sure that'll be very soon and also the work heads
  219. 00:24:40.680 – 00:24:47.760 we ain't really been saying too much lately but yeah we're gonna pop out if i pop out anyway
  220. 00:24:47.760 – 00:24:53.860 it's still work heads regardless and shout out the pack house studios too as well
  221. 00:24:57.030 – 00:25:04.330 how should how should a new artist or i won't even say new artists is the new or just the
  222. 00:25:04.330 – 00:25:11.210 work with you how should they approach you um if you're approaching me you fresh face
  223. 00:25:11.210 – 00:25:19.020 don't expect to get nothing for free because that's just very unprofessional i didn't bump
  224. 00:25:19.020 – 00:25:25.960 into too many people who would be like yeah we can do this blah blah blah fresh face take one
  225. 00:25:25.960 – 00:25:31.140 two three beats don't do nothing with it just sit on them maybe drop one song with it
  226. 00:25:31.820 – 00:25:37.460 ain't do it no promo no nothing like bro that was kind of pointless even made me waste the beat
  227. 00:25:37.460 – 00:25:43.420 you uploaded it then uh tagged it now now i can't use the beat with somebody else because you go
  228. 00:25:43.420 – 00:25:49.380 copyright claim it i don't even want to deal with that just approach with your business
  229. 00:25:49.380 – 00:25:56.740 mind have a plan drop a couple hours we'll see what happens after that yeah
  230. 00:25:57.300 – 00:26:01.980 do you build plans like they say i don't have one but i don't want to create
  231. 00:26:02.740 – 00:26:12.660 i don't necessarily build plans myself because i don't really know 1000% what to do i do and
  232. 00:26:12.660 – 00:26:17.540 don't at the same time uh we might have to put something together then okay yeah we might
  233. 00:26:17.540 – 00:26:25.140 because you know i understand both sides like kind of all sides so yeah yeah yeah most definitely
  234. 00:26:26.870 – 00:26:35.070 for like helping my new creators and artists like you know that's that's where i came from
  235. 00:26:35.570 – 00:26:43.170 yeah before it all just man yeah yes sir being creative seeing creativity in all things
  236. 00:26:43.170 – 00:26:47.330 yeah that's how we uh stay alive and keep flowing and keep going
  237. 00:26:48.530 – 00:26:55.290 yeah i would say what's the last uh couple books you read actually i don't read too many
  238. 00:26:55.290 – 00:27:00.250 books at all honestly i usually just read online there's articles and stuff like that but my
  239. 00:27:00.250 – 00:27:07.790 latest book i've actually read is about music business but i only read a little bit of it i
  240. 00:27:07.790 – 00:27:14.550 got the book over here in kona but uh i need to crack it open again because i only skim
  241. 00:27:14.550 – 00:27:19.590 through like beginning of it to try to figure out some stuff but yeah i gotta read that
  242. 00:27:19.590 – 00:27:24.830 and that's just part one of two books so i'm gonna get the other book too
  243. 00:27:24.830 – 00:27:29.800 uh oh so i mean the next time you hop on you're gonna be have read both
  244. 00:27:32.330 – 00:27:50.820 that's that's the challenge yeah i'll say one of the um last books i've read was uh
  245. 00:27:51.620 – 00:27:54.020 dollar million dollar money models
  246. 00:27:55.780 – 00:28:01.960 that's how i'm interested yeah breaking down the different uh money models and uh different
  247. 00:28:01.960 – 00:28:09.410 promotion offers ads things like that so so it's a it's a great book and it's like oh
  248. 00:28:09.880 – 00:28:15.400 this car salesman using this one on me oh okay i see what you're doing here you gotta see me
  249. 00:28:15.400 – 00:28:23.160 oh yeah i love it man like yeah i don't like his personal content i can't i'm not a fan of these
  250. 00:28:23.160 – 00:28:30.960 other people that i enjoy more than um if i'm listening to a video but like his his his
  251. 00:28:31.600 – 00:28:38.040 information is always on point and delivery like i would even watch live him breaking the
  252. 00:28:38.040 – 00:28:45.780 guinness world record of uh of it was a book salesman within 24 hours
  253. 00:28:45.780 – 00:28:53.040 and then he broke it for uh the business uh sector so like i'm like yeah seeing records
  254. 00:28:53.040 – 00:28:57.840 being broke live to guinness world records he kind of planned this for planned this and
  255. 00:28:57.840 – 00:29:04.400 like invited them on you know to keep tallying record like okay he did that and it was like
  256. 00:29:05.080 – 00:29:09.020 like 28 hours that boy cooking
  257. 00:29:11.340 – 00:29:19.100 that's crazy and how he was doing it is like having mainly corporations buy like bundles of
  258. 00:29:19.100 – 00:29:26.580 books so if you get 250 books you also get this so you know add on stacks perks and stuff
  259. 00:29:26.580 – 00:29:32.180 like that bonuses yeah that's dope yeah that's a good way to like collecting collectors you
  260. 00:29:32.180 – 00:29:39.180 one book is we'll say 30 but you know 30 times 100 you know with a slight discount i'm sure
  261. 00:29:39.180 – 00:29:46.940 it's compounding like man it's always open to my mind love watching other creatives and other
  262. 00:29:46.940 – 00:29:53.280 business owners and how they kind of run and hence at the podcast the industry talk like
  263. 00:29:54.120 – 00:29:58.640 just having a conversation with different people from different industries and how we
  264. 00:29:58.640 – 00:30:04.040 all learn from the you know together and you know i never even thought about
  265. 00:30:04.040 – 00:30:10.860 oh if i sell this water in my industry that's four times the amount like hence at a store
  266. 00:30:13.400 – 00:30:19.660 is quadruple at an airport you know it's positioning it's like i never thought about
  267. 00:30:19.660 – 00:30:26.540 positioning my business this way or positioning my brand this way let me try that so you know
  268. 00:30:26.540 – 00:30:32.580 love these uh different conversations and like i said it's all about that that network and all
  269. 00:30:32.580 – 00:30:38.180 those connections and the circuits and the systems and once you have a system in place
  270. 00:30:38.180 – 00:30:45.080 when you're in business everything flow yeah like even even the podcast is doing multiple
  271. 00:30:45.080 – 00:30:54.560 things for me like the podcast is my biggest marketer for my business alienize photos like
  272. 00:30:54.560 – 00:31:01.440 my people type it in you know for the podcast oh my business pop up you know i help creative
  273. 00:31:01.440 – 00:31:09.880 entrepreneurs gain visibility through visual media and also podcasting it seem like we don't stop
  274. 00:31:09.880 – 00:31:15.840 learning huh hey never that's that's that's the goals like if you know it all in life
  275. 00:31:15.840 – 00:31:21.060 like then what is life true you know you start you know it all you know it all like
  276. 00:31:21.060 – 00:31:27.000 is there to learn or what is there to do or how if you're not growing you know i don't like
  277. 00:31:27.000 – 00:31:39.240 using the d word but your d i e i n g d y i n g so it's about always you know growing and like
  278. 00:31:39.240 – 00:31:46.140 i said you may be a great singer but you know challenge yourself you got to grow always
  279. 00:31:46.140 – 00:31:51.880 improve you gotta hold it for 20 seconds oh hold it for 21 seconds hold it for 30
  280. 00:31:51.880 – 00:31:59.040 always challenge yourself improve yourself always like following things that's uh on a forward
  281. 00:31:59.040 – 00:32:05.500 and upward progression like if it's going up or if it's moving forward you know i can get
  282. 00:32:05.500 – 00:32:16.450 down with that like that positivity that positive emotion how do how do you see music nowadays i
  283. 00:32:16.450 – 00:32:23.190 like when we was growing up we had some good music good cuts and like i felt like it it
  284. 00:32:23.190 – 00:32:28.990 changed drastically and i used to be in the industry and you know i saw some things and
  285. 00:32:28.990 – 00:32:35.510 took some steps back as well but it was like man i see where it's going do i even fit in this
  286. 00:32:35.510 – 00:32:42.670 but also i did a experience experiment with my last uh well it wasn't a full album was
  287. 00:32:42.670 – 00:32:51.450 ep and just just testing it like i did a bunch of hooks and bridges versus you know traditional
  288. 00:32:51.450 – 00:32:57.270 verses and i made the verses longer than only one but like just testing testing the waters
  289. 00:32:57.270 – 00:33:03.510 having my own creative style just like throwing paint paint on the canvas and making it look
  290. 00:33:03.510 – 00:33:09.170 beautiful like i just really tried that like i'm about to break the untraditional way or like oh
  291. 00:33:09.170 – 00:33:14.850 verse chorus but like you know no i'm doing it my way painting a story my own way versus
  292. 00:33:14.850 – 00:33:21.470 how you know we we used to hearing the structure how the radio wants you to structure
  293. 00:33:22.030 – 00:33:30.810 so that was like one of my last projects before i hung it up and retired but yeah how
  294. 00:33:30.810 – 00:33:38.870 do you see uh music in this day and age uh i see it as either the labels got lazy or
  295. 00:33:39.590 – 00:33:45.010 they see artists as disposable now there's so many artists that's coming in and leaving out
  296. 00:33:45.550 – 00:33:51.510 no longevity and it's the same old story a lot of people complaining about their contracts
  297. 00:33:52.550 – 00:33:58.710 no people been speaking out about contracts for the longest and you know i think y'all forced to
  298. 00:33:58.710 – 00:34:05.370 sign it stop doing it yeah y'all ruining the art okay what does that pressure like when they
  299. 00:34:05.370 – 00:34:11.610 like they they have to sign like you said it's important to read but even if they read it they
  300. 00:34:11.610 – 00:34:20.989 don't fully understand what's that pressure like like i have it set in front of these labels for
  301. 00:34:20.989 – 00:34:29.630 these contracts but if i use my like contest clues basically it seemed like they get all
  302. 00:34:29.630 – 00:34:36.710 smooth talking like come on man we need you to sign this it's a it's a time it's a time limit
  303. 00:34:36.710 – 00:34:41.230 on it we need you to sign it super quick or something like that yeah they feel obligated
  304. 00:34:41.230 – 00:34:49.570 to have to sign and take it as is now change that to what fits you and stop doing music for
  305. 00:34:50.830 – 00:34:55.170 just money you gotta respect the art there's a lot of disrespect to the art too
  306. 00:34:55.810 – 00:35:02.730 i don't like like they say hip hop is run by the youth it is i'm tapped in to mainly hip hop and
  307. 00:35:02.730 – 00:35:10.190 rap if you haven't known by the way yes sir so it just seemed like they disrespecting the
  308. 00:35:10.190 – 00:35:16.750 previous generations they're not doing the due diligence of listening like just listen to it
  309. 00:35:16.750 – 00:35:24.030 and stop trying to troll all the time i see too much of that going on and it's getting
  310. 00:35:24.030 – 00:35:30.930 over saturated right now and i think it either is collapsing or already collapsed to be honest
  311. 00:35:31.670 – 00:35:38.650 so that's why i say get it on your own put out good music good quality music
  312. 00:35:38.650 – 00:35:46.170 whatever way you feel that sounds good that is good see how it does if you don't get the
  313. 00:35:46.170 – 00:35:51.890 feedback you get you need to get then maybe change something you got you got to change
  314. 00:35:51.890 – 00:35:58.790 regardless to capture people's ears or put in some footwork like we used to back then
  315. 00:35:58.790 – 00:36:05.550 i think that can carry a long way now but i think it's some ways that people haven't thought
  316. 00:36:05.550 – 00:36:12.270 of because this is a technology age and people ain't got cds no more so you got to be kind of
  317. 00:36:12.270 – 00:36:17.950 clever put a qr code on your business card or something go ahead and throw a memory card
  318. 00:36:17.950 – 00:36:26.090 or usb because usb is cheap and an album is under a gigabyte that's all i can put out
  319. 00:36:27.830 – 00:36:32.990 look look at that see he's passing me one right now double qr codes right here
  320. 00:36:32.990 – 00:36:38.310 in a podcast link so i got the business and the best of both worlds it looked like a
  321. 00:36:38.310 – 00:36:43.250 holographic pokemon it is right that's why i did it you know sense that creativity like
  322. 00:36:43.250 – 00:36:49.030 oh man shining like yeah because like think about your pictures i want you to shine your
  323. 00:36:49.030 – 00:36:54.470 pictures that's like man that's bringing visibility like yeah that's what i do like
  324. 00:36:54.470 – 00:36:59.170 just thinking outside the box but like you touched on a lot of key points like you brought
  325. 00:36:59.170 – 00:37:07.310 up uh you know the oversaturation and you also talk about technology then you also talk about
  326. 00:37:07.310 – 00:37:12.870 respecting the art respecting the game so what are what are your thoughts on like
  327. 00:37:13.850 – 00:37:21.090 ai artificial intelligence in the music industry specifically i really don't like it to be honest
  328. 00:37:22.010 – 00:37:28.230 i mean i don't even think i like using as an assistant because all that stuff is computer
  329. 00:37:28.230 – 00:37:34.790 program and they kind of got a weird sound to it you know it don't sound right to me
  330. 00:37:34.790 – 00:37:42.070 maybe if anything if you don't have nothing i don't think you should use it like if you have
  331. 00:37:42.070 – 00:37:50.330 no creative ideas or you just got the bare minimum nah it'd be cool maybe to use it as
  332. 00:37:50.330 – 00:37:57.070 an assistant for it like maybe something some padding for what you already know how to do
  333. 00:37:57.070 – 00:38:04.090 maybe that'd be cool but full-blown ai stuff nah they gonna use it to replace us
  334. 00:38:04.090 – 00:38:12.950 at the rate that the us has been going anyway it seemed like big businesses is it like got more
  335. 00:38:12.950 – 00:38:22.590 leeway than the little people which is us so i don't know man i'm torn right now but i still
  336. 00:38:22.590 – 00:38:29.090 i still look at it and uh i mean it's this is across almost every industry even with like
  337. 00:38:29.090 – 00:38:36.690 my authors and writers and even with me photography and video everybody's gonna always
  338. 00:38:36.690 – 00:38:43.470 go back to that authenticity like that organic that rawness that real and you know instead of
  339. 00:38:43.470 – 00:38:51.490 crisp quality animated pixelated deformed finger uh video you know you got i got a
  340. 00:38:51.490 – 00:38:56.350 little grain in my photo it's real so authentic like yeah i remember you know being there when
  341. 00:38:56.350 – 00:39:01.730 took the picture like yeah just that memories so like that connection going back to that circle
  342. 00:39:01.730 – 00:39:07.230 that circuit that connections like the the motherboard or the computer like is everything
  343. 00:39:07.230 – 00:39:13.410 is connected like you think of a city you on an airplane you can see those same connections
  344. 00:39:13.410 – 00:39:18.410 like a motherboard like the whole world is connected think about the universe universe
  345. 00:39:18.410 – 00:39:28.430 one verse and like even going back to my my experiment uh with my ep i literally did one
  346. 00:39:28.430 – 00:39:36.690 verse just experiment like what what do the the the crowd the audience you know receptor
  347. 00:39:36.690 – 00:39:41.350 you know with like they like the standard form do they like the entry in traditional form
  348. 00:39:42.230 – 00:39:50.550 beta testing and like that's always you know i ran i started to run you know music as a
  349. 00:39:50.550 – 00:39:59.750 more of a business versus for the art form but like you said it has to have respect like we
  350. 00:39:59.750 – 00:40:09.270 lost our respect i believe in like say the downfall of like 2018 somewhere around 2018 2017
  351. 00:40:10.390 – 00:40:13.450 somewhere around there is everything that sounds the same
  352. 00:40:13.830 – 00:40:20.090 what did mumble rap come out because that annoyed me man that that's what changed i'm like yeah i
  353. 00:40:20.710 – 00:40:25.650 can't it was basically everybody after an amigo everybody that's been copying the style
  354. 00:40:28.850 – 00:40:37.070 see people it's so many people that love lord b it's crazy i was i was in the moment and
  355. 00:40:37.070 – 00:40:43.070 still didn't like him and they say he was the blueprint for a lot of stuff today and
  356. 00:40:43.070 – 00:40:52.480 that's not really a good thing so this is what is coming out i remember uh being in a music
  357. 00:40:52.480 – 00:41:00.940 group with somebody uh a short time short live but and it was like man rap is gonna become
  358. 00:41:00.940 – 00:41:07.340 just this just sounds like this it ain't even be words gonna become a song that's what it
  359. 00:41:07.340 – 00:41:14.020 became i'm like what this is this is really what it's becoming to uh instrumentals the vocals
  360. 00:41:18.480 – 00:41:23.080 oh yeah maybe it'd be better if they wasn't saying nothing
  361. 00:41:27.220 – 00:41:33.260 like 20 minutes long itself i'm like man boy you sound like 12 other diggers right
  362. 00:41:33.260 – 00:41:40.840 auto-tune the auto-tune is like man yeah it now auto-tune for sure just make everybody sound
  363. 00:41:40.840 – 00:41:45.660 the same somebody spoke on the two i think it was was it jay-z who spoke on auto-tune
  364. 00:41:46.320 – 00:41:52.200 or something like that but yeah like t-pain is the og of it because he made it sound like
  365. 00:41:52.200 – 00:41:58.140 something he he know how to sing and he layered it a certain way too so yeah it's just
  366. 00:41:59.420 – 00:42:06.360 it's just fire from him but everybody after that maybe future cool too future he got his own sound
  367. 00:42:06.360 – 00:42:13.020 but after that no i don't think it's too many people that can harness auto-tune correctly
  368. 00:42:13.020 – 00:42:17.700 because they sounded the same yeah i mean i've been experimenting with i'm not a fan of it
  369. 00:42:17.700 – 00:42:23.960 but you know turning on very low make me harmonize a little bit yeah i remember what
  370. 00:42:31.640 – 00:42:37.680 i'm trying to push is just learn some of them notes man yeah just practice like
  371. 00:42:38.660 – 00:42:42.940 because that's what artists used to do back in the day they well i'm pretty sure singers still
  372. 00:42:42.940 – 00:42:48.220 do it now but just practice a couple of notes figure out what notes you your voice likes
  373. 00:42:48.220 – 00:42:52.840 because everybody's voice don't like the same notes you can't hit certain octaves like
  374. 00:42:52.840 – 00:42:58.580 everybody else yeah but it's not that hard to kind of like drag your your voice around
  375. 00:42:59.160 – 00:43:04.300 and get them crazy nice hooks i was learning too like you even told me like you're just
  376. 00:43:04.300 – 00:43:10.820 dragging the word yeah no not like this like this sometimes you don't even need to drag it
  377. 00:43:10.820 – 00:43:16.160 you just say it like a certain way yeah and it'll carry with the effects like a reverb or
  378. 00:43:16.160 – 00:43:21.600 something like that but you got to kind of think of a mix like in a mixer mind or
  379. 00:43:21.600 – 00:43:28.400 want to say like yeah like like a mixer like a person that does mixing and arranging stuff
  380. 00:43:28.400 – 00:43:34.380 on the recordings you think ahead but you need your engineer to really call that out
  381. 00:43:34.380 – 00:43:40.540 for you anyway like a good coach yeah good mentor so so yeah like collaboration with
  382. 00:43:40.540 – 00:43:43.900 your engineer that's a big part too some engineers just be doing it for the bread
  383. 00:43:44.720 – 00:43:49.540 yeah i've been in both sides like done but i don't blame you though because if you
  384. 00:43:49.540 – 00:43:55.880 just don't do it for the bread all the time then you're gonna be like spending 40 hours trying
  385. 00:43:55.880 – 00:44:01.800 to coach some artists like every single artist that you deal with it'd be crazy you'd be like
  386. 00:44:01.800 – 00:44:06.920 oh we about four hours over the next client already been sitting out there i mean yeah that's
  387. 00:44:06.920 – 00:44:10.580 what i'm saying even going back to artist development i think that's a loss already
  388. 00:44:10.580 – 00:44:15.860 in itself yeah you don't see that too much anymore or hear about it i wouldn't say here
  389. 00:44:15.860 – 00:44:22.280 but yeah actually yeah publicly because they get everybody got social media and they basically
  390. 00:44:22.280 – 00:44:27.120 oh you know what people got social media and put too much on social media
  391. 00:44:27.120 – 00:44:32.180 there ain't nothing mysterious about you you do your weird stuff online and everything
  392. 00:44:32.180 – 00:44:38.320 everybody can see exactly how you are and that's terrible like that'll turn people off right
  393. 00:44:38.320 – 00:44:42.860 off the top but i mean it goes it's a double edged sword because you do have to build a
  394. 00:44:42.860 – 00:44:48.700 brand and i think in this day and age even with people with traditional businesses people love
  395. 00:44:48.700 – 00:44:53.960 seeing that personal brand versus this faceless business that's just the logo but they don't
  396. 00:44:53.960 – 00:45:00.320 see people or people in the business or people who's behind it so i think people that have a
  397. 00:45:00.320 – 00:45:06.220 personal brand kind of is winning i think it is kind of a it's a good way to kind of get
  398. 00:45:06.220 – 00:45:10.960 that out there like you got to put some money behind your videography or photography
  399. 00:45:10.960 – 00:45:17.880 a bit you can be a little mysterious or not post as much but when you post it'd be something
  400. 00:45:17.880 – 00:45:24.220 of quality yeah it'd be intentional yeah like so if you do music and you post a nice little
  401. 00:45:24.220 – 00:45:30.140 quick little promo or something with your song it'd be pretty dope people don't really
  402. 00:45:30.140 – 00:45:34.680 invest in music videos too much like that either i noticed as well it's kind of been
  403. 00:45:34.680 – 00:45:40.140 fading away a little bit now i'm thinking about it yeah people don't really do music videos
  404. 00:45:40.140 – 00:45:47.080 they just put it on tiktok or something like that and hope it go viral that's interesting
  405. 00:45:48.200 – 00:45:57.160 because someone uh my lady uh she was talking to a student and
  406. 00:45:58.220 – 00:46:03.940 they were saying they want to do a podcast and their version of a podcast is like a talking
  407. 00:46:03.940 – 00:46:11.380 hit reel like our podcast first off was just traditionally like this audio only
  408. 00:46:11.420 – 00:46:19.300 and then we started incorporating video and when i think of a podcast i usually think of something
  409. 00:46:19.300 – 00:46:26.980 that's 20 minutes or longer so for a 90 second two minute video to be called a podcast i don't
  410. 00:46:26.980 – 00:46:33.240 think that's accurate so it's interesting how the younger generation view you know like
  411. 00:46:33.240 – 00:46:38.820 radio and podcast it's interesting yeah there's a lot of people that want to voice their
  412. 00:46:38.820 – 00:46:45.760 but that's not really a good thing either i think it's too many people podcast too many
  413. 00:46:45.760 – 00:46:51.580 opinions oh it's over it's over 500 trust me i do these stats because i you know also teach
  414. 00:46:51.580 – 00:47:02.320 you about podcast and like yes it's five five million plus podcast that's birth and a good
  415. 00:47:02.320 – 00:47:11.460 fraction of that is in inactive like i even did this research it's crazy i'm in the top
  416. 00:47:11.460 – 00:47:18.280 10 percent of podcasts can you believe that oh man yeah i can believe it because of the
  417. 00:47:18.280 – 00:47:24.520 format of like you not just spewing bs around negative bs but no it's really because people
  418. 00:47:24.520 – 00:47:31.720 stop they do one or two and they stop like i've i have what 60 60 plus episodes
  419. 00:47:33.140 – 00:47:39.330 consistency that that's true that's that's true but yeah it's like a little over a year
  420. 00:47:39.600 – 00:47:46.080 top 10 podcasts so really soon to be like top two percent but it's just like because
  421. 00:47:46.080 – 00:47:52.960 i stayed in the game just that simple i'm i'm top 10 podcasts when you hear that's crazy
  422. 00:47:52.960 – 00:47:59.200 yeah that is crazy like wow like i said it still got something to do with your content as well
  423. 00:47:59.200 – 00:48:05.060 that's true yeah all that negative stuff be kind of draining oh yeah especially all their
  424. 00:48:05.060 – 00:48:10.480 relationships so it kills me i can see if you convey it a certain way but a lot of
  425. 00:48:10.480 – 00:48:14.400 them been doing that for attention lately so they don't care what fly out their mouth
  426. 00:48:15.380 – 00:48:20.800 but even going back to the the music game i think they kind of did the same thing like
  427. 00:48:21.280 – 00:48:26.760 have like relationship issues and like especially like when the album about to drop like
  428. 00:48:27.480 – 00:48:36.690 yeah that's true as well man we need more positivity out in the world so let's go back
  429. 00:48:36.690 – 00:48:40.670 to a new artist how you how do you feel like a new artist should market themselves and get
  430. 00:48:40.670 – 00:48:47.610 themselves out here honestly at this rate there's so many different things that's going on so
  431. 00:48:47.610 – 00:48:56.010 easily either pop off or so hard to pop off let me just say do you follow some people
  432. 00:48:56.010 – 00:49:03.510 or learn from people that didn't blow up in this game already try to take from that
  433. 00:49:04.010 – 00:49:09.530 try to talk some to some of the older cats as well figure out how they blew up if you
  434. 00:49:09.530 – 00:49:14.210 didn't even get in touch with them but it's social media out here you can low-key tap in
  435. 00:49:14.210 – 00:49:22.360 with some folks that popped out just just look around a lot of people be giving game on tiktok
  436. 00:49:22.360 – 00:49:28.620 to tiktok youtube because those the most viewed things out here and people will just grab their
  437. 00:49:28.620 – 00:49:36.880 phone and start yapping just check out some tiktoks check out some youtubes maybe read a
  438. 00:49:36.880 – 00:49:46.460 couple articles check out reddit key insights like even so what i hear is basically like get
  439. 00:49:46.460 – 00:49:51.940 a coach a mentor or somebody that already been battle tested and you know had some
  440. 00:49:52.780 – 00:49:57.340 scars and stripes in the battlefield that's actually done the work
  441. 00:49:58.240 – 00:50:02.940 i mean even you even yourself i don't know people could reach out to you for something
  442. 00:50:02.940 – 00:50:08.600 some pointers some guidance some tips i can give you a little bit like i said i'm always
  443. 00:50:08.600 – 00:50:14.120 learning so i'm just kind of still sitting back and figuring it out at the same time
  444. 00:50:15.100 – 00:50:20.800 well that's that's going back to getting my reps like another thing we have is
  445. 00:50:22.300 – 00:50:30.140 what creative frequency is our work with me's what we call it since it's two of us work with
  446. 00:50:30.140 – 00:50:37.820 we www you know dot so work with we are people call it work with me like really documenting
  447. 00:50:37.820 – 00:50:42.280 behind oh i'm making this beat i know you've definitely done it in the past you know i've
  448. 00:50:42.280 – 00:50:48.380 seen it 10 years ago like you showed it behind the scenes of you making a beat so like you you've
  449. 00:50:48.380 – 00:50:53.680 been doing this so like uh going back to that like just documenting the process and like man
  450. 00:50:53.680 – 00:50:57.880 because people think oh you press a couple buttons you got to beat just like when people
  451. 00:50:57.880 – 00:51:03.040 think oh i'll just press this this thing oh picture it's come out beautiful no it's a
  452. 00:51:03.040 – 00:51:07.920 process behind it you got to tailor it's like a song and it's getting mixed and mastered
  453. 00:51:07.920 – 00:51:14.480 the whole process the whole song structure arrangement like it is still a level of volume
  454. 00:51:14.480 – 00:51:21.450 like it's a process people don't understand that oh i want my pictures two hours later like
  455. 00:51:22.700 – 00:51:28.500 can i get home but dang you know i gotta put my creative mind behind it chill out
  456. 00:51:30.120 – 00:51:35.240 like i i give more respect to like when i used to do music i want to hear myself like
  457. 00:51:35.240 – 00:51:39.600 when i get at the studio you know of course i got the raw mix that's cool as long as i got
  458. 00:51:39.600 – 00:51:46.360 something i know it's it takes it takes it's a process to you know get this song polished
  459. 00:51:46.360 – 00:51:51.680 because like you don't want it to be rushed anyway people back then used to rush a lot
  460. 00:51:51.680 – 00:51:55.220 they were like yeah let me get that beat real quick let me get that song that we just did
  461. 00:51:55.220 – 00:51:59.760 come on come on yeah you get it sent over they then leaked it out without the mix on it
  462. 00:51:59.760 – 00:52:07.760 god come on bro yeah let me finish the mix that's that's the same well that's why i'm
  463. 00:52:07.760 – 00:52:13.840 sending no photos at them too like the like uh like we depend on a relationship like if i
  464. 00:52:13.840 – 00:52:19.360 know you may need something or if it's a sensitive time thing i may just just drop it but
  465. 00:52:19.360 – 00:52:25.580 you know i wait for the edits to be done or send out a proof gallery proof gallery that way
  466. 00:52:25.580 – 00:52:32.880 you could choose the photos and stuff like that yeah even with raw footage i'm like no
  467. 00:52:32.880 – 00:52:43.550 you're gonna have to wait for the recap because pay action you get it all yeah i'm gonna hurry
  468. 00:52:43.550 – 00:52:50.890 up and work on that but yeah that's uh you know just uh being in business and learning
  469. 00:52:50.890 – 00:52:59.350 things along the way like i my first photo shoot i charged 50 dollars 50 dollars and i was
  470. 00:52:59.350 – 00:53:06.550 to another artist well artist and producer i call him a dr j of cleveland has produced
  471. 00:53:07.630 – 00:53:14.210 i say none of no public songs like a lot of songs he produced of mine is not released
  472. 00:53:14.870 – 00:53:21.870 so that's that's wow but but yeah that's uh my first my first client
  473. 00:53:21.870 – 00:53:31.070 uh charged 50 dollars definitely uh multiplied that over the years and you know just being in
  474. 00:53:31.070 – 00:53:37.810 business and like dang i'm working eight ten hours and 50 dollars that's true five dollars
  475. 00:53:37.810 – 00:53:43.310 an hour no okay okay i like at that time too i mean i didn't have a business but i'm like
  476. 00:53:43.310 – 00:53:51.590 if i'm being business i gotta make money for these first uh three years like haven't really
  477. 00:53:51.590 – 00:53:56.650 paid myself from my business like have my business running so pay for all the
  478. 00:53:56.650 – 00:54:02.770 you know fees and software subscriptions and expenses you know make sure i can maintain
  479. 00:54:02.770 – 00:54:08.210 and run a business over the years and you know i haven't paid myself but it's like yeah
  480. 00:54:08.210 – 00:54:13.370 i gotta have that change too at least you know uh five percent or something every job
  481. 00:54:13.370 – 00:54:21.070 or every booking so and then going back to that okay how can i just kind of stop working
  482. 00:54:21.590 – 00:54:27.930 like okay what if i had a book or how to you know start a photography business or the things
  483. 00:54:27.930 – 00:54:35.150 you should you know have a product versus just services because when i do services i gotta
  484. 00:54:35.150 – 00:54:39.670 physically go out there and do it myself then it's working after hours so just having
  485. 00:54:39.670 – 00:54:46.070 something in the background to kind of offset that right yeah that's why i was going back
  486. 00:54:46.070 – 00:54:53.210 like yeah we gotta you know have a product for you like that's a book or even a service like
  487. 00:54:53.210 – 00:55:00.210 just coaching people how to even set up your uh fruity loops your fl studio to even begin
  488. 00:55:00.210 – 00:55:05.510 like you want to structure the right way or having enough pay attention to your uh beats
  489. 00:55:05.510 – 00:55:10.390 per minute and how important that is and having the flow and everything is synced even how to
  490. 00:55:11.070 – 00:55:17.870 so that's a big important piece of it yeah very because you can also sell your music
  491. 00:55:17.870 – 00:55:25.470 i don't know if people realize you still can sell your music for like um what was it i think
  492. 00:55:25.470 – 00:55:32.590 it's ten dollars you have to queue buzz no i'm not queue buzz you can sell high resolution music
  493. 00:55:32.590 – 00:55:38.810 people export your beats out and songs into the right format and wave or better and you
  494. 00:55:38.810 – 00:55:45.030 upload it to them high res websites you said wave or better yeah it was better than wave
  495. 00:55:45.030 – 00:55:55.190 flag because mp3 wave and then flak okay i think i think apple records in flak ac ac or acc
  496. 00:55:55.190 – 00:56:04.050 acc i think it's aac or acc one or two but yeah uh flak is top dog for sure i i keep a lot
  497. 00:56:04.050 – 00:56:10.690 in flak format but don't convert your mp3s to flak and wave it don't matter it'll still
  498. 00:56:10.690 – 00:56:19.370 sound terrible just make sure you get it from the session in that format so if you export it
  499. 00:56:19.370 – 00:56:24.470 directly in flat and also if you get your beats please get the waves if you can because
  500. 00:56:24.470 – 00:56:30.550 you have the highest quality as possible mp3 caps it off at a certain quality 320k bps
  501. 00:56:30.550 – 00:56:36.010 that's terrible well not terrible it's good enough to listen to it's like actually streaming
  502. 00:56:36.010 – 00:56:43.950 services for for visuals it's like 1080 versus 4k yeah basically like people see 1080 but like
  503. 00:56:43.950 – 00:56:51.710 you can record in the 4k and then downsize the down symbol yeah exactly most people don't
  504. 00:56:51.710 – 00:56:58.750 really care about 4k which is crazy like if you show them like a proper like 4k video
  505. 00:56:59.510 – 00:57:03.550 into 1080 oh yeah they'd be amazed but when they get to the house they ain't
  506. 00:57:03.550 – 00:57:08.990 remember they don't care yeah but once they start making money and then you go care you
  507. 00:57:08.990 – 00:57:13.810 should care that's true go ahead export in them ways and flaks because you can put it on other
  508. 00:57:13.810 – 00:57:19.130 websites as well don't don't forget about bandcamp as well you can have people pay
  509. 00:57:19.130 – 00:57:23.090 whatever they feel like they want to pay you and i guarantee it will be more than their
  510. 00:57:23.090 – 00:57:33.510 service how much streaming services pay a portion of a cent per play portion of a cent a fraction of
  511. 00:57:33.510 – 00:57:43.090 a cent half less than half a cent it's definitely mostly all of them and they're like even like
  512. 00:57:43.090 – 00:57:49.130 youtube like i've i've been on both sides it's like youtube don't like me like they they they
  513. 00:57:49.990 – 00:57:57.050 prioritize for creators now that i'm more of a creator it's like i have my podcast on and
  514. 00:57:57.050 – 00:58:02.930 it's posted directly feed it but now it's like an era it's like when i was an artist it's like
  515. 00:58:02.930 – 00:58:08.870 man they like well they want to show me love and like just the fraction compared to even
  516. 00:58:08.870 – 00:58:14.370 other stream of art you know platforms it was at the bottoms like they know they don't
  517. 00:58:14.370 – 00:58:21.040 focus on music artists i was like they focus on advertisements that's all they care about
  518. 00:58:21.990 – 00:58:28.390 the more people engage with your stuff though or music they can't really engage but well they
  519. 00:58:28.390 – 00:58:35.830 you engage the whole track but with videos like actual content videos they can put multiple ads
  520. 00:58:35.830 – 00:58:40.650 into it so you get paid more from that because of that but music is just is what it is
  521. 00:58:41.190 – 00:58:47.410 and i think they actually severed like youtube music plays from your actual plays to your
  522. 00:58:47.410 – 00:58:53.370 music so something like that you got to read it up though but they definitely cutting down
  523. 00:58:53.370 – 00:58:58.810 payments even more spotify doing the same thing it's terrible for music artists out here
  524. 00:58:58.810 – 00:59:05.230 just go ahead and put that on other platforms title i think pay the most right now yeah title
  525. 00:59:05.230 – 00:59:12.890 apples back in napster that was my the top three when i last did my research yeah that
  526. 00:59:12.890 – 00:59:19.370 was something i paid attention to and that's just the knowledge of even going back to
  527. 00:59:19.370 – 00:59:26.070 distribution and what platforms you should you know be focusing on and even just building
  528. 00:59:26.070 – 00:59:34.250 your own platform and like you said maybe beat stars or band camp you just really being
  529. 00:59:34.250 – 00:59:40.010 strategic and going back to that system you know once you want to publish you know where is
  530. 00:59:40.010 – 00:59:45.870 it going after that like what's the long-term goal even going to the target audience so as
  531. 00:59:45.870 – 00:59:55.350 we speak about target audience is there like a uh persona or like an ideal artist you kind of
  532. 00:59:55.350 – 01:00:01.270 envision as you produce like these the type of type of artists i work with or want to work
  533. 01:00:02.090 – 01:00:08.310 i prefer to work with somebody that is open-minded about a production is trust process
  534. 01:00:09.190 – 01:00:14.510 like i might have a certain beat that sound a certain way and i think you'll sound good on
  535. 01:00:14.510 – 01:00:21.610 it just trust me rap to it somehow like it is difficult for some i want to say actually
  536. 01:00:21.610 – 01:00:26.790 more than some it's difficult for artists in general to write to beats that they're not
  537. 01:00:26.790 – 01:00:36.350 used to most people like 90 percent of people chase a youtube beat and then record to it then
  538. 01:00:36.350 – 01:00:42.830 drop it what's the dangers of that danger that instant copyright strike on your shit
  539. 01:00:43.190 – 01:00:50.430 right off the top because you're taking somebody's beat it literally say lease or buy
  540. 01:00:51.150 – 01:00:57.970 in the comments and you just snatch it off record to it and upload it like you bought it
  541. 01:00:59.150 – 01:01:13.450 like what sense did that make you can't even make money off of it artists should market
  542. 01:01:13.450 – 01:01:19.590 themselves what about producers how should a producer or how can a producer market themselves
  543. 01:01:21.190 – 01:01:26.550 beat stars that's what beat stars because that's like the top platform and have some
  544. 01:01:26.550 – 01:01:32.210 aside for like advertisement budgets because you can push your own advertisement
  545. 01:01:32.790 – 01:01:38.130 budget to get you more plays and put you in different locations
  546. 01:01:40.210 – 01:01:47.010 it's it's a weird space right now like you can even make a little video of your beats if
  547. 01:01:47.010 – 01:01:52.130 it's sound fire enough like you can just record a session the old studio or whatever
  548. 01:01:52.130 – 01:01:58.970 you use and send it to tiktok and it can pick up a bunch of plays
  549. 01:01:59.730 – 01:02:06.710 just off of that so you can try that instagram got advertisements behind it too as well
  550. 01:02:10.400 – 01:02:17.340 youtube youtube it's still it carry a bit you put your make sure you don't forget to put your
  551. 01:02:17.340 – 01:02:24.530 bio under your your descriptions as well like they can find you at because that's the that's
  552. 01:02:25.240 – 01:02:34.040 the best way so you kind of got to market yourself as well as your brand so you are
  553. 01:02:34.040 – 01:02:42.080 your brand yeah you are your brand like yeah going back to that uh you know that
  554. 01:02:42.080 – 01:02:49.740 presentation and like them talking head videos like people love seeing that personality and
  555. 01:02:49.740 – 01:02:56.640 going back to building a personal brand which is to me uh the biggest thing and most important
  556. 01:02:56.640 – 01:03:03.360 in this time you know what i've seen as a creative entrepreneur and the people that i
  557. 01:03:03.360 – 01:03:09.780 work with like personal brand matters more like people want to see and you know connect
  558. 01:03:09.780 – 01:03:16.220 with actual people versus going back to like the ai the artificial like people wanted to see
  559. 01:03:16.220 – 01:03:24.200 the more real and organic that's kind of a balancing act with that i personally would do
  560. 01:03:24.200 – 01:03:29.160 a balancing act with that just i'll post whatever i want you to see but still not
  561. 01:03:29.160 – 01:03:35.400 everything you don't post everything if you want to be easily accessible you can engage with
  562. 01:03:35.400 – 01:03:42.000 audience if you have an audience you know or drop a comment on somebody's page or something
  563. 01:03:42.000 – 01:03:49.000 you can go viral from that i have before just speaking something real like hey why am i
  564. 01:03:49.000 – 01:03:56.800 12 000 13 000 likes like oh i said some real stuff so real just being or authentic
  565. 01:03:56.800 – 01:04:04.180 with boundaries yeah you know the stuff i've seen i'm like oh my goodness like i was
  566. 01:04:05.440 – 01:04:12.440 yeah when is the sensor like what's going on like this is you know all these people see this
  567. 01:04:13.200 – 01:04:19.100 like what am i reading right now what am i viewing like what stuff that i've seen man
  568. 01:04:19.100 – 01:04:25.400 one of the funniest terms on there is when somebody doing too much it would like the rank
  569. 01:04:25.400 – 01:04:29.060 can't be that high they put that right under your comment section
  570. 01:04:29.760 – 01:04:35.460 let it mean you're doing way too much go ahead and shift that gear back down
  571. 01:04:36.300 – 01:04:43.800 it gets crazy sometimes like i even did a 10 day social media sabbatical like i took
  572. 01:04:44.180 – 01:04:51.600 it was a 10 and a half almost 11 days off of social media straight it was good timing
  573. 01:04:51.600 – 01:05:00.200 i was actually in las vegas for a conference a real estate conference at the time and a perfect
  574. 01:05:00.200 – 01:05:06.660 time and i had more clarity more focus and i felt more productive i got a lot more done
  575. 01:05:06.660 – 01:05:11.960 i wasn't doom scrolling but now like returning from now like okay i need to put more
  576. 01:05:13.420 – 01:05:19.040 boundaries and guidelines when i'm on social media or thinking about getting on social
  577. 01:05:19.040 – 01:05:26.500 like just post and get off and not just keep scrolling or commenting too much or
  578. 01:05:26.900 – 01:05:33.780 doing quote unquote more research like i set up a five minute timer so after that five minutes
  579. 01:05:33.780 – 01:05:40.160 up it's like okay i gotta get off now you know sometimes i allow it for that that 15 but
  580. 01:05:40.780 – 01:05:45.620 yeah i had that five minute mark and that little thing notification pop up okay five
  581. 01:05:46.460 – 01:05:52.080 oh yes let me sit this down is you right let me get back to work or something
  582. 01:05:52.080 – 01:05:57.440 yeah that will keep you up at night and oh man sometimes it tethered to you you honestly
  583. 01:05:57.440 – 01:06:03.000 have to put it across the room on the stand or something on charger just forget about it
  584. 01:06:03.000 – 01:06:07.540 because you will wake up looking for it and you wake yourself up like just because it's
  585. 01:06:07.540 – 01:06:13.120 like a natural thing so you try to cut it out at night for real and you'll probably save
  586. 01:06:13.120 – 01:06:20.220 your sanity you can go insane with this social media stuff oh yeah like even with like uh
  587. 01:06:20.220 – 01:06:25.480 cutting off wi-fi like not having your phone by you while you sleep like you know it makes
  588. 01:06:25.480 – 01:06:32.040 with your uh your whole mental like just going as deep as that yeah like yeah we're just going
  589. 01:06:32.040 – 01:06:38.260 back to being rooted to this this earth like going back to the universe the one verse like
  590. 01:06:38.260 – 01:06:44.440 are connected so being connected with the nature and the earth sometimes with technology
  591. 01:06:44.440 – 01:06:50.980 you know it kind of overrules us i'm not being on our right frequency and going back to my
  592. 01:06:51.360 – 01:06:56.860 my poetry days of frequency i left off at that poem like that was my staple poem
  593. 01:06:57.380 – 01:07:03.320 and uh it went like uh frequency frequency is what you frequently see
  594. 01:07:04.040 – 01:07:10.340 vibrations all in the universe and also inside of me alien to this world society
  595. 01:07:10.340 – 01:07:17.280 shooting stars consciously righteously until every dust particle unites in me
  596. 01:07:17.280 – 01:07:24.120 sparkling like water wine and jewelry and jewelry yes i'm brighter than my time of infinity
  597. 01:07:24.620 – 01:07:33.440 living see speckles around my eyes this vicinity vividly femininity raise my higher divinity
  598. 01:07:33.440 – 01:07:41.300 sacred trinity reflects my divine masculinity lost in the trenches relentless lost my human mind
  599. 01:07:41.300 – 01:07:50.660 to gain my spiritual senses defenseless elevation through focus and meditation patience
  600. 01:07:51.620 – 01:08:03.080 eyes closed silence reality is real transcend be fulfilled energy gathered as magic we all
  601. 01:08:03.080 – 01:08:14.160 have it pass it positivity pass it love pass it around like the last supper at least in this
  602. 01:08:14.160 – 01:08:20.840 time this dimension keep intentionally moving with the tension open your mind of endless
  603. 01:08:20.840 – 01:08:28.300 comprehension now listen and listen with attention now listen will you complete the
  604. 01:08:28.300 – 01:08:35.880 mission that's frequency like that was one of my deepest poems i'm like man this is the one
  605. 01:08:35.880 – 01:08:40.040 like you know how you wrote that one song like i'm like yeah this is the one it's like
  606. 01:08:40.040 – 01:08:45.580 nothing higher than that i felt that like i said on a spiritual level like that was more deeper
  607. 01:08:45.580 – 01:08:52.300 than just you know anything i wrote like that was like man this is beyond me beyond life like
  608. 01:08:52.300 – 01:08:59.720 this is it's ain't just another song or another poem another creation this is this is something
  609. 01:08:59.720 – 01:09:06.580 and frequency plays a big part in life in general yeah music too and it's been a lot
  610. 01:09:06.580 – 01:09:12.359 dark frequencies going on lately dark loops and everything it's another reason i kind of step
  611. 01:09:12.359 – 01:09:19.109 away from the music because like man it's just you know i feel more refreshed i feel like a
  612. 01:09:19.109 – 01:09:25.870 human again in a sense like as an artist sometimes we become like a character in a sense
  613. 01:09:26.250 – 01:09:32.050 the happiest i want to say the happiest we had it musically was like 2016
  614. 01:09:33.310 – 01:09:39.270 the championship yes and the frequencies were sounding good all the beats was like happy kind
  615. 01:09:39.270 – 01:09:44.529 of sounding even though they had the crazy eight of ways but hey man everything just sounded so
  616. 01:09:44.529 – 01:09:51.210 good and hey man we need that back man i had to help bring that back one good time i would
  617. 01:09:51.210 – 01:09:55.550 say what is what is like one one beat that you produced that coming to mind and have like
  618. 01:09:55.550 – 01:10:05.210 that happy feeling a happy frequency um it's a flair song that i did i forgot the name of it
  619. 01:10:05.210 – 01:10:13.270 off the top of my dome but it was different i gotta let you hear it for sure for sure
  620. 01:10:13.270 – 01:10:23.470 yeah let you hear it was a good beat happy beat different it was one of the ones one of
  621. 01:10:23.470 – 01:10:32.440 the ones slept on y'all need to listen to it what about a transition to more of the
  622. 01:10:33.160 – 01:10:40.440 what are some ways that producers can make money to different avenues selling your beats
  623. 01:10:40.440 – 01:10:47.300 or uploading them for leisure as albums so you make your own beat albums and upload them
  624. 01:10:47.300 – 01:10:51.880 if if you don't mind uploading them to all the streaming services go right ahead
  625. 01:10:51.880 – 01:10:55.980 Spotify and all them you got to get an abundance of plays to make some money
  626. 01:10:55.980 – 01:11:00.040 but if you feel like you can make a good body of work with just your beats
  627. 01:11:00.660 – 01:11:08.680 go for it it's been done before dj fresh does that and i like his his instrumental albums they
  628. 01:11:08.680 – 01:11:19.300 sound pretty good sync license sync licenses that too sync licenses for those who don't know
  629. 01:11:19.300 – 01:11:26.320 are commercial licenses for these companies making jingles melodies something that sounds
  630. 01:11:26.320 – 01:11:33.830 like it should be on tv movies it's a bit it's like almost like big sounds to kind of
  631. 01:11:33.830 – 01:11:39.530 gotta have a big sound to a good mix shout out to cleveland trump because he kind of
  632. 01:11:39.530 – 01:11:43.790 introduced me to that he is a part of the workheads i don't really remember
  633. 01:11:43.790 – 01:11:52.250 the workheads and he used to make commercials for the people the people that he was around
  634. 01:11:53.150 – 01:11:56.450 and that's pretty dope that was the first time i heard about that
  635. 01:11:59.040 – 01:12:02.360 i'll say that probably like bigger contracts too sometimes
  636. 01:12:05.770 – 01:12:10.350 if you can get into that realm you could be around forever you ain't got to put your tag
  637. 01:12:10.350 – 01:12:19.610 everywhere who knows you can't but your your sound or jingle or loop melody would be out here
  638. 01:12:20.290 – 01:12:26.190 in people's ears all the time because the advertisement game is the most profitable game
  639. 01:12:26.830 – 01:12:34.480 the ads is everywhere if you haven't noticed ads is everywhere that is very very true
  640. 01:12:34.480 – 01:12:42.280 very true like i feel them so i know and it's and even going back to that
  641. 01:12:42.280 – 01:12:46.940 maybe you can even help me on it like kind of explaining the difference between
  642. 01:12:48.740 – 01:12:56.930 uh a monetized beat or like one that you you should going back should be purchasing
  643. 01:12:56.930 – 01:13:03.510 versus like royalty free community use fair use type of beats like what's the difference between
  644. 01:13:05.010 – 01:13:11.490 those uh the community fair use style is definitely just anybody can use it
  645. 01:13:12.110 – 01:13:18.790 so you put that out to the masses thousand people could use it it don't matter royalty
  646. 01:13:18.790 – 01:13:25.150 free just means you don't get royalty on the back end it's just out here some of the put
  647. 01:13:25.150 – 01:13:32.110 here and stuff for advertisements though you get paid off of that so you're putting out something
  648. 01:13:32.110 – 01:13:38.810 for the advertisement slash sync is literally you you get paid your portions there you go
  649. 01:13:38.810 – 01:13:45.470 you get your credit and everything royalty free literally free i mean but but should companies
  650. 01:13:45.470 – 01:13:51.770 and brands be using royalty free music in their ads or even artists when they try to use
  651. 01:13:51.770 – 01:13:57.290 should they be doing that well artists if it is a royalty free beat like if they're trying to
  652. 01:13:57.290 – 01:14:03.570 monetize off of it basically oh yeah you can yeah it's there for that reason literally if
  653. 01:14:03.570 – 01:14:09.650 somebody makes a royalty free beat or song or melody something like that this is made to be
  654. 01:14:09.650 – 01:14:15.810 out like that for the masses go ahead and use it maybe they just like they have a pleasure
  655. 01:14:15.810 – 01:14:23.910 listening to their music get out here no matter what go ahead it's free so it's kind of like no
  656. 01:14:23.910 – 01:14:29.930 no barriers for people that inspire to be artists like oh i don't have the resources to
  657. 01:14:29.930 – 01:14:35.110 it's kind yeah you can say that yeah that is a little cheat code too ain't it you can
  658. 01:14:35.110 – 01:14:38.830 definitely tap in but still redefine print because it might say something like hey
  659. 01:14:38.830 – 01:14:44.030 you can only use this during advertisers not right for music so just make sure
  660. 01:14:44.030 – 01:14:49.830 well and another thing too is there is definitely terms and like sometimes like what they're doing
  661. 01:14:49.830 – 01:14:57.690 now like with these royalty things they're having you got to have this active subscription
  662. 01:14:58.350 – 01:15:04.990 to the site to be continually you know used so as long as you have an active subscription
  663. 01:15:04.990 – 01:15:11.190 you'll be able to use all these different royalty free but at time you don't you know
  664. 01:15:11.190 – 01:15:17.510 it's like you know copy of it like oh they revoke your license basically that sounds dirty
  665. 01:15:18.490 – 01:15:25.110 honestly locked in that's distro kid too they saw yeah they did it before
  666. 01:15:26.110 – 01:15:30.790 yeah they did it to some of the stuff you don't pay it they take your stuff off of streaming
  667. 01:15:30.790 – 01:15:38.190 services wow i've always brought that that legacy thing so i even i think they changed it
  668. 01:15:38.190 – 01:15:44.910 because it's gone stuff is gone some stuff is not on streaming because of that right now
  669. 01:15:45.350 – 01:15:51.130 i heard they're about to get bought out who was it by one of my mba player well i know
  670. 01:15:51.130 – 01:15:59.890 there's like trying to sell it like probably in the billions i would think so crazy though
  671. 01:15:59.890 – 01:16:05.210 man so i know that's gonna change in different terms for the next ownership they're probably
  672. 01:16:05.210 – 01:16:09.610 gonna change things around yeah i don't trust that i don't know what's gonna happen with
  673. 01:16:12.150 – 01:16:20.300 the streamer size i mean monster my stuff still up there you know active artists at least in this
  674. 01:16:20.300 – 01:16:26.240 day and age but be clever with it throw out some merch with it too if you feel like your
  675. 01:16:26.240 – 01:16:32.460 branding is strong enough go ahead put together some quality merch do a limited lineup so that's
  676. 01:16:32.460 – 01:16:36.220 that's even something i thought about like one of the biggest artists that's really
  677. 01:16:37.220 – 01:16:44.400 making money that i could definitely testify for is chris brown like you know he thought about
  678. 01:16:44.400 – 01:16:49.940 oh i'm paying for all of this and you know let me go on tour and i'm going to i'm selling
  679. 01:16:49.940 – 01:16:56.680 my merch you know now i'm getting people to buy my merch and i also have a vip experience
  680. 01:16:56.680 – 01:17:01.280 you know they're behind the scenes taking silly photos with me wearing my merch so it's like
  681. 01:17:01.280 – 01:17:07.240 you know how many times that he monetized not just all buying the tickets he the ticket sales
  682. 01:17:07.240 – 01:17:13.580 probably he probably almost breaking even on you know paying all the different costs and producers
  683. 01:17:13.580 – 01:17:19.000 and videographers photographers the sound and like everybody to run the show effectively his
  684. 01:17:19.000 – 01:17:25.540 staff management you know travel and then okay now you're making you know off the the merch
  685. 01:17:26.500 – 01:17:34.140 the album sales and the promotion yeah and then the vip experiences behind us you know behind
  686. 01:17:34.140 – 01:17:41.040 the scenes and the photos like photos like what a thousand dollars a walk thousand miles a piece
  687. 01:17:41.040 – 01:17:45.440 oh yeah 30 that less man now you profit on each tour versus you know all the different
  688. 01:17:45.440 – 01:17:49.340 going back to the splits you know knowing your split sheet so if i'm only getting
  689. 01:17:49.980 – 01:17:55.680 you know uh five percent of this like oh i need to make more money how can i make more money
  690. 01:17:55.680 – 01:18:00.920 nipsey also did something too remember he sold his album was a thousand dollars or something
  691. 01:18:00.920 – 01:18:06.300 like yeah it was a hundred dollars with a signature but it was like a thousand limited
  692. 01:18:06.300 – 01:18:11.000 to like a thousand yeah yeah that's what that's what a hundred thousand yeah six figures
  693. 01:18:11.000 – 01:18:16.880 it's crazy yeah and it's people for sure pay that you get a physical copy and you get
  694. 01:18:16.880 – 01:18:21.020 an autograph on there and probably some other experience that you never get
  695. 01:18:21.620 – 01:18:25.920 so yeah you build up your brand try you go have to start off small though
  696. 01:18:25.920 – 01:18:35.450 but you get to that status it's a work for sure yeah that was that that was an offer going
  697. 01:18:35.450 – 01:18:41.330 back to you know different money model that was an offer like you know just being bold
  698. 01:18:41.330 – 01:18:47.030 and doing that this albums at the time you know selling for what like 10 and 23 dollars
  699. 01:18:47.030 – 01:18:54.510 average for a drop 100 almost five times the amount five or six times like that was bold
  700. 01:18:54.510 – 01:18:59.550 a mixtape but that wasn't a mixtape i believe it was a mixtape no i might have been a mixtape
  701. 01:18:59.550 – 01:19:07.250 i can't remember it now i think it was a mixtape yeah selling for 100 dollars and uh
  702. 01:19:07.250 – 01:19:11.370 it was only a thousand copies but like that's how i kind of do it too like just
  703. 01:19:11.370 – 01:19:18.330 down different numbers different like okay uh yeah going back to the 100 grand like okay
  704. 01:19:18.790 – 01:19:23.650 break that down like okay if i had a thousand clients and i sold 100 of these
  705. 01:19:23.650 – 01:19:31.210 you know even uh breaking down different you know pricing with different clients like okay
  706. 01:19:32.090 – 01:19:38.870 well you say your goal is this how many people do you need to solidify or
  707. 01:19:39.530 – 01:19:43.650 book with to get to this number right at the end of the day it's just numbers
  708. 01:19:44.510 – 01:19:48.770 instead of making it so hard and complicated just just follow the numbers
  709. 01:19:50.410 – 01:19:55.010 like going back to like chris brown like he followed the numbers like okay i'm getting
  710. 01:19:55.010 – 01:20:00.030 this much off ticket sales i'm getting like a hundred dollars a show like okay i need to
  711. 01:20:00.030 – 01:20:05.850 make more than that i'm the biggest thing i need to compound is multiply this and he found
  712. 01:20:05.850 – 01:20:13.130 avenue in his lane you work out perfect fool oh yeah like that and that's instant marketing
  713. 01:20:13.130 – 01:20:19.030 for them people want to post out their photos at aspen a thousand of course i want to post
  714. 01:20:19.030 – 01:20:25.350 this so that's more market from him and like man that's genius like the closest person that
  715. 01:20:26.110 – 01:20:32.470 i've witnessed and like the all-time performer is like michael jackson like man one of the
  716. 01:20:32.470 – 01:20:39.050 greatest performers like that i could like testify and vouch for it like that i would love
  717. 01:20:39.050 – 01:20:45.150 to see him i didn't appreciate him till a little bit afterwards i started appreciating more music
  718. 01:20:45.150 – 01:20:51.570 after i got out of high school oh yeah because it seemed like high school was peer pressure music
  719. 01:20:52.130 – 01:20:56.850 yeah yeah i mean i still listen to mike i used to dress up in michael jackson too
  720. 01:20:56.850 – 01:21:00.050 like i could play michael jackson in the movie i gotta see that too though michael
  721. 01:21:00.610 – 01:21:08.560 the new movie just came out that's that's one artist that i can say like
  722. 01:21:10.060 – 01:21:16.180 all his production all his beats was fire like man and it's all unique and different
  723. 01:21:16.180 – 01:21:25.360 they was going crazy all his beats and i'm like man he's fire like man i think about that all
  724. 01:21:26.520 – 01:21:31.180 like there's so many unique melodies and stuff that they created from nothing
  725. 01:21:31.760 – 01:21:37.960 and people been sampling it over years and everything yeah especially me i sampled a couple
  726. 01:21:37.960 – 01:21:42.520 of them myself no they can't come out because i can't afford them licensing fees
  727. 01:21:42.520 – 01:21:49.820 but they in the computer somewhere hey when the time was right man yeah once i get that
  728. 01:21:50.710 – 01:22:01.240 then use this michael jackson beat i used it as a sample break you off a portion of it
  729. 01:22:01.240 – 01:22:13.330 but you get there you get there for sure yeah all his production is so unique and then
  730. 01:22:13.330 – 01:22:21.270 and just back it up with the lyrics and then the heart like man it's one of a kind and i'm
  731. 01:22:21.270 – 01:22:27.650 that's kind of how i wanted to like take my music you know traditionally known for you know as a
  732. 01:22:27.650 – 01:22:37.130 rapper being someone that rap but i just wanted to be an artist just do music i'm going to be
  733. 01:22:37.130 – 01:22:45.830 boxing as a quote-unquote i'm an artist and that's when i got more into the poetry
  734. 01:22:47.940 – 01:22:54.660 in a sense branching off but still of course doing the music but you know just speaking
  735. 01:22:54.660 – 01:22:59.540 my mind that was the biggest thing the words and words and the vibration and words have
  736. 01:22:59.540 – 01:23:07.800 meaning and like words influence you know i was always the one of the ones that
  737. 01:23:08.600 – 01:23:15.920 focus on the lyrics and that was my biggest thing yeah like when i hear a song i want to
  738. 01:23:15.920 – 01:23:21.460 hear the lyrics like what are they actually saying you know yeah that's when i like when
  739. 01:23:21.460 – 01:23:26.360 mumble rap came i'm like no they all not really what is y'all doing what is this
  740. 01:23:26.360 – 01:23:33.640 having respect for the game like people was telling like man history lessons like man
  741. 01:23:34.620 – 01:23:40.100 yeah this stuff you need to hear like we had we had pros and cons music no it's just
  742. 01:23:40.100 – 01:23:47.960 pros no cons huh like we had people that's so dope but you know the consequences behind
  743. 01:23:47.960 – 01:23:53.040 it because they told you that either immediately or another track like they do storytelling
  744. 01:23:53.040 – 01:23:57.900 now the people nowadays they the ones that's doing the dope yeah they doing the dope they
  745. 01:23:57.900 – 01:24:01.960 don't want to press and suicidal it's crazy shooting people for what like
  746. 01:24:02.720 – 01:24:07.460 you got ops because y'all had an argument in school or something bro like what what you
  747. 01:24:07.460 – 01:24:13.980 doing drill rap chill out crazy and we spoke on it back in the day like people not using
  748. 01:24:13.980 – 01:24:18.620 their hands to handle business and they pulling out that pipe and taking you out
  749. 01:24:18.620 – 01:24:26.120 right it seems like they know the consequences and just don't care regardless like and they're
  750. 01:24:26.120 – 01:24:32.180 telling themselves because technically we the parents we the parents of this generation is
  751. 01:24:32.180 – 01:24:37.760 doing it or our brother and older brothers and sisters then raise this crazy generation
  752. 01:24:39.920 – 01:24:44.820 i really can't even explain it what about the music thing music and media has an influence
  753. 01:24:45.520 – 01:24:52.880 music now officially has more influence over everything media not so much i mean it's
  754. 01:24:52.880 – 01:24:59.260 advertising just pop up in your face but it's for sure music like they taking all this
  755. 01:24:59.260 – 01:25:08.140 negativity rolling it up using it as an excuse clout chasing internet too internet is one of
  756. 01:25:08.140 – 01:25:14.400 the worst it's like a pro and con with that too people always want to show out people
  757. 01:25:14.400 – 01:25:21.690 easily put out music same day that they they recorded people don't care what they say will
  758. 01:25:21.690 – 01:25:30.490 flout their mouth it's it's dirty right now and i just hope that we can figure out another way
  759. 01:25:31.330 – 01:25:37.330 to to put out this good music like because it's overlooked like we used to have a balance
  760. 01:25:37.330 – 01:25:45.950 used to have some far rappers we had some pop rappers we had hip-hop and rap artists as well
  761. 01:25:45.950 – 01:25:51.930 but also let me speak on this there's been a lot of disrespect on hip-hop as a culture
  762. 01:25:51.930 – 01:25:58.170 in general we have sub genres too just because they rap don't make them a hip-hop
  763. 01:25:58.170 – 01:26:04.190 artist just because they're hip-hop artists don't make them a rapper yeah we have gangster rap we
  764. 01:26:06.470 – 01:26:12.770 have vibey rap everything we got so many sub genres use them sub genre tags man
  765. 01:26:13.310 – 01:26:19.450 everybody is not the same hip-hop changed even the 90s rappers hip-hop changed
  766. 01:26:19.450 – 01:26:27.250 yeah like like even your dopest mcs you think it's not really the true basis of hip-hop
  767. 01:26:27.250 – 01:26:36.270 it's evolution of it but our previous artist was definitely taking heed from previous generations
  768. 01:26:36.870 – 01:26:40.350 i keep on speaking on that because people be forgetting that
  769. 01:26:41.410 – 01:26:45.580 because i ain't gonna lie yadi rubbed me the wrong way from back in the day
  770. 01:26:47.210 – 01:26:50.970 he talking about he ain't know who pocket or biggie them would like
  771. 01:26:50.970 – 01:26:53.450 man if you're going somewhere you know exactly who it is
  772. 01:26:54.790 – 01:27:00.990 and nobody checked him about it like that they well i won't say nobody nobody around his age
  773. 01:27:00.990 – 01:27:06.950 checked him about that when somebody older check him about it i know you're an old head
  774. 01:27:06.950 – 01:27:11.350 that's what i low-key think old head is disrespectful now it used to be
  775. 01:27:11.350 – 01:27:16.290 something like you're saying this person got older cool now it's like this old
  776. 01:27:17.050 – 01:27:26.110 talking he an old hater that's what that sound like it's it's crazy though it's definitely crazy
  777. 01:27:28.730 – 01:27:36.010 what would you say would be like your goal or vision for the music industry especially stuff
  778. 01:27:36.010 – 01:27:41.990 that you're building and doing in the next 10 years having an ecosystem of people
  779. 01:27:42.550 – 01:27:47.330 that's on the same page as me whether it be artists producers anybody that got something to
  780. 01:27:47.330 – 01:27:53.950 with music and business and i prefer cleveland as an ecosystem all this hating that's been
  781. 01:27:53.950 – 01:27:59.050 going on for years pulling people down talking mess some of them will have a blind
  782. 01:27:59.050 – 01:28:03.810 they from one of my need to support y'all local artists even people that's outside of
  783. 01:28:03.810 – 01:28:08.370 the neighborhood too though like please support each other and if some of these local artists
  784. 01:28:08.370 – 01:28:13.910 show need to collab with these other popular artists from other hoods too why not what
  785. 01:28:13.910 – 01:28:19.110 to the unity of music where people pop up on trash like oh what you pop up on the track
  786. 01:28:19.110 – 01:28:24.230 or pop open a music video if you shoot a music video or something yeah ain't no type of cross
  787. 01:28:25.430 – 01:28:29.190 advertisement like that smart advertisement i mean y'all ain't got to be 100 cool but
  788. 01:28:29.190 – 01:28:34.490 it'd be nice to show some positivity for once even if y'all rapping about bs sometimes
  789. 01:28:35.430 – 01:28:43.120 i would say how how can people get in contact with you they want to book
  790. 01:28:43.120 – 01:28:47.440 finally on social media all that good stuff if you want to get in contact with me
  791. 01:28:48.040 – 01:28:54.580 find me on b stars.com slash t dames find me on instagram at instagram.com
  792. 01:28:54.580 – 01:29:02.240 slash it's t dames it's hard to miss me on tiktok it should be t dames of the workheads
  793. 01:29:02.240 – 01:29:08.800 if not it's t dames on beats so check me out on there and if you need to hear my email
  794. 01:29:08.800 – 01:29:19.790 get me at beats at t dames dot com follow the man go cop some beats get some exclusives all
  795. 01:29:19.790 – 01:29:26.370 that good stuff start with these youtube beats and invest in yourself if you're an artist
  796. 01:29:26.370 – 01:29:37.550 it's a must invest in yourself please and last question for all the new creative entrepreneurs
  797. 01:29:38.990 – 01:29:43.610 that want to start a business or want to get in the music industry
  798. 01:29:43.610 – 01:29:50.650 what tips and advice would you leave for them don't lose sight of the vision
  799. 01:29:50.650 – 01:30:01.480 keep pushing don't listen to the critics but take heed to the critics as well
  800. 01:30:02.760 – 01:30:07.660 people will talk mess about you and if it's enough people saying the same thing
  801. 01:30:08.180 – 01:30:14.760 take that as constructive criticism i was humble i still am i'm humble to learning
  802. 01:30:15.300 – 01:30:21.680 from anybody in this game i don't boast i don't do none of that even though some people tell me
  803. 01:30:21.680 – 01:30:29.180 i should because i make fire up and now i'm gonna sit here be appreciative and listen
  804. 01:30:29.700 – 01:30:42.630 and figure this stuff out man you'll get it let's get to it receive that's not taking
  805. 01:30:42.630 – 01:30:49.130 that in for myself that's that's powerful sometimes you need to take that time sit and
  806. 01:30:49.130 – 01:30:53.370 like i'm definitely bigger now even before a podcast i'm like yes
  807. 01:30:53.370 – 01:30:58.030 you know it's a ritual i take that a couple minutes just to meditate collect my thoughts
  808. 01:30:58.030 – 01:31:02.290 clear my head so yeah sit and listen i definitely received that too
  809. 01:31:04.010 – 01:31:09.770 but see yeah i appreciate you again brother i appreciate you for having me oh yeah it's
  810. 01:31:09.770 – 01:31:18.050 been amazing man it's a long time coming a very long time yes yes and this is another
  811. 01:31:18.050 – 01:31:24.590 episode of alienize photos industry talk with your host photographer jackson steve
  812. 01:31:24.590 – 01:31:31.650 jackson the alienize photos media and yes man this is a wrap definitely connect tap in
  813. 01:31:32.170 – 01:31:34.550 i'll catch you on the next one peace

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27. Dayja Smith - Coko's Crown

Season 2 · Episode 14

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.260 – 00:00:10.100 welcome welcome welcome to alienize photos industry talk and I'm sitting with
  2. 00:00:10.100 – 00:00:17.880 Miss Deja Smith Cleveland Ohio owner of Coco's crown natural hair care line and
  3. 00:00:17.880 – 00:00:23.160 I've used her products even though she I bought the product blindly and I loved
  4. 00:00:23.160 – 00:00:30.520 it and we have more to come on that also a plethora of things multifaceted
  5. 00:00:30.520 – 00:00:36.740 entrepreneur professional consultant company the list goes on but Deja you
  6. 00:00:36.740 – 00:00:42.660 can introduce yourself way better than I can tell the people who you are. Hi I am
  7. 00:00:42.660 – 00:00:49.240 Deja Smith I am born and raised in Cleveland Ohio I currently sit as the
  8. 00:00:49.240 – 00:00:52.780 vice president of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland's young professionals
  9. 00:00:53.480 – 00:00:59.620 I also sit as co-chair for the Urban Land Institute's real estate
  10. 00:00:59.620 – 00:01:04.300 development initiative where we teach minority professionals post-baccalaureate
  11. 00:01:04.300 – 00:01:10.960 real estate development so yes I am really community-based in Cleveland I
  12. 00:01:10.960 – 00:01:16.300 am Cleveland State as well as a little alum and I also graduated from
  13. 00:01:16.300 – 00:01:20.320 Lakeland Community College before I graduated from high school so I also
  14. 00:01:20.320 – 00:01:25.000 hold a business administration technology certification as well as
  15. 00:01:25.000 – 00:01:29.020 the state development certification and health care management and
  16. 00:01:29.020 – 00:01:35.600 psychology bachelors so. You're very well rounded. How did you get started with all these
  17. 00:01:35.600 – 00:01:41.280 different avenues and things? Really so with natural hair care I got
  18. 00:01:41.280 – 00:01:45.760 started after high school and I was going to college and I needed to
  19. 00:01:45.760 – 00:01:49.940 figure out hair products for myself so I got in a wave of creating my
  20. 00:01:49.940 – 00:01:54.900 own products from what I had present for me in the kitchen and since
  21. 00:01:54.900 – 00:02:00.680 then and going to school and studying chemistry biology psychology figuring
  22. 00:02:00.680 – 00:02:06.580 out sciences behind how to create products I pretty much have perfected I
  23. 00:02:06.580 – 00:02:10.520 would say for my community and the type of product that I would like to
  24. 00:02:10.520 – 00:02:14.900 have that's how I created it I was also working at a natural hair care
  25. 00:02:14.900 – 00:02:17.680 well the name of the store is natural hair natural beauty hair
  26. 00:02:17.680 – 00:02:24.880 boutique at the time but we weren't selling natural hair products we were
  27. 00:02:24.880 – 00:02:30.020 it because I wanted to sell natural hair products and that's kind of how I got my
  28. 00:02:30.020 – 00:02:35.860 start for natural hair care as far as D Smith Development Co. I got my start
  29. 00:02:36.360 – 00:02:41.640 doing business administration technology and then I expanded from that so so
  30. 00:02:41.640 – 00:02:47.520 going back to the hair care and I said I've used your products and I
  31. 00:02:47.520 – 00:02:52.560 just want to say how important just just for not fact just how important
  32. 00:02:52.560 – 00:02:58.320 is personal or sales agent for your brand your business not just for you but
  33. 00:02:58.320 – 00:03:02.540 like anybody that has a brand because you wasn't there I didn't even know you
  34. 00:03:02.540 – 00:03:07.780 at the time I know you were over the brand but I'm like sounds like a good
  35. 00:03:07.780 – 00:03:12.180 brand I could get behind and support it and I've tried the products and
  36. 00:03:12.180 – 00:03:19.360 loved it I even got the chapstick. Thank you I would say it's super
  37. 00:03:19.360 – 00:03:24.260 important to have a spokesperson or a salesperson to represent your product
  38. 00:03:24.260 – 00:03:29.160 in a way that maybe you can't it's good to have somebody be readily
  39. 00:03:29.160 – 00:03:35.780 available to tell your story as well as market the product and that's really
  40. 00:03:35.780 – 00:03:40.740 how you connect excuse me I just want connection but the importance of
  41. 00:03:40.740 – 00:03:45.300 having someone out and about speaking about the product the same way
  42. 00:03:45.300 – 00:03:49.040 that I am gains attention as well as really just getting a product out
  43. 00:03:49.040 – 00:03:54.220 here and into the hands of the people so that's beautiful and well told man I
  44. 00:03:54.220 – 00:04:00.980 remember the first time purchasing it I instantly used the lip balm you
  45. 00:04:00.980 – 00:04:05.340 prioritized it like a lip balm not a chapstick correct well chapstick it's a
  46. 00:04:05.340 – 00:04:14.160 brand. Chapstick is copyrighted. Give me right lip moisturizer. Give me correct and it was
  47. 00:04:14.160 – 00:04:17.579 amazing it was just glide I'm like oh this is smooth this is better than
  48. 00:04:17.579 – 00:04:22.300 chapstick so thank you which has changed over the years you know I've used so
  49. 00:04:22.300 – 00:04:26.500 many different products and even from the hair care even I even did the
  50. 00:04:26.500 – 00:04:33.400 refreshing mist before his interview. Thank you. I feel refreshed. I'm glad that you
  51. 00:04:33.400 – 00:04:37.400 do that's one of my favorite products actually because you can not
  52. 00:04:37.400 – 00:04:41.160 only just use it for your hair you can use it for your skin so spray it
  53. 00:04:41.160 – 00:04:45.320 on your face as well as it's TSA approved because all of my products
  54. 00:04:45.320 – 00:04:50.380 have antimicrobial and antifungal properties so I like to travel with
  55. 00:04:50.380 – 00:04:54.480 that I spray my hands spray my airplane seat with it that's how
  56. 00:04:54.480 – 00:04:58.460 multifaceted my products are so you're not just able to use it to grow
  57. 00:04:58.460 – 00:05:02.040 your hair and cleanse your scalp and moisturize your scalp but you're also
  58. 00:05:02.040 – 00:05:07.080 able to use it to cleanse a natural surface I've studied quite some I've
  59. 00:05:07.080 – 00:05:12.100 done a lot of research on creating the products that I have and before my
  60. 00:05:12.100 – 00:05:17.480 company started in 2017 I didn't release that specific product until 2021
  61. 00:05:17.480 – 00:05:22.680 2022 so that just gives you a timeline on how long that I'm testing these
  62. 00:05:22.680 – 00:05:26.600 products not only on myself but my friends my family and then just getting
  63. 00:05:26.600 – 00:05:31.600 feedback as well as how can I make it better so just the evolution of the
  64. 00:05:31.600 – 00:05:35.920 product before I even release it to the public it is heavily and vastly
  65. 00:05:35.920 – 00:05:40.480 researched so it can do its multifunctional things that it's
  66. 00:05:41.040 – 00:05:46.640 heavily researched tested feedback that's what I heard and how important is all of that
  67. 00:05:46.640 – 00:05:49.980 gaining that feedback and tested because some people are like oh I got
  68. 00:05:49.980 – 00:05:53.240 this product I'm putting it out really took your time like you said you
  69. 00:05:53.240 – 00:05:59.280 research you gather feedback made iterations changed it tailored it how
  70. 00:05:59.280 – 00:06:04.120 important is that extremely important especially when it comes to the
  71. 00:06:04.120 – 00:06:07.840 product itself and the brand I want to be one of those trusted brands
  72. 00:06:07.840 – 00:06:11.320 where it's like I know when I go to use her product I know that the quality is
  73. 00:06:11.320 – 00:06:16.080 gonna be a one if not the quality that is gonna be a one I know that it
  74. 00:06:16.080 – 00:06:21.220 can help me do that in a third or it's a solution for me so it's
  75. 00:06:21.220 – 00:06:26.900 extremely important I know for my oil I used to have just a regular
  76. 00:06:26.900 – 00:06:31.720 screw top and now I have a push-down top so medicinal dropper
  77. 00:06:31.720 – 00:06:37.640 instead highly important for lifespan of the product so really yes now the
  78. 00:06:37.640 – 00:06:43.080 product is virtually with that click top dropper the medicinal style dropper the
  79. 00:06:43.080 – 00:06:49.840 product is now virtually not able to expire so that's the it's a really
  80. 00:06:49.840 – 00:06:53.400 cool part about the oil and it's packaged in the hydrolytic resistant
  81. 00:06:53.400 – 00:06:57.980 bottles so so I can't just put in a little plastic bottle and be like oh you
  82. 00:06:57.980 – 00:07:03.300 could but at some point the quality of the product will be compromised so
  83. 00:07:03.300 – 00:07:09.600 I pride myself on the science on my packaging as well as the product
  84. 00:07:09.600 – 00:07:15.320 working together and creating a very potent and high quality style product
  85. 00:07:15.320 – 00:07:21.300 but as far as tailoring the product in changing it and as well as I don't
  86. 00:07:21.300 – 00:07:25.240 want to be the person keep releasing a whole bunch of different things like
  87. 00:07:25.240 – 00:07:28.380 the Jordans I don't want to keep I don't want to keep releasing the
  88. 00:07:28.380 – 00:07:32.140 thing and a whole bunch of different things I want my one product to stand
  89. 00:07:32.140 – 00:07:36.660 for itself and it's only going to get better from here and that's one thing
  90. 00:07:36.660 – 00:07:42.300 that I can say that my company has upheld thus far be a brand ambassador
  91. 00:07:42.300 – 00:07:45.800 yes you know what I can't wait for you to be a brand ambassador because
  92. 00:07:45.800 – 00:07:50.200 you're here is extremely long you bought the product blindly it's a real
  93. 00:07:50.200 – 00:07:55.520 review that's kind of my I can be it send products to people I can give
  94. 00:07:55.520 – 00:08:00.400 products to people but the customers who are blindly purchasing the product
  95. 00:08:00.400 – 00:08:05.240 and saying hey I like this and I love this let me go out and actually take the
  96. 00:08:05.240 – 00:08:08.800 initiative to come back and speak to me to give me that real review those are
  97. 00:08:08.800 – 00:08:13.120 the customers that I pride myself in having and I can say that that's how my
  98. 00:08:13.120 – 00:08:19.760 company has sustained itself thus far because my social growth online is not
  99. 00:08:19.760 – 00:08:25.020 that much but my word of mouth grow is being very pertinent to their
  100. 00:08:25.020 – 00:08:28.440 survival of my business and the success of my business so it's only
  101. 00:08:29.000 – 00:08:35.280 yes I'm excited we're growing and I'm coming from being a one-woman show to
  102. 00:08:35.280 – 00:08:40.200 relinquishing trust unto other people I just met with a friend of mine today
  103. 00:08:40.200 – 00:08:45.340 and we were just thinking about how can we outsource you you have your hand
  104. 00:08:45.340 – 00:08:49.720 in so many different places and pots for the success in the growth of your
  105. 00:08:49.720 – 00:08:54.560 business you have to be willing to expand and take on a team and so
  106. 00:08:54.560 – 00:08:57.840 that's kind of where I'm at right now it's like my business is in the
  107. 00:08:57.840 – 00:09:02.960 growing stage the best thing that I can do to scale and foster that growth is
  108. 00:09:02.960 – 00:09:07.340 to create the team so keeping that success going so what would you say is
  109. 00:09:07.340 – 00:09:14.500 your first hire has been thus far a business solutions advisor that's how
  110. 00:09:14.500 – 00:09:21.480 you actually purchased my product the first time around yes the importance
  111. 00:09:21.480 – 00:09:27.280 of a podcast the pull-up experience yes an omnipresent presence is
  112. 00:09:27.280 – 00:09:32.320 extremely impactful when growing your business and just having people who are
  113. 00:09:32.320 – 00:09:37.240 just as passionate and believe in the goal just as much as you I think that
  114. 00:09:37.240 – 00:09:41.200 that is what creates success around business I can all credit miss Lutri
  115. 00:09:41.200 – 00:09:47.520 step light we just recently did a chase coaching for impact and I just
  116. 00:09:47.520 – 00:09:53.820 recently graduated that program but oh you are okay that's amazing
  117. 00:09:53.820 – 00:09:59.440 congratulations but I would say it's having that mentorship having the
  118. 00:09:59.440 – 00:10:04.260 advocacy having the people in finance Tim also works for Bank of America so
  119. 00:10:04.260 – 00:10:08.540 he's always figuring out how can this business be more innovative within
  120. 00:10:08.540 – 00:10:13.760 whether it be technology whether it be on a marketing standpoint or in a
  121. 00:10:13.760 – 00:10:18.980 communication standpoint so and then Latrice is kind of that lady who's
  122. 00:10:18.980 – 00:10:22.860 like she's a powerhouse you know Lutri she's a powerhouse especially
  123. 00:10:22.860 – 00:10:27.360 with mentorship and telling you this is where you need to be and this is how you
  124. 00:10:27.360 – 00:10:31.000 go to make that business bankable this is how you properly scale that
  125. 00:10:31.000 – 00:10:35.260 business this is who you need to speak to and then go from there so
  126. 00:10:35.260 – 00:10:39.560 I'll say mainly just getting the financial people in order first and then
  127. 00:10:39.560 – 00:10:44.400 the marketing people in order next is that's gonna be the main thing for a
  128. 00:10:44.400 – 00:10:51.260 successful business after that my brand ambassadors maybe or I'm
  129. 00:10:51.260 – 00:10:56.640 definitely in the need of some type of secretary or personal assistant or any
  130. 00:10:56.640 – 00:11:02.920 type of intern who's willing to follow my company and then grow with me in any
  131. 00:11:02.920 – 00:11:06.960 type of succession plan that I'm looking forward for to create this to
  132. 00:11:06.960 – 00:11:21.240 go passively but that's currently finances is my first go-to for my
  133. 00:11:21.240 – 00:11:30.220 so what about colleges here colleges cosmetology school I think that that's
  134. 00:11:30.220 – 00:11:36.420 a good idea however I know that those ladies are looking to earn hours as far
  135. 00:11:36.420 – 00:11:41.580 as service hours for the services that they provide but I would be looking I
  136. 00:11:42.020 – 00:11:46.920 would be interested in figuring out how I could possibly teach the
  137. 00:11:46.920 – 00:11:52.240 side of the cosmetology industry the beauty industry because it's one thing
  138. 00:11:52.240 – 00:11:56.460 to have a skill but it's another thing to have the knowledge to support that
  139. 00:11:56.460 – 00:12:04.400 skill so that's a good idea thank you so even time that's who what you're
  140. 00:12:04.400 – 00:12:10.140 doing in a partner with Urban League greater Cleveland young professionals
  141. 00:12:10.580 – 00:12:20.560 president yes probably since October we're in May right now I am succeeding
  142. 00:12:20.560 – 00:12:26.700 mr. Devinson so he's pretty cool but I am in in in collaboration and
  143. 00:12:26.700 – 00:12:33.420 leadership with mr. Colin Jackson as a president you know it's funny he
  144. 00:12:33.420 – 00:12:37.440 would love something like that we check all the time already I can
  145. 00:12:37.440 – 00:12:45.660 tell you he's a good friend so what about independent workshops so
  146. 00:12:45.660 – 00:12:49.960 independent workshops and that's amazing that you brought that up my
  147. 00:12:50.540 – 00:12:54.920 co-working space where my professional development company D Smith development
  148. 00:12:54.920 – 00:13:00.080 co I have a co-working space the address is 25863 shard and row Richmond
  149. 00:13:00.080 – 00:13:06.740 Heights Ohio four four one four three you can drop in and schedule any type
  150. 00:13:06.740 – 00:13:11.120 workshop that you would like to teach or would like to receive and we can
  151. 00:13:11.120 – 00:13:16.680 figure out that for you but we do offer working content rooms as well as
  152. 00:13:16.680 – 00:13:20.440 boardrooms you can drop in and work from home from there we have cubicle
  153. 00:13:20.440 – 00:13:28.640 spaces handicap accessible yeah drop in and work from home yeah so they're
  154. 00:13:28.640 – 00:13:33.520 they're called drop-in desks I have people drop in cubicles available
  155. 00:13:33.520 – 00:13:36.200 let's say you don't want to really work from home you need a new
  156. 00:13:36.200 – 00:13:41.380 workspace the library doesn't really support taking calls and things like that
  157. 00:13:41.380 – 00:13:46.260 so you can do that right here at decent development co I guess and is
  158. 00:13:46.260 – 00:13:50.920 that a something you kind of pawn to your real estate development that is
  159. 00:13:50.920 – 00:13:56.440 actually yes it's funny that you brought that up um I came across the
  160. 00:13:56.440 – 00:14:04.680 real estate for the space started okay your wine and let's go to how did I
  161. 00:14:04.680 – 00:14:10.000 get into contact with the real estate development people was figuring I was
  162. 00:14:10.000 – 00:14:13.580 in a space this before I had the business solutions advisor I was in a
  163. 00:14:13.580 – 00:14:18.120 space to where I was like okay how do I get my business out here I was just
  164. 00:14:18.120 – 00:14:23.160 messaging random people on Instagram like and I spiked your event I ran
  165. 00:14:23.160 – 00:14:29.680 into Melanie she is pretty much the executive director of the urban land
  166. 00:14:29.680 – 00:14:34.660 Institute she said sure we're having a women's day event you can come and
  167. 00:14:34.660 – 00:14:38.540 sponsor I said sure I'd be willing to give you all free products hundreds of
  168. 00:14:38.540 – 00:14:45.680 free products for gift bags and so she was like wow that's amazing sure come
  169. 00:14:45.680 – 00:14:49.000 pick them up and so she came and she picked him up she invited me to the
  170. 00:14:49.000 – 00:14:53.960 event and after she was like would you be interested in doing a real
  171. 00:14:53.960 – 00:15:00.240 estate development initiative I said sure and yeah I went from being a
  172. 00:15:00.240 – 00:15:06.040 sponsor to a student and a participant in the ready program to now it being my
  173. 00:15:06.040 – 00:15:13.700 program I'm the co-chair wait you came with your your brand your product partner
  174. 00:15:13.700 – 00:15:18.560 basically partner with another business another brand and now you
  175. 00:15:18.560 – 00:15:25.060 leverage your own brand to basically overtake another brand yeah I wouldn't
  176. 00:15:25.060 – 00:15:28.960 say overtake though because I definitely grew in that space and they
  177. 00:15:28.960 – 00:15:34.860 have supported me so greatly as far as like just being hungry and wanting more
  178. 00:15:34.860 – 00:15:38.540 opportunities because I don't have a real estate development or any real
  179. 00:15:38.540 – 00:15:42.680 estate background in any type of capacity I was just the girl sponsor in
  180. 00:15:42.680 – 00:15:46.680 the event you know I do have those connections at Cleveland State and I
  181. 00:15:46.680 – 00:15:50.820 do have the connections within the community and I do have the willingness
  182. 00:15:50.820 – 00:15:56.580 to learn as well as be teachable so Melanie was like would you be
  183. 00:15:56.580 – 00:16:03.120 interested I'm looking for students I said yes that's how I got all the way
  184. 00:16:03.120 – 00:16:09.400 to being the co-chair of the real estate development initiative to D Smith
  185. 00:16:09.400 – 00:16:13.200 Development Co. in that aspect I was looking up places okay I finally want
  186. 00:16:13.200 – 00:16:16.440 to get my feet wet I got my certifications in real estate development
  187. 00:16:16.440 – 00:16:20.740 I have a network of a global network because Urban Land Institute is a
  188. 00:16:20.740 – 00:16:25.380 global network of within real estate whether it be construction
  189. 00:16:26.500 – 00:16:30.000 architects anything you can think of a global network so I'm like okay I have
  190. 00:16:30.000 – 00:16:34.280 a global network I need to figure out projects for myself how can I get our
  191. 00:16:35.760 – 00:16:42.000 RFPs those are requests for proposals how can I get RFPs so mentor one
  192. 00:16:42.000 – 00:16:45.120 of my mentors who was teaching the class they were like you just got to
  193. 00:16:45.120 – 00:16:47.700 go out and you got to go out and find them don't get your feet wet
  194. 00:16:47.700 – 00:16:51.920 don't be afraid to get your feet wet so I meet a guy I see an open
  195. 00:16:51.920 – 00:16:56.040 space and at the time my sister's looking for something to put her
  196. 00:16:56.040 – 00:17:00.260 esthetician business and so I go and talk to the man I say hey my sister's
  197. 00:17:00.260 – 00:17:04.900 looking for a place to put her business it didn't end up sitting right
  198. 00:17:04.900 – 00:17:08.660 with my sister she didn't care for the space really so I said okay I'll
  199. 00:17:08.660 – 00:17:12.020 take the space because I really like it and the space was kind of beat
  200. 00:17:12.020 – 00:17:18.700 up I had developed the space put my own knowledge to use and yeah I'm
  201. 00:17:18.700 – 00:17:25.160 development co so yeah I'm trying to be well-rounded multifaceted important
  202. 00:17:25.160 – 00:17:28.880 for me to say that if there's anything that I've ever thought that I wanted to
  203. 00:17:28.880 – 00:17:34.320 do I did it so this is kind of me kind of knowing you advance and run
  204. 00:17:34.320 – 00:17:40.020 into each other in public or introvert or extrovert Wow okay I would
  205. 00:17:40.020 – 00:17:46.740 say that I am a introvert you how as an introvert how do you push past
  206. 00:17:46.740 – 00:17:52.720 all that is to these different hands building these different businesses and
  207. 00:17:52.720 – 00:17:58.680 brands and certifications like how do you push past that understanding that
  208. 00:17:58.680 – 00:18:06.600 I have a greater purpose so I do have family is a major thing for me that
  209. 00:18:06.600 – 00:18:10.980 drives me I am my oldest I'm the oldest sister so it's kind of like
  210. 00:18:10.980 – 00:18:15.260 your parents really depend on me keeping things in order and in
  211. 00:18:15.880 – 00:18:19.420 behind people so it's kind of like I've always been like I've always been the
  212. 00:18:19.420 – 00:18:27.340 boss but now it's to the point of okay and I pull up with me how can I know
  213. 00:18:27.340 – 00:18:31.420 that not only is my family depending on me but every other young lady who
  214. 00:18:31.420 – 00:18:38.000 looks like me is depending on me to be better you know she my goals mainly
  215. 00:18:38.000 – 00:18:44.300 my family but also to women like me I am and think about greatness and
  216. 00:18:44.300 – 00:18:49.780 I think about accessing spaces I know that not many of me are in that space
  217. 00:18:49.780 – 00:18:56.020 just being able to infiltrate different spaces bring women up with me but also
  218. 00:18:56.020 – 00:19:04.180 black people in totality so with that being said has there ever been like a
  219. 00:19:04.180 – 00:19:14.280 difficult or hard time that you try to do this and kind of go away or you
  220. 00:19:14.900 – 00:19:20.560 think about several times where I've had to pivot within my professional life I am
  221. 00:19:20.560 – 00:19:25.820 currently a full-time entrepreneur but I haven't always been that and I am
  222. 00:19:25.820 – 00:19:31.840 also in a space to where I am wanting to grow within my education and
  223. 00:19:31.840 – 00:19:35.820 I'm thinking about okay I'm out of school since 2019 how can I be an
  224. 00:19:35.820 – 00:19:39.240 entrepreneur I've been in that the philanthropist and in the community
  225. 00:19:39.240 – 00:19:43.400 space and in the advocacy phase how can I take the skills that I'm
  226. 00:19:43.400 – 00:19:48.500 already having that it's been on a hiatus since the pandemic within the
  227. 00:19:48.500 – 00:19:54.720 health care industry and I take what I'm doing now and put it towards what
  228. 00:19:54.720 – 00:19:58.820 it is that I'm doing or want to do later on that's something that I'm
  229. 00:19:58.820 – 00:20:01.720 currently navigating in this in the process I'm in the process of doing
  230. 00:20:01.720 – 00:20:09.120 that but as far as my business their industry is a billion-dollar industry
  231. 00:20:09.780 – 00:20:14.300 people are consistently coming up with ideas that are like yours or similar to
  232. 00:20:14.300 – 00:20:18.480 yours so you're figuring out how can I stand out it's my product different
  233. 00:20:18.480 – 00:20:21.940 than everyone else's product you know that all too well yeah you know what I
  234. 00:20:21.940 – 00:20:25.860 mean big in the podcast industry in the audio visual industry in
  235. 00:20:25.860 – 00:20:30.560 communication and marketing you have to figure out okay this one might pick
  236. 00:20:30.560 – 00:20:33.340 up the camera and I don't think they're a photographer and this is
  237. 00:20:33.340 – 00:20:37.920 something that you actually you want a professional level and so it's kind
  238. 00:20:37.920 – 00:20:42.720 of with me being a scientist while I am putting out a hair product I'm a
  239. 00:20:42.720 – 00:20:48.260 scientist my product is multifaceted my product not only grows your hair but
  240. 00:20:48.260 – 00:20:54.260 helps with topical numbing it also me with my anti-microbial it also helps
  241. 00:20:54.260 – 00:20:58.220 with skin diseases it also helps with building confidence and making yourself
  242. 00:20:58.220 – 00:21:03.690 feel better so my thing is pivoting really is a part of my story as the
  243. 00:21:03.690 – 00:21:14.330 entrepreneur that I am let's cheers to you and we love it it's so good like
  244. 00:21:14.330 – 00:21:20.130 the party the sangria yes to you wines in South Creek Ohio one of my brand
  245. 00:21:20.130 – 00:21:33.670 partners man definitely check it out but um like you got a lot on your
  246. 00:21:33.670 – 00:21:39.690 energy all of this and continue to keep going at a high level I'm doing
  247. 00:21:39.690 – 00:21:46.230 anything that I am not passionate about so the thing is I feel like anything
  248. 00:21:46.230 – 00:21:51.170 that I take to or anything that I start it's because I truly believe in
  249. 00:21:51.170 – 00:21:58.130 it I know a lot of people are into things that are just join or they're
  250. 00:21:58.130 – 00:22:00.870 they're supporting just a sport support you know social media has
  251. 00:22:01.830 – 00:22:09.030 trends in me personally I am human rights is like me so my communal work
  252. 00:22:09.030 – 00:22:14.090 I'm human first in believing everything for my professional development you're
  253. 00:22:14.090 – 00:22:17.010 gonna get everyone to have the education that they need to support
  254. 00:22:17.010 – 00:22:22.650 whatever endeavor that they want my natural hair care line it's am wanting
  255. 00:22:22.650 – 00:22:26.850 people to have access to healthy products that are created small and
  256. 00:22:26.850 – 00:22:34.050 have any ulterior motive I'm gonna be brands my real estate development is to
  257. 00:22:34.370 – 00:22:39.370 make sure that minorities have access to real estate and land and education
  258. 00:22:39.370 – 00:22:45.070 on how to sustain that in community and neighborhoods so it's really for
  259. 00:22:45.070 – 00:22:48.970 me I'm not doing anything that I don't genuinely believe in or that I
  260. 00:22:48.970 – 00:22:54.070 don't genuinely support so I don't have an issue going that thousandth
  261. 00:22:54.070 – 00:23:00.270 I don't have an issue you had a hundred tenth percent genuinely support it you
  262. 00:23:00.270 – 00:23:04.590 genuinely want a better you just have to be the change you want to see in
  263. 00:23:04.590 – 00:23:10.550 the world yeah try to show up in ways that I would like to see that all
  264. 00:23:10.550 – 00:23:17.370 that you believe in everything that you see but what about stuff that you
  265. 00:23:17.370 – 00:23:22.150 don't believe in or like the enemy to what you're doing um thing that
  266. 00:23:22.150 – 00:23:27.070 I'll say is you have to have discernment and you they prayed up I have to have
  267. 00:23:29.030 – 00:23:35.750 discernment I say that I'm very intuitive on being able to ran a space
  268. 00:23:35.750 – 00:23:42.190 isn't for me you direct myself out of the space as far as I'm gonna always
  269. 00:23:42.190 – 00:23:45.130 be an odd but as long as you stay ready you don't have to get ready you
  270. 00:23:45.130 – 00:23:49.050 know long as I'm prepared for whatever it is that can come towards me as
  271. 00:23:49.050 – 00:23:55.210 and even the diversities that I'm not prepared for know that as long as I
  272. 00:23:55.210 – 00:23:59.890 stay faithful inconsistent and determined it's always gonna follow up
  273. 00:23:59.890 – 00:24:05.310 next you know keep going in face of an enemy in the face of any
  274. 00:24:05.310 – 00:24:08.930 adversities you just got to keep going and you'll you'll understand like
  275. 00:24:09.510 – 00:24:13.750 you have a vision it's bigger than the problem the vision will always be
  276. 00:24:13.750 – 00:24:17.630 bigger than the problem so I'm trying to win the war the battles I can
  277. 00:24:17.630 – 00:24:20.710 battle here or there but I'm trying to win the war you know these are things
  278. 00:24:20.710 – 00:24:25.410 that I have to mentally tell myself and reaffirm myself but I'm grateful that
  279. 00:24:25.410 – 00:24:29.830 I do have the mindset and the confidence that I do to be able to keep
  280. 00:24:29.830 – 00:24:34.910 showing up as you say that quote and they lose the battle but you're
  281. 00:24:34.910 – 00:24:40.270 gonna win the war is there was like the last few books that you've read
  282. 00:24:40.270 – 00:24:47.230 I gotta plug my ladies in I know this is crazy 107 days Kamala Harris
  283. 00:24:47.230 – 00:24:54.930 107 days I just recently met her I have a signed copy and she is a light I
  284. 00:24:54.930 – 00:25:01.550 didn't I've never met someone to where their aura kind of boss exudes
  285. 00:25:01.550 – 00:25:05.750 like I'm gonna be like her one day and I'm 31 so it's like I passed the
  286. 00:25:05.750 – 00:25:11.370 age where it's like oh but I'm at the age to where I could recognize okay she
  287. 00:25:11.370 – 00:25:18.870 has great skill great achievements she has a great personality great woman to
  288. 00:25:18.870 – 00:25:25.290 show up as wait qualities so 107 days by Kamala Harris I'd like to plug okay
  289. 00:25:25.290 – 00:25:30.850 well as becoming Michelle Obama the first edition where the covers blue and
  290. 00:25:30.850 – 00:25:38.270 yes so are you running for office no just curious have all these stands and
  291. 00:25:38.270 – 00:25:43.750 what you believe in and then like two books you recommend is like political
  292. 00:25:43.750 – 00:25:50.770 figures in the sense um I say no I am NOT running for office but I would
  293. 00:25:50.770 – 00:25:54.670 like to plug my friend who is running for office you money yes money
  294. 00:25:54.670 – 00:25:59.750 Edwards Edwards I was thinking Kamala Harris but her name is Imani Edwards
  295. 00:25:59.750 – 00:26:04.370 she's how I met Kamala Harris Imani Edwards okay so what she's running for
  296. 00:26:04.370 – 00:26:09.190 she is running for councilwoman downtown ward so we've been voting for her
  297. 00:26:09.710 – 00:26:15.410 election day but by the time this is published I don't know we gotta vote
  298. 00:26:15.410 – 00:26:19.770 today so even if you might have to edit this we're not sure I don't mean
  299. 00:26:19.770 – 00:26:25.630 like I don't know how sure she's gonna be better when my when I say
  300. 00:26:25.630 – 00:26:30.490 qualities of a great woman a great leader even if she doesn't win can't
  301. 00:26:30.490 – 00:26:34.790 wait to support any next endeavor for her but yeah I'm gonna need money
  302. 00:26:34.790 – 00:26:42.970 Edwards what does she do besides she works for Taff so she is a greater
  303. 00:26:42.970 – 00:26:50.070 Cleveland's young professional general body member we are really grateful to
  304. 00:26:50.070 – 00:26:56.530 her on our public advocacy committee as well as she simply just did
  305. 00:26:56.530 – 00:27:00.590 something for our women's initiative on it during the month of March where
  306. 00:27:00.590 – 00:27:07.030 we hosted pretty much the largest panel that we have in 2026 so yeah
  307. 00:27:07.030 – 00:27:11.250 we're really excited to have her as well as a lot of our new members who
  308. 00:27:11.250 – 00:27:17.610 are out and about making a difference we I would say for our IPs is we
  309. 00:27:17.610 – 00:27:21.450 have everyone in different sectors whether it be sports whether it be the
  310. 00:27:21.450 – 00:27:25.610 arts whether it be event curating whether it be really say the education
  311. 00:27:25.610 – 00:27:31.550 business finance like more really well-rounded as an organization and we
  312. 00:27:31.550 – 00:27:39.290 truly support each other in that aspect yes but no policy for me I am
  313. 00:27:39.290 – 00:27:46.130 a science girl I love science scenes research clinical studies those type
  314. 00:27:46.130 – 00:27:53.750 of things love neurology brain studies the human-computer interaction that's
  315. 00:27:53.750 – 00:28:01.650 my main thing for psychology that I'm truly into right now so is it mainly
  316. 00:28:01.650 – 00:28:06.830 science because you have like after of things like a well-rounded palette of
  317. 00:28:06.830 – 00:28:13.110 different intersect industries since I will be your like thing on alternate
  318. 00:28:13.110 – 00:28:22.690 go or like no I think I don't want to box myself in in that aspect as far as
  319. 00:28:22.690 – 00:28:28.150 my education goes I would say I the first before I had a high school
  320. 00:28:28.150 – 00:28:32.770 diploma I had a business administration technology so I was
  321. 00:28:32.770 – 00:28:37.150 already not only well-rounded in business but I was also well-rounded
  322. 00:28:37.150 – 00:28:41.650 in the technology space in an administration space that's something
  323. 00:28:41.650 – 00:28:49.990 that I can do with my eyes closed yes just like and do that now for as my
  324. 00:28:49.990 – 00:28:56.950 psychology more so of passion and interest the brain why people do the
  325. 00:28:56.950 – 00:29:05.970 things we do behavior yes so that's actually why I do health care
  326. 00:29:05.970 – 00:29:11.230 management as well management marketing health care of interaction is
  327. 00:29:11.230 – 00:29:15.530 what I kind of um why why people think that we think what would make you buy
  328. 00:29:15.530 – 00:29:20.570 this product over the next one what colors are gonna make you shop what
  329. 00:29:20.570 – 00:29:26.470 colors are gonna make you click things are yeah things am I gonna say to
  330. 00:29:26.470 – 00:29:31.150 where it entices people to want to do something you know what I mean what
  331. 00:29:31.150 – 00:29:35.370 language or what words can I use to get the reader a little bit harder to
  332. 00:29:35.370 – 00:29:38.810 where they're gonna wanna what's the matter sensory you know I trigger for
  333. 00:29:38.810 – 00:29:45.510 upon reading this so somatosensory what your emotions your five senses and
  334. 00:29:45.510 – 00:29:50.450 your five senses and the emotions that follow the five senses it goes really
  335. 00:29:50.450 – 00:29:54.650 hand-in-hand in marketing so if you were looking like should I do psych
  336. 00:29:54.650 – 00:29:59.090 should I do business together they're really good really great yes what
  337. 00:29:59.090 – 00:30:07.510 about the color for your brand and Coco's crown so um do you really want to know the truth I want to know the truth and
  338. 00:30:10.150 – 00:30:19.370 okay I wanted to do black and white like I know that's crazy so at the time 2017
  339. 00:30:19.370 – 00:30:23.830 when I would think it was 2016 when I was thinking about like how I want my
  340. 00:30:23.830 – 00:30:27.990 logo to look ten years ago okay okay this is ten years ago um how am I
  341. 00:30:27.990 – 00:30:33.990 little to look and so I know I wanted it to be clean plain white
  342. 00:30:33.990 – 00:30:40.310 I knew I wanted it to be white but got milk is black and white and we are Coco's
  343. 00:30:40.310 – 00:30:44.410 crown so Coco the color of cocoa black and what kind you think about the
  344. 00:30:44.410 – 00:30:52.950 cocoa yeah brown yeah you know milk chocolate so that's basically where I
  345. 00:30:52.950 – 00:30:59.770 got Coco's crown milk chocolate yeah those are the colors the cleanness of
  346. 00:30:59.770 – 00:31:02.830 that so now anything that you see of Coco's crown it's only gonna say
  347. 00:31:02.830 – 00:31:07.710 Coco's crown and then everything else will have something around it everything
  348. 00:31:07.710 – 00:31:12.390 else but the logo itself is just clean white cursive I went for cursive
  349. 00:31:12.390 – 00:31:19.730 because of crown royal or elegant lux feel yeah like a more lux feel for it
  350. 00:31:20.330 – 00:31:25.010 but really how I have it no other variation to where you got the brown
  351. 00:31:25.010 – 00:31:29.390 and the white I don't really do that unless it's on a piece of content to
  352. 00:31:29.390 – 00:31:35.850 have to be back but kind of got the inspiration from a powerful campaign by
  353. 00:31:35.850 – 00:31:41.450 the way they got me listen and I'm like doesn't tolerate so for you and
  354. 00:31:41.450 – 00:31:47.130 um so I'll say what would you say you do for fun like was your passions
  355. 00:31:47.130 – 00:31:51.410 outside of business and entrepreneurship and policy Coco's
  356. 00:31:51.410 – 00:31:58.390 crown caring for others I like to do for fun my dogs play with my pets
  357. 00:31:58.390 – 00:32:04.530 my dogs my nails I'm really good randomly I'm really good at nails I've
  358. 00:32:04.530 – 00:32:12.470 been doing nails since I was probably 12 years old I would say earlier than
  359. 00:32:12.470 – 00:32:18.210 12 maybe 10 no yeah it's years old I probably got my first nail kit but as
  360. 00:32:18.210 – 00:32:26.840 of lately my nails probably around the 2010s college like 2018 2019 I
  361. 00:32:26.840 – 00:32:32.340 graduated in 2019 but 20 9 2018 to about 2020 I was like I'm not getting my
  362. 00:32:32.340 – 00:32:39.900 nails done anymore I was like my nails done heavily um but now I'm so good at
  363. 00:32:39.900 – 00:32:43.680 doing my own like manicure I prefer to do my own nails before I would
  364. 00:32:43.680 – 00:32:48.660 prefer to have someone else do them and it's just to the point you
  365. 00:32:48.660 – 00:32:55.960 were like have done my mom's done my sisters are like yeah I even like
  366. 00:32:56.600 – 00:33:02.440 if you go to the makeup artist and it's not what you want or happens it rained
  367. 00:33:02.440 – 00:33:08.060 on or you cry your makeup off so I've been really good at lately a really
  368. 00:33:08.060 – 00:33:11.460 light natural beat I'll plug my favorite makeup artist right now her
  369. 00:33:11.460 – 00:33:15.480 name is Madeline Nicole like the last seven years I've been getting my
  370. 00:33:15.480 – 00:33:21.080 makeup done by Maddie if I'm going like event style and going all out but
  371. 00:33:21.080 – 00:33:26.920 I'm currently in a space to where I want to pour into myself in a way to where
  372. 00:33:26.920 – 00:33:32.120 it makes me feel better and I think that it's honing in on my own beauty
  373. 00:33:32.120 – 00:33:39.560 standards in a natural aspect have really I would say built a love for
  374. 00:33:39.560 – 00:33:43.240 myself as well as a confidence for myself that I probably didn't have
  375. 00:33:43.240 – 00:33:47.740 before when someone else was doing the service I think it's because I can
  376. 00:33:47.740 – 00:33:52.640 tell the evolution of how of me getting better at doing the service to how I
  377. 00:33:52.640 – 00:33:58.640 like point into myself on that aspect on a self-care aspect allows for me to
  378. 00:33:58.640 – 00:34:04.220 be gentle with myself in other places offer me to be teachable like hey
  379. 00:34:04.220 – 00:34:11.159 don't know how to do this you can learn over time and yeah I think just
  380. 00:34:11.159 – 00:34:15.659 admitting administering self-care to myself is how I become a hobby for
  381. 00:34:15.659 – 00:34:19.520 myself and I've gotten so good at it to where I can do it for my sister's
  382. 00:34:20.400 – 00:34:26.239 hobby so with that being said what is your definition of self love oh that's
  383. 00:34:26.239 – 00:34:34.739 a good one um I think that love is very complex why is that um like it's
  384. 00:34:34.739 – 00:34:45.639 complex to name or to describe I think love is simple that's fair but I
  385. 00:34:45.639 – 00:34:53.780 when it comes to self-love I think that self-love looks differently than
  386. 00:34:53.780 – 00:34:59.380 loving other people so you have to love yourself first like a reflection
  387. 00:34:59.380 – 00:35:03.840 yeah how you love other people and so that's why other people love you love
  388. 00:35:03.840 – 00:35:10.300 you exactly so I would say down to discipline can be a part of love
  389. 00:35:10.300 – 00:35:14.400 that's true you know what I mean so I think that looks it can be complex
  390. 00:35:14.400 – 00:35:21.820 but you you do things out of love I would define self-love as showing up for
  391. 00:35:21.820 – 00:35:27.160 oneself in a manner to which no one else can show up for you you know what
  392. 00:35:27.160 – 00:35:30.920 you need you know what I'm saying you know what makes you feel good you know
  393. 00:35:30.920 – 00:35:33.620 what makes you happy you know makes you sad you know what I'm saying you
  394. 00:35:33.620 – 00:35:36.760 know how to console yourself you know you're always gonna be with you
  395. 00:35:36.760 – 00:35:43.620 that's right so I think that that you are a multifaceted being not just me
  396. 00:35:43.620 – 00:35:49.740 but other people just being aware where starts with self-awareness and knowing
  397. 00:35:49.740 – 00:35:55.920 oneself okay going to last time or last activity that you like yeah really
  398. 00:35:55.920 – 00:36:00.480 practice self-love I love myself I'm like what was that last a moment you
  399. 00:36:00.480 – 00:36:06.000 had that like probably say last week my birthday just passed
  400. 00:36:06.720 – 00:36:12.100 late it yes thank you April 29th you just turned it up I was giving your
  401. 00:36:12.100 – 00:36:22.250 moment I'm preparing for my birthday yeah myself the attention that I
  402. 00:36:22.250 – 00:36:27.850 deserve the reflection that I'm meeting I'm putting first I think it's
  403. 00:36:27.850 – 00:36:31.870 easy to say my birthday because everyone like around your day you have
  404. 00:36:31.870 – 00:36:35.970 a reason to be selfish you have a reason to not do things for others
  405. 00:36:35.970 – 00:36:42.950 but it also can highlight a time to where it's like okay isn't me today so I
  406. 00:36:42.950 – 00:36:46.770 would say I would recognize my birthday just passing that's the last
  407. 00:36:46.770 – 00:36:51.110 time that I can say okay girl you love you you look good you know what I mean
  408. 00:36:51.110 – 00:36:54.270 just like into myself into a manner to which I don't think anyone else
  409. 00:36:54.270 – 00:37:03.330 could afford into me so kind of pivoted that's all myself but talking
  410. 00:37:03.330 – 00:37:07.890 about myself just a little bit as you know I'm into media visual photography
  411. 00:37:07.890 – 00:37:14.930 videography podcast and helping creative entrepreneurs get their brand out so
  412. 00:37:14.930 – 00:37:21.430 how would you say media influence your market industry major major I think
  413. 00:37:21.430 – 00:37:27.030 about ten years ago you know it's first started in the company we're we
  414. 00:37:27.030 – 00:37:31.590 were living like this is traditional so wins now ladies are doing well
  415. 00:37:31.590 – 00:37:36.630 then then ladies were doing like the foreclosures and things like that now
  416. 00:37:36.630 – 00:37:39.930 the ladies are into like the wood things like that and now people are
  417. 00:37:39.930 – 00:37:42.850 trying to transition back to the natural space it was like okay I like
  418. 00:37:42.850 – 00:37:49.010 natural hair um so I would say that especially for hair care the industry
  419. 00:37:49.010 – 00:37:55.330 that I'm in if favorite influencer drops a new hairstyle or a new hair
  420. 00:37:55.330 – 00:37:59.910 color or a new length that she wants or you know now that's what everyone's
  421. 00:37:59.910 – 00:38:04.390 gonna be doing for the next six months you know forgive when everyone was doing
  422. 00:38:04.390 – 00:38:08.970 the feeder braids and then they were calling them like this braids and they're
  423. 00:38:08.970 – 00:38:12.910 just straight backs right you know what I mean but somehow they have a name
  424. 00:38:12.910 – 00:38:17.790 to them now and I'm you know good as for getting to put on and having
  425. 00:38:17.790 – 00:38:22.230 and be able to like coin a style or even like the pop braids those are
  426. 00:38:22.230 – 00:38:25.750 just braids going down you know what I mean these are just cornrows right
  427. 00:38:25.750 – 00:38:32.750 but we are like in a space to wear and those braids ran like the pandemic for
  428. 00:38:32.750 – 00:38:37.470 quite some time I don't know if you know let's say like so yeah you know
  429. 00:38:37.470 – 00:38:41.450 did we clock smokeless you know guys so and even that's Dior like she's
  430. 00:38:41.450 – 00:38:44.410 that girl right now but she's not wearing grades but when she was it
  431. 00:38:44.410 – 00:38:50.290 was like okay I'll raise just like that so I would say social media truly
  432. 00:38:50.290 – 00:38:56.350 impact on how we carry ourselves but it's significantly made the world
  433. 00:38:56.350 – 00:39:01.810 smaller so something that you may have not have seen or had access to you
  434. 00:39:01.810 – 00:39:04.570 have right at your fingertips you can log on and you can go and see
  435. 00:39:04.570 – 00:39:08.610 someone from China that's right before you could have to get on to the
  436. 00:39:08.610 – 00:39:13.410 internet and Google search hey someone from China and then before that
  437. 00:39:13.410 – 00:39:18.750 you used to have to actually go to China you know it's a social has
  438. 00:39:18.750 – 00:39:25.850 greatly greatly world smaller and that also imposes self-expression which
  439. 00:39:25.850 – 00:39:32.390 is like our hairstyles it's cool though it goes in constant more
  440. 00:39:32.390 – 00:39:38.010 accessible yep yep what is like a and like the hair industry that you see
  441. 00:39:38.010 – 00:39:43.410 or that you admire that you would like to work with that I admired or
  442. 00:39:43.410 – 00:39:54.630 like to work with yes no your hair is amazing it's beautiful um I say are a
  443. 00:39:54.630 – 00:40:00.250 Shahidi or Tracy Ellis Ross oh yeah pattern he's done her thing with
  444. 00:40:00.250 – 00:40:07.370 pattern beauty even Riri Rihanna a little little crush back when she first
  445. 00:40:07.370 – 00:40:20.110 came but I would say her status as far as the business and entrepreneur as a
  446. 00:40:20.110 – 00:40:25.770 business owner it's greatly grown I shouted Rihanna out in some a previous
  447. 00:40:25.770 – 00:40:30.700 interview that I did and I would just say like she's been a pioneer and
  448. 00:40:31.210 – 00:40:36.550 creating accessibility for people to want to create products that not only
  449. 00:40:36.550 – 00:40:41.630 people that look like me but also how can it hit other avenues and how can it
  450. 00:40:41.630 – 00:40:46.930 be multifaceted while products are multifaceted in a space of not always
  451. 00:40:46.930 – 00:40:53.330 hair I'm going to have samples to be able to to be able to create things
  452. 00:40:53.330 – 00:41:02.170 like that yeah you know for sure she's taking her company next level so
  453. 00:41:02.770 – 00:41:09.050 though even before the hair care line even before her entrepreneur and her
  454. 00:41:09.050 – 00:41:16.370 being an actress I've admired her hair and being on girlfriends and you know
  455. 00:41:16.370 – 00:41:20.810 you think of the early 2000s women aren't wearing their afros they're
  456. 00:41:20.810 – 00:41:24.070 just not you know what I'm saying where everyone has the cut the color
  457. 00:41:24.070 – 00:41:29.290 the relaxer the fixie the micro rate Tracy Ellis Ross wore her hair she
  458. 00:41:29.290 – 00:41:35.690 exactly how she was and I think that being a watch even even Tia Tamera for
  459. 00:41:35.690 – 00:41:39.070 the sister sister face you know we're straight in and even after the
  460. 00:41:39.070 – 00:41:46.550 straight I love watching women where it was okay to be unapologetically
  461. 00:41:46.550 – 00:41:51.530 themselves and now that I am at their age of when they were doing these
  462. 00:41:51.530 – 00:41:55.650 things I think that it is very important for me to want to do the
  463. 00:41:55.650 – 00:42:01.950 because I know that what it did for me so so that's a good good good question
  464. 00:42:01.950 – 00:42:06.090 that I have in mind like going to those early ages when you were watching
  465. 00:42:06.090 – 00:42:11.250 them and like let's say seven eight nine ish maybe you won't watch them at
  466. 00:42:11.250 – 00:42:15.570 the time but let's go back to that time period because my mother's about
  467. 00:42:15.570 – 00:42:23.390 to be eight and she wears her her her afro so what were like you're
  468. 00:42:23.390 – 00:42:30.930 thinking about when it comes to here and watching no I mean that's see that
  469. 00:42:30.930 – 00:42:36.990 you mentioned like just being a young girl and how as a black lady here
  470. 00:42:36.990 – 00:42:41.350 changes I don't know like culturally for other cultures you know I'd be a
  471. 00:42:41.350 – 00:42:44.670 way but you the hair that they get at a young age is the hair that they
  472. 00:42:44.670 – 00:42:52.490 grow up with but us you know from the plaids and that you know to
  473. 00:42:52.490 – 00:42:57.750 to be able to wrap your hair or being able to straighten your hair I would
  474. 00:42:57.750 – 00:43:05.410 say when I was eight and nine oh my god my mom was yeah putting my hair she
  475. 00:43:05.410 – 00:43:12.390 was doing singles in my hair doing braids twisties for my go-to I love
  476. 00:43:12.390 – 00:43:19.650 twisties with the bo-bos those are my go-to but I remember seeing my aunt
  477. 00:43:19.650 – 00:43:24.370 and my mom she would do the quickweaves and she would change her color and she
  478. 00:43:24.370 – 00:43:31.370 would I loved how my mom wasn't afraid to be daring with her hairstyle like
  479. 00:43:31.370 – 00:43:35.890 she was afraid to have short hair today and long hair tomorrow and that's
  480. 00:43:35.890 – 00:43:41.150 not something that I have gotten to the point of being able to do because
  481. 00:43:41.150 – 00:43:46.210 I do maintain my natural hair so much now but when I was that age that was
  482. 00:43:46.210 – 00:43:51.050 something that I admired like the color I can't wait tonight get this age so I
  483. 00:43:51.050 – 00:43:57.130 could color my hair right you know it's a but being in that space my mom was
  484. 00:43:57.130 – 00:44:05.050 really really I would say like she taught us to value how beautiful our hair was
  485. 00:44:05.050 – 00:44:09.070 and when it was unkempt you know what I mean even when my braids were
  486. 00:44:09.070 – 00:44:13.610 frizzy and fuzzy you know you know what she would say like that's their
  487. 00:44:13.610 – 00:44:17.250 frizzy and fuzzy but guess what her hair is still long or that's it's their
  488. 00:44:17.250 – 00:44:20.930 frizzy and fuzzy it's still curly or still great you know what I mean so
  489. 00:44:20.930 – 00:44:27.070 these are things that my mom instilled in me at a very young age but teaching
  490. 00:44:27.070 – 00:44:30.950 me the importance of how to take care of my hair she would tell me like I
  491. 00:44:30.950 – 00:44:33.530 wouldn't tie my hair up and I would wake up and my hair she'd be like
  492. 00:44:33.530 – 00:44:37.050 okay you know I'm satisfied so it's all on the pillow and then boom now
  493. 00:44:37.050 – 00:44:42.430 here I am today selling a silk pillowcase and it being one of my my
  494. 00:44:42.430 – 00:44:46.690 colors and me being able to send a silk pillowcase to Sugar Sanders and him
  495. 00:44:46.690 – 00:44:53.130 saying wow I needed that you know that it has come full circle being able to
  496. 00:44:53.130 – 00:44:58.330 be brought up at eight and nine year old little girl still influences who
  497. 00:44:58.330 – 00:45:04.470 I am today so it's amazing but I like how you're teaching your daughter you
  498. 00:45:04.470 – 00:45:10.230 know how hair is and I maintain it it's tricky especially being of color
  499. 00:45:10.230 – 00:45:14.190 but you know and I would say that I would tell my eight or nine year old
  500. 00:45:14.190 – 00:45:18.950 self is like it's right now right you just protective styling right now later
  501. 00:45:18.950 – 00:45:24.030 on you know able to see how you needed to see so it's cool you know it's a
  502. 00:45:24.030 – 00:45:31.270 growth and and with one cell being comfortable with oneself and you kind
  503. 00:45:31.270 – 00:45:36.130 of next question I was kind of had my head going to your younger self
  504. 00:45:36.130 – 00:45:41.870 stuff that you know not developing the brand Coco's crown like what was that
  505. 00:45:41.870 – 00:45:47.750 crown for you at an early age and all the way to developing the name Coco's
  506. 00:45:47.750 – 00:45:54.150 crown like how did I come up with the name Coco's crown so Coco my
  507. 00:45:54.150 – 00:45:59.050 sister Coco she's a sister who I had mentioned earlier about I was looking
  508. 00:45:59.050 – 00:46:04.050 for a space for her esthetician business so to Coco
  509. 00:46:04.710 – 00:46:12.670 Coco always had really beautiful hair and I'm like her big sister I've always
  510. 00:46:12.670 – 00:46:20.190 are her big sister yeah I'm not like we're just really close in age so it's
  511. 00:46:20.190 – 00:46:25.830 kind of like I'm a big sister but no yeah really so sometimes Coco's like
  512. 00:46:25.830 – 00:46:30.270 they do you need to be doing you know I would say I definitely am I've
  513. 00:46:30.270 – 00:46:34.030 always gauging Coco you know what I mean I've always been the leader but
  514. 00:46:34.030 – 00:46:38.970 between us but Coco has always been like that force like anything
  515. 00:46:38.970 – 00:46:45.150 Coco's the force behind shit Coco's the force behind things so I've just had her
  516. 00:46:45.150 – 00:46:49.910 covered I've always wanted to be her crown I've always wanted her to be
  517. 00:46:49.910 – 00:46:55.930 like anything I do I want I like I've known and also know like my
  518. 00:46:55.930 – 00:47:00.070 personality and she is the force behind things but she's also extremely
  519. 00:47:00.070 – 00:47:05.890 sensitive so like face to where she can't show up for herself I'm gonna
  520. 00:47:05.890 – 00:47:12.010 be the one to show up her so kind of got like the double entendre of the
  521. 00:47:12.010 – 00:47:18.250 name so crown I am Coco's crown like I have her head I'm I can't explain it
  522. 00:47:18.250 – 00:47:23.810 but it's like you know relationship but always had beautiful hair she's
  523. 00:47:23.810 – 00:47:29.270 always represented to what I think a beautiful person is inside and out so
  524. 00:47:29.270 – 00:47:36.710 I would want my company to reflect and yeah you see if you see Coco crazy
  525. 00:47:36.710 – 00:47:43.970 yeah but you know they keep you covered it's a status like symbol it also
  526. 00:47:43.970 – 00:47:48.870 protects the head so heavy is the head that wears the crown and I know you
  527. 00:47:48.870 – 00:47:52.910 probably can't see but like my crown actually the crown you seen the
  528. 00:47:52.910 – 00:47:56.510 picture I keep the crown in the past so everybody that was sitting my
  529. 00:47:56.510 – 00:48:01.730 seat which is not many people but when they do it reminds them of their
  530. 00:48:01.730 – 00:48:07.810 royalties and their you know yeah your crown represents you know and I look at
  531. 00:48:07.810 – 00:48:11.510 and look over it's just like a reminder to myself like oh high level
  532. 00:48:11.510 – 00:48:15.410 and all of royalty so and you know that that you keep it in your car for
  533. 00:48:15.410 – 00:48:19.370 people to just come in you sit on at the wrong you know I'm saying I like
  534. 00:48:19.910 – 00:48:28.310 I would also say sometimes our crowns crown slip and I think yeah you know
  535. 00:48:28.310 – 00:48:32.190 what I'm saying and I think that for me and Coco it's been times like our
  536. 00:48:32.190 – 00:48:36.650 crowns have slipped a lot and you know what I mean but we're always here to
  537. 00:48:36.650 – 00:48:43.150 read we adjust around for each other so like yeah when you come I want you
  538. 00:48:43.150 – 00:48:46.530 to think of women empowerment but not only just women empowerment communal
  539. 00:48:46.530 – 00:48:50.790 empowerment like when you come in contact I want you to feel like not
  540. 00:48:50.790 – 00:48:53.990 only is my important you know and that's the first thing people see
  541. 00:48:53.990 – 00:48:58.390 when they see you not on my crown up to par and up to standard to what I
  542. 00:48:58.390 – 00:49:02.550 like but if it's not the products that I'm using can get it to that
  543. 00:49:04.170 – 00:49:11.150 double entendre with the names good rap in a bowl thank you
  544. 00:49:15.170 – 00:49:20.430 we're celebrating birthdays yes it's been my birthday recently and it's been
  545. 00:49:20.430 – 00:49:25.830 aliens birthday recently we're having a drink and it's exciting and he's
  546. 00:49:25.830 – 00:49:31.950 none none of his brand partner and I met her at the Coco selfie space and
  547. 00:49:31.950 – 00:49:36.950 Coco's face Coco's crown she just recently messaged me to give her a
  548. 00:49:36.950 – 00:49:41.230 message back um yeah like the women empowerment too these are black women
  549. 00:49:41.230 – 00:49:47.450 own brands guys just to plug them in and yeah really going really great
  550. 00:49:47.450 – 00:49:53.450 selfie and content content studio downtown Cleveland Ohio and the
  551. 00:49:53.450 – 00:50:01.930 arcade I think it's what street or 7th Street one of them I forget it
  552. 00:50:01.930 – 00:50:07.210 definitely check it out Coco's selfie space and also to you on the south
  553. 00:50:07.210 – 00:50:12.470 you could Ohio in the plaza where Africa is the amazing black-owned
  554. 00:50:12.470 – 00:50:22.390 restaurant has been you know what I'm saying and I can't wait I'm grateful
  555. 00:50:22.390 – 00:50:25.850 to be a part of Cleveland talent I know that you are because you you
  556. 00:50:25.850 – 00:50:30.070 definitely you're you're cool as far as being a multifaceted photographer
  557. 00:50:30.070 – 00:50:34.030 and audiovisual person in marketing you know what I mean like you many
  558. 00:50:34.850 – 00:50:41.390 hats so I feel to even know you but also be amongst the network where we're
  559. 00:50:41.390 – 00:50:46.550 able to work and connect in different aspects as well we just found out we
  560. 00:50:46.550 – 00:50:50.470 went to the same we've known each other for years we've known each other
  561. 00:50:50.470 – 00:50:53.510 for years guys I didn't know we knew each other for years it's like you
  562. 00:50:53.510 – 00:51:00.390 know I know you it's just like I know I know yes elementary though
  563. 00:51:00.390 – 00:51:08.210 that's the crazy part yeah reconnect friends and you know each other out in a
  564. 00:51:08.210 – 00:51:14.010 business aspect and then we're like we know each other and so it's good to
  565. 00:51:14.010 – 00:51:17.670 be able to work together you know what I mean from knowing you back then
  566. 00:51:17.670 – 00:51:23.950 to knowing you now a full circle moments like you said same community
  567. 00:51:23.950 – 00:51:28.410 and build a community been the right spaces and the right events in the
  568. 00:51:28.410 – 00:51:33.490 right rooms like you know you turn people out I'm in my room you know you
  569. 00:51:33.490 – 00:51:37.950 turn people like yeah right place those people though because at that point I'm
  570. 00:51:37.950 – 00:51:40.810 like the production no production to this is about to be right because I
  571. 00:51:40.810 – 00:51:44.990 see alien in the room so it's like in a moment to where I haven't seen
  572. 00:51:44.990 – 00:51:48.610 any of your work and haven't been elated to see it you know what I
  573. 00:51:48.610 – 00:51:53.450 mean so you've done a good job that's fine I'll take that yeah that's
  574. 00:51:53.450 – 00:51:59.130 definitely how those moments we all do though we don't all we do that's a part
  575. 00:51:59.130 – 00:52:04.290 of being resilient though resilient entrepreneurship every okay another that
  576. 00:52:04.290 – 00:52:08.390 I think we should speak about is how people think that entrepreneurship is
  577. 00:52:08.390 – 00:52:16.570 like glitz and glamour can be sometimes it can be at least you know
  578. 00:52:16.570 – 00:52:21.670 what I'm saying this media aspect I think I mean just interview we had to
  579. 00:52:21.670 – 00:52:29.770 yeah I don't see or see the final but they don't see the process and that
  580. 00:52:29.770 – 00:52:33.990 that's what speak to I think that other times people aren't seeing the
  581. 00:52:33.990 – 00:52:40.550 process but there is like oh and it's hard to why you're going through it
  582. 00:52:40.550 – 00:52:46.070 is hard to you know but I can truly say me growing as a small business
  583. 00:52:46.070 – 00:52:52.270 owner and who's looking to take their business from small to large here's
  584. 00:52:52.270 – 00:52:55.570 the process is truly where is that you know what I mean being able to
  585. 00:52:55.570 – 00:52:59.990 connect into lab and being able to be like oh wait I already know this
  586. 00:52:59.990 – 00:53:07.010 person from before um it's cool so even going back to that starting with
  587. 00:53:07.010 – 00:53:12.470 entrepreneurship and the rocky roads like what are those key factors or
  588. 00:53:12.470 – 00:53:17.610 lessons that you would teach maybe like your own self or like a confidence
  589. 00:53:18.590 – 00:53:26.230 I'm not afraid to speak about myself in places how do you speak about
  590. 00:53:26.230 – 00:53:31.650 yourself in places I think that not even just I'm less likely to speak you
  591. 00:53:31.650 – 00:53:35.530 know what I'm saying me being a more of an introverted person I'm not
  592. 00:53:35.530 – 00:53:39.630 really one to speak unless I'm approached and I think that I would
  593. 00:53:39.630 – 00:53:43.650 tell my younger self don't be afraid to go up and speak you know what I mean
  594. 00:53:43.650 – 00:53:49.350 or don't be afraid to tip yourself don't be afraid to stand on that idea
  595. 00:53:49.350 – 00:53:53.550 don't be afraid to and I think that for me it's like no that's what I
  596. 00:53:53.550 – 00:53:57.670 would tell my younger self no regrets no to be consistent and don't be
  597. 00:53:57.670 – 00:54:01.010 afraid to put yourself out there that's amazing it's crazy how we
  598. 00:54:01.010 – 00:54:05.390 even got to this point that we were both introverted I would never never
  599. 00:54:05.390 – 00:54:13.610 you know I think that with having a consistent like us each other out in
  600. 00:54:13.610 – 00:54:19.170 public and a consistent connection I bet you know report amongst people
  601. 00:54:19.170 – 00:54:26.590 yeah you know that you were really good at being like hey fuck up and no
  602. 00:54:26.590 – 00:54:31.730 communicative and ensuring that we actually got this done I think that
  603. 00:54:33.250 – 00:54:36.890 also teaches like hey don't have to be afraid to reach out you don't have to be
  604. 00:54:36.890 – 00:54:41.070 afraid to do certain things that you want to do so you better reach out to
  605. 00:54:41.070 – 00:54:50.470 now oh who am I reaching out to next I know my next person that I'm
  606. 00:54:50.470 – 00:54:55.930 probably gonna reach out to maybe an influencer of some sort like a Yara
  607. 00:54:55.930 – 00:54:59.890 Shahidi I probably should reach out to Yara okay yeah I ain't gonna say do
  608. 00:55:00.450 – 00:55:04.790 yeah cuz I gotta grow I don't know you never know I reached out to Shader
  609. 00:55:04.790 – 00:55:11.730 Sanders and well he browsed yeah I didn't really reach out to him stop
  610. 00:55:13.050 – 00:55:18.390 um I know anything but it took a little initiative because he said hey
  611. 00:55:18.390 – 00:55:22.030 I'm gonna view my address you sent me a product that is address and did I
  612. 00:55:22.030 – 00:55:26.010 think anything of it I was like you know people I'll send them products all
  613. 00:55:26.010 – 00:55:28.870 the time and I don't actually send them but my brother was like no you
  614. 00:55:28.870 – 00:55:32.890 do that I'm a lady so I don't really understand the importance of sports
  615. 00:55:34.250 – 00:55:41.870 there's a business exactly the influence and things like that so visibility and
  616. 00:55:41.870 – 00:55:46.830 that it was really important for me to genuinely write a message for him
  617. 00:55:46.830 – 00:55:59.410 in the video to the same packaging I got and so that's the thing too I want
  618. 00:55:59.410 – 00:56:05.950 my be so quality not so quality but like our products to be of the not
  619. 00:56:05.950 – 00:56:09.510 only are you gonna receive the same exact package of Shador Sanders you
  620. 00:56:09.510 – 00:56:14.250 know what I'm saying like I'm at no point am I cutting corners or quality
  621. 00:56:14.250 – 00:56:19.610 or costs or anything I actually leaving my product truly standing my product
  622. 00:56:19.610 – 00:56:22.530 you're not gonna receive anything different than what I'm giving my
  623. 00:56:22.530 – 00:56:30.250 celebs and that's one thing that I can say about Coco's crown then who we
  624. 00:56:30.250 – 00:56:35.650 are as a company definitely make me a brand ambassador I'm going to your
  625. 00:56:35.650 – 00:56:39.930 life are so long we have to you so like what code or something that we
  626. 00:56:39.930 – 00:56:48.530 give to the people a code specific to this interview in this podcast we're
  627. 00:56:48.530 – 00:56:55.590 gonna do code alien all caps 15% off www.cocoscrown.com
  628. 00:56:55.590 – 00:56:58.730 I'm about to type it in myself I was like hey listen we're gonna make the code
  629. 00:56:58.730 – 00:57:02.470 active today so even if you want to promote it I know that this won't air
  630. 00:57:02.470 – 00:57:09.590 for a little while um but it will be active today okay um code on Coco's
  631. 00:57:09.590 – 00:57:19.910 crown we'll get you 15% off of all of our products handcrafted or a alien okay
  632. 00:57:19.910 – 00:57:27.730 yeah capital a l i e n and we will grant you 15% off of all products I
  633. 00:57:28.350 – 00:57:32.590 don't give out discounts often y'all so Shador didn't even get his own
  634. 00:57:32.590 – 00:57:38.870 coupon code first yes and then what's the website so they can purchase the
  635. 00:57:38.870 – 00:57:50.430 website is www.cokoscrown.com yes sir okay Coco's okay yes Coco's with a K
  636. 00:57:50.430 – 00:57:55.350 y'all heard it first alien hospitals industry talk code alien get the
  637. 00:57:55.350 – 00:58:00.370 products now I've been using it I love it I always talk about re-end up
  638. 00:58:00.370 – 00:58:08.850 my supply maybe get me on a monthly supply now we have to make you a
  639. 00:58:08.850 – 00:58:20.710 only blindly bought my product but I'm like I'm grateful I truly am and I'm
  640. 00:58:20.710 – 00:58:26.490 grateful for every single purchase thus far I understand I am a small
  641. 00:58:26.490 – 00:58:32.010 business owner I'm a small business owner who I am a business owner I'm
  642. 00:58:32.010 – 00:58:35.430 not a small one I'm just a business owner but I'm new you know with face
  643. 00:58:36.010 – 00:58:43.530 gaining the amount of attraction other companies are but yet yet definitely my
  644. 00:58:43.530 – 00:58:48.170 product stands when I say that listen if you know you point to where like if
  645. 00:58:48.170 – 00:58:53.690 you know about what was crying you know me on the team we definitely have
  646. 00:58:53.690 – 00:58:58.390 to tell you I'm so grateful for you though alien because you have
  647. 00:58:58.390 – 00:59:02.490 purchased my product as well as giving me a platform to speak on it
  648. 00:59:02.490 – 00:59:09.270 so use code alien 15% off no expiration I think I'll keep the code active for
  649. 00:59:09.770 – 00:59:21.970 quite some time I actually do keep the code active my ideas and my brain my
  650. 00:59:21.970 – 00:59:25.650 brain even talking about creative brand new consider yourself as a
  651. 00:59:25.650 – 00:59:32.210 creative do I would most definitely so I like to paint secretly that's why I
  652. 00:59:33.310 – 00:59:39.110 amongst myself I do something that only my family members really know okay
  653. 00:59:40.030 – 00:59:47.070 I have a well my nails I do they I get my fulfillment with painting my nails
  654. 00:59:47.070 – 00:59:51.870 but as far as on canvas I'm his minute I think that I have gotten a
  655. 00:59:51.870 – 00:59:57.970 little bit of out-of-touch being that I've really had to work a lot I've
  656. 00:59:57.970 – 01:00:04.770 recently so I haven't had the time but it's something that I really would
  657. 01:00:04.770 – 01:00:13.280 like to get back into doing fun about me when I was in the fifth grade I had
  658. 01:00:13.650 – 01:00:21.070 a portrait hung from fifth grade to 2019 until the till I graduated college
  659. 01:00:21.070 – 01:00:27.630 I portrait being hung at the Cleveland Institute of Art yes you
  660. 01:00:27.630 – 01:00:32.510 know I took that out of my new co-working space at D Smith Defco 2 5 8 6 3
  661. 01:00:32.510 – 01:00:36.430 Shard and wrote Richmond Heights or four or three if you would like to see
  662. 01:00:36.430 – 01:00:43.510 that portrait but yeah yeah I went to Hope Academy that's funny um the
  663. 01:00:43.510 – 01:00:49.030 principal Lee Lazar he ended up going from Hope Academy East to the
  664. 01:00:49.030 – 01:00:53.210 Cleveland Institute of Art and when he went he had a retired from flip
  665. 01:00:53.810 – 01:01:00.490 Institute of Art but while he was there he pretty much had my portrait on display
  666. 01:01:00.490 – 01:01:09.950 for the entire time that I was there you remember mr. Lazar he showed up to
  667. 01:01:09.950 – 01:01:14.110 he went on my mark and he gifted me my portrait back and it was so funny
  668. 01:01:14.110 – 01:01:18.550 because I knew it was hung there I never went to see it you know it's
  669. 01:01:18.550 – 01:01:23.890 been to see it I hadn't seen it being hung but he had like an exhibit it was
  670. 01:01:24.430 – 01:01:32.030 an exhibit for it so my sister I don't know if you know somebody named Maya
  671. 01:01:32.510 – 01:01:39.470 Maya last name Williams yes pretty cool
  672. 01:01:43.170 – 01:01:48.530 Maya Fritz beautiful name and you know what all the Maya's that I know
  673. 01:01:48.530 – 01:02:01.890 personality Maya Kincaid she's I get them both on the podcast yes that's okay
  674. 01:02:01.890 – 01:02:05.470 Brian is like my older he's my brother's best my old best friend so
  675. 01:02:05.470 – 01:02:09.670 it's like child I am the analogous Brian the analogous excuse me
  676. 01:02:09.670 – 01:02:16.950 Brian the analogous he creates wine um first the file Ohio to major the
  677. 01:02:20.030 – 01:02:28.010 goodness yes let's start there being able to have like a bad education and
  678. 01:02:28.010 – 01:02:35.590 creating alcohol and and curating the science wine making and how it brings
  679. 01:02:35.590 – 01:02:40.650 people together connectivity and even alcohol he's not just he knows more
  680. 01:02:40.650 – 01:02:45.690 than wine but he's knowledgeable and a number of different spaces Brian's
  681. 01:02:45.690 – 01:02:51.610 also a DJ fun fact and they're dressed to kale so like they do the lines with
  682. 01:02:51.610 – 01:02:56.990 the salads oh I love them so much Brian Kincaid Maya Kincaid that's why do
  683. 01:02:56.990 – 01:03:00.390 you brought up Maya yeah and you're she's pretty sweet as well
  684. 01:03:01.070 – 01:03:04.850 I'm trying to hear more in the entrepreneur path she even tried her
  685. 01:03:04.850 – 01:03:09.890 own like skincare products but I didn't stick with it I think it comes
  686. 01:03:09.890 – 01:03:15.410 people okay it is now I'm ten years in and I still barely have you know
  687. 01:03:15.410 – 01:03:20.170 certain things with when it comes to my business it just takes consistency and
  688. 01:03:20.170 – 01:03:25.910 resiliency and wanting to consistently show I think that sometimes is it
  689. 01:03:25.910 – 01:03:30.470 being a black woman in entrepreneur even a black woman on a day-to-day you
  690. 01:03:30.470 – 01:03:33.830 know it's black it's hard being a woman I was harbing a black woman you
  691. 01:03:33.830 – 01:03:38.350 know what I'm saying so having to show up period is a lot but in a
  692. 01:03:38.350 – 01:03:41.610 space to where we're barely receiving venture capital and it's
  693. 01:03:41.610 – 01:03:49.830 barely securing you know grant scale of what we need to to this love where we're
  694. 01:03:49.830 – 01:03:54.390 number one in admitting certain social services it's hard for us to
  695. 01:03:54.390 – 01:03:59.610 consistently show up but I recommend I for even putting herself out there
  696. 01:03:59.610 – 01:04:03.290 to do it the first time because now the next time she decides to do her
  697. 01:04:03.290 – 01:04:08.470 next endeavor she knows the resiliency to do that as well as pivot
  698. 01:04:08.470 – 01:04:13.230 from that as well as okay go back to the drawing board with that you know
  699. 01:04:13.230 – 01:04:17.650 who don't understand how much that takes to so to not be a denial and say
  700. 01:04:17.650 – 01:04:21.690 okay I'm gonna go back and I'm going to readjust my plans see how I can
  701. 01:04:21.690 – 01:04:27.870 realign with these things so right now may look closed and it may look
  702. 01:04:27.870 – 01:04:31.410 like something that she isn't into right now but that could be something
  703. 01:04:31.410 – 01:04:36.150 that she could pivot from later in a different aspect whether it be going to
  704. 01:04:36.790 – 01:04:42.590 becoming an esthetician or whether it be creating the part of another you know
  705. 01:04:42.590 – 01:04:45.450 maybe more money this time around or maybe I have more support this time
  706. 01:04:45.450 – 01:04:49.330 around maybe I have more marketing this support you know this um you get the
  707. 01:04:49.330 – 01:04:53.930 mistakes that you made first and then build and gain off those mistakes I
  708. 01:04:53.930 – 01:04:57.470 think a lot of times it gets really frustrating with that rollercoaster in
  709. 01:04:57.470 – 01:05:02.410 business you know when they're high they're really high but the winter
  710. 01:05:02.410 – 01:05:06.790 lows are low you know what I'm saying the lows can get real low you know what I'm
  711. 01:05:06.790 – 01:05:12.650 saying but it's about learning from those lows and I commend her even trying
  712. 01:05:12.650 – 01:05:15.790 and stepping out into that entrepreneurship field because you gotta
  713. 01:05:15.790 – 01:05:19.210 be crazy to step out here but once you're out here and you're in it and
  714. 01:05:19.210 – 01:05:22.890 you're surviving into it you know what I mean and you're creating and
  715. 01:05:22.890 – 01:05:28.670 thriving it only get better with time so it's just about getting past that
  716. 01:05:29.230 – 01:05:36.910 that pump that first initial like didn't do the first thing you built from that
  717. 01:05:36.910 – 01:05:44.370 you know similar like I'm doing event my first pie where I'm doing all day
  718. 01:05:44.370 – 01:05:50.330 event limited slots for those who want to start a podcast but I recommend you
  719. 01:05:50.330 – 01:05:55.090 have a business so you can position yourself you have a business and you
  720. 01:05:55.090 – 01:06:03.110 podcast done for you podcast experience publishing your first podcast episode
  721. 01:06:03.110 – 01:06:09.010 it's called my first part and it's like just stepping out there and just
  722. 01:06:09.450 – 01:06:13.930 finally doing it and having that support behind you because we all have
  723. 01:06:13.930 – 01:06:18.050 these ideas we always want to do something when we talk about this talk
  724. 01:06:18.050 – 01:06:21.330 about that oh I'm gonna start my business I'm gonna start this I want
  725. 01:06:21.330 – 01:06:28.290 a podcast all right we're gonna help you do so that kind of reminds me you
  726. 01:06:28.290 – 01:06:36.150 said that like just yeah it takes a lot of confidence but I think that people
  727. 01:06:36.150 – 01:06:40.090 are falling and people are afraid of failure and being an
  728. 01:06:40.090 – 01:06:43.730 entrepreneurship you can't be afraid you know what I'm saying and the fact
  729. 01:06:43.730 – 01:06:47.310 that she even went out there and got it and got her feet wet you know
  730. 01:06:47.310 – 01:06:50.950 what I'm saying whether she continued it or not yeah I think and
  731. 01:06:50.950 – 01:06:55.290 also got to look at statistics 50% of every small business from starting point
  732. 01:06:55.290 – 01:06:59.870 to now fails so there's a good chance that what you're starting now with
  733. 01:06:59.870 – 01:07:05.250 however your company is now it won't look like that later on and even my
  734. 01:07:05.250 – 01:07:10.310 company now Coco's Crown like I'm crunchies no I'm selling handcrafted
  735. 01:07:10.310 – 01:07:14.110 products you know and there's always to sell handcrafted products and I
  736. 01:07:14.110 – 01:07:17.630 do still sell scrunchies but my main thing that I was selling it
  737. 01:07:17.630 – 01:07:22.070 was the scrunchies it was like okay well once the scrunchies sell out what I'm
  738. 01:07:22.070 – 01:07:25.990 gonna do you know like more scrunchies and be a scrunchie company or do I do
  739. 01:07:25.990 – 01:07:29.990 this thing and risk and do what you do with it oh you shouldn't have made me
  740. 01:07:29.990 – 01:07:37.270 ambassador I'm thinking about different events and things I'm like we get to live and have a live interview and then sell the product
  741. 01:07:37.740 – 01:07:42.630 and you know I'm saying like I and how can I expand from being this one
  742. 01:07:42.630 – 01:07:50.370 show like right it takes a lot of guts and a lot of guts to be able to to be
  743. 01:07:50.370 – 01:07:55.150 person and shout out to your sister you know it's sound but you never know where it
  744. 01:07:55.150 – 01:07:59.570 might be later it might be part of the team too especially with Coco's Crown
  745. 01:07:59.570 – 01:08:04.390 needing to expand you know what I'm saying like hey I'm open to fostering
  746. 01:08:04.390 – 01:08:09.630 other connections to grow my company in any any aspect in any realm I do
  747. 01:08:09.630 – 01:08:15.070 vision for how I would look for it to go but um you know the way straight
  748. 01:08:15.070 – 01:08:20.569 through you know get a couple bumps and I'm willing to take a couple turns and
  749. 01:08:20.569 – 01:08:25.109 twists and even had a GPS reroute sometimes I'm okay with that as well
  750. 01:08:25.109 – 01:08:29.689 you know I'm consistent with it and I think that that's where I'm I've
  751. 01:08:29.689 – 01:08:36.729 been lately any time I hear the word bang I don't know but but you say
  752. 01:08:37.390 – 01:08:44.250 so I love to ask this question to creatives what as a creator what is your
  753. 01:08:44.250 – 01:08:48.710 creative process if it was a rain if it was not a rain but a weather
  754. 01:08:48.710 – 01:08:56.569 forecast like for me would say it's the light drizzle rain on a sunny day
  755. 01:08:56.569 – 01:09:02.250 you know how in a that warm heat and then it all of a sudden is rain
  756. 01:09:02.250 – 01:09:11.210 like refreshing that's how kind of consider process same okay fun fact my
  757. 01:09:11.210 – 01:09:16.510 dad's song together is called summer rain by Carl Thomas um so back to me
  758. 01:09:16.510 – 01:09:21.930 and my daughter we be having this funny yeah no I love whenever I'm
  759. 01:09:21.930 – 01:09:27.649 needing inspiration I turn summer rain on and I like when the song starts you
  760. 01:09:27.649 – 01:09:31.149 know that's what it gets me going it's like okay now I remember where I
  761. 01:09:31.149 – 01:09:35.790 was at when like my dad sing the song to me and like the time in my life where
  762. 01:09:35.790 – 01:09:40.770 he sang that song to me till now and like when I thought about like when I'm
  763. 01:09:40.770 – 01:09:45.109 having a moment with myself and I'm thinking like okay I'm sorry yeah I'm at
  764. 01:09:45.109 – 01:09:48.590 a fault or I don't know where to go or you know I get presents of my
  765. 01:09:48.590 – 01:09:51.450 father my father he's president you know what I mean but it just gives
  766. 01:09:52.109 – 01:09:56.050 takes me back to that place of being a little girl and and my
  767. 01:09:56.050 – 01:10:01.950 imagination being broad and my imagination being fresh so whenever I'm
  768. 01:10:01.950 – 01:10:06.290 eating a little inspo I'm playing summer rain Carl Thomas would say that
  769. 01:10:06.290 – 01:10:12.970 my creative mark with a marine to a light summer where the where the sky
  770. 01:10:12.970 – 01:10:17.790 like orangey okay like the rainbow come out the sun we don't know if the
  771. 01:10:17.790 – 01:10:23.470 rainbows coming or if the Sun might shine like you know peach going back
  772. 01:10:23.470 – 01:10:30.350 to like the hair industry and Coco's crown what is the latest trends you seen
  773. 01:10:30.350 – 01:10:36.070 in the industry trends I know we talked about the braids yeah we do we braids
  774. 01:10:36.650 – 01:10:41.150 trends that I've seen lately are like people are like the asymmetrical back
  775. 01:10:41.150 – 01:10:48.310 people are bringing back healthy hair days I think a lot of ladies the
  776. 01:10:48.310 – 01:10:52.510 pandemic has had us protective styling the yeah the pandemic had the ladies
  777. 01:10:52.510 – 01:10:56.130 protective styling a lot so I think now we're about to see ladies with like
  778. 01:10:56.130 – 01:11:01.430 they're on the hair journey ladies are silk pressing right now and I'm for
  779. 01:11:01.430 – 01:11:07.070 the silk presses I'm here for this I'm not one to judge whether you like
  780. 01:11:07.070 – 01:11:10.130 I'm not one of those naturals where because some naturals judge whether
  781. 01:11:10.130 – 01:11:16.350 you're a heat style natural or if you're a curly style natural I'm not
  782. 01:11:16.350 – 01:11:20.030 one of those naturals I have a heat style natural I've been the silk
  783. 01:11:20.030 – 01:11:28.290 press natural versus I've been the curly natural so as natural is where I'm at
  784. 01:11:28.290 – 01:11:35.050 with it so I'm I'm here right now the ladies who are taking care of their the
  785. 01:11:35.050 – 01:11:39.890 true they're here whether it be by silk press or by afro I'm here for
  786. 01:11:39.890 – 01:11:44.310 the ladies wearing them they're there it grows out of your scalp you know
  787. 01:11:44.310 – 01:11:48.750 why when you use some other we're in the afros and then I think about the
  788. 01:11:49.310 – 01:11:53.190 also to like make up my afro well listen your girl is I'm West Indian
  789. 01:11:53.850 – 01:12:01.210 West so historically ancestors are yeah West Indian and my great
  790. 01:12:01.210 – 01:12:09.640 grandmother's Native American but I'm we're black like like like to me
  791. 01:12:09.640 – 01:12:14.760 blind blindly buying your products and not knowing the owner of it and
  792. 01:12:14.760 – 01:12:21.480 believing in a brand just just hearing a few few words and how do you price you
  793. 01:12:21.480 – 01:12:27.310 know yourself you're selling yourself or how did you come up with your
  794. 01:12:27.310 – 01:12:35.450 first pricing like me I first started out I mean I'm free but like my first
  795. 01:12:35.450 – 01:12:41.790 shoe was a close friend I charged and I stuck with that for about say a
  796. 01:12:41.790 – 01:12:47.250 half a year then I started incrementally raising my prices so how
  797. 01:12:47.250 – 01:12:56.270 do you price yourself without no under great question so I'll speak to before
  798. 01:12:56.270 – 01:13:03.270 I get before I answer that question I've had box stores approach me I've
  799. 01:13:03.270 – 01:13:09.270 had the targets search me the Myers and each those places have approached
  800. 01:13:09.270 – 01:13:14.650 me to feel as if they wanted me to adjust the price of my product to
  801. 01:13:14.650 – 01:13:19.470 it's not it doesn't reflect the amount of work and study and research that
  802. 01:13:19.470 – 01:13:26.750 I've actually put into it so yeah so that's funny that you have there's been
  803. 01:13:26.750 – 01:13:30.130 times that's funny you brought that up but there's been times that I've had
  804. 01:13:31.070 – 01:13:38.510 to decline decline my business because there was attempt to compromise
  805. 01:13:38.510 – 01:13:43.190 my business and kind of compromise my intellectual property amongst me
  806. 01:13:43.190 – 01:13:48.550 putting my out there and putting it out for resale and wholesale so that's
  807. 01:13:48.550 – 01:13:53.070 that I have been struggling with lately but something that also have
  808. 01:13:53.070 – 01:13:57.070 been kind of telling myself is I sell my product independently I get
  809. 01:13:57.070 – 01:14:01.870 product you know sales on e-commerce by myself or whether I'm going out to
  810. 01:14:02.410 – 01:14:08.070 do my shops and things like that you know the great the the the
  811. 01:14:08.070 – 01:14:12.310 walmarts and Myers they're all great you know what I'm saying but at no
  812. 01:14:12.310 – 01:14:15.590 point are they're great when there's an attempt to compromise my intellectual
  813. 01:14:15.590 – 01:14:22.680 property so it means me having to sell my product consistently at what it is
  814. 01:14:22.870 – 01:14:29.110 and not cheapening the product because because of quality then it's
  815. 01:14:29.110 – 01:14:36.770 gonna be but as pricing I think that goes to me being business savvy and
  816. 01:14:36.770 – 01:14:42.010 me me having the business knowledge since before I had a high school
  817. 01:14:42.010 – 01:14:47.610 diploma I knew that the cost of goods to create a product that manufacture a
  818. 01:14:47.610 – 01:14:52.970 product that's taken into account so because my products are all vegan all
  819. 01:14:52.970 – 01:14:59.090 high-quality all cold-pressed and organically says well certified
  820. 01:14:59.090 – 01:15:06.090 organically source that that I know will I ever cut the the cost product
  821. 01:15:06.090 – 01:15:09.570 to to maintain you know what I'm saying will not maintain quality but
  822. 01:15:09.570 – 01:15:16.650 I will never keep in my product my product so I'm at a space to where it's
  823. 01:15:16.650 – 01:15:21.350 like I need to learn how to scale instead how can I scale this business
  824. 01:15:21.350 – 01:15:26.210 to sell it independently because at first I was scaling to sell to the big
  825. 01:15:26.210 – 01:15:30.050 box stores and selling you know different platforms now I'm in a space
  826. 01:15:30.050 – 01:15:35.090 or it's like okay I go to sell my own because I know how much research I
  827. 01:15:35.090 – 01:15:40.210 put years of research into one product alone let alone the multiple products
  828. 01:15:40.210 – 01:15:46.690 that I offer and I don't want the equate version to come out because I
  829. 01:15:46.690 – 01:15:51.330 decided to sell it for 10 bucks you know what I'm saying no shade to equate
  830. 01:15:51.330 – 01:15:55.490 we love you know big but I am a an entrepreneur of my own you know and
  831. 01:15:55.490 – 01:15:59.590 a factory and things like that these are products that are can created
  832. 01:16:01.650 – 01:16:06.270 organically sourced certified source cold-pressed packaging
  833. 01:16:06.270 – 01:16:11.750 hydraulic packaging you know so quality I have when it comes to that's it and
  834. 01:16:11.750 – 01:16:15.930 that's really the difference between my product and the next product you can
  835. 01:16:15.930 – 01:16:19.890 go and shop wherever else but it's not gonna be created and curated or
  836. 01:16:19.890 – 01:16:23.590 researched to the level of what I'm doing I've tried I look in the store
  837. 01:16:23.590 – 01:16:29.190 I read the back of different products and ingredients like you know
  838. 01:16:29.190 – 01:16:34.610 buy things that's all that's it's accessible to us right here we go and I
  839. 01:16:34.610 – 01:16:41.750 love that I do that I could offer my product at a lower cost and not that
  840. 01:16:41.750 – 01:16:45.270 when I am to the point of being able to mass produce I'll be able to do
  841. 01:16:45.830 – 01:16:49.690 that but currently now I have to because I'm a small business owner I
  842. 01:16:49.690 – 01:16:57.710 do have to pay for it the sourcing of the product yeah but I am a
  843. 01:16:57.710 – 01:17:05.030 business owner currently and my business isn't to the level of of being a mass
  844. 01:17:05.030 – 01:17:10.190 produce a quality I think on that quality and I bank on that cost of
  845. 01:17:10.190 – 01:17:15.070 product and I bank on so when you're purchasing my product you know because
  846. 01:17:15.070 – 01:17:19.730 also the product you know that there the feel is there and I'm gonna
  847. 01:17:19.730 – 01:17:23.750 short you on that and and the products that I'm sending to my
  848. 01:17:23.750 – 01:17:28.790 labs I'm sending to my customers I'm using myself and you know what I'm
  849. 01:17:28.790 – 01:17:35.530 saying like you can I'm to build trust currently while scaling this this
  850. 01:17:35.530 – 01:17:42.530 product definitely okay master P no I like to music even my music career you
  851. 01:17:42.530 – 01:17:46.190 know opportunities record labels and sitting down with record labels and
  852. 01:17:46.890 – 01:17:51.430 you know it and just stand independent and knowing the benefits of being
  853. 01:17:51.430 – 01:18:02.750 can they even me publishing my first damn books after that well I have my
  854. 01:18:02.750 – 01:18:07.630 first novel was the only one that I had a traditionally published and as a
  855. 01:18:07.630 – 01:18:11.990 hard copy everything else is like a book format but you know what listen
  856. 01:18:11.990 – 01:18:17.210 that's how people connect these days looks our work okay so I've on
  857. 01:18:17.210 – 01:18:24.210 socials like from a different platforms the ebooks are people are college is
  858. 01:18:24.210 – 01:18:27.410 still a thing and YouTube is still a you know YouTube your learning skills
  859. 01:18:27.410 – 01:18:33.890 is really really valuable be able to barter skills is value having
  860. 01:18:33.890 – 01:18:47.190 transferable skills is valuable so it's good to hear that you have a
  861. 01:18:47.190 – 01:18:52.130 traditional from my first book to independent and doing it all on my own
  862. 01:18:52.130 – 01:18:57.090 even to the today I just do it all on my own so yeah that kind of act with
  863. 01:18:57.090 – 01:19:00.770 that and I'm just going back to like I said stories is a power of
  864. 01:19:00.770 – 01:19:05.650 independent and now he's you know creating the side of music and you
  865. 01:19:05.650 – 01:19:10.630 know getting big box stores but able to leverage what he's had and you
  866. 01:19:10.630 – 01:19:16.270 know yeah crazy that you've mentioned master P I went to last
  867. 01:19:16.270 – 01:19:22.590 essence fest amazing in there but he was also there in the name of not only
  868. 01:19:22.590 – 01:19:27.310 teaching nonprofit but teaching community he had a community basketball
  869. 01:19:27.310 – 01:19:33.510 thing he was so his cousin non-profit organizations the point of
  870. 01:19:33.510 – 01:19:37.350 collaboration and communications amongst people that are like-minded
  871. 01:19:38.090 – 01:19:44.210 even businesses that are that you know what I'm saying like I love me
  872. 01:19:45.110 – 01:19:49.450 wholeheartedly I've grown up being a fan of his music but I've also seen him
  873. 01:19:49.450 – 01:19:54.430 being master P from master rapper how he's transitioned and he's pivoted
  874. 01:19:54.430 – 01:20:00.230 his career to from being a rapper to be a TV star remember he used to have
  875. 01:20:00.230 – 01:20:05.030 the Romeo show yeah you know I mean and then he used to have in the
  876. 01:20:05.030 – 01:20:09.310 growing up hip-hop and things like that so master P I'd say is a very
  877. 01:20:10.890 – 01:20:15.930 multifaceted not just the music though the the music and having a record label
  878. 01:20:15.930 – 01:20:20.570 the nonprofits that him teaching basketball him perfect professional
  879. 01:20:20.570 – 01:20:25.790 sports I don't ask if he receives enough credit you know what I'm saying
  880. 01:20:25.790 – 01:20:30.650 for all the different avenues that he's he's taken in the different
  881. 01:20:30.650 – 01:20:37.030 things that he's done so yeah I'll ask for pre-comparison and being
  882. 01:20:37.030 – 01:20:41.930 someone who's been in Louisiana New Orleans Louisiana recently and seeing
  883. 01:20:41.930 – 01:20:47.810 him work live I know that as he worked from the beginning to the end and how
  884. 01:20:47.810 – 01:20:52.370 he really truly was for his community I think that's so admirable and taking
  885. 01:20:52.370 – 01:20:56.470 that a A-list scale you know what I'm saying a household name scale you
  886. 01:20:56.470 – 01:21:02.350 know so even like some rap snacks like hearing it you're bringing it back
  887. 01:21:02.350 – 01:21:05.490 yeah and he has little babies on there you know what I'm saying a
  888. 01:21:05.490 – 01:21:11.290 little dirks on there for the rap snacks you know so it's like he a pivot back
  889. 01:21:11.290 – 01:21:16.270 to your sister Maya while my skincare line may be closed right now you know
  890. 01:21:16.270 – 01:21:19.830 rap snacks a minute now they back out and they're competing with the Cheetos
  891. 01:21:19.830 – 01:21:22.310 and they're competing with the ladies and they're competing people are buying
  892. 01:21:22.310 – 01:21:25.870 them and we're able to just drop that name the same way I just drop
  893. 01:21:25.870 – 01:21:29.350 those names I'm able to drop that rap snacks name and tell you my
  894. 01:21:29.950 – 01:21:39.130 you know so amazing interview some closing questions where I like some
  895. 01:21:39.130 – 01:21:43.130 three key someone listening to this interview that you would provide
  896. 01:21:43.130 – 01:21:52.400 three key takeaways confidence resiliency and self-love so yeah all
  897. 01:21:52.400 – 01:21:55.840 praise is that so yeah be confident and you have to be able to put
  898. 01:21:55.840 – 01:21:59.940 yourself out there as well as be able to connect with people that you want
  899. 01:21:59.940 – 01:22:05.680 to connect with then you're afraid to do so or even the pool connect with you
  900. 01:22:05.680 – 01:22:08.740 you know I'm saying be don't be afraid to get yourself out there so that
  901. 01:22:08.740 – 01:22:13.340 confidence matters in every aspect confidence is something that is a very
  902. 01:22:13.340 – 01:22:20.560 large transferable skill oh yes indeed even going said transferable like I've
  903. 01:22:20.560 – 01:22:26.120 got my as far as confidence just playing basketball and like you've got
  904. 01:22:26.120 – 01:22:31.880 had a confidence playing a sport but for me it's basketball and just the
  905. 01:22:31.880 – 01:22:36.900 whole leadership and running the team or a business it comes from that
  906. 01:22:36.900 – 01:22:40.580 basketball and it's having a confidence like oh I could just do that
  907. 01:22:40.580 – 01:22:45.720 because if you're shaky and this you're gonna turn the ball over you
  908. 01:22:45.720 – 01:22:49.900 want to miss shots and if you don't take those shots are you scared to
  909. 01:22:49.900 – 01:22:54.200 take those shots it's gonna be all bad how how will you score if you're
  910. 01:22:54.200 – 01:23:01.760 afraid to take those shots and you know this is like a middle school quote you
  911. 01:23:01.760 – 01:23:04.980 miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take but the thing is I'm
  912. 01:23:04.980 – 01:23:08.200 glad that you said that because it's just like if I'm too afraid to pitch
  913. 01:23:08.200 – 01:23:12.360 myself you'll never be in a room you know you always you'll always yeah
  914. 01:23:12.880 – 01:23:17.900 you'll miss shots you don't take so that's where I'm in in life is there a
  915. 01:23:17.900 – 01:23:22.200 question that I haven't asked you that I should have asked you or you
  916. 01:23:22.200 – 01:23:31.380 should talk about um I think that we're really well-rounded um something that I
  917. 01:23:31.380 – 01:23:38.080 that I would like to answer to is just keeping God first and everything that I
  918. 01:23:38.080 – 01:23:42.360 do and and he's still my life and when you see me I hope that you see
  919. 01:23:42.360 – 01:23:52.180 him what would that mean I said would you like to close this out with a
  920. 01:23:53.360 – 01:23:59.500 alien and I as well as able to bless the connectivity and collaboration that
  921. 01:23:59.500 – 01:24:05.180 we're doing thus far dear Lord I ask that you take this podcast and you raise
  922. 01:24:05.180 – 01:24:10.480 it and you elevate it to the level of what we need to you know he need your
  923. 01:24:10.480 – 01:24:13.920 God and and I'm grateful that he did because we were able to connect and
  924. 01:24:13.920 – 01:24:16.260 we were able to speak about how we actually knew each other and we
  925. 01:24:16.260 – 01:24:19.800 figured out we knew each other on a different level so I'm grateful for
  926. 01:24:19.800 – 01:24:25.480 in this aspect for friends who network and put us forward dear Lord and I'm
  927. 01:24:25.480 – 01:24:29.400 grateful for being consistent in the work that we do and having an
  928. 01:24:29.400 – 01:24:33.580 opportunity to be able to touch different realms and ways that we
  929. 01:24:33.580 – 01:24:38.600 haven't been able to before your Lord I ask that you bless us and you
  930. 01:24:38.600 – 01:24:43.260 bless his travels on the home as well as bless or what we're doing in
  931. 01:24:43.260 – 01:24:46.960 our work moving forward and that it supports you and when people see you
  932. 01:24:46.960 – 01:24:50.960 that they only see when we only see you in representation of you dear God
  933. 01:24:52.400 – 01:24:58.480 and yeah I pray to keep us you we stay we stay consistent within you and your
  934. 01:24:58.480 – 01:25:03.740 Lord that I pray that our businesses shine light to you when when you see
  935. 01:25:03.740 – 01:25:08.980 our businesses you you wonder how can can help others if they can impact
  936. 01:25:08.980 – 01:25:12.000 others and then they actually reach the people that they are are wanting
  937. 01:25:12.000 – 01:25:16.560 to end your God I am grateful for just having friends and support dear
  938. 01:25:16.560 – 01:25:22.320 Lord I ask that you bless alien on his way as well as his business and being
  939. 01:25:22.320 – 01:25:28.440 able to create platforms for people like me to further our careers and any
  940. 01:25:28.440 – 01:25:32.120 type of advancement that we're doing in any entrepreneurial realm and any
  941. 01:25:32.120 – 01:25:36.120 marketing realm and any way he may connect with anybody else from this
  942. 01:25:36.120 – 01:25:41.080 moment forward and your Lord I ask that you take this and you do with
  943. 01:25:41.080 – 01:25:45.200 your will let it let you're done and once again see you when they
  944. 01:25:45.200 – 01:25:50.260 see you and in Jesus name or when they hear us they see you and and and that
  945. 01:25:50.260 – 01:25:54.780 you everyone who is amongst of the sound of our voices moving forward and
  946. 01:25:54.780 – 01:26:04.710 in Jesus name I pray amen yes man woman yes I love that find you connect
  947. 01:26:04.710 – 01:26:09.810 with you reach out to you buy some products all that good stuff you can
  948. 01:26:09.810 – 01:26:18.410 find that day why J a one day to one that's my personal I hair care line is
  949. 01:26:18.410 – 01:26:25.170 Coco's crown see oh okay oh see our oh WN on every single platform even down
  950. 01:26:25.170 – 01:26:32.910 to our YouTube channel as well as Smith Development Co. that's D M I T
  951. 01:26:33.670 – 01:26:39.910 and you can find me that way or visit our location at two five eight six three
  952. 01:26:39.910 – 01:26:45.190 Charlotte Road Richmond Heights Ohio four four one four three and connect
  953. 01:26:45.190 – 01:26:49.770 with me in that aspect and you can also shop Coco's crown there so yeah
  954. 01:26:49.770 – 01:26:54.470 in person or not in the shop e-commerce yes yes or how do you plug
  955. 01:26:54.470 – 01:27:01.270 one word you can catch me every third Wednesday at the Urban League of
  956. 01:27:02.090 – 01:27:06.250 Cleveland's young professional meeting we're gonna host them at 6 p.m. every
  957. 01:27:06.250 – 01:27:12.190 third Wednesday join our general body figure out how you can connect and any
  958. 01:27:12.730 – 01:27:17.450 aspect to your community in any sector for marketing to policy and
  959. 01:27:17.450 – 01:27:21.930 advocacy to professional development to membership chairs to executive
  960. 01:27:21.930 – 01:27:26.030 administrative communities anything any committee that you like to join or
  961. 01:27:26.030 – 01:27:30.530 any way that you would like to further your endeavors as a professional and
  962. 01:27:30.530 – 01:27:36.850 the ages of 21 through 40 hit me up at day to one yes this is how you know
  963. 01:27:36.850 – 01:27:41.030 she's passionate the rain popping out her head I should explain that's how
  964. 01:27:41.030 – 01:27:46.570 you know the passion is there reach out by the products connect show up
  965. 01:27:46.570 – 01:27:50.630 shake your hand meet a friend yes please do and and advance your
  966. 01:27:50.630 – 01:27:57.650 career aspect as well it's been a thank you thank you thank you with me
  967. 01:27:57.650 – 01:28:04.650 meeting with me having to you wine so like to party you know I'm saying sweet
  968. 01:28:04.650 – 01:28:08.790 red we've had an amazing time celebrating our birthdays and our
  969. 01:28:08.790 – 01:28:14.350 businesses together in collaboration with this podcast and I'm so grateful to be
  970. 01:28:14.350 – 01:28:17.790 speaking with you be drinking with you and connecting with you and I
  971. 01:28:17.790 – 01:28:24.570 can't wait to see how our endeavors grow from here thank you thank you
  972. 01:28:24.570 – 01:28:33.410 Don't forget code alien www.cocoscrown.com code alien will get you 15% off of all
  973. 01:28:33.410 – 01:28:41.410 products and it won't expire and this tiger for Jackson Steve Jackson of
  974. 01:28:41.410 – 01:28:46.870 alien autos media bringing you another episode of alien eyes photos industry
  975. 01:28:46.870 – 01:28:52.520 talk and the fire me on all social media you can find me at alien eyes
  976. 01:28:52.520 – 01:28:59.300 photos on all media and the alien eyes photos calm for more information even
  977. 01:28:59.300 – 01:29:05.700 about the podcast or to book me alien eyes photos calm and thank you again
  978. 01:29:05.700 – 01:29:13.440 Deja Deja Smith cocos crown and then some with all thank you for chatting
  979. 01:29:13.440 – 01:29:17.900 with me we've had a great time thus far I thank everyone for tuning in and
  980. 01:29:17.900 – 01:29:21.120 until next time peace

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28. Raw Glass - Darnell McAdams Multimedia Specialist

Season 2 · Episode 13

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.900 – 00:00:04.140 Welcome, welcome, welcome
  2. 00:00:04.140 – 00:00:07.180 to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  3. 00:00:07.720 – 00:00:11.660 with your host, photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson.
  4. 00:00:12.340 – 00:00:14.580 And I got a special guest with me tonight
  5. 00:00:14.580 – 00:00:16.520 or this evening, this afternoon,
  6. 00:00:16.760 – 00:00:18.080 wherever you're at in the world.
  7. 00:00:19.060 – 00:00:22.440 Mr. Darnell McAdams of Raw Glass Photography.
  8. 00:00:23.540 – 00:00:28.040 Special, special multimedia entrepreneur,
  9. 00:00:28.800 – 00:00:32.580 teacher, mentor, just doing the thing.
  10. 00:00:33.320 – 00:00:36.740 But you could do better justice introducing yourself.
  11. 00:00:37.480 – 00:00:38.780 So introduce yourself to the people.
  12. 00:00:39.300 – 00:00:41.940 My brother, yeah, my name is Darnell McAdams,
  13. 00:00:42.220 – 00:00:44.700 AKA Raw Glass, AKA Raw, AKA Glass,
  14. 00:00:44.860 – 00:00:46.040 depending on who you're talking to.
  15. 00:00:47.480 – 00:00:50.300 Yeah, man, I guess I would consider myself
  16. 00:00:51.460 – 00:00:54.860 a entrepreneur, community advocate,
  17. 00:00:56.240 – 00:00:57.060 multimedia specialist.
  18. 00:00:57.060 – 00:00:58.240 I guess it's a good way to put it
  19. 00:00:58.240 – 00:01:00.340 because I do a lot of different things
  20. 00:01:00.340 – 00:01:02.060 with the media content creation,
  21. 00:01:02.240 – 00:01:03.460 photography, videography.
  22. 00:01:06.060 – 00:01:08.940 I teach arts and health practitioners
  23. 00:01:08.940 – 00:01:12.540 is what I'm leaning into now.
  24. 00:01:12.780 – 00:01:15.720 I'm basically being able to bring arts
  25. 00:01:15.720 – 00:01:19.360 as a tool for healing into the community.
  26. 00:01:20.220 – 00:01:22.940 So yeah, that's pretty much me right now
  27. 00:01:22.940 – 00:01:24.220 in a nutshell, man.
  28. 00:01:24.900 – 00:01:27.060 Now let's stick with that arts and healing.
  29. 00:01:27.240 – 00:01:31.000 What is arts and healing the combination of that to you?
  30. 00:01:31.980 – 00:01:33.360 Well, I mean, for me, man,
  31. 00:01:33.480 – 00:01:35.120 I think I tell people all the time.
  32. 00:01:35.400 – 00:01:37.220 For me, the camera saved my life.
  33. 00:01:38.060 – 00:01:38.980 So I'm my only child.
  34. 00:01:39.120 – 00:01:40.700 I'm 45 now, but I'm my only child.
  35. 00:01:41.060 – 00:01:43.940 My dad died three days after my 22nd birthday.
  36. 00:01:45.220 – 00:01:47.480 My mom died in 2015 on Halloween.
  37. 00:01:49.060 – 00:01:53.000 And I was really close with my parents.
  38. 00:01:54.400 – 00:01:56.900 And a lot of my earlier 20s
  39. 00:01:56.900 – 00:01:58.940 and when I was really young like that,
  40. 00:01:59.220 – 00:02:00.460 that really defined me
  41. 00:02:00.460 – 00:02:03.620 because it was really the first time I dealt with death
  42. 00:02:04.520 – 00:02:05.650 in that close to me.
  43. 00:02:06.840 – 00:02:09.880 So I had some grandparents,
  44. 00:02:10.259 – 00:02:12.080 like my mother's parents died while I was young
  45. 00:02:12.080 – 00:02:12.620 and stuff like that,
  46. 00:02:12.640 – 00:02:13.760 but there was never anybody close enough
  47. 00:02:13.760 – 00:02:14.900 and needed to hit home.
  48. 00:02:14.960 – 00:02:16.520 And the first time it hit me was with that.
  49. 00:02:16.540 – 00:02:17.660 So it really kind of defined me
  50. 00:02:17.660 – 00:02:22.040 and I talk about it a lot because it sent me, man.
  51. 00:02:22.520 – 00:02:26.120 I was, it was my sophomore year in college.
  52. 00:02:26.380 – 00:02:28.940 I ended up having to come home
  53. 00:02:28.940 – 00:02:30.700 and then my dad ended up getting cancer
  54. 00:02:30.700 – 00:02:31.860 and ended up dying.
  55. 00:02:31.960 – 00:02:33.300 So I ended up not going back to school.
  56. 00:02:33.860 – 00:02:36.740 And it kind of just put me on a road of anger
  57. 00:02:37.480 – 00:02:38.840 and that type of thing, man.
  58. 00:02:38.840 – 00:02:39.780 I've always been into art,
  59. 00:02:40.060 – 00:02:42.780 but I got really angry for a long time.
  60. 00:02:43.100 – 00:02:44.320 Took me a while to go to therapy.
  61. 00:02:44.460 – 00:02:46.380 And then after my mom died,
  62. 00:02:47.300 – 00:02:48.660 I was just like, you know what, man,
  63. 00:02:48.920 – 00:02:50.280 I can't chase money anymore.
  64. 00:02:51.200 – 00:02:53.320 I have to do what I'm passionate about.
  65. 00:02:54.300 – 00:02:57.540 And I picked up a camera and thank God I picked up a camera
  66. 00:02:57.540 – 00:03:00.680 because I think I was really going down the wrong path,
  67. 00:03:00.820 – 00:03:00.880 man.
  68. 00:03:00.880 – 00:03:02.620 I was really doing a lot of things that I probably,
  69. 00:03:03.520 – 00:03:04.600 that I don't, you know, I don't,
  70. 00:03:04.600 – 00:03:06.580 I'm not proud of and I don't feel good about,
  71. 00:03:06.680 – 00:03:07.500 but I was, you know,
  72. 00:03:07.560 – 00:03:09.720 I got really depressed and didn't know what to do, man.
  73. 00:03:10.020 – 00:03:12.800 So when I found the camera and realized that, you know,
  74. 00:03:12.920 – 00:03:14.700 art has always been my path, it kind of,
  75. 00:03:14.900 – 00:03:16.300 not kind of, but it saved my life.
  76. 00:03:16.320 – 00:03:18.200 And I just, I dove into the camera
  77. 00:03:18.680 – 00:03:20.480 and started realizing that, you know,
  78. 00:03:20.700 – 00:03:23.860 I'm pretty good at this and just kind of went from there.
  79. 00:03:24.580 – 00:03:25.920 Yeah. Wow. Amazing.
  80. 00:03:26.160 – 00:03:28.560 My heart doesn't go off for you.
  81. 00:03:28.840 – 00:03:29.420 I appreciate that, man.
  82. 00:03:29.500 – 00:03:32.100 You know, to lose both, nobody would ever even know.
  83. 00:03:32.780 – 00:03:33.800 And that's, that's definitely all right.
  84. 00:03:33.980 – 00:03:35.600 Yeah, man. It was, like I said,
  85. 00:03:35.640 – 00:03:37.900 it was one of the defining things of who I am
  86. 00:03:37.900 – 00:03:39.180 and why I'm here today.
  87. 00:03:39.220 – 00:03:40.500 Cause I don't, you know, honestly,
  88. 00:03:40.880 – 00:03:41.660 if they were still here,
  89. 00:03:41.680 – 00:03:43.540 I don't know if I'd be doing this.
  90. 00:03:43.980 – 00:03:44.320 Photography.
  91. 00:03:44.680 – 00:03:45.940 Yeah. I don't know if I'd be doing art at all.
  92. 00:03:46.060 – 00:03:46.840 I'd probably be,
  93. 00:03:47.300 – 00:03:49.160 probably would have got some kind of science degree
  94. 00:03:49.160 – 00:03:50.800 and, you know, been working some job
  95. 00:03:50.800 – 00:03:51.940 that I probably ended up hating.
  96. 00:03:52.880 – 00:03:53.480 You know what I mean?
  97. 00:03:53.740 – 00:03:55.820 But, you know, I don't, who knows?
  98. 00:03:55.880 – 00:03:56.280 Who knows?
  99. 00:03:56.720 – 00:03:58.600 It's hard to say it's the butterfly effect, right?
  100. 00:03:58.600 – 00:04:00.800 Like, you know, I say I'd go give everything,
  101. 00:04:00.940 – 00:04:02.080 anything to have my parents back,
  102. 00:04:02.080 – 00:04:02.760 but then I don't know
  103. 00:04:02.760 – 00:04:03.900 how my life would've went from there.
  104. 00:04:04.260 – 00:04:05.100 Not sure I oughta got married,
  105. 00:04:05.160 – 00:04:06.280 not sure I would've had kids.
  106. 00:04:06.640 – 00:04:07.640 Right. Any of that.
  107. 00:04:08.340 – 00:04:10.180 So, life happened how it happened, man.
  108. 00:04:10.500 – 00:04:13.240 I don't, I don't subscribe to the,
  109. 00:04:15.240 – 00:04:18.140 when people say, you know,
  110. 00:04:18.240 – 00:04:19.760 it's all a part of God's plan.
  111. 00:04:20.120 – 00:04:22.260 I don't, I don't, I don't like saying that
  112. 00:04:22.260 – 00:04:23.140 because when people lose somebody
  113. 00:04:23.140 – 00:04:24.180 and the first thing you tell them is,
  114. 00:04:24.440 – 00:04:26.160 oh yeah, man, well, God, you know,
  115. 00:04:26.260 – 00:04:27.200 it's because of God.
  116. 00:04:27.440 – 00:04:30.100 Like, no, God is not out here
  117. 00:04:30.100 – 00:04:32.800 trying to make me an orphan at 33.
  118. 00:04:33.140 – 00:04:33.820 You know what I mean?
  119. 00:04:34.000 – 00:04:34.400 Yeah.
  120. 00:04:34.440 – 00:04:37.200 However, God did give me the strength
  121. 00:04:38.280 – 00:04:40.560 to know how to, to learn how to deal with it
  122. 00:04:40.560 – 00:04:42.740 because God wasn't always there for me.
  123. 00:04:42.740 – 00:04:44.380 My dad died, man.
  124. 00:04:44.440 – 00:04:45.600 I lost all religion.
  125. 00:04:45.680 – 00:04:47.120 I lost all spirituality.
  126. 00:04:47.880 – 00:04:48.540 I hated God.
  127. 00:04:49.940 – 00:04:52.480 And so, I'm really careful
  128. 00:04:52.480 – 00:04:54.020 when it comes to talking about people
  129. 00:04:54.020 – 00:04:54.580 and losing people.
  130. 00:04:54.620 – 00:04:56.400 Cause also, you know, I've lost both my parents.
  131. 00:04:57.020 – 00:04:57.080 Yeah.
  132. 00:04:57.800 – 00:04:58.400 I didn't lose them.
  133. 00:04:58.560 – 00:04:59.540 Both my parents died.
  134. 00:05:00.320 – 00:05:02.760 And therapy, transition died.
  135. 00:05:03.000 – 00:05:04.000 I think it's final.
  136. 00:05:04.200 – 00:05:06.240 And I think for me, therapy taught me like,
  137. 00:05:06.340 – 00:05:07.240 trying to say they passed
  138. 00:05:07.240 – 00:05:10.540 or any of those more passive ways of talking about it,
  139. 00:05:10.620 – 00:05:11.740 it makes it less final.
  140. 00:05:11.740 – 00:05:13.320 It makes it as if it's not something
  141. 00:05:13.320 – 00:05:14.240 that didn't really happen.
  142. 00:05:14.420 – 00:05:14.820 It's final.
  143. 00:05:14.960 – 00:05:15.400 It happened.
  144. 00:05:16.040 – 00:05:16.560 It's over with nothing.
  145. 00:05:16.760 – 00:05:18.500 And that's how I've been approaching it.
  146. 00:05:18.900 – 00:05:20.020 That's how I've had to approach it
  147. 00:05:20.020 – 00:05:23.080 because the other ways have gotten me, you know,
  148. 00:05:23.240 – 00:05:24.020 gotten me kind of off.
  149. 00:05:25.400 – 00:05:27.580 But it's just learning how to deal
  150. 00:05:27.580 – 00:05:29.280 with the new reality of, you know,
  151. 00:05:29.280 – 00:05:29.880 I'm my only child, man.
  152. 00:05:29.980 – 00:05:30.540 That's all I knew.
  153. 00:05:31.540 – 00:05:32.660 You know, my dad, I was,
  154. 00:05:32.660 – 00:05:34.260 like I said, I was 22 when my dad died.
  155. 00:05:34.420 – 00:05:36.180 So, I didn't get a chance to have
  156. 00:05:36.180 – 00:05:37.920 a lot of those man conversations
  157. 00:05:37.920 – 00:05:39.960 that I would love to have had with my dad.
  158. 00:05:39.960 – 00:05:42.740 Cause I wasn't a street kid, man.
  159. 00:05:42.760 – 00:05:43.480 I was a bird boy.
  160. 00:05:44.420 – 00:05:46.660 And 22, I was still kind of young, man.
  161. 00:05:46.680 – 00:05:47.480 I mean, I had lived on my own
  162. 00:05:47.480 – 00:05:48.460 for a couple of years in college,
  163. 00:05:48.460 – 00:05:49.420 but I didn't.
  164. 00:05:49.580 – 00:05:49.740 Yeah.
  165. 00:05:50.200 – 00:05:51.060 You know, there was still things
  166. 00:05:51.060 – 00:05:53.620 that I wish I could talk to my father about, you know.
  167. 00:05:53.640 – 00:05:55.740 And luckily, you know, I had good, you know,
  168. 00:05:56.020 – 00:05:58.280 figures, male figures in my life after the fact.
  169. 00:05:58.920 – 00:06:01.000 But, you know, ain't nobody like your parents, man.
  170. 00:06:02.900 – 00:06:04.140 Let's go back to college.
  171. 00:06:04.640 – 00:06:05.600 When did you study in college?
  172. 00:06:06.340 – 00:06:07.380 That's funny, man.
  173. 00:06:07.880 – 00:06:09.600 So, my major was gonna be mathematics.
  174. 00:06:09.600 – 00:06:11.080 Yeah, man.
  175. 00:06:11.380 – 00:06:12.520 So, I used to love math.
  176. 00:06:12.940 – 00:06:13.960 I still love math.
  177. 00:06:14.180 – 00:06:14.780 Yeah, yeah.
  178. 00:06:14.800 – 00:06:15.880 I mean, because it's the only thing
  179. 00:06:16.400 – 00:06:18.060 that doesn't change for real.
  180. 00:06:18.520 – 00:06:19.040 You know what I mean?
  181. 00:06:19.100 – 00:06:21.260 The dictionary is a whole bunch of made up words
  182. 00:06:21.260 – 00:06:23.100 that we all make up every day.
  183. 00:06:23.100 – 00:06:23.400 Right.
  184. 00:06:23.920 – 00:06:25.780 With numbers, numbers pretty much are solid.
  185. 00:06:26.140 – 00:06:27.360 So, I was good with numbers.
  186. 00:06:27.440 – 00:06:28.020 I'm always good with numbers.
  187. 00:06:28.160 – 00:06:29.440 I'm still pretty good with numbers.
  188. 00:06:30.080 – 00:06:31.540 And I was gonna major in math, man.
  189. 00:06:31.560 – 00:06:33.880 I had no idea where I was gonna go with that, like.
  190. 00:06:34.880 – 00:06:36.340 Well, I could kind of say,
  191. 00:06:36.500 – 00:06:38.380 cause we talk about art.
  192. 00:06:38.380 – 00:06:40.780 We talk about numbers and math,
  193. 00:06:40.800 – 00:06:43.180 which are both universal and like,
  194. 00:06:43.220 – 00:06:44.280 been all over the country.
  195. 00:06:45.440 – 00:06:50.120 So, as I gotta say that those two take you
  196. 00:06:50.120 – 00:06:52.240 or took you many places.
  197. 00:06:52.780 – 00:06:52.900 It did.
  198. 00:06:53.020 – 00:06:55.380 You know, art took me more places
  199. 00:06:55.380 – 00:06:57.100 than math took me for real.
  200. 00:06:57.500 – 00:06:58.460 I mean, but you know what?
  201. 00:06:58.700 – 00:07:00.240 Photography is math, honestly.
  202. 00:07:00.460 – 00:07:02.200 Like, understanding the exposure triangle
  203. 00:07:02.200 – 00:07:02.860 and that kind of stuff.
  204. 00:07:03.260 – 00:07:05.220 When you start getting into the deep,
  205. 00:07:05.220 – 00:07:07.380 deep dark secrets of photography
  206. 00:07:07.380 – 00:07:09.220 and understanding it, I mean, you know.
  207. 00:07:10.480 – 00:07:11.780 It's a lot of math, man.
  208. 00:07:11.840 – 00:07:13.180 It's a lot of math, a lot of understanding.
  209. 00:07:13.760 – 00:07:15.580 We don't have to know math that way,
  210. 00:07:15.600 – 00:07:17.000 but if you understand math,
  211. 00:07:17.100 – 00:07:18.360 it makes it a little easier for you.
  212. 00:07:18.840 – 00:07:19.300 It does, definitely.
  213. 00:07:19.680 – 00:07:23.380 You know, for the stops and all these other things, man.
  214. 00:07:23.380 – 00:07:24.620 When you start understanding that stuff,
  215. 00:07:25.000 – 00:07:27.280 and you know math is a part of all of that stuff.
  216. 00:07:27.620 – 00:07:28.900 So, it definitely made it easier for me
  217. 00:07:28.900 – 00:07:31.020 to understand that and to move with it.
  218. 00:07:31.020 – 00:07:31.680 But yeah, man.
  219. 00:07:31.880 – 00:07:34.080 Like, yeah, that's one thing that I was.
  220. 00:07:34.160 – 00:07:35.180 I mean, I grew up moving around
  221. 00:07:35.180 – 00:07:36.200 cause my dad was military.
  222. 00:07:36.940 – 00:07:40.420 But I think that's what my love for travel is now,
  223. 00:07:41.600 – 00:07:44.480 is like, I can't sit still.
  224. 00:07:44.680 – 00:07:46.340 I think that's really what it comes down to.
  225. 00:07:46.940 – 00:07:49.040 And I gotta experience other things.
  226. 00:07:49.240 – 00:07:51.160 Like, you know, my mom always told me, you know,
  227. 00:07:51.240 – 00:07:55.040 that life is too short to be sitting in one place, man.
  228. 00:07:55.860 – 00:07:56.440 You know what I mean?
  229. 00:07:56.500 – 00:07:59.140 You have to get out and experience other things.
  230. 00:08:00.240 – 00:08:02.340 And what I tell, you know, the kids that I teach,
  231. 00:08:02.520 – 00:08:05.060 it's like, you know, and what I really believe about
  232. 00:08:05.060 – 00:08:06.900 our children, our communities and that kind of stuff,
  233. 00:08:07.040 – 00:08:08.300 anybody that's coming up,
  234. 00:08:08.380 – 00:08:10.100 the more exposed you are to different things,
  235. 00:08:10.380 – 00:08:11.980 the more well-rounded you are,
  236. 00:08:12.040 – 00:08:14.800 the more you really know.
  237. 00:08:14.820 – 00:08:17.280 You don't have to be overly intelligent.
  238. 00:08:17.680 – 00:08:20.080 But if you've been other places and seen other things,
  239. 00:08:20.600 – 00:08:22.660 it really, it's a different type of intelligence
  240. 00:08:22.660 – 00:08:25.340 and it gives you a different perspective on life.
  241. 00:08:26.220 – 00:08:26.680 You know what I mean?
  242. 00:08:26.920 – 00:08:27.920 It opens your mind up.
  243. 00:08:28.260 – 00:08:29.380 I've never, I haven't met too many people
  244. 00:08:29.380 – 00:08:32.240 that have been, you know, a whole lot of places
  245. 00:08:32.240 – 00:08:33.360 and they don't have an open mind.
  246. 00:08:33.840 – 00:08:35.059 Cause you start understanding that,
  247. 00:08:35.240 – 00:08:37.440 oh, this ain't just, it ain't just this.
  248. 00:08:38.260 – 00:08:38.780 You know what I mean?
  249. 00:08:39.600 – 00:08:40.960 It's like, you talk to family members that,
  250. 00:08:40.960 – 00:08:41.980 I have not known family members that
  251. 00:08:41.980 – 00:08:44.520 really ain't been outside of Cleveland, this area.
  252. 00:08:44.560 – 00:08:47.040 And you understand the closed mindedness
  253. 00:08:47.040 – 00:08:48.940 because it's like, well, this is all you know,
  254. 00:08:49.240 – 00:08:51.600 not in a bad way and not throwing shade,
  255. 00:08:51.960 – 00:08:54.320 but you understand like your perspective is only so big.
  256. 00:08:54.440 – 00:08:55.960 I mean, me being a military man growing up
  257. 00:08:55.960 – 00:08:56.840 and moving around a lot,
  258. 00:08:57.140 – 00:08:59.180 like I can go anywhere really.
  259. 00:08:59.720 – 00:09:01.080 I'm used to just picking up and going.
  260. 00:09:01.860 – 00:09:02.920 Some people can't just pick up and going.
  261. 00:09:02.920 – 00:09:04.300 I get that too, like.
  262. 00:09:07.320 – 00:09:08.720 Going to raw glass,
  263. 00:09:08.880 – 00:09:11.660 I know raw is a format in photography
  264. 00:09:11.660 – 00:09:15.440 and glass is like the lens we look through, see through.
  265. 00:09:16.040 – 00:09:17.360 What's your definition of raw glass?
  266. 00:09:17.480 – 00:09:19.560 I mean, you're just going to take my thunder like that.
  267. 00:09:20.220 – 00:09:22.300 I mean, if that's the definition.
  268. 00:09:23.400 – 00:09:24.300 You're just going to take my,
  269. 00:09:24.300 – 00:09:25.200 you're just going to take the thunder
  270. 00:09:25.200 – 00:09:26.540 by you while you explain it.
  271. 00:09:26.780 – 00:09:27.180 You know what I mean?
  272. 00:09:27.420 – 00:09:29.060 No, but that's, that's, that's, yeah.
  273. 00:09:29.120 – 00:09:29.880 I mean, what you a smart dude,
  274. 00:09:29.880 – 00:09:30.920 that's where the name came from, dog.
  275. 00:09:30.920 – 00:09:32.900 When I was thinking of a name for a company,
  276. 00:09:33.400 – 00:09:35.720 raw is a format and raw also raw is something
  277. 00:09:35.720 – 00:09:36.860 we used to say back in the day.
  278. 00:09:36.980 – 00:09:37.420 Oh, that's raw.
  279. 00:09:37.740 – 00:09:38.260 Right, yeah.
  280. 00:09:38.260 – 00:09:38.840 You know what I mean?
  281. 00:09:39.080 – 00:09:39.780 Throwback, yeah, wow.
  282. 00:09:39.840 – 00:09:40.380 And then, yeah.
  283. 00:09:40.480 – 00:09:41.640 And then like, like you said, glass,
  284. 00:09:41.720 – 00:09:43.000 glass is another name for lenses.
  285. 00:09:43.320 – 00:09:45.600 So that's, that's exactly where the name came from.
  286. 00:09:45.700 – 00:09:46.780 You get the nail right on the head.
  287. 00:09:47.000 – 00:09:47.920 Yeah, or I could look at it
  288. 00:09:47.920 – 00:09:49.580 as you take raw pictures, you know?
  289. 00:09:49.740 – 00:09:51.380 That too, like it's definitely that.
  290. 00:09:51.580 – 00:09:53.820 You know, or it's the whole conglomerate of things.
  291. 00:09:53.900 – 00:09:54.940 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
  292. 00:09:55.060 – 00:09:55.880 But that's where it came from.
  293. 00:09:55.940 – 00:09:56.600 Like, oh, that's raw.
  294. 00:09:56.760 – 00:09:58.400 And then, you know, raw is a format in glass.
  295. 00:09:58.580 – 00:09:58.860 You know what I mean?
  296. 00:09:58.860 – 00:10:01.260 Raw pictures, raw, you know, raw equipment.
  297. 00:10:01.860 – 00:10:02.340 You know what I mean?
  298. 00:10:02.420 – 00:10:04.240 Like that's exactly where the name came from.
  299. 00:10:04.540 – 00:10:05.820 That's, and I stuck with it.
  300. 00:10:05.860 – 00:10:07.860 I wasn't even sure that I was gonna keep that name,
  301. 00:10:07.960 – 00:10:10.240 but it just, you know, I started the,
  302. 00:10:10.240 – 00:10:12.500 started Raw Glass in 2017,
  303. 00:10:13.160 – 00:10:14.420 a couple of years before I moved here.
  304. 00:10:15.120 – 00:10:17.560 And it was like two years after my mom died.
  305. 00:10:17.620 – 00:10:20.780 And so I was like, okay, after I started doing it,
  306. 00:10:20.800 – 00:10:23.280 people were like, you know, you could get paid for this.
  307. 00:10:23.320 – 00:10:25.880 I'm like, nah, I can't get paid for this.
  308. 00:10:25.940 – 00:10:26.440 Right, right.
  309. 00:10:26.440 – 00:10:27.800 I'm just, I'm just, you know,
  310. 00:10:27.800 – 00:10:30.460 it was just, it was just healing for me, baby.
  311. 00:10:30.480 – 00:10:30.820 You know what I'm saying?
  312. 00:10:30.840 – 00:10:32.120 It was just therapy for me.
  313. 00:10:32.420 – 00:10:33.740 Photo walks and that kind of stuff, man.
  314. 00:10:33.740 – 00:10:34.980 It was just my therapy.
  315. 00:10:35.660 – 00:10:37.420 But yeah, people started really saying like,
  316. 00:10:37.440 – 00:10:39.320 nah, man, like you really got an eye.
  317. 00:10:39.380 – 00:10:41.160 I'm like, okay, well, I started, you know,
  318. 00:10:41.180 – 00:10:41.780 leaning into it.
  319. 00:10:41.780 – 00:10:44.000 But yeah, came up with the name and was like, okay.
  320. 00:10:44.280 – 00:10:44.700 You know what I mean?
  321. 00:10:44.780 – 00:10:45.600 Let me, let's go.
  322. 00:10:45.960 – 00:10:46.440 Let's go.
  323. 00:10:46.560 – 00:10:48.860 And then 2017, that started and it just kind of been,
  324. 00:10:49.820 – 00:10:52.440 I'm here now, you know, I guess, what is this?
  325. 00:10:52.860 – 00:10:53.560 Nine years later?
  326. 00:10:53.900 – 00:10:54.840 Nine years, wow.
  327. 00:10:56.520 – 00:10:57.600 Yeah, 2017.
  328. 00:10:58.080 – 00:10:59.640 So next year it'll be 10 years.
  329. 00:10:59.660 – 00:11:00.240 10 years, wow.
  330. 00:11:00.240 – 00:11:00.880 That's crazy.
  331. 00:11:01.260 – 00:11:01.800 Wow, yeah.
  332. 00:11:02.260 – 00:11:03.300 Gotta do something big.
  333. 00:11:03.960 – 00:11:05.140 Nah, nah, I didn't think about it.
  334. 00:11:05.180 – 00:11:07.840 It's not even, you know, the funny thing, man,
  335. 00:11:07.840 – 00:11:10.180 is I've actually like pulled back on my business.
  336. 00:11:10.260 – 00:11:11.680 Like I'm not really,
  337. 00:11:12.060 – 00:11:15.400 I'm more focused on community now.
  338. 00:11:15.960 – 00:11:18.360 Ever since I've gotten here to Cleveland,
  339. 00:11:18.980 – 00:11:22.160 my focus has been trying to make people understand
  340. 00:11:22.160 – 00:11:24.020 that it can be healing, because it was healing for me.
  341. 00:11:24.020 – 00:11:26.620 So it was like, well, if it can be healing for me,
  342. 00:11:26.740 – 00:11:28.420 it's gotta be able to be healing for somebody else.
  343. 00:11:30.700 – 00:11:32.460 And that's more so where I'm at now,
  344. 00:11:32.560 – 00:11:34.540 where the man is trying to be able to just teach,
  345. 00:11:34.860 – 00:11:35.700 get back to the community,
  346. 00:11:35.780 – 00:11:37.120 because that's a lot of what I do now,
  347. 00:11:37.200 – 00:11:39.500 teach social emotional learning through photography.
  348. 00:11:42.240 – 00:11:45.920 And, you know, in workshops and afterschool programming
  349. 00:11:45.920 – 00:11:47.020 and like all that kind of stuff
  350. 00:11:47.020 – 00:11:50.100 that I've been doing over the last four years?
  351. 00:11:50.500 – 00:11:52.360 Four, yeah, about four or five years.
  352. 00:11:54.900 – 00:11:58.580 So more so passion and impact over the monetary
  353. 00:11:58.580 – 00:11:59.440 and everything else.
  354. 00:11:59.700 – 00:12:00.860 Man, that's always been me, man.
  355. 00:12:01.200 – 00:12:04.600 Like it's literally never been about the dollar for me,
  356. 00:12:04.620 – 00:12:06.060 man, I ain't balling.
  357. 00:12:06.340 – 00:12:06.660 You know what I mean?
  358. 00:12:07.180 – 00:12:09.560 I can confidently tell the kids
  359. 00:12:09.560 – 00:12:11.500 that I go do like career days and stuff like that.
  360. 00:12:11.780 – 00:12:14.040 Yeah, I bought a house with a camera
  361. 00:12:14.040 – 00:12:14.980 and that's the truth.
  362. 00:12:15.680 – 00:12:17.580 Like, I mean, it's not like the fortunes.
  363. 00:12:17.720 – 00:12:18.600 No, when I first got here,
  364. 00:12:18.600 – 00:12:20.460 I had to get a job to show income
  365. 00:12:20.460 – 00:12:21.160 and that kind of thing,
  366. 00:12:21.160 – 00:12:22.380 because my business wasn't making enough money
  367. 00:12:22.380 – 00:12:22.880 to get a house.
  368. 00:12:23.380 – 00:12:25.520 But soon as I was able to, I quit that job
  369. 00:12:25.520 – 00:12:27.620 and everything else has just been with a camera.
  370. 00:12:27.840 – 00:12:29.060 Everything else is, everything I do now
  371. 00:12:29.060 – 00:12:29.900 is surrounded by the camera.
  372. 00:12:30.700 – 00:12:33.080 I told myself, if I'm going to do this
  373. 00:12:33.080 – 00:12:34.660 and I'm going to go like, even if I get,
  374. 00:12:34.700 – 00:12:38.220 because I have a pretty much part-time
  375. 00:12:38.220 – 00:12:39.820 or part-time slash full-time job,
  376. 00:12:40.280 – 00:12:41.360 but it's surrounded by the camera.
  377. 00:12:42.080 – 00:12:42.340 You know what I mean?
  378. 00:12:42.380 – 00:12:43.200 Everything I do now,
  379. 00:12:43.220 – 00:12:44.660 if it's not surrounded by the camera,
  380. 00:12:45.000 – 00:12:46.180 I really don't want to do it.
  381. 00:12:46.180 – 00:12:47.580 And I found myself why I couldn't stay
  382. 00:12:47.580 – 00:12:48.300 in these other jobs
  383. 00:12:48.300 – 00:12:50.620 because it wasn't what I wanted to do, man.
  384. 00:12:50.740 – 00:12:51.940 It wasn't, my heart wasn't in it.
  385. 00:12:51.940 – 00:12:54.580 So if it's not around visual arts
  386. 00:12:54.580 – 00:12:56.520 or something to do with a camera
  387. 00:12:56.520 – 00:12:57.120 and that type of thing,
  388. 00:12:57.120 – 00:12:58.580 I really don't want to do it.
  389. 00:12:58.980 – 00:13:01.380 And I've learned that life is too short
  390. 00:13:01.380 – 00:13:02.540 through the loss of my parents
  391. 00:13:02.540 – 00:13:04.180 to be doing something you don't want to be doing, man.
  392. 00:13:04.600 – 00:13:06.060 So I don't anymore.
  393. 00:13:06.580 – 00:13:08.920 No, that's major and I definitely receive it.
  394. 00:13:08.980 – 00:13:11.460 Yeah, man, it's just,
  395. 00:13:11.460 – 00:13:12.440 yeah, it's one of those things.
  396. 00:13:13.300 – 00:13:16.320 I seen like photos and old clips of you
  397. 00:13:16.320 – 00:13:18.400 with the rock on the game show.
  398. 00:13:18.600 – 00:13:19.880 Oh, wow. Oh, wow.
  399. 00:13:20.320 – 00:13:21.720 I didn't know you were going to bring that up.
  400. 00:13:23.080 – 00:13:27.000 Man, I had to, Wayne Johnson, Mr. The Rock,
  401. 00:13:27.040 – 00:13:28.080 one of my favorite wrestlers.
  402. 00:13:28.420 – 00:13:29.620 Oh yeah? Yeah.
  403. 00:13:29.680 – 00:13:30.260 Yeah, yeah.
  404. 00:13:30.320 – 00:13:32.640 That was, hey man, that was a time.
  405. 00:13:32.920 – 00:13:33.460 That was a time.
  406. 00:13:33.480 – 00:13:34.740 That was a good time in my life, man.
  407. 00:13:34.860 – 00:13:36.780 That was, man, you know what, honestly, that was what?
  408. 00:13:37.280 – 00:13:39.240 At this point, it's been 13 years.
  409. 00:13:39.820 – 00:13:40.940 Yeah, that was 2013.
  410. 00:13:41.760 – 00:13:43.920 So that was even before I started the business.
  411. 00:13:44.100 – 00:13:45.580 I was working as a technician.
  412. 00:13:45.620 – 00:13:49.060 I was fixing industrial scales at the time.
  413. 00:13:49.620 – 00:13:51.740 Yeah, the CDL, like put it rolling around
  414. 00:13:51.740 – 00:13:53.360 to like truck scales and that type of stuff
  415. 00:13:53.360 – 00:13:55.820 and like plants and stuff like Frito Lay and that was,
  416. 00:13:56.060 – 00:13:56.820 they all got scales.
  417. 00:13:56.960 – 00:13:57.520 I learned all these things.
  418. 00:13:57.560 – 00:13:58.580 So I'm fixing scales at the time.
  419. 00:13:58.600 – 00:14:01.020 But yeah, I ended up getting on this game show, man,
  420. 00:14:01.040 – 00:14:05.960 on TNT with The Rock called The Hero back in 2013, man.
  421. 00:14:06.000 – 00:14:08.980 And it was 10 of us that made the cut on there.
  422. 00:14:09.260 – 00:14:11.620 And it was, yeah, it was cool, man.
  423. 00:14:11.760 – 00:14:14.640 It was a great experience, I'll say that.
  424. 00:14:14.640 – 00:14:19.380 Like I'm not sure I would want to do it again,
  425. 00:14:20.000 – 00:14:22.680 but this is me 13 years later saying that.
  426. 00:14:23.060 – 00:14:24.200 You know, right after it happened,
  427. 00:14:24.340 – 00:14:25.840 I probably would have done something like that again.
  428. 00:14:26.440 – 00:14:27.840 But yeah, it was a great experience, man.
  429. 00:14:27.940 – 00:14:31.040 It was just, I don't know, it was just lucky.
  430. 00:14:31.880 – 00:14:33.300 I tell you that, like it was no,
  431. 00:14:33.420 – 00:14:36.740 I didn't do anything to like, to get onto the show.
  432. 00:14:37.220 – 00:14:39.120 You know, a lot of people knew about like the cast
  433. 00:14:39.120 – 00:14:39.900 and call and all that.
  434. 00:14:40.020 – 00:14:41.180 I came in last minute.
  435. 00:14:42.080 – 00:14:44.520 Like I wouldn't try it out for MasterChef,
  436. 00:14:44.700 – 00:14:45.260 as a matter of fact.
  437. 00:14:45.280 – 00:14:45.960 That's how I got on the show.
  438. 00:14:46.020 – 00:14:46.980 I don't know if you know that show.
  439. 00:14:47.240 – 00:14:47.360 Oh yeah.
  440. 00:14:47.360 – 00:14:48.320 Gordon Ramsay, oh yeah.
  441. 00:14:48.480 – 00:14:49.780 So I love to cook too, man.
  442. 00:14:49.940 – 00:14:51.060 So that's another part of my artistry.
  443. 00:14:51.420 – 00:14:52.480 I love to cook.
  444. 00:14:52.960 – 00:14:54.140 And so I was like, you know what?
  445. 00:14:54.360 – 00:14:55.000 MasterChef is here.
  446. 00:14:55.240 – 00:14:56.740 It was in Portland at the time, Portland, Oregon.
  447. 00:14:56.780 – 00:14:57.880 I was living in Vancouver, Washington.
  448. 00:14:57.960 – 00:15:00.040 I was like, man, I had my boy go down with me
  449. 00:15:00.040 – 00:15:00.660 for moral support.
  450. 00:15:00.780 – 00:15:01.920 I'm like, man, let's go down here, man.
  451. 00:15:01.940 – 00:15:03.800 So I made my little, at the time,
  452. 00:15:03.820 – 00:15:05.220 like one of my favorite dishes to make.
  453. 00:15:05.700 – 00:15:08.020 I made a shrimp Alfredo from scratch.
  454. 00:15:08.840 – 00:15:09.960 So the Alfredo from scratch
  455. 00:15:09.960 – 00:15:11.780 and we cooked the shrimp up and all that went down there
  456. 00:15:11.780 – 00:15:13.060 and didn't get on the show.
  457. 00:15:13.220 – 00:15:13.700 You know what I mean?
  458. 00:15:13.780 – 00:15:15.360 But then I got a call from a producer.
  459. 00:15:15.560 – 00:15:17.140 I don't know, maybe a few days later,
  460. 00:15:17.680 – 00:15:18.760 maybe it was just my personality
  461. 00:15:18.760 – 00:15:19.740 or something that they saw in me.
  462. 00:15:20.020 – 00:15:22.400 They're like, yeah, so you wanna be on this show
  463. 00:15:22.400 – 00:15:22.920 with The Rock?
  464. 00:15:22.960 – 00:15:24.720 And I thought it was one of my boys playing with me,
  465. 00:15:24.840 – 00:15:25.980 to be completely honest with you.
  466. 00:15:26.300 – 00:15:27.520 I'm like, yeah, yeah, sure, whatever.
  467. 00:15:28.580 – 00:15:29.500 And so I hang up the phone.
  468. 00:15:29.620 – 00:15:30.200 I don't say nothing.
  469. 00:15:30.200 – 00:15:30.840 I don't call them back.
  470. 00:15:30.880 – 00:15:31.580 They're like, yeah, call me.
  471. 00:15:31.680 – 00:15:32.240 Do all this.
  472. 00:15:32.280 – 00:15:33.000 I'm like, yeah, okay.
  473. 00:15:33.140 – 00:15:33.720 I thought it was somebody.
  474. 00:15:33.860 – 00:15:34.320 You know, what am I?
  475. 00:15:34.360 – 00:15:35.480 Can my boys play around like that?
  476. 00:15:38.420 – 00:15:39.780 So they called me back.
  477. 00:15:40.260 – 00:15:42.380 Like, hey man, check this out, man, we serious.
  478. 00:15:42.420 – 00:15:44.020 Like, do you wanna be on a show with The Rock or not?
  479. 00:15:44.140 – 00:15:46.100 I'm like, oh, oh, you serious.
  480. 00:15:47.040 – 00:15:49.360 And so, so yeah, so then I'm like, okay,
  481. 00:15:49.460 – 00:15:50.200 well, what do I gotta do?
  482. 00:15:50.280 – 00:15:51.800 And so that, I mean, it was interesting.
  483. 00:15:52.020 – 00:15:52.740 So they wanted me to,
  484. 00:15:52.780 – 00:15:55.460 I had to send in some stuff to,
  485. 00:15:56.020 – 00:15:58.500 like stuff of what I do on my regular every day.
  486. 00:15:58.880 – 00:16:00.920 And I like try to show who you are type of thing.
  487. 00:16:01.320 – 00:16:03.220 You know, I guess they liked that.
  488. 00:16:03.220 – 00:16:05.000 And then I had an interview with one of the producers
  489. 00:16:05.000 – 00:16:06.220 and they liked me on that.
  490. 00:16:06.280 – 00:16:08.280 And then they flew me out to LA,
  491. 00:16:08.860 – 00:16:10.040 my first time ever being in LA,
  492. 00:16:11.120 – 00:16:12.480 but didn't get to see LA.
  493. 00:16:12.900 – 00:16:14.520 Cause when you, what I didn't understand
  494. 00:16:14.520 – 00:16:15.400 and what I understand now
  495. 00:16:15.400 – 00:16:16.920 is when you're like trying to get on a TV show,
  496. 00:16:17.860 – 00:16:18.500 they quarantine.
  497. 00:16:19.280 – 00:16:20.740 So I didn't want you going out talking about it.
  498. 00:16:20.780 – 00:16:21.880 And I'm like, that's why I keep you.
  499. 00:16:22.080 – 00:16:23.700 They drive you from the place, back to the place.
  500. 00:16:23.840 – 00:16:26.100 I went down and did like a mock interview,
  501. 00:16:26.160 – 00:16:28.080 like a mock on-screen TV interview.
  502. 00:16:29.100 – 00:16:30.120 And then you do a,
  503. 00:16:30.140 – 00:16:31.820 I did an interview with like a whole bunch of people
  504. 00:16:31.820 – 00:16:32.660 that were part of the show,
  505. 00:16:32.780 – 00:16:33.940 producers and all that stuff.
  506. 00:16:34.840 – 00:16:36.420 And long story short, I ended up getting on.
  507. 00:16:36.600 – 00:16:37.760 How long was the full process?
  508. 00:16:38.820 – 00:16:40.400 That process, shoot.
  509. 00:16:41.060 – 00:16:42.120 From when they called me,
  510. 00:16:42.180 – 00:16:44.400 they called me probably two, three weeks later,
  511. 00:16:44.560 – 00:16:45.820 or maybe three weeks later.
  512. 00:16:46.000 – 00:16:47.480 I found out that I was getting flown.
  513. 00:16:47.620 – 00:16:49.180 I was a finalist and got flown to LA.
  514. 00:16:49.620 – 00:16:50.900 By the time I got flown to LA,
  515. 00:16:51.460 – 00:16:52.920 this is like December.
  516. 00:16:54.640 – 00:16:55.580 Yeah, maybe early December,
  517. 00:16:55.700 – 00:16:57.060 maybe late November, early December.
  518. 00:16:57.960 – 00:16:59.540 And then flew to LA, came back.
  519. 00:16:59.580 – 00:17:03.240 And then they called me at the end of December,
  520. 00:17:03.800 – 00:17:04.800 before the new year,
  521. 00:17:04.980 – 00:17:06.440 and told me that I had made the show.
  522. 00:17:07.319 – 00:17:09.140 So it was about three weeks, I would say.
  523. 00:17:09.640 – 00:17:13.560 And then we started shooting in February of 2013.
  524. 00:17:16.599 – 00:17:17.760 Yeah, wow.
  525. 00:17:18.180 – 00:17:19.720 Yeah, February of 2013, yep.
  526. 00:17:20.440 – 00:17:22.319 So yeah, it wasn't that long once they got to going.
  527. 00:17:22.500 – 00:17:23.359 Come to find out, man,
  528. 00:17:23.359 – 00:17:25.099 I was the last one to get selected for the show.
  529. 00:17:25.460 – 00:17:28.180 And this is what's crazy about reality TV, man,
  530. 00:17:28.180 – 00:17:32.140 as you start realizing how racially driven stuff is.
  531. 00:17:32.720 – 00:17:34.640 Because what they said about me was like,
  532. 00:17:34.780 – 00:17:37.100 oh yeah, we had to, we found the perfect black dude.
  533. 00:17:37.180 – 00:17:40.020 And it was like, well, you're black enough
  534. 00:17:40.860 – 00:17:42.640 to appeal to the black folks,
  535. 00:17:43.100 – 00:17:46.020 but you're also, what's the word?
  536. 00:17:46.500 – 00:17:50.920 You're not, you're safe enough to appeal to white folks.
  537. 00:17:51.680 – 00:17:53.160 And I was like, that's crazy.
  538. 00:17:53.240 – 00:17:54.580 Which, you know, doesn't hurt my feelings
  539. 00:17:54.580 – 00:17:55.860 and nothing like that, but it's crazy.
  540. 00:17:55.900 – 00:17:57.940 Cause I'm like, man, TV is really like this.
  541. 00:17:57.960 – 00:17:59.540 Like they're really trying to make sure
  542. 00:17:59.540 – 00:18:01.780 that they're not, that they're doing a certain thing
  543. 00:18:01.780 – 00:18:03.620 and then portraying a certain thing on TV, man.
  544. 00:18:03.780 – 00:18:05.660 And so, yeah, that was really weird.
  545. 00:18:05.700 – 00:18:07.800 Cause I mean, growing up, it was, I had that issue, man.
  546. 00:18:07.820 – 00:18:10.940 I was always not black enough for the black kids
  547. 00:18:11.560 – 00:18:13.180 and too black for the white kids.
  548. 00:18:13.480 – 00:18:15.360 I was in this weird little area,
  549. 00:18:16.080 – 00:18:17.560 you know, this weird little gray area.
  550. 00:18:18.000 – 00:18:20.780 Then it was like my identity was a weird thing,
  551. 00:18:20.860 – 00:18:23.040 you know, especially growing, coming up, you know,
  552. 00:18:23.120 – 00:18:25.260 in my early adolescence in the nineties.
  553. 00:18:25.840 – 00:18:27.360 It was a weird thing, man.
  554. 00:18:27.920 – 00:18:30.440 So hearing that from them, I'm like, man, that's crazy.
  555. 00:18:30.440 – 00:18:31.300 That's crazy.
  556. 00:18:31.580 – 00:18:34.960 Like that's what, I mean, me being who I am,
  557. 00:18:35.060 – 00:18:36.080 it's not like I'm changing who I am,
  558. 00:18:36.180 – 00:18:39.400 but like the fact that people are looking at it like that
  559. 00:18:39.400 – 00:18:40.400 was wild to me.
  560. 00:18:40.480 – 00:18:41.500 But yeah, that show was cool, man.
  561. 00:18:41.600 – 00:18:43.440 I ended up getting second place on that joint, man.
  562. 00:18:43.440 – 00:18:44.500 I almost won that joint.
  563. 00:18:45.040 – 00:18:46.000 It went all the way to the end.
  564. 00:18:46.040 – 00:18:47.200 They kicked off a few people.
  565. 00:18:47.220 – 00:18:48.120 Still honored, huh?
  566. 00:18:48.560 – 00:18:49.760 Man, made a few friends, man.
  567. 00:18:49.920 – 00:18:50.880 Meeting The Rock was cool, man.
  568. 00:18:50.880 – 00:18:51.740 The Rock is a cool dude.
  569. 00:18:51.840 – 00:18:53.680 Like he is just like he would think he would be
  570. 00:18:53.680 – 00:18:54.280 in real life.
  571. 00:18:54.280 – 00:18:55.320 That's exactly how he is.
  572. 00:18:56.000 – 00:18:57.660 That dude is a great dude.
  573. 00:18:58.300 – 00:19:00.640 I mean, he literally has to have people around him
  574. 00:19:00.640 – 00:19:01.860 to stop him from talking to people
  575. 00:19:01.860 – 00:19:03.220 because he has to be places.
  576. 00:19:03.800 – 00:19:06.460 And they're the jerk for him because he's not.
  577. 00:19:06.580 – 00:19:08.760 He's just a nice guy, man.
  578. 00:19:08.980 – 00:19:10.460 He's just a really good dude.
  579. 00:19:11.020 – 00:19:12.460 Like that's what I got from him anyway.
  580. 00:19:13.120 – 00:19:13.900 And even when he was doing that,
  581. 00:19:13.900 – 00:19:14.960 he had a whole bunch of stuff going on.
  582. 00:19:14.960 – 00:19:16.540 He was still doing a lot of that stuff with us.
  583. 00:19:17.520 – 00:19:20.580 So yeah, man, that was a great time in my life.
  584. 00:19:20.840 – 00:19:21.460 I ain't gonna hold you.
  585. 00:19:21.760 – 00:19:22.120 Wow.
  586. 00:19:22.560 – 00:19:26.040 Yeah, I got a big old poster up that I have to,
  587. 00:19:26.040 – 00:19:27.860 I tell myself when I get a house, I'm gonna put it up.
  588. 00:19:28.000 – 00:19:29.720 I still have never put it up, but he signed it for me.
  589. 00:19:29.820 – 00:19:31.200 So he just signed it for me.
  590. 00:19:32.200 – 00:19:34.720 A fan who I'm still friends with to this day,
  591. 00:19:35.960 – 00:19:38.240 a fan won it in auction.
  592. 00:19:38.360 – 00:19:39.600 It was a picture of me and The Rock
  593. 00:19:39.600 – 00:19:41.560 dapping each other up and The Rock signed it.
  594. 00:19:42.120 – 00:19:45.020 Fan ended up winning it on some kind of sweepstakes
  595. 00:19:45.020 – 00:19:45.800 they did for the show.
  596. 00:19:46.320 – 00:19:47.980 He calls me or hits me on like Facebook
  597. 00:19:47.980 – 00:19:48.940 or something like that.
  598. 00:19:48.940 – 00:19:51.000 And then he says to me, I was like,
  599. 00:19:51.080 – 00:19:52.140 hey man, I don't really want this.
  600. 00:19:52.160 – 00:19:52.900 You wanna buy it?
  601. 00:19:53.080 – 00:19:54.360 I was like, absolutely.
  602. 00:19:54.720 – 00:19:55.600 I'll buy it from you.
  603. 00:19:55.600 – 00:19:57.140 Guess he needed money or something like that.
  604. 00:19:57.200 – 00:19:59.340 And so I can't even remember how much I gave for it.
  605. 00:19:59.380 – 00:19:59.900 Can't even remember.
  606. 00:20:00.440 – 00:20:02.320 But then I ended up just signing it myself.
  607. 00:20:02.340 – 00:20:04.020 And I said, well, when I get a house,
  608. 00:20:04.080 – 00:20:05.140 I'm gonna put it up somewhere.
  609. 00:20:05.440 – 00:20:06.160 I still ain't put it up.
  610. 00:20:06.160 – 00:20:07.420 I've been in this house for six years.
  611. 00:20:07.720 – 00:20:08.280 Oh yeah, put it up.
  612. 00:20:08.480 – 00:20:10.160 I know, I need to put it up, man.
  613. 00:20:10.740 – 00:20:11.720 I'm gonna show it to you before you leave.
  614. 00:20:11.960 – 00:20:12.740 I'll show you the picture.
  615. 00:20:13.600 – 00:20:14.540 Yeah, I'll show you the picture.
  616. 00:20:15.860 – 00:20:16.620 Yeah, it was a trip though.
  617. 00:20:17.080 – 00:20:18.160 A master chef to that.
  618. 00:20:18.200 – 00:20:20.960 So it was like a prime example of,
  619. 00:20:20.960 – 00:20:23.240 they say shoot for the stars, land on the moon.
  620. 00:20:23.660 – 00:20:24.400 Land on the moon.
  621. 00:20:24.400 – 00:20:25.520 Shoot for stars, land on the moon.
  622. 00:20:25.560 – 00:20:26.780 Something like that, yeah, yeah.
  623. 00:20:27.060 – 00:20:28.580 That's the prime example of that.
  624. 00:20:28.820 – 00:20:29.780 It really was, man.
  625. 00:20:29.780 – 00:20:30.460 It kinda was.
  626. 00:20:30.540 – 00:20:31.180 It kinda was.
  627. 00:20:31.320 – 00:20:34.300 I really wanted to be on the master chef show, man.
  628. 00:20:34.460 – 00:20:35.560 I really wanted to get on that joint.
  629. 00:20:35.560 – 00:20:36.280 Still count.
  630. 00:20:36.540 – 00:20:38.240 Yeah, yeah, no, that's real.
  631. 00:20:38.340 – 00:20:39.160 You be doing the thing.
  632. 00:20:39.220 – 00:20:40.640 I had a couple dishes, it was fun.
  633. 00:20:41.040 – 00:20:43.640 Yeah, yeah, I still can try, but yeah.
  634. 00:20:43.740 – 00:20:46.740 But yeah, I didn't expect to get on a show
  635. 00:20:46.740 – 00:20:48.980 where I'm doing physical stuff.
  636. 00:20:49.620 – 00:20:51.420 All right, that could be tied in
  637. 00:20:52.540 – 00:20:54.780 It's the Creative Healing Foundation, cooking.
  638. 00:20:55.860 – 00:20:56.200 True.
  639. 00:20:57.340 – 00:20:58.460 Because healing through cooking,
  640. 00:20:58.760 – 00:20:59.960 like they say food is medicine.
  641. 00:21:00.280 – 00:21:01.020 Definitely so.
  642. 00:21:01.180 – 00:21:02.380 I mean, cause it is that for me.
  643. 00:21:02.760 – 00:21:03.960 Cooking's therapy for me too, man.
  644. 00:21:04.040 – 00:21:05.480 I love cooking for people.
  645. 00:21:05.560 – 00:21:06.420 I love cooking for, you know,
  646. 00:21:06.420 – 00:21:08.320 it's funny cause I don't cook as much for myself.
  647. 00:21:09.400 – 00:21:10.100 Same, yeah.
  648. 00:21:10.420 – 00:21:11.800 Yeah, like when my kids is around,
  649. 00:21:12.240 – 00:21:13.560 I'm Mr. Gourmet Chef.
  650. 00:21:13.900 – 00:21:14.260 You know what I mean?
  651. 00:21:14.380 – 00:21:15.800 When they not here with me, it's like,
  652. 00:21:15.860 – 00:21:17.160 I don't even, what am I gonna do with myself?
  653. 00:21:17.480 – 00:21:19.440 I got like all of a sudden I'm not a cook no more.
  654. 00:21:21.040 – 00:21:23.020 That's how I act sometimes anyway, not all the time.
  655. 00:21:23.020 – 00:21:23.440 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
  656. 00:21:23.460 – 00:21:24.240 Sometimes I'll be cooking.
  657. 00:21:24.880 – 00:21:27.080 And then you kind of mentioned like the gray area
  658. 00:21:27.080 – 00:21:28.680 and then looking at your photography,
  659. 00:21:30.240 – 00:21:31.680 I know you guys like the black and white
  660. 00:21:31.680 – 00:21:32.580 with the color pop.
  661. 00:21:33.720 – 00:21:35.160 Like where do you get that style from?
  662. 00:21:35.480 – 00:21:36.440 Like how'd that come about?
  663. 00:21:37.300 – 00:21:40.940 My style, so I told you like the camera saved my life.
  664. 00:21:41.080 – 00:21:43.260 So a lot of the reason why I was shooting
  665. 00:21:43.260 – 00:21:44.600 was because I was in a dark place.
  666. 00:21:45.220 – 00:21:47.740 And so, I mean, even if you look at
  667. 00:21:47.740 – 00:21:49.380 some of my photography that I have up here
  668. 00:21:49.380 – 00:21:51.080 in the house, like it's dark.
  669. 00:21:51.940 – 00:21:57.040 Is that, and my base was always very cinematic, right?
  670. 00:21:57.040 – 00:21:58.780 Because I grew up going to the movies with my mom.
  671. 00:21:58.860 – 00:22:00.600 I feel like I've been training my eye my whole life.
  672. 00:22:00.980 – 00:22:02.260 And so I love movies.
  673. 00:22:02.340 – 00:22:05.060 And so my eye was always,
  674. 00:22:05.220 – 00:22:07.060 I wanted my edits to be dramatic.
  675. 00:22:07.220 – 00:22:08.280 I wanted everything to be dramatic.
  676. 00:22:08.300 – 00:22:09.260 And I was in a dark place
  677. 00:22:09.260 – 00:22:10.600 and I think I was just shooting for that.
  678. 00:22:10.840 – 00:22:13.280 But there was always a little bit of hope, right?
  679. 00:22:13.780 – 00:22:16.160 So for me, it was like, okay, well now,
  680. 00:22:16.240 – 00:22:17.840 but let me just show you this little piece.
  681. 00:22:17.840 – 00:22:19.680 Because even in all of this,
  682. 00:22:20.320 – 00:22:21.440 there's a little bit of hope.
  683. 00:22:21.780 – 00:22:23.980 And so that color was kind of like to signify
  684. 00:22:23.980 – 00:22:26.860 that little bit of hope that I had even in the drama.
  685. 00:22:27.580 – 00:22:29.400 There's a little something here.
  686. 00:22:30.420 – 00:22:33.040 And that's really how my style came about
  687. 00:22:33.040 – 00:22:34.740 because I even used to shoot everything
  688. 00:22:34.740 – 00:22:35.400 in black and white.
  689. 00:22:35.720 – 00:22:37.540 Like I would shoot in raw in black and white.
  690. 00:22:37.580 – 00:22:38.580 I didn't care about color.
  691. 00:22:39.040 – 00:22:41.300 Because for me, it was really all about the shadows,
  692. 00:22:41.480 – 00:22:42.560 the shadows and the depth.
  693. 00:22:42.840 – 00:22:43.960 I didn't care about anything else.
  694. 00:22:44.300 – 00:22:45.500 And I now shoot in color,
  695. 00:22:46.220 – 00:22:47.560 but when I was doing, yeah,
  696. 00:22:47.680 – 00:22:48.940 I mean, even when I was shooting for,
  697. 00:22:48.960 – 00:22:50.340 cause I shoot for Triumph Magazine too.
  698. 00:22:50.440 – 00:22:53.320 Even when I was shooting for them, like I still do.
  699. 00:22:54.180 – 00:22:55.020 Still do shoot for them.
  700. 00:22:55.080 – 00:22:56.120 I don't shoot in black and white anymore,
  701. 00:22:56.120 – 00:22:58.840 but I would shoot all the subjects in black and white.
  702. 00:23:00.040 – 00:23:02.400 And Craig will be like, hey man, is it gonna be color?
  703. 00:23:02.460 – 00:23:03.500 I'm like, no, it's color, trust me.
  704. 00:23:03.700 – 00:23:04.920 But I don't care about the color.
  705. 00:23:05.100 – 00:23:06.060 Like it's about the image.
  706. 00:23:06.500 – 00:23:07.820 It's about how the shadows hit.
  707. 00:23:07.940 – 00:23:08.920 It's about how that is.
  708. 00:23:08.940 – 00:23:10.120 That's how I know the image is good.
  709. 00:23:10.200 – 00:23:11.480 The color is gonna be the color,
  710. 00:23:11.480 – 00:23:12.740 no matter what you do.
  711. 00:23:13.280 – 00:23:16.920 So that's, yeah, the drama thing is what it is for me,
  712. 00:23:16.940 – 00:23:17.980 but I still love shooting like that.
  713. 00:23:18.300 – 00:23:19.080 That's my style.
  714. 00:23:19.200 – 00:23:20.420 I feel like that cinematic style.
  715. 00:23:21.600 – 00:23:22.500 And depending on the picture,
  716. 00:23:22.800 – 00:23:24.480 like I'll go into a picture knowing, okay,
  717. 00:23:24.720 – 00:23:25.680 I'll take the picture knowing,
  718. 00:23:25.680 – 00:23:26.420 looking at the subject like,
  719. 00:23:26.580 – 00:23:27.740 oh, I know what color I'm gonna pop.
  720. 00:23:28.500 – 00:23:30.260 And a lot of it started to become a game
  721. 00:23:30.260 – 00:23:33.060 to where it would get more and more subtle.
  722. 00:23:34.140 – 00:23:35.560 Like, you know, a lot of people will pop color.
  723. 00:23:35.580 – 00:23:36.720 I'm not the only one that's ever done that.
  724. 00:23:36.840 – 00:23:37.200 You know what I mean?
  725. 00:23:37.200 – 00:23:38.420 That's not my style.
  726. 00:23:39.080 – 00:23:40.140 A lot of people do it,
  727. 00:23:40.160 – 00:23:42.000 but it became a game for me now.
  728. 00:23:42.000 – 00:23:43.500 Even I'll do like little landscapes
  729. 00:23:43.500 – 00:23:45.140 and I'll have a pop of color in the landscape.
  730. 00:23:45.220 – 00:23:46.420 And if you're not looking at it hard enough,
  731. 00:23:46.440 – 00:23:48.060 you won't even catch it.
  732. 00:23:48.140 – 00:23:48.600 You know what I mean?
  733. 00:23:48.660 – 00:23:50.100 But it's something that I like to do.
  734. 00:23:50.460 – 00:23:51.140 Still do it.
  735. 00:23:51.320 – 00:23:53.140 I just made one the other day, matter of fact.
  736. 00:23:53.660 – 00:23:55.260 But it's just, you know.
  737. 00:23:55.360 – 00:23:55.660 Yeah.
  738. 00:23:56.640 – 00:23:57.180 So I would say,
  739. 00:23:57.600 – 00:24:00.760 who was your favorite person to capture at Triumph Magazine?
  740. 00:24:01.960 – 00:24:04.080 My favorite capture at Triumph, man.
  741. 00:24:04.220 – 00:24:04.920 That's a loaded,
  742. 00:24:05.040 – 00:24:06.160 cause it's been a few.
  743. 00:24:06.900 – 00:24:07.640 Or top three, top three.
  744. 00:24:07.800 – 00:24:08.540 Oh, man.
  745. 00:24:09.940 – 00:24:10.660 Let's see.
  746. 00:24:13.340 – 00:24:14.340 You know, one of my,
  747. 00:24:14.380 – 00:24:16.080 so I'll just go out to my favorite shoots.
  748. 00:24:16.240 – 00:24:18.700 One of my favorite shoots was,
  749. 00:24:19.560 – 00:24:23.900 one of my top shoots was definitely with Shannon,
  750. 00:24:27.420 – 00:24:28.680 Smith, and Jasmine.
  751. 00:24:29.300 – 00:24:30.480 They're both news anchors.
  752. 00:24:30.480 – 00:24:31.540 You know, city of Cleveland.
  753. 00:24:32.960 – 00:24:35.960 And that was a dope shoot because we,
  754. 00:24:36.100 – 00:24:37.400 you know, they came together.
  755. 00:24:37.440 – 00:24:38.720 It was just like a beautiful thing,
  756. 00:24:38.800 – 00:24:39.620 because a lot, you know,
  757. 00:24:39.760 – 00:24:40.940 we always selling that black folks
  758. 00:24:40.940 – 00:24:42.200 can't do nothing together, man.
  759. 00:24:42.880 – 00:24:45.240 And that it's always like a fight,
  760. 00:24:45.320 – 00:24:46.180 you know what I mean? Competition.
  761. 00:24:46.620 – 00:24:48.380 Competition between, nah, but these, you know,
  762. 00:24:48.420 – 00:24:49.800 these black women, both news anchors,
  763. 00:24:49.800 – 00:24:53.380 both came together and did a shoot on the same day, man.
  764. 00:24:53.400 – 00:24:54.580 And we just had a time.
  765. 00:24:55.280 – 00:24:55.780 You know what I'm saying?
  766. 00:24:55.960 – 00:24:57.700 It was a time, right?
  767. 00:24:58.000 – 00:24:59.580 That was definitely one of my favorite shoots.
  768. 00:25:00.000 – 00:25:00.820 Another one of my favorite shoots
  769. 00:25:00.820 – 00:25:02.240 is we did this summer issue.
  770. 00:25:02.780 – 00:25:03.560 And it was like a fold-out.
  771. 00:25:03.660 – 00:25:04.760 It was the only one he did like that.
  772. 00:25:04.760 – 00:25:05.780 It was like a fold-out issue.
  773. 00:25:06.200 – 00:25:07.520 But matter of fact, Maxwell shot something
  774. 00:25:07.520 – 00:25:09.140 for that issue too.
  775. 00:25:09.140 – 00:25:10.940 But it was a bunch of people from around the city.
  776. 00:25:11.400 – 00:25:13.840 And he just highlighted like a bunch of clothing brands,
  777. 00:25:14.120 – 00:25:16.820 a bunch of, just a bunch of different people
  778. 00:25:16.820 – 00:25:17.480 that were in the city.
  779. 00:25:17.660 – 00:25:20.200 I think that's how I met Mel, who was a model.
  780. 00:25:20.380 – 00:25:21.800 That's how I met Hell Vail,
  781. 00:25:21.840 – 00:25:23.620 who was a local rapper in the city.
  782. 00:25:23.900 – 00:25:26.080 That's how I found out about New Grind,
  783. 00:25:27.640 – 00:25:29.780 which is a clothing brand that's in the city.
  784. 00:25:30.360 – 00:25:33.460 It was just like a big up to a lot of creators
  785. 00:25:33.460 – 00:25:34.440 in the city.
  786. 00:25:35.620 – 00:25:37.080 Mike Mathis was a part of that.
  787. 00:25:37.080 – 00:25:39.340 And we actually shot him again by himself.
  788. 00:25:39.960 – 00:25:42.060 But this was like, that was one of my favorites too.
  789. 00:25:42.260 – 00:25:44.560 And then I've got a lot of favorites,
  790. 00:25:44.780 – 00:25:46.620 but you know the shoot that I really like,
  791. 00:25:46.640 – 00:25:48.420 the images that I really liked that I got from that
  792. 00:25:49.740 – 00:25:50.460 was Bashir.
  793. 00:25:51.380 – 00:25:51.920 Oh yeah.
  794. 00:25:52.100 – 00:25:53.540 I shot Bashir, man.
  795. 00:25:54.560 – 00:25:57.360 And like, you know, he's a fellow alpha too, man.
  796. 00:25:57.720 – 00:26:00.300 But it was, the images we got from that shoot
  797. 00:26:00.300 – 00:26:01.840 were just, you know, it was really,
  798. 00:26:01.900 – 00:26:03.400 I really felt like I was in my bag.
  799. 00:26:03.880 – 00:26:05.820 You know, kind of creating like a style
  800. 00:26:05.820 – 00:26:07.780 of how I wanted to shoot these editorial images.
  801. 00:26:07.820 – 00:26:08.920 Cause that's what I've gotten myself into.
  802. 00:26:09.020 – 00:26:10.700 It's like, I love that editorial style,
  803. 00:26:11.400 – 00:26:12.720 cinematic style of shooting.
  804. 00:26:13.480 – 00:26:15.840 And that was definitely one of my favorite shoots too, man.
  805. 00:26:15.980 – 00:26:18.480 But I've had a lot of them.
  806. 00:26:20.140 – 00:26:21.060 What's his name?
  807. 00:26:21.760 – 00:26:23.260 And it's Monte Gaddis, man.
  808. 00:26:23.540 – 00:26:25.960 I had a shoot with him, he does.
  809. 00:26:26.880 – 00:26:27.800 It's not rugby.
  810. 00:26:27.940 – 00:26:29.300 I came thinking of the sport,
  811. 00:26:30.000 – 00:26:31.700 but we did a shoot in his gym, man,
  812. 00:26:31.800 – 00:26:33.700 where he got some crazy dope images.
  813. 00:26:34.200 – 00:26:37.300 I just, I love shooting, man.
  814. 00:26:37.660 – 00:26:40.880 Like, I love those one-on-one type shoots.
  815. 00:26:40.920 – 00:26:42.580 That's why I don't really like doing parties
  816. 00:26:42.580 – 00:26:43.400 and stuff like that anymore.
  817. 00:26:43.760 – 00:26:44.880 I like the one-on-one experience
  818. 00:26:44.880 – 00:26:45.720 cause I like to get that.
  819. 00:26:45.980 – 00:26:46.920 I want your picture,
  820. 00:26:47.040 – 00:26:49.480 I want your image to be art when it's done.
  821. 00:26:49.780 – 00:26:50.960 That's like my whole aim.
  822. 00:26:51.400 – 00:26:52.440 Cause I want it to be something
  823. 00:26:52.440 – 00:26:53.300 you can put on your wall.
  824. 00:26:53.540 – 00:26:55.020 But it's also like just a portrait shoot.
  825. 00:26:55.180 – 00:26:57.920 Like I don't know, I just caught him outside.
  826. 00:26:57.980 – 00:26:59.120 That was outside the All-Star game.
  827. 00:26:59.300 – 00:27:00.400 Me and Master's coming out.
  828. 00:27:00.540 – 00:27:01.460 He's like, man, shoot my picture.
  829. 00:27:02.660 – 00:27:03.300 He ended up shooting it.
  830. 00:27:03.300 – 00:27:04.340 And now it's on my wall.
  831. 00:27:04.880 – 00:27:05.880 And like some of the cats that come in,
  832. 00:27:05.980 – 00:27:06.520 like they know him.
  833. 00:27:06.680 – 00:27:07.280 Like, you know him?
  834. 00:27:07.400 – 00:27:08.160 I'm like, no, I don't know him.
  835. 00:27:08.220 – 00:27:09.160 And I just shot it.
  836. 00:27:09.820 – 00:27:11.020 And it's, you know, it's dope.
  837. 00:27:11.140 – 00:27:13.960 It just represents what I love about Cleveland, man.
  838. 00:27:13.960 – 00:27:16.100 Like to me, that heat is Cleveland.
  839. 00:27:16.860 – 00:27:17.400 You know what I mean?
  840. 00:27:17.520 – 00:27:20.420 Just a cat just doing what he does
  841. 00:27:20.420 – 00:27:21.560 out there downtown.
  842. 00:27:22.160 – 00:27:22.980 Just being him, man.
  843. 00:27:23.160 – 00:27:24.860 Like that's, I mean, the same thing
  844. 00:27:24.860 – 00:27:26.560 with that one right there with the, you know,
  845. 00:27:26.760 – 00:27:28.500 with the bikes and a lot of the cats
  846. 00:27:28.500 – 00:27:29.100 that be in the hood.
  847. 00:27:29.200 – 00:27:30.360 I think I was doing what you did.
  848. 00:27:30.380 – 00:27:31.160 Yeah, well you doing that one?
  849. 00:27:31.220 – 00:27:31.880 Yeah, downtown.
  850. 00:27:31.880 – 00:27:35.020 Yeah, because we were shooting Lady Poet.
  851. 00:27:35.500 – 00:27:36.860 Yeah, and they just happened to be out there.
  852. 00:27:37.160 – 00:27:38.240 Dono Black, because he'd be out there
  853. 00:27:38.240 – 00:27:39.840 with the kids on the bikes all the time.
  854. 00:27:39.900 – 00:27:41.920 Shout out to him too, because he's one of the,
  855. 00:27:41.920 – 00:27:44.580 he's one of the guys that inspired me
  856. 00:27:44.580 – 00:27:45.460 when I first got to Cleveland.
  857. 00:27:45.840 – 00:27:47.220 Just seeing what he does around the city.
  858. 00:27:47.360 – 00:27:48.560 But yeah, he was out with them, man.
  859. 00:27:48.580 – 00:27:51.160 We just turned to the side and just, man.
  860. 00:27:51.980 – 00:27:52.260 You know what I mean?
  861. 00:27:52.360 – 00:27:53.360 That's why you were out there.
  862. 00:27:53.440 – 00:27:54.220 That's crazy.
  863. 00:27:54.480 – 00:27:55.340 That's crazy, man.
  864. 00:27:55.340 – 00:27:57.620 I was like four years ago,
  865. 00:27:58.340 – 00:27:59.840 or maybe four and a half years ago.
  866. 00:28:00.420 – 00:28:03.720 I've been out, come August, I'll be out here seven years.
  867. 00:28:04.060 – 00:28:05.480 Yeah, so I was like four or five years ago,
  868. 00:28:05.600 – 00:28:06.060 something like that.
  869. 00:28:06.300 – 00:28:06.620 Maybe five.
  870. 00:28:06.960 – 00:28:07.700 Four and a half.
  871. 00:28:07.760 – 00:28:08.700 Yeah, something like that.
  872. 00:28:08.780 – 00:28:09.520 Say four and a half.
  873. 00:28:09.760 – 00:28:10.820 Say, yeah, something like that.
  874. 00:28:10.840 – 00:28:11.700 Cut it in the middle.
  875. 00:28:13.560 – 00:28:15.740 Yeah, that's definitely amazing, like, why?
  876. 00:28:16.840 – 00:28:19.080 And definitely got that talent that I,
  877. 00:28:19.080 – 00:28:21.700 like you said, like, one of my favorite pictures,
  878. 00:28:21.760 – 00:28:23.680 I think I was seeing was, what was it?
  879. 00:28:23.820 – 00:28:26.040 Rock, paper, scissors, or rock, paper, cigars.
  880. 00:28:26.060 – 00:28:27.720 Oh yeah, yeah.
  881. 00:28:28.560 – 00:28:30.980 So that's my guy right there, man.
  882. 00:28:31.180 – 00:28:32.760 Bake, my man Bake, man.
  883. 00:28:33.240 – 00:28:34.560 He, yeah, shout out to my favorite cigars.
  884. 00:28:34.720 – 00:28:37.380 Yeah, so we used to work together, matter of fact.
  885. 00:28:38.760 – 00:28:40.360 And he ended up telling me,
  886. 00:28:40.360 – 00:28:40.960 he ended up telling me,
  887. 00:28:41.000 – 00:28:42.220 yeah, man, I'm about to start this business.
  888. 00:28:42.500 – 00:28:43.980 And at the time I was like,
  889. 00:28:44.000 – 00:28:45.100 well, let me come down and like,
  890. 00:28:45.140 – 00:28:45.780 give you some images.
  891. 00:28:46.160 – 00:28:47.720 You talking about the one where he's cutting a cigar?
  892. 00:28:48.040 – 00:28:49.560 No, that's one of my favorite images.
  893. 00:28:49.580 – 00:28:50.740 Yeah, I think he had another one.
  894. 00:28:50.880 – 00:28:51.860 I think he was like seated.
  895. 00:28:53.280 – 00:28:53.880 I got a few.
  896. 00:28:54.000 – 00:28:55.120 I got him with some of him rolling.
  897. 00:28:55.440 – 00:28:57.320 I got, yeah, I got a few of him.
  898. 00:28:57.860 – 00:28:59.260 That I've posted before,
  899. 00:29:00.000 – 00:29:01.820 but I don't think a lot of them,
  900. 00:29:02.480 – 00:29:03.780 a lot of them I haven't really put out there,
  901. 00:29:03.780 – 00:29:06.340 but yeah, oh man, those are some of my favorite images.
  902. 00:29:06.400 – 00:29:08.280 Man, I love doing that, man.
  903. 00:29:08.460 – 00:29:09.560 That's my guy too, man.
  904. 00:29:09.680 – 00:29:11.680 We still talk, I just talked to him about a week ago.
  905. 00:29:11.940 – 00:29:13.620 Yeah, he's still rolling cigars,
  906. 00:29:13.620 – 00:29:14.460 still doing his thing.
  907. 00:29:14.560 – 00:29:16.580 I'm real Cubans, rolled by a black man.
  908. 00:29:16.600 – 00:29:18.520 I love it, I love it.
  909. 00:29:19.220 – 00:29:19.780 Man. Yeah.
  910. 00:29:20.360 – 00:29:22.380 I never had a cigar, but man, that's-
  911. 00:29:22.380 – 00:29:22.840 Oh, no?
  912. 00:29:22.920 – 00:29:25.680 All the accomplishments, I may have to pick one up.
  913. 00:29:25.680 – 00:29:27.520 So 35th, maybe, on me.
  914. 00:29:27.620 – 00:29:29.260 Hey, that might not be a bad time.
  915. 00:29:30.000 – 00:29:31.420 I used to like cigars,
  916. 00:29:31.600 – 00:29:33.700 but now, man, ever since the health issues,
  917. 00:29:33.800 – 00:29:35.000 the blood clot issues, man,
  918. 00:29:35.000 – 00:29:36.820 I don't put nothing in my lungs no more, man.
  919. 00:29:36.980 – 00:29:38.040 Nothing at all, man.
  920. 00:29:38.160 – 00:29:39.980 So I stopped all of that.
  921. 00:29:40.940 – 00:29:43.280 I used to smoke weed and all that good stuff, man,
  922. 00:29:43.300 – 00:29:44.360 but yeah, I was like, nope.
  923. 00:29:45.020 – 00:29:46.340 I say all that good stuff like it's good.
  924. 00:29:46.460 – 00:29:47.660 None of that's a good thing.
  925. 00:29:48.000 – 00:29:48.860 It's not a good thing.
  926. 00:29:49.100 – 00:29:50.420 But it's something that I did.
  927. 00:29:50.600 – 00:29:51.240 Let me just say that.
  928. 00:29:51.400 – 00:29:52.720 I'm not out here promoting nothing.
  929. 00:29:53.380 – 00:29:54.320 People do what they do.
  930. 00:29:54.320 – 00:29:56.940 I did what I did, but I just don't anymore, but yeah.
  931. 00:29:58.380 – 00:30:00.960 That's good, though, that's good, you know?
  932. 00:30:01.860 – 00:30:03.940 It's therapeutic and healing and refreshing.
  933. 00:30:05.360 – 00:30:06.400 Indeed, indeed.
  934. 00:30:07.200 – 00:30:09.620 So I would say you kind of scaled back
  935. 00:30:09.620 – 00:30:11.940 from the business just a little bit.
  936. 00:30:13.020 – 00:30:14.700 When you were in business,
  937. 00:30:14.940 – 00:30:16.620 what was that process like,
  938. 00:30:16.660 – 00:30:17.960 especially in the beginning stages?
  939. 00:30:18.260 – 00:30:19.200 Oh, man, rough.
  940. 00:30:19.980 – 00:30:22.700 It was rough because you don't-
  941. 00:30:22.700 – 00:30:23.560 I'm not a businessman.
  942. 00:30:24.940 – 00:30:26.980 And some people are business-minded like that.
  943. 00:30:27.200 – 00:30:29.120 I'm still not business-minded like that.
  944. 00:30:30.300 – 00:30:31.360 I'm just not.
  945. 00:30:31.480 – 00:30:33.280 It's always been about the art for me.
  946. 00:30:33.740 – 00:30:34.820 And so it was hard.
  947. 00:30:35.400 – 00:30:36.780 It was really hard understanding,
  948. 00:30:37.100 – 00:30:38.720 okay, this money is business money
  949. 00:30:38.720 – 00:30:40.200 and this money is personal money.
  950. 00:30:40.620 – 00:30:41.620 And not, I would just-
  951. 00:30:41.620 – 00:30:42.340 It's all my money.
  952. 00:30:42.420 – 00:30:44.340 Yeah, it's just all me.
  953. 00:30:44.440 – 00:30:45.060 I made it.
  954. 00:30:45.240 – 00:30:46.140 Yeah, we know what I mean.
  955. 00:30:46.300 – 00:30:50.340 And so I would not, I mean, even to this day,
  956. 00:30:50.340 – 00:30:53.220 I still have back taxes that I have to file on myself.
  957. 00:30:53.380 – 00:30:54.520 I'm fully transparent, man.
  958. 00:30:54.520 – 00:30:55.620 I'm not scared to talk about that kind of stuff.
  959. 00:30:57.300 – 00:30:58.860 I'm not business-minded.
  960. 00:30:58.980 – 00:31:00.880 I wasn't business-minded enough up front.
  961. 00:31:01.760 – 00:31:03.820 And I was, and then being too nice,
  962. 00:31:03.860 – 00:31:05.720 being too kind, I wouldn't say nice,
  963. 00:31:05.800 – 00:31:08.120 but being just trying to be too kind and trying to-
  964. 00:31:08.120 – 00:31:10.180 You gotta know when you're done
  965. 00:31:10.180 – 00:31:10.940 getting your name out there
  966. 00:31:10.940 – 00:31:12.360 and when it's time to just start charging.
  967. 00:31:13.460 – 00:31:15.060 Because people that understand
  968. 00:31:15.600 – 00:31:18.740 and appreciate your talent and your expertise
  969. 00:31:18.740 – 00:31:19.700 will pay you for it.
  970. 00:31:19.700 – 00:31:20.520 That's true.
  971. 00:31:20.940 – 00:31:22.440 But that's a hard thing to know.
  972. 00:31:22.800 – 00:31:23.580 No one knows it.
  973. 00:31:23.660 – 00:31:24.940 No one knows what to charge at first.
  974. 00:31:25.080 – 00:31:27.000 Knowing what to charge is the hardest thing in the world.
  975. 00:31:27.500 – 00:31:27.700 You know what I mean?
  976. 00:31:27.720 – 00:31:28.580 When you're first getting started,
  977. 00:31:28.980 – 00:31:30.480 you're not trying to be too low
  978. 00:31:31.240 – 00:31:33.740 because you don't want to disrespect the industry,
  979. 00:31:33.800 – 00:31:35.080 but you're not trying to go too high
  980. 00:31:35.080 – 00:31:37.540 because you don't feel like you have enough expertise.
  981. 00:31:38.520 – 00:31:40.900 Like I always tell people that you charge
  982. 00:31:40.900 – 00:31:42.320 just a little bit.
  983. 00:31:42.580 – 00:31:46.900 You go to that level where it feels like uncomfortable
  984. 00:31:47.320 – 00:31:49.080 and take a tiny step back from that.
  985. 00:31:49.080 – 00:31:50.860 It shouldn't feel all the way comfortable.
  986. 00:31:52.540 – 00:31:54.680 It shouldn't feel like, I don't know.
  987. 00:31:55.480 – 00:31:56.820 Then you know you're charging the right amount.
  988. 00:31:57.380 – 00:31:58.440 And I heard something good.
  989. 00:31:58.560 – 00:32:00.240 You should be closing four out of 10.
  990. 00:32:00.480 – 00:32:02.480 If you're closing six out of 10, you're too cheap.
  991. 00:32:03.200 – 00:32:04.120 You're not charging enough.
  992. 00:32:04.280 – 00:32:04.940 I shouldn't say cheap.
  993. 00:32:05.140 – 00:32:05.800 You're not charging enough.
  994. 00:32:05.900 – 00:32:06.800 If you're closing six out of 10,
  995. 00:32:06.820 – 00:32:07.560 you're not charging enough.
  996. 00:32:07.960 – 00:32:09.640 You should only really be closing four out of 10.
  997. 00:32:10.380 – 00:32:11.140 When you get to that level
  998. 00:32:11.140 – 00:32:12.880 where you know what you're doing,
  999. 00:32:13.160 – 00:32:14.280 but you don't know what to charge.
  1000. 00:32:14.800 – 00:32:15.900 Four out of 10 should be your number.
  1001. 00:32:16.400 – 00:32:19.400 40% of the people that call you
  1002. 00:32:19.400 – 00:32:20.700 should only be the ones paying
  1003. 00:32:20.700 – 00:32:23.020 what you're charging.
  1004. 00:32:24.080 – 00:32:25.680 Because if not, if you're closing more than that,
  1005. 00:32:25.900 – 00:32:27.200 everybody's like, oh yeah, well come on.
  1006. 00:32:28.180 – 00:32:30.640 Because you start realizing, okay, I'm not charging enough.
  1007. 00:32:30.940 – 00:32:32.120 Right, you get burnt out.
  1008. 00:32:32.320 – 00:32:33.680 Yeah, you get burnt out doing stuff
  1009. 00:32:33.680 – 00:32:34.960 and that happened to me, man.
  1010. 00:32:35.220 – 00:32:37.140 And then I'm saying yes to everything
  1011. 00:32:37.560 – 00:32:39.080 that I didn't want to say yes to.
  1012. 00:32:39.280 – 00:32:42.380 And that's why now when I was able
  1013. 00:32:42.380 – 00:32:44.020 to get into the teacher side of stuff
  1014. 00:32:44.020 – 00:32:46.060 and I was able to get a part-time job
  1015. 00:32:46.060 – 00:32:46.900 and some health insurance.
  1016. 00:32:47.360 – 00:32:49.200 And another thing about being an entrepreneur
  1017. 00:32:49.200 – 00:32:50.400 is health insurance, man.
  1018. 00:32:50.480 – 00:32:53.680 It's like you have to say to yourself,
  1019. 00:32:53.900 – 00:32:55.900 I was young at first doing it when I first started.
  1020. 00:32:55.920 – 00:32:56.900 Now it's like I'm getting older.
  1021. 00:32:56.940 – 00:32:58.000 I'm having some health issues.
  1022. 00:32:58.520 – 00:32:59.360 I need health insurance.
  1023. 00:32:59.580 – 00:33:01.180 So now that's taking a chunk out of what I'm making.
  1024. 00:33:01.720 – 00:33:03.020 And I got to pay for all these things.
  1025. 00:33:03.200 – 00:33:04.120 I got to pay for my kids.
  1026. 00:33:04.200 – 00:33:04.820 I got to pay for the mortgage.
  1027. 00:33:04.920 – 00:33:05.220 I got to pay.
  1028. 00:33:05.360 – 00:33:08.280 So you have to make some sacrifices, man.
  1029. 00:33:08.280 – 00:33:10.000 And you have to really say to yourself,
  1030. 00:33:10.180 – 00:33:11.100 do I really want to keep grinding?
  1031. 00:33:11.140 – 00:33:13.000 Because there was times, dog, where it was bad.
  1032. 00:33:13.640 – 00:33:17.240 I've had months where I made 15 grand,
  1033. 00:33:17.480 – 00:33:19.520 but then I have months where I don't make anything.
  1034. 00:33:20.540 – 00:33:24.500 And so it's one of those sine waves that is hard.
  1035. 00:33:24.840 – 00:33:27.920 It's really, really hard to wrap your head around
  1036. 00:33:28.340 – 00:33:30.020 because you feel real good in those months.
  1037. 00:33:30.280 – 00:33:31.460 And then if you spend too much
  1038. 00:33:31.460 – 00:33:32.520 and realize the next couple of months
  1039. 00:33:32.520 – 00:33:33.780 when you don't do as much revenue,
  1040. 00:33:33.900 – 00:33:36.680 now you're like, oh, what am I going to do?
  1041. 00:33:38.060 – 00:33:39.600 So it's a grind, man.
  1042. 00:33:40.260 – 00:33:41.880 It's not everybody's built for it.
  1043. 00:33:41.880 – 00:33:43.820 And I'm starting to realize that
  1044. 00:33:43.820 – 00:33:46.440 I didn't want to do it as much anymore.
  1045. 00:33:46.520 – 00:33:49.700 So now I've just, I've come back into a niche
  1046. 00:33:50.270 – 00:33:53.560 to where I'm like, okay, this is what I'm more so doing.
  1047. 00:33:53.580 – 00:33:56.500 Like the one-on-one type shoots, small family shoots,
  1048. 00:33:57.400 – 00:33:59.260 the one-on-one, I still shoot for the magazine.
  1049. 00:33:59.380 – 00:34:00.500 That's what I want to be doing.
  1050. 00:34:01.060 – 00:34:03.200 I do weddings with my partner.
  1051. 00:34:03.760 – 00:34:06.220 I shout out to Brian Smith, Brian K. Smith,
  1052. 00:34:08.040 – 00:34:08.960 artisan, artisan?
  1053. 00:34:09.500 – 00:34:10.739 Artisan. Artisan.
  1054. 00:34:10.739 – 00:34:13.760 But he like gonna laugh and be like, damn, this.
  1055. 00:34:15.400 – 00:34:17.600 But I do it with him, you know,
  1056. 00:34:17.600 – 00:34:19.360 because I don't mind being the second shooter.
  1057. 00:34:19.360 – 00:34:20.120 He knows, he's like,
  1058. 00:34:20.120 – 00:34:21.500 I don't like being the first shooter for weddings.
  1059. 00:34:21.540 – 00:34:22.699 I do videos for weddings.
  1060. 00:34:22.780 – 00:34:23.760 I love doing video.
  1061. 00:34:24.340 – 00:34:25.900 Or like just being the shooter for events.
  1062. 00:34:26.460 – 00:34:28.960 I just, I don't like it as much anymore.
  1063. 00:34:29.120 – 00:34:29.840 I'm good at it.
  1064. 00:34:30.179 – 00:34:31.159 Still good at it.
  1065. 00:34:31.159 – 00:34:32.420 Just don't like it.
  1066. 00:34:32.560 – 00:34:34.679 And I had to be honest with myself about that.
  1067. 00:34:34.699 – 00:34:36.280 So that's why I've dialed back from doing it.
  1068. 00:34:36.280 – 00:34:38.179 People ask me, I'm like, eh, no, not really.
  1069. 00:34:38.179 – 00:34:40.620 I try to give it to somebody else that wants to do it.
  1070. 00:34:40.920 – 00:34:41.980 You know, I'm not, it's not my thing.
  1071. 00:34:42.219 – 00:34:45.260 Maxwell, great at it.
  1072. 00:34:45.380 – 00:34:46.100 Shout out LifeScapes.
  1073. 00:34:46.340 – 00:34:46.980 Great at it.
  1074. 00:34:47.000 – 00:34:48.020 Yeah, I've seen his growth, yeah.
  1075. 00:34:48.280 – 00:34:49.040 Yeah, man.
  1076. 00:34:49.179 – 00:34:50.520 Like he's great at doing events.
  1077. 00:34:50.760 – 00:34:51.320 Like that's his thing.
  1078. 00:34:52.540 – 00:34:53.620 I'm not that.
  1079. 00:34:54.000 – 00:34:54.620 You know what I mean?
  1080. 00:34:55.139 – 00:34:57.160 So it's learning your lane is one thing
  1081. 00:34:57.160 – 00:34:58.180 that I've gotten into.
  1082. 00:34:58.360 – 00:35:00.060 You know, going, it's been nine years.
  1083. 00:35:00.100 – 00:35:01.200 Now I know my lane.
  1084. 00:35:02.740 – 00:35:04.540 Like unequivocally know where I want to be
  1085. 00:35:04.540 – 00:35:05.680 with how I shoot photography.
  1086. 00:35:06.160 – 00:35:06.520 Yeah.
  1087. 00:35:07.160 – 00:35:10.620 And I know we kind of didn't speak on the video side.
  1088. 00:35:11.620 – 00:35:12.720 What would you say is your favorite?
  1089. 00:35:12.860 – 00:35:14.240 More photography or video?
  1090. 00:35:15.800 – 00:35:16.720 I don't have a favorite.
  1091. 00:35:17.880 – 00:35:18.420 I don't.
  1092. 00:35:18.860 – 00:35:20.360 I love the visuals.
  1093. 00:35:20.760 – 00:35:22.160 It just depends on what I'm doing.
  1094. 00:35:22.580 – 00:35:23.280 I like them both.
  1095. 00:35:23.920 – 00:35:25.140 I really, really do.
  1096. 00:35:25.360 – 00:35:27.000 Like I really enjoy doing both.
  1097. 00:35:27.080 – 00:35:28.160 It just depends on what I'm doing.
  1098. 00:35:28.960 – 00:35:32.200 I really, my goal is to shoot like a full length movie.
  1099. 00:35:32.620 – 00:35:34.260 That's why, that's my ultimate goal
  1100. 00:35:34.260 – 00:35:35.340 is to get into that.
  1101. 00:35:35.340 – 00:35:36.200 Shoot full length movie.
  1102. 00:35:36.260 – 00:35:39.100 I don't think I'll ever put down shooting photography.
  1103. 00:35:40.820 – 00:35:43.080 Cause the joy I have of going out,
  1104. 00:35:43.180 – 00:35:44.540 getting the shot done and getting that shot
  1105. 00:35:44.540 – 00:35:46.280 and just being really excited about it.
  1106. 00:35:46.280 – 00:35:48.060 That doesn't go anywhere, man.
  1107. 00:35:48.420 – 00:35:50.340 Like I just, you started talking about the Triumph shoots.
  1108. 00:35:50.420 – 00:35:53.900 That makes me happy because those shoots are like,
  1109. 00:35:53.900 – 00:35:55.460 that's when I'm in my bag, man.
  1110. 00:35:55.460 – 00:35:57.480 I get into a groove and I'm able to,
  1111. 00:35:57.840 – 00:35:58.720 there's no time limit.
  1112. 00:35:58.880 – 00:35:59.780 There's no, you know what I mean?
  1113. 00:35:59.800 – 00:36:02.460 We're just shooting, trying to get a good shot.
  1114. 00:36:02.460 – 00:36:06.940 And then the thought process of getting to that shot,
  1115. 00:36:07.500 – 00:36:08.440 like knowing who we're shooting
  1116. 00:36:08.440 – 00:36:09.900 and then being like, okay,
  1117. 00:36:10.180 – 00:36:11.640 people in the scene, wherever we're at
  1118. 00:36:11.640 – 00:36:13.440 and being like, okay, this is the shot we want.
  1119. 00:36:14.400 – 00:36:15.940 Like getting these shots out of my head
  1120. 00:36:15.940 – 00:36:17.380 is like one of those things.
  1121. 00:36:17.520 – 00:36:19.040 It's one of those things I did when I first got here.
  1122. 00:36:19.200 – 00:36:20.900 It's like, I did certain shots that I was like,
  1123. 00:36:20.900 – 00:36:23.200 oh, I gotta get that shot, get it out of my head.
  1124. 00:36:23.640 – 00:36:24.760 I think I got one up here.
  1125. 00:36:24.820 – 00:36:25.700 No, it's not that one.
  1126. 00:36:26.120 – 00:36:31.020 There's one, there was an abandoned church on 93rd.
  1127. 00:36:31.020 – 00:36:32.840 It was 93rd that I went to.
  1128. 00:36:32.980 – 00:36:33.820 Like certain shots in my head,
  1129. 00:36:33.860 – 00:36:35.300 like I always wanted to get certain shots like that.
  1130. 00:36:35.380 – 00:36:36.480 It was the shot on Forest Hills.
  1131. 00:36:37.020 – 00:36:38.160 When I first got here and moved up here,
  1132. 00:36:38.220 – 00:36:39.660 I'm like, oh, that bridge that goes across
  1133. 00:36:39.660 – 00:36:41.120 Forest Hills as you're going up,
  1134. 00:36:41.160 – 00:36:43.560 as you're going up, what's that?
  1135. 00:36:43.560 – 00:36:43.880 Lee?
  1136. 00:36:44.360 – 00:36:45.180 It's not Lee.
  1137. 00:36:47.440 – 00:36:48.860 It's, it's the one down,
  1138. 00:36:49.020 – 00:36:50.380 ooh, what is the name of that street?
  1139. 00:36:50.500 – 00:36:51.140 I can't think of it.
  1140. 00:36:51.360 – 00:36:52.580 Lee, Forest, Forest Hills.
  1141. 00:36:52.660 – 00:36:54.140 It is probably, I think it is Forest Hills Drive.
  1142. 00:36:54.900 – 00:36:56.260 Yeah, it is Forest Hills anyway, but that-
  1143. 00:36:56.260 – 00:36:56.820 Because of Lee and then-
  1144. 00:36:56.820 – 00:36:58.060 Yeah, then Forest Hills, yeah.
  1145. 00:36:58.300 – 00:36:59.920 But that bridge that goes across.
  1146. 00:36:59.920 – 00:37:02.120 The first fall I was here and I seen that bridge,
  1147. 00:37:02.260 – 00:37:03.440 I was like, ooh, I gotta get that shot.
  1148. 00:37:04.060 – 00:37:05.180 I told Jones that.
  1149. 00:37:06.660 – 00:37:08.220 And thank God, my man Jones,
  1150. 00:37:08.280 – 00:37:09.460 shout out to him man, too.
  1151. 00:37:10.860 – 00:37:13.240 Like this doesn't happen without people around me.
  1152. 00:37:13.540 – 00:37:15.520 Like this is how I met you, shooting, right?
  1153. 00:37:15.700 – 00:37:15.980 Right.
  1154. 00:37:17.180 – 00:37:18.600 This is what I'm talking about.
  1155. 00:37:18.820 – 00:37:20.180 Like the building of the community,
  1156. 00:37:20.340 – 00:37:23.260 the artistic community is what it's all about
  1157. 00:37:23.260 – 00:37:25.520 and what makes the juices flow.
  1158. 00:37:25.920 – 00:37:26.900 Cause when you get around other people
  1159. 00:37:26.900 – 00:37:28.200 and start shooting, man, it makes it,
  1160. 00:37:28.200 – 00:37:29.480 it makes it that much more fun.
  1161. 00:37:29.940 – 00:37:31.680 It makes you be able to,
  1162. 00:37:31.760 – 00:37:33.000 it brings out the best in everybody.
  1163. 00:37:33.800 – 00:37:34.980 Cause now everybody is, everybody,
  1164. 00:37:35.440 – 00:37:36.340 we're all in the same place,
  1165. 00:37:36.360 – 00:37:37.520 we're all getting different shots.
  1166. 00:37:37.740 – 00:37:38.100 Right.
  1167. 00:37:38.120 – 00:37:39.720 And we're all excited about each other's shots.
  1168. 00:37:39.980 – 00:37:42.140 Like it's that, that's a real thing for me, man.
  1169. 00:37:42.220 – 00:37:46.360 Like I think that, and I haven't done that in a minute,
  1170. 00:37:46.760 – 00:37:48.160 like going out and doing a photo,
  1171. 00:37:48.180 – 00:37:50.040 a photo like a city scene like we were doing before.
  1172. 00:37:50.120 – 00:37:51.200 Like we need to do that again.
  1173. 00:37:51.620 – 00:37:53.340 Cause I need that back.
  1174. 00:37:53.360 – 00:37:54.200 I need that feeling again.
  1175. 00:37:54.400 – 00:37:56.220 It's been over a year since we done one of those.
  1176. 00:37:56.600 – 00:37:59.480 I would say, speaking of like that,
  1177. 00:37:59.580 – 00:38:01.940 Photobox, any programs coming up?
  1178. 00:38:02.920 – 00:38:05.280 Yeah, we're doing a project, Shifting Energy,
  1179. 00:38:05.780 – 00:38:07.680 which I'm a part of.
  1180. 00:38:07.800 – 00:38:09.280 I'm actually one of the main facilitators for.
  1181. 00:38:09.440 – 00:38:12.400 So I'm doing, I'm doing, teaching photography,
  1182. 00:38:12.560 – 00:38:13.640 teaching healing through photography.
  1183. 00:38:14.220 – 00:38:16.660 And we're basically using the camera
  1184. 00:38:16.660 – 00:38:18.960 to teach our community that you can,
  1185. 00:38:18.960 – 00:38:21.000 you can use this as a healing mechanism.
  1186. 00:38:21.780 – 00:38:22.640 Art can be healing.
  1187. 00:38:23.040 – 00:38:23.920 Like, you know, whatever it is,
  1188. 00:38:24.000 – 00:38:26.080 whatever mental history you have going on,
  1189. 00:38:26.080 – 00:38:27.560 this can be it for you.
  1190. 00:38:27.680 – 00:38:29.880 And showing them how, you know, how,
  1191. 00:38:29.920 – 00:38:31.960 how to look at it in a different way, I guess,
  1192. 00:38:32.820 – 00:38:33.620 is how I sing.
  1193. 00:38:33.660 – 00:38:35.980 We also have creative writing that's going along
  1194. 00:38:35.980 – 00:38:37.740 with that, that's being taught by,
  1195. 00:38:38.320 – 00:38:39.740 what is Keisha's last name?
  1196. 00:38:39.800 – 00:38:40.800 She is a dope poet.
  1197. 00:38:41.180 – 00:38:41.840 Keisha Foster.
  1198. 00:38:42.260 – 00:38:42.660 Yes.
  1199. 00:38:43.080 – 00:38:43.980 Yes, yes, yes.
  1200. 00:38:44.200 – 00:38:44.980 Yeah, you already know.
  1201. 00:38:45.220 – 00:38:46.140 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
  1202. 00:38:46.500 – 00:38:47.120 Been around.
  1203. 00:38:47.160 – 00:38:50.060 Yeah, cause you've been in these streets, baby.
  1204. 00:38:50.380 – 00:38:51.180 You've been in these streets.
  1205. 00:38:51.900 – 00:38:53.180 But yeah, so she's doing the creative,
  1206. 00:38:53.260 – 00:38:54.820 she's doing the writing side of it.
  1207. 00:38:54.820 – 00:38:57.200 So us together, we're doing, we're doing this.
  1208. 00:38:57.580 – 00:38:58.860 So, you know, people that's coming out.
  1209. 00:38:59.300 – 00:39:00.920 It's strictly for the Mount Pleasant area.
  1210. 00:39:01.420 – 00:39:03.100 And it's free, completely free,
  1211. 00:39:03.100 – 00:39:05.980 six week program, once every Saturday, 11,
  1212. 00:39:07.140 – 00:39:12.000 11.30 to two, I believe, at a Harvey Rice library.
  1213. 00:39:13.000 – 00:39:15.180 Yeah, everybody that comes out gets a free camera
  1214. 00:39:16.920 – 00:39:18.400 and some free healing.
  1215. 00:39:18.860 – 00:39:19.440 You know what I mean?
  1216. 00:39:19.600 – 00:39:21.640 Like, we have some people from the community
  1217. 00:39:21.640 – 00:39:24.200 coming out that are going to be taking blood pressure
  1218. 00:39:24.200 – 00:39:26.040 and taking vitals.
  1219. 00:39:26.500 – 00:39:28.980 And we have somebody that's going to be,
  1220. 00:39:28.980 – 00:39:30.600 Brother Sincere is going to be coming out
  1221. 00:39:30.600 – 00:39:32.300 at the very beginning of every session
  1222. 00:39:32.300 – 00:39:35.000 and doing a meditation and a grounding
  1223. 00:39:35.540 – 00:39:37.240 to get everybody in that mindset.
  1224. 00:39:37.540 – 00:39:40.420 So like the whole idea behind it is like arts is healing
  1225. 00:39:40.420 – 00:39:41.880 and being healing to community.
  1226. 00:39:42.380 – 00:39:44.360 And actually, like I said, getting real numbers,
  1227. 00:39:44.520 – 00:39:46.180 blood pressure numbers, you know,
  1228. 00:39:46.180 – 00:39:47.400 and making sure that people understand
  1229. 00:39:47.400 – 00:39:48.600 that their health is wealth.
  1230. 00:39:49.380 – 00:39:50.460 Like health is important.
  1231. 00:39:50.920 – 00:39:52.920 And so we're going to have food
  1232. 00:39:52.920 – 00:39:55.060 and the food is going to be designed
  1233. 00:39:55.060 – 00:39:56.780 to be on the healthier side.
  1234. 00:39:57.380 – 00:39:59.600 I'm not exactly sure what the menu is just yet.
  1235. 00:39:59.900 – 00:40:01.200 But Brother Sincere is also a vegan.
  1236. 00:40:01.500 – 00:40:04.060 So we're probably going to try to slide in some vegan stuff.
  1237. 00:40:04.120 – 00:40:05.820 You know, it's hard with our community sometimes,
  1238. 00:40:06.320 – 00:40:07.440 slide that vegan stuff in there.
  1239. 00:40:07.460 – 00:40:09.220 But when you start realizing how good it can be.
  1240. 00:40:09.420 – 00:40:10.440 Oh yeah, it's real good, yeah.
  1241. 00:40:10.700 – 00:40:11.500 Let me get some of that.
  1242. 00:40:12.180 – 00:40:12.660 Let me get some of that.
  1243. 00:40:12.680 – 00:40:13.860 You know, I was vegan for six years.
  1244. 00:40:13.980 – 00:40:16.320 I'm not anymore, but I can eat vegan in a minute.
  1245. 00:40:16.640 – 00:40:17.020 Oh yeah.
  1246. 00:40:17.020 – 00:40:17.780 It's not hard.
  1247. 00:40:18.360 – 00:40:19.000 I prefer it.
  1248. 00:40:19.000 – 00:40:21.100 But like you say, I've been for a few years
  1249. 00:40:21.100 – 00:40:23.960 and I kind of cut back and being around family,
  1250. 00:40:24.100 – 00:40:25.720 you know, old tradition meals.
  1251. 00:40:26.480 – 00:40:26.500 Yeah.
  1252. 00:40:28.200 – 00:40:29.820 So I converted back.
  1253. 00:40:30.040 – 00:40:30.660 Yeah, man.
  1254. 00:40:30.980 – 00:40:32.360 Yeah, I ain't going to hold you.
  1255. 00:40:32.680 – 00:40:33.940 I have to, man.
  1256. 00:40:34.140 – 00:40:36.220 But you know, I definitely,
  1257. 00:40:36.400 – 00:40:39.440 I definitely, it's easier for me to not eat it now.
  1258. 00:40:40.080 – 00:40:41.600 You know, it used to be like I have to have it.
  1259. 00:40:41.700 – 00:40:42.840 Now I'm like, man, it's easier for me
  1260. 00:40:42.840 – 00:40:44.300 to have to make a meal without meat in it.
  1261. 00:40:44.400 – 00:40:44.720 Oh yeah.
  1262. 00:40:44.820 – 00:40:46.040 It's just, it's real easy.
  1263. 00:40:46.420 – 00:40:47.600 And I do it and enjoy it.
  1264. 00:40:47.780 – 00:40:50.900 Yeah, I still don't like traditionally buy meat.
  1265. 00:40:50.900 – 00:40:53.340 Like if I'm out at a restaurant or, you know,
  1266. 00:40:53.460 – 00:40:56.980 family cook, you know I eat it, but I still don't buy it.
  1267. 00:40:57.000 – 00:40:57.820 You still don't buy it?
  1268. 00:40:57.880 – 00:40:59.260 I still, I never bought a,
  1269. 00:40:59.260 – 00:40:59.840 I don't think I,
  1270. 00:41:00.420 – 00:41:03.080 last time I bought a pack of meat was
  1271. 00:41:03.080 – 00:41:06.180 ribeye steak and I was 19.
  1272. 00:41:06.660 – 00:41:07.060 Wow.
  1273. 00:41:07.820 – 00:41:08.220 Wow.
  1274. 00:41:08.260 – 00:41:08.660 Okay.
  1275. 00:41:09.200 – 00:41:11.220 I can't say the same thing with myself, man.
  1276. 00:41:12.380 – 00:41:13.780 The kids will eat it, man.
  1277. 00:41:13.840 – 00:41:15.420 So I'll definitely buy the meats,
  1278. 00:41:16.040 – 00:41:17.560 but I'm definitely trying to,
  1279. 00:41:17.560 – 00:41:18.760 I try to be a little bit more cautious
  1280. 00:41:18.760 – 00:41:20.520 of where I get my meats from.
  1281. 00:41:21.300 – 00:41:25.800 I'd rather get it from better places than the normal.
  1282. 00:41:25.940 – 00:41:28.020 You know, the best place to get it is like from a farm,
  1283. 00:41:28.180 – 00:41:28.640 obviously.
  1284. 00:41:29.160 – 00:41:30.220 If you're going to eat meat,
  1285. 00:41:30.920 – 00:41:32.240 like the closer to the farm the better,
  1286. 00:41:32.780 – 00:41:33.700 but that's not realistic.
  1287. 00:41:34.520 – 00:41:34.720 You know?
  1288. 00:41:34.780 – 00:41:35.500 That's true.
  1289. 00:41:35.700 – 00:41:39.760 Like even with produce, like it's a lot of GMO
  1290. 00:41:39.760 – 00:41:42.300 and going back to the healing,
  1291. 00:41:42.340 – 00:41:43.340 like it affects your brains,
  1292. 00:41:43.460 – 00:41:45.060 the things you eat affects your brain.
  1293. 00:41:45.620 – 00:41:47.920 Like I even see the program
  1294. 00:41:49.080 – 00:41:52.460 being tailored to patients
  1295. 00:41:52.460 – 00:41:54.320 that's like fresh out the hospital.
  1296. 00:41:54.360 – 00:41:54.760 Yes.
  1297. 00:41:55.000 – 00:41:58.540 And need that, almost like that extra confidence.
  1298. 00:41:58.760 – 00:41:59.940 Cause like when you had that confidence
  1299. 00:41:59.940 – 00:42:01.340 and that love around you,
  1300. 00:42:01.520 – 00:42:02.980 like the healing accelerates.
  1301. 00:42:03.380 – 00:42:04.080 Now that's real.
  1302. 00:42:04.600 – 00:42:05.180 That's real.
  1303. 00:42:05.400 – 00:42:06.620 That's when the community comes in.
  1304. 00:42:06.660 – 00:42:07.260 Now you right, man.
  1305. 00:42:07.420 – 00:42:07.840 That's true.
  1306. 00:42:08.320 – 00:42:09.080 Yeah, I'm going to have to take,
  1307. 00:42:09.280 – 00:42:10.520 that's, I'm using that, brother.
  1308. 00:42:10.720 – 00:42:11.060 Oh yeah.
  1309. 00:42:11.120 – 00:42:12.340 Yeah, that's because you right
  1310. 00:42:12.340 – 00:42:13.640 cause that's exactly where it comes from.
  1311. 00:42:13.860 – 00:42:16.220 I mean, when you, you know,
  1312. 00:42:16.220 – 00:42:17.500 they say it was like, reach one,
  1313. 00:42:17.580 – 00:42:19.080 reach one, teach one, each one, teach one.
  1314. 00:42:19.380 – 00:42:21.740 Like, you know, but also like that means that community
  1315. 00:42:21.740 – 00:42:23.600 that, that, that having other people around you
  1316. 00:42:23.600 – 00:42:25.480 doing the same thing, that energy is real, man.
  1317. 00:42:25.760 – 00:42:26.980 I mean, you remember when we did the four of loves,
  1318. 00:42:27.140 – 00:42:28.420 man, them things, you know,
  1319. 00:42:28.460 – 00:42:29.740 them energies used to be real, man.
  1320. 00:42:29.740 – 00:42:30.860 That's a good time, man.
  1321. 00:42:31.040 – 00:42:31.800 So, you know.
  1322. 00:42:31.800 – 00:42:33.720 I still have people talk about them on the acts.
  1323. 00:42:33.980 – 00:42:35.460 I'm like, it's going to happen.
  1324. 00:42:35.480 – 00:42:36.020 It's going to happen.
  1325. 00:42:36.020 – 00:42:37.000 Yeah, last one we did.
  1326. 00:42:37.780 – 00:42:39.340 It was two years ago, the last one we did.
  1327. 00:42:39.500 – 00:42:41.680 We tried to do, we did one down at Gordon Park.
  1328. 00:42:41.960 – 00:42:42.660 No, not Gordon Park.
  1329. 00:42:42.900 – 00:42:44.000 What's the name of the park right there?
  1330. 00:42:44.000 – 00:42:45.900 Going to Cleveland Heights?
  1331. 00:42:46.640 – 00:42:46.800 Kane.
  1332. 00:42:47.300 – 00:42:47.780 Kane Park.
  1333. 00:42:47.800 – 00:42:49.640 Kane Park, yep, yep.
  1334. 00:42:50.420 – 00:42:51.200 Oh, the Amphitheater.
  1335. 00:42:52.120 – 00:42:52.920 Yeah, yep.
  1336. 00:42:53.280 – 00:42:54.220 That's the last time we did one.
  1337. 00:42:54.360 – 00:42:55.940 That was a while back, a couple of years ago.
  1338. 00:42:56.500 – 00:42:57.380 We coming back, man.
  1339. 00:42:57.380 – 00:42:58.280 We going to do another one, man.
  1340. 00:42:58.300 – 00:42:58.940 We going to do another one.
  1341. 00:42:59.000 – 00:43:01.360 Cause we have to, it's, it's, oh yeah.
  1342. 00:43:01.700 – 00:43:02.820 It's a must, I think.
  1343. 00:43:03.160 – 00:43:04.420 Oh yeah, oh yeah.
  1344. 00:43:04.920 – 00:43:05.940 It definitely is.
  1345. 00:43:06.400 – 00:43:07.560 It's, I don't know, I've kind of been
  1346. 00:43:07.560 – 00:43:09.900 out of the arts community,
  1347. 00:43:09.960 – 00:43:12.700 mainly the poetry community for a while now.
  1348. 00:43:12.700 – 00:43:17.480 Maybe four years, retired poet, musician.
  1349. 00:43:18.920 – 00:43:19.440 Feels good.
  1350. 00:43:19.540 – 00:43:21.580 I still get asked to perform, which is an honor.
  1351. 00:43:21.900 – 00:43:22.260 It's a blessing.
  1352. 00:43:23.040 – 00:43:26.260 But it's not, it's not my current life right now.
  1353. 00:43:27.320 – 00:43:27.820 So why?
  1354. 00:43:27.960 – 00:43:29.160 I'm curious now, like.
  1355. 00:43:29.200 – 00:43:31.680 Like you said, I, you know,
  1356. 00:43:31.980 – 00:43:34.740 I used to host, perform, you know,
  1357. 00:43:34.820 – 00:43:36.720 do all this stuff on stage.
  1358. 00:43:37.180 – 00:43:38.460 Then I get off stage.
  1359. 00:43:39.240 – 00:43:42.420 I support others by first starting with
  1360. 00:43:42.420 – 00:43:45.500 the iPhone, filming, taking pictures.
  1361. 00:43:45.680 – 00:43:49.120 I'm like, huh, why don't I just invest in the camera?
  1362. 00:43:49.300 – 00:43:50.660 I finally invested in the camera
  1363. 00:43:50.660 – 00:43:53.180 and I kind of shift gears with the art.
  1364. 00:43:53.300 – 00:43:53.980 It's still art.
  1365. 00:43:54.260 – 00:43:56.840 It's still, it's still me creating,
  1366. 00:43:58.040 – 00:43:59.340 but just in a different way.
  1367. 00:43:59.520 – 00:44:02.020 And I just, I drove right in.
  1368. 00:44:02.200 – 00:44:04.200 It's studying and practicing.
  1369. 00:44:04.760 – 00:44:09.240 So it's like once you start something new,
  1370. 00:44:10.120 – 00:44:11.700 you want to kind of give it your all.
  1371. 00:44:11.700 – 00:44:12.560 And that's what I did.
  1372. 00:44:12.640 – 00:44:14.920 And that's how I found myself taking it serious.
  1373. 00:44:15.300 – 00:44:17.800 Like I was still right in here and there,
  1374. 00:44:17.860 – 00:44:19.740 but not really actively performing.
  1375. 00:44:20.040 – 00:44:20.760 So when we first met,
  1376. 00:44:20.900 – 00:44:23.120 you had just started really get diving in deep.
  1377. 00:44:23.360 – 00:44:24.680 I guess when you really started diving.
  1378. 00:44:25.000 – 00:44:26.900 Yep, I met, I met Jones through,
  1379. 00:44:28.920 – 00:44:31.060 through Sophie at a networking event.
  1380. 00:44:31.300 – 00:44:32.800 He was doing headshots.
  1381. 00:44:32.980 – 00:44:33.380 Okay.
  1382. 00:44:33.800 – 00:44:35.820 And, you know, I bought the,
  1383. 00:44:36.120 – 00:44:37.360 cause it was, it was like a ticket.
  1384. 00:44:37.360 – 00:44:40.260 You just, for a mission, then for, you know,
  1385. 00:44:40.260 – 00:44:43.160 a few more, you get that free headshot.
  1386. 00:44:43.300 – 00:44:44.800 I'm like, I'm going to go get the headshot.
  1387. 00:44:44.980 – 00:44:45.300 Yeah.
  1388. 00:44:45.420 – 00:44:47.200 And I always talk to him like, man,
  1389. 00:44:48.440 – 00:44:50.100 I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm going to start for Tiger film.
  1390. 00:44:50.700 – 00:44:52.120 I'm like, I'm serious.
  1391. 00:44:52.320 – 00:44:52.420 Oh yeah.
  1392. 00:44:52.440 – 00:44:53.380 I'm like, I'm serious.
  1393. 00:44:54.760 – 00:44:56.260 And, and like, you know,
  1394. 00:44:56.320 – 00:44:57.800 we've been close ever since.
  1395. 00:44:58.000 – 00:45:00.440 I'm like, man, that's, that's when I'm like,
  1396. 00:45:00.500 – 00:45:01.480 damn, I really said this.
  1397. 00:45:01.520 – 00:45:02.760 I really got to take it serious now.
  1398. 00:45:02.920 – 00:45:04.880 So it's like, all right.
  1399. 00:45:05.200 – 00:45:07.060 I was still performing for, you know,
  1400. 00:45:07.140 – 00:45:08.440 maybe a year later than I,
  1401. 00:45:08.440 – 00:45:09.680 I lost my grandfather.
  1402. 00:45:12.880 – 00:45:14.180 I wasn't really active,
  1403. 00:45:14.200 – 00:45:16.280 but I still perform here and there
  1404. 00:45:16.280 – 00:45:18.360 for close people that wanted me to.
  1405. 00:45:18.860 – 00:45:20.540 And I remember this, just crying.
  1406. 00:45:20.880 – 00:45:26.460 Like he, he transitioned maybe a week before that.
  1407. 00:45:27.320 – 00:45:28.860 And nothing came out until that day.
  1408. 00:45:28.960 – 00:45:29.720 I was just,
  1409. 00:45:32.280 – 00:45:34.460 I couldn't remember no word.
  1410. 00:45:34.540 – 00:45:36.200 It was just like, man, miss.
  1411. 00:45:36.200 – 00:45:38.780 I'm like, it just started coming down.
  1412. 00:45:38.980 – 00:45:40.340 It was pouring tears.
  1413. 00:45:41.180 – 00:45:43.320 I'm like, I'm like, man, forget it, man.
  1414. 00:45:43.700 – 00:45:46.060 I ain't about to perform or try to act like,
  1415. 00:45:46.220 – 00:45:47.480 no, I'm going to just talk to y'all.
  1416. 00:45:48.120 – 00:45:50.300 Like, if y'all got something real on your heart, man,
  1417. 00:45:50.340 – 00:45:50.980 just express it.
  1418. 00:45:50.980 – 00:45:53.200 Like just, just talking that real deep.
  1419. 00:45:53.560 – 00:45:55.080 Like, man, just forget the performance.
  1420. 00:45:55.260 – 00:45:56.660 I mean, let me just talk to y'all.
  1421. 00:45:56.760 – 00:45:59.120 Just have my eyes closed, tears, just crying.
  1422. 00:45:59.240 – 00:46:01.640 Like just, just speaking to the people, you know.
  1423. 00:46:01.900 – 00:46:03.400 I don't think you ever told me that story, man.
  1424. 00:46:04.140 – 00:46:06.240 We told that, you know, too often.
  1425. 00:46:06.720 – 00:46:07.080 Wow.
  1426. 00:46:07.300 – 00:46:08.700 So yeah, it's like, man.
  1427. 00:46:09.120 – 00:46:10.480 And so when he told you to come out,
  1428. 00:46:10.560 – 00:46:12.320 because that's when we met when we first did that little,
  1429. 00:46:12.500 – 00:46:14.860 that we did, that was one of the,
  1430. 00:46:14.900 – 00:46:17.220 one of the first photo walks that we did.
  1431. 00:46:17.540 – 00:46:22.320 Yeah, but like, RTA, Cedar.
  1432. 00:46:23.300 – 00:46:25.080 Yeah, because we was doing the long exposure stuff
  1433. 00:46:25.080 – 00:46:26.440 and then we started walking around doing.
  1434. 00:46:26.680 – 00:46:28.080 I didn't even know it was a long exposure,
  1435. 00:46:28.200 – 00:46:29.240 but a lot of exposure.
  1436. 00:46:29.700 – 00:46:29.720 Yeah, yeah.
  1437. 00:46:30.420 – 00:46:32.780 He didn't either, because we was messing around
  1438. 00:46:32.780 – 00:46:35.660 with some like light painting and stuff like that too.
  1439. 00:46:35.900 – 00:46:36.580 Like, okay.
  1440. 00:46:36.940 – 00:46:38.400 And I said, y'all, I'm like,
  1441. 00:46:38.500 – 00:46:39.660 I don't even wanna do this.
  1442. 00:46:41.540 – 00:46:43.580 I was fresh, I was brand new.
  1443. 00:46:43.660 – 00:46:44.620 That's crazy.
  1444. 00:46:45.080 – 00:46:46.560 Yeah, yup, yup.
  1445. 00:46:46.900 – 00:46:47.860 That's it, man.
  1446. 00:46:48.460 – 00:46:48.940 That's it.
  1447. 00:46:49.360 – 00:46:49.520 Yup, yup.
  1448. 00:46:49.580 – 00:46:51.300 Y'all was with Juneteenth.
  1449. 00:46:51.380 – 00:46:52.600 It was a Juneteenth event.
  1450. 00:46:53.700 – 00:46:55.900 So that was even more, you know, powerful and iconic.
  1451. 00:46:57.300 – 00:46:58.040 It was like, man.
  1452. 00:46:58.180 – 00:46:59.080 Swimming from near, huh?
  1453. 00:46:59.800 – 00:47:01.420 Hey, it's a crazy bug to catch, man.
  1454. 00:47:02.000 – 00:47:04.340 It's a crazy bug to catch, expensive bug.
  1455. 00:47:05.220 – 00:47:07.080 Man, you start getting into these other cameras,
  1456. 00:47:07.340 – 00:47:08.060 but they, you know,
  1457. 00:47:08.280 – 00:47:09.580 now they starting to come up with some stuff
  1458. 00:47:09.580 – 00:47:12.000 that's kind of like not as expensive as other stuff
  1459. 00:47:12.000 – 00:47:13.220 that still does the job.
  1460. 00:47:13.320 – 00:47:14.000 The technology.
  1461. 00:47:14.080 – 00:47:16.400 Yeah, technology is getting a lot better,
  1462. 00:47:16.420 – 00:47:17.060 a lot cleaner.
  1463. 00:47:18.040 – 00:47:19.980 I see Nikon, I see-
  1464. 00:47:19.980 – 00:47:20.980 Oh, no, no, no, no.
  1465. 00:47:21.080 – 00:47:23.280 I know you don't, but I see,
  1466. 00:47:24.840 – 00:47:27.320 I know when Nikon bought our red,
  1467. 00:47:27.400 – 00:47:29.560 like I always wanted a red cinema camera.
  1468. 00:47:29.560 – 00:47:32.720 So it was like, man, when they made that acquisition,
  1469. 00:47:32.820 – 00:47:34.760 that partnership, I'm like, yes.
  1470. 00:47:35.380 – 00:47:36.280 That'll give me one now.
  1471. 00:47:37.120 – 00:47:41.500 I ended up, I got, so yesterday I got a 5C,
  1472. 00:47:41.740 – 00:47:45.240 a R5C, which is like the lowest level of cinema camera
  1473. 00:47:45.240 – 00:47:46.620 you can get into on Canon.
  1474. 00:47:47.000 – 00:47:48.620 But it's also still good for photography.
  1475. 00:47:49.540 – 00:47:50.980 So it's like, I put my toe in the water
  1476. 00:47:50.980 – 00:47:53.000 and instead of going out and buying like the C series,
  1477. 00:47:53.020 – 00:47:54.300 like a C100 or a C200,
  1478. 00:47:54.400 – 00:47:56.080 I'm like, nah, let me just get this 5C
  1479. 00:47:56.080 – 00:47:56.880 and see what this do.
  1480. 00:47:57.140 – 00:47:58.040 It's a beast though.
  1481. 00:47:58.520 – 00:48:02.300 I still haven't gotten to all the capabilities of it.
  1482. 00:48:03.220 – 00:48:03.760 So like I said,
  1483. 00:48:03.760 – 00:48:05.140 I'm trying to get into this cinema shooting
  1484. 00:48:05.140 – 00:48:06.880 and I've shot a couple of shorts already.
  1485. 00:48:08.100 – 00:48:10.640 So I really wanna get to that level
  1486. 00:48:10.640 – 00:48:11.920 of shooting a feature film.
  1487. 00:48:12.520 – 00:48:13.900 And it's a lot to it.
  1488. 00:48:13.940 – 00:48:15.620 I didn't realize how much it was to it, man.
  1489. 00:48:16.240 – 00:48:18.500 Oh, phew, it's a lot.
  1490. 00:48:18.760 – 00:48:19.400 It's a lot.
  1491. 00:48:19.500 – 00:48:20.720 I've been on set,
  1492. 00:48:21.960 – 00:48:25.180 kind of like your story with the rock, with the hero.
  1493. 00:48:26.620 – 00:48:30.540 I was honored to be a part of the filming
  1494. 00:48:30.540 – 00:48:33.240 when they did it in Cleveland, a Superman movie.
  1495. 00:48:33.300 – 00:48:33.900 Oh, what?
  1496. 00:48:34.100 – 00:48:35.420 I've been a part of the Superman.
  1497. 00:48:35.420 – 00:48:36.000 This is the last one?
  1498. 00:48:36.340 – 00:48:36.960 Yep, the last one.
  1499. 00:48:36.980 – 00:48:37.880 Okay, okay.
  1500. 00:48:38.280 – 00:48:39.360 And people were just hating it,
  1501. 00:48:39.400 – 00:48:40.420 like, how you get this?
  1502. 00:48:40.500 – 00:48:41.620 How you brand new?
  1503. 00:48:42.000 – 00:48:43.220 And it's your first thing.
  1504. 00:48:43.360 – 00:48:45.220 I had to work hard, go through all of them.
  1505. 00:48:45.540 – 00:48:47.100 So people was like, man,
  1506. 00:48:47.200 – 00:48:50.000 like this is my first day working on a movie set.
  1507. 00:48:50.100 – 00:48:50.500 Yeah.
  1508. 00:48:50.520 – 00:48:51.380 And I got Superman.
  1509. 00:48:52.080 – 00:48:52.740 That's wild.
  1510. 00:48:52.760 – 00:48:53.220 People been trying.
  1511. 00:48:53.220 – 00:48:54.580 I didn't know you was on that set, man.
  1512. 00:48:55.260 – 00:48:55.860 That's wild.
  1513. 00:48:56.460 – 00:48:58.000 Downtown, man, it was a experience.
  1514. 00:48:58.000 – 00:48:58.640 What did they have you doing?
  1515. 00:49:00.780 – 00:49:01.840 I was a PA.
  1516. 00:49:02.240 – 00:49:04.080 Okay, so you're basically running around,
  1517. 00:49:04.100 – 00:49:06.180 running around doing whatever it is you need to do.
  1518. 00:49:06.640 – 00:49:08.140 Keeping the crowd maintained,
  1519. 00:49:08.340 – 00:49:09.960 they can't get out of the scene while I'm filming.
  1520. 00:49:10.740 – 00:49:12.360 I know people still gonna do it, do it,
  1521. 00:49:12.400 – 00:49:15.340 like, no phones, it was, it was, it was.
  1522. 00:49:15.360 – 00:49:16.660 I don't think people get, like,
  1523. 00:49:16.660 – 00:49:18.720 how many different jobs there are.
  1524. 00:49:18.720 – 00:49:19.500 It is a lot.
  1525. 00:49:19.600 – 00:49:21.700 And I've seen them, like, man, all these people.
  1526. 00:49:21.760 – 00:49:24.040 Yeah, dog, man.
  1527. 00:49:24.560 – 00:49:27.480 Like, it's, yeah, you literally have people like,
  1528. 00:49:27.480 – 00:49:28.520 like you said, man, that's like,
  1529. 00:49:28.520 – 00:49:30.140 that's like working your way up on a movie set.
  1530. 00:49:30.140 – 00:49:32.180 Cause like most people have started out PA'ing.
  1531. 00:49:32.320 – 00:49:33.280 Yeah, that's how you start, y'all.
  1532. 00:49:33.400 – 00:49:34.520 Yeah, you start out PA'ing.
  1533. 00:49:34.540 – 00:49:36.140 You know, there's literally somebody that,
  1534. 00:49:36.600 – 00:49:38.820 that goes out there and marks where the camera's
  1535. 00:49:38.820 – 00:49:40.940 supposed to be with tape all over the place, man.
  1536. 00:49:40.940 – 00:49:41.820 And you get your gaffers.
  1537. 00:49:41.900 – 00:49:43.240 You're like, it's, yeah, it's crazy
  1538. 00:49:43.240 – 00:49:45.060 when you start looking at how many people it takes.
  1539. 00:49:45.460 – 00:49:46.180 Well, I tell people all the time,
  1540. 00:49:46.280 – 00:49:47.680 look at the credits of a movie.
  1541. 00:49:48.000 – 00:49:48.660 That's how you realize.
  1542. 00:49:48.860 – 00:49:50.420 I stay every movie.
  1543. 00:49:50.520 – 00:49:51.860 I know when people walk out and leave,
  1544. 00:49:51.860 – 00:49:54.100 I stay and watch all those names.
  1545. 00:49:54.220 – 00:49:54.580 Yeah.
  1546. 00:49:54.660 – 00:49:57.360 I'm like, I'ma find, I know somebody, I know somebody.
  1547. 00:49:57.780 – 00:50:00.200 But the company that always stands out the most
  1548. 00:50:00.200 – 00:50:01.080 is Company 3.
  1549. 00:50:01.180 – 00:50:04.020 They do mainly the post-editing and the color grading.
  1550. 00:50:04.140 – 00:50:04.500 Okay.
  1551. 00:50:04.580 – 00:50:06.240 I'm like, so many good movies.
  1552. 00:50:06.380 – 00:50:06.740 Yeah.
  1553. 00:50:06.800 – 00:50:07.420 So many.
  1554. 00:50:07.740 – 00:50:08.460 They're here, aren't they?
  1555. 00:50:09.080 – 00:50:09.440 California.
  1556. 00:50:09.520 – 00:50:10.060 I mean, California.
  1557. 00:50:10.060 – 00:50:10.580 LA, yeah.
  1558. 00:50:10.640 – 00:50:12.060 I thought that was one they're calling Company 3
  1559. 00:50:12.060 – 00:50:12.600 that was here.
  1560. 00:50:13.220 – 00:50:14.680 Yeah, and that's a whole thing.
  1561. 00:50:14.900 – 00:50:16.080 Like, it's like, if you don't understand, man,
  1562. 00:50:16.200 – 00:50:18.380 it's color graders, it's people that edit.
  1563. 00:50:18.740 – 00:50:19.420 Like, the person that edits
  1564. 00:50:19.420 – 00:50:20.400 is not the person that color grades.
  1565. 00:50:20.520 – 00:50:21.680 Like, the person that, you know what I mean?
  1566. 00:50:23.380 – 00:50:24.680 It's a whole thing.
  1567. 00:50:24.860 – 00:50:26.400 It's a whole thing, man.
  1568. 00:50:26.700 – 00:50:28.040 I had no clue.
  1569. 00:50:28.560 – 00:50:30.000 Just being on, like, going back to that show,
  1570. 00:50:30.020 – 00:50:32.180 being on that show, I started to understand, like, wow.
  1571. 00:50:32.520 – 00:50:33.340 There's a bunch of people
  1572. 00:50:33.340 – 00:50:34.300 that do a bunch of different things.
  1573. 00:50:34.320 – 00:50:35.300 Like, it was people that were out there
  1574. 00:50:35.300 – 00:50:38.060 that was just, like, kind of like PA assistants.
  1575. 00:50:38.640 – 00:50:41.540 And they would just, like, if the PA couldn't do it,
  1576. 00:50:41.560 – 00:50:42.660 they wouldn't did it.
  1577. 00:50:42.660 – 00:50:42.880 Yeah.
  1578. 00:50:43.060 – 00:50:44.680 There was story producers.
  1579. 00:50:45.120 – 00:50:45.400 You know what I mean?
  1580. 00:50:45.500 – 00:50:46.820 Like, you start learning reality stuff.
  1581. 00:50:46.840 – 00:50:48.560 Yeah, I seen a physical story board.
  1582. 00:50:48.640 – 00:50:49.680 I'm like, well, dang.
  1583. 00:50:49.940 – 00:50:50.740 Yeah, man.
  1584. 00:50:52.060 – 00:50:55.060 Yeah, dawg, that's why it cost so much
  1585. 00:50:55.060 – 00:50:56.440 to make a real big production.
  1586. 00:50:57.280 – 00:50:58.620 That's why people be out here, you know.
  1587. 00:50:59.160 – 00:51:00.780 And that's why I'll never hate on anybody
  1588. 00:51:00.780 – 00:51:01.640 that puts a project out,
  1589. 00:51:01.660 – 00:51:03.380 because I'm like, man, you finished the product,
  1590. 00:51:03.480 – 00:51:05.580 you edited it, you got it out, man.
  1591. 00:51:06.300 – 00:51:06.660 Salute.
  1592. 00:51:07.040 – 00:51:08.800 Because that's not easy to do, man.
  1593. 00:51:08.960 – 00:51:10.100 It's not easy to do.
  1594. 00:51:10.140 – 00:51:11.580 I don't care what it looks like.
  1595. 00:51:11.800 – 00:51:13.920 People think, like, well, I don't, you know,
  1596. 00:51:13.980 – 00:51:15.720 it's funny when people ask you to do videos for them
  1597. 00:51:15.720 – 00:51:16.180 and stuff like that,
  1598. 00:51:16.180 – 00:51:17.720 and everybody wants their video to look like BET.
  1599. 00:51:18.220 – 00:51:20.120 Like, well, you don't have a BET budget, dawg,
  1600. 00:51:20.520 – 00:51:21.700 because you know what it takes
  1601. 00:51:21.700 – 00:51:23.380 to make a video look like that?
  1602. 00:51:23.500 – 00:51:24.460 Right, right, right.
  1603. 00:51:24.520 – 00:51:25.140 Now, that's true.
  1604. 00:51:25.480 – 00:51:27.100 You not gonna, a lot of people think
  1605. 00:51:27.100 – 00:51:28.300 you just gonna get a video shot
  1606. 00:51:28.300 – 00:51:29.520 and they just think it's gonna come out
  1607. 00:51:29.520 – 00:51:31.060 looking like something that they gonna see on TV.
  1608. 00:51:31.120 – 00:51:32.260 It's like, not necessarily.
  1609. 00:51:32.360 – 00:51:33.060 Like, you gonna understand,
  1610. 00:51:33.080 – 00:51:34.360 like, the lighting that they're putting in,
  1611. 00:51:34.400 – 00:51:36.560 like, they're doing, it's a lot to that, man.
  1612. 00:51:37.120 – 00:51:38.240 And you wanna give me $150?
  1613. 00:51:39.540 – 00:51:39.800 Like.
  1614. 00:51:40.660 – 00:51:41.460 That's how I been.
  1615. 00:51:41.760 – 00:51:42.960 Especially in Cleveland, yeah.
  1616. 00:51:43.060 – 00:51:43.420 Yeah.
  1617. 00:51:43.740 – 00:51:44.080 Unfortunately.
  1618. 00:51:45.180 – 00:51:46.180 Yeah, Cleveland's like that,
  1619. 00:51:46.180 – 00:51:48.000 but it's not the only place that's like that.
  1620. 00:51:48.000 – 00:51:50.840 Like, it's, man, trust me.
  1621. 00:51:52.680 – 00:51:54.660 Black only speaks for, you know, my home town.
  1622. 00:51:56.100 – 00:51:56.540 Yeah, true that, true that, true that.
  1623. 00:51:56.800 – 00:51:57.920 I don't wanna get on nobody,
  1624. 00:51:58.080 – 00:52:00.620 but I can talk about my brothers and sisters, you know.
  1625. 00:52:00.640 – 00:52:00.960 Okay.
  1626. 00:52:01.040 – 00:52:01.780 In the city.
  1627. 00:52:03.380 – 00:52:04.980 You know, cause we could have those conversations
  1628. 00:52:04.980 – 00:52:06.040 with someone out of the city.
  1629. 00:52:06.220 – 00:52:09.280 I can't really have those direct conversations, so.
  1630. 00:52:09.360 – 00:52:10.100 Nah, that's for real.
  1631. 00:52:10.340 – 00:52:10.540 That's for real.
  1632. 00:52:11.200 – 00:52:12.440 I like, I like Atlanta.
  1633. 00:52:13.180 – 00:52:14.500 I know they be doing the thing,
  1634. 00:52:14.800 – 00:52:16.360 and they actively booking,
  1635. 00:52:16.360 – 00:52:18.700 and I call that the second Hollywood.
  1636. 00:52:19.600 – 00:52:20.720 It really is at this point.
  1637. 00:52:21.620 – 00:52:23.340 Yeah, I want you to know we're on a sleep, man.
  1638. 00:52:23.460 – 00:52:24.560 People are sleeping on Cleveland.
  1639. 00:52:25.180 – 00:52:25.520 That's true.
  1640. 00:52:25.520 – 00:52:26.780 Think about how many productions this year, man.
  1641. 00:52:26.780 – 00:52:28.320 How many movies, yep, yep, yep, yep.
  1642. 00:52:28.560 – 00:52:30.140 In the greater Cleveland area.
  1643. 00:52:30.520 – 00:52:31.220 We're the third Hollywood.
  1644. 00:52:31.620 – 00:52:32.540 People are sleeping on Cleveland.
  1645. 00:52:33.320 – 00:52:35.660 We pretty much second Broadway.
  1646. 00:52:36.580 – 00:52:37.060 That's true.
  1647. 00:52:37.060 – 00:52:38.100 I didn't realize who was,
  1648. 00:52:38.240 – 00:52:39.700 Playhouse Square is second to Broadway.
  1649. 00:52:40.620 – 00:52:42.900 Like, Playhouse Square is big, it's a big deal.
  1650. 00:52:43.340 – 00:52:45.020 People are like, hey, you know, people, you know,
  1651. 00:52:45.020 – 00:52:45.540 big actors.
  1652. 00:52:45.680 – 00:52:46.520 I'm gonna play House Square.
  1653. 00:52:46.620 – 00:52:48.080 I'm like, I didn't know it was like that.
  1654. 00:52:48.080 – 00:52:48.380 Oh yeah.
  1655. 00:52:48.400 – 00:52:49.480 That's here in Cleveland, man.
  1656. 00:52:49.660 – 00:52:50.880 So I think we, we need to,
  1657. 00:52:50.900 – 00:52:53.020 we need to, us artists need to big up Cleveland.
  1658. 00:52:53.260 – 00:52:54.820 I mean, I know it's artists do, but I think,
  1659. 00:52:55.300 – 00:52:57.260 I wish, I really wish we got more credit
  1660. 00:52:57.260 – 00:52:58.840 as an artist. It's the whole,
  1661. 00:52:59.020 – 00:53:00.180 ooh yeah, the art scene.
  1662. 00:53:00.240 – 00:53:02.400 Like you said, when I was active,
  1663. 00:53:02.400 – 00:53:05.960 like I've seen so much talent, so many poets,
  1664. 00:53:06.120 – 00:53:07.840 so many musicians, so many,
  1665. 00:53:07.840 – 00:53:11.460 so many talented people walk through.
  1666. 00:53:11.460 – 00:53:15.460 And it's crazy that so many people start in Cleveland
  1667. 00:53:15.460 – 00:53:18.600 or are from Cleveland and they leave and then blow up.
  1668. 00:53:19.020 – 00:53:19.100 Right.
  1669. 00:53:19.180 – 00:53:22.260 One of my favorite comedians all time, Steve Harvey.
  1670. 00:53:22.700 – 00:53:23.060 Like, man.
  1671. 00:53:24.840 – 00:53:25.300 Man.
  1672. 00:53:25.480 – 00:53:28.080 And then his story, man, this is, man.
  1673. 00:53:28.260 – 00:53:29.020 So inspired.
  1674. 00:53:30.120 – 00:53:32.180 It's like, I met his daughter, Brandy,
  1675. 00:53:32.200 – 00:53:33.680 a few times, Brandy Harvey.
  1676. 00:53:34.140 – 00:53:37.200 That's the closest I've came to Steve Harvey.
  1677. 00:53:37.460 – 00:53:39.100 But like, I definitely gonna have Steve Harvey
  1678. 00:53:39.100 – 00:53:39.960 on the show one day.
  1679. 00:53:39.980 – 00:53:40.700 Yeah, you are.
  1680. 00:53:40.700 – 00:53:42.120 Speaking of the existence, man.
  1681. 00:53:42.120 – 00:53:42.540 It's gonna be.
  1682. 00:53:43.480 – 00:53:45.620 My aunts and uncles went to school with him.
  1683. 00:53:46.380 – 00:53:47.860 They all went to high school together.
  1684. 00:53:48.440 – 00:53:49.320 Back in the day.
  1685. 00:53:50.320 – 00:53:51.840 Glenville, I think he went to.
  1686. 00:53:52.340 – 00:53:53.420 Yeah, Glenville.
  1687. 00:53:53.480 – 00:53:54.620 Back in the day, yeah.
  1688. 00:53:54.840 – 00:53:56.000 My aunts and uncles went there.
  1689. 00:53:56.200 – 00:53:57.680 My dad, yeah, my dad,
  1690. 00:53:58.020 – 00:53:59.980 most of my aunts and uncles went to Glenville.
  1691. 00:54:00.700 – 00:54:02.680 But like, yeah, Cleveland is so much talent.
  1692. 00:54:02.880 – 00:54:03.820 Even- So much talent.
  1693. 00:54:03.840 – 00:54:05.600 From the tech to the entrepreneur,
  1694. 00:54:06.260 – 00:54:11.090 it's just like, almost like we don't know our own worth
  1695. 00:54:11.090 – 00:54:12.350 or identity.
  1696. 00:54:12.830 – 00:54:13.990 That's the key thing.
  1697. 00:54:14.290 – 00:54:14.690 Yeah.
  1698. 00:54:15.470 – 00:54:16.650 We have everything.
  1699. 00:54:17.410 – 00:54:17.730 We do.
  1700. 00:54:17.850 – 00:54:21.090 We got all the resources, like it's-
  1701. 00:54:21.090 – 00:54:21.750 Everything is here.
  1702. 00:54:21.950 – 00:54:23.110 Everything is here, man.
  1703. 00:54:23.530 – 00:54:24.210 Everything is here.
  1704. 00:54:24.610 – 00:54:25.830 I don't know why they talk about us
  1705. 00:54:25.830 – 00:54:26.650 the way they do, man.
  1706. 00:54:26.690 – 00:54:28.470 I can't stop them from talking about us, man.
  1707. 00:54:28.570 – 00:54:29.970 I mean, we let it happen.
  1708. 00:54:30.510 – 00:54:31.210 Yeah, I don't know.
  1709. 00:54:31.370 – 00:54:32.690 I don't know we let it happen.
  1710. 00:54:32.850 – 00:54:34.370 Like I just, I don't know.
  1711. 00:54:34.370 – 00:54:35.230 I don't know what it is.
  1712. 00:54:35.310 – 00:54:36.070 I don't know what it is.
  1713. 00:54:36.470 – 00:54:38.110 I heard so many people that's like,
  1714. 00:54:38.290 – 00:54:39.030 what's that, Cleveland?
  1715. 00:54:39.550 – 00:54:40.010 What's that?
  1716. 00:54:40.010 – 00:54:41.250 Yeah, yeah, all the time.
  1717. 00:54:41.370 – 00:54:41.630 You know?
  1718. 00:54:41.890 – 00:54:42.670 All the time like that.
  1719. 00:54:42.670 – 00:54:43.810 Until they come and experience it.
  1720. 00:54:43.810 – 00:54:44.390 I didn't know.
  1721. 00:54:44.410 – 00:54:46.110 The best food restaurants, like-
  1722. 00:54:46.110 – 00:54:47.330 It's a lot of great food out here, man.
  1723. 00:54:47.410 – 00:54:49.270 Lot of great food out here I wouldn't have thought.
  1724. 00:54:49.790 – 00:54:51.130 But yeah, yeah.
  1725. 00:54:51.190 – 00:54:52.230 Shout out to Cleveland, man.
  1726. 00:54:52.450 – 00:54:53.270 Shout out to Cleveland.
  1727. 00:54:53.330 – 00:54:53.970 Cleveland, Ohio.
  1728. 00:54:54.110 – 00:54:54.830 You know what I mean?
  1729. 00:54:55.270 – 00:54:56.270 2-1-6, man.
  1730. 00:54:56.290 – 00:54:57.350 Stop playing with Cleveland, man.
  1731. 00:54:57.370 – 00:54:59.090 Yes, yes, yes, yes.
  1732. 00:54:59.970 – 00:55:00.630 Yeah, I know y'all.
  1733. 00:55:00.710 – 00:55:01.610 It's kind of pressure time.
  1734. 00:55:01.750 – 00:55:02.550 We got another meeting.
  1735. 00:55:03.710 – 00:55:05.850 But anything you want to leave a young,
  1736. 00:55:05.870 – 00:55:07.850 creative entrepreneur, like my audience,
  1737. 00:55:07.990 – 00:55:09.450 I say creative entrepreneur.
  1738. 00:55:09.450 – 00:55:12.530 Because I'm creative and I'm also an entrepreneur.
  1739. 00:55:13.190 – 00:55:15.210 I just blend it together as a creative entrepreneur.
  1740. 00:55:15.630 – 00:55:16.110 I like that.
  1741. 00:55:17.530 – 00:55:18.450 What's one thing I would say?
  1742. 00:55:19.770 – 00:55:22.870 I would say, don't stop following
  1743. 00:55:22.870 – 00:55:24.350 that passion inside of you, man.
  1744. 00:55:24.890 – 00:55:26.430 Wherever that fire is taking you,
  1745. 00:55:26.610 – 00:55:28.910 even if it's like, okay, I've been doing this,
  1746. 00:55:29.030 – 00:55:30.210 don't be afraid to pivot.
  1747. 00:55:31.130 – 00:55:33.190 Don't be afraid to pivot because
  1748. 00:55:33.190 – 00:55:34.850 the art that you're doing now
  1749. 00:55:34.850 – 00:55:37.070 could just be the start of where you're supposed to be.
  1750. 00:55:37.810 – 00:55:39.390 I can testify to that.
  1751. 00:55:39.590 – 00:55:40.430 You and me both.
  1752. 00:55:40.650 – 00:55:40.970 You know what I mean?
  1753. 00:55:41.010 – 00:55:42.090 I never thought I would be teaching.
  1754. 00:55:42.850 – 00:55:44.430 I was like, you used to do poetry too as well.
  1755. 00:55:44.510 – 00:55:46.190 Yeah, I did, I did, I did.
  1756. 00:55:46.330 – 00:55:48.530 That was my first start with artistry,
  1757. 00:55:48.630 – 00:55:49.430 was poetry spoken word.
  1758. 00:55:49.550 – 00:55:51.170 I used to do it on stage, the spoken word stuff.
  1759. 00:55:51.310 – 00:55:52.710 Had a similar story.
  1760. 00:55:53.050 – 00:55:53.850 Yeah, yeah, man.
  1761. 00:55:53.970 – 00:55:56.090 That's why we went a different way.
  1762. 00:55:56.270 – 00:55:57.490 But yeah, I would say that, man.
  1763. 00:55:57.550 – 00:55:58.590 Don't be afraid to pivot
  1764. 00:55:58.590 – 00:56:01.810 and don't be afraid to allow your spirit
  1765. 00:56:01.810 – 00:56:05.310 to lead you in whatever you're doing.
  1766. 00:56:06.390 – 00:56:10.790 Because I think that we all get away from our spirituality.
  1767. 00:56:10.870 – 00:56:12.990 I'm not even talking about religion of any kind of sort.
  1768. 00:56:13.090 – 00:56:15.030 I'm just saying, whatever your religion is,
  1769. 00:56:15.710 – 00:56:18.150 there is a spirit that you follow within any of that.
  1770. 00:56:18.870 – 00:56:20.550 And follow that spirit, man.
  1771. 00:56:20.670 – 00:56:21.770 And listen to that spirit
  1772. 00:56:21.770 – 00:56:23.510 because that spirit is always right.
  1773. 00:56:23.670 – 00:56:24.930 It's always right.
  1774. 00:56:25.390 – 00:56:25.770 You know what I mean?
  1775. 00:56:25.970 – 00:56:28.130 Like that, whatever is inside of you,
  1776. 00:56:28.290 – 00:56:30.450 whatever you gravitate towards, that's it.
  1777. 00:56:31.150 – 00:56:32.090 You just have to listen.
  1778. 00:56:33.470 – 00:56:35.170 That's what I was saying.
  1779. 00:56:35.430 – 00:56:36.910 Sit down and listen for real.
  1780. 00:56:36.930 – 00:56:37.610 Listen, man.
  1781. 00:56:37.970 – 00:56:39.830 Now, this is one of my favorite questions
  1782. 00:56:39.830 – 00:56:41.630 I love to ask creatives.
  1783. 00:56:43.310 – 00:56:46.810 I asked, what is your creative process
  1784. 00:56:46.810 – 00:56:48.250 as a weather forecast?
  1785. 00:56:50.070 – 00:56:51.090 Yeah, you said it, man.
  1786. 00:56:52.470 – 00:56:55.710 Okay, so as a weather forecast,
  1787. 00:56:56.430 – 00:57:00.050 I would say my creative process
  1788. 00:57:05.180 – 00:57:07.480 is a chaotic storm, right?
  1789. 00:57:07.840 – 00:57:10.940 Maybe even, I mean, think of any kind of chaotic storm,
  1790. 00:57:10.960 – 00:57:12.760 the clouds, maybe even a tornado going.
  1791. 00:57:13.180 – 00:57:14.860 But then you look off in the distance
  1792. 00:57:14.860 – 00:57:16.760 and you see that one break
  1793. 00:57:17.320 – 00:57:19.380 and that ray of sunshine coming in.
  1794. 00:57:19.380 – 00:57:19.820 Yeah.
  1795. 00:57:20.200 – 00:57:22.380 But that's what I would say my creative process is like.
  1796. 00:57:22.440 – 00:57:26.500 It's like getting through the weeds of my head,
  1797. 00:57:26.880 – 00:57:28.420 of the environment, of everything else,
  1798. 00:57:28.420 – 00:57:30.660 and then finding the shot
  1799. 00:57:30.660 – 00:57:34.280 or finding artistically what I want to get to.
  1800. 00:57:34.500 – 00:57:36.540 I think that's how I would explain it.
  1801. 00:57:36.740 – 00:57:37.800 You know what I'm reminding you of?
  1802. 00:57:37.880 – 00:57:41.300 Like those infinite zooms where they'll keep zooming in
  1803. 00:57:41.300 – 00:57:42.380 and goes to another picture,
  1804. 00:57:42.520 – 00:57:45.380 like the dark tunnel and then leads to a bright picture
  1805. 00:57:45.380 – 00:57:47.060 and then a big old landscape.
  1806. 00:57:47.540 – 00:57:47.640 Exactly.
  1807. 00:57:47.860 – 00:57:49.220 And something else, like, okay.
  1808. 00:57:49.400 – 00:57:50.260 Yeah, yeah, man.
  1809. 00:57:50.440 – 00:57:51.900 But yeah, like, you know, big old storm,
  1810. 00:57:52.020 – 00:57:53.960 tornado, whatever, that break,
  1811. 00:57:54.060 – 00:57:55.520 wherever that break is in the storm
  1812. 00:57:55.520 – 00:57:56.980 and that sun is coming through.
  1813. 00:57:56.980 – 00:57:58.720 That's how I would describe it, man.
  1814. 00:57:59.300 – 00:57:59.880 That's how I would describe it,
  1815. 00:57:59.880 – 00:58:01.040 because that's how I feel like
  1816. 00:58:01.040 – 00:58:02.880 my creative process goes all the time.
  1817. 00:58:03.180 – 00:58:04.400 Like it just takes me a second to get there
  1818. 00:58:04.400 – 00:58:06.160 and once I get there, it's like now I'm locked in.
  1819. 00:58:06.340 – 00:58:07.940 Now you can't get me away from that piece of sunshine.
  1820. 00:58:08.840 – 00:58:10.140 No matter what's going on around me.
  1821. 00:58:10.240 – 00:58:11.220 A raw glass vision.
  1822. 00:58:11.660 – 00:58:13.240 Yeah, there it is, there it is.
  1823. 00:58:13.580 – 00:58:15.860 Now, it might be a two-part question
  1824. 00:58:15.860 – 00:58:17.020 or it might be the same.
  1825. 00:58:17.140 – 00:58:17.480 Okay.
  1826. 00:58:18.720 – 00:58:21.440 But what is your favorite lens to shoot with?
  1827. 00:58:21.440 – 00:58:23.120 It could be for photography,
  1828. 00:58:23.520 – 00:58:25.340 and then one for video, or it might be the same.
  1829. 00:58:27.540 – 00:58:28.420 Favorite lens.
  1830. 00:58:29.780 – 00:58:31.120 Probably have to be a 35.
  1831. 00:58:31.200 – 00:58:32.000 35 for both?
  1832. 00:58:33.240 – 00:58:34.320 Yeah, for both.
  1833. 00:58:34.880 – 00:58:36.960 It's always been my go-to lens.
  1834. 00:58:37.960 – 00:58:38.840 It's compact.
  1835. 00:58:41.280 – 00:58:43.300 It really is.
  1836. 00:58:43.480 – 00:58:44.700 It's true to what it sees,
  1837. 00:58:44.740 – 00:58:47.180 so there's not a lot of distortion.
  1838. 00:58:47.920 – 00:58:49.920 When you're talking about what you're looking at
  1839. 00:58:49.920 – 00:58:51.940 and what it's shooting, it's sharp.
  1840. 00:58:52.960 – 00:58:53.300 You know what I mean?
  1841. 00:58:53.320 – 00:58:55.300 The only drawback for the 35 is that,
  1842. 00:58:55.300 – 00:58:57.120 obviously you can't get really close to stuff,
  1843. 00:58:57.640 – 00:59:00.740 but I mean, you can get close, but you can't.
  1844. 00:59:00.760 – 00:59:01.660 There's no zoom, right?
  1845. 00:59:01.700 – 00:59:03.160 So if you zoom, you gotta move in closer.
  1846. 00:59:03.360 – 00:59:05.300 But I love it because you can get in close
  1847. 00:59:05.300 – 00:59:06.060 and get great shots,
  1848. 00:59:06.120 – 00:59:09.200 and then you can back up and get scenery at the same time.
  1849. 00:59:09.740 – 00:59:11.180 So yeah, I'd have to say the 35, man.
  1850. 00:59:11.180 – 00:59:12.580 The 35 is a beast, man.
  1851. 00:59:14.160 – 00:59:16.000 I done done a lot of damage with a 35.
  1852. 00:59:16.080 – 00:59:17.080 Yeah, I see, I see.
  1853. 00:59:17.080 – 00:59:18.440 A lot of damage with a 35.
  1854. 00:59:18.840 – 00:59:22.620 I'll say you even catching my iconic cover photo,
  1855. 00:59:23.160 – 00:59:26.040 alien eyes photos affirmations.
  1856. 00:59:26.420 – 00:59:28.200 No, alien eyes photos affirmations.
  1857. 00:59:28.600 – 00:59:30.520 Alien affirmations, one, two, three.
  1858. 00:59:30.880 – 00:59:31.000 That's right.
  1859. 00:59:31.000 – 00:59:31.960 My affirmations that-
  1860. 00:59:31.960 – 00:59:32.620 That's right, we did that right here.
  1861. 00:59:32.640 – 00:59:33.080 We did that right here.
  1862. 00:59:33.320 – 00:59:34.660 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
  1863. 00:59:34.660 – 00:59:35.180 That was a 35.
  1864. 00:59:35.560 – 00:59:36.480 That was a 35.
  1865. 00:59:36.480 – 00:59:36.760 That was a 35.
  1866. 00:59:37.760 – 00:59:40.460 Those are 35, you know what I mean?
  1867. 00:59:40.680 – 00:59:42.860 Like, all these is 35s.
  1868. 00:59:43.480 – 00:59:45.420 Yeah, man, a 35 is my joint, man.
  1869. 00:59:45.840 – 00:59:48.500 If I had to, if I only could use one lens,
  1870. 00:59:49.220 – 00:59:49.940 it'd be that 35.
  1871. 00:59:50.460 – 00:59:52.480 I mean, you'd be, I mean, I would obviously
  1872. 00:59:52.480 – 00:59:54.400 be limited to what I'm doing, but you know,
  1873. 00:59:54.480 – 00:59:56.380 a 35 is a beast, though, man.
  1874. 00:59:56.700 – 01:00:00.540 Like, mine is, I kind of daubed around with a lot.
  1875. 01:00:00.780 – 01:00:05.560 Like, I use all primes, but I'd have to say 85,
  1876. 01:00:07.200 – 01:00:11.560 kind of like stemming off my brand, alien eyes photos,
  1877. 01:00:11.760 – 01:00:14.380 going back to the eyes, like the eyes tell the story.
  1878. 01:00:14.520 – 01:00:14.840 Right.
  1879. 01:00:14.840 – 01:00:17.100 Like, usually with head shots, it's with the 85.
  1880. 01:00:17.640 – 01:00:19.040 So, I just love the 85.
  1881. 01:00:19.040 – 01:00:21.280 85 is an animal, too, man.
  1882. 01:00:21.560 – 01:00:24.920 85 is dope, because it really, and they're so sharp.
  1883. 01:00:26.400 – 01:00:27.740 It's so, it's so sharp.
  1884. 01:00:28.320 – 01:00:29.800 Because you shoot Nikon still?
  1885. 01:00:30.140 – 01:00:30.760 I shoot Nikon.
  1886. 01:00:31.000 – 01:00:34.900 I started with Canon, and then invested in Nikons.
  1887. 01:00:35.020 – 01:00:36.280 Like, once you make that investment,
  1888. 01:00:36.460 – 01:00:39.080 buying all the lenses, the whole ecosystem, you know.
  1889. 01:00:39.120 – 01:00:40.980 It's over with, yeah, you got to stick with it.
  1890. 01:00:41.080 – 01:00:44.420 You got the wireless, the mirrorless yet?
  1891. 01:00:45.720 – 01:00:46.760 Yep, all mirrorless.
  1892. 01:00:46.840 – 01:00:47.800 Okay, okay.
  1893. 01:00:47.800 – 01:00:48.980 So, you got your old joints?
  1894. 01:00:50.860 – 01:00:54.540 I have one, I had Lele at seven banging around, you know.
  1895. 01:00:55.880 – 01:00:59.440 And like, it kind of looked like one of the, like-
  1896. 01:00:59.440 – 01:01:00.340 Yeah, like one of these,
  1897. 01:01:00.380 – 01:01:01.740 like a D3500 or something like that?
  1898. 01:01:01.760 – 01:01:02.420 Yep, yep.
  1899. 01:01:02.840 – 01:01:03.600 Yeah, yeah.
  1900. 01:01:03.760 – 01:01:04.160 D33.
  1901. 01:01:04.460 – 01:01:06.280 Yeah, okay, okay, same thing.
  1902. 01:01:06.580 – 01:01:08.000 Yeah, that's, I mean, it's a good starter, man.
  1903. 01:01:08.580 – 01:01:09.280 Man, let me tell you what,
  1904. 01:01:09.300 – 01:01:12.040 I shot with a T5i for the longest, man.
  1905. 01:01:12.480 – 01:01:13.880 I just had night bull, night lenses.
  1906. 01:01:13.900 – 01:01:15.120 That T7, yeah.
  1907. 01:01:15.240 – 01:01:15.640 Yeah.
  1908. 01:01:15.920 – 01:01:17.240 That was the first camera I started with.
  1909. 01:01:17.240 – 01:01:19.040 That's the camera I was making money with at first,
  1910. 01:01:19.040 – 01:01:20.980 and then it had me at 24 to 70, two, eight.
  1911. 01:01:22.800 – 01:01:23.100 Yes, sir.
  1912. 01:01:23.100 – 01:01:23.600 Starting off?
  1913. 01:01:23.980 – 01:01:24.220 Huh?
  1914. 01:01:24.380 – 01:01:24.960 Starting off?
  1915. 01:01:25.320 – 01:01:26.140 No, not starting off.
  1916. 01:01:26.960 – 01:01:29.480 My first upgrade was, I went to a pawn shop
  1917. 01:01:29.480 – 01:01:32.920 and got a 24 to 70 for like 300 bucks.
  1918. 01:01:36.020 – 01:01:37.160 That's the gem right there.
  1919. 01:01:37.940 – 01:01:39.160 That's where I bought my 85.
  1920. 01:01:39.280 – 01:01:42.200 It was like 150 off, but, you know.
  1921. 01:01:42.760 – 01:01:43.040 Yeah, yeah.
  1922. 01:01:43.040 – 01:01:44.860 Getting you versus buying them brand new.
  1923. 01:01:45.180 – 01:01:46.080 All day long.
  1924. 01:01:46.480 – 01:01:49.160 Listen, all day long I'll get a used piece of equipment,
  1925. 01:01:49.400 – 01:01:50.840 like a camera equipment or a lens or something like that,
  1926. 01:01:51.340 – 01:01:52.260 cause what?
  1927. 01:01:53.100 – 01:01:54.540 That stuff you won't understand, man.
  1928. 01:01:54.900 – 01:01:57.600 And lenses, boy, I think, I want a new 70 to 200, man.
  1929. 01:01:57.660 – 01:01:59.180 With them joints, it's just like three grand.
  1930. 01:02:00.080 – 01:02:01.760 Like I just, I got,
  1931. 01:02:01.980 – 01:02:03.460 my daughter's about to graduate high school
  1932. 01:02:03.460 – 01:02:05.100 and then I can't spend three grand on a lens.
  1933. 01:02:05.140 – 01:02:07.880 No, that's why I'm just pulling back up like this.
  1934. 01:02:08.300 – 01:02:10.740 Like I gotta go to Atlanta Angel Live,
  1935. 01:02:10.900 – 01:02:12.240 it's like, oh, I want this camera,
  1936. 01:02:12.380 – 01:02:14.760 I want this lens, I want this, that, that.
  1937. 01:02:14.760 – 01:02:17.080 How you start making them jobs, pay for certain stuff.
  1938. 01:02:17.380 – 01:02:17.980 That's how I started.
  1939. 01:02:18.480 – 01:02:19.940 Who, who gonna pay for this?
  1940. 01:02:19.960 – 01:02:20.980 Right, yeah, exactly.
  1941. 01:02:21.520 – 01:02:23.960 But it's like how I run my business.
  1942. 01:02:24.920 – 01:02:27.240 It's mainly through word of mouth and referrals.
  1943. 01:02:27.480 – 01:02:29.360 Like I'm not actively, you know,
  1944. 01:02:29.500 – 01:02:31.240 picking up the phone and eating like da da da da.
  1945. 01:02:31.860 – 01:02:36.280 You know, like if it's like an inquiry or a listing,
  1946. 01:02:36.440 – 01:02:38.400 like I may, you know, reach out to the person,
  1947. 01:02:38.480 – 01:02:41.620 but like I'm not actively cold calling or like,
  1948. 01:02:41.800 – 01:02:42.960 that's just not my style.
  1949. 01:02:43.480 – 01:02:44.480 Yeah, I mean, I mean, you know,
  1950. 01:02:44.540 – 01:02:45.280 sometimes that's the difference
  1951. 01:02:45.280 – 01:02:47.360 between getting to where you want to get to,
  1952. 01:02:47.440 – 01:02:48.860 but if it's not your style, it's not just,
  1953. 01:02:48.980 – 01:02:50.480 because word of mouth is still a thing, man.
  1954. 01:02:50.720 – 01:02:51.060 I love it.
  1955. 01:02:51.060 – 01:02:52.920 People think that social media is like that,
  1956. 01:02:52.920 – 01:02:56.800 you know, probably only 10% of my business
  1957. 01:02:56.800 – 01:02:58.240 has ever come from social media.
  1958. 01:02:58.580 – 01:02:58.960 You know what I mean?
  1959. 01:02:59.340 – 01:03:01.220 Like it's not as, it's not as,
  1960. 01:03:01.220 – 01:03:03.320 it's not as popping as you think it is
  1961. 01:03:03.320 – 01:03:04.240 so far as bringing in business.
  1962. 01:03:04.320 – 01:03:05.440 People love to look at it.
  1963. 01:03:05.440 – 01:03:05.800 Yeah.
  1964. 01:03:06.200 – 01:03:07.540 But you know, bringing it,
  1965. 01:03:07.600 – 01:03:08.440 so as far as bringing in business,
  1966. 01:03:08.800 – 01:03:11.380 yeah, 10, maybe, maybe, maybe 15% of the business
  1967. 01:03:11.380 – 01:03:12.720 I've gotten through social media.
  1968. 01:03:12.720 – 01:03:15.760 Most of it is like somebody telling somebody about me,
  1969. 01:03:16.000 – 01:03:17.280 or me going do a show, a shoot somewhere,
  1970. 01:03:17.360 – 01:03:18.880 somebody else is there and they get my,
  1971. 01:03:19.000 – 01:03:19.520 you know what I mean?
  1972. 01:03:19.520 – 01:03:20.560 They see me working and they're like,
  1973. 01:03:20.560 – 01:03:21.280 oh yeah, can I?
  1974. 01:03:21.820 – 01:03:22.960 You know, as a matter of fact, you can.
  1975. 01:03:22.980 – 01:03:24.300 And I love that, because it's like,
  1976. 01:03:24.380 – 01:03:25.860 almost like what they say,
  1977. 01:03:25.920 – 01:03:27.980 like a warmly versus a coldly.
  1978. 01:03:28.060 – 01:03:28.420 Yeah.
  1979. 01:03:28.420 – 01:03:29.680 And you don't got to sell.
  1980. 01:03:30.040 – 01:03:31.340 Like we've had that conversation,
  1981. 01:03:31.520 – 01:03:32.540 so yes, I know at that point.
  1982. 01:03:32.820 – 01:03:33.180 Exactly.
  1983. 01:03:33.220 – 01:03:35.380 Like I don't, you know, I don't like selling this.
  1984. 01:03:35.620 – 01:03:38.080 Man, and then most artists aren't salespeople.
  1985. 01:03:38.580 – 01:03:39.380 That's the thing.
  1986. 01:03:39.980 – 01:03:40.720 Most of us aren't.
  1987. 01:03:40.800 – 01:03:41.780 Most of us don't want to,
  1988. 01:03:41.780 – 01:03:44.740 I don't know, it's just, it feels nasty to me.
  1989. 01:03:45.120 – 01:03:46.320 I'm good with people, but I'm not,
  1990. 01:03:46.380 – 01:03:47.180 I don't like selling.
  1991. 01:03:47.720 – 01:03:47.880 Right.
  1992. 01:03:48.340 – 01:03:49.560 And you know, I've got some friends
  1993. 01:03:49.560 – 01:03:51.520 that are good at it and they know how to do it
  1994. 01:03:51.520 – 01:03:53.220 in a way that it doesn't feel that way.
  1995. 01:03:53.260 – 01:03:54.880 But for me, it's just not my thing.
  1996. 01:03:55.040 – 01:03:55.400 Yeah.
  1997. 01:03:55.620 – 01:03:57.160 It's just, I'm not a salesman, man.
  1998. 01:03:57.360 – 01:03:58.300 I'm not a salesman.
  1999. 01:03:58.460 – 01:03:59.180 Here's what I did.
  2000. 01:03:59.240 – 01:03:59.820 Hey, look at this.
  2001. 01:04:00.180 – 01:04:00.900 You want to hire me?
  2002. 01:04:02.220 – 01:04:04.920 I mean, to be kind of even candid and honest,
  2003. 01:04:05.060 – 01:04:06.700 like I still don't have a portfolio.
  2004. 01:04:07.700 – 01:04:09.240 Oh, you just ain't put it together.
  2005. 01:04:09.960 – 01:04:10.300 Yeah.
  2006. 01:04:10.980 – 01:04:13.680 Somebody asked, I'll put something together.
  2007. 01:04:14.000 – 01:04:16.700 I traditionally don't have, here's my portfolio.
  2008. 01:04:17.320 – 01:04:18.060 I don't.
  2009. 01:04:18.060 – 01:04:19.060 No, you still ain't got it.
  2010. 01:04:19.080 – 01:04:20.000 And that's what I love too.
  2011. 01:04:22.600 – 01:04:24.980 For people to trust me, like, oh yeah,
  2012. 01:04:25.160 – 01:04:26.140 he takes good images.
  2013. 01:04:26.420 – 01:04:28.600 I already seen a little body of my work.
  2014. 01:04:29.960 – 01:04:31.280 It's an honor for real.
  2015. 01:04:31.640 – 01:04:33.120 Like I said, I don't like selling.
  2016. 01:04:33.380 – 01:04:34.720 I don't like proving.
  2017. 01:04:35.160 – 01:04:36.220 That's just not my style.
  2018. 01:04:36.440 – 01:04:37.540 Yeah, now I hear that.
  2019. 01:04:37.540 – 01:04:38.100 I hear that.
  2020. 01:04:38.100 – 01:04:40.920 But man, I know you have a portfolio.
  2021. 01:04:40.940 – 01:04:42.020 I have a, I have a.
  2022. 01:04:42.300 – 01:04:43.700 Yeah, I know you do.
  2023. 01:04:44.220 – 01:04:44.620 I know you do.
  2024. 01:04:44.720 – 01:04:46.720 As far as sitting down, putting together.
  2025. 01:04:47.300 – 01:04:49.540 Yeah, I haven't really done, I mean, I have a website,
  2026. 01:04:49.960 – 01:04:52.340 but I have, I need to update my website.
  2027. 01:04:52.540 – 01:04:55.100 Cause a lot of the pictures on my website, man,
  2028. 01:04:55.120 – 01:04:57.300 I did when I first got started and they still,
  2029. 01:04:57.380 – 01:04:58.580 people still go to my website and be like,
  2030. 01:04:58.580 – 01:04:59.180 ooh, this is nice.
  2031. 01:04:59.260 – 01:05:01.580 I'm like, ooh, I'm way better than that now.
  2032. 01:05:01.600 – 01:05:02.360 But that's the thing.
  2033. 01:05:02.360 – 01:05:05.200 If they see those old pictures and they be like,
  2034. 01:05:05.220 – 01:05:06.200 oh, these are good.
  2035. 01:05:06.200 – 01:05:07.660 It just matches what I can do now.
  2036. 01:05:08.340 – 01:05:08.560 You know?
  2037. 01:05:08.780 – 01:05:11.240 So it's almost like, all right, you like that, all right.
  2038. 01:05:11.320 – 01:05:11.780 You like that.
  2039. 01:05:11.980 – 01:05:13.000 Yeah, well, watch this.
  2040. 01:05:13.180 – 01:05:13.800 Right, right.
  2041. 01:05:14.980 – 01:05:17.280 I have a whole better understanding of this now.
  2042. 01:05:17.360 – 01:05:17.980 Right, right.
  2043. 01:05:18.120 – 01:05:19.340 Better equipment, everything.
  2044. 01:05:19.460 – 01:05:20.500 Yeah, yeah, exactly.
  2045. 01:05:20.580 – 01:05:21.920 Cause a lot of that stuff I got on the website
  2046. 01:05:21.920 – 01:05:23.200 is still with my old stuff.
  2047. 01:05:23.800 – 01:05:25.620 But not that the equipment makes the first thing
  2048. 01:05:25.620 – 01:05:26.420 cause it doesn't.
  2049. 01:05:26.440 – 01:05:26.920 Right, right.
  2050. 01:05:27.100 – 01:05:28.660 But you get better in equipment.
  2051. 01:05:28.840 – 01:05:30.200 So it's like, you know, multiply.
  2052. 01:05:30.240 – 01:05:31.120 Yeah, it does.
  2053. 01:05:31.180 – 01:05:31.700 It does.
  2054. 01:05:31.820 – 01:05:33.060 Yeah, it does compound.
  2055. 01:05:33.220 – 01:05:34.340 That's exactly what it does.
  2056. 01:05:34.340 – 01:05:36.760 It definitely gives you a boost.
  2057. 01:05:37.660 – 01:05:38.560 Gives you that boost.
  2058. 01:05:40.020 – 01:05:41.820 And then to wrap up the interview.
  2059. 01:05:42.820 – 01:05:44.880 Any final thoughts at all?
  2060. 01:05:46.320 – 01:05:48.060 No, I just appreciate you doing this with me, man.
  2061. 01:05:48.860 – 01:05:50.540 Like, it's a small circle, man.
  2062. 01:05:50.840 – 01:05:52.100 Coming to see you get started.
  2063. 01:05:52.460 – 01:05:53.980 Now you podcasting, man.
  2064. 01:05:54.240 – 01:05:56.180 You interviewing all the people around the city
  2065. 01:05:56.180 – 01:05:56.900 and all that.
  2066. 01:05:57.300 – 01:05:58.900 Shout out to Pull Up and all that, man.
  2067. 01:05:58.900 – 01:05:59.420 I love it.
  2068. 01:05:59.440 – 01:06:00.420 I love to see it, man.
  2069. 01:06:00.420 – 01:06:01.400 I love what you're doing, bruh.
  2070. 01:06:01.840 – 01:06:02.480 That's real.
  2071. 01:06:02.980 – 01:06:03.580 That's real.
  2072. 01:06:03.580 – 01:06:05.720 You know, we've been trying to schedule this for
  2073. 01:06:05.720 – 01:06:06.600 about a year now.
  2074. 01:06:06.600 – 01:06:07.380 Oh yeah, for a minute.
  2075. 01:06:07.620 – 01:06:09.060 Schedule, kids, this and that.
  2076. 01:06:09.220 – 01:06:11.600 Man, you know, I'll be on the move too, man.
  2077. 01:06:11.620 – 01:06:13.040 You know, I'll be in and out of the country
  2078. 01:06:13.040 – 01:06:15.520 and in and out of the state all the time.
  2079. 01:06:15.980 – 01:06:17.060 So, man, I'm going to Chicago.
  2080. 01:06:17.220 – 01:06:18.420 I'm going to Chicago next week
  2081. 01:06:18.420 – 01:06:20.120 and Atlanta the week after that
  2082. 01:06:21.640 – 01:06:23.140 and Denver the week after that.
  2083. 01:06:23.380 – 01:06:24.440 Oh, I caught you at a good time.
  2084. 01:06:24.820 – 01:06:25.460 Yeah, yeah.
  2085. 01:06:27.540 – 01:06:27.860 Yeah.
  2086. 01:06:28.480 – 01:06:28.840 Real talk.
  2087. 01:06:29.220 – 01:06:31.520 So, and then where can everybody find you
  2088. 01:06:31.520 – 01:06:32.840 at social media website?
  2089. 01:06:32.840 – 01:06:34.220 Where they can book you?
  2090. 01:06:34.960 – 01:06:37.300 I'm Raw Glass Photography on just about everything.
  2091. 01:06:37.900 – 01:06:39.920 So I'm at Raw Glass Photography on Instagram
  2092. 01:06:39.920 – 01:06:43.180 and I'm Raw Glass Photography on Facebook.
  2093. 01:06:44.960 – 01:06:47.380 Raw Glass Photography presents on YouTube.
  2094. 01:06:48.720 – 01:06:50.280 You've put, you Google Raw Glass Photography,
  2095. 01:06:50.380 – 01:06:51.560 you can find it.
  2096. 01:06:51.900 – 01:06:52.600 Pretty much, yeah.
  2097. 01:06:52.900 – 01:06:55.620 And where can they sign up for any future programs?
  2098. 01:06:55.780 – 01:06:56.980 I know you have one coming up.
  2099. 01:06:58.300 – 01:07:00.180 Those are just follow on social media.
  2100. 01:07:00.480 – 01:07:01.980 Like I'll usually put stuff out right now.
  2101. 01:07:01.980 – 01:07:05.880 You can go to creativehealingfoundation.com.
  2102. 01:07:05.880 – 01:07:08.080 Yes, it's dot com, not dot com.
  2103. 01:07:08.980 – 01:07:10.220 To find out some of that stuff.
  2104. 01:07:10.280 – 01:07:11.340 That's not even on there right now
  2105. 01:07:11.340 – 01:07:13.120 because we're just kind of just a partner for that.
  2106. 01:07:14.240 – 01:07:16.360 So, yeah, but just social media
  2107. 01:07:16.360 – 01:07:18.020 is probably the best place to find that kind of stuff.
  2108. 01:07:18.080 – 01:07:20.020 Or you can go to my social media, Darnell McAdams
  2109. 01:07:20.400 – 01:07:21.980 and I usually promote that kind of stuff
  2110. 01:07:21.980 – 01:07:23.300 on my own social media too.
  2111. 01:07:23.780 – 01:07:24.720 So, that's what I do.
  2112. 01:07:25.860 – 01:07:26.420 That's yes.
  2113. 01:07:26.500 – 01:07:27.940 And then this is another edition
  2114. 01:07:27.940 – 01:07:30.580 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  2115. 01:07:30.580 – 01:07:33.340 with photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
  2116. 01:07:33.340 – 01:07:35.500 of Alienize Photos Media.
  2117. 01:07:36.300 – 01:07:39.120 And to find me, check out Alienize Photos
  2118. 01:07:39.120 – 01:07:41.540 on all media on my website
  2119. 01:07:41.540 – 01:07:45.560 and to book me at alienizephotos.com.
  2120. 01:07:46.340 – 01:07:49.060 And until next time, everyone, peace.

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29. Morelle McCane Olympian Boxer

Season 2 · Episode 12

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.060 – 00:00:10.600 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk with your host, photographer
  2. 00:00:10.600 – 00:00:17.500 Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos, Mia, bringing you Alienize Photos Industry
  3. 00:00:17.500 – 00:00:18.140 Talk.
  4. 00:00:18.540 – 00:00:28.260 And I have a tech entrepreneur, a wellness industry leader, I'm claiming it now,
  5. 00:00:30.180 – 00:00:38.840 but most people may know her as an Olympian champion boxer, Ms.
  6. 00:00:39.100 – 00:00:40.940 Maril McCain.
  7. 00:00:40.980 – 00:00:43.220 Money Mo, how you doing?
  8. 00:00:43.860 – 00:00:47.580 I'm gonna need you to bring out the applause machine.
  9. 00:00:48.920 – 00:00:52.060 Hi, hi, I'm honored to be here.
  10. 00:00:52.140 – 00:00:53.740 Thank you for inviting me.
  11. 00:00:54.120 – 00:00:55.900 Yeah, you want to tell the people a little bit about yourself.
  12. 00:00:55.900 – 00:00:59.880 I know I could say a little bit, but, you know, nobody can do it better than you.
  13. 00:01:00.160 – 00:01:02.940 Yes, my name is Maril McCain.
  14. 00:01:03.360 – 00:01:06.100 I'm from Cleveland, Ohio, born and raised.
  15. 00:01:07.480 – 00:01:13.400 Yes, most people know me as the Olympic boxer, but I like to redefine myself now
  16. 00:01:13.400 – 00:01:18.580 as Olympic boxer turned entrepreneur and currently a student.
  17. 00:01:19.400 – 00:01:25.940 Oh, Jesus, this has been a long but beautiful journey.
  18. 00:01:26.380 – 00:01:30.980 Like I said, I started in Cleveland, Ohio and took my talents to the world stage,
  19. 00:01:31.480 – 00:01:37.260 started boxing when I was 17 years old, which is kind of late for most people.
  20. 00:01:38.660 – 00:01:39.700 But you say late.
  21. 00:01:39.840 – 00:01:41.200 When do most people get started?
  22. 00:01:41.760 – 00:01:47.120 Listen, it wasn't until I had my first tournament in 2018.
  23. 00:01:47.740 – 00:01:52.560 2018, where I realized, oh, my God, these are babies out here boxing.
  24. 00:01:55.100 – 00:01:59.720 And I didn't see it like when when the kids in my gym used to tell me like,
  25. 00:01:59.800 – 00:02:02.200 oh, I started at eight, I started at nine.
  26. 00:02:02.560 – 00:02:04.140 I'm like, never.
  27. 00:02:04.280 – 00:02:05.340 Like, you're so little.
  28. 00:02:05.880 – 00:02:07.040 Like, yeah.
  29. 00:02:07.740 – 00:02:11.740 So when I actually got to see it in person, I was like, oh, snap.
  30. 00:02:11.760 – 00:02:15.840 I really did start late because we have these babies out here
  31. 00:02:15.840 – 00:02:21.200 going hard in the paint and they were fierce.
  32. 00:02:22.000 – 00:02:25.600 And what I couldn't they was a sight to see.
  33. 00:02:26.900 – 00:02:33.360 But, yeah, so late is most people start between the ages of eight and 12.
  34. 00:02:34.060 – 00:02:35.540 Eight and 12. Eight and 12.
  35. 00:02:36.760 – 00:02:39.020 Yeah. Wow. So.
  36. 00:02:40.380 – 00:02:43.700 I was considered a late starter with the boxing game.
  37. 00:02:43.700 – 00:02:47.780 And when you think about being a late starter in a boxing game,
  38. 00:02:47.940 – 00:02:51.640 it's like people don't see you to take that Olympic road.
  39. 00:02:53.800 – 00:02:56.180 And I'm just blessed and highly favorite.
  40. 00:02:56.280 – 00:02:59.400 And I thank God I stumbled upon it by accident.
  41. 00:02:59.620 – 00:03:05.480 It all started in the backyard of the backyard of one hundred
  42. 00:03:05.480 – 00:03:06.600 and seventeen in St.
  43. 00:03:06.680 – 00:03:09.540 Clare, my first coach, Coach T. Coach T.
  44. 00:03:09.820 – 00:03:11.180 Yeah. Yeah.
  45. 00:03:11.180 – 00:03:13.720 We started in the backyard
  46. 00:03:14.520 – 00:03:18.360 and then I eventually transitioned to the Glenville Rec.
  47. 00:03:18.820 – 00:03:21.600 And it just took off every since.
  48. 00:03:21.920 – 00:03:25.720 And I thank God because it wasn't a journey that I seen myself doing,
  49. 00:03:25.760 – 00:03:28.300 but I'm grateful that I.
  50. 00:03:28.300 – 00:03:30.080 Got to be on this journey.
  51. 00:03:30.380 – 00:03:32.880 I met some awesome people along the way.
  52. 00:03:33.460 – 00:03:39.400 I've developed myself like I have evolved as a person.
  53. 00:03:39.400 – 00:03:43.600 Boxing has not only been a sport to me, but it's been therapy.
  54. 00:03:43.680 – 00:03:44.620 It's been a friend.
  55. 00:03:44.840 – 00:03:47.240 It's been it's so many different components that.
  56. 00:03:48.580 – 00:03:51.040 This sport had holds in my heart.
  57. 00:03:51.500 – 00:03:54.760 And now that I'm on injury, I'm learning to.
  58. 00:03:55.100 – 00:03:56.800 Well, what point injury?
  59. 00:03:56.980 – 00:03:58.920 What do you mean on injury?
  60. 00:03:59.080 – 00:04:01.580 So, yeah, I'm taking a little bit of time off
  61. 00:04:01.580 – 00:04:06.960 because I have some shoulder issues that I have to attend to.
  62. 00:04:08.220 – 00:04:11.220 I really haven't seen you knock somebody out the other day, though.
  63. 00:04:12.780 – 00:04:14.540 Shh. OK.
  64. 00:04:14.780 – 00:04:19.740 So, yeah, that's another thing about being an athlete.
  65. 00:04:20.200 – 00:04:21.279 We always on goal.
  66. 00:04:21.399 – 00:04:25.200 We always want to be the best, do the best,
  67. 00:04:25.640 – 00:04:28.000 put on those long hours of work, work, work, work.
  68. 00:04:28.220 – 00:04:32.500 But now I'm learning to prioritize the rest.
  69. 00:04:32.740 – 00:04:36.940 I'm learning to get into really prioritizing
  70. 00:04:36.940 – 00:04:41.140 the rest, really making a routine, putting rest in the routine
  71. 00:04:41.140 – 00:04:44.560 because that's in the roots and put rest in the routine.
  72. 00:04:44.620 – 00:04:46.220 You have to put rest in your schedule.
  73. 00:04:46.340 – 00:04:49.040 Listen, I can't come because I have to relax today.
  74. 00:04:49.200 – 00:04:50.760 OK, tell people that. Yes.
  75. 00:04:51.420 – 00:04:53.180 I tell people that listening.
  76. 00:04:54.480 – 00:04:57.420 I can't do it. I need to I need to sit down.
  77. 00:04:57.660 – 00:04:59.580 I need to be at one with myself.
  78. 00:04:59.780 – 00:05:01.280 I'm really into meditation.
  79. 00:05:01.540 – 00:05:05.220 I'm really into self help and just
  80. 00:05:05.900 – 00:05:09.740 being able to disconnect from the world, telling my people to listen.
  81. 00:05:10.300 – 00:05:12.460 You know, you have your immediate circle where you're like,
  82. 00:05:12.700 – 00:05:15.640 if they don't contact me back, I'm going to call the police.
  83. 00:05:15.940 – 00:05:18.280 I have people in my circle like that.
  84. 00:05:18.560 – 00:05:19.640 Like, this is not like her.
  85. 00:05:19.700 – 00:05:22.100 So now I'm learning to be like, listen,
  86. 00:05:23.180 – 00:05:25.460 FYI, I'm off social media for the day.
  87. 00:05:25.460 – 00:05:28.300 I'm turning my phone off and I'm relaxing.
  88. 00:05:29.060 – 00:05:30.920 Don't buy. I'll be available tomorrow.
  89. 00:05:31.060 – 00:05:33.880 Or don't contact me between these hours.
  90. 00:05:33.880 – 00:05:37.260 And if it's a real emergency, call the police.
  91. 00:05:39.160 – 00:05:41.940 No, I really like that because I took a 10 day
  92. 00:05:41.940 – 00:05:45.380 ended up being 11 day sabbatical off social media.
  93. 00:05:45.600 – 00:05:48.420 And people like, oh, people was calling me
  94. 00:05:48.420 – 00:05:50.320 because they knew I'm off social media.
  95. 00:05:50.340 – 00:05:52.700 And like the only way to get in contact was to call me.
  96. 00:05:52.700 – 00:05:56.180 So they I'm having like two hour conversations catching up with him.
  97. 00:05:56.240 – 00:05:58.580 Like, wow, this is actually OK.
  98. 00:05:59.160 – 00:06:01.680 So this is what it feels like not to be on social media.
  99. 00:06:02.340 – 00:06:04.960 Everybody reaching out, checking in.
  100. 00:06:05.600 – 00:06:07.240 Like, I can get a hold of you now.
  101. 00:06:07.340 – 00:06:09.440 I love those social media breaks.
  102. 00:06:09.680 – 00:06:14.240 As much as social media is an asset, it is also a liability.
  103. 00:06:14.840 – 00:06:15.620 What's playing that?
  104. 00:06:16.020 – 00:06:19.980 Because we we sometimes get so caught up in the scroll.
  105. 00:06:20.800 – 00:06:24.540 We lose our sense of the outside world.
  106. 00:06:25.360 – 00:06:28.000 Have you ever just been sitting there for
  107. 00:06:28.000 – 00:06:30.720 and then you look up and you like, oh, my God,
  108. 00:06:30.720 – 00:06:33.740 I started scrolling around four and now it's six o'clock.
  109. 00:06:33.860 – 00:06:35.660 I put a five minute limit on my.
  110. 00:06:35.900 – 00:06:38.220 I mean, I could myself a little more time sometimes,
  111. 00:06:38.420 – 00:06:42.360 but I put a five minute five minute limit each day
  112. 00:06:43.480 – 00:06:46.160 for social media or Instagram, particularly.
  113. 00:06:46.260 – 00:06:48.280 That's my where I spend most of my time.
  114. 00:06:48.280 – 00:06:49.380 Yeah, everything else.
  115. 00:06:49.560 – 00:06:51.900 I kind of, you know, just take my shoes, get off back off.
  116. 00:06:52.120 – 00:06:53.260 I love that.
  117. 00:06:53.280 – 00:06:57.780 Just a reminder to like, listen, even scrolling too long, too long.
  118. 00:06:57.780 – 00:07:00.280 I'm like, dang, you're right.
  119. 00:07:00.360 – 00:07:02.680 Thank you for sending a reminder and thank you.
  120. 00:07:03.480 – 00:07:06.080 Because at first, I didn't have that before I took the sabbatical.
  121. 00:07:06.180 – 00:07:08.000 But I'm like, well, let me ease back in.
  122. 00:07:08.020 – 00:07:09.360 Let me start with five minutes.
  123. 00:07:10.120 – 00:07:11.860 All right. Let me add a little more time.
  124. 00:07:12.000 – 00:07:15.440 Applied some messages, posts and get off because, yeah,
  125. 00:07:15.440 – 00:07:17.860 you'll be scrolling for days like, oh, yeah.
  126. 00:07:17.860 – 00:07:19.880 And sometimes you get lost in the sauce.
  127. 00:07:20.180 – 00:07:22.720 And I'm like, one day I'm sitting here scrolling,
  128. 00:07:23.680 – 00:07:27.300 I'm getting into somebody's family drama and I'm like, OK,
  129. 00:07:27.300 – 00:07:31.240 now I have to go find out who the uncle is that she's talking about.
  130. 00:07:31.500 – 00:07:34.900 And I'm like five pages deep and I'm like, this is not even my business.
  131. 00:07:36.320 – 00:07:37.780 It's not even my business.
  132. 00:07:37.880 – 00:07:39.520 But that's what the platform wants.
  133. 00:07:39.660 – 00:07:40.880 Yeah. It's crazy.
  134. 00:07:41.040 – 00:07:45.660 So being able to tell yourself it's OK to disassociate with that
  135. 00:07:45.660 – 00:07:50.080 for a hot second and get back to the real world and get centered
  136. 00:07:50.080 – 00:07:53.120 is OK with it. It's OK to do that.
  137. 00:07:53.180 – 00:07:55.940 And I feel like just like any other addiction,
  138. 00:07:55.940 – 00:08:00.480 social media has become one of those addictions for a lot of people.
  139. 00:08:00.760 – 00:08:04.000 They can't function without opening that Instagram app.
  140. 00:08:04.040 – 00:08:06.700 They can't function without making that tick tock.
  141. 00:08:07.040 – 00:08:12.360 And I just find myself reminding myself, like, OK, listen,
  142. 00:08:12.760 – 00:08:16.660 it's OK to scroll, indulge, but come back to center
  143. 00:08:17.260 – 00:08:21.760 and disconnect from everything, be able to say
  144. 00:08:21.760 – 00:08:23.960 and have control over everything in your life,
  145. 00:08:23.960 – 00:08:28.380 because essentially people be like, this is not your world, but it is.
  146. 00:08:29.160 – 00:08:32.659 This is my world, because once I'm gone, the world is gone.
  147. 00:08:33.720 – 00:08:38.140 So this is my world and I could control that aspect of it.
  148. 00:08:39.020 – 00:08:41.580 Oh, yeah. Put rest in the routine.
  149. 00:08:42.020 – 00:08:43.460 Rest in the routine.
  150. 00:08:43.679 – 00:08:45.020 I love that.
  151. 00:08:45.500 – 00:08:49.260 And as you speak about addiction in the real world,
  152. 00:08:49.920 – 00:08:52.560 what are you addicted to in the real world?
  153. 00:08:52.560 – 00:08:55.420 Besides boxing and entrepreneurship,
  154. 00:08:56.400 – 00:08:57.180 what are your hobbies?
  155. 00:08:57.440 – 00:08:59.600 I'm addicted to quotes, y'all.
  156. 00:09:00.220 – 00:09:02.120 Quote? What's your favorite quote? I love quotes.
  157. 00:09:02.300 – 00:09:07.680 I love my favorite quote of all time is so cliche,
  158. 00:09:08.040 – 00:09:10.780 but I don't care if it's my quote.
  159. 00:09:11.560 – 00:09:15.480 And I got it written down on my mirror in my bathroom
  160. 00:09:15.480 – 00:09:20.400 just to remind myself to just do it, just do it.
  161. 00:09:20.400 – 00:09:22.380 Like, sometimes you don't need
  162. 00:09:22.900 – 00:09:24.900 too many opinions about something.
  163. 00:09:26.040 – 00:09:28.840 Sometimes you don't need to psych yourself out.
  164. 00:09:29.200 – 00:09:33.960 And I think that's a lot of I can't speak from everybody's perspective,
  165. 00:09:34.020 – 00:09:38.600 but a lot of my life was, should I, could I, would I?
  166. 00:09:39.240 – 00:09:42.980 And now I'm in a phase of life where it's just like, just do it.
  167. 00:09:43.000 – 00:09:44.380 If it works, it works.
  168. 00:09:44.620 – 00:09:47.000 I'm going to pray about it and I'm just going to do it.
  169. 00:09:48.040 – 00:09:52.220 And since I started this Just Do It campaign,
  170. 00:09:52.640 – 00:09:56.800 God has just been putting the pieces together, honey.
  171. 00:09:58.560 – 00:10:02.000 Like how I met you, God put the pieces together.
  172. 00:10:02.060 – 00:10:03.660 Like, I've seen you in Crossin,
  173. 00:10:03.700 – 00:10:06.760 but I've never had an in-depth conversation with you.
  174. 00:10:06.760 – 00:10:09.060 And then I had a conversation with you and I'm like,
  175. 00:10:10.220 – 00:10:13.420 the man behind the camera is intriguing.
  176. 00:10:13.660 – 00:10:14.900 Like, listen.
  177. 00:10:15.900 – 00:10:20.520 And then, like, just you knowing who I am, you like,
  178. 00:10:21.300 – 00:10:23.040 oh, Mo, this is a dope event coming up.
  179. 00:10:23.040 – 00:10:23.820 You should check it out.
  180. 00:10:23.840 – 00:10:27.060 And that event led me to meet more people.
  181. 00:10:27.640 – 00:10:31.060 Like the event that you sent that you sent me
  182. 00:10:31.060 – 00:10:32.920 just the other day at the school.
  183. 00:10:33.120 – 00:10:35.720 Yeah. I connected with a guy.
  184. 00:10:36.200 – 00:10:39.300 And now I've I've learned
  185. 00:10:40.020 – 00:10:43.720 like so many different avenues to use AI and tech.
  186. 00:10:43.720 – 00:10:47.380 And internships that's coming up, the mortar program.
  187. 00:10:47.460 – 00:10:49.540 I'm like, I've never heard of these things.
  188. 00:10:49.840 – 00:10:55.080 And that's what life is about, to go back to that social media
  189. 00:10:55.080 – 00:10:56.280 aspect of everything.
  190. 00:10:56.880 – 00:11:00.240 We disconnect, though we think we're connecting socially.
  191. 00:11:00.400 – 00:11:02.240 We're using social media.
  192. 00:11:03.260 – 00:11:07.720 Really, really, we're driving ourselves away
  193. 00:11:07.720 – 00:11:10.180 from that face-to-face connection.
  194. 00:11:11.540 – 00:11:13.100 Yeah. So, yeah.
  195. 00:11:14.140 – 00:11:16.000 Just being able to connect
  196. 00:11:16.940 – 00:11:19.500 and drive back to what's really mattered
  197. 00:11:19.500 – 00:11:21.600 at that human to human contact.
  198. 00:11:22.260 – 00:11:25.260 I don't know. I'm always like connect the dots with everything.
  199. 00:11:25.600 – 00:11:26.920 You have to, right.
  200. 00:11:27.520 – 00:11:30.980 And as you spoke about the Glenville, like I've come from the
  201. 00:11:31.480 – 00:11:32.340 Collingwood neighborhood.
  202. 00:11:33.180 – 00:11:34.300 So right off the road, still St.
  203. 00:11:34.440 – 00:11:36.000 Clare, so we still St. Clare. Yeah, for sure, family.
  204. 00:11:36.280 – 00:11:38.020 You know, we met from a mutual friend.
  205. 00:11:38.120 – 00:11:39.440 You know, shout out to Shanice.
  206. 00:11:39.660 – 00:11:41.580 You know, Shanice and Stephanie.
  207. 00:11:43.420 – 00:11:48.120 But that just goes to show we come a long way in your network.
  208. 00:11:48.340 – 00:11:49.180 Yeah, it is.
  209. 00:11:49.800 – 00:11:52.940 Like, yeah, I'm always tell you, I'm like, hey,
  210. 00:11:53.220 – 00:11:56.760 this has been going on, or I could get you a ticket or whatever.
  211. 00:11:56.920 – 00:11:58.160 I appreciate it.
  212. 00:11:58.400 – 00:11:59.560 Be able to be in a room.
  213. 00:11:59.660 – 00:12:01.440 Being in a room is so powerful.
  214. 00:12:01.540 – 00:12:05.840 Like, we connected with so many people at the Futureland
  215. 00:12:05.840 – 00:12:11.120 Summit, AI Forward Summit, and just all the other events
  216. 00:12:11.120 – 00:12:15.440 that, you know, we got into and will do
  217. 00:12:16.200 – 00:12:19.560 and continue to build, grow, expand.
  218. 00:12:19.660 – 00:12:23.060 Like I said, your network is your network.
  219. 00:12:24.040 – 00:12:27.000 So let's jump into the entrepreneurship.
  220. 00:12:27.280 – 00:12:31.080 Like, when did you learn entrepreneurship?
  221. 00:12:31.220 – 00:12:33.280 Or did boxing kind of take you down that road?
  222. 00:12:34.700 – 00:12:38.400 Um, I've always been like a little entrepreneur
  223. 00:12:38.400 – 00:12:41.480 from as far as I can remember.
  224. 00:12:41.540 – 00:12:45.180 A little entrepreneur, a little entrepreneur, a little tiny little entrepreneur.
  225. 00:12:45.480 – 00:12:48.580 I remember when Topps was open.
  226. 00:12:48.800 – 00:12:50.700 Remember Topps? Yes.
  227. 00:12:51.360 – 00:12:52.780 We're aging ourselves, but yes.
  228. 00:12:53.380 – 00:12:55.220 I remember when Topps was open
  229. 00:12:55.220 – 00:12:58.040 and I was staying out there and sale candy bars.
  230. 00:12:58.420 – 00:13:00.320 Oh, you used to sell candy. I didn't ask that.
  231. 00:13:01.080 – 00:13:04.940 Yes. I was I was one of those little tiny entrepreneurs.
  232. 00:13:05.200 – 00:13:06.280 Can we wash your car?
  233. 00:13:06.420 – 00:13:07.760 We're having a special today.
  234. 00:13:07.760 – 00:13:10.740 Like, I've always had that entrepreneurial spirit.
  235. 00:13:11.260 – 00:13:15.020 And that's why I didn't really work well on teams.
  236. 00:13:15.260 – 00:13:19.720 I was I was a basketball player and I was like the Draymond Green of the team.
  237. 00:13:19.780 – 00:13:21.660 Really? Yeah, I was so passionate.
  238. 00:13:22.440 – 00:13:24.340 And now I was aggressive.
  239. 00:13:25.060 – 00:13:26.820 I was I was aggressive.
  240. 00:13:26.940 – 00:13:28.760 I was one of those aggressive players.
  241. 00:13:28.760 – 00:13:33.300 And I just wanted everybody to work as hard as me to win.
  242. 00:13:34.640 – 00:13:36.520 And yes, like.
  243. 00:13:36.520 – 00:13:41.300 So when I got into boxing, it was an opportunity to be solo,
  244. 00:13:41.480 – 00:13:42.840 just like the entrepreneur journey.
  245. 00:13:44.100 – 00:13:46.580 You start solo, but you start building your team.
  246. 00:13:46.660 – 00:13:48.620 You need a coach. You need a nutritionist.
  247. 00:13:48.700 – 00:13:52.780 You need a physical therapist, whatever, et cetera, et cetera.
  248. 00:13:52.860 – 00:13:54.280 All that. You need.
  249. 00:13:55.220 – 00:13:58.040 Wow. You you need a team
  250. 00:13:58.040 – 00:14:01.980 if you want to be a great boxer, if you go back to a great boxer.
  251. 00:14:02.220 – 00:14:05.000 But you are Olympia and you are champion, right?
  252. 00:14:05.000 – 00:14:07.960 Yes. So all that to be a champ.
  253. 00:14:08.140 – 00:14:11.940 You need all that to be a champion boxer without it, right?
  254. 00:14:13.400 – 00:14:17.080 Are you going to be a boxer or are you just going to be a training partner?
  255. 00:14:17.320 – 00:14:18.680 Oh, yeah.
  256. 00:14:19.160 – 00:14:21.220 So pick a choice.
  257. 00:14:21.320 – 00:14:23.520 If you don't want to be a sparring partner,
  258. 00:14:24.100 – 00:14:26.680 you have to deliberately pick your team.
  259. 00:14:27.240 – 00:14:29.760 And just like the entrepreneur journey,
  260. 00:14:30.040 – 00:14:34.040 you have to sit there and pick your team.
  261. 00:14:35.000 – 00:14:37.400 So, yeah, picking your team is essential.
  262. 00:14:37.740 – 00:14:40.440 And that's the phase I'm in as a new entrepreneur.
  263. 00:14:41.840 – 00:14:46.760 A little bit about my new project, which is Moji's Wonderful World.
  264. 00:14:47.200 – 00:14:51.620 It's a one stop shop platform for adolescents
  265. 00:14:51.620 – 00:14:55.280 where they can learn physical health, nutrition, health
  266. 00:14:55.280 – 00:14:59.400 and emotional health on one platform using gamification,
  267. 00:14:59.900 – 00:15:04.580 which offers real live rewards after they complete the challenges.
  268. 00:15:05.000 – 00:15:07.800 Um, wait, when you say gamification,
  269. 00:15:07.900 – 00:15:12.640 yeah, gamification is meeting the children where they're at right now.
  270. 00:15:12.660 – 00:15:15.700 So they're when you look at the statistics
  271. 00:15:15.700 – 00:15:20.360 of what is engaging these children these days, they love games.
  272. 00:15:20.860 – 00:15:25.700 They love things that they can play, like Roblox and Fortnite.
  273. 00:15:27.660 – 00:15:30.340 So we're using our app
  274. 00:15:30.340 – 00:15:34.280 to essentially create games that kids can play.
  275. 00:15:34.280 – 00:15:38.380 We have workout sessions where they wear a heart monitor
  276. 00:15:38.380 – 00:15:41.760 so we can track if they're really doing
  277. 00:15:42.560 – 00:15:45.900 the exercises that we provide for them.
  278. 00:15:46.460 – 00:15:48.500 Oh, so you came up with the workouts yourself or?
  279. 00:15:48.680 – 00:15:51.760 Yeah, so me and accompanied by AI.
  280. 00:15:52.800 – 00:15:55.820 OK, so we use a little bit of everything.
  281. 00:15:56.000 – 00:15:58.420 We use experts, we use AI.
  282. 00:15:59.700 – 00:16:01.440 And we use experience.
  283. 00:16:02.380 – 00:16:07.960 But, yeah, so eventually I want my app to be on a very large scale
  284. 00:16:07.960 – 00:16:11.900 and provide that emotional piece as well,
  285. 00:16:12.040 – 00:16:15.840 where if your child is having a bad day,
  286. 00:16:15.920 – 00:16:18.780 which you can report how you're feeling for the day.
  287. 00:16:18.780 – 00:16:19.860 Well, yes.
  288. 00:16:19.880 – 00:16:22.560 So if the child logs in and be like, today is not the day.
  289. 00:16:23.200 – 00:16:25.380 And then the next day, today is not the day.
  290. 00:16:25.540 – 00:16:26.780 Then the next day, today is not.
  291. 00:16:26.780 – 00:16:29.580 So you're having three to four bad days in a row.
  292. 00:16:30.090 – 00:16:33.060 How can this app help you?
  293. 00:16:33.380 – 00:16:38.620 So what we're doing is we're connecting to real live social workers
  294. 00:16:38.620 – 00:16:42.100 and counselors where they're looking at those children,
  295. 00:16:42.300 – 00:16:47.760 log their feelings and eventually log journals where, OK,
  296. 00:16:47.760 – 00:16:49.160 now we can contact the parent.
  297. 00:16:49.320 – 00:16:55.000 Hey, just a heads up that we're not intervening as of yet.
  298. 00:16:55.020 – 00:16:57.520 But if we don't have a response from the parent,
  299. 00:16:57.520 – 00:17:02.020 that's when we do the second phase of, OK, let's make this phone call.
  300. 00:17:02.180 – 00:17:04.180 Now we're making this phone call.
  301. 00:17:04.520 – 00:17:07.900 Now we're connecting with we're doing partnership with schools.
  302. 00:17:07.980 – 00:17:09.900 So now we're partnering with the school.
  303. 00:17:10.180 – 00:17:13.940 Hey, little Jonathan has had seven bad days in a row.
  304. 00:17:14.400 – 00:17:16.760 Is there anything we can do to help him?
  305. 00:17:17.079 – 00:17:19.819 Can we have the counselor reach out to him?
  306. 00:17:19.900 – 00:17:21.480 Like, we want this to stick.
  307. 00:17:21.579 – 00:17:24.420 I personally had friends.
  308. 00:17:25.400 – 00:17:30.840 Commit suicide, and we didn't know if it was tools available out here
  309. 00:17:30.840 – 00:17:34.360 that maybe you don't want your friends knowing what you go through,
  310. 00:17:34.480 – 00:17:39.860 but you log in on an app and somebody goes back and see that
  311. 00:17:39.860 – 00:17:43.820 and you anonymously get that help you need without
  312. 00:17:45.560 – 00:17:48.300 feeling like no one's there to help you.
  313. 00:17:48.340 – 00:17:51.420 So that's when we come in, like I said, to intervene and help
  314. 00:17:51.420 – 00:17:57.800 and essentially partner with schools, parents and be a full force at
  315. 00:17:57.800 – 00:18:00.380 we can't keep preaching that the children are our future
  316. 00:18:00.380 – 00:18:03.940 and not give them the tools to see a bright one.
  317. 00:18:04.140 – 00:18:09.720 So that's where I come in as Smogy's Wonderful World, which is
  318. 00:18:11.040 – 00:18:16.400 a compilation of my little brother's name and my sister's name.
  319. 00:18:16.880 – 00:18:21.280 And they passed on, but I'm keeping their their names alive
  320. 00:18:21.280 – 00:18:26.760 as well. And it's a cute little acronym as well.
  321. 00:18:27.120 – 00:18:31.300 Mindfulness, opportunity, growth and empowerment.
  322. 00:18:31.640 – 00:18:34.180 Mozi is the place where children learn mindfulness,
  323. 00:18:34.800 – 00:18:38.900 experience new opportunities, grow emotionally and feel empowered
  324. 00:18:38.900 – 00:18:40.600 to be their best selves.
  325. 00:18:41.060 – 00:18:45.860 So, yeah, that's that's a little bit about my little entrepreneur journey.
  326. 00:18:46.020 – 00:18:48.800 And we hope to see this on a global scale.
  327. 00:18:49.000 – 00:18:50.640 We will see it.
  328. 00:18:50.640 – 00:18:54.580 Yes, we we hope to see it on the global scale in 12 months.
  329. 00:18:54.940 – 00:18:57.900 But we're realistically speaking, we we see a bright future
  330. 00:18:57.900 – 00:18:59.640 with Moji's Wonderful World.
  331. 00:18:59.820 – 00:19:01.300 We're going to take a global. Don't worry.
  332. 00:19:01.520 – 00:19:02.380 We're going to take a global.
  333. 00:19:02.520 – 00:19:05.300 You heard it. You heard it first.
  334. 00:19:06.040 – 00:19:07.220 Somebody want to hear this.
  335. 00:19:07.460 – 00:19:12.400 I'm like, look, I want to get behind what Miss Morel is doing.
  336. 00:19:12.800 – 00:19:14.260 Yes, that is powerful.
  337. 00:19:14.520 – 00:19:18.040 So we speak about emotional intelligence and as a boxer,
  338. 00:19:18.040 – 00:19:22.420 sometimes you have to be fearless and like shed off emotions,
  339. 00:19:22.960 – 00:19:24.880 at least what I think as a boxer.
  340. 00:19:25.400 – 00:19:28.520 So how did that come about as a boxer
  341. 00:19:28.520 – 00:19:31.180 and learning that emotional intelligence piece?
  342. 00:19:32.360 – 00:19:37.200 So emotional intelligence is essential in boxing.
  343. 00:19:38.300 – 00:19:40.740 You don't necessarily lose your emotions,
  344. 00:19:40.760 – 00:19:42.300 but you learn how to govern them.
  345. 00:19:42.740 – 00:19:48.020 I can't show you if an opponent come in and hit you hard, hard,
  346. 00:19:48.040 – 00:19:51.800 and you've shown that you've been hit hard, then they're going to be like,
  347. 00:19:51.800 – 00:19:52.660 Oh, yeah, I got you.
  348. 00:19:52.800 – 00:19:56.960 No, you you you you block that expression out.
  349. 00:19:57.140 – 00:20:00.920 I can't. Yeah, I can't block the emotion out because I felt the punch.
  350. 00:20:01.040 – 00:20:03.920 Like, I'm I'm pissed that you just punched me like that.
  351. 00:20:03.960 – 00:20:06.560 Was somebody that punched you so hard, like, really?
  352. 00:20:06.820 – 00:20:08.960 I'm about to whoop yo. Exactly.
  353. 00:20:09.180 – 00:20:11.700 Was it somebody that that you remember?
  354. 00:20:12.360 – 00:20:15.800 I think it was more so sparring with the guys.
  355. 00:20:16.080 – 00:20:17.280 Oh, that's different.
  356. 00:20:17.280 – 00:20:17.960 That's cheating.
  357. 00:20:18.220 – 00:20:19.700 No, no, it's not cheating.
  358. 00:20:20.080 – 00:20:20.660 It's cheating.
  359. 00:20:21.120 – 00:20:23.980 It's you better listen to your coach and keep your hands up.
  360. 00:20:24.360 – 00:20:26.780 OK, so a lesson. Yes.
  361. 00:20:27.440 – 00:20:32.040 So it's not cheating because essentially, if you sign up to be a boxer.
  362. 00:20:33.940 – 00:20:37.560 And it's not a huge world for girls,
  363. 00:20:38.520 – 00:20:40.860 especially in the inner city of Cleveland.
  364. 00:20:41.260 – 00:20:44.260 Like, this is this is the most motion that I've seen
  365. 00:20:44.260 – 00:20:47.240 with the little girls rolling out to become boxers.
  366. 00:20:47.260 – 00:20:52.240 When I was growing up, I knew maybe two girls doing the same thing as me.
  367. 00:20:52.660 – 00:20:53.720 Within the city.
  368. 00:20:53.900 – 00:20:57.220 And it wasn't until I branched out and
  369. 00:20:58.140 – 00:21:01.960 went to these national competitions that I was able to actually get a fight.
  370. 00:21:02.660 – 00:21:07.800 So, yeah, when it when we go back to that emotional intelligence piece,
  371. 00:21:07.800 – 00:21:12.200 uh, first of all, side note,
  372. 00:21:12.540 – 00:21:16.840 they say the girls are emotional, but I've never seen so many boys cry.
  373. 00:21:17.260 – 00:21:21.140 My life really in a gym, in the gym, in the fights.
  374. 00:21:22.440 – 00:21:27.880 I just I've seen so much during this journey,
  375. 00:21:28.100 – 00:21:31.460 but I can say one thing I've learned.
  376. 00:21:32.120 – 00:21:37.160 The boys are more emotional when it comes to being boxers.
  377. 00:21:38.380 – 00:21:43.060 Like girls, all right, we take it like it's cool, like whatever.
  378. 00:21:43.220 – 00:21:44.420 But the boys.
  379. 00:21:44.900 – 00:21:46.160 Oh, my goodness.
  380. 00:21:46.260 – 00:21:48.880 You're not here in the end of it.
  381. 00:21:49.320 – 00:21:53.800 Well, I would have never thought you're not here in the end of it.
  382. 00:21:53.860 – 00:21:56.580 I've never seen so many tears in my life.
  383. 00:21:56.740 – 00:21:59.400 Wow. Yeah. But.
  384. 00:22:00.140 – 00:22:02.560 Learning to govern your emotions is important.
  385. 00:22:02.560 – 00:22:05.780 And I've I've learned the biggest lessons in the ring.
  386. 00:22:05.780 – 00:22:09.260 And I take them with me on a daily basis.
  387. 00:22:09.380 – 00:22:10.900 What's the biggest lesson that you learn?
  388. 00:22:11.320 – 00:22:15.880 My biggest lesson that I learned in the ring is that you can prepare all you want.
  389. 00:22:16.760 – 00:22:21.940 You can prepare, but nothing is compared to actually doing.
  390. 00:22:22.460 – 00:22:23.160 You know what I'm saying?
  391. 00:22:23.700 – 00:22:26.340 It's all fun and games till you get punched in the face.
  392. 00:22:26.820 – 00:22:29.080 Everybody has a plan to get punched in the face.
  393. 00:22:29.480 – 00:22:34.020 But the thing is, you want to prepare for all of those things
  394. 00:22:34.020 – 00:22:37.320 because you can sit there and study film when you're a fighter.
  395. 00:22:37.620 – 00:22:39.760 Like, oh, yeah, look how he throwing this punch at him.
  396. 00:22:40.140 – 00:22:42.520 Like, look how he throwing this punch or da da da.
  397. 00:22:43.300 – 00:22:46.780 And then you go in there and they're not doing anything
  398. 00:22:46.780 – 00:22:50.300 that you just studied on film because they studied you, too.
  399. 00:22:50.560 – 00:22:51.460 Something different.
  400. 00:22:53.000 – 00:22:58.340 So the biggest lesson I've learned was to just be open.
  401. 00:22:59.080 – 00:23:02.560 To keep learning in anything in life,
  402. 00:23:02.560 – 00:23:09.320 you have to be ready to keep learning and don't don't be closed minded.
  403. 00:23:10.760 – 00:23:14.800 Just be ready and open and willing to be a student.
  404. 00:23:15.780 – 00:23:19.280 And yeah, that's the the biggest lesson I've learned was.
  405. 00:23:20.440 – 00:23:23.400 Never stop learning, never stop learning.
  406. 00:23:23.780 – 00:23:27.400 And I want to say, like, we're we're actually here behind the scenes
  407. 00:23:27.400 – 00:23:30.520 at the Futureland Conference, and we've met so many people.
  408. 00:23:30.520 – 00:23:34.020 I mean, even people kind of stopping us
  409. 00:23:34.020 – 00:23:36.820 and interacting and kind of switching the layout.
  410. 00:23:38.120 – 00:23:40.360 So, yeah, this has been actually a journey.
  411. 00:23:40.680 – 00:23:43.280 This may be like a shorter podcast.
  412. 00:23:43.460 – 00:23:47.160 It's actually been like two hours, for real, just a process of getting there.
  413. 00:23:47.240 – 00:23:49.320 We have to do starts and stops and rewinds and cuts.
  414. 00:23:49.540 – 00:23:51.780 I love it. That's that's networking right there.
  415. 00:23:51.920 – 00:23:54.300 You got people like, hey, hey, what's that?
  416. 00:23:54.800 – 00:23:56.180 So that's that's that's love.
  417. 00:23:56.340 – 00:23:58.520 I love it. I love it. Love and we're live.
  418. 00:23:58.520 – 00:24:01.460 This is live. We're live from Futureland.
  419. 00:24:01.860 – 00:24:05.100 But if you love this episode, you're going to have to check out
  420. 00:24:05.100 – 00:24:10.220 the full episode when we get to sit down and and solitude
  421. 00:24:10.220 – 00:24:12.240 and peace and really get high.
  422. 00:24:12.280 – 00:24:13.940 I'm going to tell you all about my life.
  423. 00:24:14.180 – 00:24:17.460 All my life, I had to fight all your life.
  424. 00:24:17.760 – 00:24:19.260 You had to fight.
  425. 00:24:19.800 – 00:24:22.460 So even with that, that's Kendrick Lamar.
  426. 00:24:22.620 – 00:24:24.620 Did you have like an intro song going on?
  427. 00:24:24.800 – 00:24:27.660 First of all, we're not going to give that line to Kendrick Lamar.
  428. 00:24:27.660 – 00:24:31.060 We're going to take date that back to the color purple purple.
  429. 00:24:31.340 – 00:24:34.080 Yeah, I'm saying like as far as the song,
  430. 00:24:34.620 – 00:24:37.480 like what was your intro song?
  431. 00:24:37.480 – 00:24:41.500 What did you come out to like in the hype before you knock somebody out?
  432. 00:24:42.840 – 00:24:45.340 Whenever I fight internationally,
  433. 00:24:45.640 – 00:24:49.600 I always like to go back to my roots, Cleveland.
  434. 00:24:50.040 – 00:24:51.080 So I love that.
  435. 00:24:51.820 – 00:24:53.140 I'm from the land.
  436. 00:24:53.360 – 00:24:54.420 So I die.
  437. 00:24:54.420 – 00:24:56.220 It sounds like that.
  438. 00:24:56.280 – 00:24:57.800 OK, that's all that's like.
  439. 00:24:58.200 – 00:24:59.300 Yes, like that.
  440. 00:24:59.480 – 00:25:00.980 That song just gave me so high.
  441. 00:25:01.180 – 00:25:03.260 And I have an opportunity to rep my.
  442. 00:25:04.800 – 00:25:08.460 Who? I have an opportunity to put Cleveland on a map.
  443. 00:25:08.660 – 00:25:10.200 I love it. I love to see it.
  444. 00:25:10.360 – 00:25:13.560 And I if you know anything about Cleveland,
  445. 00:25:13.640 – 00:25:17.380 you know, we are die hard Clevelanders, Cleveland fans.
  446. 00:25:17.500 – 00:25:22.360 I mean, even from the sports going back to to boxing and football,
  447. 00:25:22.360 – 00:25:26.220 like the Browns were known for losing season after season.
  448. 00:25:26.380 – 00:25:26.900 We got our host.
  449. 00:25:27.080 – 00:25:32.480 But we always come out there every Sunday, every Sunday with pride.
  450. 00:25:32.620 – 00:25:33.620 Like this the one.
  451. 00:25:34.040 – 00:25:36.260 This is the game that they're going to.
  452. 00:25:36.320 – 00:25:39.480 It's the season. This is it.
  453. 00:25:39.480 – 00:25:41.100 And then we turn it to this is the game.
  454. 00:25:41.960 – 00:25:43.360 This is our season.
  455. 00:25:43.480 – 00:25:45.880 I can see us going to the Super Bowl.
  456. 00:25:46.680 – 00:25:47.740 And you know what?
  457. 00:25:47.820 – 00:25:50.240 The Browns has taught me.
  458. 00:25:50.240 – 00:25:57.220 So much so much faith, patience, love, compassion, all of that.
  459. 00:25:57.260 – 00:25:59.260 Shout out to the Browns. I love y'all.
  460. 00:25:59.640 – 00:26:01.540 So speaking about like championship, the Super Bowl,
  461. 00:26:01.620 – 00:26:05.020 what is like that championship, the high status for boxing?
  462. 00:26:05.860 – 00:26:10.500 That's the Olympics, that's world champions, that's the Continentals.
  463. 00:26:11.600 – 00:26:12.920 Oh, my gosh.
  464. 00:26:13.000 – 00:26:14.980 Those are like the three main.
  465. 00:26:16.020 – 00:26:19.700 Highlights, but the highlight of your amateur career would be the Olympics.
  466. 00:26:19.700 – 00:26:23.660 Not only making it to that stage, but meddling.
  467. 00:26:24.900 – 00:26:27.580 And yes, I had an opportunity to go to the Olympics.
  468. 00:26:27.860 – 00:26:28.960 I got an. Oh, my God.
  469. 00:26:29.060 – 00:26:32.000 I was like to see like it's no experience
  470. 00:26:32.000 – 00:26:33.980 I would trade in the world for.
  471. 00:26:35.280 – 00:26:37.060 What was your favorite experience then?
  472. 00:26:37.520 – 00:26:39.140 Oh, the village.
  473. 00:26:39.520 – 00:26:43.340 Yes. All of the rumors about the Olympic village are true.
  474. 00:26:44.200 – 00:26:45.440 They are all true.
  475. 00:26:45.560 – 00:26:47.480 Whatever you heard on TV, true.
  476. 00:26:48.340 – 00:26:49.320 They're true.
  477. 00:26:49.320 – 00:26:52.540 I hate to say it, but you have people
  478. 00:26:52.540 – 00:26:55.640 threatening us and yes, we were on cardboard beds.
  479. 00:26:56.020 – 00:26:58.860 But it's not what everybody thinks.
  480. 00:27:00.280 – 00:27:03.500 Whoever engineered that bed, you could do a somersault
  481. 00:27:03.500 – 00:27:05.240 and the bed was not breaking down.
  482. 00:27:05.460 – 00:27:08.800 OK. And it was straight cardboard for,
  483. 00:27:09.360 – 00:27:13.520 you know, recycling purposes and all that good stuff.
  484. 00:27:13.520 – 00:27:14.780 For good causes. Yeah.
  485. 00:27:14.900 – 00:27:18.380 So my favorite part, like I said, was the Olympic village.
  486. 00:27:18.380 – 00:27:21.280 See a world peace in the flesh.
  487. 00:27:21.700 – 00:27:24.480 Like, that's the only way I could describe it.
  488. 00:27:25.320 – 00:27:29.380 You have so many different nations, nationalities, languages.
  489. 00:27:31.180 – 00:27:34.880 And all you do is everything is free in the village.
  490. 00:27:34.960 – 00:27:36.380 You have vending machines everywhere.
  491. 00:27:36.440 – 00:27:37.680 You have stores everywhere.
  492. 00:27:37.880 – 00:27:40.100 Everything is entirely free food.
  493. 00:27:41.240 – 00:27:44.540 You're walking past a country that I've never even heard of.
  494. 00:27:44.680 – 00:27:47.620 I've never even heard of Tajikistan or.
  495. 00:27:47.620 – 00:27:51.520 Exactly. You have when you.
  496. 00:27:52.820 – 00:27:53.860 You realize. Where is that located?
  497. 00:27:54.920 – 00:27:57.020 I don't know. Somewhere in Asia. I don't know.
  498. 00:27:57.980 – 00:28:01.660 So you have all these different countries
  499. 00:28:01.660 – 00:28:04.100 that you've never heard of you.
  500. 00:28:04.200 – 00:28:06.620 And then some countries only had two representatives.
  501. 00:28:07.160 – 00:28:09.320 Some countries only had one representative.
  502. 00:28:09.660 – 00:28:14.240 And you realize how blessed you are to come from America,
  503. 00:28:14.260 – 00:28:17.600 in a sense, because it was hot in that village.
  504. 00:28:17.620 – 00:28:20.460 We were in the peak of Paris summer.
  505. 00:28:21.080 – 00:28:26.760 And if you know anything about Europe, they do not believe in ice or air.
  506. 00:28:28.100 – 00:28:28.800 So that's for us.
  507. 00:28:30.320 – 00:28:31.420 We were spoiled.
  508. 00:28:31.920 – 00:28:36.500 The United States made sure that they shipped us air conditioners.
  509. 00:28:37.660 – 00:28:41.180 So must because all of these were complaining.
  510. 00:28:41.180 – 00:28:44.060 So they shipped us portable air conditioners.
  511. 00:28:44.060 – 00:28:49.780 And we were they were like, oh, you realize how much America
  512. 00:28:49.780 – 00:28:51.400 is put on the pedestal.
  513. 00:28:51.780 – 00:28:54.160 But going back to my original statement,
  514. 00:28:54.320 – 00:28:59.840 seeing that world peace, being connected by one thing and one thing only,
  515. 00:28:59.860 – 00:29:01.780 and that's representing your nation.
  516. 00:29:02.760 – 00:29:07.380 But everybody is smiling and laughing and having a good time,
  517. 00:29:07.600 – 00:29:10.520 because though we're in competition,
  518. 00:29:11.260 – 00:29:13.680 everybody's like, you worked your ass off to get here.
  519. 00:29:14.060 – 00:29:16.080 And I respect that aspect.
  520. 00:29:16.700 – 00:29:18.680 And I respect that you're here.
  521. 00:29:18.900 – 00:29:21.300 I'm looking at you from across the table as an Olympian,
  522. 00:29:21.320 – 00:29:23.700 and you're looking at me from across the table as an Olympian.
  523. 00:29:23.820 – 00:29:25.580 I'm standing next to LeBron James.
  524. 00:29:25.640 – 00:29:29.460 I'm standing next to Simone Biles and this little old me from St.
  525. 00:29:29.580 – 00:29:32.080 Clair. And I'm like, damn, we have on the same outfit.
  526. 00:29:33.160 – 00:29:35.080 Repping the same thing.
  527. 00:29:35.620 – 00:29:37.180 Repping the same thing.
  528. 00:29:37.880 – 00:29:42.360 Though they're on higher pedestals, it's like, well, I'm here too.
  529. 00:29:42.900 – 00:29:47.880 And then I look at myself in the mirror like, OK, look, look at you.
  530. 00:29:48.020 – 00:29:50.860 Right, right, right, right. So, yeah.
  531. 00:29:52.140 – 00:29:54.480 I love every moment of it. Wow.
  532. 00:29:54.900 – 00:29:56.920 So even going back to the championship,
  533. 00:29:57.500 – 00:30:00.280 did you just win medals or you won a champion?
  534. 00:30:00.880 – 00:30:04.560 No, so I didn't medal in the Olympics.
  535. 00:30:06.580 – 00:30:07.800 No, I did not.
  536. 00:30:08.080 – 00:30:10.940 It was a lot of listen, we don't have to talk off.
  537. 00:30:10.940 – 00:30:12.560 OK, we definitely will.
  538. 00:30:12.780 – 00:30:15.980 But they're actually cleaning up the sport of boxing.
  539. 00:30:16.440 – 00:30:18.920 We didn't have like a.
  540. 00:30:20.580 – 00:30:22.980 We didn't have I don't want to put the.
  541. 00:30:24.200 – 00:30:25.560 The incorrect name out.
  542. 00:30:27.260 – 00:30:31.400 But we had to reevaluate everything.
  543. 00:30:31.840 – 00:30:36.220 We didn't have a chair because they got rid of our organization
  544. 00:30:36.220 – 00:30:38.480 that was head of boxing for corruption.
  545. 00:30:38.480 – 00:30:42.600 So just even making it a boxing for corruption.
  546. 00:30:42.600 – 00:30:46.840 Yes. So just even the boxing portion, making it to the Olympics
  547. 00:30:47.360 – 00:30:52.080 was a blessing this time around, because they were scrambling to find
  548. 00:30:52.080 – 00:30:56.720 who was non-biased to judge boxing
  549. 00:30:57.480 – 00:30:59.960 in such a short notice.
  550. 00:31:00.640 – 00:31:03.060 That means you have to train people on what they're looking for.
  551. 00:31:03.160 – 00:31:04.040 You have to get judges.
  552. 00:31:04.140 – 00:31:07.660 You have to make sure that these people have good intentions
  553. 00:31:07.660 – 00:31:10.200 to give the rightful winner what's theirs.
  554. 00:31:12.080 – 00:31:15.480 So, yeah, that's a that's another story for another day.
  555. 00:31:15.520 – 00:31:18.700 OK, but but yeah,
  556. 00:31:19.360 – 00:31:21.720 I didn't medal this time around.
  557. 00:31:22.180 – 00:31:27.100 I'm going for twenty twenty eight when the Olympics are in our home
  558. 00:31:27.100 – 00:31:29.460 to even be considering
  559. 00:31:30.260 – 00:31:34.460 to to be able to represent the United States
  560. 00:31:34.460 – 00:31:38.620 in the United States Olympics is is is just mind boggling.
  561. 00:31:38.660 – 00:31:43.080 And I think that's why that's what made me want to do it once again,
  562. 00:31:43.260 – 00:31:45.400 because it's like, OK, I'm still young.
  563. 00:31:45.780 – 00:31:47.760 I still have fire in me. Yes.
  564. 00:31:47.760 – 00:31:49.740 I still have the passion. Yes.
  565. 00:31:50.260 – 00:31:53.240 Though, like I said, I'm working through injuries right now
  566. 00:31:53.240 – 00:31:57.680 is the best time to heal myself physically, mentally
  567. 00:31:58.500 – 00:32:01.280 and be ready to conquer that.
  568. 00:32:02.380 – 00:32:06.260 And because twenty twenty eight may be the goal. OK.
  569. 00:32:07.880 – 00:32:10.440 Just being one hundred percent healthy for that.
  570. 00:32:11.660 – 00:32:15.540 And what is the chances of me being able to compete
  571. 00:32:15.540 – 00:32:19.200 on the homeland for the biggest competition in the world?
  572. 00:32:19.360 – 00:32:22.220 That's not rolling around for another ninety nine years.
  573. 00:32:22.220 – 00:32:23.380 That's amazing.
  574. 00:32:23.480 – 00:32:26.780 And then after you fight, I'm going to hit you with your own
  575. 00:32:26.780 – 00:32:28.080 I haven't hit you with the Moji app.
  576. 00:32:28.420 – 00:32:29.680 What is yours?
  577. 00:32:29.680 – 00:32:32.700 How are you feeling to meet you with your own app?
  578. 00:32:33.340 – 00:32:34.700 Yes, I love it.
  579. 00:32:35.080 – 00:32:38.040 So talk about more of the championships, because, you know,
  580. 00:32:39.160 – 00:32:41.160 speaking to you off camera,
  581. 00:32:41.440 – 00:32:47.240 you told me about the championship belts and how it works and operates.
  582. 00:32:47.740 – 00:32:49.780 You want to speak to the audience a little bit about that.
  583. 00:32:50.240 – 00:32:51.360 Amateur is a little different.
  584. 00:32:51.540 – 00:32:55.260 Well, we're talking about the pro aspect of having a WBC.
  585. 00:32:55.400 – 00:32:59.160 A lot of people don't know that when you hold those titles,
  586. 00:32:59.160 – 00:33:01.740 you hold the taxes on those belts.
  587. 00:33:01.840 – 00:33:03.160 The taxes. Yeah.
  588. 00:33:03.600 – 00:33:05.200 You those belts are tax.
  589. 00:33:05.940 – 00:33:07.540 Don't believe me.
  590. 00:33:07.560 – 00:33:09.440 Look it up, people. Wow.
  591. 00:33:09.580 – 00:33:11.220 So yes, though.
  592. 00:33:12.580 – 00:33:15.460 People always holler, I want to fight the champ.
  593. 00:33:15.640 – 00:33:16.620 I want to fight the champ.
  594. 00:33:16.740 – 00:33:18.100 It's my turn to be the champ.
  595. 00:33:18.480 – 00:33:20.000 Well, can you afford to be the champ?
  596. 00:33:20.160 – 00:33:23.940 I hate to say it, but when you have those type of.
  597. 00:33:24.780 – 00:33:29.140 People that don't do the research on the sport
  598. 00:33:29.140 – 00:33:31.240 and they're just talking. Yeah. Wow.
  599. 00:33:31.660 – 00:33:33.800 You have to be able to back that title up.
  600. 00:33:33.840 – 00:33:36.600 You have to pay to to fight for that title.
  601. 00:33:36.820 – 00:33:37.780 You got to pay to be the boss.
  602. 00:33:37.900 – 00:33:40.100 Yeah, you have to pay to be the boss.
  603. 00:33:40.500 – 00:33:44.140 And that correlates back to being an entrepreneur.
  604. 00:33:44.920 – 00:33:47.220 That's very true. Wow.
  605. 00:33:48.220 – 00:33:53.200 So, yeah, I'm listening.
  606. 00:33:53.320 – 00:33:57.160 I'm looking forward to the future of female boxing.
  607. 00:33:57.160 – 00:34:00.460 There are so many great women doing great things.
  608. 00:34:00.680 – 00:34:04.560 We have Clarissa Shields signing one of the biggest deals
  609. 00:34:04.560 – 00:34:08.100 in the the sport of women's boxing.
  610. 00:34:08.739 – 00:34:11.840 You have Jake Paul, a Cleveland native
  611. 00:34:11.840 – 00:34:17.060 that's given these women a platform to showcase their talents.
  612. 00:34:17.239 – 00:34:18.620 When women wasn't handlining,
  613. 00:34:19.260 – 00:34:22.040 they didn't think women was could sell tickets
  614. 00:34:22.040 – 00:34:27.560 and have that many fans to put asses in arenas.
  615. 00:34:28.600 – 00:34:34.100 So when I see the innovation overall of not just women's boxing,
  616. 00:34:34.400 – 00:34:35.719 but women's sports.
  617. 00:34:36.139 – 00:34:37.199 Just like basketball.
  618. 00:34:37.679 – 00:34:40.520 Yeah. The WNBA is coming to Cleveland.
  619. 00:34:40.780 – 00:34:41.760 Coming back to Cleveland. Yes.
  620. 00:34:41.900 – 00:34:47.260 What? 2028 is is going to be one hell of a year in a good way.
  621. 00:34:47.480 – 00:34:51.739 We're claiming it now is going to be one hell of a year in a great way.
  622. 00:34:51.739 – 00:34:59.080 And I'm excited to just keep seeing where female sports is going
  623. 00:34:59.080 – 00:35:00.980 and being a part of it, in a sense.
  624. 00:35:02.060 – 00:35:03.000 And I'm listening.
  625. 00:35:03.580 – 00:35:06.680 Y'all set the standards, ladies, because when it's my time,
  626. 00:35:07.620 – 00:35:09.120 I know God don't make no mistakes.
  627. 00:35:09.500 – 00:35:11.280 When it's my time, I'm going to shine.
  628. 00:35:11.740 – 00:35:12.840 So, yeah, for sure.
  629. 00:35:13.260 – 00:35:17.320 So you're saying 2028, I don't have to fly to Paris to see you fight.
  630. 00:35:17.580 – 00:35:20.400 No, we're in L.A. L.A. 2028.
  631. 00:35:20.400 – 00:35:23.080 OK. You can drive there.
  632. 00:35:23.260 – 00:35:24.200 It's no excuse.
  633. 00:35:24.300 – 00:35:27.720 I'm catching a plane, but yeah, yeah, I'll be there.
  634. 00:35:28.280 – 00:35:32.080 That could be a nice road trip. OK. Yeah.
  635. 00:35:33.220 – 00:35:34.280 Yeah, for sure.
  636. 00:35:34.300 – 00:35:37.440 So speaking about like road trip, like when you're traveling
  637. 00:35:37.440 – 00:35:41.580 and like days before the fight, even minutes before the fight,
  638. 00:35:41.660 – 00:35:44.180 how do you prep or like mentally prep yourself?
  639. 00:35:45.840 – 00:35:48.780 So you can only do so much, honestly.
  640. 00:35:48.780 – 00:35:52.200 There's so many people tell you so many different things,
  641. 00:35:52.280 – 00:35:54.560 but you have to just have confidence.
  642. 00:35:54.800 – 00:35:55.600 Confidence is key.
  643. 00:35:55.960 – 00:36:00.420 Did you do everything you needed to do in order to be great in this moment?
  644. 00:36:00.720 – 00:36:02.960 And you don't look at it as a whole.
  645. 00:36:03.200 – 00:36:05.640 You look at it as.
  646. 00:36:05.660 – 00:36:08.680 Minute by minute, round by round, moment by moment.
  647. 00:36:09.640 – 00:36:12.700 I want to win the everything.
  648. 00:36:13.660 – 00:36:16.000 But initially, if I win the first round,
  649. 00:36:16.200 – 00:36:18.480 if I win the second round, if I win the third round,
  650. 00:36:18.480 – 00:36:24.140 yeah, so you want to scale it on a smaller size because then
  651. 00:36:24.740 – 00:36:26.340 you're not overthinking it.
  652. 00:36:26.620 – 00:36:28.060 You're not overdoing it.
  653. 00:36:28.240 – 00:36:32.860 And my whole thing is when I encourage the little ones to box
  654. 00:36:32.860 – 00:36:35.940 or if I'm out there working their corners, I'd be like, listen,
  655. 00:36:37.060 – 00:36:39.300 what are you going to do if she hits you?
  656. 00:36:39.660 – 00:36:41.560 Hit her back. It's that simple.
  657. 00:36:42.280 – 00:36:45.080 Wow. I'm listening.
  658. 00:36:45.140 – 00:36:46.120 You know how to do this.
  659. 00:36:46.160 – 00:36:47.040 So you coach a little bit.
  660. 00:36:47.040 – 00:36:48.620 Yeah, I do. Just a little bit.
  661. 00:36:49.400 – 00:36:50.800 I love to see the babies.
  662. 00:36:51.120 – 00:36:56.240 Like, I love coming back to my city and showing them, like, listen,
  663. 00:36:57.480 – 00:37:00.940 if you want it, you could go get it, because I'm literally
  664. 00:37:00.940 – 00:37:03.300 every statistic in the book.
  665. 00:37:03.360 – 00:37:05.600 Like, I wasn't supposed to be here.
  666. 00:37:05.780 – 00:37:08.680 I was in foster care. Really?
  667. 00:37:08.980 – 00:37:12.080 I was born into
  668. 00:37:12.080 – 00:37:14.500 I'm number seven out of eight.
  669. 00:37:15.280 – 00:37:18.560 And my mom was had an addiction.
  670. 00:37:19.080 – 00:37:22.600 God brought her out of it much, much later in life.
  671. 00:37:22.820 – 00:37:23.500 Thank God. Yeah.
  672. 00:37:23.960 – 00:37:25.800 I didn't have a father there growing up.
  673. 00:37:26.080 – 00:37:31.960 And all of those sounds so sad for you, but it's like, OK, well.
  674. 00:37:32.740 – 00:37:34.480 Well, now what do we do?
  675. 00:37:34.520 – 00:37:38.140 Do we sit here and cry about it or are we going to
  676. 00:37:38.960 – 00:37:41.700 elevate and evolve and learn?
  677. 00:37:42.700 – 00:37:44.020 Dad, that is a must.
  678. 00:37:44.200 – 00:37:47.360 And as you said, not growing up with your father,
  679. 00:37:47.400 – 00:37:48.740 I didn't grow up with my father.
  680. 00:37:48.980 – 00:37:51.340 Even like it took me
  681. 00:37:51.340 – 00:37:56.880 in my late 20s, randomly at a store, ran into my father.
  682. 00:37:56.960 – 00:38:00.380 He's like, Steve, Steve, like, yeah.
  683. 00:38:01.040 – 00:38:03.360 I'm looking like, how do I do I know you?
  684. 00:38:03.520 – 00:38:07.040 Like, you know who I am? Like, no, like I'm your father.
  685. 00:38:07.500 – 00:38:10.000 I'm like, whoa, where you been at?
  686. 00:38:10.000 – 00:38:12.100 But like, you owe me.
  687. 00:38:12.280 – 00:38:15.420 Matter of fact, you need to fill my tank up.
  688. 00:38:15.820 – 00:38:16.600 Fill my tank.
  689. 00:38:16.820 – 00:38:19.260 But yeah, we actually had a good conversation, though.
  690. 00:38:19.300 – 00:38:20.980 You know, I didn't know how it was going to go.
  691. 00:38:21.020 – 00:38:22.500 But it's actually, you know, good.
  692. 00:38:23.020 – 00:38:25.400 And that's that's what life is about.
  693. 00:38:25.860 – 00:38:29.600 If you were to hold that grudge against your father for not being there.
  694. 00:38:29.700 – 00:38:31.560 I made a song, but I got it out.
  695. 00:38:31.580 – 00:38:32.900 So after that, it's good.
  696. 00:38:32.920 – 00:38:35.960 But you were open to being like, at least let me hear them,
  697. 00:38:35.960 – 00:38:37.920 because a lot of people have that mentality.
  698. 00:38:37.960 – 00:38:39.340 You was never there for me.
  699. 00:38:39.340 – 00:38:43.900 But honestly, forgiveness is for yourself.
  700. 00:38:44.860 – 00:38:46.020 Oh, I like that.
  701. 00:38:46.240 – 00:38:47.800 Yeah, for sure. And I'm listening.
  702. 00:38:47.840 – 00:38:49.380 I'm glad you got to meet your father.
  703. 00:38:49.840 – 00:38:52.180 Yeah, it's been a while.
  704. 00:38:52.180 – 00:38:53.100 They look a lot.
  705. 00:38:53.580 – 00:38:55.040 Oh, it would come.
  706. 00:38:55.420 – 00:38:56.440 Just like I was like.
  707. 00:38:57.400 – 00:38:59.580 I mean, I didn't really think of nothing of it.
  708. 00:38:59.680 – 00:39:02.440 No, if it happened, it happened and it happened to happen.
  709. 00:39:02.800 – 00:39:04.920 You know, it was randomly, just randomly.
  710. 00:39:05.360 – 00:39:05.980 Happened to happen.
  711. 00:39:06.720 – 00:39:08.400 Yeah, I'm grateful and thankful.
  712. 00:39:09.560 – 00:39:13.240 You know, I want to say it's the best relationship.
  713. 00:39:13.720 – 00:39:16.280 Are we staying communications as we should?
  714. 00:39:17.220 – 00:39:21.620 But, you know, it's still good, even after all these years.
  715. 00:39:21.920 – 00:39:24.760 I actually know exactly that it's C in the witness.
  716. 00:39:25.020 – 00:39:28.100 And for him to see me and witness, like, you know, I'm proud of you
  717. 00:39:28.100 – 00:39:32.420 because he knows watch from a distance as a father, you know.
  718. 00:39:32.780 – 00:39:35.600 But just being around and in my life,
  719. 00:39:36.140 – 00:39:39.280 I just imagine what my life would be like.
  720. 00:39:39.340 – 00:39:44.360 If I did, you know, have my father in the early years
  721. 00:39:44.360 – 00:39:47.580 growing up and, you know, things and lessons you would have taught me
  722. 00:39:47.580 – 00:39:49.400 because I made a song.
  723. 00:39:50.860 – 00:39:54.600 It's called Hating My Heart, Hating My Heart by Alien Ops.
  724. 00:39:54.600 – 00:39:58.240 They are in the sea as a feature collab.
  725. 00:39:59.080 – 00:40:00.320 And it was last minute.
  726. 00:40:00.380 – 00:40:05.020 I said, I hop on a track and just speaking on that situation
  727. 00:40:05.020 – 00:40:08.760 and my experience is powerful.
  728. 00:40:08.760 – 00:40:11.140 You know, you have to go listen to the song.
  729. 00:40:11.640 – 00:40:13.660 Because I don't want to hit the lyrics.
  730. 00:40:13.660 – 00:40:14.780 Yeah, one more time.
  731. 00:40:15.760 – 00:40:20.760 Hating My Heart, Hating My Heart by Alien Ops, all media.
  732. 00:40:21.660 – 00:40:27.100 Speaking about all media, check out Alien Eyes Photos.
  733. 00:40:27.280 – 00:40:32.620 That's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with an S on all social media
  734. 00:40:32.620 – 00:40:34.900 and alieneyesphotos.com.
  735. 00:40:34.960 – 00:40:38.160 If you want to book me or for more information
  736. 00:40:38.160 – 00:40:41.800 and as we wrap this up, because we got to go
  737. 00:40:41.800 – 00:40:46.220 and Mo has to do, you see how I did that, have to do some some work
  738. 00:40:46.220 – 00:40:50.220 and some homework and work on her business and recover.
  739. 00:40:50.760 – 00:40:53.500 We had a long day.
  740. 00:40:54.120 – 00:40:58.600 So how can people find you, read you, book you?
  741. 00:40:58.600 – 00:41:04.580 You can find me on social media at million underscore dollar underscore Mo.
  742. 00:41:04.580 – 00:41:08.220 Or you can go to my website, MeroeMcCain.org,
  743. 00:41:08.640 – 00:41:11.640 where I do do free classes and I do.
  744. 00:41:12.000 – 00:41:13.400 Yeah, I do do.
  745. 00:41:14.480 – 00:41:16.560 I host free classes.
  746. 00:41:17.340 – 00:41:21.480 So I do update the site to the location, the time.
  747. 00:41:22.580 – 00:41:23.900 They're completely free.
  748. 00:41:24.140 – 00:41:26.180 Come out. And that's my way of giving.
  749. 00:41:26.380 – 00:41:28.600 One of my ways of giving back to the community.
  750. 00:41:29.340 – 00:41:30.560 Yeah. So I do.
  751. 00:41:30.560 – 00:41:31.560 Do I need my own gloves?
  752. 00:41:32.060 – 00:41:34.000 I do bring some training gloves.
  753. 00:41:34.000 – 00:41:35.820 But you do show up.
  754. 00:41:36.900 – 00:41:38.840 Show up with your own gloves.
  755. 00:41:39.340 – 00:41:40.460 Please. I got to buy some. OK.
  756. 00:41:40.580 – 00:41:42.400 How do I fit? I get fitting for.
  757. 00:41:42.620 – 00:41:44.820 I say they never fit for me.
  758. 00:41:45.200 – 00:41:47.380 So it just depends when I'm training people,
  759. 00:41:47.380 – 00:41:51.760 I tell them to get between go by the ounces of the gloves.
  760. 00:41:52.080 – 00:41:55.860 So you want to get 14 to 16 when you're an adult.
  761. 00:41:55.940 – 00:42:00.000 And then you want to get 12 to 14 when you're a child,
  762. 00:42:00.200 – 00:42:01.780 depending on how big the child is.
  763. 00:42:01.780 – 00:42:06.420 But 12, 14 or 16 ounces are standard for when I'm teaching.
  764. 00:42:06.980 – 00:42:10.820 But yes, like I said, million underscore dollar underscore
  765. 00:42:10.820 – 00:42:13.480 mo on social handles.
  766. 00:42:13.900 – 00:42:17.780 And or you can go to my website at morelmccain.org.
  767. 00:42:18.480 – 00:42:20.880 And it's been a pleasure talking with you.
  768. 00:42:21.140 – 00:42:24.000 It's been a long time. It's been a long day.
  769. 00:42:24.140 – 00:42:27.300 We've been at the Futureland Summit since the a.m.
  770. 00:42:27.300 – 00:42:28.800 and now it's the p.m. guys.
  771. 00:42:29.700 – 00:42:31.660 It's dark outside and everything.
  772. 00:42:31.900 – 00:42:35.540 They wrap it up, they put their clothes up and I am hungry.
  773. 00:42:35.900 – 00:42:37.460 Like I said, we got stuff to do.
  774. 00:42:37.600 – 00:42:40.780 But yeah, this is as this has been Alienize Photos
  775. 00:42:40.780 – 00:42:45.720 Industry Talk with your host, Steve Jackson, photographer
  776. 00:42:45.720 – 00:42:48.240 Jackson of Alienize Photos Media.
  777. 00:42:48.720 – 00:42:51.160 Bringing you Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  778. 00:42:51.640 – 00:42:53.700 And thank you again, Miss Marell.
  779. 00:42:53.740 – 00:42:55.380 Thank you for having me.
  780. 00:42:55.400 – 00:42:57.340 Let me hurry up before she knock me out.
  781. 00:42:57.340 – 00:42:59.000 Yeah, I got to go.
  782. 00:42:59.340 – 00:43:00.660 All right, so I'll take care of peace.

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30. Michael Bell Sr. "Peerless" A Branding Masterclass

Season 2 · Episode 11

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.590 – 00:00:06.610 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:07.650 – 00:00:09.310 And this is big.
  3. 00:00:10.310 – 00:00:13.830 I have a legend speaking on branding.
  4. 00:00:14.570 – 00:00:16.910 And I've been in the entertainment realm
  5. 00:00:16.910 – 00:00:21.150 50 plus years, heavy in the music,
  6. 00:00:21.370 – 00:00:25.270 but also an actor, model, coach.
  7. 00:00:26.110 – 00:00:27.410 There's so many things.
  8. 00:00:27.610 – 00:00:29.170 And I want to speak on that,
  9. 00:00:29.170 – 00:00:31.590 but I want to give you your flowers for everything you've done,
  10. 00:00:31.730 – 00:00:34.490 especially in the music and hip hop community.
  11. 00:00:35.430 – 00:00:39.210 And, you know, you could do the better introduction for yourself.
  12. 00:00:39.230 – 00:00:42.370 So I'll let her pass the torch and pass the mic.
  13. 00:00:42.870 – 00:00:44.630 OK, good evening. Good morning.
  14. 00:00:44.890 – 00:00:48.490 My name is Michael Bell, AKA Peerless,
  15. 00:00:49.090 – 00:00:50.870 in terms of my hip hop name,
  16. 00:00:51.570 – 00:00:53.950 or you can find my music under that name.
  17. 00:00:54.050 – 00:00:56.210 He's Peerless, Peerless.
  18. 00:00:56.210 – 00:01:00.770 Yeah, I've been in the entertainment business for 50 plus years.
  19. 00:01:01.650 – 00:01:05.850 And as an artist, throughout the 50 years,
  20. 00:01:06.190 – 00:01:10.030 it was all for me about expanding, growing,
  21. 00:01:11.490 – 00:01:16.110 leaving comfort zones, you know, things of that nature as an artist
  22. 00:01:16.110 – 00:01:21.730 to keep reaching, because artists, I consider art a limitless source.
  23. 00:01:21.890 – 00:01:25.710 And as long as you can tap into a creative reservoir,
  24. 00:01:25.710 – 00:01:27.970 you're right on time and time.
  25. 00:01:30.920 – 00:01:35.580 So I want to jump right into it, going all the way back to age 14.
  26. 00:01:36.840 – 00:01:39.760 What were some of those moments like at that age?
  27. 00:01:40.360 – 00:01:43.920 Well, at the age of what was very popular here in Cleveland,
  28. 00:01:44.700 – 00:01:48.960 and there was a lot of talent, was talent shows.
  29. 00:01:49.860 – 00:01:51.400 They were very popular.
  30. 00:01:52.020 – 00:01:55.860 It was a lot of competition because you had a lot of great talent here.
  31. 00:01:55.860 – 00:02:01.380 You had a lot of talent that was actually pattering themselves
  32. 00:02:01.380 – 00:02:03.060 after national acts.
  33. 00:02:03.680 – 00:02:08.919 So therefore, it could have easily been a national act, easily.
  34. 00:02:09.039 – 00:02:13.800 I mean, in terms of the nightclubs and things that you had here,
  35. 00:02:14.340 – 00:02:17.300 you couldn't, in other words, like,
  36. 00:02:17.340 – 00:02:22.760 I would say that there's a lounge act and then there's a performance act.
  37. 00:02:23.320 – 00:02:26.360 What's the difference between the lounge act and the performance act?
  38. 00:02:26.680 – 00:02:31.660 OK, a performance is like what you would go see at a venue,
  39. 00:02:31.860 – 00:02:34.580 what the Wolf, I was going to say the Wolfstein, but what is it called now?
  40. 00:02:34.700 – 00:02:35.440 Is it still the Wolfstein?
  41. 00:02:35.480 – 00:02:36.200 I think that changes.
  42. 00:02:36.480 – 00:02:40.980 OK, yeah, the Wolfstein State Theatre, it would be that level of talent,
  43. 00:02:41.040 – 00:02:45.600 because in those days, you got discovered by your performance.
  44. 00:02:45.740 – 00:02:47.900 If a record company was going to sign you,
  45. 00:02:48.340 – 00:02:50.200 it would be because of your performance.
  46. 00:02:50.200 – 00:02:54.580 That's what, you know, we weren't recording a lot of records like the Access,
  47. 00:02:54.720 – 00:02:56.640 you know, to do those things today.
  48. 00:02:57.720 – 00:02:59.720 So therefore, the performance was a thing.
  49. 00:03:01.080 – 00:03:07.060 And I was raised on the street, 139th and Kinsman.
  50. 00:03:07.260 – 00:03:10.820 And on that street as singers, you had Paul Woodall,
  51. 00:03:11.280 – 00:03:15.020 you had Michael Camp, you had Alfred Andrews,
  52. 00:03:15.140 – 00:03:20.080 you had Christine Dixon, you had Tony Christian.
  53. 00:03:20.080 – 00:03:22.020 It just it was so many singers.
  54. 00:03:22.100 – 00:03:26.200 So at the age of 11, I started singing.
  55. 00:03:26.200 – 00:03:28.380 We started out singing Beatles songs.
  56. 00:03:28.540 – 00:03:31.940 And then a couple of years after that, the Temptations came on.
  57. 00:03:33.080 – 00:03:35.700 I started singing with Alfred and Michael.
  58. 00:03:36.100 – 00:03:38.680 And then later on, maybe a year after we started,
  59. 00:03:38.900 – 00:03:42.140 a young man moved onto our street by the name of Paul Woodall.
  60. 00:03:42.540 – 00:03:47.900 What was very interesting about Paul at the age of, like, say, 13 or 14,
  61. 00:03:47.900 – 00:03:50.260 he could arrange vocal harmonies.
  62. 00:03:51.360 – 00:03:54.020 And because in those days, a lot of us, we didn't have bands
  63. 00:03:54.020 – 00:03:55.180 unless we were doing the show.
  64. 00:03:55.180 – 00:03:57.240 So we started out a cappella.
  65. 00:03:57.600 – 00:04:00.540 So a lot of the vocal things that he would create
  66. 00:04:00.540 – 00:04:03.400 would compensate for the music that wasn't there.
  67. 00:04:03.400 – 00:04:04.900 He was a very talented fellow.
  68. 00:04:05.540 – 00:04:09.660 So I moved from Cleveland to Shaker.
  69. 00:04:10.460 – 00:04:14.340 And there I met my best friend and one of the best singers ever
  70. 00:04:14.340 – 00:04:19.300 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the name of a guy by the name of Harold Beverly.
  71. 00:04:19.980 – 00:04:22.460 He went from Harold Beverly to H.B.
  72. 00:04:22.600 – 00:04:23.580 Soul to Sundown.
  73. 00:04:23.720 – 00:04:27.900 He had many names, but he was an extraordinary singer.
  74. 00:04:28.100 – 00:04:31.580 Because in those days, Eddie Laverto, the OJs was very popular
  75. 00:04:31.580 – 00:04:36.560 and David Ruffin, of course, and Harold could do both of those well.
  76. 00:04:36.820 – 00:04:40.880 In fact, years later on, as he traveled through the South
  77. 00:04:40.880 – 00:04:43.440 and gained some popular popularity,
  78. 00:04:44.400 – 00:04:48.460 Olly Woodson, who sang Treat Her Like a Lady for the Temptations.
  79. 00:04:48.600 – 00:04:49.820 That was his drummer.
  80. 00:04:50.360 – 00:04:51.680 And he would feature Olly.
  81. 00:04:51.860 – 00:04:54.580 And later on, those guys got together
  82. 00:04:54.580 – 00:04:58.400 and another with another friend of mine by the name of Nebraska Turner,
  83. 00:04:58.780 – 00:05:00.520 who I had sung with who
  84. 00:05:01.540 – 00:05:04.500 some with the some with the Bill Pinkney Platters
  85. 00:05:04.500 – 00:05:06.300 later on, all those guys together.
  86. 00:05:07.780 – 00:05:09.200 So there was a lot of that going on.
  87. 00:05:09.280 – 00:05:11.880 So at 14, I did 12.
  88. 00:05:11.880 – 00:05:13.460 I did my first talent show.
  89. 00:05:14.100 – 00:05:17.160 And at that time, the Temptations had a record on live.
  90. 00:05:17.540 – 00:05:18.740 Don't look back.
  91. 00:05:21.240 – 00:05:22.620 I just started singing.
  92. 00:05:22.960 – 00:05:26.180 And a lot of the older guys would say, man, you sound like Paul.
  93. 00:05:26.660 – 00:05:28.800 I didn't know who I knew David was.
  94. 00:05:28.940 – 00:05:30.440 You know, I knew who Eddie was.
  95. 00:05:30.440 – 00:05:31.460 You sound like Paul.
  96. 00:05:31.960 – 00:05:35.140 So he told me, said, go and get to meet the Temptations album.
  97. 00:05:35.420 – 00:05:37.900 And Paul, he was the original lead singer.
  98. 00:05:38.000 – 00:05:41.480 You listen to that. So I did.
  99. 00:05:41.480 – 00:05:45.300 Now, when he got time to do the talent show was my first performance.
  100. 00:05:45.740 – 00:05:49.700 And I guess throughout the rehearsals, other people who were on the show
  101. 00:05:49.700 – 00:05:52.780 were talking about us to the students because we.
  102. 00:05:53.600 – 00:05:57.800 Well, Alfred and Michael went to Hamilton, the Herald and I went to Shaker.
  103. 00:05:57.880 – 00:06:01.860 So we couldn't compete because of that, no matter how good we were,
  104. 00:06:02.000 – 00:06:04.680 because we all didn't attend the same school. Right.
  105. 00:06:05.320 – 00:06:09.060 So anyway, man, we walked out and it was packed.
  106. 00:06:09.060 – 00:06:10.820 And I was nervous.
  107. 00:06:11.300 – 00:06:13.360 But you heard the roar of the crowds.
  108. 00:06:13.580 – 00:06:15.440 I saw they already heard about us. Right.
  109. 00:06:15.440 – 00:06:17.860 So I got comfortable. I was real comfortable.
  110. 00:06:18.140 – 00:06:21.540 And we did the first two songs and by the time we got to my song,
  111. 00:06:21.540 – 00:06:23.340 which was The Closer.
  112. 00:06:24.580 – 00:06:27.100 I do remember as soon as it started
  113. 00:06:27.640 – 00:06:31.400 that the crowd went crazy and I started singing.
  114. 00:06:31.480 – 00:06:33.080 So I got real comfortable.
  115. 00:06:33.160 – 00:06:34.760 And I was singing away.
  116. 00:06:34.760 – 00:06:39.600 And I watched as the crowd went from screaming
  117. 00:06:40.280 – 00:06:45.140 to standing up and what had occurred.
  118. 00:06:45.660 – 00:06:47.080 Our time was up.
  119. 00:06:47.240 – 00:06:51.940 But I was so into the song, I didn't see anybody on the side stage
  120. 00:06:51.940 – 00:06:53.960 saying, come off, come up, come off.
  121. 00:06:54.500 – 00:06:55.900 Right. Because our time was up.
  122. 00:06:56.380 – 00:06:58.420 So I guess they say close the curtain.
  123. 00:06:59.380 – 00:07:02.780 And the moment I wasn't aware of, but the moment they closed the curtain,
  124. 00:07:02.780 – 00:07:06.340 I stepped forward in front of the curtain and laid on everybody.
  125. 00:07:06.520 – 00:07:08.500 Everybody told me it looked like he was playing.
  126. 00:07:09.080 – 00:07:11.800 And I remember I went down on one knee
  127. 00:07:11.800 – 00:07:16.080 and these girls bum rushed the stage and they grabbed me
  128. 00:07:16.080 – 00:07:18.300 and they almost pulled me head first.
  129. 00:07:18.620 – 00:07:22.620 And the assistant principal, Mr. Noah, he reached out from behind
  130. 00:07:22.620 – 00:07:24.680 the curtain and grabbed me right on time.
  131. 00:07:24.960 – 00:07:27.300 And all the guys from the rest of the group ran to me.
  132. 00:07:27.360 – 00:07:28.400 Oh, man, did you see that?
  133. 00:07:28.400 – 00:07:30.260 That was called you. Did you see what you did?
  134. 00:07:30.340 – 00:07:31.020 You know, and I didn't.
  135. 00:07:31.020 – 00:07:33.320 And it was like, oh, that was it.
  136. 00:07:33.660 – 00:07:36.820 That was it. You know, this is this is where I needed to be.
  137. 00:07:36.840 – 00:07:42.540 And I felt someone needed to see us at the age of 12 and at the age of 14.
  138. 00:07:43.840 – 00:07:47.320 The popular club here was Leo's Casino.
  139. 00:07:47.680 – 00:07:51.500 In those days, a lot of those acts didn't go
  140. 00:07:51.500 – 00:07:54.660 and do the large venues like they do now.
  141. 00:07:54.980 – 00:07:57.940 The supper club was the next level.
  142. 00:07:57.940 – 00:08:00.500 Like you had the popular Copa
  143. 00:08:00.500 – 00:08:03.520 Cabana in New York City and Cleveland.
  144. 00:08:04.020 – 00:08:06.500 You had the Versaia Motor in.
  145. 00:08:07.040 – 00:08:11.040 So let me for maybe your age group.
  146. 00:08:11.600 – 00:08:13.920 Let me give you a picture of Cleveland.
  147. 00:08:14.760 – 00:08:18.000 You had clubs from like a hundred and five
  148. 00:08:18.000 – 00:08:20.740 all the way down to seventy ninth or seventy first.
  149. 00:08:20.860 – 00:08:22.520 It was closed everywhere.
  150. 00:08:23.320 – 00:08:25.660 People were out, man, having fun.
  151. 00:08:25.660 – 00:08:28.140 A lot of national acts came through here.
  152. 00:08:28.460 – 00:08:31.940 A lot of them just came in sometimes to sit, you know, just sit in
  153. 00:08:31.940 – 00:08:37.400 and play because Cleveland, as far as the music goes, it was like Detroit.
  154. 00:08:37.980 – 00:08:41.919 But we didn't have the producers and what have you
  155. 00:08:41.919 – 00:08:44.360 to elevate us to that next level.
  156. 00:08:45.040 – 00:08:49.220 So it was like for me, I wanted to be in the music business.
  157. 00:08:50.280 – 00:08:53.020 So the Temptations were playing the Versaia.
  158. 00:08:53.020 – 00:08:56.640 I saw it in a Friday Plain Diller Friday magazine.
  159. 00:08:56.740 – 00:08:58.760 It was about 11 o'clock at night.
  160. 00:08:59.320 – 00:09:01.520 And I thought I'd give a call to the venue.
  161. 00:09:02.220 – 00:09:05.680 And when I called the venue, I knew the name Eddie Kendricks well.
  162. 00:09:05.780 – 00:09:09.400 And from just studying the album covers for so many years,
  163. 00:09:09.760 – 00:09:11.840 I felt a vibe with Eddie and Paul.
  164. 00:09:12.720 – 00:09:14.800 And I called and asked for Eddie.
  165. 00:09:14.960 – 00:09:17.660 In those days, they send you right through to the room.
  166. 00:09:17.960 – 00:09:20.720 And I have to tell you that even at 14,
  167. 00:09:20.720 – 00:09:23.620 my voice was heavy as it is now.
  168. 00:09:23.940 – 00:09:26.480 So I sounded like an adult man when I called.
  169. 00:09:26.520 – 00:09:27.980 I didn't think about that then.
  170. 00:09:28.040 – 00:09:30.380 And I called and I had to speak to Eddie.
  171. 00:09:30.400 – 00:09:34.460 We greeted and I told him, I said, man, you know, I have a group
  172. 00:09:34.460 – 00:09:37.280 and we sing your songs and people love us, you know,
  173. 00:09:37.360 – 00:09:38.600 because of the talent show.
  174. 00:09:39.520 – 00:09:40.600 And that was the first time.
  175. 00:09:40.740 – 00:09:42.400 Yeah, that was the first talent show.
  176. 00:09:42.480 – 00:09:43.780 First performance ever.
  177. 00:09:44.340 – 00:09:47.920 So what would you say to a young artist that,
  178. 00:09:48.760 – 00:09:51.480 you know, they haven't got themselves out there
  179. 00:09:51.480 – 00:09:54.180 or scared or be afraid to get on stage
  180. 00:09:54.840 – 00:10:00.040 like that limited belief, like that first time stage fright.
  181. 00:10:00.500 – 00:10:03.340 You know, it's very funny about stage fright
  182. 00:10:03.920 – 00:10:07.840 because a lot of people relate butterflies.
  183. 00:10:08.300 – 00:10:09.860 I get butterflies nervous.
  184. 00:10:10.000 – 00:10:13.120 Yeah. Yeah, that's considered like a nervousness. Right.
  185. 00:10:13.280 – 00:10:15.600 But here's the story to that.
  186. 00:10:16.480 – 00:10:18.740 If you've been in the business a long time
  187. 00:10:18.740 – 00:10:22.620 and then you lose those butterflies, it's time to come off stage.
  188. 00:10:27.780 – 00:10:33.380 That type of energy, you can cave in or push forward.
  189. 00:10:34.740 – 00:10:37.860 You see, as in anything, that's a new adventure.
  190. 00:10:38.520 – 00:10:41.840 The unknown always seems to be frightening until you jump in.
  191. 00:10:41.900 – 00:10:44.160 And sometimes you got to jump in with no feet.
  192. 00:10:46.140 – 00:10:47.640 Jump in with no feet. Yeah.
  193. 00:10:47.640 – 00:10:51.440 That means you don't know what's happening, where you're going to go.
  194. 00:10:52.260 – 00:10:56.880 But what's important and most important is faith in yourself.
  195. 00:10:57.180 – 00:11:01.100 Think how much faith that I have to pick up the phone at 14
  196. 00:11:01.100 – 00:11:04.760 and let me call one of the Temptations at 14.
  197. 00:11:06.910 – 00:11:08.370 The talent show did it for me.
  198. 00:11:08.690 – 00:11:13.170 The talent show did it in a way that I didn't want to go to school anymore.
  199. 00:11:15.060 – 00:11:17.620 You got that mindset at 14. I had that mindset at 14.
  200. 00:11:17.660 – 00:11:18.300 That's powerful.
  201. 00:11:18.300 – 00:11:24.480 So I called and he said, Where are you guys singing?
  202. 00:11:25.180 – 00:11:27.520 And I said, Well, we're singing in my mother's basement.
  203. 00:11:27.680 – 00:11:30.620 And he said, I'm not coming out to any mother's basement,
  204. 00:11:30.900 – 00:11:32.900 but you guys could come down here.
  205. 00:11:33.440 – 00:11:36.300 All right. It was at the Versailles Motor Inn.
  206. 00:11:36.460 – 00:11:38.720 We could go there. So it was late at night.
  207. 00:11:38.760 – 00:11:40.380 I was pumped. I was excited.
  208. 00:11:40.480 – 00:11:43.780 I couldn't wait to the next day, you know, to get together with them,
  209. 00:11:43.780 – 00:11:46.520 to tell them, hey, man, we're going to audition for Eddie Kendricks.
  210. 00:11:46.520 – 00:11:50.580 And the next day, I told my mother, my brothers and sisters,
  211. 00:11:50.700 – 00:11:52.460 and they were like, Mike, for real, how did you know?
  212. 00:11:52.680 – 00:11:54.700 How did you know where they were staying and everything?
  213. 00:11:54.800 – 00:11:57.360 So when I got with the guys, they had the same questions.
  214. 00:11:57.960 – 00:12:00.200 Man, how did you know? How did you know?
  215. 00:12:00.520 – 00:12:02.140 For me, I'm I'm researching.
  216. 00:12:02.460 – 00:12:03.960 Well, they're here. I called.
  217. 00:12:04.380 – 00:12:08.320 And the guy he said to me when I called, hey, man, they're not staying here.
  218. 00:12:08.820 – 00:12:10.760 They're staying down the street at the Holiday Inn.
  219. 00:12:10.900 – 00:12:13.700 I said, the Holiday Inn? Yeah, on 36th Street.
  220. 00:12:14.200 – 00:12:15.840 So that's how I found that out. Right.
  221. 00:12:15.840 – 00:12:20.260 So in those days, you know, you had the phone in the basement, the phone upstairs.
  222. 00:12:20.260 – 00:12:24.260 I said, we'll go in the basement and I'm going to call to show you.
  223. 00:12:24.700 – 00:12:25.860 I know where they are.
  224. 00:12:26.840 – 00:12:28.840 So I called and they went downstairs.
  225. 00:12:28.980 – 00:12:30.320 I said, pick up the phone.
  226. 00:12:31.180 – 00:12:35.140 And they picked up the phone and they heard the operator say, sorry, he's not in.
  227. 00:12:35.600 – 00:12:39.360 So that call start calling other guys, David, Paul.
  228. 00:12:39.680 – 00:12:42.700 And they were like, oh, man, we're going to seek for the temptation.
  229. 00:12:42.780 – 00:12:44.320 They were pumped. Right. Yeah.
  230. 00:12:44.320 – 00:12:45.500 So we already.
  231. 00:12:46.200 – 00:12:48.600 And one of the things that Eddie said to me,
  232. 00:12:49.380 – 00:12:51.240 he said, don't bring any cooties down here.
  233. 00:12:52.140 – 00:12:57.460 And cooties was our term for what people would say, hoodlums or the gangsters.
  234. 00:12:57.660 – 00:12:58.940 Don't bring them down here.
  235. 00:12:59.120 – 00:13:02.680 And as soon as he said that in a way, that
  236. 00:13:03.440 – 00:13:05.540 kind of celebrity thing
  237. 00:13:06.220 – 00:13:09.840 kind of went away because he was speaking our language,
  238. 00:13:09.860 – 00:13:11.940 but he didn't want to be bothered with that.
  239. 00:13:11.940 – 00:13:14.360 So he was he was aware.
  240. 00:13:14.560 – 00:13:19.440 I was aware that he was aware what was going on in our generation. Right. Yeah.
  241. 00:13:20.220 – 00:13:23.140 So a couple of days or a day or two,
  242. 00:13:23.420 – 00:13:26.660 a day or two before we got ready to go down, I called again.
  243. 00:13:27.000 – 00:13:28.980 And this is how the phone call went.
  244. 00:13:30.720 – 00:13:31.620 Hello. Hello, Eddie.
  245. 00:13:32.240 – 00:13:34.220 Who is this? This is Bill.
  246. 00:13:34.560 – 00:13:36.040 Don't come down here, damn it.
  247. 00:13:36.220 – 00:13:38.280 You didn't call. You bugged everybody in the group.
  248. 00:13:38.580 – 00:13:39.200 I'm sorry.
  249. 00:13:39.200 – 00:13:43.020 Look, if I hear you bugged another person in this group,
  250. 00:13:44.200 – 00:13:45.280 don't come down here.
  251. 00:13:45.780 – 00:13:46.900 So don't bug.
  252. 00:13:47.080 – 00:13:48.980 If you if you don't do it, you can come.
  253. 00:13:49.320 – 00:13:50.760 OK. And I didn't know I'm sorry.
  254. 00:13:51.080 – 00:13:52.080 So he said, OK.
  255. 00:13:52.400 – 00:13:54.640 Now, I didn't tell the fellas almost booed.
  256. 00:13:54.940 – 00:13:58.000 So, yeah, yeah, yeah.
  257. 00:13:58.120 – 00:14:00.060 And it came to that day.
  258. 00:14:00.580 – 00:14:03.220 And we went down and he answered the door.
  259. 00:14:03.400 – 00:14:06.080 And we I had never seen any with facial hair.
  260. 00:14:06.220 – 00:14:09.180 Very thin fellow, like six, one, very thin.
  261. 00:14:09.560 – 00:14:14.160 And we walked in and I noticed and it was the first time that people
  262. 00:14:14.160 – 00:14:17.420 I saw someone who actually collected records
  263. 00:14:17.420 – 00:14:20.980 because in his hotel room, it must have been about
  264. 00:14:20.980 – 00:14:24.980 maybe 50 records lined up of albums of different artists
  265. 00:14:24.980 – 00:14:26.160 other than themselves.
  266. 00:14:26.680 – 00:14:30.360 So we found out that he was a collector of phonographs.
  267. 00:14:30.880 – 00:14:35.880 And so we came in and we had a lot of questions, you know, like
  268. 00:14:35.880 – 00:14:38.120 why didn't you and David get along?
  269. 00:14:38.120 – 00:14:42.080 And he addressed it as is as if it was territorial.
  270. 00:14:42.780 – 00:14:43.900 And I'm from Birmingham.
  271. 00:14:44.400 – 00:14:45.760 David is from Mississippi.
  272. 00:14:45.840 – 00:14:47.260 That's how he addressed it.
  273. 00:14:47.420 – 00:14:50.260 But we got the impression that everything was cool.
  274. 00:14:50.660 – 00:14:52.160 We asked about drugs.
  275. 00:14:52.920 – 00:14:53.740 What I noticed
  276. 00:14:54.460 – 00:14:58.780 that they never spoke about each other's business.
  277. 00:14:59.180 – 00:15:03.860 The answer was, I don't know about anybody else, but I don't, you know.
  278. 00:15:04.060 – 00:15:06.160 So we picked up on that.
  279. 00:15:06.160 – 00:15:08.040 So let me hear you sing.
  280. 00:15:08.660 – 00:15:11.620 We got up and we sang an OJ song.
  281. 00:15:11.720 – 00:15:12.760 How does it feel?
  282. 00:15:13.160 – 00:15:14.160 He's very impressed.
  283. 00:15:14.820 – 00:15:17.800 And then I saw him don't look back.
  284. 00:15:18.600 – 00:15:21.080 And the moment that I finished.
  285. 00:15:22.600 – 00:15:27.260 I kind of got the same response that I got from the talent show.
  286. 00:15:27.300 – 00:15:29.980 He jumped up and ran out of the room. Wow.
  287. 00:15:31.760 – 00:15:37.440 And all the guys just it was a surprise because he didn't say anything.
  288. 00:15:37.440 – 00:15:39.620 He just jumped up and ran out of the room.
  289. 00:15:40.080 – 00:15:43.580 And we're all we all start, you know, look toward the door as he went out.
  290. 00:15:43.940 – 00:15:48.140 And in my mind, I said he went to get Paul
  291. 00:15:48.820 – 00:15:54.020 because the older guys told me you sound like Paul so much like Paul.
  292. 00:15:54.160 – 00:15:56.040 He came back. He was collected.
  293. 00:15:56.700 – 00:15:57.940 You know, where did you go?
  294. 00:15:58.240 – 00:16:01.420 Oh, I went to see some of the other guys in the group.
  295. 00:16:02.060 – 00:16:04.960 You know, was was around.
  296. 00:16:05.080 – 00:16:07.160 And then I knew that it was Paul.
  297. 00:16:07.440 – 00:16:08.840 Yeah. Wow.
  298. 00:16:11.620 – 00:16:14.580 Then I started to show the choreography,
  299. 00:16:15.360 – 00:16:17.540 which you say as well, I just move.
  300. 00:16:17.680 – 00:16:18.380 I'm not a dancer.
  301. 00:16:18.500 – 00:16:22.300 So I was showing the choreography and where he was standing,
  302. 00:16:22.480 – 00:16:25.540 the hotel room, you can look out into the parking lot.
  303. 00:16:25.700 – 00:16:27.620 And Paul just happened to be pulling in.
  304. 00:16:27.940 – 00:16:32.300 And we all ran to the to the window because he said, here's Paul now.
  305. 00:16:32.640 – 00:16:36.700 And we saw this green El Dorado pull in green and white
  306. 00:16:36.700 – 00:16:40.360 pull in and saw this guy get out.
  307. 00:16:40.820 – 00:16:45.380 And he had what we would call a polo shirt.
  308. 00:16:45.500 – 00:16:48.600 This is like 1967.
  309. 00:16:48.980 – 00:16:50.500 He had like a polo.
  310. 00:16:50.860 – 00:16:54.940 This polo was like a caramel color.
  311. 00:16:56.680 – 00:16:59.820 And it was it's hard to describe because I've never seen another one
  312. 00:16:59.820 – 00:17:03.460 like it because it was like material on material made within it
  313. 00:17:03.460 – 00:17:05.400 because they had a design. It was really nice.
  314. 00:17:05.400 – 00:17:08.220 And then they had a pair of silk shorts,
  315. 00:17:08.740 – 00:17:12.500 which would have kind of tapered to the knee that length
  316. 00:17:12.500 – 00:17:16.680 and a pair of slip on deck tennis shoes and a pair of Ray bands.
  317. 00:17:18.339 – 00:17:21.260 And as he got out of the car, we was making a hoopla.
  318. 00:17:21.460 – 00:17:22.119 Paul, Paul.
  319. 00:17:22.220 – 00:17:25.339 And he humored us by putting on the glass, his glass,
  320. 00:17:25.560 – 00:17:29.220 like touching his glasses and walking like he was a big time star.
  321. 00:17:29.440 – 00:17:32.680 You know, yeah. And there was an awning
  322. 00:17:33.220 – 00:17:35.880 that he would walk under to come into the hotel
  323. 00:17:35.880 – 00:17:37.980 that he would be out of our visibility.
  324. 00:17:38.440 – 00:17:42.480 But before that occurred, he threw his keys in the air
  325. 00:17:42.480 – 00:17:45.700 without losing the stride and without looking back,
  326. 00:17:46.020 – 00:17:47.200 caught him behind his back.
  327. 00:17:48.320 – 00:17:49.640 He did a toe spin,
  328. 00:17:50.140 – 00:17:53.420 caught his keys behind his back without losing the stride.
  329. 00:17:53.980 – 00:17:57.940 And he came in and Earl Brevely was standing by the door
  330. 00:17:57.940 – 00:18:02.340 and Eddie says answer the door and he answers the door.
  331. 00:18:02.340 – 00:18:05.460 And then I heard Earl says, hey, Paul, and Paul says,
  332. 00:18:06.160 – 00:18:08.400 yeah, yeah, yeah, I talked to you on the phone.
  333. 00:18:08.640 – 00:18:11.240 And I said, no, that was me.
  334. 00:18:11.560 – 00:18:13.540 And he said it just like this.
  335. 00:18:13.980 – 00:18:15.260 Oh, that was you, huh?
  336. 00:18:15.500 – 00:18:19.780 Like that, you know, I was like, it didn't sound like approving. Right.
  337. 00:18:20.120 – 00:18:23.320 So I said he was the one that probably gave Eddie all the trouble
  338. 00:18:23.320 – 00:18:26.800 because not only, you know, did I feel like I messed up,
  339. 00:18:26.820 – 00:18:31.020 but I felt like I got him in trouble by calling them. Right. Yeah. And
  340. 00:18:32.740 – 00:18:36.020 I was nervous because he was the choreographer
  341. 00:18:37.020 – 00:18:38.520 and Eddie was kind of proud.
  342. 00:18:38.600 – 00:18:40.460 He said, go ahead, Bill, finish the steps.
  343. 00:18:41.340 – 00:18:44.160 And Paul had on the Ray Band, so you really couldn't read,
  344. 00:18:44.340 – 00:18:47.220 you know, his face, he had a straight look like a poker face.
  345. 00:18:47.860 – 00:18:50.560 And he was like, yeah, do the steps.
  346. 00:18:51.620 – 00:18:56.480 And I started with the choreography and I was probably
  347. 00:18:58.240 – 00:18:59.880 60 seconds in.
  348. 00:19:00.320 – 00:19:03.360 And he said it just like this.
  349. 00:19:04.360 – 00:19:06.900 We got a goddamn thief in the room.
  350. 00:19:07.660 – 00:19:11.000 And as a kid, 14,
  351. 00:19:11.700 – 00:19:15.180 it didn't hit me like a compliment.
  352. 00:19:16.500 – 00:19:18.860 It actually hit me like I was a thief.
  353. 00:19:19.000 – 00:19:22.300 And I stopped right there in my tracks.
  354. 00:19:24.000 – 00:19:29.420 And I think he picked up on that and he said, OK, they can dance
  355. 00:19:29.420 – 00:19:30.840 but can they sing?
  356. 00:19:31.520 – 00:19:32.820 And he was already pumped.
  357. 00:19:33.000 – 00:19:35.700 You know, he's like, yeah, right. See? Yeah.
  358. 00:19:35.760 – 00:19:37.940 So we saw Harold's song, How Does It Feel?
  359. 00:19:38.000 – 00:19:42.700 He was like, yeah, OJs, you know, they do the OJs and then I saw him
  360. 00:19:42.700 – 00:19:43.320 don't look back.
  361. 00:19:44.120 – 00:19:47.200 And Eddie was sitting down and Paul was standing up.
  362. 00:19:47.740 – 00:19:51.080 And Eddie kept nudging him while I was singing and pointing up.
  363. 00:19:51.680 – 00:19:54.320 Get ready, get ready. He's on you.
  364. 00:19:54.820 – 00:19:58.360 And after everything was after we were done,
  365. 00:19:58.360 – 00:20:03.460 I was waiting on this response and he just went, oh, yeah,
  366. 00:20:04.100 – 00:20:06.940 they can sing, but they'll be broke up by tomorrow.
  367. 00:20:07.740 – 00:20:11.300 And one of the guys in the group said, sure would.
  368. 00:20:12.960 – 00:20:16.880 And one of the herald got upset and like balled up his fist
  369. 00:20:16.880 – 00:20:20.060 and was like boo man, because his nickname was Boo, Boo's Alfred.
  370. 00:20:20.160 – 00:20:22.740 Boo man. And then Paul said, look at his boy,
  371. 00:20:22.820 – 00:20:24.360 trying to give him the high sign.
  372. 00:20:24.640 – 00:20:26.440 Like, why did you say that?
  373. 00:20:26.760 – 00:20:28.220 OK, I'll see you guys later.
  374. 00:20:28.220 – 00:20:31.580 And he left. And I was like, wow.
  375. 00:20:32.220 – 00:20:35.560 So Eddie said, look, I want you guys to come back tomorrow.
  376. 00:20:35.720 – 00:20:37.520 I want some people to hear you.
  377. 00:20:37.780 – 00:20:40.700 So we will pump these because I got to get ready to go to work.
  378. 00:20:41.220 – 00:20:43.160 And I asked, where do you work?
  379. 00:20:44.160 – 00:20:46.180 And he laughed and said, little brother,
  380. 00:20:47.340 – 00:20:48.260 this is work.
  381. 00:20:48.840 – 00:20:50.480 So here's our orientation.
  382. 00:20:51.120 – 00:20:53.800 So we started at the age of 14.
  383. 00:20:53.940 – 00:20:54.840 And I was the youngest.
  384. 00:20:55.200 – 00:20:56.880 Hey, let's go to work. Right.
  385. 00:20:56.880 – 00:20:59.020 You know that we started using that.
  386. 00:21:00.120 – 00:21:01.740 So the next day,
  387. 00:21:02.880 – 00:21:04.280 no, what occurred?
  388. 00:21:05.000 – 00:21:09.180 Eddie went into the bathroom to get ready to for work.
  389. 00:21:09.440 – 00:21:12.840 And I was standing outside the bathroom door
  390. 00:21:12.840 – 00:21:15.720 while he was trimming up his food, man, just talking.
  391. 00:21:15.880 – 00:21:17.620 And there was a knock on the door.
  392. 00:21:18.680 – 00:21:20.000 And he said, answer that.
  393. 00:21:20.440 – 00:21:21.940 And when I opened the door,
  394. 00:21:22.520 – 00:21:25.400 it was this tall fellow
  395. 00:21:25.920 – 00:21:29.680 that had on this gold shirt with a V neck,
  396. 00:21:30.280 – 00:21:34.620 green pants and the same deck tennis shoes that Paul had on.
  397. 00:21:35.180 – 00:21:38.360 And we were listening to the Temptations album,
  398. 00:21:38.480 – 00:21:40.180 Temptations with a Lot of Soul.
  399. 00:21:40.880 – 00:21:44.020 And the song that came on was a song called Save My Love
  400. 00:21:44.020 – 00:21:47.200 for a Rainy Day, which was a song that Eddie had recorded.
  401. 00:21:47.480 – 00:21:49.800 And this guy, his arm was in a cast.
  402. 00:21:50.500 – 00:21:54.680 And as soon as I opened the door and he he was just standing there,
  403. 00:21:54.680 – 00:21:56.400 he looked at me and I looked at him.
  404. 00:21:56.720 – 00:21:59.720 Then he pushed past me and said, whoa, this is my song.
  405. 00:22:00.120 – 00:22:01.500 And I was like, Eddie, who was that?
  406. 00:22:01.720 – 00:22:02.620 He said, that's Ruffett.
  407. 00:22:03.040 – 00:22:05.600 And see, he didn't have on glasses and anything.
  408. 00:22:05.800 – 00:22:11.820 And in 67, a lot of black men were transferring over
  409. 00:22:11.820 – 00:22:14.800 from process, process hairdos.
  410. 00:22:14.960 – 00:22:18.380 I don't know. You're familiar with the process where you get your hair
  411. 00:22:18.380 – 00:22:19.460 straightened. Yeah.
  412. 00:22:19.520 – 00:22:22.060 So, you know, you kind of had that like that white boy's hair.
  413. 00:22:22.200 – 00:22:23.100 You know what I mean?
  414. 00:22:24.300 – 00:22:29.560 So yeah, they were leaving that and going in the 60s was about
  415. 00:22:30.540 – 00:22:34.160 the true culture of blacks in America.
  416. 00:22:34.520 – 00:22:39.140 And I would say that period was our culture.
  417. 00:22:40.220 – 00:22:41.740 And I say that.
  418. 00:22:42.360 – 00:22:45.720 And even though when I'm going to say you may not understand it,
  419. 00:22:45.720 – 00:22:47.760 but I'm going to use it so you'll get an idea.
  420. 00:22:48.380 – 00:22:50.660 The ants are ancestors.
  421. 00:22:51.940 – 00:22:58.120 Well, upon the blacks in the 60s, like full force,
  422. 00:22:59.080 – 00:23:00.700 you can see it in the dress.
  423. 00:23:01.440 – 00:23:03.320 You can see it in the consciousness.
  424. 00:23:04.120 – 00:23:05.720 But at that time in America,
  425. 00:23:06.080 – 00:23:10.620 everybody was questioning the values of America.
  426. 00:23:10.720 – 00:23:12.980 You had the hippies, you had this.
  427. 00:23:13.160 – 00:23:15.300 They would release. They were questioning everything.
  428. 00:23:15.300 – 00:23:18.780 So out of that period, you got your Martin Luther Kings.
  429. 00:23:18.800 – 00:23:21.100 You got your H rap Browns.
  430. 00:23:21.100 – 00:23:24.540 You got your Nikki Giovanni, Nikki Giovanni.
  431. 00:23:24.880 – 00:23:29.820 You got all our revolutionary people was through the 60s.
  432. 00:23:29.820 – 00:23:35.160 So the Afro was the identification, black power.
  433. 00:23:35.400 – 00:23:40.720 But David was standing there with a hairdo that looked like in 67
  434. 00:23:40.720 – 00:23:45.100 that looked like it was a woman's hair straight out of rollers, curlers.
  435. 00:23:47.020 – 00:23:49.760 So it took me aback, you know,
  436. 00:23:50.200 – 00:23:53.320 because there's a lot of things that can go on in the entertainment industry.
  437. 00:23:53.820 – 00:23:56.020 Right. You know, your stuff about Puffy now, you know,
  438. 00:23:56.040 – 00:23:57.840 which is not new, a lot of that stuff.
  439. 00:23:57.860 – 00:24:00.100 So you didn't know who was who, what was what.
  440. 00:24:00.380 – 00:24:01.500 You know what I mean? Right.
  441. 00:24:01.540 – 00:24:04.680 And I was cognizant of cognizant of that at that age.
  442. 00:24:04.980 – 00:24:08.840 But he pushed past me and he started dancing
  443. 00:24:09.380 – 00:24:14.120 in the middle of the room to the song Save My Love for a Rainy Day.
  444. 00:24:14.120 – 00:24:16.780 And they were just like taken in.
  445. 00:24:16.980 – 00:24:19.560 And even where I was standing, I was taken in.
  446. 00:24:19.620 – 00:24:21.640 I had to I had to say dance, David.
  447. 00:24:21.940 – 00:24:24.280 And then he quickly turned around and say, hey,
  448. 00:24:24.360 – 00:24:26.460 you guys can come to my room if you want to.
  449. 00:24:26.600 – 00:24:29.480 So Eddie said, OK, look, make sure you guys are back at the wall.
  450. 00:24:29.620 – 00:24:30.380 So we said, OK.
  451. 00:24:30.840 – 00:24:34.400 So we walk and we walk into David's room, which is a door to down.
  452. 00:24:34.620 – 00:24:37.320 And he says, my record player is just as good as Eddie's.
  453. 00:24:37.960 – 00:24:40.420 You know, so we go and we open the door.
  454. 00:24:40.500 – 00:24:43.820 And it was a gentleman in the bathroom picking his hair out.
  455. 00:24:44.420 – 00:24:46.620 And I was like, David, who is that?
  456. 00:24:46.860 – 00:24:48.820 And, you know, you want to be the first to know.
  457. 00:24:48.920 – 00:24:51.480 And I tell the rest of the guys is coming in right behind me.
  458. 00:24:51.560 – 00:24:53.940 But they're right behind me. But I want to be in the know.
  459. 00:24:53.940 – 00:24:54.580 You're right. Right.
  460. 00:24:55.440 – 00:24:58.040 And I didn't hear him all the way.
  461. 00:24:58.220 – 00:25:00.880 And I thought he said, that's our manager.
  462. 00:25:01.180 – 00:25:04.140 And I turned around to the rest of the guys and I said, hey, man,
  463. 00:25:04.220 – 00:25:05.260 that's the temps manager.
  464. 00:25:05.660 – 00:25:08.000 And David got in my face and said, that's my manager.
  465. 00:25:09.380 – 00:25:12.320 And then like I just straighten up like right.
  466. 00:25:13.040 – 00:25:14.700 And in the hotel room,
  467. 00:25:14.720 – 00:25:17.380 you only have so much room for clothing and what have you.
  468. 00:25:17.540 – 00:25:21.140 They had brought up an extra rack for David and like people
  469. 00:25:21.140 – 00:25:24.720 collect to the shoes that they David must have had about 30 or 40
  470. 00:25:24.720 – 00:25:26.060 pairs of shoes to wear.
  471. 00:25:26.380 – 00:25:29.360 Then on the on the dresser, it was a tray
  472. 00:25:29.360 – 00:25:32.960 with about maybe 30 pair of different frames of glasses.
  473. 00:25:33.100 – 00:25:37.280 You know, so we walked in and we wanted that.
  474. 00:25:37.580 – 00:25:40.480 He puts his he puts this little record player on
  475. 00:25:40.480 – 00:25:44.540 that couldn't compare to Eddie's and he's playing their album.
  476. 00:25:45.080 – 00:25:47.260 And we David Singh, David Singh.
  477. 00:25:47.640 – 00:25:51.020 He'd go, no, it's like David Singh.
  478. 00:25:51.500 – 00:25:55.800 No. So Harold Beverly opened up and he was rolling.
  479. 00:25:56.080 – 00:26:01.020 David turned around like after he was 30 seconds in for not your words,
  480. 00:26:01.340 – 00:26:02.740 for not your words.
  481. 00:26:03.060 – 00:26:06.560 Harold, shut up, because David was like intimidating. Right.
  482. 00:26:07.040 – 00:26:08.420 So we had questions.
  483. 00:26:08.420 – 00:26:13.240 You know, it's like, hey, man, we heard you were supposed to go to this party.
  484. 00:26:13.500 – 00:26:17.580 And David at that time was 26 and David was like, party,
  485. 00:26:18.620 – 00:26:22.120 party, get your rest, get your rest.
  486. 00:26:23.140 – 00:26:25.260 And he was almost during this period
  487. 00:26:25.260 – 00:26:26.700 was talking about different other things.
  488. 00:26:26.860 – 00:26:28.280 And then he was almost dressed.
  489. 00:26:28.860 – 00:26:31.880 And then he said, I'm not wearing this.
  490. 00:26:31.980 – 00:26:33.420 So he took that all off.
  491. 00:26:33.460 – 00:26:37.100 In my mind, at 14, he's showing out.
  492. 00:26:38.680 – 00:26:39.720 OK, so
  493. 00:26:40.680 – 00:26:44.220 as he was going in his drawer to get the fresh pair of socks
  494. 00:26:44.220 – 00:26:45.980 to go with his next outfit,
  495. 00:26:46.840 – 00:26:50.500 one of us asked, which one of you go with Tammy Terrell?
  496. 00:26:50.840 – 00:26:53.660 That was our turn for saying that that's your girlfriend.
  497. 00:26:54.060 – 00:26:55.340 Is that who you go with?
  498. 00:26:55.780 – 00:26:59.080 You know, so David did this.
  499. 00:26:59.600 – 00:27:01.960 Which one of you go with Tammy Terrell?
  500. 00:27:02.100 – 00:27:04.260 And he says, go with
  501. 00:27:05.620 – 00:27:10.260 go with and at the time, he pulled off some pictures out of the drawer
  502. 00:27:10.260 – 00:27:13.700 and he handed them to Alfred and we all jumped on the pictures.
  503. 00:27:13.980 – 00:27:19.120 And it was a picture of Tammy and it said to my husband, David Ruffin.
  504. 00:27:19.520 – 00:27:22.860 And we said, oh, man, you married to Tammy Terrell.
  505. 00:27:23.160 – 00:27:24.520 What did the picture say?
  506. 00:27:25.000 – 00:27:27.740 It's just you get an idea of David.
  507. 00:27:28.240 – 00:27:30.720 OK, so so so.
  508. 00:27:30.720 – 00:27:34.520 So in my mind, I'm like.
  509. 00:27:35.440 – 00:27:37.780 This guy's like egotistical.
  510. 00:27:38.580 – 00:27:41.660 You know, I didn't have a turn, but I felt, you know, ego. Right.
  511. 00:27:41.720 – 00:27:43.460 So I just got I got regular.
  512. 00:27:43.680 – 00:27:45.420 I got, you know, I felt comfortable.
  513. 00:27:46.400 – 00:27:49.780 And I think one of the guys asked him something and he said,
  514. 00:27:49.960 – 00:27:52.440 you see that bottle of medicine on my dresser?
  515. 00:27:53.320 – 00:27:55.300 I have to drink that every day.
  516. 00:27:55.400 – 00:27:58.060 He had ulcers at 26 years old.
  517. 00:27:58.060 – 00:28:00.440 OK. So how was he at?
  518. 00:28:00.500 – 00:28:02.500 How old was he at the time? He was 26.
  519. 00:28:03.660 – 00:28:05.140 Oh, wow. OK.
  520. 00:28:05.380 – 00:28:07.260 Yeah, he had ulcers. He was 26.
  521. 00:28:08.100 – 00:28:11.800 And I remember getting up off the bed and walking over
  522. 00:28:11.800 – 00:28:15.580 to the side of the dresser and watch him comb his hair out.
  523. 00:28:17.000 – 00:28:20.120 And he first time he really initiated something.
  524. 00:28:20.540 – 00:28:24.540 And you guys have heard of a 75 and everybody was like, no, no.
  525. 00:28:24.600 – 00:28:27.880 And I went, I have, you know, like that, you know,
  526. 00:28:27.880 – 00:28:29.540 I'm flexing. I have.
  527. 00:28:30.480 – 00:28:33.340 And he he from combing his hair out.
  528. 00:28:33.420 – 00:28:34.780 He was like 63. I'm a little guy.
  529. 00:28:34.780 – 00:28:38.500 He turned around, got in my face and said, what is it then?
  530. 00:28:39.260 – 00:28:40.860 And I said, I was intimidated.
  531. 00:28:40.860 – 00:28:42.860 And I said, I don't know. I was just kidding.
  532. 00:28:42.920 – 00:28:45.860 He said, I know you were right. Yeah.
  533. 00:28:46.280 – 00:28:48.900 So he completely completed everything.
  534. 00:28:48.980 – 00:28:50.840 And we go downstairs in the elevator
  535. 00:28:51.500 – 00:28:54.900 and we're standing outside on the ramp
  536. 00:28:54.900 – 00:28:58.960 like of the hotel before you walk into the parking lot.
  537. 00:28:59.400 – 00:29:03.860 And we see this long limousine come around.
  538. 00:29:04.300 – 00:29:09.180 And you you you couldn't tell whether it was a Mercedes
  539. 00:29:09.180 – 00:29:11.700 or whether it was a Cadillac. It was sharp.
  540. 00:29:11.840 – 00:29:13.660 I had never seen anything like it.
  541. 00:29:13.720 – 00:29:15.620 I guess this was the 75.
  542. 00:29:16.520 – 00:29:20.800 And on the car panel on the passenger side,
  543. 00:29:21.080 – 00:29:23.700 you know, you got the with a light panel, then there's the door.
  544. 00:29:23.700 – 00:29:27.460 But at the bottom of the front panel panel
  545. 00:29:27.460 – 00:29:31.220 written in curse and in cursive was David Ruffin.
  546. 00:29:31.300 – 00:29:33.820 And it was a pair of white frame glasses
  547. 00:29:33.820 – 00:29:37.280 like illustrated on the car. Wow. Right.
  548. 00:29:37.600 – 00:29:40.520 And so they the shelf opened the door.
  549. 00:29:40.520 – 00:29:43.220 When he opened the door, we saw the blooming carpet.
  550. 00:29:43.440 – 00:29:44.600 We saw the television.
  551. 00:29:44.980 – 00:29:48.880 We saw the bar in the back and we saw David get in.
  552. 00:29:49.400 – 00:29:50.560 And he's like, wow.
  553. 00:29:50.760 – 00:29:52.700 Then we saw the driver get out.
  554. 00:29:52.700 – 00:29:56.640 Walk back around the David's door, open David's door,
  555. 00:29:56.940 – 00:30:00.460 let down David's window, go back around, get in the car
  556. 00:30:00.460 – 00:30:05.360 and take David to the gig, which you can walk probably in eight minutes.
  557. 00:30:05.700 – 00:30:12.560 Wow. Some of them early lessons like, you know, having a good time,
  558. 00:30:12.660 – 00:30:16.960 but also soaking up the wisdom and the knowledge and experience.
  559. 00:30:17.600 – 00:30:21.020 How big is mentorship at an early age or any lessons?
  560. 00:30:21.020 – 00:30:26.260 Well, after that, what occurred for us the next day
  561. 00:30:27.640 – 00:30:31.960 really catapulted me into, OK, this is it all the way.
  562. 00:30:32.860 – 00:30:35.900 So. The day.
  563. 00:30:37.320 – 00:30:39.620 That was the next day, the people didn't show up.
  564. 00:30:40.220 – 00:30:42.540 And we were walking Eddie to work.
  565. 00:30:44.820 – 00:30:48.200 You had to Sahara Hotel on the other side of the street,
  566. 00:30:48.240 – 00:30:51.180 and then there was the Versailles Motor Inn.
  567. 00:30:52.800 – 00:30:55.860 And we saw we heard somebody say, hey, Eddie.
  568. 00:30:56.280 – 00:31:00.600 And it was a guy with his luggage getting out of a taxi.
  569. 00:31:01.300 – 00:31:04.920 And out of respect, we stayed on this side of the street
  570. 00:31:04.920 – 00:31:07.680 while Eddie walked over to the guy who called me.
  571. 00:31:07.720 – 00:31:09.260 Talked for a few minutes.
  572. 00:31:09.500 – 00:31:12.960 Then he motioned for us to come over and he introduced us
  573. 00:31:12.960 – 00:31:15.160 to Levi Stubbs and the four tops.
  574. 00:31:15.460 – 00:31:19.680 And he told us to go upstairs with Levi and he was going to work.
  575. 00:31:19.680 – 00:31:21.140 So we went upstairs with Levi.
  576. 00:31:21.340 – 00:31:25.180 We sung for Levi and he took all our names and numbers down.
  577. 00:31:25.200 – 00:31:28.480 And on the way out, one of the guys said,
  578. 00:31:28.980 – 00:31:31.660 there goes Barry Gordy and Diana Ross.
  579. 00:31:32.400 – 00:31:35.620 And me, I had on my I had on my father's
  580. 00:31:35.620 – 00:31:38.820 seersuckle suit with the white shirt and the white shoes
  581. 00:31:38.820 – 00:31:40.280 looking like I was from Panama.
  582. 00:31:40.780 – 00:31:41.700 You know what I'm saying?
  583. 00:31:42.300 – 00:31:44.620 And I was just trying to be impressive.
  584. 00:31:44.920 – 00:31:47.540 So I walked up and I said, how are you doing, Mr. Gordy?
  585. 00:31:47.620 – 00:31:48.900 My name is Michael Bell.
  586. 00:31:48.900 – 00:31:52.240 And I grabbed Diana Ross's hand and I kissed her on the cheek.
  587. 00:31:52.320 – 00:31:53.420 And I said, hi, Diana.
  588. 00:31:53.500 – 00:31:55.680 And she said, and she kind of blushed and said hi.
  589. 00:31:56.140 – 00:31:58.160 And then he bided her farewell.
  590. 00:31:58.320 – 00:32:00.520 And then he asked us, where are you guys coming from?
  591. 00:32:00.780 – 00:32:04.260 So I gave him the whole scoop, how we sung for Ed Paul.
  592. 00:32:04.320 – 00:32:07.440 And we just left Levi's room, you know,
  593. 00:32:07.500 – 00:32:08.880 and I guess what they were doing,
  594. 00:32:09.440 – 00:32:11.020 you know, Detroit wasn't that far away.
  595. 00:32:11.280 – 00:32:14.760 So their artists would come and support each of the shows
  596. 00:32:14.760 – 00:32:16.740 like they were coming to support the Timbs.
  597. 00:32:16.740 – 00:32:19.780 And so he said, well, let me let me let me hear
  598. 00:32:19.780 – 00:32:21.160 you guys sing something.
  599. 00:32:22.060 – 00:32:23.780 And we blasted out.
  600. 00:32:23.780 – 00:32:25.940 Oh, OK, not so loud, not so loud.
  601. 00:32:26.180 – 00:32:30.900 Call back to the hotel and ask for Robert Bullard
  602. 00:32:30.900 – 00:32:34.600 and tell him I said to give you guys an audition.
  603. 00:32:34.760 – 00:32:37.000 Later on, I found out that Robert was his nephew.
  604. 00:32:37.660 – 00:32:40.400 So on the day of our audition, we go in the room.
  605. 00:32:40.520 – 00:32:41.960 Robert, real nice guy.
  606. 00:32:42.300 – 00:32:44.800 It's a beautiful lady sitting in the chair, you know,
  607. 00:32:44.800 – 00:32:48.200 with her legs folded up and she has on that one piece jumper
  608. 00:32:48.200 – 00:32:50.340 where you can see her beautiful legs and everything.
  609. 00:32:50.340 – 00:32:51.120 She's gorgeous.
  610. 00:32:51.580 – 00:32:55.180 And he introduced us and said, this is Cindy Bird's song.
  611. 00:32:55.400 – 00:32:57.120 She's going to be the new supreme.
  612. 00:32:57.720 – 00:32:59.920 And I said, oh, it's going to be four Supremes.
  613. 00:33:00.160 – 00:33:01.320 And he said, no, three.
  614. 00:33:01.620 – 00:33:03.380 And that broke my heart.
  615. 00:33:04.440 – 00:33:05.700 Florence wasn't going to be in the group anymore.
  616. 00:33:05.740 – 00:33:06.600 That kind of broke my heart.
  617. 00:33:06.840 – 00:33:08.020 So we did our audition.
  618. 00:33:09.140 – 00:33:11.100 So I waited a day or two and I called
  619. 00:33:11.980 – 00:33:13.640 and he said to me,
  620. 00:33:15.100 – 00:33:20.140 Motown says you guys have a place with us upon graduation.
  621. 00:33:20.760 – 00:33:21.740 And I got mad.
  622. 00:33:22.540 – 00:33:24.060 Man, what about Stevie Wonder?
  623. 00:33:24.160 – 00:33:25.620 Stevie Wonder didn't graduate.
  624. 00:33:25.680 – 00:33:26.920 And he started laughing.
  625. 00:33:27.460 – 00:33:31.180 He said, man, Stevie Wonder, man, he's blind.
  626. 00:33:31.180 – 00:33:32.360 That's totally different.
  627. 00:33:32.420 – 00:33:36.240 So he said, anytime you come to Detroit, contact me.
  628. 00:33:36.240 – 00:33:37.460 And I did. And we got together.
  629. 00:33:37.480 – 00:33:40.340 And that's how I found out he was Gordy's nephew.
  630. 00:33:40.340 – 00:33:42.280 And I saw some of the history
  631. 00:33:42.280 – 00:33:47.100 or where Papa Gordy was an enterprising man himself.
  632. 00:33:47.180 – 00:33:48.220 You know, things like that.
  633. 00:33:48.360 – 00:33:49.780 I got a sense to see all that.
  634. 00:33:49.900 – 00:33:52.800 So from that occurring for me,
  635. 00:33:53.900 – 00:33:58.080 I stayed in touch with Eddie and Paul till Paul passed away
  636. 00:33:58.080 – 00:34:00.100 and Eddie passed away.
  637. 00:34:00.120 – 00:34:02.420 I was in contact with them throughout.
  638. 00:34:02.680 – 00:34:06.200 And I learned I was I was going to be groomed by Paul
  639. 00:34:06.200 – 00:34:10.159 in New York before they found Paul dead.
  640. 00:34:10.340 – 00:34:11.460 He had told me that.
  641. 00:34:11.620 – 00:34:14.100 So we didn't get a chance to get to that.
  642. 00:34:14.280 – 00:34:17.460 It's so much that I can say, if you want to do another show
  643. 00:34:17.460 – 00:34:19.760 about them and the things we can do that.
  644. 00:34:19.840 – 00:34:21.159 That's true. Yeah, young man.
  645. 00:34:21.620 – 00:34:22.780 I had a lot to see.
  646. 00:34:23.420 – 00:34:26.360 So and to hear the things from them.
  647. 00:34:27.620 – 00:34:30.100 You know, when Eddie got out of Temptations,
  648. 00:34:30.179 – 00:34:32.340 Eddie only had a couple hundred thousand dollars
  649. 00:34:32.880 – 00:34:39.270 and some houses out of all that fame.
  650. 00:34:40.670 – 00:34:42.330 Paul was down on his luck.
  651. 00:34:43.739 – 00:34:47.120 Well, Florence, she ended up on welfare.
  652. 00:34:47.639 – 00:34:48.920 I think she died on welfare.
  653. 00:34:49.380 – 00:34:52.960 Oh, man. So one thing about Eddie,
  654. 00:34:54.159 – 00:34:57.139 this whole push that I learned from Eddie, because I remember
  655. 00:34:57.139 – 00:35:00.240 I remember the first question I asked was,
  656. 00:35:01.320 – 00:35:05.020 how do you feel when someone else leads the song?
  657. 00:35:05.640 – 00:35:08.400 And he said, don't matter me, little brother, long as I get paid.
  658. 00:35:09.680 – 00:35:11.620 It was always as long as I get paid.
  659. 00:35:12.380 – 00:35:16.620 So from that, I knew I had to learn the business.
  660. 00:35:17.440 – 00:35:20.460 And I recorded my first record at 16.
  661. 00:35:21.340 – 00:35:22.400 Not with Motown.
  662. 00:35:23.040 – 00:35:25.100 It was a local label here
  663. 00:35:25.660 – 00:35:29.740 by Bale Bondsman, by the name of Chuck Brown.
  664. 00:35:30.640 – 00:35:33.560 Chuck Brown created a label called The Rule Records.
  665. 00:35:34.120 – 00:35:37.020 And initially, he created that label
  666. 00:35:37.020 – 00:35:40.120 because his girl was a great singer.
  667. 00:35:40.120 – 00:35:43.380 Her name was Cassandra Abrams, but we called her Chicken.
  668. 00:35:44.140 – 00:35:47.360 So Sauru, were you kind of learned the business, music business?
  669. 00:35:47.360 – 00:35:49.120 Well, I'm learning as I go.
  670. 00:35:49.320 – 00:35:49.820 Learn as you go.
  671. 00:35:50.100 – 00:35:52.160 Because Eddie was like
  672. 00:35:53.020 – 00:35:57.400 my big brother, like any references I need or I wasn't sure if I would call him
  673. 00:35:57.400 – 00:36:01.220 and he would say, little brother this, little brother that, you know,
  674. 00:36:01.220 – 00:36:03.840 and then I would see him every year, you know, he would come through.
  675. 00:36:07.600 – 00:36:10.640 So 16, so my parents had to sign that contract.
  676. 00:36:13.040 – 00:36:14.760 I wrote my first record.
  677. 00:36:15.700 – 00:36:18.760 I was brought to the label by Paul Woodall.
  678. 00:36:18.820 – 00:36:22.480 He had joined up with some other guys and they were called the Out of Sites.
  679. 00:36:22.820 – 00:36:26.960 And they were a very popular recording group,
  680. 00:36:27.240 – 00:36:31.060 as long as along with the entertains, along with the Imperial Wonders.
  681. 00:36:31.220 – 00:36:33.480 And people were recording and doing records.
  682. 00:36:33.820 – 00:36:37.840 And they were being played on the radio at that time by Ken Hawkins.
  683. 00:36:37.840 – 00:36:42.340 Ken Hawkins was a noted DJ who would reach out to a local talent,
  684. 00:36:42.700 – 00:36:44.960 Marvelous Ray, and promote them.
  685. 00:36:45.320 – 00:36:49.180 So and but who played my record was Lynn Toliver.
  686. 00:36:49.300 – 00:36:52.320 His name was Shotgun at the time.
  687. 00:36:52.780 – 00:36:54.720 Yeah, we became friends.
  688. 00:36:55.000 – 00:36:56.620 So Shotgun would play my record.
  689. 00:36:58.160 – 00:37:02.380 With that, I asked to be out of that contract.
  690. 00:37:02.540 – 00:37:07.020 And he let me go after maybe a year.
  691. 00:37:07.840 – 00:37:11.480 Because I think we did two shows.
  692. 00:37:12.260 – 00:37:16.340 We did one at the Lakeview Palladium in Dayton, Ohio,
  693. 00:37:16.760 – 00:37:19.720 where we opened up for Curtis Mayfield and impressions.
  694. 00:37:19.980 – 00:37:22.800 And that was right before Curtis went solo.
  695. 00:37:23.300 – 00:37:24.540 We did that.
  696. 00:37:24.800 – 00:37:26.320 So I recorded my record.
  697. 00:37:26.620 – 00:37:30.200 The focus on that time at the label, it was the Out of Sites.
  698. 00:37:30.860 – 00:37:34.180 So as far as material, it was going to the Out of Sites.
  699. 00:37:34.560 – 00:37:36.480 So I decided to write my own song.
  700. 00:37:36.480 – 00:37:40.460 And I did. And I took it to a noted guitar player
  701. 00:37:40.460 – 00:37:42.380 who was working with that whole situation.
  702. 00:37:42.600 – 00:37:44.580 I got by the name of Calvin Brown.
  703. 00:37:45.140 – 00:37:47.900 So Calvin Brown, I was singing my song for Calvin Brown.
  704. 00:37:48.080 – 00:37:51.480 And Calvin Brown was like, Mike, you need a change in the song, man.
  705. 00:37:51.500 – 00:37:52.520 When you get here, do this.
  706. 00:37:52.640 – 00:37:54.520 So we came up with the song.
  707. 00:37:54.660 – 00:37:56.140 I can't make it without you.
  708. 00:37:56.560 – 00:37:59.700 And we did that when, like I said, after those two years,
  709. 00:37:59.840 – 00:38:04.340 the Americana, downtown Cleveland, that and the Lakeview Palladium,
  710. 00:38:04.670 – 00:38:06.340 which I didn't get paid.
  711. 00:38:06.860 – 00:38:09.240 And I was out of that contract.
  712. 00:38:10.780 – 00:38:13.420 I started with a band.
  713. 00:38:14.720 – 00:38:16.120 It was a three piece band,
  714. 00:38:16.200 – 00:38:19.660 Joe Pearson, Clarence Gillespie and George Jones,
  715. 00:38:19.760 – 00:38:26.680 the hottest three piece rhythm section that you would ever hear, ever hear.
  716. 00:38:27.040 – 00:38:30.620 Clarence was a man.
  717. 00:38:31.060 – 00:38:33.440 Clarence, not only was he a drummer,
  718. 00:38:34.640 – 00:38:37.380 Clarence could put the live shows together
  719. 00:38:37.380 – 00:38:41.440 in terms of what music should be done, what segues.
  720. 00:38:41.720 – 00:38:43.760 And when you guys are doing the choreography,
  721. 00:38:44.060 – 00:38:47.700 I'm going to hit three licks on the snare and you do the licks with the snare.
  722. 00:38:47.920 – 00:38:50.300 So he was given. I was learning performance.
  723. 00:38:50.480 – 00:38:52.020 Performance, yeah. Yeah.
  724. 00:38:52.100 – 00:38:55.580 So we left and went on the road.
  725. 00:38:55.900 – 00:38:59.840 And then those days, like I said, your show is what sold you.
  726. 00:38:59.840 – 00:39:02.780 We ended up going through the Southwoods,
  727. 00:39:02.780 – 00:39:06.180 what's considered the Chitlin circuit down south.
  728. 00:39:06.780 – 00:39:10.740 And we were a lot in Tennessee, Alabama.
  729. 00:39:11.620 – 00:39:14.700 And I remember when we were in Alabama,
  730. 00:39:15.660 – 00:39:20.860 people were asking us, did we ever come up against this band?
  731. 00:39:21.140 – 00:39:23.120 And I can't remember the name of the band,
  732. 00:39:23.240 – 00:39:25.800 but I'll tell it to you in a few minutes who they became
  733. 00:39:25.800 – 00:39:28.060 because they were supposed to be the hot thing.
  734. 00:39:28.060 – 00:39:30.020 So I know one thing that we did,
  735. 00:39:30.040 – 00:39:35.280 there was a popular eight or nine piece band called Black Haze in Birmingham.
  736. 00:39:35.420 – 00:39:38.000 We played the Persian Lounge with these guys.
  737. 00:39:38.260 – 00:39:42.300 And we were on the show with just the three singers and the three piece.
  738. 00:39:42.840 – 00:39:44.020 Tore them up.
  739. 00:39:44.980 – 00:39:47.680 And they had to say, man, we're nine pieces, man.
  740. 00:39:47.720 – 00:39:50.880 We couldn't touch you because George Clarence and Joe,
  741. 00:39:51.060 – 00:39:52.020 they were that tight.
  742. 00:39:52.660 – 00:39:54.820 They were tight playing the show.
  743. 00:39:54.820 – 00:39:58.780 I mean, it's what you would see like at the state.
  744. 00:39:59.040 – 00:39:59.840 That's the level.
  745. 00:40:00.500 – 00:40:01.280 That's what we were.
  746. 00:40:01.560 – 00:40:04.340 A lounge act, you're just atmosphere.
  747. 00:40:04.760 – 00:40:05.920 You're just playing the music.
  748. 00:40:06.000 – 00:40:07.400 And you may sing well.
  749. 00:40:07.460 – 00:40:11.020 You may do a million runs and all kind of gymnastics.
  750. 00:40:11.480 – 00:40:12.440 But you just sing.
  751. 00:40:12.660 – 00:40:14.160 You just sing because our thing was,
  752. 00:40:14.500 – 00:40:16.420 you can stay at home and listen to a record.
  753. 00:40:17.880 – 00:40:19.440 You can stay at home.
  754. 00:40:20.820 – 00:40:22.820 We have to make you come out.
  755. 00:40:22.820 – 00:40:24.340 I got to see them visually.
  756. 00:40:24.820 – 00:40:25.660 You see what I'm saying?
  757. 00:40:26.120 – 00:40:28.820 So you had to answer your earlier question.
  758. 00:40:29.200 – 00:40:31.260 Most acts I see now are lounge acts.
  759. 00:40:34.720 – 00:40:37.360 So going back to.
  760. 00:40:37.400 – 00:40:39.940 So for me, I think I know where you want to go.
  761. 00:40:40.160 – 00:40:41.300 Going to that contract.
  762. 00:40:41.880 – 00:40:43.180 I reached out.
  763. 00:40:43.240 – 00:40:45.560 I wanted to talk to Ben Breen.
  764. 00:40:46.560 – 00:40:47.400 You know he is?
  765. 00:40:47.960 – 00:40:48.120 No.
  766. 00:40:48.200 – 00:40:54.180 Ben Breen was a Tony Award winner on Broadway.
  767. 00:40:56.620 – 00:41:00.580 Ben ended up with his own TV show one summer.
  768. 00:41:00.780 – 00:41:06.020 Ben played Chicken George in Roots in the movie Alex Haley's Roots.
  769. 00:41:06.340 – 00:41:08.580 But Ben was just like dancing.
  770. 00:41:09.000 – 00:41:11.380 I went to see Ben Breen at the front row.
  771. 00:41:11.960 – 00:41:21.220 And I saw Ben Breen jump from the stage to the arms of the people's chair and
  772. 00:41:21.220 – 00:41:25.640 walk on the backs of the chairs all the way back up and then back down to the stage.
  773. 00:41:26.420 – 00:41:28.060 And that was a revolving stage.
  774. 00:41:28.360 – 00:41:29.340 Oh, Ben Breen was cold.
  775. 00:41:29.720 – 00:41:34.260 He was in major shows, Pippin, Harry.
  776. 00:41:34.420 – 00:41:35.900 He was that guy.
  777. 00:41:36.360 – 00:41:41.320 And I couldn't get to Ben so I ended up talking to Ben's road manager,
  778. 00:41:41.440 – 00:41:43.180 a guy by the name of Clay Anderson.
  779. 00:41:43.600 – 00:41:44.780 See, I always saw things.
  780. 00:41:44.840 – 00:41:47.700 And he said, you seem like a nice young man.
  781. 00:41:47.740 – 00:41:49.020 I want to tell you something.
  782. 00:41:49.860 – 00:41:55.200 He said, in order to succeed, be objective.
  783. 00:41:56.280 – 00:41:57.360 He said, do you know what I mean?
  784. 00:41:58.200 – 00:41:59.600 I said, no, what do you mean?
  785. 00:41:59.920 – 00:42:04.220 He said, always look at yourself in the third person.
  786. 00:42:06.000 – 00:42:08.360 How do I do that exactly?
  787. 00:42:08.620 – 00:42:13.620 Well, when you're objective, it's like you're not into your feelings.
  788. 00:42:14.580 – 00:42:20.120 It's more of, I see the external things that I'm dealing with.
  789. 00:42:20.120 – 00:42:24.200 Whether I agree with it or not, it is what it is.
  790. 00:42:24.460 – 00:42:28.520 And I need to do what's necessary because his second thing was,
  791. 00:42:29.220 – 00:42:32.760 don't allow yourself to be consumed by people.
  792. 00:42:35.060 – 00:42:38.220 But there's also come a time where, like you said,
  793. 00:42:38.360 – 00:42:40.240 looking at yourself in an external way.
  794. 00:42:40.720 – 00:42:43.760 The external things that you're dealing with to make sure
  795. 00:42:43.760 – 00:42:49.360 that your calculation is proper and moving you toward the
  796. 00:42:49.360 – 00:42:52.640 optimum action that you need to do to succeed.
  797. 00:42:53.240 – 00:42:57.140 You need to be able to accept the fact of what's really there.
  798. 00:42:57.780 – 00:43:01.540 Don't alter it by saying it's something other than what it is.
  799. 00:43:03.040 – 00:43:04.340 That's the first lesson.
  800. 00:43:05.360 – 00:43:09.700 I think the first lesson is faith in self.
  801. 00:43:11.240 – 00:43:15.740 Because in this business, you know, like I hear a lot of people say,
  802. 00:43:15.940 – 00:43:17.920 I don't want to be around the negative.
  803. 00:43:17.920 – 00:43:19.360 Stay around the negative.
  804. 00:43:19.400 – 00:43:22.640 My thing to anyone who's speaking like that,
  805. 00:43:22.640 – 00:43:29.160 you're already at a disadvantage because if you can't take rejection,
  806. 00:43:29.640 – 00:43:37.180 and if you can't take someone negative being in a controlling position
  807. 00:43:37.180 – 00:43:40.780 to help your career, you might as well sit down.
  808. 00:43:41.080 – 00:43:44.680 This is why there's such a word as strategy.
  809. 00:43:45.280 – 00:43:50.180 But in order to have a strategy that's on,
  810. 00:43:50.960 – 00:43:52.940 that means you have to come up with the plan.
  811. 00:43:53.500 – 00:43:55.820 Why would you make a plan on something that's altered,
  812. 00:43:55.980 – 00:43:59.160 you altered in your mind instead of what's really there?
  813. 00:43:59.720 – 00:44:01.940 Because you only operate.
  814. 00:44:02.920 – 00:44:04.680 See, I look at us with spirits.
  815. 00:44:05.320 – 00:44:06.180 That's what we are.
  816. 00:44:06.480 – 00:44:13.520 We possess a mind and we possess a body.
  817. 00:44:14.020 – 00:44:15.520 You control your body.
  818. 00:44:16.040 – 00:44:17.520 You control your mind, huh?
  819. 00:44:19.160 – 00:44:23.840 You only operate off the information that's in your mind.
  820. 00:44:24.800 – 00:44:28.720 So if you're not getting the results that you desire,
  821. 00:44:29.560 – 00:44:35.800 check it out and see the information that you're operating off on
  822. 00:44:35.800 – 00:44:38.460 when it really renders such results.
  823. 00:44:38.820 – 00:44:40.140 That's being objective.
  824. 00:44:40.720 – 00:44:41.720 Does that make sense?
  825. 00:44:41.720 – 00:44:46.680 And that in itself, it's not just music business.
  826. 00:44:47.300 – 00:44:48.240 That's it, period.
  827. 00:44:48.460 – 00:44:53.060 Even in life, in knowing how to choose your people,
  828. 00:44:54.280 – 00:44:56.840 you have to know how to choose your people.
  829. 00:44:57.020 – 00:44:59.480 It reminds me of chess, like the game chess.
  830. 00:44:59.940 – 00:45:02.840 Well, then life is likened to a game
  831. 00:45:03.540 – 00:45:08.560 because in life, you already have to accept the fact
  832. 00:45:08.560 – 00:45:10.900 that in order to be a winner,
  833. 00:45:10.900 – 00:45:14.640 accept the fact that the physical universe
  834. 00:45:14.640 – 00:45:17.520 was not designed for you to win.
  835. 00:45:18.900 – 00:45:20.040 You got a question on that?
  836. 00:45:21.780 – 00:45:22.680 Is that so?
  837. 00:45:24.120 – 00:45:25.360 Actually, it's crazy.
  838. 00:45:26.200 – 00:45:26.500 I'll tell you what.
  839. 00:45:28.260 – 00:45:30.680 Say you're getting ready to do something.
  840. 00:45:31.860 – 00:45:33.240 I'm getting ready for this podcast.
  841. 00:45:34.820 – 00:45:36.620 Whenever you say you're getting ready to do something,
  842. 00:45:36.940 – 00:45:38.320 how much doubt pops up?
  843. 00:45:38.440 – 00:45:39.900 You start looking at different things.
  844. 00:45:40.100 – 00:45:40.260 What?
  845. 00:45:40.260 – 00:45:41.580 Am I right?
  846. 00:45:41.980 – 00:45:42.500 Self-doubt, yeah.
  847. 00:45:43.020 – 00:45:45.280 So the moment you say you're going to do something,
  848. 00:45:45.640 – 00:45:46.060 what's there?
  849. 00:45:46.260 – 00:45:46.820 Doubt.
  850. 00:45:48.160 – 00:45:48.620 True.
  851. 00:45:49.040 – 00:45:50.800 It wasn't designed for you to win.
  852. 00:45:51.500 – 00:45:55.160 It was designed for you to put your will to it
  853. 00:45:55.160 – 00:45:59.760 and get it done because if anything is going to happen,
  854. 00:46:00.700 – 00:46:04.040 it's only going to happen if you intend.
  855. 00:46:04.680 – 00:46:07.120 And the operative word is intend
  856. 00:46:07.840 – 00:46:11.580 because that which you don't intend will not happen.
  857. 00:46:13.320 – 00:46:20.520 So when we want to talk about branding and learning anything,
  858. 00:46:21.640 – 00:46:25.200 my first thing that I would advise anyone
  859. 00:46:25.200 – 00:46:28.500 is like a professor told me when I went to Kent,
  860. 00:46:28.580 – 00:46:30.200 my sociology professor,
  861. 00:46:30.640 – 00:46:36.560 he said what you learn today may not be applicable tomorrow.
  862. 00:46:37.120 – 00:46:40.060 So make the library your friend
  863. 00:46:40.060 – 00:46:42.120 because anything you don't know,
  864. 00:46:42.540 – 00:46:44.300 the information is in there.
  865. 00:46:44.640 – 00:46:45.680 Now you have Google.
  866. 00:46:46.700 – 00:46:50.300 So as I was taught in learning,
  867. 00:46:51.560 – 00:46:55.760 never go past a misunderstood word
  868. 00:46:56.560 – 00:47:00.940 and never guess at a word to look it up
  869. 00:47:01.360 – 00:47:05.360 for that's where you begin to get clarity of concept
  870. 00:47:05.360 – 00:47:07.600 because you can look up one word,
  871. 00:47:07.740 – 00:47:10.160 it's about five or six different definitions
  872. 00:47:10.160 – 00:47:14.800 of which one fits the scenario that you're in.
  873. 00:47:15.660 – 00:47:17.140 It's just like learning concepts.
  874. 00:47:17.680 – 00:47:18.880 Branding, right quick.
  875. 00:47:19.540 – 00:47:20.920 A lot of people that I talk to,
  876. 00:47:21.040 – 00:47:22.440 and we'll get into it,
  877. 00:47:22.540 – 00:47:27.740 but a lot of people think that what they do is branding
  878. 00:47:27.740 – 00:47:28.960 and it's not.
  879. 00:47:32.400 – 00:47:33.140 What is branding?
  880. 00:47:34.960 – 00:47:37.720 Branding must answer the question,
  881. 00:47:38.780 – 00:47:45.700 why do I need what you have to offer in my life?
  882. 00:47:46.860 – 00:47:48.360 Let's take a look at the playing field.
  883. 00:47:48.640 – 00:47:50.160 How many people doing music?
  884. 00:47:51.860 – 00:47:52.600 You can't count.
  885. 00:47:53.240 – 00:47:56.100 How do you break through that
  886. 00:47:56.100 – 00:47:57.880 in what we're dealing with today?
  887. 00:47:58.060 – 00:47:58.700 Your identity.
  888. 00:47:58.900 – 00:47:59.540 How do you break?
  889. 00:48:00.360 – 00:48:04.060 That's branding was designed to break through the noise.
  890. 00:48:04.420 – 00:48:06.300 Because then what it puts you in
  891. 00:48:06.300 – 00:48:08.760 is what is considered a niche market.
  892. 00:48:09.340 – 00:48:13.820 When somebody could be doing the exact same thing
  893. 00:48:13.820 – 00:48:16.000 that you're doing,
  894. 00:48:16.620 – 00:48:18.680 but because of your brand,
  895. 00:48:19.200 – 00:48:21.120 it takes on something different.
  896. 00:48:21.500 – 00:48:23.340 For me now,
  897. 00:48:24.300 – 00:48:25.140 I think I'm doing,
  898. 00:48:25.240 – 00:48:29.000 I understand the concept because about 20 years ago,
  899. 00:48:29.000 – 00:48:32.660 I had in 2003,
  900. 00:48:32.680 – 00:48:36.000 I started going for a reality show
  901. 00:48:36.760 – 00:48:38.480 and I shopped for three years
  902. 00:48:38.480 – 00:48:40.820 and then I started shopping the show
  903. 00:48:40.820 – 00:48:42.640 and I happened to run into a guy
  904. 00:48:42.640 – 00:48:43.820 who said he had some connections.
  905. 00:48:43.820 – 00:48:44.680 He came to a gig.
  906. 00:48:44.680 – 00:48:45.760 I was in a band, Shout,
  907. 00:48:46.020 – 00:48:48.000 and he loved the band and he was like,
  908. 00:48:48.020 – 00:48:51.240 hey, look, I got a reality show connections and all that.
  909. 00:48:51.300 – 00:48:52.480 So I hooked up with this guy.
  910. 00:48:52.840 – 00:48:54.500 His name was Daniel Money Penny.
  911. 00:48:55.060 – 00:48:57.040 He said, Mike, most of the pennies.
  912. 00:48:57.200 – 00:48:58.140 You know what he said?
  913. 00:48:58.140 – 00:48:59.640 I said, Daniel Money Penny.
  914. 00:48:59.840 – 00:49:00.480 You sound like money.
  915. 00:49:01.040 – 00:49:03.040 So Daniel was,
  916. 00:49:03.660 – 00:49:04.800 we were talking,
  917. 00:49:04.960 – 00:49:11.180 I think Daniel made $75,000 within a three month period
  918. 00:49:11.180 – 00:49:12.680 and I was like,
  919. 00:49:13.660 – 00:49:14.340 how'd you do that?
  920. 00:49:14.380 – 00:49:16.180 He said, well, I do taglines.
  921. 00:49:16.660 – 00:49:17.720 I said, what's that?
  922. 00:49:18.740 – 00:49:20.460 I write lines,
  923. 00:49:21.400 – 00:49:23.280 business lines and identification lines
  924. 00:49:23.280 – 00:49:24.400 for people's products.
  925. 00:49:24.560 – 00:49:25.140 Copywriting?
  926. 00:49:25.620 – 00:49:26.520 No, like Nike.
  927. 00:49:26.920 – 00:49:27.740 Just do it.
  928. 00:49:28.740 – 00:49:30.760 See, there should be a one line
  929. 00:49:30.760 – 00:49:33.320 that could come out of your brand
  930. 00:49:33.320 – 00:49:34.620 because what you have to do,
  931. 00:49:34.920 – 00:49:36.660 once you identify your brand,
  932. 00:49:37.140 – 00:49:38.540 when people come to you,
  933. 00:49:38.700 – 00:49:42.400 you have to do what is called brand orientation
  934. 00:49:43.320 – 00:49:44.500 because they're new to you.
  935. 00:49:44.580 – 00:49:45.340 Just like going to college.
  936. 00:49:45.760 – 00:49:46.360 What do you get?
  937. 00:49:47.320 – 00:49:48.760 Orientation to that, which it is.
  938. 00:49:49.040 – 00:49:51.880 So you have to orientate people to your brand.
  939. 00:49:52.340 – 00:49:54.960 This is so ambiguous term to use,
  940. 00:49:55.060 – 00:49:56.740 but just for the sake of example,
  941. 00:49:56.740 – 00:49:59.080 say I say my love,
  942. 00:49:59.200 – 00:50:00.480 and a lot of people say I stand for love.
  943. 00:50:00.600 – 00:50:01.280 I stand for love.
  944. 00:50:01.500 – 00:50:02.840 That's not specific enough,
  945. 00:50:02.840 – 00:50:04.060 but as an example,
  946. 00:50:04.420 – 00:50:06.400 let me say, okay, love.
  947. 00:50:06.680 – 00:50:07.500 That's my brand.
  948. 00:50:08.000 – 00:50:10.320 And then what can I say about love
  949. 00:50:10.900 – 00:50:12.420 that you need to hear
  950. 00:50:12.420 – 00:50:14.080 that you've never heard before,
  951. 00:50:14.200 – 00:50:15.600 but you need this information.
  952. 00:50:15.620 – 00:50:17.020 I need to tell you
  953. 00:50:17.020 – 00:50:18.940 because you feel like it can help your life
  954. 00:50:18.940 – 00:50:21.580 because see, branding is not about you.
  955. 00:50:22.340 – 00:50:24.220 Branding is about the other people
  956. 00:50:24.220 – 00:50:25.680 that you're trying to give to.
  957. 00:50:25.820 – 00:50:26.520 Being direct, yeah.
  958. 00:50:26.520 – 00:50:29.660 It's not about you at all, at all.
  959. 00:50:30.120 – 00:50:31.480 I don't care how good you think you are.
  960. 00:50:31.680 – 00:50:34.280 It's not about you at all.
  961. 00:50:35.000 – 00:50:36.680 It's about serving them.
  962. 00:50:37.260 – 00:50:38.760 So with your brand,
  963. 00:50:39.160 – 00:50:39.780 you say, okay, love,
  964. 00:50:39.920 – 00:50:41.120 it's my thing, blah, blah, blah.
  965. 00:50:41.480 – 00:50:42.680 My t-shirts,
  966. 00:50:44.160 – 00:50:45.840 if it won't have anything,
  967. 00:50:45.940 – 00:50:46.960 but quotes about love,
  968. 00:50:47.920 – 00:50:49.080 my music,
  969. 00:50:50.060 – 00:50:52.180 everything that I do
  970. 00:50:52.740 – 00:50:53.940 must bear
  971. 00:50:55.100 – 00:50:56.680 and the visibility
  972. 00:50:57.240 – 00:50:59.620 of that which I say I am
  973. 00:50:59.620 – 00:51:00.940 because here's the thing
  974. 00:51:00.940 – 00:51:02.480 that branding was supposed to do
  975. 00:51:02.480 – 00:51:03.260 during the period.
  976. 00:51:03.480 – 00:51:05.620 You had different talk forums
  977. 00:51:05.620 – 00:51:06.740 and stuff like that
  978. 00:51:06.740 – 00:51:08.660 that people could lend themselves to
  979. 00:51:08.660 – 00:51:09.740 get in the chats.
  980. 00:51:10.120 – 00:51:12.120 So there's other people
  981. 00:51:12.120 – 00:51:13.840 who have podcasts
  982. 00:51:13.840 – 00:51:15.680 who have things talk about love.
  983. 00:51:15.980 – 00:51:17.320 So now what happens?
  984. 00:51:17.860 – 00:51:18.960 I go over here
  985. 00:51:18.960 – 00:51:20.120 and I'm over here talking.
  986. 00:51:20.280 – 00:51:21.240 Oh, that guy, yeah.
  987. 00:51:21.920 – 00:51:23.340 Oh, what does he do?
  988. 00:51:23.580 – 00:51:24.560 Oh, he does music.
  989. 00:51:24.860 – 00:51:25.660 You know what?
  990. 00:51:26.340 – 00:51:28.120 I'm not that much in the music,
  991. 00:51:28.760 – 00:51:29.820 but let me check it out
  992. 00:51:29.820 – 00:51:30.680 because that's my guy.
  993. 00:51:30.700 – 00:51:32.400 I like the way he feels and think.
  994. 00:51:32.600 – 00:51:34.240 Oh, man, I'm going to get his stuff.
  995. 00:51:35.880 – 00:51:37.220 I'm going to buy his t-shirt.
  996. 00:51:37.300 – 00:51:37.800 I'm going to buy
  997. 00:51:37.800 – 00:51:39.620 because the way they feel about who.
  998. 00:51:40.480 – 00:51:40.900 About who?
  999. 00:51:42.240 – 00:51:42.700 About who?
  1000. 00:51:43.080 – 00:51:43.300 Me.
  1001. 00:51:46.240 – 00:51:47.700 So in a way,
  1002. 00:51:49.180 – 00:51:50.380 it's almost like
  1003. 00:51:51.040 – 00:51:52.220 what Hollywood
  1004. 00:51:52.900 – 00:51:54.820 and what the big corporations do
  1005. 00:51:54.820 – 00:51:55.620 in the music business.
  1006. 00:51:55.760 – 00:51:57.580 We must create a persona.
  1007. 00:51:59.220 – 00:51:59.780 Yeah.
  1008. 00:52:01.540 – 00:52:02.880 Tagline Motown.
  1009. 00:52:03.160 – 00:52:04.200 Who was Motown for?
  1010. 00:52:04.300 – 00:52:06.580 So your audience is in there.
  1011. 00:52:06.860 – 00:52:08.480 Music for Young America.
  1012. 00:52:08.840 – 00:52:10.660 Now, when you take Nike's
  1013. 00:52:10.660 – 00:52:12.120 one line out of their brand,
  1014. 00:52:12.440 – 00:52:13.900 who does it apply to?
  1015. 00:52:14.380 – 00:52:15.600 Just do it.
  1016. 00:52:15.880 – 00:52:17.680 How many people would that apply to?
  1017. 00:52:18.860 – 00:52:19.720 Almost everybody.
  1018. 00:52:20.080 – 00:52:20.880 All right, then.
  1019. 00:52:20.880 – 00:52:21.820 You're getting me now
  1020. 00:52:21.820 – 00:52:23.060 when I'm talking about brand is
  1021. 00:52:23.060 – 00:52:24.480 I mean, we could talk more,
  1022. 00:52:24.540 – 00:52:26.640 but are you getting a sense of it?
  1023. 00:52:27.260 – 00:52:28.520 Just do it.
  1024. 00:52:28.720 – 00:52:30.060 Let's do it.
  1025. 00:52:30.580 – 00:52:31.220 What color?
  1026. 00:52:31.760 – 00:52:32.440 What age?
  1027. 00:52:34.120 – 00:52:34.920 That's a brand.
  1028. 00:52:35.200 – 00:52:36.020 And you know, when I really
  1029. 00:52:36.020 – 00:52:37.360 after I was taught branding,
  1030. 00:52:37.360 – 00:52:39.420 you know, when I really realized
  1031. 00:52:39.420 – 00:52:41.240 how I was supposed to go down,
  1032. 00:52:41.700 – 00:52:43.320 I was an extra
  1033. 00:52:44.220 – 00:52:46.520 for LeBron James commercial
  1034. 00:52:47.200 – 00:52:49.040 when he came back to Cleveland.
  1035. 00:52:49.040 – 00:52:49.960 Mm hmm.
  1036. 00:52:50.360 – 00:52:51.840 And in this commercial,
  1037. 00:52:53.020 – 00:52:53.940 what it showed,
  1038. 00:52:54.640 – 00:52:57.180 they had shots of people
  1039. 00:52:57.180 – 00:52:58.860 on the construction site.
  1040. 00:52:59.460 – 00:53:01.820 They had kids on the school bus.
  1041. 00:53:02.440 – 00:53:04.220 You know, people all over Cleveland.
  1042. 00:53:05.040 – 00:53:06.640 And my scene, I was,
  1043. 00:53:06.820 – 00:53:08.000 we were, we shot it.
  1044. 00:53:08.760 – 00:53:09.580 Was it the Woodstein?
  1045. 00:53:09.720 – 00:53:10.960 We shot it there.
  1046. 00:53:11.080 – 00:53:12.660 And then they they had
  1047. 00:53:12.660 – 00:53:14.020 a half an audience over here.
  1048. 00:53:14.040 – 00:53:14.800 They filmed that.
  1049. 00:53:14.860 – 00:53:15.960 Then they put us to the other side
  1050. 00:53:15.960 – 00:53:16.880 and they filmed that side.
  1051. 00:53:16.980 – 00:53:18.600 And the calves came in.
  1052. 00:53:19.100 – 00:53:20.260 Cavs came in.
  1053. 00:53:20.400 – 00:53:21.560 They're bouncing the ball around.
  1054. 00:53:21.620 – 00:53:22.340 You seen that shot?
  1055. 00:53:22.420 – 00:53:24.660 And then you see LeBron,
  1056. 00:53:24.680 – 00:53:25.780 they go into a huddle
  1057. 00:53:25.780 – 00:53:28.200 and LeBron says Cleveland on so and so.
  1058. 00:53:28.360 – 00:53:29.440 And while he's doing that,
  1059. 00:53:29.680 – 00:53:31.300 you see all these different people
  1060. 00:53:31.300 – 00:53:33.120 from different parts of Cleveland
  1061. 00:53:33.120 – 00:53:33.940 doing their thing.
  1062. 00:53:34.240 – 00:53:34.820 And I remember that.
  1063. 00:53:35.100 – 00:53:36.800 And then all of a sudden,
  1064. 00:53:36.800 – 00:53:38.020 it's like a horn blows
  1065. 00:53:38.020 – 00:53:39.600 and everybody's tuning in.
  1066. 00:53:39.760 – 00:53:41.000 And Brian said, we got to do this.
  1067. 00:53:41.300 – 00:53:42.420 And next thing you know,
  1068. 00:53:42.620 – 00:53:44.340 everybody from wherever they were,
  1069. 00:53:44.640 – 00:53:46.180 they all ended up downtown
  1070. 00:53:46.180 – 00:53:47.620 and center like with Brian.
  1071. 00:53:47.660 – 00:53:48.140 Yeah.
  1072. 00:53:48.140 – 00:53:49.380 That's Brandy.
  1073. 00:53:49.460 – 00:53:49.900 That's Brandy.
  1074. 00:53:49.900 – 00:53:51.620 Do you understand me now?
  1075. 00:53:51.960 – 00:53:52.800 That's Brandy.
  1076. 00:53:52.880 – 00:53:53.840 In unity, community.
  1077. 00:53:54.100 – 00:53:55.600 That's beyond the ball game.
  1078. 00:53:55.760 – 00:53:56.640 Do you see what I'm saying?
  1079. 00:53:57.000 – 00:53:58.940 And when you look at it,
  1080. 00:53:59.040 – 00:54:00.560 it was sharp because
  1081. 00:54:00.560 – 00:54:02.400 he had just come back to Cleveland.
  1082. 00:54:03.140 – 00:54:04.780 And this is for Cleveland.
  1083. 00:54:05.020 – 00:54:05.900 So we're getting you
  1084. 00:54:05.900 – 00:54:08.320 on that emotional level.
  1085. 00:54:08.740 – 00:54:09.180 Brian is back.
  1086. 00:54:09.760 – 00:54:11.120 See, this is Brandy, baby.
  1087. 00:54:11.580 – 00:54:13.660 And that's the thing, man.
  1088. 00:54:13.780 – 00:54:16.020 Just being a creative person, me,
  1089. 00:54:16.320 – 00:54:17.200 just to get your hands
  1090. 00:54:17.200 – 00:54:19.340 at the mold and shape of brand for me,
  1091. 00:54:19.540 – 00:54:20.880 I'm still trying to come up
  1092. 00:54:20.880 – 00:54:21.980 with my orientation.
  1093. 00:54:22.300 – 00:54:24.000 For me, it has worked backwards
  1094. 00:54:24.000 – 00:54:26.200 that I do it through the content
  1095. 00:54:26.920 – 00:54:28.420 because your content,
  1096. 00:54:28.760 – 00:54:30.160 that's what it must speak,
  1097. 00:54:30.440 – 00:54:32.040 what you're about.
  1098. 00:54:32.060 – 00:54:34.200 So it begins to guide
  1099. 00:54:34.200 – 00:54:35.320 so people can come
  1100. 00:54:35.320 – 00:54:37.100 and then it's consistent
  1101. 00:54:37.100 – 00:54:40.020 because it's consistent along the line
  1102. 00:54:40.020 – 00:54:42.440 of your brand and your brand philosophy.
  1103. 00:54:43.320 – 00:54:44.300 You said that woke you up
  1104. 00:54:44.300 – 00:54:45.820 as far as like branding
  1105. 00:54:45.820 – 00:54:47.280 and help you build a brand.
  1106. 00:54:47.400 – 00:54:48.720 When did you know you had
  1107. 00:54:49.380 – 00:54:50.760 brand and down pack like
  1108. 00:54:50.760 – 00:54:52.180 this is what I must do?
  1109. 00:54:52.780 – 00:54:57.280 For me, I'm still that name,
  1110. 00:54:58.160 – 00:54:59.380 what is going to be called
  1111. 00:54:59.380 – 00:55:00.680 in the tagline.
  1112. 00:55:01.180 – 00:55:06.220 For me, an artist's responsibility
  1113. 00:55:06.960 – 00:55:08.120 as an artist,
  1114. 00:55:09.080 – 00:55:11.300 and this is my viewpoint.
  1115. 00:55:11.880 – 00:55:13.340 No one else has to agree with it.
  1116. 00:55:14.400 – 00:55:16.960 It's artist's responsibility
  1117. 00:55:18.340 – 00:55:23.160 to interject what I would say,
  1118. 00:55:23.320 – 00:55:25.260 let me, for lack of a better word,
  1119. 00:55:25.740 – 00:55:29.120 let me say fresh realities
  1120. 00:55:29.120 – 00:55:31.460 into that which is present
  1121. 00:55:31.460 – 00:55:36.000 and the realities that I must interject
  1122. 00:55:36.000 – 00:55:40.580 must be that which furthers humanity
  1123. 00:55:40.580 – 00:55:42.780 or further my people.
  1124. 00:55:42.780 – 00:55:45.860 No artist can be a good artist
  1125. 00:55:45.860 – 00:55:49.820 unless he's aware of his mind,
  1126. 00:55:49.840 – 00:55:51.080 but not only his mind,
  1127. 00:55:51.780 – 00:55:53.220 but the mind of the country
  1128. 00:55:53.220 – 00:55:54.280 in which he lives.
  1129. 00:55:56.040 – 00:56:00.020 You see, for me in my evolution
  1130. 00:56:00.020 – 00:56:02.120 as an artist and that
  1131. 00:56:02.400 – 00:56:03.800 when I look at it all
  1132. 00:56:03.800 – 00:56:06.000 has always been with me
  1133. 00:56:06.000 – 00:56:07.320 is my people.
  1134. 00:56:08.340 – 00:56:11.600 So the money and all that
  1135. 00:56:11.600 – 00:56:13.240 at my stage,
  1136. 00:56:13.540 – 00:56:15.240 it has never been about the money.
  1137. 00:56:16.440 – 00:56:17.640 It's just let me do
  1138. 00:56:17.640 – 00:56:18.420 what I want to do
  1139. 00:56:18.420 – 00:56:19.820 and my father before he passed,
  1140. 00:56:19.820 – 00:56:20.780 he told me something.
  1141. 00:56:21.620 – 00:56:23.880 He said, Mike, you know what?
  1142. 00:56:25.100 – 00:56:26.420 You've always been a success.
  1143. 00:56:26.460 – 00:56:26.980 You know why?
  1144. 00:56:27.120 – 00:56:27.660 I said, why?
  1145. 00:56:27.940 – 00:56:29.080 Because you always did
  1146. 00:56:29.080 – 00:56:30.380 what you wanted to do.
  1147. 00:56:33.030 – 00:56:34.590 And so for me now,
  1148. 00:56:34.630 – 00:56:37.490 the music that I create
  1149. 00:56:38.090 – 00:56:40.990 or anything that I do
  1150. 00:56:41.550 – 00:56:45.950 must help people to dial into
  1151. 00:56:46.730 – 00:56:48.590 that which they possess
  1152. 00:56:49.530 – 00:56:50.790 and to express,
  1153. 00:56:51.230 – 00:56:53.870 especially the climate
  1154. 00:56:53.870 – 00:56:55.350 that we're in
  1155. 00:56:55.350 – 00:56:57.010 in this country politically.
  1156. 00:56:57.790 – 00:56:59.790 See, remember I was talking
  1157. 00:56:59.790 – 00:57:02.650 about the ancestors on us
  1158. 00:57:02.650 – 00:57:04.010 in the 60s.
  1159. 00:57:04.150 – 00:57:05.610 That was the true culture.
  1160. 00:57:06.410 – 00:57:08.330 This that you guys are calling
  1161. 00:57:08.330 – 00:57:09.810 the cultures or subculture,
  1162. 00:57:09.810 – 00:57:11.750 it's a culture without a culture
  1163. 00:57:11.750 – 00:57:13.650 and you don't own anything.
  1164. 00:57:13.930 – 00:57:15.330 You don't do this.
  1165. 00:57:15.830 – 00:57:17.410 So it's not really a culture.
  1166. 00:57:17.490 – 00:57:18.970 I want to speak on culture
  1167. 00:57:18.970 – 00:57:21.450 just so we do have
  1168. 00:57:21.450 – 00:57:24.130 the correct definition of culture.
  1169. 00:57:24.190 – 00:57:24.870 What is culture?
  1170. 00:57:25.010 – 00:57:30.820 For me, culture is a way of life.
  1171. 00:57:32.780 – 00:57:34.160 Culture is a,
  1172. 00:57:35.300 – 00:57:36.640 and that way of life
  1173. 00:57:37.260 – 00:57:40.880 will cause you to do certain actions.
  1174. 00:57:42.440 – 00:57:44.780 When we say culture,
  1175. 00:57:45.460 – 00:57:46.620 then I have to look at
  1176. 00:57:46.620 – 00:57:47.800 what can survive.
  1177. 00:57:48.460 – 00:57:49.180 You know what I mean?
  1178. 00:57:50.660 – 00:57:53.060 What are the true culture?
  1179. 00:57:53.380 – 00:57:56.300 Not the symbols of culture, right?
  1180. 00:57:58.420 – 00:58:00.080 Not the symbols of culture.
  1181. 00:58:02.700 – 00:58:07.180 Just for the sake of definition
  1182. 00:58:07.180 – 00:58:09.320 as I said that
  1183. 00:58:10.140 – 00:58:12.160 I don't like to go past
  1184. 00:58:12.880 – 00:58:14.740 a word that I don't clearly understand
  1185. 00:58:14.740 – 00:58:15.540 or guess at.
  1186. 00:58:15.920 – 00:58:17.500 So that we don't guess
  1187. 00:58:17.500 – 00:58:18.940 and I can speak to it then
  1188. 00:58:18.940 – 00:58:21.240 we can look up the definition of culture
  1189. 00:58:21.240 – 00:58:23.580 and from that I can go into
  1190. 00:58:24.160 – 00:58:25.580 not the symbols of it
  1191. 00:58:25.580 – 00:58:27.960 but the essence of what culture are
  1192. 00:58:27.960 – 00:58:30.080 and what culture would mean to us
  1193. 00:58:30.080 – 00:58:32.000 as a people here in America
  1194. 00:58:32.000 – 00:58:34.240 being descendants of Africans.
  1195. 00:58:35.320 – 00:58:37.120 Because that's what we are.
  1196. 00:58:37.580 – 00:58:39.580 The whole terms of black and white
  1197. 00:58:39.580 – 00:58:42.820 didn't come into play until the 1600s
  1198. 00:58:42.820 – 00:58:44.600 and that came in for a certain reason.
  1199. 00:58:45.580 – 00:58:47.100 That's a whole other subject.
  1200. 00:58:47.580 – 00:58:48.660 So culture for us
  1201. 00:58:48.660 – 00:58:50.620 that would be totally another show
  1202. 00:58:50.620 – 00:58:51.940 if you wanted to know the truth about it
  1203. 00:58:51.940 – 00:58:54.060 because let's not surface that.
  1204. 00:58:54.520 – 00:58:56.880 Let's really get into that
  1205. 00:58:56.880 – 00:58:58.100 where it's clear to us
  1206. 00:58:58.100 – 00:58:59.420 and clear to others
  1207. 00:58:59.980 – 00:59:01.340 that's listening to us
  1208. 00:59:01.340 – 00:59:02.860 because anything I want to say
  1209. 00:59:02.860 – 00:59:03.940 I want to make it clear
  1210. 00:59:03.940 – 00:59:05.980 so a person can decide upon
  1211. 00:59:06.820 – 00:59:09.180 whether that's their reality or not.
  1212. 00:59:09.180 – 00:59:10.380 You see in life
  1213. 00:59:10.380 – 00:59:12.960 there's no such thing in terms of
  1214. 00:59:12.960 – 00:59:14.540 well that's wrong and this was right
  1215. 00:59:14.540 – 00:59:16.620 because what might be right for you
  1216. 00:59:16.620 – 00:59:18.040 could be wrong for someone else.
  1217. 00:59:18.320 – 00:59:19.380 So I like to use
  1218. 00:59:19.380 – 00:59:20.960 that there are three realities.
  1219. 00:59:21.380 – 00:59:21.780 Three realities.
  1220. 00:59:22.000 – 00:59:24.760 Yeah yours, the other person's
  1221. 00:59:24.760 – 00:59:26.080 and what we can agree on
  1222. 00:59:26.080 – 00:59:28.020 because that which we can agree on
  1223. 00:59:28.020 – 00:59:29.420 that means we share reality.
  1224. 00:59:30.200 – 00:59:31.600 That's that which we cannot.
  1225. 00:59:31.960 – 00:59:32.580 Three truths yeah.
  1226. 00:59:32.600 – 00:59:33.700 We don't share reality
  1227. 00:59:33.700 – 00:59:37.620 and that which you share reality with
  1228. 00:59:37.620 – 00:59:39.720 you want to share space with.
  1229. 00:59:41.160 – 00:59:41.800 That's true.
  1230. 00:59:42.360 – 00:59:44.060 So that's how that works.
  1231. 00:59:44.460 – 00:59:46.240 So the whole thing of culture
  1232. 00:59:46.240 – 00:59:48.560 so if I consider myself
  1233. 00:59:48.560 – 00:59:50.640 leading someone into the knowledge of that
  1234. 00:59:50.640 – 00:59:52.540 let's do something on that
  1235. 00:59:52.540 – 00:59:53.620 where we'll come back
  1236. 00:59:53.620 – 00:59:56.540 with the Oxford definition of culture
  1237. 00:59:56.540 – 00:59:57.960 and then we'll go into it
  1238. 00:59:57.960 – 01:00:00.820 and see how applicable it is to us.
  1239. 01:00:00.820 – 01:00:01.460 Let's break it down yes.
  1240. 01:00:02.460 – 01:00:03.920 Yes let's do it.
  1241. 01:00:04.500 – 01:00:05.740 So how long you want to do this
  1242. 01:00:05.740 – 01:00:06.700 because I mean you know
  1243. 01:00:06.700 – 01:00:07.740 we have a couple of shows
  1244. 01:00:07.740 – 01:00:08.440 you already know.
  1245. 01:00:08.560 – 01:00:09.460 That's going to be part of it.
  1246. 01:00:09.460 – 01:00:10.500 Oh yeah you already know.
  1247. 01:00:12.180 – 01:00:14.880 Every week almost you have something new.
  1248. 01:00:15.060 – 01:00:17.400 I mean you know and all this
  1249. 01:00:17.400 – 01:00:18.980 will aid in business.
  1250. 01:00:20.560 – 01:00:22.040 So what's the relationship
  1251. 01:00:22.040 – 01:00:23.840 between branding and marketing?
  1252. 01:00:25.240 – 01:00:28.040 That's all that is all encompassed in it.
  1253. 01:00:28.040 – 01:00:28.800 Go together yeah.
  1254. 01:00:28.920 – 01:00:30.380 Because once you're on the brand
  1255. 01:00:30.380 – 01:00:32.440 and you know that you have to do
  1256. 01:00:33.340 – 01:00:35.360 everything consistently that's visible
  1257. 01:00:35.360 – 01:00:36.880 that keeps you on the straight.
  1258. 01:00:37.000 – 01:00:38.360 That's what branding does.
  1259. 01:00:38.960 – 01:00:40.840 It keeps where it can be predicted.
  1260. 01:00:41.180 – 01:00:42.560 So people say I know
  1261. 01:00:42.560 – 01:00:44.200 that I can go over and deal with this
  1262. 01:00:44.200 – 01:00:46.040 because the brand keeps it consistent
  1263. 01:00:46.040 – 01:00:47.320 the thing that they like.
  1264. 01:00:48.320 – 01:00:49.720 Once you find that you're not
  1265. 01:00:49.720 – 01:00:50.600 jumping all over the place
  1266. 01:00:50.600 – 01:00:51.700 they're over there for your brand.
  1267. 01:00:52.000 – 01:00:54.880 So for me I'm still walking around
  1268. 01:00:55.640 – 01:00:57.820 going like creatively in my mind
  1269. 01:00:57.820 – 01:00:59.460 a lot of times it's just like
  1270. 01:00:59.460 – 01:01:01.700 okay what must this serve?
  1271. 01:01:01.760 – 01:01:02.780 What can I say?
  1272. 01:01:02.980 – 01:01:04.520 What would be the orientation?
  1273. 01:01:05.480 – 01:01:07.400 Because for all of us
  1274. 01:01:08.080 – 01:01:10.860 we all are community building
  1275. 01:01:10.860 – 01:01:13.220 and it's to our community
  1276. 01:01:13.220 – 01:01:15.940 is where we want them to support us
  1277. 01:01:16.640 – 01:01:18.460 but we have to give them something
  1278. 01:01:18.460 – 01:01:20.280 that supports their lives.
  1279. 01:01:20.540 – 01:01:21.600 We're here right now.
  1280. 01:01:21.780 – 01:01:23.000 You know you look at music
  1281. 01:01:23.000 – 01:01:25.040 you know my thing to artists
  1282. 01:01:25.040 – 01:01:27.860 hey man look forget about
  1283. 01:01:27.860 – 01:01:29.820 who was hot back then
  1284. 01:01:29.820 – 01:01:31.760 and who's hot on the charts.
  1285. 01:01:31.840 – 01:01:33.680 Now the people already have that
  1286. 01:01:33.680 – 01:01:34.920 when they go on the internet man
  1287. 01:01:34.920 – 01:01:36.140 looking for that fresh.
  1288. 01:01:36.560 – 01:01:38.680 Why are you looking for the same thing?
  1289. 01:01:39.600 – 01:01:41.480 You know it's like now on the internet
  1290. 01:01:41.480 – 01:01:43.500 you know it's like people can pattern
  1291. 01:01:43.500 – 01:01:45.280 mine and get a million followers
  1292. 01:01:45.280 – 01:01:46.780 doing somebody else's music.
  1293. 01:01:48.420 – 01:01:50.540 So to cut through all that
  1294. 01:01:51.620 – 01:01:54.000 that takes some thought doesn't it?
  1295. 01:01:54.320 – 01:01:54.420 It do.
  1296. 01:01:54.620 – 01:01:56.420 Not just boom I'm a singer
  1297. 01:01:56.420 – 01:01:57.600 I'm at the song so
  1298. 01:01:57.600 – 01:01:58.940 bam I'm at the song
  1299. 01:01:58.940 – 01:01:59.960 so I'm just there the other.
  1300. 01:02:00.480 – 01:02:01.980 I mean how come you don't follow me man?
  1301. 01:02:02.780 – 01:02:05.080 And the killing part
  1302. 01:02:06.280 – 01:02:07.580 you're trying to grow
  1303. 01:02:07.580 – 01:02:08.680 you're not a celebrity
  1304. 01:02:08.680 – 01:02:10.800 interact with people
  1305. 01:02:10.800 – 01:02:12.760 when people say something to you
  1306. 01:02:12.760 – 01:02:14.480 on your page they don't have to
  1307. 01:02:14.840 – 01:02:16.720 come back and acknowledge it
  1308. 01:02:16.720 – 01:02:19.020 say something it's engagement
  1309. 01:02:19.020 – 01:02:21.180 it's social media
  1310. 01:02:22.320 – 01:02:23.600 social social
  1311. 01:02:24.400 – 01:02:26.840 and then when nobody comes to my page
  1312. 01:02:26.840 – 01:02:28.580 how many people do you interact with?
  1313. 01:02:30.180 – 01:02:30.740 Interact.
  1314. 01:02:31.000 – 01:02:31.100 Energy.
  1315. 01:02:31.100 – 01:02:32.800 How many people do you stimulate
  1316. 01:02:32.800 – 01:02:34.340 that they want to come back
  1317. 01:02:34.340 – 01:02:35.140 and say okay okay
  1318. 01:02:36.040 – 01:02:38.120 so get your brand together
  1319. 01:02:38.120 – 01:02:40.460 that might help you along those lines
  1320. 01:02:40.460 – 01:02:42.800 and we'll talk more about branding
  1321. 01:02:42.800 – 01:02:45.180 because it's still probably not clear enough
  1322. 01:02:45.180 – 01:02:46.760 but there is a book
  1323. 01:02:47.420 – 01:02:49.280 that I would suggest
  1324. 01:02:49.280 – 01:02:51.340 for anybody
  1325. 01:02:51.940 – 01:02:53.760 that I studied 20 years ago
  1326. 01:02:53.760 – 01:02:55.580 when I came into content marketing.
  1327. 01:02:55.740 – 01:02:56.440 What's that book?
  1328. 01:02:56.440 – 01:03:01.340 It's called epic content marketing
  1329. 01:03:01.720 – 01:03:13.300 by Joe P. U. L. I. Z. Z. I.
  1330. 01:03:15.670 – 01:03:21.410 I got dialed into content marketing
  1331. 01:03:21.410 – 01:03:25.350 because Daniel Moneypenny
  1332. 01:03:26.250 – 01:03:30.670 cut me into a guy out of Dublin, Ohio
  1333. 01:03:30.670 – 01:03:32.970 Brad Zirconi
  1334. 01:03:32.970 – 01:03:35.530 Brad Zirconi
  1335. 01:03:35.530 – 01:03:39.070 he's a master brander and marketing guy
  1336. 01:03:39.070 – 01:03:40.170 he's on Facebook.
  1337. 01:03:40.170 – 01:03:40.590 Brad Zirconi.
  1338. 01:03:40.670 – 01:03:43.890 Yes C-I-R-C-O-N-E
  1339. 01:03:46.610 – 01:03:48.630 C-I-R-C-O-N-E
  1340. 01:03:48.630 – 01:03:49.710 because at that time
  1341. 01:03:49.710 – 01:03:52.490 I was trying to shop my reality show
  1342. 01:03:52.490 – 01:03:54.770 and I didn't have any stars
  1343. 01:03:54.770 – 01:03:56.570 and Brad
  1344. 01:03:57.370 – 01:03:58.730 Brad said to me
  1345. 01:03:59.470 – 01:04:01.130 Mike take a look at it
  1346. 01:04:01.690 – 01:04:03.490 the most popular show right now
  1347. 01:04:03.490 – 01:04:04.710 doesn't have any stars
  1348. 01:04:04.710 – 01:04:07.690 and it was The Wives of Orange County
  1349. 01:04:07.690 – 01:04:09.330 or something like that
  1350. 01:04:10.010 – 01:04:11.650 and at that time
  1351. 01:04:11.650 – 01:04:15.010 I was so far ahead of the curve
  1352. 01:04:15.010 – 01:04:16.870 that I didn't have any models
  1353. 01:04:16.870 – 01:04:18.450 that I could follow
  1354. 01:04:18.450 – 01:04:21.350 in terms of what I was doing for a reality show
  1355. 01:04:21.350 – 01:04:23.970 I think at the time I was doing that
  1356. 01:04:23.970 – 01:04:27.710 MTV was just going over into that
  1357. 01:04:27.710 – 01:04:29.930 because they later did a piece
  1358. 01:04:29.930 – 01:04:31.950 with Beyonce called a hip-hopper
  1359. 01:04:31.950 – 01:04:32.770 I don't know if you remember that
  1360. 01:04:32.770 – 01:04:33.390 Hip-hopper, yes
  1361. 01:04:33.390 – 01:04:34.570 Yeah they did that hip-hopper
  1362. 01:04:34.570 – 01:04:36.050 but interesting enough
  1363. 01:04:36.050 – 01:04:38.850 a guy from Cleveland pressed a picket
  1364. 01:04:38.850 – 01:04:40.770 Cleveland, Ohio
  1365. 01:04:40.770 – 01:04:43.570 Yeah from MFA at Cleveland State
  1366. 01:04:45.170 – 01:04:46.070 Mike Berry
  1367. 01:04:46.790 – 01:04:47.990 Mike Berry
  1368. 01:04:48.690 – 01:04:49.490 I was
  1369. 01:04:49.490 – 01:04:50.510 we'll get into this too
  1370. 01:04:50.510 – 01:04:52.930 I was instrumental in moving hip-hop
  1371. 01:04:52.930 – 01:04:53.510 in the city
  1372. 01:04:53.510 – 01:04:55.190 in terms of live performances
  1373. 01:04:55.190 – 01:04:57.450 and trying to gel the public
  1374. 01:04:57.450 – 01:04:58.690 with the local artists
  1375. 01:04:58.690 – 01:04:59.990 and at that time
  1376. 01:04:59.990 – 01:05:00.770 Mike Berry
  1377. 01:05:00.770 – 01:05:03.030 they were fade entertainment
  1378. 01:05:03.030 – 01:05:05.370 they were like the most popular
  1379. 01:05:05.370 – 01:05:07.050 in terms of moving product
  1380. 01:05:07.050 – 01:05:08.430 and doing all that kind of stuff
  1381. 01:05:08.430 – 01:05:09.250 they were the cats
  1382. 01:05:09.250 – 01:05:10.790 they were really the cats
  1383. 01:05:10.790 – 01:05:13.010 and they used to come
  1384. 01:05:13.010 – 01:05:14.090 man that's a whole nother story
  1385. 01:05:14.090 – 01:05:15.570 all these people used to work together
  1386. 01:05:15.570 – 01:05:16.590 to get together
  1387. 01:05:16.590 – 01:05:18.030 to try to make Cleveland a place
  1388. 01:05:18.030 – 01:05:19.610 that was happening for music
  1389. 01:05:19.610 – 01:05:20.290 and what happened
  1390. 01:05:20.290 – 01:05:23.070 What do you think changed the culture
  1391. 01:05:23.570 – 01:05:25.390 or that movement?
  1392. 01:05:25.410 – 01:05:26.190 Let me tell you what I did
  1393. 01:05:26.190 – 01:05:27.850 in terms of hip-hop here in Cleveland
  1394. 01:05:28.590 – 01:05:29.350 for me
  1395. 01:05:29.810 – 01:05:30.830 and this
  1396. 01:05:32.090 – 01:05:34.170 I brought my first
  1397. 01:05:36.990 – 01:05:39.490 promotion with hip-hop
  1398. 01:05:39.490 – 01:05:41.190 was KRS-One
  1399. 01:05:41.810 – 01:05:46.770 I had just come from doing a house gig
  1400. 01:05:46.770 – 01:05:49.430 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  1401. 01:05:49.430 – 01:05:51.230 I was down there for seven years
  1402. 01:05:51.230 – 01:05:53.250 and then I was back here
  1403. 01:05:53.250 – 01:05:55.230 and I was raising my kids
  1404. 01:05:55.970 – 01:05:56.930 and they were
  1405. 01:05:57.510 – 01:05:58.510 this is funny
  1406. 01:05:58.510 – 01:05:59.410 because my daughter
  1407. 01:05:59.410 – 01:06:01.010 she'll talk about this today
  1408. 01:06:01.690 – 01:06:02.950 remember that time
  1409. 01:06:02.950 – 01:06:04.050 dad picked up the record
  1410. 01:06:04.050 – 01:06:04.610 and said
  1411. 01:06:04.610 – 01:06:06.810 who is a Mac Light?
  1412. 01:06:09.070 – 01:06:09.710 MC Light
  1413. 01:06:09.710 – 01:06:11.010 I called her Mac Light
  1414. 01:06:11.010 – 01:06:12.810 and they started laughing
  1415. 01:06:12.810 – 01:06:14.410 they started laughing
  1416. 01:06:14.410 – 01:06:15.130 right
  1417. 01:06:15.130 – 01:06:16.010 and it's like that
  1418. 01:06:16.010 – 01:06:16.950 MC Light
  1419. 01:06:16.950 – 01:06:17.950 so I said
  1420. 01:06:17.950 – 01:06:19.790 let me try this hip-hop thing
  1421. 01:06:19.790 – 01:06:21.750 so it was between
  1422. 01:06:21.750 – 01:06:23.190 LL Cool J
  1423. 01:06:23.190 – 01:06:25.010 and KRS-One
  1424. 01:06:25.490 – 01:06:27.650 and they said bring KRS-One
  1425. 01:06:27.650 – 01:06:28.850 and I reached out
  1426. 01:06:28.850 – 01:06:30.530 and we brought KRS-One to Cleveland
  1427. 01:06:31.090 – 01:06:31.650 Yeah
  1428. 01:06:31.650 – 01:06:33.570 it actually couldn't play Cleveland
  1429. 01:06:34.110 – 01:06:36.170 because something had occurred in Cleveland
  1430. 01:06:36.170 – 01:06:38.270 I don't know if it was the two live crew or what
  1431. 01:06:38.270 – 01:06:39.210 something happened
  1432. 01:06:39.210 – 01:06:40.490 that they couldn't give hip-hop shows
  1433. 01:06:40.490 – 01:06:41.450 in Cleveland anymore
  1434. 01:06:41.450 – 01:06:43.290 so I ended up having to take him
  1435. 01:06:43.290 – 01:06:45.550 to the Packard Music Theater
  1436. 01:06:46.150 – 01:06:47.370 in Warren, Ohio
  1437. 01:06:47.370 – 01:06:48.410 along that way
  1438. 01:06:48.410 – 01:06:48.910 Okay
  1439. 01:06:48.910 – 01:06:49.470 Yeah
  1440. 01:06:50.770 – 01:06:52.270 So why do you think
  1441. 01:06:52.270 – 01:06:54.090 people rebranded
  1442. 01:06:54.090 – 01:06:55.390 back to you in Cleveland?
  1443. 01:06:56.670 – 01:06:57.670 Like now
  1444. 01:06:57.670 – 01:06:59.890 it's slowly coming back to that
  1445. 01:06:59.890 – 01:07:00.630 What I felt
  1446. 01:07:01.610 – 01:07:03.070 was a disservice
  1447. 01:07:04.210 – 01:07:06.830 to Cleveland's hip-hop community
  1448. 01:07:08.270 – 01:07:11.150 when I had the hip-hop shows
  1449. 01:07:11.150 – 01:07:14.650 you had to audition for me
  1450. 01:07:14.650 – 01:07:16.890 I just don't want 20 people
  1451. 01:07:16.890 – 01:07:18.570 jumping up and down on the stage
  1452. 01:07:18.570 – 01:07:19.970 you remember when that was happening
  1453. 01:07:19.970 – 01:07:21.390 just bring 80 people
  1454. 01:07:21.390 – 01:07:22.350 and we'll jump around
  1455. 01:07:22.350 – 01:07:23.370 it looks like it's happening
  1456. 01:07:23.370 – 01:07:24.870 they had to audition
  1457. 01:07:24.870 – 01:07:26.710 so it was all Mr. Bell
  1458. 01:07:26.710 – 01:07:27.890 I was like no let me have it
  1459. 01:07:27.890 – 01:07:28.830 because here's the thing
  1460. 01:07:29.330 – 01:07:31.630 you want people to come and see these shows
  1461. 01:07:31.630 – 01:07:33.530 and return every week
  1462. 01:07:33.530 – 01:07:34.310 Every week
  1463. 01:07:34.310 – 01:07:35.450 We got to be beyond
  1464. 01:07:35.450 – 01:07:36.310 because what you're trying
  1465. 01:07:36.310 – 01:07:37.730 we're trying to build an audience
  1466. 01:07:37.730 – 01:07:39.410 so that you can sell
  1467. 01:07:39.970 – 01:07:41.630 to your Cleveland audience
  1468. 01:07:41.630 – 01:07:43.370 like they're doing in other cities
  1469. 01:07:43.370 – 01:07:44.690 How else are we doing?
  1470. 01:07:44.810 – 01:07:45.790 We're not riding around
  1471. 01:07:45.790 – 01:07:47.610 selling music out of our car like that
  1472. 01:07:47.610 – 01:07:48.650 So here's the thing
  1473. 01:07:48.650 – 01:07:50.210 if we have a place
  1474. 01:07:50.210 – 01:07:52.630 and the place was the trilogy
  1475. 01:07:52.630 – 01:07:54.570 Don and Bell Mascot
  1476. 01:07:54.570 – 01:07:55.270 who had
  1477. 01:07:56.410 – 01:07:56.890 Bells
  1478. 01:07:56.890 – 01:07:58.730 I had been knowing them since I was a kid
  1479. 01:07:58.730 – 01:08:01.050 and I used to be in their house band
  1480. 01:08:01.050 – 01:08:02.450 for many years
  1481. 01:08:02.450 – 01:08:03.630 when they had house bands
  1482. 01:08:03.630 – 01:08:06.410 so anyway they asked me to come in
  1483. 01:08:06.970 – 01:08:09.150 and at that time I think Latif
  1484. 01:08:09.150 – 01:08:10.930 was actually doing stuff
  1485. 01:08:10.930 – 01:08:13.170 but I guess he was getting ready to switch out
  1486. 01:08:14.010 – 01:08:16.189 and so when I came in the trilogy
  1487. 01:08:16.189 – 01:08:17.170 I think they had
  1488. 01:08:18.069 – 01:08:20.630 maybe 25 people in there that night
  1489. 01:08:21.390 – 01:08:23.290 so I said okay we'll do it
  1490. 01:08:23.290 – 01:08:26.370 and we had like 4,000 invitations
  1491. 01:08:26.370 – 01:08:28.529 that we could pass out
  1492. 01:08:28.529 – 01:08:31.410 and if you got in before 11
  1493. 01:08:32.029 – 01:08:32.729 you're free
  1494. 01:08:32.729 – 01:08:33.609 You're free, yeah
  1495. 01:08:33.609 – 01:08:34.910 So it was me
  1496. 01:08:35.970 – 01:08:37.950 my nephew Corey
  1497. 01:08:37.950 – 01:08:39.130 Corey Grant
  1498. 01:08:39.130 – 01:08:40.670 he's making movies and stuff now
  1499. 01:08:40.670 – 01:08:42.569 He wanted to make movies here
  1500. 01:08:42.569 – 01:08:44.370 but he was here with me
  1501. 01:08:44.370 – 01:08:46.710 and Corey and I we would go out
  1502. 01:08:46.710 – 01:08:49.149 and we would be passing out these flyers
  1503. 01:08:49.149 – 01:08:51.029 but we were doing more than passing our flyers
  1504. 01:08:51.029 – 01:08:52.490 we'd be having conversations
  1505. 01:08:52.490 – 01:08:53.350 yeah man what's up
  1506. 01:08:53.350 – 01:08:54.529 that you know so that interaction
  1507. 01:08:54.529 – 01:08:55.170 we just
  1508. 01:08:55.170 – 01:08:55.729 my energy
  1509. 01:08:55.729 – 01:08:57.210 you know how my energy is right
  1510. 01:08:57.210 – 01:08:58.630 so we're just doing all that man
  1511. 01:08:58.630 – 01:09:00.850 man the first week we were there
  1512. 01:09:00.850 – 01:09:02.990 we had 500 people man
  1513. 01:09:02.990 – 01:09:03.830 and listen
  1514. 01:09:03.830 – 01:09:05.350 when you walked in
  1515. 01:09:05.350 – 01:09:08.590 it became the Metropolis
  1516. 01:09:09.210 – 01:09:10.830 when you walked in
  1517. 01:09:11.850 – 01:09:13.990 and I'm gonna do a series
  1518. 01:09:13.990 – 01:09:15.750 because I filmed a lot of this
  1519. 01:09:15.750 – 01:09:18.050 when you walked in over the bar
  1520. 01:09:18.050 – 01:09:19.069 in the center bar
  1521. 01:09:19.069 – 01:09:20.390 it was a catwalk
  1522. 01:09:20.390 – 01:09:22.729 we had girls on the catwalk
  1523. 01:09:22.729 – 01:09:25.609 you know we had people dancing through the club
  1524. 01:09:25.609 – 01:09:27.330 and the acts were smoking man
  1525. 01:09:27.330 – 01:09:28.410 they were getting down man
  1526. 01:09:28.410 – 01:09:30.830 so a lot of the stuff we have
  1527. 01:09:30.830 – 01:09:33.370 on camera when I do the series
  1528. 01:09:33.370 – 01:09:34.850 that I've been talking to you about
  1529. 01:09:34.850 – 01:09:36.830 and like I said
  1530. 01:09:37.950 – 01:09:40.430 Big Yank was Mike Berry's name
  1531. 01:09:40.430 – 01:09:41.850 always come through
  1532. 01:09:41.850 – 01:09:44.390 Too True, Brina, Too True
  1533. 01:09:44.390 – 01:09:45.370 from Bone's
  1534. 01:09:46.250 – 01:09:47.450 what was that family
  1535. 01:09:47.450 – 01:09:50.290 you know when Bone did that family album
  1536. 01:09:50.290 – 01:09:52.170 the Bone Thugs family album
  1537. 01:09:52.170 – 01:09:55.250 you had the only female rappers was Brina
  1538. 01:09:55.250 – 01:09:55.830 right
  1539. 01:09:55.830 – 01:09:56.310 okay
  1540. 01:09:56.310 – 01:09:57.090 and Jazz
  1541. 01:09:57.090 – 01:10:00.370 so Jazz had kind of went underground
  1542. 01:10:00.370 – 01:10:01.890 and we had Brina
  1543. 01:10:01.890 – 01:10:04.030 anybody who was doing anything
  1544. 01:10:04.030 – 01:10:05.910 in Cleveland as far as hip hop
  1545. 01:10:05.910 – 01:10:07.470 and I'm talking acts
  1546. 01:10:07.470 – 01:10:09.210 I'm talking about great talent
  1547. 01:10:09.210 – 01:10:10.490 so out of that
  1548. 01:10:11.450 – 01:10:13.290 that we had the hip hop convention
  1549. 01:10:13.830 – 01:10:16.450 and I'm active within the hip hop convention
  1550. 01:10:16.450 – 01:10:18.550 they got it lasted for days
  1551. 01:10:18.550 – 01:10:20.590 you got all the legendary people
  1552. 01:10:20.590 – 01:10:21.930 who we had an act of talking
  1553. 01:10:21.930 – 01:10:23.950 and then you had events happening
  1554. 01:10:23.950 – 01:10:24.870 in different clubs
  1555. 01:10:24.870 – 01:10:26.550 the millennium and all that stuff
  1556. 01:10:26.550 – 01:10:28.210 and I remember I was getting ready
  1557. 01:10:28.210 – 01:10:29.210 to go to the millennium
  1558. 01:10:29.210 – 01:10:30.210 and I got a call
  1559. 01:10:30.210 – 01:10:31.710 I got a call from
  1560. 01:10:33.610 – 01:10:34.890 my woman at that time
  1561. 01:10:34.890 – 01:10:35.530 and my daughter
  1562. 01:10:35.530 – 01:10:37.250 Dad we met we met
  1563. 01:10:39.410 – 01:10:40.370 KRS1's dancer
  1564. 01:10:41.170 – 01:10:41.650 dancers
  1565. 01:10:41.650 – 01:10:42.590 Jay Day
  1566. 01:10:43.270 – 01:10:45.230 he said he's going to be on our label
  1567. 01:10:45.770 – 01:10:46.810 and I was like
  1568. 01:10:47.690 – 01:10:49.270 I never met him
  1569. 01:10:50.580 – 01:10:52.540 I don't know but he said he is
  1570. 01:10:52.540 – 01:10:53.920 I never met him
  1571. 01:10:54.500 – 01:10:56.320 so we got there
  1572. 01:10:56.320 – 01:10:58.120 to the KRS1 concert
  1573. 01:10:58.120 – 01:10:59.600 and he came up
  1574. 01:10:59.600 – 01:11:00.920 and he was like what's up Pops
  1575. 01:11:01.440 – 01:11:02.240 and he was like
  1576. 01:11:02.240 – 01:11:04.240 we're going to be you know with you guys
  1577. 01:11:04.240 – 01:11:06.020 so they were from the Boogie Down Bronx
  1578. 01:11:06.020 – 01:11:07.940 so we was recording people
  1579. 01:11:07.940 – 01:11:09.080 from the Boogie Down Bronx
  1580. 01:11:09.080 – 01:11:09.940 and it's interesting
  1581. 01:11:09.940 – 01:11:11.440 because they called me Papa Jack
  1582. 01:11:11.800 – 01:11:12.860 in the Boogie Down Bronx
  1583. 01:11:12.860 – 01:11:14.740 why you call me Papa Jack man
  1584. 01:11:14.740 – 01:11:16.340 because man you remind me
  1585. 01:11:16.340 – 01:11:18.040 of the artist from Greenwich Village
  1586. 01:11:18.040 – 01:11:19.800 you know about Greenwich Village
  1587. 01:11:19.800 – 01:11:21.660 no oh that was the spot for artists
  1588. 01:11:21.660 – 01:11:23.220 in New York that was it
  1589. 01:11:23.220 – 01:11:23.980 New York okay
  1590. 01:11:23.980 – 01:11:25.160 yeah yeah yeah back in the day
  1591. 01:11:25.160 – 01:11:26.440 it was Greenwich Village
  1592. 01:11:26.440 – 01:11:28.660 that's so that's complimentary
  1593. 01:11:28.660 – 01:11:30.140 you know coming from my New York
  1594. 01:11:30.140 – 01:11:31.280 brothers young brothers
  1595. 01:11:31.280 – 01:11:33.020 yeah all the stuff we got
  1596. 01:11:33.020 – 01:11:34.560 man there's so much we can talk about
  1597. 01:11:34.560 – 01:11:35.340 you know that thing
  1598. 01:11:35.340 – 01:11:37.080 we talk from time to time
  1599. 01:11:37.080 – 01:11:38.540 here and there so much
  1600. 01:11:38.540 – 01:11:39.920 I could talk for hours
  1601. 01:11:39.920 – 01:11:41.780 so you just have to get me down
  1602. 01:11:41.780 – 01:11:42.720 to the specifics
  1603. 01:11:42.720 – 01:11:45.480 but I think we're off to a good start
  1604. 01:11:45.480 – 01:11:46.260 here what do you think
  1605. 01:11:46.260 – 01:11:48.820 yes yes and I just want to
  1606. 01:11:48.820 – 01:11:50.700 go back and retouch on the rebranding
  1607. 01:11:50.700 – 01:11:51.980 because like you said
  1608. 01:11:51.980 – 01:11:53.860 branding is about consistency
  1609. 01:11:53.860 – 01:11:56.780 yeah but people sometimes rebrand
  1610. 01:11:56.780 – 01:11:58.700 themselves a hundred different times
  1611. 01:11:58.700 – 01:12:00.500 well here's remember this
  1612. 01:12:01.020 – 01:12:04.760 what I said it's not what you do
  1613. 01:12:05.680 – 01:12:08.240 it's what you represent in life
  1614. 01:12:08.240 – 01:12:11.420 that others need in their lives
  1615. 01:12:12.340 – 01:12:14.900 remember the attention span
  1616. 01:12:14.900 – 01:12:17.340 is like this short yeah
  1617. 01:12:21.820 – 01:12:23.340 so ingenuity
  1618. 01:12:23.340 – 01:12:25.060 see just to say
  1619. 01:12:25.060 – 01:12:26.860 what did I say in the beginning
  1620. 01:12:26.860 – 01:12:29.640 I said in order to do anything
  1621. 01:12:29.640 – 01:12:32.160 you must understand the concept
  1622. 01:12:32.160 – 01:12:34.180 because it's only the information
  1623. 01:12:34.180 – 01:12:36.320 you're going to operate on
  1624. 01:12:36.320 – 01:12:38.320 that exists in your mind
  1625. 01:12:39.240 – 01:12:40.920 so if you're not getting
  1626. 01:12:40.920 – 01:12:42.600 the results that you desire
  1627. 01:12:42.600 – 01:12:44.420 that means that it's something
  1628. 01:12:44.420 – 01:12:45.400 that you're not doing
  1629. 01:12:45.400 – 01:12:48.700 because you can we have the ability
  1630. 01:12:48.700 – 01:12:51.280 to intend anything
  1631. 01:12:51.280 – 01:12:53.600 if you could deal with the opposition
  1632. 01:12:54.880 – 01:12:57.380 if you could deal with the opposition
  1633. 01:12:57.380 – 01:12:59.160 if you cannot deal
  1634. 01:12:59.160 – 01:13:00.380 with the opposition
  1635. 01:13:00.380 – 01:13:02.440 you have no business in the game
  1636. 01:13:04.220 – 01:13:08.560 wow that's that's a mic
  1637. 01:13:08.560 – 01:13:09.400 dropper right there
  1638. 01:13:10.200 – 01:13:12.100 so how do they get back on on track
  1639. 01:13:12.100 – 01:13:13.960 if no when you off track
  1640. 01:13:14.660 – 01:13:16.440 well if they don't have any awareness
  1641. 01:13:16.440 – 01:13:17.640 it's easy to get back on
  1642. 01:13:17.640 – 01:13:21.140 which well that which keeps you consistent
  1643. 01:13:21.140 – 01:13:22.840 you got to be objective
  1644. 01:13:23.380 – 01:13:24.440 you got to know
  1645. 01:13:24.440 – 01:13:26.060 you can fall off at any time
  1646. 01:13:26.060 – 01:13:28.100 but we forget we can change our mind
  1647. 01:13:28.100 – 01:13:29.640 that's the easiest thing in the world
  1648. 01:13:29.640 – 01:13:30.720 if you fell off here
  1649. 01:13:30.720 – 01:13:32.700 okay let me change my mind about this
  1650. 01:13:32.700 – 01:13:33.220 change your mind
  1651. 01:13:33.220 – 01:13:34.140 and get back over here
  1652. 01:13:34.880 – 01:13:38.640 see that's why objectivity is so important
  1653. 01:13:38.640 – 01:13:40.520 because to tell you the truth
  1654. 01:13:40.520 – 01:13:42.620 you're only going to get certainty
  1655. 01:13:42.620 – 01:13:43.820 on that which you see
  1656. 01:13:43.820 – 01:13:45.160 which you can look and see
  1657. 01:13:45.160 – 01:13:46.520 anything else you figure
  1658. 01:13:46.520 – 01:13:47.100 and you're guessing
  1659. 01:13:47.820 – 01:13:49.140 and you can go up
  1660. 01:13:49.140 – 01:13:51.020 one figure only leads to another figure
  1661. 01:13:51.020 – 01:13:52.820 you never get to a final analysis
  1662. 01:13:53.340 – 01:13:54.820 you'd be frustrated by the time
  1663. 01:13:54.820 – 01:13:57.040 you it's like a dwindling spiral
  1664. 01:13:57.040 – 01:13:59.080 one figure leads to this figure
  1665. 01:13:59.080 – 01:13:59.820 to this figure
  1666. 01:13:59.820 – 01:14:01.420 and a mystery is just that
  1667. 01:14:01.420 – 01:14:02.000 it's a mystery
  1668. 01:14:02.000 – 01:14:03.460 it's not just a mystery right
  1669. 01:14:03.980 – 01:14:05.480 so by looking
  1670. 01:14:05.480 – 01:14:07.240 but in your looking
  1671. 01:14:07.820 – 01:14:11.420 you must accept that comfortably
  1672. 01:14:12.020 – 01:14:14.600 even that which you do not agree with
  1673. 01:14:14.600 – 01:14:17.000 that's the only way you surmount opposition
  1674. 01:14:17.000 – 01:14:18.760 because if you can't
  1675. 01:14:18.760 – 01:14:21.420 if you if you can't have opposition
  1676. 01:14:21.420 – 01:14:23.740 that goes back to what I was saying earlier
  1677. 01:14:23.740 – 01:14:25.160 about dealing with negatives
  1678. 01:14:25.160 – 01:14:27.440 somebody can throw some negative in your way
  1679. 01:14:27.440 – 01:14:30.140 that you didn't even think would do that
  1680. 01:14:30.140 – 01:14:31.820 but you're not dealing with them
  1681. 01:14:31.820 – 01:14:33.080 you're dealing with your goal
  1682. 01:14:33.080 – 01:14:34.440 trying to get where you need to go
  1683. 01:14:34.440 – 01:14:36.400 so it ain't personal right
  1684. 01:14:36.400 – 01:14:38.460 what you're getting all emotional about
  1685. 01:14:38.460 – 01:14:40.020 you got strategies to work with
  1686. 01:14:40.020 – 01:14:41.340 get to where you need to go
  1687. 01:14:42.180 – 01:14:44.340 so make friends with negative baby
  1688. 01:14:44.340 – 01:14:45.840 be able to have negative
  1689. 01:14:45.840 – 01:14:47.700 you can because see when you have
  1690. 01:14:47.700 – 01:14:48.620 can have something
  1691. 01:14:49.360 – 01:14:51.020 it's disarmed emotionally
  1692. 01:14:51.020 – 01:14:55.130 you just got the information about it
  1693. 01:14:55.130 – 01:14:56.610 never to repeat again
  1694. 01:14:56.610 – 01:14:57.530 that's just like
  1695. 01:14:58.090 – 01:15:00.090 and it may not work for everyone
  1696. 01:15:00.090 – 01:15:02.050 but the word should
  1697. 01:15:02.970 – 01:15:05.430 is a word that I'm constantly
  1698. 01:15:05.430 – 01:15:06.730 trying to keep
  1699. 01:15:07.310 – 01:15:08.830 out of my vocabulary
  1700. 01:15:09.470 – 01:15:11.270 because when I say something
  1701. 01:15:11.270 – 01:15:11.940 should be
  1702. 01:15:12.550 – 01:15:15.350 I'm not accepting the way it is
  1703. 01:15:16.170 – 01:15:16.830 that's right
  1704. 01:15:16.830 – 01:15:17.390 am I right
  1705. 01:15:17.390 – 01:15:18.010 that's right
  1706. 01:15:18.750 – 01:15:20.230 if I say shouldn't
  1707. 01:15:20.870 – 01:15:21.980 it shouldn't be this
  1708. 01:15:23.290 – 01:15:24.450 I'm not accepting
  1709. 01:15:24.450 – 01:15:27.730 so what's my calculation going to be
  1710. 01:15:27.730 – 01:15:28.950 or when would I be
  1711. 01:15:28.950 – 01:15:31.170 I'm stuck if I say it shouldn't
  1712. 01:15:31.170 – 01:15:32.570 because that being something there
  1713. 01:15:33.190 – 01:15:33.870 I'm stuck
  1714. 01:15:34.630 – 01:15:35.600 what can I do
  1715. 01:15:36.090 – 01:15:38.250 but if I can have it
  1716. 01:15:38.250 – 01:15:39.810 let me look at it
  1717. 01:15:39.810 – 01:15:41.190 okay I need to do this
  1718. 01:15:41.270 – 01:15:42.590 this is like warfare
  1719. 01:15:42.590 – 01:15:44.170 and when this could be looked at
  1720. 01:15:44.170 – 01:15:44.630 warfare
  1721. 01:15:44.630 – 01:15:47.370 when you have two opposing people
  1722. 01:15:47.370 – 01:15:48.170 in war
  1723. 01:15:48.170 – 01:15:49.390 what are they doing
  1724. 01:15:49.390 – 01:15:50.110 in the tents
  1725. 01:15:50.110 – 01:15:51.190 we see it in the movies
  1726. 01:15:51.190 – 01:15:53.530 they're putting strategies together
  1727. 01:15:54.010 – 01:15:56.730 and they're trying to be
  1728. 01:15:56.730 – 01:15:57.690 other determined
  1729. 01:15:59.000 – 01:16:00.800 you don't know what that is
  1730. 01:16:00.800 – 01:16:02.480 let me tell you what it is
  1731. 01:16:02.480 – 01:16:04.320 you were talking about chest
  1732. 01:16:04.320 – 01:16:05.240 chest yep
  1733. 01:16:05.240 – 01:16:09.200 see can you take a loss
  1734. 01:16:10.060 – 01:16:11.220 I can yes
  1735. 01:16:11.920 – 01:16:12.980 they said
  1736. 01:16:13.960 – 01:16:15.640 the most successful person
  1737. 01:16:16.440 – 01:16:18.480 is a person who could lose everything
  1738. 01:16:19.000 – 01:16:20.360 and get it again
  1739. 01:16:21.120 – 01:16:21.680 huh
  1740. 01:16:22.520 – 01:16:24.420 but what happens to people
  1741. 01:16:24.420 – 01:16:26.080 when they lose
  1742. 01:16:26.940 – 01:16:29.620 they become the effect of the loss
  1743. 01:16:29.620 – 01:16:31.520 and it's overwhelming
  1744. 01:16:32.840 – 01:16:35.100 especially if you try to bite off a lot
  1745. 01:16:35.100 – 01:16:36.960 if you try to bite off a lot
  1746. 01:16:36.960 – 01:16:39.080 and you you can get discouraged
  1747. 01:16:39.080 – 01:16:40.220 when you don't get that win
  1748. 01:16:40.220 – 01:16:41.900 that's why small wins
  1749. 01:16:41.900 – 01:16:43.440 are important
  1750. 01:16:43.440 – 01:16:45.180 because they add up
  1751. 01:16:45.660 – 01:16:46.920 to the big win
  1752. 01:16:47.520 – 01:16:48.140 you see
  1753. 01:16:48.740 – 01:16:49.800 that's very important
  1754. 01:16:49.800 – 01:16:51.300 so to share space
  1755. 01:16:52.000 – 01:16:52.540 with that
  1756. 01:16:52.540 – 01:16:53.520 that's why I said
  1757. 01:16:53.520 – 01:16:55.920 you're already on your way to winning
  1758. 01:16:56.640 – 01:16:58.300 when you accept the fact
  1759. 01:16:58.300 – 01:17:00.240 that the physical universe
  1760. 01:17:00.240 – 01:17:01.920 was not designed for you to win
  1761. 01:17:02.320 – 01:17:03.720 going back to the game of life
  1762. 01:17:03.720 – 01:17:04.520 so then you're going to be looking
  1763. 01:17:04.520 – 01:17:06.680 at that which opposes you
  1764. 01:17:06.680 – 01:17:08.900 is it okay for things to oppose you
  1765. 01:17:08.900 – 01:17:10.880 that's what I want to know in life
  1766. 01:17:10.880 – 01:17:13.420 is it all right for things to oppose you
  1767. 01:17:13.420 – 01:17:15.980 because ups and downs are yours
  1768. 01:17:15.980 – 01:17:17.260 no matter how you feel
  1769. 01:17:17.960 – 01:17:21.760 so you got to get a perspective on it
  1770. 01:17:21.760 – 01:17:23.280 because remember this
  1771. 01:17:24.020 – 01:17:26.780 your thoughts are senior
  1772. 01:17:26.780 – 01:17:29.020 to the physical universe
  1773. 01:17:29.020 – 01:17:29.860 wow
  1774. 01:17:29.860 – 01:17:32.420 here want me to make it plain for you
  1775. 01:17:32.420 – 01:17:35.260 anything that you see in the physical universe
  1776. 01:17:35.260 – 01:17:36.680 was once in a person's mind
  1777. 01:17:36.680 – 01:17:37.880 before it showed up here
  1778. 01:17:37.880 – 01:17:38.920 am I lying
  1779. 01:17:39.500 – 01:17:40.240 not at all
  1780. 01:17:40.240 – 01:17:41.760 so where did it happen first
  1781. 01:17:41.760 – 01:17:43.000 in the mind
  1782. 01:17:45.280 – 01:17:47.040 take the example of the Wright brothers
  1783. 01:17:47.040 – 01:17:50.320 whether they stole an ideal or not
  1784. 01:17:50.320 – 01:17:52.020 cars were just being made
  1785. 01:17:52.020 – 01:17:52.700 imagination
  1786. 01:17:52.700 – 01:17:54.520 right so we say
  1787. 01:17:54.520 – 01:17:56.200 not more than imagination
  1788. 01:17:57.280 – 01:17:57.800 communication
  1789. 01:17:59.600 – 01:18:00.680 how so
  1790. 01:18:02.540 – 01:18:03.580 here's how so
  1791. 01:18:04.920 – 01:18:06.060 we're living in a time
  1792. 01:18:06.060 – 01:18:07.280 when there's a lot of cars
  1793. 01:18:08.100 – 01:18:09.700 I come up to you
  1794. 01:18:09.700 – 01:18:10.660 and I say you know what
  1795. 01:18:10.660 – 01:18:12.540 I'm getting ready to make a flying car
  1796. 01:18:12.540 – 01:18:13.820 what would you say
  1797. 01:18:13.820 – 01:18:15.180 I'm crazy
  1798. 01:18:15.180 – 01:18:16.900 we just got cars
  1799. 01:18:16.900 – 01:18:17.860 right
  1800. 01:18:17.860 – 01:18:18.260 right
  1801. 01:18:18.260 – 01:18:20.200 and in my mind
  1802. 01:18:20.200 – 01:18:22.480 that's what I want to do
  1803. 01:18:23.280 – 01:18:25.600 but everywhere I go
  1804. 01:18:25.600 – 01:18:27.740 people are telling me I'm crazy
  1805. 01:18:28.980 – 01:18:32.440 so I lose communication
  1806. 01:18:33.020 – 01:18:34.480 with my idea
  1807. 01:18:34.480 – 01:18:36.280 because I was listening to others
  1808. 01:18:37.180 – 01:18:39.180 I'm out of communication
  1809. 01:18:39.180 – 01:18:42.320 with my own idea
  1810. 01:18:42.320 – 01:18:44.420 going back to that self-doubt
  1811. 01:18:44.420 – 01:18:45.660 not self-doubt
  1812. 01:18:47.040 – 01:18:48.980 not being able to take opposition
  1813. 01:18:48.980 – 01:18:50.220 and see that
  1814. 01:18:50.220 – 01:18:51.700 which opposes you
  1815. 01:18:51.700 – 01:18:53.500 because you can't have opposition
  1816. 01:18:53.500 – 01:18:55.120 so therefore you can't move
  1817. 01:18:55.120 – 01:18:56.520 opposition out the way
  1818. 01:18:56.520 – 01:18:57.860 because you can't have it
  1819. 01:18:58.180 – 01:19:00.100 so therefore it shouldn't be there
  1820. 01:19:00.100 – 01:19:00.900 it should
  1821. 01:19:00.900 – 01:19:01.540 it should
  1822. 01:19:01.540 – 01:19:02.620 you living in the shoes
  1823. 01:19:03.300 – 01:19:04.920 instead of what is
  1824. 01:19:06.880 – 01:19:07.940 what is
  1825. 01:19:08.820 – 01:19:10.460 so that meant
  1826. 01:19:11.060 – 01:19:13.020 how well did I communicate
  1827. 01:19:13.020 – 01:19:14.700 with my own idea
  1828. 01:19:14.700 – 01:19:16.920 if others talked me out of it
  1829. 01:19:16.920 – 01:19:18.960 how well did I communicate with it
  1830. 01:19:19.300 – 01:19:20.620 how well did the
  1831. 01:19:20.620 – 01:19:22.340 the Wright brothers communicate
  1832. 01:19:22.340 – 01:19:23.060 with their idea
  1833. 01:19:23.060 – 01:19:24.500 of making a flying machine
  1834. 01:19:24.500 – 01:19:25.540 very well
  1835. 01:19:25.540 – 01:19:26.160 they can't
  1836. 01:19:26.160 – 01:19:26.780 it happened
  1837. 01:19:26.780 – 01:19:27.420 it happened
  1838. 01:19:27.420 – 01:19:29.300 they could have been talked out of it right
  1839. 01:19:29.300 – 01:19:30.780 but what was the
  1840. 01:19:30.780 – 01:19:32.480 the determining factor was
  1841. 01:19:32.480 – 01:19:35.020 how well you communicate
  1842. 01:19:35.020 – 01:19:36.920 with your own ideas
  1843. 01:19:36.920 – 01:19:39.720 they can only come into the physical presence
  1844. 01:19:39.720 – 01:19:41.960 based on how well you communicate
  1845. 01:19:41.960 – 01:19:43.220 with your own idea
  1846. 01:19:43.220 – 01:19:45.560 that's why some people say some stuff
  1847. 01:19:45.560 – 01:19:47.240 he'd be like oh yeah they're going to do it
  1848. 01:19:47.240 – 01:19:48.240 but the bottom line
  1849. 01:19:48.240 – 01:19:49.700 you don't see how well they communicated
  1850. 01:19:49.700 – 01:19:50.300 with that idea
  1851. 01:19:50.300 – 01:19:51.560 that was something they were just saying
  1852. 01:19:52.100 – 01:19:53.420 and you find that out later
  1853. 01:19:53.420 – 01:19:54.500 when it didn't happen
  1854. 01:19:54.500 – 01:19:56.060 that was something they were just saying
  1855. 01:19:58.070 – 01:19:59.210 am I right
  1856. 01:20:00.250 – 01:20:00.990 that's true
  1857. 01:20:00.990 – 01:20:01.590 am I
  1858. 01:20:01.590 – 01:20:03.270 is that clear
  1859. 01:20:03.270 – 01:20:04.330 because I want to make sure
  1860. 01:20:04.330 – 01:20:05.910 everything I'm saying is clear
  1861. 01:20:05.910 – 01:20:07.450 did I clear that up
  1862. 01:20:07.450 – 01:20:07.990 yeah
  1863. 01:20:07.990 – 01:20:09.310 but how do
  1864. 01:20:09.310 – 01:20:10.330 want to sit down
  1865. 01:20:10.330 – 01:20:11.790 and communicate with your ideas
  1866. 01:20:11.790 – 01:20:13.230 communicate with your idea
  1867. 01:20:13.230 – 01:20:14.470 you have an idea
  1868. 01:20:14.470 – 01:20:16.030 take an idea just off the cuff
  1869. 01:20:16.030 – 01:20:17.450 what's the ideal of yours
  1870. 01:20:17.450 – 01:20:18.810 a book writing a book
  1871. 01:20:18.810 – 01:20:19.890 writing a book
  1872. 01:20:19.890 – 01:20:22.310 so how do you write a book
  1873. 01:20:23.050 – 01:20:24.990 get a pen and paper or typing
  1874. 01:20:24.990 – 01:20:26.650 okay so first you're going to get the pen
  1875. 01:20:26.650 – 01:20:27.050 and the paper
  1876. 01:20:27.050 – 01:20:27.910 that's one move
  1877. 01:20:27.910 – 01:20:30.650 now in all things you have
  1878. 01:20:30.650 – 01:20:32.950 what is called a cycle of action
  1879. 01:20:32.950 – 01:20:34.410 from the beginning
  1880. 01:20:34.410 – 01:20:35.710 to when it ends
  1881. 01:20:35.710 – 01:20:36.750 because if it ends
  1882. 01:20:36.750 – 01:20:37.830 and you still going on
  1883. 01:20:37.830 – 01:20:38.710 that's kind of crazy
  1884. 01:20:39.350 – 01:20:40.190 all right then
  1885. 01:20:40.190 – 01:20:41.870 so in a cycle of action
  1886. 01:20:41.870 – 01:20:42.630 well marketing
  1887. 01:20:42.630 – 01:20:43.390 beyond the book
  1888. 01:20:43.390 – 01:20:44.410 well let's stay here
  1889. 01:20:44.470 – 01:20:45.930 cycle of action
  1890. 01:20:48.040 – 01:20:50.860 the cycle of action must have a beginning
  1891. 01:20:51.580 – 01:20:52.180 right
  1892. 01:20:52.180 – 01:20:53.920 really you must begin
  1893. 01:20:53.920 – 01:20:55.160 let's say
  1894. 01:20:55.960 – 01:20:58.140 I'm going to start at one point
  1895. 01:20:58.140 – 01:20:59.240 and I'm going to walk
  1896. 01:20:59.240 – 01:21:01.240 my intention is to start at this point
  1897. 01:21:01.240 – 01:21:03.280 and walk over to this next point
  1898. 01:21:04.060 – 01:21:05.800 so I must begin
  1899. 01:21:05.800 – 01:21:06.700 by taking what
  1900. 01:21:06.700 – 01:21:08.120 the first step
  1901. 01:21:08.120 – 01:21:08.880 first step
  1902. 01:21:08.880 – 01:21:09.800 that should begin
  1903. 01:21:11.000 – 01:21:13.140 now I got to get
  1904. 01:21:13.140 – 01:21:14.420 to the other side
  1905. 01:21:14.420 – 01:21:15.800 should I be
  1906. 01:21:15.800 – 01:21:16.900 thinking about
  1907. 01:21:16.900 – 01:21:18.680 the step I just made
  1908. 01:21:18.680 – 01:21:20.040 or should I be thinking
  1909. 01:21:20.040 – 01:21:22.280 should I be in present time
  1910. 01:21:22.280 – 01:21:24.000 trying to make the next step
  1911. 01:21:24.000 – 01:21:24.900 present
  1912. 01:21:24.900 – 01:21:27.100 okay then I make that step
  1913. 01:21:27.720 – 01:21:29.480 then I just do two steps
  1914. 01:21:29.480 – 01:21:30.540 should I be
  1915. 01:21:30.540 – 01:21:32.320 dealing with the two steps I've made
  1916. 01:21:32.320 – 01:21:33.400 or in present time
  1917. 01:21:33.400 – 01:21:34.340 going to the third step
  1918. 01:21:34.340 – 01:21:36.040 because it takes eight to get there
  1919. 01:21:36.680 – 01:21:37.960 got to go to eight
  1920. 01:21:37.960 – 01:21:39.420 all right then I keep doing it
  1921. 01:21:39.420 – 01:21:41.360 and I keep staying in present time
  1922. 01:21:41.360 – 01:21:43.220 until I get to my intention
  1923. 01:21:43.760 – 01:21:45.360 okay I want to write a book
  1924. 01:21:45.360 – 01:21:46.720 what did I say
  1925. 01:21:46.720 – 01:21:48.560 my professor said
  1926. 01:21:49.280 – 01:21:52.000 if there's anything you want to know
  1927. 01:21:53.890 – 01:21:55.450 make the library your friend
  1928. 01:21:55.450 – 01:21:58.270 in this case anything you want to know
  1929. 01:21:58.270 – 01:21:59.710 make google your friend
  1930. 01:21:59.710 – 01:22:02.070 how do I become an author
  1931. 01:22:02.070 – 01:22:05.850 first I must have an ideal about a book
  1932. 01:22:06.530 – 01:22:08.830 then I have my ideal about my book
  1933. 01:22:08.830 – 01:22:10.830 now I have to communicate
  1934. 01:22:10.830 – 01:22:12.030 with my idea
  1935. 01:22:12.030 – 01:22:14.470 to see how much I can talk about
  1936. 01:22:14.470 – 01:22:15.630 my idea
  1937. 01:22:16.470 – 01:22:17.990 or if I don't
  1938. 01:22:17.990 – 01:22:19.750 I'm just gonna sit down with the pen
  1939. 01:22:19.750 – 01:22:21.230 and be there
  1940. 01:22:21.230 – 01:22:22.930 with the paper
  1941. 01:22:22.930 – 01:22:24.310 and I'm gonna write down
  1942. 01:22:27.200 – 01:22:28.560 what I do next
  1943. 01:22:28.560 – 01:22:30.780 well I'm waiting on a strike of lightning
  1944. 01:22:30.780 – 01:22:31.660 to hit me
  1945. 01:22:31.660 – 01:22:33.460 because I don't have any direction
  1946. 01:22:33.460 – 01:22:35.860 because I don't know what I intend
  1947. 01:22:35.860 – 01:22:37.260 to write
  1948. 01:22:37.260 – 01:22:38.320 going back to Nike
  1949. 01:22:38.320 – 01:22:40.060 just going back to intention
  1950. 01:22:40.700 – 01:22:42.320 it won't happen
  1951. 01:22:42.320 – 01:22:43.760 unless you intend to happen
  1952. 01:22:43.760 – 01:22:46.200 and as you take each step
  1953. 01:22:46.200 – 01:22:48.160 in present time
  1954. 01:22:48.160 – 01:22:49.760 until that book is completed
  1955. 01:22:50.360 – 01:22:51.500 that means you just did
  1956. 01:22:51.500 – 01:22:54.260 a whole complete cycle of action
  1957. 01:22:54.260 – 01:22:56.800 you ever see somebody start a cycle of action
  1958. 01:22:56.800 – 01:22:57.740 and give up halfway
  1959. 01:22:57.740 – 01:22:58.980 does that happen
  1960. 01:22:58.980 – 01:22:59.720 all the time
  1961. 01:22:59.720 – 01:23:00.220 what happens
  1962. 01:23:00.220 – 01:23:01.140 what it could be
  1963. 01:23:01.480 – 01:23:03.020 that they decided to
  1964. 01:23:03.400 – 01:23:04.820 but you can get into
  1965. 01:23:04.820 – 01:23:07.160 what I call other determinant
  1966. 01:23:08.340 – 01:23:10.120 and that's dangerous
  1967. 01:23:10.840 – 01:23:12.500 what is other determinant
  1968. 01:23:13.000 – 01:23:14.580 when something else
  1969. 01:23:14.580 – 01:23:16.560 determines your actions
  1970. 01:23:17.220 – 01:23:19.140 what makes it dangerous
  1971. 01:23:19.140 – 01:23:21.780 is that you think you're doing it
  1972. 01:23:21.780 – 01:23:22.860 when it's something else
  1973. 01:23:26.110 – 01:23:27.350 I say this
  1974. 01:23:28.130 – 01:23:29.190 you ever heard
  1975. 01:23:29.690 – 01:23:31.870 that no man is an island
  1976. 01:23:31.870 – 01:23:33.310 you ever heard that
  1977. 01:23:33.310 – 01:23:34.110 no man is island
  1978. 01:23:34.110 – 01:23:34.930 and most people
  1979. 01:23:34.930 – 01:23:36.350 when you when you hear that
  1980. 01:23:36.350 – 01:23:37.390 what do you think
  1981. 01:23:37.390 – 01:23:39.370 that you don't live by yourself
  1982. 01:23:39.370 – 01:23:40.350 no one is island
  1983. 01:23:40.350 – 01:23:41.910 let me take it a little further
  1984. 01:23:42.930 – 01:23:45.370 no person can live on this earth
  1985. 01:23:45.370 – 01:23:47.010 without being an effect
  1986. 01:23:47.010 – 01:23:49.230 of another person or another thing
  1987. 01:23:50.390 – 01:23:52.190 so to say
  1988. 01:23:52.750 – 01:23:55.070 that you live alone
  1989. 01:23:55.070 – 01:23:56.010 and you're this
  1990. 01:23:56.010 – 01:23:57.510 and you control of everything
  1991. 01:23:57.510 – 01:23:58.930 and this that and the other
  1992. 01:23:58.930 – 01:23:59.850 are you aware
  1993. 01:23:59.850 – 01:24:01.010 when you take an effect
  1994. 01:24:01.750 – 01:24:03.510 and that thing begins
  1995. 01:24:03.510 – 01:24:05.430 to determine your actions
  1996. 01:24:05.430 – 01:24:07.330 and you think it's you
  1997. 01:24:07.330 – 01:24:09.530 just like I told you
  1998. 01:24:09.530 – 01:24:12.870 God intended to do the airplane
  1999. 01:24:13.330 – 01:24:15.530 but people kept saying you're crazy
  2000. 01:24:15.530 – 01:24:18.970 he believed more in their reality
  2001. 01:24:18.970 – 01:24:20.610 what happened to his intention
  2002. 01:24:21.350 – 01:24:23.030 he got out created
  2003. 01:24:23.030 – 01:24:25.870 by somebody saying you're crazy
  2004. 01:24:25.870 – 01:24:27.110 lost his whole idea
  2005. 01:24:27.110 – 01:24:29.370 he communicate communicated more
  2006. 01:24:29.370 – 01:24:31.090 with that ideal of him
  2007. 01:24:31.090 – 01:24:32.430 then he did his idea
  2008. 01:24:32.430 – 01:24:33.790 that he wanted to create
  2009. 01:24:35.040 – 01:24:36.320 am I right
  2010. 01:24:36.540 – 01:24:37.420 it's true
  2011. 01:24:37.420 – 01:24:39.360 let's let's break it down
  2012. 01:24:39.360 – 01:24:42.180 where where it can be looked at
  2013. 01:24:42.180 – 01:24:43.460 remember I said
  2014. 01:24:43.460 – 01:24:44.900 when you look
  2015. 01:24:44.900 – 01:24:46.700 is where you get certainty
  2016. 01:24:46.700 – 01:24:49.060 not not guessing or figuring
  2017. 01:24:49.060 – 01:24:50.280 we don't want to guess and figure
  2018. 01:24:50.280 – 01:24:51.500 we don't want a mystery
  2019. 01:24:51.500 – 01:24:53.600 that never comes to a conclusion
  2020. 01:24:53.600 – 01:24:54.800 we need certainty
  2021. 01:24:54.800 – 01:24:56.360 so we need to look
  2022. 01:24:56.360 – 01:24:58.020 and you need always need
  2023. 01:24:58.020 – 01:24:59.620 to have your eyes about you
  2024. 01:24:59.940 – 01:25:01.280 in present time
  2025. 01:25:01.280 – 01:25:04.020 if you plan on bringing something
  2026. 01:25:04.020 – 01:25:05.700 into the physical existence
  2027. 01:25:05.700 – 01:25:06.680 like I said
  2028. 01:25:08.560 – 01:25:10.500 everything that you can turn around
  2029. 01:25:10.500 – 01:25:11.400 and look at
  2030. 01:25:11.400 – 01:25:14.880 it was once in a person's mind
  2031. 01:25:14.880 – 01:25:17.120 before it appears
  2032. 01:25:17.120 – 01:25:19.560 so how well you communicate
  2033. 01:25:19.560 – 01:25:21.820 with the ideals in your mind
  2034. 01:25:22.220 – 01:25:24.580 determines whether or not
  2035. 01:25:24.580 – 01:25:26.620 your intention is going to go down
  2036. 01:25:30.610 – 01:25:33.790 one must have intentions
  2037. 01:25:34.370 – 01:25:37.050 because if one does not intend it
  2038. 01:25:37.050 – 01:25:37.710 to happen
  2039. 01:25:37.710 – 01:25:39.810 it will not happen
  2040. 01:25:40.810 – 01:25:41.650 what would you say
  2041. 01:25:41.650 – 01:25:42.670 to someone that's struggling
  2042. 01:25:42.670 – 01:25:43.330 with intention
  2043. 01:25:43.330 – 01:25:45.070 or you know don't know how to
  2044. 01:25:45.610 – 01:25:46.470 get in the habit
  2045. 01:25:46.470 – 01:25:48.210 if you're struggling with intention
  2046. 01:25:48.210 – 01:25:49.690 you're not dealing with intention
  2047. 01:25:49.690 – 01:25:50.490 if you're struggling
  2048. 01:25:50.490 – 01:25:53.290 there again it goes back
  2049. 01:25:53.290 – 01:25:57.130 to how well one communicates
  2050. 01:25:57.130 – 01:26:00.090 how well you communicate with self
  2051. 01:26:00.090 – 01:26:02.190 how well you communicate
  2052. 01:26:02.190 – 01:26:03.450 is very important
  2053. 01:26:03.450 – 01:26:05.890 because for you to get things done
  2054. 01:26:05.890 – 01:26:08.450 you have to be able to communicate
  2055. 01:26:08.450 – 01:26:10.390 with your own intentions
  2056. 01:26:13.050 – 01:26:15.110 now understand this now
  2057. 01:26:15.110 – 01:26:17.730 this is why I said
  2058. 01:26:17.730 – 01:26:19.510 understand concepts
  2059. 01:26:19.510 – 01:26:20.930 are very important
  2060. 01:26:20.930 – 01:26:22.950 you say you're going to do something
  2061. 01:26:22.950 – 01:26:25.530 but you don't know the concept of it
  2062. 01:26:25.530 – 01:26:27.190 how are you going to do it
  2063. 01:26:28.500 – 01:26:29.340 how are you going to do it
  2064. 01:26:29.340 – 01:26:30.460 if you don't know the concept
  2065. 01:26:30.460 – 01:26:32.000 you can easily give it up
  2066. 01:26:32.420 – 01:26:34.700 or you may not even start
  2067. 01:26:34.700 – 01:26:36.960 because you're foggy on the subject
  2068. 01:26:39.910 – 01:26:41.630 you got to be clear
  2069. 01:26:41.630 – 01:26:42.750 let me make it here
  2070. 01:26:42.750 – 01:26:43.990 first of all
  2071. 01:26:43.990 – 01:26:45.570 you got to be realistic
  2072. 01:26:46.110 – 01:26:47.630 and you got to be clear
  2073. 01:26:47.630 – 01:26:49.650 about what you can intend
  2074. 01:26:49.650 – 01:26:51.290 this is why I said
  2075. 01:26:51.290 – 01:26:53.270 a little bit at a time
  2076. 01:26:53.270 – 01:26:54.990 because believe it or not
  2077. 01:26:54.990 – 01:26:56.930 you create ability
  2078. 01:26:58.330 – 01:26:59.450 create ability
  2079. 01:26:59.450 – 01:27:00.910 you create ability
  2080. 01:27:04.350 – 01:27:05.270 what are you doing
  2081. 01:27:05.270 – 01:27:06.390 when you bring something
  2082. 01:27:06.390 – 01:27:08.150 you created the ability
  2083. 01:27:08.150 – 01:27:09.410 to bring something in
  2084. 01:27:09.410 – 01:27:10.650 the ability to
  2085. 01:27:10.650 – 01:27:12.650 it takes a certain amount of ability
  2086. 01:27:12.650 – 01:27:13.850 to do certain things
  2087. 01:27:13.850 – 01:27:15.790 so you are creating ability
  2088. 01:27:15.790 – 01:27:17.130 as you are doing it
  2089. 01:27:22.160 – 01:27:24.320 that is the marvel
  2090. 01:27:24.320 – 01:27:26.600 of being the spirit in a human body
  2091. 01:27:29.500 – 01:27:32.140 that's the marvel of being the spirit man
  2092. 01:27:32.140 – 01:27:32.710 it is
  2093. 01:27:34.560 – 01:27:36.980 I never heard it broken down that way
  2094. 01:27:36.980 – 01:27:38.080 does it make sense
  2095. 01:27:38.080 – 01:27:39.250 perfect sense
  2096. 01:27:40.300 – 01:27:42.880 because if you intend to do something
  2097. 01:27:42.880 – 01:27:44.520 it's going to happen
  2098. 01:27:44.520 – 01:27:45.400 that's true
  2099. 01:27:45.400 – 01:27:46.620 but if you don't
  2100. 01:27:46.620 – 01:27:48.380 you got to know when you intend now
  2101. 01:27:48.380 – 01:27:49.060 don't you
  2102. 01:27:49.060 – 01:27:49.880 that's one thing
  2103. 01:27:49.880 – 01:27:51.760 you can't play with yourself about
  2104. 01:27:53.520 – 01:27:54.960 and like I said
  2105. 01:27:55.580 – 01:27:57.040 if you say you're going to do something
  2106. 01:27:57.040 – 01:27:59.240 others have talked you out of it
  2107. 01:27:59.240 – 01:28:01.120 you didn't intend it
  2108. 01:28:01.120 – 01:28:02.600 because you didn't communicate
  2109. 01:28:02.600 – 01:28:04.060 with your intention well
  2110. 01:28:04.060 – 01:28:05.380 you didn't communicate
  2111. 01:28:05.380 – 01:28:06.740 with your own idea
  2112. 01:28:08.530 – 01:28:10.650 you're playing with yourself
  2113. 01:28:11.530 – 01:28:12.790 ain't no room for that
  2114. 01:28:14.580 – 01:28:16.860 so going back to the branding
  2115. 01:28:17.640 – 01:28:19.440 like people brand
  2116. 01:28:19.440 – 01:28:21.620 rebrand themselves multiple times
  2117. 01:28:21.620 – 01:28:22.560 why is that
  2118. 01:28:23.240 – 01:28:23.760 well
  2119. 01:28:24.780 – 01:28:26.680 if you're branding yourself
  2120. 01:28:27.080 – 01:28:29.340 you want your brand to render what
  2121. 01:28:29.960 – 01:28:31.280 what do you want it to render
  2122. 01:28:32.440 – 01:28:33.080 customers
  2123. 01:28:33.720 – 01:28:34.240 okay
  2124. 01:28:34.240 – 01:28:35.000 product sales
  2125. 01:28:35.000 – 01:28:35.800 so
  2126. 01:28:36.360 – 01:28:37.520 if you keep doing
  2127. 01:28:38.120 – 01:28:40.540 cycle upon cycle upon cycle
  2128. 01:28:40.540 – 01:28:42.180 what happens there
  2129. 01:28:42.180 – 01:28:44.360 you create it against yourself
  2130. 01:28:46.090 – 01:28:48.190 you create it one thing
  2131. 01:28:48.190 – 01:28:48.950 and then you say
  2132. 01:28:48.950 – 01:28:50.330 let me jump over here
  2133. 01:28:50.330 – 01:28:52.050 did you complete this cycle
  2134. 01:28:53.590 – 01:28:53.910 huh
  2135. 01:28:54.230 – 01:28:54.630 no
  2136. 01:28:54.630 – 01:28:56.170 did you jump over here
  2137. 01:28:56.870 – 01:28:58.490 did you complete this cycle
  2138. 01:28:58.810 – 01:29:01.210 so now you got two incomplete cycles
  2139. 01:29:01.210 – 01:29:03.050 how well are you communicating
  2140. 01:29:03.050 – 01:29:04.090 wow
  2141. 01:29:04.090 – 01:29:05.630 then you keep adding it on
  2142. 01:29:05.630 – 01:29:07.990 what's happening with your communication in cycles
  2143. 01:29:07.990 – 01:29:09.450 it's going away
  2144. 01:29:09.450 – 01:29:10.530 you got confusion
  2145. 01:29:10.530 – 01:29:12.230 because you created against yourself
  2146. 01:29:12.230 – 01:29:14.170 you said you was going to create one thing
  2147. 01:29:14.170 – 01:29:15.690 then you created against that
  2148. 01:29:15.690 – 01:29:17.390 by saying you was going to do something else
  2149. 01:29:17.390 – 01:29:19.510 now that whole rainbow can't find the color
  2150. 01:29:20.410 – 01:29:20.950 look
  2151. 01:29:20.950 – 01:29:22.790 so like I said
  2152. 01:29:22.790 – 01:29:24.810 you have to be clear
  2153. 01:29:24.810 – 01:29:26.450 about your intention
  2154. 01:29:26.450 – 01:29:28.070 so if you're not clear
  2155. 01:29:28.070 – 01:29:30.170 that's the first thing am I right
  2156. 01:29:30.170 – 01:29:30.690 that's right
  2157. 01:29:30.690 – 01:29:32.910 to be clear on your intention
  2158. 01:29:33.510 – 01:29:36.210 because if you're not clear on your intention
  2159. 01:29:36.210 – 01:29:37.950 how are you able to do it
  2160. 01:29:37.950 – 01:29:39.730 you're going to face opposition
  2161. 01:29:40.390 – 01:29:41.870 and if you're not clear
  2162. 01:29:42.630 – 01:29:44.790 opposition can make you pull you dress down
  2163. 01:29:47.720 – 01:29:48.280 so
  2164. 01:29:48.280 – 01:29:49.700 what would you say is harder
  2165. 01:29:49.700 – 01:29:50.460 building a brand
  2166. 01:29:50.460 – 01:29:51.600 or maintaining one
  2167. 01:29:52.700 – 01:29:54.060 coming up with a brand
  2168. 01:29:54.060 – 01:29:55.340 coming up with a brand
  2169. 01:29:55.940 – 01:29:57.000 why is that
  2170. 01:29:57.000 – 01:29:58.680 because that is it
  2171. 01:29:59.400 – 01:30:02.120 remember the brand answers the question
  2172. 01:30:02.120 – 01:30:02.840 the foundation
  2173. 01:30:02.840 – 01:30:05.380 the brand answers the question
  2174. 01:30:06.200 – 01:30:09.840 why do I need what you have to offer in my life
  2175. 01:30:10.760 – 01:30:12.760 and you want customers
  2176. 01:30:12.760 – 01:30:14.320 you want people that
  2177. 01:30:14.860 – 01:30:16.060 take your offering
  2178. 01:30:18.080 – 01:30:20.400 if you're not clear how they're going to be
  2179. 01:30:23.530 – 01:30:23.950 how
  2180. 01:30:25.460 – 01:30:27.580 just look at it mathematically
  2181. 01:30:28.600 – 01:30:30.260 if you're not clear
  2182. 01:30:30.540 – 01:30:33.920 how are they going to be
  2183. 01:30:35.720 – 01:30:37.480 they're not going to be
  2184. 01:30:37.480 – 01:30:38.800 so it's building trust
  2185. 01:30:40.440 – 01:30:42.880 the trust is the brand that you said
  2186. 01:30:43.400 – 01:30:44.640 what you say you're about
  2187. 01:30:44.640 – 01:30:46.560 I see it consistently
  2188. 01:30:46.560 – 01:30:47.880 I trust you
  2189. 01:30:48.480 – 01:30:49.700 because that what you said
  2190. 01:30:49.700 – 01:30:50.980 I see it's just like
  2191. 01:30:50.980 – 01:30:51.700 okay guys
  2192. 01:30:51.700 – 01:30:53.900 I'm posting this up on Tuesday
  2193. 01:30:55.140 – 01:30:56.520 you come on Tuesday
  2194. 01:30:56.520 – 01:30:57.620 and it's not there
  2195. 01:30:59.690 – 01:31:00.210 okay
  2196. 01:31:00.810 – 01:31:02.670 I posted on Friday
  2197. 01:31:03.210 – 01:31:04.790 then I come back again
  2198. 01:31:04.790 – 01:31:06.190 and say I'm going to post something else
  2199. 01:31:06.190 – 01:31:08.090 and I don't make the date
  2200. 01:31:08.590 – 01:31:10.210 what are you going to feel about what I'm saying
  2201. 01:31:10.210 – 01:31:11.670 every time I say I'm going to post something
  2202. 01:31:11.670 – 01:31:12.710 even if it's
  2203. 01:31:12.710 – 01:31:15.410 if it's in your reactive mind
  2204. 01:31:15.410 – 01:31:16.360 you're going to be like
  2205. 01:31:17.130 – 01:31:18.510 you always say you're going to do it
  2206. 01:31:18.510 – 01:31:19.430 but you don't never do it
  2207. 01:31:19.430 – 01:31:21.050 the time you say you're going to do it
  2208. 01:31:22.560 – 01:31:24.230 so how I'm going to trust you
  2209. 01:31:28.080 – 01:31:29.100 got to be consistent
  2210. 01:31:29.100 – 01:31:31.380 people say word is bond
  2211. 01:31:31.380 – 01:31:32.100 word is bond
  2212. 01:31:32.100 – 01:31:33.580 word is really bond
  2213. 01:31:36.000 – 01:31:37.560 dealing with brand
  2214. 01:31:38.540 – 01:31:39.840 word is bond
  2215. 01:31:40.920 – 01:31:43.320 see now you're going to get down to
  2216. 01:31:43.320 – 01:31:45.300 who really knows what that means
  2217. 01:31:45.300 – 01:31:48.060 and who hasn't just been acting in parrot fashion
  2218. 01:31:48.060 – 01:31:49.880 like Polly want a cracker
  2219. 01:31:49.880 – 01:31:51.160 Polly want a cracker
  2220. 01:31:51.160 – 01:31:51.800 my brand
  2221. 01:31:51.800 – 01:31:52.740 my brand
  2222. 01:31:52.740 – 01:31:54.000 to sound chic
  2223. 01:31:56.120 – 01:31:57.220 just like
  2224. 01:31:57.220 – 01:31:58.400 like GoFundMe
  2225. 01:31:59.520 – 01:32:00.960 that's a brand
  2226. 01:32:00.960 – 01:32:02.000 how so
  2227. 01:32:02.600 – 01:32:03.580 how so
  2228. 01:32:03.580 – 01:32:05.100 how can I gauge
  2229. 01:32:05.100 – 01:32:07.660 how much money I'm going to get
  2230. 01:32:07.660 – 01:32:08.640 from a GoFundMe
  2231. 01:32:09.700 – 01:32:11.740 it's going to be based off of my community
  2232. 01:32:13.100 – 01:32:14.920 and the way it used to be
  2233. 01:32:14.920 – 01:32:16.740 the way we used to try to operate
  2234. 01:32:16.740 – 01:32:18.220 was to go on social media
  2235. 01:32:18.220 – 01:32:20.780 and bring people to your website
  2236. 01:32:20.780 – 01:32:22.760 that way you know
  2237. 01:32:22.760 – 01:32:24.640 that those who came to your website
  2238. 01:32:24.640 – 01:32:26.100 those are your customers
  2239. 01:32:26.100 – 01:32:28.040 or to put it another way
  2240. 01:32:28.040 – 01:32:31.420 those who have given you their email address
  2241. 01:32:31.420 – 01:32:33.020 that's why email addresses
  2242. 01:32:33.020 – 01:32:34.280 was so important
  2243. 01:32:34.280 – 01:32:36.240 I remember I did something years ago
  2244. 01:32:36.240 – 01:32:39.260 and I had to pay this guy to use his email bill
  2245. 01:32:39.260 – 01:32:40.480 because he had numbers
  2246. 01:32:40.480 – 01:32:41.240 that was awesome
  2247. 01:32:41.240 – 01:32:43.820 I got this many I can drop it into my deal
  2248. 01:32:43.820 – 01:32:44.920 power email list
  2249. 01:32:44.920 – 01:32:46.460 okay okay that was it
  2250. 01:32:46.460 – 01:32:48.100 so for us the thing was
  2251. 01:32:48.100 – 01:32:49.540 to get you to my website
  2252. 01:32:49.540 – 01:32:50.460 and see now
  2253. 01:32:50.460 – 01:32:52.200 I'm looking at something a little different
  2254. 01:32:52.200 – 01:32:53.360 this is getting ahead of us
  2255. 01:32:53.360 – 01:32:54.940 but I'm looking at something a little different
  2256. 01:32:54.940 – 01:32:56.880 but to me it's in the line with branding
  2257. 01:32:59.920 – 01:33:01.540 that social media
  2258. 01:33:03.740 – 01:33:05.200 is at a place
  2259. 01:33:06.280 – 01:33:08.320 and whether you believe it or not
  2260. 01:33:09.900 – 01:33:12.140 Facebook is also your competition
  2261. 01:33:14.300 – 01:33:15.260 in branding
  2262. 01:33:15.940 – 01:33:17.420 Facebook is your competition
  2263. 01:33:17.420 – 01:33:19.360 Facebook is a brand
  2264. 01:33:21.540 – 01:33:22.920 but they're smart
  2265. 01:33:24.020 – 01:33:25.620 you know how
  2266. 01:33:26.060 – 01:33:28.560 and this is something that I said well
  2267. 01:33:29.700 – 01:33:31.460 God now they did
  2268. 01:33:31.460 – 01:33:33.040 because they did an orientation
  2269. 01:33:33.620 – 01:33:35.020 on your community
  2270. 01:33:35.020 – 01:33:37.500 you got a community
  2271. 01:33:37.500 – 01:33:40.280 a community already orientated by Facebook
  2272. 01:33:40.280 – 01:33:41.480 and know what it is
  2273. 01:33:41.480 – 01:33:44.280 man I'm used to being interactive over here
  2274. 01:33:44.280 – 01:33:46.680 I'm used to saying this about myself
  2275. 01:33:46.680 – 01:33:50.240 is my webpage interactive
  2276. 01:33:52.180 – 01:33:56.570 no and people are orientated to that
  2277. 01:33:56.570 – 01:33:58.690 how much time they want to spend on my page
  2278. 01:33:58.690 – 01:34:00.230 or what is my page for
  2279. 01:34:00.230 – 01:34:01.530 it's just to get tickets
  2280. 01:34:01.530 – 01:34:02.890 how does that work
  2281. 01:34:02.890 – 01:34:04.070 I don't want to what's the name
  2282. 01:34:05.310 – 01:34:07.770 and my model for when I was starting out
  2283. 01:34:07.770 – 01:34:08.710 was Ryan Leslie
  2284. 01:34:08.710 – 01:34:10.430 you know Ryan Leslie is
  2285. 01:34:10.430 – 01:34:12.710 because Ryan Leslie was doing what I was doing
  2286. 01:34:12.710 – 01:34:16.270 but Ryan Leslie really had a big intention on his
  2287. 01:34:16.270 – 01:34:17.990 but he was the only one that was doing
  2288. 01:34:17.990 – 01:34:19.530 what I was doing with all that filming
  2289. 01:34:19.530 – 01:34:20.590 and what have you
  2290. 01:34:20.590 – 01:34:23.590 so I was inspired also by Ryan Leslie
  2291. 01:34:23.590 – 01:34:26.070 because Ryan Leslie was the only one that I could see
  2292. 01:34:26.070 – 01:34:27.370 that was doing what I was doing
  2293. 01:34:29.470 – 01:34:31.770 but that book that I suggested
  2294. 01:34:32.370 – 01:34:33.870 Epic Content Marketing
  2295. 01:34:33.870 – 01:34:37.870 that's what put me ahead of the game
  2296. 01:34:37.870 – 01:34:39.790 even though I got 50 years plus
  2297. 01:34:39.790 – 01:34:42.130 I'm like 18 years old out here baby
  2298. 01:34:42.130 – 01:34:43.410 you understand what I'm saying
  2299. 01:34:43.410 – 01:34:44.010 you know
  2300. 01:34:44.810 – 01:34:47.250 even going back to like 18, 19
  2301. 01:34:47.930 – 01:34:50.030 you studied acting at Caramiel
  2302. 01:34:50.030 – 01:34:52.710 yeah because Clay Anderson
  2303. 01:34:52.710 – 01:34:56.270 Ben Vereen's road manager
  2304. 01:34:56.270 – 01:34:58.230 he told me to lend myself
  2305. 01:34:58.230 – 01:34:59.950 even if it didn't pay
  2306. 01:34:59.950 – 01:35:03.110 to lend myself to things such as that
  2307. 01:35:03.110 – 01:35:04.610 to develop my talent
  2308. 01:35:05.450 – 01:35:07.810 yeah so in fact my father used to say
  2309. 01:35:07.810 – 01:35:09.250 and other people have said it
  2310. 01:35:09.250 – 01:35:12.510 and even the acting coaches that I had at Caramiel
  2311. 01:35:12.510 – 01:35:14.630 Mike I want you to be an actor
  2312. 01:35:15.310 – 01:35:17.190 but I wanted to sing
  2313. 01:35:17.710 – 01:35:18.830 Lucia Colombi
  2314. 01:35:19.610 – 01:35:21.330 she was my teacher
  2315. 01:35:21.330 – 01:35:23.650 Audrey Cobb was my teacher
  2316. 01:35:23.650 – 01:35:25.630 and Margaret Ford Taylor
  2317. 01:35:27.330 – 01:35:31.250 and of course working with the infamous Reggie Kelly
  2318. 01:35:31.510 – 01:35:33.190 my time at Caramiel
  2319. 01:35:33.190 – 01:35:38.170 Glenda Dickerson out of Washington D.C.
  2320. 01:35:38.490 – 01:35:39.170 Mike Malone
  2321. 01:35:39.810 – 01:35:42.810 who actually that Duke Ellington school
  2322. 01:35:42.810 – 01:35:45.810 that Dave Chappelle came from
  2323. 01:35:45.810 – 01:35:48.010 and then Mike worked with Debbie Allen
  2324. 01:35:48.010 – 01:35:49.030 the Howard sisters
  2325. 01:35:49.030 – 01:35:50.810 you know just that environment
  2326. 01:35:50.810 – 01:35:51.650 it's enriching
  2327. 01:35:52.190 – 01:35:53.250 it's artistic
  2328. 01:35:53.250 – 01:35:54.450 it feeds
  2329. 01:35:54.450 – 01:35:55.810 it elevates
  2330. 01:35:56.390 – 01:35:57.850 and that kind of energy
  2331. 01:35:57.850 – 01:36:00.610 you transport that to other people
  2332. 01:36:01.130 – 01:36:02.890 man art is a spirit
  2333. 01:36:02.890 – 01:36:04.950 let me get down to the essence of it
  2334. 01:36:04.950 – 01:36:07.430 beyond the marketing and the visibility
  2335. 01:36:07.430 – 01:36:08.690 what it does
  2336. 01:36:08.690 – 01:36:09.870 art art
  2337. 01:36:09.870 – 01:36:11.790 and to me our revolution
  2338. 01:36:11.790 – 01:36:13.030 I said it
  2339. 01:36:13.030 – 01:36:14.450 no not preachers
  2340. 01:36:14.450 – 01:36:15.390 not all that
  2341. 01:36:15.390 – 01:36:16.790 but your artist
  2342. 01:36:18.210 – 01:36:20.250 in the time that we're living in
  2343. 01:36:20.250 – 01:36:20.810 the artist
  2344. 01:36:22.110 – 01:36:23.290 true artists
  2345. 01:36:24.050 – 01:36:25.950 I'm not talking about those
  2346. 01:36:25.950 – 01:36:27.290 that want to be in the business
  2347. 01:36:27.290 – 01:36:28.230 to get girls
  2348. 01:36:28.230 – 01:36:29.670 to be in the business for attention
  2349. 01:36:29.670 – 01:36:30.530 I'm talking about
  2350. 01:36:30.530 – 01:36:32.610 those who want to serve
  2351. 01:36:33.330 – 01:36:34.870 the people through art
  2352. 01:36:34.870 – 01:36:37.230 those are your new revolutionaries
  2353. 01:36:37.230 – 01:36:39.170 it's got to come through the arts
  2354. 01:36:39.890 – 01:36:41.090 it's got to come
  2355. 01:36:42.440 – 01:36:43.340 right now
  2356. 01:36:43.840 – 01:36:45.460 look at the climate baby
  2357. 01:36:46.100 – 01:36:47.680 look at your political climate
  2358. 01:36:47.680 – 01:36:50.240 see a lot of us may not want to ask
  2359. 01:36:50.240 – 01:36:51.440 is where we are
  2360. 01:36:51.440 – 01:36:53.500 you a lot of people complain about Trump
  2361. 01:36:53.500 – 01:36:55.320 why I won't complain about it
  2362. 01:36:55.320 – 01:36:57.220 how much control I got over it
  2363. 01:36:57.220 – 01:36:57.640 how much
  2364. 01:36:58.100 – 01:36:59.480 it's silly for me to think
  2365. 01:36:59.480 – 01:37:00.900 it's put my energy over there
  2366. 01:37:00.900 – 01:37:03.000 what can I intend over there
  2367. 01:37:03.540 – 01:37:04.060 nothing
  2368. 01:37:04.060 – 01:37:06.840 I can only look and see what's before me
  2369. 01:37:06.840 – 01:37:08.840 and what I need to intend
  2370. 01:37:08.840 – 01:37:10.700 because in the beginning was the word
  2371. 01:37:10.700 – 01:37:12.400 and the word will survive
  2372. 01:37:12.400 – 01:37:13.120 survive
  2373. 01:37:13.120 – 01:37:14.540 that was the word
  2374. 01:37:14.540 – 01:37:15.760 in the beginning was the word
  2375. 01:37:15.760 – 01:37:17.140 and the word will survive
  2376. 01:37:17.600 – 01:37:18.900 that's where we're at
  2377. 01:37:19.440 – 01:37:21.280 we're dealing with a social existence
  2378. 01:37:21.280 – 01:37:22.540 spiritual beings
  2379. 01:37:22.540 – 01:37:24.360 dealing with a social existence
  2380. 01:37:25.640 – 01:37:27.680 how do you operate as a spirit
  2381. 01:37:27.680 – 01:37:28.280 through this
  2382. 01:37:28.280 – 01:37:30.020 that's what I'll be talking about
  2383. 01:37:30.020 – 01:37:31.300 when I talk about everything
  2384. 01:37:31.300 – 01:37:33.020 I'll be talking about the abilities
  2385. 01:37:33.020 – 01:37:34.340 that we have as a spirit
  2386. 01:37:34.340 – 01:37:36.040 that we can apply to the matter
  2387. 01:37:36.040 – 01:37:37.980 energy space and time universe
  2388. 01:37:40.150 – 01:37:41.210 so for someone
  2389. 01:37:41.210 – 01:37:42.810 or maybe even an out of towner
  2390. 01:37:42.810 – 01:37:44.290 that haven't been to caramoo house
  2391. 01:37:44.290 – 01:37:45.410 what's that energy like
  2392. 01:37:45.410 – 01:37:46.490 caramoo house
  2393. 01:37:49.830 – 01:37:53.310 that's the oldest black community
  2394. 01:37:53.310 – 01:37:54.650 theater in the world
  2395. 01:37:55.190 – 01:37:56.970 what it was like for me
  2396. 01:37:56.970 – 01:37:57.670 Cleveland, Ohio
  2397. 01:37:58.290 – 01:37:59.990 what it was like for me
  2398. 01:38:00.910 – 01:38:02.950 it was just awesome
  2399. 01:38:02.950 – 01:38:04.630 because of the level of talent
  2400. 01:38:04.630 – 01:38:05.810 in my class
  2401. 01:38:07.510 – 01:38:08.890 well number classes
  2402. 01:38:08.890 – 01:38:10.090 James Pickens
  2403. 01:38:10.090 – 01:38:11.270 Jim Pickens
  2404. 01:38:11.270 – 01:38:12.610 who's on the
  2405. 01:38:12.610 – 01:38:14.150 what's the hospital series
  2406. 01:38:14.150 – 01:38:14.910 that's big
  2407. 01:38:15.750 – 01:38:18.510 he's the black head of it
  2408. 01:38:18.510 – 01:38:19.850 I'm not sure I don't watch much tv
  2409. 01:38:19.850 – 01:38:20.670 well he
  2410. 01:38:20.670 – 01:38:21.110 James
  2411. 01:38:21.730 – 01:38:23.910 people you may not have heard of
  2412. 01:38:23.910 – 01:38:25.300 Marvin Bay Wright
  2413. 01:38:25.650 – 01:38:26.990 Marvin Wright Bay
  2414. 01:38:26.990 – 01:38:27.980 look him up
  2415. 01:38:28.170 – 01:38:29.510 awesome talent
  2416. 01:38:29.510 – 01:38:31.110 awesome talent
  2417. 01:38:31.110 – 01:38:31.520 just
  2418. 01:38:33.310 – 01:38:36.070 that kind of
  2419. 01:38:36.070 – 01:38:37.130 where it's competition
  2420. 01:38:37.510 – 01:38:38.590 you know
  2421. 01:38:38.590 – 01:38:41.530 but it's that healthy competition
  2422. 01:38:41.530 – 01:38:44.530 because everybody is coming in
  2423. 01:38:44.530 – 01:38:45.570 trying to be
  2424. 01:38:45.570 – 01:38:46.690 A 100
  2425. 01:38:46.690 – 01:38:48.350 nobody wants to slack
  2426. 01:38:48.350 – 01:38:50.050 because the level of talent
  2427. 01:38:50.050 – 01:38:50.870 that's there
  2428. 01:38:50.870 – 01:38:51.950 I want the part
  2429. 01:38:53.290 – 01:38:55.330 so with that kind of thing
  2430. 01:38:55.330 – 01:38:56.130 what do you think about
  2431. 01:38:56.130 – 01:38:57.030 the level of talent
  2432. 01:38:57.030 – 01:38:58.630 what is it going to do
  2433. 01:38:58.630 – 01:38:59.670 you see
  2434. 01:38:59.670 – 01:39:01.490 because everybody trying to be
  2435. 01:39:01.490 – 01:39:02.410 on the A game
  2436. 01:39:04.790 – 01:39:05.990 and helpful
  2437. 01:39:06.870 – 01:39:08.870 a spirit of sharing
  2438. 01:39:08.870 – 01:39:10.250 understanding
  2439. 01:39:10.250 – 01:39:11.970 that hey it's a whole
  2440. 01:39:11.970 – 01:39:13.250 it's not just one person
  2441. 01:39:13.250 – 01:39:14.790 and it must happen together
  2442. 01:39:16.250 – 01:39:18.490 it's a great feeling
  2443. 01:39:18.490 – 01:39:21.690 and to feel that unity
  2444. 01:39:21.690 – 01:39:23.350 was something
  2445. 01:39:23.350 – 01:39:25.010 that wasn't there
  2446. 01:39:25.010 – 01:39:25.890 is there
  2447. 01:39:25.890 – 01:39:28.010 and the people with this talent
  2448. 01:39:28.010 – 01:39:29.190 came together
  2449. 01:39:29.190 – 01:39:31.150 and made it one
  2450. 01:39:31.150 – 01:39:33.410 that's the beauty of life
  2451. 01:39:33.410 – 01:39:34.190 as an artist
  2452. 01:39:34.190 – 01:39:35.970 I wish life could be like that
  2453. 01:39:35.970 – 01:39:37.910 I wish we as a people
  2454. 01:39:37.910 – 01:39:39.710 could come together as one
  2455. 01:39:39.710 – 01:39:41.870 oh what we could be able to do
  2456. 01:39:41.870 – 01:39:42.690 you know
  2457. 01:39:42.690 – 01:39:43.930 people talk about miracles
  2458. 01:39:43.930 – 01:39:46.130 oh this would be a miracle
  2459. 01:39:46.130 – 01:39:47.470 black unity
  2460. 01:39:47.470 – 01:39:49.030 that would be a miracle
  2461. 01:39:49.030 – 01:39:50.490 then talk to me baby
  2462. 01:39:50.490 – 01:39:52.070 yeah art imitates life
  2463. 01:39:52.070 – 01:39:54.210 art imitate life
  2464. 01:39:55.090 – 01:39:56.230 they say that
  2465. 01:39:56.230 – 01:39:57.790 I Dave Stewart
  2466. 01:39:57.790 – 01:40:00.450 who I did hip hop for life
  2467. 01:40:00.450 – 01:40:01.450 with Dave Stewart
  2468. 01:40:01.450 – 01:40:02.830 that was the first film
  2469. 01:40:02.830 – 01:40:04.090 the first hip hop film
  2470. 01:40:04.090 – 01:40:05.750 to make it to Sundance
  2471. 01:40:05.970 – 01:40:07.570 we couldn't compete
  2472. 01:40:07.570 – 01:40:09.750 because we had already
  2473. 01:40:09.750 – 01:40:10.570 previewed the film
  2474. 01:40:10.570 – 01:40:12.590 in order to compete in the Sundance
  2475. 01:40:12.590 – 01:40:14.590 you can't preview your film
  2476. 01:40:14.590 – 01:40:16.210 they have to preview it
  2477. 01:40:16.210 – 01:40:17.630 but they gave us a showing
  2478. 01:40:17.630 – 01:40:18.970 it was hip hop
  2479. 01:40:18.970 – 01:40:20.010 for life
  2480. 01:40:20.010 – 01:40:21.090 Dave Stewart
  2481. 01:40:22.290 – 01:40:23.510 did that film
  2482. 01:40:23.510 – 01:40:25.090 I believed in it a lot
  2483. 01:40:25.090 – 01:40:26.390 and then it made it
  2484. 01:40:26.390 – 01:40:27.550 to Sundance
  2485. 01:40:27.550 – 01:40:28.190 wow
  2486. 01:40:28.190 – 01:40:28.690 yeah
  2487. 01:40:29.290 – 01:40:30.030 what was that
  2488. 01:40:30.030 – 01:40:31.550 the hip hop community
  2489. 01:40:31.550 – 01:40:32.510 got together
  2490. 01:40:33.170 – 01:40:34.370 the hip hop community
  2491. 01:40:34.370 – 01:40:35.810 got together to make that film
  2492. 01:40:35.810 – 01:40:36.810 represent Cleveland
  2493. 01:40:36.810 – 01:40:38.670 now you asked me earlier
  2494. 01:40:38.670 – 01:40:39.510 so let me digress
  2495. 01:40:39.510 – 01:40:41.390 and let me tell you
  2496. 01:40:41.390 – 01:40:42.430 what happened
  2497. 01:40:42.430 – 01:40:43.390 that I think
  2498. 01:40:43.390 – 01:40:45.750 hurt the live hip hop scene
  2499. 01:40:45.750 – 01:40:47.550 you had to audition for me
  2500. 01:40:48.110 – 01:40:50.130 then here comes the other promoters
  2501. 01:40:51.590 – 01:40:54.230 based on how many tickets you sell
  2502. 01:40:54.230 – 01:40:56.030 you can be on the show
  2503. 01:40:57.230 – 01:40:58.990 what did that do for a show
  2504. 01:40:59.810 – 01:41:00.330 visually
  2505. 01:41:01.090 – 01:41:02.010 what did it do
  2506. 01:41:02.010 – 01:41:03.430 if I can sell the tickets
  2507. 01:41:03.430 – 01:41:04.610 I don't have to be a great act
  2508. 01:41:04.610 – 01:41:05.750 I just sell the tickets
  2509. 01:41:05.810 – 01:41:07.950 and the promoter has me on the show
  2510. 01:41:08.890 – 01:41:09.910 to me
  2511. 01:41:10.230 – 01:41:11.290 that hurt
  2512. 01:41:11.970 – 01:41:13.330 live hip hop performers
  2513. 01:41:13.330 – 01:41:14.530 and expectations
  2514. 01:41:15.170 – 01:41:16.090 here in Cleveland
  2515. 01:41:18.170 – 01:41:20.130 because what was the spot
  2516. 01:41:20.130 – 01:41:21.430 that everybody was going to
  2517. 01:41:24.390 – 01:41:26.770 after Don and Velma left
  2518. 01:41:26.770 – 01:41:29.030 the original owner took over
  2519. 01:41:29.030 – 01:41:30.750 and I ended up working
  2520. 01:41:31.270 – 01:41:33.150 for who he brought in
  2521. 01:41:33.150 – 01:41:34.110 but then
  2522. 01:41:34.110 – 01:41:35.470 it was a person
  2523. 01:41:35.470 – 01:41:37.090 there who felt like
  2524. 01:41:37.090 – 01:41:38.530 they got stepped over
  2525. 01:41:38.530 – 01:41:40.090 and they should have been the one
  2526. 01:41:40.090 – 01:41:41.630 and so they undermined
  2527. 01:41:41.630 – 01:41:42.410 what I was doing
  2528. 01:41:44.430 – 01:41:45.350 downtown in the flats
  2529. 01:41:45.350 – 01:41:46.270 where we were killing them
  2530. 01:41:46.270 – 01:41:46.810 in the flats
  2531. 01:41:47.910 – 01:41:48.970 footage all that
  2532. 01:41:48.970 – 01:41:50.270 I'm not just talking
  2533. 01:41:50.270 – 01:41:51.250 when we do this series
  2534. 01:41:51.250 – 01:41:52.390 you got to see it
  2535. 01:41:52.390 – 01:41:52.910 got to see it
  2536. 01:41:52.910 – 01:41:54.510 you got to see the level of talent
  2537. 01:41:54.510 – 01:41:55.830 you got to see it
  2538. 01:41:55.830 – 01:41:57.030 and just a lot of things
  2539. 01:41:57.030 – 01:41:57.410 we were doing
  2540. 01:41:57.410 – 01:41:58.890 a lot of us doing a lot of recording
  2541. 01:41:58.890 – 01:42:00.710 all that stuff
  2542. 01:42:00.710 – 01:42:01.890 do you have a title
  2543. 01:42:01.890 – 01:42:03.010 for their series already
  2544. 01:42:03.550 – 01:42:04.870 my first one was called
  2545. 01:42:04.870 – 01:42:06.830 I don't know what I want
  2546. 01:42:06.830 – 01:42:08.010 to call this one yet
  2547. 01:42:08.010 – 01:42:09.110 because I'm gonna have to keep
  2548. 01:42:09.110 – 01:42:10.810 reviewing a lot of the footage
  2549. 01:42:10.810 – 01:42:12.730 because not only
  2550. 01:42:12.730 – 01:42:13.950 what I did for Cleveland
  2551. 01:42:13.950 – 01:42:15.190 through the hip hop
  2552. 01:42:15.190 – 01:42:16.970 I actually have footage
  2553. 01:42:16.970 – 01:42:18.490 of some of the acts
  2554. 01:42:19.030 – 01:42:20.470 that were in Cleveland
  2555. 01:42:20.470 – 01:42:22.190 when I was coming up
  2556. 01:42:22.190 – 01:42:23.690 at 14, 15, 16
  2557. 01:42:23.690 – 01:42:24.950 I was fortunate enough
  2558. 01:42:24.950 – 01:42:26.630 to put the entertains
  2559. 01:42:27.290 – 01:42:28.330 back together
  2560. 01:42:28.330 – 01:42:30.230 so you can hear them
  2561. 01:42:30.230 – 01:42:32.330 talk about the Cleveland scene
  2562. 01:42:32.330 – 01:42:33.530 you can hear them
  2563. 01:42:33.530 – 01:42:35.690 talk about the level of talent
  2564. 01:42:35.690 – 01:42:36.790 and you'll be able to
  2565. 01:42:36.790 – 01:42:37.790 witness a performance
  2566. 01:42:37.790 – 01:42:39.610 to see what I'm talking about
  2567. 01:42:40.890 – 01:42:41.310 I can't wait for it
  2568. 01:42:41.310 – 01:42:41.890 Cleveland
  2569. 01:42:41.890 – 01:42:43.710 talking about proud
  2570. 01:42:43.710 – 01:42:46.490 look this history you need
  2571. 01:42:46.770 – 01:42:49.770 do you never document our history
  2572. 01:42:49.770 – 01:42:50.550 you need to
  2573. 01:42:50.550 – 01:42:50.970 you know
  2574. 01:42:50.970 – 01:42:52.050 yeah you need to
  2575. 01:42:52.050 – 01:42:53.350 because it's almost like
  2576. 01:42:53.350 – 01:42:54.430 being here
  2577. 01:42:54.430 – 01:42:56.710 and not connecting with Africa
  2578. 01:42:56.710 – 01:42:58.450 you lost some of your history
  2579. 01:42:58.450 – 01:42:59.670 to be in Cleveland
  2580. 01:42:59.670 – 01:43:01.410 and not connect
  2581. 01:43:01.410 – 01:43:02.690 with what was here
  2582. 01:43:02.690 – 01:43:04.730 you're gonna lose some of your
  2583. 01:43:04.730 – 01:43:06.490 history and your life force
  2584. 01:43:06.490 – 01:43:07.490 you got to connect
  2585. 01:43:07.490 – 01:43:08.070 with what was
  2586. 01:43:08.070 – 01:43:09.030 so you can continue
  2587. 01:43:09.030 – 01:43:09.890 and your goal
  2588. 01:43:09.890 – 01:43:11.030 the youth's goal
  2589. 01:43:11.030 – 01:43:11.970 is to take it
  2590. 01:43:12.450 – 01:43:13.650 and continue it
  2591. 01:43:13.650 – 01:43:15.510 but as always some
  2592. 01:43:15.510 – 01:43:17.310 it gets cut
  2593. 01:43:18.110 – 01:43:20.050 and the connection is broken
  2594. 01:43:20.050 – 01:43:21.410 and then it always
  2595. 01:43:21.410 – 01:43:22.270 end up sub
  2596. 01:43:24.280 – 01:43:25.740 there's a TV show
  2597. 01:43:26.800 – 01:43:28.080 on Tubi
  2598. 01:43:28.080 – 01:43:29.560 that I want to recommend
  2599. 01:43:32.300 – 01:43:33.580 on Tubi
  2600. 01:43:34.860 – 01:43:37.060 go and watch this series
  2601. 01:43:37.860 – 01:43:41.880 called S-O-U-L
  2602. 01:43:41.880 – 01:43:42.340 Soul
  2603. 01:43:42.340 – 01:43:44.340 there you're gonna get poetry
  2604. 01:43:45.060 – 01:43:46.120 you're gonna get the
  2605. 01:43:46.120 – 01:43:47.280 revolutionary music
  2606. 01:43:47.740 – 01:43:49.200 and let me say this
  2607. 01:43:49.200 – 01:43:50.160 while I'm at it
  2608. 01:43:50.160 – 01:43:50.560 okay
  2609. 01:43:51.200 – 01:43:51.960 Afrobeats
  2610. 01:43:54.540 – 01:43:55.420 for some reason
  2611. 01:43:55.420 – 01:43:57.420 I just tuned in to Afrobeats
  2612. 01:43:57.420 – 01:43:59.540 20 almost 15 years ago
  2613. 01:44:00.380 – 01:44:01.180 but then
  2614. 01:44:01.560 – 01:44:03.000 as it's circling around
  2615. 01:44:03.000 – 01:44:04.580 I understand why
  2616. 01:44:05.080 – 01:44:07.480 I was there in the 60s
  2617. 01:44:08.440 – 01:44:10.220 when the musicians
  2618. 01:44:10.760 – 01:44:12.240 all the African
  2619. 01:44:12.240 – 01:44:13.780 like I told you the ancestors
  2620. 01:44:13.780 – 01:44:14.860 was upon us
  2621. 01:44:15.200 – 01:44:17.540 the music of that period
  2622. 01:44:17.540 – 01:44:19.500 the jazz mostly
  2623. 01:44:19.500 – 01:44:20.780 not I can't say mostly
  2624. 01:44:20.780 – 01:44:22.600 because of the rhythms
  2625. 01:44:22.600 – 01:44:23.660 and all that
  2626. 01:44:23.660 – 01:44:25.140 oh it was straight Africa
  2627. 01:44:25.140 – 01:44:26.600 and then
  2628. 01:44:28.200 – 01:44:28.640 Fela
  2629. 01:44:29.580 – 01:44:31.140 who's the father
  2630. 01:44:31.440 – 01:44:33.080 of Afrobeats
  2631. 01:44:34.420 – 01:44:36.500 comes to America
  2632. 01:44:36.500 – 01:44:38.880 to try to make it in the business
  2633. 01:44:38.880 – 01:44:40.800 I'm sure at that time
  2634. 01:44:41.200 – 01:44:41.960 Africa
  2635. 01:44:42.580 – 01:44:43.940 and America
  2636. 01:44:43.940 – 01:44:45.560 came together
  2637. 01:44:46.640 – 01:44:47.480 musically
  2638. 01:44:47.480 – 01:44:48.760 and then
  2639. 01:44:50.320 – 01:44:51.400 Fela hooked up
  2640. 01:44:51.400 – 01:44:53.540 with a Black Panther sister
  2641. 01:44:54.100 – 01:44:55.640 and it was that sister
  2642. 01:44:55.640 – 01:44:57.120 that told Fela
  2643. 01:44:57.120 – 01:44:58.860 take this music
  2644. 01:44:59.360 – 01:45:01.660 and revolutionarily
  2645. 01:45:01.660 – 01:45:03.020 rise this music
  2646. 01:45:03.020 – 01:45:04.280 for your people
  2647. 01:45:04.280 – 01:45:05.540 who is Fela
  2648. 01:45:05.540 – 01:45:07.960 Fela's the father of Afrobeats
  2649. 01:45:07.960 – 01:45:09.280 look him up
  2650. 01:45:09.280 – 01:45:11.360 F-E-L-A
  2651. 01:45:11.360 – 01:45:13.160 and Afrobeats was
  2652. 01:45:13.160 – 01:45:14.940 revolutionary music
  2653. 01:45:15.780 – 01:45:17.240 and in the 60s
  2654. 01:45:18.340 – 01:45:20.140 that's what we were
  2655. 01:45:20.820 – 01:45:22.560 Afrobeats baby
  2656. 01:45:24.020 – 01:45:26.540 that's why it came back around to me
  2657. 01:45:26.540 – 01:45:27.480 WizKid
  2658. 01:45:27.480 – 01:45:28.760 Burner and all that
  2659. 01:45:29.100 – 01:45:31.380 it was pulling me in
  2660. 01:45:32.360 – 01:45:33.920 I see why
  2661. 01:45:33.920 – 01:45:35.540 because actually
  2662. 01:45:36.080 – 01:45:36.820 to me
  2663. 01:45:37.100 – 01:45:37.780 like I said
  2664. 01:45:37.780 – 01:45:39.560 they have a tendency to break things
  2665. 01:45:39.560 – 01:45:42.020 creativity was broken here in America
  2666. 01:45:43.080 – 01:45:44.280 it was broken
  2667. 01:45:45.560 – 01:45:47.360 maybe after the 90s
  2668. 01:45:48.080 – 01:45:49.080 but it was broken
  2669. 01:45:51.260 – 01:45:51.980 and
  2670. 01:45:51.980 – 01:45:52.800 Wiz
  2671. 01:45:54.220 – 01:45:55.220 Burner Boy
  2672. 01:45:56.740 – 01:45:58.180 that progression
  2673. 01:46:00.070 – 01:46:02.730 of the Black music from the 60s
  2674. 01:46:02.730 – 01:46:04.310 that we did
  2675. 01:46:04.310 – 01:46:05.310 with the ancestors
  2676. 01:46:05.310 – 01:46:07.010 the ancestors was on us
  2677. 01:46:07.010 – 01:46:08.310 more than anywhere in Africa
  2678. 01:46:08.310 – 01:46:10.670 because we influenced it
  2679. 01:46:10.670 – 01:46:11.410 and now to me
  2680. 01:46:11.410 – 01:46:13.570 it's coming back to me
  2681. 01:46:13.570 – 01:46:13.890 huh
  2682. 01:46:14.710 – 01:46:16.470 through that generation
  2683. 01:46:17.290 – 01:46:19.110 so when you want to talk about
  2684. 01:46:19.650 – 01:46:21.210 us being one people
  2685. 01:46:22.070 – 01:46:23.710 look at my mindset
  2686. 01:46:24.950 – 01:46:26.390 look at my mindset
  2687. 01:46:26.390 – 01:46:27.330 that shows you
  2688. 01:46:27.330 – 01:46:28.990 how it came back around
  2689. 01:46:28.990 – 01:46:29.970 to me
  2690. 01:46:30.430 – 01:46:31.830 that's one people
  2691. 01:46:31.830 – 01:46:33.630 that we shout it out
  2692. 01:46:33.630 – 01:46:34.830 Fela got it
  2693. 01:46:34.830 – 01:46:37.710 that R&B soul blackness
  2694. 01:46:38.330 – 01:46:39.610 that's not in us
  2695. 01:46:39.610 – 01:46:40.770 because we popped out
  2696. 01:46:41.950 – 01:46:43.890 now anybody can do R&B
  2697. 01:46:44.110 – 01:46:47.070 R&B was soul music
  2698. 01:46:47.070 – 01:46:47.710 soul music
  2699. 01:46:47.710 – 01:46:49.410 we were known for soul
  2700. 01:46:49.750 – 01:46:51.850 not manufactured music
  2701. 01:46:51.850 – 01:46:52.730 soul
  2702. 01:46:52.730 – 01:46:54.750 we free again y'all
  2703. 01:46:54.750 – 01:46:55.710 the internet
  2704. 01:46:56.790 – 01:46:57.870 quit following
  2705. 01:46:57.870 – 01:46:59.370 and swallowing
  2706. 01:46:59.370 – 01:47:01.170 being Polly wanna cracker
  2707. 01:47:01.170 – 01:47:02.290 and get creative
  2708. 01:47:02.290 – 01:47:04.350 we're creative people
  2709. 01:47:04.350 – 01:47:06.010 and we've forgotten that
  2710. 01:47:06.010 – 01:47:06.970 as a people
  2711. 01:47:07.860 – 01:47:09.730 we are very creative people
  2712. 01:47:10.450 – 01:47:12.270 and we're not that
  2713. 01:47:12.270 – 01:47:13.390 we are miserable
  2714. 01:47:13.390 – 01:47:14.310 that's why our hands
  2715. 01:47:14.310 – 01:47:16.130 have been tied for so long here
  2716. 01:47:16.690 – 01:47:17.710 that's why we
  2717. 01:47:17.710 – 01:47:19.350 go against one another
  2718. 01:47:19.970 – 01:47:21.290 because you can't
  2719. 01:47:21.290 – 01:47:23.010 get kicked around so long
  2720. 01:47:23.010 – 01:47:24.950 and that energy doesn't come out
  2721. 01:47:24.950 – 01:47:26.690 but see we're not powerful enough
  2722. 01:47:26.690 – 01:47:28.670 to aim at that which aims at us
  2723. 01:47:28.670 – 01:47:30.630 so we aim at each other
  2724. 01:47:31.170 – 01:47:32.670 and we can't unify
  2725. 01:47:32.670 – 01:47:34.030 we can't create together
  2726. 01:47:34.030 – 01:47:35.070 man I'm going on
  2727. 01:47:35.070 – 01:47:35.890 you know like I tell you
  2728. 01:47:35.890 – 01:47:36.930 this is other shows
  2729. 01:47:38.470 – 01:47:40.270 so even with that
  2730. 01:47:40.270 – 01:47:41.790 speak about the creativity
  2731. 01:47:41.790 – 01:47:43.370 what's your thoughts on
  2732. 01:47:43.370 – 01:47:45.130 the new AI and it's AI music
  2733. 01:47:45.790 – 01:47:47.150 you still have to be creative
  2734. 01:47:47.150 – 01:47:48.390 don't you
  2735. 01:47:48.390 – 01:47:48.890 do
  2736. 01:47:48.890 – 01:47:51.010 okay when does AI
  2737. 01:47:51.010 – 01:47:51.910 become in our position
  2738. 01:47:53.990 – 01:47:54.510 mindset
  2739. 01:47:54.510 – 01:47:55.530 what did I say
  2740. 01:47:55.530 – 01:47:57.650 what did I say you must be
  2741. 01:47:57.650 – 01:47:58.610 objective
  2742. 01:47:59.190 – 01:48:00.150 didn't I say
  2743. 01:48:00.150 – 01:48:01.570 and you must as is
  2744. 01:48:01.570 – 01:48:02.270 and say something
  2745. 01:48:02.270 – 01:48:03.070 shouldn't just stand there
  2746. 01:48:03.070 – 01:48:04.770 and you shouldn't say what it is
  2747. 01:48:04.770 – 01:48:06.350 before you see it
  2748. 01:48:07.630 – 01:48:09.110 if it hasn't happened
  2749. 01:48:09.110 – 01:48:10.470 then you're trying to guess what it is
  2750. 01:48:10.470 – 01:48:11.630 you're working on your guess
  2751. 01:48:11.630 – 01:48:12.550 and you'll be sitting there
  2752. 01:48:12.550 – 01:48:14.230 with your damn hands folded
  2753. 01:48:14.830 – 01:48:16.590 wait till it shows up
  2754. 01:48:16.590 – 01:48:18.430 and know that you have the ability
  2755. 01:48:18.430 – 01:48:20.070 to deal with any opposition
  2756. 01:48:20.070 – 01:48:20.650 AI
  2757. 01:48:21.350 – 01:48:21.830 why
  2758. 01:48:23.910 – 01:48:25.450 look we're spirit
  2759. 01:48:26.150 – 01:48:27.130 and the AI
  2760. 01:48:27.130 – 01:48:28.110 who did it come from
  2761. 01:48:28.750 – 01:48:31.110 it came from somebody else didn't it
  2762. 01:48:31.510 – 01:48:32.930 it got created by somebody
  2763. 01:48:32.930 – 01:48:34.190 that didn't fall out of the sky
  2764. 01:48:35.110 – 01:48:36.430 it's not an alien
  2765. 01:48:36.430 – 01:48:38.010 somebody created it
  2766. 01:48:38.010 – 01:48:38.590 I'm alien
  2767. 01:48:39.270 – 01:48:40.650 that could be
  2768. 01:48:40.650 – 01:48:42.630 and we can get into the definition of that
  2769. 01:48:42.630 – 01:48:43.310 if you like
  2770. 01:48:44.770 – 01:48:45.330 hey
  2771. 01:48:45.330 – 01:48:45.890 hey
  2772. 01:48:45.890 – 01:48:46.790 you see what I'm saying
  2773. 01:48:46.790 – 01:48:49.470 so you either create
  2774. 01:48:50.150 – 01:48:51.750 and you can be out created
  2775. 01:48:52.530 – 01:48:53.630 you can create
  2776. 01:48:53.630 – 01:48:55.030 and you can out create
  2777. 01:48:55.630 – 01:48:57.190 it's an even flow
  2778. 01:48:57.190 – 01:48:57.870 even flow
  2779. 01:48:57.870 – 01:48:58.670 so it's about
  2780. 01:48:58.670 – 01:48:59.710 what did I say
  2781. 01:48:59.710 – 01:49:01.010 in my conversation
  2782. 01:49:02.470 – 01:49:03.010 create
  2783. 01:49:03.010 – 01:49:03.890 ability
  2784. 01:49:04.830 – 01:49:06.570 you can't create enough ability
  2785. 01:49:06.570 – 01:49:07.850 to out create an AI
  2786. 01:49:07.850 – 01:49:09.570 you don't know it until it shows up
  2787. 01:49:09.570 – 01:49:11.010 then it becomes opposition
  2788. 01:49:11.010 – 01:49:12.770 but never fear opposition
  2789. 01:49:13.510 – 01:49:14.630 you have the ability
  2790. 01:49:14.630 – 01:49:16.650 to surmount any opposition
  2791. 01:49:17.730 – 01:49:18.650 you do
  2792. 01:49:19.390 – 01:49:20.230 that's why I said
  2793. 01:49:20.230 – 01:49:21.570 you have to have faith in self
  2794. 01:49:21.570 – 01:49:23.730 and nothing outside of yourself
  2795. 01:49:24.790 – 01:49:26.970 because that which is outside of yourself
  2796. 01:49:26.970 – 01:49:28.270 if they lead you to that
  2797. 01:49:28.270 – 01:49:30.570 that dictates to you or it don't
  2798. 01:49:30.570 – 01:49:31.950 and then if it doesn't
  2799. 01:49:31.950 – 01:49:33.450 because see things like that
  2800. 01:49:33.450 – 01:49:34.570 you'll deal with that
  2801. 01:49:34.570 – 01:49:36.190 whether they're real or imagined
  2802. 01:49:36.190 – 01:49:37.770 and if you're dealing with something
  2803. 01:49:37.770 – 01:49:38.550 that's imagined
  2804. 01:49:38.550 – 01:49:40.690 it ain't as your source
  2805. 01:49:40.690 – 01:49:42.440 you're already out the game
  2806. 01:49:46.010 – 01:49:47.610 because you take on that
  2807. 01:49:47.610 – 01:49:48.610 which is imagined
  2808. 01:49:48.610 – 01:49:49.430 that's true
  2809. 01:49:51.770 – 01:49:54.390 what would you say to a young artist
  2810. 01:49:54.390 – 01:49:56.230 like yourself as you was 14
  2811. 01:49:56.230 – 01:49:57.310 to talk to young people today
  2812. 01:49:57.310 – 01:49:58.310 you know
  2813. 01:49:58.840 – 01:50:00.410 it's very interesting
  2814. 01:50:01.110 – 01:50:03.410 because when you look at young people
  2815. 01:50:03.410 – 01:50:05.550 they're different from when I was young
  2816. 01:50:06.270 – 01:50:07.950 you understand what I'm saying
  2817. 01:50:08.590 – 01:50:09.330 you're different
  2818. 01:50:09.330 – 01:50:12.530 it's a different social orientation
  2819. 01:50:13.730 – 01:50:16.710 see whether you like to believe
  2820. 01:50:16.710 – 01:50:18.610 that we're free thinkers or not
  2821. 01:50:18.610 – 01:50:20.230 but only a free thinker
  2822. 01:50:20.230 – 01:50:22.290 to a degree that you can be free to think
  2823. 01:50:22.830 – 01:50:24.290 that's that's that's
  2824. 01:50:24.290 – 01:50:25.150 other than that
  2825. 01:50:25.150 – 01:50:29.190 we're orientated into a social mechanism
  2826. 01:50:30.490 – 01:50:32.330 and you hear people say
  2827. 01:50:32.730 – 01:50:34.430 well when I was younger
  2828. 01:50:34.430 – 01:50:36.290 the person down the street
  2829. 01:50:36.290 – 01:50:38.010 even though they weren't related to you
  2830. 01:50:38.010 – 01:50:38.610 related to you
  2831. 01:50:38.610 – 01:50:39.450 could give you a whooping
  2832. 01:50:39.450 – 01:50:40.860 or straighten you out
  2833. 01:50:41.390 – 01:50:43.170 that stopped at a certain point
  2834. 01:50:43.170 – 01:50:43.970 what happened
  2835. 01:50:43.970 – 01:50:45.830 see things change socially
  2836. 01:50:45.830 – 01:50:48.830 we affected by propaganda
  2837. 01:50:50.550 – 01:50:51.330 all that
  2838. 01:50:51.330 – 01:50:52.610 so to the youth
  2839. 01:50:53.350 – 01:50:56.510 it goes back to what I said about
  2840. 01:50:57.050 – 01:50:58.470 being objective
  2841. 01:50:59.830 – 01:51:00.590 you're young
  2842. 01:51:00.590 – 01:51:02.070 you're trying to discover
  2843. 01:51:02.610 – 01:51:05.070 what it is you want to do
  2844. 01:51:05.950 – 01:51:09.390 I say gravitate toward that
  2845. 01:51:10.370 – 01:51:13.470 which you have the most affinity for
  2846. 01:51:13.470 – 01:51:15.150 and when I say affinity
  2847. 01:51:15.150 – 01:51:17.930 that means a willingness to share space
  2848. 01:51:17.930 – 01:51:20.030 because that which you're willing
  2849. 01:51:20.030 – 01:51:21.390 to share space with
  2850. 01:51:21.390 – 01:51:23.050 you'll give over to
  2851. 01:51:24.650 – 01:51:26.650 so find that
  2852. 01:51:27.110 – 01:51:29.410 or some people will put it
  2853. 01:51:29.410 – 01:51:31.190 in another wording would be
  2854. 01:51:31.190 – 01:51:34.060 find that which you have a passion about
  2855. 01:51:34.590 – 01:51:36.890 learn all you can about it
  2856. 01:51:36.890 – 01:51:39.060 and see if you're able to pay the price
  2857. 01:51:39.550 – 01:51:40.670 of that passion
  2858. 01:51:40.670 – 01:51:42.510 if you're able to go
  2859. 01:51:42.510 – 01:51:44.090 if you're willing
  2860. 01:51:44.090 – 01:51:45.830 to go all the way
  2861. 01:51:45.830 – 01:51:47.690 because you're definitely going to have to
  2862. 01:51:47.690 – 01:51:49.040 need to look at it
  2863. 01:51:49.390 – 01:51:51.660 you learn as you go
  2864. 01:51:52.010 – 01:51:53.730 and apply yourself
  2865. 01:51:53.730 – 01:51:55.110 as you go
  2866. 01:51:55.720 – 01:51:56.890 is that clear enough
  2867. 01:51:56.890 – 01:51:58.110 that is clear
  2868. 01:51:58.710 – 01:52:00.190 and I want to go back to
  2869. 01:52:00.190 – 01:52:01.390 remember you talked about
  2870. 01:52:03.630 – 01:52:05.170 selling out shows
  2871. 01:52:05.170 – 01:52:09.270 with bringing in 50 or 50 500 people
  2872. 01:52:09.270 – 01:52:11.010 and most people nowadays
  2873. 01:52:11.010 – 01:52:12.430 cannot even get 10
  2874. 01:52:12.430 – 01:52:13.830 well let's go back
  2875. 01:52:13.830 – 01:52:15.150 to what I said
  2876. 01:52:16.030 – 01:52:17.970 most are lounge events
  2877. 01:52:17.970 – 01:52:19.050 lounge events
  2878. 01:52:19.050 – 01:52:23.240 so how do they step up
  2879. 01:52:23.240 – 01:52:24.420 and become on the next level
  2880. 01:52:24.420 – 01:52:25.620 your creation in marketing
  2881. 01:52:26.260 – 01:52:28.080 I'm not gonna give people my ideas
  2882. 01:52:38.260 – 01:52:43.460 that's why believing in self is so important
  2883. 01:52:45.620 – 01:52:46.180 because
  2884. 01:52:46.720 – 01:52:47.500 excuse me
  2885. 01:52:48.160 – 01:52:49.240 like I said
  2886. 01:52:49.840 – 01:52:52.240 we all have a reservoir of ideas
  2887. 01:52:52.240 – 01:52:54.120 how many go in and out your head
  2888. 01:52:54.120 – 01:52:55.120 that you don't connect with
  2889. 01:52:55.120 – 01:52:56.140 and communicate with
  2890. 01:52:56.140 – 01:52:57.880 oh so many so many
  2891. 01:52:57.880 – 01:52:59.620 that's a proof of point
  2892. 01:53:02.560 – 01:53:03.600 so communicate
  2893. 01:53:04.200 – 01:53:05.600 with your own idea
  2894. 01:53:06.580 – 01:53:07.400 because then
  2895. 01:53:07.400 – 01:53:08.900 if you're not communicating with it
  2896. 01:53:08.900 – 01:53:09.740 that tears you right there
  2897. 01:53:09.740 – 01:53:11.280 that's something for you not to do
  2898. 01:53:11.280 – 01:53:13.740 so you're not wasting any energy over there
  2899. 01:53:13.740 – 01:53:14.240 yeah
  2900. 01:53:14.240 – 01:53:15.940 that clears it up doesn't it
  2901. 01:53:15.940 – 01:53:16.600 yeah
  2902. 01:53:17.940 – 01:53:18.460 yeah
  2903. 01:53:18.460 – 01:53:20.060 and that's what it's about
  2904. 01:53:20.780 – 01:53:21.820 you know
  2905. 01:53:23.680 – 01:53:24.200 identity
  2906. 01:53:24.960 – 01:53:26.300 you have to remember
  2907. 01:53:26.300 – 01:53:29.000 that we are not our identity
  2908. 01:53:29.000 – 01:53:30.940 spirit assumes identities
  2909. 01:53:32.080 – 01:53:34.220 and most often than not
  2910. 01:53:34.220 – 01:53:35.840 if we've seen a person
  2911. 01:53:35.840 – 01:53:37.320 that won something
  2912. 01:53:37.320 – 01:53:38.500 we're going to assume
  2913. 01:53:38.500 – 01:53:39.560 that same identity
  2914. 01:53:39.560 – 01:53:40.560 that that person did
  2915. 01:53:40.560 – 01:53:42.020 because don't we do that
  2916. 01:53:42.020 – 01:53:43.720 because that means you know
  2917. 01:53:43.720 – 01:53:44.520 we'll win
  2918. 01:53:45.080 – 01:53:45.860 but you're gonna
  2919. 01:53:45.860 – 01:53:47.220 when you do that though
  2920. 01:53:48.120 – 01:53:49.360 there'll be a point
  2921. 01:53:49.360 – 01:53:51.660 when maybe that person's not around anymore
  2922. 01:53:51.660 – 01:53:53.500 and then you got to get creative
  2923. 01:53:53.500 – 01:53:54.760 about your solutions
  2924. 01:53:55.800 – 01:53:57.660 so let me say this
  2925. 01:53:59.320 – 01:54:00.500 like I said
  2926. 01:54:00.500 – 01:54:02.900 we have a reservoir of ideas
  2927. 01:54:02.900 – 01:54:04.740 and we create ability
  2928. 01:54:06.180 – 01:54:06.820 right
  2929. 01:54:06.820 – 01:54:07.860 create ability
  2930. 01:54:07.860 – 01:54:09.600 and we create ability
  2931. 01:54:11.140 – 01:54:13.160 and you create your ability
  2932. 01:54:13.840 – 01:54:15.420 along the lines of that
  2933. 01:54:15.420 – 01:54:16.300 which you intend
  2934. 01:54:18.700 – 01:54:20.400 we also accept the fact
  2935. 01:54:20.400 – 01:54:22.260 that there would be opposition
  2936. 01:54:22.260 – 01:54:23.300 and negativity
  2937. 01:54:23.300 – 01:54:24.840 if you can't have opposition
  2938. 01:54:24.840 – 01:54:26.600 you can't have negativity
  2939. 01:54:26.600 – 01:54:28.920 you can't put a handle on it
  2940. 01:54:28.920 – 01:54:30.360 that's when I hear people say
  2941. 01:54:30.360 – 01:54:32.220 I don't want to be with negative people
  2942. 01:54:32.220 – 01:54:33.620 man you might be a president
  2943. 01:54:33.620 – 01:54:34.420 of a record company
  2944. 01:54:34.420 – 01:54:35.600 and he's negative as hell
  2945. 01:54:35.600 – 01:54:37.120 how you gonna deal with it
  2946. 01:54:37.120 – 01:54:39.220 that's true but gotta have that flow
  2947. 01:54:40.460 – 01:54:42.040 I remember Eddie
  2948. 01:54:42.040 – 01:54:44.180 Eddie had a lawyer
  2949. 01:54:44.180 – 01:54:45.340 Eddie Kendricks had a lawyer
  2950. 01:54:45.340 – 01:54:47.240 that was handling his solo career
  2951. 01:54:47.240 – 01:54:48.640 I had called and left a message
  2952. 01:54:49.240 – 01:54:51.680 and I said Eddie how's the lawyer
  2953. 01:54:51.680 – 01:54:53.380 he said Bell did you call me
  2954. 01:54:54.560 – 01:54:56.220 I said yeah I called you
  2955. 01:54:56.220 – 01:54:57.180 he said
  2956. 01:54:59.810 – 01:55:02.210 did he know what you want to talk to me about
  2957. 01:55:02.210 – 01:55:04.210 I said no I didn't say it
  2958. 01:55:05.050 – 01:55:06.430 but I never got to call
  2959. 01:55:06.430 – 01:55:08.290 so you tell me how good is he
  2960. 01:55:09.530 – 01:55:10.970 he never told me you call
  2961. 01:55:10.970 – 01:55:13.370 he didn't know what you need to talk to me about
  2962. 01:55:13.930 – 01:55:15.110 he didn't know what it was
  2963. 01:55:15.110 – 01:55:16.150 it could have been something major
  2964. 01:55:16.150 – 01:55:18.010 so you tell me how good is he
  2965. 01:55:19.790 – 01:55:20.190 fired
  2966. 01:55:21.890 – 01:55:23.430 you got to be sharp out here
  2967. 01:55:23.430 – 01:55:24.550 how many artists you hear about
  2968. 01:55:24.550 – 01:55:25.830 losing money and all that
  2969. 01:55:25.830 – 01:55:27.750 so what I'm telling you
  2970. 01:55:27.750 – 01:55:29.170 from the very beginning
  2971. 01:55:29.170 – 01:55:31.690 is going to get you taken care of
  2972. 01:55:31.690 – 01:55:32.670 across the board
  2973. 01:55:32.670 – 01:55:35.130 because that's you as life
  2974. 01:55:35.130 – 01:55:36.690 in dealing with anything
  2975. 01:55:36.690 – 01:55:37.910 it's not separate
  2976. 01:55:37.910 – 01:55:40.410 that's you operating as a spirit
  2977. 01:55:40.410 – 01:55:41.770 in this crazy world
  2978. 01:55:44.370 – 01:55:46.250 accept the world for what it is
  2979. 01:55:46.250 – 01:55:47.530 accept the world for what it is
  2980. 01:55:47.530 – 01:55:49.830 you know from a religious point of view
  2981. 01:55:49.830 – 01:55:50.610 people say you know
  2982. 01:55:50.610 – 01:55:52.150 you're born in sin now
  2983. 01:55:52.150 – 01:55:53.710 you're not born in sin
  2984. 01:55:54.350 – 01:55:56.250 your nature is not that
  2985. 01:55:57.050 – 01:56:00.070 but you're born on a criminal planet
  2986. 01:56:00.070 – 01:56:02.390 where everything they do is sinful
  2987. 01:56:02.390 – 01:56:04.150 and it may you just be careful
  2988. 01:56:04.150 – 01:56:06.350 that you don't become the effect of it
  2989. 01:56:06.350 – 01:56:08.010 by trying to get what they got
  2990. 01:56:08.010 – 01:56:09.190 product of your vitamin
  2991. 01:56:10.010 – 01:56:10.550 wow
  2992. 01:56:11.470 – 01:56:14.690 is there a artist that you see nowadays
  2993. 01:56:15.370 – 01:56:17.250 that's well branded themselves
  2994. 01:56:18.050 – 01:56:19.080 are you kidding me
  2995. 01:56:22.460 – 01:56:23.250 we as kids
  2996. 01:56:24.220 – 01:56:24.760 international
  2997. 01:56:26.340 – 01:56:27.420 burner boy
  2998. 01:56:27.420 – 01:56:28.240 international
  2999. 01:56:28.240 – 01:56:29.800 most all your African artists
  3000. 01:56:30.380 – 01:56:31.380 Chris Brown
  3001. 01:56:31.380 – 01:56:31.960 Chris Brown
  3002. 01:56:31.960 – 01:56:32.880 Chris Brown was smart
  3003. 01:56:32.880 – 01:56:34.060 I want to even touch
  3004. 01:56:34.060 – 01:56:36.120 he jumped on afro beats
  3005. 01:56:36.120 – 01:56:37.300 whenever he started to roll
  3006. 01:56:37.300 – 01:56:37.960 he's smart
  3007. 01:56:37.960 – 01:56:39.760 but I understand him and Wears
  3008. 01:56:39.760 – 01:56:41.220 have been friends for the longest
  3009. 01:56:41.220 – 01:56:42.320 trying to do something
  3010. 01:56:42.320 – 01:56:43.580 so that kind of
  3011. 01:56:43.580 – 01:56:44.880 and he's so creative
  3012. 01:56:44.880 – 01:56:47.140 so he's open to a lot of things
  3013. 01:56:47.140 – 01:56:49.140 and that that's really good
  3014. 01:56:49.140 – 01:56:52.060 so most of mine are African
  3015. 01:56:52.060 – 01:56:55.280 American music to me has had its day
  3016. 01:56:56.320 – 01:56:58.840 it's like what Miles Davis
  3017. 01:56:58.840 – 01:57:00.980 I remember he was asked
  3018. 01:57:00.980 – 01:57:02.360 in this documentary
  3019. 01:57:02.920 – 01:57:05.960 uh what about the new artists
  3020. 01:57:05.960 – 01:57:07.520 I don't see nothing happening
  3021. 01:57:07.520 – 01:57:08.560 because they're going to college
  3022. 01:57:08.560 – 01:57:09.880 studying what we already played
  3023. 01:57:11.340 – 01:57:11.880 that's true
  3024. 01:57:11.880 – 01:57:13.100 what we already did
  3025. 01:57:13.100 – 01:57:14.900 we're still talking about R. Kelly
  3026. 01:57:14.900 – 01:57:16.220 the king of R&B
  3027. 01:57:16.220 – 01:57:17.800 R&B never was
  3028. 01:57:18.620 – 01:57:20.280 how you gonna say R&B
  3029. 01:57:20.280 – 01:57:22.460 when you can be popped out now
  3030. 01:57:22.460 – 01:57:23.780 see that was the whole thing
  3031. 01:57:23.780 – 01:57:24.600 a lot of R&B
  3032. 01:57:24.600 – 01:57:25.960 we need to get over to the pop
  3033. 01:57:26.480 – 01:57:28.020 we need to get over to the pop
  3034. 01:57:28.020 – 01:57:28.960 so we can sell
  3035. 01:57:28.960 – 01:57:30.260 and we can keep our deal
  3036. 01:57:30.260 – 01:57:31.300 and we can do shows
  3037. 01:57:31.300 – 01:57:33.520 so your so-called R&B
  3038. 01:57:33.520 – 01:57:34.880 kind of got warded down
  3039. 01:57:34.880 – 01:57:35.740 even R. Kelly
  3040. 01:57:35.740 – 01:57:36.520 I'm sorry
  3041. 01:57:38.800 – 01:57:39.900 I'm sorry
  3042. 01:57:40.880 – 01:57:43.980 he might be classified under R&B
  3043. 01:57:44.760 – 01:57:45.940 but soul music
  3044. 01:57:46.540 – 01:57:48.240 haven't heard it in a while
  3045. 01:57:49.140 – 01:57:50.600 who was the last track you heard
  3046. 01:57:50.600 – 01:57:51.240 that was Soulful
  3047. 01:57:51.240 – 01:57:52.320 whoo man
  3048. 01:57:52.320 – 01:57:54.080 but see I listen to a lot of underground
  3049. 01:57:54.720 – 01:57:56.880 I was always an underground dude
  3050. 01:57:56.880 – 01:57:57.560 same same
  3051. 01:57:57.560 – 01:57:59.260 yeah I was always an underground dude
  3052. 01:57:59.260 – 01:58:01.040 because interesting enough in Cleveland
  3053. 01:58:01.040 – 01:58:04.220 you had a radio station called WMMS
  3054. 01:58:04.220 – 01:58:07.220 later on it became mostly like rock
  3055. 01:58:07.220 – 01:58:08.680 it was called a buzzer
  3056. 01:58:08.680 – 01:58:10.320 but WMMS
  3057. 01:58:10.320 – 01:58:13.000 their DJs didn't have a playlist
  3058. 01:58:13.580 – 01:58:15.060 so in the 60s
  3059. 01:58:15.060 – 01:58:17.040 you would hear R&B music
  3060. 01:58:17.040 – 01:58:18.700 that you wouldn't hear
  3061. 01:58:18.700 – 01:58:21.320 on your traditional R&B stations
  3062. 01:58:21.320 – 01:58:22.960 which was WABQ
  3063. 01:58:22.960 – 01:58:24.000 and WGMO
  3064. 01:58:24.000 – 01:58:26.900 so there was a lot of black underground artists
  3065. 01:58:26.900 – 01:58:29.080 that I got tuned into
  3066. 01:58:29.080 – 01:58:31.760 whose music was far ahead
  3067. 01:58:31.760 – 01:58:34.380 of what was being promoted commercially
  3068. 01:58:35.340 – 01:58:37.660 Al Jarreau was a very interesting one
  3069. 01:58:37.660 – 01:58:39.300 if I could speak of somebody
  3070. 01:58:39.300 – 01:58:42.140 who was so far advanced artistically
  3071. 01:58:42.140 – 01:58:43.400 that it took him so long
  3072. 01:58:43.400 – 01:58:44.860 to the point that he didn't get signed
  3073. 01:58:44.860 – 01:58:46.580 until he was 36 years old
  3074. 01:58:46.580 – 01:58:49.060 because like Jarreau told me
  3075. 01:58:49.060 – 01:58:51.420 I did a two hour interview
  3076. 01:58:51.420 – 01:58:52.560 with Jarreau LaVert
  3077. 01:58:52.560 – 01:58:54.140 that's going to be in the series
  3078. 01:58:55.060 – 01:58:56.960 a year before he passed away
  3079. 01:58:56.960 – 01:58:58.520 and Jarreau said this
  3080. 01:58:58.520 – 01:58:59.560 you got to remember
  3081. 01:58:59.560 – 01:59:01.740 the people that run the record companies
  3082. 01:59:02.360 – 01:59:03.500 they're not creative
  3083. 01:59:03.500 – 01:59:05.580 it could have been the janitor
  3084. 01:59:05.580 – 01:59:07.800 who been around for the company for 40 years
  3085. 01:59:07.800 – 01:59:09.360 their things are dollars
  3086. 01:59:09.360 – 01:59:11.200 they don't deal with creativity
  3087. 01:59:11.200 – 01:59:12.200 that's why I say
  3088. 01:59:12.200 – 01:59:13.620 it's the greatest time in the world
  3089. 01:59:13.620 – 01:59:14.580 to be an artist
  3090. 01:59:14.580 – 01:59:16.700 because you can be creative
  3091. 01:59:17.240 – 01:59:18.280 as you want to be
  3092. 01:59:18.280 – 01:59:20.040 and I suggest that you do
  3093. 01:59:20.040 – 01:59:21.720 so that you be distinguishable
  3094. 01:59:23.460 – 01:59:25.100 brand yourself correctly
  3095. 01:59:25.840 – 01:59:27.300 and it'll take care of you
  3096. 01:59:27.300 – 01:59:28.980 because see you're talking about
  3097. 01:59:28.980 – 01:59:29.920 making a living
  3098. 01:59:30.460 – 01:59:31.960 and they tell me
  3099. 01:59:31.960 – 01:59:33.960 you only get $4,000
  3100. 01:59:33.960 – 01:59:35.620 off of a million streams
  3101. 01:59:39.040 – 01:59:41.000 $4,000 from a million streams
  3102. 01:59:41.000 – 01:59:42.500 how you going to live on that
  3103. 01:59:42.500 – 01:59:45.580 hey and like what we used to say
  3104. 01:59:45.960 – 01:59:48.020 and we had competition in our groups
  3105. 01:59:48.020 – 01:59:49.760 don't bother us live
  3106. 01:59:49.760 – 01:59:51.820 we'll smoke you off the stage
  3107. 01:59:51.820 – 01:59:52.520 why?
  3108. 01:59:52.860 – 01:59:53.900 because we want to come back
  3109. 01:59:53.900 – 01:59:54.760 again and again
  3110. 01:59:54.760 – 01:59:55.740 so our performance
  3111. 01:59:56.580 – 01:59:58.240 is so important to us
  3112. 01:59:58.240 – 01:59:59.480 that's why Charlie Wilson
  3113. 01:59:59.480 – 02:00:00.940 that's why he's so popular
  3114. 02:00:00.940 – 02:00:03.400 that era of entertainment
  3115. 02:00:03.400 – 02:00:05.140 how popular is Charlie
  3116. 02:00:05.140 – 02:00:06.820 because I'm telling you stuff
  3117. 02:00:06.820 – 02:00:07.760 you can look at
  3118. 02:00:07.760 – 02:00:08.740 that's why
  3119. 02:00:09.240 – 02:00:10.480 that's why Charlie is
  3120. 02:00:10.480 – 02:00:11.320 that's why
  3121. 02:00:11.320 – 02:00:12.580 that's his appeal
  3122. 02:00:13.860 – 02:00:15.960 he has that panache
  3123. 02:00:17.080 – 02:00:18.540 you can sing all day
  3124. 02:00:18.540 – 02:00:19.720 you can sing a billion runs
  3125. 02:00:19.720 – 02:00:20.540 you know these kids
  3126. 02:00:20.540 – 02:00:22.100 they go to the school of arts
  3127. 02:00:22.100 – 02:00:23.480 I see singers stand up
  3128. 02:00:23.480 – 02:00:24.560 I don't see performers
  3129. 02:00:27.790 – 02:00:28.750 right again
  3130. 02:00:28.750 – 02:00:30.650 I can stay home and listen to the real track
  3131. 02:00:31.650 – 02:00:34.350 who was your favorite performer growing up?
  3132. 02:00:35.110 – 02:00:35.450 now?
  3133. 02:00:36.370 – 02:00:36.970 growing up
  3134. 02:00:37.410 – 02:00:38.630 you know it had to be
  3135. 02:00:38.630 – 02:00:41.310 Eddie Kendrick, Paul Williams, Al Jarreau
  3136. 02:00:41.310 – 02:00:42.890 DJ Rogers
  3137. 02:00:42.890 – 02:00:44.510 who else can I name
  3138. 02:00:44.510 – 02:00:46.350 because there was a lot of underground people
  3139. 02:00:46.350 – 02:00:47.750 that people may not know
  3140. 02:00:47.750 – 02:00:48.990 Walter Heath
  3141. 02:00:48.990 – 02:00:52.790 Walter Heath is actually a Facebook friend of mine
  3142. 02:00:53.250 – 02:00:55.770 you know Walter Heath
  3143. 02:00:55.770 – 02:00:57.810 I don't know if you ever heard of
  3144. 02:00:58.310 – 02:00:59.550 Sills and Croft
  3145. 02:00:59.550 – 02:01:00.330 no
  3146. 02:01:00.330 – 02:01:00.970 they were big
  3147. 02:01:00.970 – 02:01:03.030 they wrote Summer Breeze
  3148. 02:01:03.030 – 02:01:04.870 Summer Breeze make me feel so good
  3149. 02:01:04.870 – 02:01:05.590 and the Isley Brothers
  3150. 02:01:05.590 – 02:01:05.950 we did
  3151. 02:01:05.950 – 02:01:07.670 Sills and Croft had a bunch of
  3152. 02:01:07.670 – 02:01:08.070 Diamond Girl
  3153. 02:01:08.070 – 02:01:09.110 they had a bunch of music
  3154. 02:01:09.110 – 02:01:11.190 I think Walter married one of their sisters
  3155. 02:01:11.190 – 02:01:11.890 but Walter
  3156. 02:01:11.890 – 02:01:12.970 like I was saying
  3157. 02:01:12.970 – 02:01:13.730 consciousness
  3158. 02:01:13.730 – 02:01:15.890 you know drugs was a big thing
  3159. 02:01:15.890 – 02:01:17.130 in the 60s
  3160. 02:01:17.130 – 02:01:17.810 in the writing
  3161. 02:01:17.810 – 02:01:19.150 Walter had a song called
  3162. 02:01:19.150 – 02:01:20.650 You Know You're Wrong Don't You Brother
  3163. 02:01:20.650 – 02:01:22.530 you say you believe in the Bible
  3164. 02:01:22.530 – 02:01:24.490 but you got to get down with survival
  3165. 02:01:24.490 – 02:01:27.510 you say you're full of love for the human race
  3166. 02:01:27.510 – 02:01:29.990 still you got to do your thing in the marketplace
  3167. 02:01:30.330 – 02:01:33.470 you ride around in a brand new car
  3168. 02:01:33.470 – 02:01:36.470 but anybody can see the sorry fool you are
  3169. 02:01:36.470 – 02:01:39.710 and then you have the nerve enough to try and say
  3170. 02:01:39.710 – 02:01:41.930 that your brother's just a junkie anyway
  3171. 02:01:41.930 – 02:01:43.950 You Know You're Wrong Don't You Brother
  3172. 02:01:43.950 – 02:01:46.510 you're dealing death for a dollar
  3173. 02:01:46.510 – 02:01:49.030 see this kind of consciousness
  3174. 02:01:49.030 – 02:01:51.170 to enhance our community
  3175. 02:01:51.170 – 02:01:53.110 you see that writing
  3176. 02:01:53.110 – 02:01:54.870 that all that was cut off
  3177. 02:01:55.270 – 02:01:56.650 but I tell you
  3178. 02:01:57.210 – 02:01:58.470 if we had that
  3179. 02:01:58.470 – 02:01:59.750 that's what's funny
  3180. 02:01:59.750 – 02:02:01.310 music feeds
  3181. 02:02:01.310 – 02:02:02.330 words
  3182. 02:02:02.870 – 02:02:03.790 and therefore
  3183. 02:02:03.790 – 02:02:04.730 you know
  3184. 02:02:04.730 – 02:02:05.630 well I gotta wait
  3185. 02:02:05.630 – 02:02:07.070 to go to church on Sunday
  3186. 02:02:07.070 – 02:02:07.770 to hear it
  3187. 02:02:07.770 – 02:02:08.850 to be inspired
  3188. 02:02:08.850 – 02:02:09.490 no
  3189. 02:02:09.490 – 02:02:11.650 just in your everyday living
  3190. 02:02:11.650 – 02:02:14.010 let us talk about those states
  3191. 02:02:14.010 – 02:02:16.670 that we're capable of reaching
  3192. 02:02:16.670 – 02:02:19.110 so that we're on the square with one another
  3193. 02:02:20.070 – 02:02:20.710 frequency
  3194. 02:02:20.710 – 02:02:22.130 that's what it's about
  3195. 02:02:22.130 – 02:02:24.490 so we're on the square with one another
  3196. 02:02:24.490 – 02:02:26.750 so that I'm trying to help you succeed
  3197. 02:02:26.750 – 02:02:28.570 because I know where to help me
  3198. 02:02:28.570 – 02:02:30.210 we have that bond
  3199. 02:02:30.210 – 02:02:31.290 you understand
  3200. 02:02:31.290 – 02:02:32.970 or if you cross me
  3201. 02:02:32.970 – 02:02:34.010 I'm gonna come and talk to you
  3202. 02:02:34.010 – 02:02:35.530 and we get where however that is
  3203. 02:02:35.530 – 02:02:36.940 but what it is
  3204. 02:02:39.490 – 02:02:41.390 accountable to one another
  3205. 02:02:41.390 – 02:02:43.570 because I know this for a fact
  3206. 02:02:44.430 – 02:02:46.300 you need people to make it
  3207. 02:02:46.750 – 02:02:48.330 you don't make it by yourself
  3208. 02:02:49.570 – 02:02:50.650 believe that
  3209. 02:02:52.220 – 02:02:53.740 you gotta love people
  3210. 02:02:54.860 – 02:02:57.360 to me you gotta love people to succeed
  3211. 02:02:58.500 – 02:03:00.320 because you're gonna deal with all kinds
  3212. 02:03:03.260 – 02:03:03.820 yeah
  3213. 02:03:04.920 – 02:03:07.420 you want to speak about the importance of relationships
  3214. 02:03:07.420 – 02:03:08.460 and business
  3215. 02:03:08.460 – 02:03:09.860 the importance of relationships
  3216. 02:03:09.860 – 02:03:12.360 well I have to get into
  3217. 02:03:12.780 – 02:03:14.460 how you choose your people
  3218. 02:03:14.460 – 02:03:15.740 it's very important
  3219. 02:03:15.740 – 02:03:17.280 on how you choose your people
  3220. 02:03:17.280 – 02:03:18.540 you see what I'm saying
  3221. 02:03:18.540 – 02:03:19.880 a lot of times
  3222. 02:03:19.880 – 02:03:21.180 we get people
  3223. 02:03:21.180 – 02:03:22.780 because our circumstances
  3224. 02:03:22.780 – 02:03:24.420 may choose them for us
  3225. 02:03:25.200 – 02:03:25.660 you see
  3226. 02:03:25.660 – 02:03:27.800 but how you choose your people
  3227. 02:03:27.800 – 02:03:28.820 is very important
  3228. 02:03:28.820 – 02:03:31.040 but how can you be correct
  3229. 02:03:31.040 – 02:03:32.620 on choosing your people
  3230. 02:03:32.620 – 02:03:34.220 when you gotta be correct
  3231. 02:03:34.220 – 02:03:36.480 about being communicating with yourself
  3232. 02:03:36.480 – 02:03:38.020 and what you intend
  3233. 02:03:38.540 – 02:03:39.180 makes sense
  3234. 02:03:40.240 – 02:03:41.460 communicate with yourself
  3235. 02:03:43.060 – 02:03:44.240 communicate with yourself
  3236. 02:03:44.240 – 02:03:45.580 it's very important
  3237. 02:03:45.580 – 02:03:48.140 to be on the one with yourself
  3238. 02:03:49.020 – 02:03:49.660 because
  3239. 02:03:50.620 – 02:03:52.760 if you're not on the one with yourself
  3240. 02:03:52.760 – 02:03:55.140 how are you gonna be that in a relationship
  3241. 02:03:56.320 – 02:03:57.200 and then
  3242. 02:03:58.000 – 02:03:59.900 let's move it further
  3243. 02:04:00.400 – 02:04:02.740 and say if you're not on the one with yourself
  3244. 02:04:02.740 – 02:04:05.960 and you're not good on the one in one
  3245. 02:04:05.960 – 02:04:08.000 how you gonna be good in a group
  3246. 02:04:09.160 – 02:04:09.660 huh
  3247. 02:04:09.660 – 02:04:10.120 that's true
  3248. 02:04:10.120 – 02:04:12.280 and then if you can't be good on those three
  3249. 02:04:12.280 – 02:04:14.400 how you gonna be good for your race
  3250. 02:04:14.400 – 02:04:16.720 and then you're not on those
  3251. 02:04:16.720 – 02:04:18.920 how you gonna be good for mankind
  3252. 02:04:21.130 – 02:04:21.630 relationships
  3253. 02:04:21.630 – 02:04:23.060 that's all it's about
  3254. 02:04:24.730 – 02:04:25.630 how many
  3255. 02:04:25.630 – 02:04:26.270 I
  3256. 02:04:26.270 – 02:04:29.030 to define
  3257. 02:04:31.990 – 02:04:35.950 how well I get along
  3258. 02:04:35.950 – 02:04:37.810 in this side of eternity
  3259. 02:04:37.810 – 02:04:40.330 on this side of existence
  3260. 02:04:41.290 – 02:04:43.750 is how well I dealt with what
  3261. 02:04:44.610 – 02:04:45.850 relationships
  3262. 02:04:45.850 – 02:04:47.250 and yourself here
  3263. 02:04:47.250 – 02:04:47.870 right
  3264. 02:04:48.290 – 02:04:49.550 me myself
  3265. 02:04:49.550 – 02:04:51.390 and my integrity
  3266. 02:04:51.810 – 02:04:53.770 when I say integrity
  3267. 02:04:53.770 – 02:04:56.050 that's wholeness of self
  3268. 02:04:56.050 – 02:04:59.670 that's my own self-created truth
  3269. 02:04:59.670 – 02:05:01.450 that I must live by
  3270. 02:05:02.150 – 02:05:02.990 regardless
  3271. 02:05:02.990 – 02:05:06.670 or what somebody else says or done
  3272. 02:05:06.670 – 02:05:09.390 my integrity may speak to me and say
  3273. 02:05:09.390 – 02:05:11.110 no don't do that
  3274. 02:05:11.110 – 02:05:13.810 even though that may advance you
  3275. 02:05:13.810 – 02:05:15.930 but don't step on that person
  3276. 02:05:15.930 – 02:05:17.430 to get ahead
  3277. 02:05:17.430 – 02:05:18.990 that's integrity
  3278. 02:05:18.990 – 02:05:19.670 why
  3279. 02:05:19.670 – 02:05:22.310 because the faith in myself
  3280. 02:05:22.310 – 02:05:24.570 I believe in my destiny
  3281. 02:05:25.220 – 02:05:28.270 and who could bother my destiny if it's destiny
  3282. 02:05:29.050 – 02:05:31.170 I make my decisions
  3283. 02:05:31.170 – 02:05:33.710 or I'm the effect of something
  3284. 02:05:33.710 – 02:05:35.090 that I'm not aware of
  3285. 02:05:35.090 – 02:05:36.950 and it makes my decision for me
  3286. 02:05:36.950 – 02:05:38.410 and I think it's me
  3287. 02:05:38.920 – 02:05:40.290 then I'm in trouble
  3288. 02:05:41.910 – 02:05:43.310 be objective
  3289. 02:05:43.310 – 02:05:44.330 be clear
  3290. 02:05:44.330 – 02:05:45.380 in all things
  3291. 02:05:45.990 – 02:05:48.250 you know it's very easy
  3292. 02:05:48.250 – 02:05:50.350 when you think about relationships
  3293. 02:05:50.350 – 02:05:51.330 you go
  3294. 02:05:52.800 – 02:05:53.720 do unto others
  3295. 02:05:55.360 – 02:05:59.360 it sounds so preachy or churchy but
  3296. 02:05:59.360 – 02:06:01.960 want for others what you want for yourself
  3297. 02:06:01.960 – 02:06:03.140 it's enough
  3298. 02:06:05.800 – 02:06:07.780 for me love is wisdom
  3299. 02:06:09.600 – 02:06:11.080 wisdom is love
  3300. 02:06:11.080 – 02:06:12.060 people think
  3301. 02:06:12.760 – 02:06:14.100 that you're weak
  3302. 02:06:14.100 – 02:06:15.380 but listen
  3303. 02:06:16.100 – 02:06:18.000 if you put it all out there
  3304. 02:06:19.140 – 02:06:20.780 it won't take you to loan
  3305. 02:06:20.780 – 02:06:22.120 to find out who's who
  3306. 02:06:22.120 – 02:06:23.620 appreciate and who don't
  3307. 02:06:23.620 – 02:06:25.320 and then once you find that out
  3308. 02:06:25.320 – 02:06:26.920 don't say what they should have done
  3309. 02:06:27.280 – 02:06:28.540 say what they did
  3310. 02:06:28.540 – 02:06:30.460 and then deal with it the way it is
  3311. 02:06:31.700 – 02:06:33.120 love is wisdom
  3312. 02:06:34.280 – 02:06:35.780 if you know you
  3313. 02:06:35.780 – 02:06:36.920 periods you can be in love
  3314. 02:06:38.020 – 02:06:40.640 it's easy to read that which is not about it
  3315. 02:06:42.320 – 02:06:42.840 huh
  3316. 02:06:42.840 – 02:06:43.920 because people say
  3317. 02:06:44.880 – 02:06:45.920 so much
  3318. 02:06:47.680 – 02:06:49.200 but we got to look at what you do
  3319. 02:06:50.600 – 02:06:51.560 the actions
  3320. 02:06:54.800 – 02:06:55.320 yeah
  3321. 02:06:56.240 – 02:06:57.060 that's true
  3322. 02:06:57.060 – 02:06:58.580 you want to do this again
  3323. 02:06:58.580 – 02:06:59.780 then we cover it
  3324. 02:07:00.860 – 02:07:02.560 no you got it all
  3325. 02:07:02.560 – 02:07:04.020 I do want to speak about
  3326. 02:07:04.760 – 02:07:06.380 I feel like Michael Jackson
  3327. 02:07:06.380 – 02:07:08.560 one of the greatest entertainers
  3328. 02:07:08.560 – 02:07:10.200 and business person
  3329. 02:07:10.200 – 02:07:11.020 performers
  3330. 02:07:11.020 – 02:07:11.780 yeah
  3331. 02:07:11.780 – 02:07:13.000 and Kassang also
  3332. 02:07:13.000 – 02:07:13.540 yeah
  3333. 02:07:13.540 – 02:07:15.000 and to like modern times
  3334. 02:07:15.000 – 02:07:15.980 I feel like Chris Brown
  3335. 02:07:15.980 – 02:07:17.680 kind of engulfed that
  3336. 02:07:17.680 – 02:07:19.660 and now he's charging BIP
  3337. 02:07:19.660 – 02:07:21.480 a thousand dollars to take a picture
  3338. 02:07:21.480 – 02:07:22.440 yeah
  3339. 02:07:22.440 – 02:07:23.500 is that good Brandon?
  3340. 02:07:23.960 – 02:07:25.200 of course it is
  3341. 02:07:25.940 – 02:07:26.820 why wouldn't it be
  3342. 02:07:27.460 – 02:07:29.820 okay because here's the thing about branding
  3343. 02:07:30.940 – 02:07:33.760 that's when you find out how much your fans love you
  3344. 02:07:34.420 – 02:07:36.560 if they pay a thousand dollars
  3345. 02:07:37.260 – 02:07:38.760 he doesn't know whether or not
  3346. 02:07:38.760 – 02:07:40.500 they took pop bottles to get the money
  3347. 02:07:40.500 – 02:07:41.860 or they had to struggle
  3348. 02:07:41.860 – 02:07:43.240 that's their last thousand
  3349. 02:07:43.240 – 02:07:44.360 he doesn't know that
  3350. 02:07:44.360 – 02:07:46.860 that's up to the individual to know that
  3351. 02:07:46.860 – 02:07:49.080 can I afford that meet and greet?
  3352. 02:07:50.260 – 02:07:52.440 can I afford a thousand dollar meet and greet?
  3353. 02:07:52.780 – 02:07:54.720 depends on how fanatical you are
  3354. 02:07:56.980 – 02:07:57.500 huh
  3355. 02:07:58.780 – 02:08:01.280 depends on how fanatical you are
  3356. 02:08:01.280 – 02:08:03.560 I'm gonna take my last thousand dollars
  3357. 02:08:03.560 – 02:08:04.860 that I got in the bank
  3358. 02:08:04.860 – 02:08:06.340 and do a meet and greet
  3359. 02:08:06.340 – 02:08:07.480 with Chris Brown
  3360. 02:08:07.480 – 02:08:08.700 I would say I'm fanatical
  3361. 02:08:10.020 – 02:08:11.080 how about you?
  3362. 02:08:11.900 – 02:08:12.880 that's the truth
  3363. 02:08:14.280 – 02:08:16.900 I do want to build themselves up to be
  3364. 02:08:16.900 – 02:08:19.720 or have that courage to charge a thousand dollars
  3365. 02:08:20.380 – 02:08:20.940 how?
  3366. 02:08:21.540 – 02:08:22.200 that's not a guess
  3367. 02:08:22.200 – 02:08:22.920 before the show
  3368. 02:08:22.920 – 02:08:24.020 that's not a guess
  3369. 02:08:24.700 – 02:08:26.840 you got statistics in business
  3370. 02:08:26.840 – 02:08:28.260 what's a guess?
  3371. 02:08:29.180 – 02:08:30.300 what's a guess?
  3372. 02:08:31.200 – 02:08:32.450 let's take a look at this
  3373. 02:08:33.260 – 02:08:37.190 how broad is Chris Brown's fan base?
  3374. 02:08:38.400 – 02:08:41.280 what are the ages who love Chris Brown?
  3375. 02:08:43.150 – 02:08:43.930 what's his appeal?
  3376. 02:08:44.310 – 02:08:45.090 all races?
  3377. 02:08:46.350 – 02:08:47.910 so marketing says
  3378. 02:08:47.910 – 02:08:50.050 you're gonna get seven percent
  3379. 02:08:50.050 – 02:08:51.770 or whatever your crowd is
  3380. 02:08:52.490 – 02:08:53.910 so if you're looking at a cat
  3381. 02:08:53.910 – 02:08:54.970 with a billion dollar
  3382. 02:08:54.970 – 02:08:56.690 billion people loving him
  3383. 02:08:56.690 – 02:08:57.990 seven percent ain't bad
  3384. 02:08:57.990 – 02:08:58.750 it's not
  3385. 02:09:02.880 – 02:09:04.740 that's content marketing
  3386. 02:09:04.740 – 02:09:05.560 content marketing
  3387. 02:09:05.560 – 02:09:07.080 seven percent
  3388. 02:09:07.080 – 02:09:08.550 that's when I was talking about
  3389. 02:09:10.380 – 02:09:11.200 GoFundMe
  3390. 02:09:11.200 – 02:09:12.510 and I was talking about
  3391. 02:09:12.840 – 02:09:15.440 the email before I got sidetracked
  3392. 02:09:15.440 – 02:09:17.740 so somebody said to you
  3393. 02:09:17.740 – 02:09:21.680 how much money are you trying to raise
  3394. 02:09:21.680 – 02:09:22.820 in the GoFundMe?
  3395. 02:09:23.180 – 02:09:25.880 well I need ten thousand dollars
  3396. 02:09:26.440 – 02:09:27.020 okay
  3397. 02:09:27.020 – 02:09:29.680 my email is gonna dictate
  3398. 02:09:29.680 – 02:09:31.640 how realistic that is
  3399. 02:09:31.640 – 02:09:33.180 my email capture
  3400. 02:09:33.180 – 02:09:34.380 I got all
  3401. 02:09:34.380 – 02:09:35.420 I got 50 people
  3402. 02:09:37.350 – 02:09:38.810 that know about me
  3403. 02:09:38.810 – 02:09:41.290 that I can promote my GoFundMe to
  3404. 02:09:41.290 – 02:09:43.530 it's ten thousand dollars realistic
  3405. 02:09:46.300 – 02:09:47.520 look at your fan base
  3406. 02:09:47.520 – 02:09:48.600 I got 50 people
  3407. 02:09:48.600 – 02:09:49.720 you're not getting ten thousand
  3408. 02:09:49.720 – 02:09:52.480 your crowd source dictates
  3409. 02:09:52.480 – 02:09:56.870 what your advances are gonna be
  3410. 02:09:56.870 – 02:09:57.730 so you got
  3411. 02:09:58.350 – 02:09:59.110 and then
  3412. 02:09:59.110 – 02:10:01.490 then when I remember when I did
  3413. 02:10:02.030 – 02:10:02.990 money issues
  3414. 02:10:02.990 – 02:10:05.530 was was my first release
  3415. 02:10:05.530 – 02:10:07.610 I did that in the 90s
  3416. 02:10:08.190 – 02:10:09.190 late 90s
  3417. 02:10:09.190 – 02:10:11.470 and I remember going to get it pressed up
  3418. 02:10:12.790 – 02:10:15.370 and the guy that was doing my art illustration
  3419. 02:10:16.050 – 02:10:18.230 we were talking about likes and numbers
  3420. 02:10:18.230 – 02:10:19.290 and all that
  3421. 02:10:19.290 – 02:10:21.430 and he said let me show you something
  3422. 02:10:22.170 – 02:10:25.290 and he showed me a guy in this city man
  3423. 02:10:25.290 – 02:10:26.150 a artist
  3424. 02:10:26.150 – 02:10:28.270 man he was the man
  3425. 02:10:29.170 – 02:10:30.970 as far as followers
  3426. 02:10:30.970 – 02:10:32.590 likes and whatever
  3427. 02:10:34.090 – 02:10:35.810 it wasn't reflected by the people
  3428. 02:10:35.810 – 02:10:37.030 who bought his merchandise
  3429. 02:10:41.000 – 02:10:42.300 what bridge is that
  3430. 02:10:43.720 – 02:10:44.200 branding
  3431. 02:10:47.160 – 02:10:48.860 you can have a million followers
  3432. 02:10:48.860 – 02:10:50.100 but you won't know who's who
  3433. 02:10:50.100 – 02:10:51.240 until it's time to buy
  3434. 02:10:51.240 – 02:10:52.620 it's like Facebook
  3435. 02:10:52.620 – 02:10:53.780 oh you got a lot of followers
  3436. 02:10:53.780 – 02:10:55.500 yeah but until it's time to buy
  3437. 02:10:55.500 – 02:10:55.940 right
  3438. 02:10:55.940 – 02:10:57.800 I appreciate it
  3439. 02:10:57.800 – 02:10:59.400 but until it's time to buy
  3440. 02:11:02.320 – 02:11:03.760 if they don't buy
  3441. 02:11:03.760 – 02:11:05.700 who can I look at
  3442. 02:11:05.700 – 02:11:07.920 me the brander
  3443. 02:11:07.920 – 02:11:08.460 the brander
  3444. 02:11:11.020 – 02:11:13.180 so so knowing what you know today
  3445. 02:11:13.180 – 02:11:16.200 how would you brand yourself tomorrow
  3446. 02:11:16.200 – 02:11:17.560 would it stay the same
  3447. 02:11:17.560 – 02:11:18.480 or would you change some things
  3448. 02:11:18.480 – 02:11:19.460 well see this is what
  3449. 02:11:19.460 – 02:11:22.680 this is what you have to look at
  3450. 02:11:22.680 – 02:11:24.840 Nike are they changing their brand
  3451. 02:11:24.840 – 02:11:26.760 it's still just do it
  3452. 02:11:27.630 – 02:11:29.920 and they're consistent with what they're selling
  3453. 02:11:29.920 – 02:11:31.100 you're not changing
  3454. 02:11:31.100 – 02:11:32.680 once you find your brand
  3455. 02:11:32.680 – 02:11:34.970 you consistently give that
  3456. 02:11:37.060 – 02:11:38.410 what you create
  3457. 02:11:39.420 – 02:11:41.320 must be the visibility
  3458. 02:11:41.980 – 02:11:43.040 of your brand
  3459. 02:11:43.180 – 02:11:44.810 what you say you're about
  3460. 02:11:46.920 – 02:11:47.420 remember
  3461. 02:11:47.940 – 02:11:50.600 a brand answers the question
  3462. 02:11:51.360 – 02:11:53.150 why should I have what you
  3463. 02:11:53.840 – 02:11:54.940 have to offer
  3464. 02:11:55.500 – 02:11:56.460 in my life
  3465. 02:11:56.460 – 02:11:57.340 it's a million people
  3466. 02:11:57.340 – 02:11:58.360 doing what you're doing
  3467. 02:11:59.320 – 02:12:01.120 so how much thought you need to give
  3468. 02:12:01.120 – 02:12:02.160 you got to get to give it
  3469. 02:12:02.160 – 02:12:03.840 something that's close to what you're about
  3470. 02:12:03.840 – 02:12:05.320 because it's only you about
  3471. 02:12:05.320 – 02:12:06.740 that's that can be repeated
  3472. 02:12:06.740 – 02:12:08.230 because that's what you know about
  3473. 02:12:09.180 – 02:12:10.880 okay you can get to know about
  3474. 02:12:10.880 – 02:12:12.700 more than anything else is you
  3475. 02:12:13.180 – 02:12:15.140 it's almost like it's not
  3476. 02:12:16.120 – 02:12:16.760 separate
  3477. 02:12:17.780 – 02:12:19.600 and as a creative person
  3478. 02:12:19.600 – 02:12:20.160 that's cool
  3479. 02:12:20.160 – 02:12:23.320 the music what I'm about is all one
  3480. 02:12:23.320 – 02:12:25.640 it's all a creative process
  3481. 02:12:26.300 – 02:12:28.360 I have to dig in to know what I'm about
  3482. 02:12:29.730 – 02:12:31.850 I can't be phony with it
  3483. 02:12:31.850 – 02:12:33.150 I don't want to be
  3484. 02:12:33.150 – 02:12:35.390 I can't consistently do phony
  3485. 02:12:36.490 – 02:12:39.710 I can do the real Mike Bell
  3486. 02:12:39.710 – 02:12:41.710 or the real peerless
  3487. 02:12:41.710 – 02:12:43.010 being right wrong
  3488. 02:12:43.010 – 02:12:43.670 mm-hmm
  3489. 02:12:45.620 – 02:12:46.220 yeah
  3490. 02:12:46.220 – 02:12:47.240 that's true
  3491. 02:12:47.240 – 02:12:48.160 you have to be
  3492. 02:12:48.160 – 02:12:49.380 you have to be
  3493. 02:12:49.380 – 02:12:51.160 so faith in self
  3494. 02:12:51.160 – 02:12:53.800 it always comes back down
  3495. 02:12:53.800 – 02:12:54.620 to one doesn't it
  3496. 02:12:54.620 – 02:12:56.340 out of everything that I've been saying
  3497. 02:12:56.340 – 02:12:56.920 that's true
  3498. 02:12:56.920 – 02:12:57.840 faith in self
  3499. 02:12:59.240 – 02:13:00.440 be objective
  3500. 02:13:00.440 – 02:13:02.740 be clear on your intentions
  3501. 02:13:02.740 – 02:13:04.660 and get on with it
  3502. 02:13:09.910 – 02:13:12.250 now 50 to 100 years from now
  3503. 02:13:13.250 – 02:13:14.730 when people talk about
  3504. 02:13:14.730 – 02:13:16.050 Mike Bell senior
  3505. 02:13:16.050 – 02:13:17.370 what are some of those things
  3506. 02:13:17.370 – 02:13:18.210 you want them to say
  3507. 02:13:18.210 – 02:13:19.990 it depends on what I leave
  3508. 02:13:22.900 – 02:13:24.960 I can't talk about that now
  3509. 02:13:24.960 – 02:13:26.500 because I'm still in operation
  3510. 02:13:27.780 – 02:13:30.400 and what I intend to leave
  3511. 02:13:31.120 – 02:13:33.120 if I leave it
  3512. 02:13:33.820 – 02:13:35.400 I know what they're going to say
  3513. 02:13:36.080 – 02:13:38.560 or I know what they're going to feel
  3514. 02:13:38.560 – 02:13:41.400 even if they don't say it
  3515. 02:13:43.120 – 02:13:46.940 because that must be generated in me
  3516. 02:13:47.280 – 02:13:49.340 even before it's expressed out
  3517. 02:13:49.340 – 02:13:50.820 because that's what you feel
  3518. 02:13:50.820 – 02:13:51.760 in all creations
  3519. 02:13:51.760 – 02:13:53.820 whether you're conscious of it or not
  3520. 02:13:53.820 – 02:13:55.220 you'll feel the vibrations
  3521. 02:13:55.220 – 02:13:57.700 I had a
  3522. 02:13:57.700 – 02:13:58.840 what people would call
  3523. 02:13:58.840 – 02:14:00.100 psychic clairvoyant woman
  3524. 02:14:00.100 – 02:14:01.480 came in my life when I was 19
  3525. 02:14:01.480 – 02:14:02.380 I was supposed to have
  3526. 02:14:02.380 – 02:14:03.300 she told me I was supposed
  3527. 02:14:03.300 – 02:14:04.620 to have been with her
  3528. 02:14:05.240 – 02:14:07.400 and she said to me
  3529. 02:14:07.400 – 02:14:09.220 that you are
  3530. 02:14:09.220 – 02:14:11.860 a celestial artist
  3531. 02:14:14.750 – 02:14:15.590 you understand
  3532. 02:14:16.350 – 02:14:17.490 of the spirit
  3533. 02:14:18.030 – 02:14:18.650 so that's
  3534. 02:14:19.110 – 02:14:21.310 and I must give things of the spirit
  3535. 02:14:21.310 – 02:14:23.110 to enhance
  3536. 02:14:23.730 – 02:14:25.410 others life force
  3537. 02:14:26.810 – 02:14:28.270 because everyone needs
  3538. 02:14:28.270 – 02:14:30.290 their life force enhanced
  3539. 02:14:30.290 – 02:14:31.450 am I right
  3540. 02:14:31.790 – 02:14:33.730 your life force is that
  3541. 02:14:33.730 – 02:14:34.690 they keep you going
  3542. 02:14:34.690 – 02:14:36.470 all of us need stuff
  3543. 02:14:36.470 – 02:14:38.470 that keep us going truly
  3544. 02:14:38.470 – 02:14:40.110 especially now
  3545. 02:14:41.740 – 02:14:44.380 there's so much dysfunction
  3546. 02:14:46.260 – 02:14:47.800 in the society that we live in
  3547. 02:14:47.800 – 02:14:49.840 see my view as an artist
  3548. 02:14:50.580 – 02:14:52.200 is broader than a record deal
  3549. 02:14:52.200 – 02:14:53.680 and plus I'm 72
  3550. 02:14:54.780 – 02:14:57.200 I'm not looking to be signed to a label
  3551. 02:14:59.400 – 02:15:00.280 you know what I mean
  3552. 02:15:00.280 – 02:15:01.680 I'm I'm youthful
  3553. 02:15:01.680 – 02:15:03.300 and can probably do more things
  3554. 02:15:03.300 – 02:15:05.160 than you people half my age
  3555. 02:15:05.160 – 02:15:06.160 I know that for a fact
  3556. 02:15:06.160 – 02:15:06.880 true true
  3557. 02:15:07.560 – 02:15:08.560 you know what I'm saying
  3558. 02:15:08.560 – 02:15:09.840 I know that for a fact
  3559. 02:15:10.800 – 02:15:12.520 but at this age
  3560. 02:15:12.520 – 02:15:15.020 don't want somebody controlling me
  3561. 02:15:17.100 – 02:15:18.940 not unless the playing field is even
  3562. 02:15:20.540 – 02:15:22.180 so to the youth
  3563. 02:15:22.180 – 02:15:24.160 make sure your playing field
  3564. 02:15:24.160 – 02:15:26.260 is even before you jump in
  3565. 02:15:26.900 – 02:15:28.400 or don't jump in
  3566. 02:15:28.640 – 02:15:30.580 because how many of you hear from the stories
  3567. 02:15:30.580 – 02:15:32.120 that end up with no money
  3568. 02:15:32.120 – 02:15:33.760 do for self
  3569. 02:15:33.760 – 02:15:35.920 this is the greatest time in the world
  3570. 02:15:35.920 – 02:15:37.260 to be anything
  3571. 02:15:37.260 – 02:15:38.740 with the internet
  3572. 02:15:38.740 – 02:15:40.780 everybody should have a brand
  3573. 02:15:41.800 – 02:15:42.400 everybody
  3574. 02:15:42.400 – 02:15:44.200 when jobs get up out the way
  3575. 02:15:44.200 – 02:15:44.980 there's the internet
  3576. 02:15:44.980 – 02:15:46.580 that's a global market
  3577. 02:15:46.580 – 02:15:49.840 we we haven't even scratched the surface
  3578. 02:15:49.840 – 02:15:51.300 when you want to talk about
  3579. 02:15:51.300 – 02:15:53.000 the money that's on there
  3580. 02:15:53.000 – 02:15:55.460 man I was in my studies
  3581. 02:15:56.460 – 02:15:58.620 these guys they kept raising money
  3582. 02:15:58.620 – 02:16:00.600 for something they were trying to get off
  3583. 02:16:01.360 – 02:16:03.440 it was some kind of computer
  3584. 02:16:05.940 – 02:16:07.680 program or something they were doing
  3585. 02:16:08.240 – 02:16:09.840 and I kept reading about it
  3586. 02:16:09.840 – 02:16:12.460 and they were able to raise millions
  3587. 02:16:12.460 – 02:16:13.800 lose it
  3588. 02:16:13.800 – 02:16:14.520 raise millions
  3589. 02:16:14.520 – 02:16:15.960 in the private sector
  3590. 02:16:15.960 – 02:16:17.580 until they had to go public
  3591. 02:16:17.580 – 02:16:19.220 and what happened
  3592. 02:16:21.060 – 02:16:22.700 they had already predicted
  3593. 02:16:22.700 – 02:16:24.200 in five years
  3594. 02:16:24.200 – 02:16:26.860 they would have three billion dollars
  3595. 02:16:27.940 – 02:16:30.500 and he came home one day
  3596. 02:16:31.240 – 02:16:33.719 and his wife was watching television
  3597. 02:16:33.719 – 02:16:35.240 she was crying
  3598. 02:16:38.600 – 02:16:40.600 and he said what's the matter
  3599. 02:16:40.600 – 02:16:42.860 she was pointing to the television
  3600. 02:16:43.420 – 02:16:46.370 the very thing that they were getting ready to sell
  3601. 02:16:47.340 – 02:16:49.830 in the five years to make the three billion
  3602. 02:16:50.420 – 02:16:53.860 Microsoft just came out with it for free
  3603. 02:16:56.510 – 02:16:58.129 back to the drawing board
  3604. 02:16:59.049 – 02:17:02.190 now that's enough to knock the wind out of your sails
  3605. 02:17:02.270 – 02:17:03.709 but if you believe
  3606. 02:17:05.549 – 02:17:07.030 and you have intention
  3607. 02:17:08.660 – 02:17:10.799 you can surmount even that
  3608. 02:17:10.799 – 02:17:13.120 because time is nothing but a consideration
  3609. 02:17:14.559 – 02:17:15.860 why do I say that
  3610. 02:17:16.320 – 02:17:17.200 take two people
  3611. 02:17:17.760 – 02:17:19.320 come from the same environment
  3612. 02:17:19.320 – 02:17:20.280 the same schooling
  3613. 02:17:20.280 – 02:17:22.520 they both decide to be authors
  3614. 02:17:22.520 – 02:17:23.340 they go to college
  3615. 02:17:23.340 – 02:17:24.480 they get a deal
  3616. 02:17:24.480 – 02:17:26.660 why is it that one can write
  3617. 02:17:26.660 – 02:17:28.480 five books in 10 years
  3618. 02:17:28.480 – 02:17:30.059 and let's say it's the same quality
  3619. 02:17:30.580 – 02:17:32.840 why is it that one can write five
  3620. 02:17:32.840 – 02:17:34.620 and one could write nine
  3621. 02:17:35.540 – 02:17:37.420 you know what the difference is
  3622. 02:17:37.959 – 02:17:39.160 the one that wrote nine
  3623. 02:17:39.160 – 02:17:40.879 consider that he could write nine
  3624. 02:17:42.420 – 02:17:46.719 your considerations are senior over time
  3625. 02:17:49.500 – 02:17:50.760 because that's all it is
  3626. 02:17:50.760 – 02:17:52.000 is a consideration
  3627. 02:17:53.420 – 02:17:54.959 what you consider
  3628. 02:17:55.700 – 02:17:57.360 is your own self-truth
  3629. 02:17:58.940 – 02:18:00.280 believe in yourself
  3630. 02:18:00.280 – 02:18:02.500 so you can believe in your intentions
  3631. 02:18:03.080 – 02:18:04.820 and you can get on with it
  3632. 02:18:07.740 – 02:18:10.070 so as we start to wrap up
  3633. 02:18:10.480 – 02:18:11.940 I know you spoke about
  3634. 02:18:11.940 – 02:18:14.520 Cleveland almost becoming a national act
  3635. 02:18:14.520 – 02:18:15.740 what stopped that
  3636. 02:18:16.299 – 02:18:17.360 like I said
  3637. 02:18:17.360 – 02:18:19.120 we didn't work together
  3638. 02:18:19.660 – 02:18:20.780 we didn't work together
  3639. 02:18:21.879 – 02:18:23.400 that's the bottom line
  3640. 02:18:23.400 – 02:18:24.879 we just it takes unity
  3641. 02:18:25.389 – 02:18:26.540 I don't care
  3642. 02:18:27.340 – 02:18:28.700 you can have an idea
  3643. 02:18:28.700 – 02:18:30.180 just like me
  3644. 02:18:30.180 – 02:18:31.600 I can have an idea
  3645. 02:18:31.600 – 02:18:32.830 and I can know
  3646. 02:18:33.200 – 02:18:35.500 every position that it takes
  3647. 02:18:35.500 – 02:18:36.879 to get it done
  3648. 02:18:36.879 – 02:18:38.700 but I can't do it all
  3649. 02:18:38.700 – 02:18:41.040 so therefore you need people
  3650. 02:18:41.840 – 02:18:43.020 if you could delegate
  3651. 02:18:43.020 – 02:18:44.360 for lack of a better word
  3652. 02:18:44.360 – 02:18:45.120 do this
  3653. 02:18:45.120 – 02:18:47.100 you can't do everything
  3654. 02:18:47.100 – 02:18:49.020 you need people
  3655. 02:18:49.740 – 02:18:50.740 when they say
  3656. 02:18:51.280 – 02:18:53.040 you can't make it by yourself
  3657. 02:18:54.620 – 02:18:55.980 that's the truth
  3658. 02:18:58.000 – 02:18:59.280 you can't
  3659. 02:18:59.280 – 02:19:00.299 and if you're not good
  3660. 02:19:00.299 – 02:19:01.440 with relationships
  3661. 02:19:02.160 – 02:19:02.860 you won't
  3662. 02:19:05.719 – 02:19:06.620 Paul told me that
  3663. 02:19:06.620 – 02:19:08.320 Mike you're going to make it
  3664. 02:19:08.320 – 02:19:09.459 but first you got to learn
  3665. 02:19:09.459 – 02:19:10.639 how to talk to people
  3666. 02:19:10.639 – 02:19:11.860 and I was like
  3667. 02:19:11.860 – 02:19:12.900 I know he ain't talking to me
  3668. 02:19:12.900 – 02:19:13.920 the way he talked to me
  3669. 02:19:13.920 – 02:19:16.040 but I understood it
  3670. 02:19:17.580 – 02:19:18.959 and I speak about legacy
  3671. 02:19:18.959 – 02:19:21.059 what would you want your legacy to be
  3672. 02:19:24.290 – 02:19:25.110 you better still continue
  3673. 02:19:25.110 – 02:19:26.150 it's going to go back
  3674. 02:19:27.590 – 02:19:29.870 to that which I create
  3675. 02:19:30.830 – 02:19:32.549 and then I can do it no more
  3676. 02:19:32.549 – 02:19:33.750 and that which I left
  3677. 02:19:36.209 – 02:19:37.570 that will speak
  3678. 02:19:38.350 – 02:19:39.870 instead of me saying
  3679. 02:19:41.950 – 02:19:46.540 because for me
  3680. 02:19:46.540 – 02:19:48.840 would I put it in words
  3681. 02:19:49.880 – 02:19:51.600 I would want to leave
  3682. 02:19:51.600 – 02:19:52.900 a certain spirit
  3683. 02:19:54.240 – 02:19:55.880 you know what I mean
  3684. 02:19:56.520 – 02:19:57.840 a certain spirit
  3685. 02:19:58.840 – 02:20:00.500 who could I use that
  3686. 02:20:00.500 – 02:20:01.760 as an example
  3687. 02:20:01.760 – 02:20:02.800 to say
  3688. 02:20:02.800 – 02:20:03.980 we love
  3689. 02:20:03.980 – 02:20:05.440 just simple like this
  3690. 02:20:05.440 – 02:20:07.770 we love the spirit of the man
  3691. 02:20:16.160 – 02:20:18.250 anything that he had to offer
  3692. 02:20:18.620 – 02:20:19.700 he offered
  3693. 02:20:21.750 – 02:20:22.940 to help
  3694. 02:20:23.890 – 02:20:25.230 along the way
  3695. 02:20:30.220 – 02:20:31.130 a spirit
  3696. 02:20:31.770 – 02:20:33.890 it may not tune into that spirit
  3697. 02:20:33.890 – 02:20:35.550 but for me
  3698. 02:20:35.550 – 02:20:37.230 my intentions
  3699. 02:20:37.850 – 02:20:38.750 will speak
  3700. 02:20:39.370 – 02:20:40.020 for me
  3701. 02:20:41.810 – 02:20:42.710 because you know
  3702. 02:20:42.710 – 02:20:43.540 people have different
  3703. 02:20:44.470 – 02:20:45.050 perceptions
  3704. 02:20:45.050 – 02:20:47.130 conclusions about things
  3705. 02:20:47.130 – 02:20:48.110 but integrity
  3706. 02:20:48.110 – 02:20:49.450 that's why I live with integrity
  3707. 02:20:49.450 – 02:20:51.810 the closest I can now
  3708. 02:20:51.810 – 02:20:52.310 right
  3709. 02:20:52.310 – 02:20:53.490 so I have to worry about my
  3710. 02:20:53.490 – 02:20:54.730 what the legacy would be like
  3711. 02:20:54.730 – 02:20:55.870 because I know how I lived
  3712. 02:20:55.870 – 02:20:58.010 I mean even saying that
  3713. 02:20:58.650 – 02:21:00.010 going back to Brandon
  3714. 02:21:00.010 – 02:21:02.370 people have different brands
  3715. 02:21:03.210 – 02:21:04.170 what do you mean different brands
  3716. 02:21:04.890 – 02:21:05.910 and in their head
  3717. 02:21:05.910 – 02:21:06.810 every individual
  3718. 02:21:06.810 – 02:21:08.510 has a different brand
  3719. 02:21:09.130 – 02:21:09.710 of you
  3720. 02:21:09.710 – 02:21:10.710 what is a brand
  3721. 02:21:11.850 – 02:21:12.810 to me
  3722. 02:21:12.810 – 02:21:13.810 it's identity
  3723. 02:21:13.810 – 02:21:14.970 the reflection
  3724. 02:21:14.970 – 02:21:15.870 communication
  3725. 02:21:15.870 – 02:21:16.330 but in business
  3726. 02:21:17.030 – 02:21:19.550 a brand answers the question
  3727. 02:21:20.090 – 02:21:21.570 why do I need
  3728. 02:21:21.570 – 02:21:23.050 what you have to offer
  3729. 02:21:23.050 – 02:21:24.450 in my life
  3730. 02:21:24.450 – 02:21:26.090 so a person that's branding
  3731. 02:21:26.090 – 02:21:27.050 would have to know
  3732. 02:21:27.050 – 02:21:28.190 what they have
  3733. 02:21:28.190 – 02:21:29.990 that a person could define it
  3734. 02:21:30.730 – 02:21:32.370 that takes some soul searching
  3735. 02:21:32.370 – 02:21:33.030 doesn't it
  3736. 02:21:33.030 – 02:21:33.430 it do
  3737. 02:21:33.430 – 02:21:34.410 all right then
  3738. 02:21:34.410 – 02:21:36.530 so even before you can speak on
  3739. 02:21:36.530 – 02:21:37.630 that you have to know
  3740. 02:21:37.630 – 02:21:38.570 that's branding
  3741. 02:21:39.110 – 02:21:41.290 and that takes a minute to get to
  3742. 02:21:41.290 – 02:21:43.270 and then once you get to it
  3743. 02:21:43.270 – 02:21:44.610 then the light comes on
  3744. 02:21:44.610 – 02:21:46.170 and then you follow that light
  3745. 02:21:46.750 – 02:21:48.710 and create along that light
  3746. 02:21:49.350 – 02:21:51.530 but that light must come to you first
  3747. 02:21:54.290 – 02:21:55.890 it's a soul thing
  3748. 02:21:57.370 – 02:21:59.350 you can look at it business-wise
  3749. 02:21:59.350 – 02:22:00.930 but you have to go into your
  3750. 02:22:00.930 – 02:22:02.390 inner self to pull it out
  3751. 02:22:02.390 – 02:22:02.990 that's true
  3752. 02:22:03.550 – 02:22:05.030 so let's say it's spiritual
  3753. 02:22:05.030 – 02:22:06.510 let's say it's living
  3754. 02:22:07.170 – 02:22:09.190 how close are you to your spirit
  3755. 02:22:09.190 – 02:22:10.470 what your spirit about
  3756. 02:22:10.470 – 02:22:11.410 what's it good about
  3757. 02:22:11.410 – 02:22:13.650 I hear you what you're professing
  3758. 02:22:13.650 – 02:22:15.370 what your brand is going to tell me
  3759. 02:22:15.370 – 02:22:16.350 I hear what you're professing
  3760. 02:22:17.750 – 02:22:20.030 what does your brand speak
  3761. 02:22:24.640 – 02:22:26.360 this has been amazing
  3762. 02:22:27.740 – 02:22:28.960 is there something
  3763. 02:22:28.960 – 02:22:30.440 that I didn't ask
  3764. 02:22:30.440 – 02:22:31.500 that I should have asked
  3765. 02:22:31.500 – 02:22:32.920 no but you can always come back
  3766. 02:22:32.920 – 02:22:34.880 if you find people want to know more
  3767. 02:22:34.880 – 02:22:35.660 I'm coming back
  3768. 02:22:35.660 – 02:22:36.760 you know we can talk
  3769. 02:22:36.760 – 02:22:38.320 if you find that throughout this
  3770. 02:22:38.320 – 02:22:39.500 it was a lot of questions
  3771. 02:22:39.500 – 02:22:40.400 or whatever
  3772. 02:22:40.400 – 02:22:41.760 or some people wanted some things
  3773. 02:22:41.760 – 02:22:42.420 cleared up
  3774. 02:22:42.780 – 02:22:43.780 you know we fan
  3775. 02:22:43.780 – 02:22:44.840 you've been a strange
  3776. 02:22:44.840 – 02:22:45.840 but I mean we fan
  3777. 02:22:48.640 – 02:22:50.520 that is that is true
  3778. 02:22:50.520 – 02:22:51.560 you know okay
  3779. 02:22:52.540 – 02:22:53.940 I appreciate this
  3780. 02:22:53.940 – 02:22:54.660 surely
  3781. 02:22:54.660 – 02:22:56.200 as we've wrapped
  3782. 02:22:56.200 – 02:22:57.500 I definitely want to
  3783. 02:22:57.500 – 02:22:58.700 again give you your flowers
  3784. 02:22:58.700 – 02:23:00.000 and thank you for sending down
  3785. 02:23:00.000 – 02:23:00.880 spending this time
  3786. 02:23:01.720 – 02:23:02.600 this has been a
  3787. 02:23:02.600 – 02:23:03.400 still cultivating
  3788. 02:23:03.400 – 02:23:04.340 I appreciate the flowers
  3789. 02:23:04.340 – 02:23:05.640 I'm still planting seeds
  3790. 02:23:05.660 – 02:23:06.980 still planting seeds
  3791. 02:23:06.980 – 02:23:08.400 fruition yes
  3792. 02:23:08.400 – 02:23:10.420 even with that it takes time to grow
  3793. 02:23:10.420 – 02:23:11.280 yes sir
  3794. 02:23:12.220 – 02:23:14.300 it's definitely been a master class
  3795. 02:23:14.300 – 02:23:14.720 okay
  3796. 02:23:14.720 – 02:23:15.780 only for me
  3797. 02:23:15.780 – 02:23:16.640 but you know
  3798. 02:23:16.640 – 02:23:17.780 I know the audience would definitely
  3799. 02:23:17.780 – 02:23:19.420 well let's hope so that it is
  3800. 02:23:19.420 – 02:23:20.400 there again
  3801. 02:23:20.400 – 02:23:21.160 and we'll be back
  3802. 02:23:21.160 – 02:23:22.780 what I had to offer
  3803. 02:23:22.780 – 02:23:25.160 I hope it enhances their lives
  3804. 02:23:26.060 – 02:23:26.500 wow
  3805. 02:23:27.300 – 02:23:28.720 so this is
  3806. 02:23:29.280 – 02:23:30.380 photographer Jackson
  3807. 02:23:30.380 – 02:23:33.440 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  3808. 02:23:33.440 – 02:23:37.160 bringing you Alien Eyes Photos Industry talk
  3809. 02:23:37.160 – 02:23:38.060 with Peerless
  3810. 02:23:38.540 – 02:23:39.840 or maybe
  3811. 02:23:39.840 – 02:23:40.580 that's it
  3812. 02:23:40.580 – 02:23:41.220 Michael Bell
  3813. 02:23:41.220 – 02:23:42.060 say yes
  3814. 02:23:42.180 – 02:23:42.880 right
  3815. 02:23:42.880 – 02:23:44.120 so either or
  3816. 02:23:44.640 – 02:23:46.580 but you can find this
  3817. 02:23:46.580 – 02:23:48.980 on all streaming platforms
  3818. 02:23:48.980 – 02:23:49.580 audio
  3819. 02:23:49.580 – 02:23:51.420 and YouTube is being funky
  3820. 02:23:51.420 – 02:23:53.320 but we're gonna be on YouTube soon
  3821. 02:23:54.160 – 02:23:55.980 and you can find me over
  3822. 02:23:55.980 – 02:23:59.140 at alieneyesphotos.com
  3823. 02:23:59.140 – 02:24:01.920 that's alieneyesphotos.com
  3824. 02:24:01.920 – 02:24:04.220 and follow me on all social media
  3825. 02:24:05.100 – 02:24:05.820 alieneyesphotos
  3826. 02:24:05.820 – 02:24:08.100 that's alieneyes with a Z
  3827. 02:24:08.100 – 02:24:09.860 and photos with a S
  3828. 02:24:09.860 – 02:24:11.300 and where can people find you
  3829. 02:24:11.300 – 02:24:13.040 Facebook Michael Bell Senior
  3830. 02:24:13.040 – 02:24:14.040 Instagram
  3831. 02:24:14.040 – 02:24:15.620 yeah Peerless
  3832. 02:24:15.620 – 02:24:16.600 TikTok
  3833. 02:24:16.600 – 02:24:17.520 yeah Peerless
  3834. 02:24:18.140 – 02:24:19.540 but right now
  3835. 02:24:19.540 – 02:24:20.500 more to come
  3836. 02:24:20.500 – 02:24:21.400 yes
  3837. 02:24:21.400 – 02:24:22.940 any closing words
  3838. 02:24:22.940 – 02:24:24.020 what would you want to lead the audience
  3839. 02:24:24.020 – 02:24:25.900 my closing words is that
  3840. 02:24:25.900 – 02:24:27.880 I want for you all
  3841. 02:24:27.880 – 02:24:30.040 what I want for myself
  3842. 02:24:30.780 – 02:24:32.840 be clear on what you want
  3843. 02:24:33.400 – 02:24:34.500 be about it
  3844. 02:24:35.580 – 02:24:37.080 get on with it
  3845. 02:24:38.770 – 02:24:39.670 and that's it
  3846. 02:24:39.670 – 02:24:40.470 that's a wrap

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31. Erika & Paterson - Braid Connector

Season 2 · Episode 10

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.620 – 00:00:07.160 Welcome, welcome, welcome to alienize photos industry talk.
  2. 00:00:08.180 – 00:00:10.000 I have a power couple here.
  3. 00:00:10.740 – 00:00:15.860 Ms. Patterson or Mr. Patterson and Ms. Erica.
  4. 00:00:16.460 – 00:00:17.760 First off, how y'all doing today?
  5. 00:00:19.300 – 00:00:19.800 Doing good.
  6. 00:00:19.880 – 00:00:21.380 Good, no complaints over you.
  7. 00:00:22.280 – 00:00:23.000 How about you?
  8. 00:00:23.320 – 00:00:24.980 I am great, it's amazing.
  9. 00:00:25.180 – 00:00:27.320 And you know, we just had a good meeting,
  10. 00:00:27.400 – 00:00:29.900 went over some systems and I appreciate that.
  11. 00:00:30.320 – 00:00:33.880 And just for the audience, the listeners,
  12. 00:00:34.580 – 00:00:36.400 can we talk a little about what y'all do?
  13. 00:00:37.580 – 00:00:40.480 Yeah, so my name is Patterson
  14. 00:00:40.480 – 00:00:44.060 and I am the co-founder of Braid Connector,
  15. 00:00:44.420 – 00:00:48.140 which is a company that helps hair stylists,
  16. 00:00:48.340 – 00:00:51.900 hair braiders to get found, to get more bookings.
  17. 00:00:52.340 – 00:00:57.900 So right now our goal is to give this skill
  18. 00:00:57.900 – 00:01:01.600 to many braiders, many other small business
  19. 00:01:01.600 – 00:01:05.980 so they can actually use AI and utilize AI to the max
  20. 00:01:07.360 – 00:01:09.300 to make the business grow.
  21. 00:01:11.430 – 00:01:11.750 Yeah.
  22. 00:01:12.790 – 00:01:13.370 That's amazing.
  23. 00:01:13.990 – 00:01:15.710 So how did y'all start this?
  24. 00:01:15.950 – 00:01:18.400 Like what was the initial idea for it?
  25. 00:01:19.310 – 00:01:19.970 Good, good.
  26. 00:01:22.710 – 00:01:27.010 So everything started back in 2015.
  27. 00:01:27.750 – 00:01:29.810 I'm originally from Burkina Faso.
  28. 00:01:30.350 – 00:01:32.790 I immigrated here in 2015.
  29. 00:01:33.270 – 00:01:35.750 I came here for school, F1 visa.
  30. 00:01:36.190 – 00:01:40.670 And then from that, I got interest into digital marketing
  31. 00:01:40.670 – 00:01:43.370 into building system for small businesses.
  32. 00:01:43.810 – 00:01:46.770 So I started by going to conferences,
  33. 00:01:48.070 – 00:01:50.950 meet other people that is in this type of space.
  34. 00:01:51.470 – 00:01:52.650 And then little by little,
  35. 00:01:52.810 – 00:01:55.370 I made my way to where I am right now.
  36. 00:01:56.010 – 00:01:56.610 Wow.
  37. 00:01:57.290 – 00:02:03.410 So my question would be, why salons?
  38. 00:02:04.530 – 00:02:05.770 That's a good question.
  39. 00:02:07.070 – 00:02:10.470 My first client ever that I got was a salons owner.
  40. 00:02:11.570 – 00:02:15.810 So how I got that salon was from Facebook.
  41. 00:02:18.090 – 00:02:21.310 When I've been in rooms where people was talking a lot
  42. 00:02:21.310 – 00:02:22.670 about digital marketing,
  43. 00:02:22.670 – 00:02:26.050 about how to help people be found online.
  44. 00:02:26.730 – 00:02:29.930 So the closest people around me was salons owner
  45. 00:02:29.930 – 00:02:31.290 because I'm African.
  46. 00:02:31.710 – 00:02:34.450 So there was a lot of ladies that do hair.
  47. 00:02:34.810 – 00:02:37.470 So that was the easiest niche to get started.
  48. 00:02:37.930 – 00:02:40.890 And then I also had my cousin that was doing hair.
  49. 00:02:40.930 – 00:02:44.870 So I literally help her to grow her own business.
  50. 00:02:44.990 – 00:02:46.970 Literally she was braiding in her kitchen.
  51. 00:02:47.150 – 00:02:49.590 So I helped her move from the kitchen
  52. 00:02:49.590 – 00:02:54.770 to open a new salon with more than 14 chairs and plus.
  53. 00:02:55.130 – 00:02:57.950 That's how I started helping salons owner.
  54. 00:02:58.950 – 00:03:02.510 So yeah, that's part of my initial question.
  55. 00:03:02.850 – 00:03:03.450 Why salons?
  56. 00:03:03.490 – 00:03:06.030 Because on the opposite end, we have barber shops.
  57. 00:03:06.850 – 00:03:08.930 So why salons over barber shops?
  58. 00:03:09.710 – 00:03:09.730 Yeah.
  59. 00:03:11.410 – 00:03:13.010 First, because I feel like
  60. 00:03:14.310 – 00:03:17.570 when it comes to hair treatment for ladies,
  61. 00:03:18.190 – 00:03:20.670 they pay more than the barber shop.
  62. 00:03:20.990 – 00:03:21.630 Is that true Erika?
  63. 00:03:21.830 – 00:03:24.070 Yes, to be a woman is expensive.
  64. 00:03:25.050 – 00:03:26.970 It is, it's more expensive than a man.
  65. 00:03:27.550 – 00:03:29.530 Just in comparison, he'll go to the barber
  66. 00:03:29.530 – 00:03:32.130 and get a haircut and it's like $40.
  67. 00:03:33.790 – 00:03:35.570 That's two braids in my head.
  68. 00:03:36.230 – 00:03:38.690 So I go to the salon, I get my hair done
  69. 00:03:38.690 – 00:03:40.010 and it's like $300.
  70. 00:03:40.870 – 00:03:43.670 And then on top of that, women get their nails done,
  71. 00:03:43.790 – 00:03:46.030 women get their eyebrows done, women wear makeup.
  72. 00:03:46.030 – 00:03:48.310 It's all these other things that women do.
  73. 00:03:48.470 – 00:03:51.950 So like the beauty industry is a thing
  74. 00:03:51.950 – 00:03:54.910 that is gonna never go away, especially for women
  75. 00:03:54.910 – 00:03:57.530 because most women care about how they look
  76. 00:03:58.170 – 00:04:00.370 and getting your hair done is a part of that.
  77. 00:04:00.710 – 00:04:01.730 And women like to feel good.
  78. 00:04:01.770 – 00:04:03.670 And the first thing they do is get their hair done
  79. 00:04:04.290 – 00:04:06.150 because you just wanna feel good,
  80. 00:04:06.150 – 00:04:07.070 you wanna look good.
  81. 00:04:08.250 – 00:04:10.730 And yeah, it's expensive to be a woman.
  82. 00:04:11.290 – 00:04:12.210 It's expensive to be a woman.
  83. 00:04:12.210 – 00:04:14.750 That might be the title, it's expensive to be a woman.
  84. 00:04:15.910 – 00:04:20.450 And also I felt like my service would provide
  85. 00:04:20.450 – 00:04:25.030 more benefit to the women because let's be real,
  86. 00:04:25.050 – 00:04:28.110 if I help a barbershop to get more booking,
  87. 00:04:28.470 – 00:04:29.570 at the end of the month,
  88. 00:04:29.570 – 00:04:33.030 you will still struggle to pay for the services
  89. 00:04:33.030 – 00:04:36.730 because the service that you offer to other people
  90. 00:04:36.730 – 00:04:40.970 might be a little bit low because they need
  91. 00:04:40.970 – 00:04:43.870 to actually cut more hair to make more money.
  92. 00:04:43.870 – 00:04:49.430 So that's why I'd rather work with ladies
  93. 00:04:49.430 – 00:04:53.650 that do hair, lup t-shirts, and yeah.
  94. 00:04:54.710 – 00:04:58.570 Wow, and you bring up a good point about the,
  95. 00:04:58.850 – 00:05:01.630 you need to cut more hair as a barber
  96. 00:05:01.630 – 00:05:04.130 to pay for the services.
  97. 00:05:04.790 – 00:05:09.190 And my thing is, I kinda said to myself
  98. 00:05:09.190 – 00:05:12.310 a few months ago, let me make a big goal.
  99. 00:05:12.310 – 00:05:13.670 I wanna make my first million.
  100. 00:05:14.370 – 00:05:17.190 And I know we was going over funnels and systems earlier
  101. 00:05:17.190 – 00:05:18.950 and I was like, I need to niche down.
  102. 00:05:19.110 – 00:05:21.310 But I also thought about it,
  103. 00:05:21.750 – 00:05:23.650 will photography make me my first million?
  104. 00:05:24.410 – 00:05:26.650 So it was like something that I was reflecting on
  105. 00:05:26.650 – 00:05:28.670 and questioning myself like, hmm.
  106. 00:05:29.170 – 00:05:31.510 Cause yeah, I could make a million through photography
  107. 00:05:31.510 – 00:05:33.650 but I'd be burnt out and tired.
  108. 00:05:33.950 – 00:05:35.550 So it was like, I don't wanna do that.
  109. 00:05:35.570 – 00:05:38.310 So it was kinda like I wanna be peaceful as I do it.
  110. 00:05:38.610 – 00:05:41.170 So I'm kinda looking more in the educational space
  111. 00:05:41.170 – 00:05:44.250 and building out courses, you know, so.
  112. 00:05:44.370 – 00:05:46.050 And teaching other people what you do.
  113. 00:05:46.490 – 00:05:46.890 Exactly.
  114. 00:05:47.870 – 00:05:50.350 So something I'm stumbling upon
  115. 00:05:50.350 – 00:05:52.890 and that's why I didn't niche down
  116. 00:05:52.890 – 00:05:54.870 or build out the systems like I'm supposed to
  117. 00:05:54.870 – 00:05:57.130 cause it's like, hmm, I could, hmm.
  118. 00:05:57.530 – 00:06:01.030 It's my business but will it make me my first million?
  119. 00:06:03.450 – 00:06:07.550 I believe yes, it's a great industry
  120. 00:06:07.550 – 00:06:10.270 because right now we're recording, so.
  121. 00:06:10.270 – 00:06:10.890 That's true.
  122. 00:06:10.890 – 00:06:12.810 Something that will not go away.
  123. 00:06:13.130 – 00:06:14.870 People will still need to be friendable.
  124. 00:06:14.950 – 00:06:17.270 People will still need to tell their story.
  125. 00:06:17.930 – 00:06:19.070 And then what you do,
  126. 00:06:19.210 – 00:06:20.730 it's something that is really needed.
  127. 00:06:20.830 – 00:06:23.510 You just gotta keep going up.
  128. 00:06:23.890 – 00:06:25.090 You're already there, man.
  129. 00:06:25.170 – 00:06:25.910 You're already there.
  130. 00:06:25.930 – 00:06:26.690 Oh yeah, I like it.
  131. 00:06:26.690 – 00:06:27.390 Thank you, thank you.
  132. 00:06:27.410 – 00:06:29.870 People love photos because photos are memories.
  133. 00:06:30.370 – 00:06:32.170 So you gotta see it as that.
  134. 00:06:32.690 – 00:06:35.630 Like who wouldn't have a photographer at their wedding?
  135. 00:06:36.630 – 00:06:37.890 Who's gonna take the pictures?
  136. 00:06:37.990 – 00:06:38.850 Somebody with the iPhone.
  137. 00:06:38.850 – 00:06:41.730 You're gonna want them to have those photos
  138. 00:06:41.730 – 00:06:43.110 for the rest of your life.
  139. 00:06:43.750 – 00:06:45.770 So that's how I look at it, photos are memories.
  140. 00:06:45.830 – 00:06:48.230 So I'm always like big on my take a picture,
  141. 00:06:48.350 – 00:06:49.050 take a picture.
  142. 00:06:49.290 – 00:06:50.770 Even if we're doing the smallest things,
  143. 00:06:50.770 – 00:06:52.570 I always take pictures because that's nice.
  144. 00:06:52.730 – 00:06:54.410 At one point in your life,
  145. 00:06:54.450 – 00:06:55.470 that might be all you have
  146. 00:06:55.470 – 00:06:58.290 of who you're taking a picture of too, so.
  147. 00:06:58.510 – 00:07:00.270 So when was y'all first picture?
  148. 00:07:01.370 – 00:07:02.690 Our first date.
  149. 00:07:03.510 – 00:07:04.310 Y'all first date?
  150. 00:07:04.690 – 00:07:06.790 Yeah, we took a picture the second day we met.
  151. 00:07:06.830 – 00:07:07.450 Like a selfie?
  152. 00:07:08.030 – 00:07:11.510 Yep, we still have that picture, so I remember 2015.
  153. 00:07:13.250 – 00:07:16.970 Yeah, yeah, we met through a mutual friend at the time.
  154. 00:07:18.850 – 00:07:21.610 Crazy because I was just like minding my business,
  155. 00:07:21.610 – 00:07:23.950 going home, I was not looking for nothing.
  156. 00:07:24.490 – 00:07:26.490 And my friend texted me like,
  157. 00:07:26.550 – 00:07:27.550 hey, you wanna meet this guy?
  158. 00:07:27.590 – 00:07:28.990 She was dating one of his friends.
  159. 00:07:29.450 – 00:07:30.330 And I was like, sure.
  160. 00:07:30.470 – 00:07:32.010 And it happened to be right up the block
  161. 00:07:32.010 – 00:07:33.050 from my mom's house.
  162. 00:07:33.550 – 00:07:35.110 It was crazy because I was like what?
  163. 00:07:35.150 – 00:07:36.190 But I was moving out.
  164. 00:07:36.190 – 00:07:38.650 So I wasn't really paying attention all around.
  165. 00:07:39.810 – 00:07:40.550 And literally I was like,
  166. 00:07:40.550 – 00:07:42.050 oh yeah, I'm coming, it's right up the block.
  167. 00:07:42.070 – 00:07:43.130 I just have to walk there.
  168. 00:07:43.170 – 00:07:45.690 I'm from Harlem, so New York City up the block
  169. 00:07:45.690 – 00:07:47.010 is literally up the block.
  170. 00:07:48.050 – 00:07:52.430 So yeah, we met and then we literally been together
  171. 00:07:52.430 – 00:07:53.790 ever since the first day we met.
  172. 00:07:55.010 – 00:07:57.530 So yeah, and our second date was when we took a selfie.
  173. 00:07:57.970 – 00:07:59.490 We went to go eat and we took a picture.
  174. 00:08:00.090 – 00:08:01.690 That's nice, wow.
  175. 00:08:02.460 – 00:08:07.230 So that sounds like a word of my referral.
  176. 00:08:08.450 – 00:08:11.350 So even going back to the salons,
  177. 00:08:11.710 – 00:08:14.390 like a lot of salons do word of mouth and referrals.
  178. 00:08:14.910 – 00:08:17.830 So how did you get them to find a value
  179. 00:08:17.830 – 00:08:19.350 in systems and like funnels?
  180. 00:08:21.790 – 00:08:24.070 Because let me start something.
  181. 00:08:24.570 – 00:08:26.310 Because a lot of businesses,
  182. 00:08:26.830 – 00:08:28.790 they only focusing on growing
  183. 00:08:28.790 – 00:08:30.630 without having the good foundation
  184. 00:08:30.630 – 00:08:34.110 and having a business is basically the foundation of your,
  185. 00:08:34.710 – 00:08:36.690 like having a system
  186. 00:08:36.690 – 00:08:38.770 is basically the foundation of your business.
  187. 00:08:39.650 – 00:08:42.010 Let's say if you build a house, right?
  188. 00:08:42.010 – 00:08:43.690 And then there is a leak on the roof,
  189. 00:08:44.210 – 00:08:47.810 but you now worrying about fixing the leak on the roof
  190. 00:08:47.810 – 00:08:50.950 and then you're trying to like change the paint inside.
  191. 00:08:51.110 – 00:08:53.410 You're trying to like maybe change the windows
  192. 00:08:53.410 – 00:08:54.050 and all that.
  193. 00:08:54.250 – 00:08:55.270 It doesn't really matter
  194. 00:08:55.270 – 00:08:57.510 because all these things will still get wet
  195. 00:08:57.510 – 00:08:58.710 when it rains, right?
  196. 00:08:58.710 – 00:09:01.790 So a lot of stylists, a lot of salons owner
  197. 00:09:01.790 – 00:09:04.650 don't really take the time to really
  198. 00:09:05.350 – 00:09:07.710 like do an assessment of their business.
  199. 00:09:07.910 – 00:09:10.070 The only thing that getting more clients
  200. 00:09:10.070 – 00:09:11.550 will make the business grow.
  201. 00:09:11.930 – 00:09:13.450 And then they're not really taking care
  202. 00:09:13.450 – 00:09:14.550 of like the foundation.
  203. 00:09:14.850 – 00:09:18.310 They need a proper way of contacting back those leads
  204. 00:09:18.310 – 00:09:22.490 when like let's say somebody working in your business,
  205. 00:09:22.950 – 00:09:24.470 like in your air salon.
  206. 00:09:25.110 – 00:09:28.370 You want to have this person phone number
  207. 00:09:28.840 – 00:09:31.130 so you can contact that person later.
  208. 00:09:31.370 – 00:09:33.390 Some of them do it manually.
  209. 00:09:33.870 – 00:09:37.670 That's why sometimes they end up burned out
  210. 00:09:37.670 – 00:09:40.270 because they have to like do everything manually.
  211. 00:09:40.830 – 00:09:43.870 They have to remind for the next appointment manually.
  212. 00:09:45.530 – 00:09:48.190 So a system is really needed for them.
  213. 00:09:48.570 – 00:09:51.630 So that's how we align our service.
  214. 00:09:51.770 – 00:09:54.210 So when people are finding them online
  215. 00:09:54.210 – 00:09:56.630 or they're just walking into their shop,
  216. 00:09:56.630 – 00:09:59.970 they can actually get those clients' data
  217. 00:09:59.970 – 00:10:03.110 so they can contact them back again and again.
  218. 00:10:03.670 – 00:10:04.290 Wow.
  219. 00:10:04.690 – 00:10:06.290 So what is the biggest mistake
  220. 00:10:06.290 – 00:10:08.370 most salon owners make with marketing?
  221. 00:10:10.070 – 00:10:10.770 With marketing?
  222. 00:10:14.320 – 00:10:18.420 I would say the bigger mistake that most salons make
  223. 00:10:18.420 – 00:10:21.140 is to do not nurture the client.
  224. 00:10:21.920 – 00:10:25.280 The only thing that this client came right now,
  225. 00:10:25.380 – 00:10:26.340 they did their hair,
  226. 00:10:26.340 – 00:10:29.180 they do not contact them back later.
  227. 00:10:29.180 – 00:10:32.880 They do not send them like a text message
  228. 00:10:32.880 – 00:10:35.280 two, three months later reminding them
  229. 00:10:35.280 – 00:10:38.360 that they can come to do their hair service.
  230. 00:10:38.940 – 00:10:41.260 Like let's say, for example, like Amazon,
  231. 00:10:42.020 – 00:10:44.040 how many times do you receive text messages
  232. 00:10:44.040 – 00:10:47.300 in your phone from Amazon or from Target?
  233. 00:10:47.720 – 00:10:48.500 You know, right, right.
  234. 00:10:48.820 – 00:10:52.760 Before those tools was expensive for small businesses
  235. 00:10:52.760 – 00:10:55.480 but nowadays with AI, everything is accessible.
  236. 00:10:55.480 – 00:11:00.980 So it's really not costly to have this type of system
  237. 00:11:00.980 – 00:11:01.880 for your business.
  238. 00:11:02.620 – 00:11:05.340 So that's one of the biggest mistakes that they do.
  239. 00:11:05.400 – 00:11:07.460 They do not really having,
  240. 00:11:07.580 – 00:11:09.520 they do not have like a proper system
  241. 00:11:09.520 – 00:11:11.880 to like nurture those clients
  242. 00:11:11.880 – 00:11:14.080 so they can become like lawyer clients
  243. 00:11:14.080 – 00:11:15.900 and stay with them forever.
  244. 00:11:16.140 – 00:11:17.340 I wanna add to that
  245. 00:11:17.340 – 00:11:20.540 because I went to get my hair done by someone.
  246. 00:11:20.640 – 00:11:21.760 I usually do my own hair.
  247. 00:11:22.140 – 00:11:23.880 So by this time I went to get my hair done
  248. 00:11:23.880 – 00:11:25.600 and I was like, let me see if I could like,
  249. 00:11:25.600 – 00:11:28.300 talk to her and tell her what I do and everything.
  250. 00:11:28.860 – 00:11:31.820 And she was just didn't wanna talk.
  251. 00:11:31.860 – 00:11:32.620 And I could get back
  252. 00:11:32.620 – 00:11:34.080 cause not everybody's having a good day.
  253. 00:11:34.540 – 00:11:37.440 But like she didn't ask where I found her.
  254. 00:11:37.500 – 00:11:39.140 She didn't ask like,
  255. 00:11:39.560 – 00:11:41.440 if she could follow me on Instagram
  256. 00:11:41.440 – 00:11:42.540 or anything like that,
  257. 00:11:42.540 – 00:11:44.340 just to wait for her to contact me back.
  258. 00:11:44.660 – 00:11:48.220 So I'm like, you just don't care about your business
  259. 00:11:48.220 – 00:11:50.400 cause she did a great job and I would go back.
  260. 00:11:50.980 – 00:11:53.800 But just like customer service plays a huge role
  261. 00:11:53.800 – 00:11:54.400 in it as well.
  262. 00:11:54.840 – 00:11:56.240 Like, how are you with your clients?
  263. 00:11:56.420 – 00:11:57.780 I get everyone has a bad day.
  264. 00:11:57.860 – 00:11:59.440 Everyone doesn't wanna talk all the time
  265. 00:11:59.440 – 00:12:02.620 but at least like small talk, acknowledging
  266. 00:12:02.620 – 00:12:04.880 like them coming to see you
  267. 00:12:04.880 – 00:12:06.380 like just asking certain questions.
  268. 00:12:06.420 – 00:12:07.580 Like, how did you find me?
  269. 00:12:07.860 – 00:12:09.840 Do you mind if I have your number
  270. 00:12:09.840 – 00:12:12.060 or a way to contact you back in the future?
  271. 00:12:12.360 – 00:12:14.360 Leaving me a five-star review on Google.
  272. 00:12:14.860 – 00:12:16.280 Like any of those things matter
  273. 00:12:16.280 – 00:12:18.160 because it shows that you care about your business.
  274. 00:12:18.520 – 00:12:19.680 If somebody doesn't do that,
  275. 00:12:19.760 – 00:12:21.040 it's like you don't even,
  276. 00:12:21.100 – 00:12:23.220 you're just doing hair to do hair, I guess.
  277. 00:12:23.220 – 00:12:24.480 You're just making money from it.
  278. 00:12:24.740 – 00:12:26.060 It could be that too.
  279. 00:12:27.260 – 00:12:29.600 But as me personally, I would have like,
  280. 00:12:29.700 – 00:12:31.000 you know, I would have told you where I found you
  281. 00:12:31.000 – 00:12:32.060 cause that's good for you to know.
  282. 00:12:32.500 – 00:12:34.860 Like, where did you, how did somebody just find you?
  283. 00:12:34.920 – 00:12:36.100 I don't, you don't know me.
  284. 00:12:36.100 – 00:12:36.720 I don't know you.
  285. 00:12:36.740 – 00:12:38.040 That's like the reverse question.
  286. 00:12:38.240 – 00:12:39.980 You should ask the customer coming in
  287. 00:12:39.980 – 00:12:41.120 is how did you find me?
  288. 00:12:41.240 – 00:12:42.120 And it did the ads.
  289. 00:12:42.320 – 00:12:43.840 It could be looking them up on Instagram.
  290. 00:12:43.900 – 00:12:44.980 It could be a Google search.
  291. 00:12:45.140 – 00:12:46.120 There's so many different ways.
  292. 00:12:46.880 – 00:12:49.320 But as a business owner, salon owner,
  293. 00:12:49.420 – 00:12:50.860 that is like, should be your first question.
  294. 00:12:50.860 – 00:12:54.140 Just so you know the data in your head, you know?
  295. 00:12:55.640 – 00:12:56.740 And this is wild.
  296. 00:12:57.200 – 00:12:58.640 And you said the nurture process
  297. 00:12:58.640 – 00:13:01.440 and you would think that it would be different
  298. 00:13:01.440 – 00:13:04.520 because females are nurturers, you know, naturally.
  299. 00:13:05.000 – 00:13:06.680 So that's, that's critical.
  300. 00:13:06.740 – 00:13:09.320 And like you said, the money's in the data.
  301. 00:13:09.500 – 00:13:11.140 Like you said, yeah.
  302. 00:13:12.540 – 00:13:14.740 So have you ever worked with anybody
  303. 00:13:14.740 – 00:13:18.820 outside the salon industry or tried a different industry?
  304. 00:13:19.700 – 00:13:22.640 Yes, right now we are working with dentists.
  305. 00:13:22.940 – 00:13:26.300 We do have some couple of accounts of dentists
  306. 00:13:26.300 – 00:13:27.260 that we are serving.
  307. 00:13:27.920 – 00:13:29.480 And it was our first try
  308. 00:13:30.760 – 00:13:33.580 trying this type of customer avatar.
  309. 00:13:34.320 – 00:13:35.660 So far it's doing great.
  310. 00:13:35.920 – 00:13:38.340 We're able to deliver them the good results
  311. 00:13:38.340 – 00:13:39.040 that they want.
  312. 00:13:41.020 – 00:13:43.720 We did, we did a Facebook, I mean,
  313. 00:13:43.740 – 00:13:45.560 the online presence audit.
  314. 00:13:45.560 – 00:13:49.220 Then we told them how we can help them,
  315. 00:13:49.560 – 00:13:52.420 which means by creating their online social media,
  316. 00:13:52.420 – 00:13:57.180 make them more content on Instagram and also Facebook
  317. 00:13:57.180 – 00:13:58.900 and also running ads for them.
  318. 00:13:59.600 – 00:14:01.460 So those clients, those doctors
  319. 00:14:01.460 – 00:14:02.860 are really happy at the moment.
  320. 00:14:02.960 – 00:14:06.100 So I'm still holding on that.
  321. 00:14:06.420 – 00:14:10.820 I want to see how it is,
  322. 00:14:11.020 – 00:14:13.780 like how it rolls out for the next two, three months.
  323. 00:14:13.780 – 00:14:15.960 And from that, I will see, okay,
  324. 00:14:16.000 – 00:14:18.500 if I can take more of them
  325. 00:14:18.500 – 00:14:21.700 or if I will still stick with the salons owner.
  326. 00:14:22.340 – 00:14:22.820 Wow.
  327. 00:14:23.460 – 00:14:25.560 And who do you think market their sales better?
  328. 00:14:25.940 – 00:14:26.440 Which industry?
  329. 00:14:27.320 – 00:14:27.840 Say that again?
  330. 00:14:28.060 – 00:14:30.060 Which industry do you think market themselves better?
  331. 00:14:30.780 – 00:14:31.980 Oh, definitely the dentists.
  332. 00:14:32.000 – 00:14:33.120 They got big money, really.
  333. 00:14:33.240 – 00:14:34.880 And then they don't even bother you.
  334. 00:14:34.880 – 00:14:36.280 They just pay you and they tell you,
  335. 00:14:36.500 – 00:14:37.500 hey, do the work.
  336. 00:14:38.160 – 00:14:39.380 And let's make a meeting.
  337. 00:14:39.440 – 00:14:40.420 You can show me the work.
  338. 00:14:40.600 – 00:14:41.240 Cause they're busy.
  339. 00:14:41.340 – 00:14:41.920 They're dentists.
  340. 00:14:42.160 – 00:14:42.980 They're doctors.
  341. 00:14:42.980 – 00:14:46.240 So they have clients and they have high paying clients
  342. 00:14:46.240 – 00:14:48.460 because fixing your teeth costs money.
  343. 00:14:49.760 – 00:14:52.640 So yeah, well, we working with them was just like.
  344. 00:14:52.820 – 00:14:54.480 Working with them is much easier.
  345. 00:14:54.760 – 00:14:58.040 And then, I mean, they're strict, I will say.
  346. 00:14:58.240 – 00:15:00.020 They know exactly what they want.
  347. 00:15:00.360 – 00:15:03.320 So if you're also able to deliver those results,
  348. 00:15:03.520 – 00:15:04.960 everything will run out smooth.
  349. 00:15:05.600 – 00:15:08.420 So I like the little experience that I had
  350. 00:15:08.420 – 00:15:11.420 working with dentists was really good.
  351. 00:15:11.420 – 00:15:15.480 Cause I mean, I see a lot of, you know,
  352. 00:15:15.640 – 00:15:17.560 here are photos, here are videos.
  353. 00:15:18.500 – 00:15:19.600 So I'm just curious.
  354. 00:15:19.820 – 00:15:21.080 That's very interesting.
  355. 00:15:21.740 – 00:15:23.020 And you said ads.
  356. 00:15:23.720 – 00:15:25.200 Do you currently run ads for your business?
  357. 00:15:26.140 – 00:15:28.400 Yes, we do run ads for our business
  358. 00:15:28.400 – 00:15:31.300 as we recommend our clients also run ads
  359. 00:15:31.300 – 00:15:34.620 because this is one of the fastest way to be found.
  360. 00:15:35.020 – 00:15:36.680 Like literally, I run my ad,
  361. 00:15:36.780 – 00:15:38.060 I see something that you like,
  362. 00:15:38.100 – 00:15:39.540 you click on it, then we meet.
  363. 00:15:39.540 – 00:15:43.240 And I also tell you how I can help you grow your business
  364. 00:15:43.240 – 00:15:45.940 or if I cannot help you, I also tell you,
  365. 00:15:46.000 – 00:15:47.580 hey, right now I cannot help you,
  366. 00:15:47.580 – 00:15:49.760 but here is some free resources.
  367. 00:15:50.720 – 00:15:52.140 Go read it.
  368. 00:15:52.380 – 00:15:55.260 And then, yeah, if you read it,
  369. 00:15:55.260 – 00:15:57.300 you can come back and then we can help you.
  370. 00:15:57.480 – 00:15:59.720 Because we met actually a lot of people.
  371. 00:15:59.900 – 00:16:02.640 There is some people that are like already there
  372. 00:16:02.640 – 00:16:03.520 that we can help.
  373. 00:16:04.060 – 00:16:06.560 And there is also people that contact us
  374. 00:16:06.560 – 00:16:09.460 that we cannot really help
  375. 00:16:09.460 – 00:16:10.940 because they're not at the level
  376. 00:16:10.940 – 00:16:13.280 where we can really serve them.
  377. 00:16:13.680 – 00:16:16.700 So we do not want to take nobody's phone
  378. 00:16:16.700 – 00:16:21.180 and then not being able to deliver the results.
  379. 00:16:21.260 – 00:16:24.200 And then it all comes to your personality
  380. 00:16:24.200 – 00:16:27.320 because before we even start to work together,
  381. 00:16:27.780 – 00:16:30.820 we do go to an assessment call.
  382. 00:16:31.820 – 00:16:34.840 I kind of like to work with people that I like.
  383. 00:16:35.360 – 00:16:38.440 So during that call, I really assess everything.
  384. 00:16:38.440 – 00:16:41.480 If you're cool in a thing that we can help you,
  385. 00:16:41.520 – 00:16:43.700 definitely we're taking you on.
  386. 00:16:43.940 – 00:16:46.820 But if I think that you're going to be difficult
  387. 00:16:47.340 – 00:16:50.580 or you expecting something that we cannot do
  388. 00:16:50.580 – 00:16:53.220 or you think that I will come and do all the work
  389. 00:16:53.220 – 00:16:54.080 for your business,
  390. 00:16:54.520 – 00:16:56.860 this is something that probably not going
  391. 00:16:56.860 – 00:16:57.880 to be a good fit.
  392. 00:16:58.360 – 00:17:03.340 So we also try to now work with those type of people
  393. 00:17:03.340 – 00:17:05.160 that expect magic.
  394. 00:17:05.920 – 00:17:06.520 Wow.
  395. 00:17:08.119 – 00:17:09.700 And I'm gonna shift gears a little bit.
  396. 00:17:09.859 – 00:17:11.040 I know I respect your time.
  397. 00:17:11.140 – 00:17:12.160 Y'all can get the babies.
  398. 00:17:14.180 – 00:17:17.319 Every power couple, there's roles, there's strengths,
  399. 00:17:17.460 – 00:17:18.160 there's weaknesses.
  400. 00:17:19.540 – 00:17:21.700 So how would you describe
  401. 00:17:21.700 – 00:17:23.839 y'all strengths, weaknesses, dynamics?
  402. 00:17:25.160 – 00:17:29.560 Well, we have noticed that I'm more of a planner person.
  403. 00:17:30.100 – 00:17:32.020 I was a teacher before we started
  404. 00:17:32.020 – 00:17:33.460 with Cisnes for eight years.
  405. 00:17:33.460 – 00:17:35.860 And as a teacher, you always have lesson plans.
  406. 00:17:36.400 – 00:17:37.620 You always have your things mapped up.
  407. 00:17:37.700 – 00:17:39.100 You always know what you're going to do
  408. 00:17:39.100 – 00:17:40.240 when you walk us to the classroom.
  409. 00:17:40.560 – 00:17:42.800 So, and just in my life, I just like planning things.
  410. 00:17:43.000 – 00:17:43.760 Like if we're going somewhere,
  411. 00:17:43.760 – 00:17:45.220 we're going on vacation, we're doing this.
  412. 00:17:45.260 – 00:17:47.880 I like to plan the week, the weekend,
  413. 00:17:47.980 – 00:17:49.560 the this, the that is just who I am.
  414. 00:17:49.800 – 00:17:51.460 And he's more of like a doer.
  415. 00:17:51.740 – 00:17:52.800 Like somebody calls him,
  416. 00:17:52.800 – 00:17:55.080 he just got to do what you have to do at that moment.
  417. 00:17:55.600 – 00:17:57.900 And it kind of stresses me a little bit,
  418. 00:17:57.980 – 00:18:01.000 but we noticed that whenever we sit down,
  419. 00:18:01.120 – 00:18:02.580 usually we do it Sunday nights,
  420. 00:18:02.580 – 00:18:04.860 we'll talk about what we have to do for the week.
  421. 00:18:04.860 – 00:18:06.280 And we write those things down,
  422. 00:18:06.600 – 00:18:08.940 then that's how we're able to execute it
  423. 00:18:08.940 – 00:18:10.680 is because we sit down, we talk,
  424. 00:18:11.060 – 00:18:12.540 and we've come up with that.
  425. 00:18:12.540 – 00:18:15.380 And that has helped us like move along with our business.
  426. 00:18:15.960 – 00:18:18.740 We're like, he's just fast moving.
  427. 00:18:18.900 – 00:18:20.240 Like something comes up, he's like,
  428. 00:18:20.660 – 00:18:22.120 all right, I got to do, I'm gonna take this call.
  429. 00:18:22.380 – 00:18:23.680 Like yesterday, it was Sunday,
  430. 00:18:23.800 – 00:18:25.520 he was handling business.
  431. 00:18:26.060 – 00:18:28.580 Like I'm running like, you know, like, and I get it.
  432. 00:18:28.580 – 00:18:29.260 I get it.
  433. 00:18:29.420 – 00:18:31.660 In some instances, it's like, why wait till Monday?
  434. 00:18:31.660 – 00:18:34.640 Why wait till the next day where you can get it done today?
  435. 00:18:34.740 – 00:18:36.480 And he's big on like, why wait?
  436. 00:18:36.560 – 00:18:37.000 Why wait?
  437. 00:18:37.320 – 00:18:39.060 And I'm like, I could do that.
  438. 00:18:39.240 – 00:18:40.860 I could, if it's not in the plan,
  439. 00:18:41.100 – 00:18:42.540 like how can it be done the next day?
  440. 00:18:42.820 – 00:18:44.640 But I like that he does that
  441. 00:18:44.640 – 00:18:46.660 because it takes it out of the way.
  442. 00:18:47.120 – 00:18:48.260 So if it's like a quick call,
  443. 00:18:48.320 – 00:18:49.960 he has to do with a client and it's on a Sunday,
  444. 00:18:50.240 – 00:18:52.020 he just does it because it doesn't matter.
  445. 00:18:52.140 – 00:18:52.800 Tomorrow's Monday.
  446. 00:18:54.220 – 00:18:57.520 Yeah, I kind of like to push back early in my meetings.
  447. 00:18:57.740 – 00:18:59.660 Like let's say if I set up a meeting with you
  448. 00:19:00.240 – 00:19:02.780 on Monday at 5 p.m.,
  449. 00:19:02.780 – 00:19:05.200 if by like, by like 1 p.m.,
  450. 00:19:05.200 – 00:19:06.380 I feel like I have free time,
  451. 00:19:06.400 – 00:19:07.860 I try to push the meeting up.
  452. 00:19:08.040 – 00:19:09.640 If then you're not available,
  453. 00:19:09.840 – 00:19:11.620 then I meet you at 5 p.m. is okay.
  454. 00:19:11.960 – 00:19:14.100 But I feel like this is something
  455. 00:19:14.100 – 00:19:15.480 that I've been doing a lot
  456. 00:19:15.480 – 00:19:17.680 and it's really helping me to free my time.
  457. 00:19:18.760 – 00:19:21.580 Because when you have a meeting with someone,
  458. 00:19:21.580 – 00:19:23.680 with someone, you're thinking about that.
  459. 00:19:23.700 – 00:19:25.320 So your head is not free.
  460. 00:19:25.740 – 00:19:28.460 And then you already cannot do a lot.
  461. 00:19:28.460 – 00:19:30.040 Like you cannot start a task
  462. 00:19:30.040 – 00:19:32.720 because you know that you're going to be busy soon.
  463. 00:19:32.920 – 00:19:35.360 So I'd rather like bring that task now,
  464. 00:19:35.460 – 00:19:37.240 get that task over right now
  465. 00:19:37.240 – 00:19:39.820 and then have my free time.
  466. 00:19:39.940 – 00:19:41.080 The free time. Free time keys
  467. 00:19:41.080 – 00:19:45.600 and learn something else or watch a podcast
  468. 00:19:45.600 – 00:19:46.760 or something like that.
  469. 00:19:46.820 – 00:19:48.400 And that's literally what he did yesterday.
  470. 00:19:48.860 – 00:19:50.060 He did your meetings in the morning
  471. 00:19:50.060 – 00:19:51.260 and then we went to the event
  472. 00:19:51.260 – 00:19:53.420 and then he just found a work.
  473. 00:19:53.520 – 00:19:54.160 So I get it.
  474. 00:19:54.460 – 00:19:55.460 It makes some sense.
  475. 00:19:56.200 – 00:20:00.280 And I wanted to add a really thank you
  476. 00:20:00.280 – 00:20:01.660 to Erica and my wife
  477. 00:20:01.660 – 00:20:04.720 because she's a really great person.
  478. 00:20:04.900 – 00:20:07.120 Because before she joined the company,
  479. 00:20:07.820 – 00:20:10.720 like it was like, I wouldn't say cows,
  480. 00:20:11.020 – 00:20:13.360 but he was like cows.
  481. 00:20:13.820 – 00:20:15.260 A cows? What's that?
  482. 00:20:15.260 – 00:20:16.040 Cows.
  483. 00:20:16.740 – 00:20:17.560 C-H-H-H-H.
  484. 00:20:17.560 – 00:20:18.840 Excuse my accent.
  485. 00:20:19.420 – 00:20:23.800 C-A-C-H-A-O-S.
  486. 00:20:24.220 – 00:20:24.620 Oh chaos.
  487. 00:20:26.380 – 00:20:26.900 Chaos.
  488. 00:20:27.280 – 00:20:28.480 So yes.
  489. 00:20:30.200 – 00:20:31.640 French is your first language.
  490. 00:20:31.720 – 00:20:33.260 Yeah, French is my first language.
  491. 00:20:33.820 – 00:20:34.360 It's okay.
  492. 00:20:35.220 – 00:20:37.060 So the company was like,
  493. 00:20:37.060 – 00:20:37.980 hoppin' down, hoppin' down,
  494. 00:20:38.000 – 00:20:39.820 but since she came then, listen,
  495. 00:20:40.360 – 00:20:42.100 it's going up and up and up.
  496. 00:20:42.100 – 00:20:47.580 So I really believe that she really was a big help.
  497. 00:20:47.820 – 00:20:51.100 She really helped when it comes to organization.
  498. 00:20:51.380 – 00:20:53.320 As she said, she was really good at it.
  499. 00:20:53.480 – 00:20:55.060 She organized our own wedding.
  500. 00:20:55.600 – 00:20:57.140 Even yesterday, she was a part
  501. 00:20:57.140 – 00:20:59.200 of like the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
  502. 00:20:59.920 – 00:21:02.420 And then she did help them with the event
  503. 00:21:02.420 – 00:21:05.000 because we just ran a two days event.
  504. 00:21:05.500 – 00:21:07.840 So we did help with the marketing over there.
  505. 00:21:08.040 – 00:21:10.400 We helped run ads in the local community.
  506. 00:21:10.400 – 00:21:12.720 We also set up the funnels
  507. 00:21:12.720 – 00:21:15.400 so people can actually register to come to the event.
  508. 00:21:15.540 – 00:21:17.120 And then we got over like, how many people?
  509. 00:21:17.180 – 00:21:18.580 Over 2,000 people here.
  510. 00:21:18.580 – 00:21:20.000 But I'd be more than that
  511. 00:21:20.000 – 00:21:21.760 because they ran out of wristbands.
  512. 00:21:22.720 – 00:21:27.020 So I'm like, I'm so proud of us for that
  513. 00:21:27.020 – 00:21:29.200 because they were kind of nervous
  514. 00:21:29.200 – 00:21:31.060 because it's a small community too.
  515. 00:21:31.100 – 00:21:33.140 So they were kind of nervous about the event,
  516. 00:21:33.140 – 00:21:34.400 but I'm like, it's going to be good
  517. 00:21:34.400 – 00:21:36.280 because I am on their social media.
  518. 00:21:36.300 – 00:21:38.180 So I post on their Facebook, Instagram.
  519. 00:21:38.580 – 00:21:39.880 We ran their ads.
  520. 00:21:39.880 – 00:21:41.220 We make their flyers.
  521. 00:21:41.460 – 00:21:42.820 We send emails for them.
  522. 00:21:42.840 – 00:21:43.680 We do all of that.
  523. 00:21:44.320 – 00:21:45.760 And I'm like, it's going to be good.
  524. 00:21:45.800 – 00:21:46.840 People were interacting.
  525. 00:21:47.060 – 00:21:48.680 And then when we were at the event,
  526. 00:21:48.680 – 00:21:49.760 we were going live.
  527. 00:21:50.300 – 00:21:51.860 So he was putting me on the spot
  528. 00:21:51.860 – 00:21:53.920 and they could be talking to all the vendors
  529. 00:21:53.920 – 00:21:55.540 and the people.
  530. 00:21:55.900 – 00:21:57.040 But it was a really great event.
  531. 00:21:57.140 – 00:21:58.120 It turned out amazing.
  532. 00:21:58.480 – 00:21:59.200 Everyone had fun.
  533. 00:21:59.320 – 00:21:59.960 The kids had fun.
  534. 00:22:00.060 – 00:22:01.960 Everyone was safe, happy.
  535. 00:22:02.200 – 00:22:03.740 Ended with a fireworks show.
  536. 00:22:04.260 – 00:22:05.440 So it was really nice.
  537. 00:22:05.460 – 00:22:07.420 And I'm so happy to be a part of that.
  538. 00:22:07.440 – 00:22:08.980 And they had a parade in the beginning.
  539. 00:22:08.980 – 00:22:11.960 So I'm happy to have been a part of that planning process
  540. 00:22:11.960 – 00:22:15.840 because it was the planner in me that had fun doing that.
  541. 00:22:15.860 – 00:22:18.620 And it was something that is a part of the community
  542. 00:22:18.620 – 00:22:20.300 that we live in and that we're a part of.
  543. 00:22:20.720 – 00:22:22.100 And that means a lot to me too,
  544. 00:22:22.120 – 00:22:23.860 like being a part of a community
  545. 00:22:23.860 – 00:22:27.660 and giving back and helping in ways that I can.
  546. 00:22:28.440 – 00:22:29.800 So yeah, it was great.
  547. 00:22:30.220 – 00:22:30.700 Amazing.
  548. 00:22:31.080 – 00:22:31.900 That's inspiring.
  549. 00:22:32.840 – 00:22:35.180 And as y'all speak about free time,
  550. 00:22:36.420 – 00:22:38.280 and it seems like y'all building towards
  551. 00:22:38.280 – 00:22:40.260 living life on your own terms.
  552. 00:22:40.400 – 00:22:42.660 So what it would ultimately look like
  553. 00:22:42.660 – 00:22:44.920 when y'all can live life on your own terms.
  554. 00:22:45.000 – 00:22:47.140 Y'all build off the business more
  555. 00:22:47.140 – 00:22:49.740 and can relax not to be in it so much.
  556. 00:22:50.280 – 00:22:51.500 What does it look like for you all?
  557. 00:22:53.180 – 00:22:55.260 I mean, we kind of do that now
  558. 00:22:55.260 – 00:22:56.740 in the way a little bit
  559. 00:22:56.740 – 00:22:59.100 where we kind of make our own schedule.
  560. 00:23:00.860 – 00:23:02.880 We work when the kids are in school
  561. 00:23:03.460 – 00:23:06.120 and we plan our days, we plan our weekends
  562. 00:23:06.120 – 00:23:08.520 where we can have that time with our kids.
  563. 00:23:09.200 – 00:23:11.380 And like Saturday or Sunday, we might go on a hike,
  564. 00:23:12.000 – 00:23:13.200 take them to the park.
  565. 00:23:13.280 – 00:23:14.760 Like we kind of do that.
  566. 00:23:14.800 – 00:23:17.740 And then I like that because,
  567. 00:23:18.080 – 00:23:20.020 like say for instance, to volunteer in my kid's school.
  568. 00:23:20.400 – 00:23:22.540 I couldn't do that if I had a nine to five
  569. 00:23:22.540 – 00:23:23.780 because when they're in school,
  570. 00:23:23.780 – 00:23:25.640 I would be at a nine to five working
  571. 00:23:25.640 – 00:23:27.380 where when you work for your own self,
  572. 00:23:27.400 – 00:23:29.520 I'm like, I can go volunteer for an hour
  573. 00:23:29.520 – 00:23:31.020 at her school during the book fair
  574. 00:23:31.020 – 00:23:33.180 because I want to be a part of that.
  575. 00:23:33.480 – 00:23:35.520 And if I worked at a nine to five,
  576. 00:23:35.520 – 00:23:36.520 I wouldn't be able to do that
  577. 00:23:36.520 – 00:23:38.140 because I'd be clocking in somewhere.
  578. 00:23:39.440 – 00:23:42.040 And yeah, so I think that
  579. 00:23:43.400 – 00:23:47.540 that sense of freedom of us planning our own schedule
  580. 00:23:47.540 – 00:23:48.600 and our own time,
  581. 00:23:48.940 – 00:23:51.540 I like that the best about entrepreneurship.
  582. 00:23:52.380 – 00:23:53.020 And yeah.
  583. 00:23:53.420 – 00:23:56.540 Yeah, me myself, I've never been a nine to five person.
  584. 00:23:56.560 – 00:23:58.560 I quit this job really quick.
  585. 00:23:59.100 – 00:24:01.320 So, because I felt like
  586. 00:24:02.800 – 00:24:05.320 going to a place and doing the same thing
  587. 00:24:05.320 – 00:24:07.860 over and over, I'm not this type of person.
  588. 00:24:07.900 – 00:24:09.800 It might be okay for someone else,
  589. 00:24:09.800 – 00:24:11.240 but I'm not this type of person.
  590. 00:24:11.340 – 00:24:12.720 I'm like, okay, what's next?
  591. 00:24:13.380 – 00:24:16.220 And then when I did work some nine to five,
  592. 00:24:16.480 – 00:24:18.760 which I didn't really last long
  593. 00:24:19.580 – 00:24:21.880 because I believe I'm a creative person.
  594. 00:24:21.940 – 00:24:25.120 I like to help you and see you succeed.
  595. 00:24:25.360 – 00:24:27.340 And then I see that, okay,
  596. 00:24:27.380 – 00:24:29.580 if I can help you and see you succeed,
  597. 00:24:30.120 – 00:24:32.240 why would you quit on me?
  598. 00:24:32.260 – 00:24:33.860 You will always want to work with me
  599. 00:24:33.860 – 00:24:35.880 because I helped you.
  600. 00:24:36.100 – 00:24:37.140 And I believe that
  601. 00:24:38.440 – 00:24:39.500 I rather
  602. 00:24:40.980 – 00:24:43.340 1% of a hundred people
  603. 00:24:43.340 – 00:24:46.820 than 100% of one person.
  604. 00:24:47.140 – 00:24:48.540 Do you understand what I mean by that?
  605. 00:24:48.640 – 00:24:49.920 One more time, one more time.
  606. 00:24:50.420 – 00:24:54.000 I rather 1% of a hundred people
  607. 00:24:54.000 – 00:24:56.260 than 100% of myself.
  608. 00:24:57.660 – 00:24:59.460 That means I rather help other people
  609. 00:24:59.460 – 00:25:02.340 and get them succeed, get them the success they want
  610. 00:25:02.340 – 00:25:06.020 because I know that my fulfillment will come through it.
  611. 00:25:06.020 – 00:25:08.260 If they succeed, I will also make money.
  612. 00:25:08.600 – 00:25:10.440 So this is how I see it.
  613. 00:25:10.440 – 00:25:11.960 And then working in a nine to five,
  614. 00:25:11.980 – 00:25:14.440 definitely you able to do your task,
  615. 00:25:14.480 – 00:25:15.780 but at the end of the week
  616. 00:25:15.780 – 00:25:17.860 or at the end of the month, you're just a lumber.
  617. 00:25:18.380 – 00:25:19.520 They don't really,
  618. 00:25:20.380 – 00:25:22.820 they don't really care that much about you.
  619. 00:25:23.080 – 00:25:26.800 And then I've been in companies where literally
  620. 00:25:26.800 – 00:25:29.420 this guy was working there for like 12 years.
  621. 00:25:29.600 – 00:25:30.580 He did a small mistake.
  622. 00:25:30.580 – 00:25:33.260 They fired him just right from corporate,
  623. 00:25:33.880 – 00:25:36.780 not even knowing the real story and things like that.
  624. 00:25:37.160 – 00:25:39.020 So me going through all these things,
  625. 00:25:39.240 – 00:25:44.440 I'm like, is that really the good path to go in?
  626. 00:25:45.460 – 00:25:47.460 And yeah, so.
  627. 00:25:47.640 – 00:25:49.580 And that's also just what they teach you in America
  628. 00:25:49.580 – 00:25:51.460 is you're supposed to have a nine to five job
  629. 00:25:51.460 – 00:25:54.140 and you work hard and you get retirement
  630. 00:25:54.140 – 00:25:55.840 and you work for 30 years.
  631. 00:25:56.840 – 00:26:00.200 And it's just, it's what our parents did as well.
  632. 00:26:00.200 – 00:26:01.780 So it's what I saw growing up.
  633. 00:26:02.020 – 00:26:04.500 So you think that that is what you're supposed to do.
  634. 00:26:04.640 – 00:26:07.080 Go to college, get a good job, do all those things.
  635. 00:26:07.320 – 00:26:08.600 And I did all those things.
  636. 00:26:08.800 – 00:26:11.540 And when I was at my job, I was there for eight years.
  637. 00:26:11.960 – 00:26:14.880 I was just like, it was just tiring and exhausting.
  638. 00:26:15.600 – 00:26:19.000 And after a while I was like, this can't be life.
  639. 00:26:19.240 – 00:26:22.020 Like, this can't be our life forever
  640. 00:26:22.020 – 00:26:23.140 where we're just exhausted
  641. 00:26:23.140 – 00:26:25.440 that we can't even do anything together
  642. 00:26:25.440 – 00:26:27.360 or we can't do anything with our kids on the weekend
  643. 00:26:27.360 – 00:26:29.740 because we're tired working for someone else.
  644. 00:26:30.400 – 00:26:33.900 And I knew when I was praying to win my second kid
  645. 00:26:33.900 – 00:26:36.260 that I can't go back to this
  646. 00:26:36.260 – 00:26:38.480 because I'm tired and I don't even have a second kid.
  647. 00:26:38.700 – 00:26:40.160 So wait till the second kid come.
  648. 00:26:40.820 – 00:26:42.700 And since I was a teacher,
  649. 00:26:42.960 – 00:26:44.520 I know how much energy goes
  650. 00:26:45.420 – 00:26:47.400 into teaching other people's children.
  651. 00:26:48.260 – 00:26:49.780 And I love children.
  652. 00:26:50.060 – 00:26:52.020 That's always, it's still a passion of mine
  653. 00:26:52.020 – 00:26:53.660 of loving children and being your own kids.
  654. 00:26:54.060 – 00:26:56.260 But I wanted to give that energy to my own kids.
  655. 00:26:56.700 – 00:26:58.500 And I couldn't have this energy
  656. 00:26:58.500 – 00:27:00.600 for other people's kids and then come home
  657. 00:27:00.600 – 00:27:02.220 and do the same thing for my kids.
  658. 00:27:02.420 – 00:27:03.780 Like I was just too drained.
  659. 00:27:04.540 – 00:27:07.100 So these are my children that are gonna be my kids
  660. 00:27:07.100 – 00:27:08.920 for the rest of their life and my life.
  661. 00:27:09.040 – 00:27:12.400 And I wanted to put my energy towards them.
  662. 00:27:12.480 – 00:27:13.420 So now it's like,
  663. 00:27:13.560 – 00:27:15.520 we're doing what we have to do during the day.
  664. 00:27:15.520 – 00:27:16.640 And then when they come home,
  665. 00:27:16.740 – 00:27:18.300 it's like, boom, they have our attention.
  666. 00:27:18.720 – 00:27:19.540 We can play with you.
  667. 00:27:19.540 – 00:27:20.120 We could do this.
  668. 00:27:20.180 – 00:27:20.800 We could do homework.
  669. 00:27:20.920 – 00:27:22.400 We could go to the park if we want to.
  670. 00:27:22.400 – 00:27:25.660 We can do whatever because we're not drained from a job.
  671. 00:27:25.660 – 00:27:27.280 I'm not drained from teaching all day.
  672. 00:27:27.940 – 00:27:29.500 Yeah, don't get me wrong.
  673. 00:27:29.540 – 00:27:30.320 We're still working.
  674. 00:27:30.440 – 00:27:32.820 We still have some tasks to do,
  675. 00:27:32.840 – 00:27:34.560 but it's just on our time.
  676. 00:27:34.900 – 00:27:38.480 It's just that we can organize our days better.
  677. 00:27:38.760 – 00:27:43.040 And then we know that nobody puts a value on our time.
  678. 00:27:43.100 – 00:27:45.080 We can actually create our own money.
  679. 00:27:45.720 – 00:27:48.620 And then literally what I do
  680. 00:27:48.620 – 00:27:52.080 is actually what my kids see me doing.
  681. 00:27:52.420 – 00:27:55.360 And then as you said, we've been in,
  682. 00:27:56.060 – 00:27:59.140 we grow up in a household where we see parents
  683. 00:27:59.140 – 00:28:01.180 going to work, going to clock in.
  684. 00:28:01.300 – 00:28:03.240 So I will not do that.
  685. 00:28:03.360 – 00:28:05.140 So my kid will not see me do that.
  686. 00:28:05.740 – 00:28:08.700 So his wiring will be different.
  687. 00:28:09.060 – 00:28:10.620 So that's how I see it.
  688. 00:28:10.740 – 00:28:12.860 Kids literally copy what you do.
  689. 00:28:13.380 – 00:28:15.740 So right now my daughter, she see me on meetings.
  690. 00:28:16.000 – 00:28:18.740 When I go to those events, I go with her
  691. 00:28:18.740 – 00:28:20.860 because I want her to actually,
  692. 00:28:22.340 – 00:28:23.880 it needs to be her
  693. 00:28:23.880 – 00:28:27.060 because I learned that from one of my mentor.
  694. 00:28:27.300 – 00:28:28.760 I was talking to my mentor
  695. 00:28:28.760 – 00:28:31.140 and I asked him about his kid.
  696. 00:28:31.480 – 00:28:33.920 And then I was like,
  697. 00:28:33.940 – 00:28:36.260 oh, what about if your daughter or little one
  698. 00:28:36.260 – 00:28:39.900 to go get a job or something like that?
  699. 00:28:40.320 – 00:28:44.500 He was like, it's okay, but this is not who we are.
  700. 00:28:44.940 – 00:28:46.620 I was like, okay, what you mean,
  701. 00:28:46.640 – 00:28:47.920 this is not who you are.
  702. 00:28:48.560 – 00:28:51.400 And like, yeah, our family, we didn't grow up like that.
  703. 00:28:51.400 – 00:28:53.520 We was always entrepreneurs.
  704. 00:28:53.520 – 00:28:56.040 My dad was an entrepreneur, I'm an entrepreneur.
  705. 00:28:56.400 – 00:28:59.680 So my daughter, my wife, all our family
  706. 00:28:59.680 – 00:29:01.440 have this type of mindset.
  707. 00:29:02.000 – 00:29:06.020 So I'm like, oh, okay, definitely I'm doing this way.
  708. 00:29:06.220 – 00:29:08.060 I'm doing this way all in.
  709. 00:29:08.240 – 00:29:11.420 And I believe that it's great.
  710. 00:29:11.620 – 00:29:12.600 And then right now it's great.
  711. 00:29:12.840 – 00:29:14.540 That's what your kids see you doing.
  712. 00:29:15.180 – 00:29:18.280 We took our kid to the home days this weekend
  713. 00:29:18.280 – 00:29:20.320 and our daughter got to see us record
  714. 00:29:20.320 – 00:29:21.560 and be live and everything.
  715. 00:29:21.560 – 00:29:24.240 And at first she was like, another video?
  716. 00:29:24.460 – 00:29:26.560 Like she just kept, but we like, yep.
  717. 00:29:26.700 – 00:29:28.140 And you come with me and I can't bring her.
  718. 00:29:28.160 – 00:29:28.980 You want to stay with me?
  719. 00:29:29.200 – 00:29:30.720 You coming along, we got to go over here.
  720. 00:29:30.760 – 00:29:32.940 I got to take this video off to talk to the people.
  721. 00:29:33.460 – 00:29:35.540 So like, you know, like just give her a little heads up.
  722. 00:29:35.580 – 00:29:36.800 And she was just like, you know,
  723. 00:29:36.800 – 00:29:38.400 and I love her play and you have your fun,
  724. 00:29:38.420 – 00:29:40.860 but you got to see that mommy is working too.
  725. 00:29:41.280 – 00:29:43.960 And she saw that and yeah,
  726. 00:29:43.960 – 00:29:45.660 it was a good thing for her to see
  727. 00:29:45.660 – 00:29:47.660 because she's definitely still wrapped up
  728. 00:29:47.660 – 00:29:48.740 in me being a teacher.
  729. 00:29:49.000 – 00:29:50.720 Cause you know, she kid, she go to school
  730. 00:29:50.720 – 00:29:52.220 so she want me to teach at her school.
  731. 00:29:52.340 – 00:29:54.920 And I'm like, I teach, but this is in a different way.
  732. 00:29:54.920 – 00:29:55.400 That's right.
  733. 00:29:55.780 – 00:29:57.420 So, so yeah.
  734. 00:29:57.940 – 00:29:58.760 Yeah, that's amazing.
  735. 00:29:59.260 – 00:30:02.860 And even same here, I bring my daughter wherever I go,
  736. 00:30:03.020 – 00:30:04.900 different events, if it allows, you know,
  737. 00:30:04.940 – 00:30:05.840 depending on an event,
  738. 00:30:06.300 – 00:30:08.460 like I do more corporate work with entrepreneurs.
  739. 00:30:08.520 – 00:30:11.740 So it's more of that space versus the rowdy events.
  740. 00:30:12.180 – 00:30:14.560 So, and I do want to be conscious of time,
  741. 00:30:14.580 – 00:30:16.260 but I have so many questions.
  742. 00:30:16.280 – 00:30:17.800 So we gonna have to do a part two.
  743. 00:30:18.280 – 00:30:19.320 This is amazing.
  744. 00:30:19.320 – 00:30:22.380 And where can everybody follow you off
  745. 00:30:22.380 – 00:30:24.220 on your website, social media?
  746. 00:30:26.220 – 00:30:28.900 So Instagram, my personal Instagram
  747. 00:30:28.900 – 00:30:32.160 is underscore America one underscore.
  748. 00:30:32.500 – 00:30:35.480 And then the business Instagram is Bray Connector.
  749. 00:30:36.540 – 00:30:38.240 Simple Bray Connector, just like that.
  750. 00:30:38.340 – 00:30:39.220 You can find us there.
  751. 00:30:40.420 – 00:30:41.160 And then-
  752. 00:30:42.000 – 00:30:43.580 My name is on Instagram.
  753. 00:30:43.840 – 00:30:45.960 My name is Patterson Wadba.
  754. 00:30:46.280 – 00:30:49.160 And then the business is also Bray Connector.
  755. 00:30:49.160 – 00:30:51.060 And that's where you see it.
  756. 00:30:51.500 – 00:30:54.580 Nice, and y'all know me, the host,
  757. 00:30:54.800 – 00:30:56.560 photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  758. 00:30:56.560 – 00:30:59.720 of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  759. 00:30:59.720 – 00:31:02.360 and also Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  760. 00:31:02.820 – 00:31:05.060 This has been another great episode.
  761. 00:31:05.560 – 00:31:08.420 And you can follow me at Alien Eyes Photos
  762. 00:31:08.420 – 00:31:10.320 and check out more information
  763. 00:31:10.320 – 00:31:13.300 and book me at alieneyesphotos.com.
  764. 00:31:13.580 – 00:31:15.660 That's Alien Eyes with a Z,
  765. 00:31:15.820 – 00:31:18.440 Photos with a S.com.
  766. 00:31:18.440 – 00:31:20.400 Stay tuned for the next one.
  767. 00:31:20.920 – 00:31:20.980 Peace.

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32. From Attendee to Vendor My Podcast Summit 2026 Journey

Season 1 · Episode 38

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.020 – 00:00:04.880 Have you ever had an experience that blew you away?
  2. 00:00:05.720 – 00:00:10.860 That's what I experienced at Podcast Summit 26.
  3. 00:00:11.200 – 00:00:16.540 Yes, here, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
  4. 00:00:17.300 – 00:00:21.500 And with that being said, welcome, welcome, welcome
  5. 00:00:21.500 – 00:00:24.280 to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  6. 00:00:24.280 – 00:00:27.640 with your host, photographer Jackson Steve Jackson
  7. 00:00:27.640 – 00:00:30.120 of Alienize Photos Media.
  8. 00:00:30.680 – 00:00:31.900 Bring you another episode
  9. 00:00:31.900 – 00:00:34.760 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  10. 00:00:35.580 – 00:00:39.420 My experience here in Atlanta just blow me away
  11. 00:00:39.420 – 00:00:43.500 as I'm recording in the Creator Clubhouse,
  12. 00:00:44.140 – 00:00:47.100 home of David Shins and a lot of other creators
  13. 00:00:47.100 – 00:00:49.160 you may or may not know.
  14. 00:00:49.940 – 00:00:52.020 And usually I attend the summit.
  15. 00:00:52.360 – 00:00:56.440 I take in the information and take my notes,
  16. 00:00:56.440 – 00:00:59.880 apply some things, some things I don't apply
  17. 00:00:59.880 – 00:01:03.680 that I should or, you know, sometimes I forget.
  18. 00:01:04.400 – 00:01:06.940 But this year, I switched it up.
  19. 00:01:07.240 – 00:01:09.320 I bought a vendor booth,
  20. 00:01:09.880 – 00:01:15.200 something I never, ever, ever, ever, ever done before.
  21. 00:01:15.660 – 00:01:18.720 It was amazing, amazing experience.
  22. 00:01:19.080 – 00:01:21.200 It was nerve wracking at first,
  23. 00:01:21.260 – 00:01:22.980 but just making it through,
  24. 00:01:22.980 – 00:01:25.920 like just partnering with my partner,
  25. 00:01:26.280 – 00:01:28.520 Brianna Casanova with Overflow Studios,
  26. 00:01:28.640 – 00:01:31.040 shout out to her, shout out to her, shout out to her,
  27. 00:01:31.220 – 00:01:34.180 who got a lot of things on the back end
  28. 00:01:34.180 – 00:01:37.440 before we came down together.
  29. 00:01:39.420 – 00:01:41.960 Shout out to great partners,
  30. 00:01:42.660 – 00:01:45.100 great business partners, relationship partners,
  31. 00:01:45.780 – 00:01:47.040 all that good stuff.
  32. 00:01:48.850 – 00:01:50.870 Who's actually producing this episode?
  33. 00:01:51.470 – 00:01:53.690 And just to speak about our experience,
  34. 00:01:53.690 – 00:01:56.610 well, from my viewpoint, definitely get rest,
  35. 00:01:57.070 – 00:02:00.210 definitely stay hydrated, definitely have a lead magnet.
  36. 00:02:01.170 – 00:02:04.750 The lead magnet helps so, so much.
  37. 00:02:05.230 – 00:02:09.270 Like me as an introvert, an introvert creative at that,
  38. 00:02:10.169 – 00:02:13.310 I had to get creative, you know.
  39. 00:02:13.970 – 00:02:16.670 My biggest thing was just networking,
  40. 00:02:17.510 – 00:02:19.370 shaking hands, meeting new people.
  41. 00:02:20.210 – 00:02:22.690 The most fruitful thing out of it all
  42. 00:02:22.690 – 00:02:26.190 was just meeting new people,
  43. 00:02:26.570 – 00:02:29.070 the connections, the fruitful conversations.
  44. 00:02:29.830 – 00:02:32.690 You know, that paid for the slot itself.
  45. 00:02:33.010 – 00:02:35.390 The context that I made was just amazing.
  46. 00:02:35.490 – 00:02:38.410 Something that I don't get when I'm just
  47. 00:02:38.410 – 00:02:41.670 sitting in these workshops and classes and activations.
  48. 00:02:42.230 – 00:02:47.430 So that was something to look forward to in the future,
  49. 00:02:47.490 – 00:02:49.770 not just at the next podcast summit,
  50. 00:02:49.770 – 00:02:54.770 but for any event or if I become a vendor anytime soon.
  51. 00:02:55.310 – 00:02:56.950 Which I'm not thinking about
  52. 00:02:56.950 – 00:03:00.150 because we presented my first pod.
  53. 00:03:00.250 – 00:03:04.070 We had our first Redemption in Cleveland, Ohio,
  54. 00:03:04.310 – 00:03:07.830 where we tested it out, tested our offer,
  55. 00:03:08.410 – 00:03:10.450 tested our production skills.
  56. 00:03:12.530 – 00:03:13.870 And yeah, we loved it.
  57. 00:03:13.890 – 00:03:18.570 So we wanted to bring it here to podcast summit 26
  58. 00:03:18.570 – 00:03:20.610 and we did just that.
  59. 00:03:20.910 – 00:03:23.730 We were gonna buy a general admission ticket or a VIP,
  60. 00:03:23.910 – 00:03:27.810 but we was like, no, let's just buy a vendor booth.
  61. 00:03:27.870 – 00:03:28.450 Why not?
  62. 00:03:28.470 – 00:03:31.330 We could still attend the classes if we wanted to.
  63. 00:03:31.470 – 00:03:35.070 And then we also have space to market,
  64. 00:03:35.410 – 00:03:38.450 to make an offer, to sell and make money,
  65. 00:03:39.150 – 00:03:40.890 recuperate our travel funds,
  66. 00:03:40.930 – 00:03:42.170 because it's an investment.
  67. 00:03:43.010 – 00:03:46.630 And we definitely took, what was it?
  68. 00:03:46.630 – 00:03:52.110 10, 11, like 11-ish, 12 hours on the road
  69. 00:03:52.110 – 00:03:57.270 because we had to transport so much equipment of our own.
  70. 00:03:58.310 – 00:04:00.030 And yeah, we're doing it.
  71. 00:04:00.410 – 00:04:03.930 We learned from some, walking around different booths,
  72. 00:04:03.950 – 00:04:05.270 we learned from some people
  73. 00:04:05.270 – 00:04:08.710 that have been doing it way longer than us.
  74. 00:04:08.790 – 00:04:13.490 I mean, five, 10, 20 years, their whole lifetime.
  75. 00:04:13.490 – 00:04:16.170 It's all they know, like real hustlers.
  76. 00:04:17.709 – 00:04:20.110 And me being passive, it was like,
  77. 00:04:20.390 – 00:04:22.890 man, I gotta pull it out of me.
  78. 00:04:23.370 – 00:04:25.510 Day one, that was more passive.
  79. 00:04:25.730 – 00:04:28.590 Me, day two, it's like, okay, we gotta grind
  80. 00:04:28.590 – 00:04:31.230 and really present our offer.
  81. 00:04:31.950 – 00:04:33.530 We didn't hit our quota,
  82. 00:04:34.230 – 00:04:36.990 but we still made those connections.
  83. 00:04:37.530 – 00:04:39.290 So we're going back to the drawing board
  84. 00:04:39.290 – 00:04:40.970 right after this episode
  85. 00:04:42.330 – 00:04:45.190 and figure out what can we do better,
  86. 00:04:46.770 – 00:04:49.110 what can change, what can stay the same,
  87. 00:04:49.590 – 00:04:53.110 what do we like, what do we didn't like, what worked.
  88. 00:04:54.150 – 00:04:56.990 And just, you know, take the feedback in
  89. 00:04:56.990 – 00:04:59.730 with each other, reflect,
  90. 00:05:00.590 – 00:05:01.990 and go back to the drawing board
  91. 00:05:01.990 – 00:05:03.430 and keep refining our offer.
  92. 00:05:03.510 – 00:05:05.530 And this is gonna be happening time after time
  93. 00:05:05.530 – 00:05:06.790 after time after time.
  94. 00:05:07.570 – 00:05:09.830 And this episode is not rehearsed,
  95. 00:05:09.830 – 00:05:12.070 I'm just simply sharing my thoughts.
  96. 00:05:12.570 – 00:05:16.450 Usually I have my notes, my written notes and everything.
  97. 00:05:16.790 – 00:05:19.670 Like last year, if you saw the recap of podcast
  98. 00:05:19.670 – 00:05:23.410 Summit 25, you know, I have my notes and everything.
  99. 00:05:23.550 – 00:05:27.930 But this year, no, I'm just going straight
  100. 00:05:27.930 – 00:05:30.750 from the heart, from the mind, from the soul.
  101. 00:05:31.210 – 00:05:33.290 I actually stepped out of my comfort zone.
  102. 00:05:33.370 – 00:05:35.070 You know, I don't do too many interviews,
  103. 00:05:35.610 – 00:05:38.610 but I sat down with Ashley Kirkwood,
  104. 00:05:38.610 – 00:05:43.770 the entrepreneur powerhouse that's so phenomenal at sales.
  105. 00:05:46.090 – 00:05:47.990 And so many other things, like wow,
  106. 00:05:48.030 – 00:05:52.590 just hearing her story too, like man, I did not know.
  107. 00:05:53.310 – 00:05:55.170 And throughout the whole Summit,
  108. 00:05:55.350 – 00:05:58.870 like she was live streaming like 13 hours straight
  109. 00:05:58.870 – 00:06:00.830 each day, like who does that?
  110. 00:06:01.210 – 00:06:04.170 The vendors and volunteers, everybody was saying,
  111. 00:06:04.290 – 00:06:06.330 she showed up before them,
  112. 00:06:06.330 – 00:06:09.270 before the doors even opened.
  113. 00:06:09.990 – 00:06:15.670 So that's something to admire, like wow, that's amazing.
  114. 00:06:16.270 – 00:06:19.950 13 hours straight with a couple bathroom breaks,
  115. 00:06:19.990 – 00:06:22.950 even when I seen her walk past when I've been to her booth,
  116. 00:06:23.610 – 00:06:26.170 she's live like, oh, like, wow.
  117. 00:06:27.230 – 00:06:28.190 On the way to the bathroom,
  118. 00:06:28.190 – 00:06:29.730 I don't know what she did in the bathroom,
  119. 00:06:30.330 – 00:06:35.310 I hope she sat it down somewhere, but that's inspiring.
  120. 00:06:36.030 – 00:06:41.210 And we were positioned next to We're Jesus,
  121. 00:06:41.250 – 00:06:43.650 Samuel, that's his brand, We're Jesus.
  122. 00:06:43.990 – 00:06:46.430 And just seeing him just work the room
  123. 00:06:46.430 – 00:06:48.290 and even step away from his booth,
  124. 00:06:48.890 – 00:06:51.030 handing out business cards, shaking hands,
  125. 00:06:51.210 – 00:06:55.550 meeting new people, like wow, that's inspiring.
  126. 00:06:55.930 – 00:06:59.830 Like man, okay, I see how it's done a little bit.
  127. 00:07:00.970 – 00:07:02.430 So, you know, we're definitely gonna go back
  128. 00:07:02.430 – 00:07:05.830 to the drum board, and then me and Brianna
  129. 00:07:05.830 – 00:07:08.190 also being introverts was like, okay,
  130. 00:07:09.070 – 00:07:11.270 what can we do now?
  131. 00:07:11.390 – 00:07:14.970 And we always have our, you know, our hot moments,
  132. 00:07:15.010 – 00:07:17.390 you know, we trade off, okay, she's hot,
  133. 00:07:17.570 – 00:07:18.350 okay, I'm hot.
  134. 00:07:18.630 – 00:07:21.010 And then we see each other caught in conversations,
  135. 00:07:21.010 – 00:07:24.750 like how do we break away from those conversations
  136. 00:07:25.390 – 00:07:28.210 that's fruitful and engaging and enriching,
  137. 00:07:28.210 – 00:07:30.850 but we're not making the sale?
  138. 00:07:30.850 – 00:07:34.250 And then there's other people who's walking up to us,
  139. 00:07:34.350 – 00:07:37.130 it's like, okay, can we break away?
  140. 00:07:37.950 – 00:07:41.750 But, you know, that's just something to reflect on
  141. 00:07:41.750 – 00:07:43.330 and think about for next time
  142. 00:07:43.330 – 00:07:46.110 and what we can implement and do different.
  143. 00:07:46.930 – 00:07:50.710 Yeah, so you'll definitely see us back at podcast 27.
  144. 00:07:52.610 – 00:07:55.390 And wow, I ran into my guy,
  145. 00:07:55.450 – 00:07:58.170 who actually helped build this studio,
  146. 00:07:58.170 – 00:08:02.350 creator club house here in Atlanta, Mr. Tybo Audio.
  147. 00:08:03.890 – 00:08:06.110 And wow, I invited him on my podcast.
  148. 00:08:06.530 – 00:08:09.670 And it's just amazing that the willingness
  149. 00:08:10.790 – 00:08:14.950 and openness, no gatekeeping of everyone we met,
  150. 00:08:14.990 – 00:08:16.870 like I said, from Tybo,
  151. 00:08:17.130 – 00:08:18.570 even giving us different pointers,
  152. 00:08:18.730 – 00:08:21.450 even hearing him give different insights
  153. 00:08:21.450 – 00:08:23.770 and tips to other people.
  154. 00:08:23.810 – 00:08:25.250 Like, wow, even they're live,
  155. 00:08:25.250 – 00:08:28.310 I don't know how long it took him
  156. 00:08:28.310 – 00:08:31.070 and the team here in Atlanta,
  157. 00:08:31.430 – 00:08:32.909 at creative club house,
  158. 00:08:33.830 – 00:08:36.030 and David Shan's team with the podcast summit
  159. 00:08:36.030 – 00:08:39.530 to set up the before the summit, days before.
  160. 00:08:40.570 – 00:08:44.110 But it's just amazing to know the process
  161. 00:08:44.110 – 00:08:47.490 and hearing that people share the process
  162. 00:08:47.490 – 00:08:52.070 from Zell to, like I said, Tybo,
  163. 00:08:52.070 – 00:08:55.210 even Jay Scribe, who's now in Miami,
  164. 00:08:55.930 – 00:09:00.350 to Armani, like, wow, I feel for you all.
  165. 00:09:00.670 – 00:09:02.270 Like, y'all did amazing.
  166. 00:09:02.510 – 00:09:05.590 Like, just seeing the behind the scenes of that
  167. 00:09:05.590 – 00:09:08.770 and just to know what goes on behind the scenes.
  168. 00:09:09.110 – 00:09:12.230 Because I'm looking at the summit the previous years,
  169. 00:09:12.370 – 00:09:16.590 but to know and see the behind the scenes is amazing.
  170. 00:09:17.390 – 00:09:19.970 So another thing I would say is,
  171. 00:09:19.970 – 00:09:22.710 shout out to everybody that did book their session
  172. 00:09:22.710 – 00:09:24.770 with my first pod.
  173. 00:09:25.010 – 00:09:26.990 And shout out to our team in Cleveland,
  174. 00:09:27.470 – 00:09:29.310 the whole Pull Up Experience,
  175. 00:09:29.970 – 00:09:32.970 Brittany Knight with Beauty Toe,
  176. 00:09:33.330 – 00:09:35.890 Jess, What's Next, Jess,
  177. 00:09:35.970 – 00:09:38.410 starting and launching her podcast.
  178. 00:09:38.970 – 00:09:40.830 It's amazing, like,
  179. 00:09:40.830 – 00:09:42.790 and everybody else that booked the session.
  180. 00:09:43.730 – 00:09:46.630 And then I even had to book a session myself.
  181. 00:09:47.250 – 00:09:49.150 Like, I'm recording this episode, you know,
  182. 00:09:49.150 – 00:09:50.350 I don't really do video,
  183. 00:09:50.770 – 00:09:55.050 but I had to here at the Creators Clubhouse.
  184. 00:09:55.630 – 00:10:00.190 It's amazing, even from Cleveland all the way to Atlanta,
  185. 00:10:00.450 – 00:10:04.010 just hearing the constant feedback,
  186. 00:10:04.290 – 00:10:08.650 the good positive feedback that we hear that's fruitful.
  187. 00:10:09.170 – 00:10:12.270 Like, wow, we did a good job and they're blown away
  188. 00:10:12.270 – 00:10:16.430 that the work that we're doing is definitely showing up
  189. 00:10:16.430 – 00:10:19.810 and they accept it and they love it.
  190. 00:10:20.150 – 00:10:21.070 It's always good.
  191. 00:10:21.190 – 00:10:23.110 It's always good to hear that good feedback.
  192. 00:10:23.670 – 00:10:25.630 So we know we're doing something right.
  193. 00:10:25.710 – 00:10:27.090 Like, it's purposeful.
  194. 00:10:27.490 – 00:10:30.770 So we wanna keep bringing you my first pod.
  195. 00:10:31.390 – 00:10:35.250 That is like our primary staple offer at this moment.
  196. 00:10:35.770 – 00:10:37.930 So stay tuned for what we got next.
  197. 00:10:38.470 – 00:10:41.930 And I'm just proud of everybody that started
  198. 00:10:41.930 – 00:10:46.390 and launched their podcast, even if it was not with us
  199. 00:10:46.390 – 00:10:51.170 and the game and tips and insights that we got out of it
  200. 00:10:51.170 – 00:10:53.130 and we share with other people,
  201. 00:10:53.150 – 00:10:55.450 people that just wanted to pick our brain.
  202. 00:10:55.830 – 00:10:59.010 Like, we are open book because the people we meet
  203. 00:10:59.010 – 00:11:03.710 are open books and just share, share, share.
  204. 00:11:04.110 – 00:11:07.670 So what would it mean if we don't share?
  205. 00:11:08.510 – 00:11:09.510 It wouldn't be right.
  206. 00:11:09.510 – 00:11:14.250 So we must reciprocate that and share the wealth.
  207. 00:11:15.050 – 00:11:17.710 Just being here at the Creative Clubhouse,
  208. 00:11:17.990 – 00:11:21.790 home of David Shands, the social proof,
  209. 00:11:22.130 – 00:11:23.870 almost at the social proof circle
  210. 00:11:23.870 – 00:11:25.850 because we're in the social proof circle,
  211. 00:11:26.690 – 00:11:28.510 but social proof podcast.
  212. 00:11:29.070 – 00:11:32.270 David Shands always say, you know,
  213. 00:11:32.450 – 00:11:34.830 once you learn something, build something,
  214. 00:11:35.370 – 00:11:38.190 bring it back to the community, share it.
  215. 00:11:38.190 – 00:11:40.870 So I'ma leave you with that thought
  216. 00:11:40.870 – 00:11:44.230 and I will see you at podcast 27,
  217. 00:11:44.770 – 00:11:47.150 whether if I'm attendee, a vendor, a speaker,
  218. 00:11:47.150 – 00:11:52.430 we don't know yet, but we're bringing my first pod.
  219. 00:11:53.010 – 00:11:55.170 And we thinking about going on tour with this
  220. 00:11:55.170 – 00:11:57.390 because there's a lot of people that we met
  221. 00:11:57.390 – 00:11:59.470 that wanted to start their podcast
  222. 00:11:59.470 – 00:12:02.030 and that was messages after the fact,
  223. 00:12:02.170 – 00:12:03.630 like, oh, we didn't get to see you,
  224. 00:12:03.630 – 00:12:04.990 but we seen you at your booth
  225. 00:12:04.990 – 00:12:06.170 and this and this and that.
  226. 00:12:06.170 – 00:12:10.210 And we know, we know, we know,
  227. 00:12:10.210 – 00:12:13.670 we just gonna refine, refine and improve
  228. 00:12:13.670 – 00:12:15.950 and see how we can make this universal
  229. 00:12:15.950 – 00:12:18.790 where we can travel and still be profitable
  230. 00:12:18.790 – 00:12:20.670 because it is a cost to artists.
  231. 00:12:22.170 – 00:12:25.510 But Podcast Summit 2026 was amazing.
  232. 00:12:25.870 – 00:12:29.050 I'm looking forward to Podcast Summit 27,
  233. 00:12:29.550 – 00:12:31.730 see all the things that's gonna come about,
  234. 00:12:31.790 – 00:12:34.510 even the speakers, all the new connection.
  235. 00:12:34.810 – 00:12:36.710 And if you haven't got there,
  236. 00:12:37.110 – 00:12:40.290 it's a great, great, great, great room
  237. 00:12:40.290 – 00:12:41.850 to be in to network.
  238. 00:12:42.210 – 00:12:43.350 And I will see you again.
  239. 00:12:43.370 – 00:12:45.270 This is photographer Jackson,
  240. 00:12:45.470 – 00:12:48.550 Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media
  241. 00:12:48.550 – 00:12:50.230 bringing you another episode
  242. 00:12:50.230 – 00:12:52.790 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  243. 00:12:53.210 – 00:12:55.150 here at the Creators Clubhouse,
  244. 00:12:55.310 – 00:12:57.330 a special Atlanta edition.
  245. 00:12:57.630 – 00:12:59.570 And I am signing out.
  246. 00:13:00.070 – 00:13:01.410 But before I go,
  247. 00:13:01.410 – 00:13:05.750 make sure you follow me at Alienize Photos.
  248. 00:13:05.950 – 00:13:08.170 That's Alienize with a Z,
  249. 00:13:08.630 – 00:13:10.250 Photos with a S,
  250. 00:13:10.730 – 00:13:13.290 and alienizephotos.com.
  251. 00:13:14.150 – 00:13:16.010 But if you wasn't at Podcast Summit,
  252. 00:13:17.030 – 00:13:19.890 we did have a special offer.
  253. 00:13:20.550 – 00:13:22.250 Not just my first pod,
  254. 00:13:22.550 – 00:13:24.210 not just the real deal,
  255. 00:13:24.690 – 00:13:27.490 but me and Brianna with Overflow Studios
  256. 00:13:27.490 – 00:13:28.470 and that's with a S.
  257. 00:13:28.470 – 00:13:31.990 We created the Producer's Playbook.
  258. 00:13:32.350 – 00:13:33.670 So if you wasn't there,
  259. 00:13:33.790 – 00:13:35.690 we will share it to you as well.
  260. 00:13:36.290 – 00:13:38.850 So just make sure you DM one of us,
  261. 00:13:39.130 – 00:13:40.250 Producer's Playbook,
  262. 00:13:40.270 – 00:13:43.150 and we will send that over to you.
  263. 00:13:43.330 – 00:13:45.650 Podcast Summit 26, it's a wrap.
  264. 00:13:45.730 – 00:13:48.190 This is the recap from my perspective
  265. 00:13:48.190 – 00:13:49.630 this year as a vendor.
  266. 00:13:50.130 – 00:13:52.390 If you wanna check out last year's episode
  267. 00:13:52.390 – 00:13:54.430 where I broke down some of the speakers
  268. 00:13:54.430 – 00:13:55.670 and what they talked about,
  269. 00:13:55.750 – 00:13:56.830 some of the insights,
  270. 00:13:57.370 – 00:13:58.310 check that out.
  271. 00:13:58.310 – 00:14:02.210 Podcast Summit 25, part one and part two
  272. 00:14:02.210 – 00:14:04.230 for day one and day two.
  273. 00:14:04.730 – 00:14:07.690 And yeah, check out all our episodes
  274. 00:14:07.690 – 00:14:09.510 and we are out.

Back to contents

33. Nicole D. Miller - NDMiller Publishing

Season 2 · Episode 9

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.100 – 00:00:05.100 From bookkeeper to book writer, to book launcher,
  2. 00:00:05.340 – 00:00:09.420 to book publisher, my sister, my dear friend,
  3. 00:00:09.800 – 00:00:11.840 is Nicole D. Miller.
  4. 00:00:12.240 – 00:00:16.020 I'm talking six-time self-published author,
  5. 00:00:17.220 – 00:00:20.520 blogger, speaker, creator of Girl Talk,
  6. 00:00:20.560 – 00:00:23.680 and also the Indie Author Expo,
  7. 00:00:23.780 – 00:00:27.940 which is coming up in June, June 20th.
  8. 00:00:27.940 – 00:00:29.320 So stay tuned for that.
  9. 00:00:30.200 – 00:00:31.940 So, let's get into it.
  10. 00:00:32.400 – 00:00:35.560 How did you get started with book writing?
  11. 00:00:36.360 – 00:00:39.620 Like, bookkeeping is more structured,
  12. 00:00:40.200 – 00:00:42.560 it's true to form and solid,
  13. 00:00:42.960 – 00:00:46.360 but I think with writing, and fictional writing at that,
  14. 00:00:46.360 – 00:00:47.480 as you write novels,
  15. 00:00:48.600 – 00:00:51.760 it's a lot more distortion, creativity,
  16. 00:00:52.340 – 00:00:53.560 a lot of freeform.
  17. 00:00:54.000 – 00:00:55.880 So how did you come from structure
  18. 00:00:55.880 – 00:00:58.180 with bookkeeping to book writing?
  19. 00:00:59.320 – 00:01:01.620 It's interesting, Alien, because,
  20. 00:01:01.740 – 00:01:03.040 am I calling you Alien or Steven?
  21. 00:01:05.720 – 00:01:07.060 Everybody knows me as book.
  22. 00:01:08.040 – 00:01:12.320 It's interesting, Alien, because I started blogging
  23. 00:01:12.320 – 00:01:14.120 back in the day, when I was hot,
  24. 00:01:15.160 – 00:01:17.660 and never saw myself as a real writer
  25. 00:01:17.660 – 00:01:19.120 or an official writer.
  26. 00:01:19.540 – 00:01:23.660 Blogging was my gateway into being a creative
  27. 00:01:23.660 – 00:01:25.600 and a literary creative at that.
  28. 00:01:26.160 – 00:01:28.680 And I had written one particular blog,
  29. 00:01:28.680 – 00:01:30.480 How to Overcome Heartbreak,
  30. 00:01:30.780 – 00:01:32.420 Recovering from Misguided Love.
  31. 00:01:33.200 – 00:01:35.400 And I felt spiritually led, like,
  32. 00:01:35.540 – 00:01:37.200 this is the name of my first book.
  33. 00:01:37.600 – 00:01:38.860 I feel like that's what God said.
  34. 00:01:39.460 – 00:01:43.180 And so I wrote that book and published it in 2014,
  35. 00:01:43.200 – 00:01:46.080 but again, never saw myself as a writer,
  36. 00:01:46.640 – 00:01:48.260 was still working in finance,
  37. 00:01:48.600 – 00:01:49.860 had my MBA in accounting.
  38. 00:01:51.060 – 00:01:52.940 So, being a creative was something
  39. 00:01:52.940 – 00:01:54.760 that was off the grid for me.
  40. 00:01:54.860 – 00:01:57.320 It was something that was a hobby,
  41. 00:01:57.320 – 00:01:59.340 or it was something that was on the side.
  42. 00:01:59.900 – 00:02:01.420 And even though I had written and published
  43. 00:02:01.420 – 00:02:03.520 a second book in 2015,
  44. 00:02:03.700 – 00:02:06.860 I did not start taking the crap seriously
  45. 00:02:06.860 – 00:02:10.080 until 2020, in the midst of George Floyd,
  46. 00:02:10.340 – 00:02:12.240 the civil rights movement,
  47. 00:02:12.340 – 00:02:13.900 the Black Lives Matter movement,
  48. 00:02:14.340 – 00:02:17.700 and so many opportunities that emerged
  49. 00:02:17.700 – 00:02:19.960 to hear our stories, to hear Black stories.
  50. 00:02:20.160 – 00:02:23.380 I felt motivated to continue the short stories
  51. 00:02:23.380 – 00:02:26.120 I had started writing and compile them
  52. 00:02:26.120 – 00:02:28.360 and published stories for the urban soul.
  53. 00:02:28.880 – 00:02:31.940 And that was in 2021, and that's when I got serious.
  54. 00:02:32.340 – 00:02:33.340 That's when I said,
  55. 00:02:33.400 – 00:02:35.140 let me see what's on the other side of this.
  56. 00:02:35.240 – 00:02:36.200 I keep feeling this tug.
  57. 00:02:36.360 – 00:02:37.740 I keep feeling like God is saying,
  58. 00:02:38.180 – 00:02:39.060 this is your purpose.
  59. 00:02:39.800 – 00:02:41.800 Even though I had a lot of inhibitions,
  60. 00:02:41.900 – 00:02:43.120 I had a lot of fears, like,
  61. 00:02:43.120 – 00:02:44.100 who makes money writing?
  62. 00:02:44.200 – 00:02:45.640 Like, how am I gonna do this?
  63. 00:02:46.060 – 00:02:48.160 But I had the resources, I had the capital.
  64. 00:02:48.300 – 00:02:50.080 And so what I understood was that
  65. 00:02:50.080 – 00:02:51.820 I needed to build a network.
  66. 00:02:52.300 – 00:02:54.120 And then I started going hard,
  67. 00:02:54.120 – 00:02:57.040 building a network, showing up at events,
  68. 00:02:57.280 – 00:03:01.460 getting my marketing together and attacking it
  69. 00:03:01.460 – 00:03:04.560 and creating the brand of Nicole D. Miller.
  70. 00:03:05.040 – 00:03:07.000 And then once I said yes to that,
  71. 00:03:07.560 – 00:03:08.560 the floodgates opened.
  72. 00:03:10.880 – 00:03:13.520 So what was those initial moments
  73. 00:03:13.520 – 00:03:16.280 or initial feelings and emotions
  74. 00:03:16.960 – 00:03:19.140 as the floodgates started to open?
  75. 00:03:19.280 – 00:03:21.660 Was it more overwhelmed or it was like,
  76. 00:03:21.880 – 00:03:23.080 I'm ready for it?
  77. 00:03:23.520 – 00:03:25.080 It was, I'm ready for it.
  78. 00:03:25.080 – 00:03:30.660 It was so encouraging because it was being a creative.
  79. 00:03:30.920 – 00:03:33.500 And I feel like there was nothing else
  80. 00:03:33.500 – 00:03:34.600 like being a creative.
  81. 00:03:34.680 – 00:03:36.740 There is a fulfillment in it
  82. 00:03:36.740 – 00:03:38.740 that I never had with anything else.
  83. 00:03:39.140 – 00:03:41.200 And then you see it actually working.
  84. 00:03:41.460 – 00:03:42.860 You see the plan working.
  85. 00:03:43.220 – 00:03:45.760 The doors opening, the opportunities emerging.
  86. 00:03:46.140 – 00:03:47.580 You create your own lane.
  87. 00:03:48.300 – 00:03:50.280 There is no one that can do what you do
  88. 00:03:50.280 – 00:03:51.740 because you're originally made
  89. 00:03:51.740 – 00:03:52.920 in the image of the creator.
  90. 00:03:53.540 – 00:03:55.020 And that's what I discovered.
  91. 00:03:55.020 – 00:03:56.920 And then I fell in love with writing
  92. 00:03:56.920 – 00:03:58.860 in a way I had never fallen in love
  93. 00:03:58.860 – 00:03:59.860 with literature before.
  94. 00:04:00.520 – 00:04:01.920 So it was a high.
  95. 00:04:02.200 – 00:04:03.240 It's addictive.
  96. 00:04:03.920 – 00:04:06.040 It's like more, more, more.
  97. 00:04:06.100 – 00:04:07.220 Give me more, right?
  98. 00:04:08.160 – 00:04:11.540 And you start tapping into these parts of yourself
  99. 00:04:11.540 – 00:04:12.960 that you didn't even know existed.
  100. 00:04:13.960 – 00:04:17.200 So I would definitely say it was like a roller coaster
  101. 00:04:17.200 – 00:04:19.680 ride, like one you wanna just keep going on.
  102. 00:04:20.260 – 00:04:22.700 So during that roller coaster ride,
  103. 00:04:23.140 – 00:04:26.760 what parts of yourself did you discover or rediscover,
  104. 00:04:26.800 – 00:04:27.680 I would like to say?
  105. 00:04:28.620 – 00:04:30.680 Yeah, all of this has been new for me.
  106. 00:04:34.220 – 00:04:37.760 Being a creative or a fiction writer
  107. 00:04:37.760 – 00:04:40.140 was something I never thought I could do.
  108. 00:04:40.280 – 00:04:41.760 The first two books were nonfiction.
  109. 00:04:42.060 – 00:04:44.220 So I thought, yeah, that's easier.
  110. 00:04:44.440 – 00:04:45.540 I'm telling the truth.
  111. 00:04:45.720 – 00:04:47.800 I'm telling what I lived through, right?
  112. 00:04:47.800 – 00:04:51.620 But building worlds out of nothing
  113. 00:04:51.620 – 00:04:55.320 and using your imagination, that was brand new.
  114. 00:04:55.740 – 00:04:57.360 And nothing I ever thought I could do.
  115. 00:04:57.480 – 00:05:00.420 I literally was intimidated to write a whole novel.
  116. 00:05:01.080 – 00:05:03.740 And yet I started writing several
  117. 00:05:03.740 – 00:05:05.500 and started writing a series
  118. 00:05:06.140 – 00:05:08.640 and fell in love with the characters.
  119. 00:05:09.300 – 00:05:11.420 And so that was part of it.
  120. 00:05:11.460 – 00:05:13.120 Then there were these different aspects
  121. 00:05:13.120 – 00:05:13.980 of being a writer.
  122. 00:05:14.300 – 00:05:17.020 Being a freelance journalist is more technical.
  123. 00:05:17.620 – 00:05:20.400 It's more serious, but I learned
  124. 00:05:20.400 – 00:05:22.960 I love that too in a different way,
  125. 00:05:23.180 – 00:05:27.460 especially when it comes to underrepresented people groups
  126. 00:05:27.460 – 00:05:29.940 and oppressed people groups
  127. 00:05:29.940 – 00:05:34.460 that I can shine a light on our community
  128. 00:05:34.460 – 00:05:35.740 using that skill.
  129. 00:05:36.340 – 00:05:38.920 So that was something that was amazing.
  130. 00:05:39.420 – 00:05:42.660 And then I got into podcasting,
  131. 00:05:42.660 – 00:05:47.020 which was not something I ever saw myself doing.
  132. 00:05:47.080 – 00:05:48.660 I kind of dragged my feet with it
  133. 00:05:48.660 – 00:05:49.920 like I did with everything else
  134. 00:05:50.540 – 00:05:52.060 because I felt like it was saturated.
  135. 00:05:52.060 – 00:05:54.480 I felt like everybody's podcasting.
  136. 00:05:54.500 – 00:05:56.900 I personally don't like doing what everyone is doing.
  137. 00:05:56.900 – 00:05:57.420 That's right.
  138. 00:05:57.600 – 00:05:58.320 That's the eeriest thing.
  139. 00:05:59.800 – 00:06:02.560 But spiritually, I felt like God said,
  140. 00:06:02.780 – 00:06:04.620 but how many podcasts are mine?
  141. 00:06:04.840 – 00:06:10.180 And so you are creating a space for my agenda, right?
  142. 00:06:11.360 – 00:06:15.700 And even that getting birthed out was Girl Talk.
  143. 00:06:16.000 – 00:06:19.940 And Girl Talk initially was a panel discussion on Zoom.
  144. 00:06:20.620 – 00:06:23.040 So it's been a step-by-step process,
  145. 00:06:23.100 – 00:06:26.220 but Girl Talk really connected me with community building.
  146. 00:06:26.820 – 00:06:28.740 And that was another aspect of myself
  147. 00:06:28.740 – 00:06:30.400 that I just had no clue existed.
  148. 00:06:30.520 – 00:06:33.860 It was like, you have a gift to gather people.
  149. 00:06:34.060 – 00:06:37.600 You have a gift to draw people together and go deep
  150. 00:06:37.600 – 00:06:40.700 and have meaningful, life-changing conversations.
  151. 00:06:41.660 – 00:06:43.340 And so that was another thing.
  152. 00:06:43.440 – 00:06:47.240 And then the Indie Author Expo that birthed last year,
  153. 00:06:47.240 – 00:06:49.160 and we're doing our second one this year.
  154. 00:06:50.340 – 00:06:52.600 So the gift to gather,
  155. 00:06:52.840 – 00:06:56.720 I do see that it was hinting at me in college
  156. 00:06:56.720 – 00:06:58.860 because I did events in college,
  157. 00:06:59.200 – 00:07:02.820 but it was dormant because I was so focused
  158. 00:07:02.820 – 00:07:07.020 on the career path in business and finance.
  159. 00:07:07.720 – 00:07:10.400 And because I kept seeing myself as a business woman,
  160. 00:07:10.480 – 00:07:12.160 I was limiting myself.
  161. 00:07:12.640 – 00:07:15.880 I didn't understand that I wasn't just a business woman,
  162. 00:07:15.960 – 00:07:16.660 that I was both.
  163. 00:07:16.980 – 00:07:17.840 I was a hybrid.
  164. 00:07:17.980 – 00:07:20.560 I was a creative and a business woman.
  165. 00:07:21.600 – 00:07:22.880 Creative entrepreneur.
  166. 00:07:23.320 – 00:07:23.800 Exactly.
  167. 00:07:26.080 – 00:07:27.880 And I would like to ask,
  168. 00:07:28.000 – 00:07:31.160 do you have one, a favorite character,
  169. 00:07:31.180 – 00:07:34.060 and then two, what character,
  170. 00:07:34.060 – 00:07:37.360 as I'm looking at the cover of Devil's Cafe,
  171. 00:07:38.020 – 00:07:43.100 is there a character who has exponential business?
  172. 00:07:45.880 – 00:07:48.100 Do I have a favorite character?
  173. 00:07:48.700 – 00:07:51.620 I can't necessarily say I do.
  174. 00:07:51.920 – 00:07:55.240 I feel like I like writing all of them.
  175. 00:07:55.400 – 00:07:57.960 In all of my books, they're very different.
  176. 00:07:58.540 – 00:08:01.340 Sometimes I can get annoyed by certain characters
  177. 00:08:02.030 – 00:08:03.400 and like where they're at.
  178. 00:08:03.560 – 00:08:04.140 But they're needed.
  179. 00:08:04.540 – 00:08:06.000 Yeah, yeah, they are.
  180. 00:08:06.000 – 00:08:07.360 They need to grow.
  181. 00:08:07.560 – 00:08:09.420 We all have to go through our growing pains.
  182. 00:08:10.360 – 00:08:11.860 Devin is definitely the one
  183. 00:08:11.860 – 00:08:14.420 that has the strong business acumen.
  184. 00:08:14.840 – 00:08:17.080 And so even writing my latest novel,
  185. 00:08:17.080 – 00:08:19.220 Devin's Cafe, named after Devin,
  186. 00:08:19.940 – 00:08:21.740 I definitely channeled a lot
  187. 00:08:21.740 – 00:08:23.880 of my personal business experience,
  188. 00:08:23.880 – 00:08:25.660 as well as even my personal life
  189. 00:08:25.660 – 00:08:29.660 and romantic experiences through his character.
  190. 00:08:30.640 – 00:08:32.419 And it's pretty dope
  191. 00:08:32.419 – 00:08:35.940 that I get to use my business background
  192. 00:08:35.940 – 00:08:37.600 in my fiction writing.
  193. 00:08:37.840 – 00:08:39.360 So he actually is a TA.
  194. 00:08:39.500 – 00:08:43.000 He teaches a course, Management 202,
  195. 00:08:43.000 – 00:08:45.500 and we see a scene of him teaching the students.
  196. 00:08:45.780 – 00:08:48.920 And my experience being in academic
  197. 00:08:48.920 – 00:08:50.200 and being in business,
  198. 00:08:50.280 – 00:08:53.420 I'm able to use that world
  199. 00:08:53.420 – 00:08:55.340 and include it with my characters.
  200. 00:08:55.600 – 00:08:58.160 And it's natural and normal sounding.
  201. 00:08:58.440 – 00:09:00.880 It's not made up or Googled.
  202. 00:09:00.880 – 00:09:03.120 It's like, no, I know this by experience.
  203. 00:09:04.980 – 00:09:05.660 I like that.
  204. 00:09:05.660 – 00:09:08.160 And as you explain your books,
  205. 00:09:08.160 – 00:09:11.340 and I know the books that you have out,
  206. 00:09:11.440 – 00:09:16.660 do you foresee them becoming motion pictures, movies?
  207. 00:09:17.160 – 00:09:20.160 That's definitely the big picture, pun intended.
  208. 00:09:21.000 – 00:09:22.680 That's definitely the goal.
  209. 00:09:23.380 – 00:09:26.100 I feel like my books are really to reach
  210. 00:09:26.100 – 00:09:28.560 this generation, especially Devin's Cafe.
  211. 00:09:29.160 – 00:09:31.360 When Love Wins, they're written for college students.
  212. 00:09:31.360 – 00:09:33.340 That was a very impactful time in my life.
  213. 00:09:33.380 – 00:09:36.780 So the young 20 something scene classified as new adult.
  214. 00:09:37.840 – 00:09:39.900 And a lot of these younger people
  215. 00:09:39.900 – 00:09:41.860 are not quick to pick up a book.
  216. 00:09:42.080 – 00:09:45.940 And so I definitely think books being on film
  217. 00:09:45.940 – 00:09:49.480 is a benefit to draw them into the literary world.
  218. 00:09:50.020 – 00:09:52.120 I myself love documentaries,
  219. 00:09:52.120 – 00:09:57.320 and I've gotten to learn a lot about historical legends
  220. 00:09:57.320 – 00:09:59.180 in our community through documentaries.
  221. 00:09:59.180 – 00:10:03.700 And so I see the power of film educating you.
  222. 00:10:05.180 – 00:10:07.220 The power of film educating.
  223. 00:10:07.280 – 00:10:11.280 So you mean no entertainment, just pure education.
  224. 00:10:12.060 – 00:10:15.040 Well, I would say it's educating you
  225. 00:10:15.040 – 00:10:17.720 on a topic you're interested in and intrigued by.
  226. 00:10:17.900 – 00:10:20.280 So typical topics for me is I love music,
  227. 00:10:20.440 – 00:10:22.660 I love entrepreneurship, I love the black community.
  228. 00:10:23.360 – 00:10:25.280 I love character growth,
  229. 00:10:25.280 – 00:10:27.740 and especially people who make it
  230. 00:10:27.740 – 00:10:30.720 with this pipe dream that they have
  231. 00:10:30.720 – 00:10:33.840 and they coming from nothing or they grinding
  232. 00:10:33.840 – 00:10:35.940 and they going through all the things
  233. 00:10:35.940 – 00:10:38.140 and they make it over stories of inspiration,
  234. 00:10:38.860 – 00:10:42.660 which even with the publishing house that I have,
  235. 00:10:42.800 – 00:10:45.280 a lot of my authors typically have stories
  236. 00:10:45.280 – 00:10:46.920 of inspiration and resilience.
  237. 00:10:47.120 – 00:10:51.120 And so I'm always drawn to those types of movies
  238. 00:10:51.120 – 00:10:52.560 and films and documentaries.
  239. 00:10:52.560 – 00:10:54.640 So it's educating you,
  240. 00:10:54.840 – 00:10:57.500 but you're not feeling like you're trudging
  241. 00:10:57.500 – 00:10:58.560 through the information
  242. 00:10:58.560 – 00:11:01.160 because you're so engulfed and inspired by it
  243. 00:11:01.160 – 00:11:03.180 and you are changed from watching it.
  244. 00:11:04.280 – 00:11:04.840 Wow.
  245. 00:11:06.680 – 00:11:12.380 And you look about 20 and you talk about all of this
  246. 00:11:12.380 – 00:11:14.080 and even six books.
  247. 00:11:14.220 – 00:11:19.460 I know it takes a single person to write one book
  248. 00:11:19.460 – 00:11:22.900 just a few years, but you wrote six books.
  249. 00:11:23.420 – 00:11:26.040 How long did it take you to complete six books?
  250. 00:11:26.820 – 00:11:30.800 So I started writing When Love Wins.
  251. 00:11:31.140 – 00:11:33.040 I believe it was probably 2021
  252. 00:11:33.040 – 00:11:35.420 because I published Stories for the Urban Soul
  253. 00:11:35.420 – 00:11:37.600 and I started writing When Love Wins.
  254. 00:11:37.940 – 00:11:40.800 And that book, I had no idea what I was doing.
  255. 00:11:41.700 – 00:11:44.540 I just knew I'm a good storyteller,
  256. 00:11:44.540 – 00:11:47.280 but I didn't know the rules
  257. 00:11:47.280 – 00:11:49.900 of the literary community of the industry.
  258. 00:11:50.760 – 00:11:52.780 So I'm just writing to my heart's content,
  259. 00:11:52.980 – 00:11:55.200 willy-nilly writing to my heart's content.
  260. 00:11:55.200 – 00:11:58.740 Yeah, no outlining, just writing, free writing.
  261. 00:11:59.080 – 00:12:02.240 And so I worked on it for probably about two years
  262. 00:12:02.800 – 00:12:05.940 and then felt ready for my editor to look at it.
  263. 00:12:06.220 – 00:12:08.780 And her feedback was encouraging,
  264. 00:12:08.780 – 00:12:11.580 but it let me know I had work to do.
  265. 00:12:11.800 – 00:12:13.520 And so I had to sit with it
  266. 00:12:13.520 – 00:12:15.140 and work on it for a whole nother year.
  267. 00:12:15.140 – 00:12:17.280 So there was a lot of patience involved.
  268. 00:12:18.220 – 00:12:21.240 And after that, I published it in 2023.
  269. 00:12:22.000 – 00:12:24.740 Now I had started writing the second book,
  270. 00:12:24.960 – 00:12:26.000 Unfinished Business Lisa,
  271. 00:12:26.160 – 00:12:29.180 which is part two or book two in the series.
  272. 00:12:29.460 – 00:12:30.960 And that went faster.
  273. 00:12:31.240 – 00:12:35.760 And I will say I probably was able to write Lisa
  274. 00:12:36.320 – 00:12:39.340 and publish it within a year, year and a half.
  275. 00:12:40.890 – 00:12:45.670 But then Devin's Cafe Book 3 was just supernatural
  276. 00:12:45.670 – 00:12:48.950 because I was inspired by a good friend of mine
  277. 00:12:48.950 – 00:12:51.430 who was the editor for the publishing house,
  278. 00:12:51.430 – 00:12:53.310 Piper UC, shout out to Piper.
  279. 00:12:54.130 – 00:12:59.010 And she said, I just wrote my sophomore novel in a month.
  280. 00:13:00.010 – 00:13:01.430 And I'm like, what?
  281. 00:13:02.270 – 00:13:05.130 And she has a nine to five and a family
  282. 00:13:05.130 – 00:13:06.710 and all these other obligations.
  283. 00:13:06.790 – 00:13:08.110 I'm like, okay, Nicole,
  284. 00:13:08.270 – 00:13:10.390 if she could do this, you could do this.
  285. 00:13:10.510 – 00:13:12.070 And so I gave myself a challenge,
  286. 00:13:12.310 – 00:13:15.490 a self-induced challenge to write my book in a month.
  287. 00:13:15.690 – 00:13:18.730 And so I ended up writing Devin's Cafe in 25 days
  288. 00:13:19.270 – 00:13:21.130 and it poured out of me.
  289. 00:13:21.130 – 00:13:24.250 But I had to be very strategic, very intentional.
  290. 00:13:24.290 – 00:13:26.450 And it was a different experience for me
  291. 00:13:26.450 – 00:13:30.830 because writing for me was always whenever I felt like it.
  292. 00:13:31.090 – 00:13:34.150 It wasn't, you must complete this chapter today.
  293. 00:13:34.150 – 00:13:36.810 You must write this amount of words today.
  294. 00:13:37.350 – 00:13:38.750 So there were times I wanted,
  295. 00:13:38.850 – 00:13:40.830 I didn't feel like writing had a full day.
  296. 00:13:40.830 – 00:13:42.070 And it was like, but you haven't written
  297. 00:13:42.070 – 00:13:42.950 this chapter today.
  298. 00:13:42.970 – 00:13:44.090 I liked that, yeah.
  299. 00:13:44.350 – 00:13:47.350 So I would push myself to be like a chapter a day.
  300. 00:13:47.410 – 00:13:49.610 If you get a chapter a day done,
  301. 00:13:49.610 – 00:13:51.810 you'll have this book in 30 days.
  302. 00:13:52.430 – 00:13:56.270 Now the editing, especially since I'm a free writer
  303. 00:13:56.270 – 00:13:58.950 and not an outliner, that takes more time.
  304. 00:13:59.090 – 00:14:03.910 So I had this first draft manuscript done in 25 days
  305. 00:14:04.570 – 00:14:06.790 and gave it to my editor, same editor
  306. 00:14:06.790 – 00:14:07.810 from When Love Wins.
  307. 00:14:08.670 – 00:14:12.030 And thank God she's great, she's thorough.
  308. 00:14:12.230 – 00:14:14.030 So here I am in love with the story,
  309. 00:14:14.270 – 00:14:16.290 excited I wrote this book this fast,
  310. 00:14:16.290 – 00:14:20.470 but thankfully she helped draw so much more out of it.
  311. 00:14:20.490 – 00:14:22.050 So she gave me similar feedback
  312. 00:14:22.050 – 00:14:25.390 of the first one of like great story,
  313. 00:14:25.830 – 00:14:29.530 great first starts, now flesh this out.
  314. 00:14:29.890 – 00:14:30.970 And she doesn't even know,
  315. 00:14:31.110 – 00:14:32.730 like I wrote it really succinctly
  316. 00:14:32.730 – 00:14:33.930 because I wrote it so fast.
  317. 00:14:34.830 – 00:14:36.410 But sitting with her feedback,
  318. 00:14:36.410 – 00:14:39.170 I probably took another three months
  319. 00:14:40.610 – 00:14:43.250 and was like, okay, I'm ready.
  320. 00:14:43.250 – 00:14:49.190 And so overall, it probably took less than five months
  321. 00:14:49.190 – 00:14:52.190 for me to write the first draft
  322. 00:14:52.190 – 00:14:54.290 and edit it and publish,
  323. 00:14:54.550 – 00:14:58.230 which is the fastest book project I've ever completed.
  324. 00:14:58.930 – 00:15:01.870 But it's also my third project.
  325. 00:15:02.090 – 00:15:04.850 And of course, I've been an author even longer
  326. 00:15:04.850 – 00:15:06.590 for over 10 years.
  327. 00:15:06.990 – 00:15:08.950 So it takes time, it takes practice,
  328. 00:15:08.950 – 00:15:12.970 and I've learned so many tools and tricks along the way.
  329. 00:15:13.310 – 00:15:15.350 So I could see my progress,
  330. 00:15:15.350 – 00:15:18.370 I could see how I'm getting more skilled as a writer,
  331. 00:15:18.470 – 00:15:19.930 I'm developing as a writer,
  332. 00:15:19.930 – 00:15:21.750 and I can hit the mark faster
  333. 00:15:21.750 – 00:15:24.810 to publish quality stories quicker.
  334. 00:15:26.150 – 00:15:29.190 So what tips would you give someone
  335. 00:15:29.790 – 00:15:31.410 that's maybe new to writing
  336. 00:15:31.410 – 00:15:34.170 and it's taken years for them to complete a book
  337. 00:15:34.170 – 00:15:37.350 and maybe they want to write their book faster,
  338. 00:15:37.350 – 00:15:38.650 what tips would you give them?
  339. 00:15:39.210 – 00:15:41.890 And I think it's difficult for a lot of people
  340. 00:15:41.890 – 00:15:42.870 to complete their books
  341. 00:15:42.870 – 00:15:45.130 because you don't get paid for writing.
  342. 00:15:45.370 – 00:15:47.750 So more than likely, this is not your full-time.
  343. 00:15:48.470 – 00:15:50.630 You probably do have other obligations,
  344. 00:15:51.110 – 00:15:52.950 children, that sort of thing.
  345. 00:15:53.370 – 00:15:56.090 And I'm reminded of Toni Morrison's story
  346. 00:15:56.090 – 00:15:58.670 where she was a single mom.
  347. 00:15:58.710 – 00:16:00.370 She had two boys.
  348. 00:16:00.530 – 00:16:03.650 She had a full-time job in the publishing industry.
  349. 00:16:04.110 – 00:16:06.250 So she would wake up at 4.30 every morning.
  350. 00:16:06.250 – 00:16:09.690 She would close, well, she actually kept her door open
  351. 00:16:09.690 – 00:16:11.570 because she wanted the kids to know
  352. 00:16:11.570 – 00:16:12.910 that they still had access to her.
  353. 00:16:13.430 – 00:16:14.970 But she had to fight for it.
  354. 00:16:15.450 – 00:16:18.570 And so if you're serious about getting your book done,
  355. 00:16:18.990 – 00:16:24.110 allot yourself a timeframe each day to work on it
  356. 00:16:24.110 – 00:16:25.750 because eventually it's gonna get done
  357. 00:16:25.750 – 00:16:28.090 if you're diligent about working on it.
  358. 00:16:28.170 – 00:16:29.550 But you have to fight for that time.
  359. 00:16:29.610 – 00:16:32.610 Give yourself goals, give yourself word count goals,
  360. 00:16:33.210 – 00:16:35.490 take walks to stimulate your brain,
  361. 00:16:35.490 – 00:16:38.150 join writing communities to stimulate your gifts.
  362. 00:16:38.430 – 00:16:40.710 But you do have to be very intentional.
  363. 00:16:40.930 – 00:16:43.790 And it can happen, but you have to want it to happen.
  364. 00:16:44.610 – 00:16:47.010 Now you mentioned take walks to stimulate your brain.
  365. 00:16:47.130 – 00:16:49.430 Is there any other activities you do
  366. 00:16:49.430 – 00:16:51.990 or is there like music or songs
  367. 00:16:51.990 – 00:16:53.370 that get you in the mood for writing?
  368. 00:16:54.290 – 00:16:58.350 My typical experience is I have lo-fi jazz playing.
  369. 00:16:59.130 – 00:17:00.570 Yes, yes.
  370. 00:17:00.710 – 00:17:03.490 I could have a candle, I could have a glass of wine
  371. 00:17:03.490 – 00:17:05.130 or a cup of coffee.
  372. 00:17:06.170 – 00:17:10.210 And it really is this creative part of my brain.
  373. 00:17:10.290 – 00:17:11.490 I don't do it just for writing.
  374. 00:17:11.609 – 00:17:13.430 I do it for content creation.
  375. 00:17:14.210 – 00:17:17.109 Just even when I'm working, anything that's creating,
  376. 00:17:17.369 – 00:17:20.369 that's usually like my vibe that stimulates me
  377. 00:17:20.369 – 00:17:24.210 to be like, okay, this is my time to connect with God
  378. 00:17:24.210 – 00:17:28.030 and to just flow and to release whatever is in me
  379. 00:17:28.030 – 00:17:30.010 to flow out in this creative way.
  380. 00:17:31.680 – 00:17:32.660 That's beautiful.
  381. 00:17:33.260 – 00:17:36.460 And I know you spoke about your publishing house
  382. 00:17:36.460 – 00:17:39.860 and editor and I know you have beta readers.
  383. 00:17:39.860 – 00:17:41.880 So what's the importance of a team
  384. 00:17:41.880 – 00:17:43.140 when you're writing a book?
  385. 00:17:43.400 – 00:17:45.140 And I think that's a great question
  386. 00:17:45.140 – 00:17:49.380 because people view writers as being more solo, right?
  387. 00:17:49.860 – 00:17:52.600 But if you want to build your brand
  388. 00:17:52.600 – 00:17:55.500 and make it a business, you need a team.
  389. 00:17:55.940 – 00:17:59.460 And so the publishing house, I can't do it all.
  390. 00:17:59.620 – 00:18:01.340 I definitely need my editors.
  391. 00:18:01.340 – 00:18:03.580 I need the designers.
  392. 00:18:03.780 – 00:18:06.040 I actually do do the interior layouts
  393. 00:18:06.040 – 00:18:08.880 but I need like the right graphic cover designers.
  394. 00:18:09.820 – 00:18:12.780 And definitely beta readers are so key
  395. 00:18:13.540 – 00:18:16.280 because my thing is I don't just want to be an author.
  396. 00:18:16.280 – 00:18:17.880 I want to be a bestselling author.
  397. 00:18:17.880 – 00:18:21.640 So I want my work to receive accolades and credit
  398. 00:18:21.640 – 00:18:24.200 and respect from the literary community
  399. 00:18:24.200 – 00:18:25.280 and the literary industry,
  400. 00:18:25.280 – 00:18:27.660 which means I need to present top tier work.
  401. 00:18:28.200 – 00:18:30.600 So the process for me to go through that
  402. 00:18:30.600 – 00:18:32.560 with Win Love Winds was even more extensive
  403. 00:18:33.320 – 00:18:35.580 because my characters are younger
  404. 00:18:35.580 – 00:18:38.480 and I want to make sure it's relating to younger people.
  405. 00:18:38.520 – 00:18:40.580 So I had a focus group of younger people
  406. 00:18:40.580 – 00:18:42.500 and they are listening to these chapters
  407. 00:18:42.500 – 00:18:44.980 and they're giving me feedback on vernacular,
  408. 00:18:46.600 – 00:18:48.880 on clothing, on the music,
  409. 00:18:48.880 – 00:18:50.240 making sure it relates to them.
  410. 00:18:50.720 – 00:18:53.640 Then my characters are in a different city and state.
  411. 00:18:53.680 – 00:18:55.280 They're in New York, they're in New Jersey.
  412. 00:18:55.660 – 00:18:57.420 So I have to travel to New York.
  413. 00:18:57.420 – 00:18:59.160 I need to make sure this is authentic
  414. 00:18:59.160 – 00:19:03.340 to the New York environment and commuting from Jersey.
  415. 00:19:04.340 – 00:19:06.580 Then I have interviews with New Yorkers
  416. 00:19:06.580 – 00:19:09.120 because I want to make sure this is relatable for them
  417. 00:19:09.120 – 00:19:10.520 and this sounds like them.
  418. 00:19:11.140 – 00:19:15.040 So there's so much market research that I put into,
  419. 00:19:15.280 – 00:19:16.340 especially with Win Love Winds
  420. 00:19:16.340 – 00:19:18.220 because that was setting the tone.
  421. 00:19:19.680 – 00:19:21.240 And beta readers are key.
  422. 00:19:21.440 – 00:19:25.180 So with Devin's Cafe, this is my first male protagonist.
  423. 00:19:25.180 – 00:19:30.200 I have never written from the mind of a man in a novel.
  424. 00:19:30.300 – 00:19:32.100 Now I've done it in my short stories,
  425. 00:19:32.620 – 00:19:34.580 but never a full-blown novel.
  426. 00:19:35.040 – 00:19:38.000 So now I'm like, I need guys to read this book
  427. 00:19:38.000 – 00:19:40.360 and make sure that I am on point
  428. 00:19:40.360 – 00:19:45.480 with the bro language and the guy time,
  429. 00:19:45.800 – 00:19:48.100 what's happening when women are not around,
  430. 00:19:48.300 – 00:19:49.420 that sort of thing.
  431. 00:19:50.440 – 00:19:52.880 So definitely bringing in male beta readers was key.
  432. 00:19:52.880 – 00:19:56.460 Young black men are definitely my target market
  433. 00:19:56.460 – 00:19:57.820 for this book.
  434. 00:19:58.200 – 00:20:02.440 But again, if you really want a quality book,
  435. 00:20:02.760 – 00:20:03.480 you're gonna be doing
  436. 00:20:03.480 – 00:20:05.700 a lot of behind the scenes market research
  437. 00:20:05.700 – 00:20:09.260 for it to be respected in the literary community.
  438. 00:20:09.800 – 00:20:10.960 Wow, market research.
  439. 00:20:11.200 – 00:20:14.060 I think that's something a lot of people skip,
  440. 00:20:14.060 – 00:20:16.740 putting that time to research.
  441. 00:20:17.200 – 00:20:19.180 Even before this interview,
  442. 00:20:19.840 – 00:20:21.520 how long we've known each other,
  443. 00:20:21.520 – 00:20:23.560 I'm still doing research,
  444. 00:20:24.320 – 00:20:26.220 just to have talking points
  445. 00:20:26.220 – 00:20:30.260 and have it flow better and make it intriguing.
  446. 00:20:30.980 – 00:20:32.200 It's that preparation.
  447. 00:20:32.440 – 00:20:32.960 Preparation.
  448. 00:20:33.020 – 00:20:35.720 And I think I don't really think about it so natural
  449. 00:20:35.720 – 00:20:37.120 the way my brain works,
  450. 00:20:37.120 – 00:20:40.880 but I recognize the difference meeting other people
  451. 00:20:40.880 – 00:20:43.520 who are indie authors who may not be taking it seriously
  452. 00:20:43.520 – 00:20:44.700 or it's not a business.
  453. 00:20:45.300 – 00:20:48.920 But you do all of that just for the products
  454. 00:20:48.920 – 00:20:51.060 and then you actually do all that for your brand.
  455. 00:20:51.620 – 00:20:54.560 And then you do a lot of the marketing for the brand.
  456. 00:20:54.940 – 00:20:56.880 So to get the product seen,
  457. 00:20:57.000 – 00:20:59.260 to get the product known, right?
  458. 00:20:59.320 – 00:21:01.560 So it's definitely a lot of investment
  459. 00:21:01.560 – 00:21:04.120 of your time, creativity and resources.
  460. 00:21:04.580 – 00:21:06.500 But to your point, the network, right?
  461. 00:21:06.960 – 00:21:10.100 So not only did I create or find my team
  462. 00:21:10.100 – 00:21:11.280 for my publishing house,
  463. 00:21:11.320 – 00:21:12.840 I found it for the marketing.
  464. 00:21:13.060 – 00:21:15.780 I found it in the community that we're in.
  465. 00:21:16.100 – 00:21:18.060 And that was the word that God had given me.
  466. 00:21:18.100 – 00:21:19.420 Like I've given you the resources,
  467. 00:21:19.420 – 00:21:22.320 the time, the creativity, your job is to network.
  468. 00:21:22.900 – 00:21:25.200 And being an introvert, which most writers are,
  469. 00:21:25.220 – 00:21:26.720 that was uncomfortable for me.
  470. 00:21:27.060 – 00:21:28.980 So I would just go to networking events
  471. 00:21:28.980 – 00:21:33.760 and make one or two deep impactful connections.
  472. 00:21:33.760 – 00:21:36.520 And I didn't realize it, but I was building my tribe.
  473. 00:21:37.100 – 00:21:39.900 And then starting Girl Talk expanded that.
  474. 00:21:40.760 – 00:21:42.340 Let's speak about Girl Talk.
  475. 00:21:42.760 – 00:21:44.720 I know you say that you started on Zoom
  476. 00:21:44.720 – 00:21:46.860 and I was there part of the early days
  477. 00:21:46.860 – 00:21:50.700 and even seeing it be coming to fruition live
  478. 00:21:50.700 – 00:21:52.420 now as an event.
  479. 00:21:53.180 – 00:21:56.960 What was your thoughts when you first, first was like,
  480. 00:21:59.670 – 00:22:01.650 I wanna start Girl Talk.
  481. 00:22:01.770 – 00:22:04.110 Let me get my girls together and let's talk.
  482. 00:22:04.770 – 00:22:06.610 What was the origins of Girl Talk?
  483. 00:22:07.370 – 00:22:08.810 That's a good question.
  484. 00:22:09.310 – 00:22:12.130 I had a title and this is how God deals with me.
  485. 00:22:12.230 – 00:22:15.190 I get inspired, I get an idea with a title.
  486. 00:22:15.330 – 00:22:17.490 And that has happened even in undergrad.
  487. 00:22:17.490 – 00:22:20.270 I remember I had a title, Calling All Saints.
  488. 00:22:21.030 – 00:22:22.690 And what I didn't realize,
  489. 00:22:22.930 – 00:22:25.310 it was a student led organization
  490. 00:22:25.310 – 00:22:28.570 that hosted community events, events on campus.
  491. 00:22:29.570 – 00:22:31.910 So with Girl Talk, I had the title
  492. 00:22:31.910 – 00:22:33.550 and I had a close friend of mine
  493. 00:22:33.550 – 00:22:36.850 who I thought I was gonna do this experience with.
  494. 00:22:36.990 – 00:22:38.370 And so we had talked about it
  495. 00:22:38.370 – 00:22:40.830 and the way that the vision was cast,
  496. 00:22:40.930 – 00:22:44.250 it was more of us probably interviewing different women,
  497. 00:22:44.250 – 00:22:46.050 but it wasn't a panel discussion, right?
  498. 00:22:46.050 – 00:22:48.510 It was kind of like highlighting different women,
  499. 00:22:49.610 – 00:22:54.390 but it was pressing on my heart to do this Girl Talk
  500. 00:22:54.390 – 00:22:58.070 and she wasn't in a position in her life to move forward,
  501. 00:22:58.070 – 00:23:01.530 but I felt this urgency of you need to move forward.
  502. 00:23:02.510 – 00:23:04.790 And what came to me was the scripture
  503. 00:23:04.790 – 00:23:08.570 where God asked Moses, what's in your hand, right?
  504. 00:23:08.610 – 00:23:09.910 And so that's what came to me.
  505. 00:23:09.930 – 00:23:11.150 It was like, what's in my hand?
  506. 00:23:11.690 – 00:23:14.630 Women, I have so many women in my life
  507. 00:23:14.630 – 00:23:16.250 and these are amazing women.
  508. 00:23:16.490 – 00:23:19.390 They're all like high achieving and community impact
  509. 00:23:19.390 – 00:23:20.650 and leaders and all this stuff.
  510. 00:23:21.170 – 00:23:22.270 So that's what I did.
  511. 00:23:22.290 – 00:23:23.670 I was like, well, I'm moving forward.
  512. 00:23:23.670 – 00:23:24.490 This is on my heart.
  513. 00:23:24.490 – 00:23:26.630 I'm just gonna get a group of women on Zoom
  514. 00:23:27.130 – 00:23:28.710 and we're gonna talk about feminism.
  515. 00:23:28.710 – 00:23:30.770 So we're gonna talk about this hot topic,
  516. 00:23:30.770 – 00:23:33.490 especially in a faith-based community
  517. 00:23:33.490 – 00:23:35.870 of what this means to us.
  518. 00:23:36.150 – 00:23:37.850 And that really was the kickoff.
  519. 00:23:37.890 – 00:23:40.290 And I remember Alicia being on that platform
  520. 00:23:40.290 – 00:23:42.770 and she was like, this is gonna be a podcast.
  521. 00:23:42.850 – 00:23:44.330 And she just started speaking all this stuff.
  522. 00:23:44.330 – 00:23:46.050 And I'm like, okay, girl.
  523. 00:23:46.370 – 00:23:46.930 You know?
  524. 00:23:48.550 – 00:23:52.750 And then towards the probably second year,
  525. 00:23:52.750 – 00:23:54.090 they wanted it in person.
  526. 00:23:54.690 – 00:23:56.570 And it was the demand of the community.
  527. 00:23:56.690 – 00:23:58.270 It was the demand of the people
  528. 00:23:58.270 – 00:24:01.210 that keep bringing forth the elevation.
  529. 00:24:01.570 – 00:24:03.930 And they were like, we want this.
  530. 00:24:04.270 – 00:24:05.710 So we had it in person.
  531. 00:24:06.130 – 00:24:09.530 And then by the time we had our first mail discussion,
  532. 00:24:10.390 – 00:24:12.470 all mail panel discussion, which you were featured in,
  533. 00:24:12.470 – 00:24:14.350 it was really heavy on my heart.
  534. 00:24:14.430 – 00:24:15.590 Get this into a podcast.
  535. 00:24:15.670 – 00:24:16.950 Get this into a podcast.
  536. 00:24:17.030 – 00:24:19.610 And then I had to convert three years worth
  537. 00:24:20.510 – 00:24:23.690 of Zoom talks into a podcast.
  538. 00:24:23.690 – 00:24:25.810 I was like, okay, Lori, go help me do this.
  539. 00:24:25.850 – 00:24:26.890 But it was phenomenal.
  540. 00:24:27.010 – 00:24:28.770 And now there is no turning back.
  541. 00:24:28.970 – 00:24:30.290 Yeah, and you did it.
  542. 00:24:30.310 – 00:24:31.830 And like you said, no turning back.
  543. 00:24:31.870 – 00:24:35.850 And I was surely honored to be a part of that panel.
  544. 00:24:36.450 – 00:24:37.890 I believe the youngest members.
  545. 00:24:38.090 – 00:24:42.050 So just to see all that wisdom that I was surrounded by
  546. 00:24:42.050 – 00:24:45.670 and things that I have to look up to and work on myself.
  547. 00:24:45.870 – 00:24:47.150 It was just, it was just beautiful.
  548. 00:24:47.190 – 00:24:49.150 Just to witness and be a part of.
  549. 00:24:49.910 – 00:24:51.330 Well, thank you for saying that.
  550. 00:24:51.450 – 00:24:54.910 I definitely felt like those men were hand selected
  551. 00:24:54.910 – 00:24:56.850 and it was a divine connection.
  552. 00:24:56.850 – 00:24:58.790 And for me, you're a personal brother.
  553. 00:24:58.950 – 00:25:00.970 So it was just like, of course you're gonna be on it.
  554. 00:25:01.090 – 00:25:03.030 Oh, honored, yeah.
  555. 00:25:03.710 – 00:25:04.990 Yeah, I learned so much.
  556. 00:25:05.150 – 00:25:08.090 And it's actually a video that I'll review from time.
  557. 00:25:09.850 – 00:25:15.170 Just the rooms and panels and the platform
  558. 00:25:15.170 – 00:25:19.270 that you hold and bring and put together is just amazing.
  559. 00:25:19.530 – 00:25:20.770 It's surely divine.
  560. 00:25:21.470 – 00:25:23.430 Like there's no doubt about that.
  561. 00:25:24.170 – 00:25:24.730 Thank you.
  562. 00:25:24.730 – 00:25:26.750 And I would not be doing any of it
  563. 00:25:26.750 – 00:25:29.330 if I did not feel it was spiritually led
  564. 00:25:29.330 – 00:25:31.610 because it's nothing I ever saw myself doing.
  565. 00:25:32.030 – 00:25:34.090 Everything I do today, I never could have fathomed.
  566. 00:25:44.210 – 00:25:45.710 Do you know that it's spirit led?
  567. 00:25:46.590 – 00:25:47.870 I think for me,
  568. 00:25:47.870 – 00:25:50.510 that's why you have to have a relationship with the divine
  569. 00:25:50.510 – 00:25:52.430 and intimate relationship
  570. 00:25:52.430 – 00:25:54.750 because he talks in a lot of different ways.
  571. 00:25:54.810 – 00:25:56.310 But once you know his voice,
  572. 00:25:56.510 – 00:25:58.110 you know that he's speaking to you.
  573. 00:25:58.110 – 00:25:58.890 I like that, yeah.
  574. 00:25:59.230 – 00:26:01.550 And part of it is, in my journey,
  575. 00:26:02.030 – 00:26:04.670 no other open doors will happen
  576. 00:26:04.670 – 00:26:06.650 except for the door I'm supposed to go through.
  577. 00:26:06.790 – 00:26:09.370 So even when I felt called to be an entrepreneur
  578. 00:26:09.370 – 00:26:10.870 and I'm dragging my feet
  579. 00:26:10.870 – 00:26:12.590 and I'm trying to get this nine to five
  580. 00:26:12.590 – 00:26:14.350 and I'm not trying to be an entrepreneur,
  581. 00:26:15.210 – 00:26:17.690 I'm running into obstacles.
  582. 00:26:17.890 – 00:26:20.710 And I remember I was working at a temp company
  583. 00:26:20.710 – 00:26:22.470 for another small business
  584. 00:26:23.070 – 00:26:25.690 and the guy had hired me temporarily
  585. 00:26:25.690 – 00:26:26.890 and he says to me,
  586. 00:26:26.990 – 00:26:28.310 you should start your own business.
  587. 00:26:28.330 – 00:26:30.330 And I'm like, who tells you
  588. 00:26:30.330 – 00:26:31.890 to start your own business, right?
  589. 00:26:31.910 – 00:26:33.370 When they're hiring you.
  590. 00:26:34.070 – 00:26:37.150 But for me, it's a matter of feeling
  591. 00:26:37.150 – 00:26:40.430 an internal prompting and knowing in my heart,
  592. 00:26:41.070 – 00:26:43.150 I am supposed to be doing this
  593. 00:26:43.150 – 00:26:47.390 and no practical open doors will happen for me
  594. 00:26:47.390 – 00:26:48.890 until I do this.
  595. 00:26:50.070 – 00:26:51.750 So a lot of times it's that
  596. 00:26:51.750 – 00:26:54.130 or other people keep speaking something
  597. 00:26:54.130 – 00:26:58.570 like Alicia saying, this should be a podcast, right?
  598. 00:26:58.630 – 00:27:00.850 Or even with the publishing house,
  599. 00:27:01.030 – 00:27:02.470 her mother giving me the word,
  600. 00:27:02.510 – 00:27:04.050 you're gonna own a publishing house one day.
  601. 00:27:04.070 – 00:27:05.270 And I'm like, mm.
  602. 00:27:05.470 – 00:27:08.030 And then Alicia being like, publish me, you know?
  603. 00:27:08.070 – 00:27:10.450 So sometimes you hear something over and over
  604. 00:27:10.450 – 00:27:13.530 and you're like, okay, I think right now.
  605. 00:27:15.070 – 00:27:18.170 And it's just a testimony for that.
  606. 00:27:18.530 – 00:27:20.450 Alicia becoming your first publisher.
  607. 00:27:20.710 – 00:27:22.750 I'm like, that's amazing.
  608. 00:27:23.450 – 00:27:26.490 And yeah, I definitely have her book as well.
  609. 00:27:27.430 – 00:27:29.150 So it's amazing.
  610. 00:27:29.390 – 00:27:30.410 Even our whole journey
  611. 00:27:30.410 – 00:27:32.690 because she and I have known each other for so long
  612. 00:27:32.690 – 00:27:34.270 in a different capacity.
  613. 00:27:34.610 – 00:27:36.310 So to be in this space,
  614. 00:27:36.350 – 00:27:38.910 to be running alongside each other,
  615. 00:27:39.010 – 00:27:42.690 it just shows how God puts people in your path way ahead.
  616. 00:27:42.690 – 00:27:46.230 You don't understand the full reasoning.
  617. 00:27:46.610 – 00:27:49.390 You and I got closer in the last few years.
  618. 00:27:49.630 – 00:27:51.630 When I first met you, I couldn't have foresaw that.
  619. 00:27:51.690 – 00:27:53.870 There's so many people in my life
  620. 00:27:54.570 – 00:27:57.050 that were just kind of around
  621. 00:27:57.050 – 00:28:01.210 that when the time came, they drew closer.
  622. 00:28:01.210 – 00:28:04.170 And it was like, okay, we're running this race together.
  623. 00:28:04.790 – 00:28:06.590 We are surely running.
  624. 00:28:06.590 – 00:28:09.970 And even going back to what you said,
  625. 00:28:10.450 – 00:28:12.810 you watching documentaries now,
  626. 00:28:13.170 – 00:28:17.190 even having the privilege to work on your own documentary.
  627. 00:28:17.710 – 00:28:20.170 Like, what is the feeling like, first off?
  628. 00:28:20.570 – 00:28:23.330 I flashback, and I don't know if you remember
  629. 00:28:23.330 – 00:28:26.190 when we were at the event that JR had hosted.
  630. 00:28:26.630 – 00:28:28.890 And he's the one that said,
  631. 00:28:29.330 – 00:28:31.190 you should start, you should do a documentary.
  632. 00:28:31.350 – 00:28:33.890 Again, it's always somebody else saying something.
  633. 00:28:34.790 – 00:28:37.290 It's nothing I ever saw myself doing.
  634. 00:28:37.290 – 00:28:39.110 As much as I love documentaries,
  635. 00:28:40.210 – 00:28:42.730 because I was just like, maybe one day,
  636. 00:28:43.330 – 00:28:46.370 but I knew like, no, something's for this.
  637. 00:28:46.730 – 00:28:48.270 And you're sitting right there with me.
  638. 00:28:48.450 – 00:28:50.790 So I'm like, okay, let me talk to Aileen about this.
  639. 00:28:52.410 – 00:28:55.630 And now that we're in the weeds with this project
  640. 00:28:55.630 – 00:28:57.950 and kind of seeing it come alive,
  641. 00:28:58.670 – 00:29:01.710 I think the biggest impact it's making on me
  642. 00:29:01.710 – 00:29:03.710 is that God answered my prayer.
  643. 00:29:03.730 – 00:29:05.490 And I feel emotional talking about it
  644. 00:29:05.490 – 00:29:10.630 because in it, it starts off with me crying out to God.
  645. 00:29:10.710 – 00:29:11.470 What is my purpose?
  646. 00:29:11.550 – 00:29:15.950 I was in such a dark space with grieving my mother,
  647. 00:29:16.930 – 00:29:20.690 feeling like my origin was gone, feeling so alone.
  648. 00:29:21.750 – 00:29:24.750 And again, no open doors in my career.
  649. 00:29:24.950 – 00:29:27.270 I'm trying to get a job, no open doors.
  650. 00:29:27.970 – 00:29:31.170 Not understanding that my purpose was there all along.
  651. 00:29:31.830 – 00:29:34.750 I had already had two books published,
  652. 00:29:34.750 – 00:29:38.230 but I could not see it because my mindset had to switch.
  653. 00:29:38.630 – 00:29:41.410 So the documentary is such a testament to like,
  654. 00:29:41.650 – 00:29:44.710 man, look at what all transpired
  655. 00:29:44.710 – 00:29:48.010 after that moment of calling out to God.
  656. 00:29:48.950 – 00:29:50.710 And this was his answer.
  657. 00:29:51.150 – 00:29:52.990 That's what I see you watching.
  658. 00:29:53.050 – 00:29:54.970 And I'm like, man, you really answered that.
  659. 00:29:59.980 – 00:30:01.140 It's definitely touching.
  660. 00:30:01.920 – 00:30:04.160 So I kind of want to shift gears
  661. 00:30:04.160 – 00:30:07.900 and speak on the other side of entrepreneurship,
  662. 00:30:07.900 – 00:30:10.740 like the dark side, the dark moments.
  663. 00:30:11.260 – 00:30:13.080 What were some of those challenges like?
  664. 00:30:14.400 – 00:30:17.480 I think it's about doing it alone.
  665. 00:30:17.760 – 00:30:19.240 So even though I have community,
  666. 00:30:19.440 – 00:30:21.220 I still don't have that core family
  667. 00:30:21.220 – 00:30:22.900 that I've always longed for.
  668. 00:30:23.480 – 00:30:25.600 And my mother and grandmother not being here
  669. 00:30:25.600 – 00:30:26.900 are the natural to see it.
  670. 00:30:26.920 – 00:30:30.460 Like so much of what inspires me
  671. 00:30:30.460 – 00:30:32.420 is upholding their legacy,
  672. 00:30:32.660 – 00:30:34.460 incorporating them in my writing,
  673. 00:30:34.460 – 00:30:37.440 subtly honoring them in the documentary.
  674. 00:30:38.100 – 00:30:40.360 But you are so grieving
  675. 00:30:40.360 – 00:30:42.660 that they can't be here in the natural.
  676. 00:30:43.140 – 00:30:47.460 At my events, at every milestone that I make,
  677. 00:30:47.780 – 00:30:49.360 they're not physically here.
  678. 00:30:49.560 – 00:30:52.800 And so I have my community, thank God,
  679. 00:30:52.940 – 00:30:54.280 and my loved ones,
  680. 00:30:54.620 – 00:30:58.000 but I still carry that grief
  681. 00:30:58.620 – 00:31:02.400 that I have to do this on my own.
  682. 00:31:02.400 – 00:31:05.520 Whereas so much of their journeys they had,
  683. 00:31:05.600 – 00:31:06.700 we all had each other.
  684. 00:31:07.480 – 00:31:09.620 So even when my grandmother transitioned,
  685. 00:31:09.980 – 00:31:11.100 my mother still had me,
  686. 00:31:11.420 – 00:31:15.700 but I'm the one that has to do it alone without them.
  687. 00:31:16.200 – 00:31:19.300 And it's a cross, it's definitely difficult,
  688. 00:31:20.020 – 00:31:23.960 but I recognize how much love has been poured into me
  689. 00:31:23.960 – 00:31:25.880 and how much love still surrounds me
  690. 00:31:25.880 – 00:31:27.940 and the people that choose me.
  691. 00:31:28.860 – 00:31:30.580 But it's just a part of life.
  692. 00:31:30.580 – 00:31:33.860 There's always hard things in life, you know?
  693. 00:31:33.880 – 00:31:36.660 And what I was reflecting on earlier today was
  694. 00:31:36.660 – 00:31:39.540 what makes us different
  695. 00:31:39.540 – 00:31:43.160 is that we push through those hard times.
  696. 00:31:43.960 – 00:31:46.160 We're always going to have hard times,
  697. 00:31:46.400 – 00:31:48.800 but it's the ones who push through
  698. 00:31:48.800 – 00:31:50.940 and get to the next side,
  699. 00:31:50.960 – 00:31:53.020 the next day, the next moment.
  700. 00:31:53.620 – 00:31:55.380 Those are the ones with the testimonies.
  701. 00:31:55.380 – 00:31:57.020 Those are the ones who are resilient.
  702. 00:32:00.140 – 00:32:02.180 How powerful is a testimony?
  703. 00:32:03.650 – 00:32:09.330 People that may be afraid to share or share their story,
  704. 00:32:09.370 – 00:32:11.190 how powerful is a testimony?
  705. 00:32:12.330 – 00:32:14.450 I definitely think it's transformative.
  706. 00:32:14.750 – 00:32:17.130 And I was talking about this in a different interview
  707. 00:32:17.130 – 00:32:18.650 I had earlier today.
  708. 00:32:19.510 – 00:32:22.130 What motivated me to share vulnerably
  709. 00:32:22.130 – 00:32:24.390 in how to overcome heartbreak was
  710. 00:32:24.390 – 00:32:26.590 who was on the other side of this book
  711. 00:32:26.590 – 00:32:28.470 that this is going to help in their despair.
  712. 00:32:28.490 – 00:32:29.390 It's powerful.
  713. 00:32:30.030 – 00:32:32.830 And sometimes it's like writing to your former self
  714. 00:32:32.830 – 00:32:36.790 or writing to an older version of yourself.
  715. 00:32:36.850 – 00:32:39.090 What would you tell your older version?
  716. 00:32:39.730 – 00:32:42.350 Even sometimes for me, these books,
  717. 00:32:42.550 – 00:32:44.610 the Stubborn's Cafe series is like,
  718. 00:32:44.610 – 00:32:45.930 man, if I was in college,
  719. 00:32:45.970 – 00:32:49.470 this is what I would have wanted to read, you know?
  720. 00:32:49.930 – 00:32:54.170 So I think definitely the power of testimonies
  721. 00:32:54.170 – 00:32:56.330 is transformative, it's impactful,
  722. 00:32:56.330 – 00:32:58.030 and it can save someone's life.
  723. 00:33:01.610 – 00:33:04.970 Was there a time where someone came to you personally
  724. 00:33:04.970 – 00:33:08.110 and said your story, your book, your testimony,
  725. 00:33:08.450 – 00:33:09.410 like saved them?
  726. 00:33:11.190 – 00:33:15.030 I can't say saved them, but I can definitely say
  727. 00:33:15.690 – 00:33:18.370 it really inspired them and gave them hope
  728. 00:33:18.370 – 00:33:20.250 that they knew they can make it through
  729. 00:33:20.250 – 00:33:23.450 because we had had similar journeys, for sure.
  730. 00:33:25.490 – 00:33:29.230 So I know you are a part of many different things,
  731. 00:33:29.390 – 00:33:30.610 but I would like to talk
  732. 00:33:30.610 – 00:33:33.090 about the Greater Cleveland Association
  733. 00:33:33.090 – 00:33:35.050 of Black Journalists.
  734. 00:33:35.050 – 00:33:38.010 Like first, what does that mean to you?
  735. 00:33:38.690 – 00:33:43.430 Well, it's an organization that promotes literacy
  736. 00:33:43.430 – 00:33:45.530 in the black community first and foremost,
  737. 00:33:46.350 – 00:33:48.490 empowering black voices,
  738. 00:33:49.710 – 00:33:52.970 enlightening our audience and community.
  739. 00:33:57.910 – 00:34:02.390 And so it's an honor to be connected by this legacy
  740. 00:34:02.390 – 00:34:04.790 of writers that have went before me
  741. 00:34:04.790 – 00:34:06.950 that are still current day.
  742. 00:34:06.950 – 00:34:11.030 And Rhonda Crowder is the president
  743. 00:34:11.030 – 00:34:12.670 and she is a dear friend.
  744. 00:34:12.770 – 00:34:15.130 I love her spirit, I love her humility.
  745. 00:34:15.770 – 00:34:18.530 She's invested in me, she's invested in Girl Talk,
  746. 00:34:18.630 – 00:34:20.030 she's invested in my events.
  747. 00:34:20.590 – 00:34:22.090 She's at the Indy Author Expo.
  748. 00:34:22.350 – 00:34:26.110 And so having that type of support system
  749. 00:34:26.650 – 00:34:27.889 as an up and comer,
  750. 00:34:28.090 – 00:34:29.790 because I consider myself an up and comer.
  751. 00:34:30.350 – 00:34:30.830 Really?
  752. 00:34:31.330 – 00:34:32.510 Oh yeah, for sure.
  753. 00:34:32.790 – 00:34:35.989 I mean, for me, again, I didn't have a degree
  754. 00:34:35.989 – 00:34:37.590 in writing or creativity,
  755. 00:34:38.010 – 00:34:40.750 which I thought is what qualified you to be a real writer.
  756. 00:34:41.790 – 00:34:44.949 And I look at these people like, okay,
  757. 00:34:45.310 – 00:34:46.989 they got the real, they got the chops,
  758. 00:34:47.290 – 00:34:50.969 they have the actual credentials and things.
  759. 00:34:51.370 – 00:34:55.150 So for me to be in this network to write articles
  760. 00:34:55.150 – 00:34:58.530 that actually is respected by the community,
  761. 00:34:58.850 – 00:35:02.010 it's like, oh, I have an innate gift.
  762. 00:35:03.250 – 00:35:04.670 I have an innate gift.
  763. 00:35:04.670 – 00:35:07.070 Of course, I've cultivated my gift
  764. 00:35:07.070 – 00:35:09.150 with different workshops and practicing,
  765. 00:35:09.950 – 00:35:11.510 but I had an actual gift
  766. 00:35:11.510 – 00:35:13.890 and writers can go different paths.
  767. 00:35:13.970 – 00:35:15.370 That's what I didn't know is that
  768. 00:35:15.370 – 00:35:17.450 there's no one path to become a writer.
  769. 00:35:18.630 – 00:35:20.410 But yeah, the organization itself,
  770. 00:35:20.570 – 00:35:23.770 I definitely am blessed by the connections
  771. 00:35:23.770 – 00:35:26.650 that I've made and what they stand for.
  772. 00:35:26.830 – 00:35:31.830 And I think it also gave me more affirmation
  773. 00:35:31.830 – 00:35:34.250 as I pursue my journalism endeavors
  774. 00:35:34.250 – 00:35:36.550 for different platforms, such as Maseret,
  775. 00:35:37.210 – 00:35:41.510 that I have to shout out as a community partner, for sure.
  776. 00:35:44.090 – 00:35:45.890 And going back to that bookkeeping,
  777. 00:35:46.090 – 00:35:49.050 I see a lot of structuring and planning events
  778. 00:35:49.050 – 00:35:51.050 and being a part of these organizations.
  779. 00:35:51.530 – 00:35:53.550 It's a lot of structure.
  780. 00:35:54.530 – 00:35:59.250 So what was something when you first thought of
  781. 00:35:59.250 – 00:36:04.780 the Author Indie Expo or some of those
  782. 00:36:04.780 – 00:36:07.700 hard moments, those tough moments,
  783. 00:36:08.720 – 00:36:10.560 some chaotic, out of place moments,
  784. 00:36:11.220 – 00:36:13.140 like, oh, I don't see this getting done.
  785. 00:36:13.580 – 00:36:16.300 Even though it got done, but in the early stages,
  786. 00:36:17.040 – 00:36:20.580 what was those confusing, unstructured moments?
  787. 00:36:21.420 – 00:36:24.460 What I'll say is in the Indie Author Expo
  788. 00:36:24.460 – 00:36:27.080 was born out of a negative experience
  789. 00:36:27.080 – 00:36:29.680 I had years ago at a different expo.
  790. 00:36:29.840 – 00:36:31.600 And so my heart was,
  791. 00:36:31.600 – 00:36:33.740 I want to give indie authors
  792. 00:36:33.740 – 00:36:35.740 a better experience than what I had.
  793. 00:36:36.400 – 00:36:39.360 And my heart is always going to be for indie authors
  794. 00:36:39.360 – 00:36:41.440 because you're out there hustling.
  795. 00:36:41.480 – 00:36:43.340 You've already spent X amount of years
  796. 00:36:43.340 – 00:36:44.520 working on this book.
  797. 00:36:45.280 – 00:36:47.360 And now you're trying to get it visible
  798. 00:36:47.360 – 00:36:49.900 and you're spending so much money on vendor tables.
  799. 00:36:50.040 – 00:36:51.840 I've been in the rain, I've been in the heat,
  800. 00:36:51.920 – 00:36:55.040 I've been injured, and you're just out there grinding.
  801. 00:36:55.340 – 00:36:56.540 Right, you've been injured.
  802. 00:36:57.600 – 00:37:00.640 Yes, I've had people giving me rides
  803. 00:37:00.640 – 00:37:02.420 because I'm in a boot or I'm on crutches,
  804. 00:37:03.140 – 00:37:05.100 but I'm still like, I'm going to the...
  805. 00:37:05.100 – 00:37:06.580 That's perseverance, wow.
  806. 00:37:07.420 – 00:37:12.240 Yeah, and so all of that to say the Indie Author Expo
  807. 00:37:12.240 – 00:37:15.700 was inspired out of negative experiences
  808. 00:37:15.700 – 00:37:18.280 and empathy towards the grind,
  809. 00:37:18.360 – 00:37:20.220 because you're at events where people
  810. 00:37:20.220 – 00:37:22.280 necessarily don't buy books or don't read.
  811. 00:37:22.300 – 00:37:25.080 And so you're competing with the cute boutiques
  812. 00:37:25.080 – 00:37:27.660 or the jewelry or the makeup or whatever, right?
  813. 00:37:27.660 – 00:37:28.960 And you're like, I have this book.
  814. 00:37:30.120 – 00:37:32.160 So I wanted to give a space
  815. 00:37:32.160 – 00:37:35.180 where people actually are coming for you
  816. 00:37:35.180 – 00:37:37.700 and really to put money in the pockets of vendors.
  817. 00:37:38.320 – 00:37:40.940 Now what I'll say, one of the big hiccups
  818. 00:37:40.940 – 00:37:44.720 that happened with the first one was the venue.
  819. 00:37:44.860 – 00:37:46.600 So to your point, I am very structured.
  820. 00:37:46.680 – 00:37:47.760 I'm very much a planner.
  821. 00:37:48.020 – 00:37:49.640 That's how I do all the things.
  822. 00:37:50.140 – 00:37:52.820 And I'm kind of like line upon line,
  823. 00:37:53.480 – 00:37:56.140 dot my I's, cross my T's,
  824. 00:37:56.140 – 00:37:58.500 but you know, life be livin', so things happen.
  825. 00:37:59.380 – 00:38:02.040 And so I had locked in the venue months in advance
  826. 00:38:02.040 – 00:38:05.220 and probably within weeks before the event.
  827. 00:38:06.540 – 00:38:10.240 I learned that we can not sell books at that site
  828. 00:38:10.240 – 00:38:12.580 and I'm like, but that's the purpose of the event.
  829. 00:38:12.760 – 00:38:14.060 Right, right, whoa.
  830. 00:38:14.780 – 00:38:16.840 And so I had to pivot
  831. 00:38:16.840 – 00:38:19.060 and this is the blessing of being an entrepreneur.
  832. 00:38:19.280 – 00:38:21.040 I mean, you learn how to flow.
  833. 00:38:21.240 – 00:38:21.960 You learn how to pivot.
  834. 00:38:22.120 – 00:38:24.120 You know everything is not going according to plan.
  835. 00:38:24.120 – 00:38:28.060 So entrepreneurship trains you for these experiences
  836. 00:38:28.060 – 00:38:29.620 and you built your network.
  837. 00:38:30.000 – 00:38:32.740 So it's like, I know too many people
  838. 00:38:32.740 – 00:38:34.420 for me not to lock in the venue.
  839. 00:38:34.460 – 00:38:35.380 That was in my heart.
  840. 00:38:35.440 – 00:38:36.900 It's like, I know too many people.
  841. 00:38:37.120 – 00:38:39.760 So I started sending out text messages.
  842. 00:38:40.500 – 00:38:43.980 Thank God, Charles of Breakthrough Sounds came through
  843. 00:38:43.980 – 00:38:47.380 in a clutch and that was a big deal for me
  844. 00:38:47.380 – 00:38:50.620 because I don't consider myself a big visionary,
  845. 00:38:50.620 – 00:38:55.040 but that one was like all these pieces and parts to it.
  846. 00:38:55.040 – 00:38:58.440 Then you're leading over 20 people.
  847. 00:38:58.940 – 00:39:00.920 Then I had community partners
  848. 00:39:00.920 – 00:39:04.160 because I included the podcast also and my book launch
  849. 00:39:04.160 – 00:39:05.240 and I had decor.
  850. 00:39:05.320 – 00:39:07.640 It was like, okay, we're going to do the things, right?
  851. 00:39:08.060 – 00:39:08.900 And it was a win.
  852. 00:39:08.920 – 00:39:12.720 It was a success, but there was that moment of like,
  853. 00:39:12.880 – 00:39:13.960 am I supposed to be doing this?
  854. 00:39:15.520 – 00:39:19.780 But then what rose up in me was I know too many people.
  855. 00:39:19.780 – 00:39:24.300 And I think when you get to that stage,
  856. 00:39:24.720 – 00:39:27.940 whatever your industry is or your calling is,
  857. 00:39:28.480 – 00:39:30.080 there's a stage you're going to get to
  858. 00:39:30.080 – 00:39:31.220 where you're progressing,
  859. 00:39:32.100 – 00:39:34.300 where you're going to have that confidence
  860. 00:39:34.300 – 00:39:36.420 to navigate the harder obstacles.
  861. 00:39:36.500 – 00:39:38.600 You're going to have the network in place
  862. 00:39:39.280 – 00:39:41.640 because you've already been through some things.
  863. 00:39:41.980 – 00:39:43.200 By the time you get there,
  864. 00:39:43.220 – 00:39:45.280 you're like, I can make it over this
  865. 00:39:45.280 – 00:39:47.200 because I've made it over X, Y and Z.
  866. 00:39:47.200 – 00:39:50.900 Even if you've never necessarily faced that thing,
  867. 00:39:51.380 – 00:39:54.120 it's like, but I faced too many other things
  868. 00:39:54.120 – 00:39:56.320 not to overcome this thing.
  869. 00:39:56.880 – 00:39:58.940 So that's definitely one of them.
  870. 00:39:59.140 – 00:40:00.680 Hosting events in general,
  871. 00:40:01.640 – 00:40:05.040 it's always opportunity for things to happen.
  872. 00:40:05.280 – 00:40:06.660 I remember one in particular,
  873. 00:40:07.020 – 00:40:09.300 one girl talk that happened in particular
  874. 00:40:10.320 – 00:40:13.980 and we didn't realize this until like a couple days
  875. 00:40:13.980 – 00:40:16.400 before that the address was wrong on the flyer.
  876. 00:40:16.400 – 00:40:18.720 It's like stuff like that, it's like what?
  877. 00:40:19.160 – 00:40:20.940 And in the midst of that,
  878. 00:40:21.420 – 00:40:23.560 my goddaughter was having a really hard time
  879. 00:40:23.560 – 00:40:27.280 and I'm over their house for hours trying to console her
  880. 00:40:27.280 – 00:40:28.500 and then I'm getting her,
  881. 00:40:28.580 – 00:40:30.520 but we have, I'm getting texts
  882. 00:40:30.520 – 00:40:32.060 about people having the wrong address
  883. 00:40:32.060 – 00:40:34.080 and you just have fires.
  884. 00:40:35.020 – 00:40:36.340 You know, I've been through so much
  885. 00:40:36.340 – 00:40:37.640 with the publishing house,
  886. 00:40:38.320 – 00:40:40.880 with publishing these authors, they have deadlines.
  887. 00:40:41.140 – 00:40:42.680 I'm working with third parties.
  888. 00:40:42.880 – 00:40:44.140 They're not answering.
  889. 00:40:44.780 – 00:40:46.000 It's one thing after another.
  890. 00:40:46.000 – 00:40:49.320 And you just learn how to put off the fires.
  891. 00:40:49.660 – 00:40:51.580 And one thing I've learned even with my clients
  892. 00:40:51.580 – 00:40:52.800 is they can freak out
  893. 00:40:52.800 – 00:40:54.540 because they don't understand the process.
  894. 00:40:54.680 – 00:40:55.940 I know the process.
  895. 00:40:56.440 – 00:40:58.160 I've done this too many times.
  896. 00:40:58.520 – 00:40:59.700 We're gonna make the deadline.
  897. 00:41:00.480 – 00:41:02.280 I don't care what it takes.
  898. 00:41:02.320 – 00:41:03.500 I will figure it out.
  899. 00:41:03.560 – 00:41:04.660 And again, that's entrepreneurship.
  900. 00:41:05.580 – 00:41:06.820 It teaches you it's like,
  901. 00:41:06.960 – 00:41:08.280 nope, this is the goal.
  902. 00:41:08.520 – 00:41:10.620 These are the hurdles and there's a way.
  903. 00:41:11.080 – 00:41:13.400 I think when you develop an entrepreneurship mindset,
  904. 00:41:13.400 – 00:41:16.480 you develop a mindset of there's another way.
  905. 00:41:16.740 – 00:41:19.060 Find the other way to reach the goal.
  906. 00:41:19.500 – 00:41:21.680 Other way to reach the goal.
  907. 00:41:22.040 – 00:41:22.380 Wow.
  908. 00:41:23.680 – 00:41:23.920 Wow.
  909. 00:41:24.300 – 00:41:25.380 That's a good title.
  910. 00:41:28.690 – 00:41:32.150 And as I hear about these different challenges
  911. 00:41:32.150 – 00:41:33.890 and you overcoming them,
  912. 00:41:34.530 – 00:41:36.470 what are some of those challenges
  913. 00:41:36.470 – 00:41:39.310 and the lessons that you're taking
  914. 00:41:39.310 – 00:41:42.750 towards this year's author in the expo?
  915. 00:41:43.440 – 00:41:46.430 I definitely learned some things last year
  916. 00:41:46.430 – 00:41:49.350 about who I allow in this space
  917. 00:41:49.350 – 00:41:51.790 and that I can't partner with everyone.
  918. 00:41:51.870 – 00:41:53.230 So not even just with the expo,
  919. 00:41:53.290 – 00:41:56.230 but with my brand, with Andy Miller Publishing.
  920. 00:41:56.870 – 00:41:59.750 If our brand values are not in alignment,
  921. 00:41:59.990 – 00:42:00.950 we cannot work together.
  922. 00:42:01.090 – 00:42:03.570 And so I had to adapt that same.
  923. 00:42:03.630 – 00:42:04.530 What's your brand values?
  924. 00:42:05.050 – 00:42:09.990 Well, I'm a faith-based community related organization.
  925. 00:42:10.670 – 00:42:13.190 And so a lot of them have to do
  926. 00:42:13.190 – 00:42:16.010 with community transformation, impact, inspiration.
  927. 00:42:16.370 – 00:42:22.370 It can't be anything that is polluting our community,
  928. 00:42:23.050 – 00:42:24.530 degrading our community,
  929. 00:42:24.730 – 00:42:29.910 and it's not inspiring someone in a positive way.
  930. 00:42:30.970 – 00:42:33.110 So those are basic things,
  931. 00:42:33.110 – 00:42:36.290 but that is something that I had to learn.
  932. 00:42:36.290 – 00:42:41.530 So I've been very more intentional about vetting,
  933. 00:42:41.710 – 00:42:43.270 which I was intentional last year,
  934. 00:42:43.270 – 00:42:46.270 but I learned that I have to be more intentional.
  935. 00:42:46.510 – 00:42:47.670 Even more, yeah.
  936. 00:42:48.750 – 00:42:51.350 Even more, but I'm super excited
  937. 00:42:51.350 – 00:42:52.750 about this group of authors
  938. 00:42:52.750 – 00:42:55.270 and the connections that they're gonna make
  939. 00:42:55.270 – 00:42:56.890 and what they're bringing to the table
  940. 00:42:56.890 – 00:42:59.130 and some surprises I have for them as well.
  941. 00:42:59.790 – 00:43:01.350 Surprises, we love surprises,
  942. 00:43:02.070 – 00:43:05.550 but that reminds me of a situation
  943. 00:43:05.550 – 00:43:07.010 I had with a musician.
  944. 00:43:07.450 – 00:43:11.130 First, I don't really interview too many musicians,
  945. 00:43:11.610 – 00:43:13.670 especially that doesn't have the business structure
  946. 00:43:13.670 – 00:43:16.210 or just the business mindset,
  947. 00:43:16.770 – 00:43:18.790 so I kind of avoid them.
  948. 00:43:18.830 – 00:43:20.110 But like you said,
  949. 00:43:20.770 – 00:43:24.390 people that's polluting your brand
  950. 00:43:24.390 – 00:43:28.730 and tainting the population of negativity.
  951. 00:43:29.590 – 00:43:31.490 So it's important to vet
  952. 00:43:32.630 – 00:43:35.630 because yeah, that alignment is powerful.
  953. 00:43:36.410 – 00:43:38.210 And sometimes it takes years.
  954. 00:43:38.350 – 00:43:41.650 Sometimes you don't see aspects of people from a distance
  955. 00:43:41.650 – 00:43:43.250 and when you get close to you're like,
  956. 00:43:43.350 – 00:43:45.290 oh, we're not in alignment.
  957. 00:43:45.330 – 00:43:46.650 And I had to learn that too.
  958. 00:43:51.500 – 00:43:53.060 We'll talk later, we'll talk.
  959. 00:43:55.020 – 00:43:56.720 So what is something you're looking forward
  960. 00:43:56.720 – 00:43:58.640 to author any expo in?
  961. 00:43:58.780 – 00:44:00.720 It's like less than 20 days.
  962. 00:44:01.040 – 00:44:04.980 June 20th, 12 to 4 p.m. at Breakthrough Sound Studio.
  963. 00:44:05.720 – 00:44:08.440 I'm excited to feature Jill Justice,
  964. 00:44:08.640 – 00:44:12.060 who's a local poet and she's becoming a good friend.
  965. 00:44:12.120 – 00:44:13.900 So I'm excited to give her that space
  966. 00:44:13.900 – 00:44:15.240 to do what she does well.
  967. 00:44:15.840 – 00:44:17.280 But I think overall
  968. 00:44:17.280 – 00:44:20.020 is the connectivity and synergy of the people.
  969. 00:44:20.260 – 00:44:21.360 It feels like family.
  970. 00:44:21.760 – 00:44:24.120 It's a vibe, it's wholesome,
  971. 00:44:24.660 – 00:44:26.060 it's uplifting, it's encouraging.
  972. 00:44:26.460 – 00:44:28.120 We celebrate Juneteenth.
  973. 00:44:28.300 – 00:44:30.920 So we honor our ancestors.
  974. 00:44:31.140 – 00:44:32.080 We honor legacy.
  975. 00:44:34.100 – 00:44:37.760 And yeah, I had this moment last year where I looked up
  976. 00:44:37.760 – 00:44:40.860 and it was just like an organism.
  977. 00:44:40.860 – 00:44:43.460 It was so organic and there was just this flow
  978. 00:44:43.460 – 00:44:47.000 or even that people were waiting at the door at 12 sharp.
  979. 00:44:47.100 – 00:44:49.520 I just was like, okay.
  980. 00:44:51.260 – 00:44:53.900 So I think for me it feels a little overwhelming
  981. 00:44:53.900 – 00:44:59.240 because again, I feel like that small introverted girl
  982. 00:44:59.240 – 00:45:00.800 who was rejected and bullied
  983. 00:45:00.800 – 00:45:02.120 and didn't have friends growing up
  984. 00:45:02.120 – 00:45:07.440 and to see God just, I don't know,
  985. 00:45:07.640 – 00:45:09.400 turn all of that around.
  986. 00:45:09.540 – 00:45:11.900 The very area that I was attacked in
  987. 00:45:11.900 – 00:45:14.120 is my gift to gather.
  988. 00:45:14.420 – 00:45:16.280 And it blows my mind of like,
  989. 00:45:16.420 – 00:45:17.940 I can't believe all these people came here
  990. 00:45:17.940 – 00:45:20.020 because I said we're doing an event.
  991. 00:45:21.060 – 00:45:23.700 And books, that's a hard sell.
  992. 00:45:25.700 – 00:45:28.040 Sometimes literally, it's hard back.
  993. 00:45:30.300 – 00:45:33.180 I mean, Cleveland has a 66% illiteracy rate.
  994. 00:45:33.740 – 00:45:35.200 It's struggling in that way.
  995. 00:45:35.320 – 00:45:37.600 So for people to show up, it's like,
  996. 00:45:37.740 – 00:45:39.800 okay, we're really doing something in this space.
  997. 00:45:43.560 – 00:45:45.400 Definitely read that statistic
  998. 00:45:45.400 – 00:45:47.540 and just been around in youth
  999. 00:45:47.540 – 00:45:49.580 and it's like they don't, like you said,
  1000. 00:45:49.580 – 00:45:52.420 they don't pick up books and they don't read
  1001. 00:45:52.420 – 00:45:54.480 or they have struggled in reading
  1002. 00:45:54.480 – 00:45:58.580 and I can only blame the parents and the teachers.
  1003. 00:45:59.660 – 00:46:01.060 The teachers at these schools.
  1004. 00:46:01.180 – 00:46:02.640 And I talked about this earlier,
  1005. 00:46:02.640 – 00:46:05.860 it really is all of our responsibility
  1006. 00:46:05.860 – 00:46:09.460 in the home, at the schools, in the community,
  1007. 00:46:09.680 – 00:46:12.440 be the village, you know,
  1008. 00:46:12.720 – 00:46:16.180 to equip them to combat their present day obstacles
  1009. 00:46:16.180 – 00:46:18.300 and distractions such as social media,
  1010. 00:46:18.700 – 00:46:20.540 to stimulate their creative minds.
  1011. 00:46:20.620 – 00:46:23.380 Like we have to take that burden as a whole.
  1012. 00:46:25.840 – 00:46:29.020 So how do you feel we could change that?
  1013. 00:46:29.060 – 00:46:30.820 I know it's not gonna take a day,
  1014. 00:46:30.900 – 00:46:34.320 maybe not a year, but over the course of time.
  1015. 00:46:34.320 – 00:46:36.660 I think that if everyone had that mindset,
  1016. 00:46:36.780 – 00:46:38.680 like I was watching a film called
  1017. 00:46:38.680 – 00:46:41.560 Forever Free and the Literacy Playbook.
  1018. 00:46:41.760 – 00:46:44.180 I just did an article from Macere
  1019. 00:46:44.180 – 00:46:46.600 it'll be dropping the next week or two
  1020. 00:46:46.600 – 00:46:49.020 and it's exposing the playbook
  1021. 00:46:49.020 – 00:46:52.400 of using literacy as a tool to control
  1022. 00:46:52.400 – 00:46:56.380 and how the inner city, people of color
  1023. 00:46:56.380 – 00:46:59.220 have had historical oppression
  1024. 00:46:59.960 – 00:47:01.440 using the tool of literacy
  1025. 00:47:01.440 – 00:47:04.380 stemming from slaves not being able to read
  1026. 00:47:04.380 – 00:47:07.260 or the enslaved not being able to read or prohibited
  1027. 00:47:08.000 – 00:47:11.300 because they knew those in power understood
  1028. 00:47:11.300 – 00:47:13.800 that once you understand how to read,
  1029. 00:47:14.060 – 00:47:14.920 you're empowered.
  1030. 00:47:15.800 – 00:47:19.500 And so sadly, the powers that be
  1031. 00:47:19.500 – 00:47:21.960 are still using those tools
  1032. 00:47:21.960 – 00:47:24.660 and we see it happening in impoverished communities.
  1033. 00:47:25.500 – 00:47:29.580 So a lot of the film is explaining
  1034. 00:47:30.300 – 00:47:31.760 what's happening behind the scenes
  1035. 00:47:31.760 – 00:47:35.160 but the call is for the community to rise up
  1036. 00:47:35.160 – 00:47:38.640 to create events and literary programs
  1037. 00:47:39.180 – 00:47:42.140 and attack it from so many different sides
  1038. 00:47:42.140 – 00:47:43.620 of who's in power,
  1039. 00:47:43.700 – 00:47:45.780 who are you selecting as your representatives
  1040. 00:47:46.400 – 00:47:48.260 but also boots on the ground,
  1041. 00:47:48.360 – 00:47:50.600 connecting with educators, librarians,
  1042. 00:47:51.220 – 00:47:52.260 that sort of thing.
  1043. 00:47:52.360 – 00:47:55.280 And you have to have a lot of different things in play
  1044. 00:47:55.840 – 00:47:59.980 for us to attack this experience, right?
  1045. 00:48:00.100 – 00:48:02.680 This negative experience happening to our children
  1046. 00:48:02.680 – 00:48:03.780 who are still suffering.
  1047. 00:48:04.280 – 00:48:06.300 But one thing I talk about in my article
  1048. 00:48:06.300 – 00:48:08.860 is what I'm inspired by is what happens
  1049. 00:48:08.860 – 00:48:10.420 when community comes together
  1050. 00:48:10.960 – 00:48:14.400 to face something such as the civil rights movement
  1051. 00:48:14.400 – 00:48:18.220 for us to receive the freedoms that we have
  1052. 00:48:18.220 – 00:48:19.380 and we're still in this fight
  1053. 00:48:19.380 – 00:48:22.280 but I'm a recipient of their fight,
  1054. 00:48:22.640 – 00:48:24.480 being a homeowner, being a business owner,
  1055. 00:48:24.480 – 00:48:27.180 being able to do the things I do because of their fight,
  1056. 00:48:27.820 – 00:48:29.660 what can we do when we come together?
  1057. 00:48:30.020 – 00:48:31.740 So whatever the answers are,
  1058. 00:48:31.880 – 00:48:34.440 I definitely think it relies on us coming together
  1059. 00:48:34.440 – 00:48:37.740 but it is going to be a lot of different pockets,
  1060. 00:48:38.260 – 00:48:39.440 movements that are happening
  1061. 00:48:40.120 – 00:48:43.360 in the top tier levels of government, of education
  1062. 00:48:43.360 – 00:48:45.420 but also in the boots on the ground,
  1063. 00:48:45.580 – 00:48:46.620 community activism.
  1064. 00:48:48.040 – 00:48:50.520 And as you speak on activism,
  1065. 00:48:50.860 – 00:48:53.540 I wanna surely applaud you
  1066. 00:48:53.540 – 00:48:55.840 for being an emerging leader.
  1067. 00:48:56.600 – 00:49:00.220 How does it feel being honored in that way
  1068. 00:49:00.220 – 00:49:01.560 and receiving that award?
  1069. 00:49:02.420 – 00:49:03.900 That was extremely encouraging.
  1070. 00:49:04.180 – 00:49:08.460 I got that award through Career Mastered
  1071. 00:49:08.460 – 00:49:10.580 and their female-led magazine
  1072. 00:49:10.580 – 00:49:14.080 and I got to interview Dr. Lisa Wicker on Girl Talk,
  1073. 00:49:14.120 – 00:49:16.640 who's the founder and she is a trailblazer
  1074. 00:49:16.640 – 00:49:18.740 and a heavy hitter, she's done so much.
  1075. 00:49:19.720 – 00:49:23.700 And that award, I was the recipient in 2024.
  1076. 00:49:24.700 – 00:49:26.960 So interestingly enough, I think it was so fitting
  1077. 00:49:26.960 – 00:49:29.580 because I really was emerging in 2024.
  1078. 00:49:29.720 – 00:49:33.620 I didn't have some of the opportunities I got,
  1079. 00:49:33.620 – 00:49:34.660 even in that year.
  1080. 00:49:35.160 – 00:49:36.540 In that year, I was featured
  1081. 00:49:36.540 – 00:49:38.220 with Powerbrand, with Futureland,
  1082. 00:49:38.340 – 00:49:40.560 it was like things just really took off that year
  1083. 00:49:41.700 – 00:49:43.680 but it was a huge honor
  1084. 00:49:43.680 – 00:49:45.160 because there were all of these women
  1085. 00:49:45.160 – 00:49:49.220 with decades worth of impact.
  1086. 00:49:50.040 – 00:49:51.940 And so it was a preview of the call.
  1087. 00:49:52.460 – 00:49:54.900 It was like, this is the call, Nicole.
  1088. 00:49:55.020 – 00:49:57.360 And I was surrounded by women leaders
  1089. 00:49:57.360 – 00:49:59.000 and I felt like I was incubated
  1090. 00:49:59.000 – 00:50:00.420 in a spirit of resiliency.
  1091. 00:50:01.360 – 00:50:06.240 I felt like everyone there had faced so much,
  1092. 00:50:06.420 – 00:50:08.480 yet they were still there
  1093. 00:50:08.480 – 00:50:11.340 and they had brought so many with them
  1094. 00:50:11.340 – 00:50:14.760 and I understood that that was the call of my life.
  1095. 00:50:17.440 – 00:50:20.420 But yeah, even to kind of come full circle
  1096. 00:50:20.420 – 00:50:23.920 and interview Dr. Lisa Wicker, who's the founder
  1097. 00:50:24.620 – 00:50:27.240 and see the doors that opened up from that moment,
  1098. 00:50:27.360 – 00:50:30.820 it confirmed like, yep, you were emerging
  1099. 00:50:31.340 – 00:50:33.420 and now the torch has been passed.
  1100. 00:50:33.860 – 00:50:37.480 Wow, and as you say, the torch has been passed
  1101. 00:50:37.480 – 00:50:40.160 is like so many phenomenal women
  1102. 00:50:40.160 – 00:50:43.260 that you attract and are networking with
  1103. 00:50:43.260 – 00:50:45.540 and bringing a part of your community.
  1104. 00:50:46.080 – 00:50:49.420 Is there someone else that you have not met
  1105. 00:50:49.420 – 00:50:54.000 or is willing to meet and wanting to collaborate with?
  1106. 00:50:55.120 – 00:50:56.640 That's a good question.
  1107. 00:50:58.520 – 00:51:03.060 I can't say that there is any one individual.
  1108. 00:51:03.800 – 00:51:07.220 What I'll say is my heart is being pulled
  1109. 00:51:07.220 – 00:51:09.140 towards the entertainment industry
  1110. 00:51:09.740 – 00:51:14.740 and my network is expanding with entertainment,
  1111. 00:51:15.720 – 00:51:17.360 people affiliated with entertainment,
  1112. 00:51:17.640 – 00:51:20.780 like filmmakers and directors and actors and actresses
  1113. 00:51:20.780 – 00:51:24.500 and I see that shift happening where I'm like, okay,
  1114. 00:51:25.040 – 00:51:27.320 but there's no one person,
  1115. 00:51:27.660 – 00:51:30.620 but what I've learned is the need
  1116. 00:51:31.140 – 00:51:33.700 for how they present themselves in the forefront,
  1117. 00:51:33.740 – 00:51:36.960 it needs to match the behind the scenes.
  1118. 00:51:37.530 – 00:51:38.960 The character needs to be there,
  1119. 00:51:39.080 – 00:51:40.340 the maturity needs to be there,
  1120. 00:51:40.400 – 00:51:41.580 the heart needs to be there.
  1121. 00:51:41.760 – 00:51:45.500 It can't just be outwardly you look successful
  1122. 00:51:45.500 – 00:51:48.600 and you're flourishing and you're helping others.
  1123. 00:51:49.060 – 00:51:51.340 It has to be who are you behind the scenes
  1124. 00:51:51.340 – 00:51:54.320 and that needs to match when I'm saying outwardly.
  1125. 00:51:55.970 – 00:51:57.670 It is powerful
  1126. 00:51:58.220 – 00:52:00.950 and I know the right people will continue to come.
  1127. 00:52:01.310 – 00:52:03.630 Like you said, my spirit lad,
  1128. 00:52:06.890 – 00:52:09.930 it's amazing, just being in the rooms,
  1129. 00:52:09.990 – 00:52:12.850 being at these events that you curate,
  1130. 00:52:13.130 – 00:52:16.310 like it's always a good time, always genuine connections,
  1131. 00:52:16.930 – 00:52:22.070 always genuine vibes, just greatness and pure greatness.
  1132. 00:52:24.470 – 00:52:26.530 I appreciate that and I do feel like
  1133. 00:52:26.530 – 00:52:28.670 it's a reflection of my inner tribe.
  1134. 00:52:29.150 – 00:52:31.230 I've been in the same spiritual community
  1135. 00:52:31.230 – 00:52:32.770 for two decades.
  1136. 00:52:32.830 – 00:52:34.830 We mentioned Alicia, she's a part of that.
  1137. 00:52:34.830 – 00:52:36.290 I have a good group of girls
  1138. 00:52:36.290 – 00:52:38.110 that I've been best friends with since college.
  1139. 00:52:38.190 – 00:52:42.270 I've been loved and blessed by so many good people
  1140. 00:52:42.270 – 00:52:45.650 and so my goal was to curate these spaces
  1141. 00:52:45.650 – 00:52:48.050 that reflected that, my personal life.
  1142. 00:52:48.570 – 00:52:50.650 I like that, like you said, the reflection.
  1143. 00:52:51.030 – 00:52:53.130 I know you speak a lot on college.
  1144. 00:52:53.350 – 00:52:55.370 I wanna touch more on your college.
  1145. 00:52:55.610 – 00:52:58.870 Like what really happened in your college years,
  1146. 00:52:58.890 – 00:53:01.690 like from freshmen all the way to graduation?
  1147. 00:53:04.510 – 00:53:06.630 So, that's a meaty question.
  1148. 00:53:07.670 – 00:53:09.330 When I went to college,
  1149. 00:53:10.050 – 00:53:12.550 I was in a very serious relationship.
  1150. 00:53:13.870 – 00:53:16.570 I thought I'm getting married right after college.
  1151. 00:53:17.070 – 00:53:20.530 This is my boo, this is gonna be my man forever.
  1152. 00:53:22.210 – 00:53:25.410 And I had no idea what was ahead of me.
  1153. 00:53:25.870 – 00:53:27.790 So I ended up depressed,
  1154. 00:53:27.910 – 00:53:29.190 didn't even know I was depressed.
  1155. 00:53:29.750 – 00:53:31.510 You said you didn't know you were depressed.
  1156. 00:53:31.510 – 00:53:33.310 Didn't know, didn't even know what that was.
  1157. 00:53:33.330 – 00:53:34.450 So how did you find out?
  1158. 00:53:34.870 – 00:53:36.790 So I had an administrator,
  1159. 00:53:36.870 – 00:53:38.370 one of the few black administrators,
  1160. 00:53:39.030 – 00:53:41.290 who said to me, you're depressed.
  1161. 00:53:41.790 – 00:53:42.870 He gave me a word.
  1162. 00:53:43.710 – 00:53:44.710 He said, what do you like to do?
  1163. 00:53:44.810 – 00:53:45.770 I said, I love music.
  1164. 00:53:46.190 – 00:53:47.670 He said, you should join the gospel choir.
  1165. 00:53:48.710 – 00:53:51.230 So I joined the gospel choir my sophomore year
  1166. 00:53:52.210 – 00:53:56.150 and in that choir, there were two young students
  1167. 00:53:56.150 – 00:53:57.930 who announced that they had a Bible study.
  1168. 00:53:58.730 – 00:54:00.550 And so I went to the Bible study
  1169. 00:54:00.550 – 00:54:03.250 and some of my best friends from my dorm were there
  1170. 00:54:03.250 – 00:54:05.010 and God started moving with us.
  1171. 00:54:05.010 – 00:54:06.890 We started craving the word.
  1172. 00:54:07.950 – 00:54:10.490 The supernatural started manifesting.
  1173. 00:54:10.690 – 00:54:13.950 It was just signs and miracles and wonders
  1174. 00:54:13.950 – 00:54:15.650 and God just took over.
  1175. 00:54:16.690 – 00:54:19.090 And I had always had a relationship with God,
  1176. 00:54:19.530 – 00:54:22.350 but I had never experienced anything like that.
  1177. 00:54:22.450 – 00:54:25.050 And so God swept me off my feet.
  1178. 00:54:25.090 – 00:54:27.530 And then right after that experience,
  1179. 00:54:27.530 – 00:54:31.650 my then fiance cheated on me.
  1180. 00:54:32.090 – 00:54:34.030 So I faced my first heartbreak ever.
  1181. 00:54:34.770 – 00:54:37.210 And thankfully I had a strong community
  1182. 00:54:37.210 – 00:54:38.990 and this new relationship with God,
  1183. 00:54:39.010 – 00:54:40.690 but it was like heartbreak central.
  1184. 00:54:41.830 – 00:54:44.310 And so I had to start doing the work
  1185. 00:54:44.310 – 00:54:46.130 of healing from that,
  1186. 00:54:46.190 – 00:54:48.690 but didn't really fully start healing
  1187. 00:54:48.690 – 00:54:49.890 until after graduation.
  1188. 00:54:50.430 – 00:54:53.110 But I also became very involved on campus.
  1189. 00:54:53.130 – 00:54:53.890 Like I mentioned,
  1190. 00:54:53.930 – 00:54:56.570 I had started an organization called Calling on Saints.
  1191. 00:54:56.570 – 00:54:59.530 My friends were helping with that organization.
  1192. 00:55:00.390 – 00:55:01.870 We did a dance ministry.
  1193. 00:55:01.990 – 00:55:03.370 I became a resident assistant.
  1194. 00:55:03.490 – 00:55:06.950 I became a leader and I couldn't have seen that then,
  1195. 00:55:06.950 – 00:55:08.430 but that's what was happening.
  1196. 00:55:08.850 – 00:55:11.170 And so I became very active
  1197. 00:55:11.170 – 00:55:13.750 and with my relationship with God,
  1198. 00:55:13.830 – 00:55:15.190 became active in ministry.
  1199. 00:55:16.190 – 00:55:17.270 So for me,
  1200. 00:55:17.290 – 00:55:19.510 college was not a typical experience
  1201. 00:55:19.510 – 00:55:21.370 that you hear a lot of other people share about
  1202. 00:55:21.370 – 00:55:25.110 because it was a revelation of my calling
  1203. 00:55:25.110 – 00:55:28.030 and my identity and this group of people
  1204. 00:55:28.030 – 00:55:29.410 who were gonna be my tribe
  1205. 00:55:29.410 – 00:55:31.810 and I was gonna be doing life with for 20 years.
  1206. 00:55:32.490 – 00:55:34.110 But it also was a huge blow.
  1207. 00:55:34.210 – 00:55:37.430 One of my biggest first blows with that breakup
  1208. 00:55:38.090 – 00:55:40.470 and my whole trajectory of life,
  1209. 00:55:41.230 – 00:55:43.490 my plan, my life plan shifted,
  1210. 00:55:44.570 – 00:55:46.070 but I made it through
  1211. 00:55:47.650 – 00:55:49.710 and have been the better for it.
  1212. 00:55:53.170 – 00:55:55.370 And I always love to hear the positivity
  1213. 00:55:55.370 – 00:55:59.690 at the end of dark situations, negative situations,
  1214. 00:55:59.830 – 00:56:01.750 like you said, overcoming a heartbreak
  1215. 00:56:01.750 – 00:56:06.610 as all of us probably experience heartbreak over time
  1216. 00:56:06.610 – 00:56:07.830 no matter what it was.
  1217. 00:56:07.890 – 00:56:11.870 I know I have and I wrote some of my greatest songs,
  1218. 00:56:12.630 – 00:56:13.830 some of them not released,
  1219. 00:56:13.930 – 00:56:15.970 but I remember just writing it out,
  1220. 00:56:16.010 – 00:56:18.050 writing my heart out, writing my pain out.
  1221. 00:56:18.430 – 00:56:19.630 And it's like, wow,
  1222. 00:56:19.690 – 00:56:23.350 I created this from this ugly situation,
  1223. 00:56:23.350 – 00:56:28.070 this bad, hard, aching situation.
  1224. 00:56:29.490 – 00:56:31.150 So being in college,
  1225. 00:56:32.190 – 00:56:34.770 you didn't see yourself as a creative
  1226. 00:56:35.630 – 00:56:37.570 as much as you do now.
  1227. 00:56:38.310 – 00:56:41.650 So did you find yourself writing at all
  1228. 00:56:41.650 – 00:56:42.550 during that challenging time?
  1229. 00:56:42.570 – 00:56:43.670 You know what's interesting?
  1230. 00:56:43.890 – 00:56:45.670 So I always loved music.
  1231. 00:56:45.870 – 00:56:47.610 So music would have been my outlet
  1232. 00:56:48.150 – 00:56:50.610 and that's why I was in the dance ministry
  1233. 00:56:50.610 – 00:56:51.970 and the gospel choir.
  1234. 00:56:52.630 – 00:56:54.190 My ex was a rapper.
  1235. 00:56:55.070 – 00:56:57.530 I reconnected because I sang on his,
  1236. 00:56:57.690 – 00:56:58.390 he needed a singer.
  1237. 00:56:58.930 – 00:57:00.470 So that was the space
  1238. 00:57:00.470 – 00:57:02.750 that I thought I would move in creatively.
  1239. 00:57:03.250 – 00:57:04.890 But there was something in me
  1240. 00:57:04.890 – 00:57:06.090 that knew I was a good writer.
  1241. 00:57:06.170 – 00:57:08.290 So when I really struggled with calculus
  1242. 00:57:08.830 – 00:57:10.210 in the business program,
  1243. 00:57:10.910 – 00:57:13.150 I was like, I can't do this anymore.
  1244. 00:57:13.390 – 00:57:14.850 I'm gonna be a journalism major.
  1245. 00:57:14.970 – 00:57:16.950 So I declared myself a journalism major.
  1246. 00:57:17.170 – 00:57:17.930 Switch gears.
  1247. 00:57:18.250 – 00:57:21.510 I did because I really felt like intimidated
  1248. 00:57:21.510 – 00:57:23.370 by the course, had been struggling
  1249. 00:57:23.370 – 00:57:25.410 and knew I was a good writer.
  1250. 00:57:25.530 – 00:57:28.290 But I felt very strongly God saying,
  1251. 00:57:28.490 – 00:57:29.890 marketing, marketing.
  1252. 00:57:30.470 – 00:57:32.610 Now at the time I'm like, why marketing?
  1253. 00:57:33.110 – 00:57:35.210 Like at the time I would have thought management.
  1254. 00:57:36.010 – 00:57:38.550 We didn't have entrepreneurship available back then.
  1255. 00:57:38.610 – 00:57:40.090 These are the early 2000s,
  1256. 00:57:40.090 – 00:57:44.850 but it took 15 years for me to get an answer.
  1257. 00:57:45.190 – 00:57:45.990 Why marketing?
  1258. 00:57:46.290 – 00:57:48.110 Because now that's what I do.
  1259. 00:57:48.370 – 00:57:49.770 But back then,
  1260. 00:57:49.770 – 00:57:51.650 academia couldn't have prepared me
  1261. 00:57:51.650 – 00:57:53.190 for the type of marketing I do.
  1262. 00:57:53.350 – 00:57:55.330 Email marketing, social media marketing,
  1263. 00:57:55.830 – 00:57:57.010 branding, brand storytelling.
  1264. 00:57:57.730 – 00:58:00.550 Like none of that existed back then,
  1265. 00:58:00.750 – 00:58:01.790 let alone entrepreneurship.
  1266. 00:58:02.150 – 00:58:04.790 So it's been a combination
  1267. 00:58:04.790 – 00:58:09.150 of my faith journey and life instances
  1268. 00:58:09.150 – 00:58:14.170 that have kind of helped me follow this path of purpose.
  1269. 00:58:14.690 – 00:58:17.530 But the biggest major decisions
  1270. 00:58:17.530 – 00:58:19.710 that I had to make in my life
  1271. 00:58:20.850 – 00:58:22.730 were hearing the Spirit of God.
  1272. 00:58:23.090 – 00:58:26.030 When I graduated college, I didn't have a job lined up.
  1273. 00:58:26.050 – 00:58:27.470 I didn't know what I was gonna do.
  1274. 00:58:27.570 – 00:58:28.970 I felt stressed.
  1275. 00:58:29.710 – 00:58:33.030 But what I heard very clearly was go back to Cleveland,
  1276. 00:58:33.510 – 00:58:35.770 move in with your mom, break up with your boyfriend.
  1277. 00:58:36.350 – 00:58:38.410 And those are three things I didn't wanna do.
  1278. 00:58:38.710 – 00:58:39.970 I didn't wanna come back to Cleveland.
  1279. 00:58:40.450 – 00:58:41.590 Me and my mom were beefing.
  1280. 00:58:41.690 – 00:58:42.670 I don't wanna live with her.
  1281. 00:58:42.910 – 00:58:44.310 I don't wanna break up with my boyfriend.
  1282. 00:58:45.350 – 00:58:47.690 So doing the hard thing,
  1283. 00:58:47.690 – 00:58:50.390 and that's something I valued at a young age,
  1284. 00:58:51.270 – 00:58:55.450 doing the hard thing rewarded me in the long run.
  1285. 00:58:56.130 – 00:58:59.230 And I had an understanding of delayed gratification,
  1286. 00:58:59.550 – 00:59:01.030 which is something a lot of young people
  1287. 00:59:01.030 – 00:59:03.410 probably don't have, but I did value.
  1288. 00:59:04.050 – 00:59:06.250 And I knew I'm gonna suffer now,
  1289. 00:59:06.250 – 00:59:07.570 but I'm gonna reign later.
  1290. 00:59:07.610 – 00:59:10.030 And I think I've always had that understanding.
  1291. 00:59:15.630 – 00:59:17.610 As yourself, as a prolific writer,
  1292. 00:59:17.610 – 00:59:20.910 what you are, but in those early stages,
  1293. 00:59:21.610 – 00:59:24.270 how long did it take you to complete your first book?
  1294. 00:59:24.870 – 00:59:26.730 So when I shared about when love wins,
  1295. 00:59:26.750 – 00:59:29.450 that took three years, right?
  1296. 00:59:30.310 – 00:59:33.430 So again, I value, I have perseverance.
  1297. 00:59:33.630 – 00:59:35.470 I value the long-term.
  1298. 00:59:35.850 – 00:59:38.390 It's like, I don't mind taking my time,
  1299. 00:59:38.450 – 00:59:39.810 even though I do struggle with patience.
  1300. 00:59:40.310 – 00:59:41.310 But I think spiritually,
  1301. 00:59:41.490 – 00:59:43.190 God has cultivated that in me.
  1302. 00:59:43.910 – 00:59:48.310 And so yeah, writing took me by surprise,
  1303. 00:59:49.290 – 00:59:53.590 but once I fell in love with it, I couldn't get enough.
  1304. 00:59:55.780 – 00:59:58.060 How did you overcome that heartbreak?
  1305. 00:59:59.300 – 01:00:01.240 And that, you would have to read the book
  1306. 01:00:01.240 – 01:00:03.000 because I share all of those tips.
  1307. 01:00:03.700 – 01:00:04.440 What's the title?
  1308. 01:00:04.540 – 01:00:05.560 But I'll give you,
  1309. 01:00:05.760 – 01:00:07.320 the title is how to overcome heartbreak,
  1310. 01:00:07.380 – 01:00:08.840 recovering from misguided love.
  1311. 01:00:09.820 – 01:00:12.320 I'll give you some of the tips,
  1312. 01:00:12.320 – 01:00:14.720 learning who you are outside of a relationship.
  1313. 01:00:15.020 – 01:00:18.100 I was very young, I lost my identity,
  1314. 01:00:18.260 – 01:00:20.680 didn't really know who I was, was codependent.
  1315. 01:00:21.560 – 01:00:24.180 So one of the biggest things that God was doing
  1316. 01:00:24.180 – 01:00:25.960 that I didn't realize was happening
  1317. 01:00:25.960 – 01:00:29.500 was him giving me my own friends,
  1318. 01:00:29.880 – 01:00:31.540 giving me my own interests,
  1319. 01:00:31.900 – 01:00:34.620 finding things that I like to do
  1320. 01:00:34.620 – 01:00:38.600 outside of the relationship was very healthy for me.
  1321. 01:00:39.320 – 01:00:42.620 Another thing, I had to deal with my own childhood trauma.
  1322. 01:00:43.220 – 01:00:45.100 What led me into that relationship?
  1323. 01:00:46.120 – 01:00:48.220 What was working in me that was unhealthy
  1324. 01:00:48.220 – 01:00:50.900 that caused me to attract someone unhealthy?
  1325. 01:00:52.790 – 01:00:57.020 Those are some of the things that I had.
  1326. 01:00:57.060 – 01:00:58.220 Learning who you are,
  1327. 01:00:58.400 – 01:01:01.840 learning who you are outside of someone else defining you.
  1328. 01:01:02.840 – 01:01:05.460 As you say, learning who you are,
  1329. 01:01:05.660 – 01:01:10.400 I love to preach, so I love to ask,
  1330. 01:01:10.460 – 01:01:12.940 how do you practice self love?
  1331. 01:01:15.220 – 01:01:17.320 I really enjoy my life.
  1332. 01:01:17.520 – 01:01:18.980 I love working out.
  1333. 01:01:19.020 – 01:01:20.500 That's like one of my things.
  1334. 01:01:21.020 – 01:01:22.020 I love shopping.
  1335. 01:01:22.740 – 01:01:24.660 I love drinking red dry wine.
  1336. 01:01:25.820 – 01:01:27.280 I love writing.
  1337. 01:01:27.820 – 01:01:31.660 I love doing what I do with this business,
  1338. 01:01:31.900 – 01:01:34.300 creating, doing events.
  1339. 01:01:34.840 – 01:01:37.620 I don't do anything that I don't love to do.
  1340. 01:01:38.060 – 01:01:41.000 Everything that I do in my life in this season,
  1341. 01:01:41.460 – 01:01:42.480 I love it.
  1342. 01:01:42.700 – 01:01:43.880 I love my cat.
  1343. 01:01:45.220 – 01:01:47.200 I love taking pictures.
  1344. 01:01:47.620 – 01:01:50.480 I love being cute and fashionable.
  1345. 01:01:51.480 – 01:01:54.460 Like, yeah, I take bubble baths.
  1346. 01:01:54.460 – 01:01:55.880 I get massages.
  1347. 01:01:56.500 – 01:01:59.520 You know, I love me.
  1348. 01:01:59.680 – 01:02:02.680 It's like, the women that I attract in Girl Talk
  1349. 01:02:02.680 – 01:02:04.420 are a reflection of me.
  1350. 01:02:05.020 – 01:02:08.020 And it's like, if I didn't,
  1351. 01:02:08.500 – 01:02:10.260 if I wasn't myself,
  1352. 01:02:10.740 – 01:02:13.140 like I would choose me to hang with.
  1353. 01:02:13.140 – 01:02:15.880 I would choose somebody like me to be like,
  1354. 01:02:15.940 – 01:02:17.120 you would be in my girl tribe.
  1355. 01:02:17.200 – 01:02:18.620 Like, I would be in my girl tribe.
  1356. 01:02:19.380 – 01:02:21.860 Yeah, I've said that before.
  1357. 01:02:22.080 – 01:02:26.080 I'm like, if I was outside of my body, my spirit,
  1358. 01:02:26.120 – 01:02:27.200 I would choose myself.
  1359. 01:02:27.260 – 01:02:28.860 Like, I'm my own best friend.
  1360. 01:02:29.280 – 01:02:32.500 Like, if I met a female version of myself,
  1361. 01:02:32.520 – 01:02:34.780 I would choose, you know.
  1362. 01:02:34.960 – 01:02:39.120 But I'll say, it has been my walk with God.
  1363. 01:02:39.220 – 01:02:41.720 For me, it came out of,
  1364. 01:02:41.720 – 01:02:45.280 I think he knew the woman that I wanted to be.
  1365. 01:02:45.720 – 01:02:49.400 And so he led me through this journey of becoming her.
  1366. 01:02:49.720 – 01:02:50.980 And a lot of it came through
  1367. 01:02:50.980 – 01:02:53.180 making very, very hard decisions,
  1368. 01:02:53.220 – 01:02:56.900 letting go of people that I didn't want to let go of,
  1369. 01:02:57.200 – 01:02:59.720 doing the things that I didn't want to do,
  1370. 01:03:00.140 – 01:03:03.260 and knowing that one day I'll be rewarded,
  1371. 01:03:03.660 – 01:03:06.960 but not even understanding that it was molding me
  1372. 01:03:06.960 – 01:03:10.140 into this version, the best version that I could be.
  1373. 01:03:12.630 – 01:03:15.690 So as we speak about self-love,
  1374. 01:03:16.050 – 01:03:20.700 how important is that when it comes to business?
  1375. 01:03:22.440 – 01:03:25.520 Love yourself is just gonna overflow on your business.
  1376. 01:03:25.740 – 01:03:26.920 And when you love in your business,
  1377. 01:03:26.920 – 01:03:28.440 it's gonna overflow on your life.
  1378. 01:03:29.000 – 01:03:30.080 So how important is that?
  1379. 01:03:31.100 – 01:03:33.000 And as I touched on before,
  1380. 01:03:33.740 – 01:03:35.880 I want the people I connect with
  1381. 01:03:35.880 – 01:03:37.760 to be the same behind the scenes
  1382. 01:03:37.760 – 01:03:39.360 as they are in the forefront.
  1383. 01:03:39.360 – 01:03:41.460 And I think that that's connected.
  1384. 01:03:42.280 – 01:03:44.440 Because with me, what you see is what you get.
  1385. 01:03:44.440 – 01:03:46.140 And I think most people recognize
  1386. 01:03:46.140 – 01:03:47.760 that I'm an authentic person.
  1387. 01:03:47.960 – 01:03:52.520 And so when I'm presenting on Girl Talk or publicly,
  1388. 01:03:53.180 – 01:03:57.040 it's like, yeah, I walk this stuff out behind the scenes.
  1389. 01:03:57.140 – 01:03:59.860 And so I definitely think it's,
  1390. 01:03:59.860 – 01:04:03.560 you need to be diligent about that character cultivation.
  1391. 01:04:04.140 – 01:04:06.320 You need to be healing.
  1392. 01:04:06.860 – 01:04:08.840 I'm a big advocate on inner healing.
  1393. 01:04:08.940 – 01:04:12.400 And that's why Girl Talk is about inner healing,
  1394. 01:04:12.400 – 01:04:13.620 because this is what I do.
  1395. 01:04:13.620 – 01:04:15.840 A lot of the topics that I choose
  1396. 01:04:15.840 – 01:04:17.700 are things I deal with,
  1397. 01:04:18.280 – 01:04:20.680 dealing with loss at the holidays.
  1398. 01:04:21.420 – 01:04:23.400 You know, the topic of feminism
  1399. 01:04:23.400 – 01:04:25.920 was from a guy I was seeing,
  1400. 01:04:26.500 – 01:04:27.980 dealing with colorism.
  1401. 01:04:28.400 – 01:04:29.720 That's been a personal issue.
  1402. 01:04:29.800 – 01:04:30.960 And a lot of those topics,
  1403. 01:04:31.040 – 01:04:32.460 I'd be nervous to talk about.
  1404. 01:04:32.600 – 01:04:33.560 Like, I don't know about this.
  1405. 01:04:34.160 – 01:04:36.760 But what I learned is you're not alone.
  1406. 01:04:37.380 – 01:04:37.900 That's true.
  1407. 01:04:38.080 – 01:04:41.440 So many people have these experiences
  1408. 01:04:41.440 – 01:04:42.840 and then we come together
  1409. 01:04:42.840 – 01:04:47.380 and we're able to get healing, strength, and courage
  1410. 01:04:47.920 – 01:04:50.620 on topics that were so difficult for us
  1411. 01:04:50.620 – 01:04:51.980 to deal with our face.
  1412. 01:04:53.720 – 01:04:57.000 So it's so important for you to do the inner work
  1413. 01:04:57.000 – 01:04:59.880 or else it's going to bleed into your business.
  1414. 01:04:59.920 – 01:05:01.900 It's going to bleed into your connections
  1415. 01:05:01.900 – 01:05:02.920 with other people.
  1416. 01:05:03.380 – 01:05:04.880 They are going to suffer
  1417. 01:05:04.880 – 01:05:07.060 unless you're doing the inner work on yourself.
  1418. 01:05:07.980 – 01:05:11.300 Wow, it brings me back to that airplane analogy
  1419. 01:05:11.300 – 01:05:14.340 like you have to save yourself
  1420. 01:05:14.340 – 01:05:15.680 before you can save someone else.
  1421. 01:05:20.760 – 01:05:22.660 And you gotta get above water
  1422. 01:05:22.660 – 01:05:24.860 before you can save somebody else
  1423. 01:05:24.860 – 01:05:25.900 and bring them to shore
  1424. 01:05:25.900 – 01:05:27.320 or bring them to the boat
  1425. 01:05:27.680 – 01:05:29.200 or bring them to the other side.
  1426. 01:05:30.920 – 01:05:32.220 I definitely could relate
  1427. 01:05:32.220 – 01:05:34.220 being in some similar situations
  1428. 01:05:34.220 – 01:05:38.240 and it's like that inner healing is needed
  1429. 01:05:38.240 – 01:05:39.960 and it's powerful
  1430. 01:05:41.540 – 01:05:43.740 because I've known so many people,
  1431. 01:05:43.920 – 01:05:47.140 even exes, that we just broken up
  1432. 01:05:47.140 – 01:05:49.820 and a couple days later they're in a new relationship
  1433. 01:05:49.820 – 01:05:51.600 multiple times back to back.
  1434. 01:05:51.860 – 01:05:54.540 It's unhealthy, it's toxic, it's like ugh.
  1435. 01:05:55.100 – 01:05:58.240 Like I take time, even when dating, I take time.
  1436. 01:05:58.420 – 01:06:00.540 Like people love jumping into relationships
  1437. 01:06:00.540 – 01:06:04.640 or jumping into something new before going back to vetting
  1438. 01:06:04.640 – 01:06:06.540 without vetting or even testing
  1439. 01:06:06.540 – 01:06:08.520 or even seeing what it would be like
  1440. 01:06:08.520 – 01:06:10.880 and it's just bad.
  1441. 01:06:11.520 – 01:06:15.780 Like you said, it just bleeds over and over and over
  1442. 01:06:15.780 – 01:06:21.560 without patching it up bad, bad, bad.
  1443. 01:06:25.890 – 01:06:29.830 For someone that wants to start book writing
  1444. 01:06:29.830 – 01:06:33.450 or be in business as an author
  1445. 01:06:33.450 – 01:06:35.610 and maybe own their own publishing,
  1446. 01:06:35.770 – 01:06:37.470 what are some tips you would give that person?
  1447. 01:06:38.410 – 01:06:40.170 As far as being an author,
  1448. 01:06:40.510 – 01:06:43.010 it's like use your craft,
  1449. 01:06:43.330 – 01:06:45.250 develop your craft, practice your writing.
  1450. 01:06:45.330 – 01:06:46.830 You only get better when you use it
  1451. 01:06:46.830 – 01:06:47.690 when you use your gifts.
  1452. 01:06:48.050 – 01:06:49.170 So to sharpen your gift,
  1453. 01:06:49.330 – 01:06:50.870 plug into writing communities,
  1454. 01:06:51.510 – 01:06:55.210 do the thing, don't make excuses, just do it.
  1455. 01:06:55.410 – 01:06:56.970 It's gonna be at the level that it's at
  1456. 01:06:56.970 – 01:06:58.030 and you're gonna see improvement.
  1457. 01:06:58.430 – 01:07:01.710 If I read any of my old work, I could critique it.
  1458. 01:07:01.770 – 01:07:04.190 We all can, but it's about the progress
  1459. 01:07:04.190 – 01:07:05.210 and the improvement.
  1460. 01:07:06.410 – 01:07:07.850 Starting a publishing house,
  1461. 01:07:07.970 – 01:07:09.770 you have to have a business acumen
  1462. 01:07:09.770 – 01:07:13.350 because now there's a lot of administration involved
  1463. 01:07:13.350 – 01:07:15.610 that's not necessarily involved with writing a book
  1464. 01:07:16.350 – 01:07:18.930 and you're leading others, you're leading a team.
  1465. 01:07:19.430 – 01:07:24.870 You need to know the industry as far as legal information.
  1466. 01:07:25.790 – 01:07:28.270 You need to know structure.
  1467. 01:07:28.830 – 01:07:32.510 So don't just think you're gonna start a publishing house.
  1468. 01:07:33.130 – 01:07:36.070 Do the research, know what you're getting into,
  1469. 01:07:36.370 – 01:07:38.990 know the market, know the type of clients
  1470. 01:07:38.990 – 01:07:40.210 that you wanna attract.
  1471. 01:07:40.490 – 01:07:44.070 Like I said, I vet clients and know the structure.
  1472. 01:07:45.070 – 01:07:46.110 Do your research.
  1473. 01:07:46.110 – 01:07:46.990 Cool.
  1474. 01:07:47.770 – 01:07:51.610 Is there benefits from somebody that wants
  1475. 01:07:51.610 – 01:07:55.590 to start their own versus go the traditional route?
  1476. 01:07:56.570 – 01:07:58.910 So there's a difference between being an indie author
  1477. 01:07:58.910 – 01:08:00.770 and actually starting a publishing house.
  1478. 01:08:01.170 – 01:08:04.370 So if you wanna publish your book yourself, you can,
  1479. 01:08:04.730 – 01:08:06.870 but if you want to curate spaces
  1480. 01:08:06.870 – 01:08:08.530 to publish other people's books,
  1481. 01:08:09.050 – 01:08:10.590 that's starting a publishing house.
  1482. 01:08:11.310 – 01:08:12.990 That's a whole different situation.
  1483. 01:08:13.370 – 01:08:15.190 But there's definitely differences
  1484. 01:08:15.190 – 01:08:17.029 between being a self-published author,
  1485. 01:08:17.290 – 01:08:19.890 being a traditional author and being a hybrid,
  1486. 01:08:20.410 – 01:08:23.189 publishing with a hybrid publisher such as myself.
  1487. 01:08:23.630 – 01:08:25.370 And you have to read the fine print
  1488. 01:08:25.370 – 01:08:26.930 and decide what works for you
  1489. 01:08:26.930 – 01:08:28.569 because no path is necessarily bad.
  1490. 01:08:28.590 – 01:08:31.189 It's just about what's best for you.
  1491. 01:08:32.310 – 01:08:33.990 Well, I know in the music industry,
  1492. 01:08:34.430 – 01:08:37.649 there's definitely bad, bad deals.
  1493. 01:08:38.430 – 01:08:41.990 And I remember I was excited when I got the opportunity
  1494. 01:08:41.990 – 01:08:50.020 to publish my first book on the time years ago, 2013.
  1495. 01:08:51.120 – 01:08:54.880 And I'm like, oh, a traditional publisher reached out
  1496. 01:08:54.880 – 01:08:58.380 to me, oh, they want to publish my book.
  1497. 01:08:58.960 – 01:09:01.640 And just not knowing at that young age,
  1498. 01:09:03.830 – 01:09:08.180 it was like an investment.
  1499. 01:09:08.880 – 01:09:10.240 You had to pay them?
  1500. 01:09:11.060 – 01:09:11.960 Exactly, not knowing.
  1501. 01:09:12.300 – 01:09:13.760 At that time, I was just excited.
  1502. 01:09:14.380 – 01:09:17.380 I'm like, I think it was,
  1503. 01:09:17.380 – 01:09:19.880 so two years before, 2011,
  1504. 01:09:19.979 – 01:09:22.359 a year after I graduated high school, I'm like,
  1505. 01:09:23.140 – 01:09:25.560 as soon as I buy a laptop,
  1506. 01:09:26.560 – 01:09:28.640 I'm going to publish my first book.
  1507. 01:09:29.020 – 01:09:30.979 I bought a laptop, started typing away,
  1508. 01:09:31.140 – 01:09:32.359 started editing all that,
  1509. 01:09:32.620 – 01:09:36.800 and just did exactly what I said I was gonna do.
  1510. 01:09:37.080 – 01:09:39.580 I published my book, 2013.
  1511. 01:09:40.340 – 01:09:44.200 I went with them and figured something is off.
  1512. 01:09:53.000 – 01:09:56.480 Saying they could publish four more additional books.
  1513. 01:09:56.480 – 01:09:58.720 Now, I did not,
  1514. 01:09:59.540 – 01:10:00.920 because since that book,
  1515. 01:10:01.200 – 01:10:02.820 I just went to self-publish, Rob.
  1516. 01:10:03.640 – 01:10:06.920 Just published my own books and just figured it out.
  1517. 01:10:06.940 – 01:10:09.020 I'm like, this is not a good deal.
  1518. 01:10:09.180 – 01:10:12.900 I'm like, I'm paying for them to publish my book
  1519. 01:10:12.900 – 01:10:14.940 and they're not marketing it,
  1520. 01:10:15.300 – 01:10:18.320 or how I see my books should be out there.
  1521. 01:10:18.740 – 01:10:20.120 So I'm like, I don't need them.
  1522. 01:10:20.800 – 01:10:22.260 Yeah, that was a huge red flag.
  1523. 01:10:22.260 – 01:10:23.080 First and foremost,
  1524. 01:10:23.300 – 01:10:26.120 you should never be paying a publisher to publish you
  1525. 01:10:26.120 – 01:10:28.580 unless it is a hybrid publishing
  1526. 01:10:28.580 – 01:10:30.920 and you're paying for services
  1527. 01:10:30.920 – 01:10:33.040 and you're gonna be promoting it.
  1528. 01:10:33.440 – 01:10:36.200 But a traditionally published company,
  1529. 01:10:36.820 – 01:10:38.580 they're gonna give you an advance.
  1530. 01:10:39.220 – 01:10:40.340 You're gonna sign a contract,
  1531. 01:10:40.360 – 01:10:41.680 but you even need to read that
  1532. 01:10:41.680 – 01:10:43.780 because it could be eaten up by marketing.
  1533. 01:10:44.060 – 01:10:45.260 It could be eaten up by a lot.
  1534. 01:10:46.020 – 01:10:48.560 Even when you're working with a hybrid publisher,
  1535. 01:10:49.080 – 01:10:52.560 typically they will take 50% of royalties.
  1536. 01:10:52.900 – 01:10:54.260 I actually don't.
  1537. 01:10:54.260 – 01:10:56.240 I allow my clients to keep all their royalties
  1538. 01:10:56.880 – 01:10:59.200 and you always own your own work.
  1539. 01:10:59.380 – 01:11:00.960 Like you should have your copyright.
  1540. 01:11:01.260 – 01:11:01.800 That's magic.
  1541. 01:11:03.280 – 01:11:07.160 But yeah, so for you to pay them is interesting
  1542. 01:11:08.600 – 01:11:10.900 and you have to read the fine print.
  1543. 01:11:11.080 – 01:11:14.160 Like you have to know what you're getting.
  1544. 01:11:14.940 – 01:11:19.520 The other thing is I specialize with using third parties
  1545. 01:11:19.520 – 01:11:21.040 that print on demand.
  1546. 01:11:21.500 – 01:11:24.740 And that is something that I speak passionately about
  1547. 01:11:24.740 – 01:11:26.080 because I've heard horror stories
  1548. 01:11:26.080 – 01:11:28.060 of authors working with publishers
  1549. 01:11:28.780 – 01:11:30.840 who have forced them, the contract says,
  1550. 01:11:30.860 – 01:11:34.920 they have to buy a thousand of their books
  1551. 01:11:34.920 – 01:11:38.420 and then you have to store the book somewhere.
  1552. 01:11:39.220 – 01:11:42.180 Publishing on demand allows you to keep track
  1553. 01:11:42.180 – 01:11:44.440 of what you need when you need your inventory.
  1554. 01:11:44.520 – 01:11:45.720 You want your inventory low.
  1555. 01:11:45.820 – 01:11:48.860 You only wanna buy how many you're gonna sell.
  1556. 01:11:49.120 – 01:11:50.600 You don't want all of these books
  1557. 01:11:50.600 – 01:11:52.200 sitting around doing nothing.
  1558. 01:11:53.500 – 01:11:54.680 So it's definitely a red flag.
  1559. 01:11:54.860 – 01:11:58.460 I mean, paying for services, yes,
  1560. 01:11:58.860 – 01:12:01.640 but even with paying for those services,
  1561. 01:12:02.840 – 01:12:06.760 you are guaranteed exposure, marketing,
  1562. 01:12:07.560 – 01:12:10.540 a level of something playing field with marketing
  1563. 01:12:11.100 – 01:12:13.820 and you also have all of your rights
  1564. 01:12:13.820 – 01:12:16.960 and you're in a position to push the book yourself
  1565. 01:12:16.960 – 01:12:18.000 if you need to.
  1566. 01:12:19.140 – 01:12:21.700 But yeah, that definitely sounded like a bad deal.
  1567. 01:12:21.960 – 01:12:24.920 Oh, talk about translating it to music.
  1568. 01:12:25.080 – 01:12:28.660 It was a 360 deals, it was just bad all around.
  1569. 01:12:29.260 – 01:12:31.240 I was young and dumb.
  1570. 01:12:31.240 – 01:12:32.900 Of course, you don't know when you're young.
  1571. 01:12:33.140 – 01:12:35.020 Just wanting to do it, just like you said,
  1572. 01:12:35.060 – 01:12:37.160 just do it and I got my book.
  1573. 01:12:37.300 – 01:12:38.800 Yeah, I got my book all right.
  1574. 01:12:40.540 – 01:12:44.640 And one of the things I do is I empower my authors
  1575. 01:12:44.640 – 01:12:45.960 to be indie authors.
  1576. 01:12:45.960 – 01:12:49.500 So I specialize in showing them the behind the scenes
  1577. 01:12:49.500 – 01:12:52.360 so that if they don't wanna publish with me again,
  1578. 01:12:52.580 – 01:12:53.780 they can do it themselves
  1579. 01:12:53.780 – 01:12:55.320 because for me, it's not about the money,
  1580. 01:12:55.320 – 01:12:57.160 it's about educating and empowering
  1581. 01:12:57.680 – 01:13:00.180 and I want them to have the right information
  1582. 01:13:00.180 – 01:13:01.720 so they're not taking advantage of.
  1583. 01:13:02.080 – 01:13:03.360 Yeah, that's powerful.
  1584. 01:13:05.620 – 01:13:06.360 Now, as you say,
  1585. 01:13:08.520 – 01:13:10.380 honing your craft earlier
  1586. 01:13:10.380 – 01:13:12.900 and just doing the work.
  1587. 01:13:14.080 – 01:13:17.340 Are there any workshops that you personally conduct at all?
  1588. 01:13:18.300 – 01:13:20.100 I did a workshop last year
  1589. 01:13:20.100 – 01:13:21.820 for Large Tumor Arts Festival
  1590. 01:13:21.820 – 01:13:23.060 and I'll be doing one
  1591. 01:13:23.060 – 01:13:26.180 at the Great Lakes Fiction Writers Conference next month,
  1592. 01:13:26.440 – 01:13:29.400 which is gonna be at the South Green
  1593. 01:13:29.400 – 01:13:30.520 and Euclid Library.
  1594. 01:13:31.140 – 01:13:32.520 I'm really looking forward to that.
  1595. 01:13:32.700 – 01:13:34.340 Barbara Howard is the president
  1596. 01:13:34.340 – 01:13:36.600 and she's actually gonna be a featured indie author
  1597. 01:13:36.600 – 01:13:39.260 at the expo and she was a featured author last year,
  1598. 01:13:39.260 – 01:13:40.620 which is very encouraging
  1599. 01:13:40.620 – 01:13:42.580 because several of the authors are coming back.
  1600. 01:13:42.580 – 01:13:44.200 So it's like, you know your event is dope
  1601. 01:13:44.200 – 01:13:46.300 if the authors wanna come back and do it again.
  1602. 01:13:46.880 – 01:13:47.040 Yeah.
  1603. 01:13:47.120 – 01:13:48.500 But yeah, I'll be doing that,
  1604. 01:13:48.720 – 01:13:51.220 manifesting your book and that's next month.
  1605. 01:13:51.220 – 01:13:53.820 So I think it's the 25th, July 25th.
  1606. 01:13:56.520 – 01:14:02.830 Is there any, I would say protection on your end
  1607. 01:14:02.830 – 01:14:09.320 when you're writing your book to get it published.
  1608. 01:14:09.360 – 01:14:12.400 Of course, you may start freehand,
  1609. 01:14:12.400 – 01:14:15.540 pen and paper and then you translate it over
  1610. 01:14:16.200 – 01:14:18.840 to computer to get it typed out.
  1611. 01:14:19.580 – 01:14:23.420 Like I remember being wiped out from music,
  1612. 01:14:24.100 – 01:14:30.400 poems, just random writings and notes to books.
  1613. 01:14:30.500 – 01:14:32.580 Like I had so many books.
  1614. 01:14:32.880 – 01:14:34.200 I was like, I'm about to be famous.
  1615. 01:14:34.260 – 01:14:35.160 I'm about to be rich.
  1616. 01:14:35.300 – 01:14:37.100 I'm about to be, you know.
  1617. 01:14:37.420 – 01:14:41.900 I took that fuel from that bad publishing deal,
  1618. 01:14:41.900 – 01:14:43.100 my first book.
  1619. 01:14:43.800 – 01:14:46.140 And I'm like, oh, I'm about to start writing.
  1620. 01:14:46.320 – 01:14:48.740 And then I caught a virus on my laptop
  1621. 01:14:48.740 – 01:14:50.120 and lost everything.
  1622. 01:14:50.120 – 01:14:50.740 So horrible.
  1623. 01:14:51.380 – 01:14:54.940 Like one of my biggest books I was writing at the time,
  1624. 01:14:55.620 – 01:14:58.100 which I was also writing a sequel, you know,
  1625. 01:14:58.100 – 01:15:01.140 I was making it a trilogy to my first book.
  1626. 01:15:02.360 – 01:15:06.320 But outside of that, my biggest book was
  1627. 01:15:06.320 – 01:15:08.740 What Is Life?
  1628. 01:15:09.720 – 01:15:11.760 I had so many questions about life.
  1629. 01:15:12.300 – 01:15:16.460 What is the simple definition of life?
  1630. 01:15:16.660 – 01:15:17.420 What is life?
  1631. 01:15:17.920 – 01:15:19.960 Is it this, is that, is that, is this?
  1632. 01:15:19.980 – 01:15:22.100 No, it's also this, is this, da, da, da, da.
  1633. 01:15:22.620 – 01:15:23.780 So I like to ask you,
  1634. 01:15:23.840 – 01:15:26.260 what is your personal definition?
  1635. 01:15:26.560 – 01:15:32.340 I really think it is a journey
  1636. 01:15:32.340 – 01:15:34.860 of discovering true identity,
  1637. 01:15:35.840 – 01:15:37.600 which I don't think we can know outside
  1638. 01:15:37.600 – 01:15:38.700 of knowing the creator,
  1639. 01:15:38.780 – 01:15:40.120 because we're made in that image.
  1640. 01:15:41.580 – 01:15:44.440 But it has been a journey of discovery
  1641. 01:15:44.440 – 01:15:47.280 for me, and I'm still on it.
  1642. 01:15:47.780 – 01:15:49.340 But it's been very rewarding.
  1643. 01:15:57.730 – 01:15:59.110 Going back to the original question,
  1644. 01:15:59.270 – 01:16:02.430 is there like any guidelines or protections
  1645. 01:16:02.430 – 01:16:06.310 to saving your writing to avoid causes like that?
  1646. 01:16:06.590 – 01:16:08.130 Well, thankfully these days,
  1647. 01:16:08.430 – 01:16:13.610 we have Google Docs, we have online tools
  1648. 01:16:13.610 – 01:16:16.030 that we can use that auto-drive things.
  1649. 01:16:16.130 – 01:16:17.050 But I have backups.
  1650. 01:16:17.210 – 01:16:21.130 Even when I work on Word, I'll email copies to myself.
  1651. 01:16:21.510 – 01:16:24.510 I work on Word and Google Docs.
  1652. 01:16:25.210 – 01:16:27.290 I don't necessarily handwrite.
  1653. 01:16:27.410 – 01:16:28.690 I actually have horrible handwriting.
  1654. 01:16:29.310 – 01:16:31.090 So I am a typer.
  1655. 01:16:31.130 – 01:16:33.010 I'm a computer person.
  1656. 01:16:35.390 – 01:16:36.710 But yeah, those are the basics.
  1657. 01:16:36.950 – 01:16:39.870 I usually use Word and Google Docs.
  1658. 01:16:40.070 – 01:16:42.110 And I have so many different versions
  1659. 01:16:42.750 – 01:16:44.210 of my book everywhere.
  1660. 01:16:44.790 – 01:16:47.430 Even I use a software called Vellum.
  1661. 01:16:47.810 – 01:16:50.810 And so I have these different stages of my book
  1662. 01:16:50.810 – 01:16:53.430 where I'm doing edits and things.
  1663. 01:16:53.750 – 01:16:58.530 So I'm saving like multi-versions of the drafts.
  1664. 01:16:58.950 – 01:17:01.450 And I have so many drafts in my book, like everywhere.
  1665. 01:17:04.780 – 01:17:06.500 As I'm in visual media,
  1666. 01:17:06.520 – 01:17:10.240 I know the importance of one video,
  1667. 01:17:10.240 – 01:17:12.580 but also a great picture.
  1668. 01:17:13.080 – 01:17:14.620 And if you're on social media,
  1669. 01:17:14.760 – 01:17:18.400 it's powerful to have a great picture, a great headshot.
  1670. 01:17:19.280 – 01:17:21.080 So translating that into the book,
  1671. 01:17:21.080 – 01:17:23.340 how important is a cover?
  1672. 01:17:24.500 – 01:17:25.660 You know, that saying,
  1673. 01:17:25.720 – 01:17:27.360 you can't judge a book by its cover.
  1674. 01:17:28.740 – 01:17:31.280 I think we use that in an interesting way
  1675. 01:17:31.280 – 01:17:34.080 because we typically do judge by the outward appearance.
  1676. 01:17:34.180 – 01:17:36.600 So there is some type of message
  1677. 01:17:36.600 – 01:17:39.440 that you still wanna have with your book cover
  1678. 01:17:39.440 – 01:17:42.480 that's gonna draw people in or the right people in,
  1679. 01:17:42.500 – 01:17:44.820 or at least allude to what is the book about.
  1680. 01:17:45.460 – 01:17:46.560 I'm really blessed
  1681. 01:17:46.560 – 01:17:48.580 that I've connected with Sharita Karthon.
  1682. 01:17:48.680 – 01:17:49.740 Shout out to Sharita,
  1683. 01:17:49.740 – 01:17:53.860 who did Devon's Cafe and Unfinished Business Lisa.
  1684. 01:17:54.140 – 01:17:56.400 And she's really nailing the series.
  1685. 01:17:57.000 – 01:17:59.460 But even with working with a different designer
  1686. 01:17:59.460 – 01:18:01.640 for When Love Wins, they still nailed it
  1687. 01:18:01.640 – 01:18:03.880 because it was exactly a scene in the book
  1688. 01:18:03.880 – 01:18:05.540 that I envisioned the cover to be.
  1689. 01:18:06.260 – 01:18:08.740 And then even Lisa's book,
  1690. 01:18:08.940 – 01:18:12.460 she was exactly how I saw her.
  1691. 01:18:12.720 – 01:18:13.840 So as a visionary,
  1692. 01:18:14.100 – 01:18:18.440 it's like I'm still getting this download of this idea
  1693. 01:18:18.440 – 01:18:19.840 of what I want the image to be
  1694. 01:18:19.840 – 01:18:21.240 and then connecting with the right people
  1695. 01:18:21.240 – 01:18:23.180 who have the gift to make that come alive.
  1696. 01:18:24.080 – 01:18:25.000 It's definitely important.
  1697. 01:18:25.160 – 01:18:27.180 You don't wanna underestimate your book cover.
  1698. 01:18:27.960 – 01:18:29.940 So is this Devon on the cover?
  1699. 01:18:31.040 – 01:18:35.040 And I see the skyline in a lower background
  1700. 01:18:35.040 – 01:18:36.740 and he's in the cafe.
  1701. 01:18:47.080 – 01:18:51.980 Well, Devon is on the brink of his life changing.
  1702. 01:18:52.120 – 01:18:53.760 He's about to graduate college,
  1703. 01:18:53.940 – 01:18:57.160 but he finds himself engulfed and enthralled
  1704. 01:18:57.160 – 01:18:59.080 in his first real love.
  1705. 01:19:00.580 – 01:19:03.860 So unfortunately, some obstacles emerge
  1706. 01:19:03.860 – 01:19:04.940 in his personal life,
  1707. 01:19:05.020 – 01:19:06.820 several different obstacles actually.
  1708. 01:19:07.620 – 01:19:12.000 And the book is really portraying him looking forward
  1709. 01:19:12.000 – 01:19:15.920 into his future, him standing in purpose and identity,
  1710. 01:19:16.440 – 01:19:18.820 but there are gonna be some hard choices
  1711. 01:19:18.820 – 01:19:20.940 that he's gonna have to make, some hard sacrifices.
  1712. 01:19:23.590 – 01:19:24.490 You know what they say,
  1713. 01:19:24.570 – 01:19:28.890 and this is why kind of shift gears towards photography
  1714. 01:19:28.890 – 01:19:31.470 they say a picture tells a thousand words
  1715. 01:19:31.470 – 01:19:32.530 and I am a writer.
  1716. 01:19:32.530 – 01:19:35.010 Like I will write my heart out.
  1717. 01:19:35.450 – 01:19:38.010 But when I started picking up a camera more,
  1718. 01:19:38.750 – 01:19:40.830 they say a picture tells a thousand words
  1719. 01:19:40.830 – 01:19:44.190 and I get to tell a thousand words multiple times.
  1720. 01:19:50.380 – 01:19:54.560 Very well thought out.
  1721. 01:19:54.560 – 01:19:55.780 Shout out to Sharita.
  1722. 01:19:56.280 – 01:19:58.200 Yeah, over power brand.
  1723. 01:19:58.760 – 01:20:00.760 And I'll be talking to you next month.
  1724. 01:20:00.940 – 01:20:03.640 So yeah, shout out to Sharita Karthon.
  1725. 01:20:05.210 – 01:20:08.950 So I would like to end with a few more questions.
  1726. 01:20:09.670 – 01:20:12.230 I know I kind of asked you this before,
  1727. 01:20:12.690 – 01:20:17.650 but I get alive on a podcast as a creative.
  1728. 01:20:19.870 – 01:20:23.370 How would you describe your creative process
  1729. 01:20:23.370 – 01:20:25.110 if it was a weather forecast?
  1730. 01:20:28.850 – 01:20:30.630 What did I say before?
  1731. 01:20:30.870 – 01:20:35.850 Oh, I said quiet storm because it snuck up on me.
  1732. 01:20:35.850 – 01:20:40.630 I'm like, oh, but then it's like,
  1733. 01:20:40.630 – 01:20:42.150 once I get going, it's over.
  1734. 01:20:43.940 – 01:20:45.120 I'll stick with that answer.
  1735. 01:20:45.540 – 01:20:45.880 Okay.
  1736. 01:20:47.220 – 01:20:49.960 And when you're in your creative process,
  1737. 01:20:50.720 – 01:20:52.560 is there a time that you're constantly thinking
  1738. 01:20:52.560 – 01:20:55.440 about the business side at all?
  1739. 01:20:55.460 – 01:20:56.160 Oh, no.
  1740. 01:20:56.380 – 01:20:59.400 It is such a side for me to let loose and be free.
  1741. 01:20:59.620 – 01:21:01.900 That's why I don't create outlines or anything
  1742. 01:21:01.900 – 01:21:05.460 because I can be so structured type A
  1743. 01:21:05.460 – 01:21:06.600 and linear in my thinking.
  1744. 01:21:08.040 – 01:21:10.800 So creating is like releasing, flowing,
  1745. 01:21:11.560 – 01:21:14.340 not being hindered and just seeing what comes out
  1746. 01:21:14.340 – 01:21:16.600 in this experience with the divine.
  1747. 01:21:17.620 – 01:21:18.680 So, yeah.
  1748. 01:21:19.180 – 01:21:21.280 And how do you balance that?
  1749. 01:21:21.660 – 01:21:24.100 Like you said, it could be type A structure,
  1750. 01:21:24.900 – 01:21:26.940 but when you're on your creative mode
  1751. 01:21:26.940 – 01:21:29.500 and you're on that creative flow,
  1752. 01:21:30.760 – 01:21:32.020 it's like it's going and going.
  1753. 01:21:32.140 – 01:21:33.420 So how do you balance the two?
  1754. 01:21:34.560 – 01:21:36.800 Well, you're gonna need editing,
  1755. 01:21:37.340 – 01:21:39.280 a lot of editing on the backend.
  1756. 01:21:40.100 – 01:21:42.640 It's not that I'm never type A,
  1757. 01:21:42.660 – 01:21:44.640 it's just a time and a place for it.
  1758. 01:21:45.180 – 01:21:47.040 And so learning to differentiate
  1759. 01:21:47.040 – 01:21:50.340 when is it time to be administrative and structured?
  1760. 01:21:50.820 – 01:21:53.100 When is it time to flow and be creative?
  1761. 01:21:53.540 – 01:21:55.700 And I have an innate knowing of that,
  1762. 01:21:55.780 – 01:21:59.160 which helps me do both and balance it
  1763. 01:21:59.160 – 01:22:02.440 and be an entrepreneur and lead teams
  1764. 01:22:02.440 – 01:22:04.140 and be a visionary and execute
  1765. 01:22:04.720 – 01:22:07.860 because I can sense when it's time for either.
  1766. 01:22:10.650 – 01:22:14.150 And I know you're also a speaker and coach
  1767. 01:22:14.150 – 01:22:16.530 and is there one that you love more?
  1768. 01:22:18.210 – 01:22:20.450 I love to inspire people.
  1769. 01:22:20.610 – 01:22:27.330 I love getting to teach them the right path
  1770. 01:22:27.330 – 01:22:30.230 so that they are equipped in that,
  1771. 01:22:30.870 – 01:22:34.470 making the mistakes I've made or being taken advantage of.
  1772. 01:22:35.270 – 01:22:37.010 But I think the speaking
  1773. 01:22:37.530 – 01:22:39.910 is probably more of my wheelhouse
  1774. 01:22:40.410 – 01:22:43.910 that I can see the open doors in that space
  1775. 01:22:44.710 – 01:22:46.950 and the feedback that I've gotten
  1776. 01:22:46.950 – 01:22:50.190 is how people feel when I'm presenting
  1777. 01:22:50.190 – 01:22:52.590 and it's very natural for me.
  1778. 01:22:52.810 – 01:22:55.930 I can experience a lot of nerves beforehand.
  1779. 01:22:55.930 – 01:22:56.810 Oh yeah.
  1780. 01:22:57.550 – 01:22:59.950 But it's like, just put the mic in my hand,
  1781. 01:22:59.950 – 01:23:00.970 like that's how it feels.
  1782. 01:23:01.130 – 01:23:03.050 It's like, if I can just get the mic in my hand,
  1783. 01:23:03.050 – 01:23:03.790 like I'm good.
  1784. 01:23:03.870 – 01:23:05.110 It's a different feeling, ain't it?
  1785. 01:23:05.110 – 01:23:08.490 Yeah, it's just like, I need to just be moving in it.
  1786. 01:23:08.570 – 01:23:10.330 It's that lead up and build up
  1787. 01:23:10.330 – 01:23:12.230 that makes it more nerve wracking.
  1788. 01:23:12.330 – 01:23:15.170 Even when I host events, I have to have downtime.
  1789. 01:23:15.170 – 01:23:17.670 I have to have quiet time the day before,
  1790. 01:23:17.670 – 01:23:19.790 the day after I need a nap, the day of.
  1791. 01:23:19.890 – 01:23:22.530 I don't talk to many people the day of.
  1792. 01:23:22.550 – 01:23:23.790 There's a whole process.
  1793. 01:23:23.810 – 01:23:25.830 It's a process, trust me.
  1794. 01:23:25.890 – 01:23:28.210 When I used to do music, that was my ritual.
  1795. 01:23:29.050 – 01:23:31.790 Even before everything, I take a sip of water,
  1796. 01:23:31.870 – 01:23:35.090 I leave the beverage just to refresh it.
  1797. 01:23:35.090 – 01:23:36.510 My house needs to be clean.
  1798. 01:23:36.630 – 01:23:38.270 I was talking to Jumar about that
  1799. 01:23:38.270 – 01:23:39.550 before something for the fellas,
  1800. 01:23:39.570 – 01:23:41.330 like, why am I like that?
  1801. 01:23:41.350 – 01:23:42.610 Why does my house need to be clean?
  1802. 01:23:42.750 – 01:23:43.590 And he was like, cause you.
  1803. 01:23:43.710 – 01:23:43.930 Clarity.
  1804. 01:23:44.450 – 01:23:46.650 Yeah, and you don't have control over the event.
  1805. 01:23:46.770 – 01:23:47.630 You don't know what's gonna happen,
  1806. 01:23:47.630 – 01:23:49.630 but you have control over your home environment.
  1807. 01:23:49.970 – 01:23:51.630 And I was like, that makes perfect sense.
  1808. 01:23:51.630 – 01:23:52.350 It's true.
  1809. 01:23:52.570 – 01:23:55.010 I need my house clean, even before I go on my trip.
  1810. 01:23:55.190 – 01:23:56.570 Like, my house needs to be clean.
  1811. 01:23:57.210 – 01:23:59.830 It's like, you control what you can having that structure
  1812. 01:23:59.830 – 01:24:01.990 cause you don't know what's gonna happen.
  1813. 01:24:02.870 – 01:24:05.230 Yeah, that's true.
  1814. 01:24:05.490 – 01:24:07.730 That's the clarity, that peace of mind.
  1815. 01:24:08.550 – 01:24:10.130 Your thoughts is more organized.
  1816. 01:24:10.870 – 01:24:11.210 Exactly.
  1817. 01:24:11.330 – 01:24:13.550 And I write after writing that space too.
  1818. 01:24:13.630 – 01:24:14.890 I write at home.
  1819. 01:24:15.090 – 01:24:16.250 So I need my home environment
  1820. 01:24:16.250 – 01:24:18.530 to be conducive to that as well.
  1821. 01:24:26.940 – 01:24:30.000 At the expo, we're working on this documentary.
  1822. 01:24:30.320 – 01:24:32.240 We're gonna present the pilots.
  1823. 01:24:33.460 – 01:24:34.700 Devin's Cafe is out.
  1824. 01:24:34.700 – 01:24:36.520 I already have ideas for the second
  1825. 01:24:36.520 – 01:24:39.100 or the next book in the series,
  1826. 01:24:39.100 – 01:24:40.540 which involves some traveling.
  1827. 01:24:43.100 – 01:24:44.600 I have a conference I'm working on.
  1828. 01:24:44.720 – 01:24:47.580 So there's gonna be more to be said about that.
  1829. 01:24:47.580 – 01:24:50.340 And it's pivoting a little bit, which is exciting.
  1830. 01:24:50.400 – 01:24:52.240 From expo to conference.
  1831. 01:24:52.360 – 01:24:54.060 We'll let her hear more about this.
  1832. 01:24:54.980 – 01:24:58.220 You're gonna have to wait, but stay tuned.
  1833. 01:24:58.700 – 01:25:00.920 Definitely subscribe to NicoleDMiller.com.
  1834. 01:25:00.960 – 01:25:02.620 That is where I give my audience
  1835. 01:25:02.620 – 01:25:06.800 all of my current events and up-to-date information.
  1836. 01:25:07.540 – 01:25:12.480 But yeah, I think I'm really just seeing what is next.
  1837. 01:25:12.660 – 01:25:14.100 Even though I am a planner
  1838. 01:25:14.640 – 01:25:16.820 and I have these visions and ideas,
  1839. 01:25:17.680 – 01:25:20.360 I don't always know the big picture.
  1840. 01:25:20.400 – 01:25:22.980 Sometimes I know three to six months.
  1841. 01:25:24.760 – 01:25:28.560 But so right now I feel like I know up through September,
  1842. 01:25:28.580 – 01:25:32.260 but then I always have things rolling in
  1843. 01:25:32.880 – 01:25:34.620 that just kind of fill up my calendar
  1844. 01:25:34.620 – 01:25:36.640 and I've never had to seek anything.
  1845. 01:25:36.640 – 01:25:38.260 Since I've been doing this,
  1846. 01:25:38.440 – 01:25:39.540 the events always come to me.
  1847. 01:25:39.620 – 01:25:41.140 The opportunities always come to me.
  1848. 01:25:41.580 – 01:25:43.640 So that's been a blessing of being like,
  1849. 01:25:43.640 – 01:25:45.160 I don't look for it, it just comes.
  1850. 01:25:45.400 – 01:25:46.500 But because I said yes,
  1851. 01:25:46.500 – 01:25:48.020 and because I put myself out there
  1852. 01:25:48.020 – 01:25:49.340 and have done the work.
  1853. 01:25:49.700 – 01:25:50.700 That's very true.
  1854. 01:25:50.840 – 01:25:52.820 Even when I called you last month,
  1855. 01:25:52.820 – 01:25:54.380 a couple of days before the event.
  1856. 01:25:54.720 – 01:25:57.220 And I'm like, yeah, it happens like that.
  1857. 01:25:57.240 – 01:25:59.460 And you did that while I was at an event.
  1858. 01:25:59.620 – 01:26:00.980 Like I was at an event.
  1859. 01:26:01.120 – 01:26:02.100 I'm like, okay, I'm at an event.
  1860. 01:26:02.240 – 01:26:03.060 You give me an event.
  1861. 01:26:03.160 – 01:26:03.860 I was like, okay.
  1862. 01:26:03.980 – 01:26:05.300 Trying to be a part of another event.
  1863. 01:26:05.300 – 01:26:06.720 In two days.
  1864. 01:26:07.220 – 01:26:07.620 Right.
  1865. 01:26:08.400 – 01:26:11.060 But it's like I said, that community,
  1866. 01:26:11.060 – 01:26:13.500 that trust and having that good network.
  1867. 01:26:15.260 – 01:26:17.220 The foundation's already set.
  1868. 01:26:17.340 – 01:26:21.720 I think for me it is that next level of the dream
  1869. 01:26:21.720 – 01:26:25.240 manifesting in the connections
  1870. 01:26:25.240 – 01:26:27.880 that are gonna come for that to happen
  1871. 01:26:27.880 – 01:26:30.640 and being sensitive to those connections.
  1872. 01:26:32.080 – 01:26:35.040 And yeah, that next level of progress.
  1873. 01:26:35.920 – 01:26:38.400 So we'll see how that manifests.
  1874. 01:26:39.100 – 01:26:42.460 Now I wanna leave on this note,
  1875. 01:26:43.320 – 01:26:47.180 just thinking about the time we put into the documentary
  1876. 01:26:47.180 – 01:26:50.620 and we still have a lot of work to go.
  1877. 01:26:51.480 – 01:26:54.820 How much work and time is needed
  1878. 01:26:54.820 – 01:26:56.600 to work on a project like this?
  1879. 01:26:57.040 – 01:26:58.660 Like it doesn't happen overnight, right?
  1880. 01:26:58.780 – 01:27:00.100 Clearly, you know,
  1881. 01:27:00.220 – 01:27:02.760 a documentary is telling a story of a person's journey.
  1882. 01:27:02.760 – 01:27:05.020 So you already know it's gonna take time.
  1883. 01:27:05.540 – 01:27:08.000 Right now we're at the four year mark, I believe.
  1884. 01:27:08.220 – 01:27:09.940 Four years in county.
  1885. 01:27:10.060 – 01:27:11.000 Four years in.
  1886. 01:27:11.440 – 01:27:13.760 And I still haven't gotten to where I know I'm going.
  1887. 01:27:14.400 – 01:27:16.620 So who knows how much longer we have,
  1888. 01:27:16.620 – 01:27:19.840 but I'm grateful I have somebody like you on the road
  1889. 01:27:19.840 – 01:27:22.660 to say yes, to be committed, to be dedicated,
  1890. 01:27:22.820 – 01:27:25.260 to have follow throughs, to have a skill set.
  1891. 01:27:26.260 – 01:27:29.780 For us to piece this together and figure it out.
  1892. 01:27:30.000 – 01:27:31.580 This is our first documentary,
  1893. 01:27:31.940 – 01:27:35.000 but we're both storytellers and we clearly have,
  1894. 01:27:35.000 – 01:27:38.380 you know, the gifts to do it and the belief.
  1895. 01:27:38.400 – 01:27:39.680 We have the belief system
  1896. 01:27:39.680 – 01:27:41.820 because we've already done so many things.
  1897. 01:27:42.040 – 01:27:44.580 So all of that ensure success,
  1898. 01:27:45.340 – 01:27:47.500 but we're committed to the long haul.
  1899. 01:27:47.680 – 01:27:49.320 Anyone who's an entrepreneur, you have to be.
  1900. 01:27:49.500 – 01:27:52.300 Anyone who's a literary entrepreneur, you have to be.
  1901. 01:27:52.480 – 01:27:55.520 Anyone who's a creative entrepreneur, you have to be.
  1902. 01:27:55.660 – 01:27:58.140 I feel like being an indie author,
  1903. 01:27:58.440 – 01:28:00.420 you are, it's like having a double major
  1904. 01:28:00.420 – 01:28:02.180 or being a creative entrepreneur.
  1905. 01:28:02.440 – 01:28:03.640 It's like having a double major
  1906. 01:28:03.640 – 01:28:06.440 because you have the business side,
  1907. 01:28:06.440 – 01:28:09.580 but then you have the creative side and you're doing both.
  1908. 01:28:09.920 – 01:28:11.220 Double major.
  1909. 01:28:11.820 – 01:28:19.590 What is something you want someone watching
  1910. 01:28:19.590 – 01:28:22.330 your documentary to take from this documentary?
  1911. 01:28:23.710 – 01:28:28.770 I think the biggest thing is that you have purpose.
  1912. 01:28:29.170 – 01:28:33.850 Cause that was my heart cry of what is my purpose.
  1913. 01:28:36.010 – 01:28:37.850 And God revealed it.
  1914. 01:28:38.310 – 01:28:41.790 And it was nothing I ever imagined.
  1915. 01:28:42.770 – 01:28:45.370 It was exceedingly abundantly beyond
  1916. 01:28:45.370 – 01:28:46.570 what I could ever imagine.
  1917. 01:28:46.890 – 01:28:51.190 It's still unfolding and it touches other people's lives.
  1918. 01:28:52.150 – 01:28:54.250 So that's the biggest thing,
  1919. 01:28:54.250 – 01:28:58.870 message from the documentary is don't count yourself out.
  1920. 01:29:01.680 – 01:29:02.720 You're here for a reason.
  1921. 01:29:05.750 – 01:29:06.670 What would you say to someone
  1922. 01:29:06.670 – 01:29:08.410 that is counting themself out?
  1923. 01:29:09.050 – 01:29:10.710 I will say that.
  1924. 01:29:12.150 – 01:29:13.770 Give God one more day.
  1925. 01:29:14.010 – 01:29:17.630 Like don't let those moments take you under,
  1926. 01:29:18.150 – 01:29:19.990 especially when you're an emotional person,
  1927. 01:29:20.150 – 01:29:21.030 you're a sensitive person
  1928. 01:29:21.030 – 01:29:22.790 or you're just dealing with a lot of trauma.
  1929. 01:29:23.690 – 01:29:25.870 If you can get through it,
  1930. 01:29:25.950 – 01:29:27.170 someone is on the other side
  1931. 01:29:27.170 – 01:29:29.190 that's gonna be inspired by your resilience.
  1932. 01:29:29.630 – 01:29:32.270 Like we're all here for a reason
  1933. 01:29:32.270 – 01:29:34.110 and we're interconnected.
  1934. 01:29:41.670 – 01:29:44.110 Closing words you would love to give
  1935. 01:29:44.110 – 01:29:47.470 to an aspiring entrepreneur or youth
  1936. 01:29:47.470 – 01:29:49.050 that is listening to this.
  1937. 01:29:49.930 – 01:29:53.030 I would say do the thing that's in your heart.
  1938. 01:29:53.790 – 01:29:56.930 Don't minimize whatever those things are,
  1939. 01:29:57.270 – 01:29:58.890 those desires, those dreams.
  1940. 01:30:00.010 – 01:30:03.490 Do it and be blown away by what comes out of you.
  1941. 01:30:07.600 – 01:30:13.060 Follow you, purchase books, all that good stuff.
  1942. 01:30:13.580 – 01:30:17.120 Well, I can be found at NicoleDMiller.com.
  1943. 01:30:17.120 – 01:30:20.540 The publishing house is ndmiller.pub.
  1944. 01:30:21.340 – 01:30:23.720 Instagram is H-T-O-H-B,
  1945. 01:30:24.080 – 01:30:25.860 which stands for How to Overcome Heartbreak.
  1946. 01:30:26.780 – 01:30:31.540 And Facebook.com slash backslash H-T-O-H-B.
  1947. 01:30:31.720 – 01:30:37.260 LinkedIn and YouTube at Girl Talk CLE on Instagram.
  1948. 01:30:38.280 – 01:30:40.280 So those are all of my spaces.
  1949. 01:30:45.580 – 01:30:48.000 This is Mr. Steve Jackson,
  1950. 01:30:48.000 – 01:30:51.520 photographer Jackson of Alienize Photos Media,
  1951. 01:30:51.840 – 01:30:53.320 bringing you another episode
  1952. 01:30:53.320 – 01:30:59.780 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk with Nicole D. Miller.
  1953. 01:31:01.670 – 01:31:03.910 Check this full episode out.
  1954. 01:31:03.910 – 01:31:06.970 Listen out on your long commutes.
  1955. 01:31:07.310 – 01:31:08.830 Or break it up, you know.
  1956. 01:31:08.970 – 01:31:11.970 Listen to half now, listen to the other half later.
  1957. 01:31:12.690 – 01:31:14.530 But if you love this episode,
  1958. 01:31:14.750 – 01:31:16.310 definitely give it some feedback.
  1959. 01:31:16.930 – 01:31:19.830 Like, share, comment, all that good stuff.
  1960. 01:31:20.430 – 01:31:22.590 Stay tuned to the next episode.
  1961. 01:31:23.050 – 01:31:24.070 We are out.
  1962. 01:31:26.290 – 01:31:27.150 We made it.
  1963. 01:31:27.730 – 01:31:29.810 I was like, how long is this interview, Alien?
  1964. 01:31:30.770 – 01:31:32.050 Oh, and I'll do you fine.
  1965. 01:31:33.450 – 01:31:35.190 I was like, it's like three hours long.
  1966. 01:31:35.250 – 01:31:36.470 Your camera cut off.
  1967. 01:31:37.090 – 01:31:38.070 I'm sure it did.
  1968. 01:31:38.150 – 01:31:39.330 I'm like, I don't got the storage space.
  1969. 01:31:40.350 – 01:31:44.090 I was gonna ask, but you know, it's for a question.
  1970. 01:31:44.090 – 01:31:45.670 We did it, we did it.
  1971. 01:31:51.870 – 01:31:53.030 So when is it gonna drop?
  1972. 01:31:53.030 – 01:31:57.580 Let's try to drop it before the expo.
  1973. 01:31:57.900 – 01:31:59.520 I know it's a couple of people ahead of you,
  1974. 01:31:59.980 – 01:32:01.260 but you know, they could wait.
  1975. 01:32:02.910 – 01:32:04.970 Unless I just start dropping everything.
  1976. 01:32:06.610 – 01:32:07.570 Appreciate it.

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34. Why Every Business Should Have A Podcast In 2026 (Grow Faster Without Ads)

Season 1 · Episode 37

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.100 – 00:00:10.900 500 plus million global listeners, 80% listen in full,
  2. 00:00:12.600 – 00:00:19.680 70% purchase from a recommendation of a podcast.
  3. 00:00:21.800 – 00:00:25.820 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alien Eyes,
  4. 00:00:25.820 – 00:00:27.860 Photos, Industry Talk.
  5. 00:00:27.860 – 00:00:32.200 Today we're talking about something simple, but powerful.
  6. 00:00:33.280 – 00:00:34.520 A podcast.
  7. 00:00:35.980 – 00:00:39.180 Not just for fun, not just for talking,
  8. 00:00:39.960 – 00:00:42.800 but growing your business.
  9. 00:00:44.420 – 00:00:48.640 Why should every business have a podcast,
  10. 00:00:49.420 – 00:00:51.160 even if you're just starting a business?
  11. 00:00:52.800 – 00:00:57.700 Now, a couple years ago I did this talk with my team,
  12. 00:00:57.860 – 00:00:58.880 and we had a couple of experience
  13. 00:00:58.880 – 00:01:02.320 on why every business should have a podcast.
  14. 00:01:03.200 – 00:01:04.980 You had to be at the conference
  15. 00:01:04.980 – 00:01:11.100 to check out our presentation, and it was amazing.
  16. 00:01:11.940 – 00:01:14.060 And I thought about it, I'm like, well,
  17. 00:01:15.480 – 00:01:20.200 let me kind of talk about what I talk about on stage
  18. 00:01:20.200 – 00:01:25.080 on a podcast for those who start in a podcast,
  19. 00:01:25.580 – 00:01:29.380 and shameless plug, but May 19th I am having
  20. 00:01:29.860 – 00:01:36.680 an exclusive, private, five slots only event
  21. 00:01:37.640 – 00:01:42.480 with Overflow Studios as Miss Brianna Casanova,
  22. 00:01:43.300 – 00:01:50.660 my partner, Sean, for one day only, May 19th, 2026.
  23. 00:01:52.080 – 00:01:54.700 We are slashing our prices.
  24. 00:01:55.420 – 00:01:59.500 We are filming, editing, getting behind the scenes,
  25. 00:01:59.540 – 00:02:05.400 content, show notes, distribution, all of the above.
  26. 00:02:06.460 – 00:02:07.740 And some more bonuses.
  27. 00:02:08.340 – 00:02:12.120 A 30 minute consultation on your brand, business,
  28. 00:02:12.280 – 00:02:14.540 and podcast to help elevate you
  29. 00:02:14.540 – 00:02:15.820 and get you in the right direction
  30. 00:02:15.820 – 00:02:17.480 and you know your next steps.
  31. 00:02:18.860 – 00:02:22.160 Let us help you, May 19th, one day only,
  32. 00:02:22.660 – 00:02:25.880 slashing our prices, and this is exclusive,
  33. 00:02:27.420 – 00:02:30.900 Cleveland exclusive, you heard it here first.
  34. 00:02:32.800 – 00:02:36.080 So May 19th, we only got a few slots left,
  35. 00:02:36.660 – 00:02:42.690 so book your slot for every business.
  36. 00:02:44.510 – 00:02:45.790 Should have a podcast.
  37. 00:02:46.990 – 00:02:48.770 If you're serious about your business,
  38. 00:02:49.290 – 00:02:51.570 if you sell something, if you teach something,
  39. 00:02:51.770 – 00:02:55.870 or if you want people to know your name, this matters.
  40. 00:02:56.890 – 00:03:00.770 And we could break it down so it's easier to understand.
  41. 00:03:02.030 – 00:03:04.070 Like, what is a podcast?
  42. 00:03:04.750 – 00:03:07.250 A podcast is your own radio show.
  43. 00:03:08.310 – 00:03:13.970 But better, because people choose to listen to you.
  44. 00:03:13.970 – 00:03:14.630 Who?
  45. 00:03:16.070 – 00:03:17.970 You or me?
  46. 00:03:19.710 – 00:03:20.570 You or me?
  47. 00:03:21.910 – 00:03:26.190 They can play it in the car, play it in the gym,
  48. 00:03:27.230 – 00:03:30.650 play it while cooking, play it at work.
  49. 00:03:30.850 – 00:03:32.770 Well, for some of y'all, y'all can play it at work.
  50. 00:03:32.930 – 00:03:36.550 Can't say everybody, but those are the things.
  51. 00:03:36.690 – 00:03:38.650 I listen to podcasts in my car.
  52. 00:03:39.890 – 00:03:42.070 I don't go to the gym as much,
  53. 00:03:42.070 – 00:03:44.310 but I know a lot of people do, and I used to.
  54. 00:03:45.650 – 00:03:47.750 But I'm playing basketball a lot more
  55. 00:03:47.750 – 00:03:49.470 when I go to the gyms.
  56. 00:03:50.230 – 00:03:55.010 So, can't really have headphones or things like that.
  57. 00:03:55.730 – 00:03:57.610 But if I'm working out at the gym,
  58. 00:03:58.870 – 00:04:01.410 I got a podcast on, I'm learning,
  59. 00:04:01.770 – 00:04:03.750 I'm getting different perspectives
  60. 00:04:04.270 – 00:04:06.710 while I'm getting the workout in, getting fit.
  61. 00:04:08.070 – 00:04:10.830 And I might have a cooking show,
  62. 00:04:11.470 – 00:04:15.030 or a cooking podcast on in the background
  63. 00:04:15.030 – 00:04:16.149 as I'm cooking.
  64. 00:04:16.970 – 00:04:21.110 Oh, stir it briskly, add more water.
  65. 00:04:21.950 – 00:04:24.870 It was like, oh yeah, let me do that.
  66. 00:04:25.430 – 00:04:30.330 So, I love to listen to business podcasts.
  67. 00:04:30.630 – 00:04:33.930 I rarely listen to music, and I'm a former musician.
  68. 00:04:34.350 – 00:04:38.130 So for me to say that, I take podcasts seriously,
  69. 00:04:38.570 – 00:04:42.050 not just for myself, but I am a consumer and a producer.
  70. 00:04:42.720 – 00:04:46.710 So yeah, I'm deeply rooted in podcasts,
  71. 00:04:46.890 – 00:04:49.530 and I'm proud to say it.
  72. 00:04:51.620 – 00:04:56.160 So if you start a podcast, you are in their air.
  73. 00:04:56.240 – 00:04:57.200 Who is there?
  74. 00:04:57.820 – 00:05:00.820 Your audience, you're in their air.
  75. 00:05:01.920 – 00:05:04.240 Week after week after week, day after day after day,
  76. 00:05:04.360 – 00:05:05.560 minute after minute after minute,
  77. 00:05:05.860 – 00:05:07.520 year after year after year.
  78. 00:05:08.360 – 00:05:09.780 And that's powerful.
  79. 00:05:11.040 – 00:05:13.520 Why podcasts help your business?
  80. 00:05:15.060 – 00:05:16.700 Let's get straight to it.
  81. 00:05:16.940 – 00:05:20.820 People trust voices more than ads.
  82. 00:05:22.180 – 00:05:25.580 People trust voices more than ads.
  83. 00:05:25.660 – 00:05:26.240 And guess what?
  84. 00:05:26.340 – 00:05:28.200 You can still do the ad.
  85. 00:05:28.620 – 00:05:29.840 So that's a bonus.
  86. 00:05:30.980 – 00:05:34.840 Have a platform so where you can put an ad,
  87. 00:05:35.180 – 00:05:38.760 your ad, your partner's ad, your company's ad.
  88. 00:05:40.140 – 00:05:47.700 Everybody you collaborate at, sell ads on your podcast.
  89. 00:05:49.300 – 00:05:52.720 And when someone hears your voice over time,
  90. 00:05:52.960 – 00:05:54.860 they feel like they know you.
  91. 00:05:55.460 – 00:05:56.860 People feel like they know me.
  92. 00:05:57.140 – 00:05:58.800 Or when I show up on social media
  93. 00:05:58.800 – 00:05:59.820 and they see me in person,
  94. 00:05:59.860 – 00:06:00.900 they feel like they know me.
  95. 00:06:01.020 – 00:06:02.620 Like, oh man, I've been watching you for years.
  96. 00:06:02.700 – 00:06:04.280 I've been listening to your music for years,
  97. 00:06:04.580 – 00:06:06.780 hearing your poetry, reading your books,
  98. 00:06:06.860 – 00:06:10.200 and now listening to my podcast.
  99. 00:06:11.640 – 00:06:14.160 This is called trust.
  100. 00:06:15.120 – 00:06:18.400 You showing up constantly.
  101. 00:06:19.700 – 00:06:22.180 That is called trust.
  102. 00:06:22.480 – 00:06:24.360 And trust leads to sales.
  103. 00:06:24.980 – 00:06:25.820 Think about it.
  104. 00:06:26.060 – 00:06:28.260 Would you rather buy from a random ad
  105. 00:06:28.260 – 00:06:32.480 or someone you've been listening to every week,
  106. 00:06:32.980 – 00:06:34.660 sometimes every day?
  107. 00:06:36.740 – 00:06:38.140 Exactly, right?
  108. 00:06:38.360 – 00:06:38.900 You get it?
  109. 00:06:39.720 – 00:06:41.140 You become the expert.
  110. 00:06:41.800 – 00:06:44.300 You speak on your topic often,
  111. 00:06:44.780 – 00:06:46.000 whatever your business is,
  112. 00:06:46.240 – 00:06:47.660 whatever your expertise is,
  113. 00:06:47.720 – 00:06:49.820 whatever you shine in, your special skill.
  114. 00:06:50.660 – 00:06:53.300 People see you as the go-to person.
  115. 00:06:53.700 – 00:06:55.260 You don't need to be perfect.
  116. 00:06:55.640 – 00:06:58.680 You just need to be helpful.
  117. 00:07:00.440 – 00:07:03.080 Example, you know, since I'm a photographer,
  118. 00:07:04.140 – 00:07:06.680 I got to talk about lighting, clients,
  119. 00:07:06.680 – 00:07:08.660 mistakes, prices.
  120. 00:07:09.620 – 00:07:12.540 How do I shoot photos and videos
  121. 00:07:12.540 – 00:07:14.780 at different events and conferences
  122. 00:07:15.620 – 00:07:19.580 and make it look seamlessly by myself?
  123. 00:07:21.100 – 00:07:24.560 Or if you're a coach and I do coaching as well,
  124. 00:07:25.340 – 00:07:27.120 help you with your ideation sessions
  125. 00:07:27.120 – 00:07:31.180 to build your strategy for your business or podcast.
  126. 00:07:32.520 – 00:07:35.380 We could talk about mindset and growth
  127. 00:07:35.380 – 00:07:37.380 and the wins and the lessons,
  128. 00:07:37.960 – 00:07:41.580 not only for you, but also your clients
  129. 00:07:41.580 – 00:07:43.540 and testimonials.
  130. 00:07:44.060 – 00:07:46.940 And over time, people will say,
  131. 00:07:47.800 – 00:07:50.980 this person knows their stuff,
  132. 00:07:52.780 – 00:07:55.740 in which I'm telling them about podcasts.
  133. 00:07:55.980 – 00:07:58.780 You are a business, are you in business?
  134. 00:07:59.640 – 00:08:01.360 Consider starting a podcast
  135. 00:08:01.360 – 00:08:03.940 and I could be a podcast producer
  136. 00:08:03.940 – 00:08:06.560 even if you film it yourself,
  137. 00:08:07.000 – 00:08:08.360 I can still assist.
  138. 00:08:08.740 – 00:08:11.080 I can still help and be of assistance.
  139. 00:08:12.760 – 00:08:15.840 It grows your brand without extra work.
  140. 00:08:17.360 – 00:08:21.140 And here's where we get crafty.
  141. 00:08:21.400 – 00:08:24.420 One podcast, many pieces of content.
  142. 00:08:24.480 – 00:08:26.340 That's how I always look at it.
  143. 00:08:26.600 – 00:08:29.160 When I film people's podcasts,
  144. 00:08:29.940 – 00:08:31.900 you have so many pieces of content,
  145. 00:08:31.980 – 00:08:33.320 so many different talking points,
  146. 00:08:33.320 – 00:08:34.860 so many leverage points,
  147. 00:08:35.520 – 00:08:36.640 especially if you do it right
  148. 00:08:36.640 – 00:08:38.559 and you're a great, eloquent speaker
  149. 00:08:38.559 – 00:08:39.780 and know how to deliver.
  150. 00:08:40.700 – 00:08:43.419 And I'm in training, I'm practicing.
  151. 00:08:44.320 – 00:08:47.500 Like this podcast is a testimony to that.
  152. 00:08:48.120 – 00:08:49.840 I'm just speaking my expertise
  153. 00:08:49.840 – 00:08:51.420 and my journey and my knowledge,
  154. 00:08:51.660 – 00:08:54.660 my lessons, my mistakes, my growth,
  155. 00:08:56.080 – 00:08:57.360 my wisdom,
  156. 00:08:59.000 – 00:09:00.500 giving it back.
  157. 00:09:01.040 – 00:09:06.340 And I've done like many master classes
  158. 00:09:06.640 – 00:09:08.700 on this podcast platform,
  159. 00:09:08.880 – 00:09:10.560 Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  160. 00:09:11.520 – 00:09:15.660 I gave many master classes
  161. 00:09:16.800 – 00:09:19.660 and some is me documenting my journey
  162. 00:09:19.660 – 00:09:22.180 and different events.
  163. 00:09:23.060 – 00:09:26.240 So it's like a well-rounded, well-oiled.
  164. 00:09:26.660 – 00:09:30.380 Anybody from any industry can take in
  165. 00:09:30.380 – 00:09:35.120 and dissect, and that's how we all grow.
  166. 00:09:36.020 – 00:09:38.000 And I love to listen to other people's podcasts
  167. 00:09:38.000 – 00:09:40.500 and other people's minds and perspectives
  168. 00:09:40.500 – 00:09:43.560 and their journey, their story,
  169. 00:09:44.940 – 00:09:48.000 how they grew, and it's amazing.
  170. 00:09:48.720 – 00:09:50.280 You can too.
  171. 00:09:50.820 – 00:09:54.320 You could turn one episode into clips
  172. 00:09:54.320 – 00:09:57.060 for social media, you know, quotes,
  173. 00:09:57.740 – 00:09:59.320 or you could do the carousels,
  174. 00:09:59.320 – 00:10:02.920 which are different quotes from your episode,
  175. 00:10:03.980 – 00:10:06.380 blog posts, emails.
  176. 00:10:07.480 – 00:10:09.040 I got a few ideas
  177. 00:10:09.040 – 00:10:10.820 that I'm not gonna share in this podcast,
  178. 00:10:10.900 – 00:10:12.500 but if you book a consultation,
  179. 00:10:13.420 – 00:10:16.820 I'm gonna just let loose and give you some great ideas.
  180. 00:10:17.680 – 00:10:19.740 Let's book an ideation session and tell you.
  181. 00:10:22.180 – 00:10:24.920 So instead of trying to create every day,
  182. 00:10:26.160 – 00:10:27.400 we'll create once
  183. 00:10:28.380 – 00:10:32.720 and share many times off that one episode.
  184. 00:10:33.140 – 00:10:35.740 So think about if you have many episodes,
  185. 00:10:35.940 – 00:10:38.800 now you're seeing the benefits of a podcast, no?
  186. 00:10:39.640 – 00:10:40.340 You don't?
  187. 00:10:40.560 – 00:10:43.120 Okay, well, let's talk about
  188. 00:10:44.100 – 00:10:47.580 how people could find you on Google.
  189. 00:10:49.020 – 00:10:53.460 And this is a big one, S-E-O.
  190. 00:10:53.980 – 00:10:55.560 And this is something I focus on
  191. 00:10:55.560 – 00:10:57.340 and been studying from the last few years
  192. 00:10:58.080 – 00:11:01.680 also bringing it to my clients and also my podcast.
  193. 00:11:01.800 – 00:11:03.920 That's how my podcast has been discovered
  194. 00:11:03.920 – 00:11:07.340 and not just U.S., but in other countries.
  195. 00:11:08.840 – 00:11:10.200 It's a big one, telling.
  196. 00:11:10.960 – 00:11:12.360 When your podcast,
  197. 00:11:13.700 – 00:11:16.120 you could transcript it,
  198. 00:11:16.360 – 00:11:18.780 turn it into a blog, that's something I do.
  199. 00:11:19.220 – 00:11:19.560 You know what I'm saying?
  200. 00:11:19.600 – 00:11:20.540 I'm giving you the sauce.
  201. 00:11:20.660 – 00:11:21.520 Is this too much?
  202. 00:11:21.660 – 00:11:22.820 Is this too much?
  203. 00:11:24.140 – 00:11:26.220 So I know I'm just getting started,
  204. 00:11:26.220 – 00:11:27.800 but it might be too much,
  205. 00:11:27.860 – 00:11:29.600 especially for somebody just beginning.
  206. 00:11:29.700 – 00:11:30.600 And I'm like, what?
  207. 00:11:31.360 – 00:11:32.800 You could do all this.
  208. 00:11:32.800 – 00:11:33.860 I can do all this.
  209. 00:11:33.880 – 00:11:35.300 I should do all this,
  210. 00:11:36.080 – 00:11:37.740 but you don't do all of this?
  211. 00:11:37.860 – 00:11:38.860 I can help you.
  212. 00:11:38.880 – 00:11:42.380 Let me help you with the right keywords
  213. 00:11:43.820 – 00:11:46.540 so people could find you when they search
  214. 00:11:48.160 – 00:11:50.720 like how to start a business.
  215. 00:11:51.480 – 00:11:53.200 If you talk about that on your podcast,
  216. 00:11:53.460 – 00:11:53.900 guess what?
  217. 00:11:54.040 – 00:11:55.660 You may pop up.
  218. 00:11:56.220 – 00:11:59.540 Or someone else who wrote about it or talked about it
  219. 00:11:59.540 – 00:12:00.700 may pop up,
  220. 00:12:00.960 – 00:12:04.240 but you are a valid candidate for that.
  221. 00:12:05.240 – 00:12:09.020 If your podcast talks just about that one thing
  222. 00:12:09.020 – 00:12:10.540 that you specialize in,
  223. 00:12:10.760 – 00:12:12.940 one thing that your business focus on,
  224. 00:12:13.940 – 00:12:15.620 you will show up.
  225. 00:12:15.860 – 00:12:17.840 And you will show up
  226. 00:12:18.960 – 00:12:21.160 by showing up for yourself first.
  227. 00:12:22.180 – 00:12:25.240 That means free traffic.
  228. 00:12:25.240 – 00:12:27.100 No ads needed.
  229. 00:12:27.260 – 00:12:28.440 And that's what I focus on.
  230. 00:12:28.840 – 00:12:29.500 No ads.
  231. 00:12:29.680 – 00:12:31.640 Do I run ads from time to time?
  232. 00:12:33.420 – 00:12:34.580 Not really.
  233. 00:12:34.820 – 00:12:36.660 I may boost posts,
  234. 00:12:36.680 – 00:12:39.200 but not really run an ad.
  235. 00:12:39.860 – 00:12:42.320 But that may be changing soon.
  236. 00:12:42.340 – 00:12:43.280 That may be changing,
  237. 00:12:43.480 – 00:12:48.580 especially as I get these products finalized
  238. 00:12:48.580 – 00:12:51.880 and I got my book finalized.
  239. 00:12:52.380 – 00:12:54.260 Know I've been working on it for some time,
  240. 00:12:54.260 – 00:12:56.640 but I wanted to make sure it was ready to go
  241. 00:12:56.640 – 00:13:00.340 before I release it to the public for you all
  242. 00:13:00.340 – 00:13:03.120 to make it an evergreen thing.
  243. 00:13:03.220 – 00:13:06.700 So I just make it one time in the whole world scene.
  244. 00:13:08.940 – 00:13:10.720 Well, let me share some stats.
  245. 00:13:12.020 – 00:13:13.860 Look at some real numbers.
  246. 00:13:15.000 – 00:13:20.180 Like I said, close to 500 million listeners
  247. 00:13:20.180 – 00:13:25.280 listen to podcasts worldwide.
  248. 00:13:26.440 – 00:13:28.600 And around 80% of the listeners stay
  249. 00:13:28.600 – 00:13:30.000 for most of the episode.
  250. 00:13:30.500 – 00:13:33.000 Podcast listeners are more likely to buy
  251. 00:13:33.000 – 00:13:36.900 after hearing about a product on the podcast.
  252. 00:13:37.340 – 00:13:41.920 Many people listen to one hour each day.
  253. 00:13:42.060 – 00:13:45.440 That's seven hours or seven plus hours,
  254. 00:13:45.820 – 00:13:47.700 excuse me, per week.
  255. 00:13:49.500 – 00:13:51.760 Seven plus hours per week.
  256. 00:13:51.940 – 00:13:54.220 Even if it was seven hours, that's one hour a day.
  257. 00:13:54.440 – 00:13:58.480 That's like a class, I call it, you took a class.
  258. 00:13:59.460 – 00:14:02.760 Think about that every day, every week.
  259. 00:14:03.940 – 00:14:06.500 What about people that listen to podcasts three
  260. 00:14:07.960 – 00:14:08.940 hours a day?
  261. 00:14:09.960 – 00:14:12.360 That's 21 hours a week.
  262. 00:14:13.180 – 00:14:15.320 And if you listen to the right podcast
  263. 00:14:15.320 – 00:14:18.360 or other podcasts in your industry,
  264. 00:14:19.260 – 00:14:21.680 you get to find out the news of what's going on,
  265. 00:14:21.700 – 00:14:24.920 the changes, the updates, what other companies are doing.
  266. 00:14:25.180 – 00:14:28.380 How can you collaborate with this other business
  267. 00:14:28.380 – 00:14:29.940 or entity or person?
  268. 00:14:30.640 – 00:14:33.780 Maybe they have a product that complements your product
  269. 00:14:33.780 – 00:14:39.060 and now you both went in and you're being a guest
  270. 00:14:39.060 – 00:14:41.580 on each other's podcast.
  271. 00:14:42.220 – 00:14:45.460 And you bring each other's audience
  272. 00:14:45.460 – 00:14:48.600 and you both build and grow through collaboration.
  273. 00:14:50.520 – 00:14:52.240 And what does that mean?
  274. 00:14:53.280 – 00:14:54.900 People are not just listening,
  275. 00:14:56.280 – 00:14:58.480 they are paying attention.
  276. 00:14:58.900 – 00:15:01.860 And attention equals opportunity.
  277. 00:15:03.160 – 00:15:05.700 It's easier than you think, a lot of people say.
  278. 00:15:05.960 – 00:15:07.800 I don't have the time.
  279. 00:15:07.820 – 00:15:09.980 I don't know what to say.
  280. 00:15:09.980 – 00:15:14.640 I don't know the right gear or what to buy.
  281. 00:15:18.880 – 00:15:20.920 That's the beauty of me.
  282. 00:15:23.600 – 00:15:26.160 Just being into media,
  283. 00:15:27.160 – 00:15:28.400 having media business,
  284. 00:15:28.640 – 00:15:31.100 I kind of had a head start on all of that.
  285. 00:15:32.080 – 00:15:34.620 Not saying that I don't know what to say every time.
  286. 00:15:35.200 – 00:15:38.360 I know y'all probably heard some episodes like,
  287. 00:15:38.360 – 00:15:39.760 he got a good point.
  288. 00:15:39.980 – 00:15:41.640 And then other times it's like,
  289. 00:15:43.020 – 00:15:45.900 let's talk about it a little more.
  290. 00:15:49.040 – 00:15:51.240 But it's all practice is repetition
  291. 00:15:51.240 – 00:15:55.300 and then the better you get is by showing up
  292. 00:15:55.300 – 00:15:56.540 and doing it.
  293. 00:15:56.940 – 00:15:57.900 Getting your reps,
  294. 00:15:58.300 – 00:16:00.380 that's creative frequencies biggest thing,
  295. 00:16:01.640 – 00:16:03.080 getting our reps.
  296. 00:16:03.420 – 00:16:04.440 Gotta get our reps in.
  297. 00:16:04.500 – 00:16:05.880 If we don't get our reps in,
  298. 00:16:06.700 – 00:16:07.640 then how are we gonna grow?
  299. 00:16:09.740 – 00:16:11.740 But let me simplify it.
  300. 00:16:12.700 – 00:16:13.940 Let's talk about gear.
  301. 00:16:14.120 – 00:16:20.540 What you need is a quiet space like this one,
  302. 00:16:20.540 – 00:16:21.940 a clear message,
  303. 00:16:22.960 – 00:16:27.680 a phone in or a simple microphone.
  304. 00:16:27.800 – 00:16:30.440 You may have a recorder.
  305. 00:16:31.500 – 00:16:33.560 Record yourself like that.
  306. 00:16:34.240 – 00:16:36.280 But everybody has a phone.
  307. 00:16:37.080 – 00:16:40.920 Like 99% of the world have a phone,
  308. 00:16:41.060 – 00:16:44.340 smartphone that you can record your audio.
  309. 00:16:44.500 – 00:16:47.720 These mics nowadays are decent,
  310. 00:16:48.600 – 00:16:50.040 especially for just getting started.
  311. 00:16:51.060 – 00:16:55.000 In fact, I'm recording this episode on my phone
  312. 00:16:55.640 – 00:16:58.320 with wireless mics hooked up to my phone.
  313. 00:16:59.080 – 00:17:00.440 That's just a little hack.
  314. 00:17:01.280 – 00:17:03.280 Nothing special, no bells and whistles.
  315. 00:17:03.560 – 00:17:05.200 And that's why I love audio.
  316. 00:17:05.200 – 00:17:07.480 People are like, oh, we should do video on this.
  317. 00:17:07.680 – 00:17:11.020 Like the time for me to put out audio
  318. 00:17:11.020 – 00:17:16.700 and handling other people's content and clients
  319. 00:17:16.700 – 00:17:20.740 and being at events and having coaching sessions
  320. 00:17:20.740 – 00:17:24.300 and being out with my daughter and in a relationship.
  321. 00:17:24.460 – 00:17:26.800 So I gotta spend time with the missus.
  322. 00:17:27.280 – 00:17:29.180 This is time.
  323. 00:17:30.860 – 00:17:33.440 But with audio, I accelerate that time
  324. 00:17:33.440 – 00:17:35.620 and I can pump out even more content
  325. 00:17:35.620 – 00:17:39.240 and be more discoverable on Google
  326. 00:17:39.240 – 00:17:41.040 and showing up for my business.
  327. 00:17:42.260 – 00:17:44.320 There will be videos from time to time,
  328. 00:17:44.320 – 00:17:45.940 but that's not my main focus.
  329. 00:17:47.280 – 00:17:48.560 See where I'm going with it?
  330. 00:17:48.580 – 00:17:49.460 Just get started.
  331. 00:17:49.820 – 00:17:50.520 And that's it.
  332. 00:17:51.220 – 00:17:52.760 You don't need to be fancy.
  333. 00:17:53.100 – 00:17:54.760 You just need to get started.
  334. 00:17:55.280 – 00:17:57.460 Your first episode won't be perfect.
  335. 00:17:57.800 – 00:18:00.280 By no means it won't be perfect.
  336. 00:18:00.960 – 00:18:01.880 And that's okay.
  337. 00:18:02.620 – 00:18:04.780 No one starts perfect.
  338. 00:18:05.620 – 00:18:07.440 At least that I know of.
  339. 00:18:07.600 – 00:18:09.060 I know I didn't start perfect.
  340. 00:18:10.440 – 00:18:11.700 You know, some real life examples.
  341. 00:18:11.780 – 00:18:14.420 Let's say you run a business, if you're not in business
  342. 00:18:14.960 – 00:18:16.880 and you are creative looking to be
  343. 00:18:16.880 – 00:18:18.740 an entrepreneur or business owner.
  344. 00:18:19.320 – 00:18:21.280 I call that a creative entrepreneur.
  345. 00:18:21.460 – 00:18:26.300 You gotta run your creative mind, just like a business.
  346. 00:18:27.220 – 00:18:29.610 And then you start a podcast
  347. 00:18:29.900 – 00:18:34.140 and you share your journey, your tips, your stories.
  348. 00:18:35.440 – 00:18:36.820 And after a few weeks,
  349. 00:18:36.820 – 00:18:40.080 people start recognizing your voice.
  350. 00:18:40.480 – 00:18:43.500 And after a few months, people start reaching out.
  351. 00:18:43.760 – 00:18:48.080 Year after year, you have a library of content
  352. 00:18:48.080 – 00:18:50.320 working for you and guess what?
  353. 00:18:51.140 – 00:18:55.740 24 seven, working for you 24 seven.
  354. 00:18:56.300 – 00:19:00.300 Because it's evergreen, it's out there.
  355. 00:19:01.540 – 00:19:03.480 And that is the long game.
  356. 00:19:03.720 – 00:19:06.820 Podcasting is a long game strategy.
  357. 00:19:08.480 – 00:19:09.600 It's like SEO.
  358. 00:19:11.020 – 00:19:12.580 That's why you pair well together.
  359. 00:19:15.390 – 00:19:18.570 Let's talk about some more benefits.
  360. 00:19:20.110 – 00:19:22.950 Like most people don't just talk about it.
  361. 00:19:22.970 – 00:19:26.010 A podcast builds relationships.
  362. 00:19:26.310 – 00:19:29.830 And as I bring different people on from different industries,
  363. 00:19:30.190 – 00:19:34.570 I am building relationships, not just with them,
  364. 00:19:34.950 – 00:19:37.570 but my audience and also their audience.
  365. 00:19:37.630 – 00:19:41.850 People who support him or his clients
  366. 00:19:41.850 – 00:19:46.270 listening in to my podcast for his episode.
  367. 00:19:46.770 – 00:19:48.450 And we both build.
  368. 00:19:51.840 – 00:19:54.240 And you know, you could do a solo
  369. 00:19:55.720 – 00:19:59.520 or you can leverage other people's audiences,
  370. 00:20:00.600 – 00:20:02.740 help promote other people businesses
  371. 00:20:02.740 – 00:20:05.500 by interviewing other people,
  372. 00:20:06.180 – 00:20:08.180 connect with other business owners
  373. 00:20:08.180 – 00:20:11.900 and it opens up doors you wouldn't expect.
  374. 00:20:12.480 – 00:20:15.440 And when you invite someone on your show,
  375. 00:20:16.240 – 00:20:22.270 you create a connection that can lead to partnerships,
  376. 00:20:22.590 – 00:20:25.490 clients and opportunities, just to say the least.
  377. 00:20:26.520 – 00:20:28.030 So here's the truth.
  378. 00:20:29.210 – 00:20:31.470 A podcast is not just talking.
  379. 00:20:32.790 – 00:20:34.110 It's a tool.
  380. 00:20:35.610 – 00:20:39.990 A tool to build trust,
  381. 00:20:40.530 – 00:20:41.630 grow your brand,
  382. 00:20:42.570 – 00:20:46.090 reach more people and create real opportunities.
  383. 00:20:47.670 – 00:20:50.690 And the best part, you can start right now.
  384. 00:20:51.610 – 00:20:52.430 You can start when?
  385. 00:20:52.710 – 00:20:54.030 You can start right now.
  386. 00:20:54.030 – 00:20:56.130 Pick up that phone, hit record.
  387. 00:20:56.830 – 00:20:57.770 Do it for one minute.
  388. 00:20:59.170 – 00:21:01.890 Get past one minute.
  389. 00:21:04.610 – 00:21:05.610 Do it for one minute.
  390. 00:21:05.730 – 00:21:07.250 Test trial right now.
  391. 00:21:09.230 – 00:21:11.810 And if you thought about starting a podcast,
  392. 00:21:12.350 – 00:21:13.990 but don't know where to begin,
  393. 00:21:15.070 – 00:21:16.710 this is your moment.
  394. 00:21:17.450 – 00:21:19.330 May 19th.
  395. 00:21:19.330 – 00:21:22.010 Creator frequency, that's overflow studios
  396. 00:21:22.010 – 00:21:25.150 and alien eyes, photos, media.
  397. 00:21:26.570 – 00:21:30.550 Joining forces for one day.
  398. 00:21:32.900 – 00:21:34.100 Should I say one day only?
  399. 00:21:36.040 – 00:21:38.080 Should we do this later again in the year?
  400. 00:21:38.180 – 00:21:41.320 Maybe, maybe, maybe we'll see.
  401. 00:21:41.760 – 00:21:43.660 But I know May 19th,
  402. 00:21:43.660 – 00:21:46.760 we are slashing prices for this one day.
  403. 00:21:47.840 – 00:21:52.140 Like our rates is triple the price that we are providing
  404. 00:21:52.980 – 00:21:55.540 and all these bonuses as well.
  405. 00:21:55.540 – 00:21:56.840 You're not getting all these bonuses
  406. 00:21:56.840 – 00:21:58.180 on a regular booking,
  407. 00:21:59.320 – 00:22:03.300 but the value of what we want to give
  408. 00:22:03.880 – 00:22:06.900 for your first podcast episode
  409. 00:22:08.300 – 00:22:11.920 and give you the strategies and the tools you need,
  410. 00:22:12.480 – 00:22:14.920 even if you want to do it on your own,
  411. 00:22:15.960 – 00:22:19.740 we are going to help you and guide you
  412. 00:22:19.740 – 00:22:22.740 and do this for you.
  413. 00:22:22.740 – 00:22:25.700 Your first episode published.
  414. 00:22:27.200 – 00:22:28.140 Let's get it.
  415. 00:22:28.420 – 00:22:29.560 If you have a business
  416. 00:22:29.560 – 00:22:32.060 and you want to grow through podcasting,
  417. 00:22:33.340 – 00:22:35.800 tap in with creator frequency
  418. 00:22:36.420 – 00:22:38.020 on a creator frequency.
  419. 00:22:38.040 – 00:22:40.200 If you want to find us on social media,
  420. 00:22:40.380 – 00:22:41.760 especially Instagram,
  421. 00:22:42.360 – 00:22:46.660 and DM us pod, P-O-D,
  422. 00:22:47.000 – 00:22:49.100 P-O-D, pod,
  423. 00:22:51.310 – 00:22:52.710 to our DM.
  424. 00:22:54.590 – 00:22:57.450 On a creative frequency.
  425. 00:22:58.610 – 00:23:00.870 Oh, IG, if you want a slot,
  426. 00:23:01.150 – 00:23:02.790 and if you are in Cleveland
  427. 00:23:02.790 – 00:23:07.990 and you're listening to this before May 19th, 2026,
  428. 00:23:09.350 – 00:23:13.530 let's help you get your first episode published today
  429. 00:23:13.530 – 00:23:16.750 with all the bells and whistles and the show notes.
  430. 00:23:17.030 – 00:23:18.410 I'm going to help you get discovered.
  431. 00:23:18.990 – 00:23:20.750 I'm going to help you get set up on YouTube
  432. 00:23:20.750 – 00:23:22.690 and all the different platforms.
  433. 00:23:23.250 – 00:23:25.730 We're going to do it for you May 19th.
  434. 00:23:27.190 – 00:23:29.330 But if you listen to this after May 19th,
  435. 00:23:29.330 – 00:23:31.190 or you can't make it in May 19th,
  436. 00:23:31.210 – 00:23:32.430 or you're not in Cleveland,
  437. 00:23:33.590 – 00:23:35.370 you can still contact us.
  438. 00:23:36.830 – 00:23:40.270 DM us the full word podcast.
  439. 00:23:40.970 – 00:23:43.270 If you listen to this after May 19th,
  440. 00:23:43.270 – 00:23:44.630 or if you're not in Cleveland,
  441. 00:23:44.690 – 00:23:47.410 but still want to start your podcast,
  442. 00:23:47.870 – 00:23:51.110 or you're looking for a podcast producer,
  443. 00:23:51.810 – 00:23:53.890 or someone to film,
  444. 00:23:54.690 – 00:23:55.670 well, we're filming edit,
  445. 00:23:55.730 – 00:23:57.370 but we won't just edit it alone
  446. 00:23:57.370 – 00:23:59.550 like somebody else's content and footage
  447. 00:23:59.550 – 00:24:00.870 or that you recorded.
  448. 00:24:01.530 – 00:24:04.050 If we film it, yeah, we will edit it.
  449. 00:24:05.690 – 00:24:07.510 And behind the scenes,
  450. 00:24:07.930 – 00:24:09.930 or if you want photos added on,
  451. 00:24:10.430 – 00:24:11.550 get your show notes ready.
  452. 00:24:11.630 – 00:24:14.070 So all you have to do is send it out.
  453. 00:24:14.170 – 00:24:15.010 We'll publish it, please.
  454. 00:24:15.070 – 00:24:16.550 All you have to do is send it out.
  455. 00:24:16.950 – 00:24:17.790 Promote it.
  456. 00:24:18.350 – 00:24:21.790 We're going to do the hard and leg work for you.
  457. 00:24:22.470 – 00:24:24.920 So, and that's just what we're about.
  458. 00:24:25.670 – 00:24:26.830 Ms. Brianna Casanova,
  459. 00:24:26.990 – 00:24:28.810 all of Overflow Studios,
  460. 00:24:29.910 – 00:24:31.150 and you know, we're drawing forces,
  461. 00:24:31.250 – 00:24:32.430 we're creating frequency.
  462. 00:24:33.310 – 00:24:35.250 We're still building that out,
  463. 00:24:35.330 – 00:24:37.690 and it's like our community,
  464. 00:24:38.270 – 00:24:41.990 our community led empire
  465. 00:24:42.670 – 00:24:44.830 that we're still working on
  466. 00:24:44.830 – 00:24:45.930 and figuring out
  467. 00:24:45.930 – 00:24:49.490 and becoming more clear by the day.
  468. 00:24:51.410 – 00:24:52.790 You know, because we both in media,
  469. 00:24:54.090 – 00:24:54.630 but we're like,
  470. 00:24:54.650 – 00:24:57.430 we don't want to start another media company.
  471. 00:24:57.710 – 00:25:00.130 It's like, so like right now,
  472. 00:25:00.370 – 00:25:03.590 we're branding it as a community,
  473. 00:25:04.250 – 00:25:05.430 but it's our joint brand,
  474. 00:25:05.550 – 00:25:06.510 our joint venture,
  475. 00:25:06.550 – 00:25:09.550 and we're going to have a lot of
  476. 00:25:09.550 – 00:25:11.090 products and services
  477. 00:25:11.090 – 00:25:12.930 pumping through creator frequency.
  478. 00:25:12.930 – 00:25:15.770 We really want you to be on that
  479. 00:25:15.770 – 00:25:17.490 creator frequency frequently.
  480. 00:25:18.350 – 00:25:19.070 Be creative.
  481. 00:25:21.050 – 00:25:22.330 So, yeah,
  482. 00:25:22.930 – 00:25:24.190 you want a podcast,
  483. 00:25:24.350 – 00:25:25.570 and you're in business,
  484. 00:25:26.490 – 00:25:28.350 this is for you.
  485. 00:25:28.970 – 00:25:29.830 Check us out.
  486. 00:25:31.430 – 00:25:33.650 If you want to find me personally,
  487. 00:25:35.190 – 00:25:37.450 check me out at my website.
  488. 00:25:38.390 – 00:25:40.010 You can also book on there.
  489. 00:25:40.050 – 00:25:41.290 Just scroll to the bottom.
  490. 00:25:41.850 – 00:25:43.390 Or hit that booking link.
  491. 00:25:47.130 – 00:25:48.970 Alieneyesphotos.com
  492. 00:25:48.970 – 00:25:49.990 one more time.
  493. 00:25:51.070 – 00:25:52.290 Eyes with a Z,
  494. 00:25:52.290 – 00:25:54.010 photos with an S.
  495. 00:25:56.190 – 00:25:57.570 Alieneyesphotos.com
  496. 00:25:58.030 – 00:25:59.730 and on all social media
  497. 00:25:59.730 – 00:26:03.670 at Alien Eyes Photos.
  498. 00:26:04.450 – 00:26:06.470 And this has been another episode
  499. 00:26:06.470 – 00:26:09.570 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  500. 00:26:09.570 – 00:26:12.410 with your host photographer Jackson,
  501. 00:26:12.650 – 00:26:13.630 Steve Jackson,
  502. 00:26:14.110 – 00:26:16.270 of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  503. 00:26:17.110 – 00:26:18.910 One half of creator frequency.
  504. 00:26:19.830 – 00:26:21.250 And I am out.

Back to contents

35. Launch Your First Podcast in One Day: Done-For-You “My First Pod” Experience (Limited Spots)

Season 1 · Episode 36

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.660 – 00:00:08.660 My First Pod, May 19th, 2026.
  2. 00:00:10.260 – 00:00:14.280 Partnering with Overflow Studios and Ruthie's List.
  3. 00:00:15.740 – 00:00:16.860 It's gonna be amazing.
  4. 00:00:18.200 – 00:00:20.500 We are bringing My First Pod,
  5. 00:00:22.320 – 00:00:25.860 helping you publish your first podcast,
  6. 00:00:26.580 – 00:00:31.300 doing the leg work, filming, recording, editing,
  7. 00:00:32.340 – 00:00:35.360 making one quality reel for you.
  8. 00:00:35.700 – 00:00:39.680 I have plenty of behind the scenes content, photos,
  9. 00:00:40.600 – 00:00:44.080 two head shots that you could use standalone,
  10. 00:00:45.040 – 00:00:47.900 and you could also use as your thumbnails
  11. 00:00:47.900 – 00:00:51.300 for you and your guests or your co-hosts,
  12. 00:00:51.380 – 00:00:52.400 however you wanna do it.
  13. 00:00:53.040 – 00:00:55.100 Two people, two mic,
  14. 00:00:55.100 – 00:00:58.620 two microphone covers with your logo.
  15. 00:00:59.460 – 00:01:01.700 Set design, you have a couple choices
  16. 00:01:01.700 – 00:01:03.080 that you could choose from,
  17. 00:01:03.580 – 00:01:05.720 or if you have your own already,
  18. 00:01:06.240 – 00:01:08.200 we would love to make that your background.
  19. 00:01:09.240 – 00:01:11.500 We have, again,
  20. 00:01:13.320 – 00:01:18.370 not just the behind the scenes content for myself,
  21. 00:01:20.980 – 00:01:23.800 but a 30 minute consultation.
  22. 00:01:25.100 – 00:01:29.760 That could be for your brand, your business, podcasts,
  23. 00:01:31.280 – 00:01:32.900 a combination of all.
  24. 00:01:33.480 – 00:01:35.960 We wanna leave you with the next steps
  25. 00:01:35.960 – 00:01:38.460 so you could do it on your own,
  26. 00:01:38.560 – 00:01:41.820 or you could hire us to just continue
  27. 00:01:41.820 – 00:01:43.220 to do your podcasts.
  28. 00:01:44.960 – 00:01:47.620 But we're slashing our prices.
  29. 00:01:48.420 – 00:01:51.200 This one day, May 19th,
  30. 00:01:51.200 – 00:01:52.560 my first pod.
  31. 00:01:53.900 – 00:01:58.380 You will never see these discounts again.
  32. 00:02:00.000 – 00:02:01.440 It's amazing.
  33. 00:02:02.920 – 00:02:05.200 And we love giving back to our community
  34. 00:02:05.200 – 00:02:06.580 as much as we can.
  35. 00:02:07.580 – 00:02:11.960 Of course, we have expenses and business expenses,
  36. 00:02:13.400 – 00:02:23.080 personal, so we like taking this day, May 19th.
  37. 00:02:23.080 – 00:02:24.580 Just giving back.
  38. 00:02:24.860 – 00:02:28.060 Giving back, but we have five slots, five slots only.
  39. 00:02:29.950 – 00:02:34.430 You could book more than one slot, two slots,
  40. 00:02:34.950 – 00:02:37.930 one slot, two slot, which one it's gonna be.
  41. 00:02:38.750 – 00:02:39.810 Take advantage.
  42. 00:02:41.310 – 00:02:42.830 What else we're gonna have?
  43. 00:02:43.790 – 00:02:46.130 Got your 30 minute consultation.
  44. 00:02:47.330 – 00:02:48.670 We're giving you feedback
  45. 00:02:48.670 – 00:02:51.170 and some actionable steps you could take.
  46. 00:02:51.850 – 00:02:56.010 We have up to one hour published,
  47. 00:02:57.250 – 00:03:00.290 fully edited and filmed by us.
  48. 00:03:00.570 – 00:03:05.790 Overflow Studios and Alienize Photos.
  49. 00:03:06.350 – 00:03:07.290 It's gonna be amazing.
  50. 00:03:08.570 – 00:03:11.870 Again, you got a couple choices of your set design,
  51. 00:03:13.350 – 00:03:17.670 two edited headshots that you could double
  52. 00:03:17.670 – 00:03:24.120 as your cover art, custom mic design,
  53. 00:03:24.880 – 00:03:30.060 your logo, a quality caption reel.
  54. 00:03:32.070 – 00:03:33.610 You're going viral, promise.
  55. 00:03:34.610 – 00:03:36.370 Just gotta be consistent, too.
  56. 00:03:36.590 – 00:03:38.970 We're gonna talk about that in consultation and more.
  57. 00:03:39.770 – 00:03:41.390 We got some bonuses for y'all.
  58. 00:03:41.610 – 00:03:42.730 We're not just getting the episode.
  59. 00:03:43.230 – 00:03:45.010 We're doing all the leg work
  60. 00:03:45.010 – 00:03:47.810 and I'm gonna take care of the show notes for you.
  61. 00:03:48.110 – 00:03:49.810 There's gonna be timestamps,
  62. 00:03:49.810 – 00:03:53.550 but then go back and pull additional clips yourself.
  63. 00:03:53.870 – 00:03:57.970 Watch us and learn the game.
  64. 00:04:00.150 – 00:04:02.850 This is like an amazing deal.
  65. 00:04:04.250 – 00:04:07.730 Like I said, we're slashing the prices for this one day
  66. 00:04:09.030 – 00:04:14.090 and only five people or a couple people
  67. 00:04:14.090 – 00:04:16.130 because they may book more slots.
  68. 00:04:17.130 – 00:04:21.269 We may do this one more time this year,
  69. 00:04:21.269 – 00:04:22.910 but it's not a guarantee.
  70. 00:04:24.010 – 00:04:29.130 And we're taking this to Atlanta Podcast Summit,
  71. 00:04:29.770 – 00:04:33.230 July 2nd and 3rd, 2026.
  72. 00:04:34.310 – 00:04:38.250 We're gonna bring our deal to Atlanta.
  73. 00:04:39.370 – 00:04:43.670 Yeah, so we're looking to partner with two
  74. 00:04:43.670 – 00:04:46.350 to three studios over down there.
  75. 00:04:47.190 – 00:04:50.270 So if you have a studio you want us to check out
  76. 00:04:50.270 – 00:04:52.630 or you feel you could partner with us,
  77. 00:04:52.930 – 00:04:58.790 definitely reach out to us on a creative frequency,
  78. 00:04:59.930 – 00:05:05.750 on a creative frequency on all media,
  79. 00:05:06.010 – 00:05:10.350 but you can catch us over in active more on Instagram.
  80. 00:05:11.570 – 00:05:17.250 And just DM us the word pod, P-O-D, pod.
  81. 00:05:18.510 – 00:05:21.330 And we'll send you the link to the application.
  82. 00:05:21.610 – 00:05:22.910 You can fill it out.
  83. 00:05:23.730 – 00:05:27.870 All the information you need, your podcast title,
  84. 00:05:28.230 – 00:05:29.890 whether you're doing a solo episode
  85. 00:05:29.890 – 00:05:32.550 or as you and a guest or you and a co-host
  86. 00:05:33.370 – 00:05:39.530 and choose your design for your first podcast.
  87. 00:05:39.530 – 00:05:42.930 And we're gonna take care of everything else for you.
  88. 00:05:43.110 – 00:05:45.450 We're gonna help get your brand discovered,
  89. 00:05:45.630 – 00:05:47.330 your business discovered.
  90. 00:05:48.270 – 00:05:51.650 Visibility is what we help with.
  91. 00:05:52.750 – 00:05:55.450 So if you wanna book us individually,
  92. 00:05:56.290 – 00:05:59.290 definitely check out Overflow Studios
  93. 00:05:59.290 – 00:06:06.010 and be Brianna Casanova on all media.
  94. 00:06:06.850 – 00:06:10.090 We're not gonna say all media, Facebook, Instagram.
  95. 00:06:11.850 – 00:06:12.470 Yeah.
  96. 00:06:13.810 – 00:06:16.090 We're trying to get better with the social media.
  97. 00:06:16.330 – 00:06:22.090 And then myself, Alien Eyes Photos on all media.
  98. 00:06:22.610 – 00:06:24.430 Now I can say that now.
  99. 00:06:24.890 – 00:06:27.310 Even fan base, check out fan base.
  100. 00:06:27.910 – 00:06:30.370 Again, Alien Eyes Photos.
  101. 00:06:31.610 – 00:06:35.570 And that's eyes with a Z, not the S, but a Z.
  102. 00:06:37.350 – 00:06:40.050 Again, May 19th, my first pod.
  103. 00:06:40.230 – 00:06:41.270 Check it out.
  104. 00:06:41.630 – 00:06:43.570 We only have five slots.
  105. 00:06:44.090 – 00:06:45.290 And once they're gone,
  106. 00:06:45.350 – 00:06:49.190 we're gonna update everybody and close it.
  107. 00:06:49.690 – 00:06:51.990 And you're gonna start seeing more ads
  108. 00:06:51.990 – 00:06:55.450 and advertisements and videos and photos
  109. 00:06:55.450 – 00:06:58.010 and all of our past work.
  110. 00:06:58.730 – 00:07:00.990 And yeah, we really wanna assist you
  111. 00:07:00.990 – 00:07:03.070 and we're really passionate about
  112. 00:07:03.070 – 00:07:04.910 getting people to take action.
  113. 00:07:05.370 – 00:07:06.910 And people always talk about
  114. 00:07:06.910 – 00:07:10.190 having a podcast or starting this or starting that.
  115. 00:07:10.430 – 00:07:12.030 We want to help you with that.
  116. 00:07:12.590 – 00:07:14.570 This go round, we're starting with podcasts.
  117. 00:07:14.770 – 00:07:18.090 We want to literally hold your hand,
  118. 00:07:18.550 – 00:07:21.670 sit you down in the chair, press record,
  119. 00:07:22.210 – 00:07:25.030 edit the whole podcast for you.
  120. 00:07:26.330 – 00:07:30.510 Do one amazing reel so you don't have to.
  121. 00:07:32.470 – 00:07:34.230 We're gonna do, take care of the show notes.
  122. 00:07:34.250 – 00:07:36.150 So you're gonna have your takeaways,
  123. 00:07:36.830 – 00:07:40.870 your key points and we want you to find those
  124. 00:07:40.870 – 00:07:42.930 and clip those yourself.
  125. 00:07:43.510 – 00:07:47.610 Clipping is the easiest way to get discovered.
  126. 00:07:48.070 – 00:07:51.730 If you put out a clip a couple of times a week,
  127. 00:07:52.150 – 00:07:53.450 practically every day,
  128. 00:07:56.680 – 00:07:59.800 do it every day, consistently.
  129. 00:08:01.680 – 00:08:03.200 Oh, you're gonna get discovered.
  130. 00:08:03.480 – 00:08:04.800 It's only a matter of time.
  131. 00:08:05.320 – 00:08:07.740 Just keep doing you, keep being great.
  132. 00:08:07.740 – 00:08:08.860 Keep recording.
  133. 00:08:09.140 – 00:08:12.540 We're gonna help get you a content schedule
  134. 00:08:13.700 – 00:08:19.020 so you can have this calendar for maybe 30 days, 90 days,
  135. 00:08:19.200 – 00:08:22.300 however we feel, excuse me,
  136. 00:08:23.000 – 00:08:27.200 that you could take it and really do it
  137. 00:08:28.040 – 00:08:31.040 because you're gonna dream and have these big goals
  138. 00:08:31.040 – 00:08:33.200 but if you don't actually do it,
  139. 00:08:33.460 – 00:08:34.919 it doesn't mean nothing.
  140. 00:08:37.120 – 00:08:38.960 It doesn't mean nothing.
  141. 00:08:42.520 – 00:08:46.660 And show notes is also how you get discovered.
  142. 00:08:48.720 – 00:08:52.880 Whatever you talk about, put it in the show notes.
  143. 00:08:54.360 – 00:08:56.500 The key points, the key takeaways.
  144. 00:08:57.420 – 00:08:58.860 What is the podcast about?
  145. 00:09:00.340 – 00:09:01.540 Put it in the show notes.
  146. 00:09:01.740 – 00:09:02.740 Put their links.
  147. 00:09:04.500 – 00:09:08.900 That's another way to get discovered, links.
  148. 00:09:11.500 – 00:09:12.940 If you don't have the links,
  149. 00:09:14.900 – 00:09:19.480 well, we'll talk about it if you book a session
  150. 00:09:20.200 – 00:09:21.260 for my first podcast.
  151. 00:09:21.420 – 00:09:23.740 I got a lot, trust me, I got a lot
  152. 00:09:23.740 – 00:09:27.160 and I'm constantly studying podcasts
  153. 00:09:27.160 – 00:09:29.880 and podcasting every week.
  154. 00:09:30.860 – 00:09:34.700 Maybe two times a week if I had the time
  155. 00:09:34.700 – 00:09:36.280 and I'm not fully booked.
  156. 00:09:36.480 – 00:09:37.300 Booked out.
  157. 00:09:38.080 – 00:09:40.160 But it's wedding season for me also,
  158. 00:09:40.220 – 00:09:44.100 so it's back-to-back weekends of weddings
  159. 00:09:44.100 – 00:09:45.420 and stuff like that.
  160. 00:09:46.660 – 00:09:54.510 So it's, yeah, that's why I want to give back
  161. 00:09:54.510 – 00:10:00.150 when me and Brianna can not mention her.
  162. 00:10:00.270 – 00:10:04.770 And she actually brought me the idea,
  163. 00:10:04.850 – 00:10:07.010 like, we should do this.
  164. 00:10:07.010 – 00:10:11.170 We were going back and forth about our different
  165. 00:10:11.170 – 00:10:13.830 event ideas and what should our first event be?
  166. 00:10:14.050 – 00:10:17.130 We should do this, who we should partner with,
  167. 00:10:17.230 – 00:10:18.050 boom, boom, boom.
  168. 00:10:19.230 – 00:10:21.850 We had 30 different ideas,
  169. 00:10:23.070 – 00:10:25.210 but when she brought me this one,
  170. 00:10:25.210 – 00:10:26.990 I'm like, yeah, this is the one.
  171. 00:10:27.590 – 00:10:32.730 We got the location, our tasks and what we're gonna do.
  172. 00:10:33.770 – 00:10:36.310 I'm like, okay, cool, let's do it.
  173. 00:10:37.310 – 00:10:39.590 And it's just been an amazing journey
  174. 00:10:39.590 – 00:10:42.910 just even promoting it and creating content
  175. 00:10:42.910 – 00:10:48.130 and seeing her create content and as her personality
  176. 00:10:48.130 – 00:10:52.630 and it's great for the world to see her personality more.
  177. 00:10:52.710 – 00:10:55.490 It's like, you so talented, do your thing,
  178. 00:10:55.550 – 00:10:56.630 do your thing.
  179. 00:10:58.170 – 00:11:03.330 So articulate and smart and crafty, beautiful.
  180. 00:11:04.330 – 00:11:06.010 Do your thing.
  181. 00:11:07.010 – 00:11:09.630 We want people to come to my first pod
  182. 00:11:10.380 – 00:11:12.370 and show them what we can do
  183. 00:11:13.810 – 00:11:17.370 and maybe become their producers long time.
  184. 00:11:18.590 – 00:11:19.390 Long term.
  185. 00:11:20.350 – 00:11:24.660 So yeah, if you wanna work with us,
  186. 00:11:24.660 – 00:11:27.020 even if you don't do my first pod,
  187. 00:11:27.780 – 00:11:30.040 definitely still contact us.
  188. 00:11:30.520 – 00:11:31.680 You know, send us a message,
  189. 00:11:31.920 – 00:11:34.060 even send us a message,
  190. 00:11:36.560 – 00:11:41.820 podcast to our DM on a creative frequency.
  191. 00:11:43.400 – 00:11:44.740 Hit us up on Instagram,
  192. 00:11:45.380 – 00:11:48.680 either pie for my first podcast application link
  193. 00:11:48.680 – 00:11:51.660 or podcast if you're interested
  194. 00:11:52.540 – 00:11:55.520 and maybe you already have a podcast
  195. 00:11:55.520 – 00:11:59.440 and you just need podcast producers or someone to film.
  196. 00:12:02.240 – 00:12:07.980 I'm not gonna say we edit other people's content,
  197. 00:12:08.120 – 00:12:11.020 but if we film it, we definitely edit it.
  198. 00:12:11.800 – 00:12:12.600 That's one thing.
  199. 00:12:12.620 – 00:12:16.620 It's just hard working with other people's footage
  200. 00:12:16.620 – 00:12:20.300 and people wanna hire you to edit their stuff.
  201. 00:12:21.240 – 00:12:24.280 But you never know still, we may do it
  202. 00:12:24.280 – 00:12:26.940 depending on what it is and the length and all that.
  203. 00:12:28.160 – 00:12:31.040 But that's just not something we focus on.
  204. 00:12:31.360 – 00:12:36.340 We love the whole process of setting up the scene
  205. 00:12:36.340 – 00:12:38.180 and getting the cameras right
  206. 00:12:38.180 – 00:12:41.000 and filming ourself and then editing it.
  207. 00:12:41.340 – 00:12:45.280 And it makes it much easier and a lot less stress.
  208. 00:12:45.340 – 00:12:46.060 Trust me.
  209. 00:12:46.860 – 00:12:50.340 All my filmmakers, producers, even photographers,
  210. 00:12:50.560 – 00:12:52.120 you know, I know you can relate.
  211. 00:12:53.660 – 00:12:57.420 It's hard to work with stuff that you didn't film
  212. 00:12:57.420 – 00:13:00.060 or if it wasn't on the same team,
  213. 00:13:00.100 – 00:13:01.360 because you know you have companies
  214. 00:13:01.360 – 00:13:02.980 where some people all they do is film
  215. 00:13:02.980 – 00:13:04.120 and they send it up to the editors.
  216. 00:13:04.580 – 00:13:06.380 So it just depends.
  217. 00:13:06.820 – 00:13:11.080 But like right now we're just a power couple.
  218. 00:13:11.420 – 00:13:13.060 We're power coupling this.
  219. 00:13:13.540 – 00:13:15.640 So it's just us two for the most part.
  220. 00:13:16.460 – 00:13:19.640 We're definitely actively looking for help
  221. 00:13:20.100 – 00:13:24.600 as far as interns and another editor
  222. 00:13:25.260 – 00:13:28.520 or at least a base editor to help us get started.
  223. 00:13:31.220 – 00:13:34.540 So yeah, just reach out to us, have a conversation.
  224. 00:13:35.760 – 00:13:37.440 You know, we're definitely good people,
  225. 00:13:37.600 – 00:13:41.340 especially when we talk about media or podcasts
  226. 00:13:41.340 – 00:13:43.160 and our business, like man,
  227. 00:13:44.900 – 00:13:46.720 you book us for a consultation.
  228. 00:13:47.160 – 00:13:48.400 It's $500.
  229. 00:13:49.680 – 00:13:51.780 We will get you right, trust me.
  230. 00:13:52.040 – 00:13:54.480 All right, spend a VIP day with us
  231. 00:13:55.320 – 00:13:57.040 and you know, ask about us.
  232. 00:13:57.120 – 00:14:00.260 You know, we'll give you eight to 10 hours
  233. 00:14:00.260 – 00:14:02.300 of our time during the day
  234. 00:14:03.280 – 00:14:05.320 and just pick our brain.
  235. 00:14:05.760 – 00:14:08.760 Let's help you get organized and strategized
  236. 00:14:08.760 – 00:14:14.040 and get a plan together and help you be actionable.
  237. 00:14:15.660 – 00:14:17.380 Like you could do it yourself
  238. 00:14:18.440 – 00:14:20.220 or we could do it for you.
  239. 00:14:21.400 – 00:14:25.820 But why not us just do it with you?
  240. 00:14:26.520 – 00:14:28.000 And that's like more of our motto,
  241. 00:14:28.120 – 00:14:32.500 just doing it with you versus, you know,
  242. 00:14:32.600 – 00:14:34.220 telling you what to do with you,
  243. 00:14:34.420 – 00:14:35.920 doing it on your own.
  244. 00:14:36.300 – 00:14:38.080 Cause that's probably something you're doing right now,
  245. 00:14:38.080 – 00:14:39.640 just doing it on your own,
  246. 00:14:39.920 – 00:14:41.940 researching, watching YouTube videos,
  247. 00:14:42.040 – 00:14:43.460 trying to figure it out.
  248. 00:14:43.760 – 00:14:45.120 Let us help you figure it out.
  249. 00:14:45.620 – 00:14:47.200 Let's walk through it together.
  250. 00:14:47.200 – 00:14:49.060 Let's go on this journey.
  251. 00:14:49.480 – 00:14:51.080 Go on a journey with creative frequency.
  252. 00:14:51.780 – 00:14:53.420 May 19th, my first pod.
  253. 00:14:54.000 – 00:14:54.720 Check us out.
  254. 00:14:54.820 – 00:14:57.580 DM is pod on Instagram.
  255. 00:14:58.240 – 00:15:02.760 Pod, P-O-D, pod to R-D-M
  256. 00:15:02.760 – 00:15:06.000 to get the link to register for my first pod.
  257. 00:15:06.960 – 00:15:08.060 Limited slots.
  258. 00:15:08.960 – 00:15:10.940 This is not an open networking event.
  259. 00:15:12.360 – 00:15:13.480 Must book slot.
  260. 00:15:16.340 – 00:15:19.140 All right, until next time y'all.
  261. 00:15:19.140 – 00:15:22.200 I appreciate y'all listening and considering my first pod.
  262. 00:15:23.140 – 00:15:26.220 May 19th, 2026, my first pod.
  263. 00:15:26.820 – 00:15:27.740 DMS pod.
  264. 00:15:29.280 – 00:15:30.120 On a creative frequency.
  265. 00:15:31.140 – 00:15:33.000 Cause we're always on the creative frequency.
  266. 00:15:33.760 – 00:15:35.320 Being creative, it's our frequency.
  267. 00:15:36.960 – 00:15:38.420 All right, y'all, it's photographer Jackson
  268. 00:15:38.420 – 00:15:40.140 with Alienize Photos Media,
  269. 00:15:40.620 – 00:15:43.280 bringing you Alienize Photos industry talk.
  270. 00:15:43.440 – 00:15:44.600 And I am out.
  271. 00:15:45.340 – 00:15:46.120 DMS pod.

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36. Caught In A Hailstorm: Real-Life Lessons For Creative Entrepreneurs When Everything Hits At Once

Season 1 · Episode 35

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  1. 00:00:01.170 – 00:00:05.530 No way it is it is crazy. I
  2. 00:00:05.530 – 00:00:11.390 Didn't know where it started storming and hailing now the streets is flooded. I was
  3. 00:00:12.290 – 00:00:20.930 Underwater just got down picking up my daughter and I didn't know where it started storming and hailing
  4. 00:00:21.390 – 00:00:24.210 Like I'm talking about big rock
  5. 00:00:24.210 – 00:00:28.110 Pieces of ice and rocks it is crazy
  6. 00:00:28.710 – 00:00:36.370 My windshield is now cracked like it wasn't a sunny day
  7. 00:00:37.670 – 00:00:43.390 It wasn't necessarily raining either and then it started drizzling
  8. 00:00:43.990 – 00:00:46.950 Got out the umbrella and then out of nowhere
  9. 00:00:47.450 – 00:00:48.270 started
  10. 00:00:48.910 – 00:00:51.090 storming and hailing
  11. 00:00:52.440 – 00:00:55.260 big rock pieces of
  12. 00:00:55.260 – 00:00:55.840 ice
  13. 00:00:55.840 – 00:00:57.560 falling from the sky
  14. 00:00:57.560 – 00:00:59.460 Now people out here shovel
  15. 00:01:00.900 – 00:01:11.600 It's crazy. It is crazy and I know as an entrepreneur
  16. 00:01:13.040 – 00:01:16.400 It gets crazy it gets storming
  17. 00:01:17.960 – 00:01:29.050 Out of nowhere starts hailing got to do what you got to do. Let's get where you need to be
  18. 00:01:33.080 – 00:01:38.260 Got to do you got to do to get where you need to be
  19. 00:01:39.000 – 00:01:44.220 Like I'm currently driving in this is flooded. I'm sure you could hear the water
  20. 00:01:45.580 – 00:01:48.000 It was police sirens earlier
  21. 00:01:48.660 – 00:01:51.940 And I'm like I have to document
  22. 00:01:52.880 – 00:01:56.300 my journey my life my business
  23. 00:01:57.120 – 00:02:06.260 Now I have my daughter in the back seat and it's like the scariest day try to fire
  24. 00:02:07.400 – 00:02:08.600 shelter protection
  25. 00:02:09.900 – 00:02:14.060 and that's when it got worse and windshield crack, so
  26. 00:02:15.460 – 00:02:21.720 You know you could do all you need to do or feel like you're doing everything you need to do in your business
  27. 00:02:23.000 – 00:02:25.260 And it's still
  28. 00:02:26.120 – 00:02:28.420 Nothing happens
  29. 00:02:29.480 – 00:02:31.600 Or it feels like you're going backwards
  30. 00:02:33.360 – 00:02:38.240 Nothing's really changing and you're not growing it's actually getting worse
  31. 00:02:42.110 – 00:02:44.070 You're actually becoming a
  32. 00:02:47.030 – 00:02:47.910 bill pair
  33. 00:02:47.910 – 00:02:50.830 Just racking up
  34. 00:02:50.830 – 00:02:54.610 Expenses expenses up their expenses
  35. 00:02:56.970 – 00:02:58.110 Like I'm literally
  36. 00:02:58.110 – 00:03:00.210 driving in the flood
  37. 00:03:03.890 – 00:03:10.440 Like it's scary. I didn't want to be long-winded with all of this
  38. 00:03:10.440 – 00:03:18.320 But I definitely wanted to document of my journey and as I have a lot of work to speak a lot of work
  39. 00:03:18.320 – 00:03:24.580 I've been doing it this past couple days and the rest of the week have events weddings a lot of editing
  40. 00:03:25.100 – 00:03:31.430 We cast it is so much this week. I still got to get it done
  41. 00:03:31.550 – 00:03:35.310 I still had a call my insurance and take the car to the shop, but this
  42. 00:03:36.330 – 00:03:45.160 Work with safe light maybe to be my windshield replace with this spray. I don't know where
  43. 00:03:47.060 – 00:03:50.500 That's just like in business just like an entrepreneurship
  44. 00:03:51.900 – 00:04:00.210 Never know when a storm is don't come but you got to be ready. So I got to say
  45. 00:04:00.750 – 00:04:04.830 This is a lot more that I want to say but I want to be safe
  46. 00:04:05.870 – 00:04:07.910 So I'm gonna end this recording
  47. 00:04:08.590 – 00:04:14.570 This is photographer Jackson of alien eyes photos industry talk and alien eyes photos media
  48. 00:04:15.390 – 00:04:19.250 Be blessed they say are y'all peace

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37. David Shands Comes Back To Cleveland With Donni Wiggins

Season 1 · Episode 34

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  1. 00:00:02.290 – 00:00:07.570 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:08.570 – 00:00:16.250 And this episode is podcast summit, Cleveland edition.
  3. 00:00:16.670 – 00:00:18.670 Now, if you wasn't there last night,
  4. 00:00:19.110 – 00:00:24.910 April 9th, 2026 with David Shands, Donnie Wiggins,
  5. 00:00:25.150 – 00:00:28.670 plus Cleveland and all the Cleveland entrepreneurs,
  6. 00:00:28.670 – 00:00:32.870 creatives, podcasters, creative entrepreneurs,
  7. 00:00:33.390 – 00:00:37.070 photographers, videographers, creatives, business owners.
  8. 00:00:37.610 – 00:00:38.750 It was amazing.
  9. 00:00:39.610 – 00:00:42.610 Cleveland, you showed up and show out.
  10. 00:00:43.010 – 00:00:44.090 You did it.
  11. 00:00:44.530 – 00:00:48.630 There's some key takeaways from all the ambassadors
  12. 00:00:49.230 – 00:00:52.590 and Mr. Groupon, DeWayne Griffin,
  13. 00:00:53.210 – 00:00:55.230 and J.R. Fogel were local.
  14. 00:00:56.730 – 00:00:58.150 He'll bring it to life.
  15. 00:00:58.670 – 00:01:02.690 Well, David Shands and Donnie Wiggins to Cleveland.
  16. 00:01:03.670 – 00:01:06.290 David Shands again, Donnie Wiggins.
  17. 00:01:06.490 – 00:01:09.130 First time in the land with David.
  18. 00:01:09.570 – 00:01:11.850 Promoting the podcast summit,
  19. 00:01:12.430 – 00:01:16.250 and that's July 2nd and the 3rd.
  20. 00:01:16.310 – 00:01:17.950 Creative frequency will be in the building,
  21. 00:01:18.210 – 00:01:20.950 Alienize Photos, Overflow Studios.
  22. 00:01:21.550 – 00:01:23.270 We will be in the building.
  23. 00:01:23.430 – 00:01:28.650 Check out our booth at podcast summit 26.
  24. 00:01:28.670 – 00:01:34.330 And that's July 2nd and the 3rd, 2026.
  25. 00:01:36.650 – 00:01:37.810 Stay tuned.
  26. 00:01:38.030 – 00:01:39.810 We're gonna have a vendor booth.
  27. 00:01:40.290 – 00:01:42.150 Check us out, create some content.
  28. 00:01:42.430 – 00:01:44.350 Meet us, follow us.
  29. 00:01:45.010 – 00:01:46.470 Hey, it's gonna be lovely.
  30. 00:01:48.350 – 00:01:50.270 So my video to stop.
  31. 00:01:51.490 – 00:01:53.290 I'm gonna just run this in 1080.
  32. 00:01:55.390 – 00:01:57.050 I don't know why it stopped.
  33. 00:01:57.570 – 00:01:58.770 I'll just do it in 1080.
  34. 00:02:04.550 – 00:02:06.210 So I'm getting right into it.
  35. 00:02:07.870 – 00:02:10.130 I love Turdine DuBois.
  36. 00:02:10.270 – 00:02:11.430 Oh my goodness.
  37. 00:02:12.390 – 00:02:16.310 Amazing business strategist, AI consultant.
  38. 00:02:17.070 – 00:02:18.530 Just giving a game.
  39. 00:02:19.650 – 00:02:22.030 And I remember she was talking about
  40. 00:02:22.030 – 00:02:25.790 the difference between billionaires and millionaires
  41. 00:02:25.790 – 00:02:27.170 and like the gap.
  42. 00:02:27.650 – 00:02:33.290 And then also the time if she gave you a dollar a day,
  43. 00:02:34.850 – 00:02:37.630 one comparison without AI,
  44. 00:02:38.910 – 00:02:43.690 building about 60 businesses versus the speed
  45. 00:02:43.690 – 00:02:46.270 and the time it would take without AI.
  46. 00:02:47.610 – 00:02:52.740 So every business owner have to make that decision,
  47. 00:02:52.940 – 00:02:55.440 invest in tools, invest in marketing.
  48. 00:02:55.800 – 00:02:58.960 Just like podcast is marketing, it's time.
  49. 00:03:00.120 – 00:03:01.940 I'm even in front of the camera.
  50. 00:03:02.120 – 00:03:04.280 It's like, that's the type of work that I do
  51. 00:03:04.280 – 00:03:08.080 for other clients and I run an audio podcast
  52. 00:03:08.080 – 00:03:11.220 hence alienize photos, industry talk.
  53. 00:03:11.780 – 00:03:14.780 And it's amazing, it's amazing journey.
  54. 00:03:17.390 – 00:03:22.730 And she applied those same principles to podcasting.
  55. 00:03:24.140 – 00:03:29.560 And why it's important to pitch to your guests,
  56. 00:03:31.140 – 00:03:36.100 pitch to investors and also pitch to like sponsors.
  57. 00:03:37.320 – 00:03:40.540 It's all different and the importance of a brand kit.
  58. 00:03:41.380 – 00:03:43.760 And I know I'm briefly summarizing this,
  59. 00:03:44.320 – 00:03:52.120 but it was so much content, so much information,
  60. 00:03:52.380 – 00:03:55.780 so much insight, gain, wisdom in a room
  61. 00:03:58.170 – 00:03:59.350 like from everybody.
  62. 00:04:00.230 – 00:04:03.810 Even the handshakes to the person that's next to you.
  63. 00:04:04.350 – 00:04:07.210 And I wanna give it up for Miss Brianna Casanova
  64. 00:04:07.210 – 00:04:11.250 at Overflow Studio, my partner in creative frequency.
  65. 00:04:12.290 – 00:04:14.750 And we hope that you be accountable
  66. 00:04:15.680 – 00:04:20.070 with your creative endeavors, your business endeavors.
  67. 00:04:21.010 – 00:04:24.150 Make sure you have that sanity
  68. 00:04:24.980 – 00:04:26.710 and doing what you need to do.
  69. 00:04:29.750 – 00:04:31.950 So accomplish what you need to accomplish.
  70. 00:04:36.110 – 00:04:38.330 You have to accomplish what you need to accomplish.
  71. 00:04:42.610 – 00:04:47.740 And one thing, you know, sometimes it's frightening
  72. 00:04:47.740 – 00:04:53.520 being in a room of a hundred plus people,
  73. 00:04:54.740 – 00:04:56.840 not knowing who is who sometimes.
  74. 00:04:56.980 – 00:04:59.700 Luckily, I do know a lot of people.
  75. 00:04:59.880 – 00:05:01.000 I have a large network.
  76. 00:05:01.040 – 00:05:04.420 So when I go out, I'll meet at least a couple people,
  77. 00:05:04.860 – 00:05:07.860 one person maybe, and that's good.
  78. 00:05:07.900 – 00:05:10.860 But sometimes it's like 20, 30,
  79. 00:05:11.000 – 00:05:12.720 and it's like, okay, I feel comfortable.
  80. 00:05:13.200 – 00:05:15.320 We are homeless, this is family.
  81. 00:05:15.320 – 00:05:19.920 So it helps with, you know, meeting strangers.
  82. 00:05:19.920 – 00:05:22.500 It's like, okay, my people's here gave me that confidence
  83. 00:05:22.500 – 00:05:25.660 that I had that prep talk already talked.
  84. 00:05:26.340 – 00:05:28.520 And you know, getting my wheels running already talked.
  85. 00:05:30.400 – 00:05:32.240 So it's real good.
  86. 00:05:33.460 – 00:05:35.180 See my camera keep stopping.
  87. 00:05:35.220 – 00:05:37.140 And this is why I don't do video.
  88. 00:05:38.060 – 00:05:41.600 You know, that kind of gives to the hiccups.
  89. 00:05:41.600 – 00:05:45.320 And I'm looking at my monitor real time
  90. 00:05:45.320 – 00:05:46.480 and it's starting and stopping.
  91. 00:05:46.700 – 00:05:49.480 I had to start the camera four times now.
  92. 00:05:50.140 – 00:05:52.860 So this is why I don't do video.
  93. 00:05:53.340 – 00:05:54.720 And people ask me why,
  94. 00:05:54.720 – 00:05:56.780 oh, why don't you just do video?
  95. 00:05:57.800 – 00:06:01.160 Or I could hire somebody and invest in myself.
  96. 00:06:01.300 – 00:06:05.700 But right now, when the podcast is not making money,
  97. 00:06:05.740 – 00:06:07.560 it's hard to do that.
  98. 00:06:07.880 – 00:06:10.820 So I know every once in a while I prop up a camera,
  99. 00:06:10.820 – 00:06:11.760 I prop up my phone.
  100. 00:06:11.900 – 00:06:13.000 I should just have done my phone
  101. 00:06:13.000 – 00:06:14.760 already been a lot easier and smoother,
  102. 00:06:15.300 – 00:06:17.440 but I use it for my audio.
  103. 00:06:18.000 – 00:06:22.380 So yeah, I do have my background camera,
  104. 00:06:24.720 – 00:06:27.000 my icon in the back.
  105. 00:06:28.540 – 00:06:30.720 So it is getting something,
  106. 00:06:31.200 – 00:06:35.120 but that's the thing when you're started off a podcast
  107. 00:06:35.120 – 00:06:39.300 and whether you should choose video or audio
  108. 00:06:39.300 – 00:06:42.060 and if you catch me a podcast,
  109. 00:06:42.120 – 00:06:43.700 I'm in whatever booth,
  110. 00:06:44.400 – 00:06:48.200 vendor booth I will be at or location in the vendor area.
  111. 00:06:48.720 – 00:06:50.880 I will be at, definitely ask me.
  112. 00:06:51.020 – 00:06:52.680 You know, if you listen to this, ask me.
  113. 00:06:52.980 – 00:06:55.560 And we can kind of talk that out, work it out,
  114. 00:06:55.860 – 00:06:58.000 see what's best for you if you're just starting off.
  115. 00:06:58.580 – 00:07:00.840 And also my first pod,
  116. 00:07:01.480 – 00:07:05.820 my first pod coming May 19th,
  117. 00:07:05.820 – 00:07:11.600 that's gonna be an all day thing from 12 to 10.
  118. 00:07:12.080 – 00:07:14.240 I think we're capping it at 10, maybe eight,
  119. 00:07:14.960 – 00:07:18.620 but we'll see how many people pre-register and sign up.
  120. 00:07:19.160 – 00:07:24.180 But again, my first pod May 19th, 2026.
  121. 00:07:26.060 – 00:07:27.240 Yes, it's going down.
  122. 00:07:27.400 – 00:07:29.700 If you're struggling to get your podcast
  123. 00:07:29.700 – 00:07:31.800 off the ground, you need that production.
  124. 00:07:32.240 – 00:07:33.440 You need that guidance.
  125. 00:07:33.640 – 00:07:35.100 You want behind the scenes.
  126. 00:07:35.100 – 00:07:36.840 You want a professional reel cover.
  127. 00:07:37.320 – 00:07:39.100 You get in this big package.
  128. 00:07:39.940 – 00:07:41.720 It's one day only.
  129. 00:07:41.780 – 00:07:43.460 We may do it later in the year,
  130. 00:07:43.900 – 00:07:47.220 but right now, one day only May 19th,
  131. 00:07:47.220 – 00:07:48.880 Creator Frequency is hosting
  132. 00:07:48.880 – 00:07:52.400 their first My First Pie event.
  133. 00:07:53.460 – 00:07:54.960 If you need help with your podcast
  134. 00:07:54.960 – 00:07:56.100 and just getting started,
  135. 00:07:56.100 – 00:07:58.380 you just need that one episode to give you that confidence
  136. 00:07:58.380 – 00:08:00.480 like, oh, I did it.
  137. 00:08:00.480 – 00:08:01.380 I could do it.
  138. 00:08:01.460 – 00:08:02.640 Yes, let's keep going.
  139. 00:08:03.400 – 00:08:06.640 My First Pie is what you need to get into.
  140. 00:08:07.200 – 00:08:08.920 Follow at Creator Frequency,
  141. 00:08:09.520 – 00:08:12.340 and you will see more posts and engagement
  142. 00:08:12.340 – 00:08:14.040 and get your tickets.
  143. 00:08:14.880 – 00:08:16.100 And DM Creator Frequency,
  144. 00:08:16.140 – 00:08:18.780 if you want to get your tickets to reserve your slot,
  145. 00:08:19.300 – 00:08:22.960 because we only have five slots, so get yours.
  146. 00:08:23.340 – 00:08:25.400 Somebody said they want to have double slots,
  147. 00:08:26.380 – 00:08:27.360 so stay tuned.
  148. 00:08:28.200 – 00:08:29.280 All right.
  149. 00:08:29.960 – 00:08:34.390 And going back to the podcast on the Cleveland.
  150. 00:08:36.380 – 00:08:38.799 Donnie and Dave, man, like, man,
  151. 00:08:38.940 – 00:08:44.320 once I really get more structured
  152. 00:08:45.120 – 00:08:47.260 and where I want to be,
  153. 00:08:48.340 – 00:08:50.640 I definitely want to hire both of them
  154. 00:08:50.640 – 00:08:53.000 as one-on-one business coaches,
  155. 00:08:53.740 – 00:08:58.160 just for some other things besides media and podcasts.
  156. 00:08:58.160 – 00:08:59.200 And because,
  157. 00:09:01.760 – 00:09:03.060 and just watching them for years
  158. 00:09:03.060 – 00:09:05.000 and watching them just execute.
  159. 00:09:05.620 – 00:09:07.560 I mean, shout out to whole Atlanta, L.A.
  160. 00:09:08.400 – 00:09:11.080 There's a lot of great talent,
  161. 00:09:11.160 – 00:09:13.160 executors, business owners,
  162. 00:09:14.280 – 00:09:17.200 just the wealth and the insight and the wisdom
  163. 00:09:17.740 – 00:09:18.600 and the hustle.
  164. 00:09:19.560 – 00:09:23.040 And you have to be around like-minded people
  165. 00:09:23.480 – 00:09:24.720 in your community.
  166. 00:09:26.080 – 00:09:30.280 Just build that family, that ecosystem, business partners,
  167. 00:09:31.300 – 00:09:33.820 people that support you, people you support.
  168. 00:09:35.740 – 00:09:36.980 It's one big circle.
  169. 00:09:38.060 – 00:09:39.500 And that's one thing I learned,
  170. 00:09:39.540 – 00:09:41.640 just being in these different circles
  171. 00:09:41.640 – 00:09:43.520 and being in Cleveland,
  172. 00:09:43.640 – 00:09:47.220 like you have to be in the right community,
  173. 00:09:47.360 – 00:09:48.760 be in the right spaces.
  174. 00:09:49.860 – 00:09:52.240 And that's the thing, you have to be in that space.
  175. 00:09:53.300 – 00:09:56.660 So, there's some things to think about.
  176. 00:09:58.500 – 00:10:01.480 Let me see if I can check out my notes real quick,
  177. 00:10:01.860 – 00:10:05.260 because I know I had a wealth of notes,
  178. 00:10:05.960 – 00:10:09.160 like, man, I want to take a read through them all,
  179. 00:10:10.100 – 00:10:13.840 but, you know, David and Donnie together,
  180. 00:10:16.240 – 00:10:21.900 just powerful, entertaining and insightful.
  181. 00:10:22.740 – 00:10:25.640 They don't hold nothing back, and they're very authentic.
  182. 00:10:27.380 – 00:10:31.300 You know, your podcast is not just content,
  183. 00:10:31.660 – 00:10:34.060 it is your reputation at scale.
  184. 00:10:34.880 – 00:10:37.140 Your podcast is not just content,
  185. 00:10:37.540 – 00:10:40.720 it is your reputation at scale.
  186. 00:10:41.260 – 00:10:42.780 When Donnie Wiggins said that,
  187. 00:10:44.420 – 00:10:47.880 it reminded me why I got into the podcast,
  188. 00:10:48.280 – 00:10:49.740 and like started my own show,
  189. 00:10:49.740 – 00:10:52.800 because you know, I produce and film, direct,
  190. 00:10:52.960 – 00:10:55.700 and get show notes for other podcasts
  191. 00:10:55.700 – 00:10:58.400 and business owners that have a podcast.
  192. 00:10:59.000 – 00:11:01.980 And that's the thing, if you haven't checked out,
  193. 00:11:02.820 – 00:11:05.380 every business should have a podcast.
  194. 00:11:06.420 – 00:11:08.660 And shout out to the whole Pull Up Experience,
  195. 00:11:09.060 – 00:11:12.380 as we presented that at Future Land,
  196. 00:11:12.880 – 00:11:16.680 it was 2025, 2024, 2025,
  197. 00:11:17.420 – 00:11:20.860 we presented why every business should have a podcast
  198. 00:11:21.680 – 00:11:24.260 way ahead of our time, I think that was two years ago,
  199. 00:11:24.480 – 00:11:29.770 so 2024, every business should have a podcast.
  200. 00:11:32.590 – 00:11:35.610 And don't just have a podcast
  201. 00:11:36.510 – 00:11:39.330 if you don't have a business or anything to sell
  202. 00:11:39.330 – 00:11:41.490 or product or service.
  203. 00:11:42.130 – 00:11:47.410 And that's one thing Donnie Wiggins honed in on.
  204. 00:11:47.410 – 00:11:50.010 Stuff we've been talking about,
  205. 00:11:50.430 – 00:11:53.630 and they just put the icing on the cake and dance on,
  206. 00:11:53.630 – 00:11:54.970 they built a whole nother cake.
  207. 00:11:55.470 – 00:11:57.570 Of course, bigger than ours,
  208. 00:11:58.050 – 00:12:00.570 but those are mentors and our coaches,
  209. 00:12:01.330 – 00:12:02.410 people we look up to.
  210. 00:12:02.910 – 00:12:05.170 So if they're preaching the same things
  211. 00:12:05.770 – 00:12:08.090 that we've been preaching for years,
  212. 00:12:08.470 – 00:12:11.570 and I've been telling people personally for years,
  213. 00:12:13.430 – 00:12:15.990 then yeah, there's something to think about.
  214. 00:12:16.510 – 00:12:20.330 And just being in a room of my fellow creators,
  215. 00:12:21.110 – 00:12:27.450 business owners, entrepreneurs, podcasters, it's amazing.
  216. 00:12:28.370 – 00:12:31.250 I'm glad that taking it in and absorbing it
  217. 00:12:31.250 – 00:12:32.590 and asking the questions
  218. 00:12:32.590 – 00:12:35.650 and not being afraid to take that leap.
  219. 00:12:37.150 – 00:12:40.630 So much talent in Cleveland, so much talent in Cleveland,
  220. 00:12:41.030 – 00:12:44.690 so much wealth, so much gems and resources,
  221. 00:12:44.690 – 00:12:46.390 there's so much in Cleveland.
  222. 00:12:47.450 – 00:12:51.790 We have to recognize that, we really do.
  223. 00:12:53.890 – 00:12:56.690 And going back to David,
  224. 00:12:57.510 – 00:13:02.990 I love how he breaks that selling framework down that
  225. 00:13:03.810 – 00:13:08.650 I help X do Y by Z.
  226. 00:13:08.750 – 00:13:11.130 I help X do Y by Z.
  227. 00:13:13.150 – 00:13:18.290 And if you are new to business or new to podcasting,
  228. 00:13:18.890 – 00:13:20.850 that's what your podcasting is solved,
  229. 00:13:20.870 – 00:13:23.270 that's what your business should solve.
  230. 00:13:23.830 – 00:13:25.930 And they should be intertwined.
  231. 00:13:25.990 – 00:13:27.950 And that's another thing he talked about.
  232. 00:13:28.370 – 00:13:29.750 It should be one,
  233. 00:13:29.910 – 00:13:34.990 just like I use Alienize Photos industry talk
  234. 00:13:34.990 – 00:13:38.070 to help Alienize Photos media,
  235. 00:13:38.730 – 00:13:41.290 the media company, the photography brand.
  236. 00:13:43.050 – 00:13:45.530 Yes, it all ties together.
  237. 00:13:45.910 – 00:13:48.090 That was the biggest reason,
  238. 00:13:48.290 – 00:13:50.830 one of the biggest reasons why I started the podcast
  239. 00:13:50.830 – 00:13:53.090 because this is my biggest market in honor.
  240. 00:13:53.170 – 00:13:55.610 I'm not a extrovert.
  241. 00:13:56.850 – 00:13:59.370 I'm an introvert, I'm to myself.
  242. 00:14:00.150 – 00:14:04.210 And I could talk to a lens, I could be on audio,
  243. 00:14:04.590 – 00:14:07.550 I can write, I write so much.
  244. 00:14:09.270 – 00:14:18.110 I write so, so much, so much I write, so much.
  245. 00:14:19.650 – 00:14:25.510 From music, songs, blogs, website content,
  246. 00:14:26.490 – 00:14:32.450 copywriting, books, poetry, jingles,
  247. 00:14:33.330 – 00:14:35.570 so much, just a natural writer.
  248. 00:14:37.850 – 00:14:40.810 And one reason I became a photographer
  249. 00:14:41.790 – 00:14:47.250 is because if I'm writing these books,
  250. 00:14:47.630 – 00:14:49.610 writing these poems, the songs, the blog,
  251. 00:14:49.870 – 00:14:51.270 all this content,
  252. 00:14:52.810 – 00:14:56.110 and they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
  253. 00:14:56.770 – 00:15:00.250 And if I could take a picture and write a thousand words,
  254. 00:15:00.930 – 00:15:04.210 I could accelerate my growth.
  255. 00:15:05.590 – 00:15:07.050 And that's the power of pictures.
  256. 00:15:07.050 – 00:15:08.670 And then think about video,
  257. 00:15:09.110 – 00:15:10.890 and it's usually 24 frames per second.
  258. 00:15:10.930 – 00:15:14.970 So it was like 24 pictures in a second.
  259. 00:15:16.090 – 00:15:17.430 You see how I was compounding,
  260. 00:15:17.430 – 00:15:19.670 and that's the importance of video.
  261. 00:15:21.880 – 00:15:23.980 You need video for your business,
  262. 00:15:25.800 – 00:15:27.160 podcast for your business.
  263. 00:15:28.100 – 00:15:30.020 Well, I don't say you don't need,
  264. 00:15:31.220 – 00:15:32.440 but you should.
  265. 00:15:32.980 – 00:15:35.380 It should be something you could consider.
  266. 00:15:36.220 – 00:15:38.320 And everybody has their line,
  267. 00:15:39.700 – 00:15:43.120 but I highly suggest video,
  268. 00:15:44.380 – 00:15:47.860 having a podcast, a combination of both,
  269. 00:15:49.420 – 00:15:49.920 and AI.
  270. 00:15:51.120 – 00:15:54.120 I was like my top three that I preached,
  271. 00:15:54.200 – 00:15:55.340 that I vouched for,
  272. 00:15:55.480 – 00:15:57.740 stuff that I'm incorporating,
  273. 00:15:57.920 – 00:16:00.640 and me stepping in front of the camera even more.
  274. 00:16:02.560 – 00:16:04.440 And not just about my podcast,
  275. 00:16:04.440 – 00:16:05.760 and podcast content,
  276. 00:16:05.940 – 00:16:08.040 but more short form.
  277. 00:16:08.120 – 00:16:10.480 May do some long form on camera,
  278. 00:16:10.840 – 00:16:13.080 but I save it for the audio experience
  279. 00:16:13.080 – 00:16:15.500 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  280. 00:16:16.480 – 00:16:19.600 So stay tuned to everything I have.
  281. 00:16:20.360 – 00:16:22.380 And if you won't,
  282. 00:16:23.880 – 00:16:29.270 if you're not gonna be in Atlanta this year,
  283. 00:16:29.510 – 00:16:30.590 podcast summit,
  284. 00:16:31.190 – 00:16:34.330 July 2nd and the 3rd,
  285. 00:16:35.430 – 00:16:38.750 in ATL, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia,
  286. 00:16:40.190 – 00:16:43.890 I think you should reconsider and get your ticket.
  287. 00:16:44.710 – 00:16:46.770 That's just my personal testimony,
  288. 00:16:47.050 – 00:16:48.130 like I say a lot.
  289. 00:16:49.110 – 00:16:52.650 I even have recaps of last year's podcast summit,
  290. 00:16:52.830 – 00:16:56.990 2025, the two days of podcast summit day one,
  291. 00:16:57.410 – 00:16:58.530 podcast summit day two.
  292. 00:16:58.890 – 00:16:59.990 Check those out.
  293. 00:17:00.070 – 00:17:04.170 I also have an episode recapping my experience
  294. 00:17:04.170 – 00:17:07.849 when David Shands came to Cleveland the first time,
  295. 00:17:07.849 – 00:17:08.910 two years ago,
  296. 00:17:08.970 – 00:17:11.430 and being on the Pull Up Experience podcast,
  297. 00:17:11.670 – 00:17:13.150 episode 300.
  298. 00:17:14.510 – 00:17:16.650 Episode 300, we woo!
  299. 00:17:17.770 – 00:17:18.990 No, 200, I'm sorry.
  300. 00:17:19.030 – 00:17:21.089 But we're on episode,
  301. 00:17:21.650 – 00:17:22.970 I think 311,
  302. 00:17:23.030 – 00:17:26.450 so we are moving rapid and armed
  303. 00:17:26.450 – 00:17:29.630 on episode, what is it, 60 altogether?
  304. 00:17:30.350 – 00:17:31.950 I have some that I haven't released,
  305. 00:17:31.990 – 00:17:32.990 so I was like, man, what now?
  306. 00:17:32.990 – 00:17:34.570 I recorded all of these,
  307. 00:17:35.590 – 00:17:37.130 but what is in the public right now?
  308. 00:17:37.150 – 00:17:42.210 So it's hard kind of differentiating those statistics,
  309. 00:17:43.190 – 00:17:45.330 like what's recorded and what's published
  310. 00:17:45.330 – 00:17:49.430 and out on the internet and ethers and audio platforms.
  311. 00:17:52.770 – 00:17:54.050 Anything else?
  312. 00:17:54.490 – 00:18:03.340 Like, man, I might have to do another episode
  313. 00:18:03.340 – 00:18:07.260 giving like more of the goody insights,
  314. 00:18:07.480 – 00:18:12.040 like more of my takeaways from Dave and Donnie
  315. 00:18:12.040 – 00:18:13.880 and all the entrepreneurs in Cleveland,
  316. 00:18:14.220 – 00:18:17.560 the ambassador of podcast summit Cleveland edition.
  317. 00:18:19.540 – 00:18:22.380 Yeah, I think I may do a takeaway episode,
  318. 00:18:22.440 – 00:18:23.880 so stay tuned for that.
  319. 00:18:25.660 – 00:18:30.500 But again, be sure to check out my first pod
  320. 00:18:31.260 – 00:18:33.080 with creator Frequency,
  321. 00:18:33.500 – 00:18:35.220 partnering with Ruthie's List
  322. 00:18:35.220 – 00:18:38.100 and you have not been to Ruthie's List
  323. 00:18:38.100 – 00:18:43.600 out in Wycliffe, the great co-working space.
  324. 00:18:46.120 – 00:18:50.760 Wycliffe, Ohio, you have to check it out.
  325. 00:18:50.920 – 00:18:52.840 It's nice and versatile,
  326. 00:18:54.320 – 00:18:57.920 kind of talking with her to bring more podcast
  327. 00:18:57.920 – 00:19:00.420 experiences to her space,
  328. 00:19:01.280 – 00:19:03.980 bring more business owners and entrepreneurs,
  329. 00:19:04.260 – 00:19:05.860 mainly like solo entrepreneurs
  330. 00:19:06.280 – 00:19:07.920 where they could just hang out
  331. 00:19:07.920 – 00:19:10.820 or just get away and have meetings,
  332. 00:19:11.780 – 00:19:14.440 have small gathering and events as well.
  333. 00:19:15.580 – 00:19:18.320 So we're partnering with Ruthie's List
  334. 00:19:18.320 – 00:19:22.180 to help showcase and showcase her spot
  335. 00:19:22.180 – 00:19:24.660 and the uniqueness and versatility.
  336. 00:19:25.380 – 00:19:28.560 If you are interested in podcasting,
  337. 00:19:28.600 – 00:19:31.800 definitely check us out at my first pod.
  338. 00:19:31.820 – 00:19:33.440 We have five slots.
  339. 00:19:35.000 – 00:19:38.420 One is taken, but they're thinking about taking two.
  340. 00:19:39.360 – 00:19:42.580 We did an invite only with three people.
  341. 00:19:43.220 – 00:19:45.020 One person already booked,
  342. 00:19:45.600 – 00:19:48.360 so that's four, but she takes both.
  343. 00:19:50.340 – 00:19:51.700 Then there's only three slots left.
  344. 00:19:52.160 – 00:19:55.100 We may do six, like if we get a,
  345. 00:19:55.100 – 00:19:57.760 you know, a little feedback and they really want us,
  346. 00:19:58.420 – 00:20:02.420 we may do six slots, but right now five
  347. 00:20:03.420 – 00:20:05.580 and two may be already taken.
  348. 00:20:06.220 – 00:20:10.680 So if you get the invitation or if you listen to this,
  349. 00:20:11.640 – 00:20:13.460 message creator frequency
  350. 00:20:13.460 – 00:20:17.540 and we will send you the booking link to my first pod
  351. 00:20:17.540 – 00:20:21.740 to get your first podcast episode published
  352. 00:20:21.740 – 00:20:24.160 with the show notes, the cover art,
  353. 00:20:24.160 – 00:20:26.180 distributed on all platforms.
  354. 00:20:26.580 – 00:20:28.460 You're getting that premium reel
  355. 00:20:29.520 – 00:20:32.880 from Miss Real Deal herself,
  356. 00:20:33.620 – 00:20:37.740 Brianna Casanova with Overflow Studios.
  357. 00:20:38.540 – 00:20:41.700 And if you haven't checked out Beauty Toe,
  358. 00:20:41.960 – 00:20:45.340 who she is the director and film chopper,
  359. 00:20:45.460 – 00:20:47.100 all of that, beautiness.
  360. 00:20:48.260 – 00:20:52.240 Check out Beauty Toe on all platforms.
  361. 00:20:52.240 – 00:20:56.340 It was blown up on YouTube with Miss Brittany Knight,
  362. 00:20:56.540 – 00:20:58.460 who's also a member of the Pull Up Experience.
  363. 00:20:58.600 – 00:21:01.160 And if you have not checked out the Pull Up Experience,
  364. 00:21:02.100 – 00:21:05.970 whew, start there.
  365. 00:21:07.750 – 00:21:10.330 Episode one, The Cringes,
  366. 00:21:10.750 – 00:21:16.590 all the way to episode 311 to see the growth,
  367. 00:21:17.410 – 00:21:20.190 to see the journey of entrepreneurs
  368. 00:21:20.190 – 00:21:24.450 and our building of interviewing
  369. 00:21:24.450 – 00:21:30.820 and documenting great stories here in Cleveland, Ohio.
  370. 00:21:31.860 – 00:21:35.960 We have some out of town interviews and out of towners,
  371. 00:21:37.100 – 00:21:38.410 but for the most part,
  372. 00:21:40.100 – 00:21:42.900 Cleveland, Ohio business owners,
  373. 00:21:44.100 – 00:21:47.220 Cleveland, Ohio entrepreneurs,
  374. 00:21:48.010 – 00:21:52.060 Cleveland, Ohio creatives, artists,
  375. 00:21:53.780 – 00:21:55.820 sometimes everyday people,
  376. 00:21:56.660 – 00:21:58.200 financial gurus, politics.
  377. 00:22:01.030 – 00:22:01.870 It's amazing.
  378. 00:22:03.430 – 00:22:06.890 And shout out to our biggest partner,
  379. 00:22:07.590 – 00:22:10.190 Miss Nakia Hudson with 2U Wines
  380. 00:22:10.190 – 00:22:12.430 over in South Uquid, Ohio.
  381. 00:22:12.730 – 00:22:14.810 If you have not been to 2U Wines,
  382. 00:22:15.410 – 00:22:18.490 it's the only line I recommend.
  383. 00:22:19.170 – 00:22:23.510 If you do, you make wines for others.
  384. 00:22:26.270 – 00:22:30.800 So I know, but at the end of the day,
  385. 00:22:30.940 – 00:22:33.960 it's still 2U Wines in my head and my eyes.
  386. 00:22:35.320 – 00:22:37.760 So if you're not drinking 2U Wines,
  387. 00:22:38.320 – 00:22:40.900 I don't know where other wines you should be drinking.
  388. 00:22:41.940 – 00:22:42.980 Like seriously, I mean,
  389. 00:22:42.980 – 00:22:46.140 I may drink other wines from time to time,
  390. 00:22:46.160 – 00:22:48.920 but if I'm buying a wine and wanna have a good time,
  391. 00:22:48.920 – 00:22:53.080 I'm buying 2U Wines every single time.
  392. 00:22:55.060 – 00:22:59.620 And be sure to follow me, Mr. Photographer Jackson
  393. 00:23:00.040 – 00:23:02.980 of Alienize Photos Media,
  394. 00:23:03.700 – 00:23:04.900 bringing you another episode
  395. 00:23:04.900 – 00:23:07.280 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  396. 00:23:08.800 – 00:23:09.960 This has been a blessing.
  397. 00:23:10.480 – 00:23:11.940 This has been a great one.
  398. 00:23:13.780 – 00:23:16.440 Like I said, I'm gonna do another episode of Takeaways,
  399. 00:23:16.480 – 00:23:18.100 but I just wanted to hop on here
  400. 00:23:18.100 – 00:23:21.800 and also try a quick video setup
  401. 00:23:21.800 – 00:23:25.660 with a two little panel light setup.
  402. 00:23:25.800 – 00:23:28.160 I got one in the front of me,
  403. 00:23:28.160 – 00:23:31.000 one directly to the side of me,
  404. 00:23:31.160 – 00:23:32.400 and one towards the back.
  405. 00:23:33.620 – 00:23:35.160 I got my audio running.
  406. 00:23:35.840 – 00:23:37.420 Got two cameras.
  407. 00:23:37.520 – 00:23:38.640 One keeps stopping.
  408. 00:23:38.900 – 00:23:40.740 I don't even know what the other one's doing,
  409. 00:23:41.660 – 00:23:42.900 even if it's picking up this.
  410. 00:23:44.000 – 00:23:45.180 I'm just creating.
  411. 00:23:45.300 – 00:23:46.020 I'm just doing.
  412. 00:23:46.040 – 00:23:46.960 I'm doing the work.
  413. 00:23:46.960 – 00:23:48.820 If not, it's another repetition.
  414. 00:23:49.060 – 00:23:50.260 If you know creative frequency,
  415. 00:23:50.280 – 00:23:51.980 you know we're about getting our reps.
  416. 00:23:52.480 – 00:23:54.060 Doing the work, just doing the work,
  417. 00:23:54.080 – 00:23:57.520 whether it's beautiful, ugly, or something in between,
  418. 00:23:57.620 – 00:24:01.720 or something amazing, immaculate, profound.
  419. 00:24:03.520 – 00:24:04.480 We're still gonna do it.
  420. 00:24:04.520 – 00:24:05.540 We're still gonna do the work.
  421. 00:24:05.580 – 00:24:06.440 Put in the effort.
  422. 00:24:06.720 – 00:24:07.860 Put in another rep.
  423. 00:24:09.040 – 00:24:10.280 Just do it.
  424. 00:24:10.680 – 00:24:12.320 It's like Nike say, just do it.
  425. 00:24:12.460 – 00:24:13.560 But we're getting our reps.
  426. 00:24:13.660 – 00:24:14.860 Doing it again and again and again.
  427. 00:24:15.080 – 00:24:16.480 Repetition replace doubts.
  428. 00:24:16.480 – 00:24:19.300 If you know creative frequency, you know that slogan.
  429. 00:24:19.940 – 00:24:22.420 Me and Brianna Casanova with Creative Frequency,
  430. 00:24:22.920 – 00:24:27.220 and follow us on all social media on ACreativeFrequency.
  431. 00:24:27.860 – 00:24:32.680 That's on ACreativeFrequency on all media.
  432. 00:24:32.740 – 00:24:35.160 And book us for my first pod.
  433. 00:24:35.960 – 00:24:37.800 All right, just egg and ice photos,
  434. 00:24:37.940 – 00:24:39.420 and I am out.
  435. 00:24:40.260 – 00:24:40.940 Peace.

Back to contents

38. 33 Minutes of Sleep Building While Tired

Season 1 · Episode 33

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.940 – 00:00:07.620 This is what 33 minutes of sleep look like.
  2. 00:00:09.450 – 00:00:11.790 33 minutes of rest.
  3. 00:00:13.090 – 00:00:20.790 I'm talking about past nine a.m. still up filming,
  4. 00:00:22.370 – 00:00:26.900 photographing an event, come home,
  5. 00:00:28.880 – 00:00:32.420 made lunch, recording this podcast.
  6. 00:00:34.580 – 00:00:39.080 Cause I set alarms and I was supposed to take
  7. 00:00:39.080 – 00:00:43.320 a two hour, two hour sleep session, two hour nap.
  8. 00:00:43.440 – 00:00:47.140 I know it doesn't always, you know,
  9. 00:00:47.280 – 00:00:49.180 work out when you lay in the bed,
  10. 00:00:49.220 – 00:00:52.480 especially when you got a lot of things to do,
  11. 00:00:52.520 – 00:00:53.420 a lot on your mind.
  12. 00:00:53.440 – 00:00:58.040 Like I had an event that I'm very tired to
  13. 00:00:58.040 – 00:00:59.800 because of the work they do.
  14. 00:01:03.340 – 00:01:05.960 I see the passion, I see the dedication.
  15. 00:01:06.580 – 00:01:08.300 I genuinely want to help.
  16. 00:01:12.890 – 00:01:17.140 So just laying there, just thinking about it
  17. 00:01:17.140 – 00:01:19.640 and just thinking about my day, thinking about my week.
  18. 00:01:20.060 – 00:01:22.580 I'm like, I know I got to get this sleep,
  19. 00:01:24.020 – 00:01:25.080 but I just couldn't.
  20. 00:01:26.340 – 00:01:29.480 So by the time I tie myself,
  21. 00:01:30.580 – 00:01:33.180 it was like 34 minutes left.
  22. 00:01:34.260 – 00:01:37.680 So I take away that minute that I had to, you know,
  23. 00:01:38.480 – 00:01:42.420 really close my eyes tight and fall asleep.
  24. 00:01:42.440 – 00:01:43.940 I'll just say 33 minutes.
  25. 00:01:44.300 – 00:01:46.080 So there's maybe less than that, honestly.
  26. 00:01:47.200 – 00:01:51.740 You know, let's just say 33 minutes of rest or less
  27. 00:01:52.660 – 00:01:55.600 and still perform it at a high level.
  28. 00:01:56.160 – 00:01:57.400 And I'm gonna show you the picture
  29. 00:01:57.400 – 00:02:02.640 or if you look up alienized photos on all media,
  30. 00:02:02.640 – 00:02:07.140 mainly Instagram, alien eyes with a Z,
  31. 00:02:07.260 – 00:02:09.699 photos with a S, alienized photos.
  32. 00:02:12.190 – 00:02:13.170 I'ma post it.
  33. 00:02:13.290 – 00:02:15.770 Look out for the one that says Iris series.
  34. 00:02:15.810 – 00:02:19.230 Like if you see all the posts, Iris,
  35. 00:02:21.450 – 00:02:22.910 it's that next post.
  36. 00:02:22.990 – 00:02:24.770 The next post is gonna be that picture.
  37. 00:02:26.770 – 00:02:30.430 33 minutes of rest or less,
  38. 00:02:32.290 – 00:02:35.030 but this is not a one-time thing.
  39. 00:02:35.030 – 00:02:39.290 Like there's many times, many days I've done this.
  40. 00:02:39.550 – 00:02:42.870 Like people wouldn't know I did a whole 12-hour wedding
  41. 00:02:43.510 – 00:02:48.570 of one or two hours of sleep, like 90 minutes.
  42. 00:02:51.850 – 00:02:58.320 And this season, I guess, of my life,
  43. 00:02:59.340 – 00:03:01.480 which has been going on for a while,
  44. 00:03:02.340 – 00:03:05.480 this period in my life,
  45. 00:03:07.090 – 00:03:10.230 someone was like, just go hard, do it.
  46. 00:03:11.580 – 00:03:13.620 And I'm surprised at myself
  47. 00:03:13.620 – 00:03:19.440 that I show up and perform the way that I do.
  48. 00:03:21.750 – 00:03:26.090 But it just goes back to the passion and hard work
  49. 00:03:27.290 – 00:03:29.410 that the people that I work with
  50. 00:03:29.410 – 00:03:30.990 and the people that I'm helping
  51. 00:03:31.750 – 00:03:37.630 documenting their work, their journey is powerful.
  52. 00:03:40.760 – 00:03:45.240 So what keeps me up is the hard work
  53. 00:03:45.240 – 00:03:46.920 that everyone else does.
  54. 00:03:48.340 – 00:03:51.000 And it's like, man, I have to go harder.
  55. 00:03:51.760 – 00:03:58.520 Even if that costs me sleep, I do a lot, you know,
  56. 00:04:01.030 – 00:04:09.620 having children, having one or two businesses managing
  57. 00:04:11.770 – 00:04:16.120 and co-managing different businesses,
  58. 00:04:16.120 – 00:04:19.519 whether if you're fully in or not.
  59. 00:04:21.000 – 00:04:22.840 Being a part of different brands,
  60. 00:04:24.300 – 00:04:29.340 just having that personal time, being in a relationship.
  61. 00:04:30.940 – 00:04:32.600 You know, I always say I'm writing a book.
  62. 00:04:32.680 – 00:04:33.980 I'm always writing a book.
  63. 00:04:34.020 – 00:04:37.320 I'm writing multiple books at the same time.
  64. 00:04:37.840 – 00:04:39.440 That's just how my brain operates.
  65. 00:04:39.580 – 00:04:42.500 Like, oh, this thought should go in this book
  66. 00:04:42.500 – 00:04:43.800 or this thing, this, this.
  67. 00:04:44.000 – 00:04:45.600 That's why I started this podcast.
  68. 00:04:45.600 – 00:04:48.200 Just so, or one of the reasons,
  69. 00:04:49.220 – 00:04:52.880 just so I could have a lot of these thoughts documented
  70. 00:04:54.880 – 00:04:59.140 and, you know, I cut out what I love the most
  71. 00:04:59.140 – 00:05:03.340 from these episodes and just telling you first.
  72. 00:05:03.480 – 00:05:04.700 I put it in the book.
  73. 00:05:05.620 – 00:05:10.160 I've already have a lot, like this is 60 plus episodes
  74. 00:05:11.220 – 00:05:14.320 and this is all in a book.
  75. 00:05:14.320 – 00:05:16.680 I'm doing my first 100 episodes
  76. 00:05:17.320 – 00:05:19.800 because we going to a million episodes.
  77. 00:05:19.820 – 00:05:21.560 We don't have a million episodes.
  78. 00:05:21.840 – 00:05:23.540 I don't think anybody ever done it,
  79. 00:05:23.540 – 00:05:26.200 but that's my big ambitious goal.
  80. 00:05:26.280 – 00:05:29.960 I'm not going to retire till I hit a million episodes.
  81. 00:05:32.680 – 00:05:34.980 So that's wild and ambitious, right?
  82. 00:05:36.200 – 00:05:38.400 But this type of stuff that keeps me up,
  83. 00:05:38.740 – 00:05:44.300 okay, I said I gonna do this, so let's do it.
  84. 00:05:44.950 – 00:05:50.020 Let's really make it happen and it can happen
  85. 00:05:50.020 – 00:05:53.000 because anything is possible.
  86. 00:05:54.620 – 00:05:55.900 Anything is possible.
  87. 00:05:57.660 – 00:06:00.050 But like I said, this is what keeps me up.
  88. 00:06:01.600 – 00:06:02.960 33 minutes of rest.
  89. 00:06:04.320 – 00:06:10.140 They say you supposed to get six and a half
  90. 00:06:10.140 – 00:06:15.900 to nine hours, really just eight hours of rest each day.
  91. 00:06:16.980 – 00:06:27.120 You left with 16, probably working eight and a half hours.
  92. 00:06:27.260 – 00:06:29.580 You know, the little lunch break is kind of though
  93. 00:06:29.580 – 00:06:31.740 and add time or sometimes even nine,
  94. 00:06:31.780 – 00:06:36.320 but even a commute average 20 to 30 minutes away
  95. 00:06:36.980 – 00:06:42.240 from your employment or even your business.
  96. 00:06:42.940 – 00:06:48.340 Sometimes we are working in our business,
  97. 00:06:48.580 – 00:06:51.220 same like a job, you know, still clocking in,
  98. 00:06:51.340 – 00:06:54.840 clocking out, even though we have more ownership,
  99. 00:06:57.580 – 00:06:58.960 but in the beginning stages,
  100. 00:06:59.420 – 00:07:01.120 it's going to be like another job
  101. 00:07:01.760 – 00:07:04.480 until you can work on your business
  102. 00:07:05.120 – 00:07:08.880 and build your business, build a team,
  103. 00:07:08.880 – 00:07:14.140 grow a team, nourish a team, continue to build and grow.
  104. 00:07:15.400 – 00:07:17.640 You're not going to be working in it so much.
  105. 00:07:17.660 – 00:07:19.820 You're going to constantly be working on it
  106. 00:07:19.820 – 00:07:22.080 and molding it and multiplying it
  107. 00:07:22.080 – 00:07:24.900 and make sure everyone else is well
  108. 00:07:25.960 – 00:07:29.860 because if they're not, that team falls.
  109. 00:07:30.500 – 00:07:32.800 That's why I'm so big on teamwork
  110. 00:07:32.800 – 00:07:36.360 and I'm so thankful for the teams that I'm a part of
  111. 00:07:36.360 – 00:07:38.380 and the teams that I've built
  112. 00:07:38.380 – 00:07:40.120 and the teams that I'm building
  113. 00:07:40.720 – 00:07:43.000 and the people that want me on their team,
  114. 00:07:45.280 – 00:07:46.420 I value teamwork.
  115. 00:07:46.980 – 00:07:49.380 That's how you get a lot done, honestly.
  116. 00:07:51.140 – 00:07:54.320 Like basketball really showed me that
  117. 00:07:56.040 – 00:07:58.280 in middle school, high school,
  118. 00:07:58.420 – 00:08:02.300 even to this day as I am 33.
  119. 00:08:05.260 – 00:08:08.260 Yeah, actually my born day is coming up soon.
  120. 00:08:09.180 – 00:08:14.450 Iris, number 33, season 33.
  121. 00:08:17.070 – 00:08:23.170 But basketball showed me that teamwork is so valuable
  122. 00:08:24.030 – 00:08:27.410 critically and adding the communication part.
  123. 00:08:27.990 – 00:08:30.030 Like you got to communicate when you're out there.
  124. 00:08:30.190 – 00:08:34.730 There's just so many aspects that I apply to life
  125. 00:08:34.730 – 00:08:38.650 and also business, like basketball was that way.
  126. 00:08:38.650 – 00:08:42.650 Say basketball and chess, the game of chess.
  127. 00:08:43.270 – 00:08:45.650 Basketball and chess, those two, man.
  128. 00:08:49.100 – 00:08:50.500 That's life for me.
  129. 00:08:52.570 – 00:08:55.270 It helps me think in a more strategic way
  130. 00:08:55.270 – 00:08:59.650 and more calculated way versus just waking up,
  131. 00:08:59.650 – 00:09:00.670 oh, what's going on?
  132. 00:09:00.750 – 00:09:03.850 No, it's calculating and putting plans together,
  133. 00:09:04.230 – 00:09:07.630 agendas together and really following it
  134. 00:09:07.630 – 00:09:10.410 and really being in that and really doing it
  135. 00:09:10.410 – 00:09:11.790 and doing the work.
  136. 00:09:12.850 – 00:09:15.510 Sometimes you just got to sit down, relax,
  137. 00:09:16.290 – 00:09:19.370 recollect your mind, recollect your thoughts, focus.
  138. 00:09:21.800 – 00:09:22.860 Take a nap.
  139. 00:09:23.400 – 00:09:25.120 And I'm big on naps.
  140. 00:09:25.640 – 00:09:28.040 And after this, I'm definitely taking a nap.
  141. 00:09:28.180 – 00:09:30.660 I'm probably going to just go to sleep all together.
  142. 00:09:32.020 – 00:09:36.080 But I have an engagement, I had to be up at 9.30.
  143. 00:09:37.440 – 00:09:39.940 So let's see how far that goes.
  144. 00:09:39.960 – 00:09:41.120 It's currently five.
  145. 00:09:43.310 – 00:09:46.770 So four hours, I could do this, four hours, yeah.
  146. 00:09:47.690 – 00:09:49.930 Half days of sleep, see how I do that?
  147. 00:09:49.970 – 00:09:51.270 Eight, half of that is four.
  148. 00:09:51.350 – 00:09:52.470 So I kind of got half.
  149. 00:09:53.610 – 00:09:55.890 But tomorrow, I'm definitely resting.
  150. 00:09:56.130 – 00:09:57.190 I promise you all that.
  151. 00:09:57.330 – 00:09:58.030 I promise.
  152. 00:09:58.510 – 00:10:00.270 I know that everybody be concerned like,
  153. 00:10:00.290 – 00:10:01.390 oh, did you get your sleep?
  154. 00:10:01.390 – 00:10:02.050 Did you get your rest?
  155. 00:10:02.090 – 00:10:03.210 How much sleep you get today?
  156. 00:10:03.690 – 00:10:05.010 Because they know me.
  157. 00:10:05.930 – 00:10:07.190 Oh, I got two hours of sleep.
  158. 00:10:07.550 – 00:10:08.790 Go home, get your rest.
  159. 00:10:09.170 – 00:10:13.450 And that's how my circle, my community, my peers,
  160. 00:10:13.630 – 00:10:15.030 or people that just know me,
  161. 00:10:15.470 – 00:10:18.130 know how much I really be out here
  162. 00:10:18.130 – 00:10:20.530 and building and building and building.
  163. 00:10:21.750 – 00:10:23.250 I appreciate you all.
  164. 00:10:23.410 – 00:10:24.590 Appreciate the reminders
  165. 00:10:24.590 – 00:10:27.290 and encourage me to keep getting more rest.
  166. 00:10:27.850 – 00:10:29.610 Like, trust me, I have my seasons, y'all.
  167. 00:10:30.530 – 00:10:34.290 Like, I do not disturb and nine hours straight.
  168. 00:10:34.890 – 00:10:37.690 I'm talking about blackout room, blackout curtains,
  169. 00:10:37.690 – 00:10:39.130 no, nothing.
  170. 00:10:40.170 – 00:10:42.150 Just peace and sleep.
  171. 00:10:43.710 – 00:10:45.970 I try to do that at least twice a week.
  172. 00:10:46.130 – 00:10:48.890 Try to shoot for that eight, nine hours.
  173. 00:10:49.370 – 00:10:52.010 But sometimes, I get five, six,
  174. 00:10:52.270 – 00:10:55.050 which is decent, especially for me.
  175. 00:10:56.310 – 00:10:58.550 You know, I'm not getting 33 minutes of sleep.
  176. 00:10:59.370 – 00:11:01.130 Sometimes two hours.
  177. 00:11:01.910 – 00:11:04.570 Sometimes broken up an hour here,
  178. 00:11:04.770 – 00:11:06.250 a couple hours here.
  179. 00:11:06.760 – 00:11:10.950 You know, so, one day I will get it together, y'all.
  180. 00:11:11.050 – 00:11:12.670 And the day that I do,
  181. 00:11:13.730 – 00:11:17.050 I know I can give way much more to you.
  182. 00:11:18.230 – 00:11:21.490 But for right now, I'm gonna keep going.
  183. 00:11:23.830 – 00:11:27.530 And then after this episode, I'm getting some rest.
  184. 00:11:28.150 – 00:11:29.410 And I'm about to do that right now
  185. 00:11:29.410 – 00:11:31.110 and I feel my energy dropping.
  186. 00:11:31.910 – 00:11:36.250 So, I want to thank everyone that continues to listen
  187. 00:11:36.250 – 00:11:40.950 and follow my journey, my creative entrepreneur journey
  188. 00:11:42.290 – 00:11:44.510 as I do a lot.
  189. 00:11:45.390 – 00:11:49.590 I support a lot of initiatives and events
  190. 00:11:50.080 – 00:11:51.870 and people and businesses.
  191. 00:11:53.350 – 00:11:58.110 Sometimes I just coach them as they coach me.
  192. 00:11:59.670 – 00:12:01.770 Because the more I hear their story,
  193. 00:12:01.830 – 00:12:03.150 the more I'm inspired
  194. 00:12:03.150 – 00:12:06.070 and the more positive thoughts I think,
  195. 00:12:06.290 – 00:12:09.930 like, man, I never thought about this in this way.
  196. 00:12:10.030 – 00:12:12.550 Like, your story really inspired me
  197. 00:12:12.550 – 00:12:14.830 or helped me think in a different way,
  198. 00:12:15.110 – 00:12:18.210 like, a different perspective
  199. 00:12:19.750 – 00:12:23.850 that could be much easier for the human civilization.
  200. 00:12:25.310 – 00:12:28.310 So, I appreciate everyone that
  201. 00:12:29.310 – 00:12:32.450 was on Alienize Photos' industry talk.
  202. 00:12:33.490 – 00:12:37.110 I appreciate y'all, giving y'all stories,
  203. 00:12:37.330 – 00:12:39.530 y'all personality, y'all thoughts.
  204. 00:12:40.770 – 00:12:42.570 Just a conversation with me.
  205. 00:12:43.710 – 00:12:45.210 I appreciate that.
  206. 00:12:46.030 – 00:12:48.250 And I always wish you great success.
  207. 00:12:49.030 – 00:12:52.070 And those who listen, and I wish you success as well,
  208. 00:12:52.530 – 00:12:54.270 as you could be one of those people,
  209. 00:12:54.410 – 00:12:58.150 just like everyone I interview, are even better.
  210. 00:12:59.050 – 00:13:01.190 And reach out to them, connect with them.
  211. 00:13:01.890 – 00:13:05.010 You know, I had a lot of great guests on.
  212. 00:13:05.590 – 00:13:07.750 That's season two of my podcast.
  213. 00:13:08.010 – 00:13:10.390 So, season one, just for a reminder,
  214. 00:13:11.110 – 00:13:13.470 season one is mostly my solo episodes
  215. 00:13:13.470 – 00:13:16.410 and my personal journey and my business topics
  216. 00:13:16.770 – 00:13:20.930 that I talk about around creative entrepreneurs
  217. 00:13:21.770 – 00:13:25.950 and whom I serve the most, business owners.
  218. 00:13:26.470 – 00:13:29.170 Season two is more of my interviews,
  219. 00:13:29.330 – 00:13:33.130 where I do have that more long form,
  220. 00:13:34.350 – 00:13:38.670 an hour, hour and a half, two hours, sometimes three,
  221. 00:13:40.950 – 00:13:43.670 conversation with guests in my network
  222. 00:13:43.670 – 00:13:46.630 or who I feel's story needs to be heard.
  223. 00:13:47.690 – 00:13:49.230 And we talk business
  224. 00:13:49.790 – 00:13:52.370 and what business lessons can I learn.
  225. 00:13:53.070 – 00:13:56.870 I mean, we've been talking with people in the food
  226. 00:13:56.870 – 00:14:01.990 and agriculture realm, sector,
  227. 00:14:03.090 – 00:14:05.970 you know, because food and food justice is important.
  228. 00:14:06.770 – 00:14:08.570 So, I wanna get those stories
  229. 00:14:08.570 – 00:14:10.570 and how they look at it as a business
  230. 00:14:10.570 – 00:14:15.650 and how are they running their business operations
  231. 00:14:16.150 – 00:14:19.350 compared to, you know, someone that's like me,
  232. 00:14:19.350 – 00:14:23.410 that's in media and it's a different type of business
  233. 00:14:23.410 – 00:14:25.850 and different type of field.
  234. 00:14:25.930 – 00:14:29.250 So, I would love to have more of those conversations
  235. 00:14:29.250 – 00:14:30.850 as it's coming up soon.
  236. 00:14:30.870 – 00:14:34.090 So, look out for my series of that
  237. 00:14:34.090 – 00:14:35.610 and that's all in season two.
  238. 00:14:36.290 – 00:14:40.030 And I also decided to add season three.
  239. 00:14:41.210 – 00:14:42.750 It's gonna be a special one.
  240. 00:14:44.930 – 00:14:47.970 No, I'm not gonna, I was gonna hold it back,
  241. 00:14:47.970 – 00:14:49.570 but no, I'm gonna just tell you.
  242. 00:14:50.710 – 00:14:54.030 Season three is gonna be more of my research
  243. 00:14:54.030 – 00:15:00.550 on historical figures and pioneers in different sectors
  244. 00:15:00.550 – 00:15:06.590 whom I feel embodies the whole creative entrepreneur.
  245. 00:15:07.370 – 00:15:12.830 Like, a couple of mine would be like Walt Disney,
  246. 00:15:15.160 – 00:15:16.280 Steve Jobs.
  247. 00:15:18.840 – 00:15:26.880 I got a whole African-American list
  248. 00:15:27.700 – 00:15:29.600 that I wanna go through.
  249. 00:15:29.780 – 00:15:33.740 And on the top of that is Michael Jackson.
  250. 00:15:35.620 – 00:15:39.080 I feel like he embodied creative entrepreneurship
  251. 00:15:39.540 – 00:15:41.640 to a whole nother level
  252. 00:15:41.900 – 00:15:45.140 and that a lot of people was not aware of.
  253. 00:15:47.680 – 00:15:50.060 And I always say, joke around,
  254. 00:15:50.060 – 00:15:53.800 it may be true though, that Michael Jackson is my uncle.
  255. 00:15:55.460 – 00:15:59.920 Since I'm Steven Jackson, Steve Jackson,
  256. 00:16:00.120 – 00:16:05.000 photographer Jackson, alien, player Jackson.
  257. 00:16:07.800 – 00:16:11.240 Michael Jackson was my uncle, Tupac was my father.
  258. 00:16:14.210 – 00:16:15.650 And that's another person.
  259. 00:16:15.790 – 00:16:19.610 I'm gonna give y'all just the whole business aspect,
  260. 00:16:19.610 – 00:16:23.190 my thoughts and research all around
  261. 00:16:23.190 – 00:16:26.670 what they did as an entrepreneur in my eyes.
  262. 00:16:27.950 – 00:16:31.110 So look out, it's great.
  263. 00:16:31.570 – 00:16:33.830 I've started doing research.
  264. 00:16:35.730 – 00:16:38.130 I think Walt Disney may be that first.
  265. 00:16:40.890 – 00:16:46.130 Yeah, that's been a long time, like even as a child.
  266. 00:16:46.730 – 00:16:49.170 Wow, I've never been at Disney World
  267. 00:16:49.170 – 00:16:50.590 or I've never been to Disneyland,
  268. 00:16:51.850 – 00:16:54.350 but I do have stock in Disney.
  269. 00:16:54.430 – 00:16:58.310 So I definitely want to do even more research
  270. 00:16:59.090 – 00:17:03.830 and give that effort to the first episode.
  271. 00:17:04.210 – 00:17:05.710 And I want it to be well.
  272. 00:17:06.970 – 00:17:08.890 So just bear with me.
  273. 00:17:08.910 – 00:17:11.890 It's gonna take some time on each of these,
  274. 00:17:12.710 – 00:17:16.230 but that's why you have season one and season two,
  275. 00:17:16.670 – 00:17:20.589 my solo episodes, which I could do like this,
  276. 00:17:20.810 – 00:17:24.190 spit out rapidly, say my thoughts.
  277. 00:17:24.230 – 00:17:27.569 Sometimes I script it, sometimes I don't.
  278. 00:17:27.710 – 00:17:29.430 More of the business lessons
  279. 00:17:29.430 – 00:17:31.990 and the things that I teach and preach
  280. 00:17:32.890 – 00:17:34.250 and try to give insights.
  281. 00:17:34.470 – 00:17:37.910 I definitely script it, make sure I have some notes
  282. 00:17:37.910 – 00:17:40.790 or at least an outline or some buzz words
  283. 00:17:40.790 – 00:17:43.970 that keep me guided, keep me focused
  284. 00:17:43.970 – 00:17:45.790 and make sure that I'm touching on the points
  285. 00:17:45.790 – 00:17:48.350 that I need to teach you
  286. 00:17:48.350 – 00:17:50.370 and open up your mind and perspective.
  287. 00:17:51.510 – 00:17:54.370 Maybe you heard this concept, maybe you have not.
  288. 00:17:54.790 – 00:17:57.530 Maybe you heard business done this way,
  289. 00:17:57.590 – 00:17:58.650 maybe you have not.
  290. 00:17:58.970 – 00:18:03.910 And that's just my viewpoints on encouraging you
  291. 00:18:04.610 – 00:18:10.030 to just take a different look and different perspective
  292. 00:18:10.030 – 00:18:12.770 or at least be open to a different perspective
  293. 00:18:12.770 – 00:18:13.790 in which I'm doing.
  294. 00:18:13.790 – 00:18:19.110 So yeah, that's season one, season two and season three.
  295. 00:18:19.870 – 00:18:22.510 So if I ever hit like a season four or five,
  296. 00:18:23.650 – 00:18:25.630 just know that I'm constantly building,
  297. 00:18:25.790 – 00:18:29.330 I'm keeping it organized and organized for a reason
  298. 00:18:29.990 – 00:18:33.930 as I'm on these different platforms
  299. 00:18:33.930 – 00:18:36.090 as I'm being distributed out.
  300. 00:18:36.550 – 00:18:39.970 I know one day I may have my own platform.
  301. 00:18:41.830 – 00:18:44.530 Yeah, just because I just see the bigger picture,
  302. 00:18:44.530 – 00:18:47.410 especially coming from a music standpoint,
  303. 00:18:47.470 – 00:18:51.570 distribution is one of the key ingredients
  304. 00:18:51.570 – 00:18:53.370 for all my musicians out there.
  305. 00:18:54.190 – 00:18:58.370 I guess I woke up, I said I was going to take my nap
  306. 00:18:58.370 – 00:19:01.090 but I think I'm trying to hit 33 minutes now.
  307. 00:19:01.410 – 00:19:05.270 I'm like 18 minutes in or something like that.
  308. 00:19:05.310 – 00:19:06.190 Oh my goodness.
  309. 00:19:06.990 – 00:19:10.270 But no, I'm really about to go to sleep for real.
  310. 00:19:10.650 – 00:19:16.850 Get my rest and I got to hit this engagement tonight.
  311. 00:19:17.950 – 00:19:21.290 And then back editing and oh man,
  312. 00:19:22.430 – 00:19:25.730 I have to clean the studio out tomorrow too
  313. 00:19:25.730 – 00:19:27.170 so it's going to be interesting.
  314. 00:19:28.110 – 00:19:34.070 But I get to chat with my team over there tomorrow.
  315. 00:19:34.570 – 00:19:36.210 So it's going to be great.
  316. 00:19:37.190 – 00:19:39.910 All right y'all, peace, love and blessings.
  317. 00:19:39.910 – 00:19:45.290 This is photographer Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  318. 00:19:45.830 – 00:19:49.790 bringing you Alien Eyes Photos industry talk.
  319. 00:19:50.930 – 00:19:53.250 I appreciate you tuning in.
  320. 00:19:53.410 – 00:19:57.770 And to find me and more information or to book me,
  321. 00:19:57.930 – 00:20:03.230 visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  322. 00:20:04.110 – 00:20:07.850 That's alieneyes with a Z,
  323. 00:20:07.850 – 00:20:13.850 Photos with a S, alieneyesphotos.com.
  324. 00:20:14.150 – 00:20:17.190 And you can follow me on social media
  325. 00:20:18.950 – 00:20:23.490 at alieneyesphotos and make sure you tune in
  326. 00:20:23.930 – 00:20:29.130 to Creative Frequency on a Creative Frequency
  327. 00:20:29.690 – 00:20:32.230 on all social media, YouTube.
  328. 00:20:32.610 – 00:20:35.030 And you can catch us on Patreon,
  329. 00:20:35.030 – 00:20:38.770 especially if you want to enter our inner circle.
  330. 00:20:39.010 – 00:20:43.070 And that is me and Brianna Casanova
  331. 00:20:43.070 – 00:20:45.750 over with Overflow Studios.
  332. 00:20:46.870 – 00:20:49.990 She is putting work behind these videos.
  333. 00:20:50.050 – 00:20:52.070 She is the real deal.
  334. 00:20:52.390 – 00:20:54.030 No pun intended.
  335. 00:20:55.450 – 00:20:57.670 Knock you out like, oh, Holyfield.
  336. 00:20:59.190 – 00:21:02.050 But yeah, that's my partner in shine
  337. 00:21:02.050 – 00:21:06.010 as we are shining a light on creative entrepreneurs
  338. 00:21:06.500 – 00:21:11.030 and business owners, especially in the podcast space.
  339. 00:21:11.790 – 00:21:15.710 And she is doing her thing.
  340. 00:21:16.630 – 00:21:18.330 But if you want us both,
  341. 00:21:19.070 – 00:21:22.370 make sure you catch us in our inner circle.
  342. 00:21:22.790 – 00:21:24.810 Inner circle, I can't even say it right.
  343. 00:21:24.910 – 00:21:27.750 Inner circle on Patreon.
  344. 00:21:28.710 – 00:21:32.030 Yes, on a Creative Frequency.
  345. 00:21:32.170 – 00:21:33.310 It's Creative Frequency.
  346. 00:21:34.750 – 00:21:37.770 All right, again, this is Photographer Jackson
  347. 00:21:38.270 – 00:21:40.930 and I am out, peace.

Back to contents

39. Devin Moore - DJ Rev Dev

Season 2 · Episode 8

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:02.860 – 00:00:07.760 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  2. 00:00:08.440 – 00:00:10.600 with your host, photographer Jackson.
  3. 00:00:11.520 – 00:00:14.980 And to my right, I have a special guest for you today.
  4. 00:00:15.340 – 00:00:17.760 It's the DJ Rev, Dev.
  5. 00:00:18.240 – 00:00:19.320 Man, how you doing today?
  6. 00:00:19.460 – 00:00:20.860 Man, I'm doing fantastic, man.
  7. 00:00:20.900 – 00:00:21.680 How about yourself?
  8. 00:00:21.940 – 00:00:23.900 I am well, blessed, and refreshed.
  9. 00:00:23.980 – 00:00:24.960 I'm recharged.
  10. 00:00:25.120 – 00:00:25.720 I'm pumped.
  11. 00:00:26.460 – 00:00:27.400 I appreciate you asking.
  12. 00:00:27.880 – 00:00:29.220 Oh man, I appreciate you heavily.
  13. 00:00:29.420 – 00:00:30.120 Glad to be here.
  14. 00:00:30.460 – 00:00:30.920 Yeah, yeah.
  15. 00:00:31.080 – 00:00:32.840 Man, I wanna just jump right into it.
  16. 00:00:32.840 – 00:00:34.700 I know we kinda pressed the time.
  17. 00:00:35.160 – 00:00:38.340 So how did you get the name Rev, Dev?
  18. 00:00:38.360 – 00:00:39.680 Was you a reverend?
  19. 00:00:39.800 – 00:00:40.960 Like, how did that come about?
  20. 00:00:41.280 – 00:00:42.300 Oh man, that's crazy.
  21. 00:00:42.420 – 00:00:43.700 I actually get that question a lot.
  22. 00:00:44.120 – 00:00:45.640 It actually came from high school.
  23. 00:00:45.680 – 00:00:48.700 So I went to prep school in Florida.
  24. 00:00:48.720 – 00:00:50.180 I grew up in Miami, Florida.
  25. 00:00:51.640 – 00:00:52.920 And before each game,
  26. 00:00:52.920 – 00:00:54.700 we would pray or do what we call chapel.
  27. 00:00:55.400 – 00:00:58.260 And a lot of times I'd be asked to lead chaplain
  28. 00:00:58.980 – 00:01:01.960 because of my strong position in my faith
  29. 00:01:01.960 – 00:01:03.180 and my beliefs.
  30. 00:01:04.120 – 00:01:05.940 I kinda got the nickname Reverend.
  31. 00:01:06.780 – 00:01:08.580 And then someone just kinda cracked the joke.
  32. 00:01:08.820 – 00:01:10.200 Like, man, we gonna call him Rev, Dev.
  33. 00:01:11.120 – 00:01:13.920 So Rev, Dev was just kinda like my nickname or moniker.
  34. 00:01:14.300 – 00:01:14.900 Excuse me.
  35. 00:01:15.180 – 00:01:16.920 When I played football in high school.
  36. 00:01:17.500 – 00:01:18.960 So when I got into DJing,
  37. 00:01:18.980 – 00:01:20.820 for me when I was trying to think of different names,
  38. 00:01:20.900 – 00:01:23.820 it was just kinda a natural flow to use it.
  39. 00:01:24.060 – 00:01:24.220 So yeah.
  40. 00:01:24.540 – 00:01:27.280 Wow, and then we first met at a wedding
  41. 00:01:27.280 – 00:01:30.920 and just seeing you get the wedding party together,
  42. 00:01:30.920 – 00:01:32.780 hyping up the bride and groom.
  43. 00:01:33.100 – 00:01:35.120 Almost like a football huddle, what I call it.
  44. 00:01:35.400 – 00:01:37.200 Being a leader of a football huddle.
  45. 00:01:37.440 – 00:01:39.300 So I could see that correlation.
  46. 00:01:39.600 – 00:01:41.760 It's a testament to your journey.
  47. 00:01:42.840 – 00:01:44.840 Not a traditional Reverend,
  48. 00:01:45.020 – 00:01:46.600 but a Reverend in a different way.
  49. 00:01:46.600 – 00:01:47.240 And I like that.
  50. 00:01:47.620 – 00:01:48.540 Appreciate it, appreciate it.
  51. 00:01:48.640 – 00:01:49.600 Yeah, I mean, I am a minister.
  52. 00:01:49.740 – 00:01:52.140 I mean, faith is still a strong part of my life.
  53. 00:01:52.320 – 00:01:54.980 I'm not a super Jesus Christ all-star
  54. 00:01:54.980 – 00:01:56.900 where I'm gonna be, you know, be your hand.
  55. 00:01:57.380 – 00:01:59.220 But I try to make sure I live my life right.
  56. 00:01:59.300 – 00:01:59.700 Right.
  57. 00:02:00.860 – 00:02:04.460 And shout out to DJ Ivan at Synapse Entertainment.
  58. 00:02:05.140 – 00:02:06.740 He kind of monocled the Rev Dev,
  59. 00:02:06.900 – 00:02:08.600 it's like you rev people up, I like your energy.
  60. 00:02:09.360 – 00:02:11.240 So that was kind of another dope, you know,
  61. 00:02:11.380 – 00:02:14.040 spin on the rev part I had never really thought about
  62. 00:02:14.040 – 00:02:17.060 was just the energy that I bring to the table.
  63. 00:02:17.080 – 00:02:19.460 And you think about, you know, the laws of physics,
  64. 00:02:19.700 – 00:02:22.600 the second law is energy can't be created, destroyed,
  65. 00:02:22.740 – 00:02:23.620 it can only be transferred.
  66. 00:02:24.520 – 00:02:25.480 And that's so true.
  67. 00:02:25.800 – 00:02:27.660 Not just in life, but at weddings and events
  68. 00:02:27.660 – 00:02:30.020 is that, you know, the energy that we see
  69. 00:02:30.020 – 00:02:32.460 and that we experience is energy that's being transferred
  70. 00:02:32.460 – 00:02:36.560 throughout people's positivity and disposition
  71. 00:02:36.560 – 00:02:37.880 or celebrating that day.
  72. 00:02:38.640 – 00:02:41.860 Yeah, I know you kind of touched on like high school.
  73. 00:02:42.140 – 00:02:43.760 What was the college life like for you?
  74. 00:02:44.380 – 00:02:45.480 Oh man, you know, college life
  75. 00:02:45.480 – 00:02:49.160 is actually kind of where I found DJing as a space.
  76. 00:02:49.680 – 00:02:53.940 For me, I came to the Midwest for school.
  77. 00:02:54.260 – 00:02:55.440 So I went to the University of Dayton,
  78. 00:02:55.440 – 00:02:56.800 shout out to the Flyers,
  79. 00:02:57.660 – 00:02:59.180 where I had a full academic scholarship.
  80. 00:02:59.300 – 00:03:01.140 And I'm actually an engineer by trade.
  81. 00:03:01.200 – 00:03:03.800 So I studied industrial engineering.
  82. 00:03:04.320 – 00:03:06.400 And while in school, I was trying to figure out a way
  83. 00:03:06.400 – 00:03:07.340 just to make some extra money.
  84. 00:03:07.360 – 00:03:09.540 So I went out to call home and ask my family for bread
  85. 00:03:10.520 – 00:03:12.340 and shout out to my boy, Kevin Richardson
  86. 00:03:12.340 – 00:03:13.440 out of Atlanta, Georgia.
  87. 00:03:14.160 – 00:03:16.160 I saw that there was a space, a gap on campus
  88. 00:03:16.160 – 00:03:17.740 every time we had parties or events.
  89. 00:03:18.180 – 00:03:19.540 They would bring in DJs off campus.
  90. 00:03:19.700 – 00:03:20.960 I'm like, man, why can't we do that?
  91. 00:03:21.520 – 00:03:25.420 And before I knew it, you know, I was kind of a,
  92. 00:03:25.420 – 00:03:26.940 I mean, I be illegally downloading music,
  93. 00:03:27.060 – 00:03:28.280 just kind of be a closet DJ.
  94. 00:03:28.660 – 00:03:31.140 And before I knew it, I got my first shot
  95. 00:03:31.140 – 00:03:32.620 at doing a campus event.
  96. 00:03:32.720 – 00:03:34.240 And before I knew that I was a campus DJ
  97. 00:03:34.240 – 00:03:36.780 at a local club DJing, it was kind of cool for me.
  98. 00:03:37.280 – 00:03:39.620 Yeah, that is like, you know,
  99. 00:03:39.780 – 00:03:41.560 why bring somebody from the outside
  100. 00:03:41.560 – 00:03:44.760 when someone that's here doing it?
  101. 00:03:44.780 – 00:03:45.140 Certainly.
  102. 00:03:45.460 – 00:03:46.460 Or at least want to do it.
  103. 00:03:46.480 – 00:03:49.340 So I mean, I'm glad you found that opportunity
  104. 00:03:49.340 – 00:03:50.040 for yourself.
  105. 00:03:50.860 – 00:03:53.660 And you know, it sounds like a true hustler for real.
  106. 00:03:54.220 – 00:03:55.280 100%, man, 100%.
  107. 00:03:56.000 – 00:03:58.020 I share with my clients when I'm doing my intake
  108. 00:03:58.020 – 00:04:01.920 cause that essentially DJing for me came out of survival
  109. 00:04:01.920 – 00:04:03.740 as a way for me to make some extra money.
  110. 00:04:04.540 – 00:04:06.840 And then before I knew it, you know,
  111. 00:04:06.840 – 00:04:09.060 my mind and my exposure, you know,
  112. 00:04:09.180 – 00:04:11.280 brought into that the opportunity to be able to
  113. 00:04:11.280 – 00:04:12.600 find a way to provide for myself.
  114. 00:04:13.160 – 00:04:15.280 So, you know, in 2009, my roommate came in
  115. 00:04:15.280 – 00:04:16.560 and he was like, hey D, I'm getting ready to,
  116. 00:04:16.560 – 00:04:17.279 you know, propose.
  117. 00:04:17.380 – 00:04:18.420 I'm like, what they got to do with me?
  118. 00:04:19.100 – 00:04:21.200 He was like, nah, I want you to be my wedding DJ.
  119. 00:04:21.279 – 00:04:22.360 I was like, oh, that's dope.
  120. 00:04:22.360 – 00:04:24.480 So for me, it was like entering into corporate America,
  121. 00:04:24.600 – 00:04:26.120 having a full-time job during the week,
  122. 00:04:26.720 – 00:04:29.000 being a wedding DJ to me was like the perfect marriage
  123. 00:04:29.000 – 00:04:30.740 and me still being able to pursue my passion
  124. 00:04:30.740 – 00:04:32.580 of music and entertainment.
  125. 00:04:33.120 – 00:04:35.640 But I didn't want to be in like clubs and bars,
  126. 00:04:35.640 – 00:04:36.860 you know, late at night.
  127. 00:04:37.060 – 00:04:38.880 So it was a perfect fit.
  128. 00:04:39.580 – 00:04:39.980 Yeah.
  129. 00:04:40.560 – 00:04:43.000 So how important is it like finding your own lane
  130. 00:04:43.000 – 00:04:44.860 as a new entrepreneur or creative?
  131. 00:04:46.400 – 00:04:48.140 For me, it's still kind of like,
  132. 00:04:48.280 – 00:04:50.000 it kind of goes back to infancy.
  133. 00:04:50.580 – 00:04:52.220 Just like how I found the opportunity
  134. 00:04:52.220 – 00:04:53.900 of opening a gap on campus.
  135. 00:04:54.500 – 00:04:56.300 So same thing, you know, that I've done
  136. 00:04:56.300 – 00:04:58.460 with approaching and scaling and growing,
  137. 00:04:59.000 – 00:05:02.580 you know, my entertainment company or me as a wedding DJ
  138. 00:05:02.580 – 00:05:04.380 is to really find that gap.
  139. 00:05:04.480 – 00:05:06.660 And for me, it was, I saw a gap
  140. 00:05:06.660 – 00:05:08.460 or there was a lack of professionalism.
  141. 00:05:09.900 – 00:05:11.580 A lot of people, you know, and it's just society.
  142. 00:05:11.700 – 00:05:13.700 Things are starting to get a lot more casual,
  143. 00:05:13.700 – 00:05:14.560 so to speak, you know.
  144. 00:05:14.560 – 00:05:15.940 And do wedding or just DJing?
  145. 00:05:16.460 – 00:05:17.140 In general.
  146. 00:05:17.320 – 00:05:17.640 In general?
  147. 00:05:17.660 – 00:05:19.040 But specifically as far as weddings,
  148. 00:05:19.740 – 00:05:20.840 I wanted a niche down.
  149. 00:05:20.900 – 00:05:22.760 A lot of people say, oh, you need to diversify.
  150. 00:05:22.860 – 00:05:24.620 But for me, it was like, I love weddings.
  151. 00:05:24.780 – 00:05:25.640 I'm passionate for weddings.
  152. 00:05:26.000 – 00:05:28.120 And then for me, I use weddings to grow
  153. 00:05:28.120 – 00:05:29.580 into, you know, doing corporate events
  154. 00:05:29.580 – 00:05:32.220 and nonprofits and things like that and quinceañeras.
  155. 00:05:32.820 – 00:05:34.800 But for me, like my passion and my focus,
  156. 00:05:34.900 – 00:05:36.000 my niche is really weddings.
  157. 00:05:36.540 – 00:05:38.020 And everything just kind of branches off of that.
  158. 00:05:38.680 – 00:05:40.000 But for me, it was just really
  159. 00:05:40.000 – 00:05:41.780 bringing a high level of professionalism.
  160. 00:05:42.380 – 00:05:44.340 Nobody was really rocking suits and dressing up
  161. 00:05:44.340 – 00:05:45.620 and paying attention to details.
  162. 00:05:45.860 – 00:05:47.740 It's like anybody can go out and buy equipment
  163. 00:05:47.740 – 00:05:50.040 and get registered with the state
  164. 00:05:50.040 – 00:05:52.340 and get insurance and buy fancy equipment.
  165. 00:05:53.680 – 00:05:55.460 But clients look at those small details.
  166. 00:05:55.620 – 00:05:59.060 How intentional are you about how you present yourself?
  167. 00:05:59.420 – 00:06:00.380 How you communicate?
  168. 00:06:00.540 – 00:06:02.440 What is your ease of doing business with?
  169. 00:06:02.880 – 00:06:04.680 And for me, I kind of focus on all those things
  170. 00:06:04.680 – 00:06:06.260 to really kind of separate myself.
  171. 00:06:07.060 – 00:06:08.020 Yeah, nice.
  172. 00:06:08.380 – 00:06:09.620 How long you been DJing?
  173. 00:06:09.800 – 00:06:11.180 About 20 something years?
  174. 00:06:11.320 – 00:06:12.080 Yeah, it's crazy things.
  175. 00:06:12.340 – 00:06:14.820 So I started DJing in 2003.
  176. 00:06:15.760 – 00:06:18.420 And then I did my first wedding in 2009.
  177. 00:06:19.340 – 00:06:21.360 So it's crazy thing for 22 years.
  178. 00:06:21.380 – 00:06:22.680 I've been behind the decks.
  179. 00:06:23.280 – 00:06:25.460 Malcolm Grass said, that's definitely an honor.
  180. 00:06:25.520 – 00:06:28.280 I remember when I first touched turntables,
  181. 00:06:28.480 – 00:06:31.800 I was mainly a performing artist, recording artist.
  182. 00:06:32.420 – 00:06:34.200 But I always used to touch the turntable
  183. 00:06:34.200 – 00:06:37.220 and I even got the, what's that?
  184. 00:06:37.760 – 00:06:39.700 The mini, the Pioneer mini.
  185. 00:06:39.900 – 00:06:40.820 Okay, yeah, gotcha.
  186. 00:06:41.340 – 00:06:48.200 So, yeah, you know, I kind of have my little spark
  187. 00:06:48.200 – 00:06:50.140 at DJing and then keep up with it.
  188. 00:06:50.640 – 00:06:52.460 But every now and then I definitely, you know,
  189. 00:06:52.620 – 00:06:53.620 practice scratch, scratch.
  190. 00:06:54.280 – 00:06:57.800 Yeah, I mean, 20 years plus, that's definitely an honor
  191. 00:06:57.800 – 00:06:59.160 and I commend you for that.
  192. 00:06:59.380 – 00:07:00.200 I appreciate that.
  193. 00:07:00.320 – 00:07:02.200 It's been a blessing to have this longevity
  194. 00:07:02.200 – 00:07:05.040 and more and more I see it's bigger than just DJing.
  195. 00:07:05.440 – 00:07:06.780 You got to stay in shape.
  196. 00:07:06.900 – 00:07:08.400 You got to stay up on new,
  197. 00:07:08.400 – 00:07:10.160 I mean, music moves so much faster now
  198. 00:07:10.160 – 00:07:12.680 with social media and TikTok and things like that.
  199. 00:07:13.220 – 00:07:15.340 You still have to find a way to evolve
  200. 00:07:15.340 – 00:07:16.780 and to change and to grow.
  201. 00:07:17.300 – 00:07:20.340 Yeah, I would say, how do you search for new music
  202. 00:07:20.340 – 00:07:22.080 or come across new music
  203. 00:07:22.080 – 00:07:24.500 when there's music almost released every day?
  204. 00:07:25.220 – 00:07:28.460 I mean, that's the beautiful part about staying active.
  205. 00:07:29.460 – 00:07:32.260 I mean, it's either kind of a use or lose it.
  206. 00:07:32.280 – 00:07:33.400 When you're out of the game
  207. 00:07:33.400 – 00:07:34.920 and you're not staying close to the people,
  208. 00:07:35.020 – 00:07:38.500 it's so easy to not being able to understand
  209. 00:07:38.500 – 00:07:39.180 what music is.
  210. 00:07:39.180 – 00:07:40.100 But for me it's like,
  211. 00:07:40.740 – 00:07:43.080 I would say my cheat code is I love to travel.
  212. 00:07:43.500 – 00:07:45.080 So for me, I'm always inspired
  213. 00:07:45.080 – 00:07:46.820 by the different sights and sounds
  214. 00:07:46.820 – 00:07:48.360 and vibes that people do.
  215. 00:07:48.520 – 00:07:51.400 So like if I'm in Montreal or Quebec up in Canada
  216. 00:07:51.400 – 00:07:54.880 or if I'm down in Miami or if I'm in Mexico,
  217. 00:07:54.960 – 00:07:56.600 like I'm always trying to listen to see,
  218. 00:07:56.740 – 00:07:57.740 okay, what is the vibe?
  219. 00:07:58.620 – 00:08:00.400 The other part is just making sure
  220. 00:08:00.400 – 00:08:02.240 that you connect with different generations.
  221. 00:08:02.820 – 00:08:04.800 So of course, I have a touch point
  222. 00:08:04.800 – 00:08:06.880 of being raised by baby boomers and my grandparents
  223. 00:08:06.880 – 00:08:10.120 and then my mom kind of being Generation X
  224. 00:08:10.120 – 00:08:13.140 and then me kind of being this millennial.
  225. 00:08:13.660 – 00:08:14.660 But then I also have kids.
  226. 00:08:14.740 – 00:08:16.460 So I kind of like try to make sure I pay attention
  227. 00:08:16.460 – 00:08:18.460 to what they're consuming and how they consume music.
  228. 00:08:19.020 – 00:08:21.400 So for me, that's kind of how I like to stay
  229. 00:08:22.540 – 00:08:24.360 in touch with what's really new.
  230. 00:08:24.780 – 00:08:26.460 But the crazy thing about it is,
  231. 00:08:27.400 – 00:08:28.840 it seems that as of right now,
  232. 00:08:29.040 – 00:08:33.440 music is really stuck in the 2010s,
  233. 00:08:33.620 – 00:08:35.780 is that the new music that people are making now
  234. 00:08:35.780 – 00:08:37.940 is not really music that people can assume
  235. 00:08:37.940 – 00:08:38.860 in a party context.
  236. 00:08:39.020 – 00:08:41.440 So for instance, a lot of these TikTok trends,
  237. 00:08:41.460 – 00:08:43.520 the songs aren't long enough for a DJ to be able to play
  238. 00:08:43.520 – 00:08:44.940 and be able to transition to something else.
  239. 00:08:45.660 – 00:08:48.000 So that's why, even if you go to clubs
  240. 00:08:48.000 – 00:08:49.680 and you go to bars and you go to parties,
  241. 00:08:50.200 – 00:08:50.860 a lot of music, like man,
  242. 00:08:50.920 – 00:08:52.320 this old music is music from 12 years ago
  243. 00:08:52.320 – 00:08:54.880 because that music was really, you know what I'm saying,
  244. 00:08:55.160 – 00:08:58.420 created and curated to be able to get crowds moving.
  245. 00:08:59.020 – 00:09:00.660 There's new music and now it's just kind of like,
  246. 00:09:00.720 – 00:09:02.320 what can I do in order to get my streams
  247. 00:09:02.320 – 00:09:03.600 and get on to the next track?
  248. 00:09:03.600 – 00:09:05.300 Yeah, so wow.
  249. 00:09:05.840 – 00:09:08.880 You know, it's actually a key point you touched on.
  250. 00:09:09.040 – 00:09:12.620 Do you find a song or a group of songs
  251. 00:09:12.620 – 00:09:15.540 that's kind of universal, you know, beyond generations?
  252. 00:09:16.460 – 00:09:18.900 Yeah, so I mean, for me, like growing up in Miami,
  253. 00:09:19.240 – 00:09:21.260 I kind of have, I like to say I have a global year.
  254. 00:09:21.860 – 00:09:23.800 So my best friend out there, two doors down from me,
  255. 00:09:23.820 – 00:09:27.020 he was Cuban, his grandparents came over as refugees
  256. 00:09:27.440 – 00:09:29.960 in the 1960s on a raft to Miami.
  257. 00:09:30.640 – 00:09:31.780 So for me, it's like growing up,
  258. 00:09:31.800 – 00:09:33.180 they would bury a pig in the backyard
  259. 00:09:33.180 – 00:09:35.680 and they'd be playing different types of Spanish music,
  260. 00:09:35.760 – 00:09:37.380 whether salsa, merengue, bachata.
  261. 00:09:38.320 – 00:09:40.220 Next door to me, the family's Puerto Rican.
  262. 00:09:40.880 – 00:09:43.060 Four doors down from them, my best friend was Jamaican,
  263. 00:09:43.100 – 00:09:46.260 so I would get curry chicken and here a lot of reggae
  264. 00:09:46.260 – 00:09:47.280 and like deep reggae.
  265. 00:09:47.520 – 00:09:49.460 And then three doors down from him,
  266. 00:09:49.700 – 00:09:51.360 my best friends were Bahamian.
  267. 00:09:51.580 – 00:09:52.600 And then the car street from them
  268. 00:09:52.600 – 00:09:53.440 and the family was Haitian.
  269. 00:09:53.620 – 00:09:56.300 So I kind of grew up with so many different sounds,
  270. 00:09:56.440 – 00:09:59.380 whether it was house, hip hop, rap, R&B, gospel,
  271. 00:09:59.780 – 00:10:02.380 that I tend to lean on music
  272. 00:10:03.360 – 00:10:05.220 that kind of resonates with anybody.
  273. 00:10:05.680 – 00:10:07.240 So whether you speak English or not,
  274. 00:10:07.680 – 00:10:10.200 to me, music is a universal love language.
  275. 00:10:10.260 – 00:10:12.880 So if you're in Germany or, you know what I'm saying,
  276. 00:10:13.020 – 00:10:15.140 or even if you're in Flint, Michigan,
  277. 00:10:15.620 – 00:10:16.680 if someone drop a banger,
  278. 00:10:16.860 – 00:10:17.840 it's gonna resonate with you.
  279. 00:10:17.920 – 00:10:20.400 The beat catch you, or the vibe catch you.
  280. 00:10:20.520 – 00:10:22.400 So for me, I'm always listening to,
  281. 00:10:23.140 – 00:10:24.120 what's a track that I can play
  282. 00:10:24.120 – 00:10:25.780 that people didn't know that they wanted to hear?
  283. 00:10:25.780 – 00:10:28.900 Wow, I like that tagline.
  284. 00:10:28.960 – 00:10:30.220 And also what you just said,
  285. 00:10:30.600 – 00:10:32.240 music is a universal language,
  286. 00:10:32.320 – 00:10:33.600 or at least it should be.
  287. 00:10:33.620 – 00:10:34.220 Yeah, definitely.
  288. 00:10:34.260 – 00:10:35.680 That's how I used to create music
  289. 00:10:35.680 – 00:10:37.360 and record music and write music.
  290. 00:10:37.920 – 00:10:39.900 Mainly from me and my experiences,
  291. 00:10:40.100 – 00:10:41.080 or what I saw,
  292. 00:10:42.080 – 00:10:43.940 and then make it like Michael Jackson.
  293. 00:10:44.180 – 00:10:46.000 I think anybody can listen to Michael Jackson,
  294. 00:10:46.160 – 00:10:48.040 no matter what age you are,
  295. 00:10:48.540 – 00:10:49.480 and just love it.
  296. 00:10:49.720 – 00:10:50.300 Yeah, definitely.
  297. 00:10:50.820 – 00:10:51.160 Yeah, definitely.
  298. 00:10:52.420 – 00:10:54.940 So let's shift a little towards business.
  299. 00:10:55.940 – 00:10:57.640 Like when you get in that mode,
  300. 00:10:58.140 – 00:10:59.920 even before you're speaking with a client,
  301. 00:11:00.060 – 00:11:02.940 what are your go-to songs made the day before,
  302. 00:11:03.000 – 00:11:04.140 or right before that meeting?
  303. 00:11:05.040 – 00:11:06.380 So for me, it's like,
  304. 00:11:08.600 – 00:11:10.540 I really try to focus on making sure
  305. 00:11:10.540 – 00:11:12.680 that the experience is true for the client.
  306. 00:11:13.140 – 00:11:14.620 And I try to make sure
  307. 00:11:15.220 – 00:11:18.420 I always communicate that to my clients.
  308. 00:11:18.520 – 00:11:19.240 A lot of times they might say,
  309. 00:11:19.260 – 00:11:20.420 hey, can you send me a mix?
  310. 00:11:20.740 – 00:11:22.400 You know, I wanna hear this or hear that.
  311. 00:11:23.200 – 00:11:26.020 The crazy thing about being an event,
  312. 00:11:26.120 – 00:11:27.300 not necessarily like a club DJ,
  313. 00:11:27.380 – 00:11:28.680 but being like a wedding DJ
  314. 00:11:28.680 – 00:11:30.320 or focusing on private events.
  315. 00:11:31.100 – 00:11:32.440 A lot of times the music that you play
  316. 00:11:32.440 – 00:11:35.140 aren't necessary songs that you will play
  317. 00:11:35.140 – 00:11:37.600 based off your own general taste or conception.
  318. 00:11:38.340 – 00:11:39.920 You're basically playing
  319. 00:11:39.920 – 00:11:41.360 what that specific client may want.
  320. 00:11:41.460 – 00:11:42.440 So they might want house,
  321. 00:11:42.820 – 00:11:45.980 or they might want top 40 or hip hop or R&B.
  322. 00:11:46.380 – 00:11:47.440 So it might come across like,
  323. 00:11:47.620 – 00:11:49.220 dang, this dude was playing trap music all night.
  324. 00:11:49.260 – 00:11:50.960 That might be what the client wanted.
  325. 00:11:51.440 – 00:11:52.860 So for me, what I try to tell clients,
  326. 00:11:52.980 – 00:11:53.800 if I send you a mix,
  327. 00:11:54.040 – 00:11:57.820 don't necessarily listen to the songs that I'm playing,
  328. 00:11:57.920 – 00:11:59.280 but listen to the technique,
  329. 00:12:00.380 – 00:12:02.360 how I might interact with the crowd
  330. 00:12:02.360 – 00:12:03.500 or how I transition.
  331. 00:12:03.560 – 00:12:05.220 You wanna look at more so the skill
  332. 00:12:05.220 – 00:12:06.960 and the technique and the energy and the flow
  333. 00:12:06.960 – 00:12:08.140 versus the track.
  334. 00:12:09.260 – 00:12:10.560 The tracks for me, each event,
  335. 00:12:11.280 – 00:12:12.540 how I look at it is like
  336. 00:12:12.540 – 00:12:14.100 the Super Bowl kinda going back to football.
  337. 00:12:14.820 – 00:12:16.580 It's like each game
  338. 00:12:17.500 – 00:12:19.100 is gonna have a different game plan.
  339. 00:12:19.100 – 00:12:21.020 And the game plan might change
  340. 00:12:21.020 – 00:12:22.660 based off of who your opponent is.
  341. 00:12:23.040 – 00:12:24.160 So even though you might have played that team
  342. 00:12:24.160 – 00:12:24.860 early in the season,
  343. 00:12:25.080 – 00:12:26.100 if the quarterback hurt
  344. 00:12:26.560 – 00:12:27.880 or saying they made a trade
  345. 00:12:27.880 – 00:12:30.780 and they got a big box receiver or tight end,
  346. 00:12:30.920 – 00:12:32.140 your game plan gonna change.
  347. 00:12:32.480 – 00:12:34.000 So for me, it's like each event
  348. 00:12:34.780 – 00:12:36.380 or consultation when I sit down with the client,
  349. 00:12:36.520 – 00:12:38.320 I'm really more so trying to make sure
  350. 00:12:38.320 – 00:12:39.300 I understand the client.
  351. 00:12:39.780 – 00:12:40.480 And a lot of times,
  352. 00:12:40.540 – 00:12:42.540 I mean, there's been times where I turn down the vent.
  353. 00:12:42.780 – 00:12:44.140 I get asked a lot, man,
  354. 00:12:44.220 – 00:12:46.400 like, how do you have so many five-star reviews?
  355. 00:12:46.980 – 00:12:47.640 And the cheat code is
  356. 00:12:47.640 – 00:12:49.100 I work with people that wanna work with me.
  357. 00:12:49.560 – 00:12:51.900 A lot of times when I've had issues in my career
  358. 00:12:51.900 – 00:12:53.060 where I've gotten bad reviews,
  359. 00:12:53.080 – 00:12:54.620 I had issues because I work with a client
  360. 00:12:54.620 – 00:12:55.280 or I work with someone
  361. 00:12:55.280 – 00:12:56.900 that necessarily wasn't a good fit with,
  362. 00:12:57.360 – 00:12:58.320 you know what I'm saying, my skill set.
  363. 00:12:58.400 – 00:12:59.120 I might be,
  364. 00:12:59.260 – 00:13:00.660 they might want somebody that's a little more reserved
  365. 00:13:00.660 – 00:13:02.580 and not tend to be a little bit more high energy.
  366. 00:13:02.920 – 00:13:04.120 Or they might want somebody that
  367. 00:13:04.840 – 00:13:06.160 is a little bit more passive
  368. 00:13:07.580 – 00:13:08.660 with music and mixing.
  369. 00:13:09.160 – 00:13:10.820 And for me, I like to keep the energy up.
  370. 00:13:10.860 – 00:13:11.780 I'm going boom, boom, boom,
  371. 00:13:11.840 – 00:13:13.140 hitting the songs back to back to back.
  372. 00:13:13.680 – 00:13:14.940 So from that perspective is,
  373. 00:13:15.160 – 00:13:15.760 for me,
  374. 00:13:15.760 – 00:13:17.460 I always want to make sure
  375. 00:13:17.460 – 00:13:18.680 that I lead with listening
  376. 00:13:19.320 – 00:13:20.740 and really make sure I understand
  377. 00:13:20.740 – 00:13:21.920 what the client's vision is.
  378. 00:13:22.360 – 00:13:22.940 And then from there,
  379. 00:13:22.940 – 00:13:24.900 I'm able to kind of curate
  380. 00:13:24.900 – 00:13:26.680 where I want to go musically for that evening.
  381. 00:13:27.200 – 00:13:29.340 Yeah, you ever like freestyle something?
  382. 00:13:29.400 – 00:13:30.820 I don't like live at the wedding.
  383. 00:13:31.000 – 00:13:34.100 It was like just play something that'll just shock us.
  384. 00:13:34.300 – 00:13:35.400 That's not even on the playlist
  385. 00:13:35.400 – 00:13:36.320 or what we talked about.
  386. 00:13:36.600 – 00:13:39.740 Yeah, that's actually like the best part of like
  387. 00:13:40.440 – 00:13:42.100 the clients that I tend to attract
  388. 00:13:42.660 – 00:13:44.300 is there's a level of trust.
  389. 00:13:44.300 – 00:13:45.580 Of course they're going to give me some direction.
  390. 00:13:45.800 – 00:13:47.840 I always say, hey, give me 10 or 15 songs
  391. 00:13:47.840 – 00:13:50.300 that you absolutely positively want to hear.
  392. 00:13:50.420 – 00:13:51.100 And they're like, I don't know.
  393. 00:13:51.480 – 00:13:52.800 So I give them example, like, hey,
  394. 00:13:52.880 – 00:13:55.640 what's a song that you listen to on your deck?
  395. 00:13:55.900 – 00:13:58.800 Or what's some concerts that you and your fiance
  396. 00:13:58.800 – 00:14:01.000 or your partner went to?
  397. 00:14:01.540 – 00:14:02.260 Now what are some songs
  398. 00:14:02.260 – 00:14:03.740 if you had the aux that you would play?
  399. 00:14:04.240 – 00:14:06.440 What types of songs are going to be played
  400. 00:14:06.440 – 00:14:07.260 on your limo bus?
  401. 00:14:08.180 – 00:14:09.360 Once I'm able to get that line inside
  402. 00:14:09.360 – 00:14:10.560 of those different data points,
  403. 00:14:11.060 – 00:14:12.400 then for me, that kind of gives me an idea,
  404. 00:14:12.980 – 00:14:14.620 okay, they went to high school
  405. 00:14:14.620 – 00:14:17.040 in the early 2000s or 2010s or 2020.
  406. 00:14:17.480 – 00:14:19.160 Like most people, like their musical taste
  407. 00:14:19.160 – 00:14:21.120 comes from like their high school experience.
  408. 00:14:21.540 – 00:14:23.860 Whether you went out and you sourced your CDs
  409. 00:14:23.860 – 00:14:25.220 or your records or your tapes,
  410. 00:14:25.980 – 00:14:26.740 or, you know what I'm saying,
  411. 00:14:26.800 – 00:14:28.080 whether you start downloading music
  412. 00:14:28.080 – 00:14:29.820 onto your iPod or what have you.
  413. 00:14:30.100 – 00:14:31.600 Most people lens is like, you know,
  414. 00:14:31.700 – 00:14:34.160 between that, I would say 18 to 24,
  415. 00:14:34.360 – 00:14:36.120 between, you know, when I'm able to drive
  416. 00:14:36.120 – 00:14:38.640 in high school to when I'm able to graduate,
  417. 00:14:38.640 – 00:14:41.340 you know, from college or, you know, post high school.
  418. 00:14:41.340 – 00:14:43.460 So that lens will kind of give me an idea
  419. 00:14:43.460 – 00:14:44.720 of kind of what they taste is like,
  420. 00:14:44.720 – 00:14:46.500 oh, if I knew that you went to whatever,
  421. 00:14:46.940 – 00:14:48.480 let's say an Imagine Dragons concert
  422. 00:14:48.480 – 00:14:50.340 in San Francisco, okay, I'm going to drop that.
  423. 00:14:50.380 – 00:14:53.020 If I know that, okay, you just started JT in DC,
  424. 00:14:53.540 – 00:14:54.400 I'm okay, I'm going to see that.
  425. 00:14:54.440 – 00:14:56.560 Okay, cool, you going to see GZ
  426. 00:14:57.000 – 00:14:58.560 for his, you know, symphony performance?
  427. 00:14:58.680 – 00:14:59.680 Okay, that's going to give me a lens.
  428. 00:14:59.760 – 00:15:01.440 So all those different types of data points
  429. 00:15:01.440 – 00:15:03.200 and being able to make sure I understand
  430. 00:15:03.200 – 00:15:04.280 what the client lens is,
  431. 00:15:04.300 – 00:15:06.200 but also kind of what their music consumption is,
  432. 00:15:06.660 – 00:15:07.520 it'll give me a perspective.
  433. 00:15:08.560 – 00:15:10.240 And sometimes people, what people can assume
  434. 00:15:10.240 – 00:15:14.080 is not vibe worthy, but there is a fit.
  435. 00:15:14.100 – 00:15:15.400 Maybe I can play it during dinner.
  436. 00:15:15.660 – 00:15:17.220 Maybe I can play it during cocktail hour
  437. 00:15:17.220 – 00:15:18.900 or maybe I can remix it.
  438. 00:15:19.020 – 00:15:21.220 Okay, maybe I can put a different beat over the track
  439. 00:15:21.220 – 00:15:22.180 or maybe, you know what I'm saying,
  440. 00:15:22.220 – 00:15:23.560 I can speed it up or slow it down.
  441. 00:15:23.940 – 00:15:25.880 So from that perspective, I still want to make sure
  442. 00:15:25.880 – 00:15:29.360 that at the end of the day, I'm client facing.
  443. 00:15:29.880 – 00:15:31.640 Because the thing about it is when you had a wedding,
  444. 00:15:32.620 – 00:15:33.460 you know, let's say, you know,
  445. 00:15:33.500 – 00:15:35.480 average size of wedding is 100, 120 people,
  446. 00:15:35.800 – 00:15:38.620 you got roughly another 50, 60 potential clients,
  447. 00:15:38.620 – 00:15:40.240 whether it's their friends that's engaged
  448. 00:15:40.240 – 00:15:43.000 or it might be a parent there who child is,
  449. 00:15:43.000 – 00:15:43.740 you know what I'm saying, engaged
  450. 00:15:43.740 – 00:15:44.700 or about to get engaged.
  451. 00:15:45.180 – 00:15:47.240 So, you know, maybe it might be six months
  452. 00:15:47.240 – 00:15:48.040 or a year or two years later,
  453. 00:15:48.040 – 00:15:49.520 they might be like, hey, I was at a wedding there,
  454. 00:15:49.520 – 00:15:51.440 you know, wherever, at a bar room at Park Lane
  455. 00:15:51.440 – 00:15:52.760 and you was really dope
  456. 00:15:52.760 – 00:15:55.220 and I wanted to see if you were available for this date.
  457. 00:15:56.000 – 00:15:58.280 So you always want to make sure that, you know,
  458. 00:15:58.300 – 00:16:00.240 not just your specific client experience,
  459. 00:16:00.500 – 00:16:02.640 but that, you know, your optics is on point,
  460. 00:16:02.640 – 00:16:04.320 you know, for anybody that may be in the room.
  461. 00:16:04.320 – 00:16:05.040 Yeah.
  462. 00:16:05.500 – 00:16:08.640 So it sounds like a lot of prep work beforehand.
  463. 00:16:09.140 – 00:16:11.140 Like for me, you know, doing the wedding
  464. 00:16:11.140 – 00:16:14.200 is more post-production, you know, after the wedding.
  465. 00:16:14.600 – 00:16:17.380 So what are some of those pre,
  466. 00:16:17.640 – 00:16:20.160 almost like homework that you got to do?
  467. 00:16:20.760 – 00:16:23.040 Man, you asked me for the secret sauce,
  468. 00:16:23.440 – 00:16:25.720 but you know, my son worked closely with me.
  469. 00:16:25.720 – 00:16:26.960 That's my right hand, man.
  470. 00:16:27.640 – 00:16:28.960 Shout out to AJ on the ones.
  471. 00:16:29.480 – 00:16:30.840 But I always say prior preparation
  472. 00:16:30.840 – 00:16:32.040 prevents poor performance.
  473. 00:16:32.600 – 00:16:36.020 Is that in order to execute a five,
  474. 00:16:36.100 – 00:16:38.560 what I would deem to be a five star event for me,
  475. 00:16:38.580 – 00:16:41.100 because I can't speak for other DJs, other processes.
  476. 00:16:41.700 – 00:16:44.380 But for me, you get your tip
  477. 00:16:44.380 – 00:16:46.400 and you get your Raven review
  478. 00:16:46.400 – 00:16:47.700 before you even show up to the event.
  479. 00:16:48.840 – 00:16:49.740 So to me it's like,
  480. 00:16:49.800 – 00:16:51.620 how quickly do you respond to emails?
  481. 00:16:52.120 – 00:16:53.300 You know, do you have a presentation
  482. 00:16:53.300 – 00:16:54.480 when you meet with clients?
  483. 00:16:56.540 – 00:16:57.620 Do you have a timeline?
  484. 00:16:57.880 – 00:17:00.160 Are you making sure that you effectively communicate
  485. 00:17:00.160 – 00:17:00.740 with other vendors,
  486. 00:17:00.740 – 00:17:02.260 whether it be a photographer,
  487. 00:17:03.140 – 00:17:05.400 officiant, the venue, what have you, the planners,
  488. 00:17:06.079 – 00:17:08.420 all those things allow the customer
  489. 00:17:08.420 – 00:17:10.040 to feel more and more comfortable.
  490. 00:17:10.300 – 00:17:11.099 So for me it's like,
  491. 00:17:11.200 – 00:17:12.319 even if you gave me all the information,
  492. 00:17:12.880 – 00:17:15.319 I'm still meeting with you the week after,
  493. 00:17:15.319 – 00:17:16.660 say, hey, is all this still good?
  494. 00:17:16.740 – 00:17:17.960 You might say, hey, you know what?
  495. 00:17:18.180 – 00:17:19.619 One of the bridesmaids, the baby came early,
  496. 00:17:19.680 – 00:17:20.700 so she's not gonna be here.
  497. 00:17:20.980 – 00:17:22.160 Or you might say, hey, you know what?
  498. 00:17:22.240 – 00:17:23.400 My dad really ain't feeling doing
  499. 00:17:23.400 – 00:17:25.420 the father daughter dance, so he want to cut it short.
  500. 00:17:26.480 – 00:17:29.180 By being able to have those clear line of communication
  501. 00:17:29.180 – 00:17:31.280 and give your clients those assurances,
  502. 00:17:31.760 – 00:17:33.620 it just puts you in a lot better position
  503. 00:17:33.620 – 00:17:35.340 and it allows the data to go a lot smoother.
  504. 00:17:36.260 – 00:17:37.320 A lot, you know, what I tell people,
  505. 00:17:37.340 – 00:17:38.840 I still get nervous at events,
  506. 00:17:39.280 – 00:17:41.620 but the better prepared you are,
  507. 00:17:43.140 – 00:17:45.100 it gives you more of a ease
  508. 00:17:45.100 – 00:17:47.540 and more of a level of sense of calmness
  509. 00:17:47.540 – 00:17:48.700 because you're prepared.
  510. 00:17:49.080 – 00:17:52.280 So for me, I rely heavily on my preparation
  511. 00:17:52.280 – 00:17:54.720 just to make me a lot more calmer
  512. 00:17:54.720 – 00:17:55.940 because I ain't got to worry about it.
  513. 00:17:56.140 – 00:17:56.840 Hey, that's right.
  514. 00:17:57.420 – 00:18:00.140 One of my things I say, reps replaced doubt.
  515. 00:18:00.540 – 00:18:04.620 Even if I did millions of videos,
  516. 00:18:05.800 – 00:18:08.980 songs, photos, and it's like the more I do it,
  517. 00:18:09.340 – 00:18:11.580 the more confident you are, the more prepared you are,
  518. 00:18:11.600 – 00:18:14.600 the more internal checklist that you have.
  519. 00:18:15.480 – 00:18:16.840 You don't need a physical checklist
  520. 00:18:16.840 – 00:18:18.900 if you've already done it a million times
  521. 00:18:18.900 – 00:18:20.380 and kind of memorized it.
  522. 00:18:20.880 – 00:18:23.160 Now it's just like hitting those bullet points,
  523. 00:18:23.160 – 00:18:27.920 like, I know this song is gonna, you know,
  524. 00:18:28.180 – 00:18:30.900 rile them up because it's a little dry right now.
  525. 00:18:31.100 – 00:18:32.300 So I'm gonna play it.
  526. 00:18:32.300 – 00:18:34.200 It's dinner, all right, it's a little chaos.
  527. 00:18:34.560 – 00:18:36.340 All right, it's time for me to be vocal.
  528. 00:18:36.820 – 00:18:39.140 So it's like having those reps,
  529. 00:18:39.540 – 00:18:40.580 it really replaced the doubt.
  530. 00:18:41.140 – 00:18:41.900 Definitely, definitely.
  531. 00:18:42.920 – 00:18:44.740 Yeah, and to me, like, that's really what the art is.
  532. 00:18:44.760 – 00:18:46.100 I mean, it's easy just to say,
  533. 00:18:46.200 – 00:18:49.320 let me get out here and play a Spotify list.
  534. 00:18:49.900 – 00:18:52.020 But sometimes, to me, like, that level of curation
  535. 00:18:52.020 – 00:18:53.400 to really read the crowd and say,
  536. 00:18:53.560 – 00:18:56.280 hey, you know what, it's mostly 50 and 60 year olds
  537. 00:18:56.280 – 00:18:57.100 on this dance floor.
  538. 00:18:57.200 – 00:18:58.740 Let me drop Love Shack, or let me, you know what I'm saying,
  539. 00:18:58.780 – 00:19:00.680 let me drop Frankie Beverly and Mays.
  540. 00:19:00.960 – 00:19:01.900 Or you can say, hey, you know what,
  541. 00:19:02.000 – 00:19:04.120 damn, the whole bridal party is out here by 20 on.
  542. 00:19:04.460 – 00:19:04.600 Yeah.
  543. 00:19:04.760 – 00:19:06.160 You know, I'm going straight to the Young Dolph.
  544. 00:19:06.300 – 00:19:07.140 I'm gonna hit them with Preach.
  545. 00:19:07.240 – 00:19:09.900 It's just like, it's so easy to open up
  546. 00:19:09.900 – 00:19:11.600 the dance floor with the same stuff everywhere.
  547. 00:19:11.740 – 00:19:12.960 Oh, let me play, you know,
  548. 00:19:13.040 – 00:19:14.760 Whitney Houston on the dance floor somewhere there.
  549. 00:19:15.280 – 00:19:17.480 You know, let me play Apache or Uptown Funk.
  550. 00:19:18.280 – 00:19:19.680 But to be able to look at the crowd and say,
  551. 00:19:19.700 – 00:19:20.300 hey, you know what,
  552. 00:19:20.300 – 00:19:22.720 they got a couple of South Asian people in there.
  553. 00:19:22.740 – 00:19:24.300 Let me play a little bit of balling, is it?
  554. 00:19:24.700 – 00:19:26.880 Or, you know, I heard a little accent over there.
  555. 00:19:26.960 – 00:19:28.740 I think I might've heard somebody from Jamaica
  556. 00:19:28.740 – 00:19:30.460 or from Trinidad and Tobago.
  557. 00:19:30.640 – 00:19:30.940 You know what I'm saying?
  558. 00:19:30.940 – 00:19:31.900 We played a little bit of reggae.
  559. 00:19:32.380 – 00:19:33.160 So for me, it's like,
  560. 00:19:33.160 – 00:19:35.600 that's where the true art is and curation
  561. 00:19:35.600 – 00:19:37.760 and where you separate yourself from is
  562. 00:19:37.760 – 00:19:40.220 by being able to have a breadth of music knowledge,
  563. 00:19:40.380 – 00:19:41.460 by being able to read the crowd and say,
  564. 00:19:41.640 – 00:19:42.180 hey, you know what,
  565. 00:19:43.000 – 00:19:44.640 they didn't say this person was gonna be here.
  566. 00:19:44.680 – 00:19:45.820 I got so far.
  567. 00:19:45.980 – 00:19:47.040 Yeah, reading the room.
  568. 00:19:48.020 – 00:19:48.800 Yeah, that's important.
  569. 00:19:49.280 – 00:19:49.500 Yeah.
  570. 00:19:49.500 – 00:19:50.940 See, I know you talked about,
  571. 00:19:51.680 – 00:19:53.320 you know, your level of preparation
  572. 00:19:53.320 – 00:19:55.200 and where your money is really made,
  573. 00:19:55.200 – 00:19:56.280 kind of like post-production.
  574. 00:19:57.020 – 00:19:58.840 But I kind of want to touch on contingencies.
  575. 00:19:59.340 – 00:19:59.720 Like, you know,
  576. 00:19:59.840 – 00:20:02.120 what are some of the contingencies you put in place
  577. 00:20:02.120 – 00:20:04.160 as like a videographer or photographer,
  578. 00:20:04.340 – 00:20:06.400 whether it's extra cards or extra cameras,
  579. 00:20:06.440 – 00:20:07.120 what have you?
  580. 00:20:09.020 – 00:20:10.980 Like I kind of mentioned, checklists.
  581. 00:20:11.860 – 00:20:13.620 Like you said, that open communication.
  582. 00:20:15.160 – 00:20:16.840 That's the biggest thing, you know,
  583. 00:20:16.980 – 00:20:18.680 before, during, and after.
  584. 00:20:21.700 – 00:20:26.940 So communication, checklists, backups of everything.
  585. 00:20:27.640 – 00:20:33.520 The backups, I remember I had one battery and one camera.
  586. 00:20:34.140 – 00:20:36.000 It wasn't a wedding, it was just a regular event.
  587. 00:20:36.280 – 00:20:38.420 But that led me to, okay,
  588. 00:20:38.820 – 00:20:42.000 I know the value of this event or this wedding.
  589. 00:20:42.440 – 00:20:44.580 So I don't even care if I use the second camera
  590. 00:20:44.580 – 00:20:47.400 or the second battery, second flash, whatever.
  591. 00:20:47.400 – 00:20:49.420 I'm going to have backups or whatever.
  592. 00:20:50.160 – 00:20:53.300 So you always have multiple, no matter what,
  593. 00:20:53.580 – 00:20:56.580 or if a SD card fails, have someone.
  594. 00:20:56.720 – 00:20:58.840 That's why I love having assistants or second shooters.
  595. 00:20:58.920 – 00:21:00.240 Even if they don't, you know,
  596. 00:21:00.940 – 00:21:02.520 do as much work as I do,
  597. 00:21:03.680 – 00:21:05.440 if I need them to run to the store, they could.
  598. 00:21:05.560 – 00:21:06.620 Yeah, you know.
  599. 00:21:06.980 – 00:21:09.940 So having good relationships, good team members,
  600. 00:21:10.460 – 00:21:11.640 being a team player.
  601. 00:21:12.280 – 00:21:15.700 So those things kind of, kind of helped me.
  602. 00:21:15.700 – 00:21:16.740 It's happened, so.
  603. 00:21:17.380 – 00:21:19.800 I would say, what's your favorite piece of equipment?
  604. 00:21:20.880 – 00:21:21.640 Ooh, favorite?
  605. 00:21:21.680 – 00:21:23.000 Part of the 20 years.
  606. 00:21:23.240 – 00:21:24.100 20, 22?
  607. 00:21:24.380 – 00:21:24.740 22.
  608. 00:21:24.840 – 00:21:26.200 Yeah, 22 years.
  609. 00:21:27.460 – 00:21:28.360 23 is 25.
  610. 00:21:28.660 – 00:21:29.480 Yeah, 22, yeah.
  611. 00:21:29.840 – 00:21:30.300 22.
  612. 00:21:30.420 – 00:21:32.540 Favorite piece of equipment, mm.
  613. 00:21:35.060 – 00:21:37.780 I would definitely say piece of equipment,
  614. 00:21:37.980 – 00:21:39.740 like if it's like a tangible item.
  615. 00:21:40.160 – 00:21:41.220 Probably have to be the laptop, man.
  616. 00:21:41.260 – 00:21:42.560 Laptops really change the game.
  617. 00:21:43.180 – 00:21:46.820 You know, to go from, you know, records to CDJs.
  618. 00:21:46.820 – 00:21:51.120 I mean, laptops just allow you to have access
  619. 00:21:51.120 – 00:21:53.920 to so much music and so many tools
  620. 00:21:53.920 – 00:21:55.400 and you can get so creative with it.
  621. 00:21:55.580 – 00:21:56.060 Yeah.
  622. 00:21:56.060 – 00:21:58.700 But the downside is, is that it gives people
  623. 00:21:58.700 – 00:21:59.880 like a false sense of reality.
  624. 00:21:59.880 – 00:22:02.920 They feel like because you have access to the internet
  625. 00:22:02.920 – 00:22:05.020 and you have access to, you know, whatever,
  626. 00:22:05.700 – 00:22:06.900 five terabyte hard drive.
  627. 00:22:07.320 – 00:22:09.320 Is that just supposed to have any song
  628. 00:22:09.320 – 00:22:10.760 that people request at will?
  629. 00:22:10.880 – 00:22:12.860 And that's not always necessarily the case.
  630. 00:22:13.260 – 00:22:15.940 All right, that is true, and I witnessed that.
  631. 00:22:16.580 – 00:22:19.260 But how important is like equipment like that?
  632. 00:22:19.960 – 00:22:22.260 Like good quality DJing equipment,
  633. 00:22:22.480 – 00:22:24.420 a good laptop with, you know, RAM,
  634. 00:22:24.440 – 00:22:25.620 and then also a hard drive.
  635. 00:22:25.740 – 00:22:26.960 How important are those things?
  636. 00:22:27.600 – 00:22:30.180 To me, it's kind of like the heart
  637. 00:22:30.180 – 00:22:32.320 or the epicenter of your business,
  638. 00:22:32.320 – 00:22:33.940 because if you don't have music,
  639. 00:22:34.720 – 00:22:35.480 you don't have nothing.
  640. 00:22:36.340 – 00:22:38.220 So, I mean, for me, it's like,
  641. 00:22:38.340 – 00:22:40.660 it's probably like outside of like the vehicle
  642. 00:22:40.660 – 00:22:42.560 to transport all the gear that I have.
  643. 00:22:43.100 – 00:22:45.040 The computers, I have one, two, three,
  644. 00:22:45.040 – 00:22:46.100 I have five computers.
  645. 00:22:46.860 – 00:22:48.660 And those are like the biggest investments that I make.
  646. 00:22:48.700 – 00:22:51.280 So I have computers to be able to run my photo booths.
  647. 00:22:51.300 – 00:22:54.480 I have, of course, you know, a backup laptop,
  648. 00:22:54.580 – 00:22:56.600 my main laptop, and then a lot of times
  649. 00:22:56.600 – 00:22:58.700 I have a laptop just for ceremony.
  650. 00:22:59.560 – 00:23:03.000 So, you know, I've had instances where like,
  651. 00:23:03.160 – 00:23:05.060 let's say I'm doing like a rooftop wedding
  652. 00:23:05.060 – 00:23:06.280 and I'm in a direct sun,
  653. 00:23:06.660 – 00:23:08.800 and both my laptops are overheated.
  654. 00:23:08.960 – 00:23:10.500 You know, I've been blessed to where
  655. 00:23:10.500 – 00:23:12.540 I can Bluetooth off my phone
  656. 00:23:12.540 – 00:23:14.320 and be able to play some songs.
  657. 00:23:14.680 – 00:23:16.380 And seamlessly, I don't want to ever know
  658. 00:23:16.380 – 00:23:18.300 until, you know, the sun moved
  659. 00:23:18.300 – 00:23:20.500 or I'm able to get the laptops to cool down.
  660. 00:23:20.960 – 00:23:25.960 So to me, contingencies are the most critical things,
  661. 00:23:26.220 – 00:23:27.040 especially as far as weddings,
  662. 00:23:27.140 – 00:23:29.300 because everything is like very, very time-sensitive.
  663. 00:23:29.480 – 00:23:31.100 It ain't gonna be no extra 10, 15 minutes.
  664. 00:23:31.760 – 00:23:32.640 It's time to go.
  665. 00:23:33.080 – 00:23:35.880 So you always have to have that contingency plan.
  666. 00:23:37.880 – 00:23:39.760 I was gonna ask about that too.
  667. 00:23:40.180 – 00:23:43.040 Was there a moment or a wedding that,
  668. 00:23:43.060 – 00:23:44.340 you know, you had to pivot?
  669. 00:23:44.720 – 00:23:46.260 Like, oh man, this has really happened?
  670. 00:23:46.340 – 00:23:50.060 Then you really had to pivot right on the spot, live?
  671. 00:23:50.540 – 00:23:52.140 Man, it just recently happened, man,
  672. 00:23:52.440 – 00:23:54.300 as recently as Memorial Day weekend.
  673. 00:23:54.860 – 00:23:56.040 So I was blessed.
  674. 00:23:56.160 – 00:23:58.100 We were in three cities in three days.
  675. 00:23:59.740 – 00:24:01.620 So Friday, we had a prom in Cleveland.
  676. 00:24:01.780 – 00:24:03.840 Saturday had a wedding in Cincinnati.
  677. 00:24:04.040 – 00:24:05.900 And Sunday had a wedding in Pittsburgh.
  678. 00:24:06.820 – 00:24:09.060 So for me, like I normally always have an assistant,
  679. 00:24:09.060 – 00:24:10.160 which is my son, like you're saying,
  680. 00:24:10.260 – 00:24:12.740 like in case I need to get some food or, you know,
  681. 00:24:12.780 – 00:24:13.680 you forget a cord or something,
  682. 00:24:13.720 – 00:24:15.140 you can send somebody out to get it, my bad.
  683. 00:24:15.580 – 00:24:18.440 And then saying that, my contingency was,
  684. 00:24:18.560 – 00:24:19.000 I'm like, all right,
  685. 00:24:19.040 – 00:24:21.040 I'm gonna go to Cincinnati and do that myself.
  686. 00:24:21.880 – 00:24:23.580 On Sunday, I want you to go to Pittsburgh
  687. 00:24:23.580 – 00:24:24.300 and set up for me.
  688. 00:24:24.320 – 00:24:26.860 God forbid if I get in an accident or I hit traffic,
  689. 00:24:27.340 – 00:24:29.900 I at least know that the wedding that I'm headed to
  690. 00:24:29.900 – 00:24:31.680 is already set up and have somebody on site.
  691. 00:24:32.540 – 00:24:34.560 So like, that was like my first contingency.
  692. 00:24:34.620 – 00:24:36.120 So I drive down to Cincinnati
  693. 00:24:39.160 – 00:24:41.120 and they have me on the rooftop.
  694. 00:24:42.300 – 00:24:44.960 Beautiful, little hotel, beautiful hotel,
  695. 00:24:45.400 – 00:24:48.040 overlooking the whole city, city backdrop behind me.
  696. 00:24:49.340 – 00:24:50.440 And everything is cool.
  697. 00:24:50.620 – 00:24:53.660 You know, cocktail hour up there, music was cool.
  698. 00:24:53.860 – 00:24:55.160 As soon as we was getting like 10 minutes
  699. 00:24:55.160 – 00:24:57.640 before we was getting ready to do introductions,
  700. 00:24:58.200 – 00:25:00.140 my laptop started overheating.
  701. 00:25:00.200 – 00:25:02.460 I sat around, the button go from like,
  702. 00:25:02.520 – 00:25:03.740 the bar go from green to red.
  703. 00:25:03.760 – 00:25:05.120 I'm like, awesome, it's overheating.
  704. 00:25:07.060 – 00:25:09.560 So I take that down, pull out my backup laptop.
  705. 00:25:09.940 – 00:25:12.380 Five minutes later, that overheat, I'm like, yo.
  706. 00:25:12.480 – 00:25:14.920 So I take those laptops and I put them in the kitchen
  707. 00:25:14.920 – 00:25:16.100 because the kitchen had AC.
  708. 00:25:16.820 – 00:25:18.160 So I told the planner, I was like, look,
  709. 00:25:18.380 – 00:25:19.680 I know we're getting ready to go live.
  710. 00:25:20.100 – 00:25:22.120 I'm like, I'm gonna have to play
  711. 00:25:22.120 – 00:25:24.200 all the introduction songs off my cell phone.
  712. 00:25:24.580 – 00:25:26.120 And the way my speakers are set up,
  713. 00:25:26.140 – 00:25:27.200 I got Bluetooth for them.
  714. 00:25:27.600 – 00:25:29.460 So I was like, hey, until the sun go down,
  715. 00:25:29.980 – 00:25:30.560 this is what we're gonna do.
  716. 00:25:30.620 – 00:25:31.600 She's like, hey, do what you gotta do.
  717. 00:25:31.640 – 00:25:33.100 So I literally had to make a decision,
  718. 00:25:33.100 – 00:25:36.080 which I normally under these circumstances
  719. 00:25:36.080 – 00:25:38.000 would never encourage anybody to do Bluetooth,
  720. 00:25:38.100 – 00:25:39.760 but I had to do what I had to do.
  721. 00:25:39.780 – 00:25:40.800 I didn't have time to move.
  722. 00:25:40.920 – 00:25:43.380 I didn't have an umbrella or anything like that
  723. 00:25:43.380 – 00:25:44.800 to cover for me because it's just based off
  724. 00:25:45.160 – 00:25:47.040 the aesthetics that they wanted for that space.
  725. 00:25:47.720 – 00:25:47.960 Yeah.
  726. 00:25:48.380 – 00:25:49.700 But I was able to pull off, you know.
  727. 00:25:50.540 – 00:25:53.000 Mic was good, played the music off my phone.
  728. 00:25:53.100 – 00:25:55.480 So one thing I always do is make sure like,
  729. 00:25:55.520 – 00:25:56.980 all my formality is bare minimum.
  730. 00:25:57.340 – 00:25:59.500 I have on my cell phone like an Apple Playness.
  731. 00:26:00.040 – 00:26:01.620 So, you know, first day as father, daughter, mother,
  732. 00:26:01.620 – 00:26:03.360 God forbid if anything didn't happen,
  733. 00:26:03.540 – 00:26:04.880 boom, I could just hop right on my phone
  734. 00:26:04.880 – 00:26:06.100 and end up playing the song.
  735. 00:26:06.960 – 00:26:08.560 So, you know, that's kind of like my contingency
  736. 00:26:08.560 – 00:26:10.740 or a time where I had to pivot like literally
  737. 00:26:10.740 – 00:26:13.880 within minutes as the client never knew.
  738. 00:26:15.080 – 00:26:15.700 That's true.
  739. 00:26:15.840 – 00:26:18.600 I mean, that's just tales of a true professional
  740. 00:26:18.600 – 00:26:19.260 for real.
  741. 00:26:19.500 – 00:26:20.200 Appreciate it.
  742. 00:26:20.500 – 00:26:22.640 So I know you kind of had a good love
  743. 00:26:22.640 – 00:26:25.700 for music throughout your whole life.
  744. 00:26:26.120 – 00:26:28.440 So a little after college,
  745. 00:26:28.640 – 00:26:29.740 where did you kind of pick up
  746. 00:26:29.740 – 00:26:32.620 on like the entrepreneurship and business?
  747. 00:26:33.760 – 00:26:36.360 So for me, like my family always tell you like,
  748. 00:26:36.940 – 00:26:39.440 I've always been a hustler like since I was young.
  749. 00:26:39.640 – 00:26:40.660 Like I remember like,
  750. 00:26:42.020 – 00:26:43.320 I had to do middle school.
  751. 00:26:44.360 – 00:26:45.040 You know, we was always,
  752. 00:26:45.080 – 00:26:46.900 I always liked to say we was in between blessings.
  753. 00:26:48.100 – 00:26:50.100 I had what I needed, but you know,
  754. 00:26:50.100 – 00:26:51.300 it was barely that.
  755. 00:26:52.000 – 00:26:54.600 So I remember I used to go to 99 cent store
  756. 00:26:54.600 – 00:26:56.600 and buy like the little Kit Kats and Reese's Pieces.
  757. 00:26:57.100 – 00:26:58.200 And I'd go to school and flip those
  758. 00:26:58.200 – 00:27:01.020 and I was selling for 25 cent a piece and make money.
  759. 00:27:01.100 – 00:27:02.620 And then I would do the same thing in high school
  760. 00:27:02.620 – 00:27:04.480 until I got caught and got in trouble for it.
  761. 00:27:05.160 – 00:27:06.340 And then I started washing cars
  762. 00:27:06.340 – 00:27:08.200 because I went to school with a whole bunch of rich kids.
  763. 00:27:08.780 – 00:27:09.880 So I started washing their cars.
  764. 00:27:09.980 – 00:27:12.060 I started, you know, car washing business in high school.
  765. 00:27:12.420 – 00:27:13.920 And I did that all the way through college.
  766. 00:27:14.180 – 00:27:15.360 I was detailing cars.
  767. 00:27:15.460 – 00:27:17.680 But then saying that for me,
  768. 00:27:18.560 – 00:27:20.260 I come from a family, you know,
  769. 00:27:20.360 – 00:27:22.380 half of it is kind of preachers
  770. 00:27:22.380 – 00:27:23.660 and the other half is kingpins.
  771. 00:27:24.220 – 00:27:26.440 So I never wanted to go down the road
  772. 00:27:26.440 – 00:27:29.060 of being incarcerated or trying to sell drugs
  773. 00:27:29.060 – 00:27:29.740 and being like that.
  774. 00:27:29.760 – 00:27:32.300 So I was trying to find a way to make money,
  775. 00:27:32.380 – 00:27:32.660 you know what I'm saying?
  776. 00:27:32.760 – 00:27:34.400 A positive way to where I didn't have to look
  777. 00:27:34.400 – 00:27:35.060 over my shoulder.
  778. 00:27:35.220 – 00:27:36.940 So for me, that's what always kind of drove me
  779. 00:27:36.940 – 00:27:39.160 was that I knew I wanted more out of life.
  780. 00:27:39.180 – 00:27:41.360 And I knew that, you know,
  781. 00:27:42.200 – 00:27:43.660 the most admirable way to do it
  782. 00:27:43.660 – 00:27:45.520 was to get out here and get after it.
  783. 00:27:45.880 – 00:27:46.180 So.
  784. 00:27:46.560 – 00:27:46.920 Yeah.
  785. 00:27:48.900 – 00:27:50.380 So I remember he said,
  786. 00:27:52.400 – 00:27:53.880 you know, you're working with your son
  787. 00:27:53.880 – 00:27:56.540 and he started, you know, as a teenager, you know.
  788. 00:27:59.500 – 00:28:02.500 So how important is growth for the youth
  789. 00:28:03.300 – 00:28:06.120 with DJing, like, you know,
  790. 00:28:06.300 – 00:28:10.700 DJing from 20 years ago versus, you know,
  791. 00:28:10.940 – 00:28:11.720 10 years later,
  792. 00:28:12.420 – 00:28:14.800 how important is that like instilling it to the youth?
  793. 00:28:15.760 – 00:28:16.720 I mean, there's a,
  794. 00:28:16.720 – 00:28:17.900 I think there's an African proverb that says
  795. 00:28:17.900 – 00:28:20.080 you can give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.
  796. 00:28:20.160 – 00:28:21.280 Or you can teach him how to fish
  797. 00:28:21.280 – 00:28:22.440 and he'll eat for a lifetime.
  798. 00:28:22.660 – 00:28:23.060 Right.
  799. 00:28:23.060 – 00:28:24.620 So for me, it's like,
  800. 00:28:24.880 – 00:28:27.080 the unfortunate part of DJing
  801. 00:28:27.080 – 00:28:28.760 is that it keeps you out of the house.
  802. 00:28:29.520 – 00:28:30.760 Yeah. You know, you're on site.
  803. 00:28:30.920 – 00:28:34.020 You know, events are easily 10, 12 hour days.
  804. 00:28:34.360 – 00:28:34.760 Easy.
  805. 00:28:35.320 – 00:28:36.500 You know, from the time, you know,
  806. 00:28:36.640 – 00:28:38.160 you load up your van to the time
  807. 00:28:38.740 – 00:28:40.360 you get back home and you unload it.
  808. 00:28:41.600 – 00:28:43.780 So for me, it was kind of selfishly a way
  809. 00:28:43.780 – 00:28:46.120 for me to still be able to spend time with my kids.
  810. 00:28:46.840 – 00:28:48.880 But, you know, the most important thing was really-
  811. 00:28:48.880 – 00:28:49.540 That's genius.
  812. 00:28:50.180 – 00:28:50.980 That's genius.
  813. 00:28:51.500 – 00:28:53.720 I do it with my daughter, you know.
  814. 00:28:53.960 – 00:28:55.740 Seven years old, pull out a little camera.
  815. 00:28:56.560 – 00:28:57.940 Like it's, it's genius.
  816. 00:28:58.220 – 00:28:59.740 Yeah. I mean, they don't see it like that.
  817. 00:28:59.740 – 00:29:01.220 They just see they get to hang out with dad
  818. 00:29:01.220 – 00:29:03.400 and eat good and go to fancy events.
  819. 00:29:03.960 – 00:29:06.800 I mean, the other half is to really be able to show
  820. 00:29:06.800 – 00:29:10.600 him kind of like the ins and outs of like,
  821. 00:29:10.600 – 00:29:11.180 entrepreneurship.
  822. 00:29:11.720 – 00:29:14.080 So, you know, the thing that really changed
  823. 00:29:14.080 – 00:29:16.840 my perspective on being able to scale my business
  824. 00:29:16.840 – 00:29:19.960 is really understanding a lot of people might,
  825. 00:29:19.960 – 00:29:21.340 you know, clutch their pros out.
  826. 00:29:21.440 – 00:29:22.960 You really don't have to be that dope of a DJ
  827. 00:29:22.960 – 00:29:25.800 or dope of a photographer or florist
  828. 00:29:25.800 – 00:29:26.920 to really be at the top.
  829. 00:29:27.000 – 00:29:29.180 At some point in time, you have to say,
  830. 00:29:29.240 – 00:29:31.100 you know what, my craft is good enough.
  831. 00:29:31.760 – 00:29:33.600 I got to do all these other small things
  832. 00:29:33.600 – 00:29:35.500 that's gonna allow people to see it.
  833. 00:29:35.780 – 00:29:37.740 So, you know, in 2020, that's what really opened
  834. 00:29:37.740 – 00:29:40.660 my eyes was when New Royal shut down.
  835. 00:29:40.780 – 00:29:43.080 I was like, I'm dope, but nobody know it.
  836. 00:29:44.080 – 00:29:46.260 And it's like, kind of getting back to what you said
  837. 00:29:46.260 – 00:29:49.020 about these kids, the biggest advantage that they have
  838. 00:29:49.020 – 00:29:52.680 over generations previously is, you know, social media
  839. 00:29:53.240 – 00:29:55.320 and the internet is really a lot of kids
  840. 00:29:55.320 – 00:29:57.440 or people in general, anybody in general,
  841. 00:29:57.860 – 00:29:59.200 to have a level of exposure
  842. 00:29:59.200 – 00:30:00.840 without any type of gatekeepers.
  843. 00:30:01.640 – 00:30:03.260 It's really, you know, disrupted the market
  844. 00:30:03.260 – 00:30:05.060 to say, hey, you know, instead of me having to go
  845. 00:30:05.060 – 00:30:07.980 through a third-party company or the Yellow Pages
  846. 00:30:07.980 – 00:30:09.520 or something like that to advertise,
  847. 00:30:10.220 – 00:30:12.100 I can literally like start my own community.
  848. 00:30:12.240 – 00:30:14.200 You can look at, you know, some of these,
  849. 00:30:14.340 – 00:30:15.740 a lot of these streamers like Kai
  850. 00:30:15.740 – 00:30:17.500 and different things like that
  851. 00:30:17.500 – 00:30:20.380 where if you're able to create, build your own community
  852. 00:30:20.920 – 00:30:23.840 and your followers that be able to show value
  853. 00:30:23.840 – 00:30:25.480 to people that, you know, something
  854. 00:30:25.480 – 00:30:26.700 that they're willing to consume
  855. 00:30:27.120 – 00:30:29.340 is that you're really able to have the keys to the castle
  856. 00:30:29.340 – 00:30:32.840 is that you no longer have to go through a CBS
  857. 00:30:32.840 – 00:30:35.420 or, you know, a Fox or what have you.
  858. 00:30:35.500 – 00:30:38.040 You can literally create your own destiny
  859. 00:30:38.500 – 00:30:39.680 within that, so.
  860. 00:30:41.420 – 00:30:42.220 That's true.
  861. 00:30:42.980 – 00:30:44.360 Just thinking about the times,
  862. 00:30:45.380 – 00:30:49.600 like when I started music, it was a little before
  863. 00:30:49.600 – 00:30:51.460 high school, late middle school,
  864. 00:30:52.500 – 00:30:55.680 not really treating it as a business as I did
  865. 00:30:55.680 – 00:30:58.340 in my late teens and, you know, early adulthood.
  866. 00:30:58.560 – 00:31:01.380 But if I had the tools then, like,
  867. 00:31:01.380 – 00:31:02.340 oh, I got to get signed.
  868. 00:31:02.420 – 00:31:04.240 Oh, I got to do this record to get signed.
  869. 00:31:04.280 – 00:31:07.500 Like, I think the mindset then was just getting signed
  870. 00:31:07.500 – 00:31:10.780 until I'm like, oh, you know, I could use this group,
  871. 00:31:10.920 – 00:31:13.780 this your kid, our tune core to publish my music
  872. 00:31:13.780 – 00:31:15.500 and get it out to the world, to the masses
  873. 00:31:16.040 – 00:31:17.960 and, you know, monetize it through stream.
  874. 00:31:18.400 – 00:31:21.060 So, you know, I think that's essential
  875. 00:31:21.060 – 00:31:23.440 and technology is always involved in
  876. 00:31:23.440 – 00:31:26.360 and how do you stay updated on trends
  877. 00:31:26.360 – 00:31:28.680 as far as technology in the DJ industry?
  878. 00:31:29.920 – 00:31:32.220 So for me, I tend, I actually tend to lag.
  879. 00:31:32.720 – 00:31:36.320 So I kind of look at it like a vehicle,
  880. 00:31:36.440 – 00:31:37.520 a piece of technology.
  881. 00:31:38.080 – 00:31:39.820 Like you never want to get the first iPhone.
  882. 00:31:39.940 – 00:31:41.280 You want to wait until it's iPhone a little bit
  883. 00:31:41.280 – 00:31:43.000 and then work out the kinks if it's a recall.
  884. 00:31:43.000 – 00:31:45.180 So for me, I tend to observe.
  885. 00:31:45.440 – 00:31:48.680 So even like, for instance, like AI, chat, GBT
  886. 00:31:49.440 – 00:31:51.420 or even social media to this extent.
  887. 00:31:51.780 – 00:31:53.340 I always want to make sure I understand it,
  888. 00:31:53.340 – 00:31:56.120 understand how it impacts people more specifically.
  889. 00:31:56.680 – 00:31:57.840 How will it impact my life?
  890. 00:31:57.960 – 00:31:59.340 Like, will it make my life easier?
  891. 00:31:59.540 – 00:32:01.460 Will it, or will it consume more time?
  892. 00:32:01.540 – 00:32:03.000 You know, could it become addictive?
  893. 00:32:03.620 – 00:32:05.740 From that perspective, I kind of observe
  894. 00:32:05.740 – 00:32:06.880 and then I look like, okay,
  895. 00:32:06.960 – 00:32:09.420 how can I implement this in my day to day?
  896. 00:32:09.480 – 00:32:11.720 How can I make my life easier
  897. 00:32:11.720 – 00:32:15.060 or more streamlined before I truly embrace it?
  898. 00:32:15.600 – 00:32:17.540 So for me, instead of like just hopping on the wave
  899. 00:32:17.540 – 00:32:18.700 and like, hey, let me get on TikTok
  900. 00:32:18.700 – 00:32:19.720 and start doing dances.
  901. 00:32:19.760 – 00:32:22.040 I'm like, well, how can I utilize this tool
  902. 00:32:22.040 – 00:32:23.320 to really distinguish myself
  903. 00:32:23.320 – 00:32:24.580 but also to learn and to grow?
  904. 00:32:24.760 – 00:32:27.740 So for me, I really always try to find ways to grow.
  905. 00:32:28.160 – 00:32:29.820 So everything that I consume
  906. 00:32:30.180 – 00:32:32.420 or the majority of stuff that I expose myself to,
  907. 00:32:32.520 – 00:32:34.640 I'm always trying to look at an aspect
  908. 00:32:34.640 – 00:32:38.100 on how I can grow because, you know, the algorithm
  909. 00:32:38.100 – 00:32:39.320 or there's so many things out here
  910. 00:32:39.320 – 00:32:40.520 that can really kind of deter you
  911. 00:32:40.520 – 00:32:42.520 to take you off track or be, you know,
  912. 00:32:42.560 – 00:32:44.060 for lack of better words, distractions.
  913. 00:32:44.700 – 00:32:45.780 So, I mean, like, you know,
  914. 00:32:45.780 – 00:32:47.140 you can be easily scrolling on Instagram.
  915. 00:32:47.540 – 00:32:48.840 It's gonna start to show you all the stuff
  916. 00:32:48.840 – 00:32:49.680 you're stopping to look at.
  917. 00:32:49.840 – 00:32:52.520 You're like, man, oh, you like this or you like that.
  918. 00:32:52.540 – 00:32:53.640 Let me show her more of that.
  919. 00:32:54.000 – 00:32:56.480 And before you know it, you off target.
  920. 00:32:56.560 – 00:32:57.540 You done lost your focus.
  921. 00:32:58.040 – 00:33:00.840 So for me, not interested, not interested, delete.
  922. 00:33:01.400 – 00:33:03.200 You know, I really try to make sure that, you know,
  923. 00:33:03.220 – 00:33:06.240 I create an environment, not just based off the algorithm
  924. 00:33:06.240 – 00:33:08.300 but the people I surround myself with,
  925. 00:33:08.300 – 00:33:09.840 with things that are gonna hold me accountable
  926. 00:33:09.840 – 00:33:12.720 and help me to, you know, to get better as an individual.
  927. 00:33:13.400 – 00:33:13.520 Yeah.
  928. 00:33:14.060 – 00:33:16.120 Was there a moment in life you learned that from?
  929. 00:33:16.240 – 00:33:18.460 Like, I gotta really black out distractions
  930. 00:33:18.460 – 00:33:20.080 and really lock in and focus.
  931. 00:33:20.780 – 00:33:21.780 Man, for me, it's like,
  932. 00:33:21.880 – 00:33:23.240 I chose a really, really good partner, man.
  933. 00:33:23.240 – 00:33:25.660 Like, my wife, if she don't do nothing else, man,
  934. 00:33:25.660 – 00:33:26.740 she gonna tell me by myself.
  935. 00:33:26.980 – 00:33:27.340 Yeah.
  936. 00:33:27.340 – 00:33:28.680 And I'm really grateful for that.
  937. 00:33:28.720 – 00:33:30.540 I mean, as a man, like, with your ego,
  938. 00:33:30.560 – 00:33:33.100 it's kind of hard to accept that, you know,
  939. 00:33:33.100 – 00:33:34.760 out of all these things and people that's telling you
  940. 00:33:34.760 – 00:33:36.580 that you're the best and that you this,
  941. 00:33:36.760 – 00:33:38.740 that when you come home to your safe space,
  942. 00:33:38.740 – 00:33:41.880 a person is just like, hey, well, you're slipping right here.
  943. 00:33:41.920 – 00:33:42.620 You need to watch that.
  944. 00:33:42.680 – 00:33:43.640 Have you thought about this?
  945. 00:33:44.120 – 00:33:45.160 It's always great to have somebody
  946. 00:33:45.160 – 00:33:46.760 that's not just gonna stroke your ego,
  947. 00:33:47.180 – 00:33:48.960 but that's gonna like keep pushing you to be better.
  948. 00:33:49.320 – 00:33:50.720 And it's really those small things
  949. 00:33:50.720 – 00:33:52.620 that really help you to separate.
  950. 00:33:52.780 – 00:33:54.940 It's not always specifically the big things.
  951. 00:33:55.100 – 00:33:57.080 It's really focusing, and like I tell my son,
  952. 00:33:57.840 – 00:33:59.520 you gotta, you know, consistently do the small things
  953. 00:33:59.520 – 00:34:00.920 well and the big things gonna go.
  954. 00:34:02.080 – 00:34:02.480 Wow.
  955. 00:34:02.980 – 00:34:03.240 Man.
  956. 00:34:03.980 – 00:34:06.820 Was there any business challenge
  957. 00:34:06.820 – 00:34:08.960 that kind of propelled you to where you are now?
  958. 00:34:09.699 – 00:34:12.600 Yeah, I mean, for me, it probably was fear.
  959. 00:34:13.000 – 00:34:16.219 For a long time, I was in the Cleveland office.
  960. 00:34:16.340 – 00:34:18.540 I moved to Cleveland roughly about 10 years ago.
  961. 00:34:20.840 – 00:34:23.400 I tried to hide when I was like, you know what?
  962. 00:34:24.040 – 00:34:26.360 We located here to take a job,
  963. 00:34:26.460 – 00:34:28.139 you know, as far as like being an engineer.
  964. 00:34:28.420 – 00:34:29.920 And I didn't want to start over again.
  965. 00:34:30.020 – 00:34:31.679 So I was like, I'm just gonna be,
  966. 00:34:31.960 – 00:34:32.580 I'm not gonna DJ no more.
  967. 00:34:32.600 – 00:34:34.639 I'm just gonna focus on my corporate career.
  968. 00:34:35.000 – 00:34:37.679 And then I had one of my buddies, Jim Lee.
  969. 00:34:38.679 – 00:34:39.679 He asked me to sell all my equipment.
  970. 00:34:39.780 – 00:34:40.940 He's like, nah, bro, he can't do that.
  971. 00:34:41.340 – 00:34:42.580 He's like, man, you got a gift, man.
  972. 00:34:42.600 – 00:34:44.340 He's like, nah, invest in this thing.
  973. 00:34:45.159 – 00:34:48.340 So then my wife actually went out and she started,
  974. 00:34:48.679 – 00:34:50.280 you know, at the time, Craigslist was the thing.
  975. 00:34:50.300 – 00:34:52.139 She went on Craigslist and tried to find
  976. 00:34:52.540 – 00:34:53.600 opportunities for me to DJ.
  977. 00:34:54.040 – 00:34:55.739 So, you know, I did a step with Rock the House
  978. 00:34:55.739 – 00:34:57.760 and I did a step with Abrize DJ.
  979. 00:34:58.440 – 00:34:59.900 And then recently I did a step
  980. 00:34:59.900 – 00:35:01.760 with Selective Sound Entertainment.
  981. 00:35:03.720 – 00:35:07.000 And 2020 came and I was doing good.
  982. 00:35:07.880 – 00:35:10.320 You know, they kept my calendar full and, you know,
  983. 00:35:10.420 – 00:35:11.260 I was happy.
  984. 00:35:11.820 – 00:35:15.680 Then 2020 came and all those contracts
  985. 00:35:15.680 – 00:35:17.720 and all those dates was canceled
  986. 00:35:17.720 – 00:35:19.580 because clients pulled out.
  987. 00:35:20.700 – 00:35:22.880 And for me, the eye-opening part was
  988. 00:35:22.880 – 00:35:25.680 the ownership piece was that if I held those contracts,
  989. 00:35:26.140 – 00:35:27.380 if I was the business owner,
  990. 00:35:27.480 – 00:35:28.620 I would at least be able to hold on
  991. 00:35:28.620 – 00:35:30.000 to those retainers and deposits
  992. 00:35:30.940 – 00:35:32.800 or be able to reschedule.
  993. 00:35:33.220 – 00:35:35.600 So for me, it was like, man, I didn't like that feeling
  994. 00:35:35.600 – 00:35:38.260 to go from like, okay, your calendar's good,
  995. 00:35:38.280 – 00:35:39.960 you got a budget, you got some income
  996. 00:35:39.960 – 00:35:43.160 that you are looking to capture to nothing.
  997. 00:35:44.460 – 00:35:46.200 I was blessed that I was able to kind of go
  998. 00:35:46.200 – 00:35:48.620 underground and do weddings and events
  999. 00:35:48.620 – 00:35:50.220 at people's houses or private venues
  1000. 00:35:50.220 – 00:35:51.900 and things like that, which, I mean, that's cool,
  1001. 00:35:51.920 – 00:35:53.600 but it really opened my eyes
  1002. 00:35:53.600 – 00:35:55.640 because ownership is really critical.
  1003. 00:35:56.300 – 00:35:58.020 So for me, like, that's where I really started
  1004. 00:35:58.020 – 00:36:01.220 to push social media and networking
  1005. 00:36:01.220 – 00:36:02.800 and really being on the forefront
  1006. 00:36:02.800 – 00:36:04.180 and establish relationships in the industry
  1007. 00:36:04.180 – 00:36:05.140 to say, hey, you know what,
  1008. 00:36:05.800 – 00:36:07.520 we're a standalone company
  1009. 00:36:07.520 – 00:36:10.200 and we're really here to bring something different
  1010. 00:36:10.200 – 00:36:13.300 as far as high value service to clients.
  1011. 00:36:14.000 – 00:36:16.380 So to me, COVID was really what was mine.
  1012. 00:36:16.520 – 00:36:18.840 Like a better word, it's catalyst, no pun intended
  1013. 00:36:19.720 – 00:36:22.880 to really change and focus on the marketing piece.
  1014. 00:36:23.440 – 00:36:27.240 Mm, and you speak about taking control
  1015. 00:36:27.780 – 00:36:30.260 and then the business where, music business
  1016. 00:36:30.260 – 00:36:34.480 where ownership is not educated as much.
  1017. 00:36:34.580 – 00:36:38.140 It's getting better, but how important is ownership
  1018. 00:36:38.140 – 00:36:40.400 in general in business and entrepreneurship?
  1019. 00:36:42.360 – 00:36:43.600 I mean, it's critical.
  1020. 00:36:43.820 – 00:36:45.140 I mean, shout out to DJ Lowkey,
  1021. 00:36:45.320 – 00:36:46.740 but I remember him pulling me to the side
  1022. 00:36:46.740 – 00:36:48.780 at one of today's bridal shows.
  1023. 00:36:49.380 – 00:36:50.480 I was working for another company,
  1024. 00:36:50.640 – 00:36:52.820 he looked at me like, bro, why you not?
  1025. 00:36:52.880 – 00:36:53.980 I'm doing your own thing.
  1026. 00:36:54.040 – 00:36:55.020 I was like, this, this, that.
  1027. 00:36:55.060 – 00:36:57.380 He was like, you got everything you need.
  1028. 00:36:57.680 – 00:36:58.880 It's like, you just gotta get after it.
  1029. 00:36:58.900 – 00:37:01.000 And it was like, that was one of the
  1030. 00:37:01.000 – 00:37:02.500 pivotal conversations on the side
  1031. 00:37:02.500 – 00:37:03.680 that kind of stood out to me.
  1032. 00:37:04.200 – 00:37:06.440 And then I remember, you know,
  1033. 00:37:06.440 – 00:37:09.360 when I drew out like the business plan
  1034. 00:37:09.360 – 00:37:11.240 and told my wife that I wanted to do it,
  1035. 00:37:11.380 – 00:37:13.040 you know, it was a huge investment
  1036. 00:37:13.040 – 00:37:15.460 as far as equipment and assets,
  1037. 00:37:15.860 – 00:37:17.000 websites and things like that.
  1038. 00:37:17.020 – 00:37:18.320 And she backed me 100%.
  1039. 00:37:18.320 – 00:37:20.680 She was like, let's do what we gotta do
  1040. 00:37:20.680 – 00:37:22.880 and we put our own money behind it.
  1041. 00:37:25.160 – 00:37:26.200 It's a ton of money.
  1042. 00:37:27.780 – 00:37:31.800 But, you know, when I look back at it now,
  1043. 00:37:31.840 – 00:37:32.900 it's all worth it.
  1044. 00:37:33.000 – 00:37:35.320 I mean, people just see the results,
  1045. 00:37:35.360 – 00:37:36.880 but they don't always see the process.
  1046. 00:37:36.900 – 00:37:38.180 It takes in order to build.
  1047. 00:37:38.520 – 00:37:40.740 Like, you know, they look at the optics
  1048. 00:37:40.740 – 00:37:43.700 of being considered a top DJ in the area
  1049. 00:37:44.220 – 00:37:46.400 and we traveling and all those different types of things.
  1050. 00:37:46.460 – 00:37:47.860 But there was a lot of sacrifice
  1051. 00:37:47.860 – 00:37:49.680 and a lot of investment to even get to this point.
  1052. 00:37:50.660 – 00:37:54.500 And now, you know, at this juncture, it's bigger than me.
  1053. 00:37:54.980 – 00:37:57.980 You know, I have children that need to go to school
  1054. 00:37:57.980 – 00:38:00.180 and things aren't getting any less expensive.
  1055. 00:38:00.400 – 00:38:00.720 Right.
  1056. 00:38:00.980 – 00:38:02.600 So for me, it's all about making sure
  1057. 00:38:02.600 – 00:38:05.020 kind of like, almost like a surgery on the truth
  1058. 00:38:05.020 – 00:38:07.940 type of thing is that I help other DJs,
  1059. 00:38:08.160 – 00:38:10.360 other event pros to be able to scale
  1060. 00:38:10.360 – 00:38:12.160 and be able to get to a place
  1061. 00:38:12.160 – 00:38:13.820 where they feel comfortable where they want to be.
  1062. 00:38:14.400 – 00:38:15.740 So that's just kind of where I'm at.
  1063. 00:38:15.820 – 00:38:17.300 It's just like, I'm good, I'm comfortable,
  1064. 00:38:17.300 – 00:38:19.920 but how can I bring other people with me?
  1065. 00:38:19.920 – 00:38:20.740 How can I help others?
  1066. 00:38:21.220 – 00:38:22.000 Yeah, that's true.
  1067. 00:38:22.140 – 00:38:24.000 And then even tying in the youth, you know,
  1068. 00:38:24.480 – 00:38:27.260 we're here at one of my media partner's location,
  1069. 00:38:27.440 – 00:38:29.200 Launch Arts, and you know,
  1070. 00:38:29.280 – 00:38:31.300 I think it was exactly almost last year
  1071. 00:38:31.300 – 00:38:34.500 or a couple of days, almost going on.
  1072. 00:38:34.580 – 00:38:36.120 I was probably over a year ago.
  1073. 00:38:37.260 – 00:38:38.600 You know, you did a spin prep.
  1074. 00:38:38.980 – 00:38:39.480 Yes, sir.
  1075. 00:38:39.840 – 00:38:42.980 I mean, a DJ institution like that is big.
  1076. 00:38:43.180 – 00:38:47.100 Is there any other education that kind of propels you
  1077. 00:38:47.100 – 00:38:48.960 or that you're taking?
  1078. 00:38:49.180 – 00:38:50.080 That I can find.
  1079. 00:38:50.280 – 00:38:51.220 Minds, courses.
  1080. 00:38:51.940 – 00:38:56.620 Yeah, so I tell clients that when I get asked a question,
  1081. 00:38:56.860 – 00:39:00.100 like, how do you improve or how do you stay on top
  1082. 00:39:00.100 – 00:39:01.340 of things as far as the DJ?
  1083. 00:39:02.100 – 00:39:03.280 I would say it's three parts.
  1084. 00:39:03.300 – 00:39:05.440 So the first part is going to conferences.
  1085. 00:39:06.160 – 00:39:07.800 To me, conferences are the biggest investment.
  1086. 00:39:08.440 – 00:39:11.500 So I do weather MBA, like every other year.
  1087. 00:39:12.540 – 00:39:14.720 There's another good show in Milwaukee
  1088. 00:39:14.720 – 00:39:16.440 called Midwest DJ Live.
  1089. 00:39:17.000 – 00:39:18.680 And recently in January this year,
  1090. 00:39:18.780 – 00:39:21.040 I went to the DJ Summit in Pittsburgh.
  1091. 00:39:21.960 – 00:39:22.860 Shout out to them.
  1092. 00:39:24.100 – 00:39:26.320 They do a really, really good job
  1093. 00:39:26.320 – 00:39:30.220 with being able to rejoin and be able to
  1094. 00:39:31.280 – 00:39:32.480 educate DJs in general.
  1095. 00:39:33.240 – 00:39:34.560 But it was DJs from all over
  1096. 00:39:34.560 – 00:39:35.960 that had came to the DJ Summit.
  1097. 00:39:36.680 – 00:39:38.440 And I put in an atmosphere, hopefully,
  1098. 00:39:39.320 – 00:39:41.000 I'm able to speak at that show next year.
  1099. 00:39:41.220 – 00:39:42.300 I'm putting in an atmosphere right now.
  1100. 00:39:43.340 – 00:39:44.120 So that's kind of next thing.
  1101. 00:39:44.280 – 00:39:45.140 But yeah, that's how.
  1102. 00:39:45.140 – 00:39:46.420 So conferences are one thing.
  1103. 00:39:46.460 – 00:39:48.060 I try to go to one or two conferences a year.
  1104. 00:39:49.500 – 00:39:52.820 The second part is kind of an online platform.
  1105. 00:39:52.920 – 00:39:54.940 So I'm a part of the DJs Vault,
  1106. 00:39:55.080 – 00:39:57.200 which is headed up by Joe Bunn
  1107. 00:39:57.200 – 00:39:59.600 out of Raleigh, North Carolina.
  1108. 00:39:59.800 – 00:40:01.500 So it's kind of like an online YouTube type
  1109. 00:40:01.500 – 00:40:02.480 based learning where you go
  1110. 00:40:02.480 – 00:40:04.620 and they have different videos updated there.
  1111. 00:40:05.240 – 00:40:06.580 And last part, How I Grow,
  1112. 00:40:07.120 – 00:40:08.440 it's called that Give Back piece.
  1113. 00:40:08.960 – 00:40:10.720 And you kind of talked about the spin prep piece.
  1114. 00:40:11.320 – 00:40:13.500 But I'm also the Director of Community Engagement
  1115. 00:40:13.500 – 00:40:14.420 for WIPA, which is the
  1116. 00:40:14.420 – 00:40:16.100 Wending Industry Professional Association.
  1117. 00:40:17.420 – 00:40:21.000 And my title is just a fancy, fancy, fancy name
  1118. 00:40:21.000 – 00:40:23.600 for I Find Ways for Event Professionals
  1119. 00:40:23.600 – 00:40:25.060 to give back to the local community,
  1120. 00:40:25.260 – 00:40:26.100 whether it's through service,
  1121. 00:40:26.240 – 00:40:27.820 whether it's through donations, what have you.
  1122. 00:40:28.200 – 00:40:29.540 So we've aligned ourselves
  1123. 00:40:29.540 – 00:40:31.620 with various community partners,
  1124. 00:40:32.300 – 00:40:33.440 such as the Phil House,
  1125. 00:40:33.500 – 00:40:37.260 which is like a nonprofit for foster kids
  1126. 00:40:37.260 – 00:40:38.300 when they're emancipated.
  1127. 00:40:38.420 – 00:40:39.840 You know, as soon as you turn 18,
  1128. 00:40:40.460 – 00:40:42.720 you know, you have to go into the world.
  1129. 00:40:42.720 – 00:40:44.280 So you got to get your first apartment.
  1130. 00:40:44.300 – 00:40:46.320 They need different things like bedding
  1131. 00:40:46.320 – 00:40:48.560 and plates and sheets and things like that.
  1132. 00:40:48.560 – 00:40:48.860 Wow.
  1133. 00:40:48.980 – 00:40:50.580 So they collect all those types of gifts
  1134. 00:40:50.580 – 00:40:52.140 for kids that are being emancipated.
  1135. 00:40:52.680 – 00:40:53.780 And then the other partner,
  1136. 00:40:54.020 – 00:40:56.280 which is really been near and dear to my heart,
  1137. 00:40:57.320 – 00:41:00.780 which is the, it just left me.
  1138. 00:41:02.820 – 00:41:04.140 But it's gracious.
  1139. 00:41:05.920 – 00:41:07.120 It'll come back to me.
  1140. 00:41:07.240 – 00:41:13.020 But it's saying that I lost it, but yeah.
  1141. 00:41:13.020 – 00:41:15.380 So yeah, I know you're headed that out.
  1142. 00:41:15.900 – 00:41:16.920 No, it's all good.
  1143. 00:41:17.160 – 00:41:20.320 Well, let's kind of touch on WIPA,
  1144. 00:41:20.540 – 00:41:22.760 the WETA International Professional Association.
  1145. 00:41:23.640 – 00:41:26.460 How important is a professional in the industry
  1146. 00:41:26.460 – 00:41:28.680 to get a part of an association as such?
  1147. 00:41:29.380 – 00:41:30.540 Yeah, I mean, so just kind of
  1148. 00:41:30.540 – 00:41:31.640 rewind it back two paragraphs.
  1149. 00:41:31.940 – 00:41:34.080 I mean, the most critical thing
  1150. 00:41:34.080 – 00:41:35.100 that you just kind of touched on
  1151. 00:41:35.100 – 00:41:36.220 was the educational piece.
  1152. 00:41:36.240 – 00:41:38.420 To me, the most important thing
  1153. 00:41:38.420 – 00:41:41.420 or the value that WIPA brings is the educational piece,
  1154. 00:41:41.420 – 00:41:43.680 is that once you join WIPA,
  1155. 00:41:43.860 – 00:41:47.140 you're not able just to indulge
  1156. 00:41:47.140 – 00:41:48.440 or participate in events
  1157. 00:41:48.440 – 00:41:50.820 in your specific city or region,
  1158. 00:41:50.840 – 00:41:53.000 which in our cases, we have a Cleveland chapter.
  1159. 00:41:53.700 – 00:41:56.140 But I've been able to go to other chapter events.
  1160. 00:41:56.560 – 00:41:59.380 So let's say I want to grow my DJ business
  1161. 00:41:59.380 – 00:42:01.120 and I want to do events in other places.
  1162. 00:42:01.620 – 00:42:03.400 So I've gone to South Florida,
  1163. 00:42:03.600 – 00:42:04.940 events to Galen's.
  1164. 00:42:06.540 – 00:42:09.660 Cincinnati has something coming up in August.
  1165. 00:42:09.760 – 00:42:11.200 I think it was August 12th.
  1166. 00:42:11.200 – 00:42:12.160 I plan on going to that,
  1167. 00:42:12.400 – 00:42:14.680 because a lot of times I get called to other markets.
  1168. 00:42:16.460 – 00:42:18.040 Philadelphia or Raleigh.
  1169. 00:42:19.080 – 00:42:21.440 In Sanlin, let's say I get a call
  1170. 00:42:21.440 – 00:42:23.820 and the bride wants me to DJ a wedding in Philadelphia.
  1171. 00:42:24.000 – 00:42:26.680 I can make a phone call to another DJ and say,
  1172. 00:42:26.780 – 00:42:29.820 hey, look, can you give me a price
  1173. 00:42:29.820 – 00:42:30.940 for the production piece?
  1174. 00:42:31.340 – 00:42:32.280 To where when I drive out there,
  1175. 00:42:32.280 – 00:42:33.780 all I got to do is bring my laptop,
  1176. 00:42:34.380 – 00:42:36.060 rock the event, they tear it down.
  1177. 00:42:37.040 – 00:42:38.600 So it's good to always have those networks.
  1178. 00:42:38.600 – 00:42:43.900 I mean, I'm booking a destination wedding
  1179. 00:42:44.560 – 00:42:46.440 in Cancun, Mexico next to you.
  1180. 00:42:46.840 – 00:42:48.560 So for me it's like, I have another DJ
  1181. 00:42:48.560 – 00:42:51.100 that I'm in contact with at Atlanta.
  1182. 00:42:51.700 – 00:42:52.920 He does a lot of destination weddings.
  1183. 00:42:53.040 – 00:42:55.360 I was like, hey bro, I've done destination wedding,
  1184. 00:42:55.460 – 00:42:59.060 but what's some of the verbiage in your contract?
  1185. 00:42:59.640 – 00:43:00.720 What are some of the contingencies
  1186. 00:43:00.720 – 00:43:01.760 that you put into place?
  1187. 00:43:02.180 – 00:43:05.200 And before I knew it, eight of the things,
  1188. 00:43:05.520 – 00:43:07.720 I know I'm doing really well, but I missed two things.
  1189. 00:43:07.720 – 00:43:11.420 He was like, hey, make sure they pay for your flight
  1190. 00:43:11.420 – 00:43:12.560 versus you pay for your flight.
  1191. 00:43:12.940 – 00:43:14.720 That way they have access to that.
  1192. 00:43:15.540 – 00:43:18.720 Make sure, different small things like,
  1193. 00:43:18.720 – 00:43:20.560 okay, they get you a room for a couple of days after.
  1194. 00:43:20.640 – 00:43:22.260 That way, if anything happens,
  1195. 00:43:22.420 – 00:43:24.540 like let's say a hurricane comes and something crazy,
  1196. 00:43:24.860 – 00:43:26.660 if they need to push it back, you're already on site.
  1197. 00:43:27.080 – 00:43:28.040 So it was different things like that
  1198. 00:43:28.740 – 00:43:30.620 that I didn't take into consideration.
  1199. 00:43:30.680 – 00:43:32.640 I'm just trying to go there and do what I got to do
  1200. 00:43:32.640 – 00:43:33.500 and then come back.
  1201. 00:43:34.040 – 00:43:35.280 But there's other contingencies
  1202. 00:43:35.280 – 00:43:36.500 that I know I need to put in place,
  1203. 00:43:36.930 – 00:43:37.980 like travel with assistant.
  1204. 00:43:38.200 – 00:43:39.980 God forbid you get food poisoning
  1205. 00:43:39.980 – 00:43:40.960 or something like that crazy.
  1206. 00:43:41.020 – 00:43:42.320 You got someone that could step in
  1207. 00:43:42.320 – 00:43:44.240 and still make sure they write their events.
  1208. 00:43:44.420 – 00:43:45.820 So all those different types of things
  1209. 00:43:45.820 – 00:43:48.940 by being able to have a network of other DJs,
  1210. 00:43:49.680 – 00:43:51.280 it's very critical, very important.
  1211. 00:43:52.760 – 00:43:56.440 Yeah, we speak a lot about relationship and connections
  1212. 00:43:56.440 – 00:43:59.580 and even putting me in touch with DJ Lowkey
  1213. 00:43:59.580 – 00:44:03.820 over the shades, bridal, and I was very adamant
  1214. 00:44:03.820 – 00:44:05.960 and growing in my wedding photography business.
  1215. 00:44:07.280 – 00:44:11.220 Kind of cut down a little bit to focus more on live events,
  1216. 00:44:11.700 – 00:44:13.960 but it's still one of my top services,
  1217. 00:44:14.260 – 00:44:16.520 maybe number two behind just live events.
  1218. 00:44:17.000 – 00:44:19.680 So I definitely appreciate you for that connection.
  1219. 00:44:22.000 – 00:44:28.520 Man, so as a new entrepreneur, not even day one,
  1220. 00:44:29.020 – 00:44:32.480 speaking to them, how important is contracts
  1221. 00:44:32.480 – 00:44:34.140 when you're telling them that?
  1222. 00:44:36.020 – 00:44:38.080 Man, I think it's like three to five things
  1223. 00:44:38.080 – 00:44:40.080 that I always tell any new entrepreneur
  1224. 00:44:40.080 – 00:44:41.020 that you need to have.
  1225. 00:44:41.900 – 00:44:42.980 You definitely have to make sure
  1226. 00:44:42.980 – 00:44:44.380 that you're registered with the state.
  1227. 00:44:44.600 – 00:44:45.620 You have an EIN number.
  1228. 00:44:45.740 – 00:44:48.240 I mean, that's business one-on-one.
  1229. 00:44:48.380 – 00:44:50.780 You wanna make sure that you have a legitimate business.
  1230. 00:44:50.880 – 00:44:52.280 You wanna be out here operating with a name
  1231. 00:44:52.280 – 00:44:54.740 that belongs to somebody else and they come after you
  1232. 00:44:54.740 – 00:44:57.460 or you operate with a dope name
  1233. 00:44:57.460 – 00:44:58.740 and you starting to get some traction
  1234. 00:44:58.740 – 00:44:59.920 and someone take your name.
  1235. 00:45:00.680 – 00:45:01.620 So that's the first thing.
  1236. 00:45:01.620 – 00:45:03.640 Before you launch anything, you wanna make sure
  1237. 00:45:03.640 – 00:45:05.280 it's only a couple hundred bucks
  1238. 00:45:05.280 – 00:45:06.820 just registered with the state.
  1239. 00:45:07.640 – 00:45:09.460 The second thing, once you get your EIN,
  1240. 00:45:09.600 – 00:45:11.200 you wanna make sure you get your business account.
  1241. 00:45:11.880 – 00:45:13.140 So whatever your bank institution,
  1242. 00:45:13.360 – 00:45:14.480 the credit union or what have you,
  1243. 00:45:15.040 – 00:45:16.400 you wanna make sure you have a business account
  1244. 00:45:16.400 – 00:45:18.360 because from that perspective as a new entrepreneur,
  1245. 00:45:19.020 – 00:45:21.120 you probably gonna operate, you know what I'm saying,
  1246. 00:45:22.220 – 00:45:23.640 as a business that's not making any money
  1247. 00:45:23.640 – 00:45:24.680 for the first few years.
  1248. 00:45:25.380 – 00:45:27.440 So from an accountant standpoint, not an accountant,
  1249. 00:45:27.520 – 00:45:28.600 you wanna make sure you're able to get
  1250. 00:45:28.600 – 00:45:30.320 all those write-offs as far as like you said,
  1251. 00:45:31.140 – 00:45:33.300 whatever equipment, websites, transportation,
  1252. 00:45:34.020 – 00:45:35.940 whatever supporting aspects you need
  1253. 00:45:35.940 – 00:45:38.000 to support your business and its growth.
  1254. 00:45:38.240 – 00:45:40.040 So I mean, that's number two.
  1255. 00:45:40.220 – 00:45:41.960 And then three, if you're specifically
  1256. 00:45:41.960 – 00:45:44.300 in the events industry like us,
  1257. 00:45:44.340 – 00:45:46.220 you wanna make sure you have liability insurance.
  1258. 00:45:46.780 – 00:45:47.380 That's important.
  1259. 00:45:47.560 – 00:45:48.840 I mean, a lot of venues and places
  1260. 00:45:48.840 – 00:45:51.380 won't even allow you in if you don't have a COI.
  1261. 00:45:51.620 – 00:45:53.220 So I mean, that's very, very critical.
  1262. 00:45:54.240 – 00:45:56.100 The fourth thing is definitely have a website.
  1263. 00:45:56.320 – 00:45:57.840 I mean, it's just important that,
  1264. 00:45:58.160 – 00:45:59.500 it's probably not as important as it was
  1265. 00:45:59.500 – 00:46:01.240 at one point in time, but for me,
  1266. 00:46:01.260 – 00:46:05.020 it shows a level of legitimacy if you have a website,
  1267. 00:46:05.080 – 00:46:07.740 especially if it's a nice website, it's easy to use.
  1268. 00:46:09.180 – 00:46:10.680 And then of course, the fifth part,
  1269. 00:46:10.900 – 00:46:12.020 you gotta have social media.
  1270. 00:46:12.140 – 00:46:15.780 I know a lot of people like to be kind of private
  1271. 00:46:15.780 – 00:46:17.400 or what have you, I'm the same way too,
  1272. 00:46:17.900 – 00:46:19.320 but it's important to have
  1273. 00:46:19.320 – 00:46:20.980 some type of social media presence.
  1274. 00:46:21.660 – 00:46:23.340 The more engaged, of course,
  1275. 00:46:24.140 – 00:46:25.960 the more connected you are with other people.
  1276. 00:46:26.420 – 00:46:27.460 Clients tend to look at that.
  1277. 00:46:27.460 – 00:46:30.620 Oh, I see that you, like, you know, DJ Loki
  1278. 00:46:30.620 – 00:46:34.100 or you know, whoever that person is.
  1279. 00:46:34.400 – 00:46:35.680 It gives you a level of legitimacy
  1280. 00:46:36.540 – 00:46:39.880 if you're in the network of working professionals.
  1281. 00:46:40.540 – 00:46:42.680 So to me, those are the top five things
  1282. 00:46:42.680 – 00:46:45.900 as a newbie or a kind of a novice entrepreneur
  1283. 00:46:46.680 – 00:46:49.560 that you wanna have as far as investment.
  1284. 00:46:50.140 – 00:46:52.460 You know, before you try to, you know,
  1285. 00:46:52.660 – 00:46:55.820 get a chainmail with your logo and end up being crazy.
  1286. 00:46:55.820 – 00:46:56.560 Oh, man.
  1287. 00:46:56.560 – 00:46:58.380 You know, make sure you have those things in place
  1288. 00:46:58.380 – 00:47:00.300 before you try to have the objects that you're borrowing
  1289. 00:47:00.300 – 00:47:01.900 that you're renting out here, so.
  1290. 00:47:02.400 – 00:47:05.300 Wow, man, that's big, that's major.
  1291. 00:47:06.040 – 00:47:09.760 And even further, about the digital marketing website
  1292. 00:47:10.300 – 00:47:13.840 and social media, which is critical.
  1293. 00:47:14.900 – 00:47:16.320 I once heard this,
  1294. 00:47:17.280 – 00:47:20.000 a sign with no business is a sign of no business.
  1295. 00:47:21.660 – 00:47:24.960 So it is, I'm even beat myself up sometimes.
  1296. 00:47:24.960 – 00:47:27.320 I'm not the best at posting on social media.
  1297. 00:47:27.480 – 00:47:29.980 I'm good at creating content, getting all and everything,
  1298. 00:47:30.460 – 00:47:32.720 but as far as posting and coming up
  1299. 00:47:32.720 – 00:47:35.020 with a consistent schedule, you know,
  1300. 00:47:35.040 – 00:47:37.640 I struggle a little bit because I do a lot
  1301. 00:47:37.640 – 00:47:41.220 and I continue to get better each day, each week,
  1302. 00:47:41.220 – 00:47:42.720 and I challenge myself, okay,
  1303. 00:47:43.220 – 00:47:45.420 I'm gonna post at least once a day.
  1304. 00:47:46.000 – 00:47:47.840 You know, I do it for about, you know,
  1305. 00:47:47.920 – 00:47:49.520 a couple of days or a couple of weeks
  1306. 00:47:49.520 – 00:47:53.580 and I kind of back down and don't post for a week.
  1307. 00:47:54.140 – 00:47:55.420 Currently doing that.
  1308. 00:47:56.280 – 00:48:00.820 But it's very critical to have that reminder.
  1309. 00:48:01.080 – 00:48:02.760 Like people forget that I do photography
  1310. 00:48:03.220 – 00:48:05.140 because I do so many other things,
  1311. 00:48:05.200 – 00:48:06.380 but it's like, dang, really?
  1312. 00:48:06.500 – 00:48:07.540 This is my main business
  1313. 00:48:07.540 – 00:48:09.380 and they forgot I do photography?
  1314. 00:48:09.500 – 00:48:12.840 Okay, let me start putting messaging around,
  1315. 00:48:12.840 – 00:48:15.100 you know, photography and, you know,
  1316. 00:48:15.380 – 00:48:17.120 okay, reminders that I do events,
  1317. 00:48:17.580 – 00:48:19.720 reminders that I do weddings, headshots.
  1318. 00:48:20.060 – 00:48:22.260 And those are my core and that's what I market.
  1319. 00:48:22.260 – 00:48:24.760 Anything goes, it's a conversation
  1320. 00:48:24.760 – 00:48:26.060 because I may, you know,
  1321. 00:48:26.180 – 00:48:27.840 give off to someone else as a referral,
  1322. 00:48:28.640 – 00:48:32.000 but it is critical to put yourself out there
  1323. 00:48:32.000 – 00:48:33.600 even when you do not want to,
  1324. 00:48:33.620 – 00:48:35.060 even at networking events.
  1325. 00:48:35.220 – 00:48:37.200 And I want to speak to, you know,
  1326. 00:48:37.380 – 00:48:40.720 the constant growth of any business,
  1327. 00:48:40.920 – 00:48:42.640 how critical is networking?
  1328. 00:48:44.480 – 00:48:47.720 It's very simple and I had to say it to myself as well.
  1329. 00:48:48.500 – 00:48:50.440 Your net worth is your net worth.
  1330. 00:48:51.200 – 00:48:53.060 Your net worth is your net worth.
  1331. 00:48:53.600 – 00:48:56.560 So if you look at the people that are either, you know,
  1332. 00:48:56.640 – 00:48:59.260 in your phone that you speak to on a consistent basis,
  1333. 00:48:59.400 – 00:49:00.520 that you email or what have you,
  1334. 00:49:01.160 – 00:49:02.840 you look at, you know, how much money they make
  1335. 00:49:02.840 – 00:49:03.960 or the types of things they're doing,
  1336. 00:49:04.040 – 00:49:05.040 types of conversation they have,
  1337. 00:49:05.040 – 00:49:06.080 that's what really gonna determine.
  1338. 00:49:06.560 – 00:49:08.000 You know, are you really hanging around the people
  1339. 00:49:08.520 – 00:49:09.760 that are either going,
  1340. 00:49:10.060 – 00:49:11.520 are at where you want to be at
  1341. 00:49:11.520 – 00:49:12.820 or they're having a conversation
  1342. 00:49:12.820 – 00:49:14.380 or having a mentality where you're gonna be at?
  1343. 00:49:14.740 – 00:49:18.100 Because the reality is, is that it has to be a mindset.
  1344. 00:49:18.160 – 00:49:19.360 You have to have a growth mindset.
  1345. 00:49:19.360 – 00:49:21.560 And if you're around people that's complaining about
  1346. 00:49:21.560 – 00:49:23.080 things that are really minuscule
  1347. 00:49:23.080 – 00:49:25.300 and that's really going, for me,
  1348. 00:49:25.800 – 00:49:27.080 you know, leave a mark on legacy.
  1349. 00:49:28.320 – 00:49:29.600 For me, it's like, I will,
  1350. 00:49:29.820 – 00:49:31.640 once you be around me, I don't have time for you.
  1351. 00:49:32.120 – 00:49:34.320 And for me, like, as you're, you know,
  1352. 00:49:34.380 – 00:49:35.300 as you grow, as you scale,
  1353. 00:49:35.340 – 00:49:36.860 like that mental health piece
  1354. 00:49:37.360 – 00:49:38.620 becomes more and more critical.
  1355. 00:49:38.640 – 00:49:40.480 So having people that's really positive
  1356. 00:49:40.480 – 00:49:42.880 and that's really locked in or, you know,
  1357. 00:49:42.980 – 00:49:47.480 or family and creating experiences and bringing value
  1358. 00:49:48.280 – 00:49:51.240 and staying in shape and staying grounded
  1359. 00:49:51.940 – 00:49:53.680 and creating relationships with,
  1360. 00:49:53.680 – 00:49:55.320 deeper relationships with family and friends.
  1361. 00:49:55.780 – 00:49:57.180 To me, those are the people that you want to be around.
  1362. 00:49:57.260 – 00:49:59.040 But if you're around people that's just,
  1363. 00:49:59.040 – 00:50:00.940 you know, pill of the pulse and, you know,
  1364. 00:50:00.980 – 00:50:03.080 just complaining and looking for, you know,
  1365. 00:50:03.320 – 00:50:04.720 excuses versus creating solutions,
  1366. 00:50:05.460 – 00:50:07.560 you know, that's gonna permeate, you know,
  1367. 00:50:07.680 – 00:50:08.480 your thought process.
  1368. 00:50:08.560 – 00:50:09.700 It'll become a distraction.
  1369. 00:50:11.220 – 00:50:12.420 So for me, that perspective, like,
  1370. 00:50:12.420 – 00:50:14.120 that's why networking is really, really critical
  1371. 00:50:14.980 – 00:50:18.920 because man, you know, as I'm blessed to, you know,
  1372. 00:50:19.060 – 00:50:20.160 to kind of grow and elevate
  1373. 00:50:20.160 – 00:50:21.220 and be exposed to different people,
  1374. 00:50:21.280 – 00:50:23.940 a lot of decisions, a lot of opportunities
  1375. 00:50:23.940 – 00:50:26.560 are made before the beta or RFQ really come out.
  1376. 00:50:26.780 – 00:50:29.200 It's really someone saying, like you said, you know,
  1377. 00:50:29.200 – 00:50:30.660 you being on the forefront of somebody's mind.
  1378. 00:50:30.880 – 00:50:33.120 They say, oh, yeah, I know a really dope photographer.
  1379. 00:50:33.320 – 00:50:34.740 This is, you know, his or her style.
  1380. 00:50:35.140 – 00:50:36.880 I really know a dope DJ or florist.
  1381. 00:50:36.940 – 00:50:38.940 You know, whatever your thing is,
  1382. 00:50:39.740 – 00:50:41.660 is being on the forefront of people's minds.
  1383. 00:50:41.660 – 00:50:44.160 And if your business and your marketing
  1384. 00:50:44.160 – 00:50:45.300 is not important to yourself,
  1385. 00:50:45.340 – 00:50:47.920 how can you expect anybody else to take it seriously?
  1386. 00:50:48.400 – 00:50:49.620 Man, that's very true.
  1387. 00:50:50.000 – 00:50:51.300 You have to invest in yourself.
  1388. 00:50:52.080 – 00:50:53.480 That's very critical,
  1389. 00:50:53.740 – 00:50:55.880 especially speaking on the growth mindset.
  1390. 00:50:56.500 – 00:50:58.200 And just to touch a little bit about that,
  1391. 00:50:58.260 – 00:51:01.860 but as we wrap up, you know, you have a mentee
  1392. 00:51:01.860 – 00:51:03.400 and you're kind of speaking to them
  1393. 00:51:03.400 – 00:51:05.860 to, like, elevate themselves.
  1394. 00:51:07.260 – 00:51:08.460 What are the steps you would take
  1395. 00:51:08.460 – 00:51:10.640 to help them grow their growth mindset?
  1396. 00:51:12.240 – 00:51:14.200 I mean, the first thing I would ask anybody to do
  1397. 00:51:14.200 – 00:51:16.220 is read a book called Purpose Driven Life.
  1398. 00:51:18.180 – 00:51:21.320 It's really to find something that you really want to do.
  1399. 00:51:22.460 – 00:51:23.440 If you can find something
  1400. 00:51:23.440 – 00:51:24.980 that don't nobody have to wake you up to do,
  1401. 00:51:25.140 – 00:51:27.080 no one has to tell you to do it.
  1402. 00:51:27.360 – 00:51:28.860 If you get any extra money,
  1403. 00:51:28.980 – 00:51:30.420 that's what you want to spend your money on.
  1404. 00:51:30.420 – 00:51:32.380 To me, that's how you know you're doing the right thing.
  1405. 00:51:33.720 – 00:51:35.820 Generally where people tend to get the revs,
  1406. 00:51:35.860 – 00:51:39.200 a lot of people are chasing the quote unquote the bag
  1407. 00:51:39.200 – 00:51:41.200 or the money or the result or the optics
  1408. 00:51:41.200 – 00:51:43.460 or something that makes them feel that look good
  1409. 00:51:43.460 – 00:51:45.140 versus really trying to find something
  1410. 00:51:45.140 – 00:51:46.660 that's really their passion or purpose.
  1411. 00:51:47.360 – 00:51:48.540 And for me, it's like, you know,
  1412. 00:51:48.540 – 00:51:50.620 I still do the engineering thing,
  1413. 00:51:50.620 – 00:51:54.960 but to me, DJing is also like my passion or purpose too.
  1414. 00:51:55.580 – 00:51:58.700 Like no one has to tell me to make sure
  1415. 00:51:58.700 – 00:52:00.900 that I do my timeline and I follow up with a client
  1416. 00:52:00.900 – 00:52:02.440 and did you do this or did you do that?
  1417. 00:52:02.460 – 00:52:04.400 Like to me, it's like, I'm always,
  1418. 00:52:04.640 – 00:52:05.760 it kind of consumes me.
  1419. 00:52:05.820 – 00:52:06.940 I'm always thinking about it.
  1420. 00:52:07.480 – 00:52:09.100 And I put my own money behind it.
  1421. 00:52:09.100 – 00:52:10.800 That's how important I take it.
  1422. 00:52:10.800 – 00:52:14.900 I was like, you know, no one's going to give me a handout.
  1423. 00:52:15.800 – 00:52:17.040 So from that perspective,
  1424. 00:52:18.300 – 00:52:19.860 that's what I would tell any entrepreneur,
  1425. 00:52:20.100 – 00:52:21.900 like find something that you really,
  1426. 00:52:21.900 – 00:52:24.060 you're passionate about and then find the gap
  1427. 00:52:24.060 – 00:52:26.120 or find a shortcoming in the market,
  1428. 00:52:26.620 – 00:52:28.060 you know, to where you can fulfill that.
  1429. 00:52:28.180 – 00:52:29.700 So even if you're saying, hey, I'm in the healthcare,
  1430. 00:52:29.860 – 00:52:32.120 yeah, you might not be able to be a doctor
  1431. 00:52:32.120 – 00:52:33.680 or an LPN or something like that,
  1432. 00:52:33.680 – 00:52:36.480 but hey, you might be able to create, you know,
  1433. 00:52:36.620 – 00:52:38.420 a transportation company that, you know,
  1434. 00:52:38.440 – 00:52:40.600 could kind of fill a gap for dementia patients
  1435. 00:52:40.600 – 00:52:44.640 or, you know, the aging, you know, demographic
  1436. 00:52:44.640 – 00:52:45.700 or maybe boomers.
  1437. 00:52:46.180 – 00:52:47.800 So I mean, it's all kinds of opportunities out here.
  1438. 00:52:47.820 – 00:52:49.060 You just really got to find something
  1439. 00:52:49.060 – 00:52:49.980 that you're passionate about.
  1440. 00:52:50.060 – 00:52:52.240 Like I got a dude that's in a group home.
  1441. 00:52:52.320 – 00:52:54.680 So I mean, whatever your thing is, you know,
  1442. 00:52:54.680 – 00:52:57.720 I just encourage you to learn as much about it,
  1443. 00:52:57.800 – 00:52:59.440 niche down, grow it, scale it,
  1444. 00:52:59.440 – 00:53:02.120 and then find other things that's adjacent to it
  1445. 00:53:02.120 – 00:53:04.220 that you're passionate about, so.
  1446. 00:53:04.800 – 00:53:07.020 Yes, and passion fulfills purpose.
  1447. 00:53:07.100 – 00:53:08.480 You know, they go hand in hand.
  1448. 00:53:08.840 – 00:53:12.240 You know, someone that's real passionate about what they do
  1449. 00:53:12.240 – 00:53:14.580 and they're going to continue to fill out their purpose
  1450. 00:53:14.580 – 00:53:18.280 and love it and enjoy it and really take it to heart.
  1451. 00:53:19.400 – 00:53:21.420 So again, as we wrap up,
  1452. 00:53:22.700 – 00:53:26.520 my audience is geared towards that beginning entrepreneur
  1453. 00:53:26.520 – 00:53:29.360 or someone that's working a nine to five,
  1454. 00:53:29.380 – 00:53:32.000 multiple jobs, but they kind of want to change their
  1455. 00:53:32.000 – 00:53:33.320 life and become an entrepreneur.
  1456. 00:53:34.400 – 00:53:36.060 What are some encouraging words
  1457. 00:53:36.060 – 00:53:37.980 for that inspired entrepreneur?
  1458. 00:53:40.220 – 00:53:42.500 Inspired entrepreneur, first thing, write it down.
  1459. 00:53:43.260 – 00:53:44.040 Write it down.
  1460. 00:53:44.300 – 00:53:47.080 You know, whatever you want to do, put it on paper.
  1461. 00:53:47.160 – 00:53:48.980 To me, it doesn't exist if it's not on paper.
  1462. 00:53:50.060 – 00:53:51.120 You know, once you write it down,
  1463. 00:53:51.160 – 00:53:53.280 be discreet on who you share it with.
  1464. 00:53:54.580 – 00:53:57.620 You know, your calling or your purpose,
  1465. 00:53:57.720 – 00:53:58.360 you know what I'm saying?
  1466. 00:53:58.780 – 00:53:59.620 It's just for you.
  1467. 00:53:59.660 – 00:54:00.700 It wasn't a conference call.
  1468. 00:54:01.340 – 00:54:03.260 So for me, like why you need to share it with everybody?
  1469. 00:54:04.240 – 00:54:07.120 But, you know, guide your creator, you know,
  1470. 00:54:07.200 – 00:54:08.860 whoever you look to as your higher pride,
  1471. 00:54:08.860 – 00:54:10.920 guide your direction of, you know,
  1472. 00:54:11.100 – 00:54:12.220 who you need to share it with.
  1473. 00:54:12.400 – 00:54:13.540 And you need to ask like, okay,
  1474. 00:54:14.120 – 00:54:15.880 what people do I need to have in my life
  1475. 00:54:16.240 – 00:54:18.080 in order to grow this into the skeleton?
  1476. 00:54:18.360 – 00:54:20.900 Just know that you're going to do everything on your own,
  1477. 00:54:21.300 – 00:54:22.860 but you do need to take it seriously.
  1478. 00:54:24.060 – 00:54:25.880 And it's not going to happen overnight.
  1479. 00:54:26.500 – 00:54:28.540 So there's no way I'm going to plant a pear tree
  1480. 00:54:28.540 – 00:54:31.540 or plant a cherry tree and expect that next year
  1481. 00:54:31.540 – 00:54:33.260 or the year after that I'm going to have cherries
  1482. 00:54:33.260 – 00:54:34.880 that I can eat or consume.
  1483. 00:54:35.640 – 00:54:37.720 And sometimes it might take three, four, five years
  1484. 00:54:37.720 – 00:54:39.200 for a tree to be able to bear fruit.
  1485. 00:54:39.720 – 00:54:41.400 But you got to continue to nurture that gift.
  1486. 00:54:41.540 – 00:54:43.920 You got to continue to nurture that idea.
  1487. 00:54:44.460 – 00:54:45.020 You know what I'm saying?
  1488. 00:54:45.340 – 00:54:47.460 That you were given that you know lies within you.
  1489. 00:54:48.400 – 00:54:49.800 And, you know, it's a funny call
  1490. 00:54:49.800 – 00:54:51.520 that took 10 years to become overnight success.
  1491. 00:54:51.640 – 00:54:53.340 So it's just like, a lot of people say,
  1492. 00:54:53.600 – 00:54:54.660 man, it seemed like you came out of nowhere.
  1493. 00:54:54.780 – 00:54:56.160 It's just like, no, I was grinding.
  1494. 00:54:56.440 – 00:54:57.580 You just start paying attention.
  1495. 00:54:58.520 – 00:55:00.080 So from that perspective, like just,
  1496. 00:55:00.160 – 00:55:02.220 you got to be willing to trust the process
  1497. 00:55:02.640 – 00:55:03.980 and to be able to be patient,
  1498. 00:55:04.380 – 00:55:05.160 give yourself grace.
  1499. 00:55:06.280 – 00:55:08.640 Oh, trust the process.
  1500. 00:55:09.580 – 00:55:11.580 Then end it with give yourself grace.
  1501. 00:55:12.040 – 00:55:13.440 That's very important.
  1502. 00:55:13.680 – 00:55:15.520 And, you know, having that self-love,
  1503. 00:55:15.580 – 00:55:18.620 even the self-love within your own craft, your skills,
  1504. 00:55:18.620 – 00:55:20.640 you have to trust within you
  1505. 00:55:20.640 – 00:55:22.540 and your abilities to only get better.
  1506. 00:55:23.580 – 00:55:25.060 But again, being conscious of your time.
  1507. 00:55:25.160 – 00:55:27.180 I know you got a meeting in about 30 minutes.
  1508. 00:55:27.660 – 00:55:30.460 And I just want to close out with letting
  1509. 00:55:30.920 – 00:55:32.940 the audience know where they can find you at,
  1510. 00:55:33.060 – 00:55:35.080 where can they find your website, social media,
  1511. 00:55:35.080 – 00:55:36.120 where can they book you.
  1512. 00:55:36.520 – 00:55:37.480 I appreciate that.
  1513. 00:55:37.900 – 00:55:42.840 Yeah, website for booking or inquiries is djravdev.com.
  1514. 00:55:43.200 – 00:55:47.760 So D-J-R-E-V-D-E-V.com.
  1515. 00:55:48.400 – 00:55:49.300 And then on social media,
  1516. 00:55:49.400 – 00:55:51.400 you can follow me everything at djravdev.
  1517. 00:55:51.520 – 00:55:55.060 So that's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok.
  1518. 00:55:55.780 – 00:55:57.660 D-J-R-E-V-D-E-V.
  1519. 00:55:58.280 – 00:56:00.340 And if I have any parting words,
  1520. 00:56:00.700 – 00:56:01.820 is that quality is remembered
  1521. 00:56:01.820 – 00:56:03.360 long after the price is forgotten.
  1522. 00:56:04.360 – 00:56:07.380 Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.
  1523. 00:56:09.300 – 00:56:12.500 Man, always a blessing, my brother.
  1524. 00:56:12.740 – 00:56:13.380 Appreciate your boss.
  1525. 00:56:13.560 – 00:56:14.120 For real, for real.
  1526. 00:56:14.180 – 00:56:15.000 And I remember we,
  1527. 00:56:15.880 – 00:56:17.920 I think it was an Instagram Live interview.
  1528. 00:56:17.920 – 00:56:18.260 Yeah.
  1529. 00:56:18.760 – 00:56:20.800 Again, when I was first getting off
  1530. 00:56:20.800 – 00:56:23.660 in the wedding industry about like three years ago.
  1531. 00:56:24.280 – 00:56:27.900 So man, have it full circle now interviewing you.
  1532. 00:56:28.320 – 00:56:29.720 It's a blessing, man.
  1533. 00:56:29.880 – 00:56:30.260 It is.
  1534. 00:56:30.360 – 00:56:31.780 True icon, man.
  1535. 00:56:32.280 – 00:56:34.660 I don't think we officially did another wedding together,
  1536. 00:56:34.680 – 00:56:36.600 but that's coming soon.
  1537. 00:56:36.820 – 00:56:37.500 Yeah, you can put it out.
  1538. 00:56:37.680 – 00:56:38.040 It's fitting now.
  1539. 00:56:38.100 – 00:56:38.960 I'll pass it across now.
  1540. 00:56:39.140 – 00:56:39.600 Oh yeah.
  1541. 00:56:39.600 – 00:56:40.280 It's gonna happen now.
  1542. 00:56:40.680 – 00:56:41.920 Again, appreciate you.
  1543. 00:56:41.960 – 00:56:42.940 I know you got to run.
  1544. 00:56:43.580 – 00:56:44.820 But until next time, y'all.
  1545. 00:56:44.880 – 00:56:45.940 Peace, love, and blessings.
  1546. 00:56:46.560 – 00:56:47.740 And if you want to find me,
  1547. 00:56:47.760 – 00:56:50.660 you can check me out at alienizephotos.com
  1548. 00:56:50.660 – 00:56:54.360 or on social media at alienizephotos.
  1549. 00:56:55.000 – 00:56:56.880 That's alien eyes with a Z,
  1550. 00:56:56.920 – 00:56:59.280 photos with a S on all media.
  1551. 00:56:59.680 – 00:57:00.900 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  1552. 00:57:00.900 – 00:57:01.880 Peace, love, and blessings.

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40. Ned Sanders - PhotoCred Ned

Season 2 · Episode 7

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.980 – 00:00:06.900 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to Alien Eyes Photos
  2. 00:00:06.900 – 00:00:11.480 Industry Talk with your host, photographer Jackson.
  3. 00:00:12.420 – 00:00:13.580 And man, I'm excited.
  4. 00:00:13.620 – 00:00:16.200 I have a legendary photographer with me.
  5. 00:00:16.200 – 00:00:17.040 I don't just say that.
  6. 00:00:17.140 – 00:00:22.680 It's about like five great video and camera operators
  7. 00:00:23.210 – 00:00:25.680 that I personally know, and I call them legends.
  8. 00:00:26.040 – 00:00:27.480 He's one of them.
  9. 00:00:28.120 – 00:00:28.540 Thank you.
  10. 00:00:28.540 – 00:00:32.600 I have next to me, photo cred man.
  11. 00:00:32.960 – 00:00:33.820 Oh, man.
  12. 00:00:34.080 – 00:00:34.560 Thank you.
  13. 00:00:34.660 – 00:00:35.440 Thank you, Steve.
  14. 00:00:35.520 – 00:00:36.720 Thank you, man.
  15. 00:00:36.940 – 00:00:38.540 Thank you so much, man.
  16. 00:00:38.680 – 00:00:40.300 Not legendary yet.
  17. 00:00:40.680 – 00:00:41.180 Not legendary?
  18. 00:00:41.720 – 00:00:42.700 No, man.
  19. 00:00:42.880 – 00:00:44.540 I'm so much of a student.
  20. 00:00:45.100 – 00:00:49.020 There's so much to learn to where it's like I haven't
  21. 00:00:49.020 – 00:00:49.700 achieved.
  22. 00:00:50.980 – 00:00:52.840 It's not even our colleagues.
  23. 00:00:52.900 – 00:00:55.920 It's like achieved a certain skill set just yet
  24. 00:00:55.920 – 00:01:01.060 to where I'm like, yeah, now I'm in like that space of like
  25. 00:01:01.060 – 00:01:03.640 where I ain't going to say you can't do no wrong,
  26. 00:01:03.780 – 00:01:07.300 but you in that like creative art form realm
  27. 00:01:08.660 – 00:01:10.280 where you're not by yourself,
  28. 00:01:10.300 – 00:01:12.800 but you kind of like in your own type of lane,
  29. 00:01:12.800 – 00:01:15.600 like where you just please with everything that you do,
  30. 00:01:15.740 – 00:01:18.120 that everything kind of makes sense to you.
  31. 00:01:18.620 – 00:01:21.820 So once I get in that realm, yeah, I'm legendary.
  32. 00:01:22.080 – 00:01:24.080 Or once you see people come from up under me
  33. 00:01:24.080 – 00:01:26.920 that I kind of taught and showed them some stuff,
  34. 00:01:27.120 – 00:01:30.200 then I think that's the legendary status stuff.
  35. 00:01:31.000 – 00:01:31.840 So I got a ways to go.
  36. 00:01:31.880 – 00:01:33.080 But I'm still a novice in this.
  37. 00:01:33.100 – 00:01:34.800 I'm still young in this photography.
  38. 00:01:34.860 – 00:01:36.000 How long you been doing photography?
  39. 00:01:37.300 – 00:01:41.180 I started in 2018 when my brother, my younger brother
  40. 00:01:41.180 – 00:01:43.400 got married in Dominican Republic.
  41. 00:01:43.540 – 00:01:46.580 But my older brother picked up photography as a hobby.
  42. 00:01:48.020 – 00:01:50.520 And if I could say it, my older brother
  43. 00:01:50.520 – 00:01:52.780 is better than me at photography even to this day.
  44. 00:01:52.780 – 00:01:54.260 He don't even do it as much.
  45. 00:01:54.260 – 00:01:57.860 But he learned from a creative and a technical end.
  46. 00:01:57.880 – 00:02:00.480 So he learned from an actual photographer
  47. 00:02:00.480 – 00:02:03.180 that was doing competitions and stuff like that.
  48. 00:02:03.180 – 00:02:05.180 So like how to hold your head a certain way
  49. 00:02:05.180 – 00:02:07.220 where you can't see the ear on head shots.
  50. 00:02:07.560 – 00:02:09.720 Like they was very technical on certain things.
  51. 00:02:10.120 – 00:02:14.180 Like he dialing in on every color part of it.
  52. 00:02:14.720 – 00:02:16.880 Like the dude, his name is like Jeremy something,
  53. 00:02:16.980 – 00:02:20.940 but he is man, like he is so good.
  54. 00:02:20.940 – 00:02:23.720 But my brother is a technician,
  55. 00:02:24.020 – 00:02:25.060 like a creative and technician.
  56. 00:02:25.200 – 00:02:27.900 He do music, colognes, everything.
  57. 00:02:28.140 – 00:02:30.680 Like whatever he touch, he's just phenomenal at it.
  58. 00:02:30.840 – 00:02:32.540 So he showed me photography.
  59. 00:02:33.420 – 00:02:36.060 And when I did photography, when I learned it,
  60. 00:02:36.060 – 00:02:37.540 when I went out to Dominican Republic,
  61. 00:02:37.560 – 00:02:39.120 I was like, man, this is amazing.
  62. 00:02:39.460 – 00:02:41.060 But the way he showed me, he was like,
  63. 00:02:41.140 – 00:02:43.920 look man, I could sell you one of my cameras
  64. 00:02:45.320 – 00:02:46.880 or I could sell you one of my cameras
  65. 00:02:46.880 – 00:02:49.000 and give it to you and you just put it on auto
  66. 00:02:49.000 – 00:02:51.240 and just be shooting.
  67. 00:02:51.540 – 00:02:54.120 Or I could show you the principles of photography.
  68. 00:02:54.600 – 00:02:56.560 So I was like, man, show me the principles of photography.
  69. 00:02:57.060 – 00:02:58.780 For three days we didn't shoot at all.
  70. 00:02:59.040 – 00:03:01.180 He just taught me exposure triangle,
  71. 00:03:01.300 – 00:03:03.480 this, that, that, just running it down.
  72. 00:03:03.820 – 00:03:05.760 The third day he sat me on his porch
  73. 00:03:05.760 – 00:03:07.060 and showed me motion.
  74. 00:03:07.160 – 00:03:09.360 He was like, look, we're gonna use the camera,
  75. 00:03:09.680 – 00:03:10.880 but I'm gonna show you how to get the motion
  76. 00:03:10.880 – 00:03:11.640 of the tires.
  77. 00:03:12.080 – 00:03:14.240 So I'm gonna do it like a longer exposure,
  78. 00:03:14.240 – 00:03:16.200 longer exposures to get the motion
  79. 00:03:16.200 – 00:03:17.680 and we're gonna stop time.
  80. 00:03:17.680 – 00:03:20.860 Once I understood that concept, it was a rap.
  81. 00:03:21.140 – 00:03:25.080 But it wasn't a rap as far as me not just,
  82. 00:03:25.260 – 00:03:26.200 me just going out there to shoot.
  83. 00:03:26.300 – 00:03:27.700 It was a rap to where it's like,
  84. 00:03:27.700 – 00:03:29.400 I knew this was something I love to do.
  85. 00:03:29.880 – 00:03:31.660 So it was dope, it was dope.
  86. 00:03:32.000 – 00:03:34.320 That's what kind of started everything for real, for real.
  87. 00:03:35.100 – 00:03:36.900 Let's talk about how you got the name
  88. 00:03:36.900 – 00:03:37.860 of PhotoCred Ned.
  89. 00:03:37.860 – 00:03:39.720 I think that's a great name by the way,
  90. 00:03:39.780 – 00:03:42.520 because you know, who took the picture?
  91. 00:03:43.460 – 00:03:45.140 PhotoCred's go to Ned.
  92. 00:03:45.860 – 00:03:46.460 There you go.
  93. 00:03:46.460 – 00:03:48.060 That's basically where it kind of started.
  94. 00:03:48.500 – 00:03:51.760 Cause I used to, like when I started photography,
  95. 00:03:51.980 – 00:03:53.220 I was like, I was thinking of like,
  96. 00:03:53.300 – 00:03:55.500 man, what's a cool little name for you, for yourself.
  97. 00:03:55.720 – 00:03:58.520 But my name is Ned, Ned Sanders.
  98. 00:03:58.860 – 00:04:00.520 Like Ned, everybody goes, Ned?
  99. 00:04:00.660 – 00:04:01.100 What is it?
  100. 00:04:01.240 – 00:04:02.080 It's just Ned.
  101. 00:04:02.620 – 00:04:04.740 But I used to see people,
  102. 00:04:05.140 – 00:04:07.340 like when I see my boy stretch shoot in the club
  103. 00:04:07.340 – 00:04:11.760 or I see people or used to put on their photography page
  104. 00:04:11.760 – 00:04:15.560 on the ground was the PhotoCred by stretch.
  105. 00:04:15.560 – 00:04:18.899 PhotoCred by Stefan Mitchell and Natasha Herbert
  106. 00:04:18.899 – 00:04:20.040 or something like that.
  107. 00:04:20.040 – 00:04:22.060 And so I was like, damn PhotoCred.
  108. 00:04:22.120 – 00:04:23.460 Then I was like, PhotoCred Ned.
  109. 00:04:23.600 – 00:04:25.600 I just was at work, like PhotoCred Ned.
  110. 00:04:25.760 – 00:04:26.820 I'm like, that's kind of fly.
  111. 00:04:27.640 – 00:04:29.560 Like that's stuck with me.
  112. 00:04:29.660 – 00:04:32.120 And then it just, I told my brother about it
  113. 00:04:32.120 – 00:04:35.040 and I'm like, man, we think about PhotoCred Ned.
  114. 00:04:35.240 – 00:04:36.400 And he was like, man, that's dope.
  115. 00:04:36.460 – 00:04:36.920 That's cool.
  116. 00:04:36.960 – 00:04:37.640 That fits you.
  117. 00:04:37.700 – 00:04:39.460 So I was like, hey, I'm gonna just go
  118. 00:04:39.460 – 00:04:40.480 with it like that way.
  119. 00:04:42.350 – 00:04:43.510 So it was cool.
  120. 00:04:43.670 – 00:04:44.710 It's stuck with me ever since.
  121. 00:04:44.750 – 00:04:46.450 So it was like, I like that.
  122. 00:04:46.450 – 00:04:48.430 Where it's like, now people,
  123. 00:04:48.630 – 00:04:51.970 people don't even use PhotoCred no more for their name.
  124. 00:04:52.130 – 00:04:56.930 It's just like, I like how people just identify me
  125. 00:04:56.930 – 00:04:59.250 as that, like PhotoCred Ned.
  126. 00:04:59.470 – 00:05:00.750 Like, I just like that.
  127. 00:05:01.070 – 00:05:01.450 Yeah.
  128. 00:05:01.630 – 00:05:01.950 Yeah.
  129. 00:05:02.110 – 00:05:03.290 Got a ring to it.
  130. 00:05:03.550 – 00:05:04.030 Yeah.
  131. 00:05:05.490 – 00:05:07.530 But, and the reason I call you Legendary
  132. 00:05:07.530 – 00:05:08.250 because I mean.
  133. 00:05:08.250 – 00:05:08.890 Appreciate it.
  134. 00:05:08.910 – 00:05:10.170 Your work after it.
  135. 00:05:10.510 – 00:05:12.370 I mean, you could pop up to the fence
  136. 00:05:12.370 – 00:05:14.070 and just start, bah, bah, bah, bah.
  137. 00:05:14.070 – 00:05:17.390 And it's like, to me, I say you never miss
  138. 00:05:17.390 – 00:05:21.410 because every, every photo I've seen that you took
  139. 00:05:21.410 – 00:05:25.550 and it's like, man, it's almost perfect if not perfect.
  140. 00:05:25.970 – 00:05:27.570 Oh, man, I appreciate that.
  141. 00:05:27.570 – 00:05:29.990 That's what a legendary status in my eyes come from.
  142. 00:05:30.170 – 00:05:31.350 You know, okay, looking at the keychain,
  143. 00:05:31.410 – 00:05:32.130 got the camera on.
  144. 00:05:32.390 – 00:05:34.850 Yeah, my girl mother gave this to me.
  145. 00:05:34.850 – 00:05:35.790 It was out of town.
  146. 00:05:35.890 – 00:05:36.950 It was just a little.
  147. 00:05:39.030 – 00:05:40.010 Oh, shit, it worked.
  148. 00:05:41.350 – 00:05:42.510 Ain't taking no pictures.
  149. 00:05:43.270 – 00:05:44.730 People looking at it like, boom.
  150. 00:05:44.990 – 00:05:47.450 So like even my brother, he made this for me
  151. 00:05:48.170 – 00:05:50.870 with the little thing on there too.
  152. 00:05:50.870 – 00:05:54.110 So it was just like little tidbits and stuff.
  153. 00:05:54.210 – 00:05:56.070 But I appreciate that too.
  154. 00:05:56.450 – 00:06:00.010 Like I love, one thing I am when it comes to photography
  155. 00:06:00.590 – 00:06:02.390 and it's never to take over space.
  156. 00:06:02.490 – 00:06:04.590 It's just like, I love photography.
  157. 00:06:04.790 – 00:06:06.710 I think people need to understand like
  158. 00:06:06.710 – 00:06:08.990 my perspective of photography
  159. 00:06:08.990 – 00:06:12.770 is that I absolutely love it beyond work.
  160. 00:06:12.990 – 00:06:14.010 If I told people, I was like, man,
  161. 00:06:14.010 – 00:06:15.170 if I hit the lottery today, tomorrow,
  162. 00:06:15.290 – 00:06:16.290 I'm gonna still be a photographer.
  163. 00:06:16.470 – 00:06:16.810 Exactly.
  164. 00:06:17.110 – 00:06:19.210 So it's just like, when I go into spaces,
  165. 00:06:20.530 – 00:06:21.850 I could be there just,
  166. 00:06:21.930 – 00:06:23.530 it could be a party for me to chill.
  167. 00:06:23.830 – 00:06:26.910 Like, man, I'd be like, man, I need my camera.
  168. 00:06:27.310 – 00:06:30.270 And it's not to, because it make me,
  169. 00:06:30.570 – 00:06:32.110 and I love the control of it.
  170. 00:06:32.310 – 00:06:35.590 It's like I get to control the space that I'm in.
  171. 00:06:35.630 – 00:06:37.670 I get to be more,
  172. 00:06:37.670 – 00:06:39.350 I could approach anybody,
  173. 00:06:39.370 – 00:06:41.570 but he give me access to approach people.
  174. 00:06:41.670 – 00:06:43.970 So it's like, when I grab my camera,
  175. 00:06:44.430 – 00:06:46.830 it's like, oh, I got all these people in here.
  176. 00:06:46.830 – 00:06:48.210 This is a networking event.
  177. 00:06:48.970 – 00:06:50.810 I'm taking full advantage of this.
  178. 00:06:50.970 – 00:06:53.670 It's like, and it's not to dismiss
  179. 00:06:53.670 – 00:06:55.790 any other photographer or anything like that.
  180. 00:06:55.890 – 00:06:58.450 It's just like, man, I go in with a mindset of like,
  181. 00:06:58.490 – 00:07:00.310 now I'm comfortable because I got my camera.
  182. 00:07:00.530 – 00:07:01.950 Now I can move high,
  183. 00:07:02.290 – 00:07:04.050 comfortably high, love to move
  184. 00:07:04.050 – 00:07:06.150 because I then did it so many places,
  185. 00:07:06.150 – 00:07:09.610 so many different situations or different city.
  186. 00:07:09.610 – 00:07:11.690 I then did that same exact thing.
  187. 00:07:12.370 – 00:07:14.470 So like, when I go in there in those places,
  188. 00:07:15.130 – 00:07:16.910 I look at the surroundings.
  189. 00:07:17.210 – 00:07:19.630 I look at everything and I look like, okay,
  190. 00:07:19.850 – 00:07:23.490 how do I wanna use my light to take these pictures?
  191. 00:07:24.070 – 00:07:25.970 So if I'm looking at things with high ceilings,
  192. 00:07:26.150 – 00:07:27.690 high white ceilings, faulty ceilings,
  193. 00:07:27.710 – 00:07:30.110 I'm looking at things that was black areas
  194. 00:07:30.110 – 00:07:31.010 or something like that.
  195. 00:07:31.030 – 00:07:32.250 What modifiers do I need?
  196. 00:07:32.270 – 00:07:35.190 How do I wanna take these shots
  197. 00:07:35.190 – 00:07:38.570 and make them all consistent with my brand?
  198. 00:07:39.490 – 00:07:42.750 And it's like a math or a video game to me
  199. 00:07:42.750 – 00:07:43.530 when I'm shooting.
  200. 00:07:44.170 – 00:07:45.650 So it's just, I love that.
  201. 00:07:45.670 – 00:07:46.550 I love that part of it.
  202. 00:07:46.670 – 00:07:47.530 So great analogy.
  203. 00:07:47.630 – 00:07:49.050 It's like a video game, wow.
  204. 00:07:49.070 – 00:07:50.110 Oh yeah, yeah.
  205. 00:07:50.110 – 00:07:50.990 A science experiment.
  206. 00:07:51.370 – 00:07:52.150 Yeah, absolutely.
  207. 00:07:52.290 – 00:07:53.530 And that's what, like I used to game
  208. 00:07:53.530 – 00:07:55.470 with my brothers and my cousins.
  209. 00:07:55.750 – 00:07:57.890 So it was like, when I got to doing photography,
  210. 00:07:58.370 – 00:08:01.390 I stopped gaming because this was my,
  211. 00:08:01.390 – 00:08:05.530 this stimulated me in the same space as a video game.
  212. 00:08:05.550 – 00:08:06.990 So it was like, when I go shoot
  213. 00:08:06.990 – 00:08:08.810 and come home and retouch,
  214. 00:08:09.150 – 00:08:12.230 oh man, this is like, it stimulates me the same exact way.
  215. 00:08:12.630 – 00:08:13.850 So it was just like,
  216. 00:08:13.950 – 00:08:15.750 that's why I don't mind spending hours
  217. 00:08:15.750 – 00:08:16.910 and hours on the computer
  218. 00:08:16.910 – 00:08:19.510 because I'm feeding the same,
  219. 00:08:20.670 – 00:08:22.750 that same beast of like gaming.
  220. 00:08:23.130 – 00:08:24.070 So it was just like,
  221. 00:08:24.170 – 00:08:25.770 hey, it's colors in front of my face.
  222. 00:08:26.530 – 00:08:27.290 So it's dope.
  223. 00:08:28.030 – 00:08:31.570 It's like math when you figuring that stuff out.
  224. 00:08:32.950 – 00:08:35.630 Sometimes here that's therapeutic, you know?
  225. 00:08:36.030 – 00:08:36.110 Yeah.
  226. 00:08:36.110 – 00:08:37.909 In your zone, it's like therapy.
  227. 00:08:38.270 – 00:08:39.830 Man, when you in there
  228. 00:08:39.830 – 00:08:41.750 and you know you doing something,
  229. 00:08:43.270 – 00:08:44.670 it's art, man.
  230. 00:08:44.830 – 00:08:48.750 It's like the best thing because it's gratifying, man.
  231. 00:08:49.110 – 00:08:50.650 Like somebody, what did the guy say?
  232. 00:08:50.790 – 00:08:54.690 He said, I think a photographer says something that,
  233. 00:08:56.350 – 00:09:00.130 something is vanity and sanity.
  234. 00:09:00.590 – 00:09:02.310 He was saying that,
  235. 00:09:03.130 – 00:09:04.530 I'm gonna figure out the quote,
  236. 00:09:04.710 – 00:09:06.930 but it was, it ain't even got nothing to do.
  237. 00:09:06.990 – 00:09:08.910 It ain't technically just photography.
  238. 00:09:09.510 – 00:09:14.810 He was saying that turnover is vanity
  239. 00:09:15.450 – 00:09:16.990 and profit is sanity,
  240. 00:09:18.640 – 00:09:21.820 which was on point because it's like,
  241. 00:09:21.840 – 00:09:23.540 as a photographer or creative,
  242. 00:09:24.160 – 00:09:29.060 our vanity is the turnover we give to our clients.
  243. 00:09:30.000 – 00:09:31.880 Taking these shots, coming in here,
  244. 00:09:32.060 – 00:09:33.080 giving this to our,
  245. 00:09:33.120 – 00:09:35.400 we're so vain because we love our work,
  246. 00:09:35.540 – 00:09:38.900 but people don't understand the work
  247. 00:09:38.900 – 00:09:40.840 that we put into what we do.
  248. 00:09:41.160 – 00:09:43.120 So the profit gotta keep us sane.
  249. 00:09:43.760 – 00:09:44.720 So when he said that,
  250. 00:09:44.740 – 00:09:47.920 I thought that was a very profound quote
  251. 00:09:48.660 – 00:09:52.120 because man, sometimes I just love what I do
  252. 00:09:52.120 – 00:09:53.580 and I do stuff for free.
  253. 00:09:54.000 – 00:09:55.240 Like, and people don't even know
  254. 00:09:55.240 – 00:09:58.240 how much stuff that I do do things for,
  255. 00:09:59.080 – 00:10:01.960 but like it gets to a point where it's like, man,
  256. 00:10:01.960 – 00:10:03.380 you still have to feed the beast.
  257. 00:10:03.600 – 00:10:05.260 You still, things have to be profitable.
  258. 00:10:05.580 – 00:10:07.420 Like all the stuff that we do,
  259. 00:10:07.780 – 00:10:09.840 people don't know like when they say
  260. 00:10:09.840 – 00:10:10.920 you put your $10,000 in,
  261. 00:10:10.920 – 00:10:12.260 and you're a master of your craft,
  262. 00:10:12.620 – 00:10:14.400 I don't even put about 25 in
  263. 00:10:14.400 – 00:10:15.900 and I still put stuff in.
  264. 00:10:16.020 – 00:10:17.400 I still don't feel I'm a master.
  265. 00:10:17.860 – 00:10:20.400 So like that has to be reciprocated.
  266. 00:10:20.940 – 00:10:23.500 And it's to my discretion of what I want.
  267. 00:10:23.640 – 00:10:26.620 That's why I love the business part of it,
  268. 00:10:26.620 – 00:10:27.980 like the profitable side.
  269. 00:10:28.200 – 00:10:31.180 Because it's like, I was doing this for a long time,
  270. 00:10:31.460 – 00:10:32.780 not understanding value,
  271. 00:10:32.800 – 00:10:36.340 but now I'm like, man, I get what I want
  272. 00:10:36.340 – 00:10:39.120 because this is what I want and it's not negotiable.
  273. 00:10:40.040 – 00:10:42.920 Or if it is negotiable, it's to my discretion.
  274. 00:10:43.220 – 00:10:44.700 So that's why I love it.
  275. 00:10:44.900 – 00:10:46.280 Man, that's amazing.
  276. 00:10:46.280 – 00:10:50.180 And, you know, I've learned something too.
  277. 00:10:51.360 – 00:10:53.800 There's definitely been events.
  278. 00:10:54.040 – 00:10:54.960 I mainly do events.
  279. 00:10:55.440 – 00:10:56.920 Brand myself as an event photographer.
  280. 00:10:57.540 – 00:11:00.080 So if there's an event or a video production
  281. 00:11:00.080 – 00:11:03.280 that, you know, either don't agree with me
  282. 00:11:03.280 – 00:11:04.760 or something that I just,
  283. 00:11:04.820 – 00:11:06.740 I know it's gonna be a headache at the end of the day.
  284. 00:11:07.180 – 00:11:09.280 You know, I price it accordingly
  285. 00:11:09.280 – 00:11:12.040 versus something I love or they have an impact
  286. 00:11:12.040 – 00:11:13.340 or a good message.
  287. 00:11:13.340 – 00:11:15.280 You know, I kinda, you know,
  288. 00:11:15.340 – 00:11:17.200 we can negotiate the price.
  289. 00:11:17.600 – 00:11:17.860 Yeah.
  290. 00:11:18.480 – 00:11:20.620 So let's take it back all the way to like
  291. 00:11:20.620 – 00:11:22.980 towards the beginning versus your first photo shoot
  292. 00:11:22.980 – 00:11:24.060 that you charged for.
  293. 00:11:24.180 – 00:11:25.440 What was that price?
  294. 00:11:25.640 – 00:11:27.160 Man, that probably was like $50, $75.
  295. 00:11:27.500 – 00:11:30.620 I think I looked at an old, something old.
  296. 00:11:30.760 – 00:11:32.780 It had to be in that $50, $75 round.
  297. 00:11:34.720 – 00:11:36.420 And this is the one thing,
  298. 00:11:36.440 – 00:11:39.760 if I could ever tell people, like upcoming photographers,
  299. 00:11:40.300 – 00:11:42.300 if you ever jump into photography,
  300. 00:11:42.300 – 00:11:47.360 please go with a studio of a seasoned photographer.
  301. 00:11:47.980 – 00:11:49.940 Like go into that Steph Midgett studio,
  302. 00:11:50.120 – 00:11:51.880 go into that Jordan Cage studio,
  303. 00:11:52.240 – 00:11:56.900 go into anybody who is offering studio time
  304. 00:11:56.900 – 00:11:58.900 that you have to pay a monthly fee for.
  305. 00:11:59.780 – 00:12:01.560 That will, you listen,
  306. 00:12:01.700 – 00:12:04.640 you will jump light years in front of people
  307. 00:12:04.640 – 00:12:06.280 when it comes to photography.
  308. 00:12:06.400 – 00:12:08.880 And I'm not saying it always have to be skill set,
  309. 00:12:08.880 – 00:12:13.580 but in photography, business is always the biggest word.
  310. 00:12:14.560 – 00:12:16.920 So like, I don't care what it is.
  311. 00:12:17.020 – 00:12:18.140 It's people that don't necessarily
  312. 00:12:18.140 – 00:12:19.620 have to have your skill set,
  313. 00:12:19.940 – 00:12:21.520 but if they understand the business,
  314. 00:12:22.020 – 00:12:24.680 they will jump light years ahead of people
  315. 00:12:24.680 – 00:12:27.380 because it's like they understand it.
  316. 00:12:27.480 – 00:12:30.240 And like when I was around like those,
  317. 00:12:30.340 – 00:12:36.100 like with Stretch or Natasha or Omar or Jordan Cage,
  318. 00:12:36.840 – 00:12:40.300 Steph Midgett, like those people and talking to them,
  319. 00:12:40.920 – 00:12:43.660 it was like they always used to be like,
  320. 00:12:43.860 – 00:12:46.000 hike your prices up, like hike your prices up.
  321. 00:12:46.060 – 00:12:49.380 Because we all in a, yeah, we all separate entities,
  322. 00:12:49.440 – 00:12:53.180 but we all in this pot together to where it's like,
  323. 00:12:53.840 – 00:12:57.500 if everybody shooting and the prices is fluctuating
  324. 00:12:57.500 – 00:13:00.240 so far, and that's the thing about like
  325. 00:13:00.240 – 00:13:01.600 the upcoming photographers,
  326. 00:13:02.760 – 00:13:05.660 that it's not necessarily a skill set
  327. 00:13:05.660 – 00:13:08.680 I would say like the upcoming photographers have,
  328. 00:13:08.860 – 00:13:11.000 it's like they understand the gear quicker.
  329. 00:13:11.340 – 00:13:14.320 They understand like gear is becoming so good
  330. 00:13:14.320 – 00:13:17.220 and the software is becoming so good.
  331. 00:13:18.140 – 00:13:20.480 Conceptionally, all you need to do is have truly an eye
  332. 00:13:20.480 – 00:13:24.420 because your cell phone is like,
  333. 00:13:24.960 – 00:13:28.800 that's if you got good composition with your cell phone,
  334. 00:13:28.860 – 00:13:29.980 anybody could take a good picture
  335. 00:13:29.980 – 00:13:31.640 if you just know how to take a picture.
  336. 00:13:31.800 – 00:13:33.440 If a person know how to pose correctly
  337. 00:13:33.440 – 00:13:35.040 or you know how light is,
  338. 00:13:35.040 – 00:13:37.940 a person could run laps with people around
  339. 00:13:37.940 – 00:13:39.480 with a cell phone if they just know
  340. 00:13:39.480 – 00:13:41.120 how to take a good picture.
  341. 00:13:41.660 – 00:13:44.400 But like now when they jump into photography,
  342. 00:13:44.420 – 00:13:45.580 now like the younger cats,
  343. 00:13:45.900 – 00:13:48.500 they don't understand like the actual value.
  344. 00:13:48.700 – 00:13:49.960 Like man, bro, you can pivot.
  345. 00:13:50.300 – 00:13:52.920 Just get around somebody who is seasoned,
  346. 00:13:53.100 – 00:13:55.220 who make money off of their photography.
  347. 00:13:55.940 – 00:13:59.600 You will be wealthy beyond your means
  348. 00:14:00.320 – 00:14:01.800 if you charge the right way.
  349. 00:14:02.360 – 00:14:04.820 And some things are, yeah, they are negotiable.
  350. 00:14:05.440 – 00:14:07.760 Yeah, you could go to events and all of that type of stuff.
  351. 00:14:07.820 – 00:14:10.420 It's been times where, man, I may hit an event
  352. 00:14:11.160 – 00:14:14.980 because I know what I just did for that one or two hours
  353. 00:14:14.980 – 00:14:19.340 or one hour is gonna make me $5,000
  354. 00:14:19.340 – 00:14:21.160 within the next three to four months.
  355. 00:14:21.640 – 00:14:23.780 And I'm just going in there, boom, boom, boom,
  356. 00:14:23.840 – 00:14:24.780 just in that word.
  357. 00:14:25.200 – 00:14:28.360 But I'm also knowing how to market my shots too.
  358. 00:14:28.700 – 00:14:29.700 So I'm looking for smiles.
  359. 00:14:29.800 – 00:14:31.200 I'm anticipating smiles.
  360. 00:14:31.200 – 00:14:36.460 So when I hit events, it took a while to learn how to market
  361. 00:14:36.460 – 00:14:39.540 because I know technically I could take a good shot,
  362. 00:14:40.560 – 00:14:43.600 but marketing wise, I need to know how to take what shot.
  363. 00:14:43.920 – 00:14:46.540 So I have to sit there, I'll ear hustle people
  364. 00:14:46.540 – 00:14:48.600 and I'll ear hustle surroundings.
  365. 00:14:49.260 – 00:14:51.960 And I watch things when I'm walking through.
  366. 00:14:52.180 – 00:14:54.320 So I'll look at people conversations
  367. 00:14:54.960 – 00:14:56.640 because I know somebody about to start laughing.
  368. 00:14:57.440 – 00:14:58.760 All I need to do is get that.
  369. 00:14:58.760 – 00:15:00.760 If I took a thread on Instagram
  370. 00:15:00.760 – 00:15:02.780 and my threads is 20 pictures,
  371. 00:15:03.280 – 00:15:05.280 or 10 to 20 pictures if you want to,
  372. 00:15:05.940 – 00:15:08.820 if I took a picture of this event
  373. 00:15:08.820 – 00:15:11.280 and had everybody, majority of the pictures,
  374. 00:15:11.440 – 00:15:12.700 they laughing and smiling.
  375. 00:15:13.900 – 00:15:15.760 Laughing and smiling is gonna make you feel good.
  376. 00:15:15.860 – 00:15:16.340 That's right.
  377. 00:15:16.520 – 00:15:18.000 You know, it's gonna make you feel good.
  378. 00:15:18.040 – 00:15:20.000 Then I had to learn the color temperatures.
  379. 00:15:21.080 – 00:15:23.760 They did a poll between warmer and cooler shots.
  380. 00:15:24.380 – 00:15:27.740 Cooler, more people, like 70 to 80% of people
  381. 00:15:27.740 – 00:15:30.320 tend to like the warmer shots than the cooler shots.
  382. 00:15:30.620 – 00:15:31.760 Cooler shots you can go with,
  383. 00:15:31.800 – 00:15:33.780 but it gotta be an artistic vision.
  384. 00:15:33.880 – 00:15:35.360 But our skin tones is all warm.
  385. 00:15:35.540 – 00:15:39.680 Everybody love that tan, that type of flavor, period.
  386. 00:15:39.800 – 00:15:41.940 So your warmer shots is gonna end up
  387. 00:15:41.940 – 00:15:43.320 kind of being the more favored.
  388. 00:15:43.620 – 00:15:45.500 So once I started learning certain things
  389. 00:15:45.500 – 00:15:46.920 and learning my camera,
  390. 00:15:47.440 – 00:15:49.100 man, events was like,
  391. 00:15:49.260 – 00:15:50.860 man, I could eat up an event quick,
  392. 00:15:50.860 – 00:15:54.220 like and know how to and be very personable
  393. 00:15:54.220 – 00:15:55.980 with people and get people to smile,
  394. 00:15:55.980 – 00:15:58.420 get people to give me the candidates that I want.
  395. 00:15:58.840 – 00:16:00.920 So it's a lot though.
  396. 00:16:01.000 – 00:16:02.540 I know I'm talking a lot, man.
  397. 00:16:02.560 – 00:16:04.740 No, man, that's why we here, you know?
  398. 00:16:05.660 – 00:16:07.500 We don't know, you know, don't get this often.
  399. 00:16:07.840 – 00:16:09.660 So it's good to hear this for real.
  400. 00:16:09.660 – 00:16:10.960 I appreciate it, man.
  401. 00:16:11.500 – 00:16:14.060 I mean, I'm glad you brought up the color temperature,
  402. 00:16:14.120 – 00:16:17.860 the warm and cool and the break it down
  403. 00:16:17.860 – 00:16:19.660 for people that don't understand photography.
  404. 00:16:19.900 – 00:16:24.500 That's more of the sunny orange, yellow tones
  405. 00:16:24.500 – 00:16:26.160 versus the cool blue.
  406. 00:16:27.540 – 00:16:30.560 I know a lot of people take it to heart in movies.
  407. 00:16:31.280 – 00:16:33.400 Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
  408. 00:16:33.560 – 00:16:36.260 Like I look at it for different type of shots.
  409. 00:16:36.440 – 00:16:38.840 Like you can use it like the Kelvin meter.
  410. 00:16:39.200 – 00:16:42.380 Like Kelvin meters is on every camera,
  411. 00:16:42.500 – 00:16:44.640 but they're better when you shoot,
  412. 00:16:44.940 – 00:16:49.280 like for people who understand RAW and shooting in JPEG.
  413. 00:16:49.520 – 00:16:52.960 So your RAW files, like as a photographer,
  414. 00:16:52.960 – 00:16:56.120 you wanna always, as a novice or whatever the case is,
  415. 00:16:56.540 – 00:16:59.220 you have, I would always suggest to shoot in RAW.
  416. 00:16:59.760 – 00:17:03.360 Only time I say shooting JPEG is if you are,
  417. 00:17:04.099 – 00:17:06.420 let's say you're shooting a, I don't know,
  418. 00:17:06.480 – 00:17:09.099 I never shot a, like a football game
  419. 00:17:09.099 – 00:17:10.020 or something like that,
  420. 00:17:10.200 – 00:17:12.240 but I would think that they would tell you
  421. 00:17:12.240 – 00:17:14.119 to shoot kind of like more JPEG pics
  422. 00:17:14.119 – 00:17:16.000 because they need those quick
  423. 00:17:16.000 – 00:17:17.660 and to turn them around super quick.
  424. 00:17:18.400 – 00:17:19.319 Yeah, you're shooting thousands of photos.
  425. 00:17:19.319 – 00:17:20.859 Yeah, you're shooting thousands of photos
  426. 00:17:20.859 – 00:17:22.260 and you're shooting real quick.
  427. 00:17:23.060 – 00:17:26.380 But for the most part, I'm always shooting in RAW,
  428. 00:17:26.740 – 00:17:28.040 like every single time.
  429. 00:17:28.460 – 00:17:31.560 So the RAW files allow you to manipulate your files more.
  430. 00:17:31.740 – 00:17:34.160 So like, even if I shot something in a cooler tone,
  431. 00:17:34.460 – 00:17:36.480 I could bring those, I could pull those colors back
  432. 00:17:36.480 – 00:17:38.720 in my Kelvin meter or snatching a gray,
  433. 00:17:39.060 – 00:17:41.160 a neutral gray on there and color picking it
  434. 00:17:41.160 – 00:17:43.520 and getting it back to a neutral color.
  435. 00:17:44.140 – 00:17:47.440 So that's the thing, like with those color tones,
  436. 00:17:47.600 – 00:17:50.720 I'm really, but you can't be intentional
  437. 00:17:50.720 – 00:17:52.040 going a cooler way.
  438. 00:17:52.040 – 00:17:55.740 So like if I'm outside and I'm shooting in the winter,
  439. 00:17:56.180 – 00:18:00.820 I may go a cooler way because it's catered for the occasion
  440. 00:18:00.820 – 00:18:03.760 because it's outside, it's cool.
  441. 00:18:04.240 – 00:18:05.960 Like I'm looking for those types of,
  442. 00:18:06.000 – 00:18:09.460 I'm not so curious about those warmer tones.
  443. 00:18:09.520 – 00:18:12.440 I want to make the shot look cold intentionally.
  444. 00:18:13.580 – 00:18:14.320 So yeah.
  445. 00:18:16.770 – 00:18:19.290 And I know you brought up Jordan Cage.
  446. 00:18:19.570 – 00:18:20.650 I know him as Omar.
  447. 00:18:21.530 – 00:18:22.850 That's like my god brother.
  448. 00:18:22.850 – 00:18:25.110 That's my brother's best friend
  449. 00:18:25.110 – 00:18:26.650 that grew up with the Collin Wood.
  450. 00:18:26.930 – 00:18:27.410 Nice.
  451. 00:18:27.690 – 00:18:28.950 You know, he brought me under him.
  452. 00:18:28.950 – 00:18:30.690 He took that little sexy picture in the background.
  453. 00:18:30.950 – 00:18:31.950 You see that when he posted?
  454. 00:18:34.590 – 00:18:35.950 The R&B shit.
  455. 00:18:36.730 – 00:18:39.170 Yeah, that's when he was doing music, like.
  456. 00:18:39.610 – 00:18:40.470 He was singing?
  457. 00:18:40.870 – 00:18:41.650 No, he was doing rap.
  458. 00:18:42.230 – 00:18:42.730 Oh, what?
  459. 00:18:43.330 – 00:18:45.390 He actually got me into like the studio
  460. 00:18:45.390 – 00:18:46.990 he was going to with music.
  461. 00:18:47.470 – 00:18:48.710 I was recording myself.
  462. 00:18:49.170 – 00:18:50.510 Oh, get out of here.
  463. 00:18:50.570 – 00:18:52.630 I had a microphone from the PlayStation game.
  464. 00:18:52.630 – 00:18:53.670 It was a rap game.
  465. 00:18:53.930 – 00:18:55.630 I was like, wait, this is the same thing.
  466. 00:18:55.630 – 00:18:56.690 You plug in the computers.
  467. 00:18:57.050 – 00:18:57.930 I tried that.
  468. 00:18:57.930 – 00:18:59.570 I started recording myself.
  469. 00:18:59.890 – 00:19:01.010 And he was like, nah, man,
  470. 00:19:01.010 – 00:19:02.330 if you're going to take it seriously,
  471. 00:19:02.550 – 00:19:04.150 you need to take a crash test.
  472. 00:19:04.210 – 00:19:05.170 He saw my notebooks.
  473. 00:19:05.270 – 00:19:07.210 They was like holes, ripped papers.
  474. 00:19:07.390 – 00:19:11.310 You got to get you a good, bounded notebook.
  475. 00:19:11.650 – 00:19:13.070 You got to take your stuff seriously.
  476. 00:19:13.150 – 00:19:13.810 I'm like, okay.
  477. 00:19:14.590 – 00:19:15.890 It's just a notebook, but all right.
  478. 00:19:16.170 – 00:19:17.990 But you know, that stuck with me.
  479. 00:19:18.130 – 00:19:19.670 And then even now, like from music,
  480. 00:19:19.730 – 00:19:21.070 now we're both in photography.
  481. 00:19:21.730 – 00:19:23.410 He's stepping into the video more,
  482. 00:19:23.510 – 00:19:24.070 same with you.
  483. 00:19:24.370 – 00:19:24.930 Yeah, yeah.
  484. 00:19:25.010 – 00:19:26.150 I'm just loving to grow,
  485. 00:19:26.290 – 00:19:27.490 but I know him as O-One.
  486. 00:19:29.430 – 00:19:31.870 I'm calling him O-One next time I see him.
  487. 00:19:32.690 – 00:19:35.190 Yeah, that's my brother, man.
  488. 00:19:35.530 – 00:19:37.150 Yeah, that's good.
  489. 00:19:37.410 – 00:19:40.210 I haven't learned any skills with him
  490. 00:19:41.450 – 00:19:43.590 through photography, but like just, you know,
  491. 00:19:43.590 – 00:19:45.610 if I ever need something, he's always there.
  492. 00:19:46.090 – 00:19:47.570 Nice, that's dope.
  493. 00:19:47.770 – 00:19:50.310 Like, yeah, he's definitely, like he,
  494. 00:19:50.310 – 00:19:53.210 him and my boy Dave, Artful Panda,
  495. 00:19:53.910 – 00:19:55.570 they cool, they've been cool for a while.
  496. 00:19:55.590 – 00:19:57.550 So I knew him from him,
  497. 00:19:57.590 – 00:20:00.030 but then I ended up knowing him a little bit more
  498. 00:20:00.030 – 00:20:01.730 in the photography world.
  499. 00:20:01.790 – 00:20:03.370 And like, even when I first started,
  500. 00:20:03.470 – 00:20:04.530 it was just like,
  501. 00:20:05.370 – 00:20:07.330 I didn't know none of them at all.
  502. 00:20:07.590 – 00:20:08.270 You know what I'm saying?
  503. 00:20:08.310 – 00:20:12.230 Like the only person I really knew was Natasha Herbert.
  504. 00:20:12.410 – 00:20:16.870 And Natasha Herbert was my dog from after high school.
  505. 00:20:16.970 – 00:20:19.370 Like I graduated from John Hayden,
  506. 00:20:19.370 – 00:20:20.730 we ended up going to East Tech.
  507. 00:20:21.190 – 00:20:23.150 But I am getting cool with Natasha.
  508. 00:20:23.670 – 00:20:25.690 Like when me and Natasha been cool since like,
  509. 00:20:26.070 – 00:20:28.470 since I was like 19 on out,
  510. 00:20:28.490 – 00:20:30.890 but we like, that's my dog, that's my heart.
  511. 00:20:30.990 – 00:20:31.970 I love her to death.
  512. 00:20:32.910 – 00:20:34.730 So like, I didn't know nobody.
  513. 00:20:34.830 – 00:20:37.410 And then what made me kind of jump into photography
  514. 00:20:37.410 – 00:20:38.250 and start charging,
  515. 00:20:38.390 – 00:20:41.430 cause I seen her say this one time on the Gram.
  516. 00:20:41.490 – 00:20:43.710 She was like, she had a post where she was like,
  517. 00:20:43.810 – 00:20:46.990 man, look, photography is so wide open in Cleveland
  518. 00:20:46.990 – 00:20:49.830 that we all can eat.
  519. 00:20:50.230 – 00:20:52.450 And when she said that, it made me feel like,
  520. 00:20:52.610 – 00:20:55.210 oh, I'm not stepping on nobody toes if I charge.
  521. 00:20:55.750 – 00:20:58.270 You know, it's a lot of people,
  522. 00:20:58.670 – 00:21:00.730 it's a lot of people out here
  523. 00:21:00.730 – 00:21:02.390 that's shooting, that's charging.
  524. 00:21:03.050 – 00:21:05.790 So it's like, it's plenty of people,
  525. 00:21:06.230 – 00:21:08.050 it's plenty of money to go around.
  526. 00:21:08.990 – 00:21:11.810 And once I understood that it was like,
  527. 00:21:11.890 – 00:21:13.590 oh yeah, this is something I'm charging.
  528. 00:21:13.810 – 00:21:15.770 I'm investing in all my equipment.
  529. 00:21:15.770 – 00:21:17.830 I'm going, I'm about to do this.
  530. 00:21:18.830 – 00:21:20.850 So that's what made it just,
  531. 00:21:21.170 – 00:21:23.310 I appreciate her because she gave me the mindset
  532. 00:21:23.310 – 00:21:24.930 to like, yeah, go ahead and charge.
  533. 00:21:25.610 – 00:21:28.330 So you were one in $75.
  534. 00:21:29.150 – 00:21:32.550 It was, you glad to charge something.
  535. 00:21:32.810 – 00:21:34.370 So that's why I say like,
  536. 00:21:34.570 – 00:21:36.730 if the young photographers, if you can,
  537. 00:21:38.010 – 00:21:39.910 if they ever tell you anything,
  538. 00:21:40.010 – 00:21:44.430 hey, it costs $350 to $400 to be here for a month,
  539. 00:21:44.430 – 00:21:50.050 it is by far the best investment that you could ever make.
  540. 00:21:50.210 – 00:21:52.350 Mostly, they always have their lights there.
  541. 00:21:52.390 – 00:21:54.070 You probably could shoot 24 seven,
  542. 00:21:54.610 – 00:21:57.870 you make it, you gonna make the money back ASAP
  543. 00:21:57.870 – 00:22:00.550 and they gonna get you to charge correctly
  544. 00:22:00.550 – 00:22:03.450 and they gonna show you stuff on top of that.
  545. 00:22:03.750 – 00:22:05.470 So if a person just saying like,
  546. 00:22:05.710 – 00:22:07.810 okay, let's say, stepping into a spot,
  547. 00:22:07.930 – 00:22:08.590 let's say, I don't know,
  548. 00:22:10.530 – 00:22:13.470 maybe 400 something to go there a month.
  549. 00:22:13.470 – 00:22:16.890 What all you gaining and gathering,
  550. 00:22:17.070 – 00:22:20.410 going to these spaces, renting these places out,
  551. 00:22:20.470 – 00:22:22.210 you under a wing of photographers,
  552. 00:22:22.790 – 00:22:24.610 they're going to sharpen your skills.
  553. 00:22:25.290 – 00:22:26.770 Like within a year,
  554. 00:22:26.830 – 00:22:32.670 you're going to be able to do profitable shots.
  555. 00:22:32.870 – 00:22:36.870 Like you're gonna be able to make a good living
  556. 00:22:36.870 – 00:22:39.250 as a secondary or a primary income.
  557. 00:22:39.330 – 00:22:41.810 So I definitely encourage anybody.
  558. 00:22:41.810 – 00:22:44.470 That was the one thing I wish I would have did.
  559. 00:22:44.930 – 00:22:48.890 My thing was just that I felt like I had a better teacher
  560. 00:22:48.890 – 00:22:50.490 than everybody else.
  561. 00:22:50.730 – 00:22:53.990 Like my brother was my ultimate mentor
  562. 00:22:53.990 – 00:22:55.270 when it came to photography.
  563. 00:22:55.350 – 00:22:57.170 So like the stuff that he was telling me,
  564. 00:22:57.170 – 00:22:58.790 I wouldn't get in from nobody else,
  565. 00:22:59.110 – 00:23:01.790 but I never invested in anybody else neither,
  566. 00:23:01.790 – 00:23:04.690 but I never seen any other photographers
  567. 00:23:05.370 – 00:23:08.390 really do the different type of stuff.
  568. 00:23:08.710 – 00:23:10.610 So I used to see like within Cleveland,
  569. 00:23:10.610 – 00:23:14.090 it was just like, I used to look at people work
  570. 00:23:14.090 – 00:23:15.850 and I'm like, man, these pictures is dope.
  571. 00:23:16.850 – 00:23:18.610 But, and this ain't no not,
  572. 00:23:19.850 – 00:23:20.990 everybody's stuff look the same.
  573. 00:23:21.150 – 00:23:23.930 It looked like I seen four or five photographers
  574. 00:23:23.930 – 00:23:26.850 where they are all shooting like elite levels,
  575. 00:23:27.390 – 00:23:28.570 but it was like, man,
  576. 00:23:28.630 – 00:23:30.630 I can't tell the difference between each one,
  577. 00:23:31.310 – 00:23:32.970 even though everything looked great.
  578. 00:23:33.650 – 00:23:36.670 So my thing was like, man, I want to shoot different.
  579. 00:23:37.120 – 00:23:40.190 I want to be able to do how they shoot
  580. 00:23:40.190 – 00:23:42.770 with that high end retouch,
  581. 00:23:42.770 – 00:23:47.210 but I also want to find me in a sense with,
  582. 00:23:47.490 – 00:23:50.190 and I'm a figure out a way to find me
  583. 00:23:50.190 – 00:23:53.090 to where I can be slightly different.
  584. 00:23:53.090 – 00:23:57.090 And that's what I kind of tweak my craft
  585. 00:23:57.090 – 00:23:59.070 amongst my peers.
  586. 00:23:59.750 – 00:24:02.290 But in the same sense,
  587. 00:24:02.490 – 00:24:04.030 ain't none of this stuff new anyway,
  588. 00:24:04.030 – 00:24:06.430 because it's everybody taking from somebody.
  589. 00:24:07.130 – 00:24:09.630 So I just wanted to be what with in Cleveland
  590. 00:24:09.630 – 00:24:11.390 in this type of stuff,
  591. 00:24:11.390 – 00:24:14.490 I want to be slightly different with what I do.
  592. 00:24:15.130 – 00:24:16.590 So, yeah, I mean,
  593. 00:24:16.910 – 00:24:19.030 I couldn't even say I'm still finding my style.
  594. 00:24:19.030 – 00:24:20.570 Like I'll take great photos,
  595. 00:24:20.750 – 00:24:22.870 but all you take amazing photos is like,
  596. 00:24:24.550 – 00:24:28.290 this photo, I know that's alien, that's alien.
  597. 00:24:28.810 – 00:24:30.850 Yeah, yeah, but I love that though.
  598. 00:24:30.850 – 00:24:34.070 You know, listen, that's the thing.
  599. 00:24:35.170 – 00:24:37.690 I would rather somebody say that's alien,
  600. 00:24:38.250 – 00:24:41.270 or that could be about four or five, I don't know.
  601. 00:24:41.470 – 00:24:42.650 Well, I'm still finding that
  602. 00:24:42.650 – 00:24:43.970 to where people can say that.
  603. 00:24:44.150 – 00:24:47.170 Yeah, and that's, but you want to see,
  604. 00:24:47.550 – 00:24:50.530 I say like this, to dig into yourself
  605. 00:24:50.530 – 00:24:57.100 and find who you are, man, you can't be scared.
  606. 00:24:57.140 – 00:24:58.440 It's a trick to it though,
  607. 00:24:58.460 – 00:24:59.780 because like you said, being marketable
  608. 00:24:59.780 – 00:25:01.140 and taking those key shots,
  609. 00:25:02.240 – 00:25:04.460 being artistic and being,
  610. 00:25:04.460 – 00:25:06.320 having those photos marketable
  611. 00:25:06.320 – 00:25:08.260 for business to use it to market,
  612. 00:25:09.000 – 00:25:10.460 like that combination of both,
  613. 00:25:10.700 – 00:25:15.280 and like my brand is Alienize Photos Media,
  614. 00:25:16.200 – 00:25:18.620 more of the cooler tones, not always,
  615. 00:25:18.680 – 00:25:20.760 but it's branded under the cool tone.
  616. 00:25:21.040 – 00:25:22.160 Blue is one of my branded colors.
  617. 00:25:22.880 – 00:25:24.820 So I try to stay on that cool tone,
  618. 00:25:25.500 – 00:25:27.240 but I know, like you said,
  619. 00:25:27.420 – 00:25:29.600 what pictures are marketable and what to shoot for.
  620. 00:25:29.640 – 00:25:31.000 So I do those safe photos,
  621. 00:25:31.000 – 00:25:33.640 but I always try to experiment something,
  622. 00:25:33.800 – 00:25:35.280 especially on weddings, I love weddings.
  623. 00:25:35.420 – 00:25:36.520 I love them too, man.
  624. 00:25:36.740 – 00:25:41.120 Yeah, you definitely, you definitely want to,
  625. 00:25:41.160 – 00:25:44.140 you want to do it the most flattering way.
  626. 00:25:44.540 – 00:25:47.760 And that's where, and it's not like you just,
  627. 00:25:48.060 – 00:25:50.740 I'm catering to people needs and wants.
  628. 00:25:50.780 – 00:25:52.540 You're not trying to do that too much,
  629. 00:25:52.680 – 00:25:55.820 but you also know what's getting you referrals too.
  630. 00:25:56.060 – 00:25:57.920 So like, and that's the thing
  631. 00:25:57.920 – 00:25:59.600 that I'm always looking at.
  632. 00:25:59.600 – 00:26:02.060 I'm always paying attention to things.
  633. 00:26:02.660 – 00:26:04.760 Like for me, me personally,
  634. 00:26:05.600 – 00:26:07.400 when it came to events,
  635. 00:26:08.340 – 00:26:09.980 I liked Stretch to work the most.
  636. 00:26:10.260 – 00:26:12.480 And the only reason why I say I liked Stretch
  637. 00:26:12.480 – 00:26:14.060 to work the most when it came to events,
  638. 00:26:14.620 – 00:26:17.020 because Stretch was doing something
  639. 00:26:17.020 – 00:26:20.280 that I didn't see nobody else do.
  640. 00:26:21.100 – 00:26:22.380 So when it came to events,
  641. 00:26:23.040 – 00:26:24.360 if you pay attention,
  642. 00:26:24.940 – 00:26:28.160 I look at, and I'm real critical like on how,
  643. 00:26:28.160 – 00:26:30.220 like the technique of what people are doing.
  644. 00:26:30.880 – 00:26:32.840 So like, and that's what makes me,
  645. 00:26:32.940 – 00:26:35.380 so like I'll see something like,
  646. 00:26:35.780 – 00:26:37.760 okay, when it come to portrait work,
  647. 00:26:37.760 – 00:26:39.760 I want to do something close to Lindsay Allen.
  648. 00:26:40.060 – 00:26:42.360 She is a New York photographer, fashion photographer,
  649. 00:26:42.800 – 00:26:43.920 amazing, super dope.
  650. 00:26:44.480 – 00:26:46.400 But I want to, my brother always said like,
  651. 00:26:46.400 – 00:26:47.480 if you ever want to get better,
  652. 00:26:47.500 – 00:26:48.940 look at a picture and see how it's shot.
  653. 00:26:49.000 – 00:26:49.820 Just look at it.
  654. 00:26:50.500 – 00:26:52.820 Don't look at the BTS's,
  655. 00:26:52.920 – 00:26:54.220 just look at the shot
  656. 00:26:54.220 – 00:26:55.740 and see where the light is coming at,
  657. 00:26:55.980 – 00:26:57.840 where the highlights and the shadows lay at.
  658. 00:26:57.840 – 00:26:59.800 Look at everything about this picture
  659. 00:26:59.800 – 00:27:02.020 and you'll be able to kind of understand
  660. 00:27:02.020 – 00:27:03.040 like where the kick lights,
  661. 00:27:03.060 – 00:27:04.300 where the key light was at,
  662. 00:27:04.680 – 00:27:05.940 where all of those types of lights,
  663. 00:27:06.000 – 00:27:07.140 where the hair light is at.
  664. 00:27:07.840 – 00:27:11.600 So when I looked at Stretch's photography,
  665. 00:27:13.220 – 00:27:14.960 his was the hardest to figure out
  666. 00:27:14.960 – 00:27:16.940 because it was like,
  667. 00:27:17.300 – 00:27:21.300 man, how is he popping flash on people,
  668. 00:27:22.240 – 00:27:25.440 preserving the environment with strobes and everything,
  669. 00:27:25.440 – 00:27:26.740 like when he hit those clubs,
  670. 00:27:27.280 – 00:27:31.260 catching the moment where it's in a fast motion,
  671. 00:27:32.220 – 00:27:35.480 where they popping bottles and getting the sparkles.
  672. 00:27:35.740 – 00:27:37.620 Like when you sit there and break down
  673. 00:27:37.620 – 00:27:40.500 and analyze the actual shot, the way he shot,
  674. 00:27:41.100 – 00:27:42.220 you thinking like,
  675. 00:27:42.840 – 00:27:46.420 what settings on his camera that he got this at?
  676. 00:27:46.680 – 00:27:49.040 Like, I will always think of that.
  677. 00:27:49.360 – 00:27:51.160 Like, what is he doing?
  678. 00:27:51.500 – 00:27:54.000 And it took me, I knew I could take clean shots.
  679. 00:27:54.000 – 00:27:56.840 I knew I could do all of that stuff.
  680. 00:27:57.240 – 00:28:00.600 But the main thing was what shot,
  681. 00:28:01.700 – 00:28:04.500 what's more important, a technical shot or a good shot?
  682. 00:28:05.220 – 00:28:08.200 And once I understood like a good shot
  683. 00:28:08.200 – 00:28:10.080 is better than a technical shot,
  684. 00:28:11.600 – 00:28:14.540 it made more, photography made more sense.
  685. 00:28:14.700 – 00:28:15.860 It gave me more freedom
  686. 00:28:15.860 – 00:28:19.980 because I could technically shoot a clean shot in a club,
  687. 00:28:20.420 – 00:28:21.480 but that clean shot,
  688. 00:28:21.480 – 00:28:25.000 I might be trying to shoot a clean shot and miss the moment.
  689. 00:28:26.540 – 00:28:28.760 So you gotta, when I tell people,
  690. 00:28:29.300 – 00:28:31.160 if I could ever tell anybody anything,
  691. 00:28:31.320 – 00:28:32.540 when you're going to a club,
  692. 00:28:33.720 – 00:28:35.540 camera first, light second.
  693. 00:28:36.600 – 00:28:39.980 You exposing for the environment first.
  694. 00:28:40.120 – 00:28:41.360 That's why I say camera first.
  695. 00:28:41.520 – 00:28:44.080 So you set, I'm adjusting my camera
  696. 00:28:44.080 – 00:28:45.900 for the club, for the event.
  697. 00:28:46.800 – 00:28:49.160 And then I'm putting my flash on the back end.
  698. 00:28:49.620 – 00:28:51.920 So most people do flash first.
  699. 00:28:51.960 – 00:28:55.420 That's those paparazzi shots in camera second.
  700. 00:28:55.720 – 00:28:58.340 So they want to expose a certain type of way
  701. 00:28:58.340 – 00:28:59.260 with their light.
  702. 00:29:00.020 – 00:29:02.980 No, I'm exposing for the club
  703. 00:29:02.980 – 00:29:04.620 because most people don't know
  704. 00:29:04.620 – 00:29:06.200 your capabilities of your camera.
  705. 00:29:06.740 – 00:29:09.240 Like, and check what type of camera you have.
  706. 00:29:09.620 – 00:29:11.480 So if you're an event photographer,
  707. 00:29:12.060 – 00:29:15.060 go more of a camera that's good and low light.
  708. 00:29:15.660 – 00:29:17.600 That mean I can push my ISO higher.
  709. 00:29:17.600 – 00:29:20.020 If I could push my ISO higher,
  710. 00:29:20.560 – 00:29:22.120 like I shoot with Z6s.
  711. 00:29:22.280 – 00:29:26.020 So I know my native ISO is at 12,000.
  712. 00:29:26.140 – 00:29:28.000 So check where your native ISO is at.
  713. 00:29:28.220 – 00:29:30.680 So I could go push my camera to 12,000.
  714. 00:29:30.720 – 00:29:31.800 Do I ever do it?
  715. 00:29:31.940 – 00:29:32.460 No.
  716. 00:29:33.240 – 00:29:33.620 I'm hooked.
  717. 00:29:34.100 – 00:29:36.200 Sometimes I'll, 6,400.
  718. 00:29:36.720 – 00:29:39.540 I'll push it over there at 6,400 if I had to.
  719. 00:29:40.120 – 00:29:44.780 Shoot around maybe three, two, four, five in my shutter
  720. 00:29:44.780 – 00:29:47.140 and maybe 125 in my,
  721. 00:29:48.760 – 00:29:54.000 no, I'll shoot three, two, or three, five at my, my.
  722. 00:29:54.020 – 00:29:54.920 So high speed scene?
  723. 00:29:55.540 – 00:29:57.140 No, I ain't doing no high speed scene.
  724. 00:29:57.200 – 00:29:57.600 You said three, two?
  725. 00:29:57.960 – 00:30:02.120 I like, not in my shutter, in my, my f-stop.
  726. 00:30:02.500 – 00:30:03.480 Yeah, yeah, yeah, my aperture.
  727. 00:30:03.580 – 00:30:05.380 I'll shoot like three, two, or three, five.
  728. 00:30:05.700 – 00:30:11.020 And then in my shutter, I'll shoot around 125.
  729. 00:30:11.200 – 00:30:13.820 And if I just need to, I'll go to 80
  730. 00:30:13.820 – 00:30:16.460 because I got IBIS that is,
  731. 00:30:16.540 – 00:30:18.540 that stabilization inside my camera.
  732. 00:30:18.780 – 00:30:20.740 So I'm calculating everything
  733. 00:30:20.740 – 00:30:23.160 or I might have vibration reduction on my lens.
  734. 00:30:23.580 – 00:30:26.120 So I'm at, so I've been shot in the club
  735. 00:30:26.120 – 00:30:28.860 at 40 on my shutter if I had to.
  736. 00:30:29.140 – 00:30:31.820 You know, because I'm pulling in the,
  737. 00:30:31.820 – 00:30:33.340 the lower you go on your shutter,
  738. 00:30:33.660 – 00:30:36.200 the more ambient light you're bringing into your camera.
  739. 00:30:36.600 – 00:30:39.380 So it's like, I'm already calculating that
  740. 00:30:39.380 – 00:30:41.160 and I'll do so much research.
  741. 00:30:41.160 – 00:30:43.840 So when I edit, I'm always looking at YouTube,
  742. 00:30:43.900 – 00:30:44.600 learning stuff.
  743. 00:30:44.860 – 00:30:46.960 So I'm editing YouTube, looking at,
  744. 00:30:47.440 – 00:30:49.280 if I can't watch it, I'm listening to it.
  745. 00:30:49.400 – 00:30:51.380 So I'm thinking of every single thing.
  746. 00:30:51.420 – 00:30:53.700 That's why I say, like I put my hours in
  747. 00:30:53.700 – 00:30:54.660 but I'm still learning
  748. 00:30:54.660 – 00:30:58.960 because every situation you go in is totally different.
  749. 00:30:59.380 – 00:31:02.020 So it's like, I'm looking at every site, anything,
  750. 00:31:02.100 – 00:31:02.860 because I love this, man.
  751. 00:31:02.880 – 00:31:04.280 It's my passion, love it.
  752. 00:31:04.720 – 00:31:06.360 I kind of want to touch on it like that,
  753. 00:31:06.620 – 00:31:08.580 that education and that research and studying,
  754. 00:31:09.200 – 00:31:10.960 like you said, studying other people's work
  755. 00:31:10.960 – 00:31:12.880 and being on YouTube or even, you know,
  756. 00:31:13.200 – 00:31:15.220 consulting with other people in the industry,
  757. 00:31:15.360 – 00:31:16.240 mainly photographers.
  758. 00:31:16.860 – 00:31:19.560 So how important, because I know you're busy,
  759. 00:31:20.880 – 00:31:23.560 how, and you know, in a relationship,
  760. 00:31:23.760 – 00:31:24.500 on a married or not.
  761. 00:31:25.100 – 00:31:26.200 Yeah, I'm in a relationship now.
  762. 00:31:26.300 – 00:31:28.320 Relationship, so I know how that is, you know,
  763. 00:31:28.480 – 00:31:29.120 same boat.
  764. 00:31:31.300 – 00:31:33.500 How important is that for balance,
  765. 00:31:33.760 – 00:31:35.660 whether you know, being, you know,
  766. 00:31:35.880 – 00:31:38.320 quality time with the family and the loved ones
  767. 00:31:38.320 – 00:31:41.740 versus studying and, you know, taking the gigs and editing.
  768. 00:31:42.380 – 00:31:45.400 How do you allocate that time for self-improvement?
  769. 00:31:47.480 – 00:31:53.780 The way I try to use that time, I will,
  770. 00:31:55.300 – 00:31:56.420 like the one thing about it,
  771. 00:31:56.420 – 00:31:58.520 I got my girlfriend, she's super supportive.
  772. 00:31:59.140 – 00:32:01.260 She's like a really, like,
  773. 00:32:01.260 – 00:32:03.160 and she's her own entrepreneur too.
  774. 00:32:03.560 – 00:32:05.460 And she's a real estate agent as well.
  775. 00:32:05.460 – 00:32:08.800 So I love it because we both have things that,
  776. 00:32:08.860 – 00:32:11.040 we both respect each other's time and business.
  777. 00:32:11.220 – 00:32:13.340 So it's like, I'm more, I'm a very,
  778. 00:32:13.500 – 00:32:16.280 I'm more productive in the morning.
  779. 00:32:16.360 – 00:32:17.260 I'm a morning person.
  780. 00:32:17.300 – 00:32:19.620 I can get up like five o'clock in the morning
  781. 00:32:19.620 – 00:32:23.760 and like my old job was a six to two weekends off,
  782. 00:32:23.840 – 00:32:26.580 like six in the morning, two in the weekends off.
  783. 00:32:26.620 – 00:32:28.020 So I'm programmed for the morning.
  784. 00:32:28.440 – 00:32:31.100 So like now I'm just like,
  785. 00:32:31.660 – 00:32:34.580 I find times where I know I'm very productive at.
  786. 00:32:34.580 – 00:32:37.060 It's either in the morning or if I do an event
  787. 00:32:37.060 – 00:32:39.520 and I got my stuff with me and I can edit right then.
  788. 00:32:39.800 – 00:32:42.260 Because when I do an event, I'm on adrenaline.
  789. 00:32:42.940 – 00:32:45.120 Like, all right, I ain't tired.
  790. 00:32:45.820 – 00:32:48.360 Unless I done did like a wedding or something
  791. 00:32:48.360 – 00:32:50.340 around five and a half, six hours,
  792. 00:32:50.520 – 00:32:52.200 then I was like, hey, I'll see you tomorrow.
  793. 00:32:52.500 – 00:32:54.460 But if I did like a two hour event
  794. 00:32:54.460 – 00:32:55.940 and it was a turn up, oh yeah,
  795. 00:32:55.940 – 00:32:57.960 if I got my stuff with me, boom, boom, boom,
  796. 00:32:57.980 – 00:32:59.000 I could rock out.
  797. 00:32:59.980 – 00:33:03.460 But I balance things based off of,
  798. 00:33:05.660 – 00:33:08.100 I balance things based off of like how I,
  799. 00:33:08.120 – 00:33:09.560 like a few of my week.
  800. 00:33:09.920 – 00:33:12.280 So I'll see some things like, but I'm still like,
  801. 00:33:12.300 – 00:33:14.500 this isn't in a space where I'm still learning.
  802. 00:33:14.820 – 00:33:17.860 So I'm not, I'm not perfect.
  803. 00:33:18.020 – 00:33:18.740 You know what I'm saying?
  804. 00:33:19.060 – 00:33:20.700 Like I didn't miss time dates
  805. 00:33:20.700 – 00:33:21.960 and all of that type of stuff.
  806. 00:33:22.180 – 00:33:25.880 Just miscalculating life, you know?
  807. 00:33:26.080 – 00:33:27.380 But one thing about me,
  808. 00:33:27.380 – 00:33:30.860 if I have ever miscalculated something
  809. 00:33:30.860 – 00:33:32.920 or I didn't deliver on the timely frame,
  810. 00:33:32.920 – 00:33:34.740 I am the type of person, man,
  811. 00:33:34.740 – 00:33:36.400 I'll make it up 10 fold to somebody.
  812. 00:33:36.980 – 00:33:40.440 Like, and I will go out my way to make it up to somebody
  813. 00:33:40.440 – 00:33:45.200 because it's like, people invest in what we do.
  814. 00:33:45.620 – 00:33:48.740 And I do photography so much,
  815. 00:33:49.100 – 00:33:52.880 sometimes that gets away from us
  816. 00:33:52.880 – 00:33:55.060 as the owner or the entrepreneur
  817. 00:33:55.060 – 00:33:57.460 to where it's like, man,
  818. 00:33:57.600 – 00:34:01.900 somebody is truly investing $350
  819. 00:34:01.900 – 00:34:06.140 every session for a photo shoot.
  820. 00:34:06.400 – 00:34:08.320 We got a luxury expense.
  821. 00:34:09.139 – 00:34:11.760 So like, and when people come to me,
  822. 00:34:12.679 – 00:34:14.060 they're not coming regular.
  823. 00:34:14.760 – 00:34:15.860 They're getting their makeup done,
  824. 00:34:15.960 – 00:34:17.100 their hair done, their outfits.
  825. 00:34:17.320 – 00:34:21.139 So they might be a thousand yen on this photo shoot
  826. 00:34:21.139 – 00:34:23.460 just to put on social media.
  827. 00:34:23.920 – 00:34:25.719 They don't even frame it, half of this stuff.
  828. 00:34:25.940 – 00:34:27.560 They're just doing it for the gram.
  829. 00:34:28.219 – 00:34:28.280 And-
  830. 00:34:28.280 – 00:34:28.820 Our website.
  831. 00:34:29.060 – 00:34:30.520 Yeah, or a website or something.
  832. 00:34:30.520 – 00:34:33.080 Really, for social media, for real.
  833. 00:34:33.480 – 00:34:35.860 Like, it really boiled down to it.
  834. 00:34:35.900 – 00:34:37.000 You're a thousand yen on it,
  835. 00:34:37.000 – 00:34:38.719 so we're a luxury expense.
  836. 00:34:39.800 – 00:34:42.320 But I don't take that for granted.
  837. 00:34:42.659 – 00:34:44.659 Like, man, when those people come in
  838. 00:34:44.659 – 00:34:46.320 and they scared to death
  839. 00:34:46.320 – 00:34:48.340 and never took a picture in their life,
  840. 00:34:49.320 – 00:34:53.100 it's such an honor that I get to work with them
  841. 00:34:53.100 – 00:34:57.640 because of, man, the one thing people always tell you,
  842. 00:34:57.780 – 00:34:59.740 any review of any shoot I ever did,
  843. 00:34:59.740 – 00:35:02.820 people will tell you their comfort in me.
  844. 00:35:02.900 – 00:35:04.680 They'll be like, man, I love working with Ned
  845. 00:35:04.680 – 00:35:05.820 because I'm having fun.
  846. 00:35:06.220 – 00:35:08.700 I know, this is weird.
  847. 00:35:08.980 – 00:35:11.520 I know it's like, you ain't the person
  848. 00:35:11.520 – 00:35:13.200 taking your selfie today, girl.
  849. 00:35:13.400 – 00:35:14.380 I'm taking it.
  850. 00:35:15.020 – 00:35:17.900 Oh, it's like, I love that portion of it
  851. 00:35:17.900 – 00:35:20.520 to where it's like, I get to give you
  852. 00:35:20.520 – 00:35:23.940 a great experience that it's no preconceived notions,
  853. 00:35:23.940 – 00:35:26.080 or even if you did, I'd have broke
  854. 00:35:26.080 – 00:35:27.340 all those preconceived notions
  855. 00:35:27.340 – 00:35:29.400 because I'm here having fun with you.
  856. 00:35:29.400 – 00:35:31.760 I'm not even letting you think that we in a photo shoot.
  857. 00:35:32.220 – 00:35:34.180 We have a casual, fun conversation.
  858. 00:35:34.320 – 00:35:35.680 Oh, but I need this shot right here.
  859. 00:35:35.880 – 00:35:36.880 Oh, you little girl, girl.
  860. 00:35:37.160 – 00:35:38.700 Hey, I need you to do this turn real quick.
  861. 00:35:38.720 – 00:35:39.780 Let me get this little shot.
  862. 00:35:39.920 – 00:35:41.860 I already got all of the things I want to,
  863. 00:35:41.860 – 00:35:43.300 but I'm building a confidence
  864. 00:35:44.200 – 00:35:46.000 in this love for their self,
  865. 00:35:46.020 – 00:35:48.260 this liberation within the client
  866. 00:35:48.260 – 00:35:51.440 to where it's like, I like doing that with women
  867. 00:35:51.440 – 00:35:52.720 and I love doing that with men
  868. 00:35:52.720 – 00:35:55.040 because men are more standoffish
  869. 00:35:55.040 – 00:35:56.480 when it comes to photo shoots.
  870. 00:35:56.600 – 00:35:57.340 Especially weddings.
  871. 00:35:57.340 – 00:35:59.740 Man, they be like, and there it's like, man,
  872. 00:35:59.740 – 00:36:02.260 when you see the, you want them to preserve
  873. 00:36:02.260 – 00:36:04.360 their masculinity and still be cool.
  874. 00:36:04.560 – 00:36:05.860 And when you get that shot of them,
  875. 00:36:05.980 – 00:36:08.140 they be like, man, this was raw, brother.
  876. 00:36:08.920 – 00:36:11.140 Like, man, you dope, man, you the best ever.
  877. 00:36:11.220 – 00:36:14.640 Like, man, I ain't even got to the meat of this, man.
  878. 00:36:15.740 – 00:36:17.000 Nobody did this.
  879. 00:36:19.100 – 00:36:22.440 So, you know, speaking with a new photographer,
  880. 00:36:22.900 – 00:36:24.400 they're, you know, maybe went to college
  881. 00:36:24.400 – 00:36:26.220 and they kind of want to take it professional.
  882. 00:36:26.220 – 00:36:27.720 They never charged yet,
  883. 00:36:27.720 – 00:36:29.460 but they're looking too charged
  884. 00:36:29.460 – 00:36:31.880 and want to step into that full-time entrepreneurship.
  885. 00:36:32.200 – 00:36:32.680 Yeah.
  886. 00:36:32.800 – 00:36:35.640 How important is the client experience for them?
  887. 00:36:36.680 – 00:36:39.020 You saying like, as far as?
  888. 00:36:39.460 – 00:36:41.940 Making them comfortable, making sure, you know,
  889. 00:36:42.140 – 00:36:44.000 everything goes well, serving the customer.
  890. 00:36:44.440 – 00:36:45.620 Oh, yeah, that's number one.
  891. 00:36:45.760 – 00:36:47.160 You got to be able to do that.
  892. 00:36:47.840 – 00:36:50.160 Like, when I do photo shoots with people,
  893. 00:36:50.340 – 00:36:52.940 especially if they never did a photo shoot before,
  894. 00:36:52.940 – 00:36:55.840 I can tell them the light, my light could look good.
  895. 00:36:56.360 – 00:36:57.260 You could look good.
  896. 00:36:57.280 – 00:37:00.440 You can have on Gucci, Louis Vuitton, hair could be done.
  897. 00:37:00.480 – 00:37:02.900 You got the top makeup artists in the city do your stuff.
  898. 00:37:03.140 – 00:37:05.400 We could be in the most luxurious space.
  899. 00:37:06.200 – 00:37:07.300 Everything could look great.
  900. 00:37:07.520 – 00:37:08.880 But if you don't have no confidence,
  901. 00:37:09.320 – 00:37:10.700 I can see it on every picture.
  902. 00:37:11.140 – 00:37:14.020 So the thing that I beg of people
  903. 00:37:14.020 – 00:37:19.240 and I build up in clients is confidence.
  904. 00:37:20.000 – 00:37:21.700 Like, you have to smile with them.
  905. 00:37:21.700 – 00:37:23.100 You have to laugh at them.
  906. 00:37:23.340 – 00:37:25.620 You have to refrain from saying certain things.
  907. 00:37:26.000 – 00:37:27.520 You cannot show your emotions
  908. 00:37:27.520 – 00:37:29.860 when it comes to certain clients
  909. 00:37:29.860 – 00:37:34.920 if they did something that was maybe inappropriate
  910. 00:37:34.920 – 00:37:37.520 or if they did something that was not flattering.
  911. 00:37:37.920 – 00:37:40.540 So you have to walk them back into a space
  912. 00:37:40.540 – 00:37:42.760 because the thing about photography
  913. 00:37:42.760 – 00:37:46.200 is that even that they don't understand
  914. 00:37:46.200 – 00:37:51.420 about what we see the forest beyond the trees,
  915. 00:37:51.420 – 00:37:53.280 so we see everything.
  916. 00:37:53.300 – 00:37:56.220 I see everything of how this session need to go.
  917. 00:37:56.740 – 00:37:58.820 I see the shot that I need from you.
  918. 00:37:58.820 – 00:38:01.400 When you give me a reference picture, okay, cool.
  919. 00:38:01.760 – 00:38:03.400 You're not that person in that picture.
  920. 00:38:04.280 – 00:38:08.060 You might not be able capable of doing that type of move,
  921. 00:38:08.280 – 00:38:09.780 but this is our origin point.
  922. 00:38:09.880 – 00:38:10.860 This is our reference point.
  923. 00:38:11.400 – 00:38:13.860 So we gonna take that, use it as a reference,
  924. 00:38:14.420 – 00:38:16.160 but we gonna own the shot.
  925. 00:38:16.360 – 00:38:18.340 We gonna do what we wanna do with it.
  926. 00:38:18.960 – 00:38:21.100 So, and I sell that to people
  927. 00:38:21.100 – 00:38:23.500 and I get them going and get them to understand,
  928. 00:38:24.120 – 00:38:26.000 man, just trust me.
  929. 00:38:26.440 – 00:38:27.800 Just trust me.
  930. 00:38:28.600 – 00:38:30.300 Once I get to shoot with them
  931. 00:38:30.300 – 00:38:32.480 and they'll see those shots,
  932. 00:38:33.180 – 00:38:34.660 and usually I'll shoot to a point
  933. 00:38:34.660 – 00:38:36.200 where I get that shot
  934. 00:38:36.200 – 00:38:38.320 that I know where that shot look good.
  935. 00:38:38.760 – 00:38:40.220 Then once I show them that,
  936. 00:38:40.500 – 00:38:43.700 then it kinda like, oh, okay, I trust this guy.
  937. 00:38:43.860 – 00:38:44.980 I trust this guy.
  938. 00:38:45.200 – 00:38:50.060 So I say, with the new photographers,
  939. 00:38:51.100 – 00:38:54.840 man, you have to give them a grand sense of comfortability.
  940. 00:38:55.260 – 00:38:57.620 Because if they're not comfortable,
  941. 00:38:58.360 – 00:38:59.340 man, I have worked,
  942. 00:38:59.420 – 00:39:00.740 I probably worked with one client
  943. 00:39:00.740 – 00:39:04.520 that just was like, oh, she was like, ah.
  944. 00:39:04.920 – 00:39:09.400 But I needed that because it helped me to see
  945. 00:39:09.400 – 00:39:12.480 how important it was to get them comfortable.
  946. 00:39:13.080 – 00:39:15.360 So now, I go in there, man,
  947. 00:39:15.360 – 00:39:17.060 I turn out to be people's best friend.
  948. 00:39:17.660 – 00:39:19.660 Because I have, I just, I understand,
  949. 00:39:19.660 – 00:39:23.380 I never undermine how much that,
  950. 00:39:23.620 – 00:39:25.100 that's how vulnerable you are
  951. 00:39:25.100 – 00:39:28.420 when it comes to photography, man.
  952. 00:39:28.500 – 00:39:30.100 Like when somebody else is taking your picture.
  953. 00:39:30.160 – 00:39:30.920 I know for sure,
  954. 00:39:30.940 – 00:39:33.640 I had to take some naked pictures with a photographer.
  955. 00:39:33.900 – 00:39:36.800 So that was like, it was dope,
  956. 00:39:37.020 – 00:39:38.720 but it was, it was.
  957. 00:39:38.720 – 00:39:38.980 Different.
  958. 00:39:39.360 – 00:39:40.720 Yeah, because it gave me,
  959. 00:39:40.920 – 00:39:43.220 I had to understand what people went through.
  960. 00:39:43.640 – 00:39:45.240 It was with Steph Midgett for his birthday.
  961. 00:39:45.400 – 00:39:48.060 He took pictures of like 25 different photographers, nude.
  962. 00:39:48.060 – 00:39:51.440 But all we had was a piece of equipment over our cell.
  963. 00:39:51.900 – 00:39:53.660 And he didn't edit these pictures, neither.
  964. 00:39:53.700 – 00:39:55.140 He just put them in black and white.
  965. 00:39:55.660 – 00:39:57.540 Post, put them up in his studio
  966. 00:39:58.580 – 00:40:00.500 for people to see on his birthday.
  967. 00:40:01.060 – 00:40:02.800 It was the most live-est thing.
  968. 00:40:03.500 – 00:40:04.940 And I look, I'm like, all right.
  969. 00:40:05.060 – 00:40:06.440 When he told me about it, I'm like,
  970. 00:40:06.640 – 00:40:08.540 bro, this is one of the broadest ideas ever.
  971. 00:40:08.660 – 00:40:10.380 Like, I gotta be a part of this, this is art.
  972. 00:40:11.400 – 00:40:12.820 So I'm like, I mean, my whole time,
  973. 00:40:12.880 – 00:40:14.340 he was like, all right, bro, we gonna shoot this day.
  974. 00:40:14.420 – 00:40:15.240 I'm like, all right, cool.
  975. 00:40:15.600 – 00:40:17.280 So I'm like, full nervous.
  976. 00:40:17.280 – 00:40:19.600 But I'm like, all right, I'm gonna give him some stuff, too.
  977. 00:40:19.680 – 00:40:20.760 I'm gonna pose.
  978. 00:40:20.940 – 00:40:22.840 If I ain't gonna do nothing, I'm gonna pose today.
  979. 00:40:23.100 – 00:40:24.340 I remember hearing about that.
  980. 00:40:24.440 – 00:40:26.780 Actually, her mother, she was one of those photographers.
  981. 00:40:26.860 – 00:40:27.720 That's so dope.
  982. 00:40:27.820 – 00:40:28.500 It was dope.
  983. 00:40:28.940 – 00:40:30.280 And then look, I ran out of poses.
  984. 00:40:30.660 – 00:40:31.540 And he kept shooting.
  985. 00:40:31.880 – 00:40:33.620 I'm like, bro, I ain't got nothing else.
  986. 00:40:34.020 – 00:40:35.540 I'm like, he kept shooting.
  987. 00:40:35.680 – 00:40:36.720 I'm like, bro, stop.
  988. 00:40:36.960 – 00:40:37.760 He was like, no.
  989. 00:40:38.140 – 00:40:40.660 And then it made it made sense.
  990. 00:40:40.980 – 00:40:42.820 Because when he didn't stop shooting,
  991. 00:40:43.000 – 00:40:44.580 he kept shooting, it made me feel vulnerable.
  992. 00:40:44.960 – 00:40:47.000 And I was nervous and scared
  993. 00:40:47.000 – 00:40:49.400 because I was all out of ideas.
  994. 00:40:50.020 – 00:40:53.160 And I'm like, and it made me feel what my clients feel.
  995. 00:40:53.520 – 00:40:57.140 And it was just like, man, in this moment,
  996. 00:40:57.180 – 00:40:58.440 it just made more sense
  997. 00:40:58.440 – 00:41:01.600 to where I always have her appreciation for my clients
  998. 00:41:01.600 – 00:41:03.360 and making them feel comfortable.
  999. 00:41:03.580 – 00:41:05.580 Because you got to, you got to.
  1000. 00:41:05.740 – 00:41:09.720 Because it's like, it's a, I can't even,
  1001. 00:41:09.800 – 00:41:12.300 it's hard for me to even shoot a client
  1002. 00:41:12.300 – 00:41:14.200 where they not talking to you,
  1003. 00:41:14.220 – 00:41:15.760 where they just in here like, oh, okay.
  1004. 00:41:16.480 – 00:41:17.120 It's like.
  1005. 00:41:17.500 – 00:41:20.100 Yeah, I definitely been through that.
  1006. 00:41:20.300 – 00:41:23.460 Sometimes it's hard, but like more of a portraits,
  1007. 00:41:23.460 – 00:41:25.800 you know, photo sessions, you know,
  1008. 00:41:25.880 – 00:41:27.640 music kind of alleviates that.
  1009. 00:41:27.680 – 00:41:28.660 Well, what's your favorite song?
  1010. 00:41:29.140 – 00:41:29.580 Yeah.
  1011. 00:41:29.880 – 00:41:30.680 I don't have one.
  1012. 00:41:30.720 – 00:41:32.140 Then I place in the, oh, can we play?
  1013. 00:41:32.480 – 00:41:33.280 Oh, yes.
  1014. 00:41:33.520 – 00:41:35.040 It take them a while to warm up.
  1015. 00:41:35.140 – 00:41:36.880 That's the thing about clients, man.
  1016. 00:41:37.000 – 00:41:38.340 It take them a little while.
  1017. 00:41:38.520 – 00:41:42.360 Once they warm up, man, the electricity that you have,
  1018. 00:41:42.360 – 00:41:45.860 it's like y'all on the planet by yourself
  1019. 00:41:45.860 – 00:41:49.280 and y'all get to create and that's the thing that I love.
  1020. 00:41:49.300 – 00:41:53.240 That's what I love about people who don't model.
  1021. 00:41:53.560 – 00:41:56.220 But when you got those creators which you work with,
  1022. 00:41:57.180 – 00:41:59.220 ain't a magic in the world like that
  1023. 00:41:59.220 – 00:42:00.580 when two creators get together.
  1024. 00:42:01.060 – 00:42:02.720 It's the greatest thing of all time.
  1025. 00:42:02.760 – 00:42:04.120 It's like, you can't do no wrong.
  1026. 00:42:05.400 – 00:42:07.940 Yeah, it's, yeah, that's what I love about it, man.
  1027. 00:42:08.200 – 00:42:10.220 But I love it though, man, it's dope.
  1028. 00:42:10.540 – 00:42:11.440 Yes, it is.
  1029. 00:42:12.140 – 00:42:15.480 I know you kind of spoke on those early days,
  1030. 00:42:15.900 – 00:42:16.960 working nine to five.
  1031. 00:42:16.960 – 00:42:19.200 It wasn't nine to five, but it was started at six.
  1032. 00:42:19.520 – 00:42:20.900 But nine to five grind.
  1033. 00:42:21.420 – 00:42:22.920 I know you had to wake up early.
  1034. 00:42:23.200 – 00:42:26.020 But how do you prevent burnout in a field
  1035. 00:42:26.020 – 00:42:29.000 where you're often working evenings and weekends?
  1036. 00:42:31.240 – 00:42:33.420 Are you talking about like when it comes to photography
  1037. 00:42:33.420 – 00:42:35.440 or are you talking about photography and work?
  1038. 00:42:36.500 – 00:42:38.400 Like when I was working my job.
  1039. 00:42:38.940 – 00:42:41.960 Well, both are, you know, now photographers,
  1040. 00:42:42.540 – 00:42:44.620 like mainly events are like in the evenings
  1041. 00:42:44.620 – 00:42:46.240 or weekends, prime time.
  1042. 00:42:46.940 – 00:42:48.680 Yeah, okay, all right.
  1043. 00:42:48.840 – 00:42:50.500 With burnout, burnout is for real.
  1044. 00:42:50.520 – 00:42:50.940 It is.
  1045. 00:42:50.940 – 00:42:53.840 So it's like, and sometimes like you don't know that
  1046. 00:42:53.840 – 00:42:55.660 until you really start,
  1047. 00:42:56.520 – 00:42:58.240 until like the clientele start growing.
  1048. 00:42:58.740 – 00:43:00.520 Then it's like, you can't,
  1049. 00:43:00.620 – 00:43:02.640 you always got to treat your business
  1050. 00:43:02.640 – 00:43:07.120 as if it's the top, like if it's the top business,
  1051. 00:43:07.120 – 00:43:08.440 because you don't,
  1052. 00:43:08.440 – 00:43:10.880 like I don't never like to say like small businesses.
  1053. 00:43:11.400 – 00:43:12.880 Only time you want to say small business
  1054. 00:43:12.880 – 00:43:14.220 is when you going for a grant.
  1055. 00:43:15.080 – 00:43:17.660 But for the most part, if you,
  1056. 00:43:17.760 – 00:43:18.580 business is business.
  1057. 00:43:19.180 – 00:43:22.840 You competing with portrait innovations
  1058. 00:43:22.840 – 00:43:24.220 with other photographers.
  1059. 00:43:24.580 – 00:43:25.480 So guess what?
  1060. 00:43:25.920 – 00:43:28.400 You got to think big.
  1061. 00:43:29.040 – 00:43:31.300 So, and you got to think big for big occasions
  1062. 00:43:31.300 – 00:43:33.600 because when it go the other way,
  1063. 00:43:33.940 – 00:43:34.940 you better be ready.
  1064. 00:43:35.120 – 00:43:36.740 Because when those floodgates come through,
  1065. 00:43:36.740 – 00:43:38.760 man, them people, hey, I need you, I need you,
  1066. 00:43:38.760 – 00:43:39.800 I need you, I need you.
  1067. 00:43:40.000 – 00:43:42.000 Man, it's been so many times where I wasn't prepared
  1068. 00:43:42.000 – 00:43:44.440 that I missed those DMs.
  1069. 00:43:44.620 – 00:43:45.880 Man, I didn't miss probably,
  1070. 00:43:47.300 – 00:43:48.940 I couldn't tell you how many thousand dollars
  1071. 00:43:48.940 – 00:43:50.140 worth of DMs I didn't miss.
  1072. 00:43:50.220 – 00:43:55.200 Just because I wasn't ready for that influx of people.
  1073. 00:43:55.320 – 00:43:58.460 So I think like when it comes to balancing
  1074. 00:43:58.940 – 00:44:00.820 all of that, of like that overflow,
  1075. 00:44:01.420 – 00:44:04.700 you just have to, man, don't take on more.
  1076. 00:44:04.780 – 00:44:05.880 It's okay to say no.
  1077. 00:44:05.880 – 00:44:07.800 It's okay to say no.
  1078. 00:44:08.360 – 00:44:11.300 Because like I used to say yes to everything.
  1079. 00:44:11.640 – 00:44:15.120 And then just, and then I used to say yes
  1080. 00:44:15.120 – 00:44:17.240 to everything and was undervalued.
  1081. 00:44:18.080 – 00:44:20.060 And then you saying yes to things
  1082. 00:44:20.060 – 00:44:21.380 where you not getting paid,
  1083. 00:44:21.980 – 00:44:23.360 makes you dislike your passion.
  1084. 00:44:24.120 – 00:44:27.260 You know, so I had to get to that point
  1085. 00:44:27.260 – 00:44:31.100 where, hey, all right, y'all can use me,
  1086. 00:44:31.100 – 00:44:32.080 but it's gonna cost you.
  1087. 00:44:32.220 – 00:44:33.620 And this is what it's gonna cost you.
  1088. 00:44:33.620 – 00:44:36.760 So if I'm this valued at this price
  1089. 00:44:36.760 – 00:44:39.060 and y'all are cool with it, that's cool.
  1090. 00:44:39.420 – 00:44:41.800 But at the point that I ever feel overwhelmed with that,
  1091. 00:44:41.980 – 00:44:43.140 guess what, guess what's gonna happen?
  1092. 00:44:43.800 – 00:44:45.160 My prices go up.
  1093. 00:44:45.360 – 00:44:46.940 Now I ain't for everybody.
  1094. 00:44:47.320 – 00:44:48.020 You know what I'm saying?
  1095. 00:44:48.600 – 00:44:54.060 So I had to talk to God about hiking my prices up.
  1096. 00:44:54.400 – 00:44:56.800 So when I talked to God about like a number
  1097. 00:44:56.800 – 00:44:58.400 that I was comfortable with
  1098. 00:44:58.400 – 00:45:00.800 and I said it out loud like 10 times,
  1099. 00:45:01.100 – 00:45:02.660 oh yeah, this is my price point now.
  1100. 00:45:02.660 – 00:45:04.900 So yeah, I'm not for everybody.
  1101. 00:45:04.920 – 00:45:08.300 When I did that, it was people that was gonna pay it,
  1102. 00:45:08.380 – 00:45:09.320 it was people that wasn't.
  1103. 00:45:09.320 – 00:45:10.740 And I was cool with it either way.
  1104. 00:45:11.160 – 00:45:14.240 I didn't care about missing out on the money.
  1105. 00:45:14.300 – 00:45:16.700 And then too, I would always send that to other people.
  1106. 00:45:17.080 – 00:45:18.920 So it's like, that's the community
  1107. 00:45:18.920 – 00:45:20.460 of photographers that we in.
  1108. 00:45:20.960 – 00:45:22.380 Even though I can't get it,
  1109. 00:45:22.440 – 00:45:23.760 but I know good photographers
  1110. 00:45:23.760 – 00:45:25.460 that can take care of you and do that.
  1111. 00:45:25.880 – 00:45:28.700 Yeah, our stuff may not be the same,
  1112. 00:45:28.980 – 00:45:31.120 but I want you to be taken care of
  1113. 00:45:31.120 – 00:45:32.840 because this is your budget.
  1114. 00:45:33.340 – 00:45:34.580 It's just when you had those people
  1115. 00:45:34.580 – 00:45:37.320 with champagne tastes on a beer budget,
  1116. 00:45:38.860 – 00:45:40.420 it's like, all right now,
  1117. 00:45:40.500 – 00:45:42.740 I can't, that's why I give them plenty of options.
  1118. 00:45:42.960 – 00:45:43.980 You can give me one hour.
  1119. 00:45:45.140 – 00:45:46.680 Okay, you want to give me for multiple hours?
  1120. 00:45:46.820 – 00:45:48.180 Well, this is the price for multiple hours.
  1121. 00:45:48.780 – 00:45:50.820 So I had to think of it in a way
  1122. 00:45:50.820 – 00:45:53.420 to where it made sense for me and the client, so.
  1123. 00:45:55.180 – 00:45:57.640 How big is finding that happy medium?
  1124. 00:45:57.740 – 00:46:00.740 Maybe it's like a client that you want to work with,
  1125. 00:46:00.740 – 00:46:02.260 but you know they don't have a budget.
  1126. 00:46:03.140 – 00:46:04.660 Oh, I missed out on some bread one time.
  1127. 00:46:04.780 – 00:46:05.800 It was crazy you said that.
  1128. 00:46:06.280 – 00:46:09.220 I had like, it was just one client that I worked with
  1129. 00:46:10.240 – 00:46:12.580 and they had to have these headshots
  1130. 00:46:13.540 – 00:46:15.760 and it was like maybe about 20 people.
  1131. 00:46:15.900 – 00:46:17.560 So I had quote them for like,
  1132. 00:46:17.560 – 00:46:19.880 maybe about four grand for the headshots.
  1133. 00:46:20.460 – 00:46:22.480 I forgot, it was somewhere around there.
  1134. 00:46:22.620 – 00:46:23.780 It was like four grand,
  1135. 00:46:24.280 – 00:46:27.600 but then it was this other company that they were.
  1136. 00:46:27.920 – 00:46:29.720 The other company was upstairs
  1137. 00:46:30.160 – 00:46:36.970 and they had like 35 people,
  1138. 00:46:37.090 – 00:46:39.610 but their budget was only at 1500,
  1139. 00:46:40.150 – 00:46:42.130 but I really wanted that one.
  1140. 00:46:42.670 – 00:46:44.010 Like I wanted both of them,
  1141. 00:46:44.070 – 00:46:47.010 but I wanted both of them.
  1142. 00:46:47.410 – 00:46:50.550 But it was hard for me to not quote these people
  1143. 00:46:50.550 – 00:46:52.030 for this four grand and then say,
  1144. 00:46:52.070 – 00:46:53.430 I can knock down these people,
  1145. 00:46:54.030 – 00:46:58.850 which these people that had 35 plus people wanted 1500,
  1146. 00:46:59.890 – 00:47:02.290 but they even wanted me to do more,
  1147. 00:47:02.290 – 00:47:03.390 a little bit more work,
  1148. 00:47:03.390 – 00:47:04.950 like headshots and portrait.
  1149. 00:47:05.570 – 00:47:06.010 You know what I'm saying?
  1150. 00:47:06.010 – 00:47:07.090 Like a full body portrait.
  1151. 00:47:07.410 – 00:47:09.150 And I wanted to do them bad
  1152. 00:47:09.150 – 00:47:12.310 because all of the people that I was doing
  1153. 00:47:12.310 – 00:47:13.710 were prestigious people.
  1154. 00:47:13.910 – 00:47:15.090 I knew there was gonna be clients.
  1155. 00:47:15.470 – 00:47:18.370 I knew if I could get 10 of them people,
  1156. 00:47:18.370 – 00:47:19.410 there was gonna be clients.
  1157. 00:47:19.670 – 00:47:20.870 And then when I think of a client,
  1158. 00:47:20.990 – 00:47:21.810 I think of a,
  1159. 00:47:21.850 – 00:47:23.210 if I get you one person,
  1160. 00:47:23.290 – 00:47:25.490 I'm gonna get you for life some type of way,
  1161. 00:47:26.110 – 00:47:27.430 because whether I get you in business,
  1162. 00:47:27.630 – 00:47:28.610 you gonna need family shoots,
  1163. 00:47:28.870 – 00:47:29.970 you gonna need something, something, something,
  1164. 00:47:30.030 – 00:47:30.630 something, something, something, something, something.
  1165. 00:47:30.630 – 00:47:36.270 So, but I didn't get that shoot for the four grand
  1166. 00:47:36.270 – 00:47:37.870 and I didn't get the shoot for the 15,
  1167. 00:47:37.910 – 00:47:39.350 but the 15 was sitting in my lap,
  1168. 00:47:40.250 – 00:47:44.210 but I just could not tell them
  1169. 00:47:44.210 – 00:47:45.950 I was gonna accept the 15,
  1170. 00:47:45.970 – 00:47:47.530 even though I wanted that one bad.
  1171. 00:47:47.690 – 00:47:48.710 I wanted that one bad
  1172. 00:47:48.710 – 00:47:51.670 because I knew that one was gonna give me
  1173. 00:47:51.670 – 00:47:53.610 so much more than the four.
  1174. 00:47:53.730 – 00:47:56.250 It's just that I worked with that company previously
  1175. 00:47:57.410 – 00:47:59.630 and if I would have went down to there,
  1176. 00:47:59.630 – 00:48:02.470 I could never have went back up to there.
  1177. 00:48:02.890 – 00:48:07.090 So I was just trying to find a good negotiating way to say,
  1178. 00:48:07.970 – 00:48:09.750 I can't do this, but I can do this.
  1179. 00:48:10.630 – 00:48:12.590 But I would like to come back to this
  1180. 00:48:12.590 – 00:48:13.970 at some point into my life,
  1181. 00:48:14.130 – 00:48:15.490 if y'all can honor that.
  1182. 00:48:16.170 – 00:48:18.810 But it was just one of those things.
  1183. 00:48:19.950 – 00:48:22.110 But me sticking to my word,
  1184. 00:48:23.090 – 00:48:26.370 missing out on that four grand and that 1500,
  1185. 00:48:26.990 – 00:48:29.930 the next month I pulled in like 12 grand.
  1186. 00:48:30.890 – 00:48:31.510 You know what I'm saying?
  1187. 00:48:31.930 – 00:48:35.550 So some things ain't technically for you at that point,
  1188. 00:48:35.870 – 00:48:37.450 like you gotta find out what's for you.
  1189. 00:48:37.990 – 00:48:39.210 So yeah, it kinda hurt,
  1190. 00:48:39.270 – 00:48:43.170 but I stood on what I felt that was right.
  1191. 00:48:43.610 – 00:48:45.570 You know, like me, what I built,
  1192. 00:48:46.250 – 00:48:47.950 what I said was etched in stone,
  1193. 00:48:48.070 – 00:48:50.150 what's on that paper when I send it
  1194. 00:48:50.150 – 00:48:54.530 or that digital file when I send those prices over.
  1195. 00:48:54.610 – 00:48:55.430 This is what I stand on.
  1196. 00:48:55.430 – 00:48:58.110 This is what it costs for this type of service.
  1197. 00:48:58.330 – 00:49:01.510 So when I did that, man, it's like, come on, man,
  1198. 00:49:01.510 – 00:49:03.750 I locked in bigger clients.
  1199. 00:49:03.830 – 00:49:04.850 You know what I'm saying?
  1200. 00:49:05.030 – 00:49:07.450 Sometimes we just, we don't be seeing
  1201. 00:49:07.450 – 00:49:09.210 so far down the line,
  1202. 00:49:09.470 – 00:49:12.450 but if you believe in what you believe in, man,
  1203. 00:49:12.510 – 00:49:15.130 you're locking in those clients, man, I'm telling you.
  1204. 00:49:15.430 – 00:49:15.910 Yeah.
  1205. 00:49:16.370 – 00:49:20.750 So it kinda sounds like if you get a client
  1206. 00:49:20.750 – 00:49:22.710 or it could be a friend or anybody,
  1207. 00:49:22.710 – 00:49:25.930 but they like your work the first time,
  1208. 00:49:26.250 – 00:49:28.010 going all the way back to the client experience
  1209. 00:49:28.010 – 00:49:29.350 and you excelled in it.
  1210. 00:49:30.010 – 00:49:32.470 You know, it's almost like a lifetime client.
  1211. 00:49:33.130 – 00:49:33.230 Yeah.
  1212. 00:49:33.330 – 00:49:34.470 Have you ever had a lifetime client?
  1213. 00:49:34.690 – 00:49:36.810 Yeah, I got a girl that I shoot every,
  1214. 00:49:37.050 – 00:49:39.050 like since, for five years,
  1215. 00:49:39.310 – 00:49:42.250 I've been full-time, October would be five years.
  1216. 00:49:42.650 – 00:49:44.470 So I'm a full-time photographer.
  1217. 00:49:45.030 – 00:49:49.090 I shoot her and her son every year
  1218. 00:49:49.090 – 00:49:50.330 at the end of the year.
  1219. 00:49:50.330 – 00:49:55.270 That's, it is the most gratifying thing
  1220. 00:49:55.270 – 00:49:56.750 because it's like, man,
  1221. 00:49:57.390 – 00:50:01.070 I plan on seeing this kid grow up out of school.
  1222. 00:50:01.130 – 00:50:03.390 I just seen her yesterday,
  1223. 00:50:03.390 – 00:50:05.950 matter of fact, at a lounge
  1224. 00:50:06.490 – 00:50:08.690 and she had a tragedy that happened with her
  1225. 00:50:08.690 – 00:50:09.610 and it's just it,
  1226. 00:50:09.850 – 00:50:12.190 like you feel it because it's not like a,
  1227. 00:50:12.310 – 00:50:13.550 man, I'll take a picture, boom, boom.
  1228. 00:50:13.670 – 00:50:15.510 It's like, man, you keeping up with people.
  1229. 00:50:15.730 – 00:50:18.010 You keep, it ain't no different from a barber
  1230. 00:50:18.010 – 00:50:20.750 to a kid sitting in a chair with him
  1231. 00:50:20.750 – 00:50:22.450 and he just gonna cut his hair every,
  1232. 00:50:22.830 – 00:50:23.870 he gonna know his family.
  1233. 00:50:24.250 – 00:50:27.390 So it's just like, man, I get clients that,
  1234. 00:50:27.510 – 00:50:30.590 man, I get this, I get them on a business shot.
  1235. 00:50:30.750 – 00:50:31.910 Oh, I need family pictures.
  1236. 00:50:32.230 – 00:50:33.150 Oh, I need this.
  1237. 00:50:33.450 – 00:50:34.370 Oh, I need that.
  1238. 00:50:34.690 – 00:50:36.070 Oh, we locked in for life.
  1239. 00:50:36.410 – 00:50:39.290 And the more and more I deal with them,
  1240. 00:50:39.730 – 00:50:42.790 the more situations I have,
  1241. 00:50:42.850 – 00:50:44.450 I may have somewhere a deal come up
  1242. 00:50:44.450 – 00:50:45.450 where I hit the client up,
  1243. 00:50:45.490 – 00:50:47.470 hey, look, I don't know what you got going on
  1244. 00:50:47.470 – 00:50:49.590 but I'm running this special for this month.
  1245. 00:50:50.170 – 00:50:51.730 Like boom, boom, boom, boom, just catch you.
  1246. 00:50:51.870 – 00:50:53.410 I don't have to tell nobody nothing.
  1247. 00:50:53.410 – 00:50:55.530 I just let them see from promo
  1248. 00:50:55.530 – 00:50:58.450 but those type of people, I just like,
  1249. 00:50:58.490 – 00:51:00.390 I always kind of like,
  1250. 00:51:00.450 – 00:51:01.670 hey, blah, blah, blah, blah,
  1251. 00:51:01.830 – 00:51:02.790 this is what's going on.
  1252. 00:51:03.470 – 00:51:04.610 So it's like,
  1253. 00:51:04.810 – 00:51:06.490 and sometimes it don't even be about the bread.
  1254. 00:51:06.750 – 00:51:07.810 Sometimes it'd be like,
  1255. 00:51:08.110 – 00:51:10.230 we'd be locked in so deep to where it's just like,
  1256. 00:51:10.310 – 00:51:12.030 man, I might pull up on them and just blast them.
  1257. 00:51:12.090 – 00:51:12.990 Like boom, boom, boom.
  1258. 00:51:13.490 – 00:51:15.190 Man, y'all take that, y'all take care.
  1259. 00:51:15.470 – 00:51:16.050 You know what I'm saying?
  1260. 00:51:16.050 – 00:51:18.170 Because we do so much business
  1261. 00:51:18.170 – 00:51:19.270 to where it's like,
  1262. 00:51:19.270 – 00:51:21.710 man, I'm always a person that remember
  1263. 00:51:21.710 – 00:51:23.730 so much stuff with people.
  1264. 00:51:23.730 – 00:51:25.230 You know, to where it's like,
  1265. 00:51:25.270 – 00:51:26.950 man, thank you, thank you.
  1266. 00:51:26.990 – 00:51:28.390 Like I love this business
  1267. 00:51:28.390 – 00:51:30.850 but man, people will see me out there with my camera
  1268. 00:51:30.850 – 00:51:31.450 and I'll just shoot.
  1269. 00:51:31.590 – 00:51:33.350 I'll go out in these Cleveland events
  1270. 00:51:33.930 – 00:51:35.730 and shoot and go shoot.
  1271. 00:51:36.650 – 00:51:38.250 It's therapy for me.
  1272. 00:51:38.490 – 00:51:39.950 It's perfect practice.
  1273. 00:51:40.310 – 00:51:41.150 It's networking.
  1274. 00:51:41.290 – 00:51:43.450 You gain so much stuff doing that, man.
  1275. 00:51:43.450 – 00:51:46.910 So it's, and you build clientele.
  1276. 00:51:47.050 – 00:51:48.370 You build clientele.
  1277. 00:51:48.670 – 00:51:51.190 Like those networking events go out there.
  1278. 00:51:51.370 – 00:51:53.770 You have to guerrilla market yourself,
  1279. 00:51:54.050 – 00:51:57.070 put your feet on the ground and use your skillset.
  1280. 00:51:57.330 – 00:52:02.370 And you never know what arena you will fall into
  1281. 00:52:02.950 – 00:52:06.630 dealing with one person or just going.
  1282. 00:52:06.970 – 00:52:09.350 Cause man, it will open you up.
  1283. 00:52:10.010 – 00:52:13.090 And God will, I got something for you in the head.
  1284. 00:52:13.350 – 00:52:14.910 Just keep doing what you're doing.
  1285. 00:52:15.110 – 00:52:17.290 So I buy and listen.
  1286. 00:52:17.770 – 00:52:22.400 So it sounds like marketing is important.
  1287. 00:52:22.920 – 00:52:23.360 Yeah.
  1288. 00:52:24.200 – 00:52:26.880 So what has been the most effective way
  1289. 00:52:26.880 – 00:52:29.520 that you've marketed whether that's word of mouth
  1290. 00:52:29.520 – 00:52:31.440 or referrals from other brands?
  1291. 00:52:31.440 – 00:52:33.380 Gram, Instagram.
  1292. 00:52:34.540 – 00:52:37.200 Instagram is really where I quit my job.
  1293. 00:52:37.260 – 00:52:37.760 Okay.
  1294. 00:52:37.760 – 00:52:39.460 And I was making good money there.
  1295. 00:52:39.460 – 00:52:45.500 And it was just that I had a product that I was good at
  1296. 00:52:45.500 – 00:52:48.660 to where it's like, boom.
  1297. 00:52:48.920 – 00:52:50.840 Man, Instagram is the best way.
  1298. 00:52:51.020 – 00:52:53.120 Man, people sell so much stuff,
  1299. 00:52:53.580 – 00:52:56.160 whether it's TikTok, Instagram or anything like that.
  1300. 00:52:56.180 – 00:52:57.140 And how much do it cost?
  1301. 00:52:57.700 – 00:52:57.860 Nothing.
  1302. 00:52:58.300 – 00:52:58.740 It's free.
  1303. 00:52:59.060 – 00:52:59.460 It's free.
  1304. 00:53:00.340 – 00:53:01.180 Instagram is free.
  1305. 00:53:01.800 – 00:53:03.960 So it's like, man, I show my skillset,
  1306. 00:53:04.120 – 00:53:06.480 but I have a, like before I jumped
  1307. 00:53:06.480 – 00:53:08.140 into photography full time,
  1308. 00:53:08.140 – 00:53:10.380 I wanted to make sure that I could do certain things.
  1309. 00:53:10.740 – 00:53:13.660 Now I might not be the best portrait photographer in the city.
  1310. 00:53:14.060 – 00:53:16.720 I might not be the best event photographer in the city.
  1311. 00:53:17.080 – 00:53:19.600 I might not be the best wedding photographer in the city.
  1312. 00:53:19.920 – 00:53:22.900 I might not be the best headshot photographer in the city.
  1313. 00:53:23.200 – 00:53:25.920 I might not be the best product photographer in the city,
  1314. 00:53:26.040 – 00:53:28.640 but I'm good at marketing all five of those.
  1315. 00:53:29.220 – 00:53:31.320 And that's the difference between me
  1316. 00:53:31.320 – 00:53:32.280 and most photographers.
  1317. 00:53:32.920 – 00:53:34.400 Like I'm like a one-stop shop
  1318. 00:53:34.400 – 00:53:35.480 when it comes to everything.
  1319. 00:53:35.900 – 00:53:37.860 Anything that I do marketing on,
  1320. 00:53:37.860 – 00:53:40.100 like as far as product, wedding,
  1321. 00:53:40.780 – 00:53:43.460 I'm like all, like if it's a,
  1322. 00:53:43.800 – 00:53:47.160 if you rate me five stars, I'm four on all of them.
  1323. 00:53:47.480 – 00:53:51.020 Like I see my skillset in the fours on all of them.
  1324. 00:53:51.160 – 00:53:52.400 Everybody know I shoot clean
  1325. 00:53:52.400 – 00:53:55.620 and I'm very technical when it comes to lighting.
  1326. 00:53:56.040 – 00:53:57.820 So like, and that was the thing
  1327. 00:53:57.820 – 00:53:59.680 when it came to photography,
  1328. 00:54:00.100 – 00:54:01.120 that I wanted to be,
  1329. 00:54:01.680 – 00:54:03.440 I don't want you to go to that other photographer
  1330. 00:54:03.440 – 00:54:05.960 for this marketing shot, like with your product.
  1331. 00:54:06.180 – 00:54:07.300 Come to me, I do it.
  1332. 00:54:07.300 – 00:54:09.820 But I'm gonna show you the proof is in the pudding.
  1333. 00:54:10.360 – 00:54:11.480 So everything that I do,
  1334. 00:54:11.740 – 00:54:14.500 especially when it comes to retouching,
  1335. 00:54:15.620 – 00:54:18.280 most people send their stuff off now to retouchers.
  1336. 00:54:18.420 – 00:54:19.200 I don't.
  1337. 00:54:19.460 – 00:54:21.920 Everything I do, I may have sent two or three jobs
  1338. 00:54:21.920 – 00:54:24.040 in my lifetime to a retoucher
  1339. 00:54:24.040 – 00:54:25.620 just to see how I was gonna do.
  1340. 00:54:26.200 – 00:54:28.620 And two of them was with two clients
  1341. 00:54:28.620 – 00:54:31.040 and one of them was with somebody that wasn't a client.
  1342. 00:54:31.140 – 00:54:33.980 And this might've been two years ago,
  1343. 00:54:34.320 – 00:54:35.700 everything I do, I retouch myself.
  1344. 00:54:36.380 – 00:54:38.440 And that's no knock against other people.
  1345. 00:54:38.800 – 00:54:41.860 But my main thing when it comes to retouching,
  1346. 00:54:41.860 – 00:54:45.600 this is my main thing with retouchers.
  1347. 00:54:46.360 – 00:54:48.060 It's like a painter,
  1348. 00:54:49.080 – 00:54:52.560 like a person who's drawing and a person who paint.
  1349. 00:54:53.160 – 00:54:57.180 If you drew something on a canvas,
  1350. 00:54:57.500 – 00:54:59.300 let's say it was etched in and you the artist
  1351. 00:54:59.300 – 00:55:02.140 and you formulated this idea, boom.
  1352. 00:55:02.860 – 00:55:07.620 Then somebody come in and paint what you drew.
  1353. 00:55:08.620 – 00:55:09.740 Whose art is it now?
  1354. 00:55:14.130 – 00:55:15.730 You may have came with the original idea,
  1355. 00:55:15.770 – 00:55:16.830 but what do people see?
  1356. 00:55:17.150 – 00:55:20.890 They're gonna see the retouch, the final look of it.
  1357. 00:55:21.150 – 00:55:23.110 Man, retouchers take pictures too,
  1358. 00:55:23.130 – 00:55:25.690 be taught to the upper top level.
  1359. 00:55:26.110 – 00:55:27.550 Now, I'm not saying like, okay,
  1360. 00:55:28.550 – 00:55:30.070 if Maybelline was on the line
  1361. 00:55:30.070 – 00:55:33.750 and they gave me a, hey, Ned, I need you to shoot this.
  1362. 00:55:33.750 – 00:55:35.290 Guess what I would be doing?
  1363. 00:55:35.950 – 00:55:38.050 I'd be spending the top dollar
  1364. 00:55:38.050 – 00:55:41.650 for the top retoucher to take this
  1365. 00:55:41.650 – 00:55:43.490 because I need it to be taken to it
  1366. 00:55:43.490 – 00:55:46.450 because I know they're a prestige top dollar.
  1367. 00:55:46.510 – 00:55:48.250 We getting the top top dollar.
  1368. 00:55:48.690 – 00:55:50.470 And I'm telling y'all,
  1369. 00:55:50.650 – 00:55:53.330 this retoucher did this on my picture.
  1370. 00:55:53.610 – 00:55:55.810 So the retoucher getting credit anyway.
  1371. 00:55:56.330 – 00:55:57.570 And that'd be my main thing.
  1372. 00:55:57.850 – 00:56:00.190 That's my main gripe when it comes to certain stuff
  1373. 00:56:00.190 – 00:56:03.590 because it's like, yeah, y'all do it,
  1374. 00:56:03.750 – 00:56:08.150 but I don't, I just, I respect the original idea of it.
  1375. 00:56:08.150 – 00:56:09.330 And that's what makes me like,
  1376. 00:56:09.810 – 00:56:12.790 and like now software, the way software is,
  1377. 00:56:12.810 – 00:56:13.610 you can do it yourself.
  1378. 00:56:13.690 – 00:56:14.810 You don't need a retoucher
  1379. 00:56:14.810 – 00:56:17.290 unless you just don't have the time for it.
  1380. 00:56:17.310 – 00:56:20.090 And you get like an unflunked volume of stuff
  1381. 00:56:20.090 – 00:56:21.890 where you just need a retoucher.
  1382. 00:56:21.890 – 00:56:23.110 I just be thinking like, man,
  1383. 00:56:23.170 – 00:56:26.850 what if this retoucher blow up in India and Pakistan
  1384. 00:56:26.850 – 00:56:30.530 and I need to knock this stuff out
  1385. 00:56:30.530 – 00:56:33.110 for this client that's on my yams.
  1386. 00:56:34.130 – 00:56:36.190 He needed in a couple of hours.
  1387. 00:56:36.590 – 00:56:38.290 The retoucher ain't nowhere to be found.
  1388. 00:56:39.130 – 00:56:40.970 I got to bust this edit down.
  1389. 00:56:41.410 – 00:56:42.690 That's be my mentality.
  1390. 00:56:42.810 – 00:56:43.830 So I always looked at it like,
  1391. 00:56:44.050 – 00:56:45.430 with retouchers, it's just like,
  1392. 00:56:45.890 – 00:56:49.230 I can never, I love what I do.
  1393. 00:56:49.450 – 00:56:51.770 Remember like, I think to a certain degree like,
  1394. 00:56:51.950 – 00:56:53.250 but it's depending on how you look at it.
  1395. 00:56:53.250 – 00:56:54.590 If you're looking at a strict business,
  1396. 00:56:54.830 – 00:56:55.870 I'm just here to make money.
  1397. 00:56:55.870 – 00:56:57.970 I can care less about the creativity process.
  1398. 00:56:58.310 – 00:56:59.870 I don't care about the creative stuff.
  1399. 00:56:59.930 – 00:57:01.630 I never want to do exhibit.
  1400. 00:57:02.010 – 00:57:02.950 I don't care.
  1401. 00:57:03.050 – 00:57:04.790 I'm just here to run it up.
  1402. 00:57:05.370 – 00:57:06.810 Then go get your reach.
  1403. 00:57:06.950 – 00:57:09.030 You go have your business operation
  1404. 00:57:09.030 – 00:57:10.730 the way you see fit.
  1405. 00:57:11.030 – 00:57:12.990 But when I'm talking about pure purists,
  1406. 00:57:15.750 – 00:57:17.890 that's the other side of it I don't talk about.
  1407. 00:57:18.470 – 00:57:20.750 Like, because as humble as I am,
  1408. 00:57:20.870 – 00:57:21.930 and I'm extremely humble,
  1409. 00:57:22.350 – 00:57:23.990 like man, I got an arrogant side of me too
  1410. 00:57:23.990 – 00:57:24.710 when it comes to this,
  1411. 00:57:24.730 – 00:57:26.530 because I'm a competitor, you know?
  1412. 00:57:26.530 – 00:57:28.650 So it's like, when it comes to like
  1413. 00:57:28.650 – 00:57:29.990 the nitty gritty stuff of it,
  1414. 00:57:30.010 – 00:57:40.280 it's like, that's the other side.
  1415. 00:57:40.420 – 00:57:41.300 You ain't heard of me, Steve.
  1416. 00:57:42.000 – 00:57:43.000 That's how I'm tucked.
  1417. 00:57:43.120 – 00:57:46.000 I heard a lot of, quite a few photographers,
  1418. 00:57:46.240 – 00:57:47.860 you know, they do have, you know,
  1419. 00:57:47.900 – 00:57:48.900 retouchers, I mean,
  1420. 00:57:48.960 – 00:57:51.240 not even people that work closely with them.
  1421. 00:57:51.260 – 00:57:54.000 Like you said, maybe in India or somewhere overseas.
  1422. 00:57:54.240 – 00:57:56.820 Yeah, and I ain't knocking it if they could do it.
  1423. 00:57:56.820 – 00:57:58.600 Like, if you got a retoucher,
  1424. 00:57:58.600 – 00:58:01.160 if you can retouch the way they retouch,
  1425. 00:58:02.020 – 00:58:03.920 oh, I ain't knocking it, they ain't retouch.
  1426. 00:58:03.960 – 00:58:05.020 I'll never knock it.
  1427. 00:58:05.020 – 00:58:07.600 Like those type of people,
  1428. 00:58:08.100 – 00:58:11.260 A, because I know your work,
  1429. 00:58:11.320 – 00:58:13.100 but who am I at the end of the day
  1430. 00:58:13.100 – 00:58:15.480 to really say anything about anybody?
  1431. 00:58:15.560 – 00:58:17.220 As long as you're getting your money
  1432. 00:58:17.220 – 00:58:18.520 and you're taking care of your family,
  1433. 00:58:18.740 – 00:58:20.640 but when it comes to like a purist
  1434. 00:58:20.640 – 00:58:22.800 or a certain person of like skill,
  1435. 00:58:23.440 – 00:58:24.660 when I'm looking at skill,
  1436. 00:58:25.740 – 00:58:27.500 like, man, it's like, it's a separation.
  1437. 00:58:27.760 – 00:58:29.140 When I get to separating things,
  1438. 00:58:29.220 – 00:58:30.300 I be looking like,
  1439. 00:58:30.700 – 00:58:33.480 I can't put you in this class that,
  1440. 00:58:33.480 – 00:58:35.140 like as much as I like Drake,
  1441. 00:58:35.620 – 00:58:37.400 I can't put you in Kendrick class.
  1442. 00:58:37.840 – 00:58:38.360 You know what I'm saying?
  1443. 00:58:38.480 – 00:58:40.240 Because you got people that wrote for you.
  1444. 00:58:40.560 – 00:58:43.500 Yeah, the product is, the song was dope,
  1445. 00:58:43.980 – 00:58:45.900 but when we break it down,
  1446. 00:58:46.580 – 00:58:49.040 you not a Kendrick, you know what I'm saying?
  1447. 00:58:49.180 – 00:58:51.540 Like you are, but I like Drake though.
  1448. 00:58:51.660 – 00:58:52.420 You know what I'm saying?
  1449. 00:58:52.640 – 00:58:55.840 So it's just like, I guess at the end of the day,
  1450. 00:58:56.440 – 00:58:58.760 that's amongst like your peers,
  1451. 00:58:59.320 – 00:59:02.460 like the photographer's photographer
  1452. 00:59:02.460 – 00:59:05.620 or the, that type of thing, or the rapper's rapper.
  1453. 00:59:06.260 – 00:59:08.240 But at the end of the day, it's all for the client.
  1454. 00:59:08.400 – 00:59:10.160 The client, the only person that care about anything.
  1455. 00:59:10.540 – 00:59:10.960 You know what I'm saying?
  1456. 00:59:10.980 – 00:59:12.180 The stuff they don't know on the back end.
  1457. 00:59:12.260 – 00:59:14.300 Yeah, the back end where you know the other people,
  1458. 00:59:14.400 – 00:59:15.520 the old school basketball,
  1459. 00:59:15.720 – 00:59:18.060 he ain't like, man, get out of here.
  1460. 00:59:18.160 – 00:59:19.400 Old school rappers like,
  1461. 00:59:19.720 – 00:59:21.320 man, they got everybody right now.
  1462. 00:59:21.380 – 00:59:22.760 They Milly Vanillies.
  1463. 00:59:24.560 – 00:59:25.660 That's where, you know,
  1464. 00:59:25.740 – 00:59:28.220 the business owner versus the true artist.
  1465. 00:59:28.620 – 00:59:29.080 Yeah, yeah.
  1466. 00:59:29.080 – 00:59:29.780 Kind of comparison.
  1467. 00:59:29.940 – 00:59:31.380 Man, my brother told me something,
  1468. 00:59:31.380 – 00:59:32.520 I always go quote my brother.
  1469. 00:59:32.640 – 00:59:35.220 He was like, man, artists look for inspirations.
  1470. 00:59:36.420 – 00:59:37.560 Professionals go to work.
  1471. 00:59:39.380 – 00:59:41.100 You know, so it's like at the end of the day,
  1472. 00:59:41.140 – 00:59:42.600 you still got to be a professional.
  1473. 00:59:43.640 – 00:59:46.260 The client needs what the client needs.
  1474. 00:59:46.300 – 00:59:46.980 I don't care.
  1475. 00:59:47.360 – 00:59:48.520 They don't care about no peers.
  1476. 00:59:48.700 – 00:59:51.240 They paid hundreds and hundreds of dollars,
  1477. 00:59:51.340 – 00:59:52.880 probably a thousand dollars for a service.
  1478. 00:59:53.380 – 00:59:57.080 They just want what you promote on your page.
  1479. 00:59:57.620 – 00:59:59.060 The closest thing to it.
  1480. 00:59:59.060 – 01:00:00.580 So let's actually touch on that.
  1481. 01:00:01.920 – 01:00:04.100 Like, I mean, especially at weddings,
  1482. 01:00:04.380 – 01:00:05.800 it may take me a while,
  1483. 01:00:05.820 – 01:00:10.640 but like for clients that you may do an event or a wedding
  1484. 01:00:10.640 – 01:00:13.400 and they text you like either the same day
  1485. 01:00:13.400 – 01:00:14.080 or the next day,
  1486. 01:00:14.100 – 01:00:15.480 can I have some pictures a little bit?
  1487. 01:00:15.900 – 01:00:18.240 Like for people that don't know,
  1488. 01:00:18.420 – 01:00:19.960 how long is usually the process
  1489. 01:00:19.960 – 01:00:20.980 of editing and researching?
  1490. 01:00:21.380 – 01:00:23.840 Okay, events take me one to three days.
  1491. 01:00:24.020 – 01:00:26.200 Usually I can turn on an event in one day.
  1492. 01:00:26.440 – 01:00:27.700 Like it just depends.
  1493. 01:00:27.700 – 01:00:32.000 So like events is easy because we're doing global edits
  1494. 01:00:32.000 – 01:00:35.060 and plus usually what I'm shooting on the camera
  1495. 01:00:35.060 – 01:00:37.520 is kind of close to what I'm giving the client.
  1496. 01:00:37.700 – 01:00:40.400 So I'm dialing in numbers so precise
  1497. 01:00:40.930 – 01:00:43.620 to where I don't have to do so much back end.
  1498. 01:00:44.060 – 01:00:46.560 I'm just doing bumping clarity up.
  1499. 01:00:46.680 – 01:00:48.800 I got presets already set up for me
  1500. 01:00:48.800 – 01:00:50.100 like in my Capture One
  1501. 01:00:50.100 – 01:00:53.280 to where it's like I don't get those out quick.
  1502. 01:00:54.820 – 01:00:57.600 So events, but it depends on the event.
  1503. 01:00:57.600 – 01:00:59.560 I had a couple of events.
  1504. 01:00:59.640 – 01:01:01.200 I had galas that I had to do.
  1505. 01:01:01.300 – 01:01:02.180 I had one at the MOCA
  1506. 01:01:02.180 – 01:01:06.080 then I had one for Cleveland Payhouse gala
  1507. 01:01:06.080 – 01:01:09.960 like last weekend to where something, man,
  1508. 01:01:10.000 – 01:01:12.480 that one I took like,
  1509. 01:01:12.640 – 01:01:15.800 I gave them like a thousand pictures at the gala
  1510. 01:01:15.800 – 01:01:19.900 because this was like just one of the top events
  1511. 01:01:19.900 – 01:01:20.700 I ever did.
  1512. 01:01:21.140 – 01:01:23.980 So it was like, I wanted to make sure that that one,
  1513. 01:01:24.000 – 01:01:25.300 which I make sure all of them is,
  1514. 01:01:25.300 – 01:01:27.680 but like the categorizing everything.
  1515. 01:01:27.980 – 01:01:29.600 So I could do like a lounge or a club
  1516. 01:01:29.600 – 01:01:30.960 or something like that.
  1517. 01:01:31.040 – 01:01:33.240 Something quick, like an hour if I'm there for an hour,
  1518. 01:01:33.560 – 01:01:35.740 nah, I knock that stuff off quick, boom, boom,
  1519. 01:01:35.740 – 01:01:36.640 send it to them.
  1520. 01:01:37.000 – 01:01:39.460 Not that saying I'm not taking the same type,
  1521. 01:01:40.260 – 01:01:42.940 but it's like, I know it to the T
  1522. 01:01:42.940 – 01:01:45.300 on how to retouch it, send it to them.
  1523. 01:01:45.320 – 01:01:45.680 Process it.
  1524. 01:01:45.680 – 01:01:48.740 Like, yeah, but if I'm taking like those galas
  1525. 01:01:48.740 – 01:01:50.500 and I'm there for five and a half hours,
  1526. 01:01:50.900 – 01:01:52.620 oh yeah, you about to get some,
  1527. 01:01:52.620 – 01:01:56.040 I'm getting this and then this is gonna be categorized,
  1528. 01:01:56.120 – 01:01:58.620 this time, this place, this part of the event,
  1529. 01:01:58.900 – 01:02:01.680 this, this, the performance, the speakers, all of that.
  1530. 01:02:01.960 – 01:02:05.720 So that'd be one thing, but it, it don't take long.
  1531. 01:02:06.100 – 01:02:07.700 Weddings, that's another thing.
  1532. 01:02:07.800 – 01:02:11.660 I tell people 30 days, 30 days, 30 days on weddings,
  1533. 01:02:11.680 – 01:02:14.200 because like sometimes I had to sit there
  1534. 01:02:14.200 – 01:02:16.540 and everything got to be clear.
  1535. 01:02:16.780 – 01:02:18.880 It may take me a day and a half to do a wedding
  1536. 01:02:18.880 – 01:02:20.340 or a day to do a wedding,
  1537. 01:02:21.600 – 01:02:23.080 but everything had to be clear
  1538. 01:02:23.080 – 01:02:24.580 because I got to bust these weddings down.
  1539. 01:02:24.760 – 01:02:25.260 You know what I'm saying?
  1540. 01:02:25.760 – 01:02:28.100 Like weddings is for real.
  1541. 01:02:28.360 – 01:02:33.740 And plus like software has advanced so much.
  1542. 01:02:34.040 – 01:02:36.820 So this is one thing, if I could ever tell anybody,
  1543. 01:02:36.920 – 01:02:38.660 if you could bookmark this too,
  1544. 01:02:39.460 – 01:02:42.880 it's a software that I told a lot of my capadres about.
  1545. 01:02:43.620 – 01:02:45.560 And this will save you all's life
  1546. 01:02:45.560 – 01:02:47.020 when it comes to retouching.
  1547. 01:02:47.020 – 01:02:50.780 It's called EVOTO, E-V-O-T-O.
  1548. 01:02:51.240 – 01:02:53.080 Take that with you, love it.
  1549. 01:02:53.220 – 01:02:55.040 Y'all will appreciate that.
  1550. 01:02:55.440 – 01:02:58.200 Y'all will probably pay my subscriptions
  1551. 01:02:58.200 – 01:03:01.420 or give me more credits for EVOTO if you haven't done it.
  1552. 01:03:01.460 – 01:03:05.540 EVOTO is, it's such, it's the dopest thing.
  1553. 01:03:05.720 – 01:03:07.500 It allows you not to go to Photoshop.
  1554. 01:03:08.020 – 01:03:11.480 So like the software that I use is Captra One,
  1555. 01:03:12.020 – 01:03:15.000 and I use Captra One and Infinity Photo,
  1556. 01:03:15.000 – 01:03:20.240 but I'll use Captra One, EVOTO,
  1557. 01:03:20.400 – 01:03:23.760 Infinity Photo, Photoshop, like within those three, four.
  1558. 01:03:25.120 – 01:03:27.620 But with Captra One is, Captra One is Lightroom,
  1559. 01:03:28.340 – 01:03:30.720 but it's a different software, raw software.
  1560. 01:03:31.280 – 01:03:34.540 And then EVOTO would be, I would say like this,
  1561. 01:03:34.560 – 01:03:36.640 for the people who use Lightroom and Photoshop,
  1562. 01:03:37.080 – 01:03:39.220 you would use Lightroom to bring it in
  1563. 01:03:39.220 – 01:03:42.560 for color grading, and then you will take it to EVOTO.
  1564. 01:03:42.680 – 01:03:44.160 Then you will take it to Photoshop
  1565. 01:03:44.160 – 01:03:45.480 for any fine tuning.
  1566. 01:03:46.340 – 01:03:48.800 But a lot of times now, you would go
  1567. 01:03:48.800 – 01:03:50.040 from Lightroom to EVOTO.
  1568. 01:03:50.140 – 01:03:53.620 It wouldn't even hit Photoshop because of what EVOTO does.
  1569. 01:03:53.840 – 01:03:56.000 It does skin retouching.
  1570. 01:03:56.260 – 01:03:57.840 It cleans the backdrop out.
  1571. 01:03:58.020 – 01:04:01.680 It clean glare out the glass, fray hairs.
  1572. 01:04:02.720 – 01:04:04.660 It cleans up everything for you.
  1573. 01:04:04.780 – 01:04:08.380 It dodge and burns, and you scale it like Lightroom,
  1574. 01:04:08.700 – 01:04:10.300 but everything is on a credit base.
  1575. 01:04:10.300 – 01:04:13.800 So you may spend like $200 for 1,200 credits,
  1576. 01:04:14.240 – 01:04:16.240 but one credit is for one picture.
  1577. 01:04:16.680 – 01:04:18.280 So if you're giving people packages,
  1578. 01:04:18.680 – 01:04:20.800 like well, all right, I'm charging,
  1579. 01:04:21.140 – 01:04:23.180 let's say 300 for five edits.
  1580. 01:04:23.780 – 01:04:24.260 Guess what?
  1581. 01:04:24.580 – 01:04:26.480 Five edits, you know what I'm saying?
  1582. 01:04:26.880 – 01:04:28.580 Like that's nothing.
  1583. 01:04:28.980 – 01:04:31.020 Like EVOTO would eat up all of that type of stuff,
  1584. 01:04:31.220 – 01:04:32.600 and it batches files.
  1585. 01:04:32.940 – 01:04:35.100 So if I had to do 20 edits,
  1586. 01:04:35.840 – 01:04:37.200 whatever I did to that one edit,
  1587. 01:04:37.240 – 01:04:39.020 as far as cleaning the face, all of that stuff,
  1588. 01:04:39.020 – 01:04:41.920 I could batch that over 20 files.
  1589. 01:04:42.380 – 01:04:44.700 So it's like, you could be holding your hands like this,
  1590. 01:04:44.940 – 01:04:48.920 and it'll create the whole entire edit for you still.
  1591. 01:04:49.440 – 01:04:51.320 It's a, and I'm anti-AI,
  1592. 01:04:51.680 – 01:04:53.780 but that program right there,
  1593. 01:04:54.600 – 01:04:56.160 it'd have made so much bread off of that.
  1594. 01:04:56.300 – 01:04:58.860 Just even when it comes to corporate hair shots
  1595. 01:04:58.860 – 01:05:01.920 or school shots, EVOTO, top notch.
  1596. 01:05:02.540 – 01:05:05.020 So please tap into that.
  1597. 01:05:05.220 – 01:05:06.420 That is the best.
  1598. 01:05:07.060 – 01:05:09.880 It preserved, it hid the backdrops for you.
  1599. 01:05:10.020 – 01:05:11.040 Preserves the shadows.
  1600. 01:05:12.040 – 01:05:13.660 So it cleaned up the whole backdrop for you.
  1601. 01:05:13.700 – 01:05:15.900 You know how our backdrops, the white backdrops,
  1602. 01:05:16.060 – 01:05:19.760 clean up the backdrops and preserve the backdrop for you.
  1603. 01:05:20.040 – 01:05:22.160 So it is, man, come on, man.
  1604. 01:05:22.640 – 01:05:23.600 I was saying them,
  1605. 01:05:23.780 – 01:05:27.840 because I'm always at different masterminds,
  1606. 01:05:27.840 – 01:05:29.160 conferences out the city.
  1607. 01:05:30.400 – 01:05:31.480 Doze is one of the vendors.
  1608. 01:05:31.580 – 01:05:32.760 I didn't get a chance to check them out,
  1609. 01:05:32.760 – 01:05:34.000 but I'm familiar with them.
  1610. 01:05:34.000 – 01:05:35.420 And then also Imagine.
  1611. 01:05:36.020 – 01:05:37.780 I keep hearing about Imagine AI.
  1612. 01:05:38.000 – 01:05:39.400 That's what I first heard before.
  1613. 01:05:39.680 – 01:05:40.640 I'm gonna check it out though.
  1614. 01:05:40.700 – 01:05:41.300 I'm gonna check it out.
  1615. 01:05:41.340 – 01:05:43.760 I wanna upgrade my equipment first
  1616. 01:05:43.760 – 01:05:47.100 before I go in and add more stuff into it.
  1617. 01:05:47.660 – 01:05:49.460 Because my equipment is,
  1618. 01:05:49.480 – 01:05:51.740 the software is so advanced
  1619. 01:05:51.740 – 01:05:55.460 that you don't have to have crazy advanced equipment.
  1620. 01:05:55.800 – 01:05:57.560 So I'm running with Apple M1,
  1621. 01:05:57.660 – 01:05:59.840 an M1, my Apple Mini M1.
  1622. 01:06:00.240 – 01:06:01.820 So it's handling everything,
  1623. 01:06:01.840 – 01:06:04.280 but I'm starting to feel like,
  1624. 01:06:04.280 – 01:06:05.980 and that's where I had to learn,
  1625. 01:06:06.080 – 01:06:07.920 because when I first started out editing,
  1626. 01:06:08.100 – 01:06:09.360 I wasn't editing on a computer.
  1627. 01:06:09.440 – 01:06:10.820 I was editing on an iPad Pro.
  1628. 01:06:11.060 – 01:06:13.080 So that's why I was dealing with Affinity Photo,
  1629. 01:06:13.140 – 01:06:16.520 because it was the most advanced editing software
  1630. 01:06:16.520 – 01:06:18.000 for photographers.
  1631. 01:06:18.480 – 01:06:19.860 So that's why I was like,
  1632. 01:06:20.320 – 01:06:22.240 I've never been a Photoshop person.
  1633. 01:06:23.060 – 01:06:25.660 Do you feel like it's better than Lightroom Mobile?
  1634. 01:06:26.760 – 01:06:28.180 Oh, Capture One is by far.
  1635. 01:06:28.200 – 01:06:29.280 Capture, but not Affinity?
  1636. 01:06:29.960 – 01:06:31.600 Well, Affinity is better,
  1637. 01:06:31.600 – 01:06:34.080 because Affinity is like Photoshop.
  1638. 01:06:34.380 – 01:06:37.900 It's more Capture One and Lightroom is for raw editing.
  1639. 01:06:38.080 – 01:06:41.020 So I could batch hundreds and hundreds of files
  1640. 01:06:41.720 – 01:06:43.480 in Capture One and Lightroom.
  1641. 01:06:44.020 – 01:06:45.160 But with Capture One,
  1642. 01:06:45.280 – 01:06:47.780 I could shoot tethered through Capture One
  1643. 01:06:48.620 – 01:06:50.680 on the iPad on what's the name.
  1644. 01:06:51.000 – 01:06:54.120 So Capture One is great for how those files
  1645. 01:06:54.120 – 01:06:55.020 come through raw,
  1646. 01:06:55.420 – 01:06:58.100 and you got layers you could play with layers,
  1647. 01:06:58.280 – 01:07:00.040 and the tethering.
  1648. 01:07:00.040 – 01:07:01.740 The tethering,
  1649. 01:07:02.000 – 01:07:03.780 if you don't use Capture One for nothing else,
  1650. 01:07:03.820 – 01:07:06.220 you're gonna use it just to tether through, period.
  1651. 01:07:06.680 – 01:07:08.560 So it moves lightning quick on you.
  1652. 01:07:08.780 – 01:07:12.860 So it's like, man, I can take my iPad Pro
  1653. 01:07:12.860 – 01:07:16.520 and shoot Capture One and tether and shoot live
  1654. 01:07:16.520 – 01:07:18.820 and tether live and it,
  1655. 01:07:18.840 – 01:07:20.960 man, I ain't gonna get me started with Capture One.
  1656. 01:07:21.320 – 01:07:21.980 That's what I tell people.
  1657. 01:07:22.080 – 01:07:24.040 I was like, look, I know y'all like,
  1658. 01:07:25.480 – 01:07:27.220 this is how if you have it,
  1659. 01:07:27.220 – 01:07:28.840 because Capture One was with this company
  1660. 01:07:28.840 – 01:07:29.720 called Phase One,
  1661. 01:07:29.720 – 01:07:31.500 then they switched it to Capture One.
  1662. 01:07:31.900 – 01:07:35.240 So if I ever had to compare Capture One and Lightroom,
  1663. 01:07:35.500 – 01:07:36.760 like I think my brother said it best.
  1664. 01:07:36.920 – 01:07:40.640 He was like, Lightroom felt like
  1665. 01:07:40.640 – 01:07:43.320 a computer engineer made Lightroom.
  1666. 01:07:44.120 – 01:07:48.640 Capture One felt like a photographer made Capture One.
  1667. 01:07:49.280 – 01:07:49.960 You know what I'm saying?
  1668. 01:07:51.300 – 01:07:55.440 They catered to the photographer on Capture One.
  1669. 01:07:55.620 – 01:07:56.840 They knew the tweaks,
  1670. 01:07:56.840 – 01:07:59.560 everything that a photographer needed
  1671. 01:07:59.560 – 01:08:03.600 in a raw software editing program.
  1672. 01:08:03.780 – 01:08:05.160 And that's where Capture One come in.
  1673. 01:08:05.220 – 01:08:07.000 It just, man, it's just,
  1674. 01:08:07.120 – 01:08:09.160 when you start playing with that clarity in the model,
  1675. 01:08:09.240 – 01:08:12.460 it's just, it's like those little things
  1676. 01:08:12.460 – 01:08:13.720 just make it so live.
  1677. 01:08:14.080 – 01:08:15.540 So it's dope.
  1678. 01:08:16.979 – 01:08:19.880 I do have a question I have been asked
  1679. 01:08:19.880 – 01:08:22.200 and, you know, creative and artists,
  1680. 01:08:23.680 – 01:08:27.640 if your creative process were a weather forecast,
  1681. 01:08:28.740 – 01:08:30.000 how would you describe it?
  1682. 01:08:31.520 – 01:08:33.960 Like for me, I would say mine is like
  1683. 01:08:33.960 – 01:08:37.740 that light drizzle rain on a warm sunny day.
  1684. 01:08:38.620 – 01:08:40.220 Going back to that cool and warm,
  1685. 01:08:40.319 – 01:08:41.859 it's like a blue balance, you know?
  1686. 01:08:42.260 – 01:08:43.800 Cause we know that too much heat, you know,
  1687. 01:08:43.819 – 01:08:46.760 be sweating, but like the rain kind of cools it off,
  1688. 01:08:46.840 – 01:08:49.180 but this is very light and subtle where it's refreshing.
  1689. 01:08:49.420 – 01:08:52.000 And then golden hour, golden hour in the morning.
  1690. 01:08:52.000 – 01:08:54.080 Or like in the early morning.
  1691. 01:08:54.520 – 01:08:59.060 Like I love, like, I shoot Nikon.
  1692. 01:08:59.380 – 01:09:03.760 So Nikon is, the way they render colors, man.
  1693. 01:09:04.140 – 01:09:07.760 Cause it's like more of like a outdoor camera anyway.
  1694. 01:09:08.319 – 01:09:10.680 It's more for like landscaping and stuff like that.
  1695. 01:09:10.880 – 01:09:13.520 But I mean, we use it for portrait working events
  1696. 01:09:13.520 – 01:09:19.560 and all of that, but it's truly how like it renders
  1697. 01:09:19.560 – 01:09:21.580 with the colors with your reds, your blues,
  1698. 01:09:21.580 – 01:09:25.479 your greens, like it's just a beautiful,
  1699. 01:09:26.180 – 01:09:27.000 it's just beautiful.
  1700. 01:09:27.340 – 01:09:31.439 So like when I, my style of photography
  1701. 01:09:31.439 – 01:09:34.800 is more like rich colors.
  1702. 01:09:35.359 – 01:09:38.439 You know, like I love my black and whites,
  1703. 01:09:38.660 – 01:09:42.080 but like I love like, I don't know,
  1704. 01:09:42.399 – 01:09:45.319 like a dark rich tone.
  1705. 01:09:45.359 – 01:09:48.060 Like I love playing with shadows.
  1706. 01:09:48.060 – 01:09:52.600 I love like low key editorial shots.
  1707. 01:09:53.240 – 01:09:55.380 So like, I would say, I don't know,
  1708. 01:09:55.980 – 01:09:59.880 it had to be maybe more so in the night, nighttime maybe.
  1709. 01:10:00.080 – 01:10:02.940 Like I would go, if it was weather time,
  1710. 01:10:03.000 – 01:10:05.660 it would be like, I don't know,
  1711. 01:10:05.780 – 01:10:08.260 something that night, something like a,
  1712. 01:10:09.180 – 01:10:11.280 what's the green stuff that'd be in the sky?
  1713. 01:10:11.740 – 01:10:14.020 The Northern Lights or something like that.
  1714. 01:10:14.020 – 01:10:15.720 Ooh, okay, that's different.
  1715. 01:10:15.720 – 01:10:19.800 Yeah, it would probably be in that type of phenomenon.
  1716. 01:10:20.440 – 01:10:22.740 And that's, yeah, that's usually where I go for, man.
  1717. 01:10:23.480 – 01:10:26.440 Like my, like when I shoot,
  1718. 01:10:26.860 – 01:10:28.580 it's the thing that when I do when I shoot
  1719. 01:10:28.580 – 01:10:29.480 and I was thinking of this,
  1720. 01:10:29.560 – 01:10:32.060 I was like, I don't shoot the same.
  1721. 01:10:32.340 – 01:10:33.220 I don't have the same hookup
  1722. 01:10:33.220 – 01:10:34.320 every single time I shoot.
  1723. 01:10:35.000 – 01:10:41.910 I got like maybe six different modifiers I roll with
  1724. 01:10:41.910 – 01:10:43.930 and none of my shoots is the same.
  1725. 01:10:43.930 – 01:10:47.470 Like I don't place the lights every single,
  1726. 01:10:47.570 – 01:10:51.550 like I know different type of setups,
  1727. 01:10:52.090 – 01:10:54.990 but a lot of times, like man, they be different.
  1728. 01:10:55.130 – 01:10:57.550 Like I'll see a person that I'm like,
  1729. 01:10:57.590 – 01:10:59.290 I'm not gonna do this the same way.
  1730. 01:10:59.550 – 01:11:00.670 I'm gonna do this this way.
  1731. 01:11:01.050 – 01:11:02.410 So a lot of times it's like, man,
  1732. 01:11:02.410 – 01:11:05.130 I'm changing up so much stuff when I'm shooting.
  1733. 01:11:05.450 – 01:11:08.570 Like, and that's what helps me with photography.
  1734. 01:11:09.170 – 01:11:11.450 Like, because all it is is just crafting light.
  1735. 01:11:12.190 – 01:11:14.110 Photography means to paint with light.
  1736. 01:11:14.330 – 01:11:17.470 So I'm not about to paint the same exact way
  1737. 01:11:17.470 – 01:11:19.330 every time I see a client.
  1738. 01:11:20.110 – 01:11:21.830 Like certain things pull me differently.
  1739. 01:11:23.370 – 01:11:24.130 Like, I don't know.
  1740. 01:11:24.430 – 01:11:25.710 I'll figure out so much stuff
  1741. 01:11:25.710 – 01:11:27.610 or I'll see something like right when I'm shooting,
  1742. 01:11:27.690 – 01:11:29.630 I'm like, oh no, we gonna switch this.
  1743. 01:11:29.730 – 01:11:30.490 We gonna do this.
  1744. 01:11:30.790 – 01:11:31.910 And then that's where it's like,
  1745. 01:11:31.950 – 01:11:33.610 I get a lot of people who always ask me,
  1746. 01:11:33.730 – 01:11:34.930 man, how do you do that with the light?
  1747. 01:11:35.170 – 01:11:36.030 How do you do that?
  1748. 01:11:36.530 – 01:11:37.330 What are you doing?
  1749. 01:11:37.670 – 01:11:38.350 Like what's your light?
  1750. 01:11:38.610 – 01:11:41.190 And I'm always here to show people,
  1751. 01:11:41.190 – 01:11:42.630 but that's the next phase of me.
  1752. 01:11:42.750 – 01:11:44.790 Like I wanna do like kind of like a,
  1753. 01:11:44.790 – 01:11:45.910 I hate to call it master class.
  1754. 01:11:46.010 – 01:11:48.010 I'm not a master, but just,
  1755. 01:11:48.250 – 01:11:49.730 I wanna show people my perspective
  1756. 01:11:49.730 – 01:11:51.730 on how I know how to craft light.
  1757. 01:11:52.030 – 01:11:52.950 Yeah, we gonna make it happen.
  1758. 01:11:52.990 – 01:11:54.570 I got some stuff in the works too, so.
  1759. 01:11:54.570 – 01:11:55.510 My dog.
  1760. 01:11:55.770 – 01:11:56.450 Yeah, we.
  1761. 01:11:57.510 – 01:11:57.950 Yeah.
  1762. 01:11:58.270 – 01:11:59.270 All about it.
  1763. 01:11:59.750 – 01:12:00.190 Yeah.
  1764. 01:12:00.590 – 01:12:02.930 But speaking of, you know, more about adjusting.
  1765. 01:12:03.130 – 01:12:05.270 So let's kind of compare like your business
  1766. 01:12:05.270 – 01:12:06.050 and the personal.
  1767. 01:12:06.710 – 01:12:08.450 Was there a creative project
  1768. 01:12:08.450 – 01:12:12.470 that was a commercial failure, but a personal triumph?
  1769. 01:12:14.330 – 01:12:17.630 Commercial tre, commercial, commercial.
  1770. 01:12:18.030 – 01:12:18.450 Failure.
  1771. 01:12:18.650 – 01:12:20.270 Failure, but a.
  1772. 01:12:20.690 – 01:12:21.490 Personal triumph.
  1773. 01:12:23.050 – 01:12:25.330 Oh, did I do something that was.
  1774. 01:12:26.970 – 01:12:30.620 Oh, I'ma tell you this.
  1775. 01:12:30.960 – 01:12:32.720 And this was a while ago too.
  1776. 01:12:33.180 – 01:12:35.280 And you, we gotta go through these things.
  1777. 01:12:35.360 – 01:12:35.960 That's right.
  1778. 01:12:36.500 – 01:12:36.980 The journey.
  1779. 01:12:37.520 – 01:12:38.660 And I'ma, oh, listen.
  1780. 01:12:39.320 – 01:12:42.400 One of my biggest teachers was the clubs.
  1781. 01:12:43.020 – 01:12:44.680 And if people don't understand this, look.
  1782. 01:12:44.860 – 01:12:45.720 I'ma tell you this.
  1783. 01:12:45.720 – 01:12:46.400 That low light's been a low light.
  1784. 01:12:46.900 – 01:12:49.040 This, no, it ain't just the low light.
  1785. 01:12:49.140 – 01:12:49.520 Uh-oh.
  1786. 01:12:49.800 – 01:12:52.580 The clubs is the most chaotic situation
  1787. 01:12:52.580 – 01:12:53.700 you could ever shoot in.
  1788. 01:12:54.020 – 01:12:57.420 So if you could ever shoot in a club,
  1789. 01:12:57.740 – 01:12:59.980 effectively, marketably, and great,
  1790. 01:13:00.900 – 01:13:04.680 you damn near could shoot in any situation.
  1791. 01:13:05.140 – 01:13:07.040 And I remember it was this one time.
  1792. 01:13:07.040 – 01:13:08.960 And I'm not the type of person,
  1793. 01:13:09.060 – 01:13:12.340 I don't be crashing out or getting to my emotions
  1794. 01:13:12.340 – 01:13:13.300 about certain stuff.
  1795. 01:13:13.420 – 01:13:16.480 But this time, it just really, I didn't know.
  1796. 01:13:16.900 – 01:13:19.160 Like when you, and this is how you,
  1797. 01:13:19.360 – 01:13:22.460 this is how you know you're cold at photography.
  1798. 01:13:23.060 – 01:13:25.180 And this was in my novice years.
  1799. 01:13:26.680 – 01:13:27.900 And I'm still novice,
  1800. 01:13:27.900 – 01:13:29.500 but this was truly in my beginning years.
  1801. 01:13:29.500 – 01:13:32.800 This might've happened in 2019 before the pandemic.
  1802. 01:13:33.280 – 01:13:34.140 I was at Medusa.
  1803. 01:13:34.780 – 01:13:38.600 And for whatever our reason, my speed light wouldn't work.
  1804. 01:13:38.860 – 01:13:41.460 And I'm in Medusa, and it's dark,
  1805. 01:13:41.500 – 01:13:43.880 and they looking for another photographer
  1806. 01:13:43.880 – 01:13:45.300 to shoot in clubs.
  1807. 01:13:45.820 – 01:13:48.560 And I did good, I did decent the first time,
  1808. 01:13:48.580 – 01:13:51.400 but they wanted me to come back out to do some more.
  1809. 01:13:51.800 – 01:13:54.240 And I'm like trying to appease everybody,
  1810. 01:13:54.380 – 01:13:55.300 all of that type of stuff.
  1811. 01:13:55.620 – 01:13:57.620 I'm sorry, I can't.
  1812. 01:13:57.800 – 01:14:00.540 My speed light, it's the source of my light.
  1813. 01:14:00.720 – 01:14:01.640 I'm like, aw.
  1814. 01:14:02.740 – 01:14:04.160 I left the club.
  1815. 01:14:04.160 – 01:14:06.140 I'm like, man, I can't do this, man.
  1816. 01:14:06.320 – 01:14:07.420 And they was like, man, where you go?
  1817. 01:14:07.520 – 01:14:09.680 You know, like, man, we need you, bro.
  1818. 01:14:11.020 – 01:14:14.160 I'm like, man, my light ain't registered
  1819. 01:14:14.160 – 01:14:15.320 into my camera, bro.
  1820. 01:14:15.360 – 01:14:17.680 Like, I can't do nothing, man.
  1821. 01:14:17.940 – 01:14:20.240 And I like, and I went on the gram.
  1822. 01:14:20.420 – 01:14:22.180 I put up a post, man, I'm sorry, man.
  1823. 01:14:22.220 – 01:14:24.200 This got me crushed, blah, blah, blah, blah.
  1824. 01:14:24.820 – 01:14:26.400 Stephen Midget hit me up in the DM.
  1825. 01:14:26.520 – 01:14:30.160 He was just like on some like brick brother,
  1826. 01:14:30.160 – 01:14:31.540 little brother type vibe.
  1827. 01:14:31.800 – 01:14:34.860 Like on some, just schooling me.
  1828. 01:14:35.360 – 01:14:37.180 Like, bro, you just get you something else.
  1829. 01:14:37.260 – 01:14:39.140 You get you one of these little light ones
  1830. 01:14:39.140 – 01:14:40.820 or you up your ice hole.
  1831. 01:14:40.960 – 01:14:41.800 At the end of the day,
  1832. 01:14:41.820 – 01:14:43.280 remember you still working for a client.
  1833. 01:14:43.300 – 01:14:44.300 They gotta get something.
  1834. 01:14:44.620 – 01:14:48.020 Whether it's bad or good, man, you can make it work.
  1835. 01:14:48.240 – 01:14:49.580 You just gotta shoot.
  1836. 01:14:49.800 – 01:14:50.560 You know what I'm saying?
  1837. 01:14:51.960 – 01:14:54.340 And I got the little thing that he said
  1838. 01:14:54.340 – 01:14:55.320 was like this little light thing
  1839. 01:14:55.320 – 01:14:57.040 that you put on your camera just in case
  1840. 01:14:57.040 – 01:14:59.640 if you just need light or whatnot.
  1841. 01:14:59.640 – 01:15:04.140 And I made sure that I was well prepared.
  1842. 01:15:04.980 – 01:15:08.800 So like any time, that was a personal triumph
  1843. 01:15:11.880 – 01:15:17.780 because it reshifted like me serving the client correctly.
  1844. 01:15:19.160 – 01:15:20.160 Like knowing what I know now,
  1845. 01:15:20.240 – 01:15:21.480 I would have never, that night,
  1846. 01:15:21.480 – 01:15:22.540 I would have never left the client.
  1847. 01:15:23.020 – 01:15:24.420 You know, I would have stayed in
  1848. 01:15:24.420 – 01:15:27.180 and just if I would have sent them all pictures
  1849. 01:15:27.180 – 01:15:28.600 that was just high ice hole,
  1850. 01:15:28.600 – 01:15:30.000 I would have sent them high.
  1851. 01:15:30.260 – 01:15:33.560 Or I would have did some creative stuff now that I know.
  1852. 01:15:34.000 – 01:15:36.320 But for the most part, that was, to me,
  1853. 01:15:36.460 – 01:15:39.500 it was a personal triumph talking to him about that
  1854. 01:15:39.500 – 01:15:41.280 because it just reshifted.
  1855. 01:15:41.300 – 01:15:43.140 It was like, man, get out of your feelings, man.
  1856. 01:15:43.200 – 01:15:44.620 Bro, just take care of business.
  1857. 01:15:44.860 – 01:15:45.400 You know what I'm saying?
  1858. 01:15:46.080 – 01:15:48.100 So like that was something that helped me.
  1859. 01:15:48.160 – 01:15:52.320 But when it comes to photography or anything,
  1860. 01:15:53.040 – 01:15:54.700 I'm gonna tell you,
  1861. 01:15:55.240 – 01:15:57.480 that was the very last time that ever happened to me
  1862. 01:15:57.480 – 01:16:01.430 when it comes to leaving.
  1863. 01:16:02.350 – 01:16:04.190 Like that was the only time that ever happened
  1864. 01:16:04.190 – 01:16:06.390 because now it's like, man,
  1865. 01:16:07.330 – 01:16:11.310 you ain't a dope photographer till something go wrong.
  1866. 01:16:13.190 – 01:16:14.870 Man, it's been plenty of times where,
  1867. 01:16:14.950 – 01:16:16.430 man, I forgot a trigger
  1868. 01:16:16.430 – 01:16:19.490 where I only had to work with my speed light
  1869. 01:16:20.030 – 01:16:22.590 or I had to do something impromptu
  1870. 01:16:22.590 – 01:16:24.230 where I only had a little bit of equipment
  1871. 01:16:24.230 – 01:16:25.390 and I had to make it work.
  1872. 01:16:25.550 – 01:16:27.790 And I had to make it work at a high level
  1873. 01:16:27.790 – 01:16:29.850 to where it's like, man,
  1874. 01:16:30.690 – 01:16:33.630 everything that you was taught gonna kick in.
  1875. 01:16:33.670 – 01:16:36.770 It's gonna kick in because you get this anxiety
  1876. 01:16:36.770 – 01:16:39.330 of like failing to where it's like,
  1877. 01:16:39.550 – 01:16:41.750 you gotta, all right, let's get it together now.
  1878. 01:16:42.170 – 01:16:43.810 All right, all right, what am I gonna use?
  1879. 01:16:43.930 – 01:16:45.550 Okay, I ain't got this, oh, okay.
  1880. 01:16:46.350 – 01:16:47.250 Oh, it's still light outside,
  1881. 01:16:47.470 – 01:16:48.990 I'm gonna put them next to these big windows
  1882. 01:16:48.990 – 01:16:50.890 and let that soft light come in
  1883. 01:16:50.890 – 01:16:53.650 and get the shots that I need and kill them.
  1884. 01:16:53.930 – 01:16:55.090 And now they love it.
  1885. 01:16:55.290 – 01:16:57.370 Boom, when I knew I was gonna not,
  1886. 01:16:57.370 – 01:16:58.930 when I knew I wasn't gonna kill this,
  1887. 01:16:59.070 – 01:17:00.890 I gotta figure out any and every type of way
  1888. 01:17:00.890 – 01:17:03.770 to make a soft box out of nothing
  1889. 01:17:04.610 – 01:17:06.990 and finagle these type of shots.
  1890. 01:17:07.410 – 01:17:08.730 Man, once it got to that point,
  1891. 01:17:08.750 – 01:17:10.770 I don't care what situation I'm in.
  1892. 01:17:10.890 – 01:17:13.250 The only thing I ever feel like,
  1893. 01:17:13.410 – 01:17:15.430 if somebody flew me out and I forgot my batteries,
  1894. 01:17:16.030 – 01:17:16.930 let's knock on some wood.
  1895. 01:17:17.450 – 01:17:18.330 You know what I'm saying?
  1896. 01:17:18.530 – 01:17:20.230 Like somebody flew me out and I forgot my batteries
  1897. 01:17:20.230 – 01:17:21.830 and I gotta shoot right down in there.
  1898. 01:17:22.570 – 01:17:24.830 Like, or I forgot memory cards or something,
  1899. 01:17:24.830 – 01:17:27.350 I did that plenty of times where I had to turn around.
  1900. 01:17:27.890 – 01:17:30.450 Man, I luckily sometimes have two,
  1901. 01:17:30.730 – 01:17:31.810 I'd be like, oh, are y'all ready?
  1902. 01:17:33.930 – 01:17:37.430 Yeah, but it make you double check your stuff now though.
  1903. 01:17:37.590 – 01:17:38.270 You know what I'm saying?
  1904. 01:17:38.570 – 01:17:40.250 So like, man, listen, yeah.
  1905. 01:17:40.250 – 01:17:41.110 Oh my goodness.
  1906. 01:17:41.170 – 01:17:44.270 Yeah, you know, that's treacherous, man.
  1907. 01:17:44.510 – 01:17:46.350 But that's the importance of backups, you know?
  1908. 01:17:46.450 – 01:17:48.090 Backups to everything, backup batteries,
  1909. 01:17:48.390 – 01:17:49.610 backup SD. And experience.
  1910. 01:17:49.610 – 01:17:51.170 And experience, my dad was just telling me,
  1911. 01:17:51.230 – 01:17:52.330 he was like, man, I'm telling you, man,
  1912. 01:17:52.450 – 01:17:53.870 nothing teach you like experience.
  1913. 01:17:53.870 – 01:17:57.530 So it's like, as much as the advice I can give people,
  1914. 01:17:58.090 – 01:18:00.530 man, experience is gonna be your best teacher, man.
  1915. 01:18:00.550 – 01:18:02.670 Cause you know, if you passionate about something,
  1916. 01:18:03.050 – 01:18:04.630 you're not so quick to give up,
  1917. 01:18:04.630 – 01:18:06.810 you know you're not gonna do this again.
  1918. 01:18:06.950 – 01:18:08.250 Or you're gonna try your best, dude.
  1919. 01:18:08.250 – 01:18:11.830 It's gonna be in your mind to, hey, yeah, so.
  1920. 01:18:12.350 – 01:18:14.110 Yeah, like going back to what you said earlier,
  1921. 01:18:14.110 – 01:18:16.630 having that confidence, like, you know,
  1922. 01:18:16.650 – 01:18:19.590 a lot of people are like younger shooters, you know,
  1923. 01:18:19.590 – 01:18:23.050 under me that I kind of mentee or mentor, you know,
  1924. 01:18:23.050 – 01:18:25.650 my mentees, you know, always invoke that confidence.
  1925. 01:18:25.850 – 01:18:29.050 I'm like, just imagine, you know, we on the shoot
  1926. 01:18:29.050 – 01:18:32.290 and I'm not even near, just, just do your best.
  1927. 01:18:32.470 – 01:18:34.090 I mean, cause I mean, most of the time
  1928. 01:18:34.090 – 01:18:35.630 we're in the heat of the moment, you know,
  1929. 01:18:35.650 – 01:18:38.490 I'm hyper focused, I can't help you sometimes.
  1930. 01:18:39.150 – 01:18:41.090 So you just do your best.
  1931. 01:18:41.150 – 01:18:42.830 I'll be there to back you up when I can,
  1932. 01:18:43.130 – 01:18:44.410 but just do your best.
  1933. 01:18:44.990 – 01:18:46.590 Yeah. So, you know, having those,
  1934. 01:18:46.590 – 01:18:49.490 I mean, there's things that happen to me on shoots
  1935. 01:18:49.490 – 01:18:50.710 where I'll be like, what the?
  1936. 01:18:51.290 – 01:18:51.690 Man.
  1937. 01:18:52.170 – 01:18:54.050 And it's just like, the client would never know.
  1938. 01:18:54.090 – 01:18:55.150 I'm like, hey, how you doing?
  1939. 01:18:55.230 – 01:18:56.550 Yeah, they never know.
  1940. 01:18:56.730 – 01:18:58.370 Never know. Man, like them clients
  1941. 01:18:58.370 – 01:18:59.330 don't know nothing.
  1942. 01:18:59.690 – 01:19:01.390 You have to keep your cool and confident.
  1943. 01:19:01.430 – 01:19:04.430 Yeah, cause if they see you break, man.
  1944. 01:19:04.490 – 01:19:05.950 Right. Especially on wedding.
  1945. 01:19:06.730 – 01:19:08.950 Oh, man, I remember the first wedding I had,
  1946. 01:19:09.070 – 01:19:11.510 the first wedding I had, 26 people.
  1947. 01:19:12.030 – 01:19:17.250 It was 26 people and the wedding started at two.
  1948. 01:19:17.590 – 01:19:19.970 The bride didn't get to the house until two.
  1949. 01:19:19.970 – 01:19:25.670 The lights in the church was out and it was raining.
  1950. 01:19:26.090 – 01:19:30.200 We had to have the service outside in the rain.
  1951. 01:19:31.580 – 01:19:32.460 26 people.
  1952. 01:19:34.140 – 01:19:35.440 26 people, man.
  1953. 01:19:41.800 – 01:19:44.560 I did it, I knocked it out, that was cool.
  1954. 01:19:45.100 – 01:19:46.220 Like weddings, I like weddings.
  1955. 01:19:46.400 – 01:19:47.020 Weddings is dope.
  1956. 01:19:47.160 – 01:19:48.580 I'm about to start promoting more weddings.
  1957. 01:19:48.700 – 01:19:51.240 Cause most people don't see me promoting weddings,
  1958. 01:19:51.260 – 01:19:52.600 but I do a lot of weddings though.
  1959. 01:19:53.240 – 01:19:57.420 Yeah, like 50 was my first portrait for the shoot.
  1960. 01:19:57.420 – 01:20:00.100 My first wedding was $800.
  1961. 01:20:00.300 – 01:20:02.280 What I charged that, no, no.
  1962. 01:20:02.480 – 01:20:03.280 Yeah, my first wedding was $600.
  1963. 01:20:03.280 – 01:20:04.980 I had a team, I paid a team, you know.
  1964. 01:20:06.020 – 01:20:07.920 I had a team of two.
  1965. 01:20:09.220 – 01:20:12.500 And yeah, after doing all that and spending time editing,
  1966. 01:20:12.820 – 01:20:15.360 that first wedding took me almost three months to edit.
  1967. 01:20:15.440 – 01:20:16.920 Yeah, yeah.
  1968. 01:20:17.100 – 01:20:21.400 Cause you doing your best to appease this client.
  1969. 01:20:21.980 – 01:20:25.160 Like every, you probably just, man,
  1970. 01:20:25.160 – 01:20:28.180 when I be editing, man, I'm not, no,
  1971. 01:20:28.400 – 01:20:31.940 I'm not knocking pimples off your whole body
  1972. 01:20:31.940 – 01:20:33.580 on every single client.
  1973. 01:20:33.620 – 01:20:34.120 Right, right.
  1974. 01:20:34.260 – 01:20:34.880 You know what I'm saying?
  1975. 01:20:35.380 – 01:20:36.900 I'm giving you a thousand,
  1976. 01:20:37.680 – 01:20:39.760 like at first I used to give like,
  1977. 01:20:39.760 – 01:20:41.680 like close to 2,000 shots on weddings.
  1978. 01:20:41.760 – 01:20:42.860 Not doing it no more.
  1979. 01:20:42.900 – 01:20:46.020 Like I'm looking at people's packages now.
  1980. 01:20:46.500 – 01:20:49.200 It's like they giving like around like
  1981. 01:20:49.200 – 01:20:51.040 between 700 and 900 shots.
  1982. 01:20:51.780 – 01:20:53.900 And once I start seeing that, I'm like,
  1983. 01:20:53.900 – 01:20:55.460 man, that makes so much sense.
  1984. 01:20:55.740 – 01:20:56.920 Like a lot of this stuff is overkill.
  1985. 01:20:56.980 – 01:21:00.020 I'm shooting the same thing four or five times.
  1986. 01:21:00.440 – 01:21:02.060 Even if they are four or five good shots,
  1987. 01:21:02.960 – 01:21:04.920 like man, I'm here to present you a story.
  1988. 01:21:05.180 – 01:21:06.000 That's right, yeah.
  1989. 01:21:06.120 – 01:21:08.780 You know, so it's like I'm,
  1990. 01:21:08.960 – 01:21:10.720 nobody's looking at 2,000 shots.
  1991. 01:21:11.260 – 01:21:11.900 You know what I'm saying?
  1992. 01:21:12.140 – 01:21:13.040 Like. We are.
  1993. 01:21:13.760 – 01:21:14.900 We are. We are.
  1994. 01:21:15.120 – 01:21:19.020 But no, like there's so much overkill with it
  1995. 01:21:19.020 – 01:21:20.860 to where it's just like here.
  1996. 01:21:20.920 – 01:21:23.240 I just want to give you this,
  1997. 01:21:23.240 – 01:21:29.350 but they're going to be like this is going to make sense.
  1998. 01:21:29.730 – 01:21:33.670 You know, so it's like once I start kind of scaling down
  1999. 01:21:33.670 – 01:21:35.190 like that, because think about it,
  2000. 01:21:35.190 – 01:21:36.310 when you do a wedding book,
  2001. 01:21:36.970 – 01:21:39.070 it's not 900 shots in a wedding book, right?
  2002. 01:21:39.510 – 01:21:41.710 But the story of the whole wedding is in a wedding book.
  2003. 01:21:42.050 – 01:21:44.930 So you might get 40 to 60 shots in that wedding book.
  2004. 01:21:45.570 – 01:21:46.150 You know what I'm saying?
  2005. 01:21:46.210 – 01:21:47.550 But the wedding book looked great
  2006. 01:21:48.590 – 01:21:50.350 because everything felt so good.
  2007. 01:21:50.750 – 01:21:54.660 And that, yeah, that's something I had to learn.
  2008. 01:21:55.720 – 01:21:57.520 Almost 3,000 collective.
  2009. 01:21:57.620 – 01:22:00.420 We like, yeah, yeah, it's overkill.
  2010. 01:22:00.420 – 01:22:02.260 It's overkill for 800.
  2011. 01:22:02.780 – 01:22:03.840 Yeah, for 800.
  2012. 01:22:04.420 – 01:22:07.200 And I like from the time I had to put in to that wedding
  2013. 01:22:07.200 – 01:22:09.520 and even gave him a free wedding book.
  2014. 01:22:10.300 – 01:22:13.720 But knowing what I know now at the pan style,
  2015. 01:22:14.080 – 01:22:15.420 I came out of pocket.
  2016. 01:22:15.740 – 01:22:16.940 Yeah, you did. You did.
  2017. 01:22:16.940 – 01:22:18.400 But that's an investment for my future.
  2018. 01:22:18.580 – 01:22:19.280 Yeah, absolutely.
  2019. 01:22:19.400 – 01:22:21.360 So you needed to you.
  2020. 01:22:21.480 – 01:22:22.460 But we got to go through.
  2021. 01:22:22.560 – 01:22:23.680 It's all growing pains.
  2022. 01:22:24.200 – 01:22:25.880 You got to go through that stuff.
  2023. 01:22:26.320 – 01:22:28.300 Like, I didn't went through, so I go through stuff now.
  2024. 01:22:28.440 – 01:22:33.100 But I know the amount of stuff I'm willing to go through
  2025. 01:22:33.100 – 01:22:34.600 and what I'm not willing to go through.
  2026. 01:22:34.680 – 01:22:36.800 It is so easy for me to say no now.
  2027. 01:22:36.940 – 01:22:39.060 I don't care, even if I need it,
  2028. 01:22:39.280 – 01:22:42.000 I'm not saying yes to certain things.
  2029. 01:22:42.140 – 01:22:43.640 Like, no, I'm not doing that.
  2030. 01:22:43.780 – 01:22:44.680 I'm not doing that.
  2031. 01:22:45.180 – 01:22:47.660 But it's like, no, I'm not, no.
  2032. 01:22:47.880 – 01:22:52.300 Because it's too much to come with those yeses.
  2033. 01:22:52.300 – 01:22:55.580 Because if I say yes to you for this situation,
  2034. 01:22:56.240 – 01:23:08.880 you got me four on pennies on the dollar
  2035. 01:23:08.880 – 01:23:10.920 because most people don't value what we do for real.
  2036. 01:23:11.000 – 01:23:11.500 That's true.
  2037. 01:23:11.920 – 01:23:12.400 You know what I'm saying?
  2038. 01:23:12.460 – 01:23:13.860 They don't know the real value of it
  2039. 01:23:13.860 – 01:23:15.920 because I think to what we do,
  2040. 01:23:15.940 – 01:23:17.620 we all under charging for real, for real.
  2041. 01:23:17.680 – 01:23:19.700 If we really wanted to open the market up
  2042. 01:23:19.700 – 01:23:23.780 and band together and just be a union for real, for real
  2043. 01:23:23.780 – 01:23:27.180 like where the price ain't never going under this,
  2044. 01:23:28.040 – 01:23:29.860 man, it's a luxury expense.
  2045. 01:23:30.120 – 01:23:30.900 You know what I'm saying?
  2046. 01:23:31.420 – 01:23:33.440 So we have to look at the market of Cleveland
  2047. 01:23:33.440 – 01:23:35.820 and be like, okay, boom.
  2048. 01:23:36.480 – 01:23:37.520 That's what I had to do
  2049. 01:23:37.520 – 01:23:39.820 when I had to think about the money end of it.
  2050. 01:23:39.820 – 01:23:42.440 I had to look at Cleveland market,
  2051. 01:23:42.520 – 01:23:45.480 like, okay, I wanna up it to this,
  2052. 01:23:45.560 – 01:23:47.100 but I also have to be careful
  2053. 01:23:47.100 – 01:23:50.380 because I still want clients.
  2054. 01:23:51.000 – 01:23:54.580 So I had to find that corporate price
  2055. 01:23:54.580 – 01:23:56.260 and that customer price.
  2056. 01:23:57.060 – 01:23:59.420 So I had one where I had corporate price
  2057. 01:23:59.420 – 01:24:00.140 all the way up here,
  2058. 01:24:00.140 – 01:24:02.560 but these people paying for that,
  2059. 01:24:05.220 – 01:24:08.500 some corporates, you can't even charge low
  2060. 01:24:08.500 – 01:24:09.780 what you think you would
  2061. 01:24:09.780 – 01:24:11.240 because they wouldn't take you serious.
  2062. 01:24:11.380 – 01:24:13.400 So you have to charge up here
  2063. 01:24:13.400 – 01:24:14.360 because they got the budget
  2064. 01:24:14.360 – 01:24:15.700 and they gotta spend it for this.
  2065. 01:24:18.450 – 01:24:20.330 So, hey, this is why I charge you all for this.
  2066. 01:24:20.590 – 01:24:22.410 I know what y'all using this all for.
  2067. 01:24:22.750 – 01:24:23.430 So guess what?
  2068. 01:24:23.610 – 01:24:24.610 This is price.
  2069. 01:24:26.410 – 01:24:28.590 But I had to look at it other way
  2070. 01:24:28.590 – 01:24:30.490 to where it's like everybody ain't got that budget
  2071. 01:24:30.490 – 01:24:32.930 and I can't figure out if they do or they don't.
  2072. 01:24:33.010 – 01:24:35.270 So let me hire my prices up,
  2073. 01:24:35.290 – 01:24:37.650 but keep it a little lower so I can get everybody.
  2074. 01:24:38.230 – 01:24:38.610 So.
  2075. 01:24:38.890 – 01:24:40.570 I kinda wanna speak on that.
  2076. 01:24:41.090 – 01:24:43.390 Like, how do you price for profit
  2077. 01:24:43.390 – 01:24:44.710 but still be competitive?
  2078. 01:24:46.570 – 01:24:49.190 Once I started seeing everybody prices,
  2079. 01:24:49.450 – 01:24:50.750 I started looking at it.
  2080. 01:24:50.750 – 01:24:52.110 I needed to find out something
  2081. 01:24:52.110 – 01:24:54.010 that was comfortable for Ned
  2082. 01:24:54.010 – 01:24:56.470 to where it's like, I feel like,
  2083. 01:24:57.450 – 01:24:59.650 cause it got to a point where I was doing so much
  2084. 01:24:59.650 – 01:25:02.650 and I wasn't fulfilled with what I was doing.
  2085. 01:25:02.930 – 01:25:06.290 Cause I'm like, man, this is here doing a lot for you
  2086. 01:25:06.290 – 01:25:07.410 and I'm so nice.
  2087. 01:25:07.690 – 01:25:09.350 I'll just say yes to anything.
  2088. 01:25:10.190 – 01:25:11.390 No, I'm not doing that.
  2089. 01:25:11.490 – 01:25:13.090 You're going to either pay this
  2090. 01:25:13.090 – 01:25:14.230 or you're not gonna pay this.
  2091. 01:25:15.230 – 01:25:17.250 So when I found that out,
  2092. 01:25:17.250 – 01:25:19.810 I was like, oh, okay, this is cool for me.
  2093. 01:25:19.850 – 01:25:22.490 I was scared to say 354 photo shoot.
  2094. 01:25:22.950 – 01:25:27.010 Like, no, I was like, this might be too much
  2095. 01:25:27.010 – 01:25:28.890 or you probably can't afford this
  2096. 01:25:28.890 – 01:25:31.830 or I'm gonna make this comfortable for you.
  2097. 01:25:32.130 – 01:25:34.490 I'm gonna figure it out for you.
  2098. 01:25:35.010 – 01:25:37.330 This all, whether they spent 200 or 350
  2099. 01:25:37.330 – 01:25:39.150 or 500 is a luxury expense.
  2100. 01:25:39.750 – 01:25:41.930 Nobody had to take cell phones so good.
  2101. 01:25:42.230 – 01:25:43.970 Now, anybody can find good lighting
  2102. 01:25:43.970 – 01:25:45.370 and just take a good picture of their family
  2103. 01:25:45.370 – 01:25:46.290 and post it up.
  2104. 01:25:46.610 – 01:25:51.070 You could get a poster or a canvas of 24 by 36
  2105. 01:25:51.070 – 01:25:52.690 off of a cell phone image now.
  2106. 01:25:53.170 – 01:25:55.550 So you don't technically need a photographer
  2107. 01:25:55.550 – 01:25:58.290 but they ain't photographers.
  2108. 01:25:58.290 – 01:26:00.210 So it's like, man, we crafting light.
  2109. 01:26:00.450 – 01:26:00.990 We doing things.
  2110. 01:26:01.030 – 01:26:02.890 We are specialists at what we do.
  2111. 01:26:03.950 – 01:26:09.190 We not taking, we ain't taking pictures.
  2112. 01:26:09.330 – 01:26:10.270 We creating moments.
  2113. 01:26:11.070 – 01:26:13.470 So it's like, those is timeless.
  2114. 01:26:13.670 – 01:26:15.110 So like now I approach it like,
  2115. 01:26:15.310 – 01:26:16.190 I don't even want a cell phone
  2116. 01:26:16.190 – 01:26:19.230 to even be able to take the capabilities
  2117. 01:26:19.230 – 01:26:20.010 of what I'm doing.
  2118. 01:26:20.470 – 01:26:22.710 So it's like, mine's had to be a certain type of way.
  2119. 01:26:23.630 – 01:26:26.110 So, because this is catching up to us so fast.
  2120. 01:26:26.690 – 01:26:29.230 So it's like, I got to a point, man,
  2121. 01:26:29.290 – 01:26:30.350 where it was just like, man,
  2122. 01:26:30.350 – 01:26:31.790 this is what I'm comfortable with.
  2123. 01:26:32.050 – 01:26:34.070 This is what, I had to speak it.
  2124. 01:26:34.470 – 01:26:37.270 Like I jumped my event prices up to,
  2125. 01:26:37.270 – 01:26:40.010 what was it, 275 an hour with a two hour minimum.
  2126. 01:26:40.230 – 01:26:41.230 And then there's people who's like,
  2127. 01:26:41.330 – 01:26:42.430 well, I just need you for one hour.
  2128. 01:26:42.530 – 01:26:43.090 Then it's 350.
  2129. 01:26:43.970 – 01:26:44.770 You see what I'm saying?
  2130. 01:26:45.210 – 01:26:47.590 So it was like, once I got that in my mind
  2131. 01:26:47.590 – 01:26:48.810 and that's what I was comfortable with,
  2132. 01:26:49.550 – 01:26:51.030 that's where I'm at right now.
  2133. 01:26:51.570 – 01:26:52.970 Until I'm somewhere else.
  2134. 01:26:53.130 – 01:26:53.710 You know what I'm saying?
  2135. 01:26:53.710 – 01:26:56.030 Now there might be times where,
  2136. 01:26:56.290 – 01:26:56.830 blah, blah, blah, blah,
  2137. 01:26:56.830 – 01:27:00.050 I may do something and I might be charging this.
  2138. 01:27:00.230 – 01:27:00.910 Blah, blah, blah, blah.
  2139. 01:27:01.170 – 01:27:02.810 So everything I ain't gonna say,
  2140. 01:27:02.830 – 01:27:04.130 that's what I stand on.
  2141. 01:27:04.490 – 01:27:06.070 What I feel like doing is different.
  2142. 01:27:06.470 – 01:27:07.190 You know what I'm saying?
  2143. 01:27:07.550 – 01:27:10.530 So it's like, and I think people be,
  2144. 01:27:11.090 – 01:27:12.850 I don't want people to get that confused.
  2145. 01:27:13.070 – 01:27:14.910 It's like, man, I charge what I want to charge.
  2146. 01:27:15.210 – 01:27:16.810 Like you don't have to deal with me.
  2147. 01:27:17.270 – 01:27:17.930 You know what I'm saying?
  2148. 01:27:18.450 – 01:27:20.190 So, but I charge accordingly,
  2149. 01:27:20.390 – 01:27:22.230 but my base price is my base price.
  2150. 01:27:22.230 – 01:27:24.490 Now you might catch me while I'm feeling happy today,
  2151. 01:27:24.490 – 01:27:26.510 you know, just love people.
  2152. 01:27:26.770 – 01:27:27.690 You know what I'm saying?
  2153. 01:27:27.950 – 01:27:30.190 So we're here, take it.
  2154. 01:27:30.230 – 01:27:31.730 This is a blessing, God bless you.
  2155. 01:27:31.890 – 01:27:34.130 Because God has truly blessed me in every way.
  2156. 01:27:34.970 – 01:27:37.730 So like, man, I got a big heart to do certain things,
  2157. 01:27:37.730 – 01:27:39.830 but man, I stand on that.
  2158. 01:27:39.950 – 01:27:43.090 I stand on who I am because you don't,
  2159. 01:27:43.450 – 01:27:45.830 I give people the options, you know?
  2160. 01:27:45.890 – 01:27:49.250 Like, and I'm not a greedy person when it comes to money.
  2161. 01:27:49.250 – 01:27:53.810 Like I had to do a consultation with somebody
  2162. 01:27:53.810 – 01:27:56.150 on a wedding joint, my bad, man.
  2163. 01:27:56.310 – 01:27:57.250 This cage right here.
  2164. 01:27:57.570 – 01:27:59.470 I had to do a consultation with somebody
  2165. 01:27:59.470 – 01:28:02.810 on a wedding joint and they had to do,
  2166. 01:28:02.890 – 01:28:04.430 they wanted me right then.
  2167. 01:28:04.470 – 01:28:06.490 They was like, I'm not going to go to the next person.
  2168. 01:28:06.810 – 01:28:08.630 But I'm like, man, that's my dog, go to her.
  2169. 01:28:09.050 – 01:28:10.710 Go get your consultation with her.
  2170. 01:28:10.870 – 01:28:11.830 Cause she might have the package
  2171. 01:28:11.830 – 01:28:14.430 that you actually need for real.
  2172. 01:28:14.470 – 01:28:16.270 Like we're coming with everything with it
  2173. 01:28:16.270 – 01:28:17.670 and she's a great photographer.
  2174. 01:28:17.670 – 01:28:19.770 So weigh out your options all the way.
  2175. 01:28:19.810 – 01:28:21.410 Yeah, do I want that hat?
  2176. 01:28:21.610 – 01:28:24.210 Cause now weddings, I asked for half.
  2177. 01:28:24.250 – 01:28:27.210 So I was like, 14, 50, you know?
  2178. 01:28:28.190 – 01:28:30.190 But man, I just believe what's right is right
  2179. 01:28:30.190 – 01:28:31.270 and what's wrong is wrong.
  2180. 01:28:31.450 – 01:28:33.670 So it's like, I'm never going to go against what's right
  2181. 01:28:33.670 – 01:28:35.190 because that's going to eat away at me.
  2182. 01:28:35.670 – 01:28:37.950 Go and do your due diligence with your people.
  2183. 01:28:38.530 – 01:28:40.310 And if you want to come back to me,
  2184. 01:28:40.410 – 01:28:41.770 I'm right here, you know?
  2185. 01:28:42.550 – 01:28:43.970 So that's how I be feeling about things.
  2186. 01:28:44.450 – 01:28:45.290 That's right, man.
  2187. 01:28:48.730 – 01:28:50.890 Wealth and knowledge, man, great conversation.
  2188. 01:28:51.850 – 01:28:53.670 Definitely appreciate you, right?
  2189. 01:28:53.910 – 01:28:56.970 Man, cause I'm thinking like, man,
  2190. 01:28:58.010 – 01:29:00.270 it's not being alone in this journey
  2191. 01:29:00.270 – 01:29:02.090 and kind of, you know,
  2192. 01:29:02.190 – 01:29:05.130 hearing like the same experiences and stories,
  2193. 01:29:05.130 – 01:29:06.530 you know, that I had to go through.
  2194. 01:29:07.310 – 01:29:08.550 So it's always good, man.
  2195. 01:29:09.430 – 01:29:12.430 Like first photographer that I interviewed for real.
  2196. 01:29:12.870 – 01:29:13.770 Oh, this is awesome.
  2197. 01:29:13.870 – 01:29:16.050 It's actually my first male interview
  2198. 01:29:16.050 – 01:29:17.450 since I've been doing interviews.
  2199. 01:29:17.590 – 01:29:18.990 Hey, this is dope, man.
  2200. 01:29:19.830 – 01:29:21.030 That's what I'm saying, man.
  2201. 01:29:22.250 – 01:29:26.090 I currently charge for event photography, 250 hours.
  2202. 01:29:26.670 – 01:29:27.150 Dope, yeah.
  2203. 01:29:27.770 – 01:29:30.230 I kind of had, you know, like day rates
  2204. 01:29:30.870 – 01:29:32.950 or half day rates and then also day rates
  2205. 01:29:32.950 – 01:29:35.230 where you kind of, you know, get a discount,
  2206. 01:29:36.250 – 01:29:37.130 but you know what I'm saying?
  2207. 01:29:37.350 – 01:29:39.010 Like people always try to,
  2208. 01:29:39.910 – 01:29:42.990 well, kind of get it, you know?
  2209. 01:29:43.370 – 01:29:44.430 Or like even like a wedding,
  2210. 01:29:44.810 – 01:29:47.450 like your price is more than a venue,
  2211. 01:29:48.170 – 01:29:50.150 but also look at the venue.
  2212. 01:29:50.490 – 01:29:52.530 Yeah, look at the venue that they at.
  2213. 01:29:53.010 – 01:29:54.730 So I'm like, okay, it makes sense.
  2214. 01:29:55.150 – 01:29:58.750 But this is the lowest I could go for this hour.
  2215. 01:29:58.890 – 01:29:59.930 You know, I still got pay staff.
  2216. 01:30:00.250 – 01:30:02.150 I even, you know, I told them,
  2217. 01:30:02.270 – 01:30:04.250 I'm like working with two people.
  2218. 01:30:04.910 – 01:30:06.730 You know, they're cutting back on price.
  2219. 01:30:06.890 – 01:30:11.250 You know, I can only do a couple hours now
  2220. 01:30:11.250 – 01:30:13.570 or you're like, man, I'm still down,
  2221. 01:30:13.610 – 01:30:14.350 whatever you need.
  2222. 01:30:14.350 – 01:30:17.850 So it's like having that team and people,
  2223. 01:30:18.210 – 01:30:19.490 like they're both mentees.
  2224. 01:30:19.590 – 01:30:21.570 So, you know, they're still learning as well,
  2225. 01:30:22.450 – 01:30:24.950 but they're good and I trust them.
  2226. 01:30:24.950 – 01:30:25.850 That's what I do.
  2227. 01:30:26.430 – 01:30:30.230 And, you know, so I'm very thankful for, you know,
  2228. 01:30:30.330 – 01:30:32.450 my network, people that trust in me
  2229. 01:30:32.450 – 01:30:34.530 to, you know, do their events
  2230. 01:30:34.530 – 01:30:37.890 or even if they need, you know, advice.
  2231. 01:30:38.450 – 01:30:39.870 I will tell you this,
  2232. 01:30:39.990 – 01:30:42.070 when it comes to negotiating your prices
  2233. 01:30:42.070 – 01:30:44.510 for wedding photography, don't.
  2234. 01:30:46.230 – 01:30:48.210 The DJ music is gonna be played.
  2235. 01:30:48.830 – 01:30:49.750 That's music over.
  2236. 01:30:50.110 – 01:30:51.570 The cake got eaten.
  2237. 01:30:52.330 – 01:30:54.350 The venue, we already kicked it
  2238. 01:30:54.350 – 01:30:55.490 to where we can kick it.
  2239. 01:30:55.530 – 01:30:57.950 We can't feel that kick it no more.
  2240. 01:30:58.650 – 01:31:00.170 The dress is already worn.
  2241. 01:31:00.730 – 01:31:02.830 The tuxedos is already worn.
  2242. 01:31:03.410 – 01:31:05.290 Them pictures is forever.
  2243. 01:31:06.490 – 01:31:07.170 You know what I'm saying?
  2244. 01:31:07.550 – 01:31:10.610 Your job is truly the most important job
  2245. 01:31:10.610 – 01:31:11.870 out of everybody there
  2246. 01:31:11.870 – 01:31:14.530 because they count on these memories
  2247. 01:31:14.530 – 01:31:16.650 for the rest of their life.
  2248. 01:31:16.710 – 01:31:17.370 That's true.
  2249. 01:31:17.490 – 01:31:17.970 You know what I'm saying?
  2250. 01:31:18.010 – 01:31:19.130 It's not like a videography
  2251. 01:31:19.130 – 01:31:20.730 and I'm not knocking videographers,
  2252. 01:31:21.450 – 01:31:24.570 but a videographer is five minutes.
  2253. 01:31:25.330 – 01:31:27.190 These pictures, they could take each one
  2254. 01:31:27.190 – 01:31:27.890 of these pictures.
  2255. 01:31:28.330 – 01:31:30.490 Somebody in that wedding is gonna pass away.
  2256. 01:31:31.150 – 01:31:31.670 You know what I'm saying?
  2257. 01:31:31.710 – 01:31:32.670 These is memories.
  2258. 01:31:32.990 – 01:31:34.530 That's why we take the pictures of the family.
  2259. 01:31:34.850 – 01:31:36.270 We take all of these type of pictures.
  2260. 01:31:36.690 – 01:31:38.270 Man, those, your wedding,
  2261. 01:31:38.430 – 01:31:40.210 the job of the wedding photographer
  2262. 01:31:40.210 – 01:31:42.910 is the most important job at the wedding
  2263. 01:31:43.630 – 01:31:46.650 because we were responsible for forever.
  2264. 01:31:47.310 – 01:31:51.270 So you have to be firming your pricing.
  2265. 01:31:51.670 – 01:31:55.830 So you can't let up on individuals
  2266. 01:31:55.830 – 01:31:57.410 or you can't let up on your business
  2267. 01:31:57.410 – 01:32:00.710 because that's important, man.
  2268. 01:32:00.910 – 01:32:01.930 Just don't do it
  2269. 01:32:01.930 – 01:32:04.250 because we got too much responsibility
  2270. 01:32:05.270 – 01:32:07.730 within that particular event.
  2271. 01:32:08.990 – 01:32:10.690 That's true and that's amazing.
  2272. 01:32:11.750 – 01:32:14.430 I appreciate you for coming out and doing this.
  2273. 01:32:14.830 – 01:32:15.490 My pleasure, bro.
  2274. 01:32:15.650 – 01:32:17.930 I know you just came from a shoot,
  2275. 01:32:18.070 – 01:32:19.310 you know, getting it in.
  2276. 01:32:20.110 – 01:32:22.590 Yeah, that's what we do, man.
  2277. 01:32:22.710 – 01:32:23.230 That's right.
  2278. 01:32:24.150 – 01:32:25.510 And last question,
  2279. 01:32:25.530 – 01:32:27.990 I wanna close it out for all my business owners
  2280. 01:32:27.990 – 01:32:30.010 and entrepreneurs that are starting their journey.
  2281. 01:32:30.950 – 01:32:32.290 What advice would you give them
  2282. 01:32:32.290 – 01:32:34.210 for a new entrepreneur starting out?
  2283. 01:32:35.610 – 01:32:38.370 The main advice I would give you,
  2284. 01:32:38.370 – 01:32:42.450 first, put everything to God.
  2285. 01:32:42.810 – 01:32:44.450 Give everything to God first.
  2286. 01:32:44.970 – 01:32:48.110 I can't move, I can't do none of this stuff
  2287. 01:32:48.110 – 01:32:51.230 if God was not involved in this.
  2288. 01:32:51.350 – 01:32:54.850 Like I would find another way to try to think of it,
  2289. 01:32:55.130 – 01:32:56.790 but it's truly because I prayed on this
  2290. 01:32:56.790 – 01:32:59.290 and I talked to God and asked him for this first.
  2291. 01:32:59.310 – 01:33:00.510 That was the number one thing.
  2292. 01:33:00.850 – 01:33:02.530 So I would say that's the first and foremost.
  2293. 01:33:02.690 – 01:33:07.790 The second thing I would say is always have fun.
  2294. 01:33:09.630 – 01:33:14.830 If you chasing money, it's not gonna be fun.
  2295. 01:33:15.670 – 01:33:17.290 The money is gonna come.
  2296. 01:33:17.850 – 01:33:22.190 Just keep constantly building your craft and having fun.
  2297. 01:33:22.890 – 01:33:25.090 And if you keep doing that
  2298. 01:33:25.090 – 01:33:26.730 and building your craft and having fun,
  2299. 01:33:27.290 – 01:33:32.190 man, you'll be so prosperous no matter what.
  2300. 01:33:32.270 – 01:33:33.650 And it might not even be the money
  2301. 01:33:33.650 – 01:33:34.710 that make you prosperous.
  2302. 01:33:34.890 – 01:33:37.230 It's just like the joy of people
  2303. 01:33:37.230 – 01:33:40.370 helping people, being an asset to people.
  2304. 01:33:41.390 – 01:33:45.050 Like that is truly like my heart's passion.
  2305. 01:33:45.130 – 01:33:48.330 If I wasn't doing this, I would probably be a chef.
  2306. 01:33:48.710 – 01:33:49.810 I just wanted to do something.
  2307. 01:33:49.830 – 01:33:54.770 I jumped into photography mainly because I wanted to do,
  2308. 01:33:54.870 – 01:33:56.890 I wanted to have a million conversations
  2309. 01:33:56.890 – 01:33:57.970 with a million people.
  2310. 01:33:58.550 – 01:34:01.270 And however I could have that, that's what I wanted.
  2311. 01:34:01.790 – 01:34:04.510 So if this was an easy way for me to talk to people
  2312. 01:34:04.510 – 01:34:07.650 and to find out something unique about people,
  2313. 01:34:08.430 – 01:34:10.490 this was the career choice that was for me.
  2314. 01:34:10.750 – 01:34:14.630 So I praise God that I had this opportunity
  2315. 01:34:15.190 – 01:34:18.130 to be who I am at this point and still grow.
  2316. 01:34:18.610 – 01:34:21.570 So just keep constantly being that student
  2317. 01:34:21.570 – 01:34:25.470 and please keep God first and you'll be all right.
  2318. 01:34:28.530 – 01:34:29.890 Appreciate you, thank you.
  2319. 01:34:29.950 – 01:34:31.650 My dog, man, I appreciate you, man.
  2320. 01:34:31.750 – 01:34:33.650 Yes, I'm just gonna close it out
  2321. 01:34:33.650 – 01:34:37.750 with shouting out my business, Alienize Photos Media.
  2322. 01:34:38.350 – 01:34:42.650 For more information, check out alienizephotos.com.
  2323. 01:34:43.530 – 01:34:46.070 Check out some of my gallery work
  2324. 01:34:46.070 – 01:34:49.310 or if you wanna book me or even chat on the phone.
  2325. 01:34:50.010 – 01:34:53.990 I do do small business coaching for new entrepreneurs
  2326. 01:34:53.990 – 01:34:56.330 or if you wanna have an ideation session,
  2327. 01:34:56.650 – 01:34:59.810 bounce ideas off each other on a higher level.
  2328. 01:35:00.410 – 01:35:04.310 And I definitely wanna be of gratitude
  2329. 01:35:04.310 – 01:35:06.730 and appreciation to my media partners.
  2330. 01:35:07.310 – 01:35:09.950 I'm here at LaunchArts, where we're recording,
  2331. 01:35:10.150 – 01:35:13.410 LaunchArts Media and then also the Pull Up Experience
  2332. 01:35:13.410 – 01:35:15.970 where we also interview a lot of entrepreneurs
  2333. 01:35:15.970 – 01:35:19.590 around the city of Cleveland, but we've been traveling
  2334. 01:35:19.590 – 01:35:21.850 so we're now global, well national,
  2335. 01:35:21.930 – 01:35:23.870 I ain't gonna say global yet, national.
  2336. 01:35:24.470 – 01:35:27.950 So again, this is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  2337. 01:35:27.950 – 01:35:29.670 or most people know me as Alien
  2338. 01:35:30.290 – 01:35:33.310 and I have PhotoCred, Ned, my dog.
  2339. 01:35:34.230 – 01:35:37.790 Please tap in, tap in, man, we appreciate you.
  2340. 01:35:38.030 – 01:35:39.650 And then right before we go,
  2341. 01:35:39.850 – 01:35:40.970 where can the people find you?
  2342. 01:35:41.570 – 01:35:45.050 I shoot over at, I'll give you my Instagram handle,
  2343. 01:35:45.230 – 01:35:50.810 it's PhotoCred, Ned, P-H-O-T-O-C-R-E-D-N-E-D.
  2344. 01:35:50.970 – 01:35:54.290 That's my Instagram and I shoot over
  2345. 01:35:54.290 – 01:35:56.090 at LaunchArts Content Studio.
  2346. 01:35:56.090 – 01:35:58.830 So that's where my studio is currently at.
  2347. 01:35:58.950 – 01:36:03.690 That's over on 1547 St. Clair Avenue, 4414.
  2348. 01:36:05.170 – 01:36:07.050 And yeah, that's where I'm at.
  2349. 01:36:07.410 – 01:36:09.530 So, but I'm always all around.
  2350. 01:36:09.550 – 01:36:12.810 So you will find me probably outside somewhere
  2351. 01:36:12.810 – 01:36:16.170 at these WaitOval events and all of that taking sides
  2352. 01:36:16.170 – 01:36:18.170 or having a drink with you all.
  2353. 01:36:18.530 – 01:36:20.070 So, you know, hey, that's right.
  2354. 01:36:20.090 – 01:36:22.850 And then also I wanna just pitch this,
  2355. 01:36:23.110 – 01:36:25.290 Evoto, if you're listening, anybody from Evoto?
  2356. 01:36:25.290 – 01:36:28.410 Get with my man for the affiliate link.
  2357. 01:36:28.530 – 01:36:29.690 He need an affiliate link.
  2358. 01:36:30.370 – 01:36:31.250 Thank you, please do,
  2359. 01:36:31.310 – 01:36:32.630 because I gotta re-up all them credits.
  2360. 01:36:33.930 – 01:36:36.330 Hey, man, we're gonna make it happen.
  2361. 01:36:36.650 – 01:36:38.490 Again, for everybody that's tuning in,
  2362. 01:36:39.010 – 01:36:40.450 we are signing out.
  2363. 01:36:40.810 – 01:36:41.910 Peace. Peace.

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41. India Su'Juan - Sujuans Decor

Season 2 · Episode 6

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.360 – 00:00:06.460 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ailey and I's Photos Industry
  2. 00:00:06.460 – 00:00:10.820 Talk with your host, photographer Jackson.
  3. 00:00:11.760 – 00:00:14.920 And I'm here today with a special, special guest,
  4. 00:00:15.780 – 00:00:20.640 fabulous interior designer, Miss India Suwan.
  5. 00:00:21.620 – 00:00:27.460 Suwan, interior decor design, even event space.
  6. 00:00:27.800 – 00:00:28.980 I don't want to kind of butcher that a little bit,
  7. 00:00:28.980 – 00:00:31.280 but also event space only include that.
  8. 00:00:32.259 – 00:00:33.820 So you want to introduce yourself?
  9. 00:00:34.140 – 00:00:36.140 Yes. So I'm India Suwan.
  10. 00:00:36.180 – 00:00:37.940 I'm the owner of Suwan's decor.
  11. 00:00:39.100 – 00:00:43.720 Suwan's decor was founded back in two thousand twenty one.
  12. 00:00:44.020 – 00:00:45.400 Yeah. Two thousand twenty one.
  13. 00:00:46.180 – 00:00:50.500 I not only do interior design, I also do home staging
  14. 00:00:50.500 – 00:00:54.100 and I also source materials for home flips.
  15. 00:00:54.640 – 00:00:57.700 And I also have an event space, but sadly,
  16. 00:00:57.700 – 00:00:59.840 well, not sadly, happy for me, sad for other people.
  17. 00:00:59.880 – 00:01:01.820 It will be closing very soon.
  18. 00:01:04.440 – 00:01:05.319 Oh, wow.
  19. 00:01:05.800 – 00:01:09.800 So and I also forgot the home stage and you told me that.
  20. 00:01:10.580 – 00:01:12.760 Oh, yeah, it's new.
  21. 00:01:13.240 – 00:01:14.820 It's a few things that I do.
  22. 00:01:14.960 – 00:01:17.400 So what would you say you like the most?
  23. 00:01:18.580 – 00:01:22.080 Um, I tend to gravitate towards the new stuff,
  24. 00:01:22.180 – 00:01:24.680 which is the home stage and I love home staging.
  25. 00:01:24.840 – 00:01:27.340 And I think the reason why I like home staging
  26. 00:01:27.700 – 00:01:30.260 even though there are limitations on like how much you can do
  27. 00:01:30.260 – 00:01:32.800 on a home stage and because it's just like staging.
  28. 00:01:33.480 – 00:01:36.640 But it it's more of what I want to see
  29. 00:01:36.640 – 00:01:39.380 versus what a client is asking me for.
  30. 00:01:39.620 – 00:01:43.280 So I get to express like, you know, how I would style something
  31. 00:01:43.280 – 00:01:46.760 or pull looks that I would want to do versus me going
  32. 00:01:46.760 – 00:01:50.100 based off of someone else's inspiration and what they want to do
  33. 00:01:50.100 – 00:01:52.840 and me creating based off of the realms of what they would like
  34. 00:01:52.840 – 00:01:53.800 to see in their space.
  35. 00:01:54.720 – 00:01:57.020 So I like home staging
  36. 00:01:57.020 – 00:02:02.420 because I get to be a creative and more free with what I decide to do.
  37. 00:02:02.720 – 00:02:06.860 But with home staging, you don't see often, like, you know,
  38. 00:02:06.920 – 00:02:11.000 go on in and have a wallpaper or accent walls or any of those things.
  39. 00:02:11.020 – 00:02:13.840 So you have to make art without
  40. 00:02:14.800 – 00:02:17.960 being able to hide behind like wallpapers and paint.
  41. 00:02:18.020 – 00:02:19.940 You have to still make the room look like a room
  42. 00:02:19.940 – 00:02:24.100 without being able to have all of these other elements
  43. 00:02:24.100 – 00:02:26.100 that could create fullness in the space.
  44. 00:02:26.100 – 00:02:30.460 So I like the I guess like the science behind it, too.
  45. 00:02:30.980 – 00:02:33.940 So, yeah, science and art go together. Yes.
  46. 00:02:35.440 – 00:02:38.280 Wow. Oh, wow. So.
  47. 00:02:38.760 – 00:02:42.020 It sounds like, in a sense, leadership, because you said,
  48. 00:02:42.080 – 00:02:46.580 you kind of do the design yourself and you kind of think it out
  49. 00:02:46.580 – 00:02:49.560 and what's in your brain, your imagination, bring it to life.
  50. 00:02:50.240 – 00:02:54.380 So would you say you more of a premium designer or
  51. 00:02:55.320 – 00:02:56.320 budget friendly?
  52. 00:02:56.860 – 00:03:02.980 Oh, I would say that I'm a little bit of both.
  53. 00:03:03.480 – 00:03:08.680 I would love like I feel like I haven't worked with any luxury homes just yet.
  54. 00:03:08.680 – 00:03:10.540 I feel like coming in my near future.
  55. 00:03:10.600 – 00:03:14.040 But I wouldn't like the homes that they're like, you know,
  56. 00:03:14.180 – 00:03:16.300 mid pricing and stuff like that.
  57. 00:03:17.640 – 00:03:21.280 And I even if I am in a luxury project,
  58. 00:03:21.280 – 00:03:24.420 I tend to still find things that are budget friendly
  59. 00:03:24.420 – 00:03:26.000 because just because people got money don't mean
  60. 00:03:26.000 – 00:03:29.620 that they want to spend a whole lot of money when they can find ways to save it.
  61. 00:03:29.860 – 00:03:31.500 So I would say that.
  62. 00:03:32.540 – 00:03:34.820 With art, you can always be budget friendly,
  63. 00:03:34.820 – 00:03:39.400 like I found pieces that were like dirt cheap and like different
  64. 00:03:40.220 – 00:03:43.120 unique art stores or like even
  65. 00:03:43.800 – 00:03:47.940 thrift stores that I have been able to like really highlight and look beautiful.
  66. 00:03:49.120 – 00:03:54.320 So honestly, it just depends on the designer and how artistic they are.
  67. 00:03:57.520 – 00:03:59.540 So let's kind of paint a picture.
  68. 00:03:59.860 – 00:04:03.780 We're in this this room, this box, of course, got four walls.
  69. 00:04:03.800 – 00:04:09.600 So you're looking at two corners kind of visually designed
  70. 00:04:09.600 – 00:04:14.520 a room if you step into a new house and let's just take it one room at a time.
  71. 00:04:15.920 – 00:04:20.260 Like you want me to describe the house room by room, like walking through a space.
  72. 00:04:20.560 – 00:04:23.340 Yeah, that's how you would like design it, almost like Sims.
  73. 00:04:25.080 – 00:04:30.060 Yeah. So I that's kind of hard for me to kind of do on the spot
  74. 00:04:30.060 – 00:04:31.420 if I'm not looking at the space.
  75. 00:04:33.120 – 00:04:36.440 But when I walk, I can give you an example of what it's like for me
  76. 00:04:36.440 – 00:04:40.460 when I do walk into spaces immediately when I walk into spaces,
  77. 00:04:40.540 – 00:04:43.060 I'm already envisioning like, oh, they could do this
  78. 00:04:43.060 – 00:04:46.940 or that couch should be moved there or they have that artwork placed too high up.
  79. 00:04:47.080 – 00:04:47.980 They need to lower it.
  80. 00:04:48.240 – 00:04:51.420 Or, oh, this room would actually pop if they added some wallpaper
  81. 00:04:51.420 – 00:04:55.680 or an accent wall of color or this area rug is too simple.
  82. 00:04:55.700 – 00:04:57.980 Like we need something that's a little bit more flamboyant.
  83. 00:04:58.160 – 00:05:01.400 Or this artwork has absolutely nothing to do
  84. 00:05:01.400 – 00:05:03.400 with the concept that they have going on in this space.
  85. 00:05:03.740 – 00:05:07.920 So I tend to like he'll be talking to me and I can multitask
  86. 00:05:07.920 – 00:05:09.660 in a way where they're talking to me, but I'm walking through
  87. 00:05:09.660 – 00:05:12.760 and I'm already visually putting the space together before I touch it.
  88. 00:05:12.760 – 00:05:17.940 So that's why I absolutely love the process
  89. 00:05:17.940 – 00:05:21.960 and the practice of creating a rendering
  90. 00:05:22.640 – 00:05:28.460 because you get to put what you have in your head into the computer system almost
  91. 00:05:28.460 – 00:05:32.140 and be able to walk people, not people walk your clients through
  92. 00:05:32.140 – 00:05:37.080 the space before you actually execute, because you could be all day like,
  93. 00:05:37.200 – 00:05:39.920 oh, yeah, I think you should do this and this and that sounds good.
  94. 00:05:39.920 – 00:05:43.860 But then I don't know if you've ever seen this episode on HGTV,
  95. 00:05:44.120 – 00:05:46.060 and I don't know if they did a rendering for this episode.
  96. 00:05:46.500 – 00:05:52.240 But this rendering is a three d computer generated room
  97. 00:05:52.240 – 00:05:56.380 where you create the actual room by measurement, by like, you know,
  98. 00:05:56.380 – 00:05:59.340 everything you set it up, how you would set it up,
  99. 00:05:59.360 – 00:06:01.340 like if you were going to execute it.
  100. 00:06:01.340 – 00:06:04.460 So based off of the concepts and the colors that you and your client
  101. 00:06:04.460 – 00:06:09.120 came up with, you would put it together in a space like that.
  102. 00:06:10.100 – 00:06:14.100 I'm kind of familiar with it, you know, coming from a photography background.
  103. 00:06:14.260 – 00:06:16.960 I don't do a lot of portraits, but I do a lot of weddings.
  104. 00:06:17.220 – 00:06:19.840 So prints do come in mind and like setting up,
  105. 00:06:19.860 – 00:06:22.740 like you said, those three D spaces of how we look on their wall
  106. 00:06:22.740 – 00:06:27.920 and which size is the frame is best for their wall of this wall.
  107. 00:06:28.100 – 00:06:29.940 I wish it even go. Yeah.
  108. 00:06:29.940 – 00:06:31.620 So yeah, I can see it.
  109. 00:06:31.920 – 00:06:34.880 OK. Yeah, absolutely.
  110. 00:06:35.960 – 00:06:39.720 But yeah, so I don't I don't know if that particular episode
  111. 00:06:39.720 – 00:06:43.200 they use a rendering I saw so long ago, but pretty much,
  112. 00:06:43.240 – 00:06:46.220 I guess she came up with a concept, described the concept clearly.
  113. 00:06:46.680 – 00:06:50.620 The couple walked in and they was like, what, what is this?
  114. 00:06:50.760 – 00:06:53.360 Like, this is not I don't like this.
  115. 00:06:53.360 – 00:06:54.740 I wouldn't want to live in this.
  116. 00:06:54.880 – 00:06:57.720 And that's like every designer is like worst nightmare.
  117. 00:06:57.900 – 00:07:00.040 It's where a client to walk in and be like, yo,
  118. 00:07:00.180 – 00:07:01.420 this is not what I asked for.
  119. 00:07:01.720 – 00:07:06.480 So with rendering, you're able to literally put in front of your client.
  120. 00:07:06.600 – 00:07:08.980 Like, hey, this is exactly what we're doing now.
  121. 00:07:08.980 – 00:07:11.940 There may be a differentiation and like decor,
  122. 00:07:12.400 – 00:07:14.820 like little trinkets that you find and stuff like that.
  123. 00:07:15.840 – 00:07:18.580 But bulk of things, it will look exactly like the rendering.
  124. 00:07:19.740 – 00:07:23.900 So, yeah, that's that's very important.
  125. 00:07:24.260 – 00:07:25.360 Digital blueprint.
  126. 00:07:26.140 – 00:07:28.780 Mm hmm. It's called floor mapping.
  127. 00:07:29.060 – 00:07:32.160 You can map out the floor plan and kind of show them
  128. 00:07:32.160 – 00:07:34.820 where the furniture is going to go, why it's going there,
  129. 00:07:34.860 – 00:07:38.080 why it makes sense, how it either opens up the room
  130. 00:07:38.080 – 00:07:41.300 or gives the room more of a coziness or quaintness.
  131. 00:07:41.740 – 00:07:42.120 So, yeah.
  132. 00:07:43.020 – 00:07:45.560 So even let's talk about floor plan, like
  133. 00:07:46.160 – 00:07:49.360 because even as an entrepreneur starting off, you may have a plan,
  134. 00:07:49.420 – 00:07:53.160 but sometimes they may not go to plan or you may have to adjust
  135. 00:07:53.160 – 00:07:55.420 because of the same situation.
  136. 00:07:55.800 – 00:07:58.800 So have you ever been given a floor plan
  137. 00:07:58.800 – 00:08:02.200 and you get there is like change somehow?
  138. 00:08:03.280 – 00:08:05.200 I'm never given a floor plan.
  139. 00:08:05.260 – 00:08:06.880 I normally create the floor plans.
  140. 00:08:08.060 – 00:08:10.220 I'm based off of like my walkthrough.
  141. 00:08:10.480 – 00:08:12.600 So in the consultation, I'll go and I walk through the space
  142. 00:08:12.600 – 00:08:15.220 and then I grab measurements and I kind of like draw out the space
  143. 00:08:15.220 – 00:08:16.940 and then I put it into the computer system.
  144. 00:08:17.380 – 00:08:20.700 But I have gone to a space where I've gone into execution
  145. 00:08:20.700 – 00:08:23.780 and I start to put this stuff out and I'm just like,
  146. 00:08:24.700 – 00:08:27.820 now that I'm in this, I don't like the way that this feels.
  147. 00:08:27.860 – 00:08:29.420 I don't like the way that this looks.
  148. 00:08:29.800 – 00:08:34.140 And so I'll, of course, address it with my client and tell them, like,
  149. 00:08:34.140 – 00:08:35.659 hey, I have this situated.
  150. 00:08:35.659 – 00:08:37.419 I don't like this couch here.
  151. 00:08:37.480 – 00:08:40.299 Like it happens often for me, like with one project.
  152. 00:08:40.460 – 00:08:41.539 Like, I'll be like, oh, yeah.
  153. 00:08:41.559 – 00:08:44.300 But then once you're in it, you have a feel for it.
  154. 00:08:44.320 – 00:08:47.860 And I when it comes to design, I have like a perfectionist
  155. 00:08:47.860 – 00:08:51.820 like mindset, like where everything has like, I won't leave the space
  156. 00:08:51.820 – 00:08:54.900 until I feel like I would want to live in this.
  157. 00:08:56.940 – 00:09:00.100 So I'll be like, hey, I don't like this couch here no more.
  158. 00:09:00.160 – 00:09:01.400 I need you to trust me on this.
  159. 00:09:01.480 – 00:09:02.880 And then I'll like move it.
  160. 00:09:02.880 – 00:09:07.320 And then almost every time they're like, oh, yeah, this actually looks way better.
  161. 00:09:07.660 – 00:09:11.640 But there have been situations where the floor plan that I originally created
  162. 00:09:13.040 – 00:09:14.420 didn't go as planned.
  163. 00:09:14.900 – 00:09:17.200 Yeah, not often, but it's happened.
  164. 00:09:19.160 – 00:09:20.500 OK, see things happen.
  165. 00:09:20.960 – 00:09:23.840 So what was your like biggest motivation
  166. 00:09:24.440 – 00:09:26.840 to kind of navigate through that process?
  167. 00:09:28.640 – 00:09:32.420 My biggest motivation to like get into design or
  168. 00:09:32.420 – 00:09:35.860 what, when you were in that process, like when you wanted to change
  169. 00:09:35.860 – 00:09:39.500 your like original plan or how you originally seen it.
  170. 00:09:39.620 – 00:09:40.940 Like you said, that couch
  171. 00:09:40.940 – 00:09:42.220 doesn't fit no more.
  172. 00:09:42.760 – 00:09:44.900 Like, what is your like motivation
  173. 00:09:45.440 – 00:09:47.460 behind your almost your decision making?
  174. 00:09:48.460 – 00:09:50.660 Um, I just don't like it.
  175. 00:09:50.800 – 00:09:55.400 Like, I I treat each and every last one of my clients spaces
  176. 00:09:56.040 – 00:09:58.840 as if it is this something that I would want to live in.
  177. 00:09:58.900 – 00:10:00.780 Is this something that is comfortable?
  178. 00:10:00.780 – 00:10:03.200 Is this something that is functionable?
  179. 00:10:03.280 – 00:10:07.380 And if I don't feel that way about the space or if I don't like it,
  180. 00:10:08.280 – 00:10:11.960 I will change it because they nine times out of ten,
  181. 00:10:12.000 – 00:10:14.240 the clients are like, oh, this looks fine.
  182. 00:10:14.260 – 00:10:15.020 That looks great.
  183. 00:10:15.160 – 00:10:17.100 Like, you know, they don't really know.
  184. 00:10:17.100 – 00:10:21.400 But then once I make that adjustment, they like, oh, now I get it.
  185. 00:10:21.400 – 00:10:22.240 Now I understand.
  186. 00:10:22.380 – 00:10:25.140 I understand exactly what you were like, you know, trying to say.
  187. 00:10:25.540 – 00:10:30.220 But I just I don't like to create spaces for people that I wouldn't live in.
  188. 00:10:30.220 – 00:10:31.680 That's amazing. Yeah.
  189. 00:10:31.720 – 00:10:34.300 So have you ever had a difficult client?
  190. 00:10:34.720 – 00:10:37.540 Oh, yes. Yes, I had one.
  191. 00:10:37.700 – 00:10:38.680 Like, what was the situation?
  192. 00:10:39.760 – 00:10:45.500 Um, the let's not say the worst one.
  193. 00:10:45.640 – 00:10:49.760 Let's say the one that I learned my biggest lesson from.
  194. 00:10:50.100 – 00:10:54.260 Right. Um, because everybody is everybody.
  195. 00:10:54.300 – 00:10:57.080 So I was I was fairly new into the design world.
  196. 00:10:57.080 – 00:10:58.100 I was learning a lot.
  197. 00:10:58.100 – 00:11:00.920 It was before I even had like other designers
  198. 00:11:00.920 – 00:11:04.100 that I chose to, like, you know, seek out mentorship from.
  199. 00:11:05.460 – 00:11:09.640 So I was like brand new, like just really trying to get my feet wet and stuff.
  200. 00:11:09.680 – 00:11:11.800 So I went out to this lady's house.
  201. 00:11:11.820 – 00:11:13.100 She had a beautiful house.
  202. 00:11:13.320 – 00:11:15.220 It was a new house to them.
  203. 00:11:16.560 – 00:11:18.340 And you know how you should say no.
  204. 00:11:18.620 – 00:11:21.320 Well, sometimes you should say no to certain projects
  205. 00:11:21.320 – 00:11:26.260 or to certain vibes or certain like clients that just don't.
  206. 00:11:26.260 – 00:11:27.760 If it's off, it's off.
  207. 00:11:29.080 – 00:11:32.120 Um, so this lady had just moved in her home.
  208. 00:11:32.120 – 00:11:33.500 And, you know, I guess
  209. 00:11:34.640 – 00:11:38.800 she has some other contractors working on another space in her home.
  210. 00:11:39.900 – 00:11:42.060 And she, you know, was just like kind of flustered.
  211. 00:11:42.160 – 00:11:43.620 I go, I'm just ready for me to be done.
  212. 00:11:43.800 – 00:11:46.860 Like, they've been here for months and like, you know, da da da da.
  213. 00:11:48.040 – 00:11:52.120 So right then, I should have been like, OK, maybe
  214. 00:11:52.620 – 00:11:55.920 if I was as seasoned as I am now, then I would have like
  215. 00:11:56.360 – 00:12:00.580 this might not be a good time for me to come in and start working
  216. 00:12:01.360 – 00:12:05.060 because she's already flustered with this other company
  217. 00:12:05.060 – 00:12:07.960 that's not doing or serving her the way that she wants to be served.
  218. 00:12:09.040 – 00:12:12.480 And she's ready for everything to kind of just be done quick,
  219. 00:12:12.640 – 00:12:15.680 fast and like out of here because she wants to live in her space.
  220. 00:12:16.660 – 00:12:18.960 And I'm going to tell you now, if you hire a designer,
  221. 00:12:19.020 – 00:12:21.800 you need to be patient because things that are done quickly
  222. 00:12:21.800 – 00:12:23.240 are not done properly.
  223. 00:12:23.420 – 00:12:24.040 One more time.
  224. 00:12:24.040 – 00:12:28.080 Things that are not that are done quickly are not done properly,
  225. 00:12:28.780 – 00:12:32.180 especially when you have someone who at that time I was newer.
  226. 00:12:34.100 – 00:12:37.520 So, you know, I I was like, OK, like, you know,
  227. 00:12:37.620 – 00:12:40.620 me trying to just land a project thirsty, like, oh, you know,
  228. 00:12:40.620 – 00:12:41.620 I got it. No problem.
  229. 00:12:41.800 – 00:12:42.420 This other third.
  230. 00:12:42.480 – 00:12:45.840 And I'm honestly I don't think that I did a bad job.
  231. 00:12:45.880 – 00:12:48.480 Like I was really, really excited about this project.
  232. 00:12:48.800 – 00:12:52.660 And so she it was like, oh, let's start in here.
  233. 00:12:52.660 – 00:12:54.980 And then it was like, oh, well, come look at the dining room.
  234. 00:12:55.160 – 00:12:56.340 Oh, well, come look at this.
  235. 00:12:56.520 – 00:12:57.800 And then look at what they're doing up there.
  236. 00:12:57.800 – 00:12:59.540 And she was complaining about their work.
  237. 00:12:59.600 – 00:13:02.500 And when I went to the bathroom that she was having a model,
  238. 00:13:02.560 – 00:13:04.160 I thought it was absolutely gorgeous.
  239. 00:13:04.660 – 00:13:08.460 But it was like little complaints about little things that I'm like,
  240. 00:13:08.520 – 00:13:09.500 OK, well, they're not even done.
  241. 00:13:09.580 – 00:13:10.920 It's not finished product yet.
  242. 00:13:11.180 – 00:13:13.620 So it's just like all of these red flags are like, girl,
  243. 00:13:14.280 – 00:13:15.640 you might want to walk away from this.
  244. 00:13:15.640 – 00:13:17.600 This might not be what you want to get yourself into.
  245. 00:13:19.620 – 00:13:21.720 And at this time, I did not have any contracts.
  246. 00:13:22.980 – 00:13:26.620 My processes were not solid at this time.
  247. 00:13:26.800 – 00:13:31.540 So there was no way for me to be like, OK, like this is my guideline.
  248. 00:13:31.580 – 00:13:34.720 Like I was having to have any processes, but the process I had,
  249. 00:13:34.960 – 00:13:38.160 I was not like I was it was trial and error for me.
  250. 00:13:38.540 – 00:13:41.720 But as I have always been with all of my clients,
  251. 00:13:41.960 – 00:13:45.760 even as a seasoned designer, like I try to be as transparent
  252. 00:13:45.760 – 00:13:48.640 with them about where I'm at, how I'm feeling about this project
  253. 00:13:48.640 – 00:13:51.860 or just in life so they can have an understanding of me.
  254. 00:13:51.860 – 00:13:53.120 I have an understanding of them.
  255. 00:13:53.360 – 00:13:55.340 So I explained to her, like, you know, I'm new, I'm learning.
  256. 00:13:55.460 – 00:13:56.360 This is on the third.
  257. 00:13:56.760 – 00:14:00.040 And I think that she took advantage of that,
  258. 00:14:01.900 – 00:14:05.680 which said, yes, which sucks, because it's like
  259. 00:14:06.740 – 00:14:10.160 she was someone who owned businesses
  260. 00:14:10.160 – 00:14:12.280 or like was entrepreneurs to some degree.
  261. 00:14:12.280 – 00:14:13.600 I'm not exactly sure what she did.
  262. 00:14:13.820 – 00:14:16.620 But it's just like you see this new entrepreneur coming in
  263. 00:14:16.620 – 00:14:18.780 and you see her like, you know, really trying to make a name
  264. 00:14:18.780 – 00:14:20.480 for herself and building herself up.
  265. 00:14:20.480 – 00:14:23.420 And the way that this particular client
  266. 00:14:23.420 – 00:14:27.120 handle these these situations I'm about to uncover.
  267. 00:14:27.340 – 00:14:30.700 I just feel like it could have been done in a better fashion. Right.
  268. 00:14:31.200 – 00:14:35.600 So. I had spent
  269. 00:14:36.740 – 00:14:38.460 timeless times and I had at this time,
  270. 00:14:38.460 – 00:14:39.740 I had created my little rendering.
  271. 00:14:39.840 – 00:14:42.860 It was one of my little older programs, but, you know,
  272. 00:14:42.940 – 00:14:44.480 it did what it needed to do.
  273. 00:14:44.720 – 00:14:48.060 I showed her exactly floor plan, where I plan on putting the couch
  274. 00:14:48.060 – 00:14:51.020 where I plan on doing this isn't third whole entire time.
  275. 00:14:51.120 – 00:14:52.860 This is like, oh, my God, this looks so good.
  276. 00:14:52.860 – 00:14:53.980 It looks so amazing. I'm so excited.
  277. 00:14:53.980 – 00:14:55.200 I can't wait till you're done.
  278. 00:14:55.380 – 00:14:57.880 Well, and I'm like, oh, like, you know, I'm hyped up.
  279. 00:14:57.920 – 00:14:58.780 But I'm really excited.
  280. 00:15:00.220 – 00:15:03.560 I get down to the very last day.
  281. 00:15:03.800 – 00:15:06.940 Mind you, we had discussed colors, everything.
  282. 00:15:07.400 – 00:15:10.160 She knew everything that I had got because I read it through like, hey,
  283. 00:15:10.460 – 00:15:12.260 I plan on getting this, this and the third.
  284. 00:15:12.300 – 00:15:14.260 These are the color schemes I'm going with.
  285. 00:15:14.960 – 00:15:17.340 I was coming there to grab my photos.
  286. 00:15:18.820 – 00:15:23.400 And as I walk in to take photos, she then decides like,
  287. 00:15:23.540 – 00:15:25.200 I'm done with the project, completely done.
  288. 00:15:25.200 – 00:15:27.300 I asked for approval. She said, yes, I love it.
  289. 00:15:27.300 – 00:15:28.820 It's amazing, blah, blah, blah.
  290. 00:15:29.600 – 00:15:30.260 So I'm like, great.
  291. 00:15:30.380 – 00:15:34.020 I'm going to come out and get photos the next day. So.
  292. 00:15:34.500 – 00:15:35.420 I come out, grab a photo.
  293. 00:15:35.520 – 00:15:36.460 I'm getting ready to grab photos.
  294. 00:15:36.500 – 00:15:40.580 She was like, yeah, you know, I think we should add another color.
  295. 00:15:40.640 – 00:15:43.300 I think we should add emerald green to this space.
  296. 00:15:43.860 – 00:15:44.820 What was the color originally?
  297. 00:15:44.820 – 00:15:49.820 I believe it was like black, gold and like creams.
  298. 00:15:49.940 – 00:15:52.760 And it had like a like a really pretty yellow.
  299. 00:15:52.860 – 00:15:53.900 That was kind of goldish looking.
  300. 00:15:53.940 – 00:15:55.260 It was a really gorgeous room.
  301. 00:15:55.500 – 00:15:58.340 Like it wasn't like a typical like, you know, black and gold, whatever.
  302. 00:16:00.340 – 00:16:02.360 So I told her I was just like, OK.
  303. 00:16:02.520 – 00:16:04.180 I was like, I absolutely will.
  304. 00:16:04.320 – 00:16:07.100 Like, you know, add emerald green if that's something that you want to do.
  305. 00:16:07.360 – 00:16:11.140 But it will be at additional cost because I have completed this project.
  306. 00:16:11.180 – 00:16:12.940 I'm here to take photos.
  307. 00:16:12.940 – 00:16:16.540 And like now I'm going to have to circle back through
  308. 00:16:16.540 – 00:16:20.260 who knows how many stores just to get the colors
  309. 00:16:20.260 – 00:16:22.700 and the elements that you want in the space or whatever.
  310. 00:16:23.300 – 00:16:26.160 So then here comes the.
  311. 00:16:26.500 – 00:16:27.880 I'm not paying you another dime.
  312. 00:16:28.580 – 00:16:30.200 I'm not doing this is that in the third.
  313. 00:16:30.220 – 00:16:32.360 And I'm just like, oh, OK.
  314. 00:16:32.900 – 00:16:36.300 I was like, well, you know, I don't think that is fair for,
  315. 00:16:36.300 – 00:16:39.180 you know, me to complete a project, me to get your stamp of approval.
  316. 00:16:39.180 – 00:16:43.220 It used to give me a closing agreement of, hey, this looks awesome.
  317. 00:16:43.640 – 00:16:47.040 But then you want me to go back, backtrack and do more work
  318. 00:16:47.040 – 00:16:51.020 after we have we went through this whole process of like colors.
  319. 00:16:51.340 – 00:16:52.380 This is what we're doing.
  320. 00:16:53.060 – 00:16:54.860 This is where everything is going.
  321. 00:16:55.500 – 00:16:58.400 And then at the last minute, once I closed out on this thing,
  322. 00:16:58.420 – 00:17:00.300 I'm about to move on to my next project.
  323. 00:17:00.820 – 00:17:03.020 And you're like, oh, well, I want to add this.
  324. 00:17:03.140 – 00:17:05.000 Well, that's going to cost you additional money.
  325. 00:17:05.260 – 00:17:09.160 So then it was a thing of at that time.
  326. 00:17:09.180 – 00:17:13.339 I didn't make people pay all of the money up front.
  327. 00:17:13.619 – 00:17:14.760 I was like, oh, I take a half.
  328. 00:17:14.780 – 00:17:16.079 And then once I'm done, I'm done.
  329. 00:17:16.480 – 00:17:20.280 I completely stopped doing that because one,
  330. 00:17:20.880 – 00:17:22.040 I don't play about my brand.
  331. 00:17:22.240 – 00:17:24.480 I don't play about my work.
  332. 00:17:24.520 – 00:17:27.740 Like if someone is not satisfied with the actual work that's in the space,
  333. 00:17:27.880 – 00:17:29.640 like, OK, yeah, I will do this in a third.
  334. 00:17:29.860 – 00:17:32.580 But once you've given a stamp of approval, like, yo, I love this.
  335. 00:17:32.580 – 00:17:33.360 This looks amazing.
  336. 00:17:33.440 – 00:17:34.960 Like I hear you on the phone with your friends,
  337. 00:17:35.000 – 00:17:37.720 telling them how amazing this and then the next day you're coming
  338. 00:17:37.720 – 00:17:39.580 and you like, well, I want this.
  339. 00:17:39.760 – 00:17:42.980 And actually, I don't even like after I told her that it would be additional
  340. 00:17:42.980 – 00:17:45.240 fee, she's like, well, actually, I don't even like this.
  341. 00:17:45.340 – 00:17:46.220 I don't like this.
  342. 00:17:46.240 – 00:17:49.800 And I'm just like, wow, like, you know,
  343. 00:17:50.500 – 00:17:52.700 and so I tried to customer service.
  344. 00:17:52.740 – 00:17:57.700 I tried to diffuse the situation and try to like make it right.
  345. 00:17:57.760 – 00:18:00.240 I even got to a point where I was like, you know what?
  346. 00:18:00.360 – 00:18:01.160 Don't worry about it.
  347. 00:18:01.160 – 00:18:02.760 I'll go get you exactly what you want.
  348. 00:18:02.860 – 00:18:04.040 Like I don't even worry about it.
  349. 00:18:04.040 – 00:18:07.360 Like I would rather the space look amazing for you to be happy.
  350. 00:18:07.360 – 00:18:11.320 Then to have a conflict with someone like that's not what I want.
  351. 00:18:11.360 – 00:18:14.180 That's not the solution that I want for this situation.
  352. 00:18:14.380 – 00:18:16.000 She was like, I don't even want to.
  353. 00:18:16.060 – 00:18:18.780 I don't even want you in my house and both like was going.
  354. 00:18:18.780 – 00:18:22.800 I was like, OK, like, all right.
  355. 00:18:22.900 – 00:18:24.640 Well, you know what? You got it.
  356. 00:18:24.640 – 00:18:27.720 I'm sorry to feel this way, even though I tried to like,
  357. 00:18:27.720 – 00:18:28.780 you know, create a solution.
  358. 00:18:29.940 – 00:18:33.360 But let's just close out some some things you just got to walk away from.
  359. 00:18:33.360 – 00:18:36.380 Because had I decided to, like, stand there,
  360. 00:18:36.680 – 00:18:39.600 go back and forth with this woman, like, how would that have made me look
  361. 00:18:39.600 – 00:18:40.560 as a business owner?
  362. 00:18:40.920 – 00:18:43.600 Like sometimes you just got to kind of like bite the bullet and just be like,
  363. 00:18:44.100 – 00:18:46.480 hey, that's your perception and move on.
  364. 00:18:46.800 – 00:18:51.000 Well, yeah, that was the time of a complicated situation.
  365. 00:18:52.160 – 00:18:55.220 Gratefully, outside of that experience,
  366. 00:18:56.800 – 00:19:02.100 I have not ran into too many other situations.
  367. 00:19:02.100 – 00:19:05.340 Like I literally love and really cherish all of my clients,
  368. 00:19:05.380 – 00:19:09.040 like all the support in the things that they have given me along the way.
  369. 00:19:10.060 – 00:19:13.060 And honestly, a lot of them come become like family
  370. 00:19:14.400 – 00:19:16.780 or I've worked with them on different things.
  371. 00:19:16.840 – 00:19:19.140 Like a lot of the real estate girlies that I've worked with,
  372. 00:19:19.160 – 00:19:21.120 I've worked in their homes before we worked together,
  373. 00:19:21.120 – 00:19:23.280 like with real estate and me doing home staging for them.
  374. 00:19:23.320 – 00:19:28.580 So like I literally like I love my clients, like love like I build solid,
  375. 00:19:28.580 – 00:19:30.420 I would think, relationships with them.
  376. 00:19:30.420 – 00:19:32.620 So outside of that one experience,
  377. 00:19:33.780 – 00:19:38.960 I think that overall I have had a pretty decent experience with design.
  378. 00:19:39.820 – 00:19:44.500 And with that, it taught me how to put stuff in writing
  379. 00:19:44.500 – 00:19:47.080 where you have to sign off, like, hey, I agreed to this.
  380. 00:19:47.520 – 00:19:50.160 This is what we're moving forward with as far as designs,
  381. 00:19:50.220 – 00:19:53.060 because once it's in writing, I'm not going to play this game with you
  382. 00:19:53.060 – 00:19:55.900 because I wanted them not getting paid half of that money for that project.
  383. 00:19:55.900 – 00:20:01.320 And yeah, I if I knew what I knew now,
  384. 00:20:01.320 – 00:20:03.580 I probably would have talked to Curtis small claims
  385. 00:20:03.580 – 00:20:11.240 because you just bring it off based off of no grounds. So, yeah.
  386. 00:20:11.780 – 00:20:13.660 Whoo, I had to take a couple of deep breaths.
  387. 00:20:13.700 – 00:20:17.280 Because like, you know, I've definitely been there, you know,
  388. 00:20:17.940 – 00:20:21.240 like you said, that portion of contracts and like,
  389. 00:20:21.360 – 00:20:24.040 this is our agreement, our expectation.
  390. 00:20:24.040 – 00:20:27.380 Like you said, you want something additional, it's going to cost.
  391. 00:20:27.940 – 00:20:30.740 And a lot of people try to take advantage of that,
  392. 00:20:30.740 – 00:20:34.420 and especially, like you say, newer, not doing a touch more on that.
  393. 00:20:35.980 – 00:20:40.620 But sometimes I look at these more experienced entrepreneurs
  394. 00:20:40.620 – 00:20:42.720 and they try to take advantage of certain things
  395. 00:20:43.360 – 00:20:46.700 or they would delay the contract purposely and then you do it.
  396. 00:20:46.860 – 00:20:48.460 And it's like, you know,
  397. 00:20:48.460 – 00:20:52.760 but I'm all about, you know, keeping my word and not trust other people.
  398. 00:20:52.760 – 00:20:55.740 You know, they keep their word. So, you know, OK.
  399. 00:20:56.820 – 00:21:01.560 Like you said, half up front and then the other half once the job is complete.
  400. 00:21:02.500 – 00:21:05.160 But then, you know, our goals are, you know,
  401. 00:21:05.640 – 00:21:08.340 then it's like, dang, I got to do small claims.
  402. 00:21:08.500 – 00:21:10.720 I got to go through this process. It's time out of my day.
  403. 00:21:10.760 – 00:21:11.880 I'm running the business.
  404. 00:21:12.840 – 00:21:17.300 And it's just, yeah, it's like, oh, and I, I,
  405. 00:21:17.320 – 00:21:22.220 I actually ran into another client of mine who was she's such a gem.
  406. 00:21:22.220 – 00:21:24.800 She was so sweet and I loved working with her.
  407. 00:21:25.280 – 00:21:27.260 She had a beautiful home and I was going out there
  408. 00:21:27.260 – 00:21:29.700 to do one of the geometric walls for her.
  409. 00:21:30.360 – 00:21:33.740 And I had told her about my policy, like, you know, it's half up front.
  410. 00:21:33.780 – 00:21:37.080 And then it's the second half, like before I start, like, you know, working.
  411. 00:21:38.880 – 00:21:41.420 And she was just like, well, like, you know,
  412. 00:21:41.660 – 00:21:43.640 I'm a little bit uncomfortable with that.
  413. 00:21:43.940 – 00:21:46.600 It's just like, because I mean, what if, like, you know,
  414. 00:21:46.660 – 00:21:49.480 you run off with my money or like, you know what I'm saying?
  415. 00:21:49.580 – 00:21:51.280 And don't finish the work or would not.
  416. 00:21:51.280 – 00:21:54.960 And I was like, well, I was like, one, I want you to trust me
  417. 00:21:54.960 – 00:21:56.400 until I understand how you feel.
  418. 00:21:56.580 – 00:21:59.560 Like, you know, I'm saying I was like, so I was like,
  419. 00:21:59.660 – 00:22:01.640 this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to get started.
  420. 00:22:01.700 – 00:22:03.140 I'm going to lay all of the groundwork.
  421. 00:22:03.240 – 00:22:06.600 I'm not going to finish it all, but I'm going to just finish the groundwork.
  422. 00:22:06.660 – 00:22:09.080 If you're not comfortable at that point, like,
  423. 00:22:09.580 – 00:22:11.520 I think that you would be comfortable at that point to know
  424. 00:22:11.520 – 00:22:12.700 I'm not going to run off on you.
  425. 00:22:12.940 – 00:22:14.860 I was like, and then let's meet in the middle and let's pay,
  426. 00:22:14.860 – 00:22:16.280 like, make the payment there.
  427. 00:22:16.440 – 00:22:18.960 I was like, because what I don't want is to come into your space
  428. 00:22:18.960 – 00:22:21.340 to feel like, like, first of all, you shouldn't have me in your space.
  429. 00:22:21.460 – 00:22:23.240 You feel like I'm going to run off on you and stuff like that.
  430. 00:22:23.260 – 00:22:27.500 But I understand when you are putting up these large amounts of money,
  431. 00:22:27.600 – 00:22:29.840 it's just like, no, like, I want it, blah, blah.
  432. 00:22:29.860 – 00:22:32.780 But I told her I was like, I don't take lightly on my brand.
  433. 00:22:32.800 – 00:22:34.400 Like, it's it's who I am.
  434. 00:22:34.800 – 00:22:38.600 It's like I need the the pictures of this wall
  435. 00:22:38.600 – 00:22:40.060 to go on market to do more stuff.
  436. 00:22:40.200 – 00:22:41.620 I was like, girl, I'm not running nowhere.
  437. 00:22:42.120 – 00:22:43.520 Like, I want it to look perfect.
  438. 00:22:43.920 – 00:22:47.780 But I also understand from a perspective of like a client
  439. 00:22:47.780 – 00:22:52.180 because I've heard horror stories of them hiring on people or contractors
  440. 00:22:52.180 – 00:22:55.580 and them just like dipping off on the work and not finishing it,
  441. 00:22:55.720 – 00:22:56.680 which sucks.
  442. 00:22:56.860 – 00:22:59.440 And it puts it puts everybody in a bad position. Right.
  443. 00:22:59.740 – 00:23:03.020 So it's just like, I think that I resolved that situation
  444. 00:23:03.020 – 00:23:05.440 well where we met in the middle and she was just like,
  445. 00:23:05.440 – 00:23:07.980 she was very, very happy and appreciative at the end.
  446. 00:23:08.860 – 00:23:11.040 So great. Yeah.
  447. 00:23:13.260 – 00:23:16.020 Sometimes this is not that easy.
  448. 00:23:16.660 – 00:23:22.500 But I do want to touch on more of you first starting off in 2001.
  449. 00:23:23.200 – 00:23:26.800 Do you have any fond memories of, you know, you being a beginner in the industry?
  450. 00:23:27.660 – 00:23:29.040 Oh, man. Yeah.
  451. 00:23:30.140 – 00:23:34.220 In the beginning, I wasn't even aiming to do interior design.
  452. 00:23:34.340 – 00:23:36.140 Well, hold on. But let's backtrack.
  453. 00:23:36.860 – 00:23:40.200 Technically, I was going to start
  454. 00:23:40.200 – 00:23:42.980 Sioux Wants to Core back in.
  455. 00:23:45.550 – 00:23:48.290 Hmm. What was that 2015?
  456. 00:23:48.590 – 00:23:50.750 And what were you doing before 2015?
  457. 00:23:51.030 – 00:23:53.690 I was working at Cleveland Clinic and yes.
  458. 00:23:54.570 – 00:23:55.350 Yes. OK.
  459. 00:23:55.510 – 00:23:59.730 So I had left retail and I went to Cleveland Clinic
  460. 00:23:59.730 – 00:24:04.450 and I was there in Cleveland Clinic, wasn't paying what I wasn't going to pay
  461. 00:24:04.450 – 00:24:07.590 because I went from management to like a secretary at the desk.
  462. 00:24:07.590 – 00:24:09.230 And it was just a pay cut.
  463. 00:24:09.630 – 00:24:13.050 But, you know, at that time in my mind, which is actual factual,
  464. 00:24:13.890 – 00:24:16.550 sometimes you got to take a decrease
  465. 00:24:16.550 – 00:24:20.670 or enough to make an increase in life and to get further, you know.
  466. 00:24:20.890 – 00:24:22.630 So I was like, OK, I'm going to take this pay cut
  467. 00:24:22.630 – 00:24:25.990 because there are more opportunities of growth at Cleveland Clinic
  468. 00:24:25.990 – 00:24:29.870 than there were at the company that I was working at prior to.
  469. 00:24:31.710 – 00:24:35.030 So with that being said, in 2015, I was sitting there
  470. 00:24:35.030 – 00:24:37.850 in my desk because I was bored because being a desk girl,
  471. 00:24:37.950 – 00:24:42.550 your secretary, admin, any of those things, it's just not it's not for me.
  472. 00:24:42.550 – 00:24:45.590 Like it's too too stationary.
  473. 00:24:45.730 – 00:24:49.470 Like, you know, and at that time, I didn't know exactly what a creative was.
  474. 00:24:49.490 – 00:24:52.190 But I just knew that, like, I had big ideas.
  475. 00:24:52.190 – 00:24:53.790 I had stuff I wanted to do.
  476. 00:24:54.230 – 00:24:55.410 And they wasn't with it.
  477. 00:24:55.410 – 00:24:57.890 Like, I'm being creative, trying to create stuff in the office.
  478. 00:24:57.990 – 00:25:01.910 And they like, why are you so happy at seven o'clock in the morning?
  479. 00:25:01.950 – 00:25:05.150 So, yeah, but neither here nor there.
  480. 00:25:06.250 – 00:25:08.850 I was sitting there and one day I was like, oh,
  481. 00:25:09.070 – 00:25:10.750 I would like making stuff look nice.
  482. 00:25:10.750 – 00:25:12.610 And me and this girl, we were talking.
  483. 00:25:12.710 – 00:25:15.710 She was a nurse and she was just like, you know,
  484. 00:25:15.850 – 00:25:19.770 all of this cute stuff and like, I just don't know what to do with it.
  485. 00:25:19.770 – 00:25:22.090 And she was like, well, since you like making stuff look nice,
  486. 00:25:22.170 – 00:25:24.330 like come over, can you look at it and like, you know,
  487. 00:25:24.430 – 00:25:25.950 maybe switch some stuff around or whatever.
  488. 00:25:26.530 – 00:25:27.710 I was like, yeah, girl, come over.
  489. 00:25:27.790 – 00:25:28.550 So I came over.
  490. 00:25:28.570 – 00:25:32.030 We had a little wine crackers and stuff because we were like coworkers.
  491. 00:25:32.190 – 00:25:33.690 We, you know, kicked it a little bit.
  492. 00:25:33.750 – 00:25:37.230 And so I was like switching her stuff around or whatever.
  493. 00:25:37.230 – 00:25:38.470 And it looks really cute.
  494. 00:25:38.470 – 00:25:43.390 Like it came out amazing at that time of design and what it looked like.
  495. 00:25:44.070 – 00:25:46.490 And so, like, you know, we went back to the office.
  496. 00:25:46.530 – 00:25:48.590 She was telling everybody about how cute I made her house
  497. 00:25:48.590 – 00:25:51.920 look with the things that she had and adding a few little other trinkets to it.
  498. 00:25:54.350 – 00:25:58.310 But at that time, I.
  499. 00:25:58.690 – 00:25:59.830 How do I say this?
  500. 00:25:59.970 – 00:26:03.990 I lacked the confidence, the drive,
  501. 00:26:04.550 – 00:26:09.790 the want to ask people or market myself
  502. 00:26:09.790 – 00:26:15.770 or bet on myself because I felt like marketing myself was almost
  503. 00:26:15.770 – 00:26:20.210 like begging people to want to roll with your company
  504. 00:26:20.210 – 00:26:23.530 or to allow you in a space is to do these things.
  505. 00:26:24.090 – 00:26:27.730 When did that mindset shift for you when I asked when I pray
  506. 00:26:28.330 – 00:26:32.990 to God to to align me into my divine purpose?
  507. 00:26:32.990 – 00:26:37.650 Like it's sometimes like what you were created to do, be right in front of you.
  508. 00:26:37.670 – 00:26:40.890 And sometimes it appears earlier in life, but you're not ready for it.
  509. 00:26:40.890 – 00:26:43.790 So I feel like it not to get all, you know, check, check.
  510. 00:26:44.250 – 00:26:47.210 I feel like sometimes I got to give you a little taste
  511. 00:26:47.210 – 00:26:50.230 of what you supposed to be doing, but letting you know,
  512. 00:26:50.230 – 00:26:51.270 you're not ready for this baby.
  513. 00:26:51.290 – 00:26:54.230 You got a lot more work to do. You got to go sit down.
  514. 00:26:54.270 – 00:26:56.670 You got to go through a couple more things before I allow you
  515. 00:26:56.670 – 00:26:58.430 into these spaces to do these things.
  516. 00:26:58.690 – 00:27:01.610 So like I was there and I was like, I ain't about to go begging nobody
  517. 00:27:01.610 – 00:27:04.110 like we're like, oh, I'm not a boaster.
  518. 00:27:04.310 – 00:27:07.170 I've always had to be like, you know, humble and don't be bragging
  519. 00:27:07.170 – 00:27:08.130 about the things that you got.
  520. 00:27:08.470 – 00:27:09.970 But to market yourself, you've got to brag.
  521. 00:27:10.030 – 00:27:11.110 You've got to pop your shirt.
  522. 00:27:11.170 – 00:27:13.350 Like you got to talk about how amazing you are.
  523. 00:27:13.530 – 00:27:16.230 And I'm like, I don't like this.
  524. 00:27:16.250 – 00:27:18.070 Like I've become really meek even now.
  525. 00:27:18.170 – 00:27:19.810 Like I've I've gotten better.
  526. 00:27:19.890 – 00:27:24.490 But even now, I kind of be like, oh, hey, yeah, I feel like that.
  527. 00:27:24.630 – 00:27:28.110 Yeah. So but you got to really like you got to step in there.
  528. 00:27:28.130 – 00:27:30.630 You got to be confident in it. And I was at all.
  529. 00:27:31.890 – 00:27:33.730 So I was just like, yeah, I'm not going to do this.
  530. 00:27:33.730 – 00:27:34.710 It takes too much.
  531. 00:27:34.870 – 00:27:36.210 I'm not about to be begging people.
  532. 00:27:36.410 – 00:27:39.510 And then like they like, oh, I don't know if I want like, no.
  533. 00:27:39.650 – 00:27:40.910 I was like, I'm done with it.
  534. 00:27:41.010 – 00:27:45.890 So that was actual beginning of me being introduced to
  535. 00:27:45.890 – 00:27:49.590 like design world and what that means.
  536. 00:27:50.050 – 00:27:54.390 Like I said, I've always like design stuff because even further back,
  537. 00:27:54.670 – 00:27:59.710 my mother loves like home decorate and that type of stuff.
  538. 00:27:59.710 – 00:28:04.030 Like we used to go look at model homes when like they would have open houses.
  539. 00:28:04.050 – 00:28:05.370 We would go when they were staged.
  540. 00:28:05.510 – 00:28:08.950 The staging back then was a thing like every house we went to was like stage.
  541. 00:28:09.990 – 00:28:14.190 So, um, yeah, that that whole thing.
  542. 00:28:14.230 – 00:28:16.970 But that that's kind of where it started.
  543. 00:28:18.110 – 00:28:19.510 Yeah. Thanks.
  544. 00:28:20.050 – 00:28:22.870 Well, let's take a deep breath on that one.
  545. 00:28:26.470 – 00:28:28.230 Incredible story and journey.
  546. 00:28:28.230 – 00:28:32.730 Thank you. And I want to kind of touch back on, like you said, those marketing
  547. 00:28:32.730 – 00:28:35.330 and, you know, almost felt like you was begging.
  548. 00:28:36.010 – 00:28:40.190 So like gaining those skills and wisdom.
  549. 00:28:40.450 – 00:28:42.790 And where did you learn that from?
  550. 00:28:43.890 – 00:28:49.870 Um, the second time I got back into like decorating
  551. 00:28:50.870 – 00:28:54.910 one of my older sorority sisters, who's Valen,
  552. 00:28:54.910 – 00:28:58.650 if you listen to this, her and her husband had just got married
  553. 00:28:58.650 – 00:29:00.090 and they have purchased a new home.
  554. 00:29:00.790 – 00:29:04.630 And so they she had called me like, hey, you still decorate homes
  555. 00:29:04.630 – 00:29:06.750 or like, you know, do this and third.
  556. 00:29:06.750 – 00:29:09.570 I was like, no, girl, like I felt alone a long time ago or whatever.
  557. 00:29:10.070 – 00:29:11.690 I was like, well, what's up what you need?
  558. 00:29:11.750 – 00:29:14.070 And she was just like, well, you know, we just purchased a home.
  559. 00:29:14.390 – 00:29:17.610 I'm interested in like, you know, having our master bedroom done
  560. 00:29:17.610 – 00:29:19.910 or, you know, just getting started in our home.
  561. 00:29:20.350 – 00:29:24.110 And so I was just like, oh, well, I'll come out there and look at it.
  562. 00:29:24.110 – 00:29:25.790 Like, you know, so I went out there, looked at it.
  563. 00:29:25.810 – 00:29:28.250 They gave me a little like, you know, a nice budget.
  564. 00:29:28.610 – 00:29:30.750 Sorry. Can you make it that out?
  565. 00:29:36.530 – 00:29:41.530 But she so she had me come over, gave me a nice budget
  566. 00:29:41.530 – 00:29:44.870 so I kind of decorate her master bedroom.
  567. 00:29:44.970 – 00:29:47.890 So I decorated it like, you know, put some stuff together quickly.
  568. 00:29:48.770 – 00:29:50.870 And I was so excited.
  569. 00:29:51.030 – 00:29:52.730 Like I was like, oh, let me post this on Instagram.
  570. 00:29:52.730 – 00:29:55.590 Like, I got to show people like, oh, this looks so good.
  571. 00:29:56.490 – 00:30:02.150 I posted it on Instagram and literally people like was like,
  572. 00:30:02.150 – 00:30:04.770 oh, this is really, really nice. I love this.
  573. 00:30:05.310 – 00:30:09.770 Like, I, I really, really like, you know, you got to come
  574. 00:30:09.770 – 00:30:11.230 do my home next or whatever.
  575. 00:30:11.230 – 00:30:14.530 And I'm like, shoot, OK, because I had so much fun doing it.
  576. 00:30:14.530 – 00:30:17.130 Like, and I was in that room for like hours and hours,
  577. 00:30:17.170 – 00:30:18.270 like putting stuff together.
  578. 00:30:18.350 – 00:30:21.730 But I really, really like enjoyed it or whatever.
  579. 00:30:21.730 – 00:30:25.550 So then fast forward, like a couple of weeks later,
  580. 00:30:27.270 – 00:30:31.870 one of my good friends, Brittany, her and her husband had a home.
  581. 00:30:31.910 – 00:30:35.510 They wanted me to come out and to, you know, revamp some stuff
  582. 00:30:35.510 – 00:30:37.530 and add some things to what they had going on.
  583. 00:30:37.630 – 00:30:40.210 I was like, OK, cool. Did that post that.
  584. 00:30:40.430 – 00:30:42.890 Everybody was, oh, my God, like, this looks so good.
  585. 00:30:43.230 – 00:30:48.310 And so by the time August had hit my sorority sister, Shalita,
  586. 00:30:48.310 – 00:30:50.770 we call her the boss because she like literally
  587. 00:30:50.770 – 00:30:51.970 be getting everybody together.
  588. 00:30:52.290 – 00:30:56.210 And so she was like, um, you need to get an LLC.
  589. 00:30:56.550 – 00:30:57.810 You work in these people's houses.
  590. 00:30:57.830 – 00:30:59.530 You need to make sure that you are covered.
  591. 00:30:59.830 – 00:31:01.890 Like, you know, OK, what if something go wrong this and that?
  592. 00:31:01.970 – 00:31:04.990 And I was like, oh, like me, I was like, I was decorating.
  593. 00:31:05.070 – 00:31:07.750 This is fun. Like, you know, I'm not thinking about the business aspect.
  594. 00:31:07.850 – 00:31:10.670 But again, the boss came in and was like, no, we got to regulate this.
  595. 00:31:10.670 – 00:31:11.910 We got to get this together.
  596. 00:31:12.210 – 00:31:13.470 So I'm like, OK.
  597. 00:31:13.970 – 00:31:17.210 So she, you know, set me up, helped me get my LLC
  598. 00:31:17.210 – 00:31:18.570 and, like, you know, start.
  599. 00:31:18.670 – 00:31:20.390 I was like, OK, well, if I got to have that,
  600. 00:31:20.390 – 00:31:23.990 then I need to have a whole bunch of other stuff that, like, you know,
  601. 00:31:24.030 – 00:31:26.330 like, let me get some processes together.
  602. 00:31:26.330 – 00:31:29.470 So I utilize my management skills, my admin skills
  603. 00:31:29.470 – 00:31:32.390 to, like, kind of pull together and organize like something.
  604. 00:31:32.870 – 00:31:37.070 So and then once I did that, that's when that whole situation happened.
  605. 00:31:37.350 – 00:31:41.510 Then I went out and I actually met with actual designers
  606. 00:31:41.510 – 00:31:45.570 who have been in the field and done like a whole lot of amazing work.
  607. 00:31:45.570 – 00:31:50.010 I've been on the cover of HGTV magazine, on the cover of Forbes,
  608. 00:31:50.210 – 00:31:52.090 like just doing showrooms.
  609. 00:31:52.330 – 00:31:53.950 Like I'm talking about bomb designers.
  610. 00:31:54.030 – 00:31:56.930 So once I got to, like, connect with them and talk to them
  611. 00:31:56.930 – 00:32:00.650 and kind of tell them about my experiences and the things that I had,
  612. 00:32:00.650 – 00:32:03.330 you know, encounter while trying to do design and stuff like that,
  613. 00:32:03.590 – 00:32:05.070 they were so supportive.
  614. 00:32:05.410 – 00:32:07.570 Like to this day, I still talk to a lot of them.
  615. 00:32:09.250 – 00:32:10.970 And they, like, gave me tips.
  616. 00:32:11.130 – 00:32:13.790 They showed me like their contracts and what I need to do,
  617. 00:32:13.790 – 00:32:18.230 just so helpful, like not a crab in a bucket mentality whatsoever.
  618. 00:32:18.230 – 00:32:19.830 And I was really grateful for that.
  619. 00:32:19.990 – 00:32:23.470 So they were able to help me, like, really organize or whatever.
  620. 00:32:23.630 – 00:32:26.270 But that's like kind of I've gotten to that.
  621. 00:32:26.690 – 00:32:30.610 Wow. And you mentioned, you know, utilizing your management
  622. 00:32:30.610 – 00:32:34.570 and secretary skills are the skills that you learned from that.
  623. 00:32:35.050 – 00:32:40.110 So how important is someone, you know, they're they're at a nine to five,
  624. 00:32:40.210 – 00:32:42.510 even working overtime on even multiple jobs.
  625. 00:32:42.510 – 00:32:44.850 But they want to, you know, step into that entrepreneurship.
  626. 00:32:46.670 – 00:32:51.270 How important is, you know, gaining those skills
  627. 00:32:51.270 – 00:32:55.330 and knowledge while they're on the job to become entrepreneurs?
  628. 00:32:55.930 – 00:32:59.270 Well, it is so important.
  629. 00:33:00.010 – 00:33:01.070 It's it's critical.
  630. 00:33:01.330 – 00:33:05.310 I think I had spoke to somebody else on another podcast about this.
  631. 00:33:05.710 – 00:33:09.310 I had pulled up to a McDonald's one day after a long shift.
  632. 00:33:09.370 – 00:33:11.670 And no, I shouldn't have been eating a McDonald's, but I was hungry.
  633. 00:33:13.390 – 00:33:15.790 Don't worry. I got stuck in McDonald's.
  634. 00:33:16.150 – 00:33:21.370 Right. So so this young lady, I heard her like kind of arguing,
  635. 00:33:21.450 – 00:33:24.310 not arguing, but like just talking back to her manager or whatever.
  636. 00:33:24.570 – 00:33:26.190 And she was like, this ain't my job.
  637. 00:33:26.310 – 00:33:27.710 This ain't my life. This your life.
  638. 00:33:27.850 – 00:33:29.330 Like, you know, I'm saying, boss, a blast.
  639. 00:33:29.450 – 00:33:30.370 So she was like, whatever.
  640. 00:33:30.530 – 00:33:34.030 So she leaned over. She's like, oh, your car is nice.
  641. 00:33:34.090 – 00:33:36.270 Like, you know, like just giving me compliments.
  642. 00:33:36.390 – 00:33:38.730 But she was such a sweet girl or whatever.
  643. 00:33:38.730 – 00:33:40.650 And I just I kind of told her, I was just like, you know,
  644. 00:33:40.650 – 00:33:44.030 I kind of was I heard you like, you know, saying like, you know,
  645. 00:33:44.070 – 00:33:45.350 this isn't your life or whatever.
  646. 00:33:45.510 – 00:33:49.150 I was like, I got this car in the things that I have
  647. 00:33:49.150 – 00:33:50.690 based off of the skills that I had.
  648. 00:33:50.850 – 00:33:53.170 I was 14 working at McDonald's like you.
  649. 00:33:53.210 – 00:33:54.930 Like, you know, that was my first job.
  650. 00:33:55.210 – 00:34:00.270 And so a lot of those skills that you learn while working in the small jobs
  651. 00:34:00.270 – 00:34:04.370 are skills that you literally will carry with you for the rest of your life.
  652. 00:34:04.370 – 00:34:07.890 And I think that. A lot of these young
  653. 00:34:07.890 – 00:34:10.449 the younger generation was like an auntie.
  654. 00:34:12.270 – 00:34:16.310 But a lot of these younger kids, I think that they lack that
  655. 00:34:17.710 – 00:34:18.929 that what is it called?
  656. 00:34:19.090 – 00:34:21.370 Like the move, like move with a purpose.
  657. 00:34:21.630 – 00:34:22.889 I used to say, like, move with a purpose.
  658. 00:34:22.929 – 00:34:24.710 Let's get going. Let's get this stuff going.
  659. 00:34:24.730 – 00:34:29.409 Like a lot of them are real life slow track or lacks a daisy or don't.
  660. 00:34:29.409 – 00:34:31.750 They don't have no urgency about them.
  661. 00:34:32.630 – 00:34:35.489 But they are also a generation of work smarter, not harder.
  662. 00:34:35.530 – 00:34:36.590 So I respect that.
  663. 00:34:36.810 – 00:34:39.590 But I told her, I was like, some of these skills
  664. 00:34:39.590 – 00:34:42.909 that you are learning right now that you don't even notice
  665. 00:34:42.909 – 00:34:45.750 that you're going to need later on, you're going to need.
  666. 00:34:46.090 – 00:34:48.790 I was like, so rather this is your forever job
  667. 00:34:48.790 – 00:34:51.650 or this is just a part time job to get you to where you want to go.
  668. 00:34:51.929 – 00:34:56.730 I said, you should treat it and value it like it is your future,
  669. 00:34:57.390 – 00:35:00.730 because one day you're going to want somebody to take your business
  670. 00:35:00.730 – 00:35:04.730 serious and to move it and love one it just as much as you do.
  671. 00:35:05.130 – 00:35:08.310 So that karma can come back to you
  672. 00:35:08.310 – 00:35:11.410 when you don't put that energy into other people's spaces
  673. 00:35:11.410 – 00:35:13.410 to help them grow their things. Right.
  674. 00:35:13.790 – 00:35:17.950 So, um, yeah, that that was a conversation. Yeah.
  675. 00:35:19.090 – 00:35:21.350 Even like you said, I was your first job
  676. 00:35:21.350 – 00:35:23.630 and actually to pour back into her.
  677. 00:35:25.090 – 00:35:27.410 It's a full circle moment, you know.
  678. 00:35:27.650 – 00:35:31.710 Yeah, you gave your give back, you know, like you gained skills
  679. 00:35:31.710 – 00:35:36.410 while you were there and now you give it back to the younger generation.
  680. 00:35:37.130 – 00:35:40.330 Even knowing and sensing that they may lack these skills
  681. 00:35:40.330 – 00:35:44.610 or may not want to learn or don't care about learning these skills
  682. 00:35:44.610 – 00:35:48.650 or don't just care about life in general.
  683. 00:35:48.770 – 00:35:51.070 Like even my daughter, who just walked in.
  684. 00:35:51.930 – 00:35:53.750 She is so adorable.
  685. 00:35:55.030 – 00:35:58.110 It's it's important, you know, that.
  686. 00:35:59.810 – 00:36:03.350 I would say our generation to properly teach,
  687. 00:36:03.350 – 00:36:07.670 maybe we're not teaching right or giving them what they need
  688. 00:36:07.670 – 00:36:10.590 or the motivation they need to succeed.
  689. 00:36:10.610 – 00:36:14.130 And I can even ask my daughter, is this chips on your face?
  690. 00:36:14.390 – 00:36:18.610 Is there something that you feel like you want to learn
  691. 00:36:18.610 – 00:36:20.490 that I'm not teaching you?
  692. 00:36:22.830 – 00:36:24.270 I'm writing back in a journal.
  693. 00:36:24.910 – 00:36:25.890 You're writing back in a journal.
  694. 00:36:26.390 – 00:36:29.670 OK, so that means stay tuned to the next episode. Right.
  695. 00:36:31.170 – 00:36:34.610 But yeah, it's important for us to continuously be those teachers,
  696. 00:36:34.610 – 00:36:36.450 even if we don't want to sometimes,
  697. 00:36:36.650 – 00:36:38.510 because this is the next generation.
  698. 00:36:38.710 – 00:36:41.370 Yes. You know, they're always looking up to you.
  699. 00:36:42.230 – 00:36:43.930 Yeah. It's important.
  700. 00:36:44.730 – 00:36:48.310 Any opportunity that I have, if I see the opportunity
  701. 00:36:49.210 – 00:36:52.310 to try to advise somebody so they don't make the same mistakes
  702. 00:36:52.770 – 00:36:55.970 or, you know, just try to guide them on things that like, shoot,
  703. 00:36:56.110 – 00:36:58.630 I know this now that it worked, like, let me share this
  704. 00:36:58.630 – 00:37:00.410 with somebody else or a younger person.
  705. 00:37:00.450 – 00:37:04.570 So any opportunity I have to share those moments, I always try to.
  706. 00:37:05.110 – 00:37:07.910 Yeah. So how important is mentorship?
  707. 00:37:08.150 – 00:37:11.110 I know you kind of mentioned that earlier, but how important is mentorship
  708. 00:37:11.110 – 00:37:12.730 for a new entrepreneur?
  709. 00:37:13.450 – 00:37:16.730 Oh, my goodness. I think it is so, so, so important,
  710. 00:37:16.910 – 00:37:19.550 not even just mentorship, but just having other friends
  711. 00:37:19.550 – 00:37:20.710 that are entrepreneurs.
  712. 00:37:20.770 – 00:37:23.130 They understand what you're experiencing more
  713. 00:37:23.710 – 00:37:27.150 versus like your friends that work, you know, a nine to five
  714. 00:37:27.150 – 00:37:29.310 and they're making great money and they're good with that.
  715. 00:37:29.570 – 00:37:32.090 Being an entrepreneur, it's a different beast.
  716. 00:37:32.090 – 00:37:36.450 Like it's it's a spiritual journey of like faith
  717. 00:37:36.450 – 00:37:39.070 because you're going to go through peaks and you're going to go
  718. 00:37:39.070 – 00:37:40.210 through a lot of valleys.
  719. 00:37:41.050 – 00:37:44.210 And sometimes you'll be like, why am I doing this?
  720. 00:37:44.610 – 00:37:47.470 So having mentors who have probably experienced
  721. 00:37:47.470 – 00:37:50.230 or been through those spaces that you're experiencing,
  722. 00:37:50.230 – 00:37:53.450 it's always good because they can help you or speak
  723. 00:37:53.450 – 00:37:55.710 to the moment that you are in and give you that courage
  724. 00:37:55.710 – 00:37:59.590 or motivation to pull yourself out of those those valleys
  725. 00:37:59.590 – 00:38:01.770 that you hit, like those peaks where you like, dang,
  726. 00:38:01.770 – 00:38:03.710 I just want to give up.
  727. 00:38:03.830 – 00:38:06.010 But then you see somebody else that's doing something
  728. 00:38:06.010 – 00:38:10.270 that you want to do or somebody who has a successful business
  729. 00:38:10.270 – 00:38:12.930 and you like, if they can do it, why can't I?
  730. 00:38:13.490 – 00:38:16.170 Like, why can't that be me?
  731. 00:38:16.250 – 00:38:18.130 Like, if I just push myself a little bit harder,
  732. 00:38:18.270 – 00:38:21.910 if I just try a little bit more, like, why can't that be me?
  733. 00:38:22.390 – 00:38:24.830 Like, and I have to that is something like currently
  734. 00:38:24.830 – 00:38:27.030 I'm telling myself, like I had a call,
  735. 00:38:27.130 – 00:38:29.790 like when I go through my little flat lines,
  736. 00:38:29.790 – 00:38:31.950 I'll be called, hey, can we hop on a call?
  737. 00:38:32.070 – 00:38:35.690 Let's talk, let's, you know, I need to get some advice
  738. 00:38:35.690 – 00:38:38.830 or whatever the case may be because it's like, yeah,
  739. 00:38:38.830 – 00:38:41.110 I'm in that space and I need to talk to people
  740. 00:38:41.110 – 00:38:43.410 that's that's making waves, that's doing stuff.
  741. 00:38:43.450 – 00:38:45.810 Like, I need that rub that juju on me.
  742. 00:38:45.830 – 00:38:49.250 Like, let me get motivated from what you got going on
  743. 00:38:49.250 – 00:38:51.370 just so I could stay encouraged.
  744. 00:38:52.010 – 00:38:54.850 It's very important to have other
  745. 00:38:55.790 – 00:38:58.070 like-minded people in your circle,
  746. 00:38:58.070 – 00:39:02.210 because if you have people that are doing not the same things
  747. 00:39:02.210 – 00:39:06.570 or less than what you are doing, it's hard to grow in those spaces.
  748. 00:39:07.690 – 00:39:09.310 It's absolutely true.
  749. 00:39:10.010 – 00:39:12.490 And even less than 24 hours, you know,
  750. 00:39:12.550 – 00:39:14.570 we saw each other and into each other.
  751. 00:39:14.730 – 00:39:16.670 Yeah, you know, like not even knowing.
  752. 00:39:16.870 – 00:39:19.850 So that's, you know, like you said, being in the right rooms
  753. 00:39:19.850 – 00:39:22.290 and circles and having those right relationships.
  754. 00:39:23.010 – 00:39:25.950 Like even OK, happy birthday to Natasha Herbert.
  755. 00:39:25.970 – 00:39:27.550 Yes. I call her a legend.
  756. 00:39:27.550 – 00:39:29.970 That's she is a legend.
  757. 00:39:30.130 – 00:39:33.870 Like you said, you know, with expertise or somewhere I want to be like,
  758. 00:39:34.010 – 00:39:36.230 yeah, because she even mentioned it last night.
  759. 00:39:36.230 – 00:39:39.950 I'm not just a wedding photographer, but she's known, you know,
  760. 00:39:41.090 – 00:39:45.110 magazine published award winning photographer.
  761. 00:39:46.950 – 00:39:51.830 And I've been following her before I knew her
  762. 00:39:52.470 – 00:39:55.570 back when I was doing music and to hear about her
  763. 00:39:55.570 – 00:39:58.250 and the work that she's doing, even the community work.
  764. 00:39:58.370 – 00:40:01.550 I think she was in like a certain neighborhood
  765. 00:40:01.550 – 00:40:05.790 and going house to house and photograph and I'm like, wow, yeah, project.
  766. 00:40:05.790 – 00:40:07.970 It was all over the news and stuff. Wow.
  767. 00:40:08.210 – 00:40:09.270 I'm like, who is this?
  768. 00:40:09.410 – 00:40:12.670 Yeah, I saw her very young before I even started
  769. 00:40:12.670 – 00:40:14.330 photography and video production.
  770. 00:40:14.690 – 00:40:17.530 So to even meet her now and speak with her.
  771. 00:40:17.570 – 00:40:20.990 And she gave me some great words last night.
  772. 00:40:20.990 – 00:40:25.270 I'm like, wow. She basically just said she was an all around dope person.
  773. 00:40:25.570 – 00:40:27.770 She has invited her.
  774. 00:40:28.370 – 00:40:29.210 What is it?
  775. 00:40:29.290 – 00:40:32.890 She has like connecting me with people that have really been
  776. 00:40:32.890 – 00:40:36.330 like powerhouses and lights to me as long as well as her,
  777. 00:40:36.330 – 00:40:37.770 because she's very successful.
  778. 00:40:38.130 – 00:40:41.570 So it's always like I said, to have people
  779. 00:40:41.570 – 00:40:45.050 that are around you or that you know that you can call or speak
  780. 00:40:45.050 – 00:40:49.350 to about certain things to help you get through that journey
  781. 00:40:49.350 – 00:40:51.750 to until you get to a point where you want to be.
  782. 00:40:51.750 – 00:40:55.270 And then also sometimes like sometimes the student becomes a teacher.
  783. 00:40:55.570 – 00:40:57.550 Just depending on where you go in life.
  784. 00:40:58.210 – 00:41:01.870 So you never know. So, yeah, I mean, even to speak to that,
  785. 00:41:01.870 – 00:41:05.290 I have two people on a wedding I'm doing
  786. 00:41:06.590 – 00:41:07.850 later this month.
  787. 00:41:08.510 – 00:41:11.270 It's June for those that's listening in.
  788. 00:41:12.670 – 00:41:16.010 And I'm basically training them and I trust them enough
  789. 00:41:16.010 – 00:41:19.270 and feel like they're good enough to bring them in on this wedding.
  790. 00:41:19.470 – 00:41:22.990 Otherwise, I wouldn't bring them in and I'm teaching them.
  791. 00:41:22.990 – 00:41:25.010 They still ask me questions like, look,
  792. 00:41:25.830 – 00:41:27.970 this this next project.
  793. 00:41:28.730 – 00:41:32.030 I want you to do it like you're the only one there
  794. 00:41:32.030 – 00:41:36.370 to practice during the wedding, because when I'm in my mode
  795. 00:41:36.370 – 00:41:39.470 and stuff, I'm not going to be able to teach you while we're there. So. Yeah.
  796. 00:41:40.290 – 00:41:43.350 You have to think on your own, just instilling those confidence
  797. 00:41:43.350 – 00:41:44.730 because I've seen that work.
  798. 00:41:44.770 – 00:41:47.070 Otherwise, I wouldn't constantly be working on it
  799. 00:41:47.070 – 00:41:50.390 if they're not improving or feel compelled to improve.
  800. 00:41:51.190 – 00:41:54.150 So I think it's big to pour back
  801. 00:41:54.150 – 00:41:58.050 into whoever comes to even if they're older and they just like, look,
  802. 00:41:59.010 – 00:42:02.590 I've been at this for years, but you really have it going on.
  803. 00:42:03.970 – 00:42:04.830 Teach me.
  804. 00:42:04.930 – 00:42:07.590 I know stuff that are advanced and technology advanced
  805. 00:42:07.590 – 00:42:10.370 and AI is coming out. Teach me.
  806. 00:42:10.730 – 00:42:12.150 Like you said, this younger generation.
  807. 00:42:12.430 – 00:42:15.690 They're smart. They're very smart when it comes to technology
  808. 00:42:15.690 – 00:42:18.430 and like that whole like work, work smarter, not harder.
  809. 00:42:19.570 – 00:42:21.630 Man, like obviously they're like,
  810. 00:42:21.630 – 00:42:23.970 now, I feel like one of the old ladies trying to learn
  811. 00:42:23.970 – 00:42:26.590 how to work the computer, like, you do that.
  812. 00:42:27.730 – 00:42:30.010 Yeah. And I don't want to be left behind.
  813. 00:42:30.470 – 00:42:32.690 I know that is the new wave. And like I'm.
  814. 00:42:34.370 – 00:42:35.210 I already feel myself
  815. 00:42:35.210 – 00:42:37.570 trying to keep up and catch up with all of the things,
  816. 00:42:37.590 – 00:42:40.030 even with like Instagram and creating these rules.
  817. 00:42:40.030 – 00:42:43.270 I'd be sitting there mad, like, I don't want to do this.
  818. 00:42:43.650 – 00:42:47.330 But it's got to you got to be involved, especially being an entrepreneur
  819. 00:42:47.330 – 00:42:50.650 when that's your way of marketing now, like creating these videos,
  820. 00:42:50.650 – 00:42:52.130 getting in front of the camera.
  821. 00:42:52.730 – 00:42:53.710 Like, yeah, sure.
  822. 00:42:53.790 – 00:42:55.730 And I know we had a conversation about that.
  823. 00:42:55.850 – 00:42:59.190 See, friends can become clients and vice versa.
  824. 00:42:59.330 – 00:43:01.190 And, you know, we refer to each other.
  825. 00:43:01.850 – 00:43:04.790 And yeah, I mean, I'm still often still there.
  826. 00:43:04.890 – 00:43:08.030 I'm definitely willing to help in that aspect. Yes. Yes.
  827. 00:43:08.150 – 00:43:09.570 I'm actually getting better posts.
  828. 00:43:09.730 – 00:43:12.150 I create all the content, record all the content,
  829. 00:43:12.410 – 00:43:14.570 you know, photograph, document all the content.
  830. 00:43:14.590 – 00:43:17.410 I have a lot of content even for myself.
  831. 00:43:17.410 – 00:43:20.130 But it's just the post and sometimes even
  832. 00:43:20.590 – 00:43:24.190 I just got back on Instagram because I've been so busy.
  833. 00:43:24.490 – 00:43:28.190 But even posting, I'm like, OK, let me just start with once a day.
  834. 00:43:28.770 – 00:43:30.930 I know I said this before, but let me actually do it.
  835. 00:43:30.930 – 00:43:32.430 So I did two yesterday.
  836. 00:43:33.590 – 00:43:36.830 One today, I'm probably going to post Natasha's
  837. 00:43:36.830 – 00:43:38.690 kind of recap that I put together.
  838. 00:43:38.930 – 00:43:39.670 So that'd be two.
  839. 00:43:39.750 – 00:43:43.070 So I'm even kind of ahead of what I even said, just start with one a day.
  840. 00:43:43.070 – 00:43:44.650 I'm doing two right now at this rate.
  841. 00:43:44.650 – 00:43:49.670 So even if selling on your goals and expectations of yourself,
  842. 00:43:50.090 – 00:43:51.570 that's the only way you get better.
  843. 00:43:51.730 – 00:43:53.070 Yeah. Yeah.
  844. 00:43:53.330 – 00:43:56.270 I don't know where that came from, but I said it. Yeah.
  845. 00:43:56.270 – 00:43:58.730 Somebody don't hear it. Right.
  846. 00:43:59.070 – 00:44:03.310 Oh, but I do have some questions I did, you know, wrote down.
  847. 00:44:03.750 – 00:44:04.970 I'll jot it down.
  848. 00:44:05.490 – 00:44:08.730 I do want to touch those and pull up my notes.
  849. 00:44:09.610 – 00:44:11.490 And by the way, it's not on paper, so you don't hear the crumbles.
  850. 00:44:11.490 – 00:44:12.730 This is digital.
  851. 00:44:13.430 – 00:44:17.310 I'm going to turn my low battery mode off so it doesn't cut off on me.
  852. 00:44:18.610 – 00:44:21.810 OK, so how was the design landscape for you
  853. 00:44:21.810 – 00:44:25.270 when you first started designing versus the world of design now?
  854. 00:44:26.530 – 00:44:32.980 Oh, I would say when I first started,
  855. 00:44:33.320 – 00:44:36.040 let's take it back to 2015, right?
  856. 00:44:36.580 – 00:44:40.620 When I first when I started doing that stuff, like everything was real.
  857. 00:44:41.140 – 00:44:45.160 I don't know if you know about like the whole Z Gallery
  858. 00:44:46.500 – 00:44:48.500 era, the gallery, the gallery.
  859. 00:44:48.740 – 00:44:52.180 So like that's that was the beginning of abstract,
  860. 00:44:52.180 – 00:44:54.520 at least for me, where I noticed it.
  861. 00:44:54.520 – 00:44:58.840 The gallery came out with these beautiful, like big canvases.
  862. 00:44:58.840 – 00:45:00.360 And it's just like a splatter.
  863. 00:45:00.580 – 00:45:03.320 And it's got like sprinkles and like different kind of colors.
  864. 00:45:03.340 – 00:45:06.060 And it was like, oh, my God, this is absolutely gorgeous.
  865. 00:45:06.080 – 00:45:07.620 And it gave this luxury feel.
  866. 00:45:07.660 – 00:45:10.140 And then you added a whole bunch of crystal things.
  867. 00:45:10.140 – 00:45:14.420 So that was that that was when I really like kind of fell in love
  868. 00:45:14.420 – 00:45:18.840 with like design for real for us. Oh, God, I need to do this. Whatever.
  869. 00:45:19.840 – 00:45:25.280 From all of the blingage that was seen in the core,
  870. 00:45:25.420 – 00:45:28.860 the pillows, pictures and all of the things to now,
  871. 00:45:30.600 – 00:45:34.180 we went through a whole phase of like the minimalist
  872. 00:45:34.180 – 00:45:38.700 and like the unique earthy shapes and that type of stuff.
  873. 00:45:38.700 – 00:45:44.080 And now we went through even more recently the black face
  874. 00:45:44.080 – 00:45:47.160 where everything is black accents, the black accent walls,
  875. 00:45:47.460 – 00:45:49.080 the rails on the stairs is black.
  876. 00:45:49.760 – 00:45:52.540 I'm so tired of black. I don't know what to do.
  877. 00:45:53.360 – 00:45:56.720 And no, this is like, you know, this keeps the sound out, right?
  878. 00:45:56.920 – 00:45:58.280 No, this is different. OK.
  879. 00:45:58.360 – 00:46:01.740 But like, I am so tired of using black.
  880. 00:46:02.040 – 00:46:04.280 But I know that's the thing. I know that's the trend.
  881. 00:46:04.400 – 00:46:07.100 I know that's what you all want to do. But black and gold.
  882. 00:46:07.980 – 00:46:13.120 You know what, you'll be black because with photography,
  883. 00:46:13.740 – 00:46:16.200 you know, you don't reflect light.
  884. 00:46:16.220 – 00:46:18.160 So you have to wear darker colors, mainly black.
  885. 00:46:18.720 – 00:46:21.060 Yeah, I just, you know, I was happy
  886. 00:46:21.060 – 00:46:22.300 we wasn't going to be on camera.
  887. 00:46:22.300 – 00:46:25.740 So I was like, let me just throw on a T T shirt and come on with it.
  888. 00:46:26.760 – 00:46:30.020 I think it's a visual media type of thing.
  889. 00:46:30.100 – 00:46:31.020 Black is always clean.
  890. 00:46:31.080 – 00:46:32.360 Black is always elegant.
  891. 00:46:32.520 – 00:46:33.920 Black is always like sharp.
  892. 00:46:33.960 – 00:46:35.900 So you can't go wrong with black.
  893. 00:46:37.180 – 00:46:38.500 But I'm tired.
  894. 00:46:38.700 – 00:46:42.460 Every home that I go into is just black everywhere.
  895. 00:46:42.540 – 00:46:46.420 And it's like, OK, this is how much gloom and doom.
  896. 00:46:46.520 – 00:46:48.580 Like, this is becoming like black and white.
  897. 00:46:48.600 – 00:46:51.700 Like, I feel like I'm at a tuxedo and bridal shop every day.
  898. 00:46:51.760 – 00:46:53.760 Like, so I'm just tired of it.
  899. 00:46:53.760 – 00:46:56.420 I would love to see, like, can we get some browns?
  900. 00:46:56.580 – 00:46:58.480 I don't even want to see gray no more because we went through
  901. 00:46:58.480 – 00:47:01.160 a whole phase of like gray.
  902. 00:47:01.300 – 00:47:02.320 The walls was gray.
  903. 00:47:02.540 – 00:47:03.360 I don't know.
  904. 00:47:03.360 – 00:47:08.160 Relators and home flippers, y'all know, agreeable gray or get that.
  905. 00:47:08.580 – 00:47:11.480 And then them ash gray floors that everybody was doing.
  906. 00:47:11.900 – 00:47:15.020 I am tired of seeing that, too.
  907. 00:47:15.200 – 00:47:19.760 So, yeah, I don't even know where the conversation was.
  908. 00:47:19.980 – 00:47:21.140 But I did. Yeah.
  909. 00:47:21.580 – 00:47:23.600 So even as you say that,
  910. 00:47:25.970 – 00:47:33.020 just thinking about that, what colors would you want to see?
  911. 00:47:34.660 – 00:47:37.780 Like, because even using that as a marketing piece,
  912. 00:47:37.920 – 00:47:41.480 like, OK, let's break away from the black and the gray.
  913. 00:47:42.480 – 00:47:44.080 Let's have a colorful home today.
  914. 00:47:44.300 – 00:47:47.120 Or, you know, something like this, like you can use that as a marketing piece.
  915. 00:47:47.200 – 00:47:48.740 But like, what colors would you see?
  916. 00:47:48.840 – 00:47:50.060 Or do you have like.
  917. 00:47:51.220 – 00:47:53.400 Almost like you say, you create your design and set it up
  918. 00:47:53.400 – 00:47:57.080 how you want it in your head, you make it come to life.
  919. 00:47:57.080 – 00:47:59.440 Is there certain colors that you gravitate to?
  920. 00:48:00.520 – 00:48:07.400 Right now, I am obsessed with warm colors,
  921. 00:48:07.660 – 00:48:13.340 but not the warm colors that have that yellow tone to it, that gives that like.
  922. 00:48:14.240 – 00:48:18.860 Yeah, like to what I like the earthy colors,
  923. 00:48:18.900 – 00:48:20.700 but it has like a coolness to it.
  924. 00:48:20.860 – 00:48:23.440 So you I'm obsessed with these cabinets.
  925. 00:48:23.540 – 00:48:26.380 They're like a brown color because everybody was doing the white.
  926. 00:48:26.380 – 00:48:29.080 There's another tree, white cabinets in every house.
  927. 00:48:29.340 – 00:48:31.420 Please do something else, please.
  928. 00:48:31.740 – 00:48:36.200 So I actually just stays at home and they did brown counter
  929. 00:48:36.200 – 00:48:40.120 or cabinets and stuff, and I was like, thank you, God.
  930. 00:48:40.200 – 00:48:44.300 I get to finally see what I've been wanting to do
  931. 00:48:44.300 – 00:48:46.260 and get to decorate in this space.
  932. 00:48:46.740 – 00:48:50.860 So I love a nice brown
  933. 00:48:50.860 – 00:48:56.360 that or would like look that has like a coolness element to it.
  934. 00:48:56.360 – 00:48:59.720 Versus like that yellowy wood that you saw back in like
  935. 00:49:00.320 – 00:49:03.680 oh, six or seven, like when they were building homes then.
  936. 00:49:05.720 – 00:49:12.080 I love to see texture in patterns with wallpaper
  937. 00:49:12.080 – 00:49:17.680 like wallpaper is so beautiful and it adds so much character to a home.
  938. 00:49:18.520 – 00:49:21.000 I even like a lot of the tally
  939. 00:49:21.000 – 00:49:24.900 and like how they sometimes will put it in a hair and bone fashion,
  940. 00:49:24.900 – 00:49:27.460 which is how do I make that sound simple?
  941. 00:49:27.600 – 00:49:31.220 A hair bone is like that triangle look where they like kind of overlap.
  942. 00:49:31.480 – 00:49:32.620 It's like that type of pattern.
  943. 00:49:35.280 – 00:49:40.020 Or no, this is like a hexagon, a honeycomb type of look.
  944. 00:49:40.280 – 00:49:42.100 OK, so more actual.
  945. 00:49:42.520 – 00:49:45.980 It's like so you would look at like a regular block like this.
  946. 00:49:46.840 – 00:49:47.880 Y'all can't see it, sorry.
  947. 00:49:48.180 – 00:49:50.460 But you would do like a regular piece of like tile
  948. 00:49:50.460 – 00:49:53.300 and you would connect them in a triangle.
  949. 00:49:53.300 – 00:49:55.520 But instead of connecting it at a triangle,
  950. 00:49:55.520 – 00:49:57.820 one would kind of overlap a little bit.
  951. 00:49:58.040 – 00:50:00.460 Yes. So you create like a like a pattern with it.
  952. 00:50:00.460 – 00:50:02.420 That's where I was kind of getting that with that intersection.
  953. 00:50:03.420 – 00:50:04.440 Yeah. OK. Yeah.
  954. 00:50:04.540 – 00:50:05.240 So yeah.
  955. 00:50:05.920 – 00:50:08.380 Um, what else do I love right now?
  956. 00:50:08.520 – 00:50:09.940 And to see the visual, you got it.
  957. 00:50:09.940 – 00:50:11.220 You got it. Yeah.
  958. 00:50:11.400 – 00:50:12.420 Yes. Follow my page.
  959. 00:50:13.280 – 00:50:15.180 I'll start. I'm going to start being on your guys.
  960. 00:50:15.240 – 00:50:17.380 I promise. I'm going to start putting more stuff up.
  961. 00:50:17.380 – 00:50:18.340 I'm going to text you. Yeah.
  962. 00:50:18.420 – 00:50:20.900 Because he don't be like, I ain't seen no post.
  963. 00:50:20.900 – 00:50:23.720 Oh, OK. We keep each other kind of.
  964. 00:50:23.820 – 00:50:24.980 Yes. Yeah.
  965. 00:50:25.160 – 00:50:29.520 I'm I when I get busy or like when I'm like not busy,
  966. 00:50:29.600 – 00:50:30.360 I finally get a break.
  967. 00:50:30.480 – 00:50:32.620 I'm like the last thing I want to do is go on social media.
  968. 00:50:32.660 – 00:50:34.780 It's like I just. Yeah, that's how I am.
  969. 00:50:34.860 – 00:50:37.180 Yeah. I just like I need a little breathing space.
  970. 00:50:37.340 – 00:50:41.240 I need a little bit of a time out so that I can regroup,
  971. 00:50:41.520 – 00:50:44.600 connect, get inspired again and then get back on there.
  972. 00:50:44.780 – 00:50:46.080 So that's all that is.
  973. 00:50:46.220 – 00:50:48.160 I love you all. I just need.
  974. 00:50:48.160 – 00:50:52.520 I mean, for the same thing, I could totally relate a thousand times.
  975. 00:50:52.540 – 00:50:56.380 Yeah. Even from when I was doing music and poetry to now,
  976. 00:50:56.380 – 00:51:01.140 you know, even having a company, it's like, oh, it feel like another job
  977. 00:51:01.140 – 00:51:02.820 or not, you know, task.
  978. 00:51:02.900 – 00:51:05.480 But like you mentioned before, I'm a perfectionist.
  979. 00:51:05.740 – 00:51:09.100 So it's like I'm not just about to have as oops.
  980. 00:51:09.600 – 00:51:11.100 My first time. Oh, OK.
  981. 00:51:11.620 – 00:51:13.280 That's how passionate I am. It's me.
  982. 00:51:13.340 – 00:51:15.060 I'm a potty mouse. So maybe it's me.
  983. 00:51:15.280 – 00:51:17.300 No, it's it's trust me.
  984. 00:51:17.300 – 00:51:19.920 Woo. That's how passionate I am about it.
  985. 00:51:20.060 – 00:51:22.860 You know, being a perfectionist, because I don't I don't like
  986. 00:51:22.860 – 00:51:26.820 have doing a job and putting it out there, even from the captions.
  987. 00:51:27.020 – 00:51:29.640 Like, I mean, had a content or edited and ready to go.
  988. 00:51:29.840 – 00:51:32.580 But then I got to I got to write something. OK.
  989. 00:51:33.580 – 00:51:36.240 And, you know, I put thought into what I say,
  990. 00:51:36.480 – 00:51:39.560 and especially as long as it's a footprint on the Internet.
  991. 00:51:40.020 – 00:51:42.180 Forever. You can look back at that.
  992. 00:51:42.560 – 00:51:45.320 And yeah, even as I grow, still,
  993. 00:51:45.920 – 00:51:50.340 I want somebody look back by even, you know, in the younger years
  994. 00:51:50.340 – 00:51:54.920 of the brand, it was still like concise to the point professional.
  995. 00:51:56.040 – 00:51:58.540 So I'm very strategic.
  996. 00:51:58.600 – 00:52:01.480 And, you know, like you said, being a perfectionist
  997. 00:52:01.480 – 00:52:05.020 has always been in my heart as I do art
  998. 00:52:05.020 – 00:52:11.520 or mediums, even translating that to cooking or,
  999. 00:52:11.520 – 00:52:15.120 you know, playing basketball is like just be the best.
  1000. 00:52:16.000 – 00:52:17.820 That you can be like.
  1001. 00:52:18.720 – 00:52:19.620 You can't be perfect.
  1002. 00:52:19.820 – 00:52:21.860 People say perfection is not real.
  1003. 00:52:22.380 – 00:52:24.640 But in my sense, yes, there's perfect.
  1004. 00:52:24.780 – 00:52:28.140 So I've done it and I've been there and experienced it.
  1005. 00:52:28.200 – 00:52:31.860 And seeing other people like there's nothing, nothing bad
  1006. 00:52:31.860 – 00:52:33.140 that you could say or whatever.
  1007. 00:52:33.720 – 00:52:34.600 Everything's perfect.
  1008. 00:52:34.620 – 00:52:37.700 So I know perfect and perfection is real.
  1009. 00:52:38.060 – 00:52:40.220 But it's like, OK, if I don't get to perfect,
  1010. 00:52:40.920 – 00:52:44.300 but at least we're striving for that or try to be the best version
  1011. 00:52:44.300 – 00:52:48.480 that we could be or be closest to perfect as we can.
  1012. 00:52:49.200 – 00:52:52.500 And another thing that kind of forced me out of that
  1013. 00:52:52.500 – 00:52:55.180 is just like, you just got to do it.
  1014. 00:52:55.280 – 00:52:56.880 You know, you can't use that as a excuse.
  1015. 00:52:57.120 – 00:52:59.420 I mean, at the end of the day, I just got to do it.
  1016. 00:52:59.720 – 00:53:02.180 Yeah, that's the just do it part, though.
  1017. 00:53:04.440 – 00:53:06.660 It's that lovely balance that I'm
  1018. 00:53:07.440 – 00:53:09.940 coming accustomed to, like I just got to do it.
  1019. 00:53:10.420 – 00:53:11.280 Yeah. Yeah.
  1020. 00:53:11.280 – 00:53:13.940 If I don't do it, it may not ever get done.
  1021. 00:53:13.940 – 00:53:18.360 Yeah. So it's been a time where I'll have an idea
  1022. 00:53:18.360 – 00:53:19.920 and I'll be like, oh, I should do that.
  1023. 00:53:19.920 – 00:53:20.600 That'd be dope.
  1024. 00:53:20.960 – 00:53:22.320 And then I don't do it.
  1025. 00:53:22.340 – 00:53:25.360 And then like a couple of months later, I'll see somebody else do it.
  1026. 00:53:25.380 – 00:53:27.480 And they be going by, I was like, oh, I couldn't.
  1027. 00:53:27.640 – 00:53:28.760 I should have just did it.
  1028. 00:53:28.900 – 00:53:30.000 I'll be like sick.
  1029. 00:53:30.000 – 00:53:31.480 And this happened to me a few times.
  1030. 00:53:31.820 – 00:53:34.600 And I always had this thing where like I feel like God
  1031. 00:53:34.600 – 00:53:37.340 be like trying to show me stuff like you had this idea.
  1032. 00:53:37.760 – 00:53:38.760 It could have been yours.
  1033. 00:53:38.860 – 00:53:40.980 But you kept sitting on it and being lazy
  1034. 00:53:40.980 – 00:53:42.540 and not doing what you need to do.
  1035. 00:53:42.540 – 00:53:45.540 So your blessing was given to somebody else.
  1036. 00:53:45.960 – 00:53:51.320 So I was trying to like when I get these ideas, I'm going to do it.
  1037. 00:53:51.340 – 00:53:52.860 Just do it. I have to.
  1038. 00:53:53.380 – 00:53:53.940 Yeah. Yeah.
  1039. 00:53:54.360 – 00:53:58.660 Even I started this last year was like, I'm going to do something.
  1040. 00:53:58.980 – 00:54:00.800 I'm going to start this podcast.
  1041. 00:54:00.960 – 00:54:03.660 I'm going to do it right now, like record the first episode.
  1042. 00:54:03.660 – 00:54:05.340 And I did that. I test myself.
  1043. 00:54:05.380 – 00:54:08.040 Yeah. So it's like that's that's why I'm still here to this day.
  1044. 00:54:08.040 – 00:54:10.040 It's like I started. I got to keep it going.
  1045. 00:54:10.080 – 00:54:11.940 Yeah. Like this is supposed to be
  1046. 00:54:11.940 – 00:54:14.000 just a solo podcast.
  1047. 00:54:14.480 – 00:54:17.800 Me going over business and, you know, shedding business tips.
  1048. 00:54:18.260 – 00:54:19.980 But I'm like, I do got a big network.
  1049. 00:54:20.260 – 00:54:24.620 I mean, practice my communication skills, my conversation skills,
  1050. 00:54:25.620 – 00:54:29.700 general skills, interview my network,
  1051. 00:54:29.800 – 00:54:33.580 you know, people that I know, people that I ran into, man. So.
  1052. 00:54:34.100 – 00:54:36.980 And then sometimes just by holding conversations with people,
  1053. 00:54:37.160 – 00:54:40.760 it'll help you or trigger a spark, a thing or you like, oh,
  1054. 00:54:41.620 – 00:54:45.200 we talked about this or, dang, that made me think about this.
  1055. 00:54:45.220 – 00:54:47.040 And that's more constant that you have created,
  1056. 00:54:47.100 – 00:54:50.300 that you can go and talk about after this, the fact of the matter.
  1057. 00:54:51.180 – 00:54:54.940 So, yeah, it's good to talk to other people sometimes.
  1058. 00:54:55.380 – 00:54:57.680 Yeah. But when you're in that moment and you had that thought,
  1059. 00:54:57.760 – 00:54:58.880 you just got to do it.
  1060. 00:54:58.880 – 00:55:01.580 Yeah. It's as simple as that. Get it. Get it done.
  1061. 00:55:01.620 – 00:55:04.640 That's my thing. If I could do it, it doesn't take that long.
  1062. 00:55:04.960 – 00:55:07.540 I got to do it in this moment. Just get it done.
  1063. 00:55:07.980 – 00:55:10.080 Oh, I told my daughter, I was going to make her something.
  1064. 00:55:10.080 – 00:55:12.720 I just thought we're doing all right.
  1065. 00:55:12.800 – 00:55:15.140 Give me two seconds. Make her something to eat.
  1066. 00:55:15.500 – 00:55:17.900 Not let 30 minutes, an hour or so pass.
  1067. 00:55:18.460 – 00:55:21.200 And then she's, you know, more fussier than she was.
  1068. 00:55:22.240 – 00:55:24.660 I'm just get it done or, oh,
  1069. 00:55:25.600 – 00:55:27.360 I'm about to write this book.
  1070. 00:55:27.600 – 00:55:29.920 And I told myself when I was younger, I was
  1071. 00:55:31.180 – 00:55:33.240 16 at the time, but I wrote it at 17.
  1072. 00:55:33.440 – 00:55:35.140 I said, I'm going to buy myself a laptop.
  1073. 00:55:35.700 – 00:55:38.340 And when I buy myself a laptop, I'm going to write a book.
  1074. 00:55:38.340 – 00:55:39.760 So when I was about that laptop,
  1075. 00:55:39.800 – 00:55:42.740 I already had the manuscript written.
  1076. 00:55:44.060 – 00:55:47.680 I started typing, typing it up, had my book.
  1077. 00:55:49.320 – 00:55:50.360 So that's awesome.
  1078. 00:55:50.880 – 00:55:52.280 You just have to take action.
  1079. 00:55:53.000 – 00:55:55.360 And as I mentioned before, success, love, speed.
  1080. 00:55:55.900 – 00:55:57.940 You know, if you wait too long on that thought,
  1081. 00:55:58.040 – 00:55:59.180 it's going to go to somebody else.
  1082. 00:55:59.260 – 00:56:00.160 Yeah. Yeah.
  1083. 00:56:00.540 – 00:56:01.780 You know, I definitely.
  1084. 00:56:02.000 – 00:56:04.040 You ain't the only creative person, child.
  1085. 00:56:04.280 – 00:56:07.500 Everybody thinking about different ways and certain stuff.
  1086. 00:56:07.500 – 00:56:11.420 Yeah. And I know a lot of people, they compare Michael Jackson
  1087. 00:56:11.420 – 00:56:13.400 and French, the two legends.
  1088. 00:56:13.900 – 00:56:17.540 I don't know who whose song was the first, but
  1089. 00:56:17.540 – 00:56:21.680 somebody slept on the song or the idea and the other artists did it.
  1090. 00:56:21.860 – 00:56:23.600 Like that really happens.
  1091. 00:56:24.300 – 00:56:25.700 You know, creativity don't stop.
  1092. 00:56:26.120 – 00:56:28.740 I mean, yeah, I mean, there are several songs
  1093. 00:56:28.740 – 00:56:32.640 that have been made for certain artists
  1094. 00:56:32.640 – 00:56:34.880 and then another artist to pass it up.
  1095. 00:56:34.880 – 00:56:38.000 And then that's that one artist that come along and that's
  1096. 00:56:38.000 – 00:56:39.700 they break out, that's a breakout song.
  1097. 00:56:39.820 – 00:56:42.040 And another artist probably like, oh, I should have done.
  1098. 00:56:42.320 – 00:56:45.060 But you know what, it's somebody's trash.
  1099. 00:56:45.180 – 00:56:48.580 It's somebody else's golden ticket into where they want to go.
  1100. 00:56:48.860 – 00:56:51.800 So, you know, it's like Walt Disney finding a golden ticket.
  1101. 00:56:52.160 – 00:56:54.500 Yeah. You got to take it.
  1102. 00:56:55.680 – 00:56:58.720 All right. And I know we kind of spoke on trends earlier,
  1103. 00:56:59.240 – 00:57:02.220 but how do you stay updated on the latest trends?
  1104. 00:57:04.640 – 00:57:11.100 So, um, I know I'm one of my other
  1105. 00:57:11.620 – 00:57:12.860 interviews that I've done.
  1106. 00:57:13.380 – 00:57:16.300 I was like, oh, I don't really look at other designers, which I don't.
  1107. 00:57:16.620 – 00:57:21.840 But I to clear that up, I do look at other designers,
  1108. 00:57:22.040 – 00:57:23.680 especially designers that are
  1109. 00:57:25.960 – 00:57:28.900 at a higher, you know, level than I am.
  1110. 00:57:28.900 – 00:57:31.440 They're doing the things that I aspire to do.
  1111. 00:57:32.080 – 00:57:34.360 So I do take a look like I don't.
  1112. 00:57:34.360 – 00:57:37.420 But I don't like be sitting there like, oh, she posted this.
  1113. 00:57:37.740 – 00:57:40.260 Oh, I love this. Like, I'm I'm not or he did this.
  1114. 00:57:40.260 – 00:57:42.520 Like, I'm not studying other designers.
  1115. 00:57:42.520 – 00:57:44.320 Like, I'll look, take a glance.
  1116. 00:57:44.400 – 00:57:45.700 And I'm like, oh, that looks dope.
  1117. 00:57:45.780 – 00:57:48.380 And then I go back into what is India like,
  1118. 00:57:48.500 – 00:57:50.280 because I feel like I'll get overly
  1119. 00:57:53.660 – 00:57:55.240 inspired by somebody else.
  1120. 00:57:55.260 – 00:57:57.840 And then I feel like I start creating work that looks like somebody else's stuff
  1121. 00:57:57.840 – 00:57:59.340 versus my own.
  1122. 00:58:00.960 – 00:58:04.080 But I go on Pinterest and I love Pinterest.
  1123. 00:58:04.080 – 00:58:05.360 I live on Pinterest.
  1124. 00:58:05.780 – 00:58:07.240 And that's other people's work.
  1125. 00:58:07.280 – 00:58:09.760 Like, it probably is other designers that I just don't know of.
  1126. 00:58:11.040 – 00:58:12.920 So everybody's going to be watching somebody's stuff.
  1127. 00:58:13.020 – 00:58:15.140 Everybody's going to be looking at some other stuff.
  1128. 00:58:15.140 – 00:58:17.340 But I kind of go and get a lot of my inspiration,
  1129. 00:58:17.340 – 00:58:21.980 because if I have an idea in my brain and I type it into Pinterest
  1130. 00:58:21.980 – 00:58:25.900 or into Google, I could pull up exactly what I'm thinking of sometimes.
  1131. 00:58:25.900 – 00:58:27.840 Or sometimes nobody's done it yet.
  1132. 00:58:27.840 – 00:58:28.720 And I'm like, oh, crap.
  1133. 00:58:28.840 – 00:58:31.500 And I got to try to make what I got in my brain
  1134. 00:58:31.500 – 00:58:33.920 make sense to somebody else or whatever.
  1135. 00:58:33.920 – 00:58:38.400 So, um, Pinterest, I look at other designers.
  1136. 00:58:39.780 – 00:58:47.580 I also I am inspired just by art and nature and things that are around me.
  1137. 00:58:47.640 – 00:58:51.080 So I can go into a store and I can see a pillow.
  1138. 00:58:51.400 – 00:58:53.420 And I'm like, oh, that pillow is dope.
  1139. 00:58:53.660 – 00:58:55.820 And then from that one pillow, I'd be like,
  1140. 00:58:56.400 – 00:58:59.840 that would look good with a throw like this.
  1141. 00:58:59.900 – 00:59:03.900 And then if you added in this color to it, that would be really, really cool.
  1142. 00:59:03.900 – 00:59:09.020 So prime example, a house that I just staged not too long ago.
  1143. 00:59:10.080 – 00:59:11.200 Mind you, this is a staging project.
  1144. 00:59:11.320 – 00:59:12.920 Most staging projects are neutrals.
  1145. 00:59:13.140 – 00:59:14.300 I don't. That's boring.
  1146. 00:59:14.600 – 00:59:18.220 So I have color and I'm like, well, you want to be able to use it
  1147. 00:59:18.220 – 00:59:18.980 over and over again.
  1148. 00:59:19.260 – 00:59:21.220 I'll be able to use these pieces over and over again.
  1149. 00:59:21.220 – 00:59:23.600 I create different color palettes all the time like this.
  1150. 00:59:23.780 – 00:59:27.300 So I saw this dope orange pillow
  1151. 00:59:27.820 – 00:59:31.020 in the color scheme of the home was black, white and gold.
  1152. 00:59:31.380 – 00:59:33.720 And so I was like, that sounds like I can't do neutrals.
  1153. 00:59:33.720 – 00:59:35.740 I cannot do it. I got to add some color.
  1154. 00:59:35.900 – 00:59:39.860 So I saw this bright orange, amberish color pillow.
  1155. 00:59:40.240 – 00:59:42.440 And I was like, oh, I like that.
  1156. 00:59:42.760 – 00:59:44.300 And then so I was shopping around more.
  1157. 00:59:44.460 – 00:59:46.000 I picked up the pillow. I like that.
  1158. 00:59:46.280 – 00:59:47.500 Shopping around some more.
  1159. 00:59:47.980 – 00:59:49.600 Then I saw this.
  1160. 00:59:50.540 – 00:59:53.000 It was like a marble green
  1161. 00:59:53.640 – 00:59:59.120 in like cream type of like decorative bowl or whatever.
  1162. 00:59:59.720 – 01:00:01.640 And I was like, yo, that's dope.
  1163. 01:00:01.680 – 01:00:02.640 I love this.
  1164. 01:00:02.640 – 01:00:05.100 So I saw that. Oh, that is so cute.
  1165. 01:00:05.400 – 01:00:07.520 So I'm looking at the pillow and I'm looking at this thing.
  1166. 01:00:07.520 – 01:00:12.100 I'm like, just like I care how I'm going to make this make sense.
  1167. 01:00:12.320 – 01:00:13.880 I was like, I don't care how I'm going to make it make sense.
  1168. 01:00:13.940 – 01:00:16.260 I'm about to get both of these and we're going to figure out
  1169. 01:00:16.260 – 01:00:17.500 who wins for the design.
  1170. 01:00:18.420 – 01:00:22.260 So I go home and like, you know, I'm just staring at the pieces.
  1171. 01:00:23.080 – 01:00:24.660 And I'm like, hmm.
  1172. 01:00:25.480 – 01:00:27.860 I was like, I want to find a pillow that's going to make this make sense.
  1173. 01:00:27.860 – 01:00:31.800 I went to another store.
  1174. 01:00:32.000 – 01:00:33.920 What store did I go to? I can't remember.
  1175. 01:00:34.280 – 01:00:38.800 But I found a pillow, like one of the little covers or whatever.
  1176. 01:00:39.180 – 01:00:43.060 And it was like this dope, like tribal green looking pillow.
  1177. 01:00:43.240 – 01:00:45.520 And it had black and white in it.
  1178. 01:00:46.280 – 01:00:48.600 And I was like, for some reason,
  1179. 01:00:48.620 – 01:00:52.020 I think that cover is going to look dope against this orange pillow.
  1180. 01:00:52.420 – 01:00:53.600 And so I took it home.
  1181. 01:00:53.760 – 01:00:56.060 I put it against the other. Oh, that's it. That's it.
  1182. 01:00:56.060 – 01:00:58.840 And then from there, I just started going through my inventory
  1183. 01:00:58.840 – 01:01:02.380 and I'm like, styling up this room and I'm getting excited.
  1184. 01:01:02.420 – 01:01:05.560 I'm hyped. Well, whenever I have a good idea and I love it,
  1185. 01:01:05.840 – 01:01:06.860 I start I start taking pictures.
  1186. 01:01:06.860 – 01:01:08.940 I start sending it to the realtor like, girl, look at this.
  1187. 01:01:09.060 – 01:01:09.900 What do you think about this?
  1188. 01:01:09.900 – 01:01:11.520 And she was like, I'm getting her all hyped up
  1189. 01:01:11.520 – 01:01:13.360 because, you know, she about to make money off this house.
  1190. 01:01:14.580 – 01:01:18.540 So, yeah, that I get inspiration from any and all things.
  1191. 01:01:19.240 – 01:01:19.640 Yeah.
  1192. 01:01:19.800 – 01:01:22.540 Well, whether was there ever a time that, you know,
  1193. 01:01:22.540 – 01:01:27.800 like you said, you were stored at this store or seeing something
  1194. 01:01:27.800 – 01:01:31.660 that's like, hmm, and kind of consulted or talked with the client
  1195. 01:01:31.660 – 01:01:35.980 to maybe raise their budget to put that new thing in?
  1196. 01:01:36.400 – 01:01:37.540 Yeah. Yeah.
  1197. 01:01:37.880 – 01:01:38.800 What's that process like?
  1198. 01:01:40.700 – 01:01:45.300 So when I do consultations with my people, I always tell them,
  1199. 01:01:45.560 – 01:01:48.240 like, you know, I don't initially, I don't even give them
  1200. 01:01:48.240 – 01:01:49.820 the estimate or budget because I'm like,
  1201. 01:01:49.820 – 01:01:51.080 how much you think this going to cost?
  1202. 01:01:51.080 – 01:01:53.140 Because everybody worried about how much it's going to cost.
  1203. 01:01:53.340 – 01:01:54.680 Because it's like, how much you cost?
  1204. 01:01:54.960 – 01:01:56.200 How much all this stuff will cost?
  1205. 01:01:56.240 – 01:01:57.440 Like, they want to know the cost.
  1206. 01:01:57.480 – 01:02:01.500 And I'm like, I honestly do not want to tell you a number
  1207. 01:02:01.500 – 01:02:03.320 and then you get glued to this number.
  1208. 01:02:03.680 – 01:02:05.120 And we ain't close to this number.
  1209. 01:02:06.340 – 01:02:09.260 So I I do my rendering where at least I have a mapping
  1210. 01:02:09.260 – 01:02:11.300 and idea of the things that I want to do.
  1211. 01:02:11.340 – 01:02:13.720 And then I like will collectively like write out a budget
  1212. 01:02:13.720 – 01:02:17.460 based off of the items that are in the rendering and how much
  1213. 01:02:19.120 – 01:02:19.580 that's going to cost.
  1214. 01:02:20.940 – 01:02:23.160 And so that's where I get like my estimates from.
  1215. 01:02:23.240 – 01:02:29.060 So that's that's good of an example number for like per room.
  1216. 01:02:30.700 – 01:02:33.200 I would say, OK, so depending on why I like the space,
  1217. 01:02:34.380 – 01:02:37.800 if you have your own furniture, if it's funded furniture
  1218. 01:02:37.800 – 01:02:41.360 that I will be willing to or wanting to work around,
  1219. 01:02:41.540 – 01:02:43.280 that's a big thing.
  1220. 01:02:43.880 – 01:02:46.460 I definitely always try to work around like the client
  1221. 01:02:46.460 – 01:02:47.440 stuff because I want to say you need to be willing to work
  1222. 01:02:47.440 – 01:02:47.940 money.
  1223. 01:02:48.020 – 01:02:50.400 So if I could work around it or make magic out of what you
  1224. 01:02:50.400 – 01:02:52.600 already have, I'm going to do it.
  1225. 01:02:53.400 – 01:02:55.800 Sometimes I'll be like, I can't work with this.
  1226. 01:02:55.820 – 01:02:56.480 I'm sorry.
  1227. 01:02:57.200 – 01:02:58.480 I love you, but no.
  1228. 01:03:04.700 – 01:03:07.940 So I kind of I will gently tell them,
  1229. 01:03:08.040 – 01:03:12.080 like, I really think that you
  1230. 01:03:12.080 – 01:03:13.100 need to make an investment.
  1231. 01:03:13.660 – 01:03:15.360 How much are you willing to invest in the space
  1232. 01:03:15.360 – 01:03:17.040 that you live in all the time?
  1233. 01:03:17.040 – 01:03:17.920 This is your day to day life.
  1234. 01:03:18.120 – 01:03:20.060 This is something that you have to come in and look at.
  1235. 01:03:20.660 – 01:03:22.420 Like, and I tell people all the time
  1236. 01:03:22.420 – 01:03:24.100 because sometimes I'm like, dang, that's expensive.
  1237. 01:03:24.500 – 01:03:25.620 Well, why is that?
  1238. 01:03:26.020 – 01:03:26.840 I'm like, one.
  1239. 01:03:26.940 – 01:03:28.200 I was like, when you go shopping for stuff,
  1240. 01:03:28.320 – 01:03:30.160 you normally probably get one or two little trinkets.
  1241. 01:03:30.220 – 01:03:32.020 And it'd be like, oh, $9.99, $15.99,
  1242. 01:03:32.220 – 01:03:33.440 oh, $30, or $50, or $100.
  1243. 01:03:33.580 – 01:03:35.180 It doesn't it doesn't seem that expensive.
  1244. 01:03:35.500 – 01:03:37.380 But then when you add all of these little trinket
  1245. 01:03:37.380 – 01:03:39.280 things up, and you've got to fill up this whole entire
  1246. 01:03:39.280 – 01:03:42.120 room with all of these things, yeah, babe,
  1247. 01:03:42.280 – 01:03:44.020 it's going to cost you some money.
  1248. 01:03:44.780 – 01:03:48.960 Um, if you have furniture already, that's a blessing.
  1249. 01:03:49.600 – 01:03:52.180 That can save you, but you still might wind up
  1250. 01:03:52.180 – 01:03:54.380 spinning around, shoot.
  1251. 01:03:54.860 – 01:03:56.520 It honestly, it just depends.
  1252. 01:03:56.800 – 01:03:58.340 It depends on how big the room is.
  1253. 01:03:58.400 – 01:04:01.060 I can't even, I can't even give a generic quote of it.
  1254. 01:04:01.120 – 01:04:01.800 Like, you know what I'm saying?
  1255. 01:04:02.460 – 01:04:06.640 Well, I say prepare to spend, spend the money.
  1256. 01:04:06.780 – 01:04:09.420 Be looking at about five, seven,
  1257. 01:04:09.420 – 01:04:11.840 you know, I've had clients that have gotten up
  1258. 01:04:11.840 – 01:04:14.520 to 10s and 20s, or thousands of dollars,
  1259. 01:04:14.920 – 01:04:17.480 just depending on what's your quality of taste.
  1260. 01:04:17.860 – 01:04:18.520 What do you like?
  1261. 01:04:18.520 – 01:04:19.520 What do you want to invest in?
  1262. 01:04:19.560 – 01:04:21.220 How much do you want to invest into your space?
  1263. 01:04:21.600 – 01:04:23.820 And that's why I never, I try not to be like,
  1264. 01:04:23.820 – 01:04:25.660 well, you know, how much, how much money
  1265. 01:04:25.660 – 01:04:27.740 that or I like I, it's because it's not
  1266. 01:04:27.740 – 01:04:28.760 necessarily about money.
  1267. 01:04:29.080 – 01:04:29.900 It's an investment.
  1268. 01:04:30.380 – 01:04:31.640 It's an investment in the space,
  1269. 01:04:31.720 – 01:04:34.220 an investment where you have to be in this space.
  1270. 01:04:34.260 – 01:04:35.580 How do you want to feel in this space?
  1271. 01:04:35.980 – 01:04:37.300 How much are you willing to,
  1272. 01:04:37.820 – 01:04:39.220 how much does that mean to you?
  1273. 01:04:39.900 – 01:04:41.120 How much does that, like, you know,
  1274. 01:04:41.120 – 01:04:43.400 if you want to come home and you want to come home
  1275. 01:04:43.400 – 01:04:45.440 to chaos, or do you want to come home
  1276. 01:04:45.440 – 01:04:46.800 to something that gives you peace
  1277. 01:04:46.800 – 01:04:48.420 after going out into this world
  1278. 01:04:48.420 – 01:04:49.420 and dealing with chaos?
  1279. 01:04:49.920 – 01:04:52.940 So it's like making investment.
  1280. 01:04:53.760 – 01:04:55.660 Like, ladies, y'all make investments in the weeds,
  1281. 01:04:55.660 – 01:04:56.280 me too.
  1282. 01:04:56.940 – 01:04:59.080 Y'all make investments and get your nails done.
  1283. 01:04:59.480 – 01:05:02.100 Like you make investments on like, you know,
  1284. 01:05:02.180 – 01:05:05.640 getting that nice car or having somebody to come in.
  1285. 01:05:06.680 – 01:05:08.340 I don't know, shoot,
  1286. 01:05:08.460 – 01:05:10.060 build something for you in your house.
  1287. 01:05:10.060 – 01:05:13.700 Like, design is not just bluffing a couple pillows.
  1288. 01:05:14.040 – 01:05:16.840 Like it's literally creating a mood,
  1289. 01:05:17.140 – 01:05:19.360 a vibe in your space while making colors
  1290. 01:05:19.360 – 01:05:21.520 make sense for your mental health.
  1291. 01:05:22.520 – 01:05:24.620 So that's why I always tell people
  1292. 01:05:24.620 – 01:05:26.120 to shop around for your right designer,
  1293. 01:05:26.220 – 01:05:29.840 because sometimes I, my style might not be your style.
  1294. 01:05:30.660 – 01:05:34.280 Even though I am very versed when it comes to styles,
  1295. 01:05:34.740 – 01:05:36.220 but like, you know,
  1296. 01:05:36.340 – 01:05:38.840 somebody else might be a better fit
  1297. 01:05:38.840 – 01:05:41.380 or a better look for your vibe.
  1298. 01:05:41.500 – 01:05:42.380 Like, go with your vibe.
  1299. 01:05:42.460 – 01:05:43.900 Go with how you vibe with your designer.
  1300. 01:05:45.180 – 01:05:46.680 But it's all an investment.
  1301. 01:05:46.880 – 01:05:49.240 It's an investment of how you want to feel
  1302. 01:05:49.240 – 01:05:50.320 in this certain space.
  1303. 01:05:50.320 – 01:05:52.540 Like in your room, do you want it to be moody?
  1304. 01:05:52.780 – 01:05:54.140 Do you want it to be like an airy?
  1305. 01:05:54.180 – 01:05:55.440 Do you want to feel like you waking up
  1306. 01:05:55.440 – 01:05:56.400 in freaking heaven,
  1307. 01:05:56.460 – 01:05:58.840 like with all light nudes and stuff like that?
  1308. 01:05:58.860 – 01:05:59.800 Or do you want to feel like,
  1309. 01:06:00.000 – 01:06:00.800 oh, this is the vibe.
  1310. 01:06:01.180 – 01:06:03.460 I'm edgy, this, like, how do you want to feel?
  1311. 01:06:03.700 – 01:06:05.060 Because sometimes like how you,
  1312. 01:06:05.060 – 01:06:07.280 what you wake up into will set the tone
  1313. 01:06:07.280 – 01:06:08.160 of what kind of character
  1314. 01:06:08.160 – 01:06:09.460 you're going to come out of that house being.
  1315. 01:06:09.960 – 01:06:11.400 You want to be a main character,
  1316. 01:06:11.520 – 01:06:13.280 or you want to be the one that's like sitting,
  1317. 01:06:13.420 – 01:06:14.680 the one that turned into a super villain
  1318. 01:06:14.680 – 01:06:17.660 because you depressed and sad and mad at the world.
  1319. 01:06:17.740 – 01:06:18.460 Like, you know?
  1320. 01:06:18.740 – 01:06:21.520 So I try to put it in that way.
  1321. 01:06:21.860 – 01:06:23.460 When people have questions about like
  1322. 01:06:23.460 – 01:06:25.540 the financial aspects and how much this is cost
  1323. 01:06:25.540 – 01:06:26.960 and blah, blah, like you make,
  1324. 01:06:27.000 – 01:06:28.600 people invest in what they want them to invest in.
  1325. 01:06:28.660 – 01:06:29.380 That's true.
  1326. 01:06:29.540 – 01:06:29.940 Yeah.
  1327. 01:06:30.460 – 01:06:30.860 Yeah.
  1328. 01:06:32.060 – 01:06:33.880 That's, that's, that's a home run.
  1329. 01:06:34.040 – 01:06:35.760 I'm going to kind of let that breathe a little bit,
  1330. 01:06:35.760 – 01:06:37.900 like, you know, a hot performance
  1331. 01:06:37.900 – 01:06:39.200 and you about to get off the stage,
  1332. 01:06:39.260 – 01:06:40.900 you got to let them like breathe a little bit.
  1333. 01:06:41.560 – 01:06:42.000 Wow.
  1334. 01:06:43.480 – 01:06:47.200 That's really, very real and inspiring.
  1335. 01:06:47.920 – 01:06:48.300 Yeah.
  1336. 01:06:48.820 – 01:06:53.540 I just, I really want people to get excited
  1337. 01:06:53.540 – 01:06:55.400 about your homes.
  1338. 01:06:56.820 – 01:06:58.780 Like, yeah, it's going to cost you money,
  1339. 01:06:58.780 – 01:07:00.500 but you got to understand how many years,
  1340. 01:07:00.580 – 01:07:02.900 how many seasons you going to be able to keep that.
  1341. 01:07:02.960 – 01:07:05.500 Like, yo, your hair is going to last you
  1342. 01:07:05.500 – 01:07:08.020 maybe a year if you got a good, you know,
  1343. 01:07:08.200 – 01:07:09.580 vendor that you get your stuff from,
  1344. 01:07:09.780 – 01:07:12.340 but like, and y'all be paying thousands of dollars.
  1345. 01:07:12.420 – 01:07:15.300 Don't pay hundreds and thousands for hair and braids
  1346. 01:07:15.300 – 01:07:16.700 and makeup and all of that stuff.
  1347. 01:07:17.100 – 01:07:18.560 Like you about to live in this house,
  1348. 01:07:18.780 – 01:07:19.600 invest in it.
  1349. 01:07:19.660 – 01:07:20.940 What did you spend all this money for?
  1350. 01:07:20.980 – 01:07:23.740 If you not going to make it your sanctuary
  1351. 01:07:23.740 – 01:07:24.760 when you come home.
  1352. 01:07:24.800 – 01:07:26.760 And if you can't do it,
  1353. 01:07:26.980 – 01:07:28.120 hire somebody that can help you
  1354. 01:07:28.120 – 01:07:29.380 create a space that you want.
  1355. 01:07:30.440 – 01:07:31.920 So that's where I come in.
  1356. 01:07:31.920 – 01:07:34.700 I literally love helping people
  1357. 01:07:36.200 – 01:07:38.960 get their homes to look like what they want to look like.
  1358. 01:07:39.260 – 01:07:41.880 And like, I sometimes have these very
  1359. 01:07:42.520 – 01:07:44.220 like bonding moments sometimes.
  1360. 01:07:44.380 – 01:07:46.420 When I go and I sit and I talk to a client,
  1361. 01:07:46.540 – 01:07:47.760 like they kind of tell me a bit,
  1362. 01:07:47.780 – 01:07:49.560 like I always ask them, like, you know,
  1363. 01:07:49.880 – 01:07:51.680 tell me about you, tell me about your life.
  1364. 01:07:51.740 – 01:07:54.080 Tell me about what you're experiencing right now in life.
  1365. 01:07:54.240 – 01:07:54.820 Like, you know what I'm saying?
  1366. 01:07:55.000 – 01:07:56.540 Like, it's almost like counseling.
  1367. 01:07:56.600 – 01:07:58.060 Like when you go to see your hairdresser,
  1368. 01:07:58.140 – 01:07:59.600 your nail tech and you sit down like,
  1369. 01:08:00.620 – 01:08:02.340 I got all of this going on.
  1370. 01:08:02.960 – 01:08:06.140 Like, yeah, your designer is your girl.
  1371. 01:08:06.200 – 01:08:06.880 Like, you know what I'm saying?
  1372. 01:08:06.900 – 01:08:08.860 Like, you got to lay it on and let me know what you,
  1373. 01:08:08.860 – 01:08:09.900 what you got going on.
  1374. 01:08:10.220 – 01:08:14.840 So how can I make this space feel amazing
  1375. 01:08:14.840 – 01:08:19.100 to what you're going through or would rather good or bad?
  1376. 01:08:19.220 – 01:08:20.819 Like, how can we keep this momentum
  1377. 01:08:20.819 – 01:08:24.200 or how can we raise the vibrations of what you feeling?
  1378. 01:08:24.560 – 01:08:27.859 Like, having this space done will make you feel good
  1379. 01:08:27.859 – 01:08:29.160 walking into it all the time.
  1380. 01:08:29.160 – 01:08:30.200 So, yeah.
  1381. 01:08:31.800 – 01:08:35.960 I kind of want to, curious about like your sanctuary,
  1382. 01:08:36.880 – 01:08:38.300 you know, your home.
  1383. 01:08:39.439 – 01:08:41.800 How often do you change it up as a designer?
  1384. 01:08:42.660 – 01:08:44.859 Well, I got to be honest with you, Fred.
  1385. 01:08:48.600 – 01:08:51.220 I currently live with my parents,
  1386. 01:08:52.020 – 01:08:53.380 but I did that for a reason.
  1387. 01:08:53.380 – 01:08:55.840 It was a very smart financial move for me.
  1388. 01:08:55.939 – 01:08:57.460 And then I made a dumb financial move,
  1389. 01:08:57.479 – 01:08:58.500 but we don't get into it.
  1390. 01:08:58.500 – 01:09:01.340 So I moved back with my parents
  1391. 01:09:01.340 – 01:09:02.620 to pay off all of my student loans
  1392. 01:09:02.620 – 01:09:05.979 because student loans have been a pain,
  1393. 01:09:06.359 – 01:09:09.020 a thorn in my hindsight since I graduated.
  1394. 01:09:10.160 – 01:09:12.620 And it was just, they was coming left and right
  1395. 01:09:12.620 – 01:09:13.899 and they was trying to take me out of here
  1396. 01:09:13.899 – 01:09:15.500 and it was, it was messing up my life.
  1397. 01:09:16.279 – 01:09:18.560 So I took time, moved back with my parents
  1398. 01:09:18.560 – 01:09:20.340 and I saved up money quick,
  1399. 01:09:20.720 – 01:09:21.720 especially because of the pandemic.
  1400. 01:09:21.899 – 01:09:23.580 That helped because I wasn't outside.
  1401. 01:09:23.760 – 01:09:24.399 I wasn't spending money.
  1402. 01:09:24.439 – 01:09:25.740 Like I was just stacking it.
  1403. 01:09:25.880 – 01:09:28.080 And I, you know, paid off my stuff.
  1404. 01:09:28.080 – 01:09:28.859 Thank goodness.
  1405. 01:09:30.460 – 01:09:32.340 So I stayed with my parents and I was like,
  1406. 01:09:32.779 – 01:09:34.420 oh, I got that done quick.
  1407. 01:09:34.560 – 01:09:37.240 And that was a lot of money that I racked up like a lot.
  1408. 01:09:37.479 – 01:09:39.040 But then I was like, well, what else can I do?
  1409. 01:09:39.200 – 01:09:41.319 So then that's when I opened up the event space.
  1410. 01:09:42.279 – 01:09:44.220 Bad investment for me.
  1411. 01:09:44.439 – 01:09:45.279 Cause it was just,
  1412. 01:09:46.240 – 01:09:48.180 it was never supposed to be necessarily
  1413. 01:09:48.180 – 01:09:49.439 like an event space.
  1414. 01:09:49.460 – 01:09:50.939 It was supposed to be a design studio,
  1415. 01:09:50.939 – 01:09:54.520 but it was like oversized for what I was trying to do.
  1416. 01:09:54.600 – 01:09:57.280 And then a lot of unfortunate events happened
  1417. 01:09:57.280 – 01:09:58.180 in my personal life.
  1418. 01:09:58.200 – 01:09:59.720 So it was just like,
  1419. 01:09:59.720 – 01:10:01.320 it just didn't do what it needs to do.
  1420. 01:10:01.580 – 01:10:05.540 But I learned more than I've ever learned in my life
  1421. 01:10:05.540 – 01:10:06.620 about entrepreneurship.
  1422. 01:10:07.160 – 01:10:10.100 I've connected with some of the most amazing people
  1423. 01:10:10.100 – 01:10:11.400 that I've ever connected with
  1424. 01:10:11.400 – 01:10:12.500 just by having that space.
  1425. 01:10:13.100 – 01:10:16.240 So a blessing, but a bigger lesson.
  1426. 01:10:17.820 – 01:10:22.100 So India will be purchasing her first home very soon.
  1427. 01:10:22.660 – 01:10:25.720 I am now starting to look and educate myself
  1428. 01:10:27.180 – 01:10:29.020 on getting my first space,
  1429. 01:10:29.040 – 01:10:32.080 whether that's an investment property or whatever.
  1430. 01:10:32.360 – 01:10:34.240 Cause I'm like, I ain't got no kids.
  1431. 01:10:34.500 – 01:10:36.620 I don't like, you know, I could be at home.
  1432. 01:10:36.680 – 01:10:37.380 I'm not bugging nobody.
  1433. 01:10:37.500 – 01:10:39.560 I'm in my box and I'm going working most of the time.
  1434. 01:10:39.980 – 01:10:43.200 But I will be making my first purchase of my home
  1435. 01:10:43.200 – 01:10:43.700 really soon.
  1436. 01:10:43.920 – 01:10:45.160 So I'm excited about that.
  1437. 01:10:46.060 – 01:10:47.740 Congrats on the space as well.
  1438. 01:10:47.840 – 01:10:49.660 I know it's like you said, it's unfortunate,
  1439. 01:10:50.140 – 01:10:52.220 but still jumping out there and doing it.
  1440. 01:10:52.220 – 01:10:56.120 A lot of people are afraid to even take that jump
  1441. 01:10:56.120 – 01:10:57.820 or that risk or that leap.
  1442. 01:10:58.200 – 01:10:59.840 So for you to do that, you know,
  1443. 01:10:59.840 – 01:11:01.660 that's a testament and also an investment
  1444. 01:11:01.660 – 01:11:03.100 for your future self.
  1445. 01:11:03.880 – 01:11:05.860 Now you've seen and experienced those things.
  1446. 01:11:05.940 – 01:11:08.400 Now you know what to look for or what you don't want.
  1447. 01:11:08.680 – 01:11:09.080 Yes.
  1448. 01:11:09.460 – 01:11:13.400 And you have gained a lot of education and knowledge
  1449. 01:11:13.400 – 01:11:15.700 about owning a commercial space.
  1450. 01:11:16.120 – 01:11:18.480 Cause it's not like owning a house or an apartment.
  1451. 01:11:18.660 – 01:11:19.720 The bills is different.
  1452. 01:11:21.460 – 01:11:24.640 So yeah, I think I bit off a little bit more than I could
  1453. 01:11:24.640 – 01:11:26.640 chew, but that comes from, you know,
  1454. 01:11:26.660 – 01:11:29.260 not having a mentor in that space.
  1455. 01:11:29.460 – 01:11:34.240 If I had a mentor or I had been around other entrepreneurs
  1456. 01:11:34.240 – 01:11:36.680 that were like doing the things that I was doing,
  1457. 01:11:36.720 – 01:11:39.620 I probably would have thought about it
  1458. 01:11:39.620 – 01:11:44.640 or maybe gained more of an audience with the event world
  1459. 01:11:45.380 – 01:11:47.540 before jumping into this space.
  1460. 01:11:47.900 – 01:11:49.200 Like I built a name for myself.
  1461. 01:11:49.200 – 01:11:50.680 Like I think that I did very great
  1462. 01:11:50.680 – 01:11:52.420 for the little time that I did.
  1463. 01:11:53.660 – 01:11:55.320 But, excuse me again.
  1464. 01:11:55.720 – 01:11:58.640 I also don't, I don't, I just,
  1465. 01:11:59.220 – 01:12:01.480 I don't really care for the,
  1466. 01:12:04.210 – 01:12:06.690 I don't care for the event world.
  1467. 01:12:07.310 – 01:12:08.870 I just really love homes.
  1468. 01:12:09.030 – 01:12:11.830 Homes are where it's at for me.
  1469. 01:12:12.550 – 01:12:17.290 I wish we would have met sooner, like, oh.
  1470. 01:12:17.290 – 01:12:17.830 Yeah.
  1471. 01:12:17.990 – 01:12:18.890 Like you said, the event world,
  1472. 01:12:18.890 – 01:12:21.570 that is where I, you know, rang.
  1473. 01:12:21.670 – 01:12:23.950 I can even say I'm a planner to a extent
  1474. 01:12:23.950 – 01:12:25.990 as I, you know, consult
  1475. 01:12:25.990 – 01:12:28.750 and have these discovery calls on the phone.
  1476. 01:12:28.890 – 01:12:30.550 I'm like helping them plan their whole event.
  1477. 01:12:30.730 – 01:12:33.550 I'm like, wait, I gotta get back to work, you know?
  1478. 01:12:33.910 – 01:12:34.390 Yeah.
  1479. 01:12:34.610 – 01:12:37.770 Like, yeah, but I love that.
  1480. 01:12:37.850 – 01:12:41.430 Even like last night, people don't know
  1481. 01:12:41.430 – 01:12:42.310 I was in a kitchen.
  1482. 01:12:42.730 – 01:12:43.430 Were you?
  1483. 01:12:44.050 – 01:12:46.910 Yeah, I guess it was something with the punch.
  1484. 01:12:46.910 – 01:12:49.690 I'm like, dang, the punch, they're coming out.
  1485. 01:12:49.830 – 01:12:51.850 Let's get a spoon and kind of stir it, mix it in.
  1486. 01:12:52.030 – 01:12:52.710 It just wouldn't come out.
  1487. 01:12:52.710 – 01:12:54.210 So you stepped in, all right.
  1488. 01:12:54.670 – 01:12:56.550 So they're like, can you carry this for me?
  1489. 01:12:56.630 – 01:12:58.250 I know it was on turn to work.
  1490. 01:12:58.330 – 01:12:59.870 And I'm like, but I don't mind that.
  1491. 01:12:59.990 – 01:13:00.110 Yeah.
  1492. 01:13:00.110 – 01:13:01.290 I actually appreciate that.
  1493. 01:13:01.290 – 01:13:01.710 Yeah, yeah.
  1494. 01:13:01.770 – 01:13:03.630 They're like, oh, you working for this punch.
  1495. 01:13:05.030 – 01:13:05.470 Technically, yeah.
  1496. 01:13:05.490 – 01:13:07.230 We want stuff to turn out right.
  1497. 01:13:07.370 – 01:13:07.570 Yeah.
  1498. 01:13:07.570 – 01:13:09.310 I know there was other people waiting
  1499. 01:13:09.310 – 01:13:11.330 and like, I know who it's for, you know?
  1500. 01:13:11.630 – 01:13:12.030 Yeah.
  1501. 01:13:13.870 – 01:13:16.190 Giving that good energy towards this celebration.
  1502. 01:13:17.190 – 01:13:17.910 Yeah, absolutely.
  1503. 01:13:17.910 – 01:13:19.610 I don't look at it as work or a burden.
  1504. 01:13:20.090 – 01:13:21.510 Like, shoot, let's get this punch going.
  1505. 01:13:21.690 – 01:13:22.790 We got people outside waiting.
  1506. 01:13:23.310 – 01:13:24.270 Show what you need me to do.
  1507. 01:13:24.610 – 01:13:27.210 Grab an apron, chop up some whatever I need to do.
  1508. 01:13:28.530 – 01:13:31.710 Now, I will say when I did host events at my building
  1509. 01:13:32.830 – 01:13:34.730 and I'm like, yo, what y'all need?
  1510. 01:13:34.990 – 01:13:35.350 You good?
  1511. 01:13:35.450 – 01:13:36.190 You need some water?
  1512. 01:13:36.250 – 01:13:36.810 You need some water?
  1513. 01:13:37.010 – 01:13:37.370 Da da da.
  1514. 01:13:37.690 – 01:13:39.610 They're like, I hear them like, oh,
  1515. 01:13:39.610 – 01:13:40.230 we ran out of champagne.
  1516. 01:13:40.350 – 01:13:41.050 I'll go to the store.
  1517. 01:13:41.190 – 01:13:42.490 Y'all keep on doing what you do.
  1518. 01:13:42.510 – 01:13:43.010 I got you.
  1519. 01:13:43.070 – 01:13:44.530 I'm going to the store, grabbing the champagne.
  1520. 01:13:44.970 – 01:13:45.950 Well, oh, we ran out of plates.
  1521. 01:13:45.950 – 01:13:46.530 I got you.
  1522. 01:13:46.630 – 01:13:46.910 I need ice.
  1523. 01:13:47.130 – 01:13:47.490 I got you.
  1524. 01:13:47.770 – 01:13:50.970 Like, I, because everybody, like,
  1525. 01:13:51.690 – 01:13:54.090 people's things mean so much to me.
  1526. 01:13:54.250 – 01:13:55.790 Like, whether it's a special day,
  1527. 01:13:56.130 – 01:13:58.090 whether it's your home, like,
  1528. 01:13:58.550 – 01:14:00.470 I just be trying to really make sure
  1529. 01:14:00.470 – 01:14:04.010 that people are happy with the investments that they make.
  1530. 01:14:04.030 – 01:14:06.190 So I will always go above and beyond
  1531. 01:14:06.190 – 01:14:07.870 just to be like, oh, let me help you.
  1532. 01:14:07.890 – 01:14:09.510 Let me, how can I, you know,
  1533. 01:14:09.730 – 01:14:12.310 that's just, I guess that's just who I've grown to be.
  1534. 01:14:12.410 – 01:14:13.790 I wouldn't say that I've always been that way.
  1535. 01:14:13.790 – 01:14:14.490 Personality.
  1536. 01:14:14.810 – 01:14:15.370 Yeah.
  1537. 01:14:15.630 – 01:14:18.190 For the young folks or young entrepreneurs,
  1538. 01:14:18.570 – 01:14:20.710 that's called customer service.
  1539. 01:14:21.030 – 01:14:21.670 Yes.
  1540. 01:14:21.970 – 01:14:23.730 You have to take lead on that.
  1541. 01:14:24.870 – 01:14:28.050 Going back to your younger days,
  1542. 01:14:28.430 – 01:14:30.350 when did you first hear about entrepreneurship?
  1543. 01:14:34.850 – 01:14:37.670 When did I first hear about entrepreneurship?
  1544. 01:14:37.670 – 01:14:38.210 Mm.
  1545. 01:14:39.250 – 01:14:44.030 I had to be about 16, 17 years old in high school.
  1546. 01:14:44.210 – 01:14:49.250 And I was informed that my cousin James
  1547. 01:14:49.770 – 01:14:53.110 was opening up his first McDonald's franchise
  1548. 01:14:53.630 – 01:14:56.010 out in Indianapolis.
  1549. 01:14:56.970 – 01:15:03.650 And the whole family, like, rallied up in vans and cars
  1550. 01:15:03.650 – 01:15:06.590 and we drove out hours at that time.
  1551. 01:15:06.590 – 01:15:09.010 I was like, oh my God, I'm in this car forever.
  1552. 01:15:09.410 – 01:15:11.750 But like, we all rallied up and we went out there
  1553. 01:15:11.750 – 01:15:13.750 and he did the ribbon cut and the ceremony.
  1554. 01:15:14.790 – 01:15:18.070 And like, I just remember being a kid and being like,
  1555. 01:15:18.270 – 01:15:23.230 yo, this guy has his own freaking McDonald's.
  1556. 01:15:24.070 – 01:15:24.670 Like, what?
  1557. 01:15:24.950 – 01:15:26.550 And I used to, I worked at that place
  1558. 01:15:26.550 – 01:15:28.230 like a couple years ago, right?
  1559. 01:15:28.250 – 01:15:31.270 And I see how much money I'm putting in the register,
  1560. 01:15:31.330 – 01:15:33.230 serving up and you know, all of the things.
  1561. 01:15:33.290 – 01:15:35.090 So I'm like, yo, this is crazy.
  1562. 01:15:35.090 – 01:15:36.630 And he already was an engineer.
  1563. 01:15:37.690 – 01:15:41.390 So this particular family member is very, very well off,
  1564. 01:15:41.530 – 01:15:44.450 has always just been successful, very successful.
  1565. 01:15:44.910 – 01:15:48.930 Black man would be, family always just done the thing.
  1566. 01:15:49.170 – 01:15:53.590 So like, that was one, I think,
  1567. 01:15:53.690 – 01:15:55.670 of the pivotal moments that I was unconscious
  1568. 01:15:55.670 – 01:15:57.930 was a humongous thing for me.
  1569. 01:15:58.010 – 01:15:59.970 Actually, I didn't even remember that
  1570. 01:15:59.970 – 01:16:01.770 until you just asked me this question.
  1571. 01:16:02.670 – 01:16:03.130 Yeah.
  1572. 01:16:03.150 – 01:16:04.010 I'm glad I did that.
  1573. 01:16:04.010 – 01:16:06.250 Yeah, like, I just thought like I was like,
  1574. 01:16:06.250 – 01:16:06.970 who was the first?
  1575. 01:16:07.010 – 01:16:08.730 And it was my cousin James.
  1576. 01:16:09.370 – 01:16:10.910 So kind of touching on that,
  1577. 01:16:11.530 – 01:16:13.430 I know you say you don't have kids in this moment,
  1578. 01:16:14.950 – 01:16:19.990 but you have younger cousins, nieces, nephews, maybe.
  1579. 01:16:20.290 – 01:16:20.770 Well, I'm sure down the line.
  1580. 01:16:20.770 – 01:16:21.950 I got 12 nieces and nephews.
  1581. 01:16:22.010 – 01:16:22.870 Okay, so you do.
  1582. 01:16:23.430 – 01:16:26.730 So how important is Impact Light, okay?
  1583. 01:16:27.150 – 01:16:29.890 Like, you know, you know, you're shifting and closing
  1584. 01:16:30.570 – 01:16:33.370 the event space, but still keeping your business alive.
  1585. 01:16:34.090 – 01:16:36.730 You know, waking up each day,
  1586. 01:16:36.890 – 01:16:40.590 creating an impact, even motivation, showing an example.
  1587. 01:16:40.790 – 01:16:43.450 How important is that for you and your loved ones?
  1588. 01:16:43.710 – 01:16:45.050 Oh, it's absolutely important.
  1589. 01:16:45.930 – 01:16:48.190 Anytime that I have my nieces or my nephews,
  1590. 01:16:49.010 – 01:16:53.090 I am pulling them with me to go on,
  1591. 01:16:53.370 – 01:16:55.210 whether it's me going to stage a house,
  1592. 01:16:55.330 – 01:16:57.530 whether it's me moving stuff in and out of the house,
  1593. 01:16:57.830 – 01:16:59.490 whether it's them coming up to the building
  1594. 01:16:59.490 – 01:17:02.070 and them like doing mopping, cleaning off chairs,
  1595. 01:17:02.070 – 01:17:03.910 getting some stuff done.
  1596. 01:17:04.150 – 01:17:06.770 Like, you know, I always try to walk them through
  1597. 01:17:06.770 – 01:17:09.170 and tell them like, yo, you can do anything you want to do.
  1598. 01:17:09.290 – 01:17:11.050 Like, you literally can put your mind,
  1599. 01:17:11.410 – 01:17:12.130 if you put your mind to it,
  1600. 01:17:12.130 – 01:17:14.210 you can do anything that you want to do
  1601. 01:17:14.210 – 01:17:16.650 and never set a limitation for yourself
  1602. 01:17:16.650 – 01:17:21.970 and don't let other people push their fears onto you.
  1603. 01:17:22.030 – 01:17:24.770 You literally can do anything that you want to do.
  1604. 01:17:24.810 – 01:17:26.550 I always tell them like, I never in my life
  1605. 01:17:26.550 – 01:17:29.990 thought I would own like a event space.
  1606. 01:17:29.990 – 01:17:32.890 Like, you could have told me that five years prior to,
  1607. 01:17:33.050 – 01:17:33.810 like, I would have,
  1608. 01:17:33.890 – 01:17:35.370 that would have been the chapter of my life.
  1609. 01:17:35.710 – 01:17:39.970 So, or just having a successful interior design company,
  1610. 01:17:39.990 – 01:17:40.650 you couldn't have told me
  1611. 01:17:40.650 – 01:17:41.970 that that was going to be a portion of my life.
  1612. 01:17:41.990 – 01:17:43.770 I thought I was going to be at Cleveland Clinic,
  1613. 01:17:44.170 – 01:17:45.430 hopefully working my way to the top,
  1614. 01:17:45.450 – 01:17:46.850 like in the office somewhere.
  1615. 01:17:47.610 – 01:17:50.010 But that wasn't, my portion guy had other plans.
  1616. 01:17:51.650 – 01:17:55.910 So, with the kids, I like to keep them involved
  1617. 01:17:56.450 – 01:17:58.390 or bring them on those journeys
  1618. 01:17:58.390 – 01:18:02.490 so they can see hands on, like, yo, you literally can,
  1619. 01:18:02.510 – 01:18:04.510 you literally can do anything that you want to do.
  1620. 01:18:04.750 – 01:18:06.250 Or like, if I have them around,
  1621. 01:18:06.310 – 01:18:08.130 like I'll bring them around my sorority sisters
  1622. 01:18:08.890 – 01:18:10.670 or like my nephews,
  1623. 01:18:10.930 – 01:18:12.890 like I would love to get them around
  1624. 01:18:12.890 – 01:18:14.850 some of like my frat brothers and stuff like that,
  1625. 01:18:14.850 – 01:18:17.470 just to put them around people that are successful,
  1626. 01:18:17.550 – 01:18:18.450 that are doing things,
  1627. 01:18:18.470 – 01:18:20.530 just to put them into rooms
  1628. 01:18:20.530 – 01:18:23.830 of different types of people outside of like,
  1629. 01:18:23.850 – 01:18:25.130 oh yeah, be successful.
  1630. 01:18:25.190 – 01:18:26.950 You got to be a doctor or a lawyer
  1631. 01:18:26.950 – 01:18:29.110 or even though those jobs are amazing,
  1632. 01:18:29.170 – 01:18:31.870 those are not the only ways or the only ways
  1633. 01:18:31.870 – 01:18:32.830 to be successful.
  1634. 01:18:34.870 – 01:18:37.510 So yeah, them kids, they know.
  1635. 01:18:37.770 – 01:18:40.490 And even in the summertime when they come and stay,
  1636. 01:18:40.810 – 01:18:42.010 ain't no just, we going to play
  1637. 01:18:42.010 – 01:18:43.030 and this and that, we going to get up,
  1638. 01:18:43.070 – 01:18:44.410 we going to have our chores,
  1639. 01:18:44.550 – 01:18:45.670 we going to have some structure
  1640. 01:18:45.670 – 01:18:47.950 and then we going to learn about some stuff
  1641. 01:18:47.950 – 01:18:49.190 and then you get to go and play.
  1642. 01:18:49.190 – 01:18:50.710 You have to earn play time.
  1643. 01:18:50.790 – 01:18:51.830 This is not just summertime
  1644. 01:18:51.830 – 01:18:54.050 where you just throwing your life away, wasting time.
  1645. 01:18:54.170 – 01:18:55.450 Like we about to be learning stuff,
  1646. 01:18:55.450 – 01:18:57.650 even if it's like going out into nature
  1647. 01:18:57.650 – 01:18:58.670 and learning something new,
  1648. 01:18:58.770 – 01:19:02.130 like I make sure that I keep them involved in things.
  1649. 01:19:02.730 – 01:19:06.090 I'm a very hands-on auntie, okay, then it's my kids.
  1650. 01:19:06.330 – 01:19:08.110 Yeah, we need more examples like that.
  1651. 01:19:08.110 – 01:19:11.370 That is powerful, like even to the people under me,
  1652. 01:19:11.510 – 01:19:13.730 you know, nieces, nephews, and daughters.
  1653. 01:19:14.850 – 01:19:18.210 And it's powerful, even having my daughter here is like,
  1654. 01:19:18.350 – 01:19:21.010 you know, I'm like, well, got another podcast,
  1655. 01:19:21.150 – 01:19:23.870 so you know, got to get to it.
  1656. 01:19:23.870 – 01:19:25.970 And even bringing her to even some
  1657. 01:19:25.970 – 01:19:27.190 of the pull-up experience podcast.
  1658. 01:19:27.410 – 01:19:28.550 Shout out to you as a guest on the pull-up experience podcast.
  1659. 01:19:28.550 – 01:19:29.690 Yes, I was.
  1660. 01:19:30.410 – 01:19:33.210 You know, even I want live shoots
  1661. 01:19:33.210 – 01:19:34.990 and you know, I better always make sure
  1662. 01:19:34.990 – 01:19:37.130 that I'm able to bring her before.
  1663. 01:19:37.730 – 01:19:39.010 I'm like, well, I'm going to have my daughter.
  1664. 01:19:39.090 – 01:19:39.670 Is that okay?
  1665. 01:19:39.850 – 01:19:40.810 Oh, that's fine.
  1666. 01:19:41.250 – 01:19:43.610 You know, it'd be beautiful
  1667. 01:19:43.610 – 01:19:46.850 and she even have cameras that she use.
  1668. 01:19:46.890 – 01:19:48.010 I love it.
  1669. 01:19:48.070 – 01:19:49.390 You're like, oh, she's so our girl.
  1670. 01:19:49.670 – 01:19:50.550 You give.
  1671. 01:19:50.830 – 01:19:52.830 Yeah, she's always been here with the camera.
  1672. 01:19:52.830 – 01:19:54.530 So I was like, what is she doing with that?
  1673. 01:19:54.730 – 01:19:55.950 Okay, she's mocking her dad.
  1674. 01:19:56.030 – 01:19:56.870 I love that.
  1675. 01:19:56.870 – 01:19:59.710 So that really shows that you're making such a positive,
  1676. 01:19:59.870 – 01:20:02.050 like your positive influence in her life.
  1677. 01:20:02.050 – 01:20:03.210 Like she admires you.
  1678. 01:20:03.290 – 01:20:04.970 She admires what you do.
  1679. 01:20:05.330 – 01:20:06.870 If that ain't motivation within itself,
  1680. 01:20:06.870 – 01:20:08.750 like for you to keep doing what you're doing,
  1681. 01:20:08.810 – 01:20:10.690 cause she's literally watching you.
  1682. 01:20:11.190 – 01:20:13.570 Yeah, so that's, that's, that's dope.
  1683. 01:20:13.850 – 01:20:16.110 Yeah, she's like, I'm a photographer.
  1684. 01:20:16.330 – 01:20:18.690 I'm like, you haven't worked in three months.
  1685. 01:20:18.890 – 01:20:20.950 I'd be like, you want to use the camera today?
  1686. 01:20:20.950 – 01:20:24.330 You know, all of a sudden, you know, you can take the time.
  1687. 01:20:24.530 – 01:20:25.590 Yeah, that's so cute.
  1688. 01:20:25.590 – 01:20:26.450 It's cool though.
  1689. 01:20:26.730 – 01:20:28.510 Like she understands it a bit more
  1690. 01:20:28.510 – 01:20:31.570 and she kind of teaches my younger nephew
  1691. 01:20:32.090 – 01:20:34.850 who's a year and a half younger than her.
  1692. 01:20:35.530 – 01:20:37.030 And you know, she was like, well,
  1693. 01:20:37.070 – 01:20:38.530 he does this and this and this and that.
  1694. 01:20:38.530 – 01:20:39.850 So she kind of coached him.
  1695. 01:20:40.550 – 01:20:41.050 I love it.
  1696. 01:20:41.050 – 01:20:41.930 Okay, I see you.
  1697. 01:20:42.170 – 01:20:43.250 Yeah, so it's like,
  1698. 01:20:43.410 – 01:20:45.090 I'm not just holding this information.
  1699. 01:20:45.150 – 01:20:48.410 I'm also sharing it and passing on this information
  1700. 01:20:48.410 – 01:20:49.530 so that other people can learn.
  1701. 01:20:49.570 – 01:20:50.730 That's a great sign.
  1702. 01:20:50.730 – 01:20:53.530 Honestly, even like you, we talked about investing,
  1703. 01:20:53.530 – 01:20:56.450 like, okay, I could buy you these new shoes now.
  1704. 01:20:57.130 – 01:21:01.330 Or if you keep the ones you have, I know, you know,
  1705. 01:21:01.490 – 01:21:03.370 you don't have to buy the ones you want.
  1706. 01:21:03.390 – 01:21:06.230 We could buy something else and we could put that money
  1707. 01:21:06.230 – 01:21:09.410 towards stocks and you own part of the company.
  1708. 01:21:09.490 – 01:21:09.970 Yeah.
  1709. 01:21:10.110 – 01:21:13.310 So every time somebody buys a shoe of this brand,
  1710. 01:21:13.330 – 01:21:14.250 you getting paid.
  1711. 01:21:14.250 – 01:21:15.050 You getting a piece of that.
  1712. 01:21:15.370 – 01:21:15.570 Yeah.
  1713. 01:21:15.970 – 01:21:17.770 So even teaching them that aspect,
  1714. 01:21:17.770 – 01:21:19.190 the power of investing.
  1715. 01:21:20.150 – 01:21:23.310 Not always wanting to try to have everything right now,
  1716. 01:21:23.470 – 01:21:25.450 but think about longevity.
  1717. 01:21:26.990 – 01:21:27.130 Yeah.
  1718. 01:21:27.590 – 01:21:28.930 And that's great that you, you know,
  1719. 01:21:29.070 – 01:21:32.430 bring your nieces and nephews with you
  1720. 01:21:32.430 – 01:21:34.810 and kind of showing them the process.
  1721. 01:21:35.230 – 01:21:37.710 I think that the reason why I'm the auntie
  1722. 01:21:37.710 – 01:21:40.510 that I am now, in future period,
  1723. 01:21:40.690 – 01:21:41.950 okay, because I'm speaking into existence.
  1724. 01:21:42.330 – 01:21:45.090 But I think that the reason why I am the way that I am
  1725. 01:21:45.090 – 01:21:48.550 is because I had a cousin who was how I,
  1726. 01:21:49.010 – 01:21:50.410 oh, you know how you got your older cousins.
  1727. 01:21:50.570 – 01:21:51.870 They like auntie to you, but they older,
  1728. 01:21:51.990 – 01:21:52.890 they take me to your cousins.
  1729. 01:21:53.410 – 01:21:55.590 But so I had a cousin, her name was Sherry
  1730. 01:21:56.570 – 01:21:58.670 and Sherry was like super woman to me.
  1731. 01:21:58.790 – 01:22:02.390 Like she was involved in every program you can think of.
  1732. 01:22:02.570 – 01:22:04.030 She was doing all kinds of stuff
  1733. 01:22:04.030 – 01:22:06.010 for like Cleveland Clinic, the American Heart Society.
  1734. 01:22:06.050 – 01:22:06.890 She was an accountant.
  1735. 01:22:07.210 – 01:22:09.470 Like she, she had it going on.
  1736. 01:22:09.470 – 01:22:11.810 Like I used to be like, oh, I wouldn't be Sherry.
  1737. 01:22:12.190 – 01:22:12.550 So bad.
  1738. 01:22:12.670 – 01:22:14.670 She was just so, she was just such a dope person
  1739. 01:22:14.670 – 01:22:16.110 that she used to come and get me.
  1740. 01:22:16.250 – 01:22:17.390 We were going to get ice cream.
  1741. 01:22:17.390 – 01:22:18.890 She would bring me to like, you know,
  1742. 01:22:19.090 – 01:22:20.490 her little events and stuff like that,
  1743. 01:22:20.490 – 01:22:21.930 that she was involved in.
  1744. 01:22:22.230 – 01:22:24.270 And also when I turned of age,
  1745. 01:22:24.290 – 01:22:26.210 like when I was, I think 16 years old,
  1746. 01:22:26.210 – 01:22:28.150 I came and I was like a secretary to her
  1747. 01:22:28.150 – 01:22:29.050 at her accountant firm.
  1748. 01:22:29.430 – 01:22:32.190 So it was just like, she was just so dope
  1749. 01:22:32.190 – 01:22:34.530 and she exposed me to so many different things.
  1750. 01:22:34.550 – 01:22:36.710 So it was just so many different pieces
  1751. 01:22:36.710 – 01:22:40.410 that helped me to become the entrepreneur
  1752. 01:22:40.410 – 01:22:42.290 and just the person that I am right now.
  1753. 01:22:42.590 – 01:22:46.490 Like, so she inspired me to be the type of aunt
  1754. 01:22:46.490 – 01:22:49.710 that shows up in that fashion to these kids
  1755. 01:22:49.710 – 01:22:50.990 because they need it.
  1756. 01:22:51.470 – 01:22:51.590 Wow.
  1757. 01:22:51.670 – 01:22:52.210 Yeah.
  1758. 01:22:53.190 – 01:22:55.630 That's almost amazing to hear.
  1759. 01:22:55.770 – 01:22:59.730 And it kind of, you know, makes me wonder.
  1760. 01:23:01.790 – 01:23:03.410 Like you're almost like hyper-focused.
  1761. 01:23:03.450 – 01:23:06.150 So it's like, you had to learn these things
  1762. 01:23:06.150 – 01:23:08.850 and now you're like knowing the path you want to
  1763. 01:23:08.850 – 01:23:11.730 and you know more about business and how to navigate.
  1764. 01:23:12.310 – 01:23:14.850 So in a sense, like you have this focus,
  1765. 01:23:14.970 – 01:23:15.910 almost tunnel vision.
  1766. 01:23:15.910 – 01:23:19.310 So like, how do you block out distractions?
  1767. 01:23:20.350 – 01:23:20.890 Block.
  1768. 01:23:23.330 – 01:23:25.790 Block and delete, go on here about your business.
  1769. 01:23:27.790 – 01:23:33.470 I don't, I think that once God showed me who I was
  1770. 01:23:33.470 – 01:23:36.370 and the things that I could have
  1771. 01:23:36.370 – 01:23:37.970 if I really applied myself,
  1772. 01:23:39.570 – 01:23:44.230 I stopped allowing nonsense into my world.
  1773. 01:23:44.230 – 01:23:46.950 Whether that's nonsense of like friends
  1774. 01:23:46.950 – 01:23:48.250 or different relationships
  1775. 01:23:48.250 – 01:23:50.750 or just people that you have around you,
  1776. 01:23:50.930 – 01:23:53.890 whether that's coworkers that try to make you feel like
  1777. 01:23:53.890 – 01:23:57.150 crap or, you know, running into bad clients or whatever.
  1778. 01:23:59.210 – 01:24:04.010 I really think that I just kind of
  1779. 01:24:04.010 – 01:24:05.290 leave people where they at.
  1780. 01:24:06.570 – 01:24:08.130 Like either you are going,
  1781. 01:24:08.470 – 01:24:09.770 either you gonna come with me
  1782. 01:24:09.770 – 01:24:11.630 and you gonna be an asset to my world
  1783. 01:24:11.630 – 01:24:15.310 and we gonna pour into one another, pick each other up.
  1784. 01:24:15.610 – 01:24:18.070 But all of that drama, the nonsense,
  1785. 01:24:19.810 – 01:24:22.230 I let that go a long time ago.
  1786. 01:24:22.970 – 01:24:26.390 Like I really have, India today is not the India
  1787. 01:24:26.390 – 01:24:27.590 as she was before, okay?
  1788. 01:24:27.590 – 01:24:28.810 Let's just say that.
  1789. 01:24:29.230 – 01:24:33.470 But like I really, I start kicking into the curve
  1790. 01:24:33.470 – 01:24:35.790 because it didn't serve me, it didn't, yeah.
  1791. 01:24:38.610 – 01:24:42.490 And I also want to touch on
  1792. 01:24:42.490 – 01:24:46.450 what we kind of touched on before about the abstract.
  1793. 01:24:47.250 – 01:24:49.570 I know you mentioned, you know,
  1794. 01:24:49.690 – 01:24:52.150 almost like minimalistic things.
  1795. 01:24:52.530 – 01:24:58.890 So are you more of a minimalist or more abstract type of?
  1796. 01:24:59.370 – 01:25:00.550 Or a maximist.
  1797. 01:25:01.010 – 01:25:01.430 Maximist.
  1798. 01:25:01.490 – 01:25:03.330 Yeah, a maximist is like when you see,
  1799. 01:25:03.410 – 01:25:04.390 I don't know if you've ever like
  1800. 01:25:04.390 – 01:25:06.070 picked up a magazine for homes
  1801. 01:25:06.070 – 01:25:07.870 and you see like they're really, really colorful
  1802. 01:25:07.870 – 01:25:09.970 and they've got different little cute pots here,
  1803. 01:25:10.130 – 01:25:11.150 there, pictures everywhere.
  1804. 01:25:11.150 – 01:25:13.950 And it's like really busy, but it all makes sense.
  1805. 01:25:13.970 – 01:25:14.970 That's a maximist.
  1806. 01:25:16.330 – 01:25:18.250 I would say I'm somewhere in between.
  1807. 01:25:18.510 – 01:25:19.210 Of all of that.
  1808. 01:25:19.530 – 01:25:21.690 I can do a balance.
  1809. 01:25:22.250 – 01:25:24.670 I sometimes have trouble being a minimalist.
  1810. 01:25:26.030 – 01:25:29.070 Being a minimalist is not as simple as people think
  1811. 01:25:29.070 – 01:25:31.290 because even being a minimalist,
  1812. 01:25:31.290 – 01:25:33.290 you have to fill up that space
  1813. 01:25:33.850 – 01:25:35.250 and make it look like a room
  1814. 01:25:35.250 – 01:25:37.870 and not just like a, like, what is this?
  1815. 01:25:37.950 – 01:25:38.670 Like, you know what I'm saying?
  1816. 01:25:38.670 – 01:25:41.310 And so like there's still a math and a science
  1817. 01:25:41.310 – 01:25:42.530 to even being a minimalist
  1818. 01:25:42.530 – 01:25:44.030 and having minimum clutter,
  1819. 01:25:44.370 – 01:25:48.170 but still having enough to make it look like,
  1820. 01:25:48.170 – 01:25:49.590 wow, somebody touched this room.
  1821. 01:25:49.690 – 01:25:52.130 This room is a piece of art.
  1822. 01:25:52.370 – 01:25:54.230 It is crafted well.
  1823. 01:25:55.350 – 01:25:57.230 That would be an area that I'm like,
  1824. 01:25:57.230 – 01:25:58.510 ooh, I don't know about that.
  1825. 01:25:58.550 – 01:26:00.150 But that's the thing about home staging
  1826. 01:26:00.150 – 01:26:02.190 because it's kind of being a minimalist
  1827. 01:26:02.190 – 01:26:03.770 because you don't get to use a lot of colors.
  1828. 01:26:03.850 – 01:26:05.690 You don't get to use a lot of patterns and textures
  1829. 01:26:05.690 – 01:26:08.070 even though I be throwing my own stuff in here.
  1830. 01:26:08.070 – 01:26:13.830 But like, that's kind of what minimalistic beauty is
  1831. 01:26:13.830 – 01:26:17.610 where you do minimal and letting the house speak for itself.
  1832. 01:26:18.630 – 01:26:19.710 That's amazing.
  1833. 01:26:20.610 – 01:26:22.750 And as you say that, and I'm thinking like,
  1834. 01:26:22.890 – 01:26:25.750 dang, it is Men's Mental Health Week.
  1835. 01:26:26.190 – 01:26:27.050 Oh, it is.
  1836. 01:26:27.870 – 01:26:29.290 Somebody come do a man cave.
  1837. 01:26:29.490 – 01:26:30.750 I've been wanting to do one forever.
  1838. 01:26:32.110 – 01:26:34.890 Well, let's, we could probably set that up
  1839. 01:26:35.790 – 01:26:37.130 through different programs.
  1840. 01:26:37.130 – 01:26:38.930 I'm thinking about the veterans and people
  1841. 01:26:38.930 – 01:26:40.730 that come out of the military,
  1842. 01:26:41.390 – 01:26:43.770 know they have the funding, they have the money to do it.
  1843. 01:26:43.770 – 01:26:45.610 And they have this trauma.
  1844. 01:26:46.510 – 01:26:49.230 Like, have you ever worked with a client such as that
  1845. 01:26:49.230 – 01:26:52.130 and try to get them together mentally
  1846. 01:26:52.130 – 01:26:54.710 and have their sanctuary be therapeutic or therapeutic?
  1847. 01:26:56.530 – 01:26:59.150 Not a veteran per se,
  1848. 01:26:59.310 – 01:27:01.090 or someone that has, I guess,
  1849. 01:27:01.170 – 01:27:02.950 like a clinical diagnosis of some sort.
  1850. 01:27:02.950 – 01:27:09.130 But I have worked in homes where there was a woman
  1851. 01:27:09.130 – 01:27:10.670 who had just went through a divorce.
  1852. 01:27:11.550 – 01:27:13.310 And she was really emotional about it.
  1853. 01:27:13.310 – 01:27:15.370 She was a new mom and a new divorcee,
  1854. 01:27:15.430 – 01:27:16.730 and she had moved to a new city.
  1855. 01:27:16.870 – 01:27:18.710 And she was trying to like,
  1856. 01:27:18.710 – 01:27:22.130 create a space that she loved and to start over.
  1857. 01:27:22.830 – 01:27:28.530 I've worked with people who are just single
  1858. 01:27:28.530 – 01:27:29.970 and trying to make the best out of it
  1859. 01:27:29.970 – 01:27:35.510 and having their homes and being okay in their loneliness
  1860. 01:27:35.510 – 01:27:37.910 because their house is somewhere
  1861. 01:27:37.910 – 01:27:39.870 that they find happiness in.
  1862. 01:27:40.190 – 01:27:44.650 So not necessarily veterans or something of that nature,
  1863. 01:27:44.690 – 01:27:46.190 but people that are going through things
  1864. 01:27:46.190 – 01:27:50.110 that would make anyone depressed experiencing it.
  1865. 01:27:50.430 – 01:27:53.310 So I have created happy spaces
  1866. 01:27:53.310 – 01:27:57.230 for people that are trying to escape hardships.
  1867. 01:27:58.110 – 01:27:58.830 Yeah.
  1868. 01:28:00.550 – 01:28:01.150 Wow.
  1869. 01:28:02.250 – 01:28:04.010 Like people don't really understand
  1870. 01:28:04.010 – 01:28:06.530 how impactful design work is sometimes.
  1871. 01:28:07.370 – 01:28:09.930 Like it's definitely, and also like,
  1872. 01:28:11.150 – 01:28:12.450 my degree is in psychology.
  1873. 01:28:13.050 – 01:28:15.670 So like color therapy and theory
  1874. 01:28:15.670 – 01:28:18.290 and all of those things, I do use certain colors
  1875. 01:28:18.290 – 01:28:20.930 because they do certain things for the mind
  1876. 01:28:20.930 – 01:28:24.010 and put you in certain mindsets and frames of things.
  1877. 01:28:24.030 – 01:28:28.490 So there is so much of a science to design work.
  1878. 01:28:28.490 – 01:28:30.650 And that's why I said what I said earlier about,
  1879. 01:28:31.170 – 01:28:34.070 don't try to rush it, like enjoy that process
  1880. 01:28:34.070 – 01:28:36.030 because at the end you're gonna have a space
  1881. 01:28:36.030 – 01:28:37.230 that you absolutely love.
  1882. 01:28:37.770 – 01:28:39.870 Rush projects are not, some of them are amazing.
  1883. 01:28:40.110 – 01:28:41.110 I've had rush projects
  1884. 01:28:41.110 – 01:28:42.850 and they come out absolutely bomb.
  1885. 01:28:43.090 – 01:28:45.390 But I know that some of the projects
  1886. 01:28:45.390 – 01:28:47.010 that I really took my time on,
  1887. 01:28:47.870 – 01:28:49.470 they came out so amazing.
  1888. 01:28:49.850 – 01:28:50.970 Like so amazing.
  1889. 01:28:52.790 – 01:28:53.750 So yeah.
  1890. 01:28:54.930 – 01:28:55.410 Wow.
  1891. 01:28:55.410 – 01:28:59.010 Well, that's maybe something we can work on
  1892. 01:28:59.010 – 01:29:01.190 and reaching out to the VA and the veterans
  1893. 01:29:01.730 – 01:29:05.050 and getting government funding to do these projects.
  1894. 01:29:06.090 – 01:29:08.330 Yeah, I definitely see a benefit
  1895. 01:29:08.330 – 01:29:11.030 and I know people in certain places.
  1896. 01:29:11.270 – 01:29:11.610 Yeah.
  1897. 01:29:11.610 – 01:29:12.630 And people that are veterans
  1898. 01:29:12.630 – 01:29:14.170 and the things they talk about
  1899. 01:29:14.170 – 01:29:17.130 or they don't have support that they need
  1900. 01:29:17.130 – 01:29:18.610 or don't know where to find it.
  1901. 01:29:18.690 – 01:29:20.350 I think that's the first place to start
  1902. 01:29:20.350 – 01:29:22.890 is at home, you know?
  1903. 01:29:23.270 – 01:29:24.750 Or maybe they don't know.
  1904. 01:29:24.750 – 01:29:29.630 They're just in a black and white or gray,
  1905. 01:29:29.770 – 01:29:32.850 a very dull space and they're satisfied
  1906. 01:29:32.850 – 01:29:34.970 or think they're satisfied with it.
  1907. 01:29:35.050 – 01:29:36.550 And if you're sitting in a space
  1908. 01:29:36.550 – 01:29:38.790 that's got a lot of blues,
  1909. 01:29:38.890 – 01:29:40.270 but not the right shade of blue.
  1910. 01:29:40.770 – 01:29:44.230 Or you in a lot of grays or white walls everywhere.
  1911. 01:29:44.630 – 01:29:45.670 That's depressing.
  1912. 01:29:45.990 – 01:29:46.590 It can be.
  1913. 01:29:47.290 – 01:29:50.650 It gives no kind of character or energy.
  1914. 01:29:50.770 – 01:29:52.610 There's no energy in some of those colors,
  1915. 01:29:52.610 – 01:29:55.150 depending on the shade and the placement of it
  1916. 01:29:55.150 – 01:29:57.170 and how it's put into the space.
  1917. 01:29:58.230 – 01:30:01.930 So yeah, there is a science behind design.
  1918. 01:30:02.090 – 01:30:02.610 Wow.
  1919. 01:30:03.470 – 01:30:04.990 And even as you say that,
  1920. 01:30:05.070 – 01:30:06.690 I'm like, damn, the dullness.
  1921. 01:30:06.850 – 01:30:08.410 I'm like, man, that's how jail is
  1922. 01:30:08.410 – 01:30:10.130 because they want these people to feel miserable
  1923. 01:30:10.130 – 01:30:10.770 and then-
  1924. 01:30:10.770 – 01:30:12.170 They be depressed.
  1925. 01:30:12.490 – 01:30:13.350 And then, yeah.
  1926. 01:30:13.570 – 01:30:14.470 Even classrooms.
  1927. 01:30:15.010 – 01:30:17.450 Younger classrooms, elementary mainly,
  1928. 01:30:17.670 – 01:30:19.610 can't really speak for middle schools
  1929. 01:30:19.610 – 01:30:21.050 because that's when they start to change.
  1930. 01:30:21.810 – 01:30:24.250 But they're so colorful.
  1931. 01:30:24.710 – 01:30:25.850 They're so amazing.
  1932. 01:30:26.130 – 01:30:27.130 Like little kindergarten rooms.
  1933. 01:30:27.970 – 01:30:28.950 But you're right.
  1934. 01:30:29.030 – 01:30:30.390 I never even thought about that.
  1935. 01:30:30.730 – 01:30:32.290 When I went to middle school and high school,
  1936. 01:30:32.350 – 01:30:33.270 everything kind of changed.
  1937. 01:30:33.290 – 01:30:34.650 It wasn't really as colorful.
  1938. 01:30:35.250 – 01:30:37.650 Things started getting very flat.
  1939. 01:30:38.190 – 01:30:39.950 Lockers were all militants.
  1940. 01:30:40.290 – 01:30:42.590 And it was not as much color.
  1941. 01:30:43.250 – 01:30:44.550 The higher grades you went up,
  1942. 01:30:44.670 – 01:30:47.090 the more, I guess they would say is more maturing,
  1943. 01:30:47.090 – 01:30:51.870 but it actually took away colors of inspiration, I feel.
  1944. 01:30:52.710 – 01:30:53.990 Colors of inspiration.
  1945. 01:30:54.270 – 01:30:54.470 Yeah.
  1946. 01:30:54.590 – 01:30:56.310 But I did go back to,
  1947. 01:30:56.470 – 01:30:58.410 we had our 15 year class,
  1948. 01:30:58.410 – 01:31:00.570 or our 15 class reunion child
  1949. 01:31:00.570 – 01:31:01.870 because we didn't do the tea yet.
  1950. 01:31:02.090 – 01:31:04.310 So we were back for our 15.
  1951. 01:31:04.330 – 01:31:06.050 And when I did walk through my old high school,
  1952. 01:31:06.130 – 01:31:09.930 I did see a lot of art and paintings
  1953. 01:31:09.930 – 01:31:11.930 that they had allowed the students to do.
  1954. 01:31:11.950 – 01:31:13.110 And I thought it was so dope.
  1955. 01:31:13.550 – 01:31:16.010 And it added so much character and color
  1956. 01:31:16.010 – 01:31:19.730 and kind of gave you a feeling
  1957. 01:31:19.730 – 01:31:21.930 of what type of environment you're walking into
  1958. 01:31:21.930 – 01:31:22.630 in this school.
  1959. 01:31:22.970 – 01:31:24.390 It was in the library, I think.
  1960. 01:31:24.430 – 01:31:25.250 And I was like, whoa,
  1961. 01:31:25.390 – 01:31:26.630 this looks nothing like the library
  1962. 01:31:26.630 – 01:31:28.010 I went to high school with.
  1963. 01:31:28.150 – 01:31:30.250 Like I would actually want to be here.
  1964. 01:31:31.390 – 01:31:32.110 That's amazing.
  1965. 01:31:34.630 – 01:31:37.990 So is there a specific color that inspired you
  1966. 01:31:37.990 – 01:31:39.310 or inspires you every day?
  1967. 01:31:40.030 – 01:31:40.830 Every day, no.
  1968. 01:31:42.190 – 01:31:44.250 I know I was talking mess about black,
  1969. 01:31:44.270 – 01:31:45.210 but I like black.
  1970. 01:31:45.430 – 01:31:47.210 I like to wear black.
  1971. 01:31:47.210 – 01:31:48.370 I like to wear nudes.
  1972. 01:31:48.490 – 01:31:50.950 I'm not really a color color person.
  1973. 01:31:51.170 – 01:31:51.870 And every now and again,
  1974. 01:31:51.970 – 01:31:53.290 you'll catch me as some colors.
  1975. 01:31:54.010 – 01:31:56.850 I actually, let me stop lying.
  1976. 01:31:57.030 – 01:31:58.570 There is a color that I really do like,
  1977. 01:31:58.690 – 01:32:00.350 and I find myself gravitating towards
  1978. 01:32:00.350 – 01:32:02.270 a lot more often, green.
  1979. 01:32:03.070 – 01:32:06.730 And it's like either it's like a lime color green,
  1980. 01:32:07.590 – 01:32:09.430 or it's like a mustard olive green,
  1981. 01:32:10.130 – 01:32:11.430 or it's olive green.
  1982. 01:32:11.690 – 01:32:13.090 But I like green.
  1983. 01:32:13.410 – 01:32:15.450 I love green a lot.
  1984. 01:32:16.370 – 01:32:16.850 Okay.
  1985. 01:32:17.010 – 01:32:17.490 Yeah.
  1986. 01:32:17.650 – 01:32:21.030 Wow, I would have never suspect that.
  1987. 01:32:21.210 – 01:32:21.830 Yeah, green.
  1988. 01:32:22.190 – 01:32:23.110 All last year, I was like,
  1989. 01:32:23.110 – 01:32:24.550 girl, you gotta stop buying green stuff.
  1990. 01:32:24.950 – 01:32:27.630 Like I had a nice chunk in my closet.
  1991. 01:32:27.690 – 01:32:30.230 I was like, this all green and it all looks the same.
  1992. 01:32:30.250 – 01:32:32.030 Like you gotta switch up a little bit.
  1993. 01:32:32.510 – 01:32:32.970 But green.
  1994. 01:32:33.210 – 01:32:33.950 Is green your favorite color?
  1995. 01:32:34.290 – 01:32:36.130 No, my favorite color is red.
  1996. 01:32:36.370 – 01:32:38.470 Like a ruby, a rich ruby red.
  1997. 01:32:39.930 – 01:32:40.930 Mine as well.
  1998. 01:32:41.010 – 01:32:41.390 Yeah.
  1999. 01:32:41.650 – 01:32:45.430 I like, I love reds, deep reds.
  2000. 01:32:45.430 – 01:32:46.710 I don't like them bright colored reds.
  2001. 01:32:46.710 – 01:32:47.070 Right.
  2002. 01:32:47.630 – 01:32:48.710 And I do like green.
  2003. 01:32:48.990 – 01:32:52.530 Green is very beautiful in a lot of different colors,
  2004. 01:32:52.670 – 01:32:54.470 whether it's like sage or like a,
  2005. 01:32:54.470 – 01:32:55.610 even a pastel green.
  2006. 01:32:55.810 – 01:32:58.690 Like all greens are really, really beautiful
  2007. 01:32:58.690 – 01:33:01.130 and earthy sometimes.
  2008. 01:33:01.770 – 01:33:02.130 Greens.
  2009. 01:33:02.770 – 01:33:05.450 I actually been liking yellows a lot lately.
  2010. 01:33:06.450 – 01:33:08.590 Kind of spoke on some yellows earlier.
  2011. 01:33:09.150 – 01:33:10.690 Yeah, yellow.
  2012. 01:33:11.070 – 01:33:12.310 Yellow has been speaking to me.
  2013. 01:33:12.330 – 01:33:14.490 And I love, I say red, orange.
  2014. 01:33:15.010 – 01:33:17.850 Orange is another color that I really, really like.
  2015. 01:33:19.190 – 01:33:20.990 Orange, I think is like that good in between,
  2016. 01:33:21.010 – 01:33:22.030 between pink and red.
  2017. 01:33:22.230 – 01:33:24.430 And it's like that, I don't know, I love it.
  2018. 01:33:24.710 – 01:33:25.710 Yeah, I love orange.
  2019. 01:33:26.470 – 01:33:27.030 So yeah.
  2020. 01:33:28.750 – 01:33:28.770 Wow.
  2021. 01:33:28.770 – 01:33:28.910 Yep.
  2022. 01:33:29.970 – 01:33:32.750 So even as you mentioned the color green,
  2023. 01:33:34.010 – 01:33:36.550 do you associate different objects
  2024. 01:33:37.470 – 01:33:38.970 with different colors?
  2025. 01:33:40.030 – 01:33:42.050 Like cabbage is green.
  2026. 01:33:42.050 – 01:33:44.430 Banana yellow are different shapes.
  2027. 01:33:44.830 – 01:33:45.810 Like an egg is oval.
  2028. 01:33:46.050 – 01:33:47.010 So everything's oval.
  2029. 01:33:47.210 – 01:33:49.670 Like think about an egg when I'm putting this
  2030. 01:33:49.670 – 01:33:50.730 or doing the rendering.
  2031. 01:33:51.450 – 01:33:51.990 Oh, yeah.
  2032. 01:33:52.150 – 01:33:55.090 So like colors, like explaining them to clients.
  2033. 01:33:56.590 – 01:33:59.590 Yeah, so I do that when I do like walkthroughs
  2034. 01:33:59.590 – 01:34:00.270 and stuff like that.
  2035. 01:34:00.270 – 01:34:02.070 But normally when I'm sitting down with clients
  2036. 01:34:02.070 – 01:34:04.190 and I'm reviewing like a rendering that I've created,
  2037. 01:34:04.930 – 01:34:06.450 I have the color selected.
  2038. 01:34:07.950 – 01:34:09.150 So, Sharon Williams,
  2039. 01:34:09.970 – 01:34:13.050 when I first like really got into the design world,
  2040. 01:34:13.230 – 01:34:14.630 I had like messaged them and told them like,
  2041. 01:34:14.630 – 01:34:16.390 hey, I'm a designer, like da da da.
  2042. 01:34:16.470 – 01:34:18.730 They sent me this human against a kid, like huge.
  2043. 01:34:19.090 – 01:34:21.890 Like, I mean, the thing was, they can't see me.
  2044. 01:34:22.030 – 01:34:23.370 It was like big.
  2045. 01:34:23.430 – 01:34:28.790 Like it was like, I would say about seven feet tall,
  2046. 01:34:29.170 – 01:34:31.370 or no, seven, what am I trying to say?
  2047. 01:34:31.570 – 01:34:34.370 Like about 12 inches tall, let's say 12 inches tall.
  2048. 01:34:34.530 – 01:34:36.910 And about seven inches wide or whatever.
  2049. 01:34:36.990 – 01:34:39.130 And it had all of like these little booklets
  2050. 01:34:39.130 – 01:34:42.390 and these little binders full of like all of the colors
  2051. 01:34:42.390 – 01:34:43.090 that they have.
  2052. 01:34:43.530 – 01:34:46.170 And then also they had an exclusive designer's colors
  2053. 01:34:46.170 – 01:34:48.650 where it's like only designers can get these colors.
  2054. 01:34:50.670 – 01:34:52.870 So yeah, we get a lot of exclusives to design.
  2055. 01:34:53.730 – 01:34:55.590 But it was so much.
  2056. 01:34:55.770 – 01:35:00.190 So like when I go to show like a rendering,
  2057. 01:35:00.990 – 01:35:02.630 or even if it's a virtual rendering,
  2058. 01:35:02.690 – 01:35:05.430 I'm able to like identify the colors that I want to do.
  2059. 01:35:05.450 – 01:35:06.990 So I don't have to try to explain it
  2060. 01:35:06.990 – 01:35:07.950 because I can show it to them.
  2061. 01:35:07.950 – 01:35:10.750 Or I'll tell them like, hey, go on Pinterest, look up,
  2062. 01:35:10.750 – 01:35:13.190 what's a common color there by the child?
  2063. 01:35:15.010 – 01:35:16.770 Agreeable gray, go look at agreeable gray.
  2064. 01:35:17.210 – 01:35:18.870 Or in like, they can go pull it up on Pinterest
  2065. 01:35:18.870 – 01:35:21.070 and be able to look at agreeable gray everywhere.
  2066. 01:35:22.010 – 01:35:23.530 Or look at tricorn black.
  2067. 01:35:23.850 – 01:35:25.310 This is, that's my favorite black color.
  2068. 01:35:25.350 – 01:35:27.270 So they go look and see what that looks like.
  2069. 01:35:27.290 – 01:35:28.790 They can get an example of what it looks like.
  2070. 01:35:29.170 – 01:35:31.610 Have you ever thought about like almost integrating
  2071. 01:35:32.370 – 01:35:34.670 a color palette, like how you describe
  2072. 01:35:34.670 – 01:35:35.830 and all of this on your website?
  2073. 01:35:36.770 – 01:35:41.710 So we do do a collaboration of like different colors
  2074. 01:35:41.710 – 01:35:42.710 and stuff like that.
  2075. 01:35:43.150 – 01:35:45.130 Most interior designs or decorators,
  2076. 01:35:45.130 – 01:35:47.130 we create things called a mood board.
  2077. 01:35:47.710 – 01:35:51.070 So a mood board is a collage of different pictures,
  2078. 01:35:51.270 – 01:35:54.250 inspirations, vibes, things that you could find
  2079. 01:35:54.250 – 01:35:58.030 to kind of paint a picture to your client
  2080. 01:35:58.030 – 01:36:01.010 of what your, how are we gonna vibe out this room,
  2081. 01:36:01.030 – 01:36:02.410 what this room is gonna look like.
  2082. 01:36:02.630 – 01:36:04.950 And oftentimes it has the color scheme
  2083. 01:36:04.950 – 01:36:06.590 that you're going for in this space.
  2084. 01:36:07.070 – 01:36:09.290 And then us as designers, we'll do a color match.
  2085. 01:36:09.710 – 01:36:12.150 Like, okay, so this color looks like this.
  2086. 01:36:12.210 – 01:36:14.770 Let me get a swatch of this color, put it up to it.
  2087. 01:36:14.790 – 01:36:15.610 This looks like this.
  2088. 01:36:15.690 – 01:36:17.310 Or they also have like little tools.
  2089. 01:36:17.330 – 01:36:19.050 Like I have a little tool that you could put it up to
  2090. 01:36:19.050 – 01:36:21.370 and might get a, tell you a color that matches it.
  2091. 01:36:21.690 – 01:36:22.430 So yeah.
  2092. 01:36:22.990 – 01:36:23.350 Yeah.
  2093. 01:36:23.350 – 01:36:24.410 This is amazing.
  2094. 01:36:25.110 – 01:36:25.470 Yeah.
  2095. 01:36:25.910 – 01:36:29.110 So I know you have kind of like your own themes
  2096. 01:36:29.470 – 01:36:30.010 and stuff.
  2097. 01:36:30.230 – 01:36:31.410 Do you go to like different conferences?
  2098. 01:36:31.990 – 01:36:32.350 Yeah.
  2099. 01:36:32.350 – 01:36:32.970 Your own shows?
  2100. 01:36:33.950 – 01:36:36.410 I've gone to a few different showrooms,
  2101. 01:36:36.910 – 01:36:40.010 a few different, just like classes
  2102. 01:36:40.010 – 01:36:43.190 and just things or whatever for designers.
  2103. 01:36:43.390 – 01:36:43.550 Yep.
  2104. 01:36:43.650 – 01:36:44.690 I've gone to those.
  2105. 01:36:44.830 – 01:36:45.530 Have any designs?
  2106. 01:36:45.530 – 01:36:46.790 It's been a while now.
  2107. 01:36:47.130 – 01:36:49.550 So yeah, but I've gone to some.
  2108. 01:36:50.130 – 01:36:52.490 They have any designs popped out to you?
  2109. 01:36:55.990 – 01:36:58.270 When you go to those showrooms,
  2110. 01:36:58.850 – 01:37:01.350 like it's like a candy shop.
  2111. 01:37:01.350 – 01:37:03.290 Like you, you turn this way.
  2112. 01:37:03.730 – 01:37:06.110 Oh, these are, oh my God, that looks amazing.
  2113. 01:37:06.490 – 01:37:06.630 Like.
  2114. 01:37:07.010 – 01:37:07.450 Real quick.
  2115. 01:37:07.590 – 01:37:09.230 Is it salesy?
  2116. 01:37:09.250 – 01:37:10.890 Like the vendors, they're salesy.
  2117. 01:37:11.010 – 01:37:12.330 Are they more like, oh, check it out.
  2118. 01:37:12.330 – 01:37:12.790 They chill.
  2119. 01:37:13.030 – 01:37:13.770 They real chill.
  2120. 01:37:13.870 – 01:37:15.830 Cause the art speaks for itself, baby.
  2121. 01:37:16.050 – 01:37:18.290 Lord, I went to a home show.
  2122. 01:37:18.370 – 01:37:19.510 I was talking about getting in.
  2123. 01:37:19.550 – 01:37:21.750 We almost like the only guest.
  2124. 01:37:21.770 – 01:37:22.450 Uh-huh.
  2125. 01:37:22.450 – 01:37:23.330 It's like just.
  2126. 01:37:23.330 – 01:37:25.210 You must be talking about like the IH center
  2127. 01:37:25.210 – 01:37:27.910 where they have like the vendors home show type of thing.
  2128. 01:37:27.930 – 01:37:28.370 No, no, no.
  2129. 01:37:28.390 – 01:37:29.230 I don't go to the IH center.
  2130. 01:37:29.630 – 01:37:30.070 Okay.
  2131. 01:37:30.070 – 01:37:31.010 I was like.
  2132. 01:37:31.030 – 01:37:33.150 I was talking about attack and volume.
  2133. 01:37:33.430 – 01:37:34.770 I'm a introvert naturally.
  2134. 01:37:34.830 – 01:37:36.230 And it's early for me, bro.
  2135. 01:37:36.350 – 01:37:37.770 I'm like, let me just step out of my box.
  2136. 01:37:37.850 – 01:37:39.310 Cause I was interested,
  2137. 01:37:39.530 – 01:37:41.550 kind of still them get into whole selling.
  2138. 01:37:41.550 – 01:37:42.430 Uh-huh.
  2139. 01:37:43.610 – 01:37:44.010 So.
  2140. 01:37:44.250 – 01:37:46.170 Connect you if that's what you want to do.
  2141. 01:37:46.850 – 01:37:46.910 Okay.
  2142. 01:37:47.050 – 01:37:48.010 That's definitely tough.
  2143. 01:37:48.670 – 01:37:51.730 And so I'm like, little, let me try the home show.
  2144. 01:37:51.750 – 01:37:53.030 At least kind of see what's there.
  2145. 01:37:53.150 – 01:37:55.610 Cause if I got a stage or see what's out,
  2146. 01:37:55.750 – 01:37:57.010 what type of vendors out there.
  2147. 01:37:57.890 – 01:37:59.530 So kind of getting the idea.
  2148. 01:37:59.530 – 01:38:01.810 But I'm like getting so poor.
  2149. 01:38:02.250 – 01:38:04.410 So I'm not gonna have a conversation with these people,
  2150. 01:38:04.410 – 01:38:06.650 but I'm also asking them valid questions too.
  2151. 01:38:06.850 – 01:38:07.930 Or like, oh, how did it?
  2152. 01:38:08.530 – 01:38:09.570 And then, okay.
  2153. 01:38:09.710 – 01:38:09.950 All right.
  2154. 01:38:10.030 – 01:38:10.450 Thank you.
  2155. 01:38:10.610 – 01:38:11.270 Oh, wait.
  2156. 01:38:11.390 – 01:38:12.570 No, no, no, no, no.
  2157. 01:38:12.610 – 01:38:13.490 Oh, oh, oh.
  2158. 01:38:13.490 – 01:38:15.030 Just going around to like.
  2159. 01:38:15.050 – 01:38:16.850 Where, what show did you go to?
  2160. 01:38:17.690 – 01:38:20.050 It was at the Huntington convention.
  2161. 01:38:20.290 – 01:38:20.750 I'm not sure.
  2162. 01:38:20.750 – 01:38:21.090 Okay.
  2163. 01:38:21.190 – 01:38:22.570 I think I know what you're talking about.
  2164. 01:38:22.850 – 01:38:26.590 Those are when they're set up like vendors.
  2165. 01:38:27.010 – 01:38:30.690 The show room, show rooms are different than that.
  2166. 01:38:30.950 – 01:38:32.710 Show rooms are like, it would be a room
  2167. 01:38:32.710 – 01:38:33.750 like we're sitting in.
  2168. 01:38:34.230 – 01:38:36.530 Well, they had those, but it was just on the other side.
  2169. 01:38:36.630 – 01:38:39.750 But it was like, I had to go through this maze of like.
  2170. 01:38:39.950 – 01:38:42.310 Vendors and them trying to sell their product to you.
  2171. 01:38:42.750 – 01:38:43.070 Yeah.
  2172. 01:38:43.110 – 01:38:45.610 I found an opening, a gateway.
  2173. 01:38:45.990 – 01:38:48.950 I saw a person's art that I know.
  2174. 01:38:49.110 – 01:38:51.150 I'm like, that is, I didn't see them at their booth.
  2175. 01:38:51.230 – 01:38:52.710 I'm like, wait, there's an opening.
  2176. 01:38:52.770 – 01:38:54.430 So it's almost like a movie.
  2177. 01:38:54.430 – 01:38:55.970 And it's like, all right, cut.
  2178. 01:38:55.970 – 01:38:57.170 I could breathe again.
  2179. 01:38:57.170 – 01:38:58.670 It was just so overwhelming.
  2180. 01:38:58.710 – 01:38:59.030 Wow.
  2181. 01:38:59.270 – 01:39:03.030 I mean, I'm mainly to myself and it was early.
  2182. 01:39:03.450 – 01:39:05.150 It was cold as heck that day.
  2183. 01:39:05.270 – 01:39:06.170 I was on my nose running.
  2184. 01:39:06.250 – 01:39:07.990 I had to get myself together to walk in.
  2185. 01:39:08.890 – 01:39:13.290 It was just a wow day just to walk into that.
  2186. 01:39:13.450 – 01:39:14.690 It was like.
  2187. 01:39:15.190 – 01:39:18.250 Yeah, for me, I have a different experience
  2188. 01:39:18.250 – 01:39:23.350 with show rooms because they're designed so eloquently
  2189. 01:39:23.350 – 01:39:25.470 and then they also pick like the best of
  2190. 01:39:25.470 – 01:39:28.230 the best designers to showcase these spaces.
  2191. 01:39:28.970 – 01:39:32.090 They don't have to come up to you and ask you nothing.
  2192. 01:39:32.090 – 01:39:34.250 You're going to be trying to find them to figure out
  2193. 01:39:34.250 – 01:39:35.390 where do I get this?
  2194. 01:39:35.650 – 01:39:39.610 And also they have like tags that have the information
  2195. 01:39:39.610 – 01:39:42.450 or scan things that you can scan right to get to that.
  2196. 01:39:42.550 – 01:39:44.210 Yeah, for designer conferences.
  2197. 01:39:44.610 – 01:39:46.870 So like, you don't really have to go and find people.
  2198. 01:39:46.930 – 01:39:48.610 Like you just scan what you're interested in.
  2199. 01:39:48.830 – 01:39:51.050 And then they have an area where they're like,
  2200. 01:39:51.050 – 01:39:52.470 do they have you sign up?
  2201. 01:39:52.590 – 01:39:54.630 Or do they like, yeah, they collect your email
  2202. 01:39:54.630 – 01:39:55.930 or your name and stuff like that.
  2203. 01:39:56.010 – 01:39:58.210 No, email you like to follow up and things of that nature.
  2204. 01:39:58.430 – 01:40:01.210 But like, no, it's a little bit different,
  2205. 01:40:01.230 – 01:40:04.450 a different culture than like what you sound
  2206. 01:40:04.450 – 01:40:08.610 like you went to was more of like where they do
  2207. 01:40:08.610 – 01:40:10.250 like bathrooms or kitchens.
  2208. 01:40:10.690 – 01:40:13.170 And like there is so many different companies
  2209. 01:40:13.170 – 01:40:14.950 that do the restructuring of this and that.
  2210. 01:40:15.130 – 01:40:16.090 Oh yeah, come with us.
  2211. 01:40:16.230 – 01:40:17.110 We have these kind of cabinets.
  2212. 01:40:17.750 – 01:40:18.190 Replication.
  2213. 01:40:18.350 – 01:40:19.610 Yeah, yeah, yes.
  2214. 01:40:19.990 – 01:40:22.530 So that's a little bit different.
  2215. 01:40:22.550 – 01:40:24.050 Those are normally contractors.
  2216. 01:40:24.690 – 01:40:27.370 Who are trying to, you know, design and re-contract
  2217. 01:40:27.370 – 01:40:29.570 like your kitchen or construct your kitchen.
  2218. 01:40:30.630 – 01:40:32.850 I ain't even gonna speak on gutter girl.
  2219. 01:40:34.390 – 01:40:35.930 Woo, first date too.
  2220. 01:40:36.050 – 01:40:36.910 I'm in tears.
  2221. 01:40:37.390 – 01:40:38.550 I had to walk away.
  2222. 01:40:38.710 – 01:40:41.130 Cause I don't like laughing people face like it's rude.
  2223. 01:40:41.690 – 01:40:45.610 But it was just like, man, that was a day for me.
  2224. 01:40:45.870 – 01:40:48.130 I was not to speak on that on a letter day,
  2225. 01:40:48.150 – 01:40:50.290 but that was a day.
  2226. 01:40:51.010 – 01:40:52.590 But I know you said like,
  2227. 01:40:52.810 – 01:40:54.290 during those shows that get emails,
  2228. 01:40:54.290 – 01:40:55.890 what do you do for like lead generation?
  2229. 01:40:58.300 – 01:41:00.660 You always trying to put my business out there.
  2230. 01:41:00.820 – 01:41:02.240 That's what we talk about.
  2231. 01:41:02.340 – 01:41:06.660 No, I be collecting the information.
  2232. 01:41:07.340 – 01:41:09.980 But then I, I mean, I collect information,
  2233. 01:41:09.980 – 01:41:13.060 but then I get so busy that I never send out
  2234. 01:41:13.060 – 01:41:15.020 the things I'm supposed to send out.
  2235. 01:41:15.680 – 01:41:18.700 Cause I'm, I need to start hiring people.
  2236. 01:41:18.880 – 01:41:20.180 It's just as simple as that.
  2237. 01:41:20.180 – 01:41:23.040 And I haven't because I'm a one man show
  2238. 01:41:23.040 – 01:41:24.620 and I do everything.
  2239. 01:41:24.620 – 01:41:27.580 And you can't, if you want to grow as a business,
  2240. 01:41:27.620 – 01:41:29.100 you cannot do everything by yourself.
  2241. 01:41:30.120 – 01:41:31.900 So for those that are listening,
  2242. 01:41:32.100 – 01:41:33.580 I will be hiring soon,
  2243. 01:41:33.720 – 01:41:35.160 probably within the next three months.
  2244. 01:41:36.700 – 01:41:38.560 So, cause I'm, yeah.
  2245. 01:41:38.920 – 01:41:39.820 I'm ready to say.
  2246. 01:41:39.880 – 01:41:41.580 We definitely have to talk more and collab
  2247. 01:41:41.580 – 01:41:43.780 cause I see different things in pockets.
  2248. 01:41:44.340 – 01:41:45.280 Yeah, yeah.
  2249. 01:41:45.680 – 01:41:48.540 Opportunities for me to be doing stuff that I like,
  2250. 01:41:48.660 – 01:41:50.860 anything and everything I probably have thought of
  2251. 01:41:50.860 – 01:41:51.580 a lot of stuff.
  2252. 01:41:51.580 – 01:41:54.220 And I just have not had the time to execute it
  2253. 01:41:54.220 – 01:41:56.720 because it's hard to be your own.
  2254. 01:41:56.740 – 01:41:57.540 You're the designer.
  2255. 01:41:57.740 – 01:41:58.620 You're the shopper.
  2256. 01:41:58.880 – 01:42:00.460 You are the accountant.
  2257. 01:42:00.660 – 01:42:01.500 You are the bookkeeper.
  2258. 01:42:01.640 – 01:42:02.760 You are the photographer.
  2259. 01:42:02.920 – 01:42:03.860 You are the videographer.
  2260. 01:42:04.040 – 01:42:06.420 You are the person that's not a clean.
  2261. 01:42:06.640 – 01:42:07.640 You, you're the person that paints.
  2262. 01:42:07.740 – 01:42:09.380 You're the person that does the contour.
  2263. 01:42:09.800 – 01:42:11.660 I do a lot of stuff.
  2264. 01:42:11.720 – 01:42:15.600 So it's like, and I take on so much
  2265. 01:42:15.600 – 01:42:18.720 because I really be trying to save people money
  2266. 01:42:18.720 – 01:42:20.040 because it is expensive.
  2267. 01:42:20.580 – 01:42:23.640 On average, the prices that I quote to people
  2268. 01:42:23.640 – 01:42:27.220 are way lower than most designers would quote.
  2269. 01:42:27.580 – 01:42:30.400 On average, most designers outside of like a bathroom,
  2270. 01:42:30.880 – 01:42:35.080 you're looking at 20 to $25,000 out the gate per room.
  2271. 01:42:35.820 – 01:42:38.620 So, yeah.
  2272. 01:42:39.340 – 01:42:42.180 And I'm talking about seven, five, seven, 10.
  2273. 01:42:42.980 – 01:42:46.520 These other designers talking about 20, 25, the more.
  2274. 01:42:46.660 – 01:42:49.040 So it's almost like education is needed
  2275. 01:42:50.000 – 01:42:52.740 for the clients before they even step in.
  2276. 01:42:52.740 – 01:42:57.600 I just know what area I live in and who my audience is.
  2277. 01:42:57.840 – 01:42:59.520 And I think that that's really important.
  2278. 01:42:59.880 – 01:43:03.860 And for me, that's okay.
  2279. 01:43:04.120 – 01:43:07.840 Like, I don't mind like cutting those corners
  2280. 01:43:07.840 – 01:43:10.120 so that I could make a name for myself.
  2281. 01:43:10.460 – 01:43:11.380 One, number two.
  2282. 01:43:11.760 – 01:43:16.080 Also, I don't mind because for me,
  2283. 01:43:16.120 – 01:43:19.660 what I'm doing is building up communities
  2284. 01:43:19.660 – 01:43:21.340 of people that look like me.
  2285. 01:43:22.020 – 01:43:27.680 And a lot of homes, especially black communities
  2286. 01:43:27.680 – 01:43:29.300 and black homes and black areas
  2287. 01:43:29.300 – 01:43:32.840 are not always the most well-kept.
  2288. 01:43:33.700 – 01:43:37.380 So for me to go in into some of these spaces
  2289. 01:43:37.380 – 01:43:40.380 and to give them face lifts and bring life
  2290. 01:43:40.380 – 01:43:43.780 into our community, into our spaces, our beauty shops,
  2291. 01:43:43.900 – 01:43:45.500 our barber shops, our, you know,
  2292. 01:43:45.520 – 01:43:48.000 like that means a lot to me.
  2293. 01:43:49.060 – 01:43:51.560 So sometimes when you love what you do,
  2294. 01:43:51.740 – 01:43:53.240 it don't, the money is gonna come.
  2295. 01:43:53.360 – 01:43:55.180 Like I'm not money hungry over it.
  2296. 01:43:55.180 – 01:43:56.340 I do it because I love it.
  2297. 01:43:56.340 – 01:43:59.060 And I love the outcome that it brings.
  2298. 01:43:59.580 – 01:44:00.020 Yeah.
  2299. 01:44:00.020 – 01:44:01.160 So yeah.
  2300. 01:44:01.520 – 01:44:04.100 Wow, that is a wealth of information.
  2301. 01:44:04.260 – 01:44:06.420 Is there anybody specifically that you wanted
  2302. 01:44:06.420 – 01:44:07.280 to collab with?
  2303. 01:44:07.800 – 01:44:10.500 Like, cause I could see, you know, like you say,
  2304. 01:44:10.540 – 01:44:11.620 I'm making a name for yourself.
  2305. 01:44:11.780 – 01:44:14.480 Your name on pillows and different accents
  2306. 01:44:14.480 – 01:44:16.300 and designs and decorate.
  2307. 01:44:16.300 – 01:44:20.240 I have a few business ventures
  2308. 01:44:20.240 – 01:44:22.460 that I would like to branch off into that
  2309. 01:44:24.920 – 01:44:26.200 once I get rid of this build
  2310. 01:44:26.200 – 01:44:27.560 and stuff's gonna start moving.
  2311. 01:44:28.640 – 01:44:29.780 I'm excited for it.
  2312. 01:44:29.860 – 01:44:30.600 That's like, huh.
  2313. 01:44:30.660 – 01:44:33.300 I know it's like one chapter ends
  2314. 01:44:33.300 – 01:44:35.600 and you can't wait for the next one to leave.
  2315. 01:44:35.720 – 01:44:37.300 Yeah, I can't wait for that chapter to leave.
  2316. 01:44:38.780 – 01:44:38.880 Oh, okay.
  2317. 01:44:39.160 – 01:44:41.760 It's just, I was doing something that
  2318. 01:44:42.580 – 01:44:43.500 I'm the type of person,
  2319. 01:44:43.500 – 01:44:45.020 you could put me into a lot of spaces
  2320. 01:44:45.020 – 01:44:46.960 and I can be successful.
  2321. 01:44:47.140 – 01:44:48.480 I can do the job great,
  2322. 01:44:48.800 – 01:44:51.460 but it's me deciding what I love
  2323. 01:44:52.460 – 01:44:55.760 and how I show up for that space that I love.
  2324. 01:44:57.140 – 01:44:58.640 I can do events,
  2325. 01:44:58.640 – 01:45:00.640 but I don't think that I would show up
  2326. 01:45:00.640 – 01:45:02.080 in the same way that I show up
  2327. 01:45:02.080 – 01:45:04.280 or have the same passion and love
  2328. 01:45:04.280 – 01:45:05.740 as I have for designing homes.
  2329. 01:45:06.200 – 01:45:07.800 Like I know some event designers
  2330. 01:45:07.800 – 01:45:11.840 who are just phenomenal women, right?
  2331. 01:45:13.220 – 01:45:15.860 And you can hear just from talking to them,
  2332. 01:45:15.960 – 01:45:17.240 it's a different type of fashion.
  2333. 01:45:17.760 – 01:45:19.360 Whether they are the best at it
  2334. 01:45:19.360 – 01:45:20.140 or they mediocre,
  2335. 01:45:21.720 – 01:45:22.900 it's just a different,
  2336. 01:45:23.280 – 01:45:24.120 it's a difference.
  2337. 01:45:25.500 – 01:45:26.960 I don't see that in me,
  2338. 01:45:27.160 – 01:45:27.860 not for events.
  2339. 01:45:28.740 – 01:45:30.000 Even though I know I can do it,
  2340. 01:45:30.080 – 01:45:32.720 I probably would be really, really good at it.
  2341. 01:45:33.300 – 01:45:35.000 Like, I don't want to.
  2342. 01:45:35.400 – 01:45:36.100 I like houses.
  2343. 01:45:37.220 – 01:45:38.660 That's the decor that I like.
  2344. 01:45:38.940 – 01:45:39.920 I don't like events.
  2345. 01:45:40.240 – 01:45:41.460 I mean, I like event decor.
  2346. 01:45:41.460 – 01:45:43.340 I think that is beautiful, the art that they create,
  2347. 01:45:43.520 – 01:45:44.700 especially in the amount of hours
  2348. 01:45:44.700 – 01:45:46.300 that they have to make it happen.
  2349. 01:45:48.000 – 01:45:50.020 But no, I don't like that.
  2350. 01:45:51.060 – 01:45:51.340 Yeah.
  2351. 01:45:51.340 – 01:45:53.680 I'm gonna wrap it up with some final questions.
  2352. 01:45:53.880 – 01:45:54.880 I kind of thought of this.
  2353. 01:45:55.680 – 01:45:57.860 Like if you had an unlimited budget,
  2354. 01:45:58.720 – 01:46:00.040 you had a client there,
  2355. 01:46:00.080 – 01:46:00.820 you know, Google Boom,
  2356. 01:46:00.860 – 01:46:03.420 they got this pristine mansion.
  2357. 01:46:04.660 – 01:46:06.360 If they had an unlimited budget,
  2358. 01:46:07.040 – 01:46:09.540 how would you begin to shape that for them?
  2359. 01:46:10.740 – 01:46:11.300 Boom.
  2360. 01:46:14.900 – 01:46:17.100 I think the first thing that I would do
  2361. 01:46:17.100 – 01:46:19.920 would be calling my mentors
  2362. 01:46:19.920 – 01:46:22.180 or people that I look at as mentors.
  2363. 01:46:24.040 – 01:46:27.580 And because most of my mentors have worked with
  2364. 01:46:27.580 – 01:46:29.000 celebrities, been in magazines
  2365. 01:46:29.000 – 01:46:30.580 and done all of these things
  2366. 01:46:30.580 – 01:46:32.800 that I haven't yet advanced to.
  2367. 01:46:33.940 – 01:46:39.780 So I would be calling them on how to navigate this space
  2368. 01:46:40.380 – 01:46:42.820 because it would be foreign territory for me
  2369. 01:46:42.820 – 01:46:44.300 to have an unlimited budget
  2370. 01:46:44.300 – 01:46:46.040 or to have somebody who's a multimillionaire.
  2371. 01:46:46.180 – 01:46:47.860 I'm like, yeah, let's go where it all starts.
  2372. 01:46:48.060 – 01:46:51.360 Like, you know, I would know where to start.
  2373. 01:46:51.420 – 01:46:52.640 Like I would know where to look,
  2374. 01:46:52.640 – 01:46:55.760 but also it's nothing like having someone
  2375. 01:46:55.760 – 01:46:58.100 that you can have for you
  2376. 01:46:58.980 – 01:47:00.620 that has been at that,
  2377. 01:47:00.680 – 01:47:04.760 everybody has had their first multimillion dollar client
  2378. 01:47:04.760 – 01:47:06.060 where they have these budgets
  2379. 01:47:06.060 – 01:47:08.480 that were out of their normal tax bracket
  2380. 01:47:08.480 – 01:47:11.340 and they know how that feels and what that space is like.
  2381. 01:47:11.400 – 01:47:13.460 So it's always great to have someone
  2382. 01:47:13.460 – 01:47:15.000 that can help you navigate through that.
  2383. 01:47:15.040 – 01:47:17.220 So the first call to action would be for me to be like,
  2384. 01:47:17.360 – 01:47:20.500 okay, now I need y'all to hold, hey, line up, help me.
  2385. 01:47:21.740 – 01:47:23.600 So, and just asking them, like, you know,
  2386. 01:47:23.720 – 01:47:24.920 where would they shop, blah, blah.
  2387. 01:47:25.040 – 01:47:26.780 But like me, I'm a visual person.
  2388. 01:47:26.820 – 01:47:27.840 So once I walk this space,
  2389. 01:47:27.840 – 01:47:30.360 I already have an idea of what I want to do.
  2390. 01:47:31.760 – 01:47:33.760 Calling them, getting whatever advice or gems
  2391. 01:47:33.760 – 01:47:34.760 they could drop on me.
  2392. 01:47:34.760 – 01:47:36.760 And then from there, it's like, it's go time.
  2393. 01:47:37.100 – 01:47:37.720 I'm ready.
  2394. 01:47:37.720 – 01:47:40.860 Like you just, you say the word, I'm ready.
  2395. 01:47:41.580 – 01:47:44.820 I'm about to create what I would love to see in your space
  2396. 01:47:44.820 – 01:47:45.640 given this budget.
  2397. 01:47:45.780 – 01:47:48.000 I don't think that I would max out bank either
  2398. 01:47:48.000 – 01:47:49.420 if it didn't require that.
  2399. 01:47:50.860 – 01:47:53.320 But I would definitely be customizing some pieces,
  2400. 01:47:53.480 – 01:47:57.040 making some unique things to go in their space.
  2401. 01:47:57.480 – 01:48:00.480 I definitely would probably even work
  2402. 01:48:00.480 – 01:48:01.580 with like a furniture company
  2403. 01:48:01.580 – 01:48:03.820 to create my own furniture or something
  2404. 01:48:03.820 – 01:48:06.320 that was uniquely customized just for them
  2405. 01:48:06.320 – 01:48:09.080 if I had that type of budget to do it.
  2406. 01:48:09.160 – 01:48:11.560 Because now with your unlimited budget,
  2407. 01:48:11.640 – 01:48:13.940 I have unlimitedness to my creativity.
  2408. 01:48:14.320 – 01:48:15.740 So now I get to really show out.
  2409. 01:48:15.840 – 01:48:17.640 So I'm about to show y'all how it's really done.
  2410. 01:48:18.580 – 01:48:19.860 So yeah, if I had that,
  2411. 01:48:19.980 – 01:48:21.200 I feel like it would land me
  2412. 01:48:21.200 – 01:48:23.760 in a whole lot of different spaces
  2413. 01:48:23.760 – 01:48:25.060 if I had that opportunity.
  2414. 01:48:25.920 – 01:48:27.480 Wow, you really hit it on the head
  2415. 01:48:27.480 – 01:48:29.700 because that's kind of what I tell customers.
  2416. 01:48:29.920 – 01:48:32.680 Like, oh, how much you charge for it?
  2417. 01:48:33.460 – 01:48:35.480 Well, this is the,
  2418. 01:48:36.920 – 01:48:37.940 but if you, like you said,
  2419. 01:48:37.980 – 01:48:39.420 you bring me a bigger budget
  2420. 01:48:39.420 – 01:48:41.700 and we can do X, Y, and Z and all of that.
  2421. 01:48:41.860 – 01:48:44.480 It's like even set up your whole event for you.
  2422. 01:48:44.480 – 01:48:46.560 You just show up today, we got you.
  2423. 01:48:48.100 – 01:48:52.580 So, it's important to invest in these projects
  2424. 01:48:52.580 – 01:48:54.480 or what do you want complete.
  2425. 01:48:55.060 – 01:48:56.420 And before you hire someone,
  2426. 01:48:57.880 – 01:48:59.660 you have to pay people at the end of the day
  2427. 01:48:59.660 – 01:49:00.740 if you want something.
  2428. 01:49:01.500 – 01:49:01.800 So.
  2429. 01:49:02.640 – 01:49:03.060 Absolutely.
  2430. 01:49:04.140 – 01:49:05.780 Is there any gym or tip
  2431. 01:49:05.780 – 01:49:09.060 that you would want to leave an aspiring entrepreneur?
  2432. 01:49:09.560 – 01:49:14.100 Oh, y'all podcasters love to close with these tips.
  2433. 01:49:14.700 – 01:49:15.920 Okay, let me think.
  2434. 01:49:17.700 – 01:49:19.380 Or what is something you learned like,
  2435. 01:49:19.400 – 01:49:22.200 man, if I could go back, I would change this.
  2436. 01:49:22.320 – 01:49:23.860 I would do this differently.
  2437. 01:49:27.030 – 01:49:30.250 Honestly, I wouldn't change anything.
  2438. 01:49:30.370 – 01:49:31.430 And I'm gonna tell you why.
  2439. 01:49:32.530 – 01:49:37.310 Because my life, my story was perfectly crafted for me
  2440. 01:49:37.310 – 01:49:38.530 when I got here.
  2441. 01:49:40.370 – 01:49:43.370 So, trying to change what God created for me,
  2442. 01:49:43.750 – 01:49:45.110 I wouldn't want to change that.
  2443. 01:49:46.290 – 01:49:48.590 Yeah, I don't think I would try to change that
  2444. 01:49:48.590 – 01:49:49.490 because there's a purpose
  2445. 01:49:49.490 – 01:49:51.770 and the reason why he set it up the way he set it up.
  2446. 01:49:51.770 – 01:49:54.090 And I haven't even reached the amount
  2447. 01:49:54.090 – 01:49:57.050 or opened the doors that I know that are in store for me.
  2448. 01:49:57.690 – 01:50:00.850 So, but if I made that one change or an adjustment
  2449. 01:50:00.850 – 01:50:02.790 and it shifted my whole entire future,
  2450. 01:50:03.070 – 01:50:03.630 you know what I'm saying?
  2451. 01:50:04.290 – 01:50:07.310 So, no, I would keep it exactly how it is
  2452. 01:50:07.310 – 01:50:08.770 and keep it at this one pace.
  2453. 01:50:09.150 – 01:50:12.310 I would probably try to do more research
  2454. 01:50:12.310 – 01:50:13.170 about certain things.
  2455. 01:50:13.190 – 01:50:16.250 So, I'm more educated versus just jumping in,
  2456. 01:50:16.590 – 01:50:18.650 but I still wouldn't change it.
  2457. 01:50:18.910 – 01:50:19.210 Yeah.
  2458. 01:50:19.450 – 01:50:20.950 Wow, but experience is the best teacher.
  2459. 01:50:21.250 – 01:50:21.650 Yes.
  2460. 01:50:22.450 – 01:50:25.270 So, I love how you said that though
  2461. 01:50:25.270 – 01:50:26.830 you wouldn't change anything
  2462. 01:50:26.830 – 01:50:30.590 because of the person you are today.
  2463. 01:50:31.030 – 01:50:33.790 Yeah, I love how it has helped me grow.
  2464. 01:50:33.890 – 01:50:38.090 I've grown so much personally and professionally.
  2465. 01:50:39.630 – 01:50:42.490 And I think that even with doing my business
  2466. 01:50:42.490 – 01:50:45.410 it's shown me what I'm capable of,
  2467. 01:50:45.550 – 01:50:47.590 things that I didn't think that I was capable of doing.
  2468. 01:50:48.470 – 01:50:52.110 So, yeah, I love this space and where I'm at in it
  2469. 01:50:52.110 – 01:50:54.270 and the things that it's taught me to get in the bed.
  2470. 01:50:56.810 – 01:50:58.730 I appreciate you for coming out today.
  2471. 01:50:58.730 – 01:51:01.190 I know we had some rescheduling multiple times.
  2472. 01:51:01.290 – 01:51:03.130 Yeah, we got it together though.
  2473. 01:51:04.850 – 01:51:06.490 Yeah, I'm very grateful for this.
  2474. 01:51:06.530 – 01:51:07.610 It was a great conversation.
  2475. 01:51:07.910 – 01:51:09.170 Yes, I enjoyed speaking with you.
  2476. 01:51:09.250 – 01:51:10.070 Thank you for having me.
  2477. 01:51:10.390 – 01:51:10.550 Thank you.
  2478. 01:51:10.670 – 01:51:13.310 I wonder if everyone finds you or looks you up.
  2479. 01:51:14.370 – 01:51:15.410 Oh, yeah.
  2480. 01:51:15.710 – 01:51:20.490 Y'all can find me on IG at suwands.underscoredecor.
  2481. 01:51:22.450 – 01:51:26.310 That's my name across all, I guess.
  2482. 01:51:26.530 – 01:51:27.050 Platforms.
  2483. 01:51:27.050 – 01:51:28.790 Platforms of social media.
  2484. 01:51:29.230 – 01:51:32.810 From Facebook to YouTube, it's always gonna be Suwan.
  2485. 01:51:32.870 – 01:51:36.390 So you type in Suwan, which is S-U-J-U-A-N,
  2486. 01:51:36.390 – 01:51:40.610 and then S, it'll pop up, I'm sure.
  2487. 01:51:41.050 – 01:51:43.050 Okay, I didn't know about the YouTube channel,
  2488. 01:51:43.050 – 01:51:43.770 I'm not that...
  2489. 01:51:43.770 – 01:51:46.670 Whoo, I only got like two videos on there.
  2490. 01:51:46.750 – 01:51:47.670 I'm gonna do better,
  2491. 01:51:47.790 – 01:51:48.630 because I know that's coming.
  2492. 01:51:48.730 – 01:51:49.190 I'm gonna do better.
  2493. 01:51:49.250 – 01:51:51.570 Oh, you sound like that client we presented to today
  2494. 01:51:51.570 – 01:51:53.630 when we was doing our research and auditing.
  2495. 01:51:53.670 – 01:51:55.470 We had three videos on YouTube.
  2496. 01:51:55.490 – 01:51:55.990 Yeah.
  2497. 01:51:56.590 – 01:51:57.050 Yeah.
  2498. 01:51:57.710 – 01:51:59.430 So I was like, yeah, that's...
  2499. 01:51:59.430 – 01:51:59.950 I gotta do better.
  2500. 01:51:59.970 – 01:52:00.630 Something we can help on.
  2501. 01:52:00.790 – 01:52:01.910 Yeah, yeah.
  2502. 01:52:02.290 – 01:52:04.550 Okay, thank you, Ms. Andrea Suwan,
  2503. 01:52:04.750 – 01:52:05.950 Suwan Decor.
  2504. 01:52:05.950 – 01:52:06.430 Thank you.
  2505. 01:52:07.750 – 01:52:09.710 No longer event space, but home staging.
  2506. 01:52:10.130 – 01:52:13.290 Yes, home staging and sourcing materials
  2507. 01:52:13.290 – 01:52:14.170 for our home flippers.
  2508. 01:52:14.410 – 01:52:17.130 So when y'all get tired of trying to pick out
  2509. 01:52:17.130 – 01:52:19.630 y'all own stuff and flipping all of these homes,
  2510. 01:52:19.850 – 01:52:23.310 come and talk to me so I could do the work for you
  2511. 01:52:23.310 – 01:52:24.950 so you can move on to your next property
  2512. 01:52:24.950 – 01:52:26.110 and be making more money.
  2513. 01:52:26.410 – 01:52:27.570 That is right.
  2514. 01:52:28.010 – 01:52:30.890 And like you said, you're able to work
  2515. 01:52:30.890 – 01:52:31.810 with unlimited budget.
  2516. 01:52:32.430 – 01:52:33.930 So everyone that's listening
  2517. 01:52:33.930 – 01:52:37.790 and wants home staging, interior design and decorating,
  2518. 01:52:39.230 – 01:52:41.470 if you got that unlimited budget, she's ready for it.
  2519. 01:52:41.490 – 01:52:44.590 She has a team and mentors that help guide her
  2520. 01:52:44.590 – 01:52:46.490 with support and the knowledge.
  2521. 01:52:47.190 – 01:52:48.910 So you have to reach out to her.
  2522. 01:52:49.070 – 01:52:49.950 Don't be afraid.
  2523. 01:52:50.190 – 01:52:54.810 And don't be afraid to also come to India upfront,
  2524. 01:52:54.810 – 01:52:57.750 like this is my budget, this is, you know,
  2525. 01:52:57.810 – 01:53:01.390 it helps us, especially as creators and designers,
  2526. 01:53:02.870 – 01:53:06.830 visual artists to help, you know,
  2527. 01:53:07.010 – 01:53:10.390 craft what you need and want with your budget.
  2528. 01:53:10.550 – 01:53:12.710 I actually do have like different packages
  2529. 01:53:12.710 – 01:53:14.810 for different financial needs.
  2530. 01:53:15.210 – 01:53:19.350 And I also have a, I haven't even introduced this,
  2531. 01:53:19.410 – 01:53:21.790 so hey, I have payment plans.
  2532. 01:53:21.790 – 01:53:26.430 So don't be intimidated by the costs to get it done
  2533. 01:53:26.430 – 01:53:27.730 because you can do payment plans
  2534. 01:53:27.730 – 01:53:31.170 and we can still get your home to look absolutely amazing.
  2535. 01:53:31.350 – 01:53:32.810 So just reach out to me.
  2536. 01:53:33.030 – 01:53:34.530 I would love to work with you.
  2537. 01:53:34.630 – 01:53:36.130 Okay, I'm glad you said that
  2538. 01:53:36.130 – 01:53:38.730 because I did this interview with like,
  2539. 01:53:38.870 – 01:53:41.350 she got higher, but you said payment plans.
  2540. 01:53:41.450 – 01:53:44.150 No, I feel more comfortable approaching you,
  2541. 01:53:44.250 – 01:53:46.890 like, okay, let's work on this home project.
  2542. 01:53:47.130 – 01:53:48.170 So I'm glad you mentioned that.
  2543. 01:53:48.170 – 01:53:48.570 Yes.
  2544. 01:53:48.890 – 01:53:50.230 So with that being said,
  2545. 01:53:50.230 – 01:53:52.630 what type of payment plans do you do
  2546. 01:53:52.630 – 01:53:54.430 or like with software programs?
  2547. 01:53:55.890 – 01:53:58.250 There's one program, well, it's the same program.
  2548. 01:53:58.310 – 01:54:00.930 So you can either pay like half upfront
  2549. 01:54:01.550 – 01:54:03.650 and then half at a different time.
  2550. 01:54:03.690 – 01:54:05.970 I think they give you like a six month span
  2551. 01:54:05.970 – 01:54:06.630 type of thing,
  2552. 01:54:07.050 – 01:54:08.730 or you could break it up into two payments,
  2553. 01:54:08.830 – 01:54:09.770 you could break it up to four
  2554. 01:54:09.770 – 01:54:11.110 or you could break it up into six.
  2555. 01:54:11.110 – 01:54:13.970 And I guess the program will like speak to you
  2556. 01:54:13.970 – 01:54:15.790 on when the payments will have, I don't know.
  2557. 01:54:15.850 – 01:54:18.590 They generate it based off of how much the thing is,
  2558. 01:54:18.590 – 01:54:21.210 but they will break up the payments for you.
  2559. 01:54:21.410 – 01:54:23.050 And you also, I think, can customize
  2560. 01:54:23.050 – 01:54:24.590 how you wanna make the payments too.
  2561. 01:54:25.250 – 01:54:27.770 Now with the program, I'm not sure,
  2562. 01:54:28.190 – 01:54:29.650 because I have not utilized it yet,
  2563. 01:54:29.650 – 01:54:30.870 but I do have the program.
  2564. 01:54:31.330 – 01:54:33.990 I'm not exactly sure if they add on interest rates.
  2565. 01:54:34.790 – 01:54:38.450 However, there is a program.
  2566. 01:54:38.710 – 01:54:40.530 I'm actually gonna get more information about that
  2567. 01:54:40.530 – 01:54:41.490 and I'll post it on my Instagram.
  2568. 01:54:41.630 – 01:54:43.010 So therefore, if you listen to this,
  2569. 01:54:43.250 – 01:54:46.290 you can reference to my Instagram page or my TikTok,
  2570. 01:54:46.290 – 01:54:48.350 because my friend has forced me to get TikTok.
  2571. 01:54:49.670 – 01:54:52.330 I'll have the information ready in a hand.
  2572. 01:54:55.510 – 01:54:57.430 Once again, I appreciate you.
  2573. 01:54:57.550 – 01:55:00.630 And I wanna close out by telling everyone that's listening,
  2574. 01:55:01.430 – 01:55:05.690 thank you for tuning in to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  2575. 01:55:06.270 – 01:55:10.450 with India, which has been an amazing conversation.
  2576. 01:55:10.850 – 01:55:12.810 I thank you for allowing me to pick your brain
  2577. 01:55:12.810 – 01:55:15.490 and get more insight on your journey
  2578. 01:55:15.490 – 01:55:18.970 and also the interior design
  2579. 01:55:18.970 – 01:55:21.910 and more so interior decorating world.
  2580. 01:55:22.370 – 01:55:23.210 Yes, thank you.
  2581. 01:55:23.330 – 01:55:24.170 So that's been fun.
  2582. 01:55:25.030 – 01:55:28.330 And this will be released very, very soon.
  2583. 01:55:28.450 – 01:55:31.370 I know I have a lot of things to catch up on,
  2584. 01:55:32.530 – 01:55:36.890 but everybody can always find me at Alienize Photos.
  2585. 01:55:37.070 – 01:55:40.470 That's Alienize with a Z, Photos with a S,
  2586. 01:55:40.490 – 01:55:43.970 and check out the website alienizephotos.com
  2587. 01:55:43.970 – 01:55:45.310 for more information.
  2588. 01:55:45.730 – 01:55:47.290 And also for my booking link,
  2589. 01:55:47.450 – 01:55:50.550 if you need an event photographer, video production,
  2590. 01:55:51.430 – 01:55:54.230 podcast consulting, even business coach,
  2591. 01:55:54.430 – 01:55:56.510 who I love to bounce ideas off of you
  2592. 01:55:56.510 – 01:55:58.930 so you can gain more traction.
  2593. 01:56:00.010 – 01:56:00.950 Thank you again.
  2594. 01:56:01.230 – 01:56:03.010 Thank you all for tuning in.
  2595. 01:56:03.150 – 01:56:04.250 This has been a blessing.
  2596. 01:56:05.290 – 01:56:05.530 Peace.

Back to contents

42. Motivational Encouragement Keep Going

Season 1 · Episode 32

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.520 – 00:00:04.620 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome
  2. 00:00:05.260 – 00:00:08.700 to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:10.180 – 00:00:13.360 And this will be a little encouragement,
  4. 00:00:15.770 – 00:00:17.050 a lot of motivation.
  5. 00:00:18.230 – 00:00:19.930 And again, my personal journey
  6. 00:00:20.530 – 00:00:22.490 on this entrepreneurship road
  7. 00:00:22.490 – 00:00:24.590 and just live it life in general.
  8. 00:00:25.390 – 00:00:27.070 It's a human being and
  9. 00:00:28.570 – 00:00:31.110 we are in the age of AI
  10. 00:00:31.110 – 00:00:36.230 and it's best to be your authentic self
  11. 00:00:38.560 – 00:00:41.520 and your brand should represent that as well.
  12. 00:00:42.240 – 00:00:43.740 You should have an identity.
  13. 00:00:44.900 – 00:00:46.820 Your brand should have an identity.
  14. 00:00:48.100 – 00:00:52.420 The messaging should both kind of be the same,
  15. 00:00:54.410 – 00:00:58.160 you know, just something to think about.
  16. 00:00:58.900 – 00:01:00.020 And I've had.
  17. 00:01:01.460 – 00:01:02.860 I mean, I could say
  18. 00:01:03.720 – 00:01:05.840 a tough few weeks in a row.
  19. 00:01:08.440 – 00:01:11.520 From transportation issues with vehicles
  20. 00:01:12.260 – 00:01:14.960 and getting that squared away and
  21. 00:01:16.180 – 00:01:19.340 quote unquote, speed and tick the egg.
  22. 00:01:19.640 – 00:01:23.760 Which I'm looking at the car as a liability now, you know.
  23. 00:01:24.500 – 00:01:25.840 Is it really an asset?
  24. 00:01:26.380 – 00:01:28.920 Yeah, it's getting me from point A to point B
  25. 00:01:28.920 – 00:01:32.480 and also quicker and warmer, I should say.
  26. 00:01:33.300 – 00:01:37.020 As everybody knows, it's very cold here in Cleveland, Ohio,
  27. 00:01:37.980 – 00:01:39.780 up north, Midwest.
  28. 00:01:41.640 – 00:01:43.720 But, you know, that
  29. 00:01:44.640 – 00:01:47.480 I was an unexpected setback.
  30. 00:01:47.760 – 00:01:50.840 And then things just started trickling down almost
  31. 00:01:50.840 – 00:01:54.760 like I was in this negative cycle over and over and over again.
  32. 00:01:55.460 – 00:01:59.000 Like it even took me a few weeks just to
  33. 00:02:00.520 – 00:02:05.120 stay back from the podcast and not record an episode, a new episode.
  34. 00:02:08.120 – 00:02:11.460 And this is finally me getting back on the mic.
  35. 00:02:11.920 – 00:02:16.620 There's so many negative things that I could talk about, but I'm not.
  36. 00:02:16.700 – 00:02:19.480 And then I didn't want to record that.
  37. 00:02:19.880 – 00:02:23.800 In a sense, negative energy and throw that back.
  38. 00:02:23.940 – 00:02:28.240 But this is me kind of recapping the last few weeks,
  39. 00:02:28.240 – 00:02:30.340 which was tough, which was challenging.
  40. 00:02:30.500 – 00:02:33.100 And it just reminds me to stay humble
  41. 00:02:33.800 – 00:02:36.280 and keep your head up and keep persevering.
  42. 00:02:36.540 – 00:02:40.240 Like, yeah, this is this is just a phase, just like the moon
  43. 00:02:40.240 – 00:02:41.660 has different phases.
  44. 00:02:43.930 – 00:02:45.910 So I take it with a grain of salt.
  45. 00:02:46.850 – 00:02:49.390 I just want to remind you to also
  46. 00:02:50.010 – 00:02:54.570 take it as a small incline that this will
  47. 00:02:56.970 – 00:02:58.670 bypass and pass over.
  48. 00:02:59.990 – 00:03:02.110 Never take it too much to heart,
  49. 00:03:02.750 – 00:03:05.490 because when our feelings and emotions get involved,
  50. 00:03:06.370 – 00:03:08.550 especially in business, I say don't mix it.
  51. 00:03:08.570 – 00:03:11.410 People say don't mix
  52. 00:03:12.710 – 00:03:14.910 love and business together.
  53. 00:03:16.370 – 00:03:20.310 Many people say that because the emotion and feelings behind it.
  54. 00:03:22.310 – 00:03:24.930 But I know a lot of successful couples,
  55. 00:03:25.990 – 00:03:30.410 married couples, and it can work.
  56. 00:03:31.170 – 00:03:34.170 So you just have to be aware of those emotions
  57. 00:03:34.170 – 00:03:37.370 and those feelings that are attached and are involved.
  58. 00:03:37.950 – 00:03:40.590 And sometimes you have to set them aside.
  59. 00:03:43.220 – 00:03:45.240 And that's what I did.
  60. 00:03:45.320 – 00:03:46.920 I just set it aside.
  61. 00:03:48.940 – 00:03:52.640 So I know being in my feelings, being in this negative loop,
  62. 00:03:53.480 – 00:03:59.270 almost like a hamster wheel in this negative loop,
  63. 00:03:59.410 – 00:04:04.090 this negative cycle is going around and around and around
  64. 00:04:04.090 – 00:04:05.490 and around and around.
  65. 00:04:05.890 – 00:04:09.590 It's the same exact thing, the continuation of it.
  66. 00:04:10.430 – 00:04:14.930 So by me, in a sense, breaking from it, by kind of just
  67. 00:04:14.930 – 00:04:18.329 shifting my energy towards, OK,
  68. 00:04:19.010 – 00:04:20.970 take it as a take away the grain of salt.
  69. 00:04:22.990 – 00:04:24.730 You know, you don't need a lot of salt in your food.
  70. 00:04:24.830 – 00:04:29.010 Just take it a little bit, a little pinch, break a little round.
  71. 00:04:30.770 – 00:04:31.670 Yeah, it happened.
  72. 00:04:32.570 – 00:04:34.350 Yeah, you're going to feel this.
  73. 00:04:36.050 – 00:04:37.170 Emotionally, especially.
  74. 00:04:38.970 – 00:04:40.750 Like, dang, I don't know what.
  75. 00:04:41.030 – 00:04:43.310 Dang, dang, what is that?
  76. 00:04:43.510 – 00:04:49.270 Oh, man, dang, ah, you know, you want to scream.
  77. 00:04:50.890 – 00:04:54.650 But instead of screaming and being in the emotions
  78. 00:04:54.650 – 00:05:05.140 behind it all is best to live life.
  79. 00:05:06.100 – 00:05:14.080 Live life one moment at a time, live each business day.
  80. 00:05:14.980 – 00:05:21.390 One moment at a time, live life one day at a time.
  81. 00:05:26.290 – 00:05:27.570 And with your business,
  82. 00:05:29.210 – 00:05:34.420 just start with one thing, one thing.
  83. 00:05:37.100 – 00:05:43.840 Like, there's no better feeling when I pick up a camera
  84. 00:05:44.840 – 00:05:47.480 and photograph, document
  85. 00:05:48.540 – 00:05:55.840 a great event, those sacred moments,
  86. 00:05:56.100 – 00:06:01.360 those marketing moments, those key moments,
  87. 00:06:01.440 – 00:06:07.080 those one in a lifetime moments, those selling points
  88. 00:06:07.080 – 00:06:11.560 and memories, the photos that you can relive,
  89. 00:06:12.300 – 00:06:17.300 that you can re-see over and over again.
  90. 00:06:17.340 – 00:06:20.500 Just see it, visualize it,
  91. 00:06:21.120 – 00:06:24.620 whether if you're using it for marketing or to sell
  92. 00:06:25.200 – 00:06:28.400 or if it's just something personal for you to have
  93. 00:06:28.400 – 00:06:30.960 and for you to look at upon
  94. 00:06:31.760 – 00:06:35.680 and for it to be history, a historical moment,
  95. 00:06:36.480 – 00:06:39.960 because there's no other time like a moment in time like that.
  96. 00:06:39.960 – 00:06:42.360 Even if you do the same thing over and over,
  97. 00:06:43.480 – 00:06:46.620 nothing else happened on that day like this.
  98. 00:06:46.660 – 00:06:49.020 And this moment will never happen again,
  99. 00:06:49.040 – 00:06:52.620 even if it's the same tomorrow or the next day.
  100. 00:06:53.220 – 00:06:56.500 It's still something different about it each day.
  101. 00:06:57.200 – 00:06:59.760 You may be feeling something different each day.
  102. 00:07:00.260 – 00:07:02.540 The people around you in attendance may be feeling,
  103. 00:07:02.800 – 00:07:06.940 the presenters, whoever may be feeling
  104. 00:07:07.640 – 00:07:10.540 or acting a different way
  105. 00:07:11.300 – 00:07:13.560 the next day, the next day
  106. 00:07:14.580 – 00:07:18.540 or a stage play or a presentation, whatever.
  107. 00:07:18.740 – 00:07:21.620 And maybe the same words, maybe the same actions,
  108. 00:07:22.440 – 00:07:26.140 but something that's different and also the time is different,
  109. 00:07:26.240 – 00:07:28.580 the space may be even different.
  110. 00:07:28.940 – 00:07:30.960 So just something to think about.
  111. 00:07:33.430 – 00:07:34.890 That was deep, like, wow.
  112. 00:07:35.750 – 00:07:40.550 But again, I want you to use all the fuel that's given to you,
  113. 00:07:40.550 – 00:07:45.770 whether it's positive or negative, use it as fuel, as jetpacks.
  114. 00:07:46.510 – 00:07:48.670 Take it in. Have a moment.
  115. 00:07:48.910 – 00:07:55.040 Take a deep breath. Let it out.
  116. 00:07:55.760 – 00:07:57.240 Do it again if you have to repeat.
  117. 00:07:57.580 – 00:07:58.760 It's good to take that moment.
  118. 00:07:58.920 – 00:08:04.800 Take that deep breath because, whoo, boy, I tell you,
  119. 00:08:04.880 – 00:08:06.740 I wanted to not life the...
  120. 00:08:09.280 – 00:08:12.300 You know, it's like, ah, what the...
  121. 00:08:12.300 – 00:08:14.180 What is going on? Like, man.
  122. 00:08:15.100 – 00:08:18.600 Just really feeling it and really being in it.
  123. 00:08:19.900 – 00:08:25.080 And it's good to be around others and moments like that
  124. 00:08:25.080 – 00:08:29.000 or even just having that dialogue and taking a nap,
  125. 00:08:29.160 – 00:08:30.780 you know, going to bed early.
  126. 00:08:32.220 – 00:08:36.000 Hang it up for the day and start fresh tomorrow, you know.
  127. 00:08:36.720 – 00:08:38.659 Sometimes those moments are needed.
  128. 00:08:39.780 – 00:08:42.220 Just want to go to sleep, you know.
  129. 00:08:43.679 – 00:08:47.700 Mine is doing too many gymnastics and Olympic tricks.
  130. 00:08:48.620 – 00:08:51.580 Like, man, the monkey mine is real.
  131. 00:08:54.160 – 00:09:01.510 So sometimes I get up early, go to bed early,
  132. 00:09:02.650 – 00:09:06.710 go to sleep, take a nap, you know, 20 minute nap, wake up.
  133. 00:09:07.590 – 00:09:11.830 OK. What just happened?
  134. 00:09:13.530 – 00:09:14.930 Wow, I can't believe that happened.
  135. 00:09:14.930 – 00:09:17.950 What happened to me? Well, I get it done.
  136. 00:09:18.030 – 00:09:20.350 Got to get it taken care of, whatever it may be,
  137. 00:09:20.390 – 00:09:22.190 whatever the situation may be.
  138. 00:09:22.470 – 00:09:26.810 And just like in your business, you just have to get it done.
  139. 00:09:27.250 – 00:09:31.790 And that's something I'm being big on myself this year.
  140. 00:09:32.310 – 00:09:39.200 And this will be the year I leave my nine to five.
  141. 00:09:40.960 – 00:09:43.660 It is 2026.
  142. 00:09:46.900 – 00:09:50.420 By the end of January 2027,
  143. 00:09:54.070 – 00:09:58.250 I will no longer be nine to five.
  144. 00:09:59.550 – 00:10:02.570 Well, I'm going to say I never will, but because I may go back,
  145. 00:10:02.570 – 00:10:04.010 you know, you know how it is.
  146. 00:10:04.010 – 00:10:12.240 So I will be running Alienize Photos Media
  147. 00:10:13.300 – 00:10:16.500 and also Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  148. 00:10:17.740 – 00:10:21.140 This lovely podcast, talk show,
  149. 00:10:21.780 – 00:10:28.750 radio, whatever you want to call it, educational piece.
  150. 00:10:30.650 – 00:10:33.290 Whatever you want to call it.
  151. 00:10:33.870 – 00:10:38.790 But I am doing it full time and serving my audience,
  152. 00:10:38.790 – 00:10:45.350 my network, my people, my clients, my tribe, my team.
  153. 00:10:46.710 – 00:10:48.490 And also being more involved
  154. 00:10:49.050 – 00:10:51.790 with LaunchArts as we continue to grow.
  155. 00:10:52.170 – 00:10:54.210 Eleven years, y'all.
  156. 00:10:54.570 – 00:10:55.490 That is major.
  157. 00:10:56.390 – 00:11:00.250 So I'm happy to be a part of LaunchArts Media.
  158. 00:11:00.410 – 00:11:04.530 It gets you noticed. So tap in with the brand.
  159. 00:11:05.510 – 00:11:09.530 One of the best in Ohio
  160. 00:11:09.530 – 00:11:16.090 when it comes to digital marketing and video production,
  161. 00:11:18.300 – 00:11:20.660 like me being a part of that team.
  162. 00:11:21.500 – 00:11:23.800 And everybody knows what I bring.
  163. 00:11:24.560 – 00:11:28.560 But man, the team that's in place
  164. 00:11:28.560 – 00:11:31.740 is just elevates it to another level.
  165. 00:11:32.800 – 00:11:36.420 And shout out to my mentor, Jamar, who's the CEO
  166. 00:11:37.020 – 00:11:39.300 and lead creative director.
  167. 00:11:40.640 – 00:11:43.000 I might as well just say every director
  168. 00:11:44.420 – 00:11:45.940 of LaunchArts Media.
  169. 00:11:46.340 – 00:11:49.560 And it's just it's amazing to see sometimes.
  170. 00:11:51.220 – 00:11:55.180 You know, what what can be done, especially with a team as,
  171. 00:11:55.700 – 00:12:00.440 you know, Alienize Photos, believe it or not, is a personal brand,
  172. 00:12:00.440 – 00:12:03.480 even though I run it as a business.
  173. 00:12:04.440 – 00:12:10.580 And I serve B2B clients, business to business, businesses.
  174. 00:12:11.380 – 00:12:15.340 That's like my business, my niche event photography
  175. 00:12:15.340 – 00:12:19.360 for B2B, business to business,
  176. 00:12:20.020 – 00:12:23.460 because I am business and I love doing businesses with other businesses
  177. 00:12:23.460 – 00:12:29.620 because what I learned that individuals do not necessarily
  178. 00:12:30.800 – 00:12:34.660 have the proper budget, especially for what you want to do.
  179. 00:12:34.880 – 00:12:39.760 Yeah, they're throwing an event, but they may only have a two hundred
  180. 00:12:39.760 – 00:12:43.160 three hundred dollar budget for an event.
  181. 00:12:44.560 – 00:12:48.860 When you already ran your costs, you ran your expenses.
  182. 00:12:49.020 – 00:12:52.440 Of course, you've been doing it for years.
  183. 00:12:52.900 – 00:12:56.820 You have that experience, that that technical skill,
  184. 00:12:57.400 – 00:13:00.360 that that knowledge that you could bring, even the insight,
  185. 00:13:00.440 – 00:13:05.100 even if you're not even, you know, filming or doing photography for the event.
  186. 00:13:06.140 – 00:13:11.620 You can't consult and say, well, OK, well, you don't have the budget.
  187. 00:13:11.860 – 00:13:12.840 You could do it yourself.
  188. 00:13:13.200 – 00:13:16.360 I have someone take pictures on the phone, but make sure you have
  189. 00:13:16.360 – 00:13:18.520 good lighting and this and this and that.
  190. 00:13:18.620 – 00:13:23.540 Like you can still provide through knowledge and not even be there.
  191. 00:13:23.540 – 00:13:24.920 It's almost like coaching.
  192. 00:13:27.360 – 00:13:30.180 But if you want professionals
  193. 00:13:30.180 – 00:13:36.400 tap in with alienized photos, media and also launched arts media
  194. 00:13:36.400 – 00:13:39.900 and anything with marketing or media.
  195. 00:13:40.460 – 00:13:42.120 Tap into brands.
  196. 00:13:43.720 – 00:13:47.100 And also the pull up experience.
  197. 00:13:47.760 – 00:13:51.300 Yes, if you have not heard the pull up experience podcast,
  198. 00:13:52.420 – 00:13:55.180 the number one entrepreneur.
  199. 00:13:58.000 – 00:14:02.840 Podcasts, not only in Cleveland, Ohio, but Ohio abroad.
  200. 00:14:04.020 – 00:14:06.320 And we are coming.
  201. 00:14:07.640 – 00:14:16.040 For the whole nation, for the whole US and then the whole world, we are.
  202. 00:14:17.740 – 00:14:23.200 Going on five plus years, and I've been in it
  203. 00:14:24.000 – 00:14:25.740 minus the plus.
  204. 00:14:26.670 – 00:14:32.240 But five years, you know, as.
  205. 00:14:33.340 – 00:14:38.280 I entered in like month two, month three, I believe.
  206. 00:14:39.540 – 00:14:43.440 So not in a full existence, but.
  207. 00:14:43.440 – 00:14:45.800 Mid is instance ongoing existence.
  208. 00:14:47.320 – 00:14:51.660 It's going on almost five years,
  209. 00:14:51.760 – 00:14:54.900 as distance this summer will be five years.
  210. 00:14:58.290 – 00:15:01.470 And it's amazing to see also just the things
  211. 00:15:01.470 – 00:15:05.130 we accomplish and accomplish as a team and the things we do
  212. 00:15:05.130 – 00:15:13.710 as a team, as a unit with all the brands I'm attached to
  213. 00:15:13.710 – 00:15:17.070 or all the brands that I work with, like anybody I work with,
  214. 00:15:17.190 – 00:15:18.750 my creative entrepreneurs.
  215. 00:15:19.710 – 00:15:22.510 I have room for you. I really do.
  216. 00:15:24.260 – 00:15:28.860 Like if I could attend your event, even if you don't have the budget.
  217. 00:15:30.240 – 00:15:33.840 For my services or my team or my expertise.
  218. 00:15:36.100 – 00:15:40.740 Sometimes it's just best for me to attend, I'll take the night off.
  219. 00:15:42.360 – 00:15:46.280 I'll pay that $20 ticket to a good event.
  220. 00:15:47.720 – 00:15:50.900 $50 ticket for a good event.
  221. 00:15:51.920 – 00:15:52.400 VIP.
  222. 00:15:54.000 – 00:15:56.980 Extra services, OK, maybe tickets for $10.
  223. 00:15:57.220 – 00:15:58.540 OK, let me support the vendors.
  224. 00:15:59.260 – 00:16:01.200 I have a little extra. Let me support the vendors.
  225. 00:16:01.400 – 00:16:02.880 I know vendors need love.
  226. 00:16:04.360 – 00:16:08.280 I always got to like that, you know, when the bills hits,
  227. 00:16:08.460 – 00:16:09.560 the purchase of the money.
  228. 00:16:10.480 – 00:16:12.600 Catch me on the third.
  229. 00:16:14.280 – 00:16:17.640 So that's good networking and to still shake hands
  230. 00:16:17.640 – 00:16:21.800 and still introduce yourself, still hear their story, their brand story.
  231. 00:16:22.540 – 00:16:25.940 You know, even if you don't buy it, you know, sometimes they just need
  232. 00:16:25.940 – 00:16:29.960 that exposure to talk to people and feel good about themselves.
  233. 00:16:30.400 – 00:16:32.020 That morale boost.
  234. 00:16:32.820 – 00:16:37.180 You know, that juice, that fuel pack.
  235. 00:16:37.480 – 00:16:41.560 Maybe you talking to them gave them different perspectives.
  236. 00:16:42.680 – 00:16:46.260 Well, how they could say, well, maybe you're not the customer or client.
  237. 00:16:47.920 – 00:16:52.260 But you can still get the business card information or social media.
  238. 00:16:52.520 – 00:16:54.580 Follow them, support them.
  239. 00:16:55.020 – 00:16:57.640 You know, you can help them in any way.
  240. 00:16:59.440 – 00:17:00.840 Let them know that.
  241. 00:17:00.840 – 00:17:04.160 Or say you could do it in advance at a later time.
  242. 00:17:06.060 – 00:17:08.000 And if they could do the same for you.
  243. 00:17:09.560 – 00:17:11.500 And I'll start to build that relationship.
  244. 00:17:12.859 – 00:17:16.000 Every month, maybe, hey, how you been? How's business?
  245. 00:17:17.400 – 00:17:18.319 You never know.
  246. 00:17:18.800 – 00:17:22.260 Maybe it could be partners someday down the line.
  247. 00:17:22.440 – 00:17:25.119 You never know. Maybe each other's clients.
  248. 00:17:26.020 – 00:17:27.400 You never know.
  249. 00:17:28.520 – 00:17:33.140 And that's why I always keep that hope, keep that faith,
  250. 00:17:35.010 – 00:17:38.930 because I've been hurt.
  251. 00:17:40.210 – 00:17:41.810 So badly.
  252. 00:17:43.630 – 00:17:51.140 So badly in my life, like trauma so much.
  253. 00:17:53.800 – 00:17:59.420 And I know a lot of people, other people have to like everybody goes through it.
  254. 00:17:59.660 – 00:18:02.600 Some people on deeper degrees or higher degrees,
  255. 00:18:02.600 – 00:18:07.320 and I don't know how my ass up or compared to other people's.
  256. 00:18:07.320 – 00:18:12.540 But I know we all feel this and all feel that hurt, all feel that pain.
  257. 00:18:13.720 – 00:18:16.660 That pain sometime in your heart.
  258. 00:18:17.880 – 00:18:19.340 It's like, oh, man.
  259. 00:18:20.860 – 00:18:24.700 Really? Why do I got to have a day like this?
  260. 00:18:27.560 – 00:18:33.680 And it hurts, you know, especially when.
  261. 00:18:34.600 – 00:18:37.360 You have loved ones that.
  262. 00:18:37.400 – 00:18:43.600 Do not know what's going on or do not understand or feel
  263. 00:18:43.600 – 00:18:49.180 you feel like you don't think they understand to the way you want them
  264. 00:18:49.180 – 00:18:52.680 to understand, they can have understanding, but not to the degree
  265. 00:18:53.460 – 00:18:57.140 are specific ality that you will want them to.
  266. 00:18:58.640 – 00:18:59.820 And it's interesting.
  267. 00:19:01.260 – 00:19:03.200 So we can never force
  268. 00:19:03.200 – 00:19:05.400 we can't force anything on anybody.
  269. 00:19:05.760 – 00:19:07.480 That's not even your services.
  270. 00:19:07.720 – 00:19:11.600 I know it's good to be aggressive is good to.
  271. 00:19:12.360 – 00:19:15.600 And I'll be assertive and be passionate about your brand,
  272. 00:19:15.600 – 00:19:19.380 the services and whatever you do, even if it's a physical product
  273. 00:19:19.960 – 00:19:26.080 or digital, but you can't force anything on anyone.
  274. 00:19:27.620 – 00:19:30.460 Go to the people who wants
  275. 00:19:31.020 – 00:19:33.560 your services, your products,
  276. 00:19:33.560 – 00:19:35.760 what you offer.
  277. 00:19:38.150 – 00:19:42.010 If someone's allergic to chocolate milk or milk in general,
  278. 00:19:42.930 – 00:19:45.930 why would you try to sell the milk?
  279. 00:19:47.010 – 00:19:49.390 If they cannot drink it.
  280. 00:19:50.630 – 00:19:53.270 Now, are there other uses of milk?
  281. 00:19:54.230 – 00:19:56.050 I'm sure there's thousands.
  282. 00:19:56.730 – 00:19:58.310 You would take a milk bath.
  283. 00:19:58.530 – 00:20:01.590 I've never done that, but I've seen photo shoots.
  284. 00:20:03.310 – 00:20:08.490 But, you know, it's depending on your message and your angle, so
  285. 00:20:08.490 – 00:20:10.970 but nine times out of ten, people drink milk.
  286. 00:20:12.770 – 00:20:16.250 So why sell to that 10 percent?
  287. 00:20:18.620 – 00:20:21.800 When you have people that buy cereal, most people
  288. 00:20:22.800 – 00:20:24.520 pour milk and cereal.
  289. 00:20:25.820 – 00:20:27.620 And cereal with milk.
  290. 00:20:29.260 – 00:20:31.540 Cookies with milk, so don't
  291. 00:20:31.540 – 00:20:34.160 have somebody get cookie crisps, the cereal,
  292. 00:20:36.740 – 00:20:38.280 and think they're not going to buy milk.
  293. 00:20:38.720 – 00:20:41.560 You might even get 99 percent.
  294. 00:20:43.280 – 00:20:45.100 Versus that 10 percent.
  295. 00:20:46.480 – 00:20:48.660 So that's just something to look at,
  296. 00:20:49.040 – 00:20:50.140 something to think about.
  297. 00:20:52.620 – 00:20:55.020 Just want to give everybody that encouragement.
  298. 00:20:55.420 – 00:20:59.200 My creative entrepreneurs, my business owners,
  299. 00:20:59.920 – 00:21:02.160 my artists, creatives,
  300. 00:21:03.380 – 00:21:06.160 media producers, content creators,
  301. 00:21:07.420 – 00:21:10.120 photographers, event photographers specifically.
  302. 00:21:11.280 – 00:21:14.840 But all my photographers, all my camera users,
  303. 00:21:15.660 – 00:21:18.640 videographers, media producers, podcasters.
  304. 00:21:19.280 – 00:21:22.400 I see y'all, I hear y'all, I feel y'all, I'm there.
  305. 00:21:24.200 – 00:21:27.700 And whatever I need to create to help you get through that,
  306. 00:21:27.880 – 00:21:28.660 let me know.
  307. 00:21:28.720 – 00:21:31.620 I need to build a course, make a course,
  308. 00:21:31.620 – 00:21:34.060 film it, do all this stuff, I will.
  309. 00:21:35.140 – 00:21:37.560 I know I say I have a lot of things
  310. 00:21:38.140 – 00:21:41.140 that I want to do and could do and should be doing.
  311. 00:21:43.000 – 00:21:44.080 And dream about.
  312. 00:21:47.810 – 00:21:52.410 I can only do one thing at a time most times, maybe two, but
  313. 00:21:52.970 – 00:21:54.230 one thing at a time.
  314. 00:21:56.500 – 00:22:00.280 But if you let me know and analyze to what I am
  315. 00:22:00.280 – 00:22:04.120 agreeing with and feeling and what's already going to do,
  316. 00:22:04.120 – 00:22:08.880 that's just confirmation that I really need to focus on this,
  317. 00:22:08.900 – 00:22:11.360 make this priority versus another thing.
  318. 00:22:12.360 – 00:22:13.700 So your feedback helps.
  319. 00:22:13.900 – 00:22:18.040 Even the feedback for this show is podcast,
  320. 00:22:18.660 – 00:22:20.580 alienized photos, industry talk.
  321. 00:22:23.140 – 00:22:24.220 Like, this is my baby.
  322. 00:22:24.520 – 00:22:27.100 This is this is something special.
  323. 00:22:28.100 – 00:22:30.020 And I love it.
  324. 00:22:30.580 – 00:22:31.740 I love you.
  325. 00:22:32.680 – 00:22:34.620 I know you are great.
  326. 00:22:35.380 – 00:22:37.380 Stay true to you.
  327. 00:22:37.760 – 00:22:38.880 Keep elevating.
  328. 00:22:39.440 – 00:22:40.320 Keep evolving.
  329. 00:22:40.900 – 00:22:41.880 Keep growing.
  330. 00:22:42.660 – 00:22:43.580 Stay calm.
  331. 00:22:43.860 – 00:22:45.360 Take those deep breaths.
  332. 00:22:46.060 – 00:22:48.600 You're wise, you're powerful, you're great.
  333. 00:22:50.340 – 00:22:52.900 So there's greatness within you.
  334. 00:22:54.100 – 00:22:56.500 When we come from the greatest source.
  335. 00:22:57.840 – 00:22:59.260 So always remember that.
  336. 00:23:00.220 – 00:23:01.580 Times get hard.
  337. 00:23:02.060 – 00:23:04.060 It's only a phase, just like the moon.
  338. 00:23:05.100 – 00:23:07.520 Let it carry over to the next day.
  339. 00:23:08.120 – 00:23:10.400 Go to sleep, get your rest.
  340. 00:23:11.680 – 00:23:13.200 No longer words to say.
  341. 00:23:15.740 – 00:23:21.080 And this is alienized photos, industry talk with your host,
  342. 00:23:21.320 – 00:23:27.920 photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alienized Photos Media.
  343. 00:23:30.100 – 00:23:35.100 And if you want to find more information on me, on the podcast,
  344. 00:23:35.100 – 00:23:38.980 on my event photography and video production services.
  345. 00:23:39.560 – 00:23:41.500 I want to talk and chat.
  346. 00:23:42.340 – 00:23:43.520 Or book me.
  347. 00:23:44.800 – 00:23:50.340 Follow me on all social media at Alienized Photos.
  348. 00:23:51.800 – 00:23:55.220 Or I could say our end.
  349. 00:23:55.560 – 00:24:00.520 Follow me on creative frequency.
  350. 00:24:01.640 – 00:24:06.180 On a creative frequency or media and also
  351. 00:24:06.180 – 00:24:10.460 Patreon where I do have an inner circle.
  352. 00:24:10.860 – 00:24:13.280 And that's the entry level right now.
  353. 00:24:13.780 – 00:24:17.240 Come be involved in our inner circle with me and Brie.
  354. 00:24:18.440 – 00:24:20.680 And to me, it's free game.
  355. 00:24:20.740 – 00:24:27.200 But to get in our inner circle, $10 and you can read what we have attached.
  356. 00:24:29.440 – 00:24:35.280 And then last but not least, visit Alienized Photos dot com.
  357. 00:24:35.280 – 00:24:37.180 And there's a booking link.
  358. 00:24:37.560 – 00:24:40.020 That you can book me directly.
  359. 00:24:41.120 – 00:24:43.760 You want to have a quick.
  360. 00:24:44.260 – 00:24:48.200 No, consulting car, maybe if we can align.
  361. 00:24:48.720 – 00:24:56.000 Or how I could help you, you know, visit Alienized Photos dot com.
  362. 00:24:56.280 – 00:25:01.220 That's Alienized Photos with a Z, Photos with an S.
  363. 00:25:02.880 – 00:25:05.760 Alienized Photos dot com.
  364. 00:25:06.480 – 00:25:08.820 And again, Alienized Photos of normal media.
  365. 00:25:10.140 – 00:25:17.900 And this is again, Alienized Photos in the street talk with photographer Jackson.
  366. 00:25:19.080 – 00:25:21.160 And I appreciate you for listening.
  367. 00:25:22.340 – 00:25:24.540 This has been another great episode.
  368. 00:25:25.180 – 00:25:27.200 And catch you on the next one.
  369. 00:25:27.760 – 00:25:28.880 Let's go.
  370. 00:25:29.580 – 00:25:32.340 Share this out to a friend and need that encouragement.
  371. 00:25:32.940 – 00:25:41.420 Especially if they're creative entrepreneur, run a business or even organize and curate events.
  372. 00:25:42.420 – 00:25:44.580 This is the perfect episode for them.
  373. 00:25:45.020 – 00:25:46.060 Share with them.
  374. 00:25:46.860 – 00:25:48.380 Have conversations about it.
  375. 00:25:49.720 – 00:25:54.120 And continue to keep listening to Alienized Photos in the street talk.
  376. 00:25:55.320 – 00:25:56.120 All right, peace.
  377. 00:25:57.000 – 00:25:57.540 Thank you.

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43. Forever Grateful — Gratitude When the Bills Come Due

Season 1 · Episode 31

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  1. 00:00:01.390 – 00:00:09.450 I am forever grateful you know I had a few things that happened to me and he
  2. 00:00:09.450 – 00:00:15.570 would say that's bad you know listening to the previous episode about the car
  3. 00:00:16.270 – 00:00:24.290 upsells I had to get car maintenance the car salesman tried to sell me
  4. 00:00:24.290 – 00:00:30.410 another car upsell me on the different services while my car was getting
  5. 00:00:30.410 – 00:00:43.960 maintenance tires this is the follow-up for that the next day so today I end up
  6. 00:00:43.960 – 00:01:03.690 getting pulled over by the police speed limit change 25 to 35 25 20 so I end up
  7. 00:01:03.690 – 00:01:12.460 taking my car into service to the car shop and then the following day get
  8. 00:01:12.460 – 00:01:24.160 pulled over now got a speeding ticket now many would say that is a liability your
  9. 00:01:24.160 – 00:01:28.120 car is a liability it's costing you money it's not making you money two
  10. 00:01:28.120 – 00:01:38.630 days in a row that's collectively over a grand just for having a car now I'm
  11. 00:01:38.630 – 00:01:44.790 forever grateful you know car getting me around and I look at it as taxes you
  12. 00:01:44.790 – 00:01:49.970 know gotta pay the taxes gotta pay the dues gotta pay to play so it's
  13. 00:01:49.970 – 00:01:59.830 better than walking and it's cold weather or catching a bus you know
  14. 00:01:59.830 – 00:02:06.570 cost it sucks yes but I'm forever grateful I'm in a warm car I don't have
  15. 00:02:06.570 – 00:02:16.670 to wait for nobody I got a good running car so I'm forever grateful no
  16. 00:02:16.670 – 00:02:23.350 matter the circumstances and to top that off you know just just seeing
  17. 00:02:23.350 – 00:02:28.150 another driver just sleep at the wheel like they were going like two
  18. 00:02:28.150 – 00:02:33.070 three miles per hour literally on the street and it looked like they were
  19. 00:02:33.070 – 00:02:37.990 hunched over like they would sleep at the wheel but foot off the pedal and
  20. 00:02:38.930 – 00:02:44.330 you know I'm honking my horn honking my horn thank God there was no
  21. 00:02:44.330 – 00:02:49.570 accidents person that had the green light kind of pulled up on the side
  22. 00:02:49.570 – 00:02:54.750 of him I guess it was a passenger because one was out the window knocking
  23. 00:02:54.750 – 00:03:00.590 they pulled up next to him knocking on their window trying to wake them up so
  24. 00:03:00.590 – 00:03:04.070 it looks like they were sleeping they must have been asleep had to be
  25. 00:03:04.070 – 00:03:09.990 sleeping up I'm forever grateful because I had moments like that even in a
  26. 00:03:09.990 – 00:03:16.430 blizzard being sleep at the wheel after working two three jobs at a time
  27. 00:03:16.430 – 00:03:23.970 and you know finally getting off and being asleep at the wheel getting off
  28. 00:03:23.970 – 00:03:30.690 the freeway almost basically I was in a ditch right off the freeway off the
  29. 00:03:30.690 – 00:03:39.490 exit so I didn't even make it off the freeway and I was blessed because
  30. 00:03:39.490 – 00:03:42.810 anything could have happened and I wouldn't be here so I'm blessed to be
  31. 00:03:42.810 – 00:03:49.430 alive so to kind of see that same thing again and you know for the
  32. 00:03:49.430 – 00:03:56.310 city the community to help out and be there and be a concern because that car
  33. 00:03:56.310 – 00:04:01.570 could have caused the accident being sleep at a wheel and I understand and
  34. 00:04:01.570 – 00:04:07.510 we all work these jobs sometimes two and three and even four jobs at a
  35. 00:04:07.510 – 00:04:13.010 time sometimes just to make ends meet when at the end of the day it's not
  36. 00:04:13.010 – 00:04:17.390 worth it and sacrificing your sleep is not worth it and even in a
  37. 00:04:17.390 – 00:04:24.190 previous episode I talked about you know your health you got to take care of your health and be healthy just like you got to take care of
  38. 00:04:24.190 – 00:04:30.290 your car health and be healthy and also wealthy just like you have to be
  39. 00:04:30.290 – 00:04:39.150 healthy and wealthy health as well so get your sleep be grateful and this
  40. 00:04:39.150 – 00:04:44.390 is just a reminder to me especially on my entrepreneur journey forever be
  41. 00:04:44.390 – 00:04:50.350 look at everything as an investment and everything happens for a reason so
  42. 00:04:50.890 – 00:04:56.850 that's just my reminder to forever be grateful yeah only got a hundred
  43. 00:04:56.850 – 00:05:01.670 dollars when usually it's three hundred dollars just be grateful I'm
  44. 00:05:01.670 – 00:05:09.790 getting paid you know maybe it's a wedding or a large event that's like
  45. 00:05:09.790 – 00:05:16.370 ten hours but they only got the budget for four just be grateful still do it
  46. 00:05:16.370 – 00:05:22.590 you know so there's little things like that no reminders to keep me grateful
  47. 00:05:22.590 – 00:05:29.170 I'm forever grateful forever will be grateful and also a reminder to you be
  48. 00:05:29.170 – 00:05:32.990 grateful and what are things that you're ungrateful about that you can't
  49. 00:05:32.990 – 00:05:39.050 be grateful for that's my little spill my reminders for you and also
  50. 00:05:39.050 – 00:05:47.590 myself to forever be grateful and this is your host photographer Jackson Steve
  51. 00:05:47.590 – 00:05:53.830 Jackson of alien eyes photos media and this is another episode of alien eyes
  52. 00:05:53.830 – 00:06:00.550 photos industry talk thank you for tuning in if you want to book me as
  53. 00:06:00.550 – 00:06:05.330 an event photographer or a business coach and do some ideation sessions
  54. 00:06:05.330 – 00:06:14.830 business sessions you can visit alien eyes photos dot-com as alien eyes with
  55. 00:06:14.830 – 00:06:21.890 a z photos with s alien eyes photos dot-com and if you want to follow me
  56. 00:06:21.890 – 00:06:33.030 on all social media also at alien eyes photos at alien eyes photos thank you
  57. 00:06:33.030 – 00:06:41.130 another episode of alien eyes photos industry talk again I am photographer
  58. 00:06:41.130 – 00:06:47.410 Jackson I appreciate you listening to my journey and my personal entrepreneur
  59. 00:06:47.410 – 00:06:56.720 journal on my journey remember to be grateful so I gotta say for today
  60. 00:06:57.240 – 00:06:59.160 peace love and blessings

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44. From Flat Tires to Business Upsells: Lessons on Preparation, Protection, and Profit

Season 1 · Episode 30

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  1. 00:00:00.780 – 00:00:07.240 Now this is gonna be a quick episode of reflections of my early
  2. 00:00:09.060 – 00:00:09.920 2026
  3. 00:00:09.920 – 00:00:12.140 It's mid-january
  4. 00:00:12.740 – 00:00:14.460 last night
  5. 00:00:14.460 – 00:00:16.980 I'll call the flat
  6. 00:00:16.980 – 00:00:22.340 Now it's the middle of the winter in Cleveland, Ohio
  7. 00:00:22.860 – 00:00:26.850 And when I get cold it gets cold and we're by the lake
  8. 00:00:27.460 – 00:00:30.320 Lake Erie to be exact
  9. 00:00:31.540 – 00:00:36.200 And call the flat on the freeway with my daughter in the backseat
  10. 00:00:37.240 – 00:00:40.300 So, you know, I
  11. 00:00:40.300 – 00:00:41.880 Have to get
  12. 00:00:41.880 – 00:00:47.020 another tire end up changing
  13. 00:00:47.020 – 00:00:54.840 Tire, but always call roadside just in case or if anything and I'm glad I did so they could fill up my spare tire
  14. 00:00:55.780 – 00:00:58.600 I've already had the jack and the other tire off
  15. 00:00:59.540 – 00:01:04.319 And I one little lug nut just wanted to stick in there there's a so stuck
  16. 00:01:04.980 – 00:01:11.900 It was cold, but I wanted to move quickly because I had my daughter in my car
  17. 00:01:13.860 – 00:01:16.620 But I made arrangements for her to get picked up
  18. 00:01:17.700 – 00:01:18.260 because
  19. 00:01:18.260 – 00:01:23.600 Yeah, I don't want her to go through that especially being on the freeway
  20. 00:01:23.600 – 00:01:28.700 It's just yeah, but long story short the next day
  21. 00:01:29.360 – 00:01:31.360 Of course, I made an appointment
  22. 00:01:31.580 – 00:01:34.680 That night since it was the evening late evening
  23. 00:01:34.680 – 00:01:37.600 made an appointment for
  24. 00:01:37.600 – 00:01:38.840 Today
  25. 00:01:39.880 – 00:01:45.640 to get it done at the earliest time and
  26. 00:01:46.180 – 00:01:48.880 On the way to the appointment
  27. 00:01:49.660 – 00:01:51.660 Caught another flat
  28. 00:01:52.560 – 00:01:57.680 Like is it that cold that I just catch flats and you know last night
  29. 00:01:57.680 – 00:02:02.820 I was riding on the rim and I just I just pulled over I didn't yeah
  30. 00:02:02.820 – 00:02:04.160 That's unsafe
  31. 00:02:04.160 – 00:02:14.350 so on the way to the appointment get another flat like well come on now what is going on and
  32. 00:02:17.150 – 00:02:17.990 I
  33. 00:02:17.990 – 00:02:22.810 Just decided to get all new tires in I
  34. 00:02:22.810 – 00:02:23.270 came
  35. 00:02:23.950 – 00:02:26.870 into the dealership or
  36. 00:02:26.870 – 00:02:27.770 car shop
  37. 00:02:28.830 – 00:02:33.620 Knowing you know what I wanted
  38. 00:02:34.440 – 00:02:40.940 Exactly and I was new tires I actually came in there so they couldn't sell me on that but just the
  39. 00:02:41.540 – 00:02:43.620 quality and brand of tires
  40. 00:02:44.220 – 00:02:49.280 that was the only thing I knew I could have sold me on or
  41. 00:02:49.280 – 00:02:53.180 Try to upsell you know how it would be and
  42. 00:02:53.180 – 00:02:53.680 sales
  43. 00:02:54.520 – 00:02:58.800 But you know as a business owner. I was just thinking like wow
  44. 00:02:58.800 – 00:03:05.460 When we try to upsell it's it applies for almost every business, so I
  45. 00:03:05.460 – 00:03:11.480 Just want to give a reminder. I bring awareness, but you have upsells in your business
  46. 00:03:12.760 – 00:03:15.680 Like I'm still working on more upsells
  47. 00:03:17.180 – 00:03:22.200 But I just want to be genuine, and I don't want to be too salesy
  48. 00:03:23.040 – 00:03:25.780 But you know it's business
  49. 00:03:27.410 – 00:03:31.670 But just hearing the options and the quality is like hmm
  50. 00:03:31.670 – 00:03:36.710 I also did my research you know do research before you go into any meeting
  51. 00:03:36.710 – 00:03:43.850 Even going to the tire shop or the dealership is a meeting and treat it just like such do your research
  52. 00:03:43.850 – 00:03:46.310 You're not going to a
  53. 00:03:46.310 – 00:03:50.970 Deal with another business partner or another CEO business owner
  54. 00:03:52.830 – 00:03:53.550 Sponsor
  55. 00:03:53.550 – 00:04:01.430 Without doing your research, so even when you go on to these tire shops or whatever it may be do your research beforehand
  56. 00:04:02.050 – 00:04:07.410 It will save you a lot of time a lot of worry a lot of headache
  57. 00:04:08.050 – 00:04:09.690 and less anxiety
  58. 00:04:10.950 – 00:04:18.029 Gonna already know where the price is gonna be or average or ballpoint so you walk in there, and I did and
  59. 00:04:18.029 – 00:04:20.950 You know of course the upsells all
  60. 00:04:21.589 – 00:04:27.310 The wheel alignment all the oil change and this and this and then when you get the oil change the cabin filter
  61. 00:04:27.310 – 00:04:29.930 Oh, you're gonna get another filter two filters
  62. 00:04:29.930 – 00:04:36.950 And it's just so much and it's like dang added this and added that and added this oh you may need
  63. 00:04:36.950 – 00:04:42.890 Coverage oh you may need new bright. Oh you may need this. Oh, it's a little oily. Oh
  64. 00:04:42.890 – 00:04:48.870 So many things now, but it's always good to check on it and have that wellness check
  65. 00:04:48.870 – 00:04:52.850 Not only for yourself because you know health is well
  66. 00:04:53.290 – 00:04:56.650 But your cars wealth and health
  67. 00:04:59.100 – 00:05:02.360 Definitely you have it as an asset and not a liability
  68. 00:05:03.260 – 00:05:07.880 So you want to keep it healthy? You know what's its wellness and?
  69. 00:05:09.480 – 00:05:14.500 You know I try to get it checked out as much as possible, but always do my
  70. 00:05:15.780 – 00:05:16.980 little daily
  71. 00:05:17.600 – 00:05:19.500 checks and weekly checks
  72. 00:05:19.500 – 00:05:20.440 So
  73. 00:05:21.380 – 00:05:26.360 I'm always checking myself, but it's also good to bring it into a professional
  74. 00:05:26.900 – 00:05:33.700 quite often like every few months, you know I do three to six months, but
  75. 00:05:33.700 – 00:05:36.180 Every few months is even better
  76. 00:05:36.700 – 00:05:42.040 You know just like a trusted friend that is a mechanic or something like that just to
  77. 00:05:42.420 – 00:05:47.020 give it that outside opinion before you give it to a
  78. 00:05:47.540 – 00:05:49.900 Corporation or bigger business
  79. 00:05:51.060 – 00:05:51.900 Yeah
  80. 00:05:52.540 – 00:05:54.800 Do you have upsells in your business?
  81. 00:05:56.480 – 00:05:57.220 but
  82. 00:05:57.220 – 00:06:01.380 That's just something I wanted to ponder on and kind of reflect
  83. 00:06:01.380 – 00:06:05.040 Going back to my previous episodes of offers
  84. 00:06:05.040 – 00:06:07.220 Make that offer
  85. 00:06:07.220 – 00:06:12.620 But now we're talking about upsells, so what are you upselling in your business?
  86. 00:06:14.630 – 00:06:15.990 This has been
  87. 00:06:15.990 – 00:06:18.730 Alien eyes photos industry talk
  88. 00:06:18.730 – 00:06:24.770 With your host photographer Jackson Steve Jackson of alien eyes photos media
  89. 00:06:24.770 – 00:06:30.790 And this is another episode of alien eyes photos industry talk
  90. 00:06:30.790 – 00:06:32.990 And if you want to book me
  91. 00:06:34.030 – 00:06:38.430 Or check out the website for more information that is
  92. 00:06:39.230 – 00:06:41.630 alien eyes photos
  93. 00:06:41.630 – 00:06:48.070 Com that's alien eyes with a z photos with a s calm
  94. 00:06:48.850 – 00:06:54.670 Alien eyes photos calm and you could follow me at alien eyes photos
  95. 00:06:55.270 – 00:06:58.170 That's alien eyes photos on all
  96. 00:06:58.170 – 00:06:58.990 media
  97. 00:06:59.990 – 00:07:03.870 Alright y'all take care get those upsells peace

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45. David Shands In Cleveland

Season 1 · Episode 29

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  1. 00:00:00.980 – 00:00:05.680 Yo, this episode,
  2. 00:00:07.760 – 00:00:12.000 it's my reflection when David Shans came to Cleveland.
  3. 00:00:13.340 – 00:00:16.820 Man, I remember it like it was yesterday.
  4. 00:00:18.340 – 00:00:20.680 I know I had to work the previous night,
  5. 00:00:22.220 – 00:00:24.860 but it was an early day
  6. 00:00:24.860 – 00:00:26.900 because he wanted to speak at his school.
  7. 00:00:28.970 – 00:00:30.910 And just a little backstory,
  8. 00:00:32.810 – 00:00:39.730 my team was responsible for getting David Shans here
  9. 00:00:39.730 – 00:00:40.250 in Cleveland.
  10. 00:00:41.290 – 00:00:45.090 Like I wasn't a part of the deal necessarily,
  11. 00:00:45.210 – 00:00:51.760 but I was there helping with the organization
  12. 00:00:52.080 – 00:00:55.360 of the day, the flow of events,
  13. 00:00:55.460 – 00:00:58.480 and also doing the capturing,
  14. 00:00:58.480 – 00:01:02.360 the documentary capturing for the day.
  15. 00:01:03.860 – 00:01:10.120 But originally, David Shans was doing
  16. 00:01:10.120 – 00:01:14.520 a podcast summit promotion tour
  17. 00:01:14.740 – 00:01:17.500 and he was going to different cities
  18. 00:01:18.480 – 00:01:23.020 and he was offering deals
  19. 00:01:23.020 – 00:01:27.360 for getting him in your city
  20. 00:01:27.360 – 00:01:31.040 and my team here in Cleveland, Ohio.
  21. 00:01:32.440 – 00:01:35.800 The pull-up experience was a big part of that deal.
  22. 00:01:36.700 – 00:01:38.420 You know, there was other factors,
  23. 00:01:38.480 – 00:01:44.430 but we were responsible for getting him in Cleveland
  24. 00:01:45.370 – 00:01:47.810 and speaking to our audience,
  25. 00:01:48.610 – 00:01:53.670 our collective audience of entrepreneurs and podcasters.
  26. 00:01:55.970 – 00:01:57.770 Like the room was packed
  27. 00:02:01.220 – 00:02:05.020 and going back to the beginning of the day,
  28. 00:02:06.100 – 00:02:07.380 you know, meeting up my team
  29. 00:02:07.380 – 00:02:10.699 and meeting David Shans in person for the first time.
  30. 00:02:12.820 – 00:02:15.320 Cool man, cool guy, oh my man.
  31. 00:02:18.060 – 00:02:21.400 I see why he is a successful in business
  32. 00:02:22.100 – 00:02:24.080 and just how he carried himself
  33. 00:02:24.080 – 00:02:28.820 and a God-fearing man, a faithful man,
  34. 00:02:28.820 – 00:02:32.640 man of faith, a great entrepreneur,
  35. 00:02:33.800 – 00:02:37.740 brilliant talent, amazing interviewer.
  36. 00:02:39.900 – 00:02:47.130 And got to the school, took some pictures,
  37. 00:02:48.930 – 00:02:50.550 and then we got the day started.
  38. 00:02:53.170 – 00:02:58.840 You know, I'm speaking to a young man.
  39. 00:02:59.260 – 00:03:00.640 It was an all-boys school.
  40. 00:03:04.490 – 00:03:11.510 And just the, man, it's so much.
  41. 00:03:12.090 – 00:03:19.550 Just the moments leading up to it is wow.
  42. 00:03:20.610 – 00:03:26.050 But he gave the students the encouragement
  43. 00:03:26.430 – 00:03:29.450 and even the game on entrepreneurship
  44. 00:03:30.950 – 00:03:37.410 a practical and tactical, actionable step to take
  45. 00:03:37.410 – 00:03:41.950 to make money right that day.
  46. 00:03:44.920 – 00:03:49.280 He even gave out money to some of the students
  47. 00:03:49.580 – 00:03:56.220 that took action, quick action, invested in the students.
  48. 00:03:57.100 – 00:04:02.140 And also the knowledge and encouragement
  49. 00:04:02.140 – 00:04:06.140 or entrepreneurship, which he is big
  50. 00:04:06.140 – 00:04:09.360 and preaching entrepreneurship, especially to the youth
  51. 00:04:09.360 – 00:04:14.610 and giving back excellent motivational speakers.
  52. 00:04:17.579 – 00:04:18.980 And just all the things.
  53. 00:04:18.980 – 00:04:21.779 And the things he's into and the things he do.
  54. 00:04:22.700 – 00:04:23.740 Very successful.
  55. 00:04:26.180 – 00:04:30.220 I'm pretty sure if he was wanted to pursue
  56. 00:04:30.220 – 00:04:32.440 that rapping career again, you know,
  57. 00:04:32.440 – 00:04:34.600 he'd be successful doing music.
  58. 00:04:36.420 – 00:04:39.980 But yeah, man, just an amazing talent, excellent guy.
  59. 00:04:41.640 – 00:04:44.360 And then after we left the school,
  60. 00:04:46.460 – 00:04:50.440 that's kind of when we did the interview.
  61. 00:04:53.150 – 00:04:55.390 Of course, I'm filming, I'm setting up,
  62. 00:04:55.710 – 00:04:58.010 setting up lights, I'm setting up mics.
  63. 00:04:59.110 – 00:05:00.930 You know, getting ready for my team,
  64. 00:05:01.110 – 00:05:02.610 you know, to pull up experience,
  65. 00:05:03.730 – 00:05:08.690 to interview David Shands of the Social Proof Podcast.
  66. 00:05:10.590 – 00:05:11.690 It was amazing.
  67. 00:05:14.310 – 00:05:17.510 It was like a dream come true for a lot of our team.
  68. 00:05:20.590 – 00:05:23.010 Getting him to Cleveland was still a dream.
  69. 00:05:23.010 – 00:05:24.790 Like, yeah, we got to do business,
  70. 00:05:24.930 – 00:05:26.170 but we got to get you here in Cleveland
  71. 00:05:26.170 – 00:05:28.970 some way somehow and get you on the podcast.
  72. 00:05:28.990 – 00:05:31.050 And we did all of that.
  73. 00:05:35.520 – 00:05:38.560 And just going back to episode, what was that?
  74. 00:05:39.000 – 00:05:42.100 200, episode 200 of the pull-up experience
  75. 00:05:42.100 – 00:05:43.520 of Mr. David Shands.
  76. 00:05:47.050 – 00:05:49.070 Man, I listen to it often.
  77. 00:05:49.290 – 00:05:53.650 One of the pull-up experience podcast episodes
  78. 00:05:53.650 – 00:05:54.850 I listen to often.
  79. 00:05:58.090 – 00:06:02.270 And just the wisdom and authenticity,
  80. 00:06:03.830 – 00:06:04.950 the transparency.
  81. 00:06:06.490 – 00:06:08.250 And shout out to Donnie Wiggins too,
  82. 00:06:09.090 – 00:06:10.750 for Transparency Podcast,
  83. 00:06:11.530 – 00:06:14.010 his co-partner on the Social Proof Podcast.
  84. 00:06:14.450 – 00:06:16.310 It'd have been amazing to get them both out,
  85. 00:06:17.470 – 00:06:19.990 but you know, start small.
  86. 00:06:21.150 – 00:06:22.930 And it was a blessing to have David Shands
  87. 00:06:22.930 – 00:06:25.390 here in Cleveland and show him around
  88. 00:06:25.390 – 00:06:28.970 and have him speak to our network, our audience.
  89. 00:06:30.350 – 00:06:33.430 And after the podcast was the live event
  90. 00:06:33.430 – 00:06:36.910 where he did speak more to our audience.
  91. 00:06:37.050 – 00:06:40.610 Now we had a live audience for the podcast as well.
  92. 00:06:42.150 – 00:06:43.350 And you know, lunch.
  93. 00:06:44.870 – 00:06:46.830 And then the main event.
  94. 00:06:47.710 – 00:06:51.630 And he spoke more about podcasting himself.
  95. 00:06:52.930 – 00:06:55.730 He spoke more about the podcast summit.
  96. 00:06:55.970 – 00:06:57.610 I think it was what, year two?
  97. 00:07:00.250 – 00:07:01.950 And even made an offer.
  98. 00:07:03.490 – 00:07:06.250 I think it was like a Cleveland exclusive offer.
  99. 00:07:13.010 – 00:07:15.330 And I knew I had to be there.
  100. 00:07:17.150 – 00:07:18.630 I knew I had to be there.
  101. 00:07:18.690 – 00:07:20.530 I didn't have a podcast at the time,
  102. 00:07:20.550 – 00:07:24.210 but of course I was working with a couple podcasts
  103. 00:07:26.230 – 00:07:27.650 a few years ago.
  104. 00:07:28.320 – 00:07:30.490 And now I have my own podcast.
  105. 00:07:30.570 – 00:07:34.570 So it was like, maybe you're planting a seed
  106. 00:07:34.570 – 00:07:39.490 somewhere down the line or even just the content
  107. 00:07:39.490 – 00:07:41.870 and Social Proof Podcast itself,
  108. 00:07:42.570 – 00:07:43.310 somewhere down the line,
  109. 00:07:43.430 – 00:07:46.310 planting that seed to start a podcast, start a podcast.
  110. 00:07:46.690 – 00:07:48.530 Really start another podcast.
  111. 00:07:48.630 – 00:07:52.750 This is my second podcast as I had another podcast
  112. 00:07:52.750 – 00:07:56.270 called Lyrical Logic when I was a musician.
  113. 00:07:58.230 – 00:08:05.090 Interviewing different spoken word artists, poets, writers,
  114. 00:08:05.950 – 00:08:10.130 and musicians, breaking down different lyrics
  115. 00:08:10.130 – 00:08:16.570 of songs, poems, and also their body of work
  116. 00:08:16.570 – 00:08:18.090 and have them perform.
  117. 00:08:19.430 – 00:08:21.370 It was also an audio podcast.
  118. 00:08:21.450 – 00:08:23.270 That's why I'm so big on audio.
  119. 00:08:23.350 – 00:08:25.110 Cause it's like, I got to do it right there
  120. 00:08:25.110 – 00:08:26.850 in a moment, we don't got to worry about the lights
  121. 00:08:26.850 – 00:08:28.810 and is it filming, is it still recording?
  122. 00:08:29.010 – 00:08:33.830 It cuts off at 30 minutes, really 29 and 59 seconds.
  123. 00:08:34.270 – 00:08:36.190 So I was like, yeah, I don't even worry about that.
  124. 00:08:37.010 – 00:08:40.870 Just set up a nice clean microphone and speak.
  125. 00:08:43.570 – 00:08:46.990 It's a beauty, it's more authentic this way to me,
  126. 00:08:46.990 – 00:08:49.930 at least like that old school radio
  127. 00:08:49.930 – 00:08:51.590 and having those interviews.
  128. 00:08:52.970 – 00:08:54.790 Video was good too and I do a lot of video.
  129. 00:08:54.790 – 00:08:57.590 I have a production company, media company.
  130. 00:08:58.790 – 00:09:01.490 So I mean, video is important.
  131. 00:09:01.550 – 00:09:03.950 I just don't focus on it.
  132. 00:09:04.250 – 00:09:06.770 But I do have clips here and there.
  133. 00:09:07.850 – 00:09:12.530 But yeah, I knew when David Shams made that offer though
  134. 00:09:14.070 – 00:09:15.770 it was something I had to get on.
  135. 00:09:15.790 – 00:09:17.250 I'm glad I did.
  136. 00:09:19.010 – 00:09:21.690 And not only a lot of our team,
  137. 00:09:22.170 – 00:09:24.570 I think everybody from our team went
  138. 00:09:24.570 – 00:09:30.490 except for one person that year, year or two.
  139. 00:09:32.690 – 00:09:42.780 And not only that me and the team went,
  140. 00:09:42.980 – 00:09:47.100 which is amazing to have a whole team in another city.
  141. 00:09:47.720 – 00:09:51.220 I'm talking about it was like eight, nine of us.
  142. 00:09:52.340 – 00:09:56.580 But like, man, we also had a lot of people
  143. 00:09:56.580 – 00:09:59.600 from Cleveland come out and show out.
  144. 00:09:59.600 – 00:10:06.020 And that's just the testimony of build your community
  145. 00:10:06.440 – 00:10:08.000 and invite people in.
  146. 00:10:08.900 – 00:10:12.540 If we didn't have a network or a good community
  147. 00:10:12.540 – 00:10:15.580 or supporting community and people that believed in us,
  148. 00:10:17.680 – 00:10:23.460 he wouldn't have a lot of Clevelanders in Atlanta
  149. 00:10:24.280 – 00:10:28.900 for the podcast summit and giving him the opportunity
  150. 00:10:28.900 – 00:10:30.320 to speak to our audience.
  151. 00:10:31.180 – 00:10:35.580 And that just was a big trade-off for
  152. 00:10:36.600 – 00:10:38.420 us coming to the podcast summit
  153. 00:10:38.420 – 00:10:41.380 and he introducing us to his audience
  154. 00:10:41.380 – 00:10:44.600 and people that follow him as well.
  155. 00:10:45.440 – 00:10:49.400 So it's just amazing to invest in yourself.
  156. 00:10:50.600 – 00:10:52.140 I think that's the biggest thing.
  157. 00:10:53.660 – 00:10:55.620 I know he invested in himself.
  158. 00:10:56.300 – 00:10:58.760 So again, invest in yourself.
  159. 00:11:00.140 – 00:11:03.920 It's a critical thing for you, your life, your business,
  160. 00:11:04.400 – 00:11:07.120 your family, it's important.
  161. 00:11:09.140 – 00:11:11.060 But yeah, I just want to announce that
  162. 00:11:11.700 – 00:11:14.460 this podcast summit 2026,
  163. 00:11:15.700 – 00:11:17.780 man, you can find the whole team
  164. 00:11:17.780 – 00:11:18.960 with a pull-up experience
  165. 00:11:18.960 – 00:11:24.040 and also creative frequency at the podcast summit 2026.
  166. 00:11:25.620 – 00:11:29.800 We're going to be vendors this year, so stay tuned to that.
  167. 00:11:30.340 – 00:11:33.280 Don't know which booth, but that's just us
  168. 00:11:33.280 – 00:11:36.300 being a testimony of investing in yourself.
  169. 00:11:37.420 – 00:11:38.680 This is important.
  170. 00:11:38.860 – 00:11:43.340 And even if we're attending the podcast summit itself
  171. 00:11:44.270 – 00:11:48.220 and just attending and going to the workshops and sessions,
  172. 00:11:49.200 – 00:11:50.660 we're still investing in ourselves.
  173. 00:11:51.360 – 00:11:53.940 So either way, we're investing in ourselves,
  174. 00:11:53.940 – 00:11:58.060 taking that bet on us and trusting the process
  175. 00:11:58.060 – 00:12:02.320 and what David Shands has built and continue to build
  176. 00:12:02.320 – 00:12:04.060 and everything he do.
  177. 00:12:04.640 – 00:12:09.480 Man, he deserve all the flowers that I have.
  178. 00:12:10.500 – 00:12:13.800 Looking up to him as an entrepreneur and leader
  179. 00:12:14.370 – 00:12:20.240 and what he's done with the entrepreneur community
  180. 00:12:20.240 – 00:12:24.180 and non-podcast community and beyond,
  181. 00:12:25.520 – 00:12:26.620 it's amazing.
  182. 00:12:26.760 – 00:12:32.260 And just seeing his journey in the fitness,
  183. 00:12:33.020 – 00:12:36.780 not even had a chance to have a run with him
  184. 00:12:36.780 – 00:12:40.780 before day two of the podcast summit 2025.
  185. 00:12:43.160 – 00:12:44.740 It was supposed to be a walk,
  186. 00:12:45.400 – 00:12:48.220 but it ended up being whoever wanted to walk,
  187. 00:12:48.220 – 00:12:50.540 and whoever wanted to run, run.
  188. 00:12:51.920 – 00:12:54.700 He started off running, but 20 seconds in,
  189. 00:12:54.700 – 00:12:57.320 he was up there with us with the runners
  190. 00:12:57.320 – 00:12:59.380 and had a good time, man.
  191. 00:12:59.400 – 00:13:01.760 I think he was like top three or who all.
  192. 00:13:01.900 – 00:13:07.000 It was like 150 of us between walking and running.
  193. 00:13:07.400 – 00:13:09.760 So just to see all that in the community
  194. 00:13:09.760 – 00:13:12.380 between other podcasters and entrepreneurs,
  195. 00:13:13.020 – 00:13:14.020 it was amazing.
  196. 00:13:14.500 – 00:13:17.740 It's just to have the opportunity and get that sweat in
  197. 00:13:17.740 – 00:13:19.480 before the day has started.
  198. 00:13:19.620 – 00:13:21.420 We started writing early,
  199. 00:13:22.080 – 00:13:24.380 and I had a chance to take a shower, eat,
  200. 00:13:24.720 – 00:13:26.940 talk to my lady before the summit.
  201. 00:13:27.720 – 00:13:29.680 So it was just an amazing day,
  202. 00:13:29.820 – 00:13:32.340 amazing experience and getting the bluffs on
  203. 00:13:32.340 – 00:13:35.020 and the motivation rocking.
  204. 00:13:36.540 – 00:13:40.640 Man, just an amazing entrepreneur,
  205. 00:13:41.620 – 00:13:45.860 amazing builder, community-driven faith,
  206. 00:13:49.420 – 00:13:53.220 man, so many things, like I say,
  207. 00:13:53.760 – 00:13:57.760 just motivator to this resilience and curiosity,
  208. 00:13:58.000 – 00:14:04.220 which is kind of funny because everybody asking them.
  209. 00:14:05.060 – 00:14:07.240 To me, it was like deep questions,
  210. 00:14:07.860 – 00:14:10.380 but I had a chance to ask them a question.
  211. 00:14:10.640 – 00:14:14.180 I'm like, man, I've never seen a bad interview from you.
  212. 00:14:14.560 – 00:14:15.840 What are some of the things that you've done
  213. 00:14:15.840 – 00:14:17.540 or some of the things that you do
  214. 00:14:17.540 – 00:14:19.520 to prepare for these interviews
  215. 00:14:19.520 – 00:14:21.780 or how you always ask good questions?
  216. 00:14:22.200 – 00:14:23.220 Like, what's the secret?
  217. 00:14:24.860 – 00:14:27.780 It was like, just stay curious.
  218. 00:14:28.180 – 00:14:32.280 It was like, just stay curious.
  219. 00:14:33.700 – 00:14:36.640 So that was definitely well-received.
  220. 00:14:37.620 – 00:14:43.640 Just the curiosity of the things to help you build.
  221. 00:14:43.640 – 00:14:49.060 Like a lot of the greats were curious and asked questions.
  222. 00:14:49.940 – 00:14:52.620 And maybe that is a testimony of why
  223. 00:14:52.620 – 00:14:54.960 I started another podcast.
  224. 00:14:55.040 – 00:14:57.080 Like I had a podcast, Lyrical Logic,
  225. 00:14:57.720 – 00:14:59.840 back in the day when I was a musician,
  226. 00:15:00.860 – 00:15:04.420 interviewing poets, spoken word artists and musicians.
  227. 00:15:04.800 – 00:15:06.800 And it's often from time to time.
  228. 00:15:07.400 – 00:15:10.980 And we break down different lyrics and songs and poems
  229. 00:15:11.700 – 00:15:15.880 and have them share their body of work and perform.
  230. 00:15:16.100 – 00:15:19.360 And then we break down one of their songs or poems.
  231. 00:15:20.340 – 00:15:23.680 So yeah, that was a great moment in time for me,
  232. 00:15:24.280 – 00:15:27.200 but I didn't publicly publish it.
  233. 00:15:27.540 – 00:15:29.780 I just had a lot of recorded episodes,
  234. 00:15:29.860 – 00:15:34.000 which I may even drop very soon,
  235. 00:15:34.600 – 00:15:36.840 just as extra content.
  236. 00:15:37.960 – 00:15:40.200 It could be like my little science experiment.
  237. 00:15:42.960 – 00:15:46.040 But just like the little seeds and nuggets,
  238. 00:15:46.960 – 00:15:51.300 he planned it to help me be where I'm at now
  239. 00:15:51.300 – 00:15:53.360 and even start my own podcast.
  240. 00:15:54.000 – 00:15:58.720 As the director or film in the behind the scenes
  241. 00:15:58.720 – 00:16:00.080 of a couple podcasts.
  242. 00:16:01.560 – 00:16:05.540 So it is just a testimony of the little things
  243. 00:16:06.420 – 00:16:11.120 that David Shands do and help motivate others
  244. 00:16:11.120 – 00:16:13.120 and encourage others.
  245. 00:16:14.680 – 00:16:16.660 And like I said,
  246. 00:16:17.080 – 00:16:19.340 you deserve the flowers and there's the flowers.
  247. 00:16:19.960 – 00:16:22.020 And keep doing what you got to do
  248. 00:16:22.020 – 00:16:27.080 to be who you got to be because you are doing that.
  249. 00:16:28.580 – 00:16:29.700 Keep being amazing.
  250. 00:16:30.120 – 00:16:31.260 Keep being phenomenal.
  251. 00:16:32.360 – 00:16:33.460 Keep being inspiring.
  252. 00:16:34.240 – 00:16:35.400 Keep being powerful.
  253. 00:16:35.660 – 00:16:36.320 Keep leading.
  254. 00:16:38.000 – 00:16:39.300 Keep doing big things.
  255. 00:16:40.760 – 00:16:45.640 So I see everyone at Podcast Summit 2026.
  256. 00:16:47.220 – 00:16:49.960 Check out one of the later episodes
  257. 00:16:50.640 – 00:16:53.840 about where we're going to be located for Vending.
  258. 00:16:55.140 – 00:16:59.020 Cause yeah, we're besting ourselves this year even more.
  259. 00:16:59.740 – 00:17:01.900 We're like, yeah, let's talk to the community.
  260. 00:17:01.940 – 00:17:03.060 Let's talk to the people.
  261. 00:17:03.900 – 00:17:06.960 Let's engage and let's help them as well.
  262. 00:17:07.240 – 00:17:08.060 Share our knowledge.
  263. 00:17:09.220 – 00:17:12.680 So yeah, we'll be at the Podcast Summit 2026.
  264. 00:17:13.319 – 00:17:17.400 Looking forward to it and follow Podcast Summit on IG
  265. 00:17:17.940 – 00:17:21.420 and Facebook and wherever they're posted up at.
  266. 00:17:22.500 – 00:17:23.599 Get your ticket.
  267. 00:17:24.220 – 00:17:25.359 Get your ticket.
  268. 00:17:25.420 – 00:17:28.200 I may have a code for you.
  269. 00:17:28.339 – 00:17:29.840 So stay tuned to that.
  270. 00:17:29.840 – 00:17:33.060 But go get your ticket, Podcast Summit.
  271. 00:17:33.580 – 00:17:34.860 You don't want to miss it.
  272. 00:17:34.980 – 00:17:36.080 They sell out quick.
  273. 00:17:37.200 – 00:17:41.660 And then follow Mr. David Shands on David Shands
  274. 00:17:41.660 – 00:17:44.080 on IG and Facebook.
  275. 00:17:47.360 – 00:17:49.220 Most, most platforms.
  276. 00:17:50.060 – 00:17:53.420 But IG is where I follow the G.
  277. 00:17:54.960 – 00:17:59.300 My guy and then also Social Proof Podcast.
  278. 00:17:59.300 – 00:18:01.960 You've got to check out the Social Proof Podcast,
  279. 00:18:02.140 – 00:18:04.660 especially if you're a business owner or entrepreneur,
  280. 00:18:04.820 – 00:18:05.680 it is a must.
  281. 00:18:06.660 – 00:18:08.740 Follow them on IG as well.
  282. 00:18:09.540 – 00:18:12.920 And then follow my team, the Pull Up Experience.
  283. 00:18:14.220 – 00:18:19.280 The Pull Up EXP on IG and also our YouTube channel,
  284. 00:18:20.240 – 00:18:22.980 which we have over a million views
  285. 00:18:22.980 – 00:18:28.300 and counting 20 plus, 20,000 plus subscribers.
  286. 00:18:28.300 – 00:18:30.940 So the community is building.
  287. 00:18:31.660 – 00:18:34.140 So check out the Pull Up Experience Podcast
  288. 00:18:34.140 – 00:18:38.020 and they'll be with us as I'm part of this team as well,
  289. 00:18:38.240 – 00:18:41.340 creative director and a lot of behind the scenes,
  290. 00:18:41.480 – 00:18:45.860 especially on interview days with the Pull Up Experience
  291. 00:18:45.860 – 00:18:49.940 and then creative frequency on a creative frequency
  292. 00:18:49.940 – 00:18:52.780 that's me and Brie and I, Casanova
  293. 00:18:54.080 – 00:18:56.300 and of Overflow Studios, by the way,
  294. 00:18:56.300 – 00:18:58.720 which is our own production company.
  295. 00:18:59.680 – 00:19:03.340 But we come together and we started this journey
  296. 00:19:04.020 – 00:19:08.600 with creative frequency and on a creative frequency
  297. 00:19:08.860 – 00:19:13.420 is a movement and also accountability hub
  298. 00:19:13.420 – 00:19:15.920 for creative entrepreneurs,
  299. 00:19:16.540 – 00:19:19.600 helping you to stay creative through different challenges
  300. 00:19:19.600 – 00:19:23.320 and also inspiration through our community.
  301. 00:19:23.320 – 00:19:27.680 So if you wanna get in, get into our inner circle,
  302. 00:19:28.280 – 00:19:31.680 visit us on Patreon on a creative frequency
  303. 00:19:32.200 – 00:19:35.960 and go check out our creative frequency page
  304. 00:19:36.440 – 00:19:39.100 and tune into our inner circle.
  305. 00:19:39.220 – 00:19:43.660 I think it's like $10, so invest in for the win.
  306. 00:19:44.220 – 00:19:47.620 And it's a lot of things that we're gonna help you
  307. 00:19:47.620 – 00:19:49.960 with and keep you accountable for.
  308. 00:19:50.480 – 00:19:54.800 So yeah, get in while you can, pay the 10 to win.
  309. 00:19:55.520 – 00:19:59.140 Visit us on Patreon, creative frequency
  310. 00:20:00.060 – 00:20:09.380 and then you can follow me on IG, at alien eyes photos.
  311. 00:20:09.740 – 00:20:14.600 That's at alien eyes with a Z, photos with a S.
  312. 00:20:15.600 – 00:20:18.540 And if you want more information on our finest podcast,
  313. 00:20:18.540 – 00:20:26.900 visit alien eyes photos.com, alien eyes photos.com.
  314. 00:20:27.080 – 00:20:30.720 Book in or check out more information
  315. 00:20:30.720 – 00:20:35.920 about my photography services and video production
  316. 00:20:37.780 – 00:20:39.200 and also coaching.
  317. 00:20:40.980 – 00:20:44.220 So stay tuned to a lot and where Booth
  318. 00:20:44.220 – 00:20:46.860 we're gonna be at while we're at podcast summit
  319. 00:20:47.400 – 00:20:50.800 and we'll see you at the future podcast summit.
  320. 00:20:52.100 – 00:20:54.940 We haven't missed a beat yet since we've been
  321. 00:20:54.940 – 00:20:58.660 to the first podcast summit that we've been to,
  322. 00:20:58.740 – 00:20:59.920 which was year two.
  323. 00:21:00.520 – 00:21:03.680 Year three was amazing and now we're looking forward
  324. 00:21:03.680 – 00:21:06.020 to year four and now we're vendors.
  325. 00:21:06.860 – 00:21:09.480 So it's gonna be an amazing journey,
  326. 00:21:09.720 – 00:21:13.180 amazing experience and we'll see y'all soon.
  327. 00:21:14.000 – 00:21:16.220 All right, peace.

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46. Mastermind Inner Circle - Creative Frequency

Season 1 · Episode 28

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.230 – 00:00:06.670 do what you have to do to get where you need to be.
  2. 00:00:08.450 – 00:00:17.270 Do what you have to do to get where you need to be.
  3. 00:00:19.760 – 00:00:21.060 And that is real.
  4. 00:00:23.000 – 00:00:30.200 You know, I just came off this multi-day mastermind
  5. 00:00:32.479 – 00:00:34.700 and my ideas is just rolling.
  6. 00:00:34.820 – 00:00:38.260 I'm always bringing good ideas.
  7. 00:00:39.280 – 00:00:41.060 And I love, you know, the more that I talk
  8. 00:00:41.060 – 00:00:43.740 and other people's talk and bring their ideas
  9. 00:00:43.740 – 00:00:45.460 and we share ideas.
  10. 00:00:45.580 – 00:00:48.200 And I get even more ideas from their ideas.
  11. 00:00:48.540 – 00:00:50.980 Like, wow, I never thought of it like this
  12. 00:00:50.980 – 00:00:52.120 and change the angle.
  13. 00:00:52.200 – 00:00:57.000 Like, man, we all have these ideas.
  14. 00:00:57.500 – 00:01:01.700 Are we always around someone who has a lot of ideas?
  15. 00:01:02.540 – 00:01:05.000 But those ideas are nothing.
  16. 00:01:06.280 – 00:01:09.540 They're nothing if we don't do anything,
  17. 00:01:10.180 – 00:01:13.400 if we don't put the action behind it and execute.
  18. 00:01:16.430 – 00:01:21.390 Now, everybody that knows me and my circles,
  19. 00:01:21.690 – 00:01:23.150 not just circles, circles,
  20. 00:01:24.290 – 00:01:28.170 and also my inner community, my inner circle,
  21. 00:01:28.850 – 00:01:33.770 shout out to Creative Frequency on a Creator Frequency.
  22. 00:01:34.270 – 00:01:37.750 Act on a Creator Frequency on all social media.
  23. 00:01:37.810 – 00:01:41.270 Follow us, that's me and Brie.
  24. 00:01:42.170 – 00:01:46.930 Lady B, R, Brie, Anna, Kassa, Nova.
  25. 00:01:48.070 – 00:01:51.530 Man, two talented creative entrepreneurs
  26. 00:01:52.050 – 00:01:55.050 really living our dream.
  27. 00:01:57.680 – 00:01:59.280 Really living our dream.
  28. 00:01:59.280 – 00:02:04.540 And people in my inner circles know that I love teaching.
  29. 00:02:06.120 – 00:02:08.080 That is how I got the name Sensei.
  30. 00:02:11.180 – 00:02:13.560 And I hear like, oh, you should do classes.
  31. 00:02:13.660 – 00:02:14.780 Oh, you should do masterminds.
  32. 00:02:14.780 – 00:02:16.120 Oh, you should do this, do that, do that.
  33. 00:02:17.460 – 00:02:19.200 There's a lot of things I wanna do
  34. 00:02:19.200 – 00:02:22.580 and have ideas for, of doing and building
  35. 00:02:22.580 – 00:02:27.180 and creating and developing and partnering with.
  36. 00:02:29.940 – 00:02:33.180 But one step at a time, one thing at a time,
  37. 00:02:34.040 – 00:02:36.000 and I don't like doing multiple things,
  38. 00:02:36.140 – 00:02:37.920 new things at a time.
  39. 00:02:39.140 – 00:02:41.860 And I've been in my photography business for,
  40. 00:02:42.740 – 00:02:44.300 well, officially three years,
  41. 00:02:44.380 – 00:02:47.040 but I've been filming and doing photography
  42. 00:02:47.040 – 00:02:50.680 for about seven years now.
  43. 00:02:53.520 – 00:02:55.220 And I took my time with it
  44. 00:02:55.220 – 00:02:57.060 because I was doing music and poetry,
  45. 00:02:57.060 – 00:03:00.680 you know, writing, creating, performing, recording.
  46. 00:03:01.940 – 00:03:03.660 And I made that shift.
  47. 00:03:06.400 – 00:03:08.400 Got training, self-training.
  48. 00:03:09.540 – 00:03:11.720 Bought courses, bought books,
  49. 00:03:12.420 – 00:03:14.000 invested in myself, bought a camera,
  50. 00:03:14.080 – 00:03:15.140 professional camera.
  51. 00:03:15.460 – 00:03:17.960 I'm like, yeah, I gotta go all in now.
  52. 00:03:18.420 – 00:03:19.960 I was using an iPhone,
  53. 00:03:20.080 – 00:03:22.620 like I'm a wizard with the iPhone, don't get me wrong.
  54. 00:03:22.940 – 00:03:24.240 Still to this day,
  55. 00:03:24.440 – 00:03:28.300 I create some great content on the phone.
  56. 00:03:30.140 – 00:03:33.040 On the phone, iPhone, let me correct, iPhone.
  57. 00:03:34.120 – 00:03:36.280 Give me no Android, no other stuff.
  58. 00:03:36.940 – 00:03:38.780 I heard they're pretty good though,
  59. 00:03:38.900 – 00:03:41.460 but give me iPhone because that's what I know,
  60. 00:03:41.640 – 00:03:43.620 that's what I use, and that's how I started.
  61. 00:03:45.320 – 00:03:47.220 You know, I used a little windup camera,
  62. 00:03:47.340 – 00:03:50.460 the little 12-shot film cameras
  63. 00:03:50.460 – 00:03:52.020 back in the day when I was little.
  64. 00:03:54.860 – 00:03:56.440 You know, my mother brought me two,
  65. 00:03:56.720 – 00:03:58.260 so I had 24 shots.
  66. 00:03:59.000 – 00:04:00.320 When I went on a field trip,
  67. 00:04:00.320 – 00:04:01.800 she always got me two cameras.
  68. 00:04:02.780 – 00:04:04.800 Well, she stopped giving me two
  69. 00:04:04.800 – 00:04:06.300 and started just buying me one.
  70. 00:04:06.640 – 00:04:08.140 So I really had 12 shots,
  71. 00:04:08.140 – 00:04:10.720 and it was a time that, you know,
  72. 00:04:10.720 – 00:04:12.620 we didn't have the money at the time.
  73. 00:04:13.880 – 00:04:15.720 You know how it is growing up.
  74. 00:04:16.920 – 00:04:18.440 Priorities, you know, do you wanna eat
  75. 00:04:18.440 – 00:04:19.339 or do you want this camera?
  76. 00:04:20.399 – 00:04:23.700 You know, I chose some snacks over the camera,
  77. 00:04:23.840 – 00:04:24.860 so I'm like, all right.
  78. 00:04:25.220 – 00:04:27.180 So I only got one camera at the time.
  79. 00:04:27.760 – 00:04:29.240 So I only had 12 shots.
  80. 00:04:29.240 – 00:04:31.460 Went to the zoo, you know,
  81. 00:04:31.540 – 00:04:33.460 seeing different animals I've never seen before.
  82. 00:04:33.600 – 00:04:36.980 I'm like six, six, seven, six or seven,
  83. 00:04:37.100 – 00:04:38.760 or maybe even, no, I don't think I was eight.
  84. 00:04:39.140 – 00:04:41.320 I was like six or seven, six, seven.
  85. 00:04:41.540 – 00:04:44.540 But anyway, I was around that young age
  86. 00:04:44.540 – 00:04:46.360 going on a field trip to the zoo,
  87. 00:04:46.780 – 00:04:47.660 seeing these new animals.
  88. 00:04:47.760 – 00:04:48.720 I'm just clicking the button.
  89. 00:04:48.860 – 00:04:50.420 I'm like, I wanna remember all this.
  90. 00:04:51.540 – 00:04:54.660 We didn't even get 10 minutes into the zoo.
  91. 00:04:55.620 – 00:04:58.740 I see a number in the bottom corner that says two.
  92. 00:04:59.580 – 00:05:06.960 I'm like, ooh, is this the number of photos
  93. 00:05:06.960 – 00:05:09.200 I'm able to take that's left?
  94. 00:05:10.140 – 00:05:14.580 Well, I used it on a random thing, a test shot.
  95. 00:05:14.940 – 00:05:17.120 Let me test, let me just press this button.
  96. 00:05:17.520 – 00:05:19.520 I'm like, no, let me just wait for something
  97. 00:05:19.520 – 00:05:21.700 I really wanna take a picture of before I click it.
  98. 00:05:21.880 – 00:05:24.980 Like I was very intuitive and it's back in the day,
  99. 00:05:25.340 – 00:05:28.060 like young, just imagine me now.
  100. 00:05:29.820 – 00:05:32.920 And it wasn't something I really wanted to take a picture of,
  101. 00:05:33.040 – 00:05:35.580 but I'm like, if I take a picture of this, it's decent.
  102. 00:05:36.240 – 00:05:38.900 Enough for me to want to remember it.
  103. 00:05:39.380 – 00:05:40.960 I clicked it, I seen that number change.
  104. 00:05:41.120 – 00:05:46.040 I'm like, oh, I only have one picture left.
  105. 00:05:47.840 – 00:05:51.080 One photo left, oh my goodness.
  106. 00:05:52.840 – 00:05:55.200 We just got in the zoo.
  107. 00:05:55.540 – 00:05:57.740 We just started, I only got one photo left.
  108. 00:05:57.740 – 00:06:00.820 So I'm like, I'm putting this thing in my coat pocket.
  109. 00:06:01.080 – 00:06:04.940 I'm not taking it out until I really wanna take a picture.
  110. 00:06:05.000 – 00:06:06.840 I see something just amazing.
  111. 00:06:07.700 – 00:06:09.120 You know, I'm saying this all in my head,
  112. 00:06:09.240 – 00:06:10.360 not allowed to, you know,
  113. 00:06:10.400 – 00:06:12.520 the other students or teachers or chaperones.
  114. 00:06:12.980 – 00:06:14.400 I'm just saying this all in my head.
  115. 00:06:15.640 – 00:06:18.660 I said that little shot thing, like to somebody else,
  116. 00:06:18.820 – 00:06:20.680 one other person, like, do you think
  117. 00:06:20.680 – 00:06:23.340 if I press this button, a little thing,
  118. 00:06:23.360 – 00:06:25.280 they ain't really understand.
  119. 00:06:25.280 – 00:06:28.200 It was like, they never really operated a camera,
  120. 00:06:28.220 – 00:06:29.280 so they didn't know.
  121. 00:06:30.300 – 00:06:33.380 But I was just trying to get a second pair of eyes
  122. 00:06:33.380 – 00:06:36.920 or a second, you know, thoughts on this
  123. 00:06:36.920 – 00:06:38.700 because I wasn't sure.
  124. 00:06:39.740 – 00:06:42.560 But when I found that I only had one photo left, man,
  125. 00:06:45.630 – 00:06:46.990 I ended up pulling that thing out.
  126. 00:06:46.990 – 00:06:49.370 A couple of minutes later, I couldn't resist.
  127. 00:06:49.910 – 00:06:50.930 Click it!
  128. 00:06:51.370 – 00:06:53.470 And then it says zero.
  129. 00:06:54.150 – 00:06:55.770 And then I pressed it again.
  130. 00:06:56.330 – 00:06:58.730 It said, devil's ear.
  131. 00:06:58.750 – 00:07:01.750 I'm like, wait, they gave me an extra shot?
  132. 00:07:02.050 – 00:07:03.190 Because I was able to click it
  133. 00:07:03.190 – 00:07:04.370 because then I tried to click it,
  134. 00:07:04.370 – 00:07:05.430 it just did nothing.
  135. 00:07:06.170 – 00:07:07.750 Just like, okay, I'm really out of film.
  136. 00:07:07.830 – 00:07:09.630 I really can't take any pictures, okay.
  137. 00:07:10.070 – 00:07:12.290 I felt better because I had an extra shot
  138. 00:07:12.290 – 00:07:14.390 because I used it on a test shot.
  139. 00:07:14.730 – 00:07:16.730 So it was like, hmm, it works out in good karma.
  140. 00:07:17.970 – 00:07:21.130 So all of that to say, you know,
  141. 00:07:21.230 – 00:07:24.150 people that know me and my circles and inner circle,
  142. 00:07:24.930 – 00:07:28.930 my community, know that I love teaching.
  143. 00:07:31.480 – 00:07:34.300 Know that Sensei is here for you.
  144. 00:07:35.900 – 00:07:37.500 And I would like to introduce y'all
  145. 00:07:37.500 – 00:07:40.280 to the inner circle of creative frequency.
  146. 00:07:41.740 – 00:07:44.200 You need to join our inner circle right now.
  147. 00:07:44.220 – 00:07:49.500 I believe it's like $10, $10 a month just to get in.
  148. 00:07:51.060 – 00:07:55.420 And I'll be jumping in, you know, randomly,
  149. 00:07:55.420 – 00:07:57.800 give me y'all just free game, free wisdom.
  150. 00:07:58.360 – 00:08:01.060 Chances to win free strategy calls
  151. 00:08:01.060 – 00:08:02.920 that help build your business,
  152. 00:08:03.160 – 00:08:05.300 help grow out what you need to grow.
  153. 00:08:05.420 – 00:08:06.680 If you feeling stuck,
  154. 00:08:07.600 – 00:08:09.880 this is what these strategy calls are for.
  155. 00:08:09.940 – 00:08:12.940 And I know a lot of people use strategy calls
  156. 00:08:14.060 – 00:08:16.720 to kind of sell stuff.
  157. 00:08:17.120 – 00:08:18.740 Like I've been on a lot of quote unquote
  158. 00:08:18.740 – 00:08:20.180 strategy calls, but no,
  159. 00:08:20.460 – 00:08:23.380 I'm talking about really getting in there,
  160. 00:08:24.240 – 00:08:27.140 helping you for an hour or two
  161. 00:08:28.280 – 00:08:31.340 and help you get unstuck and help you grow
  162. 00:08:31.340 – 00:08:33.000 and help you drive revenue.
  163. 00:08:34.600 – 00:08:36.600 Whatever you need help in,
  164. 00:08:37.059 – 00:08:39.020 we have the resources for you.
  165. 00:08:40.220 – 00:08:43.539 Let's help get you unstuck and continue to grow.
  166. 00:08:45.320 – 00:08:47.040 But just to be candid,
  167. 00:08:47.040 – 00:08:49.420 if you want to work with this even further
  168. 00:08:49.420 – 00:08:51.060 outside of the strategy call,
  169. 00:08:51.520 – 00:08:55.440 then we also have other programs and things
  170. 00:08:55.440 – 00:08:58.380 that you could enter and book us for.
  171. 00:08:58.760 – 00:09:00.500 If you need a little more attention,
  172. 00:09:00.560 – 00:09:01.920 a little more detail,
  173. 00:09:02.000 – 00:09:03.660 if this is gonna take a little more time,
  174. 00:09:04.040 – 00:09:06.200 like six months or a year or two years
  175. 00:09:06.200 – 00:09:07.260 or even ongoing,
  176. 00:09:07.880 – 00:09:10.360 if you want us to be in your back pocket,
  177. 00:09:12.770 – 00:09:15.030 have that direct access.
  178. 00:09:17.270 – 00:09:20.510 Oh, you definitely can if the price is right.
  179. 00:09:21.530 – 00:09:24.150 If you want to book us on stages,
  180. 00:09:24.930 – 00:09:28.770 we talk a lot about our creative endeavors
  181. 00:09:28.770 – 00:09:30.890 or entrepreneurship journey,
  182. 00:09:33.170 – 00:09:35.310 our battles as a couple,
  183. 00:09:35.690 – 00:09:37.370 as we have creative differences,
  184. 00:09:37.890 – 00:09:40.310 even business differences at times.
  185. 00:09:40.770 – 00:09:42.130 Well, we're more aligned with the business,
  186. 00:09:42.210 – 00:09:46.910 but our creative styles are so slightly different,
  187. 00:09:47.010 – 00:09:48.150 I ain't gonna say so different.
  188. 00:09:48.150 – 00:09:49.990 We get the business right
  189. 00:09:49.990 – 00:09:52.290 and we agree a lot of things business-wise,
  190. 00:09:52.870 – 00:09:55.250 but our creative tastes, man.
  191. 00:09:57.090 – 00:09:59.690 And we got a lot of that behind the scenes
  192. 00:09:59.690 – 00:10:02.150 in the community, us going back and forth.
  193. 00:10:02.470 – 00:10:03.510 No, not arguing,
  194. 00:10:03.610 – 00:10:05.850 but just having a civil debate
  195. 00:10:07.630 – 00:10:09.630 where we always come to a happy medium.
  196. 00:10:09.670 – 00:10:14.390 I always like to say two styles, one vision.
  197. 00:10:14.550 – 00:10:15.610 Two styles, one vision.
  198. 00:10:15.710 – 00:10:17.010 Two stories, one vision.
  199. 00:10:17.820 – 00:10:19.770 Two creators, one vision.
  200. 00:10:20.330 – 00:10:21.790 We still got the mission,
  201. 00:10:21.830 – 00:10:24.110 but we do things a little different.
  202. 00:10:24.130 – 00:10:25.730 We grew up differently also.
  203. 00:10:26.550 – 00:10:29.030 We just like different things, you know?
  204. 00:10:30.050 – 00:10:33.750 Even the food, she likes savory.
  205. 00:10:33.870 – 00:10:35.930 I like more sweet.
  206. 00:10:37.410 – 00:10:42.450 I love potatoes, so if anybody wanna treat me,
  207. 00:10:42.650 – 00:10:44.510 give me some nice potatoes.
  208. 00:10:45.410 – 00:10:46.010 Wink, wink.
  209. 00:10:47.090 – 00:10:50.670 But yes, do what you have to do
  210. 00:10:51.290 – 00:10:53.310 to get where you need to be.
  211. 00:10:53.390 – 00:10:54.730 You gotta get the stuff done.
  212. 00:10:54.790 – 00:10:56.590 You have to execute.
  213. 00:10:58.010 – 00:10:59.810 And if you need help with this,
  214. 00:11:00.470 – 00:11:05.590 be sure to follow at on a creative frequency.
  215. 00:11:06.730 – 00:11:09.670 Yes, we're helping you to be on this creative frequency
  216. 00:11:09.670 – 00:11:14.470 as a creative entrepreneur is essential.
  217. 00:11:15.190 – 00:11:17.470 We're also gonna help you be consistent
  218. 00:11:17.470 – 00:11:21.190 and help guide you to create this nice content
  219. 00:11:22.390 – 00:11:25.910 because it's important and important for your growth.
  220. 00:11:28.010 – 00:11:32.210 So jump in, follow us at on a creative frequency.
  221. 00:11:33.210 – 00:11:36.110 I will have our direct link to our inner circle.
  222. 00:11:36.390 – 00:11:38.290 It's through Patreon right now.
  223. 00:11:38.650 – 00:11:41.130 It may be changed and we may be getting our own interface.
  224. 00:11:41.570 – 00:11:44.490 So right now it's on Patreon for $10
  225. 00:11:44.850 – 00:11:46.510 and that's just the founder price.
  226. 00:11:46.530 – 00:11:49.930 The price is gonna go up very, very soon
  227. 00:11:49.930 – 00:11:51.510 once these spots fill up.
  228. 00:11:52.890 – 00:11:54.290 We're gonna raise the price.
  229. 00:11:54.350 – 00:11:56.710 So get in while you can, $10 a month.
  230. 00:11:56.830 – 00:11:58.950 I'm telling you, this price is going up.
  231. 00:12:01.060 – 00:12:04.500 Hey, we could document this episode, $10.
  232. 00:12:04.660 – 00:12:07.160 You can be like, wow, we could've got this for $10?
  233. 00:12:08.080 – 00:12:11.260 Wow, $10, man, I should've got in early.
  234. 00:12:11.780 – 00:12:14.320 Just like the whole Bitcoin, should've got in early.
  235. 00:12:14.920 – 00:12:18.740 Look, get in early while you can
  236. 00:12:20.470 – 00:12:22.450 because we are in demand.
  237. 00:12:24.810 – 00:12:29.590 Again, on a creative frequency,
  238. 00:12:30.230 – 00:12:33.210 on a creative frequency on all social media
  239. 00:12:33.210 – 00:12:35.730 and also Patreon for our inner circle.
  240. 00:12:36.810 – 00:12:41.470 But you can also still follow us on Patreon for free.
  241. 00:12:41.890 – 00:12:43.510 Get in free, get a little taste,
  242. 00:12:43.650 – 00:12:44.970 get to know us a little more
  243. 00:12:44.970 – 00:12:47.390 and then when you're ready, get to $10
  244. 00:12:47.880 – 00:12:51.030 and then also our higher tier packages
  245. 00:12:51.030 – 00:12:55.870 that are still in process.
  246. 00:12:56.450 – 00:12:57.750 We got some goodies in there.
  247. 00:12:57.770 – 00:13:02.610 So just be ready, be in tune and invest in yourself.
  248. 00:13:03.010 – 00:13:05.790 And that's with time, money and relaxation.
  249. 00:13:07.810 – 00:13:11.050 But if you wanna follow me directly,
  250. 00:13:12.310 – 00:13:19.010 follow me on all social media at Alien Eyes Photos.
  251. 00:13:19.450 – 00:13:24.550 That's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S.
  252. 00:13:24.890 – 00:13:27.150 And for booking and for more information,
  253. 00:13:27.290 – 00:13:30.310 even check out the podcast now on the website.
  254. 00:13:31.410 – 00:13:33.310 Yes, check out the latest episodes
  255. 00:13:33.310 – 00:13:36.010 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  256. 00:13:36.010 – 00:13:39.510 over at alieneyesphotos.com.
  257. 00:13:40.070 – 00:13:47.050 That's alieneyesphotos.com.
  258. 00:13:47.550 – 00:13:50.930 And this is your host, photographer Jackson,
  259. 00:13:51.410 – 00:13:54.670 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  260. 00:13:55.180 – 00:13:58.790 bringing you Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  261. 00:13:59.590 – 00:14:03.890 And this is another episode in the books.
  262. 00:14:04.530 – 00:14:07.490 I appreciate y'all always tuning in,
  263. 00:14:07.810 – 00:14:09.490 learning with me, growing with me,
  264. 00:14:09.490 – 00:14:12.790 getting my insights, being on my journey,
  265. 00:14:13.010 – 00:14:15.290 my entrepreneurship journey,
  266. 00:14:16.110 – 00:14:17.230 and just growing with me.
  267. 00:14:17.270 – 00:14:19.550 Let's continue to grow together
  268. 00:14:20.150 – 00:14:21.610 and hold each other accountable.
  269. 00:14:22.570 – 00:14:23.710 It's the only way we grow.
  270. 00:14:24.770 – 00:14:25.570 Let's keep going.
  271. 00:14:26.070 – 00:14:27.890 Peace, love and blessings.
  272. 00:14:28.410 – 00:14:30.210 We'll talk about Jackson's side now.
  273. 00:14:31.210 – 00:14:31.570 Peace.

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47. Daily Routine Personal Journey Weekly

Season 1 · Episode 27

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.140 – 00:00:15.710 Walk on, walk on, walk on, walk on back to alien eyes, photos, industry talk, and this
  2. 00:00:15.710 – 00:00:21.270 will be my personal journal of my personal journey.
  3. 00:00:23.340 – 00:00:27.340 And let's dig into my weekly habits.
  4. 00:00:28.300 – 00:00:36.720 Now, some of the weekly habits return into daily habits, but to be at your maximum level,
  5. 00:00:37.540 – 00:00:44.840 at your maximum capabilities, at your maximum focus, you want to be hyper focused with things
  6. 00:00:44.840 – 00:00:48.560 you have to do and get done and executed.
  7. 00:00:49.320 – 00:00:54.860 Like, I do not do anything outside of my calendar, which is on my schedule.
  8. 00:00:54.860 – 00:00:58.720 If it's not on the calendar, I'm most likely not doing it.
  9. 00:00:58.780 – 00:01:00.060 I'm not going to do it.
  10. 00:01:00.800 – 00:01:07.600 I like to pre-plan and plan ahead, know what my days and weeks are looking like,
  11. 00:01:07.660 – 00:01:11.620 even my whole month, and that trickles into the year.
  12. 00:01:12.240 – 00:01:18.840 Sometimes I'm not going to know what the whole year entails as I leave some gaps and some
  13. 00:01:18.840 – 00:01:24.840 openings, but I like to know how my week is going to flow, how my days are going to be.
  14. 00:01:25.740 – 00:01:33.320 Now, I love my sleep, and as a person that loves sleep, I really don't get much sleep,
  15. 00:01:33.560 – 00:01:34.440 many hours.
  16. 00:01:34.600 – 00:01:42.680 I average about four and a half, maybe five hours a day, but some of those days,
  17. 00:01:42.700 – 00:01:44.180 it really be two hours.
  18. 00:01:44.660 – 00:01:50.240 So I'm making up with other days with, you know, six and seven hours of rest
  19. 00:01:50.640 – 00:01:52.520 of a good night's sleep.
  20. 00:01:53.860 – 00:02:01.560 But I've also worked third shift, so, you know, my sleep schedule is kind of everywhere,
  21. 00:02:03.660 – 00:02:07.560 which I can say is a bad thing.
  22. 00:02:08.320 – 00:02:14.220 Running the business, have children, you know, also with my nephew,
  23. 00:02:16.980 – 00:02:31.040 daughter, and in the relationship, director, producer of another podcast outside of my own,
  24. 00:02:31.140 – 00:02:39.740 The Pull Up Experience, Vice President of Launch Arts Media, the main photographer,
  25. 00:02:40.900 – 00:02:46.360 the event photography brand, Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  26. 00:02:47.060 – 00:02:53.240 And this is Alien Eyes Photos industry talk, by the way, if you may not know.
  27. 00:02:54.860 – 00:03:03.750 So doing all these things, giving my attention and focus and energy to all these things and
  28. 00:03:03.750 – 00:03:09.650 showing up, I mean, constantly showing up and never giving up, and also other people.
  29. 00:03:11.840 – 00:03:15.920 Like, I just came back from supporting my brother,
  30. 00:03:18.060 – 00:03:24.680 De La Maze, as he completed a hundred stages and a hundred days.
  31. 00:03:25.620 – 00:03:32.360 In a hundred days, he completed performing on a hundred different stages of venues.
  32. 00:03:33.140 – 00:03:34.100 That is amazing.
  33. 00:03:34.200 – 00:03:36.140 A hundred stages, a hundred days.
  34. 00:03:36.140 – 00:03:38.940 And salute to De La Maze.
  35. 00:03:40.020 – 00:03:44.840 It was an incredible performance for his grand finale, the hundredth day.
  36. 00:03:45.740 – 00:03:47.620 A hundred days, that is amazing.
  37. 00:03:48.180 – 00:03:50.620 Consistency, performing, doing what you love,
  38. 00:03:51.160 – 00:03:54.440 doing what you're good at, passionate about, what you care about,
  39. 00:03:55.360 – 00:03:57.240 and treating it as a movement.
  40. 00:03:57.360 – 00:04:00.000 And that movement turns to bigger business.
  41. 00:04:00.740 – 00:04:04.340 And I already told him we have to talk and discuss some things,
  42. 00:04:04.340 – 00:04:06.420 because I have some things up my sleeves.
  43. 00:04:07.000 – 00:04:14.780 Also, being a former musician and artist, performing artist, also recording artist, poet,
  44. 00:04:15.480 – 00:04:18.060 songwriter, book writer, author, all this stuff.
  45. 00:04:20.160 – 00:04:23.980 I know how you take this to a whole other level.
  46. 00:04:24.520 – 00:04:31.100 And me being big in marketing, I just see so much and know so much.
  47. 00:04:31.300 – 00:04:34.700 I'm like, yeah, let's strategize.
  48. 00:04:34.700 – 00:04:35.680 Let's bang plans.
  49. 00:04:35.820 – 00:04:38.300 Let's go to the drawing table.
  50. 00:04:38.900 – 00:04:40.060 It will be needed.
  51. 00:04:40.860 – 00:04:49.290 I know it will, because we're both intellectual creatives.
  52. 00:04:51.090 – 00:05:01.630 Everybody loves AI, but intellectual creatives that I see, that is amazing.
  53. 00:05:03.530 – 00:05:05.150 Intellectual creatives.
  54. 00:05:06.890 – 00:05:07.350 Yes.
  55. 00:05:09.130 – 00:05:20.560 So I want to start with, when I wake up each day, I take that time for myself,
  56. 00:05:22.710 – 00:05:24.170 you know, gather my thoughts.
  57. 00:05:24.450 – 00:05:27.010 I like to slowly ease into my day.
  58. 00:05:27.210 – 00:05:30.170 I don't like a hundred things early in the day,
  59. 00:05:31.430 – 00:05:33.930 powered up with chaos, me waking up to chaos.
  60. 00:05:34.710 – 00:05:39.950 I like to take that time or that moment to myself, the moments to myself.
  61. 00:05:40.710 – 00:05:42.230 I'm able to get more rest.
  62. 00:05:42.450 – 00:05:48.010 I try to get more rest because I know there will be days that I won't get a lot of rest.
  63. 00:05:49.790 – 00:05:56.950 So I get as much rest as I can, but I also don't be lazy and lollygag.
  64. 00:05:57.310 – 00:06:05.630 If I need to take some time to myself, sometimes I cut into my sleeping time
  65. 00:06:05.630 – 00:06:07.350 and take that time for myself.
  66. 00:06:07.590 – 00:06:12.410 If I know I'm not going to have any time for myself the rest of the day,
  67. 00:06:13.190 – 00:06:18.150 then I will wake up a little earlier and take that time, get my mental together,
  68. 00:06:18.210 – 00:06:21.850 look over my schedule, look over my things to do.
  69. 00:06:21.870 – 00:06:26.910 I like to keep my to-do list five things or under.
  70. 00:06:27.010 – 00:06:32.230 I don't do more than five things a day because I don't want to get burnt out,
  71. 00:06:32.230 – 00:06:32.990 overload.
  72. 00:06:33.950 – 00:06:41.450 Do I do six, seven, eight, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven things in one day?
  73. 00:06:42.170 – 00:06:50.530 Yes, or even more sometimes, but I try to focus most of my days on five things or less.
  74. 00:06:51.310 – 00:06:56.510 If I'm filming a podcast and doing a photo shoot, have a podcast interview,
  75. 00:06:57.050 – 00:06:59.770 I may just leave it at that because that is a lot
  76. 00:06:59.770 – 00:07:06.830 because I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to also go to work or get my daughter
  77. 00:07:06.830 – 00:07:12.650 and her being in school, she has homework and checking that, looking over that,
  78. 00:07:12.670 – 00:07:19.390 helping her with that, like reading books before she go to bed and that takes time.
  79. 00:07:20.610 – 00:07:28.150 So there's also so much I do outside of the other things, outside of business.
  80. 00:07:28.930 – 00:07:37.350 My personal life, but I schedule my me time, my personal time,
  81. 00:07:38.190 – 00:07:43.410 and that could be where it's self-development, like waking up and journaling,
  82. 00:07:43.670 – 00:07:47.950 getting my thoughts out, getting that release, getting that freedom,
  83. 00:07:48.950 – 00:07:52.170 taking different thoughts and reconstructing them like, wow,
  84. 00:07:53.110 – 00:07:56.530 let me get this plan out of my head, write it down,
  85. 00:07:56.530 – 00:08:03.350 that way I can edit it and change it and morph it into the way I need it to be
  86. 00:08:03.350 – 00:08:07.990 and to fully execute and dominate whatever I need to do.
  87. 00:08:09.250 – 00:08:12.950 And the same with the book, you don't keep it all in your head, you write it,
  88. 00:08:13.130 – 00:08:17.910 get a paper and pen, write it out, and then from the written transcription,
  89. 00:08:18.210 – 00:08:23.850 type it out and continue to be edited from each process, from when you wrote it,
  90. 00:08:23.850 – 00:08:29.930 edit it, type it, edit it, send it to an editor, get it edited again, checked over,
  91. 00:08:30.950 – 00:08:37.130 beta readers, like there's processes, but you start with that idea and get that idea
  92. 00:08:37.130 – 00:08:41.590 out of your head and write it. I like writing with pen and paper.
  93. 00:08:41.690 – 00:08:47.970 I don't like pencils, nothing against pencils, but I love the fluidity of a pen,
  94. 00:08:47.970 – 00:08:55.390 the flow of emotion, because I let my words just flow and glide through the pages,
  95. 00:08:55.830 – 00:08:59.030 just like how I talk, it's the flow, it's the rhythm.
  96. 00:08:59.290 – 00:09:02.090 I like gliding, something that's smooth, peaceful,
  97. 00:09:02.810 – 00:09:10.930 and that's why I like pens over pencil and I also love pens and paper over,
  98. 00:09:11.590 – 00:09:15.690 you know, typing on your phone. We always attach to these phones
  99. 00:09:15.690 – 00:09:21.790 and that gives me time away from my phone, not having my head down, hurting my neck,
  100. 00:09:22.190 – 00:09:28.410 being in my phone, being so much over and attached to technology,
  101. 00:09:29.570 – 00:09:36.390 not on my laptop, not on my phone, nothing. Pen and paper, you and your thoughts,
  102. 00:09:37.090 – 00:09:41.010 it's you and you at this point. You're the author of your life.
  103. 00:09:41.810 – 00:09:46.110 Don't put it into a phone, put it on pen and paper and make it come to life.
  104. 00:09:46.530 – 00:09:51.470 You are the life, be the life, act like you own your life.
  105. 00:09:52.270 – 00:09:58.210 And that's what I do each week, each day. I go over my schedule,
  106. 00:09:59.590 – 00:10:05.270 I work out once or twice a week, I may play a few hours of basketball,
  107. 00:10:05.990 – 00:10:13.410 may do a home workout another day, then I'm also taking that recovery time,
  108. 00:10:14.330 – 00:10:19.530 you know, warm Epsom salt baths because I just can't do the cold. I know there's a whole
  109. 00:10:19.530 – 00:10:26.870 bunch of benefits to the cold and immersing yourself, your body in cold water, but no,
  110. 00:10:27.230 – 00:10:33.430 that ain't for me. The ice and stuff, no. I love the warm water, I love relaxing, I love
  111. 00:10:34.650 – 00:10:43.990 the warmth. Okay. So that's a little bit about me, my daily and weekly routines, some things
  112. 00:10:43.990 – 00:10:54.970 that are effective to me. Like I do not encourage you to wake up to your messages, wake up to
  113. 00:10:54.970 – 00:11:03.110 your emails, wake up to social media and all these phone calls. I do not encourage it,
  114. 00:11:03.110 – 00:11:12.650 no. Take that first 30 minutes to hours of the day that you wake up to yourself.
  115. 00:11:14.580 – 00:11:23.880 Take a 15, 20 minute shower just relaxing, fill in the water, hit your skin, you and your
  116. 00:11:23.880 – 00:11:28.860 thoughts. I get some of my best thoughts when I'm in the shower. I wrote some of my greatest
  117. 00:11:28.860 – 00:11:37.000 songs, my greatest hits in this shower when I was younger. Like the shower is amazing. I got
  118. 00:11:37.000 – 00:11:44.940 some of my best thoughts and best visions for books and videos and content. Like, wow,
  119. 00:11:44.980 – 00:11:50.260 that's a great business idea. This is a great product. Me being both a creative
  120. 00:11:50.260 – 00:11:58.740 and an entrepreneur, creative entrepreneur, like man, my imagination is so wow and magical.
  121. 00:11:59.240 – 00:12:04.380 And next day, intertwine it with business, put a business engine behind it. Oh my goodness,
  122. 00:12:04.420 – 00:12:15.770 I am just getting started by the way. And it's amazing. But again, it's my kind of daily
  123. 00:12:15.770 – 00:12:23.330 routine, weekly routine that works for me. Maybe in the future, I'll kind of break down
  124. 00:12:23.330 – 00:12:28.950 my monthly routine, how I like to set up my months and also like my content calendar
  125. 00:12:30.090 – 00:12:37.390 and the structure that I have behind like everything I do, also servicing clients
  126. 00:12:37.390 – 00:12:42.710 and building a business and building a podcast and working with other podcasters
  127. 00:12:42.710 – 00:12:49.810 and other organizations and collaborations. Like it's a lot, but I'm doing it.
  128. 00:12:50.410 – 00:12:57.470 You could do it too. And this is not for the faint or the weak hearted. You have to put
  129. 00:12:57.470 – 00:13:06.070 your all into this. It is a life decision. I know we make so many decisions a day,
  130. 00:13:07.490 – 00:13:13.390 entrepreneurship, you're making so many decisions left and right. And me as a parent
  131. 00:13:13.390 – 00:13:22.110 doing the same thing, making so many decisions. And you get decision fatigue and get burnt out
  132. 00:13:22.110 – 00:13:30.650 with just making decisions, so many decisions. So that's why I limit my days to five things is
  133. 00:13:30.650 – 00:13:35.710 I don't want to make a whole bunch of decisions in one day. I like to break it up.
  134. 00:13:36.070 – 00:13:41.230 You know, deal with it later if I could, but if I do have to make a decision right then and there,
  135. 00:13:41.250 – 00:13:48.190 I do. But we need to, again, take that time for ourselves and also reflect on it,
  136. 00:13:48.670 – 00:13:54.130 reflect on our decisions before we even make a decision to take that time to ourselves.
  137. 00:13:55.210 – 00:14:02.710 That is the biggest thing, self love, self peace, self gratitude, gratitude as a whole.
  138. 00:14:04.470 – 00:14:14.030 You have to take that personal time for yourself. All right. This is Photographer Jackson,
  139. 00:14:14.270 – 00:14:21.470 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media. And this has been another episode of Alien
  140. 00:14:21.470 – 00:14:29.790 Eyes Photos Industry Talk. The biggest marketing arm for Alien Eyes Photos Media,
  141. 00:14:30.330 – 00:14:36.730 the event photography brand, making you look right at your events and also creating video
  142. 00:14:36.730 – 00:14:44.470 content. We'll polish doing event recaps, partnering with my partner
  143. 00:14:46.210 – 00:14:58.170 with Overflow Studio, Ms. B. Casanova, and we are Creative Frequency. So check us out on
  144. 00:14:58.970 – 00:15:07.310 Creative Frequency. That's on a, on a, on a Creative Frequency on all media.
  145. 00:15:07.850 – 00:15:14.750 And check out our Patreon. Yes, we are on Patreon. Creative Frequency is not on Patreon. Check
  146. 00:15:14.750 – 00:15:23.710 us out. Yes. Again, this is Photographer Jackson, dual event photographer. This is
  147. 00:15:23.710 – 00:15:30.590 episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk. And if you want to follow me, you can follow me
  148. 00:15:30.590 – 00:15:41.330 at Alien Eyes Photos. That's Alien Eyes Photos. And that's eyes with a Z, photos with a S.
  149. 00:15:42.430 – 00:15:51.670 And also check out alieneyesphotos.com for more information or to book me. And I'm about
  150. 00:15:51.670 – 00:15:58.670 to get the podcast on the website very soon. So you can just head over to alieneyesphotos.com
  151. 00:15:58.670 – 00:16:04.970 for the latest episodes of the podcast. So yeah, I'm trying to make it easy for everybody,
  152. 00:16:05.310 – 00:16:10.430 streamline everything, just catch me in one central place, all my updates,
  153. 00:16:11.310 – 00:16:16.430 shows, events that I'm going to be at. Like I'm trying to make it easy for everybody.
  154. 00:16:16.430 – 00:16:23.050 And also myself. Like I said, if I'm in the calendar, I can do it. And I can help you put
  155. 00:16:23.050 – 00:16:27.610 what I'm doing and some great events that I'm covering on your calendar.
  156. 00:16:28.210 – 00:16:36.450 So you can network with the people that I'm with and meet. So let's do it. As a partner,
  157. 00:16:36.790 – 00:16:42.930 if you want to become a sponsor of the podcast, contact me at alieneyesphotos.com.
  158. 00:16:42.930 – 00:16:46.790 All the info is going to be in there. A lot of quick detail,
  159. 00:16:47.010 – 00:16:53.790 shoot me a message. And yeah, let's make it happen. Peace, peace, peace, peace and love everyone.

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48. Rest In Peace ( raw recording / unedited ) - DS

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  1. 00:00:02.130 – 00:00:03.290 so
  2. 00:00:04.030 – 00:00:06.030 this would be a
  3. 00:00:06.830 – 00:00:20.890 Tough episode for me. I definitely want to document this. I just lost a
  4. 00:00:20.890 – 00:00:26.350 Coworker of mine great great co-worker great person great
  5. 00:00:26.350 – 00:00:27.870 spirited person
  6. 00:00:27.870 – 00:00:29.770 kind hearted person
  7. 00:00:29.770 – 00:00:31.490 always there's
  8. 00:00:32.549 – 00:00:33.550 selflessness
  9. 00:00:33.550 – 00:00:35.610 lazy henna being
  10. 00:00:40.850 – 00:00:47.150 You know, it's hard for a lot of us and to still kind of pull through and still
  11. 00:00:47.840 – 00:00:49.710 Work at work to do
  12. 00:00:50.680 – 00:00:52.120 It's tough
  13. 00:00:53.560 – 00:00:55.680 found out
  14. 00:00:55.680 – 00:00:57.420 at heart attack
  15. 00:00:57.420 – 00:00:59.670 In her trying to do CPR
  16. 00:01:02.480 – 00:01:04.040 Was it response?
  17. 00:01:05.780 – 00:01:11.420 30 minutes. It's tough tough to hear
  18. 00:01:11.420 – 00:01:17.160 You know, it's just bad things to take the year and especially first gave in
  19. 00:01:18.280 – 00:01:25.600 And uh over the years each year of my high school year from freshman all the way to senior
  20. 00:01:26.260 – 00:01:28.260 and that produced yourself
  21. 00:01:29.540 – 00:01:32.080 Somebody you know classmate
  22. 00:01:32.080 – 00:01:35.340 each year that was hard
  23. 00:01:36.720 – 00:01:37.520 us
  24. 00:01:37.520 – 00:01:39.940 co-workers has
  25. 00:01:40.580 – 00:01:41.540 For
  26. 00:01:45.340 – 00:01:46.740 Life
  27. 00:01:47.860 – 00:01:49.680 You've been at the same
  28. 00:01:50.180 – 00:01:50.920 appointment
  29. 00:01:51.540 – 00:01:54.660 This this is the second person's
  30. 00:01:58.000 – 00:02:00.160 It's tough
  31. 00:02:01.140 – 00:02:03.340 Hi, baby
  32. 00:02:03.340 – 00:02:05.220 picture wall
  33. 00:02:05.220 – 00:02:08.300 wall the the transition
  34. 00:02:09.100 – 00:02:10.120 fellows
  35. 00:02:10.120 – 00:02:11.620 soldiers
  36. 00:02:14.920 – 00:02:23.000 Stuffed is and then I look at or even walk past good. I wanted to take this time to
  37. 00:02:23.960 – 00:02:25.820 commemorate and honor
  38. 00:02:26.560 – 00:02:30.420 You know all those who I've been Connor
  39. 00:02:31.240 – 00:02:37.460 The beautiful lives whether that's school whether that's work whether that's in the business
  40. 00:02:37.980 – 00:02:39.260 entrepreneur around
  41. 00:02:39.260 – 00:02:44.720 Or even the art, you know frame as I spent a lot of time my art
  42. 00:02:45.580 – 00:02:47.560 Days back today
  43. 00:02:49.230 – 00:02:56.210 My heart goes out. So the families the friends the loved ones to supporters
  44. 00:02:56.970 – 00:03:01.010 Selected by guys taking bow daughter in love one day
  45. 00:03:01.750 – 00:03:03.350 They lost sorry
  46. 00:03:03.350 – 00:03:05.530 People that I know that lost parents
  47. 00:03:06.750 – 00:03:09.330 Already should we go out you?
  48. 00:03:11.110 – 00:03:15.230 Feel you I feel you feel you at last hard keeping head up
  49. 00:03:15.790 – 00:03:23.260 You know, it is something that is tough for me that I'm internally processing and have to deal with and
  50. 00:03:24.070 – 00:03:30.970 Just had to be strong for others as I seen a lot of emotion a lot of tears, but you know
  51. 00:03:30.970 – 00:03:34.350 I've always been that that strong one
  52. 00:03:34.350 – 00:03:36.410 But they always say
  53. 00:03:37.290 – 00:03:42.270 Who will be there for the strong friends? So?
  54. 00:03:42.270 – 00:03:44.810 Will be there for me, but
  55. 00:03:44.810 – 00:03:48.350 Until I wait or to that time come I can't wait
  56. 00:03:48.350 – 00:03:52.910 I have to be there for others who's not that strong and you know
  57. 00:03:52.910 – 00:03:57.470 They're there feel it a lot more to me and more emotional or even closer
  58. 00:03:58.510 – 00:04:00.810 No to ever maybe I
  59. 00:04:02.210 – 00:04:04.070 Don't there was a lot of people I was
  60. 00:04:05.550 – 00:04:06.750 So sure
  61. 00:04:06.750 – 00:04:08.550 I could work
  62. 00:04:08.550 – 00:04:11.830 Then I was but he was a great person. I don't
  63. 00:04:12.270 – 00:04:14.800 know what he did and outside or
  64. 00:04:18.060 – 00:04:19.110 burnt, but
  65. 00:04:19.459 – 00:04:24.410 What I with this great person ready be always kind
  66. 00:04:25.180 – 00:04:30.840 Always who to for others here for others. So it's just like I
  67. 00:04:30.840 – 00:04:37.420 Can't you not be a supporter aren't sure sure for that person aren't sure but someone like that
  68. 00:04:37.420 – 00:04:40.720 So it hurts hurts deeply
  69. 00:04:41.720 – 00:04:46.180 No, it can happen to any of any one of us man, but
  70. 00:04:47.840 – 00:04:48.760 Also
  71. 00:04:50.100 – 00:04:52.820 Also take in the fact
  72. 00:04:55.940 – 00:04:59.840 We're working to be ie
  73. 00:05:01.360 – 00:05:05.000 Workings it's just like a good working
  74. 00:05:05.720 – 00:05:06.720 transition
  75. 00:05:06.720 – 00:05:07.700 I
  76. 00:05:08.400 – 00:05:14.160 That's hard. That's tough that nobody should have to go with that like it's
  77. 00:05:16.380 – 00:05:18.080 The hardest thing
  78. 00:05:18.800 – 00:05:20.980 Touches for that person
  79. 00:05:21.440 – 00:05:25.000 Put those around a throw. We witness it
  80. 00:05:25.740 – 00:05:28.160 That is too much
  81. 00:05:28.680 – 00:05:33.780 Don't see people dead. She's got shot
  82. 00:05:34.460 – 00:05:36.620 First shop ourselves
  83. 00:05:37.930 – 00:05:40.650 Be a way for
  84. 00:05:43.150 – 00:05:45.970 Coming to school the next day to hear
  85. 00:05:46.590 – 00:05:47.290 someone
  86. 00:05:47.870 – 00:05:50.450 Play the game and they hung themselves
  87. 00:05:53.260 – 00:05:54.100 someone
  88. 00:05:54.100 – 00:06:01.720 transition cancer like this high school and now my adult life, you know, I'm able to
  89. 00:06:02.020 – 00:06:07.520 Process it a little more and process it, you know death felt a lot better
  90. 00:06:07.520 – 00:06:15.240 You know, it's always hard I don't know the words to say especially in the moment getting told this in the moment
  91. 00:06:15.240 – 00:06:22.160 I'm it's hard to find the right words to say and I try to say something
  92. 00:06:22.160 – 00:06:25.200 Right, you know, I feel it there
  93. 00:06:25.200 – 00:06:27.180 You know, it's hard
  94. 00:06:28.360 – 00:06:29.020 tough
  95. 00:06:29.020 – 00:06:31.180 Heart goes out but
  96. 00:06:31.940 – 00:06:34.290 You know other than those words
  97. 00:06:38.310 – 00:06:44.860 It's hard. It's always been a tough thing for me
  98. 00:06:45.540 – 00:06:47.120 as you know, you can't
  99. 00:06:47.780 – 00:06:49.640 Bring somebody back to life
  100. 00:06:50.320 – 00:06:58.220 At least not that I know of and not in these years. It's year 2025 and
  101. 00:06:58.220 – 00:07:04.700 You know, I never witnessed someone coming back to life. I know one day will be possible right now
  102. 00:07:06.020 – 00:07:13.440 It's not so it's hard. It's hard. Like I said witness. It's hard to go through
  103. 00:07:14.880 – 00:07:23.790 It's hard enough get my heart goes out to his family all the families
  104. 00:07:25.450 – 00:07:27.770 Around the situation
  105. 00:07:27.770 – 00:07:29.730 birth family
  106. 00:07:32.580 – 00:07:34.800 something tough tough
  107. 00:07:35.080 – 00:07:37.500 tough cut wise
  108. 00:07:38.340 – 00:07:40.480 Tempt process
  109. 00:07:42.820 – 00:07:44.580 It's very very tough
  110. 00:07:46.500 – 00:07:47.800 but
  111. 00:07:48.320 – 00:07:51.820 wanted to show my respect you
  112. 00:07:51.820 – 00:08:00.890 Just reflect this is not business, but this is life like I said this happens to anybody
  113. 00:08:00.890 – 00:08:02.750 one of us
  114. 00:08:02.750 – 00:08:08.260 You know, it's all I'm gonna say
  115. 00:08:09.220 – 00:08:13.580 Just close out just peace love and blessings

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49. The Right Opportunity

Season 1 · Episode 26

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  1. 00:00:00.690 – 00:00:04.890 Welcome, welcome, welcome back
  2. 00:00:04.890 – 00:00:08.250 to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  3. 00:00:08.580 – 00:00:11.210 with your host photographer Jackson,
  4. 00:00:11.830 – 00:00:15.930 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  5. 00:00:16.790 – 00:00:20.070 And I am bringing you an episode about
  6. 00:00:20.070 – 00:00:23.210 take the right opportunity.
  7. 00:00:24.810 – 00:00:28.610 Now, sometimes we may feel obligated to say yes
  8. 00:00:28.610 – 00:00:31.330 and I will do a much longer episode later.
  9. 00:00:32.509 – 00:00:35.970 But, you know, we feel obligated to say yes
  10. 00:00:36.590 – 00:00:37.930 at a lot of things,
  11. 00:00:38.190 – 00:00:40.810 especially when things are not going
  12. 00:00:41.370 – 00:00:42.970 to the best of their abilities
  13. 00:00:42.970 – 00:00:45.690 in our businesses or in our life.
  14. 00:00:50.170 – 00:00:52.150 Saying yes to everything,
  15. 00:00:53.350 – 00:00:55.310 saying yes to everything
  16. 00:00:56.450 – 00:01:01.590 means you're saying no to a whole lot of other things,
  17. 00:01:02.770 – 00:01:04.910 especially the right thing.
  18. 00:01:06.110 – 00:01:08.910 And there may be things that you really like
  19. 00:01:08.910 – 00:01:13.930 and want to do, but is it the right thing to do?
  20. 00:01:15.070 – 00:01:16.390 And you think about your brand
  21. 00:01:16.390 – 00:01:17.870 and you think about your business
  22. 00:01:17.870 – 00:01:19.690 and what you stand for.
  23. 00:01:21.230 – 00:01:22.930 What are some of those things?
  24. 00:01:25.480 – 00:01:27.630 Is it worth it?
  25. 00:01:28.130 – 00:01:32.370 Not only financially, but physically, mentally,
  26. 00:01:34.370 – 00:01:36.170 just showing up, spending that time,
  27. 00:01:36.350 – 00:01:38.690 spending that attention, being in that environment.
  28. 00:01:43.740 – 00:01:45.520 Is it the right opportunity?
  29. 00:01:48.160 – 00:01:52.980 Now, sometimes we actually need extra revenue.
  30. 00:01:53.840 – 00:01:57.420 So we may do things at a discount
  31. 00:01:57.420 – 00:01:58.840 or say yes to something
  32. 00:01:59.450 – 00:02:01.660 we normally wouldn't say yes to.
  33. 00:02:04.650 – 00:02:08.300 But, you know, use your best judgment.
  34. 00:02:10.539 – 00:02:12.640 There won't always be the right opportunities,
  35. 00:02:12.700 – 00:02:15.860 but we always seek the right opportunities.
  36. 00:02:16.680 – 00:02:19.240 And sometimes we can do things for practice.
  37. 00:02:20.380 – 00:02:21.260 You know, practice.
  38. 00:02:21.520 – 00:02:25.060 Do it at a discount and try a new technique.
  39. 00:02:26.200 – 00:02:28.660 But let the client know.
  40. 00:02:30.860 – 00:02:33.340 Just let them know, be honest, be candid
  41. 00:02:33.340 – 00:02:35.940 that I want to try this.
  42. 00:02:35.960 – 00:02:37.500 I've never done this before.
  43. 00:02:39.660 – 00:02:42.780 So I'll do this at a discount or price.
  44. 00:02:44.420 – 00:02:46.660 You know, you could accept it or you don't.
  45. 00:02:48.820 – 00:02:52.160 But practice, whatever you do, practice.
  46. 00:02:53.620 – 00:02:56.380 Like as a photographer, videographer,
  47. 00:02:57.200 – 00:03:01.760 media producer, director, you know,
  48. 00:03:01.960 – 00:03:04.020 those tangible things that I could just go out
  49. 00:03:04.020 – 00:03:05.300 and practice on my own.
  50. 00:03:06.640 – 00:03:10.400 Go out in nature, try to photograph a bird.
  51. 00:03:10.960 – 00:03:12.080 That's movement.
  52. 00:03:12.660 – 00:03:15.360 So if I was doing fashion photography,
  53. 00:03:15.980 – 00:03:20.140 when I have a high energy model walking down a runway,
  54. 00:03:21.120 – 00:03:23.440 I'm able to capture that same essence
  55. 00:03:23.440 – 00:03:27.560 like catching a bird through a camera lens.
  56. 00:03:29.340 – 00:03:30.800 What is the right lens?
  57. 00:03:31.940 – 00:03:33.760 What is the right focus?
  58. 00:03:33.760 – 00:03:36.520 Shutter speed, all of this, just practice.
  59. 00:03:37.140 – 00:03:39.120 The different light, look at different lights,
  60. 00:03:39.320 – 00:03:41.960 add more light, take out different lights.
  61. 00:03:42.620 – 00:03:44.120 The color of the lights,
  62. 00:03:46.730 – 00:03:48.430 a lot of things you have to consider.
  63. 00:03:50.070 – 00:03:52.150 And again, that's just me as a photographer,
  64. 00:03:52.870 – 00:03:54.530 even though I focus more on events.
  65. 00:03:54.590 – 00:03:58.090 So it's like, okay, go to a nightclub
  66. 00:03:58.090 – 00:03:59.230 where it's low light.
  67. 00:04:00.090 – 00:04:02.350 So when I'm at a conference
  68. 00:04:02.350 – 00:04:05.750 and they have these parties and receptions,
  69. 00:04:06.910 – 00:04:09.150 I'm able to capture that same essence
  70. 00:04:09.150 – 00:04:10.790 and be a professional.
  71. 00:04:11.450 – 00:04:12.770 Already have that wisdom,
  72. 00:04:13.150 – 00:04:17.050 have that muscle built for moments like this.
  73. 00:04:18.350 – 00:04:20.250 Being in venues where it's mixed lighting,
  74. 00:04:20.430 – 00:04:22.750 where it's window lighting and overhead lighting
  75. 00:04:22.750 – 00:04:24.350 and the color's just wonky
  76. 00:04:24.350 – 00:04:29.730 and then it makes people's skin tones funky.
  77. 00:04:29.730 – 00:04:32.290 Like not the right color.
  78. 00:04:33.170 – 00:04:36.730 And you add flash and trying to balance it all out,
  79. 00:04:36.750 – 00:04:40.750 the colors, the light, it's just so much going on
  80. 00:04:41.570 – 00:04:43.490 that you have to be prepared for.
  81. 00:04:43.570 – 00:04:46.650 And then a lot of the venue owners
  82. 00:04:46.650 – 00:04:50.050 or event organizers don't know about this
  83. 00:04:50.050 – 00:04:52.310 or don't have that in mind.
  84. 00:04:52.910 – 00:04:56.590 So it's up to us to control these situations.
  85. 00:04:57.510 – 00:05:00.690 Again, that's just me as a photographer,
  86. 00:05:00.910 – 00:05:01.750 being a photographer.
  87. 00:05:04.090 – 00:05:06.030 But whatever your craft is,
  88. 00:05:06.170 – 00:05:09.590 if it's basketball, which is another love of mine,
  89. 00:05:11.550 – 00:05:14.370 practice bouncing the basketball outside of gym,
  90. 00:05:14.570 – 00:05:16.190 outside of practice, outside of the games,
  91. 00:05:16.310 – 00:05:17.950 outside of the sprimmages.
  92. 00:05:18.790 – 00:05:22.870 Practice shooting, practice free throws,
  93. 00:05:23.690 – 00:05:27.490 do workouts tailored to what you wanna improve
  94. 00:05:27.490 – 00:05:29.090 if it's defense, okay?
  95. 00:05:29.290 – 00:05:31.130 What do you need to do in defense?
  96. 00:05:31.510 – 00:05:35.110 Put on some ankle weights and drag your feet side to side.
  97. 00:05:36.430 – 00:05:37.850 Don't let them overlap.
  98. 00:05:39.290 – 00:05:40.610 Practice your technique.
  99. 00:05:41.810 – 00:05:44.330 Practice squats to be able to jump higher,
  100. 00:05:45.150 – 00:05:45.970 actually jump.
  101. 00:05:48.190 – 00:05:51.510 Do these things without being hired
  102. 00:05:51.510 – 00:05:55.190 or before that game or whatever it is.
  103. 00:05:56.310 – 00:06:01.190 Read, read about the craft, the history,
  104. 00:06:01.350 – 00:06:05.890 how it even got started or even got thought about.
  105. 00:06:08.390 – 00:06:12.590 The history of things is so much more important.
  106. 00:06:13.250 – 00:06:16.530 Currently right now I'm studying the history of money.
  107. 00:06:17.350 – 00:06:21.810 You know, I could say I want more money in my life.
  108. 00:06:23.150 – 00:06:26.390 I want to increase my prices, increase my worth,
  109. 00:06:26.390 – 00:06:30.650 increase my value, but I have to work on myself first, right?
  110. 00:06:31.250 – 00:06:32.330 And that's what I'm doing.
  111. 00:06:33.110 – 00:06:37.870 But also want to know where money came from,
  112. 00:06:37.870 – 00:06:40.010 how money was even thought about.
  113. 00:06:40.950 – 00:06:43.370 I want to get to learn money much more
  114. 00:06:43.370 – 00:06:45.950 before I can even ask for much more money.
  115. 00:06:46.770 – 00:06:47.570 Feel what I'm saying?
  116. 00:06:48.970 – 00:06:50.910 And do that with your relationships.
  117. 00:06:51.290 – 00:06:53.570 Get to know the people that you work with more.
  118. 00:06:54.250 – 00:06:57.610 Have those conversations, not just, you know,
  119. 00:06:57.890 – 00:07:01.350 on the job or at work, you know, behind the scenes,
  120. 00:07:01.390 – 00:07:04.190 you know, if you are a drinker, go get a drink.
  121. 00:07:04.530 – 00:07:06.390 You know, I don't have to be a lot of drinks
  122. 00:07:06.390 – 00:07:09.630 or a long time, maybe 20 minutes,
  123. 00:07:09.770 – 00:07:12.870 have a cocktail or sip of wine.
  124. 00:07:13.050 – 00:07:16.710 I prefer to you wines if you want to have a drink with me
  125. 00:07:16.710 – 00:07:20.430 or a humble morning's coffee.
  126. 00:07:21.090 – 00:07:21.830 Oh my goodness.
  127. 00:07:23.230 – 00:07:27.570 Those two brands, wine, coffee, I definitely support,
  128. 00:07:27.730 – 00:07:32.270 I definitely recommend, and they're in Cleveland, Ohio.
  129. 00:07:35.850 – 00:07:38.770 But pick up the phone, have a quick chat,
  130. 00:07:39.450 – 00:07:43.430 a quick text message exchange, catch up,
  131. 00:07:43.550 – 00:07:45.510 or how's the fam, or this and this and that.
  132. 00:07:46.290 – 00:07:48.030 You know, what do you like doing with the fam?
  133. 00:07:48.110 – 00:07:49.110 Oh, I never thought about that.
  134. 00:07:49.130 – 00:07:50.310 Let me try that with my family.
  135. 00:07:50.310 – 00:07:53.950 Did it like, you never know if you don't communicate
  136. 00:07:53.950 – 00:07:56.610 and then you could do that together and build that bond
  137. 00:07:56.610 – 00:07:57.730 and like, you know what?
  138. 00:07:58.550 – 00:08:00.290 We should try this on our next shoot
  139. 00:08:00.290 – 00:08:02.630 or we should try this on our next gig
  140. 00:08:02.630 – 00:08:05.910 or we should try this on this next building
  141. 00:08:05.910 – 00:08:08.370 that we have to construct and build.
  142. 00:08:09.510 – 00:08:11.230 And that's for the construction workers,
  143. 00:08:11.510 – 00:08:15.310 construction teams, project managers, stuff like that.
  144. 00:08:16.150 – 00:08:19.650 But whatever it is, practice.
  145. 00:08:22.640 – 00:08:24.240 That's how you build your worth
  146. 00:08:24.770 – 00:08:28.680 and that's how you keep ready for the right opportunity.
  147. 00:08:29.520 – 00:08:33.700 You can't just seek and hope for the right opportunity.
  148. 00:08:34.159 – 00:08:36.299 You have to prepare yourself, prepare your mom,
  149. 00:08:36.539 – 00:08:40.880 prepare your skillset, prepare your life,
  150. 00:08:41.400 – 00:08:44.780 your career for the right opportunities.
  151. 00:08:45.900 – 00:08:47.860 You have to be great,
  152. 00:08:49.160 – 00:08:51.140 but you have to practice being great.
  153. 00:08:51.820 – 00:08:53.020 Practice being excellent.
  154. 00:08:53.160 – 00:08:56.500 You can't just demand excellence or say you excellent
  155. 00:08:56.500 – 00:08:59.700 without even practicing being excellent,
  156. 00:09:02.250 – 00:09:05.370 pretending to be excellent
  157. 00:09:06.410 – 00:09:09.730 before you even call yourself excellent
  158. 00:09:11.430 – 00:09:15.510 to perform excellence and to be excellent and great.
  159. 00:09:18.510 – 00:09:19.690 It starts with practice
  160. 00:09:19.690 – 00:09:22.530 and then you bring that same practice principles
  161. 00:09:22.530 – 00:09:26.450 and habits, perfect practice, not just practice,
  162. 00:09:26.630 – 00:09:32.000 perfect practice so you can begin to be
  163. 00:09:32.000 – 00:09:33.040 where you wanna be.
  164. 00:09:33.980 – 00:09:37.240 Again, this is just encouragement
  165. 00:09:37.240 – 00:09:40.120 for you to take that right opportunity.
  166. 00:09:40.680 – 00:09:43.200 Only you know what is that right opportunity.
  167. 00:09:43.700 – 00:09:48.320 Don't let anyone influence you or sway you
  168. 00:09:48.960 – 00:09:51.000 any direction that you don't wanna go
  169. 00:09:51.000 – 00:09:55.400 or be, you only know what's the right opportunity.
  170. 00:09:56.060 – 00:09:59.740 So again, remember to take the right opportunity
  171. 00:10:00.950 – 00:10:02.800 and I'm closing out.
  172. 00:10:03.000 – 00:10:06.400 This is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  173. 00:10:06.400 – 00:10:08.700 of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  174. 00:10:09.680 – 00:10:11.800 And this is another episode
  175. 00:10:11.800 – 00:10:15.440 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  176. 00:10:15.730 – 00:10:18.440 as we discuss the right opportunity.
  177. 00:10:19.130 – 00:10:23.220 And if you wanna book me or find more information
  178. 00:10:23.650 – 00:10:25.480 on Alien Eyes Photos Media,
  179. 00:10:26.400 – 00:10:29.360 visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  180. 00:10:29.660 – 00:10:31.940 That's alieneyes with a Z,
  181. 00:10:32.440 – 00:10:35.080 photos with a S.com.
  182. 00:10:35.380 – 00:10:39.820 And on all social media and also Instagram now,
  183. 00:10:40.960 – 00:10:42.900 well, Instagram and YouTube.
  184. 00:10:43.640 – 00:10:46.940 Coming to TikTok soon, but I still have a page.
  185. 00:10:47.860 – 00:10:52.240 Follow me on all media at Alien Eyes Photos.
  186. 00:10:53.240 – 00:10:56.180 And again, this is Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  187. 00:10:57.240 – 00:10:59.920 Like, share, subscribe, all that good talk.
  188. 00:11:00.760 – 00:11:02.240 Make a review if you can.
  189. 00:11:02.320 – 00:11:04.440 Let me know how you like these episodes.
  190. 00:11:05.300 – 00:11:07.340 Until the next one, we are out.
  191. 00:11:07.880 – 00:11:08.080 Peace.

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50. Jessica Williams - Jess Juiced

Season 2 · Episode 5

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.940 – 00:00:07.840 Walk on, walk on, walk on to Alienize Photos industry talk.
  2. 00:00:08.060 – 00:00:12.780 Yes, yes, yes, and I've got a very special guest.
  3. 00:00:13.560 – 00:00:19.160 Miss Jess, Jessica Williams, a power connector,
  4. 00:00:19.860 – 00:00:26.420 big in the community, world class juicer, civic engagement.
  5. 00:00:27.200 – 00:00:27.820 Collaborative.
  6. 00:00:27.980 – 00:00:28.720 Collaborative.
  7. 00:00:28.720 – 00:00:31.220 See, it's so much, she had to help me out.
  8. 00:00:31.520 – 00:00:34.020 But I'm gonna let you introduce yourself to the people.
  9. 00:00:34.720 – 00:00:35.460 Thank you.
  10. 00:00:35.480 – 00:00:36.700 Thank you for having me.
  11. 00:00:36.740 – 00:00:38.600 Greatly appreciated to be here.
  12. 00:00:39.040 – 00:00:43.100 Yep, the girl, Jess Williams, in the flesh here.
  13. 00:00:44.120 – 00:00:47.200 One, like you said, the world class juice connoisseur.
  14. 00:00:47.200 – 00:00:49.160 I like to call myself that now from now on.
  15. 00:00:49.220 – 00:00:50.160 So that's the tag line.
  16. 00:00:50.360 – 00:00:51.860 That's the tag line, yes.
  17. 00:00:52.720 – 00:00:55.080 But I've been juicing for a couple of years now,
  18. 00:00:55.220 – 00:00:57.300 making fresh fruit and vegetable juices
  19. 00:00:57.300 – 00:00:59.500 with zero sugar, zero additives,
  20. 00:00:59.580 – 00:01:01.500 so nothing but the greatest qualities.
  21. 00:01:02.200 – 00:01:03.260 I mean, we had some today.
  22. 00:01:03.700 – 00:01:06.480 Yeah, my cup's a little empty now, you know.
  23. 00:01:07.200 – 00:01:09.240 And what did we have in this juice?
  24. 00:01:09.320 – 00:01:11.660 We had a little bit of watermelon, beet.
  25. 00:01:11.700 – 00:01:12.260 Mm-hmm.
  26. 00:01:12.880 – 00:01:17.180 So it was watermelon, beet, carrot, yellow pepper,
  27. 00:01:17.360 – 00:01:19.760 bell pepper, lemon, and mint.
  28. 00:01:20.160 – 00:01:20.600 Oh.
  29. 00:01:20.740 – 00:01:21.300 And that's it.
  30. 00:01:21.300 – 00:01:21.800 That's delicious.
  31. 00:01:22.000 – 00:01:23.340 My daughter had some.
  32. 00:01:23.340 – 00:01:23.960 She loved it.
  33. 00:01:24.320 – 00:01:25.580 Yeah, yeah.
  34. 00:01:25.580 – 00:01:27.200 So we take what you have in the refrigerator,
  35. 00:01:27.380 – 00:01:29.620 nothing too crazy, nothing fancy, very simple.
  36. 00:01:30.260 – 00:01:31.360 Put it together in a juice.
  37. 00:01:31.880 – 00:01:33.480 So where did you get started in the juices?
  38. 00:01:33.740 – 00:01:35.080 What inspired you?
  39. 00:01:35.860 – 00:01:38.420 It really, I think that, so like I said,
  40. 00:01:38.420 – 00:01:39.440 I'm a people connector,
  41. 00:01:39.660 – 00:01:42.080 connector of a variety of things, right?
  42. 00:01:42.360 – 00:01:46.700 So I worked for the city of Cleveland, Ward 5.
  43. 00:01:46.840 – 00:01:49.140 Shout out to my boss, Councilman Richard Starr.
  44. 00:01:49.960 – 00:01:53.160 So that is where some of this actually started from.
  45. 00:01:53.420 – 00:01:54.920 Being connected in the community,
  46. 00:01:54.920 – 00:01:57.680 being around the organization is right in the heart
  47. 00:01:57.680 – 00:02:00.740 of an area that can be identified as a space,
  48. 00:02:01.140 – 00:02:02.260 as a food desert.
  49. 00:02:03.140 – 00:02:06.360 So with that, there's still beauty in it
  50. 00:02:06.360 – 00:02:08.180 because there are farms down there.
  51. 00:02:08.500 – 00:02:10.280 There are food pantries down there.
  52. 00:02:10.539 – 00:02:13.380 So I was exposed to Red All Green Partnership,
  53. 00:02:13.860 – 00:02:15.500 as well as Farmer Jones Market.
  54. 00:02:15.780 – 00:02:18.640 And with that exposure came the opportunity
  55. 00:02:18.640 – 00:02:20.340 for me to go to an actual farm,
  56. 00:02:20.540 – 00:02:23.680 get a seeded watermelon, not seedless.
  57. 00:02:23.680 – 00:02:24.700 Seed it, y'all.
  58. 00:02:24.700 – 00:02:26.880 Seed it, make sure they have seeds.
  59. 00:02:27.000 – 00:02:28.620 It's gonna consume fruit in general.
  60. 00:02:29.100 – 00:02:30.940 Yes, so it was through that exposure
  61. 00:02:30.940 – 00:02:34.120 that one day during COVID, I just started seeing stuff.
  62. 00:02:34.160 – 00:02:35.380 You know, you talk about one thing,
  63. 00:02:35.420 – 00:02:36.180 if I don't pick it up.
  64. 00:02:36.360 – 00:02:39.280 And so everyone's social media was stuff about juicers,
  65. 00:02:39.520 – 00:02:40.820 smoothies, eating clean.
  66. 00:02:41.020 – 00:02:42.480 I was working out a lot.
  67. 00:02:42.780 – 00:02:45.320 So it just kind of fell into my lap, if you will.
  68. 00:02:45.360 – 00:02:47.120 So my family was trying to figure out a way
  69. 00:02:47.120 – 00:02:49.400 to consume vegetables more.
  70. 00:02:50.120 – 00:02:52.280 I'm a summer baby, so I love to be outside.
  71. 00:02:52.420 – 00:02:54.200 So being around fruits and vegetables
  72. 00:02:54.200 – 00:02:56.380 and all of that, that's what I like in the summertime.
  73. 00:02:56.620 – 00:02:59.040 So it was summer, I bought a juicer,
  74. 00:02:59.280 – 00:03:01.100 and the family loved it.
  75. 00:03:01.240 – 00:03:05.920 Oddly enough, we just listed carrots, beets, bell peppers.
  76. 00:03:06.460 – 00:03:08.340 Who picking that up and just munching on it?
  77. 00:03:08.980 – 00:03:10.800 I mean, I would, you know.
  78. 00:03:10.960 – 00:03:12.940 I mean, people do, and that's a great thing.
  79. 00:03:13.080 – 00:03:14.640 Exactly, you gotta be a little bit different.
  80. 00:03:15.100 – 00:03:18.160 But it was through that that I started being able
  81. 00:03:18.160 – 00:03:20.820 to play with whatever I had in the refrigerator.
  82. 00:03:21.340 – 00:03:23.320 So yes, I would go purchase items,
  83. 00:03:23.320 – 00:03:26.020 but maybe I had bought a three-pack of bell pepper
  84. 00:03:26.020 – 00:03:28.400 and one still left over, right?
  85. 00:03:28.440 – 00:03:30.660 So I just started buying things here and there,
  86. 00:03:30.680 – 00:03:31.680 rinsing them through the refrigerator,
  87. 00:03:32.060 – 00:03:34.400 and started coming up with these different concoctions.
  88. 00:03:35.060 – 00:03:37.520 Okay, I got a new name for you now
  89. 00:03:38.340 – 00:03:40.580 that you're kind of re-enlightening me
  90. 00:03:40.580 – 00:03:41.060 with the stories.
  91. 00:03:41.160 – 00:03:42.880 I haven't heard your story before,
  92. 00:03:43.640 – 00:03:46.460 but world-class kitchen sciences.
  93. 00:03:47.320 – 00:03:48.320 I'ma take it.
  94. 00:03:49.300 – 00:03:50.980 Because it's a science to this.
  95. 00:03:50.980 – 00:03:52.080 It really is.
  96. 00:03:52.180 – 00:03:53.480 Knowing the acidity levels,
  97. 00:03:54.100 – 00:03:56.600 knowing how long that once these vegetables
  98. 00:03:56.600 – 00:03:59.780 are broken down into a juice and exposed to air,
  99. 00:04:00.300 – 00:04:02.420 how long, now that they have that air contact,
  100. 00:04:02.520 – 00:04:04.380 are they fresh and considered drinkable?
  101. 00:04:04.920 – 00:04:07.660 Because the juice only has a fresh shelf life
  102. 00:04:07.660 – 00:04:08.760 of three days.
  103. 00:04:09.260 – 00:04:11.760 Wow, okay, so maybe that's why I made some juice
  104. 00:04:11.760 – 00:04:13.720 and was stuffing with bubble in it that night.
  105. 00:04:13.860 – 00:04:15.660 Well, okay, all right.
  106. 00:04:15.800 – 00:04:17.440 It was working, it was working.
  107. 00:04:17.820 – 00:04:19.380 And you taste it when it's fresh,
  108. 00:04:19.380 – 00:04:21.640 without that sugar, without those extra additives,
  109. 00:04:21.980 – 00:04:23.540 things don't last as long.
  110. 00:04:23.600 – 00:04:24.920 That's why you can buy your juice
  111. 00:04:24.920 – 00:04:26.560 and leave it in the refrigerator for three weeks.
  112. 00:04:27.000 – 00:04:29.260 Yeah, I had to get my Jess juice on
  113. 00:04:29.260 – 00:04:30.860 and I effed it up, y'all.
  114. 00:04:31.800 – 00:04:34.200 But I was doing something, like, sheesh.
  115. 00:04:34.280 – 00:04:36.200 Real quick, real quick, it works.
  116. 00:04:36.520 – 00:04:37.240 It works.
  117. 00:04:38.200 – 00:04:39.880 Man, my stomach was like.
  118. 00:04:41.320 – 00:04:42.860 But that's helping you out.
  119. 00:04:43.120 – 00:04:45.140 That's getting all of those things that's in the body
  120. 00:04:45.140 – 00:04:47.780 that need to be filtered out, filtering them out.
  121. 00:04:47.780 – 00:04:48.560 So that's a good thing.
  122. 00:04:48.560 – 00:04:50.320 Well, I had it a little longer than.
  123. 00:04:50.960 – 00:04:52.180 You did not.
  124. 00:04:52.780 – 00:04:54.460 I love juice, I'm not drinking that anymore.
  125. 00:04:54.500 – 00:04:55.200 But you know what?
  126. 00:04:55.460 – 00:04:56.860 Hey, I'm not mad at you.
  127. 00:04:56.920 – 00:04:57.280 You can take it.
  128. 00:04:57.280 – 00:04:59.220 You twisted and it sounded like pop.
  129. 00:04:59.520 – 00:05:01.360 I'm like, maybe I shouldn't be drinking it,
  130. 00:05:01.360 – 00:05:01.780 but I'm gonna do it.
  131. 00:05:01.780 – 00:05:02.680 I've used that.
  132. 00:05:02.920 – 00:05:03.760 I didn't drink at all,
  133. 00:05:03.780 – 00:05:06.180 because I kind of felt like something ain't right.
  134. 00:05:06.660 – 00:05:09.320 Right, I was thirsty too, so.
  135. 00:05:09.540 – 00:05:11.960 Hey, you live and you learn.
  136. 00:05:12.120 – 00:05:12.780 You learn that day.
  137. 00:05:12.820 – 00:05:16.300 To the world-class kitchen sciences, you know,
  138. 00:05:16.400 – 00:05:16.960 for now on.
  139. 00:05:17.540 – 00:05:19.300 I got you, I got you.
  140. 00:05:19.620 – 00:05:21.960 But yeah, having that quick shelf life,
  141. 00:05:22.220 – 00:05:23.020 it keeps you on the grind.
  142. 00:05:23.140 – 00:05:24.380 It keeps you in the process.
  143. 00:05:24.700 – 00:05:28.160 So I was in the process of juicing for me and my family,
  144. 00:05:28.300 – 00:05:30.240 and we were trying to juice every day.
  145. 00:05:30.280 – 00:05:31.340 So that's every few days,
  146. 00:05:31.360 – 00:05:33.200 you're making another batch of juice.
  147. 00:05:33.640 – 00:05:34.480 So it flew.
  148. 00:05:34.640 – 00:05:35.220 It went crazy.
  149. 00:05:35.260 – 00:05:36.200 We started drinking it.
  150. 00:05:36.300 – 00:05:37.380 The family loved it.
  151. 00:05:37.440 – 00:05:39.680 In the minute we took it outside to work,
  152. 00:05:40.600 – 00:05:41.780 I started just testing it out.
  153. 00:05:41.780 – 00:05:42.380 Girl, try this.
  154. 00:05:42.460 – 00:05:43.340 Hey, you want some of this?
  155. 00:05:43.340 – 00:05:43.860 Try this.
  156. 00:05:43.900 – 00:05:45.380 And before I knew it, orders started flowing.
  157. 00:05:45.380 – 00:05:47.780 And just juice was born.
  158. 00:05:49.660 – 00:05:52.940 So I know a lot of people that drink smoothies
  159. 00:05:52.940 – 00:05:58.120 and go to smoothies as a way of consumption,
  160. 00:05:58.240 – 00:05:59.360 especially for protein.
  161. 00:05:59.520 – 00:06:03.020 How would you say juicing compares to smoothies?
  162. 00:06:03.380 – 00:06:04.460 That's a good question.
  163. 00:06:04.700 – 00:06:05.680 That really is.
  164. 00:06:06.720 – 00:06:08.980 For me, I would think the biggest difference
  165. 00:06:08.980 – 00:06:11.840 would be number one, how it's prepared.
  166. 00:06:12.020 – 00:06:13.900 So when you think about a smoothie,
  167. 00:06:13.900 – 00:06:15.720 the smoothie and the juice are very similar.
  168. 00:06:15.920 – 00:06:18.060 It's just the thickness consistency of it.
  169. 00:06:18.300 – 00:06:20.440 So the smoothie tends to be a little bit thicker,
  170. 00:06:22.040 – 00:06:25.970 but it really depends on the ingredients.
  171. 00:06:26.710 – 00:06:31.830 So in a smoothie, the fiber content is still intact.
  172. 00:06:32.310 – 00:06:34.410 You're not breaking down those ingredients
  173. 00:06:34.410 – 00:06:36.290 to a different consistency.
  174. 00:06:36.430 – 00:06:39.210 You're not turning a solid into a liquid all the way.
  175. 00:06:39.590 – 00:06:40.870 You're turning it,
  176. 00:06:41.210 – 00:06:44.310 but it's not as liquefied as a juice.
  177. 00:06:44.790 – 00:06:46.730 And so then when you think about the ingredients,
  178. 00:06:46.930 – 00:06:48.450 if you were to make a smoothie
  179. 00:06:48.450 – 00:06:50.450 out of the exact same ingredients as a juice,
  180. 00:06:50.990 – 00:06:53.130 your body is still gonna consume that as a juice.
  181. 00:06:53.150 – 00:06:54.610 So you might not be that full
  182. 00:06:54.610 – 00:06:56.510 as you think you might be from a smoothie.
  183. 00:06:57.170 – 00:06:59.230 It depends on the protein content within that.
  184. 00:06:59.890 – 00:07:03.070 So with juicing, the only thing people think about
  185. 00:07:03.070 – 00:07:05.450 negatively, if you will, when it comes to juice,
  186. 00:07:05.510 – 00:07:07.010 is that you break it down so much
  187. 00:07:07.010 – 00:07:09.670 that you lose some of those nutrients
  188. 00:07:10.210 – 00:07:12.770 that would be maintained if you were to bite it.
  189. 00:07:12.770 – 00:07:14.610 Because you are taking that solid object
  190. 00:07:14.610 – 00:07:15.930 and you're crushing it down,
  191. 00:07:16.250 – 00:07:18.770 and the crushing and the juicing process,
  192. 00:07:18.930 – 00:07:25.010 some of those nutrients are broken down
  193. 00:07:25.010 – 00:07:28.470 a little bit too much to be digested by us.
  194. 00:07:28.930 – 00:07:31.350 So that's the only, the true difference.
  195. 00:07:31.530 – 00:07:33.130 And but if you think about your orange juice,
  196. 00:07:33.230 – 00:07:36.390 the pulp, the pulp is where some of that nutrients
  197. 00:07:36.390 – 00:07:36.970 are found.
  198. 00:07:37.030 – 00:07:39.050 So when you juice it and you get rid of that pulp,
  199. 00:07:39.390 – 00:07:41.170 you get rid of some of the nutrients in a sense,
  200. 00:07:41.170 – 00:07:44.030 but you just cater that by drinking a little bit more.
  201. 00:07:44.150 – 00:07:45.850 So you don't have to drink as much smoothies,
  202. 00:07:45.850 – 00:07:49.050 but if you have more protein-based ingredients in that,
  203. 00:07:49.150 – 00:07:50.730 your green leafy vegetables,
  204. 00:07:52.030 – 00:07:54.330 some of your other vegetables as well,
  205. 00:07:54.330 – 00:07:56.630 if you have that in that smoothie mix,
  206. 00:07:56.950 – 00:07:59.150 then it's gonna stick to your ribs a little bit better,
  207. 00:07:59.590 – 00:08:00.850 but it's just how you break it down.
  208. 00:08:00.890 – 00:08:02.690 So I tend to like my juices
  209. 00:08:02.690 – 00:08:05.110 with as little pulp as possible.
  210. 00:08:05.110 – 00:08:05.510 Okay.
  211. 00:08:05.910 – 00:08:07.150 Because I don't like that taste.
  212. 00:08:07.850 – 00:08:09.970 But I know that I'm doing that there
  213. 00:08:09.970 – 00:08:11.290 that some people think about that
  214. 00:08:11.290 – 00:08:12.550 as losing some of the nutrients.
  215. 00:08:13.210 – 00:08:14.290 So when people think about that,
  216. 00:08:14.410 – 00:08:15.410 I said, we'll just drink two.
  217. 00:08:16.110 – 00:08:16.790 Double it up.
  218. 00:08:16.850 – 00:08:18.190 Drink two, okay.
  219. 00:08:18.670 – 00:08:19.510 Now, like when,
  220. 00:08:21.050 – 00:08:22.130 like you said, the oranges.
  221. 00:08:22.230 – 00:08:23.490 So we speak about oranges.
  222. 00:08:23.690 – 00:08:25.670 I like orange, turmeric,
  223. 00:08:26.890 – 00:08:28.690 turmeric and ginger type of blend.
  224. 00:08:28.790 – 00:08:29.370 Oh yeah.
  225. 00:08:29.610 – 00:08:31.210 Like those are my go-to.
  226. 00:08:31.470 – 00:08:34.289 So what's some of your favorite juices that you made?
  227. 00:08:35.010 – 00:08:37.610 My go-to, my original juice.
  228. 00:08:38.250 – 00:08:40.030 And I'll tell you this.
  229. 00:08:40.450 – 00:08:42.809 I'm not a recipe blogger.
  230. 00:08:43.030 – 00:08:45.150 Think of me as like the new age grandma, right?
  231. 00:08:45.310 – 00:08:46.830 Grandma might've had a recipe,
  232. 00:08:46.950 – 00:08:50.190 but I might've said a pinch instead of a tea spoon.
  233. 00:08:51.030 – 00:08:51.890 That's how I am.
  234. 00:08:52.270 – 00:08:52.690 Right?
  235. 00:08:52.810 – 00:08:55.890 So I bring those into the kitchen
  236. 00:08:55.890 – 00:08:57.630 and into the juice making process.
  237. 00:08:58.430 – 00:09:00.090 But in reality,
  238. 00:09:01.430 – 00:09:04.130 my best juice came from ingredients
  239. 00:09:04.130 – 00:09:07.930 that were the most juice yielding.
  240. 00:09:08.850 – 00:09:10.070 So we was balling on the budget.
  241. 00:09:10.990 – 00:09:12.150 So when we thinking about that,
  242. 00:09:12.150 – 00:09:14.150 I'm thinking of what are ingredients
  243. 00:09:14.150 – 00:09:15.670 that's gonna give me the most juice?
  244. 00:09:16.310 – 00:09:17.270 Number one, my pineapple.
  245. 00:09:17.810 – 00:09:18.010 Okay.
  246. 00:09:18.370 – 00:09:20.330 One pineapple can give me,
  247. 00:09:21.030 – 00:09:23.370 I don't wanna say the exact measurements of a juice,
  248. 00:09:23.430 – 00:09:26.770 but it gives me enough to be able to provide juice
  249. 00:09:26.770 – 00:09:28.150 with a family of three.
  250. 00:09:29.510 – 00:09:30.930 So that strong pineapple base,
  251. 00:09:30.990 – 00:09:32.430 if you break that down in a juice,
  252. 00:09:32.430 – 00:09:34.730 I need a few more ingredients on top of that
  253. 00:09:34.730 – 00:09:36.850 to make it a full well-rounded juice.
  254. 00:09:36.890 – 00:09:40.370 So I always did a pineapple because of the juice content,
  255. 00:09:40.570 – 00:09:42.630 a bag of oranges that typically come
  256. 00:09:42.630 – 00:09:44.250 with about eight oranges.
  257. 00:09:44.710 – 00:09:47.910 So that's another juice field product or ingredient.
  258. 00:09:48.550 – 00:09:49.770 And then from that,
  259. 00:09:49.770 – 00:09:53.410 I just try to add a couple of matching vegetables.
  260. 00:09:53.750 – 00:09:55.910 So your turmeric, your ginger.
  261. 00:09:56.290 – 00:09:58.570 I just started playing around with bell peppers,
  262. 00:09:58.610 – 00:10:00.370 but I've always played with beets.
  263. 00:10:00.370 – 00:10:02.490 And beets can be your traditional red
  264. 00:10:03.390 – 00:10:06.890 or it can be a golden beet that's orange.
  265. 00:10:07.050 – 00:10:08.630 I don't think I had a golden beet before.
  266. 00:10:08.910 – 00:10:09.830 You did in my juice.
  267. 00:10:11.150 – 00:10:11.670 Oh.
  268. 00:10:13.010 – 00:10:13.530 Okay.
  269. 00:10:13.590 – 00:10:15.090 You did in the juice,
  270. 00:10:16.210 – 00:10:20.210 but it came off of what was affordable in the colors.
  271. 00:10:20.850 – 00:10:22.910 So I was playing around with your beets,
  272. 00:10:23.070 – 00:10:25.830 your oranges, your pineapples, your ginger,
  273. 00:10:26.430 – 00:10:27.310 your mint,
  274. 00:10:27.430 – 00:10:28.990 because the mint really didn't give a color,
  275. 00:10:28.990 – 00:10:32.230 but that mint flavor would really help out
  276. 00:10:32.230 – 00:10:34.110 if I was struggling to match stuff up together.
  277. 00:10:34.990 – 00:10:37.390 So that was my base in carrots.
  278. 00:10:38.530 – 00:10:40.110 I wear glasses.
  279. 00:10:40.350 – 00:10:41.690 So when you think about that,
  280. 00:10:41.890 – 00:10:43.490 carrots is always known to help with eyesight.
  281. 00:10:43.990 – 00:10:44.970 So I always threw them there,
  282. 00:10:44.990 – 00:10:47.070 but they were all about the same color anyway.
  283. 00:10:47.190 – 00:10:50.330 So that's really how I thought about my ingredients
  284. 00:10:50.330 – 00:10:51.290 for each juice.
  285. 00:10:51.650 – 00:10:54.650 That was easy, cheap, affordable way to make a juice.
  286. 00:10:54.690 – 00:10:56.770 So that was the number one thing I made
  287. 00:10:56.770 – 00:10:58.650 and everyone loved it.
  288. 00:11:00.490 – 00:11:04.050 So the color of this juice that she had me sample,
  289. 00:11:04.170 – 00:11:05.410 which I had a lot of her juice
  290. 00:11:05.410 – 00:11:08.430 we got back in the day over the years,
  291. 00:11:08.930 – 00:11:09.790 it was red.
  292. 00:11:10.350 – 00:11:12.310 So I feel like it was good in my heart
  293. 00:11:12.310 – 00:11:14.610 and my heart dancing right now and it's thanking you.
  294. 00:11:14.810 – 00:11:15.610 So appreciate it.
  295. 00:11:15.730 – 00:11:17.530 And you see how you make that connection.
  296. 00:11:18.130 – 00:11:18.450 Absolutely.
  297. 00:11:18.970 – 00:11:20.830 Every, a lot of vegetables,
  298. 00:11:20.910 – 00:11:22.070 and I'm still reading this,
  299. 00:11:22.470 – 00:11:24.330 so quote me, but not to the T,
  300. 00:11:24.890 – 00:11:27.290 but a lot of fruits and vegetables,
  301. 00:11:27.350 – 00:11:28.510 when you look at their shape,
  302. 00:11:28.510 – 00:11:31.610 they appear like something in the body.
  303. 00:11:33.290 – 00:11:34.390 And so-
  304. 00:11:34.390 – 00:11:34.870 Color as well.
  305. 00:11:35.130 – 00:11:36.390 Color as well.
  306. 00:11:36.470 – 00:11:39.170 So when you think about issues or symptoms
  307. 00:11:39.170 – 00:11:41.410 that you wanna fix, the beets,
  308. 00:11:41.730 – 00:11:42.890 you talked about your heart.
  309. 00:11:43.170 – 00:11:46.510 Beets also help with your iron level as well.
  310. 00:11:46.750 – 00:11:47.370 A lot of circulation.
  311. 00:11:47.570 – 00:11:48.590 There you go.
  312. 00:11:48.630 – 00:11:49.510 There you go.
  313. 00:11:49.990 – 00:11:52.370 So it's that simple education too
  314. 00:11:52.370 – 00:11:53.450 that started to come with it
  315. 00:11:53.450 – 00:11:54.310 and had me to think,
  316. 00:11:54.330 – 00:11:56.750 all right, I have real bad sinuses.
  317. 00:11:56.750 – 00:12:00.330 What can I do to help alleviate that?
  318. 00:12:01.150 – 00:12:02.510 What are some actually?
  319. 00:12:03.050 – 00:12:04.550 So in drinking the juices,
  320. 00:12:04.710 – 00:12:08.010 part of the benefit of drinking a natural juice,
  321. 00:12:08.490 – 00:12:10.030 a raw juice, if you will,
  322. 00:12:10.490 – 00:12:12.210 is once it comes into your body,
  323. 00:12:12.590 – 00:12:14.670 it's immediately going into your bloodstream,
  324. 00:12:14.810 – 00:12:16.210 immediately going into your system
  325. 00:12:16.210 – 00:12:18.170 and it's helping to attack whatever it is
  326. 00:12:18.170 – 00:12:19.530 in your body it needs to attack.
  327. 00:12:20.190 – 00:12:22.450 So your beets help out with your blood,
  328. 00:12:22.550 – 00:12:24.270 the carrots help out with your eyes,
  329. 00:12:24.270 – 00:12:26.910 the orange helps out with your immune system.
  330. 00:12:27.270 – 00:12:30.170 It's going into attack mode immediately.
  331. 00:12:30.770 – 00:12:33.650 And some of that stuff wouldn't come into your body
  332. 00:12:33.650 – 00:12:36.290 because when would you sit and just cheer it out a beat?
  333. 00:12:38.070 – 00:12:39.770 So with that being said,
  334. 00:12:39.970 – 00:12:42.430 I'm stepping into the coach and business coaching.
  335. 00:12:44.870 – 00:12:46.150 Having ideology,
  336. 00:12:47.950 – 00:12:52.850 basically strategizing with ideas, ideation sessions.
  337. 00:12:54.410 – 00:12:58.590 So a lot of people are stuck with their mindset.
  338. 00:12:59.710 – 00:13:04.750 So as far as these nutrients and minerals
  339. 00:13:04.750 – 00:13:07.770 from their fruits and vegetables attacking,
  340. 00:13:07.870 – 00:13:09.610 like you said, the inner,
  341. 00:13:09.810 – 00:13:12.350 let's just say thought, so mindset.
  342. 00:13:12.510 – 00:13:15.310 Is there anything that kind of tweaks
  343. 00:13:15.310 – 00:13:16.490 or sharpen the brain?
  344. 00:13:19.250 – 00:13:21.170 Almost like a power juice.
  345. 00:13:22.230 – 00:13:24.930 And honestly, any juice,
  346. 00:13:24.970 – 00:13:26.950 people get weirded when I say that
  347. 00:13:26.950 – 00:13:27.950 because it's that simple.
  348. 00:13:28.350 – 00:13:30.170 It's just that simple.
  349. 00:13:31.150 – 00:13:32.650 I like the whole just too
  350. 00:13:32.650 – 00:13:35.290 because it's just, there you go,
  351. 00:13:35.410 – 00:13:37.430 just juice, just that simple, right?
  352. 00:13:38.050 – 00:13:39.530 I was a teenage mom.
  353. 00:13:40.270 – 00:13:42.770 So when you think about 16 year old having a baby,
  354. 00:13:43.430 – 00:13:46.630 how much money do you think I was making, right?
  355. 00:13:46.850 – 00:13:48.110 I was going to say another one.
  356. 00:13:48.110 – 00:13:51.190 Is it anything to fight poverty or?
  357. 00:13:52.850 – 00:13:53.970 Okay, okay.
  358. 00:13:54.250 – 00:13:56.130 So the resources were slim.
  359. 00:13:56.630 – 00:13:59.770 And so the base of all of this came from
  360. 00:13:59.770 – 00:14:00.510 what do I have?
  361. 00:14:00.990 – 00:14:03.030 What do I have access to in the community?
  362. 00:14:03.330 – 00:14:05.730 And what do I have at home readily available?
  363. 00:14:06.810 – 00:14:09.090 And it's really anything, any juice,
  364. 00:14:09.270 – 00:14:11.030 any fruit concoction that you make,
  365. 00:14:11.090 – 00:14:14.550 whether it's with pineapples, oranges,
  366. 00:14:14.550 – 00:14:17.790 gingers, watermelon, whatever you have available,
  367. 00:14:18.490 – 00:14:19.430 that's helpful.
  368. 00:14:19.890 – 00:14:22.930 There isn't a science to say drink this only
  369. 00:14:22.930 – 00:14:24.790 and this is going to heal everything, right?
  370. 00:14:25.330 – 00:14:27.750 Every ingredient has a different power.
  371. 00:14:28.590 – 00:14:31.750 So when you think about it, whatever you got,
  372. 00:14:32.070 – 00:14:33.590 if all you have is a bag of apples
  373. 00:14:33.590 – 00:14:35.250 and you're going to go buy a pineapple,
  374. 00:14:35.630 – 00:14:36.830 apple and pineapple juice is.
  375. 00:14:37.710 – 00:14:39.110 Dang, don't tell me it's vice.
  376. 00:14:39.590 – 00:14:40.770 And it's just that simple
  377. 00:14:40.770 – 00:14:44.290 because you're drinking it the freshest way possible
  378. 00:14:44.290 – 00:14:46.010 and your body is ingesting it
  379. 00:14:46.010 – 00:14:48.490 one of the freshest ways possible.
  380. 00:14:48.610 – 00:14:50.110 It's going to be a benefit to you.
  381. 00:14:50.330 – 00:14:51.710 And it's just that over time.
  382. 00:14:51.790 – 00:14:54.190 So if all you have is some stamps
  383. 00:14:54.190 – 00:14:56.630 and on them stamps at the end of all your grocery shopping,
  384. 00:14:56.690 – 00:14:57.870 you got $10 left.
  385. 00:14:58.170 – 00:14:59.970 With that $10, you're going to go buy you
  386. 00:14:59.970 – 00:15:00.750 a bag of oranges.
  387. 00:15:01.150 – 00:15:03.030 You're going to buy you a pineapple for 250
  388. 00:15:03.030 – 00:15:04.730 and then you're going to figure out
  389. 00:15:04.730 – 00:15:07.810 what other vegetable can go with those last couple of dollars.
  390. 00:15:07.830 – 00:15:09.450 So a three pack of bell pepper
  391. 00:15:09.450 – 00:15:10.990 running you around $5 or so.
  392. 00:15:11.610 – 00:15:13.790 Bell pepper, pineapple, oranges.
  393. 00:15:13.790 – 00:15:14.950 It's a juice.
  394. 00:15:16.210 – 00:15:16.510 $10.
  395. 00:15:16.670 – 00:15:17.930 You might be in the kitchen and it's like.
  396. 00:15:19.890 – 00:15:22.190 And juicers aren't as loud as blenders.
  397. 00:15:23.490 – 00:15:24.770 Another, another good thing.
  398. 00:15:25.610 – 00:15:27.330 Yeah, buy me a new juicer, y'all.
  399. 00:15:28.030 – 00:15:29.470 Any juicers you recommend?
  400. 00:15:32.680 – 00:15:35.400 Okay, so juicing is more expensive
  401. 00:15:35.400 – 00:15:37.540 than your smoothie making.
  402. 00:15:42.120 – 00:15:43.060 You're at a cost.
  403. 00:15:43.640 – 00:15:44.100 Okay.
  404. 00:15:44.640 – 00:15:46.980 Once again, it's the teenage mom coming into play.
  405. 00:15:47.000 – 00:15:48.460 So I didn't start with a juicer.
  406. 00:15:48.640 – 00:15:50.320 I started with a blender.
  407. 00:15:50.320 – 00:15:52.260 Once again, using what you had.
  408. 00:15:52.640 – 00:15:54.260 So I had a blender in the house.
  409. 00:15:54.460 – 00:15:55.780 Wasn't really using it.
  410. 00:15:56.160 – 00:15:57.680 Hopped on YouTube University.
  411. 00:15:58.420 – 00:16:02.380 Found a few really good tutorial videos on the process.
  412. 00:16:02.540 – 00:16:03.620 It's a little longer.
  413. 00:16:04.180 – 00:16:06.000 But before you can go to the point
  414. 00:16:06.000 – 00:16:10.160 of where you spending $500 for a top of the line juicer,
  415. 00:16:10.500 – 00:16:11.380 start with what you got.
  416. 00:16:11.380 – 00:16:16.480 So I was blending my ingredients down in the blender
  417. 00:16:16.480 – 00:16:18.160 and using the cheese cloth
  418. 00:16:18.780 – 00:16:21.760 to strain the juice from the smoothie.
  419. 00:16:22.860 – 00:16:25.060 Now that process is very extended.
  420. 00:16:25.840 – 00:16:28.140 But when you don't have what you don't have,
  421. 00:16:28.160 – 00:16:29.360 you make way with what you got.
  422. 00:16:29.360 – 00:16:29.880 Right.
  423. 00:16:30.160 – 00:16:31.020 And that's what I did.
  424. 00:16:31.120 – 00:16:33.920 So I really did not start juicing
  425. 00:16:33.920 – 00:16:39.340 through an actual juicer for at least six months.
  426. 00:16:39.760 – 00:16:40.820 Because it costs so much.
  427. 00:16:40.820 – 00:16:43.140 And I didn't know at the time
  428. 00:16:43.140 – 00:16:44.340 that this was gonna be something
  429. 00:16:44.340 – 00:16:46.100 I can talk about two years later.
  430. 00:16:46.600 – 00:16:48.380 So the blender held me down.
  431. 00:16:48.480 – 00:16:50.320 And it was just as simple as that.
  432. 00:16:50.480 – 00:16:52.180 Blending everything up together.
  433. 00:16:54.320 – 00:16:58.480 I think when I was doing the smoothie version though,
  434. 00:16:59.000 – 00:17:02.460 I think I might've been adding a little water with it.
  435. 00:17:02.480 – 00:17:04.040 Cause you can't blend everything dry.
  436. 00:17:04.440 – 00:17:07.180 I've definitely done that little water little.
  437. 00:17:07.180 – 00:17:07.720 Yeah.
  438. 00:17:08.140 – 00:17:08.720 I'll be pressing here.
  439. 00:17:08.720 – 00:17:11.579 And he said, look, we gonna parade this.
  440. 00:17:11.619 – 00:17:12.540 We gonna crush it.
  441. 00:17:12.540 – 00:17:13.119 He gonna, look.
  442. 00:17:13.780 – 00:17:15.660 So you have to play around a little bit more.
  443. 00:17:15.819 – 00:17:17.280 Once again, it's scientific.
  444. 00:17:17.940 – 00:17:19.180 Keyboard, piano or something.
  445. 00:17:19.819 – 00:17:21.240 It's a sign of the world.
  446. 00:17:21.760 – 00:17:23.260 Look, I'm making sure to pause.
  447. 00:17:23.260 – 00:17:24.579 But it's the science.
  448. 00:17:24.819 – 00:17:26.260 But for a person, like I said,
  449. 00:17:26.260 – 00:17:29.060 thinking about coming home, making $200 checks
  450. 00:17:29.620 – 00:17:31.100 when my child was little,
  451. 00:17:31.320 – 00:17:32.380 in the back of my mind,
  452. 00:17:32.440 – 00:17:35.440 everything that I do starts from a simple idea.
  453. 00:17:35.840 – 00:17:37.480 So if simple is meaning
  454. 00:17:37.480 – 00:17:39.420 all you have is a bag of apples
  455. 00:17:39.420 – 00:17:41.860 and an old blender from who knows when,
  456. 00:17:42.100 – 00:17:42.860 just take your time.
  457. 00:17:43.020 – 00:17:44.560 It won't take you a little bit more time,
  458. 00:17:44.740 – 00:17:46.060 but you can do it.
  459. 00:17:46.320 – 00:17:49.380 And I actually wanna just piggyback off what you said.
  460. 00:17:50.280 – 00:17:51.140 Start simple.
  461. 00:17:51.500 – 00:17:52.900 So like writing a book,
  462. 00:17:53.420 – 00:17:55.680 you know all the steps or you may not.
  463. 00:17:56.200 – 00:17:59.380 You got a pen, you got a pencil or a paper.
  464. 00:17:59.540 – 00:18:00.440 Start with that.
  465. 00:18:00.560 – 00:18:02.780 Start with a notebook and then a laptop.
  466. 00:18:02.940 – 00:18:04.700 I said, once I get a laptop,
  467. 00:18:05.420 – 00:18:06.540 I'm gonna write a book.
  468. 00:18:07.480 – 00:18:08.260 I got a laptop.
  469. 00:18:08.380 – 00:18:10.080 Six months later, I published my book.
  470. 00:18:10.740 – 00:18:11.300 That's wild.
  471. 00:18:11.440 – 00:18:13.080 But it starts with a step
  472. 00:18:13.080 – 00:18:15.000 and it also starts with your mind.
  473. 00:18:15.100 – 00:18:15.540 Yes.
  474. 00:18:15.720 – 00:18:16.960 You have to put it in like,
  475. 00:18:17.080 – 00:18:18.060 okay, yes, I could do this.
  476. 00:18:18.100 – 00:18:19.360 I don't really know what,
  477. 00:18:19.380 – 00:18:20.420 but I'm gonna just write.
  478. 00:18:20.720 – 00:18:21.780 We're gonna format it later.
  479. 00:18:21.840 – 00:18:23.760 We're gonna do the research and everything later,
  480. 00:18:23.800 – 00:18:24.900 but just start.
  481. 00:18:25.100 – 00:18:26.420 Start with a word.
  482. 00:18:26.960 – 00:18:29.220 A sentence a day, a page a day,
  483. 00:18:29.300 – 00:18:31.380 a chapter, a week.
  484. 00:18:31.820 – 00:18:32.660 Start short.
  485. 00:18:33.380 – 00:18:33.820 Absolutely.
  486. 00:18:33.860 – 00:18:34.220 Easy.
  487. 00:18:34.800 – 00:18:35.440 Make it simple.
  488. 00:18:36.300 – 00:18:36.960 Just start.
  489. 00:18:37.760 – 00:18:38.760 Just start.
  490. 00:18:39.200 – 00:18:39.500 Ooh, Jess.
  491. 00:18:39.560 – 00:18:41.040 I'm not a whole just thing.
  492. 00:18:41.220 – 00:18:41.740 Yes.
  493. 00:18:43.640 – 00:18:45.660 So, you said like two years later.
  494. 00:18:45.840 – 00:18:47.920 So how did you know or when did you know
  495. 00:18:47.920 – 00:18:49.860 you wanted to turn this into like a business?
  496. 00:18:52.780 – 00:18:57.620 I think that because of the position that I was in
  497. 00:18:57.620 – 00:19:01.040 being so in the mix of the community.
  498. 00:19:02.120 – 00:19:03.460 Let's rewind back.
  499. 00:19:04.340 – 00:19:06.700 So when you speak about community,
  500. 00:19:06.700 – 00:19:10.000 like you said, civic engagement.
  501. 00:19:10.760 – 00:19:11.320 Collaborative.
  502. 00:19:11.760 – 00:19:12.120 Collaborative.
  503. 00:19:12.340 – 00:19:12.660 Mm-hmm.
  504. 00:19:12.960 – 00:19:16.100 I better say, oh, commuter chaos, son.
  505. 00:19:17.140 – 00:19:20.420 So, civic engagement, collaborative.
  506. 00:19:20.600 – 00:19:21.900 Let's speak a little bit about that.
  507. 00:19:22.500 – 00:19:26.060 So essentially all worlds lead back to War Five.
  508. 00:19:27.740 – 00:19:29.160 War Five in Cleveland, Ohio.
  509. 00:19:29.200 – 00:19:29.920 There you go.
  510. 00:19:29.980 – 00:19:31.800 Shout out to Councilman Richard Starr.
  511. 00:19:31.940 – 00:19:34.200 So all worlds lead back to that.
  512. 00:19:34.780 – 00:19:37.180 I was introduced to the Red Rock Green Partnership
  513. 00:19:37.180 – 00:19:37.860 through that.
  514. 00:19:38.140 – 00:19:39.900 And then work, right?
  515. 00:19:39.920 – 00:19:40.740 So I took the juices.
  516. 00:19:40.860 – 00:19:42.080 I started juices at home.
  517. 00:19:42.400 – 00:19:44.620 Took them out and started giving them out to friends,
  518. 00:19:44.920 – 00:19:46.960 places I were at, every event I would go to.
  519. 00:19:47.000 – 00:19:48.800 I would just have a couple on me
  520. 00:19:48.800 – 00:19:51.360 or I was trying to really get the name out there.
  521. 00:19:51.620 – 00:19:56.420 And so the reaction was great immediately.
  522. 00:19:57.300 – 00:19:59.040 Like I was bringing small,
  523. 00:19:59.040 – 00:20:00.800 I would have small little bottles on me,
  524. 00:20:00.820 – 00:20:02.340 maybe four ounce bottles to give out
  525. 00:20:02.340 – 00:20:03.220 as samples everywhere.
  526. 00:20:03.220 – 00:20:05.040 I had a couple of those samples.
  527. 00:20:05.420 – 00:20:06.200 Oh, you know, juice.
  528. 00:20:07.020 – 00:20:11.340 And so through those connections with the community,
  529. 00:20:12.200 – 00:20:13.580 people were telling me like,
  530. 00:20:13.780 – 00:20:15.100 this is a business.
  531. 00:20:15.140 – 00:20:15.960 This is a need.
  532. 00:20:16.360 – 00:20:19.340 And then the opportunities for funding
  533. 00:20:19.340 – 00:20:21.200 were starting to trickle in.
  534. 00:20:21.280 – 00:20:23.240 And I say trickle because funding is always hard.
  535. 00:20:23.300 – 00:20:24.120 It's always a need.
  536. 00:20:24.580 – 00:20:25.160 Yes, yes.
  537. 00:20:25.220 – 00:20:27.360 But once those financial opportunities
  538. 00:20:27.360 – 00:20:28.520 started to come about
  539. 00:20:28.520 – 00:20:31.560 and I made the actual business structure,
  540. 00:20:32.020 – 00:20:33.400 I knew I was in the business.
  541. 00:20:33.500 – 00:20:35.580 And so for me, it was a little bit hard at first
  542. 00:20:35.580 – 00:20:37.640 because it takes money to make money.
  543. 00:20:37.960 – 00:20:40.860 And I wasn't sure how much money was going to be made
  544. 00:20:40.860 – 00:20:44.480 considering that I'm serving underserved populations
  545. 00:20:44.480 – 00:20:47.780 and individuals who barely got a dollar to buy a pop,
  546. 00:20:48.500 – 00:20:50.360 let alone $5 to buy a juice.
  547. 00:20:51.120 – 00:20:53.180 So the math part was a little bit tricky,
  548. 00:20:53.180 – 00:20:54.300 but the need was there.
  549. 00:20:54.380 – 00:20:55.880 People start asking for it.
  550. 00:20:55.900 – 00:20:58.500 So I started tending pop-up shops.
  551. 00:20:58.500 – 00:21:00.920 And before you know it,
  552. 00:21:00.920 – 00:21:03.400 I was on a podcast like this.
  553. 00:21:04.300 – 00:21:06.680 So you said the need was there,
  554. 00:21:06.720 – 00:21:09.340 but also it was a conversation with the pricing.
  555. 00:21:09.600 – 00:21:11.560 Like how did you determine your pricing?
  556. 00:21:12.000 – 00:21:15.580 Was it based off the ingredients, market research?
  557. 00:21:15.920 – 00:21:17.080 How did that come about?
  558. 00:21:17.560 – 00:21:19.860 So I definitely want to shout out partners
  559. 00:21:19.860 – 00:21:25.240 who made it accessible for me to be able to purchase
  560. 00:21:25.240 – 00:21:27.420 all of the ingredients needed
  561. 00:21:27.420 – 00:21:28.740 when it comes to juicing.
  562. 00:21:29.280 – 00:21:33.320 And it was through that that I was able to,
  563. 00:21:33.340 – 00:21:34.980 like I said, have the ingredients.
  564. 00:21:35.880 – 00:21:38.040 So Farmer Jones Market, right?
  565. 00:21:38.380 – 00:21:41.620 I was going to that bad boy every week.
  566. 00:21:42.120 – 00:21:43.680 Start going out, yeah.
  567. 00:21:44.080 – 00:21:45.860 I was in there like clockwork
  568. 00:21:45.860 – 00:21:47.760 because I mean, juices only last three days.
  569. 00:21:47.760 – 00:21:49.980 So I'm making juices the day of events.
  570. 00:21:50.000 – 00:21:53.020 And if I have an event on a Friday of this week
  571. 00:21:53.020 – 00:21:54.120 and a Tuesday of next week,
  572. 00:21:54.120 – 00:21:57.300 that's two different shopping trips, just that easy.
  573. 00:21:59.280 – 00:22:02.000 So one, the ingredients were made
  574. 00:22:02.640 – 00:22:04.280 a little bit more affordable, right?
  575. 00:22:04.280 – 00:22:06.260 It's always better to go to your local market
  576. 00:22:06.260 – 00:22:08.960 rather than a franchise grocery store.
  577. 00:22:09.420 – 00:22:13.280 And then the way that I was presenting myself,
  578. 00:22:13.800 – 00:22:16.280 knowing that the people who I wanted to face,
  579. 00:22:16.320 – 00:22:18.360 so I almost, if you think about it,
  580. 00:22:18.640 – 00:22:20.000 the first year in business
  581. 00:22:20.000 – 00:22:21.940 is never your best financial year.
  582. 00:22:23.100 – 00:22:25.040 So was I fulfilling the need
  583. 00:22:25.040 – 00:22:27.680 and not getting all of the financial gains
  584. 00:22:27.680 – 00:22:28.420 back afterwards?
  585. 00:22:28.740 – 00:22:29.300 Absolutely.
  586. 00:22:30.300 – 00:22:33.400 But at the time, it wasn't so much out of my control
  587. 00:22:33.400 – 00:22:36.340 that I was essentially losing, if you will.
  588. 00:22:37.380 – 00:22:39.160 For me being able to provide that
  589. 00:22:39.160 – 00:22:41.520 for whether it was a youth group,
  590. 00:22:41.560 – 00:22:43.680 a girl group or a community event,
  591. 00:22:44.100 – 00:22:46.020 that exposure at that time
  592. 00:22:46.020 – 00:22:48.440 allowed me to kind of bring it down a notch
  593. 00:22:48.440 – 00:22:49.700 just a little bit.
  594. 00:22:50.380 – 00:22:52.160 So thinking about the pricing,
  595. 00:22:52.320 – 00:22:55.360 I had to pivot the way that I handle my business
  596. 00:22:55.360 – 00:22:56.820 a little bit, because you're right.
  597. 00:22:57.400 – 00:22:59.640 For some reason, and who knows why,
  598. 00:22:59.660 – 00:23:00.540 I'm leaning on the government.
  599. 00:23:00.660 – 00:23:02.560 But for some reason, healthier options
  600. 00:23:02.560 – 00:23:05.460 are a little bit more expensive.
  601. 00:23:06.400 – 00:23:07.720 So knowing that,
  602. 00:23:07.740 – 00:23:09.520 I knew that I couldn't come into the game
  603. 00:23:09.520 – 00:23:12.180 just selling juices person to person.
  604. 00:23:13.760 – 00:23:16.100 So I started to pivot,
  605. 00:23:16.140 – 00:23:18.040 and this is where the beauty of being
  606. 00:23:18.040 – 00:23:20.220 in constant contact with community,
  607. 00:23:20.600 – 00:23:22.460 I was able to pivot and say, you know what,
  608. 00:23:22.480 – 00:23:25.160 I want to provide these juices to this group of people,
  609. 00:23:25.520 – 00:23:28.320 but maybe if I angle it through organizations,
  610. 00:23:28.780 – 00:23:30.560 and I'm talking to the organizations
  611. 00:23:30.560 – 00:23:32.160 for them to provide the need,
  612. 00:23:32.480 – 00:23:34.580 now I'm going business to business.
  613. 00:23:37.500 – 00:23:40.120 That is a great business.
  614. 00:23:40.360 – 00:23:42.240 Because we don't want to charge the people.
  615. 00:23:43.340 – 00:23:44.740 But we know business to business,
  616. 00:23:44.760 – 00:23:45.740 we can make moves.
  617. 00:23:46.600 – 00:23:49.540 So now, instead of me trying to sell
  618. 00:23:49.540 – 00:23:51.520 almost door to door, if you will.
  619. 00:23:51.840 – 00:23:52.300 True.
  620. 00:23:53.180 – 00:23:56.300 Now I'm going to these larger scale events,
  621. 00:23:57.460 – 00:24:00.880 positioning myself to sell juices either at their events
  622. 00:24:01.740 – 00:24:03.520 and they're given to the people,
  623. 00:24:04.760 – 00:24:07.360 or positioning for them to purchase something
  624. 00:24:07.360 – 00:24:08.480 from me directly.
  625. 00:24:09.960 – 00:24:12.360 Because they have an event that I want to attend,
  626. 00:24:12.440 – 00:24:14.820 so either you will afford the cost upfront
  627. 00:24:14.820 – 00:24:17.540 for me to come to your event and give out juices for free,
  628. 00:24:17.980 – 00:24:20.360 or we can work something out
  629. 00:24:20.360 – 00:24:22.340 where you have an event and you want me to pop up,
  630. 00:24:22.340 – 00:24:26.260 but we need to think about how can we both make this.
  631. 00:24:26.300 – 00:24:27.000 That's right.
  632. 00:24:27.320 – 00:24:28.160 Right, right?
  633. 00:24:28.180 – 00:24:31.480 So it's just realigning your actual target.
  634. 00:24:31.820 – 00:24:34.500 My target audience is always going to be the community,
  635. 00:24:34.700 – 00:24:38.580 but how do I access them is through partnerships
  636. 00:24:39.480 – 00:24:43.040 with the resources putting on these community-led events.
  637. 00:24:43.040 – 00:24:44.920 So it's just, you know,
  638. 00:24:45.240 – 00:24:46.620 once again, going back to that community.
  639. 00:24:47.120 – 00:24:48.120 The need is there.
  640. 00:24:48.340 – 00:24:50.220 The partnerships had to become available
  641. 00:24:50.220 – 00:24:51.460 for me to meet that need.
  642. 00:24:51.820 – 00:24:53.700 So just connecting with the people
  643. 00:24:53.700 – 00:24:56.240 and the partners that are out there
  644. 00:24:56.240 – 00:24:59.520 organizing these events so that we can
  645. 00:24:59.520 – 00:25:03.060 make it affordable for the people attending those events.
  646. 00:25:03.060 – 00:25:04.020 So I'm still learning.
  647. 00:25:04.600 – 00:25:06.140 I'm still figuring it out,
  648. 00:25:06.660 – 00:25:09.080 but I just had to think if my target audience
  649. 00:25:09.080 – 00:25:11.220 is the people, how do I get to the people?
  650. 00:25:11.220 – 00:25:14.120 And that's through organizations
  651. 00:25:14.120 – 00:25:17.380 who are hosting people, essentially.
  652. 00:25:19.080 – 00:25:21.460 So with that being said,
  653. 00:25:23.600 – 00:25:25.080 as far as like events,
  654. 00:25:25.440 – 00:25:27.140 have you ever been to like trade shows
  655. 00:25:27.140 – 00:25:28.920 and kind of market through trade shows?
  656. 00:25:29.400 – 00:25:30.860 I have not yet.
  657. 00:25:31.300 – 00:25:32.160 Have not yet.
  658. 00:25:32.880 – 00:25:37.880 I've done some youth engagement with Queen I Am.
  659. 00:25:38.040 – 00:25:40.460 Big shout out to Queen I Am.
  660. 00:25:40.460 – 00:25:43.660 Yeah, she was my first youth group
  661. 00:25:43.660 – 00:25:45.620 that I did a presentation for.
  662. 00:25:46.860 – 00:25:48.360 And that was beautiful.
  663. 00:25:48.540 – 00:25:51.140 That was something that I really won't ever forget.
  664. 00:25:51.180 – 00:25:51.560 Cause like I said,
  665. 00:25:51.560 – 00:25:54.580 that was my first presentation to a youth group.
  666. 00:25:54.680 – 00:25:56.100 And kids are different than adults.
  667. 00:25:56.980 – 00:25:59.480 I just got down from, coming from the school,
  668. 00:25:59.800 – 00:26:00.780 man, so bad.
  669. 00:26:02.040 – 00:26:03.900 They're just, you know, full of energy.
  670. 00:26:04.640 – 00:26:07.600 Well, yeah, full of energy.
  671. 00:26:10.840 – 00:26:13.780 So it was through those partnerships,
  672. 00:26:14.140 – 00:26:15.440 and this is where I can start rambling.
  673. 00:26:15.740 – 00:26:17.880 So please divert me back on the right track
  674. 00:26:17.880 – 00:26:20.740 if I go too far off.
  675. 00:26:23.760 – 00:26:25.880 But through those community partnerships,
  676. 00:26:26.640 – 00:26:30.160 I was able to kind of expose myself to different groups
  677. 00:26:30.160 – 00:26:32.540 that I might not be able to do so on my own.
  678. 00:26:33.440 – 00:26:35.560 So now current events coming up,
  679. 00:26:36.120 – 00:26:38.620 I'm a part of the Civic Engagement Collaborative.
  680. 00:26:38.880 – 00:26:41.880 That's a group, a collective of myself
  681. 00:26:41.880 – 00:26:43.980 and three other women came together.
  682. 00:26:44.120 – 00:26:46.380 Once again, all roads lead to Ward 5.
  683. 00:26:47.980 – 00:26:51.360 So we either live in the area, work in the area,
  684. 00:26:51.660 – 00:26:54.080 or we are invested in the area.
  685. 00:26:54.660 – 00:26:55.780 And we came together,
  686. 00:26:55.820 – 00:26:57.920 we've been working together now for a few years
  687. 00:26:57.920 – 00:27:02.100 and the need there was the voter engagement.
  688. 00:27:02.800 – 00:27:04.800 And voting can be a scary topic
  689. 00:27:05.320 – 00:27:07.400 because either you live down the way
  690. 00:27:07.400 – 00:27:09.440 and you don't think it affects you directly
  691. 00:27:09.440 – 00:27:12.860 or you live up the way and you don't see the need
  692. 00:27:12.860 – 00:27:17.440 in the same distractions or the same disadvantages
  693. 00:27:18.060 – 00:27:21.300 of those who are directly impacted
  694. 00:27:21.300 – 00:27:23.180 but don't understand the importance of voting.
  695. 00:27:24.060 – 00:27:25.220 So it was a double-edged sword.
  696. 00:27:25.280 – 00:27:27.360 Some people like, oh, I moved out of that
  697. 00:27:27.360 – 00:27:29.740 because I didn't want to be around that anymore.
  698. 00:27:29.880 – 00:27:31.560 So now it no longer affects me.
  699. 00:27:31.960 – 00:27:34.160 And then there's others that this is where I'm at,
  700. 00:27:34.160 – 00:27:36.660 live here, die here, this is home.
  701. 00:27:37.500 – 00:27:39.280 But I've been down here forever
  702. 00:27:39.280 – 00:27:42.180 and I've never seen anything good for me from voting.
  703. 00:27:43.060 – 00:27:43.620 Why vote?
  704. 00:27:46.040 – 00:27:49.860 Ooh, what about samples at the voting?
  705. 00:27:52.350 – 00:27:52.990 What you mean?
  706. 00:27:54.230 – 00:27:55.650 Passing out samples at the voting.
  707. 00:27:55.650 – 00:27:58.190 Yeah, so the civic engagement collaborative,
  708. 00:27:58.270 – 00:28:01.050 we were able to think about those two
  709. 00:28:01.050 – 00:28:03.750 very opposing sides and think of a way
  710. 00:28:03.750 – 00:28:05.810 to how do we bring everybody into a room
  711. 00:28:05.810 – 00:28:08.290 to get everybody to understand whether you are
  712. 00:28:08.290 – 00:28:10.190 up the way, down the way, out the way, right?
  713. 00:28:10.850 – 00:28:12.950 Politics affects you directly.
  714. 00:28:13.710 – 00:28:15.730 So we thought of these ideas and we came up
  715. 00:28:15.730 – 00:28:19.570 with the karaoke and conversations events, right?
  716. 00:28:19.850 – 00:28:21.030 Gotta ring to it right there.
  717. 00:28:21.270 – 00:28:22.350 It does, wow.
  718. 00:28:22.510 – 00:28:24.790 And that's because we had to find a way
  719. 00:28:24.790 – 00:28:28.350 to bring people who didn't see the need,
  720. 00:28:28.610 – 00:28:31.070 who didn't realize the importance of it
  721. 00:28:31.070 – 00:28:33.810 or who maybe they are interested,
  722. 00:28:34.190 – 00:28:37.250 but they don't have the right people in front of them
  723. 00:28:37.250 – 00:28:38.930 giving them the knowledge that they need
  724. 00:28:38.930 – 00:28:42.430 or they don't have the spaces available to them
  725. 00:28:42.430 – 00:28:45.750 to express their want to know more.
  726. 00:28:46.490 – 00:28:48.770 So we came up with karaoke and conversation
  727. 00:28:48.770 – 00:28:51.850 and it's events that are catered to the community.
  728. 00:28:52.190 – 00:28:54.110 So for all adults, we're working on some things
  729. 00:28:54.110 – 00:28:55.730 for kids as well, because we really need
  730. 00:28:55.730 – 00:28:57.930 to make these 18 year olds know
  731. 00:28:57.930 – 00:29:00.790 and 17 too, your opportunity to vote,
  732. 00:29:00.790 – 00:29:04.450 your time now as an adult, it really starts then, 18,
  733. 00:29:04.670 – 00:29:07.470 but you can really register to get ready to vote at 17.
  734. 00:29:08.970 – 00:29:11.470 So karaoke and conversation, we kick off the event
  735. 00:29:11.470 – 00:29:14.030 with networking, we have free food available.
  736. 00:29:14.510 – 00:29:17.090 If we're at a space that has beverages,
  737. 00:29:17.450 – 00:29:20.150 alcoholic beverages, we accommodate that as well,
  738. 00:29:20.270 – 00:29:21.790 depending on the space that's available.
  739. 00:29:22.070 – 00:29:24.650 And then we have a variety of guest speakers
  740. 00:29:24.650 – 00:29:27.770 to help you understand the power of your vote,
  741. 00:29:28.030 – 00:29:29.630 the importance of your vote,
  742. 00:29:29.630 – 00:29:31.970 what current things are available
  743. 00:29:32.880 – 00:29:35.070 for you to vote on at that time.
  744. 00:29:35.390 – 00:29:37.550 So we've had a lot of guest speakers,
  745. 00:29:38.090 – 00:29:40.410 a couple of our familiar speakers
  746. 00:29:40.410 – 00:29:42.230 who try to come out as much as possible,
  747. 00:29:42.670 – 00:29:44.110 Congresswoman Shantel Brown,
  748. 00:29:45.390 – 00:29:47.690 State Rep Darnell Brewer,
  749. 00:29:48.610 – 00:29:51.310 State Rep Terrence Upchurch,
  750. 00:29:52.210 – 00:29:54.750 Callie Hall, the County President, Pernell Jones.
  751. 00:29:55.510 – 00:29:59.890 So we definitely try to keep it local, right?
  752. 00:29:59.970 – 00:30:02.210 These are folks who are from the area,
  753. 00:30:02.930 – 00:30:05.890 who live in the area, work in the area,
  754. 00:30:05.890 – 00:30:08.490 and they're very dedicated to it.
  755. 00:30:08.510 – 00:30:09.910 So they're, and they're us,
  756. 00:30:10.150 – 00:30:11.790 they look like me and you,
  757. 00:30:12.070 – 00:30:15.950 they understand the same problems or concerns
  758. 00:30:15.950 – 00:30:19.970 and issues we might have as black people.
  759. 00:30:20.830 – 00:30:24.350 And so they're able to take that high political knowledge
  760. 00:30:24.350 – 00:30:27.370 and break it down into a way that we can understand.
  761. 00:30:28.770 – 00:30:30.670 Because that's the most important part.
  762. 00:30:30.810 – 00:30:32.050 Me and you could have a conversation,
  763. 00:30:32.270 – 00:30:34.030 but I can't take it always to the top
  764. 00:30:34.030 – 00:30:35.650 like Congresswoman Brown will do.
  765. 00:30:36.430 – 00:30:38.750 But she'll break it down and get you to understand
  766. 00:30:38.750 – 00:30:40.950 why current events right now,
  767. 00:30:41.210 – 00:30:42.930 why you need to pay attention to them
  768. 00:30:42.930 – 00:30:45.490 and how some of these current cuts
  769. 00:30:45.490 – 00:30:47.390 that are being taken by the administration
  770. 00:30:47.390 – 00:30:49.510 are immediately impacting.
  771. 00:30:50.010 – 00:30:52.770 And once again, my disclaimer,
  772. 00:30:53.650 – 00:30:56.490 all roads leads to Ward 5, right?
  773. 00:30:56.630 – 00:30:58.410 So working in an environment
  774. 00:30:58.410 – 00:31:01.970 where people who depend on the food bank,
  775. 00:31:03.050 – 00:31:05.530 they depend on it every month, every week,
  776. 00:31:05.570 – 00:31:06.950 whatever they may need,
  777. 00:31:06.990 – 00:31:08.590 they go to these food pantries.
  778. 00:31:08.950 – 00:31:10.790 And recently the current administration
  779. 00:31:10.790 – 00:31:14.230 made budget cuts to the food bank.
  780. 00:31:15.050 – 00:31:17.010 So if you were one of those people
  781. 00:31:17.010 – 00:31:18.390 who were going to the food bank,
  782. 00:31:19.710 – 00:31:20.750 every week,
  783. 00:31:21.890 – 00:31:24.190 you may have already felt that impact
  784. 00:31:24.190 – 00:31:25.410 of those budget cuts.
  785. 00:31:25.850 – 00:31:29.690 So did they make cuts to the food stamps as well?
  786. 00:31:29.990 – 00:31:31.970 Absolutely, that's all down the pipeline.
  787. 00:31:32.410 – 00:31:34.070 All of that is what's coming down
  788. 00:31:34.070 – 00:31:35.930 and that if we don't,
  789. 00:31:35.930 – 00:31:38.690 number one, are interested in watching the news,
  790. 00:31:38.690 – 00:31:39.850 we might not get it.
  791. 00:31:40.470 – 00:31:43.030 And then even if we do watch the news,
  792. 00:31:43.210 – 00:31:44.990 we still don't get a full understanding
  793. 00:31:44.990 – 00:31:48.730 of just how quickly things can impact us.
  794. 00:31:49.670 – 00:31:50.470 Because the news stories
  795. 00:31:50.470 – 00:31:52.230 will always make a little special twist
  796. 00:31:52.230 – 00:31:53.970 and you can only get five minutes.
  797. 00:31:55.030 – 00:31:56.910 Or they give what they want.
  798. 00:31:57.010 – 00:31:59.130 Very short, very short.
  799. 00:31:59.330 – 00:32:01.350 So it's good that you're aware of issues,
  800. 00:32:01.410 – 00:32:03.250 but where do you get the opportunity
  801. 00:32:03.250 – 00:32:05.190 to learn more about that?
  802. 00:32:05.470 – 00:32:07.010 And some people are on the fence, right?
  803. 00:32:07.170 – 00:32:09.930 Some grandparents, they've been around for decades.
  804. 00:32:10.610 – 00:32:12.930 Wama vo vo, what it's gonna help me do?
  805. 00:32:13.370 – 00:32:15.850 All these years I've been down here, 30, 40 years,
  806. 00:32:16.190 – 00:32:17.430 and now you want me to vote?
  807. 00:32:18.170 – 00:32:18.570 Why?
  808. 00:32:19.090 – 00:32:19.490 Right?
  809. 00:32:19.490 – 00:32:20.810 And that's a valid question.
  810. 00:32:21.630 – 00:32:22.430 Valid question.
  811. 00:32:22.550 – 00:32:23.910 You done lived through this, been through this,
  812. 00:32:23.950 – 00:32:26.250 you may have voted every year you could of your life.
  813. 00:32:26.910 – 00:32:28.970 And now you like, you want me to vote again for what?
  814. 00:32:29.070 – 00:32:31.910 And I'm still down here, nothing's changed,
  815. 00:32:32.110 – 00:32:35.350 school's still underfunded, food pantry's getting cut,
  816. 00:32:35.710 – 00:32:36.710 and you want me to vote?
  817. 00:32:37.690 – 00:32:38.410 Make it make sense.
  818. 00:32:39.050 – 00:32:42.770 And I'm a big believer of the underdog,
  819. 00:32:43.630 – 00:32:45.890 and I kind of lose to the story you're telling.
  820. 00:32:46.810 – 00:32:49.370 I mean, I've kind of been an underdog all myself,
  821. 00:32:49.530 – 00:32:50.830 that's why I always root for the underdog.
  822. 00:32:51.730 – 00:32:53.310 Because at the end of the day,
  823. 00:32:53.870 – 00:32:55.930 as long as you try, what do you have to lose?
  824. 00:32:55.990 – 00:32:57.630 Yeah, as long as you try.
  825. 00:32:58.090 – 00:32:59.970 And now we're not even trying for us,
  826. 00:33:00.230 – 00:33:02.150 we're trying for the next generation.
  827. 00:33:02.770 – 00:33:03.730 Which is important.
  828. 00:33:04.950 – 00:33:08.110 And along with the food, even the house
  829. 00:33:08.110 – 00:33:09.530 is getting cut.
  830. 00:33:10.050 – 00:33:15.210 A lot of programs have already been cut from nonprofits.
  831. 00:33:15.710 – 00:33:18.090 So when you think about your after-school programming,
  832. 00:33:18.570 – 00:33:19.890 you think about your Micom,
  833. 00:33:20.210 – 00:33:22.130 you think about the programs for kids
  834. 00:33:22.130 – 00:33:23.810 that have been around for years.
  835. 00:33:24.430 – 00:33:26.410 Now, we're all trying to figure out
  836. 00:33:26.410 – 00:33:29.450 where does funding come from to maintain.
  837. 00:33:32.510 – 00:33:34.970 So, all roads leading back to war five,
  838. 00:33:35.010 – 00:33:37.290 those were some of the pressing issues
  839. 00:33:37.290 – 00:33:39.990 that were always in my ear, in my face,
  840. 00:33:40.250 – 00:33:41.450 right in front of me every day.
  841. 00:33:41.810 – 00:33:43.330 So the Civic Engagement Collaborative,
  842. 00:33:43.350 – 00:33:44.510 we were able to come together
  843. 00:33:44.510 – 00:33:47.370 and kind of try to tie up some of those loose ends.
  844. 00:33:47.470 – 00:33:48.710 We're activating the community,
  845. 00:33:48.830 – 00:33:49.790 we're getting them engaged,
  846. 00:33:49.910 – 00:33:51.510 we're mobilizing the community.
  847. 00:33:51.930 – 00:33:53.390 So yes, we want you to vote,
  848. 00:33:53.590 – 00:33:55.630 but then we want you to also know that
  849. 00:33:55.630 – 00:33:56.930 within that power of that vote,
  850. 00:33:57.250 – 00:33:58.130 not as you voted,
  851. 00:33:58.550 – 00:33:59.870 now let's work on some of the issues
  852. 00:33:59.870 – 00:34:00.830 that you voted on.
  853. 00:34:01.630 – 00:34:05.610 So, healthcare, medical coverage, right?
  854. 00:34:05.650 – 00:34:06.870 They're kind of hand in hand.
  855. 00:34:06.870 – 00:34:10.050 If we know that things are getting cut,
  856. 00:34:10.370 – 00:34:11.949 budget cuts have happened with food,
  857. 00:34:12.250 – 00:34:13.870 then guess what we think is gonna happen next?
  858. 00:34:14.150 – 00:34:16.010 Medical, right?
  859. 00:34:16.170 – 00:34:18.770 A lot of things, social, security, stamps,
  860. 00:34:19.050 – 00:34:21.170 all that stuff that we're used to.
  861. 00:34:21.310 – 00:34:23.270 Once one thing started getting cut in my mind,
  862. 00:34:23.370 – 00:34:25.050 I'm like, all right, let's prepare.
  863. 00:34:25.989 – 00:34:29.550 So, what they think is gonna happen?
  864. 00:34:29.690 – 00:34:31.190 Robots taking over us all?
  865. 00:34:31.290 – 00:34:33.310 Look, so that's why it's important
  866. 00:34:33.310 – 00:34:35.770 for us to take care of us, right?
  867. 00:34:35.770 – 00:34:38.070 Thinking about those backyard gardens,
  868. 00:34:38.889 – 00:34:41.330 community gardens, bartering, right?
  869. 00:34:41.590 – 00:34:44.030 It may sound far off and scary,
  870. 00:34:44.370 – 00:34:46.389 but if we looking out for us,
  871. 00:34:46.670 – 00:34:48.210 then the one way we gonna look out for us
  872. 00:34:48.210 – 00:34:49.489 and make sure we got food,
  873. 00:34:50.110 – 00:34:52.110 make sure we know how to take care of each other,
  874. 00:34:52.330 – 00:34:54.590 and make sure that we can maintain ourselves.
  875. 00:34:55.150 – 00:34:57.110 So, I mean, you really just have to make sure
  876. 00:34:57.110 – 00:35:00.610 that you are knowledgeable of a lot of stuff.
  877. 00:35:01.010 – 00:35:02.710 So, the karaoke conversation
  878. 00:35:02.710 – 00:35:04.310 helps you to learn a little bit,
  879. 00:35:04.310 – 00:35:05.810 have a fun at the same time,
  880. 00:35:05.830 – 00:35:06.550 because there's a lot,
  881. 00:35:06.590 – 00:35:07.810 and it can be a little depressing,
  882. 00:35:07.890 – 00:35:09.590 but we don't wanna end off on that note.
  883. 00:35:10.030 – 00:35:12.490 So, through the conversation, we learn,
  884. 00:35:12.830 – 00:35:15.370 then we transition into the karaoke spot.
  885. 00:35:15.470 – 00:35:18.250 So, we started doing some line dancing,
  886. 00:35:18.390 – 00:35:20.450 because that's the hottest thing out here now, right?
  887. 00:35:20.910 – 00:35:22.450 So, we got our boots on the ground
  888. 00:35:22.450 – 00:35:23.530 and our fans clapping.
  889. 00:35:24.510 – 00:35:25.390 Okay, okay.
  890. 00:35:26.010 – 00:35:27.790 So, we go from the conversation
  891. 00:35:27.790 – 00:35:29.550 and making sure that we leave
  892. 00:35:29.550 – 00:35:31.390 a little bit better than how we came.
  893. 00:35:31.850 – 00:35:33.990 We lighten it up a little bit, have some fun,
  894. 00:35:33.990 – 00:35:35.570 because remember, we're going into the places
  895. 00:35:35.570 – 00:35:38.930 where people don't typically go for this knowledge.
  896. 00:35:39.190 – 00:35:40.490 So, we don't wanna bore them out.
  897. 00:35:40.490 – 00:35:43.350 We wanna have some fun, engage the people, right?
  898. 00:35:43.350 – 00:35:45.210 So, we do the karaoke,
  899. 00:35:45.410 – 00:35:47.290 and it's a great time for everybody.
  900. 00:35:47.390 – 00:35:52.230 So, this is an event for all ages 18 and up,
  901. 00:35:52.330 – 00:35:54.010 but we're working on the youth,
  902. 00:35:54.250 – 00:35:56.850 getting them involved and getting them activated as well.
  903. 00:35:57.750 – 00:35:59.490 Not sure when this podcast will air,
  904. 00:35:59.510 – 00:36:03.230 but our next event is Friday, June 1st.
  905. 00:36:03.230 – 00:36:07.590 We are working on our Friday, June 6th.
  906. 00:36:07.590 – 00:36:09.310 Okay. Let me clarify that.
  907. 00:36:10.330 – 00:36:14.590 Friday, June 6th is the first Saturday in June.
  908. 00:36:15.350 – 00:36:17.150 So, first Friday in June.
  909. 00:36:17.230 – 00:36:18.430 Let me make it make sense,
  910. 00:36:18.630 – 00:36:20.050 because I just butchered that.
  911. 00:36:20.670 – 00:36:21.990 No, no, you're fine, I love it.
  912. 00:36:22.290 – 00:36:24.190 So, our karaoke and conversation,
  913. 00:36:24.650 – 00:36:27.150 the next karaoke conversation event
  914. 00:36:27.150 – 00:36:30.770 will be held Friday, June 6th.
  915. 00:36:30.770 – 00:36:33.110 The event will be at Platform 13.
  916. 00:36:33.190 – 00:36:36.050 It's a new event space on Cedar.
  917. 00:36:36.210 – 00:36:38.610 So, it's 7500 Cedar Ave.
  918. 00:36:39.010 – 00:36:40.190 We're there at 530.
  919. 00:36:40.510 – 00:36:43.150 Kicks off the networking and the conversation flows
  920. 00:36:43.150 – 00:36:44.510 and start at six,
  921. 00:36:44.870 – 00:36:49.830 with karaoke kicking off around 715-ish, 730-ish.
  922. 00:36:51.250 – 00:36:52.910 So, yeah, this is,
  923. 00:36:52.910 – 00:36:55.770 it will probably release a little after the date.
  924. 00:36:55.910 – 00:36:56.510 Oh, no problem.
  925. 00:36:56.550 – 00:37:00.250 We're gonna promote before then on social media.
  926. 00:37:01.210 – 00:37:04.670 Yeah, I had a chance to attend that venue.
  927. 00:37:05.750 – 00:37:07.650 It's a nice space.
  928. 00:37:08.190 – 00:37:11.190 All roads lead to Ward 5, so there we have it.
  929. 00:37:12.590 – 00:37:14.150 It was a unique space
  930. 00:37:14.150 – 00:37:17.750 and they are a community-focused venue.
  931. 00:37:18.570 – 00:37:21.190 So, we're blessed enough to have in a space like that
  932. 00:37:21.190 – 00:37:23.850 right in Ward 5, where you have to go, right?
  933. 00:37:23.850 – 00:37:25.710 You have to go somewhere far
  934. 00:37:25.710 – 00:37:28.570 to be seen like you are not where you're at.
  935. 00:37:29.130 – 00:37:32.230 Last year, we also were at the Box Spot, right on Kansman.
  936. 00:37:32.870 – 00:37:35.470 And that is a very unique outdoor space.
  937. 00:37:35.590 – 00:37:39.510 If you have not seen that space, ride down Kansman.
  938. 00:37:41.130 – 00:37:42.650 Take a ride down Kansman,
  939. 00:37:42.810 – 00:37:44.930 right down the bridge, down the hill,
  940. 00:37:45.310 – 00:37:47.730 across the street from the CMHA headquarters.
  941. 00:37:48.150 – 00:37:49.990 A beautiful outdoor space.
  942. 00:37:49.990 – 00:37:50.550 It is.
  943. 00:37:50.650 – 00:37:52.690 Made of storage containers.
  944. 00:37:53.110 – 00:37:54.750 So, it's a sustainable space
  945. 00:37:55.290 – 00:37:57.450 because it's not a regular brick and mortar,
  946. 00:37:57.450 – 00:37:59.570 but it's made with containers.
  947. 00:37:59.810 – 00:38:01.810 There is an outdoor stage area
  948. 00:38:01.810 – 00:38:05.270 and there may even be opportunities to set up for vending.
  949. 00:38:05.670 – 00:38:06.550 So, who knows?
  950. 00:38:06.630 – 00:38:08.770 If you are looking, if you are an entrepreneur,
  951. 00:38:08.930 – 00:38:10.130 I'm a connector of people.
  952. 00:38:10.170 – 00:38:11.790 So, I'm connecting people right now.
  953. 00:38:12.050 – 00:38:13.450 And how can I connect with you?
  954. 00:38:13.990 – 00:38:17.610 So, if you are looking to connect with me directly,
  955. 00:38:17.830 – 00:38:22.810 you can follow me on Instagram, Jessica Williams,
  956. 00:38:22.810 – 00:38:29.570 on social media or Facebook, Jessica Williams as well.
  957. 00:38:30.010 – 00:38:31.810 I'm also can be reached
  958. 00:38:31.810 – 00:38:35.830 on our Civic Engagement Collaborative pages.
  959. 00:38:35.910 – 00:38:37.970 So, the Civic Engagement collab
  960. 00:38:37.970 – 00:38:42.130 that's on Facebook and Instagram.
  961. 00:38:42.870 – 00:38:46.550 If you are a community advocate,
  962. 00:38:46.890 – 00:38:49.330 if you are a community resource
  963. 00:38:49.330 – 00:38:51.970 and you are looking to attend upcoming events
  964. 00:38:51.970 – 00:38:54.690 and you want to partner to attend,
  965. 00:38:54.810 – 00:38:57.970 whether it's our award five back to school resource fair
  966. 00:38:58.570 – 00:39:02.530 or it is our community cleanups
  967. 00:39:02.530 – 00:39:03.930 that we have throughout the year,
  968. 00:39:04.030 – 00:39:06.690 any of our award five events,
  969. 00:39:07.370 – 00:39:12.290 feel free to reach me via email,
  970. 00:39:13.650 – 00:39:17.810 jwilliams at clevelandcitycouncil.org,
  971. 00:39:20.370 – 00:39:23.730 216-664-2309.
  972. 00:39:24.110 – 00:39:27.630 And pretty much that's a good way to connect with me.
  973. 00:39:27.830 – 00:39:30.530 Like I said, if you're a community-based organization
  974. 00:39:30.530 – 00:39:34.030 and you are looking to find ways to partner with us
  975. 00:39:34.030 – 00:39:36.950 for events, to attend events, to provide a service,
  976. 00:39:37.030 – 00:39:39.350 to talk about the programs that you have available,
  977. 00:39:39.950 – 00:39:40.970 connect with me.
  978. 00:39:41.050 – 00:39:43.730 We have award meetings that you can attend
  979. 00:39:43.730 – 00:39:45.010 and be a vendor at.
  980. 00:39:45.270 – 00:39:47.430 We have a variety of events throughout the year.
  981. 00:39:47.430 – 00:39:49.850 So whether you're looking to connect with me
  982. 00:39:49.850 – 00:39:51.870 through our civic engagement collaborative
  983. 00:39:52.510 – 00:39:54.190 directly through award five
  984. 00:39:54.190 – 00:39:55.910 or you wanted to reach out to me directly
  985. 00:39:55.910 – 00:39:57.430 to talk more about juices,
  986. 00:39:57.870 – 00:39:59.650 you can find me on any platform,
  987. 00:39:59.770 – 00:40:00.730 really at Jessica Williams,
  988. 00:40:01.010 – 00:40:04.530 but you have my social medias, handles,
  989. 00:40:05.090 – 00:40:06.770 and yeah, I'm available.
  990. 00:40:06.850 – 00:40:07.390 I'm around.
  991. 00:40:07.470 – 00:40:08.670 You might see me out in the streets.
  992. 00:40:08.730 – 00:40:10.390 If you see me, say hey.
  993. 00:40:11.270 – 00:40:12.930 So again, I'm gonna ask you that
  994. 00:40:12.930 – 00:40:16.350 at the end of the podcast episode,
  995. 00:40:17.130 – 00:40:18.910 but I kind of want to shift gears
  996. 00:40:18.910 – 00:40:21.830 and since you know me, I'm big into media
  997. 00:40:21.830 – 00:40:24.610 and all different facets of media.
  998. 00:40:25.130 – 00:40:29.890 So how has media affected more of the political side,
  999. 00:40:29.890 – 00:40:32.330 but also your business and just juice?
  1000. 00:40:32.970 – 00:40:33.750 Oh my goodness.
  1001. 00:40:33.810 – 00:40:37.070 Media has really taken it to the next level,
  1002. 00:40:37.070 – 00:40:39.450 if you will, because you're able to reach
  1003. 00:40:39.450 – 00:40:42.250 so many people and even the way
  1004. 00:40:42.250 – 00:40:45.410 that I present myself in my videos.
  1005. 00:40:45.410 – 00:40:48.170 So because I am on the go so much,
  1006. 00:40:48.950 – 00:40:52.210 I try to kind of vlog it, if you will,
  1007. 00:40:52.210 – 00:40:53.810 and put it back out there in the space
  1008. 00:40:53.810 – 00:40:55.790 just to showcase because a lot of times
  1009. 00:40:55.790 – 00:40:58.510 I'm at events where I feel like
  1010. 00:40:58.510 – 00:40:59.690 if someone was to see this,
  1011. 00:40:59.690 – 00:41:01.810 they could learn something from it as well.
  1012. 00:41:02.450 – 00:41:05.970 So if, and it was actually through vlogging
  1013. 00:41:05.970 – 00:41:08.330 me attending different events,
  1014. 00:41:08.350 – 00:41:10.950 I was able to connect with people.
  1015. 00:41:12.090 – 00:41:13.170 People were able to see themselves
  1016. 00:41:13.170 – 00:41:14.210 in some of my videos that,
  1017. 00:41:14.210 – 00:41:15.570 oh, I was there, I seen you there.
  1018. 00:41:15.630 – 00:41:17.030 It was nice seeing you from back then.
  1019. 00:41:17.070 – 00:41:21.510 So it really just keeps me in tune with everyone.
  1020. 00:41:21.870 – 00:41:25.990 I've even been able to receive different type of,
  1021. 00:41:27.190 – 00:41:30.130 I don't want to say like gifts,
  1022. 00:41:30.630 – 00:41:33.790 but connections have been made through social media
  1023. 00:41:33.790 – 00:41:35.530 and sometimes it's with people
  1024. 00:41:35.530 – 00:41:37.990 who I would never been able to connect with
  1025. 00:41:37.990 – 00:41:41.130 had it not been for us connecting virtually.
  1026. 00:41:41.970 – 00:41:44.310 So it's given me confidence
  1027. 00:41:44.310 – 00:41:45.970 because behind the camera,
  1028. 00:41:46.090 – 00:41:48.310 it's way easier to take the photos
  1029. 00:41:48.310 – 00:41:50.650 than it is to be the one in.
  1030. 00:41:51.910 – 00:41:53.590 So that boost of confidence
  1031. 00:41:53.590 – 00:41:56.690 because you are so in tune with what you're doing.
  1032. 00:41:56.950 – 00:41:59.510 You're so passionate about what you're passionate about
  1033. 00:41:59.510 – 00:42:01.170 that sometimes you don't know
  1034. 00:42:01.170 – 00:42:02.990 how big of an impact you have
  1035. 00:42:02.990 – 00:42:05.250 until people start coming back and telling you,
  1036. 00:42:05.250 – 00:42:07.770 you encouraged me, seeing you in the gym,
  1037. 00:42:08.090 – 00:42:09.370 I've gotten up now.
  1038. 00:42:09.370 – 00:42:11.370 And I don't get up as often or as early,
  1039. 00:42:11.390 – 00:42:12.810 but I get up and I work out.
  1040. 00:42:13.030 – 00:42:15.290 So for me posting my workout journey
  1041. 00:42:15.290 – 00:42:16.870 and my videos from that,
  1042. 00:42:16.910 – 00:42:19.670 I never really understood why people would post
  1043. 00:42:19.670 – 00:42:24.690 some things that were a little bit intimate or personable,
  1044. 00:42:24.730 – 00:42:27.010 but for me doing that,
  1045. 00:42:27.250 – 00:42:28.870 and I didn't think it was that personal,
  1046. 00:42:29.110 – 00:42:31.390 but for me doing that and getting the feedback
  1047. 00:42:31.390 – 00:42:33.050 and response from other people
  1048. 00:42:33.050 – 00:42:35.290 who may be trying to figure out
  1049. 00:42:35.290 – 00:42:36.590 how to start working out
  1050. 00:42:36.590 – 00:42:40.530 or trying to gain that encouragement to even start,
  1051. 00:42:41.650 – 00:42:43.990 that was something that I didn't expect to get
  1052. 00:42:43.990 – 00:42:44.810 and I got it.
  1053. 00:42:45.010 – 00:42:46.890 So that helped me out tremendously
  1054. 00:42:46.890 – 00:42:49.090 because sometimes you want yourself so bad,
  1055. 00:42:49.210 – 00:42:52.010 you don't even think about the good that's being done
  1056. 00:42:52.010 – 00:42:53.250 or that you're doing.
  1057. 00:42:53.430 – 00:42:55.750 So it's definitely a journey.
  1058. 00:42:56.610 – 00:42:59.310 It's something that I've learned to love.
  1059. 00:42:59.530 – 00:43:01.070 I didn't know that I loved it,
  1060. 00:43:01.330 – 00:43:03.650 but through those hard trials
  1061. 00:43:03.650 – 00:43:05.270 and trying to figure things out
  1062. 00:43:05.270 – 00:43:07.090 and late nights on YouTube University,
  1063. 00:43:07.110 – 00:43:08.070 trying to learn something,
  1064. 00:43:08.970 – 00:43:12.870 it kind of really brought out the public relations in me.
  1065. 00:43:13.590 – 00:43:14.830 So it's been a great benefit.
  1066. 00:43:14.890 – 00:43:15.450 I love it.
  1067. 00:43:15.450 – 00:43:16.130 I'm here to learn.
  1068. 00:43:16.230 – 00:43:17.490 I'm watching you everywhere we go.
  1069. 00:43:17.550 – 00:43:18.950 Every time I see you out in the streets,
  1070. 00:43:18.950 – 00:43:20.210 I'm looking at how you're moving,
  1071. 00:43:20.290 – 00:43:21.270 how you're taking pictures,
  1072. 00:43:21.370 – 00:43:22.550 the angles you get in.
  1073. 00:43:22.890 – 00:43:25.690 Yeah, yeah, you're doing well as, you know,
  1074. 00:43:25.950 – 00:43:29.410 like oh, I guess we get you on a team.
  1075. 00:43:29.610 – 00:43:31.790 Oh yeah, oh yeah, so.
  1076. 00:43:32.610 – 00:43:34.350 But I'm glad you mentioned that,
  1077. 00:43:34.350 – 00:43:36.790 especially with the fitness journey.
  1078. 00:43:36.910 – 00:43:39.950 Like I just started back playing basketball once,
  1079. 00:43:39.950 – 00:43:41.250 sometimes twice a week.
  1080. 00:43:41.790 – 00:43:43.470 So my favorite sport,
  1081. 00:43:43.470 – 00:43:45.330 but it's also a full body worker.
  1082. 00:43:45.450 – 00:43:47.210 So I'm working out every muscle
  1083. 00:43:47.210 – 00:43:49.090 and sore the next couple of days.
  1084. 00:43:50.150 – 00:43:52.930 But that's also good for the mental,
  1085. 00:43:53.570 – 00:43:55.550 especially as an entrepreneur and, you know,
  1086. 00:43:55.850 – 00:43:56.630 business owner,
  1087. 00:43:57.910 – 00:44:00.490 gotta be sharp mentally, physically as well,
  1088. 00:44:00.630 – 00:44:03.050 especially these heavy equipments and tripods.
  1089. 00:44:03.050 – 00:44:05.850 It's like, it's just perfect.
  1090. 00:44:06.070 – 00:44:08.050 And you know, I stepped away from the fitness,
  1091. 00:44:08.330 – 00:44:09.730 you know, just being so busy.
  1092. 00:44:09.850 – 00:44:11.210 Life was lifin'.
  1093. 00:44:11.210 – 00:44:14.330 Oh yeah, kids, business, partnerships,
  1094. 00:44:15.130 – 00:44:16.670 multiple podcasts, products.
  1095. 00:44:17.150 – 00:44:18.210 I do a lot.
  1096. 00:44:18.470 – 00:44:20.870 That's just, you know, a little tad bit of what I do,
  1097. 00:44:21.030 – 00:44:23.690 but you know, I kind of lost sight of it,
  1098. 00:44:23.690 – 00:44:25.710 but I'm glad to be back on that fitness.
  1099. 00:44:25.910 – 00:44:28.270 Yeah, big ups to you for being back.
  1100. 00:44:28.290 – 00:44:29.790 The hardest thing is getting started.
  1101. 00:44:30.110 – 00:44:31.210 Getting started, yeah.
  1102. 00:44:32.350 – 00:44:35.010 And a plus, the lock journey.
  1103. 00:44:37.030 – 00:44:41.970 I had no clue the community was an entire community.
  1104. 00:44:42.310 – 00:44:43.470 So even, and that was something
  1105. 00:44:43.470 – 00:44:44.830 that just by chance happened.
  1106. 00:44:45.610 – 00:44:47.150 Even going back through your posts
  1107. 00:44:47.150 – 00:44:50.170 and seeing your hair a year ago, two years ago,
  1108. 00:44:50.270 – 00:44:51.490 you know, I don't got the length you got.
  1109. 00:44:51.610 – 00:44:52.670 I'm coming for you.
  1110. 00:44:54.630 – 00:44:57.250 But I mean, that alone right there,
  1111. 00:44:57.550 – 00:44:59.030 entering that lock community,
  1112. 00:44:59.030 – 00:45:02.250 learning about it online, being visible to others.
  1113. 00:45:02.470 – 00:45:06.090 I mean, it's crazy to see the positive side
  1114. 00:45:06.090 – 00:45:09.290 of social media, because we hear so much of the negative.
  1115. 00:45:09.350 – 00:45:11.370 You see so much of the negative.
  1116. 00:45:11.610 – 00:45:13.690 Yeah, so, so much.
  1117. 00:45:14.510 – 00:45:16.450 And you know, you get caught up with scrolling,
  1118. 00:45:17.850 – 00:45:19.470 like, whoosh, whoosh.
  1119. 00:45:19.910 – 00:45:22.110 And then the whole, it's a whole gamut of it,
  1120. 00:45:22.170 – 00:45:24.330 and I can see, like, how did I get caught up in this?
  1121. 00:45:25.410 – 00:45:28.050 Like, I had to start unfollowing people.
  1122. 00:45:28.870 – 00:45:32.350 But the way to get over that, and I've learned,
  1123. 00:45:32.430 – 00:45:36.210 and it happened by mistake, is even on social media,
  1124. 00:45:36.330 – 00:45:39.410 keeping yourself around a certain group of people.
  1125. 00:45:39.930 – 00:45:40.530 Influencing you.
  1126. 00:45:40.630 – 00:45:43.570 Man, if you are around people who are like-minded,
  1127. 00:45:43.650 – 00:45:46.590 if you are around people who are interested in juicing
  1128. 00:45:46.590 – 00:45:50.450 and working out in the lock journey, in media,
  1129. 00:45:50.570 – 00:45:53.390 I mean, if you are into that and you focus on that
  1130. 00:45:53.390 – 00:45:55.150 and that's what you're looking at in your social media,
  1131. 00:45:55.150 – 00:45:58.250 it's exposing you to even more of that.
  1132. 00:45:58.290 – 00:46:00.770 So, I really had to kind of make
  1133. 00:46:00.770 – 00:46:02.290 my social media work for me.
  1134. 00:46:03.170 – 00:46:05.350 You can say that again, because even, you know,
  1135. 00:46:05.350 – 00:46:07.130 with our phones and stuff around us,
  1136. 00:46:07.170 – 00:46:10.170 we want to start circulating that in different advertisements
  1137. 00:46:10.170 – 00:46:13.870 and how all the algorithm picks up in our social media.
  1138. 00:46:14.390 – 00:46:16.570 You don't pull up a website like, oh.
  1139. 00:46:16.930 – 00:46:18.550 I had to make it work for me,
  1140. 00:46:18.550 – 00:46:20.590 because I was on the move so much,
  1141. 00:46:20.650 – 00:46:22.830 but I really think that was the blessing in it.
  1142. 00:46:23.190 – 00:46:24.390 You're on the move so much,
  1143. 00:46:24.390 – 00:46:27.750 I'm posting all these events, I'm researching,
  1144. 00:46:28.030 – 00:46:29.110 because as soon as I meet somebody,
  1145. 00:46:29.250 – 00:46:31.950 I'm going to LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, so.
  1146. 00:46:32.770 – 00:46:34.930 Oh yeah, oh yeah, because time is of the essence.
  1147. 00:46:35.270 – 00:46:36.790 So, before I meet somebody, I'm trying to look up
  1148. 00:46:36.790 – 00:46:38.430 what I gotta say, what are they into?
  1149. 00:46:38.690 – 00:46:39.950 Let me see a little bit about them,
  1150. 00:46:40.110 – 00:46:41.910 because I know that if my time is tight,
  1151. 00:46:42.390 – 00:46:43.330 theirs may be tighter.
  1152. 00:46:44.350 – 00:46:48.110 So, I had to really get the social media
  1153. 00:46:48.110 – 00:46:50.970 to make sense for me, so, because of my job,
  1154. 00:46:51.750 – 00:46:54.810 I'm constantly looking up pages for resources.
  1155. 00:46:54.930 – 00:46:57.550 So now, my social media is really no longer
  1156. 00:46:58.090 – 00:47:00.890 just a lazy, boring, rabbit hole scroll.
  1157. 00:47:01.570 – 00:47:05.050 Literally, my social media is now is full of,
  1158. 00:47:05.050 – 00:47:07.550 whether it's county resources, city resources,
  1159. 00:47:07.850 – 00:47:10.170 women-led events, networking events,
  1160. 00:47:10.690 – 00:47:11.910 civic engagement events.
  1161. 00:47:12.010 – 00:47:15.110 I mean, I'm so deep dive into what I do,
  1162. 00:47:15.110 – 00:47:17.270 and I just listed off, you know, the three elements,
  1163. 00:47:17.590 – 00:47:19.110 juicing, civic engagement collaborative,
  1164. 00:47:19.110 – 00:47:20.610 and working in Ward 5.
  1165. 00:47:21.190 – 00:47:24.330 Those are so heavy into my lifestyle now,
  1166. 00:47:24.330 – 00:47:25.170 that's all I see.
  1167. 00:47:25.730 – 00:47:26.170 So.
  1168. 00:47:26.230 – 00:47:28.670 Now, you've just changed a whole life, see?
  1169. 00:47:28.930 – 00:47:31.990 Yeah, I put my mindset, I made everything that I do
  1170. 00:47:31.990 – 00:47:34.450 kind of what I do, so.
  1171. 00:47:34.550 – 00:47:37.710 I hear about baddies, but it ain't on my timeline.
  1172. 00:47:40.590 – 00:47:41.190 Holy.
  1173. 00:47:41.970 – 00:47:44.890 I actually got approached to do some filming for,
  1174. 00:47:45.550 – 00:47:47.230 and their budget wasn't there,
  1175. 00:47:47.230 – 00:47:49.050 but it's not my target audience anyway.
  1176. 00:47:49.210 – 00:47:50.510 You gotta go to the gym for that.
  1177. 00:47:50.930 – 00:47:52.930 If I'm gonna do that, I mean,
  1178. 00:47:53.030 – 00:47:54.810 y'all gotta have the right budget, it's not.
  1179. 00:47:54.930 – 00:47:55.530 Number one.
  1180. 00:47:55.610 – 00:47:56.730 Would I advertise anyway?
  1181. 00:47:56.930 – 00:47:57.690 Number one.
  1182. 00:47:58.450 – 00:48:00.890 I work with corporations and, you know,
  1183. 00:48:01.510 – 00:48:03.010 nonprofits mainly, so yeah.
  1184. 00:48:03.750 – 00:48:05.210 Y'all really, really want me,
  1185. 00:48:05.350 – 00:48:06.850 then y'all gotta have the money, right?
  1186. 00:48:06.870 – 00:48:07.870 They didn't, so.
  1187. 00:48:07.970 – 00:48:08.410 Yeah.
  1188. 00:48:08.590 – 00:48:09.170 God bless them.
  1189. 00:48:09.210 – 00:48:09.730 They lost.
  1190. 00:48:10.090 – 00:48:15.210 But, I mean, my word of advice and encouragement
  1191. 00:48:15.210 – 00:48:18.030 to those thinking about everything we talked about
  1192. 00:48:18.030 – 00:48:19.550 over this whole podcast, you know,
  1193. 00:48:19.630 – 00:48:20.590 think about living simple.
  1194. 00:48:21.210 – 00:48:24.250 I will always revert back to that
  1195. 00:48:24.250 – 00:48:25.990 because I'm still too close, right?
  1196. 00:48:25.990 – 00:48:29.070 Very humbled and very close to where I came from.
  1197. 00:48:29.570 – 00:48:32.910 So if you don't have a dollar to your name,
  1198. 00:48:33.230 – 00:48:34.010 you have a phone.
  1199. 00:48:34.530 – 00:48:35.050 Okay.
  1200. 00:48:35.250 – 00:48:36.210 With Instagram.
  1201. 00:48:37.430 – 00:48:38.430 Start searching.
  1202. 00:48:38.950 – 00:48:40.830 Start looking up the things that you wanna become.
  1203. 00:48:41.030 – 00:48:42.830 If you are interested in juicing,
  1204. 00:48:42.830 – 00:48:45.570 type in juice in the search bar.
  1205. 00:48:45.670 – 00:48:47.250 Do you follow hashtags at all?
  1206. 00:48:48.210 – 00:48:49.610 I don't know if they took that feature away,
  1207. 00:48:49.610 – 00:48:50.350 but I know those.
  1208. 00:48:50.410 – 00:48:52.250 I didn't know you could follow hashtags.
  1209. 00:48:53.070 – 00:48:54.370 Wow, see, there you go.
  1210. 00:48:54.530 – 00:48:55.650 But it's just the knowledge.
  1211. 00:48:56.650 – 00:49:00.430 Use what you have to get to where you want to be.
  1212. 00:49:00.530 – 00:49:02.750 So if you don't have enough money just yet,
  1213. 00:49:03.290 – 00:49:04.510 start researching recipes.
  1214. 00:49:05.390 – 00:49:07.390 Start pulling up YouTube shorts.
  1215. 00:49:08.130 – 00:49:09.390 Have that around you.
  1216. 00:49:09.410 – 00:49:12.010 The more I had that information around me,
  1217. 00:49:12.010 – 00:49:14.750 the more I felt encouraged to actually get up
  1218. 00:49:14.750 – 00:49:15.590 and do what I saw.
  1219. 00:49:16.410 – 00:49:18.770 So I saved a lot of workout videos
  1220. 00:49:18.770 – 00:49:20.590 because I'm gonna do that workout routine one day.
  1221. 00:49:20.670 – 00:49:21.570 What's your favorite workout?
  1222. 00:49:22.310 – 00:49:23.650 My favorite workout.
  1223. 00:49:24.790 – 00:49:26.950 It's not my favorite, but it's the easiest.
  1224. 00:49:27.090 – 00:49:27.570 Okay.
  1225. 00:49:27.850 – 00:49:28.230 Walking.
  1226. 00:49:29.650 – 00:49:29.890 Perfect.
  1227. 00:49:29.990 – 00:49:32.530 I just actually read an article about that.
  1228. 00:49:32.530 – 00:49:36.530 That's why a lot of older people,
  1229. 00:49:37.170 – 00:49:39.550 mainly older, white women, do it a lot.
  1230. 00:49:40.150 – 00:49:41.210 And I see it a lot too,
  1231. 00:49:41.210 – 00:49:43.630 but after reading certain articles,
  1232. 00:49:43.650 – 00:49:46.430 I'm like, okay, it's more powerful than you think.
  1233. 00:49:46.870 – 00:49:48.370 And it's actually calming and relaxing.
  1234. 00:49:48.790 – 00:49:49.510 And it's free.
  1235. 00:49:49.950 – 00:49:51.110 And it's free.
  1236. 00:49:51.150 – 00:49:53.270 You can do it anytime, anywhere.
  1237. 00:49:53.590 – 00:49:54.570 It is free.
  1238. 00:49:54.570 – 00:49:56.170 If it's free, it's for me.
  1239. 00:49:56.590 – 00:49:56.950 So walking.
  1240. 00:49:57.550 – 00:49:58.230 One more time.
  1241. 00:49:58.410 – 00:50:01.230 If it's free, it is for me.
  1242. 00:50:01.310 – 00:50:01.830 Okay.
  1243. 00:50:02.270 – 00:50:03.330 If you don't have a car,
  1244. 00:50:03.550 – 00:50:04.330 walk around the neighborhood.
  1245. 00:50:04.610 – 00:50:04.870 Walk around.
  1246. 00:50:05.450 – 00:50:06.250 Repository everywhere.
  1247. 00:50:08.130 – 00:50:11.090 I've seen and witnessed some free BS.
  1248. 00:50:12.070 – 00:50:12.150 Yeah.
  1249. 00:50:12.190 – 00:50:12.990 No, no, no, no, no.
  1250. 00:50:13.190 – 00:50:13.750 Quality free.
  1251. 00:50:13.950 – 00:50:14.450 There you go.
  1252. 00:50:14.650 – 00:50:15.190 There you go.
  1253. 00:50:15.510 – 00:50:17.690 Free and quality is for me.
  1254. 00:50:17.770 – 00:50:19.850 So no car, no problem.
  1255. 00:50:20.030 – 00:50:21.330 Walk around the block.
  1256. 00:50:21.670 – 00:50:22.490 Block isn't safe.
  1257. 00:50:22.610 – 00:50:23.470 Walk during the day.
  1258. 00:50:23.730 – 00:50:27.130 I used to, when I was 16,
  1259. 00:50:27.330 – 00:50:31.470 I used to walk from Mayfield all the way to Lakeshore.
  1260. 00:50:31.850 – 00:50:32.270 Ain't nowhere.
  1261. 00:50:33.050 – 00:50:33.690 Oh, yes.
  1262. 00:50:33.710 – 00:50:34.270 No car.
  1263. 00:50:34.270 – 00:50:36.190 So this is before I was driving.
  1264. 00:50:37.050 – 00:50:38.090 I had to go to work, so.
  1265. 00:50:38.250 – 00:50:38.730 Yeah.
  1266. 00:50:38.930 – 00:50:40.050 My mother ended up moving.
  1267. 00:50:40.070 – 00:50:41.130 We used to stay by Commonwealth,
  1268. 00:50:41.210 – 00:50:43.030 so that walk used to be a little different
  1269. 00:50:44.130 – 00:50:46.530 than Mayfield all the way to Lakeshore.
  1270. 00:50:46.610 – 00:50:47.210 But I did it.
  1271. 00:50:47.270 – 00:50:49.110 But hey, it still was a walk.
  1272. 00:50:49.330 – 00:50:50.690 I was guaranteed a ride,
  1273. 00:50:50.830 – 00:50:53.630 but last minute I ain't dropping you off, so.
  1274. 00:50:53.870 – 00:50:55.290 That's how we grew up.
  1275. 00:50:55.670 – 00:50:56.650 The fundamentals.
  1276. 00:50:56.790 – 00:50:57.670 It was raining.
  1277. 00:50:58.130 – 00:51:01.730 The foundation character was built on those walks.
  1278. 00:51:02.450 – 00:51:04.250 No excuses for me, you know.
  1279. 00:51:04.790 – 00:51:06.550 And then I don't mind walking in, you know.
  1280. 00:51:06.950 – 00:51:10.350 I'm an athlete, so that was just another challenge.
  1281. 00:51:10.910 – 00:51:13.310 Like, you know, it's all about mindset
  1282. 00:51:13.310 – 00:51:14.250 and getting it done.
  1283. 00:51:14.370 – 00:51:17.250 You know, it was like a three and a half hour walk,
  1284. 00:51:17.330 – 00:51:20.430 but I did it, and it rained, it was cold.
  1285. 00:51:20.890 – 00:51:21.810 But I made it happen.
  1286. 00:51:22.230 – 00:51:23.830 And that was the foundation for you
  1287. 00:51:23.830 – 00:51:27.210 to be able to sustain the hard times that you have now.
  1288. 00:51:27.490 – 00:51:29.110 Now it's left of you to pick up a bag,
  1289. 00:51:29.110 – 00:51:32.710 go across town, unpack, set up, do what you got to do,
  1290. 00:51:32.710 – 00:51:34.350 and then pack up and go back home.
  1291. 00:51:34.770 – 00:51:36.170 Because in them three hour walks.
  1292. 00:51:38.530 – 00:51:41.410 I mean, I was still actually doing it, you know.
  1293. 00:51:41.550 – 00:51:45.430 Kids nowadays, you know, I have two daughters, you know.
  1294. 00:51:45.650 – 00:51:47.190 I was on a lazier sass.
  1295. 00:51:47.250 – 00:51:48.270 They're not like this.
  1296. 00:51:49.870 – 00:51:52.750 But with me, we walking.
  1297. 00:51:53.330 – 00:51:54.630 My legs hurt.
  1298. 00:51:55.030 – 00:51:56.990 Yeah, we got to build them up,
  1299. 00:51:57.070 – 00:51:58.450 because they don't have what we got,
  1300. 00:51:58.450 – 00:52:00.870 but we can expose them to it a little bit.
  1301. 00:52:00.890 – 00:52:01.530 It doesn't hurt.
  1302. 00:52:02.270 – 00:52:04.770 But walking, walking was the easiest thing to do.
  1303. 00:52:05.350 – 00:52:06.250 And throwing the headphones,
  1304. 00:52:06.390 – 00:52:09.910 that's how I learned or learned to love podcasts.
  1305. 00:52:10.250 – 00:52:12.650 Because after a while, I can only listen to so many songs.
  1306. 00:52:12.890 – 00:52:15.090 And sometimes the songs may be too hype,
  1307. 00:52:15.870 – 00:52:17.490 too sad, too mad.
  1308. 00:52:18.230 – 00:52:21.230 I mean, you know, the songs we used to listen to
  1309. 00:52:21.230 – 00:52:23.390 back in the day, I can't listen to anymore.
  1310. 00:52:24.910 – 00:52:25.810 But yeah.
  1311. 00:52:25.950 – 00:52:27.490 It helps to mellow me out.
  1312. 00:52:27.990 – 00:52:30.630 And so it was, it turned into my me time.
  1313. 00:52:31.090 – 00:52:33.990 And so then thinking about, you know, being simple,
  1314. 00:52:34.570 – 00:52:36.850 then I was able to elevate once funds became more
  1315. 00:52:36.850 – 00:52:39.530 available to membership, a gym membership.
  1316. 00:52:40.050 – 00:52:41.270 Cheapest membership out there,
  1317. 00:52:41.470 – 00:52:42.750 Planet Fitness, Big Ups.
  1318. 00:52:44.150 – 00:52:45.590 But they're accessible.
  1319. 00:52:46.370 – 00:52:47.290 They're cheap.
  1320. 00:52:47.590 – 00:52:50.610 And now for summers, your kids can go for free.
  1321. 00:52:51.270 – 00:52:54.290 June 1st through August, up to year 18,
  1322. 00:52:54.650 – 00:52:56.490 they can go to the gym and workout for free.
  1323. 00:52:57.330 – 00:52:57.810 Wow.
  1324. 00:52:59.270 – 00:53:00.450 So that's amazing.
  1325. 00:53:00.530 – 00:53:01.330 I did not know that.
  1326. 00:53:01.590 – 00:53:01.810 And then-
  1327. 00:53:01.810 – 00:53:02.650 Every summer.
  1328. 00:53:02.810 – 00:53:04.870 As you mentioned, Planet Fitness,
  1329. 00:53:05.550 – 00:53:08.590 if you'd like to be a sponsor of any kind.
  1330. 00:53:08.590 – 00:53:11.150 Come on now, I got plenty of videos in there.
  1331. 00:53:11.670 – 00:53:15.330 But also like, what about getting your juices
  1332. 00:53:15.330 – 00:53:16.690 in Planet Fitness?
  1333. 00:53:16.910 – 00:53:18.370 That's a franchise, you know.
  1334. 00:53:18.470 – 00:53:18.670 Yeah.
  1335. 00:53:18.670 – 00:53:20.170 So I like the way you think.
  1336. 00:53:20.190 – 00:53:22.110 So that's why I'm taking those little sample bottles
  1337. 00:53:22.110 – 00:53:23.010 everywhere I go.
  1338. 00:53:23.670 – 00:53:25.890 Everywhere I go, I was pulling out that phone,
  1339. 00:53:25.890 – 00:53:27.190 pulling out the little four ounce bottle.
  1340. 00:53:27.230 – 00:53:28.330 Do you mind giving a little testimony?
  1341. 00:53:28.530 – 00:53:29.250 You taking the juice?
  1342. 00:53:29.710 – 00:53:30.990 Not since I was 10, it was sure.
  1343. 00:53:32.470 – 00:53:33.990 So it's an exposure.
  1344. 00:53:35.610 – 00:53:37.430 Everything that I do is intentional.
  1345. 00:53:37.910 – 00:53:39.270 Cause we only got 24 hours.
  1346. 00:53:39.450 – 00:53:42.270 And somebody demanding, my job demanding, eight.
  1347. 00:53:43.290 – 00:53:44.130 Right, sleep.
  1348. 00:53:44.230 – 00:53:45.130 You gotta sleep.
  1349. 00:53:45.390 – 00:53:45.790 Yeah.
  1350. 00:53:46.210 – 00:53:48.410 I'm a mother, gotta take care of home.
  1351. 00:53:49.090 – 00:53:51.770 And I wanna have a business and be on boards
  1352. 00:53:51.770 – 00:53:53.030 and be a part of collaborative.
  1353. 00:53:53.030 – 00:53:56.370 So anything that I do, it makes sense.
  1354. 00:53:56.490 – 00:53:58.570 Being here today, it makes sense.
  1355. 00:53:58.590 – 00:54:00.430 This is my time, right?
  1356. 00:54:00.430 – 00:54:02.410 My time to relax, let my hair down,
  1357. 00:54:03.170 – 00:54:04.870 communicate, have some good vibes,
  1358. 00:54:04.990 – 00:54:07.210 good conversation, connect, collaborate.
  1359. 00:54:07.370 – 00:54:07.890 That's right.
  1360. 00:54:08.070 – 00:54:08.410 Right?
  1361. 00:54:08.490 – 00:54:10.230 We working, but we chilling at the same time.
  1362. 00:54:10.250 – 00:54:11.270 It makes sense.
  1363. 00:54:11.330 – 00:54:12.710 So when you start thinking about things
  1364. 00:54:12.710 – 00:54:15.350 that make sense, if you are a busy person
  1365. 00:54:15.350 – 00:54:17.230 and you feel like a workout routine
  1366. 00:54:17.230 – 00:54:19.250 isn't something you can add to your day,
  1367. 00:54:19.890 – 00:54:22.510 then in that day, what can be replaced?
  1368. 00:54:23.950 – 00:54:24.470 Wow.
  1369. 00:54:24.830 – 00:54:26.310 Never heard someone say that.
  1370. 00:54:26.530 – 00:54:27.650 What can be replaced?
  1371. 00:54:27.690 – 00:54:28.550 Your lunch break.
  1372. 00:54:28.890 – 00:54:29.370 Yeah.
  1373. 00:54:29.850 – 00:54:30.250 Right?
  1374. 00:54:30.350 – 00:54:30.810 Yeah.
  1375. 00:54:31.110 – 00:54:34.430 Or do you force yourself to get that five minutes away
  1376. 00:54:34.430 – 00:54:35.710 from whatever you're doing?
  1377. 00:54:35.890 – 00:54:36.690 I definitely do.
  1378. 00:54:36.870 – 00:54:40.390 To reflect, to be still, to be quiet,
  1379. 00:54:40.510 – 00:54:43.270 to gather your thoughts, to pray, to walk.
  1380. 00:54:43.710 – 00:54:44.690 What time?
  1381. 00:54:44.910 – 00:54:45.670 We got it.
  1382. 00:54:45.670 – 00:54:47.610 We just gotta find it to make it make sense.
  1383. 00:54:48.070 – 00:54:51.690 So when I'm walking, I might be listening to a podcast.
  1384. 00:54:51.690 – 00:54:53.930 I might be listening to a song.
  1385. 00:54:54.030 – 00:54:58.050 I might be voicing and taking voice notes
  1386. 00:54:58.050 – 00:55:00.110 of things that I need to do for the next day
  1387. 00:55:00.110 – 00:55:01.150 and organize my day.
  1388. 00:55:01.150 – 00:55:02.650 I started doing voice notes a lot.
  1389. 00:55:02.930 – 00:55:04.110 I love voice notes.
  1390. 00:55:04.130 – 00:55:07.690 I got a whole list on every phone that I have.
  1391. 00:55:08.510 – 00:55:11.090 I have multiple phones, old phones,
  1392. 00:55:11.830 – 00:55:13.830 all voice notes, and actual notes.
  1393. 00:55:13.950 – 00:55:15.110 It's just so cool.
  1394. 00:55:15.770 – 00:55:18.170 Like, man, there's some jewels in there for sure.
  1395. 00:55:18.210 – 00:55:19.170 Yeah, for sure.
  1396. 00:55:19.530 – 00:55:21.390 And lyrics and poems, like.
  1397. 00:55:21.730 – 00:55:25.050 I have meeting events, meeting notes, ideas, thoughts.
  1398. 00:55:25.910 – 00:55:28.830 A lot, a lot that I don't have necessarily the time
  1399. 00:55:28.830 – 00:55:31.390 to sit down and just map it out.
  1400. 00:55:31.510 – 00:55:33.990 So if I'm walking, if I'm on a treadmill,
  1401. 00:55:34.190 – 00:55:35.730 if I'm on a stair stepper,
  1402. 00:55:36.530 – 00:55:38.530 that's five minutes doing, listening to something.
  1403. 00:55:39.710 – 00:55:40.950 I mean, even in a car,
  1404. 00:55:40.990 – 00:55:43.530 like I don't typically put on music anymore.
  1405. 00:55:43.970 – 00:55:44.870 For road trips, I do,
  1406. 00:55:44.890 – 00:55:46.770 cause you gotta stay out to be a little more upbeat.
  1407. 00:55:47.470 – 00:55:50.010 I've turned that into a university, you know?
  1408. 00:55:50.050 – 00:55:52.650 Stuff I wanna learn or catch up on.
  1409. 00:55:53.170 – 00:55:54.270 You know, I might put on YouTube.
  1410. 00:55:54.470 – 00:55:56.670 I purchased so many courses.
  1411. 00:55:56.990 – 00:56:00.090 Probably some, you know, I ain't get around,
  1412. 00:56:00.190 – 00:56:02.190 so I just been throwing people money.
  1413. 00:56:03.070 – 00:56:04.490 Couple hundred, couple thousand.
  1414. 00:56:04.670 – 00:56:07.310 The most I spent on a course or a master
  1415. 00:56:07.310 – 00:56:09.190 was a little over a thousand.
  1416. 00:56:10.690 – 00:56:13.610 And yeah, I even get through all those courses.
  1417. 00:56:13.710 – 00:56:14.790 So it's like,
  1418. 00:56:14.790 – 00:56:16.890 I'm gonna get through one of these days.
  1419. 00:56:16.990 – 00:56:20.170 I'm gonna put that on or even an ebook, audio book.
  1420. 00:56:20.250 – 00:56:22.230 I love audio books now.
  1421. 00:56:25.270 – 00:56:27.930 So that's kind of highlight spending my time
  1422. 00:56:27.930 – 00:56:29.130 or my quiet time.
  1423. 00:56:29.730 – 00:56:31.190 I need to get back to meditating.
  1424. 00:56:31.490 – 00:56:34.650 And then if you are listening to this,
  1425. 00:56:35.050 – 00:56:37.050 check out episode 10,
  1426. 00:56:37.190 – 00:56:39.810 where I do dive into some meditation
  1427. 00:56:39.810 – 00:56:43.810 that mindset calmness for entrepreneurs.
  1428. 00:56:43.810 – 00:56:45.210 Cause we need it.
  1429. 00:56:45.650 – 00:56:48.930 So yes, every 10 episodes or my solo episodes,
  1430. 00:56:49.230 – 00:56:51.550 I'm gonna dive into like meditation work.
  1431. 00:56:52.210 – 00:56:52.690 Nice.
  1432. 00:56:53.470 – 00:56:55.690 And I also have a meditation track.
  1433. 00:56:58.430 – 00:56:59.390 Forgot what it's called,
  1434. 00:56:59.490 – 00:57:02.890 but if you look up on YouTube, Alien Odd Player,
  1435. 00:57:06.820 – 00:57:08.060 I think it's something meditation,
  1436. 00:57:08.180 – 00:57:10.300 but if you put in meditation, the shit pop up.
  1437. 00:57:10.360 – 00:57:14.880 But I will also link it in episode 10 as well.
  1438. 00:57:15.580 – 00:57:16.100 Nice.
  1439. 00:57:17.100 – 00:57:18.700 This was nice.
  1440. 00:57:21.560 – 00:57:25.300 I'm always on the go and I definitely appreciate
  1441. 00:57:26.120 – 00:57:27.980 every conversation we've had.
  1442. 00:57:28.580 – 00:57:29.600 Every single one.
  1443. 00:57:29.840 – 00:57:31.900 And you said you wanted to start a podcast.
  1444. 00:57:32.440 – 00:57:34.340 And we on the right track.
  1445. 00:57:34.360 – 00:57:37.420 We on the right track with that too, yes.
  1446. 00:57:37.820 – 00:57:39.500 And I know you took a break from juice
  1447. 00:57:39.500 – 00:57:41.660 and I'm like, you starting it back up?
  1448. 00:57:41.880 – 00:57:42.400 Yeah.
  1449. 00:57:43.260 – 00:57:44.060 Okay, okay.
  1450. 00:57:44.060 – 00:57:45.960 And I am, I am.
  1451. 00:57:45.960 – 00:57:46.680 All right.
  1452. 00:57:46.780 – 00:57:47.420 Absolutely.
  1453. 00:57:47.940 – 00:57:48.700 It's amazing.
  1454. 00:57:48.800 – 00:57:50.460 I'm definitely gonna have to get another,
  1455. 00:57:51.100 – 00:57:53.620 the doses after this, like, oh.
  1456. 00:57:53.940 – 00:57:55.640 So this a plug for the community.
  1457. 00:57:56.120 – 00:57:57.960 If you have upcoming events
  1458. 00:57:57.960 – 00:58:00.500 and you are looking for an interesting way
  1459. 00:58:00.500 – 00:58:03.700 to encourage people to live a healthier lifestyle,
  1460. 00:58:04.300 – 00:58:05.700 eat a little bit healthier,
  1461. 00:58:06.220 – 00:58:07.860 learn how to become a little bit healthier,
  1462. 00:58:08.340 – 00:58:09.160 let's connect.
  1463. 00:58:09.580 – 00:58:10.020 You know what?
  1464. 00:58:10.020 – 00:58:12.460 I do a lot of weddings.
  1465. 00:58:12.460 – 00:58:13.140 Mm-hmm.
  1466. 00:58:13.140 – 00:58:14.580 Kind of slowing down with weddings,
  1467. 00:58:15.080 – 00:58:20.660 but have you ever provided juice at a wedding?
  1468. 00:58:21.460 – 00:58:22.940 I like the way you think.
  1469. 00:58:23.040 – 00:58:23.460 Yeah.
  1470. 00:58:23.680 – 00:58:24.960 I love the way you think.
  1471. 00:58:25.200 – 00:58:26.740 Change people's, you know.
  1472. 00:58:27.120 – 00:58:29.080 Let's have a healthy shot.
  1473. 00:58:29.980 – 00:58:31.260 Cause we gonna take some shots.
  1474. 00:58:32.580 – 00:58:35.340 But let's take the healthiest shot you've ever taken.
  1475. 00:58:35.520 – 00:58:36.460 Take it with me.
  1476. 00:58:37.900 – 00:58:38.620 Healthy shot.
  1477. 00:58:38.620 – 00:58:39.080 Uh-huh.
  1478. 00:58:39.100 – 00:58:39.460 Woo!
  1479. 00:58:39.760 – 00:58:43.020 Cause think about the whole camera.
  1480. 00:58:43.020 – 00:58:44.780 Camera and shots.
  1481. 00:58:44.920 – 00:58:45.040 Oh.
  1482. 00:58:46.200 – 00:58:48.380 And then healthy shots like a double dose.
  1483. 00:58:48.760 – 00:58:50.140 I did not think of that.
  1484. 00:58:50.940 – 00:58:54.740 I love the way you thinking that the mind is flowing.
  1485. 00:58:55.020 – 00:58:56.220 Yeah, shots, let's do it.
  1486. 00:58:56.720 – 00:58:57.940 Let's do it.
  1487. 00:58:58.600 – 00:58:59.760 Don't play with me now.
  1488. 00:58:59.860 – 00:59:01.820 Cause you know the event planning with me
  1489. 00:59:01.820 – 00:59:03.420 to put those dots together.
  1490. 00:59:03.460 – 00:59:04.080 Let's do it.
  1491. 00:59:04.080 – 00:59:07.140 After this, let's look.
  1492. 00:59:07.960 – 00:59:09.420 Juice and head shots.
  1493. 00:59:09.760 – 00:59:11.700 I am down for that.
  1494. 00:59:12.000 – 00:59:12.480 Oof.
  1495. 00:59:12.480 – 00:59:14.360 And we can do a variety, right?
  1496. 00:59:14.480 – 00:59:16.040 So sometimes when you think of juice
  1497. 00:59:16.040 – 00:59:17.000 and you think of shots,
  1498. 00:59:17.080 – 00:59:19.680 you think of those heavy hitter ginger shots.
  1499. 00:59:20.020 – 00:59:21.340 So it might be a little bit rougher.
  1500. 00:59:21.360 – 00:59:22.120 I love them.
  1501. 00:59:22.280 – 00:59:23.360 But they wake you up.
  1502. 00:59:23.420 – 00:59:24.460 They start the day.
  1503. 00:59:24.580 – 00:59:26.880 So we can have shots for anybody, right?
  1504. 00:59:26.880 – 00:59:29.100 Whether you need that good morning power punch.
  1505. 00:59:29.840 – 00:59:31.520 That mid afternoon pick me up.
  1506. 00:59:32.040 – 00:59:33.380 Just something a little sweet.
  1507. 00:59:33.700 – 00:59:35.860 Maybe you party too much the night before.
  1508. 00:59:37.520 – 00:59:38.680 Wanna liven up again.
  1509. 00:59:38.820 – 00:59:41.080 Get the juices flowing back in your body again.
  1510. 00:59:41.880 – 00:59:43.040 Why take your Asper?
  1511. 00:59:43.300 – 00:59:43.920 Take a shot.
  1512. 00:59:44.140 – 00:59:44.580 Exactly.
  1513. 00:59:44.740 – 00:59:47.740 I am not big on pills at all.
  1514. 00:59:48.000 – 00:59:51.460 Like even people that's bipolar and depressed.
  1515. 00:59:51.780 – 00:59:55.100 I try to weave them away from medication and pills.
  1516. 00:59:55.320 – 00:59:57.040 That's just, you know.
  1517. 00:59:57.520 – 00:59:57.960 Absolutely.
  1518. 00:59:58.260 – 01:00:00.160 Cause there's a holistic remedy for a lot.
  1519. 01:00:00.340 – 01:00:00.780 Everything.
  1520. 01:00:01.300 – 01:00:03.020 If you just open your body up to it
  1521. 01:00:03.020 – 01:00:04.440 and get your body used to it.
  1522. 01:00:05.160 – 01:00:06.740 Cause your body had to get used to medicine.
  1523. 01:00:07.800 – 01:00:09.580 And it's gonna have to get used to these juices too
  1524. 01:00:09.580 – 01:00:11.060 if you give it to them, right?
  1525. 01:00:11.060 – 01:00:11.760 If you give it.
  1526. 01:00:12.100 – 01:00:12.460 Yes.
  1527. 01:00:12.480 – 01:00:16.240 Knowing me, knowing that the whole medical industry
  1528. 01:00:16.240 – 01:00:17.780 is a business in itself.
  1529. 01:00:17.880 – 01:00:19.120 A big business.
  1530. 01:00:19.560 – 01:00:20.420 Especially hospitals.
  1531. 01:00:20.500 – 01:00:21.280 Bigger hospitals.
  1532. 01:00:23.260 – 01:00:25.480 Please just listen to me sometime.
  1533. 01:00:25.640 – 01:00:27.120 I know some people will be like, no.
  1534. 01:00:27.760 – 01:00:29.440 If I don't take any of that.
  1535. 01:00:29.800 – 01:00:31.200 No, listen.
  1536. 01:00:31.920 – 01:00:33.040 Listen, listen, listen.
  1537. 01:00:33.560 – 01:00:34.520 And I even have backup.
  1538. 01:00:34.660 – 01:00:36.000 I didn't pay her to say that.
  1539. 01:00:38.020 – 01:00:38.340 Yeah.
  1540. 01:00:38.340 – 01:00:42.120 I'ma take my meds, but I'ma also make sure
  1541. 01:00:42.120 – 01:00:45.880 that I increase my juice intake,
  1542. 01:00:46.080 – 01:00:48.640 my fruit intake, my vegetable intake.
  1543. 01:00:49.100 – 01:00:51.320 So I can eventually eliminate that.
  1544. 01:00:51.440 – 01:00:52.340 That's the goal.
  1545. 01:00:52.420 – 01:00:56.520 To eliminate all those unnecessary medications.
  1546. 01:00:57.000 – 01:00:58.540 Manmade medications.
  1547. 01:00:59.260 – 01:01:00.920 When you got everything you need to heal yourself.
  1548. 01:01:01.440 – 01:01:03.240 And some of these are not even, you know.
  1549. 01:01:03.420 – 01:01:04.360 They're just fillers.
  1550. 01:01:04.380 – 01:01:05.040 Mm-hmm.
  1551. 01:01:05.380 – 01:01:07.420 So that's just my thoughts on it.
  1552. 01:01:07.420 – 01:01:08.180 I don't know what y'all gonna do with y'all.
  1553. 01:01:08.240 – 01:01:12.580 We're at the end of the day, but hey, this is free game.
  1554. 01:01:12.840 – 01:01:17.340 I've been around 30 plus years, so hey.
  1555. 01:01:17.340 – 01:01:17.500 Okay.
  1556. 01:01:17.620 – 01:01:18.840 Like I'm saying, what works for me?
  1557. 01:01:19.060 – 01:01:21.080 I'm just saying, my locks didn't, you know,
  1558. 01:01:21.480 – 01:01:22.840 take off the way they did.
  1559. 01:01:23.380 – 01:01:24.560 From a relaxer.
  1560. 01:01:26.480 – 01:01:27.240 I like that.
  1561. 01:01:27.560 – 01:01:28.980 So what are some of the juices
  1562. 01:01:28.980 – 01:01:31.500 that kind of became fan favorites?
  1563. 01:01:32.240 – 01:01:34.240 So I have an orange pineapple.
  1564. 01:01:35.100 – 01:01:36.640 That was like a sunshine.
  1565. 01:01:36.640 – 01:01:38.000 That was like a sunshine burst like that.
  1566. 01:01:38.000 – 01:01:39.040 And the color again.
  1567. 01:01:40.020 – 01:01:42.460 So, but between that and then my beet juice.
  1568. 01:01:43.180 – 01:01:44.220 Those are the two.
  1569. 01:01:44.360 – 01:01:46.860 Because a lot of people are shocked
  1570. 01:01:47.700 – 01:01:50.180 when they hear they're drinking beets.
  1571. 01:01:51.840 – 01:01:53.460 And so those were the main two.
  1572. 01:01:53.560 – 01:01:55.320 Very simple ingredients.
  1573. 01:01:56.060 – 01:01:58.840 But either you want something light and sweet
  1574. 01:01:58.840 – 01:02:01.220 or you want something with a little bit more
  1575. 01:02:01.220 – 01:02:02.720 of a powerful punch.
  1576. 01:02:03.720 – 01:02:04.600 But those are the two.
  1577. 01:02:04.920 – 01:02:05.760 My two top.
  1578. 01:02:05.760 – 01:02:06.800 Fan favorites.
  1579. 01:02:06.980 – 01:02:08.980 So when you see me with that red color,
  1580. 01:02:09.160 – 01:02:10.980 know I threw some beets in there.
  1581. 01:02:11.580 – 01:02:15.300 You see me with that shiny yellow orange.
  1582. 01:02:16.720 – 01:02:17.980 Know that there are a few
  1583. 01:02:17.980 – 01:02:21.300 shiny orange colored ingredients.
  1584. 01:02:21.860 – 01:02:24.140 Whether it's fruits or vegetables.
  1585. 01:02:24.240 – 01:02:25.320 It's power packed.
  1586. 01:02:27.020 – 01:02:28.660 And you gonna love it.
  1587. 01:02:29.200 – 01:02:30.100 I love it.
  1588. 01:02:30.840 – 01:02:34.120 So I also like to talk about different trends
  1589. 01:02:34.120 – 01:02:35.140 in the podcast.
  1590. 01:02:35.860 – 01:02:39.480 So is there any trends from when you started juicing
  1591. 01:02:39.480 – 01:02:40.840 versus like now?
  1592. 01:02:42.100 – 01:02:44.320 Even on social media you see different trends
  1593. 01:02:44.320 – 01:02:45.400 that's been popular.
  1594. 01:02:50.970 – 01:02:51.610 Trends.
  1595. 01:02:52.290 – 01:02:55.830 So maybe a few years ago,
  1596. 01:02:57.330 – 01:02:58.170 probably during COVID,
  1597. 01:02:58.250 – 01:03:01.390 I feel like COVID heightened people's need
  1598. 01:03:01.390 – 01:03:03.010 or want to work out.
  1599. 01:03:03.010 – 01:03:06.730 But people were taking like apple cider vinegar.
  1600. 01:03:09.690 – 01:03:13.670 And people were taking it either like first thing
  1601. 01:03:13.670 – 01:03:15.190 in the morning on an empty stomach.
  1602. 01:03:15.290 – 01:03:17.030 And it's a hard thing to get down.
  1603. 01:03:17.410 – 01:03:18.910 Like you can get it down.
  1604. 01:03:19.030 – 01:03:20.170 Just raw in the water.
  1605. 01:03:20.550 – 01:03:21.030 Yeah.
  1606. 01:03:21.250 – 01:03:22.070 A shot though.
  1607. 01:03:22.070 – 01:03:23.810 Not a lot because it's very acidic.
  1608. 01:03:24.150 – 01:03:25.130 I got to mix it with water.
  1609. 01:03:25.350 – 01:03:25.830 Yeah.
  1610. 01:03:27.090 – 01:03:30.830 And then they had the Braggs,
  1611. 01:03:30.830 – 01:03:35.010 apple cider vinegar, whatever drink
  1612. 01:03:35.010 – 01:03:37.770 or whatever that's supposed to be the best one to take.
  1613. 01:03:38.710 – 01:03:38.870 So.
  1614. 01:03:38.870 – 01:03:39.350 It's expensive.
  1615. 01:03:39.870 – 01:03:40.350 Yeah.
  1616. 01:03:41.110 – 01:03:42.090 When all in reality,
  1617. 01:03:42.090 – 01:03:44.570 you can just make you a ginger shot
  1618. 01:03:44.570 – 01:03:47.090 with some turmeric and some lemon.
  1619. 01:03:47.250 – 01:03:48.010 Throw a little mint in there
  1620. 01:03:48.010 – 01:03:49.290 to help you out a little bit.
  1621. 01:03:49.630 – 01:03:51.470 And if you need some extra juice,
  1622. 01:03:51.990 – 01:03:53.210 mix it with the pineapple.
  1623. 01:03:53.690 – 01:03:53.970 Boom.
  1624. 01:03:55.150 – 01:03:57.850 So just seeing the crazy fads that people was into,
  1625. 01:03:58.190 – 01:04:00.530 that was one thing that really stuck out to me the most
  1626. 01:04:00.530 – 01:04:01.730 was that apple cider vinegar.
  1627. 01:04:02.130 – 01:04:03.250 And when you think about it,
  1628. 01:04:03.250 – 01:04:05.490 it might do a little bit more damage than good
  1629. 01:04:05.490 – 01:04:07.310 if you're not drinking it properly
  1630. 01:04:07.730 – 01:04:09.370 because it is so concentrated.
  1631. 01:04:10.210 – 01:04:11.870 If you chug a bottle of vinegar,
  1632. 01:04:11.870 – 01:04:13.370 I don't know what happened to you,
  1633. 01:04:13.370 – 01:04:14.710 but I don't think it's the best thing.
  1634. 01:04:16.290 – 01:04:18.370 So just fads because people thought
  1635. 01:04:18.370 – 01:04:20.310 that it was on the empty stomach
  1636. 01:04:20.310 – 01:04:22.050 help clear out the stomach a little bit better
  1637. 01:04:22.050 – 01:04:23.970 or break down anything that was left in there
  1638. 01:04:23.970 – 01:04:26.110 that might take a long time to digest.
  1639. 01:04:26.570 – 01:04:28.710 So that was something a little, now that I look back,
  1640. 01:04:28.710 – 01:04:31.350 yeah, was that the greatest advice?
  1641. 01:04:32.330 – 01:04:33.810 I don't think so.
  1642. 01:04:35.290 – 01:04:37.290 I would have never, never known.
  1643. 01:04:37.550 – 01:04:41.690 I mean, I haven't actually taken apple cider vinegar
  1644. 01:04:41.690 – 01:04:42.810 in a long while.
  1645. 01:04:43.310 – 01:04:44.650 It kind of like popped up overnight.
  1646. 01:04:45.030 – 01:04:46.330 Yeah, I used to drink it with water.
  1647. 01:04:48.430 – 01:04:50.870 Maybe now and then, but yeah, I kind of stopped.
  1648. 01:04:51.510 – 01:04:53.190 Yeah, it's rough on you.
  1649. 01:04:53.830 – 01:04:57.690 Well, that too, but I mean, I used to take it.
  1650. 01:04:57.690 – 01:04:59.310 I actually enjoy the taste.
  1651. 01:04:59.490 – 01:05:03.350 I don't mind it, but like you said, it was a fad.
  1652. 01:05:05.510 – 01:05:08.270 So what are some things that you do
  1653. 01:05:08.270 – 01:05:10.030 to keep your mindset sharp?
  1654. 01:05:14.960 – 01:05:19.520 I wanna do so much that I really just try
  1655. 01:05:19.520 – 01:05:23.460 to put myself around people who are doing a lot
  1656. 01:05:24.320 – 01:05:25.760 as motivating for me.
  1657. 01:05:25.840 – 01:05:28.660 So I really dived in deep
  1658. 01:05:28.660 – 01:05:33.280 on the podcast shows, YouTube shows,
  1659. 01:05:33.360 – 01:05:33.680 because I love-
  1660. 01:05:33.680 – 01:05:34.540 Favorite podcast.
  1661. 01:05:36.080 – 01:05:36.540 Okay.
  1662. 01:05:37.040 – 01:05:37.800 Uh-oh.
  1663. 01:05:39.980 – 01:05:42.060 Right now, I don't know if you know,
  1664. 01:05:42.560 – 01:05:47.920 but Living Single, the show has a podcast
  1665. 01:05:48.400 – 01:05:52.020 and it's called Re-Living Single.
  1666. 01:05:52.920 – 01:05:53.320 Wow.
  1667. 01:05:53.820 – 01:05:57.160 And it's with, I don't wanna mess their names up,
  1668. 01:05:57.540 – 01:06:01.760 but it's with the characters who play Maxine
  1669. 01:06:03.540 – 01:06:07.140 and Kim Coles is her name,
  1670. 01:06:07.400 – 01:06:09.500 the cousin of Kadeep Sinclair.
  1671. 01:06:10.100 – 01:06:10.780 Sinclair.
  1672. 01:06:11.040 – 01:06:15.380 So it's with Maxine and Sinclair
  1673. 01:06:15.380 – 01:06:18.860 and they go over the episodes of Living Single.
  1674. 01:06:19.520 – 01:06:20.460 So other episodes.
  1675. 01:06:20.700 – 01:06:22.280 It's really good though,
  1676. 01:06:22.320 – 01:06:25.160 because I mean, that's just a go-to show for me.
  1677. 01:06:25.240 – 01:06:26.620 When you wanna have something on TV,
  1678. 01:06:26.620 – 01:06:27.500 but don't know what to put on,
  1679. 01:06:27.520 – 01:06:28.580 you put on something old.
  1680. 01:06:28.940 – 01:06:29.840 Nine songs out of 10,
  1681. 01:06:29.920 – 01:06:31.560 you replaying something just to throw it on.
  1682. 01:06:31.940 – 01:06:33.420 Even with music, you throw on something.
  1683. 01:06:33.420 – 01:06:34.460 Even with music.
  1684. 01:06:35.040 – 01:06:37.000 So Living Single, that's my show.
  1685. 01:06:37.160 – 01:06:39.160 So when I seen the episodes come out,
  1686. 01:06:39.160 – 01:06:41.780 I'm like, oh my gosh.
  1687. 01:06:41.840 – 01:06:42.460 Check that out.
  1688. 01:06:42.700 – 01:06:44.080 If you like the show,
  1689. 01:06:44.460 – 01:06:46.820 then you're gonna think it's interesting
  1690. 01:06:46.820 – 01:06:51.420 and even coming more so from a production standpoint.
  1691. 01:06:51.900 – 01:06:54.140 They talk about the background of the show.
  1692. 01:06:54.200 – 01:06:55.820 They talk about the producers.
  1693. 01:06:55.820 – 01:06:57.540 They talk about how it was managed,
  1694. 01:06:57.600 – 01:07:01.080 how the production was something similar to that of Friends.
  1695. 01:07:01.860 – 01:07:04.420 But the TV show Friends got the accolades,
  1696. 01:07:04.640 – 01:07:06.380 the acknowledgement, the awards.
  1697. 01:07:06.600 – 01:07:07.920 Friends bit off Living Single.
  1698. 01:07:08.380 – 01:07:08.860 Exactly.
  1699. 01:07:09.040 – 01:07:10.340 Living Single came first.
  1700. 01:07:10.740 – 01:07:11.740 So yeah.
  1701. 01:07:11.860 – 01:07:14.380 And then it was a spin from Martin
  1702. 01:07:15.340 – 01:07:17.540 because some of the characters came from Martin.
  1703. 01:07:18.420 – 01:07:19.420 So it was just interesting.
  1704. 01:07:19.560 – 01:07:20.260 I love it.
  1705. 01:07:20.360 – 01:07:23.540 And it's led by women and seeing them
  1706. 01:07:23.540 – 01:07:27.160 following, I need to memorize her name.
  1707. 01:07:27.740 – 01:07:28.780 Maxine is the character.
  1708. 01:07:28.900 – 01:07:30.280 I think her name is Erica.
  1709. 01:07:31.420 – 01:07:32.640 I'm so sorry about that,
  1710. 01:07:32.640 – 01:07:33.540 but I'm gonna get that right
  1711. 01:07:33.540 – 01:07:34.360 because I love the show.
  1712. 01:07:34.620 – 01:07:37.300 But seeing her and seeing her from then to now
  1713. 01:07:37.300 – 01:07:38.800 and being a part of, I don't know if you know,
  1714. 01:07:38.820 – 01:07:41.540 she was in the series Wultang.
  1715. 01:07:42.900 – 01:07:43.320 Wow.
  1716. 01:07:44.240 – 01:07:48.180 Maxine, the lady who played Maxine in Living Single
  1717. 01:07:48.740 – 01:07:53.320 was the mom to one of the Wultang members in the show.
  1718. 01:07:53.740 – 01:07:57.520 The Wultang, it was a series on Netflix, Hulu.
  1719. 01:07:57.980 – 01:07:59.160 It was really good.
  1720. 01:07:59.280 – 01:08:00.140 Didn't I know that.
  1721. 01:08:00.180 – 01:08:01.080 Yeah, really good.
  1722. 01:08:01.120 – 01:08:02.560 So I've been seeing her here and there.
  1723. 01:08:02.820 – 01:08:05.500 So that's right now an ultimate fave.
  1724. 01:08:05.700 – 01:08:10.580 But Kiki Palmer, her podcast to die for.
  1725. 01:08:10.860 – 01:08:12.280 Cause I feel like me and Kiki Prince.
  1726. 01:08:13.520 – 01:08:15.980 Man, she been doing her thing.
  1727. 01:08:16.060 – 01:08:17.660 Doing it since a kid.
  1728. 01:08:18.380 – 01:08:21.600 So, and seeing her life story and her being a mom now
  1729. 01:08:21.600 – 01:08:23.000 and going through her trials and tribulations
  1730. 01:08:23.000 – 01:08:23.800 with that as well.
  1731. 01:08:24.399 – 01:08:26.100 So encouraging her guests, phenomenal.
  1732. 01:08:26.540 – 01:08:29.859 Her style, it grabs your attention.
  1733. 01:08:30.160 – 01:08:31.979 I think she's a dope person anyway.
  1734. 01:08:32.620 – 01:08:33.800 So that's another one.
  1735. 01:08:33.899 – 01:08:36.399 And then, you know, the ever so classic,
  1736. 01:08:36.859 – 01:08:37.580 Shannon Sharp.
  1737. 01:08:37.979 – 01:08:38.760 Ha ha.
  1738. 01:08:38.979 – 01:08:39.779 Club shay shay.
  1739. 01:08:40.740 – 01:08:42.260 Yes, wow.
  1740. 01:08:43.300 – 01:08:43.840 Okay.
  1741. 01:08:44.390 – 01:08:46.240 So yeah, I mean, you know,
  1742. 01:08:46.380 – 01:08:49.880 can't forget the one and only Pull Up Experience.
  1743. 01:08:50.060 – 01:08:53.000 Pull Up Experience, my media partners.
  1744. 01:08:53.580 – 01:08:53.899 Yes.
  1745. 01:08:54.399 – 01:08:56.040 Shout out to the Pull Up Experience
  1746. 01:08:56.040 – 01:08:59.680 who actually got me back into podcasting.
  1747. 01:09:00.240 – 01:09:03.060 I used to have a podcast when I used to do music,
  1748. 01:09:03.660 – 01:09:04.939 breaking down different lyrics
  1749. 01:09:04.939 – 01:09:08.140 and dissecting different songs and poems
  1750. 01:09:08.140 – 01:09:09.260 with other artists.
  1751. 01:09:09.960 – 01:09:12.700 So yeah, this is me back in the podcast
  1752. 01:09:12.700 – 01:09:16.180 but more geared to entrepreneurs and business owners.
  1753. 01:09:16.600 – 01:09:18.920 So, and then also my other media partners
  1754. 01:09:18.920 – 01:09:22.100 who studio, we are at Launch Artists Media.
  1755. 01:09:22.920 – 01:09:24.920 So big shout outs to the Pull Up Experience
  1756. 01:09:24.920 – 01:09:27.020 and Launch Artists Media,
  1757. 01:09:27.479 – 01:09:30.500 my media partners who keeps me going.
  1758. 01:09:31.100 – 01:09:32.939 I ain't gonna say weekly, but daily.
  1759. 01:09:33.380 – 01:09:33.740 Daily.
  1760. 01:09:33.840 – 01:09:36.979 You know, my biggest partners when it comes to media.
  1761. 01:09:37.479 – 01:09:38.720 So yes.
  1762. 01:09:39.880 – 01:09:42.060 I love social proof.
  1763. 01:09:42.560 – 01:09:44.120 Social proof podcast.
  1764. 01:09:45.279 – 01:09:49.660 One of the best business podcasts I've witnessed.
  1765. 01:09:50.300 – 01:09:51.840 Shout out to Donnie and Davin,
  1766. 01:09:52.000 – 01:09:55.900 who's getting back to coaching on their podcast.
  1767. 01:09:56.120 – 01:09:57.880 Oh, okay.
  1768. 01:09:58.100 – 01:09:59.400 Let me get back into it.
  1769. 01:10:00.460 – 01:10:01.200 I love them.
  1770. 01:10:01.720 – 01:10:04.260 I'll be seeing them again in August
  1771. 01:10:04.260 – 01:10:05.160 for the podcast.
  1772. 01:10:06.440 – 01:10:07.720 In Atlanta?
  1773. 01:10:08.460 – 01:10:09.460 Yeah, yeah.
  1774. 01:10:09.560 – 01:10:11.140 I'm gonna make it there one day.
  1775. 01:10:11.140 – 01:10:12.400 I'm gonna make it.
  1776. 01:10:12.580 – 01:10:13.120 That's the goal.
  1777. 01:10:13.700 – 01:10:15.920 For real, I think I'm gonna be driving.
  1778. 01:10:16.180 – 01:10:18.860 Last year I flown down in this year, I might drive.
  1779. 01:10:20.580 – 01:10:21.700 That's not that.
  1780. 01:10:22.660 – 01:10:24.580 Man, what the event last year?
  1781. 01:10:24.840 – 01:10:27.020 Oh yeah, Davin came to Cleveland.
  1782. 01:10:27.620 – 01:10:28.520 Yeah, that was-
  1783. 01:10:28.520 – 01:10:29.480 Iconic.
  1784. 01:10:29.860 – 01:10:31.400 We bringing them to the city.
  1785. 01:10:31.500 – 01:10:33.820 We packed out the whole room.
  1786. 01:10:33.880 – 01:10:35.780 It was full of like, man.
  1787. 01:10:36.360 – 01:10:37.900 And they say, what's in Cleveland?
  1788. 01:10:38.660 – 01:10:39.640 We support-
  1789. 01:10:39.640 – 01:10:40.260 We are.
  1790. 01:10:40.260 – 01:10:41.260 Support.
  1791. 01:10:42.020 – 01:10:42.900 Right, we are.
  1792. 01:10:43.260 – 01:10:43.940 That's a start.
  1793. 01:10:46.220 – 01:10:50.620 Got the kitchen scientists and the media wizard.
  1794. 01:10:50.740 – 01:10:51.500 There we go.
  1795. 01:10:51.860 – 01:10:52.920 And we're just getting started.
  1796. 01:10:53.000 – 01:10:55.920 We got a big network and we're power connectors
  1797. 01:10:55.920 – 01:10:57.760 and love plugging and playing
  1798. 01:10:57.760 – 01:11:00.220 with different people that we meet.
  1799. 01:11:01.120 – 01:11:03.860 So I think that's what we have in common.
  1800. 01:11:04.020 – 01:11:05.500 We're big on connecting
  1801. 01:11:05.500 – 01:11:07.900 and connecting other people with others.
  1802. 01:11:08.680 – 01:11:09.080 Absolutely.
  1803. 01:11:09.620 – 01:11:11.240 We don't always have to be in the forefront
  1804. 01:11:11.240 – 01:11:14.780 and we don't mind being in the shadows.
  1805. 01:11:14.980 – 01:11:17.560 It's like, as long as our community is thriving
  1806. 01:11:17.560 – 01:11:19.900 and people around us are thriving and we're growing,
  1807. 01:11:20.660 – 01:11:21.620 that means a lot.
  1808. 01:11:21.800 – 01:11:23.060 That means everything.
  1809. 01:11:23.480 – 01:11:24.280 That's the purpose.
  1810. 01:11:24.720 – 01:11:26.160 That is the purpose.
  1811. 01:11:27.440 – 01:11:29.980 So not to make it all high and mighty
  1812. 01:11:29.980 – 01:11:31.760 or like everything is golden
  1813. 01:11:31.760 – 01:11:33.780 because we have those dark days.
  1814. 01:11:35.780 – 01:11:37.700 So what were some of the dark times?
  1815. 01:11:37.700 – 01:11:40.860 Even when you were on the civic side,
  1816. 01:11:41.720 – 01:11:43.200 what were some hardships
  1817. 01:11:43.200 – 01:11:44.900 or some things you had to overcome?
  1818. 01:11:47.990 – 01:11:48.590 Okay.
  1819. 01:11:49.310 – 01:11:51.570 Deep, I can feel it.
  1820. 01:11:53.190 – 01:11:56.490 But that's important in having that transparency.
  1821. 01:11:56.910 – 01:11:58.930 I was just talking to somebody earlier
  1822. 01:11:58.930 – 01:12:01.850 about large scale events that they had hosted
  1823. 01:12:01.850 – 01:12:04.290 and kind of some of the things they learned,
  1824. 01:12:04.870 – 01:12:05.970 lessons they had to take.
  1825. 01:12:06.170 – 01:12:08.930 And that right there, that alone is encouraging
  1826. 01:12:08.930 – 01:12:10.230 because sometimes you feel like
  1827. 01:12:10.230 – 01:12:13.210 you only want this down and out when you're going through.
  1828. 01:12:16.650 – 01:12:19.290 So thinking of that,
  1829. 01:12:20.070 – 01:12:21.570 because I got stories for days.
  1830. 01:12:21.610 – 01:12:24.630 Let me find the most fitting story.
  1831. 01:12:29.050 – 01:12:31.390 Well, I wouldn't say it was down and out,
  1832. 01:12:31.390 – 01:12:34.590 but it was a huge lesson that I had to learn
  1833. 01:12:34.590 – 01:12:38.430 with positioning myself as the executive assistant
  1834. 01:12:38.430 – 01:12:40.310 for Councilman Richard Starr.
  1835. 01:12:41.310 – 01:12:44.190 And it's crazy to say it, but I just have to, right?
  1836. 01:12:44.230 – 01:12:46.150 All roads lead to Ward 5.
  1837. 01:12:47.050 – 01:12:50.550 That was a starting point, walking into a role
  1838. 01:12:50.550 – 01:12:54.390 that does not have a training manual.
  1839. 01:12:55.690 – 01:12:58.530 So every connection that I have now
  1840. 01:12:58.530 – 01:13:00.630 standing almost four years later
  1841. 01:13:00.630 – 01:13:03.990 was built primarily in that first year.
  1842. 01:13:04.930 – 01:13:07.310 So we built everything that we have now
  1843. 01:13:07.310 – 01:13:10.330 and as community partners, that's events,
  1844. 01:13:10.790 – 01:13:13.370 that's relationships, that's resources.
  1845. 01:13:14.150 – 01:13:19.290 And that was tough because brand spanking new job,
  1846. 01:13:20.110 – 01:13:22.510 brand new council person,
  1847. 01:13:22.950 – 01:13:25.130 and we have to kind of lean on each other
  1848. 01:13:25.130 – 01:13:26.070 to figure it out.
  1849. 01:13:26.170 – 01:13:26.850 Boots on the ground.
  1850. 01:13:26.870 – 01:13:29.330 Boots on the ground, certainly.
  1851. 01:13:29.870 – 01:13:30.830 That wasn't easy.
  1852. 01:13:31.050 – 01:13:33.530 It wasn't easy learning residents of an area
  1853. 01:13:33.530 – 01:13:34.590 that you didn't grow up in.
  1854. 01:13:34.610 – 01:13:37.110 I didn't grow up in Ward 5.
  1855. 01:13:37.110 – 01:13:40.830 I knew of it, been around it, but it isn't my home.
  1856. 01:13:41.710 – 01:13:44.510 So the disparities that they faced,
  1857. 01:13:45.130 – 01:13:47.170 to some extent I had to learn what they were.
  1858. 01:13:47.630 – 01:13:49.650 How long have they been facing them?
  1859. 01:13:50.010 – 01:13:52.670 But it was through those hard, tough conversations
  1860. 01:13:52.670 – 01:13:56.070 that a connection was made, an opportunity was made,
  1861. 01:13:56.330 – 01:14:00.930 a donation was given, an event became available
  1862. 01:14:00.930 – 01:14:04.010 because of the connections from those tough conversations.
  1863. 01:14:04.010 – 01:14:06.790 So that was hard.
  1864. 01:14:07.250 – 01:14:10.230 Learning my way through that, navigating through that,
  1865. 01:14:10.390 – 01:14:13.450 being able to have large scale events
  1866. 01:14:13.450 – 01:14:16.970 like our back to school resource fair and day of.
  1867. 01:14:17.050 – 01:14:18.650 You know what the day of goes
  1868. 01:14:18.650 – 01:14:20.470 and how that looks for a large event.
  1869. 01:14:21.150 – 01:14:25.870 Anything that can go wrong will go up.
  1870. 01:14:26.670 – 01:14:29.890 And learning how to pivot on the spot in the middle.
  1871. 01:14:30.250 – 01:14:31.750 Things not arriving on time,
  1872. 01:14:31.830 – 01:14:33.330 people not arriving on time,
  1873. 01:14:33.330 – 01:14:37.150 food not arriving on time, weather being bad, right?
  1874. 01:14:37.150 – 01:14:40.450 You have to learn how to pivot right then and there.
  1875. 01:14:40.810 – 01:14:45.190 So that entire first year was a lesson learned.
  1876. 01:14:45.630 – 01:14:47.890 And during that time was when I was playing around
  1877. 01:14:47.890 – 01:14:52.470 with my juices and buying food is expensive
  1878. 01:14:52.470 – 01:14:55.130 no matter what avenue or alley you're buying it.
  1879. 01:14:55.150 – 01:14:58.010 So learning and trying to figure out how to juice
  1880. 01:14:58.010 – 01:14:59.950 and messing it up and.
  1881. 01:15:01.030 – 01:15:02.250 Well, practicing.
  1882. 01:15:02.530 – 01:15:03.090 Practicing.
  1883. 01:15:03.090 – 01:15:05.810 Because I learned with like with doctors
  1884. 01:15:05.810 – 01:15:07.990 and in the medical field, they call it a practice.
  1885. 01:15:08.250 – 01:15:09.770 Me practicing on me.
  1886. 01:15:10.610 – 01:15:13.130 But practicing, you still gotta, yeah, get it right.
  1887. 01:15:13.410 – 01:15:14.250 Practicing versus playing.
  1888. 01:15:14.730 – 01:15:15.110 Practicing.
  1889. 01:15:15.110 – 01:15:17.030 I love that you said that I was practicing.
  1890. 01:15:17.250 – 01:15:18.970 But when you practice and make a juice
  1891. 01:15:18.970 – 01:15:20.070 that don't taste good.
  1892. 01:15:20.130 – 01:15:20.730 You perfect.
  1893. 01:15:21.190 – 01:15:22.810 You throw it away, you still chug it.
  1894. 01:15:23.010 – 01:15:23.950 I was still chugging.
  1895. 01:15:24.030 – 01:15:27.010 It was like I was talking about, I still chug it.
  1896. 01:15:27.490 – 01:15:29.790 I was chugging them nasty juices.
  1897. 01:15:31.430 – 01:15:32.690 Right, you know.
  1898. 01:15:32.690 – 01:15:36.110 But I mean, the benefit of that is I didn't realize
  1899. 01:15:36.110 – 01:15:38.470 that I was drinking so much juice
  1900. 01:15:39.050 – 01:15:41.030 and they might not have tasted the best,
  1901. 01:15:41.170 – 01:15:44.650 but a month later, skin clearing up, hair growing thicker.
  1902. 01:15:45.570 – 01:15:46.770 Energy levels higher.
  1903. 01:15:47.030 – 01:15:49.510 With that being said, everything you do
  1904. 01:15:49.510 – 01:15:52.030 is not gonna be lovely or fruitful.
  1905. 01:15:52.030 – 01:15:53.970 You know, no pun to that.
  1906. 01:15:55.090 – 01:15:57.190 It's not gonna taste good or feel good,
  1907. 01:15:57.210 – 01:15:59.310 but you gotta push through to make it to the.
  1908. 01:15:59.450 – 01:16:00.830 You gotta get uncomfortable.
  1909. 01:16:00.930 – 01:16:01.490 Yes.
  1910. 01:16:01.490 – 01:16:03.270 To the benefits that you want to see.
  1911. 01:16:03.450 – 01:16:04.590 Yeah, and that's for life.
  1912. 01:16:05.090 – 01:16:06.390 That is perfect for life.
  1913. 01:16:06.470 – 01:16:07.430 You gotta sow that seed.
  1914. 01:16:08.830 – 01:16:10.110 And sowing seeds ain't easy.
  1915. 01:16:10.390 – 01:16:11.430 It ain't quick.
  1916. 01:16:11.430 – 01:16:12.210 And it takes time.
  1917. 01:16:12.650 – 01:16:15.470 That seed, it takes, what they say,
  1918. 01:16:15.590 – 01:16:18.730 an apple tree, it takes months before you see the fruit.
  1919. 01:16:19.030 – 01:16:20.250 Don't give me no less time.
  1920. 01:16:20.550 – 01:16:22.250 I see those fruits of labor, you know.
  1921. 01:16:22.410 – 01:16:23.210 Yeah, so.
  1922. 01:16:23.210 – 01:16:24.850 Did you say four years in the making?
  1923. 01:16:25.290 – 01:16:27.350 Four years in the making.
  1924. 01:16:27.470 – 01:16:29.410 And we are still learning and growing.
  1925. 01:16:29.410 – 01:16:31.250 We've gotten some things together,
  1926. 01:16:31.530 – 01:16:35.130 and some things are streamlined, but that's hard.
  1927. 01:16:35.770 – 01:16:37.010 And you know, the job that I have,
  1928. 01:16:37.030 – 01:16:38.090 I don't have a nine to five.
  1929. 01:16:38.550 – 01:16:40.170 I have a nine to five plus.
  1930. 01:16:40.510 – 01:16:42.050 Plus the evening event.
  1931. 01:16:42.330 – 01:16:43.450 Plus a weekend event.
  1932. 01:16:43.610 – 01:16:44.690 Plus the evening meeting.
  1933. 01:16:45.110 – 01:16:48.530 Plus, now people came to your events.
  1934. 01:16:49.750 – 01:16:51.410 How dare you not return the favor?
  1935. 01:16:52.610 – 01:16:53.810 Support, yeah.
  1936. 01:16:54.830 – 01:16:57.810 So, you know, it's around the clock,
  1937. 01:16:57.810 – 01:16:59.390 but when you love what you do,
  1938. 01:17:00.670 – 01:17:02.910 some people call it a job, some people call it a passion.
  1939. 01:17:03.690 – 01:17:04.130 Ooh.
  1940. 01:17:06.300 – 01:17:06.740 Wow.
  1941. 01:17:07.340 – 01:17:08.720 Some people call it a job,
  1942. 01:17:08.800 – 01:17:10.020 some people call it a passion.
  1943. 01:17:10.100 – 01:17:10.520 Yeah.
  1944. 01:17:12.240 – 01:17:14.400 And what if I were something like
  1945. 01:17:14.400 – 01:17:17.120 those tougher conversations you had to have?
  1946. 01:17:19.700 – 01:17:21.860 You got a topic, it could be a person
  1947. 01:17:21.860 – 01:17:24.400 navigating their company, organization.
  1948. 01:17:24.840 – 01:17:27.240 So this the part of the club shay-shay?
  1949. 01:17:27.820 – 01:17:28.520 Where they take a shot.
  1950. 01:17:29.320 – 01:17:31.500 Okay, well, I think Junko ought to do.
  1951. 01:17:32.940 – 01:17:34.580 Gotta re-up after this.
  1952. 01:17:35.080 – 01:17:38.860 But some of those tough conversations,
  1953. 01:17:39.120 – 01:17:41.460 for example, abandoned buildings.
  1954. 01:17:43.200 – 01:17:47.920 How do you have kids walking to school
  1955. 01:17:47.920 – 01:17:49.540 past abandoned buildings
  1956. 01:17:49.540 – 01:17:52.860 where you know stuff going down in the mills?
  1957. 01:17:55.660 – 01:17:57.180 Or transportation?
  1958. 01:17:57.940 – 01:18:02.140 How do we tell our black men to go to the doctor?
  1959. 01:18:02.800 – 01:18:04.500 They don't have a car to get to the doctor.
  1960. 01:18:07.560 – 01:18:09.160 Or home repairs?
  1961. 01:18:10.080 – 01:18:12.220 How do we love on our elderly?
  1962. 01:18:12.980 – 01:18:14.760 How do we respect our elderly?
  1963. 01:18:15.540 – 01:18:18.280 And they don't even have a decent home to live in
  1964. 01:18:18.280 – 01:18:21.900 because their one month, once a month paycheck
  1965. 01:18:23.100 – 01:18:25.440 doesn't cover roof repair,
  1966. 01:18:25.920 – 01:18:30.040 plumbing, porch repair, tree removal, right?
  1967. 01:18:30.180 – 01:18:32.140 And that's just a short condense
  1968. 01:18:32.140 – 01:18:35.940 because the need is there, right?
  1969. 01:18:35.940 – 01:18:36.840 That's hard and heavy.
  1970. 01:18:37.080 – 01:18:39.220 How do you help a family call in the phone
  1971. 01:18:39.220 – 01:18:40.860 because they don't have nobody else to call?
  1972. 01:18:41.580 – 01:18:44.240 And on a hot summer day, refrigerator went out.
  1973. 01:18:46.170 – 01:18:49.190 So by the grace of God, you done found myself.
  1974. 01:18:50.810 – 01:18:51.650 Yeah, wow.
  1975. 01:18:51.870 – 01:18:54.130 And we putting boots on the ground right in the near
  1976. 01:18:54.130 – 01:18:55.630 connecting you with food pantries,
  1977. 01:18:55.630 – 01:18:59.910 connecting you with appliance resale shops,
  1978. 01:19:00.270 – 01:19:02.870 connecting you with family support services
  1979. 01:19:02.870 – 01:19:04.850 to help the kiddos out, right?
  1980. 01:19:05.590 – 01:19:09.010 So every day is a different day and a different struggle.
  1981. 01:19:09.690 – 01:19:12.370 But it's through these community partners,
  1982. 01:19:12.610 – 01:19:14.370 relationships and resources
  1983. 01:19:14.950 – 01:19:20.270 that I'm able to gear myself better and accordingly.
  1984. 01:19:21.170 – 01:19:24.390 It's like a story my pastor once said,
  1985. 01:19:25.150 – 01:19:26.510 when you're out and about,
  1986. 01:19:26.570 – 01:19:29.530 and you know you're going to run across
  1987. 01:19:29.530 – 01:19:33.030 old dude on the corner, you know we gonna be there.
  1988. 01:19:33.310 – 01:19:35.330 Do you prepare yourself with a couple of dollars
  1989. 01:19:35.330 – 01:19:38.110 or a change or a quarter or something in advance
  1990. 01:19:38.110 – 01:19:40.370 or you always act like you don't see him?
  1991. 01:19:40.910 – 01:19:42.510 So sometimes I walk into spaces
  1992. 01:19:42.510 – 01:19:45.150 not knowing what's gonna go down or what's needed
  1993. 01:19:45.150 – 01:19:47.050 or what the problem is,
  1994. 01:19:47.170 – 01:19:49.110 but I know I gotta come prepared with something.
  1995. 01:19:50.110 – 01:19:51.990 So taking it back to the juices,
  1996. 01:19:51.990 – 01:19:56.230 juicing that juice prepares me for the next.
  1997. 01:19:56.510 – 01:19:58.150 Having that clear thought of mine,
  1998. 01:19:58.170 – 01:20:01.090 drinking that this week prepares me for next week
  1999. 01:20:01.090 – 01:20:02.730 to give me the energy for then.
  2000. 01:20:02.770 – 01:20:05.070 So we know sowing that seed take time
  2001. 01:20:05.070 – 01:20:06.230 and with the time that you have,
  2002. 01:20:06.290 – 01:20:07.450 what are you doing today?
  2003. 01:20:08.150 – 01:20:11.290 That's gonna better your future for tomorrow,
  2004. 01:20:11.310 – 01:20:13.970 next week, the next 30 minutes.
  2005. 01:20:14.570 – 01:20:15.350 A lifetime.
  2006. 01:20:15.490 – 01:20:17.890 A lifetime, the next generation.
  2007. 01:20:18.130 – 01:20:19.150 Wow, yes.
  2008. 01:20:20.670 – 01:20:21.230 Legacy.
  2009. 01:20:21.230 – 01:20:22.070 Yes.
  2010. 01:20:24.390 – 01:20:28.370 So if someone wanted me to follow in your footsteps
  2011. 01:20:28.370 – 01:20:31.590 and create impact, what advice would you give them?
  2012. 01:20:33.450 – 01:20:37.580 Start with what you're lacking.
  2013. 01:20:38.860 – 01:20:39.380 Your weakness.
  2014. 01:20:39.600 – 01:20:42.120 Your weakness, something that you're missing, right?
  2015. 01:20:42.140 – 01:20:44.100 Because you can't pour from an empty cup.
  2016. 01:20:46.060 – 01:20:47.920 Okay, all right, now.
  2017. 01:20:49.100 – 01:20:50.480 Wanna drink from an empty cup too.
  2018. 01:20:50.720 – 01:20:51.720 I had a drop, I had a drink.
  2019. 01:20:51.720 – 01:20:52.820 You had a drop, right?
  2020. 01:20:53.160 – 01:20:54.840 And sometimes that's all you got to give yourself,
  2021. 01:20:55.060 – 01:20:57.280 drop by drop, but you have to give yourself
  2022. 01:20:57.280 – 01:21:00.000 something first, so as a teenage mom,
  2023. 01:21:00.160 – 01:21:01.220 I didn't have the money.
  2024. 01:21:01.660 – 01:21:03.500 I may have been close to a grocery store
  2025. 01:21:03.500 – 01:21:05.240 but really couldn't afford it.
  2026. 01:21:06.640 – 01:21:09.080 I figured out how to get a car
  2027. 01:21:10.320 – 01:21:12.520 but gas may not have still been there.
  2028. 01:21:12.880 – 01:21:14.560 So back to that element, we still walking.
  2029. 01:21:16.000 – 01:21:19.500 We still making the best of what's around us.
  2030. 01:21:19.500 – 01:21:23.060 So thinking about what you need,
  2031. 01:21:23.220 – 01:21:24.960 what you could have benefited from,
  2032. 01:21:25.020 – 01:21:26.580 looking back at that younger you,
  2033. 01:21:26.700 – 01:21:28.040 what were you missing then?
  2034. 01:21:28.140 – 01:21:28.960 Now that you're an adult,
  2035. 01:21:29.540 – 01:21:32.180 what things that you may have lacked
  2036. 01:21:32.180 – 01:21:34.820 that you see now are important to have.
  2037. 01:21:35.160 – 01:21:37.160 So just figuring out what's important to you
  2038. 01:21:37.160 – 01:21:39.340 and then figuring out how do you give that to the next.
  2039. 01:21:39.680 – 01:21:42.180 I can't tell people what they should do
  2040. 01:21:42.180 – 01:21:44.800 and I can't tell people to try to be like me
  2041. 01:21:44.800 – 01:21:47.240 because Lord knows, what's in it.
  2042. 01:21:48.080 – 01:21:51.780 But thinking about yourself, you know what you missing
  2043. 01:21:51.780 – 01:21:55.400 and if you don't know, you know that there's a hole there.
  2044. 01:21:55.640 – 01:21:57.100 How do you feel that hole?
  2045. 01:21:57.620 – 01:21:59.660 How do you make yourself feel whole
  2046. 01:21:59.660 – 01:22:02.060 so then you are able to give something to the next.
  2047. 01:22:02.640 – 01:22:06.120 So I was a good talker from a young age
  2048. 01:22:06.560 – 01:22:08.900 and I knew something I didn't mind doing.
  2049. 01:22:09.460 – 01:22:10.500 So through research,
  2050. 01:22:10.500 – 01:22:13.840 that's how I came upon public relations.
  2051. 01:22:14.620 – 01:22:16.000 While I was getting that degree,
  2052. 01:22:16.000 – 01:22:19.380 I knew that that was something that I could use anywhere.
  2053. 01:22:19.620 – 01:22:21.700 I just had to figure out how to get there.
  2054. 01:22:22.600 – 01:22:24.780 So I kept using my gift of gab.
  2055. 01:22:24.960 – 01:22:26.500 I kept perfecting my craft.
  2056. 01:22:26.660 – 01:22:30.140 I started speaking publicly wherever I could.
  2057. 01:22:30.280 – 01:22:32.040 When I was working in spaces
  2058. 01:22:32.040 – 01:22:34.320 that had opportunities to speak,
  2059. 01:22:34.480 – 01:22:36.060 I would take advantage of those.
  2060. 01:22:37.800 – 01:22:39.740 So I knew I couldn't afford
  2061. 01:22:39.740 – 01:22:41.820 to pay for a lot of professional development.
  2062. 01:22:42.020 – 01:22:44.680 Plus I got a degree, so I'm gonna use that.
  2063. 01:22:44.740 – 01:22:45.320 Right, right.
  2064. 01:22:46.500 – 01:22:47.760 Did you have your degree in?
  2065. 01:22:48.120 – 01:22:49.700 My degree is in public relations.
  2066. 01:22:50.420 – 01:22:53.200 A big shout out to Baldwin Wallace University now.
  2067. 01:22:53.620 – 01:22:55.460 It was college when I attended,
  2068. 01:22:55.520 – 01:22:56.820 but they flipped the game up.
  2069. 01:22:57.420 – 01:23:00.080 But big ups to that because that exposure
  2070. 01:23:00.560 – 01:23:02.080 is the reason why I'm here today.
  2071. 01:23:02.360 – 01:23:03.200 You're doing amazing.
  2072. 01:23:04.080 – 01:23:04.920 Thank you.
  2073. 01:23:05.640 – 01:23:08.540 So think about what do you wish you had
  2074. 01:23:08.540 – 01:23:11.700 and figure out how do you now turn it into some money.
  2075. 01:23:12.440 – 01:23:14.720 Well, you said what would you feel your hole with?
  2076. 01:23:14.720 – 01:23:15.900 I would kind of answer that.
  2077. 01:23:16.400 – 01:23:17.100 Just juice.
  2078. 01:23:18.560 – 01:23:19.920 I love it.
  2079. 01:23:20.400 – 01:23:23.020 Like literally, I used to be a big juice drinker.
  2080. 01:23:23.040 – 01:23:26.380 Oh my gosh, all of them, every color.
  2081. 01:23:26.400 – 01:23:27.200 I slowed down.
  2082. 01:23:27.360 – 01:23:28.660 I mean, I'm a lot more water.
  2083. 01:23:28.760 – 01:23:30.640 I drink a lot of smoothies here and there too,
  2084. 01:23:31.660 – 01:23:34.120 but I used to drink juice night and day.
  2085. 01:23:34.660 – 01:23:36.260 All of it, because that's the cheapest thing to get.
  2086. 01:23:37.080 – 01:23:38.740 So if you got a dollar,
  2087. 01:23:39.300 – 01:23:42.240 you can't go buy anything out of Trader Joe's.
  2088. 01:23:42.760 – 01:23:43.000 Ooh.
  2089. 01:23:43.660 – 01:23:45.400 Anything out of Whole Foods.
  2090. 01:23:46.560 – 01:23:47.440 But the corner store.
  2091. 01:23:47.900 – 01:23:48.720 Right, right, ooh.
  2092. 01:23:48.800 – 01:23:50.020 Now back in the day with a dollar,
  2093. 01:23:50.140 – 01:23:52.500 you can get some chips, juices.
  2094. 01:23:52.680 – 01:23:53.700 Grams of sugar.
  2095. 01:23:54.780 – 01:23:55.260 Candies.
  2096. 01:23:55.560 – 01:23:58.420 Right, 25 cents bags of chips, where that at?
  2097. 01:23:58.900 – 01:23:59.780 Well, where is it?
  2098. 01:23:59.780 – 01:24:00.640 Bring it back.
  2099. 01:24:00.780 – 01:24:01.860 Bring it back.
  2100. 01:24:02.240 – 01:24:04.740 But yeah, so juicing for me
  2101. 01:24:04.740 – 01:24:06.120 just gave me a different outlook,
  2102. 01:24:06.360 – 01:24:09.320 a different outlook on life
  2103. 01:24:09.320 – 01:24:12.780 and it's been a different way to continue life.
  2104. 01:24:14.080 – 01:24:16.120 Ooh, I got kind of a two part question
  2105. 01:24:16.120 – 01:24:17.880 because I like how you said juicing
  2106. 01:24:17.880 – 01:24:19.860 gave you a different outlook on life.
  2107. 01:24:20.400 – 01:24:23.520 But kind of bringing it back as a young teenage mom,
  2108. 01:24:24.240 – 01:24:27.620 how did you not fall in line,
  2109. 01:24:27.620 – 01:24:31.780 being black teenage mother and become a statistic?
  2110. 01:24:31.900 – 01:24:33.220 Yep, being that statistic.
  2111. 01:24:33.620 – 01:24:35.460 So from the time I found out I was pregnant,
  2112. 01:24:35.660 – 01:24:36.860 I said, now look girl,
  2113. 01:24:37.560 – 01:24:39.340 we gotta get it together.
  2114. 01:24:39.560 – 01:24:42.480 So that was the ultimate kind of
  2115. 01:24:44.000 – 01:24:47.080 internal boost I needed to get myself together.
  2116. 01:24:48.380 – 01:24:49.600 You need to lead the odds against you.
  2117. 01:24:49.600 – 01:24:50.500 I was a straight A student.
  2118. 01:24:51.300 – 01:24:52.140 Straight A's.
  2119. 01:24:52.220 – 01:24:53.360 So when that came up,
  2120. 01:24:53.540 – 01:24:54.880 everybody was like, wait, what?
  2121. 01:24:55.600 – 01:24:56.340 Surprising you.
  2122. 01:24:56.980 – 01:24:59.220 So I didn't like those looks,
  2123. 01:24:59.300 – 01:25:00.540 but I knew they were coming.
  2124. 01:25:00.600 – 01:25:01.960 I think that's when I realized
  2125. 01:25:01.960 – 01:25:03.320 I had to always stay ready.
  2126. 01:25:03.320 – 01:25:06.100 Because I knew any room I went into,
  2127. 01:25:06.520 – 01:25:09.840 church, school, grocery store,
  2128. 01:25:10.520 – 01:25:12.940 anywhere you are the center of attention.
  2129. 01:25:13.220 – 01:25:16.000 Being 16 years old, what a bump.
  2130. 01:25:18.240 – 01:25:20.660 So I kind of blessed that, what a blessing.
  2131. 01:25:21.160 – 01:25:21.840 What a blessing.
  2132. 01:25:21.940 – 01:25:23.980 18 years later now I can say, what a blessing.
  2133. 01:25:25.100 – 01:25:28.360 But no, I just, I didn't like the look.
  2134. 01:25:28.740 – 01:25:30.240 I knew the questions was coming.
  2135. 01:25:30.360 – 01:25:31.940 I knew the thoughts was behind it.
  2136. 01:25:31.940 – 01:25:36.060 So at that moment, 16 year old me
  2137. 01:25:36.060 – 01:25:37.380 just started having it together.
  2138. 01:25:38.180 – 01:25:39.180 Did not have nothing,
  2139. 01:25:39.780 – 01:25:41.900 but in my mind, I had it together.
  2140. 01:25:42.320 – 01:25:44.960 So I positioned myself differently from that day,
  2141. 01:25:45.000 – 01:25:46.420 from the moment I found out I was pregnant.
  2142. 01:25:47.320 – 01:25:48.600 Hold me to change overnight.
  2143. 01:25:49.220 – 01:25:50.440 Cause I knew I like day by day,
  2144. 01:25:50.580 – 01:25:52.140 my stomach gonna start getting bigger.
  2145. 01:25:52.520 – 01:25:54.500 These old broads gonna keep talking about me.
  2146. 01:25:55.840 – 01:25:57.160 People looking at me crazy.
  2147. 01:25:57.260 – 01:25:58.880 Everybody got a story to tell me.
  2148. 01:25:58.960 – 01:26:00.160 Everybody got a lesson.
  2149. 01:26:00.160 – 01:26:02.260 Everybody, I don't wanna hear none of that.
  2150. 01:26:02.680 – 01:26:05.040 So I got myself together,
  2151. 01:26:05.180 – 01:26:10.200 graduated high school on time in a great state.
  2152. 01:26:10.400 – 01:26:13.920 I think I was top percentile of some percentage
  2153. 01:26:13.920 – 01:26:16.700 when I graduated, went straight to college,
  2154. 01:26:16.940 – 01:26:18.240 took my child with me,
  2155. 01:26:18.320 – 01:26:20.000 found a program that allowed me
  2156. 01:26:20.000 – 01:26:22.540 to have my son live with me on campus
  2157. 01:26:22.540 – 01:26:26.660 at a private school to receive a private education.
  2158. 01:26:26.760 – 01:26:28.100 So he was on a college campus,
  2159. 01:26:28.100 – 01:26:29.800 but well before his time.
  2160. 01:26:30.220 – 01:26:31.600 And remembers it.
  2161. 01:26:33.040 – 01:26:35.640 So immediately I'm positioning myself better.
  2162. 01:26:36.120 – 01:26:37.320 I knew I had to do it.
  2163. 01:26:37.420 – 01:26:40.140 I knew 18, graduated high school.
  2164. 01:26:40.220 – 01:26:41.660 I don't wanna sit around this house no more,
  2165. 01:26:41.700 – 01:26:42.780 but I can't afford rent.
  2166. 01:26:43.720 – 01:26:44.880 So I gotta go to school.
  2167. 01:26:45.300 – 01:26:46.540 And if I gotta go to school,
  2168. 01:26:46.700 – 01:26:48.640 I'm gonna make the best out of that time.
  2169. 01:26:49.220 – 01:26:49.620 Wow.
  2170. 01:26:49.840 – 01:26:51.280 So being resourceful out in your head.
  2171. 01:26:51.480 – 01:26:53.000 Being resourceful.
  2172. 01:26:53.120 – 01:26:54.800 Well, you don't have it all you can do.
  2173. 01:26:55.360 – 01:26:56.500 Just be resourceful.
  2174. 01:26:56.740 – 01:26:58.620 Tell me you're messing to a message.
  2175. 01:26:59.080 – 01:26:59.480 Immediately.
  2176. 01:26:59.480 – 01:27:02.620 And being tested, turning that to a testimony.
  2177. 01:27:04.040 – 01:27:04.680 Like wow.
  2178. 01:27:04.900 – 01:27:05.540 All of that.
  2179. 01:27:06.380 – 01:27:07.320 But like I was saying,
  2180. 01:27:07.660 – 01:27:10.800 you said like juice changed your outlook for life.
  2181. 01:27:11.100 – 01:27:14.540 So if you would have had juicing back then
  2182. 01:27:14.540 – 01:27:15.900 as a teenage parent,
  2183. 01:27:15.940 – 01:27:17.800 how you think you would have been accelerated?
  2184. 01:27:18.080 – 01:27:20.160 Or how do you think that would affect your mindset?
  2185. 01:27:20.980 – 01:27:24.000 I think it would have had a tremendous impact.
  2186. 01:27:24.540 – 01:27:26.180 Because when you deep down
  2187. 01:27:26.180 – 01:27:27.920 and you're going through what you're going through,
  2188. 01:27:27.920 – 01:27:30.360 you not picking up anything healthy.
  2189. 01:27:31.240 – 01:27:33.380 You picking up fried this and that,
  2190. 01:27:34.060 – 01:27:36.260 saturated fat this, sugary that,
  2191. 01:27:36.740 – 01:27:38.940 and that right there when you think about
  2192. 01:27:38.940 – 01:27:41.920 the simplicity of juicing, right?
  2193. 01:27:42.360 – 01:27:45.880 If I'm depressed and I have one or two options,
  2194. 01:27:46.480 – 01:27:49.160 either I can eat it out in a sugary, fat,
  2195. 01:27:49.280 – 01:27:51.920 nasty mess that tastes good in the moment,
  2196. 01:27:53.160 – 01:27:56.280 but gonna leave me bloated, greasy,
  2197. 01:27:56.880 – 01:27:59.620 all types of nasty, gaining weight,
  2198. 01:28:00.020 – 01:28:01.340 acne prone face,
  2199. 01:28:03.160 – 01:28:05.420 or if I'm deep down and depressed,
  2200. 01:28:05.680 – 01:28:08.040 I'm like dang, let me go ahead and make this juice.
  2201. 01:28:08.100 – 01:28:08.980 I already got the ingredients.
  2202. 01:28:09.040 – 01:28:09.980 Let me juice this.
  2203. 01:28:10.260 – 01:28:13.260 And now I'm juicing and juicing and juicing.
  2204. 01:28:13.400 – 01:28:15.940 So instead of me and my body
  2205. 01:28:16.920 – 01:28:19.840 getting all this extra mess, it's getting good.
  2206. 01:28:20.240 – 01:28:21.780 It's getting fruits and vegetables.
  2207. 01:28:21.820 – 01:28:24.900 So day by day I'm drinking juice, juice, juice.
  2208. 01:28:24.900 – 01:28:27.220 Now my thoughts are immediately becoming clear.
  2209. 01:28:27.220 – 01:28:29.860 I don't wanna say immediately, but they're clearing up.
  2210. 01:28:31.020 – 01:28:34.260 In one week, if you juice for one week,
  2211. 01:28:34.280 – 01:28:35.320 you're gonna see a difference.
  2212. 01:28:35.900 – 01:28:36.680 You're gonna feel a difference.
  2213. 01:28:36.960 – 01:28:38.780 Something's gonna change major,
  2214. 01:28:39.400 – 01:28:42.540 whether it's your skin, whether it's your urine,
  2215. 01:28:43.080 – 01:28:44.140 whether it's your energy.
  2216. 01:28:44.380 – 01:28:46.720 In one week, something's changing.
  2217. 01:28:47.580 – 01:28:49.260 One week of eating all that fat stuff,
  2218. 01:28:49.840 – 01:28:51.080 you tell me what you feel like.
  2219. 01:28:51.800 – 01:28:52.700 Dang, I heard that.
  2220. 01:28:52.700 – 01:28:57.980 So if I would have been in the mindset that I'm in now,
  2221. 01:29:00.450 – 01:29:01.790 the health would have been a little bit better.
  2222. 01:29:02.450 – 01:29:04.270 My mindset would have been a little bit clearer.
  2223. 01:29:04.830 – 01:29:07.430 My parenting ways may have changed up just a little bit.
  2224. 01:29:07.690 – 01:29:10.650 What I'm giving my child, right?
  2225. 01:29:10.890 – 01:29:12.310 The popsicle I brought in today.
  2226. 01:29:12.870 – 01:29:16.210 Imagine if I'd have been giving popsicles to a kid
  2227. 01:29:16.210 – 01:29:19.470 like clockwork with fresh fruits and vegetables
  2228. 01:29:19.470 – 01:29:23.430 versus full of artificial coloring dyes, all of that.
  2229. 01:29:23.430 – 01:29:25.950 Simple, simple things, right?
  2230. 01:29:26.130 – 01:29:28.870 Not saying juicing would have made me the best mom
  2231. 01:29:28.870 – 01:29:30.370 on the planet or the Earth,
  2232. 01:29:30.990 – 01:29:32.910 but it's all about what we do,
  2233. 01:29:32.910 – 01:29:35.190 the small little things that we do
  2234. 01:29:35.190 – 01:29:37.230 that then add up over time, right?
  2235. 01:29:37.230 – 01:29:39.850 Those small seeds that might have been sown
  2236. 01:29:40.750 – 01:29:42.770 that juicing that much,
  2237. 01:29:42.990 – 01:29:45.030 if you replaced all the sugary stuff,
  2238. 01:29:45.090 – 01:29:46.850 which I'm just saying hypothetically,
  2239. 01:29:47.350 – 01:29:51.110 if you did, then the results would be day and night.
  2240. 01:29:51.170 – 01:29:53.130 It'd be crazy, but that's all we know.
  2241. 01:29:53.130 – 01:29:55.310 That's all I had the money to get was...
  2242. 01:29:55.310 – 01:29:56.050 That part, yeah.
  2243. 01:30:00.030 – 01:30:02.190 McDonald's meal off the dollar menu
  2244. 01:30:03.550 – 01:30:06.490 was, if you want to keep it all the way 100,
  2245. 01:30:07.070 – 01:30:09.010 Dollar Tree when it popped out with food items.
  2246. 01:30:10.250 – 01:30:11.790 Yeah, ain't a dollar nothing wrong with it.
  2247. 01:30:12.010 – 01:30:12.410 Right?
  2248. 01:30:12.550 – 01:30:14.270 Dollar 25 or five now,
  2249. 01:30:14.290 – 01:30:17.570 but if we want to keep it all the way to what it was,
  2250. 01:30:17.790 – 01:30:19.570 $200 is gonna only take you so far.
  2251. 01:30:20.090 – 01:30:22.410 So wow, if I had the knowledge,
  2252. 01:30:22.410 – 01:30:23.330 could I?
  2253. 01:30:23.490 – 01:30:25.250 Maybe, but if I couldn't afford it,
  2254. 01:30:25.290 – 01:30:26.490 I did the best of what I had.
  2255. 01:30:27.230 – 01:30:28.230 So it definitely could have helped,
  2256. 01:30:28.510 – 01:30:30.410 but hey, now that I look back,
  2257. 01:30:30.430 – 01:30:32.010 all you can do now is do better for the future.
  2258. 01:30:32.410 – 01:30:33.510 That is amazing.
  2259. 01:30:34.170 – 01:30:35.550 What a journey and what a story.
  2260. 01:30:36.330 – 01:30:36.770 Right?
  2261. 01:30:37.730 – 01:30:39.290 Oh my gosh.
  2262. 01:30:39.570 – 01:30:41.810 I kind of want to hit it on a more positive note.
  2263. 01:30:41.930 – 01:30:43.070 Coming back to the juices,
  2264. 01:30:43.170 – 01:30:44.990 which is fruitful and flavorful.
  2265. 01:30:45.630 – 01:30:48.370 So we talked about ginger shots and juice shots.
  2266. 01:30:49.350 – 01:30:52.190 Is there any favorite food parents
  2267. 01:30:52.190 – 01:30:53.630 that you make with the juices?
  2268. 01:30:55.210 – 01:30:57.270 I'm still playing around with that.
  2269. 01:30:58.250 – 01:31:02.270 And that idea came to me one day,
  2270. 01:31:02.390 – 01:31:03.730 actually when I was drinking wine.
  2271. 01:31:04.430 – 01:31:05.370 What's your favorite wine?
  2272. 01:31:08.120 – 01:31:08.520 Okay.
  2273. 01:31:08.620 – 01:31:09.980 I love real wine by the way.
  2274. 01:31:10.420 – 01:31:13.760 Now I got into wine because of the TV show Scandal
  2275. 01:31:14.340 – 01:31:17.120 and Olivia Pope, always.
  2276. 01:31:17.500 – 01:31:20.320 And at some point that glass of wine.
  2277. 01:31:20.420 – 01:31:22.120 Yes, yes, yes.
  2278. 01:31:22.540 – 01:31:23.220 So, okay.
  2279. 01:31:23.440 – 01:31:23.820 Silence.
  2280. 01:31:27.120 – 01:31:28.380 So watching that,
  2281. 01:31:28.680 – 01:31:31.340 I was kind of feeling like my little Olivia Pope era.
  2282. 01:31:31.380 – 01:31:33.620 So I started really getting in tune with it.
  2283. 01:31:34.640 – 01:31:35.820 I don't know if I have a favorite.
  2284. 01:31:35.940 – 01:31:38.820 I like red wine, but I don't think it's sweet.
  2285. 01:31:40.280 – 01:31:41.200 Well, I like red wine
  2286. 01:31:41.200 – 01:31:42.600 because I know it's good for the heart
  2287. 01:31:42.600 – 01:31:43.900 and it has antioxidants.
  2288. 01:31:44.000 – 01:31:44.860 That's what they say.
  2289. 01:31:45.860 – 01:31:46.140 So I don't have any benefits.
  2290. 01:31:46.140 – 01:31:47.300 Mine are so sweet.
  2291. 01:31:47.580 – 01:31:48.560 I don't have no benefits.
  2292. 01:31:49.300 – 01:31:50.100 Well, you had a sweet.
  2293. 01:31:50.720 – 01:31:53.100 I love sweet like Sangria, I love.
  2294. 01:31:53.160 – 01:31:54.960 Yeah, give me a red.
  2295. 01:31:55.060 – 01:31:57.140 If I'm gonna drink wine, it has to be red, mainly.
  2296. 01:31:57.320 – 01:31:58.460 But I love a Moscato.
  2297. 01:31:58.960 – 01:32:00.140 I love a Moscato.
  2298. 01:32:00.180 – 01:32:02.660 I'm learning a little bit by little bit about Riesling.
  2299. 01:32:03.220 – 01:32:03.960 So I'm learning.
  2300. 01:32:04.560 – 01:32:07.160 I like my wineries.
  2301. 01:32:08.440 – 01:32:12.040 Huff, there's a winery in Huff.
  2302. 01:32:13.640 – 01:32:16.080 I mean, I'm a fan of Tuyul wines.
  2303. 01:32:16.460 – 01:32:17.220 There we go.
  2304. 01:32:17.420 – 01:32:17.980 There we go.
  2305. 01:32:18.100 – 01:32:19.720 Oh no, I've even heard dry wines.
  2306. 01:32:19.720 – 01:32:22.760 I'm not a fan of dry, but her dry wines is durable.
  2307. 01:32:23.820 – 01:32:25.120 No flavorful as well.
  2308. 01:32:25.600 – 01:32:26.300 Local, too.
  2309. 01:32:26.820 – 01:32:28.220 Yes, all her wines is good.
  2310. 01:32:28.580 – 01:32:33.260 So whatever you may not like in a different brand,
  2311. 01:32:33.800 – 01:32:35.760 just try hers, I'm telling you.
  2312. 01:32:35.820 – 01:32:38.500 Shout out to Nakia Tuyul wines in Southpawid, Ohio.
  2313. 01:32:39.540 – 01:32:40.120 My favorite.
  2314. 01:32:41.020 – 01:32:43.820 Has to do some production and media for her as well.
  2315. 01:32:44.220 – 01:32:44.740 Nice.
  2316. 01:32:45.660 – 01:32:47.560 See, you record a lot of her episodes
  2317. 01:32:47.560 – 01:32:50.280 that are full of experience in Tuyul wines.
  2318. 01:32:51.020 – 01:32:53.540 And she just moved it to a new location, bigger location.
  2319. 01:32:53.560 – 01:32:55.000 Big shout out to her.
  2320. 01:32:56.400 – 01:32:58.760 And give back to the community as well.
  2321. 01:32:59.080 – 01:32:59.540 Beautiful.
  2322. 01:33:00.300 – 01:33:06.620 Oh, she has a wine and dine wine fest, August 2nd.
  2323. 01:33:07.320 – 01:33:09.660 So if anybody listen to this,
  2324. 01:33:09.800 – 01:33:12.160 that be coming out in it's face sign,
  2325. 01:33:12.280 – 01:33:13.040 both of us there.
  2326. 01:33:13.320 – 01:33:15.200 Yes, put that on my calendar.
  2327. 01:33:15.900 – 01:33:16.900 Here, I'm putting it on my calendar
  2328. 01:33:16.900 – 01:33:18.980 because if it's a wine event, I'm there.
  2329. 01:33:19.200 – 01:33:19.900 Yes, yes.
  2330. 01:33:20.120 – 01:33:21.280 Will I be working?
  2331. 01:33:22.400 – 01:33:23.260 A little bit.
  2332. 01:33:23.400 – 01:33:24.320 We always working.
  2333. 01:33:24.360 – 01:33:25.100 Always working.
  2334. 01:33:25.640 – 01:33:26.540 Even when we're not.
  2335. 01:33:27.820 – 01:33:29.040 I'm like, I ain't going to do it,
  2336. 01:33:29.040 – 01:33:30.140 but I end up doing it.
  2337. 01:33:30.300 – 01:33:32.180 Even when we are not.
  2338. 01:33:32.360 – 01:33:35.320 You know, in my sleep, I was like, what the hell?
  2339. 01:33:36.020 – 01:33:37.660 Waking up, like, dang, what the?
  2340. 01:33:38.420 – 01:33:39.940 Be like, damn, what a phone number, right?
  2341. 01:33:40.140 – 01:33:41.620 Man, yeah, might as well.
  2342. 01:33:41.620 – 01:33:42.640 Let me knock this out right quick.
  2343. 01:33:42.700 – 01:33:44.140 I don't hear, well, I'm thinking about it.
  2344. 01:33:44.160 – 01:33:44.360 Yep.
  2345. 01:33:44.820 – 01:33:45.120 Yeah.
  2346. 01:33:45.120 – 01:33:48.380 So what can we see in the future for just juice
  2347. 01:33:48.380 – 01:33:49.900 and Miss Jessica Williams?
  2348. 01:33:50.720 – 01:33:53.800 So in the future, hopefully sooner than later,
  2349. 01:33:53.800 – 01:33:56.100 yes, we did at once talk about a podcast,
  2350. 01:33:56.120 – 01:33:58.740 although that is definitely in the makes
  2351. 01:33:58.740 – 01:34:00.240 and in the working.
  2352. 01:34:00.840 – 01:34:03.760 Coming back out officially with the juices as well.
  2353. 01:34:04.180 – 01:34:05.800 And like we were talking about earlier,
  2354. 01:34:05.880 – 01:34:08.240 the approach may have changed just a little bit.
  2355. 01:34:08.320 – 01:34:10.880 So you may not be able to, you know,
  2356. 01:34:10.880 – 01:34:14.520 consistently purchase an individual juice just yet,
  2357. 01:34:15.580 – 01:34:18.880 but I will be attending community events.
  2358. 01:34:19.240 – 01:34:21.800 So like the civic engagement collab,
  2359. 01:34:22.020 – 01:34:23.940 those karaoke and conversations events,
  2360. 01:34:23.940 – 01:34:27.620 we will be popping out with popsicles and politics.
  2361. 01:34:27.880 – 01:34:30.440 So trying to get the kids a little bit more engaged
  2362. 01:34:30.440 – 01:34:33.280 or more family friendly feel to it.
  2363. 01:34:33.300 – 01:34:37.460 So those events are going to be coming out very soon.
  2364. 01:34:38.920 – 01:34:42.300 And then just being more involved
  2365. 01:34:42.300 – 01:34:44.220 in connecting with programs.
  2366. 01:34:44.860 – 01:34:47.660 So if you once again have a program
  2367. 01:34:47.660 – 01:34:51.380 and you're looking to add a healthy component to it,
  2368. 01:34:51.660 – 01:34:53.960 definitely available to connect and collaborate
  2369. 01:34:53.960 – 01:34:55.220 to see what that looks like.
  2370. 01:34:56.080 – 01:34:58.800 But you're going to be seeing me do more partnerships
  2371. 01:34:58.800 – 01:35:01.180 and collaborations with organizations
  2372. 01:35:01.180 – 01:35:04.400 so we can together impact, you know,
  2373. 01:35:04.480 – 01:35:06.040 the broader community.
  2374. 01:35:06.040 – 01:35:08.140 I'm not trying to sell one juice at a time.
  2375. 01:35:08.140 – 01:35:10.980 I'm trying to impact as many people as possible.
  2376. 01:35:11.200 – 01:35:12.600 Communities, neighborhoods at a time.
  2377. 01:35:12.660 – 01:35:13.100 I love it.
  2378. 01:35:13.380 – 01:35:13.820 Yes.
  2379. 01:35:16.100 – 01:35:17.480 Wow, that's amazing.
  2380. 01:35:17.480 – 01:35:18.180 That's incredible.
  2381. 01:35:18.580 – 01:35:19.580 Thank you.
  2382. 01:35:19.860 – 01:35:22.860 Have you ever thought about or reached out to Myers?
  2383. 01:35:24.960 – 01:35:27.480 So at one point I do have to give a shout out.
  2384. 01:35:27.520 – 01:35:29.160 We just shout out everybody at this point.
  2385. 01:35:29.800 – 01:35:30.860 That's what we do, right?
  2386. 01:35:31.220 – 01:35:35.460 But big shout out to Cleveland Central Kitchen.
  2387. 01:35:37.380 – 01:35:40.020 So they're located on Euclid,
  2388. 01:35:40.820 – 01:35:43.380 but it's a community kitchen.
  2389. 01:35:44.640 – 01:35:46.720 So it's a space where-
  2390. 01:35:46.720 – 01:35:46.860 Ghost kitchen.
  2391. 01:35:47.120 – 01:35:48.500 A ghost kitchen, there we go.
  2392. 01:35:48.520 – 01:35:49.280 I lost the word.
  2393. 01:35:49.360 – 01:35:51.580 It's a ghost kitchen right there.
  2394. 01:35:51.920 – 01:35:54.240 I want to say it is in Ward 5 as well,
  2395. 01:35:54.560 – 01:35:58.780 but right on Euclid, close to like 40th and Euclid,
  2396. 01:35:59.680 – 01:36:00.960 the ghost kitchen is there
  2397. 01:36:00.960 – 01:36:02.820 and it's available for entrepreneurs
  2398. 01:36:02.820 – 01:36:05.880 if you need a space, right, to prepare your food.
  2399. 01:36:05.880 – 01:36:09.640 No matter what it is, they have ovens available,
  2400. 01:36:11.100 – 01:36:12.140 refrigeration, storage,
  2401. 01:36:12.360 – 01:36:15.340 and like I said, it's a legit kitchen space
  2402. 01:36:15.340 – 01:36:17.040 for you to use to prep your food.
  2403. 01:36:17.300 – 01:36:19.860 So we were talking at some point,
  2404. 01:36:19.900 – 01:36:23.760 they have workshops available for entrepreneurs to learn
  2405. 01:36:23.760 – 01:36:27.980 how to get their business up and running and together.
  2406. 01:36:28.300 – 01:36:31.760 And so they were the ones who initially had,
  2407. 01:36:31.760 – 01:36:33.560 I had small conversations with
  2408. 01:36:33.560 – 01:36:35.020 about what does that look like?
  2409. 01:36:35.620 – 01:36:39.600 Because going through the central kitchen
  2410. 01:36:39.600 – 01:36:41.160 and going through their workshops,
  2411. 01:36:41.480 – 01:36:44.800 they have partnerships available with grocery stores.
  2412. 01:36:45.140 – 01:36:49.080 So some folks that were in the kitchen,
  2413. 01:36:49.960 – 01:36:53.500 there was a Squash the Beef.
  2414. 01:36:54.160 – 01:36:57.800 They originally were working in throughout that kitchen
  2415. 01:36:57.800 – 01:37:00.480 and there are a lot of local vendors
  2416. 01:37:00.480 – 01:37:03.940 who may not have their own space
  2417. 01:37:03.940 – 01:37:05.740 to sell out of just yet
  2418. 01:37:06.420 – 01:37:09.160 or their own restaurant space or whatever.
  2419. 01:37:09.300 – 01:37:12.860 So they come there and they create whatever they create.
  2420. 01:37:12.980 – 01:37:14.980 I mean, there are people that are making cookies
  2421. 01:37:14.980 – 01:37:19.500 and hot sauces and ice creams
  2422. 01:37:19.500 – 01:37:21.620 and whatever you can think of,
  2423. 01:37:21.620 – 01:37:22.400 you make in the kitchen,
  2424. 01:37:22.480 – 01:37:25.600 they were making in the Cleveland central kitchen.
  2425. 01:37:26.180 – 01:37:29.000 So I thought about it, it's a lot,
  2426. 01:37:29.580 – 01:37:31.700 it's a lot of manpower behind it.
  2427. 01:37:31.700 – 01:37:35.540 So that is definitely a goal down the line.
  2428. 01:37:35.660 – 01:37:39.740 But I think right now I'm just gonna keep it local
  2429. 01:37:39.740 – 01:37:42.920 for the moment being, yeah, keep it local.
  2430. 01:37:43.500 – 01:37:44.500 I love that.
  2431. 01:37:45.200 – 01:37:46.320 Keep it in the community.
  2432. 01:37:48.360 – 01:37:49.500 Wow, that's amazing.
  2433. 01:37:51.180 – 01:37:53.000 I'm trying, one juice at a time.
  2434. 01:37:53.260 – 01:37:53.880 Juice at a time.
  2435. 01:37:54.020 – 01:37:54.940 Well, we said.
  2436. 01:37:56.340 – 01:37:57.300 One community at a time.
  2437. 01:37:57.340 – 01:37:59.560 There we go, here we go, more broader.
  2438. 01:37:59.560 – 01:38:02.380 One community at a time, yeah.
  2439. 01:38:02.580 – 01:38:04.340 They drink one juice at a time.
  2440. 01:38:04.520 – 01:38:06.020 I'll drink about three or four, but.
  2441. 01:38:08.840 – 01:38:11.040 So yeah, just to wrap it up,
  2442. 01:38:11.240 – 01:38:13.320 any advice you would give a young entrepreneur?
  2443. 01:38:15.560 – 01:38:16.900 Advice of the day.
  2444. 01:38:17.880 – 01:38:18.940 Keep it simple.
  2445. 01:38:21.080 – 01:38:22.780 Keep it simple.
  2446. 01:38:23.700 – 01:38:26.840 Whether it is learning how to connect with people,
  2447. 01:38:27.400 – 01:38:31.120 figuring out what you want to build,
  2448. 01:38:31.120 – 01:38:35.800 grow, develop, produce, sell, keep it simple.
  2449. 01:38:36.260 – 01:38:40.220 Keep it simple so that way you're staying close
  2450. 01:38:40.220 – 01:38:42.380 to your roots, close to where you came from.
  2451. 01:38:42.400 – 01:38:44.540 Like I said, the humbling experience
  2452. 01:38:44.540 – 01:38:46.700 of being a teenage mother is something
  2453. 01:38:46.700 – 01:38:49.740 that 18 years later is still right there with me.
  2454. 01:38:50.320 – 01:38:51.760 Never can get too far away from it
  2455. 01:38:51.760 – 01:38:53.200 because that's kind of what shaped me
  2456. 01:38:53.200 – 01:38:54.420 into the woman that I am now.
  2457. 01:38:54.840 – 01:38:57.360 So keep it simple, use what you have,
  2458. 01:38:57.360 – 01:39:00.520 use that thousand dollar phone.
  2459. 01:39:01.920 – 01:39:03.780 You've already made the investment,
  2460. 01:39:03.900 – 01:39:05.780 use your social media pages,
  2461. 01:39:06.240 – 01:39:08.300 use the connections you already have,
  2462. 01:39:08.520 – 01:39:11.840 get into the community, meet new people, simple.
  2463. 01:39:12.360 – 01:39:14.200 Mostly everything I just said was free.
  2464. 01:39:14.880 – 01:39:16.900 Keep it simple, keep to your passion,
  2465. 01:39:17.960 – 01:39:18.640 keep making it happen.
  2466. 01:39:19.280 – 01:39:20.460 I love that.
  2467. 01:39:21.120 – 01:39:23.000 I thank you, thank you, thank you.
  2468. 01:39:23.200 – 01:39:24.000 I thank you.
  2469. 01:39:24.300 – 01:39:26.020 And again, I know you said it before,
  2470. 01:39:26.020 – 01:39:28.240 but where can the people reach you from?
  2471. 01:39:28.740 – 01:39:31.320 Yes, so feel free to reach out to me,
  2472. 01:39:31.340 – 01:39:36.120 LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Jessica Williams,
  2473. 01:39:37.280 – 01:39:38.660 on all platforms.
  2474. 01:39:39.240 – 01:39:44.020 Feel free to reach me through the Civic Engagement Collab
  2475. 01:39:45.520 – 01:39:47.520 or like I said, that community.
  2476. 01:39:47.760 – 01:39:49.060 If you are looking to do anything
  2477. 01:39:49.060 – 01:39:50.560 within the Ward 5 community
  2478. 01:39:50.560 – 01:39:52.520 and you want to get contacted that way,
  2479. 01:39:52.520 – 01:39:59.980 feel free to email me, jwilliams at clevelandcitycouncil.org
  2480. 01:40:01.680 – 01:40:04.660 216-664-2309.
  2481. 01:40:05.640 – 01:40:06.760 Thank you.
  2482. 01:40:07.120 – 01:40:09.240 Yeah, you can send me all that information
  2483. 01:40:09.240 – 01:40:10.920 and I'll put it in the show notes
  2484. 01:40:10.920 – 01:40:14.400 so there's no excuses for anybody to like,
  2485. 01:40:14.520 – 01:40:15.480 what did she say?
  2486. 01:40:15.960 – 01:40:18.400 Or if they're driving and they need to go back to it
  2487. 01:40:18.400 – 01:40:22.420 they can reference and contact Ms. Jessica Williams.
  2488. 01:40:22.640 – 01:40:23.420 Thank you.
  2489. 01:40:23.520 – 01:40:25.000 I appreciate you.
  2490. 01:40:25.160 – 01:40:25.720 Oh.
  2491. 01:40:25.940 – 01:40:29.460 This is a long time coming, I'm like, we can't wait.
  2492. 01:40:29.540 – 01:40:30.560 And it's just the beginning.
  2493. 01:40:30.800 – 01:40:31.540 It is.
  2494. 01:40:32.140 – 01:40:33.900 You'll be going to have to sit down again,
  2495. 01:40:34.940 – 01:40:38.920 update the people and drink some more juice.
  2496. 01:40:40.260 – 01:40:42.380 So with closing, I want to thank everyone
  2497. 01:40:42.380 – 01:40:46.920 for tuning in to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  2498. 01:40:47.380 – 01:40:50.960 The introspective business podcast
  2499. 01:40:50.960 – 01:40:53.840 as we break down everything in media
  2500. 01:40:53.840 – 01:40:57.800 and different industries and how it all collide.
  2501. 01:40:58.720 – 01:41:01.680 So again, thank you for tuning in
  2502. 01:41:01.680 – 01:41:04.400 for Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  2503. 01:41:04.980 – 01:41:08.120 You can find this on all audio platforms.
  2504. 01:41:09.200 – 01:41:13.700 You can find my website at alieneyesphotos.com.
  2505. 01:41:13.940 – 01:41:16.600 You can check that out for more information
  2506. 01:41:16.600 – 01:41:19.160 and book me, all that good stuff.
  2507. 01:41:19.880 – 01:41:21.360 And if I'm missing anything,
  2508. 01:41:21.980 – 01:41:24.640 hey, it's gonna be in the show notes as well.
  2509. 01:41:25.220 – 01:41:27.080 This has been a great episode.
  2510. 01:41:27.460 – 01:41:29.180 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  2511. 01:41:29.780 – 01:41:31.360 Until next time, everyone.
  2512. 01:41:32.240 – 01:41:32.480 Peace.

Back to contents

51. Brandon Gates Speaks To Euclid High Entrepreneur Students (TPUE)

Season 1 · Episode 25

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.360 – 00:00:07.440 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  2. 00:00:07.900 – 00:00:11.880 with your host, photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  3. 00:00:11.880 – 00:00:15.040 of Alienize Photos Media.
  4. 00:00:15.180 – 00:00:18.240 Alienize Photos Media, portfolios.
  5. 00:00:18.520 – 00:00:21.760 Thinking about portfolios as I'm adding
  6. 00:00:22.280 – 00:00:27.300 another high school to my speaking portfolio.
  7. 00:00:28.160 – 00:00:30.240 I had the honor to
  8. 00:00:31.700 – 00:00:36.520 be alongside with my Pull Up Experience counterpart,
  9. 00:00:37.880 – 00:00:40.940 the host with the most, Mr. Brandon Gates,
  10. 00:00:42.380 – 00:00:45.400 the head over of Pull Up Experience,
  11. 00:00:45.420 – 00:00:48.160 the Pull Up Experience, TPUE,
  12. 00:00:48.700 – 00:00:52.040 as we are a collective of entrepreneurs
  13. 00:00:52.040 – 00:00:56.420 and we help other entrepreneurs and business owners
  14. 00:00:56.420 – 00:00:59.300 and also non-profits elevate
  15. 00:00:59.300 – 00:01:04.280 your entrepreneur elevation group here in Cleveland, Ohio
  16. 00:01:04.280 – 00:01:09.620 as we visited Ohio School, Euclid, Ohio.
  17. 00:01:10.580 – 00:01:13.220 Shout outs to Euclid High School.
  18. 00:01:13.980 – 00:01:16.760 As he had that honor to speak
  19. 00:01:17.320 – 00:01:20.860 and I kinda put some two cents in
  20. 00:01:20.860 – 00:01:23.600 but I captured the moment,
  21. 00:01:23.880 – 00:01:27.100 captured the moment he presented.
  22. 00:01:27.100 – 00:01:30.360 Like soon we got to the students,
  23. 00:01:30.360 – 00:01:33.820 we had to basically present no setup, no nothing like,
  24. 00:01:34.160 – 00:01:35.180 all right, they're all yours.
  25. 00:01:36.000 – 00:01:38.860 So, you know, we had to run and gun
  26. 00:01:38.860 – 00:01:40.140 and definitely pivot.
  27. 00:01:40.360 – 00:01:42.380 If anybody know the Pull Up Experience,
  28. 00:01:42.980 – 00:01:45.900 we are the artists of pivoting.
  29. 00:01:46.800 – 00:01:50.940 We know how to pivot on a die and we do each time
  30. 00:01:51.620 – 00:01:53.720 but it was very fruitful
  31. 00:01:54.680 – 00:01:59.100 and documenting this journey is always good
  32. 00:01:59.100 – 00:02:05.280 as we spoke on entrepreneurship as well as podcasting
  33. 00:02:05.280 – 00:02:07.600 and even did a podcasting opportunity
  34. 00:02:08.699 – 00:02:11.020 as some money was given away.
  35. 00:02:12.620 – 00:02:14.960 And shout outs to Brandon Gates for that.
  36. 00:02:15.300 – 00:02:18.140 Like that's just so honorable,
  37. 00:02:18.560 – 00:02:21.720 encouraging the young students,
  38. 00:02:21.720 – 00:02:24.200 the youth, the next generation,
  39. 00:02:24.760 – 00:02:28.920 help propel them to feel their entrepreneur journey,
  40. 00:02:29.540 – 00:02:31.920 their podcast and media journey,
  41. 00:02:32.500 – 00:02:33.840 content creation journey.
  42. 00:02:35.500 – 00:02:39.200 We taught them a little bit about business and marketing
  43. 00:02:39.860 – 00:02:42.220 as well as the basic of podcast
  44. 00:02:43.100 – 00:02:46.560 and how to make money from podcast.
  45. 00:02:47.660 – 00:02:49.300 So it was very fruitful.
  46. 00:02:49.760 – 00:02:54.200 When we had like 30, 35 minutes with the students,
  47. 00:02:55.000 – 00:02:56.260 some time was cut off,
  48. 00:02:56.300 – 00:02:58.980 but we made the most out of it.
  49. 00:02:59.260 – 00:03:01.140 We got the most out of it
  50. 00:03:01.140 – 00:03:03.000 and we're gonna keep it going.
  51. 00:03:03.700 – 00:03:06.600 You know, we're gonna put together some programs,
  52. 00:03:07.320 – 00:03:09.760 especially for the afterschool programs
  53. 00:03:10.700 – 00:03:12.720 to see what we can do to help
  54. 00:03:12.720 – 00:03:15.260 and push the entrepreneurship ballot,
  55. 00:03:17.390 – 00:03:18.950 especially in Cleveland, Ohio.
  56. 00:03:19.850 – 00:03:22.470 It's critical, it's major, it's important.
  57. 00:03:23.630 – 00:03:26.270 It's purposeful, it's needed.
  58. 00:03:27.770 – 00:03:32.770 And we got a tour of Euclid High School.
  59. 00:03:33.250 – 00:03:35.010 Shout outs to Euclid High School again.
  60. 00:03:36.530 – 00:03:39.330 Just showing us some of the programs they have,
  61. 00:03:39.910 – 00:03:41.430 how we could be involved
  62. 00:03:41.430 – 00:03:43.270 and what the students are doing.
  63. 00:03:44.050 – 00:03:47.130 Like from robotics to culinary arts,
  64. 00:03:47.490 – 00:03:52.230 they have chefs and the students work with the chefs
  65. 00:03:52.230 – 00:03:55.970 selling meals at the school, culinary meals at the school.
  66. 00:03:56.770 – 00:04:00.370 I think it was about like $16, $17 for a plate.
  67. 00:04:00.770 – 00:04:02.710 It was like, wow, it's amazing.
  68. 00:04:02.790 – 00:04:05.670 I'm gonna have to come here for lunch a couple days,
  69. 00:04:05.790 – 00:04:06.470 couple times.
  70. 00:04:07.350 – 00:04:08.650 So it's amazing.
  71. 00:04:09.970 – 00:04:12.590 Robotics, like I said, culinary arts,
  72. 00:04:13.250 – 00:04:15.850 music production, music recording.
  73. 00:04:15.850 – 00:04:21.410 I got studio at the school podcasting,
  74. 00:04:21.510 – 00:04:24.970 which we spoke on entrepreneurship,
  75. 00:04:25.310 – 00:04:27.310 so many different programs.
  76. 00:04:27.490 – 00:04:31.910 Like I had a fraction of this when I was growing up
  77. 00:04:31.910 – 00:04:33.710 or at the schools that I attended.
  78. 00:04:34.370 – 00:04:37.570 So it's amazing to see and amazing to hear
  79. 00:04:37.570 – 00:04:39.790 what the different schools have going on,
  80. 00:04:40.030 – 00:04:43.970 just opportunities these schools have going on.
  81. 00:04:43.970 – 00:04:47.290 So again, shout outs to Euclid High School.
  82. 00:04:48.110 – 00:04:51.170 We appreciate you for letting us in your doors,
  83. 00:04:51.930 – 00:04:54.750 treating us well, welcoming us,
  84. 00:04:54.970 – 00:04:58.030 encouraging us to give some great insights
  85. 00:04:58.030 – 00:05:01.730 to the students, also encouraging them,
  86. 00:05:02.290 – 00:05:03.570 motivating them, showing them
  87. 00:05:03.570 – 00:05:05.410 that there is opportunities
  88. 00:05:05.890 – 00:05:08.550 that they can take in entrepreneurship,
  89. 00:05:09.410 – 00:05:12.850 being what they wanna be and also podcasting,
  90. 00:05:12.910 – 00:05:13.830 if that's their route.
  91. 00:05:13.830 – 00:05:16.210 But even if they don't,
  92. 00:05:16.330 – 00:05:18.430 they still know how to set up one
  93. 00:05:18.430 – 00:05:21.270 or how to be on another person's podcast
  94. 00:05:21.770 – 00:05:23.750 to help promote their business.
  95. 00:05:24.310 – 00:05:27.710 But the most important thing podcasting
  96. 00:05:27.710 – 00:05:30.690 is a marketing vehicle for your business.
  97. 00:05:31.230 – 00:05:36.050 Like alienized photos, media is my business.
  98. 00:05:36.770 – 00:05:38.630 Alienized photos industry talk
  99. 00:05:38.630 – 00:05:41.590 is the marketing arm of my business.
  100. 00:05:42.200 – 00:05:44.990 And that's the main reason I started the podcast
  101. 00:05:44.990 – 00:05:47.270 and also expand my network
  102. 00:05:48.070 – 00:05:50.750 and show off my network with different guests
  103. 00:05:50.750 – 00:05:53.430 as we kind of create master classes
  104. 00:05:53.430 – 00:05:54.550 through our conversation.
  105. 00:05:55.770 – 00:05:58.110 So it was very important.
  106. 00:06:00.150 – 00:06:01.790 And my solo episodes,
  107. 00:06:01.790 – 00:06:04.930 I could make it very salesy and preachy.
  108. 00:06:05.590 – 00:06:08.910 I haven't, I haven't yet, maybe one day,
  109. 00:06:08.910 – 00:06:12.070 but right now it's just, you know, free game,
  110. 00:06:12.290 – 00:06:15.350 as you could say, or many will call it.
  111. 00:06:15.730 – 00:06:17.250 So take the free game,
  112. 00:06:18.050 – 00:06:20.070 but you got to start somewhere.
  113. 00:06:20.190 – 00:06:21.570 You always got to give back.
  114. 00:06:21.610 – 00:06:23.370 And this is my give back,
  115. 00:06:23.410 – 00:06:27.370 as well as me marketing myself in exchange for that.
  116. 00:06:27.910 – 00:06:32.230 You know, help me to help me to help you.
  117. 00:06:33.010 – 00:06:34.510 You know, I got to help myself first,
  118. 00:06:34.630 – 00:06:36.130 got to help my business first.
  119. 00:06:36.430 – 00:06:37.890 I got to get it out here
  120. 00:06:37.890 – 00:06:41.470 and I felt podcasting is the best way,
  121. 00:06:41.510 – 00:06:43.330 the best method to do that.
  122. 00:06:43.890 – 00:06:46.950 You know, I'm always in a car driving like I am now,
  123. 00:06:47.010 – 00:06:48.870 but I'm able to record audio.
  124. 00:06:49.290 – 00:06:52.410 I'm not heavy on video, but with audio,
  125. 00:06:52.470 – 00:06:55.370 I feel like I can do it almost any and anywhere.
  126. 00:06:56.010 – 00:06:57.750 You know, I can find a quiet place,
  127. 00:06:57.750 – 00:07:01.190 you know, plug my mics into my phone and hit record.
  128. 00:07:02.370 – 00:07:04.390 So that's been working for me.
  129. 00:07:04.390 – 00:07:08.790 So audio, podcasting works for me.
  130. 00:07:09.250 – 00:07:11.750 I know sometimes I will incorporate video
  131. 00:07:11.750 – 00:07:13.910 or have some video clips,
  132. 00:07:14.630 – 00:07:16.870 but I'm not big on it,
  133. 00:07:16.870 – 00:07:18.710 especially right now in this moment.
  134. 00:07:19.190 – 00:07:22.550 But as I continue to grow out and continue to get funding
  135. 00:07:22.550 – 00:07:25.710 and continue to have more time to sit down
  136. 00:07:25.710 – 00:07:28.290 and actually spend time in front of the camera,
  137. 00:07:28.590 – 00:07:32.910 well polish productions, I would do that.
  138. 00:07:32.910 – 00:07:34.970 But right now, straight audio,
  139. 00:07:35.450 – 00:07:38.350 find so many audio episodes.
  140. 00:07:38.430 – 00:07:41.230 You can find 50 plus in this current day.
  141. 00:07:41.550 – 00:07:43.670 It's December, 2025.
  142. 00:07:45.510 – 00:07:47.870 So, you know, I'm not stopping.
  143. 00:07:48.530 – 00:07:49.810 I hit a thousand,
  144. 00:07:50.330 – 00:07:52.470 whether that's solo episodes
  145. 00:07:52.470 – 00:07:56.970 or a combination with solo episodes with guests
  146. 00:07:58.280 – 00:08:02.150 or even, you know, live interviews at conferences.
  147. 00:08:03.610 – 00:08:05.430 A thousand, I promise.
  148. 00:08:05.670 – 00:08:07.650 I stop until I reach a thousand.
  149. 00:08:08.030 – 00:08:09.330 Even after I hit a thousand,
  150. 00:08:09.330 – 00:08:11.730 I'm probably gonna still be going.
  151. 00:08:13.490 – 00:08:18.130 But I may be compelled to move in another direction.
  152. 00:08:18.730 – 00:08:22.490 You know, maybe my photography business is thriving
  153. 00:08:22.490 – 00:08:24.610 where I really don't have much time
  154. 00:08:24.610 – 00:08:25.930 for the podcast anymore.
  155. 00:08:26.630 – 00:08:28.210 So, you know, anything can happen,
  156. 00:08:28.210 – 00:08:31.090 but I promised myself a thousand episodes.
  157. 00:08:31.090 – 00:08:34.190 So, I'm promising you all a thousand episodes,
  158. 00:08:34.429 – 00:08:37.890 a thousand educational episodes,
  159. 00:08:39.030 – 00:08:42.409 inspirational episodes, motivational episodes,
  160. 00:08:43.830 – 00:08:46.230 mindset, perspective episodes
  161. 00:08:46.230 – 00:08:48.270 that you could take in, digest.
  162. 00:08:48.790 – 00:08:50.510 But most of my solo episodes
  163. 00:08:51.510 – 00:08:54.010 is definitely 30 minutes or less.
  164. 00:08:54.790 – 00:08:56.930 You know, I aim for the 23 mark,
  165. 00:08:57.110 – 00:08:59.190 you know, the old school TV shows.
  166. 00:08:59.520 – 00:09:01.150 Most of my old heads know,
  167. 00:09:01.750 – 00:09:06.010 you know, the 23 minute programs on TV.
  168. 00:09:06.470 – 00:09:08.230 You know, that's counted commercials.
  169. 00:09:08.290 – 00:09:12.690 That's how you get your like 28 to 30 minute TV shows.
  170. 00:09:13.770 – 00:09:18.370 But most of it is about 22 to 23 minutes
  171. 00:09:18.370 – 00:09:21.190 if you watch a lot of old school sitcoms
  172. 00:09:21.190 – 00:09:24.130 like Martin, Fresh Prince,
  173. 00:09:24.490 – 00:09:26.110 and then your favorite cartoons.
  174. 00:09:28.990 – 00:09:32.870 It's 20 to about 25 minutes.
  175. 00:09:34.150 – 00:09:36.790 Cause they got to have, you know,
  176. 00:09:36.910 – 00:09:39.730 the shows paid for and everything paid for.
  177. 00:09:39.790 – 00:09:40.750 They got to make money.
  178. 00:09:40.950 – 00:09:45.170 So they run ads and you see that a lot on YouTube,
  179. 00:09:45.530 – 00:09:47.290 which we kind of told the students
  180. 00:09:47.290 – 00:09:51.990 about how to generate money from YouTube is through ads.
  181. 00:09:51.990 – 00:09:56.350 But you have to have a certain number of subscribers,
  182. 00:09:56.550 – 00:09:57.990 a certain number of views,
  183. 00:09:58.110 – 00:10:00.330 a certain number of watch hours,
  184. 00:10:01.510 – 00:10:02.770 and you know, just teaching them
  185. 00:10:02.770 – 00:10:06.150 and walking through them in the process
  186. 00:10:06.150 – 00:10:09.310 and how the Pull Up Experience podcast
  187. 00:10:10.070 – 00:10:13.910 has met all those requirements on YouTube
  188. 00:10:14.690 – 00:10:17.650 and is able to be monetized.
  189. 00:10:18.890 – 00:10:22.190 And you know, we're still strategizing our method
  190. 00:10:22.190 – 00:10:24.630 because we don't want to run a lot of ads
  191. 00:10:25.210 – 00:10:26.950 or the ads that we do,
  192. 00:10:26.950 – 00:10:30.450 we want to film ourself and place them in episodes,
  193. 00:10:31.370 – 00:10:35.550 but a lot of outside, you know, pre-recorded ads.
  194. 00:10:36.850 – 00:10:39.250 That's something we're kind of talking through.
  195. 00:10:39.650 – 00:10:43.230 But we also want to offer this for free,
  196. 00:10:43.530 – 00:10:46.630 but we also don't want to keep, you know,
  197. 00:10:46.630 – 00:10:49.270 working at a discounted price or for free.
  198. 00:10:50.070 – 00:10:52.430 You know, we're going to need monies to sustain ourselves.
  199. 00:10:52.490 – 00:10:54.950 We have family, we have little children,
  200. 00:10:55.490 – 00:10:57.070 and some of us older children.
  201. 00:10:58.690 – 00:11:00.030 Like I said, we have our family,
  202. 00:11:00.170 – 00:11:01.270 we have our businesses,
  203. 00:11:01.550 – 00:11:02.750 we got to take care of ourselves,
  204. 00:11:02.910 – 00:11:04.270 our wellbeing, our health.
  205. 00:11:04.990 – 00:11:09.450 So if you want more of us, then kind of pitch in,
  206. 00:11:09.450 – 00:11:12.090 you know, see how you can help out,
  207. 00:11:12.570 – 00:11:15.630 maybe get us funding, maybe just pay us directly.
  208. 00:11:16.230 – 00:11:20.210 But, you know, we're here, we're here living on a purpose
  209. 00:11:20.730 – 00:11:23.430 and we want to do more of it, but you know,
  210. 00:11:23.430 – 00:11:31.370 we do what we can, but we got to have a balance.
  211. 00:11:31.490 – 00:11:33.710 And that's what we teach entrepreneurs
  212. 00:11:33.710 – 00:11:34.890 to have that balance.
  213. 00:11:35.330 – 00:11:38.250 Like, yeah, we do free work all the time.
  214. 00:11:38.350 – 00:11:40.770 A lot of times we say yes a lot.
  215. 00:11:42.170 – 00:11:45.470 And this is one of the opportunities we say yes,
  216. 00:11:46.210 – 00:11:49.110 mainly for Brandon, but, you know,
  217. 00:11:49.150 – 00:11:53.450 we opened it up to the team, came out, you know,
  218. 00:11:53.450 – 00:11:56.670 just for moral support and also to document the moment,
  219. 00:11:57.490 – 00:11:59.130 end up giving a few words.
  220. 00:11:59.970 – 00:12:02.290 So it's always good to have that support
  221. 00:12:02.290 – 00:12:03.690 and that support system
  222. 00:12:04.210 – 00:12:06.050 and just be ready for opportunities.
  223. 00:12:07.630 – 00:12:09.450 Yeah, that's my spiel.
  224. 00:12:09.870 – 00:12:12.490 And again, thank you, Euclid High School
  225. 00:12:12.490 – 00:12:16.370 over in Euclid, Ohio, right outside of Cleveland, Ohio.
  226. 00:12:17.250 – 00:12:20.990 Well, I still call it Cleveland, but Euclid, Ohio.
  227. 00:12:22.650 – 00:12:23.610 Think it's the Panthers.
  228. 00:12:24.530 – 00:12:26.310 Don't beat me up if it's not.
  229. 00:12:26.630 – 00:12:27.950 But yeah, shout out to the Panthers,
  230. 00:12:28.130 – 00:12:29.710 Euclid High School.
  231. 00:12:30.170 – 00:12:31.390 All right, y'all.
  232. 00:12:31.810 – 00:12:34.390 Peace, this has been photographer Jackson.
  233. 00:12:34.910 – 00:12:38.130 Steve Jackson, the Alienize Photos Media,
  234. 00:12:38.770 – 00:12:41.610 bringing you the marketing arm.
  235. 00:12:43.190 – 00:12:47.610 Alienize Photos in the talk podcast.
  236. 00:12:48.250 – 00:12:50.430 It's gonna be much bigger than that
  237. 00:12:50.430 – 00:12:53.070 as I continue to build this out
  238. 00:12:53.070 – 00:12:55.950 and have more education
  239. 00:12:55.950 – 00:12:58.670 and build it to an educational platform.
  240. 00:12:59.670 – 00:13:02.590 Yeah, so stay tuned for that and some e-books.
  241. 00:13:02.910 – 00:13:06.890 I got the 10-day social media sabbatical.
  242. 00:13:07.170 – 00:13:10.410 I did a 10-day fast with all social media,
  243. 00:13:10.930 – 00:13:13.790 even YouTube, if you look at it as a social media.
  244. 00:13:14.610 – 00:13:18.070 I did not use none of it, rarely was on my phone.
  245. 00:13:18.650 – 00:13:21.610 Ended up going 10 and a half, almost 11 days.
  246. 00:13:21.950 – 00:13:26.210 So I beat my 10-day sabbatical away from social media.
  247. 00:13:26.890 – 00:13:28.030 And yeah, it felt good.
  248. 00:13:28.050 – 00:13:29.370 I got a lot accomplished.
  249. 00:13:29.690 – 00:13:31.330 I document it each day.
  250. 00:13:31.370 – 00:13:33.130 So go check out that series.
  251. 00:13:33.770 – 00:13:36.210 10-day social media sabbatical,
  252. 00:13:36.290 – 00:13:39.170 day one through 11, 11 days to recap.
  253. 00:13:39.170 – 00:13:41.190 If you don't wanna listen to all of them,
  254. 00:13:41.270 – 00:13:43.470 I encourage you to listen to the recap
  255. 00:13:43.470 – 00:13:45.370 as you will get some nuggets
  256. 00:13:45.370 – 00:13:49.450 and summarize versions of the episode.
  257. 00:13:50.390 – 00:13:52.990 So look out for that in the e-book
  258. 00:13:52.990 – 00:13:55.890 and I'm gonna have a course around it as well.
  259. 00:13:56.650 – 00:13:59.590 But if you wanna book me for event photography
  260. 00:13:59.590 – 00:14:01.230 or photography in general,
  261. 00:14:02.030 – 00:14:04.170 but event photography is my specialty
  262. 00:14:04.170 – 00:14:08.970 as well as video production and podcast productions
  263. 00:14:08.970 – 00:14:10.690 on behind the scenes.
  264. 00:14:11.190 – 00:14:12.670 Or if you want coaching,
  265. 00:14:13.150 – 00:14:16.170 either or to book me as a photographer
  266. 00:14:16.570 – 00:14:18.850 or both to help you with coaching,
  267. 00:14:19.170 – 00:14:20.210 marketing, ideation,
  268. 00:14:20.370 – 00:14:23.870 to help build out your blueprint for your business.
  269. 00:14:24.670 – 00:14:25.390 So let's talk.
  270. 00:14:25.950 – 00:14:27.990 We're gonna catch my information over
  271. 00:14:27.990 – 00:14:32.870 at alienisphotos.com.
  272. 00:14:32.870 – 00:14:36.110 And that's alien eyes like your eyeballs,
  273. 00:14:36.490 – 00:14:41.710 eyes with a Z, photos with a S.
  274. 00:14:42.090 – 00:14:43.810 alienisphotos.com
  275. 00:14:43.810 – 00:14:45.870 and on all social media,
  276. 00:14:46.750 – 00:14:56.610 A-L-I-E-N-E-Y-E-Z-P-H-O-T-O-S.
  277. 00:14:57.090 – 00:15:00.390 Alien eyes photos on all social media.
  278. 00:15:00.390 – 00:15:03.050 And I'm starting to post a little more on YouTube.
  279. 00:15:03.110 – 00:15:06.890 So check out our YouTube channel alien eyes photos.
  280. 00:15:07.350 – 00:15:10.530 And again, this is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  281. 00:15:10.530 – 00:15:12.730 of alien eyes photos media.
  282. 00:15:13.130 – 00:15:15.750 Bringing you alien eyes photos industry talk.
  283. 00:15:16.110 – 00:15:17.630 Shout out to Brandon Gates,
  284. 00:15:18.170 – 00:15:18.990 the Pull Up Experience,
  285. 00:15:19.130 – 00:15:20.890 the whole Pull Up Experience team.
  286. 00:15:21.310 – 00:15:24.490 Go check out our end of the year episode
  287. 00:15:25.070 – 00:15:26.470 over on YouTube.
  288. 00:15:27.130 – 00:15:29.290 And again, special shout outs to
  289. 00:15:30.470 – 00:15:36.590 the Euclid High School staff team, Mr. Webster.
  290. 00:15:38.550 – 00:15:39.770 All the great, you know,
  291. 00:15:39.990 – 00:15:42.490 staff members that's running these programs
  292. 00:15:42.490 – 00:15:43.630 and the teachers as well.
  293. 00:15:43.730 – 00:15:44.910 Can't forget about the teachers.
  294. 00:15:46.830 – 00:15:48.130 Oh man, I love it.
  295. 00:15:48.150 – 00:15:49.050 I'm loving what I'm seeing.
  296. 00:15:49.190 – 00:15:50.250 I love what I'm hearing.
  297. 00:15:50.670 – 00:15:51.810 This has been a journey.
  298. 00:15:52.430 – 00:15:54.150 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  299. 00:15:54.330 – 00:15:56.450 Always tuning in, always supporting.
  300. 00:15:57.290 – 00:15:58.910 God bless, peace.

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52. Be Like A Chameleon

Season 1 · Episode 24

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.880 – 00:00:08.380 Wow, just got down doing a father walk father walk your child to school
  2. 00:00:09.220 – 00:00:14.480 And I was it was nice and the amount of fathers father figures
  3. 00:00:15.320 – 00:00:17.830 Grandfathers uncles that showed up
  4. 00:00:18.960 – 00:00:21.140 Man, it was a great turnout
  5. 00:00:21.140 – 00:00:23.400 It's great to see
  6. 00:00:23.400 – 00:00:25.300 great to have
  7. 00:00:25.300 – 00:00:28.240 great fellowship a great community
  8. 00:00:30.000 – 00:00:37.180 It's great for our children to see that and for fathers and father figures cousins uncles
  9. 00:00:37.820 – 00:00:38.420 brothers
  10. 00:00:38.420 – 00:00:40.340 all that to come together
  11. 00:00:41.380 – 00:00:44.280 the unity and
  12. 00:00:44.280 – 00:00:49.200 It's good to meet some of the school staff teachers that you may not
  13. 00:00:49.200 – 00:00:51.460 You know even the counselors
  14. 00:00:51.460 – 00:00:57.160 You know some of the staff you may not meet on the regular. So it was good all around
  15. 00:00:59.390 – 00:01:03.930 And now that I'm down with the father walking child to school
  16. 00:01:05.150 – 00:01:07.690 and now my daughter wanted me to
  17. 00:01:09.990 – 00:01:13.830 Walk all the way to class with of course, you know, they're real strict with
  18. 00:01:15.170 – 00:01:22.730 You know allowing people in this school. So and that's good for the safety and I appreciate that aspect as well
  19. 00:01:23.530 – 00:01:30.910 I don't this episode probably has nothing to do with business, but just a reflection and now
  20. 00:01:30.910 – 00:01:34.220 that it's over the real work starts and
  21. 00:01:35.870 – 00:01:40.160 You know, sometimes you have to adjust your schedule for
  22. 00:01:40.910 – 00:01:44.170 Important things to me. This is important. So
  23. 00:01:44.170 – 00:01:49.170 You know things don't always go your way and business and life
  24. 00:01:49.170 – 00:01:50.530 so
  25. 00:01:50.530 – 00:01:56.550 Learning to navigate knowing how to navigate is always good be like a chameleon
  26. 00:01:56.910 – 00:02:03.070 adapt to their environment the changes in their environment just the changes
  27. 00:02:03.070 – 00:02:07.010 around them they able to change and adapt and
  28. 00:02:08.310 – 00:02:09.070 I
  29. 00:02:09.070 – 00:02:14.090 Want you to think about that take that on I know going in different places
  30. 00:02:15.230 – 00:02:16.750 different industries
  31. 00:02:16.750 – 00:02:20.510 sometimes you have to be a chameleon and
  32. 00:02:20.530 – 00:02:22.970 you know, I
  33. 00:02:22.970 – 00:02:27.610 You know coin myself going to different industry since the name of this podcast
  34. 00:02:28.250 – 00:02:36.770 alienize photos industry talk as I you know that one talk with different industry leaders and
  35. 00:02:37.710 – 00:02:40.390 I was good to you know
  36. 00:02:40.390 – 00:02:48.210 Have that chameleon mindset being able to adapt and reflect and that's how we all grow, you know
  37. 00:02:48.210 – 00:02:55.750 Maybe somebody's doing something in real estate that could apply to my you know visual media brand
  38. 00:02:55.750 – 00:03:02.110 You know in band photography and video production and podcast production
  39. 00:03:04.090 – 00:03:07.490 Maybe it's a gas electric company
  40. 00:03:07.490 – 00:03:12.450 That they build a certain way or maybe huh? I should build a certain way
  41. 00:03:12.950 – 00:03:15.590 It good the way somebody markets, you know
  42. 00:03:15.930 – 00:03:17.770 these race car drivers
  43. 00:03:18.210 – 00:03:22.710 You know with the sponsors, huh? Maybe I could get sponsors like that. I never thought about this sponsor
  44. 00:03:22.710 – 00:03:23.990 Oh, they do this do that
  45. 00:03:24.830 – 00:03:27.970 You could learn from different industries and that was the whole
  46. 00:03:28.650 – 00:03:31.750 premise of this podcast and also how
  47. 00:03:32.510 – 00:03:35.450 Media affects your industry directly
  48. 00:03:36.770 – 00:03:41.830 So again real estate how has media shaped the outcome of your
  49. 00:03:42.830 – 00:03:48.310 Your industry, you know now we get high quality visuals
  50. 00:03:48.310 – 00:03:55.390 You know photography and video now people want to buy it because we do a great job with it
  51. 00:03:55.990 – 00:03:58.290 You know now celebrities
  52. 00:03:59.350 – 00:04:06.150 Get more attention because of Instagram and these shorts and reels
  53. 00:04:06.970 – 00:04:07.890 so
  54. 00:04:08.530 – 00:04:13.790 How has media affect your industry in the last ten years
  55. 00:04:13.790 – 00:04:18.769 You know with the advancements of AI and technology in general
  56. 00:04:19.529 – 00:04:22.790 It's getting wild. So again
  57. 00:04:23.410 – 00:04:30.350 How is this affecting your industry? There's always changes and it's always room to adapt
  58. 00:04:30.970 – 00:04:33.050 It's great to adapt
  59. 00:04:33.050 – 00:04:34.530 It's needed
  60. 00:04:35.350 – 00:04:40.250 But yeah, that's a little short message I wanted to leave you all with today I
  61. 00:04:41.010 – 00:04:47.890 Am your host photographer Jackson Steve Jackson of alien eyes photos media
  62. 00:04:47.890 – 00:04:52.530 Bringing you alien eyes photos industry talk the industry
  63. 00:04:54.070 – 00:04:56.410 Introspective business podcast
  64. 00:04:57.170 – 00:05:00.330 Here in Cleveland, Ohio, but I'm global baby
  65. 00:05:01.030 – 00:05:03.710 Okay national but soon to be global
  66. 00:05:05.230 – 00:05:11.790 Yes, I am an event photographer wedding photographer headshot photographer
  67. 00:05:12.410 – 00:05:19.310 But people know me for the man with the events do a lot of podcast production video production
  68. 00:05:19.310 – 00:05:22.930 a lot of things with the camera, but you know
  69. 00:05:22.930 – 00:05:28.740 Events is my focus. I'm also a business coach. I like the coach
  70. 00:05:29.330 – 00:05:34.010 Creatives that are starting their entrepreneur journey
  71. 00:05:34.530 – 00:05:40.010 And they just need a little guidance and push a whole ideation sessions
  72. 00:05:40.010 – 00:05:44.010 Let's bounce ideas build your strategy to build your brand
  73. 00:05:44.530 – 00:05:47.590 Again, I am photographer Jackson
  74. 00:05:47.590 – 00:05:49.990 also known as alien
  75. 00:05:50.570 – 00:05:56.150 Yes, this has been a great one impactful. Don't forget to be like a chameleon
  76. 00:05:57.070 – 00:05:58.850 All right, y'all my peace

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53. Justine Johnson Of Just Designs

Season 2 · Episode 4

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.360 – 00:00:04.400 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome
  2. 00:00:04.400 – 00:00:07.720 to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:08.320 – 00:00:11.300 I'm here with a special guest to my right.
  4. 00:00:11.320 – 00:00:13.240 I know y'all can't see or see us.
  5. 00:00:13.660 – 00:00:14.880 This is straight audio.
  6. 00:00:15.600 – 00:00:18.660 But to my right, I have Miss Justine,
  7. 00:00:18.860 – 00:00:22.560 an excellent interior designer with Just Designs.
  8. 00:00:22.840 – 00:00:23.680 How are you doing today?
  9. 00:00:23.960 – 00:00:25.240 I'm good, how are you?
  10. 00:00:25.500 – 00:00:27.220 I don't know, I can't complain.
  11. 00:00:27.300 – 00:00:28.000 We got started.
  12. 00:00:28.100 – 00:00:30.080 We're both introverts, but we're making it happen.
  13. 00:00:30.870 – 00:00:31.240 Yes.
  14. 00:00:31.700 – 00:00:33.960 So would you like to tell the audience about yourself?
  15. 00:00:34.940 – 00:00:36.720 So I am Justine Johnson.
  16. 00:00:36.900 – 00:00:40.440 I'm the owner and lead designer of Just Designs.
  17. 00:00:40.520 – 00:00:42.820 I'm an interior designer and a resin artist.
  18. 00:00:43.260 – 00:00:46.200 So I started my business back in 2020.
  19. 00:00:46.720 – 00:00:51.040 I began offering initially resin decor for people spaces.
  20. 00:00:51.040 – 00:00:53.880 So the custom resin products, tables,
  21. 00:00:54.660 – 00:00:58.280 offering to do floors, refurbishing furniture,
  22. 00:00:58.280 – 00:01:00.820 just to offer decor pieces for people spaces.
  23. 00:01:01.120 – 00:01:04.239 And now I am offering interior design services,
  24. 00:01:04.420 – 00:01:05.720 all-encompassing services
  25. 00:01:05.720 – 00:01:08.400 for residential and commercial work.
  26. 00:01:08.900 – 00:01:09.980 Wow, that's amazing.
  27. 00:01:10.220 – 00:01:10.600 Dang.
  28. 00:01:10.720 – 00:01:11.820 We said 2020?
  29. 00:01:12.180 – 00:01:12.680 2020.
  30. 00:01:13.240 – 00:01:17.660 So how was it in 2020 coming up in the game,
  31. 00:01:17.660 – 00:01:21.160 I like to call it, versus now, five years later?
  32. 00:01:24.700 – 00:01:27.520 So elaborate, I'm sorry, before I answer.
  33. 00:01:27.520 – 00:01:30.740 It could be different trends that people utilize
  34. 00:01:30.740 – 00:01:37.740 or different designs people had in the early 2000s
  35. 00:01:37.740 – 00:01:39.740 or 2020 versus now,
  36. 00:01:39.760 – 00:01:42.300 which is more modern or technology-based.
  37. 00:01:42.900 – 00:01:43.100 Yes.
  38. 00:01:44.240 – 00:01:46.740 So actually, I guess from my business personally,
  39. 00:01:47.060 – 00:01:50.340 in 2020, I did a lot more resin work
  40. 00:01:50.340 – 00:01:52.300 than I did interior design work.
  41. 00:01:52.660 – 00:01:56.400 It took me a little while actually
  42. 00:01:56.400 – 00:01:59.100 to start getting clients that weren't family and friends.
  43. 00:01:59.520 – 00:02:02.480 I didn't really have a huge portfolio
  44. 00:02:02.480 – 00:02:04.460 of work from my business,
  45. 00:02:04.540 – 00:02:05.760 which is what people wanna see
  46. 00:02:05.760 – 00:02:07.240 before they wanna come trust you
  47. 00:02:07.240 – 00:02:09.440 to do work in their space.
  48. 00:02:10.639 – 00:02:13.720 So initially it was a lot of getting my name out there,
  49. 00:02:14.080 – 00:02:17.660 doing pop-up shops, selling coasters, trays,
  50. 00:02:17.920 – 00:02:20.440 little tables, things of that nature,
  51. 00:02:21.060 – 00:02:22.300 meeting people, networking.
  52. 00:02:22.620 – 00:02:25.400 Whereas now I have more clients
  53. 00:02:25.400 – 00:02:28.900 and am doing more of the opposite,
  54. 00:02:28.900 – 00:02:31.460 which is where I wanted to go with my business.
  55. 00:02:31.740 – 00:02:34.560 I even offered resin dominoes at one point,
  56. 00:02:35.060 – 00:02:38.640 and I felt like I became the domino girl
  57. 00:02:38.640 – 00:02:39.580 for a little bit.
  58. 00:02:39.920 – 00:02:42.720 And while that was nice, I was like, wait, no,
  59. 00:02:42.780 – 00:02:45.500 that's not what I was trying to start this to do.
  60. 00:02:46.180 – 00:02:49.520 I was trying to be doing interior design services,
  61. 00:02:49.520 – 00:02:52.100 so I have gotten away from the domino girl thing.
  62. 00:02:52.240 – 00:02:53.440 You bring it back at some point.
  63. 00:02:53.440 – 00:02:56.200 I would definitely still make dominoes for people.
  64. 00:02:56.240 – 00:02:57.160 I'm not against it.
  65. 00:02:57.180 – 00:02:59.720 It's just that at one point that was a lot of my business,
  66. 00:02:59.920 – 00:03:02.100 which was great, and I'm not mad about it.
  67. 00:03:02.100 – 00:03:03.080 I'm not complaining.
  68. 00:03:03.900 – 00:03:06.840 It sustained me for a while, and I loved that,
  69. 00:03:06.840 – 00:03:08.880 but I definitely wanted to make sure
  70. 00:03:08.880 – 00:03:11.920 that the focus and the heart of what I was doing
  71. 00:03:11.920 – 00:03:13.460 was in interior design.
  72. 00:03:13.820 – 00:03:16.300 The focus and the heart, wow.
  73. 00:03:16.980 – 00:03:20.460 So how important is marketing yourself
  74. 00:03:20.460 – 00:03:23.040 and branding yourself as an artist,
  75. 00:03:23.040 – 00:03:24.180 or as an entrepreneur?
  76. 00:03:25.420 – 00:03:26.460 Very important.
  77. 00:03:27.500 – 00:03:29.940 Because that was so much of what I did
  78. 00:03:29.940 – 00:03:32.880 and so much of what I was offering at the time,
  79. 00:03:33.500 – 00:03:34.760 that's what people saw.
  80. 00:03:35.480 – 00:03:38.720 And so a lot of what I had to do was shift
  81. 00:03:39.500 – 00:03:41.160 the focus of what I was posting,
  82. 00:03:41.220 – 00:03:42.940 how I was marketing myself,
  83. 00:03:43.280 – 00:03:45.220 the spaces that I entered,
  84. 00:03:45.680 – 00:03:48.200 the people that I networked with.
  85. 00:03:48.440 – 00:03:50.120 I'm grateful for everybody that I met
  86. 00:03:50.120 – 00:03:51.380 along the way, of course,
  87. 00:03:51.380 – 00:03:53.120 but just trying to enter more,
  88. 00:03:53.460 – 00:03:55.400 enter into spaces that aligned more
  89. 00:03:55.400 – 00:03:58.060 with what it was that I wanted to do.
  90. 00:03:58.760 – 00:04:00.140 So marketing is very important.
  91. 00:04:00.260 – 00:04:02.520 What you show people is what they're gonna know you for.
  92. 00:04:03.400 – 00:04:05.840 That is, that's very true, you know.
  93. 00:04:07.320 – 00:04:09.780 Especially in this world of social media now,
  94. 00:04:10.080 – 00:04:13.040 people, they go to your Instagram or, you know,
  95. 00:04:13.300 – 00:04:14.940 Facebook or whatever versus your website.
  96. 00:04:17.459 – 00:04:21.260 So this is, I could speak on it a lot,
  97. 00:04:21.260 – 00:04:24.320 but it's a double-edged sword, you know.
  98. 00:04:24.420 – 00:04:25.300 It is.
  99. 00:04:25.340 – 00:04:27.660 You could get caught up in it and start scrolling
  100. 00:04:27.660 – 00:04:29.180 and be like, I'll post what we posting.
  101. 00:04:29.840 – 00:04:31.500 So how do you balance that?
  102. 00:04:31.700 – 00:04:32.400 That's true.
  103. 00:04:32.920 – 00:04:34.420 That's a very good question, too.
  104. 00:04:34.420 – 00:04:35.740 How do I balance it?
  105. 00:04:36.480 – 00:04:40.960 I actually am going to try a new technique here recently,
  106. 00:04:41.520 – 00:04:42.720 or here soon.
  107. 00:04:43.040 – 00:04:45.080 My schedule is changing a little bit,
  108. 00:04:45.640 – 00:04:49.060 so whereas before I kind of would create content
  109. 00:04:49.060 – 00:04:50.280 more so on the fly,
  110. 00:04:50.280 – 00:04:53.040 I'm gonna try to do better with scheduling my content.
  111. 00:04:53.380 – 00:04:54.380 Okay, and like trying to be,
  112. 00:04:54.380 – 00:04:56.540 I know people that are a month ahead, you know,
  113. 00:04:56.540 – 00:04:57.460 on their content.
  114. 00:04:57.600 – 00:05:01.220 And so if I can at least get two posts a week,
  115. 00:05:01.220 – 00:05:03.140 you know, scheduled out for the month,
  116. 00:05:03.500 – 00:05:06.520 I wanna try to, you know, use that as my first goal
  117. 00:05:08.800 – 00:05:09.960 to stay steady.
  118. 00:05:10.040 – 00:05:11.500 It can be hard, you know,
  119. 00:05:11.500 – 00:05:14.460 to stay steady with posting and content
  120. 00:05:14.460 – 00:05:16.700 and remembering like, oh, I should be recording this.
  121. 00:05:16.780 – 00:05:18.540 Oh, I should be getting a picture of this
  122. 00:05:18.540 – 00:05:20.280 because you get so caught up in the moment.
  123. 00:05:20.420 – 00:05:22.480 Like, I'm really big on, you know,
  124. 00:05:22.860 – 00:05:24.380 genuine and organic connections
  125. 00:05:24.380 – 00:05:25.780 with people that I work with.
  126. 00:05:26.020 – 00:05:29.340 And sometimes you don't remember to take your camera out
  127. 00:05:29.340 – 00:05:32.240 to record or to get a picture or something.
  128. 00:05:33.220 – 00:05:35.360 There also could be a way we collab, you know,
  129. 00:05:35.380 – 00:05:36.800 so I'm in the media space.
  130. 00:05:37.060 – 00:05:38.280 That's my specialty,
  131. 00:05:38.860 – 00:05:40.580 and I can help with the social media.
  132. 00:05:41.020 – 00:05:43.160 I appreciate that, I'm gonna need you.
  133. 00:05:43.600 – 00:05:44.500 Oh, thank you, thank you.
  134. 00:05:44.560 – 00:05:45.520 We'll talk afterwards.
  135. 00:05:45.660 – 00:05:46.040 Yes.
  136. 00:05:46.860 – 00:05:49.580 But still being on the lines of all the market
  137. 00:05:49.580 – 00:05:51.740 and how do you stay updated with the latest trends?
  138. 00:05:52.480 – 00:05:53.740 That's a good question too.
  139. 00:05:54.740 – 00:05:56.920 I subscribe to Architectural Digest.
  140. 00:05:57.960 – 00:06:00.340 I've been subscribed to the magazine
  141. 00:06:01.260 – 00:06:03.760 on and off since I was in college,
  142. 00:06:05.240 – 00:06:09.620 reading that, following different pages on social media.
  143. 00:06:09.880 – 00:06:12.840 So I'm really particular about my algorithms
  144. 00:06:12.840 – 00:06:14.300 on my social media accounts.
  145. 00:06:14.760 – 00:06:15.780 All the time, Khadijree,
  146. 00:06:15.900 – 00:06:18.320 because I think, oh, that is important, wow.
  147. 00:06:18.360 – 00:06:20.680 It is so important what you interact with.
  148. 00:06:20.820 – 00:06:22.440 Really, that's what your feed
  149. 00:06:22.440 – 00:06:24.440 and your for you will show you more of.
  150. 00:06:24.920 – 00:06:28.000 So, you know, of course I have like my personal pages
  151. 00:06:28.000 – 00:06:30.500 and then I have my business page.
  152. 00:06:30.840 – 00:06:33.640 My business explorer page looks totally different
  153. 00:06:33.640 – 00:06:34.680 from my personal page.
  154. 00:06:34.760 – 00:06:36.820 My personal page has like a bunch of food
  155. 00:06:36.820 – 00:06:38.400 because I love to cook.
  156. 00:06:38.680 – 00:06:39.360 What you like to cook?
  157. 00:06:40.140 – 00:06:41.580 Anything, I just cook.
  158. 00:06:42.060 – 00:06:43.720 Like, if I wanna make it, I gonna make it.
  159. 00:06:43.720 – 00:06:45.240 I don't mean to sound like that,
  160. 00:06:45.280 – 00:06:46.380 but like that's really me.
  161. 00:06:46.620 – 00:06:48.400 Cause I like to cook too.
  162. 00:06:48.660 – 00:06:50.520 I mean, I'm not so much on the look,
  163. 00:06:50.820 – 00:06:53.300 but I'm more so on the taste and texture.
  164. 00:06:53.760 – 00:06:56.000 So I know you as an interior designer,
  165. 00:06:56.000 – 00:07:00.340 designer artist, are you more so on the look
  166. 00:07:00.340 – 00:07:02.640 when you cook or you focus on the taste?
  167. 00:07:03.240 – 00:07:04.120 All of the above.
  168. 00:07:04.280 – 00:07:06.520 I think that's one of the nice things
  169. 00:07:06.520 – 00:07:09.840 about interior design is it blends a lot of
  170. 00:07:11.600 – 00:07:13.580 aspects of art, I guess I can say,
  171. 00:07:13.580 – 00:07:16.580 because you can't leave out look.
  172. 00:07:16.800 – 00:07:17.920 You can't leave out color.
  173. 00:07:18.020 – 00:07:19.260 You can't leave out texture.
  174. 00:07:19.460 – 00:07:22.040 Like all of that plays into the space.
  175. 00:07:22.940 – 00:07:25.780 You know, do you want to have varying textures?
  176. 00:07:27.660 – 00:07:29.240 Again, colors, like my plate,
  177. 00:07:29.240 – 00:07:31.700 I try to make it look colorful, you know?
  178. 00:07:31.840 – 00:07:35.160 So like, I try not to have two things
  179. 00:07:35.160 – 00:07:36.700 that are the same color on the plate.
  180. 00:07:36.700 – 00:07:39.720 You know, try to like make it have variety a little bit
  181. 00:07:39.720 – 00:07:41.380 and you can do the same thing in spaces.
  182. 00:07:41.380 – 00:07:45.500 So it kind of, and I know other artists that are,
  183. 00:07:45.500 – 00:07:46.900 you know, and creators that are out there listening
  184. 00:07:46.900 – 00:07:49.780 and I'm sure you can too, like art is everywhere.
  185. 00:07:50.000 – 00:07:51.960 So it's all in just how you look at things.
  186. 00:07:52.160 – 00:07:53.640 Like I used to want to be a hairstylist
  187. 00:07:53.640 – 00:07:54.560 when I was a kid.
  188. 00:07:55.000 – 00:07:57.820 I looked at, and I still do look at hair as art.
  189. 00:07:58.120 – 00:08:00.520 And my mom would just look at me like I was so crazy.
  190. 00:08:00.560 – 00:08:01.440 She's in medicine.
  191. 00:08:01.680 – 00:08:02.960 And I'd be like, you know, like,
  192. 00:08:03.000 – 00:08:04.440 oh, do you like this hairstyle I did
  193. 00:08:04.440 – 00:08:05.560 on my breast dog head?
  194. 00:08:05.560 – 00:08:07.100 And she'd be like, oh, okay.
  195. 00:08:08.080 – 00:08:09.220 I'm like, it's art.
  196. 00:08:09.240 – 00:08:10.860 And she's like, okay, you think so?
  197. 00:08:10.860 – 00:08:14.000 But like it was to me, like, and you know,
  198. 00:08:14.020 – 00:08:16.460 even from a young age, I was able to see art
  199. 00:08:16.460 – 00:08:17.500 in a lot of different ways.
  200. 00:08:17.500 – 00:08:19.440 So even in food, like, you know,
  201. 00:08:20.440 – 00:08:22.580 I feel like they mirror each other a little bit.
  202. 00:08:22.720 – 00:08:25.140 That brings up a good thought and question.
  203. 00:08:25.420 – 00:08:27.440 Have you ever thought about blending into maybe,
  204. 00:08:28.420 – 00:08:31.100 you know, a new real estate agent,
  205. 00:08:31.280 – 00:08:34.320 they just got a house and they hired you
  206. 00:08:34.320 – 00:08:35.679 to do their interior design
  207. 00:08:35.679 – 00:08:40.179 and they have a house woman or open house.
  208. 00:08:40.860 – 00:08:43.960 And, you know, you make the palette cooking
  209. 00:08:43.960 – 00:08:46.000 almost to match the interior design.
  210. 00:08:46.680 – 00:08:47.560 Have you thought about something like that?
  211. 00:08:47.640 – 00:08:51.560 I haven't, but I have seen,
  212. 00:08:52.820 – 00:08:56.960 like on Facebook, people do kind of,
  213. 00:08:56.980 – 00:08:59.320 like there are culinary artists
  214. 00:08:59.320 – 00:09:03.340 that pull from architecture and design for their dishes.
  215. 00:09:03.360 – 00:09:05.940 And they even create 3D,
  216. 00:09:06.160 – 00:09:10.340 when I was doing work in Boston, 23 and 24,
  217. 00:09:10.340 – 00:09:12.700 and when I was out there, I think in 23,
  218. 00:09:12.800 – 00:09:17.700 there was a restaurant that created 3D printed pastries.
  219. 00:09:18.180 – 00:09:18.580 Pastries?
  220. 00:09:18.720 – 00:09:19.100 Yeah.
  221. 00:09:21.620 – 00:09:22.200 That you can eat?
  222. 00:09:22.260 – 00:09:23.160 That you can eat.
  223. 00:09:23.800 – 00:09:25.360 I don't know exactly how,
  224. 00:09:25.400 – 00:09:26.660 but they said they were 3D printed.
  225. 00:09:26.760 – 00:09:28.020 I know how to 3D print.
  226. 00:09:28.180 – 00:09:29.300 I learned how to do that in school.
  227. 00:09:29.380 – 00:09:30.920 You know, I have a little mini 3D printer,
  228. 00:09:31.320 – 00:09:33.320 but I don't know how they work,
  229. 00:09:33.520 – 00:09:36.000 but they would create like 3D printed pastries.
  230. 00:09:36.240 – 00:09:37.860 And then I've seen culinary chefs
  231. 00:09:37.860 – 00:09:39.740 like just create like these forms
  232. 00:09:39.740 – 00:09:43.960 that almost look like, what did they used to call them?
  233. 00:09:43.980 – 00:09:45.580 Like the prototypes or the models
  234. 00:09:45.580 – 00:09:47.340 that we used to create in school
  235. 00:09:47.340 – 00:09:50.180 of just like balsa wood or balsa,
  236. 00:09:50.240 – 00:09:51.260 is it balsa or balsa?
  237. 00:09:51.360 – 00:09:51.980 I can't remember.
  238. 00:09:52.280 – 00:09:52.820 It's okay.
  239. 00:09:53.120 – 00:09:57.240 But just of like wood and like card stock paper.
  240. 00:09:57.300 – 00:10:00.380 Like we would just create like these free form
  241. 00:10:01.880 – 00:10:04.020 skeletal models that were like, you know,
  242. 00:10:04.020 – 00:10:06.800 to get inspiration or kind of,
  243. 00:10:06.800 – 00:10:09.420 could be molded into a building, essentially.
  244. 00:10:09.420 – 00:10:11.880 And so they create like these dishes
  245. 00:10:11.880 – 00:10:13.520 that almost look like the models
  246. 00:10:13.520 – 00:10:14.900 that we created in school.
  247. 00:10:15.500 – 00:10:17.520 So people do do that to your point,
  248. 00:10:17.520 – 00:10:19.200 but I've never thought about it
  249. 00:10:19.200 – 00:10:21.180 in the sense that you just brought it up,
  250. 00:10:21.360 – 00:10:22.760 like, you know, in an open house
  251. 00:10:22.760 – 00:10:25.240 and drawing inspiration from the space.
  252. 00:10:25.240 – 00:10:26.100 Cause I'll beat her.
  253. 00:10:26.760 – 00:10:28.120 That's a thought.
  254. 00:10:29.400 – 00:10:30.980 Like you really, you got my wheels turning there.
  255. 00:10:31.040 – 00:10:33.480 Cause like I said, I do love to cook, so.
  256. 00:10:33.620 – 00:10:34.840 Yeah, blend it together.
  257. 00:10:35.060 – 00:10:37.580 Yeah, it's like cooking is peaceful to me.
  258. 00:10:37.580 – 00:10:40.100 Hmm, cooking is peaceful.
  259. 00:10:41.700 – 00:10:43.360 Cooking is, I ain't gonna say chaotic.
  260. 00:10:43.860 – 00:10:47.120 It's more creative and like I said, it is peaceful.
  261. 00:10:47.260 – 00:10:49.280 Now I think about it, cause I'm honestly in my zone.
  262. 00:10:49.300 – 00:10:51.440 I could spend eight hours on a dish.
  263. 00:10:51.460 – 00:10:53.340 I know it don't take that long sometimes, but.
  264. 00:10:53.340 – 00:10:54.140 Some dishes do.
  265. 00:10:54.280 – 00:10:55.640 I take my time, you know.
  266. 00:10:56.220 – 00:10:57.760 Like I'll sit there in the kitchen
  267. 00:10:57.760 – 00:11:00.860 with that 10,000 bag of shrimp
  268. 00:11:00.860 – 00:11:02.540 and literally cut them little shrimp
  269. 00:11:02.540 – 00:11:04.120 and make sure it's clean to the.
  270. 00:11:04.320 – 00:11:05.140 Well you got to,
  271. 00:11:05.240 – 00:11:06.860 cause it be veins all up in the shrimp,
  272. 00:11:06.860 – 00:11:09.460 even if it say de-veined, you got to look.
  273. 00:11:10.100 – 00:11:12.940 Cause yeah, cooking can be meditative.
  274. 00:11:14.040 – 00:11:16.840 It can be like when I would be overwhelmed in school
  275. 00:11:16.840 – 00:11:19.080 with projects and deadlines,
  276. 00:11:19.520 – 00:11:21.180 sometimes I would just stop and cook
  277. 00:11:21.180 – 00:11:24.860 because it took my mind off of work.
  278. 00:11:25.780 – 00:11:27.580 And I was able to just kind of like
  279. 00:11:27.580 – 00:11:29.860 do something for myself for a couple of hours.
  280. 00:11:30.160 – 00:11:32.080 Work for you or work for someone else?
  281. 00:11:32.240 – 00:11:33.660 Like when I was in school, both.
  282. 00:11:33.960 – 00:11:34.960 So like when I was in school,
  283. 00:11:34.960 – 00:11:37.620 like school work and work,
  284. 00:11:37.660 – 00:11:39.000 cause I was working in school too.
  285. 00:11:39.040 – 00:11:42.840 But like now I work for myself and I work elsewhere.
  286. 00:11:43.180 – 00:11:43.580 Okay.
  287. 00:11:43.720 – 00:11:44.460 So both.
  288. 00:11:45.320 – 00:11:47.060 So more so like an outlet
  289. 00:11:47.060 – 00:11:49.020 to where you could kind of shut it off.
  290. 00:11:49.200 – 00:11:50.660 But it's still creative.
  291. 00:11:50.780 – 00:11:51.880 And it's something that, you know,
  292. 00:11:51.880 – 00:11:54.600 like I'm doing it for me and whoever it is that I'm,
  293. 00:11:54.600 – 00:11:56.000 cause I love to cook for people too.
  294. 00:11:56.020 – 00:11:57.860 Like that's like one of my ways
  295. 00:11:57.860 – 00:11:59.140 to show that I care about people.
  296. 00:11:59.160 – 00:12:00.260 Like I will cook for you.
  297. 00:12:00.400 – 00:12:02.020 And the first time I cook for people,
  298. 00:12:02.020 – 00:12:03.600 I'm always nervous cause it's like,
  299. 00:12:03.600 – 00:12:05.020 ooh, I hope they like my food.
  300. 00:12:06.040 – 00:12:08.620 So like, you know, it's a way to,
  301. 00:12:08.920 – 00:12:11.020 like I'm getting something out of it,
  302. 00:12:11.020 – 00:12:13.080 whether I'm doing it for somebody else or like,
  303. 00:12:13.080 – 00:12:14.900 you know, directly for myself or both.
  304. 00:12:15.320 – 00:12:17.240 So it's also like a feel good moment.
  305. 00:12:17.940 – 00:12:18.180 Yeah.
  306. 00:12:18.840 – 00:12:21.500 I'm still tripping about this pastries, like.
  307. 00:12:21.860 – 00:12:23.280 Yeah, I have to show you pictures.
  308. 00:12:24.440 – 00:12:26.060 What was the nutritional facts that you know?
  309. 00:12:26.160 – 00:12:28.340 No, I didn't get that deep,
  310. 00:12:28.640 – 00:12:31.600 but I just was like, okay, cool.
  311. 00:12:32.260 – 00:12:33.900 I didn't get that deep with it.
  312. 00:12:33.900 – 00:12:36.400 I don't even know if the ladies
  313. 00:12:36.400 – 00:12:37.960 that were working at the bakery,
  314. 00:12:37.960 – 00:12:40.240 I'm not even sure if they have all those answers,
  315. 00:12:40.240 – 00:12:43.060 you know, because there's probably somebody who,
  316. 00:12:44.520 – 00:12:46.680 and maybe they did, maybe they did,
  317. 00:12:46.860 – 00:12:48.360 but you know, there's probably somebody
  318. 00:12:48.360 – 00:12:50.340 that engineered it and you know,
  319. 00:12:50.620 – 00:12:51.960 got all the kinks and stuff out
  320. 00:12:51.960 – 00:12:54.240 and they just kind of, you know,
  321. 00:12:54.440 – 00:12:56.440 trained them on what maybe they felt like they should be.
  322. 00:12:56.540 – 00:12:58.440 So I don't even know if they knew all of it.
  323. 00:12:58.440 – 00:13:02.280 So technically, it's genetically modified, GMO.
  324. 00:13:02.940 – 00:13:04.880 I wouldn't say it was genetic.
  325. 00:13:05.220 – 00:13:06.680 I ain't trying to call it a model in there.
  326. 00:13:06.760 – 00:13:09.180 I mean, maybe if you look at it that way,
  327. 00:13:09.180 – 00:13:10.560 but it was just.
  328. 00:13:10.780 – 00:13:12.700 Cause if you do the same thing for like farming,
  329. 00:13:13.140 – 00:13:14.640 it would be genetically modified.
  330. 00:13:14.740 – 00:13:15.860 It would be modified, yeah.
  331. 00:13:16.920 – 00:13:19.240 I'm not really sure the science behind it.
  332. 00:13:19.240 – 00:13:19.620 Yeah.
  333. 00:13:19.760 – 00:13:22.080 And what made it 3D printed, I'm really not sure,
  334. 00:13:22.220 – 00:13:23.920 but that's how it was described.
  335. 00:13:24.740 – 00:13:25.800 Might have to go to Boston now.
  336. 00:13:25.960 – 00:13:27.500 Yeah, but it's a very cool city.
  337. 00:13:28.880 – 00:13:29.520 Okay.
  338. 00:13:31.420 – 00:13:33.100 So can you explain a little bit
  339. 00:13:33.100 – 00:13:35.100 about your style and process?
  340. 00:13:36.440 – 00:13:38.520 Hmm, like my personal design style?
  341. 00:13:38.860 – 00:13:40.920 Yes, just designs.
  342. 00:13:41.800 – 00:13:42.640 Just designs.
  343. 00:13:44.100 – 00:13:48.420 Actually, and I don't know if it'll sound crazy or not
  344. 00:13:48.420 – 00:13:51.020 just because I am like, you know, relatively young.
  345. 00:13:51.640 – 00:13:55.920 I appreciate traditional design
  346. 00:13:56.240 – 00:13:58.680 a lot more than modern design.
  347. 00:13:58.740 – 00:14:01.100 For the younger artists, what is a traditional design?
  348. 00:14:02.840 – 00:14:07.460 Ornamental design, gilded, like pieces,
  349. 00:14:08.060 – 00:14:09.500 things that are timeless,
  350. 00:14:09.980 – 00:14:12.680 things that you may see in your grandparents' house,
  351. 00:14:13.260 – 00:14:16.540 but like heirloom quality pieces that can be passed down.
  352. 00:14:16.900 – 00:14:20.560 So like the timelessness of it is what I appreciate.
  353. 00:14:22.680 – 00:14:25.460 And design goes hand in hand with art in which,
  354. 00:14:26.120 – 00:14:29.820 what was going on at the time in the world
  355. 00:14:29.820 – 00:14:34.200 is reflected in art and design also and architecture.
  356. 00:14:34.820 – 00:14:36.140 And so I've done a,
  357. 00:14:36.140 – 00:14:38.300 was in like history classes and stuff
  358. 00:14:38.300 – 00:14:40.060 and I'm kinda into history a little bit.
  359. 00:14:40.320 – 00:14:42.940 I'm not gonna say I'm a buff, but a little bit.
  360. 00:14:43.160 – 00:14:48.140 And so I appreciate the history behind certain things
  361. 00:14:48.980 – 00:14:50.860 like the art deco movement.
  362. 00:14:50.980 – 00:14:54.660 For instance, I believe, don't quote me if I'm wrong.
  363. 00:14:54.660 – 00:14:56.540 I'm sorry, y'all, but from what I remember,
  364. 00:14:56.980 – 00:15:01.820 it came about around like maybe after the Great Depression,
  365. 00:15:01.920 – 00:15:03.320 like after the 20s.
  366. 00:15:03.480 – 00:15:06.280 And you know, since people were so deprived
  367. 00:15:06.280 – 00:15:08.860 of so much during that time,
  368. 00:15:09.100 – 00:15:11.180 there was a lot of excess after that.
  369. 00:15:11.560 – 00:15:14.060 So, you know, it was around like that time
  370. 00:15:14.060 – 00:15:16.880 where people, lots of gold, lots of patterns,
  371. 00:15:17.060 – 00:15:19.280 lots of excess in design.
  372. 00:15:19.640 – 00:15:21.680 Like I like rooms to feel full.
  373. 00:15:21.680 – 00:15:25.400 I like spaces to feel warm and inviting.
  374. 00:15:26.120 – 00:15:29.520 A lot of modern design can feel that way,
  375. 00:15:29.520 – 00:15:34.040 but a lot of it is cold and down to the colors.
  376. 00:15:34.760 – 00:15:36.940 A lot of people want neutral.
  377. 00:15:37.040 – 00:15:38.720 They wanna play it safe.
  378. 00:15:39.960 – 00:15:42.800 And that's understandable, you know, but.
  379. 00:15:44.000 – 00:15:47.480 So just taking this small area that we're in,
  380. 00:15:47.520 – 00:15:50.000 this space, what are some things
  381. 00:15:50.000 – 00:15:51.360 that you're gonna be like, huh,
  382. 00:15:51.360 – 00:15:53.680 I'll just add this and make it stand out,
  383. 00:15:53.900 – 00:15:56.800 or I wanted to see it this color.
  384. 00:15:57.200 – 00:15:59.560 This is more so like an audio space,
  385. 00:15:59.700 – 00:16:01.280 more of a meeting room.
  386. 00:16:02.020 – 00:16:03.780 What are some things you would do to enhance it?
  387. 00:16:04.620 – 00:16:08.760 So actually, as far as sound boards and things go,
  388. 00:16:08.880 – 00:16:10.020 they have a lot of,
  389. 00:16:10.280 – 00:16:12.040 like you have a cool design on yours too,
  390. 00:16:12.120 – 00:16:12.900 they're hexagonal,
  391. 00:16:12.900 – 00:16:16.320 but there are a lot of different designs and patterns
  392. 00:16:16.320 – 00:16:18.340 that you can get on soundproofing boards
  393. 00:16:18.340 – 00:16:19.700 and a lot of different colors.
  394. 00:16:20.060 – 00:16:21.800 So I would like bring some of that in,
  395. 00:16:21.800 – 00:16:24.740 but I would probably pull the colors from your branding
  396. 00:16:25.240 – 00:16:27.360 because since it is a business, you know,
  397. 00:16:27.360 – 00:16:30.080 you wanna make sure that it's reflecting.
  398. 00:16:30.920 – 00:16:33.620 Well, for this black and yellow, bubble bee.
  399. 00:16:34.200 – 00:16:35.420 And then maybe pull in,
  400. 00:16:35.480 – 00:16:36.820 since it's just black and yellow,
  401. 00:16:36.900 – 00:16:41.360 maybe pull in like another accompanying color,
  402. 00:16:41.940 – 00:16:43.960 probably maybe more of a little bit of a neutral color
  403. 00:16:43.960 – 00:16:45.040 to like throw in there,
  404. 00:16:45.040 – 00:16:48.120 depending on what shade of yellow we were working with.
  405. 00:16:49.280 – 00:16:51.780 So yeah, definitely start there.
  406. 00:16:51.840 – 00:16:53.840 I love rugs and spaces.
  407. 00:16:53.980 – 00:16:57.300 I think they make them look very cozy and feel cozy.
  408. 00:16:57.760 – 00:16:59.660 I love that you have a sofa in here.
  409. 00:16:59.860 – 00:17:01.900 That's very inviting as well.
  410. 00:17:03.060 – 00:17:04.060 If I could,
  411. 00:17:04.119 – 00:17:06.319 I would get like some really cool lights in here
  412. 00:17:06.319 – 00:17:08.119 to help like with mood lighting.
  413. 00:17:08.619 – 00:17:09.920 Also, depending on like, you know,
  414. 00:17:09.920 – 00:17:12.440 who you were speaking with and what the topic was about,
  415. 00:17:12.560 – 00:17:13.680 maybe you would need,
  416. 00:17:14.280 – 00:17:15.140 I don't know, you know,
  417. 00:17:15.280 – 00:17:17.880 different light brings about different moods.
  418. 00:17:18.180 – 00:17:20.160 Yeah, that's actually one of our ideas for this,
  419. 00:17:20.560 – 00:17:22.560 bringing RGB lights, what we have.
  420. 00:17:23.619 – 00:17:24.980 You know, for this, it's straight audio,
  421. 00:17:25.000 – 00:17:26.079 so I didn't do it today.
  422. 00:17:26.220 – 00:17:26.619 Yeah.
  423. 00:17:27.420 – 00:17:29.200 Yeah, I appreciate that insight.
  424. 00:17:30.280 – 00:17:31.680 That's good, and now I've got something
  425. 00:17:31.680 – 00:17:32.680 to bring to the table.
  426. 00:17:34.640 – 00:17:37.680 Maybe even shelving, like wall shelving,
  427. 00:17:37.920 – 00:17:41.460 if you needed to like store certain things
  428. 00:17:41.460 – 00:17:42.660 and you kind of want them out the way,
  429. 00:17:42.660 – 00:17:44.500 but you didn't want it to take up floor space.
  430. 00:17:45.960 – 00:17:48.840 Okay, I'm taking mental notes.
  431. 00:17:49.620 – 00:17:52.020 Listen back to this, like, wow,
  432. 00:17:52.440 – 00:17:53.720 definitely give you your credit.
  433. 00:17:54.400 – 00:17:55.700 Because I'm looking at this,
  434. 00:17:56.880 – 00:17:58.640 I don't want to say what percentage is done,
  435. 00:17:59.140 – 00:17:59.860 but you know.
  436. 00:17:59.900 – 00:18:01.020 Yeah, but you didn't hear.
  437. 00:18:01.040 – 00:18:01.980 It's a work in progress.
  438. 00:18:02.120 – 00:18:02.560 Yeah.
  439. 00:18:03.800 – 00:18:06.140 A lot of different hands touch this, so it's like.
  440. 00:18:06.320 – 00:18:08.360 It's a collaborative effort, yeah.
  441. 00:18:08.540 – 00:18:11.060 And we're not creative designers, as you can see.
  442. 00:18:11.980 – 00:18:14.820 You're creative in the way that you create.
  443. 00:18:16.260 – 00:18:17.300 I'll take that.
  444. 00:18:19.080 – 00:18:19.680 But tell the tale.
  445. 00:18:19.820 – 00:18:20.820 She loved our design.
  446. 00:18:22.200 – 00:18:22.720 Absolutely.
  447. 00:18:23.900 – 00:18:24.180 Yeah, yeah.
  448. 00:18:24.180 – 00:18:25.960 Shout out to my media partners,
  449. 00:18:26.220 – 00:18:27.460 Launch Arts Media,
  450. 00:18:27.940 – 00:18:30.180 whom we are recording in this space today,
  451. 00:18:30.180 – 00:18:32.500 and also my other media partners,
  452. 00:18:33.240 – 00:18:36.060 Pull Up Experience, the Pull Up Experience podcast.
  453. 00:18:37.020 – 00:18:37.860 We're big on YouTube,
  454. 00:18:37.920 – 00:18:40.540 so if you have not checked out an episode,
  455. 00:18:40.540 – 00:18:44.940 head over to YouTube and type in the Pull Up Experience.
  456. 00:18:46.400 – 00:18:47.240 Yes, yes.
  457. 00:18:48.520 – 00:18:52.660 So continuing on the art form,
  458. 00:18:53.620 – 00:18:56.400 is there a difference between representational art
  459. 00:18:56.400 – 00:18:57.580 and abstract art?
  460. 00:19:01.690 – 00:19:03.110 That's a good question.
  461. 00:19:03.490 – 00:19:04.470 Yeah, a lot of good questions.
  462. 00:19:06.090 – 00:19:09.590 I want to say yes,
  463. 00:19:09.710 – 00:19:11.770 but I also want to say no.
  464. 00:19:13.290 – 00:19:16.510 There is some representational art
  465. 00:19:18.510 – 00:19:24.870 that is, I don't want to say,
  466. 00:19:24.890 – 00:19:26.970 more direct in what it's saying.
  467. 00:19:27.250 – 00:19:28.070 You know what I mean?
  468. 00:19:28.310 – 00:19:31.550 Like you see it, and like any art,
  469. 00:19:31.570 – 00:19:32.970 you can ponder on it,
  470. 00:19:33.190 – 00:19:37.070 and uncover what it was that you interpret from it,
  471. 00:19:37.090 – 00:19:38.930 and what you think the artist wanted you to feel
  472. 00:19:38.930 – 00:19:39.970 or get from it.
  473. 00:19:40.450 – 00:19:45.090 But I do think that there is a level of abstract art
  474. 00:19:45.090 – 00:19:46.610 that does the same thing.
  475. 00:19:46.990 – 00:19:49.210 A lot of people look at abstract art,
  476. 00:19:50.770 – 00:19:52.910 and they're kind of like, what is this?
  477. 00:19:54.330 – 00:19:55.930 I'll give you a great example.
  478. 00:19:56.310 – 00:19:58.530 One of my favorite, favorite, favorite,
  479. 00:19:58.530 – 00:20:01.570 favorite artists ever, Jean-Michel Basquiat.
  480. 00:20:02.610 – 00:20:04.750 When you initially look at Basquiat's work,
  481. 00:20:04.870 – 00:20:07.930 I learned about Basquiat my freshman year in college.
  482. 00:20:08.550 – 00:20:10.390 And even, I'm gonna be honest with you,
  483. 00:20:10.430 – 00:20:12.070 even when I initially looked at it,
  484. 00:20:12.070 – 00:20:14.230 I wasn't all the way sure of what I was looking at.
  485. 00:20:14.230 – 00:20:17.970 But the more we learned about him and his work,
  486. 00:20:18.350 – 00:20:21.190 and I really appreciate how my professor described it,
  487. 00:20:21.190 – 00:20:25.050 is as his work, a lot of it was to capture the essence
  488. 00:20:25.050 – 00:20:29.010 and the soul of New York, and where it was at the time.
  489. 00:20:29.150 – 00:20:31.770 And that, I feel like that line alone
  490. 00:20:32.470 – 00:20:34.570 made his work make a lot more sense,
  491. 00:20:34.570 – 00:20:36.550 and it made me appreciate it a lot more.
  492. 00:20:36.950 – 00:20:39.450 So a lot of what he has done,
  493. 00:20:39.510 – 00:20:42.370 you could potentially classify as abstract art.
  494. 00:20:42.370 – 00:20:45.330 He worked very closely with Andy Warhol,
  495. 00:20:45.490 – 00:20:50.830 who also is known for more pop art or abstract art as well.
  496. 00:20:51.270 – 00:20:53.750 So you could classify it as that a little bit,
  497. 00:20:53.770 – 00:20:56.610 but it still has a meaning behind it.
  498. 00:20:57.270 – 00:20:59.670 Jackson Pollock is a very famous
  499. 00:20:59.670 – 00:21:01.310 abstract artist as well.
  500. 00:21:01.630 – 00:21:06.010 He's known for those splatter paint paintings.
  501. 00:21:07.790 – 00:21:09.370 Some people can look at that,
  502. 00:21:09.370 – 00:21:13.010 and they'll say, that's just a bunch of dots and dribbles.
  503. 00:21:13.150 – 00:21:14.230 My kid could have done that.
  504. 00:21:14.230 – 00:21:15.110 Not one of those.
  505. 00:21:15.130 – 00:21:17.790 I love abstract art, but they're bad, yeah.
  506. 00:21:18.010 – 00:21:20.850 Yeah, or you can look at it as
  507. 00:21:21.330 – 00:21:23.450 there was energy put behind it,
  508. 00:21:23.450 – 00:21:25.190 and that energy came from somewhere.
  509. 00:21:25.430 – 00:21:26.070 You know what I'm saying?
  510. 00:21:26.170 – 00:21:27.810 So if he was really angry,
  511. 00:21:28.350 – 00:21:31.430 and there was like, this is representing anger,
  512. 00:21:31.770 – 00:21:33.850 or this is representing heartbreak,
  513. 00:21:33.970 – 00:21:37.070 depending on how he wanted to manipulate the colors
  514. 00:21:37.070 – 00:21:38.770 in that moment, so.
  515. 00:21:39.330 – 00:21:40.530 Well, speaking on that,
  516. 00:21:40.650 – 00:21:43.350 is there like a certain type of client that you go for?
  517. 00:21:43.370 – 00:21:45.550 Like you said, the energy behind it.
  518. 00:21:45.630 – 00:21:47.450 So to be positive, to be negative.
  519. 00:21:47.890 – 00:21:50.530 Like, you know, me, I elevate positive stories,
  520. 00:21:50.590 – 00:21:51.970 and people get positive things.
  521. 00:21:52.010 – 00:21:54.150 So is there like a certain demographic
  522. 00:21:54.150 – 00:21:57.070 or target client that you reach or try to reach?
  523. 00:21:58.690 – 00:22:01.510 So right now I'm working more residentially,
  524. 00:22:02.690 – 00:22:04.790 and I did have one commercial project
  525. 00:22:04.790 – 00:22:06.750 I finished up earlier this year.
  526. 00:22:06.750 – 00:22:08.290 I worked with Bedford High School.
  527. 00:22:08.570 – 00:22:09.990 I did their senior lounge,
  528. 00:22:10.190 – 00:22:12.890 and I worked with the students there on like repainting,
  529. 00:22:12.910 – 00:22:15.550 and they got to give their input and things like that,
  530. 00:22:15.550 – 00:22:16.810 which I thought was really cool.
  531. 00:22:17.150 – 00:22:19.530 Where I want to go is more so into that,
  532. 00:22:19.650 – 00:22:20.870 and like historical preservation.
  533. 00:22:21.070 – 00:22:22.410 Cleveland's a very historical city.
  534. 00:22:22.510 – 00:22:23.390 I love my city.
  535. 00:22:23.750 – 00:22:27.090 I know everybody don't, but I love my city,
  536. 00:22:27.090 – 00:22:30.190 and I'm here for the development
  537. 00:22:30.190 – 00:22:31.750 and the revamping of the city,
  538. 00:22:31.790 – 00:22:33.250 because it's old, you know what I mean?
  539. 00:22:33.730 – 00:22:35.170 And everything is in a cycle.
  540. 00:22:35.170 – 00:22:37.430 So, you know, we've been in a cycle
  541. 00:22:37.430 – 00:22:40.530 where we kind of have a lot of outdated things going on.
  542. 00:22:40.630 – 00:22:42.110 It's time to kind of bring it back around.
  543. 00:22:42.350 – 00:22:45.050 And I want to help preserve the integrity
  544. 00:22:45.870 – 00:22:47.990 of the historicalness of the city,
  545. 00:22:48.350 – 00:22:51.230 but also, I hate to say modernize,
  546. 00:22:51.250 – 00:22:52.590 because I don't want to make it modern,
  547. 00:22:52.770 – 00:22:54.570 but like, you know, bring it a little up to speed
  548. 00:22:54.570 – 00:22:55.390 in some ways.
  549. 00:22:57.090 – 00:22:58.850 So that's really where I want to go.
  550. 00:22:58.890 – 00:23:00.550 I would love to work in schools,
  551. 00:23:00.710 – 00:23:03.730 working, you know, I did my senior thesis on the school
  552. 00:23:03.730 – 00:23:07.990 and how like the infrastructure of a school
  553. 00:23:07.990 – 00:23:09.790 directly affects children's learning.
  554. 00:23:09.950 – 00:23:10.830 I love kids.
  555. 00:23:10.890 – 00:23:12.010 Let's just put that out there.
  556. 00:23:12.670 – 00:23:14.390 How it affects their learning,
  557. 00:23:15.030 – 00:23:16.790 their efficiency in school,
  558. 00:23:16.990 – 00:23:19.830 and how they feel about themselves, first and foremost.
  559. 00:23:20.290 – 00:23:23.230 You know, if you're in an area where you don't,
  560. 00:23:23.310 – 00:23:24.530 it doesn't look good,
  561. 00:23:24.950 – 00:23:26.310 sometimes you don't really feel good
  562. 00:23:26.310 – 00:23:27.770 when you're in that space either.
  563. 00:23:28.190 – 00:23:32.650 And, you know, certain areas don't get as many updates
  564. 00:23:32.650 – 00:23:36.590 or, you know, the buildings aren't touched on as much
  565. 00:23:36.590 – 00:23:40.890 and maybe the kids don't think about it consciously.
  566. 00:23:41.410 – 00:23:43.070 But subconsciously, it's like, you know,
  567. 00:23:44.370 – 00:23:46.090 nobody comes to check us out
  568. 00:23:46.090 – 00:23:47.690 and like, you know, help us update things.
  569. 00:23:47.790 – 00:23:48.930 Like, do we really matter?
  570. 00:23:49.070 – 00:23:49.790 You know what I mean?
  571. 00:23:49.830 – 00:23:52.110 And so like, that's like a subconscious thing
  572. 00:23:52.110 – 00:23:55.010 that I know I only design,
  573. 00:23:55.090 – 00:23:58.790 but if I can use my expertise to help in that area
  574. 00:23:58.790 – 00:24:00.830 as much as possible, like I would love to.
  575. 00:24:00.830 – 00:24:03.590 But again, right now, mostly residential,
  576. 00:24:03.690 – 00:24:04.910 which I'm okay with that.
  577. 00:24:05.190 – 00:24:08.810 It's very personal experiences that you have with people.
  578. 00:24:09.650 – 00:24:11.770 I think I'm a people person a little bit.
  579. 00:24:11.930 – 00:24:14.550 So I'm open to different styles
  580. 00:24:14.550 – 00:24:16.270 and I actually was really excited.
  581. 00:24:16.330 – 00:24:18.150 I had a client last year who was going,
  582. 00:24:18.210 – 00:24:19.910 who wanted to do a very modern,
  583. 00:24:20.190 – 00:24:22.490 sleek, minimalistic bathroom,
  584. 00:24:22.490 – 00:24:24.530 but he decided to pause the project
  585. 00:24:24.530 – 00:24:25.850 for unforeseen reasons.
  586. 00:24:25.870 – 00:24:28.370 I'm not really sure why, but I understand.
  587. 00:24:28.730 – 00:24:30.210 But I was so excited
  588. 00:24:30.210 – 00:24:32.350 because that was gonna be something totally different
  589. 00:24:32.350 – 00:24:34.730 from a lot of the other work that I've done so far.
  590. 00:24:34.870 – 00:24:35.310 Challenging.
  591. 00:24:35.570 – 00:24:36.250 Yeah, challenging.
  592. 00:24:36.350 – 00:24:38.330 So I'm always up for a challenge
  593. 00:24:38.330 – 00:24:39.550 and to learn something, though.
  594. 00:24:41.030 – 00:24:42.770 That was a long answer, I'm sorry.
  595. 00:24:43.470 – 00:24:45.730 Got my head spinning because I took a,
  596. 00:24:45.870 – 00:24:47.830 you know, I'm usually driving when I go downtown,
  597. 00:24:48.090 – 00:24:50.170 but I see walking the streets downtown
  598. 00:24:51.130 – 00:24:53.650 and you see a lot of negative imagery,
  599. 00:24:53.770 – 00:24:55.490 even the statues there, you know,
  600. 00:24:55.590 – 00:24:58.130 full of war, grief, or sadness, or poorness,
  601. 00:24:58.910 – 00:25:00.190 which kind of reflects the city
  602. 00:25:00.190 – 00:25:01.030 and why they actually do it.
  603. 00:25:01.030 – 00:25:01.910 That's a good point.
  604. 00:25:01.990 – 00:25:03.370 I've never even thought about that.
  605. 00:25:03.390 – 00:25:04.210 That's a great point.
  606. 00:25:04.530 – 00:25:05.350 Oh, yeah.
  607. 00:25:05.810 – 00:25:06.990 Even the side of buildings.
  608. 00:25:08.450 – 00:25:09.650 I'm like, really?
  609. 00:25:10.330 – 00:25:12.970 So, just the energy that's downtown.
  610. 00:25:13.170 – 00:25:14.870 I always say, there's something about downtown
  611. 00:25:14.870 – 00:25:17.410 that's just different from the rest of the city.
  612. 00:25:17.610 – 00:25:18.530 You go down there, you feel...
  613. 00:25:18.530 – 00:25:18.770 Heavy.
  614. 00:25:19.990 – 00:25:20.450 Negative.
  615. 00:25:20.730 – 00:25:21.010 Yeah.
  616. 00:25:21.350 – 00:25:23.790 Like, a lot of negative things happen to me downtown.
  617. 00:25:23.890 – 00:25:26.110 Like, even, you know, getting my car in town.
  618. 00:25:26.490 – 00:25:27.250 Oh, yeah.
  619. 00:25:27.330 – 00:25:28.990 You know, it's a lot of things,
  620. 00:25:28.990 – 00:25:29.970 I could go down the list,
  621. 00:25:30.010 – 00:25:33.530 but I'm not gonna bring that to this part of the space.
  622. 00:25:35.050 – 00:25:37.410 So, yeah, we could definitely touch on that
  623. 00:25:37.410 – 00:25:40.990 and change the culture, the imagery around the city,
  624. 00:25:40.990 – 00:25:42.730 because that's big.
  625. 00:25:42.810 – 00:25:43.230 Yeah.
  626. 00:25:43.870 – 00:25:48.390 And you said your environment, you know,
  627. 00:25:48.810 – 00:25:53.650 having a positive, a colorful, inviting environment.
  628. 00:25:53.810 – 00:25:58.090 How big and important is that to one's development,
  629. 00:25:58.090 – 00:25:59.150 mainly children?
  630. 00:26:00.250 – 00:26:01.770 I think it's super important.
  631. 00:26:02.650 – 00:26:05.790 Like I said, it affects their learning.
  632. 00:26:06.330 – 00:26:10.130 You know, it's very hard to concentrate
  633. 00:26:10.130 – 00:26:12.690 or really care about, you know,
  634. 00:26:13.690 – 00:26:15.350 what's going on in the classroom
  635. 00:26:15.350 – 00:26:18.510 when the building around you is dark.
  636. 00:26:19.230 – 00:26:19.790 You know what I'm saying?
  637. 00:26:19.810 – 00:26:22.530 Like, it's cold, the lights are...
  638. 00:26:22.530 – 00:26:25.750 These, like, really whacked out fluorescent lights
  639. 00:26:25.750 – 00:26:27.330 that are, you know, it's not a lot of...
  640. 00:26:27.330 – 00:26:29.510 I'm really big on natural light.
  641. 00:26:29.690 – 00:26:32.510 Not a lot of natural light, sidebar,
  642. 00:26:32.730 – 00:26:36.350 but I don't know if you know, but like maybe you do.
  643. 00:26:36.410 – 00:26:37.690 So if I'm telling you something that you know,
  644. 00:26:37.690 – 00:26:38.390 I apologize.
  645. 00:26:38.610 – 00:26:41.090 But in Europe, actually,
  646. 00:26:42.410 – 00:26:45.530 any building that they design that people work in,
  647. 00:26:45.890 – 00:26:50.450 there is a law that you have to be in eye shot
  648. 00:26:50.450 – 00:26:52.870 from where you work of a window.
  649. 00:26:53.730 – 00:26:54.610 That's intentional.
  650. 00:26:55.150 – 00:26:57.930 Because if you're just in a cubicle all day,
  651. 00:26:58.070 – 00:26:59.310 like how people here are,
  652. 00:26:59.550 – 00:27:01.530 that you're so closed in, that's depressing.
  653. 00:27:02.630 – 00:27:03.410 That's so depressing.
  654. 00:27:03.510 – 00:27:06.130 Some classrooms, a lot of classrooms
  655. 00:27:06.130 – 00:27:08.410 and some schools don't have, you know, windows.
  656. 00:27:08.530 – 00:27:10.390 Like, that's not good.
  657. 00:27:11.590 – 00:27:15.370 You know, you hone in on the vitamin D
  658. 00:27:15.370 – 00:27:17.730 that you get from the sun to, you know,
  659. 00:27:18.030 – 00:27:19.410 increase your energy.
  660. 00:27:19.670 – 00:27:21.970 And we already only get like 70-something days
  661. 00:27:21.970 – 00:27:24.210 of pure sunlight in Cleveland as it is.
  662. 00:27:24.210 – 00:27:27.510 So we're already, you know, being worked against
  663. 00:27:27.510 – 00:27:30.090 by just geographical location.
  664. 00:27:30.090 – 00:27:32.810 But then you go ahead and you put young kids
  665. 00:27:32.810 – 00:27:35.990 in a space where they can't even go look outside.
  666. 00:27:36.270 – 00:27:37.190 Like they can't even,
  667. 00:27:37.370 – 00:27:40.110 and I think that's so interesting that in Europe,
  668. 00:27:40.150 – 00:27:42.970 you know, they prioritize that amongst other things
  669. 00:27:42.970 – 00:27:45.990 that they prioritize surrounding work that we don't.
  670. 00:27:46.190 – 00:27:48.410 Like, you know, going home for lunch
  671. 00:27:48.410 – 00:27:49.610 and eating with your children.
  672. 00:27:49.890 – 00:27:51.950 And they come home to eat with you too.
  673. 00:27:51.950 – 00:27:53.610 Like, they prioritize, you know,
  674. 00:27:53.810 – 00:27:56.250 like not having an amount of sick days.
  675. 00:27:56.290 – 00:27:58.110 If you're sick, you just call off work.
  676. 00:27:58.230 – 00:27:59.290 Like stay home, it's okay.
  677. 00:28:00.890 – 00:28:02.290 But neither here nor there.
  678. 00:28:02.730 – 00:28:04.470 Gather, Marata. All of those things matter.
  679. 00:28:04.570 – 00:28:06.590 You know, the colors that are in a space matter,
  680. 00:28:06.710 – 00:28:07.890 especially with kids.
  681. 00:28:08.290 – 00:28:11.690 Kids don't want to be in a room that's so drab
  682. 00:28:11.690 – 00:28:12.910 and dark and bland.
  683. 00:28:13.550 – 00:28:16.570 Even down to the furniture that's used in these spaces.
  684. 00:28:16.870 – 00:28:20.050 I think a lot of like,
  685. 00:28:20.130 – 00:28:21.750 I'm pretty sure I've read this too,
  686. 00:28:21.750 – 00:28:23.670 that statistics show that a lot of, you know,
  687. 00:28:23.810 – 00:28:27.030 black and brown kids learn better kinesthetically.
  688. 00:28:27.990 – 00:28:31.770 And, you know, more than they do just sitting at a desk
  689. 00:28:31.770 – 00:28:33.890 listening to somebody talk at them all day.
  690. 00:28:33.910 – 00:28:34.750 They have to do it.
  691. 00:28:34.750 – 00:28:35.850 They have to work with people.
  692. 00:28:35.910 – 00:28:36.710 They have to learn.
  693. 00:28:36.770 – 00:28:39.670 Like, you know, we are very collaborative people
  694. 00:28:41.130 – 00:28:46.310 having furniture in the spaces that can be made to,
  695. 00:28:47.530 – 00:28:48.590 what's that I'm looking for?
  696. 00:28:49.270 – 00:28:51.490 That's conducive to collaborative learning.
  697. 00:28:52.130 – 00:28:53.610 I think is very important.
  698. 00:28:53.990 – 00:28:55.870 So, you know, like they have those things now
  699. 00:28:55.870 – 00:28:59.050 where you can embed for the desk that I put in there.
  700. 00:28:59.750 – 00:29:01.030 You can separate them.
  701. 00:29:01.290 – 00:29:03.690 You can put them together because the way that they're
  702. 00:29:03.690 – 00:29:05.550 shaped, they can all kind of be like,
  703. 00:29:05.550 – 00:29:07.490 not put together, like literally,
  704. 00:29:07.770 – 00:29:10.910 but brought together to where they,
  705. 00:29:11.070 – 00:29:14.970 the shape is the way that it is to invite that more.
  706. 00:29:14.970 – 00:29:17.850 So they also had dry erase tops on the desk.
  707. 00:29:18.070 – 00:29:19.930 So that if they are in there and they're working
  708. 00:29:19.930 – 00:29:21.770 and they're doing like math and everything,
  709. 00:29:22.010 – 00:29:23.990 or they're, you know, trying to sound out a word
  710. 00:29:23.990 – 00:29:25.870 or whatever, I mean, these were high schoolers.
  711. 00:29:25.870 – 00:29:27.770 So they're probably not sounding out words that much,
  712. 00:29:27.910 – 00:29:29.090 but you get what I mean.
  713. 00:29:30.310 – 00:29:32.570 You know, that they're able to work on those
  714. 00:29:32.570 – 00:29:35.810 dry erase desk as well and do their work on there
  715. 00:29:35.810 – 00:29:38.350 before they bring it to their homework.
  716. 00:29:38.750 – 00:29:39.610 But, you know, of course,
  717. 00:29:39.890 – 00:29:41.610 tests are a part of our curriculum.
  718. 00:29:41.610 – 00:29:43.450 So you want to be able to pull it apart
  719. 00:29:43.450 – 00:29:45.190 for when it's time for that.
  720. 00:29:45.590 – 00:29:49.410 But I think even the collaborative furniture
  721. 00:29:49.410 – 00:29:53.750 can even open the door for maybe a different way
  722. 00:29:53.750 – 00:29:57.730 that we administer tests and that we look at test taking.
  723. 00:29:58.410 – 00:30:01.530 Maybe, you know, it's not a piece of paper
  724. 00:30:01.530 – 00:30:03.930 where you have to memorize all of these things.
  725. 00:30:03.970 – 00:30:07.270 Maybe the teacher comes around to different groups
  726. 00:30:07.270 – 00:30:09.410 of students and starts talking to them
  727. 00:30:09.410 – 00:30:12.290 and asking questions to see where they are, you know?
  728. 00:30:12.810 – 00:30:14.290 Because that's what tests are for,
  729. 00:30:14.330 – 00:30:17.870 to see where the children are in their curriculum
  730. 00:30:17.870 – 00:30:18.850 and their understanding.
  731. 00:30:19.490 – 00:30:22.330 So, I mean, having a conversation with a kid
  732. 00:30:22.330 – 00:30:23.790 can also tell you that.
  733. 00:30:24.470 – 00:30:27.710 Wow, that's unique and also powerful.
  734. 00:30:28.110 – 00:30:28.530 Yeah.
  735. 00:30:28.770 – 00:30:30.630 Well, how did that collaboration come about?
  736. 00:30:30.670 – 00:30:33.450 How did you get the contract with-
  737. 00:30:33.450 – 00:30:34.050 With Befrit?
  738. 00:30:34.310 – 00:30:34.570 Yeah.
  739. 00:30:34.650 – 00:30:36.750 One of my really good friends from college,
  740. 00:30:37.410 – 00:30:38.330 she's from here too.
  741. 00:30:38.330 – 00:30:39.150 She went to Shaw.
  742. 00:30:39.550 – 00:30:40.270 I went to Euclid,
  743. 00:30:40.310 – 00:30:42.110 so we didn't meet until our freshman year.
  744. 00:30:42.270 – 00:30:44.030 But, you know, we're really good friends.
  745. 00:30:44.090 – 00:30:45.510 She works for College Now.
  746. 00:30:46.290 – 00:30:48.810 And it was actually a College Now project,
  747. 00:30:49.330 – 00:30:52.110 but for their College Now office at Bedford.
  748. 00:30:52.170 – 00:30:53.950 So the senior lounge is connected
  749. 00:30:53.950 – 00:30:56.090 to the College Now office there.
  750. 00:30:56.410 – 00:31:00.310 So it's really for the, really all students,
  751. 00:31:00.430 – 00:31:02.590 but mostly seniors to be able to come in,
  752. 00:31:02.950 – 00:31:04.670 to have a space to do their homework,
  753. 00:31:05.110 – 00:31:08.270 have the space to fill out college applications,
  754. 00:31:09.110 – 00:31:11.530 scholarships, to work with the College Now advisors
  755. 00:31:11.530 – 00:31:14.530 there on these scholarships, on their applications,
  756. 00:31:15.210 – 00:31:18.770 to come like just relax, different things like that.
  757. 00:31:18.790 – 00:31:20.730 So that's what the purpose of the space was.
  758. 00:31:21.550 – 00:31:24.530 Have you ever been to Richmond Heights High School?
  759. 00:31:25.230 – 00:31:25.710 Yes.
  760. 00:31:26.290 – 00:31:27.450 The new remodel?
  761. 00:31:27.650 – 00:31:28.470 Not the new one.
  762. 00:31:28.610 – 00:31:28.950 Okay.
  763. 00:31:29.670 – 00:31:32.790 Yeah, I had a chance to actually work in that space.
  764. 00:31:33.030 – 00:31:37.190 It was, it was interesting.
  765. 00:31:37.690 – 00:31:39.630 And, you know, you talk about more relaxed spaces
  766. 00:31:39.630 – 00:31:42.710 and more, you know, unified spaces,
  767. 00:31:42.710 – 00:31:46.050 which is unique and also needed to me
  768. 00:31:46.050 – 00:31:47.430 because I'm big on collaboration.
  769. 00:31:48.590 – 00:31:50.110 Yeah, everybody can't know everything.
  770. 00:31:51.630 – 00:31:53.890 Like I love, I used to love group projects,
  771. 00:31:53.970 – 00:31:54.990 still do, you know.
  772. 00:31:55.730 – 00:32:00.410 I'll call myself a creative entrepreneur
  773. 00:32:00.990 – 00:32:02.470 that is collaborative,
  774. 00:32:02.910 – 00:32:05.310 or collaborative creative entrepreneur.
  775. 00:32:05.550 – 00:32:05.910 Okay.
  776. 00:32:07.750 – 00:32:10.430 So, you know, everything is not about me,
  777. 00:32:10.970 – 00:32:14.750 especially with media, me elevating positive stories.
  778. 00:32:15.170 – 00:32:18.210 It's not about me, it's a story that's positive
  779. 00:32:18.210 – 00:32:20.470 or what I think is positive
  780. 00:32:20.470 – 00:32:22.330 and need to be, you know, shown more like.
  781. 00:32:22.950 – 00:32:24.450 But what did you think about,
  782. 00:32:24.870 – 00:32:27.450 what was interesting about your experience at Richmond?
  783. 00:32:28.070 – 00:32:28.750 At Richmond?
  784. 00:32:30.210 – 00:32:33.030 Well, just being in the midst of the construction itself.
  785. 00:32:33.090 – 00:32:33.670 Oh, okay.
  786. 00:32:33.830 – 00:32:37.350 Your whole brand colors, white and blue mostly.
  787. 00:32:37.450 – 00:32:38.950 So they brought that out a lot.
  788. 00:32:38.950 – 00:32:39.530 Okay.
  789. 00:32:40.230 – 00:32:44.030 It really transformed this, you know, to something big
  790. 00:32:44.030 – 00:32:47.010 because they had another old building
  791. 00:32:47.010 – 00:32:50.410 and then the newer building for the high school students
  792. 00:32:51.010 – 00:32:52.090 and also a library.
  793. 00:32:52.410 – 00:32:54.630 And it was just to see it all come into fruition.
  794. 00:32:55.150 – 00:32:56.910 And, you know, everything they talked about
  795. 00:32:56.910 – 00:33:01.210 in a blueprint meetings, it's like, wow, okay.
  796. 00:33:01.710 – 00:33:03.850 So just to see the behind the scenes for me
  797. 00:33:03.850 – 00:33:07.210 and like, wow, you can have more open spaces.
  798. 00:33:07.210 – 00:33:09.330 Because I went to Collingwood and St. Martin
  799. 00:33:09.330 – 00:33:12.210 which is more like walking through the hall.
  800. 00:33:12.370 – 00:33:14.990 It wasn't no hall or even like you said, art.
  801. 00:33:15.250 – 00:33:16.550 Like it was art on the walls.
  802. 00:33:16.590 – 00:33:17.390 I'm like, wow.
  803. 00:33:17.490 – 00:33:17.890 Yeah.
  804. 00:33:18.290 – 00:33:18.770 So.
  805. 00:33:18.890 – 00:33:22.110 And that promotes creativity, encouraging.
  806. 00:33:22.910 – 00:33:22.930 Yeah.
  807. 00:33:23.250 – 00:33:23.730 Imagination.
  808. 00:33:24.290 – 00:33:25.430 Imagination, yeah.
  809. 00:33:27.810 – 00:33:30.450 So, I mean, just to be in a space
  810. 00:33:30.450 – 00:33:33.230 of the whole process was just, you know,
  811. 00:33:33.510 – 00:33:34.410 encouraging for me.
  812. 00:33:35.350 – 00:33:36.030 That's what's up.
  813. 00:33:36.030 – 00:33:37.770 That's what's up.
  814. 00:33:38.370 – 00:33:39.850 Shout out to these schools, you know,
  815. 00:33:39.930 – 00:33:43.910 actually taking the time to remodel and do those things
  816. 00:33:43.910 – 00:33:45.510 because there are a lot of schools, you know,
  817. 00:33:45.570 – 00:33:48.430 that have been here as lately and it's needed.
  818. 00:33:48.610 – 00:33:50.690 A lot of these schools is oh, oh, oh.
  819. 00:33:53.270 – 00:33:55.070 I mean, we got to get you some more schools then.
  820. 00:33:55.230 – 00:33:56.710 Yeah, I would love to.
  821. 00:33:56.810 – 00:33:58.190 That's definitely a goal.
  822. 00:33:58.910 – 00:33:59.370 Yeah.
  823. 00:34:00.930 – 00:34:04.450 So how would you internalize abstraction?
  824. 00:34:05.510 – 00:34:10.070 Like how do you view abstract art?
  825. 00:34:12.679 – 00:34:16.320 I mean, kind of like, kind of what I said.
  826. 00:34:16.600 – 00:34:19.139 There are times where I look at abstract art
  827. 00:34:19.139 – 00:34:21.139 and I don't all the way get it,
  828. 00:34:21.940 – 00:34:24.520 but even if I don't all the way get it
  829. 00:34:24.520 – 00:34:26.239 and it just looks like a bunch of colors,
  830. 00:34:27.520 – 00:34:30.159 there probably was some thought or feeling
  831. 00:34:30.159 – 00:34:33.080 behind those colors coming together the way that they did.
  832. 00:34:33.080 – 00:34:36.020 So I just look at it as a different way of expressing.
  833. 00:34:38.460 – 00:34:39.719 Different way of expressing.
  834. 00:34:40.620 – 00:34:41.179 That's unique.
  835. 00:34:41.179 – 00:34:43.500 You say that like as a writer,
  836. 00:34:44.699 – 00:34:47.340 you know, as a farmer, poet and musician.
  837. 00:34:47.880 – 00:34:50.940 Like a haiku poet is almost like an abstract poem
  838. 00:34:50.940 – 00:34:52.020 in a sense.
  839. 00:34:52.320 – 00:34:55.000 Yeah, because some people, they write to the,
  840. 00:34:55.139 – 00:34:56.780 this is a black gun in a circle.
  841. 00:34:57.180 – 00:35:00.960 I'm more so like, you know, you know,
  842. 00:35:02.300 – 00:35:07.080 this is a speaking device that comes from,
  843. 00:35:07.920 – 00:35:10.460 you know, just bringing the story into it.
  844. 00:35:10.460 – 00:35:12.260 But then at the end, you kind of like,
  845. 00:35:12.340 – 00:35:13.340 oh, I'm talking about microphone.
  846. 00:35:13.560 – 00:35:13.960 Yeah.
  847. 00:35:14.340 – 00:35:15.920 Or a pop filter for a microphone.
  848. 00:35:16.720 – 00:35:17.940 So that's just me.
  849. 00:35:18.500 – 00:35:21.400 Like I'm known for my poem, Frequency,
  850. 00:35:22.580 – 00:35:23.960 which I kind of retired on.
  851. 00:35:24.160 – 00:35:26.140 I used to perform that poem before,
  852. 00:35:26.660 – 00:35:28.380 you know, I took a step back from poetry.
  853. 00:35:29.280 – 00:35:32.640 I start off frequency.
  854. 00:35:33.560 – 00:35:35.840 Your frequency is what you frequently see.
  855. 00:35:36.500 – 00:35:39.620 Vibration all in the universe and also inside of me.
  856. 00:35:39.920 – 00:35:41.740 Alien to the world, society.
  857. 00:35:42.140 – 00:35:45.020 Shooting stars consciously, righteously.
  858. 00:35:45.400 – 00:35:47.400 You know, I could go on, but you know,
  859. 00:35:47.620 – 00:35:49.840 I forgot the whole cover was on the microphone
  860. 00:35:49.840 – 00:35:52.340 the whole time, but I ended up, you know,
  861. 00:35:52.540 – 00:35:53.100 back up audio.
  862. 00:35:54.400 – 00:35:57.280 So, you know, just painting that picture.
  863. 00:35:57.420 – 00:35:57.940 Yeah.
  864. 00:35:57.940 – 00:36:01.200 Versus just, you know, spoon feeding people.
  865. 00:36:07.320 – 00:36:08.620 I get you.
  866. 00:36:09.300 – 00:36:11.000 I'm especially refreshing that you say that
  867. 00:36:11.000 – 00:36:13.400 because a lot of people don't, you know,
  868. 00:36:13.540 – 00:36:14.520 appreciate abstract art.
  869. 00:36:14.660 – 00:36:15.660 They be like, what is this?
  870. 00:36:16.040 – 00:36:18.780 Or I don't get it and they kind of give up on it
  871. 00:36:18.780 – 00:36:20.120 or like discard it.
  872. 00:36:20.220 – 00:36:21.260 They're like, oh yeah.
  873. 00:36:21.580 – 00:36:23.380 Or even like a foreign language, you know,
  874. 00:36:23.480 – 00:36:26.540 you ain't gonna know it unless you take time with it
  875. 00:36:26.540 – 00:36:27.460 and practice it.
  876. 00:36:27.480 – 00:36:28.540 Study it, yeah.
  877. 00:36:29.010 – 00:36:32.540 And I think sometimes too, like I said,
  878. 00:36:32.620 – 00:36:36.200 I think a lot of artists, specifically abstract artists
  879. 00:36:38.820 – 00:36:40.820 create from emotion.
  880. 00:36:42.780 – 00:36:45.820 And I think what they're trying to evoke
  881. 00:36:45.820 – 00:36:50.020 from other people with their pieces is an emotion.
  882. 00:36:50.860 – 00:36:53.300 And sometimes, you know, it's really funny
  883. 00:36:53.850 – 00:36:57.200 when you read history books and stuff, you know,
  884. 00:36:57.200 – 00:36:58.920 they'll tell you like, oh, this artist,
  885. 00:36:58.920 – 00:37:00.540 this is what they meant by this.
  886. 00:37:01.940 – 00:37:03.920 You don't know what they meant by that.
  887. 00:37:04.800 – 00:37:06.800 That's how somebody interpreted it
  888. 00:37:06.800 – 00:37:08.660 unless the artist told you themselves.
  889. 00:37:08.980 – 00:37:11.440 That's how like, you know, we're interpreting it today.
  890. 00:37:11.500 – 00:37:13.520 But in a hundred years, who's to say
  891. 00:37:13.520 – 00:37:15.200 that the textbooks won't say something different
  892. 00:37:15.200 – 00:37:16.160 about that same piece
  893. 00:37:16.160 – 00:37:18.460 because somebody else interpreted it a whole nother way.
  894. 00:37:21.930 – 00:37:24.310 Sometimes there is an intended interpretation.
  895. 00:37:24.410 – 00:37:26.450 Sometimes there really is, but sometimes,
  896. 00:37:26.750 – 00:37:28.110 and sometimes there is one,
  897. 00:37:28.110 – 00:37:30.530 but then there's also an open-endedness to it too.
  898. 00:37:30.530 – 00:37:32.850 Like, you know, there's a story there,
  899. 00:37:32.850 – 00:37:34.550 but they don't finish it
  900. 00:37:34.550 – 00:37:36.430 because they want you to figure out.
  901. 00:37:37.790 – 00:37:40.830 I could say I wrote a lot of things like that,
  902. 00:37:41.130 – 00:37:42.450 created a lot of things like that,
  903. 00:37:42.530 – 00:37:44.890 even stuff that I really didn't finish.
  904. 00:37:45.290 – 00:37:48.030 Like, so, you know, years has passed,
  905. 00:37:48.390 – 00:37:50.650 so, I mean, it's, you know, open-ended.
  906. 00:37:50.830 – 00:37:51.850 Who have hangers?
  907. 00:37:53.690 – 00:37:54.890 Universe was town.
  908. 00:37:56.870 – 00:38:01.530 But have you ever experienced a design
  909. 00:38:01.530 – 00:38:05.210 or any type of art that made you physically
  910. 00:38:05.210 – 00:38:06.190 unable to speak?
  911. 00:38:15.130 – 00:38:15.910 Yes.
  912. 00:38:20.870 – 00:38:25.450 Visiting St. Paul's Cathedral in England
  913. 00:38:25.450 – 00:38:27.270 a couple of years ago.
  914. 00:38:28.330 – 00:38:28.570 Mm-hmm.
  915. 00:38:28.810 – 00:38:29.250 Okay.
  916. 00:38:29.970 – 00:38:33.950 Visiting Stonehenge also in England on that same trip.
  917. 00:38:34.350 – 00:38:34.950 Mm-hmm.
  918. 00:38:34.950 – 00:38:40.290 Um, the castle in Edinburgh, Scotland that we went to.
  919. 00:38:40.670 – 00:38:40.810 Mm-hmm.
  920. 00:38:41.010 – 00:38:42.470 Like, these are like massive.
  921. 00:38:42.770 – 00:38:46.090 I learned about St. Paul's Cathedral in school.
  922. 00:38:46.150 – 00:38:48.010 I learned about Stonehenge in school,
  923. 00:38:48.050 – 00:38:49.410 so it was kind of like, wow,
  924. 00:38:49.410 – 00:38:53.530 like to see these things in person took me aback.
  925. 00:38:53.890 – 00:38:56.270 You don't realize how massive things are
  926. 00:38:56.270 – 00:38:57.690 until you see them in person
  927. 00:38:57.690 – 00:38:58.990 or you've just seen them in pictures.
  928. 00:38:59.430 – 00:39:00.450 You don't realize.
  929. 00:39:00.990 – 00:39:04.130 Pictures, and I'm kind of into photography too.
  930. 00:39:04.130 – 00:39:05.810 I took a few photography classes
  931. 00:39:06.710 – 00:39:09.890 and I think I'm like an amateur photographer sometimes.
  932. 00:39:11.130 – 00:39:13.430 So, you know, I'm a little bit into that.
  933. 00:39:13.850 – 00:39:18.750 And I, pictures don't ever do justice
  934. 00:39:18.750 – 00:39:21.470 to what I'm, like to what the eyeball can see.
  935. 00:39:21.890 – 00:39:23.330 It does not matter.
  936. 00:39:23.650 – 00:39:25.550 Like you can get a very beautiful picture,
  937. 00:39:25.730 – 00:39:26.910 but, and it's funny,
  938. 00:39:26.910 – 00:39:29.270 like I'll send somebody a picture of like the sunset
  939. 00:39:29.270 – 00:39:30.430 like that I took.
  940. 00:39:30.870 – 00:39:32.590 And they'll be like, oh, this is a great picture.
  941. 00:39:32.590 – 00:39:35.370 And it's like, no, you had to have seen it in person though.
  942. 00:39:35.810 – 00:39:38.210 Like, and capturing the moon is one of those things too.
  943. 00:39:38.230 – 00:39:39.470 It's so hard to capture it.
  944. 00:39:39.770 – 00:39:41.450 So seeing things in person,
  945. 00:39:41.470 – 00:39:43.510 being able to see the detail in them,
  946. 00:39:44.710 – 00:39:45.670 totally different.
  947. 00:39:46.410 – 00:39:50.070 Seeing a Mondrian painting in person for the first time.
  948. 00:39:50.770 – 00:39:55.010 Seeing the size of Basquiat's work in person.
  949. 00:39:55.070 – 00:39:58.350 They had an exhibit, the, was it the Guggenheim?
  950. 00:39:58.950 – 00:40:02.010 Let Us Borrow, or it was, I think it was a Guggenheim.
  951. 00:40:02.010 – 00:40:05.550 Let Us Borrow some of his pieces for an exhibit here
  952. 00:40:05.550 – 00:40:06.650 back in 2017.
  953. 00:40:07.030 – 00:40:10.610 And I went, I didn't realize how big
  954. 00:40:10.610 – 00:40:12.790 some of those canvases were
  955. 00:40:12.790 – 00:40:14.950 until I had to stand in front of them.
  956. 00:40:14.950 – 00:40:16.570 And I was like, whoa, okay.
  957. 00:40:17.310 – 00:40:18.510 Oh yeah, I would have seen pictures.
  958. 00:40:18.870 – 00:40:21.430 So yeah, this, and listen up.
  959. 00:40:22.070 – 00:40:23.610 I wish they bring it back.
  960. 00:40:24.970 – 00:40:26.930 Or something, if we can get something
  961. 00:40:26.930 – 00:40:28.970 in the Cleveland Museum of Art that's his,
  962. 00:40:28.970 – 00:40:32.090 like in like just days, that would be great.
  963. 00:40:32.190 – 00:40:35.410 I think they did feature him one year.
  964. 00:40:36.570 – 00:40:38.630 Cause I know a lot of people was talking about it
  965. 00:40:38.630 – 00:40:39.630 two years ago.
  966. 00:40:41.230 – 00:40:43.330 Yeah, they had like his notebooks and everything.
  967. 00:40:43.430 – 00:40:44.170 It was cool.
  968. 00:40:45.610 – 00:40:46.130 I'm getting this,
  969. 00:40:46.310 – 00:40:48.750 I haven't been to a good museum in so long.
  970. 00:40:49.010 – 00:40:50.870 Oh, we have such good museums here.
  971. 00:40:51.850 – 00:40:53.850 The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of my favorite,
  972. 00:40:53.970 – 00:40:57.290 like when I'm like a little down in the dumps,
  973. 00:40:57.290 – 00:40:58.290 like that's where I go.
  974. 00:40:59.010 – 00:41:00.190 When was the last time you been?
  975. 00:41:01.690 – 00:41:03.190 I haven't been this year yet.
  976. 00:41:04.190 – 00:41:06.050 So that's a good thing you ever been down in the dumps.
  977. 00:41:06.770 – 00:41:08.710 I mean, I go when I'm feeling good too.
  978. 00:41:09.290 – 00:41:11.990 But like that's for sure a place that I go
  979. 00:41:11.990 – 00:41:13.610 when I just want to like clear my head
  980. 00:41:13.610 – 00:41:14.810 or I have a lot on my mind.
  981. 00:41:14.830 – 00:41:16.330 But I also go when I'm feeling good
  982. 00:41:16.330 – 00:41:17.890 or if there's like a really good exhibit
  983. 00:41:17.890 – 00:41:19.170 that I want to go to,
  984. 00:41:19.310 – 00:41:21.490 I'm sorry I missed the Picasso on paper.
  985. 00:41:21.950 – 00:41:23.170 So I haven't gone this year,
  986. 00:41:23.290 – 00:41:24.710 but last time I went was last year.
  987. 00:41:25.590 – 00:41:26.310 Okay. Yeah.
  988. 00:41:26.430 – 00:41:28.010 I'll say for me last year too,
  989. 00:41:28.010 – 00:41:29.270 I do a lot of weddings there.
  990. 00:41:29.330 – 00:41:31.050 Everybody want to get married and take pictures there.
  991. 00:41:31.110 – 00:41:33.230 I want to get married at the Cleveland Museum of Art too.
  992. 00:41:33.290 – 00:41:35.210 So I'm one of them people, I'm corny.
  993. 00:41:37.790 – 00:41:40.090 I'm sure you would make it even spectacular
  994. 00:41:40.090 – 00:41:41.670 and customized to your wedding.
  995. 00:41:43.010 – 00:41:43.450 True.
  996. 00:41:44.190 – 00:41:46.050 And if you ever need a wedding photographer,
  997. 00:41:47.110 – 00:41:47.750 I am here.
  998. 00:41:47.890 – 00:41:48.490 I got you.
  999. 00:41:50.030 – 00:41:53.190 So yeah, speaking more on like clients
  1000. 00:41:54.030 – 00:41:55.470 and more collaborations,
  1001. 00:41:55.470 – 00:41:58.370 is there a certain artist or entrepreneur
  1002. 00:41:58.370 – 00:42:00.090 you would like to work with?
  1003. 00:42:04.400 – 00:42:05.520 Besides me.
  1004. 00:42:05.880 – 00:42:07.160 Besides you, of course.
  1005. 00:42:09.000 – 00:42:12.720 I actually am really fairly cool
  1006. 00:42:12.720 – 00:42:15.180 with the owner of lounges downtown.
  1007. 00:42:16.460 – 00:42:16.860 Okay.
  1008. 00:42:17.160 – 00:42:18.060 You know what I'm talking about?
  1009. 00:42:20.100 – 00:42:22.820 And I would love to do more work with them
  1010. 00:42:22.820 – 00:42:25.840 and like just more collaborative, yeah, pieces there.
  1011. 00:42:26.440 – 00:42:27.660 I love Lacey.
  1012. 00:42:27.820 – 00:42:28.720 Shout out to Lacey.
  1013. 00:42:28.900 – 00:42:30.500 Everybody in the city knows Lacey.
  1014. 00:42:31.100 – 00:42:32.540 Yeah, she did my logo.
  1015. 00:42:32.640 – 00:42:33.700 She's so amazing.
  1016. 00:42:34.340 – 00:42:37.440 She, I actually was in, in 2021,
  1017. 00:42:37.660 – 00:42:40.200 she hosted her and another artist
  1018. 00:42:40.200 – 00:42:42.380 hosted a Cleveland collab art show
  1019. 00:42:42.380 – 00:42:44.140 and I was a part of her art show.
  1020. 00:42:44.240 – 00:42:45.660 Then that's how I met her.
  1021. 00:42:45.860 – 00:42:46.340 Yeah.
  1022. 00:42:46.900 – 00:42:49.860 Well back in 22, but we started the process in 21.
  1023. 00:42:50.480 – 00:42:52.640 So she actually needs to be a part of the launch artists team.
  1024. 00:42:53.360 – 00:42:54.040 So yeah, it's like-
  1025. 00:42:54.040 – 00:42:54.740 She's amazing.
  1026. 00:42:54.740 – 00:42:55.420 Wow.
  1027. 00:42:55.700 – 00:42:58.260 When I first met Lacey, it was like, man,
  1028. 00:42:58.480 – 00:43:01.580 I'm like, I know we're gonna work together
  1029. 00:43:01.580 – 00:43:05.060 and she did my logo and you know,
  1030. 00:43:05.160 – 00:43:07.320 I drew out some sketches, my bad sketches
  1031. 00:43:07.320 – 00:43:08.420 and she brought it to life.
  1032. 00:43:09.600 – 00:43:11.100 She blown up.
  1033. 00:43:11.420 – 00:43:13.500 Yeah, I'm so happy for her.
  1034. 00:43:13.520 – 00:43:13.940 Yeah.
  1035. 00:43:15.060 – 00:43:16.040 So happy for her.
  1036. 00:43:16.060 – 00:43:16.380 You can go.
  1037. 00:43:18.300 – 00:43:20.580 That's from the old Cleveland, go Lacey.
  1038. 00:43:21.500 – 00:43:21.620 Yeah.
  1039. 00:43:21.800 – 00:43:23.000 Even having like, you know,
  1040. 00:43:23.440 – 00:43:24.700 we used to talk about downtown,
  1041. 00:43:24.960 – 00:43:26.760 like having her art display downtown.
  1042. 00:43:26.980 – 00:43:27.900 Yes, yeah.
  1043. 00:43:28.800 – 00:43:30.480 So, you know, I think we need more of that
  1044. 00:43:30.480 – 00:43:32.840 and not just something that's, you know,
  1045. 00:43:32.920 – 00:43:34.320 for a couple of months or a year,
  1046. 00:43:34.740 – 00:43:35.800 but you know, everlasting.
  1047. 00:43:37.000 – 00:43:39.680 Lacey, your point about the statues that are downtown
  1048. 00:43:39.680 – 00:43:42.860 and you mentioned how they are reflective of,
  1049. 00:43:42.860 – 00:43:45.300 you know, maybe sadder times or war times.
  1050. 00:43:45.680 – 00:43:47.400 Having installations and sculptures
  1051. 00:43:47.400 – 00:43:49.940 that are reflective of happiness, of positivity.
  1052. 00:43:49.940 – 00:43:53.120 And a lot of, shoot, all of her work
  1053. 00:43:53.120 – 00:43:55.460 pretty much is reflective of that,
  1054. 00:43:55.740 – 00:43:59.520 which I think was so amazing about her.
  1055. 00:43:59.600 – 00:44:01.540 One of the things that are so amazing about her
  1056. 00:44:01.540 – 00:44:03.180 because a lot of the times, you know,
  1057. 00:44:03.320 – 00:44:05.880 artists are taught or like, you know,
  1058. 00:44:06.060 – 00:44:09.520 historically create from other feelings.
  1059. 00:44:09.720 – 00:44:12.060 Like, you know, heartbreak kind of led me here
  1060. 00:44:12.060 – 00:44:15.080 or like, you know, depression or sadness
  1061. 00:44:15.080 – 00:44:17.740 or, you know, grief or, you know,
  1062. 00:44:17.820 – 00:44:19.680 all of these things that are real and true
  1063. 00:44:19.680 – 00:44:23.660 and deserve to be expressed and shown also.
  1064. 00:44:24.040 – 00:44:26.080 But what about happy times?
  1065. 00:44:26.660 – 00:44:28.840 Like, you know, like what about positivity
  1066. 00:44:28.840 – 00:44:30.500 and wanting to foster more of that?
  1067. 00:44:30.580 – 00:44:33.040 So I think that's great that that's what a lot
  1068. 00:44:33.040 – 00:44:34.880 of her works around, is uplifting.
  1069. 00:44:35.260 – 00:44:37.360 Yeah, I mean, it's about heartbreak
  1070. 00:44:37.360 – 00:44:39.720 as we, you know, all encountering,
  1071. 00:44:39.740 – 00:44:42.640 like you said, some downtimes, depression.
  1072. 00:44:43.220 – 00:44:46.160 So what are some things that kind of get you
  1073. 00:44:46.160 – 00:44:47.560 out of that mode to create?
  1074. 00:44:47.560 – 00:44:50.600 Working, yeah.
  1075. 00:44:51.840 – 00:44:56.260 Like, I just, my locus of control,
  1076. 00:44:57.160 – 00:44:58.940 which is me and what I can do.
  1077. 00:44:59.320 – 00:45:01.960 You know, you can't control somebody else.
  1078. 00:45:01.980 – 00:45:03.800 You can't control how they feel about you.
  1079. 00:45:03.800 – 00:45:05.620 You can't control what goes on in their life.
  1080. 00:45:05.680 – 00:45:07.620 You can't control how that, you know,
  1081. 00:45:07.720 – 00:45:11.360 may make them react or respond or whatever the case.
  1082. 00:45:11.540 – 00:45:15.380 And I just dive straight into what I can control
  1083. 00:45:15.380 – 00:45:17.680 and dive more into focusing on what I can,
  1084. 00:45:17.720 – 00:45:19.140 which is me and my work.
  1085. 00:45:20.160 – 00:45:22.740 So, you know, it helps you take your mind off of things.
  1086. 00:45:24.060 – 00:45:26.660 So what helps you get into like your creative space
  1087. 00:45:26.660 – 00:45:27.420 and mode?
  1088. 00:45:28.720 – 00:45:30.400 Ironically enough, my space.
  1089. 00:45:30.540 – 00:45:32.980 Like I have always been like this.
  1090. 00:45:33.120 – 00:45:38.140 I cannot function in like excessive clutter
  1091. 00:45:38.140 – 00:45:41.280 and like disarray.
  1092. 00:45:41.860 – 00:45:44.940 Ooh, I cannot do it.
  1093. 00:45:44.940 – 00:45:49.440 Like I will like clean things out periodically
  1094. 00:45:49.440 – 00:45:52.140 because I start to feel, people will come in my house
  1095. 00:45:52.140 – 00:45:53.800 and be like, what do you mean something is wrong?
  1096. 00:45:53.860 – 00:45:55.500 And I'm like, no, it's too much stuff in here.
  1097. 00:45:55.720 – 00:45:57.720 Like it's clutter, like there's too many papers
  1098. 00:45:57.720 – 00:46:01.720 on my desk or like, not really necessarily.
  1099. 00:46:01.720 – 00:46:03.520 I guess maybe a little bit.
  1100. 00:46:03.840 – 00:46:06.280 I guess a little bit, a little bit,
  1101. 00:46:08.580 – 00:46:12.220 but not necessarily in terms of design, I should say,
  1102. 00:46:12.220 – 00:46:14.960 because minimalist design is like,
  1103. 00:46:15.040 – 00:46:16.660 like I said, it can be kind of cold.
  1104. 00:46:16.800 – 00:46:18.840 Like, you know, I like patterns, I like color,
  1105. 00:46:18.960 – 00:46:22.200 I like rugs, I like decor, things like that.
  1106. 00:46:22.340 – 00:46:25.400 But I don't want it to be too much
  1107. 00:46:25.400 – 00:46:27.580 to where I feel like I'm,
  1108. 00:46:27.620 – 00:46:29.540 maybe it's more of a claustrophobic thing.
  1109. 00:46:29.560 – 00:46:30.560 I don't know.
  1110. 00:46:31.660 – 00:46:37.160 But yeah, so I definitely have to have my space clean.
  1111. 00:46:37.480 – 00:46:40.980 Like I like to have Sundays off from working,
  1112. 00:46:40.980 – 00:46:43.780 like, you know, because I like to prep for my week,
  1113. 00:46:45.120 – 00:46:47.420 sometimes prep food for the week and like, you know,
  1114. 00:46:47.520 – 00:46:50.500 cook like a couple of meals or whatever, clean my house,
  1115. 00:46:50.720 – 00:46:52.960 clean my space, write my to-do list out,
  1116. 00:46:53.660 – 00:46:55.700 figure out what I have to focus on for the week,
  1117. 00:46:55.940 – 00:46:57.420 clean my working area.
  1118. 00:46:59.200 – 00:47:00.680 Shoot, clean the whole place actually.
  1119. 00:47:01.380 – 00:47:04.540 And that helps me to clear my mind
  1120. 00:47:04.540 – 00:47:07.100 to be able to get a good start
  1121. 00:47:07.100 – 00:47:08.160 on where I wanna start.
  1122. 00:47:08.160 – 00:47:11.600 Okay, I broke my checklist down into this client
  1123. 00:47:11.600 – 00:47:13.360 needs these things done this week,
  1124. 00:47:13.380 – 00:47:16.020 this client that this is miscellaneous things
  1125. 00:47:16.020 – 00:47:17.080 that I need to do.
  1126. 00:47:17.380 – 00:47:20.820 Now I can like prioritize from there and I can sit down.
  1127. 00:47:20.860 – 00:47:23.580 Like I really like to start my Mondays if I can,
  1128. 00:47:23.700 – 00:47:25.420 waking up at like the crack of dawn.
  1129. 00:47:25.700 – 00:47:29.120 So like sometimes like four, 4.30 in the morning,
  1130. 00:47:29.200 – 00:47:31.560 like getting like a really good night's rest on Sunday,
  1131. 00:47:31.560 – 00:47:35.460 waking up early on Monday, making tea.
  1132. 00:47:35.460 – 00:47:38.460 I have this yogi tea that I really like to drink.
  1133. 00:47:39.120 – 00:47:41.220 It's called positive something,
  1134. 00:47:42.140 – 00:47:43.740 but it has ashwagandha in it.
  1135. 00:47:44.000 – 00:47:45.140 And so like, you know,
  1136. 00:47:45.140 – 00:47:49.020 it really helps with like focusing and good thoughts.
  1137. 00:47:49.300 – 00:47:51.340 Something I like to light incense sometimes
  1138. 00:47:51.340 – 00:47:54.300 and just kind of like sit and start to go,
  1139. 00:47:54.400 – 00:47:56.760 maybe play a little music or a show or a movie
  1140. 00:47:56.760 – 00:47:59.640 that I've seen a million times in the background,
  1141. 00:47:59.940 – 00:48:01.080 just background at least.
  1142. 00:48:01.860 – 00:48:02.840 That kind of, you know,
  1143. 00:48:02.980 – 00:48:05.080 brings me to a good question as you say,
  1144. 00:48:05.080 – 00:48:06.460 light incense and music.
  1145. 00:48:07.240 – 00:48:09.380 What sensory systems do you use?
  1146. 00:48:10.480 – 00:48:11.800 Like you said, music.
  1147. 00:48:11.980 – 00:48:13.040 I love music.
  1148. 00:48:13.560 – 00:48:14.420 Love music.
  1149. 00:48:14.520 – 00:48:16.960 I played the violin growing up.
  1150. 00:48:17.000 – 00:48:21.140 So I played from fifth grade to 12th grade.
  1151. 00:48:22.720 – 00:48:24.240 So I love music.
  1152. 00:48:24.360 – 00:48:24.860 Like, I don't know.
  1153. 00:48:24.900 – 00:48:26.200 Like I know so many songs.
  1154. 00:48:26.660 – 00:48:29.620 I have one of my line sisters nicknamed me Juke
  1155. 00:48:29.620 – 00:48:31.660 because like I know so many songs.
  1156. 00:48:32.120 – 00:48:33.120 So who was your favorite artist?
  1157. 00:48:33.320 – 00:48:33.780 Music artist.
  1158. 00:48:35.260 – 00:48:37.660 Yeah, that's a great question.
  1159. 00:48:38.880 – 00:48:40.900 I actually really love Sade.
  1160. 00:48:42.520 – 00:48:43.920 Very calming music.
  1161. 00:48:44.340 – 00:48:46.460 Like I've always liked her music even as a kid,
  1162. 00:48:47.480 – 00:48:49.860 but her music is music that I like to play
  1163. 00:48:49.860 – 00:48:51.200 when I'm working too.
  1164. 00:48:51.580 – 00:48:52.400 Because it is,
  1165. 00:48:52.600 – 00:48:54.700 I actually made a playlist to like of music
  1166. 00:48:54.700 – 00:48:57.420 that I like to play when I want to feel positive
  1167. 00:48:57.420 – 00:48:58.600 and get my day started.
  1168. 00:48:59.040 – 00:49:03.340 Music that's not about like love or, you know,
  1169. 00:49:03.340 – 00:49:06.120 a heartbreak or a man, or like, you know,
  1170. 00:49:06.140 – 00:49:06.820 nothing like that.
  1171. 00:49:06.820 – 00:49:10.020 Like it's just music about life and experiences
  1172. 00:49:11.020 – 00:49:12.100 and positivity.
  1173. 00:49:12.500 – 00:49:14.920 So like optimistic by sounds of blackness.
  1174. 00:49:14.980 – 00:49:16.240 Of course that's in there.
  1175. 00:49:16.440 – 00:49:18.200 I miss some Sade in there.
  1176. 00:49:18.440 – 00:49:21.040 Earth, Wind and Fire, like Cleo's Soul.
  1177. 00:49:21.080 – 00:49:24.080 Cause she has a lot of songs that are about love,
  1178. 00:49:24.080 – 00:49:26.360 but also a lot of songs that are just about like
  1179. 00:49:26.360 – 00:49:30.340 overcoming in life and positivity and yeah.
  1180. 00:49:31.160 – 00:49:32.520 Those types of things.
  1181. 00:49:32.520 – 00:49:34.460 Give me a nice little snack.
  1182. 00:49:35.920 – 00:49:36.500 Drink some tea.
  1183. 00:49:36.780 – 00:49:37.780 Oh, what you cookin' on?
  1184. 00:49:37.900 – 00:49:38.700 What's your favorite snack?
  1185. 00:49:42.420 – 00:49:44.360 Maybe yogurt and granola fruit.
  1186. 00:49:45.160 – 00:49:47.240 I'm just, just helping you out.
  1187. 00:49:47.600 – 00:49:49.200 So, you know, people listen to you
  1188. 00:49:49.200 – 00:49:50.300 that want to hire you.
  1189. 00:49:50.760 – 00:49:52.220 All right, they know what to bring me.
  1190. 00:49:52.800 – 00:49:54.740 Yeah, and the music to play to get you, you know,
  1191. 00:49:55.120 – 00:49:56.400 have it all set up for you.
  1192. 00:49:56.500 – 00:49:58.700 Yeah, but I like all types of music.
  1193. 00:49:59.060 – 00:50:01.200 So, but that's just what came to mind.
  1194. 00:50:02.740 – 00:50:03.420 Cleo.
  1195. 00:50:03.560 – 00:50:06.800 So, I know we, you know, spoke earlier
  1196. 00:50:06.800 – 00:50:08.160 about being introverted.
  1197. 00:50:09.600 – 00:50:12.700 So how important is networking and relationship building?
  1198. 00:50:12.980 – 00:50:14.260 Ooh, so important.
  1199. 00:50:16.140 – 00:50:19.840 And honestly more important than I wished it was sometimes.
  1200. 00:50:20.060 – 00:50:20.740 Yeah.
  1201. 00:50:22.780 – 00:50:25.060 Between me, you and whoever's listening.
  1202. 00:50:25.600 – 00:50:28.320 More important than I wished it was sometimes.
  1203. 00:50:28.340 – 00:50:29.480 And it took me,
  1204. 00:50:30.080 – 00:50:32.320 like when I first started my business in 2020,
  1205. 00:50:32.880 – 00:50:34.960 I know I wasn't networking as much as I should.
  1206. 00:50:35.020 – 00:50:37.140 I mean, and for other obvious reasons,
  1207. 00:50:37.200 – 00:50:39.980 the world was shut down, so to speak.
  1208. 00:50:40.280 – 00:50:42.860 But like, you know, I would go like in 21
  1209. 00:50:42.860 – 00:50:44.440 when things are to open back up,
  1210. 00:50:44.460 – 00:50:47.080 like I would go to pop-up shops and, you know,
  1211. 00:50:47.200 – 00:50:49.620 things like that and do that for a few hours
  1212. 00:50:49.620 – 00:50:51.400 and then just be so happy it was over with.
  1213. 00:50:51.480 – 00:50:53.520 But as far as like going to other events
  1214. 00:50:53.520 – 00:50:55.860 and, you know, meeting other people,
  1215. 00:50:55.880 – 00:50:57.440 like I would meet some people there,
  1216. 00:50:57.440 – 00:50:59.580 but outside of that,
  1217. 00:50:59.580 – 00:51:01.420 I didn't really do a whole lot of networking.
  1218. 00:51:01.860 – 00:51:03.240 But it is very important.
  1219. 00:51:03.280 – 00:51:06.160 It can open up a lot of doors to open up other doors.
  1220. 00:51:06.500 – 00:51:11.100 It really, you know, it's true when they say
  1221. 00:51:11.100 – 00:51:15.320 that you should, it's about who you know and not,
  1222. 00:51:16.060 – 00:51:17.160 it's about who you know.
  1223. 00:51:17.440 – 00:51:20.180 Because there are, you might think that something is
  1224. 00:51:20.180 – 00:51:22.680 well above what you can do
  1225. 00:51:22.680 – 00:51:25.360 and then you realize who's doing it.
  1226. 00:51:25.420 – 00:51:26.800 And that's like no shame,
  1227. 00:51:26.800 – 00:51:28.360 but you'd be like, oh.
  1228. 00:51:28.680 – 00:51:31.560 Like, you know, and it's like, well, if.
  1229. 00:51:32.800 – 00:51:36.140 Surely I could do that too, because I have,
  1230. 00:51:36.560 – 00:51:38.560 and you know, sometimes you have more experience
  1231. 00:51:38.560 – 00:51:40.240 than somebody that's doing it.
  1232. 00:51:40.240 – 00:51:42.420 You have more knowledge behind something
  1233. 00:51:42.420 – 00:51:45.260 and you might even have more talent sometimes.
  1234. 00:51:45.260 – 00:51:47.140 And again, that's no shade, but like, you know,
  1235. 00:51:47.160 – 00:51:50.200 but they have more goal than you do.
  1236. 00:51:50.600 – 00:51:53.060 They went after it in a different way than you did.
  1237. 00:51:53.060 – 00:51:57.200 And so, you know, you can't just sit behind your computer
  1238. 00:51:57.740 – 00:52:00.280 and try to put out posts here and there
  1239. 00:52:00.280 – 00:52:01.820 and say like, oh, the clients will come.
  1240. 00:52:01.880 – 00:52:03.800 Like, no, you have to go after them.
  1241. 00:52:04.520 – 00:52:05.000 Yeah.
  1242. 00:52:05.240 – 00:52:06.000 That's true.
  1243. 00:52:06.880 – 00:52:11.640 So speaking more on, you know, finding your dream client
  1244. 00:52:11.640 – 00:52:13.580 or even your first client for, you know,
  1245. 00:52:13.700 – 00:52:17.320 new entrepreneurs or a new interior designer,
  1246. 00:52:17.880 – 00:52:19.980 would you recommend pop-up shops first
  1247. 00:52:19.980 – 00:52:21.740 or like just from your experience,
  1248. 00:52:21.740 – 00:52:22.840 how would you start off?
  1249. 00:52:23.640 – 00:52:26.700 The pop-up shop scene definitely was cool.
  1250. 00:52:26.720 – 00:52:28.700 That was when I was doing a lot more
  1251. 00:52:28.700 – 00:52:31.520 of like my resin work also.
  1252. 00:52:32.200 – 00:52:34.240 So, you know, but it's all about
  1253. 00:52:34.240 – 00:52:36.620 how you give your pitch to people too.
  1254. 00:52:37.020 – 00:52:38.980 So when people will come to my table
  1255. 00:52:38.980 – 00:52:40.740 instead of just being like, you know,
  1256. 00:52:40.840 – 00:52:42.960 oh, hey, I do resin art.
  1257. 00:52:43.140 – 00:52:44.260 Oh, I make coasters.
  1258. 00:52:44.280 – 00:52:46.220 Like, you know, I can do a resin canvas,
  1259. 00:52:46.400 – 00:52:46.960 whatever, whatever.
  1260. 00:52:47.060 – 00:52:48.240 I would also say, hey, like,
  1261. 00:52:48.360 – 00:52:50.200 I also do interior design services.
  1262. 00:52:50.200 – 00:52:51.940 So, you know, take my card.
  1263. 00:52:52.360 – 00:52:53.540 So how would you pitch?
  1264. 00:52:53.620 – 00:52:56.060 If I came up to you, how are you doing?
  1265. 00:52:56.640 – 00:52:57.900 Hi, I'm Justine.
  1266. 00:52:57.940 – 00:53:00.180 This is my company, Just Designs.
  1267. 00:53:00.300 – 00:53:02.100 So here today, I'm showcasing, you know,
  1268. 00:53:02.120 – 00:53:03.620 some of my resin products here.
  1269. 00:53:03.640 – 00:53:05.780 I make resin decor for people's homes,
  1270. 00:53:06.240 – 00:53:08.160 but I'm also an interior designer.
  1271. 00:53:08.440 – 00:53:10.060 So I can come into your space.
  1272. 00:53:10.060 – 00:53:11.640 I can help you renovate it.
  1273. 00:53:11.640 – 00:53:14.160 And then I can also furnish it
  1274. 00:53:14.160 – 00:53:16.860 with one of my lovely pieces here
  1275. 00:53:16.860 – 00:53:18.740 that I have on display and for sale today.
  1276. 00:53:18.740 – 00:53:20.180 Y'all know something along those lines.
  1277. 00:53:20.380 – 00:53:21.600 I be top of the dome.
  1278. 00:53:21.760 – 00:53:22.500 I just be rolling.
  1279. 00:53:24.440 – 00:53:26.020 I don't know if I'll say I'm a pro.
  1280. 00:53:26.180 – 00:53:27.780 I think I just kind of like,
  1281. 00:53:28.900 – 00:53:30.640 go into like a different space.
  1282. 00:53:30.780 – 00:53:32.080 Like I'd be like, okay, I know I'm here
  1283. 00:53:32.080 – 00:53:33.020 and I have to do this.
  1284. 00:53:33.040 – 00:53:35.580 So let me, and then I just,
  1285. 00:53:36.280 – 00:53:37.920 and sometimes whoever you're talking to,
  1286. 00:53:38.040 – 00:53:39.000 you can bounce off of them
  1287. 00:53:39.000 – 00:53:41.640 to things come out in different ways.
  1288. 00:53:43.360 – 00:53:45.520 So is it like a bandwidth,
  1289. 00:53:45.640 – 00:53:48.500 maybe like at a networking event?
  1290. 00:53:48.500 – 00:53:50.840 Like, okay, I got to talk to at least three people
  1291. 00:53:50.840 – 00:53:53.760 before I leave or I'm gonna get this speaker
  1292. 00:53:53.760 – 00:53:55.820 or I know this person will be there.
  1293. 00:53:55.840 – 00:53:56.740 I'm gonna network with them.
  1294. 00:53:56.880 – 00:53:57.880 Okay, I can leave.
  1295. 00:53:58.040 – 00:54:00.100 I'm not leaving till these things happen.
  1296. 00:54:00.160 – 00:54:01.740 Or it's just like the kind of
  1297. 00:54:01.740 – 00:54:02.880 go with the flow type of thing.
  1298. 00:54:07.910 – 00:54:10.810 I guess it depends because I don't think
  1299. 00:54:10.810 – 00:54:12.230 I've ever sat and thought like,
  1300. 00:54:12.250 – 00:54:14.670 okay, I want to make sure I talk to X amount of people.
  1301. 00:54:14.690 – 00:54:18.650 That's actually a big strategy to help somebody like me.
  1302. 00:54:19.430 – 00:54:23.010 I usually do have a reason why I'm going to an event.
  1303. 00:54:23.130 – 00:54:26.030 Either I want to support whoever's hosting it
  1304. 00:54:26.670 – 00:54:29.070 or there's something that's really cool about it,
  1305. 00:54:29.070 – 00:54:30.590 the information that I want to get.
  1306. 00:54:31.010 – 00:54:32.030 So when it comes to that,
  1307. 00:54:32.030 – 00:54:34.930 I definitely want to make sure I get the information
  1308. 00:54:34.930 – 00:54:37.410 or talk to whoever it is that I intended
  1309. 00:54:37.410 – 00:54:38.790 on talking to for sure.
  1310. 00:54:38.930 – 00:54:41.650 But I probably should implement more of,
  1311. 00:54:41.690 – 00:54:43.710 let me make sure that I talk to three
  1312. 00:54:43.710 – 00:54:44.950 or four other people.
  1313. 00:54:46.710 – 00:54:49.570 I usually end up talking to other people anyway,
  1314. 00:54:49.610 – 00:54:53.350 but I never keep like a quantitative track.
  1315. 00:54:54.210 – 00:54:56.630 So that might be good to do.
  1316. 00:54:57.510 – 00:54:59.330 What was like the most you ever had?
  1317. 00:54:59.370 – 00:55:02.970 And I appreciate to support some of my recent events
  1318. 00:55:02.970 – 00:55:04.290 that I was a part of.
  1319. 00:55:04.550 – 00:55:04.970 Of course.
  1320. 00:55:06.030 – 00:55:07.630 I love the creative scene in Cleveland.
  1321. 00:55:07.890 – 00:55:11.210 I feel like from what I've experienced
  1322. 00:55:11.210 – 00:55:12.310 is very welcoming.
  1323. 00:55:13.030 – 00:55:15.470 People are willing to work with other people.
  1324. 00:55:15.630 – 00:55:16.470 I think that's great.
  1325. 00:55:18.790 – 00:55:22.210 Well, it grew to that and I'm glad to be,
  1326. 00:55:22.790 – 00:55:24.470 I'm glad to be part of that change.
  1327. 00:55:24.950 – 00:55:25.550 Yeah, that's good.
  1328. 00:55:25.910 – 00:55:26.670 Conscious community.
  1329. 00:55:29.210 – 00:55:30.970 Oh yeah, it's like a war zone.
  1330. 00:55:31.210 – 00:55:31.690 Really?
  1331. 00:55:31.970 – 00:55:33.170 Not just creative community,
  1332. 00:55:33.310 – 00:55:36.410 but just the city in general or business in general.
  1333. 00:55:36.490 – 00:55:36.970 Yeah.
  1334. 00:55:37.270 – 00:55:39.010 I'm glad the culture has changed
  1335. 00:55:39.010 – 00:55:40.190 and the art scene has changed
  1336. 00:55:40.190 – 00:55:41.630 and we have some talents of people.
  1337. 00:55:41.630 – 00:55:42.630 We do.
  1338. 00:55:42.790 – 00:55:43.290 We do.
  1339. 00:55:43.490 – 00:55:46.730 Yeah, I've met a lot of talented people over the years.
  1340. 00:55:47.170 – 00:55:47.710 Definitely.
  1341. 00:55:49.850 – 00:55:53.730 Yeah, that's always keep a good artist in my back pocket
  1342. 00:55:53.730 – 00:55:59.450 because we're the real leaders in this community.
  1343. 00:56:00.550 – 00:56:03.150 We're the first people people see,
  1344. 00:56:03.150 – 00:56:06.250 like the designs and what people hear from music
  1345. 00:56:06.250 – 00:56:08.730 and poetry and so on.
  1346. 00:56:09.670 – 00:56:12.610 We're speaking for the climate of the world
  1347. 00:56:12.610 – 00:56:15.350 and the culture and society at the time too,
  1348. 00:56:15.730 – 00:56:16.710 which is really cool.
  1349. 00:56:16.870 – 00:56:18.390 I'd be interested to see
  1350. 00:56:19.250 – 00:56:21.130 what the kids are gonna read about
  1351. 00:56:21.830 – 00:56:24.250 in the books and reference this time.
  1352. 00:56:24.710 – 00:56:26.070 I'm curious to see,
  1353. 00:56:26.230 – 00:56:28.630 with everything being so simplistic
  1354. 00:56:28.630 – 00:56:30.510 and streamlined and modern,
  1355. 00:56:30.970 – 00:56:34.030 I'm interested to see how they will describe
  1356. 00:56:34.030 – 00:56:35.590 where we are as a society
  1357. 00:56:35.590 – 00:56:37.430 and how that was reflected in design.
  1358. 00:56:37.430 – 00:56:41.590 Because it's kind of void of warmth at times.
  1359. 00:56:42.810 – 00:56:45.030 And maybe that's reflective of some of the things
  1360. 00:56:45.030 – 00:56:47.170 that we've been going through in the past few years.
  1361. 00:56:49.210 – 00:56:53.250 Yeah, I'm very interested with 50 years from now,
  1362. 00:56:53.250 – 00:56:57.310 even now with robots that's emerged.
  1363. 00:56:57.310 – 00:56:58.090 Oh God.
  1364. 00:56:59.550 – 00:57:01.110 Are you a fan of AI?
  1365. 00:57:01.730 – 00:57:02.230 Huh?
  1366. 00:57:03.970 – 00:57:08.170 So, a little joke, or maybe not.
  1367. 00:57:09.510 – 00:57:10.610 My name is AI.
  1368. 00:57:12.510 – 00:57:14.290 You know, a lot of people know me as Alien Eyes.
  1369. 00:57:15.390 – 00:57:17.070 Okay, but those are your initials.
  1370. 00:57:17.310 – 00:57:18.490 Yeah, photography business,
  1371. 00:57:18.650 – 00:57:23.010 but my actual artist name, Alien Eye Player,
  1372. 00:57:23.290 – 00:57:25.850 I like iPhone, so AI.
  1373. 00:57:26.390 – 00:57:28.430 And then also being on the basketball court,
  1374. 00:57:28.570 – 00:57:30.050 they used to say I used to look like AI.
  1375. 00:57:30.050 – 00:57:30.690 Oh, really?
  1376. 00:57:30.970 – 00:57:31.990 Yeah, when I was in there,
  1377. 00:57:32.090 – 00:57:35.630 because I used to have braids and had the little hair.
  1378. 00:57:35.630 – 00:57:41.610 And so, but as far as artificial intelligence,
  1379. 00:57:44.830 – 00:57:46.330 again, it's a double-edged sword.
  1380. 00:57:47.910 – 00:57:50.650 You know, it's good for certain tasks and automations
  1381. 00:57:50.650 – 00:57:55.430 and, you know, to maximize your productivity
  1382. 00:57:55.430 – 00:57:56.530 and also revenue.
  1383. 00:57:57.870 – 00:58:00.490 But as far as like where it's going,
  1384. 00:58:00.650 – 00:58:03.350 and like I said, robots, like iRobot,
  1385. 00:58:03.530 – 00:58:04.890 have anybody seen that movie?
  1386. 00:58:05.650 – 00:58:07.130 I would say 10 years,
  1387. 00:58:07.130 – 00:58:09.150 because that's what they want to develop
  1388. 00:58:09.150 – 00:58:12.990 and kind of turn the world, too, which can be scary.
  1389. 00:58:16.170 – 00:58:18.230 You know, we just have to embrace it.
  1390. 00:58:18.310 – 00:58:19.550 And kind of like with music,
  1391. 00:58:21.490 – 00:58:24.750 you know, a lot of things were like Ed and Flo
  1392. 00:58:25.630 – 00:58:29.650 and even with how music was recorded
  1393. 00:58:29.650 – 00:58:31.950 and even released and published,
  1394. 00:58:33.390 – 00:58:36.610 like we had sometimes 10 minute songs,
  1395. 00:58:36.610 – 00:58:37.610 five minute songs.
  1396. 00:58:37.910 – 00:58:40.770 Now TikTok made it, you know, nine seconds.
  1397. 00:58:41.790 – 00:58:46.370 So even the thought behind it is becoming more simple
  1398. 00:58:46.370 – 00:58:48.510 and, you know, less work, less talent.
  1399. 00:58:48.790 – 00:58:49.550 They have mumble rap.
  1400. 00:58:49.810 – 00:58:50.450 Less thought.
  1401. 00:58:54.090 – 00:58:55.910 And like you said, yeah, less thought
  1402. 00:58:55.910 – 00:58:58.350 and even artificial intelligent music.
  1403. 00:58:58.770 – 00:58:59.510 Like what? Yeah.
  1404. 00:59:00.290 – 00:59:02.490 They got some apps and websites,
  1405. 00:59:02.670 – 00:59:05.730 you could just type in a prop and you got a song.
  1406. 00:59:06.930 – 00:59:09.750 It's taking the human hand out of a lot of things
  1407. 00:59:09.750 – 00:59:13.070 that the human hand needs to be in, I think.
  1408. 00:59:13.270 – 00:59:14.930 Do you use AI for it? No.
  1409. 00:59:15.390 – 00:59:15.830 Okay.
  1410. 00:59:16.270 – 00:59:17.030 Except for it, okay.
  1411. 00:59:17.410 – 00:59:17.930 No.
  1412. 00:59:18.570 – 00:59:20.030 Would you like to, Johnna Ly?
  1413. 00:59:20.450 – 00:59:21.590 I don't know.
  1414. 00:59:22.790 – 00:59:25.470 I don't want to be totally negative about it.
  1415. 00:59:25.490 – 00:59:30.990 I really don't because it is where things are headed.
  1416. 00:59:33.750 – 00:59:36.410 Or like, okay, let's say if you
  1417. 00:59:36.410 – 00:59:39.010 have a client on a call with them virtually,
  1418. 00:59:40.030 – 00:59:43.210 you have a way to kind of put together the room
  1419. 00:59:43.210 – 00:59:44.610 before you actually put it together.
  1420. 00:59:45.630 – 00:59:47.990 Yeah, but we have rendering programs for that.
  1421. 00:59:48.370 – 00:59:49.230 You see what I'm saying?
  1422. 00:59:50.010 – 00:59:53.170 Like I can, yes, it'll be quicker,
  1423. 00:59:53.170 – 00:59:55.290 but what I don't like about it
  1424. 00:59:55.290 – 00:59:57.130 is it can show you anything,
  1425. 00:59:57.130 – 01:00:04.820 whether it's functional or doable or not.
  1426. 01:00:05.440 – 01:00:08.460 You know, like people, I have had people say like,
  1427. 01:00:08.460 – 01:00:11.280 I just did this on AI really quickly.
  1428. 01:00:11.840 – 01:00:13.700 I have them do my home to make me like,
  1429. 01:00:13.980 – 01:00:15.380 and they'll show it to you.
  1430. 01:00:15.400 – 01:00:17.060 And it's kind of like some of this stuff
  1431. 01:00:17.060 – 01:00:19.160 is not even physically possible.
  1432. 01:00:20.160 – 01:00:23.940 So now it's like you have this idea of what you want,
  1433. 01:00:23.940 – 01:00:26.060 but maybe that's not possible for your space
  1434. 01:00:26.060 – 01:00:28.400 because there are other things that need to be looked at.
  1435. 01:00:28.740 – 01:00:31.960 You don't know if there are studs behind your wall
  1436. 01:00:31.960 – 01:00:34.360 that can support that, or you know what I mean?
  1437. 01:00:34.380 – 01:00:36.120 Like you don't even know if that can be,
  1438. 01:00:36.720 – 01:00:38.560 you don't know if that soffit
  1439. 01:00:38.560 – 01:00:40.500 has plumbing and electrical in it,
  1440. 01:00:40.520 – 01:00:41.580 but this is showing you
  1441. 01:00:41.580 – 01:00:43.080 that you could just get rid of that to do.
  1442. 01:00:43.100 – 01:00:44.920 You can do that technically though.
  1443. 01:00:45.320 – 01:00:47.580 And so that's why you need people.
  1444. 01:00:47.680 – 01:00:51.200 And I feel like we have rendering software
  1445. 01:00:51.200 – 01:00:52.320 that does that.
  1446. 01:00:52.620 – 01:00:54.100 Like that's why you pay an artist.
  1447. 01:00:54.260 – 01:00:54.960 You know what I'm saying?
  1448. 01:00:55.260 – 01:00:57.400 Like I'm into paying people for their craft,
  1449. 01:00:57.480 – 01:00:59.260 not just artists, but mechanics.
  1450. 01:00:59.760 – 01:01:00.540 Like, you know what I mean?
  1451. 01:01:01.020 – 01:01:03.800 Like culinary chefs, bakers, that's your craft.
  1452. 01:01:04.640 – 01:01:07.720 Maybe it's because I have a specialty craft
  1453. 01:01:07.720 – 01:01:08.660 and I have a business,
  1454. 01:01:08.720 – 01:01:10.640 like I understand it from a different level.
  1455. 01:01:10.660 – 01:01:11.200 Right.
  1456. 01:01:12.420 – 01:01:17.000 You put time and energy and money
  1457. 01:01:17.000 – 01:01:19.480 into gaining this knowledge
  1458. 01:01:19.480 – 01:01:21.580 and you're an expert at this
  1459. 01:01:21.580 – 01:01:25.140 in a way that AI, in a sense,
  1460. 01:01:25.200 – 01:01:26.540 in my opinion, can't be.
  1461. 01:01:26.880 – 01:01:29.680 Like you've touched this, you've worked with this.
  1462. 01:01:30.340 – 01:01:31.580 I appreciate that.
  1463. 01:01:31.580 – 01:01:34.000 That's how you keep money flowing.
  1464. 01:01:35.780 – 01:01:37.380 You pay somebody for their specialty,
  1465. 01:01:37.440 – 01:01:39.700 they pay you for yours, you know?
  1466. 01:01:40.000 – 01:01:43.120 Yeah, like you said, like expertise
  1467. 01:01:43.120 – 01:01:45.840 and putting the time in at 10,000 hours,
  1468. 01:01:45.920 – 01:01:46.840 a lot of people say.
  1469. 01:01:48.060 – 01:01:51.380 And AI just popped up on the scene, you know?
  1470. 01:01:52.340 – 01:01:55.140 So I mean, I guess, you know,
  1471. 01:01:55.240 – 01:01:58.960 I'm still trying to figure out how I would use it,
  1472. 01:01:59.100 – 01:02:00.440 I guess is what I'm trying to say.
  1473. 01:02:00.440 – 01:02:03.040 I don't really trust it at this point,
  1474. 01:02:03.100 – 01:02:06.000 at least enough to do like room renderings,
  1475. 01:02:06.340 – 01:02:08.940 but maybe just for inspirational purposes.
  1476. 01:02:09.520 – 01:02:11.200 Maybe it could be useful for, you know,
  1477. 01:02:11.220 – 01:02:12.140 just things like that.
  1478. 01:02:12.180 – 01:02:14.260 Like, you know, hey, show me how you would do this room.
  1479. 01:02:15.320 – 01:02:17.560 Maybe I can get inspiration from that
  1480. 01:02:17.560 – 01:02:19.940 and then like, you know, then continue to create.
  1481. 01:02:21.120 – 01:02:23.800 But I'm trying to figure it out, child, I don't know.
  1482. 01:02:24.500 – 01:02:26.580 I don't wanna be totally against it.
  1483. 01:02:26.580 – 01:02:28.560 I don't wanna be totally negative about it,
  1484. 01:02:28.560 – 01:02:32.180 but I definitely think that there is something to be said
  1485. 01:02:32.180 – 01:02:35.420 about a human brain being behind something.
  1486. 01:02:36.320 – 01:02:40.060 And also, we spoke on earlier the emotion behind it.
  1487. 01:02:40.300 – 01:02:40.680 Exactly.
  1488. 01:02:41.320 – 01:02:46.600 There is no emotional side with these robots
  1489. 01:02:46.600 – 01:02:49.720 that's being built and also the AI.
  1490. 01:02:50.380 – 01:02:51.740 But with humans, like you said,
  1491. 01:02:51.800 – 01:02:53.060 you know, we can feel that.
  1492. 01:02:53.360 – 01:02:54.820 You want that human touch.
  1493. 01:02:55.620 – 01:02:57.700 And it's funny because while there are
  1494. 01:02:57.700 – 01:03:01.560 still a lot of people who like and think that like,
  1495. 01:03:01.680 – 01:03:06.120 you know, they're more robotic or AI operations are cool,
  1496. 01:03:06.260 – 01:03:09.700 there are still a lot of people that will surprise you
  1497. 01:03:09.700 – 01:03:12.260 and say, actually, I would prefer for this
  1498. 01:03:12.260 – 01:03:13.020 to be handmade.
  1499. 01:03:13.660 – 01:03:16.020 You know, there are still people that do prefer that.
  1500. 01:03:16.120 – 01:03:20.640 So it's just all about finding your audience, I guess.
  1501. 01:03:21.820 – 01:03:23.040 Nice, nice, nice.
  1502. 01:03:25.660 – 01:03:30.620 So how would you brace yourself for what's to come?
  1503. 01:03:30.860 – 01:03:33.340 Because like, it's here, I'm still evolving,
  1504. 01:03:33.460 – 01:03:35.600 evolving every day, every week, you know.
  1505. 01:03:35.920 – 01:03:37.140 Right now as we speak.
  1506. 01:03:38.880 – 01:03:43.000 So how would you say you would kinda navigate that space
  1507. 01:03:43.000 – 01:03:44.780 because, you know, they could be like,
  1508. 01:03:44.820 – 01:03:48.360 oh, I may just hire this robot and, you know.
  1509. 01:03:48.900 – 01:03:50.420 How would you navigate things?
  1510. 01:03:53.900 – 01:03:55.120 That's a good question.
  1511. 01:03:55.120 – 01:03:55.980 I mean.
  1512. 01:03:57.860 – 01:04:00.300 Could it be that somebody could make a clone Justine?
  1513. 01:04:00.620 – 01:04:01.520 Oh, God.
  1514. 01:04:02.460 – 01:04:05.120 Like I could just, you know, build a bot.
  1515. 01:04:05.160 – 01:04:06.760 Like if I had to build a bear, build a bot.
  1516. 01:04:06.980 – 01:04:07.680 Build a bot.
  1517. 01:04:07.780 – 01:04:08.660 Lord have mercy.
  1518. 01:04:09.260 – 01:04:10.960 And then this is on recording,
  1519. 01:04:11.340 – 01:04:12.820 somebody gonna make that one.
  1520. 01:04:13.340 – 01:04:14.240 Oh, they're building an AI robot.
  1521. 01:04:14.640 – 01:04:14.920 Dang.
  1522. 01:04:21.430 – 01:04:22.310 It's a loaded question.
  1523. 01:04:22.450 – 01:04:26.070 A robot can't, while it can be efficient,
  1524. 01:04:26.270 – 01:04:28.030 it can be told what to do.
  1525. 01:04:28.030 – 01:04:30.670 But as far as, I don't know though,
  1526. 01:04:30.710 – 01:04:32.390 cause AI does come up with stuff.
  1527. 01:04:32.590 – 01:04:34.570 Cause I was gonna say, as far as coming up with ideas,
  1528. 01:04:35.130 – 01:04:37.310 AI does come up with things, but.
  1529. 01:04:37.730 – 01:04:39.650 We come up with the ideas and then come.
  1530. 01:04:39.650 – 01:04:41.450 And we feed it to AI.
  1531. 01:04:41.690 – 01:04:42.310 That's true.
  1532. 01:04:42.670 – 01:04:43.330 That's true.
  1533. 01:04:43.910 – 01:04:44.490 That's true.
  1534. 01:04:45.190 – 01:04:48.050 So yeah, I mean, going along those lines,
  1535. 01:04:48.190 – 01:04:49.970 you know, there's only one of me,
  1536. 01:04:50.230 – 01:04:51.710 just like there's only one of you.
  1537. 01:04:52.130 – 01:04:54.810 I mean, there are people, you know,
  1538. 01:04:54.810 – 01:04:56.890 who feel like there are certain archetypes of people
  1539. 01:04:56.890 – 01:04:57.930 and maybe there are,
  1540. 01:04:58.790 – 01:05:02.330 but under all of those archetypes are still individual people
  1541. 01:05:02.330 – 01:05:05.030 who have their own thoughts and their own experiences
  1542. 01:05:05.030 – 01:05:07.010 that have shaped who they've become as a person,
  1543. 01:05:07.030 – 01:05:08.270 how they deal with things,
  1544. 01:05:08.490 – 01:05:11.590 how they see things and how they choose to express
  1545. 01:05:11.590 – 01:05:13.050 or showcase those things.
  1546. 01:05:14.170 – 01:05:15.690 And I don't think that's something
  1547. 01:05:15.690 – 01:05:20.490 that can be replicated through any artificial intelligence
  1548. 01:05:20.490 – 01:05:24.970 or, you know, through a robot.
  1549. 01:05:24.970 – 01:05:29.470 I mean, you know, even being able to sit with a client,
  1550. 01:05:29.850 – 01:05:32.410 like I'm very big on client-based design,
  1551. 01:05:32.930 – 01:05:36.950 like so functionality and also aesthetic,
  1552. 01:05:37.490 – 01:05:40.370 aesthetically pleasing, aesthetically functional spaces.
  1553. 01:05:41.150 – 01:05:44.230 I guess you can say, I have a client in Twinsburg.
  1554. 01:05:44.590 – 01:05:47.510 We're on his third full project,
  1555. 01:05:47.770 – 01:05:50.650 technically his like fourth or fifth with me,
  1556. 01:05:50.770 – 01:05:52.790 but like full room project.
  1557. 01:05:53.430 – 01:05:53.910 And-
  1558. 01:05:53.910 – 01:05:54.750 Like a real estate?
  1559. 01:05:55.250 – 01:05:56.390 No, in his home.
  1560. 01:05:57.550 – 01:05:59.570 So like we did his master bedroom suite.
  1561. 01:05:59.650 – 01:06:00.990 We did his hall bath.
  1562. 01:06:01.550 – 01:06:05.370 We did some touches of stuff in his living room.
  1563. 01:06:06.790 – 01:06:09.790 We're now working on his basement bathroom.
  1564. 01:06:11.210 – 01:06:15.130 And I know him because I've worked with him since 23.
  1565. 01:06:15.210 – 01:06:16.410 It's been almost two years now.
  1566. 01:06:16.490 – 01:06:18.070 Oh, we did some lighting fixtures.
  1567. 01:06:18.130 – 01:06:19.650 That was the first project that we did
  1568. 01:06:19.650 – 01:06:21.970 was replacing some lighting fixtures.
  1569. 01:06:22.790 – 01:06:24.410 He was actually my first client
  1570. 01:06:24.410 – 01:06:26.110 that I didn't know personally.
  1571. 01:06:26.170 – 01:06:27.290 He found me on Facebook.
  1572. 01:06:27.370 – 01:06:29.430 I was like, he took a chance on a young girl.
  1573. 01:06:30.010 – 01:06:35.230 I appreciate him more than he know, but I really do.
  1574. 01:06:35.410 – 01:06:38.450 He's a great client, but I use him as an example
  1575. 01:06:38.450 – 01:06:41.070 because I've worked with him for two years now.
  1576. 01:06:41.070 – 01:06:42.070 Like I know him.
  1577. 01:06:42.570 – 01:06:45.930 I know things that I can look at something and say,
  1578. 01:06:45.930 – 01:06:47.150 oh, he probably wouldn't like that.
  1579. 01:06:47.150 – 01:06:49.230 Or I can say, oh no, he would love this.
  1580. 01:06:49.450 – 01:06:51.150 Like, you know, and he'll be like, yeah, you know,
  1581. 01:06:51.150 – 01:06:53.790 I do really like that because we have that relationship
  1582. 01:06:53.790 – 01:06:55.110 where I've gotten to know him.
  1583. 01:06:55.210 – 01:06:56.830 Like, you know, we go to showrooms.
  1584. 01:06:57.130 – 01:06:58.390 We go to different stores.
  1585. 01:06:58.470 – 01:06:59.370 We look at things.
  1586. 01:06:59.430 – 01:07:00.650 We talk about things.
  1587. 01:07:01.850 – 01:07:04.050 I can tell based upon his body language
  1588. 01:07:04.050 – 01:07:06.010 if he really likes something or not.
  1589. 01:07:06.290 – 01:07:09.930 Like, you know, if he pauses and kind of like,
  1590. 01:07:09.930 – 01:07:12.970 you know, turns his head a couple ways, yeah.
  1591. 01:07:13.410 – 01:07:15.490 He doesn't like, he might think it's okay,
  1592. 01:07:15.550 – 01:07:16.890 but he doesn't like it that much.
  1593. 01:07:16.970 – 01:07:18.230 If he likes it, he'll go now.
  1594. 01:07:18.410 – 01:07:19.990 I really like that.
  1595. 01:07:19.990 – 01:07:21.610 And like, you know, his eyes get big.
  1596. 01:07:21.870 – 01:07:23.490 I know that he really likes this.
  1597. 01:07:24.110 – 01:07:26.490 You can't get, like, you can't replace that.
  1598. 01:07:26.910 – 01:07:30.530 Like, I have connections with my clients.
  1599. 01:07:30.650 – 01:07:32.850 I know the things that he needs in his spaces.
  1600. 01:07:34.250 – 01:07:35.550 You know, he's an older gentleman.
  1601. 01:07:35.850 – 01:07:38.230 So like, you know, he, while he's renovating,
  1602. 01:07:38.270 – 01:07:40.870 he also wants to make sure that he's keeping in mind
  1603. 01:07:40.870 – 01:07:44.170 for the future and like accessibility portions also.
  1604. 01:07:44.230 – 01:07:46.430 So there are things that I'm able to think about
  1605. 01:07:47.490 – 01:07:49.870 because I know, you know, these things about him
  1606. 01:07:49.870 – 01:07:51.410 that maybe he won't think about,
  1607. 01:07:51.730 – 01:07:53.350 but we've talked about it.
  1608. 01:07:53.530 – 01:07:56.110 And so, okay, me as the expert and the designer,
  1609. 01:07:56.450 – 01:07:58.470 I'm gonna tell you about these options
  1610. 01:07:58.470 – 01:08:00.070 that you have to help with this.
  1611. 01:08:01.010 – 01:08:03.090 Oh, I'm kind of curious.
  1612. 01:08:03.630 – 01:08:06.270 Like, I wanna kind of hear your thought process
  1613. 01:08:06.270 – 01:08:07.730 on your process.
  1614. 01:08:08.330 – 01:08:11.470 Like, someone's books with just designs
  1615. 01:08:11.950 – 01:08:13.410 kind of walk me through the process.
  1616. 01:08:13.690 – 01:08:17.350 Okay, if somebody reaches out, you know,
  1617. 01:08:17.350 – 01:08:21.770 and they want to see what I'm talking about.
  1618. 01:08:23.430 – 01:08:25.170 I like to start with the consultation.
  1619. 01:08:25.229 – 01:08:26.729 I like to go meet with them in person,
  1620. 01:08:26.770 – 01:08:30.590 even though I really am introverted at heart,
  1621. 01:08:30.630 – 01:08:32.830 I swear I am, like all my life.
  1622. 01:08:33.130 – 01:08:35.890 But I understand the importance of human connection
  1623. 01:08:35.890 – 01:08:38.529 and the importance of meeting with people
  1624. 01:08:38.529 – 01:08:39.970 who want to do business with you
  1625. 01:08:39.970 – 01:08:41.050 and give you their money.
  1626. 01:08:41.310 – 01:08:42.810 I need to meet with you in person.
  1627. 01:08:42.870 – 01:08:44.029 I need to come talk to you
  1628. 01:08:44.029 – 01:08:45.990 because like this is a serious transaction
  1629. 01:08:45.990 – 01:08:47.290 and I don't take that lightly.
  1630. 01:08:48.450 – 01:08:50.470 So I did just have a client.
  1631. 01:08:50.569 – 01:08:52.450 I did just gain a new client recently.
  1632. 01:08:52.930 – 01:08:55.430 I met her at my old part-time job.
  1633. 01:08:55.529 – 01:08:56.810 I gave her one of my cards.
  1634. 01:08:56.850 – 01:08:57.729 She needed help.
  1635. 01:08:58.109 – 01:08:59.470 She finally reached out to me.
  1636. 01:08:59.470 – 01:09:00.210 She called me.
  1637. 01:09:00.229 – 01:09:01.529 We scheduled a consultation.
  1638. 01:09:02.430 – 01:09:03.529 I went over there.
  1639. 01:09:03.810 – 01:09:05.410 I spoke with her and her daughter.
  1640. 01:09:06.689 – 01:09:09.609 We talked about, you know, where she's come,
  1641. 01:09:09.630 – 01:09:11.649 like, you know, with her space,
  1642. 01:09:11.750 – 01:09:13.270 what she wants to see from it.
  1643. 01:09:13.609 – 01:09:14.710 I measured the space.
  1644. 01:09:14.710 – 01:09:16.510 I actually, something new that I developed
  1645. 01:09:16.510 – 01:09:17.870 was a consultation checklist
  1646. 01:09:17.870 – 01:09:21.010 to make sure I don't forget things when I'm there.
  1647. 01:09:21.490 – 01:09:22.490 And then, systems.
  1648. 01:09:22.649 – 01:09:24.290 And then I can check some balances.
  1649. 01:09:24.609 – 01:09:26.430 And then I can like, you know,
  1650. 01:09:28.210 – 01:09:30.170 draft her floor plan, like on that.
  1651. 01:09:30.250 – 01:09:32.790 I made a space to be able to like draft the floor plan
  1652. 01:09:32.790 – 01:09:35.210 on that paper too, so everything is like right there.
  1653. 01:09:35.689 – 01:09:37.370 I take notes from there.
  1654. 01:09:38.050 – 01:09:41.330 I ask whatever questions I have to ask about the space,
  1655. 01:09:41.350 – 01:09:43.050 what they're looking for, what they need,
  1656. 01:09:43.050 – 01:09:45.050 what they like, what their style is.
  1657. 01:09:45.670 – 01:09:48.210 I let them pick my brain about different things.
  1658. 01:09:48.470 – 01:09:52.729 I also, because I am, you know, like relatively new,
  1659. 01:09:52.890 – 01:09:54.710 you know, like on the scene to design,
  1660. 01:09:55.010 – 01:09:58.430 I like to send people my portfolio, my resume.
  1661. 01:09:59.150 – 01:10:00.450 I technically have two resumes,
  1662. 01:10:00.590 – 01:10:02.790 a business one and like a career one
  1663. 01:10:02.790 – 01:10:04.070 for outside of my business.
  1664. 01:10:05.410 – 01:10:07.550 I like to tell them like, you know,
  1665. 01:10:07.550 – 01:10:08.890 just like about my credentials
  1666. 01:10:08.890 – 01:10:10.770 so that they can look at that in their own time.
  1667. 01:10:10.830 – 01:10:12.010 Send them my website.
  1668. 01:10:13.570 – 01:10:17.630 Give them all my contact info and I send them a contract.
  1669. 01:10:18.750 – 01:10:20.450 It has my rate on there.
  1670. 01:10:20.670 – 01:10:23.430 It has like my terms and conditions for myself
  1671. 01:10:23.430 – 01:10:24.930 and to protect the client.
  1672. 01:10:25.910 – 01:10:29.190 And as soon as they sign it, we can get started.
  1673. 01:10:29.650 – 01:10:31.430 So, you know, from there,
  1674. 01:10:32.810 – 01:10:34.130 again, client-based design.
  1675. 01:10:34.130 – 01:10:36.630 I do make sure that I'm still the one driving,
  1676. 01:10:37.970 – 01:10:40.270 but I wanna make sure that we're doing it
  1677. 01:10:40.270 – 01:10:41.970 at the pace that they wanna do it at.
  1678. 01:10:41.970 – 01:10:45.290 Like my Twinsburg client will have a meeting.
  1679. 01:10:45.450 – 01:10:46.630 Okay, this is what we're looking for.
  1680. 01:10:46.870 – 01:10:51.470 I'll go, I'll start looking for everything concurrently,
  1681. 01:10:51.690 – 01:10:53.190 like for the space, like, you know, everything.
  1682. 01:10:53.590 – 01:10:55.010 My new client, she was kind of like,
  1683. 01:10:55.010 – 01:10:56.550 well, let's just start with, you know,
  1684. 01:10:56.550 – 01:10:58.530 just this thing in the space
  1685. 01:10:58.530 – 01:11:00.150 and then we can move from there.
  1686. 01:11:00.550 – 01:11:01.750 Okay, I understand.
  1687. 01:11:02.090 – 01:11:03.090 Some people, you know,
  1688. 01:11:03.110 – 01:11:05.270 like she just wants to go step-by-step with it.
  1689. 01:11:05.270 – 01:11:07.050 So she wants to start, one of the biggest things
  1690. 01:11:07.050 – 01:11:08.770 she wants to look at is her window treatments.
  1691. 01:11:09.050 – 01:11:10.690 So we'll start with the window treatments.
  1692. 01:11:10.690 – 01:11:12.210 And after we figure that out,
  1693. 01:11:12.210 – 01:11:13.510 then we can move on from there.
  1694. 01:11:13.850 – 01:11:16.210 I really like to meet with people in person though.
  1695. 01:11:16.490 – 01:11:18.570 I did have somebody who tried to do more
  1696. 01:11:18.570 – 01:11:19.770 of like the virtual thing.
  1697. 01:11:20.190 – 01:11:22.270 It drew the process out way longer.
  1698. 01:11:22.310 – 01:11:23.510 And he had the nerve to ask me
  1699. 01:11:23.510 – 01:11:24.690 why it was taking so long.
  1700. 01:11:25.170 – 01:11:27.110 I was like, well, I can tell you.
  1701. 01:11:27.690 – 01:11:30.250 Because you don't wanna meet with me in person
  1702. 01:11:30.250 – 01:11:32.770 and go to these showrooms and look at things together.
  1703. 01:11:32.850 – 01:11:35.290 We can quickly make decisions
  1704. 01:11:35.290 – 01:11:38.010 and I can learn you and your style more.
  1705. 01:11:38.010 – 01:11:40.650 You want me to keep finding stuff online,
  1706. 01:11:41.030 – 01:11:42.650 sending it to you, emailing it,
  1707. 01:11:42.690 – 01:11:44.070 then you email me back and tell me
  1708. 01:11:44.070 – 01:11:45.370 what you liked or didn't like.
  1709. 01:11:45.790 – 01:11:48.030 And I didn't care for that as much.
  1710. 01:11:48.150 – 01:11:49.310 I mean, I'm open to it,
  1711. 01:11:49.310 – 01:11:53.790 but I prefer to just get a better sense of my client.
  1712. 01:11:53.850 – 01:11:54.890 So, you know, we go from there.
  1713. 01:11:54.890 – 01:11:56.930 If a contractor has to be brought in,
  1714. 01:11:57.250 – 01:12:00.270 I try to have the plans and everything laid out
  1715. 01:12:00.270 – 01:12:02.650 for the contractor so that way
  1716. 01:12:02.650 – 01:12:04.650 they're literally just coming in and doing.
  1717. 01:12:05.190 – 01:12:06.470 That is not, I try to do it
  1718. 01:12:06.470 – 01:12:08.670 where there's the least amount of decision making
  1719. 01:12:08.670 – 01:12:10.070 that has to be done by them
  1720. 01:12:10.070 – 01:12:11.850 because they really prefer to just come in
  1721. 01:12:11.850 – 01:12:12.550 and knock it out.
  1722. 01:12:12.810 – 01:12:15.050 Like they're not designers and they'll tell you that.
  1723. 01:12:15.350 – 01:12:18.650 Like, hey, I can recommend things that I've seen,
  1724. 01:12:18.650 – 01:12:20.270 but like, I don't really do that.
  1725. 01:12:20.450 – 01:12:23.090 So if a contractor or architect
  1726. 01:12:23.090 – 01:12:24.690 or you know, whoever has to be brought in,
  1727. 01:12:24.730 – 01:12:27.550 I try to do as much of all of that work
  1728. 01:12:27.550 – 01:12:30.870 and get everything on order before they come in
  1729. 01:12:30.870 – 01:12:33.110 so they can just kind of like knock the process out.
  1730. 01:12:33.110 – 01:12:36.170 But I still stay on the project with the client
  1731. 01:12:36.170 – 01:12:38.850 to see it through from beginning to end
  1732. 01:12:38.850 – 01:12:40.330 just in case something comes up
  1733. 01:12:40.330 – 01:12:43.050 because things have where maybe I had a plan
  1734. 01:12:43.050 – 01:12:44.430 for a pattern for something,
  1735. 01:12:44.430 – 01:12:47.370 but the tile wasn't exactly four by 12.
  1736. 01:12:47.410 – 01:12:51.550 It was really three and three eighths by 11 and a half.
  1737. 01:12:51.790 – 01:12:54.910 So the pattern that I created, you know,
  1738. 01:12:54.990 – 01:12:58.030 isn't gonna work with those sizing with that size.
  1739. 01:12:58.030 – 01:12:59.550 So I have to go to the drawing board
  1740. 01:12:59.550 – 01:13:00.790 and create something else.
  1741. 01:13:01.090 – 01:13:01.890 Okay, boom.
  1742. 01:13:01.890 – 01:13:03.350 Then here's a new solution.
  1743. 01:13:03.550 – 01:13:05.890 Like, you know, so we're still problem solving,
  1744. 01:13:05.970 – 01:13:07.390 still helping to troubleshoot.
  1745. 01:13:07.610 – 01:13:10.830 And also people have a lot of interesting interactions
  1746. 01:13:10.830 – 01:13:13.330 with contractors, unfortunately.
  1747. 01:13:13.810 – 01:13:16.090 So I like to be able to be that person,
  1748. 01:13:16.290 – 01:13:17.370 point person there too,
  1749. 01:13:17.370 – 01:13:21.070 to be able to go to bat for the client if necessary.
  1750. 01:13:21.430 – 01:13:24.670 Well, what type of interesting interactions?
  1751. 01:13:26.110 – 01:13:28.250 You know, you hear a lot of horror stories
  1752. 01:13:28.250 – 01:13:30.650 from people and contractors that they've worked with
  1753. 01:13:30.650 – 01:13:33.370 and how they've been flaked on or the contractor,
  1754. 01:13:33.370 – 01:13:34.830 you know, ghosted them or,
  1755. 01:13:35.350 – 01:13:36.650 oh, I gave them half of the money,
  1756. 01:13:36.790 – 01:13:38.490 you know, like just like things like that
  1757. 01:13:38.490 – 01:13:41.830 that are just not great or they cut corners on things.
  1758. 01:13:42.830 – 01:13:42.890 And-
  1759. 01:13:42.890 – 01:13:44.210 Even with a contract in place?
  1760. 01:13:47.220 – 01:13:47.640 Yeah.
  1761. 01:13:49.280 – 01:13:50.860 Yeah, like people will.
  1762. 01:13:51.120 – 01:13:54.240 So like, if it's just a client to contractor,
  1763. 01:13:54.500 – 01:13:57.340 you know, a lot of clients don't necessarily
  1764. 01:13:57.340 – 01:13:59.480 have a lot of trade or industry knowledge.
  1765. 01:13:59.480 – 01:14:04.120 So they might not realize or see that something
  1766. 01:14:04.120 – 01:14:08.400 that you did wasn't done right until well after the fact.
  1767. 01:14:08.740 – 01:14:11.580 But you cut those corners in those ways because,
  1768. 01:14:11.980 – 01:14:16.140 and luckily I have not worked with contractors like that.
  1769. 01:14:16.380 – 01:14:19.000 The contractor that I work with, he is great.
  1770. 01:14:19.180 – 01:14:20.200 Like I recommend him.
  1771. 01:14:20.700 – 01:14:22.160 I would always recommend him.
  1772. 01:14:22.220 – 01:14:23.740 But I've heard of these stories,
  1773. 01:14:23.800 – 01:14:25.560 people having gone through these things
  1774. 01:14:25.560 – 01:14:28.160 and it's because they didn't know any better.
  1775. 01:14:28.160 – 01:14:29.920 And sometimes people are just shady.
  1776. 01:14:30.340 – 01:14:31.420 You don't know any better.
  1777. 01:14:31.480 – 01:14:33.340 And so they'll take you for a little ride.
  1778. 01:14:34.660 – 01:14:37.000 And, you know, cut corners to save time,
  1779. 01:14:37.340 – 01:14:40.420 maybe to save money on material cost from their cut.
  1780. 01:14:40.620 – 01:14:41.340 You know what I mean?
  1781. 01:14:42.940 – 01:14:45.600 So things like that where I can kind of,
  1782. 01:14:45.720 – 01:14:46.680 I don't know everything.
  1783. 01:14:46.900 – 01:14:48.640 I'm never trying to make it seem like I do,
  1784. 01:14:48.640 – 01:14:51.520 but I have enough knowledge to be able to say,
  1785. 01:14:52.020 – 01:14:54.060 that doesn't seem right, you know?
  1786. 01:14:54.260 – 01:14:55.000 Intuition tool.
  1787. 01:14:55.280 – 01:14:55.640 Yeah.
  1788. 01:14:55.840 – 01:14:57.740 And to help hold them accountable.
  1789. 01:14:57.740 – 01:15:00.880 Make sure that what the client needs is what's happening.
  1790. 01:15:00.880 – 01:15:03.740 You know, be like that point of contact too.
  1791. 01:15:03.900 – 01:15:05.560 If anything has to be returned,
  1792. 01:15:05.740 – 01:15:06.940 if anything gets damaged,
  1793. 01:15:06.980 – 01:15:08.320 but you have a warranty on it
  1794. 01:15:08.320 – 01:15:09.400 and we ordered it together.
  1795. 01:15:09.900 – 01:15:10.900 I'll help you with that.
  1796. 01:15:10.920 – 01:15:12.640 Like I've had to do that before too.
  1797. 01:15:13.420 – 01:15:14.860 If you need help decorating,
  1798. 01:15:15.000 – 01:15:15.780 like I can even,
  1799. 01:15:15.800 – 01:15:17.640 I'll help you with those types of things.
  1800. 01:15:18.200 – 01:15:18.800 So yeah.
  1801. 01:15:19.740 – 01:15:20.180 Wow.
  1802. 01:15:20.700 – 01:15:22.400 So you mentioned decorator.
  1803. 01:15:23.180 – 01:15:24.380 So, you know, a lot of people are like,
  1804. 01:15:24.380 – 01:15:27.240 I'm good at decoration or decorating.
  1805. 01:15:27.800 – 01:15:30.480 What's the key differences between a decorator
  1806. 01:15:30.480 – 01:15:31.620 and an interior designer?
  1807. 01:15:32.180 – 01:15:33.540 That's a very good question.
  1808. 01:15:33.620 – 01:15:35.480 And I'm so happy that you asked that.
  1809. 01:15:36.760 – 01:15:38.980 When you say that you're an interior designer,
  1810. 01:15:39.100 – 01:15:40.940 people think interior decorator.
  1811. 01:15:41.620 – 01:15:43.860 A lot of people automatically are like,
  1812. 01:15:43.860 – 01:15:45.500 oh, okay, yeah, I'm into that.
  1813. 01:15:45.840 – 01:15:48.200 And a lot of people are into interior design.
  1814. 01:15:48.340 – 01:15:50.780 Like, you know, we have a whole channel surrounded
  1815. 01:15:51.460 – 01:15:53.140 by interior design.
  1816. 01:15:54.700 – 01:15:59.980 But designers typically are a little more trained.
  1817. 01:16:00.280 – 01:16:02.740 Like I said, I can create a construction document set.
  1818. 01:16:03.040 – 01:16:04.520 Like I've learned how to do those things.
  1819. 01:16:04.720 – 01:16:07.640 I worked a year for Joann Fabric.
  1820. 01:16:07.760 – 01:16:08.960 RIP, so sad.
  1821. 01:16:09.060 – 01:16:10.220 What's going on with the company.
  1822. 01:16:11.220 – 01:16:13.460 But I worked there for a year.
  1823. 01:16:13.720 – 01:16:15.580 I designed stores.
  1824. 01:16:15.700 – 01:16:16.980 I was an assistant store designer.
  1825. 01:16:17.040 – 01:16:18.320 So I helped design different stores
  1826. 01:16:18.320 – 01:16:20.680 around the country at different scope levels.
  1827. 01:16:20.680 – 01:16:22.220 So remodels, new stores,
  1828. 01:16:22.220 – 01:16:23.380 and then at different levels
  1829. 01:16:23.380 – 01:16:24.740 of what that store was getting.
  1830. 01:16:25.660 – 01:16:28.360 You would probably think I was sitting around
  1831. 01:16:28.360 – 01:16:31.800 looking at colors and no, it was all in AutoCAD.
  1832. 01:16:31.940 – 01:16:33.860 It was all technical work,
  1833. 01:16:34.200 – 01:16:36.220 all like construction document sets.
  1834. 01:16:37.640 – 01:16:39.500 Yeah, that was it.
  1835. 01:16:39.820 – 01:16:41.260 So like lighting placement.
  1836. 01:16:42.420 – 01:16:44.940 I can't do anything as far as the exterior
  1837. 01:16:44.940 – 01:16:45.680 of a building,
  1838. 01:16:45.680 – 01:16:48.520 but I can help with remodels and renovations
  1839. 01:16:48.520 – 01:16:50.800 with like a shell of a building.
  1840. 01:16:51.260 – 01:16:53.540 So like, even if we wanted to knock this wall down,
  1841. 01:16:53.600 – 01:16:55.420 I can help create the plans for that.
  1842. 01:16:55.780 – 01:16:59.000 But architects are who do everything exterior.
  1843. 01:17:00.780 – 01:17:03.260 And foundational architects and then engineers,
  1844. 01:17:03.520 – 01:17:06.720 civil engineers, structural engineers.
  1845. 01:17:09.080 – 01:17:10.440 Well, I know on my half,
  1846. 01:17:12.000 – 01:17:13.440 people may hit me up like,
  1847. 01:17:13.600 – 01:17:16.260 yo, how much for a photo shoot or how much for a video?
  1848. 01:17:16.980 – 01:17:18.220 You know, it varies.
  1849. 01:17:18.220 – 01:17:20.960 So have you ever had people or potential clients
  1850. 01:17:20.960 – 01:17:22.120 that reach out to you like that?
  1851. 01:17:22.260 – 01:17:23.740 Like just want a price and not even,
  1852. 01:17:24.020 – 01:17:26.720 like you said, having that consultation and sit down.
  1853. 01:17:26.800 – 01:17:28.680 Well, how much would it cost you to do my kitchen?
  1854. 01:17:28.840 – 01:17:30.080 And it's like, whoa.
  1855. 01:17:31.260 – 01:17:33.080 So in my business,
  1856. 01:17:33.700 – 01:17:35.860 unless it's like a project like that
  1857. 01:17:35.860 – 01:17:36.940 of Bedford High School,
  1858. 01:17:36.980 – 01:17:39.120 where it was kind of like more cut and dry
  1859. 01:17:39.120 – 01:17:40.520 of what they were looking for,
  1860. 01:17:41.340 – 01:17:42.300 I bill hourly.
  1861. 01:17:42.660 – 01:17:45.300 I have a design hour rate because.
  1862. 01:17:46.400 – 01:17:47.140 Well, sure.
  1863. 01:17:47.600 – 01:17:48.760 You don't have to say it if you don't,
  1864. 01:17:48.820 – 01:17:50.240 but give me like a ballpark.
  1865. 01:17:51.940 – 01:17:54.580 Oh, I'm not gonna say my rate, but.
  1866. 01:17:54.700 – 01:17:55.140 Ballpark.
  1867. 01:17:56.740 – 01:17:58.500 But I think it's fair.
  1868. 01:17:58.700 – 01:18:01.620 A lot of people charge way more than what I'm charging.
  1869. 01:18:02.780 – 01:18:04.300 And I'm gonna work my way up to that,
  1870. 01:18:04.300 – 01:18:06.640 but I'm okay with working my way up to that.
  1871. 01:18:06.680 – 01:18:08.800 Because you know, I know that again, relatively,
  1872. 01:18:09.380 – 01:18:11.960 I'm newer to the game and I'm building,
  1873. 01:18:12.120 – 01:18:13.820 I'm still building my portfolio.
  1874. 01:18:14.580 – 01:18:16.860 So I do have a consultation fee.
  1875. 01:18:17.580 – 01:18:22.180 Like I interned in 2018 when I was in college.
  1876. 01:18:22.320 – 01:18:23.380 I interned for a lady.
  1877. 01:18:23.400 – 01:18:25.760 She has her own business, great designer,
  1878. 01:18:26.440 – 01:18:27.200 family-owned business.
  1879. 01:18:27.220 – 01:18:29.000 It was her mom's before it was hers.
  1880. 01:18:30.700 – 01:18:33.100 And whew, but she was charging for a consultation.
  1881. 01:18:33.520 – 01:18:35.040 Like I think at the time,
  1882. 01:18:35.720 – 01:18:36.720 and this is 2018,
  1883. 01:18:36.740 – 01:18:38.900 so I know her prices are higher than this now.
  1884. 01:18:38.940 – 01:18:42.660 I think it was what, 250 for a two-hour consultation.
  1885. 01:18:42.660 – 01:18:45.860 And then it was like maybe 175 a design hour.
  1886. 01:18:46.200 – 01:18:47.720 Like she was charging, you know what I'm saying?
  1887. 01:18:47.760 – 01:18:50.040 I'm not charging anywhere near that yet,
  1888. 01:18:50.040 – 01:18:52.620 but I could get to the point where I could.
  1889. 01:18:52.960 – 01:18:55.100 I wanna get to the point where I do, you know,
  1890. 01:18:55.180 – 01:18:56.720 for like higher-end clients.
  1891. 01:18:58.300 – 01:19:03.080 But I bill hourly because people can take a long time
  1892. 01:19:03.080 – 01:19:04.500 to figure things out.
  1893. 01:19:04.600 – 01:19:05.720 And if you tell somebody,
  1894. 01:19:05.980 – 01:19:09.600 oh, I'll only charge you 10,000 or 5,000
  1895. 01:19:09.600 – 01:19:12.520 or you know, whatever to do your kitchen,
  1896. 01:19:12.520 – 01:19:15.940 like for my work, not including like the materials,
  1897. 01:19:16.000 – 01:19:18.860 because they never take that into account either.
  1898. 01:19:19.160 – 01:19:20.640 Like it depends on like, you know,
  1899. 01:19:20.740 – 01:19:23.200 what your budget is and how custom
  1900. 01:19:23.200 – 01:19:24.740 really you want things to be
  1901. 01:19:24.740 – 01:19:26.640 because the prices do vary.
  1902. 01:19:26.700 – 01:19:28.460 Like I hate to sound like that,
  1903. 01:19:28.460 – 01:19:30.860 but like they just do, it depends on, you know,
  1904. 01:19:30.860 – 01:19:34.420 I can take you the highest of the highs for custom.
  1905. 01:19:34.860 – 01:19:37.680 That's like, you know, anything you want, they can do it.
  1906. 01:19:37.680 – 01:19:38.980 But I can also, you know,
  1907. 01:19:39.120 – 01:19:41.560 keep you more budget-friendly, but still good quality.
  1908. 01:19:42.520 – 01:19:44.640 So it just kind of depends on like where you are.
  1909. 01:19:44.700 – 01:19:47.560 But as far as my services, like if I tell somebody,
  1910. 01:19:47.880 – 01:19:51.540 oh, I'll only charge you whatever, whatever for to do this,
  1911. 01:19:52.440 – 01:19:55.820 then you look up and really you've charged them
  1912. 01:19:57.080 – 01:20:00.880 maybe 2,500 or so for your time
  1913. 01:20:00.880 – 01:20:02.980 because you thought it would only take that long,
  1914. 01:20:03.000 – 01:20:06.760 but they've used $5,000 worth of your time in actuality.
  1915. 01:20:06.920 – 01:20:09.560 And I just don't wanna be caught there, respectfully.
  1916. 01:20:09.560 – 01:20:13.420 Yeah, that sounds like my first wedding that I took on.
  1917. 01:20:13.680 – 01:20:16.260 And you have to learn sometimes, yeah.
  1918. 01:20:16.700 – 01:20:20.740 Way under, like they got a good, good, good price,
  1919. 01:20:20.760 – 01:20:24.300 you know, in a higher staff.
  1920. 01:20:24.520 – 01:20:28.220 So it was like paying them and the editing behind the scenes.
  1921. 01:20:28.940 – 01:20:31.300 Like, and especially with photography, oh my gosh,
  1922. 01:20:31.380 – 01:20:36.560 the editing on one picture alone can take a long time.
  1923. 01:20:36.580 – 01:20:38.900 Like that's your time, yeah.
  1924. 01:20:39.980 – 01:20:40.540 Yes.
  1925. 01:20:42.680 – 01:20:44.000 Then you learn like, okay,
  1926. 01:20:44.040 – 01:20:46.740 I'll edit this many photos for this price.
  1927. 01:20:48.120 – 01:20:50.860 So I actually had to add a clause like that.
  1928. 01:20:51.120 – 01:20:53.780 I just redid my contract where it's like, okay,
  1929. 01:20:54.880 – 01:20:59.200 how many different iterations of a plan and renderings
  1930. 01:20:59.200 – 01:21:03.080 I'll do before I start to say it'll be an additional
  1931. 01:21:03.080 – 01:21:05.620 X amount of money for anything outside of that.
  1932. 01:21:05.620 – 01:21:07.660 Cause I did have a client one time
  1933. 01:21:08.260 – 01:21:11.760 and it was like, every time we picked out one thing,
  1934. 01:21:12.120 – 01:21:14.020 they wanted me to redo every,
  1935. 01:21:14.140 – 01:21:16.700 like to re put it in the plan and show them what it looks.
  1936. 01:21:17.160 – 01:21:19.480 And it's like, well, I have a toilet in there.
  1937. 01:21:19.520 – 01:21:20.940 It's just not this exact one,
  1938. 01:21:20.940 – 01:21:22.620 but they wanted to see that exact one.
  1939. 01:21:22.780 – 01:21:25.220 And it's like, okay, how about we pick out
  1940. 01:21:25.220 – 01:21:27.440 a lot of things and I'll update it all together
  1941. 01:21:27.440 – 01:21:29.480 and show you, but no, they would want like
  1942. 01:21:29.480 – 01:21:32.980 for every piece updated and show it to me.
  1943. 01:21:33.940 – 01:21:36.700 Wow, so it's like, okay, that's a lot of time.
  1944. 01:21:37.800 – 01:21:39.940 When we could do it how I'm saying,
  1945. 01:21:40.100 – 01:21:41.720 which is like, let's pick out a lot of things
  1946. 01:21:41.720 – 01:21:44.120 and then we'll update some of the generic things
  1947. 01:21:44.120 – 01:21:46.720 that I put in there just for, you know,
  1948. 01:21:46.840 – 01:21:48.420 showing spatial planning and everything
  1949. 01:21:48.420 – 01:21:50.640 or whatever ideas, we'll update it
  1950. 01:21:50.640 – 01:21:53.940 with your exact cabinet and like, you know,
  1951. 01:21:54.000 – 01:21:56.680 your exact toilet, your exact shower system.
  1952. 01:21:57.800 – 01:21:58.820 Yeah. Yeah.
  1953. 01:21:58.820 – 01:22:00.800 Which makes more sense for me.
  1954. 01:22:02.280 – 01:22:05.160 True, you know, time is everything.
  1955. 01:22:05.160 – 01:22:07.740 I mean, that's one of our biggest commodities
  1956. 01:22:07.740 – 01:22:08.680 besides energy.
  1957. 01:22:11.510 – 01:22:14.010 So how do you navigate with, you know,
  1958. 01:22:14.170 – 01:22:16.150 difficult clients or like you said,
  1959. 01:22:16.230 – 01:22:18.130 people that want to draw out the process?
  1960. 01:22:21.610 – 01:22:26.410 So luckily I've only really had that issue
  1961. 01:22:26.410 – 01:22:28.770 with maybe one or two clients that I've had.
  1962. 01:22:29.950 – 01:22:30.490 Excuse me.
  1963. 01:22:30.570 – 01:22:33.210 I haven't had that issue, you know,
  1964. 01:22:33.750 – 01:22:35.750 I thank God I haven't, you know, too much.
  1965. 01:22:36.530 – 01:22:39.530 I guess every time I learn something,
  1966. 01:22:40.450 – 01:22:43.210 it's like, okay, I need to apply this in some way.
  1967. 01:22:43.550 – 01:22:45.370 So like, that was why it was time
  1968. 01:22:45.370 – 01:22:47.010 for me to update my contract again.
  1969. 01:22:47.010 – 01:22:50.310 Like I learned a lot in 2024.
  1970. 01:22:51.830 – 01:22:55.070 I had really high highs and I had some lows last year,
  1971. 01:22:55.070 – 01:22:57.290 but I'm at the point, like, you know,
  1972. 01:22:57.290 – 01:22:59.970 I'm not mad about any of them
  1973. 01:22:59.970 – 01:23:01.710 because it taught me a lot
  1974. 01:23:01.710 – 01:23:04.010 and it taught me a lot for the future
  1975. 01:23:04.010 – 01:23:05.890 and things that I'm able to, you know,
  1976. 01:23:05.890 – 01:23:09.230 protect myself and or the client or, you know,
  1977. 01:23:09.350 – 01:23:11.710 my business from in other ways or, you know,
  1978. 01:23:11.810 – 01:23:14.730 my time or my energy, you know, in other ways
  1979. 01:23:14.730 – 01:23:16.950 by implementing certain stipulations.
  1980. 01:23:16.950 – 01:23:19.090 And it's not because I ever want to
  1981. 01:23:19.090 – 01:23:20.610 make things difficult for anybody,
  1982. 01:23:20.630 – 01:23:22.990 but I want to make sure that we are clear on things.
  1983. 01:23:22.990 – 01:23:25.010 And the clearer that you are in the beginning,
  1984. 01:23:26.170 – 01:23:29.010 usually the less issues that you have down the line
  1985. 01:23:29.010 – 01:23:31.810 because when you signed this contract
  1986. 01:23:31.810 – 01:23:33.310 that said all of these things,
  1987. 01:23:33.410 – 01:23:35.870 like you read this and even if you didn't read it,
  1988. 01:23:36.450 – 01:23:40.350 you said you did, so, and it's in there.
  1989. 01:23:40.450 – 01:23:43.370 I mean, it's the same thing when we agree to these terms
  1990. 01:23:43.370 – 01:23:44.850 and conditions for everything.
  1991. 01:23:45.750 – 01:23:47.970 Even if we don't read them, we said we did.
  1992. 01:23:48.050 – 01:23:48.750 Right, yeah.
  1993. 01:23:48.830 – 01:23:51.210 And so you're on the hook for that, unfortunately.
  1994. 01:23:52.570 – 01:23:52.950 Yeah.
  1995. 01:23:53.310 – 01:23:54.670 Unfortunately and fortunately
  1996. 01:23:54.670 – 01:23:56.730 because it's something to refer back to
  1997. 01:23:56.730 – 01:23:58.030 when things get muddy.
  1998. 01:23:58.710 – 01:23:59.110 True.
  1999. 01:24:00.390 – 01:24:02.810 So, well, first off,
  2000. 01:24:03.150 – 01:24:05.150 how often do you update your contracts?
  2001. 01:24:05.870 – 01:24:06.690 Is it yearly?
  2002. 01:24:07.870 – 01:24:09.890 I'll probably start doing it yearly.
  2003. 01:24:09.970 – 01:24:12.250 Like this year I updated it.
  2004. 01:24:12.510 – 01:24:15.350 I think the last time I updated it before that
  2005. 01:24:15.350 – 01:24:16.530 was maybe 23.
  2006. 01:24:17.250 – 01:24:20.070 And the last time before that was maybe 21.
  2007. 01:24:21.230 – 01:24:22.550 Or maybe 20 or 21.
  2008. 01:24:23.130 – 01:24:25.110 So I don't really have a cadence,
  2009. 01:24:26.710 – 01:24:30.010 but I felt like I had learned enough last year
  2010. 01:24:30.010 – 01:24:31.610 that it was like, okay.
  2011. 01:24:31.990 – 01:24:33.670 It's still more so experience-based.
  2012. 01:24:34.510 – 01:24:34.890 Got you.
  2013. 01:24:34.890 – 01:24:36.250 Need-based.
  2014. 01:24:38.310 – 01:24:40.510 And how important,
  2015. 01:24:40.910 – 01:24:44.490 especially for newer creative entrepreneurs
  2016. 01:24:44.490 – 01:24:45.950 or entrepreneurs in general,
  2017. 01:24:46.950 – 01:24:49.150 how important are contracts?
  2018. 01:24:49.910 – 01:24:51.130 They're so important.
  2019. 01:24:51.370 – 01:24:53.110 I mean, especially for creatives,
  2020. 01:24:53.390 – 01:24:54.170 like we're,
  2021. 01:24:55.750 – 01:24:58.670 I had a professor in college who used to say,
  2022. 01:24:58.790 – 01:24:59.750 like, you know, it's funny.
  2023. 01:24:59.830 – 01:25:02.310 People say, oh, I don't pay you to think
  2024. 01:25:02.310 – 01:25:03.450 to some people.
  2025. 01:25:03.450 – 01:25:06.230 And he's like, but actually as creatives and designers,
  2026. 01:25:06.370 – 01:25:07.950 like we are getting paid to think.
  2027. 01:25:08.690 – 01:25:11.110 So like, you know, your knowledge is everything.
  2028. 01:25:11.250 – 01:25:15.070 Like your ideas are very important
  2029. 01:25:15.070 – 01:25:20.250 and you have to find ways to,
  2030. 01:25:20.770 – 01:25:21.910 A, protect that,
  2031. 01:25:21.930 – 01:25:24.130 but also like just keep things clear
  2032. 01:25:24.130 – 01:25:26.170 about what the process will be.
  2033. 01:25:26.830 – 01:25:29.630 You know, I think contracts are very important
  2034. 01:25:29.630 – 01:25:31.370 to keep things more cut and dry
  2035. 01:25:31.370 – 01:25:34.010 where sometimes things can get muddy
  2036. 01:25:34.010 – 01:25:36.110 or like, you know, that gray area comes in.
  2037. 01:25:36.310 – 01:25:39.230 Like our intellectual,
  2038. 01:25:39.430 – 01:25:40.470 what do they call it?
  2039. 01:25:40.490 – 01:25:40.810 Property.
  2040. 01:25:41.710 – 01:25:42.350 There we go.
  2041. 01:25:44.150 – 01:25:46.770 Our intellectual property is what we have.
  2042. 01:25:48.750 – 01:25:52.010 And everybody unfortunately, you know,
  2043. 01:25:52.150 – 01:25:53.710 isn't going to value that.
  2044. 01:25:53.710 – 01:25:55.210 Just like in life in general,
  2045. 01:25:55.410 – 01:25:57.870 you have to teach people how to treat you.
  2046. 01:25:58.350 – 01:25:59.730 Even if people don't do what intent,
  2047. 01:25:59.730 – 01:26:01.770 I don't think everybody sets out
  2048. 01:26:01.770 – 01:26:03.670 to intentionally hurt people.
  2049. 01:26:03.910 – 01:26:05.750 Like I'm not from that mindset.
  2050. 01:26:06.150 – 01:26:08.170 Maybe it's because I'm not like that.
  2051. 01:26:08.510 – 01:26:09.910 Self-help is the best law.
  2052. 01:26:10.190 – 01:26:12.990 Yeah, like, you know, I think that you view people
  2053. 01:26:12.990 – 01:26:14.990 from where you coming from a lot of the times.
  2054. 01:26:15.390 – 01:26:17.970 So I don't like to just default
  2055. 01:26:17.970 – 01:26:19.590 to thinking people are like that.
  2056. 01:26:19.630 – 01:26:20.970 I think that a lot of the times
  2057. 01:26:20.970 – 01:26:23.090 it's a lot of misunderstandings
  2058. 01:26:23.090 – 01:26:27.650 and people don't intentionally, you know, misuse you.
  2059. 01:26:27.650 – 01:26:32.590 It's just that you're not standing on what you have enough
  2060. 01:26:32.590 – 01:26:34.570 to make somebody think about it
  2061. 01:26:35.130 – 01:26:37.230 or think twice about what they're doing.
  2062. 01:26:38.110 – 01:26:41.470 They're not necessarily always trying to get over on you,
  2063. 01:26:41.470 – 01:26:43.610 but because you are so easygoing
  2064. 01:26:43.610 – 01:26:45.950 and you're so, you know, go with the flow
  2065. 01:26:45.950 – 01:26:48.090 and laid back, you know, how a lot of artists are.
  2066. 01:26:48.210 – 01:26:50.450 Like, you know, we're very like, you know,
  2067. 01:26:50.610 – 01:26:53.470 chill, open people, open to a lot of different things,
  2068. 01:26:53.790 – 01:26:54.650 which is great.
  2069. 01:26:54.650 – 01:26:55.810 Never lose that,
  2070. 01:26:56.530 – 01:26:59.470 but never let somebody play with you either.
  2071. 01:27:00.590 – 01:27:00.890 Yeah.
  2072. 01:27:01.830 – 01:27:04.170 Wow, I got a special question I know.
  2073. 01:27:06.050 – 01:27:08.050 Okay, let me kind of process this one.
  2074. 01:27:08.050 – 01:27:09.650 Yeah, I'm scared.
  2075. 01:27:11.530 – 01:27:13.990 So with visual stimuli,
  2076. 01:27:14.150 – 01:27:16.590 is there a certain object or decorations
  2077. 01:27:16.590 – 01:27:19.610 you correlate with other objects or shapes?
  2078. 01:27:20.130 – 01:27:22.070 You know, like a banana is yellow,
  2079. 01:27:22.070 – 01:27:23.970 egg is white, egg white,
  2080. 01:27:24.610 – 01:27:27.870 but someone's head may also be shaped like an egg
  2081. 01:27:28.370 – 01:27:30.770 or a banana, you know,
  2082. 01:27:30.870 – 01:27:33.490 mainly because the angle you see it in or perspective.
  2083. 01:27:34.430 – 01:27:38.470 Do you compartmentalize anything of such?
  2084. 01:27:43.480 – 01:27:45.100 Man, this is a stumper.
  2085. 01:27:47.360 – 01:27:51.560 And I honestly feel like this is one of those questions
  2086. 01:27:51.560 – 01:27:54.420 that even after I answer it here today,
  2087. 01:27:54.440 – 01:27:56.100 I'm gonna continue to ponder on
  2088. 01:27:56.100 – 01:28:00.740 and I try to pride myself on being self-aware,
  2089. 01:28:00.840 – 01:28:03.280 but we can all only be so self-aware.
  2090. 01:28:04.420 – 01:28:08.780 So, you know, it'll start to make me really look at
  2091. 01:28:08.780 – 01:28:11.480 myself as a designer in a way that I don't know
  2092. 01:28:11.480 – 01:28:14.200 that I have really sat and thought about.
  2093. 01:28:19.550 – 01:28:27.230 I definitely like to look at things as shapes.
  2094. 01:28:27.790 – 01:28:32.350 So I don't know if I really have a one way
  2095. 01:28:32.350 – 01:28:35.750 that I like to do things or I correlate things,
  2096. 01:28:36.130 – 01:28:40.350 but it's more of a project-based thing.
  2097. 01:28:40.910 – 01:28:43.090 Like I working in furniture sales
  2098. 01:28:43.990 – 01:28:45.110 and like, you know,
  2099. 01:28:45.230 – 01:28:47.290 helping people with layouts of their rooms.
  2100. 01:28:48.430 – 01:28:50.870 I can kind of like sometimes break furniture down
  2101. 01:28:50.870 – 01:28:52.430 into shapes and like movement.
  2102. 01:28:52.510 – 01:28:53.850 So it was kind of like, okay.
  2103. 01:28:54.190 – 01:28:56.430 And sometimes like my mind will just like move
  2104. 01:28:56.430 – 01:28:57.750 and I'll say, oh no, do this.
  2105. 01:28:57.890 – 01:28:59.430 And then that and da da da put that there
  2106. 01:28:59.430 – 01:29:03.570 and put this here because for whatever reason in my mind,
  2107. 01:29:03.790 – 01:29:06.930 like that makes the most sense aesthetically.
  2108. 01:29:06.950 – 01:29:09.970 And I'll try to like describe it to the customer
  2109. 01:29:09.970 – 01:29:12.550 and like they'll like it and they'll be like, oh yeah.
  2110. 01:29:12.630 – 01:29:14.730 But I'm trying to like describe how I got there.
  2111. 01:29:14.730 – 01:29:17.770 Like, you know, because you have these hard lines here.
  2112. 01:29:17.770 – 01:29:19.630 You want to kind of soften that a little more
  2113. 01:29:19.630 – 01:29:22.730 with some curvature here or, you know,
  2114. 01:29:23.570 – 01:29:25.290 you have this L shape here.
  2115. 01:29:25.290 – 01:29:27.410 So let's put something over here on the other side
  2116. 01:29:27.410 – 01:29:29.270 in this corner that's smaller.
  2117. 01:29:29.430 – 01:29:31.710 Like, you know, you need something to balance this side.
  2118. 01:29:31.810 – 01:29:33.430 Like I'm really, I like balance,
  2119. 01:29:33.450 – 01:29:36.810 but I also think that sometimes imbalance is balance.
  2120. 01:29:37.410 – 01:29:41.290 Like, if I have like, as far as decorating,
  2121. 01:29:41.390 – 01:29:44.410 if there's like a small cluster of like three things
  2122. 01:29:44.410 – 01:29:46.490 of something that's either skinny or small.
  2123. 01:29:47.590 – 01:29:49.650 And then there's something like on a mantle.
  2124. 01:29:49.830 – 01:29:52.410 People asked about help with their mantle all the time
  2125. 01:29:52.410 – 01:29:55.610 when I worked at my old job and like decorating it
  2126. 01:29:55.610 – 01:29:58.730 and wanting to balance it, but wanting to like shake it up.
  2127. 01:29:58.790 – 01:30:00.170 Okay, well, you can do a small group
  2128. 01:30:00.170 – 01:30:01.610 of three of this over here.
  2129. 01:30:01.610 – 01:30:03.490 And then one big thing over here.
  2130. 01:30:03.490 – 01:30:04.710 To me, that's still balance.
  2131. 01:30:04.850 – 01:30:07.630 Even though it's not the same exact object
  2132. 01:30:08.370 – 01:30:12.270 on either side is balance and weight, I guess.
  2133. 01:30:12.530 – 01:30:13.090 Contrast.
  2134. 01:30:13.390 – 01:30:16.230 Yeah, but I, and I'm really big on contrast.
  2135. 01:30:16.370 – 01:30:19.670 Like I love the concept of contrast.
  2136. 01:30:19.810 – 01:30:21.210 I love color theory.
  2137. 01:30:21.830 – 01:30:23.870 I'm reading a color theory book right now
  2138. 01:30:23.870 – 01:30:28.130 that I got from the Museum of Art in DC,
  2139. 01:30:28.310 – 01:30:30.230 the National Gallery of Art last year.
  2140. 01:30:30.310 – 01:30:31.650 I bought this book on color theory
  2141. 01:30:31.650 – 01:30:34.710 and I've been reading it just like about color
  2142. 01:30:34.710 – 01:30:36.210 over the years.
  2143. 01:30:38.190 – 01:30:39.970 I love complimentary colors.
  2144. 01:30:40.470 – 01:30:43.450 So if I can like pop in, like, even if it's not,
  2145. 01:30:43.690 – 01:30:46.070 like, you know, blue and orange
  2146. 01:30:46.070 – 01:30:48.650 is probably my favorite complimentary color set.
  2147. 01:30:48.650 – 01:30:56.570 But even if it's blue and like yellow,
  2148. 01:30:57.030 – 01:31:01.450 or like, you know, like, I understand the color wheel too.
  2149. 01:31:01.630 – 01:31:03.590 And like, you know, how anagolis colors
  2150. 01:31:03.590 – 01:31:06.090 can also be kind of pulled, like, you know,
  2151. 01:31:06.090 – 01:31:09.210 in ways to make the, it doesn't have to be exactly
  2152. 01:31:09.210 – 01:31:11.550 across on the color wheel, but if it's like,
  2153. 01:31:12.170 – 01:31:14.730 you know, in that range, like it can work.
  2154. 01:31:14.970 – 01:31:17.630 And like, yeah, that's like my thing.
  2155. 01:31:19.670 – 01:31:22.690 Yeah, so I don't know if that answered that question,
  2156. 01:31:25.230 – 01:31:28.050 but there are things where I'll say like,
  2157. 01:31:28.230 – 01:31:30.310 okay, I think I kind of, like, if you have
  2158. 01:31:30.310 – 01:31:32.610 like certain textures, like, you know, I don't,
  2159. 01:31:34.310 – 01:31:36.310 you just want to like have enough of,
  2160. 01:31:36.410 – 01:31:37.970 I don't know, I don't know.
  2161. 01:31:38.170 – 01:31:39.330 You was trying to have everything
  2162. 01:31:39.330 – 01:31:41.170 promised in your, your mind.
  2163. 01:31:41.350 – 01:31:43.690 Yeah, it makes sense to me.
  2164. 01:31:45.190 – 01:31:46.690 True, okay.
  2165. 01:31:46.690 – 01:31:49.590 So I like to ask a lot of artists this question,
  2166. 01:31:51.030 – 01:31:53.630 but you're a unique artist and also entrepreneur.
  2167. 01:31:54.470 – 01:31:55.990 So it may be a little different for you,
  2168. 01:31:56.030 – 01:31:59.210 but you know, we live in Cleveland, you know,
  2169. 01:31:59.290 – 01:32:02.310 there's days we may experience the rain,
  2170. 01:32:02.450 – 01:32:06.930 the sunshine, snows, warm, cold all in one day.
  2171. 01:32:08.090 – 01:32:09.870 So taking that in mind,
  2172. 01:32:10.730 – 01:32:14.370 how would you explain your creative process
  2173. 01:32:14.370 – 01:32:16.650 if it was a weathercast, forecast?
  2174. 01:32:19.510 – 01:32:22.550 Like if it was one of those days, you know?
  2175. 01:32:22.790 – 01:32:25.750 Well, just your creative mindset, a process.
  2176. 01:32:27.070 – 01:32:31.450 Like for mine, it's like gentle rain,
  2177. 01:32:31.530 – 01:32:34.950 like a drizzle on a warm sunny day to like refresh you.
  2178. 01:32:35.450 – 01:32:36.650 And you know, I'm always in motion.
  2179. 01:32:36.790 – 01:32:38.630 So the rain is always in motion.
  2180. 01:32:38.890 – 01:32:41.350 And the thing about the puddles is collaborating
  2181. 01:32:41.350 – 01:32:43.350 and building and building and growing and growing.
  2182. 01:32:43.790 – 01:32:46.570 So that's how I explain my creative process.
  2183. 01:32:48.540 – 01:32:50.680 Oh, I see what you're saying.
  2184. 01:32:51.260 – 01:32:54.140 Okay, okay, okay, okay.
  2185. 01:32:54.440 – 01:32:56.900 What weather forecast would I give?
  2186. 01:33:03.390 – 01:33:04.490 Partially sunny.
  2187. 01:33:05.570 – 01:33:07.490 Partially sunny, so cloudy or sunny?
  2188. 01:33:08.550 – 01:33:09.570 Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
  2189. 01:33:09.830 – 01:33:14.170 Because I think like there's balance there.
  2190. 01:33:14.290 – 01:33:16.530 Like, you know, it's not complete sunshine,
  2191. 01:33:16.670 – 01:33:18.690 but it's not complete overcast either.
  2192. 01:33:18.690 – 01:33:22.690 And so there's that contrast, you go with contrast.
  2193. 01:33:23.210 – 01:33:25.170 There's that contrast of those two things
  2194. 01:33:25.170 – 01:33:27.510 that are kind of opposite, but working together.
  2195. 01:33:28.510 – 01:33:30.050 So kind of like bringing,
  2196. 01:33:31.190 – 01:33:33.230 and like, you know, a lot of the times aesthetic
  2197. 01:33:33.230 – 01:33:37.530 and aesthetically pleasing things or spaces
  2198. 01:33:37.530 – 01:33:40.490 and functionality, sometimes they don't always
  2199. 01:33:40.490 – 01:33:41.350 go hand in hand.
  2200. 01:33:41.690 – 01:33:44.770 Something can look really cool and look really good,
  2201. 01:33:44.770 – 01:33:46.910 but it's not functional,
  2202. 01:33:47.010 – 01:33:54.630 or it's not really able to be done or built.
  2203. 01:33:55.670 – 01:33:56.330 So I don't-
  2204. 01:33:56.330 – 01:33:57.630 That's what you mean by functional?
  2205. 01:33:58.190 – 01:33:58.730 Yeah.
  2206. 01:33:58.750 – 01:34:02.030 Like it's not structurally sound.
  2207. 01:34:02.070 – 01:34:04.630 Like it's not something that can actually be done
  2208. 01:34:04.630 – 01:34:08.050 because of all of these other things that may,
  2209. 01:34:08.450 – 01:34:09.310 it can be anything.
  2210. 01:34:09.490 – 01:34:11.370 Like, you know, something is behind that wall,
  2211. 01:34:11.390 – 01:34:13.150 or, you know, this is rotted out,
  2212. 01:34:13.150 – 01:34:15.150 or that's not gonna be stable.
  2213. 01:34:15.230 – 01:34:16.490 It'll cancel either.
  2214. 01:34:16.490 – 01:34:18.790 Like, you know, we can't do that.
  2215. 01:34:18.890 – 01:34:20.530 Or, you know, you won't have enough space
  2216. 01:34:20.530 – 01:34:21.690 to operate around.
  2217. 01:34:22.130 – 01:34:23.450 Like, you know, when you have an island,
  2218. 01:34:23.510 – 01:34:25.270 you're supposed to have 36 inches
  2219. 01:34:25.270 – 01:34:26.630 around the island of nothing.
  2220. 01:34:26.870 – 01:34:28.710 So that people can move about
  2221. 01:34:28.710 – 01:34:30.250 around the island in the kitchen.
  2222. 01:34:30.350 – 01:34:30.690 Yeah.
  2223. 01:34:31.310 – 01:34:33.270 And everybody doesn't know that, you know,
  2224. 01:34:33.470 – 01:34:34.330 understandably so.
  2225. 01:34:34.670 – 01:34:38.230 So, you know, you can't get that size island in here
  2226. 01:34:38.230 – 01:34:39.050 because it's not gonna work.
  2227. 01:34:39.110 – 01:34:41.670 It might look good, but it won't work.
  2228. 01:34:43.850 – 01:34:45.330 So it's like-
  2229. 01:34:46.290 – 01:34:49.930 Sunshine, in the sense of, you know,
  2230. 01:34:50.050 – 01:34:52.550 it's bright, it's cheery, it's what you wanna do.
  2231. 01:34:53.230 – 01:34:55.350 And then, you know, clouds are usually associated
  2232. 01:34:55.350 – 01:34:57.290 with like more drab feelings.
  2233. 01:34:57.530 – 01:34:59.430 I'm like, you know, sunshine is more like, you know,
  2234. 01:34:59.530 – 01:35:00.990 good days, happiness, whatever.
  2235. 01:35:01.110 – 01:35:03.290 That's like your creativity at its peak
  2236. 01:35:03.290 – 01:35:04.930 with your dream, whatever.
  2237. 01:35:05.390 – 01:35:08.090 And then, you know, clouds are, you know,
  2238. 01:35:08.130 – 01:35:09.990 a lot of the times often looked at
  2239. 01:35:09.990 – 01:35:11.250 as like not a great thing.
  2240. 01:35:11.390 – 01:35:13.890 Oh, it's cloudy, it's drab today, you know, whatever.
  2241. 01:35:13.890 – 01:35:17.330 But they're realistic because they have to come.
  2242. 01:35:17.450 – 01:35:18.790 Like the rain has to come.
  2243. 01:35:19.790 – 01:35:23.810 You know, sometimes the sun can't shine that way,
  2244. 01:35:23.910 – 01:35:25.830 you know, the same, the way that it did
  2245. 01:35:25.830 – 01:35:29.450 a couple of days ago today because of whatever reason.
  2246. 01:35:29.510 – 01:35:31.330 Like the grass needs this water.
  2247. 01:35:31.790 – 01:35:34.470 You know, the trees need it, the animals need it.
  2248. 01:35:34.630 – 01:35:36.230 And if we don't have the grass,
  2249. 01:35:36.370 – 01:35:37.710 then, you know, cows can't eat.
  2250. 01:35:37.930 – 01:35:39.550 And, you know, it's a trickle effect.
  2251. 01:35:39.770 – 01:35:41.550 So like, you know, there's all of these things that,
  2252. 01:35:41.550 – 01:35:44.690 so that's kind of more of like the realism,
  2253. 01:35:45.470 – 01:35:46.850 I guess, I would say.
  2254. 01:35:47.090 – 01:35:49.290 And it's me bringing both of those together.
  2255. 01:35:49.610 – 01:35:50.490 Partially simo.
  2256. 01:35:51.190 – 01:35:52.330 36 inches, okay.
  2257. 01:35:52.510 – 01:35:56.530 So that's and neurology, that's the divine nine.
  2258. 01:35:56.850 – 01:35:59.050 So, oh, completion, wait for that.
  2259. 01:36:00.930 – 01:36:01.610 Is that okay?
  2260. 01:36:02.730 – 01:36:04.930 So kind of wrapping up the interview.
  2261. 01:36:06.510 – 01:36:09.490 How would you say, you know, me being the media,
  2262. 01:36:10.150 – 01:36:14.470 you know, I'm big on a lot of things
  2263. 01:36:14.470 – 01:36:16.370 that's being shown and seen.
  2264. 01:36:16.550 – 01:36:17.110 Mm-hmm.
  2265. 01:36:17.130 – 01:36:19.090 You know, also having a marketing background.
  2266. 01:36:20.710 – 01:36:24.550 But how important is media influence
  2267. 01:36:25.130 – 01:36:26.610 for interior designers?
  2268. 01:36:30.550 – 01:36:31.410 Like you said, you know,
  2269. 01:36:31.410 – 01:36:33.990 you may forget to set up a camera or take pictures
  2270. 01:36:33.990 – 01:36:35.610 because you'd be in the process.
  2271. 01:36:35.770 – 01:36:36.950 But how important is it?
  2272. 01:36:37.150 – 01:36:38.170 It's very important.
  2273. 01:36:38.230 – 01:36:40.070 You have to show people what you can do.
  2274. 01:36:40.570 – 01:36:41.870 And rightfully so.
  2275. 01:36:41.870 – 01:36:44.750 That's why I'm so big on sending my clients
  2276. 01:36:45.270 – 01:36:47.930 all of my deliverables so that they can see.
  2277. 01:36:48.010 – 01:36:50.570 I want people to feel comfortable coming to me.
  2278. 01:36:50.890 – 01:36:51.930 I don't want them to be like,
  2279. 01:36:51.930 – 01:36:53.590 ooh, I'm taking my chance on this girl.
  2280. 01:36:53.750 – 01:36:55.710 And baby, I don't know what she about to do in here.
  2281. 01:36:56.270 – 01:37:00.850 I don't want them to be like on edge or not sure.
  2282. 01:37:01.050 – 01:37:05.270 I wanna build my portfolio and continue to do that
  2283. 01:37:05.270 – 01:37:08.870 so that I can build my clientele
  2284. 01:37:08.870 – 01:37:11.490 and showcase what I can do off of integrity,
  2285. 01:37:12.150 – 01:37:13.570 off of what I've actually done,
  2286. 01:37:13.710 – 01:37:16.010 off of what I actually can do, off of the truth.
  2287. 01:37:16.310 – 01:37:18.390 Like that's very important to me.
  2288. 01:37:19.870 – 01:37:21.490 Like I have a conscience, I swear.
  2289. 01:37:21.630 – 01:37:22.810 Like I know some people go,
  2290. 01:37:23.010 – 01:37:25.210 oh Lord, no, mine will beat me up.
  2291. 01:37:27.310 – 01:37:29.430 So like, you know, it's very important
  2292. 01:37:29.430 – 01:37:31.270 to be able to honestly show what it is
  2293. 01:37:31.270 – 01:37:32.270 that you can do for people
  2294. 01:37:32.270 – 01:37:33.650 to be able to wanna come to you.
  2295. 01:37:34.170 – 01:37:34.830 That's art.
  2296. 01:37:35.070 – 01:37:36.850 You know, people are drawn to you
  2297. 01:37:36.850 – 01:37:38.310 based upon what you can show them,
  2298. 01:37:38.310 – 01:37:40.430 what you can see, what they can see,
  2299. 01:37:40.610 – 01:37:44.050 how you can use your expertise
  2300. 01:37:44.050 – 01:37:47.350 to create something that they wouldn't have thought of.
  2301. 01:37:49.730 – 01:37:51.870 Something I never even thought of.
  2302. 01:37:53.550 – 01:37:55.950 Not to reflect on that myself,
  2303. 01:37:56.150 – 01:37:59.550 just as a creative artist and entrepreneur.
  2304. 01:38:00.650 – 01:38:01.390 Yes, yes.
  2305. 01:38:01.550 – 01:38:03.930 But if we had to sum this interview up
  2306. 01:38:03.930 – 01:38:07.970 with three to five key takeaways,
  2307. 01:38:07.970 – 01:38:10.570 maybe it's something you mentioned we spoke about
  2308. 01:38:10.570 – 01:38:13.610 or something that you, you know, didn't get to say
  2309. 01:38:13.610 – 01:38:15.490 or something that's on your mind,
  2310. 01:38:16.130 – 01:38:19.630 but you want someone to take away from this interview.
  2311. 01:38:19.730 – 01:38:20.910 Maybe they listened to it
  2312. 01:38:20.910 – 01:38:22.550 or they're about to listen to it
  2313. 01:38:22.550 – 01:38:23.750 and kind of heard this.
  2314. 01:38:24.430 – 01:38:27.190 What are three to five key takeaways you'd say?
  2315. 01:38:29.470 – 01:38:31.330 I would say,
  2316. 01:38:32.110 – 01:38:33.970 so I'm gonna start with like my entrepreneurs
  2317. 01:38:33.970 – 01:38:35.550 and my fellow creatives.
  2318. 01:38:36.190 – 01:38:39.570 I think it's very important to always remember
  2319. 01:38:39.570 – 01:38:41.630 that there's something that you can learn.
  2320. 01:38:43.210 – 01:38:45.770 Stay open to learning always.
  2321. 01:38:46.190 – 01:38:47.990 I know a lot of the times, like, you know,
  2322. 01:38:48.070 – 01:38:50.030 especially when you get to like a quote unquote
  2323. 01:38:50.030 – 01:38:51.550 expert level of something,
  2324. 01:38:52.410 – 01:38:54.430 you might start to feel like you,
  2325. 01:38:54.590 – 01:38:55.570 can't nobody tell me nothing.
  2326. 01:38:57.990 – 01:39:00.310 I'd be a liar if I said that I've never had moments
  2327. 01:39:00.310 – 01:39:01.330 where I felt like that.
  2328. 01:39:01.350 – 01:39:03.010 Like, you know, you can't, you know, whatever,
  2329. 01:39:03.010 – 01:39:06.550 but that's about, you know, whatever the case is,
  2330. 01:39:06.550 – 01:39:08.270 but you can always learn something.
  2331. 01:39:08.570 – 01:39:10.150 There's always a different perspective
  2332. 01:39:10.150 – 01:39:11.550 that you can get from somebody.
  2333. 01:39:11.930 – 01:39:15.310 I think it's very important to either apprentice
  2334. 01:39:15.310 – 01:39:17.350 or intern under people.
  2335. 01:39:17.590 – 01:39:19.450 So that's like one of my biggest takeaways
  2336. 01:39:19.450 – 01:39:21.670 that I always try to leave interviews
  2337. 01:39:21.670 – 01:39:23.290 or like talks or whatever with
  2338. 01:39:23.290 – 01:39:26.410 is like how important it is to apprentice under
  2339. 01:39:26.410 – 01:39:29.490 and learn from somebody that does what you're doing.
  2340. 01:39:29.490 – 01:39:34.010 I, in my four and a half years in college,
  2341. 01:39:34.130 – 01:39:36.110 I was most grateful for my internship.
  2342. 01:39:37.090 – 01:39:40.410 I learned, I went back to school after that summer
  2343. 01:39:40.410 – 01:39:42.970 and I literally told my professor,
  2344. 01:39:43.230 – 01:39:44.790 like the last thing y'all should have did
  2345. 01:39:44.790 – 01:39:46.190 was have me get an internship
  2346. 01:39:46.190 – 01:39:47.850 because I feel like I learned more there
  2347. 01:39:47.850 – 01:39:50.030 than I've been learning here in the past few years.
  2348. 01:39:50.990 – 01:39:51.730 Oh, cool.
  2349. 01:39:52.450 – 01:39:54.530 And, you know, not for not, like, you know,
  2350. 01:39:54.550 – 01:39:55.930 I learned a lot in school too,
  2351. 01:39:55.930 – 01:39:58.330 but it was, I was able to apply a lot more
  2352. 01:39:58.330 – 01:40:00.710 when I was working under somebody like that.
  2353. 01:40:00.730 – 01:40:03.150 She was able to show me the ropes in a lot of ways.
  2354. 01:40:03.950 – 01:40:06.350 Never be too big to ask for help.
  2355. 01:40:06.770 – 01:40:08.390 I think it's great, like, you know,
  2356. 01:40:08.390 – 01:40:11.110 you said that we're in an environment in Cleveland here
  2357. 01:40:11.110 – 01:40:13.210 with creatives where we are more collaborative.
  2358. 01:40:13.450 – 01:40:14.850 I hate to hear that it wasn't like that,
  2359. 01:40:14.850 – 01:40:17.690 but I'm happy to hear that it's grown to that
  2360. 01:40:17.690 – 01:40:20.850 because you learn so much even just from your peers,
  2361. 01:40:20.950 – 01:40:22.990 or even if you guys are learning together,
  2362. 01:40:23.250 – 01:40:27.070 you know, like how they may decide to decode something
  2363. 01:40:27.070 – 01:40:29.250 and you decide to do it are two different ways
  2364. 01:40:29.250 – 01:40:30.610 and you learn different things
  2365. 01:40:30.610 – 01:40:32.910 because you decided to decode it in different ways
  2366. 01:40:32.910 – 01:40:34.870 or approach it in different ways.
  2367. 01:40:38.120 – 01:40:40.980 Something else to leave people with.
  2368. 01:40:41.600 – 01:40:44.800 Figure out your why I think is really important,
  2369. 01:40:44.960 – 01:40:47.980 like what drives you because like I,
  2370. 01:40:48.280 – 01:40:50.320 people always ask like, oh, what have you been up to?
  2371. 01:40:50.360 – 01:40:52.960 And I'm like working and they're like,
  2372. 01:40:53.040 – 01:40:54.320 you know, what else have you been doing?
  2373. 01:40:54.560 – 01:40:56.940 Like, and I'll do fun things here and there too.
  2374. 01:40:56.940 – 01:40:58.620 I've grown to learn,
  2375. 01:40:58.660 – 01:41:00.160 I guess I could say as a takeaway too,
  2376. 01:41:00.700 – 01:41:02.420 if you are a workaholic like me,
  2377. 01:41:02.420 – 01:41:04.480 definitely make sure that you're taking care of yourself
  2378. 01:41:04.480 – 01:41:06.480 and doing things for yourself that are also fun
  2379. 01:41:06.480 – 01:41:08.480 and having a sort of a social life.
  2380. 01:41:09.300 – 01:41:12.860 But I really do enjoy working on my business.
  2381. 01:41:13.060 – 01:41:14.560 Like I just, I enjoy it.
  2382. 01:41:14.560 – 01:41:15.980 Like it's days that I get up
  2383. 01:41:15.980 – 01:41:17.460 and I'll forget to even eat
  2384. 01:41:17.460 – 01:41:19.240 because I just, I'm ready to hop up
  2385. 01:41:19.240 – 01:41:20.100 and just start working.
  2386. 01:41:20.780 – 01:41:23.360 Like that's when you have a why and a purpose
  2387. 01:41:23.360 – 01:41:25.200 and a passion behind what you're doing,
  2388. 01:41:25.540 – 01:41:26.740 it sounds so cliche,
  2389. 01:41:26.740 – 01:41:27.960 but it's really not work.
  2390. 01:41:28.400 – 01:41:31.560 It's just like, you're just doing.
  2391. 01:41:31.740 – 01:41:34.400 Like I don't know how to describe it.
  2392. 01:41:34.500 – 01:41:35.880 It doesn't feel like work.
  2393. 01:41:35.980 – 01:41:37.240 It just feels like you're doing,
  2394. 01:41:38.040 – 01:41:41.340 I guess like your life's mission in a sense.
  2395. 01:41:41.360 – 01:41:42.940 Like this is what I do.
  2396. 01:41:42.980 – 01:41:45.500 Like this is what makes me feel these ways.
  2397. 01:41:45.540 – 01:41:47.240 Like this is what makes me feel happy.
  2398. 01:41:49.000 – 01:41:49.980 Stay organized.
  2399. 01:41:50.020 – 01:41:53.000 It can be a lot to be an entrepreneur,
  2400. 01:41:53.160 – 01:41:54.980 especially starting out if you're on your own.
  2401. 01:41:54.980 – 01:41:56.900 So figure out how you got to organize
  2402. 01:41:56.900 – 01:42:00.020 and stay organized and to-do list all your friend.
  2403. 01:42:02.180 – 01:42:03.760 I'm glad you mentioned that too
  2404. 01:42:03.760 – 01:42:06.520 because like I've definitely had days
  2405. 01:42:06.520 – 01:42:10.020 where I haven't eaten, did anything,
  2406. 01:42:10.200 – 01:42:12.040 but what I was focused on,
  2407. 01:42:13.360 – 01:42:15.240 I know there was a few writers,
  2408. 01:42:15.460 – 01:42:18.820 famous writers that had that same kind of mindset
  2409. 01:42:18.820 – 01:42:21.800 or routine where they wasn't getting up
  2410. 01:42:21.800 – 01:42:22.940 from their desk sitting there
  2411. 01:42:22.940 – 01:42:24.980 and then 18 hours straight until they finished
  2412. 01:42:24.980 – 01:42:29.460 that chapter or whatever they was working on for that day.
  2413. 01:42:29.560 – 01:42:30.660 And since I was done,
  2414. 01:42:31.660 – 01:42:33.260 they wasn't getting up or whatever.
  2415. 01:42:33.700 – 01:42:35.960 And like I've definitely had days like that
  2416. 01:42:35.960 – 01:42:38.740 where it's been almost 24 hours,
  2417. 01:42:39.000 – 01:42:42.380 like even no sleep, nothing to eat.
  2418. 01:42:42.400 – 01:42:43.360 You're just focused.
  2419. 01:42:43.840 – 01:42:45.760 I was even like that as a kid though.
  2420. 01:42:45.900 – 01:42:47.580 My grandma used to hate it
  2421. 01:42:47.580 – 01:42:49.240 because I would come in from school
  2422. 01:42:49.240 – 01:42:51.080 and be at my grandma's house
  2423. 01:42:51.080 – 01:42:53.500 and I would try to get all my homework done
  2424. 01:42:53.500 – 01:42:54.400 before I did anything.
  2425. 01:42:54.740 – 01:42:57.080 Now I was allowed to watch TV while I did homework
  2426. 01:42:57.080 – 01:42:58.520 because I still got everything done.
  2427. 01:42:58.580 – 01:43:00.040 So I mean, I had a little bit of outlet,
  2428. 01:43:00.040 – 01:43:02.060 but like I would just sit down
  2429. 01:43:02.060 – 01:43:03.380 and she'd be like, do you want a snack?
  2430. 01:43:03.500 – 01:43:04.220 Do you want to eat?
  2431. 01:43:04.300 – 01:43:05.840 And I'd be like, nope, not until I'm done.
  2432. 01:43:06.260 – 01:43:08.040 Like I want to finish this first one I'm done.
  2433. 01:43:08.080 – 01:43:09.580 Then I'll sit and I'll eat a snack.
  2434. 01:43:10.600 – 01:43:11.660 But you got to give me a minute.
  2435. 01:43:11.700 – 01:43:13.900 She'll be like, she hated it.
  2436. 01:43:16.200 – 01:43:17.540 Yeah, okay, okay, okay.
  2437. 01:43:18.320 – 01:43:23.020 Definitely appreciate it and always like to ask
  2438. 01:43:25.710 – 01:43:29.450 something that's motivating and encouraging for the audience.
  2439. 01:43:29.990 – 01:43:31.310 It could be a quote that you heard
  2440. 01:43:31.310 – 01:43:34.390 or maybe even some of your personal words.
  2441. 01:43:34.870 – 01:43:40.190 What would you give an inspiring and new entrepreneur?
  2442. 01:43:41.930 – 01:43:44.650 The saying about things being brick by brick
  2443. 01:43:45.210 – 01:43:47.710 and not focusing on each brick
  2444. 01:43:47.710 – 01:43:53.310 and laying that properly and not the whole wall at once.
  2445. 01:43:55.130 – 01:43:57.090 Because once the wall is built,
  2446. 01:43:58.090 – 01:44:01.210 you can tell what had a good foundation and what didn't.
  2447. 01:44:01.390 – 01:44:05.550 You can tell where time was spent and where it wasn't
  2448. 01:44:05.550 – 01:44:08.190 and where detail was placed and where it wasn't.
  2449. 01:44:08.510 – 01:44:11.050 The other thing about that too is
  2450. 01:44:11.750 – 01:44:14.550 it can be overwhelming looking at the bigger picture
  2451. 01:44:14.550 – 01:44:16.190 and you don't know where to start.
  2452. 01:44:16.190 – 01:44:18.890 So, that's why it's really good to sit down
  2453. 01:44:18.890 – 01:44:22.070 and strategize and think about the bigger picture
  2454. 01:44:22.070 – 01:44:23.230 and then go backwards.
  2455. 01:44:23.470 – 01:44:24.950 And then, okay, how do I get to that?
  2456. 01:44:25.030 – 01:44:26.110 Okay, well, how do I do that?
  2457. 01:44:26.130 – 01:44:27.030 Well, how do I do that?
  2458. 01:44:27.050 – 01:44:29.310 Until you get to that first step, that first brick.
  2459. 01:44:30.090 – 01:44:35.470 And it's just about little deposits every day.
  2460. 01:44:35.750 – 01:44:37.910 And every day your deposits won't look the same.
  2461. 01:44:38.010 – 01:44:39.650 Some days you'll deposit 100%,
  2462. 01:44:39.650 – 01:44:41.150 some days you'll deposit 10.
  2463. 01:44:41.350 – 01:44:44.350 But that 10% works towards the bigger picture.
  2464. 01:44:44.350 – 01:44:46.890 Even if you just lay one brick that day
  2465. 01:44:46.890 – 01:44:50.090 as opposed to laying 100 like you did a couple days ago,
  2466. 01:44:51.030 – 01:44:54.810 that's still a part of your journey and enjoy the journey.
  2467. 01:44:54.910 – 01:44:56.110 Yeah, it's still progress.
  2468. 01:44:58.130 – 01:45:02.790 And I think Steve Jobs' quote,
  2469. 01:45:03.150 – 01:45:05.070 like you gotta connect the dots backwards.
  2470. 01:45:05.750 – 01:45:07.570 For success, you gotta connect the dots backwards
  2471. 01:45:07.570 – 01:45:09.450 and go backwards to move forward.
  2472. 01:45:10.810 – 01:45:12.590 I mean, sometimes it can be scary
  2473. 01:45:12.590 – 01:45:14.910 and I used to write like that,
  2474. 01:45:15.070 – 01:45:16.430 like kind of write the end in first
  2475. 01:45:16.430 – 01:45:18.970 and then kind of wrap it around
  2476. 01:45:18.970 – 01:45:20.870 towards the middle and beginning like, okay,
  2477. 01:45:20.910 – 01:45:23.150 once I got the end or how I want it to end,
  2478. 01:45:23.590 – 01:45:25.270 I could tell the story better
  2479. 01:45:25.270 – 01:45:26.790 and craft the story better,
  2480. 01:45:27.410 – 01:45:29.330 whether it's as fictional or non-fiction.
  2481. 01:45:32.390 – 01:45:34.150 I always tell people to plan
  2482. 01:45:34.150 – 01:45:37.510 and map out what they wanna do and put it on paper.
  2483. 01:45:37.830 – 01:45:39.890 Yeah, people come in with so many ideas.
  2484. 01:45:39.910 – 01:45:41.010 I have so many ideas.
  2485. 01:45:41.070 – 01:45:41.870 I tell them.
  2486. 01:45:41.870 – 01:45:43.610 All right, write it down, write it down.
  2487. 01:45:43.730 – 01:45:45.870 They even think I'm joking or I'm serious.
  2488. 01:45:46.650 – 01:45:48.770 Write it down, get it out your head,
  2489. 01:45:49.370 – 01:45:51.750 make it come to life because you're really doing that
  2490. 01:45:51.750 – 01:45:53.910 when you write it down and you journal
  2491. 01:45:53.910 – 01:45:56.970 and you self-reflect and really, you're like, okay.
  2492. 01:45:57.550 – 01:46:00.150 It's a step forward to what you really wanna do.
  2493. 01:46:01.230 – 01:46:02.790 Like I always like to say,
  2494. 01:46:03.250 – 01:46:04.630 done is better than perfect
  2495. 01:46:04.630 – 01:46:07.950 and as an artist and being a perfectionist,
  2496. 01:46:08.230 – 01:46:09.270 it can be hard sometimes,
  2497. 01:46:09.350 – 01:46:11.410 but you gotta get out your head
  2498. 01:46:11.410 – 01:46:13.010 and you gotta complete.
  2499. 01:46:13.250 – 01:46:14.390 You gotta start somewhere.
  2500. 01:46:14.470 – 01:46:14.910 You gotta be smarter.
  2501. 01:46:15.750 – 01:46:15.990 So.
  2502. 01:46:17.110 – 01:46:18.310 And you learn as you go.
  2503. 01:46:18.830 – 01:46:19.810 Yes, yes, yes.
  2504. 01:46:20.310 – 01:46:21.750 And we're telling the audience
  2505. 01:46:21.750 – 01:46:23.910 and everybody listening in,
  2506. 01:46:24.210 – 01:46:26.410 find you if they wanna book you,
  2507. 01:46:26.690 – 01:46:28.930 look you up, contact you, all that good stuff.
  2508. 01:46:29.450 – 01:46:32.110 Yes, so on my social media accounts,
  2509. 01:46:32.490 – 01:46:35.930 my Instagram is at JustDesigns underscore LLC.
  2510. 01:46:37.390 – 01:46:39.570 Facebook is JustDesigns LLC.
  2511. 01:46:40.090 – 01:46:45.630 You can also go on www.JustDesigns.net and find me
  2512. 01:46:45.630 – 01:46:48.110 and then on there, you'll be able to see
  2513. 01:46:48.110 – 01:46:50.670 all of my contact information like my email,
  2514. 01:46:50.930 – 01:46:54.750 Justine at JustDesigns.net or my phone number
  2515. 01:46:54.750 – 01:46:56.510 so you can contact me that way.
  2516. 01:46:57.170 – 01:46:58.070 Okay, okay.
  2517. 01:46:58.490 – 01:47:00.730 And I will have everything in the show notes.
  2518. 01:47:00.750 – 01:47:04.510 So if you're driving, cooking with Justine
  2519. 01:47:04.510 – 01:47:06.550 or you know, doing something
  2520. 01:47:06.550 – 01:47:08.330 but you have this in the background,
  2521. 01:47:08.330 – 01:47:13.110 you're not able to write it down or find her on social,
  2522. 01:47:13.610 – 01:47:15.950 it will be in the show notes for you to reference.
  2523. 01:47:16.930 – 01:47:18.670 And as we wrap this up,
  2524. 01:47:19.210 – 01:47:22.670 remember this is Alienize Photos Industry Talk,
  2525. 01:47:23.390 – 01:47:26.430 the podcast for creative entrepreneurs.
  2526. 01:47:27.510 – 01:47:31.690 I am the founder and director of Alienize Photos,
  2527. 01:47:31.810 – 01:47:34.570 Mr. Photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  2528. 01:47:34.570 – 01:47:36.950 or most people know me as Alien.
  2529. 01:47:38.610 – 01:47:42.950 And you know, you can book me for event photography,
  2530. 01:47:43.650 – 01:47:46.910 media coaching, you know, strategy if you want to,
  2531. 01:47:47.230 – 01:47:52.730 idea, I call it ideology, not aliology,
  2532. 01:47:53.850 – 01:47:55.950 but I'm tug-twisted right now.
  2533. 01:47:56.430 – 01:47:59.690 Ideation sessions, you know, bouncing off ideas
  2534. 01:47:59.690 – 01:48:03.110 and you know, having strategy behind it all
  2535. 01:48:04.290 – 01:48:06.850 and all my social media contacts
  2536. 01:48:06.850 – 01:48:08.370 will also be in the show notes.
  2537. 01:48:08.870 – 01:48:10.270 But if you want to take it down now,
  2538. 01:48:10.350 – 01:48:13.950 you can follow me at Alienize Photos
  2539. 01:48:13.950 – 01:48:17.330 and find me and book me for more information.
  2540. 01:48:18.350 – 01:48:21.330 Visit alienizephotos.com
  2541. 01:48:21.330 – 01:48:25.790 as Alienize with a Z, Photos with a S.com.
  2542. 01:48:26.470 – 01:48:29.790 And if you haven't downloaded the social media app,
  2543. 01:48:30.350 – 01:48:34.310 fan base, oh, this is strictly for creators
  2544. 01:48:34.310 – 01:48:37.410 and to help you get monetized with everything you do.
  2545. 01:48:38.230 – 01:48:40.210 So go to your media store.
  2546. 01:48:40.370 – 01:48:43.850 If you got Apple, Android, go to your app store
  2547. 01:48:43.850 – 01:48:45.770 and download fan base.
  2548. 01:48:45.910 – 01:48:48.310 And I had a good time, you know,
  2549. 01:48:48.430 – 01:48:50.370 meeting a good brother, Isaac Hayes,
  2550. 01:48:50.470 – 01:48:55.130 who is the founder of fan base over in Atlanta.
  2551. 01:48:55.890 – 01:48:58.210 And yeah, I actually have some equity in that.
  2552. 01:48:58.330 – 01:49:01.210 So, you know, help us both out and download it.
  2553. 01:49:01.290 – 01:49:02.230 Give us some feedback.
  2554. 01:49:02.230 – 01:49:04.530 Tell us how you like it and enjoy it.
  2555. 01:49:05.330 – 01:49:07.270 I'm not sure if I'm missing anything,
  2556. 01:49:07.270 – 01:49:10.150 but I definitely want to shout out my media partners again,
  2557. 01:49:10.770 – 01:49:12.630 Launch Arts Media,
  2558. 01:49:13.750 – 01:49:16.630 who are recording this podcast episode here today,
  2559. 01:49:17.250 – 01:49:19.350 and also The Pull Up Experience.
  2560. 01:49:19.690 – 01:49:23.130 Yes, the top elevation entrepreneur group
  2561. 01:49:23.130 – 01:49:24.410 in Cleveland, Ohio.
  2562. 01:49:25.570 – 01:49:28.250 And yeah, I'm your host, photographer Jackson.
  2563. 01:49:28.550 – 01:49:29.690 This has been a great interview.
  2564. 01:49:29.690 – 01:49:30.810 I agree.
  2565. 01:49:31.170 – 01:49:33.870 Shout out Alien Eyes, shout out Just Designs.
  2566. 01:49:34.110 – 01:49:34.950 Yes, yes, yes.
  2567. 01:49:35.110 – 01:49:38.670 And until next time, I'll talk to you soon.
  2568. 01:49:38.910 – 01:49:40.250 Peace, love, and blessings.

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54. Lai Lai - Melting Magnets Photography

Season 2 · Episode 3

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.740 – 00:00:09.890 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos industry talk with your host
  2. 00:00:10.380 – 00:00:20.380 photographer Jackson, alien Steven Jackson, the author, the photographer, which we share a common
  3. 00:00:20.380 – 00:00:28.000 entrance where we first met being each other's models and photographers and shooting together
  4. 00:00:28.000 – 00:00:33.320 really learning together and growing together. I gotta say at one point you were my coach,
  5. 00:00:33.700 – 00:00:40.060 you know, you're younger than me. So it was also an honor to do so many great things together.
  6. 00:00:40.520 – 00:00:48.180 What said, oh my goodness, going out of the state, flying. I commend you for that. That was all.
  7. 00:00:52.220 – 00:00:57.040 Well, yeah, definitely wouldn't expect all that, but thank you.
  8. 00:00:59.040 – 00:01:14.320 Unpack it, but want to introduce yourself to the audience here. My name is. All right.
  9. 00:01:14.980 – 00:01:17.520 My name is Lay. All right. Hold on one more time.
  10. 00:01:20.040 – 00:01:25.760 But yeah, thank you so much. Definitely appreciate that. And yeah, my name is Lay Lay,
  11. 00:01:29.330 – 00:01:37.610 freelance photographer. I go to Kent State now and yeah, we did a hell of a lot of stuff.
  12. 00:01:37.610 – 00:01:44.650 Oh my goodness, we went to San Diego, pulled the 360 booth across that San Diego beach.
  13. 00:01:45.390 – 00:01:50.250 That was the experience. That was the whole experience. And I needed my partner.
  14. 00:01:50.670 – 00:01:53.410 I had to. I needed my partner. That was a lot.
  15. 00:01:59.050 – 00:02:07.980 The emotion that we captured that day is like, man, just a experience like everybody
  16. 00:02:07.980 – 00:02:14.720 experience because sometimes we hold in that hurt and that pain. And it's like,
  17. 00:02:14.780 – 00:02:18.100 you know, I got through my own stuff, but just to see it on another level,
  18. 00:02:18.100 – 00:02:23.680 you know, someone's family member, you know, son, brother, sister,
  19. 00:02:24.540 – 00:02:33.540 auntie, mother, like go through this and heavy and you can really feel it.
  20. 00:02:35.250 – 00:02:42.390 And like, I'm looking at that, like this flash, that wave, the sea of emotions,
  21. 00:02:43.030 – 00:02:52.470 energy, emotion. And I'd like to ask a lot of the creators this question describing
  22. 00:02:52.470 – 00:02:57.790 your creator process. How would you describe it as a weather forecast?
  23. 00:02:59.510 – 00:03:15.940 Describing my creative process as a weather would be a little bit over all over the place,
  24. 00:03:15.940 – 00:03:24.040 honestly. Like I would describe it like Cleveland weather. Anything can happen tomorrow.
  25. 00:03:25.380 – 00:03:31.300 It'd be the hottest days, it'd be the coldest days, it'd be the warmest days,
  26. 00:03:31.360 – 00:03:38.060 the coolest days. Anything can happen. Like anything, like whether the storm,
  27. 00:03:38.340 – 00:03:45.340 like the storm come, it rain, it pours my emotions. I put my emotions into my projects too.
  28. 00:03:45.340 – 00:03:52.380 So I do get myself into it. It do be the tears pouring. It do be the
  29. 00:03:54.420 – 00:04:01.080 cries and the hurting and trying to actually get things perfect. But really interesting to
  30. 00:04:01.080 – 00:04:04.840 compare it to the weather. Let's say just like how Cleveland weather is,
  31. 00:04:04.940 – 00:04:09.280 like why are we right there by the lake? Like yes, we get everything. We get the
  32. 00:04:10.400 – 00:04:18.060 hail, snow, rain, wind blowing, then the sun come out. That's me all in the day, honestly. I mean
  33. 00:04:18.060 – 00:04:22.660 it might sound a little bipolar, it probably is, but it really sounds a little bit over all
  34. 00:04:22.660 – 00:04:28.800 over the place. But yes, in a day I could do three photo shoots. I say three because they
  35. 00:04:28.800 – 00:04:34.520 still got time to take to get across town, but I can do it. How long are your photo shoots?
  36. 00:04:34.520 – 00:04:41.360 At least two hours at the least. So two. So, you know, so six hours. Yeah. Yeah. And working
  37. 00:04:41.360 – 00:04:48.280 that out. You got to sleep sometimes. Drive time, eight hours. Yeah. So I'm driving all
  38. 00:04:48.280 – 00:04:52.680 across Ohio. Sometimes I go to Michigan. Hell, we'll see about Pennsylvania, but.
  39. 00:04:55.200 – 00:05:06.160 Well, it sounds like you travel a lot. What's your favorite place to travel? Sandusky.
  40. 00:05:06.900 – 00:05:12.100 Um, the drive there is pretty much straight from Cleveland where I'm at, just straight.
  41. 00:05:12.440 – 00:05:17.100 Like that's pretty, that's not bad at all. I don't mind getting on the toll. I don't mind
  42. 00:05:17.100 – 00:05:23.620 taking the streets. I don't, that's cool. Um, but yeah, Sandusky got my favorite stores out
  43. 00:05:23.620 – 00:05:27.380 there. Same stores we got in Cleveland, same store they got out there, but they got more
  44. 00:05:27.380 – 00:05:33.440 stores out there. Great. Love it. Yeah. And no, I don't do the Cedar Point stuff. I go to
  45. 00:05:33.440 – 00:05:39.300 Kalahari. We go to Kalahari all the time though. Yeah. Oh yeah. I've definitely been
  46. 00:05:42.610 – 00:05:49.390 with E-Rock. You know, my life partner, you know, encouraged me, wanted me for a while.
  47. 00:05:49.750 – 00:05:55.490 Finally got it. And we shot a music video for E-Rock. I don't know if you heard
  48. 00:05:55.490 – 00:06:05.550 Higher. But yeah, we shot that out and yeah, Cedar Point. It was, it was wild. It was
  49. 00:06:06.150 – 00:06:15.160 awesome. Like, oh, well you can't get your camera on the rollercoaster. Yeah. I mean,
  50. 00:06:16.440 – 00:06:23.420 I got glasses that record, you know, that's nice. Meta glasses. Yeah. Can't wait to see
  51. 00:06:23.420 – 00:06:28.340 that. I need to talk to the big company so that they can give me the sponsor. Yeah. I gotta
  52. 00:06:28.340 – 00:06:34.120 show examples of my work, but with the teamwork, I love teamwork and you know,
  53. 00:06:34.760 – 00:06:38.480 we've done a lot of projects together. What would you say was your favorite project
  54. 00:06:38.480 – 00:06:49.270 as your partner? With you specifically, I'll show y'all. We can still talk. I'm actually
  55. 00:06:49.270 – 00:06:52.810 reaching into my camera bag. I'm not too far from it. I'm actually grabbing it right here.
  56. 00:06:52.910 – 00:07:04.960 I actually keep it as a portfolio, but yeah, where was this taken? You see this? I mean,
  57. 00:07:04.960 – 00:07:10.860 honestly, I would call it the Bonnie and Clyde type of theme deal here. Yeah. But I mean,
  58. 00:07:10.860 – 00:07:14.960 honestly, yes, I did print mostly pictures of me. Let's be honest here. I did, but you,
  59. 00:07:14.960 – 00:07:20.640 I got some pictures of you in here too. Yes, I did. And yes, I like to print out pictures.
  60. 00:07:22.020 – 00:07:30.170 Yes. I like to print out pictures. I like to have physical copies. Yes. I love it. I will
  61. 00:07:30.770 – 00:07:34.590 re-edit them though. Like, yeah, we could. Oh my goodness. No, we need to post them.
  62. 00:07:34.630 – 00:07:37.410 First off, everybody, we ain't never posted them. Y'all don't even know.
  63. 00:07:39.370 – 00:07:48.000 But I printed them out. Yeah. This is part of my portfolio. Our theme was to,
  64. 00:07:48.000 – 00:07:56.340 I guess, wear something red. I wore a red velvet dress. The green and the grass pop with the blue
  65. 00:07:56.340 – 00:08:01.820 in the background and the sky. And some of the pictures came out black and white too,
  66. 00:08:01.820 – 00:08:06.100 but you know, that works out. I love the black and white. That could be the contrast.
  67. 00:08:06.280 – 00:08:10.860 You know, it's very well. I love it. So definitely had to print out these pictures.
  68. 00:08:13.220 – 00:08:15.530 Hopefully we'll be posting these soon. We'll see.
  69. 00:08:16.450 – 00:08:23.360 Wow. Look out for the project. We definitely had to.
  70. 00:08:23.500 – 00:08:28.040 You already know. We should actually be recording you looking through it. How about that?
  71. 00:08:29.400 – 00:09:02.850 Right. Mm hmm. Oh, where the flag at? Yes.
  72. 00:09:04.070 – 00:09:10.250 Where that flag at? We need it. I need another shoot. I need another shoot. Hold on. I need
  73. 00:09:10.250 – 00:09:14.530 another shoot. Where that flag at? Then we put it on the time. I had to jump in there. Look
  74. 00:09:15.370 – 00:09:23.150 love it. Oh, y'all. I love using the timer. Y'all will see me out shooting by myself. I'm an
  75. 00:09:23.150 – 00:09:28.570 actress, model, photographer, videographer. I will shoot. I wanted to be behind the scenes
  76. 00:09:28.570 – 00:09:33.930 that day. Like that's crazy. We do the timer. The timer helps. I will buy one by the way.
  77. 00:09:34.070 – 00:09:43.470 Just let me know how much. How you put together a little thing. Where is it? Oh,
  78. 00:09:43.470 – 00:09:50.190 shit. Take it back. Y'all can't even see this. Yeah. Love that. Love that. That was beautiful.
  79. 00:09:50.430 – 00:09:53.550 Merging the brands. That was beautiful. That was really nice, y'all.
  80. 00:09:53.910 – 00:09:59.390 That was a day. Oh, that's funny how I got the camera.
  81. 00:10:01.370 – 00:10:07.930 I just saw that. Oh, my God. No, that's terrible. But this bow. But why your head
  82. 00:10:07.930 – 00:10:16.500 turned around? You're taking the picture. Come on. You see it. Oh,
  83. 00:10:16.500 – 00:10:22.220 when it showed my face, that is hilarious. That's hilarious. I didn't do that on purpose.
  84. 00:10:23.900 – 00:10:27.340 Only peeps of women. I mean, do you want an actual copy of this? You can have this.
  85. 00:10:28.880 – 00:10:32.060 Yes, you can have that. I've shown a million people by now.
  86. 00:10:32.420 – 00:10:39.340 I need another billion. Another billion. But yeah, I love that. Yes, I keep that in my
  87. 00:10:39.340 – 00:10:50.980 bag, right? They'd be like, let me see a picture. Hey, this is crazy. I am gorgeous.
  88. 00:10:57.080 – 00:11:03.600 I love this. So crazy. How long ago was this? 2020. I should have put the year on.
  89. 00:11:04.380 – 00:11:11.560 Pre-Covid. I should have put the year on. But we don't like pictures with the timestamps
  90. 00:11:11.560 – 00:11:14.280 no more. We was like, we know this is probably going to be our last photo shoot.
  91. 00:11:14.280 – 00:11:19.900 We're about to do it up. We can't go outside. Can't see nobody. But hey, we did it. Yeah,
  92. 00:11:19.900 – 00:11:27.020 we had the whole. It was crazy. I remember. Oh, let me show you another one. You know,
  93. 00:11:27.140 – 00:11:31.480 you know what? That's crazy. I mean, that was my favorite one. Yes, I think I answered
  94. 00:11:31.480 – 00:11:43.580 your question. Yes, that was my favorite one. Oh, tuesday. Melton Magnus. 20. Yeah,
  95. 00:11:43.580 – 00:11:53.520 that wasn't too far off, though. Now, the first picture in this book is one of my
  96. 00:11:53.520 – 00:11:57.720 my very first photo shoot like ever. I asked a bunch of my friends to go to an abandoned
  97. 00:11:57.720 – 00:12:02.940 building. And we did like our little Black Lives Matter theme type poses pictures. And
  98. 00:12:02.940 – 00:12:09.830 this picture got into a gallery and we actually called it breaking. But yeah,
  99. 00:12:09.830 – 00:12:15.550 and I called it breaking, got into a gallery about 2016. Love it. The rest of this book,
  100. 00:12:15.550 – 00:12:26.800 protest day, 2020. I believe May pictures. Plenty of these bury me in the ocean with
  101. 00:12:26.800 – 00:12:40.550 the ancestors who jumped from the ships because they knew death was better than bondage. I
  102. 00:12:40.550 – 00:12:45.670 actually went out with alien. He got a little bit closer than me when getting that close.
  103. 00:12:45.850 – 00:12:50.710 It's not getting that close to the riots. Now they started throwing tear gas. It's time
  104. 00:12:50.710 – 00:13:10.230 I definitely did. Um, shooting without bullets was a youth activism program where we
  105. 00:13:10.770 – 00:13:19.290 expressed our social where we shoot. All right. Shooting without bullets is a social justice
  106. 00:13:19.290 – 00:13:26.890 youth arts program where I express my photography using our Black Lives Matter theme,
  107. 00:13:28.870 – 00:13:34.690 using more of our abandoned buildings for photo shoots, using more real life people
  108. 00:13:34.690 – 00:13:41.670 in walking through our neighborhoods. So lots of pictures like that. That book is our protest day
  109. 00:13:41.670 – 00:13:51.790 here in Cleveland. We've done a project like that, but that's definitely something, you know,
  110. 00:13:51.950 – 00:13:56.750 merging reality and what you see in your environment and making art out of it.
  111. 00:13:56.750 – 00:14:04.240 Definitely better way to say that. So you're artists. What does art mean to you?
  112. 00:14:04.600 – 00:14:09.920 I mean, art means everything to me. Art is creativity. Art is science. Art is mass.
  113. 00:14:10.060 – 00:14:17.880 Art is everything. I chose to go to school to be a director to think I would be just
  114. 00:14:17.880 – 00:14:27.680 doing art. What did I really think art was? Not hard work. Okay. Not precise measurements.
  115. 00:14:29.750 – 00:14:41.040 Uh, you know, not having to be precise, but that's okay. So I'm taking theater classes.
  116. 00:14:41.760 – 00:14:49.420 I'm thinking I'm just acting. No, I get sewing because I can make costumes from scratch,
  117. 00:14:49.980 – 00:14:58.480 period costumes from different eras. I got to learn how to do the diff do saw sanders and
  118. 00:14:59.420 – 00:15:05.020 constructing building a set with screws, nails, staple crown, staples and
  119. 00:15:05.020 – 00:15:15.260 difference in staples and saws. Well rounded, right? So art is everything to me. When I get up,
  120. 00:15:15.260 – 00:15:18.960 I got to cook something to eat. I got to think of something created to eat. I want
  121. 00:15:18.960 – 00:15:24.840 strawberry, something sweet with something else, right? I want to, oh my goodness,
  122. 00:15:24.840 – 00:15:32.160 don't get me started on germs. Okay. Cause I do carry around disinfectant wipes with me.
  123. 00:15:32.220 – 00:15:37.480 You ever wipe some and you see it change the color. Oh my God. Don't start with me.
  124. 00:15:42.800 – 00:15:47.120 To literally the things I see. I'm a photographer. I see details. I see dirt.
  125. 00:15:47.500 – 00:15:52.890 I keep disinfectant wipes with me. Period. I'm not going to go into that,
  126. 00:15:53.070 – 00:15:56.250 but I see things. I see different things that people don't see.
  127. 00:15:56.990 – 00:16:00.690 I'll tell you to fix your necklace. Cause your clasp is in the front, you know,
  128. 00:16:01.070 – 00:16:06.350 I'll tell you to like, um, pick up your shirt. It's tucked in your pants the wrong way. I'm just,
  129. 00:16:06.450 – 00:16:12.670 Hey, this is, this is true. And these probably examples about me. I'm like, oh yeah,
  130. 00:16:13.110 – 00:16:18.310 I'm not picking with you. Fix it. I'm some of these examples.
  131. 00:16:20.170 – 00:16:24.350 Yeah. Definitely attention to detail. And you know, that's the beauty of a team,
  132. 00:16:24.350 – 00:16:29.370 you know, having each other's back. And especially if you're not keen to those
  133. 00:16:29.370 – 00:16:35.290 specific details, you know, let me focus on one thing. It's always good to have somebody to
  134. 00:16:35.870 – 00:16:40.830 have your back and take care of those details and point them out.
  135. 00:16:43.510 – 00:16:47.770 And many times, even, uh, setting up a tripod, the base of the legs.
  136. 00:16:47.950 – 00:16:53.570 And I'm telling everybody, no. They better be parallel.
  137. 00:16:54.250 – 00:16:57.270 Yeah. And that's a tripod for the phone. Nobody care about that.
  138. 00:16:57.270 – 00:17:01.030 But this camera, this camera better be right.
  139. 00:17:01.850 – 00:17:06.390 Them lights. Oh, them lights better be right. My phone tripod, that ring light.
  140. 00:17:06.410 – 00:17:11.790 I don't care about that. Yeah. Just yeah. I'm like, yeah. Okay.
  141. 00:17:13.050 – 00:17:17.869 It's details is very much. There's a lot of details. I enjoy the details. I'm a Virgo.
  142. 00:17:17.990 – 00:17:23.250 So I think I'm a detailed type of person. All in the detail.
  143. 00:17:24.010 – 00:17:27.089 All in the detail. That's crazy.
  144. 00:17:28.990 – 00:17:35.830 Have you ever seen those books before? Those like, have you ever seen those?
  145. 00:17:37.690 – 00:17:41.790 I've seen the pictures, nothing. Right. I've seen this book. Yeah.
  146. 00:17:41.870 – 00:17:44.250 Okay. That's all I was about to say. I was like, have I ever showed you?
  147. 00:17:44.290 – 00:17:46.650 I don't think I've ever showed you. I don't remember. All right. Cool.
  148. 00:17:47.070 – 00:18:10.070 Yeah. So that's what should like three top art forms.
  149. 00:18:11.310 – 00:18:14.470 Three top art forms. That's a good question.
  150. 00:18:15.310 – 00:18:19.110 I mean, what do you really mean though? Like just be a little bit more specific
  151. 00:18:19.110 – 00:18:21.430 because I mean, I love art, but be a little bit more specific.
  152. 00:18:21.450 – 00:18:25.010 Well, you dance, you act, photography. Right.
  153. 00:18:26.390 – 00:18:31.670 I can say a lot of, you know, even doing off stage stuff and behind the scenes,
  154. 00:18:32.890 – 00:18:38.350 you know, woodwork, like you said, setting up stages, costume, wardrobe.
  155. 00:18:38.990 – 00:18:44.270 So diverse. I don't want to limit your creativity because, you know, everybody
  156. 00:18:44.270 – 00:18:50.370 called me alien because I'm so multifaceted, talented, creative, imaginative
  157. 00:18:51.110 – 00:18:56.790 out of this world, higher level thinking, you know, genius level
  158. 00:18:58.450 – 00:19:02.710 speaker, thinker, strategist. So I definitely get it.
  159. 00:19:04.030 – 00:19:09.090 So with you doing a lot, what's your top three things?
  160. 00:19:09.210 – 00:19:16.350 Whether creativity, behind the scenes, maybe it's financial, being a financial
  161. 00:19:16.350 – 00:19:23.890 banker, manager, investor. Or it could be something creative.
  162. 00:19:23.890 – 00:19:28.190 Yeah, I'm about to say them sound like categories. So it just got to be
  163. 00:19:28.190 – 00:19:31.890 a little bit more specific to me because like you said, what's my favorite book?
  164. 00:19:32.710 – 00:19:36.890 You know, not even my favorite book, my favorite photo shoot that we did.
  165. 00:19:37.090 – 00:19:42.310 Cool. That's specific. I can find that. But like that, I could find that.
  166. 00:19:42.990 – 00:19:46.650 But I have more pictures, though. You know, I have plenty more photo shoots,
  167. 00:19:47.330 – 00:19:51.250 thousands of fucking pictures and all that. But my favorite, I mean,
  168. 00:19:51.270 – 00:19:55.650 I can't really narrow it because I do everything at once.
  169. 00:19:56.470 – 00:19:59.950 Like I said, art is everything. So like that full control.
  170. 00:20:01.250 – 00:20:03.470 Oh, no, you got to still be more specific.
  171. 00:20:04.150 – 00:20:06.750 You like full control over whatever you create?
  172. 00:20:08.030 – 00:20:14.370 I mean, I want a team. I don't like doing this stuff by myself.
  173. 00:20:15.050 – 00:20:16.710 I don't want to do everything by myself.
  174. 00:20:16.990 – 00:20:20.710 I'm completely capable of doing entirely everything by myself,
  175. 00:20:20.830 – 00:20:22.670 but I don't want to do it by myself.
  176. 00:20:24.400 – 00:20:28.280 So what would you say is the first thing that comes to mind as far as creating?
  177. 00:20:28.880 – 00:20:32.220 Like, I want to I want to be behind the camera.
  178. 00:20:32.260 – 00:20:34.540 I want to be in front of the camera. I want to be dancing.
  179. 00:20:34.720 – 00:20:35.940 I want to.
  180. 00:20:36.180 – 00:20:38.800 It was like the first thing that like I want to do this first
  181. 00:20:38.800 – 00:20:41.660 and then everything could work around me doing this.
  182. 00:20:41.820 – 00:20:43.600 Well, then that's just bringing out my camera.
  183. 00:20:43.680 – 00:20:46.700 Like, now we're going we're going to do a little behind the scenes
  184. 00:20:46.700 – 00:20:47.800 and shoot there real quick.
  185. 00:20:49.040 – 00:20:49.820 All right. Now we back.
  186. 00:20:50.120 – 00:20:53.560 So like all this stuff right here, this is what I do.
  187. 00:20:53.560 – 00:20:56.320 This is me. I keep a tripod on me.
  188. 00:20:56.320 – 00:20:59.960 I keep it on a whole pole.
  189. 00:21:00.020 – 00:21:01.000 Now, keep it on me.
  190. 00:21:01.000 – 00:21:05.460 Right. I keeps my camera on me, whether my phone and all that.
  191. 00:21:05.540 – 00:21:08.820 Right. Within my old little programs, we used to have a little joke
  192. 00:21:08.820 – 00:21:10.620 like we were shooters for real.
  193. 00:21:10.780 – 00:21:13.060 You keep it. You keep all your little magazines.
  194. 00:21:13.280 – 00:21:16.440 You know, you keep your little SD cards and magazine little clip.
  195. 00:21:16.680 – 00:21:19.440 Right. Keep camera loaded with a little SD card.
  196. 00:21:19.760 – 00:21:20.880 Keep battery charged.
  197. 00:21:21.060 – 00:21:22.440 All that. Like, I love it.
  198. 00:21:23.000 – 00:21:24.880 But we had a little pack like that was awesome.
  199. 00:21:26.320 – 00:21:27.800 But it was great.
  200. 00:21:28.460 – 00:21:30.280 Always have my camera on me.
  201. 00:21:30.300 – 00:21:31.800 Always keep the little pole on me.
  202. 00:21:32.000 – 00:21:32.380 All that.
  203. 00:21:32.580 – 00:21:34.660 Always have my camera on me.
  204. 00:21:35.260 – 00:21:36.380 So I go to school.
  205. 00:21:36.520 – 00:21:39.100 I will put my tripod down with my phone on it.
  206. 00:21:39.100 – 00:21:39.580 Walk away.
  207. 00:21:39.620 – 00:21:41.120 Come back to my little walk in.
  208. 00:21:41.520 – 00:21:41.960 All that.
  209. 00:21:43.560 – 00:21:44.300 Content. All that.
  210. 00:21:44.480 – 00:21:45.800 Y'all ain't even seen it yet.
  211. 00:21:46.120 – 00:21:47.040 I like it though.
  212. 00:21:48.580 – 00:21:52.980 Even speaking about content, how important is content as a newer photographer?
  213. 00:21:52.980 – 00:21:58.040 Want to start off and kind of get their work monetized
  214. 00:21:58.040 – 00:22:00.480 or get hired and get paid for it.
  215. 00:22:00.580 – 00:22:02.140 What would you say to a new photographer?
  216. 00:22:02.880 – 00:22:03.940 I say just do it.
  217. 00:22:04.080 – 00:22:06.780 Like literally, I keep my camera on me.
  218. 00:22:06.900 – 00:22:09.160 I'd be like, oh, that was stupid.
  219. 00:22:09.180 – 00:22:10.580 I should have recorded that.
  220. 00:22:10.920 – 00:22:13.060 Like, that'd be seriously a moment.
  221. 00:22:13.740 – 00:22:15.460 And my life is a moment.
  222. 00:22:15.940 – 00:22:17.160 Like everything is a moment.
  223. 00:22:17.720 – 00:22:21.060 Being the reason I do everything is to capture the moment.
  224. 00:22:21.080 – 00:22:22.900 Whether I wrote it down, created it.
  225. 00:22:22.900 – 00:22:24.420 Put the actors in places.
  226. 00:22:24.900 – 00:22:24.940 Cool.
  227. 00:22:26.220 – 00:22:28.260 But sometimes real life be better.
  228. 00:22:28.260 – 00:22:30.160 So in the moment, you know?
  229. 00:22:31.480 – 00:22:32.880 Keep your tripod on you.
  230. 00:22:32.880 – 00:22:34.460 Keep your ring light on you.
  231. 00:22:34.460 – 00:22:37.300 Hey, go to Five Below and get your little vlog set.
  232. 00:22:37.540 – 00:22:38.520 It ain't that hard.
  233. 00:22:39.680 – 00:22:40.580 It ain't that hard.
  234. 00:22:40.960 – 00:22:42.980 Be like, oh, that's stupid.
  235. 00:22:43.400 – 00:22:43.760 Yes.
  236. 00:22:43.940 – 00:22:44.570 Post it.
  237. 00:22:45.020 – 00:22:45.600 iPhone.
  238. 00:22:45.980 – 00:22:48.400 Even if you do the selfie, which I don't recommend
  239. 00:22:48.400 – 00:22:52.240 because the, you know, the rear camera is the best camera.
  240. 00:22:52.240 – 00:22:54.740 Always tell people to have it just, you know.
  241. 00:22:54.780 – 00:22:55.500 Remember that.
  242. 00:22:55.860 – 00:22:57.940 I have a mirror on the back of my phone.
  243. 00:22:58.480 – 00:22:58.720 All right.
  244. 00:22:58.880 – 00:23:00.360 We're going to skip to grab that.
  245. 00:23:03.340 – 00:23:04.520 And bring it back.
  246. 00:23:04.700 – 00:23:07.480 Yes, I have a mirror on the back of my phone.
  247. 00:23:09.920 – 00:23:10.320 OK.
  248. 00:23:12.000 – 00:23:13.340 So is that something?
  249. 00:23:14.220 – 00:23:15.140 We got to talk about that.
  250. 00:23:15.440 – 00:23:16.020 We got to make our own.
  251. 00:23:16.020 – 00:23:16.860 We're going to bring it in then.
  252. 00:23:16.960 – 00:23:17.900 We got to make our own.
  253. 00:23:18.480 – 00:23:19.420 Can we make these?
  254. 00:23:25.170 – 00:23:26.570 Got it from Shane for like $2.
  255. 00:23:26.730 – 00:23:28.670 We could go buy a whole bunch of these for $2.
  256. 00:23:28.670 – 00:23:29.610 We could sell them for $20.
  257. 00:23:30.710 – 00:23:31.190 That ain't shit.
  258. 00:23:31.290 – 00:23:31.530 We could do that.
  259. 00:23:31.530 – 00:23:32.750 Y'all heard that live.
  260. 00:23:33.170 – 00:23:34.290 So this is our deal.
  261. 00:23:34.430 – 00:23:35.490 We made right on the spot.
  262. 00:23:35.650 – 00:23:36.390 That ain't shit.
  263. 00:23:36.410 – 00:23:38.970 This is a, this is a, this is a everyday though.
  264. 00:23:39.070 – 00:23:40.390 We going on, Shane.
  265. 00:23:40.530 – 00:23:41.130 Keep cool.
  266. 00:23:42.370 – 00:23:44.850 We think of a lot of products, you know.
  267. 00:23:44.850 – 00:23:47.410 And tell me, that's how my brain works, y'all.
  268. 00:23:47.450 – 00:23:48.970 Yeah, that's how we get all the time.
  269. 00:23:48.970 – 00:23:50.270 Being just plain easy.
  270. 00:23:50.530 – 00:23:51.450 What you mean?
  271. 00:23:51.790 – 00:23:54.730 That's why I was like, yeah, we got to, we got to bring
  272. 00:23:54.730 – 00:23:56.070 something unique to the people.
  273. 00:23:56.070 – 00:23:59.450 I know this would be like a overdue conversation.
  274. 00:23:59.450 – 00:24:00.190 It's been a while.
  275. 00:24:00.210 – 00:24:02.890 Like you said, you in school, you doing your thing.
  276. 00:24:03.130 – 00:24:06.130 I'm, you know, finding my way in business
  277. 00:24:06.130 – 00:24:07.090 and entrepreneurship.
  278. 00:24:08.650 – 00:24:11.870 And this is overdue.
  279. 00:24:12.350 – 00:24:13.190 Very overdue.
  280. 00:24:13.370 – 00:24:14.790 I'm like, I appreciate you.
  281. 00:24:14.950 – 00:24:16.030 We be busy though.
  282. 00:24:16.270 – 00:24:17.670 I think that is crazy.
  283. 00:24:18.510 – 00:24:18.910 Yeah.
  284. 00:24:19.250 – 00:24:20.350 What's the biggest thing you've learned
  285. 00:24:20.350 – 00:24:21.430 in school so far?
  286. 00:24:21.830 – 00:24:23.030 Like how to read a ruler.
  287. 00:24:24.350 – 00:24:26.430 How to read all y'all artists out there.
  288. 00:24:26.430 – 00:24:27.290 Do y'all know how to read a ruler?
  289. 00:24:27.290 – 00:24:28.030 I'm just asking.
  290. 00:24:28.550 – 00:24:29.310 I'm just asking.
  291. 00:24:29.350 – 00:24:29.990 I don't know.
  292. 00:24:30.130 – 00:24:31.770 I went to art school all my life.
  293. 00:24:31.850 – 00:24:33.590 Second grade, graduating high school,
  294. 00:24:33.690 – 00:24:35.010 right back at it, Kent State.
  295. 00:24:35.230 – 00:24:35.730 Love it.
  296. 00:24:37.290 – 00:24:38.870 All my life, I ain't know I had to know
  297. 00:24:38.870 – 00:24:39.610 how to read a ruler.
  298. 00:24:39.670 – 00:24:41.470 You know, the little itsy bitsy dots
  299. 00:24:42.870 – 00:24:45.130 between the inch, like the inch in the,
  300. 00:24:49.020 – 00:24:52.760 I feel like public school was a waste of time.
  301. 00:24:54.020 – 00:24:57.400 I feel like I didn't learn what I was supposed to learn.
  302. 00:24:58.540 – 00:24:59.400 I said it.
  303. 00:24:59.880 – 00:25:03.200 But what I learned in college is how to read a ruler.
  304. 00:25:03.420 – 00:25:05.040 Why do you need to know how to read a ruler
  305. 00:25:05.040 – 00:25:08.600 to build costumes from like literal clothes,
  306. 00:25:09.440 – 00:25:10.840 like measurements, right?
  307. 00:25:11.840 – 00:25:15.860 Building a set, architecture, construction.
  308. 00:25:17.340 – 00:25:17.740 Cool.
  309. 00:25:18.100 – 00:25:19.040 These are things I have to do
  310. 00:25:19.040 – 00:25:20.820 as a director cinematographer now.
  311. 00:25:21.000 – 00:25:22.360 I learned how to read a ruler
  312. 00:25:22.920 – 00:25:25.260 and I didn't know I actually had to.
  313. 00:25:29.310 – 00:25:30.410 How long was that process?
  314. 00:25:30.590 – 00:25:31.370 Yo, I cried.
  315. 00:25:31.550 – 00:25:32.590 Me and my teacher, she was like,
  316. 00:25:32.590 – 00:25:35.090 I cried in front of my teacher.
  317. 00:25:35.370 – 00:25:35.750 I had to.
  318. 00:25:35.810 – 00:25:37.290 I'm like, what do you mean?
  319. 00:25:38.130 – 00:25:39.250 What do you mean, right?
  320. 00:25:39.970 – 00:25:43.170 I'm like, first off, I felt bad for myself.
  321. 00:25:44.430 – 00:25:45.870 And that was an experience right there.
  322. 00:25:45.910 – 00:25:47.190 I'm like, wait, I never learned this.
  323. 00:25:47.410 – 00:25:47.750 Never knew.
  324. 00:25:48.150 – 00:25:49.910 She just said, this is, this, this.
  325. 00:25:50.210 – 00:25:52.370 No, I don't get anything you're saying.
  326. 00:25:53.030 – 00:25:54.430 No, I'm breaking down this.
  327. 00:25:55.470 – 00:25:55.870 What?
  328. 00:25:56.210 – 00:25:56.630 No.
  329. 00:26:02.960 – 00:26:03.740 Popang, right?
  330. 00:26:05.520 – 00:26:06.320 Eighth of an inch.
  331. 00:26:06.600 – 00:26:09.100 One little nine sixteenth of an inch.
  332. 00:26:09.100 – 00:26:11.300 Mess up the entire project.
  333. 00:26:11.540 – 00:26:12.160 Wow.
  334. 00:26:13.820 – 00:26:15.060 What is a nine sixteenth?
  335. 00:26:15.800 – 00:26:16.940 Why is the details?
  336. 00:26:17.420 – 00:26:19.960 Now I'm back in it, looking at every inch.
  337. 00:26:21.580 – 00:26:27.880 What they say, 2.5 centimeters are an estimated inch.
  338. 00:26:29.280 – 00:26:33.300 Yes, 2.5 centimeters are within an inch.
  339. 00:26:33.360 – 00:26:33.980 Estimated.
  340. 00:26:34.080 – 00:26:34.880 Not even exactly.
  341. 00:26:35.480 – 00:26:36.640 So now I got to work with that.
  342. 00:26:36.800 – 00:26:38.040 Like, I never knew that.
  343. 00:26:38.420 – 00:26:38.960 That's crazy.
  344. 00:26:38.960 – 00:26:40.480 But that's something, that's actually that.
  345. 00:26:40.560 – 00:26:42.320 And that will help me with everything.
  346. 00:26:42.540 – 00:26:43.740 Y'all ain't even ready for this.
  347. 00:26:43.800 – 00:26:44.800 Y'all ain't ready for this.
  348. 00:26:45.440 – 00:26:46.520 It was such an experience.
  349. 00:26:46.680 – 00:26:47.360 I'm about to get a tattoo.
  350. 00:26:48.840 – 00:26:51.120 Yeah, I just want the little, I just want the little marks.
  351. 00:26:51.380 – 00:26:54.420 Like, I want it absolutely exactly to the T.
  352. 00:26:55.940 – 00:26:57.140 Nine sixteenths of an inch.
  353. 00:26:57.200 – 00:26:57.760 Like, quit playing.
  354. 00:26:57.960 – 00:26:59.660 Like, yes, I want the whole ruler mark,
  355. 00:26:59.740 – 00:27:01.060 but it's going to look like stitches.
  356. 00:27:01.840 – 00:27:04.440 Y'all, I have a scary movie tattoo arm.
  357. 00:27:04.540 – 00:27:05.320 Okay, cool.
  358. 00:27:05.940 – 00:27:08.280 But it's going to look like stitches on my arm.
  359. 00:27:08.280 – 00:27:10.080 It ain't going to look like no goofy ass ruler.
  360. 00:27:10.300 – 00:27:10.940 All right.
  361. 00:27:10.960 – 00:27:11.900 It's going to look lit.
  362. 00:27:12.160 – 00:27:13.020 Y'all got to see it later.
  363. 00:27:14.340 – 00:27:15.500 Coming way later.
  364. 00:27:16.560 – 00:27:18.720 So is it like technology to measure it?
  365. 00:27:18.720 – 00:27:20.200 Because I know, like.
  366. 00:27:20.280 – 00:27:20.340 Yep.
  367. 00:27:20.420 – 00:27:22.500 And your skin going to grow a little stupid stuff like that.
  368. 00:27:22.520 – 00:27:23.780 That's why it's going to look like stitches.
  369. 00:27:25.660 – 00:27:27.680 So, but yes, exactly measures.
  370. 00:27:27.780 – 00:27:30.420 I want to be able to be an artist, put my arm down.
  371. 00:27:30.740 – 00:27:36.080 Like, I am a whole puzzle.
  372. 00:27:36.160 – 00:27:39.080 I'm the whole piece to every, every missing program.
  373. 00:27:39.240 – 00:27:40.380 Like all that.
  374. 00:27:40.380 – 00:27:41.660 I fit in.
  375. 00:27:41.700 – 00:27:42.080 Cool.
  376. 00:27:42.340 – 00:27:43.040 Everybody love me.
  377. 00:27:43.040 – 00:27:43.940 I love everybody.
  378. 00:27:45.000 – 00:27:45.820 I do that.
  379. 00:27:45.860 – 00:27:48.680 So if I put myself into, into it, right,
  380. 00:27:48.700 – 00:27:50.700 I put myself into my arts.
  381. 00:27:52.260 – 00:27:52.940 Schooler on me.
  382. 00:27:52.960 – 00:27:53.260 I don't care.
  383. 00:27:53.440 – 00:27:53.960 I learned that.
  384. 00:27:54.080 – 00:27:54.480 Can't nobody.
  385. 00:27:54.960 – 00:27:56.100 I'll be, I'll be sitting here like.
  386. 00:27:58.020 – 00:27:59.740 Y'all, I am the goofiest person.
  387. 00:28:00.840 – 00:28:02.800 But it's okay because I'm successful.
  388. 00:28:03.180 – 00:28:05.180 But goofy is, I am very goofy.
  389. 00:28:05.240 – 00:28:05.880 Yes, I am.
  390. 00:28:06.600 – 00:28:07.460 But I enjoy it.
  391. 00:28:07.540 – 00:28:08.120 I enjoy everything.
  392. 00:28:10.140 – 00:28:14.780 What was some of your biggest, like starting your business?
  393. 00:28:15.960 – 00:28:16.460 First business.
  394. 00:28:19.390 – 00:28:20.830 Milk to Magnet's first business.
  395. 00:28:21.690 – 00:28:24.230 Well, my first LLC.
  396. 00:28:24.970 – 00:28:25.310 What do you mean?
  397. 00:28:25.630 – 00:28:26.550 What is my first business?
  398. 00:28:26.670 – 00:28:27.190 Like what are you asking?
  399. 00:28:27.570 – 00:28:28.090 Yeah.
  400. 00:28:32.530 – 00:28:35.770 My first business was cleaning my granny's house.
  401. 00:28:36.410 – 00:28:38.410 Like literally cleaning her house.
  402. 00:28:40.380 – 00:28:42.140 I just went over there and cleaned glasses
  403. 00:28:42.140 – 00:28:44.460 and wiped her glasses, wiped her windows,
  404. 00:28:44.460 – 00:28:47.980 wiped her tables, all the glass vacuum, like cleaning.
  405. 00:28:48.660 – 00:28:50.280 Did that for a couple of other people.
  406. 00:28:50.340 – 00:28:51.140 That was actually cool.
  407. 00:28:52.100 – 00:28:53.680 Like something simple I could do.
  408. 00:28:53.900 – 00:28:55.500 I'm very detail oriented.
  409. 00:28:56.040 – 00:28:59.180 And like I said, I keep disinfecting wipes with me.
  410. 00:28:59.820 – 00:29:06.440 So that's a different type of a different type of business.
  411. 00:29:06.620 – 00:29:09.160 And then from there, it did get creative.
  412. 00:29:09.260 – 00:29:12.400 So from there, my grandma bought me my first sewing machine.
  413. 00:29:12.420 – 00:29:13.680 Not gonna say that was a business,
  414. 00:29:13.680 – 00:29:15.480 but got creative, right?
  415. 00:29:16.200 – 00:29:20.040 But I started making duct tape wallets and selling them.
  416. 00:29:21.760 – 00:29:26.180 So actually made the wallets.
  417. 00:29:26.680 – 00:29:29.020 My mama, my family be having card games.
  418. 00:29:29.020 – 00:29:32.040 I go down there when all the grown folks playing and all that.
  419. 00:29:32.420 – 00:29:34.120 They got money on the table.
  420. 00:29:34.760 – 00:29:36.220 I had some to sell.
  421. 00:29:36.300 – 00:29:37.520 Sold them little wallets
  422. 00:29:37.520 – 00:29:39.180 so they could put their little money all in there
  423. 00:29:39.180 – 00:29:39.820 and some little stuff.
  424. 00:29:40.000 – 00:29:41.080 Everybody bought them off the table.
  425. 00:29:41.280 – 00:29:42.660 They like, oh, I love your hustle.
  426. 00:29:43.260 – 00:29:44.240 Like a natural hustle.
  427. 00:29:44.240 – 00:29:45.440 Natural hustle.
  428. 00:29:45.580 – 00:29:46.980 My mom was like, oh, okay.
  429. 00:29:47.140 – 00:29:48.940 Well, to the school of arts, you go.
  430. 00:29:48.980 – 00:29:49.840 She was like, you know,
  431. 00:29:49.920 – 00:29:51.260 that's the place she knew I was gonna belong.
  432. 00:29:52.340 – 00:29:55.300 What is something you would say to a new photographer
  433. 00:29:55.300 – 00:29:58.000 that doesn't have that hustle or that ambition
  434. 00:29:58.000 – 00:30:04.060 that fuel under them to get them to their success?
  435. 00:30:05.320 – 00:30:06.640 What would I say to get,
  436. 00:30:07.420 – 00:30:08.740 what would I say to motivate them?
  437. 00:30:08.800 – 00:30:11.940 I mean, it'd be different situations, but like just.
  438. 00:30:12.440 – 00:30:14.000 Would have had a hustler mentality
  439. 00:30:14.000 – 00:30:15.900 because not everybody, you know, got it.
  440. 00:30:17.200 – 00:30:18.400 Oh, just do it.
  441. 00:30:18.440 – 00:30:19.680 Get up and do it.
  442. 00:30:19.720 – 00:30:21.680 You wearing Nike, just do it.
  443. 00:30:21.760 – 00:30:23.100 Just like Nike, just do it.
  444. 00:30:23.400 – 00:30:25.360 You really just got to do it.
  445. 00:30:25.400 – 00:30:25.800 Simple.
  446. 00:30:26.460 – 00:30:29.220 It's not, it's easier said than done.
  447. 00:30:29.460 – 00:30:29.840 Right.
  448. 00:30:29.980 – 00:30:32.880 But the more you practice, the better you get.
  449. 00:30:33.220 – 00:30:35.120 You miss every shot you take.
  450. 00:30:35.400 – 00:30:36.380 You don't take, right?
  451. 00:30:36.480 – 00:30:38.000 You miss every shot you don't take.
  452. 00:30:38.140 – 00:30:38.420 True.
  453. 00:30:39.080 – 00:30:40.040 Just do it.
  454. 00:30:40.580 – 00:30:43.340 Literally, like, okay, that don't look right.
  455. 00:30:43.340 – 00:30:44.000 Good.
  456. 00:30:44.220 – 00:30:46.000 Edit it.
  457. 00:30:46.700 – 00:30:47.100 Okay.
  458. 00:30:47.460 – 00:30:48.800 I don't like the way this look.
  459. 00:30:49.960 – 00:30:50.760 Edit it.
  460. 00:30:51.140 – 00:30:51.800 Oh, my God.
  461. 00:30:51.900 – 00:30:52.800 Some people be like,
  462. 00:30:53.120 – 00:30:54.620 I don't like the way my face look.
  463. 00:30:58.210 – 00:30:58.990 Love yourself.
  464. 00:30:59.130 – 00:30:59.890 What do you mean?
  465. 00:31:00.010 – 00:31:00.930 Love yourself.
  466. 00:31:01.350 – 00:31:01.930 This is you.
  467. 00:31:02.130 – 00:31:03.090 Say what you want to say.
  468. 00:31:03.270 – 00:31:04.330 Be who you want to be.
  469. 00:31:09.670 – 00:31:10.150 Pictures of people.
  470. 00:31:10.290 – 00:31:12.390 They be like, whoa, I ain't feeling.
  471. 00:31:13.150 – 00:31:13.690 What you mean?
  472. 00:31:13.830 – 00:31:14.230 You out.
  473. 00:31:14.350 – 00:31:14.950 You can't dress.
  474. 00:31:15.130 – 00:31:15.610 You look good.
  475. 00:31:15.930 – 00:31:17.190 You are okay.
  476. 00:31:17.910 – 00:31:18.730 This is for you.
  477. 00:31:18.750 – 00:31:19.730 I'm not about to post this.
  478. 00:31:20.470 – 00:31:24.770 Hey, if you go back, how much how much time goes into the editing process?
  479. 00:31:28.570 – 00:31:30.510 It's never clients don't understand.
  480. 00:31:30.810 – 00:31:31.510 It's never done.
  481. 00:31:31.530 – 00:31:32.830 People don't understand in general.
  482. 00:31:33.150 – 00:31:35.830 Sometimes it takes time.
  483. 00:31:36.390 – 00:31:37.370 It's never done.
  484. 00:31:38.190 – 00:31:41.230 And then when you when you know, when you go watch a movie in the theater,
  485. 00:31:41.250 – 00:31:44.430 you'll be like, no, no, no, this is from an editor's perspective.
  486. 00:31:44.950 – 00:31:48.990 When you be watching a movie in the real thing like this, the final cut,
  487. 00:31:48.990 – 00:31:51.790 you'll be looking like this ain't the final cut.
  488. 00:31:51.890 – 00:31:52.950 Yeah, you have to.
  489. 00:31:52.950 – 00:31:54.090 Do better than that.
  490. 00:31:54.090 – 00:31:54.450 We could.
  491. 00:31:54.830 – 00:31:57.190 Oh, I could have did or looking from an actor's point of view.
  492. 00:31:57.190 – 00:31:57.570 You look.
  493. 00:31:57.950 – 00:31:59.690 Oh, I could have did it.
  494. 00:31:59.690 – 00:32:00.610 It's not all the time.
  495. 00:32:00.710 – 00:32:01.550 It's never done.
  496. 00:32:01.570 – 00:32:03.830 So you ask the client when I give you your product.
  497. 00:32:03.850 – 00:32:04.470 I understand.
  498. 00:32:04.590 – 00:32:06.330 Yes, you do want extra tweaks.
  499. 00:32:06.570 – 00:32:07.950 It's never done.
  500. 00:32:10.350 – 00:32:13.130 So, yes, that's why we charge so much for editing.
  501. 00:32:13.930 – 00:32:14.070 Yeah.
  502. 00:32:14.070 – 00:32:17.130 That's why I like to push projects up ahead because, you know,
  503. 00:32:17.230 – 00:32:20.010 they they have in their head, you know, two weeks.
  504. 00:32:20.570 – 00:32:22.590 But yeah, we still got to work on the video.
  505. 00:32:22.590 – 00:32:26.490 Like we need, you know, planning time to even go over,
  506. 00:32:26.650 – 00:32:30.810 even to make revisions, like you say, at the editing process to edit.
  507. 00:32:31.130 – 00:32:35.970 Actually, you go there and you shoot or you get the footage
  508. 00:32:35.970 – 00:32:37.170 and you didn't shoot it.
  509. 00:32:37.170 – 00:32:37.330 Right.
  510. 00:32:37.610 – 00:32:42.750 But if you shot it, you have to go back twice to rewatch it.
  511. 00:32:42.970 – 00:32:48.390 You have to watch it over and over and over going to the detail.
  512. 00:32:48.530 – 00:32:50.690 You look at this.
  513. 00:32:50.930 – 00:32:51.730 Cut it out.
  514. 00:32:52.290 – 00:32:52.970 Cut it out.
  515. 00:32:52.970 – 00:32:54.310 That's actually what it's called.
  516. 00:32:54.310 – 00:32:56.370 You have to split and cut in editing.
  517. 00:32:56.530 – 00:32:57.730 Cut it out.
  518. 00:32:58.010 – 00:33:02.050 When we were very, very first starting making film.
  519. 00:33:02.050 – 00:33:05.610 No, literally when film was first ever made,
  520. 00:33:05.610 – 00:33:10.570 you had to cut the physical film, take a piece of tape,
  521. 00:33:10.790 – 00:33:14.590 tape it together, put it on the reel and slide it like a slideshow.
  522. 00:33:14.630 – 00:33:15.230 Wow.
  523. 00:33:15.350 – 00:33:18.930 That's what you and you had 24 frames per second.
  524. 00:33:19.570 – 00:33:27.350 And then frame this picture, picture, picture editing process.
  525. 00:33:28.610 – 00:33:29.050 It's a lot.
  526. 00:33:29.090 – 00:33:30.170 And it's always been a lot.
  527. 00:33:30.270 – 00:33:31.870 We try to upgrade it, get it easier.
  528. 00:33:32.230 – 00:33:33.150 But it's interesting, though.
  529. 00:33:33.210 – 00:33:37.290 Have you ever blended it to like where you
  530. 00:33:37.290 – 00:33:41.150 film digital, but they had the film also
  531. 00:33:41.150 – 00:33:48.990 and then tailored the time that the timeline with the film pictures.
  532. 00:33:48.990 – 00:33:54.610 I'm going to say no, but I can edit it basically like a template and edit it.
  533. 00:33:54.650 – 00:33:55.050 The digital.
  534. 00:33:56.230 – 00:33:58.110 Anything film can be scanned.
  535. 00:33:59.890 – 00:34:00.570 You know what I'm saying?
  536. 00:34:01.210 – 00:34:01.330 OK.
  537. 00:34:01.330 – 00:34:02.750 Film is physical.
  538. 00:34:03.070 – 00:34:06.210 You're not about to easily do too much with that
  539. 00:34:06.210 – 00:34:08.170 because now everything is digital.
  540. 00:34:08.370 – 00:34:11.190 So for film, you're going to scan it like a printer,
  541. 00:34:11.370 – 00:34:15.310 like a piece of paper, like, and then get that image into the computer.
  542. 00:34:17.710 – 00:34:22.370 So after that, then, you know, do whatever you want to scan it.
  543. 00:34:22.489 – 00:34:24.370 Told you it's my first coach, y'all.
  544. 00:34:26.330 – 00:34:27.350 Still coaching.
  545. 00:34:27.610 – 00:34:27.969 You see that?
  546. 00:34:29.510 – 00:34:33.449 Yeah, it film photography.
  547. 00:34:33.810 – 00:34:36.330 So actual black and white film photography.
  548. 00:34:36.630 – 00:34:37.370 That was awesome.
  549. 00:34:38.949 – 00:34:40.449 I did that with the Cleveland Print Room
  550. 00:34:41.110 – 00:34:43.969 and that experience was awesome in a dark room
  551. 00:34:44.929 – 00:34:49.590 in the pitch black dark, sometimes maybe with a red light on.
  552. 00:34:49.590 – 00:34:55.010 But working with chemicals right to before you go in the dark room,
  553. 00:34:55.270 – 00:34:57.710 like literally practice blindfolding.
  554. 00:34:57.710 – 00:34:58.970 I thought that was hilarious.
  555. 00:34:59.190 – 00:35:02.550 But once you walked in there, it ain't no turning on no lights.
  556. 00:35:02.590 – 00:35:03.070 Yeah.
  557. 00:35:03.130 – 00:35:05.410 You can't see when you walk in.
  558. 00:35:06.130 – 00:35:07.610 You feel for your desk.
  559. 00:35:07.750 – 00:35:08.810 You feel for your tools.
  560. 00:35:08.890 – 00:35:09.150 Cool.
  561. 00:35:09.170 – 00:35:09.670 I love that.
  562. 00:35:09.690 – 00:35:11.390 That was actually a great experience.
  563. 00:35:11.890 – 00:35:13.650 So it's literally a dark room.
  564. 00:35:13.730 – 00:35:15.110 It's literally a dark room.
  565. 00:35:15.130 – 00:35:16.550 You maybe get a little red light.
  566. 00:35:17.450 – 00:35:21.140 Maybe the red light come from.
  567. 00:35:22.580 – 00:35:25.300 You know, it's a chemical.
  568. 00:35:25.360 – 00:35:27.720 No, no, it's like a reflection of the chemicals.
  569. 00:35:28.120 – 00:35:30.020 It does help in the reflection.
  570. 00:35:30.460 – 00:35:33.140 But I am not specifically sure on the science.
  571. 00:35:33.200 – 00:35:34.620 It does help the reflection.
  572. 00:35:36.430 – 00:35:41.170 I'm really thinking you might get a red light.
  573. 00:35:41.170 – 00:35:42.020 That's about it.
  574. 00:35:42.470 – 00:35:44.990 But otherwise, it was a dark room for the chemicals.
  575. 00:35:45.970 – 00:35:47.990 So yeah, because you can't carry no light.
  576. 00:35:48.010 – 00:35:48.470 Yeah.
  577. 00:35:51.540 – 00:35:52.940 Now, that's a whole other conversation.
  578. 00:35:52.940 – 00:35:54.420 So we're getting to that.
  579. 00:35:54.500 – 00:35:55.980 So how do you be?
  580. 00:35:55.980 – 00:35:58.920 How do you get real precise or how do you?
  581. 00:35:59.020 – 00:36:00.640 Because like you say, you're dealing with chemicals.
  582. 00:36:00.660 – 00:36:02.380 You don't want to have a chemical.
  583. 00:36:02.680 – 00:36:03.680 Oh, you're right.
  584. 00:36:03.860 – 00:36:04.440 Right, right.
  585. 00:36:04.680 – 00:36:07.020 Now, like I said, that's another whole conversation.
  586. 00:36:07.220 – 00:36:08.900 Because let me tell you, they will forever say,
  587. 00:36:08.940 – 00:36:10.240 don't put your hands in it.
  588. 00:36:10.280 – 00:36:12.460 I put my hands in it and my nails grew.
  589. 00:36:12.800 – 00:36:14.480 That's all I'm telling you.
  590. 00:36:15.520 – 00:36:15.860 Well.
  591. 00:36:17.660 – 00:36:20.300 My nose was popping the whole program long.
  592. 00:36:20.440 – 00:36:22.260 OK, natural nails to this day.
  593. 00:36:22.260 – 00:36:23.040 Lovely.
  594. 00:36:25.160 – 00:36:26.700 Photography at that point, too.
  595. 00:36:26.700 – 00:36:28.060 Oh, is that what you're trying to see?
  596. 00:36:28.060 – 00:36:30.380 Is that my rain nails or making pictures?
  597. 00:36:30.560 – 00:36:32.600 Cutting pictures like you DJ.
  598. 00:36:32.860 – 00:36:35.460 Like, you know, yes, yes, absolutely.
  599. 00:36:35.560 – 00:36:37.100 You're going to shake your picture a little bit.
  600. 00:36:37.620 – 00:36:38.040 Yes, you are.
  601. 00:36:38.080 – 00:36:40.360 I put my hand in the chemicals with my picture.
  602. 00:36:41.300 – 00:36:43.020 Move around a little bit.
  603. 00:36:43.140 – 00:36:43.480 Pick it up.
  604. 00:36:43.560 – 00:36:44.140 Take it out.
  605. 00:36:44.140 – 00:36:44.560 Oh, man.
  606. 00:36:44.700 – 00:36:45.820 If I dance with it.
  607. 00:36:45.860 – 00:36:46.660 You know, get my hair.
  608. 00:36:47.520 – 00:36:48.920 Hey, singing with it.
  609. 00:36:48.920 – 00:36:51.000 Oh, see doing my thing.
  610. 00:36:51.640 – 00:36:53.060 Shake it up a little bit.
  611. 00:36:53.060 – 00:36:53.700 Keep them going.
  612. 00:36:53.880 – 00:36:54.600 And it's a process.
  613. 00:36:54.780 – 00:36:57.200 It's a very, very long process to make a picture.
  614. 00:36:58.240 – 00:36:59.800 But y'all go to Walgreens for that.
  615. 00:36:59.820 – 00:37:01.540 I like to do it in the dark room.
  616. 00:37:03.140 – 00:37:05.400 OK, so we have creativity.
  617. 00:37:06.300 – 00:37:07.000 We have science.
  618. 00:37:08.320 – 00:37:09.380 What about spirituality?
  619. 00:37:09.720 – 00:37:13.900 So creativity, spirituality and science.
  620. 00:37:13.960 – 00:37:17.820 How do you balance the three within your art?
  621. 00:37:19.610 – 00:37:22.030 Literally, like everything is art to me.
  622. 00:37:22.650 – 00:37:24.770 True artists in my spirituality.
  623. 00:37:24.990 – 00:37:27.630 Like I said, my mama put me in the Cleveland School of the Arts
  624. 00:37:27.630 – 00:37:29.190 because she knew that's where I belong.
  625. 00:37:29.870 – 00:37:30.990 And that's where I belong.
  626. 00:37:31.250 – 00:37:33.290 That's where I got along with everybody.
  627. 00:37:34.010 – 00:37:35.930 I think that was, you know, meant to be.
  628. 00:37:36.010 – 00:37:38.230 I think I get a lot of coincidences in life.
  629. 00:37:38.470 – 00:37:41.470 I think I think everything I get
  630. 00:37:41.470 – 00:37:43.170 really is an interesting coincidence.
  631. 00:37:43.170 – 00:37:46.170 I can think of it in my head and I can make it happen.
  632. 00:37:46.690 – 00:37:49.270 So to my sewing, right, when I was first a kid,
  633. 00:37:49.270 – 00:37:50.330 I never used a pattern.
  634. 00:37:50.710 – 00:37:51.550 Nope, never did.
  635. 00:37:51.550 – 00:37:56.010 I got to be able to think of it and make it great.
  636. 00:37:56.130 – 00:37:56.530 Beautiful.
  637. 00:37:56.750 – 00:37:57.370 I mean, I'm a kid.
  638. 00:37:57.530 – 00:38:00.250 I don't know about measurements and all that extra stuff.
  639. 00:38:00.310 – 00:38:01.710 But yes, I did make it awesome.
  640. 00:38:13.050 – 00:38:17.750 Then creativity, spirituality and science within your art.
  641. 00:38:17.850 – 00:38:20.150 Oh, yeah, that's literally everything I do.
  642. 00:38:20.490 – 00:38:22.350 Like whenever I get a thought in my head,
  643. 00:38:22.470 – 00:38:23.210 I got to make it happen.
  644. 00:38:23.270 – 00:38:24.330 I'm going to map it out.
  645. 00:38:24.370 – 00:38:26.490 I'm going to create a blueprint in here,
  646. 00:38:26.490 – 00:38:30.510 do the whole pattern blueprint measurements.
  647. 00:38:31.130 – 00:38:35.340 And I get to doing it like a behind this wall right here.
  648. 00:38:36.510 – 00:38:37.570 It's a lot of creation.
  649. 00:38:38.810 – 00:38:41.150 Okay, as a matter of fact,
  650. 00:38:41.150 – 00:38:43.250 my camera is not even on a real tripod.
  651. 00:38:43.250 – 00:38:46.590 It's on my mate, my phone, my phone tripod.
  652. 00:38:46.610 – 00:38:48.730 I put two different pieces together.
  653. 00:38:48.970 – 00:38:49.350 You did.
  654. 00:38:49.890 – 00:38:53.050 So honestly, I didn't know this for a long time.
  655. 00:38:53.450 – 00:38:54.550 Somebody else do it.
  656. 00:38:54.870 – 00:38:55.270 That's an emergency.
  657. 00:38:55.270 – 00:38:57.750 So don't be doing that.
  658. 00:38:58.050 – 00:38:58.550 I don't know.
  659. 00:38:58.550 – 00:38:59.990 That's emergencies only.
  660. 00:39:01.270 – 00:39:07.770 But yes, I have a lot of goofy things about me
  661. 00:39:08.130 – 00:39:09.750 that I'm very clumsy.
  662. 00:39:11.250 – 00:39:15.230 So even with my arts, I make everything work for me, right?
  663. 00:39:15.850 – 00:39:18.610 So I got a lot of pillows in my room.
  664. 00:39:18.670 – 00:39:20.510 For if I fall, literally, I will.
  665. 00:39:21.670 – 00:39:22.690 Little goofy stuff.
  666. 00:39:22.690 – 00:39:25.790 So keep my lights on me, keep my tripod on me,
  667. 00:39:25.810 – 00:39:27.830 whatever I feel like I'm doing in class.
  668. 00:39:27.930 – 00:39:30.650 Sometimes I will post what I'm doing in class.
  669. 00:39:31.110 – 00:39:32.950 I enjoy everything I do.
  670. 00:39:33.730 – 00:39:36.630 So every day I wake up, I am an artist.
  671. 00:39:37.070 – 00:39:41.070 I wake up and think of something creative to do.
  672. 00:39:41.210 – 00:39:44.330 When I'm bored, I think of something creative to do.
  673. 00:39:44.590 – 00:39:48.670 When I'm shopping, I look for something creative.
  674. 00:39:48.670 – 00:39:51.590 You know, something fashionable, different.
  675. 00:39:55.690 – 00:39:57.070 Burning sage every day, surely.
  676. 00:39:59.810 – 00:40:01.770 Like a wake up routine?
  677. 00:40:02.270 – 00:40:03.430 No, I don't even have a routine.
  678. 00:40:03.710 – 00:40:04.510 It's get creative.
  679. 00:40:07.130 – 00:40:09.030 All natural products, for sure.
  680. 00:40:10.430 – 00:40:11.710 All natural everything.
  681. 00:40:12.670 – 00:40:13.950 Y'all rarely see me with makeup.
  682. 00:40:14.030 – 00:40:15.890 Y'all rarely see me with my hair done.
  683. 00:40:15.970 – 00:40:17.410 And that's perfectly fine with me
  684. 00:40:17.410 – 00:40:20.690 because I'm literally me being me every day.
  685. 00:40:20.710 – 00:40:21.590 I'm an artist.
  686. 00:40:22.070 – 00:40:23.450 The clothes I put on are art.
  687. 00:40:23.450 – 00:40:25.750 The hairstyle I choose is art.
  688. 00:40:26.170 – 00:40:29.470 Food I eat is colorful like the rainbow, you know?
  689. 00:40:38.220 – 00:40:39.960 I think art goes with everything with me.
  690. 00:40:46.250 – 00:40:48.210 What are some projects you're working on now?
  691. 00:40:51.820 – 00:40:54.660 What project do you want to work on now?
  692. 00:40:54.880 – 00:40:58.180 Because sometimes both is different.
  693. 00:40:58.780 – 00:41:00.880 I right now am working on finally
  694. 00:41:00.880 – 00:41:04.640 ending the school year 2025.
  695. 00:41:06.920 – 00:41:11.780 I'm taking a wood shop building the sets type of class.
  696. 00:41:11.780 – 00:41:13.660 So I'm building a pencil holder
  697. 00:41:13.660 – 00:41:15.700 as a four by four piece of lumber.
  698. 00:41:16.460 – 00:41:18.940 And I'm gonna drill some holes in it
  699. 00:41:18.940 – 00:41:20.900 and try to make the holes big enough
  700. 00:41:20.900 – 00:41:24.220 for my little lip gloss, pencils and little stuff.
  701. 00:41:24.380 – 00:41:26.160 Just a little thing I'm gonna paint paint.
  702. 00:41:26.560 – 00:41:27.160 Keep it simple.
  703. 00:41:28.660 – 00:41:32.320 Then I am making a romantic vest.
  704. 00:41:32.960 – 00:41:36.880 I've already finished my 19th century pair of trousers
  705. 00:41:36.880 – 00:41:39.180 which were a 32 size male.
  706. 00:41:39.180 – 00:41:42.820 And I am making a vest to go with it
  707. 00:41:42.820 – 00:41:45.420 for my class costume technology.
  708. 00:41:47.770 – 00:41:49.410 Then I have to learn projection.
  709. 00:41:49.890 – 00:41:51.110 So actual like, you know,
  710. 00:41:51.190 – 00:41:54.090 projecting things onto the stage during a performance.
  711. 00:41:55.010 – 00:41:58.830 So my idea for my final project is to just do the weather.
  712. 00:41:58.910 – 00:42:02.570 Like how would the weather look in a window of a performance?
  713. 00:42:02.650 – 00:42:04.650 You know, if I'm getting storm and lightning,
  714. 00:42:04.770 – 00:42:06.870 I want more dramatic effects like that.
  715. 00:42:07.810 – 00:42:10.010 But projections are very hard to do.
  716. 00:42:10.010 – 00:42:11.710 So we're gonna get into that.
  717. 00:42:14.580 – 00:42:15.580 And I just wanna keep sewing.
  718. 00:42:15.740 – 00:42:19.460 I think I'm gonna keep sewing for the most part of this year.
  719. 00:42:19.520 – 00:42:20.420 I will keep sewing.
  720. 00:42:21.360 – 00:42:24.560 And I want to get into more scary movies.
  721. 00:42:26.300 – 00:42:27.520 So scary movies.
  722. 00:42:27.740 – 00:42:29.620 Yes, that is my goal here.
  723. 00:42:29.760 – 00:42:32.220 I really want to make a scary movie.
  724. 00:42:32.240 – 00:42:33.440 So if I'm gonna write it
  725. 00:42:34.400 – 00:42:35.860 or if I'm gonna do short reels.
  726. 00:42:39.270 – 00:42:40.530 What's your favorite scary movie?
  727. 00:42:40.670 – 00:42:41.970 Oh, that is so funny.
  728. 00:42:42.690 – 00:42:43.470 That is hilarious.
  729. 00:42:43.470 – 00:42:45.250 How dare you say such a thing?
  730. 00:42:48.010 – 00:42:49.650 You don't even know what I'm doing, do you?
  731. 00:42:50.130 – 00:42:51.510 You don't know what I'm doing, do you?
  732. 00:42:52.290 – 00:42:52.570 It's scary.
  733. 00:42:52.770 – 00:42:53.170 Yes.
  734. 00:42:53.470 – 00:42:54.090 You're hilarious.
  735. 00:42:55.870 – 00:42:56.850 How dare you ask me that?
  736. 00:42:56.850 – 00:42:57.950 You think that's a scary movie?
  737. 00:42:58.110 – 00:42:59.910 No, I think that's more comedy.
  738. 00:43:00.530 – 00:43:00.970 Absolutely.
  739. 00:43:01.230 – 00:43:01.870 Those are hilarious.
  740. 00:43:02.050 – 00:43:03.730 All scary movies are funny to me.
  741. 00:43:04.070 – 00:43:04.990 That's just me.
  742. 00:43:05.070 – 00:43:05.370 Really?
  743. 00:43:05.670 – 00:43:05.890 Yes.
  744. 00:43:06.550 – 00:43:07.750 I can't watch them all day.
  745. 00:43:07.990 – 00:43:09.330 Oh, I could watch them all day.
  746. 00:43:09.750 – 00:43:11.530 All day, any day throughout the day.
  747. 00:43:13.890 – 00:43:18.990 But my favorite scary movie of all time ever is Chucky.
  748. 00:43:20.510 – 00:43:21.810 Everybody should know that.
  749. 00:43:22.410 – 00:43:23.130 Chucky is a weird.
  750. 00:43:23.130 – 00:43:24.810 I feel like everybody should know that.
  751. 00:43:25.170 – 00:43:26.970 But honestly, I do have the Chucky doll.
  752. 00:43:27.070 – 00:43:28.690 So I got the whole family finally.
  753. 00:43:32.550 – 00:43:35.270 So what would be your style or like directing style
  754. 00:43:35.270 – 00:43:36.930 with the horror movies?
  755. 00:43:37.250 – 00:43:39.870 Oh, I love Tim Burton movies
  756. 00:43:39.870 – 00:43:43.310 and I love his horror gothic style, right?
  757. 00:43:43.990 – 00:43:45.990 Love that from, you know,
  758. 00:43:46.090 – 00:43:48.750 Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp.
  759. 00:43:48.970 – 00:43:51.230 Love, love, love that style.
  760. 00:43:52.110 – 00:43:54.670 So definitely want to go there, right?
  761. 00:43:55.990 – 00:44:01.670 But also loving Jordan Peele, right?
  762. 00:44:02.170 – 00:44:02.590 Okay.
  763. 00:44:02.650 – 00:44:03.290 Is that his name?
  764. 00:44:06.770 – 00:44:07.850 Yes, love that.
  765. 00:44:08.310 – 00:44:09.150 Yes, love that.
  766. 00:44:10.130 – 00:44:12.430 Um, Stephen King and the way he writes.
  767. 00:44:14.610 – 00:44:15.730 So horrifying.
  768. 00:44:17.630 – 00:44:19.310 It's so detailed.
  769. 00:44:19.670 – 00:44:21.530 You know, love that.
  770. 00:44:25.600 – 00:44:26.620 My senior year,
  771. 00:44:28.300 – 00:44:30.600 I had to stop being scared of scary movies, you know?
  772. 00:44:30.600 – 00:44:36.430 And I wrote a monologue that had the whole audience
  773. 00:44:36.430 – 00:44:38.030 rolling laughing, right?
  774. 00:44:38.550 – 00:44:39.670 And to this day,
  775. 00:44:39.810 – 00:44:42.750 y'all be rolling laughing when y'all see it.
  776. 00:44:42.870 – 00:44:44.070 And I be loving it.
  777. 00:44:44.090 – 00:44:46.250 That is the exact reaction
  778. 00:44:46.250 – 00:44:48.790 I want you to see out of my horror films.
  779. 00:44:48.810 – 00:44:51.110 I want you to see me being a cute little,
  780. 00:44:51.170 – 00:44:56.880 cute little girl, but just cute, just nice
  781. 00:44:56.880 – 00:44:59.380 in different type of way though, right?
  782. 00:44:59.800 – 00:45:01.740 So like Beetlejuice, right?
  783. 00:45:01.740 – 00:45:05.440 She said, I too am strange and unusual.
  784. 00:45:18.290 – 00:45:19.010 Something different.
  785. 00:45:20.090 – 00:45:22.510 And that would be like your niche.
  786. 00:45:23.090 – 00:45:24.150 Like once you're done with school,
  787. 00:45:24.150 – 00:45:26.650 you're going to dive straight into that.
  788. 00:45:26.990 – 00:45:27.150 Okay.
  789. 00:45:27.250 – 00:45:27.530 Yeah.
  790. 00:45:27.550 – 00:45:29.150 I need to work on it while I'm in school.
  791. 00:45:30.490 – 00:45:33.150 So every different project needs to add to that.
  792. 00:45:33.350 – 00:45:34.450 I need to be doing stuff.
  793. 00:45:36.290 – 00:45:38.330 So I have a genre analysis pro,
  794. 00:45:38.610 – 00:45:40.590 yeah, genre analysis paper
  795. 00:45:40.590 – 00:45:42.410 that I have to write for a film class.
  796. 00:45:43.670 – 00:45:44.850 With that intel.
  797. 00:45:45.130 – 00:45:45.610 Right.
  798. 00:45:45.610 – 00:45:47.930 Who thought you had the right for a film class?
  799. 00:45:49.650 – 00:45:52.370 Anyways, genre analysis.
  800. 00:45:53.130 – 00:45:55.910 So basically I chose horror, right?
  801. 00:45:56.370 – 00:45:58.190 But then we have sub genres,
  802. 00:45:58.270 – 00:46:00.110 which are taking two different things
  803. 00:46:00.110 – 00:46:02.890 and combining them such as horror and comedy.
  804. 00:46:04.510 – 00:46:07.010 Then we get old scary movie pairings, right?
  805. 00:46:08.290 – 00:46:10.870 So I chose to do horror,
  806. 00:46:10.930 – 00:46:13.790 got more specific into Dracula, right?
  807. 00:46:14.510 – 00:46:18.810 The analysis is to see the difference
  808. 00:46:18.810 – 00:46:20.730 in our Dracula movies, right?
  809. 00:46:20.870 – 00:46:23.410 So I chose three different Dracula movies.
  810. 00:46:27.930 – 00:46:29.610 This is live, y'all.
  811. 00:46:32.910 – 00:46:33.910 Interview right now.
  812. 00:46:33.990 – 00:46:35.030 I'm going to call you right back.
  813. 00:47:02.710 – 00:47:03.870 Am I supposed to hit the button or something?
  814. 00:47:04.490 – 00:47:04.790 Huh?
  815. 00:47:05.030 – 00:47:06.130 Do you want me to hit the button or something?
  816. 00:47:06.510 – 00:47:07.010 Oh, you're good.
  817. 00:47:07.050 – 00:47:07.570 It's still going.
  818. 00:47:07.670 – 00:47:08.230 Okay, cool.
  819. 00:47:08.530 – 00:47:08.770 All right.
  820. 00:47:08.770 – 00:47:09.210 Back to it.
  821. 00:47:09.250 – 00:47:09.490 Ready?
  822. 00:47:09.810 – 00:47:10.330 What was the question?
  823. 00:47:15.230 – 00:47:16.150 We can reset.
  824. 00:47:16.310 – 00:47:16.590 We're good.
  825. 00:47:21.090 – 00:47:32.270 I kind of want to shift gears to a question.
  826. 00:47:33.170 – 00:47:36.950 No one asked you that you want someone to ask you
  827. 00:47:36.950 – 00:47:45.750 about your work or not work art.
  828. 00:47:45.850 – 00:47:48.930 I want to call it more art, art work, art work, art work.
  829. 00:47:48.930 – 00:47:49.490 Put it together.
  830. 00:47:49.750 – 00:47:49.970 Art work.
  831. 00:47:50.230 – 00:47:53.990 Yeah, but it still be I got so many things
  832. 00:47:53.990 – 00:47:55.390 y'all don't even know.
  833. 00:47:55.590 – 00:47:57.170 I don't know how to even tell y'all
  834. 00:47:57.170 – 00:47:59.170 what I don't know how to tell y'all.
  835. 00:47:59.170 – 00:48:00.570 You know what I'm saying?
  836. 00:48:01.410 – 00:48:04.470 Like I really get ideas in my head
  837. 00:48:04.470 – 00:48:08.590 and I just do like if I was to say something
  838. 00:48:08.590 – 00:48:11.610 motivational to somebody, just do it.
  839. 00:48:11.690 – 00:48:13.530 Like I'm not even sure.
  840. 00:48:15.870 – 00:48:16.270 See the question.
  841. 00:48:16.490 – 00:48:20.430 What was the question?
  842. 00:48:23.070 – 00:48:31.290 It was a good one.
  843. 00:48:31.290 – 00:48:36.910 It was a good one.
  844. 00:48:36.910 – 00:48:37.670 Let me get off track.
  845. 00:48:37.790 – 00:48:38.930 That was a good one.
  846. 00:48:42.590 – 00:48:44.590 Oh, if what is it?
  847. 00:48:44.590 – 00:48:45.070 What is it?
  848. 00:48:45.070 – 00:48:48.290 What is the question that I want somebody to ask me?
  849. 00:48:48.470 – 00:48:48.770 Yeah.
  850. 00:48:48.770 – 00:48:51.430 What's the question I want somebody to ask?
  851. 00:48:51.530 – 00:48:52.210 I got excited.
  852. 00:48:52.730 – 00:48:57.330 I was waiting.
  853. 00:48:57.330 – 00:48:58.690 I was waiting so hard on the answer.
  854. 00:48:58.830 – 00:49:00.230 I'm like, what was the question?
  855. 00:49:00.450 – 00:49:01.370 I was I was waiting.
  856. 00:49:01.690 – 00:49:05.290 I was I'm trying to think too because then it'd be like,
  857. 00:49:05.430 – 00:49:07.710 okay, because I can do a million things
  858. 00:49:07.710 – 00:49:10.330 and then it'd be like, I really be wanting people.
  859. 00:49:10.330 – 00:49:11.630 I don't know what I want people to ask.
  860. 00:49:11.810 – 00:49:16.630 Someone if a little kid came up to you to ask you.
  861. 00:49:23.940 – 00:49:26.160 Yeah, I don't like people asking me for shit.
  862. 00:49:26.200 – 00:49:26.880 What are you?
  863. 00:49:29.700 – 00:49:31.420 May sound harsh, though.
  864. 00:49:31.460 – 00:49:32.300 Kids give it to you.
  865. 00:49:32.360 – 00:49:33.320 You're not going to say it like that,
  866. 00:49:33.340 – 00:49:35.500 but they ain't got no filter neither.
  867. 00:49:35.520 – 00:49:36.200 They don't have no filter.
  868. 00:49:37.180 – 00:49:38.700 But yeah, no, I don't.
  869. 00:49:38.940 – 00:49:40.160 What would you want to ask them?
  870. 00:49:41.220 – 00:49:42.700 What do you do?
  871. 00:49:43.320 – 00:49:46.100 But a kid, if I ask that, what is that thing over there?
  872. 00:49:46.480 – 00:49:49.040 Yeah, I'd be like, I do a lot.
  873. 00:49:49.100 – 00:49:50.640 Like I'm the artist of all things.
  874. 00:49:51.000 – 00:49:53.020 Like I sew, I make things.
  875. 00:49:53.020 – 00:49:54.220 Okay, a teenage kid.
  876. 00:49:56.060 – 00:49:57.080 Don't you want a job?
  877. 00:49:58.920 – 00:50:00.940 I need you to carry these bags.
  878. 00:50:03.020 – 00:50:04.720 You want them to approach you like that?
  879. 00:50:04.900 – 00:50:05.420 Can I have a job?
  880. 00:50:06.200 – 00:50:06.920 Oh, I guess.
  881. 00:50:11.680 – 00:50:12.900 And then it'd be like that.
  882. 00:50:12.960 – 00:50:13.360 Oh my gosh.
  883. 00:50:13.460 – 00:50:14.540 People have done that to me.
  884. 00:50:15.400 – 00:50:16.180 Oh, don't don't get me started.
  885. 00:50:16.240 – 00:50:17.100 People have done that.
  886. 00:50:20.730 – 00:50:22.270 What about interns since you?
  887. 00:50:22.370 – 00:50:24.650 I can intern because I don't have enough money to pay nobody.
  888. 00:50:25.290 – 00:50:25.990 That's just that.
  889. 00:50:26.330 – 00:50:28.830 I can intern all I want, but I ain't got no time.
  890. 00:50:30.490 – 00:50:31.690 Interns to work under you.
  891. 00:50:31.690 – 00:50:33.610 Yeah, I can have somebody intern under me.
  892. 00:50:33.690 – 00:50:34.750 I have no problem mentoring.
  893. 00:50:34.790 – 00:50:35.850 I have no problem tutoring.
  894. 00:50:36.010 – 00:50:41.210 I have no problem, you know, having somebody to really help at that point.
  895. 00:50:41.270 – 00:50:45.750 Like I got a lot of bags to bring in to set up this 360 booth.
  896. 00:50:46.670 – 00:50:49.690 And I just need you to carry 360 before I get these bags.
  897. 00:50:50.050 – 00:50:52.630 How much is your mentoring program?
  898. 00:50:53.650 – 00:50:55.940 We'll get there when I'm out of school.
  899. 00:50:56.970 – 00:50:57.250 Get there.
  900. 00:50:57.470 – 00:50:57.550 Okay.
  901. 00:50:57.730 – 00:50:57.870 Yeah.
  902. 00:50:58.830 – 00:51:00.030 Focus, stay focused.
  903. 00:51:00.030 – 00:51:03.070 Definitely got to learn a lot before I go helping everybody else.
  904. 00:51:03.070 – 00:51:04.450 Can't help nobody until you help yourself.
  905. 00:51:05.290 – 00:51:05.850 That's right.
  906. 00:51:06.810 – 00:51:09.750 Self love is the biggest, you know.
  907. 00:51:09.890 – 00:51:11.710 Yeah, I'm out here learning for the both of us.
  908. 00:51:12.250 – 00:51:14.710 Yeah, true, true facts.
  909. 00:51:16.330 – 00:51:20.750 You know, that's why I love being around other high level people in the industry
  910. 00:51:20.750 – 00:51:24.770 because it's not about competitions, more about collaboration,
  911. 00:51:25.450 – 00:51:28.150 you know, supporting each other, clapping for each other,
  912. 00:51:28.150 – 00:51:32.410 you know, being there for each other, even even on the emotional side.
  913. 00:51:32.910 – 00:51:34.030 Like, you good?
  914. 00:51:34.250 – 00:51:38.710 It's been a while, you know, checking in, checking in your friends, you know.
  915. 00:51:38.890 – 00:51:40.990 They say who check in on the strongest ones?
  916. 00:51:42.870 – 00:51:44.770 Oh, don't get started there.
  917. 00:51:45.250 – 00:51:45.930 Yeah, yep, yep.
  918. 00:51:46.070 – 00:51:47.070 It's lonely at the top.
  919. 00:51:48.250 – 00:51:49.030 Lonely at the top.
  920. 00:51:50.810 – 00:51:57.570 That's what I said, like when we chase this and we get this success or whatever we
  921. 00:51:58.370 – 00:52:02.030 want in life, it's like, is it ever enough?
  922. 00:52:02.770 – 00:52:03.150 Nope.
  923. 00:52:03.450 – 00:52:04.150 Remember Squid Game?
  924. 00:52:05.390 – 00:52:05.790 Nope.
  925. 00:52:06.910 – 00:52:08.910 Because you like to do it.
  926. 00:52:08.910 – 00:52:09.810 So what about money?
  927. 00:52:09.850 – 00:52:10.810 Like, what is it?
  928. 00:52:10.970 – 00:52:12.430 How much money you want to know?
  929. 00:52:12.570 – 00:52:14.530 Is it really a number or is it like?
  930. 00:52:14.530 – 00:52:14.670 It's a million.
  931. 00:52:14.710 – 00:52:16.030 I really want to be a billionaire.
  932. 00:52:16.230 – 00:52:17.170 Like, that's it.
  933. 00:52:17.690 – 00:52:19.390 I don't need, I don't got to be famous to be a million.
  934. 00:52:19.470 – 00:52:20.410 I just want to have millions.
  935. 00:52:20.910 – 00:52:27.630 So is 99, is it 99,000 enough?
  936. 00:52:27.630 – 00:52:32.910 If you don't reach the million, 99,000 enough?
  937. 00:52:33.230 – 00:52:33.710 Sure.
  938. 00:52:34.330 – 00:52:35.110 So when is it enough?
  939. 00:52:35.350 – 00:52:36.070 I ain't never gonna stop.
  940. 00:52:36.390 – 00:52:36.810 Exactly.
  941. 00:52:36.990 – 00:52:37.910 Enough is never enough.
  942. 00:52:38.030 – 00:52:39.850 The glass is never full.
  943. 00:52:40.110 – 00:52:41.270 It ain't half full either.
  944. 00:52:41.430 – 00:52:42.210 It ain't never full.
  945. 00:52:42.430 – 00:52:43.130 I ain't got enough.
  946. 00:52:43.650 – 00:52:43.870 Let go.
  947. 00:52:43.990 – 00:52:44.450 Keep moving.
  948. 00:52:45.970 – 00:52:48.310 So even with art or the work we do.
  949. 00:52:48.510 – 00:52:49.170 Ain't never done.
  950. 00:52:49.850 – 00:52:50.630 It's never enough.
  951. 00:52:50.870 – 00:52:51.150 Never done.
  952. 00:52:52.130 – 00:52:52.990 What about love?
  953. 00:52:53.970 – 00:52:54.450 Love.
  954. 00:52:55.730 – 00:52:56.210 Relationships.
  955. 00:52:57.810 – 00:52:58.550 Never enough.
  956. 00:52:58.550 – 00:52:59.750 It ain't never enough.
  957. 00:53:01.170 – 00:53:01.470 Parenting.
  958. 00:53:01.750 – 00:53:02.070 Never enough.
  959. 00:53:02.370 – 00:53:03.110 It ain't never enough.
  960. 00:53:03.290 – 00:53:04.870 What our parents, we could say we,
  961. 00:53:04.950 – 00:53:06.470 what our parents didn't do for us.
  962. 00:53:06.650 – 00:53:07.950 And then, you know, they did a lot.
  963. 00:53:07.950 – 00:53:08.290 I definitely.
  964. 00:53:08.290 – 00:53:10.390 We try to make up and be in our own kids' head.
  965. 00:53:10.630 – 00:53:12.010 I don't want kids.
  966. 00:53:12.010 – 00:53:13.490 Then what's, what's ever enough?
  967. 00:53:14.310 – 00:53:14.730 Exactly.
  968. 00:53:14.830 – 00:53:15.570 Ain't nothing enough.
  969. 00:53:15.750 – 00:53:16.650 Ain't enough food.
  970. 00:53:16.750 – 00:53:17.350 Ain't enough water.
  971. 00:53:17.550 – 00:53:18.190 Ain't enough outfits.
  972. 00:53:18.330 – 00:53:18.970 Ain't enough clothes.
  973. 00:53:19.130 – 00:53:20.030 Ain't enough knowledge.
  974. 00:53:20.350 – 00:53:21.010 Ain't enough power.
  975. 00:53:21.250 – 00:53:24.130 But for someone like me, that's a perfectionist.
  976. 00:53:24.130 – 00:53:25.190 Like, how do we?
  977. 00:53:25.410 – 00:53:25.830 Right.
  978. 00:53:25.970 – 00:53:27.770 Now what is, what's perfect though?
  979. 00:53:28.330 – 00:53:30.070 It is what it is.
  980. 00:53:30.310 – 00:53:31.470 It's the eye of the beholder.
  981. 00:53:32.550 – 00:53:33.850 I am who I am.
  982. 00:53:34.130 – 00:53:35.950 I can't be who you want me to be.
  983. 00:53:36.130 – 00:53:37.650 You got to accept me for who I am.
  984. 00:53:38.670 – 00:53:39.650 Life goes on.
  985. 00:53:39.950 – 00:53:40.690 You do what you don't.
  986. 00:53:43.260 – 00:53:45.320 So when is the product ever finished?
  987. 00:53:45.600 – 00:53:46.060 It ain't.
  988. 00:53:47.180 – 00:53:48.120 Ain't never finished.
  989. 00:53:48.340 – 00:53:48.800 It's life.
  990. 00:53:49.120 – 00:53:49.500 It's life.
  991. 00:53:49.580 – 00:53:50.280 It's a segment.
  992. 00:53:50.560 – 00:53:50.900 Yeah.
  993. 00:53:51.140 – 00:53:52.660 So when the segment is done.
  994. 00:53:53.540 – 00:53:53.840 The frame.
  995. 00:53:53.920 – 00:53:54.540 It's chapters.
  996. 00:53:54.660 – 00:53:54.880 The frame.
  997. 00:53:54.880 – 00:53:55.360 Oh, it's chapters.
  998. 00:53:55.360 – 00:53:56.660 Going back to the film, the frame.
  999. 00:53:58.120 – 00:53:58.900 Oh, yeah.
  1000. 00:53:58.900 – 00:54:01.500 When one thing ends, something else begins.
  1001. 00:54:02.760 – 00:54:05.400 When one life is taken, another life begins.
  1002. 00:54:06.540 – 00:54:07.880 Don't shut it down.
  1003. 00:54:08.920 – 00:54:10.820 There are, there is always room for improvements.
  1004. 00:54:18.120 – 00:54:19.820 What are some things you're improving in now?
  1005. 00:54:20.440 – 00:54:24.200 Every day I become a better me, better than I was yesterday.
  1006. 00:54:25.460 – 00:54:27.020 Every day I wake up, I make art.
  1007. 00:54:27.820 – 00:54:29.500 A good girl, yeah.
  1008. 00:54:31.320 – 00:54:37.200 Though incremental progress, as long as it's forward progress
  1009. 00:54:37.200 – 00:54:40.220 and positive progress, that's what matters.
  1010. 00:54:41.080 – 00:54:42.140 Like that incremental growth.
  1011. 00:54:42.140 – 00:54:45.280 Sometimes it jumps, compounds.
  1012. 00:54:47.060 – 00:54:48.240 But you got to be consistent.
  1013. 00:54:49.540 – 00:54:50.960 That's how you get the things you want
  1014. 00:54:50.960 – 00:54:52.480 and the success you want in life.
  1015. 00:54:53.700 – 00:54:56.540 Like, I'm always adding networking events now.
  1016. 00:54:56.540 – 00:54:57.300 Yeah.
  1017. 00:54:57.640 – 00:54:59.100 Would you be wearing a suit now?
  1018. 00:55:01.250 – 00:55:02.770 Are you old enough to be wearing a suit?
  1019. 00:55:04.190 – 00:55:04.990 At most.
  1020. 00:55:08.750 – 00:55:11.210 But, you know, getting out of my shell.
  1021. 00:55:12.150 – 00:55:12.550 Yeah.
  1022. 00:55:13.870 – 00:55:16.170 You know, I'm usually to myself behind the scenes.
  1023. 00:55:16.310 – 00:55:17.950 You don't want to sit on the couch and think about anything.
  1024. 00:55:17.950 – 00:55:18.590 Doing work.
  1025. 00:55:19.170 – 00:55:22.950 But, you know, relationships matter.
  1026. 00:55:26.530 – 00:55:27.530 That's my biggest thing.
  1027. 00:55:27.610 – 00:55:28.370 You got to meet people.
  1028. 00:55:28.390 – 00:55:29.590 You got to shake hands.
  1029. 00:55:31.400 – 00:55:32.500 Let people know who you are.
  1030. 00:55:32.560 – 00:55:33.760 Let people know what you do.
  1031. 00:55:36.850 – 00:55:37.890 How can we help each other?
  1032. 00:55:37.930 – 00:55:38.670 How can we build?
  1033. 00:55:38.670 – 00:55:39.730 How can we grow?
  1034. 00:55:40.470 – 00:55:41.090 What do you need?
  1035. 00:55:41.210 – 00:55:42.450 Oh, I know somebody that do that.
  1036. 00:55:44.190 – 00:55:48.830 I need someone who can write horror movies.
  1037. 00:55:49.430 – 00:55:49.590 Oh.
  1038. 00:55:50.330 – 00:55:51.430 Set design.
  1039. 00:55:52.430 – 00:55:53.830 Oh, I got the whole list right there.
  1040. 00:55:54.010 – 00:55:54.690 Your cheat code.
  1041. 00:55:57.030 – 00:56:00.270 But just meeting people and just knowing, like,
  1042. 00:56:00.350 – 00:56:06.090 even what I showed you before the call about the departments.
  1043. 00:56:07.150 – 00:56:11.290 And yeah, so it's just finding new ways and being creative.
  1044. 00:56:11.310 – 00:56:16.020 Like, okay, who are the people I want to serve
  1045. 00:56:16.020 – 00:56:20.520 and have the budget that I, you know,
  1046. 00:56:21.420 – 00:56:23.980 I don't want to say demand, but, you know,
  1047. 00:56:24.160 – 00:56:27.620 your work, the value that you provide and can provide
  1048. 00:56:27.620 – 00:56:31.960 and tie a lot of services together to maximize,
  1049. 00:56:31.960 – 00:56:33.780 you know, the results.
  1050. 00:56:34.200 – 00:56:36.020 Yeah, definitely look for your target audience.
  1051. 00:56:36.020 – 00:56:39.120 That's when you narrow it down.
  1052. 00:56:41.480 – 00:56:43.920 But just being creative for how I find these people, you know,
  1053. 00:56:45.900 – 00:56:48.460 I got denied for my first event.
  1054. 00:56:49.160 – 00:56:52.200 Like, no, you got to take you off the list.
  1055. 00:56:53.740 – 00:56:55.860 Yeah, registered for events, free event.
  1056. 00:56:56.140 – 00:56:58.840 It's for murders and acquisitions.
  1057. 00:57:00.000 – 00:57:02.780 And the minimum qualification to get in this room
  1058. 00:57:02.780 – 00:57:03.780 was a million dollars.
  1059. 00:57:04.160 – 00:57:07.240 And yeah, I'm not a millionaire yet.
  1060. 00:57:07.960 – 00:57:09.960 So they took me off the list.
  1061. 00:57:09.960 – 00:57:11.240 There's like excess denied.
  1062. 00:57:12.960 – 00:57:15.800 You had to have money for a free event.
  1063. 00:57:19.750 – 00:57:21.770 You know, just think about that gut wrench punch,
  1064. 00:57:21.890 – 00:57:25.190 like, oh, okay, I'll get you.
  1065. 00:57:26.250 – 00:57:28.550 You know, having that feeling like, man,
  1066. 00:57:28.550 – 00:57:30.750 that was like a shot, like, oh, okay.
  1067. 00:57:31.610 – 00:57:33.810 And I respect it though, because, you know,
  1068. 00:57:34.430 – 00:57:37.910 I like doing business with people that got it right now.
  1069. 00:57:37.910 – 00:57:41.430 You know, can you hand me a million dollars right now
  1070. 00:57:41.430 – 00:57:42.210 and about it?
  1071. 00:57:42.570 – 00:57:43.430 I get that.
  1072. 00:57:43.430 – 00:57:44.300 I respect it.
  1073. 00:57:44.910 – 00:57:45.990 Anyone take a room?
  1074. 00:57:46.710 – 00:57:47.730 I get it.
  1075. 00:57:47.870 – 00:57:51.730 So when I bought a whole room, you know, okay.
  1076. 00:57:51.730 – 00:57:53.230 You got to come back stronger.
  1077. 00:57:53.230 – 00:57:53.870 It's okay.
  1078. 00:57:58.820 – 00:58:00.810 Having that motivation that will like that.
  1079. 00:58:01.880 – 00:58:03.300 Like I asked you the question,
  1080. 00:58:03.440 – 00:58:05.100 like, how do you give someone a hustle?
  1081. 00:58:05.120 – 00:58:07.160 Sometimes you have to find it in the pain.
  1082. 00:58:07.680 – 00:58:08.620 Yes, also.
  1083. 00:58:08.620 – 00:58:10.400 Yes, definitely agree with you.
  1084. 00:58:10.680 – 00:58:12.660 You could find love through the pain.
  1085. 00:58:14.200 – 00:58:15.040 Pain through love.
  1086. 00:58:15.700 – 00:58:16.180 I feel you.
  1087. 00:58:16.180 – 00:58:17.040 Well, not necessarily.
  1088. 00:58:17.160 – 00:58:18.740 You know, don't build no trauma bonds.
  1089. 00:58:19.720 – 00:58:21.980 Yeah, don't build no trauma bonds, y'all.
  1090. 00:58:22.080 – 00:58:22.900 Don't do that.
  1091. 00:58:23.440 – 00:58:26.220 But use art as therapy.
  1092. 00:58:26.340 – 00:58:27.800 Don't use other people.
  1093. 00:58:28.240 – 00:58:29.360 Use art.
  1094. 00:58:31.590 – 00:58:32.130 Okay.
  1095. 00:58:35.360 – 00:58:37.420 How important is emotion in art?
  1096. 00:58:38.200 – 00:58:39.280 Oh, very, very, very.
  1097. 00:58:39.520 – 00:58:43.140 So I'll tell you, I got my chakras tattooed down my back
  1098. 00:58:43.140 – 00:58:46.560 every color of the rainbow has a very specific meaning
  1099. 00:58:46.560 – 00:58:48.360 to each and every person.
  1100. 00:58:48.600 – 00:58:52.220 Very specific to you and how you feel about it.
  1101. 00:58:57.260 – 00:58:58.020 Another conversation.
  1102. 00:58:58.480 – 00:59:02.860 But to me, yes, I love every color of the rainbow.
  1103. 00:59:03.120 – 00:59:06.020 You will see me wear every color of the rainbow.
  1104. 00:59:06.720 – 00:59:09.620 Like your logo, your branding.
  1105. 00:59:09.880 – 00:59:11.560 Yes, my branding is rainbows.
  1106. 00:59:12.280 – 00:59:15.300 Maybe majority black, maybe accent pink.
  1107. 00:59:15.700 – 00:59:19.220 But for the most part, there is a lot of rainbows
  1108. 00:59:19.880 – 00:59:23.040 and black is all color.
  1109. 00:59:23.720 – 00:59:25.000 So that's why I like that.
  1110. 00:59:26.480 – 00:59:28.860 So how do you come up with Milton Magnets?
  1111. 00:59:28.860 – 00:59:29.580 I heard it in the song.
  1112. 00:59:29.740 – 00:59:31.800 With the blended rainbow thing?
  1113. 00:59:32.260 – 00:59:33.220 I always heard it in the song.
  1114. 00:59:33.400 – 00:59:33.840 I like it.
  1115. 00:59:34.840 – 00:59:35.660 I just like the way it sounds.
  1116. 00:59:38.180 – 00:59:38.760 Like magnets?
  1117. 00:59:40.280 – 00:59:41.160 Connecting with people.
  1118. 00:59:41.580 – 00:59:42.660 See, you can use it as branding.
  1119. 00:59:42.680 – 00:59:43.820 It's so many ways you can say it.
  1120. 00:59:43.820 – 00:59:44.480 All right, now I'm coaching you now.
  1121. 00:59:44.640 – 00:59:45.240 It's just hot.
  1122. 00:59:45.760 – 00:59:46.980 It's a hot, it's hot.
  1123. 00:59:46.980 – 00:59:48.700 You know, melting shit.
  1124. 00:59:50.870 – 00:59:51.650 I like it.
  1125. 00:59:51.770 – 00:59:53.450 I can make a lot of things out of it.
  1126. 00:59:53.490 – 00:59:54.370 I like the connection.
  1127. 00:59:54.610 – 00:59:55.610 You can utilize that.
  1128. 00:59:55.630 – 00:59:57.770 We're going to play some stuff on camera.
  1129. 00:59:59.710 – 01:00:02.910 But magnets, we could break it down.
  1130. 01:00:03.170 – 01:00:03.490 We connect.
  1131. 01:00:04.890 – 01:00:07.390 You know, I can see the whole branding campaign.
  1132. 01:00:07.610 – 01:00:08.210 Look at them.
  1133. 01:00:08.210 – 01:00:09.310 We're going to be selling you now.
  1134. 01:00:09.310 – 01:00:10.470 Yeah, I was about to say you trying to sell me.
  1135. 01:00:10.570 – 01:00:12.750 I already got everything branded from shirts,
  1136. 01:00:13.010 – 01:00:15.570 wristbands, jewelry, everything already.
  1137. 01:00:16.210 – 01:00:19.490 This video audience, but, you know,
  1138. 01:00:19.770 – 01:00:21.710 never telling off the creative mind.
  1139. 01:00:21.910 – 01:00:27.030 Like, oh, but yeah, they call it a copy.
  1140. 01:00:27.730 – 01:00:29.550 Copy language, copyright.
  1141. 01:00:32.360 – 01:00:34.580 And it's the message behind your brand.
  1142. 01:00:38.380 – 01:00:39.040 That's nice, though.
  1143. 01:00:39.040 – 01:00:41.480 And then the photogenic collection.
  1144. 01:00:42.980 – 01:00:45.380 Is that part of notes and magnets?
  1145. 01:00:45.620 – 01:00:45.880 Is that?
  1146. 01:00:45.940 – 01:00:47.560 Yes, that's right up under it.
  1147. 01:00:47.560 – 01:00:52.880 Really, what it is is everything else I do in a collection.
  1148. 01:00:53.380 – 01:00:55.860 When I started making clothes, yes,
  1149. 01:00:56.060 – 01:00:59.780 the tag on the clothes will say photogenic collection.
  1150. 01:01:00.900 – 01:01:04.240 When I start building sets and making paintings,
  1151. 01:01:04.780 – 01:01:07.980 yes, I will sign my signature photogenic collection.
  1152. 01:01:08.240 – 01:01:10.120 The brand, yes.
  1153. 01:01:11.140 – 01:01:15.060 When I do yoga and we're stretching
  1154. 01:01:16.020 – 01:01:24.080 and we are at the park and the forest like outside,
  1155. 01:01:24.300 – 01:01:27.530 you know, creeks, ponds, lakes, all that.
  1156. 01:01:28.200 – 01:01:30.760 When we go outside doing yoga, yes,
  1157. 01:01:31.240 – 01:01:33.500 we are a part of the photogenic collection.
  1158. 01:01:34.660 – 01:01:39.200 To be photogenic just means that this is our shoot.
  1159. 01:01:40.080 – 01:01:45.720 Everything I do will have melting magnets, LLC photography.
  1160. 01:01:47.220 – 01:01:50.860 But what we will be doing in front of the camera
  1161. 01:01:50.860 – 01:01:53.300 will be for photogenic collection
  1162. 01:01:53.300 – 01:01:55.640 because we will be photogenic people.
  1163. 01:01:56.300 – 01:02:00.060 And that is always going to be my collection
  1164. 01:02:00.560 – 01:02:03.240 of, you know, everything else I do.
  1165. 01:02:03.240 – 01:02:09.660 So that will be the brand name for my other subconscious.
  1166. 01:02:14.720 – 01:02:18.100 Everything you, everything that you capture,
  1167. 01:02:18.440 – 01:02:19.020 then like everything else is.
  1168. 01:02:19.020 – 01:02:21.180 Yes, what I capture is melting magnets,
  1169. 01:02:21.680 – 01:02:23.960 but everything else I do with a photogenic collection.
  1170. 01:02:33.270 – 01:02:33.830 I see.
  1171. 01:02:35.030 – 01:02:36.610 So yeah, photogenic collection
  1172. 01:02:36.610 – 01:02:40.990 definitely is a baby from melting magnets.
  1173. 01:02:43.330 – 01:02:46.230 But yes, you will see both logos at times.
  1174. 01:02:46.230 – 01:02:49.670 But yes, my yoga, my sewing, my clothes
  1175. 01:02:50.750 – 01:02:53.770 will be photogenic collection.
  1176. 01:02:55.130 – 01:02:56.170 Photogenic collection.
  1177. 01:02:56.450 – 01:02:57.930 Love it, love it, love it.
  1178. 01:03:00.390 – 01:03:01.950 So it's going to be public, you know.
  1179. 01:03:04.250 – 01:03:05.190 Are you going to showcase
  1180. 01:03:05.190 – 01:03:06.970 or are you going to offer it to the public?
  1181. 01:03:07.550 – 01:03:08.910 Oh, it'll be a part of my services.
  1182. 01:03:11.320 – 01:03:13.080 Yes, it is a service.
  1183. 01:03:13.440 – 01:03:16.740 Yeah, it's a service type program from melting magnets.
  1184. 01:03:26.680 – 01:03:29.730 Definitely got to give it a little bit later.
  1185. 01:03:33.570 – 01:03:37.010 What are some things you studying right now
  1186. 01:03:37.010 – 01:03:39.930 as far as like self-education, self-development?
  1187. 01:03:40.150 – 01:03:41.510 Self-development, editing.
  1188. 01:03:41.670 – 01:03:43.370 I got to always teach myself how to edit.
  1189. 01:03:43.450 – 01:03:45.390 Always got to find new editing effects
  1190. 01:03:45.390 – 01:03:46.870 and tips and tricks.
  1191. 01:03:47.210 – 01:03:48.730 So definitely with that,
  1192. 01:03:49.010 – 01:03:51.150 especially going into this horror genre.
  1193. 01:03:51.610 – 01:03:54.410 So definitely got to get more into that.
  1194. 01:03:54.430 – 01:03:57.290 Teaching myself more to stay on genre.
  1195. 01:03:57.970 – 01:03:59.910 Like, yes, my favorite color is pink.
  1196. 01:04:00.010 – 01:04:01.790 Yes, I am all rainbows.
  1197. 01:04:02.670 – 01:04:05.470 But now let's turn that into a horror genre.
  1198. 01:04:06.710 – 01:04:09.070 So how do you turn rainbows into horror?
  1199. 01:04:09.690 – 01:04:11.430 Oh, my goodness, that is crazy.
  1200. 01:04:11.490 – 01:04:14.070 So like literally the first thing I ever wrote
  1201. 01:04:14.070 – 01:04:16.790 was You Can't Hide From Me,
  1202. 01:04:17.070 – 01:04:22.390 which was a monologue for my senior recital, 2018.
  1203. 01:04:24.590 – 01:04:28.270 And I performed it at a monologue one-woman show,
  1204. 01:04:28.270 – 01:04:33.790 you know, and basically I was a six-year-old kid
  1205. 01:04:33.790 – 01:04:38.350 who was bullied and I got my revenge on my bully.
  1206. 01:04:42.370 – 01:04:44.170 Quite a monologue.
  1207. 01:04:47.750 – 01:04:48.910 Yes, I had a tendency.
  1208. 01:04:51.190 – 01:04:55.290 So that's where we take our rainbows and cues well.
  1209. 01:05:00.900 – 01:05:02.940 So even that's like blending.
  1210. 01:05:02.940 – 01:05:04.300 Or a Chucky.
  1211. 01:05:04.740 – 01:05:05.740 Which just start with photography,
  1212. 01:05:06.040 – 01:05:08.500 like because it's light and dark contrast.
  1213. 01:05:09.560 – 01:05:11.620 Definitely got to get better on my niche.
  1214. 01:05:11.760 – 01:05:13.820 I know what I like, but I haven't shown that.
  1215. 01:05:14.040 – 01:05:16.280 I'm definitely working more for my clients
  1216. 01:05:16.280 – 01:05:17.680 to give them what they want.
  1217. 01:05:19.650 – 01:05:25.270 But I definitely will start working on my horror genre soon.
  1218. 01:05:25.930 – 01:05:28.110 You know, someone told me at a conference once,
  1219. 01:05:28.550 – 01:05:32.010 it might have been the same conference we went to
  1220. 01:05:32.010 – 01:05:35.210 for Imogen like years ago.
  1221. 01:05:35.690 – 01:05:37.530 Yeah, but I say you went once without me.
  1222. 01:05:38.690 – 01:05:39.570 I went once.
  1223. 01:05:39.690 – 01:05:40.730 I went one time.
  1224. 01:05:42.890 – 01:05:45.470 So the first year I went, I was like, man.
  1225. 01:05:45.930 – 01:05:47.310 Oh, yeah, you must have went before me.
  1226. 01:05:47.330 – 01:05:48.450 I only went one time.
  1227. 01:05:48.610 – 01:05:49.850 Yeah, I was saying you only went one time.
  1228. 01:05:49.990 – 01:05:50.790 I went three times.
  1229. 01:05:50.830 – 01:05:52.770 Okay, so I must have went that second time you went
  1230. 01:05:52.770 – 01:05:55.310 because you went once before and after then.
  1231. 01:05:55.930 – 01:05:57.870 Or you, yeah, it was before or after.
  1232. 01:05:58.190 – 01:05:59.670 Yeah, I was about to say, I know I went once.
  1233. 01:05:59.730 – 01:06:01.310 So you went after or before,
  1234. 01:06:01.310 – 01:06:03.230 but I don't remember exactly and it could have been both.
  1235. 01:06:04.010 – 01:06:11.560 But they told me you have to work on your projects,
  1236. 01:06:11.720 – 01:06:12.760 do what you love.
  1237. 01:06:13.440 – 01:06:17.240 Otherwise, your portfolio, your work you have to show
  1238. 01:06:17.240 – 01:06:20.660 is basically your clients control what they want.
  1239. 01:06:20.880 – 01:06:21.260 Right.
  1240. 01:06:21.520 – 01:06:24.740 What you want to show and the work that you want to do.
  1241. 01:06:25.960 – 01:06:26.480 Definitely.
  1242. 01:06:26.700 – 01:06:29.380 You know, so I always had it back in my mind
  1243. 01:06:29.380 – 01:06:30.780 and the people that I work with,
  1244. 01:06:30.880 – 01:06:33.040 like is this getting to the goal?
  1245. 01:06:33.800 – 01:06:36.500 I mean, I had a conversation, you know,
  1246. 01:06:36.780 – 01:06:37.820 the other day about that.
  1247. 01:06:38.200 – 01:06:46.350 So encouraging and being there for each other
  1248. 01:06:46.350 – 01:06:47.750 is always mind and mental
  1249. 01:06:47.750 – 01:06:50.030 because sometimes we do need that reminder.
  1250. 01:06:50.350 – 01:06:52.590 And, you know, we have off days
  1251. 01:06:52.590 – 01:06:55.510 and we just need that nudge like, dang.
  1252. 01:06:56.510 – 01:06:58.390 Like, oh, remember you did X, Y, and Z?
  1253. 01:06:58.710 – 01:07:00.570 Like, you know, you never know how
  1254. 01:07:00.570 – 01:07:02.130 it could change a person's day.
  1255. 01:07:02.830 – 01:07:06.310 And from that day, I created this that it sparked up
  1256. 01:07:07.690 – 01:07:11.940 like the support is everything.
  1257. 01:07:14.410 – 01:07:16.230 Peace and love is everything.
  1258. 01:07:18.990 – 01:07:21.110 That's what I portray with my art, even with
  1259. 01:07:22.610 – 01:07:25.890 from poems, books, music, photography,
  1260. 01:07:27.410 – 01:07:29.510 peaceful pictures that are out of this world.
  1261. 01:07:35.790 – 01:07:38.610 I do, I just want to have that vibrate
  1262. 01:07:39.090 – 01:07:42.170 the atmosphere, the universe,
  1263. 01:07:43.050 – 01:07:46.630 this positive energy, peace,
  1264. 01:07:47.790 – 01:07:51.010 elevation, constant elevation, constant progression,
  1265. 01:07:52.690 – 01:08:00.030 for elevation, always aberration.
  1266. 01:08:07.240 – 01:08:11.340 That's how you get farther in where you want to be
  1267. 01:08:11.340 – 01:08:14.520 in your career and life as a village,
  1268. 01:08:14.740 – 01:08:17.460 as a family, as friends,
  1269. 01:08:18.960 – 01:08:21.359 no matter what relationship or business,
  1270. 01:08:26.529 – 01:08:28.290 and also take time for yourself.
  1271. 01:08:30.170 – 01:08:34.050 Love yourself, meditate, pray,
  1272. 01:08:35.870 – 01:08:37.330 do what you got to do.
  1273. 01:08:38.029 – 01:08:40.430 Wake up, take that time for you.
  1274. 01:08:40.970 – 01:08:42.210 See, I'm a poor dame, you know.
  1275. 01:08:44.950 – 01:08:46.950 Really take that time, that silent time,
  1276. 01:08:49.510 – 01:08:53.569 journal right out, make a plan,
  1277. 01:08:53.630 – 01:08:54.729 how you want your day to be,
  1278. 01:08:54.910 – 01:08:55.930 where's your goal for the day.
  1279. 01:08:56.210 – 01:08:57.490 Yeah, you're telling me that?
  1280. 01:08:59.720 – 01:09:00.160 Journal.
  1281. 01:09:00.600 – 01:09:02.700 I got three full journals, pages,
  1282. 01:09:03.300 – 01:09:05.220 back to back since I was 16.
  1283. 01:09:06.260 – 01:09:08.560 I map out my day every day.
  1284. 01:09:08.700 – 01:09:10.279 I know exactly what I got to do until
  1285. 01:09:10.279 – 01:09:11.840 somebody call me what they do.
  1286. 01:09:12.560 – 01:09:14.660 I always keep a journal, yeah,
  1287. 01:09:14.760 – 01:09:15.479 wherever I go.
  1288. 01:09:20.569 – 01:09:22.630 But meditate, get a sage, and all that.
  1289. 01:09:29.319 – 01:09:33.590 So it's been a good conversation.
  1290. 01:09:33.930 – 01:09:35.170 Definitely appreciated.
  1291. 01:09:35.490 – 01:09:37.270 Definitely gave me a lot more to think on.
  1292. 01:09:37.830 – 01:09:40.130 Yeah, like this is, this is refreshing
  1293. 01:09:40.130 – 01:09:42.450 because like, you know,
  1294. 01:09:42.450 – 01:09:43.870 I do work with a lot of entrepreneurs,
  1295. 01:09:44.109 – 01:09:47.270 but like, I know you like the arts in there, artists.
  1296. 01:09:48.189 – 01:09:49.810 Well, what do you mean by that?
  1297. 01:09:50.870 – 01:09:52.130 Well, I call myself alien,
  1298. 01:09:52.430 – 01:09:53.970 not player, the ultimate creator,
  1299. 01:09:54.210 – 01:09:56.910 because like, I create everything,
  1300. 01:09:57.130 – 01:09:59.130 and done everything, done a lot,
  1301. 01:10:02.240 – 01:10:03.260 and do that a lot.
  1302. 01:10:10.800 – 01:10:14.100 How can I reach you, find you, book you?
  1303. 01:10:14.960 – 01:10:17.580 Well, you guys can follow me on Instagram
  1304. 01:10:17.580 – 01:10:22.340 at laylai underscore melting underscore magnets.
  1305. 01:10:30.390 – 01:10:31.890 Well, there's some encouraging words
  1306. 01:10:31.890 – 01:10:34.070 you can leave for creative entrepreneurs.
  1307. 01:10:34.810 – 01:10:37.490 A hundred percent effort, a hundred percent of the time.
  1308. 01:10:38.090 – 01:10:40.690 A hundred percent effort, a hundred percent of the time.
  1309. 01:10:42.370 – 01:10:43.470 Enjoy what you do.
  1310. 01:10:43.590 – 01:10:44.050 I love it.
  1311. 01:10:45.130 – 01:10:51.260 I'm glad to use that, and I'm glad to do your best.
  1312. 01:10:52.880 – 01:10:53.920 I appreciate you.
  1313. 01:10:55.080 – 01:10:56.860 I'm going to close with some words.
  1314. 01:10:57.700 – 01:10:59.120 As I always say,
  1315. 01:10:59.220 – 01:11:02.460 you can find me at alienizephotos.com.
  1316. 01:11:03.940 – 01:11:05.860 Subscribe to the mailing list.
  1317. 01:11:05.860 – 01:11:08.440 Subscribe to the podcast.
  1318. 01:11:09.540 – 01:11:12.580 Follow all social media at alienizephotos.
  1319. 01:11:12.820 – 01:11:16.760 Also on fan base, which I actually have equity in.
  1320. 01:11:17.580 – 01:11:20.780 I'm working with Mr. Isaac Hayes over at fan base,
  1321. 01:11:21.900 – 01:11:23.880 and building out the platform is going to be amazing.
  1322. 01:11:24.000 – 01:11:24.780 Stay tuned.
  1323. 01:11:25.660 – 01:11:27.980 Get on the platform while you can.
  1324. 01:11:28.640 – 01:11:29.800 And if you want to book me,
  1325. 01:11:30.660 – 01:11:32.740 you can find my contact information and email
  1326. 01:11:33.780 – 01:11:38.040 on alienoplayer.com, and until next time.

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55. Photographer's Guidance

Season 1 · Episode 23

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  1. 00:00:00.590 – 00:00:07.230 This is a podcast episode for photographers.
  2. 00:00:08.610 – 00:00:10.590 Oh, all right, I'm about to get started.
  3. 00:00:10.750 – 00:00:14.210 This is background, we could cut this out by keep it.
  4. 00:00:14.210 – 00:00:15.590 Now you're getting a treat.
  5. 00:00:16.950 – 00:00:19.450 Let's do it, meet up my lady.
  6. 00:00:20.990 – 00:00:22.870 I kind of got here a little early.
  7. 00:00:24.230 – 00:00:27.450 So decided to record and get back
  8. 00:00:27.450 – 00:00:30.750 and I'll talk to my photographers for once.
  9. 00:00:31.950 – 00:00:34.490 I ain't gonna say for once, but just directly.
  10. 00:00:34.930 – 00:00:37.450 I'm usually speaking into a general population
  11. 00:00:37.450 – 00:00:39.590 of artists and entrepreneurs.
  12. 00:00:40.750 – 00:00:43.350 So that'd be refreshing to talk to my photographers.
  13. 00:00:43.470 – 00:00:45.830 And this is what this episode is gonna be about.
  14. 00:00:46.690 – 00:00:47.830 I'm about to get a sip of water.
  15. 00:00:47.910 – 00:00:49.510 I'm about to jump right into it.
  16. 00:00:53.810 – 00:00:56.250 Like I said, if this part's still in there
  17. 00:00:56.250 – 00:00:59.330 and I edit it out, well, you got a treat.
  18. 00:00:59.330 – 00:01:00.490 Yeah.
  19. 00:01:02.740 – 00:01:04.400 Cut myself down.
  20. 00:01:04.400 – 00:01:06.040 Talk to my deep breath.
  21. 00:01:17.280 – 00:01:18.840 And three, two, one.
  22. 00:01:19.840 – 00:01:22.980 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome
  23. 00:01:24.170 – 00:01:27.880 to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  24. 00:01:28.100 – 00:01:29.580 Yes, yes, yes.
  25. 00:01:30.480 – 00:01:31.280 Welcome back.
  26. 00:01:32.240 – 00:01:34.760 This episode will be for the photographers.
  27. 00:01:35.240 – 00:01:38.180 Yes, my photography community, how you doing?
  28. 00:01:38.180 – 00:01:41.120 And I know it's been a while
  29. 00:01:41.120 – 00:01:44.860 and I definitely wanna give you all that you need
  30. 00:01:44.860 – 00:01:46.460 and some lessons that I learned.
  31. 00:01:47.320 – 00:01:49.440 So let me speak to you real quick.
  32. 00:01:50.300 – 00:01:53.580 Now, if you are not a professional photographer
  33. 00:01:53.580 – 00:01:55.400 and would like to get a photography,
  34. 00:01:56.280 – 00:01:58.240 this episode is surely for you.
  35. 00:01:58.580 – 00:02:01.140 But for those that are photographers
  36. 00:02:02.100 – 00:02:04.220 and definitely wanna take it to the next level,
  37. 00:02:04.280 – 00:02:05.720 I just need that motivation.
  38. 00:02:06.100 – 00:02:09.479 I want this episode to be for you as well.
  39. 00:02:10.060 – 00:02:12.180 Now, if you're just getting in photography
  40. 00:02:12.580 – 00:02:15.540 and I love coaching new photographers,
  41. 00:02:15.900 – 00:02:21.640 new business owners, new entrepreneurs, new artists,
  42. 00:02:22.600 – 00:02:29.040 first beginning, I love helping and guiding
  43. 00:02:30.160 – 00:02:34.040 them to their own light skin.
  44. 00:02:34.780 – 00:02:36.560 You have to live in your own skin
  45. 00:02:36.560 – 00:02:41.700 and I love navigating people to that part of their career.
  46. 00:02:42.080 – 00:02:45.380 They finally themselves, they're finally maturing
  47. 00:02:45.380 – 00:02:49.680 in their craft or their entrepreneurship journey.
  48. 00:02:50.820 – 00:02:52.800 I just, I love that the most.
  49. 00:02:55.580 – 00:03:00.120 As far as knowledge and the things and experiences
  50. 00:03:00.120 – 00:03:03.720 I can invoke or tell or talk about,
  51. 00:03:05.320 – 00:03:10.310 I always love like that early stage growth,
  52. 00:03:11.780 – 00:03:15.120 even like in preschool or kindergarten, even first grade,
  53. 00:03:15.700 – 00:03:19.780 like those are some vital building blocks
  54. 00:03:19.780 – 00:03:23.780 that we need before we even get to four or fifth
  55. 00:03:23.780 – 00:03:26.420 and then even a high school, college,
  56. 00:03:26.840 – 00:03:28.700 and even later in adulthood.
  57. 00:03:31.750 – 00:03:34.630 It builds from that foundation.
  58. 00:03:36.150 – 00:03:38.030 Let me help you build that foundation.
  59. 00:03:40.090 – 00:03:42.710 I can get you to success or at least the success
  60. 00:03:42.710 – 00:03:47.310 that you want or a better plan in general.
  61. 00:03:50.250 – 00:03:55.870 But just starting off, practice, practice, practice.
  62. 00:03:57.130 – 00:04:01.190 I could not emphasize that the most or anymore.
  63. 00:04:02.190 – 00:04:07.050 We have to practice, whether that's practicing your craft,
  64. 00:04:07.810 – 00:04:10.950 practicing sales, practicing conversations,
  65. 00:04:11.830 – 00:04:13.450 practicing relationship building.
  66. 00:04:14.170 – 00:04:18.470 I feel like if you're gonna do it and practice,
  67. 00:04:19.670 – 00:04:22.770 you might as well do it.
  68. 00:04:24.320 – 00:04:28.140 For example, instead of practicing networking,
  69. 00:04:29.620 – 00:04:32.300 actually network, meet people, you know,
  70. 00:04:32.300 – 00:04:34.680 shake hands, develop relationships,
  71. 00:04:35.600 – 00:04:37.560 build your community, build your tribe,
  72. 00:04:37.660 – 00:04:42.140 build your network, why not just do it?
  73. 00:04:42.260 – 00:04:44.900 So that has always been my motto.
  74. 00:04:45.040 – 00:04:47.720 Of course, if I'm trying something new,
  75. 00:04:51.870 – 00:04:55.570 I try not to practice on the spot or on a job.
  76. 00:04:56.430 – 00:05:00.190 If I have to pivot, that's a different story.
  77. 00:05:00.870 – 00:05:05.570 But if I have a brilliant idea all of a sudden a day of,
  78. 00:05:06.190 – 00:05:08.070 and that's not with me and the client
  79. 00:05:08.070 – 00:05:11.230 or whoever I'm shooting for,
  80. 00:05:11.350 – 00:05:13.070 whether that's photography or video,
  81. 00:05:14.030 – 00:05:15.490 I'm not gonna go against the grain.
  82. 00:05:15.630 – 00:05:18.310 Maybe if we have all the dedicated shots
  83. 00:05:18.310 – 00:05:19.790 and we have time left over
  84. 00:05:19.790 – 00:05:23.330 or I have a period where I can experiment,
  85. 00:05:24.350 – 00:05:26.470 I hope best believe I am going to.
  86. 00:05:26.940 – 00:05:31.310 So it's also good to have your own shoots,
  87. 00:05:31.530 – 00:05:38.070 not just, you know, practice or on the job type of shoot,
  88. 00:05:39.730 – 00:05:43.150 but develop your own shoot, like your own event,
  89. 00:05:43.290 – 00:05:46.990 I want to do this, I have this in my head.
  90. 00:05:47.430 – 00:05:48.610 Actually do that.
  91. 00:05:49.890 – 00:05:53.830 I want to have a wedding on the mountains
  92. 00:05:53.830 – 00:05:56.450 with no clothes on.
  93. 00:05:58.400 – 00:06:01.920 Well, I'm sure you will find someone
  94. 00:06:01.920 – 00:06:04.420 that would be willing to do that.
  95. 00:06:07.730 – 00:06:08.910 Will I do that?
  96. 00:06:09.250 – 00:06:09.770 No.
  97. 00:06:10.230 – 00:06:12.470 But if you want to go to the extreme,
  98. 00:06:12.850 – 00:06:14.810 like I said, that is something you could try
  99. 00:06:14.810 – 00:06:17.930 on your own, set it up, however you want.
  100. 00:06:21.200 – 00:06:23.060 Always have a dream in mind,
  101. 00:06:23.140 – 00:06:27.300 your passion, project, at least once a year.
  102. 00:06:27.940 – 00:06:31.060 I know of my early stages, I did not do that at all.
  103. 00:06:32.040 – 00:06:33.620 And I was building whatever.
  104. 00:06:35.680 – 00:06:38.340 And I didn't have a portfolio,
  105. 00:06:38.520 – 00:06:40.400 like an actual portfolio back then,
  106. 00:06:40.400 – 00:06:41.500 I had a bunch of pictures.
  107. 00:06:43.730 – 00:06:45.990 But if I had made a portfolio
  108. 00:06:46.630 – 00:06:49.390 out of these bunch of pictures that I've taken,
  109. 00:06:53.180 – 00:06:55.520 it would just show what the client wanted
  110. 00:06:55.520 – 00:06:56.960 or how the atmosphere wanted,
  111. 00:06:56.960 – 00:07:03.200 not what I want to portray myself as one artist
  112. 00:07:03.200 – 00:07:06.920 and this is my work as a business owner.
  113. 00:07:07.980 – 00:07:13.850 So you have to have that passion project
  114. 00:07:13.850 – 00:07:17.490 or things you like to shoot and show that off.
  115. 00:07:17.710 – 00:07:21.330 Otherwise, what people see of your work
  116. 00:07:21.330 – 00:07:25.990 is what others want, not what you want and desire.
  117. 00:07:25.990 – 00:07:29.570 Yeah, there's a happy medium in some places
  118. 00:07:29.570 – 00:07:34.910 or some situations, but that's not always the case.
  119. 00:07:35.990 – 00:07:39.550 So if you want to build your dream client
  120. 00:07:39.550 – 00:07:41.590 and do the work that you love to do,
  121. 00:07:42.310 – 00:07:44.550 you have to do more of that specifically.
  122. 00:07:45.650 – 00:07:49.810 And sometimes it takes your own time and money
  123. 00:07:50.510 – 00:07:53.130 and resources to put that together first
  124. 00:07:53.130 – 00:07:55.290 or a couple of times just so you build
  125. 00:07:55.290 – 00:07:58.890 that momentum and you have something to display and show.
  126. 00:07:59.390 – 00:08:00.810 You have to show examples.
  127. 00:08:01.810 – 00:08:04.370 Most people are visual creatures,
  128. 00:08:04.510 – 00:08:07.590 at least us humans are.
  129. 00:08:08.050 – 00:08:11.490 So show them what you want to do.
  130. 00:08:11.890 – 00:08:13.830 But if you keep doing what you don't want to do,
  131. 00:08:13.890 – 00:08:15.390 you're gonna be stuck in a loop.
  132. 00:08:17.050 – 00:08:21.850 It's like if you want to be a basketball player,
  133. 00:08:22.990 – 00:08:27.630 but you're going to a psychology school,
  134. 00:08:29.050 – 00:08:31.570 well, you have to go to a basketball camp
  135. 00:08:31.570 – 00:08:34.530 and be around other basketball players
  136. 00:08:34.530 – 00:08:36.750 and the basketball community,
  137. 00:08:38.350 – 00:08:41.309 but you're gonna be a great psychologist maybe.
  138. 00:08:42.470 – 00:08:44.390 But is that something you want to do?
  139. 00:08:46.670 – 00:08:48.430 Will that help in basketball?
  140. 00:08:48.710 – 00:08:50.530 Yeah, but will that help you
  141. 00:08:50.530 – 00:08:52.350 to become a basketball player
  142. 00:08:52.350 – 00:08:54.230 or even a coach one day?
  143. 00:08:56.010 – 00:08:59.530 Maybe coaching, but a basketball player, no.
  144. 00:09:00.270 – 00:09:03.010 So you have to find the right community,
  145. 00:09:04.110 – 00:09:06.290 find a mentor or a coach,
  146. 00:09:06.790 – 00:09:08.730 someone that can help pull you up,
  147. 00:09:09.150 – 00:09:10.390 help show you the resources,
  148. 00:09:10.530 – 00:09:12.010 help you learn your camera,
  149. 00:09:13.150 – 00:09:16.030 help you figure out what equipment that you need
  150. 00:09:16.030 – 00:09:18.090 and help you learn that as well.
  151. 00:09:19.940 – 00:09:22.500 Have them allow them to shadow.
  152. 00:09:23.340 – 00:09:26.240 You know, you get to see it, like you said,
  153. 00:09:27.740 – 00:09:32.060 or like I said, you have to show people are visual.
  154. 00:09:32.100 – 00:09:34.860 So if you are able to shadow someone else
  155. 00:09:34.860 – 00:09:37.060 that's doing something that you like to do,
  156. 00:09:38.540 – 00:09:41.320 you're viewing that, you're witnessing that,
  157. 00:09:41.680 – 00:09:44.380 because it's a great visual representation
  158. 00:09:44.380 – 00:09:46.980 of what you want to do and you get to see it
  159. 00:09:46.980 – 00:09:48.800 and you get to feel it and believe it,
  160. 00:09:48.800 – 00:09:50.300 like, okay, I could really do this.
  161. 00:09:50.500 – 00:09:51.820 Okay, now I'm seeing this happen.
  162. 00:09:51.820 – 00:09:54.940 Okay, they do it like this.
  163. 00:09:55.200 – 00:10:00.180 I like it, but I also like adding this element of it.
  164. 00:10:00.780 – 00:10:06.610 So in those beginning stages, it's good to define yourself.
  165. 00:10:06.830 – 00:10:08.150 And on this podcast,
  166. 00:10:08.850 – 00:10:10.450 on Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk,
  167. 00:10:10.630 – 00:10:16.010 I love talking about and preaching.
  168. 00:10:17.570 – 00:10:20.350 Sit with yourself, sit in silence,
  169. 00:10:20.610 – 00:10:22.530 be with yourself, be with your thoughts.
  170. 00:10:22.930 – 00:10:24.310 You have to take that time.
  171. 00:10:24.310 – 00:10:27.790 It is critical, especially in this loud world.
  172. 00:10:29.510 – 00:10:31.950 You almost will hear me say that every episode.
  173. 00:10:31.990 – 00:10:34.730 That's like my underlining message for this podcast.
  174. 00:10:35.590 – 00:10:38.190 For ultimate growth, sit with yourself,
  175. 00:10:38.590 – 00:10:41.350 sit with your thoughts, sit with your decisions.
  176. 00:10:42.090 – 00:10:44.510 Sometimes you have to take that time to yourself.
  177. 00:10:46.860 – 00:10:49.420 I say at least 10 minutes a day,
  178. 00:10:49.980 – 00:10:51.480 that quiet time to yourself,
  179. 00:10:53.160 – 00:10:55.060 but an hour is vital.
  180. 00:10:57.720 – 00:10:59.080 An hour to yourself.
  181. 00:11:00.120 – 00:11:01.800 And that's not even including sleep.
  182. 00:11:02.860 – 00:11:05.480 It's the hour to yourself, whether it's writing,
  183. 00:11:06.000 – 00:11:10.240 sitting in silence, meditating, praying,
  184. 00:11:12.820 – 00:11:15.000 self-reflecting, whatever that may be,
  185. 00:11:15.320 – 00:11:16.920 even if it's just sitting in a car,
  186. 00:11:16.980 – 00:11:18.540 listening to music for an hour,
  187. 00:11:19.780 – 00:11:23.200 and woof-sah breathing, deep breathing, I should say.
  188. 00:11:24.900 – 00:11:26.600 And you're in a way from the world,
  189. 00:11:26.600 – 00:11:30.920 but also have that silent time after the music,
  190. 00:11:31.120 – 00:11:33.420 just to hear your own thoughts.
  191. 00:11:36.770 – 00:11:42.960 So I also like to say,
  192. 00:11:44.060 – 00:11:46.180 if you're new to photography,
  193. 00:11:47.780 – 00:11:49.800 make sure you're buying the right equipment,
  194. 00:11:49.980 – 00:11:53.520 the right camera, because not all cameras
  195. 00:11:54.120 – 00:11:55.400 are built the same.
  196. 00:11:56.880 – 00:11:59.240 So don't be afraid to reach out to
  197. 00:11:59.240 – 00:12:03.000 any of your camera manufacturers,
  198. 00:12:04.480 – 00:12:06.900 and tell me about your camera,
  199. 00:12:07.080 – 00:12:09.320 or I want to get into sports photography.
  200. 00:12:10.000 – 00:12:12.580 What is the best camera you have for,
  201. 00:12:13.700 – 00:12:16.200 you have to develop your relationships?
  202. 00:12:17.340 – 00:12:19.600 Even as an experienced photographer,
  203. 00:12:20.160 – 00:12:23.440 I still have to develop relationships,
  204. 00:12:24.920 – 00:12:27.060 nourish and nurture relationships,
  205. 00:12:28.460 – 00:12:31.680 maintain relationships and build relationships.
  206. 00:12:32.940 – 00:12:36.040 And together within those relationships,
  207. 00:12:36.860 – 00:12:38.370 we're building other relationships,
  208. 00:12:38.780 – 00:12:40.840 and building a network and a community,
  209. 00:12:41.540 – 00:12:43.460 so it's forever going.
  210. 00:12:46.040 – 00:12:47.720 Maybe one day you will meet
  211. 00:12:47.720 – 00:12:49.380 every single person in the world.
  212. 00:12:49.600 – 00:12:53.120 I feel like I've definitely took a picture
  213. 00:12:53.120 – 00:12:55.880 of half the people in Cleveland.
  214. 00:12:59.060 – 00:13:02.240 Like, I've photographed so many people,
  215. 00:13:02.820 – 00:13:04.960 whether they're at an event,
  216. 00:13:05.260 – 00:13:07.620 whether that's a personal portrait,
  217. 00:13:07.980 – 00:13:12.100 headshot, whatever, a conference,
  218. 00:13:13.220 – 00:13:16.840 I've probably took a picture of you,
  219. 00:13:17.680 – 00:13:18.440 if you're in Cleveland.
  220. 00:13:20.140 – 00:13:23.520 And I'll probably have a few more minutes
  221. 00:13:23.520 – 00:13:26.820 because I've seen my lady filling up,
  222. 00:13:26.820 – 00:13:30.380 so she's probably going to wave at me while she's,
  223. 00:13:31.020 – 00:13:32.360 she just parked dramatically.
  224. 00:13:33.200 – 00:13:35.080 But, so yeah, I'm going to have to wrap up
  225. 00:13:35.080 – 00:13:37.240 this episode real quick,
  226. 00:13:38.520 – 00:13:40.120 and yeah, because we've got so much
  227. 00:13:40.120 – 00:13:42.000 needed work to do on Catcher Born,
  228. 00:13:43.200 – 00:13:46.500 and yeah, some personal time within that.
  229. 00:13:47.360 – 00:13:50.500 So, as you can hear, it's like we're building up.
  230. 00:13:51.580 – 00:13:55.420 But, you really have to build relationships,
  231. 00:13:56.820 – 00:14:00.000 you really have to know your purpose with it all,
  232. 00:14:01.960 – 00:14:03.260 and there will be some point
  233. 00:14:03.260 – 00:14:05.740 that you may just do it just to do it,
  234. 00:14:05.840 – 00:14:09.740 especially for free, or okay, I can do it.
  235. 00:14:10.840 – 00:14:13.920 It's not something, like I said,
  236. 00:14:14.000 – 00:14:16.260 that you may not want to do,
  237. 00:14:16.540 – 00:14:18.360 or that you're passing by the desire.
  238. 00:14:20.840 – 00:14:22.460 But, do a pay the bills,
  239. 00:14:22.980 – 00:14:24.640 sometimes that's an issue too.
  240. 00:14:24.640 – 00:14:27.160 But, like I said, getting stuck in that loop
  241. 00:14:27.160 – 00:14:29.200 is not the best thing to do.
  242. 00:14:30.340 – 00:14:33.720 Again, practice, study the craft,
  243. 00:14:35.100 – 00:14:39.580 study business, and the best way to excel with that
  244. 00:14:39.580 – 00:14:43.380 and accelerate the process is to hire a coach,
  245. 00:14:44.220 – 00:14:49.760 hire a mentor, be great, and do great.
  246. 00:14:50.680 – 00:14:53.540 Keep learning, like I am an avid learner,
  247. 00:14:53.540 – 00:14:57.900 like the amount that I spend on conferences
  248. 00:14:59.220 – 00:15:03.920 and just self-development, e-books, coaching,
  249. 00:15:05.060 – 00:15:09.800 and that's where all my revenue basically go.
  250. 00:15:10.820 – 00:15:13.540 I'm not at the point where I'm profiting,
  251. 00:15:14.000 – 00:15:17.780 and even facility fees and software,
  252. 00:15:18.600 – 00:15:21.300 or even travel, it all adds up.
  253. 00:15:21.300 – 00:15:25.600 And that's not even accounting for the editing time.
  254. 00:15:26.040 – 00:15:30.500 A lot of people do not see the time behind the closed doors.
  255. 00:15:31.060 – 00:15:33.980 We show up on a shoot, or at an event,
  256. 00:15:34.000 – 00:15:36.660 we film it, we take these photos,
  257. 00:15:37.280 – 00:15:39.320 and we have to look through them all.
  258. 00:15:39.760 – 00:15:43.540 We have to make specific tweaks to them.
  259. 00:15:45.120 – 00:15:46.180 Speaking of my lady,
  260. 00:15:46.180 – 00:15:50.940 we just spent 10 hours yesterday editing, 10 hours.
  261. 00:15:52.080 – 00:15:53.680 And we usually do work with me
  262. 00:15:53.680 – 00:15:55.800 so you can see the behind-the-scenes process,
  263. 00:15:55.940 – 00:15:58.340 but we're just talking about it like,
  264. 00:15:58.820 – 00:16:00.820 yeah, we can be filming right now.
  265. 00:16:01.300 – 00:16:04.240 And we decided not to, just decided to have personal time
  266. 00:16:04.240 – 00:16:06.880 and spend time with the family while we edit.
  267. 00:16:09.000 – 00:16:12.100 Yeah, but it's so much dynamic,
  268. 00:16:12.700 – 00:16:14.800 and be patient, take your time with it.
  269. 00:16:17.620 – 00:16:22.220 Even to this day, it's currently 2025.
  270. 00:16:23.880 – 00:16:26.500 So if you listen to this after the fact,
  271. 00:16:26.880 – 00:16:30.420 this may not be true, but I still work at nine to five.
  272. 00:16:30.460 – 00:16:32.040 It's not full-time, it's part-time,
  273. 00:16:33.340 – 00:16:35.420 but with me saying that,
  274. 00:16:36.660 – 00:16:40.370 don't quit your daily grind, your job, your career,
  275. 00:16:41.500 – 00:16:42.850 just to pursue photography
  276. 00:16:43.180 – 00:16:45.380 if you're not in that space to do it.
  277. 00:16:45.380 – 00:16:48.820 So be patient with yourself,
  278. 00:16:49.680 – 00:16:51.900 continue to learn, continue to practice.
  279. 00:16:52.400 – 00:16:54.060 Like I said, build relationships
  280. 00:16:54.060 – 00:16:57.420 and do the passion projects that you want.
  281. 00:16:58.340 – 00:17:01.400 And I would do a follow-up episode
  282. 00:17:01.400 – 00:17:03.940 to dive a little more in detail,
  283. 00:17:04.020 – 00:17:06.540 especially for the newer photographers.
  284. 00:17:07.980 – 00:17:11.680 And I apologize if you are an experienced photographer
  285. 00:17:12.200 – 00:17:15.520 and you feel like you didn't get much out of this episode.
  286. 00:17:17.280 – 00:17:20.220 Then I kind of geared it and dedicated it
  287. 00:17:20.220 – 00:17:24.359 to the beginners, but I hope you did.
  288. 00:17:24.500 – 00:17:27.760 But in the future, there will definitely be more
  289. 00:17:27.760 – 00:17:31.320 higher-level stuff for you all as well.
  290. 00:17:31.780 – 00:17:35.900 But I do have to run, I have to get.
  291. 00:17:37.280 – 00:17:40.000 Yeah, she's looking at me now, waiting on me.
  292. 00:17:40.000 – 00:17:43.740 So yeah, when she hear this, she's gonna smile a laugh.
  293. 00:17:44.600 – 00:17:46.280 But yeah, we gotta get going
  294. 00:17:46.280 – 00:17:47.920 and I appreciate you tuning in
  295. 00:17:47.920 – 00:17:51.900 for another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  296. 00:17:52.560 – 00:17:57.740 This is Steven Jackson, AKA Photographer Jackson,
  297. 00:17:57.880 – 00:18:02.460 also known as Alien of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  298. 00:18:03.500 – 00:18:04.780 Thank you again.
  299. 00:18:04.960 – 00:18:08.700 And all my show notes and links will be below
  300. 00:18:09.330 – 00:18:12.180 if you want more information with me
  301. 00:18:12.180 – 00:18:13.960 or any of my booking contact,
  302. 00:18:14.100 – 00:18:17.880 visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  303. 00:18:18.200 – 00:18:22.500 Yes, alieneyesphotos.com.
  304. 00:18:22.700 – 00:18:27.740 And follow me on all social media at Alien Eyes Photos.
  305. 00:18:28.220 – 00:18:32.560 And that's Alien Eyes with an S, Photos.
  306. 00:18:32.660 – 00:18:35.760 Whoa, my first time in history, I did that backwards.
  307. 00:18:36.720 – 00:18:40.320 Alien Eyes Photos, Alien with a Z,
  308. 00:18:40.960 – 00:18:44.380 or Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with an S,
  309. 00:18:44.580 – 00:18:45.640 Lord have mercy.
  310. 00:18:46.420 – 00:18:50.280 Alien Eyes Photos on all media,
  311. 00:18:50.640 – 00:18:53.100 and even fan-based checkout fan base
  312. 00:18:53.100 – 00:18:55.580 with Mr. Isaac Hayes, who's the founder
  313. 00:18:55.580 – 00:18:59.640 of fan-based social media platform for creators.
  314. 00:19:00.280 – 00:19:03.780 You can find me as well as Alien Eyes
  315. 00:19:03.780 – 00:19:06.460 with a Z, Photos with an S.
  316. 00:19:06.900 – 00:19:10.660 Again, on all media, including fan base.
  317. 00:19:11.680 – 00:19:13.700 Yeah, that's pretty much it.
  318. 00:19:14.780 – 00:19:16.480 And I'll get to y'all next time.
  319. 00:19:17.120 – 00:19:17.640 Peace.

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56. Origins Of A Creative Entrepreneur

Season 1 · Episode 22

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  1. 00:00:01.360 – 00:00:09.320 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:10.960 – 00:00:13.640 And this one is for the creative entrepreneurs.
  3. 00:00:14.940 – 00:00:23.720 So if you are creative or if you're an entrepreneur or if you're both a creative entrepreneur
  4. 00:00:24.560 – 00:00:32.580 or inspired to be a creative entrepreneur or have no idea what that is, this episode is for you.
  5. 00:00:33.680 – 00:00:38.980 This is your host, photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media
  6. 00:00:38.980 – 00:00:42.540 and host of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  7. 00:00:43.320 – 00:00:45.340 Welcome if this is your first time.
  8. 00:00:46.440 – 00:00:50.800 But this is for creative entrepreneurs or anyone of interest.
  9. 00:00:50.800 – 00:00:57.150 You know, one may say, what is a creative entrepreneur?
  10. 00:00:58.670 – 00:01:05.050 It's a creative, it's an artist who loves to create, freely create,
  11. 00:01:07.050 – 00:01:10.330 experiencing creating, love creating, passion about creating,
  12. 00:01:13.130 – 00:01:19.640 and creative problem solving, who is also an entrepreneur,
  13. 00:01:20.740 – 00:01:28.750 who has a sense of business, who has a sense of entrepreneurship, vision,
  14. 00:01:30.270 – 00:01:35.190 executing and bringing services or products to the market.
  15. 00:01:40.560 – 00:01:48.360 But putting it together, you're creatively problem solving, a creative problem solving.
  16. 00:01:49.830 – 00:01:55.830 So, as an entrepreneur, you problem solve, you troubleshoot, you put out fires,
  17. 00:01:56.010 – 00:02:06.130 you're managing as a creative, using your imagination, your vision,
  18. 00:02:07.030 – 00:02:13.010 your creative mind and talents and capabilities, artistic expression
  19. 00:02:13.010 – 00:02:21.520 to come up with new ideas, be innovative, and to fuel your creative problem solving.
  20. 00:02:23.890 – 00:02:33.870 Now, I've been a creative most of my life, if not all.
  21. 00:02:36.510 – 00:02:40.710 That's probably the longest running thing and fuel in my body
  22. 00:02:40.710 – 00:02:42.790 that I've been a creative more than anything,
  23. 00:02:43.810 – 00:02:49.190 more than me playing basketball at a young age, weather, fish,
  24. 00:02:49.770 – 00:02:53.550 maybe even walking maybe, because I was probably, you know,
  25. 00:02:54.830 – 00:02:58.410 before I was walking, before crawling, I was probably wiggling,
  26. 00:02:58.510 – 00:03:00.850 dancing to music or something.
  27. 00:03:01.670 – 00:03:06.950 So, I would say, yeah, it's being creative, using my imagination.
  28. 00:03:08.230 – 00:03:13.030 It's the longest running bone in my body that fuels my soul,
  29. 00:03:13.350 – 00:03:14.730 that's been with me forever.
  30. 00:03:16.650 – 00:03:21.750 All the other bones and structures of my body had to find their way.
  31. 00:03:21.750 – 00:03:25.030 They'd been there, but they didn't find their way.
  32. 00:03:28.540 – 00:03:29.920 And I love being a creative.
  33. 00:03:31.000 – 00:03:37.260 I've done poetry, I've done music, even dabbled in painting a little bit.
  34. 00:03:38.980 – 00:03:42.880 Not the best, like my other things that I'm a part of,
  35. 00:03:42.980 – 00:03:48.620 like writing and filming, photography, music, poetry.
  36. 00:03:48.620 – 00:03:53.720 But, you know, when I paint, I know that's strictly for me.
  37. 00:03:57.180 – 00:04:03.040 I may get back into painting, I may even have some for sale,
  38. 00:04:04.560 – 00:04:15.270 but most of my life I was a writer, just writing, writing stories,
  39. 00:04:15.650 – 00:04:21.610 writing poems, writing books, writing music, choruses,
  40. 00:04:24.490 – 00:04:35.340 unofficial scripts, ideas, in a sense, speeches and speeches to myself.
  41. 00:04:35.820 – 00:04:41.560 And now that I'm older, I remember just looking at myself in the mirror,
  42. 00:04:41.580 – 00:04:43.360 like, man, you've been through a lot.
  43. 00:04:44.680 – 00:04:46.400 You've been through a tough time.
  44. 00:04:47.620 – 00:04:49.100 You continue to push and through.
  45. 00:04:50.020 – 00:04:53.340 You continue to push through, man, you're really doing it.
  46. 00:04:54.060 – 00:04:55.400 And you're showing up for you.
  47. 00:04:55.400 – 00:04:58.520 I'm talking to myself in the mirror, you know?
  48. 00:04:59.400 – 00:05:01.820 I'm like, man, one day I'm going to be a speaker.
  49. 00:05:01.920 – 00:05:04.620 One day I'm going to write speeches and, you know,
  50. 00:05:04.740 – 00:05:07.960 help other people write speeches and deliver their speech.
  51. 00:05:09.340 – 00:05:12.820 Just being that creative mind, because I was already doing music,
  52. 00:05:13.880 – 00:05:18.220 not performing so much, but, you know, do performances here and there.
  53. 00:05:21.520 – 00:05:30.220 I remember talking to myself in the mirror and really having that honest conversation,
  54. 00:05:31.340 – 00:05:42.610 that tough conversation, a candid conversation that I needed, you know?
  55. 00:05:42.850 – 00:05:45.530 And I'm glad I had that moment with myself, you know,
  56. 00:05:45.610 – 00:05:48.590 myself in the mirror, that reflection, that reflecting time.
  57. 00:05:50.750 – 00:05:55.150 And, you know, years later I end up included in my song,
  58. 00:05:55.950 – 00:06:05.510 Lifetime, Lifetime by Alien iPlayer, as Alien I-P-L-A-Y-A, Alien iPlayer.
  59. 00:06:05.870 – 00:06:09.150 Check out the song, Lifetime, if you want to hear it.
  60. 00:06:09.730 – 00:06:20.210 You know, I had a song, you know, kind of wrote it coming out of depression, you know,
  61. 00:06:20.790 – 00:06:25.930 doubt, self-doubt, and just a lot of negativity around me.
  62. 00:06:27.090 – 00:06:31.870 But I found the way to make it positive and reflect on it, too, you know?
  63. 00:06:32.390 – 00:06:39.250 Just being honest, like, you know, who can you go to?
  64. 00:06:40.890 – 00:06:46.070 And then, you know, even in the bad moments, you know, you got to find the good.
  65. 00:06:47.650 – 00:06:49.990 Boo-hoo, they need a chicken soup.
  66. 00:06:51.470 – 00:06:53.130 So it's the last verse.
  67. 00:06:53.310 – 00:06:56.050 I could give you that hint if you want to listen to the whole song.
  68. 00:06:56.190 – 00:06:57.450 It's the last verse.
  69. 00:06:58.170 – 00:07:01.850 So check out the last verse of Lifetime by Alien iPlayer.
  70. 00:07:05.020 – 00:07:12.660 But, you know, creative entrepreneurs, we solve problems creatively, you know,
  71. 00:07:12.660 – 00:07:24.040 using our artistic expressions to create and bring content to the market.
  72. 00:07:25.640 – 00:07:32.040 And then I may add, for me, you know, I create visual solutions for clients.
  73. 00:07:34.520 – 00:07:39.260 You know, marketing, coaching them, and especially on the visual side.
  74. 00:07:40.800 – 00:07:42.740 How do you want to position yourself?
  75. 00:07:44.500 – 00:07:55.520 So I know with myself, I had to get creative in how I market myself,
  76. 00:07:55.580 – 00:07:59.760 because I'm not a traditional social media person.
  77. 00:08:00.500 – 00:08:08.880 Like, maybe back then when I was like 15, 16, you know, having the time and the energy.
  78. 00:08:10.440 – 00:08:16.260 But, you know, running a business, operating a business, being a partner in other businesses,
  79. 00:08:16.260 – 00:08:26.320 and, you know, groups and collaborations, projects, the time isn't the same.
  80. 00:08:26.440 – 00:08:28.000 The energy isn't the same.
  81. 00:08:28.560 – 00:08:32.860 I still let it spend time with myself and to myself.
  82. 00:08:33.760 – 00:08:40.440 One of those people that just need that pure silence, that time with yourself,
  83. 00:08:40.539 – 00:08:46.070 that pure silence, you know, you know, light.
  84. 00:08:47.990 – 00:08:53.390 It don't have to be pure darkness, but maybe a candle or something, candle or two.
  85. 00:08:55.050 – 00:08:56.850 But just silence.
  86. 00:08:57.990 – 00:09:04.680 I'm not a fan of, you know, headphones and everything.
  87. 00:09:06.040 – 00:09:13.010 You know, frequencies and different things, even though I loved it and enjoyed it,
  88. 00:09:13.010 – 00:09:18.820 especially when I did music, but, you know, if I do have music on,
  89. 00:09:18.820 – 00:09:26.780 it's like meditation music, elevator music, frequencies, you know, white noise.
  90. 00:09:28.940 – 00:09:33.680 But I've even been trying without it, just pure silence, even going to sleep,
  91. 00:09:34.180 – 00:09:37.400 just pure silence, no, you know, background music.
  92. 00:09:39.360 – 00:09:45.660 I may go back, you know, I'm sure if I feel a big difference,
  93. 00:09:47.920 – 00:09:56.180 but, you know, having that quiet time, the isolation, the isolation from the world
  94. 00:09:56.180 – 00:10:00.460 and really just, you know, being my own best friend,
  95. 00:10:00.500 – 00:10:05.160 having that time with myself like I did in the mirror, you know,
  96. 00:10:06.000 – 00:10:09.740 I got to have these sit downs with myself.
  97. 00:10:10.420 – 00:10:13.920 It's quiet time to myself and my thoughts and my head
  98. 00:10:13.920 – 00:10:17.560 and even just to relax, you know.
  99. 00:10:18.660 – 00:10:22.480 I don't think a lot of people take that time to rest and relax nowadays.
  100. 00:10:24.750 – 00:10:31.410 Everybody want to be on a hundred miles per hour all the time, you know.
  101. 00:10:31.550 – 00:10:35.750 But if you can do it, you know, go ahead and do it.
  102. 00:10:35.750 – 00:10:41.090 Don't let me discourage you, but also if you're not able to,
  103. 00:10:41.150 – 00:10:43.730 just be realistic with yourself, you know.
  104. 00:10:43.730 – 00:10:48.350 I'm always, you know, encouraging the will and the talent
  105. 00:10:48.350 – 00:10:50.370 and the push through, the breakthrough,
  106. 00:10:51.390 – 00:10:54.250 but also be real with yourself and, you know,
  107. 00:10:54.910 – 00:10:58.170 I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist, you know.
  108. 00:11:00.270 – 00:11:03.970 I'm probably 55 optimists, 45 realists.
  109. 00:11:09.320 – 00:11:12.260 I'm very grateful for the journey that I've been on.
  110. 00:11:13.040 – 00:11:16.720 As I continue to document my journey, my entrepreneur journey,
  111. 00:11:16.720 – 00:11:18.540 my creative entrepreneur journey,
  112. 00:11:20.020 – 00:11:24.460 I thank the ones that have been a part of my creative journey
  113. 00:11:25.300 – 00:11:29.080 when I was just focusing on, you know, music and poetry.
  114. 00:11:30.740 – 00:11:34.760 I appreciate everyone listening to all my music, all my poems,
  115. 00:11:34.980 – 00:11:37.280 reading my books, my poetry books,
  116. 00:11:38.120 – 00:11:40.860 and every future thing that I come out with
  117. 00:11:40.860 – 00:11:46.700 and even, you know, live events, speaking engagements,
  118. 00:11:47.680 – 00:11:50.100 workshops, networking events.
  119. 00:11:52.040 – 00:11:56.360 I appreciate you all for always showing up, supporting, showing out.
  120. 00:11:57.100 – 00:12:00.280 Thank you for listening to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  121. 00:12:01.220 – 00:12:05.780 Each episode, or if this your first episode you listen to,
  122. 00:12:06.520 – 00:12:09.280 I appreciate you continue on this journey with me.
  123. 00:12:09.280 – 00:12:12.660 I promise you you're going to learn something you'll take away.
  124. 00:12:13.300 – 00:12:15.200 It's always going to be something for you
  125. 00:12:15.200 – 00:12:21.360 because I'm always thinking about the topics that I wanted to know
  126. 00:12:21.360 – 00:12:25.960 first starting my entrepreneur journey, especially as a creative.
  127. 00:12:27.020 – 00:12:30.460 You know, as a creative, how I should think or how I should have thought
  128. 00:12:30.460 – 00:12:33.360 or how I should have navigated.
  129. 00:12:36.060 – 00:12:40.180 And, you know, continue this elevation with me, you know.
  130. 00:12:41.680 – 00:12:48.180 I appreciate everyone, all the support, all the concerns,
  131. 00:12:48.380 – 00:12:52.240 all the feedback, all the collaborations, all the money,
  132. 00:12:54.420 – 00:12:57.360 all the good energy, all the good vibes.
  133. 00:12:59.120 – 00:13:05.000 And if anything you're doing good, let's hear about it.
  134. 00:13:06.000 – 00:13:09.120 We need to hear about good stories, good moments in our life.
  135. 00:13:10.480 – 00:13:14.200 So, yeah, I'll leave you with that, you know.
  136. 00:13:14.200 – 00:13:18.340 The Origins of a Creative Entrepreneur.
  137. 00:13:20.420 – 00:13:27.170 Again, I am Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos,
  138. 00:13:30.080 – 00:13:36.620 Alienize Photos Media and Host of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  139. 00:13:37.880 – 00:13:42.860 You can find me at alienizephotos.com
  140. 00:13:45.780 – 00:13:47.940 alienizephotos.com
  141. 00:13:52.000 – 00:13:54.200 alienizephotos.com
  142. 00:13:54.750 – 00:14:00.380 and on all social media at Alienize Photos
  143. 00:14:00.380 – 00:14:03.720 at Alienize Photos
  144. 00:14:03.720 – 00:14:08.880 and be sure to check out Creative Frequency on YouTube
  145. 00:14:08.880 – 00:14:11.380 on a Creative Frequency
  146. 00:14:11.940 – 00:14:15.420 and then follow us also on a Creative Frequency
  147. 00:14:15.420 – 00:14:19.280 to keep you on that creative path
  148. 00:14:19.280 – 00:14:23.540 as you follow the journey of me and Brianna Casanova
  149. 00:14:23.540 – 00:14:25.460 of Overflow Studios
  150. 00:14:25.460 – 00:14:28.180 as we are both creative entrepreneurs.
  151. 00:14:28.640 – 00:14:31.640 Like, man, and we're just getting started
  152. 00:14:31.640 – 00:14:34.360 and I'm excited for the future.
  153. 00:14:35.660 – 00:14:38.600 And so many projects we have,
  154. 00:14:38.680 – 00:14:41.000 so much potential ahead of us,
  155. 00:14:41.460 – 00:14:43.920 so much knowledge, so much creativity.
  156. 00:14:43.920 – 00:14:47.200 You know, we both film,
  157. 00:14:47.820 – 00:14:50.860 you know, do photography, music,
  158. 00:14:51.380 – 00:14:54.360 we're both writers, we're both just ultimate creators, you know.
  159. 00:14:55.460 – 00:15:00.940 So she is way better painting that, you know, than I am.
  160. 00:15:01.800 – 00:15:03.200 A better painter than I am.
  161. 00:15:04.560 – 00:15:08.400 And that's probably the thing she has me in, so.
  162. 00:15:08.640 – 00:15:09.900 And graphic designer.
  163. 00:15:11.040 – 00:15:17.280 But just together, the talent and stuff,
  164. 00:15:18.220 – 00:15:20.560 we haven't done yet, but want to do,
  165. 00:15:20.600 – 00:15:23.240 but we're definitely planning to do.
  166. 00:15:24.120 – 00:15:26.460 Oh, be sure to check out Creative Frequency
  167. 00:15:26.920 – 00:15:28.520 on a Creative Frequency.
  168. 00:15:29.180 – 00:15:33.200 And, you know, we're really breaking down our journey
  169. 00:15:33.200 – 00:15:37.920 and documenting the process with work with Weez.
  170. 00:15:37.920 – 00:15:43.960 That's like a dual work with me as you work with, you know, us.
  171. 00:15:46.620 – 00:15:50.480 You know, we're doing more education, you know,
  172. 00:15:50.700 – 00:15:55.720 partnering with, you know, organizations
  173. 00:15:56.480 – 00:15:59.020 and teaming up with the Pull Up Experience,
  174. 00:15:59.340 – 00:16:02.400 who's also our media partner and my media partner directly.
  175. 00:16:03.120 – 00:16:04.840 Also Launch Artist Media.
  176. 00:16:05.720 – 00:16:08.280 You know, continuing doing the work, showing up,
  177. 00:16:08.280 – 00:16:11.220 and, you know, we all elevate and rise together.
  178. 00:16:12.760 – 00:16:15.880 So be sure to follow the Pull Up Experience,
  179. 00:16:16.520 – 00:16:18.620 the Pull Up EXP,
  180. 00:16:19.000 – 00:16:21.780 and then also Launch Artist Media,
  181. 00:16:22.460 – 00:16:23.820 at Launch Artist Media.
  182. 00:16:26.990 – 00:16:29.110 And then also, again, myself,
  183. 00:16:29.450 – 00:16:33.810 I alienize photos and Creative Frequency
  184. 00:16:33.810 – 00:16:35.910 on a Creative Frequency.
  185. 00:16:36.850 – 00:16:38.790 And then you can book me as a coach,
  186. 00:16:38.790 – 00:16:41.750 or if you want to find more information,
  187. 00:16:42.190 – 00:16:44.750 check out alienizephotos.com.
  188. 00:16:45.410 – 00:16:48.490 If you could find my email on the website,
  189. 00:16:48.750 – 00:16:50.730 you know, shoot me an email.
  190. 00:16:51.230 – 00:16:54.870 You know, any business endeavors you have in mind, collaborations,
  191. 00:16:56.190 – 00:16:58.850 or if you want to potentially jump on a podcast,
  192. 00:16:59.550 – 00:17:01.870 you know, send a donation, we can make it happen.
  193. 00:17:02.610 – 00:17:03.590 All right, peace.

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57. FutureLAND Cleveland Ai Forward Summit at MOCA

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.750 – 00:00:08.410 Walk on, walk on, walk on back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:09.150 – 00:00:12.550 This episode is about future land.
  3. 00:00:12.870 – 00:00:24.750 Yes, future land 2025. Futureland AI Forward Summit 2025.
  4. 00:00:25.750 – 00:00:40.990 A Cleveland, a Cleveland conference of 5,000 plus attendees, over 80 plus speakers.
  5. 00:00:42.170 – 00:00:52.170 And I happened to be one of those speakers last year's workshop on the importance of podcasts and why every business should have a podcast.
  6. 00:00:53.520 – 00:01:02.520 Over 20,000 panels, workshops, sessions since the year 2022.
  7. 00:01:05.379 – 00:01:08.820 College students, high school students also attended.
  8. 00:01:09.660 – 00:01:19.000 So there's no limit to who can receive the information, the connections, shake different hands, network.
  9. 00:01:20.000 – 00:01:34.500 And this year is about tech and AI as most of them encourage business owners, entrepreneurs, creative change makers.
  10. 00:01:36.400 – 00:01:47.790 This year is about AI and the integration of tech, the destination for innovation.
  11. 00:01:49.270 – 00:01:50.830 Cleveland, Ohio.
  12. 00:01:52.870 – 00:01:55.830 Now, is Cleveland becoming the next Silicon Valley?
  13. 00:01:58.230 – 00:02:08.229 Welcome to AI Forward Summit 2025 at MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio, November 20th.
  14. 00:02:10.280 – 00:02:15.520 See more information and get your tickets at Futureland CLE.
  15. 00:02:15.520 – 00:02:22.860 Futureland CLE. Yes, that's Futureland CLE.com.
  16. 00:02:23.200 – 00:02:30.160 And also follow Futureland over at Futureland CLE on Instagram.
  17. 00:02:31.720 – 00:02:37.920 Now, Austin, Austin, Texas became the tech capital for Texas.
  18. 00:02:37.920 – 00:02:46.540 It's Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio, the tech capital for Ohio.
  19. 00:02:50.080 – 00:03:02.310 Now, the tech industry has billion dollar, multibillion dollar evaluations and billion dollar, million dollar exits.
  20. 00:03:05.220 – 00:03:08.340 It's unlike any other industry.
  21. 00:03:08.340 – 00:03:21.900 And now that AI is thriving these past few years, it is important to stay on it and all the updates and the industry players.
  22. 00:03:24.520 – 00:03:26.860 Maybe you can invest in an AI company.
  23. 00:03:28.260 – 00:03:29.560 Get this capital.
  24. 00:03:29.560 – 00:03:39.880 Be one of those investors, entrepreneurs that have that million dollar, billion dollar exit.
  25. 00:03:40.980 – 00:03:43.260 It's possible. It's doable.
  26. 00:03:45.220 – 00:03:47.300 And it's here in Cleveland.
  27. 00:03:50.980 – 00:03:58.080 We have keynotes from regional leaders in AI, companies like Google.
  28. 00:03:59.140 – 00:04:03.240 Like that alone, just Google.
  29. 00:04:06.450 – 00:04:08.290 This event is powered by Google.
  30. 00:04:09.370 – 00:04:10.230 Cleveland, Ohio.
  31. 00:04:12.470 – 00:04:13.890 Is that not enough?
  32. 00:04:16.380 – 00:04:20.640 But get the insights or innovation policy and opportunity.
  33. 00:04:20.760 – 00:04:29.640 Hear how Ohio is building and connected an AI ecosystem through research and equitable growth.
  34. 00:04:30.640 – 00:04:34.400 They have immersive 3D art exhibits.
  35. 00:04:35.820 – 00:04:37.180 Augmented reality.
  36. 00:04:39.180 – 00:04:40.540 3D art exhibits.
  37. 00:04:42.320 – 00:04:50.260 Giving you the freedom to explore visionary artists, digital art with the collaboration of AI and 3D technology.
  38. 00:04:51.780 – 00:05:00.290 Experience interactive elements through sound, project mapping, audience interaction, real time movement.
  39. 00:05:01.710 – 00:05:10.210 Now, if you missed last year, which I've been there all the years of Futureland's existence.
  40. 00:05:11.870 – 00:05:12.890 I'm a conference junkie.
  41. 00:05:13.010 – 00:05:16.290 If anybody know me, I'm a conference junkie, especially in my hometown.
  42. 00:05:17.770 – 00:05:22.370 Futureland is the premier conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
  43. 00:05:25.090 – 00:05:27.350 I have creative entrepreneurs.
  44. 00:05:28.650 – 00:05:30.190 Tech industry.
  45. 00:05:30.970 – 00:05:31.970 But a culture.
  46. 00:05:32.710 – 00:05:33.910 Bipod culture.
  47. 00:05:35.590 – 00:05:36.490 Black and brown.
  48. 00:05:38.270 – 00:05:39.770 Inner city businesses.
  49. 00:05:40.750 – 00:05:47.000 Entrepreneurs, creatives, change makers, leaders.
  50. 00:05:50.220 – 00:05:53.580 Futureland is the premier conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
  51. 00:05:56.200 – 00:05:59.260 It has my stamp, my backing, my approval.
  52. 00:06:01.050 – 00:06:02.690 And guess what?
  53. 00:06:05.070 – 00:06:10.890 I'll be giving away a few tickets to Futureland because I believe in the movement.
  54. 00:06:13.240 – 00:06:16.640 I believe in the insights, the connections, the relationships.
  55. 00:06:18.840 – 00:06:21.840 So I'll be giving away a few tickets.
  56. 00:06:23.540 – 00:06:27.280 Send me a message over at Alien Eyes Photos.
  57. 00:06:27.460 – 00:06:29.960 That's Alien Eyes with a Z.
  58. 00:06:30.700 – 00:06:32.580 Photos with an S.
  59. 00:06:34.120 – 00:06:37.940 Or visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  60. 00:06:42.510 – 00:06:44.070 But yeah, check the show notes.
  61. 00:06:44.350 – 00:06:45.410 That might be easier.
  62. 00:06:46.710 – 00:06:49.570 But yeah, I've given away a few tickets, so stay tuned.
  63. 00:06:51.600 – 00:07:03.580 And each year, Futureland has some music or entertainment element of the conference.
  64. 00:07:05.440 – 00:07:07.080 Usually the last day.
  65. 00:07:07.460 – 00:07:08.600 The closing hours.
  66. 00:07:09.880 – 00:07:11.840 You got the connections.
  67. 00:07:12.860 – 00:07:23.030 You got the information, the insights, the tools, the software, the mindset, the community.
  68. 00:07:24.970 – 00:07:28.870 Let's bring it all together and celebrate.
  69. 00:07:30.930 – 00:07:31.890 Celebrate each other.
  70. 00:07:31.950 – 00:07:33.170 Celebrate our success.
  71. 00:07:34.110 – 00:07:35.550 Celebrate what we just learned.
  72. 00:07:35.810 – 00:07:38.650 Celebrate what we are about to apply.
  73. 00:07:39.470 – 00:07:43.690 Celebrate our connections, our growth, our community, our network.
  74. 00:07:44.870 – 00:07:49.870 Celebrate the collaboration between human and AI and 3D technology.
  75. 00:07:52.350 – 00:07:59.190 In Cleveland, Ohio, November 20th, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  76. 00:07:59.190 – 00:08:03.530 12 hours of focus on AI.
  77. 00:08:04.870 – 00:08:09.030 One day only, November 20th, 8 to 8.
  78. 00:08:09.030 – 00:08:12.030 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  79. 00:08:12.230 – 00:08:13.030 November 20th.
  80. 00:08:14.310 – 00:08:15.170 Futureland.com.
  81. 00:08:16.190 – 00:08:18.530 Futureland CLE.com.
  82. 00:08:19.970 – 00:08:26.170 Futureland CLE.com.
  83. 00:08:29.610 – 00:08:41.630 I'm looking to afford Fusion Forward and their AI integrations into art and live music and entertainment.
  84. 00:08:41.630 – 00:08:44.530 That they will be hosting.
  85. 00:08:47.800 – 00:08:50.540 But don't forget about Futureland 365.
  86. 00:08:52.160 – 00:08:53.760 Futureland 365.
  87. 00:08:54.800 – 00:08:57.620 That's 365 days.
  88. 00:08:59.000 – 00:09:05.600 And this year, next year, years after that and to become in the light years ahead.
  89. 00:09:06.820 – 00:09:09.140 Futureland 365 podcast.
  90. 00:09:09.400 – 00:09:13.620 They update it all day, every day.
  91. 00:09:13.620 – 00:09:18.960 Everything Futureland, upcoming events, conferences.
  92. 00:09:20.160 – 00:09:21.620 Anything Futureland.
  93. 00:09:22.560 – 00:09:25.620 365 podcast.
  94. 00:09:26.860 – 00:09:32.960 All platforms.
  95. 00:09:37.400 – 00:09:45.040 So I remember Futureland had central themes each year like thrive and evolve.
  96. 00:09:46.320 – 00:09:53.460 To actually evolve is a great reflection of what Cleveland, Ohio is doing.
  97. 00:09:55.580 – 00:09:56.340 Evolving.
  98. 00:09:57.040 – 00:09:59.360 Futureland is the place for collaboration.
  99. 00:09:59.940 – 00:10:03.880 Connecting with the change makers and builders in the city.
  100. 00:10:05.040 – 00:10:07.760 And also those passing by the city.
  101. 00:10:09.870 – 00:10:11.710 Many want to be part of the story.
  102. 00:10:13.410 – 00:10:16.350 So many great speakers.
  103. 00:10:18.330 – 00:10:20.130 We had Rich Paul.
  104. 00:10:21.090 – 00:10:22.830 LeBron James Aging.
  105. 00:10:24.730 – 00:10:31.070 Now he's one of the top sports agents in sports history.
  106. 00:10:31.730 – 00:10:34.430 Not just basketball but sports history.
  107. 00:10:36.330 – 00:10:37.210 He's from Cleveland.
  108. 00:10:37.270 – 00:10:41.670 He came back to Cleveland to pour that knowledge to first year of Futureland.
  109. 00:10:42.790 – 00:10:44.870 And also Don Dixon.
  110. 00:10:46.430 – 00:10:50.970 I got to shake hands and even ask spectacular, pretty Ricky a question.
  111. 00:10:51.890 – 00:11:01.740 After he gave some knowledge and had great conversation and dialogue with the crowd.
  112. 00:11:02.820 – 00:11:03.840 Like what?
  113. 00:11:04.760 – 00:11:14.330 At Futureland, we had so many great dynamic speakers.
  114. 00:11:15.430 – 00:11:18.030 I can name so many.
  115. 00:11:20.140 – 00:11:22.380 Like my peers met their idols.
  116. 00:11:24.360 – 00:11:26.840 Their mentors, their distant mentors.
  117. 00:11:29.770 – 00:11:30.410 And that's the thing.
  118. 00:11:30.430 – 00:11:33.070 You may find your mentor at Futureland.
  119. 00:11:34.850 – 00:11:38.790 I mentee and recommend people at Futureland.
  120. 00:11:38.910 – 00:11:39.990 People know that.
  121. 00:11:41.190 – 00:11:45.150 Any tech gear or camera equipment that I'm using, software that I'm using.
  122. 00:11:46.390 – 00:11:52.570 My network, even outside of Futureland, I'm doing that.
  123. 00:11:52.670 – 00:11:57.390 So at Futureland and I'm in a good mood and you had the right conversation.
  124. 00:11:58.510 – 00:12:00.230 Know I'm there to help.
  125. 00:12:01.530 – 00:12:04.670 Know I'm not always available and I'm busy.
  126. 00:12:07.350 – 00:12:09.150 Are you going to run into me at Futureland?
  127. 00:12:09.290 – 00:12:13.030 It's your time to ask me the questions you want to answer.
  128. 00:12:15.890 – 00:12:17.410 Just shake my hand again.
  129. 00:12:18.650 – 00:12:26.010 Ask me a question because you know I'm helpful and resourceful.
  130. 00:12:27.190 – 00:12:30.130 We're going to make you get to where you want to be.
  131. 00:12:30.190 – 00:12:34.770 Your business or your creative entrepreneur journey or your AI journey.
  132. 00:12:36.150 – 00:12:37.210 Let's do this together.
  133. 00:12:38.610 – 00:12:40.290 And that's what Futureland is about.
  134. 00:12:40.350 – 00:12:40.990 Community.
  135. 00:12:41.750 – 00:12:42.610 It's about building.
  136. 00:12:42.770 – 00:12:44.010 It's about growth.
  137. 00:12:45.770 – 00:12:47.850 It's about money too.
  138. 00:12:47.850 – 00:12:56.010 I'm not sure if they're doing a pitch competition this year but there's been some surprise pitch competitions.
  139. 00:12:56.570 – 00:12:58.250 Just like my man Chad Justin.
  140. 00:12:58.630 – 00:13:01.730 He won the first year with the Wear Pack.
  141. 00:13:02.170 – 00:13:06.530 And you know people see me a lot around wearing the Wear Pack.
  142. 00:13:07.370 – 00:13:08.810 You know it definitely helped me a lot.
  143. 00:13:08.910 – 00:13:12.150 I keep my business cards or collect business cards, put it in there.
  144. 00:13:12.990 – 00:13:14.330 It's very helpful.
  145. 00:13:15.130 – 00:13:16.970 The Wear Pack by Chad Justin.
  146. 00:13:17.750 – 00:13:23.650 Man, he's doing it big and he's going to be on a podcast very soon.
  147. 00:13:23.850 – 00:13:26.970 Alien Arms Photos, Industry Talk, Shameless Club.
  148. 00:13:27.910 – 00:13:28.390 Yes.
  149. 00:13:29.550 – 00:13:31.950 But so much I can say.
  150. 00:13:32.310 – 00:13:33.110 But just be there.
  151. 00:13:34.430 – 00:13:36.390 Be there or be square.
  152. 00:13:38.030 – 00:13:39.470 At Futureland.
  153. 00:13:39.670 – 00:13:40.270 AI.
  154. 00:13:40.450 – 00:13:41.410 Forward Summit.
  155. 00:13:41.410 – 00:13:43.470 2025.
  156. 00:13:45.230 – 00:13:50.570 At MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio.
  157. 00:13:53.090 – 00:13:55.470 November 20th.
  158. 00:13:55.470 – 00:13:56.550 2025.
  159. 00:13:57.910 – 00:13:58.310 Futureland.
  160. 00:13:58.970 – 00:14:00.210 Forward Summit.
  161. 00:14:01.410 – 00:14:02.510 That's AI.
  162. 00:14:02.790 – 00:14:03.450 Forward Summit.
  163. 00:14:04.470 – 00:14:05.730 2025.
  164. 00:14:06.090 – 00:14:07.150 And for tickets,
  165. 00:14:07.150 – 00:14:13.370 visit futurelandcle.com.
  166. 00:14:13.630 – 00:14:14.990 That's Futureland.
  167. 00:14:15.010 – 00:14:17.250 C-L-E.
  168. 00:14:17.450 – 00:14:19.190 Sure for Cleveland.
  169. 00:14:20.250 – 00:14:21.610 C-L-E.
  170. 00:14:21.930 – 00:14:22.690 .com.
  171. 00:14:24.210 – 00:14:28.370 Or you can visit Eventbrite and search Futureland.
  172. 00:14:29.890 – 00:14:31.150 That's Futureland.
  173. 00:14:31.950 – 00:14:35.550 F-U-T-U-R-E.
  174. 00:14:35.550 – 00:14:38.550 L-A-N-D.
  175. 00:14:39.570 – 00:14:41.810 Futureland and C-L-E.
  176. 00:14:41.830 – 00:14:42.470 Cleveland.
  177. 00:14:44.370 – 00:14:44.990 All right, y'all.
  178. 00:14:45.310 – 00:14:47.290 This is photographer Jackson.
  179. 00:14:47.590 – 00:14:51.430 Steve Jackson of Alien Arms Photos Industry Talk.
  180. 00:14:52.810 – 00:14:54.630 Talking all about Futureland.
  181. 00:14:55.190 – 00:14:57.710 The conference is less than a month away.
  182. 00:14:58.390 – 00:15:00.390 And yeah, I got to get some tickets away.
  183. 00:15:01.630 – 00:15:02.470 But no, seriously.
  184. 00:15:02.470 – 00:15:05.510 If you want to visit this year's Summit,
  185. 00:15:07.950 – 00:15:08.870 AIForce Summit,
  186. 00:15:09.530 – 00:15:11.150 Futureland doing it again.
  187. 00:15:11.270 – 00:15:11.990 Come on now.
  188. 00:15:12.930 – 00:15:13.890 You got it, team.
  189. 00:15:15.330 – 00:15:16.270 All right, I'm just rhyming.
  190. 00:15:16.450 – 00:15:17.390 So I'm going to stop.
  191. 00:15:18.450 – 00:15:20.390 So I'm going to give y'all a whole freestyle.
  192. 00:15:20.530 – 00:15:23.370 And I'm not trying to be all night.
  193. 00:15:24.990 – 00:15:27.230 I got to get some rest before this flight.
  194. 00:15:27.430 – 00:15:28.790 Oh, man, I did it again.
  195. 00:15:28.790 – 00:15:32.790 Because I got to get back before November 20th
  196. 00:15:33.350 – 00:15:38.430 to beat you at Futureland AIForce Summit 2025
  197. 00:15:38.430 – 00:15:42.010 at MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art
  198. 00:15:42.010 – 00:15:43.310 in Cleveland, Ohio.
  199. 00:15:44.190 – 00:15:46.670 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  200. 00:15:46.870 – 00:15:48.790 Futureland, CLE.com.
  201. 00:15:49.410 – 00:15:50.070 All right, y'all.
  202. 00:15:50.290 – 00:15:50.890 I'm out.
  203. 00:15:51.210 – 00:15:52.930 Alien Arms Photos Industry Talk.
  204. 00:15:53.570 – 00:15:55.090 This is photographer Jackson.
  205. 00:15:55.210 – 00:15:57.830 Steve Jackson of Alien Arms Photos Media.
  206. 00:15:57.830 – 00:15:59.610 And we're signing off.

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58. Eric Stephens “Beyond The Walls 2” Presented by Redwood Ministry Powered by Rooted In Christ Podcast (Full Episode)

Season 2 · Episode 2

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:02.080 – 00:00:11.520 Welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk with your host,
  2. 00:00:12.100 – 00:00:21.550 Stephen D. Jackson, aka Photographer Jackson of Alienize Photos Media, bringing you Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:21.940 – 00:00:27.430 And I am here with Mr. Eric Stevens with Redwood Christian Ministries.
  4. 00:00:27.820 – 00:00:28.640 How are you doing today?
  5. 00:00:28.640 – 00:00:33.240 Bro, I'm smooth. Thank you for having me on here today. This is fire. This is dope, man.
  6. 00:00:33.780 – 00:00:39.840 You know, we had a chance to reconnect at Podcast United Five a couple weeks ago.
  7. 00:00:40.420 – 00:00:44.640 You know, we had a brief interview. I'm like, let's get this full length interview as needed.
  8. 00:00:44.720 – 00:00:49.080 And then also want to hear more about the concert that you're promoting.
  9. 00:00:49.840 – 00:00:55.140 Christian hip hop concert, Beyond the Walls 2. Part 2. Let's go.
  10. 00:00:55.140 – 00:00:59.100 Working on three, four or five single games being three, four or five.
  11. 00:00:59.100 – 00:01:00.600 We're going to talk about the future, bro.
  12. 00:01:02.300 – 00:01:06.600 You say you kind of new to the concert and promoting concerts.
  13. 00:01:07.060 – 00:01:10.300 Where did it all come from? Like the idea that spark?
  14. 00:01:11.580 – 00:01:17.980 Yeah, I mean, I'm going to tell everybody like from from the beginning, you know, this is this is all a God thing.
  15. 00:01:17.980 – 00:01:22.200 This is all a Jesus thing. That's this was not on my radar.
  16. 00:01:22.200 – 00:01:26.620 What I don't get on a the young people tell you now, like this wasn't on a bingo card.
  17. 00:01:26.620 – 00:01:28.540 Like, you know what I'm saying? Like this was just heard.
  18. 00:01:28.820 – 00:01:30.960 Yeah, that just is what it meant for me.
  19. 00:01:31.100 – 00:01:34.040 It played bingo a couple of nights ago. Yeah, I probably got smoked.
  20. 00:01:34.280 – 00:01:43.400 But, you know, I ended up starting, starting the nonprofit right with Christian Ministries and our whole like mission
  21. 00:01:43.400 – 00:01:45.440 and vision is if we see a need, we fill a need.
  22. 00:01:46.400 – 00:01:51.340 So let that be mission strips around, you know, Ohio or missions around the United States.
  23. 00:01:51.360 – 00:01:55.400 Like we we want to make sure we're highlighting the needs of the community
  24. 00:01:55.400 – 00:01:57.540 and that we got to go house to house to do that.
  25. 00:01:57.560 – 00:01:58.780 And that's that's how we roll.
  26. 00:01:59.640 – 00:02:01.220 And I'm promised I'm about to answer your question.
  27. 00:02:01.260 – 00:02:06.940 So that led to the Ruining Christ podcast because that's something that God had put in my heart to really to really kick off.
  28. 00:02:07.380 – 00:02:10.080 I have guests going to show and share their testimonies and their life stories.
  29. 00:02:10.900 – 00:02:12.840 And I mean, it's the other day life stories.
  30. 00:02:12.840 – 00:02:18.000 It's like whether they had miscarriages, whether they had committed murder and got incarcerated.
  31. 00:02:18.180 – 00:02:20.640 Like and I'm talking like what these what these rappers we talk about.
  32. 00:02:20.680 – 00:02:23.060 No, they actually killed somebody, did it, got caught.
  33. 00:02:23.320 – 00:02:23.780 You know what I mean?
  34. 00:02:25.160 – 00:02:27.380 Like drop trafficking, you know what I'm saying?
  35. 00:02:27.540 – 00:02:30.080 Grew up in a church, whatever your story is.
  36. 00:02:30.120 – 00:02:31.380 We got it on there.
  37. 00:02:31.940 – 00:02:33.760 That's on all podcast platforms.
  38. 00:02:34.120 – 00:02:39.220 But from that, God has sort of put into my heart to really bring like revival to Cleveland.
  39. 00:02:39.680 – 00:02:42.900 And and he was like, no, and he was kept coming up.
  40. 00:02:42.900 – 00:02:48.400 It was just on me, like super heavy to just do to have some kind of revival in Cleveland.
  41. 00:02:48.620 – 00:02:52.760 I said, all right, well, my whole my whole heart is unity in the body of Christ.
  42. 00:02:52.860 – 00:02:57.600 Like my nonprofit stands on salvation, discipleship and church unity.
  43. 00:02:58.000 – 00:02:58.640 Those three things.
  44. 00:02:58.640 – 00:03:00.180 I say a revival.
  45. 00:03:00.400 – 00:03:01.540 That's not just doing it once five.
  46. 00:03:02.040 – 00:03:03.340 Let's get a bunch of churches together.
  47. 00:03:03.540 – 00:03:05.280 Let's have a centralized location.
  48. 00:03:06.360 – 00:03:09.260 Unless you know, I love music, so let's do this.
  49. 00:03:09.300 – 00:03:10.600 Let's get ready to baptize people.
  50. 00:03:10.660 – 00:03:12.100 Let's pray to baptize people in the Holy Spirit.
  51. 00:03:12.140 – 00:03:13.480 Let's pray to lead people to the Lord.
  52. 00:03:13.980 – 00:03:15.280 Like, let's let's do this.
  53. 00:03:15.380 – 00:03:16.320 Like, we're going to do it.
  54. 00:03:16.400 – 00:03:19.480 Let's do it big and get a bunch of big a bunch of people involved.
  55. 00:03:20.980 – 00:03:25.100 And I had a couple of churches involved that were that were going to be a part of it.
  56. 00:03:25.540 – 00:03:28.700 But I had had a few Christian hip hop artists on my podcast already.
  57. 00:03:29.140 – 00:03:32.680 And I said, OK, well, I know K Diamond and I know Bruno.
  58. 00:03:32.680 – 00:03:34.320 I said, well, let me hit up.
  59. 00:03:34.400 – 00:03:36.460 Let me hit them up to see if they'd be interested in coming out.
  60. 00:03:36.740 – 00:03:40.000 We had a traditional worship along with a Christian hip hop set.
  61. 00:03:40.820 – 00:03:42.720 So I called Diamond and he was like, what are you thinking?
  62. 00:03:43.280 – 00:03:46.180 And I said, well, I think we had a rappers that y'all go on.
  63. 00:03:46.220 – 00:03:49.780 And then we end the night with the traditional live worship music.
  64. 00:03:50.320 – 00:03:54.480 He was like, you know, my opinion is you should probably have because the artist I was talking to.
  65. 00:03:54.480 – 00:03:56.560 He was like, you know, you should have the rappers going last.
  66. 00:03:57.180 – 00:03:59.260 And I'm like, that ain't no work.
  67. 00:03:59.260 – 00:04:01.660 I say because the if the spirit falls.
  68. 00:04:02.820 – 00:04:06.600 And the work is traditional words when I first I won't have y'all come out at all.
  69. 00:04:06.700 – 00:04:09.300 Like, like my whole thing is I don't want to see anybody go to hell.
  70. 00:04:09.400 – 00:04:11.500 Like why as a Christian, why would you want that?
  71. 00:04:11.860 – 00:04:14.360 You know what I'm saying? So my whole thing was let's get them.
  72. 00:04:14.940 – 00:04:18.060 If this happens, like y'all won't go on for hours.
  73. 00:04:18.240 – 00:04:23.420 You know, because in my head, I'm thinking like, man, I'm talking like revival, revival, like old school tent revival spark.
  74. 00:04:23.720 – 00:04:27.920 OK. But something in me was like, Diamond is making a point.
  75. 00:04:27.920 – 00:04:30.180 And I know and I knew he something was like, he's right.
  76. 00:04:30.260 – 00:04:32.620 But I didn't see why he was right about to run a show.
  77. 00:04:33.240 – 00:04:34.620 So I said, let me let me get you back.
  78. 00:04:34.660 – 00:04:39.480 I need to process some stuff because again, I've been a bit playing my whole life.
  79. 00:04:39.580 – 00:04:43.280 OK. But this part was new, like with with the whole Christian hip hop scene.
  80. 00:04:44.420 – 00:04:49.000 My girlfriend at the time, my wife now, we went down to the House of Blues.
  81. 00:04:49.420 – 00:04:51.180 By the way, this thing was going to be called Unite Cleveland.
  82. 00:04:51.260 – 00:04:54.540 That was going to be that that was going to be the name of this event was Unite Cleveland.
  83. 00:04:55.360 – 00:04:57.720 OK. I like that name.
  84. 00:04:57.980 – 00:05:02.240 You know, I mean, you know, I'm just this kind of self-explanatory.
  85. 00:05:02.480 – 00:05:04.060 Yeah, I mean, I was, you know, that's me.
  86. 00:05:04.120 – 00:05:06.640 Like simple, like, you know, I mean, he could keep the keep the market easy.
  87. 00:05:06.660 – 00:05:08.900 We can just add that up and keep the name straight to the point.
  88. 00:05:08.940 – 00:05:10.100 Like, that's me. Yeah.
  89. 00:05:10.460 – 00:05:15.400 We go down to the beautiful tour that Hobie's having at the House of Blues.
  90. 00:05:17.180 – 00:05:19.300 And we are at the VIP meet and greet.
  91. 00:05:19.760 – 00:05:21.500 And I'm like starting to zone out.
  92. 00:05:21.500 – 00:05:24.320 And I'm zoning out, not because they're interested,
  93. 00:05:24.400 – 00:05:28.180 because the spirit is talking to me and I tap on the shoulder.
  94. 00:05:28.380 – 00:05:30.720 I said, girl, I got this feeling.
  95. 00:05:31.720 – 00:05:37.260 I said, we should we should do the whole concert right here.
  96. 00:05:37.900 – 00:05:40.820 And she turned and looked at me like, who am I about to marry?
  97. 00:05:40.980 – 00:05:42.360 This dude is crazy.
  98. 00:05:42.980 – 00:05:45.640 But she was like, let's prime in.
  99. 00:05:45.700 – 00:05:48.660 But let's pray about it, see how God really wants to do it.
  100. 00:05:49.620 – 00:05:52.180 So, mind you, I had already talked to Bruno and Diamond,
  101. 00:05:52.180 – 00:05:55.040 so I had already had them booked, you know,
  102. 00:05:55.660 – 00:05:59.260 and I said, all right, let me for you had a bit before I've had the venue.
  103. 00:05:59.260 – 00:06:01.320 I had them down like I was OK.
  104. 00:06:01.960 – 00:06:05.360 So I was like, all right, wait a minute, let me let me let me do some homework.
  105. 00:06:05.920 – 00:06:08.020 And I said, but I really think we should do this here.
  106. 00:06:08.080 – 00:06:11.040 I'm like, I really I feel like I feel like there's people
  107. 00:06:11.040 – 00:06:13.900 who will come to a place like this, like at my church,
  108. 00:06:13.900 – 00:06:17.440 we have these things called like connect groups, you know, acts to church type thing.
  109. 00:06:17.440 – 00:06:20.300 Or like we have our church on Sunday, but we had these groups during the week
  110. 00:06:20.300 – 00:06:22.440 where people will meet house to house. Yeah.
  111. 00:06:22.540 – 00:06:25.120 You know, I'm thinking like it's people who go to these connect groups
  112. 00:06:25.120 – 00:06:29.280 or go to concerts before they will set foot in a church for whatever reason.
  113. 00:06:29.340 – 00:06:31.080 Could be church heard because because they're scared,
  114. 00:06:31.120 – 00:06:35.120 because they're accountable, it could be just whatever, whatever the reason.
  115. 00:06:36.100 – 00:06:37.300 I said, let me do some homework.
  116. 00:06:38.100 – 00:06:40.760 Got a cop filled out there the forms for the House of Blues.
  117. 00:06:42.040 – 00:06:43.400 The day I wanted was open.
  118. 00:06:44.280 – 00:06:46.240 Carl Brennan, he was free.
  119. 00:06:46.480 – 00:06:48.080 Carl Diamond, he was free.
  120. 00:06:49.020 – 00:06:50.280 Then this is the crazy part.
  121. 00:06:50.560 – 00:06:53.740 I had already reached out to Miles Minnick's team
  122. 00:06:55.440 – 00:06:58.300 before before all of this, because I wanted Miles to do my podcast
  123. 00:06:58.300 – 00:07:01.200 and his wife, like, first of all, they are a solid couple.
  124. 00:07:01.340 – 00:07:02.760 I loved them. Legit team.
  125. 00:07:02.920 – 00:07:05.060 But she's about her business. Yeah.
  126. 00:07:05.880 – 00:07:09.000 She said, no, we can't do a podcast because he's about to go on tour.
  127. 00:07:09.120 – 00:07:11.100 Miles is actually blowing up at this time.
  128. 00:07:11.100 – 00:07:15.860 Like, I don't think I don't think Glowfest and all that had happened yet.
  129. 00:07:15.960 – 00:07:17.700 I think it was Glowchella at the time.
  130. 00:07:17.700 – 00:07:18.980 I don't remember because it all glow.
  131. 00:07:19.100 – 00:07:19.820 Like, I don't I don't remember.
  132. 00:07:20.160 – 00:07:22.780 But he was she was like, no, you can't do a podcast.
  133. 00:07:23.360 – 00:07:26.660 But I hit them back up. I said, what if I'm throwing a concert?
  134. 00:07:26.820 – 00:07:30.520 Would he be available for this on this date at this time?
  135. 00:07:30.520 – 00:07:34.760 And she was like, that's one of the last two dates he has opened for the year.
  136. 00:07:35.040 – 00:07:36.760 And I said, you got to be.
  137. 00:07:36.900 – 00:07:39.720 I said, Tina, send me that contract right now.
  138. 00:07:39.720 – 00:07:41.280 I'm like, let's get this going.
  139. 00:07:42.400 – 00:07:44.200 She was like, you put a deposit down, I guess.
  140. 00:07:44.420 – 00:07:45.920 Let's let's do this right now.
  141. 00:07:46.320 – 00:07:48.600 So we got Miles Minick.
  142. 00:07:49.260 – 00:07:53.780 So now we at the House of Blues with Miles Minick and Breno as my co-headliners
  143. 00:07:54.320 – 00:07:55.940 on a concert called Unite Cleveland.
  144. 00:07:56.820 – 00:08:00.640 And some of these didn't feel right because I'm like, I'm the only dude from Cleveland on this bill.
  145. 00:08:00.860 – 00:08:02.900 Ain't nobody else. Ain't nobody else involved.
  146. 00:08:03.060 – 00:08:06.020 Not even my girlfriend was not involved from Cleveland.
  147. 00:08:06.060 – 00:08:08.060 I'm the only Cleveland person on this thing.
  148. 00:08:08.060 – 00:08:09.820 That night, I'm doing it.
  149. 00:08:09.820 – 00:08:12.140 So this is the next night after we leave the House of Blues.
  150. 00:08:13.420 – 00:08:14.920 I'm doing a podcast.
  151. 00:08:15.780 – 00:08:18.860 Dude comes on a podcast and he's just talking about the Great Commission.
  152. 00:08:18.960 – 00:08:20.120 And I'm an evangelist to heart.
  153. 00:08:20.240 – 00:08:22.420 But this was not the topic of our show like at all.
  154. 00:08:23.600 – 00:08:29.100 And he's just talking about going beyond this and beyond the walls that and we got to go beyond the walls of the church.
  155. 00:08:29.440 – 00:08:35.260 And like you can see how abruptly I ended the interview because I zoned out like I glossed out.
  156. 00:08:35.260 – 00:08:38.600 I was like, the Holy Spirit is talking to me through you right now.
  157. 00:08:39.720 – 00:08:43.419 I ended that interview so quick, jumped off the computer.
  158. 00:08:43.919 – 00:08:46.440 I was like, we need to change.
  159. 00:08:46.500 – 00:08:47.040 I called the hospital.
  160. 00:08:47.100 – 00:08:48.880 I was like, we need to change this to beyond the walls.
  161. 00:08:49.560 – 00:08:50.840 Like this is not Unite Cleveland.
  162. 00:08:50.940 – 00:08:54.680 We are going beyond the walls of the church to go reach the lost.
  163. 00:08:56.200 – 00:08:57.040 And one more time.
  164. 00:08:57.400 – 00:09:01.000 Yeah, that's powerful. Beyond the walls to reach the lost.
  165. 00:09:01.000 – 00:09:02.120 Yeah. Yes.
  166. 00:09:02.280 – 00:09:04.220 So that's kind of the meaning behind all.
  167. 00:09:05.080 – 00:09:05.100 Yeah.
  168. 00:09:05.220 – 00:09:08.020 The Great Commission walls behind the walls that stand.
  169. 00:09:08.100 – 00:09:10.400 Yeah, kind of divide between the church and the street.
  170. 00:09:10.580 – 00:09:11.520 It's the Great Commission.
  171. 00:09:12.880 – 00:09:21.080 You know, our faith is not meant to be kept, you know, either inside a building or even inside of ourselves.
  172. 00:09:21.460 – 00:09:24.260 It's meant to be to be shared.
  173. 00:09:24.900 – 00:09:27.000 You know, and it's great to talk about.
  174. 00:09:27.280 – 00:09:27.880 I love Jesus.
  175. 00:09:27.880 – 00:09:28.700 I have faith.
  176. 00:09:28.940 – 00:09:31.100 All of this stuff when I'm talking to another Christian.
  177. 00:09:31.660 – 00:09:33.900 But what about that person who doesn't know Jesus?
  178. 00:09:34.320 – 00:09:36.040 So my whole thing is.
  179. 00:09:37.040 – 00:09:41.840 I want to find the, you know, I want to go where where are those people?
  180. 00:09:41.920 – 00:09:47.000 I want to go find those people, not for any my honor, my growth, my glory.
  181. 00:09:47.100 – 00:09:50.580 No, like, how do I bring these people to the same power of Jesus Christ
  182. 00:09:50.580 – 00:09:53.500 so they don't end up doing the stuff I used to do?
  183. 00:09:54.220 – 00:09:54.720 You know what I mean?
  184. 00:09:54.880 – 00:09:56.700 So is that that you used to do?
  185. 00:09:56.700 – 00:09:59.240 God, you talk I'm talking like.
  186. 00:09:59.620 – 00:10:02.800 Man buying drugs by the ounces, I'm talking like nights partying.
  187. 00:10:02.800 – 00:10:05.940 I'm talking having 13 dudes outside of a nightclub waiting for me.
  188. 00:10:06.160 – 00:10:08.820 I'm talking about having my own gun in my head ready to take my own life.
  189. 00:10:09.300 – 00:10:09.620 You know what I'm saying?
  190. 00:10:09.620 – 00:10:12.980 I want to get out there and tell people, no matter what you're going through, there's another way.
  191. 00:10:13.460 – 00:10:15.660 You don't have to keep living this way.
  192. 00:10:15.720 – 00:10:16.520 There's another way.
  193. 00:10:16.660 – 00:10:19.800 There's a there is a path to freedom through Jesus,
  194. 00:10:19.880 – 00:10:21.700 because the only way the father is through the son.
  195. 00:10:22.800 – 00:10:27.360 And if like if you knew somebody was sick and you had the medicine,
  196. 00:10:27.480 – 00:10:29.020 why would you not give it to them?
  197. 00:10:29.120 – 00:10:31.060 Why would I be keeping that from you?
  198. 00:10:31.200 – 00:10:32.000 Right, right.
  199. 00:10:32.200 – 00:10:33.580 He came for the loss.
  200. 00:10:34.000 – 00:10:38.020 So it's easy to sit here and be Christian when I'm with 18 other Christians.
  201. 00:10:38.600 – 00:10:41.880 It's easy to be hard when you're you know, and you would a gang of people.
  202. 00:10:42.080 – 00:10:43.180 You know what I mean?
  203. 00:10:43.240 – 00:10:45.640 But it's like for those people who don't know him.
  204. 00:10:46.940 – 00:10:48.100 That's who we're here for.
  205. 00:10:49.140 – 00:10:51.360 It's not the it's not it's not the concert.
  206. 00:10:51.540 – 00:10:52.920 It's not the it's not even the music.
  207. 00:10:53.000 – 00:10:53.680 It's it's him.
  208. 00:10:53.760 – 00:10:56.520 I want to see souls one for him.
  209. 00:10:57.180 – 00:10:57.660 Wow.
  210. 00:10:58.260 – 00:11:06.100 So we kind of talk about with your story, addiction, depression, suicide, violence.
  211. 00:11:06.680 – 00:11:08.620 How did you kind of step out of that?
  212. 00:11:08.780 – 00:11:09.200 Yeah.
  213. 00:11:10.380 – 00:11:15.320 It took my grandmother passing away to really like show me like you were not untouchable.
  214. 00:11:15.540 – 00:11:16.780 You are not immortal.
  215. 00:11:17.760 – 00:11:19.440 We anybody can get got.
  216. 00:11:19.800 – 00:11:20.680 Anybody can get caught.
  217. 00:11:21.540 – 00:11:26.300 And, you know, it was it was crazy for me because she had beat cancer once
  218. 00:11:26.880 – 00:11:29.740 and then, you know, she came down glider cancer.
  219. 00:11:30.500 – 00:11:35.440 And I got a phone call from my mom one day that basically said, Hey, you know,
  220. 00:11:35.640 – 00:11:37.720 your grandmother was in hospice and due to the type of cancer,
  221. 00:11:37.860 – 00:11:39.380 you asked her the symptoms of what they're saying.
  222. 00:11:39.980 – 00:11:42.180 They're giving her like five days to live, maybe.
  223. 00:11:43.700 – 00:11:46.180 And, you know, I wasn't following Jesus at the time.
  224. 00:11:46.180 – 00:11:47.760 Like I was still doing my thing.
  225. 00:11:48.560 – 00:11:52.160 And I got another phone call from another family member that basically said,
  226. 00:11:52.700 – 00:11:54.660 you know, your grandmother is going to be fine.
  227. 00:11:54.700 – 00:11:56.040 I don't know who started the rumor.
  228. 00:11:57.060 – 00:12:00.260 Well, you know, I had I hadn't been processing my my feelings
  229. 00:12:00.260 – 00:12:03.420 and emotions were processed through drugs, through alcohol, through nights out,
  230. 00:12:03.460 – 00:12:09.520 to chase some women like my brain is like, yo, I want my hero to rise up again.
  231. 00:12:09.700 – 00:12:12.660 But while my mom lied to me, so my head is spinning.
  232. 00:12:12.660 – 00:12:15.560 I remember sitting still for like 30 straight minutes,
  233. 00:12:16.080 – 00:12:17.680 just being like, man, this is crazy.
  234. 00:12:17.700 – 00:12:19.020 But somehow I knew to go pray.
  235. 00:12:19.720 – 00:12:23.380 You know, so I went in my room, shut the door, got on my knees.
  236. 00:12:23.480 – 00:12:25.200 I'm living in Lakewood, Ohio at the time.
  237. 00:12:25.780 – 00:12:27.680 And I said, I said that prayer.
  238. 00:12:27.820 – 00:12:30.060 So many people pray, God, if you're real,
  239. 00:12:31.360 – 00:12:35.600 make yourself real to me, but I need to know when she's going to die.
  240. 00:12:36.320 – 00:12:38.360 I live by the railroad tracks in Lakewood.
  241. 00:12:38.480 – 00:12:40.300 So the train becomes like white noise.
  242. 00:12:40.300 – 00:12:42.240 Right. That train goes by.
  243. 00:12:42.700 – 00:12:44.840 It blows his horn so loud.
  244. 00:12:44.940 – 00:12:49.000 I jump out of my skin and I was living there and it blew his horn three times.
  245. 00:12:49.800 – 00:12:52.520 And I had this crazy piece that I can't explain.
  246. 00:12:52.600 – 00:12:55.640 And I said, she's going to die in three days.
  247. 00:12:56.100 – 00:12:58.400 My grandmother is going to die in three days.
  248. 00:12:59.100 – 00:13:02.100 You just gave me what I asked for Saturday morning.
  249. 00:13:02.200 – 00:13:03.780 First thing, six a.m.
  250. 00:13:03.780 – 00:13:06.900 She was gone. I said, all right, Lord, I'm yours.
  251. 00:13:08.260 – 00:13:11.680 So that's that's what and did it all happen right away?
  252. 00:13:11.720 – 00:13:13.060 No, it did not.
  253. 00:13:13.980 – 00:13:17.640 Some of the some of that lifestyle was still too close to me.
  254. 00:13:17.680 – 00:13:18.860 I didn't put enough distance.
  255. 00:13:18.960 – 00:13:20.400 Some of the stuff radically came off.
  256. 00:13:20.500 – 00:13:21.900 Some of the stuff didn't radically.
  257. 00:13:22.040 – 00:13:26.640 Some of it lingered, you know, and that's why it's important.
  258. 00:13:26.880 – 00:13:28.380 Like we reap what we sow.
  259. 00:13:28.440 – 00:13:30.300 So it's important that we sow good seed.
  260. 00:13:30.560 – 00:13:31.860 It's important that we sow good seed.
  261. 00:13:31.960 – 00:13:33.940 So that's what really that was.
  262. 00:13:33.940 – 00:13:34.840 That was a catalyst.
  263. 00:13:35.360 – 00:13:36.020 That was a catalyst.
  264. 00:13:36.460 – 00:13:40.880 And then we had the Azusa conference that came here in 2017.
  265. 00:13:41.940 – 00:13:43.800 And that's what I really rededicated my life to Christ.
  266. 00:13:43.880 – 00:13:44.820 Got serious about my walk.
  267. 00:13:46.880 – 00:13:49.520 Now, you know, you heard the saying death come in threes
  268. 00:13:49.520 – 00:13:53.100 and you said three days and then I don't know if you believe in angel numbers,
  269. 00:13:53.840 – 00:13:58.340 but like one, two, three kind of signifies new beginnings.
  270. 00:13:59.980 – 00:14:01.800 But that's well, that's definitely deep.
  271. 00:14:01.800 – 00:14:03.820 And, you know, lost my grandmother's son.
  272. 00:14:04.180 – 00:14:05.440 Definitely could feel for that.
  273. 00:14:05.700 – 00:14:10.720 And it is a wake up call and has you think and realize and kind of reflect.
  274. 00:14:11.040 – 00:14:14.280 And I'm glad you took that reflection time, that prayer time,
  275. 00:14:14.280 – 00:14:15.760 because a lot of people don't.
  276. 00:14:15.760 – 00:14:20.160 Needs them alive or they fall back into their old ways, the negative ways.
  277. 00:14:20.760 – 00:14:22.820 And that's that's good that you've been through it
  278. 00:14:22.820 – 00:14:25.160 so you can be a testimony to early to others.
  279. 00:14:26.680 – 00:14:29.600 So going back to Beyond the Walls.
  280. 00:14:31.540 – 00:14:36.480 So compare the first one to what we can expect for number two.
  281. 00:14:40.860 – 00:14:43.420 It's going to be it's going to be it's going to be different.
  282. 00:14:43.660 – 00:14:44.740 It really is.
  283. 00:14:45.220 – 00:14:49.440 I'm a little bit more mature now in the sense of that was my first show.
  284. 00:14:50.920 – 00:14:53.340 And people would tell you that when they were backstage,
  285. 00:14:53.420 – 00:14:55.980 I'm repeating what a lot of people have said on my podcast.
  286. 00:14:55.980 – 00:14:58.040 They didn't know that was my first show.
  287. 00:14:59.060 – 00:15:02.980 That's how I know is the anointing of God, because you don't just wake up.
  288. 00:15:03.100 – 00:15:05.280 I'm going to go host a concert downtown, the House of Blues,
  289. 00:15:05.360 – 00:15:07.020 one of the biggest artists in Christian hip hop.
  290. 00:15:07.340 – 00:15:08.420 Like what you don't think.
  291. 00:15:08.680 – 00:15:10.060 But that's what happened.
  292. 00:15:12.340 – 00:15:18.000 So, you know, it was there was just things that I would have done differently.
  293. 00:15:19.320 – 00:15:22.060 Like then, you know, now everything is hindsight, right?
  294. 00:15:22.860 – 00:15:25.380 There's been more marketing behind Beyond the Walls, too.
  295. 00:15:25.380 – 00:15:29.200 There's been a lot more like I'll tell you, there's been a lot more faith I've had.
  296. 00:15:29.360 – 00:15:33.920 This one has stretched my faith because this event is donor funded.
  297. 00:15:34.400 – 00:15:38.220 This is all donations that have been made, cash donations.
  298. 00:15:38.360 – 00:15:40.480 And my top donor for this passed away.
  299. 00:15:41.200 – 00:15:42.960 So I have really had to.
  300. 00:15:43.300 – 00:15:47.920 And he, you know, he was he was already changing his his mind as far as like,
  301. 00:15:48.000 – 00:15:51.200 I don't know if we really want to support this anymore, because I'm not, you know,
  302. 00:15:51.200 – 00:15:56.380 he probably didn't see he didn't see the vision, you know, the same way, you know,
  303. 00:15:56.380 – 00:15:59.480 his whole thing was the mission trips and all those things, which we're still doing.
  304. 00:16:00.060 – 00:16:04.220 But at the same time, like, I'm not sure that he saw the vision with his whole concert thing.
  305. 00:16:04.480 – 00:16:06.020 And I get it. I want to understand.
  306. 00:16:06.180 – 00:16:10.740 But he passed away before we could even have like really dive into this conversation.
  307. 00:16:11.000 – 00:16:14.920 So I was like, oh, man, what are we going to do?
  308. 00:16:14.920 – 00:16:18.920 But when I tell you that somebody just messaged me.
  309. 00:16:19.480 – 00:16:23.080 Well, somebody just responded to me probably a week or so ago,
  310. 00:16:23.300 – 00:16:25.320 covering the rest of the cost for this event.
  311. 00:16:25.700 – 00:16:28.220 God is faithful. God is faithful.
  312. 00:16:30.320 – 00:16:34.540 The the flow that I say to anybody, especially you're in interest in a concert.
  313. 00:16:35.080 – 00:16:36.840 The concert has to make sense.
  314. 00:16:36.900 – 00:16:38.760 And that means the lineup has to make sense.
  315. 00:16:38.960 – 00:16:40.320 That's what I mean by the flow of the show.
  316. 00:16:40.320 – 00:16:44.560 So the actual runner show, all of these all of these guys have songs together.
  317. 00:16:45.080 – 00:16:47.100 So you're going to see a lot more collaboration.
  318. 00:16:47.780 – 00:16:49.360 And they're all for the Midwest.
  319. 00:16:49.780 – 00:16:53.840 So you're about to this is this is really about to be a hometown, hometown show.
  320. 00:16:54.500 – 00:16:57.880 So it's a good point, because like even keeping that date,
  321. 00:16:58.300 – 00:17:02.880 that kind of like that grit and that the beauty from a struggle type of energy
  322. 00:17:02.880 – 00:17:05.319 from the Midwest, specifically Cleveland.
  323. 00:17:05.319 – 00:17:09.460 Like that's that's good to have that flow and that same type of energy
  324. 00:17:09.460 – 00:17:12.040 and go out back to the House of Blues.
  325. 00:17:12.140 – 00:17:13.819 Now, it wasn't free, was it?
  326. 00:17:14.099 – 00:17:15.319 No, absolutely not.
  327. 00:17:15.780 – 00:17:18.460 So let's let's let's kind of let's kind of talk about now there's
  328. 00:17:19.260 – 00:17:21.520 you know, my audience is a creative entrepreneur.
  329. 00:17:21.819 – 00:17:23.140 So we talk a lot of business.
  330. 00:17:23.640 – 00:17:25.599 So let's talk about some numbers. Yeah.
  331. 00:17:25.859 – 00:17:30.140 What is like that break even ticket sale number?
  332. 00:17:33.410 – 00:17:36.190 That's tough because the thing was donated.
  333. 00:17:37.210 – 00:17:43.090 I'll tell you this, the venue itself costs about four thousand for me.
  334. 00:17:43.170 – 00:17:44.590 It costs forty five hundred.
  335. 00:17:45.610 – 00:17:48.250 That's also because I paid close your liquor license for the night.
  336. 00:17:48.630 – 00:17:52.290 I did not want I did not want that attached to my bed
  337. 00:17:52.990 – 00:17:54.610 because of what we're trying to do.
  338. 00:17:54.770 – 00:17:58.530 And because I did a lot of people with addiction, the lab.
  339. 00:17:58.610 – 00:18:00.090 I'm not about to put that out there.
  340. 00:18:00.170 – 00:18:03.010 All right. I guess the last thing I need is you to come to our concert,
  341. 00:18:03.070 – 00:18:05.970 get turned up, turned up, drive home, crash, you know,
  342. 00:18:05.970 – 00:18:07.390 and you just left the Christian phone.
  343. 00:18:07.450 – 00:18:09.250 No, we we don't we don't do that.
  344. 00:18:11.490 – 00:18:13.070 Here's what here's what I'm going to say.
  345. 00:18:15.210 – 00:18:17.150 Let's just I'll give you I'll give you this number.
  346. 00:18:17.310 – 00:18:21.370 Let's just say you could make fifteen thousand dollars off ticket sales.
  347. 00:18:22.770 – 00:18:27.250 Your artists, unless you have donations coming in, should not eclipse that number.
  348. 00:18:28.570 – 00:18:32.070 You know what I mean? So like I if I had to pat on my own pocket
  349. 00:18:32.070 – 00:18:34.530 for artists, it was twenty five thousand dollars.
  350. 00:18:34.530 – 00:18:38.670 But I would stand to make fifteen. That's crazy. It's crazy.
  351. 00:18:38.990 – 00:18:43.370 All right. So you you want to make sure that like that, you know, like off the off the rip.
  352. 00:18:43.450 – 00:18:46.790 This is the percentage that the that the venue is going to take out.
  353. 00:18:47.590 – 00:18:50.510 This is what the artists are. This is what the artists are going to cost.
  354. 00:18:51.350 – 00:18:52.890 This is what I stand to make.
  355. 00:18:53.910 – 00:18:56.550 But here's what I want to say. Anybody who is looking to get in.
  356. 00:18:56.570 – 00:18:59.050 This is my rule of thumb. I'm telling this to anybody.
  357. 00:18:59.050 – 00:19:03.730 If you are performing any of my shows, they are all paid by sound check.
  358. 00:19:04.610 – 00:19:06.510 So to me, ticket sales don't exist.
  359. 00:19:07.110 – 00:19:11.190 I do not do anything based off ticket sale revenue.
  360. 00:19:12.030 – 00:19:16.970 I pretend like when we get in the room, we're immediately in the green.
  361. 00:19:17.630 – 00:19:20.070 Everything is covered. Everybody's paid. We're done.
  362. 00:19:20.450 – 00:19:24.230 Ticket sales is a bonus for the second you start promising money you don't have.
  363. 00:19:24.490 – 00:19:26.970 I mean, come on, man, you ain't got a dollar until you really got to.
  364. 00:19:26.970 – 00:19:31.610 You know what I'm saying? So like until until the money is in hand, I'm not counting that.
  365. 00:19:32.490 – 00:19:36.330 I don't want to ever. Yeah, if you perform here, I'm going to pay you based off our ticket sales.
  366. 00:19:36.450 – 00:19:40.290 What if we sell 20 tickets? I'm not saying we're going to, but that's crazy.
  367. 00:19:41.010 – 00:19:45.190 And I heard truly nightmare stories about artists not getting paid, having a lawyer up.
  368. 00:19:45.310 – 00:19:47.310 People promise the self onto venue sales.
  369. 00:19:47.670 – 00:19:50.370 Yeah, I don't I don't mess with that. I don't mess with that.
  370. 00:19:50.570 – 00:19:53.910 So I appreciate that. I know that's indirectly answer your question.
  371. 00:19:54.530 – 00:19:56.910 And by artists, that's not a good context.
  372. 00:19:57.050 – 00:20:00.010 But I'm trying to give it to the point. I'm not trying to put nobody's base
  373. 00:20:00.010 – 00:20:01.630 out there either for how much they make. You know what I'm saying?
  374. 00:20:01.730 – 00:20:04.330 It's like there's I'm feeling so discreet that you don't know.
  375. 00:20:04.550 – 00:20:07.370 I don't want to put so that's why I'm working with those numbers.
  376. 00:20:07.490 – 00:20:12.730 But your your cost should not exceed what you can make.
  377. 00:20:13.250 – 00:20:15.850 But you see, you should not be you know what I mean?
  378. 00:20:16.030 – 00:20:22.210 Like you should not be coming out of pocket and being in the red all the time for these shows.
  379. 00:20:22.210 – 00:20:28.010 So I know we said it jokingly, but I really am already working on Beyond The Walls three.
  380. 00:20:28.990 – 00:20:32.610 And I already know how much that is going to cost budget wise.
  381. 00:20:32.630 – 00:20:36.490 So I know exactly what I'm going to need to have raised by November of twenty twenty six.
  382. 00:20:36.830 – 00:20:40.970 I'm starting that process now because you have a vision for something you can't be
  383. 00:20:40.970 – 00:20:44.450 in the same place as the people who are about to attend your event.
  384. 00:20:44.470 – 00:20:48.830 I got to be ahead of them. So I'm playing twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight.
  385. 00:20:49.370 – 00:20:54.190 I'm not going to stop until this is a brown stay until this is until this is at the Kaz arena.
  386. 00:20:54.250 – 00:20:55.870 So we're doing this at Progressive Field.
  387. 00:20:56.430 – 00:21:01.970 You know, like there's there's no reason why it can't be done other than somebody saying it can't be done.
  388. 00:21:02.450 – 00:21:04.290 And then it'll it'll happen.
  389. 00:21:04.370 – 00:21:06.390 There's always a can't until it happens.
  390. 00:21:06.790 – 00:21:12.390 And I'm not in that camp. So and when is Beyond The Walls to November 1st,
  391. 00:21:12.390 – 00:21:16.290 November 1st, House of Blues VIP kicks off at six p.m.
  392. 00:21:16.290 – 00:21:21.310 Six p.m. Oh, doors open and not the not the walls,
  393. 00:21:21.430 – 00:21:26.370 but the doors are open and six p.m. November 1st Beyond The Wall.
  394. 00:21:27.510 – 00:21:29.550 So yes, I must.
  395. 00:21:29.650 – 00:21:34.650 I'm a third show it to the other benefit that I have to throw in this at a venue like that.
  396. 00:21:35.390 – 00:21:38.190 I'm not a sound guy. I'm not a lighting guy like that.
  397. 00:21:38.270 – 00:21:43.830 The media part, though I'm in the media world, that is not my background.
  398. 00:21:43.830 – 00:21:46.530 And God was just like, God gave me a courage.
  399. 00:21:46.610 – 00:21:48.430 He gave me a voice. Those are my gifts and he gave me.
  400. 00:21:48.530 – 00:21:49.210 So I'm in this vein.
  401. 00:21:50.030 – 00:21:53.390 But when you're in the venue like that, all that comes with it.
  402. 00:21:53.390 – 00:21:56.390 Sound guy, light guy, tech guy, Mike's equipment.
  403. 00:21:56.610 – 00:21:59.450 So it's worth the money to rent a space like that.
  404. 00:21:59.670 – 00:22:01.450 It's worth it. Totally worth it.
  405. 00:22:01.590 – 00:22:06.810 So even as you say that for my new entrepreneurs that, you know,
  406. 00:22:06.930 – 00:22:08.990 who call them solo entrepreneurs working by themselves.
  407. 00:22:08.990 – 00:22:10.510 Yeah. Do everything by themselves.
  408. 00:22:11.110 – 00:22:16.030 How important is it hiring a professional or a team, building a team around them?
  409. 00:22:16.490 – 00:22:18.370 It's OK. You're not an expert in everything.
  410. 00:22:19.730 – 00:22:24.250 It's OK to not be by yourself, too, because none of us are really self-made.
  411. 00:22:24.430 – 00:22:29.770 If you go home and you turn your lights on, somebody had a part to play in that.
  412. 00:22:30.690 – 00:22:33.390 I don't believe in the whole self-made concept.
  413. 00:22:34.010 – 00:22:38.790 So when you asked another difference between last year and this year, I got my squad with me this year.
  414. 00:22:38.790 – 00:22:41.830 I'm building a team with me.
  415. 00:22:42.730 – 00:22:48.070 My wife is going to be the one running the show and making sure everything is flowing fine backstage.
  416. 00:22:48.630 – 00:22:53.490 I have my own security team to make sure that everything is going smooth backstage.
  417. 00:22:53.850 – 00:22:54.750 I have my own DJ.
  418. 00:22:55.270 – 00:22:57.630 Shout out to my dog, Eli Williams, because that's my boy.
  419. 00:22:59.150 – 00:23:05.390 I have my main videographer and photographer, which is A from Breakthrough Studio.
  420. 00:23:05.450 – 00:23:07.810 I'm not going to say his last name, but I don't know if you want me to.
  421. 00:23:07.810 – 00:23:10.070 So, you know what I mean? So great talent. Great.
  422. 00:23:10.230 – 00:23:13.950 I know he is a monster. Eddie is a monster.
  423. 00:23:14.430 – 00:23:21.310 So like that's my like I'm building my squad because it's like, all right, we're here now.
  424. 00:23:22.070 – 00:23:26.270 But when God launches this into the stratosphere, these are still the people I want with me.
  425. 00:23:26.270 – 00:23:28.870 You know what I'm saying? Who've been down with me since day one.
  426. 00:23:29.090 – 00:23:30.890 Through the good, the bad, the ugly. You know what I mean?
  427. 00:23:30.990 – 00:23:34.030 These are this is my core group who I want here.
  428. 00:23:34.030 – 00:23:41.030 So, you know, those those people, that's that's a big difference from from one into is having that structure.
  429. 00:23:41.050 – 00:23:44.690 And honestly, I learned that because I was just at young Chris's concert.
  430. 00:23:46.050 – 00:23:53.230 It was I was at HBO Fest and, you know, I was running security for for the event,
  431. 00:23:53.750 – 00:23:55.370 but I was his personal security.
  432. 00:23:55.710 – 00:24:00.230 And then miles minute came, so I was also his personal security.
  433. 00:24:00.790 – 00:24:06.950 So. And I got a chance to really watch how these artists are moving behind the scenes.
  434. 00:24:07.790 – 00:24:11.270 And it helped me see like some of their preferences and how, like,
  435. 00:24:12.430 – 00:24:16.550 Don ready young Chris were communicating back and forth and how, like, even though I was ahead of security,
  436. 00:24:16.630 – 00:24:20.870 I didn't even know miles minute was coming, you know, things like that.
  437. 00:24:20.890 – 00:24:25.850 So just seeing like how that team was so tight knit.
  438. 00:24:25.850 – 00:24:30.430 I said, I need that for beyond the walls to and beyond.
  439. 00:24:31.350 – 00:24:36.210 So I need to have a crew back there with me once so I can just be the host
  440. 00:24:36.750 – 00:24:41.010 because young Chris was overseeing that concert like it let him just be an artist.
  441. 00:24:41.590 – 00:24:45.370 He never had his hands on all the administration for that night like I did last year.
  442. 00:24:45.470 – 00:24:48.850 Like last year, my hands was in everything, including picking up the artists.
  443. 00:24:49.050 – 00:24:54.230 And I was I missed like soundtrack was delayed and I missed things that I should not have missed.
  444. 00:24:54.230 – 00:24:56.750 So this year, I'll be there for soundcheck.
  445. 00:24:56.910 – 00:24:59.370 My wife will be handling the stuff that she needs to handle backstage.
  446. 00:24:59.590 – 00:25:02.370 I have a security team moving the artists back and forth.
  447. 00:25:02.370 – 00:25:07.410 I don't have to do all that. I will have some runners, you know, some people I can trust to,
  448. 00:25:07.830 – 00:25:12.270 you know, understand this is unto God, you know, and not have stars in our eyes
  449. 00:25:12.270 – 00:25:15.470 because there's no celebrities in this Christian space like that.
  450. 00:25:15.510 – 00:25:20.390 That doesn't exist. If you if you believe you're in a celebrity in a Christian space, you need to go pray.
  451. 00:25:20.870 – 00:25:22.750 This is an act of one and it's Jesus.
  452. 00:25:23.630 – 00:25:27.050 So we need to make sure that like people get it when they're backstage.
  453. 00:25:27.250 – 00:25:30.630 This is not this is not time to give them your mixtape.
  454. 00:25:30.670 – 00:25:32.990 This is not time to be like, oh, let me get this interview.
  455. 00:25:33.330 – 00:25:36.130 Like we're here to serve right now, you know, and getting people wrong,
  456. 00:25:36.150 – 00:25:38.070 but who really understand that was was key.
  457. 00:25:38.190 – 00:25:43.010 So that that's going to be a huge, huge difference from the two power of team.
  458. 00:25:43.010 – 00:25:48.070 So as the team continues to build, what is something we can expect even beyond
  459. 00:25:48.070 – 00:25:55.670 like Beyond The Walls 3.0, a little snippet, a little slither.
  460. 00:25:56.070 – 00:25:58.390 I'm going to tell you the expectation.
  461. 00:25:58.670 – 00:26:01.470 Yeah, something that you've been thinking about, like, should I experiment?
  462. 00:26:01.610 – 00:26:04.690 Should I do this? Beyond The Walls 3.
  463. 00:26:05.330 – 00:26:07.830 The two dates are already being held by the House of Blues.
  464. 00:26:09.270 – 00:26:13.990 And that headliner and co-headliner announcement is coming sooner to realize.
  465. 00:26:14.690 – 00:26:16.210 We're about to rock and roll all the fans.
  466. 00:26:17.290 – 00:26:17.910 You're Cleveland.
  467. 00:26:18.030 – 00:26:19.910 Cleveland isn't all for that music.
  468. 00:26:20.590 – 00:26:25.990 Like Bone Thugs and Harmony kind of preaching that we kind of say that street
  469. 00:26:26.510 – 00:26:30.530 disciple, that street gossip, like for rock and roll, Hall of Fame.
  470. 00:26:30.690 – 00:26:32.190 There's another icon in the city.
  471. 00:26:32.590 – 00:26:34.290 I know I never thought about having an event there.
  472. 00:26:34.570 – 00:26:36.070 I didn't even know. I ain't all of you.
  473. 00:26:36.270 – 00:26:37.730 You just gave me an idea.
  474. 00:26:38.250 – 00:26:40.270 That's because I'm I'll say this.
  475. 00:26:40.270 – 00:26:43.470 Will this event stay at the House of Blues?
  476. 00:26:44.070 – 00:26:44.510 No.
  477. 00:26:44.770 – 00:26:45.570 Will it stay in Cleveland?
  478. 00:26:46.790 – 00:26:47.850 It's going to stay in Cleveland.
  479. 00:26:48.070 – 00:26:49.670 OK, but that.
  480. 00:26:50.270 – 00:26:52.130 So it's going to stay in Cleveland.
  481. 00:26:52.630 – 00:26:55.110 But I have some plans to expand this out.
  482. 00:26:56.070 – 00:26:59.310 And I'm going to I'm going to I got some I'm in the works with a lot of
  483. 00:26:59.310 – 00:27:03.490 things right now as far as what this could what this is going to evolve into.
  484. 00:27:03.610 – 00:27:05.910 It's not a matter of could it really is a matter of when.
  485. 00:27:06.790 – 00:27:09.250 So it sounds like it's business beyond it.
  486. 00:27:09.410 – 00:27:09.770 Oh, yeah.
  487. 00:27:10.110 – 00:27:12.430 And I think that's what I would tell any any Christian.
  488. 00:27:12.430 – 00:27:14.230 Like, do the business upfront.
  489. 00:27:14.430 – 00:27:15.910 Do it with character, do it with integrity.
  490. 00:27:15.970 – 00:27:17.990 Do it right, because you're doing it on the Lord.
  491. 00:27:18.190 – 00:27:19.910 Because as soon as you put tell somebody you're a Christian,
  492. 00:27:19.990 – 00:27:21.070 they're looking at you different than you are.
  493. 00:27:21.630 – 00:27:23.130 They just are.
  494. 00:27:23.150 – 00:27:25.830 For whatever the reason is, good, bad, ugly, positive, negative,
  495. 00:27:25.890 – 00:27:26.910 whatever it is, they're looking.
  496. 00:27:27.510 – 00:27:29.770 It's you're you're in a different you're in a different lane.
  497. 00:27:29.930 – 00:27:30.730 Real humans.
  498. 00:27:31.010 – 00:27:31.810 Yeah. Right.
  499. 00:27:32.350 – 00:27:34.210 So is this business to it?
  500. 00:27:34.430 – 00:27:36.090 And then like the ministry.
  501. 00:27:36.190 – 00:27:36.550 Right.
  502. 00:27:36.970 – 00:27:38.110 How do they overlap?
  503. 00:27:38.250 – 00:27:39.430 And then when do you turn it on?
  504. 00:27:39.450 – 00:27:40.290 When do you turn it off?
  505. 00:27:40.290 – 00:27:42.930 I never turn off the Jesus part of it.
  506. 00:27:42.930 – 00:27:44.170 That is always on.
  507. 00:27:44.310 – 00:27:45.550 That is that's with me.
  508. 00:27:45.550 – 00:27:46.310 That's a non-negotiable.
  509. 00:27:47.150 – 00:27:47.510 You know what I mean?
  510. 00:27:47.550 – 00:27:50.610 Like if I so that is always there.
  511. 00:27:51.070 – 00:27:54.110 So for me on the on the back end, I'm praying.
  512. 00:27:54.450 – 00:27:57.150 I'm fast and I'm praying and fast with my wife.
  513. 00:27:57.290 – 00:27:58.670 God, who do you want at this concert?
  514. 00:27:59.130 – 00:27:59.590 You know what I mean?
  515. 00:27:59.630 – 00:28:00.570 Like, when do you want it?
  516. 00:28:01.190 – 00:28:03.690 You know, I plan on expanding this out to other cities.
  517. 00:28:04.210 – 00:28:06.510 So when you say, well, it's staying clean, it's going to stay in Cleveland.
  518. 00:28:06.590 – 00:28:07.930 But it's going to be this.
  519. 00:28:08.110 – 00:28:09.230 This is not it.
  520. 00:28:09.230 – 00:28:12.430 This is just my this is just a jump off.
  521. 00:28:13.890 – 00:28:14.870 This is home base.
  522. 00:28:15.450 – 00:28:17.090 But this is always going to be here.
  523. 00:28:18.930 – 00:28:20.670 But then it's OK.
  524. 00:28:20.810 – 00:28:23.190 So, Lord, let's just say you want.
  525. 00:28:23.410 – 00:28:26.530 D.K.G. Young Chris and Brennan were beyond the walls, too.
  526. 00:28:26.710 – 00:28:28.110 Well, there is a business side to this.
  527. 00:28:28.430 – 00:28:29.570 You got to fundraise for the money.
  528. 00:28:29.990 – 00:28:31.070 We have to sign the contracts.
  529. 00:28:31.230 – 00:28:32.790 We have to honor those contracts.
  530. 00:28:32.910 – 00:28:37.350 We have to do it with integrity and make sure because in this case,
  531. 00:28:37.350 – 00:28:40.410 if I damage that relationship, I'm damaging their walk with God.
  532. 00:28:40.830 – 00:28:41.290 You know what I'm saying?
  533. 00:28:41.430 – 00:28:44.950 I'm now being a stumbling block for them and their and their journey with Christ.
  534. 00:28:45.770 – 00:28:47.150 So let's not do that.
  535. 00:28:47.230 – 00:28:49.630 Let's let's learn how to navigate these waters.
  536. 00:28:49.730 – 00:28:53.350 So I started talking and I'm blessed because I started talking to Bailey
  537. 00:28:54.150 – 00:28:58.190 Unterweger, who is who is manages Christian Hip Hop Art is doing show promotion.
  538. 00:28:59.030 – 00:29:00.830 You know, Eli Williams, I got it.
  539. 00:29:00.830 – 00:29:02.310 I got a lot of game from Kay Diamond.
  540. 00:29:02.430 – 00:29:03.910 I got a lot of game from Mike Mack.
  541. 00:29:04.050 – 00:29:06.030 I got a lot of game from DJ Focus.
  542. 00:29:06.030 – 00:29:09.430 You got to be like God put some OGs in my life,
  543. 00:29:09.950 – 00:29:12.650 like early on his process to kind of take me to school.
  544. 00:29:12.650 – 00:29:14.830 And I mean, it was quick.
  545. 00:29:15.850 – 00:29:17.350 It was it was like the summer school version.
  546. 00:29:17.370 – 00:29:20.410 Of course, it was like they should take 14 weeks.
  547. 00:29:21.430 – 00:29:22.630 Here's four days.
  548. 00:29:24.190 – 00:29:26.610 So I'm just learning, just learning that real fast.
  549. 00:29:27.190 – 00:29:28.510 So, yeah.
  550. 00:29:28.510 – 00:29:32.270 But the business, the business needs to be handled right and with integrity.
  551. 00:29:32.310 – 00:29:34.990 So there's contracts run everything, you know,
  552. 00:29:34.990 – 00:29:37.850 making sure the market and stuff gets planned out, because that's my weakness.
  553. 00:29:37.970 – 00:29:40.930 And I'm stepping my game up a little bit in that slowly, but surely.
  554. 00:29:42.410 – 00:29:45.330 So, well, going back to House of Blues,
  555. 00:29:46.990 – 00:29:51.610 this is standing Cleveland, everyone standing Cleveland behind the wall, standing Cleveland.
  556. 00:29:53.110 – 00:29:57.190 But you like the House of Blues, you love the system that's at the House of Blues.
  557. 00:29:57.450 – 00:30:00.190 They are these different House of Blues in different cities.
  558. 00:30:00.190 – 00:30:03.790 Ever thought about just turning different House of Blues in different cities?
  559. 00:30:05.050 – 00:30:06.150 Thought about it.
  560. 00:30:06.210 – 00:30:06.950 Thought about it.
  561. 00:30:08.130 – 00:30:11.630 You know, it's we're not there yet.
  562. 00:30:12.170 – 00:30:16.230 I feel like the thing about running a business is a business one,
  563. 00:30:16.230 – 00:30:18.650 but also a nonprofit is overhead cost.
  564. 00:30:18.990 – 00:30:23.150 I want to make sure I keep that minimum, you know, and then.
  565. 00:30:23.710 – 00:30:26.490 But it's not a say no, it's a we're just not there yet.
  566. 00:30:26.490 – 00:30:29.990 But doing this in multiple cities is the plan.
  567. 00:30:30.810 – 00:30:32.370 So that is that is the plan.
  568. 00:30:32.990 – 00:30:40.150 So you say you have donors and like the asset for money is it's a task, but it's fundraising.
  569. 00:30:40.850 – 00:30:44.690 How do you get these donors to help you fundraise?
  570. 00:30:44.970 – 00:30:47.430 You share the vision with them, you know, and you share the cause.
  571. 00:30:47.710 – 00:30:52.110 Like, for example, this year, a portion of every ticket sold is supporting Youth for Christ.
  572. 00:30:52.110 – 00:30:54.890 So young men who've been incarcerated,
  573. 00:30:55.710 – 00:30:59.790 who are in who are either in the juvenile system right now incarcerated or coming out.
  574. 00:31:00.130 – 00:31:03.150 I'm making sure they have books that they need to repass a third grade level
  575. 00:31:03.850 – 00:31:06.790 because and I only speak in Ohio because I can't speak of this in other places.
  576. 00:31:06.790 – 00:31:10.950 But if you are incarcerated in Ohio, odds are you can't repass a third grade level.
  577. 00:31:11.410 – 00:31:15.770 It's the one illiteracy and incarceration go hand in hand in this state.
  578. 00:31:15.950 – 00:31:19.930 So I'm making sure that the books that need to repass whatever level that they're at.
  579. 00:31:19.930 – 00:31:25.030 I also partner with PNC Bank to make sure they're going to teach these these men financial literacy courses
  580. 00:31:25.030 – 00:31:28.470 and financial freedom courses so they understand how to spend the money when they get out.
  581. 00:31:28.850 – 00:31:30.530 And if they are out, same thing.
  582. 00:31:30.550 – 00:31:31.850 We make sure they have the books you need.
  583. 00:31:31.930 – 00:31:34.990 We make sure the courses you need so you can stay out the system.
  584. 00:31:35.630 – 00:31:37.030 For sure, there's another way.
  585. 00:31:37.390 – 00:31:41.070 Because if you can be a drug dealer, you can be a car salesman, right?
  586. 00:31:41.830 – 00:31:45.790 Like, if you know how to hustle, you can be an insurance agent like who?
  587. 00:31:45.890 – 00:31:47.930 But somebody's got to reach back and tell these dudes that.
  588. 00:31:48.830 – 00:31:50.990 So this is the reach back.
  589. 00:31:51.230 – 00:31:52.930 The pool is telling you there are there is other ways.
  590. 00:31:52.990 – 00:31:53.950 You have other options.
  591. 00:31:54.690 – 00:31:55.830 I was going to say that.
  592. 00:31:55.950 – 00:31:57.230 So there's other ways.
  593. 00:31:57.310 – 00:31:59.790 Just like it's all sales at the end of the day.
  594. 00:31:59.790 – 00:32:03.530 And even to the point if they're not selling a product, they're selling themselves.
  595. 00:32:05.190 – 00:32:06.030 We all have a vision.
  596. 00:32:06.190 – 00:32:07.830 We all have these dreams.
  597. 00:32:08.530 – 00:32:11.150 Even like you go into donors, you're telling a vision.
  598. 00:32:11.370 – 00:32:13.150 Yeah, you're selling a vision, right?
  599. 00:32:13.450 – 00:32:14.330 So yeah, that's powerful.
  600. 00:32:15.910 – 00:32:19.330 So let's dive into the podcast.
  601. 00:32:20.450 – 00:32:21.270 What does that entail?
  602. 00:32:21.610 – 00:32:26.590 So I decided that I wasn't going to do the podcast alone.
  603. 00:32:26.730 – 00:32:33.310 I wanted to have like guests come on the show to tell their stories so it can be an encouragement to anybody.
  604. 00:32:34.110 – 00:32:39.810 And I think one of the things that I balked against early was people were like, oh, you should segment your podcast.
  605. 00:32:39.910 – 00:32:44.130 Maybe you should just do your podcast for young men and maybe you should just do this and you should just do that.
  606. 00:32:44.130 – 00:32:46.790 And I'm like, God didn't tell me to do that.
  607. 00:32:47.950 – 00:32:50.430 God didn't tell me to go on that lane, at least not right now.
  608. 00:32:50.490 – 00:32:56.810 I'm not saying it's never going to be there, but he didn't tell me to segment my podcast out to just one population of people.
  609. 00:32:57.230 – 00:32:59.210 Right now I'm going to Joe Rogan approach.
  610. 00:33:00.530 – 00:33:04.950 There's a, I don't know when this will air, but there's 160 something episodes on there right now.
  611. 00:33:05.170 – 00:33:06.230 Probably close to 170.
  612. 00:33:06.350 – 00:33:07.350 So we just park it there.
  613. 00:33:07.730 – 00:33:08.790 There's someone there for everybody.
  614. 00:33:08.990 – 00:33:10.350 So you're really rooted in Christ.
  615. 00:33:10.450 – 00:33:11.370 Yeah, we in there.
  616. 00:33:11.370 – 00:33:13.870 Like we really, we, we 10 toes down for real.
  617. 00:33:14.110 – 00:33:15.450 Like it's you.
  618. 00:33:15.590 – 00:33:16.770 There's something on there for everybody.
  619. 00:33:17.190 – 00:33:21.210 You know, if you want to hear a story about brief because you had a miscarriage, we got episodes for you.
  620. 00:33:21.210 – 00:33:23.350 You want to go in there and talk about how to battle addiction.
  621. 00:33:23.350 – 00:33:24.510 We got episodes for you.
  622. 00:33:25.050 – 00:33:26.690 You are a pastor's kid and you were up in a church.
  623. 00:33:26.750 – 00:33:28.130 We got episodes for you.
  624. 00:33:28.230 – 00:33:34.110 But I didn't want to just be my story, you know, because eventually like you're going to Twitter.
  625. 00:33:34.210 – 00:33:38.850 I heard some of this already and there's always power testimony.
  626. 00:33:38.850 – 00:33:46.530 But I'm like, yeah, but there's there's somebody else out there whose story can be captured and they don't always have to be this large name.
  627. 00:33:47.290 – 00:33:56.130 I think sometimes if people think the anointing of God and the spirit of God is only attached to a name, it's not just attached to one person at all.
  628. 00:33:56.610 – 00:33:58.390 You know, so you gave your life to Christ.
  629. 00:33:58.470 – 00:34:01.010 You've got a story, a Jesus story to tell.
  630. 00:34:01.530 – 00:34:02.690 Hit me up and come on the show.
  631. 00:34:02.790 – 00:34:03.810 Let's talk about it.
  632. 00:34:03.830 – 00:34:05.270 Let's just talk about it.
  633. 00:34:05.270 – 00:34:11.429 So what's the most powerful or deepest conversation you had with a guess?
  634. 00:34:11.969 – 00:34:12.889 Who was their story like?
  635. 00:34:13.330 – 00:34:13.889 Oh, my goodness.
  636. 00:34:14.010 – 00:34:15.389 I don't believe you just asked me that.
  637. 00:34:16.130 – 00:34:18.210 That's a hundred something, seventy something episodes.
  638. 00:34:18.710 – 00:34:24.870 And which one was the deepest or one that stands out that kind of hits you.
  639. 00:34:24.989 – 00:34:26.790 Holy Gabbana stands out right now.
  640. 00:34:27.070 – 00:34:31.810 Like for like that was that was crazy because I mean, anybody know him know what he used to do.
  641. 00:34:32.210 – 00:34:34.370 He was running grocery stores, jumping on cars.
  642. 00:34:34.370 – 00:34:36.050 The dude's life story was crazy.
  643. 00:34:36.929 – 00:34:38.270 His story stands out.
  644. 00:34:38.409 – 00:34:39.969 I mean, miles minutes car was shot up.
  645. 00:34:40.050 – 00:34:42.030 His story stands out.
  646. 00:34:42.330 – 00:34:49.770 DKG story stands out because he you know, his brother and him were going to go somewhere one night and he didn't go.
  647. 00:34:49.909 – 00:34:55.889 And his brother, his brother, his cousin car got shot up, got like execution style.
  648. 00:34:55.909 – 00:34:56.610 He died.
  649. 00:34:56.870 – 00:34:58.590 Kyle was in the car.
  650. 00:35:00.980 – 00:35:03.880 Those stories stand out.
  651. 00:35:04.320 – 00:35:06.520 Man, there's a lot of them.
  652. 00:35:06.640 – 00:35:08.620 Some. There's a lot of them.
  653. 00:35:08.900 – 00:35:13.340 I hope you keep motivated and you know, to keep going with all of it.
  654. 00:35:13.980 – 00:35:17.580 I originally told God, no, that I was not going to do this podcast.
  655. 00:35:18.780 – 00:35:21.080 And first of all, so this is all disobedience.
  656. 00:35:21.260 – 00:35:23.060 Like telling God, no, it's just crazy word.
  657. 00:35:23.120 – 00:35:24.520 Like I just like, who am I to do?
  658. 00:35:24.600 – 00:35:27.860 I think we are at some point in our life, especially when we.
  659. 00:35:30.400 – 00:35:31.520 But I'm old now.
  660. 00:35:31.580 – 00:35:32.360 You know, I'm not old now.
  661. 00:35:32.420 – 00:35:32.740 I'm older.
  662. 00:35:32.840 – 00:35:34.040 You don't say like I still told you.
  663. 00:35:34.060 – 00:35:34.920 Like it's like it's truly.
  664. 00:35:35.180 – 00:35:36.700 Yeah, I still I still feel younger heart.
  665. 00:35:39.000 – 00:35:40.400 But I'm having fun.
  666. 00:35:41.140 – 00:35:41.500 I'm having fun.
  667. 00:35:41.580 – 00:35:42.100 I feel free.
  668. 00:35:42.260 – 00:35:42.920 I feel loose.
  669. 00:35:43.560 – 00:35:45.720 I feel like this is what I'm supposed to be supposed to be doing.
  670. 00:35:45.740 – 00:35:48.080 So that's that's keeping me keeping me going.
  671. 00:35:48.400 – 00:35:48.880 So wow.
  672. 00:35:49.020 – 00:35:52.300 So you say you're in the ministry, but you have a fun.
  673. 00:35:52.420 – 00:35:55.520 So we could have fun and still be rooted in Christ.
  674. 00:35:55.520 – 00:35:59.760 I've had more fun following Jesus than I did before him.
  675. 00:35:59.960 – 00:36:00.780 It's not even close.
  676. 00:36:02.000 – 00:36:03.220 I don't got to wake up with hangovers.
  677. 00:36:03.640 – 00:36:04.720 I'm not looking over my shoulders.
  678. 00:36:04.820 – 00:36:07.220 I got drugs in my car trying to get back home so we can get high.
  679. 00:36:07.460 – 00:36:08.040 Like it's easy.
  680. 00:36:08.420 – 00:36:09.820 Like, yeah, I got a license.
  681. 00:36:09.960 – 00:36:10.400 You know what I'm saying?
  682. 00:36:10.680 – 00:36:11.780 Like I'm not driving illegally.
  683. 00:36:12.520 – 00:36:13.680 You know, also, it's important.
  684. 00:36:13.920 – 00:36:14.580 You know, you know what I'm saying?
  685. 00:36:14.700 – 00:36:18.040 It's like, no, I feel there's a there's a freedom in Christ.
  686. 00:36:18.500 – 00:36:21.260 Like that yoke, like he carries all of that.
  687. 00:36:21.280 – 00:36:24.840 So I don't have to sit there and carry on his weight or freedom in Christ.
  688. 00:36:24.840 – 00:36:26.240 And you say Jesus.
  689. 00:36:26.620 – 00:36:31.340 And I know there's about three thousand four thousand different sectors of
  690. 00:36:31.340 – 00:36:32.440 Christian and Christianity.
  691. 00:36:34.140 – 00:36:41.940 So is your take or what is your take on like by God or father and Jesus Christ?
  692. 00:36:42.220 – 00:36:43.020 They're two separate.
  693. 00:36:43.240 – 00:36:44.720 They want father, son.
  694. 00:36:44.820 – 00:36:46.340 We're going to make this real easy.
  695. 00:36:46.720 – 00:36:47.180 Let's go.
  696. 00:36:47.220 – 00:36:48.680 Father, son, Holy Spirit.
  697. 00:36:48.700 – 00:36:49.520 Let's go.
  698. 00:36:49.580 – 00:36:50.260 So our Trinity.
  699. 00:36:50.500 – 00:36:51.800 Yeah, it's that simple.
  700. 00:36:51.800 – 00:36:54.640 And there is there is one God.
  701. 00:36:55.220 – 00:36:57.980 There is the only way back to him is through Jesus.
  702. 00:36:58.220 – 00:36:59.820 Jesus paid the price for our sins.
  703. 00:37:00.780 – 00:37:03.100 He died, buried, rose again.
  704. 00:37:03.520 – 00:37:07.100 If you want the freedom I'm talking about, try him.
  705. 00:37:07.460 – 00:37:10.320 Because the very thing that you feel like you're missing,
  706. 00:37:10.860 – 00:37:13.140 like there's a reason why that you have to keep taking those drinks.
  707. 00:37:13.240 – 00:37:14.880 There's a reason why you got to keep taking those hits.
  708. 00:37:15.040 – 00:37:17.700 There's a reason why you got to keep stepping out with all these women.
  709. 00:37:17.720 – 00:37:19.240 And there's a reason why they call her Mrs.
  710. 00:37:19.260 – 00:37:19.880 And she ain't hitting.
  711. 00:37:20.000 – 00:37:21.020 There's a reason why.
  712. 00:37:21.020 – 00:37:23.540 There's a reason why it's called mystery.
  713. 00:37:23.720 – 00:37:24.600 And it's a miss.
  714. 00:37:25.240 – 00:37:28.060 There's a miss because the only hit is Christ.
  715. 00:37:29.620 – 00:37:33.220 So we said the sun to get to the father.
  716. 00:37:33.260 – 00:37:34.660 So it's like the vehicle.
  717. 00:37:35.060 – 00:37:40.200 So the music is like the vehicle to Christ in this concert.
  718. 00:37:41.220 – 00:37:46.360 So in the New Testament, I love the model that Paul set out
  719. 00:37:46.360 – 00:37:50.860 because Paul said when I was a Jew, I carried myself as a Jew.
  720. 00:37:50.860 – 00:37:52.840 When I was a Gentile, I carried myself as a Gentile.
  721. 00:37:53.060 – 00:37:56.800 When I was around the week, I became weak so that I might win some
  722. 00:37:56.800 – 00:37:57.740 for the gospel.
  723. 00:37:58.920 – 00:38:02.100 And the whole idea behind that isn't it's the whole idea behind
  724. 00:38:02.100 – 00:38:06.100 that is it's the man, the message and the method.
  725. 00:38:06.620 – 00:38:10.960 The man Paul was surrendered to the man of Jesus.
  726. 00:38:11.720 – 00:38:14.700 The message that he carried was the message of salvation,
  727. 00:38:15.280 – 00:38:16.600 the saving power of Christ.
  728. 00:38:17.340 – 00:38:20.100 The only thing Paul ever tweaked without using sin,
  729. 00:38:20.100 – 00:38:22.940 without using something that was not God under was the method.
  730. 00:38:24.120 – 00:38:26.880 So when I'm in the suburbs, I'm talking one way,
  731. 00:38:26.980 – 00:38:28.760 but I'm saying the exact same thing.
  732. 00:38:28.760 – 00:38:30.660 When I'm in the projects, I'm saying the same thing.
  733. 00:38:30.760 – 00:38:33.040 I'm saying this message so you can understand it.
  734. 00:38:33.300 – 00:38:34.920 I'm not changing the message.
  735. 00:38:35.020 – 00:38:36.980 I'm just changing the method and the approach.
  736. 00:38:37.500 – 00:38:40.160 So part of my method is Christian hip hop.
  737. 00:38:40.240 – 00:38:42.040 Part of my method is Christian R&B.
  738. 00:38:42.160 – 00:38:44.000 Part of my method is this podcast.
  739. 00:38:44.540 – 00:38:46.500 Part of my method is going to the other shows in different
  740. 00:38:46.500 – 00:38:49.320 locations and talking to people like we're doing right now.
  741. 00:38:49.320 – 00:38:51.380 Yeah, I'm not changing the message at all.
  742. 00:38:52.140 – 00:38:53.140 It's Jesus all day.
  743. 00:38:53.240 – 00:38:54.260 You don't want to hear about Jesus.
  744. 00:38:54.300 – 00:38:56.420 I'm the last person you want to come and talk to.
  745. 00:38:56.580 – 00:38:57.280 Who else?
  746. 00:38:57.540 – 00:38:59.360 That's that's the only way I'm working in one on one.
  747. 00:38:59.520 – 00:39:01.600 I know the method is powerful, but it's key.
  748. 00:39:01.700 – 00:39:03.680 And I'm going to find a way to talk about it.
  749. 00:39:03.680 – 00:39:07.080 It's just because that's if you deny him before man,
  750. 00:39:07.140 – 00:39:08.120 he'll deny you before the father.
  751. 00:39:08.120 – 00:39:09.400 And that's not what I'm on.
  752. 00:39:10.220 – 00:39:12.500 So we can't have fear of man when it comes to that.
  753. 00:39:12.500 – 00:39:14.620 So I will tell everybody and glorify his name
  754. 00:39:14.620 – 00:39:17.020 because I know that's the healing that people need.
  755. 00:39:18.160 – 00:39:20.220 Now, you talk about the message.
  756. 00:39:21.380 – 00:39:24.260 And we have the Bible, the greatest book ever written.
  757. 00:39:24.720 – 00:39:25.840 Do you currently have a book?
  758. 00:39:26.160 – 00:39:27.520 I do not have a book out.
  759. 00:39:27.800 – 00:39:28.520 I do not.
  760. 00:39:29.020 – 00:39:30.660 You are the probably the third or fourth person
  761. 00:39:30.660 – 00:39:33.020 who's brought it up to me.
  762. 00:39:33.940 – 00:39:35.460 So I haven't gotten there yet.
  763. 00:39:35.540 – 00:39:37.240 I haven't gotten there, but I think I don't.
  764. 00:39:37.400 – 00:39:38.540 You just randomly said that.
  765. 00:39:38.600 – 00:39:41.400 So I feel like I need to go home and get
  766. 00:39:41.400 – 00:39:43.800 reach out to my connection who was like,
  767. 00:39:43.800 – 00:39:45.920 I feel like there's a book in you already to get this done.
  768. 00:39:45.920 – 00:39:48.440 Yeah, I see that.
  769. 00:39:48.860 – 00:39:52.960 And I also see like a documentary for Beyond the Wall.
  770. 00:39:54.920 – 00:39:56.800 Or something that go hand in hand a book.
  771. 00:39:56.820 – 00:39:57.520 Talking now.
  772. 00:39:57.760 – 00:39:58.240 Documentary.
  773. 00:39:58.380 – 00:39:59.260 Talking now.
  774. 00:40:00.260 – 00:40:01.620 It's going way beyond the wall.
  775. 00:40:01.720 – 00:40:02.540 Talking now.
  776. 00:40:02.720 – 00:40:03.320 All right.
  777. 00:40:03.540 – 00:40:04.000 Yeah.
  778. 00:40:05.480 – 00:40:06.820 I love to see it too.
  779. 00:40:07.020 – 00:40:09.860 Just the process and let's speak about the process
  780. 00:40:09.860 – 00:40:11.820 because a lot of people, they see the end goals
  781. 00:40:11.820 – 00:40:13.200 or even on social media.
  782. 00:40:13.200 – 00:40:16.480 Like right now, I'm taking a 10 day fast away
  783. 00:40:16.480 – 00:40:17.560 from social media.
  784. 00:40:18.020 – 00:40:19.420 So I'm having been on social media.
  785. 00:40:19.480 – 00:40:20.700 This is my eighth day.
  786. 00:40:20.720 – 00:40:22.340 So I'll be back on in 10 days.
  787. 00:40:22.440 – 00:40:23.420 I mean, two days.
  788. 00:40:23.880 – 00:40:25.100 That would be my 10th day.
  789. 00:40:25.800 – 00:40:28.060 And we see a lot of messages.
  790. 00:40:28.360 – 00:40:30.000 It's a lot of negativity.
  791. 00:40:30.860 – 00:40:33.140 All the different visions and visuals.
  792. 00:40:35.620 – 00:40:39.640 But how do you kind of promote yourself
  793. 00:40:39.640 – 00:40:42.540 through all the chaos, the madness,
  794. 00:40:42.540 – 00:40:45.080 the algorithm, the news?
  795. 00:40:48.430 – 00:40:50.350 I don't focus on it.
  796. 00:40:50.990 – 00:40:54.390 I don't focus on...
  797. 00:40:54.390 – 00:40:55.950 I keep my focus on Jesus.
  798. 00:40:56.050 – 00:40:58.090 And I know like, of course he's going to say that.
  799. 00:40:58.110 – 00:40:58.550 Well, yeah.
  800. 00:40:58.730 – 00:41:00.310 That's like, that's the primary.
  801. 00:41:00.930 – 00:41:02.410 And that is my anchor.
  802. 00:41:03.350 – 00:41:04.630 So let me ask you this.
  803. 00:41:04.950 – 00:41:07.490 Could anybody come to Beyond the Wall?
  804. 00:41:07.590 – 00:41:10.870 It's like, say if I'm a Buddhist,
  805. 00:41:11.130 – 00:41:12.390 which I have studied Buddhist
  806. 00:41:12.390 – 00:41:13.370 and many different religious,
  807. 00:41:13.370 – 00:41:14.810 are they welcome?
  808. 00:41:15.950 – 00:41:18.270 That's why I said the House of Blues.
  809. 00:41:18.550 – 00:41:19.330 I want you to come.
  810. 00:41:19.830 – 00:41:20.910 So it's really Beyond the Wall.
  811. 00:41:22.850 – 00:41:23.730 Because let's...
  812. 00:41:23.730 – 00:41:25.790 I 100% believe in my heart of hearts
  813. 00:41:25.790 – 00:41:27.830 that what I am telling you is true.
  814. 00:41:28.810 – 00:41:30.330 So why would I not want you to come?
  815. 00:41:30.590 – 00:41:31.730 Just because you walk like this,
  816. 00:41:31.810 – 00:41:33.050 or you talk like this,
  817. 00:41:33.290 – 00:41:34.650 or you carry yourself like this,
  818. 00:41:34.710 – 00:41:35.770 or you disagree with me.
  819. 00:41:35.930 – 00:41:37.650 It's people who are listening to this right now
  820. 00:41:37.650 – 00:41:38.870 who don't agree with what I'm saying.
  821. 00:41:39.550 – 00:41:39.990 Come!
  822. 00:41:40.450 – 00:41:41.490 Let's talk about it.
  823. 00:41:42.230 – 00:41:43.950 We don't got to talk about it on social media.
  824. 00:41:44.010 – 00:41:44.830 We don't got to fight about it.
  825. 00:41:44.830 – 00:41:46.390 Let's just talk person to person.
  826. 00:41:46.650 – 00:41:48.550 Like we're human beings and not argue.
  827. 00:41:48.830 – 00:41:49.550 You know what I mean?
  828. 00:41:51.110 – 00:41:53.610 Like the Holy Spirit's job is to change people.
  829. 00:41:53.990 – 00:41:55.150 My job is to be obedient.
  830. 00:41:55.610 – 00:41:56.850 The results are up to God.
  831. 00:41:57.110 – 00:41:58.070 I'm just a vessel.
  832. 00:41:58.870 – 00:41:59.690 And that's the way it is.
  833. 00:41:59.930 – 00:42:01.930 The Holy Spirit is to change people.
  834. 00:42:02.090 – 00:42:04.670 So like it's not...
  835. 00:42:05.950 – 00:42:07.270 I'm going to give you a message
  836. 00:42:07.270 – 00:42:08.290 and I'm going to give you the truth.
  837. 00:42:08.410 – 00:42:09.430 I'm going to give it to you in love.
  838. 00:42:10.270 – 00:42:11.550 I want to give it to you in a way
  839. 00:42:11.550 – 00:42:13.470 that you're going to receive it.
  840. 00:42:14.490 – 00:42:18.490 But it is not my job to take to like
  841. 00:42:18.490 – 00:42:20.210 just force this down your throat
  842. 00:42:20.210 – 00:42:21.590 and be like, you better change.
  843. 00:42:21.690 – 00:42:22.450 And that's God's job.
  844. 00:42:22.690 – 00:42:25.170 Like my job is the obedience to deliver the message.
  845. 00:42:26.170 – 00:42:27.350 The results are up to him.
  846. 00:42:28.550 – 00:42:30.550 So Lord, you design these people's hearts.
  847. 00:42:31.630 – 00:42:32.390 Prepare their hearts,
  848. 00:42:32.430 – 00:42:33.570 what I'm getting ready to say.
  849. 00:42:35.050 – 00:42:37.550 So it sounds like hip hop, you know,
  850. 00:42:37.550 – 00:42:41.590 hip hop was birthed 50 years ago in the Bronx,
  851. 00:42:42.870 – 00:42:43.450 you know,
  852. 00:42:43.750 – 00:42:46.390 singing our messages over the streets,
  853. 00:42:47.010 – 00:42:48.090 in the streets,
  854. 00:42:48.690 – 00:42:50.130 about our pain, our struggle,
  855. 00:42:50.470 – 00:42:52.190 our ways to overcome.
  856. 00:42:52.690 – 00:42:54.850 It's all like the same similarities.
  857. 00:42:55.670 – 00:42:58.390 And now that you're mixing hip hop
  858. 00:42:58.390 – 00:42:59.490 with the Christian,
  859. 00:43:00.850 – 00:43:04.590 how did you see those kind of audience
  860. 00:43:04.590 – 00:43:05.110 coming about?
  861. 00:43:05.110 – 00:43:07.410 Because Christian hip hop wasn't always a thing.
  862. 00:43:09.110 – 00:43:10.630 Where did you first see that evolution?
  863. 00:43:10.970 – 00:43:11.470 Like, wow.
  864. 00:43:12.110 – 00:43:13.710 I'm the first person to tell you.
  865. 00:43:13.990 – 00:43:17.910 I thought Christian rap was just by the past.
  866. 00:43:18.210 – 00:43:19.630 Like I was not like,
  867. 00:43:21.070 – 00:43:21.550 I'm from,
  868. 00:43:21.870 – 00:43:23.550 so I'm going to date myself a little bit,
  869. 00:43:23.550 – 00:43:25.490 but I'm from that golden era hip hop.
  870. 00:43:26.130 – 00:43:28.170 So it was Tupac, it was Big E,
  871. 00:43:28.270 – 00:43:29.050 it was Nas,
  872. 00:43:29.550 – 00:43:31.790 and I was a huge Jadakiss fan.
  873. 00:43:32.450 – 00:43:34.410 So we talking about wordplay.
  874. 00:43:34.410 – 00:43:35.630 I liked Eminem.
  875. 00:43:35.770 – 00:43:36.990 So I heard a piece of lyrics.
  876. 00:43:37.130 – 00:43:37.890 Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
  877. 00:43:37.970 – 00:43:38.690 So it's like,
  878. 00:43:39.110 – 00:43:41.290 this is what I was listening to.
  879. 00:43:41.870 – 00:43:43.010 Then I gave my life to Christ
  880. 00:43:43.010 – 00:43:44.390 and I'm looking at my options.
  881. 00:43:44.630 – 00:43:45.250 And I'm like,
  882. 00:43:46.570 – 00:43:49.370 I can't listen to at the time.
  883. 00:43:49.430 – 00:43:50.530 I'm talking about at the time now.
  884. 00:43:50.530 – 00:43:51.810 So this was 2010.
  885. 00:43:52.730 – 00:43:53.730 I can't sit here
  886. 00:43:53.730 – 00:43:55.810 and just listen to this traditional worship music.
  887. 00:43:56.270 – 00:43:56.630 Like,
  888. 00:43:56.670 – 00:43:58.850 ain't not a role with Chris Tomlin
  889. 00:44:00.570 – 00:44:01.870 and we'll just leave it with him.
  890. 00:44:01.910 – 00:44:03.130 There's only one pop in my head right now.
  891. 00:44:03.250 – 00:44:03.950 There's a million artists.
  892. 00:44:03.950 – 00:44:05.550 That's what I can think of right now.
  893. 00:44:05.750 – 00:44:06.470 Ain't no role it is,
  894. 00:44:06.710 – 00:44:07.770 but like,
  895. 00:44:07.770 – 00:44:08.250 you know,
  896. 00:44:08.250 – 00:44:10.450 I'm getting more into MMA
  897. 00:44:10.450 – 00:44:11.110 and like,
  898. 00:44:11.190 – 00:44:14.210 I need something else to sink my teeth into
  899. 00:44:14.210 – 00:44:15.830 because the music I was listening to
  900. 00:44:15.830 – 00:44:17.730 was completely against the message of the Bible.
  901. 00:44:18.070 – 00:44:18.510 Yeah.
  902. 00:44:18.510 – 00:44:19.610 Like it's hard to go,
  903. 00:44:19.850 – 00:44:21.230 lift my hands up at church on Sunday
  904. 00:44:21.230 – 00:44:22.550 and then get in the car
  905. 00:44:22.550 – 00:44:23.970 and now I'm bumping DMX.
  906. 00:44:24.130 – 00:44:24.810 Like this is not,
  907. 00:44:24.950 – 00:44:26.810 this is a real contradiction here.
  908. 00:44:27.470 – 00:44:30.570 Dude in my church had put me on to like 116.
  909. 00:44:31.390 – 00:44:32.890 So it was like Lecrae
  910. 00:44:32.890 – 00:44:33.810 and AD Minio
  911. 00:44:33.810 – 00:44:34.650 and Trip Lee
  912. 00:44:34.650 – 00:44:35.570 and KB
  913. 00:44:35.570 – 00:44:36.030 and I'm like,
  914. 00:44:36.030 – 00:44:37.490 you know, this is going kind of hard.
  915. 00:44:37.490 – 00:44:38.250 Like this is,
  916. 00:44:38.310 – 00:44:39.050 this is banging.
  917. 00:44:39.270 – 00:44:40.290 I think Bizzle was out.
  918. 00:44:40.310 – 00:44:41.330 Bizzle was out at that time.
  919. 00:44:41.650 – 00:44:42.790 The truth was out at that time.
  920. 00:44:44.470 – 00:44:46.310 So really started getting into,
  921. 00:44:46.310 – 00:44:47.070 into that.
  922. 00:44:47.850 – 00:44:48.030 But,
  923. 00:44:48.310 – 00:44:49.190 you know,
  924. 00:44:49.450 – 00:44:49.730 part of my,
  925. 00:44:49.790 – 00:44:50.270 part of my stories,
  926. 00:44:50.310 – 00:44:51.810 I've lost 115 pounds.
  927. 00:44:52.130 – 00:44:52.950 So I would go to the gym,
  928. 00:44:52.970 – 00:44:54.090 but I'm listening to the same songs
  929. 00:44:54.090 – 00:44:55.010 over and over and over again.
  930. 00:44:55.510 – 00:44:55.610 Like,
  931. 00:44:55.610 – 00:44:55.750 you know,
  932. 00:44:55.830 – 00:44:57.350 the edge is starting to come off
  933. 00:44:57.350 – 00:44:59.410 and we just made this JD's playlist again.
  934. 00:44:59.590 – 00:45:00.070 You know,
  935. 00:45:00.070 – 00:45:03.490 and I was just like,
  936. 00:45:03.570 – 00:45:03.770 I'm like,
  937. 00:45:03.810 – 00:45:04.590 why am I angry?
  938. 00:45:04.770 – 00:45:04.950 Like,
  939. 00:45:04.950 – 00:45:06.310 I haven't been this mad in a while.
  940. 00:45:06.370 – 00:45:07.030 What's going on?
  941. 00:45:07.090 – 00:45:07.230 Like,
  942. 00:45:07.230 – 00:45:09.910 why do I feel like more aggressive than usual?
  943. 00:45:10.150 – 00:45:11.730 I'm looking at something I'm listening to
  944. 00:45:11.730 – 00:45:12.550 and I'm like,
  945. 00:45:14.070 – 00:45:14.330 okay,
  946. 00:45:14.390 – 00:45:15.190 this is direct.
  947. 00:45:15.330 – 00:45:16.610 So to irrigate and agate,
  948. 00:45:16.910 – 00:45:17.410 it matters.
  949. 00:45:19.030 – 00:45:22.210 And so 2020 nonprofit hits.
  950. 00:45:23.170 – 00:45:23.610 I'm like,
  951. 00:45:23.650 – 00:45:25.050 podcast is jumping off.
  952. 00:45:25.470 – 00:45:25.650 I'm like,
  953. 00:45:25.670 – 00:45:25.950 you know,
  954. 00:45:25.950 – 00:45:26.330 I don't,
  955. 00:45:26.530 – 00:45:28.270 I got to make sure like I'm solid.
  956. 00:45:28.270 – 00:45:29.730 This is one of the things I got to put away.
  957. 00:45:31.700 – 00:45:32.500 And I'm not telling people,
  958. 00:45:32.760 – 00:45:33.860 this is my conviction.
  959. 00:45:33.940 – 00:45:35.180 So I'm just telling you my,
  960. 00:45:35.180 – 00:45:36.600 my conviction when it came to music,
  961. 00:45:36.600 – 00:45:37.100 but I will,
  962. 00:45:37.100 – 00:45:39.240 I will press people that it matters
  963. 00:45:39.240 – 00:45:41.080 what we expose ourselves to.
  964. 00:45:41.280 – 00:45:41.460 I can,
  965. 00:45:41.460 – 00:45:42.880 I want you to scriptures about that,
  966. 00:45:43.180 – 00:45:44.180 but this is my person.
  967. 00:45:44.280 – 00:45:45.440 I'm putting his music away.
  968. 00:45:46.580 – 00:45:47.160 So I'm on,
  969. 00:45:47.400 – 00:45:48.900 I'm on Instagram one night
  970. 00:45:48.900 – 00:45:50.520 and I'm typing in like Christian authors,
  971. 00:45:51.460 – 00:45:51.880 Christian this,
  972. 00:45:52.020 – 00:45:52.460 Christian that,
  973. 00:45:52.540 – 00:45:53.820 because I'm trying to set my algorithm
  974. 00:45:53.820 – 00:45:55.640 so I can get more guests for the podcast.
  975. 00:45:55.680 – 00:45:56.840 And I'm trying to set my algorithm
  976. 00:45:56.840 – 00:45:57.840 so I can be exposed
  977. 00:45:57.840 – 00:45:59.080 to what's really going on
  978. 00:45:59.080 – 00:45:59.820 in Christianity
  979. 00:45:59.820 – 00:46:01.060 across the United States.
  980. 00:46:01.260 – 00:46:02.880 And I would actually say across the world
  981. 00:46:02.880 – 00:46:04.400 because I've had guests from Australia,
  982. 00:46:04.400 – 00:46:05.280 can't all over.
  983. 00:46:05.380 – 00:46:05.640 You know what I mean?
  984. 00:46:05.720 – 00:46:06.600 I've had guests from all over.
  985. 00:46:08.160 – 00:46:09.460 And then I saw this thing.
  986. 00:46:09.460 – 00:46:10.240 It was like,
  987. 00:46:10.260 – 00:46:11.300 what was this Don ready?
  988. 00:46:11.600 – 00:46:12.080 Who is this?
  989. 00:46:12.100 – 00:46:13.200 Who is this Bruno dude?
  990. 00:46:13.540 – 00:46:14.200 Like, who is this?
  991. 00:46:14.680 – 00:46:16.500 And then went to the video
  992. 00:46:16.500 – 00:46:17.580 and song just came on.
  993. 00:46:17.640 – 00:46:19.540 It was like K I N G D O M dog.
  994. 00:46:19.540 – 00:46:20.420 I'm really about it.
  995. 00:46:20.440 – 00:46:21.540 And then a beat came back
  996. 00:46:21.540 – 00:46:21.920 and I go,
  997. 00:46:21.920 – 00:46:22.940 this is crazy.
  998. 00:46:23.080 – 00:46:23.440 Wow.
  999. 00:46:24.400 – 00:46:26.280 And then that turned me on
  1000. 00:46:26.280 – 00:46:27.460 to this new wave
  1001. 00:46:28.100 – 00:46:30.140 of a Christian, a Christian hip hop.
  1002. 00:46:30.980 – 00:46:33.320 So that's how all of that really, really started.
  1003. 00:46:33.480 – 00:46:33.660 It was,
  1004. 00:46:33.980 – 00:46:35.840 I believe that we had to put off
  1005. 00:46:35.840 – 00:46:37.460 one thing to put on something else.
  1006. 00:46:38.240 – 00:46:40.400 So if I'm going to stop doing something,
  1007. 00:46:41.120 – 00:46:42.000 that's just a hole now.
  1008. 00:46:42.000 – 00:46:42.920 That's just a void now.
  1009. 00:46:42.920 – 00:46:44.880 I got to fill that with something else.
  1010. 00:46:45.520 – 00:46:47.400 So I put off all that other music.
  1011. 00:46:48.160 – 00:46:49.720 I had to put on something much,
  1012. 00:46:49.980 – 00:46:51.660 you know, something else that was life given.
  1013. 00:46:52.220 – 00:46:54.720 So I would say
  1014. 00:46:54.720 – 00:46:56.980 Christian hip hop is not lame now.
  1015. 00:46:56.980 – 00:46:58.820 It's not hokey, you know?
  1016. 00:47:00.160 – 00:47:01.440 And I loved like,
  1017. 00:47:01.460 – 00:47:02.200 let me back up.
  1018. 00:47:02.620 – 00:47:04.700 And I'm not saying that 116 was lame.
  1019. 00:47:04.740 – 00:47:05.400 It was solid.
  1020. 00:47:05.560 – 00:47:08.400 Like that was perfect for where I was, you know?
  1021. 00:47:08.560 – 00:47:09.920 But I'm saying before them,
  1022. 00:47:10.940 – 00:47:12.300 I wouldn't have listened to any Christian,
  1023. 00:47:12.420 – 00:47:13.160 Christian anything.
  1024. 00:47:13.280 – 00:47:14.880 Like I wasn't into Kirk Franklin.
  1025. 00:47:15.360 – 00:47:15.720 You know what I mean?
  1026. 00:47:15.740 – 00:47:17.500 Like I wasn't into some of those artists
  1027. 00:47:17.500 – 00:47:19.200 coming up at that time, you know?
  1028. 00:47:20.020 – 00:47:21.620 Like just wasn't where I was at.
  1029. 00:47:22.660 – 00:47:22.900 Yeah.
  1030. 00:47:23.080 – 00:47:24.080 I think at the time,
  1031. 00:47:25.260 – 00:47:27.140 especially male Christian artists,
  1032. 00:47:28.380 – 00:47:30.460 Kirk Franklin was one of the ones I stood out.
  1033. 00:47:30.680 – 00:47:32.080 And then like you said, Lecrae.
  1034. 00:47:33.400 – 00:47:35.500 And just me, you know, growing up,
  1035. 00:47:35.600 – 00:47:38.860 listening, like you said, Jadakiss, Nas, Tupac.
  1036. 00:47:39.040 – 00:47:40.520 I used to say Tupac was my father.
  1037. 00:47:40.680 – 00:47:41.480 I won't play increase.
  1038. 00:47:42.100 – 00:47:43.460 You know, I didn't have my father around
  1039. 00:47:43.460 – 00:47:45.280 when I looked at him as a father figure.
  1040. 00:47:45.660 – 00:47:47.360 And especially as a young artist.
  1041. 00:47:48.100 – 00:47:49.840 And I had to change my ways,
  1042. 00:47:49.980 – 00:47:51.560 not listen to the music no more.
  1043. 00:47:51.560 – 00:47:54.480 And it's hard, you know, being around others.
  1044. 00:47:55.160 – 00:47:56.640 And especially like being on trips
  1045. 00:47:56.640 – 00:47:58.140 and, you know, listen to their music.
  1046. 00:47:58.260 – 00:48:00.900 It's like, ah, I just, I just can't.
  1047. 00:48:01.720 – 00:48:04.140 And, you know, I used to be a hip hop artist
  1048. 00:48:04.140 – 00:48:07.220 and transformed to a more conscious hip hop artist.
  1049. 00:48:07.620 – 00:48:10.220 And then kind of just slowly stopped doing music
  1050. 00:48:10.220 – 00:48:11.640 and just focused on poetry.
  1051. 00:48:12.360 – 00:48:15.160 So I wrote poetry books and also performed poetry.
  1052. 00:48:16.260 – 00:48:19.860 And later equipped like instrumentals
  1053. 00:48:19.860 – 00:48:22.540 with the palms, making it a full experience.
  1054. 00:48:23.260 – 00:48:25.520 But all of it comes down to frequency.
  1055. 00:48:26.720 – 00:48:28.680 And I even have a poem called Frequency.
  1056. 00:48:30.380 – 00:48:30.980 Frequency.
  1057. 00:48:31.860 – 00:48:33.860 Your frequency is what you frequently see.
  1058. 00:48:34.740 – 00:48:38.240 Vibrations all in the universe and also inside of me.
  1059. 00:48:38.620 – 00:48:40.340 Alien to the world society.
  1060. 00:48:40.840 – 00:48:42.560 Shooting stars consciously.
  1061. 00:48:43.280 – 00:48:43.880 Righteously.
  1062. 00:48:44.180 – 00:48:46.280 Until every dust particle unites in me.
  1063. 00:48:47.020 – 00:48:47.620 Sparkling.
  1064. 00:48:47.620 – 00:48:50.020 As water, wine and jewelry.
  1065. 00:48:50.240 – 00:48:53.520 Jewelry, see, I shine beyond my time of affinity.
  1066. 00:48:54.040 – 00:48:54.940 Living sea.
  1067. 00:48:55.120 – 00:48:57.400 Speckles around my eyes as vicinity.
  1068. 00:48:58.420 – 00:48:59.100 Vividly.
  1069. 00:48:59.380 – 00:49:00.060 Femininity.
  1070. 00:49:00.400 – 00:49:01.980 Raise my higher divinity.
  1071. 00:49:02.320 – 00:49:03.280 Sacred trinity.
  1072. 00:49:03.680 – 00:49:05.560 Reflects my divine masculinity.
  1073. 00:49:06.440 – 00:49:07.440 Pumped in the trenches.
  1074. 00:49:07.960 – 00:49:08.580 Relentless.
  1075. 00:49:08.900 – 00:49:12.020 Lost my human mind to gain my spiritual senses.
  1076. 00:49:12.600 – 00:49:12.940 Defenseless.
  1077. 00:49:14.040 – 00:49:14.720 Elevation.
  1078. 00:49:15.220 – 00:49:16.660 Through focus and meditation.
  1079. 00:49:18.400 – 00:49:19.120 Patience.
  1080. 00:49:19.340 – 00:49:20.560 Eyes closed.
  1081. 00:49:20.580 – 00:49:20.940 Silent.
  1082. 00:49:22.320 – 00:49:23.460 Reality is real.
  1083. 00:49:24.280 – 00:49:25.760 Transcend, be fulfilled.
  1084. 00:49:26.500 – 00:49:27.900 Energy gathering as magic.
  1085. 00:49:28.220 – 00:49:29.560 We all have it.
  1086. 00:49:29.760 – 00:49:30.780 Pass it.
  1087. 00:49:31.240 – 00:49:31.960 Positivity.
  1088. 00:49:32.600 – 00:49:33.500 Pass it.
  1089. 00:49:33.980 – 00:49:34.560 Love.
  1090. 00:49:35.100 – 00:49:35.960 Pass it.
  1091. 00:49:36.600 – 00:49:38.580 Around like the Last Supper.
  1092. 00:49:38.780 – 00:49:40.000 At least in this lifetime.
  1093. 00:49:40.480 – 00:49:41.260 This dimension.
  1094. 00:49:41.580 – 00:49:43.620 Keep intentionally moving with the tension.
  1095. 00:49:43.940 – 00:49:45.660 Open your mind of endless comprehension.
  1096. 00:49:46.920 – 00:49:47.440 Listen.
  1097. 00:49:47.940 – 00:49:49.240 And listen with intention.
  1098. 00:49:50.340 – 00:49:50.840 Listen.
  1099. 00:49:51.420 – 00:49:52.600 When you complete the mission.
  1100. 00:49:54.540 – 00:49:58.420 And as I speak about mission, you are fulfilling and doing your mission.
  1101. 00:49:59.160 – 00:50:01.460 But as I spoke about Last Supper.
  1102. 00:50:01.980 – 00:50:04.140 And as I think about beyond the walls.
  1103. 00:50:05.060 – 00:50:09.940 Who do you see at your Last Supper's after the shows?
  1104. 00:50:13.570 – 00:50:14.770 Who's sitting at the table?
  1105. 00:50:18.450 – 00:50:19.890 Oh, my wife, for sure.
  1106. 00:50:20.150 – 00:50:20.730 They sit at the table.
  1107. 00:50:20.890 – 00:50:21.490 That's like everyone.
  1108. 00:50:21.690 – 00:50:22.310 Yeah, it's like that.
  1109. 00:50:23.950 – 00:50:26.790 I'm like, I'm thinking about who else would be sitting there with us.
  1110. 00:50:27.250 – 00:50:28.870 But like with no hesitation.
  1111. 00:50:29.690 – 00:50:30.830 Would not like.
  1112. 00:50:32.090 – 00:50:34.350 She's like that's the cheese like part of the backbone.
  1113. 00:50:34.350 – 00:50:35.130 All of us.
  1114. 00:50:35.170 – 00:50:35.650 You know what I mean?
  1115. 00:50:36.650 – 00:50:37.910 So for sure.
  1116. 00:50:38.450 – 00:50:39.430 This is her and I.
  1117. 00:50:41.920 – 00:50:44.900 And if it's a tie, if it works out the way I want it to.
  1118. 00:50:44.980 – 00:50:47.280 It'll be that team I was talking about earlier.
  1119. 00:50:47.720 – 00:50:49.480 You know, the people who helped run.
  1120. 00:50:50.040 – 00:50:50.900 Do the running show.
  1121. 00:50:51.040 – 00:50:51.700 Do the security.
  1122. 00:50:51.780 – 00:50:52.740 Run the stuff backstage.
  1123. 00:50:53.340 – 00:50:54.680 You know, that would be fabulous.
  1124. 00:50:54.680 – 00:50:55.320 That would be that team.
  1125. 00:50:55.760 – 00:50:56.080 For sure.
  1126. 00:50:57.060 – 00:50:57.540 What would you be?
  1127. 00:50:57.540 – 00:50:58.560 You can't do this by yourself.
  1128. 00:50:59.640 – 00:51:00.200 That's true.
  1129. 00:51:00.440 – 00:51:01.400 Like we spoke on.
  1130. 00:51:02.180 – 00:51:02.940 Can't wear every hat.
  1131. 00:51:02.980 – 00:51:04.900 I mean, you could, but you burnt out.
  1132. 00:51:05.560 – 00:51:08.880 I wore a lot of hats of this last year just because I didn't know any better.
  1133. 00:51:09.220 – 00:51:10.980 Now that I know better, it's time to do better.
  1134. 00:51:11.140 – 00:51:11.580 You know what I mean?
  1135. 00:51:12.000 – 00:51:12.680 That's true.
  1136. 00:51:13.340 – 00:51:16.000 And like you said, now that you know better, you do better.
  1137. 00:51:16.900 – 00:51:17.780 You're a life coach, right?
  1138. 00:51:18.020 – 00:51:18.300 Yeah.
  1139. 00:51:18.720 – 00:51:19.020 Yeah.
  1140. 00:51:19.220 – 00:51:23.680 So kind of walk me through the process of helping someone overcome what they're coming.
  1141. 00:51:23.680 – 00:51:24.440 Yeah.
  1142. 00:51:24.440 – 00:51:30.860 It's a matter of setting the goal because I'm not a licensed like therapist.
  1143. 00:51:31.200 – 00:51:31.640 You know what I mean?
  1144. 00:51:31.860 – 00:51:37.280 So it's a matter of like, we're going to, what do you want to achieve unless put together
  1145. 00:51:37.280 – 00:51:41.700 a realistic action plan to get there that holds you accountable to take those steps.
  1146. 00:51:42.740 – 00:51:42.900 Yeah.
  1147. 00:51:43.020 – 00:51:46.800 I kind of chuckle because I call myself an unlicensed therapist.
  1148. 00:51:47.160 – 00:51:50.140 It's like from late middle school to high school.
  1149. 00:51:50.140 – 00:51:50.400 Yes.
  1150. 00:51:50.400 – 00:51:54.060 To help everyone with the problems, relationships, individually.
  1151. 00:51:55.240 – 00:52:00.200 So, you know, stand up at 2 a.m. when I wake up in school in a couple hours, like,
  1152. 00:52:00.320 – 00:52:05.360 man, so I'm more conscious of it now, but yeah, I just call myself a licensed therapist.
  1153. 00:52:05.760 – 00:52:05.820 Yeah.
  1154. 00:52:06.300 – 00:52:07.500 They might get me jammed up.
  1155. 00:52:07.960 – 00:52:08.840 Don't even call.
  1156. 00:52:09.060 – 00:52:10.320 I refer you.
  1157. 00:52:10.880 – 00:52:11.220 Yeah.
  1158. 00:52:12.100 – 00:52:15.680 So how does it feel being a life coach, like helping others?
  1159. 00:52:15.880 – 00:52:19.240 And then I know you kind of tied into the ministry work you do.
  1160. 00:52:19.240 – 00:52:21.980 I love seeing other people up on it.
  1161. 00:52:22.180 – 00:52:24.760 Like this is, I'm not going to gatekeep anything.
  1162. 00:52:25.300 – 00:52:25.760 You know what I mean?
  1163. 00:52:26.060 – 00:52:28.420 Like a lot of this game I got I was doing for free.
  1164. 00:52:28.820 – 00:52:30.400 So I'm giving it back the same way.
  1165. 00:52:31.120 – 00:52:35.360 You know, so helping somebody else get to the very place that God is calling into.
  1166. 00:52:36.220 – 00:52:36.540 That's fine.
  1167. 00:52:36.680 – 00:52:37.720 Let's do it.
  1168. 00:52:38.100 – 00:52:41.000 Like this, that's the making disciples who make disciples.
  1169. 00:52:41.460 – 00:52:43.740 If somebody helped me, how do I not help somebody else?
  1170. 00:52:45.600 – 00:52:51.660 So walk me the day of Beyond the Walls and then you did year one.
  1171. 00:52:52.400 – 00:52:55.740 Now you have some expectations for year two, which is November 1st.
  1172. 00:52:56.600 – 00:52:57.860 Beyond the Walls 2.
  1173. 00:52:58.720 – 00:53:00.440 Walk me through the typical day.
  1174. 00:53:00.580 – 00:53:02.180 Like what is your energy levels?
  1175. 00:53:02.380 – 00:53:04.100 Are you getting enough sleep?
  1176. 00:53:04.220 – 00:53:06.200 Are you stand or wake up at night?
  1177. 00:53:06.220 – 00:53:10.360 Because it's like kind of anxious and like, ah, I want everything to be perfect.
  1178. 00:53:10.700 – 00:53:11.800 Like kind of walk me through the day.
  1179. 00:53:11.800 – 00:53:13.360 There ain't no way I'm getting enough sleep.
  1180. 00:53:14.220 – 00:53:14.800 There ain't no way.
  1181. 00:53:15.200 – 00:53:20.180 We do a dinner with a shout out to to my restaurant in Berea.
  1182. 00:53:20.200 – 00:53:21.020 That's one of my sponsors.
  1183. 00:53:21.080 – 00:53:23.960 So I have all the artists the night before who can make it.
  1184. 00:53:24.020 – 00:53:26.320 We go to a dinner there.
  1185. 00:53:27.480 – 00:53:28.460 So is the last supper.
  1186. 00:53:28.820 – 00:53:30.640 So is it before supper?
  1187. 00:53:34.430 – 00:53:35.910 I hope that ain't the last one.
  1188. 00:53:36.010 – 00:53:37.790 But I mean, if it is, you have to have the night.
  1189. 00:53:39.070 – 00:53:41.310 So we we all go to a dinner.
  1190. 00:53:41.410 – 00:53:42.390 We all would have dinner here.
  1191. 00:53:42.390 – 00:53:44.110 They go back to their hotels.
  1192. 00:53:44.270 – 00:53:45.030 I go home.
  1193. 00:53:45.330 – 00:53:46.390 I try to sleep.
  1194. 00:53:47.070 – 00:53:48.710 I'm going to wake up.
  1195. 00:53:48.790 – 00:53:49.130 Pray.
  1196. 00:53:49.790 – 00:53:52.070 I probably do some live podcast recordings.
  1197. 00:53:53.590 – 00:53:56.110 That day, because I want to catch the water in town.
  1198. 00:53:56.190 – 00:53:57.610 I've been breakthrough sound studios.
  1199. 00:53:57.650 – 00:54:00.070 My people, your people is, you know, also breakthrough.
  1200. 00:54:00.470 – 00:54:01.690 Yes, you already know.
  1201. 00:54:01.850 – 00:54:02.530 You already know.
  1202. 00:54:04.250 – 00:54:05.470 So do that.
  1203. 00:54:06.270 – 00:54:06.950 Run home.
  1204. 00:54:07.410 – 00:54:08.370 Get the fit ready.
  1205. 00:54:08.670 – 00:54:09.310 You know, I got it.
  1206. 00:54:09.350 – 00:54:10.410 I got to be clean that day.
  1207. 00:54:10.410 – 00:54:12.890 You know, so I have my concert outfit ready.
  1208. 00:54:15.050 – 00:54:19.890 And then I would probably get there sometime between two and three
  1209. 00:54:19.890 – 00:54:20.950 to start soundtrack.
  1210. 00:54:21.170 – 00:54:22.650 My wife and I get everything ready.
  1211. 00:54:22.770 – 00:54:24.850 Set up to had a green room set up.
  1212. 00:54:24.870 – 00:54:26.670 You know, we're like food and everything.
  1213. 00:54:26.690 – 00:54:28.510 The artist is going to going to need.
  1214. 00:54:28.850 – 00:54:29.790 They'll soundtrack.
  1215. 00:54:31.050 – 00:54:33.330 Once they're done with soundtrack, I'll get everybody back there.
  1216. 00:54:33.370 – 00:54:37.410 We'll pray after that, because, you know, the House of Blues is
  1217. 00:54:38.290 – 00:54:40.510 we believe we're calling it back territory from the enemy.
  1218. 00:54:40.790 – 00:54:43.990 You know, so it's a lot of spiritual warfare in there.
  1219. 00:54:43.990 – 00:54:46.230 So we want to make sure we we typically pray it up.
  1220. 00:54:47.090 – 00:54:48.990 And some of you guys say, why don't you start with that?
  1221. 00:54:49.070 – 00:54:51.210 I typically do the soundtrack first and get everybody in the back
  1222. 00:54:51.210 – 00:54:51.750 together.
  1223. 00:54:51.910 – 00:54:53.510 So that's not a back of anybody's head.
  1224. 00:54:54.250 – 00:54:57.070 Like you once that part is done, anything that needs to be done,
  1225. 00:54:57.550 – 00:55:00.390 the sound, the line and Ted, they can go do what they got to do.
  1226. 00:55:00.610 – 00:55:01.390 We're going to be in the back.
  1227. 00:55:01.470 – 00:55:02.050 We're going to get ready.
  1228. 00:55:02.170 – 00:55:04.010 We're going to, you know, we're going to pray that place.
  1229. 00:55:04.150 – 00:55:05.130 We're going to pray that place up.
  1230. 00:55:05.330 – 00:55:06.410 You know, so.
  1231. 00:55:07.750 – 00:55:12.050 And yeah, and then, you know, you wait for the VIP, then it's showtime.
  1232. 00:55:12.310 – 00:55:15.210 We we got a special interest this year we didn't have last year.
  1233. 00:55:15.590 – 00:55:18.030 So I'm I think the people will be shocked.
  1234. 00:55:18.830 – 00:55:21.250 There's going to be some surprises at the first.
  1235. 00:55:22.230 – 00:55:23.270 10, 15 minutes.
  1236. 00:55:23.910 – 00:55:27.310 Well, you know, see, we got to just wait for the documentary.
  1237. 00:55:27.370 – 00:55:30.510 I would love to see all this compile through over the years.
  1238. 00:55:32.590 – 00:55:36.390 And say, as a young, young artist, young hip hop artist,
  1239. 00:55:36.390 – 00:55:41.350 a young Christian hip hop artist that wants to get into music and performing.
  1240. 00:55:41.770 – 00:55:43.490 How important is sound check?
  1241. 00:55:44.650 – 00:55:48.490 Oh, man. And arriving early for sound check your your.
  1242. 00:55:50.070 – 00:55:53.270 Listen, the Christian hip hop space, it looks huge.
  1243. 00:55:54.470 – 00:56:00.590 It is, but it's not like you burn a bridge with the right.
  1244. 00:56:00.650 – 00:56:02.870 But it's like, it's just it's crazy.
  1245. 00:56:02.950 – 00:56:04.810 Like, it's not it's not as large as you.
  1246. 00:56:04.810 – 00:56:07.870 So you have your character, you have the integrity, you got your word.
  1247. 00:56:08.470 – 00:56:08.910 You know what I'm saying?
  1248. 00:56:09.450 – 00:56:10.990 Like show up on time.
  1249. 00:56:12.150 – 00:56:13.330 Be there for the soundtrack.
  1250. 00:56:14.150 – 00:56:16.310 Leave your ego wherever you got to leave it.
  1251. 00:56:16.470 – 00:56:17.070 You know what I'm saying?
  1252. 00:56:18.130 – 00:56:22.310 Because for me, like I've seen I'm seeing beyond the walls grow
  1253. 00:56:22.310 – 00:56:24.810 and I'm seeing some people who want to get attached to it.
  1254. 00:56:24.810 – 00:56:27.550 And I know their character is not right and they won't be there.
  1255. 00:56:28.470 – 00:56:31.410 And I don't feel bad about that because I'm going to protect the very thing
  1256. 00:56:31.410 – 00:56:33.990 that God has asked me to to Stuart and Shepherd.
  1257. 00:56:34.670 – 00:56:38.630 You know, I'm going to keep I want to keep the right people around these functions.
  1258. 00:56:41.170 – 00:56:44.210 And I think it's important today that they show up for sound check.
  1259. 00:56:44.270 – 00:56:47.130 It's important they keep their word for this idea we're going to do.
  1260. 00:56:47.550 – 00:56:49.550 You know, if you said you were to make the dinner, make the dinner.
  1261. 00:56:49.630 – 00:56:52.990 You know, if you said you were going to do the podcast, do the podcast.
  1262. 00:56:53.090 – 00:56:56.150 We didn't negotiate that and then that's on me.
  1263. 00:56:56.250 – 00:56:57.930 I know you understand. Right.
  1264. 00:56:58.910 – 00:56:59.890 You know, stuff like that.
  1265. 00:56:59.890 – 00:57:03.790 You know, so I think I think it's really important for those that do want to get involved.
  1266. 00:57:03.990 – 00:57:07.470 But you but you said that they're not ready or they're not there.
  1267. 00:57:08.770 – 00:57:12.550 What is something that your background would like coaching could help them with?
  1268. 00:57:12.870 – 00:57:14.870 Well, I'm not saying they're not ready, not there.
  1269. 00:57:14.970 – 00:57:20.610 I'm saying like be about your business, be about your business, because this is not.
  1270. 00:57:21.330 – 00:57:23.770 This isn't just a toy in somebody's backyard.
  1271. 00:57:23.970 – 00:57:26.210 You know what I'm saying? Like this is this is the real deal.
  1272. 00:57:26.210 – 00:57:30.290 I fully plan on having this be one of the major concerts in this region.
  1273. 00:57:31.450 – 00:57:35.920 Like this is not just just be about your business.
  1274. 00:57:36.100 – 00:57:37.780 I'm going to say like that because I don't want to give too much away.
  1275. 00:57:37.780 – 00:57:40.020 So just I would say that. So it's not I'm saying they're not ready.
  1276. 00:57:40.100 – 00:57:41.360 I'm just saying be about your business.
  1277. 00:57:41.660 – 00:57:46.820 Have your kingdom and character, have your kingdom integrity and just, you know,
  1278. 00:57:48.550 – 00:57:51.370 understand it like we serve a God of order and structure.
  1279. 00:57:51.930 – 00:57:58.350 And there is an order structure to this, you know, so that's that's why I would really say
  1280. 00:57:58.350 – 00:58:01.870 Well, how would you help them be about the business?
  1281. 00:58:02.270 – 00:58:07.490 Like you said earlier, someone that doesn't know better being incarcerated
  1282. 00:58:07.490 – 00:58:11.550 and they have to sell drugs, but they also sell cars.
  1283. 00:58:12.010 – 00:58:17.740 Yeah, insurance, wherever you're trying to get to,
  1284. 00:58:17.740 – 00:58:21.060 find somebody who's already there and have them mentor you.
  1285. 00:58:21.240 – 00:58:23.080 Coach. Yeah, that's like the number.
  1286. 00:58:23.420 – 00:58:25.440 Like, don't talk to your friend.
  1287. 00:58:25.640 – 00:58:28.360 Like, why would you take money advice when somebody is broke?
  1288. 00:58:28.360 – 00:58:32.100 That's crazy. Like, why would you take important advice when you got a job?
  1289. 00:58:32.900 – 00:58:35.460 No, get somebody who is where you're trying to be
  1290. 00:58:36.180 – 00:58:39.680 and like learn from that person, like sit under that person.
  1291. 00:58:40.040 – 00:58:44.340 I want to tell you straight up, like I actually just joined a new jujitsu gym
  1292. 00:58:44.920 – 00:58:48.340 because they have kickboxing, like legit kickboxing classes there.
  1293. 00:58:49.160 – 00:58:54.000 I offer to clean the mats because that was my first day in the gym.
  1294. 00:58:54.260 – 00:58:57.580 I don't walk in there like I know how to throw, even though I do.
  1295. 00:58:57.580 – 00:59:00.740 I've been doing kickboxing for a while now, but I don't walk in there.
  1296. 00:59:00.980 – 00:59:02.440 Like I'm God's gift to the earth.
  1297. 00:59:02.640 – 00:59:04.100 You go in there humble.
  1298. 00:59:05.280 – 00:59:08.260 And thank God that he has put me in situations where I have been humble,
  1299. 00:59:08.280 – 00:59:10.780 so I don't walk in there with a big head.
  1300. 00:59:11.520 – 00:59:13.120 I offer to clean the mats.
  1301. 00:59:14.000 – 00:59:14.540 You know what I mean?
  1302. 00:59:15.460 – 00:59:22.140 Like, so sit under that person, take notes, study them, like see how they move.
  1303. 00:59:22.940 – 00:59:25.960 Then find some people like some people you can walk eye level with.
  1304. 00:59:25.960 – 00:59:29.300 We're like, yo, we, you know, we're not.
  1305. 00:59:29.640 – 00:59:31.980 You know, I'm going to go over here, but we're kind of walking that same
  1306. 00:59:31.980 – 00:59:34.560 that same pace, like we're kind of going in the same direction,
  1307. 00:59:34.640 – 00:59:37.680 like finds of people you can really do life with.
  1308. 00:59:38.160 – 00:59:42.240 And then finds of people who you can pour into yourself when the time's right.
  1309. 00:59:42.720 – 00:59:48.120 But make sure that you are in a position to talk about things effectively.
  1310. 00:59:48.860 – 00:59:50.720 So I would tell you in a career space, I would say,
  1311. 00:59:50.720 – 00:59:52.400 make sure above approach in the area.
  1312. 00:59:52.700 – 00:59:55.000 I can talk to you about what to do when you get off drugs.
  1313. 00:59:55.000 – 00:59:56.800 Because I'm not still doing them.
  1314. 00:59:57.020 – 00:59:57.300 You know what I'm saying?
  1315. 00:59:57.300 – 00:59:59.940 I can talk to you about like, man, after that 21 day mark,
  1316. 01:00:00.020 – 01:00:02.800 go after that 30 day mark, you might get that itch.
  1317. 01:00:02.880 – 01:00:03.300 You know what I mean?
  1318. 01:00:03.520 – 01:00:06.420 Like things like that, like make sure that you are delivered for you.
  1319. 01:00:06.420 – 01:00:08.020 Talking about, you know, make sure in a position
  1320. 01:00:08.020 – 01:00:11.900 to actually mentor someone in those areas, you know, stuff like that.
  1321. 01:00:11.900 – 01:00:12.860 So that's what that's what I would say.
  1322. 01:00:12.940 – 01:00:13.840 Any of them.
  1323. 01:00:14.200 – 01:00:17.460 But you you want to be a preacher, sit under a pastor.
  1324. 01:00:17.680 – 01:00:21.020 You want to be a concert promoter, sit under a good concert promoter.
  1325. 01:00:21.480 – 01:00:22.200 You want to be a rapper.
  1326. 01:00:22.200 – 01:00:24.940 Find some people who are doing it, who are doing it right.
  1327. 01:00:25.200 – 01:00:26.760 And then like pay attention to how they move.
  1328. 01:00:27.680 – 01:00:27.860 Wow.
  1329. 01:00:28.640 – 01:00:30.880 That is very insightful advice.
  1330. 01:00:31.620 – 01:00:34.600 And just wrapping up because we have about five minutes.
  1331. 01:00:34.780 – 01:00:35.060 Yes, sir.
  1332. 01:00:35.060 – 01:00:36.320 It's conference room.
  1333. 01:00:36.900 – 01:00:44.620 And again, I know the first check out the first interview we sat down at podcast United Five.
  1334. 01:00:45.260 – 01:00:47.680 And I said I will be sponsoring a ticket.
  1335. 01:00:47.680 – 01:00:52.220 Oh, and by the time this releases, I'll be back on social media.
  1336. 01:00:52.380 – 01:00:54.080 So yes, stay tuned.
  1337. 01:00:54.280 – 01:00:55.300 Get that ticket.
  1338. 01:00:57.540 – 01:01:03.540 And speaking about tickets for people that can't get a ticket and for anyone that's listening,
  1339. 01:01:04.180 – 01:01:06.600 what are all the ways the listeners can get involved?
  1340. 01:01:07.060 – 01:01:12.020 Yeah, go to if you're talking about buying tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
  1341. 01:01:12.080 – 01:01:16.060 All the tickets will be type in beyond the walls to if you find me on social media.
  1342. 01:01:16.100 – 01:01:17.220 Believe that link is everywhere.
  1343. 01:01:17.220 – 01:01:19.160 You will have no issues getting tickets.
  1344. 01:01:19.260 – 01:01:20.540 There's an event on Facebook.
  1345. 01:01:21.640 – 01:01:25.820 I actually had a donor recently who just purchased eight tickets.
  1346. 01:01:26.580 – 01:01:28.000 I have six of those left.
  1347. 01:01:28.040 – 01:01:30.020 I'll be giving away for free.
  1348. 01:01:31.580 – 01:01:35.400 We also have two VIP tickets.
  1349. 01:01:35.420 – 01:01:36.760 We're going to be giving away for free.
  1350. 01:01:37.100 – 01:01:41.800 And all you have to do is go follow us on social media and subscribe to the podcast.
  1351. 01:01:41.860 – 01:01:43.140 You'll be entered to win those.
  1352. 01:01:43.460 – 01:01:44.640 What's your social media handles?
  1353. 01:01:44.640 – 01:01:45.160 Yeah.
  1354. 01:01:45.720 – 01:01:47.220 Eric Stevens, 1983.
  1355. 01:01:48.120 – 01:01:48.920 Redwood CM.
  1356. 01:01:49.260 – 01:01:51.620 And we're the Rooted in Christ podcast on YouTube.
  1357. 01:01:52.000 – 01:01:53.100 One more time for the people.
  1358. 01:01:53.340 – 01:01:53.540 Yeah.
  1359. 01:01:53.700 – 01:01:55.000 Eric Stevens, 1983.
  1360. 01:01:55.820 – 01:01:56.780 That's Instagram.
  1361. 01:01:57.300 – 01:01:58.120 Redwood CM.
  1362. 01:01:58.760 – 01:01:59.580 Also Instagram.
  1363. 01:02:00.360 – 01:02:02.620 And then the Rooted in Christ podcast on YouTube.
  1364. 01:02:03.340 – 01:02:05.880 What about if someone wants to donate to you personally?
  1365. 01:02:05.920 – 01:02:07.200 We're going to do that.
  1366. 01:02:07.280 – 01:02:07.640 Yeah.
  1367. 01:02:07.640 – 01:02:13.180 If you have a specific donation link right on our lint tree.
  1368. 01:02:13.180 – 01:02:15.260 So I give you all of that to post.
  1369. 01:02:15.900 – 01:02:17.200 So, yeah, we they can give that.
  1370. 01:02:17.380 – 01:02:18.100 All I got to do is DM me.
  1371. 01:02:18.160 – 01:02:21.540 I can send you a link directly because we are a 501C3 nonprofit.
  1372. 01:02:21.800 – 01:02:24.600 So that is all under Redwood Christian Ministries.
  1373. 01:02:25.220 – 01:02:28.840 I set that up to make sure there was no lack of carriage or integrity.
  1374. 01:02:28.960 – 01:02:30.580 And the money started coming in.
  1375. 01:02:30.580 – 01:02:33.500 You know, so I set up the 501C3.
  1376. 01:02:33.640 – 01:02:36.720 So the business bank account, you know, did all that that way, you know,
  1377. 01:02:36.760 – 01:02:39.340 so it's all the nations go through there and they don't come to me personally.
  1378. 01:02:40.200 – 01:02:40.940 That's beautiful.
  1379. 01:02:41.180 – 01:02:42.560 And just a little bit more game.
  1380. 01:02:42.560 – 01:02:44.500 We've got a non-private board directors, too.
  1381. 01:02:44.540 – 01:02:47.680 So I have other people who are also kind of paying attention to how the money
  1382. 01:02:47.680 – 01:02:49.120 is coming in and how it's being used.
  1383. 01:02:50.200 – 01:02:51.860 So just final words.
  1384. 01:02:52.100 – 01:02:55.360 What encyclopedic can you leave a creative entrepreneur?
  1385. 01:02:58.540 – 01:02:59.820 Be who you are.
  1386. 01:03:00.800 – 01:03:03.180 Somebody else that's already done is done.
  1387. 01:03:03.620 – 01:03:04.240 It's over.
  1388. 01:03:04.680 – 01:03:05.780 Don't worry about that wave.
  1389. 01:03:06.740 – 01:03:08.700 Be be who God created you to be.
  1390. 01:03:08.940 – 01:03:10.720 God created you to be unique.
  1391. 01:03:11.020 – 01:03:12.320 You are uniquely a wonderful maze.
  1392. 01:03:12.360 – 01:03:14.720 So be that just be that person.
  1393. 01:03:14.720 – 01:03:16.960 Don't worry about the next person to do when you got to look like them.
  1394. 01:03:16.960 – 01:03:17.740 You're going to walk like them.
  1395. 01:03:17.740 – 01:03:18.560 You got to talk like them.
  1396. 01:03:18.560 – 01:03:19.440 You got to dress like them.
  1397. 01:03:19.700 – 01:03:21.680 Be who God created you to be.
  1398. 01:03:22.840 – 01:03:26.240 And if you've heard anything that I've said today and it's just resonated
  1399. 01:03:26.240 – 01:03:30.720 with you, I would tell you if you have not given your life to Jesus,
  1400. 01:03:31.340 – 01:03:35.420 sick, talk to God like if you if you want to know more,
  1401. 01:03:35.520 – 01:03:36.840 this Jesus thing is about.
  1402. 01:03:37.900 – 01:03:40.220 Lord, I fall short.
  1403. 01:03:40.840 – 01:03:41.600 I'm not perfect.
  1404. 01:03:41.680 – 01:03:42.680 I've made some mistakes.
  1405. 01:03:43.540 – 01:03:46.440 Forgive me, but I want you to reign over my life.
  1406. 01:03:46.500 – 01:03:47.540 I want you to learn my life.
  1407. 01:03:47.560 – 01:03:49.100 I want you to live in my heart.
  1408. 01:03:49.760 – 01:03:52.540 Let's see what you let's see where we can go together.
  1409. 01:03:52.600 – 01:03:53.820 Or what do you have for me?
  1410. 01:03:53.900 – 01:03:54.680 Forgive me.
  1411. 01:03:55.660 – 01:03:58.760 Live in my heart is my Lord and Savior, and I will follow you
  1412. 01:03:58.760 – 01:03:59.640 for the rest of my days.
  1413. 01:04:00.500 – 01:04:03.260 Say that in your own words, but give your life to him
  1414. 01:04:03.260 – 01:04:04.560 because tomorrow is not promised.
  1415. 01:04:05.080 – 01:04:07.240 But I promise you that piece that you're looking for.
  1416. 01:04:07.240 – 01:04:08.640 You will find it in town.
  1417. 01:04:09.660 – 01:04:10.380 That's amazing.
  1418. 01:04:10.380 – 01:04:13.580 Thank you again with the Eric Stevens, Mel.
  1419. 01:04:13.760 – 01:04:14.240 Anytime.
  1420. 01:04:14.580 – 01:04:15.280 Appreciate you.
  1421. 01:04:15.680 – 01:04:19.780 Mr. Eric Stevens, y'all with Redwood Christian Ministries
  1422. 01:04:19.780 – 01:04:24.120 and also check out the podcast Rooted in Christ on all platforms.
  1423. 01:04:24.360 – 01:04:24.720 Yes, sir.
  1424. 01:04:24.960 – 01:04:25.520 Even YouTube?
  1425. 01:04:25.880 – 01:04:26.440 Yeah. Oh, yeah.
  1426. 01:04:26.560 – 01:04:27.460 It's Spotify.
  1427. 01:04:27.660 – 01:04:28.260 We everywhere.
  1428. 01:04:28.460 – 01:04:28.980 Everywhere.
  1429. 01:04:30.240 – 01:04:30.600 Yes.
  1430. 01:04:31.340 – 01:04:33.580 But I'm getting better with YouTube.
  1431. 01:04:33.640 – 01:04:38.480 We had some discrepancies, but you can follow the audio
  1432. 01:04:39.820 – 01:04:43.380 platforms, alienized photos, industry talk on all audio
  1433. 01:04:43.380 – 01:04:48.180 platforms, Apple, Spotify, ICAST, all that good stuff.
  1434. 01:04:48.700 – 01:04:51.980 And you can follow me at alienized photos.
  1435. 01:04:52.240 – 01:04:56.920 That's alien eyes with a Z, photos with an S on all social
  1436. 01:04:56.920 – 01:04:57.440 media.
  1437. 01:04:57.720 – 01:05:00.260 And I'll be back on social media today, y'all.
  1438. 01:05:00.320 – 01:05:01.980 I'm gonna catch up with all the messages, comments.
  1439. 01:05:02.080 – 01:05:02.700 I'm sorry.
  1440. 01:05:02.760 – 01:05:03.420 I'm sorry.
  1441. 01:05:04.020 – 01:05:07.040 And then if you want more information or to book me as
  1442. 01:05:07.040 – 01:05:11.960 an event photographer or a coach, you can visit alienized photos
  1443. 01:05:11.960 – 01:05:13.100 dot com.
  1444. 01:05:13.480 – 01:05:15.800 Again, alienized photos dot com.
  1445. 01:05:16.340 – 01:05:18.500 And this has been a great episode.
  1446. 01:05:20.180 – 01:05:23.360 Beyond The Walls 2, November 1st.
  1447. 01:05:24.160 – 01:05:25.300 Let's go.

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59. Beyond The Walls 2 Promo at Podcasters United (Short)

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.000 – 00:00:05.440 Welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  2. 00:00:05.440 – 00:00:08.760 with a special guest to my right, Mr. Eric Stevens.
  3. 00:00:08.760 – 00:00:09.300 How you doing?
  4. 00:00:09.460 – 00:00:09.860 What up man?
  5. 00:00:09.860 – 00:00:10.180 How you doing?
  6. 00:00:10.280 – 00:00:10.800 I'm good, bro.
  7. 00:00:10.860 – 00:00:11.840 Great, I'm lovely.
  8. 00:00:12.460 – 00:00:14.860 Appreciate you to coming out to Podcast United.
  9. 00:00:16.580 – 00:00:20.500 And you know, I missed the behind the walls verse.
  10. 00:00:21.040 – 00:00:21.400 Yeah.
  11. 00:00:21.680 – 00:00:22.740 What was that like?
  12. 00:00:23.960 – 00:00:25.840 It was a surreal experience
  13. 00:00:25.840 – 00:00:29.740 because I've never done a concert before.
  14. 00:00:29.740 – 00:00:31.500 I've never been a ticket promoter.
  15. 00:00:31.540 – 00:00:33.780 I've never promoted any kind of show.
  16. 00:00:34.200 – 00:00:35.260 And this was my first one.
  17. 00:00:35.320 – 00:00:35.880 First time.
  18. 00:00:35.900 – 00:00:36.900 That was the first time.
  19. 00:00:37.980 – 00:00:39.760 And a number of people said they didn't know
  20. 00:00:39.760 – 00:00:40.600 that was my first show
  21. 00:00:40.600 – 00:00:43.460 because they said, you look poised, you look composed.
  22. 00:00:43.500 – 00:00:45.740 And on the inside, I'm like, Lord, help me.
  23. 00:00:45.900 – 00:00:46.580 Since I'm built for this.
  24. 00:00:46.740 – 00:00:48.360 I was freaking out on the inside,
  25. 00:00:49.900 – 00:00:52.580 but I had a lot of great people help me
  26. 00:00:52.580 – 00:00:54.660 behind the scenes to just tell me
  27. 00:00:54.660 – 00:00:57.280 what to expect, things to look forward to,
  28. 00:00:57.740 – 00:00:58.800 things to look out for,
  29. 00:00:59.420 – 00:01:00.340 what to do the day of.
  30. 00:01:00.400 – 00:01:02.840 I learned a lot in a short period of time,
  31. 00:01:03.580 – 00:01:05.880 especially on the marketing side, the promoting side,
  32. 00:01:06.200 – 00:01:08.140 not having my hands in certain things,
  33. 00:01:08.720 – 00:01:10.640 being there for parts of soundcheck
  34. 00:01:10.640 – 00:01:11.980 that I missed this past year.
  35. 00:01:12.300 – 00:01:13.520 So I learned a lot.
  36. 00:01:13.680 – 00:01:14.220 I learned a lot.
  37. 00:01:14.440 – 00:01:15.600 Soundcheck's important too, yeah.
  38. 00:01:15.640 – 00:01:16.920 Yeah, it really was.
  39. 00:01:17.820 – 00:01:20.780 Beyond the Walls is meant to just tell you
  40. 00:01:20.780 – 00:01:23.320 there's a different message in music.
  41. 00:01:24.160 – 00:01:24.580 You know what I'm saying?
  42. 00:01:24.740 – 00:01:26.480 Like this is something your mother, your grandmother,
  43. 00:01:26.780 – 00:01:27.940 your kids can listen to.
  44. 00:01:27.940 – 00:01:29.060 You don't have to worry about shutting it off
  45. 00:01:29.060 – 00:01:30.580 because such and such is walking into the room.
  46. 00:01:30.860 – 00:01:32.920 This is a Christian hip hop and R&B concert,
  47. 00:01:33.160 – 00:01:37.440 and we are giving you solid music, incredible music,
  48. 00:01:37.960 – 00:01:40.600 but it's also just a faith-filled message behind it
  49. 00:01:40.600 – 00:01:42.420 that we don't gotta sit here and talk about robbing,
  50. 00:01:42.460 – 00:01:44.720 killing, stealing, murder, and every single song.
  51. 00:01:45.220 – 00:01:46.800 I'm honestly, I'm so tired of that.
  52. 00:01:47.660 – 00:01:48.940 All these dudes are talking about robbing
  53. 00:01:48.940 – 00:01:49.820 and killing all these people.
  54. 00:01:49.960 – 00:01:51.420 The murder count is exactly the same.
  55. 00:01:51.760 – 00:01:53.280 They're talking about a fabricated life,
  56. 00:01:53.320 – 00:01:55.480 and then these young kids, they see this,
  57. 00:01:55.480 – 00:01:57.700 they hear this, and they start emulating this,
  58. 00:01:58.720 – 00:02:01.960 and now it's just straight debauchery.
  59. 00:02:02.080 – 00:02:03.820 It's just straight deprecation
  60. 00:02:03.820 – 00:02:06.900 going through whatever community that music is playing in.
  61. 00:02:06.920 – 00:02:08.639 So we wanna give you something good
  62. 00:02:08.639 – 00:02:09.960 that the whole family can enjoy
  63. 00:02:09.960 – 00:02:12.600 and give you a positive faith-filled message too.
  64. 00:02:13.060 – 00:02:14.920 Wow, and this message is gonna go
  65. 00:02:14.920 – 00:02:17.160 beyond the walls, literally.
  66. 00:02:17.660 – 00:02:19.620 So what can we expect for Beyond the Walls C?
  67. 00:02:19.780 – 00:02:22.540 You can expect what I'm gonna tell you
  68. 00:02:22.540 – 00:02:24.900 is gonna be the biggest Christian hip hop concert.
  69. 00:02:24.900 – 00:02:25.480 The biggest?
  70. 00:02:25.740 – 00:02:26.200 In Cleveland, yeah.
  71. 00:02:26.220 – 00:02:26.740 Let's go.
  72. 00:02:26.960 – 00:02:30.060 This is the stepping stone.
  73. 00:02:30.840 – 00:02:33.200 One was the final, but this is the stepping stone now
  74. 00:02:33.200 – 00:02:35.580 for where we're going for three, four, or five.
  75. 00:02:36.080 – 00:02:38.100 So I'm already planning three or four right now.
  76. 00:02:39.200 – 00:02:42.100 You can expect energy, you can expect good music,
  77. 00:02:42.460 – 00:02:44.860 you can expect cash prizes and giveaways.
  78. 00:02:45.320 – 00:02:47.560 You can expect some dangin' beats.
  79. 00:02:47.940 – 00:02:49.100 It's gonna be a good time.
  80. 00:02:49.260 – 00:02:50.100 It's gonna be a good time.
  81. 00:02:50.460 – 00:02:51.900 Wow, so where is it hosted at?
  82. 00:02:51.900 – 00:02:55.080 This is gonna be the biggest Christian hip hop event.
  83. 00:02:55.160 – 00:02:55.840 Where is it gonna be hosted?
  84. 00:02:55.920 – 00:02:58.340 We got the House of Blues right in Cleveland, Ohio.
  85. 00:02:58.500 – 00:02:59.740 Yes, sir, yes, sir.
  86. 00:03:00.040 – 00:03:02.080 Yeah, it's gonna be right down there.
  87. 00:03:02.340 – 00:03:03.200 So y'all come check us out.
  88. 00:03:03.380 – 00:03:04.260 Where can I find the tickets?
  89. 00:03:04.500 – 00:03:06.180 So go right to Ticketmaster.com.
  90. 00:03:06.300 – 00:03:09.460 If you need a discount code, somebody DM me right now.
  91. 00:03:09.480 – 00:03:10.980 We got two discount codes going
  92. 00:03:10.980 – 00:03:12.500 on the General Mission tickets.
  93. 00:03:12.820 – 00:03:14.920 They're $30, so we got a discount for that.
  94. 00:03:15.220 – 00:03:16.800 The VIP tickets are $60,
  95. 00:03:17.040 – 00:03:19.040 which is gonna get you the VIP meet and greet
  96. 00:03:19.040 – 00:03:22.480 with a Q&A with everybody on the flyer.
  97. 00:03:22.680 – 00:03:24.080 And also any kind of photo ops,
  98. 00:03:24.160 – 00:03:25.740 any questions you wanna ask will be available
  99. 00:03:25.740 – 00:03:26.540 right before the show.
  100. 00:03:26.760 – 00:03:27.300 For $60.
  101. 00:03:27.480 – 00:03:28.460 For $60, man.
  102. 00:03:28.680 – 00:03:31.540 Samuel, what's the DM so I can text you for that code?
  103. 00:03:33.140 – 00:03:33.580 RedwoodCM.
  104. 00:03:34.520 – 00:03:35.440 RedwoodCM, yes, sir.
  105. 00:03:35.440 – 00:03:35.660 Instagram?
  106. 00:03:36.000 – 00:03:36.760 That's on Instagram.
  107. 00:03:37.360 – 00:03:41.060 So follow RedwoodCM, shoot that DM,
  108. 00:03:41.520 – 00:03:44.120 and yes, get that VIP ticket.
  109. 00:03:44.660 – 00:03:45.780 Cannot beat the price.
  110. 00:03:46.520 – 00:03:48.380 And just for the good cause,
  111. 00:03:48.380 – 00:03:49.980 I'm a sponsor a ticket.
  112. 00:03:50.720 – 00:03:51.920 I'm a sponsor a ticket.
  113. 00:03:52.560 – 00:03:53.540 Thank you, bro, I appreciate that.
  114. 00:03:53.800 – 00:03:55.440 This is Beyond The Walls,
  115. 00:03:55.660 – 00:03:59.500 two coming November 1st at the House of Blues.
  116. 00:03:59.940 – 00:04:00.960 Get your tickets today.

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60. Day 11 - Social Media Fast Recap

Season 1 · Episode 21

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  1. 00:00:00.560 – 00:00:08.880 Now, this is technically day 11 of my social media sabbatical.
  2. 00:00:10.160 – 00:00:14.420 I've been fasting for 10 and a half, about to be 11 days.
  3. 00:00:15.800 – 00:00:17.560 And let's recap.
  4. 00:00:19.100 – 00:00:24.600 This is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  5. 00:00:25.760 – 00:00:29.460 And this is Alien Eyes Photos industry talk.
  6. 00:00:29.460 – 00:00:36.680 And I've did a 10 day series on my social media sabbatical.
  7. 00:00:37.560 – 00:00:41.380 So I've been fasting for now, going on 11 days.
  8. 00:00:42.120 – 00:00:43.700 Cheers, clap, claps.
  9. 00:00:45.500 – 00:00:47.420 Now let's do a quick recap.
  10. 00:00:48.160 – 00:00:52.300 Now day one, I talked about detoxing.
  11. 00:00:52.300 – 00:00:55.620 That's a good episode to listen to.
  12. 00:00:55.620 – 00:01:02.800 If you want to get rid of anything that's holding you back in your life,
  13. 00:01:03.340 – 00:01:07.780 whether that's physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally,
  14. 00:01:08.500 – 00:01:12.100 you know how we cling on things and things cling on to us.
  15. 00:01:12.740 – 00:01:13.880 We have to get rid of it.
  16. 00:01:13.900 – 00:01:14.920 We have to detox.
  17. 00:01:14.980 – 00:01:15.730 We have to declutter.
  18. 00:01:16.560 – 00:01:19.760 We have to freshen up, cut loose.
  19. 00:01:20.780 – 00:01:25.140 Now, as I started detoxing, I'm like, okay, what are my habits?
  20. 00:01:25.140 – 00:01:28.860 This is going to lead me back to this, where I have to detox again.
  21. 00:01:29.780 – 00:01:32.240 So day two, I checked my habits.
  22. 00:01:32.780 – 00:01:39.020 And us as creative entrepreneurs, we have to find our flow,
  23. 00:01:39.340 – 00:01:40.660 find the good habits.
  24. 00:01:41.100 – 00:01:44.300 And sometimes we have to let some bad habits go,
  25. 00:01:45.080 – 00:01:47.880 our old habits that no longer serve us.
  26. 00:01:48.620 – 00:01:51.080 And we have to learn new habits.
  27. 00:01:51.080 – 00:01:57.380 So that's a good episode about habits, giving you that good reminder.
  28. 00:01:58.380 – 00:02:04.920 Day three, after I detox and cut some bad habits
  29. 00:02:05.820 – 00:02:14.280 and gained some new habits and reading more, I had to do the work.
  30. 00:02:15.120 – 00:02:20.280 What is the work that I am not doing in a tiny manner
  31. 00:02:20.280 – 00:02:22.660 or focusing on fully?
  32. 00:02:23.880 – 00:02:24.320 Hmm.
  33. 00:02:25.660 – 00:02:29.280 I'm not doing it to 90 to 100%.
  34. 00:02:29.940 – 00:02:32.400 I need to get to that.
  35. 00:02:34.770 – 00:02:37.430 65, 70, 73.
  36. 00:02:38.370 – 00:02:39.850 No, it's not cutting it.
  37. 00:02:40.110 – 00:02:41.410 90 and above.
  38. 00:02:41.830 – 00:02:42.970 It's a passing grade.
  39. 00:02:43.890 – 00:02:49.590 Of course we may slip and do, you know, 84, 85%.
  40. 00:02:49.590 – 00:02:51.450 That's still decent.
  41. 00:02:52.950 – 00:02:54.470 But 90 to 100.
  42. 00:02:54.590 – 00:03:00.630 I want to give this 90 to 100% on anything and everything that I do,
  43. 00:03:00.630 – 00:03:03.190 no matter if I feel like I feel it now.
  44. 00:03:03.350 – 00:03:05.010 I made it to Vegas.
  45. 00:03:05.470 – 00:03:09.350 Here at BPcon and still going hard.
  46. 00:03:10.730 – 00:03:16.110 But it's just being around the hotel and the casino area.
  47. 00:03:16.110 – 00:03:20.510 It's just smoking as we had to go to our rooms.
  48. 00:03:20.910 – 00:03:22.110 We got lost.
  49. 00:03:22.690 – 00:03:23.790 Luggage handle broke.
  50. 00:03:24.070 – 00:03:25.630 It was just chaos.
  51. 00:03:25.910 – 00:03:27.910 We were really looking for a room.
  52. 00:03:28.470 – 00:03:31.790 We got 30 minutes checking in, had to go back other side.
  53. 00:03:31.850 – 00:03:34.310 They moved us, downgraded our room.
  54. 00:03:34.430 – 00:03:35.810 It was a lot of stuff.
  55. 00:03:36.570 – 00:03:41.090 But I'm not used to cigarettes smoking, being around it for long periods of time.
  56. 00:03:42.010 – 00:03:43.750 And it congested me.
  57. 00:03:43.750 – 00:03:47.050 So that's the reason I sound like this.
  58. 00:03:48.410 – 00:03:51.350 Even talking about the sound, day four, communicate.
  59. 00:03:53.230 – 00:04:03.330 Day four, I connect and communicated with many people that I haven't spoke to in months.
  60. 00:04:04.270 – 00:04:06.450 Some weeks, but months.
  61. 00:04:08.480 – 00:04:09.280 It was good.
  62. 00:04:10.120 – 00:04:10.920 It was fresh.
  63. 00:04:11.740 – 00:04:13.160 And it was long.
  64. 00:04:13.160 – 00:04:15.940 I had some good lengthy conversations.
  65. 00:04:16.940 – 00:04:21.000 So I got to connect and reconnect and communicate.
  66. 00:04:21.579 – 00:04:30.560 And that's what I focus on day four and the earlier stages of my social media sabbatical.
  67. 00:04:30.660 – 00:04:32.960 As I took it, everybody started hitting me up.
  68. 00:04:33.080 – 00:04:35.640 Like, oh man, I'm glad you're doing this.
  69. 00:04:36.460 – 00:04:42.340 I know it's a good time to find you or contact you because you're doing this and you can really focus on it.
  70. 00:04:43.000 – 00:04:51.960 So a lot of people took advantage of my social media sabbatical and contacted me personally through my phone line.
  71. 00:04:53.560 – 00:05:02.340 So yeah, I guess when I take my next social media sabbatical, you really need to talk to me or you need coaching one-on-one.
  72. 00:05:02.460 – 00:05:04.900 It's a good time to do that.
  73. 00:05:04.900 – 00:05:19.200 And day five, to help build all this out, we had to figure out a method, our SOPs, our systems, what worked for us.
  74. 00:05:19.740 – 00:05:25.580 So I focus on power of system.
  75. 00:05:27.760 – 00:05:30.760 The power of systems is crucial.
  76. 00:05:31.780 – 00:05:33.060 It's critical.
  77. 00:05:33.760 – 00:05:39.780 It is needed to keep you organized and also for your growth.
  78. 00:05:40.920 – 00:05:44.580 It would save lots of headaches on the back end.
  79. 00:05:45.220 – 00:05:47.580 Get your systems together, y'all.
  80. 00:05:48.340 – 00:06:01.020 Now, day six, as I'm kind of a little over the halfway mark at that point, you know, thinking about when I get back on social media,
  81. 00:06:01.020 – 00:06:10.640 I just wanted to send a reminder that be a producer of the content versus a consumer of the content.
  82. 00:06:14.390 – 00:06:30.610 Be a producer, not a consumer of the content, especially of the content for your industry and what drives the marketing and eyeballs to your business, your brand,
  83. 00:06:31.610 – 00:06:35.170 your personal brand as a creative entrepreneur.
  84. 00:06:37.090 – 00:06:39.950 Be a producer of the content, not a consumer.
  85. 00:06:40.410 – 00:06:49.450 Don't just scroll, scroll, and scroll up and down and like and da da da da da da da da.
  86. 00:06:50.090 – 00:06:53.650 Give yourself a limit. Yeah, there's a time for that.
  87. 00:06:53.650 – 00:07:01.610 Like me, two minutes, because I got a five-minute social media limit and I got to post to do this.
  88. 00:07:03.010 – 00:07:11.410 So one or two minutes, I may engage, I may like, but I'm not doing all this up and down scrolling no more.
  89. 00:07:11.630 – 00:07:17.250 You don't catch me in the first two seconds of scrolling.
  90. 00:07:18.130 – 00:07:22.810 That's all I have. I'm not going back to my old ways, my old habits.
  91. 00:07:22.810 – 00:07:37.790 I set a five-minute limit. And for the week, I think I've only been on social media 20 minutes as I was getting off.
  92. 00:07:38.590 – 00:07:41.390 And I'm like, well, let me see if I can do five.
  93. 00:07:41.390 – 00:07:46.150 So I've limited myself to five.
  94. 00:07:46.810 – 00:07:51.870 So when I get back on, I want to limit myself to five or less.
  95. 00:07:52.810 – 00:07:56.890 Maybe get on social media every other day once I get back on.
  96. 00:07:57.690 – 00:08:01.510 So we shall see. Day seven.
  97. 00:08:02.810 – 00:08:07.990 Are you satisfied? Are you satisfied with what you are doing?
  98. 00:08:08.830 – 00:08:15.370 What is your satisfaction? What keeps you satisfied?
  99. 00:08:15.990 – 00:08:22.230 How can you be satisfied? What drives you to satisfaction?
  100. 00:08:24.230 – 00:08:29.330 Day eight. Now, talk about being satisfied.
  101. 00:08:31.880 – 00:08:37.640 Day eight was about your perfect digital image or your digital image in general.
  102. 00:08:37.640 – 00:08:42.900 But perfect digital image, especially for the females.
  103. 00:08:44.540 – 00:08:48.940 They want to be beautified and perfect. Oh, I can't do this without makeup.
  104. 00:08:49.560 – 00:08:54.400 And comparing themselves to other females and creators.
  105. 00:08:55.280 – 00:08:58.680 Man to man to other man. I want to be like that.
  106. 00:08:58.680 – 00:09:09.360 I don't care how the ladies are the money, the cars, the house and women with the bodies and make all the other stuff on both sides.
  107. 00:09:09.900 – 00:09:13.560 Comparing or even a lifestyle and business and entrepreneurship.
  108. 00:09:14.680 – 00:09:20.360 Oh, I'm not there, but I want to be like them and their business and how they do things.
  109. 00:09:20.460 – 00:09:26.200 I'm not marking myself how they do it because it's successful with them, but you're not satisfied.
  110. 00:09:26.200 – 00:09:32.280 So go back one day, day seven. Satisfaction. I have my daughter with me. So that was a big one.
  111. 00:09:33.620 – 00:09:36.720 What keeps you satisfied? How can you be satisfied?
  112. 00:09:38.800 – 00:09:45.380 But your digital image is not always be perfect. Stop comparing yourself.
  113. 00:09:45.920 – 00:09:50.320 Live your journey. Document your journey. Be a producer, not a consumer.
  114. 00:09:50.320 – 00:09:53.000 See how it's all tied together?
  115. 00:09:54.460 – 00:09:57.080 Because day nine was about digital awareness.
  116. 00:10:00.640 – 00:10:01.440 Is it awareness?
  117. 00:10:07.610 – 00:10:09.210 Digital awareness.
  118. 00:10:14.620 – 00:10:18.840 That was a big one. I stumbled. I personally stumbled day nine.
  119. 00:10:19.440 – 00:10:21.900 It was late. I was.
  120. 00:10:22.960 – 00:10:27.740 Yeah, yeah, that's yeah.
  121. 00:10:29.380 – 00:10:42.740 Yeah. But I brought awareness to awareness and also digital awareness and evolution and how to kind of overcome that.
  122. 00:10:43.040 – 00:10:47.000 As I threw the alley from day nine to day ten.
  123. 00:10:47.800 – 00:10:50.360 To establish trust.
  124. 00:10:52.120 – 00:10:56.160 And people love working with people they know, like and trust.
  125. 00:10:56.260 – 00:10:58.580 But trust to me is one of the biggest.
  126. 00:11:00.180 – 00:11:02.280 The second would be love.
  127. 00:11:03.040 – 00:11:06.940 People may know you. People may not. People may not know me.
  128. 00:11:07.000 – 00:11:11.740 People may get to know me a little bit, but want to know more.
  129. 00:11:12.880 – 00:11:16.060 But if they don't trust me, they ain't gonna want to know more about me.
  130. 00:11:16.060 – 00:11:19.720 They ain't gonna love me. So they have to trust me.
  131. 00:11:21.160 – 00:11:30.380 So we spoke about how to establish trust in day ten and that was a good maybe my second favorite one.
  132. 00:11:31.880 – 00:11:39.680 I think habits was maybe my favorite one because it's a good reminder to myself what habits and new habits that I'm picking up.
  133. 00:11:40.120 – 00:11:43.300 Am I maintaining my habits? Can I approve of my habits?
  134. 00:11:43.300 – 00:11:47.500 I can't even make what I'm doing even better.
  135. 00:11:49.040 – 00:11:53.620 So I think habits was my first one day two out of all of them.
  136. 00:11:54.100 – 00:12:02.060 But getting this started would be detox day one.
  137. 00:12:02.280 – 00:12:06.960 That would be my top three. I recommend day two with habits.
  138. 00:12:06.960 – 00:12:10.840 Number two, day ten, establish trust.
  139. 00:12:12.180 – 00:12:17.300 And number three from my top three of my social media sabbatical episodes.
  140. 00:12:18.620 – 00:12:22.940 Day one, detox, because without the start, you can get rid of stuff.
  141. 00:12:23.640 – 00:12:28.520 A lot of this won't even matter because you would still be stuck in ways.
  142. 00:12:29.280 – 00:12:33.740 Day one and day two is perfect. If you don't listen to nothing else or follow anything else,
  143. 00:12:33.740 – 00:12:42.420 follow day one and day two, detox and going over your habits and follow it up with establish trust.
  144. 00:12:43.080 – 00:12:47.180 You'll be welling away to a million dollar day.
  145. 00:12:47.900 – 00:12:51.120 And I'm trying to get my million dollar day. I'm trying to get a million dollars in general.
  146. 00:12:52.300 – 00:12:54.660 So let's continue this path.
  147. 00:12:55.760 – 00:12:59.940 I'm on the path of my first six figures and then I'm going for my first million.
  148. 00:13:01.920 – 00:13:04.840 So. Help a brother out.
  149. 00:13:05.260 – 00:13:09.560 This is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos.
  150. 00:13:09.700 – 00:13:14.300 Give me the recap of my ten day social media sabbatical.
  151. 00:13:15.060 – 00:13:18.560 And be sure to check out the book.
  152. 00:13:19.000 – 00:13:24.140 Ten day social media sabbatical by Stephen D Jackson.
  153. 00:13:25.420 – 00:13:26.780 Yes, I really did the work.
  154. 00:13:26.780 – 00:13:28.660 We are in a documented process.
  155. 00:13:29.420 – 00:13:37.460 I've actually included some personal stories, some even some helpful tips to go along with the episodes.
  156. 00:13:38.000 – 00:13:43.740 You know, give you a little more juice and meat for the look.
  157. 00:13:44.900 – 00:13:47.780 Yeah, take it in, digest it.
  158. 00:13:48.140 – 00:13:54.880 It's good. It's nourishing as we detox with habits and doing nowhere to connect and communicate
  159. 00:13:54.880 – 00:13:59.300 the power of systems produced, not consumed.
  160. 00:14:00.100 – 00:14:04.420 Are you satisfied? What is your satisfaction?
  161. 00:14:05.200 – 00:14:12.700 Oh, your perfect digital image online, digital awareness and established trust.
  162. 00:14:13.320 – 00:14:16.220 That is day one through day ten.
  163. 00:14:16.960 – 00:14:22.080 And I will give you a little bit more talking about what I've learned,
  164. 00:14:22.080 – 00:14:26.500 giving you my results, the back end and behind the scenes.
  165. 00:14:28.100 – 00:14:33.520 And a little tidbit on how I'm going to build out the course that pairs with the book.
  166. 00:14:34.420 – 00:14:36.460 That one is going to be major.
  167. 00:14:36.680 – 00:14:41.620 Hopefully I have this done by the end of this year, if not early next year.
  168. 00:14:41.640 – 00:14:46.400 Got a few projects, client collaborations I'm doing.
  169. 00:14:47.380 – 00:14:55.640 Two more conferences here in Vegas, BPCON as I do this recap of my social media sabbatical.
  170. 00:14:56.660 – 00:14:58.240 This is day 11, y'all.
  171. 00:14:58.700 – 00:15:00.020 I ain't loving it.
  172. 00:15:00.960 – 00:15:07.540 All right, but I got to attend to these duties in this conference and drink some more tea.
  173. 00:15:07.880 – 00:15:09.240 Man, I can't believe this.
  174. 00:15:09.240 – 00:15:10.460 Golly.
  175. 00:15:12.920 – 00:15:15.400 But I made it, y'all.
  176. 00:15:16.140 – 00:15:19.580 Ten days, ten days social media sabbatical.
  177. 00:15:19.980 – 00:15:22.560 Check out my documented process.
  178. 00:15:23.120 – 00:15:29.060 Check out the whole series, day one through day ten of my social media sabbatical.
  179. 00:15:29.600 – 00:15:34.500 Take your own social media sabbatical, even if it's one day.
  180. 00:15:35.020 – 00:15:37.600 Try it out and then try it for a week.
  181. 00:15:37.600 – 00:15:41.700 I'm used to doing a week, twice a year.
  182. 00:15:42.080 – 00:15:44.300 This time I did ten days.
  183. 00:15:45.120 – 00:15:46.160 Yay, look what I did.
  184. 00:15:46.180 – 00:15:47.200 I made progress.
  185. 00:15:47.240 – 00:15:53.380 I was more productive, focused, and I love that I enjoyed my time away from social media.
  186. 00:15:54.740 – 00:15:57.560 But I'll be back probably tonight.
  187. 00:15:57.580 – 00:15:58.880 I'll be getting on tonight.
  188. 00:15:59.300 – 00:16:02.760 So yeah, this is day 11.
  189. 00:16:03.200 – 00:16:06.380 To recap my social media fast.
  190. 00:16:06.380 – 00:16:11.500 Again, this is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  191. 00:16:12.140 – 00:16:18.640 And this is another episode of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  192. 00:16:19.860 – 00:16:22.720 And I am your go-to event photographer.
  193. 00:16:23.200 – 00:16:34.880 So if you want to book me for an event or conference or workshop or if you're a creative entrepreneur starting off,
  194. 00:16:34.880 – 00:16:42.340 you want to book me as a coach and let's have some ideation sessions and build a strategy for both.
  195. 00:16:42.340 – 00:16:48.100 Booking me as a photographer or for video production or a coach.
  196. 00:16:48.300 – 00:16:50.520 One of the three or even more.
  197. 00:16:50.700 – 00:16:53.800 I do a lot, but those are my three pillars.
  198. 00:16:55.040 – 00:16:59.080 You can visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  199. 00:16:59.080 – 00:17:02.920 Again, that's Alien Eyes with a Z.
  200. 00:17:03.340 – 00:17:04.859 Photos with a S.
  201. 00:17:06.480 – 00:17:07.880 Alieneyesphotos.com.
  202. 00:17:08.160 – 00:17:10.660 And that's eyes like your eyeballs.
  203. 00:17:11.800 – 00:17:14.859 And then you can also follow me as I'll be on tonight.
  204. 00:17:15.160 – 00:17:19.300 Hopping back on at Alien Eyes Photos.
  205. 00:17:19.480 – 00:17:22.000 That's Alien Eyes Photos.
  206. 00:17:22.280 – 00:17:25.460 Again, that's Alien Eyes with a Z.
  207. 00:17:25.800 – 00:17:27.680 Photos with a S.
  208. 00:17:27.680 – 00:17:30.380 On all social media.
  209. 00:17:31.440 – 00:17:35.200 And again, this is Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  210. 00:17:35.840 – 00:17:37.380 This has been a great one.
  211. 00:17:38.000 – 00:17:41.200 Ten days of social media fasting.
  212. 00:17:42.340 – 00:17:45.340 This is my social media sabbatical y'all.
  213. 00:17:45.620 – 00:17:46.140 We did it.
  214. 00:17:46.380 – 00:17:47.200 We made it.
  215. 00:17:47.420 – 00:17:48.620 Another one in the books.
  216. 00:17:49.340 – 00:17:49.820 Peace.

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61. Day 10 Social Media Sabbatical Trust

Season 1 · Episode 20

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  1. 00:00:00.820 – 00:00:07.860 Welcome, welcome, welcome, this is day 10.
  2. 00:00:09.280 – 00:00:13.500 I made it y'all, day 10 of my social media sabbatical.
  3. 00:00:14.960 – 00:00:18.320 Let's talk about establishing trust.
  4. 00:00:20.440 – 00:00:23.640 Establishing trust is powerful.
  5. 00:00:25.240 – 00:00:30.100 I remember the Dalai Lama mentioned that
  6. 00:00:31.060 – 00:00:35.800 you can't buy trust in the supermarket.
  7. 00:00:38.340 – 00:00:41.560 Now that is powerful, that's not the full quote,
  8. 00:00:42.100 – 00:00:44.680 but I remember that when he said
  9. 00:00:44.680 – 00:00:48.580 you cannot buy trust in the supermarket.
  10. 00:00:50.300 – 00:00:52.200 What do you think about that?
  11. 00:00:53.580 – 00:01:00.280 I believe trust is the foundation of all transactions.
  12. 00:01:01.840 – 00:01:03.740 People don't want to waste money,
  13. 00:01:04.459 – 00:01:05.640 they don't want poor quality,
  14. 00:01:06.520 – 00:01:09.560 and they don't want to be treated unfairly.
  15. 00:01:11.780 – 00:01:13.980 And if they don't trust you,
  16. 00:01:14.700 – 00:01:18.020 or if they feel like they're going to waste their money,
  17. 00:01:18.740 – 00:01:20.340 they're going to give poor quality,
  18. 00:01:20.860 – 00:01:24.920 poor service, a poor product, be treated unfairly.
  19. 00:01:26.580 – 00:01:28.340 They will walk away.
  20. 00:01:29.340 – 00:01:34.500 Now, trust is big for entrepreneurs and business owners,
  21. 00:01:35.240 – 00:01:38.460 even creatives, creative entrepreneurs.
  22. 00:01:39.760 – 00:01:44.880 As you build customer loyalty and retention,
  23. 00:01:46.180 – 00:01:49.100 you don't want those one-time buyers,
  24. 00:01:49.240 – 00:01:53.000 you want to build a relationship, be a rapport,
  25. 00:01:54.480 – 00:01:57.520 have them trust you.
  26. 00:01:59.480 – 00:02:04.160 It lowers barriers, lowering barriers
  27. 00:02:04.160 – 00:02:09.419 so they could buy again and maybe buy more products
  28. 00:02:09.419 – 00:02:12.580 or explore more of your services.
  29. 00:02:14.300 – 00:02:16.060 Build that relationship, be a rapport.
  30. 00:02:18.190 – 00:02:23.350 You want to establish trust with your partners,
  31. 00:02:24.490 – 00:02:30.120 your suppliers, your investors, your employers,
  32. 00:02:30.960 – 00:02:37.280 employees, everyone that you do business with.
  33. 00:02:38.180 – 00:02:41.580 You want to establish that trust.
  34. 00:02:42.620 – 00:02:50.200 It is important and enables growth and builds partnerships.
  35. 00:02:52.230 – 00:02:56.410 It provides resilience through challenges.
  36. 00:02:58.290 – 00:03:02.030 You know, people give you the benefit of doubt
  37. 00:03:02.430 – 00:03:05.270 and time to make things right.
  38. 00:03:06.210 – 00:03:11.030 Without that trust, the same crisis could be fatal
  39. 00:03:11.030 – 00:03:14.010 to your business.
  40. 00:03:15.550 – 00:03:19.830 Trust reduces friction and also costs.
  41. 00:03:20.870 – 00:03:27.020 If they trust you, don't have all the means
  42. 00:03:27.020 – 00:03:31.460 or all the funds, but make it up to them,
  43. 00:03:32.380 – 00:03:34.440 they will have to trust you,
  44. 00:03:35.200 – 00:03:37.340 that you will make it up to them
  45. 00:03:37.340 – 00:03:39.200 and that you really don't have the funds
  46. 00:03:39.200 – 00:03:42.300 and that you're not trying to get over on them
  47. 00:03:42.760 – 00:03:44.580 and that you're really trying to work with them
  48. 00:03:44.580 – 00:03:46.000 for the long term.
  49. 00:03:48.170 – 00:03:50.750 Trust is big with negotiations.
  50. 00:03:52.110 – 00:03:54.490 No one wants to feel one-sided
  51. 00:03:54.490 – 00:03:56.270 or like they're getting controlled
  52. 00:03:57.330 – 00:03:59.670 or they're getting taken advantage of.
  53. 00:04:02.720 – 00:04:05.200 Trust, trust, trust.
  54. 00:04:05.960 – 00:04:10.000 You have to establish that trust.
  55. 00:04:12.480 – 00:04:16.660 It's big for your credibility, you know.
  56. 00:04:17.620 – 00:04:20.839 Getting positive testimonials and reviews
  57. 00:04:20.839 – 00:04:28.140 and case studies, validation is great for referrals.
  58. 00:04:28.440 – 00:04:32.860 If people trust you and they build trust with you
  59. 00:04:33.840 – 00:04:35.920 and you build trust with them,
  60. 00:04:36.940 – 00:04:39.420 they're gonna refer you to their friends,
  61. 00:04:39.980 – 00:04:42.280 their partners, their family.
  62. 00:04:45.500 – 00:04:46.820 It's just simple as that.
  63. 00:04:48.660 – 00:04:50.580 That's how you gain more business.
  64. 00:04:51.320 – 00:04:53.480 That's how you become more trustworthy,
  65. 00:04:54.440 – 00:04:59.160 more credible and have consistent business
  66. 00:04:59.160 – 00:05:01.440 with many, many people, man.
  67. 00:05:01.940 – 00:05:05.600 Again, with your suppliers, your investors and partners
  68. 00:05:06.220 – 00:05:08.360 because you become reliable,
  69. 00:05:09.360 – 00:05:12.340 want to be transparent and honest.
  70. 00:05:13.640 – 00:05:18.640 Be as transparent and honest by being open.
  71. 00:05:20.040 – 00:05:22.480 That's a good business practice
  72. 00:05:23.220 – 00:05:26.240 and it's good for pricing and decision-making.
  73. 00:05:29.160 – 00:05:33.160 Now, there's many different ways to build trust
  74. 00:05:33.160 – 00:05:34.560 and establish trust
  75. 00:05:36.230 – 00:05:39.170 and those are similar ways,
  76. 00:05:39.970 – 00:05:42.590 but it's truly being authentic
  77. 00:05:42.590 – 00:05:47.750 and having clear, very clear communication
  78. 00:05:47.930 – 00:05:50.990 with your customers, your stakeholders,
  79. 00:05:51.930 – 00:05:55.270 the public, your partners
  80. 00:05:56.390 – 00:06:00.390 and especially your employees and contractors.
  81. 00:06:01.890 – 00:06:04.810 No matter what businesses you're in,
  82. 00:06:05.970 – 00:06:11.050 you have to have trust with everyone you work with
  83. 00:06:11.050 – 00:06:14.810 and everyone who is consuming your product or service.
  84. 00:06:15.850 – 00:06:19.990 It is very, very important and vital.
  85. 00:06:21.930 – 00:06:28.460 Now, people love working with me
  86. 00:06:28.860 – 00:06:32.420 because I'm open and honest
  87. 00:06:32.600 – 00:06:35.900 and if I'm behind on a deadline,
  88. 00:06:35.900 – 00:06:39.520 then I am brutally open and honest
  89. 00:06:39.520 – 00:06:41.040 and I communicate that
  90. 00:06:41.640 – 00:06:44.320 and I've built trust with different people.
  91. 00:06:44.920 – 00:06:47.460 Even if I missed a deadline
  92. 00:06:47.460 – 00:06:49.880 or run it behind a couple of days,
  93. 00:06:51.280 – 00:06:53.100 you have to communicate
  94. 00:06:54.260 – 00:06:56.180 and you still have to be reliable
  95. 00:06:57.920 – 00:07:01.760 and you still have to deliver consistently.
  96. 00:07:03.200 – 00:07:05.120 Just be transparent and honest.
  97. 00:07:05.120 – 00:07:09.840 That's the biggest way to establish trust
  98. 00:07:09.840 – 00:07:12.160 in your field, in your industry.
  99. 00:07:13.560 – 00:07:15.240 Once you break that trust
  100. 00:07:15.240 – 00:07:18.340 or feel like you're not trustworthy,
  101. 00:07:19.440 – 00:07:21.100 oh, it's hard.
  102. 00:07:21.700 – 00:07:24.780 It is very hard to get it back.
  103. 00:07:27.210 – 00:07:34.430 Now, there's many times where I work with people
  104. 00:07:34.430 – 00:07:36.150 that wasn't trustworthy.
  105. 00:07:37.290 – 00:07:38.790 I thought that was a good fit.
  106. 00:07:38.790 – 00:07:44.450 I thought that was one of the top of the industry to pass,
  107. 00:07:45.810 – 00:07:49.190 but something rubbed me the wrong way.
  108. 00:07:50.610 – 00:07:53.650 I felt like I couldn't trust them
  109. 00:07:54.070 – 00:07:56.210 or trust them anymore.
  110. 00:07:58.190 – 00:08:02.210 And my gut was right.
  111. 00:08:04.580 – 00:08:06.800 I couldn't trust them
  112. 00:08:06.800 – 00:08:09.060 or anything that they were saying
  113. 00:08:09.060 – 00:08:11.980 and just talking about over delivering
  114. 00:08:11.980 – 00:08:14.160 when they didn't even deliver at all.
  115. 00:08:15.180 – 00:08:16.020 And that hurts.
  116. 00:08:16.160 – 00:08:17.340 And there's a lot of people,
  117. 00:08:18.020 – 00:08:19.960 let's use the real estate industry.
  118. 00:08:20.000 – 00:08:22.760 As I'm currently in Vegas,
  119. 00:08:23.460 – 00:08:25.300 yes, I made it to Vegas.
  120. 00:08:26.560 – 00:08:28.420 About to attend the BPcon
  121. 00:08:28.420 – 00:08:31.840 and I'll be doing some BPcon recaps,
  122. 00:08:31.880 – 00:08:33.700 so stay tuned for that.
  123. 00:08:36.220 – 00:08:39.419 But if you're working with different contractors
  124. 00:08:39.419 – 00:08:43.520 as an investor and you paid them all the money upfront
  125. 00:08:44.560 – 00:08:48.460 and they don't have the right business license
  126. 00:08:48.460 – 00:08:51.480 or identification or bond numbers,
  127. 00:08:52.400 – 00:08:55.300 and you trust them and you give them all the money
  128. 00:08:55.300 – 00:08:58.520 upfront and they do none of the work
  129. 00:08:58.520 – 00:09:00.020 and they run off with the money,
  130. 00:09:01.100 – 00:09:01.820 then what?
  131. 00:09:03.170 – 00:09:07.050 You left without a finished project,
  132. 00:09:09.330 – 00:09:12.370 unfinished home, non-renovated,
  133. 00:09:13.110 – 00:09:14.990 and no capital, no money.
  134. 00:09:17.220 – 00:09:19.640 You trust them a little too much,
  135. 00:09:19.840 – 00:09:22.440 a little too quickly, a little too hard.
  136. 00:09:24.720 – 00:09:26.660 It's damaging and it hurts.
  137. 00:09:27.920 – 00:09:30.940 But they'll report, interview,
  138. 00:09:31.180 – 00:09:34.480 talk with these people, build that trust,
  139. 00:09:35.480 – 00:09:41.140 establish trust first, have them trust you,
  140. 00:09:43.060 – 00:09:47.000 then trust them by asking qualifying questions.
  141. 00:09:48.680 – 00:09:54.540 Start little upfront, ease your way into the relationship
  142. 00:09:55.960 – 00:10:02.340 and then start paying out more or doing more work
  143. 00:10:02.340 – 00:10:04.080 and being consistent,
  144. 00:10:04.080 – 00:10:07.880 but have that clear communication upfront.
  145. 00:10:09.100 – 00:10:10.280 It's just powerful.
  146. 00:10:12.140 – 00:10:16.200 And again, I made it to Vegas finally,
  147. 00:10:17.800 – 00:10:20.320 so I'm looking forward to BP Con
  148. 00:10:20.320 – 00:10:23.580 and establishing trust with many of these
  149. 00:10:23.580 – 00:10:27.600 real estate investors and real estate agents
  150. 00:10:28.640 – 00:10:31.120 and looking for strategic partners.
  151. 00:10:31.220 – 00:10:33.860 Maybe I can help them with podcasts,
  152. 00:10:34.350 – 00:10:37.480 production or video production in general
  153. 00:10:37.910 – 00:10:40.400 as I am in the media field
  154. 00:10:41.630 – 00:10:43.920 and I'm sure they have the money
  155. 00:10:44.430 – 00:10:48.340 and they need content or they need visuals
  156. 00:10:48.340 – 00:10:49.860 for their property,
  157. 00:10:50.620 – 00:10:52.760 whether that's video walkthroughs
  158. 00:10:52.760 – 00:10:57.460 or pictures of these houses, mansions, buildings.
  159. 00:10:59.100 – 00:11:04.180 So, I have to shake hands, establish that trust,
  160. 00:11:04.640 – 00:11:08.100 build that rapport, tell them my story,
  161. 00:11:08.500 – 00:11:12.260 tell them all that I've done and be honest and candid.
  162. 00:11:13.180 – 00:11:15.840 If I haven't done something, I will let them know,
  163. 00:11:16.120 – 00:11:18.300 but I'm interested in learning and growing
  164. 00:11:18.300 – 00:11:20.300 and trying it out.
  165. 00:11:21.080 – 00:11:24.160 This may be my first time, this may be my 10th time,
  166. 00:11:24.860 – 00:11:26.400 this may be my 100th time.
  167. 00:11:27.320 – 00:11:31.580 I'm trying, never ever done it or never even heard of it,
  168. 00:11:31.700 – 00:11:35.940 but I have to be brutally honest and transparent.
  169. 00:11:37.080 – 00:11:38.320 I have to be vulnerable
  170. 00:11:38.320 – 00:11:41.320 and people have to be vulnerable with me,
  171. 00:11:41.820 – 00:11:43.500 but we have to get to that point.
  172. 00:11:44.040 – 00:11:49.580 So, start slowly, establish that trust in the right way,
  173. 00:11:51.200 – 00:11:53.280 ask those qualifying questions.
  174. 00:11:54.540 – 00:11:57.360 So, how do you feel?
  175. 00:11:58.140 – 00:12:00.240 How do you establish trust?
  176. 00:12:01.360 – 00:12:04.020 I gave you some ways and some examples.
  177. 00:12:05.040 – 00:12:07.100 I really wanna know how you establish trust,
  178. 00:12:07.200 – 00:12:09.720 how you build that rapport with others
  179. 00:12:09.720 – 00:12:13.660 and gain loyal customers and retention
  180. 00:12:13.660 – 00:12:17.280 and keep people coming back and referring your business
  181. 00:12:17.280 – 00:12:21.280 and your products and your services and your artworks.
  182. 00:12:22.690 – 00:12:26.970 What helps you grow and build partners?
  183. 00:12:28.110 – 00:12:31.270 Establish trust with different investors and suppliers
  184. 00:12:31.270 – 00:12:36.710 and strategic partners and gain good employees.
  185. 00:12:40.980 – 00:12:42.260 That's what I'm thinking about, right?
  186. 00:12:44.310 – 00:12:47.350 Existing trust can act as a buffer
  187. 00:12:47.850 – 00:12:54.100 instead of a barrier that reduces a lot of friction.
  188. 00:12:56.140 – 00:12:58.820 If I could trust or count on someone
  189. 00:12:59.500 – 00:13:04.500 in a pinch, I'm not able to be there physically.
  190. 00:13:06.320 – 00:13:08.860 I trust this person dearly.
  191. 00:13:11.680 – 00:13:17.200 That is so good, a great feeling.
  192. 00:13:18.960 – 00:13:20.960 When you would just count on somebody
  193. 00:13:21.740 – 00:13:23.700 and you know they're gonna get the job done
  194. 00:13:23.700 – 00:13:27.660 and do it well, maybe sometimes better than you,
  195. 00:13:29.540 – 00:13:33.320 and that's all about hiring the right people
  196. 00:13:33.320 – 00:13:37.800 or contractors and not being afraid to delegate.
  197. 00:13:37.920 – 00:13:40.940 You have to gain that trust
  198. 00:13:40.940 – 00:13:43.500 and they have to gain that trust with you.
  199. 00:13:44.180 – 00:13:49.060 It's important to establish trust in your life,
  200. 00:13:49.740 – 00:13:52.940 in your business, in your relationships,
  201. 00:13:53.980 – 00:13:56.840 whether that's friendships, partnerships,
  202. 00:13:56.840 – 00:14:01.540 romantic relationships with your family,
  203. 00:14:01.880 – 00:14:08.280 with your job, employers and employees, colleagues.
  204. 00:14:10.240 – 00:14:14.600 It's important to establish trust, all right?
  205. 00:14:15.660 – 00:14:18.620 So again, establish that trust and build rapport.
  206. 00:14:20.120 – 00:14:23.240 Make sure your credibility goes a long way.
  207. 00:14:24.260 – 00:14:26.860 You want people to refer you in your business,
  208. 00:14:26.860 – 00:14:28.960 you're broadening your service.
  209. 00:14:30.120 – 00:14:31.460 Establish that trust.
  210. 00:14:33.400 – 00:14:36.060 All right, y'all, this is Pataka Jackson,
  211. 00:14:37.080 – 00:14:40.920 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  212. 00:14:42.180 – 00:14:45.620 And this is Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  213. 00:14:46.920 – 00:14:51.020 This is day 10 of my social media sabbatical.
  214. 00:14:52.540 – 00:14:55.070 Stay tuned to what is to come
  215. 00:14:55.790 – 00:14:58.650 as I'll be building out an e-book
  216. 00:14:58.650 – 00:15:01.790 around my 10-day social media sabbatical
  217. 00:15:01.790 – 00:15:04.310 as I document the whole process.
  218. 00:15:04.750 – 00:15:06.850 And I'll be telling my story,
  219. 00:15:07.350 – 00:15:10.590 I'll be transcribing episodes for you all,
  220. 00:15:12.350 – 00:15:15.610 and providing a little more detail
  221. 00:15:15.610 – 00:15:19.610 with each episode and building out a course.
  222. 00:15:20.330 – 00:15:22.270 So stay tuned for it all.
  223. 00:15:22.850 – 00:15:26.050 And if you want to book me as an event photographer,
  224. 00:15:26.550 – 00:15:29.530 video production, or a business coach,
  225. 00:15:29.670 – 00:15:31.210 let's have an ideation session.
  226. 00:15:31.870 – 00:15:34.130 Let's talk business strategy.
  227. 00:15:35.170 – 00:15:38.850 Well, if any of those ring your bell,
  228. 00:15:38.950 – 00:15:40.030 if you need help,
  229. 00:15:41.010 – 00:15:46.810 you could visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  230. 00:15:46.810 – 00:15:52.650 That's alieneyes with a Z,
  231. 00:15:53.030 – 00:15:57.830 photos with a S, alieneyesphotos.com.
  232. 00:15:59.110 – 00:16:02.890 And I'll be back on social media tomorrow, y'all.
  233. 00:16:04.190 – 00:16:07.270 And follow me at alieneyesphotos.
  234. 00:16:07.410 – 00:16:09.410 Yes, that's alieneyesphotos.
  235. 00:16:13.410 – 00:16:15.630 Alieneyesphotos, alieneyes with a Z,
  236. 00:16:15.630 – 00:16:19.970 photos with a S on all social media.
  237. 00:16:20.850 – 00:16:25.330 And be sure to follow on a creative frequency
  238. 00:16:25.330 – 00:16:26.990 on all social media.
  239. 00:16:27.370 – 00:16:29.630 We're doing it big over there on Instagram,
  240. 00:16:29.830 – 00:16:35.710 IG, and YouTube, creative frequency.
  241. 00:16:36.550 – 00:16:41.330 But our page is on a creative frequency.
  242. 00:16:42.010 – 00:16:45.110 And that's me and Brianna Casanova
  243. 00:16:45.110 – 00:16:48.830 helping inspiring you to be creative no matter what.
  244. 00:16:49.150 – 00:16:51.990 As we show a lot of behind the scenes of our work
  245. 00:16:51.990 – 00:16:54.750 and our creative process.
  246. 00:16:55.590 – 00:16:57.850 Again, that's on a creative frequency.
  247. 00:16:58.370 – 00:17:00.930 And I'm Mr. Alieneyesphotos,
  248. 00:17:00.930 – 00:17:05.010 Photographer Jackson, and I am signing out.
  249. 00:17:05.390 – 00:17:05.869 Peace.

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62. Day 9 Social Media Sabbatical Digital Awareness

Season 1 · Episode 19

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.360 – 00:00:07.380 Day nine of my social media sabbatical.
  2. 00:00:08.800 – 00:00:11.560 Let's talk about awareness,
  3. 00:00:13.160 – 00:00:15.960 and to be exact, digital awareness.
  4. 00:00:17.440 – 00:00:19.020 But let's start with awareness.
  5. 00:00:21.140 – 00:00:24.400 Awareness is the state of being conscious
  6. 00:00:24.400 – 00:00:28.520 and cognizant towards something.
  7. 00:00:28.520 – 00:00:32.640 Paying attention to what is happening in the present moment,
  8. 00:00:33.760 – 00:00:38.120 whether it's your thoughts, feelings, behaviors,
  9. 00:00:39.100 – 00:00:43.860 surroundings, and all impact your actions.
  10. 00:00:45.840 – 00:00:47.300 Now think about awareness
  11. 00:00:47.300 – 00:00:50.580 as having a spotlight on your experiences,
  12. 00:00:51.920 – 00:00:55.920 rather operating on autopilot.
  13. 00:00:58.420 – 00:01:02.440 Awareness is what you think about.
  14. 00:01:05.060 – 00:01:07.380 And when I say it's what you think about,
  15. 00:01:10.320 – 00:01:12.780 it's your informed intelligence.
  16. 00:01:15.740 – 00:01:21.660 It could be what your environment is telling you.
  17. 00:01:25.060 – 00:01:26.880 But I wanna shift gears a little bit
  18. 00:01:26.880 – 00:01:29.300 and speak about digital awareness,
  19. 00:01:31.020 – 00:01:37.050 which is your effectiveness and safety
  20. 00:01:38.870 – 00:01:40.490 of digital technology.
  21. 00:01:41.260 – 00:01:46.130 And now we get into artificial intelligence, AI,
  22. 00:01:47.570 – 00:01:50.230 the impact of online interactions,
  23. 00:01:51.250 – 00:01:53.630 individuals, society,
  24. 00:01:53.830 – 00:01:58.210 and the risk of opportunities in the digital world.
  25. 00:01:59.410 – 00:02:02.150 Technical knowledge, critical thinking,
  26. 00:02:03.210 – 00:02:06.670 data privacy and security, as I mentioned,
  27. 00:02:09.380 – 00:02:12.920 adaptability and how to be proactive
  28. 00:02:13.730 – 00:02:17.300 and how we learn these new technologies
  29. 00:02:18.270 – 00:02:22.160 and adapt it to our life and the landscape
  30. 00:02:23.370 – 00:02:27.180 of our business and life in general.
  31. 00:02:30.760 – 00:02:33.560 Now awareness has to do with observing,
  32. 00:02:35.020 – 00:02:37.420 noticing patterns, noticing patterns,
  33. 00:02:37.420 – 00:02:44.860 noticing patterns and understanding cause and effect,
  34. 00:02:45.700 – 00:02:49.320 being present in this moment versus, again,
  35. 00:02:50.380 – 00:02:54.080 on autopilot or operating automatically.
  36. 00:02:56.520 – 00:03:04.520 So you have to be conscious with this digital awareness.
  37. 00:03:07.550 – 00:03:09.190 So what are the patterns
  38. 00:03:09.980 – 00:03:12.710 you are taking in?
  39. 00:03:13.830 – 00:03:19.320 What are the patterns you are realizing?
  40. 00:03:22.400 – 00:03:26.120 What are the patterns that keep coming up in your life?
  41. 00:03:29.280 – 00:03:31.440 And think about your digital footprint.
  42. 00:03:34.300 – 00:03:37.960 What type of digital footprint are you creating?
  43. 00:03:39.500 – 00:03:43.020 The data you are creating and leaving behind,
  44. 00:03:44.080 – 00:03:45.840 what information are you sharing?
  45. 00:03:46.760 – 00:03:52.040 And how might that be used for other people,
  46. 00:03:52.420 – 00:03:54.060 for other businesses?
  47. 00:03:55.000 – 00:03:59.300 How are they using your information?
  48. 00:04:02.270 – 00:04:03.990 Have you ever thought about that?
  49. 00:04:07.390 – 00:04:11.530 And now I wanna get a little personal.
  50. 00:04:13.700 – 00:04:16.720 That was just the logistics and kind of definitions
  51. 00:04:16.720 – 00:04:19.519 of awareness and digital awareness.
  52. 00:04:20.519 – 00:04:27.800 And awareness is big, especially like me, traveling,
  53. 00:04:28.200 – 00:04:33.530 being in new cities and states, places I've never been.
  54. 00:04:34.340 – 00:04:38.020 I have to have a sense of awareness,
  55. 00:04:38.220 – 00:04:41.780 the sense of my surrounding, the environment
  56. 00:04:41.780 – 00:04:44.620 where I'm at, what I have with me,
  57. 00:04:44.640 – 00:04:47.840 what I have on and my target.
  58. 00:04:48.480 – 00:04:52.960 I have to be aware of many, many things.
  59. 00:04:54.360 – 00:04:56.800 What is going on in this place that I'm going?
  60. 00:04:57.900 – 00:04:58.760 Do I know?
  61. 00:04:59.020 – 00:05:00.080 What's on the news?
  62. 00:05:02.060 – 00:05:05.180 So we take it digital when we take it online
  63. 00:05:05.180 – 00:05:09.520 and on social media, which is this is day nine for me
  64. 00:05:10.360 – 00:05:11.840 being on social media.
  65. 00:05:11.880 – 00:05:15.440 I'm not aware of what's going on in social media land
  66. 00:05:15.440 – 00:05:17.700 and in the news and all this good stuff.
  67. 00:05:18.580 – 00:05:21.520 I'm sure I will be aware once I get on,
  68. 00:05:22.300 – 00:05:25.680 but right now I'm loving this break,
  69. 00:05:26.340 – 00:05:29.180 I'm loving this time, loving my productivity,
  70. 00:05:32.590 – 00:05:35.690 but digital awareness is key.
  71. 00:05:38.690 – 00:05:41.170 It's things for real, it's things fake.
  72. 00:05:42.070 – 00:05:44.670 You wanna constantly ask that question,
  73. 00:05:45.270 – 00:05:48.770 especially in this digital age with AI,
  74. 00:05:49.450 – 00:05:54.450 artificial intelligence, we're gonna ask that question.
  75. 00:05:54.530 – 00:05:57.330 Is this real or is it fake?
  76. 00:05:58.070 – 00:06:01.190 Is this real news or is it fake?
  77. 00:06:02.230 – 00:06:05.650 Is this a real character or avatar person
  78. 00:06:06.520 – 00:06:10.130 or is this a fake person or avatar character?
  79. 00:06:11.350 – 00:06:18.050 Is these cartoons really real made up by a human
  80. 00:06:20.590 – 00:06:23.410 or by artificial intelligence?
  81. 00:06:24.350 – 00:06:27.150 That was taught by other humans,
  82. 00:06:27.910 – 00:06:29.930 but it's not 100% correct.
  83. 00:06:32.240 – 00:06:35.200 So where do we cross the line?
  84. 00:06:37.110 – 00:06:39.750 Where do we say stop?
  85. 00:06:42.250 – 00:06:45.770 Where do we continue to build that awareness
  86. 00:06:46.770 – 00:06:50.170 where awareness may not be absolute?
  87. 00:06:54.670 – 00:06:58.030 Makes you question a lot of things, right?
  88. 00:07:00.240 – 00:07:04.400 Because if I'm aware of what I'm doing,
  89. 00:07:05.520 – 00:07:08.200 I'm conscious, I'm knowledgeable,
  90. 00:07:09.780 – 00:07:13.260 I know what's going on,
  91. 00:07:14.060 – 00:07:16.960 or at least I have a sense of what's going on,
  92. 00:07:18.200 – 00:07:22.260 but we type in our emails just willingly
  93. 00:07:22.260 – 00:07:24.220 to many different sites,
  94. 00:07:25.060 – 00:07:26.940 to these different lead magnets
  95. 00:07:26.940 – 00:07:30.560 and lead magnets are free information,
  96. 00:07:30.920 – 00:07:35.400 our tools, our gadgets, whatever that may be,
  97. 00:07:36.140 – 00:07:39.660 our inexpensive gadgets, tools
  98. 00:07:39.660 – 00:07:42.060 to collect your information,
  99. 00:07:43.160 – 00:07:46.140 to sell you at a later time
  100. 00:07:47.200 – 00:07:50.860 or put you in a pipe system, it's a lead for them.
  101. 00:07:52.460 – 00:07:54.260 So that's what lead magnet is for.
  102. 00:07:54.500 – 00:07:57.060 Like I don't have lead magnets right now,
  103. 00:07:57.060 – 00:07:59.820 but I am going to get one soon
  104. 00:08:00.520 – 00:08:02.660 because it's important for business
  105. 00:08:03.500 – 00:08:06.240 to build your email list and your ecosystem.
  106. 00:08:07.100 – 00:08:08.800 And I only want your email.
  107. 00:08:08.800 – 00:08:10.860 A lot of people ask for email,
  108. 00:08:10.900 – 00:08:12.680 your address, your phone number.
  109. 00:08:13.580 – 00:08:15.420 Me, I just want your email.
  110. 00:08:15.800 – 00:08:18.260 Let's constantly be in communications
  111. 00:08:18.260 – 00:08:20.340 and be on my newsletter.
  112. 00:08:20.400 – 00:08:21.740 Let me help you.
  113. 00:08:22.080 – 00:08:24.460 If you are a creative entrepreneur,
  114. 00:08:25.460 – 00:08:26.740 I want to learn more.
  115. 00:08:26.820 – 00:08:28.020 And if you are creative,
  116. 00:08:28.060 – 00:08:29.600 wanting to be an entrepreneur,
  117. 00:08:31.020 – 00:08:33.140 join the email list.
  118. 00:08:33.659 – 00:08:35.280 Check the show notes.
  119. 00:08:35.440 – 00:08:38.740 This is of course to be on the email list
  120. 00:08:38.740 – 00:08:39.600 and to subscribe.
  121. 00:08:42.480 – 00:08:45.380 By the way, I'm tired, so bear with me.
  122. 00:08:45.740 – 00:08:49.820 It is 2 p.m. my time.
  123. 00:08:51.500 – 00:08:57.020 I just got to Vegas for a BPCon
  124. 00:08:57.020 – 00:09:00.420 and I will be doing some recaps
  125. 00:09:00.420 – 00:09:03.640 from day one, day two, and day three.
  126. 00:09:03.640 – 00:09:05.360 Day one is a half day.
  127. 00:09:06.020 – 00:09:10.220 Day one, and day two, and day three.
  128. 00:09:10.340 – 00:09:11.660 I may put them all together.
  129. 00:09:11.720 – 00:09:12.980 I might break it up.
  130. 00:09:13.140 – 00:09:17.900 I don't know, but I know I got to be consistent
  131. 00:09:17.900 – 00:09:19.720 and bring this content.
  132. 00:09:19.840 – 00:09:21.120 And this is day nine.
  133. 00:09:22.560 – 00:09:28.380 Tomorrow, I get on social media at,
  134. 00:09:29.880 – 00:09:34.280 well, it'll be midnight, nine p.m. in Vegas.
  135. 00:09:34.280 – 00:09:37.800 So technically, nine p.m. will be midnight
  136. 00:09:37.800 – 00:09:39.740 back where I stay in Ohio.
  137. 00:09:41.040 – 00:09:44.840 So will I wait the full 10 days
  138. 00:09:44.840 – 00:09:49.060 and just be like, well, it's midnight here or there.
  139. 00:09:50.340 – 00:09:52.360 Here is nine p.m.
  140. 00:09:53.120 – 00:09:55.300 I don't know.
  141. 00:09:55.840 – 00:09:59.900 But I definitely documented the process
  142. 00:09:59.900 – 00:10:03.820 and I appreciate everyone that followed along.
  143. 00:10:03.820 – 00:10:06.740 And it actually did the sabbatical with me.
  144. 00:10:06.980 – 00:10:10.580 I had a lot of feedback and people that said
  145. 00:10:10.580 – 00:10:14.080 they was thinking about doing something similar.
  146. 00:10:15.200 – 00:10:16.700 And I appreciate that.
  147. 00:10:17.500 – 00:10:19.800 And I hope they meant what they said
  148. 00:10:19.800 – 00:10:22.420 and actually took time away.
  149. 00:10:24.600 – 00:10:27.600 And digital awareness, you have to have breaks
  150. 00:10:27.600 – 00:10:32.160 no matter if that's a few hours throughout the day,
  151. 00:10:32.160 – 00:10:34.360 if you're heavily on social media
  152. 00:10:34.360 – 00:10:37.980 or a couple days away or like me,
  153. 00:10:38.020 – 00:10:40.740 a little over a week, 10 days.
  154. 00:10:41.640 – 00:10:46.220 This is my 10-day sabbatical and I'm on day nine
  155. 00:10:46.220 – 00:10:48.060 and I've done well.
  156. 00:10:48.120 – 00:10:52.620 I haven't touched social media at all.
  157. 00:10:53.260 – 00:10:55.000 I deleted the apps.
  158. 00:10:55.720 – 00:10:57.620 I stay away.
  159. 00:10:58.140 – 00:11:00.800 I was aware if I had it on my phone,
  160. 00:11:01.280 – 00:11:03.760 I would've slipped up and probably clicked it.
  161. 00:11:03.760 – 00:11:06.560 So I was aware enough to get rid of it
  162. 00:11:06.560 – 00:11:09.840 and delete the apps all together.
  163. 00:11:13.020 – 00:11:15.280 And I challenge you to do the same.
  164. 00:11:16.260 – 00:11:18.960 Start with three days, start with five days.
  165. 00:11:20.260 – 00:11:25.820 Some people be at work or on their studies,
  166. 00:11:27.140 – 00:11:30.440 just watch some TV, just on social media,
  167. 00:11:30.460 – 00:11:31.880 it's all in the background.
  168. 00:11:33.930 – 00:11:39.210 It's like a habit that you can't break or shake.
  169. 00:11:39.410 – 00:11:42.890 Just on in the background as you're doing other things.
  170. 00:11:43.930 – 00:11:44.550 Why?
  171. 00:11:45.710 – 00:11:47.430 Are you even aware of this?
  172. 00:11:47.910 – 00:11:50.710 How much time you are spending on social media?
  173. 00:11:51.030 – 00:11:53.330 How much time are you spending on your phone?
  174. 00:11:54.790 – 00:11:59.150 Now there's a study that I think is over 80%
  175. 00:11:59.150 – 00:12:03.030 of people wake up within the first 15 minutes,
  176. 00:12:03.030 – 00:12:04.570 they're on their phone,
  177. 00:12:04.910 – 00:12:08.450 and I'm pretty sure within those 15 minutes is social media.
  178. 00:12:09.710 – 00:12:12.490 So are you really aware of your actions
  179. 00:12:12.490 – 00:12:17.050 on what you're doing, your visual awareness?
  180. 00:12:20.750 – 00:12:24.950 Now, I recently got a massage.
  181. 00:12:26.830 – 00:12:30.890 Me and my lady got a massage
  182. 00:12:30.890 – 00:12:32.730 and often we give each other massage
  183. 00:12:32.730 – 00:12:37.790 and we'll be like, wow, this feels good.
  184. 00:12:37.830 – 00:12:40.590 I never know I was sore in this area.
  185. 00:12:43.010 – 00:12:46.050 As we give each other full body massages,
  186. 00:12:46.330 – 00:12:50.110 like wow, I was sore near my ankles
  187. 00:12:51.390 – 00:12:55.730 and my ligaments over here, over there,
  188. 00:12:56.030 – 00:12:57.990 I had neck pain, didn't know about,
  189. 00:13:00.110 – 00:13:03.430 until we just gave each other that massage.
  190. 00:13:06.150 – 00:13:09.270 And I even think about with our business,
  191. 00:13:09.390 – 00:13:11.690 how we're massaging our business,
  192. 00:13:12.110 – 00:13:14.270 like where are our pain points?
  193. 00:13:14.910 – 00:13:17.410 Where are we sore at in our business?
  194. 00:13:19.170 – 00:13:22.010 Where are things that we are not aware of?
  195. 00:13:22.370 – 00:13:24.390 Just like I wasn't aware of my pain
  196. 00:13:24.390 – 00:13:26.410 in certain areas of my body
  197. 00:13:26.410 – 00:13:31.550 until I got the massage on my lady,
  198. 00:13:32.490 – 00:13:36.110 rubbed me and all over until I started moaning
  199. 00:13:36.110 – 00:13:38.150 and groaning like, wow, this hurts.
  200. 00:13:39.450 – 00:13:43.110 Do that again, put some more oil on that, rub that spot.
  201. 00:13:45.500 – 00:13:46.780 You know, I don't have the courage,
  202. 00:13:47.380 – 00:13:50.160 but I'm a massageist because they're more professional
  203. 00:13:50.160 – 00:13:53.520 and I'm like, yeah, just cover everything.
  204. 00:13:54.160 – 00:13:56.540 I'm hurt right here, target that spot.
  205. 00:13:57.520 – 00:13:59.780 But you know, I'm with a loved one.
  206. 00:13:59.920 – 00:14:01.920 But it could be a little more personable.
  207. 00:14:03.640 – 00:14:05.760 And we do a little more support,
  208. 00:14:06.000 – 00:14:11.580 just like, you know, she had the shoulder blades
  209. 00:14:11.580 – 00:14:16.460 and rub them, she didn't know she had that pain there.
  210. 00:14:17.440 – 00:14:23.580 Like near underarms, stuff we never even think about,
  211. 00:14:23.720 – 00:14:27.400 like wow, didn't know I was sore, it hurts, it aches.
  212. 00:14:28.580 – 00:14:32.100 Yeah, continue right there, rub that a little harder,
  213. 00:14:32.320 – 00:14:34.820 a little more pressure right there.
  214. 00:14:35.720 – 00:14:38.640 So what are things in our business
  215. 00:14:38.640 – 00:14:43.100 on our entrepreneur journey that we are not aware of
  216. 00:14:43.100 – 00:14:48.160 that can easily be massaged and taken care of?
  217. 00:14:48.360 – 00:14:51.900 What are our pain points that we are not aware of?
  218. 00:14:53.200 – 00:14:57.120 Now think about when we're online on social media,
  219. 00:14:58.580 – 00:15:03.540 what are some of these pain points online?
  220. 00:15:04.380 – 00:15:08.520 What are these pain points in social media
  221. 00:15:08.520 – 00:15:11.240 that we are not aware of?
  222. 00:15:11.840 – 00:15:14.920 And that's why this is our digital footprint,
  223. 00:15:15.480 – 00:15:17.520 this is our digital awareness.
  224. 00:15:18.360 – 00:15:22.700 Are you aware why you are online?
  225. 00:15:24.240 – 00:15:26.280 And that's just something to think about
  226. 00:15:26.280 – 00:15:29.340 and something I want you to think about
  227. 00:15:29.340 – 00:15:31.900 while we continue being on this journey
  228. 00:15:32.500 – 00:15:34.300 as we continue to grow.
  229. 00:15:35.880 – 00:15:39.860 Are we digitally aware of what we are doing
  230. 00:15:40.880 – 00:15:42.740 with our digital footprint?
  231. 00:15:42.920 – 00:15:45.440 What are we leaving behind?
  232. 00:15:46.540 – 00:15:55.260 Because these digital footprints last forever, all right?
  233. 00:15:57.570 – 00:16:02.710 All right, y'all, I'm about to take a long sleep
  234. 00:16:03.710 – 00:16:07.870 as the conference starts tomorrow.
  235. 00:16:09.390 – 00:16:13.770 I am tired, I am jet-lagged, I am hungry,
  236. 00:16:14.790 – 00:16:20.110 but I am gonna shower, brush my teeth, and go to bed.
  237. 00:16:22.050 – 00:16:26.270 PPCon, I am on the way, I made it to Vegas.
  238. 00:16:27.450 – 00:16:32.450 Yes, yes, yes, and this is photographer Jackson.
  239. 00:16:32.710 – 00:16:36.750 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media,
  240. 00:16:37.650 – 00:16:40.030 bringing you this podcast,
  241. 00:16:40.930 – 00:16:44.490 Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  242. 00:16:46.820 – 00:16:48.720 Are you following, are you subscribed?
  243. 00:16:49.240 – 00:16:50.320 Please do.
  244. 00:16:50.840 – 00:16:53.820 If not, follow me on all social media,
  245. 00:16:54.960 – 00:16:58.320 at Alien Eyes Photos.
  246. 00:16:58.720 – 00:17:02.000 Again, that's Alien Eyes Photos,
  247. 00:17:02.000 – 00:17:07.500 and that's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with an S.
  248. 00:17:08.180 – 00:17:10.920 And if you wanna book me as an event photographer
  249. 00:17:10.920 – 00:17:15.400 or even a coach to help you with your business strategy
  250. 00:17:15.400 – 00:17:17.900 or just have a ideation session,
  251. 00:17:18.859 – 00:17:21.140 just me and you, just talk about some ideas
  252. 00:17:21.140 – 00:17:22.540 of what you can do differently.
  253. 00:17:24.020 – 00:17:29.000 You can book me at alieneyesphotos.com.
  254. 00:17:29.720 – 00:17:33.920 Again, that's Alien Eyes, like the old eyeballs,
  255. 00:17:34.800 – 00:17:41.540 Eyes with a Z, Photos with an S, alieneyesphotos.com.
  256. 00:17:42.440 – 00:17:45.780 And that's if you wanna check out my website
  257. 00:17:45.780 – 00:17:49.120 for more information or to book me directly.
  258. 00:17:50.200 – 00:17:53.740 And then if you need more inspiration on the creativity
  259. 00:17:53.740 – 00:17:56.640 and to see the behind the scenes of me and my lady,
  260. 00:17:57.160 – 00:18:00.360 you know, the one that was giving me those great massages.
  261. 00:18:01.140 – 00:18:03.320 Well, we are creatives at heart.
  262. 00:18:03.440 – 00:18:04.900 We used to do music,
  263. 00:18:05.180 – 00:18:07.480 and I used to do more poetry as well,
  264. 00:18:07.620 – 00:18:12.160 and now we transfer into video producers and photographers
  265. 00:18:12.160 – 00:18:14.720 and she more of an editor than I am,
  266. 00:18:14.720 – 00:18:17.940 but we're also editors to a lot of content,
  267. 00:18:18.260 – 00:18:22.000 content creators, and we show a lot of behind the scenes
  268. 00:18:22.000 – 00:18:25.980 and work inspire us to do what we do.
  269. 00:18:27.280 – 00:18:31.740 And we hope you are inspired by watching what we do.
  270. 00:18:32.460 – 00:18:38.280 But you could check us out over at Creative Frequency,
  271. 00:18:38.960 – 00:18:42.640 and all social media type in on a
  272. 00:18:42.640 – 00:18:45.280 and then Creative Frequency.
  273. 00:18:45.820 – 00:18:48.780 So on a Creative Frequency,
  274. 00:18:48.920 – 00:18:51.120 because we're always on a Creative Frequency
  275. 00:18:51.120 – 00:18:52.900 no matter what we do.
  276. 00:18:53.680 – 00:18:56.700 And also on YouTube on a Creative Frequency.
  277. 00:18:58.120 – 00:19:01.020 So check us out, follow us, subscribe,
  278. 00:19:01.720 – 00:19:03.140 shoot us a message, be like,
  279. 00:19:03.600 – 00:19:06.120 hey, we never thought about that.
  280. 00:19:06.340 – 00:19:09.580 Or hey, we love that you create
  281. 00:19:09.580 – 00:19:12.660 no matter what circumstance or where you're at.
  282. 00:19:13.180 – 00:19:17.160 Like we travel, we had to prop cameras and lights
  283. 00:19:17.160 – 00:19:20.500 or iron boards, use iron itself,
  284. 00:19:21.020 – 00:19:25.540 use a wall, whatever we have we're going to use
  285. 00:19:25.540 – 00:19:27.760 if we don't have what we need.
  286. 00:19:28.840 – 00:19:32.820 So check us out on a Creative Frequency on all platforms
  287. 00:19:33.320 – 00:19:35.120 because we're always creative
  288. 00:19:35.120 – 00:19:38.040 and keeping that frequency alive.
  289. 00:19:39.040 – 00:19:42.120 Again, this is Pataka Jackson, Steve Jackson.
  290. 00:19:42.280 – 00:19:46.520 This is day nine of my social media sabbatical.
  291. 00:19:46.520 – 00:19:50.660 Ooh, are y'all ready for that book?
  292. 00:19:51.460 – 00:19:52.680 It's coming soon.
  293. 00:19:52.820 – 00:19:54.460 I'm gonna link it in the show notes.
  294. 00:19:54.560 – 00:19:58.300 I'm gonna update it soon, but it's coming.
  295. 00:19:59.380 – 00:20:02.640 All right y'all, this is Alien Hospital's industry talk
  296. 00:20:03.220 – 00:20:06.500 and I am out, I'm going to bed y'all.
  297. 00:20:06.680 – 00:20:07.060 Peace.

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63. Day 8 Social Media Sabbatical Perfect Digital Image Online

Season 1 · Episode 18

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.590 – 00:00:03.530 Welcome, welcome, welcome.
  2. 00:00:04.850 – 00:00:10.470 This is day eight of the social media sabbatical.
  3. 00:00:12.590 – 00:00:14.910 My social media sabbatical.
  4. 00:00:16.290 – 00:00:18.990 Our social media, for some, for some,
  5. 00:00:19.050 – 00:00:20.270 I can't speak for everyone,
  6. 00:00:21.250 – 00:00:23.970 but I hope you took this seriously
  7. 00:00:24.830 – 00:00:29.230 and joined and really stayed all social media,
  8. 00:00:29.230 – 00:00:30.930 not even checking your emails
  9. 00:00:30.930 – 00:00:33.650 and see if you got a notification or a new message
  10. 00:00:33.650 – 00:00:39.530 or comment or new like, new follow, nothing.
  11. 00:00:40.810 – 00:00:42.230 Don't even think about the platform.
  12. 00:00:42.470 – 00:00:43.630 Delete it off your phone.
  13. 00:00:44.610 – 00:00:47.590 I surely took it off my phone, the home screen,
  14. 00:00:48.570 – 00:00:49.410 all that good stuff.
  15. 00:00:49.530 – 00:00:50.790 Well, I took it off the home screen.
  16. 00:00:51.190 – 00:00:54.010 I didn't delete it because I knew I was gonna need it
  17. 00:00:54.010 – 00:00:56.010 again if I know if I delete something,
  18. 00:00:56.430 – 00:00:59.210 I take so many photos and videos,
  19. 00:00:59.210 – 00:01:02.350 a lot of BTS, a lot of quick clips.
  20. 00:01:02.410 – 00:01:05.590 When I'm just out, like I'm out now walking,
  21. 00:01:05.810 – 00:01:08.370 I see deer, I gotta pull my phone out,
  22. 00:01:08.510 – 00:01:11.950 be creative, give some pictures of deer
  23. 00:01:11.950 – 00:01:16.410 while they're posted up behind the greenery,
  24. 00:01:16.590 – 00:01:18.630 the trees, the branches, the bushes
  25. 00:01:19.310 – 00:01:22.250 and all the other plants that's in here in nature.
  26. 00:01:24.470 – 00:01:26.510 Yeah, kind of cutting grass,
  27. 00:01:27.150 – 00:01:29.410 the Metro Park grass though.
  28. 00:01:29.410 – 00:01:33.050 You may hear lawn mower in the background
  29. 00:01:34.030 – 00:01:37.050 as they ride around and birds chirping
  30. 00:01:37.050 – 00:01:40.010 and different insects and stuff flying around.
  31. 00:01:40.710 – 00:01:45.230 But today I wanna talk about digital image,
  32. 00:01:45.470 – 00:01:47.030 your digital image.
  33. 00:01:47.310 – 00:01:49.770 And as we continue to talk about social media,
  34. 00:01:51.270 – 00:01:55.150 your perfect digital image on social media.
  35. 00:01:57.480 – 00:02:06.710 So I know a lot of people try to emulate
  36. 00:02:06.710 – 00:02:09.590 or keep up with the Joneses as to say,
  37. 00:02:10.610 – 00:02:15.090 keep up with society, what they see in the media,
  38. 00:02:15.210 – 00:02:18.130 what they see online, social media,
  39. 00:02:20.070 – 00:02:23.410 trying to keep up with the beauty trend, fads.
  40. 00:02:25.640 – 00:02:28.280 Oh, this woman has long legs
  41. 00:02:29.520 – 00:02:36.600 and curved shaped body, nice chest, beautiful,
  42. 00:02:38.000 – 00:02:42.940 make up to the core, have pads
  43. 00:02:42.940 – 00:02:47.020 and stuff wrapped around her to the core.
  44. 00:02:48.920 – 00:02:51.260 But take the picture, post it online,
  45. 00:02:52.740 – 00:02:56.040 a thousand plus likes and comments.
  46. 00:02:57.040 – 00:03:00.680 And another young girl sees that and says,
  47. 00:03:00.700 – 00:03:03.240 dang, I wanna be like that, I wanna emulate that.
  48. 00:03:03.440 – 00:03:09.100 And they post this picture and they break out
  49. 00:03:09.100 – 00:03:13.500 and pimples and just clothes not the same
  50. 00:03:13.500 – 00:03:17.420 as the other ladies clothes and they compare themselves.
  51. 00:03:19.340 – 00:03:22.780 But are we really showing up as our authentic self?
  52. 00:03:24.800 – 00:03:28.080 The unfiltered self, this is who I am.
  53. 00:03:28.820 – 00:03:31.200 And as we talk about that,
  54. 00:03:32.360 – 00:03:34.600 it's the same for our business, our brands,
  55. 00:03:35.540 – 00:03:38.760 our image as an entrepreneur, a business owner,
  56. 00:03:39.440 – 00:03:45.120 creative, are we really being authentic to ourselves?
  57. 00:03:46.920 – 00:03:49.120 Now, of course, you know, don't post trash,
  58. 00:03:50.680 – 00:03:52.540 but let's just be real.
  59. 00:03:54.500 – 00:03:55.800 This is what we're doing.
  60. 00:03:58.340 – 00:04:01.080 And I know as we are in the age of AI,
  61. 00:04:01.440 – 00:04:05.280 there's gonna be a lot of that trying to become perfect
  62. 00:04:05.280 – 00:04:08.560 or have this perfect image online
  63. 00:04:09.960 – 00:04:15.500 and all the picture filters, makeup, jaw,
  64. 00:04:16.519 – 00:04:19.899 then it like is tightening, it's so much.
  65. 00:04:21.200 – 00:04:24.580 And now that we have even better AI in this world
  66. 00:04:24.580 – 00:04:27.000 that we live in here in 2025
  67. 00:04:27.000 – 00:04:30.180 and it's continually increasing each month
  68. 00:04:30.180 – 00:04:32.100 and it's different tools and stuff
  69. 00:04:32.100 – 00:04:36.340 that's coming out rapidly, it's hard to keep up.
  70. 00:04:36.420 – 00:04:40.760 Now it's like the, almost like the information age,
  71. 00:04:40.860 – 00:04:42.060 how it just came out of rapid
  72. 00:04:42.060 – 00:04:45.760 and everything was like very open.
  73. 00:04:47.060 – 00:04:49.980 And now it's the same with technology, AI,
  74. 00:04:50.480 – 00:04:56.800 as it rapidly grows, how are we gonna show up
  75. 00:04:56.800 – 00:04:59.240 as our authentic self when we could be perfect
  76. 00:04:59.240 – 00:05:01.840 by touch of a button in a few clicks?
  77. 00:05:04.980 – 00:05:07.720 I really wanna know, we gotta be our authentic selves
  78. 00:05:07.720 – 00:05:09.400 and that's what's gonna stand out.
  79. 00:05:11.350 – 00:05:13.930 You know, we're seeing these AI images with four fingers,
  80. 00:05:15.030 – 00:05:20.790 six legs, three arms, two heads, missing the nose.
  81. 00:05:25.230 – 00:05:27.050 It's not perfect, it's showing up
  82. 00:05:27.050 – 00:05:30.210 as the best thing it could do, but it tried.
  83. 00:05:30.890 – 00:05:32.790 It just took an educated guess.
  84. 00:05:33.390 – 00:05:34.990 Best off what you told it.
  85. 00:05:35.990 – 00:05:37.150 It's not gonna always be right,
  86. 00:05:37.250 – 00:05:39.690 it's not gonna always be perfect.
  87. 00:05:42.190 – 00:05:45.990 This has been doing some good work and also bad work,
  88. 00:05:48.400 – 00:05:52.980 but it showed up as its authentic self technology.
  89. 00:05:54.500 – 00:05:56.860 Why can't you show up as your authentic self?
  90. 00:06:00.330 – 00:06:04.970 And I know it's hard and I know sometimes
  91. 00:06:04.970 – 00:06:09.550 we chase the likes, the comments, the engagement,
  92. 00:06:11.170 – 00:06:21.490 the money, the intention, but whoever is meant to see it
  93. 00:06:21.490 – 00:06:25.390 will see it, whoever is looking for it will look for it.
  94. 00:06:26.590 – 00:06:29.730 But you still have to be you, do you?
  95. 00:06:30.670 – 00:06:33.930 Your business, your brand has to do it
  96. 00:06:34.490 – 00:06:36.430 and you have to make sure of it.
  97. 00:06:37.410 – 00:06:39.930 Now image is important, don't get me wrong.
  98. 00:06:40.470 – 00:06:44.750 I'm a visual marketer, I'm an event photographer,
  99. 00:06:47.120 – 00:06:53.980 I'm a video producer, it's very important.
  100. 00:06:58.350 – 00:07:00.230 Very, very important.
  101. 00:07:01.490 – 00:07:04.190 But when you mix that with authenticity
  102. 00:07:04.810 – 00:07:10.030 with your authentic self, it just magnifies to have seen.
  103. 00:07:14.550 – 00:07:18.130 Not your perfect image, but your best image.
  104. 00:07:18.850 – 00:07:25.010 Your best image of you in this rare and raw moment.
  105. 00:07:26.750 – 00:07:28.330 No makeup, no filters.
  106. 00:07:29.610 – 00:07:31.270 I don't care if you just roll out of bed
  107. 00:07:31.270 – 00:07:32.850 and turn some lights on,
  108. 00:07:33.330 – 00:07:35.510 you know the lights is gonna help beautify you.
  109. 00:07:36.090 – 00:07:39.810 Give us some good soft light, take a photo.
  110. 00:07:41.130 – 00:07:42.490 Of course clean yourself up,
  111. 00:07:42.850 – 00:07:47.270 watch your face at least, clean yourself up.
  112. 00:07:47.950 – 00:07:51.110 But you don't have to get all dolled up, makeup.
  113. 00:07:52.650 – 00:07:55.550 And for us men, we don't gotta put on our best outfit
  114. 00:07:56.190 – 00:07:58.590 that we can't just wait to bring out.
  115. 00:08:00.680 – 00:08:03.840 No, let's show up as our authentic self.
  116. 00:08:05.000 – 00:08:08.480 Make it look good, feel good,
  117. 00:08:09.380 – 00:08:11.280 but show up as our authentic self.
  118. 00:08:12.600 – 00:08:17.180 Let's not get perfect, let's do it above average at least.
  119. 00:08:17.800 – 00:08:19.960 Let's go for good or great,
  120. 00:08:23.020 – 00:08:25.300 but above average at least.
  121. 00:08:28.540 – 00:08:31.900 And most of the time strive for the best.
  122. 00:08:32.720 – 00:08:34.179 The best way you can look,
  123. 00:08:34.480 – 00:08:40.140 the best image you can capture, deliver,
  124. 00:08:40.419 – 00:08:41.280 it's just a video.
  125. 00:08:43.020 – 00:08:44.980 Your best image, your best effort,
  126. 00:08:46.140 – 00:08:48.100 but let's not make it perfect
  127. 00:08:48.100 – 00:08:52.540 and keep up with everyone else you see online
  128. 00:08:52.540 – 00:08:55.020 or any other business you see online
  129. 00:08:55.020 – 00:08:57.240 and try to copy and compare yourself like,
  130. 00:08:57.800 – 00:09:01.180 oh, they got a million views and this and this.
  131. 00:09:01.600 – 00:09:05.380 Just don't stay in your own lane,
  132. 00:09:05.440 – 00:09:06.660 just try to get better.
  133. 00:09:06.920 – 00:09:10.340 And when I say best, I mean the best of yourself,
  134. 00:09:10.700 – 00:09:11.680 your best self.
  135. 00:09:12.760 – 00:09:14.480 Keep doing what you have to do.
  136. 00:09:16.390 – 00:09:18.770 Like, I barely,
  137. 00:09:20.150 – 00:09:24.170 I used to barely post myself on my social media.
  138. 00:09:25.790 – 00:09:27.430 I'm like, oh, I gotta serve my clients,
  139. 00:09:27.490 – 00:09:30.470 I gotta show my portfolio, show images, this and that.
  140. 00:09:30.750 – 00:09:33.910 Now, it's more of a personal brand,
  141. 00:09:34.250 – 00:09:36.750 not lifestyle, but more personal.
  142. 00:09:38.150 – 00:09:44.270 Show my personality as a photographer and content creator.
  143. 00:09:45.830 – 00:09:51.880 And all these other things, but I decided,
  144. 00:09:52.160 – 00:09:53.940 I'm like, I'm just gonna post myself,
  145. 00:09:55.640 – 00:09:57.740 my authentic self, my personality,
  146. 00:09:58.960 – 00:10:01.300 and also inspire and educate on the way.
  147. 00:10:02.280 – 00:10:05.880 And that's even more reason to the birth of the podcast
  148. 00:10:06.940 – 00:10:10.300 and it helped me just get a lot of thoughts
  149. 00:10:10.300 – 00:10:12.600 that are always having my mind out.
  150. 00:10:13.420 – 00:10:15.680 And people say I always had these good things to say
  151. 00:10:15.680 – 00:10:17.220 or I gave them great advice.
  152. 00:10:18.240 – 00:10:20.340 So I'm like, well, let's make it a win-win.
  153. 00:10:21.060 – 00:10:24.480 It's giving me time to even talk to myself
  154. 00:10:24.480 – 00:10:28.040 as in the sense of, again, getting my thoughts out,
  155. 00:10:29.180 – 00:10:32.540 especially as a business coach
  156. 00:10:33.140 – 00:10:35.620 to help a lot of creative entrepreneurs
  157. 00:10:37.120 – 00:10:39.800 or creatives that wanna become entrepreneurs
  158. 00:10:40.300 – 00:10:41.660 and help with that transition.
  159. 00:10:42.980 – 00:10:53.950 But I know not all the time I used to keep up
  160. 00:10:53.950 – 00:11:01.750 with my self-image as far as comparing with the Joneses.
  161. 00:11:01.790 – 00:11:09.800 That's to say, I wouldn't even post me,
  162. 00:11:09.820 – 00:11:12.180 but when I did post me,
  163. 00:11:14.400 – 00:11:18.500 I didn't really compare myself or say,
  164. 00:11:18.760 – 00:11:19.900 oh, I wanna be like them,
  165. 00:11:19.900 – 00:11:24.740 but I knew kind of like we are when we're young,
  166. 00:11:26.040 – 00:11:29.220 we kind of fabricate the story
  167. 00:11:29.220 – 00:11:33.420 or make something interesting just so we could post
  168. 00:11:33.420 – 00:11:34.760 and be like, get the wild,
  169. 00:11:34.820 – 00:11:36.040 like the highlight of our life,
  170. 00:11:36.560 – 00:11:38.780 like the best moment of the day,
  171. 00:11:39.620 – 00:11:41.220 oh, we're on top of the hill,
  172. 00:11:41.400 – 00:11:44.160 but nobody posted when they was on the bottom of the hill
  173. 00:11:44.160 – 00:11:47.980 or when they was going through the pain and the legs
  174. 00:11:47.980 – 00:11:48.740 and it was burning,
  175. 00:11:48.740 – 00:11:50.720 but nobody wanna take a picture of that.
  176. 00:11:51.280 – 00:11:53.140 People love the process, the journey,
  177. 00:11:53.760 – 00:11:55.880 and that's what I'm documenting here at the journey
  178. 00:11:55.880 – 00:12:00.840 and giving it to you all so you can see the process.
  179. 00:12:02.100 – 00:12:03.600 How is it really done?
  180. 00:12:04.580 – 00:12:06.340 Anybody okay here at the top?
  181. 00:12:07.500 – 00:12:09.420 And the picture looks nice, yeah, it's perfect.
  182. 00:12:10.040 – 00:12:12.120 That's the highlight, oh, the championship,
  183. 00:12:13.020 – 00:12:15.380 but what about the hard work you put in practice
  184. 00:12:15.980 – 00:12:18.800 long nights, barely sleeping sometimes
  185. 00:12:18.800 – 00:12:20.320 because you think it's on your mind
  186. 00:12:20.320 – 00:12:25.460 because you want to be the best self you can be.
  187. 00:12:31.380 – 00:12:32.010 What's going on?
  188. 00:12:34.280 – 00:12:39.500 So remember, always show up as your authentic self.
  189. 00:12:41.000 – 00:12:45.810 Keep being authentic, visual image
  190. 00:12:45.810 – 00:12:48.750 and digital image on social media.
  191. 00:12:50.030 – 00:12:51.350 It doesn't have to be perfect,
  192. 00:12:51.350 – 00:12:54.350 it just has to be your best effort, your best self.
  193. 00:12:54.450 – 00:12:59.850 Show up, unfiltered, without makeup, you're beautiful,
  194. 00:13:01.190 – 00:13:04.850 you're handsome, you're great, you're good looking.
  195. 00:13:09.460 – 00:13:12.980 And to all the ladies, you are pretty
  196. 00:13:13.520 – 00:13:18.340 because it's mostly, y'all are effective the most,
  197. 00:13:18.340 – 00:13:19.380 especially young ladies.
  198. 00:13:19.500 – 00:13:21.000 And as I have two daughters,
  199. 00:13:21.160 – 00:13:23.060 I'm especially speaking to them
  200. 00:13:23.060 – 00:13:25.120 as they're growing in social media age,
  201. 00:13:25.120 – 00:13:26.480 especially with the AI.
  202. 00:13:27.880 – 00:13:30.120 You are beautiful, you are pretty,
  203. 00:13:31.200 – 00:13:33.080 you are great, you are divine.
  204. 00:13:35.630 – 00:13:39.590 Yeah, I'm just gonna wrap up this vlog
  205. 00:13:39.590 – 00:13:44.250 because I got to edit before I head out on this trip.
  206. 00:13:48.480 – 00:13:52.620 And then I know I said my social media sabbatical
  207. 00:13:52.620 – 00:13:57.960 is ending the same day I go out of town.
  208. 00:13:58.740 – 00:14:03.760 So, you know, I network and also take pictures,
  209. 00:14:04.180 – 00:14:05.120 get some video.
  210. 00:14:06.560 – 00:14:08.440 I said, yeah, that'd be a perfect time
  211. 00:14:08.440 – 00:14:09.900 for me to get it back,
  212. 00:14:10.780 – 00:14:14.300 for me to come back alive on social media.
  213. 00:14:16.040 – 00:14:18.680 But I kind of been learning this journey
  214. 00:14:19.380 – 00:14:21.100 and also creating for the podcast,
  215. 00:14:21.180 – 00:14:23.700 just building, being consistent,
  216. 00:14:24.780 – 00:14:27.400 being more productive, being more focused.
  217. 00:14:27.960 – 00:14:30.480 Like I said, I have a lot of things to work on,
  218. 00:14:30.600 – 00:14:31.620 a lot of things to build.
  219. 00:14:32.060 – 00:14:35.180 I got to finish putting this book together for you all.
  220. 00:14:35.540 – 00:14:36.580 It is gonna be amazing.
  221. 00:14:36.600 – 00:14:38.480 I can't wait to read it myself
  222. 00:14:39.100 – 00:14:41.580 because me, as I just talk this out,
  223. 00:14:41.760 – 00:14:43.500 and it's just pure thought.
  224. 00:14:44.660 – 00:14:48.400 You know, I scripted maybe two of the days,
  225. 00:14:50.540 – 00:14:53.420 but this whole process just been from my heart,
  226. 00:14:53.880 – 00:14:55.400 just pure experience.
  227. 00:14:55.400 – 00:14:59.280 Again, just practicing with my communication
  228. 00:15:00.540 – 00:15:03.400 and articulating my thoughts effectively.
  229. 00:15:04.240 – 00:15:06.360 And the more I do it, the better I get.
  230. 00:15:06.760 – 00:15:10.860 So I definitely want to practice and exercise that muscle.
  231. 00:15:14.590 – 00:15:19.430 I am power walking to give you all a lecture.
  232. 00:15:20.950 – 00:15:25.790 But this is all about the perfect image,
  233. 00:15:25.790 – 00:15:27.710 your perfect digital image.
  234. 00:15:29.150 – 00:15:30.350 You already good looking.
  235. 00:15:31.690 – 00:15:33.470 Let's just leave it at that.
  236. 00:15:34.610 – 00:15:36.670 All right, about to end this walk.
  237. 00:15:37.490 – 00:15:40.410 So I can head back and start editing before this trip.
  238. 00:15:41.510 – 00:15:44.230 And I'll be back on social media soon.
  239. 00:15:45.630 – 00:15:48.370 Maybe another couple more days.
  240. 00:15:49.530 – 00:15:54.610 The 10 days is over with, so I will be back soon.
  241. 00:15:55.790 – 00:15:57.890 I will update everybody,
  242. 00:15:59.170 – 00:16:00.950 and then I might be gone again.
  243. 00:16:02.070 – 00:16:03.670 Gone again in 60 seconds.
  244. 00:16:06.210 – 00:16:09.010 But I appreciate you all for tuning in.
  245. 00:16:09.030 – 00:16:10.170 This has been amazing.
  246. 00:16:11.410 – 00:16:13.250 Thank you all for listening.
  247. 00:16:14.710 – 00:16:15.710 Keep going.
  248. 00:16:16.150 – 00:16:17.350 This has been amazing.
  249. 00:16:17.970 – 00:16:19.670 And I hope you feel the same.
  250. 00:16:21.010 – 00:16:23.190 All right, this is photographer Jackson,
  251. 00:16:23.190 – 00:16:28.210 and Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  252. 00:16:29.490 – 00:16:34.550 And you can follow me at Alien Eyes Photos
  253. 00:16:35.550 – 00:16:43.510 as Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S, Alien Eyes Photos.
  254. 00:16:43.730 – 00:16:48.950 And follow on a creator frequency on our social media.
  255. 00:16:49.570 – 00:16:51.730 If you haven't heard of creator frequency,
  256. 00:16:52.410 – 00:16:56.850 that's me, Brianna Casanova of Overflow Studios.
  257. 00:16:58.010 – 00:17:00.690 So definitely check out Overflow Studios.
  258. 00:17:01.350 – 00:17:03.010 It'll be in the show notes.
  259. 00:17:04.690 – 00:17:08.650 But yeah, creator frequency is our creative journey,
  260. 00:17:08.770 – 00:17:10.869 which is behind the scenes, our life.
  261. 00:17:11.910 – 00:17:14.810 Again, that motivation and continue to do
  262. 00:17:14.810 – 00:17:18.410 what you gotta do as we're consistent in all we do.
  263. 00:17:18.470 – 00:17:20.130 And we've been posting,
  264. 00:17:20.130 – 00:17:22.250 well, since I've been on the sabbatical,
  265. 00:17:22.490 – 00:17:25.430 she been posting all the content.
  266. 00:17:25.690 – 00:17:29.990 But yeah, we post all our behind the scenes
  267. 00:17:29.990 – 00:17:32.890 of just us going through it,
  268. 00:17:33.130 – 00:17:34.710 whether that's good or bad.
  269. 00:17:34.910 – 00:17:36.970 We're showing up as our authentic selves.
  270. 00:17:37.830 – 00:17:40.910 And even in Atlanta, we had a conference
  271. 00:17:40.910 – 00:17:43.350 so we can't bring much stuff.
  272. 00:17:45.710 – 00:17:47.970 But just being in a hotel,
  273. 00:17:47.970 – 00:17:50.690 creating content at the end of the day,
  274. 00:17:50.990 – 00:17:52.390 after this long conference,
  275. 00:17:55.330 – 00:17:57.790 and having to use some equipment.
  276. 00:18:01.430 – 00:18:05.650 Props are replacements, I guess I could say, of props.
  277. 00:18:07.110 – 00:18:09.130 Because we didn't have all our tools.
  278. 00:18:09.770 – 00:18:11.910 We can't lug around our big equipment.
  279. 00:18:12.590 – 00:18:16.250 So we had to use ironboard, the iron itself,
  280. 00:18:16.740 – 00:18:20.990 and a wall, just get creative in what we can use
  281. 00:18:21.420 – 00:18:24.410 to help us out as we film and create.
  282. 00:18:26.190 – 00:18:28.630 But just showing the whole process,
  283. 00:18:28.710 – 00:18:32.550 not just the final product, that's what to say.
  284. 00:18:33.530 – 00:18:35.890 So really showing our authentic selves,
  285. 00:18:35.890 – 00:18:36.910 showing up anyway.
  286. 00:18:37.810 – 00:18:42.010 So again, follow Creative Frequency on all social media
  287. 00:18:42.890 – 00:18:45.410 on a Creative Frequency,
  288. 00:18:46.050 – 00:18:49.670 at on a Creative Frequency.
  289. 00:18:50.350 – 00:18:54.510 And also on YouTube, check out our channel and subscribe.
  290. 00:18:55.210 – 00:18:56.870 Don't be afraid to comment either.
  291. 00:18:57.870 – 00:19:00.230 We'll be watching and replying back to you.
  292. 00:19:01.450 – 00:19:03.310 And then if you want more information
  293. 00:19:03.310 – 00:19:05.710 or to book me as an event photographer
  294. 00:19:05.710 – 00:19:08.310 or business coach,
  295. 00:19:09.050 – 00:19:13.820 you can visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  296. 00:19:15.530 – 00:19:18.250 Alien eyes with a Z, like your eyeballs.
  297. 00:19:18.830 – 00:19:20.750 Eyes with a Z.
  298. 00:19:21.190 – 00:19:23.290 Photos with a S.
  299. 00:19:23.790 – 00:19:24.690 Dot com.
  300. 00:19:26.490 – 00:19:27.970 Alieneyesphotos.com.
  301. 00:19:28.890 – 00:19:30.630 All right, y'all, this is photographer Jackson
  302. 00:19:30.630 – 00:19:32.330 of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  303. 00:19:32.330 – 00:19:35.250 and Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  304. 00:19:35.750 – 00:19:38.990 This is day eight of my social media sabbatical.
  305. 00:19:40.230 – 00:19:41.350 This has been a great one.
  306. 00:19:41.430 – 00:19:43.850 This is about the perfect digital image.
  307. 00:19:45.090 – 00:19:45.950 All right, y'all, peace.

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64. Day 7 Social Media Sabbatical Satisfaction

Season 1 · Episode 17

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  1. 00:00:00.720 – 00:00:10.940 Welcome welcome welcome to alienize photos industry talk and this is day
  2. 00:00:10.940 – 00:00:20.060 seven hey day seven of my social media sabbatical and speaking of seven day
  3. 00:00:20.060 – 00:00:24.580 seven I have my daughter seven with me in the car as I record this and hey
  4. 00:00:26.920 – 00:00:33.980 the irony of this is day seven and wow and now yeah I have an event to cover
  5. 00:00:33.980 – 00:00:40.180 today so yeah I had to figure out when I'm gonna record this and I'm like hey
  6. 00:00:40.180 – 00:00:46.060 let's do this in a car before the event because yeah we have to stop and
  7. 00:00:46.060 – 00:00:50.680 get something to eat before the event as we're kind of pressed with time
  8. 00:00:50.680 – 00:00:56.780 I'm recording this right now right here in the car just to knock it out but
  9. 00:00:56.780 – 00:01:03.980 today I want to speak on satisfaction are you satisfied with what you're
  10. 00:01:03.980 – 00:01:07.600 doing in your business with what you're doing with your creative
  11. 00:01:07.600 – 00:01:19.430 endeavors your art are you satisfied with life are you content are you
  12. 00:01:19.430 – 00:01:27.970 satisfied are you complacent just standing there doing the same things
  13. 00:01:27.970 – 00:01:33.680 over and over like a hamster wheel over and over and over and over again
  14. 00:01:35.820 – 00:01:46.500 are you satisfied and unlock unlike the the other days I'm kind of like
  15. 00:01:46.500 – 00:01:52.600 teaching this one would be more motivational more inspirational just
  16. 00:01:52.600 – 00:02:02.530 something to think about take on this perspective is thought are you really
  17. 00:02:02.530 – 00:02:11.060 satisfied with your life are you really satisfied with your entrepreneur
  18. 00:02:11.060 – 00:02:18.780 journey your business are you satisfied with the actions you are
  19. 00:02:18.780 – 00:02:25.630 currently doing right now what are you doing that keeps you satisfied
  20. 00:02:29.340 – 00:02:34.400 what are some things that you could change to make you more satisfied and
  21. 00:02:34.400 – 00:02:45.170 what you're doing now I know a lot of times we start start many things we're
  22. 00:02:45.170 – 00:02:56.960 not satisfied so also want to say don't quit before you even start if
  23. 00:02:56.960 – 00:03:09.200 day two you really can't judge the whole criteria off two days one or two
  24. 00:03:09.200 – 00:03:16.180 days and then you say you quit of course it's not gonna be sunshine and
  25. 00:03:16.180 – 00:03:24.120 rainbows the first couple days you start I would have been quit I started
  26. 00:03:24.120 – 00:03:31.040 my business it was rough rough wasn't satisfied for a while I found things
  27. 00:03:31.040 – 00:03:38.500 that satisfied me are even more was amazing and then there was other things
  28. 00:03:38.500 – 00:03:45.860 that oh no I'm not satisfied with and the financial the pay I surely wasn't
  29. 00:03:45.860 – 00:03:51.840 satisfied now I was doing all types of photography before I niche it down
  30. 00:03:51.840 – 00:03:56.320 to you know being an event photographer because I love events that's actually
  31. 00:03:56.320 – 00:04:04.820 how I started I used to record people on my iPhone after I performed our
  32. 00:04:04.820 – 00:04:10.300 host event like I introduced them and then record the performance take
  33. 00:04:10.300 – 00:04:15.400 pictures on my phone are even the same after I perform I recorded other
  34. 00:04:15.400 – 00:04:20.600 performers and help them with their social media just the kindness of my
  35. 00:04:20.600 – 00:04:24.620 because I know how I am as an artist I would want some footage I want some
  36. 00:04:24.620 – 00:04:32.500 pictures you know performing so I did it for others and decided to invest in
  37. 00:04:32.500 – 00:04:39.660 the camera so I study learn invest in the camera bought the camera and kind
  38. 00:04:39.660 – 00:04:45.980 of shift gears to photography more visual art and then brought it more
  39. 00:04:45.980 – 00:04:54.900 towards visual marketing so if I would have quit it when I first started
  40. 00:04:54.900 – 00:04:59.100 because things wasn't going my way or working out or I wasn't completely
  41. 00:04:59.100 – 00:05:03.860 satisfied oh I wouldn't be where I am today you probably want to be
  42. 00:05:03.860 – 00:05:14.840 listening to this podcast me on this audio if I would have quit so do not
  43. 00:05:14.840 – 00:05:19.360 be discouraged on your first couple days your first week of starting something
  44. 00:05:19.360 – 00:05:24.720 new it's a growing process it's a learning process we all get frustrated
  45. 00:05:24.720 – 00:05:28.600 sometimes and while we're trying to figure things out we really can't
  46. 00:05:28.600 – 00:05:36.060 figure these out and keep bumping our head on the wall but it takes time it
  47. 00:05:36.060 – 00:05:41.300 takes time to perfect things the way you want to perfect it or get get
  48. 00:05:41.300 – 00:05:53.660 to where you wanted to be and to truly be satisfied I remember doing free free
  49. 00:05:53.660 – 00:06:00.120 events cover free events with photos video even people in my network gave
  50. 00:06:00.120 – 00:06:04.480 them free photo shoots you know just to practice and get my portfolio up
  51. 00:06:05.890 – 00:06:18.850 and my first price was $50 charging $50 an hour for a photo shoot and kind of
  52. 00:06:18.850 – 00:06:23.830 the same with events until I started raising my prices on events still had
  53. 00:06:23.830 – 00:06:32.300 the $50 photo shoots and then started off with 75 an hour for events and
  54. 00:06:32.300 – 00:06:40.520 then raised it up to you know basically doubled it 150 to kind of like where I'm
  55. 00:06:40.520 – 00:06:50.300 at now $300 an hour for events photography coverage that was my main
  56. 00:06:50.300 – 00:06:55.680 package just like a half day rate so it's four hours special ratings for
  57. 00:06:56.960 – 00:07:03.220 and then also full day rates so that's kind of what I push is my half day rates
  58. 00:07:03.220 – 00:07:08.720 like that middle ground but if people want to book hourly I do accept that
  59. 00:07:09.300 – 00:07:16.740 same with photography and also for video but yeah $50 so I was getting
  60. 00:07:16.740 – 00:07:23.680 somewhere then I just seen all the editing on the back end after photo
  61. 00:07:23.680 – 00:07:29.600 shoot so I'm like well I'm missing out on a lot cuz I'm spending so many hours
  62. 00:07:29.600 – 00:07:36.480 too many hours after the photo shoot it's like dang I'm working for pennies
  63. 00:07:37.080 – 00:07:40.720 way after the photo shoot because I'm editing and doing this and doing
  64. 00:07:40.720 – 00:07:45.120 that and the delivery to follow up the emails so it's so much after the
  65. 00:07:45.120 – 00:07:49.820 fact even things before the fact and then planning and that it's not just
  66. 00:07:49.820 – 00:07:56.740 taking a picture and then we're done it's a process to it and back on this
  67. 00:07:56.740 – 00:08:06.340 sabbatical I spoke about systems the power of systems day five so we have
  68. 00:08:06.340 – 00:08:13.000 to follow these processes follow these systems and you know create how
  69. 00:08:13.000 – 00:08:19.780 much we charge but it's an investment for whoever wants to purchase your
  70. 00:08:19.780 – 00:08:25.860 service or if you have a product your product it's time to rate create a
  71. 00:08:25.860 – 00:08:33.780 product time to market time to distribute the whole production process
  72. 00:08:34.760 – 00:08:41.100 the cost of material so much go into a product it's a little different for
  73. 00:08:41.100 – 00:08:46.640 digital products but for a physical product it's a lot that goes to a lot
  74. 00:08:47.400 – 00:09:00.650 so back to being satisfied what can help you be satisfied and what you
  75. 00:09:00.650 – 00:09:12.570 already doing right now right now what little tweak and change can help you be
  76. 00:09:12.570 – 00:09:17.450 more satisfied and again I could be with life or in your business or your
  77. 00:09:17.450 – 00:09:26.450 journey your creative endeavors whatever that may be what little tweak
  78. 00:09:26.450 – 00:09:36.510 can you make we all love happiness we all love peace we all love love and we
  79. 00:09:36.510 – 00:09:46.550 love being loved that we're happy love that we love that we're happy it's
  80. 00:09:46.550 – 00:09:54.500 no better feeling than that and that goes with being satisfied so there's
  81. 00:09:54.500 – 00:09:59.600 nothing to think about what keeps you satisfied and how and what can make you
  82. 00:09:59.600 – 00:10:08.920 satisfied if you're not satisfied so let's wrap it up with saying just be
  83. 00:10:08.920 – 00:10:17.860 satisfied be amazing be great it's already within you I gotta take take
  84. 00:10:17.860 – 00:10:22.980 this to a whole nother level and just say you're already satisfied
  85. 00:10:24.320 – 00:10:33.040 because you simply made the thought all right that's my time this is Steve
  86. 00:10:33.040 – 00:10:39.400 Jackson it's the photographer Jackson of alien eyes photos media bringing you
  87. 00:10:39.400 – 00:10:45.160 alien eyes photos industry talk if you want to find more information or to
  88. 00:10:45.160 – 00:10:54.660 book me visit alien eyes photos calm alien eyes with a Z photos with a S
  89. 00:10:55.680 – 00:11:02.320 you can follow me on social media but currently I am not active I got three
  90. 00:11:02.320 – 00:11:10.330 more days but follow me at alien eyes photos that's alien eyes photos on all
  91. 00:11:10.460 – 00:11:19.140 social media and follow on a creative frequency look at our creative journey
  92. 00:11:19.140 – 00:11:28.140 me and Brie and I casa nobody as we keeping you inspired to be creative as
  93. 00:11:28.140 – 00:11:31.860 you look at our journey in the behind the scenes of what we do and just to
  94. 00:11:31.860 – 00:11:37.460 make it work creatively again this is photographer Jackson of alien eyes photos
  95. 00:11:37.460 – 00:11:43.200 photos media bringing you alien eyes photos industry talk this is all
  96. 00:11:43.200 – 00:11:51.180 about being satisfied just be satisfied because you are already satisfied by
  97. 00:11:51.180 – 00:11:53.940 making the thought all right y'all peace

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65. Day 6 Social Media Sabbatical Produce Do Not Consume

Season 1 · Episode 16

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  1. 00:00:01.330 – 00:00:05.170 Welcome, welcome, welcome.
  2. 00:00:06.130 – 00:00:11.450 This is day six of my social media sabbatical.
  3. 00:00:13.250 – 00:00:14.390 Day six.
  4. 00:00:15.550 – 00:00:18.190 This has truly been an amazing journey.
  5. 00:00:19.550 – 00:00:21.570 I'm going for 10 days,
  6. 00:00:22.170 – 00:00:23.370 but like I always say,
  7. 00:00:23.450 – 00:00:25.850 it's probably gonna be more than 10 days.
  8. 00:00:26.770 – 00:00:29.810 But I might pop on, pop right back off.
  9. 00:00:30.310 – 00:00:33.230 Just to update and check some messages.
  10. 00:00:34.930 – 00:00:39.690 But today I wanna speak on actually social media.
  11. 00:00:41.230 – 00:00:44.310 And everybody know me as a content creator,
  12. 00:00:44.890 – 00:00:47.750 photographer, video producer.
  13. 00:00:49.950 – 00:00:52.610 And with that being said,
  14. 00:00:53.970 – 00:00:57.190 for all my people that's like me and content creators,
  15. 00:00:57.190 – 00:01:00.930 even entrepreneurs, business owners,
  16. 00:01:02.450 – 00:01:04.690 produce, don't consume.
  17. 00:01:06.110 – 00:01:08.910 And what I mean by that when you're on social media,
  18. 00:01:10.910 – 00:01:13.990 produce the content, don't consume the content.
  19. 00:01:15.710 – 00:01:21.630 Like I strategically follow people that I can learn from,
  20. 00:01:23.700 – 00:01:27.980 that I could build with strategic partners
  21. 00:01:29.260 – 00:01:33.000 because especially how the algorithm is now,
  22. 00:01:33.680 – 00:01:36.060 they show you all types of things.
  23. 00:01:36.080 – 00:01:39.280 Even things that you probably don't even wanna see
  24. 00:01:39.280 – 00:01:44.520 or unaware about or suggested follows, suggested people
  25. 00:01:44.520 – 00:01:48.940 that the content that you think that you would like.
  26. 00:01:50.020 – 00:01:52.640 So take control of that.
  27. 00:01:53.520 – 00:01:55.300 I know they have the do not,
  28. 00:01:58.340 – 00:02:03.740 the not interest button and I like this content.
  29. 00:02:04.180 – 00:02:06.300 So the more you like a certain thing,
  30. 00:02:06.320 – 00:02:08.740 the more they're gonna show and suggest.
  31. 00:02:09.740 – 00:02:12.680 So if you don't consume it,
  32. 00:02:13.360 – 00:02:15.620 they're gonna feed you all types of things,
  33. 00:02:15.620 – 00:02:20.820 but it's good to push that not suggested button.
  34. 00:02:21.620 – 00:02:23.160 And I got a good 10 minutes
  35. 00:02:23.160 – 00:02:28.060 before I had to pick up this food here a little bit early.
  36. 00:02:28.920 – 00:02:30.140 So I had 10 minutes.
  37. 00:02:30.140 – 00:02:34.080 I've been on the road for about an hour and a half
  38. 00:02:34.080 – 00:02:39.500 doing this drive and stopping at some food.
  39. 00:02:40.800 – 00:02:42.340 I got 10 minutes before it's ready.
  40. 00:02:42.360 – 00:02:45.560 So I wanna get this episode together
  41. 00:02:45.560 – 00:02:50.660 and just talk about producing the content.
  42. 00:02:50.820 – 00:02:53.340 Versus consuming the content.
  43. 00:02:54.840 – 00:02:58.600 Now, again, if we do consume the content,
  44. 00:03:00.820 – 00:03:06.700 you'll want to follow pages, follow people,
  45. 00:03:06.980 – 00:03:11.620 follow businesses that are aligned with you.
  46. 00:03:12.700 – 00:03:18.900 Like I have a inspirational save tabs and folder
  47. 00:03:20.820 – 00:03:24.760 for people that's doing what I do,
  48. 00:03:24.760 – 00:03:29.920 but at a higher level, almost like a,
  49. 00:03:31.560 – 00:03:34.200 what would you say, a vision board almost,
  50. 00:03:34.860 – 00:03:38.580 a digital vision board that I could just go back
  51. 00:03:38.580 – 00:03:45.660 to reference, look at whenever I need that inspiration.
  52. 00:03:46.920 – 00:03:52.700 And I know a lot of people wake up to their phone,
  53. 00:03:53.100 – 00:03:56.700 wake up, get on social media, consume the content,
  54. 00:03:56.820 – 00:03:59.880 consume the content before they even brush their teeth,
  55. 00:03:59.920 – 00:04:03.280 wash their face, shower, do their morning routine
  56. 00:04:05.600 – 00:04:09.320 and do all of that and then go straight to work.
  57. 00:04:10.840 – 00:04:14.120 So they're miserable when they get to work,
  58. 00:04:14.240 – 00:04:15.920 miserable when they wake up
  59. 00:04:15.920 – 00:04:20.660 because it's not good content all the time.
  60. 00:04:22.240 – 00:04:25.040 It's whatever the social media platform gives them,
  61. 00:04:25.100 – 00:04:30.100 whatever Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or X,
  62. 00:04:31.620 – 00:04:35.420 or whatever platform they may be on, gives them.
  63. 00:04:36.540 – 00:04:37.140 TikTok.
  64. 00:04:39.080 – 00:04:46.930 So if you wake up, do things that are inspirational,
  65. 00:04:47.330 – 00:04:50.130 especially for me since I'm not on social media
  66. 00:04:50.130 – 00:04:55.750 at the moment, I have different books that inspire me.
  67. 00:04:56.030 – 00:05:01.470 So I wake up, stretch, get myself together,
  68. 00:05:01.670 – 00:05:03.250 brush my teeth, shower.
  69. 00:05:04.410 – 00:05:07.370 I used to journal, but not so much.
  70. 00:05:07.930 – 00:05:10.190 Like when I was writing different books,
  71. 00:05:10.350 – 00:05:13.650 writing books, I used to journal a lot,
  72. 00:05:13.650 – 00:05:19.890 my notes, my thoughts to formulate my chapters,
  73. 00:05:19.990 – 00:05:22.930 outline and finish the outline,
  74. 00:05:23.030 – 00:05:25.990 build off the chapters and the manuscript,
  75. 00:05:26.050 – 00:05:32.280 but on the opposite side, instead of writing, I'm reading.
  76. 00:05:32.520 – 00:05:36.120 I'm reading things that are in my industry,
  77. 00:05:37.040 – 00:05:41.240 more about marketing, sales, general business,
  78. 00:05:41.240 – 00:05:47.500 frameworks, offers, and in turn,
  79. 00:05:48.200 – 00:05:50.000 teaching you all that as well.
  80. 00:05:50.860 – 00:05:53.920 And anybody that hired me as a coach,
  81. 00:05:54.680 – 00:05:56.480 know they get the same treatment,
  82. 00:05:57.320 – 00:06:00.160 and I recommend certain books,
  83. 00:06:01.220 – 00:06:04.220 certain topics to study, send them videos,
  84. 00:06:05.080 – 00:06:08.140 inspiration, past things that I have done,
  85. 00:06:08.860 – 00:06:12.900 and I will continue to build out education and have books,
  86. 00:06:13.860 – 00:06:16.820 and building on my first course, so stay tuned for that.
  87. 00:06:17.700 – 00:06:22.080 And again, I'm working on a book in this process
  88. 00:06:22.080 – 00:06:24.780 while I'm away from social media for these 10 days,
  89. 00:06:24.780 – 00:06:28.420 so stay tuned for that.
  90. 00:06:29.320 – 00:06:32.300 And I will have to update the description
  91. 00:06:32.300 – 00:06:34.460 with the link of this book.
  92. 00:06:35.060 – 00:06:40.060 So if you're viewing this or listening to this
  93. 00:06:42.380 – 00:06:45.800 after September or after mid-October,
  94. 00:06:46.380 – 00:06:48.700 you will see the link to the book,
  95. 00:06:48.760 – 00:06:52.920 so be sure to download and purchase it.
  96. 00:06:52.940 – 00:06:54.820 I'm gonna make it a reasonable price,
  97. 00:06:55.120 – 00:06:57.760 and then later in this year,
  98. 00:06:57.760 – 00:07:00.360 I will have a course to pair with it,
  99. 00:07:00.460 – 00:07:03.020 so stay tuned for that.
  100. 00:07:03.020 – 00:07:07.180 Again, produce the content, don't consume it.
  101. 00:07:08.680 – 00:07:11.960 And when I say produce, what is your industry?
  102. 00:07:14.960 – 00:07:20.020 Follow a model of someone that inspires you
  103. 00:07:20.020 – 00:07:26.320 or that's doing big business that you want to be at
  104. 00:07:26.320 – 00:07:29.340 or the level you want to be at, desire to be at.
  105. 00:07:30.480 – 00:07:31.480 Kind of model them.
  106. 00:07:32.160 – 00:07:36.980 Even reach out to them, ask them questions on suggestions
  107. 00:07:36.980 – 00:07:39.600 or how can I get there, how can I be more like you?
  108. 00:07:40.320 – 00:07:42.260 I want to get better.
  109. 00:07:43.220 – 00:07:46.640 Read their books, read their content,
  110. 00:07:48.500 – 00:07:51.960 practice, write your scripts,
  111. 00:07:53.820 – 00:07:56.440 write your content out before you deliver it.
  112. 00:07:57.620 – 00:07:59.140 Practice, practice, practice,
  113. 00:07:59.140 – 00:08:02.540 and the more you practice, the better you can produce,
  114. 00:08:02.960 – 00:08:05.720 and you want to be a high-level producer.
  115. 00:08:08.020 – 00:08:10.880 Like post once or twice a day.
  116. 00:08:12.440 – 00:08:14.940 Like I'm not even posting once or twice a day
  117. 00:08:14.940 – 00:08:17.460 because I was a consumer,
  118. 00:08:18.300 – 00:08:20.260 but now that I'm stepping back and like,
  119. 00:08:20.280 – 00:08:22.460 wow, I have all this content,
  120. 00:08:22.480 – 00:08:24.120 but I haven't even posted it,
  121. 00:08:25.260 – 00:08:27.120 and I can't post it all at once,
  122. 00:08:27.180 – 00:08:28.780 and then the social media platform's
  123. 00:08:28.780 – 00:08:30.160 gonna think I'm spamming.
  124. 00:08:30.890 – 00:08:34.840 I'm posting 100 content pieces a day
  125. 00:08:34.840 – 00:08:37.900 just to catch up for all the times I didn't post.
  126. 00:08:39.140 – 00:08:41.440 So when I do get back on social media,
  127. 00:08:41.740 – 00:08:43.659 I will have a better routine,
  128. 00:08:43.659 – 00:08:46.460 but if you follow on a creator frequency,
  129. 00:08:47.360 – 00:08:51.120 which is my inspirational creative brand
  130. 00:08:51.120 – 00:08:53.580 with my partner Brianna Casanova,
  131. 00:08:53.840 – 00:08:56.280 we're both former music artists,
  132. 00:08:56.530 – 00:08:58.900 and we're currently into visual media,
  133. 00:08:58.980 – 00:09:01.240 podcast production, photography.
  134. 00:09:02.940 – 00:09:05.400 So everything revolves around creativity
  135. 00:09:05.400 – 00:09:08.600 and help inspiring anyone that's viewing us
  136. 00:09:08.600 – 00:09:12.960 on our creative journey to feel inspired to create,
  137. 00:09:13.500 – 00:09:16.540 produce that content, do the work no matter what.
  138. 00:09:16.980 – 00:09:18.740 Like we were in Atlanta,
  139. 00:09:19.860 – 00:09:22.240 and we couldn't bring all of our equipment,
  140. 00:09:22.260 – 00:09:25.200 so we using iron and boards, the iron,
  141. 00:09:25.200 – 00:09:27.280 propping things up on the wall,
  142. 00:09:27.280 – 00:09:30.660 just using the resources that we have in creating
  143. 00:09:30.660 – 00:09:32.420 no matter what we created.
  144. 00:09:33.980 – 00:09:36.060 And speaking on that inspiration
  145. 00:09:36.060 – 00:09:38.260 and the people that's at a higher level,
  146. 00:09:39.720 – 00:09:42.700 David Shands, who also is a business coach
  147. 00:09:42.700 – 00:09:43.980 and has a podcast.
  148. 00:09:44.820 – 00:09:48.500 I actually had the opportunity to run with him.
  149. 00:09:48.560 – 00:09:51.380 I attended the podcast summit in Atlanta
  150. 00:09:51.830 – 00:09:53.920 and had the opportunity to run with him
  151. 00:09:53.920 – 00:09:55.520 and ask him a few questions.
  152. 00:09:56.380 – 00:09:58.180 So continue to do the work.
  153. 00:09:59.240 – 00:10:02.640 And you know, you could be where you want to be,
  154. 00:10:03.580 – 00:10:06.940 continue to produce, continue to do the work,
  155. 00:10:07.860 – 00:10:09.480 and you will get there.
  156. 00:10:11.290 – 00:10:15.150 Again, I appreciate you listening as always.
  157. 00:10:16.170 – 00:10:17.730 This is photographer Jackson,
  158. 00:10:17.990 – 00:10:21.190 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media
  159. 00:10:21.190 – 00:10:24.670 bringing you Alien Eyes Photos industry talk
  160. 00:10:24.670 – 00:10:25.970 here, here, here.
  161. 00:10:27.330 – 00:10:29.810 And I wanted to make this a little longer,
  162. 00:10:29.830 – 00:10:31.290 but I got to pick up my food.
  163. 00:10:31.330 – 00:10:33.290 I am so hungry and exhausted.
  164. 00:10:34.410 – 00:10:36.110 I was dozing off on the road,
  165. 00:10:36.130 – 00:10:39.030 but I'm glad I made it, pulled over,
  166. 00:10:39.130 – 00:10:40.370 got here a little bit early.
  167. 00:10:40.830 – 00:10:43.630 So I want to knock this episode out
  168. 00:10:43.630 – 00:10:46.750 because I'll be busy for the rest of the day.
  169. 00:10:47.350 – 00:10:49.210 And once I get back home,
  170. 00:10:49.290 – 00:10:51.990 I have a lot of work to do
  171. 00:10:51.990 – 00:10:54.410 and catch up on before I leave town.
  172. 00:10:56.610 – 00:11:00.430 So yeah, got a big conference this weekend.
  173. 00:11:02.610 – 00:11:04.430 I got to get a lot of things in order.
  174. 00:11:04.570 – 00:11:06.870 I got a few projects I got to wrap up.
  175. 00:11:07.690 – 00:11:08.970 I still have to pack,
  176. 00:11:09.790 – 00:11:11.990 so I have a lot to do.
  177. 00:11:12.910 – 00:11:17.890 But again, produce, don't consume your own social media.
  178. 00:11:19.090 – 00:11:21.190 Again, this is photographer Jackson
  179. 00:11:21.190 – 00:11:23.970 bringing you Alien Eyes Photos industry talk.
  180. 00:11:24.510 – 00:11:27.090 I appreciate you listening as always.
  181. 00:11:27.590 – 00:11:29.310 And if you want to follow me,
  182. 00:11:29.450 – 00:11:33.910 you can follow me at Alien Eyes Photos.
  183. 00:11:34.110 – 00:11:36.290 Again, that's Alien Eyes Photos
  184. 00:11:36.290 – 00:11:41.810 and that's photos with a S, eyes with a Z.
  185. 00:11:43.010 – 00:11:46.810 And you can follow me on my journey
  186. 00:11:47.410 – 00:11:49.070 on a creative frequency
  187. 00:11:49.070 – 00:11:51.870 if you want that creative inspiration.
  188. 00:11:52.730 – 00:11:55.710 And my personal website for more information
  189. 00:11:55.710 – 00:11:59.910 and booking is alieneyesphotos.com.
  190. 00:12:00.150 – 00:12:03.710 Again, that's alieneyesphotos.com.
  191. 00:12:04.130 – 00:12:07.290 And that's eyes with a Z, photos with a S.
  192. 00:12:08.030 – 00:12:10.250 Thank you for tuning in as always.
  193. 00:12:10.410 – 00:12:11.490 Be blessed.
  194. 00:12:12.510 – 00:12:12.910 Peace.

Back to contents

66. Day 5 Social Media Sabbatical Power Of Systems

Season 1 · Episode 15

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.690 – 00:00:13.960 wow everyone this is day four nope day five I was playing a joke because on day
  2. 00:00:13.960 – 00:00:19.620 three I said this is day two but yeah this is day five of my social media
  3. 00:00:20.560 – 00:00:28.700 sabbatical wow wow wow wow wow I am making progress I recently just wrapped
  4. 00:00:28.700 – 00:00:37.320 up an interview with the power couple so just stay tuned yeah and the biggest
  5. 00:00:37.320 – 00:00:44.220 thing was actually my topic for today so a lot of our conversation was about
  6. 00:00:44.220 – 00:00:52.520 this topic which was systems so let's discuss the power of systems for your
  7. 00:00:52.520 – 00:01:02.780 business systems is important it's important they create efficiency
  8. 00:01:02.780 – 00:01:09.780 consistency help with your processes decision-making help you shift through
  9. 00:01:09.780 – 00:01:18.420 data SOPs and proven scalability which is critical for growth keeps you
  10. 00:01:20.020 – 00:01:29.400 streamlines communication for employees it is important just like every great
  11. 00:01:29.680 – 00:01:34.440 sports championship team have a great system have a great playbook they
  12. 00:01:34.440 – 00:01:42.440 follow which is made by the owners and the coaches the staff and then they
  13. 00:01:42.440 – 00:01:47.360 implement it with the players and sometimes trades happen so the new
  14. 00:01:47.360 – 00:01:53.920 players have to learn their system it's all about systems like if you
  15. 00:01:53.920 – 00:02:01.120 watched the NBA the Spurs at one point do Greg Popovich had a great
  16. 00:02:01.120 – 00:02:06.840 system like in the playoffs they had one of the best winning records in
  17. 00:02:06.840 – 00:02:11.980 the playoffs and they won many championships in the Tim Duck and Tony
  18. 00:02:11.980 – 00:02:19.200 Parker mono genoble era like wow so even going back a little further with
  19. 00:02:19.200 – 00:02:23.980 the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan Scottie Pimpin they had a good system
  20. 00:02:25.320 – 00:02:35.140 a good system with coach Jackson and not not me but I play basketball but
  21. 00:02:35.140 – 00:02:40.300 that's here no there but having a great system for your business or
  22. 00:02:40.300 – 00:02:50.300 you do because as a creative you may have a good system as a musician to jot
  23. 00:02:50.300 – 00:02:55.360 down ideas and then have a writing session and then a recording session
  24. 00:02:55.360 – 00:03:00.600 then a review session then the edit session of that song and then we
  25. 00:03:00.600 – 00:03:05.420 record and then there's the mixing process and the mastering process and
  26. 00:03:05.420 – 00:03:15.080 you publish and publish in the market promote so it's a system it steps so
  27. 00:03:15.080 – 00:03:18.660 what system are you creating for your business do you need help with system
  28. 00:03:18.660 – 00:03:23.580 I can help you with that I have people that better that's better than
  29. 00:03:23.580 – 00:03:30.880 me that can help you with that but I surely can help you ask for help if
  30. 00:03:30.880 – 00:03:38.660 you need it it is critical if you don't have a system get the assistance it is
  31. 00:03:38.660 – 00:03:48.460 powerful it is major it is important now if you want to be consistent
  32. 00:03:48.460 – 00:03:55.400 without stress or having to recreate the wheel or start fresh create a
  33. 00:03:55.400 – 00:04:03.060 create SOPs standard operating procedures for your business it's easier
  34. 00:04:03.060 – 00:04:08.320 for decisions you know the decision-making process is easier because
  35. 00:04:08.320 – 00:04:13.140 you have that system like McDonald's has one of the best systems like
  36. 00:04:13.980 – 00:04:21.579 plug-and-play like they hired high schoolers and first day they know
  37. 00:04:21.579 – 00:04:30.000 to do because they have a great system easy system scalable system that's why
  38. 00:04:30.000 – 00:04:40.320 they have so many chains of restaurants so many locations so just think about
  39. 00:04:41.300 – 00:04:48.360 that what business can you model that has a great system like if you're in
  40. 00:04:48.870 – 00:04:54.120 fast-food restaurant business McDonald's has a great system that you can follow
  41. 00:04:54.120 – 00:05:03.320 so what company in your industry have a good or great or amazing system that
  42. 00:05:03.320 – 00:05:07.940 you could kind of model and replicate and get some ideas from and help build
  43. 00:05:07.940 – 00:05:13.340 your own system from that system again if you need help find someone that
  44. 00:05:13.340 – 00:05:17.860 could help and I'm that person that can help it doesn't have to be me
  45. 00:05:17.860 – 00:05:27.420 but it can be me reach out info at alienize photos calm info at alienize
  46. 00:05:27.420 – 00:05:34.320 photos calm shoot me an email it's good for scalability if you want to
  47. 00:05:34.320 – 00:05:38.940 grow your company you're not going to always be involved in your company
  48. 00:05:38.940 – 00:05:41.820 because you want to take those vacations right you want to have that
  49. 00:05:41.820 – 00:05:47.060 time off right you want to have that that day break you don't want to
  50. 00:05:47.060 – 00:05:54.120 always be so involved in your business right I know starting off we have to we
  51. 00:05:54.120 – 00:05:58.160 got to do the groundwork but we have to build the system so we can be able to
  52. 00:05:58.160 – 00:06:03.040 take time away from our business and let it grow itself they said if you
  53. 00:06:03.040 – 00:06:07.440 can't take two to three months away from your business then you don't have
  54. 00:06:07.440 – 00:06:11.480 a good function running business if it can't live and breathe without you
  55. 00:06:12.020 – 00:06:15.940 then you don't have a good business that you could just step away from it
  56. 00:06:15.940 – 00:06:21.300 in a time away like I'm right now I'm currently so involved in my business
  57. 00:06:21.300 – 00:06:28.180 like I'm in the face of my business and I can't step away that's not good
  58. 00:06:29.060 – 00:06:34.080 there's there's moments are like one or two events as I do event photography
  59. 00:06:34.080 – 00:06:39.660 and weddings that I can but that's not like all the time I'm not an
  60. 00:06:40.460 – 00:06:47.560 agency nor do I desire to be an agency but I need to follow an agency model to
  61. 00:06:47.560 – 00:06:52.720 scale to where I want to be and be able to step away from my company for
  62. 00:06:52.720 – 00:06:59.540 months at a time you know as I build out my coaching practice and work with
  63. 00:06:59.540 – 00:07:03.520 my partners and also build this podcast to where I want to build it
  64. 00:07:04.580 – 00:07:12.320 I need to find a better system find a better method that works for me where I
  65. 00:07:12.320 – 00:07:17.860 don't have to be as involved but still have that control and you know can
  66. 00:07:17.860 – 00:07:23.640 assist when needed my phone call away versus have to be there day to day to
  67. 00:07:23.640 – 00:07:30.460 day hour after hour after long hours and I put in long hours but if I
  68. 00:07:30.460 – 00:07:37.140 a better system which I'm currently building oh it's gonna be better hire the
  69. 00:07:37.140 – 00:07:43.660 right staff so you know they could just look over this SOP again standard
  70. 00:07:43.660 – 00:07:49.440 operating procedures look at a video that you did and just catch on like
  71. 00:07:49.440 – 00:07:54.060 okay this is how it's done it's like do it at a data right it steps
  72. 00:07:54.060 – 00:08:00.470 built out those steps increase your bottom line you know you're more
  73. 00:08:00.470 – 00:08:07.970 profitable if you had the right systems in place and central systems could be if
  74. 00:08:07.970 – 00:08:16.870 you look at my two two episodes one offers I think that's episode four or
  75. 00:08:16.870 – 00:08:21.370 six what is one of my earlier episodes back when I was numbering
  76. 00:08:21.370 – 00:08:28.450 episodes now I'm just doing the titles again I'm targeting through SEO and
  77. 00:08:28.450 – 00:08:33.669 keywords I'm just taking the episode numbers out cuz yeah I'm gonna have
  78. 00:08:33.669 – 00:08:38.890 thousands of episodes like yeah I'm really turning all of this into master
  79. 00:08:38.890 – 00:08:43.669 classes that you could just get the nuggets from the juice from just search
  80. 00:08:43.669 – 00:08:51.730 the topic and yeah I pretty much talk about many different things and
  81. 00:08:51.730 – 00:08:58.430 businesses are in business and entrepreneurship so cuz these a lot of
  82. 00:08:58.430 – 00:09:03.650 things that I wanted to know as I was starting off you know my business and my
  83. 00:09:03.650 – 00:09:09.010 journey early journey and entrepreneurship so yeah I'm doing this
  84. 00:09:09.010 – 00:09:15.190 for the younger me the younger creative the young entrepreneur the teen
  85. 00:09:15.190 – 00:09:21.770 entrepreneur the business minded entrepreneur that needs a spark or
  86. 00:09:21.770 – 00:09:30.280 just that guidance this is why I started you know you become more
  87. 00:09:30.280 – 00:09:38.930 efficient by making things simple by building out the right systems having
  88. 00:09:38.930 – 00:09:45.270 the right system is important and that's all I wanted to leave everyone
  89. 00:09:45.270 – 00:09:51.990 with because once you have that clarity everything becomes golden
  90. 00:09:53.410 – 00:10:01.010 everything becomes up as far as being progressive and I believe in for up
  91. 00:10:01.010 – 00:10:06.510 progression you know things are going up and they're moving forward those only
  92. 00:10:06.510 – 00:10:10.850 two directions that I love especially when we talk about money and making a
  93. 00:10:10.850 – 00:10:15.590 profit and if you're in business the thing you have to make a profit are
  94. 00:10:15.590 – 00:10:20.030 you going to go out of business and we've seen through Kovac a lot of
  95. 00:10:20.030 – 00:10:24.390 people don't have the right systems involved are a part of their
  96. 00:10:24.390 – 00:10:30.350 business someone times like Kovac or a pandemic happened you know there
  97. 00:10:30.350 – 00:10:38.310 can easily adjust and easily navigate through all that the chaos and the
  98. 00:10:38.310 – 00:10:43.250 subtle changes a lot of people went out of business many business especially
  99. 00:10:43.250 – 00:10:48.390 wrestling rights shut down cuz they had a plan in action so if you have a
  100. 00:10:48.390 – 00:10:55.470 good plan you have a good system oh you're going somewhere so again this
  101. 00:10:55.470 – 00:11:01.070 is all about systems the power of system so just think about that to help you
  102. 00:11:01.070 – 00:11:06.570 be more efficient is great for productivity keep you consistent better
  103. 00:11:06.570 – 00:11:11.730 for the decision-making for scaling of course for the growth for the clarity
  104. 00:11:11.730 – 00:11:15.870 also it can reduce cost that's something I didn't talk about it
  105. 00:11:15.870 – 00:11:22.990 reduces your cost your bottom line that way you have more profit the
  106. 00:11:22.990 – 00:11:29.390 line grows get bigger the ceiling is bigger the more you can hire out
  107. 00:11:29.390 – 00:11:34.630 employees and a team and you don't have to be that active in your business
  108. 00:11:34.630 – 00:11:38.910 of course you're still going to have to be active and put a lot of
  109. 00:11:38.910 – 00:11:44.010 groundwork up front but once you put those systems in place you can slowly
  110. 00:11:44.010 – 00:11:48.630 start to step away and kind of be like a manager of it all director
  111. 00:11:48.630 – 00:11:54.330 and that's what you want to be and become more of a director just think
  112. 00:11:54.330 – 00:11:59.490 about that so again this is the power of systems and I am your host
  113. 00:11:59.490 – 00:12:05.190 photographer Jackson Steve Jackson of alien eyes photos industry talk and
  114. 00:12:06.130 – 00:12:10.930 owner of alien eyes photos media and I just want to shout out my media
  115. 00:12:10.930 – 00:12:16.530 partners the pull-up experience check out the pull-up experience podcast
  116. 00:12:16.530 – 00:12:23.770 and also my video production partners who I am vice president of launch arts
  117. 00:12:23.770 – 00:12:32.570 media yeah so any big productions I am usually with launch arts media as I
  118. 00:12:32.570 – 00:12:38.570 focus more on the smaller video production and podcast work and a lot
  119. 00:12:38.570 – 00:12:44.950 of event photography I do more of my major work with launch arts media so
  120. 00:12:44.950 – 00:12:52.870 yeah those are my two media partners definitely book book book again if you
  121. 00:12:52.870 – 00:13:00.510 want to follow me you can follow me at alien eyes photos again as alien eyes
  122. 00:13:01.010 – 00:13:10.090 photos alien eyes photos comm if you want to book and for more information
  123. 00:13:10.090 – 00:13:18.390 again as alien eyes photos and as eyes with a Z photos with an S if you were
  124. 00:13:18.390 – 00:13:26.310 wondering again this is photographer Jackson Steve Jackson and I am signing
  125. 00:13:26.310 – 00:13:28.470 out peace

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67. Day 4 Social Media Sabbatical Connect & Communicate

Season 1 · Episode 14

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  1. 00:00:01.900 – 00:00:10.580 Wow day four of my social media sabbatical
  2. 00:00:11.780 – 00:00:13.970 day four y'all and
  3. 00:00:14.600 – 00:00:19.450 I apologize. It's the last episode. I said day two when it was really day three
  4. 00:00:21.220 – 00:00:26.900 So do the work is really day three not day two if I said that and slipped up
  5. 00:00:26.900 – 00:00:33.260 I apologize. I was in a rush. I had a wedding and it was a success. It was beautiful
  6. 00:00:33.980 – 00:00:38.320 But this is day four of my social media sabbatical
  7. 00:00:38.320 – 00:00:40.000 social media fast
  8. 00:00:40.000 – 00:00:45.410 And this is great. I don't feel it amazing right now. Y'all like I may just
  9. 00:00:46.200 – 00:00:49.760 get rid of social media all entirety like
  10. 00:00:49.760 – 00:00:53.230 and people coming out the woodworks and
  11. 00:00:54.520 – 00:00:59.660 Contacting me because I know I'm doing this sabbatical and it's fast this detox
  12. 00:01:01.380 – 00:01:03.500 It is amazing
  13. 00:01:04.540 – 00:01:05.980 Like I'm having
  14. 00:01:06.700 – 00:01:08.120 three hour
  15. 00:01:08.120 – 00:01:09.900 four hour
  16. 00:01:09.900 – 00:01:10.620 phone
  17. 00:01:10.620 – 00:01:18.400 Conversations like I'm not even a phone person, but like, you know my mentor he contacted me and
  18. 00:01:18.400 – 00:01:25.040 Catching up with old friends. It's amazing and I appreciate it. So
  19. 00:01:26.220 – 00:01:27.220 This
  20. 00:01:27.220 – 00:01:29.620 episode is about
  21. 00:01:31.400 – 00:01:32.840 Connecting and
  22. 00:01:33.120 – 00:01:33.920 Communicating
  23. 00:01:34.940 – 00:01:40.840 Let's connect and communicate just simple as that
  24. 00:01:40.960 – 00:01:43.220 Like who is somebody?
  25. 00:01:44.120 – 00:01:51.870 That is a viable in your life that you can connect with reconnect with
  26. 00:01:52.650 – 00:01:54.650 And communicate with have those
  27. 00:01:55.010 – 00:01:57.170 hour long talks
  28. 00:01:58.590 – 00:02:02.770 Who is that person who was that mentor who was that coach?
  29. 00:02:03.530 – 00:02:05.010 Am I your coach?
  30. 00:02:06.330 – 00:02:12.310 I can be if you hire me, but seriously
  31. 00:02:14.030 – 00:02:17.230 You know, I'm having these impactful conversations
  32. 00:02:18.290 – 00:02:24.340 and catching that with a lot of you know people that don't get to talk to on a normal basis and
  33. 00:02:25.210 – 00:02:29.530 You know, I do it a lot of things and I run a podcast director
  34. 00:02:30.510 – 00:02:35.010 producer of a podcast I have my own podcast and
  35. 00:02:35.030 – 00:02:41.850 I'm a vice president for production company. I have a photography business event business
  36. 00:02:43.590 – 00:02:45.430 Man parent
  37. 00:02:45.430 – 00:02:47.690 I'm in a relationship. It's
  38. 00:02:48.150 – 00:02:53.210 so many things that I do and that I am a part of
  39. 00:02:54.730 – 00:02:58.710 It's like wow just taking a step back
  40. 00:02:59.450 – 00:03:01.770 Taking a step back from social media
  41. 00:03:03.390 – 00:03:05.490 This little task
  42. 00:03:05.810 – 00:03:07.870 that I've done
  43. 00:03:08.410 – 00:03:10.410 has made a
  44. 00:03:10.410 – 00:03:14.030 impact in my life a
  45. 00:03:14.030 – 00:03:21.860 Ripple effect and people are feeling it and they catch a fire and it's filling a spire
  46. 00:03:22.880 – 00:03:23.920 like man they
  47. 00:03:23.920 – 00:03:30.180 Congratulating me and giving me applause and they really reaching out and it motivated me like man
  48. 00:03:30.180 – 00:03:33.060 Keep going I know how I feel I know how it is
  49. 00:03:34.160 – 00:03:35.960 Like man, I'm thinking about getting off myself
  50. 00:03:37.620 – 00:03:39.620 And I encourage you please do
  51. 00:03:41.300 – 00:03:45.160 It's refreshing and I know somebody was telling me like yeah, I did
  52. 00:03:45.760 – 00:03:52.760 11 months off social media. I haven't been on social media in 11 months. I just got back on
  53. 00:03:53.480 – 00:03:59.500 And we've reconnected through social media before I got off social media and they telling me this
  54. 00:04:00.300 – 00:04:07.700 So that's amazing and very encouraging and like if I do a whole year off social media and build
  55. 00:04:07.700 – 00:04:12.400 What I need to build and continue to do what I do
  56. 00:04:12.400 – 00:04:21.240 Just think about all the work that I will put in and all the time and production and focus I would have
  57. 00:04:22.840 – 00:04:24.220 Just think
  58. 00:04:24.820 – 00:04:28.800 And I want you to think for yourself to yourself
  59. 00:04:28.800 – 00:04:35.640 About all the work you could put in for all the wasted time and distractions that's right in front of you
  60. 00:04:35.640 – 00:04:37.840 But you letting it happen
  61. 00:04:37.840 – 00:04:39.880 You're not doing the work
  62. 00:04:40.900 – 00:04:43.500 You're not doing what you're supposed to do
  63. 00:04:43.500 – 00:04:48.220 You're not doing what you want to do to get to where you want to be in life
  64. 00:04:50.910 – 00:04:55.530 Just take I challenge you to take two days off social media
  65. 00:04:56.190 – 00:05:02.410 Don't check it just delete it off your phone completely don't even go on a laptop or computer either
  66. 00:05:04.270 – 00:05:11.630 Give me two days as your coach or unofficial coach however, you want to look at me as your motivator
  67. 00:05:12.890 – 00:05:20.760 Do two days trot out do what you say you want to do in life
  68. 00:05:20.760 – 00:05:22.600 Do that
  69. 00:05:23.120 – 00:05:33.320 Just do it you say you want to be a millionaire you say you want to have these nice cars this big house have
  70. 00:05:33.320 – 00:05:37.820 The the wife or if you're female have the husband or whatever
  71. 00:05:39.880 – 00:05:45.720 You're not putting in the work in social media distraction
  72. 00:05:46.820 – 00:05:48.940 Maybe it is
  73. 00:05:49.720 – 00:05:54.900 Maybe you're too consumed with the overly consumed
  74. 00:05:55.660 – 00:06:01.660 With social media you're on it too much and not using it for the right reasons
  75. 00:06:03.290 – 00:06:06.270 You're supposed to use it to research
  76. 00:06:08.210 – 00:06:15.770 Connect and communicate and communicate in the right ways as far as networking and building relationships
  77. 00:06:15.770 – 00:06:18.070 nurturing those relationships
  78. 00:06:18.070 – 00:06:20.350 maintaining those relationships
  79. 00:06:20.350 – 00:06:22.730 building those relationships
  80. 00:06:23.490 – 00:06:25.430 Continuing those relationships
  81. 00:06:28.240 – 00:06:30.560 Communicating in the right way in the right direction
  82. 00:06:32.710 – 00:06:35.410 Like I am feeling so free
  83. 00:06:35.410 – 00:06:41.670 So fulfilled anybody know me. I'm a free-spirited person, and I love my freedom
  84. 00:06:41.670 – 00:06:48.250 I love just living life and living life on my own terms and I
  85. 00:06:48.250 – 00:06:49.970 got away with social media and
  86. 00:06:51.370 – 00:06:52.570 like wow
  87. 00:06:52.570 – 00:06:56.450 Like I'm having impactful conversation like I have a
  88. 00:06:56.450 – 00:06:59.250 Big interview tomorrow
  89. 00:07:03.440 – 00:07:06.660 I'm getting ready. I'm doing my research. I'm
  90. 00:07:06.660 – 00:07:09.080 Getting my questions right that I want to ask
  91. 00:07:09.080 – 00:07:16.420 I don't always go off the questions that I want to ask like that I wrote down or written down somewhere, but I
  92. 00:07:16.420 – 00:07:23.900 Have them I kind of mess that manifests what I want to say how I want the conversation to go
  93. 00:07:25.700 – 00:07:28.480 Have it pre laid out in my head
  94. 00:07:28.480 – 00:07:33.200 So when it comes to the interview it just flows because I just wanted to flow
  95. 00:07:33.200 – 00:07:36.860 I don't want it to be scripted at all. I want it to flow
  96. 00:07:36.860 – 00:07:42.680 That's how I want every conversation the interview that I have. I just wanted to flow and it wanted to be natural
  97. 00:07:43.780 – 00:07:46.640 But I wanted to be insightful impactful
  98. 00:07:46.640 – 00:07:53.330 Especially for y'all like I take a lot from it learn a lot from it
  99. 00:07:53.330 – 00:07:57.350 But I want you to take a lot from it and learn from it as well
  100. 00:07:58.370 – 00:08:02.590 As a creative entrepreneur we all we have we got to stick together
  101. 00:08:03.510 – 00:08:05.770 Community is powerful
  102. 00:08:05.770 – 00:08:13.980 Connect and communicate is as simple as that
  103. 00:08:13.980 – 00:08:16.780 Connect and communicate
  104. 00:08:17.760 – 00:08:24.520 Again, I challenge you to do two days away from social media get off social media for two days
  105. 00:08:26.000 – 00:08:29.590 Even even even YouTube and all the other guess
  106. 00:08:31.220 – 00:08:36.720 Stick to text messages and calling if you limit it to text messaging and calling
  107. 00:08:37.760 – 00:08:39.460 for two days
  108. 00:08:40.260 – 00:08:46.780 Think about where your life would be where career would be where your focus would be where your productivity be
  109. 00:08:47.720 – 00:08:50.960 I'm gonna give you some time to just think about that for a few seconds
  110. 00:08:54.590 – 00:08:59.570 Hmm just think where would your life would be
  111. 00:09:00.100 – 00:09:10.730 Where career would be I'm feeling amazing. I'm feeling great. It's late at night
  112. 00:09:10.730 – 00:09:13.150 And I'm recording
  113. 00:09:13.150 – 00:09:15.410 staying dedicated consistent
  114. 00:09:16.330 – 00:09:18.480 I'm really documenting this process
  115. 00:09:19.150 – 00:09:23.180 It's ten days of better going. I feel like it's gonna be longer than ten days
  116. 00:09:23.770 – 00:09:26.810 Because this is freaking amazing
  117. 00:09:28.370 – 00:09:30.290 This is amazing
  118. 00:09:30.930 – 00:09:36.030 I'm feeling good feeling great. I'm feeling lighter. I'm feeling more focus
  119. 00:09:36.030 – 00:09:41.590 I'm feeling dedicated to the work that I need to be doing a connecting with a lot of more people
  120. 00:09:42.810 – 00:09:48.370 that a lot of times that I say I don't have time for it because I'm busy and
  121. 00:09:48.370 – 00:09:53.950 doing a lot and doing all these things that I'm a part of and
  122. 00:09:53.950 – 00:09:56.490 You know they reach out and encourage me as well
  123. 00:09:56.810 – 00:10:07.110 So again, I'm having you know hour-long conversations that I normally don't have or have time for
  124. 00:10:09.290 – 00:10:10.730 It is
  125. 00:10:10.730 – 00:10:11.410 Amazing
  126. 00:10:12.130 – 00:10:15.690 And I would encourage you to do the same
  127. 00:10:15.690 – 00:10:19.890 Encourage you to do the same and continue to do the same
  128. 00:10:19.890 – 00:10:23.270 And continue and continue and continue
  129. 00:10:24.610 – 00:10:27.510 You have to put in the work
  130. 00:10:27.510 – 00:10:29.150 Gotta have good habits
  131. 00:10:29.150 – 00:10:39.290 And you got to detox all the clutter in your life and now with social media for me I
  132. 00:10:39.290 – 00:10:43.290 Had to break those bad habits just scrolling scrolling scrolling
  133. 00:10:43.290 – 00:10:47.750 After I post oh hey scroll scroll scroll scroll scroll
  134. 00:10:48.450 – 00:10:50.410 When I post a post
  135. 00:10:50.410 – 00:10:52.870 share and get off
  136. 00:10:54.110 – 00:10:59.330 Come back on comment and reply to people that commented
  137. 00:11:01.250 – 00:11:01.810 But
  138. 00:11:02.530 – 00:11:04.130 We all get distracted
  139. 00:11:05.010 – 00:11:08.670 No matter what it is in life, even if it's not some social media
  140. 00:11:08.670 – 00:11:13.810 We all have something that distract us even outside of social media. I would say
  141. 00:11:14.570 – 00:11:18.570 Food distract me. I'm a foodie. I love food
  142. 00:11:19.230 – 00:11:20.790 one of those smoothies
  143. 00:11:20.790 – 00:11:22.930 I'm a potato head
  144. 00:11:23.750 – 00:11:28.610 So if I come across any of that and it's a function. Oh
  145. 00:11:28.610 – 00:11:30.450 Man, you got my attention
  146. 00:11:32.030 – 00:11:36.950 So I have to eliminate that as well
  147. 00:11:38.050 – 00:11:44.140 Stay away from it. It's a double-edged sword. I
  148. 00:11:44.140 – 00:11:46.040 Love it. It's a comforting food
  149. 00:11:46.040 – 00:11:48.660 Gets me energized makes me feel happy
  150. 00:11:50.120 – 00:12:01.410 But it's a distraction too much of something. It's also bad. So I
  151. 00:12:01.410 – 00:12:03.210 Had to eliminate that as well
  152. 00:12:04.980 – 00:12:08.540 working way too much way too many hours I
  153. 00:12:09.140 – 00:12:11.220 Did that?
  154. 00:12:11.540 – 00:12:20.050 Many years of my life up to two years ago. I work part-time
  155. 00:12:20.050 – 00:12:22.250 Still running business
  156. 00:12:22.250 – 00:12:24.590 still vice president of another business
  157. 00:12:25.350 – 00:12:27.130 another company
  158. 00:12:28.700 – 00:12:30.820 director producer of a
  159. 00:12:30.820 – 00:12:31.600 podcast
  160. 00:12:31.600 – 00:12:38.060 Again around my own podcast. I used to do music push who used to write books
  161. 00:12:38.060 – 00:12:39.820 So many things
  162. 00:12:39.820 – 00:12:46.830 But what am I gonna focus on get focus get that clarity?
  163. 00:12:47.910 – 00:12:49.550 So I can maximize my
  164. 00:12:50.370 – 00:12:58.830 Productivity and I'm still kind of finding that out and to be honest. I don't think I ever shared this but I'm a share now
  165. 00:13:00.330 – 00:13:07.460 I want to get up to my first million. That's the real reason I'm getting off social media
  166. 00:13:08.680 – 00:13:10.540 so I could focus I
  167. 00:13:11.940 – 00:13:13.860 Want to make my first million
  168. 00:13:15.500 – 00:13:21.300 I'm giving myself a year, but if I don't knock it out in a year, I'm not gonna beat myself up, bro
  169. 00:13:22.120 – 00:13:25.560 But I know the goal is to make my first million
  170. 00:13:26.600 – 00:13:31.520 Whether that is eight months a year two years
  171. 00:13:32.880 – 00:13:34.980 Three is pushing it
  172. 00:13:35.600 – 00:13:39.800 But I'm gonna give myself grace. I
  173. 00:13:39.800 – 00:13:41.820 Want to get to my first million
  174. 00:13:41.820 – 00:13:43.560 I'm dedicated
  175. 00:13:44.940 – 00:13:48.840 And I'm doing the work and doing what I need to do
  176. 00:13:49.680 – 00:13:54.060 I'm actively looking for the right sponsors. I have a
  177. 00:13:54.060 – 00:14:00.420 list of companies that I want to collaborate and work with partner with reach out to
  178. 00:14:01.980 – 00:14:09.440 See how we can really make this happen I am really
  179. 00:14:11.200 – 00:14:13.340 Slimming down my client list
  180. 00:14:15.000 – 00:14:16.920 My target audience
  181. 00:14:18.040 – 00:14:23.620 A lot of a lot of things are changing. I'm coming to a lot of clarity
  182. 00:14:24.720 – 00:14:39.140 As I'm on the social media sabbatical. I'm having a good time. I enjoy my peace. I
  183. 00:14:39.140 – 00:14:42.380 Enjoy my mental clarity. I
  184. 00:14:42.380 – 00:14:45.320 Ever meditated once on the sabbatical and it was amazing
  185. 00:14:45.320 – 00:14:50.390 I used to meditate all the time and I've got away from it for months
  186. 00:14:51.280 – 00:14:53.590 Almost a year and it's
  187. 00:14:54.500 – 00:14:55.500 It's unusual
  188. 00:14:56.580 – 00:15:04.870 Because I sit with myself a lot. I'm my own best friend. I'm a thinker. I think a lot
  189. 00:15:04.870 – 00:15:08.790 I'm just being my own thoughts. You could say I'm over thinker
  190. 00:15:09.870 – 00:15:11.450 Because I'm always in my thoughts
  191. 00:15:13.720 – 00:15:15.560 But this time away
  192. 00:15:16.640 – 00:15:23.050 I've been able to connect and communicate and it's been lovely. It's been well
  193. 00:15:24.470 – 00:15:26.470 And I challenge you to do the same
  194. 00:15:28.350 – 00:15:30.190 Connect and communicate
  195. 00:15:30.190 – 00:15:35.570 With all the right people in your life that need to be in life
  196. 00:15:36.850 – 00:15:40.290 And want to be a life for the right reasons
  197. 00:15:41.650 – 00:15:43.590 So remember that
  198. 00:15:44.350 – 00:15:45.930 Connect and communicate
  199. 00:15:46.850 – 00:15:49.210 And that's what I'm doing while I'm on a social media
  200. 00:15:50.970 – 00:15:51.530 sabbatical
  201. 00:15:51.530 – 00:16:02.460 Dispassed away from social media. I'm really putting in work y'all and again, I'm building out a book
  202. 00:16:02.460 – 00:16:05.020 And a lot of these episodes
  203. 00:16:06.040 – 00:16:08.700 Probably all of these episodes is gonna go in the book
  204. 00:16:09.740 – 00:16:13.040 And I'm gonna add a little more to it
  205. 00:16:13.040 – 00:16:15.420 Add a little personal story to it
  206. 00:16:16.300 – 00:16:18.520 I'm also building the course
  207. 00:16:18.520 – 00:16:25.420 It should be ready by the end of this year. If not the top of next year
  208. 00:16:25.420 – 00:16:28.780 2026 yes, I'm putting a date on it. So, you know, it's real
  209. 00:16:30.160 – 00:16:35.440 Yes, I'm serious and I'm serious about building this wealth and getting to my first million and
  210. 00:16:36.400 – 00:16:38.560 Please help me support me
  211. 00:16:39.300 – 00:16:45.880 Help me cuz it took this million. I'm a genuine person. I
  212. 00:16:45.880 – 00:16:47.840 Hope a lot of people for free
  213. 00:16:49.100 – 00:16:53.180 This podcast I'm doing for free. I
  214. 00:16:53.180 – 00:17:00.060 Share a lot of tips and my journey for free. I give a lot of game for free people call me up pick my brain
  215. 00:17:00.060 – 00:17:02.300 sometimes for free
  216. 00:17:02.300 – 00:17:04.740 and like damn
  217. 00:17:04.740 – 00:17:07.520 I'll be you know, it's like
  218. 00:17:07.940 – 00:17:10.920 $1,000 car. Oh
  219. 00:17:10.920 – 00:17:14.180 Well, that's cool. I
  220. 00:17:14.180 – 00:17:15.640 Do it a lot
  221. 00:17:16.400 – 00:17:20.079 You know, I'm a good person. I'm a nice person. I'm a genuine person
  222. 00:17:21.060 – 00:17:24.579 but I'm also a business person business-minded and
  223. 00:17:26.180 – 00:17:29.560 It's time to take control it's time to
  224. 00:17:31.000 – 00:17:37.090 Really buckle down and start
  225. 00:17:37.650 – 00:17:46.380 monetizing a lot of different things that I haven't before a lot of people
  226. 00:17:47.860 – 00:17:50.220 Want to work with me but
  227. 00:17:51.420 – 00:18:00.850 They don't have a budget and I spawn I'm a figure out other ways that we can
  228. 00:18:01.710 – 00:18:05.710 Work with each other or can assist you and help you
  229. 00:18:06.530 – 00:18:10.850 So just stay tuned for that and
  230. 00:18:10.850 – 00:18:13.570 Stay on this path in this journey with me
  231. 00:18:14.070 – 00:18:15.750 continue to grow
  232. 00:18:15.750 – 00:18:17.970 continue to build
  233. 00:18:17.970 – 00:18:20.290 Continue to pray meditate
  234. 00:18:21.130 – 00:18:23.150 Be with yourself
  235. 00:18:23.150 – 00:18:24.410 reflect
  236. 00:18:27.750 – 00:18:34.050 Reflection that's that's a powerful thing sitting with yourself meditate and that's a powerful thing
  237. 00:18:35.090 – 00:18:42.180 This lies in which you want the results of your life
  238. 00:18:42.180 – 00:18:47.000 Your entrepreneurship journey, what do you want it to be?
  239. 00:18:47.820 – 00:18:49.960 Visualize it and see
  240. 00:18:50.640 – 00:18:54.140 You could be whatever you want to be
  241. 00:18:54.800 – 00:18:59.580 Your life is for you in your own eyes and
  242. 00:18:59.580 – 00:19:06.530 Mine to see you could really live your dream in your fantasies
  243. 00:19:07.890 – 00:19:14.190 For real. Yeah, this is
  244. 00:19:14.940 – 00:19:16.340 photographer Jackson
  245. 00:19:17.700 – 00:19:25.500 Steve Jackson of alien eyes photos media bringing you alien eyes photos industry talk
  246. 00:19:26.260 – 00:19:27.740 And yes
  247. 00:19:28.300 – 00:19:30.720 I'm wrapping this up
  248. 00:19:31.550 – 00:19:38.950 And if you want more information on a book me as a very photographer or coach
  249. 00:19:39.950 – 00:19:46.430 Business strategy as we have adding ideation sessions and figure out a strategy that helps
  250. 00:19:47.030 – 00:19:53.970 You know work with your plans your future and where you want to go. Let me help you build that out
  251. 00:19:54.550 – 00:19:58.130 You could visit alien eyes photos
  252. 00:19:58.130 – 00:19:59.530 calm
  253. 00:19:59.530 – 00:20:01.950 alien eyes photos
  254. 00:20:02.670 – 00:20:07.330 calm and that's eyes with a Z photos with an S
  255. 00:20:07.330 – 00:20:09.470 Alien eyes photos
  256. 00:20:10.130 – 00:20:14.170 Calm you could follow me at alien eyes photos
  257. 00:20:15.090 – 00:20:18.970 again, that's alien eyes with a Z
  258. 00:20:19.510 – 00:20:23.410 Photos with an S on all social media
  259. 00:20:24.110 – 00:20:27.270 Even YouTube must start posting on YouTube. So
  260. 00:20:27.690 – 00:20:32.550 Definitely find me on there and you could find my join the vision again
  261. 00:20:34.130 – 00:20:38.060 My creative partner my life partner my baby
  262. 00:20:39.710 – 00:20:47.450 Brianna Casanova on a creative frequency or all platforms even YouTube
  263. 00:20:48.430 – 00:20:56.480 Helping you stay motivated and creative and showing our behind-the-scenes of how we done it and doing the work and
  264. 00:20:56.790 – 00:21:01.690 Staying creative even when we don't and we're very consistent. We've been posting
  265. 00:21:02.550 – 00:21:07.510 couple months straight like never missed a day and
  266. 00:21:07.510 – 00:21:12.530 I've been away for social media. So she's been doing all the posts and I give it up for her and
  267. 00:21:12.530 – 00:21:14.460 definitely shout her out and
  268. 00:21:15.070 – 00:21:18.550 again, you can follow us on a
  269. 00:21:18.550 – 00:21:24.430 Creative frequency on a creative frequency on our social media platforms
  270. 00:21:25.330 – 00:21:31.650 Again, this is photographer Jackson of alien eyes photos media. I am out
  271. 00:21:31.650 – 00:21:35.570 Continue to be impactful as I am being impactful in your life
  272. 00:21:37.150 – 00:21:40.770 Mm-hmm. All right, y'all see y'all next episode
  273. 00:21:41.710 – 00:21:42.270 peace

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68. Day 3 Social Media Sabbatical Do The Work

Season 1 · Episode 13

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.070 – 00:00:03.910 Wow, this is simply amazing.
  2. 00:00:03.910 – 00:00:09.010 This is day two of my social media sabbatical.
  3. 00:00:10.430 – 00:00:15.670 I am fasting for social media for 10 days or more.
  4. 00:00:15.850 – 00:00:16.730 There might be more.
  5. 00:00:16.830 – 00:00:18.150 I feel like there's gonna be more.
  6. 00:00:19.510 – 00:00:26.870 But I got a conference out of town on the 10th day.
  7. 00:00:27.630 – 00:00:31.010 So yeah, it may be 10 days.
  8. 00:00:31.070 – 00:00:32.830 I might keep it at 10 days, you know,
  9. 00:00:32.850 – 00:00:35.730 how we gotta get back.
  10. 00:00:36.770 – 00:00:39.550 I might post some fresh pictures out of town.
  11. 00:00:40.830 – 00:00:43.730 So yeah, that'll be my new welcome back on
  12. 00:00:43.730 – 00:00:46.990 to the platforms of social media.
  13. 00:00:47.890 – 00:00:52.690 So I appreciate everyone who's joining me on the podcast
  14. 00:00:52.690 – 00:00:55.450 and also joining me on this journey
  15. 00:00:55.450 – 00:00:57.850 the 10 day sabbatical journey.
  16. 00:00:58.770 – 00:01:02.130 It has been great for me thus far.
  17. 00:01:02.390 – 00:01:03.630 I am loving it.
  18. 00:01:04.030 – 00:01:05.650 I'll help you get in motivation
  19. 00:01:05.650 – 00:01:08.610 and some tips from all these episodes.
  20. 00:01:09.710 – 00:01:11.790 Yesterday I spoke on habits.
  21. 00:01:12.110 – 00:01:15.130 The first day I talked about detoxing.
  22. 00:01:15.730 – 00:01:19.370 Today I would like to talk about doing the work.
  23. 00:01:20.030 – 00:01:22.330 Just do the work.
  24. 00:01:23.290 – 00:01:27.090 I have to leave out in a wedding in 30 minutes.
  25. 00:01:28.150 – 00:01:31.090 So this one is gonna be quick and short,
  26. 00:01:31.170 – 00:01:34.670 but just a reminder to do the work.
  27. 00:01:36.310 – 00:01:39.530 Yesterday I had a long days of work
  28. 00:01:39.530 – 00:01:41.330 and preparing for this wedding,
  29. 00:01:42.410 – 00:01:48.450 doing some research on podcasting and old radio shows,
  30. 00:01:50.430 – 00:01:54.410 photography, advertising, just the whole gamut.
  31. 00:01:56.280 – 00:01:57.280 I am loving it.
  32. 00:01:57.280 – 00:01:58.980 I'm loving the time I have.
  33. 00:01:59.620 – 00:02:02.560 I did get a chance to read like I mentioned.
  34. 00:02:03.120 – 00:02:05.720 I'm not gonna have much time to read today.
  35. 00:02:06.440 – 00:02:11.120 So I'm gonna double up tomorrow, day four.
  36. 00:02:12.120 – 00:02:13.140 Stay out for that.
  37. 00:02:13.160 – 00:02:14.280 Stay tuned for that topic.
  38. 00:02:14.320 – 00:02:16.100 That's gonna be something special.
  39. 00:02:17.160 – 00:02:19.420 And I'll be a little more well rested.
  40. 00:02:19.420 – 00:02:22.280 So I'm gonna be in for a treat.
  41. 00:02:23.720 – 00:02:27.300 But this is a reminder to do the work.
  42. 00:02:28.060 – 00:02:32.300 I think the goal in life as far as entrepreneurship
  43. 00:02:32.300 – 00:02:35.880 and owning a business is to be able
  44. 00:02:35.880 – 00:02:39.400 to write your own job description.
  45. 00:02:40.960 – 00:02:45.020 Yes, write your own job description.
  46. 00:02:47.660 – 00:02:50.200 How does that sound?
  47. 00:02:50.920 – 00:02:52.160 Lovely, right?
  48. 00:02:52.980 – 00:02:55.180 I mean, who don't wanna get paid
  49. 00:02:55.840 – 00:02:58.200 for doing what they love?
  50. 00:02:59.840 – 00:03:03.960 You're getting paid to do what you love to do in life.
  51. 00:03:04.740 – 00:03:05.920 That is something amazing.
  52. 00:03:05.980 – 00:03:07.420 That is something special.
  53. 00:03:08.160 – 00:03:11.180 And don't ever take that moment for granted.
  54. 00:03:13.870 – 00:03:16.350 Think about those things that you wanna do
  55. 00:03:17.230 – 00:03:20.250 that you be like, oh, I'm not making money
  56. 00:03:20.250 – 00:03:21.210 from so-and-so.
  57. 00:03:21.210 – 00:03:25.850 Are you in this dead-end job and have no way out?
  58. 00:03:27.660 – 00:03:30.740 Find out a way that you can monetize what you do.
  59. 00:03:31.460 – 00:03:35.360 If you love writing, figure out how you can
  60. 00:03:35.360 – 00:03:39.400 turn your writing into publishings and sell it.
  61. 00:03:41.160 – 00:03:43.660 If you are a poet, which I was,
  62. 00:03:44.440 – 00:03:46.820 you have to perform in the right places,
  63. 00:03:47.000 – 00:03:50.400 in the right organizations, the right promoters.
  64. 00:03:50.860 – 00:03:52.580 You have the right people book you
  65. 00:03:52.580 – 00:03:54.140 because you will get advantage,
  66. 00:03:54.140 – 00:03:55.240 took an advantage of.
  67. 00:03:55.440 – 00:03:58.280 You'll get paid, you'll get paid, yeah.
  68. 00:03:59.540 – 00:04:02.240 But how much you wanna get paid for it
  69. 00:04:03.040 – 00:04:04.300 is something to look at.
  70. 00:04:04.340 – 00:04:06.880 So you have to be in the right places also.
  71. 00:04:07.320 – 00:04:08.780 Market in the right places.
  72. 00:04:09.440 – 00:04:13.980 Because a lot of people will undervalue you
  73. 00:04:13.980 – 00:04:15.840 in what you offer.
  74. 00:04:16.640 – 00:04:19.540 So make sure you are promoting in the right places,
  75. 00:04:19.620 – 00:04:20.959 in the right markets.
  76. 00:04:20.959 – 00:04:22.780 Know your target audience.
  77. 00:04:22.920 – 00:04:24.420 That's where the gold is at.
  78. 00:04:25.280 – 00:04:27.740 Like me, I don't step too much
  79. 00:04:27.740 – 00:04:30.640 out of the side of creative entrepreneurs.
  80. 00:04:30.980 – 00:04:33.140 If you're creative, if you're an entrepreneur,
  81. 00:04:33.680 – 00:04:36.040 business owner, creative entrepreneur,
  82. 00:04:37.600 – 00:04:39.120 that's my core audience,
  83. 00:04:39.340 – 00:04:41.800 especially young creative entrepreneurs
  84. 00:04:42.400 – 00:04:44.900 wanting to get into entrepreneurship
  85. 00:04:44.900 – 00:04:47.060 or start a creative endeavor.
  86. 00:04:48.240 – 00:04:49.500 I live the lifestyle.
  87. 00:04:50.240 – 00:04:51.580 Most of my life.
  88. 00:04:52.420 – 00:04:55.320 I've been into music since I was a young,
  89. 00:04:55.540 – 00:04:57.080 pre-teen actually.
  90. 00:04:58.480 – 00:05:01.720 Done it, performed later as a teenager,
  91. 00:05:02.120 – 00:05:03.220 into my adulthood,
  92. 00:05:04.560 – 00:05:07.260 and hung it up on the shelves about four years ago.
  93. 00:05:08.220 – 00:05:10.120 I haven't performed
  94. 00:05:11.000 – 00:05:14.320 in over three years, yeah.
  95. 00:05:14.880 – 00:05:16.940 My last performance was three years ago.
  96. 00:05:18.760 – 00:05:21.220 So I lived my dream.
  97. 00:05:21.300 – 00:05:23.020 That was a blessing.
  98. 00:05:23.880 – 00:05:25.700 I'm more of a recording artist,
  99. 00:05:26.100 – 00:05:28.900 but when I perform, I perform.
  100. 00:05:29.840 – 00:05:33.040 So if you had the opportunity to check me out
  101. 00:05:33.040 – 00:05:36.700 back in the day, you were in for a treat.
  102. 00:05:39.560 – 00:05:41.880 And I hope you loved it and liked it.
  103. 00:05:41.880 – 00:05:43.620 And I appreciate the support.
  104. 00:05:44.160 – 00:05:45.220 A lot of people ask me,
  105. 00:05:45.300 – 00:05:47.280 am I gonna get back to it?
  106. 00:05:48.060 – 00:05:49.300 I never know.
  107. 00:05:50.200 – 00:05:50.860 I never know.
  108. 00:05:51.580 – 00:05:53.560 Cause you never know what life may bring.
  109. 00:05:53.840 – 00:05:54.940 Life is mysterious.
  110. 00:05:55.640 – 00:05:56.580 We have control.
  111. 00:05:56.760 – 00:05:57.620 We should take control,
  112. 00:05:57.640 – 00:05:59.320 but it's also mysterious.
  113. 00:06:00.340 – 00:06:03.280 But I am building something even bigger.
  114. 00:06:05.930 – 00:06:07.910 So I am doing the work.
  115. 00:06:09.890 – 00:06:10.110 Excuse.
  116. 00:06:11.610 – 00:06:16.350 And I'm encouraging everyone else to do the work.
  117. 00:06:17.070 – 00:06:18.610 You have to do the work.
  118. 00:06:18.610 – 00:06:21.670 There's no other way around it.
  119. 00:06:21.690 – 00:06:23.750 There's no substitute for work.
  120. 00:06:23.910 – 00:06:25.190 You have to do the work.
  121. 00:06:25.430 – 00:06:26.870 Somebody has to do it.
  122. 00:06:27.290 – 00:06:29.090 So let that be you.
  123. 00:06:29.950 – 00:06:32.230 Figure out how you can make it easy for yourself.
  124. 00:06:34.660 – 00:06:37.380 If you want to be more hands-on,
  125. 00:06:37.580 – 00:06:39.620 be in construction, plumbing,
  126. 00:06:41.620 – 00:06:43.900 make sure you learn the trade.
  127. 00:06:44.520 – 00:06:46.460 Learn your craft or whatever you do.
  128. 00:06:46.640 – 00:06:47.760 Study, study, study.
  129. 00:06:48.520 – 00:06:53.300 I've been doing photography for over five years now,
  130. 00:06:53.300 – 00:06:54.820 and I'm constantly studying.
  131. 00:06:54.820 – 00:06:56.080 I was studying yesterday,
  132. 00:06:56.220 – 00:06:59.400 looking at old trends
  133. 00:07:00.160 – 00:07:03.280 and also the advertising behind it.
  134. 00:07:04.120 – 00:07:05.520 Cause I'm a marketer.
  135. 00:07:06.120 – 00:07:08.880 I'm always be doing research on,
  136. 00:07:09.000 – 00:07:11.980 first off my industry and what works for other industry.
  137. 00:07:12.240 – 00:07:13.640 Hence this podcast,
  138. 00:07:14.180 – 00:07:16.760 Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  139. 00:07:19.640 – 00:07:24.520 So don't be afraid to get behind that computer,
  140. 00:07:24.520 – 00:07:27.160 go to the library and do that research.
  141. 00:07:27.300 – 00:07:28.600 You have to do the work.
  142. 00:07:29.700 – 00:07:31.020 There's no other way.
  143. 00:07:31.880 – 00:07:33.200 If you don't do the work,
  144. 00:07:33.220 – 00:07:35.000 it's going to continue to pile up.
  145. 00:07:35.300 – 00:07:36.600 You know how it is.
  146. 00:07:37.140 – 00:07:39.580 Why let it pile up and make yourself miserable
  147. 00:07:39.580 – 00:07:44.400 and depressed and be in a dark, deep, black hole?
  148. 00:07:44.720 – 00:07:45.240 Why?
  149. 00:07:45.760 – 00:07:50.500 Just constantly do the work you want to improve.
  150. 00:07:50.920 – 00:07:53.240 And if you're not where you at in life,
  151. 00:07:53.460 – 00:07:55.760 you have to do the work.
  152. 00:07:55.820 – 00:08:00.340 Sometimes double the work to get to where you need to be
  153. 00:08:00.340 – 00:08:01.500 and want to be.
  154. 00:08:02.900 – 00:08:04.900 And that's my message to you.
  155. 00:08:05.660 – 00:08:09.140 I'm about to continue to make sure I have everything
  156. 00:08:09.140 – 00:08:10.320 for this wedding.
  157. 00:08:10.900 – 00:08:13.280 It's going to be a nice day, it's sunny.
  158. 00:08:14.000 – 00:08:16.940 I'm at a great venue, got a great couple.
  159. 00:08:17.540 – 00:08:23.320 They even prayed with me on the initial cards.
  160. 00:08:23.400 – 00:08:25.960 We went over the timeline and details of the wedding.
  161. 00:08:26.800 – 00:08:29.120 So it's like, we're a praying family.
  162. 00:08:29.220 – 00:08:30.520 Would you like to pray with us?
  163. 00:08:30.580 – 00:08:32.580 And I said, yes, why not?
  164. 00:08:33.280 – 00:08:35.419 Let's get this prayer in, yes.
  165. 00:08:36.500 – 00:08:41.039 And so today is the day and it's a lovely day
  166. 00:08:41.039 – 00:08:43.400 and it will continue to be a lovely day.
  167. 00:08:44.780 – 00:08:49.660 So as I'm about to wrap up and get ready to do this work,
  168. 00:08:50.400 – 00:08:53.400 AKA this wedding, and on top of that,
  169. 00:08:53.660 – 00:08:56.540 do more work as I continue to build out the podcast
  170. 00:08:56.540 – 00:09:01.060 and continue to write the ebook and build out this course.
  171. 00:09:01.840 – 00:09:04.820 It's always worth to do some always doing work
  172. 00:09:04.820 – 00:09:07.840 and this 10-day social media sabbatical
  173. 00:09:07.840 – 00:09:09.300 has been great for that.
  174. 00:09:09.860 – 00:09:12.660 Man, I might do a whole month, y'all.
  175. 00:09:12.980 – 00:09:14.880 I honestly may do a whole month.
  176. 00:09:15.960 – 00:09:18.100 I may pop on for like one day
  177. 00:09:18.100 – 00:09:20.680 and pop right back off another 10 days
  178. 00:09:20.680 – 00:09:21.880 and another 10 days.
  179. 00:09:23.160 – 00:09:25.400 So I'm doing the work and I'm loving it,
  180. 00:09:25.400 – 00:09:27.900 I'm loving my peace, I'm loving my mental clarity,
  181. 00:09:28.200 – 00:09:30.760 I'm loving that I'm more focused and more productive.
  182. 00:09:31.300 – 00:09:33.140 I am getting a lot done.
  183. 00:09:33.820 – 00:09:38.600 So this is my reminder to you, do the work.
  184. 00:09:39.420 – 00:09:43.940 Just do the work, as simple and easy as that.
  185. 00:09:44.120 – 00:09:45.920 There's no other way around it.
  186. 00:09:46.180 – 00:09:48.860 Be able to write your own job description
  187. 00:09:49.800 – 00:09:54.160 by right now doing the work.
  188. 00:09:55.400 – 00:09:57.420 All right, y'all, this has been another edition
  189. 00:09:57.420 – 00:09:59.760 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  190. 00:10:00.340 – 00:10:04.080 This is day three of my social media sabbatical
  191. 00:10:05.300 – 00:10:07.840 and this is just a reminder to do the work.
  192. 00:10:08.570 – 00:10:11.400 And this is photographer Jackson, Steve Jackson
  193. 00:10:11.400 – 00:10:13.500 of Alienize Photos Media.
  194. 00:10:15.100 – 00:10:17.960 And if you wanna find me for more information
  195. 00:10:17.960 – 00:10:21.400 or to book me as your coach or event photographer
  196. 00:10:21.400 – 00:10:24.640 or if you need video production as well
  197. 00:10:24.640 – 00:10:28.180 as I help you with the marketing of your business,
  198. 00:10:30.720 – 00:10:33.180 visit alienizephotos.com.
  199. 00:10:33.180 – 00:10:39.820 Again, Alienize with a Z, Photos with a S.com.
  200. 00:10:41.100 – 00:10:42.820 I know I'm not active right now,
  201. 00:10:42.820 – 00:10:48.220 but you could follow me at Alienize Photos,
  202. 00:10:49.900 – 00:10:51.660 Alienize Photos.
  203. 00:10:52.180 – 00:10:54.700 And also check out my joint picture
  204. 00:10:54.700 – 00:10:58.780 with the creative herself, Brianna Casanova
  205. 00:10:58.780 – 00:11:01.200 on a creative frequency.
  206. 00:11:01.710 – 00:11:06.820 Follow us at on a creative frequency,
  207. 00:11:07.460 – 00:11:12.680 motivating you to continue to be creative,
  208. 00:11:13.600 – 00:11:16.480 showing you our journey behind the scenes
  209. 00:11:16.480 – 00:11:18.620 as we continue to do the work.
  210. 00:11:19.400 – 00:11:21.940 So there's no other way around it
  211. 00:11:21.940 – 00:11:23.760 and we've been consistently posting
  212. 00:11:23.760 – 00:11:27.260 since we started the page and never missed a day.
  213. 00:11:27.640 – 00:11:30.360 Consistency builds trust and credibility.
  214. 00:11:31.220 – 00:11:34.460 And yeah, it's a good habit to have.
  215. 00:11:34.840 – 00:11:36.320 Continue to do the work.
  216. 00:11:37.100 – 00:11:38.660 Again, this is photographer Jackson
  217. 00:11:38.660 – 00:11:42.160 of Alienize Photos Media bringing you
  218. 00:11:42.160 – 00:11:46.300 Alienize Photos industry talk day three.
  219. 00:11:46.840 – 00:11:50.180 Social media sabbatical, the fast and the real
  220. 00:11:50.800 – 00:11:52.400 and I am out.
  221. 00:11:52.860 – 00:11:53.320 Peace.

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69. Day 2 Social Media Sabbatical Habits

Season 1 · Episode 12

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.230 – 00:00:05.610 This is day two of the social media
  2. 00:00:06.570 – 00:00:07.370 bad
  3. 00:00:07.370 – 00:00:14.410 sabbatical. I am away y'all. This is day two. I don't talk about habits.
  4. 00:00:15.870 – 00:00:19.890 This is day two of my social media sabbatical and
  5. 00:00:20.630 – 00:00:27.790 today let's touch on habits. Your habits are crucial when you have more time on your hands.
  6. 00:00:28.670 – 00:00:33.250 So it is best to have some good, healthy habits.
  7. 00:00:34.970 – 00:00:38.750 Instead of spending an average of 30 minutes on social media,
  8. 00:00:39.750 – 00:00:46.630 I personally could read a couple chapters of many books that are just collecting dust on my shelf.
  9. 00:00:47.450 – 00:00:52.750 At this point, I'd just be buying books, supporting local authors and creators in their
  10. 00:00:52.750 – 00:00:58.950 endeavors, both physical books and ebooks. If they quizzed me,
  11. 00:01:00.390 – 00:01:04.670 I would not get much past the first few pages, honestly.
  12. 00:01:05.530 – 00:01:12.230 Being off social media is helping me reclaim my time and again, I am building out a course
  13. 00:01:12.230 – 00:01:20.710 that should be available later this year, as well as a new book. Are y'all excited for it?
  14. 00:01:21.960 – 00:01:27.560 What are some things that you are currently working on behind the scenes that was once a
  15. 00:01:27.560 – 00:01:37.590 dream? Day two of my social media sabbatical is feeling like a good break away from
  16. 00:01:38.810 – 00:01:43.250 this AI and robotics and I can actually feel like a human again.
  17. 00:01:44.590 – 00:01:50.150 I reconnected with nature with my daughter as we hiked a new trail we'd never been on
  18. 00:01:50.150 – 00:01:56.590 before. Stumbling over rocks and tree branches, you know how it is, all in the wilderness,
  19. 00:01:56.990 – 00:02:07.070 the wilder beast. Just be tripping and clinging over rocks. Oh yeah, you get it if you've been
  20. 00:02:07.070 – 00:02:15.170 hiking and yeah, the elements is out there. And as an entrepreneur or creative entrepreneur,
  21. 00:02:15.170 – 00:02:22.730 it is vital to take breaks and surround yourself with nature and natural living organisms.
  22. 00:02:23.730 – 00:02:31.490 Many hug a tree, put their feet in grass, soak up all the fresh air from the plants,
  23. 00:02:32.290 – 00:02:39.180 work in the garden, meditate outside, but find what works for you.
  24. 00:02:40.360 – 00:02:51.590 Mine is simply taking a walk or a nice hike. Ever heard many power couples
  25. 00:02:52.610 – 00:02:57.970 and what they do? They take breaks in nature's or what about an old couple
  26. 00:02:59.150 – 00:03:05.710 walking? Have you seen the old folks walking? Well, they say it is healthy for you physically
  27. 00:03:05.710 – 00:03:13.530 and also your mind to walk at least 30 minutes a day. It helps reduce stress
  28. 00:03:13.530 – 00:03:23.850 and increase mental clarity. Reduce stress and increase mental clarity.
  29. 00:03:25.090 – 00:03:32.330 Now, if you're entrepreneur, business owner, creative, that is very impactful. I don't know
  30. 00:03:32.330 – 00:03:45.150 about you, but it is a must. Now, it's a great habit to have. Sometimes I may turn into a
  31. 00:03:45.150 – 00:03:53.070 jog as I'm constantly playing basketball weekly, once or twice a week. So I have more wind and
  32. 00:03:53.070 – 00:04:01.620 stamina for my endeavors and also basketball. And for my creative performers, this is
  33. 00:04:01.620 – 00:04:06.760 for your lifestyle. You don't want to be on stage winded or do a speech winded or dance,
  34. 00:04:06.820 – 00:04:13.680 whatever you do, you don't want to be winded. Keep that stamina up, be active, be in nature,
  35. 00:04:13.960 – 00:04:22.420 clear your mind, rehearse, put in the work. And I'm putting the work that's going to be for
  36. 00:04:22.420 – 00:04:29.780 tomorrow, so I ain't gonna go too deep into it. But what habits are you picking up?
  37. 00:04:30.660 – 00:04:37.660 And which ones are you trying to put down? What are you secretly secretly working on
  38. 00:04:38.720 – 00:04:48.480 that you do not have time for? Do exactly that and minimize or completely cut out distractions.
  39. 00:04:49.500 – 00:04:56.300 I mean, completely cut out distractions. Like social media, if I'd have kept
  40. 00:04:56.300 – 00:05:01.480 it on my phone, I probably would have slipped up and pushed that dang button just out of habit.
  41. 00:05:02.620 – 00:05:08.820 And that's why I want to talk about habits because you got to minimize it or get rid of
  42. 00:05:08.820 – 00:05:15.880 it completely. And I got rid of it completely because I don't want to slip up and press that
  43. 00:05:15.880 – 00:05:21.820 little icon on my phone or two and just be like, dang, I didn't mean to press it and
  44. 00:05:21.820 – 00:05:29.980 wipe off quickly. No, I want to have zero time, zero watch time, zero usage time.
  45. 00:05:30.500 – 00:05:36.980 And I am going to show the facts. I'm not just someone just telling you all of this because
  46. 00:05:36.980 – 00:05:41.600 it's cool or it sounds cool. No, I'm actually doing the work and I'm gonna show the proof.
  47. 00:05:41.800 – 00:05:51.340 The proof is in the pudding. I am doing the work. Habits are regular tendencies or engagements
  48. 00:05:51.340 – 00:06:00.500 that you do frequently that come up naturally to you and it's hard to give up. New habits form
  49. 00:06:00.500 – 00:06:09.360 around 18, 30 days, something like that, 15, 30, around that time range, you know, about
  50. 00:06:09.360 – 00:06:16.520 20 days, let's just say 18 to 30 days. It is a ritual, a routine that you have and develop.
  51. 00:06:17.480 – 00:06:23.720 So what new routines will you insert into your life and your self-development?
  52. 00:06:25.700 – 00:06:37.840 That habit loop is cue, craving, response, and reward. Again, habit loops start with the cue
  53. 00:06:38.780 – 00:06:47.440 and then it goes to craving, then it's response, and then a reward. The cue starts the desire
  54. 00:06:47.440 – 00:06:55.580 and new behavior fueled by a reward. Just like the food we crave, craving is the motivation
  55. 00:06:55.580 – 00:07:02.120 and driving force behind the habit. Along with motivation, you can also have friction.
  56. 00:07:02.840 – 00:07:12.480 Either is a response mechanism you have towards that habit or behavior. Your ability to do it
  57. 00:07:12.480 – 00:07:18.780 or ability to not do it affects this and to satisfy our cravings,
  58. 00:07:19.940 – 00:07:28.460 we have that delicious treat or dish, which is the reward or our end goal.
  59. 00:07:29.360 – 00:07:38.340 How can we change and break a habit? First, you have to acknowledge it and be aware of it.
  60. 00:07:38.660 – 00:07:44.500 Secondly, change your environment and make it hard for you to get and do that habit.
  61. 00:07:45.340 – 00:07:53.260 Thirdly, tell your family, your friends and loved ones, even colleagues and business partners.
  62. 00:07:54.380 – 00:08:02.980 Tell them, help them keep you accountable. Tell them what you're doing so they can help you
  63. 00:08:02.980 – 00:08:08.340 break it and not encourage that habit or habits that you want to get rid of.
  64. 00:08:10.060 – 00:08:20.000 Last but not least, have a replacement. Ideally, you want something in comparison
  65. 00:08:20.000 – 00:08:27.640 that is somewhat similar to make it easy, but it doesn't have to be. It could be something
  66. 00:08:27.640 – 00:08:39.620 completely different, but we are habits lovers, habit lovers, creatures of habits, habit lovers,
  67. 00:08:41.520 – 00:08:51.300 things of familiarity. We seek things that's familiar, so make it easy. Do something that
  68. 00:08:51.300 – 00:09:00.720 is like what you're trying to replace. Make it easy. Just replace it with something you
  69. 00:09:00.720 – 00:09:12.620 find beneficial. To take on a new habit that you want to replace your old, keep it simple.
  70. 00:09:13.920 – 00:09:21.000 Make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy and make it satisfying.
  71. 00:09:21.920 – 00:09:29.580 You will change up your habits in no time. In no time, you will change that habit.
  72. 00:09:31.340 – 00:09:40.860 And yeah, I put in that work, that 30 minutes of reading time. It is grateful. I actually
  73. 00:09:40.860 – 00:09:50.980 went to sleep and woke up to reading, which is good. I do a lot of reading when I can,
  74. 00:09:50.980 – 00:09:58.600 but I'm reading even more, and it's crucial and beneficial to my growth and self-development.
  75. 00:09:58.940 – 00:10:07.380 As I continue to teach and preach and all the principles and tactics and frameworks that I'm
  76. 00:10:07.380 – 00:10:14.480 learning, I give back to my community, my followers, my tribe, and everybody that I work
  77. 00:10:14.480 – 00:10:23.380 with. I apply it to my businesses and everything that I do. So hey, if you want some tips and
  78. 00:10:23.380 – 00:10:30.140 insights, check out these podcast episodes, and that's why I started. And again,
  79. 00:10:30.760 – 00:10:39.760 if you listen to my first couple episodes, I started this podcast to help me with communication
  80. 00:10:39.760 – 00:10:46.140 and my public speaking and turning all of these into a master class to teach.
  81. 00:10:46.680 – 00:10:56.040 And people want to hire me on different topics, to have them hire me or bring me in to speak
  82. 00:10:56.040 – 00:11:03.860 on certain topics or already have the outline for it. And basically just have to finish it,
  83. 00:11:03.860 – 00:11:13.480 wrap it up in a bow and present. So if you find any topics that you desire and really want to
  84. 00:11:13.480 – 00:11:19.600 bring me out to your organization, your company, your team, or just the one-on-one, hey, this is
  85. 00:11:19.600 – 00:11:28.260 what this is for. I bring on a lot of people from my network or people I network with or just
  86. 00:11:29.360 – 00:11:36.020 desire to meet. I bring them on a platform to help educate you. And I think that's a good
  87. 00:11:36.020 – 00:11:41.800 habit to have. You got to continue to build your network and learn from others. So
  88. 00:11:41.800 – 00:11:47.440 as I learn from others, you can learn from others as well. So I hope you find value in
  89. 00:11:47.440 – 00:11:52.780 all of this. And yeah, what are some habits that you are wanting to break?
  90. 00:11:52.780 – 00:11:56.620 What are some new habits that you are wanting to start?
  91. 00:11:57.540 – 00:12:06.240 I'm gonna let you think and reflect on that. Again, what are those habits you are wanting
  92. 00:12:06.240 – 00:12:14.000 to break? And what are those new habits you are wanting to start? You might have to play
  93. 00:12:14.000 – 00:12:22.380 this episode a few times to get the tactical tips and the steps to start a new habit and
  94. 00:12:22.380 – 00:12:30.060 break a new habit. The proof is in the pudding. Show your work. Just like in math class,
  95. 00:12:30.060 – 00:12:36.220 show your work. How did you get to your answer? How did you come to this outcome? This
  96. 00:12:36.220 – 00:12:45.200 result? So what result will you have in the next 30 days, 60 days to the end of the year?
  97. 00:12:46.400 – 00:12:52.360 What results will you have with the new habits you formed and the habits that you
  98. 00:12:52.360 – 00:13:04.070 want anymore and got rid of? What will your results be? Yes, this is Mr. Photographer Jackson,
  99. 00:13:05.170 – 00:13:13.750 Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media, bringing you another episode here on Alienize
  100. 00:13:13.750 – 00:13:22.910 Photos Industry Talk, the introspective business podcast, bringing you great insights and tips
  101. 00:13:22.910 – 00:13:31.910 from various industries, arches, knowledge, wisdom from my entrepreneur journey that
  102. 00:13:31.910 – 00:13:41.470 can be applied through various industries and sectors. So again, thank you for tuning in to
  103. 00:13:41.470 – 00:13:48.130 Alienize Photos Industry Talk. If you want to find more information or book me, visit
  104. 00:13:49.750 – 00:14:02.570 alienizephotos.com. Again, Alienize with a Z, Photos with a S.com. And once I'm back on social
  105. 00:14:02.570 – 00:14:11.810 media, I will get to everyone, get to the comments, the DMs, follow people back. But
  106. 00:14:11.810 – 00:14:22.280 now you can follow me at Alienize Photos, at Alienize Photos. And be sure to follow
  107. 00:14:22.750 – 00:14:33.050 Creative Frequency at, on, a, Creative Frequency, on, a, Creative Frequency. Yes,
  108. 00:14:33.370 – 00:14:41.710 keeping you motivated and tips on how to stay creative as we show behind the scenes. And
  109. 00:14:41.710 – 00:14:49.290 me and Brianna Casanova. I call us the creative geniuses, but I'm gonna let y'all
  110. 00:14:49.290 – 00:14:55.250 determine that. So check us out on, on a Creative Frequency. This is another edition of Alienize
  111. 00:14:55.250 – 00:15:00.690 Photos Industry Talk with photographer Jackson, and I'm signing out. Peace.

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70. Day 1 Social Media Sabbatical Detox

Season 1 · Episode 11

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.590 – 00:00:01.630 Wow
  2. 00:00:02.350 – 00:00:08.450 This is day one of my social media fast
  3. 00:00:10.340 – 00:00:19.560 Can I just say I am thrilled? I am excited. I am happy. I am joyful
  4. 00:00:19.560 – 00:00:22.260 I am energized. I
  5. 00:00:22.260 – 00:00:23.360 am greatness
  6. 00:00:25.790 – 00:00:28.530 blessed by the best
  7. 00:00:28.530 – 00:00:35.090 Day one of the social media fast. Oh
  8. 00:00:35.090 – 00:00:41.350 Gotta love it. I'm working on quite a few things
  9. 00:00:42.430 – 00:00:48.880 Got some events coming up. I'll be out of town for a while
  10. 00:00:48.880 – 00:00:52.080 Got some big meetings. I
  11. 00:00:52.080 – 00:00:54.760 Need some mental clarity. I
  12. 00:00:54.760 – 00:00:56.590 need to be more productive and
  13. 00:00:57.580 – 00:00:59.590 I don't need to be scrolling up and down
  14. 00:01:00.320 – 00:01:02.950 all these different social media platforms
  15. 00:01:04.580 – 00:01:06.510 And I'll post and get off
  16. 00:01:07.180 – 00:01:09.360 That's what I used to do
  17. 00:01:09.360 – 00:01:12.930 but you know, sometimes we get caught up and then
  18. 00:01:13.900 – 00:01:17.480 commenting back and forth with our peers
  19. 00:01:18.560 – 00:01:20.140 and different networks
  20. 00:01:21.320 – 00:01:24.600 So, you know, we all been down and lame
  21. 00:01:24.600 – 00:01:25.860 sometimes
  22. 00:01:27.270 – 00:01:32.910 It's good. Sometimes it's bad and I'm not gonna say it's good or bad
  23. 00:01:33.830 – 00:01:38.870 You know when I was on social it's only been a day when I was on social
  24. 00:01:39.710 – 00:01:42.290 But I'm taking these ten days
  25. 00:01:42.290 – 00:01:48.970 Just removing it I had to take it off my phones, you know, you're gonna click it, you know out of sight out of mind
  26. 00:01:48.970 – 00:01:52.270 so I just took it off and
  27. 00:01:52.270 – 00:01:54.130 You know more
  28. 00:01:54.130 – 00:01:59.670 creative frequency with Brianna Casanova and
  29. 00:02:03.180 – 00:02:04.380 Yeah, and I
  30. 00:02:05.060 – 00:02:07.240 Had to tell her you you you have to post
  31. 00:02:08.060 – 00:02:13.680 Everything I can help you but as far as getting on and posting it's all up to you
  32. 00:02:16.040 – 00:02:17.240 Because I
  33. 00:02:17.240 – 00:02:21.180 Cannot get on I cannot I had to stay true to my word
  34. 00:02:22.040 – 00:02:26.120 But we can't miss a day. We were also doing a consistency thing
  35. 00:02:27.540 – 00:02:32.320 Supposed to be 60 days. I said let's make it a year. I know
  36. 00:02:32.320 – 00:02:36.640 I'm not sure if we're gonna agree to the year, but at least the 60 days
  37. 00:02:36.640 – 00:02:42.160 That was our commitment to keep posting consistently every day each day
  38. 00:02:42.160 – 00:02:46.380 For 60 days and that was our commitment that we made
  39. 00:02:47.120 – 00:02:51.260 To ourselves at the podcast summit when we are in Atlanta
  40. 00:02:52.180 – 00:02:52.860 so
  41. 00:02:52.860 – 00:02:55.800 We've been doing great. We've been consistent
  42. 00:02:56.720 – 00:03:02.480 We've been making that happen really sometimes other than there in the last minute
  43. 00:03:02.960 – 00:03:04.780 11 p.m
  44. 00:03:06.470 – 00:03:14.560 But right now I need to focus on the podcast. I need to focus building it out
  45. 00:03:14.560 – 00:03:17.240 And I need your help
  46. 00:03:18.360 – 00:03:22.980 What do you want to learn as a creative entrepreneur
  47. 00:03:23.940 – 00:03:31.240 What do you want to learn because there's many things that I may not even know about
  48. 00:03:32.340 – 00:03:40.400 That you may want to know about but I have someone into my network that can help both of us
  49. 00:03:41.480 – 00:03:42.120 So
  50. 00:03:42.920 – 00:03:44.740 What do you want to learn about?
  51. 00:03:45.340 – 00:03:51.580 And if you were creative and wanted to transition into an entrepreneur become a creative entrepreneur
  52. 00:03:52.600 – 00:03:56.720 What are some things on your mind? What are some things that are holding you back?
  53. 00:03:58.300 – 00:04:08.580 Allow me to help allow my network to help. We're all family. We're all community, you know
  54. 00:04:09.700 – 00:04:11.600 Everybody loves me
  55. 00:04:13.070 – 00:04:15.730 Mr. Photographer Jackson alien
  56. 00:04:17.070 – 00:04:20.490 Steve Jackson of alien eyes photos media
  57. 00:04:21.769 – 00:04:24.330 One of the top creative
  58. 00:04:24.330 – 00:04:25.190 artists
  59. 00:04:25.190 – 00:04:34.330 But I've always been entrepreneur not I look at it and this time away from social media
  60. 00:04:35.030 – 00:04:37.730 gives me time to reflect and
  61. 00:04:39.210 – 00:04:43.590 Realize my old self and what I was into
  62. 00:04:44.890 – 00:04:47.990 So instead of looking on pictures on
  63. 00:04:49.730 – 00:04:50.530 Instagram
  64. 00:04:51.550 – 00:04:53.970 Videos on YouTube
  65. 00:04:54.790 – 00:05:04.840 And Facebook I pick up an old photo album. Look at old pictures
  66. 00:05:07.880 – 00:05:09.520 That's what I'm doing
  67. 00:05:11.160 – 00:05:14.440 Looking at the past and reflecting even on
  68. 00:05:15.440 – 00:05:23.450 The past week the past month. What are some things that happened in my life? What is some things that I like?
  69. 00:05:24.950 – 00:05:26.770 What are some things that I didn't like?
  70. 00:05:28.490 – 00:05:30.490 What are some things I didn't appreciate
  71. 00:05:31.250 – 00:05:33.190 What are the most grateful things?
  72. 00:05:34.790 – 00:05:35.430 that
  73. 00:05:35.430 – 00:05:39.750 Kept me well in the last few weeks last few days
  74. 00:05:41.600 – 00:05:47.260 And that's some things that I am reflecting on taking some time to just think about
  75. 00:05:47.900 – 00:05:50.400 Even get a notebook and journal
  76. 00:05:51.040 – 00:05:53.100 You know write a few pages
  77. 00:05:53.100 – 00:05:57.340 I'm also writing a book and develop developing a course. So
  78. 00:05:57.340 – 00:06:02.960 That's another reason for the ten days sabbatical. I may push it to ten weeks
  79. 00:06:02.960 – 00:06:06.160 But I'm not gonna be out of time and you know how it is out of time
  80. 00:06:06.160 – 00:06:10.060 You gotta you gotta post something or two or three
  81. 00:06:10.060 – 00:06:12.520 maybe four or more
  82. 00:06:16.370 – 00:06:19.070 But and of course at least in your stories
  83. 00:06:20.930 – 00:06:21.530 but
  84. 00:06:21.530 – 00:06:25.610 Ten days minimum ten days ten days ten days
  85. 00:06:27.550 – 00:06:28.750 Going away
  86. 00:06:28.750 – 00:06:31.030 from social media
  87. 00:06:31.030 – 00:06:32.810 But ten days
  88. 00:06:34.600 – 00:06:37.100 If anybody wants to join me
  89. 00:06:37.880 – 00:06:48.740 Now is the time and I kind of gave a pre warning to social media that I will be
  90. 00:06:49.520 – 00:06:52.100 Stepping away for ten days. And if you need me
  91. 00:06:52.740 – 00:06:54.600 Check out the podcast
  92. 00:06:54.600 – 00:06:58.240 In or said directly contact me
  93. 00:06:58.660 – 00:07:00.680 info at
  94. 00:07:00.680 – 00:07:02.720 alienize photos calm
  95. 00:07:04.040 – 00:07:05.640 info at
  96. 00:07:07.400 – 00:07:12.340 Alien eyes and that's eyes like your eyeballs eyes with a Z
  97. 00:07:12.820 – 00:07:14.560 photos with a s
  98. 00:07:14.560 – 00:07:15.560 calm
  99. 00:07:17.250 – 00:07:20.130 Yeah, I'm not gonna make this too too long
  100. 00:07:20.130 – 00:07:23.310 But if anybody want to come on this journey with me
  101. 00:07:23.310 – 00:07:29.350 Maybe you're creating something and you need that extra quiet time. You need that extra rest
  102. 00:07:29.730 – 00:07:33.390 need to decompress and
  103. 00:07:33.970 – 00:07:36.770 Another reason I have to step away from social media
  104. 00:07:37.630 – 00:07:42.130 It's a lot of negativity on there, honestly, I
  105. 00:07:42.130 – 00:07:48.830 Know you could do to not interested and you know not follow but it's some way somehow
  106. 00:07:49.550 – 00:07:51.950 Still pops up like a weed in the grass
  107. 00:07:53.950 – 00:07:54.510 so
  108. 00:07:54.510 – 00:08:00.990 To eliminate it all. I'm just getting rid of it all and the whole thing about Charlie Kurt and
  109. 00:08:01.890 – 00:08:04.090 It's just so much
  110. 00:08:06.270 – 00:08:12.690 Politics and Donald Trump and this and that school shoe is so much
  111. 00:08:14.130 – 00:08:15.610 So much
  112. 00:08:18.270 – 00:08:19.030 So much
  113. 00:08:19.030 – 00:08:30.460 Whoo, I had to take a deep breath after that one and you know social media can cause
  114. 00:08:30.750 – 00:08:32.610 depression anxiety
  115. 00:08:33.990 – 00:08:34.730 fatigue
  116. 00:08:35.669 – 00:08:42.510 Be a distraction and I don't need any distractions. I don't need depression and anxiety
  117. 00:08:42.510 – 00:08:49.580 Towards what I am building and what I am building. I don't need any of those emotions feelings thoughts
  118. 00:08:51.290 – 00:08:52.690 And actions
  119. 00:08:53.310 – 00:08:56.800 Into what I'm building when I'm growing and what I want to do
  120. 00:08:57.530 – 00:08:59.650 You know on pure
  121. 00:08:59.650 – 00:09:00.930 energetic
  122. 00:09:02.510 – 00:09:03.910 focus clear
  123. 00:09:06.060 – 00:09:14.670 Productivity to what I am growing and building out. That's just like you wouldn't put trash
  124. 00:09:16.500 – 00:09:18.180 Like junk food
  125. 00:09:18.180 – 00:09:19.540 alcohol
  126. 00:09:20.320 – 00:09:28.580 It's about you know, all the things if a woman was pregnant you wouldn't at least you shouldn't I know something that did
  127. 00:09:28.580 – 00:09:30.780 You shouldn't
  128. 00:09:31.340 – 00:09:33.620 If you want the best
  129. 00:09:34.420 – 00:09:36.760 For your newborn your child
  130. 00:09:37.500 – 00:09:41.740 That's just a little example maybe a bad example, but
  131. 00:09:42.540 – 00:09:44.180 You get the point
  132. 00:09:45.280 – 00:09:45.840 So
  133. 00:09:49.040 – 00:09:51.400 Take the time for yourself
  134. 00:09:53.930 – 00:09:57.990 That's my reminder to you on day one. Take the time to yourself
  135. 00:09:58.910 – 00:10:01.130 And if you don't already have a plan
  136. 00:10:02.010 – 00:10:04.530 Build that plan even if it's one sentence
  137. 00:10:05.970 – 00:10:07.890 Create that one sentence
  138. 00:10:09.110 – 00:10:14.010 But have some type of North Star some type of guy some type of reminder
  139. 00:10:14.010 – 00:10:16.530 Why you started in the first place?
  140. 00:10:16.530 – 00:10:18.970 Why you keep going anyway
  141. 00:10:22.300 – 00:10:27.640 Don't stop you almost there to what you want to do. This is day one of
  142. 00:10:27.640 – 00:10:29.460 10 1 of 10
  143. 00:10:30.300 – 00:10:32.740 Again, we may go two weeks, but we see
  144. 00:10:34.540 – 00:10:36.660 For sure 10 days and
  145. 00:10:37.940 – 00:10:39.660 Yeah, follow me on this journey
  146. 00:10:41.120 – 00:10:46.300 And I will let you know what comes out on the other end
  147. 00:10:46.300 – 00:10:51.800 Again, this is photographer Jackson of alien eyes photos media
  148. 00:10:51.800 – 00:10:58.540 Mr. Steve Jackson here with alien eyes photos industry talk
  149. 00:10:59.540 – 00:11:02.040 the top business
  150. 00:11:02.580 – 00:11:05.260 introspective business podcast I may say
  151. 00:11:06.020 – 00:11:06.980 Yes
  152. 00:11:07.780 – 00:11:14.380 I'm here to collaborate with many people and I'm working on some things behind the scene again
  153. 00:11:14.380 – 00:11:21.510 That's why I need these 10 days just to focus and be productive. I got some projects that I'm working on
  154. 00:11:22.200 – 00:11:27.360 I got some events coming up at a time. So
  155. 00:11:27.360 – 00:11:30.190 Yeah, I just got a buckle down and get this work done
  156. 00:11:30.860 – 00:11:32.770 Stay focused stay productive
  157. 00:11:33.840 – 00:11:36.180 And yeah, we can't be inviting
  158. 00:11:36.860 – 00:11:39.910 anxiety and depression and distraction in our life
  159. 00:11:40.700 – 00:11:42.930 We got to cut it out and get rid of it
  160. 00:11:42.930 – 00:11:46.150 Hey if it becomes two months
  161. 00:11:46.150 – 00:11:50.730 60 days and I'm like, I'm still off social media. Y'all. I'm sorry
  162. 00:11:51.310 – 00:11:56.010 Hey, well, you heard it first here on day one setting the tone, right?
  163. 00:11:56.910 – 00:11:59.870 Again, you can follow me at
  164. 00:11:59.870 – 00:12:03.910 alien eyes photos on all social media
  165. 00:12:03.910 – 00:12:09.050 I will get back to you as soon as I get on I swear I am gonna take
  166. 00:12:09.610 – 00:12:17.390 Maybe the first day and a half when I get back on just to follow up with everybody some all caught up
  167. 00:12:18.210 – 00:12:20.550 But still follow me, please
  168. 00:12:21.070 – 00:12:26.150 Alien eyes photos and you want to reach me or book me visit
  169. 00:12:26.530 – 00:12:29.850 alien eyes photos dot com
  170. 00:12:30.350 – 00:12:35.910 alien eyes with a Z and photos with a S
  171. 00:12:35.910 – 00:12:37.410 dot com
  172. 00:12:37.410 – 00:12:39.770 Thank you for tuning in as always
  173. 00:12:40.690 – 00:12:42.150 peace love and blessings

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71. Wait, Where You Get These Numbers From?

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  1. 00:00:00.430 – 00:00:03.750 Wait, so you're coming over at random numbers.
  2. 00:00:03.810 – 00:00:04.970 Where do you get these numbers from?
  3. 00:00:07.270 – 00:00:08.930 Where I get the, that's a great question.
  4. 00:00:09.110 – 00:00:09.910 That's a great question.
  5. 00:00:10.050 – 00:00:14.290 Honestly, I just feel like whatever I think the value.
  6. 00:00:15.290 – 00:00:18.030 See, this is a hard question
  7. 00:00:18.030 – 00:00:20.910 because we know it's hard to really put a price tag
  8. 00:00:20.910 – 00:00:23.890 on art in general, because since I guess a jury,
  9. 00:00:23.930 – 00:00:26.130 but it's also at the same time, so.
  10. 00:00:26.130 – 00:00:29.310 I mean, it's art, work, marketing.
  11. 00:00:30.170 – 00:00:33.330 You gotta still, you know, eat, take profit.
  12. 00:00:35.330 – 00:00:38.270 The costs, expenses, and you know,
  13. 00:00:38.910 – 00:00:40.190 material could go up and down.
  14. 00:00:40.210 – 00:00:41.150 You know how that is.
  15. 00:00:42.250 – 00:00:42.690 Exactly.
  16. 00:00:43.050 – 00:00:46.830 Like usually, see, when you ask me to give you a range,
  17. 00:00:46.970 – 00:00:48.590 it's like, I can't really even give you a range
  18. 00:00:48.590 – 00:00:51.590 because I usually sell pieces based off the pieces.
  19. 00:00:51.670 – 00:00:52.230 Why not?
  20. 00:00:52.230 – 00:00:54.270 Why not nonetheless doing 100?
  21. 00:00:55.790 – 00:00:58.330 Or make every piece 100, or make every piece 100?
  22. 00:00:59.390 – 00:01:02.110 Because I feel like different pieces have different value
  23. 00:01:02.110 – 00:01:03.910 and I don't think they all have the same value,
  24. 00:01:03.910 – 00:01:06.330 so I'm not gonna sell them all at the same price.
  25. 00:01:08.350 – 00:01:10.190 But your starting price,
  26. 00:01:10.370 – 00:01:12.890 but your starting price could start at 100.
  27. 00:01:15.390 – 00:01:17.770 That could be something, right?
  28. 00:01:18.130 – 00:01:19.690 See where I'm going though, yeah.
  29. 00:01:20.290 – 00:01:22.010 I see you, I see you.
  30. 00:01:24.190 – 00:01:27.050 This is your time, your value, your worth,
  31. 00:01:28.210 – 00:01:29.630 your baby, in a sense.
  32. 00:01:29.790 – 00:01:30.910 You know, I know how it is.
  33. 00:01:30.910 – 00:01:32.390 You're a creator and it's like, your baby?
  34. 00:01:32.870 – 00:01:33.490 It's my baby?
  35. 00:01:34.990 – 00:01:35.730 No, no, no.
  36. 00:01:36.370 – 00:01:37.090 I don't know.
  37. 00:01:37.330 – 00:01:38.970 I guess I feel like when I,
  38. 00:01:39.010 – 00:01:40.850 because I am low-key kind of starting out,
  39. 00:01:40.930 – 00:01:44.670 especially when it comes to like marketing,
  40. 00:01:44.790 – 00:01:46.370 like my own stuff.
  41. 00:01:46.490 – 00:01:48.510 And so I feel like I did want to make it
  42. 00:01:48.510 – 00:01:49.510 more affordable.
  43. 00:01:49.670 – 00:01:52.150 Like I wanted this to be like something
  44. 00:01:52.150 – 00:01:54.270 that I see people wearing my stuff.
  45. 00:01:54.290 – 00:01:55.590 Like I don't want it to be,
  46. 00:01:56.050 – 00:01:57.610 I don't know how to explain it.
  47. 00:01:57.650 – 00:01:58.750 I think, I don't know.
  48. 00:01:58.870 – 00:01:59.630 I don't know how to.
  49. 00:01:59.630 – 00:02:03.710 You wanted more to the masses than more monetary.
  50. 00:02:04.790 – 00:02:06.030 I guess you could say.
  51. 00:02:06.910 – 00:02:10.110 You visualize people in your work,
  52. 00:02:10.370 – 00:02:11.730 but what type of people?
  53. 00:02:12.010 – 00:02:14.170 Because if any old body could wear it,
  54. 00:02:14.230 – 00:02:14.950 is that what you want?
  55. 00:02:15.930 – 00:02:17.870 Or only a certain type of person?
  56. 00:02:19.010 – 00:02:23.070 No, I feel like my audience would be
  57. 00:02:23.070 – 00:02:24.030 a certain type of people.
  58. 00:02:24.190 – 00:02:25.510 Like my audience would be like-
  59. 00:02:25.510 – 00:02:26.330 What's your audience?
  60. 00:02:26.850 – 00:02:29.450 Like young black people specifically.
  61. 00:02:29.450 – 00:02:31.030 That would be my audience.
  62. 00:02:31.510 – 00:02:31.910 Young black who?
  63. 00:02:32.090 – 00:02:32.330 Female?
  64. 00:02:32.510 – 00:02:32.890 Male?
  65. 00:02:35.170 – 00:02:38.110 No, no female, male, like anybody.
  66. 00:02:38.870 – 00:02:39.530 You don't have to,
  67. 00:02:39.790 – 00:02:40.370 gender don't.
  68. 00:02:41.390 – 00:02:41.830 Okay.
  69. 00:02:42.130 – 00:02:42.430 Black.
  70. 00:02:42.790 – 00:02:43.670 Just black, okay.
  71. 00:02:44.410 – 00:02:44.790 Yes.
  72. 00:02:44.830 – 00:02:45.910 I'm just getting there.
  73. 00:02:45.930 – 00:02:46.710 Like people who look like me.
  74. 00:02:46.750 – 00:02:47.370 You feel me?
  75. 00:02:47.550 – 00:02:47.850 Yeah.
  76. 00:02:48.310 – 00:02:48.630 Got you.
  77. 00:02:48.770 – 00:02:49.950 Brothers and sisters, got you.
  78. 00:02:50.630 – 00:02:51.610 Yes, yes, yes.
  79. 00:02:51.750 – 00:02:54.870 But I feel like anybody could wear,
  80. 00:02:55.350 – 00:02:56.650 anybody could wear my art
  81. 00:02:56.650 – 00:02:57.950 if they want to seek that out.
  82. 00:02:58.050 – 00:02:58.650 You feel me?
  83. 00:02:59.110 – 00:03:01.970 I don't want it to be, you know,
  84. 00:03:02.150 – 00:03:03.610 Pinterest to just only, you know,
  85. 00:03:03.710 – 00:03:04.430 these type of people.
  86. 00:03:04.510 – 00:03:07.650 I feel like my art is for everybody to see
  87. 00:03:07.650 – 00:03:09.110 or who wants to see.
  88. 00:03:09.810 – 00:03:12.390 So I got an idea.
  89. 00:03:12.470 – 00:03:14.590 How about, you know,
  90. 00:03:14.670 – 00:03:16.290 me being a photography space,
  91. 00:03:16.650 – 00:03:19.390 I could help you market that.
  92. 00:03:19.430 – 00:03:23.610 And I will wear every last single one of your pieces
  93. 00:03:24.210 – 00:03:25.470 to help you get through.
  94. 00:03:25.630 – 00:03:27.630 And I think it'd be iconic.
  95. 00:03:29.090 – 00:03:31.010 Every last one of my pieces.
  96. 00:03:31.630 – 00:03:34.210 We should be making a live show.
  97. 00:03:34.490 – 00:03:37.550 See now, this is, yeah, this is, yeah.
  98. 00:03:37.870 – 00:03:38.670 This is me.
  99. 00:03:39.250 – 00:03:41.550 What about doing it live at a live show?
  100. 00:03:42.230 – 00:03:43.190 You're almost like a,
  101. 00:03:43.290 – 00:03:45.510 you know how they do release, book release?
  102. 00:03:47.490 – 00:03:49.370 You can make it a live show
  103. 00:03:49.370 – 00:03:51.050 and it's almost like a live auction.
  104. 00:03:51.950 – 00:03:54.450 They literally taking pieces the morning.
  105. 00:03:54.790 – 00:03:55.910 Okay, you get that one.
  106. 00:03:55.930 – 00:03:56.710 So after the show,
  107. 00:03:56.730 – 00:03:58.090 they get to take that piece home.
  108. 00:04:00.130 – 00:04:03.330 All right, we can talk about that.
  109. 00:04:03.590 – 00:04:04.210 See, yeah.
  110. 00:04:05.150 – 00:04:08.170 But I got to jump on out of here.
  111. 00:04:08.670 – 00:04:10.590 Yeah, I appreciate you.
  112. 00:04:11.570 – 00:04:12.490 No problem.

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72. My Creative Business Coaching Style

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.590 – 00:00:04.470 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome
  2. 00:00:05.430 – 00:00:09.290 back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:11.260 – 00:00:15.240 Let's discuss my creative business coaching style.
  4. 00:00:18.110 – 00:00:23.110 Now what is my business coaching style
  5. 00:00:26.140 – 00:00:29.220 as a creative and for creatives?
  6. 00:00:29.500 – 00:00:34.310 Creative entrepreneurs, it's a good question.
  7. 00:00:37.560 – 00:00:39.380 But I wanna put it out there
  8. 00:00:42.100 – 00:00:44.500 when I'm coaching and mentoring others,
  9. 00:00:45.320 – 00:00:49.240 my words and feedback are about the actions and outcome
  10. 00:00:49.240 – 00:00:52.600 rather than the person, individual or company.
  11. 00:00:53.660 – 00:01:00.220 I am doing it in the need of the goal, the goal at hand.
  12. 00:01:02.000 – 00:01:08.560 If you are doing good work, keep doing it.
  13. 00:01:10.780 – 00:01:15.950 But if you're not, I will call you out on it.
  14. 00:01:19.120 – 00:01:20.360 You want this goal,
  15. 00:01:23.390 – 00:01:26.880 but the actions are not leading up to you getting the goal.
  16. 00:01:27.860 – 00:01:29.080 And we both know that.
  17. 00:01:30.500 – 00:01:32.760 We had come up with a change, a solution.
  18. 00:01:36.540 – 00:01:40.520 I'm always creatively problem solving,
  19. 00:01:42.320 – 00:01:47.560 thinking of solutions, thinking how can things be better?
  20. 00:01:52.110 – 00:01:55.630 So if you tell me you want this goal,
  21. 00:01:56.110 – 00:01:59.470 you really wanna do something, you really want this,
  22. 00:01:59.910 – 00:02:02.150 you want this outcome, this result,
  23. 00:02:04.530 – 00:02:07.650 but you're not going in the direction,
  24. 00:02:08.550 – 00:02:14.250 the route, the steps that's needed to get there.
  25. 00:02:19.370 – 00:02:21.070 So yeah, I will have to call you out.
  26. 00:02:21.190 – 00:02:22.370 But if you're doing good work,
  27. 00:02:22.810 – 00:02:24.530 like I said, keep doing the good work.
  28. 00:02:25.330 – 00:02:26.710 I encourage the good work.
  29. 00:02:27.430 – 00:02:31.930 We celebrate the good work and keep going, you know?
  30. 00:02:32.570 – 00:02:35.330 Make it a habit of doing good work.
  31. 00:02:35.830 – 00:02:37.090 Turn it to great work.
  32. 00:02:37.410 – 00:02:38.710 Turn it to amazing work.
  33. 00:02:39.430 – 00:02:40.890 Have it keep evolving, you know?
  34. 00:02:45.550 – 00:02:50.670 Eliminate distractions and let us focus on the needs done.
  35. 00:02:54.810 – 00:02:55.970 Excuse me.
  36. 00:02:57.190 – 00:02:59.630 Eliminate the distractions and let us focus
  37. 00:02:59.630 – 00:03:01.790 on the work that needs to be done effectively.
  38. 00:03:03.590 – 00:03:05.650 I'm gonna just get a sip of water before I continue.
  39. 00:03:06.770 – 00:03:08.710 But you know, with that being said,
  40. 00:03:09.050 – 00:03:10.710 emotions, a blur judgment.
  41. 00:03:14.230 – 00:03:15.030 Gotta stay hydrated.
  42. 00:03:17.470 – 00:03:20.330 I remember when one of my old basketball coaches
  43. 00:03:20.330 – 00:03:23.330 used to tell me, keep my arms straight.
  44. 00:03:26.990 – 00:03:30.890 I was semi-stuck in the method,
  45. 00:03:31.370 – 00:03:34.670 in the habit of shooting, you know, my own way.
  46. 00:03:35.490 – 00:03:37.070 It took me longer to adjust.
  47. 00:03:38.550 – 00:03:44.030 You know, I would just do the opposite almost.
  48. 00:03:44.150 – 00:03:45.490 I'm like, I'm doing it right.
  49. 00:03:45.630 – 00:03:46.650 That's how you show me.
  50. 00:03:47.130 – 00:03:49.990 But I guess like last minute, or I do what I do it,
  51. 00:03:50.010 – 00:03:52.770 then like last minute, you're like, oh, almost.
  52. 00:03:54.490 – 00:03:56.730 But I don't know, I was young,
  53. 00:03:57.090 – 00:03:59.650 and sometimes I would twist my wrist
  54. 00:03:59.650 – 00:04:02.110 instead of flicking my wrist.
  55. 00:04:02.590 – 00:04:04.280 Like I was like slightly twisted
  56. 00:04:04.280 – 00:04:08.900 instead of flicking and keeping my arms straight.
  57. 00:04:09.560 – 00:04:13.600 Elbow probably outer than it need to be, you know.
  58. 00:04:14.900 – 00:04:17.800 So some things I had to learn,
  59. 00:04:18.399 – 00:04:20.240 some things that I definitely took in
  60. 00:04:20.240 – 00:04:22.240 and still remember and I appreciate.
  61. 00:04:24.400 – 00:04:27.000 But yeah, that simple principle stuck with me.
  62. 00:04:27.860 – 00:04:29.460 And now that I'm much older
  63. 00:04:29.900 – 00:04:31.900 and just started back playing basketball
  64. 00:04:31.900 – 00:04:35.100 every now and then, you know, you know how I be.
  65. 00:04:35.560 – 00:04:37.360 I got to ease into it.
  66. 00:04:39.810 – 00:04:45.250 The remainder, I should say the reminder
  67. 00:04:47.790 – 00:04:50.430 of the foundation of shooting.
  68. 00:04:54.420 – 00:04:57.320 You know, that little memory is a reminder
  69. 00:04:58.340 – 00:05:00.400 for the foundation of shooting, you know.
  70. 00:05:02.560 – 00:05:04.460 And the things that we learn,
  71. 00:05:07.410 – 00:05:09.390 that's simple, that's basic,
  72. 00:05:11.640 – 00:05:16.420 can really change outcomes or lives.
  73. 00:05:19.280 – 00:05:22.680 It could be that little tweak of the fundamentals
  74. 00:05:23.080 – 00:05:27.640 or the basics could get you a long way.
  75. 00:05:30.750 – 00:05:34.510 Sometimes you don't need the big grandiose things,
  76. 00:05:35.670 – 00:05:39.250 the lavish things, the newest thing,
  77. 00:05:42.070 – 00:05:47.330 what is working, what is working.
  78. 00:05:48.530 – 00:05:50.490 And that should always be the goal,
  79. 00:05:52.840 – 00:05:57.080 what is working and how it is improving,
  80. 00:05:58.990 – 00:06:00.250 those two things.
  81. 00:06:03.320 – 00:06:10.510 Now, like I said, that principle of that basketball,
  82. 00:06:10.710 – 00:06:12.630 shooting and keeping my arms straight
  83. 00:06:13.330 – 00:06:15.710 stuck with me for all these years.
  84. 00:06:16.690 – 00:06:18.610 An old lesson from my basketball coach,
  85. 00:06:18.670 – 00:06:21.650 Myron Jackson, and maybe it's a Jackson thing,
  86. 00:06:21.750 – 00:06:24.150 you know, I'm Steve Jackson,
  87. 00:06:24.450 – 00:06:26.010 also known as Photographer Jackson,
  88. 00:06:26.170 – 00:06:28.030 many call me alien for my brand,
  89. 00:06:28.290 – 00:06:33.310 alienize photos, media, and then also former,
  90. 00:06:33.310 – 00:06:35.310 musician, alienize player.
  91. 00:06:36.110 – 00:06:38.830 You can catch my music on all streaming platforms
  92. 00:06:38.830 – 00:06:41.370 in alienizeplayer.com.
  93. 00:06:42.110 – 00:06:47.110 But yeah, I'm very appreciative,
  94. 00:06:48.410 – 00:06:50.470 you know, years and years later,
  95. 00:06:52.070 – 00:06:53.870 I am certainly shooting a basketball
  96. 00:06:53.870 – 00:06:55.550 better than I was in school.
  97. 00:06:56.350 – 00:07:00.690 It's a testimony of how much of a student I am
  98. 00:07:00.690 – 00:07:03.950 for everything that I pursue and engage,
  99. 00:07:03.950 – 00:07:07.970 relentless on getting better, improving.
  100. 00:07:09.610 – 00:07:13.410 I also had a chance to coach at the YMCA
  101. 00:07:13.410 – 00:07:14.990 for two summers straight,
  102. 00:07:15.510 – 00:07:19.050 to volunteer and coach the NBA Cavs Junior,
  103. 00:07:20.830 – 00:07:24.710 AY and W, or YMCA.
  104. 00:07:25.770 – 00:07:27.010 I think it was both though.
  105. 00:07:28.090 – 00:07:32.890 YMCA hosted a program sponsored by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
  106. 00:07:36.030 – 00:07:40.190 I still coach, but now it's creative entrepreneurs,
  107. 00:07:41.230 – 00:07:42.950 and you could be one of them.
  108. 00:07:44.230 – 00:07:46.330 Be sure to reach out and let me know
  109. 00:07:46.330 – 00:07:47.510 what you need help with.
  110. 00:07:51.030 – 00:07:53.430 And you know, I'm a laid back person,
  111. 00:07:56.370 – 00:07:58.450 but when it's show time and you know,
  112. 00:07:59.970 – 00:08:01.170 change needs to happen,
  113. 00:08:01.780 – 00:08:04.350 and with change comes the transformation.
  114. 00:08:05.290 – 00:08:06.610 When you make it a habit,
  115. 00:08:07.610 – 00:08:09.530 and the habit you make it concrete,
  116. 00:08:10.790 – 00:08:13.410 and you be consistent and never change,
  117. 00:08:14.110 – 00:08:15.570 and keep doing your thing.
  118. 00:08:20.750 – 00:08:23.030 But having that peace,
  119. 00:08:24.510 – 00:08:26.250 which I preach a lot,
  120. 00:08:28.070 – 00:08:30.490 you know, never let anyone or anything
  121. 00:08:30.490 – 00:08:31.910 disrupt your inner peace.
  122. 00:08:32.970 – 00:08:36.130 Never ever let anyone, not even yourself,
  123. 00:08:36.429 – 00:08:37.690 disrupt your inner peace,
  124. 00:08:38.250 – 00:08:42.070 as we can sometimes get in each other way,
  125. 00:08:43.570 – 00:08:45.190 our own self way,
  126. 00:08:46.790 – 00:08:48.650 be a blockage for our own self,
  127. 00:08:48.890 – 00:08:49.910 our own reflection,
  128. 00:08:51.190 – 00:08:54.910 our own goals, our own thoughts, our own movements.
  129. 00:08:56.750 – 00:08:59.270 You know, we could really get in a way
  130. 00:08:59.270 – 00:09:07.900 and you know, stop and block our self, you know.
  131. 00:09:15.420 – 00:09:21.810 I've learned being an artist,
  132. 00:09:23.510 – 00:09:24.670 being an entrepreneur,
  133. 00:09:26.690 – 00:09:28.350 being in so many rooms,
  134. 00:09:29.670 – 00:09:31.330 being in so many industries,
  135. 00:09:31.630 – 00:09:33.190 around so many industries,
  136. 00:09:33.430 – 00:09:35.490 network with so many industries,
  137. 00:09:37.490 – 00:09:39.690 you know, did video production and photography
  138. 00:09:39.690 – 00:09:42.430 for so many industries.
  139. 00:09:43.390 – 00:09:47.270 Just shaking hands with people in different industries.
  140. 00:09:49.790 – 00:09:52.790 Always, you know, kept that creative mindset.
  141. 00:09:55.200 – 00:09:57.380 You know, it's also fueled by my entrepreneurship
  142. 00:10:00.490 – 00:10:03.670 because let's be real, I just want to create and,
  143. 00:10:03.670 – 00:10:09.140 you know, locked in in the studio,
  144. 00:10:11.690 – 00:10:15.270 locked in writing, locked in filming,
  145. 00:10:16.890 – 00:10:19.470 content creator, building,
  146. 00:10:22.090 – 00:10:24.270 using my imagination to come up with something,
  147. 00:10:25.110 – 00:10:27.290 something brilliant, something beautiful,
  148. 00:10:29.450 – 00:10:30.570 inspiring, impactful.
  149. 00:10:33.690 – 00:10:35.950 That's what I love using my creativity on.
  150. 00:10:39.660 – 00:10:41.280 And that's what, you know,
  151. 00:10:41.380 – 00:10:43.460 most creatives want to focus on,
  152. 00:10:43.640 – 00:10:47.680 most artists, creatives want to focus on.
  153. 00:10:52.150 – 00:10:54.130 But it got to be fueled by the entrepreneurship.
  154. 00:10:55.210 – 00:10:57.350 You got to love it so much that
  155. 00:10:57.350 – 00:11:01.590 the business part of it is just like one cohesive circle.
  156. 00:11:03.710 – 00:11:05.150 It all runs together.
  157. 00:11:08.890 – 00:11:12.150 And I encourage any and all creative
  158. 00:11:14.250 – 00:11:20.030 artists to have that entrepreneur mindset.
  159. 00:11:21.530 – 00:11:24.970 And to have episodes on the entrepreneurial mindset,
  160. 00:11:26.710 – 00:11:28.850 that growth mindset that's needed
  161. 00:11:30.350 – 00:11:34.030 to step in to becoming a creative entrepreneur.
  162. 00:11:36.480 – 00:11:40.240 I'm a creative, so, you know,
  163. 00:11:40.400 – 00:11:44.480 I don't have to be one dimensional, but I can.
  164. 00:11:46.570 – 00:11:49.810 We can make it a creative function
  165. 00:11:50.530 – 00:11:53.910 and really get you on a path that needs you,
  166. 00:11:58.820 – 00:12:00.860 get you on a path that needs you.
  167. 00:12:08.510 – 00:12:12.250 So, I'm about to get up out of here,
  168. 00:12:12.350 – 00:12:13.390 got to eat dinner.
  169. 00:12:14.030 – 00:12:15.930 It's been a long day.
  170. 00:12:16.610 – 00:12:20.630 I've been putting a lot of work in, catching up on work.
  171. 00:12:21.730 – 00:12:26.230 But, yeah, I know I'm kind of
  172. 00:12:26.230 – 00:12:28.790 having inquiries on, you know, my coaching.
  173. 00:12:29.090 – 00:12:31.230 So, I just want to put it out there
  174. 00:12:31.230 – 00:12:34.690 on my coaching style in advance, you know.
  175. 00:12:36.190 – 00:12:40.430 I'm very laid back, but I'm wise, resilient,
  176. 00:12:41.690 – 00:12:43.330 easy to work with.
  177. 00:12:43.950 – 00:12:47.030 And, hey, I've been through some things.
  178. 00:12:48.890 – 00:12:54.090 You can find more information on Alien Eyes Photos media
  179. 00:12:54.870 – 00:12:57.650 at alieneyesphotos.com.
  180. 00:12:57.770 – 00:13:04.050 That's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S dot com.
  181. 00:13:04.490 – 00:13:06.450 And follow on all social media
  182. 00:13:06.450 – 00:13:12.790 at Alien Eyes Photos at Alien Eyes Photos.
  183. 00:13:13.630 – 00:13:16.170 And also follow Creative Frequency
  184. 00:13:17.270 – 00:13:19.690 on a Creative Frequency on YouTube
  185. 00:13:19.690 – 00:13:26.390 and all social media at on a Creative Frequency, you know.
  186. 00:13:26.590 – 00:13:30.470 Join me in, I call her Lady B.
  187. 00:13:31.930 – 00:13:35.290 You know, that's her artist name, doing the music.
  188. 00:13:36.070 – 00:13:39.430 And, again, mine was Alien Eye Player.
  189. 00:13:40.050 – 00:13:44.510 I played with it and I later integrated Alien.
  190. 00:13:46.030 – 00:13:49.910 If anybody know the story of the Super Teen Poetry,
  191. 00:13:50.190 – 00:13:51.670 then you know how that came about.
  192. 00:13:53.430 – 00:13:57.350 But, yeah, we really want to encourage other creatives
  193. 00:13:57.350 – 00:13:58.490 on being creative.
  194. 00:13:59.110 – 00:14:02.330 So, if you need that extra inspiration on being creative
  195. 00:14:02.330 – 00:14:05.210 or, you know, get a focus on doing the work,
  196. 00:14:05.770 – 00:14:08.730 also check out on a Creative Frequency.
  197. 00:14:08.730 – 00:14:12.690 You got to be on a Creative Frequency to get, you know,
  198. 00:14:13.010 – 00:14:18.190 things that's coming from the stratosphere out of nowhere,
  199. 00:14:18.190 – 00:14:21.010 you know, painting that blank canvas.
  200. 00:14:22.070 – 00:14:24.730 But, yeah, check us out on a Creative Frequency.
  201. 00:14:28.320 – 00:14:33.630 And, again, you know, seek out coaching,
  202. 00:14:34.930 – 00:14:36.150 seek out mentorship.
  203. 00:14:36.810 – 00:14:39.170 You know, even if it's not with me,
  204. 00:14:39.990 – 00:14:43.230 you know, find somebody that relates to your style,
  205. 00:14:43.550 – 00:14:46.510 complements your style, complements your learning style.
  206. 00:14:47.370 – 00:14:49.490 You know, somebody that's going to push you
  207. 00:14:49.490 – 00:14:51.250 and help you get the results.
  208. 00:14:52.950 – 00:14:54.870 You know, you can have more than one coach,
  209. 00:14:55.250 – 00:14:56.470 more than one mentor,
  210. 00:14:57.250 – 00:14:59.730 mentor in different parts of your life.
  211. 00:15:00.350 – 00:15:05.490 So, be open to it, be open for the growth,
  212. 00:15:05.690 – 00:15:08.030 be open for the criticism and, you know,
  213. 00:15:08.030 – 00:15:10.390 constructive criticism, I should say.
  214. 00:15:12.090 – 00:15:15.050 You know, we're always here to help
  215. 00:15:16.870 – 00:15:18.650 and encourage you to do the work
  216. 00:15:18.650 – 00:15:21.030 because only you can do the work.
  217. 00:15:21.630 – 00:15:24.530 We can only help guide you and lead you the way,
  218. 00:15:25.610 – 00:15:27.610 but at the end of the day,
  219. 00:15:28.070 – 00:15:30.630 it all falls on you and you putting the work in.
  220. 00:15:31.130 – 00:15:32.790 So, just remember that.
  221. 00:15:34.050 – 00:15:34.910 All right, y'all, peace.
  222. 00:15:35.010 – 00:15:36.950 Photographer Jackson, I am out.
  223. 00:15:36.950 – 00:15:39.430 Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  224. 00:15:40.050 – 00:15:41.810 This is my culture style, y'all.

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73. Alex Hormozi $100M Money Models Book - Attraction Offers How To Make Money

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.070 – 00:00:07.030 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos industry talk.
  2. 00:00:08.230 – 00:00:09.790 And I'm gonna jump right into it.
  3. 00:00:09.790 – 00:00:11.950 This is iconic.
  4. 00:00:13.010 – 00:00:16.470 I wanna say first congrats to Alex Harmozzi
  5. 00:00:17.230 – 00:00:20.430 who owned multiple gyms.
  6. 00:00:22.630 – 00:00:26.630 Believer gym instructor, fitness instructor, coach.
  7. 00:00:27.610 – 00:00:31.310 Then went on to scale multiple gyms
  8. 00:00:31.310 – 00:00:34.350 and started scaling and investing in multiple businesses.
  9. 00:00:35.550 – 00:00:39.590 You know, I watched live, at least 70% of it.
  10. 00:00:39.870 – 00:00:43.370 I watched him live, you know,
  11. 00:00:43.570 – 00:00:46.710 achieve the Guinness World Record.
  12. 00:00:48.390 – 00:00:54.270 Selling, I think the fastest within the day.
  13. 00:00:55.470 – 00:01:01.910 The fastest selling book within 24 hours,
  14. 00:01:02.250 – 00:01:04.209 non-fiction book in 24 hours.
  15. 00:01:05.510 – 00:01:08.870 And he really set it as a goal and invited them
  16. 00:01:09.950 – 00:01:14.550 to be a part of, you know, at a book launch he did,
  17. 00:01:15.510 – 00:01:17.590 which was, you know, amazing and, you know,
  18. 00:01:17.690 – 00:01:19.470 had me thinking, had a lot of people thinking
  19. 00:01:19.470 – 00:01:21.430 and people talking about it.
  20. 00:01:21.430 – 00:01:23.710 And I did pre-order the book
  21. 00:01:24.410 – 00:01:27.430 and I wanted to check it out.
  22. 00:01:28.550 – 00:01:33.410 I'm not a big consumer of Alex's content,
  23. 00:01:35.350 – 00:01:37.850 but, you know, I'm familiar with him
  24. 00:01:37.850 – 00:01:41.110 and what he do as far as scaling businesses.
  25. 00:01:41.990 – 00:01:44.510 And, you know, I read, the more I read his book,
  26. 00:01:46.650 – 00:01:48.890 it's, man, it's great.
  27. 00:01:51.680 – 00:01:58.420 You know, some things I wanna talk about just are simple.
  28. 00:01:59.440 – 00:02:00.380 You know, he states,
  29. 00:02:00.740 – 00:02:02.720 good money models make millionaires.
  30. 00:02:05.770 – 00:02:08.330 Good money models make millionaires.
  31. 00:02:08.350 – 00:02:10.229 And this is from his new book,
  32. 00:02:10.590 – 00:02:17.130 That Achieve, you know, that record of the most sales,
  33. 00:02:17.570 – 00:02:20.050 book sales in 24 hours.
  34. 00:02:20.870 – 00:02:24.250 And I'm not sure where the numbers are at right now,
  35. 00:02:24.290 – 00:02:26.150 but I'll put them in his show notes
  36. 00:02:26.150 – 00:02:27.790 after I do that research.
  37. 00:02:29.290 – 00:02:32.730 But, you know, he have the series
  38. 00:02:33.100 – 00:02:35.010 and this is the third of the series
  39. 00:02:35.690 – 00:02:40.280 and the series is sold over a million copies.
  40. 00:02:41.990 – 00:02:45.370 They call it the $100 million series.
  41. 00:02:45.830 – 00:02:51.090 And this book is $100 million money models.
  42. 00:02:51.750 – 00:02:56.030 Again, by Alex Hormozi, How to Make Money.
  43. 00:03:00.990 – 00:03:05.170 And a lot of these are going to be about offers.
  44. 00:03:06.490 – 00:03:07.950 Like he has four type of offers.
  45. 00:03:08.110 – 00:03:11.710 He break down attraction offer, the upsell offer,
  46. 00:03:11.930 – 00:03:14.590 downsell offer, and a continuity offer.
  47. 00:03:15.450 – 00:03:18.470 If you're not sure what those offers are,
  48. 00:03:20.750 – 00:03:23.610 I know I have an episode called Offers.
  49. 00:03:24.230 – 00:03:25.350 You know, I will start there,
  50. 00:03:25.370 – 00:03:27.850 but in the future I will certainly
  51. 00:03:27.850 – 00:03:31.350 have another updated episode on offers
  52. 00:03:31.350 – 00:03:34.070 and about offers and the different offers you can do,
  53. 00:03:35.670 – 00:03:37.030 especially for your industry.
  54. 00:03:37.610 – 00:03:40.870 But I know with my creative entrepreneurs,
  55. 00:03:41.610 – 00:03:46.130 you know, take heed to this because you could be doing
  56. 00:03:46.130 – 00:03:48.150 one or two of these things
  57. 00:03:48.150 – 00:03:51.990 that you never even thought about, you know.
  58. 00:03:52.070 – 00:03:54.470 How can you add more value?
  59. 00:03:54.650 – 00:03:57.350 How can you get something for free to add more value
  60. 00:03:57.350 – 00:03:58.830 to what you already offer?
  61. 00:03:59.710 – 00:04:02.470 Oh, you do the photo shoot if you're a photographer.
  62. 00:04:03.390 – 00:04:05.210 And just offer a free print, you know.
  63. 00:04:05.250 – 00:04:07.730 It may cost you, you know, some money,
  64. 00:04:08.390 – 00:04:12.170 but you know, what if they are a returning client,
  65. 00:04:12.810 – 00:04:14.290 you know, on a consistent basis
  66. 00:04:14.290 – 00:04:17.250 because you did that special act of kindness.
  67. 00:04:18.670 – 00:04:19.850 There is something for free.
  68. 00:04:20.529 – 00:04:25.950 So sometimes we have to give something away for free
  69. 00:04:25.950 – 00:04:29.830 just to add more value on the guarantee.
  70. 00:04:32.170 – 00:04:39.000 And I like this, kind of like an open up paragraph.
  71. 00:04:41.440 – 00:04:44.780 If you make more offers and people buy them,
  72. 00:04:45.260 – 00:04:46.660 you make more money.
  73. 00:04:47.300 – 00:04:49.100 If you make more money,
  74. 00:04:49.340 – 00:04:52.360 you can use it to get more customers.
  75. 00:04:53.300 – 00:04:56.240 And I think that second sentence on using it
  76. 00:04:56.240 – 00:05:01.420 to get more customers is key, you know,
  77. 00:05:01.420 – 00:05:07.420 because we may buy more supplies
  78. 00:05:07.420 – 00:05:11.060 or more education, training,
  79. 00:05:12.880 – 00:05:16.180 and probably other stuff we don't need equipment,
  80. 00:05:18.790 – 00:05:22.330 but put it back into the marketing, into the advertising.
  81. 00:05:23.810 – 00:05:26.670 You know, maybe we don't need a new tool, this new AI.
  82. 00:05:28.110 – 00:05:30.830 Maybe we just need better marketing, you know.
  83. 00:05:32.350 – 00:05:35.030 Marketing is critical, marketing is key.
  84. 00:05:36.070 – 00:05:39.450 So when we get money coming into our business,
  85. 00:05:39.630 – 00:05:41.410 especially when you first start a note,
  86. 00:05:42.090 – 00:05:44.550 you want to reinvest, reinvest your money.
  87. 00:05:46.450 – 00:05:48.550 You make these offers, you get any sales,
  88. 00:05:48.890 – 00:05:50.190 you shake your hands,
  89. 00:05:50.670 – 00:05:51.910 put it right into the business.
  90. 00:05:54.240 – 00:05:56.100 You know, there's a lot of times,
  91. 00:05:57.360 – 00:05:59.480 you know, I didn't pay myself for the business.
  92. 00:06:01.200 – 00:06:03.540 It's just reinvesting and reinvesting
  93. 00:06:03.540 – 00:06:06.680 and, you know, just to be candid,
  94. 00:06:10.840 – 00:06:16.120 you know, me having more of a personal brand,
  95. 00:06:16.920 – 00:06:19.540 a more front-facing brand
  96. 00:06:20.660 – 00:06:24.460 that highlights creatives and entrepreneurs,
  97. 00:06:26.260 – 00:06:27.740 and my creative entrepreneurs,
  98. 00:06:29.660 – 00:06:35.670 my creative artists, business owners, colleagues,
  99. 00:06:35.670 – 00:06:43.840 you know, elevating positive stories
  100. 00:06:44.460 – 00:06:45.880 will always be my core,
  101. 00:06:46.280 – 00:06:48.620 but when people think of alien eyes,
  102. 00:06:48.720 – 00:06:50.180 they think of me, they think of alien,
  103. 00:06:51.260 – 00:06:56.260 which alien was around in my music, in poetry,
  104. 00:06:57.340 – 00:06:59.360 performing and recording days.
  105. 00:07:00.880 – 00:07:02.980 You know, if you check out Alien Our Players,
  106. 00:07:03.200 – 00:07:06.120 I built that music brand
  107. 00:07:06.880 – 00:07:09.520 before I switched to visual media,
  108. 00:07:09.520 – 00:07:12.020 photography and video production.
  109. 00:07:13.280 – 00:07:16.140 And I kept the alien and, you know,
  110. 00:07:16.140 – 00:07:20.680 now I'm using my eyes to, you know,
  111. 00:07:21.420 – 00:07:24.100 provide solutions for creative entrepreneurs,
  112. 00:07:25.340 – 00:07:27.440 which I do with event photography,
  113. 00:07:27.740 – 00:07:29.520 helping you market, you know,
  114. 00:07:29.560 – 00:07:31.880 your business through event photography.
  115. 00:07:33.720 – 00:07:39.750 And, you know, maybe I didn't think it
  116. 00:07:39.750 – 00:07:41.730 all the way through, you know,
  117. 00:07:41.730 – 00:07:44.210 starting a new business for the long term.
  118. 00:07:44.570 – 00:07:45.890 I knew immediately, you know,
  119. 00:07:45.970 – 00:07:49.270 just carrying that same name,
  120. 00:07:49.490 – 00:07:51.110 like a name transfer,
  121. 00:07:53.270 – 00:07:54.770 kind of like changing the last name,
  122. 00:07:54.770 – 00:07:56.330 I guess you could say.
  123. 00:07:57.710 – 00:07:59.730 You know, I upgraded it, you know.
  124. 00:08:00.650 – 00:08:03.370 My business mindset upgraded.
  125. 00:08:03.490 – 00:08:06.230 It got married, you know, with music.
  126. 00:08:07.930 – 00:08:09.430 I could've went wider.
  127. 00:08:09.430 – 00:08:11.790 I could've continued on and wider,
  128. 00:08:13.590 – 00:08:16.130 but just the time I was at,
  129. 00:08:16.970 – 00:08:19.910 I was more entrepreneurial thinking
  130. 00:08:19.910 – 00:08:22.230 versus the creating and I'm a creative.
  131. 00:08:22.810 – 00:08:24.670 I'm an artist at heart by the core.
  132. 00:08:25.310 – 00:08:27.650 That's first, I am a creative.
  133. 00:08:32.179 – 00:08:33.360 But with the shift,
  134. 00:08:33.480 – 00:08:35.880 we're just more business and entrepreneurship,
  135. 00:08:35.880 – 00:08:38.460 you know, having that mindset
  136. 00:08:39.900 – 00:08:41.880 and also that money mindset
  137. 00:08:42.919 – 00:08:44.740 and just running the business
  138. 00:08:44.740 – 00:08:49.240 and stepping out there testing the waters,
  139. 00:08:50.140 – 00:08:52.480 doing something I love, you know.
  140. 00:08:52.980 – 00:08:55.140 I remember my mother bought me a camera
  141. 00:08:55.140 – 00:08:56.900 on a field trip.
  142. 00:08:56.920 – 00:08:58.700 I was maybe six or seven,
  143. 00:08:58.860 – 00:09:00.240 so like first grade.
  144. 00:09:01.520 – 00:09:04.360 And, you know, the little wound up cameras,
  145. 00:09:04.980 – 00:09:08.020 the shh, shh, shh, and then you click it,
  146. 00:09:08.020 – 00:09:10.640 the shh, shh, shh, click it.
  147. 00:09:11.380 – 00:09:13.860 You get like 12 shots through the film
  148. 00:09:16.140 – 00:09:19.760 and I'm just, man, field trip at the zoo.
  149. 00:09:19.940 – 00:09:22.720 I'm just pressing a button.
  150. 00:09:22.880 – 00:09:26.440 Probably the worst pictures I ever took, literally.
  151. 00:09:27.680 – 00:09:29.920 You know, I'm first grade, just pressing a button.
  152. 00:09:30.720 – 00:09:33.580 Not even fully composing.
  153. 00:09:34.560 – 00:09:37.140 But, you know, I noticed a number at the bottom.
  154. 00:09:37.140 – 00:09:39.980 It was like, it had like a five.
  155. 00:09:40.580 – 00:09:44.580 I'm like, wait, I was limited
  156. 00:09:44.580 – 00:09:46.680 to the number of photos I had to take.
  157. 00:09:48.060 – 00:09:51.260 And I'm just testing out like, shh, shh, shh.
  158. 00:09:51.340 – 00:09:52.640 Wait, did I not remove it?
  159. 00:09:52.640 – 00:09:53.760 Oh no, I would say two.
  160. 00:09:54.300 – 00:09:56.120 Oh shoot, so I only got two pictures left
  161. 00:09:56.120 – 00:10:01.620 and end up using that two photos
  162. 00:10:02.300 – 00:10:04.840 that I had left to take, you know,
  163. 00:10:04.980 – 00:10:06.320 two pictures I could take.
  164. 00:10:07.620 – 00:10:09.660 With the film camera.
  165. 00:10:11.320 – 00:10:16.480 And I'm first grade, second grade maybe, at the latest.
  166. 00:10:18.960 – 00:10:20.780 And everything excites me.
  167. 00:10:20.980 – 00:10:22.260 I seen a new animal.
  168. 00:10:22.820 – 00:10:24.260 I think it was a lion at the time.
  169. 00:10:24.460 – 00:10:26.540 I just tried to take a picture of the lion.
  170. 00:10:27.820 – 00:10:30.480 And I'm like, wow, I can't take no more pictures now.
  171. 00:10:30.900 – 00:10:32.760 You know, after those two shots was up.
  172. 00:10:34.420 – 00:10:36.760 So, you know, years and years later,
  173. 00:10:36.760 – 00:10:41.940 I come back, photography, you know, very photogenic.
  174. 00:10:43.400 – 00:10:47.640 And also love being behind a camera, which I love.
  175. 00:10:48.200 – 00:10:51.600 It's just a whole creative aspect and creating and,
  176. 00:10:51.600 – 00:10:52.800 you know, freezing time.
  177. 00:10:52.900 – 00:10:55.100 You know, I'm a superhero, freeze time.
  178. 00:10:57.160 – 00:10:59.720 But continuing with Alex,
  179. 00:11:01.280 – 00:11:04.080 what if you make your customers twice as viable
  180. 00:11:04.820 – 00:11:07.400 and you get twice as many of them
  181. 00:11:07.400 – 00:11:11.740 and those customers at twice the speed?
  182. 00:11:14.700 – 00:11:16.940 Yeah, who wants that?
  183. 00:11:17.260 – 00:11:22.180 Twice the speed, twice the amount, twice the value.
  184. 00:11:27.120 – 00:11:29.480 If you make customers twice as value
  185. 00:11:29.480 – 00:11:32.440 and get twice as many of them,
  186. 00:11:32.740 – 00:11:36.020 you get those customers at twice the speed.
  187. 00:11:36.020 – 00:11:41.200 Woo, your business grows eight times faster.
  188. 00:11:42.140 – 00:11:44.360 And wait, if you triple them,
  189. 00:11:45.100 – 00:11:52.020 your business grows 27 times faster by tripling them.
  190. 00:11:54.910 – 00:12:01.970 By tripling them, your business grows 27 times faster.
  191. 00:12:03.790 – 00:12:04.530 Wow.
  192. 00:12:06.610 – 00:12:09.890 You know, and that's going back to those offers,
  193. 00:12:10.150 – 00:12:12.030 you know, the traction offer, upsell offer,
  194. 00:12:12.270 – 00:12:16.750 downsell offer, continuity offer, you know.
  195. 00:12:17.850 – 00:12:21.610 It's all about turning strangers into customers,
  196. 00:12:23.070 – 00:12:26.990 building our audience, having a game plan,
  197. 00:12:28.130 – 00:12:30.530 sticking what you need to stick to,
  198. 00:12:33.220 – 00:12:37.060 you know, find out how it could work for you
  199. 00:12:38.620 – 00:12:39.980 going back to the offer.
  200. 00:12:42.520 – 00:12:44.440 Just find out which one works for you.
  201. 00:12:45.720 – 00:12:47.400 But I would always recommend
  202. 00:12:47.400 – 00:12:48.820 starting with the attraction offer.
  203. 00:12:49.000 – 00:12:51.320 You got to attract, you know.
  204. 00:12:51.440 – 00:12:54.980 It's kind of like someone taking a quiz
  205. 00:12:55.680 – 00:12:56.880 just to see if they're a good fit,
  206. 00:12:56.920 – 00:12:58.960 or an interview to see if they're a good fit.
  207. 00:13:01.690 – 00:13:07.470 Attract, you know, attraction offers
  208. 00:13:07.470 – 00:13:12.670 is like lead generation, which can be free, discounted,
  209. 00:13:14.270 – 00:13:19.370 a low price, low entry, or maybe a trial offer.
  210. 00:13:21.470 – 00:13:25.530 Attract, attract, attract.
  211. 00:13:30.220 – 00:13:37.060 Yeah, this book is good, you know, kind of blew my mind.
  212. 00:13:37.980 – 00:13:43.480 And I was kind of, I would say indifferent, you know.
  213. 00:13:43.600 – 00:13:45.860 I knew it would have been a decent book,
  214. 00:13:45.900 – 00:13:48.540 but yeah, the more I read it,
  215. 00:13:48.660 – 00:13:50.260 I was reading another book at the time.
  216. 00:13:50.440 – 00:13:53.160 I had to put it down and actually,
  217. 00:13:53.400 – 00:13:55.160 like, wait, this is pretty good.
  218. 00:13:55.300 – 00:13:57.660 Maybe I'm gonna have to switch books real quick.
  219. 00:13:58.400 – 00:14:00.300 So man, shout out to Alex or Mozi.
  220. 00:14:00.440 – 00:14:02.800 If you're grads again, man, it's an honor.
  221. 00:14:03.580 – 00:14:06.120 And I definitely would continue learning from you
  222. 00:14:06.120 – 00:14:09.240 and, you know, watching and, you know,
  223. 00:14:09.420 – 00:14:11.780 I know we're gonna meet one day and it's gonna be crazy.
  224. 00:14:12.680 – 00:14:14.740 Good conversation, good vibes.
  225. 00:14:15.800 – 00:14:19.060 Again, if you haven't checked out or heard of the book,
  226. 00:14:19.740 – 00:14:24.060 A Hundred Million Dollar Money Models by Alex or Mozi.
  227. 00:14:24.840 – 00:14:28.620 Man, it is a must to check out, you know.
  228. 00:14:29.020 – 00:14:32.400 Basically, the book sums up, you know,
  229. 00:14:32.940 – 00:14:34.360 how to get more cash.
  230. 00:14:36.140 – 00:14:39.360 And how to get more cash after you get cash.
  231. 00:14:40.080 – 00:14:41.880 And how to get the most cash.
  232. 00:14:42.740 – 00:14:46.060 So first, how to get cash and then how to get more cash
  233. 00:14:46.060 – 00:14:48.160 and then how to get the most cash.
  234. 00:14:49.420 – 00:14:52.400 And check out the other two books in this series
  235. 00:14:52.400 – 00:14:56.000 of A Hundred Million Dollar Offers
  236. 00:14:56.620 – 00:14:59.160 and A Hundred Million Dollar Models
  237. 00:14:59.160 – 00:15:01.240 and I think A Hundred Million Dollar Leads.
  238. 00:15:01.400 – 00:15:02.400 I think it is.
  239. 00:15:02.400 – 00:15:05.720 But it's all in A Hundred Million Dollar Series.
  240. 00:15:06.540 – 00:15:08.900 Say that a lot of times in this book
  241. 00:15:08.900 – 00:15:11.060 that, you know, we kind of took away from
  242. 00:15:11.060 – 00:15:14.660 was A Hundred Million Dollar Money Models
  243. 00:15:14.660 – 00:15:16.620 again by Alex or Mozi.
  244. 00:15:17.580 – 00:15:21.000 I do not own any rights to the book.
  245. 00:15:22.180 – 00:15:27.640 I am just saying my thoughts and endorsing Mr. Alex.
  246. 00:15:28.740 – 00:15:29.860 Yeah, man, great job.
  247. 00:15:30.000 – 00:15:31.800 I appreciate everyone tuning in.
  248. 00:15:32.400 – 00:15:37.000 Again, this is Alien Eye Player, ha ha.
  249. 00:15:38.900 – 00:15:42.000 Mr. Alien Eyes Photos, photographer Jackson,
  250. 00:15:42.160 – 00:15:45.340 Steve Jackson of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  251. 00:15:46.760 – 00:15:52.080 You can check me out at alieneyesphotos.com.
  252. 00:15:52.460 – 00:15:57.400 Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S, dot com.
  253. 00:15:57.400 – 00:16:03.560 And also Alien Eyes Photos on all media.
  254. 00:16:04.480 – 00:16:09.260 Be sure to check out Creative Frequency on YouTube
  255. 00:16:09.260 – 00:16:13.740 on a Creative Frequency and I'll show some media,
  256. 00:16:14.260 – 00:16:18.540 especially IG, Instagram, Creative Frequency
  257. 00:16:18.540 – 00:16:20.820 on a Creative Frequency.
  258. 00:16:21.740 – 00:16:23.400 All right, y'all, I am out.

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74. Master Of All Trades w/ Eroc Beatz

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.940 – 00:00:09.960 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:11.200 – 00:00:15.800 Man, I'm here with my brother, my great brother, great musician.
  3. 00:00:15.800 – 00:00:17.720 I call you the Dr. Dre of Cleveland.
  4. 00:00:19.740 – 00:00:21.800 Man, wow, that's an honor.
  5. 00:00:22.340 – 00:00:26.180 Yes, yes, man, my brother, man. I'm glad to finally have you all.
  6. 00:00:26.960 – 00:00:31.140 And we were just chatting, and we was like, man, let's just press record.
  7. 00:00:32.560 – 00:00:37.390 And what was the question you were asking more so about music?
  8. 00:00:38.560 – 00:00:41.080 As I kind of tease on the podcast a lot.
  9. 00:00:41.720 – 00:00:45.280 Back in my ancient days of music and poetry and this.
  10. 00:00:46.100 – 00:00:47.920 He made some bangers for me.
  11. 00:00:48.460 – 00:00:51.240 The ones he made, I don't think I ever released though.
  12. 00:00:51.260 – 00:00:51.880 That's crazy.
  13. 00:00:52.900 – 00:00:53.880 I know that's wild.
  14. 00:00:54.080 – 00:01:00.300 Like the craziest part is that, you know, like when I first met you,
  15. 00:01:00.300 – 00:01:06.000 you was out there as a musician more so even as a poet, you know, more so on the forefront.
  16. 00:01:06.300 – 00:01:14.260 And so the question I have for you was like, how did you transition to being more so interested
  17. 00:01:14.260 – 00:01:24.200 or even more invested in behind the scenes work or even the business aspect, administrative aspect of things
  18. 00:01:24.200 – 00:01:31.740 and still kind of like balance and still being even still on the forefront, even as a podcast.
  19. 00:01:34.280 – 00:01:35.740 Man, that's great.
  20. 00:01:35.940 – 00:01:47.220 So I know a lot of people know me as that, you know, business, business mind of God, which is true.
  21. 00:01:47.620 – 00:01:53.280 But actually say no, I am I'm a creative first.
  22. 00:01:54.780 – 00:01:58.360 And then, of course, there's business to it.
  23. 00:01:58.680 – 00:02:07.780 So, but it's just more so understanding business more like I always been business minded, always, you know,
  24. 00:02:09.020 – 00:02:15.280 picture money in my life, success in my life, leadership in my life, you know, surrounding those things,
  25. 00:02:15.580 – 00:02:21.060 yourself around those things and, you know, of course, love, self-love first.
  26. 00:02:21.060 – 00:02:23.100 You know, that's the biggest thing.
  27. 00:02:24.640 – 00:02:30.640 So, you know, that's what I lead with and creativity, being creative.
  28. 00:02:30.920 – 00:02:32.780 That's like the number one thing.
  29. 00:02:32.840 – 00:02:36.780 If I could do anything, it'd be, you know, had a money for being creative.
  30. 00:02:37.660 – 00:02:39.700 But, you know, you got to make the money.
  31. 00:02:40.000 – 00:02:44.500 So, of course, I add the business to it and it becomes fun.
  32. 00:02:44.540 – 00:02:46.380 So I have my I have my moments.
  33. 00:02:46.380 – 00:02:52.560 You know, sometimes I may be just straight business, you know, creating strategies, creating offers,
  34. 00:02:52.860 – 00:02:55.760 creating this, creating that, but it's still creating.
  35. 00:02:57.100 – 00:03:02.640 But it's more business than actually freely creating.
  36. 00:03:02.740 – 00:03:08.380 This is the difference between freely creating and, you know, creating for business and through business.
  37. 00:03:09.400 – 00:03:10.400 Right. That's what's up.
  38. 00:03:10.600 – 00:03:11.840 You know, and that's beautiful.
  39. 00:03:11.840 – 00:03:18.940 Like, you know, it almost seems like you are balancing two sides of your brain in a way.
  40. 00:03:19.340 – 00:03:26.340 Like, you know, so how do you like is there a side of your, you know, creativity that you like more?
  41. 00:03:26.940 – 00:03:37.680 Is there, you know, because I think I even also ask you this and you can even, you know, answer this as far as are you more introverted or extroverted?
  42. 00:03:39.200 – 00:03:43.760 I am more introverted.
  43. 00:03:45.860 – 00:03:47.580 Intro. Yeah.
  44. 00:03:47.580 – 00:03:48.860 Internal. Yeah.
  45. 00:03:50.180 – 00:04:02.820 Hence the, you know, the tag phrase that a podcast is introspective business podcast like getting inside the business of different industries.
  46. 00:04:02.820 – 00:04:11.980 But yeah, I am an introvert.
  47. 00:04:13.420 – 00:04:15.060 You know, I grew up to myself.
  48. 00:04:15.220 – 00:04:27.000 I have siblings, but for most part, I was to myself doing my own things in my own world, creating, playing games at the time.
  49. 00:04:27.820 – 00:04:30.700 I had to retire that, you know, just like I did with music.
  50. 00:04:30.700 – 00:04:32.600 We're going to touch on that too.
  51. 00:04:32.780 – 00:04:33.760 I know you.
  52. 00:04:34.740 – 00:04:35.080 Yeah.
  53. 00:04:36.340 – 00:04:42.400 Hey, we worked together for, you know, had like a four year run before I hung it up, man.
  54. 00:04:42.640 – 00:04:43.620 Oh, my goodness.
  55. 00:04:44.100 – 00:04:45.100 He is not.
  56. 00:04:45.180 – 00:04:46.720 He say he retiring, y'all.
  57. 00:04:46.800 – 00:04:47.580 He is not.
  58. 00:04:47.620 – 00:04:48.820 Not if I'm around.
  59. 00:04:48.820 – 00:04:49.580 Trust me.
  60. 00:04:50.300 – 00:04:51.460 He gonna get on the track.
  61. 00:04:51.560 – 00:04:52.540 I'm retired.
  62. 00:04:52.920 – 00:04:53.220 Yeah.
  63. 00:04:53.300 – 00:04:53.600 Yeah.
  64. 00:04:53.620 – 00:04:54.240 We see.
  65. 00:04:54.240 – 00:05:01.260 You got too much, you know, talent, I would think to me personally, or I think you to just retire musically.
  66. 00:05:01.420 – 00:05:02.020 You know what I'm saying?
  67. 00:05:02.140 – 00:05:05.880 I think if you was, you honestly do yourself a disservice.
  68. 00:05:06.420 – 00:05:14.880 That's just my personal, you know, if you did not at least dibble and dabble, even if it's, you know, every four years or something like that.
  69. 00:05:14.880 – 00:05:15.820 And that's just me.
  70. 00:05:15.820 – 00:05:16.580 Every four years.
  71. 00:05:16.800 – 00:05:17.600 I can do that.
  72. 00:05:17.660 – 00:05:18.120 Every four.
  73. 00:05:18.120 – 00:05:20.320 I just challenge you every, at least every four years.
  74. 00:05:20.320 – 00:05:23.160 I give you grace and I ain't gonna pressure you.
  75. 00:05:23.280 – 00:05:24.000 None of them four years.
  76. 00:05:24.820 – 00:05:27.000 The first three years, I ain't gonna say nothing.
  77. 00:05:27.200 – 00:05:29.040 But once that fourth year come, I'm coming.
  78. 00:05:29.460 – 00:05:32.220 And I'm like, yo, what you want to do, man?
  79. 00:05:33.880 – 00:05:37.320 Hey, y'all want to hear a new record?
  80. 00:05:38.200 – 00:05:39.200 Should we just?
  81. 00:05:39.740 – 00:05:40.800 I'll say what we should.
  82. 00:05:41.140 – 00:05:42.000 I'll say why not.
  83. 00:05:42.000 – 00:05:43.200 Come up with something fresh.
  84. 00:05:43.900 – 00:05:45.940 Right now, right here, right now while we on the spot?
  85. 00:05:46.880 – 00:05:49.400 Nah, we gonna, we gonna, we gonna build it out.
  86. 00:05:49.580 – 00:05:52.200 We gonna, yeah, we gonna build it out.
  87. 00:05:52.500 – 00:05:53.340 We gonna build it out?
  88. 00:05:53.680 – 00:05:59.160 We just, we about to just, we gonna rock out with something or we gonna just, hold on.
  89. 00:05:59.180 – 00:06:01.200 Nah, we gonna build it out after the fact.
  90. 00:06:01.720 – 00:06:02.680 Okay, I got you.
  91. 00:06:02.760 – 00:06:03.740 Because yeah, we gonna.
  92. 00:06:04.020 – 00:06:04.460 Yeah.
  93. 00:06:04.460 – 00:06:09.600 Yeah, because if I'm gonna come back and this the, yeah, we gonna have to.
  94. 00:06:09.620 – 00:06:10.660 Okay, I was about to say.
  95. 00:06:11.360 – 00:06:14.700 We can make that look, but yeah, just let me know, man.
  96. 00:06:14.700 – 00:06:17.080 They gonna turn to the eye, but I already know how it go.
  97. 00:06:18.080 – 00:06:18.260 Yeah.
  98. 00:06:18.260 – 00:06:19.880 But yeah, it may happen.
  99. 00:06:21.180 – 00:06:23.340 Yeah, no, we don't got much time.
  100. 00:06:23.480 – 00:06:24.560 We both got things.
  101. 00:06:24.600 – 00:06:25.760 You got a show tonight, too.
  102. 00:06:26.120 – 00:06:27.040 Oh, yeah, yeah.
  103. 00:06:27.040 – 00:06:27.520 What up, man?
  104. 00:06:28.260 – 00:06:32.140 I'm actually having a show tonight with my brother, Honesty Blade.
  105. 00:06:32.460 – 00:06:33.660 Yeah, she has good brothers.
  106. 00:06:33.980 – 00:06:34.560 Good, yeah.
  107. 00:06:34.720 – 00:06:36.060 Great MC, man.
  108. 00:06:36.180 – 00:06:37.080 Great MC, yeah.
  109. 00:06:38.100 – 00:06:41.800 Great talented hip hop artist all the way around, man.
  110. 00:06:41.800 – 00:06:45.600 And he got a show with Jack the Ripper, DJ Jack the Ripper.
  111. 00:06:45.800 – 00:06:46.820 Jack the Ripper.
  112. 00:06:46.980 – 00:06:48.560 Yeah, Jack the Ripper, man.
  113. 00:06:49.460 – 00:06:53.700 And so at 7 o'clock at the B-side, it's going down tonight.
  114. 00:06:54.620 – 00:06:57.220 So anybody that's hearing this, if you are available.
  115. 00:06:57.620 – 00:06:59.880 Yeah, I know it's in about an hour and a half, but.
  116. 00:07:00.760 – 00:07:02.500 Oh, you want me to drop this today?
  117. 00:07:02.800 – 00:07:04.620 You have to drop this immediately.
  118. 00:07:05.180 – 00:07:05.580 Immediately.
  119. 00:07:05.760 – 00:07:09.400 But, you know, at the time of this, you know, of course you couldn't make it.
  120. 00:07:09.400 – 00:07:13.640 But the point is, is that hip hop, it's a lot of hip hop things.
  121. 00:07:13.860 – 00:07:16.540 You know, the hip hop scene, I think, is about to start to expand.
  122. 00:07:16.540 – 00:07:19.660 And I think that we got a lot of hitters deep down in the underground.
  123. 00:07:20.140 – 00:07:27.080 That's ready to come out to the forefront and ready to, you know, showcase real lyricism, real rap.
  124. 00:07:27.480 – 00:07:28.720 You know, and we bringing it back.
  125. 00:07:28.880 – 00:07:29.400 You know what I'm saying?
  126. 00:07:30.040 – 00:07:31.340 So I'm going to just say that.
  127. 00:07:31.340 – 00:07:37.540 Hey, but whenever you listen into this, man, you know, strangers to the B-side.
  128. 00:07:38.100 – 00:07:44.400 So, you know, come out one of these days to the B-side, support the B-side and all they do.
  129. 00:07:44.560 – 00:07:46.700 Yeah, especially on the hip hop side.
  130. 00:07:47.100 – 00:07:51.340 Yeah, I think all the Coventry is like real hip hop.
  131. 00:07:51.540 – 00:07:57.680 You know, like the foundation of like, I would say, Cleveland, like hip hop right now.
  132. 00:07:57.780 – 00:07:58.440 You know what I'm saying?
  133. 00:07:58.440 – 00:08:04.620 I would give it that, you know, it's right where like, you know, it's a lot of different, you know,
  134. 00:08:04.720 – 00:08:09.200 cubby holes, but I think Coventry is, you know, at this moment right now,
  135. 00:08:09.240 – 00:08:12.500 like representing real hard for the hip hop scene right now in Cleveland.
  136. 00:08:13.100 – 00:08:14.460 I'm going to just let you know right now.
  137. 00:08:14.560 – 00:08:17.460 I would say B-side, you know, the grog shop, you know,
  138. 00:08:17.460 – 00:08:22.960 it's a couple of different, you know, other things that be going down, you know, around the area.
  139. 00:08:24.220 – 00:08:29.640 So B-side is definitely just in and of itself a staple just for not only just hip hop culture,
  140. 00:08:29.880 – 00:08:35.220 but just Cleveland, you know, soul music culture, you know what I mean?
  141. 00:08:35.260 – 00:08:36.860 So that's what I believe.
  142. 00:08:38.240 – 00:08:40.620 So it keeps the heart pumping.
  143. 00:08:41.200 – 00:08:45.640 One of the longest running open mic nights in Cleveland.
  144. 00:08:46.220 – 00:08:46.580 Yeah.
  145. 00:08:47.600 – 00:08:51.880 I started, that's where I, shoot, I first started, when I first started getting out here,
  146. 00:08:51.880 – 00:08:53.260 being on the forefront.
  147. 00:08:54.400 – 00:08:57.840 I started, I think I was fueled by Temple with passion.
  148. 00:08:57.920 – 00:09:01.780 So I give Temple with passion a lot of credit as far as me just performing.
  149. 00:09:02.280 – 00:09:07.360 Like, you know, at the time they were handling more business for me than okay.
  150. 00:09:08.300 – 00:09:10.060 You know, but.
  151. 00:09:11.400 – 00:09:11.740 Yeah.
  152. 00:09:12.420 – 00:09:14.480 It is, man.
  153. 00:09:14.680 – 00:09:20.700 Do you see yourself putting on more shows or putting on like events or anything like that in that aspect?
  154. 00:09:20.700 – 00:09:22.560 Oh, yeah.
  155. 00:09:23.820 – 00:09:30.360 Like I was telling you earlier, man, I'm going to put something together for the Pull Up Experience.
  156. 00:09:30.980 – 00:09:33.040 So we're going to look out for that offer.
  157. 00:09:33.360 – 00:09:40.580 We are putting something together for our fifth year anniversary of the Pull Up Experience.
  158. 00:09:42.480 – 00:09:44.720 So, yeah, we are creating something.
  159. 00:09:45.680 – 00:09:50.260 I'm going to, you know, shoot some ideas, you know, hear everybody else ideas.
  160. 00:09:50.260 – 00:09:54.300 We pull it together and we're going to come up with something great for the public.
  161. 00:09:54.980 – 00:09:57.120 City of Cleveland, surrounding cities.
  162. 00:09:57.480 – 00:10:01.820 Even if you got a state, you know, because, man, we be traveling to y'all.
  163. 00:10:01.980 – 00:10:03.660 Come travel with us, you know.
  164. 00:10:04.300 – 00:10:05.880 Come see what Cleveland is like.
  165. 00:10:06.600 – 00:10:08.860 We're thinking about like, you know.
  166. 00:10:08.980 – 00:10:09.680 I'm living what I'm thinking.
  167. 00:10:09.740 – 00:10:11.000 Couple, couple grand.
  168. 00:10:11.180 – 00:10:11.380 Yeah.
  169. 00:10:11.520 – 00:10:13.060 Couple grand for this offer.
  170. 00:10:13.520 – 00:10:15.720 It's going to be an all day thing, you know.
  171. 00:10:15.720 – 00:10:22.780 Hang out with the VIPs, the Pull Up Experience itself and our friends, our network.
  172. 00:10:23.100 – 00:10:23.780 And come learn.
  173. 00:10:24.120 – 00:10:24.920 Mastermind with us.
  174. 00:10:24.940 – 00:10:25.600 Come party.
  175. 00:10:26.040 – 00:10:27.960 Hey, all day.
  176. 00:10:28.000 – 00:10:29.100 It sounds like a vibe, man.
  177. 00:10:29.420 – 00:10:29.900 I ain't going to lie though.
  178. 00:10:30.040 – 00:10:30.440 For real.
  179. 00:10:31.100 – 00:10:32.040 It's the fifth year.
  180. 00:10:32.300 – 00:10:32.580 It's like.
  181. 00:10:33.360 – 00:10:34.940 Yeah, that sounds like it's going to be going.
  182. 00:10:35.100 – 00:10:35.980 I ain't going to lie, y'all.
  183. 00:10:36.060 – 00:10:37.860 You don't want to have to come out, step out, man.
  184. 00:10:37.900 – 00:10:39.260 You never know who you might meet.
  185. 00:10:39.360 – 00:10:42.480 It's been so many people who then came through the Pull Up Experience.
  186. 00:10:42.640 – 00:10:43.980 Big ups to y'all.
  187. 00:10:43.980 – 00:10:49.620 I'm so proud of everybody who has, you know, dedicated, you know, to that platform.
  188. 00:10:50.040 – 00:10:51.500 Including you, my brother, man.
  189. 00:10:51.620 – 00:10:54.440 And everything that you have done throughout the community.
  190. 00:10:55.880 – 00:10:57.680 You know, big ups to you, man.
  191. 00:10:57.720 – 00:10:59.640 Just all the way around, man.
  192. 00:10:59.980 – 00:11:01.840 You know, jack of all trades, bro.
  193. 00:11:02.000 – 00:11:03.880 Like, what can you not do?
  194. 00:11:04.160 – 00:11:07.340 It's the next question I have for you.
  195. 00:11:07.600 – 00:11:07.940 Mr.
  196. 00:11:08.080 – 00:11:11.600 Well, before I answer, you're going to have to ask me that again.
  197. 00:11:11.600 – 00:11:13.420 I got to shout out.
  198. 00:11:13.420 – 00:11:14.040 I got it.
  199. 00:11:14.080 – 00:11:14.400 I got it.
  200. 00:11:14.400 – 00:11:18.000 I got to shut out the team because I know when I shout them everybody out, like, what was the question?
  201. 00:11:18.280 – 00:11:19.440 So I'm going to ask it again.
  202. 00:11:19.800 – 00:11:23.900 I got to shout out the team before we leave off with that.
  203. 00:11:24.820 – 00:11:30.820 Man, first off, man, you know, Brandon Gates, man.
  204. 00:11:30.980 – 00:11:31.380 Yes.
  205. 00:11:32.320 – 00:11:38.020 Definitely the face of the Pull Up Experience, you know, founder, co-founder.
  206. 00:11:38.020 – 00:11:41.020 Along with Markita, Eddie.
  207. 00:11:42.580 – 00:11:44.900 And, yeah.
  208. 00:11:46.100 – 00:11:53.980 But, you know, the whole team from Miss Overflow Studios.
  209. 00:11:54.900 – 00:11:59.080 My love, my right hand, Miss Brianna Casanova.
  210. 00:11:59.680 – 00:12:03.080 Brittany Knight, Michelle Gates, you know.
  211. 00:12:04.340 – 00:12:06.620 Brittany with Beauty Be Toed.
  212. 00:12:06.720 – 00:12:11.420 You know, we joke around with Beauty Be Toed, but, you know, just having fun.
  213. 00:12:11.680 – 00:12:13.200 And, you know, we loving our consistency.
  214. 00:12:13.340 – 00:12:14.740 And I'm proud.
  215. 00:12:15.440 – 00:12:21.620 You know, we kind of stepped out around the same time, but she was releasing, you know, way before I started.
  216. 00:12:22.220 – 00:12:25.180 So she didn't want a podcast.
  217. 00:12:25.540 – 00:12:30.400 But now, you know, co-hosting and has her own podcast.
  218. 00:12:30.700 – 00:12:31.340 It's a beauty.
  219. 00:12:31.340 – 00:12:34.960 And Michelle, Michelle Gates, Lady Gates, man.
  220. 00:12:35.180 – 00:12:38.340 Behind the, real behind the scenes, like, you know.
  221. 00:12:38.940 – 00:12:46.200 Hey, get some operations together and, you know, event coordinator, virtual assistance services.
  222. 00:12:47.360 – 00:12:54.940 Anything administrative, definitely hit up MJM Virtual Assistance with Michelle Gates.
  223. 00:12:55.580 – 00:12:59.160 Then we have Sam, Samantha.
  224. 00:12:59.740 – 00:13:00.260 Yes.
  225. 00:13:00.640 – 00:13:01.760 Oh my goodness.
  226. 00:13:01.980 – 00:13:05.100 I remember being at a show, a modeling show.
  227. 00:13:05.220 – 00:13:10.860 I was hired to be a photographer for a friend, family at the time.
  228. 00:13:13.140 – 00:13:16.880 And yeah, she was hosting, I believe.
  229. 00:13:17.080 – 00:13:19.080 Yeah, she was hosting art, either modeling.
  230. 00:13:19.160 – 00:13:20.920 I think at the time she was modeling.
  231. 00:13:23.080 – 00:13:26.060 And yeah, she killed it.
  232. 00:13:26.380 – 00:13:27.180 I think she was hosting.
  233. 00:13:27.180 – 00:13:29.220 I remember she changed so many outfits.
  234. 00:13:29.340 – 00:13:30.460 I think she was hosting.
  235. 00:13:31.380 – 00:13:33.000 And like, man, I'm like, who is this woman?
  236. 00:13:33.840 – 00:13:34.880 She killed it.
  237. 00:13:34.940 – 00:13:35.860 I remember that day.
  238. 00:13:36.720 – 00:13:38.020 And I think I told her once.
  239. 00:13:38.220 – 00:13:40.280 I'm like, man, I remember it so vividly.
  240. 00:13:40.480 – 00:13:43.400 Like, man, I'm going to be working with her one day.
  241. 00:13:43.680 – 00:13:46.860 And look, she's a part of the team full of experience.
  242. 00:13:47.540 – 00:13:52.440 And then we have Ms. Nakia Hudson, To You Wise.
  243. 00:13:52.640 – 00:13:53.100 You know who?
  244. 00:13:53.260 – 00:13:54.220 My favorite one.
  245. 00:13:54.240 – 00:13:56.440 I'll be telling everybody about To You Wise.
  246. 00:13:56.440 – 00:13:58.040 It's the best wine.
  247. 00:13:58.440 – 00:14:03.060 If I'm buying some wine, I'm probably buying two wines most of the time.
  248. 00:14:03.320 – 00:14:04.660 Yeah, I'll double that.
  249. 00:14:04.980 – 00:14:08.700 Yeah, I've had their wines, a variety of them, actually.
  250. 00:14:09.080 – 00:14:13.360 And every one of them, I will say, has been amazing.
  251. 00:14:13.740 – 00:14:14.820 Like, I'm not no lie.
  252. 00:14:15.340 – 00:14:17.340 And a high percentage as well.
  253. 00:14:17.820 – 00:14:20.100 Like, you know, I'm talking about us.
  254. 00:14:21.560 – 00:14:25.100 I don't even want to misquote, you know what I'm saying?
  255. 00:14:25.100 – 00:14:27.180 But just check them out, man.
  256. 00:14:27.180 – 00:14:30.860 They definitely are doing a great service with the wines.
  257. 00:14:31.540 – 00:14:34.520 And that would be 14%, by the way, for most of them.
  258. 00:14:34.600 – 00:14:35.640 Mostly for the dry.
  259. 00:14:36.240 – 00:14:36.680 Yeah.
  260. 00:14:38.020 – 00:14:40.560 But again, don't quote me either.
  261. 00:14:40.800 – 00:14:41.260 Yeah, right.
  262. 00:14:41.260 – 00:14:42.240 Because I don't...
  263. 00:14:42.240 – 00:14:44.260 I was about to say 15, but I...
  264. 00:14:44.780 – 00:14:45.820 Because, yeah, I was going...
  265. 00:14:46.740 – 00:14:47.420 What's wrong?
  266. 00:14:47.560 – 00:14:48.860 It was up there.
  267. 00:14:49.260 – 00:14:51.360 So either way, they taste amazing.
  268. 00:14:52.780 – 00:14:54.100 Yeah, just check them out.
  269. 00:14:54.100 – 00:14:57.880 I think 13.5% Grille.
  270. 00:14:58.280 – 00:14:59.660 That's the...
  271. 00:14:59.660 – 00:15:00.820 We like to party.
  272. 00:15:03.540 – 00:15:05.680 That's my go-to.
  273. 00:15:05.740 – 00:15:06.680 One of my favorites.
  274. 00:15:08.160 – 00:15:14.420 And she also supplies the wines to different restaurants.
  275. 00:15:14.440 – 00:15:18.680 So if you want your restaurant to supply 2U wines,
  276. 00:15:18.680 – 00:15:25.180 let's definitely reach out to Ms. Nakia Elber at 2U Wines in South Euclid, Ohio.
  277. 00:15:25.920 – 00:15:32.140 And stay tuned for the next wine and dine fest.
  278. 00:15:33.780 – 00:15:40.120 The next South Euclid wine and dine fest with 2U Wines and four bistros.
  279. 00:15:40.640 – 00:15:44.720 Every summer, or end of the summer, I would say.
  280. 00:15:44.720 – 00:15:49.120 So look out every August around that time.
  281. 00:15:49.280 – 00:15:50.460 It's going down.
  282. 00:15:50.480 – 00:15:51.760 I have to put that on the calendar.
  283. 00:15:51.860 – 00:15:53.040 And I'm there every year.
  284. 00:15:53.220 – 00:15:56.740 It's been a great run and building.
  285. 00:15:57.220 – 00:16:00.040 And you know how I am with business.
  286. 00:16:00.500 – 00:16:03.340 So we're going to keep building it out and see what works.
  287. 00:16:06.580 – 00:16:10.780 But yeah, I did a little media this year.
  288. 00:16:11.540 – 00:16:16.360 The first year, interviews with the Pull Up Experience team.
  289. 00:16:16.620 – 00:16:22.780 This year, I'm like, we've got to get more content and work out something.
  290. 00:16:24.080 – 00:16:32.380 But yeah, for this next year, for the wine and dine fest, we're going to build it out more.
  291. 00:16:33.240 – 00:16:34.620 We're about to put the pieces together.
  292. 00:16:34.620 – 00:16:35.480 Here we go.
  293. 00:16:37.220 – 00:16:44.820 Actually, about that offer with our five-year anniversary, we might have to get you on the mic.
  294. 00:16:45.040 – 00:16:46.040 Oh, man.
  295. 00:16:46.400 – 00:16:46.920 What?
  296. 00:16:47.960 – 00:16:52.220 Since I'm retired, I'm like, all right, you take more place with the music.
  297. 00:16:52.240 – 00:16:52.940 Come on, man.
  298. 00:16:53.020 – 00:16:54.260 You're my closest.
  299. 00:16:56.820 – 00:17:01.200 They might get a better show.
  300. 00:17:01.920 – 00:17:03.100 We're building it then.
  301. 00:17:04.180 – 00:17:05.579 I appreciate that, though.
  302. 00:17:05.599 – 00:17:07.280 We'll have some music, some entertainment.
  303. 00:17:08.460 – 00:17:11.960 Hey, with the Pull Up Experience, you never know, man.
  304. 00:17:12.040 – 00:17:16.859 Like I said, my network big, but put us all together.
  305. 00:17:17.079 – 00:17:17.800 Oh, yeah.
  306. 00:17:19.380 – 00:17:20.800 That's what it's about, man.
  307. 00:17:20.819 – 00:17:25.740 It's coming together, man, and really just pushing our city forward, man.
  308. 00:17:25.760 – 00:17:30.720 Pushing our communities forward and beyond our city, you know what I'm saying, around the world.
  309. 00:17:30.720 – 00:17:33.100 This is bigger than us.
  310. 00:17:33.200 – 00:17:35.280 I love everything that y'all are doing.
  311. 00:17:35.680 – 00:17:37.340 Yeah, you sat down with us a couple times.
  312. 00:17:38.360 – 00:17:39.040 Absolutely.
  313. 00:17:40.460 – 00:17:50.820 I'm more than honored to come and participate in whatever I can, whether it's performing or getting on a podcast or whatever.
  314. 00:17:53.120 – 00:18:06.580 It really, you know what I'm saying, it's just all about, like I said, us coming together and pushing, you know what I'm saying, something that's supporting another person, because that's another big thing, and probably be supportive.
  315. 00:18:06.580 – 00:18:09.840 I'll say it with me to my last question, of course, you know what I'm saying, of course.
  316. 00:18:09.840 – 00:18:10.680 Last question.
  317. 00:18:10.900 – 00:18:12.380 I love it.
  318. 00:18:16.260 – 00:18:17.140 For today.
  319. 00:18:17.260 – 00:18:18.020 For today.
  320. 00:18:18.560 – 00:18:20.760 No, yeah, yeah, right, right, right.
  321. 00:18:21.020 – 00:18:31.520 You know, and then I know that, of course, this has always been a question, you know what I'm saying, rooming around, you know what I'm saying, but just, you know, you seem to be more behind the scenes than Mike.
  322. 00:18:31.800 – 00:18:32.460 You know what I'm saying?
  323. 00:18:32.720 – 00:18:46.820 And I just wanted to know more, you know, as, you know, what do you see yours and how you can support the city and what ways do you see yourself in the future?
  324. 00:18:47.460 – 00:18:53.480 Being able to see support, you know, people that surround you, you know what I'm saying?
  325. 00:18:53.680 – 00:19:03.180 What support systems do you think that, you know, we need in the city of Cleveland that you would want to see yourself a part of, if that makes sense?
  326. 00:19:05.540 – 00:19:09.760 Well, I love fitness, you know?
  327. 00:19:09.760 – 00:19:18.800 Like, you know, I even told you, I'm like, man, I want to get out and hoop at least twice a week, once or twice a week.
  328. 00:19:19.560 – 00:19:22.400 If anything, once, let's push for two.
  329. 00:19:23.600 – 00:19:26.700 And you've been awesome rounds on me most of the time.
  330. 00:19:26.780 – 00:19:29.060 Yeah, we pretty much every week now.
  331. 00:19:29.260 – 00:19:29.600 Yeah.
  332. 00:19:29.740 – 00:19:31.360 So we've been out here.
  333. 00:19:32.080 – 00:19:33.760 Hey, we out here too.
  334. 00:19:33.980 – 00:19:35.140 We actually tried today.
  335. 00:19:35.360 – 00:19:35.960 We tried.
  336. 00:19:35.960 – 00:19:40.060 Yeah, that's why I'm like, hey, we can finally have a conversation and sit down.
  337. 00:19:40.680 – 00:19:41.060 Yeah.
  338. 00:19:41.120 – 00:19:42.240 Maybe a podcast.
  339. 00:19:42.740 – 00:19:43.240 Yeah.
  340. 00:19:43.500 – 00:19:44.520 So, yeah.
  341. 00:19:45.700 – 00:19:47.760 I was raining right now, but it's all right.
  342. 00:19:48.100 – 00:19:49.200 Yeah, I would say fitness.
  343. 00:19:49.260 – 00:20:03.380 And I want to start like a walking, running thing, like a club almost, where mainly creative entrepreneurs, but, you know, entrepreneurs, creatives, anything in between.
  344. 00:20:03.380 – 00:20:08.000 But I mean, if anybody, you know, you just want to be out, you know, check us out in the community.
  345. 00:20:08.800 – 00:20:12.420 As long as you're doing good, you know, got a good head on your shoulders.
  346. 00:20:12.560 – 00:20:13.000 Yeah.
  347. 00:20:13.300 – 00:20:14.360 You're respectable.
  348. 00:20:14.640 – 00:20:17.580 You want to work and run and get this work in.
  349. 00:20:18.380 – 00:20:27.480 But, you know, of course, if you have medical problems or issues, you know, it may be a little high speed.
  350. 00:20:27.960 – 00:20:34.480 So, you know, I don't want to say not come up, but, you know, you got your own risk.
  351. 00:20:35.200 – 00:20:37.040 But we will always be there to support.
  352. 00:20:37.480 – 00:20:42.760 But, you know, it is going to be a more of a faster pace, high speed type of thing.
  353. 00:20:43.220 – 00:20:48.740 But, you know, maybe, you know, you can support the community and, you know, be a vendor.
  354. 00:20:48.860 – 00:20:55.840 If you have a business, you know, you could be a vendor at the event, you know, as we, you know, have a check in.
  355. 00:20:55.840 – 00:20:59.820 And then they got to check in with you in order to, you know, be a part of it.
  356. 00:21:00.200 – 00:21:02.600 So, I don't ever want to count nobody else.
  357. 00:21:02.640 – 00:21:03.860 See, I found a way, see.
  358. 00:21:04.120 – 00:21:06.940 That's what I love about business is just being the glue.
  359. 00:21:07.680 – 00:21:07.740 Yes.
  360. 00:21:07.760 – 00:21:10.260 Like, no matter what I got to be, if I got to be the host, I'll be the host.
  361. 00:21:10.480 – 00:21:17.420 If I'm the photographer, I'm the videographer, film man, producer, director, you know.
  362. 00:21:17.960 – 00:21:23.280 If I got to do wardrobe, like, hey, hey, people don't have on different clothes.
  363. 00:21:24.740 – 00:21:27.400 I'm like, my bad, but hey, we made it work.
  364. 00:21:28.000 – 00:21:28.880 Yeah, see.
  365. 00:21:29.820 – 00:21:35.780 And that's why, hey, I think that's why, you know, a lot of people appreciate you including myself, bro.
  366. 00:21:35.980 – 00:21:39.000 You know, because you step in your role.
  367. 00:21:40.060 – 00:21:46.040 You know, from the times that I've known you, bro, you've always stepped in your roles, no matter what that role had to be.
  368. 00:21:46.300 – 00:21:50.140 And I think that's what made you damn near a master of all trades.
  369. 00:21:50.280 – 00:21:50.960 You know what I'm saying?
  370. 00:21:50.960 – 00:21:55.860 I mean, you know, like, that's, you know, like, you know, for real, you know.
  371. 00:21:55.900 – 00:21:58.360 Title of the episode, Master of All Trades.
  372. 00:21:58.400 – 00:22:00.200 I mean, that sounds like something for sure.
  373. 00:22:00.300 – 00:22:00.540 Woo!
  374. 00:22:00.900 – 00:22:02.020 Master of All Trades.
  375. 00:22:02.760 – 00:22:04.860 That's a compliment, bro.
  376. 00:22:05.140 – 00:22:05.840 That ain't a compliment.
  377. 00:22:05.860 – 00:22:07.080 What's higher than a compliment?
  378. 00:22:07.180 – 00:22:07.640 That's that.
  379. 00:22:07.880 – 00:22:08.780 That's a trophy.
  380. 00:22:09.080 – 00:22:09.340 I know.
  381. 00:22:09.940 – 00:22:11.100 It's bigger than the trophy.
  382. 00:22:12.440 – 00:22:13.960 That's what that's one of them was.
  383. 00:22:15.080 – 00:22:15.560 That's a monument.
  384. 00:22:15.560 – 00:22:16.540 It's a monument.
  385. 00:22:16.600 – 00:22:17.420 That's an EMT.
  386. 00:22:17.640 – 00:22:19.300 You know, that's like a monumental.
  387. 00:22:19.300 – 00:22:20.500 It's monumental.
  388. 00:22:20.780 – 00:22:36.280 You know, it's, you know, I would say, you know, you striving to reach that pinnacle to really being able to step into multiple roles and being able to, you know, step in any lane that you really want to step in, which is not something that a lot of people can say they can do.
  389. 00:22:36.440 – 00:22:37.140 You know what I'm saying?
  390. 00:22:37.780 – 00:22:38.940 So, you know.
  391. 00:22:39.440 – 00:22:41.100 Hey, legends know legends, man.
  392. 00:22:41.720 – 00:22:42.000 Hey.
  393. 00:22:42.000 – 00:22:42.280 Blank.
  394. 00:22:42.340 – 00:22:43.080 Hey, man.
  395. 00:22:43.080 – 00:22:52.480 They know you from whether, you know, music production or rapping, you know, hip hop scene.
  396. 00:22:53.600 – 00:22:55.440 But, you know, some know from both.
  397. 00:22:56.460 – 00:22:59.480 But, you know, even drawing, even modeling.
  398. 00:23:00.360 – 00:23:02.220 Oh, man.
  399. 00:23:02.480 – 00:23:03.260 Going back.
  400. 00:23:03.580 – 00:23:03.900 So, yeah.
  401. 00:23:04.000 – 00:23:04.640 Thank you, man.
  402. 00:23:04.700 – 00:23:05.720 I appreciate that.
  403. 00:23:05.820 – 00:23:06.460 Even chess.
  404. 00:23:06.800 – 00:23:08.760 We versatile, you know.
  405. 00:23:09.020 – 00:23:10.200 I think that's the thing.
  406. 00:23:10.200 – 00:23:15.240 You know, we're both able to be versatile and, you know, love the versatility.
  407. 00:23:16.060 – 00:23:16.220 Yeah.
  408. 00:23:16.220 – 00:23:19.180 You know, just showing up doing what works, man.
  409. 00:23:19.760 – 00:23:24.060 Even shows on the basketball court, like, man, we be working.
  410. 00:23:24.620 – 00:23:25.400 Yeah, man.
  411. 00:23:25.400 – 00:23:27.060 We're having fun, too, though, man.
  412. 00:23:27.060 – 00:23:28.340 We have fun, though.
  413. 00:23:28.600 – 00:23:30.720 Like, people love hooping with us, man.
  414. 00:23:30.800 – 00:23:31.940 We fun, man.
  415. 00:23:32.180 – 00:23:32.680 We fun.
  416. 00:23:32.700 – 00:23:33.640 We get the work out.
  417. 00:23:34.460 – 00:23:36.120 We just here to work, you know.
  418. 00:23:36.340 – 00:23:36.940 For real.
  419. 00:23:37.080 – 00:23:37.860 Play the game.
  420. 00:23:38.100 – 00:23:38.660 That's it, man.
  421. 00:23:38.660 – 00:23:40.060 We don't do it complaining.
  422. 00:23:40.560 – 00:23:40.760 Yeah.
  423. 00:23:40.760 – 00:23:41.960 We chilling, bro.
  424. 00:23:42.100 – 00:23:43.940 I appreciate your demeanor, bro.
  425. 00:23:43.940 – 00:23:45.420 Like, how you carry yourself.
  426. 00:23:45.900 – 00:23:48.180 Just in many different aspects, man.
  427. 00:23:48.240 – 00:23:48.860 You know what I'm saying?
  428. 00:23:49.460 – 00:23:54.860 Like, it's not too many people, like I said, that know how to navigate multiple
  429. 00:23:54.860 – 00:23:56.520 rooms, multiple dimensions.
  430. 00:23:57.280 – 00:23:58.140 Multiple dimensions.
  431. 00:23:58.660 – 00:24:00.400 He pulling out the bags.
  432. 00:24:01.640 – 00:24:02.840 He showing off.
  433. 00:24:03.300 – 00:24:04.560 No, I'm not, bro.
  434. 00:24:04.560 – 00:24:05.260 I'm not.
  435. 00:24:06.120 – 00:24:07.020 This is how we eat.
  436. 00:24:07.020 – 00:24:07.240 You know what I'm saying, man?
  437. 00:24:07.440 – 00:24:11.860 Look, you an alien, so they don't know how deep we eat.
  438. 00:24:12.040 – 00:24:12.740 You know what I'm saying?
  439. 00:24:13.020 – 00:24:14.340 Every day for us, bro.
  440. 00:24:14.400 – 00:24:15.440 This is, yeah.
  441. 00:24:16.580 – 00:24:17.620 He pulling out the stuff.
  442. 00:24:17.640 – 00:24:18.920 He can't correct for y'all.
  443. 00:24:18.980 – 00:24:20.280 He's like, hey.
  444. 00:24:20.460 – 00:24:20.900 Hey.
  445. 00:24:21.140 – 00:24:22.840 He's like, he ain't going to disappoint me.
  446. 00:24:24.060 – 00:24:25.180 That's what's up, bro.
  447. 00:24:25.400 – 00:24:26.280 No, for real.
  448. 00:24:26.520 – 00:24:27.240 That's for real, man.
  449. 00:24:27.240 – 00:24:28.300 I was putting on, hey.
  450. 00:24:32.000 – 00:24:34.100 No, that's how we rolling, man.
  451. 00:24:34.480 – 00:24:36.140 So I love it, man.
  452. 00:24:36.140 – 00:24:36.580 I'm glad.
  453. 00:24:36.880 – 00:24:40.940 That's why I said I'm happy to carry on this journey.
  454. 00:24:41.140 – 00:24:41.640 You know what I'm saying?
  455. 00:24:41.860 – 00:24:43.900 This partnership with you.
  456. 00:24:43.960 – 00:24:45.760 You'd feel me if you down.
  457. 00:24:45.800 – 00:24:46.760 You know what I'm saying?
  458. 00:24:47.200 – 00:24:48.680 And seeing where we take this.
  459. 00:24:48.680 – 00:24:49.480 You know what I'm saying?
  460. 00:24:49.620 – 00:24:50.480 For real, so.
  461. 00:24:51.880 – 00:24:52.800 Changing the culture.
  462. 00:24:53.580 – 00:24:55.380 The music, business.
  463. 00:24:56.240 – 00:24:56.600 Yeah.
  464. 00:24:56.600 – 00:24:58.180 We only going to start it right there.
  465. 00:24:58.580 – 00:24:59.020 Absolutely.
  466. 00:24:59.100 – 00:25:00.360 It's going to be much more.
  467. 00:25:00.880 – 00:25:01.320 Yeah.
  468. 00:25:01.800 – 00:25:04.440 Start the music and the business from the core.
  469. 00:25:04.440 – 00:25:07.660 I'm going to, like I said, continue to build it out.
  470. 00:25:08.120 – 00:25:09.540 I'm going to go.
  471. 00:25:10.320 – 00:25:11.820 I might put it into a song.
  472. 00:25:12.220 – 00:25:13.740 I think that's what I'm going to do.
  473. 00:25:15.060 – 00:25:16.940 Like the whole process.
  474. 00:25:18.560 – 00:25:21.940 Like even from the starting, I said it on the podcast.
  475. 00:25:22.080 – 00:25:23.260 I'm dropping the song.
  476. 00:25:23.440 – 00:25:24.200 I'm going to sing along.
  477. 00:25:24.760 – 00:25:29.280 Like even singing the whole process, even to the release of the song.
  478. 00:25:30.480 – 00:25:32.560 Even showing my marketing plan.
  479. 00:25:33.000 – 00:25:38.240 If you listen close to me in the song, I might make it a 20 minute chart.
  480. 00:25:38.880 – 00:25:40.100 That'd be crazy.
  481. 00:25:40.420 – 00:25:40.940 Wow.
  482. 00:25:41.140 – 00:25:42.240 Are you producing this?
  483. 00:25:42.500 – 00:25:42.880 Whoa.
  484. 00:25:44.140 – 00:25:45.200 We're going on a journey.
  485. 00:25:46.420 – 00:25:47.520 You said it.
  486. 00:25:47.740 – 00:25:48.900 You said I got to come out with it.
  487. 00:25:49.100 – 00:25:50.280 Hey, that's only right.
  488. 00:25:50.840 – 00:25:50.860 Right.
  489. 00:25:51.800 – 00:25:56.020 Man, because, bro, that's crazy.
  490. 00:25:57.100 – 00:25:59.020 Hey, that's what I'm saying.
  491. 00:25:59.020 – 00:25:59.820 We're going to talk about it.
  492. 00:25:59.820 – 00:26:01.460 I'm like, no, we can do it live.
  493. 00:26:01.800 – 00:26:03.360 But yeah, we might save it for another.
  494. 00:26:03.900 – 00:26:05.320 We do some live, you know.
  495. 00:26:05.620 – 00:26:06.100 That'd be.
  496. 00:26:06.220 – 00:26:07.180 But we got some.
  497. 00:26:07.560 – 00:26:10.720 We just did like a freestyle session.
  498. 00:26:11.080 – 00:26:13.340 Like an hour, hour and a half.
  499. 00:26:13.780 – 00:26:14.200 Yeah.
  500. 00:26:14.420 – 00:26:16.460 We might drop that.
  501. 00:26:17.220 – 00:26:18.300 You never know.
  502. 00:26:18.680 – 00:26:19.840 You never know how it go.
  503. 00:26:20.200 – 00:26:20.660 Hey.
  504. 00:26:21.680 – 00:26:22.180 For real.
  505. 00:26:22.580 – 00:26:24.400 So I'm definitely down, man.
  506. 00:26:24.400 – 00:26:25.400 Like, you know, whatever.
  507. 00:26:26.180 – 00:26:30.620 Like I said, I'm here to support whatever creative ideas you got, man.
  508. 00:26:30.740 – 00:26:33.740 You know, I think that, again, that's foreign to me.
  509. 00:26:33.760 – 00:26:34.940 But that's what makes you alien.
  510. 00:26:35.160 – 00:26:35.600 I play it.
  511. 00:26:35.620 – 00:26:36.300 You know what I'm saying?
  512. 00:26:36.920 – 00:26:37.680 You know, like.
  513. 00:26:37.780 – 00:26:47.320 Speaking of alien, we was out of this world at an amusement park filming your music video, man.
  514. 00:26:47.420 – 00:26:49.520 Like, we were high in the sky.
  515. 00:26:49.520 – 00:26:50.200 Oh, man.
  516. 00:26:50.220 – 00:26:51.000 For higher.
  517. 00:26:51.000 – 00:26:51.780 That was.
  518. 00:26:52.460 – 00:26:53.500 That was.
  519. 00:26:53.660 – 00:26:55.480 I will forever remember that.
  520. 00:26:55.900 – 00:26:59.420 That's going to be one of my faves forever.
  521. 00:26:59.720 – 00:27:00.480 You know what I'm saying?
  522. 00:27:00.840 – 00:27:05.760 My favorite music videos because it was just so authentic and so real.
  523. 00:27:05.940 – 00:27:06.560 You know what I'm saying?
  524. 00:27:06.760 – 00:27:08.260 We were just playing those games.
  525. 00:27:08.440 – 00:27:09.480 You know, we really was.
  526. 00:27:10.520 – 00:27:11.940 You know, we really was.
  527. 00:27:13.920 – 00:27:17.180 How did you feel like just, you know, in your experience?
  528. 00:27:17.400 – 00:27:18.840 I told you I wanted the last question.
  529. 00:27:20.160 – 00:27:20.600 Shoot.
  530. 00:27:21.180 – 00:27:23.200 No, but we do got to get out of here, y'all.
  531. 00:27:23.720 – 00:27:24.220 All right.
  532. 00:27:25.320 – 00:27:26.180 Real, real quick.
  533. 00:27:26.600 – 00:27:27.980 I would say.
  534. 00:27:30.260 – 00:27:31.600 Because you know we can keep going.
  535. 00:27:31.800 – 00:27:32.600 You know how it goes.
  536. 00:27:32.620 – 00:27:38.000 The experience is, yeah, because I got to change, especially if, yeah.
  537. 00:27:38.000 – 00:27:39.000 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
  538. 00:27:39.020 – 00:27:39.460 Yeah.
  539. 00:27:39.460 – 00:27:40.960 I got to grab the camera.
  540. 00:27:41.360 – 00:27:42.280 Oh, yeah, yeah.
  541. 00:27:42.280 – 00:27:42.980 I got to.
  542. 00:27:42.980 – 00:27:43.940 I'm about to get live.
  543. 00:27:43.980 – 00:27:45.440 I got to stop at the studio.
  544. 00:27:47.540 – 00:27:48.420 But yeah.
  545. 00:27:49.420 – 00:27:51.580 It was a pretty experience, you know.
  546. 00:27:51.880 – 00:27:53.080 I was tired as heck.
  547. 00:27:53.840 – 00:27:55.180 But, you know, I had to come through.
  548. 00:27:55.380 – 00:27:56.960 Still showed out, man.
  549. 00:27:57.520 – 00:27:57.840 You did.
  550. 00:27:57.900 – 00:27:58.380 You edited.
  551. 00:27:58.520 – 00:27:59.780 You did your thing with that.
  552. 00:27:59.880 – 00:28:02.980 I didn't know how you was going to do it.
  553. 00:28:02.980 – 00:28:04.040 But you put the pieces together.
  554. 00:28:04.080 – 00:28:05.920 And it was pretty quick, too.
  555. 00:28:06.500 – 00:28:08.180 So, you know, I commend you for that.
  556. 00:28:08.440 – 00:28:11.060 I was, you know, you had the vision in your head.
  557. 00:28:11.500 – 00:28:13.200 You did the directing, too.
  558. 00:28:13.320 – 00:28:15.460 Like, hey, you know.
  559. 00:28:15.660 – 00:28:17.660 Hey, me times, you direct me.
  560. 00:28:17.660 – 00:28:18.640 Oh, my God.
  561. 00:28:19.200 – 00:28:20.340 Obviously, you know, directing.
  562. 00:28:21.040 – 00:28:22.280 You did your thing with that.
  563. 00:28:22.360 – 00:28:23.300 You already had your vision.
  564. 00:28:23.360 – 00:28:28.660 But I love working with business owners and mainly creatives.
  565. 00:28:29.860 – 00:28:30.820 Creative entrepreneurs.
  566. 00:28:31.160 – 00:28:33.180 That's my, you know, core audience.
  567. 00:28:34.160 – 00:28:34.860 I appreciate that.
  568. 00:28:34.860 – 00:28:36.020 Because you come with your vision.
  569. 00:28:36.180 – 00:28:36.960 You came with your vision.
  570. 00:28:37.100 – 00:28:40.440 So at least it's not me having to pull everything out.
  571. 00:28:40.600 – 00:28:42.760 It's like, yeah, this is the song.
  572. 00:28:43.200 – 00:28:45.060 You know, I heard the song.
  573. 00:28:46.060 – 00:28:48.200 My daughter loved the song.
  574. 00:28:48.200 – 00:28:49.580 Yeah, I appreciate that.
  575. 00:28:49.620 – 00:28:50.760 We didn't know she was singing.
  576. 00:28:51.340 – 00:28:52.980 I really do appreciate that.
  577. 00:28:53.120 – 00:28:56.540 So, you know, she came out to see you live.
  578. 00:28:56.580 – 00:28:58.500 You know, a couple of times performing.
  579. 00:28:58.960 – 00:29:00.700 That was, man.
  580. 00:29:01.460 – 00:29:04.880 Yeah, you and B, man.
  581. 00:29:04.880 – 00:29:06.860 Y'all came through so clutch, man.
  582. 00:29:07.360 – 00:29:09.260 Shout out to you and Lady B, man.
  583. 00:29:09.440 – 00:29:10.440 Real on that one, bro.
  584. 00:29:10.700 – 00:29:11.720 That was our first.
  585. 00:29:11.900 – 00:29:12.340 Yeah.
  586. 00:29:12.940 – 00:29:15.340 We'll be our first music video.
  587. 00:29:17.280 – 00:29:17.400 We.
  588. 00:29:17.740 – 00:29:18.660 Free Nikalab.
  589. 00:29:19.720 – 00:29:22.560 Well, no, we collab with Lady Poet.
  590. 00:29:23.700 – 00:29:24.560 A couple of times.
  591. 00:29:24.600 – 00:29:27.580 More so on the creative side as far as like a creative.
  592. 00:29:27.740 – 00:29:30.680 But it was before, you know, clothing brand.
  593. 00:29:30.940 – 00:29:33.360 Or like a music, a hip hop music video.
  594. 00:29:34.260 – 00:29:34.780 Wow.
  595. 00:29:35.980 – 00:29:36.420 High honor.
  596. 00:29:36.580 – 00:29:37.100 Wow.
  597. 00:29:37.620 – 00:29:37.780 Yeah.
  598. 00:29:37.960 – 00:29:38.880 High honor, bro.
  599. 00:29:39.140 – 00:29:39.280 Yeah.
  600. 00:29:40.000 – 00:29:40.420 Wow.
  601. 00:29:40.420 – 00:29:41.060 Wow.
  602. 00:29:42.280 – 00:29:42.660 Yeah.
  603. 00:29:43.240 – 00:29:43.520 So.
  604. 00:29:43.960 – 00:29:44.040 Wow.
  605. 00:29:44.700 – 00:29:45.460 Wow.
  606. 00:29:45.740 – 00:29:49.720 And I definitely want to shout out creative frequency.
  607. 00:29:50.180 – 00:29:51.920 That's that's that's our, you know, United.
  608. 00:29:52.080 – 00:29:55.760 That's alienized photos and overflow studios.
  609. 00:29:56.020 – 00:30:00.760 You know, our joint creative sessions are are studying
  610. 00:30:00.760 – 00:30:02.400 are doing our work.
  611. 00:30:02.640 – 00:30:06.860 We really be documenting us doing work like literally we edit
  612. 00:30:06.860 – 00:30:12.100 and literally be doing research, building our our platforms,
  613. 00:30:12.300 – 00:30:14.940 our offers, our communications, you know,
  614. 00:30:14.940 – 00:30:18.040 how we strategize is catching up with each other and, you know,
  615. 00:30:18.240 – 00:30:21.860 different businesses like she's a far better editor than me.
  616. 00:30:22.000 – 00:30:23.160 Like, that's my consultant.
  617. 00:30:23.960 – 00:30:28.300 You know, she she considered me, you know, her mentor and,
  618. 00:30:28.300 – 00:30:28.980 you know, teacher.
  619. 00:30:29.260 – 00:30:31.840 But like with the editor, I go to her.
  620. 00:30:32.100 – 00:30:34.740 Like, you're my mentor in that.
  621. 00:30:34.740 – 00:30:39.060 Like, so we just mentor each other as, you know, real relationships,
  622. 00:30:39.680 – 00:30:42.400 you know, should, you know, teach each other.
  623. 00:30:43.780 – 00:30:47.880 And yeah, you know, you know, you you you newly married now.
  624. 00:30:47.920 – 00:30:49.500 Oh, yeah.
  625. 00:30:49.760 – 00:30:50.040 Yeah.
  626. 00:30:50.200 – 00:30:55.540 You feel like how how is it like even as far as like teaching,
  627. 00:30:55.540 – 00:30:59.200 you know, each other or, you know, oh, yeah.
  628. 00:30:59.740 – 00:31:01.960 How major is that in the relationship?
  629. 00:31:02.620 – 00:31:06.760 I mean, it's one of the most important aspects of the relationship.
  630. 00:31:07.060 – 00:31:11.140 You know, the relationship is actually there to the whole.
  631. 00:31:11.360 – 00:31:16.240 One of the main purposes is to teach you to become a better,
  632. 00:31:16.320 – 00:31:18.080 higher version of yourself.
  633. 00:31:18.340 – 00:31:18.800 You know what I'm saying?
  634. 00:31:18.820 – 00:31:23.040 And once you understand that, it really puts you in a different mindset
  635. 00:31:23.040 – 00:31:27.120 and you can start to understand and put another level of balance
  636. 00:31:27.120 – 00:31:28.000 within the relationship.
  637. 00:31:28.020 – 00:31:30.360 And as the relationship goes on,
  638. 00:31:30.360 – 00:31:32.940 and at least in a more healthy way,
  639. 00:31:33.900 – 00:31:37.780 you start to be able to see how it gets better and better.
  640. 00:31:38.000 – 00:31:38.440 You know what I'm saying?
  641. 00:31:38.780 – 00:31:41.140 You know, you start to learn more patience.
  642. 00:31:41.680 – 00:31:47.000 You know, you start to learn how to better communicate with each other.
  643. 00:31:47.040 – 00:31:47.780 You know what I'm saying?
  644. 00:31:47.840 – 00:31:52.240 And not go off the hinges because you were able to actually sit down
  645. 00:31:52.240 – 00:31:53.760 and communicate and, you know,
  646. 00:31:53.920 – 00:31:58.460 break down what you were able to feel in that moment without offending
  647. 00:31:58.460 – 00:31:59.860 one another. You know what I'm saying?
  648. 00:31:59.860 – 00:32:05.120 So it really takes a lot of practice and then it correlates to everyday life.
  649. 00:32:05.260 – 00:32:08.140 You know, it teaches me as a man how to, you know,
  650. 00:32:08.300 – 00:32:09.800 better navigate people in general.
  651. 00:32:09.980 – 00:32:10.600 You know what I'm saying?
  652. 00:32:10.700 – 00:32:11.860 On a day-to-day basis.
  653. 00:32:12.020 – 00:32:12.620 You know what I'm saying?
  654. 00:32:12.800 – 00:32:16.160 And so having that balance and being able to also have,
  655. 00:32:16.160 – 00:32:19.560 you know, a good foundation and relationship at home,
  656. 00:32:19.560 – 00:32:24.260 it helps you to just be in this very healthy mindset, you know,
  657. 00:32:24.260 – 00:32:29.440 and really creates a level of, you know, balance.
  658. 00:32:29.560 – 00:32:32.620 And at the same time, a zeal in your life.
  659. 00:32:32.620 – 00:32:33.280 You know what I'm saying?
  660. 00:32:33.340 – 00:32:37.260 To the point where you start to, you know, have a higher purpose.
  661. 00:32:37.300 – 00:32:38.000 You know what I'm saying?
  662. 00:32:38.100 – 00:32:43.500 Every single day is, you know, it just, I can go on and on.
  663. 00:32:43.600 – 00:32:44.380 You know what I'm saying?
  664. 00:32:44.480 – 00:32:49.380 You know, but that's just like my core answer, you know, of what I think.
  665. 00:32:50.180 – 00:32:54.300 Why that part of the relationship is actually,
  666. 00:32:55.380 – 00:32:58.660 I believe the most important aspect is learning from each other.
  667. 00:32:58.820 – 00:32:59.500 You know what I'm saying?
  668. 00:32:59.880 – 00:33:00.700 Yeah, it's huge.
  669. 00:33:00.940 – 00:33:01.680 It's huge.
  670. 00:33:02.020 – 00:33:05.020 It's like, that is the reason.
  671. 00:33:05.020 – 00:33:05.760 The cheat code.
  672. 00:33:06.100 – 00:33:06.880 It's the cheat code.
  673. 00:33:07.000 – 00:33:07.480 You know what I'm saying?
  674. 00:33:07.880 – 00:33:09.880 Of course to be in harmony and this, that,
  675. 00:33:10.100 – 00:33:13.920 or to have kids and things like that.
  676. 00:33:13.920 – 00:33:17.280 But the higher, the higher purpose is to be,
  677. 00:33:17.320 – 00:33:19.880 be a higher version of yourself.
  678. 00:33:20.360 – 00:33:20.800 You know what I'm saying?
  679. 00:33:20.840 – 00:33:23.880 To become more compassionate for, you know,
  680. 00:33:23.940 – 00:33:26.400 to understand the man and to understand the woman
  681. 00:33:26.400 – 00:33:28.240 and to understand each other.
  682. 00:33:28.400 – 00:33:31.780 Because without family, you know, none of this,
  683. 00:33:32.340 – 00:33:35.700 that is the foundation of every aspect from the financial
  684. 00:33:35.700 – 00:33:37.280 to the education to the religion.
  685. 00:33:37.360 – 00:33:41.720 So without the foundation, the family, you got nothing.
  686. 00:33:46.300 – 00:33:50.380 Man, I'm about to give you a formal episode, bro.
  687. 00:33:51.800 – 00:33:54.180 You know, meeting E-Rock B.
  688. 00:33:54.260 – 00:33:56.020 So definitely look out for that, y'all.
  689. 00:33:56.060 – 00:33:57.540 We got to get out of here.
  690. 00:33:58.100 – 00:34:00.720 And I know you got a show, so, you know,
  691. 00:34:01.100 – 00:34:02.920 y'all know how it is, the show day, man.
  692. 00:34:03.000 – 00:34:03.840 It's in a couple hours.
  693. 00:34:04.840 – 00:34:07.040 So yeah, some time I got to make some runs.
  694. 00:34:07.200 – 00:34:09.400 Stop at the studio, change, do this, do that.
  695. 00:34:10.400 – 00:34:12.420 So I'm going to try to make it up for sure.
  696. 00:34:12.420 – 00:34:13.940 Appreciate you for coming.
  697. 00:34:13.940 – 00:34:15.560 So I'm going to close this out, man.
  698. 00:34:15.560 – 00:34:18.679 This has been Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  699. 00:34:19.239 – 00:34:21.239 Yes, my brother E-Rock Beats.
  700. 00:34:21.300 – 00:34:22.880 And where can they find you at?
  701. 00:34:23.760 – 00:34:28.500 You can follow me on IG at E-R-O-C.
  702. 00:34:28.719 – 00:34:29.500 Beats with a Z.
  703. 00:34:29.980 – 00:34:32.620 Once again, that's E-R-O-C.
  704. 00:34:32.699 – 00:34:33.560 Beats with a Z.
  705. 00:34:33.960 – 00:34:35.580 Shout out to the Pull Up Experience, man.
  706. 00:34:35.639 – 00:34:39.179 Shout out to my brother, my bruh, my fam, man.
  707. 00:34:40.020 – 00:34:42.320 Whatever they call me in the creative community.
  708. 00:34:44.199 – 00:34:47.100 Man, I mean, shoot, the Jack of All Trades.
  709. 00:34:47.320 – 00:34:48.239 I mean, shoot.
  710. 00:34:48.260 – 00:34:49.020 Artist name.
  711. 00:34:50.699 – 00:34:51.460 Poto Jackson.
  712. 00:34:52.400 – 00:34:53.659 No, the music.
  713. 00:34:54.840 – 00:34:55.420 And the music?
  714. 00:34:55.880 – 00:34:56.440 Yeah.
  715. 00:34:57.340 – 00:34:58.140 Music, poetry.
  716. 00:35:02.020 – 00:35:02.380 Damn.
  717. 00:35:02.520 – 00:35:03.220 You are overthinking.
  718. 00:35:03.700 – 00:35:04.780 Am I overthinking it?
  719. 00:35:06.540 – 00:35:07.520 You're overthinking.
  720. 00:35:07.660 – 00:35:08.800 Am I overthinking it?
  721. 00:35:09.180 – 00:35:09.800 What's the real?
  722. 00:35:10.580 – 00:35:11.440 Am I overthinking it?
  723. 00:35:11.680 – 00:35:12.400 Artist name.
  724. 00:35:13.660 – 00:35:14.540 Alien Up, what's that?
  725. 00:35:15.280 – 00:35:15.880 Yeah.
  726. 00:35:15.880 – 00:35:16.340 Alien Up, yeah.
  727. 00:35:16.640 – 00:35:17.120 Yeah.
  728. 00:35:18.440 – 00:35:18.880 Alien.
  729. 00:35:20.240 – 00:35:20.940 True form.
  730. 00:35:22.180 – 00:35:22.880 That's what I'm like.
  731. 00:35:23.800 – 00:35:28.360 It originated from the music to poetry.
  732. 00:35:29.880 – 00:35:31.820 Or more so, poetry to music.
  733. 00:35:32.540 – 00:35:32.640 Yeah.
  734. 00:35:32.640 – 00:35:34.600 However, I don't know which one I started first, actually.
  735. 00:35:34.880 – 00:35:37.420 I was writing forms first or music.
  736. 00:35:37.540 – 00:35:38.080 I don't know.
  737. 00:35:38.560 – 00:35:42.740 But yeah, I just took the brand.
  738. 00:35:43.420 – 00:35:45.180 Alien, everybody knew me as Alien.
  739. 00:35:45.840 – 00:35:46.500 That was the...
  740. 00:35:46.500 – 00:35:47.160 Oh, I did.
  741. 00:35:47.220 – 00:35:48.940 I don't know if you heard me, but I did say Alien.
  742. 00:35:48.940 – 00:35:49.240 Alien.
  743. 00:35:50.420 – 00:35:50.900 Oh.
  744. 00:35:51.500 – 00:35:53.200 That's why I was probably so confused.
  745. 00:35:53.680 – 00:35:54.300 Oh, yeah.
  746. 00:35:54.780 – 00:35:55.240 All right.
  747. 00:35:55.380 – 00:35:56.220 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
  748. 00:35:56.280 – 00:35:57.220 No, no, no.
  749. 00:35:57.400 – 00:35:57.700 Anyway.
  750. 00:35:58.360 – 00:35:58.840 But yeah, yeah.
  751. 00:35:58.920 – 00:35:59.240 My bad.
  752. 00:35:59.560 – 00:36:00.240 My bad.
  753. 00:36:00.640 – 00:36:00.920 Anyway.
  754. 00:36:01.800 – 00:36:02.540 But yeah.
  755. 00:36:02.940 – 00:36:03.800 That is Alien.
  756. 00:36:04.220 – 00:36:10.960 But sometimes people want to transition.
  757. 00:36:11.040 – 00:36:11.520 Yeah.
  758. 00:36:11.520 – 00:36:14.660 And they're like, well, I'm known for this.
  759. 00:36:15.480 – 00:36:16.740 But just carry it over.
  760. 00:36:16.960 – 00:36:18.420 I took the whole Alien.
  761. 00:36:20.940 – 00:36:23.240 Now I'm giving you my eyes.
  762. 00:36:24.660 – 00:36:33.960 So it's like, I'm about to really build this out and see how far we go with the Alien brand.
  763. 00:36:34.960 – 00:36:39.760 So I'm doing a lot of partnerships with Alien brands.
  764. 00:36:39.780 – 00:36:40.940 And I got a couple of them.
  765. 00:36:40.940 – 00:36:42.160 I can't even mention.
  766. 00:36:42.720 – 00:36:50.820 But yeah, I definitely want to come correct because business.
  767. 00:36:53.080 – 00:36:56.500 But again, this is Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  768. 00:36:57.560 – 00:36:59.240 But yeah, I'm going to get you a formal episode.
  769. 00:37:00.760 – 00:37:08.100 We don't really catch up because, yeah, I know 35, 40 minutes ain't...
  770. 00:37:09.360 – 00:37:11.340 You know, it's a good intro though.
  771. 00:37:12.160 – 00:37:14.860 So I bet you'll definitely be on the lookout for the episode.
  772. 00:37:16.120 – 00:37:21.210 And again, if you want to follow me at Alienize Photos.
  773. 00:37:22.640 – 00:37:29.100 Alienize with a Z, Photos with a S, and AlienizePhotos.com.
  774. 00:37:30.140 – 00:37:30.960 I am out.
  775. 00:37:31.420 – 00:37:31.720 Peace.
  776. 00:37:32.100 – 00:37:32.600 Peace.

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75. Eliminate Distractions Even The NBA

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  1. 00:00:01.870 – 00:00:06.970 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back
  2. 00:00:07.550 – 00:00:10.990 to Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  3. 00:00:11.150 – 00:00:14.210 with your host, photographer Jackson,
  4. 00:00:14.950 – 00:00:19.650 Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos Media
  5. 00:00:21.310 – 00:00:25.250 and a collaborator to pull up experience
  6. 00:00:25.250 – 00:00:29.590 and Overflow Studio whom we form Creative Frequency.
  7. 00:00:30.490 – 00:00:32.150 Encouraging you to stay creative
  8. 00:00:32.150 – 00:00:34.190 as you follow us on our creative journey.
  9. 00:00:35.630 – 00:00:36.870 And yeah, it's a busy day
  10. 00:00:36.870 – 00:00:39.730 with the pull-up experience this week, you know.
  11. 00:00:40.290 – 00:00:44.490 Kind of had some brief text chats
  12. 00:00:45.210 – 00:00:48.650 and scheduled a team meeting tomorrow
  13. 00:00:48.650 – 00:00:52.450 as I'm getting ready for, you know,
  14. 00:00:52.790 – 00:00:55.350 recordings with the pull-up experience as we have.
  15. 00:00:55.350 – 00:00:57.150 We have two interviews today,
  16. 00:00:57.810 – 00:01:01.090 two great entrepreneurs, so stay tuned.
  17. 00:01:01.670 – 00:01:04.370 Follow, subscribe, the pull-up experience,
  18. 00:01:05.110 – 00:01:06.610 my entrepreneur partners,
  19. 00:01:07.370 – 00:01:10.130 and yeah, we taking this to the top.
  20. 00:01:10.610 – 00:01:11.950 But I just wanted to hop on
  21. 00:01:13.210 – 00:01:15.970 and some things was on my heart
  22. 00:01:17.830 – 00:01:22.130 as, you know, we kind of get distracted sometimes.
  23. 00:01:22.230 – 00:01:24.210 We kind of go off course, you know.
  24. 00:01:24.210 – 00:01:27.550 Fall asleep at the wheel, you know,
  25. 00:01:27.590 – 00:01:30.350 I've definitely done that a lot, you know, literally.
  26. 00:01:31.610 – 00:01:33.270 People know I'm always doing a lot,
  27. 00:01:34.370 – 00:01:36.770 so I'm traveling and, you know,
  28. 00:01:38.150 – 00:01:39.410 tired, you know, it happens.
  29. 00:01:40.290 – 00:01:42.330 And, you know, I pull over when I can
  30. 00:01:42.330 – 00:01:44.570 and, you know, make sure I'm stay hydrated
  31. 00:01:44.570 – 00:01:46.930 and try to avoid it the most I can.
  32. 00:01:47.190 – 00:01:48.930 I'm getting my sleep more
  33. 00:01:49.390 – 00:01:52.110 and that's important for an entrepreneur, you know.
  34. 00:01:52.110 – 00:01:54.450 Not getting in sleep is a distraction.
  35. 00:01:54.450 – 00:01:58.530 I'm like, man, am I piling my schedule up too much?
  36. 00:01:58.850 – 00:01:59.970 Am I doing too much?
  37. 00:02:00.150 – 00:02:03.830 Am I not fully giving 100% all the time
  38. 00:02:03.830 – 00:02:06.310 because I'm trying and, you know,
  39. 00:02:06.530 – 00:02:08.850 putting my energy in too many things?
  40. 00:02:09.930 – 00:02:11.790 You know, even starting a podcast is like,
  41. 00:02:11.790 – 00:02:13.570 oh, you starting another thing?
  42. 00:02:14.470 – 00:02:16.890 You know, I had a podcast back in the day,
  43. 00:02:16.930 – 00:02:18.130 Lyrical Logic Podcast,
  44. 00:02:18.130 – 00:02:23.170 is I broke down lyrics and poems with different guests
  45. 00:02:23.590 – 00:02:25.610 and then also have them break down
  46. 00:02:25.610 – 00:02:29.290 one of their poems or songs, you know.
  47. 00:02:31.480 – 00:02:34.320 But, you know, starting this podcast,
  48. 00:02:34.560 – 00:02:38.820 it was, again, on my heart, you know, it was meaningful
  49. 00:02:39.840 – 00:02:41.920 and it's adding to my business
  50. 00:02:41.920 – 00:02:46.260 as it's the biggest marketing arm of my business.
  51. 00:02:46.800 – 00:02:49.080 So, and it's free, you know,
  52. 00:02:49.080 – 00:02:52.760 and I get to connect with people through conversation,
  53. 00:02:53.500 – 00:02:55.640 which is good, impactful,
  54. 00:02:55.960 – 00:02:58.180 and, you know, even for everyone else,
  55. 00:02:58.520 – 00:03:00.780 you know, listen to these interviews
  56. 00:03:00.780 – 00:03:04.600 and, you know, even my solo podcast episodes
  57. 00:03:05.720 – 00:03:08.040 of Alien Eyes Photos industry talk.
  58. 00:03:09.740 – 00:03:13.300 But, you know, distractions, they get in the way.
  59. 00:03:14.520 – 00:03:16.000 How can we cut them out?
  60. 00:03:16.000 – 00:03:20.520 How can we get them out of our life completely?
  61. 00:03:20.580 – 00:03:22.360 If you really want it, you know,
  62. 00:03:22.360 – 00:03:24.860 you got to delete distractions completely
  63. 00:03:26.740 – 00:03:29.340 because distractions don't come to us.
  64. 00:03:30.420 – 00:03:32.220 We go to the distractions.
  65. 00:03:33.080 – 00:03:35.320 We seek out the distractions.
  66. 00:03:36.380 – 00:03:38.540 You know, I don't want to do this big task.
  67. 00:03:38.640 – 00:03:40.220 Oh, let me distract myself.
  68. 00:03:40.340 – 00:03:43.980 Oh, let me play, you know, a game on my phone,
  69. 00:03:43.980 – 00:03:49.180 you know, Spades or whatever you play on your phone.
  70. 00:03:50.800 – 00:03:56.640 And, you know, you may watch Netflix, watch TV,
  71. 00:03:58.340 – 00:04:02.160 you know, go hang out with a friend,
  72. 00:04:02.440 – 00:04:05.540 y'all still trying to figure out what y'all want to do.
  73. 00:04:06.320 – 00:04:09.960 And, you know, y'all both trying to distract yourselves
  74. 00:04:09.960 – 00:04:14.000 because y'all don't want to face the hard work
  75. 00:04:14.000 – 00:04:15.800 or the task that's needed.
  76. 00:04:15.960 – 00:04:17.200 It could be something simple.
  77. 00:04:17.880 – 00:04:21.399 And the simple can sometimes be, you know, difficult.
  78. 00:04:23.140 – 00:04:27.360 Like the most littlest thing, even with relationships,
  79. 00:04:27.360 – 00:04:30.000 you know, it could be something simple, something little.
  80. 00:04:32.000 – 00:04:33.340 We just don't want to do it.
  81. 00:04:33.380 – 00:04:36.680 Just do it, you know?
  82. 00:04:38.180 – 00:04:40.100 And that's me also talking to myself,
  83. 00:04:40.200 – 00:04:44.160 but I know many could reflect on that
  84. 00:04:44.160 – 00:04:47.620 because I do get distracted a lot, you know?
  85. 00:04:48.840 – 00:04:54.620 And to be candid, I had an opportunity to try for the NBA
  86. 00:04:56.300 – 00:04:59.000 and anybody that know me, I love basketball.
  87. 00:04:59.300 – 00:05:02.220 It's one of my childhood dreams to be in the NBA.
  88. 00:05:03.360 – 00:05:05.800 And I was also thinking like,
  89. 00:05:06.460 – 00:05:10.120 well, will my older self be mad at my younger self
  90. 00:05:10.120 – 00:05:11.700 for not taking this opportunity?
  91. 00:05:12.140 – 00:05:15.960 You know, something I wanted so bad at one point in my life,
  92. 00:05:16.780 – 00:05:21.320 but I wanted to pursue music and poetry at the time.
  93. 00:05:22.180 – 00:05:26.500 So, you know, I didn't consistently play basketball.
  94. 00:05:26.660 – 00:05:29.820 Like it's been maybe five years
  95. 00:05:29.820 – 00:05:32.300 since I've like picked it up.
  96. 00:05:32.340 – 00:05:36.940 I picked it up more recently this year, 2025,
  97. 00:05:38.380 – 00:05:42.840 and you know, been consistent with my, you know,
  98. 00:05:42.900 – 00:05:46.020 I could say my hoopin' partner, E-Rock, Mr. E-Rock Beats,
  99. 00:05:46.340 – 00:05:50.120 Eric Porter, my brother, great producer, great MC,
  100. 00:05:50.380 – 00:05:53.340 great host, great friend, man.
  101. 00:05:53.880 – 00:05:54.600 I love you, brother.
  102. 00:05:54.660 – 00:05:56.340 And we got some episodes coming out
  103. 00:05:56.860 – 00:05:59.460 as he had the opportunity to interview me.
  104. 00:05:59.780 – 00:06:01.620 So stay tuned for that.
  105. 00:06:03.500 – 00:06:08.040 Yeah, so I had the opportunity to try out for the NBA,
  106. 00:06:09.180 – 00:06:11.620 the G League, Cleveland Charge,
  107. 00:06:12.520 – 00:06:14.960 the development sector of the NBA.
  108. 00:06:16.800 – 00:06:21.700 And I was all for it.
  109. 00:06:23.240 – 00:06:25.040 You know, I'm training, I'm training.
  110. 00:06:25.880 – 00:06:29.780 You know, I only had about five weeks to train.
  111. 00:06:30.680 – 00:06:33.540 And like I said, I haven't been playing in years.
  112. 00:06:34.140 – 00:06:36.340 This year, I finally got back to it,
  113. 00:06:36.340 – 00:06:38.940 but it's still not like, you know, consistent play.
  114. 00:06:39.140 – 00:06:41.780 I play maybe once a week.
  115. 00:06:43.820 – 00:06:45.540 One point it was like once a month.
  116. 00:06:45.580 – 00:06:48.580 So yeah, I've started bringing it up to once,
  117. 00:06:49.380 – 00:06:52.340 once a week, sometimes twice.
  118. 00:06:52.560 – 00:06:55.480 I would love more to get it up to about three or four.
  119. 00:06:55.480 – 00:06:56.400 Oh, bars.
  120. 00:07:00.240 – 00:07:05.180 I really had to sit and think about it though,
  121. 00:07:07.780 – 00:07:10.640 because I'm focused on my first million.
  122. 00:07:13.400 – 00:07:17.450 You know, it's tough sometimes
  123. 00:07:17.450 – 00:07:19.930 getting out that four figure, five figure,
  124. 00:07:20.490 – 00:07:23.010 you know, and then once you get that six figure,
  125. 00:07:23.590 – 00:07:26.250 and it's like, okay, the million, here we go.
  126. 00:07:28.840 – 00:07:30.460 I'm focused on my first million
  127. 00:07:33.330 – 00:07:36.690 and I know I'm gonna do it with the team around me.
  128. 00:07:38.440 – 00:07:40.100 And, you know, the Pull Up Experience,
  129. 00:07:40.320 – 00:07:42.440 Creative Frequency, Overflow Studio,
  130. 00:07:43.700 – 00:07:44.980 Montage Media,
  131. 00:07:50.030 – 00:07:59.540 is really important for me to eliminate distractions,
  132. 00:08:01.160 – 00:08:04.060 to build the brands that I'm a part of.
  133. 00:08:07.260 – 00:08:08.640 Eliminate distractions,
  134. 00:08:10.260 – 00:08:12.460 so I could continue elevating the brands
  135. 00:08:12.460 – 00:08:14.620 that I am a part of.
  136. 00:08:18.410 – 00:08:18.670 Wow.
  137. 00:08:22.800 – 00:08:24.800 I'm just sitting back and reflecting,
  138. 00:08:24.800 – 00:08:30.580 and, you know, as you hear this,
  139. 00:08:33.020 – 00:08:38.380 you know, it's very eye-opening,
  140. 00:08:42.059 – 00:08:45.340 very, you know, catchy to the mind
  141. 00:08:45.340 – 00:08:47.500 to wanna do something new or,
  142. 00:08:48.440 – 00:08:49.960 you know, experience something.
  143. 00:08:52.130 – 00:08:54.510 But is it worth your focus
  144. 00:08:56.850 – 00:08:59.430 on where you want to go in life?
  145. 00:09:00.150 – 00:09:03.230 The ultimate goal, the current goal,
  146. 00:09:04.790 – 00:09:07.670 what you want to do to distract you,
  147. 00:09:07.910 – 00:09:10.670 or taking away from what you're supposed to do
  148. 00:09:13.050 – 00:09:16.350 has value, and first off, it doesn't have value,
  149. 00:09:16.530 – 00:09:17.810 it would add value.
  150. 00:09:19.390 – 00:09:19.890 No.
  151. 00:09:21.190 – 00:09:22.530 I would stop there,
  152. 00:09:23.710 – 00:09:26.710 because on the flip side, there's also self-care,
  153. 00:09:27.490 – 00:09:30.290 self-love, time with the one above,
  154. 00:09:30.690 – 00:09:33.270 the one in your heart, the one in your mind,
  155. 00:09:33.570 – 00:09:34.810 the one in your spirit,
  156. 00:09:37.460 – 00:09:39.590 we're at one, we're never apart.
  157. 00:09:44.970 – 00:09:47.550 We're one and never apart, just like, you know,
  158. 00:09:47.630 – 00:09:50.170 our business, our brand, our personal brands,
  159. 00:09:51.110 – 00:09:52.190 which is important,
  160. 00:09:55.510 – 00:10:04.500 and every story is just like a narrative for brand,
  161. 00:10:04.800 – 00:10:06.020 every brand has a story,
  162. 00:10:06.720 – 00:10:08.140 every person has a story,
  163. 00:10:09.280 – 00:10:10.780 every artist has a story,
  164. 00:10:10.920 – 00:10:12.740 every entrepreneur has a story.
  165. 00:10:13.840 – 00:10:16.860 You know, as I continue talking
  166. 00:10:16.860 – 00:10:18.500 to my creative entrepreneurs,
  167. 00:10:19.900 – 00:10:21.100 you know, those who's creative,
  168. 00:10:21.260 – 00:10:23.780 and those who also an entrepreneur,
  169. 00:10:24.720 – 00:10:26.340 tied all in to each other,
  170. 00:10:27.200 – 00:10:28.340 or if you're just a creative,
  171. 00:10:28.460 – 00:10:29.640 or you're just an entrepreneur,
  172. 00:10:31.160 – 00:10:33.580 or if you want us to become one of these,
  173. 00:10:34.020 – 00:10:38.240 you know, two, or I could say three, to be both,
  174. 00:10:41.540 – 00:10:43.160 you got to eliminate the distractions.
  175. 00:10:45.360 – 00:10:47.140 I know people that go to the gym
  176. 00:10:47.140 – 00:10:49.100 just spend more time on their phone
  177. 00:10:49.100 – 00:10:51.120 than they do, you know, working out.
  178. 00:10:51.960 – 00:10:53.800 You know, I leave all that in a locker,
  179. 00:10:53.880 – 00:10:57.020 like, I know I want to listen to music, my music,
  180. 00:10:57.280 – 00:10:59.340 and you know, you know how I be in the gym,
  181. 00:10:59.500 – 00:11:00.460 but it's just like, no,
  182. 00:11:00.560 – 00:11:02.860 because I'm trying to find a song,
  183. 00:11:03.160 – 00:11:04.360 or get a text up going and say,
  184. 00:11:04.520 – 00:11:08.880 oh, like, it's just a big loop, you know?
  185. 00:11:08.920 – 00:11:11.980 We wake up, sometimes,
  186. 00:11:12.120 – 00:11:14.040 first thing people do is get on their phone,
  187. 00:11:15.380 – 00:11:17.420 you know, take their time to yourself,
  188. 00:11:18.980 – 00:11:21.240 so self-love and self-care is also important,
  189. 00:11:21.560 – 00:11:24.500 and you know, taking time to rest and take a break,
  190. 00:11:25.200 – 00:11:26.840 and you know, do something fun,
  191. 00:11:27.000 – 00:11:29.740 do something enjoying, experience, travel,
  192. 00:11:30.900 – 00:11:34.180 unwind, unplug, you know, do nothing.
  193. 00:11:35.640 – 00:11:36.380 You know, find time,
  194. 00:11:36.400 – 00:11:37.840 you got to find time to read a book,
  195. 00:11:38.060 – 00:11:41.340 and you know, even books, that's not, you know,
  196. 00:11:42.520 – 00:11:46.680 in your genre, or your target audience,
  197. 00:11:47.540 – 00:11:48.880 or what you do,
  198. 00:11:50.560 – 00:11:51.340 but you know,
  199. 00:11:53.360 – 00:11:55.660 just trying to branch out and explore.
  200. 00:11:55.760 – 00:11:58.500 Books is one of those sectors where you can't explore,
  201. 00:11:59.740 – 00:12:02.960 and kind of take, and you know, just take it in,
  202. 00:12:06.360 – 00:12:08.240 but there's a balance,
  203. 00:12:10.100 – 00:12:11.840 you know, you got to cut those distractions,
  204. 00:12:12.920 – 00:12:15.120 but what distractions are okay?
  205. 00:12:16.560 – 00:12:18.580 I'll leave that up to you to figure out,
  206. 00:12:18.860 – 00:12:20.620 but I got to get going,
  207. 00:12:20.780 – 00:12:22.920 so we're set up for the pull-up experience.
  208. 00:12:23.160 – 00:12:24.920 I know the team is probably waiting on me,
  209. 00:12:24.920 – 00:12:26.100 and we're like, oh,
  210. 00:12:26.280 – 00:12:27.960 but I'm just wanting to drop in,
  211. 00:12:28.860 – 00:12:31.840 and also my thoughts and reflections,
  212. 00:12:32.900 – 00:12:34.080 you know, continuing,
  213. 00:12:34.300 – 00:12:36.780 reflecting on my journey as an entrepreneur.
  214. 00:12:37.860 – 00:12:41.960 Again, it's 2025, September,
  215. 00:12:44.720 – 00:12:46.860 and I'm glad it's still warm.
  216. 00:12:47.580 – 00:12:49.500 It's getting cold some days,
  217. 00:12:49.560 – 00:12:51.920 it's colder than others, especially at night,
  218. 00:12:52.440 – 00:12:56.940 but I'm going to appreciate this September weather.
  219. 00:12:58.040 – 00:12:59.620 My sense of Earth went on fire on y'all,
  220. 00:12:59.700 – 00:13:01.120 but I got to go.
  221. 00:13:01.700 – 00:13:02.900 Thank you for listening.
  222. 00:13:03.260 – 00:13:04.620 Tune in, subscribe,
  223. 00:13:04.620 – 00:13:07.720 follow me at Alienize Photos,
  224. 00:13:08.260 – 00:13:10.980 and follow me on all social media,
  225. 00:13:11.120 – 00:13:13.400 also with my creative partner,
  226. 00:13:14.280 – 00:13:15.700 at Creative Frequency.
  227. 00:13:15.960 – 00:13:20.200 You can follow us at On A Creative Frequency,
  228. 00:13:21.080 – 00:13:22.880 On A Creative Frequency.
  229. 00:13:24.140 – 00:13:25.900 All right, peace.

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76. Get Better (short)

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.340 – 00:00:05.840 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back
  2. 00:00:06.650 – 00:00:09.000 to Alienize Photos Industry.
  3. 00:00:09.360 – 00:00:12.300 Talk with your host, Photographer Jackson.
  4. 00:00:14.180 – 00:00:17.740 I just want to talk about getting better.
  5. 00:00:20.340 – 00:00:21.740 Yes, get better.
  6. 00:00:23.700 – 00:00:25.360 You know, I recently got done editing
  7. 00:00:25.360 – 00:00:27.840 a photo gallery for a friend's event.
  8. 00:00:27.840 – 00:00:32.920 And if anyone knows professional editing
  9. 00:00:33.640 – 00:00:35.560 or does professional editing,
  10. 00:00:36.520 – 00:00:39.080 you know how much time, patience,
  11. 00:00:39.340 – 00:00:41.900 and constant tweaking that is
  12. 00:00:41.900 – 00:00:44.260 and how much it takes out of you.
  13. 00:00:45.600 – 00:00:48.340 You know, upon delivering the gallery days later,
  14. 00:00:48.880 – 00:00:52.780 I receive a message that the photos cannot be used
  15. 00:00:52.780 – 00:00:55.780 for marketing and requested a partial refund.
  16. 00:00:57.020 – 00:00:59.180 You know, I was taken back.
  17. 00:00:59.980 – 00:01:02.160 I had to look back at the photo gallery
  18. 00:01:02.160 – 00:01:03.080 like, am I tripping?
  19. 00:01:04.260 – 00:01:06.380 Because I know I took some great photos.
  20. 00:01:08.320 – 00:01:12.040 So, hmm, so yeah, I looked back at the gallery
  21. 00:01:13.000 – 00:01:18.620 and, you know, responded back in a very detailed message.
  22. 00:01:19.360 – 00:01:22.780 No, granted, there was no call prior to the event,
  23. 00:01:23.400 – 00:01:24.560 which was my mistake.
  24. 00:01:25.780 – 00:01:27.840 Typically with last minute requests,
  25. 00:01:27.840 – 00:01:30.960 it is hard to squeeze in that call or meeting
  26. 00:01:31.700 – 00:01:32.760 before the event.
  27. 00:01:33.580 – 00:01:36.960 And this is why I encourage everybody to book early
  28. 00:01:37.760 – 00:01:41.520 and we can schedule all pre-production calls,
  29. 00:01:41.640 – 00:01:44.180 you know, map out the expectations,
  30. 00:01:44.480 – 00:01:45.880 the timeline of the event,
  31. 00:01:46.400 – 00:01:47.880 what equipment I may need,
  32. 00:01:48.180 – 00:01:49.840 where I may be positioned,
  33. 00:01:50.440 – 00:01:54.020 you know, that's very critical details that's needed.
  34. 00:01:55.780 – 00:01:58.020 You know, so it's hard, you know, last minute,
  35. 00:01:58.200 – 00:02:00.920 the day before, the day of, you know,
  36. 00:02:01.020 – 00:02:02.400 especially someone in media,
  37. 00:02:02.840 – 00:02:05.060 it's hard for us to prepare.
  38. 00:02:06.040 – 00:02:07.260 You know, unless we've done it, you know,
  39. 00:02:07.380 – 00:02:09.020 multiple times and, you know,
  40. 00:02:09.300 – 00:02:11.000 same reoccurring event, same thing,
  41. 00:02:11.100 – 00:02:12.300 but that's different.
  42. 00:02:13.560 – 00:02:16.520 But, you know, something new, fresh,
  43. 00:02:17.960 – 00:02:20.200 you know, you gotta have that pre-production meeting
  44. 00:02:20.780 – 00:02:22.960 and carve out that time before
  45. 00:02:22.960 – 00:02:24.400 that the last minute works.
  46. 00:02:26.580 – 00:02:31.100 Get better, you know, support it.
  47. 00:02:33.080 – 00:02:34.560 And we're still friends,
  48. 00:02:35.300 – 00:02:37.020 we know business is business,
  49. 00:02:37.720 – 00:02:40.780 we will not let our businesses get in between us.
  50. 00:02:41.460 – 00:02:44.020 Yet this struck fire under me.
  51. 00:02:45.020 – 00:02:46.980 I said to myself, get better.
  52. 00:02:48.300 – 00:02:49.940 I have to get better.
  53. 00:02:51.280 – 00:02:54.300 As a marketer that specializes in visual media,
  54. 00:02:55.160 – 00:02:56.580 I have to get better.
  55. 00:02:57.680 – 00:02:59.140 I have to be a better marketer.
  56. 00:02:59.140 – 00:03:01.420 A better photographer, a better producer,
  57. 00:03:01.820 – 00:03:05.160 a better communicator, a better leader, a better coach.
  58. 00:03:05.760 – 00:03:07.440 I have to get better.
  59. 00:03:10.740 – 00:03:12.500 I'm saying all of this to say,
  60. 00:03:14.020 – 00:03:16.780 do not let difficult moments ruin your relationships
  61. 00:03:17.740 – 00:03:20.840 with your family, friends, good business partners,
  62. 00:03:21.220 – 00:03:23.720 spouse, even yourself.
  63. 00:03:25.940 – 00:03:29.820 Do not let it ruin what is near to your heart.
  64. 00:03:31.760 – 00:03:35.050 Learn how to take frustration, doubt, shame,
  65. 00:03:35.570 – 00:03:37.870 negative emotions and turn it into a game.
  66. 00:03:39.210 – 00:03:44.860 Something positive, something positive.
  67. 00:03:46.340 – 00:03:48.540 Change it into something positive.
  68. 00:03:50.860 – 00:03:53.020 And see me, I did two things.
  69. 00:03:53.780 – 00:03:56.560 Documented the situation so I could reflect
  70. 00:03:56.560 – 00:03:58.960 on what I did and what I'm doing.
  71. 00:03:59.860 – 00:04:01.560 Hence this podcast episode.
  72. 00:04:02.420 – 00:04:08.360 Then too, I turned that challenge and situation
  73. 00:04:09.000 – 00:04:11.160 into vitamins for my growth.
  74. 00:04:12.360 – 00:04:13.220 Get better.
  75. 00:04:13.740 – 00:04:17.240 And I will continue to get better with all I do.
  76. 00:04:18.260 – 00:04:21.279 I pledge to myself and the world.
  77. 00:04:22.760 – 00:04:25.900 I will get better and continue to get better.
  78. 00:04:26.420 – 00:04:27.580 Continue to elevate.
  79. 00:04:28.460 – 00:04:30.620 Demonstrate your talents, don't rate.
  80. 00:04:31.560 – 00:04:32.940 Continue to elevate.
  81. 00:04:34.220 – 00:04:35.140 Get better.
  82. 00:04:38.810 – 00:04:41.690 Feels like a good, quick rant.
  83. 00:04:42.590 – 00:04:46.970 But I hope you still found value and insight in this.
  84. 00:04:48.070 – 00:04:49.430 Now this was a quick episode
  85. 00:04:49.430 – 00:04:51.870 of Alienize Photos Industry Talk,
  86. 00:04:52.630 – 00:04:55.170 the introspective business podcast.
  87. 00:04:55.770 – 00:04:57.670 Let us continue to have conversations
  88. 00:04:57.670 – 00:05:01.690 and dialogue around business as I did, you know,
  89. 00:05:01.690 – 00:05:05.850 when you do services for family and friends, you know,
  90. 00:05:05.970 – 00:05:12.170 and things may not turn out the way they always expected
  91. 00:05:12.170 – 00:05:14.810 or seem or, you know, what you have in your mind
  92. 00:05:14.810 – 00:05:17.650 or their mind, but it's business.
  93. 00:05:18.730 – 00:05:21.790 And we had this dialogue around business
  94. 00:05:21.790 – 00:05:23.490 and let's continue this conversation.
  95. 00:05:25.330 – 00:05:28.510 I love to ask everyone that comes on the show
  96. 00:05:28.510 – 00:05:30.310 when I do interviews,
  97. 00:05:31.070 – 00:05:35.750 how does media affect your industry or a variation of it?
  98. 00:05:37.760 – 00:05:43.400 As my business is a media, it is vital data
  99. 00:05:44.100 – 00:05:47.080 that continues to help me get better.
  100. 00:05:48.120 – 00:05:50.360 And I wanna ask you all out there,
  101. 00:05:52.500 – 00:05:53.740 what helps you get better?
  102. 00:05:56.360 – 00:06:00.020 What helps you get better?
  103. 00:06:02.190 – 00:06:03.310 What helps you get better?
  104. 00:06:05.600 – 00:06:07.880 All right, and thank you all for listening.
  105. 00:06:08.920 – 00:06:10.700 This is photographer Jackson,
  106. 00:06:10.960 – 00:06:14.200 Steve Jackson of Alienize Photos
  107. 00:06:14.200 – 00:06:16.920 and Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  108. 00:06:17.520 – 00:06:23.420 A-E-P-I-T, Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  109. 00:06:24.200 – 00:06:26.920 And for coaching or event photography booking,
  110. 00:06:27.700 – 00:06:30.780 visit alienizephotos.com.
  111. 00:06:31.120 – 00:06:35.340 Alien eyes, like the eyeballs, eyes with a Z,
  112. 00:06:35.340 – 00:06:37.560 photos, the pictures,
  113. 00:06:38.900 – 00:06:41.700 or the S, dot com.
  114. 00:06:43.960 – 00:06:45.160 Alienizephotos.com.
  115. 00:06:45.640 – 00:06:48.600 All right, I am out, about to prepare for a wedding.
  116. 00:06:49.400 – 00:06:51.700 So yeah, then I got another wedding tomorrow,
  117. 00:06:52.420 – 00:06:56.480 so busy weekend and I will talk to you all soon, peace.

Back to contents

77. Public or Private

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.050 – 00:00:00.950 You said it too, you was like,
  2. 00:00:01.050 – 00:00:02.670 you said bubba and son, name, golden, name,
  3. 00:00:02.710 – 00:00:04.290 boy, I got it together, I can't remember.
  4. 00:00:04.490 – 00:00:06.570 I'm like, I don't know.
  5. 00:00:07.290 – 00:00:09.090 First, you're supposed to be holding this, boy.
  6. 00:00:10.130 – 00:00:11.510 Like this, like that.
  7. 00:00:11.650 – 00:00:13.090 So, on tonight's episode.
  8. 00:00:13.870 – 00:00:14.490 Where the uh?
  9. 00:00:14.590 – 00:00:15.330 Pull up after dark.
  10. 00:00:15.650 – 00:00:17.050 Pull up after dark, there we go, I like that.
  11. 00:00:17.290 – 00:00:18.150 Pull up after dark.
  12. 00:00:18.290 – 00:00:19.270 Pull up after dark, what's up?
  13. 00:00:20.090 – 00:00:21.150 We gotta miss him.
  14. 00:00:21.190 – 00:00:22.930 You should be sold in the union, y'all.
  15. 00:00:23.030 – 00:00:26.550 One day, he gonna get my podcast name right, y'all.
  16. 00:00:26.790 – 00:00:28.930 That day will come.
  17. 00:00:30.410 – 00:00:34.050 I wanna ask y'all, how do y'all feel about
  18. 00:00:34.050 – 00:00:35.390 taking your relationship public,
  19. 00:00:35.530 – 00:00:36.430 versus having that private?
  20. 00:00:37.950 – 00:00:38.850 Don't do it?
  21. 00:00:40.150 – 00:00:42.750 Speak on it, speak on it.
  22. 00:00:42.930 – 00:00:44.850 I don't want to talk about personal spirits I had.
  23. 00:00:45.670 – 00:00:46.850 We won't say no names.
  24. 00:00:46.870 – 00:00:47.790 We won't say no names.
  25. 00:00:48.490 – 00:00:49.010 G will meet her.
  26. 00:00:49.050 – 00:00:49.870 Where are the others?
  27. 00:00:51.110 – 00:00:51.510 Hater.
  28. 00:00:53.170 – 00:00:55.090 Me too, I put she hanging with me, y'all.
  29. 00:00:55.330 – 00:00:56.490 See, they were a bastard.
  30. 00:00:57.370 – 00:00:59.510 She wanted to murder, but he like,
  31. 00:00:59.510 – 00:01:00.870 I don't want her to get with you, bro.
  32. 00:01:02.210 – 00:01:03.530 Why'd that bring you to these?
  33. 00:01:04.349 – 00:01:05.129 That is the question.
  34. 00:01:05.190 – 00:01:06.610 That's another story for the day, y'all.
  35. 00:01:06.730 – 00:01:07.930 I can't believe that.
  36. 00:01:08.290 – 00:01:08.910 To this day.
  37. 00:01:08.970 – 00:01:09.450 To this day.
  38. 00:01:09.790 – 00:01:11.230 I was nice to her.
  39. 00:01:11.530 – 00:01:13.610 My gosh, and I wish I would've been rude.
  40. 00:01:14.810 – 00:01:16.350 So I would be an Eric podcast now,
  41. 00:01:16.430 – 00:01:17.130 but whenever I bring you around,
  42. 00:01:17.390 – 00:01:19.970 I'm like, that ain't never, that's it, dawg.
  43. 00:01:20.310 – 00:01:20.590 Right.
  44. 00:01:21.270 – 00:01:22.170 I'm so glad it's over with.
  45. 00:01:22.410 – 00:01:25.090 But, though, yeah, she was one of the people
  46. 00:01:25.090 – 00:01:26.610 who was like, I want you to
  47. 00:01:27.810 – 00:01:30.490 announce our relationship on social media.
  48. 00:01:31.750 – 00:01:33.130 In like the dummy hours.
  49. 00:01:34.710 – 00:01:36.670 I put it on Facebook, but I put it on Facebook first, right?
  50. 00:01:37.170 – 00:01:39.250 Yeah, and you didn't even warn your team, by the way.
  51. 00:01:39.310 – 00:01:40.130 I did not.
  52. 00:01:40.290 – 00:01:40.990 I did not.
  53. 00:01:41.070 – 00:01:42.870 Because she was like, do it, do it, do it.
  54. 00:01:42.930 – 00:01:43.830 Do it right now.
  55. 00:01:43.930 – 00:01:44.370 On some games.
  56. 00:01:44.490 – 00:01:46.210 I was like, okay, yeah, yeah.
  57. 00:01:47.270 – 00:01:48.790 She was like, go do it right now.
  58. 00:01:48.810 – 00:01:49.710 Are you in danger?
  59. 00:01:51.410 – 00:01:53.290 Like, I don't do it, she's like,
  60. 00:01:53.390 – 00:01:54.010 no, do it right now.
  61. 00:01:54.090 – 00:01:55.010 Right in front of us, I see.
  62. 00:01:55.010 – 00:01:56.150 Oh my gosh.
  63. 00:01:57.690 – 00:01:58.290 That's threaded.
  64. 00:01:59.930 – 00:02:01.670 So I did it, my dummy.
  65. 00:02:02.890 – 00:02:04.210 And I want to say, not even the hour,
  66. 00:02:04.270 – 00:02:05.850 it was like 20 minutes later.
  67. 00:02:06.490 – 00:02:08.850 Text me, text me, text me, text me, text me.
  68. 00:02:09.550 – 00:02:10.910 Hey Brandon, somebody hacked your page.
  69. 00:02:11.690 – 00:02:13.210 Brandon, somebody hacked your, Brandon, what?
  70. 00:02:13.710 – 00:02:14.770 Someone got your page?
  71. 00:02:15.350 – 00:02:17.950 Oh man, I was gonna ask the cash, but what?
  72. 00:02:19.090 – 00:02:20.910 I'm like, nah, that was a hack, man.
  73. 00:02:21.030 – 00:02:22.750 That one, that was me.
  74. 00:02:23.910 – 00:02:24.830 That was me.
  75. 00:02:26.550 – 00:02:28.150 It wasn't even, it was, it was everybody.
  76. 00:02:28.250 – 00:02:29.430 Everybody was like, man.
  77. 00:02:29.650 – 00:02:31.790 Yeah, you're just like, what?
  78. 00:02:31.910 – 00:02:33.390 It's people like, for real, bro.
  79. 00:02:34.590 – 00:02:36.510 Can we even, the fact I have been divorced,
  80. 00:02:36.790 – 00:02:39.250 I've been married, I've been everything in between,
  81. 00:02:39.350 – 00:02:41.410 and I've never poked my relationship status, right?
  82. 00:02:42.150 – 00:02:44.290 And the fact that out of the blue,
  83. 00:02:44.290 – 00:02:45.790 I was just like, hey, I'm in a relationship with a guy.
  84. 00:02:46.210 – 00:02:49.190 One, it was just out of character, right?
  85. 00:02:49.190 – 00:02:49.510 Yeah.
  86. 00:02:49.510 – 00:02:55.530 And then two, it didn't solidify our relationship at all.
  87. 00:02:55.710 – 00:02:57.410 If anything, it probably made it just that much worse.
  88. 00:02:58.230 – 00:03:00.010 It's why we need to prove our relationship
  89. 00:03:00.010 – 00:03:00.990 or what we're dealing with.
  90. 00:03:02.130 – 00:03:02.890 Tied up so.
  91. 00:03:03.170 – 00:03:03.590 Yeah.
  92. 00:03:04.670 – 00:03:05.890 So don't do it.
  93. 00:03:06.290 – 00:03:07.750 Don't do it.
  94. 00:03:07.910 – 00:03:10.290 Well, I thought to ask the expert or what not,
  95. 00:03:10.370 – 00:03:10.730 you know?
  96. 00:03:11.090 – 00:03:14.270 Yeah, you know, the love relationship code.
  97. 00:03:14.810 – 00:03:16.850 So it's Coach B.
  98. 00:03:16.930 – 00:03:19.390 Not really, that's probably taken already.
  99. 00:03:19.390 – 00:03:21.530 Don't come for me.
  100. 00:03:21.710 – 00:03:22.290 Don't swear.
  101. 00:03:22.550 – 00:03:24.870 I'm just new to this space, okay?
  102. 00:03:25.030 – 00:03:26.530 Don't come for me.
  103. 00:03:26.790 – 00:03:28.950 But however, new to the certification,
  104. 00:03:29.170 – 00:03:30.970 but I've been doing this a long time
  105. 00:03:30.970 – 00:03:32.010 as far as giving advice.
  106. 00:03:32.090 – 00:03:34.670 So don't, you know, let's not knock that part.
  107. 00:03:34.910 – 00:03:36.390 But anywho, to get to the question,
  108. 00:03:36.870 – 00:03:38.110 I tried it as well.
  109. 00:03:39.710 – 00:03:41.210 I only, but here's the thing.
  110. 00:03:41.210 – 00:03:44.270 I didn't change statuses like Facebook or whatever.
  111. 00:03:44.590 – 00:03:48.450 I just did like a snippet of them on my story
  112. 00:03:48.450 – 00:03:50.110 and it still sparked like,
  113. 00:03:50.330 – 00:03:51.370 oh, I'm a little boy.
  114. 00:03:51.770 – 00:03:52.890 This is the back of his,
  115. 00:03:52.990 – 00:03:55.270 how do you recognize on the back?
  116. 00:03:55.410 – 00:03:56.390 Oh, I know her back.
  117. 00:03:56.490 – 00:03:57.690 I don't know about your gondor and downs.
  118. 00:03:58.870 – 00:04:00.270 Like, you're with such and such.
  119. 00:04:00.390 – 00:04:01.530 It's like, how do you know?
  120. 00:04:01.550 – 00:04:03.790 Like, I need to show a spade in the back.
  121. 00:04:04.090 – 00:04:05.350 I was like, okay.
  122. 00:04:05.730 – 00:04:06.130 Well.
  123. 00:04:08.690 – 00:04:11.270 I screenshot it, then I zoomed in and then.
  124. 00:04:11.730 – 00:04:12.250 Oh yeah.
  125. 00:04:13.370 – 00:04:15.510 But in it, and that relationship didn't,
  126. 00:04:15.610 – 00:04:17.850 you know, honestly, it soured out.
  127. 00:04:18.510 – 00:04:21.209 And, you know, you do look kind of, you know,
  128. 00:04:21.310 – 00:04:23.210 crazy on these streets, you know.
  129. 00:04:23.410 – 00:04:25.450 Crazy, for sure.
  130. 00:04:25.890 – 00:04:28.870 So I have learned as much as, okay.
  131. 00:04:28.930 – 00:04:30.810 And I know my females can help me out with this one.
  132. 00:04:31.310 – 00:04:33.770 You do want it to be known that you got a man,
  133. 00:04:33.890 – 00:04:34.910 especially if he's a good man,
  134. 00:04:35.090 – 00:04:38.290 but you don't want to at the same time.
  135. 00:04:38.310 – 00:04:39.350 It's very conflicting.
  136. 00:04:40.750 – 00:04:43.750 Cause you know, I am currently with a wonderful man.
  137. 00:04:44.150 – 00:04:45.470 Hey, hit that buzzer one time.
  138. 00:04:46.150 – 00:04:46.670 Hey.
  139. 00:04:48.330 – 00:04:50.230 And that's relationship of my life.
  140. 00:04:50.570 – 00:04:53.930 And I wanted to, I do want to share the great news
  141. 00:04:53.930 – 00:04:55.970 to the world, but it's also like,
  142. 00:04:55.970 – 00:05:00.690 I don't want to jeopardize what we have by, you know,
  143. 00:05:00.870 – 00:05:04.030 thirsty heathens finding out and next thing I know,
  144. 00:05:04.030 – 00:05:04.590 you know.
  145. 00:05:05.430 – 00:05:06.670 So, I don't know.
  146. 00:05:06.730 – 00:05:08.810 I just prefer to keep it tight, you know,
  147. 00:05:08.970 – 00:05:10.190 tight-lipped until,
  148. 00:05:11.110 – 00:05:13.690 give me that ring and then it's all over.
  149. 00:05:13.690 – 00:05:16.010 It's all over the world.
  150. 00:05:16.050 – 00:05:16.950 What's on the bag?
  151. 00:05:18.330 – 00:05:19.690 Hey, what did you say about the son?
  152. 00:05:19.950 – 00:05:22.750 He said, he said, I want to keep the world for my son.
  153. 00:05:22.950 – 00:05:23.410 What did he say?
  154. 00:05:23.910 – 00:05:25.650 I try to keep my kid from the world,
  155. 00:05:25.870 – 00:05:27.030 not the world for my kid.
  156. 00:05:27.610 – 00:05:28.190 Something like that, yeah.
  157. 00:05:28.250 – 00:05:29.750 Something like that, but long story short,
  158. 00:05:30.510 – 00:05:33.250 you don't, you're not shielding
  159. 00:05:33.250 – 00:05:34.570 your relationship from the world.
  160. 00:05:34.930 – 00:05:36.650 No, you don't say it.
  161. 00:05:36.690 – 00:05:38.750 Yeah, yeah, and you ain't shielding the world
  162. 00:05:38.750 – 00:05:40.510 from your relationship, you shielding the relationship.
  163. 00:05:41.010 – 00:05:41.630 There we go.
  164. 00:05:41.810 – 00:05:42.930 Well, is that a go?
  165. 00:05:43.730 – 00:05:44.950 He gets it.
  166. 00:05:44.950 – 00:05:45.510 He gets it.
  167. 00:05:45.570 – 00:05:47.130 You know, he already had it in the mind.
  168. 00:05:47.230 – 00:05:48.430 Come on, that's why we can't see.
  169. 00:05:49.170 – 00:05:51.950 But I mean, as far as public and private,
  170. 00:05:52.110 – 00:05:54.410 I mean, me personally, I'm a private person.
  171. 00:05:56.350 – 00:06:00.530 So, as much as private as possible,
  172. 00:06:00.690 – 00:06:03.330 but I do feel,
  173. 00:06:04.210 – 00:06:07.350 like you said, a snippet, a slither or something,
  174. 00:06:08.050 – 00:06:10.010 you know, even relationship status,
  175. 00:06:10.010 – 00:06:13.150 if y'all at that point and had them talks,
  176. 00:06:13.570 – 00:06:15.230 you know, every relationship deserves that.
  177. 00:06:15.370 – 00:06:16.410 Yeah, for sure.
  178. 00:06:17.770 – 00:06:19.670 And then whatever, you know,
  179. 00:06:19.710 – 00:06:21.910 y'all both feel comfortable with, you know?
  180. 00:06:22.050 – 00:06:23.970 Maybe one does, one doesn't,
  181. 00:06:24.010 – 00:06:26.990 will come with a happy medium, happy balance.
  182. 00:06:27.650 – 00:06:29.010 You know, that's just my thoughts on it.
  183. 00:06:29.550 – 00:06:30.670 I feel like you make it public,
  184. 00:06:31.550 – 00:06:32.970 then once you lay everybody in a relationship,
  185. 00:06:33.030 – 00:06:34.450 you gotta know what it's over with, too.
  186. 00:06:34.790 – 00:06:35.370 Like, it's just y'all.
  187. 00:06:35.930 – 00:06:36.670 That's true.
  188. 00:06:37.110 – 00:06:38.350 If you're not around now, then it ain't fair.
  189. 00:06:38.490 – 00:06:39.410 Now they invested now.
  190. 00:06:39.410 – 00:06:43.430 Yeah, well, I don't think they could've cut it off at though,
  191. 00:06:43.530 – 00:06:43.990 you know what I'm saying?
  192. 00:06:44.350 – 00:06:45.630 But the more it's that no, no,
  193. 00:06:45.730 – 00:06:47.170 just like y'all, y'all know,
  194. 00:06:47.350 – 00:06:49.410 y'all probably be the first to know.
  195. 00:06:50.190 – 00:06:55.130 And, you know, I don't think I'll not together no more.
  196. 00:06:55.390 – 00:06:57.390 Oh, so, so, no, then it's not,
  197. 00:06:57.610 – 00:06:58.890 other people's jobs to say,
  198. 00:06:58.950 – 00:07:00.210 oh, they're not together anymore.
  199. 00:07:00.290 – 00:07:03.870 So, it's just like, if you know, you know, you know?
  200. 00:07:04.070 – 00:07:05.450 Yeah, yeah, I'm just gonna assume
  201. 00:07:05.450 – 00:07:06.970 if you would say a one-day relationship,
  202. 00:07:07.170 – 00:07:08.630 but then it starts to change,
  203. 00:07:09.110 – 00:07:10.390 people let you know.
  204. 00:07:10.770 – 00:07:12.390 Yes, Facebook definitely let you know.
  205. 00:07:12.570 – 00:07:14.710 Here's the crazy part.
  206. 00:07:14.770 – 00:07:17.730 So, I got all of these birthday comments
  207. 00:07:17.730 – 00:07:18.770 and Facebook, right?
  208. 00:07:19.110 – 00:07:21.910 And, you know, I don't know what made me narrow in
  209. 00:07:21.910 – 00:07:23.670 on this certain person.
  210. 00:07:23.770 – 00:07:27.950 I won't say who, but we know, we know who it is.
  211. 00:07:28.390 – 00:07:34.090 And they basically called me out of all,
  212. 00:07:34.370 – 00:07:36.550 oh, you're single, didn't know that.
  213. 00:07:36.550 – 00:07:40.410 And I'm like, when did I ever give all that I'm single?
  214. 00:07:41.330 – 00:07:45.170 So, I guess they read way more into my post
  215. 00:07:45.170 – 00:07:46.110 than they should have.
  216. 00:07:46.170 – 00:07:47.130 I was like, oh, bet.
  217. 00:07:47.250 – 00:07:48.690 And I went to my relationship desk
  218. 00:07:48.690 – 00:07:49.530 and I just put in a relationship.
  219. 00:07:49.550 – 00:07:53.050 I never said who, he will still remain nameless,
  220. 00:07:53.050 – 00:07:56.530 even though he does not mind being out there.
  221. 00:07:56.530 – 00:07:58.370 Cause we did a vlog to get, well, I did,
  222. 00:07:58.610 – 00:07:59.730 I'm trying to get a vlog together
  223. 00:07:59.730 – 00:08:00.610 when we went to New Orleans.
  224. 00:08:00.650 – 00:08:02.230 And he was like, I don't care if you show me.
  225. 00:08:02.390 – 00:08:04.130 And I'm like, for real, if I don't care.
  226. 00:08:04.710 – 00:08:08.290 I'm like, okay, this is gonna be it if I do that.
  227. 00:08:08.310 – 00:08:09.650 Cause, you know, I can only capture
  228. 00:08:09.650 – 00:08:11.410 but so much of the trip without capturing him.
  229. 00:08:11.770 – 00:08:13.850 So, I've still been too retarded
  230. 00:08:13.850 – 00:08:15.490 if I wanna release a vlog or whatever.
  231. 00:08:16.510 – 00:08:18.530 But that person called me out and I was like, okay.
  232. 00:08:18.670 – 00:08:19.550 Well, I changed the status,
  233. 00:08:19.590 – 00:08:22.030 but you ain't gonna know who until I get that ring.
  234. 00:08:22.030 – 00:08:22.490 Just saying.
  235. 00:08:22.670 – 00:08:24.190 Yeah, that's the thing too.
  236. 00:08:25.070 – 00:08:28.210 Like, I think that sometimes is enough, you know?
  237. 00:08:28.790 – 00:08:30.330 Everybody doesn't have to know everything
  238. 00:08:30.330 – 00:08:32.570 or every detail or this and this and that.
  239. 00:08:34.289 – 00:08:36.330 And the relationship, I'm cool, I'm happy.
  240. 00:08:36.450 – 00:08:39.650 The mystery makes people want to know more, so they'll,
  241. 00:08:39.650 – 00:08:40.830 they'll be drawn to you more.
  242. 00:08:40.850 – 00:08:41.770 I'm on the side of that too.
  243. 00:08:42.150 – 00:08:44.090 Hey, okay, Steve, I like the wingsaws
  244. 00:08:44.090 – 00:08:45.970 and this side's the mystery.
  245. 00:08:46.150 – 00:08:47.170 Hey, that could be the title.
  246. 00:08:47.790 – 00:08:50.250 Well, I mean, you know, as we're creating content,
  247. 00:08:50.350 – 00:08:52.930 we actually post it on social media every day.
  248. 00:08:53.630 – 00:08:55.410 So, that's our little challenge.
  249. 00:08:56.510 – 00:08:58.310 Lorenz take all of our apps,
  250. 00:08:58.770 – 00:08:59.610 more sheds than that.
  251. 00:09:00.130 – 00:09:01.690 Three people who have been in relationships
  252. 00:09:01.690 – 00:09:02.830 more than 20 plus years
  253. 00:09:02.830 – 00:09:04.450 and you don't know where their spots are.
  254. 00:09:05.070 – 00:09:07.190 And it all said, they keep the rest of it private
  255. 00:09:07.190 – 00:09:08.190 for that very reason.
  256. 00:09:09.250 – 00:09:10.510 If you can't interrupt something that they don't know,
  257. 00:09:10.510 – 00:09:11.290 you don't know anything about it.
  258. 00:09:11.290 – 00:09:12.190 That's a good point.
  259. 00:09:12.510 – 00:09:14.170 But they still don't mind.
  260. 00:09:14.190 – 00:09:15.510 No, no, they don't mind.
  261. 00:09:15.530 – 00:09:16.290 But you're right.
  262. 00:09:16.490 – 00:09:18.610 But you're not posting about that shit.
  263. 00:09:19.730 – 00:09:22.230 They're not hiding their wives in caves
  264. 00:09:22.230 – 00:09:23.490 or, you know what I'm saying, out late,
  265. 00:09:23.490 – 00:09:23.990 but they're not.
  266. 00:09:23.990 – 00:09:24.790 That's a good point.
  267. 00:09:24.890 – 00:09:26.910 They're not kind of getting in kid Kardashian.
  268. 00:09:27.290 – 00:09:27.690 Yeah.
  269. 00:09:28.310 – 00:09:29.890 But you know what, and that's a good point
  270. 00:09:29.890 – 00:09:31.370 because those are great couples that,
  271. 00:09:31.370 – 00:09:32.850 like you said, are really doing it
  272. 00:09:32.850 – 00:09:35.450 and you don't hear no negative dirt
  273. 00:09:35.450 – 00:09:37.810 or anything going on behind the scenes.
  274. 00:09:38.770 – 00:09:40.690 And Boris Kojo and Nicole,
  275. 00:09:40.690 – 00:09:43.310 they also been 20 something years.
  276. 00:09:44.150 – 00:09:47.990 And you can just tell the authentic happy couples
  277. 00:09:49.070 – 00:09:50.830 because they're living life to the fullest.
  278. 00:09:50.890 – 00:09:51.550 And like you said,
  279. 00:09:51.550 – 00:09:53.530 it don't have to be for show all the time.
  280. 00:09:53.670 – 00:09:55.090 Now, will you get little glimpses
  281. 00:09:55.090 – 00:09:57.650 and little snippets of their happy life
  282. 00:09:57.650 – 00:09:58.690 every once in a while?
  283. 00:09:59.050 – 00:09:59.490 Absolutely.
  284. 00:09:59.490 – 00:10:03.710 And it helps to make you want to have that for yourself.
  285. 00:10:03.930 – 00:10:04.630 You know what I mean?
  286. 00:10:04.990 – 00:10:05.350 But you're right.
  287. 00:10:05.430 – 00:10:06.370 It's not all up in your face.
  288. 00:10:06.610 – 00:10:09.050 Like, unfortunately, bless yous.
  289. 00:10:10.130 – 00:10:11.450 Like cashed out on her, dude.
  290. 00:10:11.730 – 00:10:13.090 You know, every time we turned around,
  291. 00:10:13.150 – 00:10:14.370 they was there and-
  292. 00:10:14.370 – 00:10:15.210 But you know what?
  293. 00:10:16.650 – 00:10:17.830 They don't want some double marriage.
  294. 00:10:18.210 – 00:10:21.570 The relationships are fabricated by the-
  295. 00:10:21.570 – 00:10:22.990 All by the industry?
  296. 00:10:23.270 – 00:10:23.630 Yeah.
  297. 00:10:23.950 – 00:10:24.690 These are relationships.
  298. 00:10:24.790 – 00:10:26.950 These are literally relationships where they pay
  299. 00:10:26.950 – 00:10:28.750 one side of the table to say,
  300. 00:10:28.750 – 00:10:31.890 hey, I mean, we need to get some promotion for this album
  301. 00:10:32.370 – 00:10:33.930 or publicity for this movie.
  302. 00:10:34.130 – 00:10:36.210 Let's present a relationship to help promote it.
  303. 00:10:36.210 – 00:10:36.830 Oh, wow.
  304. 00:10:37.550 – 00:10:39.010 So I don't even translate into that part.
  305. 00:10:39.010 – 00:10:43.190 You mean the party with Stefan was on?
  306. 00:10:43.330 – 00:10:44.330 I don't know.
  307. 00:10:45.290 – 00:10:46.350 We'll find out later on.
  308. 00:10:46.370 – 00:10:48.050 I committed it 20 years from now or not.
  309. 00:10:48.230 – 00:10:50.130 But I'm pretty sure he was having fun.
  310. 00:10:52.250 – 00:10:52.770 Of course.
  311. 00:10:53.230 – 00:10:53.990 That's what I'm saying, though.
  312. 00:10:54.110 – 00:10:56.050 But like, so I feel like what you're doing
  313. 00:10:56.770 – 00:10:58.290 for the grandma, for social media,
  314. 00:10:58.410 – 00:10:59.290 I feel like it's not a thing.
  315. 00:11:00.310 – 00:11:01.510 I'm like, and then-
  316. 00:11:01.510 – 00:11:02.010 That's true.
  317. 00:11:02.990 – 00:11:05.470 What's the one guy who was our relationship coach
  318. 00:11:05.470 – 00:11:06.590 and he was our chairman's wife?
  319. 00:11:07.050 – 00:11:07.750 Oh, Derrick Jackson.
  320. 00:11:08.090 – 00:11:09.550 Yeah, her big example.
  321. 00:11:10.230 – 00:11:10.810 Her big example.
  322. 00:11:10.930 – 00:11:11.690 Public is hell.
  323. 00:11:12.270 – 00:11:14.290 Yeah, that was-
  324. 00:11:14.290 – 00:11:15.070 In doing the most.
  325. 00:11:15.130 – 00:11:16.050 That was bad.
  326. 00:11:16.890 – 00:11:18.790 So that's what I'm saying, the more public it to me,
  327. 00:11:19.710 – 00:11:22.330 the more I feel like-
  328. 00:11:22.330 – 00:11:23.930 Yeah, yeah.
  329. 00:11:24.270 – 00:11:25.310 Or the more it's like this.
  330. 00:11:25.830 – 00:11:26.390 Right, right, right.
  331. 00:11:26.450 – 00:11:27.210 Are y'all really happy?
  332. 00:11:27.370 – 00:11:28.490 Do we trust this tease?
  333. 00:11:28.490 – 00:11:29.890 Are y'all really happy?
  334. 00:11:30.170 – 00:11:30.430 You know what I'm saying?
  335. 00:11:30.630 – 00:11:31.070 Because if you were happy,
  336. 00:11:31.150 – 00:11:32.330 why do you have to prove that he was yours?
  337. 00:11:32.330 – 00:11:35.390 Yeah, there's almost like a reality show almost
  338. 00:11:35.390 – 00:11:37.210 every day or every post, you know?
  339. 00:11:37.410 – 00:11:38.130 Day after the day.
  340. 00:11:39.330 – 00:11:41.630 People knowing you every move and stuff like that.
  341. 00:11:42.330 – 00:11:43.090 At the end of the day,
  342. 00:11:43.590 – 00:11:45.870 we're public figures of celebrities, you know?
  343. 00:11:46.850 – 00:11:48.770 So it's like, just think about that, right?
  344. 00:11:48.770 – 00:11:49.890 We step outside.
  345. 00:11:50.230 – 00:11:51.250 Oh, copper russies in our face.
  346. 00:11:51.750 – 00:11:53.030 Oh, I heard y'all was in an argument.
  347. 00:11:53.290 – 00:11:54.150 Da-da-da-da-da-da.
  348. 00:11:54.730 – 00:11:55.390 Like, is there-
  349. 00:11:55.390 – 00:11:55.790 Right.
  350. 00:11:56.070 – 00:11:57.930 Everybody wants to deal with that also, so.
  351. 00:11:58.290 – 00:11:59.650 Nobody talking about it with my kids.
  352. 00:11:59.730 – 00:12:01.090 They're like, I know you have kids.
  353. 00:12:01.250 – 00:12:01.930 You have my kids.
  354. 00:12:02.310 – 00:12:04.310 Wow, that's how private you are.
  355. 00:12:04.850 – 00:12:06.130 It's not for you to know.
  356. 00:12:06.510 – 00:12:06.530 Yeah.
  357. 00:12:06.610 – 00:12:08.510 You see your social media is what I want you to see.
  358. 00:12:08.970 – 00:12:09.370 Absolutely.
  359. 00:12:09.730 – 00:12:10.910 Nothing more, nothing less.
  360. 00:12:11.090 – 00:12:12.350 Nothing more, nothing less.
  361. 00:12:12.990 – 00:12:14.030 It's about business.
  362. 00:12:15.090 – 00:12:15.310 Yes.
  363. 00:12:15.810 – 00:12:17.030 Yes, because we are professional.
  364. 00:12:17.130 – 00:12:17.950 We're professional.
  365. 00:12:19.270 – 00:12:20.150 Yeah, professional.
  366. 00:12:20.530 – 00:12:21.230 Pac-ass.
  367. 00:12:21.550 – 00:12:22.570 Don't do it.
  368. 00:12:24.110 – 00:12:24.710 So yeah.
  369. 00:12:24.930 – 00:12:26.670 Hey, hey, they pressure you to do it
  370. 00:12:26.670 – 00:12:28.490 as a super bread platinum guy.
  371. 00:12:28.930 – 00:12:31.210 And then, you're like, you know what?
  372. 00:12:31.990 – 00:12:33.270 I don't need to tell you about my relationship status
  373. 00:12:33.270 – 00:12:34.090 because we're no longer together.
  374. 00:12:35.870 – 00:12:37.250 I could say, learn from me.
  375. 00:12:37.370 – 00:12:37.950 Don't do it.
  376. 00:12:39.270 – 00:12:41.690 I mean, but that's cool with all the extra bells
  377. 00:12:41.690 – 00:12:43.390 and whistles, I don't-
  378. 00:12:43.390 – 00:12:45.130 Well, wait, when would you feel
  379. 00:12:45.130 – 00:12:50.250 that you would share a snippet of your significant other?
  380. 00:12:51.550 – 00:12:52.970 Well, I feel like, I don't know.
  381. 00:12:53.370 – 00:12:54.790 That'd be, I mean, it's not like-
  382. 00:12:54.790 – 00:12:55.790 Do you feel like it would be-
  383. 00:12:55.790 – 00:12:56.810 It's not a mad day moment.
  384. 00:12:56.950 – 00:12:57.930 It's like, hey, by the way,
  385. 00:12:58.190 – 00:12:59.230 we celebrate Christmas this year
  386. 00:12:59.230 – 00:13:01.510 and just pop up with a photo.
  387. 00:13:02.430 – 00:13:05.770 When I'm sippin' on to you, I spill it fine.
  388. 00:13:06.190 – 00:13:08.430 This episode is about to be by to you.
  389. 00:13:08.710 – 00:13:12.010 Get you lit every time.
  390. 00:13:12.190 – 00:13:14.470 Oh, but you said something raining or something.
  391. 00:13:14.610 – 00:13:19.030 Something raining, you will get to know who he is.
  392. 00:13:19.550 – 00:13:21.250 It's not gonna be all up in your face either.
  393. 00:13:21.290 – 00:13:22.890 It's not gonna be thrown out to you.
  394. 00:13:22.890 – 00:13:24.390 Oh, I said, we're all gonna be like you.
  395. 00:13:24.910 – 00:13:25.610 Throw it all.
  396. 00:13:25.690 – 00:13:27.430 It's gonna be a pat of the comfy ceiling.
  397. 00:13:29.470 – 00:13:30.190 And that's it.
  398. 00:13:32.370 – 00:13:34.690 I'd probably make that a podcast episode.
  399. 00:13:35.510 – 00:13:36.430 Run it back.
  400. 00:13:36.430 – 00:13:37.210 I heard that.
  401. 00:13:37.350 – 00:13:37.710 I won.
  402. 00:13:39.570 – 00:13:40.150 I did.
  403. 00:13:42.310 – 00:13:44.470 That actually gives me a good podcast episode.
  404. 00:13:44.770 – 00:13:45.010 I would.
  405. 00:13:45.210 – 00:13:48.210 Who is my fiance?
  406. 00:13:48.390 – 00:13:50.390 When that time comes, speaking into existence.
  407. 00:13:50.470 – 00:13:51.610 Y'all gotta speak it into existence.
  408. 00:13:52.070 – 00:13:53.250 Manifest, manifest what you want.
  409. 00:13:53.690 – 00:13:54.310 That was good.
  410. 00:13:54.850 – 00:13:56.510 That's gonna break the internet.
  411. 00:13:56.550 – 00:13:57.630 It won't break the internet for real.
  412. 00:13:57.990 – 00:14:00.270 You know, it's gonna be a river of tears.
  413. 00:14:01.630 – 00:14:02.790 What she done is a process.
  414. 00:14:03.410 – 00:14:04.910 Sister Pallis, I'm this.
  415. 00:14:05.430 – 00:14:06.290 Zephyr's have a sniper.
  416. 00:14:08.850 – 00:14:11.170 I'll go shoot my sardines, you know?
  417. 00:14:12.890 – 00:14:13.970 You know what, I'm not following her.
  418. 00:14:15.270 – 00:14:17.830 You know, they'll be crying in the streets, man.
  419. 00:14:17.990 – 00:14:19.010 They gonna cry in the car.
  420. 00:14:19.230 – 00:14:20.690 They'll be crying, bruh,
  421. 00:14:20.690 – 00:14:22.170 because they, oh my God,
  422. 00:14:22.230 – 00:14:23.250 they're gonna shoot me in the shot, bruh.
  423. 00:14:24.590 – 00:14:25.390 So crazy.
  424. 00:14:25.750 – 00:14:27.110 The way you do it, it's gonna be,
  425. 00:14:27.710 – 00:14:29.990 the streets gonna be, it's gonna be running with tears.
  426. 00:14:30.650 – 00:14:33.150 I see it almost every other episode.
  427. 00:14:33.430 – 00:14:37.430 I was like, today.
  428. 00:14:39.430 – 00:14:41.910 They're playing with the whole leg.
  429. 00:14:42.390 – 00:14:42.610 What's up, buddy?
  430. 00:14:44.870 – 00:14:45.390 It's gonna break the internet.
  431. 00:14:45.510 – 00:14:46.210 Man, it won't break the internet.
  432. 00:14:47.170 – 00:14:48.650 You're gonna break the internet, bruh.
  433. 00:14:49.490 – 00:14:51.570 They're gonna, they're gonna report your page.
  434. 00:14:51.830 – 00:14:52.830 Hey, this, hey.
  435. 00:14:53.470 – 00:14:54.370 This is, hey.
  436. 00:14:55.810 – 00:14:57.150 This is, this is, this is, this is,
  437. 00:14:57.150 – 00:14:58.230 this page is being forced.
  438. 00:14:58.490 – 00:14:58.890 Dang.
  439. 00:14:59.710 – 00:15:00.690 Trying to shut me ass.
  440. 00:15:00.910 – 00:15:02.350 Well, they ain't got multiple.
  441. 00:15:02.910 – 00:15:04.090 Yeah, they ain't, they,
  442. 00:15:04.130 – 00:15:05.970 the streets gonna, the streets gonna be crying that day.
  443. 00:15:06.130 – 00:15:07.350 Oh, you know.
  444. 00:15:07.550 – 00:15:08.950 They gonna be crying that day.
  445. 00:15:09.550 – 00:15:09.650 But-
  446. 00:15:09.650 – 00:15:11.510 There is a beauty for everybody out there.
  447. 00:15:11.550 – 00:15:12.850 You will find your queen.
  448. 00:15:14.930 – 00:15:15.850 You see told.
  449. 00:15:15.990 – 00:15:17.170 You see told.
  450. 00:15:17.390 – 00:15:20.730 Not beauty be told, like some people just saying.
  451. 00:15:22.030 – 00:15:22.750 Not that.
  452. 00:15:22.990 – 00:15:23.670 They're the operant.
  453. 00:15:24.250 – 00:15:24.850 The operant.
  454. 00:15:25.270 – 00:15:25.530 Oh yeah.
  455. 00:15:25.590 – 00:15:27.670 And I wasn't looking for long time.
  456. 00:15:27.670 – 00:15:29.030 So that's how we do it.
  457. 00:15:31.070 – 00:15:33.070 They looked it up on the business search
  458. 00:15:33.070 – 00:15:34.530 and hope it don't exist again.
  459. 00:15:34.730 – 00:15:35.490 Oh, man.
  460. 00:15:36.350 – 00:15:36.970 Wait, what the hell?
  461. 00:15:37.330 – 00:15:38.770 Like, oh no.
  462. 00:15:39.490 – 00:15:40.430 They don't give all around,
  463. 00:15:40.650 – 00:15:42.370 they give all around less of the vice.
  464. 00:15:42.830 – 00:15:43.330 He do his job.
  465. 00:15:43.490 – 00:15:44.330 Oh man.
  466. 00:15:44.450 – 00:15:45.790 She the Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
  467. 00:15:45.810 – 00:15:46.950 Her name's the third.
  468. 00:15:48.050 – 00:15:49.870 So not all Sunday, you rest.
  469. 00:15:50.650 – 00:15:51.870 Sunday, you rest.
  470. 00:15:51.870 – 00:15:52.910 Oh, goodness.
  471. 00:15:53.750 – 00:15:54.570 That's how you do it.
  472. 00:15:54.830 – 00:15:56.330 That's tribe and traffic though.
  473. 00:15:56.350 – 00:15:57.330 I don't know what that mean.
  474. 00:15:57.510 – 00:15:58.030 That's cynical.
  475. 00:15:58.970 – 00:15:59.410 Cynical.
  476. 00:15:59.850 – 00:16:00.290 That it.
  477. 00:16:00.850 – 00:16:02.550 That was your beauty be told.
  478. 00:16:03.730 – 00:16:05.010 And since he is liquor,
  479. 00:16:05.230 – 00:16:06.710 it's Hennessy that drink out the tea.
  480. 00:16:07.690 – 00:16:08.570 Oh man.
  481. 00:16:09.330 – 00:16:10.810 Got some drink we could.
  482. 00:16:11.910 – 00:16:12.530 That was still hot.
  483. 00:16:12.810 – 00:16:13.090 Maybe had-
  484. 00:16:13.090 – 00:16:13.870 Speaking of which,
  485. 00:16:14.350 – 00:16:15.750 you see told will be coming out with a nudge.
  486. 00:16:17.150 – 00:16:18.290 I would say.
  487. 00:16:19.950 – 00:16:22.290 That will be a great master by the way.
  488. 00:16:22.410 – 00:16:23.750 Old wine and once.
  489. 00:16:25.450 – 00:16:29.310 Oh, that went to the fruit and they all pink.
  490. 00:16:30.790 – 00:16:32.530 Still of the worm.
  491. 00:16:32.790 – 00:16:33.770 But what she already,
  492. 00:16:33.890 – 00:16:34.870 yeah, she already got a pink one,
  493. 00:16:34.890 – 00:16:37.030 but maybe we can do a one with different flavor
  494. 00:16:37.030 – 00:16:37.710 if it was good.
  495. 00:16:37.790 – 00:16:38.510 The design.
  496. 00:16:39.510 – 00:16:39.650 Yeah.
  497. 00:16:40.070 – 00:16:40.510 Lemonade.
  498. 00:16:41.310 – 00:16:42.390 That is what it is.
  499. 00:16:42.670 – 00:16:42.770 Yeah.
  500. 00:16:42.910 – 00:16:43.570 Two of them.
  501. 00:16:43.750 – 00:16:44.290 Pink moscato on it.
  502. 00:16:44.290 – 00:16:45.910 Well, no, she got a lemon drive.
  503. 00:16:46.070 – 00:16:47.370 Lemon drive, lemonade.
  504. 00:16:48.010 – 00:16:50.550 And then it's got a hollow out for it.
  505. 00:16:50.670 – 00:16:51.650 So you wines y'all.
  506. 00:16:51.890 – 00:16:54.010 So you wines and beauty tell me we collaborating.
  507. 00:16:54.770 – 00:16:56.490 Talk to the queen about it.
  508. 00:16:56.790 – 00:16:57.950 That's the difference of experience.
  509. 00:16:58.070 – 00:16:59.030 Dude, we collaborate.
  510. 00:17:00.550 – 00:17:01.570 Don't miss you.
  511. 00:17:03.110 – 00:17:03.830 How y'all feeling?
  512. 00:17:04.650 – 00:17:05.530 Pretty tired.
  513. 00:17:07.069 – 00:17:08.109 Had a long day.
  514. 00:17:08.450 – 00:17:08.930 Close it out.
  515. 00:17:09.210 – 00:17:09.910 Close it out.
  516. 00:17:10.290 – 00:17:10.970 Listen, listen y'all.
  517. 00:17:10.990 – 00:17:12.010 Don't do it.
  518. 00:17:12.190 – 00:17:13.150 Don't do it.
  519. 00:17:13.150 – 00:17:13.910 What's my advice?
  520. 00:17:14.530 – 00:17:15.930 That's all of our advice.
  521. 00:17:16.750 – 00:17:18.690 Well, this has been.
  522. 00:17:19.210 – 00:17:19.890 Well, I don't know.
  523. 00:17:20.050 – 00:17:21.369 This full thing is gonna be a group.
  524. 00:17:21.410 – 00:17:22.869 We gonna up that all three, five bars.
  525. 00:17:23.210 – 00:17:24.010 Yeah, my girl.
  526. 00:17:24.270 – 00:17:25.310 All of y'all there.
  527. 00:17:26.310 – 00:17:26.770 All right.
  528. 00:17:27.069 – 00:17:28.470 Now, would you collaborate?
  529. 00:17:28.569 – 00:17:30.470 Like how you do with Instagram and YouTube?
  530. 00:17:30.790 – 00:17:32.330 Oh, yeah, they would.
  531. 00:17:32.590 – 00:17:33.710 He build YouTube though.
  532. 00:17:34.470 – 00:17:36.430 You will have to drive because YouTube are like me.
  533. 00:17:36.530 – 00:17:38.210 Every time I post, they be like failed.
  534. 00:17:39.070 – 00:17:40.150 So you gonna have to post it.
  535. 00:17:41.930 – 00:17:42.130 Yeah.
  536. 00:17:44.150 – 00:17:44.510 Me.
  537. 00:17:45.250 – 00:17:47.370 I could do it to my, the audio platform.
  538. 00:17:48.550 – 00:17:49.370 You gonna tell me this or no?
  539. 00:17:52.610 – 00:17:53.250 How many minutes is it?
  540. 00:17:54.310 – 00:17:54.690 You're right.
  541. 00:17:54.810 – 00:17:55.470 It's a short one.
  542. 00:17:55.650 – 00:17:56.390 We're just gonna edit.
  543. 00:17:56.470 – 00:17:57.510 Five minutes, all right?
  544. 00:17:57.890 – 00:17:58.610 We're gonna edit.
  545. 00:17:58.790 – 00:17:59.470 Oh, here we go.
  546. 00:17:59.610 – 00:18:00.470 We gotta put this in.
  547. 00:18:00.690 – 00:18:02.050 Put this in again.
  548. 00:18:02.450 – 00:18:03.290 I know what they say.
  549. 00:18:04.110 – 00:18:05.050 Yeah, okay, we'll get it.
  550. 00:18:05.050 – 00:18:05.910 Okay, well don't do it.
  551. 00:18:05.930 – 00:18:06.970 I'll say we live though.
  552. 00:18:07.410 – 00:18:08.470 We live now.
  553. 00:18:08.750 – 00:18:09.550 I know now.
  554. 00:18:10.390 – 00:18:10.750 We got it.
  555. 00:18:10.830 – 00:18:11.310 I'll do it.
  556. 00:18:11.710 – 00:18:12.590 Why y'all drew that?
  557. 00:18:12.750 – 00:18:14.210 So I can just need the rest.
  558. 00:18:14.210 – 00:18:18.150 This has been a great after night edition ever.
  559. 00:18:18.150 – 00:18:19.150 This is the experience.
  560. 00:18:19.450 – 00:18:20.710 And you know why we did this y'all?
  561. 00:18:20.810 – 00:18:22.970 For some reason we be sitting around, just sitting around
  562. 00:18:22.970 – 00:18:24.450 and we like, we need to record this.
  563. 00:18:24.610 – 00:18:25.090 We get it.
  564. 00:18:25.470 – 00:18:26.190 We did it.
  565. 00:18:26.270 – 00:18:26.530 We did it.
  566. 00:18:26.610 – 00:18:27.510 Y'all should be proud of us.
  567. 00:18:27.750 – 00:18:30.290 Trying out the computer mics, you know.
  568. 00:18:31.110 – 00:18:32.590 Yeah, these nice too.
  569. 00:18:33.130 – 00:18:34.210 I feel all fancy.
  570. 00:18:34.570 – 00:18:37.970 You know, so I got the box to go put on the mic.
  571. 00:18:38.070 – 00:18:39.150 I said, I'll put it on there.
  572. 00:18:39.370 – 00:18:41.150 And that's what I was saying.
  573. 00:18:41.330 – 00:18:42.070 We're the coders.
  574. 00:18:42.190 – 00:18:43.490 Yeah, literally the video marriage.
  575. 00:18:44.030 – 00:18:45.730 We gonna do it right now.
  576. 00:18:47.410 – 00:18:49.350 And there we go.
  577. 00:18:49.610 – 00:18:53.390 I forgot besides, okay, I said the name, then what?
  578. 00:18:56.250 – 00:18:57.430 Hold on, close this up.
  579. 00:18:57.430 – 00:18:58.310 Oh, don't say it no more.
  580. 00:18:58.530 – 00:18:58.990 I know that.
  581. 00:18:59.050 – 00:18:59.730 I got that word.
  582. 00:19:00.030 – 00:19:00.410 Hey though.
  583. 00:19:00.850 – 00:19:01.790 Hey y'all, we live.
  584. 00:19:03.050 – 00:19:04.850 Okay, I just need the number.
  585. 00:19:05.170 – 00:19:06.190 When are like 13 or something?
  586. 00:19:06.510 – 00:19:06.870 24.
  587. 00:19:07.390 – 00:19:07.890 Oh, okay.
  588. 00:19:07.930 – 00:19:09.550 And then I already got the, I got the symbol.
  589. 00:19:09.730 – 00:19:10.430 I got the symbol.
  590. 00:19:10.430 – 00:19:11.510 Oh, okay.
  591. 00:19:13.650 – 00:19:14.590 19 minutes.
  592. 00:19:15.570 – 00:19:17.610 This is Steve, photographer Jackson
  593. 00:19:17.610 – 00:19:19.970 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  594. 00:19:20.310 – 00:19:22.890 All right, and it should go Brittany Knight
  595. 00:19:22.890 – 00:19:27.030 again, Coach Britts with Beauty Toll Podcast.
  596. 00:19:27.230 – 00:19:29.370 Coming at you guys with pull-up after dark.
  597. 00:19:30.010 – 00:19:30.890 This be nasty.
  598. 00:19:33.230 – 00:19:36.130 You and you all the wrong advice you don't need
  599. 00:19:36.130 – 00:19:37.470 for the pull-up spirits.
  600. 00:19:38.990 – 00:19:39.990 And we happy.
  601. 00:19:40.570 – 00:19:42.210 All right, we are out y'all.
  602. 00:19:42.210 – 00:19:44.690 Go ahead and subscribe, like, share,
  603. 00:19:44.990 – 00:19:45.750 do all that good stuff.
  604. 00:19:45.990 – 00:19:48.750 Buy our merch, our courses, all that good stuff.
  605. 00:19:48.910 – 00:19:52.690 If you wanna book us, what's the best method?
  606. 00:19:53.170 – 00:19:55.510 Oh, I got my website too y'all.
  607. 00:19:55.510 – 00:19:56.370 Oh yeah.
  608. 00:19:57.450 – 00:19:58.490 BeautyToll.com.
  609. 00:19:58.750 – 00:20:00.870 Look y'all session with me y'all.
  610. 00:20:01.630 – 00:20:03.170 Y'all heard of Beauty Toll
  611. 00:20:03.170 – 00:20:07.130 and you can find me at AlienEyesPhotos.com.
  612. 00:20:09.850 – 00:20:10.730 AlienEyesPhotos.com.
  613. 00:20:13.570 – 00:20:13.990 Yeah.
  614. 00:20:16.210 – 00:20:18.570 Check out the pull-up experience on all social media.
  615. 00:20:18.890 – 00:20:19.130 Yes.
  616. 00:20:19.430 – 00:20:20.590 Yeah, you can find the whole.
  617. 00:20:20.750 – 00:20:20.990 DM.
  618. 00:20:21.290 – 00:20:22.770 You are on the whole team on there.
  619. 00:20:22.850 – 00:20:23.410 That's right.
  620. 00:20:23.830 – 00:20:25.250 Yes, yes, all right y'all, we out.
  621. 00:20:26.150 – 00:20:26.810 See y'all.

Back to contents

78. Podcast Summit Recap - Day 2 - 2025

Season 1

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.140 – 00:00:04.560 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome,
  2. 00:00:04.560 – 00:00:09.040 back to Eleonide's Photos Industry Talk
  3. 00:00:09.920 – 00:00:14.120 with your host, photographer Jackson.
  4. 00:00:14.140 – 00:00:15.600 We're gonna run that right back.
  5. 00:00:19.100 – 00:00:23.040 All right, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome
  6. 00:00:23.040 – 00:00:26.280 to Eleonide's Photos Industry Talk.
  7. 00:00:27.000 – 00:00:28.580 And we're gonna jump right into it.
  8. 00:00:28.580 – 00:00:34.000 Just left podcast summit 2025 in Atlanta.
  9. 00:00:34.880 – 00:00:37.420 Day two is a wrap.
  10. 00:00:37.820 – 00:00:41.640 The summit is over, I got some gems for y'all.
  11. 00:00:42.140 – 00:00:48.520 First off, man, I started the day waking up at 4.50
  12. 00:00:49.200 – 00:00:53.920 to meet David Shantz and some other creators
  13. 00:00:53.920 – 00:01:00.660 and entrepreneurs bright before the sun came up at 5.40.
  14. 00:01:01.620 – 00:01:05.840 We started stretching about 5.50
  15. 00:01:06.840 – 00:01:10.560 and then started running about 6 a.m.
  16. 00:01:11.500 – 00:01:14.460 Did two miles to our destination,
  17. 00:01:14.540 – 00:01:16.960 then came back one and one,
  18. 00:01:17.160 – 00:01:19.920 as in one mile there, one mile back.
  19. 00:01:20.060 – 00:01:23.640 So a total of two miles, bright, early,
  20. 00:01:24.140 – 00:01:26.380 getting the day started right before the conference.
  21. 00:01:26.380 – 00:01:32.960 So I've been up for a little past 4 a.m.
  22. 00:01:34.740 – 00:01:37.920 And you know, last night, you know,
  23. 00:01:37.920 – 00:01:41.260 I did a blog, a blog style video
  24. 00:01:42.300 – 00:01:46.180 and also audio for the podcast as you're listening.
  25. 00:01:48.160 – 00:01:50.140 And I went to sleep late.
  26. 00:01:50.140 – 00:01:54.300 I went to sleep about 1.30, 2 a.m.
  27. 00:01:54.300 – 00:01:56.560 and got right back up two hours later.
  28. 00:01:57.160 – 00:02:01.460 And it's about almost nine here, sun is setting
  29. 00:02:01.460 – 00:02:04.380 as you can see behind me on the audio.
  30. 00:02:04.380 – 00:02:05.500 I know you won't be able to see,
  31. 00:02:05.720 – 00:02:09.320 but yeah, it's about nine here.
  32. 00:02:10.080 – 00:02:13.440 So yeah, I literally been up all day tired,
  33. 00:02:13.440 – 00:02:21.760 but I'ma spill some tea, I guess you can see.
  34. 00:02:22.840 – 00:02:26.920 But nah, some insights, let me see,
  35. 00:02:28.060 – 00:02:30.600 starting off, opening up, Willie Moore Jr.
  36. 00:02:31.880 – 00:02:35.100 You know, he spoke about the four M's,
  37. 00:02:35.240 – 00:02:41.960 which was money, mission, method, and millions.
  38. 00:02:42.440 – 00:02:45.300 Then he also talked about the magic and your motive.
  39. 00:02:46.240 – 00:02:48.160 And then, you know, yeah, what is your motives?
  40. 00:02:48.340 – 00:02:50.180 And be clear about your motive.
  41. 00:02:51.260 – 00:02:54.880 And another disclaimer, I am again outside,
  42. 00:02:55.300 – 00:02:57.400 outside here in downtown Atlanta.
  43. 00:02:58.220 – 00:03:00.820 So I recorded like this yesterday.
  44. 00:03:00.940 – 00:03:03.220 I'm like, let me just run it back, same style.
  45. 00:03:03.620 – 00:03:06.160 I have to, you know, I gave y'all some tips
  46. 00:03:06.160 – 00:03:08.480 and insights from day one.
  47. 00:03:08.560 – 00:03:10.280 Let me do day two the next day.
  48. 00:03:10.300 – 00:03:11.780 So this is the next day.
  49. 00:03:12.440 – 00:03:14.940 I'm outside, y'all might hear some music,
  50. 00:03:15.040 – 00:03:17.300 some loud talking, yelling in the background.
  51. 00:03:17.980 – 00:03:21.080 Hopefully y'all can hear my voice nice and clear.
  52. 00:03:21.680 – 00:03:25.140 And any song played in the background,
  53. 00:03:25.400 – 00:03:29.220 I do not have rights to this song, the music.
  54. 00:03:29.720 – 00:03:34.020 So yeah, I don't have rights, so blah, blah, blah.
  55. 00:03:35.800 – 00:03:38.460 Willie Moore Jr. also spoke about how his friend
  56. 00:03:38.460 – 00:03:42.180 got a 90 million Netflix deal.
  57. 00:03:43.800 – 00:03:47.360 A 90 million dollar Netflix deal.
  58. 00:03:48.320 – 00:03:50.280 And it's huge, and you know,
  59. 00:03:50.380 – 00:03:52.080 think it's possible for all of us.
  60. 00:03:53.780 – 00:03:56.200 And then David Shands came out,
  61. 00:03:57.400 – 00:04:01.660 and spoke about celebrating each other,
  62. 00:04:01.920 – 00:04:05.140 the small wins, just like we did during the run.
  63. 00:04:05.360 – 00:04:07.440 You know, some of us walked, some of us ran.
  64. 00:04:08.040 – 00:04:11.740 The ones that ran, we finished first.
  65. 00:04:11.740 – 00:04:15.680 So as the walkers was trickling in, we clapped them in,
  66. 00:04:15.760 – 00:04:19.279 you know, hyped them up, celebrated them,
  67. 00:04:19.360 – 00:04:21.740 gave them encouragement as they came in,
  68. 00:04:23.140 – 00:04:26.780 and he told us to continue to show up.
  69. 00:04:28.500 – 00:04:30.020 Continue to show up.
  70. 00:04:32.210 – 00:04:33.610 Yeah, the background getting noisy,
  71. 00:04:33.650 – 00:04:35.610 but I'm gonna still push through.
  72. 00:04:36.850 – 00:04:41.670 And Jeremy, who David Shands got to interview
  73. 00:04:41.670 – 00:04:46.310 from Red Circle, Jeremy, he spoke about
  74. 00:04:47.430 – 00:04:49.770 having that brand longevity
  75. 00:04:51.130 – 00:04:53.430 and partnerships and sponsorships.
  76. 00:04:53.950 – 00:04:55.510 And to have it at least for three months,
  77. 00:04:55.670 – 00:04:57.110 so aim for three months.
  78. 00:04:57.810 – 00:05:00.930 But a typical contract started at 30 days,
  79. 00:05:00.930 – 00:05:02.010 which is, you know, a month.
  80. 00:05:02.530 – 00:05:06.750 So definitely some negotiations if you're aligned,
  81. 00:05:06.950 – 00:05:10.090 and you know, that's like a trial, 30 days.
  82. 00:05:10.090 – 00:05:11.710 But you know, if it works out,
  83. 00:05:12.130 – 00:05:14.890 extend it to three months, six months,
  84. 00:05:14.950 – 00:05:17.490 maybe even a year, try it out, you know?
  85. 00:05:19.410 – 00:05:24.730 Per thousand downloads cost about 20 to $50,
  86. 00:05:24.970 – 00:05:26.890 especially starting off, you know.
  87. 00:05:27.370 – 00:05:30.210 I think 15 to 20 is a good spot,
  88. 00:05:30.650 – 00:05:32.070 and then increase from there,
  89. 00:05:32.890 – 00:05:34.850 especially as the more you show value
  90. 00:05:34.850 – 00:05:37.530 and you know, prove that your audience is there
  91. 00:05:37.530 – 00:05:39.850 for what you have to say and sell.
  92. 00:05:42.250 – 00:05:45.450 CPD, I learned that, is the cost per download.
  93. 00:05:46.250 – 00:05:49.290 So again, that cost per download starting off
  94. 00:05:49.290 – 00:05:53.690 is a good $15 to about $50.
  95. 00:05:55.050 – 00:05:58.150 So 20 to 40 is a good sweet spot,
  96. 00:05:58.690 – 00:06:02.670 but you know, 15 and 20 is good at starting out.
  97. 00:06:05.610 – 00:06:10.090 The podcast medium is one of the top markets
  98. 00:06:10.090 – 00:06:16.000 for sponsorships right now, say less.
  99. 00:06:17.180 – 00:06:22.360 And then Ms. Donnie Wiggins showed up and showed out.
  100. 00:06:25.560 – 00:06:28.980 Always get some good nuggets from her.
  101. 00:06:30.140 – 00:06:33.720 And basically she was saying,
  102. 00:06:34.920 – 00:06:39.280 lean into your transparency, hence her podcast,
  103. 00:06:40.000 – 00:06:43.860 full transparency and also on the Social Proof podcast,
  104. 00:06:44.560 – 00:06:48.780 which she was number 57, episode number 57
  105. 00:06:48.780 – 00:06:49.860 on the Social Proof.
  106. 00:06:50.340 – 00:06:53.780 And you know, David asked her to become a host,
  107. 00:06:54.360 – 00:06:57.140 you know, because she added that much value
  108. 00:06:57.140 – 00:06:58.540 and it was a good conversation.
  109. 00:06:59.040 – 00:07:00.860 So you never know when your partners,
  110. 00:07:01.140 – 00:07:02.980 where your partners is gonna come from,
  111. 00:07:03.640 – 00:07:05.180 the relationships you build,
  112. 00:07:05.360 – 00:07:07.100 you never know where it may lead you.
  113. 00:07:08.280 – 00:07:15.480 So definitely nourish and build those relationships
  114. 00:07:15.480 – 00:07:18.880 and maintain and retain those relationships.
  115. 00:07:20.960 – 00:07:25.120 She also said, use your podcast as a lead magnet
  116. 00:07:25.120 – 00:07:29.700 versus a product and be part of a larger ecosystem.
  117. 00:07:29.700 – 00:07:33.660 You know, monetize your back end
  118. 00:07:33.660 – 00:07:38.660 and as she is a business development strategist,
  119. 00:07:41.060 – 00:07:42.720 you just gotta soak in everything
  120. 00:07:42.720 – 00:07:46.420 because strategy is key, the planning is key.
  121. 00:07:47.120 – 00:07:50.000 I know she definitely helped David in the long run
  122. 00:07:50.000 – 00:07:54.240 and they working together is just like a powerhouse
  123. 00:07:54.240 – 00:07:56.460 on top of a powerhouse, you know?
  124. 00:07:57.000 – 00:07:58.960 And I love them, enjoy them both
  125. 00:07:58.960 – 00:08:01.180 and the Pull Up Experience,
  126. 00:08:02.160 – 00:08:05.700 we definitely model our frameworks
  127. 00:08:05.700 – 00:08:08.600 and you know, a lot that they do.
  128. 00:08:10.340 – 00:08:12.540 As far as like the interview style
  129. 00:08:12.540 – 00:08:15.540 and you know, how we conduct, you know,
  130. 00:08:15.700 – 00:08:19.080 business around the podcast and we're getting better.
  131. 00:08:19.220 – 00:08:21.880 Like I said, previously yesterday, you know,
  132. 00:08:21.880 – 00:08:23.220 we have a lot on our plate.
  133. 00:08:24.020 – 00:08:26.320 You know, the Pull Up Experience from Cleveland, Ohio,
  134. 00:08:26.320 – 00:08:30.240 we are global, we're national,
  135. 00:08:30.340 – 00:08:31.960 but we're soon to be global
  136. 00:08:31.960 – 00:08:34.720 and also Alienize Photos industry talk
  137. 00:08:34.720 – 00:08:38.539 who I am the host of as my personal podcast,
  138. 00:08:39.039 – 00:08:41.580 preaching about my entrepreneur journey
  139. 00:08:41.580 – 00:08:44.920 as I talk about business and give key insights
  140. 00:08:44.920 – 00:08:46.120 as I'm doing now,
  141. 00:08:46.160 – 00:08:48.880 as I go to different conferences and summits,
  142. 00:08:49.100 – 00:08:52.220 workshops, you know, courses, eBooks
  143. 00:08:52.220 – 00:08:54.880 and then everything I learned in between
  144. 00:08:55.620 – 00:08:57.560 and then also when I interview,
  145. 00:08:58.120 – 00:09:01.200 we still talk business and then I also ask
  146. 00:09:01.200 – 00:09:08.800 how media, like photography, videography, newspaper
  147. 00:09:08.800 – 00:09:10.640 because that's what I do.
  148. 00:09:10.640 – 00:09:13.520 I create media and marketing.
  149. 00:09:14.360 – 00:09:16.380 How does that affect your industry?
  150. 00:09:17.200 – 00:09:21.400 So yeah, and then I attended the workshop
  151. 00:09:21.400 – 00:09:26.020 with Miss Cynthia, she had a quote,
  152. 00:09:27.030 – 00:09:29.960 AI is intended to be an extension of us,
  153. 00:09:30.540 – 00:09:33.940 not the extinction of us.
  154. 00:09:34.840 – 00:09:39.060 AI is intended to be the extension of us,
  155. 00:09:39.120 – 00:09:40.540 not the extinction.
  156. 00:09:41.480 – 00:09:45.060 We're not extinct and we won't become extinct
  157. 00:09:45.470 – 00:09:49.220 and we will not let AI make us extinct
  158. 00:09:49.220 – 00:09:52.760 because we're humans and we control it, all right?
  159. 00:09:54.960 – 00:10:02.500 Digital diabetes cause mental obesity
  160. 00:10:03.300 – 00:10:05.220 because we've taken in so much
  161. 00:10:05.220 – 00:10:09.580 and not acting on it or doing what we just learned,
  162. 00:10:09.740 – 00:10:12.320 you know, we're just taking it all in.
  163. 00:10:14.880 – 00:10:17.980 Prop engineering versus context engineering,
  164. 00:10:18.640 – 00:10:22.120 you know, it's like doers versus directors,
  165. 00:10:22.180 – 00:10:23.660 you know, you wanna be more directing.
  166. 00:10:26.800 – 00:10:29.820 Al Quincea, AKA at Conundrum,
  167. 00:10:29.880 – 00:10:34.880 hey, who was number episode 300
  168. 00:10:34.880 – 00:10:36.160 on the Pull Up Experience
  169. 00:10:37.200 – 00:10:42.020 and David Shands, 200, the Conundrum, 300,
  170. 00:10:42.220 – 00:10:45.240 we got some powerful people from Atlanta.
  171. 00:10:45.680 – 00:10:47.280 Oh, that's our staple episode,
  172. 00:10:47.300 – 00:10:51.060 so yeah, we thank both of them, you know,
  173. 00:10:51.060 – 00:10:54.260 they added value to our community, our network
  174. 00:10:54.260 – 00:10:58.680 and even us, you know, continually, even to this day,
  175. 00:10:59.000 – 00:11:01.760 way after the episodes and the interviews, you know,
  176. 00:11:02.140 – 00:11:05.700 they still provide insight and man,
  177. 00:11:06.800 – 00:11:09.020 we still support them at all they do.
  178. 00:11:12.420 – 00:11:17.240 But she spoke on AEO, you know,
  179. 00:11:21.920 – 00:11:25.620 also about Instagram and then the A-B testing
  180. 00:11:25.620 – 00:11:28.700 and how it's now a search engine.
  181. 00:11:30.200 – 00:11:31.980 And again, back to that AEO,
  182. 00:11:35.720 – 00:11:39.460 it's more important than the SEO now, so.
  183. 00:11:41.530 – 00:11:45.930 And then social media has a mute button,
  184. 00:11:46.710 – 00:11:47.630 especially Instagram.
  185. 00:11:48.670 – 00:11:52.190 Mute those profiles and accounts
  186. 00:11:52.190 – 00:11:57.410 that you don't want to get in your feed
  187. 00:11:57.410 – 00:12:01.990 all in your mind, just flooding you with negativity
  188. 00:12:01.990 – 00:12:04.690 and content that you don't want to see,
  189. 00:12:06.190 – 00:12:07.570 block it out, mute it.
  190. 00:12:11.050 – 00:12:18.770 Corey, Mr. Corey, he spoke about building a community,
  191. 00:12:19.590 – 00:12:21.070 establishing your identity
  192. 00:12:21.430 – 00:12:25.110 and also the trending mass relatability
  193. 00:12:28.620 – 00:12:33.820 and then most of all, focusing in on high impact content.
  194. 00:12:35.850 – 00:12:41.210 And you know, he works with a lot of brands, celebrities,
  195. 00:12:43.290 – 00:12:48.110 helping brands and podcasts get celebrities
  196. 00:12:48.110 – 00:12:50.630 and working with different celebrities and artists.
  197. 00:12:51.070 – 00:12:53.970 So yeah, it's definitely important, you know,
  198. 00:12:55.050 – 00:12:58.070 reverse engineer your brand intention.
  199. 00:12:58.070 – 00:13:01.730 And like again, focus on high impact content.
  200. 00:13:02.890 – 00:13:06.470 And then the AI panel with Miss Alicia Little
  201. 00:13:06.470 – 00:13:09.910 and Cynthia and Alquencia, okay, a conundrum.
  202. 00:13:11.690 – 00:13:15.970 Some things I took away from that was get meta verified.
  203. 00:13:16.090 – 00:13:17.710 So that's Facebook, Instagram.
  204. 00:13:19.670 – 00:13:22.370 Pay that money if you're not verified
  205. 00:13:22.370 – 00:13:25.770 or get verified the old school way, natural way,
  206. 00:13:26.410 – 00:13:29.570 but you know, it's gonna protect you in the long run,
  207. 00:13:29.730 – 00:13:32.570 especially with, you know, AI as it's coming around.
  208. 00:13:33.630 – 00:13:35.890 Again, sorry for the background noise
  209. 00:13:35.890 – 00:13:38.550 as it's getting louder and louder and louder.
  210. 00:13:39.110 – 00:13:44.490 I apologize, but yeah, I definitely want to, you know,
  211. 00:13:44.910 – 00:13:48.470 speak my mind as I come from this conference.
  212. 00:13:52.650 – 00:13:58.990 We're gonna be coming, approaching fraud detection fatigue.
  213. 00:13:59.090 – 00:14:01.250 Like we're not gonna know what's real, what's fake.
  214. 00:14:01.290 – 00:14:04.690 And it's just gonna be, you know, so much.
  215. 00:14:05.230 – 00:14:07.850 We're not gonna know what's real, what's fake.
  216. 00:14:07.890 – 00:14:10.470 And then we're just gonna get tired of it, you know?
  217. 00:14:11.770 – 00:14:15.350 So be mindful of that, you know, it's coming.
  218. 00:14:16.070 – 00:14:21.500 And then, you know, being faceless on your content,
  219. 00:14:22.210 – 00:14:25.990 your podcast, you know, your brand that you develop,
  220. 00:14:26.030 – 00:14:29.670 you know, don't be afraid to create a mascot, you know,
  221. 00:14:30.150 – 00:14:32.350 with the AI, create a mascot.
  222. 00:14:32.650 – 00:14:34.450 So that's something I'm about to actually look into.
  223. 00:14:35.230 – 00:14:38.470 So yeah, I might need some names for a mascot, everybody.
  224. 00:14:40.630 – 00:14:45.290 And then Mr. J. Hill interviewed the brothers from EYL,
  225. 00:14:45.290 – 00:14:48.250 Earn Your Leisure, Troy, and Rishai.
  226. 00:14:48.610 – 00:14:51.390 And I have their book, by the way, it's, ooh wee,
  227. 00:14:51.710 – 00:14:52.230 it's amazing.
  228. 00:14:52.290 – 00:14:54.530 I had to get it, I had it pre-ordered
  229. 00:14:54.530 – 00:14:57.290 before it was released, and it was nice.
  230. 00:14:58.910 – 00:15:02.210 And I actually had access to EYL University
  231. 00:15:02.210 – 00:15:04.650 for a couple months, and it was nice,
  232. 00:15:04.690 – 00:15:07.650 because I think like 2,000 a year, annually,
  233. 00:15:08.030 – 00:15:09.930 2,000 a year, I don't know if they got monthly.
  234. 00:15:10.010 – 00:15:13.830 I think they just got an annual plan is two grand.
  235. 00:15:13.830 – 00:15:17.250 Yeah, so, you know, it was worth it.
  236. 00:15:17.350 – 00:15:18.560 I appreciate it.
  237. 00:15:19.550 – 00:15:22.670 But yeah, they said, always follow your purpose,
  238. 00:15:22.690 – 00:15:26.450 you know, the mistake entrepreneurs make
  239. 00:15:26.450 – 00:15:28.670 is that they sell too early.
  240. 00:15:29.590 – 00:15:31.930 And they said, start with adding value,
  241. 00:15:32.610 – 00:15:34.310 trust, and build community.
  242. 00:15:35.130 – 00:15:38.090 And David is huge on community building
  243. 00:15:38.090 – 00:15:41.230 and building the community and retaining the community.
  244. 00:15:41.610 – 00:15:43.050 And he has the morning meetup,
  245. 00:15:43.050 – 00:15:45.630 and I had a chance to be a part of that as well,
  246. 00:15:45.810 – 00:15:46.970 you know, for a few months.
  247. 00:15:47.410 – 00:15:50.630 So I'm just thankful for the being in these communities,
  248. 00:15:50.630 – 00:15:51.450 you know?
  249. 00:15:53.690 – 00:15:54.790 Leverage your brand.
  250. 00:15:56.770 – 00:16:00.830 And shout-outs to EYL for making a new deal
  251. 00:16:00.830 – 00:16:03.830 with iHeart Radio, you know?
  252. 00:16:04.030 – 00:16:06.290 So that's big, and that's major,
  253. 00:16:06.550 – 00:16:11.190 and they're, you know, making good relationships
  254. 00:16:11.190 – 00:16:14.990 with a lot of people, especially in Ghana, Africa.
  255. 00:16:15.870 – 00:16:17.410 You know, they have Investfest.
  256. 00:16:17.670 – 00:16:21.250 It was like two weeks from now,
  257. 00:16:21.870 – 00:16:23.490 or like almost two, three weeks
  258. 00:16:23.490 – 00:16:25.630 after podcast summit every year.
  259. 00:16:26.110 – 00:16:28.290 So I haven't been to Investfest yet,
  260. 00:16:28.290 – 00:16:31.630 but I purchased the virtual tickets and a replay.
  261. 00:16:33.250 – 00:16:35.810 So yeah, due to my schedule,
  262. 00:16:35.990 – 00:16:38.190 getting back to Atlanta that quickly,
  263. 00:16:39.030 – 00:16:43.830 I just can't write at this moment in time these years,
  264. 00:16:43.870 – 00:16:45.710 but it's coming soon where I could hit both
  265. 00:16:45.710 – 00:16:48.930 the podcast summit and earn your leisure
  266. 00:16:48.930 – 00:16:52.210 in Investfest each year.
  267. 00:16:53.210 – 00:16:55.430 But yeah, looking forward to attending live
  268. 00:16:55.430 – 00:16:57.190 one of these upcoming years.
  269. 00:16:58.710 – 00:17:01.590 And then Troy said,
  270. 00:17:01.650 – 00:17:05.470 intuition is like God whispering in your ear.
  271. 00:17:05.910 – 00:17:07.369 Follow your intuition,
  272. 00:17:07.369 – 00:17:09.670 especially as you get big
  273. 00:17:09.670 – 00:17:11.530 and work with different partners,
  274. 00:17:11.790 – 00:17:16.030 different brands, different sponsorships.
  275. 00:17:16.390 – 00:17:17.510 You know, follow your intuition.
  276. 00:17:17.650 – 00:17:19.410 If it doesn't align with your brand,
  277. 00:17:20.349 – 00:17:22.010 don't be afraid to say no, you know?
  278. 00:17:22.089 – 00:17:22.690 Say no.
  279. 00:17:23.990 – 00:17:28.290 And then Donnie Wiggins and Brandon shot me.
  280. 00:17:29.070 – 00:17:29.430 Whew.
  281. 00:17:30.990 – 00:17:32.890 They had a little improv session,
  282. 00:17:34.510 – 00:17:39.590 but Brandon, you know, he started, you know,
  283. 00:17:41.650 – 00:17:44.230 meeting Dave at the mall when he had a kiosk
  284. 00:17:44.230 – 00:17:48.870 selling Sleepist but Suckers, you know,
  285. 00:17:49.110 – 00:17:51.650 it's a T-shirt brand, it's a clothing brand.
  286. 00:17:53.350 – 00:17:56.950 And you know, it kind of got mentorship through him.
  287. 00:17:57.970 – 00:18:01.210 And then he said he purchased David Shan's
  288. 00:18:02.250 – 00:18:05.130 entrepreneur course, or he was following along
  289. 00:18:05.130 – 00:18:08.950 with his course, Entrepreneurship 101.
  290. 00:18:19.400 – 00:18:20.820 The music, y'all.
  291. 00:18:22.760 – 00:18:23.420 That's wild.
  292. 00:18:28.040 – 00:18:30.360 They trying to drown me out, y'all.
  293. 00:18:32.120 – 00:18:32.680 Wow.
  294. 00:18:33.340 – 00:18:37.900 The perks of outside in Atlanta at night,
  295. 00:18:38.220 – 00:18:41.240 down times, it is the weekend, so I get it.
  296. 00:18:41.420 – 00:18:43.000 Everybody trying to party and stuff.
  297. 00:18:44.740 – 00:18:47.440 Again, I own no rights to these songs.
  298. 00:18:47.440 – 00:18:50.600 This music, I own no rights.
  299. 00:18:51.980 – 00:18:54.880 So this does not be monetized.
  300. 00:18:55.980 – 00:18:59.000 This is just free game for my community, my audience.
  301. 00:18:59.520 – 00:19:01.360 I appreciate y'all for sticking with me.
  302. 00:19:02.620 – 00:19:03.820 All right.
  303. 00:19:04.420 – 00:19:12.450 Ooh, be the CEO of your own media source.
  304. 00:19:12.630 – 00:19:14.970 You are the CEO of your own media source.
  305. 00:19:16.130 – 00:19:16.890 Donnie Wiggins.
  306. 00:19:17.690 – 00:19:20.090 If you didn't get nothing else from her,
  307. 00:19:20.470 – 00:19:22.170 from the previous gyms that I've dropped,
  308. 00:19:23.550 – 00:19:24.550 that is a great one.
  309. 00:19:25.670 – 00:19:28.130 And then closing the day off with none other
  310. 00:19:28.130 – 00:19:31.130 than David Shan's again, you know.
  311. 00:19:31.830 – 00:19:32.850 Oh man.
  312. 00:19:34.510 – 00:19:36.310 Entrepreneurship is a challenge.
  313. 00:19:37.350 – 00:19:39.910 The three pillars he focuses on is content,
  314. 00:19:40.030 – 00:19:41.550 community, and cash flow.
  315. 00:19:42.290 – 00:19:46.870 You know, if you're not where you want to be,
  316. 00:19:46.870 – 00:19:48.290 maybe it's your community.
  317. 00:19:49.690 – 00:19:52.650 Or if you've got a good community, maybe it's the content.
  318. 00:19:53.390 – 00:19:55.170 Well, if you've got the content and community,
  319. 00:19:55.450 – 00:19:56.830 well, maybe it's the cash flow.
  320. 00:19:57.150 – 00:19:58.430 Maybe it's a cash flow issue.
  321. 00:19:58.770 – 00:20:01.010 Maybe your way you monetize
  322. 00:20:01.010 – 00:20:04.390 and your systems is incorrect, you know.
  323. 00:20:04.750 – 00:20:07.810 So check it, work on it, adjust it, you know.
  324. 00:20:07.810 – 00:20:10.670 But those are three pillars to help you succeed,
  325. 00:20:10.790 – 00:20:13.050 especially with podcasts and also entrepreneurship.
  326. 00:20:15.370 – 00:20:18.210 Big things, there's leadership, team building,
  327. 00:20:18.490 – 00:20:19.930 community engagement, pricing,
  328. 00:20:20.770 – 00:20:21.890 being in the right environments.
  329. 00:20:21.990 – 00:20:29.310 How many people in your call log do you look up to,
  330. 00:20:29.350 – 00:20:33.710 you know, or who in your call log life you desire?
  331. 00:20:35.090 – 00:20:37.970 Or is it the people you've been talking to on the phone
  332. 00:20:37.970 – 00:20:40.070 a couple of hours, just, oh yeah,
  333. 00:20:40.210 – 00:20:42.210 and they did this and that and that and that.
  334. 00:20:42.210 – 00:20:44.330 Oh yeah, the sports team.
  335. 00:20:44.490 – 00:20:45.690 Yeah, we going to championship.
  336. 00:20:46.010 – 00:20:48.290 Oh, the weather, oh, it's cold, oh, it's snowing,
  337. 00:20:48.350 – 00:20:51.750 oh, it's raining, like two hours.
  338. 00:20:52.490 – 00:20:54.510 Those are not impactful conversations.
  339. 00:20:54.630 – 00:20:56.250 Those are just, to me, smart talking.
  340. 00:20:56.410 – 00:21:00.250 Everybody knows me, knows I do not like smart talk
  341. 00:21:00.250 – 00:21:02.210 and I just shy away from it.
  342. 00:21:02.250 – 00:21:05.230 I know I sing standoffish a lot of times,
  343. 00:21:05.370 – 00:21:07.470 especially like with conversations like that.
  344. 00:21:08.590 – 00:21:11.910 Yeah, how can we add value and impact to each other?
  345. 00:21:12.410 – 00:21:14.310 You know, that's the type of conversation
  346. 00:21:14.310 – 00:21:16.790 is I like to do, you know, I like to go deep, so,
  347. 00:21:17.250 – 00:21:22.090 you know, and then just leaving it off, you know,
  348. 00:21:22.310 – 00:21:24.430 what's your business model, your content,
  349. 00:21:24.910 – 00:21:27.790 to cash-map it, the products and services
  350. 00:21:27.790 – 00:21:30.510 you're aligning around your podcast and your business.
  351. 00:21:30.990 – 00:21:34.430 And then once you get inside his communities,
  352. 00:21:34.430 – 00:21:37.530 like the Seven Figure Podcast, you know,
  353. 00:21:37.550 – 00:21:39.830 he has 10 monetization strategies.
  354. 00:21:40.590 – 00:21:43.030 So look out to that, look out for that.
  355. 00:21:43.070 – 00:21:45.710 And if you want to be a part of that, you know,
  356. 00:21:45.790 – 00:21:46.870 reach out to him.
  357. 00:21:46.930 – 00:21:49.970 I'm sure the link is in his bio on his website.
  358. 00:21:50.530 – 00:21:53.450 But yeah, if you visit David Shands on Instagram,
  359. 00:21:53.690 – 00:21:56.030 it's definitely in his bio, I've checked it out.
  360. 00:21:57.990 – 00:22:01.970 Had a chance to view that as well, and man.
  361. 00:22:02.870 – 00:22:08.330 But yeah, everybody provided content over this weekend,
  362. 00:22:08.870 – 00:22:11.110 you know, I met some good people,
  363. 00:22:11.430 – 00:22:13.630 some good podcasters, creators,
  364. 00:22:14.290 – 00:22:16.470 people who's from Atlanta, not from Atlanta.
  365. 00:22:17.070 – 00:22:18.610 So yeah, it's a blessing, you know,
  366. 00:22:18.650 – 00:22:20.370 keep building that work, that network.
  367. 00:22:21.070 – 00:22:22.530 And yeah, I'm about to get to work.
  368. 00:22:22.850 – 00:22:24.430 I'm about to actually do another recording
  369. 00:22:24.430 – 00:22:27.530 with Brianna from OFL Studios,
  370. 00:22:28.030 – 00:22:31.630 my life partner, my right hand, my baby.
  371. 00:22:32.570 – 00:22:36.350 So yeah, we about to get started soon.
  372. 00:22:37.150 – 00:22:39.270 So I'm about to take a bite to eat,
  373. 00:22:39.670 – 00:22:42.110 take a break, then we about to set up for this film.
  374. 00:22:42.630 – 00:22:43.910 And anybody that don't know us,
  375. 00:22:43.950 – 00:22:47.070 you know, check out our WWWs,
  376. 00:22:47.070 – 00:22:49.010 that's our work with we,
  377. 00:22:50.010 – 00:22:53.530 work with we, WWW.
  378. 00:22:53.830 – 00:22:56.270 It's a spinoff and a work with me,
  379. 00:22:56.760 – 00:22:58.870 work with me, so that's our solo.
  380. 00:22:59.130 – 00:23:01.710 And then work with we is when we're together
  381. 00:23:01.710 – 00:23:03.130 and that's creative frequency.
  382. 00:23:03.590 – 00:23:05.750 You know, follow us on all our media
  383. 00:23:05.750 – 00:23:08.670 on a creative frequency.
  384. 00:23:09.450 – 00:23:12.530 Yeah, and our website coming soon.
  385. 00:23:13.510 – 00:23:16.510 But yeah, we have a lot, but I'ma close this.
  386. 00:23:16.850 – 00:23:19.470 You know, you can find me on all social media
  387. 00:23:19.470 – 00:23:24.210 at Alien Eyes Photos and alieneyesphotos.com.
  388. 00:23:24.210 – 00:23:30.630 That's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with a S dot com.
  389. 00:23:30.930 – 00:23:32.570 And yeah, I'm photographer Jackson.
  390. 00:23:32.650 – 00:23:35.330 If you need coaching, especially in the media space,
  391. 00:23:35.730 – 00:23:38.590 marketing, I do ideation sessions
  392. 00:23:38.590 – 00:23:41.730 and you know, help build your marketing and strategy.
  393. 00:23:42.390 – 00:23:44.350 So yeah, let's get it.
  394. 00:23:44.350 – 00:23:45.910 I am about to sign out,
  395. 00:23:46.190 – 00:23:48.850 relax, eat before this next recording is set.
  396. 00:23:49.330 – 00:23:50.510 It's been a blessing, y'all.
  397. 00:23:50.510 – 00:23:52.290 We out here.
  398. 00:23:52.970 – 00:23:54.510 Hey, peace.

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79. Podcast Summit Recap - Day 1 - 2025

Season 1

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.940 – 00:00:11.540 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk with your host photographer
  2. 00:00:11.540 – 00:00:12.240 Jackson.
  3. 00:00:12.560 – 00:00:21.340 And I'm here in Atlanta, August 7th, 2025, day one of Podcast Summit 2025.
  4. 00:00:22.280 – 00:00:23.420 Y'all see how that rhyme?
  5. 00:00:24.000 – 00:00:24.560 Yes, yes.
  6. 00:00:24.760 – 00:00:30.460 But just to open up the day, Wall Street Trapper, and by the way, I'm outside.
  7. 00:00:30.460 – 00:00:36.620 So if you hear all type of noises and car rides and random voices yelling, I'm outside.
  8. 00:00:36.620 – 00:00:37.540 This is organic.
  9. 00:00:38.320 – 00:00:38.820 Here in Atlanta.
  10. 00:00:40.400 – 00:00:45.060 But yeah, Wall Street Trapper, he opened it up with the energy, the energy, the energy,
  11. 00:00:46.020 – 00:00:46.940 the motivation.
  12. 00:00:48.040 – 00:00:53.260 Like he told us in order to learn, you need to be in a relaxed state.
  13. 00:00:54.180 – 00:00:55.420 Like that is true.
  14. 00:00:55.440 – 00:00:58.820 You know, studying meditation and Buddhism.
  15. 00:00:58.820 – 00:01:00.220 That is true.
  16. 00:01:00.620 – 00:01:02.640 You learn best when you're in a relaxed state.
  17. 00:01:02.640 – 00:01:07.140 That's the only way you learn because you're riled up and you're mad, you know.
  18. 00:01:08.440 – 00:01:14.280 The wavelength is shorter, and even your mind is, the intention span is short.
  19. 00:01:14.840 – 00:01:16.600 So that's just something to think about.
  20. 00:01:18.260 – 00:01:22.140 And then he also spoke about what are you really good at?
  21. 00:01:23.260 – 00:01:24.360 What are you good at?
  22. 00:01:25.700 – 00:01:28.740 What are you good at?
  23. 00:01:30.300 – 00:01:34.540 So everybody that's good at multiple things.
  24. 00:01:35.740 – 00:01:38.000 Pick one thing that you're really good at.
  25. 00:01:38.800 – 00:01:41.860 One thing and just stick with it.
  26. 00:01:42.980 – 00:01:48.200 Surrender your voice to God and be blessed like never before.
  27. 00:01:50.700 – 00:01:57.870 You know, when he said that, the whole room just erupted.
  28. 00:01:59.110 – 00:02:05.890 You know, and first you start by surrendering.
  29. 00:02:05.890 – 00:02:08.110 That's about what you experience.
  30. 00:02:09.669 – 00:02:12.030 And don't worry about being the number one show.
  31. 00:02:12.810 – 00:02:15.990 Focus on the best show you can produce.
  32. 00:02:19.360 – 00:02:22.680 That's like the icing on the cake, you know.
  33. 00:02:23.980 – 00:02:29.100 And he left it off with how you start is not going to be the way you finish.
  34. 00:02:31.520 – 00:02:36.720 You know, take that how you take it, but let it be in the correct manner.
  35. 00:02:39.310 – 00:02:41.330 You know, there was a lot more things discussed.
  36. 00:02:41.370 – 00:02:45.710 Of course, I don't want to spill all the tea, you know, catch the replays
  37. 00:02:45.710 – 00:02:49.010 about a podcast, some of the replays.
  38. 00:02:49.050 – 00:02:53.450 But, you know, these are some good thoughts that I came across.
  39. 00:02:56.050 – 00:03:01.310 And then Ernestine Morris interviewed Kev on stage,
  40. 00:03:01.990 – 00:03:04.530 you know, out the gate.
  41. 00:03:04.890 – 00:03:10.050 Kev, you know, mentioned he associated himself with good times.
  42. 00:03:12.770 – 00:03:16.370 You know, so he associates yourself with good in general.
  43. 00:03:16.950 – 00:03:20.890 Good spirit, good times, good moments, good experiences, good outcomes.
  44. 00:03:24.270 – 00:03:28.010 And if everyone that has a podcast or into media,
  45. 00:03:29.390 – 00:03:34.970 media tracks, advertisers, point blank simple, and everything you do
  46. 00:03:34.970 – 00:03:36.910 is not going to be perfect.
  47. 00:03:38.570 – 00:03:41.370 When he also has a new book out.
  48. 00:03:43.230 – 00:03:43.670 Successful.
  49. 00:03:46.090 – 00:03:46.970 Successful failures.
  50. 00:03:49.700 – 00:03:51.880 I was going to be funny with him, I know, you know,
  51. 00:03:51.960 – 00:03:54.300 because Kev on stage is a funny guy.
  52. 00:03:55.000 – 00:03:56.240 Mr. Kevin, yeah.
  53. 00:03:57.200 – 00:03:58.660 But yes, successful failures.
  54. 00:03:59.040 – 00:04:01.920 I'm a definitely get that book.
  55. 00:04:02.660 – 00:04:03.760 Check it out.
  56. 00:04:03.760 – 00:04:06.860 Maybe here's some reviews on it on a podcast.
  57. 00:04:07.420 – 00:04:10.940 So, yeah, I look forward to that.
  58. 00:04:11.580 – 00:04:20.660 And then CJ came on stage and surprisingly introduced E.T.,
  59. 00:04:20.660 – 00:04:23.560 Mr. Eric Thomas, his right hand.
  60. 00:04:24.480 – 00:04:26.740 And, wow, they both.
  61. 00:04:27.760 – 00:04:31.220 Even CJ said E.T. told them stop having sex.
  62. 00:04:32.180 – 00:04:34.420 Yes, stop having sex.
  63. 00:04:36.080 – 00:04:43.720 Yeah, well, let's just continue.
  64. 00:04:45.280 – 00:04:47.380 But I get it.
  65. 00:04:47.400 – 00:04:51.360 And I heard other like millionaires and billionaires say that,
  66. 00:04:51.460 – 00:04:56.240 like one point, you know, they cut themselves off and,
  67. 00:04:56.400 – 00:05:03.300 you know, no sexual activity or no porn or masturbation for two years.
  68. 00:05:03.970 – 00:05:06.840 You know, and that's a powerful thing to do, really.
  69. 00:05:07.760 – 00:05:09.340 It really, really is.
  70. 00:05:09.760 – 00:05:15.680 You know, your focus, you know, clarity, energy,
  71. 00:05:16.440 – 00:05:21.980 the purity, the spirit is just pure, you know, clean.
  72. 00:05:23.620 – 00:05:26.560 And it's good, especially with the right person,
  73. 00:05:26.660 – 00:05:28.760 only with the right person, you know.
  74. 00:05:29.220 – 00:05:33.240 Can't just be out here with any and everybody.
  75. 00:05:33.240 – 00:05:36.920 That was the biggest message from not having sex.
  76. 00:05:37.880 – 00:05:40.780 But if you're going to do it, you know, stay faithful, stay loyal.
  77. 00:05:42.000 – 00:05:44.540 That's the only powerful thing to do, really.
  78. 00:05:45.860 – 00:05:47.920 And to protect yourself and your spirit.
  79. 00:05:50.320 – 00:05:56.030 And, oh, man, E.T., wow.
  80. 00:05:56.790 – 00:05:59.210 The I am, I will, I can.
  81. 00:06:00.650 – 00:06:02.750 Man, hearing that live,
  82. 00:06:04.530 – 00:06:06.230 it's a whole nother energy.
  83. 00:06:07.810 – 00:06:09.910 And focus where your energy flows.
  84. 00:06:10.690 – 00:06:12.950 And the focus goes where energy flows.
  85. 00:06:13.550 – 00:06:17.510 So be mindful what you're doing, what you're focused on,
  86. 00:06:17.590 – 00:06:19.970 even what you spend your time and energy on.
  87. 00:06:25.830 – 00:06:28.270 And then I had Mr. David Shands come out.
  88. 00:06:29.170 – 00:06:33.770 Oh, I didn't have him come out, but he came out finally.
  89. 00:06:33.890 – 00:06:34.870 I'm like, wow.
  90. 00:06:36.220 – 00:06:42.320 We haven't seen Mr. Shands, the hostess with the mostess.
  91. 00:06:43.280 – 00:06:45.100 We haven't seen him all day.
  92. 00:06:46.240 – 00:06:51.360 Yeah, David Shands, you know, he broke down the history of a radio
  93. 00:06:51.360 – 00:06:56.920 and how we got to podcast and why a podcast is needed.
  94. 00:06:58.700 – 00:06:59.640 It's becoming popular.
  95. 00:06:59.720 – 00:07:01.760 I was going to say popular, but it's becoming popular
  96. 00:07:01.760 – 00:07:03.160 and even more popular.
  97. 00:07:03.160 – 00:07:06.640 And he suggests everyone should have a podcast.
  98. 00:07:08.420 – 00:07:11.240 And I remember with the Pull Up Experience
  99. 00:07:11.710 – 00:07:14.880 at the Futureland Conference, our topic was
  100. 00:07:15.400 – 00:07:17.560 every business should have a podcast.
  101. 00:07:18.220 – 00:07:21.680 And if you want us to run that back, we definitely can.
  102. 00:07:22.480 – 00:07:25.380 But yes, every business should have a podcast.
  103. 00:07:26.120 – 00:07:29.580 And it's my biggest marketing piece in my business.
  104. 00:07:30.480 – 00:07:33.540 You know, it creates content, it's engaging.
  105. 00:07:33.820 – 00:07:35.100 I'm building relationships.
  106. 00:07:35.380 – 00:07:37.360 So it's so many factors.
  107. 00:07:37.960 – 00:07:40.400 You know, I'm attracting advertisers and sponsors.
  108. 00:07:41.340 – 00:07:44.880 So it, like I said, it's going to be loud.
  109. 00:07:45.080 – 00:07:51.840 I'm outside here at ATL, day one of ATL Georgia.
  110. 00:07:52.920 – 00:07:55.360 I'll make sure I'm specific, but, you know,
  111. 00:07:55.660 – 00:07:56.440 people should know.
  112. 00:07:57.040 – 00:08:00.300 Yeah, here day one podcast summit 2025.
  113. 00:08:01.520 – 00:08:03.540 Outside is loud, it's bright.
  114. 00:08:05.120 – 00:08:07.080 And I've got multiple cameras running.
  115. 00:08:07.860 – 00:08:10.840 So you may see different content on different things.
  116. 00:08:11.520 – 00:08:14.120 But, yeah, it's mainly the audio for right now.
  117. 00:08:14.200 – 00:08:17.800 So I'm pretty, you know, cool, calm, collected.
  118. 00:08:19.440 – 00:08:23.540 And back to where Wall Street says, you know, to learn.
  119. 00:08:24.780 – 00:08:26.460 You got to be in a relaxed state.
  120. 00:08:27.060 – 00:08:28.600 So what happened when you teach?
  121. 00:08:29.780 – 00:08:31.100 Teach from that relaxed state.
  122. 00:08:31.360 – 00:08:34.280 And that's something more and more
  123. 00:08:35.000 – 00:08:36.659 I want to continue getting better at.
  124. 00:08:37.159 – 00:08:39.860 I know I do, but, you know, consistently
  125. 00:08:40.440 – 00:08:44.540 and even more deeply, I just want
  126. 00:08:44.540 – 00:08:48.300 to be more relaxed in, like, everything I do.
  127. 00:08:49.720 – 00:08:52.700 I know how I am now, you know, cool, calm,
  128. 00:08:52.700 – 00:08:53.960 collected, laid back.
  129. 00:08:54.200 – 00:08:57.040 It's scary for a lot of people, you know,
  130. 00:08:57.200 – 00:08:58.480 they don't know how to take it.
  131. 00:09:00.020 – 00:09:02.660 But I want to become even more relaxed,
  132. 00:09:02.840 – 00:09:06.500 more relaxed, laid back, chill, you know.
  133. 00:09:07.620 – 00:09:09.720 I still got that dynamic side of me,
  134. 00:09:09.720 – 00:09:17.870 but for the most part, I think I'm gonna just be cool.
  135. 00:09:19.740 – 00:09:22.720 I'm adjusting this camera, y'all, one second,
  136. 00:09:22.900 – 00:09:26.840 but yeah, okay, okay, nice and adjusted.
  137. 00:09:28.520 – 00:09:32.380 But some things David Shands spoke on.
  138. 00:09:33.400 – 00:09:35.500 Consistency creates separation.
  139. 00:09:38.300 – 00:09:40.540 Consistency creates separation.
  140. 00:09:42.650 – 00:09:44.690 Because if nobody else is doing it,
  141. 00:09:45.550 – 00:09:47.710 you're already separating yourself from the rest.
  142. 00:09:49.630 – 00:09:53.430 He also said, keep going, keep going.
  143. 00:09:56.860 – 00:10:03.490 And he said, the first 53 episodes of his podcast,
  144. 00:10:04.170 – 00:10:10.470 no traction, not many views, little to no views for some.
  145. 00:10:14.520 – 00:10:18.640 And the number 54 was actually with Wall Street Trapper
  146. 00:10:18.640 – 00:10:20.240 on the Social Proof Podcast.
  147. 00:10:24.550 – 00:10:27.090 And going back to that consistency,
  148. 00:10:28.210 – 00:10:30.590 which, you know, back to my team,
  149. 00:10:30.730 – 00:10:34.150 the pull-up experience, that's one thing we have
  150. 00:10:34.150 – 00:10:36.050 over everybody in Cleveland.
  151. 00:10:36.230 – 00:10:38.990 We're consistent, very consistent.
  152. 00:10:39.190 – 00:10:43.130 At one point, we were recording eight shows a week,
  153. 00:10:44.470 – 00:10:47.370 eight shows a week, not every week,
  154. 00:10:47.610 – 00:10:51.110 but six to eight shows a week.
  155. 00:10:51.350 – 00:10:56.600 That's three days, sometimes a random day.
  156. 00:10:57.760 – 00:10:59.060 Well, yeah, Tuesday's our day.
  157. 00:10:59.180 – 00:11:00.880 If anybody wanna get on the podcast,
  158. 00:11:01.420 – 00:11:02.540 we do every other Tuesday.
  159. 00:11:02.540 – 00:11:06.160 We're pretty booked out, you know, most of the year,
  160. 00:11:06.920 – 00:11:11.180 most years, we're almost booked the full year in advance.
  161. 00:11:12.380 – 00:11:15.220 So when people try to get on, it's not a gimmick.
  162. 00:11:15.700 – 00:11:17.800 And, you know, the waiting time is the waiting time
  163. 00:11:17.800 – 00:11:21.040 because we have a waiting list, you know?
  164. 00:11:21.340 – 00:11:24.360 So everybody be wanting me to get them on a podcast.
  165. 00:11:24.960 – 00:11:30.360 This is another outlet, me starting Alienize Photos
  166. 00:11:30.360 – 00:11:34.620 to give those others an outlet, a platform.
  167. 00:11:35.460 – 00:11:38.300 And then we could still get on a pull-up experience,
  168. 00:11:38.320 – 00:11:39.620 but like I said, it's a wait.
  169. 00:11:40.420 – 00:11:44.520 But we also had the honor to have Mr. David Shands
  170. 00:11:44.520 – 00:11:46.480 on a pull-up experience podcast.
  171. 00:11:48.140 – 00:11:51.040 And man, y'all, hey, check it out.
  172. 00:11:51.340 – 00:11:53.260 200, that was that, hey.
  173. 00:11:54.280 – 00:11:56.320 We can't thank you enough, Mr. David Shands,
  174. 00:11:56.540 – 00:11:59.620 all you do, and yes, thank you.
  175. 00:11:59.620 – 00:12:03.320 You encouraged me to start the podcast.
  176. 00:12:05.440 – 00:12:08.840 Yes, Alienize Photos Industry Talk podcast, we are here.
  177. 00:12:09.560 – 00:12:10.840 Yes, thank you.
  178. 00:12:11.660 – 00:12:15.780 And then I met Sean Stevenson.
  179. 00:12:18.620 – 00:12:25.160 This is breaking down the different ways to monetize.
  180. 00:12:26.000 – 00:12:28.560 And let's just start with sponsorships.
  181. 00:12:30.970 – 00:12:35.330 Who wants to be a sponsor on the podcast?
  182. 00:12:35.330 – 00:12:39.450 Alienize Photos Industry Talk, where we talk business
  183. 00:12:39.450 – 00:12:41.650 and I preach about my entrepreneurial journey
  184. 00:12:41.650 – 00:12:43.330 like I am doing right now.
  185. 00:12:44.250 – 00:12:47.950 I am mainly an event photographer, business coach,
  186. 00:12:48.390 – 00:12:50.370 where I hold ideation sessions
  187. 00:12:50.370 – 00:12:53.310 to help build your strategy and marketing
  188. 00:12:53.950 – 00:12:54.950 in your vision.
  189. 00:12:55.730 – 00:13:00.030 I elevate positive voices in all I do
  190. 00:13:00.030 – 00:13:04.010 with my visual media and also with my podcast.
  191. 00:13:10.560 – 00:13:13.260 Yeah, I'm leaving all that in there, by the way,
  192. 00:13:13.320 – 00:13:14.280 all the motorcycles.
  193. 00:13:15.940 – 00:13:18.100 I'm leaving all that in there, y'all.
  194. 00:13:18.640 – 00:13:21.180 The background noise, the motorcycles.
  195. 00:13:23.530 – 00:13:29.270 Hey, hey, hey, I'm not gonna monetize this episode anyway,
  196. 00:13:30.050 – 00:13:33.050 so any copyrights, any music that's played in this,
  197. 00:13:33.450 – 00:13:35.250 it's not by me at all.
  198. 00:13:36.390 – 00:13:39.770 I have no rights to none of the music in this video.
  199. 00:13:42.430 – 00:13:43.630 So, shh.
  200. 00:13:45.340 – 00:13:47.400 But yeah, I'm leaving background noise in it,
  201. 00:13:47.580 – 00:13:49.480 but yeah, Shawn Stevenson.
  202. 00:13:52.850 – 00:13:53.450 Sponsorships.
  203. 00:13:55.030 – 00:14:01.820 I know it may be like a no thought or a low thought
  204. 00:14:01.820 – 00:14:04.200 that, oh yeah, why not get sponsorships,
  205. 00:14:05.740 – 00:14:09.580 but sponsorships for events, conferences,
  206. 00:14:11.060 – 00:14:16.450 podcasts, get brands, just, man.
  207. 00:14:18.380 – 00:14:19.620 Don't be afraid to reach out.
  208. 00:14:19.740 – 00:14:21.380 That's all I'm gonna say about that.
  209. 00:14:22.860 – 00:14:27.040 And then also, have a product, have a course,
  210. 00:14:27.140 – 00:14:30.140 have an ebook, a physical item.
  211. 00:14:31.940 – 00:14:34.580 Something to think about if you want to help
  212. 00:14:34.580 – 00:14:39.880 drive revenue from your podcast into your podcast.
  213. 00:14:41.930 – 00:14:45.190 And I'll leave you one more nugget that he kinda,
  214. 00:14:45.930 – 00:14:48.710 I don't say kinda, well, he mentioned
  215. 00:14:49.590 – 00:14:51.610 don't be afraid to take equity.
  216. 00:14:52.990 – 00:14:55.090 You know, that's another, you know.
  217. 00:14:55.270 – 00:15:00.150 Get 2% of this new item, this new fad,
  218. 00:15:00.250 – 00:15:02.650 this new gadget, this new software.
  219. 00:15:04.030 – 00:15:06.070 Why not get 2%, 5%?
  220. 00:15:07.970 – 00:15:11.070 You don't always gotta do a flat rate or,
  221. 00:15:11.070 – 00:15:12.910 you know, big lump sums.
  222. 00:15:14.350 – 00:15:15.990 Don't be afraid to take that equity.
  223. 00:15:19.460 – 00:15:21.820 I think next was a panel.
  224. 00:15:23.720 – 00:15:28.540 Yes, yes, yes, it was a panel with, let me see,
  225. 00:15:28.820 – 00:15:34.740 Ebony Porter, Ike, Mr. Vaughn, Dan Jeter,
  226. 00:15:35.080 – 00:15:38.060 Danielle Jeter, like the football,
  227. 00:15:38.280 – 00:15:40.400 baseball player, I'm gonna say football.
  228. 00:15:41.240 – 00:15:46.860 Freshy and Mercedes Smith, Vaughn Alvarez.
  229. 00:15:50.180 – 00:15:52.300 They're basically, you know, in a PR,
  230. 00:15:53.040 – 00:15:56.080 public relations, press release.
  231. 00:15:58.600 – 00:16:00.400 Kinda got a hint at a budget.
  232. 00:16:02.120 – 00:16:07.680 If you want that big, you know, great press release,
  233. 00:16:08.040 – 00:16:11.320 tight vibe to push you like they push celebrities.
  234. 00:16:12.560 – 00:16:14.960 15,000 is kinda where
  235. 00:16:16.460 – 00:16:20.060 the touch point was, you know,
  236. 00:16:20.160 – 00:16:22.580 because the more you pay them,
  237. 00:16:22.900 – 00:16:25.100 the more hours and the more effort
  238. 00:16:25.100 – 00:16:27.140 and resources they could put in.
  239. 00:16:27.320 – 00:16:28.660 But if they have a smaller budget,
  240. 00:16:28.760 – 00:16:30.740 it's not really gonna cover their time.
  241. 00:16:31.360 – 00:16:33.560 So think about that when you're reaching out
  242. 00:16:33.560 – 00:16:37.400 to PR services and, you know, PR reps.
  243. 00:16:38.100 – 00:16:41.500 And for these press releases, you know,
  244. 00:16:42.820 – 00:16:47.000 make it a campaign, six months, a year,
  245. 00:16:47.620 – 00:16:49.640 you know, and gradually roll it out.
  246. 00:16:52.390 – 00:16:56.930 And another thing they spoke on that was big
  247. 00:16:56.930 – 00:16:59.210 and important was call to action.
  248. 00:16:59.330 – 00:17:04.050 Always, always, always have a call to action.
  249. 00:17:04.630 – 00:17:05.790 And the most important thing
  250. 00:17:05.790 – 00:17:07.750 about a press release is the story.
  251. 00:17:08.310 – 00:17:10.089 So make sure your story is right,
  252. 00:17:10.089 – 00:17:14.089 it's compelling, it's vivid, it's nice.
  253. 00:17:14.710 – 00:17:16.310 Hey, make it truthful for real.
  254. 00:17:19.510 – 00:17:21.430 And then one of my new favorite people,
  255. 00:17:21.790 – 00:17:26.530 Miss Alicia Little, who may seen her
  256. 00:17:26.530 – 00:17:30.470 on Neal Maya's, Neal Maya Davis podcast.
  257. 00:17:33.570 – 00:17:35.470 I know you've probably seen her on
  258. 00:17:35.470 – 00:17:37.210 Earn Your Leisure podcast.
  259. 00:17:38.010 – 00:17:42.650 I've seen her on quite a few different podcasts
  260. 00:17:42.650 – 00:17:44.950 and networks as she continues to grow.
  261. 00:17:45.750 – 00:17:47.350 And I love that for her.
  262. 00:17:53.590 – 00:17:58.150 One of the things she preached on that I enjoy was
  263. 00:17:58.150 – 00:18:03.230 just teach your AI, you know, your style and your tone,
  264. 00:18:03.410 – 00:18:08.070 teach it you if you want it to be you and more like you.
  265. 00:18:11.270 – 00:18:15.990 And yeah, she spoke on some stuff she happened to work
  266. 00:18:15.990 – 00:18:20.190 even for, you know, podcasters and, you know,
  267. 00:18:20.190 – 00:18:25.490 how she's leveraging AI to help make these resources
  268. 00:18:25.490 – 00:18:27.850 and tools for podcasters.
  269. 00:18:28.250 – 00:18:30.330 So I'm definitely gonna check that out
  270. 00:18:30.330 – 00:18:34.930 and see how we can collaborate because, you know,
  271. 00:18:34.930 – 00:18:40.050 that's my network, that's my, you know, community podcast
  272. 00:18:40.050 – 00:18:43.330 and especially, you know, with the network
  273. 00:18:43.330 – 00:18:44.850 or the pull-up experience.
  274. 00:18:45.390 – 00:18:49.290 And, you know, people come up to us for tips
  275. 00:18:49.290 – 00:18:50.950 and insights and education.
  276. 00:18:51.430 – 00:18:54.870 And, you know, we're actually slacking with coming out
  277. 00:18:54.870 – 00:18:56.690 with our courses or our education.
  278. 00:18:56.870 – 00:18:59.810 We have some eBooks, but, you know,
  279. 00:19:00.910 – 00:19:02.770 we have a lot of things in the work
  280. 00:19:02.770 – 00:19:06.650 and it's just like the things we should focus on
  281. 00:19:06.650 – 00:19:08.930 and, you know, getting pulled in many directions,
  282. 00:19:09.530 – 00:19:12.510 you know, always got a collaboration on a table
  283. 00:19:12.510 – 00:19:13.570 and that's good.
  284. 00:19:14.750 – 00:19:17.170 And a lot of these things is gonna take time,
  285. 00:19:18.570 – 00:19:21.870 but yeah, I think this next sit down with the team
  286. 00:19:21.870 – 00:19:23.170 is gonna be a good one.
  287. 00:19:24.530 – 00:19:28.670 Cause yeah, maybe we need to hire Mr. Alicia Little
  288. 00:19:28.670 – 00:19:29.730 as a coach.
  289. 00:19:30.550 – 00:19:35.230 And then I ended the day with Davis Shands
  290. 00:19:38.010 – 00:19:40.810 interviewing a rep from Go High Level.
  291. 00:19:40.970 – 00:19:43.990 I think he's the owner, but don't quote me on that.
  292. 00:19:45.890 – 00:19:48.550 But, you know, one thing he was speaking on
  293. 00:19:48.550 – 00:19:50.490 is don't be afraid to cold call.
  294. 00:19:51.150 – 00:19:53.650 Pick up the phone and make that call.
  295. 00:19:55.550 – 00:20:00.760 And wow, that's, where more can you say?
  296. 00:20:02.780 – 00:20:06.840 Sometimes the loose tracker will work or would.
  297. 00:20:08.220 – 00:20:11.300 We haven't tried before, you know.
  298. 00:20:11.760 – 00:20:14.000 Have a presentation, have it ready.
  299. 00:20:16.090 – 00:20:18.130 Don't be afraid to pitch your products
  300. 00:20:18.130 – 00:20:19.610 and services at events.
  301. 00:20:20.450 – 00:20:23.310 So those were some of the nuggets.
  302. 00:20:24.990 – 00:20:26.810 No pun intended on that.
  303. 00:20:29.330 – 00:20:35.770 Me and Lady B, AKA Brie, Anna from Overflow Studio
  304. 00:20:35.770 – 00:20:38.570 and Creative Frequency and also the Pull Up Experience.
  305. 00:20:39.070 – 00:20:40.850 And, you know, she do some BTS
  306. 00:20:40.850 – 00:20:43.210 with Alienize Photos, Industry Talk
  307. 00:20:43.210 – 00:20:45.430 and Alienize Photos in general, you know.
  308. 00:20:46.070 – 00:20:47.610 We're definitely partners in this
  309. 00:20:48.470 – 00:20:51.070 and, you know, I couldn't have a better life partner
  310. 00:20:51.070 – 00:20:52.410 in this moment in my life.
  311. 00:20:52.870 – 00:20:55.210 So, you know, I'm definitely appreciative.
  312. 00:20:55.210 – 00:20:58.010 I definitely want to send gratitude to that
  313. 00:20:58.010 – 00:21:03.090 as we're here at Podcast Summit 2025 here in Atlanta.
  314. 00:21:03.610 – 00:21:07.130 And I know she probably waiting for me to wrap up
  315. 00:21:07.130 – 00:21:08.990 so we can finish this other recording
  316. 00:21:08.990 – 00:21:10.590 and do some work with me.
  317. 00:21:10.690 – 00:21:12.970 If you haven't checked out our work with we,
  318. 00:21:14.070 – 00:21:15.150 work with we.
  319. 00:21:15.350 – 00:21:18.670 www.workwithwe.creativefrequency.
  320. 00:21:18.910 – 00:21:21.870 Yeah, we about to start dropping a lot of content
  321. 00:21:21.870 – 00:21:23.450 and we've been sitting on the live.
  322. 00:21:23.450 – 00:21:25.810 We've been like, oh, it ain't perfect.
  323. 00:21:25.870 – 00:21:27.310 Oh, we didn't edit it.
  324. 00:21:27.450 – 00:21:28.790 Oh, we didn't color grade it.
  325. 00:21:28.830 – 00:21:30.050 Oh, it ain't finished yet.
  326. 00:21:30.410 – 00:21:31.710 I'm like, just drop it.
  327. 00:21:31.990 – 00:21:34.530 Let's just give it to the people, you know.
  328. 00:21:34.550 – 00:21:36.050 You never know who this may encourage
  329. 00:21:36.050 – 00:21:37.590 or what couple, you know, like,
  330. 00:21:37.670 – 00:21:39.710 oh, well, we should do something together.
  331. 00:21:39.810 – 00:21:40.430 They're doing something.
  332. 00:21:40.810 – 00:21:41.630 I like them.
  333. 00:21:41.650 – 00:21:43.110 They got good chemistry.
  334. 00:21:43.770 – 00:21:44.950 Like we're introverts.
  335. 00:21:45.870 – 00:21:48.830 So, you know, our way of speaking
  336. 00:21:48.830 – 00:21:50.650 and giving back is to the camera.
  337. 00:21:50.770 – 00:21:51.790 You know, this is what we love.
  338. 00:21:52.970 – 00:21:56.670 We're multi-creative geniuses.
  339. 00:21:57.050 – 00:22:03.230 Like, I don't think I should be saying this,
  340. 00:22:03.250 – 00:22:05.630 but just wait till we drop some music.
  341. 00:22:08.500 – 00:22:10.180 I'm sorry on the audio.
  342. 00:22:10.340 – 00:22:13.900 I dropped it on the behind the scenes of the camera.
  343. 00:22:14.300 – 00:22:15.620 I guess it's like a vlog now.
  344. 00:22:15.640 – 00:22:16.420 This is a vlog.
  345. 00:22:17.480 – 00:22:18.760 I'm gonna call it a vlog.
  346. 00:22:20.960 – 00:22:21.300 Yeah.
  347. 00:22:21.300 – 00:22:26.980 So I'm recording live on alienized photos,
  348. 00:22:27.200 – 00:22:30.200 industry talk outside here in Atlanta, Georgia.
  349. 00:22:31.020 – 00:22:36.020 Just wrapped up day one of the podcast summit 2025.
  350. 00:22:40.600 – 00:22:43.780 And yeah, I think that was all the nuggets
  351. 00:22:43.780 – 00:22:48.780 from the interview with David Shands and Go High Level.
  352. 00:22:51.300 – 00:22:54.880 Or High Level, but everybody know it as Go High Level.
  353. 00:22:56.440 – 00:22:59.240 I think we were pretty much checked out at the time
  354. 00:22:59.240 – 00:23:03.900 because we were ordering food and we didn't drive.
  355. 00:23:04.500 – 00:23:08.560 So, you know, our flight, you know,
  356. 00:23:10.270 – 00:23:12.350 it was like, it was about the same price as our Uber.
  357. 00:23:12.810 – 00:23:14.950 So we were kind of doing some calculations
  358. 00:23:14.950 – 00:23:17.430 and where we were gonna eat at or should we sit down?
  359. 00:23:17.450 – 00:23:18.670 Should we pick up?
  360. 00:23:19.330 – 00:23:21.750 And we ended up finding something, you know,
  361. 00:23:22.050 – 00:23:22.870 less than a mile.
  362. 00:23:22.890 – 00:23:27.260 So we ended up walking and yeah,
  363. 00:23:27.260 – 00:23:29.080 they left my tater tots out.
  364. 00:23:32.470 – 00:23:34.390 They left my tater tots out.
  365. 00:23:38.280 – 00:23:40.900 And anybody that know me knows I'm a potato head.
  366. 00:23:41.920 – 00:23:43.780 You know, I just turned this into a vlog.
  367. 00:23:44.200 – 00:23:46.380 So sorry, especially on the audio.
  368. 00:23:46.500 – 00:23:47.560 I know you can't see this.
  369. 00:23:47.620 – 00:23:50.660 You have to check the vlog out, the behind the scenes.
  370. 00:23:51.540 – 00:23:52.940 Cause you know, I don't do much video.
  371. 00:23:53.060 – 00:23:54.760 So when you get the video, you're gonna be like,
  372. 00:23:54.760 – 00:23:57.060 yeah, okay, we want more.
  373. 00:23:57.220 – 00:23:58.600 Maybe you get more, maybe.
  374. 00:23:59.380 – 00:24:00.960 But, you know, I'm gonna relax.
  375. 00:24:01.040 – 00:24:02.260 I'm chilling, I'm tired,
  376. 00:24:02.280 – 00:24:06.060 but I definitely want to push through, create.
  377. 00:24:06.520 – 00:24:09.620 I might drop this tonight, unedited, whatever,
  378. 00:24:09.700 – 00:24:11.080 you know, I'm creating.
  379. 00:24:12.760 – 00:24:17.180 And yeah, but shout out to that restaurant.
  380. 00:24:17.520 – 00:24:19.260 You know, it was still good.
  381. 00:24:20.540 – 00:24:22.740 And I just, I just, I just count that as a tip
  382. 00:24:22.740 – 00:24:23.980 towards the tip, it's cool.
  383. 00:24:24.390 – 00:24:30.200 They left the tater tots out, but it's all good.
  384. 00:24:30.900 – 00:24:34.940 I know good karma is in the universe for me.
  385. 00:24:35.520 – 00:24:39.500 I'm gonna get a lifetime supply of tater tots.
  386. 00:24:39.640 – 00:24:40.240 I don't know.
  387. 00:24:41.140 – 00:24:44.060 Maybe I might invest in potatoes.
  388. 00:24:44.120 – 00:24:44.900 I don't know.
  389. 00:24:45.360 – 00:24:46.760 All right, at that point I'm just rambling,
  390. 00:24:47.040 – 00:24:48.860 but yeah, stay, stay tuned.
  391. 00:24:49.060 – 00:24:50.680 I might, I might do this tomorrow
  392. 00:24:50.680 – 00:24:54.780 as we wrap up podcast summit with day two.
  393. 00:24:54.780 – 00:24:57.840 So yeah, I'll do this tomorrow for y'all.
  394. 00:24:57.860 – 00:25:00.960 So if you like this, excuse me,
  395. 00:25:00.980 – 00:25:03.060 make sure you check out the next video.
  396. 00:25:04.020 – 00:25:06.040 Part two, this is part one.
  397. 00:25:06.400 – 00:25:10.580 Mr. Photographer Jackson of Alienize Photos Industry Talk
  398. 00:25:10.580 – 00:25:13.520 and also of Alienize Photos Media,
  399. 00:25:14.360 – 00:25:15.840 my event photography brand
  400. 00:25:15.840 – 00:25:18.300 where I do conferences, live events.
  401. 00:25:19.440 – 00:25:23.980 I do weddings and headshots.
  402. 00:25:24.440 – 00:25:26.360 I do a few other things,
  403. 00:25:26.460 – 00:25:28.280 but those are my main services.
  404. 00:25:28.960 – 00:25:30.820 Event photography is my bread and butter.
  405. 00:25:30.880 – 00:25:31.620 That's what I love.
  406. 00:25:31.660 – 00:25:32.900 That's what I'm passionate about.
  407. 00:25:33.180 – 00:25:35.220 That's where I love connecting with people.
  408. 00:25:36.280 – 00:25:39.580 It's nothing like a good event and that has impact.
  409. 00:25:41.720 – 00:25:43.080 When I get to document it,
  410. 00:25:43.500 – 00:25:46.660 there's nothing better than that to me.
  411. 00:25:48.660 – 00:25:52.940 And I provide quality and I have a good team behind me.
  412. 00:25:53.480 – 00:25:56.900 You know, I'm blessed for everyone that worked with us,
  413. 00:25:56.960 – 00:25:58.720 continue to book with us,
  414. 00:25:59.060 – 00:26:00.900 and I'm only growing and expanding.
  415. 00:26:01.100 – 00:26:05.280 I'm teaching a new era of photographers and videographers,
  416. 00:26:06.420 – 00:26:08.420 bit, bit-ographers, bit-ographers.
  417. 00:26:08.900 – 00:26:10.480 I know I probably butchered that word,
  418. 00:26:11.500 – 00:26:13.920 but you know, media producers,
  419. 00:26:14.620 – 00:26:20.360 hosts, producers, you know, it's writers.
  420. 00:26:20.960 – 00:26:26.450 I got a lot in store, you know?
  421. 00:26:29.410 – 00:26:33.710 And anybody that's watching this or listening to this,
  422. 00:26:34.370 – 00:26:36.050 you know, don't be afraid of your growth.
  423. 00:26:37.550 – 00:26:39.330 Do not be afraid of your growth
  424. 00:26:39.330 – 00:26:41.030 and I'ma leave it at that, you know?
  425. 00:26:41.490 – 00:26:46.110 This is Mr. Alienize Photos, AKA photographer Jackson.
  426. 00:26:46.650 – 00:26:50.030 I am signing off and I think my audio cut out,
  427. 00:26:50.030 – 00:26:52.210 but I hope this other mic is rolling,
  428. 00:26:52.290 – 00:26:55.570 but I've been vlogging, so I hope it picked up.
  429. 00:26:55.570 – 00:26:59.750 It's cause yeah, I ran out of memory, y'all,
  430. 00:26:59.770 – 00:27:00.710 that's what happened.
  431. 00:27:01.170 – 00:27:02.790 But it's all good because
  432. 00:27:02.790 – 00:27:04.650 that's what backup mics are for.
  433. 00:27:05.050 – 00:27:07.850 Always have backups, that's my rule.
  434. 00:27:09.450 – 00:27:11.050 Except if you're in a relationship,
  435. 00:27:11.050 – 00:27:12.950 then you just gotta stick it out and work it out.
  436. 00:27:13.590 – 00:27:14.550 But other than that,
  437. 00:27:16.390 – 00:27:19.490 in business, have backup, backup computers, backup.
  438. 00:27:19.490 – 00:27:21.570 In my, you know, media space,
  439. 00:27:21.790 – 00:27:26.590 backup cameras, backup lighting, backup microphones, so.
  440. 00:27:27.070 – 00:27:27.630 Oof.
  441. 00:27:28.150 – 00:27:30.130 Backup clothes sometimes, you know?
  442. 00:27:30.150 – 00:27:33.170 People may spill water or something or drink
  443. 00:27:33.630 – 00:27:35.330 on your clothes or you may do it
  444. 00:27:35.330 – 00:27:38.230 or eat something saucy and you spilt it on ya.
  445. 00:27:39.010 – 00:27:40.270 Yeah, you're good clothes.
  446. 00:27:40.790 – 00:27:42.470 Always have backup, so.
  447. 00:27:43.370 – 00:27:45.110 Yeah, that's my tip for today.
  448. 00:27:45.770 – 00:27:47.870 Podcast summit and here in Atlanta.
  449. 00:27:48.370 – 00:27:51.890 Thank you, Mr. David Shands, Social Proof, Donnie Wiggins,
  450. 00:27:52.130 – 00:27:54.090 all everybody, the morning meetup.
  451. 00:27:54.310 – 00:27:56.370 Man, shout out to all of y'all, the inner circle.
  452. 00:27:57.450 – 00:28:00.150 I will see y'all tomorrow, but for the vlog,
  453. 00:28:00.210 – 00:28:02.710 make sure y'all take out part two.
  454. 00:28:03.630 – 00:28:05.110 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  455. 00:28:07.620 – 00:28:09.480 All right, I just wrapped up the,
  456. 00:28:09.500 – 00:28:10.740 I just made it into a vlog.
  457. 00:28:10.740 – 00:28:13.400 I'm sorry for the audio listeners, I know.
  458. 00:28:13.760 – 00:28:15.720 I could be doing the most sometime.
  459. 00:28:16.380 – 00:28:18.840 My audio cut off from my main source,
  460. 00:28:18.840 – 00:28:20.780 but it's all cool,
  461. 00:28:21.300 – 00:28:24.380 because we are back and I'm gonna wrap up.
  462. 00:28:24.440 – 00:28:25.940 Thank you for the backup, Mike.
  463. 00:28:26.000 – 00:28:29.080 Shout out to Ms. Brianna at Overflow Studios
  464. 00:28:29.080 – 00:28:30.680 for the backup, Mike,
  465. 00:28:31.120 – 00:28:33.920 because mine is full and she gave me hers.
  466. 00:28:34.440 – 00:28:38.980 So, man, she gon' get a free photo shoot or something.
  467. 00:28:39.640 – 00:28:42.180 Well, her birthday coming up, y'all, so.
  468. 00:28:43.100 – 00:28:45.640 And my daughter's birthday is, oh, it's tomorrow.
  469. 00:28:47.020 – 00:28:48.140 Oh, wow.
  470. 00:28:48.140 – 00:28:50.240 So, yeah, I'm about to jump off of here,
  471. 00:28:50.940 – 00:28:55.300 and yeah, I gotta send out the love to the babies
  472. 00:28:55.300 – 00:28:56.420 while I'm out of town.
  473. 00:28:57.640 – 00:29:00.580 All right, peace, love, and blessings, family.
  474. 00:29:00.920 – 00:29:07.140 Mr. Alienize Photos Industry Talk is out for the day,
  475. 00:29:07.520 – 00:29:09.540 but you already know what I say.
  476. 00:29:09.720 – 00:29:12.400 If you need me for coaching or event photography,
  477. 00:29:13.120 – 00:29:14.680 I am your guy.
  478. 00:29:15.320 – 00:29:18.960 And then visit alienizephotos.com.
  479. 00:29:19.220 – 00:29:23.460 That's alienize photos with a Z, photos.
  480. 00:29:25.770 – 00:29:27.130 Do I say photos with a Z?
  481. 00:29:27.770 – 00:29:29.070 Photos with a S.
  482. 00:29:30.630 – 00:29:34.410 Alienizephotos, eyes with a Z, photos with a S.
  483. 00:29:34.990 – 00:29:37.830 And I'm out, I'm tired as rock-a-tail, peace.

Back to contents

80. Father's Day Fuel & Interview Purpose

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.980 – 00:00:09.380 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to Alienize Photos in the Street Talk.
  2. 00:00:10.640 – 00:00:22.840 I am your host, photographer Jackson, and I am in a beautiful space here, 216 Cleveland.
  3. 00:00:24.440 – 00:00:28.540 I saw it on the clock so I had to say it, I had to do it, and it's true, I'm here
  4. 00:00:28.540 – 00:00:35.220 in Cleveland, Ohio, born and raised, and just feeling good.
  5. 00:00:36.180 – 00:00:48.760 I had to do a little self-reflection, self-analysis, get myself together, because I felt in this
  6. 00:00:48.760 – 00:00:56.840 hump, and I just couldn't get over the hump, you know, starting doubting myself
  7. 00:00:56.840 – 00:01:07.630 and, you know, just listening to the naysayers and the outside and letting it affect me,
  8. 00:01:08.090 – 00:01:15.870 affect my greatness, affect my journey, affect my purpose, affect my experiences, affect
  9. 00:01:15.870 – 00:01:24.270 my thoughts, and they say when you do not have control over your thoughts, you become
  10. 00:01:24.270 – 00:01:25.510 a slave to it.
  11. 00:01:27.840 – 00:01:37.040 So that means I was becoming a slave to other people's thoughts, not doing what I was
  12. 00:01:37.040 – 00:01:40.640 supposed to do, being who I was supposed to be.
  13. 00:01:42.790 – 00:01:54.400 I let it affect my personal life, my business, my growth, and, you know, children are
  14. 00:01:54.400 – 00:01:59.260 out of school for the summer, so it's affecting my kids, because they're around
  15. 00:01:59.260 – 00:02:10.509 me a lot more, versus when they are in school, nieces, nephews, it's affecting the youth.
  16. 00:02:13.050 – 00:02:23.450 So I had to check myself, get myself in line, speak with some close people to get
  17. 00:02:23.450 – 00:02:31.500 me back on track, and that's the beauty of just speaking to others, communicating,
  18. 00:02:32.100 – 00:02:38.420 hearing other people's experiences and thoughts, people that know you better than they may
  19. 00:02:38.420 – 00:02:47.040 see how you look in the mirror and point out something that you never seen before.
  20. 00:02:48.160 – 00:02:51.060 Like, do you know you got this greatness inside you?
  21. 00:02:51.200 – 00:02:55.960 Every time you walk in a room, people turn their heads and just look at you,
  22. 00:02:56.860 – 00:03:01.160 gravitate towards your energy, your aura, your presence.
  23. 00:03:01.960 – 00:03:03.840 You shift the energy in the room.
  24. 00:03:06.570 – 00:03:08.650 Do you remember who you are?
  25. 00:03:09.190 – 00:03:11.370 What are you talking about, dude?
  26. 00:03:13.650 – 00:03:22.070 And all you need is that little wake-up call sometimes, reminders, and it's good to set
  27. 00:03:22.070 – 00:03:28.370 those reminders on our phones, but what about reminders in our real life, our reality?
  28. 00:03:29.730 – 00:03:40.320 People who mean so dear and close to us, people so dear and close to us, and I just
  29. 00:03:40.320 – 00:03:44.880 think about what I'm doing now, podcasting, interviewing.
  30. 00:03:48.760 – 00:03:55.980 If I knew all of that now, I would have got to interview with them.
  31. 00:03:57.120 – 00:04:02.860 People that mean so much and dear to my heart, who means a lot to me.
  32. 00:04:04.260 – 00:04:17.260 Family members, friends, old business partners, but they're not here to have that interview.
  33. 00:04:18.820 – 00:04:28.790 So me not having it back then, when I had that chance to speak to a loved one, someone
  34. 00:04:28.790 – 00:04:35.690 that means so much and dear to my heart, my life, my existence, my family's existence,
  35. 00:04:35.690 – 00:04:44.820 my friends' existence, business' existence, or whatever the case, I didn't get that chance,
  36. 00:04:45.420 – 00:04:47.640 and I don't have that chance.
  37. 00:04:49.460 – 00:04:54.700 So it's important for me to have these conversations with people that I feel dear
  38. 00:04:55.540 – 00:05:00.180 and grateful in my life, that I appreciate.
  39. 00:05:02.030 – 00:05:10.210 It's important for me to have these conversations and share light and also learn from each
  40. 00:05:10.210 – 00:05:19.540 other, let the world learn from us, our journey, our mistakes, our lessons, our
  41. 00:05:19.540 – 00:05:31.460 growth, our passion, our wins, our elevation, our collaboration, our inspiration, our purpose,
  42. 00:05:32.520 – 00:05:39.000 everything that we do, everything that we know you can do.
  43. 00:05:40.950 – 00:05:45.570 We all excel and motivate and uplift each other.
  44. 00:05:46.830 – 00:05:50.390 And it's important to do that. It's important to have these conversations.
  45. 00:05:53.290 – 00:05:56.590 I know you can hear it in my voice. It's the passion.
  46. 00:05:58.230 – 00:06:04.140 And that is why I take every interview serious.
  47. 00:06:04.140 – 00:06:10.440 We may spend almost a half a day, 12 hours.
  48. 00:06:14.600 – 00:06:18.060 That's why I say we might have to block off a full day.
  49. 00:06:18.660 – 00:06:20.140 I don't have no time restrictions.
  50. 00:06:21.360 – 00:06:29.010 Hey, we have to break this up into like five, six episodes because it's so long.
  51. 00:06:29.070 – 00:06:30.370 We're going to do that.
  52. 00:06:31.530 – 00:06:33.790 But I don't want to rush. I don't want to force.
  53. 00:06:34.650 – 00:06:41.130 Most of my conversations are like an hour and a half, two hours average right now.
  54. 00:06:41.370 – 00:06:48.390 But there's times where I know it'll went like six hours if I didn't just stop it,
  55. 00:06:48.530 – 00:06:49.390 wrap it up, you know?
  56. 00:06:51.690 – 00:06:55.490 And I also don't want to make it too long for the audience.
  57. 00:06:55.610 – 00:07:02.450 But I also don't want to not have that information, those conversations,
  58. 00:07:02.450 – 00:07:10.910 those important journeys, gems, lessons, the growth, the wins.
  59. 00:07:13.700 – 00:07:15.140 You know, it's good.
  60. 00:07:16.180 – 00:07:18.420 And it's good to express that all.
  61. 00:07:19.920 – 00:07:24.740 It's like, damn, man, we finally got a chance to catch up and talk, man.
  62. 00:07:24.760 – 00:07:28.120 Let's just talk, man. Let's talk.
  63. 00:07:32.620 – 00:07:37.740 So with that being said, you really can't put limits on things.
  64. 00:07:40.660 – 00:07:46.000 And sometimes you have to do it without preparing, do it without planning.
  65. 00:07:47.040 – 00:07:48.440 Just go with the flow.
  66. 00:07:50.620 – 00:07:52.640 Sometimes you have to do it without a script.
  67. 00:07:54.460 – 00:07:56.020 Oh, I didn't have a time to write the script.
  68. 00:07:56.080 – 00:07:57.380 I didn't have a time to prepare.
  69. 00:07:58.440 – 00:08:00.440 Well, you know who you are.
  70. 00:08:00.440 – 00:08:02.540 You know what you do. You know what your purpose is.
  71. 00:08:02.620 – 00:08:03.720 You know this.
  72. 00:08:04.800 – 00:08:05.760 Just go with the flow.
  73. 00:08:06.280 – 00:08:08.900 You didn't have time to practice, but you showed up.
  74. 00:08:08.960 – 00:08:09.880 That's what matters.
  75. 00:08:10.360 – 00:08:11.860 You showed up.
  76. 00:08:12.820 – 00:08:17.460 And that's also something that I had to remember that I was still showing up,
  77. 00:08:17.540 – 00:08:26.040 no matter how I felt, how I took it, how I felt in this negative slump.
  78. 00:08:27.300 – 00:08:30.420 I still showed up.
  79. 00:08:32.320 – 00:08:33.799 Tired, drained.
  80. 00:08:36.309 – 00:08:38.809 I knew I wasn't in my energetic self.
  81. 00:08:39.830 – 00:08:42.770 And I feel it finally coming back, y'all.
  82. 00:08:43.490 – 00:08:44.490 I'm back.
  83. 00:08:46.920 – 00:08:49.660 And I just want to pass that motivation,
  84. 00:08:51.100 – 00:08:53.700 quick tidbits while it was on my heart.
  85. 00:08:54.160 – 00:08:57.340 And I felt so grateful and back in myself.
  86. 00:08:58.440 – 00:09:00.920 Day one, this is day one of my shift.
  87. 00:09:01.300 – 00:09:02.780 And I just wanted to give that to you.
  88. 00:09:02.780 – 00:09:04.100 For that electricity.
  89. 00:09:04.440 – 00:09:06.680 Fire y'all up, because this fired me up.
  90. 00:09:07.120 – 00:09:07.900 I'm back.
  91. 00:09:09.060 – 00:09:11.680 Now I can do the work that I'm used to doing.
  92. 00:09:12.000 – 00:09:13.060 High level.
  93. 00:09:14.000 – 00:09:17.140 Coaching, consulting, performing at a high level.
  94. 00:09:21.380 – 00:09:22.060 I'm ready.
  95. 00:09:23.500 – 00:09:27.460 And I want you to be just as ready as I am.
  96. 00:09:29.650 – 00:09:30.970 Feel what I'm feeling.
  97. 00:09:31.230 – 00:09:32.050 The passion.
  98. 00:09:33.310 – 00:09:34.290 The purpose.
  99. 00:09:36.610 – 00:09:37.530 Blend it together.
  100. 00:09:42.710 – 00:09:45.530 But just be ready for the interviews.
  101. 00:09:52.120 – 00:09:53.660 I'm telling y'all.
  102. 00:09:54.380 – 00:09:56.340 It's a lot that's on the way.
  103. 00:10:00.720 – 00:10:01.620 I'm excited.
  104. 00:10:03.950 – 00:10:05.370 Trying to relax and calm down.
  105. 00:10:06.550 – 00:10:08.930 But the passion is still there.
  106. 00:10:09.030 – 00:10:10.110 I'm fired up.
  107. 00:10:10.750 – 00:10:14.830 So with that being said, I got to get to work.
  108. 00:10:16.110 – 00:10:17.230 I got to put in the work.
  109. 00:10:18.450 – 00:10:21.210 I have a lot to do.
  110. 00:10:25.430 – 00:10:27.910 And it's Father's Day, y'all.
  111. 00:10:30.130 – 00:10:31.590 It's Father's Day.
  112. 00:10:34.590 – 00:10:38.770 Probably not going to release this on Father's Day, but it's Father's Day.
  113. 00:10:40.430 – 00:10:42.550 You know, my daughter asked me.
  114. 00:10:43.130 – 00:10:49.660 She said, daddy, what you want for Father's Day?
  115. 00:10:51.260 – 00:10:54.420 And I said, a day off.
  116. 00:10:55.140 – 00:10:56.920 Just relax and do nothing.
  117. 00:10:56.920 – 00:11:03.310 And I actually have the opportunity to do that.
  118. 00:11:03.350 – 00:11:06.050 But I'm still getting to work.
  119. 00:11:07.170 – 00:11:09.530 So do I really know how to relax?
  120. 00:11:11.210 – 00:11:11.310 Huh.
  121. 00:11:12.670 – 00:11:13.490 Well, I'm going to try, y'all.
  122. 00:11:13.690 – 00:11:15.070 But let me get to work.
  123. 00:11:15.690 – 00:11:18.230 At least so I can relax for the rest of the day.
  124. 00:11:19.110 – 00:11:19.990 While I can.
  125. 00:11:20.890 – 00:11:24.250 I definitely got a busy week coming into next week.
  126. 00:11:24.270 – 00:11:26.650 And then a wedding coming up the following week.
  127. 00:11:26.650 – 00:11:28.850 So it's a lot of preparation.
  128. 00:11:29.110 – 00:11:31.090 It's a lot of things to get back done.
  129. 00:11:31.570 – 00:11:33.250 Now I'm feeling like myself again.
  130. 00:11:34.230 – 00:11:36.030 So I'm going to leverage that.
  131. 00:11:36.430 – 00:11:37.810 Keep that momentum going.
  132. 00:11:38.730 – 00:11:43.450 Hopefully I don't feel like I felt this past week.
  133. 00:11:43.810 – 00:11:45.290 I'm shutting off the week.
  134. 00:11:46.590 – 00:11:48.630 Spreading my wings, sun shining.
  135. 00:11:49.890 – 00:11:53.970 And ready to get to grind mode.
  136. 00:11:55.490 – 00:11:59.490 I was going to say work, but I'm saying I'm getting tired of saying work grind mode.
  137. 00:11:59.870 – 00:12:00.950 I'm going to think of a better word.
  138. 00:12:01.590 – 00:12:02.770 So many.
  139. 00:12:03.090 – 00:12:03.630 All right, y'all.
  140. 00:12:03.970 – 00:12:04.350 Peace.
  141. 00:12:05.090 – 00:12:09.910 Again, if you ever want to check me out, more information, alienoplayer.com.
  142. 00:12:10.230 – 00:12:14.890 If you need me for business coaching, or if you need me as an event photographer,
  143. 00:12:16.410 – 00:12:23.320 or whatever you need in business, consult with me.
  144. 00:12:24.320 – 00:12:27.280 I know somebody that knows somebody.
  145. 00:12:28.360 – 00:12:32.280 And I want to start utilizing my network.
  146. 00:12:33.460 – 00:12:35.340 Putting everybody on.
  147. 00:12:35.980 – 00:12:37.800 Everybody collaborating with everybody.
  148. 00:12:40.060 – 00:12:42.980 So yeah, just hit me up.
  149. 00:12:43.780 – 00:12:49.460 Like I said, this episode, I'm just feeling like myself again.
  150. 00:12:50.000 – 00:12:51.460 So I'm so excited.
  151. 00:12:52.400 – 00:12:54.540 I know you can hear it.
  152. 00:12:54.540 – 00:12:55.460 And I'm just everywhere.
  153. 00:12:56.240 – 00:12:57.400 Mine is everywhere.
  154. 00:12:58.940 – 00:13:01.380 Just like the ideas that I have.
  155. 00:13:01.980 – 00:13:03.880 So if you want to have an ideation session,
  156. 00:13:05.780 – 00:13:11.360 a nice five minute or an hour ideation session.
  157. 00:13:13.510 – 00:13:14.830 Let's have it.
  158. 00:13:15.990 – 00:13:21.110 It helps unlock different thoughts you knew you had,
  159. 00:13:21.830 – 00:13:23.530 but wasn't thinking about.
  160. 00:13:25.720 – 00:13:26.960 And that's what I do.
  161. 00:13:28.140 – 00:13:30.000 Help people realize for themselves.
  162. 00:13:31.660 – 00:13:32.760 I just guide them.
  163. 00:13:32.840 – 00:13:37.820 I'm the guide to the destination you want to go.
  164. 00:13:40.110 – 00:13:40.650 All right, y'all.
  165. 00:13:40.730 – 00:13:41.690 Peace, love, and blessings.
  166. 00:13:42.670 – 00:13:44.150 I am out.
  167. 00:13:44.730 – 00:13:49.030 Mr. Photographer Jackson, Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  168. 00:13:49.950 – 00:13:51.170 Yes, yes.

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81. Khayla Monique - The Unshatter'd Adoptee Interviewed by Steve Jackson (Alien)

Season 2 · Episode 1

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.870 – 00:00:06.370 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back
  2. 00:00:07.270 – 00:00:10.210 to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:10.930 – 00:00:12.690 Yes, it's a beautiful day.
  4. 00:00:13.030 – 00:00:15.190 I'm finally catching up with Ress.
  5. 00:00:15.410 – 00:00:16.830 Oh, I'm getting a retwist.
  6. 00:00:16.910 – 00:00:19.410 So that means something special might be going on
  7. 00:00:19.410 – 00:00:21.990 as you can hear in the background.
  8. 00:00:22.770 – 00:00:28.970 The clips, the combs, the hair management, the sprays.
  9. 00:00:29.250 – 00:00:31.270 And now we're about to add good conversation
  10. 00:00:31.270 – 00:00:34.010 and I'm here with Kayla Monique.
  11. 00:00:34.310 – 00:00:35.450 Would you like to introduce yourself?
  12. 00:00:35.750 – 00:00:36.730 Yes, yes, yes.
  13. 00:00:36.810 – 00:00:40.590 Hey everybody, it is your girl, Kayla Monique,
  14. 00:00:40.850 – 00:00:43.370 AKA The Unshattered Adoptee.
  15. 00:00:43.830 – 00:00:47.290 Yes, Unshattered Adoptee, what does that mean to you?
  16. 00:00:47.610 – 00:00:49.290 What does that mean to me?
  17. 00:00:49.490 – 00:00:53.350 Okay, so when I think of Unshattered Adoptee,
  18. 00:00:53.990 – 00:00:56.950 I think of glass.
  19. 00:00:58.210 – 00:00:59.710 Now, but when I think of the glass,
  20. 00:00:59.710 – 00:01:03.050 sometimes glass can have cracks in it,
  21. 00:01:03.110 – 00:01:04.650 but still take up space.
  22. 00:01:05.110 – 00:01:06.730 The visual, like maybe a bus stop,
  23. 00:01:07.050 – 00:01:09.490 that glass is shattered, but it still takes up space.
  24. 00:01:10.010 – 00:01:12.150 Other glass can shatter and actually fall
  25. 00:01:12.150 – 00:01:13.490 and crumble to the ground.
  26. 00:01:13.550 – 00:01:16.730 I like to believe that me and my tribe,
  27. 00:01:16.850 – 00:01:19.170 other adoptees, other individuals affected
  28. 00:01:19.170 – 00:01:22.070 by foster care, teen pregnancy,
  29. 00:01:22.430 – 00:01:23.790 we are all unshattered
  30. 00:01:23.790 – 00:01:25.590 because we're still standing here today.
  31. 00:01:26.170 – 00:01:27.790 I'm still standing here today.
  32. 00:01:27.790 – 00:01:30.510 I have some cracks, but that's okay.
  33. 00:01:30.690 – 00:01:31.990 And that makes me unique.
  34. 00:01:32.710 – 00:01:34.510 So I'm still here today.
  35. 00:01:34.750 – 00:01:36.510 So when I say be unshattered,
  36. 00:01:36.590 – 00:01:37.770 that's exactly what I mean
  37. 00:01:37.770 – 00:01:39.570 because everybody has some cracks.
  38. 00:01:40.270 – 00:01:41.830 Everybody has a few stains
  39. 00:01:41.830 – 00:01:43.890 from something that they've been through in life,
  40. 00:01:44.190 – 00:01:45.370 but you're still here.
  41. 00:01:45.490 – 00:01:48.270 So you are unshattered, just like I am unshattered.
  42. 00:01:48.550 – 00:01:52.310 So that's what Unshattered Adoptee stands for.
  43. 00:01:52.750 – 00:01:55.050 Wow, that's truly powerful.
  44. 00:01:55.050 – 00:01:57.090 And also motivating,
  45. 00:01:58.950 – 00:02:00.230 especially for other people
  46. 00:02:00.930 – 00:02:02.950 that may be going through similar things.
  47. 00:02:03.530 – 00:02:04.530 Absolutely, for sure.
  48. 00:02:04.930 – 00:02:06.890 So I would say, is that your line of work?
  49. 00:02:07.850 – 00:02:09.729 Yes, yes, yes, yes.
  50. 00:02:12.210 – 00:02:14.770 So both personally and professionally,
  51. 00:02:15.030 – 00:02:18.330 so I am currently a youth behavior health specialist
  52. 00:02:18.330 – 00:02:20.830 with Ohio Guidestone here in Cleveland,
  53. 00:02:21.350 – 00:02:24.730 working with youth ages six to 18.
  54. 00:02:25.230 – 00:02:27.330 And then on the personal side,
  55. 00:02:27.410 – 00:02:30.650 that's kind of what my new podcast is gonna be about,
  56. 00:02:30.930 – 00:02:33.510 being able to take that time to pour into the youth,
  57. 00:02:33.670 – 00:02:36.930 but also adults affected by foster care and adoption
  58. 00:02:36.930 – 00:02:38.950 since now I am an adult.
  59. 00:02:39.210 – 00:02:41.690 So I'm able to empathize with what it is
  60. 00:02:41.690 – 00:02:43.610 to be an adult as an adoptee
  61. 00:02:43.610 – 00:02:44.310 and some of the struggles
  62. 00:02:44.310 – 00:02:45.990 that we may go through as adults.
  63. 00:02:46.250 – 00:02:49.050 So yes, personally, I'm starting my podcast
  64. 00:02:49.050 – 00:02:51.750 to help individuals affected by foster care
  65. 00:02:51.750 – 00:02:53.750 and adoption and mental health,
  66. 00:02:53.750 – 00:02:55.310 and then professionally,
  67. 00:02:55.550 – 00:02:58.290 I work with the youth as a behavior health specialist.
  68. 00:02:58.370 – 00:03:00.490 So yeah, that's my line of work.
  69. 00:03:00.570 – 00:03:02.210 That's purpose for sure.
  70. 00:03:02.630 – 00:03:04.510 Did you say podcast?
  71. 00:03:05.150 – 00:03:07.070 I did say podcast.
  72. 00:03:07.130 – 00:03:08.590 And for the people listening in,
  73. 00:03:08.610 – 00:03:09.710 what's the name of your podcast?
  74. 00:03:10.310 – 00:03:12.310 So the name of my podcast is
  75. 00:03:12.310 – 00:03:15.870 Unshattered Adoptee Podcast that is coming this April,
  76. 00:03:15.870 – 00:03:17.150 so please stay tuned.
  77. 00:03:17.990 – 00:03:19.230 Okay, April, April, April.
  78. 00:03:19.530 – 00:03:21.210 Yes, Aries season.
  79. 00:03:22.130 – 00:03:24.430 Got a rapid Aries, Aries Aries.
  80. 00:03:24.430 – 00:03:26.270 Yes, period, big Aries.
  81. 00:03:26.990 – 00:03:28.450 So the time when it's recording,
  82. 00:03:29.390 – 00:03:30.630 by the time it's released,
  83. 00:03:31.050 – 00:03:32.370 people should be able to find it.
  84. 00:03:33.230 – 00:03:35.690 So definitely check out all,
  85. 00:03:35.930 – 00:03:37.270 if it's gonna be everywhere, I don't know.
  86. 00:03:37.710 – 00:03:39.030 Well, for it to start off,
  87. 00:03:39.030 – 00:03:43.350 it's gonna be on IG at unshattered underscore adoptee
  88. 00:03:43.350 – 00:03:46.670 as well as my personal page at miss underscore Kayla
  89. 00:03:46.670 – 00:03:47.850 with two A's,
  90. 00:03:48.030 – 00:03:50.770 and future plans are to have it on Apple
  91. 00:03:50.770 – 00:03:51.450 and Spotify,
  92. 00:03:51.730 – 00:03:53.350 but you'll also be able to see it on YouTube.
  93. 00:03:53.590 – 00:03:55.210 Oh yeah, we gonna get you there.
  94. 00:03:55.390 – 00:03:56.470 Oh yeah, for sure.
  95. 00:03:57.410 – 00:03:59.550 And can you spell it out for the individuals?
  96. 00:04:00.330 – 00:04:02.510 So what did you want me to spell out?
  97. 00:04:02.770 – 00:04:04.190 Yeah, unshattered, just what it's saying.
  98. 00:04:04.210 – 00:04:04.950 Unshattered, perfect.
  99. 00:04:04.970 – 00:04:06.870 Cause people may be driving or.
  100. 00:04:06.910 – 00:04:07.950 You're absolutely right.
  101. 00:04:08.250 – 00:04:15.590 So unshattered is spelled U-N-S-H-A-T-T-E-R-D.
  102. 00:04:15.790 – 00:04:20.750 Okay, again, that's U-N-S-H-A-T-T-E-R-D.
  103. 00:04:21.890 – 00:04:23.010 Unshattered adoptee.
  104. 00:04:23.290 – 00:04:23.610 Yes, yes.
  105. 00:04:23.670 – 00:04:25.650 And it will also be in a show notes.
  106. 00:04:27.030 – 00:04:28.950 Yes, thank you, thank you.
  107. 00:04:30.210 – 00:04:32.790 And you had a chance on coming to
  108. 00:04:32.790 – 00:04:35.850 actually podcast workshop that I was presenting at.
  109. 00:04:37.190 – 00:04:39.190 You wanna talk a little bit about your experience?
  110. 00:04:39.770 – 00:04:40.430 I do.
  111. 00:04:40.650 – 00:04:43.770 So first off, it was an amazing experience.
  112. 00:04:43.830 – 00:04:45.710 I definitely wanna say that,
  113. 00:04:45.910 – 00:04:47.790 just the knowledge that you guys shared
  114. 00:04:47.790 – 00:04:50.070 and then being able to fill my trailer,
  115. 00:04:50.070 – 00:04:52.370 which you guys have already seen on my platforms
  116. 00:04:52.370 – 00:04:53.290 on Instagram.
  117. 00:04:54.290 – 00:04:57.850 And yes, A-L-E-N-I took care of that for me.
  118. 00:04:58.130 – 00:04:59.230 So shout out to him.
  119. 00:04:59.690 – 00:05:00.950 Absolutely loved the trailer.
  120. 00:05:01.090 – 00:05:02.810 So yes, I went to the event.
  121. 00:05:03.150 – 00:05:04.550 And the funny thing is,
  122. 00:05:05.090 – 00:05:06.330 I wasn't sure if I was gonna come.
  123. 00:05:06.890 – 00:05:07.330 What?
  124. 00:05:07.790 – 00:05:10.090 You know, it's crazy you say that
  125. 00:05:10.930 – 00:05:13.770 because last minute we were thinking about canceling.
  126. 00:05:14.130 – 00:05:16.450 Oh wow, I didn't know that.
  127. 00:05:16.510 – 00:05:17.330 Yeah. Okay.
  128. 00:05:17.330 – 00:05:19.730 So we stuck through and you stuck through.
  129. 00:05:20.630 – 00:05:21.630 Confirmation right there.
  130. 00:05:21.710 – 00:05:23.030 Yeah, we just gotta make it happen.
  131. 00:05:23.110 – 00:05:24.990 You know, you may feel those,
  132. 00:05:25.210 – 00:05:26.130 you know, like you said,
  133. 00:05:26.150 – 00:05:27.250 you might have these stains,
  134. 00:05:27.330 – 00:05:28.910 you may be better than bruised,
  135. 00:05:28.930 – 00:05:30.650 but you still gotta push through.
  136. 00:05:30.830 – 00:05:31.430 Come on now.
  137. 00:05:31.450 – 00:05:33.250 You know, I'm tired most of the days.
  138. 00:05:33.250 – 00:05:34.150 People don't know that,
  139. 00:05:34.310 – 00:05:35.710 but I still push through.
  140. 00:05:36.650 – 00:05:37.530 Absolutely, absolutely.
  141. 00:05:37.530 – 00:05:38.250 So you got to.
  142. 00:05:38.470 – 00:05:41.190 And that was definitely me that day.
  143. 00:05:41.910 – 00:05:43.970 Like most of us do, we'll have a plan,
  144. 00:05:43.970 – 00:05:45.770 but sometimes the day just
  145. 00:05:45.770 – 00:05:47.570 takes a completely different direction.
  146. 00:05:47.570 – 00:05:49.630 And that's what it was for me that day.
  147. 00:05:49.990 – 00:05:52.110 By the time I was getting ready to come to you guys,
  148. 00:05:52.110 – 00:05:53.690 I was already an hour late.
  149. 00:05:54.030 – 00:05:56.070 So in my mind, I'm like, oh my gosh,
  150. 00:05:56.150 – 00:05:57.770 I've been doing hair all day.
  151. 00:05:57.930 – 00:06:00.450 I'm not dressed the way I wanna be dressed.
  152. 00:06:00.910 – 00:06:02.550 Like I don't even know if I'm gonna go,
  153. 00:06:02.690 – 00:06:05.610 but last minute I kind of gave myself that push,
  154. 00:06:05.670 – 00:06:08.550 which I encourage everybody to do.
  155. 00:06:08.550 – 00:06:10.110 Even if you don't feel like you want to,
  156. 00:06:10.130 – 00:06:12.430 but you know it's something that's gonna elevate you
  157. 00:06:12.430 – 00:06:15.710 personally on your self-discovery journey, do it.
  158. 00:06:15.850 – 00:06:17.470 And that's literally what I did.
  159. 00:06:17.470 – 00:06:18.750 Like I said, I was an hour late.
  160. 00:06:19.130 – 00:06:21.690 I wasn't dressed the way I wanted to be dressed,
  161. 00:06:21.890 – 00:06:23.570 but I showed up for myself.
  162. 00:06:23.770 – 00:06:25.230 And I'm so glad that I did
  163. 00:06:25.230 – 00:06:27.130 because I got to network with individuals.
  164. 00:06:27.390 – 00:06:29.570 I got to meet some amazing people.
  165. 00:06:29.690 – 00:06:31.690 And again, I got an amazing trailer.
  166. 00:06:31.970 – 00:06:33.150 You know what I mean?
  167. 00:06:33.150 – 00:06:34.410 And I could have easily said,
  168. 00:06:34.430 – 00:06:35.530 I don't know, I'm not ready.
  169. 00:06:35.590 – 00:06:36.650 I don't wanna do it.
  170. 00:06:36.670 – 00:06:39.010 But no, I trusted myself.
  171. 00:06:39.230 – 00:06:40.430 I trusted my voice,
  172. 00:06:40.710 – 00:06:42.350 which is also something that
  173. 00:06:42.350 – 00:06:44.150 Unshattered Adoptee represents.
  174. 00:06:44.610 – 00:06:45.690 Using your voice.
  175. 00:06:45.690 – 00:06:49.090 Because as adoptees, sometimes we feel like
  176. 00:06:49.090 – 00:06:50.590 our voices don't have power
  177. 00:06:50.590 – 00:06:54.650 or fear of rubbing somebody the wrong way.
  178. 00:06:55.170 – 00:06:57.190 And I've come to a place where
  179. 00:06:57.190 – 00:07:00.050 my voice is one of my biggest gifts.
  180. 00:07:00.790 – 00:07:02.190 Being able to use my voice.
  181. 00:07:02.270 – 00:07:03.650 And then I hear other people say,
  182. 00:07:03.670 – 00:07:06.030 wow, the way you use your voice.
  183. 00:07:06.350 – 00:07:08.250 I'm so glad you use your voice.
  184. 00:07:08.890 – 00:07:09.730 You know what I mean?
  185. 00:07:09.890 – 00:07:11.570 So show up for yourself.
  186. 00:07:12.030 – 00:07:13.330 Even if it scares you,
  187. 00:07:13.510 – 00:07:14.950 even if it's not going perfect
  188. 00:07:14.950 – 00:07:16.410 the way that you expect it to go,
  189. 00:07:16.830 – 00:07:18.910 you never know what reward you're gonna receive
  190. 00:07:18.910 – 00:07:20.710 at the end of showing up for yourself.
  191. 00:07:21.950 – 00:07:22.830 That is amazing.
  192. 00:07:23.290 – 00:07:24.550 And as you say that,
  193. 00:07:24.570 – 00:07:25.910 and you say use your voice
  194. 00:07:25.910 – 00:07:26.950 and words are powerful.
  195. 00:07:27.230 – 00:07:29.830 So definitely be conscious of the words you speak.
  196. 00:07:30.810 – 00:07:32.210 Yes, yes, cool.
  197. 00:07:32.510 – 00:07:34.250 Did you have one of those teachers growing up?
  198. 00:07:34.750 – 00:07:37.270 Like, you know, you talk too much hard.
  199. 00:07:38.410 – 00:07:40.230 Your voice, your mouth gonna get you in trouble.
  200. 00:07:40.330 – 00:07:41.570 Did you have one of those teachers growing up?
  201. 00:07:41.790 – 00:07:42.970 I absolutely did.
  202. 00:07:43.070 – 00:07:44.730 I feel like every year,
  203. 00:07:44.730 – 00:07:45.870 through elementary school,
  204. 00:07:45.870 – 00:07:48.970 I was always getting that on my behavior charts
  205. 00:07:48.970 – 00:07:49.850 or my report card.
  206. 00:07:49.850 – 00:07:52.490 Oh, great stuff, but just a little too talkative.
  207. 00:07:53.270 – 00:07:54.730 You know, and then fast forward
  208. 00:07:54.730 – 00:07:56.270 when I worked in the medical field.
  209. 00:07:56.910 – 00:07:58.630 Sometimes the doctors would have to tell me,
  210. 00:07:58.750 – 00:07:59.930 hey, Kayla, can you keep it down?
  211. 00:08:00.070 – 00:08:02.130 You're a little too loud in there.
  212. 00:08:02.790 – 00:08:06.010 And the funny thing is at times,
  213. 00:08:06.150 – 00:08:07.230 at first when I would hear that,
  214. 00:08:07.350 – 00:08:09.050 it made me wanna be more quiet.
  215. 00:08:09.530 – 00:08:11.970 You know, but as time has gone on
  216. 00:08:11.970 – 00:08:13.950 and I've been doing different opportunities
  217. 00:08:13.950 – 00:08:15.150 where I use my voice,
  218. 00:08:15.390 – 00:08:18.050 I now understand that those people
  219. 00:08:18.050 – 00:08:20.470 who thought that I was too loud or I talked too much,
  220. 00:08:20.810 – 00:08:23.010 they weren't the ones meant to hear me.
  221. 00:08:23.190 – 00:08:26.010 My voice is loud because my voice is meant to project.
  222. 00:08:26.270 – 00:08:27.690 It's meant to touch other people.
  223. 00:08:27.850 – 00:08:31.150 And I can't do that with a timid, shy little voice.
  224. 00:08:31.330 – 00:08:33.169 No, my voice needs to carry.
  225. 00:08:33.570 – 00:08:34.970 It needs to have confidence.
  226. 00:08:35.090 – 00:08:36.789 And it needs to be powerful.
  227. 00:08:37.809 – 00:08:38.730 You know what I mean?
  228. 00:08:38.770 – 00:08:41.070 Just the same way music and the sound of music
  229. 00:08:41.070 – 00:08:43.210 can affect your spirit and how you feel.
  230. 00:08:43.210 – 00:08:45.430 Someone's voice and tone can do the same.
  231. 00:08:45.550 – 00:08:47.750 I'm sure everybody's heard that saying,
  232. 00:08:47.910 – 00:08:50.290 it's not what you say, but how you say it.
  233. 00:08:50.510 – 00:08:51.670 You know what I mean?
  234. 00:08:51.730 – 00:08:53.190 And that's that for me.
  235. 00:08:53.410 – 00:08:54.850 My voice carries in this loud
  236. 00:08:54.850 – 00:08:57.310 because I have a message that I'm meant to share.
  237. 00:08:58.710 – 00:08:59.470 You know what I mean?
  238. 00:08:59.870 – 00:09:01.490 So definitely, for sure.
  239. 00:09:02.050 – 00:09:03.790 Message to millions, for the millions.
  240. 00:09:05.930 – 00:09:12.290 And it kind of reminds me of more dynamic speakers,
  241. 00:09:12.290 – 00:09:14.030 like Les Brown and you know.
  242. 00:09:14.270 – 00:09:15.870 Oh my gosh, love Les Brown.
  243. 00:09:17.210 – 00:09:18.630 When he said, I forgot how much he said
  244. 00:09:18.630 – 00:09:21.250 he makes an hour just for speaking engagement.
  245. 00:09:23.430 – 00:09:27.510 It's I think like 500,000 for two hours.
  246. 00:09:27.570 – 00:09:28.170 Come on.
  247. 00:09:28.510 – 00:09:30.950 Just for using his voice and speaking.
  248. 00:09:31.610 – 00:09:34.710 And not to give too much details or anything like that,
  249. 00:09:34.710 – 00:09:37.070 but one of my speaking opportunities,
  250. 00:09:37.150 – 00:09:40.230 and I can share this now because I manifested it,
  251. 00:09:40.230 – 00:09:44.190 but I some years back, maybe 2018, 2019,
  252. 00:09:44.570 – 00:09:47.250 I was in this space where affirmations
  253. 00:09:47.810 – 00:09:49.810 just saying what I wanted to manifest.
  254. 00:09:49.850 – 00:09:51.170 And I would say, hey,
  255. 00:09:51.370 – 00:09:54.190 I make X amount of money as a speaker.
  256. 00:09:54.610 – 00:09:56.770 And I kept saying that, kept saying that,
  257. 00:09:56.830 – 00:09:57.730 kept saying that.
  258. 00:09:58.050 – 00:10:00.370 And one particular speaking opportunity
  259. 00:10:00.370 – 00:10:03.350 where being paid and all that was not discussed.
  260. 00:10:03.490 – 00:10:05.530 They just wanted me to be a part of their event.
  261. 00:10:05.530 – 00:10:07.470 And I was just grateful to be a part of their event
  262. 00:10:07.470 – 00:10:09.390 that they saw me and recognize me.
  263. 00:10:09.390 – 00:10:13.030 And I got a card, didn't open it right away.
  264. 00:10:13.150 – 00:10:15.510 It was maybe two hours after the event.
  265. 00:10:15.730 – 00:10:17.570 When I opened that card,
  266. 00:10:18.370 – 00:10:20.950 the exact amount that I had been manifesting
  267. 00:10:20.950 – 00:10:22.830 and saying that I wanted to make as a speaker,
  268. 00:10:23.030 – 00:10:25.270 that's how much they paid me.
  269. 00:10:25.790 – 00:10:27.430 So that right there can show you
  270. 00:10:27.430 – 00:10:29.850 how powerful your mind and your words are.
  271. 00:10:30.490 – 00:10:33.490 If you really want something, speak it.
  272. 00:10:33.530 – 00:10:36.630 Speak it over your life and believe it.
  273. 00:10:36.630 – 00:10:37.750 That's the biggest part.
  274. 00:10:38.310 – 00:10:40.390 You said that was your first time?
  275. 00:10:40.850 – 00:10:41.570 One of my speaking,
  276. 00:10:41.590 – 00:10:43.610 one of my first speaking opportunities, yes.
  277. 00:10:43.930 – 00:10:44.710 And prior to that,
  278. 00:10:44.710 – 00:10:47.790 I was already in the zone of manifesting,
  279. 00:10:47.790 – 00:10:50.270 thinking about what type of life I wanted to have,
  280. 00:10:50.390 – 00:10:51.950 where I really wanted to be.
  281. 00:10:52.110 – 00:10:53.930 And that's how speaking came about.
  282. 00:10:53.970 – 00:10:56.050 That's something that comes naturally to me.
  283. 00:10:56.330 – 00:10:57.250 It's easy.
  284. 00:10:57.330 – 00:10:58.650 It doesn't feel like work.
  285. 00:10:58.730 – 00:11:02.450 And I love to see how my voice can change
  286. 00:11:03.390 – 00:11:06.090 somebody's spirit or their confidence within themselves,
  287. 00:11:06.090 – 00:11:08.510 which is what I see working with my youth.
  288. 00:11:09.150 – 00:11:10.450 Some of the things that I say to them,
  289. 00:11:10.450 – 00:11:12.330 you see that light bulb go off,
  290. 00:11:12.930 – 00:11:14.930 that light pop up in their eyes.
  291. 00:11:15.150 – 00:11:19.210 It's such an amazing and fulfilling feeling to have.
  292. 00:11:19.550 – 00:11:20.170 You know what I mean?
  293. 00:11:20.170 – 00:11:22.850 And that's why now I'm so much more confident
  294. 00:11:22.850 – 00:11:23.930 to use my voice.
  295. 00:11:24.110 – 00:11:26.430 I'm not as shaky when I'm talking.
  296. 00:11:26.890 – 00:11:27.310 You know what I mean?
  297. 00:11:27.310 – 00:11:28.530 Like I'm talking right now
  298. 00:11:28.530 – 00:11:32.010 and I feel completely purpose-filled,
  299. 00:11:32.050 – 00:11:34.710 right where I'm supposed to be using my voice,
  300. 00:11:34.710 – 00:11:36.430 what God gave me,
  301. 00:11:36.590 – 00:11:38.890 along with the obstacles that I overcame.
  302. 00:11:39.150 – 00:11:40.770 That's where your purpose meets,
  303. 00:11:41.270 – 00:11:42.530 where your natural gifts
  304. 00:11:43.070 – 00:11:45.030 and the struggles that you have overcame,
  305. 00:11:45.230 – 00:11:46.490 where they intersect,
  306. 00:11:47.090 – 00:11:48.190 that's your purpose.
  307. 00:11:49.570 – 00:11:50.590 That's your purpose.
  308. 00:11:50.650 – 00:11:52.070 And my purpose is my voice.
  309. 00:11:52.410 – 00:11:54.490 And I'm so grateful to have my voice.
  310. 00:11:55.670 – 00:11:57.430 Yes, that's amazing.
  311. 00:11:58.130 – 00:11:58.730 Absolutely.
  312. 00:11:58.870 – 00:12:01.170 You said they slid you a little envelope
  313. 00:12:01.170 – 00:12:02.430 after the fact, huh?
  314. 00:12:03.350 – 00:12:04.710 Yes, like what?
  315. 00:12:05.110 – 00:12:06.790 Oh my gosh, I wasn't,
  316. 00:12:06.790 – 00:12:08.330 and that just shows when you're doing something
  317. 00:12:08.330 – 00:12:09.390 with a pure heart, too.
  318. 00:12:10.070 – 00:12:10.390 You know what I mean?
  319. 00:12:10.510 – 00:12:10.910 You were just,
  320. 00:12:11.290 – 00:12:12.310 literally I just was doing it
  321. 00:12:12.310 – 00:12:14.410 because I wanted to do what I wanted to speak,
  322. 00:12:14.510 – 00:12:15.710 wanted to share my story.
  323. 00:12:17.230 – 00:12:19.470 I wasn't expecting anything in return,
  324. 00:12:19.830 – 00:12:21.950 but usually when you're obedient,
  325. 00:12:22.010 – 00:12:23.870 don't wanna get too religious or spiritual or anything,
  326. 00:12:23.950 – 00:12:26.910 but when you're obedient to a higher power,
  327. 00:12:27.170 – 00:12:28.610 you're gonna be rewarded.
  328. 00:12:30.370 – 00:12:31.870 That's just how it goes.
  329. 00:12:32.610 – 00:12:35.330 So step outside your comfort zone, guys,
  330. 00:12:35.470 – 00:12:36.870 anybody, even if you're not adopted.
  331. 00:12:37.270 – 00:12:40.410 This does not only resonate with adoptees,
  332. 00:12:40.570 – 00:12:42.090 someone affected by foster care.
  333. 00:12:42.570 – 00:12:44.710 Everyone has their own personal struggles
  334. 00:12:44.710 – 00:12:46.530 and their own personal stories
  335. 00:12:46.530 – 00:12:50.190 that may at times make them feel weighed down,
  336. 00:12:50.630 – 00:12:52.490 make them feel like they are shattering,
  337. 00:12:53.190 – 00:12:54.150 but you're not.
  338. 00:12:55.110 – 00:12:56.890 If you're listening to this right now,
  339. 00:12:57.070 – 00:12:58.630 you still have purpose.
  340. 00:12:59.170 – 00:13:01.390 You are unshattered.
  341. 00:13:01.390 – 00:13:01.990 That's right.
  342. 00:13:02.710 – 00:13:03.950 And you're here for a reason.
  343. 00:13:04.310 – 00:13:05.590 Something brought you here
  344. 00:13:05.590 – 00:13:08.450 to listen to this conversation today.
  345. 00:13:09.710 – 00:13:11.750 So take what resonates with you
  346. 00:13:11.750 – 00:13:13.730 and do what you feel,
  347. 00:13:13.850 – 00:13:15.130 but trust yourself.
  348. 00:13:15.770 – 00:13:16.670 Trust yourself.
  349. 00:13:17.550 – 00:13:18.470 Trust yourself.
  350. 00:13:19.050 – 00:13:23.710 And going back to that being your first time speaking,
  351. 00:13:24.870 – 00:13:26.330 I wanna say your first time speaking,
  352. 00:13:26.450 – 00:13:30.010 but almost like you starting your speaking career.
  353. 00:13:30.010 – 00:13:32.090 Yes, yes, yes.
  354. 00:13:32.210 – 00:13:33.630 How much they pay you?
  355. 00:13:33.630 – 00:13:34.390 You don't have to explain.
  356. 00:13:34.470 – 00:13:35.350 You don't gotta say the number,
  357. 00:13:35.390 – 00:13:37.210 but just have it in your head
  358. 00:13:37.210 – 00:13:39.350 and just think about a year from now,
  359. 00:13:39.830 – 00:13:40.870 two years from now.
  360. 00:13:41.570 – 00:13:43.110 You know that number's gonna increase.
  361. 00:13:43.930 – 00:13:44.770 Come on now.
  362. 00:13:44.970 – 00:13:45.310 What?
  363. 00:13:45.310 – 00:13:46.050 Come on now.
  364. 00:13:46.070 – 00:13:46.970 What do you think that number
  365. 00:13:46.970 – 00:13:48.750 will be just a year from now?
  366. 00:13:49.490 – 00:13:51.850 Oh, I feel like a year from now,
  367. 00:13:51.990 – 00:13:55.930 just because I'm so more confident in what I do.
  368. 00:13:57.030 – 00:13:59.950 I feel like what I got paid that first time
  369. 00:13:59.950 – 00:14:00.930 in a year from now,
  370. 00:14:01.110 – 00:14:06.590 it would probably increase by two, $300 for sure.
  371. 00:14:07.030 – 00:14:08.870 That's what I see for sure
  372. 00:14:08.870 – 00:14:10.650 without giving a specific number,
  373. 00:14:10.790 – 00:14:12.770 but just knowing what I did make
  374. 00:14:12.770 – 00:14:15.010 and how scared I was.
  375. 00:14:15.250 – 00:14:17.170 You know, I gotta put that out there.
  376. 00:14:17.170 – 00:14:18.030 I was scared.
  377. 00:14:18.050 – 00:14:20.270 I was sweating bullets, okay?
  378. 00:14:20.750 – 00:14:23.750 So to even be compensated
  379. 00:14:23.750 – 00:14:26.010 when I felt like I didn't do a good enough job
  380. 00:14:26.010 – 00:14:28.170 and now as you guys can hear me now
  381. 00:14:28.170 – 00:14:29.690 and there's no shaking in my voice,
  382. 00:14:30.030 – 00:14:32.690 that's why I say my pay as a speaker,
  383. 00:14:32.690 – 00:14:34.970 I can see it increasing by at least $300.
  384. 00:14:35.770 – 00:14:36.870 You know what I mean?
  385. 00:14:36.930 – 00:14:36.990 Just because.
  386. 00:14:36.990 – 00:14:38.110 We're gonna add another zero here.
  387. 00:14:38.370 – 00:14:39.310 We're gonna add another zero.
  388. 00:14:39.470 – 00:14:39.910 Yeah, absolutely.
  389. 00:14:40.450 – 00:14:41.790 Another zero, okay.
  390. 00:14:41.870 – 00:14:42.650 I like that.
  391. 00:14:42.670 – 00:14:45.310 I like that making four digits, okay,
  392. 00:14:45.670 – 00:14:46.250 for speaking,
  393. 00:14:46.370 – 00:14:48.650 for just using my voice and pouring it into individuals.
  394. 00:14:48.950 – 00:14:49.870 I like that, yeah.
  395. 00:14:50.070 – 00:14:52.650 We're gonna be making four digit,
  396. 00:14:52.870 – 00:14:54.790 four digit income as a speaker.
  397. 00:14:54.990 – 00:14:55.370 Minimum.
  398. 00:14:55.570 – 00:14:55.870 That's the minimum.
  399. 00:14:55.930 – 00:14:56.410 Minimum.
  400. 00:14:56.410 – 00:14:58.530 Ooh, come on, y'all.
  401. 00:14:58.530 – 00:14:59.090 Y'all hear me?
  402. 00:14:59.130 – 00:15:00.470 I'm dropping gems right here.
  403. 00:15:01.210 – 00:15:01.730 Definitely.
  404. 00:15:02.030 – 00:15:03.010 Yes, yes.
  405. 00:15:03.010 – 00:15:05.310 Bringing it into fruition four digits
  406. 00:15:05.310 – 00:15:08.830 and even more, like you said, abundance.
  407. 00:15:09.410 – 00:15:09.830 Abundance.
  408. 00:15:10.050 – 00:15:10.570 Abundance.
  409. 00:15:10.730 – 00:15:12.550 I actually have episode two,
  410. 00:15:12.570 – 00:15:14.290 I think I spoke on abundance mindset.
  411. 00:15:14.390 – 00:15:15.550 I think that's episode two.
  412. 00:15:15.670 – 00:15:15.990 Okay.
  413. 00:15:15.990 – 00:15:18.110 But yes, the abundance mindset.
  414. 00:15:19.290 – 00:15:20.890 More confirmation for you.
  415. 00:15:21.310 – 00:15:21.950 Yes, yes.
  416. 00:15:22.810 – 00:15:23.830 And like I'm speaking,
  417. 00:15:24.270 – 00:15:25.950 I'm getting more into the speaking arena
  418. 00:15:25.950 – 00:15:27.490 and so yeah, definitely,
  419. 00:15:27.730 – 00:15:29.510 we're gonna add another zero in now,
  420. 00:15:29.890 – 00:15:31.170 like you said, a year from now.
  421. 00:15:31.330 – 00:15:31.650 Yes.
  422. 00:15:31.930 – 00:15:32.230 At the beginning.
  423. 00:15:32.730 – 00:15:33.230 Let's go.
  424. 00:15:33.230 – 00:15:35.050 At a year, it may be, like you said, at three,
  425. 00:15:35.210 – 00:15:36.250 but we're about the end of the year,
  426. 00:15:36.310 – 00:15:37.590 it's not gonna be another zero, man.
  427. 00:15:37.770 – 00:15:38.470 I love it.
  428. 00:15:38.670 – 00:15:39.970 Absolutely, I'm claiming it.
  429. 00:15:40.050 – 00:15:40.450 Yeah.
  430. 00:15:40.550 – 00:15:41.910 I'm claiming, because it's already happened.
  431. 00:15:42.050 – 00:15:43.850 So I know it can happen again.
  432. 00:15:44.450 – 00:15:45.710 That faith is just stronger.
  433. 00:15:45.850 – 00:15:47.290 Faith of a mustard seed, guys.
  434. 00:15:48.230 – 00:15:49.250 Faith of a mustard seed.
  435. 00:15:49.650 – 00:15:53.250 Oh yeah, and I work with a lot of creative
  436. 00:15:53.250 – 00:15:55.990 entrepreneurs are just creatives
  437. 00:15:55.990 – 00:15:58.130 and they're also those that's just entrepreneurs,
  438. 00:15:59.050 – 00:16:00.950 but I love the creative entrepreneurs
  439. 00:16:00.950 – 00:16:04.310 where they're creative and they're both entrepreneurs.
  440. 00:16:05.070 – 00:16:07.470 Which I am, coming from an artist background
  441. 00:16:07.470 – 00:16:09.730 with music, poetry, photography,
  442. 00:16:10.690 – 00:16:12.730 being an entrepreneur also,
  443. 00:16:14.030 – 00:16:15.770 which all my life I could say I was an entrepreneur
  444. 00:16:15.770 – 00:16:17.630 or I had that entrepreneur mindset.
  445. 00:16:18.610 – 00:16:20.870 So I love working with creative entrepreneurs
  446. 00:16:20.870 – 00:16:24.430 and the biggest thing I tell them,
  447. 00:16:25.070 – 00:16:27.850 the better you do, your value increase.
  448. 00:16:29.290 – 00:16:31.370 And like you said, you being unshattered,
  449. 00:16:31.650 – 00:16:34.850 the glass, it might have some bumps in the road,
  450. 00:16:34.850 – 00:16:35.970 but that's like practice.
  451. 00:16:36.970 – 00:16:40.370 It's like, it's life in that and it's unshattered.
  452. 00:16:41.770 – 00:16:43.090 So it's still functional.
  453. 00:16:43.270 – 00:16:45.590 It's still doing what it needs to do.
  454. 00:16:46.050 – 00:16:46.530 Yes.
  455. 00:16:46.910 – 00:16:49.310 So your value will definitely increase
  456. 00:16:49.310 – 00:16:52.050 and there's always times
  457. 00:16:52.050 – 00:16:53.890 where the unshattered can be fixed.
  458. 00:16:54.210 – 00:16:55.970 Ooh, I like that, yes.
  459. 00:16:56.330 – 00:16:58.550 So turn into art.
  460. 00:16:59.770 – 00:17:01.910 How can your shatterness be art,
  461. 00:17:02.150 – 00:17:04.210 be beautiful to others?
  462. 00:17:06.130 – 00:17:07.730 So yeah, we're gonna add another zero
  463. 00:17:07.730 – 00:17:08.869 and then after that another zero.
  464. 00:17:09.829 – 00:17:11.109 Compound it as the years go by.
  465. 00:17:11.250 – 00:17:12.829 Yes, just constantly growing
  466. 00:17:12.829 – 00:17:14.829 and I definitely agree with that 100%.
  467. 00:17:14.829 – 00:17:15.869 That's literally where I am.
  468. 00:17:15.869 – 00:17:17.230 I just wanna keep elevating.
  469. 00:17:17.390 – 00:17:18.410 Just keep getting better,
  470. 00:17:18.410 – 00:17:19.810 getting better at my craft.
  471. 00:17:20.190 – 00:17:23.130 You know, just the amount of people
  472. 00:17:23.130 – 00:17:25.650 that I'm able to reach that increasing.
  473. 00:17:26.390 – 00:17:27.150 You know what I mean?
  474. 00:17:27.210 – 00:17:29.470 Like I just wanna,
  475. 00:17:30.930 – 00:17:33.790 I want people to be able to be where I am today
  476. 00:17:33.790 – 00:17:36.370 because back in 2018,
  477. 00:17:36.650 – 00:17:38.790 which was like one of my lowest points
  478. 00:17:38.790 – 00:17:40.830 and I always think of a Phoenix rising at that point
  479. 00:17:40.830 – 00:17:42.170 because when you're so low,
  480. 00:17:42.190 – 00:17:43.070 but you're still here,
  481. 00:17:43.090 – 00:17:45.070 the only other place you can go is up.
  482. 00:17:45.810 – 00:17:48.770 And for me, you know what I mean?
  483. 00:17:48.830 – 00:17:50.970 It was just like, I was at a point where
  484. 00:17:50.970 – 00:17:52.650 I just wanna feel happy.
  485. 00:17:53.210 – 00:17:56.610 I don't remember what it feels like to be happy.
  486. 00:17:57.650 – 00:17:59.670 And fast forward maybe,
  487. 00:18:00.990 – 00:18:04.670 maybe a year or so of consistently putting in that work,
  488. 00:18:04.950 – 00:18:07.170 consistently loving on me,
  489. 00:18:07.430 – 00:18:11.010 tapping into who Kayla was and nurturing myself.
  490. 00:18:11.550 – 00:18:13.910 I literally remember it like it was just yesterday.
  491. 00:18:14.450 – 00:18:18.410 In my car, on the freeway and literally client tears of joy
  492. 00:18:18.410 – 00:18:20.350 because I felt that happiness again,
  493. 00:18:20.350 – 00:18:21.890 creeping up inside of me.
  494. 00:18:22.790 – 00:18:24.150 You know what I mean?
  495. 00:18:24.170 – 00:18:27.650 Like you deserve to be where I am and be happy
  496. 00:18:27.650 – 00:18:29.510 and I'm proof that it can be done.
  497. 00:18:30.150 – 00:18:31.810 You know, two time team mom,
  498. 00:18:32.590 – 00:18:34.110 you know, two evictions.
  499. 00:18:34.370 – 00:18:35.890 I've been fired from a job.
  500. 00:18:36.010 – 00:18:38.190 I've had to move back home with my mom.
  501. 00:18:38.650 – 00:18:39.170 You know what I mean?
  502. 00:18:39.170 – 00:18:43.070 I've had to kind of literally restart and be humble.
  503. 00:18:43.930 – 00:18:47.670 But with me doing that, I picked myself back up
  504. 00:18:47.670 – 00:18:49.850 and each day is getting greater and greater.
  505. 00:18:49.890 – 00:18:51.090 Do I have my bad days?
  506. 00:18:51.110 – 00:18:53.310 Yes, but here's the difference.
  507. 00:18:54.630 – 00:18:57.470 How anxiety had control of me
  508. 00:18:57.470 – 00:19:00.510 and the things that were going wrong in my life
  509. 00:19:00.510 – 00:19:01.890 had control of me.
  510. 00:19:02.010 – 00:19:03.330 It's the opposite now.
  511. 00:19:03.330 – 00:19:05.010 I have control over it.
  512. 00:19:05.150 – 00:19:07.070 I have control over my anxiety.
  513. 00:19:07.290 – 00:19:09.150 I have control over my depression.
  514. 00:19:09.390 – 00:19:11.870 I have control over how my day is gonna go.
  515. 00:19:11.870 – 00:19:14.370 And I don't sit in those feelings.
  516. 00:19:15.290 – 00:19:16.510 That's what I was doing before.
  517. 00:19:16.510 – 00:19:19.790 I would just sit and wallow in just negativity
  518. 00:19:19.790 – 00:19:21.110 and just being unhappy.
  519. 00:19:21.490 – 00:19:24.470 Now I allow myself to feel it because that's healthy.
  520. 00:19:24.770 – 00:19:25.510 I'm human.
  521. 00:19:25.850 – 00:19:28.350 I'm gonna feel things, but I don't stay in it.
  522. 00:19:30.470 – 00:19:32.090 Now, go ahead, go ahead.
  523. 00:19:32.290 – 00:19:33.750 No, because then I feel like everybody deserves
  524. 00:19:33.750 – 00:19:36.530 to feel that who may be struggling through something.
  525. 00:19:36.890 – 00:19:38.650 There is a way out.
  526. 00:19:39.370 – 00:19:40.490 There is. There is a way out, yeah.
  527. 00:19:41.870 – 00:19:44.930 I was gonna say, what are some actionable steps
  528. 00:19:44.930 – 00:19:48.430 for someone that's struggling to gain that control
  529. 00:19:48.430 – 00:19:50.170 or take control of the wheel
  530. 00:19:50.170 – 00:19:52.810 versus being in a self-driving car?
  531. 00:19:53.070 – 00:19:55.850 Okay, so I know a lot of people have probably heard it
  532. 00:19:55.850 – 00:19:57.850 all starts in your mind, and that sounds cliche,
  533. 00:19:58.050 – 00:19:59.470 but it's really, really true.
  534. 00:20:00.290 – 00:20:01.950 What you focus on, you bring about.
  535. 00:20:02.350 – 00:20:03.470 One more time, one more time.
  536. 00:20:03.930 – 00:20:06.730 What you focus on, you bring about.
  537. 00:20:07.390 – 00:20:10.970 So if you're constantly focusing on what's going wrong
  538. 00:20:10.970 – 00:20:13.130 in your life, you're gonna get more of what's going wrong.
  539. 00:20:13.150 – 00:20:14.310 That's just how it works.
  540. 00:20:14.570 – 00:20:16.330 So for me, what I would do is,
  541. 00:20:16.330 – 00:20:18.550 and I really did this for 60 days straight
  542. 00:20:18.550 – 00:20:21.690 just to help my mind start to focus on the good
  543. 00:20:21.690 – 00:20:23.050 and not so much the bad,
  544. 00:20:23.370 – 00:20:25.670 I would say a gratitude journal.
  545. 00:20:25.910 – 00:20:28.670 If you don't like to write, pick your phone up
  546. 00:20:28.670 – 00:20:31.090 and record yourself saying it.
  547. 00:20:31.210 – 00:20:34.390 Being grateful for whatever it is you have right now.
  548. 00:20:35.070 – 00:20:37.510 And as you continue to be grateful for what you have,
  549. 00:20:37.510 – 00:20:39.950 and it's such an easy step, you know what I mean?
  550. 00:20:39.950 – 00:20:41.410 If you're not somebody who wants to get up
  551. 00:20:41.410 – 00:20:43.310 and go do yoga or, you know,
  552. 00:20:43.410 – 00:20:45.130 do all these things that require energy
  553. 00:20:45.130 – 00:20:48.010 because nine times out of 10, your energy is low
  554. 00:20:48.530 – 00:20:50.330 because you're feeling so down.
  555. 00:20:50.790 – 00:20:53.130 So the easiest thing that I would do is say,
  556. 00:20:53.130 – 00:20:55.970 listen to positive affirmations on YouTube
  557. 00:20:55.970 – 00:20:57.530 because all you have to do is type it in.
  558. 00:20:57.530 – 00:20:58.590 You just have to listen.
  559. 00:20:59.090 – 00:21:01.870 And the second thing is gratitude journaling.
  560. 00:21:02.230 – 00:21:05.170 Those two steps are probably the easiest steps
  561. 00:21:05.170 – 00:21:08.010 that I can give somebody to start their healing journey
  562. 00:21:08.010 – 00:21:11.170 now without having to feel like they have to have
  563. 00:21:11.170 – 00:21:12.890 their souls completely together.
  564. 00:21:13.130 – 00:21:15.430 You know, some of you guys are probably sleeping
  565. 00:21:15.430 – 00:21:17.610 the days away because you're depressed, you're down.
  566. 00:21:18.450 – 00:21:19.690 But if you literally just say,
  567. 00:21:19.990 – 00:21:21.250 I'm grateful that I woke up.
  568. 00:21:22.190 – 00:21:23.710 I'm grateful that I can see.
  569. 00:21:24.670 – 00:21:26.110 I'm grateful that I can hear.
  570. 00:21:27.050 – 00:21:28.710 I'm grateful that I can taste food.
  571. 00:21:28.810 – 00:21:30.330 You know, all of those things are something
  572. 00:21:30.330 – 00:21:31.790 to be grateful for because there's somebody
  573. 00:21:31.790 – 00:21:33.670 who doesn't have and wishes that they do.
  574. 00:21:34.570 – 00:21:37.410 So even if you can't find anything to be grateful for
  575. 00:21:37.410 – 00:21:39.390 because I noticed that's what some people struggle with,
  576. 00:21:39.570 – 00:21:40.610 finding something to be grateful for.
  577. 00:21:40.910 – 00:21:42.730 Just be grateful that you woke up.
  578. 00:21:44.010 – 00:21:45.910 That you're given another chance to restart.
  579. 00:21:46.910 – 00:21:48.490 Each day is another day to restart.
  580. 00:21:49.130 – 00:21:50.710 That's how you need to look at each day.
  581. 00:21:51.110 – 00:21:53.050 It's another day for me to be better and restart.
  582. 00:21:53.450 – 00:21:55.590 You didn't do good Monday on your affirmations
  583. 00:21:55.590 – 00:21:58.030 and gratitude started again Tuesday.
  584. 00:21:59.150 – 00:22:02.350 And like I heard in the workshop for podcasting,
  585. 00:22:02.350 – 00:22:04.870 repetition is gonna lead to that confidence.
  586. 00:22:04.890 – 00:22:07.330 And it's also gonna lead to growth
  587. 00:22:07.330 – 00:22:08.950 and change that you can actually see.
  588. 00:22:09.150 – 00:22:11.410 And I'm saying this because I actually did it.
  589. 00:22:11.570 – 00:22:13.930 I'm not gonna tell you to do something that I didn't do.
  590. 00:22:14.390 – 00:22:15.630 It makes no sense.
  591. 00:22:15.770 – 00:22:18.170 I'm here to empathize, not just sympathize.
  592. 00:22:19.670 – 00:22:22.930 So again, that's what I started to help me.
  593. 00:22:22.930 – 00:22:25.190 Even changing the screensaver on your phone
  594. 00:22:25.190 – 00:22:29.190 because we're 99% of the time we are on our phone
  595. 00:22:29.190 – 00:22:31.310 trying to be distracted or whatever the case may be.
  596. 00:22:31.610 – 00:22:32.730 Change your wallpaper.
  597. 00:22:33.090 – 00:22:36.390 Change your screensaver to a positive affirmation.
  598. 00:22:37.710 – 00:22:39.370 So every time you pick up that phone,
  599. 00:22:39.530 – 00:22:41.690 your mind is being programmed by you seeing that
  600. 00:22:41.690 – 00:22:43.310 and you're gonna see the change.
  601. 00:22:43.570 – 00:22:44.410 It's inevitable.
  602. 00:22:46.330 – 00:22:49.890 It's just like gravity, just like gravity.
  603. 00:22:50.110 – 00:22:52.510 There's no way if you really put in the work
  604. 00:22:52.510 – 00:22:53.730 and you really believe in it,
  605. 00:22:53.810 – 00:22:56.030 there's no way you're not gonna start to see results.
  606. 00:22:57.250 – 00:22:58.470 So that's where I was taught.
  607. 00:22:58.950 – 00:23:01.650 Affirmation videos on YouTube and gratitude journaling,
  608. 00:23:01.690 – 00:23:02.810 whether you write it out
  609. 00:23:02.810 – 00:23:04.590 or you record yourself on your phone.
  610. 00:23:05.270 – 00:23:08.330 Now, I gotta kind of plug myself too.
  611. 00:23:08.630 – 00:23:10.250 And you speak a lot about self-love.
  612. 00:23:10.690 – 00:23:12.890 I used to call myself a self-love advocate.
  613. 00:23:13.050 – 00:23:16.710 I still am, but I don't focus too much in that space
  614. 00:23:16.710 – 00:23:18.150 as much as I should.
  615. 00:23:18.250 – 00:23:20.190 So I kind of took the label off
  616. 00:23:20.190 – 00:23:22.370 unless we had like personal conversations.
  617. 00:23:22.550 – 00:23:25.190 But also like I have affirmations
  618. 00:23:25.190 – 00:23:29.150 and like I started linking it in my podcast episodes
  619. 00:23:29.150 – 00:23:30.350 and that's it.
  620. 00:23:30.350 – 00:23:32.750 Alien affirmations, one, two, three.
  621. 00:23:32.750 – 00:23:36.930 Alien affirmations, one, two, three, by Alien Eye Player.
  622. 00:23:38.010 – 00:23:40.030 And it's a minute track, a good track,
  623. 00:23:40.030 – 00:23:42.870 and I'm not like, I don't wanna say sugarcoating,
  624. 00:23:42.910 – 00:23:46.150 but it's not that fluffy like I am great.
  625. 00:23:47.730 – 00:23:49.270 I can do anything.
  626. 00:23:49.690 – 00:23:52.970 Those are great, but I wanna go more deep
  627. 00:23:52.970 – 00:23:55.470 into your soul with these affirmations.
  628. 00:23:55.990 – 00:23:57.770 And that's why they're alien
  629. 00:23:57.770 – 00:23:59.170 because they're out of this world.
  630. 00:24:00.530 – 00:24:04.180 Okay, higher, I like that.
  631. 00:24:06.480 – 00:24:09.500 So you speak about every day
  632. 00:24:09.500 – 00:24:12.200 it's almost like a blank canvas starting fresh.
  633. 00:24:12.880 – 00:24:15.720 I think every painting or every art that you do
  634. 00:24:15.720 – 00:24:17.720 is not gonna be your best work
  635. 00:24:17.720 – 00:24:19.420 or to your satisfaction,
  636. 00:24:19.700 – 00:24:22.400 but it's still a representation of you
  637. 00:24:22.400 – 00:24:23.820 in some way, shape or form,
  638. 00:24:23.820 – 00:24:25.840 especially in this moment in life.
  639. 00:24:26.260 – 00:24:28.980 Now I know we kind of spoke before the recording
  640. 00:24:29.580 – 00:24:31.620 just about me being a photographer
  641. 00:24:31.620 – 00:24:33.260 in my history about photography.
  642. 00:24:34.600 – 00:24:36.300 And each day is even kind of different,
  643. 00:24:37.020 – 00:24:39.360 like I don't have my childhood hospital,
  644. 00:24:39.440 – 00:24:41.580 my childhood home, it's gone.
  645. 00:24:41.600 – 00:24:42.800 I don't have pictures of that.
  646. 00:24:42.820 – 00:24:46.560 And that kind of testify my journey
  647. 00:24:46.560 – 00:24:48.160 of me becoming a photographer
  648. 00:24:48.160 – 00:24:51.520 because I'm a historian in the documentation
  649. 00:24:51.520 – 00:24:55.040 of these things that sometimes no longer exist.
  650. 00:24:55.660 – 00:24:57.140 Or we can see the transformation
  651. 00:24:57.520 – 00:24:59.720 and a lot of people do there before and after
  652. 00:24:59.720 – 00:25:02.860 when they're on body weight challenges,
  653. 00:25:03.580 – 00:25:06.720 diet challenges, this is what I look like before
  654. 00:25:06.720 – 00:25:09.460 and dang, this is what I look like now.
  655. 00:25:10.200 – 00:25:11.840 If you don't see that change
  656. 00:25:11.840 – 00:25:14.140 and then you're not doing it in the work.
  657. 00:25:15.080 – 00:25:17.660 So you should be able to see that physical change
  658. 00:25:17.660 – 00:25:18.640 within a picture.
  659. 00:25:19.340 – 00:25:20.440 That's just for that example.
  660. 00:25:21.200 – 00:25:23.120 Think about that with all things.
  661. 00:25:24.700 – 00:25:26.120 You touched on some great points
  662. 00:25:26.120 – 00:25:28.540 and I'm gonna have to get a gratitude journal.
  663. 00:25:28.660 – 00:25:29.760 Do you sell those, by the way?
  664. 00:25:30.600 – 00:25:33.460 I do not, but hey, you dropping some gems.
  665. 00:25:33.480 – 00:25:35.280 Not yet, not yet.
  666. 00:25:35.360 – 00:25:36.940 I like that, definitely.
  667. 00:25:37.180 – 00:25:41.260 Be on the lookout for sure.
  668. 00:25:41.260 – 00:25:43.420 But yes, I would definitely encourage you to do that.
  669. 00:25:43.440 – 00:25:46.120 Anybody, even if you're already in a good space,
  670. 00:25:46.180 – 00:25:48.340 what's wrong with making your life a little bit better?
  671. 00:25:48.860 – 00:25:51.600 You know, like just, I feel like
  672. 00:25:51.600 – 00:25:54.980 we just get into a place of the mundane
  673. 00:25:54.980 – 00:25:56.640 and just doing the day to day.
  674. 00:25:57.040 – 00:26:01.620 And it's just very easy to get thrown into
  675. 00:26:01.620 – 00:26:04.440 just that negativity and just trying to figure out,
  676. 00:26:04.560 – 00:26:05.700 well, what can I do to fix this?
  677. 00:26:06.220 – 00:26:08.860 And just be, just be.
  678. 00:26:09.460 – 00:26:11.120 And realizing that it's just so simple
  679. 00:26:11.120 – 00:26:13.340 as to what you say and what you focus on.
  680. 00:26:13.720 – 00:26:16.160 It's not as hard as we make it.
  681. 00:26:16.540 – 00:26:17.140 You know what I mean?
  682. 00:26:17.440 – 00:26:18.960 Yes, everything takes time,
  683. 00:26:19.260 – 00:26:21.060 but anything worth having
  684. 00:26:21.060 – 00:26:24.420 is gonna take a little bit longer, you know?
  685. 00:26:24.420 – 00:26:27.960 And when you guys are embarking on this journey,
  686. 00:26:28.120 – 00:26:29.920 wherever you may be, whether it's self-love,
  687. 00:26:30.100 – 00:26:31.800 whether it's self-discovery or just healing,
  688. 00:26:33.360 – 00:26:34.740 take a minute to think about
  689. 00:26:34.740 – 00:26:37.180 how much grace we give to other people.
  690. 00:26:37.920 – 00:26:38.740 You know what I mean?
  691. 00:26:38.740 – 00:26:40.500 How we're so easy to understand
  692. 00:26:40.500 – 00:26:41.620 what they're going through
  693. 00:26:41.620 – 00:26:45.040 and can pour into them and tell them to do X, Y, and Z.
  694. 00:26:45.280 – 00:26:47.860 But for some reason, we can't take our own advice.
  695. 00:26:50.060 – 00:26:50.700 You know?
  696. 00:26:50.700 – 00:26:53.520 And that's just basically
  697. 00:26:53.520 – 00:26:56.140 when I wouldn't be able to get people to see
  698. 00:26:56.140 – 00:27:00.280 the same energy that we so easily give away to others.
  699. 00:27:00.400 – 00:27:03.060 Let's start being intentional and giving that to ourselves
  700. 00:27:03.060 – 00:27:06.340 because clearly we see how it makes other people feel.
  701. 00:27:06.500 – 00:27:07.700 We're lifting them up.
  702. 00:27:07.700 – 00:27:09.880 Why do we feel like we can't lift ourselves up?
  703. 00:27:09.960 – 00:27:12.140 We have to wait for somebody else to do it.
  704. 00:27:12.240 – 00:27:14.420 No, clearly we have it in us
  705. 00:27:14.420 – 00:27:16.060 that we can pour into somebody else.
  706. 00:27:16.840 – 00:27:18.080 We just need to understand
  707. 00:27:18.080 – 00:27:19.380 that we're worthy of that too.
  708. 00:27:19.380 – 00:27:21.540 It doesn't have to be somebody else pouring into us
  709. 00:27:21.540 – 00:27:24.660 because we know how to properly love ourselves.
  710. 00:27:25.040 – 00:27:26.820 And it's our job to teach people
  711. 00:27:26.820 – 00:27:28.920 how to treat us properly and love us properly.
  712. 00:27:29.800 – 00:27:31.840 So you got to start with loving yourself.
  713. 00:27:31.840 – 00:27:33.760 How can you teach somebody how to love you
  714. 00:27:33.760 – 00:27:36.120 or respect you when you don't even know?
  715. 00:27:36.920 – 00:27:38.320 That's a good point.
  716. 00:27:39.340 – 00:27:41.000 Going back to that self-love,
  717. 00:27:41.780 – 00:27:44.420 like even when I, oh man,
  718. 00:27:44.540 – 00:27:48.400 I used to be an unlicensed therapist
  719. 00:27:48.400 – 00:27:52.000 for couples dealing with hardship
  720. 00:27:52.000 – 00:27:53.960 or even tough times,
  721. 00:27:55.180 – 00:27:58.160 being their coach and mentor in that aspect.
  722. 00:27:59.160 – 00:28:00.760 But yeah, you have to love yourself
  723. 00:28:00.760 – 00:28:02.440 before you can love someone else.
  724. 00:28:03.240 – 00:28:05.320 Like you literally giving the blueprint
  725. 00:28:05.320 – 00:28:06.080 by living yourself.
  726. 00:28:06.220 – 00:28:07.320 Like this is how I want to be loved.
  727. 00:28:07.380 – 00:28:09.160 This is how I accept love.
  728. 00:28:09.680 – 00:28:12.220 And you know, it's the blueprint for other people.
  729. 00:28:12.920 – 00:28:14.160 So yeah, it's important.
  730. 00:28:14.680 – 00:28:18.100 Like, you know, I take time, even when I wake up,
  731. 00:28:19.280 – 00:28:21.260 a lot of people there, they be all on their phone
  732. 00:28:21.260 – 00:28:25.140 and go through the apps and before they brush their teeth.
  733. 00:28:26.580 – 00:28:28.460 Trust me, I have days like that too.
  734. 00:28:28.920 – 00:28:30.040 We're all guilty.
  735. 00:28:31.520 – 00:28:33.700 But yeah, just having that quiet moment to myself,
  736. 00:28:33.900 – 00:28:36.020 collecting my thoughts and you know,
  737. 00:28:36.100 – 00:28:38.820 how I want the day, the week to kind of pan out
  738. 00:28:38.820 – 00:28:42.100 what I'm about to do today, like, okay, all right.
  739. 00:28:42.100 – 00:28:44.840 And then, you know, get myself ready.
  740. 00:28:45.460 – 00:28:48.020 Like I usually start with a bowl of oatmeal.
  741. 00:28:48.120 – 00:28:49.240 I didn't get my oatmeal today,
  742. 00:28:49.460 – 00:28:50.980 but usually start with a bowl of oatmeal.
  743. 00:28:51.220 – 00:28:55.080 You know, it's a good meal
  744. 00:28:55.080 – 00:28:57.400 and a good fiber and it's filling.
  745. 00:28:58.400 – 00:28:59.740 And it's a healthy alternative
  746. 00:28:59.740 – 00:29:01.380 as far as breakfast and it's quick.
  747. 00:29:02.440 – 00:29:04.380 But yeah, that's kind of like my routine,
  748. 00:29:04.480 – 00:29:06.180 you know, slowly creeping to my day.
  749. 00:29:06.220 – 00:29:08.680 I know a lot of people, they work nine to fives
  750. 00:29:08.680 – 00:29:11.540 and you know, they jump it to work, you know,
  751. 00:29:11.540 – 00:29:12.520 almost the first day.
  752. 00:29:12.660 – 00:29:14.280 So you think about if you're late, you're rushing
  753. 00:29:14.280 – 00:29:16.860 and like, oh, oh, so think about your day starting
  754. 00:29:16.860 – 00:29:18.200 like that and then setting the tone
  755. 00:29:18.200 – 00:29:19.320 for the rest of the day.
  756. 00:29:19.920 – 00:29:23.500 And like, you know, before I dove deep
  757. 00:29:23.500 – 00:29:25.060 in my entrepreneur journey, I'm like,
  758. 00:29:25.080 – 00:29:28.100 I'm only doing, you know, third shift night
  759. 00:29:28.100 – 00:29:30.080 because I really want to live out my day,
  760. 00:29:30.180 – 00:29:33.520 do whatever I want in the day, work on my business.
  761. 00:29:33.900 – 00:29:38.260 If I want to attend my kids, nephew, you know,
  762. 00:29:38.460 – 00:29:41.320 basketball game or sports event or whatever,
  763. 00:29:41.320 – 00:29:44.440 maybe, you know, I could do that and then still go to work
  764. 00:29:44.440 – 00:29:46.260 because it's like the last thing I think about
  765. 00:29:46.260 – 00:29:47.880 and the last thing I want to do in my life,
  766. 00:29:47.880 – 00:29:48.800 not the first day.
  767. 00:29:49.320 – 00:29:51.520 So I like that, I like that.
  768. 00:29:51.580 – 00:29:53.480 That's a good way to look at it for sure.
  769. 00:29:53.860 – 00:29:55.660 And do you feel like that's been helping you?
  770. 00:29:55.680 – 00:29:59.180 Oh, definitely, like even like yesterday,
  771. 00:29:59.180 – 00:30:03.300 like I was able to, you know, go to a baby shower
  772. 00:30:03.300 – 00:30:05.500 and attend different events and still, you know,
  773. 00:30:05.600 – 00:30:06.320 get work.
  774. 00:30:06.620 – 00:30:08.040 Nice, nice, nice, nice.
  775. 00:30:08.160 – 00:30:09.040 I love that.
  776. 00:30:09.200 – 00:30:10.580 Sometimes for some people, you know,
  777. 00:30:10.580 – 00:30:11.980 just starting off, it could be draining,
  778. 00:30:12.200 – 00:30:14.920 especially if you're not used to it or finding that flow.
  779. 00:30:15.060 – 00:30:17.660 But once you find that flow, it is golden.
  780. 00:30:17.940 – 00:30:19.120 Trust me, it is golden.
  781. 00:30:19.940 – 00:30:20.820 It's not for everyone.
  782. 00:30:21.020 – 00:30:22.100 You dropping gems.
  783. 00:30:22.640 – 00:30:23.680 It's not for everyone though.
  784. 00:30:23.680 – 00:30:26.820 And I understand being a single parent,
  785. 00:30:27.880 – 00:30:29.600 but it also could be a benefit
  786. 00:30:29.600 – 00:30:30.880 if you got that support system.
  787. 00:30:31.660 – 00:30:33.300 So, you know, find out what works for you.
  788. 00:30:33.320 – 00:30:35.340 Maybe it's in the middle of the day, you know,
  789. 00:30:35.400 – 00:30:36.780 doing work in the middle of the day,
  790. 00:30:37.460 – 00:30:40.100 but, you know, especially those that have, you know,
  791. 00:30:40.100 – 00:30:44.400 nine to five and jobs, careers that start very early,
  792. 00:30:44.900 – 00:30:46.500 like six, seven a.m.
  793. 00:30:47.160 – 00:30:48.460 That could be tough for a lot of people,
  794. 00:30:48.620 – 00:30:50.040 especially on a regular basis.
  795. 00:30:50.520 – 00:30:52.800 So you just got to find out what works for you
  796. 00:30:53.400 – 00:30:55.180 and not a gratitude journal,
  797. 00:30:55.200 – 00:30:56.940 but just a personal journal of like,
  798. 00:30:57.040 – 00:30:58.180 how do I want my life to look
  799. 00:30:58.180 – 00:30:59.780 and how do I want my life to flow?
  800. 00:31:00.040 – 00:31:01.620 How do I want my life to be structured?
  801. 00:31:01.720 – 00:31:02.820 I think it's also important.
  802. 00:31:03.260 – 00:31:05.200 Like really spend time with yourself.
  803. 00:31:05.640 – 00:31:07.480 I speak with a lot of people and they'd be like,
  804. 00:31:08.300 – 00:31:10.180 oh, I can't do this by myself.
  805. 00:31:10.300 – 00:31:11.320 I don't want to be by myself.
  806. 00:31:11.520 – 00:31:13.920 I like, people have a hard time being with themselves,
  807. 00:31:14.080 – 00:31:14.900 sitting with themselves.
  808. 00:31:15.340 – 00:31:16.320 I honestly love it.
  809. 00:31:18.040 – 00:31:20.280 Like, it's another, I'm my own best friend.
  810. 00:31:21.240 – 00:31:22.240 I'm my own coach.
  811. 00:31:22.480 – 00:31:24.060 I'm my own motivational speaker.
  812. 00:31:24.880 – 00:31:27.040 Like, it all starts with me first.
  813. 00:31:35.700 – 00:31:37.600 We spoke about self-love, I had a pitch in.
  814. 00:31:38.460 – 00:31:39.820 Absolutely, and honestly,
  815. 00:31:39.980 – 00:31:41.620 I like that you did tap into that
  816. 00:31:41.620 – 00:31:44.040 because with you being a man, you know what I mean?
  817. 00:31:44.040 – 00:31:46.140 Sometimes they can kind of be like,
  818. 00:31:46.320 – 00:31:48.960 it could be different stereotypes or this and that.
  819. 00:31:49.220 – 00:31:51.120 And me being a boymind specifically,
  820. 00:31:51.880 – 00:31:54.760 I'm very big on instilling that in them.
  821. 00:31:55.140 – 00:31:57.180 Yes, you may be a man, you know what I mean?
  822. 00:31:57.200 – 00:31:59.140 But you're still human at the end of the day.
  823. 00:31:59.440 – 00:32:02.060 If you need to let some tears out
  824. 00:32:02.060 – 00:32:03.560 and you don't want somebody to see you,
  825. 00:32:03.720 – 00:32:04.700 go in the bathroom, close your door,
  826. 00:32:04.760 – 00:32:07.060 or whatever you got to do, but don't hold it in.
  827. 00:32:07.480 – 00:32:10.640 Don't try to be so tough just because you're a man.
  828. 00:32:10.740 – 00:32:13.740 So I feel like you talking about self-love as a man,
  829. 00:32:13.740 – 00:32:17.340 it's so important, especially our black men.
  830. 00:32:17.860 – 00:32:20.580 Like, yes, love yourselves, love yourselves.
  831. 00:32:20.640 – 00:32:23.640 You are so worthy of it, 100%.
  832. 00:32:23.640 – 00:32:26.200 So you touching on that is beautiful
  833. 00:32:26.200 – 00:32:29.980 because more men need to hear that for sure.
  834. 00:32:31.180 – 00:32:34.340 And I like the workshops and stuff that you attend
  835. 00:32:35.090 – 00:32:38.360 and also the speaking events that you're, you know,
  836. 00:32:38.480 – 00:32:38.920 booked for.
  837. 00:32:39.140 – 00:32:41.600 Is it more of a ratio of more men than women
  838. 00:32:41.600 – 00:32:42.960 or more women than men?
  839. 00:32:42.960 – 00:32:46.260 I can honestly say the speaking events that I have done
  840. 00:32:46.260 – 00:32:49.500 have been more women than men.
  841. 00:32:50.400 – 00:32:53.720 And that's kind of why when I say I want to work
  842. 00:32:53.720 – 00:32:55.600 with adults and youth, that's not,
  843. 00:32:55.780 – 00:32:59.220 you don't hear me say adult women or adult men.
  844. 00:32:59.260 – 00:33:02.400 No, it's all inclusive, which is also why
  845. 00:33:02.400 – 00:33:04.900 when you hear my trailer and I say it's where family
  846. 00:33:04.900 – 00:33:06.500 and community goes hand in hand,
  847. 00:33:06.820 – 00:33:09.120 I really mean that when I say family.
  848. 00:33:09.640 – 00:33:10.200 You know what I mean?
  849. 00:33:10.200 – 00:33:13.060 That non-judgment and everything like that.
  850. 00:33:13.420 – 00:33:15.980 So hopefully over time, and especially with me
  851. 00:33:15.980 – 00:33:20.100 being a boy mom and having male guests on my show,
  852. 00:33:20.220 – 00:33:22.580 sharing their stories, I'm hoping that
  853. 00:33:22.580 – 00:33:24.620 that can expand a little bit better.
  854. 00:33:24.920 – 00:33:27.160 So where if I am putting together an event,
  855. 00:33:27.200 – 00:33:29.900 I'm seeing at least maybe an equal amount of men
  856. 00:33:29.900 – 00:33:31.640 and women showing up.
  857. 00:33:32.020 – 00:33:33.860 Because it's not just for women.
  858. 00:33:34.640 – 00:33:36.420 Everybody needs self-love and healing,
  859. 00:33:36.500 – 00:33:38.440 regardless of whether you're a man or woman.
  860. 00:33:38.920 – 00:33:41.180 And I think if we could just get out of that mindset,
  861. 00:33:41.660 – 00:33:43.340 it'd be so much easier.
  862. 00:33:44.320 – 00:33:47.120 So I think us talking about this is a great thing.
  863. 00:33:47.560 – 00:33:48.000 Definitely.
  864. 00:33:48.780 – 00:33:49.680 You used to be a rapper?
  865. 00:33:50.740 – 00:33:51.660 Did I used to be a rapper?
  866. 00:33:51.800 – 00:33:52.220 Yeah.
  867. 00:33:52.420 – 00:33:53.020 I did.
  868. 00:33:53.400 – 00:33:54.560 What made you say that?
  869. 00:33:54.880 – 00:33:56.880 Well, it's not just for women.
  870. 00:33:57.440 – 00:33:58.700 It's for self-love and healing.
  871. 00:33:58.840 – 00:33:59.900 I'm like, okay.
  872. 00:34:00.220 – 00:34:00.740 All right.
  873. 00:34:01.800 – 00:34:02.860 Got the bars for it.
  874. 00:34:02.880 – 00:34:05.440 Hey, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it.
  875. 00:34:05.460 – 00:34:06.280 Let's go.
  876. 00:34:06.280 – 00:34:08.699 That's actually a running joke on this podcast.
  877. 00:34:08.900 – 00:34:09.040 Really?
  878. 00:34:09.100 – 00:34:13.699 Me being a former poet or former performing poet
  879. 00:34:14.280 – 00:34:15.440 always kind of hit on that.
  880. 00:34:15.620 – 00:34:16.800 Like, oh, I'm gonna spit a rap for you.
  881. 00:34:16.800 – 00:34:17.719 I'm gonna spit a poem for you.
  882. 00:34:17.800 – 00:34:18.520 One of these days.
  883. 00:34:18.679 – 00:34:19.219 One of these days.
  884. 00:34:19.560 – 00:34:20.420 Yes, yes.
  885. 00:34:20.420 – 00:34:22.500 I would love to hear one of your poems or raps
  886. 00:34:22.500 – 00:34:23.040 for sure.
  887. 00:34:23.120 – 00:34:24.480 Bring it back for us one time.
  888. 00:34:24.639 – 00:34:25.000 Bring it back.
  889. 00:34:25.420 – 00:34:27.100 Yeah, bring it back one time.
  890. 00:34:27.139 – 00:34:27.920 One time.
  891. 00:34:28.159 – 00:34:29.040 Let me see, let me see.
  892. 00:34:29.699 – 00:34:32.260 I think one of my staple poems is called Frequency.
  893. 00:34:32.340 – 00:34:33.400 I'm gonna give y'all a snippet.
  894. 00:34:33.400 – 00:34:34.260 Cause I do wanna,
  895. 00:34:35.219 – 00:34:38.060 actually I think I have it on one of my other episodes
  896. 00:34:40.159 – 00:34:41.120 under meditation.
  897. 00:34:42.440 – 00:34:43.320 Episode 10, I believe.
  898. 00:34:43.480 – 00:34:44.300 Yeah, episode 10.
  899. 00:34:44.400 – 00:34:47.320 I haven't released it yet, but yeah, episode 10.
  900. 00:34:47.560 – 00:34:48.739 I'm gonna weave it in.
  901. 00:34:48.800 – 00:34:49.739 But I'm gonna give y'all a snippet
  902. 00:34:49.739 – 00:34:51.860 if y'all haven't tuned in.
  903. 00:34:52.340 – 00:34:52.820 Frequency.
  904. 00:34:55.320 – 00:34:57.460 Frequency is what you frequently see.
  905. 00:34:58.700 – 00:35:02.440 Words and vibrations inside of me.
  906. 00:35:03.720 – 00:35:04.940 Whew, it's been a minute.
  907. 00:35:05.020 – 00:35:07.260 Let me recollect my thoughts for a minute.
  908. 00:35:07.280 – 00:35:09.520 Wait, that was already sounding nice though.
  909. 00:35:09.840 – 00:35:11.280 That was sounding real nice.
  910. 00:35:11.440 – 00:35:12.820 Yeah, it gets deep.
  911. 00:35:13.080 – 00:35:15.640 It sounds like it's gonna get deep for sure.
  912. 00:35:15.960 – 00:35:20.180 It's been a minute since I performed live.
  913. 00:35:20.200 – 00:35:21.360 Just performed in general.
  914. 00:35:21.600 – 00:35:22.080 Okay.
  915. 00:35:22.340 – 00:35:23.600 Is that something you wanna get back into?
  916. 00:35:24.480 – 00:35:24.680 No.
  917. 00:35:25.920 – 00:35:27.580 I retired, I hung it up.
  918. 00:35:27.800 – 00:35:29.240 People ask me that all the time.
  919. 00:35:29.360 – 00:35:29.720 Okay.
  920. 00:35:30.760 – 00:35:31.240 Yes.
  921. 00:35:31.240 – 00:35:38.300 I mean, I would do it for more marketing purposes.
  922. 00:35:38.440 – 00:35:42.540 More for corporations and brands.
  923. 00:35:42.900 – 00:35:43.840 If I shoot a commercial,
  924. 00:35:44.820 – 00:35:46.320 I could kind of develop something for them.
  925. 00:35:47.340 – 00:35:49.540 But actively putting out music and performing.
  926. 00:35:49.820 – 00:35:51.660 I'm always a recording artist.
  927. 00:35:51.860 – 00:35:52.500 I'm always.
  928. 00:35:52.500 – 00:35:52.760 Yes.
  929. 00:35:53.080 – 00:35:56.380 But as far as performing and being in a video, no.
  930. 00:35:56.780 – 00:35:58.560 That's okay, that's okay.
  931. 00:35:58.760 – 00:35:59.380 We evolve.
  932. 00:35:59.580 – 00:36:01.100 That just shows that you've evolved.
  933. 00:36:01.100 – 00:36:02.960 Yeah, I appreciate that.
  934. 00:36:03.160 – 00:36:05.360 Ain't nothing wrong with it.
  935. 00:36:05.600 – 00:36:08.040 All right, I kinda got my thoughts together
  936. 00:36:08.040 – 00:36:09.220 how to pull it up though.
  937. 00:36:09.280 – 00:36:10.080 Okay, okay.
  938. 00:36:10.600 – 00:36:11.960 I'm gonna give y'all a snippet.
  939. 00:36:12.000 – 00:36:13.260 It's a short poem anyway,
  940. 00:36:13.340 – 00:36:15.560 but I'm gonna give y'all a snippet of the shortness.
  941. 00:36:16.000 – 00:36:16.860 But good.
  942. 00:36:19.020 – 00:36:19.500 Frequency.
  943. 00:36:20.720 – 00:36:23.260 Your frequency is what you frequently see.
  944. 00:36:23.960 – 00:36:27.020 Vibrations all in the universe and also inside of me.
  945. 00:36:28.000 – 00:36:29.820 Alien to the world society.
  946. 00:36:30.420 – 00:36:32.700 Shooting stars consciously.
  947. 00:36:33.060 – 00:36:33.860 Righteously.
  948. 00:36:34.180 – 00:36:36.680 Until every dust particle unites in me.
  949. 00:36:36.880 – 00:36:37.680 Sparkling.
  950. 00:36:38.140 – 00:36:40.860 Like water wine and jewelry and jewelry.
  951. 00:36:41.080 – 00:36:43.800 I shine brighter than my time of infinity.
  952. 00:36:44.460 – 00:36:45.220 Limency.
  953. 00:36:45.500 – 00:36:47.760 Speckles around my eyes this vicinity.
  954. 00:36:48.560 – 00:36:49.240 Vividly.
  955. 00:36:49.660 – 00:36:50.320 Femininity.
  956. 00:36:50.720 – 00:36:52.400 Raise my higher divinity.
  957. 00:36:52.920 – 00:36:53.720 Sacred trinity.
  958. 00:36:54.060 – 00:36:56.020 Reflects my divine masculinity.
  959. 00:36:57.200 – 00:36:58.280 Felt in the trenches.
  960. 00:36:58.900 – 00:36:59.460 Relentless.
  961. 00:36:59.460 – 00:37:01.120 Lost my human minds.
  962. 00:37:02.300 – 00:37:04.840 To gain my spiritual senses.
  963. 00:37:06.060 – 00:37:06.660 Defenseless.
  964. 00:37:07.460 – 00:37:07.920 Elevation.
  965. 00:37:07.920 – 00:37:09.560 See, you ain't shy, you can talk.
  966. 00:37:09.800 – 00:37:10.640 Look at you.
  967. 00:37:10.960 – 00:37:12.620 Through focus and meditation.
  968. 00:37:13.980 – 00:37:17.100 Yeah, so that's just a snippet of frequency.
  969. 00:37:17.600 – 00:37:19.160 Nah, I like it.
  970. 00:37:19.160 – 00:37:19.740 Thank you, thank you.
  971. 00:37:19.760 – 00:37:22.360 Again, art school, so we had creative writing too.
  972. 00:37:23.100 – 00:37:25.900 So, man, it's amazing.
  973. 00:37:26.800 – 00:37:29.260 And with your art school, what did you take up?
  974. 00:37:29.260 – 00:37:33.520 I was a dance major from sixth through 12th grade.
  975. 00:37:34.240 – 00:37:35.780 What type of dance is it?
  976. 00:37:35.780 – 00:37:37.720 Is it more theoretical or more like hip hop?
  977. 00:37:37.740 – 00:37:43.160 We primarily focused on ballet and modern.
  978. 00:37:43.380 – 00:37:45.380 Those were our main focuses.
  979. 00:37:45.680 – 00:37:46.900 And then when we have performances,
  980. 00:37:47.140 – 00:37:48.320 we would do like praise dancing.
  981. 00:37:48.620 – 00:37:51.960 Like we had tours like around Christmas time,
  982. 00:37:52.060 – 00:37:53.300 we would do like Coming of the King.
  983. 00:37:53.620 – 00:37:55.900 So we would do dances like Wade in the Water,
  984. 00:37:56.280 – 00:37:57.900 different things like that.
  985. 00:37:57.900 – 00:37:59.520 Really get the crowd moving.
  986. 00:37:59.820 – 00:38:01.600 But some other forms of dancing
  987. 00:38:01.600 – 00:38:04.280 that we did a little bit was tap dancing.
  988. 00:38:04.280 – 00:38:06.400 I would love to get back into tap dancing.
  989. 00:38:06.500 – 00:38:08.400 Just because we didn't do it that long,
  990. 00:38:08.420 – 00:38:10.260 but I absolutely loved it.
  991. 00:38:10.300 – 00:38:11.580 Loved it, loved it, loved it.
  992. 00:38:11.940 – 00:38:13.300 So dance now for me,
  993. 00:38:13.320 – 00:38:14.460 since I'm not doing a profession,
  994. 00:38:14.580 – 00:38:15.940 is like my creative outlet.
  995. 00:38:16.280 – 00:38:17.680 Just like with hair,
  996. 00:38:17.820 – 00:38:19.120 because I love doing hair.
  997. 00:38:19.340 – 00:38:21.200 I'm licensed going on 15 years,
  998. 00:38:21.260 – 00:38:22.960 but it's not my main focus.
  999. 00:38:23.040 – 00:38:24.020 And that's okay.
  1000. 00:38:24.740 – 00:38:25.500 You know what I mean?
  1001. 00:38:25.540 – 00:38:27.080 It's like my creativity.
  1002. 00:38:27.080 – 00:38:28.520 And I love it.
  1003. 00:38:28.520 – 00:38:30.100 Yeah, I wanna speak on that too.
  1004. 00:38:30.940 – 00:38:34.640 But yeah, let's jump right into it actually.
  1005. 00:38:35.240 – 00:38:38.560 So, with hair, you said 15 years,
  1006. 00:38:39.040 – 00:38:40.580 what are some of the trends
  1007. 00:38:40.580 – 00:38:43.420 from when you first started versus like now?
  1008. 00:38:45.200 – 00:38:48.700 I can say, what's something that we don't?
  1009. 00:38:49.300 – 00:38:50.560 Oh, a little bit,
  1010. 00:38:50.760 – 00:38:52.880 we kind of did like the whole little body wraps,
  1011. 00:38:52.940 – 00:38:54.240 like the curls on the top.
  1012. 00:38:54.340 – 00:38:55.440 Did that a little bit.
  1013. 00:38:55.460 – 00:38:57.240 Not really doing that anymore.
  1014. 00:38:58.440 – 00:38:59.740 There's so many things.
  1015. 00:38:59.900 – 00:39:02.140 I can't think of one thing to be completely honest
  1016. 00:39:02.140 – 00:39:04.440 of what we did back then that's changed now.
  1017. 00:39:04.580 – 00:39:06.180 Like the way we do quick weaves,
  1018. 00:39:06.700 – 00:39:07.820 or you know what?
  1019. 00:39:08.040 – 00:39:10.440 Actually, with COVID, that's what I can say.
  1020. 00:39:10.720 – 00:39:14.620 The fact that cosmetologists, beauty professionals,
  1021. 00:39:15.120 – 00:39:17.300 we're able to make money in different ways
  1022. 00:39:17.300 – 00:39:19.340 other than being directly with the client.
  1023. 00:39:20.520 – 00:39:22.060 Digital products, like classes.
  1024. 00:39:22.160 – 00:39:25.180 Say if you're somebody who's really good at hair cutting,
  1025. 00:39:25.460 – 00:39:27.520 putting together a video and reselling it.
  1026. 00:39:27.520 – 00:39:29.680 Making that passive income.
  1027. 00:39:29.680 – 00:39:31.560 So being able to create classes,
  1028. 00:39:31.700 – 00:39:33.880 and I will say that it's a lot,
  1029. 00:39:33.900 – 00:39:35.300 we'll say that it's a lot easier
  1030. 00:39:35.300 – 00:39:37.780 to get from behind the chair and pivot
  1031. 00:39:37.780 – 00:39:40.560 into something as whereas back then,
  1032. 00:39:40.700 – 00:39:43.360 nobody really talked about retirement plans.
  1033. 00:39:44.000 – 00:39:44.540 You know what I mean?
  1034. 00:39:45.780 – 00:39:48.320 401Ks for cosmetologists.
  1035. 00:39:48.480 – 00:39:49.900 That's something that wasn't really talked about.
  1036. 00:39:50.180 – 00:39:51.620 And now after COVID,
  1037. 00:39:51.700 – 00:39:54.360 I can say that's definitely a big topic that comes up.
  1038. 00:39:54.660 – 00:39:56.920 How can you protect yourself as a hairstylist?
  1039. 00:39:56.920 – 00:39:58.580 How can you retire from the industry
  1040. 00:39:58.580 – 00:40:00.340 if you want to retire and not be broke?
  1041. 00:40:01.080 – 00:40:01.840 You know what I mean?
  1042. 00:40:02.020 – 00:40:03.920 So I would say that's the biggest change.
  1043. 00:40:03.940 – 00:40:05.220 Not so much with the hair,
  1044. 00:40:05.240 – 00:40:06.660 because it kind of comes back.
  1045. 00:40:07.420 – 00:40:07.760 Yeah.
  1046. 00:40:08.100 – 00:40:10.280 Is there any like products from back then
  1047. 00:40:10.280 – 00:40:12.440 that used to be big and major
  1048. 00:40:12.440 – 00:40:14.000 that a lot of people don't use now,
  1049. 00:40:14.040 – 00:40:17.280 or even some products, or even tools that you use?
  1050. 00:40:17.360 – 00:40:18.320 Oh, tools for sure.
  1051. 00:40:18.620 – 00:40:19.820 They were already going out
  1052. 00:40:19.820 – 00:40:21.620 like the old school Marcells.
  1053. 00:40:22.460 – 00:40:24.560 You know, to do those small curls
  1054. 00:40:24.560 – 00:40:25.540 and everything like that.
  1055. 00:40:25.540 – 00:40:28.440 Everybody now is using the mini flat irons for that.
  1056. 00:40:28.840 – 00:40:29.880 Nobody really uses.
  1057. 00:40:30.260 – 00:40:32.860 Now, some of our old, like my kids, Gigi,
  1058. 00:40:33.120 – 00:40:34.400 she's an older hairstylist
  1059. 00:40:34.400 – 00:40:35.800 and she still uses the Marcells,
  1060. 00:40:35.840 – 00:40:38.240 but she's still able to do what's current as well.
  1061. 00:40:38.600 – 00:40:42.480 So I would say sometimes people can kind of elevate
  1062. 00:40:42.480 – 00:40:44.680 with the times as things change,
  1063. 00:40:44.700 – 00:40:46.700 but definitely the Marcells
  1064. 00:40:46.700 – 00:40:49.360 aren't as common as they used to be.
  1065. 00:40:50.500 – 00:40:51.860 More electric tools.
  1066. 00:40:52.600 – 00:40:55.480 Now, with my background in being in media,
  1067. 00:40:55.840 – 00:40:58.080 especially like video production, you know,
  1068. 00:40:58.140 – 00:41:01.920 everybody's on social media, has a web page.
  1069. 00:41:02.100 – 00:41:06.280 How has media from back then affected the industry?
  1070. 00:41:06.700 – 00:41:07.320 Oh my goodness.
  1071. 00:41:07.380 – 00:41:09.560 I feel like it has affected the industry
  1072. 00:41:09.560 – 00:41:11.020 in such a good way.
  1073. 00:41:11.020 – 00:41:13.240 I mean, it has its pros, it has its cons,
  1074. 00:41:13.260 – 00:41:14.940 but more so in a good way
  1075. 00:41:14.940 – 00:41:17.960 because we're able to reach so much more people.
  1076. 00:41:17.960 – 00:41:19.620 And now we have the trend
  1077. 00:41:19.620 – 00:41:21.960 where some stylists are bi-coastal,
  1078. 00:41:21.960 – 00:41:23.740 meaning, okay, they do here in Cleveland,
  1079. 00:41:24.000 – 00:41:26.840 but they're also doing here in Georgia or Vegas.
  1080. 00:41:26.980 – 00:41:29.320 And again, that's another extra stream of income
  1081. 00:41:29.320 – 00:41:31.740 because if you're traveling, you know what I mean?
  1082. 00:41:31.740 – 00:41:33.560 You got to add on that little extra thing.
  1083. 00:41:34.180 – 00:41:36.860 So social media has made it possible
  1084. 00:41:36.860 – 00:41:38.840 to be able to get your name out there more,
  1085. 00:41:39.200 – 00:41:40.720 you know, to celebrities,
  1086. 00:41:41.280 – 00:41:42.440 gaining, you know, celebrity clients,
  1087. 00:41:42.480 – 00:41:44.580 which I know some stylists are into as well,
  1088. 00:41:44.660 – 00:41:46.080 because you have social media.
  1089. 00:41:46.680 – 00:41:47.300 You get what I'm saying?
  1090. 00:41:47.440 – 00:41:48.740 So those celebrities can see,
  1091. 00:41:48.740 – 00:41:51.700 you can tag them in your posts so that they can see it.
  1092. 00:41:52.080 – 00:41:54.240 So social media has really, really changed
  1093. 00:41:54.240 – 00:41:56.760 the beauty industry in a good way for sure,
  1094. 00:41:56.760 – 00:42:00.200 because you're able to get more visual
  1095. 00:42:00.200 – 00:42:03.580 and to reach more people to expand your brand with it,
  1096. 00:42:03.580 – 00:42:05.560 instead of it just being local to your city.
  1097. 00:42:07.000 – 00:42:09.760 So I had this friend, right?
  1098. 00:42:10.680 – 00:42:12.540 His name is Steven, you know?
  1099. 00:42:12.540 – 00:42:13.760 He's an event photographer.
  1100. 00:42:14.860 – 00:42:17.200 We spoke on, what was that, bi-coastal?
  1101. 00:42:17.200 – 00:42:18.500 Bi-coastal, yes.
  1102. 00:42:18.520 – 00:42:21.760 Can someone in the media industry be bi-coastal?
  1103. 00:42:21.980 – 00:42:22.860 Bi-coastal.
  1104. 00:42:23.620 – 00:42:26.040 So honestly, if you're working with an artist
  1105. 00:42:26.040 – 00:42:29.260 who's like in, say, we'll just say Georgia again,
  1106. 00:42:29.380 – 00:42:31.760 and you end up, they like your work,
  1107. 00:42:31.760 – 00:42:33.540 you come down there, say maybe one time,
  1108. 00:42:33.660 – 00:42:34.940 shoot a video, do whatever you want to do,
  1109. 00:42:34.960 – 00:42:35.920 so they're like, oh my gosh,
  1110. 00:42:36.120 – 00:42:36.980 I really like your work,
  1111. 00:42:37.000 – 00:42:38.180 like I want to keep working for you.
  1112. 00:42:38.400 – 00:42:39.660 They're going to invest in you.
  1113. 00:42:39.660 – 00:42:41.020 They're going to invest in that time
  1114. 00:42:41.020 – 00:42:43.200 for you to be able to come back once a month,
  1115. 00:42:43.320 – 00:42:44.460 once every three months,
  1116. 00:42:44.460 – 00:42:47.380 whatever their business plan is set up to be,
  1117. 00:42:47.940 – 00:42:50.020 then you're bi-coastal, and then word of mouth.
  1118. 00:42:50.420 – 00:42:52.580 So pretty sure that client that you're working with
  1119. 00:42:52.580 – 00:42:54.340 in Georgia is going to tell somebody else,
  1120. 00:42:54.560 – 00:42:55.440 and then word of mouth,
  1121. 00:42:55.480 – 00:42:57.960 and then your clientele is going to start to grow
  1122. 00:42:57.960 – 00:42:59.860 and get bigger in that other state
  1123. 00:42:59.860 – 00:43:03.420 while you've already built a clientele here in Cleveland.
  1124. 00:43:03.640 – 00:43:04.880 So that's one of the ways
  1125. 00:43:04.880 – 00:43:06.040 that you could possibly do that,
  1126. 00:43:06.100 – 00:43:07.180 work with a client out of state,
  1127. 00:43:07.200 – 00:43:09.240 let them see your work, you know what I mean?
  1128. 00:43:09.240 – 00:43:10.160 And then they hire you on,
  1129. 00:43:10.260 – 00:43:11.500 like man, I don't want nobody else.
  1130. 00:43:11.500 – 00:43:14.340 I want you, and I'm willing to pay you
  1131. 00:43:14.340 – 00:43:18.640 to come from Cleveland to Georgia to do my photography.
  1132. 00:43:18.740 – 00:43:20.740 That's actually ironic you say that
  1133. 00:43:20.740 – 00:43:22.760 because actually one of my business partners,
  1134. 00:43:23.880 – 00:43:26.000 he'd been in the media industry for,
  1135. 00:43:26.080 – 00:43:29.060 you know, visual media industry for 10 years.
  1136. 00:43:30.460 – 00:43:34.080 And he recently expanded to Atlanta specifically
  1137. 00:43:34.080 – 00:43:36.900 last year, so it's crazy how you say Georgia
  1138. 00:43:36.900 – 00:43:40.500 because I'm joking, but you know,
  1139. 00:43:40.500 – 00:43:42.060 it's actually on the radar.
  1140. 00:43:42.320 – 00:43:44.420 And I don't know if you heard of the podcast summit?
  1141. 00:43:45.020 – 00:43:47.440 Yes, I have, and I really want to go.
  1142. 00:43:47.620 – 00:43:49.900 Yeah, me and the team, we went last year,
  1143. 00:43:50.060 – 00:43:51.560 and it's amazing. Okay.
  1144. 00:43:51.580 – 00:43:54.260 I heard so many great things about that event,
  1145. 00:43:54.260 – 00:43:56.400 so because I'm doing what I'm doing now,
  1146. 00:43:56.400 – 00:43:59.340 and I really want to see it expand and go somewhere,
  1147. 00:43:59.420 – 00:44:00.580 now that I'm really serious,
  1148. 00:44:00.640 – 00:44:02.460 I would love to be able to go
  1149. 00:44:02.460 – 00:44:04.080 to the summit this year for sure.
  1150. 00:44:04.240 – 00:44:06.660 Definitely, I think he just released a date,
  1151. 00:44:06.700 – 00:44:10.120 so I would send it to you too, like, you know.
  1152. 00:44:10.120 – 00:44:12.280 Please do, thank you.
  1153. 00:44:12.280 – 00:44:13.920 We elevate, you know.
  1154. 00:44:13.980 – 00:44:15.000 Thank you, thank you.
  1155. 00:44:15.180 – 00:44:19.140 And now you got a fresh head of re-twisted locks,
  1156. 00:44:19.440 – 00:44:24.220 looking real nice and fresh, period.
  1157. 00:44:24.600 – 00:44:26.380 So you could walk out there,
  1158. 00:44:27.480 – 00:44:29.420 look like that businessman, you know,
  1159. 00:44:29.640 – 00:44:32.380 pass out some business cards, you know what I mean?
  1160. 00:44:34.380 – 00:44:35.800 Knock on some doors and stuff.
  1161. 00:44:36.040 – 00:44:37.340 Absolutely, for sure.
  1162. 00:44:37.420 – 00:44:39.120 Ain't nothing wrong with the pirates,
  1163. 00:44:39.120 – 00:44:41.960 like they used to do back in the day on the windshields,
  1164. 00:44:42.000 – 00:44:44.000 put your flyers right there when you come off the club.
  1165. 00:44:45.440 – 00:44:50.020 So how are stylists, is it called stylists or?
  1166. 00:44:50.600 – 00:44:52.180 Yes, you could say hairstylist.
  1167. 00:44:52.720 – 00:44:54.920 Cosmetologist is just basically meaning
  1168. 00:44:54.920 – 00:44:58.620 that you studied hair, skin, and nails in school.
  1169. 00:44:58.800 – 00:45:01.380 So like the esthetician, right, right, right, right.
  1170. 00:45:01.880 – 00:45:03.600 But yeah, I focus just on hair,
  1171. 00:45:03.600 – 00:45:05.580 so you could say hairstylist.
  1172. 00:45:06.200 – 00:45:08.620 As far as marketing, what are some,
  1173. 00:45:08.620 – 00:45:09.920 because you spoke about business cards,
  1174. 00:45:10.140 – 00:45:12.960 what are some ways other than social media
  1175. 00:45:12.960 – 00:45:16.600 that are ways of them marketing themselves and getting out?
  1176. 00:45:17.200 – 00:45:19.020 So one of the things that I definitely did,
  1177. 00:45:19.060 – 00:45:20.300 I did vending events.
  1178. 00:45:21.260 – 00:45:23.920 And yes, vending events, I would have my business cards,
  1179. 00:45:24.020 – 00:45:25.320 but I would also have flyers
  1180. 00:45:25.320 – 00:45:28.480 with like different hairstyles that I offer
  1181. 00:45:28.480 – 00:45:29.900 just so they can see my work.
  1182. 00:45:30.060 – 00:45:33.800 And even just as you walk, you're out and about,
  1183. 00:45:33.940 – 00:45:34.660 say you're at the mall,
  1184. 00:45:34.840 – 00:45:36.860 have your business cards and flyers with you.
  1185. 00:45:36.860 – 00:45:38.860 Even if somebody says, hey,
  1186. 00:45:39.340 – 00:45:42.600 I'm not looking for a stylist right now,
  1187. 00:45:42.700 – 00:45:45.140 at least you're able to give that to that flyer to them.
  1188. 00:45:45.160 – 00:45:47.520 They can pass it along to somebody else who needs it.
  1189. 00:45:47.620 – 00:45:49.060 And I would say one other way
  1190. 00:45:49.060 – 00:45:51.620 that my kids Gigi taught me, and I love it,
  1191. 00:45:51.840 – 00:45:54.700 she would do a deal where if you bring her
  1192. 00:45:54.700 – 00:45:55.740 three new clients,
  1193. 00:45:56.160 – 00:45:58.060 your next service will be completely free.
  1194. 00:45:58.220 – 00:45:59.720 And that's another great way.
  1195. 00:46:00.620 – 00:46:01.560 That's amazing.
  1196. 00:46:01.920 – 00:46:03.180 And a lot of people who don't,
  1197. 00:46:03.220 – 00:46:04.940 like I was speaking with someone,
  1198. 00:46:05.620 – 00:46:07.460 like you should have a referral system.
  1199. 00:46:07.620 – 00:46:08.280 Like it's easy.
  1200. 00:46:08.860 – 00:46:10.760 You know, it's less work from you
  1201. 00:46:10.760 – 00:46:13.360 and you also getting promotion from it.
  1202. 00:46:13.460 – 00:46:16.140 Bringing in new clients, it's saving you time.
  1203. 00:46:16.400 – 00:46:18.740 And like, who better else?
  1204. 00:46:19.020 – 00:46:20.540 I mean, kind of like even how we met
  1205. 00:46:20.540 – 00:46:21.860 through a mutual person.
  1206. 00:46:21.860 – 00:46:22.360 Exactly.
  1207. 00:46:22.700 – 00:46:24.880 It kind of speeds up that time.
  1208. 00:46:25.260 – 00:46:28.380 Or like, you know, and we instantly click
  1209. 00:46:28.380 – 00:46:30.600 and I told you, we're gonna be working together
  1210. 00:46:30.600 – 00:46:32.560 and I love what you're doing
  1211. 00:46:32.560 – 00:46:34.140 and I'm pouring word. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
  1212. 00:46:34.140 – 00:46:37.320 And even your story, it intrigues me.
  1213. 00:46:37.520 – 00:46:39.680 And like, yeah, the youth particularly,
  1214. 00:46:39.720 – 00:46:41.540 they need people like you.
  1215. 00:46:41.580 – 00:46:42.060 Absolutely.
  1216. 00:46:42.280 – 00:46:44.900 And I feel like the younger you are
  1217. 00:46:44.900 – 00:46:47.860 when you start learning how to love yourself,
  1218. 00:46:48.140 – 00:46:48.780 the better.
  1219. 00:46:49.280 – 00:46:50.160 Oh my goodness.
  1220. 00:46:50.240 – 00:46:52.040 Like I wish I would have learned it sooner,
  1221. 00:46:52.040 – 00:46:55.140 but I still, I was about 29 when I started my journey.
  1222. 00:46:55.200 – 00:46:56.640 So I was still fairly young,
  1223. 00:46:56.900 – 00:46:58.580 but I just like, if I would have,
  1224. 00:46:58.620 – 00:46:59.980 I feel like if I would have known it
  1225. 00:46:59.980 – 00:47:02.780 maybe in my teens and it was actually introduced to me,
  1226. 00:47:02.780 – 00:47:06.640 it probably would have, you know,
  1227. 00:47:06.980 – 00:47:09.220 stopped maybe me being a teen mom
  1228. 00:47:09.220 – 00:47:10.620 and different things like that.
  1229. 00:47:10.780 – 00:47:11.500 You know what I mean?
  1230. 00:47:11.900 – 00:47:14.060 So yeah, definitely for sure.
  1231. 00:47:14.660 – 00:47:15.760 We need it.
  1232. 00:47:16.160 – 00:47:16.640 Yeah.
  1233. 00:47:16.860 – 00:47:17.660 Excuse you.
  1234. 00:47:17.740 – 00:47:20.180 We on the location in this trash day.
  1235. 00:47:20.200 – 00:47:21.620 So if you heard it in the background,
  1236. 00:47:21.760 – 00:47:22.920 just know it was,
  1237. 00:47:23.160 – 00:47:25.040 they're collecting the trash during their jobs.
  1238. 00:47:25.080 – 00:47:26.740 So I appreciate them.
  1239. 00:47:27.100 – 00:47:27.620 Yeah.
  1240. 00:47:27.760 – 00:47:28.880 Thank you, City of Cleveland.
  1241. 00:47:29.480 – 00:47:29.800 Yes, yes.
  1242. 00:47:30.000 – 00:47:30.620 Thank you.
  1243. 00:47:30.620 – 00:47:31.220 Thank you.
  1244. 00:47:31.740 – 00:47:32.840 We appreciate you.
  1245. 00:47:32.840 – 00:47:33.700 We recognize you.
  1246. 00:47:33.700 – 00:47:34.020 Right.
  1247. 00:47:34.100 – 00:47:34.880 Keep it clean.
  1248. 00:47:35.060 – 00:47:38.540 It's actually a multi-million dollar industry
  1249. 00:47:38.540 – 00:47:40.280 I'm gonna have to tap into too.
  1250. 00:47:42.800 – 00:47:42.920 Yeah.
  1251. 00:47:42.920 – 00:47:44.140 Watchable screens are in color.
  1252. 00:47:44.360 – 00:47:45.320 Right, that's right.
  1253. 00:47:46.120 – 00:47:48.080 So we spoke about you being a hairstylist
  1254. 00:47:48.080 – 00:47:48.960 and the different trends.
  1255. 00:47:49.000 – 00:47:50.800 What about the trends of,
  1256. 00:47:50.800 – 00:47:53.640 you know, being a adoptee?
  1257. 00:47:53.880 – 00:47:56.040 Like what are even like the structure
  1258. 00:47:56.040 – 00:48:00.040 maybe through paperwork or even like,
  1259. 00:48:00.040 – 00:48:02.960 just kind of give like a brief overview of the process
  1260. 00:48:02.960 – 00:48:05.260 and then kind of break down the trends and history.
  1261. 00:48:05.420 – 00:48:09.060 So I was adopted at two.
  1262. 00:48:09.820 – 00:48:11.920 So my memory of like the whole process
  1263. 00:48:11.920 – 00:48:14.380 with like paperwork is a little bit vague.
  1264. 00:48:14.380 – 00:48:17.500 I would have to do more like talk to my mom with that.
  1265. 00:48:17.500 – 00:48:17.760 Okay.
  1266. 00:48:17.900 – 00:48:20.640 But for sure, for sure the process,
  1267. 00:48:21.320 – 00:48:24.100 normally how it starts is at least what my mom said
  1268. 00:48:24.100 – 00:48:26.440 is when I was in foster care,
  1269. 00:48:26.460 – 00:48:28.160 basically once she went through the process
  1270. 00:48:28.160 – 00:48:29.660 of whatever that paperwork was,
  1271. 00:48:29.660 – 00:48:31.980 she would start to do visits with me.
  1272. 00:48:32.180 – 00:48:32.640 You know what I mean?
  1273. 00:48:32.680 – 00:48:35.160 So while I was still in the foster home in Warren, Ohio,
  1274. 00:48:35.520 – 00:48:39.280 my mom would come and visit me and everything like that.
  1275. 00:48:39.560 – 00:48:43.180 And then after a while, that's when they would actually,
  1276. 00:48:43.700 – 00:48:45.360 I have a picture of me in like the courtroom.
  1277. 00:48:45.540 – 00:48:49.600 So the actual state of Ohio makes the adoption permanent
  1278. 00:48:49.600 – 00:48:50.560 into what it is.
  1279. 00:48:50.560 – 00:48:53.160 And then you move to wherever you're gonna move.
  1280. 00:48:53.320 – 00:48:55.240 Now, something that some people don't know
  1281. 00:48:55.240 – 00:48:57.660 is the fact that when a child is adopted,
  1282. 00:48:57.660 – 00:48:58.840 you can change their name.
  1283. 00:48:59.570 – 00:48:59.840 Okay.
  1284. 00:49:00.460 – 00:49:02.980 So I go by Kayla Monique, okay.
  1285. 00:49:03.040 – 00:49:04.920 That is my biological name.
  1286. 00:49:05.140 – 00:49:06.360 My name was not changed.
  1287. 00:49:06.400 – 00:49:07.980 Kayla Monique were not changed.
  1288. 00:49:08.300 – 00:49:10.260 So a lot of times when I introduce myself,
  1289. 00:49:10.260 – 00:49:12.100 you're gonna hear me say Kayla Monique
  1290. 00:49:12.100 – 00:49:13.580 because of the simple fact,
  1291. 00:49:13.840 – 00:49:15.580 my biological last name is Reed,
  1292. 00:49:15.880 – 00:49:17.340 my adopted family is McCrary,
  1293. 00:49:17.400 – 00:49:18.740 but they're both my family.
  1294. 00:49:19.080 – 00:49:21.140 So you'll hear me say Kayla Monique.
  1295. 00:49:21.180 – 00:49:23.540 So basically after I got adopted,
  1296. 00:49:23.740 – 00:49:25.660 the next step is basically where someone
  1297. 00:49:25.660 – 00:49:27.860 from the agency came to visit me
  1298. 00:49:27.860 – 00:49:30.540 for like maybe six months into the first year
  1299. 00:49:30.540 – 00:49:32.540 just to make sure I was adjusted good.
  1300. 00:49:32.600 – 00:49:35.740 And then after that, you're an adoptee.
  1301. 00:49:35.740 – 00:49:38.860 So now you're in this new environment with this new home,
  1302. 00:49:39.000 – 00:49:42.700 you're adjusting to new parents, new family members.
  1303. 00:49:42.940 – 00:49:44.480 And again, I don't remember all of that
  1304. 00:49:44.480 – 00:49:48.220 because I was so young, but that's the process.
  1305. 00:49:49.120 – 00:49:51.140 And some adoptive parents are good
  1306. 00:49:51.140 – 00:49:52.920 about talking to you about it
  1307. 00:49:52.920 – 00:49:55.540 and explaining that to you, but some aren't.
  1308. 00:49:56.660 – 00:49:59.160 And that's also why I wanna do the work that I wanna do
  1309. 00:49:59.160 – 00:50:01.920 because it's kinda, some adoptees don't,
  1310. 00:50:01.920 – 00:50:04.340 cause I have adopted cousin who's not that into it.
  1311. 00:50:04.380 – 00:50:06.960 She's cool with where she is, but you have me
  1312. 00:50:06.960 – 00:50:09.920 where I'm super inquisitive and I wanna know.
  1313. 00:50:09.980 – 00:50:12.120 So that's kinda the process of adoption.
  1314. 00:50:12.260 – 00:50:13.520 Yes, you do your paperwork
  1315. 00:50:14.160 – 00:50:16.160 depending on if the child's in foster care
  1316. 00:50:16.160 – 00:50:16.940 or newly born.
  1317. 00:50:17.140 – 00:50:18.440 So there's a couple of little things
  1318. 00:50:18.440 – 00:50:20.660 that can make it a little unique to each person.
  1319. 00:50:21.080 – 00:50:22.040 Okay, wow.
  1320. 00:50:22.380 – 00:50:23.360 And what are some of the things
  1321. 00:50:23.360 – 00:50:24.800 you would wanna change about that system?
  1322. 00:50:25.220 – 00:50:26.900 So some of the things I would wanna change
  1323. 00:50:26.900 – 00:50:32.060 is the fact that anyone who is dealing with children
  1324. 00:50:32.060 – 00:50:33.640 affected by foster care or adoption,
  1325. 00:50:33.820 – 00:50:37.220 I feel like that individual should be able
  1326. 00:50:37.220 – 00:50:40.040 have some type of experience to adoption or foster care
  1327. 00:50:40.040 – 00:50:41.460 because again, you heard me talk about
  1328. 00:50:41.460 – 00:50:43.340 empathizing versus sympathizing.
  1329. 00:50:43.720 – 00:50:46.520 And for me, it's so easy for me to get on that level
  1330. 00:50:46.520 – 00:50:49.280 because I empathize, I've walked in their shoes.
  1331. 00:50:49.600 – 00:50:51.720 And a lot of times it's kinda hard
  1332. 00:50:51.720 – 00:50:54.580 for others who haven't to do that.
  1333. 00:50:54.580 – 00:50:56.660 And to really understand where a person is coming from.
  1334. 00:50:57.000 – 00:51:00.120 So I think there should be more in-person conversations
  1335. 00:51:00.120 – 00:51:02.700 with adoptees present to speak to potential
  1336. 00:51:02.700 – 00:51:05.220 adoptive parents, potential foster parents,
  1337. 00:51:05.580 – 00:51:07.640 just so they understand what it is,
  1338. 00:51:08.400 – 00:51:10.440 fully understand the role that they're stepping into.
  1339. 00:51:10.780 – 00:51:13.060 Because sometimes it can't be from a selfish perspective
  1340. 00:51:13.060 – 00:51:15.620 because they wanna have a baby and they can't.
  1341. 00:51:15.620 – 00:51:16.840 And here's my baby.
  1342. 00:51:17.100 – 00:51:20.240 But not thinking about that baby still has struggles,
  1343. 00:51:20.380 – 00:51:22.340 they still have their own individuality.
  1344. 00:51:22.740 – 00:51:24.480 There's things that you're gonna need to understand
  1345. 00:51:24.480 – 00:51:26.880 to be able to truly care for that child,
  1346. 00:51:27.220 – 00:51:29.920 which I feel like nobody really understood me
  1347. 00:51:29.920 – 00:51:32.120 because they weren't affected by it.
  1348. 00:51:32.240 – 00:51:34.300 They were like, ooh, wow,
  1349. 00:51:34.360 – 00:51:36.000 but couldn't give me anything.
  1350. 00:51:36.380 – 00:51:39.240 So I think that more people affected by adoption
  1351. 00:51:39.240 – 00:51:41.560 should be helping to make those decisions
  1352. 00:51:41.560 – 00:51:45.280 and educating potential foster and adoptive parents.
  1353. 00:51:46.220 – 00:51:46.940 For sure.
  1354. 00:51:48.380 – 00:51:52.440 And me being again in media and more so documenting
  1355. 00:51:52.440 – 00:51:55.380 these powerful stories, elevating positive stories,
  1356. 00:51:56.440 – 00:52:00.620 what role does media play in this situation?
  1357. 00:52:01.000 – 00:52:03.020 Is it enough media in this space
  1358. 00:52:03.020 – 00:52:04.760 that's telling these stories?
  1359. 00:52:05.400 – 00:52:07.800 Me personally, I don't think there's enough media.
  1360. 00:52:08.180 – 00:52:10.060 I know there are places in Cleveland
  1361. 00:52:10.060 – 00:52:13.300 that do things like Fostering Hope, Adoption Network.
  1362. 00:52:13.840 – 00:52:15.040 But for me personally,
  1363. 00:52:15.060 – 00:52:17.560 I don't see it broadcasted enough on TV
  1364. 00:52:17.560 – 00:52:20.680 or on big media podcasts,
  1365. 00:52:20.680 – 00:52:23.820 so like say on Fox 8 News, Channel 5 News,
  1366. 00:52:24.040 – 00:52:26.400 there's not enough media exposure for it,
  1367. 00:52:26.400 – 00:52:28.740 so I feel like a lot of people are uneducated
  1368. 00:52:28.740 – 00:52:31.400 because they have to go looking for it themselves,
  1369. 00:52:31.960 – 00:52:33.960 whether then it being on media, like you said,
  1370. 00:52:34.100 – 00:52:36.560 like when they're talking about murder or politics,
  1371. 00:52:36.820 – 00:52:38.200 let's talk about what's happening
  1372. 00:52:38.200 – 00:52:41.180 with all of these children, so yeah.
  1373. 00:52:41.440 – 00:52:42.500 There needs to be more media.
  1374. 00:52:42.960 – 00:52:45.100 Yes, yeah, we're definitely gonna change that.
  1375. 00:52:45.320 – 00:52:47.080 We're definitely changing that, let me say that.
  1376. 00:52:47.120 – 00:52:48.920 We're definitely changing that now.
  1377. 00:52:48.920 – 00:52:50.280 Yes, yes. We're doing that.
  1378. 00:52:50.280 – 00:52:52.980 Our voices matter, and I say that all the time.
  1379. 00:52:53.420 – 00:52:54.760 Adoptee voices matter
  1380. 00:52:54.760 – 00:52:57.540 because there's so many different forms of adoption
  1381. 00:52:57.540 – 00:52:58.400 that people don't know.
  1382. 00:52:58.660 – 00:53:01.200 You have biracial, you have same-sex,
  1383. 00:53:01.500 – 00:53:02.400 you have kinship,
  1384. 00:53:02.500 – 00:53:04.320 where basically that's someone within the family
  1385. 00:53:04.320 – 00:53:05.860 that takes on the child,
  1386. 00:53:05.880 – 00:53:06.920 like I have a sister like that,
  1387. 00:53:06.920 – 00:53:08.180 but she wasn't fully adopted.
  1388. 00:53:08.340 – 00:53:08.780 Okay.
  1389. 00:53:09.180 – 00:53:11.100 So it's like, where do I stand?
  1390. 00:53:11.660 – 00:53:12.940 Like yeah, this is my family,
  1391. 00:53:12.940 – 00:53:15.280 but it's not my mom and dad, you know?
  1392. 00:53:15.280 – 00:53:17.860 So there's just, there's so many different things
  1393. 00:53:17.860 – 00:53:18.840 that come with adoption
  1394. 00:53:18.840 – 00:53:20.580 that a lot of people don't know.
  1395. 00:53:21.100 – 00:53:22.660 So that's why I feel like media
  1396. 00:53:22.660 – 00:53:25.680 is gonna be a big tool to get it out there,
  1397. 00:53:25.700 – 00:53:27.200 and not just reading material,
  1398. 00:53:27.440 – 00:53:29.260 but actual conversations
  1399. 00:53:29.760 – 00:53:32.160 so that people can really hear it and it can stick.
  1400. 00:53:33.020 – 00:53:33.820 Well, I know the people
  1401. 00:53:33.820 – 00:53:35.500 that's gonna love this conversation.
  1402. 00:53:35.500 – 00:53:36.780 I appreciate you.
  1403. 00:53:37.240 – 00:53:38.140 Oh, you're very welcome.
  1404. 00:53:38.140 – 00:53:40.220 Thank you for listening.
  1405. 00:53:41.020 – 00:53:45.540 And if there's an inspirational word or quote
  1406. 00:53:45.540 – 00:53:49.140 you may give someone in a tough situation
  1407. 00:53:49.140 – 00:53:51.960 or even an adoptee or entrepreneur
  1408. 00:53:51.960 – 00:53:53.320 that may be struggling,
  1409. 00:53:53.460 – 00:53:55.020 what are some words that you could give
  1410. 00:53:55.020 – 00:53:56.000 to encourage them?
  1411. 00:53:56.740 – 00:53:57.580 I would say,
  1412. 00:53:57.640 – 00:53:59.040 because this is something I say to me often
  1413. 00:53:59.040 – 00:54:00.440 and it may sound cliche,
  1414. 00:54:00.840 – 00:54:04.100 but no weapon formed against you shall prosper.
  1415. 00:54:05.480 – 00:54:07.720 Like absolutely, unless you give it the power,
  1416. 00:54:07.940 – 00:54:09.360 whether it's a regular person
  1417. 00:54:09.360 – 00:54:12.000 who's just talking nasty about you,
  1418. 00:54:12.100 – 00:54:13.860 whether it's your living situation,
  1419. 00:54:13.860 – 00:54:14.940 maybe you're in a building
  1420. 00:54:14.940 – 00:54:17.540 and it's just not where you wanna be.
  1421. 00:54:17.780 – 00:54:19.260 You have a boss that's,
  1422. 00:54:20.080 – 00:54:24.480 you have the control over how that's gonna affect you.
  1423. 00:54:25.640 – 00:54:27.040 You still have that control,
  1424. 00:54:27.160 – 00:54:29.060 even if you feel like you don't, you do.
  1425. 00:54:30.400 – 00:54:32.100 You can let somebody say,
  1426. 00:54:32.260 – 00:54:32.860 oh, you're stupid
  1427. 00:54:32.860 – 00:54:34.740 and really let it mess up your whole day,
  1428. 00:54:34.980 – 00:54:36.200 or you can take them like,
  1429. 00:54:36.580 – 00:54:39.160 that's their opinion, not mine.
  1430. 00:54:39.660 – 00:54:42.740 No weapon formed against you shall prosper.
  1431. 00:54:42.740 – 00:54:45.060 It brings me back to one of my affirmations.
  1432. 00:54:45.320 – 00:54:47.760 Also, again, check out alien affirmations,
  1433. 00:54:48.120 – 00:54:49.740 one, two, three, yes.
  1434. 00:54:50.060 – 00:54:52.060 Or you can just type in alien one, two, three,
  1435. 00:54:52.060 – 00:54:53.300 it may pop up.
  1436. 00:54:53.520 – 00:54:54.920 And I say,
  1437. 00:54:56.060 – 00:54:56.760 I'm a magician.
  1438. 00:54:57.340 – 00:54:59.800 I could change my mind in an instant.
  1439. 00:55:00.440 – 00:55:01.540 I'm a magician.
  1440. 00:55:02.180 – 00:55:03.780 That's what it brings me to that.
  1441. 00:55:04.060 – 00:55:06.620 Even the opening statement like,
  1442. 00:55:06.820 – 00:55:08.860 change your mind, you could change the world.
  1443. 00:55:09.320 – 00:55:11.120 Like these are the type of affirmations
  1444. 00:55:11.120 – 00:55:11.720 that I include.
  1445. 00:55:11.720 – 00:55:12.660 That too.
  1446. 00:55:12.680 – 00:55:14.660 And I do have another little long one.
  1447. 00:55:14.760 – 00:55:15.820 Okay, that's definitely fair.
  1448. 00:55:15.840 – 00:55:19.080 But I love to say it because most of us are,
  1449. 00:55:19.160 – 00:55:20.480 we're giving some type of service
  1450. 00:55:20.480 – 00:55:21.700 to somebody else or something.
  1451. 00:55:22.400 – 00:55:23.920 So another one I like to say is,
  1452. 00:55:24.080 – 00:55:26.060 I do wonderful work in a wonderful way.
  1453. 00:55:26.600 – 00:55:29.040 I give wonderful service for wonderful pay.
  1454. 00:55:29.280 – 00:55:30.760 I'm gonna repeat it after you.
  1455. 00:55:31.520 – 00:55:32.440 Let's go, I'll start.
  1456. 00:55:32.460 – 00:55:34.260 I do wonderful work in a wonderful way.
  1457. 00:55:34.620 – 00:55:36.560 I do wonderful work in a wonderful way.
  1458. 00:55:36.800 – 00:55:38.400 I give wonderful service.
  1459. 00:55:38.560 – 00:55:40.180 I give wonderful service.
  1460. 00:55:40.300 – 00:55:41.340 For wonderful pay.
  1461. 00:55:41.340 – 00:55:42.600 For wonderful pay.
  1462. 00:55:42.760 – 00:55:43.560 Come on now.
  1463. 00:55:44.640 – 00:55:45.460 Come on now.
  1464. 00:55:45.500 – 00:55:47.060 And I've used that before in saying,
  1465. 00:55:47.760 – 00:55:49.400 with them clients doing hair and stuff,
  1466. 00:55:49.500 – 00:55:50.780 them tits go a little higher.
  1467. 00:55:51.440 – 00:55:53.320 So it's all about what you say.
  1468. 00:55:53.560 – 00:55:54.660 And then you gotta believe it.
  1469. 00:55:54.720 – 00:55:56.260 You gotta believe what you say.
  1470. 00:55:56.720 – 00:55:57.820 Not just say it.
  1471. 00:55:57.940 – 00:55:58.680 You gotta believe it.
  1472. 00:55:58.680 – 00:55:59.660 You have to believe.
  1473. 00:56:00.120 – 00:56:02.920 And you know it was crazy as you say that.
  1474. 00:56:02.920 – 00:56:04.540 That's actually how I got my first wedding.
  1475. 00:56:05.340 – 00:56:07.240 I was with my old photography partner.
  1476. 00:56:07.620 – 00:56:08.340 We went to the party.
  1477. 00:56:08.360 – 00:56:09.500 We was gonna practice some stuff
  1478. 00:56:09.500 – 00:56:10.900 and get some brand each other.
  1479. 00:56:10.900 – 00:56:12.260 You take photographs of me.
  1480. 00:56:12.260 – 00:56:13.620 I take photographs of you.
  1481. 00:56:14.480 – 00:56:16.120 Practice in a different light.
  1482. 00:56:16.560 – 00:56:18.500 And I always said I wanted to jump into weddings.
  1483. 00:56:19.520 – 00:56:20.840 And before we did,
  1484. 00:56:22.040 – 00:56:23.900 we listened to my affirmations that I made.
  1485. 00:56:23.960 – 00:56:24.920 I didn't release this one,
  1486. 00:56:25.520 – 00:56:30.540 but one of them is I deserve to get the money.
  1487. 00:56:31.180 – 00:56:32.260 I deserve.
  1488. 00:56:32.460 – 00:56:34.020 And then I repeated it and said it
  1489. 00:56:34.020 – 00:56:35.180 in a more powerful tone.
  1490. 00:56:36.040 – 00:56:37.360 That was just one of them,
  1491. 00:56:37.460 – 00:56:40.320 but it was a lengthy track, almost seven.
  1492. 00:56:41.000 – 00:56:43.380 And probably even longer than that.
  1493. 00:56:43.500 – 00:56:45.220 I have some shorter ones too,
  1494. 00:56:45.260 – 00:56:46.780 but just listening to that,
  1495. 00:56:47.360 – 00:56:49.280 some great things always come through.
  1496. 00:56:49.420 – 00:56:52.800 And that's how I attracted my first wedding client.
  1497. 00:56:52.940 – 00:56:54.940 Yes, that is so true.
  1498. 00:56:55.260 – 00:56:56.580 And even with the vision boards,
  1499. 00:56:56.860 – 00:56:58.260 I have a vision book.
  1500. 00:56:59.880 – 00:57:02.160 Because I like to keep it with me
  1501. 00:57:02.160 – 00:57:04.040 and so I can look at it more often.
  1502. 00:57:05.400 – 00:57:07.200 And some of the things are still manifest,
  1503. 00:57:07.300 – 00:57:09.040 but one thing was the speaking opportunity.
  1504. 00:57:09.040 – 00:57:12.400 I had a microphone, me talking every day
  1505. 00:57:12.400 – 00:57:13.900 before the opportunity even came.
  1506. 00:57:14.280 – 00:57:15.900 And I was sitting down and thinking of one day,
  1507. 00:57:15.940 – 00:57:18.240 I was like, wait a minute, get your vision book.
  1508. 00:57:18.360 – 00:57:20.480 And I looked at the years I had on there
  1509. 00:57:20.480 – 00:57:22.100 from 2021 to 2023,
  1510. 00:57:22.520 – 00:57:24.180 and that was when I got my very first
  1511. 00:57:24.180 – 00:57:25.500 public speaking opportunity in 2020.
  1512. 00:57:26.260 – 00:57:27.560 So as you speak book
  1513. 00:57:27.560 – 00:57:29.880 and we talked about the products earlier,
  1514. 00:57:29.980 – 00:57:31.680 even what I'm doing with the podcast,
  1515. 00:57:32.140 – 00:57:35.180 especially my solo podcast in the earlier stages,
  1516. 00:57:36.000 – 00:57:38.460 breaking it up into books, like the transcripts,
  1517. 00:57:38.460 – 00:57:41.060 and then getting the key points and highlights from that,
  1518. 00:57:41.320 – 00:57:43.700 putting it into books, expanding on it.
  1519. 00:57:44.300 – 00:57:47.040 So yeah, I kind of give you that tip too.
  1520. 00:57:47.220 – 00:57:49.120 Look what you take from each interview
  1521. 00:57:49.740 – 00:57:52.080 and reflect on it and,
  1522. 00:57:52.200 – 00:57:53.560 or even use them as examples,
  1523. 00:57:54.560 – 00:57:56.360 like such-and-such spoke about boom, boom, boom.
  1524. 00:57:56.560 – 00:57:59.140 This is why it's important, and you know.
  1525. 00:57:59.420 – 00:58:01.460 Ah, see, y'all need to tap into him.
  1526. 00:58:01.540 – 00:58:02.660 Y'all need to tap in.
  1527. 00:58:02.700 – 00:58:04.080 He's always dropping gems.
  1528. 00:58:04.360 – 00:58:04.840 I appreciate it.
  1529. 00:58:04.840 – 00:58:05.500 Like somebody met him.
  1530. 00:58:05.580 – 00:58:07.020 It hasn't even been that long.
  1531. 00:58:07.020 – 00:58:07.600 It hasn't?
  1532. 00:58:07.620 – 00:58:08.380 Under a month.
  1533. 00:58:08.560 – 00:58:10.000 Yeah, under a month for sure.
  1534. 00:58:10.000 – 00:58:11.360 And he's just been doing the work, like.
  1535. 00:58:11.760 – 00:58:12.960 Absolutely, dropping so much gems.
  1536. 00:58:13.080 – 00:58:15.340 But again, that shows that being in alignment.
  1537. 00:58:15.920 – 00:58:16.240 You know what I mean?
  1538. 00:58:16.340 – 00:58:18.560 Again, why I'm so glad I showed up to that event
  1539. 00:58:18.560 – 00:58:20.680 because it connected me with more amazing people.
  1540. 00:58:21.280 – 00:58:22.480 So it's only up from here.
  1541. 00:58:22.600 – 00:58:23.460 It's only up from here.
  1542. 00:58:23.460 – 00:58:23.740 It's only up.
  1543. 00:58:24.280 – 00:58:25.980 Oh, are we doing the work?
  1544. 00:58:26.140 – 00:58:27.220 Yes, yes, yes.
  1545. 00:58:27.260 – 00:58:28.280 You gotta do the work.
  1546. 00:58:29.180 – 00:58:30.400 Ooh, you have to do the work.
  1547. 00:58:30.820 – 00:58:32.560 Don't just take in the knowledge.
  1548. 00:58:33.420 – 00:58:35.160 Like, so don't just take what we're telling you
  1549. 00:58:35.160 – 00:58:36.220 and just let it sit there.
  1550. 00:58:36.220 – 00:58:37.960 Actually do what we're telling you.
  1551. 00:58:38.080 – 00:58:38.620 You have to.
  1552. 00:58:38.860 – 00:58:39.560 Like, for real.
  1553. 00:58:40.420 – 00:58:41.460 And so y'all are not looking at us like,
  1554. 00:58:41.580 – 00:58:43.760 oh, but y'all said, yeah, you gotta do it.
  1555. 00:58:43.800 – 00:58:45.240 And you have to be consistent.
  1556. 00:58:45.420 – 00:58:46.080 You have to.
  1557. 00:58:46.460 – 00:58:47.460 You have to be consistent.
  1558. 00:58:47.960 – 00:58:49.800 Like, I started my journey in 2018.
  1559. 00:58:50.080 – 00:58:51.460 This is 2025.
  1560. 00:58:52.500 – 00:58:54.040 It's taking time, but I'm still growing.
  1561. 00:58:54.840 – 00:58:55.380 You know what I mean?
  1562. 00:58:55.380 – 00:58:56.660 I'm still growing.
  1563. 00:58:57.080 – 00:58:59.060 How many years is that difference?
  1564. 00:58:59.440 – 00:59:00.400 Ooh, my goodness.
  1565. 00:59:00.620 – 00:59:03.880 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, about six, 70 years or so?
  1566. 00:59:03.940 – 00:59:04.260 Seven.
  1567. 00:59:04.260 – 00:59:05.440 I've been on this journey.
  1568. 00:59:05.440 – 00:59:06.800 Seven years.
  1569. 00:59:06.880 – 00:59:07.400 Seven years.
  1570. 00:59:07.400 – 00:59:08.600 Is seven a powerful number?
  1571. 00:59:09.140 – 00:59:10.180 Ooh, it is.
  1572. 00:59:10.220 – 00:59:11.960 That's my life path number.
  1573. 00:59:12.400 – 00:59:14.140 And we've been talking about sevens all day.
  1574. 00:59:14.580 – 00:59:16.600 And that's actually my daughter's name too.
  1575. 00:59:16.820 – 00:59:17.240 Really?
  1576. 00:59:17.460 – 00:59:17.980 Yeah.
  1577. 00:59:18.140 – 00:59:19.120 See, look at that.
  1578. 00:59:19.680 – 00:59:20.420 Oh my goodness.
  1579. 00:59:20.460 – 00:59:21.740 The confirmation, guys.
  1580. 00:59:21.820 – 00:59:23.420 Are y'all seeing this confirmation right here?
  1581. 00:59:23.420 – 00:59:23.740 Wow.
  1582. 00:59:23.740 – 00:59:26.120 When you're in alignment with where you're supposed to be
  1583. 00:59:26.120 – 00:59:29.860 and you show up and you really trust yourself.
  1584. 00:59:30.180 – 00:59:31.260 Oh my goodness.
  1585. 00:59:31.720 – 00:59:33.080 Like, don't be scared.
  1586. 00:59:33.620 – 00:59:35.500 I was scared for so long
  1587. 00:59:35.500 – 00:59:38.640 and it kept me so stagnant for so long.
  1588. 00:59:39.400 – 00:59:42.940 Once I started to venture out and stop being so scared,
  1589. 00:59:43.380 – 00:59:45.040 it put on, like they say, the big girl panties.
  1590. 00:59:45.960 – 00:59:49.520 Man, like it's literally just been one thing after another.
  1591. 00:59:49.920 – 00:59:52.180 Like it's, oh my gosh, it's amazing.
  1592. 00:59:52.620 – 00:59:54.600 When they say enjoy the journey and the process,
  1593. 00:59:54.780 – 00:59:55.800 that's literally where I'm at.
  1594. 00:59:56.000 – 00:59:58.160 I'm actually able to enjoy the journey.
  1595. 00:59:58.860 – 00:59:59.320 Yeah.
  1596. 00:59:59.380 – 00:59:59.980 Oh, it's so much fun.
  1597. 01:00:00.820 – 01:00:03.640 I know we can wrap, oh, we're gonna have to do a part two
  1598. 01:00:03.640 – 01:00:04.280 for sure.
  1599. 01:00:04.600 – 01:00:04.740 We are.
  1600. 01:00:04.740 – 01:00:05.040 We are, for sure.
  1601. 01:00:05.040 – 01:00:06.220 We're gonna have school.
  1602. 01:00:06.880 – 01:00:08.200 This is definitely high level.
  1603. 01:00:08.280 – 01:00:09.840 This is definitely inspirational.
  1604. 01:00:10.440 – 01:00:12.180 Appreciate you sharing your story
  1605. 01:00:12.180 – 01:00:14.360 and like, oh, it amazes me more.
  1606. 01:00:14.500 – 01:00:15.300 Thank you.
  1607. 01:00:15.420 – 01:00:16.440 I really appreciate it.
  1608. 01:00:16.500 – 01:00:17.620 I loved it, for sure.
  1609. 01:00:18.160 – 01:00:20.120 So for those listening in, you know,
  1610. 01:00:20.520 – 01:00:22.980 I'm promoting myself as a business coach.
  1611. 01:00:23.560 – 01:00:25.700 I like to have ideation sessions
  1612. 01:00:25.700 – 01:00:27.580 because I like to have different ideas
  1613. 01:00:27.580 – 01:00:28.620 and bounce them off people.
  1614. 01:00:28.620 – 01:00:32.540 So with that being said, would you hire me as a coach?
  1615. 01:00:33.400 – 01:00:33.540 Absolutely.
  1616. 01:00:34.140 – 01:00:34.580 Okay.
  1617. 01:00:34.900 – 01:00:37.720 10 out of 10, just from the last few days
  1618. 01:00:37.720 – 01:00:39.080 that we've been talking consistently
  1619. 01:00:39.080 – 01:00:42.620 and how you just been dropping gems on my podcast
  1620. 01:00:42.620 – 01:00:44.600 and the question that you've been asking me,
  1621. 01:00:45.160 – 01:00:46.940 like any question, right there.
  1622. 01:00:47.020 – 01:00:48.340 And sometimes you answer the questions
  1623. 01:00:48.340 – 01:00:50.560 before I even ask the question, so I would.
  1624. 01:00:51.220 – 01:00:52.660 I've been practicing, I've been practicing.
  1625. 01:00:52.780 – 01:00:53.300 For sure.
  1626. 01:00:54.420 – 01:00:55.400 That just goes to,
  1627. 01:00:55.400 – 01:00:57.060 cause I go like to a lot of workshops,
  1628. 01:00:57.060 – 01:01:01.640 read books, webinars, conferences, travel outside
  1629. 01:01:01.640 – 01:01:03.720 to stay, go to conferences and network.
  1630. 01:01:04.020 – 01:01:05.280 So yeah, it's like you said,
  1631. 01:01:05.280 – 01:01:06.800 you have to apply what you know.
  1632. 01:01:06.800 – 01:01:07.680 I know all of this.
  1633. 01:01:07.960 – 01:01:08.960 I take a lot of notes.
  1634. 01:01:08.960 – 01:01:10.300 I don't just keep it in my notebook.
  1635. 01:01:10.420 – 01:01:11.140 There you go.
  1636. 01:01:11.140 – 01:01:14.000 I'll reread it, apply it, even stuff you,
  1637. 01:01:14.000 – 01:01:16.200 I may not even know, but it's like, hmm.
  1638. 01:01:16.820 – 01:01:20.300 But I'm sure me staying consistent with my learning,
  1639. 01:01:20.780 – 01:01:23.280 you know, is gonna help with that situation.
  1640. 01:01:23.640 – 01:01:24.060 Absolutely.
  1641. 01:01:24.060 – 01:01:27.300 Me taking action is how you recorded my trailer that day
  1642. 01:01:27.300 – 01:01:29.580 cause I already had to take action on it.
  1643. 01:01:29.580 – 01:01:30.280 So I was ready.
  1644. 01:01:30.900 – 01:01:31.520 You know what?
  1645. 01:01:31.740 – 01:01:33.100 I'm gonna do something special.
  1646. 01:01:33.740 – 01:01:35.440 That was just in the studio,
  1647. 01:01:35.660 – 01:01:37.440 but we're gonna actually create,
  1648. 01:01:37.900 – 01:01:39.960 I call that the unofficial trailer.
  1649. 01:01:40.060 – 01:01:41.500 We're gonna create an actual trailer.
  1650. 01:01:41.900 – 01:01:43.640 On me, on me, on me.
  1651. 01:01:44.300 – 01:01:45.620 Just cause I appreciate your vision
  1652. 01:01:45.620 – 01:01:48.100 and the line of work you do and the importance of it.
  1653. 01:01:48.380 – 01:01:50.880 And like you said, there's not enough media in there.
  1654. 01:01:51.460 – 01:01:53.780 So that's gonna be my, you know, courtesy
  1655. 01:01:53.780 – 01:01:55.400 Aw, thank you.
  1656. 01:01:55.400 – 01:01:57.780 See y'all, y'all need to come check him out.
  1657. 01:01:57.820 – 01:01:59.700 I don't know if he gonna do everything.
  1658. 01:02:00.060 – 01:02:00.880 You have to talk to him about that.
  1659. 01:02:00.880 – 01:02:03.520 I don't really do,
  1660. 01:02:05.980 – 01:02:08.720 yeah, just talk, just send me a message.
  1661. 01:02:08.780 – 01:02:09.800 We gotta make money.
  1662. 01:02:09.920 – 01:02:11.600 Yeah, I got babies to feed.
  1663. 01:02:13.320 – 01:02:14.180 Dills gotta be paid.
  1664. 01:02:14.220 – 01:02:15.340 That's right, that's right.
  1665. 01:02:15.700 – 01:02:17.260 But you know, you never know.
  1666. 01:02:17.420 – 01:02:18.820 Just that's the importance of networking.
  1667. 01:02:19.260 – 01:02:20.880 And you spoke about that too.
  1668. 01:02:21.720 – 01:02:23.420 And even at the workshop,
  1669. 01:02:23.420 – 01:02:26.040 I told everybody find an accountability partner.
  1670. 01:02:26.500 – 01:02:28.000 Now are you keeping in touch
  1671. 01:02:28.000 – 01:02:29.440 with your accountability partner?
  1672. 01:02:29.600 – 01:02:32.620 So we are following each other on Instagram.
  1673. 01:02:33.520 – 01:02:35.620 She's like my post, actually my trailer
  1674. 01:02:35.620 – 01:02:36.480 and everything like that.
  1675. 01:02:36.480 – 01:02:39.420 But we have not met outside yet together.
  1676. 01:02:39.680 – 01:02:41.860 Well, I don't wanna say met,
  1677. 01:02:42.020 – 01:02:44.520 but maybe I think what I said at that day,
  1678. 01:02:45.180 – 01:02:47.560 you know, keeping communications once a week.
  1679. 01:02:47.720 – 01:02:49.100 Did you do what you were supposed to do this week?
  1680. 01:02:49.620 – 01:02:50.460 You know, so.
  1681. 01:02:50.480 – 01:02:51.860 Yeah, we gotta work on getting there.
  1682. 01:02:52.040 – 01:02:52.480 We both here.
  1683. 01:02:52.480 – 01:02:53.240 All right, so.
  1684. 01:02:53.260 – 01:02:54.400 But yes, we're friends.
  1685. 01:02:54.560 – 01:02:55.800 We have each other's numbers,
  1686. 01:02:55.980 – 01:02:56.860 which I love that too.
  1687. 01:02:56.860 – 01:02:57.980 We make sure we exchange numbers,
  1688. 01:02:58.000 – 01:02:59.020 not just social media.
  1689. 01:02:59.020 – 01:02:59.940 Right, that's important.
  1690. 01:02:59.940 – 01:03:00.240 For sure.
  1691. 01:03:00.380 – 01:03:01.440 Get the personal number too,
  1692. 01:03:01.440 – 01:03:02.260 not just social media.
  1693. 01:03:02.560 – 01:03:04.040 Because some people are on,
  1694. 01:03:04.200 – 01:03:05.820 they're not on social media all the time.
  1695. 01:03:06.200 – 01:03:07.920 I'm truly, I'm gonna get them back.
  1696. 01:03:08.140 – 01:03:10.180 I always say that, but then I just be like,
  1697. 01:03:10.820 – 01:03:11.700 did you see my post?
  1698. 01:03:11.800 – 01:03:14.640 I'm like, it'll be a week later.
  1699. 01:03:15.460 – 01:03:16.640 I'm like, but yeah.
  1700. 01:03:16.640 – 01:03:18.840 It's okay, we understand, we understand.
  1701. 01:03:19.820 – 01:03:21.160 Yeah, I'm busy living life
  1702. 01:03:21.160 – 01:03:22.400 and I'm actually doing the work.
  1703. 01:03:22.400 – 01:03:23.700 So that's why I'm not on.
  1704. 01:03:23.880 – 01:03:24.620 And that's the thing.
  1705. 01:03:24.640 – 01:03:25.640 It's not like you're just gone
  1706. 01:03:25.640 – 01:03:26.620 because you're just gone.
  1707. 01:03:26.760 – 01:03:27.640 You're putting in work.
  1708. 01:03:28.000 – 01:03:28.440 Yeah.
  1709. 01:03:28.660 – 01:03:29.880 You know, elevation.
  1710. 01:03:30.860 – 01:03:33.020 Elevation, through focus and meditation.
  1711. 01:03:33.180 – 01:03:33.560 See, see.
  1712. 01:03:33.900 – 01:03:34.340 Patience.
  1713. 01:03:34.880 – 01:03:35.300 Ooh, yo.
  1714. 01:03:35.760 – 01:03:37.180 I might do a video for that poem.
  1715. 01:03:37.380 – 01:03:38.360 I think you should.
  1716. 01:03:38.800 – 01:03:42.080 But after this, we're gonna wrap up the song.
  1717. 01:03:43.020 – 01:03:44.620 But reach out, send that message to her.
  1718. 01:03:44.860 – 01:03:45.580 What was her name again?
  1719. 01:03:46.280 – 01:03:48.680 So my name on Instagram
  1720. 01:03:48.680 – 01:03:52.780 at unshattered underscore adoptee,
  1721. 01:03:53.180 – 01:03:55.480 at unshattered underscore adoptee.
  1722. 01:03:55.480 – 01:03:57.740 Feel free to DM me, send me a message.
  1723. 01:03:57.780 – 01:03:59.920 If you have any questions, any suggestions,
  1724. 01:03:59.940 – 01:04:01.900 if you wanna work with me,
  1725. 01:04:02.220 – 01:04:03.940 hey, I would love to have you.
  1726. 01:04:04.540 – 01:04:04.980 Yes, yes.
  1727. 01:04:05.020 – 01:04:07.420 And if you need another accountability partner,
  1728. 01:04:07.460 – 01:04:08.620 you have two here.
  1729. 01:04:08.820 – 01:04:09.300 Yes, yes, yes.
  1730. 01:04:09.300 – 01:04:12.020 So yes, let me reach out to me also
  1731. 01:04:12.020 – 01:04:14.540 at alien eyes photos.
  1732. 01:04:14.600 – 01:04:17.340 And that's alien eyes with a Z,
  1733. 01:04:17.340 – 01:04:21.820 photos with a S, alien eyes photos on all media
  1734. 01:04:21.820 – 01:04:25.260 and check out alieneyesphotos.com
  1735. 01:04:25.260 – 01:04:27.120 and also fan base,
  1736. 01:04:27.420 – 01:04:30.840 who I just happened to be an investor in.
  1737. 01:04:31.120 – 01:04:33.300 Black-owned media, social media
  1738. 01:04:33.300 – 01:04:35.500 by Mr. Isaac Hayes III.
  1739. 01:04:36.320 – 01:04:39.560 Yes, y'all know that his father is a great R&B singer.
  1740. 01:04:39.640 – 01:04:41.540 He's doing great things in Atlanta.
  1741. 01:04:41.860 – 01:04:44.060 And I kinda, I didn't get to formally meet him
  1742. 01:04:44.060 – 01:04:46.340 in Atlanta at the podcast summit,
  1743. 01:04:46.340 – 01:04:49.600 but I happened to go through the replays,
  1744. 01:04:49.600 – 01:04:52.840 like, oh, he was there, I heard his story
  1745. 01:04:52.840 – 01:04:56.380 and just how he speaks about fan base and his brand.
  1746. 01:04:56.560 – 01:04:58.340 I'm like, it's something I could buy into
  1747. 01:04:58.340 – 01:05:00.760 and invest with, so, you know.
  1748. 01:05:01.440 – 01:05:04.380 Find me on fan base also, alieneyesphotos.
  1749. 01:05:04.840 – 01:05:08.240 So yeah, I encourage everyone to make a account
  1750. 01:05:08.240 – 01:05:11.560 and it's for creators to get paid.
  1751. 01:05:12.640 – 01:05:15.200 They have likes and they also have love.
  1752. 01:05:15.200 – 01:05:19.900 So, love, you know, you get half cent
  1753. 01:05:19.900 – 01:05:21.060 for each person I love you.
  1754. 01:05:21.060 – 01:05:22.160 It goes back to the company
  1755. 01:05:22.160 – 01:05:24.600 and the other half cent goes to you.
  1756. 01:05:24.760 – 01:05:26.000 Oh, I love that.
  1757. 01:05:26.520 – 01:05:26.760 Yeah.
  1758. 01:05:26.760 – 01:05:27.220 Oh, I love that.
  1759. 01:05:27.220 – 01:05:27.960 For creators, yeah.
  1760. 01:05:27.980 – 01:05:28.500 That's amazing.
  1761. 01:05:28.800 – 01:05:29.800 That's amazing for sure.
  1762. 01:05:29.940 – 01:05:30.820 I definitely gotta tap in.
  1763. 01:05:31.180 – 01:05:33.240 Yeah, and they also have audio rooms,
  1764. 01:05:34.060 – 01:05:35.020 like clubhouse.
  1765. 01:05:35.260 – 01:05:36.620 So they had an audio room.
  1766. 01:05:36.860 – 01:05:38.140 So I want to build out,
  1767. 01:05:38.160 – 01:05:41.120 well, I'm building out, you know,
  1768. 01:05:41.160 – 01:05:42.960 with my platform and the podcast,
  1769. 01:05:42.960 – 01:05:45.000 getting them more towards fan base.
  1770. 01:05:45.240 – 01:05:47.100 So like, we having this conversation here.
  1771. 01:05:47.140 – 01:05:48.780 So probably the next time, part two,
  1772. 01:05:49.340 – 01:05:50.820 I will have it, you know,
  1773. 01:05:50.900 – 01:05:52.620 kind of streaming through the audio
  1774. 01:05:52.620 – 01:05:54.960 with fan base and the audio room.
  1775. 01:05:55.940 – 01:05:57.520 But it's still, I mean,
  1776. 01:05:57.520 – 01:05:59.900 I'm still learning platform myself, so.
  1777. 01:06:00.560 – 01:06:01.080 You know.
  1778. 01:06:01.180 – 01:06:02.520 But you got a lot of knowledge though.
  1779. 01:06:03.680 – 01:06:03.900 Yeah.
  1780. 01:06:04.160 – 01:06:04.440 For sure.
  1781. 01:06:04.440 – 01:06:04.760 For sure.
  1782. 01:06:04.900 – 01:06:06.640 It's just time for me to use it, you know.
  1783. 01:06:06.700 – 01:06:08.460 Yeah, I'm so excited you are.
  1784. 01:06:08.700 – 01:06:09.380 Thank you.
  1785. 01:06:09.540 – 01:06:09.980 Mm-hmm.
  1786. 01:06:10.220 – 01:06:11.240 I appreciate that.
  1787. 01:06:11.240 – 01:06:13.580 Well, any closing words for the people,
  1788. 01:06:14.160 – 01:06:16.700 for the creative entrepreneurs specifically?
  1789. 01:06:17.460 – 01:06:18.200 Keep going.
  1790. 01:06:18.460 – 01:06:19.020 Keep going.
  1791. 01:06:19.760 – 01:06:23.420 Your vision, keep going and your vision has purpose.
  1792. 01:06:23.780 – 01:06:27.380 Keep going and your vision has purpose.
  1793. 01:06:27.780 – 01:06:29.800 Keep going and your vision has purpose.
  1794. 01:06:30.100 – 01:06:30.720 I love that.
  1795. 01:06:30.760 – 01:06:31.220 Mm-hmm.
  1796. 01:06:31.400 – 01:06:32.640 Well, Ms. Kayla Monique,
  1797. 01:06:32.780 – 01:06:35.620 I want to appreciate you for taking,
  1798. 01:06:35.680 – 01:06:39.420 this is actually my first interview with this podcast.
  1799. 01:06:39.440 – 01:06:39.900 Hey.
  1800. 01:06:41.080 – 01:06:41.960 My first.
  1801. 01:06:42.520 – 01:06:43.600 First guest, yes.
  1802. 01:06:43.880 – 01:06:46.040 I jumped out the solo realm.
  1803. 01:06:47.260 – 01:06:48.560 That's my first interview.
  1804. 01:06:48.680 – 01:06:49.220 Yay, I love it.
  1805. 01:06:49.220 – 01:06:50.100 For the podcast.
  1806. 01:06:50.580 – 01:06:50.660 I love it.
  1807. 01:06:50.660 – 01:06:51.080 I love it.
  1808. 01:06:51.500 – 01:06:53.060 And you got a re-twist with it.
  1809. 01:06:53.180 – 01:06:53.960 We got a re-twist.
  1810. 01:06:54.120 – 01:06:54.980 See, knock it two birds.
  1811. 01:06:55.740 – 01:06:57.500 See, anybody that know me,
  1812. 01:06:57.500 – 01:06:58.940 I love preaching,
  1813. 01:06:59.040 – 01:07:00.740 knock out two birds with one stone.
  1814. 01:07:01.020 – 01:07:01.080 Yes.
  1815. 01:07:01.080 – 01:07:02.200 And that's what we did there.
  1816. 01:07:02.500 – 01:07:02.940 Absolutely.
  1817. 01:07:03.140 – 01:07:03.380 Yes.
  1818. 01:07:03.380 – 01:07:04.840 Got the re-twist done,
  1819. 01:07:05.040 – 01:07:07.040 did an interview, you know.
  1820. 01:07:07.340 – 01:07:08.000 Content, come on.
  1821. 01:07:08.160 – 01:07:09.400 Content, yes.
  1822. 01:07:09.400 – 01:07:10.840 I love it.
  1823. 01:07:10.840 – 01:07:13.160 Oh my God, I cannot thank you enough.
  1824. 01:07:13.800 – 01:07:15.760 Right on time, right on time, yes.
  1825. 01:07:16.440 – 01:07:18.300 So, with that being said,
  1826. 01:07:18.420 – 01:07:21.860 this has been Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  1827. 01:07:23.220 – 01:07:25.260 Like, share, follow.
  1828. 01:07:25.400 – 01:07:26.980 I'm trying to get away from subscribe
  1829. 01:07:26.980 – 01:07:28.960 because subscribe could mean, you know,
  1830. 01:07:29.400 – 01:07:31.160 a monetary thing, but subscribe.
  1831. 01:07:31.540 – 01:07:34.060 But also subscribe because I will have
  1832. 01:07:34.060 – 01:07:37.200 different content that be under a paywall, you know.
  1833. 01:07:37.200 – 01:07:40.240 But, you know, like, follow, reach out,
  1834. 01:07:40.400 – 01:07:42.980 send a message, engage, build a community,
  1835. 01:07:43.620 – 01:07:45.120 book me as an event photographer,
  1836. 01:07:45.340 – 01:07:46.300 book me as a coach.
  1837. 01:07:47.100 – 01:07:48.380 I just get to work.
  1838. 01:07:49.320 – 01:07:50.880 Thank you, thank you for tuning in.
  1839. 01:07:50.940 – 01:07:53.640 Again, this is Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  1840. 01:07:54.200 – 01:07:56.300 Until next time, thank you.
  1841. 01:07:57.040 – 01:07:57.520 Peace.
  1842. 01:08:00.840 – 01:08:01.680 Yes, yes, yes.
  1843. 01:08:01.680 – 01:08:01.880 Ha, ha.

Back to contents

82. Ep. 9 - Self Love Momentum w/ Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 9

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.490 – 00:00:08.230 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:09.010 – 00:00:13.050 Yes, Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:14.530 – 00:00:19.170 And this is episode 9, and I want to speak about self-love.
  4. 00:00:20.170 – 00:00:21.610 That's very important.
  5. 00:00:23.370 – 00:00:25.650 Episode 9, the Divine Nine.
  6. 00:00:25.650 – 00:00:34.740 Self-love and the general definition may be high regards of your well-being and happiness.
  7. 00:00:35.680 – 00:00:43.260 And to add on my extended definition, it's truly the love you have for yourself,
  8. 00:00:44.100 – 00:00:48.600 the words, actions, decisions, diet, clothing you wear,
  9. 00:00:49.340 – 00:00:53.300 and even what you consume, from food, from what you read, watch,
  10. 00:00:53.300 – 00:00:58.300 to what you listen to or who you listen to.
  11. 00:00:58.320 – 00:00:59.120 It's important.
  12. 00:01:01.450 – 00:01:06.050 And it all affects your love for yourself and the thoughts you have about yourself.
  13. 00:01:08.210 – 00:01:12.350 It is being kind to yourself, no matter the circumstance,
  14. 00:01:12.870 – 00:01:16.930 while doing the inner work to nourish your entire existence.
  15. 00:01:18.550 – 00:01:21.070 Nourish your entire existence.
  16. 00:01:22.050 – 00:01:29.190 That is my personal, short, short definition of self-love.
  17. 00:01:31.050 – 00:01:36.850 Let me hear your personal definition of self-love and what self-love means to you.
  18. 00:01:39.650 – 00:01:43.810 Thinking affects our emotions, and emotions affect our thinking.
  19. 00:01:45.070 – 00:01:52.270 So when we're mad, we usually get in a positive, you know, positive mad.
  20. 00:01:53.030 – 00:01:56.230 I guess that's not a good way to word it, positive mad.
  21. 00:01:56.290 – 00:02:03.330 Like you're positively in the mad zone or the rage zone.
  22. 00:02:04.330 – 00:02:10.690 I guess I could word it that it's a bad mind state, negative mind state.
  23. 00:02:12.510 – 00:02:20.250 And to get to that positively good mindset, mind state,
  24. 00:02:21.150 – 00:02:23.950 it takes some work, you know.
  25. 00:02:24.170 – 00:02:33.230 So if your emotions are troubled, are, you know, feeling attacked,
  26. 00:02:35.310 – 00:02:41.330 usually your thinking is usually to defend yourself or attack back.
  27. 00:02:42.330 – 00:02:46.230 And that's not always a good case, you know.
  28. 00:02:46.870 – 00:02:49.210 It's not always a good outcome, I should say.
  29. 00:02:54.910 – 00:03:01.630 Having good thoughts truly, you know, influence your emotions,
  30. 00:03:01.630 – 00:03:10.930 but I think your emotions have a far, by far heavier weight on your thoughts
  31. 00:03:10.930 – 00:03:12.890 than your thoughts do on your emotions.
  32. 00:03:13.950 – 00:03:17.090 Now you can have these great thoughts all you want,
  33. 00:03:18.190 – 00:03:20.210 but you also got to have that emotion.
  34. 00:03:20.210 – 00:03:22.930 You know, if your emotions are great and intact
  35. 00:03:22.930 – 00:03:27.690 and you have this, you know, great sense of emotional intelligence
  36. 00:03:27.690 – 00:03:30.810 and when to pinpoint a certain emotion
  37. 00:03:30.810 – 00:03:34.270 or when you feel like this emotion is coming on or coming about,
  38. 00:03:34.750 – 00:03:41.520 you know, to shift that and alter your thinking by altering your emotions.
  39. 00:03:42.920 – 00:03:49.180 A lot of people, you know, they love being stuck in a rut,
  40. 00:03:49.180 – 00:03:51.140 you know, at least to say.
  41. 00:03:51.680 – 00:03:54.860 But always remember thinking affects your emotions
  42. 00:03:54.860 – 00:03:57.100 and emotions affect your thinking.
  43. 00:03:58.960 – 00:04:02.560 Transform your thinking when you are not in control of your thoughts
  44. 00:04:02.980 – 00:04:07.460 and negative thoughts and emotions arise.
  45. 00:04:09.040 – 00:04:10.700 Shift the way you think.
  46. 00:04:11.700 – 00:04:15.760 Those words, those actions, you cannot get back.
  47. 00:04:17.740 – 00:04:18.760 You cannot get them back.
  48. 00:04:19.519 – 00:04:24.660 I know technology and inventions are increasing by the day.
  49. 00:04:26.300 – 00:04:30.100 We have yet to come, come up with a way to go back in time
  50. 00:04:30.100 – 00:04:34.920 on a consistent basis, on a consistent basis without space
  51. 00:04:34.920 – 00:04:36.260 or out of space, I should say,
  52. 00:04:38.180 – 00:04:41.280 which may be the only constant at the moment.
  53. 00:04:44.760 – 00:04:48.100 My artist name, like I mentioned in the affirmations
  54. 00:04:48.100 – 00:04:50.500 that I will be linking in all my shows,
  55. 00:04:50.500 – 00:04:52.460 Alien Affirmations, one, two, three.
  56. 00:04:52.520 – 00:04:54.360 I don't think I said it on the last episode.
  57. 00:04:54.960 – 00:04:57.460 So Alien Affirmations, one, two, three.
  58. 00:04:57.680 – 00:05:00.760 Or if you type in Alien, one, two, three,
  59. 00:05:00.880 – 00:05:01.900 it's a little cheat code.
  60. 00:05:01.920 – 00:05:03.980 Sometimes it pops up.
  61. 00:05:04.240 – 00:05:06.700 Artist name, Alien Aplea.
  62. 00:05:07.880 – 00:05:14.250 And it hints at that outer space to almost time travel.
  63. 00:05:15.950 – 00:05:18.990 And I have an older spirit, older soul.
  64. 00:05:22.300 – 00:05:23.220 You know, some of my thoughts,
  65. 00:05:23.220 – 00:05:26.460 I feel like our time travel back into the past
  66. 00:05:27.300 – 00:05:31.680 to get the outcome for the present,
  67. 00:05:32.300 – 00:05:33.740 or even the future, I may say.
  68. 00:05:39.680 – 00:05:40.460 It's actually interesting.
  69. 00:05:40.700 – 00:05:45.420 I used to want to get into time travel as a young kid,
  70. 00:05:45.440 – 00:05:46.800 so that's very interesting.
  71. 00:05:47.080 – 00:05:50.620 I was coming back up in my life, or at least that thought.
  72. 00:05:51.640 – 00:05:56.560 So maybe my emotions at some point arise that thought.
  73. 00:05:57.200 – 00:05:58.580 You never know.
  74. 00:06:00.840 – 00:06:02.700 You cannot succeed without momentum.
  75. 00:06:06.090 – 00:06:08.630 You cannot succeed without momentum.
  76. 00:06:10.630 – 00:06:11.570 You got to have that momentum.
  77. 00:06:11.690 – 00:06:12.690 You got to have that drive.
  78. 00:06:12.790 – 00:06:14.070 You got to keep pushing forward.
  79. 00:06:14.890 – 00:06:21.340 You got to keep loving yourself.
  80. 00:06:22.960 – 00:06:24.780 Self-love is very important.
  81. 00:06:24.920 – 00:06:28.600 It's like the tool book and the guidebook
  82. 00:06:28.600 – 00:06:32.520 of how you want others to treat you,
  83. 00:06:32.620 – 00:06:36.040 but how you treat yourself, most importantly.
  84. 00:06:36.040 – 00:06:41.250 And you have to keep doing that, keep doing that.
  85. 00:06:41.930 – 00:06:44.230 I use this metaphor of going to the gym
  86. 00:06:45.530 – 00:06:48.390 and going to the basketball court at the gym
  87. 00:06:48.890 – 00:06:50.710 and putting up shots.
  88. 00:06:51.090 – 00:06:52.770 Keep shooting that shot.
  89. 00:06:53.030 – 00:06:54.290 Just keep getting the reps.
  90. 00:06:54.970 – 00:06:55.870 You have to show up.
  91. 00:06:55.970 – 00:06:56.830 You have to practice.
  92. 00:06:56.950 – 00:06:57.930 Keep shooting that shot.
  93. 00:06:58.750 – 00:06:59.530 You have to.
  94. 00:06:59.610 – 00:07:00.990 If this is what you want to do,
  95. 00:07:01.810 – 00:07:04.970 if you want to be your highest self,
  96. 00:07:04.970 – 00:07:08.150 you have to work and love yourself every day.
  97. 00:07:08.210 – 00:07:10.070 Work on yourself and love yourself every day.
  98. 00:07:10.690 – 00:07:13.090 You have to work on loving yourself
  99. 00:07:13.090 – 00:07:15.490 and then love yourself too.
  100. 00:07:16.970 – 00:07:21.620 Like get into the outcome of the outcome.
  101. 00:07:22.400 – 00:07:23.520 You want to love yourself,
  102. 00:07:23.560 – 00:07:25.860 but you have to put in the work on properly
  103. 00:07:25.860 – 00:07:27.800 learning how to love yourself
  104. 00:07:27.800 – 00:07:29.740 in the way you want to love yourself
  105. 00:07:29.740 – 00:07:32.280 to love yourself
  106. 00:07:33.060 – 00:07:35.440 the way you should be loving yourself.
  107. 00:07:36.680 – 00:07:38.200 You cannot succeed without momentum.
  108. 00:07:40.510 – 00:07:44.330 Some people stop right when they get close to the goal.
  109. 00:07:46.470 – 00:07:47.730 Fail short.
  110. 00:07:50.020 – 00:07:50.740 They lost momentum.
  111. 00:07:54.200 – 00:07:59.650 You did not come this far to come this far.
  112. 00:08:01.070 – 00:08:07.030 I did not come this far only to come this far.
  113. 00:08:07.390 – 00:08:09.570 I did not come this far only to get this far.
  114. 00:08:10.550 – 00:08:13.990 When I first heard that from E.T.,
  115. 00:08:13.990 – 00:08:17.150 Eric Thomas, the top motivational speaker
  116. 00:08:17.150 – 00:08:19.730 here in the United States,
  117. 00:08:22.840 – 00:08:24.000 and it's true,
  118. 00:08:24.800 – 00:08:27.540 you didn't get all the way to this point
  119. 00:08:27.540 – 00:08:28.880 in your life and your career
  120. 00:08:28.880 – 00:08:30.300 and your entrepreneur journey
  121. 00:08:31.550 – 00:08:33.330 and your podcasting journey.
  122. 00:08:36.370 – 00:08:37.549 Only to stop.
  123. 00:08:40.130 – 00:08:41.130 Only to stop now.
  124. 00:08:44.500 – 00:08:46.880 I have children looking up to me.
  125. 00:08:48.240 – 00:08:50.420 Daughters looking up to me.
  126. 00:08:52.060 – 00:08:55.180 Nieces, nephews, even peers, you know.
  127. 00:08:55.300 – 00:08:56.920 So I'm older, I may say,
  128. 00:08:57.360 – 00:09:01.100 looking up to me and, you know,
  129. 00:09:01.780 – 00:09:02.980 I'm their motivation.
  130. 00:09:03.860 – 00:09:05.240 I'm their inspiration.
  131. 00:09:05.840 – 00:09:08.460 They see me and, you know,
  132. 00:09:08.920 – 00:09:10.860 they know all things as possible
  133. 00:09:12.040 – 00:09:13.620 because that's my belief.
  134. 00:09:13.780 – 00:09:15.200 And if I stop,
  135. 00:09:16.740 – 00:09:17.660 when am I going to leave them?
  136. 00:09:17.660 – 00:09:22.120 But maybe they should stop too?
  137. 00:09:22.720 – 00:09:23.140 Hmm.
  138. 00:09:25.820 – 00:09:27.300 But there is a time and place
  139. 00:09:27.300 – 00:09:30.960 where journeys, chapters, books do stop.
  140. 00:09:31.980 – 00:09:35.060 And it's good to learn that as well.
  141. 00:09:36.300 – 00:09:38.860 Some things don't need to go on forever.
  142. 00:09:40.400 – 00:09:41.500 Some journeys do not.
  143. 00:09:41.660 – 00:09:46.360 Now keep the momentum.
  144. 00:09:48.250 – 00:09:49.210 That should be the title.
  145. 00:09:49.970 – 00:09:50.330 Yeah.
  146. 00:09:50.650 – 00:09:52.110 Self-love momentum.
  147. 00:09:52.110 – 00:09:56.330 I think I'm entitled to that this episode.
  148. 00:09:57.030 – 00:09:58.150 Self-love momentum.
  149. 00:09:58.250 – 00:09:59.030 I love it.
  150. 00:10:00.700 – 00:10:03.240 And even, yeah, I'm going to definitely do a part two.
  151. 00:10:04.280 – 00:10:06.220 Got some things to get to today.
  152. 00:10:06.580 – 00:10:08.760 I feel like it's always a good topic.
  153. 00:10:08.940 – 00:10:11.540 So I'm going to do a part two on this self-love.
  154. 00:10:11.900 – 00:10:13.420 That will be episode 11.
  155. 00:10:14.500 – 00:10:17.520 I appreciate you for tuning in to episode 10.
  156. 00:10:18.080 – 00:10:21.060 And I also want to give some financial tips
  157. 00:10:21.060 – 00:10:23.180 or financial mindset
  158. 00:10:25.020 – 00:10:26.920 around this topic right now.
  159. 00:10:29.080 – 00:10:33.940 Because financial, I would say, it's important.
  160. 00:10:34.220 – 00:10:35.780 I won't say it's a deal breaker,
  161. 00:10:35.820 – 00:10:37.460 but it's definitely helpful
  162. 00:10:37.460 – 00:10:40.960 and it's definitely important to maintaining yourself.
  163. 00:10:42.970 – 00:10:45.530 Now look at self-love as self-maintenance.
  164. 00:10:45.950 – 00:10:47.630 How are you maintaining yourself?
  165. 00:10:48.110 – 00:10:49.630 How are you upkeeping yourself?
  166. 00:10:50.810 – 00:10:52.890 How are you increasing your value?
  167. 00:10:53.850 – 00:10:56.650 How are you increasing your mind, your thoughts?
  168. 00:10:57.490 – 00:10:58.950 How are you calming your thoughts?
  169. 00:11:00.590 – 00:11:03.190 And again, back with alien affirmations,
  170. 00:11:03.350 – 00:11:04.630 one, two, three.
  171. 00:11:05.390 – 00:11:07.250 Alien affirmations, I say,
  172. 00:11:10.140 – 00:11:12.200 never let anyone disrupt your inner peace.
  173. 00:11:14.000 – 00:11:17.540 Never, ever let anyone, not even yourself,
  174. 00:11:18.540 – 00:11:20.420 disrupt your inner peace.
  175. 00:11:21.580 – 00:11:25.120 Key word, not even yourself.
  176. 00:11:26.980 – 00:11:29.600 Do not let yourself disrupt your inner peace.
  177. 00:11:32.060 – 00:11:36.060 Don't be a victim to what your emotions are going through
  178. 00:11:36.060 – 00:11:38.520 or what your thoughts are going through.
  179. 00:11:38.700 – 00:11:39.860 And it's affecting your emotions,
  180. 00:11:40.080 – 00:11:40.760 affecting your thoughts,
  181. 00:11:40.880 – 00:11:42.500 and affecting your well-being.
  182. 00:11:43.040 – 00:11:44.440 Going back to the definition,
  183. 00:11:45.280 – 00:11:50.240 self-love is living in that pure happiness
  184. 00:11:50.240 – 00:11:53.800 and good, healthy, well-being.
  185. 00:11:54.780 – 00:11:58.240 That's your body, mind, spirit, soul, environment.
  186. 00:12:01.810 – 00:12:04.070 Peace and love is everything to me.
  187. 00:12:04.810 – 00:12:06.730 It's dearly, you know, my religion.
  188. 00:12:07.410 – 00:12:09.310 Peace and love, like literally.
  189. 00:12:10.490 – 00:12:12.110 To live with peace and love
  190. 00:12:12.980 – 00:12:15.190 and some other, you know, positive things,
  191. 00:12:15.330 – 00:12:16.710 you know, having a positive mindset
  192. 00:12:16.710 – 00:12:22.210 and, you know, sharing, learning, growing.
  193. 00:12:23.290 – 00:12:25.490 Just having these things in mind
  194. 00:12:25.490 – 00:12:29.740 would be great on a self-love journey.
  195. 00:12:32.220 – 00:12:34.560 And just in my financial mindset,
  196. 00:12:34.940 – 00:12:38.850 just to think about, I'm an entrepreneur,
  197. 00:12:38.910 – 00:12:40.890 so I like to speak to other entrepreneurs
  198. 00:12:40.890 – 00:12:43.710 and, you know, people on this journey.
  199. 00:12:45.720 – 00:12:48.200 I own rental properties, I own real estate.
  200. 00:12:50.310 – 00:12:58.660 Commercial, that could be for tenants
  201. 00:12:58.660 – 00:13:02.170 that need somewhere to live,
  202. 00:13:03.330 – 00:13:07.690 big group homes, I own real estate.
  203. 00:13:12.350 – 00:13:14.490 Online business are,
  204. 00:13:14.990 – 00:13:17.550 have digital products you can sell online.
  205. 00:13:20.860 – 00:13:23.280 Like for me, I have a few books.
  206. 00:13:25.740 – 00:13:27.500 I will be generating courses.
  207. 00:13:28.860 – 00:13:33.880 For me, I will have photos for sale, for print,
  208. 00:13:35.060 – 00:13:37.000 and a few other products.
  209. 00:13:41.600 – 00:13:43.880 That's just something to think about.
  210. 00:13:44.700 – 00:13:47.320 Some people love e-commerce
  211. 00:13:47.320 – 00:13:49.600 and, you know, buying and reselling.
  212. 00:13:50.380 – 00:13:51.500 That's a method.
  213. 00:13:52.520 – 00:13:54.360 Being an affiliate for a company,
  214. 00:13:55.760 – 00:13:57.180 taking a percentage, you know,
  215. 00:13:57.180 – 00:13:59.340 you don't have to make a product or,
  216. 00:13:59.340 – 00:14:01.120 you know, do all the heavy lifting.
  217. 00:14:01.540 – 00:14:03.720 You just be in the selling, influencer.
  218. 00:14:06.940 – 00:14:08.500 Live below your means.
  219. 00:14:08.500 – 00:14:10.750 You know, you don't have to have
  220. 00:14:11.960 – 00:14:14.740 10 Rolls Royce,
  221. 00:14:14.740 – 00:14:16.540 Roll Voices is a job.
  222. 00:14:19.560 – 00:14:23.370 You don't have to have 8 jack wires,
  223. 00:14:28.660 – 00:14:29.520 4 focuses.
  224. 00:14:30.700 – 00:14:33.580 Whatever the car may be or
  225. 00:14:33.580 – 00:14:37.880 have all these big mansions
  226. 00:14:37.880 – 00:14:41.740 or hundreds of rooms, you know,
  227. 00:14:42.280 – 00:14:43.180 it's not important.
  228. 00:14:45.330 – 00:14:49.150 What is important is just having that
  229. 00:14:50.490 – 00:14:52.990 and the rest is extra.
  230. 00:14:54.050 – 00:14:56.010 And all the bells and whistles are extra.
  231. 00:14:59.780 – 00:15:02.120 5, 6 versus 100.
  232. 00:15:02.300 – 00:15:03.240 Why do we need 100?
  233. 00:15:04.620 – 00:15:05.620 Why do we need all these
  234. 00:15:05.620 – 00:15:07.280 expensive watches and chains?
  235. 00:15:07.380 – 00:15:09.900 Why do we need like 20 of them?
  236. 00:15:09.980 – 00:15:11.940 Why can't we just have one or two good ones
  237. 00:15:11.940 – 00:15:14.060 that we, you know,
  238. 00:15:14.620 – 00:15:15.520 crafted for ourselves
  239. 00:15:15.520 – 00:15:17.400 or even made ourselves?
  240. 00:15:17.400 – 00:15:19.680 And we were that.
  241. 00:15:20.100 – 00:15:22.220 Like, this is me, especially myself,
  242. 00:15:22.360 – 00:15:22.640 loved it.
  243. 00:15:22.640 – 00:15:25.660 I made this watch, this chain,
  244. 00:15:25.960 – 00:15:26.280 this bracelet.
  245. 00:15:27.340 – 00:15:29.400 This even washed my hair
  246. 00:15:29.400 – 00:15:30.600 and conditioned it.
  247. 00:15:31.140 – 00:15:32.240 Maybe styled it.
  248. 00:15:32.320 – 00:15:33.440 I did this.
  249. 00:15:34.380 – 00:15:35.940 I crafted this for myself.
  250. 00:15:36.700 – 00:15:38.400 I stitched this shirt together.
  251. 00:15:38.680 – 00:15:40.000 Not this one, not me,
  252. 00:15:40.120 – 00:15:42.060 but using it as an example.
  253. 00:15:43.260 – 00:15:44.480 Stitched this shirt together.
  254. 00:15:44.720 – 00:15:47.020 I did this and I'm wearing it
  255. 00:15:47.020 – 00:15:47.480 proudly.
  256. 00:15:47.660 – 00:15:48.440 Like, I did this.
  257. 00:15:48.440 – 00:15:49.220 This is my work.
  258. 00:15:49.240 – 00:15:50.200 This is my being.
  259. 00:15:50.580 – 00:15:52.640 This is my experience.
  260. 00:15:53.080 – 00:15:54.900 I'm literally wearing my experience
  261. 00:15:55.580 – 00:15:57.860 as my shirt or my shirt.
  262. 00:15:58.840 – 00:15:59.660 My experience.
  263. 00:15:59.680 – 00:16:00.620 Think about that.
  264. 00:16:03.030 – 00:16:04.850 And, you know, live below your means,
  265. 00:16:04.870 – 00:16:06.690 but also increase your income,
  266. 00:16:08.010 – 00:16:09.270 not your expenses.
  267. 00:16:10.030 – 00:16:11.810 Kind of self-explanatory.
  268. 00:16:12.450 – 00:16:14.210 Increase your income, not your expenses.
  269. 00:16:15.030 – 00:16:17.050 Increase what you get in.
  270. 00:16:17.390 – 00:16:19.290 And, you know, we spend a lot,
  271. 00:16:19.410 – 00:16:20.870 so try not to spend a lot
  272. 00:16:20.870 – 00:16:24.790 on things we don't really need.
  273. 00:16:26.900 – 00:16:28.600 Invest in the stock market
  274. 00:16:28.600 – 00:16:30.920 and consistently, like,
  275. 00:16:31.120 – 00:16:31.900 consistently do it.
  276. 00:16:32.040 – 00:16:35.320 It's nothing like compounding growth.
  277. 00:16:36.060 – 00:16:36.980 That's very important.
  278. 00:16:41.800 – 00:16:43.380 Build multiple income streams,
  279. 00:16:43.480 – 00:16:45.120 whatever that may be.
  280. 00:16:47.910 – 00:16:49.890 Comforter, think about being a painter.
  281. 00:16:53.730 – 00:16:55.550 Play basketball, think about
  282. 00:16:55.550 – 00:17:00.450 being a basketball coach to the youth
  283. 00:17:00.450 – 00:17:03.830 or at schools or being a mentor
  284. 00:17:03.830 – 00:17:05.069 or having a training camp
  285. 00:17:05.069 – 00:17:06.569 in your off-season.
  286. 00:17:09.500 – 00:17:10.099 You're an artist.
  287. 00:17:10.240 – 00:17:12.839 Think about writing jingles for corporations.
  288. 00:17:13.099 – 00:17:15.780 Think about writing music for others.
  289. 00:17:17.579 – 00:17:20.500 Putting out music albums
  290. 00:17:20.500 – 00:17:22.099 for you to sell.
  291. 00:17:26.050 – 00:17:26.770 Streams of income.
  292. 00:17:27.690 – 00:17:29.610 I think book is the easiest
  293. 00:17:29.610 – 00:17:32.870 and general one for, like, any industry.
  294. 00:17:34.510 – 00:17:36.690 You know, developing a book,
  295. 00:17:36.810 – 00:17:37.950 writing a book, really,
  296. 00:17:38.630 – 00:17:40.570 for me, I like to take
  297. 00:17:40.570 – 00:17:42.850 at least six months just to
  298. 00:17:42.850 – 00:17:44.610 craft the whole process,
  299. 00:17:44.830 – 00:17:46.330 go through the whole process
  300. 00:17:46.330 – 00:17:48.210 of writing a book.
  301. 00:17:49.090 – 00:17:50.790 You know, some longer,
  302. 00:17:51.850 – 00:17:54.890 some shorter, but a good six months.
  303. 00:17:54.910 – 00:17:56.310 You know, building a plan,
  304. 00:17:56.390 – 00:17:57.490 building an outline,
  305. 00:17:57.490 – 00:17:59.350 getting the words, thoughts,
  306. 00:17:59.550 – 00:18:00.910 getting a structured frame,
  307. 00:18:01.010 – 00:18:02.170 all that good stuff.
  308. 00:18:02.730 – 00:18:04.990 And then go into the marketing and promotion.
  309. 00:18:08.010 – 00:18:08.770 Six months.
  310. 00:18:09.810 – 00:18:10.670 Write that book.
  311. 00:18:11.650 – 00:18:12.630 Finish that book.
  312. 00:18:15.760 – 00:18:17.960 Think long-term and not short-term
  313. 00:18:17.960 – 00:18:19.180 with finances.
  314. 00:18:20.440 – 00:18:22.320 You know, sometimes we want things now.
  315. 00:18:22.460 – 00:18:24.360 We want that big lump sum.
  316. 00:18:24.460 – 00:18:25.600 We want that big check.
  317. 00:18:25.720 – 00:18:27.100 We want it right now.
  318. 00:18:28.260 – 00:18:30.420 But millionaires, billionaires,
  319. 00:18:31.480 – 00:18:33.120 trillionaires, trillionaire companies
  320. 00:18:34.120 – 00:18:36.160 have good habits and stay consistent.
  321. 00:18:38.470 – 00:18:40.150 And that's what I want to,
  322. 00:18:42.070 – 00:18:43.730 you know, share with you.
  323. 00:18:44.110 – 00:18:45.150 Just be consistent.
  324. 00:18:45.850 – 00:18:46.630 Be smart.
  325. 00:18:47.850 – 00:18:48.970 Even with your business,
  326. 00:18:49.150 – 00:18:51.230 you got to act within your business
  327. 00:18:51.230 – 00:18:52.070 with that self-love.
  328. 00:18:52.170 – 00:18:53.630 You had to have that love for your business.
  329. 00:18:54.410 – 00:18:56.310 And, you know, if there's things
  330. 00:18:56.310 – 00:18:58.010 that your business do not do
  331. 00:18:58.010 – 00:19:00.210 or that you don't stand for,
  332. 00:19:01.090 – 00:19:02.310 you don't have to do it.
  333. 00:19:02.310 – 00:19:04.050 And it's okay to say no to money.
  334. 00:19:04.710 – 00:19:06.490 You know, now all money is good money.
  335. 00:19:08.210 – 00:19:10.330 So what are your values?
  336. 00:19:10.810 – 00:19:12.030 What do you love?
  337. 00:19:13.070 – 00:19:14.410 And hopefully it's yourself first
  338. 00:19:14.950 – 00:19:17.950 and your business and your family.
  339. 00:19:19.130 – 00:19:21.770 And then start to think about the other things.
  340. 00:19:24.360 – 00:19:25.240 Love yourself.
  341. 00:19:26.560 – 00:19:27.860 If you don't love yourself,
  342. 00:19:28.300 – 00:19:29.480 no one else will.
  343. 00:19:30.180 – 00:19:31.520 Got to have that self-love.
  344. 00:19:32.140 – 00:19:32.900 Love yourself.
  345. 00:19:33.620 – 00:19:35.620 Remember, check out Alien Affirmations.
  346. 00:19:35.660 – 00:19:37.040 That's the first thing I say.
  347. 00:19:37.540 – 00:19:38.900 I love myself.
  348. 00:19:39.600 – 00:19:41.100 I love myself.
  349. 00:19:41.840 – 00:19:43.080 I love myself.
  350. 00:19:44.020 – 00:19:45.600 I love myself.
  351. 00:19:46.940 – 00:19:48.020 And then I go in.
  352. 00:19:48.920 – 00:19:50.560 Alien Affirmations 1, 2, 3.
  353. 00:19:50.620 – 00:19:52.900 Check it out on all streaming platforms.
  354. 00:19:53.780 – 00:19:54.180 Yes.
  355. 00:19:54.660 – 00:19:55.560 And this is a wrap.
  356. 00:19:55.600 – 00:19:57.400 This has been a great episode
  357. 00:19:57.400 – 00:19:58.980 around self-love,
  358. 00:19:59.620 – 00:20:00.920 alienized photos,
  359. 00:20:00.920 – 00:20:05.320 industry talk, episode 9.
  360. 00:20:05.520 – 00:20:07.500 A-E-P-I-T,
  361. 00:20:07.700 – 00:20:09.040 alienized photos,
  362. 00:20:09.080 – 00:20:10.160 industry talk.
  363. 00:20:11.200 – 00:20:12.820 And yes, if you want more information
  364. 00:20:12.820 – 00:20:14.100 or to book me,
  365. 00:20:14.440 – 00:20:18.280 please visit alienizedphotos.com.
  366. 00:20:18.480 – 00:20:22.160 Again, alienized with a Z,
  367. 00:20:22.640 – 00:20:24.040 photos with an S,
  368. 00:20:25.680 – 00:20:27.160 alienizedphotos.com.
  369. 00:20:27.600 – 00:20:29.560 And follow me on all social media
  370. 00:20:29.560 – 00:20:31.640 or most platforms,
  371. 00:20:33.800 – 00:20:34.320 alienizedphotos,
  372. 00:20:34.540 – 00:20:35.700 at alienizedphotos.
  373. 00:20:35.860 – 00:20:37.960 And then also check me out on fan base.
  374. 00:20:38.580 – 00:20:40.660 Yes, I will be having some exclusive content
  375. 00:20:40.660 – 00:20:41.660 on fan base,
  376. 00:20:42.000 – 00:20:42.880 some behind the scenes.
  377. 00:20:42.980 – 00:20:44.600 You may be watching this video
  378. 00:20:44.600 – 00:20:46.260 on fan base.
  379. 00:20:46.360 – 00:20:48.780 I don't like posting to a lot of different media,
  380. 00:20:48.800 – 00:20:51.840 so if you're checking this out on fan base,
  381. 00:20:52.100 – 00:20:53.400 definitely let me know.
  382. 00:20:53.620 – 00:20:55.680 You know, give me some love, likes.
  383. 00:20:56.640 – 00:20:58.280 Yeah, keep giving me feedback,
  384. 00:20:58.280 – 00:21:00.060 what you want to hear, what you want to listen.
  385. 00:21:00.440 – 00:21:03.080 Now think about doing part two of this self-love.
  386. 00:21:03.500 – 00:21:04.960 So yeah, fan base,
  387. 00:21:05.360 – 00:21:07.740 at alienizedphotos and all other medias,
  388. 00:21:08.120 – 00:21:12.820 at alienizedphotos and alienizedphotos.com.
  389. 00:21:13.880 – 00:21:16.200 Yes, if you need an event photographer,
  390. 00:21:16.380 – 00:21:18.880 if you want media or business strategy,
  391. 00:21:19.520 – 00:21:20.960 coaching, consulting,
  392. 00:21:21.760 – 00:21:22.700 definitely let me know.
  393. 00:21:23.100 – 00:21:24.040 Let's get you together.
  394. 00:21:24.400 – 00:21:26.000 Let's help out.
  395. 00:21:26.600 – 00:21:27.080 Marketing.
  396. 00:21:28.720 – 00:21:30.140 Yeah, we're going to get you together this year.
  397. 00:21:30.340 – 00:21:32.460 Let's just stop it right there
  398. 00:21:32.460 – 00:21:34.440 and give me a call,
  399. 00:21:34.920 – 00:21:36.480 text, follow,
  400. 00:21:36.780 – 00:21:39.760 hit me up on the DMs at alienizedphotos.
  401. 00:21:39.820 – 00:21:41.680 This is photographer Jackson,
  402. 00:21:41.800 – 00:21:43.380 and I'm signing out
  403. 00:21:44.020 – 00:21:46.360 alienizedphotos industry tour episode nine,
  404. 00:21:46.740 – 00:21:47.620 self-love.
  405. 00:21:51.210 – 00:21:52.350 Peace, love, and blessings, everyone.

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83. Ep. 8 - Relationships Matter Today w/ Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 8

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.370 – 00:00:03.410 Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome.
  2. 00:00:05.690 – 00:00:10.310 Welcome back to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  3. 00:00:12.290 – 00:00:13.610 All Thanks Media,
  4. 00:00:14.190 – 00:00:18.450 the introspective inspirational business podcast.
  5. 00:00:19.970 – 00:00:25.100 And today, I'd like to speak about relationships
  6. 00:00:25.100 – 00:00:26.860 here in episode eight.
  7. 00:00:28.400 – 00:00:32.940 Relationships, they're very important.
  8. 00:00:35.180 – 00:00:40.120 Especially in entrepreneurship and life in general.
  9. 00:00:41.160 – 00:00:44.680 Business, romantically.
  10. 00:00:47.320 – 00:00:49.320 And I'm gonna touch a little on each.
  11. 00:00:52.790 – 00:00:54.130 Let's start with friendship.
  12. 00:00:57.600 – 00:01:00.200 You know, you want to be there for other people.
  13. 00:01:00.260 – 00:01:02.560 You want other people to be there for you
  14. 00:01:02.560 – 00:01:04.099 in a genuine way.
  15. 00:01:05.379 – 00:01:06.320 Be respectful.
  16. 00:01:07.660 – 00:01:09.240 You know, have them look out for you
  17. 00:01:09.240 – 00:01:10.340 when you're not around.
  18. 00:01:11.380 – 00:01:13.500 You're in different spaces and places.
  19. 00:01:14.740 – 00:01:17.160 Your name is brought about or your image
  20. 00:01:17.160 – 00:01:18.820 or your being or your work.
  21. 00:01:20.200 – 00:01:21.960 You know, we got to look out for each other
  22. 00:01:23.680 – 00:01:28.320 and really have that open communication
  23. 00:01:29.360 – 00:01:31.420 you know, with our friends.
  24. 00:01:33.180 – 00:01:35.360 Especially the ones we really, really call friends,
  25. 00:01:35.480 – 00:01:36.800 like our best friends.
  26. 00:01:38.080 – 00:01:40.460 Because that's important because, you know,
  27. 00:01:41.980 – 00:01:46.680 10 years being good friends, best friends, close friends.
  28. 00:01:47.900 – 00:01:50.960 Of knowing each other and then became friends.
  29. 00:01:53.200 – 00:01:54.920 And then one little situation happened
  30. 00:01:54.920 – 00:01:56.440 and then it just falls apart.
  31. 00:01:57.180 – 00:01:59.420 So I think having that open communication,
  32. 00:02:00.900 – 00:02:03.440 especially in the business sector,
  33. 00:02:03.860 – 00:02:06.600 when friends are business partners
  34. 00:02:06.600 – 00:02:07.740 and do business together,
  35. 00:02:07.880 – 00:02:11.260 that's very important, very critical.
  36. 00:02:11.260 – 00:02:15.160 And I know a lot of people, they do get in business
  37. 00:02:15.160 – 00:02:17.320 with their friend or their family.
  38. 00:02:18.060 – 00:02:19.760 Their friend or their family member.
  39. 00:02:21.880 – 00:02:25.340 And, you know, sometimes it's thought of rocky
  40. 00:02:27.520 – 00:02:31.940 and not kind of the destined outcome
  41. 00:02:33.960 – 00:02:35.320 or the desired outcome.
  42. 00:02:38.000 – 00:02:40.700 But I think communication kind of trumps all of that
  43. 00:02:40.700 – 00:02:43.820 and having that mutual respect for each other
  44. 00:02:43.820 – 00:02:48.460 and really having that clear goal collectively.
  45. 00:02:51.500 – 00:02:55.740 And even relationships, romantic relationships, I may say.
  46. 00:02:57.540 – 00:02:59.480 You know, you have to communicate.
  47. 00:03:01.220 – 00:03:02.900 And I could just about say that
  48. 00:03:04.120 – 00:03:06.480 for any relationship you have,
  49. 00:03:06.580 – 00:03:07.660 you have to communicate.
  50. 00:03:07.940 – 00:03:09.960 With business partners, you have to communicate.
  51. 00:03:12.520 – 00:03:14.680 The people you meet at networking events,
  52. 00:03:14.800 – 00:03:15.800 you have to communicate.
  53. 00:03:17.280 – 00:03:19.760 You had a conference, you got to communicate.
  54. 00:03:20.280 – 00:03:22.520 You're teaching, coaching, you got to communicate.
  55. 00:03:23.380 – 00:03:25.900 So no matter what relationship it is,
  56. 00:03:26.440 – 00:03:30.900 communication by far is one of the best,
  57. 00:03:31.260 – 00:03:33.420 you know, success methods.
  58. 00:03:34.700 – 00:03:39.200 And I'll say not only success methods,
  59. 00:03:39.740 – 00:03:45.130 but you know, what keeps the relationship thriving
  60. 00:03:45.130 – 00:03:47.090 and flowing and good standards
  61. 00:03:47.090 – 00:03:53.010 and, you know, positive mind states, you know,
  62. 00:03:53.010 – 00:03:55.610 because you don't want to have negative intentions
  63. 00:03:56.250 – 00:04:02.530 towards relationships or the people you're around.
  64. 00:04:04.190 – 00:04:07.250 You know, good thoughts, good experiences,
  65. 00:04:07.470 – 00:04:09.690 good moments, great moments,
  66. 00:04:10.630 – 00:04:15.430 magnificent moments, times, all that.
  67. 00:04:17.420 – 00:04:19.740 And it takes practice, you know.
  68. 00:04:21.060 – 00:04:24.520 You know, nothing happens overnight or in a week,
  69. 00:04:25.700 – 00:04:29.340 but that constant communication and, you know,
  70. 00:04:29.360 – 00:04:32.240 maybe some things change on one person's end
  71. 00:04:32.900 – 00:04:34.580 that the other person didn't know about,
  72. 00:04:34.580 – 00:04:37.020 like, I don't like this anymore.
  73. 00:04:38.840 – 00:04:41.220 And they didn't communicate that to the other person,
  74. 00:04:41.220 – 00:04:44.240 but they still, you know,
  75. 00:04:44.240 – 00:04:48.800 think they like this specific thing, whatever that may be.
  76. 00:04:52.180 – 00:04:55.260 And you know, you have to communicate that on both ends.
  77. 00:04:56.920 – 00:05:01.120 You know, maybe I'm not into sports anymore.
  78. 00:05:01.220 – 00:05:02.560 Like, that's just not my thing.
  79. 00:05:02.740 – 00:05:05.420 I want to be full fledged and invested.
  80. 00:05:05.540 – 00:05:07.280 So I don't want to hear about sports.
  81. 00:05:07.580 – 00:05:09.480 I don't want to go to sports games.
  82. 00:05:10.060 – 00:05:11.320 And I'll talk about me, by the way.
  83. 00:05:11.320 – 00:05:12.640 I love basketball.
  84. 00:05:12.640 – 00:05:14.160 I'm a Cleveland Cavaliers,
  85. 00:05:14.480 – 00:05:16.200 if you really want to be exact.
  86. 00:05:18.000 – 00:05:19.680 But yeah, I'm a big basketball fan,
  87. 00:05:20.000 – 00:05:23.240 especially Cleveland sports, any Cleveland team.
  88. 00:05:24.480 – 00:05:27.400 But, you know, first with the Cavs,
  89. 00:05:27.440 – 00:05:30.320 then everything else is kind of secondary.
  90. 00:05:31.600 – 00:05:32.360 But yeah.
  91. 00:05:33.620 – 00:05:35.700 But what if, like 10 years from now,
  92. 00:05:36.360 – 00:05:39.000 I may not even care about basketball anymore?
  93. 00:05:39.000 – 00:05:40.980 You know, I'm older, I'm mature.
  94. 00:05:41.800 – 00:05:44.200 You know, I'll probably, personally,
  95. 00:05:44.640 – 00:05:46.580 me, speaking about investing,
  96. 00:05:46.740 – 00:05:48.380 I might be deep in my investment.
  97. 00:05:49.020 – 00:05:50.560 You know, I don't have time for sports.
  98. 00:05:51.140 – 00:05:54.920 So, but also, you know, have that luxury,
  99. 00:05:57.220 – 00:06:00.860 that hobby, that, you know, that gateway thing,
  100. 00:06:01.000 – 00:06:04.240 whether it's arts, sports, traveling,
  101. 00:06:05.560 – 00:06:09.140 podcasting, teaching, whatever that may be.
  102. 00:06:09.140 – 00:06:12.640 I have that, you know, for you.
  103. 00:06:17.780 – 00:06:20.180 And I want to touch about business partners.
  104. 00:06:24.270 – 00:06:29.080 The more, the more you work with someone,
  105. 00:06:30.640 – 00:06:33.020 the more you communicate with someone,
  106. 00:06:34.280 – 00:06:38.440 the more you strategize and build,
  107. 00:06:38.780 – 00:06:41.660 like literally build together,
  108. 00:06:44.360 – 00:06:46.160 the better it may, the better,
  109. 00:06:46.400 – 00:06:47.460 I ain't gonna say better it may be,
  110. 00:06:47.460 – 00:06:48.920 the better it will be.
  111. 00:06:50.230 – 00:06:55.130 And I've, you know, worked with a lot of different people.
  112. 00:06:55.990 – 00:07:01.130 Like I said, I've been in various rams of media
  113. 00:07:05.220 – 00:07:08.220 and collaborated with a lot of different people.
  114. 00:07:08.600 – 00:07:10.440 A lot of people I could call my business partners,
  115. 00:07:11.660 – 00:07:15.100 I was in groups with our teams,
  116. 00:07:16.940 – 00:07:19.900 organizations, one-on-one partners,
  117. 00:07:19.900 – 00:07:25.600 like we, not maybe legally, but formed a partnership.
  118. 00:07:28.440 – 00:07:32.840 You know, sometimes it doesn't always work out.
  119. 00:07:34.950 – 00:07:36.890 Sometimes it doesn't work out
  120. 00:07:36.890 – 00:07:42.850 in the sense that time just takes its spot,
  121. 00:07:46.310 – 00:07:47.890 that it's at a standstill,
  122. 00:07:47.930 – 00:07:51.150 not that the relationship or the partnership
  123. 00:07:51.150 – 00:07:53.350 didn't work out, but it's just like,
  124. 00:07:53.350 – 00:07:54.910 the partnership is at a standstill
  125. 00:07:55.470 – 00:07:59.730 because one person may be deep in their personal journey
  126. 00:07:59.730 – 00:08:02.470 or the other person may be deep in their personal journey
  127. 00:08:02.470 – 00:08:05.910 or business or whatever they may be.
  128. 00:08:06.230 – 00:08:09.110 And it's like, there's no time to kind of come back
  129. 00:08:09.110 – 00:08:11.950 and do what we did collectively.
  130. 00:08:14.390 – 00:08:16.390 And that's fine too.
  131. 00:08:17.970 – 00:08:20.410 Actually, I think that's one of the better ways
  132. 00:08:20.410 – 00:08:23.010 that I like to kind of separate.
  133. 00:08:23.350 – 00:08:24.610 You know, we're both thriving,
  134. 00:08:25.590 – 00:08:28.390 not, you know, argument or disagreement
  135. 00:08:28.390 – 00:08:31.350 or we're gonna go, you know, do this
  136. 00:08:31.350 – 00:08:35.030 and not, you know, communicating certain things.
  137. 00:08:36.169 – 00:08:39.929 So I like when, you know, both parties are thriving
  138. 00:08:39.929 – 00:08:42.630 and it's like a natural separation.
  139. 00:08:42.789 – 00:08:46.630 Every now and then, you know, may collab again,
  140. 00:08:47.330 – 00:08:51.190 but maybe not on that full-throttle partnership level,
  141. 00:08:51.550 – 00:08:54.850 but, you know, a light collab, you know,
  142. 00:08:54.950 – 00:08:57.090 something you do together
  143. 00:08:57.090 – 00:08:59.470 or even just hanging out, catching up,
  144. 00:08:59.470 – 00:09:02.050 how can we help each other type of thing.
  145. 00:09:03.910 – 00:09:10.850 So business partners as far as relationships are key.
  146. 00:09:11.290 – 00:09:14.230 If you, you know, are entrepreneur or business owner
  147. 00:09:15.250 – 00:09:20.150 and you really want to take it to another level
  148. 00:09:20.150 – 00:09:22.510 as far as collaboration, you know,
  149. 00:09:22.510 – 00:09:24.290 you have to start off with a good business partner,
  150. 00:09:24.410 – 00:09:25.950 especially with networking.
  151. 00:09:26.570 – 00:09:28.490 You know, y'all bounce off each other and you know,
  152. 00:09:28.550 – 00:09:33.850 oh, you're doing alley-oops and all that to each other.
  153. 00:09:34.910 – 00:09:36.270 Sorry, audio has stopped.
  154. 00:09:36.450 – 00:09:40.260 I'm like, oh, and yeah.
  155. 00:09:42.750 – 00:09:49.020 But I also wanna touch on like how many mistakes
  156. 00:09:49.020 – 00:09:51.320 in relationships do you get?
  157. 00:09:54.100 – 00:09:56.040 Like, what would a friend, if I say,
  158. 00:09:59.380 – 00:10:10.270 I don't want to do something or, yeah,
  159. 00:10:10.290 – 00:10:12.230 I don't wanna do something, we do it anyway.
  160. 00:10:12.950 – 00:10:14.770 Like, that's your thing.
  161. 00:10:14.790 – 00:10:19.870 That's not my thing as far as like going to
  162. 00:10:21.110 – 00:10:25.370 a hockey game and I don't care about hockey.
  163. 00:10:25.370 – 00:10:27.370 I'm just doing it because you're my friend,
  164. 00:10:29.700 – 00:10:32.160 but we never get to do what I wanna do type of thing.
  165. 00:10:33.280 – 00:10:39.060 So, or if, you know, do something they don't like
  166. 00:10:39.060 – 00:10:47.340 or agree with, how many times is too many?
  167. 00:10:47.640 – 00:10:50.060 I mean, actually they say two is too many,
  168. 00:10:52.680 – 00:10:55.360 but that's also something to think about.
  169. 00:10:55.880 – 00:10:58.840 We're not just friends, we're all your relationships.
  170. 00:11:03.080 – 00:11:05.160 And I know we're not all perfect.
  171. 00:11:05.320 – 00:11:06.160 You know, I'm not perfect.
  172. 00:11:06.640 – 00:11:08.000 I struggle with a lot.
  173. 00:11:08.540 – 00:11:10.100 You know, still struggle with a lot.
  174. 00:11:10.660 – 00:11:12.380 I mean, I struggle with communication
  175. 00:11:12.380 – 00:11:14.900 and you know, the biggest thing I speak about
  176. 00:11:14.900 – 00:11:18.880 is communication and you know, me being an introvert,
  177. 00:11:18.940 – 00:11:22.420 I love my solo time, my quiet time, my downtime,
  178. 00:11:22.700 – 00:11:23.880 just my inner thoughts.
  179. 00:11:24.600 – 00:11:25.800 I'm always thinking about a lot,
  180. 00:11:26.060 – 00:11:27.440 always a lot on my mind.
  181. 00:11:28.060 – 00:11:30.060 You know, I don't really have much time to myself,
  182. 00:11:30.640 – 00:11:33.620 get that time, I love taking that time
  183. 00:11:33.620 – 00:11:34.880 and being in that time.
  184. 00:11:35.320 – 00:11:36.860 And I think the biggest relationship
  185. 00:11:37.520 – 00:11:40.220 you should have ever is with yourself.
  186. 00:11:40.400 – 00:11:42.760 You know, that self-love, that self-gratitude,
  187. 00:11:42.820 – 00:11:45.100 that self-expression is big
  188. 00:11:45.100 – 00:11:48.780 and that would get you far, very far in life.
  189. 00:11:49.160 – 00:11:51.520 You know, that self-confidence, that self-worth,
  190. 00:11:53.060 – 00:11:57.060 that self-image, what you see
  191. 00:11:57.060 – 00:12:01.140 and what you think all the time about yourself
  192. 00:12:01.140 – 00:12:05.080 usually becomes yourself over time.
  193. 00:12:09.110 – 00:12:11.150 And one of the things that I'm learning
  194. 00:12:11.930 – 00:12:13.670 with my self-love journey
  195. 00:12:15.270 – 00:12:18.710 was approaching of almost 10 years now,
  196. 00:12:20.250 – 00:12:23.310 more so five, one more of a heavier level,
  197. 00:12:23.430 – 00:12:24.250 but closer to.
  198. 00:12:28.660 – 00:12:30.400 It looks different each day.
  199. 00:12:32.320 – 00:12:35.540 It really, really looks different each day.
  200. 00:12:37.820 – 00:12:41.990 And sometimes I look in the mirror,
  201. 00:12:44.800 – 00:12:50.280 it's like the only thing I wanna do is find myself.
  202. 00:12:53.520 – 00:13:02.600 And to be honest, most days it's harder to find yourself.
  203. 00:13:03.920 – 00:13:05.460 Some days you're right there,
  204. 00:13:05.820 – 00:13:07.320 like boldly right there.
  205. 00:13:09.300 – 00:13:13.220 But each day you treat yourself with love,
  206. 00:13:13.220 – 00:13:15.300 treat yourself with respect.
  207. 00:13:17.120 – 00:13:19.680 You know, what fuels you, what desires you,
  208. 00:13:19.720 – 00:13:20.780 feed yourself that.
  209. 00:13:21.280 – 00:13:23.900 Remember your purpose, your motivation, your motives.
  210. 00:13:26.120 – 00:13:28.780 Sometimes you cannot let emotion get in the way,
  211. 00:13:28.960 – 00:13:30.240 especially in business.
  212. 00:13:31.700 – 00:13:34.120 No, there's no emotions with numbers.
  213. 00:13:35.460 – 00:13:36.540 Emotions don't have emotions.
  214. 00:13:38.060 – 00:13:39.680 These robots don't have emotions,
  215. 00:13:41.260 – 00:13:42.560 but you do.
  216. 00:13:43.460 – 00:13:48.000 And the biggest and the greatest relationship
  217. 00:13:48.000 – 00:13:51.980 you would have is with yourself, you yourself.
  218. 00:13:52.320 – 00:13:55.520 And I have an affirmation track I would link.
  219. 00:13:56.160 – 00:13:58.280 We're actually gonna link it to all our episodes,
  220. 00:13:58.320 – 00:14:01.280 because I think it's just monumental and powerful.
  221. 00:14:01.440 – 00:14:03.520 I will start talking about it more.
  222. 00:14:03.960 – 00:14:07.160 And also release additional affirmation tracks
  223. 00:14:07.160 – 00:14:08.800 upon request.
  224. 00:14:09.020 – 00:14:10.480 You know, if I get the request,
  225. 00:14:10.480 – 00:14:11.640 I will put it out faster.
  226. 00:14:12.360 – 00:14:14.520 But of course, if I don't hear any feedback
  227. 00:14:14.520 – 00:14:17.420 and then they're satisfied with the one
  228. 00:14:17.420 – 00:14:18.860 I'm about to present to you now,
  229. 00:14:18.940 – 00:14:20.420 then that's fine as well.
  230. 00:14:21.640 – 00:14:24.040 But you know, definitely give me some feedback
  231. 00:14:24.040 – 00:14:25.660 if you love these affirmations,
  232. 00:14:25.800 – 00:14:29.920 if you want affirmations in a specific realm
  233. 00:14:31.520 – 00:14:33.880 or about something in particular.
  234. 00:14:35.160 – 00:14:36.760 Definitely let me know the feedback.
  235. 00:14:37.640 – 00:14:38.960 I'm open to requests.
  236. 00:14:38.960 – 00:14:40.840 I'm an artist at heart.
  237. 00:14:41.100 – 00:14:43.600 I have a music background, poetry,
  238. 00:14:45.100 – 00:14:46.800 a little music production.
  239. 00:14:47.700 – 00:14:50.340 And now I'm into more of the visual space
  240. 00:14:50.340 – 00:14:53.760 with photography, a bit of photography,
  241. 00:14:54.340 – 00:14:56.520 video production and podcasting.
  242. 00:14:57.800 – 00:15:01.260 Kind of have my feet a little bit of everything.
  243. 00:15:02.720 – 00:15:03.240 Author.
  244. 00:15:04.120 – 00:15:07.780 Like the list goes on as far as that artistry.
  245. 00:15:08.960 – 00:15:10.880 I'm a writer at heart.
  246. 00:15:11.120 – 00:15:12.160 I love reading.
  247. 00:15:13.460 – 00:15:17.080 And those things are reflected upon my spirit.
  248. 00:15:18.440 – 00:15:21.520 I love a good book, especially a good business book.
  249. 00:15:22.520 – 00:15:23.900 Things about mindset.
  250. 00:15:25.040 – 00:15:27.840 And that's what I reflect to my audience.
  251. 00:15:29.560 – 00:15:31.600 But going back to the affirmations,
  252. 00:15:34.200 – 00:15:37.320 when I talk about being
  253. 00:15:38.640 – 00:15:41.740 in the greatest relationship,
  254. 00:15:42.440 – 00:15:46.360 you are in a relationship with yourself, literally.
  255. 00:15:47.560 – 00:15:53.380 And people forget that first because one is a number.
  256. 00:15:54.620 – 00:15:55.540 Zero is not.
  257. 00:15:56.040 – 00:15:57.980 One is, and you are one.
  258. 00:15:59.960 – 00:16:03.200 So what relationship do you have with yourself?
  259. 00:16:04.820 – 00:16:11.590 But I always say, be good to yourself.
  260. 00:16:12.890 – 00:16:14.530 Be gentle with yourself.
  261. 00:16:16.190 – 00:16:17.510 Be blessed with yourself.
  262. 00:16:20.340 – 00:16:24.040 Like you really have to do these things.
  263. 00:16:24.540 – 00:16:29.610 Really take time for you and that self-maintenance.
  264. 00:16:31.710 – 00:16:36.550 And I'm a big believer of inner peace and affirmation.
  265. 00:16:37.670 – 00:16:40.730 Never let anyone disrupt your inner peace.
  266. 00:16:41.850 – 00:16:43.170 Never ever let anyone,
  267. 00:16:43.170 – 00:16:45.930 not even yourself, disrupt your inner peace.
  268. 00:16:48.280 – 00:16:49.480 Inner peace is everything.
  269. 00:16:49.960 – 00:16:53.200 And I say, never ever let anyone,
  270. 00:16:54.780 – 00:16:57.420 not even yourself, disrupt your inner peace.
  271. 00:16:57.500 – 00:17:01.480 Because sometimes us, ourselves,
  272. 00:17:01.720 – 00:17:05.599 can disrupt our inner peace, our mental mind state,
  273. 00:17:07.040 – 00:17:10.599 and introduce and attract negative thoughts
  274. 00:17:11.040 – 00:17:12.079 out of nowhere.
  275. 00:17:13.339 – 00:17:14.780 When they don't have to be there.
  276. 00:17:16.849 – 00:17:18.329 All these negative emotions.
  277. 00:17:20.230 – 00:17:23.670 I try not to let the outside world affect me too much.
  278. 00:17:24.109 – 00:17:26.450 I know a lot of things going on in politics
  279. 00:17:26.450 – 00:17:31.510 and the presidents and the different parties
  280. 00:17:31.510 – 00:17:34.610 and then inflation and it's just,
  281. 00:17:34.690 – 00:17:38.910 you know, the celebrity drama, relationships.
  282. 00:17:41.730 – 00:17:45.570 It can even be family drama, work drama, you know?
  283. 00:17:48.750 – 00:17:51.990 It's, it gets difficult because outside of self,
  284. 00:17:52.050 – 00:17:56.310 you know, nexus, you know, my children and my daughters.
  285. 00:17:57.450 – 00:18:01.210 Then, you know, relationships and family
  286. 00:18:03.310 – 00:18:08.010 and then that next tier friends
  287. 00:18:08.010 – 00:18:09.690 outside of the best friends.
  288. 00:18:12.410 – 00:18:15.130 Then associates and then just the world in general.
  289. 00:18:15.130 – 00:18:21.300 I do care for the world, but I care for myself first.
  290. 00:18:22.740 – 00:18:25.020 So if I can find peace in myself,
  291. 00:18:27.060 – 00:18:31.260 before I, you know, hit that something's gonna go wrong
  292. 00:18:31.260 – 00:18:35.560 or negative, you know, I listen to myself.
  293. 00:18:36.100 – 00:18:37.640 Like, I could have avoided it.
  294. 00:18:38.340 – 00:18:41.720 I felt it in my body, my mind and spirit
  295. 00:18:41.720 – 00:18:44.640 that something is about to go wrong.
  296. 00:18:45.480 – 00:18:46.540 Now I listen to myself.
  297. 00:18:46.640 – 00:18:50.860 Now I'm dealing with a situation that's ruckus
  298. 00:18:51.620 – 00:18:53.640 and just a disaster and chaos.
  299. 00:18:54.520 – 00:18:56.360 And it's taken me out of my hookup,
  300. 00:18:56.660 – 00:19:00.260 my positive mind state, my positive being, my energy.
  301. 00:19:01.860 – 00:19:02.960 Now I'm dealing with this.
  302. 00:19:03.600 – 00:19:05.640 I really could have been dealing with myself
  303. 00:19:05.640 – 00:19:07.860 and my energy and my peace and growing myself
  304. 00:19:07.860 – 00:19:10.420 and watering myself and letting myself boom
  305. 00:19:10.420 – 00:19:12.500 and blossom and, you know,
  306. 00:19:14.000 – 00:19:16.320 grow the way I need to grow.
  307. 00:19:16.780 – 00:19:19.760 And so the trawl is a tree that I could be.
  308. 00:19:21.280 – 00:19:23.080 Plant it in the ground and the earth.
  309. 00:19:25.000 – 00:19:26.860 You have to look at yourself as a tree.
  310. 00:19:28.020 – 00:19:29.800 Water and nurture yourself.
  311. 00:19:31.600 – 00:19:35.080 Stand firm in the ground, in the soil.
  312. 00:19:36.820 – 00:19:38.740 Continue to water yourself, continue to grow,
  313. 00:19:38.940 – 00:19:41.680 continue to learn, continue to communicate.
  314. 00:19:44.920 – 00:19:45.680 It takes time.
  315. 00:19:45.900 – 00:19:47.640 It does, it really does.
  316. 00:19:49.980 – 00:19:52.260 But also we're relationships.
  317. 00:19:52.360 – 00:19:53.820 I think about the number eight
  318. 00:19:53.820 – 00:19:57.700 and that's why I wanted this episode to be number eight.
  319. 00:19:58.200 – 00:19:59.580 I hope you enjoyed it.
  320. 00:19:59.580 – 00:20:02.400 If you like it, you know, let me know the feedback.
  321. 00:20:03.940 – 00:20:07.880 I really want to tailor these episodes, you know.
  322. 00:20:09.260 – 00:20:13.400 First off, they're my, you know, inner journal,
  323. 00:20:15.420 – 00:20:17.120 inner entrepreneur journal.
  324. 00:20:17.120 – 00:20:20.740 You know, deep diving in my mind
  325. 00:20:20.740 – 00:20:22.820 and how I take it, how I approach things.
  326. 00:20:24.660 – 00:20:27.900 But yeah, the number eight, it's like, you know,
  327. 00:20:27.980 – 00:20:29.740 it's continuous, it's affinity.
  328. 00:20:29.980 – 00:20:31.460 That's how I think about relationships
  329. 00:20:31.460 – 00:20:33.740 and it's constantly touching each others.
  330. 00:20:34.340 – 00:20:36.740 You know, that figure eight and like skating
  331. 00:20:36.740 – 00:20:39.300 is always all touching each others
  332. 00:20:39.300 – 00:20:41.560 on a big curved oval.
  333. 00:20:42.700 – 00:20:46.840 Oh, yeah, this is episode eight
  334. 00:20:46.840 – 00:20:49.260 of Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  335. 00:20:49.900 – 00:20:52.300 We have made it to the end.
  336. 00:20:52.680 – 00:20:55.320 Yes, Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk
  337. 00:20:55.320 – 00:20:59.060 on most streaming podcast platforms.
  338. 00:20:59.920 – 00:21:02.220 And if you want more information about me
  339. 00:21:02.220 – 00:21:04.680 or Alien Eyes Photos event photography,
  340. 00:21:05.240 – 00:21:08.680 you can visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  341. 00:21:08.680 – 00:21:11.880 That's alieneyes with a Z,
  342. 00:21:12.000 – 00:21:16.620 photos with a S, alieneyesphotos.com.
  343. 00:21:17.460 – 00:21:19.880 And you can follow me at all social media
  344. 00:21:19.880 – 00:21:22.420 at alieneyesphotos.
  345. 00:21:22.720 – 00:21:26.680 That's alieneyesphotos on all social media.
  346. 00:21:28.810 – 00:21:30.890 I'm on social media, I try to get away
  347. 00:21:30.890 – 00:21:34.050 from a lot of them, but if you think I'm on a platform
  348. 00:21:34.050 – 00:21:37.370 or want to find me, look up alieneyesphotos
  349. 00:21:37.370 – 00:21:41.730 and that's eyes with a Z, photos with a S.
  350. 00:21:42.330 – 00:21:46.330 Also follow me on fan base at alieneyesphotos.
  351. 00:21:46.590 – 00:21:49.410 Yes, fan base, that's where I'll be holding
  352. 00:21:49.410 – 00:21:53.170 a lot of my content, especially exclusive.
  353. 00:21:53.890 – 00:21:57.430 And also if you want some more, you know,
  354. 00:21:57.530 – 00:22:00.810 these talks and you know, behind the scenes
  355. 00:22:00.810 – 00:22:03.870 type of things and you know, more of my
  356. 00:22:03.870 – 00:22:08.490 deeper dive talks, really kind of even go further,
  357. 00:22:08.550 – 00:22:10.370 you know, further some of these conversations
  358. 00:22:10.370 – 00:22:12.650 or even new conversations and topics.
  359. 00:22:13.390 – 00:22:15.430 So yeah, definitely follow me on fan base
  360. 00:22:15.430 – 00:22:17.830 and that's at alieneyesphotos.
  361. 00:22:19.070 – 00:22:20.650 Yeah, I think that's everything.
  362. 00:22:20.950 – 00:22:23.190 Don't forget to like, share, subscribe,
  363. 00:22:23.990 – 00:22:25.410 all that good stuff.
  364. 00:22:25.750 – 00:22:29.410 Keep following, you know, keep sharing the media out.
  365. 00:22:29.510 – 00:22:31.990 You know, I encourage you to send this out
  366. 00:22:31.990 – 00:22:34.910 to a hand full of friends.
  367. 00:22:35.150 – 00:22:38.770 So if you have two hands, that's 10 fingers.
  368. 00:22:39.210 – 00:22:41.710 So send this to 10 friends, to 10 colleagues,
  369. 00:22:42.350 – 00:22:44.570 10 business partners, you know,
  370. 00:22:44.670 – 00:22:45.950 people in your organization.
  371. 00:22:46.790 – 00:22:48.570 Say, I really appreciate this episode
  372. 00:22:48.570 – 00:22:51.270 and you know, I really want us to think in this way.
  373. 00:22:52.230 – 00:22:53.870 Send this out to 10 people.
  374. 00:22:54.990 – 00:22:59.610 Again, if you want to book or for more information,
  375. 00:22:59.610 – 00:23:02.190 visit alieneyesphotos.com.
  376. 00:23:02.670 – 00:23:06.230 And this is episode eight with photographer Jackson,
  377. 00:23:07.510 – 00:23:11.690 bringing you alieneyesphotos industry talk podcast.
  378. 00:23:12.530 – 00:23:15.270 Episode eight in the books, we are out.
  379. 00:23:15.650 – 00:23:18.670 Until next time y'all, peace, love,
  380. 00:23:19.130 – 00:23:20.950 and blessings always.
  381. 00:23:25.400 – 00:23:27.060 We have done it.

Back to contents

84. Ep. 7 - Personal Journey of Constant Progression with Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 7

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.000 – 00:00:07.920 Welcome, welcome, welcome to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:13.560 – 00:00:14.700 Life has been a journey.
  3. 00:00:18.090 – 00:00:22.210 A journey that will only get you as far as you want to make it.
  4. 00:00:26.560 – 00:00:32.670 A journey where it's constant and it should be progressive.
  5. 00:00:36.560 – 00:00:37.660 Constant and progressive.
  6. 00:00:43.030 – 00:00:52.250 I think a lot of sports teams they go for championships
  7. 00:00:52.250 – 00:00:58.130 and to win a championship being constant and progressive.
  8. 00:00:59.750 – 00:01:00.930 It's the way you do that.
  9. 00:01:08.030 – 00:01:12.480 And coming from a sports background, mainly basketball,
  10. 00:01:13.290 – 00:01:20.230 or that's the main sport that I play, there's systems.
  11. 00:01:20.810 – 00:01:22.890 Just like with entrepreneurship, there's systems.
  12. 00:01:25.180 – 00:01:27.760 There's constants and progression.
  13. 00:01:29.870 – 00:01:36.270 And usually those two character types or those traits are successful.
  14. 00:01:36.570 – 00:01:37.830 They win championships.
  15. 00:01:39.470 – 00:01:43.410 They win success or they gain it.
  16. 00:01:45.490 – 00:01:49.530 They set out and accomplish their accomplishments,
  17. 00:01:50.610 – 00:01:51.910 their goals, their times,
  18. 00:01:55.750 – 00:02:04.410 and how even recording, scheduling, and goals from a podcast
  19. 00:02:04.410 – 00:02:09.090 and just the podcast industry in itself.
  20. 00:02:12.390 – 00:02:18.590 So I do service others, help them.
  21. 00:02:19.930 – 00:02:21.510 It brings me back to the journey.
  22. 00:02:24.200 – 00:02:27.660 Like life, entrepreneurship, sports, it's a journey.
  23. 00:02:29.730 – 00:02:31.510 To be honest, constant journey.
  24. 00:02:31.510 – 00:02:33.470 This progressive journey.
  25. 00:02:33.710 – 00:02:35.350 This constant journey.
  26. 00:02:35.910 – 00:02:37.290 This progressive journey.
  27. 00:02:37.490 – 00:02:39.270 This constant journey.
  28. 00:02:39.470 – 00:02:48.480 This like really in life, entrepreneurship, long-term entrepreneurship,
  29. 00:02:49.860 – 00:02:56.560 like really doing what you first are supposed to do.
  30. 00:02:57.740 – 00:02:58.960 There's multiple tasks.
  31. 00:02:59.340 – 00:03:00.380 There's constant learning.
  32. 00:03:00.660 – 00:03:02.540 There's constant relationship building.
  33. 00:03:02.540 – 00:03:04.680 There's constant operations.
  34. 00:03:05.140 – 00:03:06.060 Different times.
  35. 00:03:06.780 – 00:03:08.300 Different deliverables.
  36. 00:03:09.000 – 00:03:11.920 Different financial goals.
  37. 00:03:13.460 – 00:03:15.100 Financial generation.
  38. 00:03:16.800 – 00:03:20.060 You have to generate revenue to operate.
  39. 00:03:24.320 – 00:03:28.980 And really appreciating the journey.
  40. 00:03:29.280 – 00:03:33.760 Like it's long in life in general.
  41. 00:03:34.220 – 00:03:35.420 Like itself is long.
  42. 00:03:35.420 – 00:03:41.190 And you have to appreciate it, especially while you can.
  43. 00:03:41.450 – 00:03:43.650 Appreciate those around you.
  44. 00:03:45.190 – 00:03:46.310 Those who you work with.
  45. 00:03:46.310 – 00:03:47.670 Those in your family.
  46. 00:03:49.170 – 00:03:51.410 Those who you may come across.
  47. 00:03:51.670 – 00:03:52.490 Those you teach.
  48. 00:03:52.650 – 00:03:54.030 Those you train.
  49. 00:03:54.590 – 00:03:55.570 Those you coach.
  50. 00:03:57.790 – 00:03:58.650 Those you work with.
  51. 00:03:58.810 – 00:04:00.790 Those you become partners with.
  52. 00:04:01.230 – 00:04:02.370 Or you do business with.
  53. 00:04:05.400 – 00:04:06.660 Those you learn with.
  54. 00:04:08.200 – 00:04:09.600 Those who teach you.
  55. 00:04:10.580 – 00:04:11.820 Those who mentor you.
  56. 00:04:14.510 – 00:04:17.550 And it's a constant exchange.
  57. 00:04:18.170 – 00:04:19.329 And we all support each other.
  58. 00:04:21.050 – 00:04:25.170 Like if all of a sudden I want to be a football coach,
  59. 00:04:26.710 – 00:04:28.470 then I'm going to go to the football experts.
  60. 00:04:29.730 – 00:04:30.750 I'm going to an expert.
  61. 00:04:30.810 – 00:04:34.630 So when people come to me to learn photography,
  62. 00:04:35.910 – 00:04:37.610 or just business culture in general,
  63. 00:04:41.650 – 00:04:47.690 they feel the highest are maybe someone they could trust.
  64. 00:04:47.690 – 00:04:51.850 They may love as far as my content or how I would teach.
  65. 00:04:52.690 – 00:04:53.750 And my method of teaching.
  66. 00:05:00.740 – 00:05:04.120 What if they're a doctor and I'm just like, man,
  67. 00:05:05.820 – 00:05:10.080 there's a constant decline in the health industry.
  68. 00:05:11.380 – 00:05:13.240 And something just clicks in my brain.
  69. 00:05:13.520 – 00:05:18.400 Like I want to be a doctor or, you know,
  70. 00:05:18.460 – 00:05:21.940 not so much a title, but really saves lives.
  71. 00:05:21.940 – 00:05:26.510 What if I could perform surgery?
  72. 00:05:26.870 – 00:05:28.130 I wouldn't say overnight.
  73. 00:05:28.130 – 00:05:29.210 I'm not saying that.
  74. 00:05:29.570 – 00:05:35.210 But just find that spark.
  75. 00:05:38.390 – 00:05:41.470 Because we live for impact.
  76. 00:05:42.870 – 00:05:44.010 Let's give that impact.
  77. 00:05:45.090 – 00:05:46.890 You got to remember that constant journey.
  78. 00:05:51.660 – 00:05:52.420 Constant journey.
  79. 00:05:55.030 – 00:05:56.170 It's a long journey.
  80. 00:05:58.480 – 00:05:59.980 Long, long journey.
  81. 00:06:03.900 – 00:06:04.620 Don't stop.
  82. 00:06:08.040 – 00:06:08.540 Don't quit.
  83. 00:06:10.750 – 00:06:11.790 Just do it.
  84. 00:06:12.210 – 00:06:12.870 Like Nike.
  85. 00:06:13.190 – 00:06:14.810 Just do it.
  86. 00:06:15.190 – 00:06:16.490 Sometimes you can't even think about it.
  87. 00:06:16.490 – 00:06:17.490 You know what you're going to do.
  88. 00:06:18.410 – 00:06:19.590 Just do it.
  89. 00:06:23.810 – 00:06:25.790 And me personally, I feel myself there all the time.
  90. 00:06:25.910 – 00:06:27.670 Like just do it.
  91. 00:06:28.330 – 00:06:29.750 You say, all right, I got to do this.
  92. 00:06:29.910 – 00:06:31.590 Just do it right now.
  93. 00:06:33.090 – 00:06:33.950 It's on the list.
  94. 00:06:35.790 – 00:06:36.690 Just do it right now.
  95. 00:06:36.690 – 00:06:37.690 Get it out of the way.
  96. 00:06:38.050 – 00:06:39.190 You don't got to think about it no more.
  97. 00:06:39.950 – 00:06:40.790 Cross it off the list.
  98. 00:06:40.830 – 00:06:41.590 Do it right now.
  99. 00:06:46.470 – 00:06:50.920 What are you going to do right now?
  100. 00:06:50.920 – 00:06:55.400 Especially if it doesn't take much time or a little time.
  101. 00:06:56.300 – 00:07:00.460 You know, if it could compound and end up expanding in time
  102. 00:07:00.460 – 00:07:05.240 and the duration is by far not what you intended or measured
  103. 00:07:05.240 – 00:07:12.080 or even sacrificed, don't risk it.
  104. 00:07:12.340 – 00:07:16.940 But if you can do it right then and there, just do it.
  105. 00:07:17.960 – 00:07:19.520 If it takes two seconds, do it.
  106. 00:07:19.520 – 00:07:20.380 Just do it.
  107. 00:07:22.630 – 00:07:23.470 Just do it.
  108. 00:07:23.490 – 00:07:24.190 Do it right now.
  109. 00:07:27.960 – 00:07:31.340 I feel like there's different seasons where you have to coach
  110. 00:07:31.340 – 00:07:35.190 yourself, like you as a leader.
  111. 00:07:35.710 – 00:07:37.470 Speak to yourself, you know.
  112. 00:07:37.710 – 00:07:37.990 Journal.
  113. 00:07:38.270 – 00:07:38.930 Drop me a thought.
  114. 00:07:39.010 – 00:07:39.710 Look at your notes.
  115. 00:07:39.830 – 00:07:40.790 Review your notes.
  116. 00:07:41.810 – 00:07:43.250 Especially if you're on a long journey.
  117. 00:07:43.490 – 00:07:45.670 Let's go back to day one.
  118. 00:07:46.070 – 00:07:48.490 What was I thinking about day one as a leader?
  119. 00:07:48.930 – 00:07:51.910 Like when I stepped into this role and this position,
  120. 00:07:53.470 – 00:07:58.820 this constant journey, this progressive journey.
  121. 00:07:58.820 – 00:08:02.100 When I speak about the progression,
  122. 00:08:02.180 – 00:08:05.380 like if you incrementally get better each day,
  123. 00:08:05.900 – 00:08:08.520 like 0.1% each day,
  124. 00:08:09.500 – 00:08:13.680 and even sometimes compound that to one, to two, to three,
  125. 00:08:13.880 – 00:08:18.880 to four, four and a half, five, five and a half, six,
  126. 00:08:19.560 – 00:08:25.500 6.7, and then even sometimes 10, 11, and so on.
  127. 00:08:25.540 – 00:08:26.680 I ain't putting the cap on, right?
  128. 00:08:26.680 – 00:08:28.620 But it's endless.
  129. 00:08:29.020 – 00:08:33.080 But if it's constantly progressing and incrementally
  130. 00:08:33.080 – 00:08:37.140 getting better, if you're incrementally getting better,
  131. 00:08:37.700 – 00:08:42.460 faster, wiser, better strategist,
  132. 00:08:44.240 – 00:08:47.200 a better partner, a better communicator,
  133. 00:08:48.460 – 00:08:50.760 a better business savvy person,
  134. 00:08:55.100 – 00:08:57.420 where your weaknesses become your strengths,
  135. 00:08:59.650 – 00:09:00.790 and it takes time.
  136. 00:09:01.370 – 00:09:03.910 You're not going to be perfect overnight.
  137. 00:09:04.430 – 00:09:07.130 But one night, I can promise you that
  138. 00:09:07.130 – 00:09:09.370 you will be perfect at what you do.
  139. 00:09:10.390 – 00:09:11.610 And it may not be forever.
  140. 00:09:11.730 – 00:09:13.890 That perfectness may not be forever,
  141. 00:09:14.690 – 00:09:16.370 but at one point in time, you will.
  142. 00:09:17.050 – 00:09:18.710 You must appreciate that time.
  143. 00:09:20.090 – 00:09:23.950 Everyone has a time where something they're very passionate about.
  144. 00:09:26.360 – 00:09:29.140 It's like this golden window, this golden gate.
  145. 00:09:29.820 – 00:09:31.840 It's going to happen for a period of time.
  146. 00:09:33.340 – 00:09:35.720 But this perfectness may not last forever.
  147. 00:09:38.040 – 00:09:40.620 But perfectness is attainable
  148. 00:09:40.620 – 00:09:43.280 in a lot of different things.
  149. 00:09:43.520 – 00:09:45.000 Can I say all things?
  150. 00:09:45.460 – 00:09:47.080 Well, all things are possible.
  151. 00:09:48.780 – 00:09:49.660 You're limitless,
  152. 00:09:52.080 – 00:09:54.600 and you don't really have to step into that line
  153. 00:09:55.420 – 00:10:00.060 who says there's a limit on how much you make when you're in sales.
  154. 00:10:01.420 – 00:10:05.700 All you're going to sell in this is you can't put a real number on it.
  155. 00:10:05.700 – 00:10:07.800 You can't put a cap on that.
  156. 00:10:10.240 – 00:10:11.440 It's also having systems.
  157. 00:10:11.680 – 00:10:13.420 It's also knowing the prices.
  158. 00:10:13.560 – 00:10:16.320 It's also doing your market research.
  159. 00:10:17.580 – 00:10:18.120 Comparing.
  160. 00:10:20.020 – 00:10:24.240 And then always this price is doing services, deliverables.
  161. 00:10:26.420 – 00:10:28.500 That's most often the service industry,
  162. 00:10:29.740 – 00:10:32.380 which I could slowly speak on.
  163. 00:10:33.360 – 00:10:34.820 Traditionally, I don't have a product.
  164. 00:10:35.220 – 00:10:36.860 At least not yet.
  165. 00:10:38.020 – 00:10:40.080 Or let's just say that's not my main focus.
  166. 00:10:43.250 – 00:10:45.470 It's all shifting.
  167. 00:10:46.830 – 00:10:48.270 And I'm building.
  168. 00:10:49.590 – 00:10:50.310 Developing.
  169. 00:10:52.080 – 00:10:54.040 That takes that constant time and progression.
  170. 00:10:59.240 – 00:11:00.020 We take time.
  171. 00:11:03.290 – 00:11:05.270 My favorite songs is
  172. 00:11:06.190 – 00:11:07.390 It's Take Time
  173. 00:11:11.360 – 00:11:12.840 by Miss Lady B.
  174. 00:11:17.470 – 00:11:28.450 My baby definitely reminds me of those creative moments
  175. 00:11:28.450 – 00:11:30.810 with my daughters, my kids.
  176. 00:11:36.890 – 00:11:39.510 And that's a journey in itself.
  177. 00:11:41.140 – 00:11:42.880 Life is literally a journey.
  178. 00:11:44.240 – 00:11:45.960 Entrepreneurship is literally a journey.
  179. 00:11:49.150 – 00:11:50.130 It's literally a journey.
  180. 00:11:57.760 – 00:12:00.140 I'd love for you to think about that.
  181. 00:12:00.920 – 00:12:04.820 The next time you may get frustrated or stuck.
  182. 00:12:05.940 – 00:12:06.560 Remember, it's a journey.
  183. 00:12:06.820 – 00:12:07.960 It's a learning process.
  184. 00:12:09.900 – 00:12:11.460 Everything is going to be perfect.
  185. 00:12:13.080 – 00:12:14.220 It's a learning process.
  186. 00:12:16.120 – 00:12:17.400 You prime your mind.
  187. 00:12:18.020 – 00:12:20.080 And get in those tough situations.
  188. 00:12:22.020 – 00:12:23.560 Just do a quick reframe.
  189. 00:12:32.950 – 00:12:34.370 But there's also preparation.
  190. 00:12:36.030 – 00:12:38.990 So avoid those things that happen.
  191. 00:12:40.590 – 00:12:41.030 Barriers.
  192. 00:12:41.470 – 00:12:42.070 Safe gates.
  193. 00:12:44.440 – 00:12:44.880 Protection.
  194. 00:12:48.790 – 00:12:49.130 Practice.
  195. 00:12:55.110 – 00:12:56.790 You got those days and time and habits.
  196. 00:13:00.940 – 00:13:02.420 But you got to push through anyway.
  197. 00:13:04.600 – 00:13:06.040 Push through the best way you can.
  198. 00:13:08.940 – 00:13:10.300 Because this is a long journey.
  199. 00:13:12.420 – 00:13:13.880 And you don't get far on the journey.
  200. 00:13:16.540 – 00:13:17.900 Because you don't remember me.
  201. 00:13:17.900 – 00:13:21.360 You don't see how far I am on my journey.
  202. 00:13:22.040 – 00:13:23.920 You don't remember me.
  203. 00:13:24.860 – 00:13:27.280 You're going to take your journey as far as you can.
  204. 00:13:27.840 – 00:13:28.860 As far as you desire.
  205. 00:13:29.560 – 00:13:31.340 As far as you can push it.
  206. 00:13:31.700 – 00:13:35.380 Inch by inch by inch by inch by mile by mile by mile.
  207. 00:13:36.880 – 00:13:37.920 By kilomiles.
  208. 00:13:39.490 – 00:13:41.010 But it grew from that inch.
  209. 00:13:43.660 – 00:13:44.360 That inch.
  210. 00:13:44.820 – 00:13:46.600 That seed in the garden.
  211. 00:13:46.980 – 00:13:48.480 It grew to blossom.
  212. 00:13:56.210 – 00:13:57.370 That flower.
  213. 00:13:58.030 – 00:13:59.030 Just from that seed.
  214. 00:13:59.350 – 00:13:59.750 It grew.
  215. 00:14:01.670 – 00:14:03.070 From that seed.
  216. 00:14:05.140 – 00:14:05.720 Incrementally.
  217. 00:14:06.120 – 00:14:06.820 Over time.
  218. 00:14:07.520 – 00:14:09.080 Over time it took that journey.
  219. 00:14:13.230 – 00:14:14.990 It gave what it gave to life.
  220. 00:14:15.450 – 00:14:16.510 To its purpose.
  221. 00:14:17.030 – 00:14:17.630 Its beauty.
  222. 00:14:18.630 – 00:14:19.430 Its triumph.
  223. 00:14:19.670 – 00:14:20.190 Its journey.
  224. 00:14:20.410 – 00:14:21.290 Its story.
  225. 00:14:22.630 – 00:14:24.050 How it communicates with the soil.
  226. 00:14:24.050 – 00:14:27.890 How that we work our feet on.
  227. 00:14:28.530 – 00:14:29.350 Like literally.
  228. 00:14:29.730 – 00:14:31.730 It's sharing that soil with us.
  229. 00:14:32.530 – 00:14:34.090 And it's giving what it gave.
  230. 00:14:35.930 – 00:14:36.750 Think about that.
  231. 00:14:38.590 – 00:14:40.150 Think about things in different life forms.
  232. 00:14:40.170 – 00:14:43.350 How they got to go through this journey.
  233. 00:14:45.540 – 00:14:48.120 Sometimes that really helped push me through.
  234. 00:14:48.140 – 00:14:49.760 I'm just showing personal insight.
  235. 00:14:50.560 – 00:14:52.160 It's probably my personal episode.
  236. 00:14:53.080 – 00:14:55.060 Like really going deep into my mind.
  237. 00:14:55.060 – 00:14:56.400 And my frameworks.
  238. 00:14:57.120 – 00:14:57.840 My mindset.
  239. 00:14:58.300 – 00:14:59.220 Thought processes.
  240. 00:15:00.000 – 00:15:02.160 I got to kind of reframe my life.
  241. 00:15:03.120 – 00:15:05.160 There's so many times.
  242. 00:15:08.740 – 00:15:10.020 Where there's situations.
  243. 00:15:10.380 – 00:15:11.000 Where it's like.
  244. 00:15:12.460 – 00:15:13.220 You have it.
  245. 00:15:13.340 – 00:15:14.780 You just have everything.
  246. 00:15:15.160 – 00:15:15.680 Outline.
  247. 00:15:15.920 – 00:15:17.680 How you want it.
  248. 00:15:18.260 – 00:15:21.560 Everything is working out perfectly seamlessly.
  249. 00:15:22.200 – 00:15:23.380 Everything is in the flow.
  250. 00:15:23.580 – 00:15:24.380 It's a natural state.
  251. 00:15:24.380 – 00:15:25.820 It's just like.
  252. 00:15:25.820 – 00:15:27.040 Crystals and glitter.
  253. 00:15:27.400 – 00:15:27.840 Shine.
  254. 00:15:29.400 – 00:15:30.760 Just perfection.
  255. 00:15:32.820 – 00:15:34.340 But then there's.
  256. 00:15:34.340 – 00:15:35.480 Opposite times.
  257. 00:15:36.480 – 00:15:37.480 There's opposite.
  258. 00:15:38.780 – 00:15:40.140 Satisfaction on the journey.
  259. 00:15:41.480 – 00:15:42.480 There's mishaps.
  260. 00:15:44.240 – 00:15:45.120 But again it happens.
  261. 00:15:45.520 – 00:15:46.960 But what are you going to do about it?
  262. 00:15:47.980 – 00:15:49.020 You know.
  263. 00:15:49.120 – 00:15:49.940 People ask me.
  264. 00:15:49.980 – 00:15:52.100 How do you stay calm in many situations.
  265. 00:15:52.100 – 00:15:53.240 It's purely that.
  266. 00:15:53.380 – 00:15:54.460 Just really staying calm.
  267. 00:15:56.600 – 00:15:58.120 Really staying focused.
  268. 00:15:59.540 – 00:15:59.780 Like.
  269. 00:15:59.840 – 00:16:00.760 Yeah it's tough. It's rough.
  270. 00:16:00.960 – 00:16:02.300 It hurts emotionally.
  271. 00:16:02.500 – 00:16:03.880 It's a beating.
  272. 00:16:04.580 – 00:16:05.620 You get flustered.
  273. 00:16:05.800 – 00:16:08.260 But you don't want to live in that fluster.
  274. 00:16:08.420 – 00:16:09.620 You really got to change.
  275. 00:16:10.520 – 00:16:11.420 Stay focused.
  276. 00:16:11.620 – 00:16:12.160 With the mindset.
  277. 00:16:12.460 – 00:16:13.400 Like okay I got to get a job.
  278. 00:16:14.220 – 00:16:15.620 Not just working right now.
  279. 00:16:15.620 – 00:16:16.820 But okay.
  280. 00:16:18.020 – 00:16:18.880 Just take a step back.
  281. 00:16:19.400 – 00:16:20.620 Take a break from it.
  282. 00:16:20.700 – 00:16:21.980 Then come back.
  283. 00:16:23.260 – 00:16:24.080 Take a walk.
  284. 00:16:24.780 – 00:16:25.840 Yeah scream.
  285. 00:16:27.180 – 00:16:29.620 Take deep breaths and come back to it.
  286. 00:16:30.940 – 00:16:31.560 Walk away.
  287. 00:16:32.100 – 00:16:32.700 Then you come back.
  288. 00:16:34.200 – 00:16:35.820 Like I said this is a very impressive episode.
  289. 00:16:37.260 – 00:16:37.600 But.
  290. 00:16:37.720 – 00:16:39.760 It was just on my mind to share it.
  291. 00:16:40.240 – 00:16:41.720 And really want to encourage.
  292. 00:16:42.260 – 00:16:42.900 My network.
  293. 00:16:42.900 – 00:16:43.980 My tribe.
  294. 00:16:44.240 – 00:16:44.860 My listeners.
  295. 00:16:46.640 – 00:16:47.920 Everybody who follows me.
  296. 00:16:48.080 – 00:16:49.420 Every one person in my life.
  297. 00:16:50.340 – 00:16:51.700 Whether they're my mentee.
  298. 00:16:51.720 – 00:16:53.100 Or I'm into one of them.
  299. 00:16:53.480 – 00:16:54.500 Whether it's a coach.
  300. 00:16:54.660 – 00:16:56.180 Or it's a business partner.
  301. 00:16:57.100 – 00:16:58.820 Family, friends, loved ones.
  302. 00:16:58.840 – 00:16:59.980 People that just know me.
  303. 00:17:00.400 – 00:17:01.600 People that know about my business.
  304. 00:17:01.700 – 00:17:03.140 My brand. My creativity.
  305. 00:17:03.380 – 00:17:04.839 My art. My work.
  306. 00:17:05.880 – 00:17:07.940 I already just stumbled across this episode.
  307. 00:17:08.880 – 00:17:10.359 Just my voice.
  308. 00:17:10.640 – 00:17:12.099 My present.
  309. 00:17:12.480 – 00:17:13.540 Positive mindset.
  310. 00:17:17.780 – 00:17:17.960 But.
  311. 00:17:18.400 – 00:17:19.480 It's a journey.
  312. 00:17:22.190 – 00:17:23.810 And um. Yeah.
  313. 00:17:25.410 – 00:17:27.230 Gotta do something with the.
  314. 00:17:27.230 – 00:17:28.170 With the fam.
  315. 00:17:29.190 – 00:17:29.610 So.
  316. 00:17:34.470 – 00:17:35.850 Relaxing in the hot tub.
  317. 00:17:36.450 – 00:17:38.990 And bathtub.
  318. 00:17:48.070 – 00:17:50.350 Very personal and you know.
  319. 00:17:50.490 – 00:17:52.670 Let me know in the comments or in the email.
  320. 00:17:54.070 – 00:17:55.070 If you got my
  321. 00:17:55.070 – 00:17:56.490 Personal number and text messages.
  322. 00:17:56.690 – 00:17:58.370 Really how you like this.
  323. 00:17:58.710 – 00:18:00.150 Personal style.
  324. 00:18:02.400 – 00:18:03.900 And should I.
  325. 00:18:03.960 – 00:18:05.320 Aim more towards.
  326. 00:18:06.320 – 00:18:08.700 You know personal insights. My personal journal.
  327. 00:18:09.500 – 00:18:10.760 My personal thoughts.
  328. 00:18:14.830 – 00:18:16.110 You know you might take it.
  329. 00:18:16.190 – 00:18:17.070 More in that direction.
  330. 00:18:20.070 – 00:18:21.930 You know there's a lot of insight.
  331. 00:18:24.400 – 00:18:25.000 And wisdom.
  332. 00:18:26.060 – 00:18:27.240 Within me. But.
  333. 00:18:28.520 – 00:18:29.380 It's all about.
  334. 00:18:30.480 – 00:18:31.520 How it's communicated.
  335. 00:18:32.360 – 00:18:32.840 What's.
  336. 00:18:36.000 – 00:18:36.480 Needed.
  337. 00:18:41.290 – 00:18:42.210 Helping someone.
  338. 00:18:42.810 – 00:18:44.430 What if they don't need help in that way.
  339. 00:18:46.290 – 00:18:47.750 What if they don't need help on this.
  340. 00:18:52.420 – 00:18:53.380 Something else.
  341. 00:18:59.660 – 00:19:00.620 But yeah.
  342. 00:19:01.600 – 00:19:02.560 Contact me.
  343. 00:19:08.220 – 00:19:09.420 Aiming at photos.
  344. 00:19:18.370 – 00:19:19.990 Alright y'all. Let's get out this water.
  345. 00:19:21.150 – 00:19:22.110 Stay tuned.
  346. 00:19:22.930 – 00:19:25.250 I won't be right if I don't add my tag.
  347. 00:19:25.290 – 00:19:27.110 Especially if this is your first time listening.
  348. 00:19:27.110 – 00:19:28.030 So.
  349. 00:19:29.350 – 00:19:30.930 Visit alien eyes.
  350. 00:19:31.210 – 00:19:33.330 Photos. And that's alien eyes.
  351. 00:19:33.330 – 00:19:35.190 With a z photos. With a s.
  352. 00:19:36.090 – 00:19:37.510 Alien eyes photos.
  353. 00:19:38.310 – 00:19:39.210 Dot com.
  354. 00:19:40.570 – 00:19:41.250 And you could
  355. 00:19:41.250 – 00:19:42.950 Just scroll to the bottom.
  356. 00:19:43.630 – 00:19:45.190 If you want to contact me.
  357. 00:19:46.130 – 00:19:47.410 Or if you have an idea.
  358. 00:19:47.970 – 00:19:49.030 If you want to collab.
  359. 00:19:49.150 – 00:19:50.130 If you want to work.
  360. 00:19:51.010 – 00:19:52.290 If you need a bit of photography.
  361. 00:19:53.810 – 00:19:54.910 If you need video production.
  362. 00:19:55.870 – 00:19:57.090 If you need a podcast.
  363. 00:19:57.870 – 00:19:58.910 These tips.
  364. 00:20:00.250 – 00:20:00.990 You know.
  365. 00:20:01.770 – 00:20:02.910 Eventually I will have.
  366. 00:20:05.230 – 00:20:06.630 A 30 minute session.
  367. 00:20:08.070 – 00:20:09.590 You know tailor to your needs.
  368. 00:20:12.660 – 00:20:13.900 That's really uh.
  369. 00:20:14.140 – 00:20:14.660 Elevate.
  370. 00:20:17.890 – 00:20:19.570 And the show notes.
  371. 00:20:20.810 – 00:20:21.950 There will be the booking link.
  372. 00:20:22.050 – 00:20:23.050 But again.
  373. 00:20:23.470 – 00:20:24.350 If you're listening.
  374. 00:20:25.410 – 00:20:26.850 And not able to go to the show notes.
  375. 00:20:26.850 – 00:20:28.830 Visit alien eyes.
  376. 00:20:29.050 – 00:20:30.850 Photos. Dot com.
  377. 00:20:32.170 – 00:20:32.310 Again.
  378. 00:20:32.530 – 00:20:34.970 Alien eyes. Photos. Dot com.
  379. 00:20:37.590 – 00:20:38.330 That's a blessing.
  380. 00:20:38.890 – 00:20:40.270 Stay blessed. Stay motivated.
  381. 00:20:42.070 – 00:20:42.430 Again.
  382. 00:20:44.710 – 00:20:46.210 See y'all on the next episode.
  383. 00:20:46.950 – 00:20:47.510 Peace.

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85. Ep. 6 Value and Economic Cost w/ Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 6

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:02.960 – 00:00:12.100 welcome welcome back welcome back to alien eyes photos industry talk everyone
  2. 00:00:12.100 – 00:00:22.040 this is episode 6 we are journaling audio journaling audio blogging or we
  3. 00:00:22.040 – 00:00:31.760 call it podcasting yes episode 6 of alien eyes photos industry talk I am
  4. 00:00:31.760 – 00:00:39.940 moving like a train like a locomotive they may say in episode 6 I would like
  5. 00:00:39.940 – 00:00:48.370 to talk about value let's talk about value and now if you're tuning in for
  6. 00:00:48.370 – 00:00:52.930 the first time I like to keep these episodes pretty short close to 23
  7. 00:00:52.930 – 00:01:00.050 minutes like the old-school TV shows 23 minutes and a 30-minute time slot on
  8. 00:01:00.050 – 00:01:08.410 TV not counting commercials so yeah let's just jump right into it value now
  9. 00:01:08.410 – 00:01:14.550 they say value is the importance the worth the desirability the measure of
  10. 00:01:14.550 – 00:01:22.150 something beneficial and standards principles and usefulness in our
  11. 00:01:22.150 – 00:01:27.570 usefulness let's say some may also say it is their beliefs are what is
  12. 00:01:27.570 – 00:01:36.250 right or wrong value optimally guides decisions and then if you remember in
  13. 00:01:36.250 – 00:01:41.890 episode 3 titled decision-making where I broke down decisions and the
  14. 00:01:41.890 – 00:01:46.970 importance of decision-making that is a great episode to go back and check
  15. 00:01:46.970 – 00:01:56.490 out if you have not listened that's episode 3 decision-making episode 3 of
  16. 00:01:56.490 – 00:02:06.480 on decisions it's a quick juicy one a good question to ask yourself will be
  17. 00:02:06.480 – 00:02:19.520 what do you value what in life or your career do you value also to further that
  18. 00:02:19.520 – 00:02:32.200 thought what is your value so what do you value and what is your value two
  19. 00:02:32.200 – 00:02:39.860 questions to propel you in life and also your career in our entrepreneur
  20. 00:02:39.860 – 00:02:47.030 journey I like to think of the economics concept of economic costs
  21. 00:02:47.030 – 00:02:54.360 when I think of value when choosing between multiple options you're giving
  22. 00:02:54.360 – 00:03:00.980 up the potential gain of the option you don't choose it is the value of
  23. 00:03:00.980 – 00:03:09.220 but you give up when you choose one option over another going back again to
  24. 00:03:09.220 – 00:03:15.800 episode 3 when I spoke on decision-making opportunity costs is
  25. 00:03:15.800 – 00:03:21.340 purely about decision-making in your decisions that lead and guides your
  26. 00:03:21.340 – 00:03:28.560 life it weighs the advantages to the disadvantages saying yes to something
  27. 00:03:28.560 – 00:03:37.200 it's given up another thing or something else or somebody if you want
  28. 00:03:37.200 – 00:03:43.880 to take it down that road it's given up something and sacrifice for
  29. 00:03:44.500 – 00:03:50.160 something else whether that's time a resource a person place thing if you
  30. 00:03:50.160 – 00:03:55.040 go here well they're not going to be able to go there if you go to the
  31. 00:03:55.600 – 00:04:01.640 versus going to the studio well you just missed out on that studio time for
  32. 00:04:02.460 – 00:04:09.060 having fun our time with the family if you want to go out to the on a date
  33. 00:04:11.220 – 00:04:18.500 versus spending time with a family and kids well you better drop them kids
  34. 00:04:18.500 – 00:04:24.740 off and y'all go on that date are if you take in one business move versus
  35. 00:04:24.740 – 00:04:32.780 another it's a sacrifice and you have to choose and I like how episode 3 it
  36. 00:04:32.780 – 00:04:39.220 starts off with that and then it leads to this because your decisions and
  37. 00:04:39.760 – 00:04:47.020 values go together they date they couple they're in the same group in
  38. 00:04:47.020 – 00:04:52.880 the same family it's important so think about your decisions think about
  39. 00:04:52.880 – 00:05:02.420 your value and what you value another thing another man's trash is another
  40. 00:05:02.420 – 00:05:12.780 man's treasure so if I threw out let's say oh basketball card I have no use
  41. 00:05:12.780 – 00:05:17.160 for I don't it's just I don't need these no more I don't need these
  42. 00:05:17.160 – 00:05:28.600 basketball cards but little do I know it's worth ten million or ten grand or
  43. 00:05:28.600 – 00:05:33.500 even a billion or whatever the value may be to some of these cards but I
  44. 00:05:33.500 – 00:05:37.020 want to get rid of it because it's just you know I don't want a hoarder
  45. 00:05:37.020 – 00:05:40.980 and just keep all this stuff you know I want business books instead of
  46. 00:05:40.980 – 00:05:46.840 business baseball cards or basketball cards because I like basketball but
  47. 00:05:46.840 – 00:05:51.380 never owned any basketball cards I had Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh but that was you
  48. 00:05:51.380 – 00:05:57.200 know childhood never owned any sports cards no basketball no football no
  49. 00:05:57.720 – 00:06:06.720 baseball cards but yeah these basketball cards end up being ten grand ten
  50. 00:06:06.720 – 00:06:12.100 million a billion in value but I don't know it because I'm trying to
  51. 00:06:12.100 – 00:06:19.260 you know away for a couple dollars thinking oh I don't need this no more I
  52. 00:06:19.260 – 00:06:22.920 don't see the significance or importance of it I don't see the value
  53. 00:06:22.920 – 00:06:32.860 in it or doesn't have value to me but someone that collects these cards
  54. 00:06:32.860 – 00:06:39.900 these basketball cards they know the value and have value in these cards and
  55. 00:06:39.900 – 00:06:47.940 they buy it from me for pennies dollars and they know the worth and get
  56. 00:06:47.940 – 00:06:52.880 that ten grand that ten million that billion dollars whatever the worth may
  57. 00:06:53.920 – 00:06:59.320 be collectively told you I'm one of these days I'm a spit of palm well
  58. 00:06:59.320 – 00:07:05.820 just freestyle palm or a rap or something for y'all y'all gonna really
  59. 00:07:05.820 – 00:07:15.660 really really get some good behind the scenes content of me and my poetry one
  60. 00:07:15.660 – 00:07:32.460 day one of these episodes but yeah I digress so back to that another man's
  61. 00:07:32.460 – 00:07:41.470 trash is another man's treasure you do not really like money some do but you
  62. 00:07:41.470 – 00:07:49.090 don't really like money you like what money can give and provide for you you
  63. 00:07:49.090 – 00:07:55.430 like the outcome money can give you you don't really like money itself the
  64. 00:07:55.430 – 00:08:01.530 credit or the paper dollars the penny nickels dons quarters 50 cent pieces
  65. 00:08:01.530 – 00:08:09.750 you like what it can give you like the freedom the time and things of
  66. 00:08:09.750 – 00:08:22.550 nature but do you like money itself I don't think so sorry guys I'm adjusting
  67. 00:08:22.550 – 00:08:28.930 this time lapse so I have a little content for y'all as this is not
  68. 00:08:28.930 – 00:08:35.110 traditionally a video podcast this is strictly audio but gotta have some
  69. 00:08:35.110 – 00:08:40.190 content I am a video producer do a lot of video production event
  70. 00:08:40.190 – 00:08:46.570 photography so I gotta have some type of camera work what would I be if I don't
  71. 00:08:46.570 – 00:08:53.510 have any camera work and I am in this profession right but I love time lapses
  72. 00:08:53.510 – 00:08:57.070 it shows the process and the speedy time and you know a lot of people's
  73. 00:08:57.790 – 00:09:02.750 attention span is not long so kind of you know see the whole process and
  74. 00:09:02.750 – 00:09:06.650 the short amount of time shout outs to the time lapse and whoever made
  75. 00:09:06.650 – 00:09:17.310 time lapses another concept I would like to bring up let's talk about cars
  76. 00:09:17.310 – 00:09:23.670 speaking about more cards let's let's talk about the game of cards let's
  77. 00:09:23.670 – 00:09:28.830 talk about blackjack and my last name is Jackson hence photographer Jackson
  78. 00:09:28.830 – 00:09:40.210 photographer Jackson so blackjack it's definitely close not the founding what
  79. 00:09:40.210 – 00:09:46.870 they say creator of the game but it's close to my name oh my goodness one of
  80. 00:09:46.870 – 00:09:52.890 these days I'm gonna spit a poem for y'all it's just natural I'm sorry no I'm not sorry but it's
  81. 00:09:54.450 – 00:10:00.950 sorry for the weight that's what I want to say but going to blackjack I like to
  82. 00:10:00.950 – 00:10:08.710 say never split tens so I always think about that never split tens that's a
  83. 00:10:08.710 – 00:10:21.750 ten a queen a king a jack king queen jack or ten never split tens a blackjack
  84. 00:10:21.750 – 00:10:30.070 metaphor to the second highest hand after 21 it is a classic game of 21 or
  85. 00:10:30.070 – 00:10:37.310 the closest to the number 21 without going over with the value cards of 10
  86. 00:10:37.890 – 00:10:45.930 each which is 20 I would never statistically gamble or sacrifice the
  87. 00:10:46.530 – 00:10:57.540 second closest to a winning hand with 20 yes I would never split tens and
  88. 00:10:58.040 – 00:11:04.120 sacrifice the second closest to a winning card hand with 20 only to
  89. 00:11:04.120 – 00:11:13.010 hope for two more chances of 20 take the 20 while you have it most people
  90. 00:11:13.010 – 00:11:25.980 experience and be bold because they want to experiment and be greedy and split
  91. 00:11:25.980 – 00:11:32.160 the value ten cards and hopes to get another ten value card back to back
  92. 00:11:32.160 – 00:11:42.080 when there is a two or three or four or five or six seven eight nine
  93. 00:11:42.080 – 00:11:49.920 yes nine eight seven six five four three and two value cards as well which
  94. 00:11:49.920 – 00:11:56.360 is a higher chance of receiving one of those cards versus another ten value
  95. 00:11:56.360 – 00:12:07.150 card statistically or normally with 52 cards per deck there are 16 value
  96. 00:12:07.790 – 00:12:16.770 ten so 16 chances to receive a ten value card minus the two tens you
  97. 00:12:16.770 – 00:12:24.450 already have which would be 14 chances out of 52 plus another four chances of
  98. 00:12:24.450 – 00:12:36.320 receiving an ace which is a value of one or a value of 11 card with a ten
  99. 00:12:36.320 – 00:12:42.720 it is automatically 21 so you have an ace and a ten it's automatically 21 if you
  100. 00:12:43.200 – 00:12:48.300 get that dealt first that's a blackjack if not you just have 21 you
  101. 00:12:48.300 – 00:12:52.200 win a little bit more on a natural blackjack if you dealt that first but
  102. 00:12:52.200 – 00:12:59.000 if you split tens you just win even money but the chances are slim with
  103. 00:12:59.000 – 00:13:09.590 28 value cards lower than a ten which is that two to nine so again
  104. 00:13:09.590 – 00:13:19.720 never split tens take that 20 because the chances are slim again 28 value
  105. 00:13:19.720 – 00:13:27.720 cards are lower than ten which are two through nine and is most likely to
  106. 00:13:27.720 – 00:13:36.600 happen then splitting tens and receiving another ten or an ace another
  107. 00:13:36.600 – 00:13:42.740 analogy for it is splitting or breaking up two powerful leaders that
  108. 00:13:42.740 – 00:13:49.200 complement and work well together dividing them have the reverse momentum
  109. 00:13:49.200 – 00:14:04.230 and go directly downhill this is why I always suggest never split ten never
  110. 00:14:04.230 – 00:14:15.070 split tens just check my backup audio says it paused deal with that a
  111. 00:14:15.070 – 00:14:19.010 little later as long as I got this I should be fine so I'm gonna keep
  112. 00:14:19.750 – 00:14:28.160 speaking more on the value going back to what do you value what is your value
  113. 00:14:28.160 – 00:14:36.460 and I know I can speak about me well let's start with music and poetry I
  114. 00:14:37.400 – 00:14:43.900 did a lot of open mics which is you know I had to pay to perform and then
  115. 00:14:43.900 – 00:14:49.000 I end up knowing my value as the more and more more I did these open
  116. 00:14:49.000 – 00:14:55.560 and you know I looked at it as practice and I started performing and hosting and
  117. 00:14:55.560 – 00:15:08.400 touring which is fun but at the time a lot of money for poets wasn't wasn't
  118. 00:15:08.400 – 00:15:16.740 higher or at least the markets I was in they were not lucrative to have a
  119. 00:15:16.740 – 00:15:27.480 which was definitely ago and I could have got there but I used to pull out
  120. 00:15:27.480 – 00:15:33.000 my phone take pictures and record others on my iPhone shoutouts to Apple
  121. 00:15:33.000 – 00:15:38.580 Apple iPhones and then send it to them and I'm like why not just invest in
  122. 00:15:38.580 – 00:15:42.780 a camera and once I invest in a camera I never look back I started
  123. 00:15:42.780 – 00:15:48.820 studying taking courses watching videos doing masterminds had a couple mentors
  124. 00:15:48.820 – 00:15:58.080 luckily to a sale my path in the media visual media with photography and now I
  125. 00:15:58.080 – 00:16:02.320 specialize in event photography a lot of video production podcast
  126. 00:16:02.320 – 00:16:06.820 production a lot of behind the scenes work so if you need some behind the
  127. 00:16:06.820 – 00:16:11.240 scenes content or if you need content creation in general definitely
  128. 00:16:11.240 – 00:16:17.440 let me know you know send me a message visit alien eyes photos dot com or you
  129. 00:16:17.440 – 00:16:23.860 can follow me on social media at alien eyes photos dot com and that's eyes
  130. 00:16:23.860 – 00:16:29.680 like your eyeballs with a Z and photos like the pictures with an S alien eyes
  131. 00:16:29.680 – 00:16:39.520 photos yeah and then going started my company alien eyes photos media you
  132. 00:16:39.520 – 00:16:45.760 used to do a lot of free events just on my own will just to practice make
  133. 00:16:45.760 – 00:16:53.520 sure I got you know all my ducks in a row eggs in a basket and then I started
  134. 00:16:53.520 – 00:16:58.340 with $50 photo shoots now this is not events to just strictly portrait
  135. 00:16:58.340 – 00:17:05.180 photo shoots and headshots over time you know slowly increased that but
  136. 00:17:05.180 – 00:17:12.400 for the longest I was $50 but $50 now I can't do anything I can't pay
  137. 00:17:12.400 – 00:17:18.880 I could barely pay myself in which you know a lot of the revenue that I did
  138. 00:17:18.880 – 00:17:29.120 incur or gain obtain no pain no gain in my first two years I didn't pay
  139. 00:17:29.120 – 00:17:35.220 myself at all you know I wanted strictly for my business you know for
  140. 00:17:35.220 – 00:17:39.580 my business to grow and all the software I have to pay for you know if
  141. 00:17:39.580 – 00:17:44.880 I hire you know contract people out you know of course I got to pay them so
  142. 00:17:44.880 – 00:17:51.840 staff you know all the help the systems a lot of that is the programs
  143. 00:17:51.840 – 00:17:56.300 even the education a lot of that cost and so I was just reinvesting in
  144. 00:17:56.300 – 00:18:03.150 myself and you know I haven't took a penny from my business and so long I
  145. 00:18:03.740 – 00:18:07.600 paid myself once in these first three years and I'm still not paying
  146. 00:18:07.600 – 00:18:18.740 myself so I do have a nine-to-five job to sustain myself my bills and my other
  147. 00:18:18.740 – 00:18:29.420 obligations and family stuff I had to pay for bills finances taxes expenses
  148. 00:18:29.420 – 00:18:40.210 you know this goes on emergency stuff so yeah working a job some too but I'm
  149. 00:18:40.210 – 00:18:48.590 like I cannot do two jobs and run a podcast this is before I started my own
  150. 00:18:48.590 – 00:18:53.670 podcast before I started alien eyes photos industry talk I am the proud
  151. 00:18:53.670 – 00:18:59.130 producer creative director over at the pull up experience to pull up
  152. 00:18:59.130 – 00:19:07.530 podcast and the pull up experience is the premier entrepreneur elevation group
  153. 00:19:07.530 – 00:19:16.880 here in Cleveland Ohio definitely my production partners and media and then
  154. 00:19:16.880 – 00:19:22.000 to further extend I am in launch arts media shout out to launch arts
  155. 00:19:22.000 – 00:19:29.100 media my other production partners we do a lot of video production a lot of
  156. 00:19:29.100 – 00:19:34.400 events a lot of green screen work so if you really want that big production I
  157. 00:19:34.800 – 00:19:40.020 have an extended team at launch arts media definitely contact them or me
  158. 00:19:40.020 – 00:19:45.680 because I am a part of the team and yeah we could get you handled with
  159. 00:19:45.680 – 00:19:52.620 all your media needs but again increasing that volume starting at 50
  160. 00:19:52.620 – 00:20:01.320 and now I'll say transparently my hourly rate which I try not to charge
  161. 00:20:01.320 – 00:20:07.240 hourly but it breaks down and people relate to that the most which
  162. 00:20:07.240 – 00:20:11.080 calculates about three hundred dollars an hour so you could do with
  163. 00:20:11.080 – 00:20:16.520 math and I know weddings it could be a little bit more but for an event
  164. 00:20:16.520 – 00:20:23.440 typically three hundred dollars an hour photos could be a little less video
  165. 00:20:23.440 – 00:20:28.960 could be a little more but average is about three hundred dollars an hour now
  166. 00:20:28.960 – 00:20:35.560 I will tell you this for those who want to book me if I don't have to
  167. 00:20:35.560 – 00:20:44.000 edit it would be a lot less cheaper for you trust me I incentivize those
  168. 00:20:44.000 – 00:20:47.960 who do not want me to edit because that's just I love my time and it was
  169. 00:20:47.960 – 00:20:52.380 like okay I show up for the event or do the photo shoot or whatever and then
  170. 00:20:52.380 – 00:20:56.980 I got to go home I go to the office go to the studio and sit behind a
  171. 00:20:56.980 – 00:21:01.560 computer and edit when I could just give you the files right there if you
  172. 00:21:01.560 – 00:21:07.220 have an inside editor or someone you work with or you do a lot of video
  173. 00:21:07.220 – 00:21:13.360 editing you put videos together yourself you just need the footage oh I'm your
  174. 00:21:13.360 – 00:21:20.340 if I just got to shoot it I am there and I'm be excited about it because all
  175. 00:21:20.340 – 00:21:25.780 I got to do is film or take the photos and send it to you and that's
  176. 00:21:25.780 – 00:21:31.300 just me knowing my value of time like I could do two or three events versus
  177. 00:21:31.300 – 00:21:36.640 one and not to edit you know all of this stuff and that's why a lot of
  178. 00:21:36.640 – 00:21:41.460 photographers videographers charge more because it's it takes time to edit
  179. 00:21:41.460 – 00:21:46.400 it's more time than the event and the photo shoot the little details that the
  180. 00:21:46.400 – 00:21:53.040 chops it's it's a lot trust me we don't just be saying these prices just to
  181. 00:21:53.040 – 00:21:58.260 say these prices you know it's also you know our expertise this is our
  182. 00:21:58.260 – 00:22:04.420 cameras our lighting like all this equipment our training the time on a
  183. 00:22:04.420 – 00:22:08.400 back end a time on the front end these these pre to cause the
  184. 00:22:08.400 – 00:22:13.900 discovery cause going down the rabbit hole with all the list of things we have
  185. 00:22:13.900 – 00:22:17.420 to do and I have a long list and I really have it and I do send it out
  186. 00:22:17.420 – 00:22:25.860 for those that ask for it because it's a lot but again know my value if
  187. 00:22:25.860 – 00:22:33.870 if I don't have to edit I will gladly send it to you right then and
  188. 00:22:33.870 – 00:22:40.210 there within 224 hours usually I say 48 just to be good but 24 hours
  189. 00:22:41.370 – 00:22:47.330 but also don't be putting filters not speak for myself but I know a lot of
  190. 00:22:47.330 – 00:22:50.330 photographers they don't like you putting filters on their work especially if
  191. 00:22:50.330 – 00:22:55.560 they edit it already don't put a filter on it but if you don't know
  192. 00:22:55.560 – 00:22:59.820 how to edit just just just be a front because we don't want you just
  193. 00:22:59.820 – 00:23:05.880 messing up our work are you because you know we want you to look good and
  194. 00:23:05.880 – 00:23:14.440 be a visual representation of yourself again that's knowing your value now some
  195. 00:23:14.440 – 00:23:22.330 of the things I value like I said it's time now I want you to reflect what do
  196. 00:23:22.330 – 00:23:29.430 you value again time is one of my biggest freedom is one of my biggest
  197. 00:23:30.350 – 00:23:39.210 love I value those things community coaching event photography I value
  198. 00:23:39.210 – 00:23:45.550 those things I look at myself as a historian document a time document a
  199. 00:23:45.550 – 00:23:52.050 history and that's why I love it when people contact me like oh I want you
  200. 00:23:52.050 – 00:23:57.670 to be there at my event to document everything and I'm like everything well
  201. 00:23:57.670 – 00:24:02.050 what's important what are the things you value and we kind of limit it down to
  202. 00:24:02.050 – 00:24:07.310 that and I capture it of course I capture the extra are the good moments
  203. 00:24:07.310 – 00:24:11.450 the fun times the experiences the essence of the event the story telling
  204. 00:24:11.450 – 00:24:21.720 I cater it I document I'm a real visual historian so again if you want
  205. 00:24:21.720 – 00:24:28.260 to book me I am photographer Jackson of alien eyes photos visit alien eyes
  206. 00:24:28.260 – 00:24:37.640 photos calm that's eyes with a Z photos with an S alien eyes photos calm and
  207. 00:24:37.640 – 00:24:44.760 follow me on all social media platforms alien eyes photos and yes
  208. 00:24:44.760 – 00:24:52.100 this has been a great one episode 6 of alien eyes photos industry talk we are
  209. 00:24:52.660 – 00:25:00.020 yeah thank you for tuning in again if you like this go over and listen to the
  210. 00:25:00.020 – 00:25:05.120 pull-up experience podcast on all streaming platforms our current
  211. 00:25:06.640 – 00:25:11.640 episodes release on YouTube we're catching up with the audio and trust me
  212. 00:25:11.640 – 00:25:17.080 I'm among the team like we got to get this audio how much surpassed y'all
  213. 00:25:17.080 – 00:25:29.140 we have at the time of this recording almost at episode 300 so yeah I'm doing
  214. 00:25:30.640 – 00:25:35.320 up my daughter just walked in hey baby you good you good you want to say hey
  215. 00:25:35.320 – 00:25:41.160 to everybody while you're here you say as she gets all right I mean I'm
  216. 00:25:41.160 – 00:25:45.840 actually closing out the episode so this would be good timing for you you
  217. 00:25:45.840 – 00:25:53.560 want to say hey to everybody hey say what's up all right yeah we're closing
  218. 00:25:53.560 – 00:25:59.900 now episode 6 of alien eyes photos industry talk well you'll spend time my
  219. 00:25:59.900 – 00:26:04.920 daughter relax while I can get something to eat and chill and I am
  220. 00:26:04.920 – 00:26:17.360 out I'm your host photographer Jackson of alien eyes photos this has been a
  221. 00:26:23.730 – 00:26:28.470 thank you thank you thank you and remember your value and remember your
  222. 00:26:28.470 – 00:26:28.730 worth

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86. Ep. 5 - Mental Hygiene With Meditation And Prayer w/ Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 5

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.000 – 00:00:09.420 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, welcome, welcome, welcome to another edition of Alien Eyes.
  2. 00:00:11.180 – 00:00:15.500 Mental hygiene with meditation and prayer.
  3. 00:00:18.010 – 00:00:23.350 Now, as I speak about mental hygiene, you may wonder what is that?
  4. 00:00:24.690 – 00:00:31.750 Well, you know what your mental is and some, or at least most, may know what hygiene is.
  5. 00:00:33.890 – 00:00:35.670 But some do not.
  6. 00:00:39.920 – 00:00:49.120 But for simple terms, it's the cleanse of your mental mind, your inner body, your inner soul.
  7. 00:00:50.580 – 00:00:55.300 Wash your thoughts and clear your mind just like you have to clear your laundry.
  8. 00:00:57.320 – 00:01:04.280 Wash, dry, hang it up, fold it up until it's ready to be worn again.
  9. 00:01:07.020 – 00:01:11.380 Buy a hand-me-down store or donation-based store.
  10. 00:01:13.240 – 00:01:17.460 You have to wash it, a thrift store. You have to wash it before you wear it. At least you should.
  11. 00:01:19.080 – 00:01:23.480 You don't know how many people tried it on and where their life has been before they did.
  12. 00:01:24.680 – 00:01:31.150 So just like your mind, I speak a lot about sitting in silence.
  13. 00:01:31.150 – 00:01:36.430 And I challenge you all, at least for ten minutes a day, to sit in silence.
  14. 00:01:37.090 – 00:01:43.850 Do nothing. No background noise. Isolate yourself. Have that time to yourself.
  15. 00:01:44.130 – 00:01:48.980 Wash your soul. And I like to do that with meditation.
  16. 00:01:51.480 – 00:01:56.660 Try to silence what I call my monkey mind. My thoughts be everywhere, jumping everywhere.
  17. 00:01:59.220 – 00:02:03.540 Thinking a million miles per hour, a trillion times sometimes.
  18. 00:02:04.780 – 00:02:10.199 I clear out, hopefully, quite a few thoughts.
  19. 00:02:11.340 – 00:02:14.580 I'll start with a blank slate. A fresh sheet of paper.
  20. 00:02:15.780 – 00:02:21.770 One thing, but I have to clear my mind first.
  21. 00:02:24.460 – 00:02:29.560 Apreneur and a creative have the honor to be both.
  22. 00:02:30.500 – 00:02:33.460 Yes, an artist, artist entrepreneur.
  23. 00:02:34.620 – 00:02:40.900 You know, my creative mind are always thinking of solutions for problems.
  24. 00:02:42.040 – 00:02:44.380 And now I'm stepping into the coaching role.
  25. 00:02:45.440 – 00:02:54.300 I'm always thinking of solutions to more problems that have arise or may arise in this season.
  26. 00:02:54.300 – 00:03:01.320 And then, you know, the people that I coach their season, you know, in the beginning stages of their business,
  27. 00:03:03.620 – 00:03:07.120 particularly photography businesses, media businesses.
  28. 00:03:07.880 – 00:03:19.660 But I work with all types of entrepreneurs and I have a knack for marketing, branding, you know, visual representation of your brand, your company.
  29. 00:03:23.220 – 00:03:26.900 And, you know, I found myself in a lot of things.
  30. 00:03:28.360 – 00:03:35.160 So instead of saying the same things, well, that's just a testament of why I started this podcast.
  31. 00:03:35.460 – 00:03:49.320 To challenge myself to be better, a better speaker, be more fluent and get my thoughts across very tactfully, very precisely, you know.
  32. 00:03:50.440 – 00:03:53.940 I had to do with speaking from time to time.
  33. 00:03:54.180 – 00:04:01.040 Now that I stopped performing, which is, you know, another form of, you know, is more arithmetic.
  34. 00:04:03.300 – 00:04:13.180 But to progress in that, that's one of the birth reasons of the podcast, the reasons it was birthed.
  35. 00:04:13.180 – 00:04:20.300 Also to journal my entrepreneurial journey, my creative journey as well.
  36. 00:04:21.320 – 00:04:36.620 And to assist other, you know, beginning entrepreneurs, beginning creators, especially in a media business, a general business podcast, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses.
  37. 00:04:36.620 – 00:04:46.660 I'm in a media space, so a lot of this will kind of be biased to the media, but, you know, you can grab some jewels in this space.
  38. 00:04:47.080 – 00:04:53.440 Or even if you're working with a media company, you may want to, you know, get a feel of how a media company may work.
  39. 00:04:53.540 – 00:04:57.880 This would be a good opportunity for you to tune in and gain some insights.
  40. 00:04:57.880 – 00:05:10.240 And now we think, or you book us, or, you know, if you're going to book me directly, you can reach me at alien eyes photos dot com.
  41. 00:05:10.600 – 00:05:21.360 That's alien eyes with a Z, photos with a S dot com, alien eyes photos dot com, like the eyeballs.
  42. 00:05:23.120 – 00:05:25.700 Aliens on my website, especially videos.
  43. 00:05:26.320 – 00:05:32.100 I got a link to my photography portfolio. It's honestly outdated.
  44. 00:05:32.200 – 00:05:37.420 So if you like that, you would really like current style. It's about two and a half years old, honestly.
  45. 00:05:38.200 – 00:05:47.900 But I do a lot of work, so I really do not know even though I should, but, you know, a lot of people been liking, you know, my older work and, you know, I've progressed.
  46. 00:05:47.900 – 00:05:52.900 So they, you know, see their finished product and it's like, wow, okay, that's definitely a step up.
  47. 00:05:54.080 – 00:05:57.680 So, yeah, it's another reason I kind of do that. It gives them that wow factor.
  48. 00:05:57.720 – 00:05:59.580 Like, oh, it's even better than I intended.
  49. 00:05:59.720 – 00:06:13.460 I'm talking to you and, you know, sharing thoughts and meeting in the middle and, you know, setting the expectation on how, you know, for video production, I may say may go or how photoshoot may go.
  50. 00:06:13.460 – 00:06:19.320 We get a clear, actionable plan step by step and what's going to happen.
  51. 00:06:19.820 – 00:06:30.720 And we really talk about the process and what to expect so we can get the final product the way that it should be.
  52. 00:06:34.300 – 00:06:35.290 Sorry about that.
  53. 00:06:38.270 – 00:06:46.850 Really, you know, especially with your brand, you want to hone in on what you're, I want to say selling.
  54. 00:06:46.850 – 00:06:51.470 But in a sense, selling to your audience because you're selling yourself, you're selling your brand.
  55. 00:06:52.550 – 00:07:00.310 So just making sure every message we convey is precise before we do any photography or any video.
  56. 00:07:00.590 – 00:07:02.950 Let's get a general understanding of that.
  57. 00:07:03.030 – 00:07:04.590 Let's bring that to the forefront.
  58. 00:07:05.130 – 00:07:08.670 And that's how we will frame each video or even the pictures.
  59. 00:07:09.230 – 00:07:11.710 I focus on most, mostly events.
  60. 00:07:12.630 – 00:07:19.710 But I do a lot of headdots and portraits and brand and shoots outside of video production and podcasting.
  61. 00:07:21.970 – 00:07:24.350 So it kind of varies.
  62. 00:07:24.670 – 00:07:28.430 I have a wide array of tools under my belt.
  63. 00:07:29.010 – 00:07:31.070 I come from a creative background.
  64. 00:07:32.570 – 00:07:36.590 So I like to blend all that together.
  65. 00:07:37.050 – 00:07:38.410 That's my personal sauce.
  66. 00:07:38.430 – 00:07:39.830 That's my personal style.
  67. 00:07:39.830 – 00:07:46.930 And I've been around for about, hmm, let's think about this.
  68. 00:07:51.040 – 00:07:54.600 Officially in business with my media company, it's 2025.
  69. 00:07:54.860 – 00:08:06.170 But in business in general and having this entrepreneurial mindset, it's close to close to 10 years give or take.
  70. 00:08:08.400 – 00:08:10.720 I was mostly an artist growing up.
  71. 00:08:10.720 – 00:08:13.000 I didn't know too much about the business side.
  72. 00:08:13.020 – 00:08:14.300 I knew I had to learn it.
  73. 00:08:15.040 – 00:08:19.900 My mother used to always say you count those pennies and put them in a wrapper.
  74. 00:08:20.280 – 00:08:24.440 You know, you had that 50 cent penny wrappers.
  75. 00:08:24.540 – 00:08:29.200 I usually really sort my coins out and put them all in line.
  76. 00:08:30.320 – 00:08:31.600 I thought I was going to go into accounting.
  77. 00:08:31.660 – 00:08:33.260 I'm good with numbers. I love numbers.
  78. 00:08:33.360 – 00:08:34.080 I love math.
  79. 00:08:34.380 – 00:08:37.510 But I stick to my creative background.
  80. 00:08:37.510 – 00:08:45.760 I started song writing and then started performing years later after having quite a few studio tracks.
  81. 00:08:47.070 – 00:08:51.510 I have a lot of music, a lot of records that I never publicly release.
  82. 00:08:52.410 – 00:08:55.570 The rough drives, songs that didn't be recorded.
  83. 00:08:55.890 – 00:09:03.630 So many songs that I've written, choruses, ideas, poems, unfinished poems, published poems and books.
  84. 00:09:03.630 – 00:09:07.150 I have In Love Words by Steven D. Jackson.
  85. 00:09:07.170 – 00:09:11.230 That's N-I-N, love, words.
  86. 00:09:11.990 – 00:09:14.470 That's volume one and then also volume two.
  87. 00:09:14.650 – 00:09:17.910 It's all about love, poems and the representation of love.
  88. 00:09:18.590 – 00:09:24.950 Then I have Dark Ages Engraved, the e-book and audio book is available.
  89. 00:09:27.390 – 00:09:30.370 Yeah, Dark Ages Engraved by Steven D. Jackson.
  90. 00:09:30.950 – 00:09:35.170 Kind of has some good celebrity reviews.
  91. 00:09:35.430 – 00:09:36.690 Megan Good was one of them.
  92. 00:09:37.010 – 00:09:40.810 I definitely, you know, that's an honor.
  93. 00:09:41.370 – 00:09:42.690 So, you know, I'm applaud.
  94. 00:09:43.230 – 00:09:44.430 I'm happy. I'm grateful.
  95. 00:09:46.050 – 00:09:47.070 What else?
  96. 00:09:48.130 – 00:09:53.790 As I, you know, clear my mind before I, I'm going to do a short meditation in this episode.
  97. 00:09:54.810 – 00:09:58.970 Actually, I like to do that now before I further the episode.
  98. 00:10:00.030 – 00:10:04.250 You know, I like to start my deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth.
  99. 00:10:05.030 – 00:10:07.190 In with the good, out with the bad.
  100. 00:10:07.490 – 00:10:13.550 Inhale through your nose, out through your mouth.
  101. 00:10:14.570 – 00:10:15.530 Again, into your nose.
  102. 00:10:31.700 – 00:10:33.900 How do you calm your nerves, calm your thoughts?
  103. 00:10:37.520 – 00:10:38.840 Silence your background.
  104. 00:10:40.060 – 00:10:41.280 Silence your environment.
  105. 00:10:42.420 – 00:10:44.880 Silence your headspace and start to relax.
  106. 00:10:48.110 – 00:10:49.070 Take a deep breath.
  107. 00:11:17.410 – 00:11:26.050 Before I finish the episode, I do a quick prayer to higher power within.
  108. 00:11:28.690 – 00:11:30.310 I am grateful for being blessed.
  109. 00:11:30.510 – 00:11:31.910 I am grateful for being alive.
  110. 00:11:32.450 – 00:11:34.430 I am very thankful for my life.
  111. 00:11:35.650 – 00:11:37.230 I am grateful for my existence.
  112. 00:11:37.590 – 00:11:48.990 I'm grateful for my knowledge, my wisdom, my thoughts, my mind, my business, my expertise, my skills, my talents, my charming personality,
  113. 00:11:48.990 – 00:12:01.370 my calmness, my calm mind, my great strategic thoughts, my powerful mindset, my direction of life, my family, my daughters,
  114. 00:12:02.910 – 00:12:09.150 my loved ones, my friends, my colleagues, business partners, podcasting partners.
  115. 00:12:10.350 – 00:12:16.810 I am grateful for LaunchArts Media, which I am here recording in this space today.
  116. 00:12:16.810 – 00:12:27.650 Definitely check out LaunchArtsMedia.com, AllThingsMedia, and I could say also shout out to the podcast and partners.
  117. 00:12:28.190 – 00:12:35.310 And I am honored to be the creative director and producer of The Pull Up Experience, an entrepreneur podcast.
  118. 00:12:35.430 – 00:12:43.510 So if you like this podcast, you will really, really, really love our interview style podcast over at The Pull Up Experience.
  119. 00:12:44.070 – 00:12:47.350 Definitely check out if you're going to number 300.
  120. 00:12:48.450 – 00:12:54.810 And I don't expect you to check it all 300, but if you're up to the challenge, go ahead.
  121. 00:12:55.630 – 00:13:05.670 But you know, we have quite a few ranging topics that we discuss with many people from the entrepreneurial space and different industries.
  122. 00:13:05.670 – 00:13:07.810 And I like to cover different industries.
  123. 00:13:08.630 – 00:13:15.330 You may hear a real estate investor, you may hear an engineer, you know, every once in a blue moon.
  124. 00:13:16.550 – 00:13:19.850 But I like to, you know, focus on business-based industries.
  125. 00:13:24.090 – 00:13:26.770 And I'll say, a man, a woman.
  126. 00:13:29.420 – 00:13:38.340 Yeah, wildly to say myself, I never heard, you know, I have too much positive thoughts in my head.
  127. 00:13:38.340 – 00:13:42.240 I don't have many positive thoughts going on in my brain.
  128. 00:13:43.000 – 00:13:43.780 I don't hear that.
  129. 00:13:43.960 – 00:13:49.650 I typically hear negative thoughts and false beliefs, fear, and everything in between.
  130. 00:13:51.720 – 00:13:56.260 Negative thoughts cause clutter, like literally clutter your minds.
  131. 00:13:56.440 – 00:14:00.160 Filthy. It's so much going on in my monkey brain sometimes.
  132. 00:14:01.040 – 00:14:02.980 It creates division and separation.
  133. 00:14:05.890 – 00:14:07.430 Learn new thought processes.
  134. 00:14:08.010 – 00:14:12.770 Because if you change your story, you change how you live your life.
  135. 00:14:16.810 – 00:14:20.390 If you change your story, you change how you live your life.
  136. 00:14:21.510 – 00:14:23.130 Your thoughts control your actions.
  137. 00:14:24.950 – 00:14:36.130 This is also why we, if we clutter our minds, we lose sight of what is really, you know, needed the most.
  138. 00:14:37.070 – 00:14:43.590 Taking in too much unnecessary information, I may say, unnecessary, key word, unnecessary information.
  139. 00:14:44.590 – 00:14:52.130 Taking in too much unnecessary information and general knowledge that is not useful, especially immediately.
  140. 00:14:57.120 – 00:15:07.480 Compared to what your life considered of the steps that you will need to take or may want to take the desired next steps.
  141. 00:15:07.480 – 00:15:10.520 Having no action is not progressive.
  142. 00:15:11.800 – 00:15:19.040 Focus on the right thoughts to get you the proper action to display those thoughts and actions become positive habits.
  143. 00:15:21.690 – 00:15:32.110 So yeah, the right thoughts will lead to the proper actions for you to display or act out on.
  144. 00:15:33.390 – 00:15:37.810 But first, you should start your positive habits early.
  145. 00:15:42.240 – 00:15:46.360 Start your positive habits early and secure smaller wins first.
  146. 00:15:47.440 – 00:15:53.620 Every day you should bathe, brush your teeth, and put on fresh clothes. At least you should.
  147. 00:15:55.080 – 00:15:59.120 Breakfast is essential and making your bed are simple.
  148. 00:15:59.520 – 00:16:04.080 But early in the day wins that are compounded by positive habits.
  149. 00:16:05.180 – 00:16:15.870 Live the transformation you wish to seek. Live the transformation you wish to seek.
  150. 00:16:19.590 – 00:16:30.050 Going back to those positive thoughts and as you sit in silence, as you meditate, as you calm your body, calm your mind, calm your nerves.
  151. 00:16:30.750 – 00:16:38.170 Take your deep breaths with positive thoughts, positive environment, positive circumstances.
  152. 00:16:39.170 – 00:16:56.850 With positive results and working with me, I will help you get your mindset together before we dive into a higher level coaching program.
  153. 00:16:56.850 – 00:17:01.670 I don't think you can jump right into it, but it's going to cost you.
  154. 00:17:05.250 – 00:17:14.150 I do want to help you guide you in the right direction or to have that, I call it entrepreneur venting.
  155. 00:17:15.630 – 00:17:18.869 Help you talk it out. Sometimes you just need someone to talk it out with.
  156. 00:17:19.470 – 00:17:27.230 But if you want more a year or almost every week, once a week type of coaching,
  157. 00:17:28.690 – 00:17:41.230 I definitely have some programs and plans we can talk about and discuss based off what you need.
  158. 00:17:41.850 – 00:17:48.950 I focus on mindset, on branding and marketing for your business and brand.
  159. 00:17:49.130 – 00:17:52.430 When I used to be an artist in the music and poetry industry,
  160. 00:17:53.030 – 00:18:01.610 now I know how they should start their business and give them different ideas on how they should market different products they could have.
  161. 00:18:03.850 – 00:18:15.370 I love them and see them thrive and really live in their dream and desire and passion and what they really want to do in life, what they're good at.
  162. 00:18:16.370 – 00:18:27.860 They deserve it, but I love working with entrepreneurs in the media space and business have an impact on the public.
  163. 00:18:28.880 – 00:18:34.700 We elevate positive stories, as simple as that. That's the tagline, elevating positive stories.
  164. 00:18:35.620 – 00:18:39.840 I love highlighting brands with positive stories.
  165. 00:18:42.900 – 00:18:46.240 That's just the testament to the pull-up experience, the podcast.
  166. 00:18:47.760 – 00:18:56.000 We're positive stories and as they elevate our audience, they also elevate us and we elevate them as well.
  167. 00:18:57.840 – 00:19:02.220 Sharing ideas and insights and just learning about their journey and story.
  168. 00:19:05.890 – 00:19:11.410 I can say my podcast is a sibling podcast.
  169. 00:19:11.410 – 00:19:19.950 We further the conversation and dig deeper inside your business podcast because we turn inward.
  170. 00:19:23.090 – 00:19:33.820 At the pull-up experience, we bring your story, a little bit of your personality, but with mine we go more deeper, more inside.
  171. 00:19:34.320 – 00:19:39.160 We can talk a little bit of numbers. We can really have a little coaching session live.
  172. 00:19:39.160 – 00:19:43.660 You may be coaching me, I may be coaching you, or we may be coaching our audience.
  173. 00:19:44.800 – 00:19:48.160 We're a little combination of the two, so definitely feel inspired.
  174. 00:19:53.180 – 00:19:59.040 Space, my own mind frame, have calm thoughts as you intake this information.
  175. 00:19:59.760 – 00:20:05.780 Go back and listen to the mindset episodes 1 and 2.
  176. 00:20:05.780 – 00:20:12.720 Number 1 is mindset and expectations, 2 is abundance mindset, 3 is decision-making.
  177. 00:20:12.840 – 00:20:17.340 So I'll wrap you for this episode 5 and also for and also the rest of the podcast.
  178. 00:20:20.460 – 00:20:27.980 As we start to wrap, as near my 23 minutes, take time for yourself as I mentioned earlier on this podcast.
  179. 00:20:29.220 – 00:20:33.640 Don't forget to take deep breaths, especially when you're feeling high levels of anxiety.
  180. 00:20:34.240 – 00:20:39.200 Or before a big task, or before a big meeting, or before public speaking.
  181. 00:20:40.700 – 00:20:48.510 You know, take a couple minutes to you. Really, just breathe in, breathe out.
  182. 00:20:50.050 – 00:20:56.550 Start to focus, focus your mind, silence your mind, silence your ringer, silence your thoughts, silence your environment.
  183. 00:20:58.760 – 00:21:00.300 Declutter your mind.
  184. 00:21:02.080 – 00:21:09.640 And this has been Mental Hygiene with Meditation and Prayer, well received by you.
  185. 00:21:10.720 – 00:21:20.740 Again, this is an audio-based introspective business podcast that's geared towards 23 minutes per episode,
  186. 00:21:20.880 – 00:21:24.580 like the old school TV shows in a 30-minute segment.
  187. 00:21:25.620 – 00:21:29.880 So, if you're driving, on your way to work, on your way to pick up the kids,
  188. 00:21:30.220 – 00:21:34.020 this is a good way to tune into these short but meaty episodes.
  189. 00:21:34.740 – 00:21:39.920 It's only getting better, my speaking will only be getting better, my quality will only be getting better over time.
  190. 00:21:40.320 – 00:21:46.960 As you listen and grow with my progressive journey, you will be developed as well.
  191. 00:21:47.500 – 00:21:52.180 You will be my thoughts, my experiences and skills and wisdom.
  192. 00:21:52.180 – 00:21:58.800 We could grow together and don't be afraid to reach out to collab.
  193. 00:21:59.500 – 00:22:03.080 You can find me at alieneyesphotos.com.
  194. 00:22:03.320 – 00:22:07.040 Again, that's alieneyes with a Z, like an O.
  195. 00:22:09.740 – 00:22:16.060 Photos with an S, alieneyesphotos.com on all media.
  196. 00:22:16.160 – 00:22:21.920 And it'll be linked to the show notes and also usually at the bottom,
  197. 00:22:22.640 – 00:22:28.820 where it says podcast website, it just takes you straight there and you can find my booking information
  198. 00:22:28.820 – 00:22:36.920 if you want to book me for workshops, for conferences, for your event photos or videos.
  199. 00:22:37.800 – 00:22:43.380 I do have a small team that I work with and also my media partners, Launch Arts Media,
  200. 00:22:43.680 – 00:22:49.340 if you really want to get into the bigger productions at Launch Arts Media in Shaker, Ohio.
  201. 00:22:49.340 – 00:22:55.640 And yeah, tune in also to the Pull Up Experience podcast.
  202. 00:22:56.380 – 00:22:59.460 You can find them, Pull Up EXP.
  203. 00:23:00.000 – 00:23:03.260 That's the Pull Up EXP, short for The Pull Up Experience.
  204. 00:23:03.320 – 00:23:07.720 Check out our YouTube channel where most of our updated episodes are,
  205. 00:23:08.080 – 00:23:10.660 as we're still catching up with the audio.
  206. 00:23:11.820 – 00:23:14.760 But that's why I love this audio based podcast.
  207. 00:23:14.760 – 00:23:17.780 It helps me crank it out a little bit faster.
  208. 00:23:17.920 – 00:23:20.500 I think video kind of slows it down, you know, doing both.
  209. 00:23:21.440 – 00:23:24.760 Sometimes I look at the camera today and I'm just like, let's just press record.
  210. 00:23:26.020 – 00:23:27.980 I had some time to relax a little bit before this.
  211. 00:23:28.340 – 00:23:35.560 I promise y'all, episode three I was dog tired, like almost 30 plus hours up,
  212. 00:23:35.880 – 00:23:38.380 no sleep, just working and grinding.
  213. 00:23:39.420 – 00:23:44.740 But I promised to Ebo that there will be times I sound like that, nice and tired.
  214. 00:23:44.760 – 00:23:48.320 And had long days, sleepless nights, sleepless days.
  215. 00:23:48.420 – 00:23:51.820 But I'm still going to push through and give y'all, you know, what I can.
  216. 00:23:52.080 – 00:23:54.820 You know, it might be a shorter episode, which that one was.
  217. 00:23:56.060 – 00:24:01.380 But I'd rather give you a little something, a little nugget of insight or wisdom
  218. 00:24:01.380 – 00:24:05.760 that may help you on your journey, focusing on rest.
  219. 00:24:06.260 – 00:24:09.940 A lot more this year, I promise, I promise you, I promise you.
  220. 00:24:10.860 – 00:24:15.700 But to help me get more rest, you got to book me.
  221. 00:24:16.880 – 00:24:19.100 Yeah, trying to get discounts all the time.
  222. 00:24:19.240 – 00:24:23.680 Because if I'm booked with so many things to do,
  223. 00:24:23.720 – 00:24:25.920 because everybody wants to ask for a discount,
  224. 00:24:26.000 – 00:24:31.620 then I can't really, you know, pay myself, pay my staff, pay my business partners.
  225. 00:24:33.680 – 00:24:38.920 And, you know, travels and gas, my basic needs of life, food,
  226. 00:24:38.920 – 00:24:44.140 X, Y, Z, if those needs can't be met and, you know, taken care of,
  227. 00:24:44.760 – 00:24:47.900 then I'm going to have to do a little bit more work.
  228. 00:24:48.720 – 00:24:53.920 Yeah, so that's going to take time away from me sleeping, resting, and counterproductive.
  229. 00:24:55.900 – 00:24:58.180 And productivity goes down.
  230. 00:24:59.300 – 00:25:03.620 So, yeah, don't be afraid to book me at my normal rate.
  231. 00:25:04.040 – 00:25:06.420 Always ask or look for a discount.
  232. 00:25:06.420 – 00:25:15.260 But I do barter, so that may be a way to cut the price down without cutting the price, you know.
  233. 00:25:15.460 – 00:25:23.600 I will exchange services and, you know, it may be a little monetary and, you know, give me a rest and exchange.
  234. 00:25:24.300 – 00:25:29.220 So that's a way to learn lowering the cost with the barter system.
  235. 00:25:30.180 – 00:25:35.720 Have money, have service, and yeah, I'm big on that.
  236. 00:25:36.420 – 00:25:37.880 Community and collaboration.
  237. 00:25:38.960 – 00:25:43.660 So, yeah, again, if you want to book me, check out ni'sphotos.com.
  238. 00:25:45.000 – 00:25:50.640 And, yeah, I'm here for all things events, whether if you need help setting up,
  239. 00:25:51.660 – 00:25:54.500 and you need help with your audio, of course, your visuals,
  240. 00:25:55.800 – 00:26:02.520 with event photography, video production, video recaption of the whole entire event.
  241. 00:26:03.560 – 00:26:08.520 Events is my niche. I also do weddings, I do coaching, podcasting,
  242. 00:26:09.220 – 00:26:14.960 whether if you need photo documentation or video production for your podcast.
  243. 00:26:15.140 – 00:26:16.580 I will help you with your podcast.
  244. 00:26:16.640 – 00:26:20.560 I have a team that will get your podcast in the right direction.
  245. 00:26:20.800 – 00:26:24.240 Or if you need some guidance for a one-on-one,
  246. 00:26:24.380 – 00:26:30.240 just to get your wheels burning and turning and that fuel underneath you going,
  247. 00:26:31.100 – 00:26:34.000 contact ni'sphotos.com.
  248. 00:26:34.280 – 00:26:38.080 And this has been another episode, great episode,
  249. 00:26:39.720 – 00:26:49.550 of Alien Eyes Photos Media presenting Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  250. 00:26:50.170 – 00:26:55.460 And this is episode five, mental hygiene.
  251. 00:26:56.690 – 00:26:58.210 Mental hygiene, I love that.
  252. 00:26:58.210 – 00:27:03.990 And, yeah, until next week, until next time, stay blessed.
  253. 00:27:04.350 – 00:27:06.350 Peace, love, and blessings.
  254. 00:27:08.110 – 00:27:14.050 Yes, yes, yes, Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk five.
  255. 00:27:15.070 – 00:27:16.430 Tell me how you like it, sure.
  256. 00:27:16.670 – 00:27:21.290 Some feedback and follow me at alieneyesphotos.com
  257. 00:27:21.290 – 00:27:26.210 and also my website, alieneyesphotos.com.
  258. 00:27:26.210 – 00:27:34.590 And that's eyes with a Z, photos with a S, Alien Eyes Photos,
  259. 00:27:35.170 – 00:27:39.850 expert photographer Jackson, also Stephen D. Jackson.
  260. 00:27:40.950 – 00:27:42.310 I am signing out.
  261. 00:27:43.070 – 00:27:48.510 I am done under my 30 minutes, but more than 20.
  262. 00:27:48.830 – 00:27:51.770 So my challenge for the day is over with.
  263. 00:27:51.890 – 00:27:54.310 Thank you for tuning in to another episode.
  264. 00:27:54.310 – 00:27:58.490 This has been great. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
  265. 00:27:58.810 – 00:27:59.290 Peace.

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87. Ep. 4 Offers with Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 4

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:01.010 – 00:00:06.990 Welcome, welcome, welcome back to Alienize Industry Talk.
  2. 00:00:07.870 – 00:00:12.060 Yeah, all things media.
  3. 00:00:12.680 – 00:00:17.060 Peace is coming soon as I dive deeper into those episodes.
  4. 00:00:18.440 – 00:00:22.280 But like I said, welcome back to Alienize Photos Industry Talk.
  5. 00:00:22.540 – 00:00:27.760 I'm in episode four and I'm going to speak about offers real quick, just real quick.
  6. 00:00:29.000 – 00:00:30.880 So let's speak about offers.
  7. 00:00:31.940 – 00:00:36.520 And I feel like you should make an offer at least once a day, make an offer.
  8. 00:00:38.840 – 00:00:40.220 So that's seven offers a week.
  9. 00:00:40.380 – 00:00:43.840 So if you skip a day, do two or three in a day.
  10. 00:00:44.460 – 00:00:46.280 Just make one a day like a vitamin.
  11. 00:00:47.580 – 00:00:49.220 Make an offer a day.
  12. 00:00:49.460 – 00:00:51.180 Can you do that? I challenge you to do that.
  13. 00:00:52.180 – 00:00:55.300 So if you skip a day, double up, triple up.
  14. 00:00:56.000 – 00:01:03.960 But you should make one offer a day or tell someone what you do, what services you provide, what products you provide.
  15. 00:01:04.200 – 00:01:06.460 How can you help them? How can you assist?
  16. 00:01:07.700 – 00:01:10.180 Yeah, this is going to be a nice short episode.
  17. 00:01:10.200 – 00:01:12.500 I just want to speak to you about the importance of offers.
  18. 00:01:13.600 – 00:01:22.100 And no one will book you or buy what you have to offer if you don't offer them or know and explain what you do.
  19. 00:01:22.100 – 00:01:26.420 Like me, I am an event photographer, also do coaching.
  20. 00:01:26.980 – 00:01:28.340 I am podcasting.
  21. 00:01:28.420 – 00:01:35.100 I'm a director and producer of the creative branding brand.
  22. 00:01:37.980 – 00:01:42.560 I just realized that I hadn't released the name to the public.
  23. 00:01:43.420 – 00:01:51.100 So, yeah, I have another podcast with collaborating of overflow studio, Miss Brianna Casanova.
  24. 00:01:51.100 – 00:01:54.020 So, yeah, that's definitely coming soon.
  25. 00:01:54.420 – 00:02:05.860 But again, director, producer of Pull Up Experience podcast, entrepreneur elevation group here in Cleveland, Ohio,
  26. 00:02:06.340 – 00:02:12.260 as we interview a lot of entrepreneurs and small businesses around the city of Cleveland and Ohio.
  27. 00:02:12.700 – 00:02:15.300 But we're not limited to that location.
  28. 00:02:15.780 – 00:02:16.960 We're worldwide.
  29. 00:02:17.180 – 00:02:18.000 We're national.
  30. 00:02:18.000 – 00:02:19.100 Yeah, I guess we're global.
  31. 00:02:19.320 – 00:02:19.920 We're national.
  32. 00:02:20.120 – 00:02:20.920 We're just right.
  33. 00:02:22.120 – 00:02:28.340 And we pop up at different events and conferences, interview, you know, your guest, self, the host, the organizer,
  34. 00:02:28.360 – 00:02:36.520 and who else you may need us to cover, again, site from feedback and testimonials and promotion.
  35. 00:02:40.010 – 00:02:42.670 But we spoke about our offers.
  36. 00:02:44.450 – 00:02:49.270 Again, my one on one coaching session, just two hours.
  37. 00:02:49.270 – 00:02:53.070 Five hundred dollars, two hours for five hundred dollars.
  38. 00:02:53.170 – 00:02:57.730 And this is this is February two thousand twenty five.
  39. 00:02:57.830 – 00:02:59.890 So the price would definitely go up.
  40. 00:02:59.890 – 00:03:04.790 But that's my introductory rate for two hours of coaching this for starters.
  41. 00:03:04.950 – 00:03:11.710 But you want to put together a more inclusive package for yourself, your brand, your business.
  42. 00:03:12.890 – 00:03:14.350 Talk about those numbers.
  43. 00:03:14.550 – 00:03:18.170 But let's start off at two hours or five hundred dollars.
  44. 00:03:18.170 – 00:03:20.910 I offer you that or anyone listening in.
  45. 00:03:20.990 – 00:03:24.530 Thank you for tuning in to this podcast episode.
  46. 00:03:24.570 – 00:03:27.150 And you must mention this to get that offer.
  47. 00:03:27.170 – 00:03:29.950 This is a podcast exclusive offer.
  48. 00:03:30.710 – 00:03:34.730 Two hours for five hundred dollars, five hundred dollars for two hours.
  49. 00:03:35.450 – 00:03:36.670 Yes, coaching.
  50. 00:03:36.910 – 00:03:38.050 Pick my brain.
  51. 00:03:38.110 – 00:03:44.770 If you want to entrepreneur vent, you know, we don't have many spaces to vent as entrepreneurs and small businesses.
  52. 00:03:45.370 – 00:03:47.050 Yeah, you know, pick my brain.
  53. 00:03:47.050 – 00:03:52.130 Let's come up with some strategies and some plans, put some action and systems to place.
  54. 00:03:52.750 – 00:03:53.590 Let's do that.
  55. 00:03:54.730 – 00:04:00.690 So I offer you my coaching session for two hours or we could go further.
  56. 00:04:00.710 – 00:04:05.890 Or if you need an event photographer or video production, definitely contact me.
  57. 00:04:05.890 – 00:04:08.790 We could talk about rates and what meet your budget.
  58. 00:04:09.470 – 00:04:13.410 But yeah, I have day rates, have day rates.
  59. 00:04:15.110 – 00:04:18.190 Currently, they're increasing.
  60. 00:04:18.269 – 00:04:19.230 I was going to say that.
  61. 00:04:19.829 – 00:04:25.470 But they're quite affordable for my quality talent, skill and price point.
  62. 00:04:28.650 – 00:04:31.370 And again, I challenge you to make an offer.
  63. 00:04:31.810 – 00:04:36.290 Make an offer once a day or seven days a week.
  64. 00:04:36.710 – 00:04:40.230 If you get all said one day per week, then that's fine.
  65. 00:04:40.650 – 00:04:42.430 That's 28 offers a month.
  66. 00:04:42.430 – 00:04:45.790 Let's just make it a 30 offers for the month.
  67. 00:04:47.090 – 00:04:50.090 And yeah, let's see where it takes you.
  68. 00:04:50.210 – 00:04:56.950 You know, see if you really get more business and, you know, sales by offering more.
  69. 00:04:56.950 – 00:05:00.650 But once a day, I challenge you that and I challenge myself.
  70. 00:05:01.030 – 00:05:04.010 So if I contact you, this is a challenge.
  71. 00:05:04.350 – 00:05:11.350 And I would definitely send us out to my network and my mentees and those who I coach.
  72. 00:05:11.350 – 00:05:16.170 I'll definitely send them this episode until making an offer strategy is important.
  73. 00:05:16.790 – 00:05:18.750 I'm just going to leave it at that.
  74. 00:05:19.290 – 00:05:22.450 Make an offer at least once a day.
  75. 00:05:22.710 – 00:05:24.670 What do you offer? What do you do?
  76. 00:05:25.190 – 00:05:27.430 Tell someone or two.
  77. 00:05:29.430 – 00:05:36.670 You have listened to Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk with Mr. Photographer Jackson.
  78. 00:05:36.670 – 00:05:43.810 Yes, yes, that's Stephen D. Jackson, also known as Photographer Jackson in the media industry.
  79. 00:05:45.050 – 00:05:49.290 CEO and creative director of Alien Eyes Photos Media.
  80. 00:05:49.930 – 00:05:52.510 And to book me and for more information,
  81. 00:05:53.430 – 00:06:02.590 Alieneyesphotos.com, that's Alien Eyes with a Z, Photos with an S, Alieneyesphotos.com.
  82. 00:06:03.070 – 00:06:09.290 And Alien Eyes Photos on all platforms, or most of them at least, all the major ones.
  83. 00:06:10.270 – 00:06:13.470 And check out my booking links.
  84. 00:06:13.470 – 00:06:28.870 If you need event photography, event video coverage, video production, podcast, mentorship, coaching, speaking engagements, workshops.
  85. 00:06:29.850 – 00:06:32.970 Yeah, contact me, Photographer Jackson's been out here working.
  86. 00:06:34.550 – 00:06:39.410 So thank you for tuning in to episode four, offers on.
  87. 00:06:39.410 – 00:06:43.410 Yes, that's Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk.
  88. 00:06:43.710 – 00:06:45.070 All things media.
  89. 00:06:46.010 – 00:06:47.210 Thank you for tuning in.
  90. 00:06:47.270 – 00:06:49.170 This has been a great short one.
  91. 00:06:50.530 – 00:06:51.970 Under 10 minutes.
  92. 00:06:52.250 – 00:06:54.590 Yeah, it's my first one under 10 minutes besides my trailer.
  93. 00:06:55.370 – 00:06:57.390 And thank you for tuning in to this episode.
  94. 00:06:57.770 – 00:06:59.030 We are out.
  95. 00:06:59.870 – 00:07:00.390 Peace.
  96. 00:07:01.590 – 00:07:03.630 Take care. Have a blessed one. Peace, love and blessings.
  97. 00:07:04.210 – 00:07:05.270 Make those offers.

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88. Ep. 3 Decision Making with Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 3

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:02.130 – 00:00:11.010 welcome welcome welcome back everybody welcome to alien eyes photos industry
  2. 00:00:11.010 – 00:00:20.210 talk this is episode 3 I want to thank you all for listening in tuning in and
  3. 00:00:20.870 – 00:00:29.700 joining me in this journey you know I am very thankful I'm very blessed yeah
  4. 00:00:29.700 – 00:00:37.700 let's jump right into it it's gonna be a real quick episode I I've been up 20 30
  5. 00:00:37.700 – 00:00:47.480 plus hours basically since yesterday been filming since 10 a.m. so yeah I
  6. 00:00:47.480 – 00:00:52.600 definitely want to jump into it had a lot going on today had to knock it out
  7. 00:00:52.600 – 00:01:01.080 and I still wanted to give energy towards this podcast and give some
  8. 00:01:01.080 – 00:01:06.160 insight so I definitely want to honor my word and push through no matter how
  9. 00:01:06.160 – 00:01:12.680 tired I am I am very tired you may have heard the previous episodes me a
  10. 00:01:12.680 – 00:01:19.420 lot of energetic sometimes it would be like this where I'm just tired but
  11. 00:01:19.420 – 00:01:25.500 episode 3 I would definitely want to speak about a subject that's very very
  12. 00:01:25.500 – 00:01:34.600 important and that's decision-making decisions are the most important
  13. 00:01:34.600 – 00:01:44.030 navigation tool in your life and certainly mine as well simply by
  14. 00:01:44.030 – 00:01:48.970 making the decision you are saying yes to one thing if you're saying yes to
  15. 00:01:48.970 – 00:01:56.180 one thing you're saying no to another so have you take that have
  16. 00:01:56.180 – 00:02:07.410 you received that that's that also look at the word decision you know kind of
  17. 00:02:07.410 – 00:02:15.150 break it down as die decision you break it up with division die vision two
  18. 00:02:15.150 – 00:02:22.250 visions and you really got to decide between one or two divide it up and
  19. 00:02:22.850 – 00:02:51.980 and let me one moment everybody while I'm still doing this I've been up all
  20. 00:02:51.980 – 00:03:05.510 day but yeah that's neither here or there but again decisions is really
  21. 00:03:07.720 – 00:03:15.940 considering considerations and trying not to use the word decide but you
  22. 00:03:15.940 – 00:03:21.940 really deciding on something you're figuring out something you're
  23. 00:03:21.940 – 00:03:33.540 identifying something you're doing your analysis what are the facts and you
  24. 00:03:33.540 – 00:03:40.880 bring that up on also knowledge and you really choosing something choosing
  25. 00:03:40.880 – 00:03:51.070 aside choosing an idea choosing a direction decision-making is one of
  26. 00:03:51.070 – 00:03:57.730 the most important things in life I call it the most important navigation
  27. 00:03:57.730 – 00:04:13.870 tool the most important navigation tool how do you think about that hmm no one
  28. 00:04:13.870 – 00:04:35.130 took another deep breath for that one remember the quote told y'all mom I'm
  29. 00:04:35.130 – 00:04:43.130 poor they didn't even know it in my first ever novel once upon a time yes
  30. 00:04:43.130 – 00:04:51.010 once upon a time by Stephen D Jackson check that out wherever you find your
  31. 00:04:51.010 – 00:04:58.550 books it's a e-book and then I believe it's an audio audio book and also the
  32. 00:04:59.650 – 00:05:08.070 paperback that's it definitely support me in that arena my first novel after
  33. 00:05:08.070 – 00:05:15.810 that it came out with a bunch of poetry books ebooks so if you like poetry I
  34. 00:05:16.450 – 00:05:21.630 have some about life in general and the struggles and challenges and the
  35. 00:05:21.630 – 00:05:31.070 pain and how to overcome that and then also a series of love forms which was
  36. 00:05:32.170 – 00:05:44.390 inspired back in the day but I had to decide on what I wanted to write decide
  37. 00:05:44.390 – 00:05:51.130 on what I wanted to put in a book decide on how I wanted to express
  38. 00:05:51.130 – 00:05:59.030 myself to the world you know I had to go deep within and sometimes you have
  39. 00:05:59.030 – 00:06:03.890 to really take that quiet time I spoke about it in a previous episode go
  40. 00:06:03.890 – 00:06:11.140 back and check it out how a quiet time is important you know that meditation
  41. 00:06:11.140 – 00:06:17.380 that silence being in your head being your thoughts being in your mind to
  42. 00:06:17.380 – 00:06:24.060 really figure out what is the best decision for you this isn't decision
  43. 00:06:24.060 – 00:06:32.700 making is a skill I'm sorry it is a great skill you need to practice and
  44. 00:06:34.920 – 00:06:41.300 otherwise you you might make the wrong decision and wrong decisions lead you
  45. 00:06:41.300 – 00:06:48.540 to bad places and bad direction leads you to who knows you what but we want
  46. 00:06:48.540 – 00:06:55.820 to focus on the positive and continue to have great decisions really sit
  47. 00:06:55.820 – 00:07:01.380 down and write and map out you know what's in your head what's sweet what's
  48. 00:07:01.380 – 00:07:11.580 your thoughts and really hone in on it focus but again I didn't want it to be
  49. 00:07:11.580 – 00:07:19.040 long-winded today I'm tired but wanted to still push through and yeah
  50. 00:07:19.040 – 00:07:27.300 hit record and I promise I'll be back in my energetic self in the next
  51. 00:07:27.300 – 00:07:39.780 episode but I am tired y'all I've been up almost two days straight but I made
  52. 00:07:39.780 – 00:07:47.220 that decision too so whose fault is that mine but it was all worth it and
  53. 00:07:47.220 – 00:07:51.020 it was a good energy and you know everything I was doing is positive so
  54. 00:07:51.700 – 00:07:56.860 and really making an impact for something you know major bar a few
  55. 00:07:56.860 – 00:08:02.140 things that are making an impact so it's multiple things that's the reason
  56. 00:08:02.140 – 00:08:09.820 I've been up for two days so I don't want to tuck your ears off today and
  57. 00:08:09.820 – 00:08:14.560 yeah I feel like the words are not coming out the way that I really want
  58. 00:08:14.560 – 00:08:22.900 to but you could always tune in follow subscribe do all that good
  59. 00:08:22.900 – 00:08:30.520 stuff follow me on all social media at alien eyes photos that's at alien eyes
  60. 00:08:30.820 – 00:08:39.600 eyes with a Z photos with a S alien eyes photos eyes like your eyeballs and
  61. 00:08:40.280 – 00:08:48.880 alien eye player calm for my music and poetry and alien eyes photos for
  62. 00:08:50.920 – 00:08:57.820 media that's event photography video production coaching consulting and any
  63. 00:08:57.820 – 00:09:03.980 visual marketing and media definitely give me a call give me you know send me
  64. 00:09:03.980 – 00:09:10.060 an email send me a message book me if you want to start a podcast I have
  65. 00:09:10.060 – 00:09:17.180 the team for you look I do a lot of things you might just want to contact
  66. 00:09:17.180 – 00:09:21.760 me because it's something that I may not list or something that I forget
  67. 00:09:21.760 – 00:09:27.820 about that I could really assist you with and the entrepreneurial creative
  68. 00:09:27.820 – 00:09:37.140 realm business marketing arts like those are my sectors and I could
  69. 00:09:37.140 – 00:09:41.240 really assist me even weddings I talk about weddings a lot I'm gonna still
  70. 00:09:41.240 – 00:09:44.940 talk about weddings I love weddings there's a peak of someone's love or
  71. 00:09:44.940 – 00:09:51.040 two people's love so yeah I definitely love that and we'll love to get married
  72. 00:09:51.040 – 00:09:58.980 one day stay tuned I'm missing something oh tune in to the pull up
  73. 00:09:58.980 – 00:10:03.820 experience podcast the number one elevation entrepreneur elevation group
  74. 00:10:03.820 – 00:10:11.010 in Cleveland we're coming world for the world I don't know see I'm tired
  75. 00:10:11.010 – 00:10:17.230 but yeah definitely check out the podcast the pull-up experience mainly on
  76. 00:10:17.230 – 00:10:24.450 YouTube we're updating the audio because we're kind of stuck at like 140 150 but
  77. 00:10:24.450 – 00:10:31.370 we have almost 300 episodes they definitely got me outlet but I'm the
  78. 00:10:31.370 – 00:10:37.120 creative director and lead photographer for the pull-up experience I
  79. 00:10:37.120 – 00:10:41.340 love my entrepreneur team my family we're doing amazing things we're doing
  80. 00:10:41.340 – 00:10:47.920 amazing events we're doing our own events covering events we're really
  81. 00:10:47.920 – 00:10:54.460 doing a lot when we're also teaching we're hosting our own workshops getting
  82. 00:10:54.460 – 00:10:59.400 booked to speak at different workshops and conferences so it's been amazing
  83. 00:11:00.340 – 00:11:10.880 and follow the pull-up experience on social media at the pool up e XP that's
  84. 00:11:10.880 – 00:11:15.920 the pull-up e XP and you will find the pull-up experience on all media and
  85. 00:11:16.520 – 00:11:21.240 the pull-up experience under YouTube you could check us out live and catch
  86. 00:11:21.240 – 00:11:26.900 some of our great interviews with amazing entrepreneurs and changemakers
  87. 00:11:26.900 – 00:11:34.420 around Ohio but we also interview many many people outside of the city as we
  88. 00:11:34.420 – 00:11:42.280 travel also I want to thank launch arts media video production and media
  89. 00:11:42.280 – 00:11:50.060 partners as I am one of the leads in the video department at launch arts
  90. 00:11:50.060 – 00:11:56.460 media my media partners I am here in their space here creating recording
  91. 00:11:56.460 – 00:12:05.460 that's why my audio sounds so Chris Chris oh goodness Lordy it's time for
  92. 00:12:05.460 – 00:12:13.020 a nap but it's a big game today I'm not gonna say which game because I
  93. 00:12:13.020 – 00:12:18.400 don't want to date this but yeah I don't know if I'm even gonna catch
  94. 00:12:18.400 – 00:12:24.560 it or watch it but I'm about to get going y'all thank y'all for tuning in
  95. 00:12:24.560 – 00:12:34.640 and if you want to share this podcast out hashtag industry talk yes alien eyes
  96. 00:12:34.640 – 00:12:41.140 photos industry talk you can share it by hashtagging industry talk and tag me
  97. 00:12:41.140 – 00:12:48.120 alien eyes photos let me know how you like it give me some feedback tune in
  98. 00:12:48.120 – 00:12:57.220 check out the website alien eyes photos calm and scroll until you see the
  99. 00:12:57.220 – 00:13:04.700 request to book our you know contact me for more info I appreciate y'all as
  100. 00:13:04.700 – 00:13:15.360 always peace love and blessings I am I'm going to be a y'all piece this has
  101. 00:13:15.360 – 00:13:17.220 been a great one
  102. 00:13:18.500 – 00:13:19.020 peace

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89. Ep. 2 Abundance Mindset with Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 2

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:02.380 – 00:00:12.940 Welcome, welcome, welcome, it is your host, photographer Jackson, of Alien Eyes Photos
  2. 00:00:12.940 – 00:00:23.840 as I present to you Alien Eyes Photos Industry Talk, yes yes that's Alien Eyes Photos Industry
  3. 00:00:23.840 – 00:00:34.400 Talk, episode 2, yes I made it to another chapter as you listen in, read in on the
  4. 00:00:35.540 – 00:00:42.500 transcripts however you may intake this, this is beautiful, made it to episode 2, keep rocking
  5. 00:00:42.500 – 00:00:53.820 out with me, this is gonna be a great journey, amazing insight, amazing information, you don't
  6. 00:00:53.820 – 00:01:12.440 need to talk about it, another deep breath on there, just read in through your nose, good to take those deep breaths
  7. 00:01:12.440 – 00:01:26.950 one more time and I just feel good, just a special shout out to my broadcast and production
  8. 00:01:26.950 – 00:01:34.910 partners, Launch Arts Media, I am recording this episode in your space so if you like this
  9. 00:01:34.910 – 00:01:42.170 quality compared to my home setup, this is definitely the place to be, definitely reach
  10. 00:01:42.170 – 00:01:49.610 out to Launch Arts Media for your production, visually, orderly, if you want some strategic
  11. 00:01:50.310 – 00:01:59.810 pointers with your business, Family All Things Media, Launch Arts Media and I just happen
  12. 00:01:59.810 – 00:02:09.190 to be a part of a special place, special position by the video department, we do a lot of work
  13. 00:02:09.190 – 00:02:14.190 together so definitely stay tuned and rock with me, if you rock with me, you rock with
  14. 00:02:14.190 – 00:02:27.030 them, so let's jump right in, I want to continue from the first episode as I touched
  15. 00:02:27.030 – 00:02:38.800 on mindset, yes yes mindset, I just want to continue down that specifically, episode
  16. 00:02:38.800 – 00:02:46.400 mindset and expectations, the mindset you should have as you listen in and you will
  17. 00:02:46.400 – 00:02:55.340 take this information and listen to this podcast and then also the expectations for
  18. 00:02:55.340 – 00:03:02.700 the podcast and what you can expect, for episode two I want to dive in before I head
  19. 00:03:02.700 – 00:03:09.860 to the meeting, I had a good 20 minutes so I definitely want to knock this out, be very
  20. 00:03:09.860 – 00:03:15.520 concise and get it done in 20 minutes or less, this will be a short one but a good
  21. 00:03:15.520 – 00:03:26.640 one, let's continue on mindset, specifically the abundance mindset, now if you listen
  22. 00:03:26.640 – 00:03:33.830 to episode one you heard me speak a little about mindset as I said before, if you
  23. 00:03:33.830 – 00:03:42.610 have not, stop this current podcast episode, which is episode two and listen to the first
  24. 00:03:42.610 – 00:03:48.950 one, then come back, yeah come back after listening to episode one, come back to
  25. 00:03:48.950 – 00:04:02.760 two, to maximize the ingestion of this episode of abundance mindset, so let's
  26. 00:04:02.760 – 00:04:12.740 on mindset because it is important before everything else takes place and I read
  27. 00:04:12.740 – 00:04:22.530 this book by Stephen Covey who has quite a few good books, author of the
  28. 00:04:22.530 – 00:04:29.470 seven habits of highly effective people who speaks about having the
  29. 00:04:29.470 – 00:04:37.330 win-win character trait, let me say that again, having the win-win character
  30. 00:04:37.330 – 00:04:46.220 trait, which is a piece of having the abundance mindset, there is plenty out
  31. 00:04:46.220 – 00:04:58.230 there for everyone and we all could win, now in the last episode I spoke
  32. 00:04:58.230 – 00:05:09.850 about losses and failures, briefly, I spoke about the L's and in the
  33. 00:05:09.850 – 00:05:17.350 previous episode again, L's are not losses, they are lessons, if you
  34. 00:05:17.350 – 00:05:23.300 shape your mind frame to understand that simple fact, you would know you
  35. 00:05:23.300 – 00:05:36.720 really never lose, you really never lose, now do you always win, no, but you do
  36. 00:05:36.720 – 00:05:47.260 not lose, you actually gain wisdom, to me that is a win, that is being
  37. 00:05:47.260 – 00:05:52.680 grateful for whatever the universe provides you in your life and lifetime,
  38. 00:05:53.560 – 00:06:01.920 a great song I actually have, lifetime by alieniplayer, lifetime by alieniplayer
  39. 00:06:01.920 – 00:06:12.040 and that's what it ain't, a nice clean legacy song in the hip-hop genre, lifetime
  40. 00:06:12.040 – 00:06:19.660 by alieniplayer on all stream of platforms and also over at alieniplayer.com
  41. 00:06:19.660 – 00:06:37.140 that's a-l-i-e-n-i-p-l-a-y-a.com, alieniplayer.com, check out the rest of the
  42. 00:06:37.140 – 00:06:44.020 songs and music, nice positive and conscious, good, you know, feel-good music,
  43. 00:06:44.020 – 00:06:54.680 again positive, no profanity and good 95% of the songs, so definitely check it out,
  44. 00:06:55.260 – 00:07:01.200 some good stuff, having been in front of the mic, well that's why I love this
  45. 00:07:01.200 – 00:07:05.720 right now, in front of the mic, but you know being a hip-hop artist and
  46. 00:07:05.720 – 00:07:12.760 poet and now look I'm back on the mic podcasting, so yeah, I just channel it
  47. 00:07:12.760 – 00:07:25.060 in a different way now, it's good, they also have a quite a good reference and
  48. 00:07:25.060 – 00:07:40.700 quotes from that song that I could just blur about, my oldest daughter's favorite
  49. 00:07:40.700 – 00:07:47.100 song, shout out to Aubrey, I actually released it on her birthday, August 8th,
  50. 00:07:47.100 – 00:07:56.030 a few years back, about five years ago, and it's been a blessing, it's been a
  51. 00:07:56.030 – 00:08:25.340 journey, continue to sit with self, a lot of people can't sit with their
  52. 00:08:25.340 – 00:08:33.630 self and just hear those personal thoughts inside their head, yet they're
  53. 00:08:33.630 – 00:08:36.630 listening to it at the wrong time, when they're in public, when they're supposed to be
  54. 00:08:36.630 – 00:08:49.210 focused on other things, other people doing other tasks, but use that self
  55. 00:08:49.210 – 00:08:59.380 time to mentally talk to yourself, what are you ingesting, what is your mind
  56. 00:08:59.380 – 00:09:06.000 seeing in your mind, what is it seeing, what is causing these thoughts, what are
  57. 00:09:06.000 – 00:09:13.860 you thinking about, so be sure to sit with self, because it will help with
  58. 00:09:13.860 – 00:09:23.920 this abundance mindset, because you have to focus, the world is so loud, you
  59. 00:09:23.920 – 00:09:29.610 need that quiet time, now you see me on the mic, but I'm actually an
  60. 00:09:29.610 – 00:09:39.560 introvert, and for those who can't see me, because this is a bonus, I am a
  61. 00:09:39.560 – 00:09:44.100 videographer, photographer, media specialist, so from time to time I will
  62. 00:09:44.100 – 00:09:52.460 be on camera, but I want this strictly audio based podcast, and I may have,
  63. 00:09:52.460 – 00:09:58.240 you know, somewhere where you could see a couple videos or behind the scenes,
  64. 00:09:58.240 – 00:10:03.460 but if I do video, most of it would be just for content purposes, not just, you
  65. 00:10:03.460 – 00:10:08.040 know, not mainly for the whole episode, just a couple clips and things like
  66. 00:10:08.880 – 00:10:15.980 that, time lapses, but I want you to focus in on the audio, on what I'm
  67. 00:10:15.980 – 00:10:24.120 saying, so, and it's just a quicker setup, just audio, I could just press
  68. 00:10:24.120 – 00:10:28.580 record and use my voice, and that's that, and edit it later, versus, you know,
  69. 00:10:28.780 – 00:10:35.990 whole video and projection, and I want this to get out almost as fast as I do
  70. 00:10:35.990 – 00:10:42.170 it, with video, it just takes a lot more time, and you know, I serve clients,
  71. 00:10:42.410 – 00:10:45.810 I got my hands on a couple other things, and diving into real estate
  72. 00:10:45.810 – 00:10:50.010 investing, so, you know, I got a lot on my plate, and I think audio is the
  73. 00:10:50.010 – 00:10:55.750 best method to get a lot done for me, efficiently, in this moment, and I
  74. 00:10:55.750 – 00:11:01.770 do have other podcasts, shout out to the Pull Up Experience podcast, the
  75. 00:11:01.770 – 00:11:07.390 Entrepreneur Elevation Group here in Cleveland, Ohio, and I'm blessed to be
  76. 00:11:07.390 – 00:11:13.550 a part of, I definitely will have an episode strictly for them, shouting
  77. 00:11:13.550 – 00:11:20.240 them out, so definitely stay tuned and out, yeah, the Pull Up Experience,
  78. 00:11:20.360 – 00:11:25.020 yeah, check out the Pull Up Experience and subscribe to the podcast, we're
  79. 00:11:25.020 – 00:11:29.620 making some major moves, and you can see us at some live events, and we also host
  80. 00:11:29.620 – 00:11:36.380 events ourselves, so definitely come out, meet me at an event, meet the rest
  81. 00:11:36.380 – 00:11:46.640 of the team, yeah, I'm actually in our photos, launch our media in the
  82. 00:11:46.640 – 00:11:53.560 Pull Up Experience on the back of the current hoodie I have on, because
  83. 00:11:53.560 – 00:11:59.420 I do represent these brands, these companies, these, what now I could call
  84. 00:11:59.420 – 00:12:06.900 family, yeah, this is real, and I'm also appreciative of the people that
  85. 00:12:06.900 – 00:12:12.820 was put up to my life, and also helped me to grow this abundance
  86. 00:12:12.820 – 00:12:18.760 mindset, yes, and we all are doing amazing things, that's what matters
  87. 00:12:18.760 – 00:12:27.120 the most, so with the abundance mindset, you have to think there will always be
  88. 00:12:27.120 – 00:12:34.990 more, you know, if you collaborate, you could build much more, and that's how
  89. 00:12:34.990 – 00:12:41.320 you stay on top, you know, being generous to others, you know, it's just, the
  90. 00:12:41.320 – 00:12:46.440 energy just comes back to you when you share, other people share,
  91. 00:12:46.620 – 00:12:49.580 especially knowledge, you share knowledge, you know, share knowledge, you share
  92. 00:12:49.580 – 00:12:56.240 stuff, I share mine, oh, you want a piece of this, this food, oh, you got a piece
  93. 00:12:56.240 – 00:13:00.540 of mine, oh, yeah, let's trade off, barter, let's go back to the barter
  94. 00:13:00.540 – 00:13:10.860 system, I don't mind bartering, maybe have monetary payment, maybe, I don't
  95. 00:13:10.860 – 00:13:15.040 know, I need a massage, so you give me a massage, you know, video
  96. 00:13:15.040 – 00:13:26.300 production, and my value time is much more than the typical massage, so, I
  97. 00:13:26.300 – 00:13:31.420 still have and have, maybe two massages, and I shoot content for you, and
  98. 00:13:31.420 – 00:13:39.810 just get some pictures, let's trade off, yeah, let's see, you know, you
  99. 00:13:39.810 – 00:13:48.310 have to freely welcome others, no, let me put some disclaimers on it,
  100. 00:13:48.310 – 00:13:52.270 positive people mainly, sometimes you can't always see things, and
  101. 00:13:52.270 – 00:14:00.270 sometimes people change, but definitely follow that positive energy, and
  102. 00:14:00.270 – 00:14:05.790 welcome other people in, and freely, you know, be open, be free, and be
  103. 00:14:05.790 – 00:14:14.640 free with yourself, trust, be over poor, now this one, as I talked
  104. 00:14:14.640 – 00:14:22.460 about collaboration, it's also good to have competition, and competition
  105. 00:14:22.460 – 00:14:30.280 cannot, and should not, only be looked at as bad, because really, it's not
  106. 00:14:30.280 – 00:14:35.300 going back to that win-win, yeah, just keep that in mind, that win-win
  107. 00:14:35.300 – 00:14:42.700 mentality, and character trait, because we also talk about saturation,
  108. 00:14:42.700 – 00:14:48.000 saturation is a good thing, I mean, there's something there, but if I build
  109. 00:14:48.000 – 00:14:51.180 a hobby job, I don't even know what that is, I'm just making something up,
  110. 00:14:51.500 – 00:14:59.620 and nobody wants it, then what am I doing, but, you know, there's many
  111. 00:14:59.620 – 00:15:06.800 photographers, I could say the market is saturated, yeah, and people doing all
  112. 00:15:06.800 – 00:15:11.440 types of things with their phone now, these phones are amazing,
  113. 00:15:11.440 – 00:15:17.440 shout out to Apple, I got stock in Apple, bought some Apple products, but
  114. 00:15:17.440 – 00:15:27.160 yeah, I can speak up a lot about this abundance mindset, might have to do a
  115. 00:15:27.160 – 00:15:31.880 part two, I had to head to a meeting, so I'm gonna wrap this up real
  116. 00:15:31.880 – 00:15:41.620 quick, always strive for growth, believe your best is yet to come, that
  117. 00:15:41.620 – 00:15:48.440 would be the amazing thing when something good happens, but it's the
  118. 00:15:49.080 – 00:15:53.780 Oh my good, that's always the best feeling, always the best, I'm telling
  119. 00:15:53.780 – 00:16:03.180 you, it's a good feeling, believe your inner self and environment is
  120. 00:16:03.180 – 00:16:09.980 growing, and I like to say that, because, you know, there is an
  121. 00:16:09.980 – 00:16:15.260 environment, your inner self, your brain, your intellect, your mind,
  122. 00:16:17.400 – 00:16:27.110 now you have to think big, take ownership of change, don't back
  123. 00:16:27.110 – 00:16:32.650 away from it either, I know a lot of people that do, are just
  124. 00:16:32.650 – 00:16:38.620 comfortable, you have to sometimes live uncomfortable, a lot of times I
  125. 00:16:38.620 – 00:16:42.820 do, starting this podcast, it was definitely uncomfortable, I was
  126. 00:16:42.820 – 00:16:48.120 twiddling my thumbs for months, but I'm like, let's do it, let's
  127. 00:16:48.120 – 00:16:51.080 upload the trailer, let's get the trailer out the way, I did the
  128. 00:16:51.080 – 00:16:53.900 trailer, I'm like, okay, now it's real, now let's get it, let's
  129. 00:16:53.900 – 00:16:58.500 put some plans to action, I even got some guests set up now, so
  130. 00:16:58.500 – 00:17:03.200 definitely tune in to those interviews, some amazing people,
  131. 00:17:03.660 – 00:17:07.240 some amazing insights and wisdom, and I'm gonna kind of ask them
  132. 00:17:07.240 – 00:17:13.609 some good questions, so stay tuned, with that, remember, you
  133. 00:17:13.609 – 00:17:18.329 are always showing up for yourself, you work for you no
  134. 00:17:18.329 – 00:17:25.470 matter what, no matter what job, no matter what business, no
  135. 00:17:25.470 – 00:17:37.490 matter what brand or task, you are working for you, there are
  136. 00:17:37.490 – 00:17:43.270 countless of times I could have came in at a later time, a few
  137. 00:17:43.270 – 00:17:48.510 minutes before an event typically, but as a professional
  138. 00:17:48.510 – 00:17:54.170 event photographer, or media specialist, event specialist as
  139. 00:17:54.170 – 00:17:59.030 well, because I love a lot of events and I can assist, I
  140. 00:17:59.030 – 00:18:03.770 show up earlier than expected, this gives my clients and
  141. 00:18:04.690 – 00:18:08.590 prospective clients, the notion that this guy shows up one
  142. 00:18:08.590 – 00:18:16.430 time, and even help set up, not only sometimes I don't always
  143. 00:18:16.430 – 00:18:20.190 have to set up, but when I can I do or if I move a table
  144. 00:18:20.190 – 00:18:24.270 or a chair, you know, help with some decorations, I hold
  145. 00:18:24.270 – 00:18:29.700 a ladder, I would definitely do that, but like I said, I
  146. 00:18:29.700 – 00:18:33.920 can always help, but sometimes, because I still have to set
  147. 00:18:33.920 – 00:18:38.820 up myself and get the settings, the camera settings in
  148. 00:18:38.820 – 00:18:46.040 place, the lighting in place, explore the venue, and event
  149. 00:18:46.040 – 00:18:51.720 staging, go over the timeline, coordinate with the event
  150. 00:18:51.720 – 00:18:56.600 coordinator about changes that may have been made to
  151. 00:18:58.800 – 00:19:04.060 get my mind in order and focus on what is about to go on.
  152. 00:19:04.360 – 00:19:07.160 Because that mental, like I said, that quiet time, sitting
  153. 00:19:07.160 – 00:19:10.760 with my thoughts, it's always good for me, I'm just sitting
  154. 00:19:10.760 – 00:19:22.160 my thoughts in peace and quiet, you know, and it's
  155. 00:19:23.340 – 00:19:26.860 definitely best to always keep in contact with the event
  156. 00:19:26.860 – 00:19:31.360 coordinator, that's a few times before the event, during
  157. 00:19:31.360 – 00:19:35.800 event, sometimes after, but mainly before and during
  158. 00:19:37.400 – 00:19:41.320 weddings and events to have wedding coordinators or event
  159. 00:19:41.320 – 00:19:50.600 coordinators, OMG, oh my goodness, oh my god, that's a
  160. 00:19:50.600 – 00:19:53.900 lifesaver, truly, it makes things more organized, it's a
  161. 00:19:53.900 – 00:19:57.480 good flow, good sit, oh my goodness, and everybody that
  162. 00:19:57.480 – 00:20:01.520 wants to do these big events and weddings, get a wedding
  163. 00:20:01.520 – 00:20:04.080 planner, get an event coordinator, get a wedding
  164. 00:20:04.080 – 00:20:06.800 coordinator, it will change your life and make it
  165. 00:20:06.800 – 00:20:10.580 simple, trust the professional, just like you
  166. 00:20:10.580 – 00:20:13.360 should trust me as a photographer and videographer
  167. 00:20:13.360 – 00:20:16.460 and with your media, if I'm going to cover these
  168. 00:20:16.460 – 00:20:23.040 things, you know, hire a professional event coordinator
  169. 00:20:23.470 – 00:20:29.260 or event planner, or both will change your life,
  170. 00:20:29.660 – 00:20:33.000 sometimes they're intertwined and sometimes a company
  171. 00:20:33.000 – 00:20:38.480 may offer both, you know, have it all in one, but
  172. 00:20:38.480 – 00:20:45.670 yeah, I definitely recommend it, so always check in
  173. 00:20:45.670 – 00:20:48.590 with the coordinator for any changes that may have
  174. 00:20:48.590 – 00:20:52.750 been made, especially last minute before the event
  175. 00:20:52.750 – 00:20:56.550 starts, and always double check the timeline, is the
  176. 00:20:56.550 – 00:20:59.730 timeline still correct and updated? Yes, then you're
  177. 00:20:59.730 – 00:21:06.070 good to go, and I use that time to breathe and
  178. 00:21:06.070 – 00:21:08.870 focus what is about to go on, like I mentioned,
  179. 00:21:10.630 – 00:21:14.850 that is me showing up for myself, when you show up
  180. 00:21:14.850 – 00:21:19.670 for yourself, it is contagious, and others see and
  181. 00:21:19.670 – 00:21:27.160 witness and then want to invest in you, it's so
  182. 00:21:27.160 – 00:21:30.120 contagious and other people see and witness that
  183. 00:21:30.120 – 00:21:35.480 and want to invest in the person as myself, or
  184. 00:21:35.480 – 00:21:41.300 you, if you do things like this, be sure to show
  185. 00:21:41.300 – 00:21:44.540 up for yourself, no matter what that looks like,
  186. 00:21:47.420 – 00:21:53.200 you are the professional, because you're professional,
  187. 00:21:53.400 – 00:22:03.170 right? Only you can answer that. If you set up
  188. 00:22:03.730 – 00:22:07.270 and you are good to go, or rehearse or whatever
  189. 00:22:07.270 – 00:22:11.310 that may be in your craft or industry, and there
  190. 00:22:11.310 – 00:22:15.870 is nothing or no one to check in with, or
  191. 00:22:15.870 – 00:22:19.990 everything seems perfect, well that is extra time
  192. 00:22:19.990 – 00:22:23.830 for you, for you to do whatever you may desire,
  193. 00:22:25.430 – 00:22:28.590 have a bite to eat, meditate before an event
  194. 00:22:28.590 – 00:22:33.990 starts, this is also a great time to network, to
  195. 00:22:33.990 – 00:22:43.220 meet new individuals, businesses, pass out a few
  196. 00:22:43.220 – 00:22:46.680 business cards and shake some hands, I told you
  197. 00:22:46.680 – 00:22:51.940 I used to be a poet, you know, so to my 23
  198. 00:22:51.940 – 00:22:54.060 marks, I'm going to definitely wrap it up, I got
  199. 00:22:54.440 – 00:22:58.820 an event, meeting to go to, got quite a few
  200. 00:22:58.820 – 00:23:01.760 things today, so definitely thank you for
  201. 00:23:01.760 – 00:23:05.840 tuning in and listening, I might spit some
  202. 00:23:05.840 – 00:23:07.300 bars for you all when they have a little
  203. 00:23:07.300 – 00:23:13.140 bonus episode, and definitely don't forget
  204. 00:23:13.140 – 00:23:16.160 hashtag industry talks, post this on social
  205. 00:23:16.160 – 00:23:21.060 media and share with hashtag industry talks,
  206. 00:23:24.380 – 00:23:28.140 alienize photos, industry talk, with Mr.
  207. 00:23:28.540 – 00:23:41.750 Photographer Jackson, Steven Jackson, don't be
  208. 00:23:41.750 – 00:23:44.350 afraid to reach out, book me as your photographer,
  209. 00:23:44.770 – 00:23:48.990 your event photographer mainly, I do headshots,
  210. 00:23:49.210 – 00:23:52.310 portraits, a few other things, but events is
  211. 00:23:52.310 – 00:23:56.870 my niche, also weddings, video production,
  212. 00:24:03.210 – 00:24:04.750 also for coaching, I don't want to leave,
  213. 00:24:06.770 – 00:24:08.590 contacting me for coaching and mentoring,
  214. 00:24:08.590 – 00:24:11.430 and I've definitely been serving, shout out to
  215. 00:24:11.430 – 00:24:15.390 y'all, I'm kind of hard on my peoples,
  216. 00:24:19.560 – 00:24:21.260 let's just get it, continue to elevate,
  217. 00:24:23.410 – 00:24:26.490 check out alienizephotos.com, follow me on
  218. 00:24:26.490 – 00:24:29.850 all social media, alienizephotos, and yeah,
  219. 00:24:29.870 – 00:24:31.870 I'm going to leave it at that, it's a wrap,
  220. 00:24:32.930 – 00:24:42.180 we're out, I'll later, take care.

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90. Ep. 1 Mindset and Expectations with Photographer Jackson

Season 1 · Episode 1

Listen to episode

  1. 00:00:00.460 – 00:00:11.000 Alienize Photos industry talk episode 1. Alienize Photos industry talk welcome to
  2. 00:00:11.000 – 00:00:17.220 the first episode yes yes yes so I just want to jump right into it I'm not
  3. 00:00:17.220 – 00:00:24.000 long-winded a lot of my episodes would be around 23 minutes now back then
  4. 00:00:24.000 – 00:00:29.040 when you look at TV shows you see the average duration was about 23
  5. 00:00:29.040 – 00:00:35.720 minutes and that 30 minute slot so yeah I just want to jump right into it set
  6. 00:00:35.720 – 00:00:41.900 some expectations what to expect things that I'll be sharing I'll also have
  7. 00:00:41.900 – 00:00:49.740 interviews but mainly this would be a solo podcast you know you get to
  8. 00:00:50.020 – 00:00:57.440 listen in on my journal a personal journal I definitely want to have
  9. 00:00:57.440 – 00:01:07.930 everything about this podcast be about different industries and we use our
  10. 00:01:07.930 – 00:01:14.750 voice our platforms as I'm using alienize photos industry talk this
  11. 00:01:14.750 – 00:01:23.590 podcast it's a media platform so I want to focus on all things media as well
  12. 00:01:23.590 – 00:01:33.550 and kind of combine it and combining the two you know every industry to get out
  13. 00:01:33.550 – 00:01:38.790 there it needs media some way whether it's a social media post whether it's
  14. 00:01:38.790 – 00:01:44.590 a flyer on someone's car whether if it's you know knocking on someone's
  15. 00:01:44.590 – 00:01:55.410 door and you know it's documented on camera or if you do interviews a lot
  16. 00:01:55.410 – 00:02:23.710 one of these things in marketing is media and I knew that it was important for me to be in a media space and also you know own your media like the way the way the world is set up is because of media and the media influence and that's why I'm big on positive messages I love capturing and
  17. 00:02:24.650 – 00:02:31.150 things with impact and positive messages as I do a lot of events do a lot of video
  18. 00:02:31.150 – 00:02:35.490 production things with a good cause things with a good purpose things that
  19. 00:02:35.490 – 00:02:39.470 inspire things that motivate things that bring your life things that teach
  20. 00:02:40.070 – 00:02:49.370 and I'm forever a student so I'm big on that I'm officially jumping into this
  21. 00:02:49.370 – 00:02:54.770 recording as it didn't capture but good I'm having backup audio this is
  22. 00:02:54.770 – 00:03:02.520 first episode but just setting some expectations and I do want to speak
  23. 00:03:02.520 – 00:03:07.960 about mindset later on this first episode because you know how can you
  24. 00:03:07.960 – 00:03:15.380 receive a lot of things that's going to be broadcast on this platform you
  25. 00:03:17.340 – 00:03:21.580 got to have the right mindset and the right mindset to take it to take it
  26. 00:03:21.580 – 00:03:29.180 in to retain it and filter it you know and every bloodstream and every
  27. 00:03:29.180 – 00:03:38.700 body in the right places but in order to do that your mind your brain has to
  28. 00:03:38.700 – 00:03:46.320 be in a correct headspace before you start anything you have to have the
  29. 00:03:46.320 – 00:03:56.620 right mindset again welcome to the first episode alienize photos industry
  30. 00:03:56.620 – 00:04:01.260 talk as we discuss all things media and how different trends affect
  31. 00:04:01.260 – 00:04:10.920 different industries I'm journaling my existence with my encounter with
  32. 00:04:10.920 – 00:04:16.500 different industries and also bringing my knowledge mainly from the creative
  33. 00:04:16.500 – 00:04:24.060 realm and also entrepreneur business realm the things that I know but the
  34. 00:04:24.060 – 00:04:47.170 background I'm have collaborating with a lot of a lot of case studies and
  35. 00:04:47.170 – 00:04:57.190 I was trying to figure out how I wanted to say it but I could say a lot of the
  36. 00:04:57.190 – 00:05:02.210 things we do our case studies you know we're trying on different marketing
  37. 00:05:02.210 – 00:05:06.370 techniques so that is does this work it may work for someone else but
  38. 00:05:06.370 – 00:05:19.710 does it work for you hmm something to think about but before you start
  39. 00:05:19.710 – 00:05:24.530 anything you have to get your mindset right you have to continue to water
  40. 00:05:24.530 – 00:05:30.350 yourself with self-love real love continue to learn and do mental
  41. 00:05:30.350 – 00:05:36.130 exercises just like bodybuilders go to the gym for physical exercise to
  42. 00:05:36.130 – 00:05:45.660 stay in physical shape you also need to stay mentally in shape and mentally
  43. 00:05:48.680 – 00:06:03.780 physically thought decisiveness and physical form of the shape that you
  44. 00:06:03.780 – 00:06:16.200 want to allow growth to seep in you need to stay mentally in shape similar
  45. 00:06:16.200 – 00:06:23.840 to missing a day watering a plant or even your garden but if you miss a few
  46. 00:06:23.840 – 00:06:30.400 days a week a month a year a couple years and someone that plant will
  47. 00:06:30.400 – 00:06:40.640 eventually decay transition whether away the plant that flower that garden
  48. 00:06:40.640 – 00:06:48.410 was no longer in shape and you could put in shape in parentheses because as
  49. 00:06:48.410 – 00:06:53.330 we spoke about the bodybuilder going to the gym to get physically in
  50. 00:06:53.330 – 00:07:01.690 shape let's continue to water our minds and let it grow and prosper and be
  51. 00:07:01.690 – 00:07:07.390 hydrated and nourished you know how good you feel when you nourish versus
  52. 00:07:07.390 – 00:07:12.870 you you're hungry you're tired your energy depleted when you well rested
  53. 00:07:12.870 – 00:07:22.830 you hydrated got some you know water on a mildly cool day with the you
  54. 00:07:25.030 – 00:07:31.070 get some good food but today like a lot where you know you sluggish you know
  55. 00:07:31.070 – 00:07:37.490 got the itis and want to go to sleep afterwards and you will nourish you're
  56. 00:07:37.970 – 00:07:43.950 fed oh you could conquer the world so think about when you're always like
  57. 00:07:43.950 – 00:07:55.060 this that flower that plant is gone no longer a shape is bent over a D I
  58. 00:07:55.060 – 00:08:04.860 don't like saying negative words because I'm big on vibrations and you know it
  59. 00:08:04.860 – 00:08:11.250 lost its shape it became a skeleton so what are the things that you are
  60. 00:08:11.250 – 00:08:22.250 doing before your physical body turned to a skeleton what are the
  61. 00:08:22.250 – 00:08:38.590 things we are doing that we're living life making impact learning being
  62. 00:08:39.750 – 00:08:48.010 student growing because who loves the hamster wheel running in a circle in a
  63. 00:08:48.010 – 00:08:55.390 circle in a circle circle circle circle circle circle over and over and over
  64. 00:08:55.390 – 00:09:01.750 doing over that's insanity do the same thing over and over and over and
  65. 00:09:01.750 – 00:09:07.820 over again is a sanity so why do we do the things that we don't like
  66. 00:09:07.820 – 00:09:17.920 over and over and over again it's just time to stop it why are we in
  67. 00:09:17.920 – 00:09:24.400 industries that we don't like why are we with are even collaborating with
  68. 00:09:24.400 – 00:09:29.120 companies we don't like you know I speak a lot to entrepreneurs and also
  69. 00:09:29.120 – 00:09:35.240 creatives so those are my main two demographic targets but I'm also
  70. 00:09:35.240 – 00:09:41.510 speaking to everybody you know you could apply this to life you know
  71. 00:09:41.510 – 00:09:46.510 Share this with a colleague a family member because this is real talk at the
  72. 00:09:46.510 – 00:09:54.180 end of the day and we really have to start with our mind and get it in
  73. 00:09:54.180 – 00:10:09.920 shape and you know it saddens me because I'm gonna say the school
  74. 00:10:11.300 – 00:10:19.260 system failed this current generation that's currently 2025 if you know
  75. 00:10:19.260 – 00:10:25.500 when they put a date on it but the reading levels has tremendously went
  76. 00:10:25.500 – 00:10:36.280 down and you know a lot of things are technology based you know versus let's
  77. 00:10:36.280 – 00:10:47.300 say even 20 years ago where we had kids picking up books ten years from
  78. 00:10:47.300 – 00:10:51.100 now all they gonna know is ebooks and not know what a physical book was we
  79. 00:10:51.100 – 00:10:56.260 used to hold this in our hand turn the pages here to hear that crack in the
  80. 00:10:56.260 – 00:11:01.300 back as you first open it as you glance at the cover like okay let's open it
  81. 00:11:01.300 – 00:11:09.860 and see what's inside you're like like a screechy door yeah and then a
  82. 00:11:09.860 – 00:11:16.760 flicker and turn of the pages all right as y'all can see I'm not the
  83. 00:11:16.760 – 00:11:21.000 best with sounds but I love being animated we're gonna have fun and you
  84. 00:11:21.000 – 00:11:25.440 know like again I want you to get used to me and you know I don't want to set
  85. 00:11:25.440 – 00:11:30.700 too many expectations but I definitely want to give you a frame and a
  86. 00:11:30.700 – 00:11:37.460 structure of how it will go now again this is like journaling and you know
  87. 00:11:37.460 – 00:11:43.820 just my insights on a lot of these solo episodes but when I interview
  88. 00:11:43.820 – 00:11:49.800 it'll be interview style question answer have you know organic
  89. 00:11:49.800 – 00:11:59.460 conversation as well and there may be some BTS that come along with it but I
  90. 00:11:59.460 – 00:12:04.700 do want to keep this strictly an audio podcast now there will be content
  91. 00:12:04.700 – 00:12:11.340 where you see clips and stuff and video and also like I said behind the
  92. 00:12:11.340 – 00:12:23.060 BTS different clips and also promotions so yeah the best way I feel to tune is
  93. 00:12:23.060 – 00:12:26.960 is with already I really want you to listen I don't even want you to worry
  94. 00:12:26.960 – 00:12:33.000 about the video I want you to close your eyes and listen and someone said
  95. 00:12:33.000 – 00:12:37.860 actually a few people you have a radio voice you had that that smooth
  96. 00:12:37.860 – 00:12:45.840 talker you know smooth operator could listen to you all day like you have a
  97. 00:12:45.840 – 00:12:53.100 real chill common voice is this comforting and soothing so I definitely
  98. 00:12:53.100 – 00:13:02.960 want to express that and you know I want you to focus in on my voice and
  99. 00:13:02.960 – 00:13:12.220 saying and things that's being put in the light and also the conversation the
  100. 00:13:12.220 – 00:13:22.700 questions the answers the thoughts the ideas because at the end of the day we
  101. 00:13:22.700 – 00:13:32.820 are here for each other to build each other and one another up to continue
  102. 00:13:32.820 – 00:13:44.180 to grow and blossom be fruitful and I heard this quote from Myron Godin
  103. 00:13:46.120 – 00:13:56.570 tremendous biblical business coach when you set the intention the
  104. 00:13:56.570 – 00:14:07.060 obstacles come when you set the intention the obstacles come the
  105. 00:14:07.060 – 00:14:11.980 obstacles come when you set that intention you set what you want you
  106. 00:14:11.980 – 00:14:26.860 towards it that's when the problems and mishaps but you got a maneuver and get
  107. 00:14:26.860 – 00:14:35.850 through them just like anything else in life then I was talking with a friend
  108. 00:14:35.850 – 00:14:47.500 and you know discussing how they feel defeated and you know they lost and I
  109. 00:14:47.500 – 00:14:56.040 said well we could eat losses or else they like to call it else almost like
  110. 00:14:56.040 – 00:15:02.160 vegetable soup we eat that for dinner it's just it's just fuel you know
  111. 00:15:02.160 – 00:15:07.560 energize me you know you got to have fun and you know with life and the
  112. 00:15:07.560 – 00:15:13.460 things in life I think it's the same way with business because in some way
  113. 00:15:13.460 – 00:15:19.520 business is a part of my life it's a it's a chapter it's a moment it's a
  114. 00:15:19.520 – 00:15:25.760 continuation of my life so you know I want to be happy and smiling and
  115. 00:15:26.140 – 00:15:37.380 having fun you know my religion is based off peace and love so those
  116. 00:15:37.380 – 00:15:50.330 aspects helps you be grateful for those quote-unquote losses those else but
  117. 00:15:51.510 – 00:16:04.410 really if you think about those else's lessons what is it teaching you what
  118. 00:16:04.410 – 00:16:13.080 is it bringing your attention to how can you learn from this what do you
  119. 00:16:13.080 – 00:16:23.210 need to learn from this what didn't you see that you can see now what you see
  120. 00:16:23.210 – 00:16:34.590 that you didn't see sometimes things arise like oh we've got to go camping
  121. 00:16:34.590 – 00:16:46.470 here come a snowstorm avalanche rain now it's muddy planes got to change in
  122. 00:16:50.540 – 00:16:57.720 well if you were prepared and you know those things were gonna happen you know
  123. 00:16:57.720 – 00:17:08.030 you could have planned for it maybe a thick sheet of tarp multiple layers
  124. 00:17:08.030 – 00:17:24.460 another down maybe try concrete till it dries up and harden or maybe build
  125. 00:17:24.460 – 00:17:33.690 house a cabin would build it up and you wouldn't have to worry about those
  126. 00:17:33.690 – 00:17:41.110 things then you know you doctor up and tailor it from there build that
  127. 00:17:41.110 – 00:17:48.310 frame that foundation first again going back to why mindset is important once
  128. 00:17:48.310 – 00:17:56.490 that frame of that house is intact and I love this because I'm you know
  129. 00:17:56.490 – 00:18:03.410 investing to be specific so if anyone wants to help guide me and you know
  130. 00:18:03.410 – 00:18:11.150 you can talk have chats about it I'm definitely open and interested and I
  131. 00:18:11.150 – 00:18:18.610 will have a few people from the real estate industry on as we discuss
  132. 00:18:18.610 – 00:18:26.550 industry trends and you know just sharing insights all around you know
  133. 00:18:26.550 – 00:18:30.730 maybe I could get him some pointers from the outside something they never
  134. 00:18:30.730 – 00:18:39.650 thought of and I know they would just definitely bless me with wisdom you know
  135. 00:18:39.650 – 00:18:45.030 saying their story and how I could learn from it again sometimes we don't
  136. 00:18:45.030 – 00:18:52.390 experience things someone went through it already oh so that's how you tell
  137. 00:18:52.950 – 00:18:58.910 I was doing it like this the whole time you got a soup it around okay and then
  138. 00:18:58.910 – 00:19:05.710 gotta go underneath that's how you do that okay I was missing a step I failed
  139. 00:19:05.710 – 00:19:13.790 because I missed a step literally fail you fall and now you're falling down
  140. 00:19:13.790 – 00:19:19.210 a step because you missed one step you was trying to go to pass you
  141. 00:19:19.210 – 00:19:26.110 jump too high at once before you physically work out just like you
  142. 00:19:26.110 – 00:19:31.090 worked out you worked out he used to jump in five steps at a time you able
  143. 00:19:31.090 – 00:19:35.790 to jump three gracefully so think about when you're trying to go to
  144. 00:19:35.790 – 00:19:41.330 stairs you can't skip a step because you haven't built that strength it
  145. 00:19:41.330 – 00:19:45.710 wasn't doing those workouts it wasn't giving yourself those physical
  146. 00:19:45.710 – 00:19:50.910 exercises and also those mental exercises which is as much more
  147. 00:19:50.910 – 00:19:54.070 important because if you don't have a willpower to do it you're not going to
  148. 00:19:54.070 – 00:20:02.190 do it at all just like the gym is more mental than physical the physical
  149. 00:20:02.190 – 00:20:06.510 is the result of the mental because you'd be like oh no I ain't gonna do
  150. 00:20:07.290 – 00:20:11.010 it I ain't gonna do it or you get to the gym get in a parking lot like
  151. 00:20:11.010 – 00:20:15.750 I don't want to work out the day and then go home it's all mental you
  152. 00:20:15.750 – 00:20:22.780 have to get in the gym first that's the first battle like sixty percent sixty
  153. 00:20:23.840 – 00:20:28.900 five lose or don't meet their go gym goals because they can't even get in
  154. 00:20:28.900 – 00:20:37.610 the gym I mean I was definitely one of those people but now you know the
  155. 00:20:37.610 – 00:20:43.510 way I really want to focus my mind and study entrepreneurship and now
  156. 00:20:43.510 – 00:20:47.770 real estate investing like I had to do my studies I had to put in that
  157. 00:20:47.770 – 00:20:55.950 time but I know that so the gym is not that much important to me I get there
  158. 00:20:55.950 – 00:21:00.130 when I get there that's that's my mindset and I know that shift you know
  159. 00:21:00.130 – 00:21:04.890 it's a sacrifice but guess what when I figure it out I would be back in the
  160. 00:21:04.890 – 00:21:10.910 gym full throttle but these things that I know because I came with it
  161. 00:21:10.910 – 00:21:20.610 with attention I know I will have challenges along the way also but it
  162. 00:21:20.610 – 00:21:25.290 was my attention to do this and get this done and execute on it because we
  163. 00:21:25.290 – 00:21:29.370 have all these ideas and anybody that know me I have a bunch of ideas
  164. 00:21:29.370 – 00:21:34.350 always have a bunch of thoughts a bunch of things there's like my mind
  165. 00:21:34.350 – 00:21:39.330 is like binary code just running down the screen always computing and
  166. 00:21:39.330 – 00:21:43.350 calculating and thinking of new things and fresh ideas because I love being
  167. 00:21:43.350 – 00:21:48.310 original too and having fun like I said and just combining it with the
  168. 00:21:48.310 – 00:21:57.230 creativity it's just like man a lot of problems could be solved and I'm
  169. 00:21:57.230 – 00:21:59.210 thinking about it I'm thinking about it I'm thinking about it I think about
  170. 00:21:59.210 – 00:22:02.210 this and thinking about that problem and how to solve it and it's like
  171. 00:22:03.010 – 00:22:10.710 I'm completing multiple puzzles at once but one puzzle is not getting
  172. 00:22:12.530 – 00:22:16.490 done and done on time or in a timely manner because I'm trying to
  173. 00:22:16.490 – 00:22:26.780 one puzzle piece and too many puzzles at once but if I focus on that one I
  174. 00:22:27.000 – 00:22:37.400 could get one puzzle done it was only 24 pieces it took me 20 years and I
  175. 00:22:37.400 – 00:22:46.300 could just focus on one puzzle get it done versus multiple puzzles trying
  176. 00:22:46.300 – 00:22:51.520 to do thousand puzzles at once just focus on that one puzzle and then
  177. 00:22:51.520 – 00:22:57.700 move on to the next just like that one stair and then it compounds but if you
  178. 00:22:57.700 – 00:23:05.680 can't do one you have nothing and zero times zero is zero but if you do one
  179. 00:23:06.360 – 00:23:14.640 you do two one times two is two that number so if you keep going up and up
  180. 00:23:16.120 – 00:23:23.920 incrementally it gets better just like you say you want to read six books in a
  181. 00:23:23.920 – 00:23:31.280 year then next year seven books next eight and then you've reading a book
  182. 00:23:31.280 – 00:23:47.370 every three days a book every three days and you know when things are foggy
  183. 00:23:49.310 – 00:23:57.370 we can't see the picture so you got to focus it reminds me of like you know
  184. 00:23:57.370 – 00:24:03.390 you know the outfit you supposed to wear and then you pile and close over
  185. 00:24:03.390 – 00:24:10.020 the outfit you're supposed to be wearing just throwing your clothes and
  186. 00:24:10.020 – 00:24:15.990 it's piling up and it's piling up piling up where's the outfit you know
  187. 00:24:15.990 – 00:24:20.930 the outfit you supposed to be wearing you've seen it but maybe it was a
  188. 00:24:20.930 – 00:24:25.870 little blurry because you didn't focus you was distracted your attention was
  189. 00:24:25.870 – 00:24:35.450 off your intention wasn't on the right things because your intention follows
  190. 00:24:35.450 – 00:24:41.570 your attention and vice versa piggybacks off each other no wonder they
  191. 00:24:41.570 – 00:24:48.430 sounded like you know maybe you could have the right intention but if your
  192. 00:24:48.430 – 00:24:52.650 attention is over here or somewhere else now it's got to be diverted and
  193. 00:24:52.650 – 00:24:58.470 go somewhere else it will follow your attention but if your attention is on
  194. 00:24:58.470 – 00:25:02.490 your intention and what you're supposed to do I made this plan to get
  195. 00:25:02.490 – 00:25:07.510 to this step and that the the train tracks are laid them down now I'm
  196. 00:25:07.510 – 00:25:11.770 diverting from the train tracks not that the train is off somewhere in the
  197. 00:25:11.770 – 00:25:26.370 forest but yeah I digress this is my set and definitely follow me on all
  198. 00:25:26.370 – 00:25:36.250 media alienize photos as I am a media company focused on live events and a
  199. 00:25:36.250 – 00:25:42.510 quick thing about me I started off as a creative a poet a musician
  200. 00:25:42.510 – 00:25:51.120 performing hosting and I used to capture people and take pictures on the
  201. 00:25:51.120 – 00:26:01.820 camera phone my iPhone I perform pull my phone out and record or take
  202. 00:26:01.820 – 00:26:08.960 pictures of other artists as they perform and also I looked at that as
  203. 00:26:08.960 – 00:26:15.880 community and showing support and one day I was like huh let me invest in the
  204. 00:26:15.880 – 00:26:21.680 camera so I took time out of that and made sacrifices because my attention
  205. 00:26:21.680 – 00:26:26.840 was on really learning and do it and then a couple years later I'm like
  206. 00:26:26.840 – 00:26:31.800 yeah I really enjoy this is like yeah I could tell stories in a
  207. 00:26:31.800 – 00:26:43.010 way now and I focused on it and I learned I started a business but I didn't
  208. 00:26:43.010 – 00:26:47.090 start a business right away also had to learn business I'm still learning
  209. 00:26:47.090 – 00:26:51.990 business still bumping my head but I'm smiling through it all because I not
  210. 00:26:51.990 – 00:27:02.300 know I know what's on the other side I know what's on the other side like
  211. 00:27:02.300 – 00:27:12.760 my life partner she has this song stay solid you know if I got a mushy tool
  212. 00:27:13.960 – 00:27:24.660 how can I break down the walls but if I sharpen my mind sharpen my head my
  213. 00:27:24.660 – 00:27:31.590 thoughts I could break through that wall I could pierce through the wall
  214. 00:27:31.590 – 00:27:37.470 without even touching it because I'm so sharp if it gets the wall get
  215. 00:27:37.470 – 00:27:45.840 next to me it would just shatter because I'm that sharp it's like you got a nice
  216. 00:27:45.840 – 00:27:54.230 diamond and you cut you or a nice stone you get cut similar to a paper cut
  217. 00:27:54.230 – 00:28:07.200 you get too close you get cut so I'm that sharp but again I digress and if
  218. 00:28:07.200 – 00:28:17.630 you want to promote the podcast I encourage you promote using industry
  219. 00:28:17.630 – 00:28:28.890 talk as a hashtag so hashtag industry talk again hashtag industry talk and
  220. 00:28:28.890 – 00:28:33.210 tag alienize photos let me know that you're listening in tuning in your
  221. 00:28:33.210 – 00:28:37.730 thoughts and how do you like it definitely give me some feedback all
  222. 00:28:37.730 – 00:28:45.720 is welcome if you want to be a guest on the show you can visit my website
  223. 00:28:46.620 – 00:28:55.390 alienize photos.com and fill out an inquiry request form also I will have
  224. 00:28:55.390 – 00:29:03.570 booking links below please definitely tap in if you want your event capture
  225. 00:29:03.570 – 00:29:10.030 whether that's with videography photography or if you're looking for more
  226. 00:29:10.030 – 00:29:17.190 commercial and video production all things media contact me I even do
  227. 00:29:17.190 – 00:29:27.270 weddings so just want to mention that because one of my goals was to be a
  228. 00:29:27.270 – 00:29:34.170 destination wedding photographer it got kind of buried but you know I do love
  229. 00:29:34.170 – 00:29:39.730 live events more than all but secondary it's definitely weddings which
  230. 00:29:39.730 – 00:29:45.570 I still consider event so I love it and it reminds me of sports my
  231. 00:29:45.570 – 00:29:49.750 favorite game is basketball you know those sprinting up and down the court
  232. 00:29:49.750 – 00:29:57.090 that marathon and it's just it's just I'll speak about it in another podcast
  233. 00:29:57.090 – 00:30:04.510 about basketball and how I relate it to life but the anticipation of that
  234. 00:30:05.150 – 00:30:08.670 you know with certain sports especially basketball there's certain
  235. 00:30:08.670 – 00:30:12.530 things in anticipation oh they're gonna go to the basket I'm
  236. 00:30:12.530 – 00:30:17.330 just like weddings I anticipate you know the rhythm you know they're gonna
  237. 00:30:17.330 – 00:30:25.590 kiss do the first kiss you know people are gonna come down you know a tear
  238. 00:30:25.590 – 00:30:29.190 gonna shed but you don't know you got to anticipate certain moments that's
  239. 00:30:29.190 – 00:30:32.870 what I love about it the most a lot of events you always on your feet
  240. 00:30:32.870 – 00:30:38.170 always on the toes you know what to expect you may have a template or
  241. 00:30:38.170 – 00:30:42.950 something that's gonna occur but sometimes things don't happen and you
  242. 00:30:42.950 – 00:30:47.580 got a kind of pivot and I like it because it's like okay now I get to
  243. 00:30:47.950 – 00:30:58.930 use my mind as like birthday parties I don't see the creativity in them or
  244. 00:30:59.510 – 00:31:05.370 that the in a sense challenge because you know you do like a concert well
  245. 00:31:05.370 – 00:31:10.610 maybe if a light go out then you know it's real dark how you gonna take
  246. 00:31:10.610 – 00:31:16.950 photos and focus in this dark can you really see it now if things are
  247. 00:31:16.950 – 00:31:25.890 changed and so you just got to continue to pivot maneuver but yeah
  248. 00:31:25.890 – 00:31:31.290 again I digress I'm just excited it's just like I got so much to talk
  249. 00:31:31.290 – 00:31:38.650 but again I do want to keep these close to 23 minutes as possible there was
  250. 00:31:38.650 – 00:31:41.990 something would be some you know longer maybe an hour maybe just break
  251. 00:31:41.990 – 00:31:46.990 it up at that point but a lot of these I do want to keep you know 23
  252. 00:31:46.990 – 00:31:54.210 to a half hour again I'm available for workshops event coverage video
  253. 00:31:54.210 – 00:32:04.210 production assaulting coaching high-level projects follow me at alien
  254. 00:32:04.210 – 00:32:11.430 eyes that's eyes like the eyeballs eyes with a Z photos with a S alienize
  255. 00:32:11.430 – 00:32:25.730 photos and alienize photos calm yes yes it's been a blessing thank you for
  256. 00:32:25.730 – 00:32:31.090 alienize photos industry talk thank you thank you thank you
  257. 00:32:31.550 – 00:32:38.090 peace love and blessings I love myself I love my life I am divine life

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91. Alien Eyez Photos Industry Talk Podcast Trailer

Season 1 · Episode 0

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  1. 00:00:01.940 – 00:00:10.760 Alienize Photos Industry Talk. Welcome to Alienize Photos Industry Talk as we
  2. 00:00:10.760 – 00:00:17.640 discuss all things media and how new trends affect different industries. You
  3. 00:00:17.640 – 00:00:23.960 may find tactical business, creative, and entrepreneurship advice, discussions
  4. 00:00:23.960 – 00:00:29.520 around new equipment, new software, and for journaling out my thoughts and
  5. 00:00:29.520 – 00:00:37.360 insights. If you would like to share the podcast, please use hashtag industry
  6. 00:00:37.360 – 00:00:46.640 talk. Yes, that is hashtag industry talk. You can visit alienizephotos.com to
  7. 00:00:46.640 – 00:00:52.820 book me for your event coverage, video production, coaching, and high-level
  8. 00:00:52.820 – 00:01:01.420 projects. Thank you for tuning in to Alienize Photos Industry Talk as we
  9. 00:01:01.420 – 00:01:05.379 discuss all things media.

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