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Welcome to working towards our purpose, a podcast that

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offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone

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out there that's heard that voice in the back their head, asking for

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something more. It's time to listen to it. I'm your host,

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Gino, and join me as I interview people who have decided to

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work in their own purpose. Together, we will learn, become

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inspired, and hopefully find our own path towards working in our

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purpose.

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Kobe Smith is a certified meditation instructor, a mental health

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advocate, founder of Kobe Enterprises, a company that introduces

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mindfulness Brew Merchandise. He is also the small business support

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specialist at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, and he hosts the

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podcast Chatting with Kobe, which is now in its 2nd season.

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Kobe, welcome to Working Towards Our Purpose. How are you doing today? Blessed,

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man. Thank thanks for having me. It's Long overdue, and I'm a big I'm a

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big supporter of what you do as well with your platform, bringing on the

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amazing people, and It's it's been respect and love since day 1, so I'm I'm

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happy to be here. Absolutely. And and I've definitely always felt that

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and appreciated it. So, yeah, why why don't we just get started by, you

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kinda describing in your own words, like, what you do and who you are and

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that sort of thing? Oh, I would say what I am,

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definitely someone who helps people, cares about people using

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my skill sets for the advancement of others, whether it's

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Mental health, whether it's in their business. And just

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my ultimate goal is really to live out my dream, of course, which

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is Creating products, creating content,

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but also inspire other people who are doers and people who wanna change their

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lives, Whether that's people in the small business sector that are looking for

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financial opportunities, collaborations, accelerated programs,

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Purpose who are just looking for the wellness, whether that's in meditation,

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listening to my podcast, getting inspiration from that, and the bracelets that I

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create, Providing them with a sense of motivation and inspiration

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throughout the day by wearing products. So there's a lot that I do, but I

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definitely like helping people. That's where It brings me the most joy,

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honestly. Yeah. I love that. It's all kinda centered

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around helping people in different kinda aspects of the different things that you do because

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you do do a lot of different things. Yeah.

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So, also, I'm interested in, like, you know, a little bit about

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your background and, like, you know, how you grew up, where you grew up, where

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you went to school, that sort of thing, anything you're, comfortable with

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sharing. Yeah. No problem. So I from Bloomfield,

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Connecticut. It's a suburb right next to Hartford,

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Connecticut. Been there my whole life, really, for the most part.

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I stopped going to Bloomfield Public Schools after 5th

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grade. I went to this magnet school, CREP magnet school, which

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is capital region education council. And at the

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time, the school was called Metropolitan Learning Center, and

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their the main focus was on Bringing in students

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from other parts of the Greater Hartford area

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and exposing them to diversity. So I was

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exposed to DEI super early in life. Like, from 6th to 12th grade,

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when I went to school, we went on, well, school trips to

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different cities. I think my 1st year, we went The Cape Cod. Next year,

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we went to New York, DC. Then when you got to high school, you

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had the opportunity to go out of the country. So I went

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to a few countries. I went to, like, Albania, Costa Rica,

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Dominican Republic, China, Iceland.

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Feel like I'm forgetting 1. Oh, South Africa. And there was a lot going

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on, but it it helped me out because I was exposed to

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The world at such a early age. I was able to go to countries, and

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I appreciate my mom for giving me this opportunity because Had I went to

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Bloomfield Public Schools, it probably would have never happened for

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me. And at MOC, it was

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It it was tough. It was tough academically because they they were they want to

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prepare people for college and life after high school, so they ingrained

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us with A lot of academic rigor, and we had

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some of the the best educators possible. Like, all of my teachers,

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like, I really loved and respected because they pushed me. They saw something in

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me. Even when I was acting like a knucklehead in school, they always they always

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told me that, hey. You have something about you and follow the gift that you

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have and See where it goes. So once I graduated

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high school after the, the 5 or 6 years of

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going to MOC, I went to Albertus Magnus College for 4

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years. Got my bachelor's in graphic design, had a

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internship with with the Entrepreneur Leadership Academy and Quinnipiac University.

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That's where my love for entrepreneurship was born, and I remember creating an

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idea for people who had For people who had,

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arthritis, and I created an insole for that. So it was like an

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adjustable insole. And from that experience, I said, I just wanna do

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something Entrepreneurial. I stayed at Alberta's for

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1 more year. I got my MBA in management, ran the entrepreneurship

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center For about 2 years, and it's it's

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just cool to see how everything, like, just happens. You know? You you start interacting

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with people and seeing And seeing how all your influences

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play a part in what you are today. Like, my mom was by far the

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most influential person in my life and still is. Like, she always encouraged me.

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She sacrificed for me to be the individual that I am

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today. She always made sure to put me in situations where I was

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challenged, But it helped me out today, whether it was doing

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different kinds of sports, whether it was doing different programmings.

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She always wanted me to be be an overall good person, and

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I'm very appreciative of her. My grandparents, my my

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godparents were always surrounding me With love, support, and encouragement

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with everything I've done up to now. So it that that was a lot

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to give out, but That's like a short version of the ways I am today

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because I had so many people in my life who believed in me even

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when I was borderline troublemaker. They always

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steered me on the right path, and I'm forever grateful that their investment has

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paid off. Mhmm. Yeah. That's awesome. And it's and it's really great to

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hear you be grateful for that and to, you know, express it too because I

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think that's also a a big piece of, like, who you are as, someone

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who's very grateful for the people around and, and I I really like that

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about you. So let's talk about a little bit more, like, meditation and

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how you got into meditation. I know that's kinda like one of your big

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pillars. And, yeah, tell me how you got into it and maybe a

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little bit about mental health and, yeah. Yeah. So meditation,

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I I've always been intrigued by it, but I never really had a chance

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to try it growing up. I got introduced

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to meditation in 2018. That was my sophomore year of college.

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Had so many panic attacks that year. I was just like, 19 year old

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Kobe was stressed out, man. It was it was bad. Like, there was so much

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going on. Rule was stressing me out. Having a social life was stressing me out.

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Working was stressing me out. And I just broke down one day. You know? I

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just remember just breaking down. All I remember was waking up in the

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hospital, honestly. I remember my friend had taken me there,

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and I I forgot the doctor's name, but it was American

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doctor, and he came back to me and said, hey. You have you have

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severe anxiety. And I was like, woah. Like, I was like, what what are

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you talking about? And he he broke it down for me. And

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at that time, I didn't really think mental health Illness was a

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thing. Honestly, I always I'm open to saying that at the time when if

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someone said, hey. It's my mental health. I thought that was just an excuse For

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someone to get out of doing something. Mhmm. I did.

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True. And it wasn't until I got diagnosed, and I was like, oh, this is

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real. And I told him I said, hey. How can I how can

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I fight this? How can I combat this? And they were like, well, you

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can either take these pills right here, Which were borderline

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antidepressants. He said, or you can learn meditation.

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And as a black man, he was saying that to me. I was like, Really?

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I was like, come on, man. Like, what is meditation gonna do? He said, trust

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me. Just do some research on it. I guarantee

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it will help you. He said, I meditate. So I remember I went back

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to school, and the nurse at Albertus at the time well, she's still

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there. Her name was Elena Tamayo Heights. She was getting her

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certification called Touro Mindfulness at the Duke

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University, and it focused on meditation for

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Individuals aged 18 to 29, emerging adults.

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She ran a class, which was a 4 week class, and she was like, hey.

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You should sign up and see. So I had a time slot available during

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my days. At the time, she was teaching it. I registered for

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it, took the 1st class, and I've been hooked ever since. Honestly,

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like, I took that class. I think she ran it 2 or 3 times a

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year until I graduated, and I kept taking it continuously because

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it It helped me out so much, and I'm able to think a lot more

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clearly. I'm able to appreciate life more, and it's been a blessing.

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And meditation, Even if I don't, like, sit and close my

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eyes, like, I listen to certain musics. I make bracelets. It's always been

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something that's been very beneficial to me. So I definitely wanna give a shout out

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to Elena for for making that possible for me and the doctor as

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well because without them, I don't know where I would be. Yeah. That's awesome. Thanks

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thanks for sharing that story and for being, vulnerable and and even, like,

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admitting the fact that, like, beforehand, you kind of, you know, didn't really believe

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in it or thought it was just an excuse or something. Because I think that's

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a lot of people's experience with mental health or, you know,

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anything that kinda has to do with something you can't physically see. It's, like, is

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that real, or is it just something you're kinda making up? So I'm glad that,

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like, you know, you've you've been in that one stage of life where

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you maybe you didn't believe it, but now You you know, you've kinda experienced it

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and can share that message with other people because I think that's helpful for other

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people to, like, know that, like, you know, maybe one day they'll not think

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of it like that. Because, yeah, I'm I'm also, like, a huge proponent of mental

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health, and I've been going to therapy for a long time. And, like, I remember

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my thoughts of therapy before I started going, and I was, like, that's just,

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You know, wasting money or, like, you're just paying somebody to control your

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mind or something. But, like, actually doing it and, like, seeing the

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benefits of it, it's, like, oh, That's not that at all. It's, like, actually

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really beneficial. Yeah. So yeah. So thanks for sharing all that.

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So let's let's talk a little bit more about, like, meditation specifically

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because I know, like, I've heard multiple people say, like, yeah.

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That'd be great. I I I'd love to meditate, but, like, I just can't I

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have too many thoughts in my head or, like, I can't do that or what's,

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like, some advice you would give to somebody who, like, thinks that they can't?

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Well, first, I would say is try, honestly. And meditation takes

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forms in many different ways. Like, I think when people think of

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meditation, they think of Sitting in namaste position, which is the

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the crisscross applesauce with your hand to your chest, you

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know, eyes closed, great posture, all of that. But no. It's

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You could do it. You can literally just sit down the way I'm doing and

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just breathe. Like, before every interview for a podcast or when I

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record, I usually just sit there, and I just breathe in through my nose,

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exhale through my mouth, things like that. You could lay down same time.

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Exactly. You know, like, you you're someone who does it. You can Lay on your

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back and just feel your belly rise or your chest rise

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whether you're a natural belly breather or a natural chest breather,

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things like that. You can listen to a song that you really like. You

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know, you can I don't know? You can, like, run to purpose.

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Like, Meditation looks like running for them. It's any way

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where your mind isn't isn't too crowded with thoughts,

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which is kind of crazy to say that because You can't calm your mind. Right?

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Like, one of the things meditation teaches is that your thoughts are going to be

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there. That's just how it is. But what you can do is

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Assess how you're feeling and notice your thoughts. And

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once you notice your thoughts, find some time to let them go, and

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that's by using your breath. Really, when you're breathing, that's what

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the meditation is because the breath is the anchor. Like and I

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think what a lot of people take for granted is breathing, Because

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it's so natural to us. Right? We don't realize that until, like, we're

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underwater. Oh, we're, like, working out, and we're going too hard, and we're

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like, oh, yeah. Let me breathe to get that extra energy. Meditation is really recognizing

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the breath. Sometimes you have to

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go outside without your phone, Drive without listening to

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music to realize, wow, I'm breathing. Wow, the scenery is beautiful.

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Things like that. You know, it gets tricky at times, but just start

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small. There's so many different ways you could do it. Like, there's an eating

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meditation. There's a breathing meditation. There's visualization.

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There there's so many different tools that go with it. When people say there's

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not one for me, I I'm just saying that you haven't tried anything.

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And I think once people humble themselves and are open to trying something

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new, that opens up a whole different aspect of wellness that people

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don't understand. Like, it's not the stereotypical thing. What people need

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to realize is you don't have to do a silent retreat for a whole weekend

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to reach enlightenment. You know, to some people,

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meditation is looking in the mirror and saying an affirmation. So I think

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when the person finds out what works for them And you do it a

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little bit over time, the compounding effect happens. You start building

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that habit, and then it starts becoming a lifestyle. And you can miss a few

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days every now and then, but as long as you know that that's where your

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core is, that you're perfecting your wellness practice,

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That's what meditation looks like. It's not the stereotypical looking like

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a monk, the Buddhist statue. No. It's it's much broader than

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that. And I I wish people would stop saying that because they're closing

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their self off from opportunities that can definitely open their mind up. Yeah.

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For sure. Thank thanks for breaking that down and, and kinda,

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you know, getting outside of the stigma of of what it is because I think

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it is very important and very useful to any aspects of your

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life. And then I think part of that too is, like, setting time

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aside, like, for yourself to do something like that. Yeah. And even if

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it's not meditation, just some other sort of self care. And and I know you

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work with a lot of entrepreneurs, and we'll get into that. But I'm I'm curious,

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like, what the thought about, like, self care or meditation

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is for a lot of people in the entrepreneur community because I know that there's,

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like, the hustle aspect and, like, you know, work work work work

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work. And especially when you're doing every if you're, you know, in a business

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by yourself, you're doing all the different aspects of it. It can be hard to,

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like, take time aside for yourself to do something that

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may not seem beneficial, but, yeah, I'd curious to hear your thoughts about that.

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Like, do you run into that issue talking to people who are entrepreneurs? Oh,

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yeah. It it's so funny. Just Working with a lot of these people and

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talking to them individually, they a lot of them just neglect

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it completely, but they realize that it is necessary.

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And I think they struggle with finding

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time for themselves because, you know, like, starting a

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company is it's hard. It's stressful. And

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no matter how successful you get, if you don't have the right team around you,

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if you're not taking time for yourself, you could burn out and crash. Like, I

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see it all the time with people I used to vend with early on in

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my entrepreneurial career. Like, they would just be at every single

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event Every single event, doing something.

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And then when you start to see them at all these events, they they've been

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grinding so hard that they're not focused. Like, they're

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Not displaying their products correctly. They're

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not pitching their products correctly. They're forgetting the name of the company, the name

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of themselves. And and it's scary to see that because it's like, wow.

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Like, you're so ingrained in this, but

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you're not taking time for the most valuable asset that you have,

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Yourself. Like, you're the most valuable asset. Your mind is the most valuable

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asset. You can always make other products, but people, they just

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And I can't knock them. Right? Because the way the world is,

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it's it's marked it to us very well. Social media, you got all these

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Google saying, man, sleep is for the dead. Sleep is for broke people.

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Rest is for weak people. That's what they say. Mhmm. And

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I feel like when people see that a lot, They start to really internalize

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that, and they have to grind and hustle and hustle, not realizing

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that it's taking a wear and tear on their mind, but also

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their body. So there's definitely a need for that, and there are there

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are handful of entrepreneurs that I know personally who who implement

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wellness into their business, and it's, like, really unique the way they do it.

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But I wish more people were able to practice

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the wellness aspect more because maybe if they take that time to

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breathe, maybe that week off, That could reset them, and that

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could help them launch a new product or a new marketing campaign. So it's

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really tricky, but at the same time, I feel that and I've seen That

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the people that really master hustle, hustle, hustle,

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rest when necessary, rest when needed, their recovery time is

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better, they're more focused, And, the business goes through the

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roof. So it's it's tricky, but I can see how purpose,

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when they implement the correct way, it helps out in the long term.

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Mhmm. Yeah. For sure. I've noticed that with myself too. If I'm, like, trying to

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do something too much, I usually end up getting stuck in some sort of rut

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and then doing, like, all the stuff that doesn't even matter at the end of

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the day. Whereas if I take a break or I rest or I even take

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a day off or something like that, then I'll, like, reframe something, think about it

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in a different way and be like, oh, wait. I don't need to do, like,

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80% of what I was trying to do. I really only need to do this

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20%. So for me, it helps me think clear On, like,

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what I should or shouldn't be doing, I think. So I've definitely noticed that

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benefit myself. And then that kinda, like, leads me to your business,

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Cobay Enterprises. Tell us a little bit about that and how that got started and,

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like, yeah, just everything you want to about that. No. Yeah.

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So it definitely got started when I was working partnership center at

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Albertus Magnus College. And I noticed that

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engaging with the students there was really hard because

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There wasn't really an entrepreneurial culture there. And

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I realized that if I wanted to work with the students closely,

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They would have to see me in action being an entrepreneur. Like, I could've talked

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about my experience as an intern starting a company, but that wasn't a

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company that I had still. You know, I just did it for that summer, and

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I say, you know what? People have to see me in action. People have to

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know that when I'm doing certain things, I'm trying. So it's

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believable that I'm making it work. And I always want to

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start a company. I didn't know exactly what I'd be doing, but I said,

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hey. That's entrepreneurship. You start something. Hey.

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You try it. You fail. You pivot. You do it

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again. And, originally, I started out doing shirts. Hey. I think I showed

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you a few of the shirts Mhmm. And the stickers, and they they

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they sucked. Right? They they did. They did. The shirts were trash. They

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were. I I would do pop up events. People weren't buying them.

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I was doing I was doing ecommerce. People weren't buying

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them. People thought they were good, but it just wasn't resonating. So I said,

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okay. Let's pivot. And I got clowned about it, but the same

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people who were clowning me were the same people who weren't trying it. Right? And

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Then I said, okay. What else what else can I sell that's low

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risk that can make money off of? Right? That's when the braces

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started coming in. No. So I was like, okay. Let me just go to all

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these craft stores, start creating bracelets, and

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it had to be Relevance, what I was doing. Right? So

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since my name is Kobe, and people don't know that Kobe actually is an

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acronym for the pillars that I live by, which are karma,

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Ownership, blessings, entrepreneurship, and Yahweh,

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which is Hebrew for god. And I want to implement that into the

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design, so With each color, with each affirmation

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bracelet. Because early on, I was doing plastic bracelets with positive words on

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them and charms. I would put those positive words on there. Like, I

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would put hustle on the bracelet. I would put don't quit,

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blessed, Pray. Yahweh. God, I would put all these positive

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words that would get me through the day, words like faith. And

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when I start selling them, people would resonate because they said, wow. I need

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more faith in myself. People would say, you know what? When I feel like quitting,

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I can look at this bracelet, and then I can push through that workout. I

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can push through that study session at college. And then the students started

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to gravitate toward that because they said, wow. This is someone who actually knows what

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he's doing. He's not just going off the books. What a lot of people don't

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realize is I had read all these books. I had done all these

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accelerated programs, and nothing was coming from it. And I was just

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waiting for the perfect time. But when I finally started to

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create my products and actually start selling and put myself out

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there, Even though I messed up and I'm messing up every day, that doesn't mean

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that doesn't matter to me because I'm at least trying. And there are people that

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I see that say, I see what you're doing. That's inspirational to me. Like, you

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inspire me to do that. I wear this bracelet. It means something to me. There

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are people who buy early shirts and said, wow. I wear this shirt whenever I'm

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feeling down. And that means a lot to me because I'm still

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figuring it out. I know I'm not where I'm going to be. I'm still heading

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on that path, but What really inspired me was just hanging around

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people that did it and seeing that there was a need for that. The same

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way all the people who taught me entrepreneurship were entrepreneurs,

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Like Caroline Smith who started Collab New Haven, one of my biggest

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inspirations in this entrepreneurship space. Seeing her run the collab

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program at that time And going through the pre accelerator with her, I

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said, wow. If she can do it, I can do it. And I

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don't think she had a business degree when she went to Yale. I think she

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was I don't want I don't actually know what she majored in, but I know

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it was something completely different. But she was an entrepreneur.

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She put a risk. She Risked it all. She put herself out

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there. Same thing with Carlton Highsmith and Eric Clemens. Like, what they

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were doing, they put themselves out there. They were inspiration To me, they talked

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to me and say, hey. If you have an idea and you feel that it's

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good, put it out there. Fail. And seeing these people that

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are far ahead of me Still grinding like during the startup

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phase, that was inspirational to me. So I definitely took that

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experience and implemented to what I was doing. But the most important

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thing for me was to make sure that I had the wellness aspect and

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mindset aspect as well because I noticed that A lot of

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the people that I was selling products to or I wanted to, a

365
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lot of them had low self esteem and weren't valuing their mental health Or

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they felt negative about themselves, and that's where I put the bracelets and the

367
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shirts into. So it was just about figuring that out, like, what the market

368
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was And trying. Will I be doing this sometime in the next year or the

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next 5 years? Who knows? But I I'm just trying. I just have an

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entrepreneurial spirit, and I feel that as long as I'm here and I have ideas

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and I have the willingness to try and put myself out there, I'm

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gonna make it happen. So That's pretty much how it got started and

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noticing what I've been able to do in the past 3

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years has been amazing. Like, I didn't see myself doing half of the stuff I'm

375
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doing now, and it just started with that one decision to start the company and

376
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see where it went. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. I I love

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the idea of, like, Not being specifically tied to,

378
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like, one idea of what your business could or or you want it

379
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to be and being just so open and flexible. It's like, yeah. I'm doing this.

380
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I'm trying it. If it doesn't work, I'll try something else and try something else.

381
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Like, I really that's something that, like, I've been really feeling a lot recently.

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Because for the longest time, my business was, you know, in podcasting space, and I

383
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wanted it to be helping podcasters and doing this and pivoted a

384
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1000000 times within that confines, but now I'm starting to be like, okay. Well, let's

385
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think a little bit bigger. Like, what can I do maybe outside of that, and

386
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and how can I be of service to other people in different ways? So

387
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I really like that idea of you saying, like, the one thing you said. I

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don't know where I'll be in, like, 5 years, but if I just keep doing

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what I'm doing. Like, you'll get you'll you'll reach stuff that you couldn't even thought

390
00:23:56,284 --> 00:23:59,644
of couldn't even think of. And, yeah, I just really I really love that,

391
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mentality For sure. And and then another note on, like,

392
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the inspiration of the the products that you make. I think it was maybe it

393
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was almost, like, A year or 2 ago, I bought a tote bag that you

394
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had, and it's got some affirmations on it. That's right. I still used it.

395
00:24:14,715 --> 00:24:18,230
Oh my god. I guess I gotta bring them back then. Okay. Yeah. I still

396
00:24:18,230 --> 00:24:21,190
use the tote bag, and it's got a couple affirmations on it. And every time

397
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I pick it up, I let I glance at them, and it is it's a,

398
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you know, a little bit of an energy booster. And, I've even had people comment

399
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on it and be like, hey. I like your tote bag. It's I like I

400
00:24:29,405 --> 00:24:33,245
like the affirmations on it. So just just wanna say that about about

401
00:24:33,245 --> 00:24:36,500
your products as well. Thank you, man. I definitely have to get back to him

402
00:24:36,500 --> 00:24:39,320
then. For sure.

403
00:24:39,940 --> 00:24:43,620
So transitioning a little bit into I wanna talk about, like, what you do with

404
00:24:43,620 --> 00:24:47,445
the Chamber of Commerce. And I know you also again, everything

405
00:24:47,445 --> 00:24:50,965
you kinda do is with entrepreneurs, but tell me about, what you do at the

406
00:24:50,965 --> 00:24:54,280
Chamber and even, like, what the Chamber of Commerce is. Because I think, at least

407
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,740
for me, like, before I became part of the community

408
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,640
that was associated with the chamber, I didn't even really know what the Chamber of

409
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Commerce did. So, like, maybe start with, like, telling us what the Chamber does

410
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for businesses and then get into, like, what you do. Yeah. So

411
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I I work at the the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, And almost every

412
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town, city in America, region in

413
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America, they have the Chamber of Commerce, and What they focus on

414
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is the business community. So it's a way where you can

415
00:25:24,540 --> 00:25:28,130
you pay for your for membership Usually on, like, a

416
00:25:28,130 --> 00:25:31,510
yearly basis, and it's where you can advertise.

417
00:25:32,290 --> 00:25:36,125
You can working events. We do a lot of networking. You

418
00:25:36,125 --> 00:25:39,424
can do marketing on the website, sponsorships,

419
00:25:39,885 --> 00:25:43,230
and it's a great way for you to grow your company. So it depends on

420
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what exactly your goals are. So let's say you're let's say you're an

421
00:25:46,990 --> 00:25:50,830
advertising firm and you're looking to get more customers that way. Join the

422
00:25:50,830 --> 00:25:54,674
chamber. You meet people who are doing that, and that's just

423
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a great way to build connections. And it's all about the businesses at the end

424
00:25:58,115 --> 00:26:01,630
of the day. You really want to make sure that Economy is growing.

425
00:26:02,010 --> 00:26:05,450
We put on a lot of events where we award business

426
00:26:05,450 --> 00:26:09,130
owners. We help out with getting businesses funding, whether it's

427
00:26:09,130 --> 00:26:12,705
grants, Whether it's loans, we have relationships with accelerator

428
00:26:12,845 --> 00:26:16,365
programs. So if you do certain accelerators through the chamber,

429
00:26:16,365 --> 00:26:20,040
like, If you go through KNOWN, Collab, Concorde,

430
00:26:20,420 --> 00:26:24,260
City Seed, do these programs, you get a membership for a year. It just

431
00:26:24,260 --> 00:26:28,035
depends on what you're what you're looking for. Like, If you're a small business

432
00:26:28,035 --> 00:26:31,475
owner, solopreneur, maybe the the

433
00:26:31,475 --> 00:26:35,130
largest membership isn't what you're looking for, But maybe you just wanna

434
00:26:35,130 --> 00:26:38,890
get your your feet wet. Maybe you just wanna meet certain people to build your

435
00:26:38,890 --> 00:26:42,675
clientele up. It's really just a tool for networking. It started, like,

436
00:26:42,675 --> 00:26:46,515
back in the the pilgrimage where all these business owners, they

437
00:26:46,515 --> 00:26:50,275
want to come together. They want to come together and keep the economy

438
00:26:50,275 --> 00:26:53,789
of businesses afloat. Because when you're an entrepreneur, a business

439
00:26:53,789 --> 00:26:57,549
owner, or a big organization, the only people that can relate to

440
00:26:57,549 --> 00:27:01,304
what you're doing are the same people that do what you do, Weather industry

441
00:27:01,304 --> 00:27:05,065
they're in. So it's kinda cool working within that world because I

442
00:27:05,145 --> 00:27:08,660
there's a lot of access to people I had never thought I'd meet, people I

443
00:27:08,660 --> 00:27:12,360
never thought I'd interact with, and you learn so much on the fly.

444
00:27:12,500 --> 00:27:16,260
Now as for the work that I do there, I do small business support.

445
00:27:16,260 --> 00:27:19,495
So I help the small business communities, solopreneurs,

446
00:27:20,195 --> 00:27:23,735
startup companies. And I really like to say that I build

447
00:27:24,195 --> 00:27:28,000
connections, And I have relationships with some of the resources and the people that help

448
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,840
these small businesses. So what what that looks like is helping out

449
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,535
with the new NH e three grant, which is the New Haven equitable

450
00:27:35,675 --> 00:27:39,055
entrepreneurial ecosystem grant. And that is where

451
00:27:39,355 --> 00:27:42,980
small businesses throughout the the state of Connecticut, really, but with focus in

452
00:27:42,980 --> 00:27:45,400
Greater New Haven. They can get up to $10,000

453
00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:49,940
and a small business grant to help them grow their business

454
00:27:49,940 --> 00:27:53,645
operations. So we do partnerships with that. In addition to that, like I

455
00:27:53,645 --> 00:27:57,405
was saying before, building relationships with the accelerator programs like

456
00:27:57,405 --> 00:28:01,070
NODE, Collab, Concorde, CitySeed, all the

457
00:28:01,070 --> 00:28:04,670
other ones. Helping the people that we meet if they need

458
00:28:04,670 --> 00:28:08,434
help with starting a company or Growing their

459
00:28:08,434 --> 00:28:12,195
company. Refer them to these accelerated programs because a lot

460
00:28:12,195 --> 00:28:15,255
of the times, these business owners, they have great ideas,

461
00:28:16,195 --> 00:28:19,860
but What's failing them and where they need some work

462
00:28:19,860 --> 00:28:23,000
on is the implementation, the finance,

463
00:28:23,460 --> 00:28:27,294
writing a business plan, how do they go for funding, Learning to

464
00:28:27,294 --> 00:28:30,434
hire people, expanding their operations, contracting,

465
00:28:30,815 --> 00:28:34,575
building relationships with those people, finding out what the small businesses need, and

466
00:28:34,575 --> 00:28:38,160
then referring them to these programs Because that's going to help the

467
00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:42,000
economy. And just going to all these events, like, when the business opens

468
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,520
or they have a ribbon cutting, I'm there introducing myself. What do you

469
00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:49,145
need? What can I help you with? Who can I connect you with? Do you

470
00:28:49,145 --> 00:28:52,665
need SBA funding? Do you need a mentor from small business

471
00:28:52,665 --> 00:28:56,230
development center? What exactly can the chamber do? Are you looking for

472
00:28:56,230 --> 00:28:59,669
membership? Are you just looking for the grant? And I just try to figure

473
00:28:59,669 --> 00:29:03,515
out what they need. Right? Because When you're a small business, there's so much

474
00:29:03,515 --> 00:29:06,715
that you have going on. And people in the early stage, they don't really feel

475
00:29:06,715 --> 00:29:10,370
that the Chamber of Commerce can help them. It can. Depends on what your

476
00:29:10,370 --> 00:29:14,210
goals are. But if you're looking for networking, that's great. If you're looking for more

477
00:29:14,210 --> 00:29:17,985
clients, it's great. But what I really try to do And

478
00:29:17,985 --> 00:29:21,665
what I've been doing is just building relationships and connecting people to the

479
00:29:21,665 --> 00:29:25,345
right resources. And the next step of that is just building relationships with

480
00:29:25,345 --> 00:29:29,070
the colleges and universities because they wanna help the small

481
00:29:29,070 --> 00:29:32,830
business community with classes, with programs, more

482
00:29:32,830 --> 00:29:36,525
accelerators, And that will and that helps out the city and the universities as

483
00:29:36,525 --> 00:29:40,365
well because on the workforce development side, you have students that

484
00:29:40,365 --> 00:29:43,960
can work for these companies as interns. That's real

485
00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,580
life working experience. And if they're good enough and if that company's hiring,

486
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,640
that then leads to employment opportunities, them taking over the

487
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,795
business in some few years. So So there's a lot that I do within the

488
00:29:54,795 --> 00:29:58,505
chamber, but what I really like to say my main goal is just connecting

489
00:29:58,505 --> 00:30:02,230
people to resources and building the relationships outside of that. And

490
00:30:02,230 --> 00:30:05,990
it's it's been fun. It's challenging. But when you really get those people that

491
00:30:05,990 --> 00:30:09,190
are passionate about what they do and they work hard, it it's worth it, and

492
00:30:09,190 --> 00:30:13,015
you're helping people at the end of the day. Mhmm. Yeah. Definitely. And

493
00:30:13,015 --> 00:30:15,495
that's that's one of the biggest things that I've noticed. I was a part of

494
00:30:15,495 --> 00:30:19,095
the chamber for a year, and and the networking and the meeting people for me

495
00:30:19,095 --> 00:30:22,140
was the biggest helpful thing. And and I know I'm still on the email list.

496
00:30:22,140 --> 00:30:25,740
Actually, I know by the time this airs, it'll be gone. But there's an event

497
00:30:25,740 --> 00:30:28,620
that you guys have tonight that I got the email for, and it just reminds

498
00:30:28,620 --> 00:30:32,415
me that, like, you're always there, kinda putting on events, connecting purpose. Yeah.

499
00:30:32,415 --> 00:30:35,455
That's a a nice kinda support thing because, you know, whenever it is that I

500
00:30:35,455 --> 00:30:38,520
feel like I need to get out there and and meet some more people, usually,

501
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,000
I'll just go back to my inbox, and there'd be something there that I can,

502
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,120
like, you know, go and and attend. So that's that's been a really good benefit

503
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,774
of the chamber. Yeah. So next, I wanna talk about

504
00:30:47,774 --> 00:30:51,215
your podcast. And tell me how that got started and, like,

505
00:30:51,534 --> 00:30:54,495
you know, what what made you wanna start that and and what it what it's

506
00:30:54,495 --> 00:30:58,270
all about. Yeah. So I I started chatting with

507
00:30:58,270 --> 00:31:01,950
Kobe just because I listen to a lot of podcasts. I've

508
00:31:01,950 --> 00:31:05,625
been inspired by them. I I was just a fan of so

509
00:31:05,625 --> 00:31:09,465
many purpose, and some podcasts I would listen to, I would

510
00:31:09,465 --> 00:31:13,140
say, they're not really A lot of them are just nonsense, honestly.

511
00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,440
There's a lot of nonsense podcasts out there, and I feel like I have I

512
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,225
have a perspective. And I really wanted to I like the

513
00:31:21,225 --> 00:31:24,745
the amazing people that I knew in my life, whether they were business

514
00:31:24,745 --> 00:31:28,185
owners, whether they were wellness practitioners, whether they were

515
00:31:28,185 --> 00:31:32,000
students. Like, season 1, I didn't really have any direction. Like, I didn't know what

516
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,600
I was doing. I just remember purchasing a mic, setting up

517
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:39,255
a The camera on my laptop and just recording and freestyling most of

518
00:31:39,255 --> 00:31:43,080
the episodes. But then midway through season 1, I said, you know what?

519
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:47,260
Let's let's change the direction of where I wanna go. Let's actually highlight

520
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:51,054
people who are well who are in the wellness space That have overcome

521
00:31:51,054 --> 00:31:54,495
adversity. Let's talk to the entrepreneurs, the small business

522
00:31:54,495 --> 00:31:58,255
owners. Let's talk to movers and shakers in the community, and let's build

523
00:31:58,255 --> 00:32:02,080
that out. And season 2 has been That way. And it's

524
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,919
unique because I'm still figuring it out. Right? I'm still figuring out what

525
00:32:05,919 --> 00:32:09,705
exactly my audience is. I'm super early stage in the startup phase of it,

526
00:32:09,865 --> 00:32:13,544
But it's been fun, and I'm not afraid to to

527
00:32:13,544 --> 00:32:17,065
try new things. Like season 1, I interviewed some amazing people. I

528
00:32:17,065 --> 00:32:20,740
interviewed 2 friends from college, Anna Marie DeLucia and Rock

529
00:32:20,740 --> 00:32:24,500
Charles who are now MBA students at Albertus Magnus College,

530
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:28,235
and they were telling me Stories about themselves. Like, Anna was an

531
00:32:28,235 --> 00:32:31,835
amazing student, out of North Haven. She went through a lot in

532
00:32:31,835 --> 00:32:35,135
college that she opened up about on the podcast. My guy, Rock,

533
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:39,320
He's from Haiti. He was talking about getting his American

534
00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,160
citizenship. He was talking about how he had to learn

535
00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:46,725
English, coming to America, living in New London. And

536
00:32:46,725 --> 00:32:50,325
there's so many perspectives. And the thing that I noticed about

537
00:32:50,325 --> 00:32:53,850
everyone that I've interviewed in season 1 was that They

538
00:32:53,990 --> 00:32:57,350
all overcame adversity some way, and it didn't

539
00:32:57,350 --> 00:33:01,125
quit. And that's what I want the podcast to be. We're

540
00:33:01,125 --> 00:33:04,725
going to be the inspiration for the doers, the people who have adversity in their

541
00:33:04,725 --> 00:33:08,425
life, but aren't afraid to keep pushing forth because that's a representation

542
00:33:08,565 --> 00:33:12,100
of my life, not quitting, Always trying new things. Even with

543
00:33:12,100 --> 00:33:15,880
season 2, some of the guests that I have right now have been amazing.

544
00:33:16,020 --> 00:33:19,805
These are people that are doing things, man, when and I'm inspired by them

545
00:33:20,285 --> 00:33:24,125
Because when I see them grind and hustle and achieve their dreams, that only just

546
00:33:24,125 --> 00:33:26,765
puts the battery in my back to do that. And that's what the whole purpose

547
00:33:26,765 --> 00:33:30,520
of the podcast is, to get different perspectives To not quit.

548
00:33:30,740 --> 00:33:34,260
Everyone has a unique story. And I talk about my story at

549
00:33:34,260 --> 00:33:37,255
times, but I don't wanna make it all about me. Like, at the end of

550
00:33:37,255 --> 00:33:40,815
the day, we're chatting with Cobay. So I want you to tell your

551
00:33:40,815 --> 00:33:44,529
perspective on what you've done and how you've gotten here. So it's been It's

552
00:33:44,529 --> 00:33:48,289
been fun so far, and I'm very honored about the episodes I have

553
00:33:48,289 --> 00:33:51,809
coming out. The episodes I recorded for season 1 that I felt didn't

554
00:33:51,809 --> 00:33:55,545
fit, That might fit in season 2 or season 3, but I have a lot

555
00:33:55,545 --> 00:33:59,305
of great content, and I'm just excited. And I'm growing it gradually the same way

556
00:33:59,305 --> 00:34:02,920
you're growing yours. And I look at you as a source of inspiration because when

557
00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,200
I saw you doing your podcast, I said, you know what? If Gino does it,

558
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,159
I can do mine. Here I am. I must've been doing something right because now

559
00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:12,895
I'm on your platform. So I I look at inspiration in all different

560
00:34:12,895 --> 00:34:16,255
forms, and I'm a student. And that's all I want my podcast to be, just

561
00:34:16,255 --> 00:34:20,099
like a source of education, inspiration and uplifting

562
00:34:20,099 --> 00:34:23,800
people who are the doers in the world. Yeah. I love that. That's,

563
00:34:24,339 --> 00:34:27,875
again, so many different things I could I could touch on what you just shared,

564
00:34:27,875 --> 00:34:31,635
but, like, 1, a piece of it, like, always growing and figuring out

565
00:34:31,635 --> 00:34:34,835
what it is. I think a lot of times like, when I started my podcast,

566
00:34:34,835 --> 00:34:38,359
I I thought It was something that I wanted, and then it just kinda changed

567
00:34:38,359 --> 00:34:41,400
through. And I was, like, okay. Maybe it's not specifically about this one thing. It's

568
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:45,080
about this other thing, and here's this overarching theme that's now emerging and,

569
00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:48,424
like, now leaning into that. And I think it it's a gradual process,

570
00:34:48,804 --> 00:34:52,005
and I don't have mine all the way figured out yet either. But, like, I

571
00:34:52,005 --> 00:34:55,589
think it's cool to, like, beyond that learning path and to keep

572
00:34:56,049 --> 00:34:59,890
continuing to change with how you see things. Wherever it is that you're

573
00:34:59,890 --> 00:35:03,665
interested in, whatever in is, like, working, you follow that. And, and, again, kind of

574
00:35:03,665 --> 00:35:07,505
the entrepreneurial mindset of just, like, evolving and getting better. So I really

575
00:35:07,505 --> 00:35:11,250
like that. Thanks, man. Yes. I I I did wanna ask you

576
00:35:11,250 --> 00:35:14,690
too about, like, you know, what what was the the hardest part of starting your

577
00:35:14,690 --> 00:35:18,450
own podcast? Because I know, you mentioned, like, you kinda just,

578
00:35:18,450 --> 00:35:21,795
like, getting the stuff and getting started. And, you know, I think that's kind of

579
00:35:21,795 --> 00:35:25,555
the hardest hurdle for people is to just, like, get one out there and just

580
00:35:25,555 --> 00:35:28,890
do it. Because, like, it's not gonna be perfect, but you gotta just, like, get

581
00:35:28,890 --> 00:35:32,730
one out there. So what was, like, the hardest thing for you? Oh, man.

582
00:35:32,730 --> 00:35:35,070
So many hard things. I think,

583
00:35:37,015 --> 00:35:40,555
Honestly, I would say the consistency of recording and posting.

584
00:35:40,935 --> 00:35:44,455
But on a deeper level, I think was just being my true authentic self,

585
00:35:44,455 --> 00:35:48,150
honestly. Like, There's some episodes I listen to now

586
00:35:48,770 --> 00:35:52,210
that are out there, and the ones that I haven't released yet, sometimes I'm just

587
00:35:52,210 --> 00:35:55,995
like, oh my god. That is so not me. Right? Because

588
00:35:56,135 --> 00:35:59,515
to a certain extent, I felt like I had to hide who I truly was.

589
00:35:59,735 --> 00:36:03,355
Honestly, I did. Because I was like, man, are people ready for the

590
00:36:03,690 --> 00:36:07,369
The funny the the nerdy side of Kobe. Like, there's

591
00:36:07,369 --> 00:36:10,750
certain things that I'm now referencing in podcast that

592
00:36:11,035 --> 00:36:14,635
I feel are my true authentic self because people see me in such a professional

593
00:36:14,635 --> 00:36:17,355
light, which is good. Right? When you see me at the chamber, you see me

594
00:36:17,355 --> 00:36:20,539
doing my business, Of course. But there's a time and a place for that. But

595
00:36:20,539 --> 00:36:23,740
when you listen to the podcast, you're gonna get the the real Kobe. You're gonna

596
00:36:23,740 --> 00:36:27,295
get the the Harry Potter nerd. You're gonna get The

597
00:36:27,295 --> 00:36:30,655
basketball fanatic. You're gonna get the the hip hop

598
00:36:30,655 --> 00:36:34,335
historian side of me, and I'm figuring that out right now.

599
00:36:34,335 --> 00:36:37,990
So There are episodes that I have in the chamber that are

600
00:36:38,450 --> 00:36:42,130
that are me referencing rap lyrics that influenced

601
00:36:42,130 --> 00:36:45,885
me, rap albums that influenced me. I'm referencing Harry Potter

602
00:36:45,885 --> 00:36:49,724
characters, you know, things like that. I'm talking about what I've learned from

603
00:36:49,724 --> 00:36:53,244
watching some of my favorite basketball players like LeBron James or Kobe

604
00:36:53,244 --> 00:36:56,703
Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant.

605
00:36:56,703 --> 00:37:00,334
That's coming out. And even though it's entrepreneurship, I

606
00:37:00,334 --> 00:37:04,115
try not to talk too much On that side, I try to put

607
00:37:04,115 --> 00:37:07,555
it in terms that people can understand. Like, you can learn from other things. Like,

608
00:37:07,555 --> 00:37:10,914
I've learned as much from business from the classroom as I have from

609
00:37:10,914 --> 00:37:14,670
basketball. So just trying to figure out that means of

610
00:37:14,670 --> 00:37:18,269
communication to the audience. And who knows? And some people have been

611
00:37:18,269 --> 00:37:21,905
receptive to it. Other people are saying, oh, I tuned out Because I don't like

612
00:37:21,905 --> 00:37:25,585
basketball, but what I would say to that person who might not

613
00:37:25,585 --> 00:37:29,425
like sports or Harry Potter or hip hop is you're closing

614
00:37:29,425 --> 00:37:33,270
off of information. And I remember I told someone that recently. I say, hey.

615
00:37:33,270 --> 00:37:37,110
Listen. I don't like all the articles that you write, but when

616
00:37:37,110 --> 00:37:40,785
you release them, I read them because I'm like, wow. I can learn something from

617
00:37:40,785 --> 00:37:44,465
that. And I think that kinda changed our relationship because they saw me as

618
00:37:44,465 --> 00:37:48,290
someone who's not afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Mhmm. So it's

619
00:37:48,290 --> 00:37:51,410
things like that. And I think just once you start to figure out who you

620
00:37:51,410 --> 00:37:55,090
are truly and I'm evolving over time, people are gonna

621
00:37:55,090 --> 00:37:58,925
be receptive to that. So And I think the

622
00:37:58,925 --> 00:38:02,685
the authenticity of it is me just saying what

623
00:38:02,685 --> 00:38:06,340
I feel, But also not being afraid to stumble over

624
00:38:06,340 --> 00:38:10,100
words, pausing, losing my train of thought. And I don't edit

625
00:38:10,100 --> 00:38:13,355
that because I don't want people to look at me and say, oh, this guy's

626
00:38:13,475 --> 00:38:16,915
he's so Hollywood. He's so perfect. No. Like, I mess up just

627
00:38:16,915 --> 00:38:20,560
like I mess up just as much as anyone, But I'm

628
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:24,320
not afraid to I'm not afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to try new

629
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:28,000
things and make it work. So that's really been the hardest part was just

630
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,704
being my true authentic self, and It's starting to come out with every episode,

631
00:38:32,005 --> 00:38:34,964
and I'm I'm enjoying it, though. You know? I just love when people say, hey.

632
00:38:34,964 --> 00:38:38,404
I listened to the episode, and that resonated with me because you're being

633
00:38:38,404 --> 00:38:42,079
yourself. That's all I wanted to do. That's been the hardest part really is just

634
00:38:42,079 --> 00:38:45,220
being myself and having people recognize that.

635
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:49,785
Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. That That, definitely rings true with me too.

636
00:38:49,925 --> 00:38:53,685
Last few years, I've been having, like, words that kinda, like, inspire my year. And

637
00:38:53,685 --> 00:38:57,210
and for this year, it's It is that. It's like being your authentic self, being

638
00:38:57,210 --> 00:39:00,890
more of my authentic self and showing people who that is. And I think that's

639
00:39:00,970 --> 00:39:04,605
like, podcasting is such an amazing platform to be able to do that.

640
00:39:04,685 --> 00:39:08,445
And, yeah, I definitely, agree with you with, like, some of my earlier episodes and,

641
00:39:08,445 --> 00:39:12,205
like, me trying to be this quote unquote podcast or whatever. But now it's just,

642
00:39:12,205 --> 00:39:15,860
like, trying to have real conversations with people and not be, like, nervous

643
00:39:15,860 --> 00:39:19,380
or just, like, you know, asking people about the things that are you know, that

644
00:39:19,380 --> 00:39:22,484
they're interested in and the things that I'm interested in. And, yeah, Yeah. It's just

645
00:39:22,484 --> 00:39:26,005
like 1 big learning experience. But, but, yeah, I really resonated with the,

646
00:39:26,405 --> 00:39:30,160
trying to be more your authentic self. And, I think that's, you know,

647
00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:33,700
almost a a pull away from, like, the societal thing of,

648
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,920
be supposed to be a certain person in a job or in school or in

649
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:41,515
your your community growing up. Like, you were painted to be this

650
00:39:41,515 --> 00:39:44,715
person and and being okay with being like, hey. I'm changing now. You know, I

651
00:39:44,795 --> 00:39:48,640
I'm not that person anymore, or or here's a piece of me that maybe

652
00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:51,760
I thought you wouldn't enjoy, but I'm gonna say it anyways because that's who I

653
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:55,140
am. And and I think what ends up happening is you'll connect with the people

654
00:39:55,325 --> 00:39:59,085
that you're supposed to connect with instead of just the greater good. Because you

655
00:39:59,085 --> 00:40:02,125
don't wanna appeal to everybody. Right? You wanna be yourself, and you wanna find your

656
00:40:02,125 --> 00:40:05,710
own tribe. So yeah. I I really resonate with that. I like that a lot.

657
00:40:06,730 --> 00:40:10,010
So, yes, we're we're kinda coming to the end of our time here. I did

658
00:40:10,010 --> 00:40:13,565
wanna ask you 1 question that I like to ask everybody. And the word purpose

659
00:40:13,565 --> 00:40:16,865
is a big part of this podcast, and, I'd like to get everybody's

660
00:40:17,005 --> 00:40:20,609
definition of purpose and what purpose means to them. So if you will

661
00:40:20,609 --> 00:40:24,049
define purpose for us and, and, you know, give us any thoughts on that

662
00:40:24,049 --> 00:40:27,890
word. Yeah. Purpose to me is, like, it's a layered answer. So

663
00:40:27,890 --> 00:40:31,615
for me, it's One, doing what I like to do, which

664
00:40:31,615 --> 00:40:35,055
is create. Whether it's creating the bracelets, whether it's creating

665
00:40:35,055 --> 00:40:38,790
content, But I also want to to

666
00:40:38,790 --> 00:40:42,230
help people at the same time because there's so many people that help me. Like,

667
00:40:42,230 --> 00:40:45,884
my mother, I referenced in the beginning. She's been such an inspiration and still

668
00:40:45,884 --> 00:40:49,664
is. To me, my grandparents, inspiration. I have cousins,

669
00:40:49,884 --> 00:40:53,470
my godparents. They they've all inspired me so

670
00:40:53,470 --> 00:40:57,310
much, so it's really giving everything that they gave to me

671
00:40:57,310 --> 00:41:00,994
back to other people. So I just I just wanna

672
00:41:00,994 --> 00:41:04,275
see people succeed and help because it's hard out here in the world. Like, we

673
00:41:04,275 --> 00:41:07,875
live in a world of abundance, but so many people have a

674
00:41:07,875 --> 00:41:11,430
scarcity mindset. And I've gotten as far as I've gotten

675
00:41:11,430 --> 00:41:15,190
because people have encouraged me. People have encouraged me. They

676
00:41:15,190 --> 00:41:18,650
put me in rooms I never thought I'd be in. They've prayed for me.

677
00:41:18,975 --> 00:41:22,815
They've connected me with people who've changed my life. And and

678
00:41:22,815 --> 00:41:26,255
now that I'm in a situation, I'm in a position where I have some

679
00:41:26,255 --> 00:41:29,839
influence and some power to do that for other people. That's what I wanna do.

680
00:41:29,839 --> 00:41:33,279
I want people to be their true authentic selves. I know that

681
00:41:33,279 --> 00:41:36,799
sometimes we work at jobs and sometimes they try to stifle our

682
00:41:36,799 --> 00:41:40,605
creativity, but Who you are, what you value should

683
00:41:40,605 --> 00:41:43,905
never you should never have to hide that.

684
00:41:44,925 --> 00:41:48,369
That's what purpose is to me. Being your authentic self, Helping

685
00:41:48,369 --> 00:41:52,210
people, changing lives, building this world because we are a

686
00:41:52,210 --> 00:41:56,045
world that thrives off of controversy, Negativity

687
00:41:56,825 --> 00:42:00,185
and chaos, and that's awful because that's

688
00:42:00,185 --> 00:42:03,960
what harms everyone the most. We criticize people

689
00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:07,720
for for caring. Isn't that crazy? Like, the people who get criticized the

690
00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:10,860
most are the people who care, people who want to make change.

691
00:42:11,494 --> 00:42:14,615
And I'm okay with being called crazy because I know at the end of the

692
00:42:14,615 --> 00:42:18,455
day, the people that are going to listen to this interview and see

693
00:42:18,455 --> 00:42:21,490
the work that we're doing And see, the lives that we're changing are gonna be

694
00:42:21,490 --> 00:42:25,109
the same people that said, damn. We should've we we should've invested

695
00:42:25,170 --> 00:42:28,550
into them. We should've talked to them. We should've tuned into that episode.

696
00:42:29,214 --> 00:42:33,055
We should have been around them because they really care. My I think

697
00:42:33,055 --> 00:42:36,655
my biggest flaw in life is that I care too much sometimes, and I wanna

698
00:42:36,655 --> 00:42:40,320
help people. But I do that because I know

699
00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:44,080
that there's potential in everyone. And whether and whether

700
00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:47,835
you buy a bracelet from me, A tote bag for me. You listen to

701
00:42:47,835 --> 00:42:51,515
the podcast. You start subscribing. You share. I help you out with your business any

702
00:42:51,515 --> 00:42:55,240
other way. I know That at the end of the day, if you have

703
00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:59,079
interacted with me and I'm my true authentic self, that's gonna inspire

704
00:42:59,079 --> 00:43:02,775
you. And it might not happen right then. It might happen 10 years

705
00:43:02,775 --> 00:43:06,375
down the line. It might happen your last year in life, but my goal is

706
00:43:06,375 --> 00:43:09,415
to help you. I don't know what that looks like. It could be in different

707
00:43:09,415 --> 00:43:13,119
forms, but As long as you're evolving into the the best kind

708
00:43:13,119 --> 00:43:16,900
of person that you can be, that's what my purpose is, to help people.

709
00:43:17,795 --> 00:43:21,475
And the the more I start doing that, the the better I feel about myself.

710
00:43:21,475 --> 00:43:25,075
And it's it's just unique. It's a tricky way to answer this, but I really

711
00:43:25,075 --> 00:43:27,640
just wanna help people. And this is the only way that I know how to

712
00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:30,599
do it. Like, I'm I'm not a doctor or anything. Like, I know how to

713
00:43:30,599 --> 00:43:34,060
help people by being a creative, being a content creator,

714
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:38,175
having products, and And inspiring you any way that I can.

715
00:43:39,035 --> 00:43:42,795
Mhmm. Yeah. That was a beautiful answer. I I love the aspect of

716
00:43:42,795 --> 00:43:46,360
of you wanting to pass down and to share what people have poured into

717
00:43:46,820 --> 00:43:50,500
you. And that that's, I think, a really, grateful way

718
00:43:50,500 --> 00:43:54,315
to to look at, like, the knowledge that purpose have given you, and then

719
00:43:54,315 --> 00:43:57,994
just always wanting to help people, I think, is is amazing too. And, I

720
00:43:57,994 --> 00:44:01,535
think that's a a really good aspect of purpose is, like,

721
00:44:01,799 --> 00:44:05,480
you helping other people gives you a sense of purpose because you're seeing them

722
00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:08,760
grow, or you're seeing how you can change somebody's life just by, you know, the

723
00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:11,855
little things that you do. And and then also the next thought that I was

724
00:44:11,855 --> 00:44:15,375
thinking about too is, like, as you're talking about, yes, there's so much negativity in

725
00:44:15,375 --> 00:44:18,335
the world and that sort of thing, but I too am also somebody who likes

726
00:44:18,335 --> 00:44:22,109
to pour into the positive side of things and, like, not try not

727
00:44:22,109 --> 00:44:25,250
to focus any energies in the negative stuff even though it's there and you can

728
00:44:25,309 --> 00:44:29,115
acknowledge it. I think spending more time and, like, talking about the positive

729
00:44:29,115 --> 00:44:32,875
things, doing things that help other purpose. You know, conversations like this, I

730
00:44:32,875 --> 00:44:36,315
think that's where my, at least, best use of energy can

731
00:44:36,315 --> 00:44:40,000
go. So so yeah. Thanks thanks for sharing all that, and thanks for being so

732
00:44:40,220 --> 00:44:43,840
open and honest and, sharing all your knowledge with us. And,

733
00:44:44,175 --> 00:44:47,295
you know, I'm I'm really grateful to have you here and to interview you. And,

734
00:44:47,615 --> 00:44:51,135
the last question would be, like, what's next for you? And, you know, if people

735
00:44:51,135 --> 00:44:54,780
resonated with this, where can they find you? Oh, so what's next? We'll see. Right?

736
00:44:54,780 --> 00:44:58,460
You know? I I I don't know what's next. You know? I

737
00:44:58,460 --> 00:45:02,220
just know that I'm moving I'm moving with faith. I'm moving with God, leading my

738
00:45:02,220 --> 00:45:05,795
life. As long as he guides me in the right direction, I know the

739
00:45:05,795 --> 00:45:09,075
opportunities are gonna come the way they have been coming because I'm living a life

740
00:45:09,075 --> 00:45:12,690
that I never thought I would live, so I'm just gonna follow God and see

741
00:45:12,690 --> 00:45:16,530
where he takes me. But where people could find me, if you're interested

742
00:45:16,530 --> 00:45:20,224
in the podcast, you can follow the podcast On Instagram,

743
00:45:20,224 --> 00:45:23,744
which is Passion, c h a t t I

744
00:45:23,744 --> 00:45:27,470
n, underscore, with Underscore k

745
00:45:27,470 --> 00:45:31,089
o b e y, and you could follow the channel with Kobay podcast on

746
00:45:31,470 --> 00:45:35,150
Spotify, Apple podcast, Google podcast, YouTube

747
00:45:35,150 --> 00:45:38,565
channel coming soon, c h a t t I n

748
00:45:38,865 --> 00:45:42,625
with k o b e y. If you wanna follow my personal Instagram, I

749
00:45:42,625 --> 00:45:46,330
guess that's okay too. It's KOBE y s

750
00:45:46,330 --> 00:45:50,090
m I t h. So follow me through there and just reach out to me.

751
00:45:50,090 --> 00:45:53,825
Like, DM me if you have any ideas of people you think I should

752
00:45:53,825 --> 00:45:57,585
interview, any topics, any podcasts, just reach

753
00:45:57,585 --> 00:46:01,045
out. You know, I'm still growing the brand. Website's coming soon,

754
00:46:01,185 --> 00:46:05,010
but I'm just figuring it out. And if you're and, again,

755
00:46:05,010 --> 00:46:08,450
if you wanna reach out to me on LinkedIn, like, I'm active on that, you

756
00:46:08,450 --> 00:46:12,244
can just connect with me, k o b e y s m I t h

757
00:46:12,244 --> 00:46:15,925
on LinkedIn. Connect with me. I'll accept your connection.

758
00:46:15,925 --> 00:46:19,640
I have a lot of connections on it. I anyone as long as they're being

759
00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:23,320
appropriate. So, yeah, I'm I'm a big I'm big on community

760
00:46:23,320 --> 00:46:27,145
and building bridges and relationships with people because I

761
00:46:27,145 --> 00:46:30,825
I learned from hanging around people who are smarter than me and passing that

762
00:46:30,825 --> 00:46:34,425
off the information to the people who need it. So I love connecting with

763
00:46:34,425 --> 00:46:37,980
people. I like learning from people. I'm what I'm gonna grow the podcast. I'm

764
00:46:37,980 --> 00:46:41,819
gonna get Gina on my episode soon, and we're just gonna build it

765
00:46:41,819 --> 00:46:45,595
together. And that's how people could connect with me. If it takes me a while

766
00:46:45,595 --> 00:46:49,115
to get to you, I'm sorry. There's a lot going on, but I always make

767
00:46:49,115 --> 00:46:52,235
sure that I respond to people because I know what it feels like to to

768
00:46:52,235 --> 00:46:55,560
be ignored. And I never wanna do that to someone because it is hard. So

769
00:46:55,560 --> 00:46:59,160
just be patient with me. Follow me. Let's let's grow this community

770
00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:03,005
together, and let's All growing to being the the best people that we can possibly

771
00:47:03,005 --> 00:47:06,845
be. Awesome. Thanks, man. Well, that's much appreciated, and

772
00:47:06,845 --> 00:47:09,740
I will definitely put the links in the show notes. Thank you so much for

773
00:47:09,740 --> 00:47:13,280
for being on today, and, I appreciate all your words of wisdom

774
00:47:13,579 --> 00:47:17,420
and all your support. You know, we've known each other for maybe what was

775
00:47:17,420 --> 00:47:20,975
it? Like, 2 years in the Navy. Yeah. Yeah. Met at known where I met

776
00:47:20,975 --> 00:47:24,135
a lot of people. Right. And, yeah, every time we see each other, it's always

777
00:47:24,135 --> 00:47:26,810
like, I'm excited to see you and you're excited RC Me, and and we're always

778
00:47:26,810 --> 00:47:30,650
supporting the things that we do. So, I appreciate that relationship for sure.

779
00:47:30,650 --> 00:47:34,194
And, yeah. Wish you the best in the future, and, hope hope everything

780
00:47:34,194 --> 00:47:37,555
goes, you know, the way that you want it. No. Thank you, man. And I

781
00:47:37,555 --> 00:47:41,315
appreciate your platform as well. You know, we you've always been supportive. Even when

782
00:47:41,315 --> 00:47:45,099
I started, My podcast pod casting journey. You were like, hey, man. Just

783
00:47:45,099 --> 00:47:48,140
just put it out there. Just try it and see where it goes. And seeing

784
00:47:48,140 --> 00:47:51,875
you has definitely been one of the blueprints for me, so it's very

785
00:47:51,875 --> 00:47:55,315
inspirational. I'm proud of all you're doing. And any way I can support and get

786
00:47:55,315 --> 00:47:58,530
the word out for your podcast, just let me know. Like, I'm always a A

787
00:47:58,530 --> 00:48:01,890
text or a message away, bro. You already know. Mhmm. Thank you, man. Appreciate

788
00:48:01,890 --> 00:48:05,730
it. Thank you. Thank you for

789
00:48:05,730 --> 00:48:09,555
listening to working towards our If you liked today's episode and

790
00:48:09,555 --> 00:48:13,395
are interested in more, you can sign up for my Substack newsletter with the link

791
00:48:13,395 --> 00:48:17,160
in the show notes where I share thoughts, tips, and ideas that

792
00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:20,920
I'm learning along my journey to help inspire you. The show was

793
00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:23,340
produced by Pleasant Podcast at pleasant podcast.com.