1 00:00:00,083 --> 00:00:03,416 I think I had to realize, just like, you know, with you, 2 00:00:03,708 --> 00:00:05,875 there was something pulling on my heart. I didn't know what it was. 3 00:00:05,875 --> 00:00:09,250 Again, I was I was 24 years old, 4 00:00:09,458 --> 00:00:12,458 you know, maybe 20, 25, 26. 5 00:00:12,583 --> 00:00:14,708 And so something pulling on my heart. 6 00:00:14,708 --> 00:00:17,125 I had to get out of the studio. 7 00:00:17,125 --> 00:00:21,541 I had to get out of that firm and get into the community to find myself. 8 00:00:22,375 --> 00:00:24,291 If you believe we can change the narrative. 9 00:00:24,291 --> 00:00:26,500 If you believe, we can change our communities. 10 00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:29,875 If you believe we can change the outcomes, then we can change the world. 11 00:00:30,583 --> 00:00:32,125 I'm Rob Richardson. 12 00:00:32,125 --> 00:00:35,125 Welcome to Disruption Now. 13 00:00:35,125 --> 00:00:36,458 Welcome, fellow disruptors. 14 00:00:36,458 --> 00:00:37,291 Welcome to Disruption 15 00:00:37,291 --> 00:00:39,416 Now, I'm Rob Richardson, your host and moderator. 16 00:00:39,416 --> 00:00:43,166 With me is John Johnson, who is the founder of the Small studio 17 00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:45,375 the digital design studio, who's going to tell you 18 00:00:45,375 --> 00:00:48,458 more about some of the work he does and some of the unique clients 19 00:00:48,458 --> 00:00:52,041 that he has by this little game you may know called Pokémon Go. 20 00:00:52,041 --> 00:00:53,416 That's one of his many clients. 21 00:00:53,416 --> 00:00:55,916 And, he's also just a great human being. 22 00:00:55,916 --> 00:00:58,208 It's great to have him on the show. How are you doing, John? 23 00:00:58,208 --> 00:00:58,750 Good, brother. 24 00:00:58,750 --> 00:01:00,625 I'm good. Just happy to be here. 25 00:01:00,625 --> 00:01:02,500 Yeah, well, you know, we're happy to have you. 26 00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:04,583 So you have been a founder. 27 00:01:04,583 --> 00:01:09,333 You've been in this, this journey that's a never ending process in self-discovery. 28 00:01:09,333 --> 00:01:10,208 For how long now? 29 00:01:12,958 --> 00:01:13,250 what? 30 00:01:13,250 --> 00:01:14,583 My career. 31 00:01:14,583 --> 00:01:15,666 You've been. It's been your whole career. 32 00:01:15,666 --> 00:01:17,333 You've been a founder. 33 00:01:17,333 --> 00:01:20,416 well, no, I, I practice architecture for about two years. 34 00:01:20,666 --> 00:01:23,916 after I got out of school, got a master's in architecture, my MBA, 35 00:01:24,250 --> 00:01:28,208 and then two years in, practicing architecture, I realized 36 00:01:28,708 --> 00:01:33,166 that I was an entrepreneur, and I needed to go out and create something. 37 00:01:33,166 --> 00:01:37,000 So that was about, I think, 20, 2016. 38 00:01:37,666 --> 00:01:39,583 Yeah, yeah. 2016. 39 00:01:39,583 --> 00:01:43,000 man, I got married to my wife and yeah. That 40 00:01:44,166 --> 00:01:45,375 what what sparked that? 41 00:01:45,375 --> 00:01:49,833 Like what sparked your what made you say, I have, I'm going to be an entrepreneur. 42 00:01:49,833 --> 00:01:51,333 This is just what I have to do. 43 00:01:51,333 --> 00:01:53,500 Was there a moment? Was there. 44 00:01:53,500 --> 00:01:58,208 Was there some crisis that came up that said, okay, I need to change? 45 00:01:58,208 --> 00:01:59,333 Like what happened? 46 00:02:02,125 --> 00:02:02,958 that's a great question. 47 00:02:02,958 --> 00:02:07,583 I think for me, getting my MBA at the same time 48 00:02:07,583 --> 00:02:11,375 as my master's in architecture helped me open my eyes. 49 00:02:11,375 --> 00:02:15,416 The industry of architecture, you know, majority of people 50 00:02:15,416 --> 00:02:18,416 that get their degrees and specialize feels like that. 51 00:02:18,625 --> 00:02:20,916 They only focus on their field. 52 00:02:20,916 --> 00:02:23,958 And when I got my MBA at the same time, it started to teach me 53 00:02:23,958 --> 00:02:27,125 a little bit more about the industry and about the possibilities. 54 00:02:27,125 --> 00:02:32,291 And I was able to, almost think differently than a lot of my colleagues. 55 00:02:32,291 --> 00:02:35,791 So I went to this architecture firm in Phoenix, Arizona. 56 00:02:35,791 --> 00:02:39,791 And, one of the first questions they asked me in my interview was, 57 00:02:40,500 --> 00:02:43,041 what is the future of architecture look like for you? 58 00:02:43,041 --> 00:02:46,041 And I said, I said, architecture as a commodity. 59 00:02:46,291 --> 00:02:49,291 And I said, architects need to start taking ownership in their work. 60 00:02:49,458 --> 00:02:50,750 Right? In the, the, 61 00:02:50,750 --> 00:02:53,041 the projects that they're doing, the buildings that they're creating. 62 00:02:53,041 --> 00:02:54,541 So they continue to create 63 00:02:54,541 --> 00:02:57,541 and generate revenue from the success of those buildings. 64 00:02:57,916 --> 00:03:01,500 And I think that that interview helped me realize and showed me that 65 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:05,291 I, I thought a little differently than a lot of my colleagues. 66 00:03:05,291 --> 00:03:08,583 And, two years into it, I studied, 67 00:03:08,583 --> 00:03:13,291 I learned underneath other architects the principles of that firm 68 00:03:13,291 --> 00:03:17,041 and honestly, I looked at the principles and I realized that that wasn't me. 69 00:03:17,416 --> 00:03:18,958 I didn't want to be them. 70 00:03:18,958 --> 00:03:22,833 I didn't want to go down this path of architecture. 71 00:03:22,833 --> 00:03:26,166 So, so I, I mean, I had to come, 72 00:03:26,208 --> 00:03:29,208 come to Jesus moment and I quit, 73 00:03:29,291 --> 00:03:33,000 you know, and then, shortly after that, I, I launched 74 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,708 my first startup and, and fell in love with entrepreneurship from there. 75 00:03:37,791 --> 00:03:38,083 Yeah. 76 00:03:38,083 --> 00:03:41,000 So, I have a similar story with law. 77 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,000 Like, I worked at a firm, 78 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,875 and, and I saw the partners, and I'm like, this looks miserable. 79 00:03:49,458 --> 00:03:51,125 Like I want to do this. 80 00:03:51,125 --> 00:03:54,958 They like, they have more money, but they look even more miserable 81 00:03:54,958 --> 00:03:55,958 than the associates. 82 00:03:55,958 --> 00:03:58,583 like this. Just doesn't feel right. Like, why? 83 00:03:58,583 --> 00:04:02,000 So I'm aspiring to be like that in in 15 years. 84 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:03,000 Like now. 85 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,166 Like I passed like it was like. 86 00:04:05,166 --> 00:04:06,083 Yeah, it definitely was it. 87 00:04:06,083 --> 00:04:06,875 I get that right. 88 00:04:06,875 --> 00:04:10,375 That defined path maybe provide some comfort. 89 00:04:10,375 --> 00:04:14,375 But at the same time, if you don't like what you're doing, I mean, I just remember 90 00:04:14,375 --> 00:04:17,708 going into the building to have this sneaky feel like I do not like this. 91 00:04:17,708 --> 00:04:20,166 Like I get that, I really. Do. 92 00:04:20,166 --> 00:04:23,125 I want to say that they were miserable like that. 93 00:04:24,166 --> 00:04:24,750 I'm not I'm. 94 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:25,291 Not saying that. 95 00:04:25,291 --> 00:04:27,875 I'm not saying they, well, they they didn't see me. 96 00:04:27,875 --> 00:04:30,791 As I said, I'm like, yeah, I know, see me miserable. 97 00:04:30,791 --> 00:04:32,625 I have no job. I have no clue to that. 98 00:04:32,625 --> 00:04:34,791 No, I and that's and that's, that's, that's the, 99 00:04:34,791 --> 00:04:36,750 the different professions in a different firms. 100 00:04:36,750 --> 00:04:37,000 Right. 101 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,208 Honestly, like the firm that I worked for, it was a is an incredible firm 102 00:04:41,208 --> 00:04:43,916 and the principles are some of the best in the field. 103 00:04:43,916 --> 00:04:47,250 They were doing some incredible projects and the work was incredible. 104 00:04:47,250 --> 00:04:49,833 And I loved architecture. Right. 105 00:04:49,833 --> 00:04:53,875 But I, I think I had to realize, just like, you know, with you, 106 00:04:54,166 --> 00:04:56,333 there was something pulling on my heart. I didn't know what it was. 107 00:04:56,333 --> 00:04:59,708 Again, I was I was 24 years old, 108 00:04:59,916 --> 00:05:02,916 you know, maybe 20, 25, 26. 109 00:05:03,041 --> 00:05:05,166 And so something pulling on my heart. 110 00:05:05,166 --> 00:05:07,583 I had to get out of the studio. 111 00:05:07,583 --> 00:05:12,000 I had to get out of that firm and get into the community to find myself. 112 00:05:12,583 --> 00:05:12,958 Right. 113 00:05:12,958 --> 00:05:17,916 And I spent the next five years really finding myself until I've, 114 00:05:17,958 --> 00:05:20,916 you know, finally landed at a small studio. 115 00:05:20,916 --> 00:05:21,125 Yeah. 116 00:05:21,125 --> 00:05:22,208 So what surprised 117 00:05:22,208 --> 00:05:25,541 you most about starting your starting starting your entrepreneurial journey? 118 00:05:26,125 --> 00:05:27,958 What surprised me the most? 119 00:05:27,958 --> 00:05:29,166 Yep. What surprised you the most? 120 00:05:31,625 --> 00:05:34,625 That's a that's a great question too, man. 121 00:05:36,875 --> 00:05:38,791 you know, there's this 122 00:05:38,791 --> 00:05:41,791 there's this constant battle 123 00:05:42,416 --> 00:05:44,583 in my head. In my heart. 124 00:05:44,583 --> 00:05:44,791 Right? 125 00:05:44,791 --> 00:05:49,000 Every single day that I've realized over the years that I'm 126 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,000 the only person that can fight that battle. 127 00:05:53,166 --> 00:05:56,208 nobody else knows what you're going through. 128 00:05:56,250 --> 00:06:00,583 Nobody else knows all of the things that you think 129 00:06:00,583 --> 00:06:05,541 about on a daily, minute by minute, second by second basis. 130 00:06:05,541 --> 00:06:07,041 You know, my wife doesn't know. 131 00:06:07,041 --> 00:06:10,708 My kids don't know, my partners don't know. 132 00:06:11,375 --> 00:06:14,375 And I think that that battle. 133 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,541 Was very, very heavy at the beginning for me, 134 00:06:18,791 --> 00:06:22,208 because, you know, you're fighting a lot of doubt 135 00:06:22,208 --> 00:06:25,875 and self-doubt and insecurities, and you never done it before. 136 00:06:25,875 --> 00:06:27,500 I never did it before. 137 00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:29,500 I'm like, I can do this. 138 00:06:29,500 --> 00:06:31,625 Maybe I can, you know, I could do this. 139 00:06:31,625 --> 00:06:33,916 Yeah, I can't. And, I did that. 140 00:06:33,916 --> 00:06:37,500 And over the years, I, I started to develop more of a faith. 141 00:06:37,916 --> 00:06:38,208 Right. 142 00:06:38,208 --> 00:06:41,375 And I started to develop more of a relationship with God. 143 00:06:41,375 --> 00:06:42,708 And and I did have a fight. 144 00:06:42,708 --> 00:06:45,708 Those battles anymore by myself, 145 00:06:45,750 --> 00:06:49,208 you know, and I was able to share them with this partner 146 00:06:49,208 --> 00:06:53,000 that walks with me every single day and was in my head and was in my heart, 147 00:06:53,041 --> 00:06:57,000 you know, and that that really liven things up for me, you know? 148 00:06:57,250 --> 00:06:59,208 and it allows me to walk a little lighter. 149 00:06:59,208 --> 00:07:02,875 Now, as an entrepreneur for, you know, ten plus years. 150 00:07:03,958 --> 00:07:04,958 Yeah, it is, 151 00:07:04,958 --> 00:07:08,125 and I'm sure you go through moments, even with your faith 152 00:07:08,708 --> 00:07:11,958 that where you go through your ups and downs because it's challenging, right? 153 00:07:11,958 --> 00:07:14,958 When you're we are the principal and you're the owner. 154 00:07:15,166 --> 00:07:18,083 I think there's a lot of glorification of the process. 155 00:07:18,083 --> 00:07:19,833 Most of it is a lot of doubt. 156 00:07:19,833 --> 00:07:21,875 And the problem is also a lot of rejection. 157 00:07:21,875 --> 00:07:23,625 So you have to have that faith, 158 00:07:23,625 --> 00:07:26,166 you know, that you're going to make it, that you're going 159 00:07:26,166 --> 00:07:29,291 to find a way that you're going to pivot because it's mostly no's. 160 00:07:29,291 --> 00:07:33,750 Like it's not like a it's not like a it doesn't generally open right up. 161 00:07:33,750 --> 00:07:34,958 And it usually takes time. 162 00:07:34,958 --> 00:07:36,958 A whole lot of time. More time than you think. 163 00:07:36,958 --> 00:07:39,333 And it is it is a constant journey. 164 00:07:39,333 --> 00:07:42,166 Like I, I understand and completely understand your path. 165 00:07:42,166 --> 00:07:44,833 But again, you know, I'm also on your path, so I understand it. 166 00:07:44,833 --> 00:07:46,958 Yeah. 167 00:07:46,958 --> 00:07:48,916 If you can go back to your younger self. Right. 168 00:07:48,916 --> 00:07:51,958 So when you maybe when you first started in this, in this journey 169 00:07:51,958 --> 00:07:56,416 or at really any point in your business or your personal life, what advice 170 00:07:56,416 --> 00:08:00,250 would you give your younger self and then what advice would you ignore? 171 00:08:08,500 --> 00:08:11,250 You know, I remember 172 00:08:11,250 --> 00:08:15,125 a moment when I was younger, when I decided to become an architect, 173 00:08:15,375 --> 00:08:18,375 I decided to go to architecture school, and I had so many people, 174 00:08:18,833 --> 00:08:22,750 tell me that I shouldn't do that 175 00:08:23,291 --> 00:08:26,500 because especially like it was, there was a lot of people, 176 00:08:26,500 --> 00:08:29,791 in the black community that that were telling me that I shouldn't 177 00:08:29,791 --> 00:08:33,541 do it because they didn't know or see how many black architects. 178 00:08:34,291 --> 00:08:35,250 Right. 179 00:08:35,250 --> 00:08:38,583 And I wish that 180 00:08:39,416 --> 00:08:41,708 somebody would have told me about what I just shared. 181 00:08:41,708 --> 00:08:45,083 Like how, you know, when you're called on a path 182 00:08:45,458 --> 00:08:48,333 that, like, you feel in your heart and convicted, 183 00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:51,333 typically you're going to be the only, 184 00:08:51,833 --> 00:08:54,791 you know, like, typically you're not going to see a lot of people 185 00:08:54,791 --> 00:08:58,833 like you or me, anyone like you, sometimes around you because you're being 186 00:08:58,833 --> 00:09:02,791 called to do something that nobody's ever done before, you know? 187 00:09:02,791 --> 00:09:07,083 And I just wish there was somebody in my life, 188 00:09:07,083 --> 00:09:10,875 and even specifically like a man that told me that 189 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:16,125 because I one of have been so surprised every time I ended up in a situation 190 00:09:16,125 --> 00:09:19,875 where I was the only right, whether only man, 191 00:09:19,875 --> 00:09:22,833 whether it was only black man, whether it was the, the, 192 00:09:22,833 --> 00:09:28,166 the youngest in the room or the, the only one that's never practiced 193 00:09:28,166 --> 00:09:31,708 this before, done this before, you know, whatever it was. 194 00:09:33,666 --> 00:09:34,375 that that's 195 00:09:34,375 --> 00:09:37,375 probably that's one of the hardest parts of the journey is. 196 00:09:37,375 --> 00:09:38,166 Yeah. 197 00:09:38,166 --> 00:09:41,541 You know, not really having a lot of people like you around you. 198 00:09:41,708 --> 00:09:47,541 Yes. It's, so I think that that's what I wish somebody would have told me, 199 00:09:47,541 --> 00:09:51,041 because it would have allowed me to approach those things with so much, 200 00:09:52,458 --> 00:09:55,458 strength, you know? 201 00:09:55,625 --> 00:09:56,708 Well, then kind of 202 00:09:56,708 --> 00:10:02,666 get it punched in the face every time I end up in a situation. and 203 00:10:03,875 --> 00:10:04,875 what was the other question? 204 00:10:04,875 --> 00:10:06,458 What piece? what. 205 00:10:06,458 --> 00:10:09,458 What what advice would you ignore to your younger self? 206 00:10:13,500 --> 00:10:17,541 I. you kind of answered it, I didn't. 207 00:10:17,833 --> 00:10:19,833 Yeah, yeah, I think it goes hand in hand. 208 00:10:19,833 --> 00:10:21,625 You really kind of did answer it there. 209 00:10:21,625 --> 00:10:25,958 I mean, it's it is tough being like the only one people 210 00:10:26,583 --> 00:10:29,791 because I don't have any like pride in that when you're like the only one, it's 211 00:10:29,791 --> 00:10:32,916 like you want to see more, but it is what it is. 212 00:10:32,916 --> 00:10:33,708 And dealing with that 213 00:10:33,708 --> 00:10:36,958 and having people to talk to is really kind of difficult, like people, 214 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:37,791 unless you've been there. 215 00:10:37,791 --> 00:10:41,250 Like it's it's really difficult to really figure out how to navigate that. 216 00:10:41,250 --> 00:10:45,541 How do you navigate that now, to this day, when you're in the room and you know, 217 00:10:46,083 --> 00:10:49,666 you're the only brother in the room, which Upshaws still happens a lot, right? 218 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,333 How do you deal with that? 219 00:10:51,333 --> 00:10:54,375 Sometimes the pressure, like what's your 220 00:10:54,708 --> 00:10:57,541 if you even view it as pressure, how do you how do you deal with this. 221 00:10:57,541 --> 00:11:00,916 It'll before earlier I was very conscious of it. 222 00:11:01,375 --> 00:11:04,750 It almost stood out viscerally and it distracted me a little. 223 00:11:04,958 --> 00:11:05,708 sure. 224 00:11:07,041 --> 00:11:07,916 Almost to the point 225 00:11:07,916 --> 00:11:11,041 of insecurity and and maybe even sometimes fear. 226 00:11:11,791 --> 00:11:12,000 Right. 227 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:16,625 But now I think at this stage of my career, I barely acknowledge it, 228 00:11:16,833 --> 00:11:17,791 but I barely notice. 229 00:11:17,791 --> 00:11:20,666 It doesn't need to become normal. 230 00:11:20,666 --> 00:11:24,125 It's become it's become like, you know, they always say that 231 00:11:24,125 --> 00:11:27,125 saying, you know, get comfortable being uncomfortable. 232 00:11:27,291 --> 00:11:31,291 And I think I'm at that point in my career where I'm very comfortable 233 00:11:31,291 --> 00:11:32,583 being uncomfortable. 234 00:11:32,583 --> 00:11:37,291 especially sometimes when, you know, I may be one of the only people 235 00:11:37,291 --> 00:11:41,125 that has a certain, background or from a certain place 236 00:11:41,125 --> 00:11:44,125 like Cleveland, go into the West Coast, right. 237 00:11:44,666 --> 00:11:47,208 it's it's it's become common. 238 00:11:47,208 --> 00:11:51,666 And and I think the way I handle it, I always go back to my faith. 239 00:11:51,666 --> 00:11:54,333 A, you know, I journal a lot. 240 00:11:54,333 --> 00:11:55,708 I pray a lot. 241 00:11:55,708 --> 00:11:58,791 I try to get even started 242 00:11:58,791 --> 00:12:02,250 a practice of, of of affirmation and visualization 243 00:12:02,541 --> 00:12:05,916 where I now like to visualize myself in those moments. 244 00:12:06,750 --> 00:12:07,791 How do you go about that in your head? 245 00:12:07,791 --> 00:12:08,250 I'm curious. 246 00:12:08,250 --> 00:12:10,083 Like, what does that what does that habit and routine 247 00:12:10,083 --> 00:12:12,750 look like for your affirmation in your visualization? 248 00:12:12,750 --> 00:12:16,500 Like, how would you advise someone to be more intentional about doing that? 249 00:12:16,708 --> 00:12:17,541 I'm curious about. 250 00:12:17,541 --> 00:12:21,875 There's a there's a great book that brought it all together for me. 251 00:12:21,875 --> 00:12:24,875 It's called the, Miracle Morning. 252 00:12:24,916 --> 00:12:25,375 okay. 253 00:12:25,375 --> 00:12:26,791 I'll forget the author's name. 254 00:12:26,791 --> 00:12:28,750 It's called the Miracle Morning. And 255 00:12:29,708 --> 00:12:30,500 it's a really 256 00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:33,541 it simplifies it because I think that that's my biggest advice. 257 00:12:33,541 --> 00:12:35,916 Anybody is like, just keep it simple. Make it simple. 258 00:12:35,916 --> 00:12:37,875 Don't try to overcomplicate it too much. Right. 259 00:12:37,875 --> 00:12:41,125 So he simplified it to a point where he said every morning 260 00:12:41,750 --> 00:12:46,166 for 60 minutes go through, a ritual. 261 00:12:46,291 --> 00:12:50,458 Ryan, this ritual was you know, silence 262 00:12:50,875 --> 00:12:55,833 for ten minutes, affirmations for five, visualization for five. 263 00:12:56,166 --> 00:12:59,625 You know, exercise, reading and scribing or writing. 264 00:13:00,083 --> 00:13:02,000 Right? I was already reading. I was already writing. 265 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,625 I was already exercising. 266 00:13:03,625 --> 00:13:05,125 I was already doing silence. 267 00:13:05,125 --> 00:13:07,083 Right. and prayer. 268 00:13:07,083 --> 00:13:11,166 but that that affirmation visualization always has been kind of 269 00:13:11,166 --> 00:13:13,500 out of reach for me. Right? 270 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:16,125 But all I did was take, you know, five minutes. 271 00:13:16,125 --> 00:13:19,833 I have my peloton app, I put a meditation on, do 272 00:13:19,833 --> 00:13:23,708 five minutes of meditation, and then right after that, I go into my affirmations. 273 00:13:23,708 --> 00:13:26,708 And my affirmations are almost sometimes very simple, like, 274 00:13:27,458 --> 00:13:29,791 you know, thank you for making me a father. 275 00:13:29,791 --> 00:13:31,666 Thank you for making me a husband. 276 00:13:31,666 --> 00:13:33,500 Thank you for making me a leader. 277 00:13:33,500 --> 00:13:34,958 Thank you for making me an identity 278 00:13:34,958 --> 00:13:39,041 architect, you know, and or I am an identity architect. 279 00:13:39,041 --> 00:13:40,166 I am a father. 280 00:13:40,166 --> 00:13:41,083 I am a son. 281 00:13:41,083 --> 00:13:44,000 You know these really simple affirmations. 282 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,416 And I love that because it allows me to identify 283 00:13:48,416 --> 00:13:51,541 with the words that matter the most to me know, prioritize those. 284 00:13:51,541 --> 00:13:55,541 Because as you go about your day, you start to get attached to certain words 285 00:13:55,541 --> 00:13:58,583 and people start to prescribe words to you, and you get filled 286 00:13:58,583 --> 00:14:03,208 with all the clutter of social media and interviews and so on and so forth. 287 00:14:03,208 --> 00:14:03,875 Right? 288 00:14:03,875 --> 00:14:08,500 And then right after that, I go through pretty much my schedule for the day, 289 00:14:08,833 --> 00:14:11,958 and I visualize each experience from the drive 290 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,125 to a meeting to this podcast, right? To, 291 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:19,833 the meeting that I'm going to have or a conversation 292 00:14:19,833 --> 00:14:22,833 I have with an employee or a client or whatever it is. 293 00:14:22,833 --> 00:14:27,625 And I just take a moment to think about it and, you know, have the perfect it. 294 00:14:27,666 --> 00:14:29,833 Whether it's a practice, 295 00:14:29,833 --> 00:14:33,250 right, and whether it's 5 minutes or 10 minutes, it's very simple. 296 00:14:33,250 --> 00:14:34,625 And he breaks it down in the book 297 00:14:34,625 --> 00:14:38,500 and he simplifies it very well, because you can do that for a minute. 298 00:14:38,958 --> 00:14:39,958 And just for a minute. 299 00:14:39,958 --> 00:14:42,458 That will be better than not doing it at all, 300 00:14:42,458 --> 00:14:46,166 because it will prepare you for those moments that you'll end up, 301 00:14:46,250 --> 00:14:47,916 coming across. 302 00:14:47,916 --> 00:14:50,541 When you talk about being a disruptor, right? 303 00:14:50,541 --> 00:14:51,875 Like. Right. 304 00:14:51,875 --> 00:14:55,250 If you're going to disrupt something, you better be prepared, right, 305 00:14:55,250 --> 00:14:59,958 for those moments, because disruption comes with a lot of battles and a lot of. 306 00:14:59,958 --> 00:15:01,500 Does it does. 307 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:04,666 You I mean, so that's that's how it's that's how it's helped me a lot. 308 00:15:05,375 --> 00:15:07,541 No, I'm that's, that's that's really good. 309 00:15:07,541 --> 00:15:10,750 You know, my mother always told me you got to just tell you 310 00:15:11,083 --> 00:15:13,750 tell yourself the truth in the morning because the world just fills 311 00:15:13,750 --> 00:15:15,291 you with lies every day. Right. 312 00:15:15,291 --> 00:15:19,125 So everything we're looking for is within ourselves. 313 00:15:19,125 --> 00:15:21,166 But we have to remind ourselves. I love. That. 314 00:15:22,208 --> 00:15:24,541 We really, really, like, have a great mother. 315 00:15:24,541 --> 00:15:29,791 But it's important to keep remembering these lessons because they, like the most. 316 00:15:29,875 --> 00:15:32,500 Simple lessons are also the most profound. 317 00:15:32,500 --> 00:15:33,958 Like this. 318 00:15:33,958 --> 00:15:37,291 Like you said, keeping it simple is how you actually make your life better. 319 00:15:37,625 --> 00:15:40,375 It's just going back to those basics and that was really helpful for me. 320 00:15:40,375 --> 00:15:40,875 So thank you. 321 00:15:40,875 --> 00:15:42,750 And I'm sure it's going to be helpful for those who are 322 00:15:42,750 --> 00:15:44,250 who are listening, looking for better ways. 323 00:15:44,250 --> 00:15:45,000 Because, you know, 324 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,708 when people think about like manifestation and visualization, 325 00:15:47,708 --> 00:15:50,708 I think people say like, well, of course I want to be great, but 326 00:15:50,708 --> 00:15:53,708 and I want to visualize things, but being intentional about how you do 327 00:15:53,708 --> 00:15:55,250 that is how you actually get there. 328 00:15:55,250 --> 00:15:58,416 I mean, I think that's and you really help teach me another habit 329 00:15:58,416 --> 00:16:01,041 that I need to put into my routine, like to be more intentional about that. 330 00:16:01,041 --> 00:16:02,666 So I really appreciate that, you know, 331 00:16:03,875 --> 00:16:06,416 now, you came from like, Cleveland West. 332 00:16:06,416 --> 00:16:08,291 You did. You grew up in the east of Cleveland. 333 00:16:08,291 --> 00:16:10,041 Is that right? West side of Cleveland? 334 00:16:10,041 --> 00:16:11,708 I did spend time on the east side. 335 00:16:11,708 --> 00:16:13,000 I went to school, 336 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,000 high school on the East side, but grew up on the West Side. 337 00:16:16,500 --> 00:16:16,750 All right. 338 00:16:16,750 --> 00:16:19,666 But it's a it was it was it was a difficult path, right. 339 00:16:19,666 --> 00:16:22,083 To be, east side of Cleveland. And what's up, man? 340 00:16:22,083 --> 00:16:23,791 I don't know much, but I know the east side of Cleveland's 341 00:16:23,791 --> 00:16:27,416 pretty notorious, but it's, still is, but, like 99. 342 00:16:27,458 --> 00:16:30,250 Help me. Yeah. 343 00:16:30,250 --> 00:16:31,750 How did that shape your experience? 344 00:16:31,750 --> 00:16:35,416 You you know, you came from a background you talked about a little bit, 345 00:16:35,958 --> 00:16:38,583 that, you know, it's not just being a person of color. 346 00:16:38,583 --> 00:16:41,625 You came from a you gave a place that's very difficult to rise out of, period. 347 00:16:41,625 --> 00:16:42,916 Like, it's, 348 00:16:42,916 --> 00:16:44,916 you know, not that we go by statistics, but you look at it, 349 00:16:44,916 --> 00:16:46,625 a lot of people have trouble rising out of that. 350 00:16:46,625 --> 00:16:49,625 Like, what did you gain from that experience 351 00:16:49,625 --> 00:16:53,416 and how does that shape who you are today as an entrepreneur? 352 00:16:57,666 --> 00:17:00,416 well, you know, I grew up on West 69th in Detroit. 353 00:17:00,416 --> 00:17:05,500 during a really, really tough time for the city. 354 00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:08,500 I mean, this is the 90s, right? 355 00:17:08,541 --> 00:17:12,666 probably one of the poorest times, you know, even even to today. 356 00:17:12,666 --> 00:17:16,291 Maybe, where, you know, 357 00:17:17,625 --> 00:17:19,416 it was a lot of poverty. I grew up. 358 00:17:19,416 --> 00:17:23,416 I never knew my father raised by a single mother, had three siblings. 359 00:17:24,791 --> 00:17:28,000 you know, they they did their best with me. 360 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,000 I was the youngest by, like, seven years. 361 00:17:31,666 --> 00:17:34,500 and we grew up in this, like, very Italian neighborhood 362 00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:35,708 on the west side of Cleveland. 363 00:17:35,708 --> 00:17:37,750 That where they would paint the Italian flag 364 00:17:37,750 --> 00:17:41,583 on the fire, fire hydrants and the poles and all that. 365 00:17:41,583 --> 00:17:44,416 And, a lot of them were my friends, the kids that grew up. 366 00:17:44,416 --> 00:17:46,625 We played outside all the time, you know. 367 00:17:46,625 --> 00:17:49,333 but I, you know, one of the, 368 00:17:49,333 --> 00:17:53,583 the moments that, shaped me was, you know, when my, my brother 369 00:17:53,583 --> 00:17:57,083 went to prison when he was 17 years old, I was about ten. 370 00:17:57,541 --> 00:17:58,000 Right. 371 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,791 and he ended up, you know, getting in a fight with a guy. And. 372 00:18:03,083 --> 00:18:05,083 And so it was all we were so. 373 00:18:05,083 --> 00:18:07,291 So repeat that you said one of the moments that you froze for a 374 00:18:07,291 --> 00:18:09,916 one of the moments that shaped you. Was your brother in this go there? 375 00:18:09,916 --> 00:18:10,291 Yeah. 376 00:18:10,291 --> 00:18:14,000 One of the moments that shaped me was my brother, you know, going to prison. 377 00:18:14,291 --> 00:18:18,000 and he was 17 years old, right. 378 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,750 and I was ten, and. Wow. 379 00:18:22,166 --> 00:18:25,583 So I, I remember the moment, you know, helicopter 380 00:18:25,583 --> 00:18:29,708 showed up in my house and the police stormed the house and so on and so forth. 381 00:18:29,708 --> 00:18:33,500 And, you know, I was young, so I didn't I didn't really know the magnitude of it. 382 00:18:33,875 --> 00:18:38,083 However, what what was so important about that for me 383 00:18:38,416 --> 00:18:42,625 was it showed me the path that I could end up going down. 384 00:18:42,625 --> 00:18:45,666 And odds are that I would end up going down that path. 385 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:46,500 Right. 386 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:49,958 because, you know, everybody I think knows the statistics 387 00:18:50,208 --> 00:18:52,750 about being a black man in America. Right. 388 00:18:52,750 --> 00:18:55,541 and how often we end up in prison. 389 00:18:55,541 --> 00:18:59,750 so doing that and seeing that helped. 390 00:19:00,125 --> 00:19:04,750 I think me and my sisters realized that 391 00:19:05,166 --> 00:19:08,166 if we don't get it together, 392 00:19:08,166 --> 00:19:10,833 everything's going to I'm going to end up in prison, right? 393 00:19:10,833 --> 00:19:12,416 Just like my brother. 394 00:19:12,416 --> 00:19:16,083 So long story short, they sent me to private school. 395 00:19:16,208 --> 00:19:20,208 they really made sure I stayed out of trouble as much as possible. 396 00:19:21,125 --> 00:19:22,916 sent me to Benedictine High School. 397 00:19:22,916 --> 00:19:26,666 they they really they really stepped up to make sure 398 00:19:26,666 --> 00:19:29,041 that I didn't just end up a statistic. Right. 399 00:19:29,041 --> 00:19:31,958 right. going to Benedictine High School. 400 00:19:31,958 --> 00:19:36,541 I think I owe it to them being, you know, all boys Catholic 401 00:19:36,541 --> 00:19:40,541 private school is the reason, probably why I got into architecture school, 402 00:19:40,541 --> 00:19:41,750 at Kent State. 403 00:19:41,750 --> 00:19:46,083 And, you know, then from there, I got my master's in architecture, my MBA. 404 00:19:46,541 --> 00:19:50,708 And I think that that big thing in my head was, John, 405 00:19:50,708 --> 00:19:55,416 you if you don't execute and if you don't do what 406 00:19:55,416 --> 00:19:58,833 your you need to do, you're going to end up in the streets. 407 00:19:59,333 --> 00:20:00,000 All right. Yeah. 408 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,000 You're going to end up, in prison. 409 00:20:03,125 --> 00:20:06,125 And I had this person, 410 00:20:06,166 --> 00:20:08,916 my brother that was there, and I, 411 00:20:08,916 --> 00:20:11,500 I don't know how I don't talk to people a lot about that. 412 00:20:11,500 --> 00:20:15,250 Don't know how often people use that as an example of change. 413 00:20:15,750 --> 00:20:16,833 Right, right. 414 00:20:16,833 --> 00:20:18,791 But it was it was visceral for me. 415 00:20:18,791 --> 00:20:20,375 And I look at that all the time. 416 00:20:20,375 --> 00:20:25,333 And that's that's really, truly my memory of Cleveland, because I left the college 417 00:20:25,333 --> 00:20:30,708 for ten years, and I just now came back two and a half years ago with my wife. 418 00:20:30,708 --> 00:20:34,958 And, you know, now I have a child and I live I live here full time. 419 00:20:35,541 --> 00:20:40,083 But my memory was, you know, child John growing up in Cleveland 420 00:20:40,125 --> 00:20:44,000 and the violence and the gangs and the prison and, you know, 421 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,416 just the poverty and all of that. Right. 422 00:20:46,416 --> 00:20:51,416 but coming back, I think there's a whole new perspective of what Cleveland can be. 423 00:20:51,416 --> 00:20:56,083 My brother was just released, after 24 years, last year. 424 00:20:56,333 --> 00:20:59,916 he's now, you know, out and, and, 425 00:20:59,958 --> 00:21:05,750 you know, in an apprenticeship, right to, to get, you know, become a laborer and, 426 00:21:05,750 --> 00:21:08,916 and become a part of a union right in his on his great and 427 00:21:09,208 --> 00:21:13,750 and he's, he's he's going, I come back with a lot more hope, 428 00:21:14,250 --> 00:21:18,208 I guess, than I did when I was a child, which was part of the reason 429 00:21:18,208 --> 00:21:21,958 why I left, you know, I'm like, yeah, I'll see you later, Cleveland. 430 00:21:21,958 --> 00:21:24,541 I to leave notice and I left. 431 00:21:24,541 --> 00:21:29,583 I'm so glad that I did, because it allowed me to find myself 432 00:21:29,583 --> 00:21:33,250 outside of Cleveland, you know, and outside of the childhood 433 00:21:33,250 --> 00:21:36,250 that I had and, outside of my family. 434 00:21:36,666 --> 00:21:37,041 Right. 435 00:21:37,041 --> 00:21:41,000 But find John, who I am as a person, as a as a man. 436 00:21:41,083 --> 00:21:44,375 and I was able to do that in Phoenix and Seattle and 437 00:21:44,708 --> 00:21:47,875 and now bring the new man that I am back to Cleveland 438 00:21:47,875 --> 00:21:50,875 and hopefully be able to help as many people as I can. 439 00:21:51,500 --> 00:21:52,958 Know that that that's wonderful. 440 00:21:55,083 --> 00:21:57,625 let's let let let let's talk a little bit about your professional. 441 00:21:57,625 --> 00:21:59,083 And then I want to go back to some personal things. 442 00:21:59,083 --> 00:22:04,083 So you've you were an architect and then you've started a digital design firm. 443 00:22:04,333 --> 00:22:06,750 Yeah. How did how did you find yourself? 444 00:22:06,750 --> 00:22:09,750 How did you combine architecture with 445 00:22:10,416 --> 00:22:12,250 starting a digital design agency? 446 00:22:12,250 --> 00:22:14,708 A firm like I don't normally see that connection. 447 00:22:14,708 --> 00:22:19,041 So tell us about how those connecting from, from, you know, your experience. 448 00:22:19,208 --> 00:22:20,000 Yeah. 449 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,500 Well it's actually happening a lot more now. 450 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:26,750 as the industry shifts and digital design is becoming more and more, 451 00:22:26,750 --> 00:22:31,500 I guess, there's more demand for it. 452 00:22:31,750 --> 00:22:32,333 Yes. Right. 453 00:22:32,333 --> 00:22:35,625 and those crowd, those, those legacy crafts like architecture 454 00:22:35,625 --> 00:22:37,041 and drafting, right. 455 00:22:37,041 --> 00:22:40,666 In 3D modeling, then I don't I don't know, the 456 00:22:41,041 --> 00:22:44,375 people are starting to find themselves in this digital space. 457 00:22:44,375 --> 00:22:48,166 But, for me, you know, I just shared about how I left, 458 00:22:48,166 --> 00:22:53,125 right after I left, I got into, started a, a mobile app startup called Feel Free, 459 00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:54,458 which was an app. Okay. 460 00:22:54,458 --> 00:22:58,416 When you walk into a space, you're automatically checked in there 461 00:22:58,416 --> 00:23:01,291 and you see a list of all the, the people that were there. 462 00:23:01,291 --> 00:23:04,208 An idea was to create more organic, face to face connections 463 00:23:04,208 --> 00:23:06,000 in the built environment. Right. 464 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,916 So it was actually a nice little step from architecture into digital. 465 00:23:10,958 --> 00:23:11,333 Right. 466 00:23:11,333 --> 00:23:14,500 And that that technology startup, 467 00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:19,000 spent the next two years trying to build that, you know, we, we built a whole 468 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,125 mobile app, we built a brand, we built a following, 469 00:23:22,250 --> 00:23:26,625 and we we ultimately failed 470 00:23:27,041 --> 00:23:30,875 via just, the relationship me and my partner had. 471 00:23:31,208 --> 00:23:31,625 Right. 472 00:23:31,625 --> 00:23:36,125 And we just we fell out in, in that moment and it was I think it was a lot of, 473 00:23:36,125 --> 00:23:40,416 you know, immaturity, a lot of young, you know, just naivete. 474 00:23:40,625 --> 00:23:43,583 it was you were just young and, right. 475 00:23:43,583 --> 00:23:45,958 But I learned so much through that experience. 476 00:23:45,958 --> 00:23:47,583 I learned how to build a brand. 477 00:23:47,583 --> 00:23:50,250 I learned how to design a mobile application. 478 00:23:50,250 --> 00:23:53,291 I learned how to, you know, build a movement of people 479 00:23:53,625 --> 00:23:57,541 right around a course that we cared about, which was these ideas of talking 480 00:23:57,541 --> 00:24:01,333 to each other in the built environment, which is probably needed today. 481 00:24:01,333 --> 00:24:02,833 Even it's even more important now. 482 00:24:04,166 --> 00:24:06,291 So. So we learned so much. 483 00:24:06,291 --> 00:24:10,458 And then what I realized through that experience was how much I loved 484 00:24:10,458 --> 00:24:14,375 building things and how much I love starting things and 485 00:24:14,375 --> 00:24:17,375 and specifically how much I loved helping people start. 486 00:24:17,375 --> 00:24:22,291 So then I ended up in a, a company called C Spot in Phenix called, 487 00:24:22,291 --> 00:24:27,750 that was a specifically a impact driven, incubator. 488 00:24:28,083 --> 00:24:28,333 Right. 489 00:24:28,333 --> 00:24:32,250 So they they accelerated and incubated impact 490 00:24:32,250 --> 00:24:34,208 driven entrepreneurs to launch their ideas 491 00:24:34,208 --> 00:24:36,041 and build their ideas and push them out to the world. 492 00:24:36,041 --> 00:24:37,833 So they were actually a nonprofit. 493 00:24:37,833 --> 00:24:41,541 So I got I got a lot of experience working with early stage entrepreneurs, 494 00:24:41,541 --> 00:24:44,833 specifically impact driven entrepreneurs, helping them, 495 00:24:46,083 --> 00:24:48,333 you know, figure out their idea, helping them 496 00:24:48,333 --> 00:24:51,833 understand their idea, helping them figure out how it fits in the marketplace, 497 00:24:51,875 --> 00:24:54,875 how to launch it, and so on and so forth, and how to speak about it. 498 00:24:55,625 --> 00:24:58,500 And it just continued to fan that flame inside of me 499 00:24:58,500 --> 00:25:03,958 of how much I loved helping people launch their brands and build brands. 500 00:25:04,666 --> 00:25:07,166 So, long story short, 501 00:25:07,166 --> 00:25:11,708 I ended up moving to Seattle with my wife, who got a job at Amazon, 502 00:25:12,250 --> 00:25:15,833 and my business partner, Choi, was living there, 503 00:25:16,041 --> 00:25:19,708 and we decided to start a small studio together, 504 00:25:19,750 --> 00:25:22,750 which when we started, was all about branding and helping, 505 00:25:23,250 --> 00:25:26,916 you know, these these impact driven companies understand 506 00:25:26,916 --> 00:25:29,916 who they are and build their brand and launch it out to the world. 507 00:25:30,125 --> 00:25:30,458 Yeah. 508 00:25:30,458 --> 00:25:34,541 I ended up extrapolating into web design and product design, mobile 509 00:25:34,541 --> 00:25:35,791 web design, right. 510 00:25:35,791 --> 00:25:38,791 everything and naming. 511 00:25:39,208 --> 00:25:42,791 And as, as this was happening, 512 00:25:43,416 --> 00:25:47,791 I started to realize where my gifts really lead, right? 513 00:25:47,916 --> 00:25:51,458 Where we're helping people, helping founders, helping leaders, 514 00:25:52,708 --> 00:25:53,625 truly, 515 00:25:53,625 --> 00:25:56,750 like, reflect on who they are as an individual 516 00:25:57,500 --> 00:26:02,333 and almost extracting that individuality, that personality, those experiences. 517 00:26:02,333 --> 00:26:04,750 A lot of the experiences that I just shared with you. 518 00:26:04,750 --> 00:26:06,041 Right, right. Right. 519 00:26:06,041 --> 00:26:06,916 Myself. 520 00:26:06,916 --> 00:26:10,791 Extract ING those and translating those into the marketplace 521 00:26:11,458 --> 00:26:14,458 powerfully so they can stand out amongst all the clutter. 522 00:26:14,958 --> 00:26:15,625 Right? Right. 523 00:26:15,625 --> 00:26:17,791 They can do something, they can 524 00:26:17,791 --> 00:26:21,166 they can build something that's unique and authentic to who they were. 525 00:26:21,583 --> 00:26:24,625 And that's how identity architecture came to be. 526 00:26:24,625 --> 00:26:28,416 I knew this was so much more than just branding. 527 00:26:29,083 --> 00:26:31,583 I was so much more than just a business thing. 528 00:26:31,583 --> 00:26:34,208 It was. It was identity. It was identity driven. 529 00:26:34,208 --> 00:26:36,125 It was a part of these people's identities. 530 00:26:36,125 --> 00:26:38,416 And, that's that's where I. 531 00:26:38,416 --> 00:26:40,000 That's that's how I fell in love with it. 532 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,250 And that's that's how I was able to bridge architecture. 533 00:26:43,250 --> 00:26:47,291 And what I'm doing now, which is digital design, branding, 534 00:26:47,291 --> 00:26:49,541 product design, all of those things. 535 00:26:49,541 --> 00:26:53,125 But our our special sauce and what we do differently, 536 00:26:53,250 --> 00:26:56,125 what I do differently is that identity architecture, 537 00:26:56,125 --> 00:26:58,958 helping people understand who they are and how to translate that 538 00:26:58,958 --> 00:26:59,916 into the marketplace. 539 00:27:01,208 --> 00:27:03,333 So, having the 540 00:27:03,333 --> 00:27:06,333 experience of starting multiple times, 541 00:27:06,583 --> 00:27:09,791 I always find it the most challenging for almost every entrepreneur is 542 00:27:09,791 --> 00:27:13,625 like when they got there, maybe they they've got the basics of their offerings, 543 00:27:13,625 --> 00:27:17,500 and then they getting that first 5 to 10 clients 544 00:27:18,541 --> 00:27:20,500 that first just just as just getting them. 545 00:27:20,500 --> 00:27:23,708 What is your advice on getting those first few clients 546 00:27:23,708 --> 00:27:26,833 to help you get to the path of possible sustainability? 547 00:27:29,833 --> 00:27:31,416 well, 548 00:27:31,416 --> 00:27:34,291 number one is you don't need 549 00:27:34,291 --> 00:27:37,291 a business card and you don't need a website, 550 00:27:37,958 --> 00:27:40,958 and you don't need anything, honestly, to just sell. 551 00:27:41,458 --> 00:27:41,708 Right. 552 00:27:41,708 --> 00:27:44,083 And make that ask and put yourself out there. 553 00:27:44,083 --> 00:27:47,791 that's something I realized after multiple times of starting. 554 00:27:48,125 --> 00:27:51,750 I thought, I need a perfect business card and a perfect website, 555 00:27:51,750 --> 00:27:55,166 and everything had to be perfect before I actually even got out there and sold. 556 00:27:55,500 --> 00:27:58,125 But I what I realized is that was this fear. 557 00:27:58,125 --> 00:28:00,208 That was fear on my side. I was afraid to sell. 558 00:28:00,208 --> 00:28:01,375 I wasn't confident yet. 559 00:28:01,375 --> 00:28:04,291 And what we were, what we were actually selling and 560 00:28:04,291 --> 00:28:07,083 and what I realized was I wasn't even selling anything. 561 00:28:07,083 --> 00:28:08,833 I was just trying to help people. 562 00:28:08,833 --> 00:28:11,458 So when I moved to Seattle and started a small studio, 563 00:28:11,458 --> 00:28:13,375 I was brand new to this whole new city. 564 00:28:13,375 --> 00:28:16,541 One of the at the time when I moved there was the fastest growing city 565 00:28:16,541 --> 00:28:17,833 in the world, right? 566 00:28:17,833 --> 00:28:21,000 They had the most cranes in the world in downtown Seattle. 567 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,000 And I'm here trying to start this new design agency. 568 00:28:24,541 --> 00:28:26,791 All right. Everybody I talked to, I was like, what are you doing? 569 00:28:26,791 --> 00:28:28,500 Why why would you do that? 570 00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:31,916 And I was like, well, it's what this what I'm doing. 571 00:28:32,458 --> 00:28:36,500 And right when I started to talk to people and listen to people and really, 572 00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:39,333 truly understand who they are and what they're doing, 573 00:28:39,333 --> 00:28:41,875 what they're trying to do, I, I started to find those moments 574 00:28:41,875 --> 00:28:45,000 where I could, I, I know I can help you with that. 575 00:28:45,750 --> 00:28:48,750 And I told them that and they were like, all right, let's go. 576 00:28:49,083 --> 00:28:50,166 And I had an idea. 577 00:28:50,166 --> 00:28:54,958 We had our first client before we even got the LLC filed. Wow. 578 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:55,375 All right. 579 00:28:55,375 --> 00:29:00,541 one of my first goals was actually to get Troy to be able to quit his job 580 00:29:01,208 --> 00:29:04,208 full time so you can come full time on a small studio. 581 00:29:04,333 --> 00:29:09,125 I think in the first three months, we had made almost $150,000, right. 582 00:29:09,125 --> 00:29:12,625 And that was me just selling and talking to people 583 00:29:12,625 --> 00:29:14,916 and letting them know who we are and what we're doing. 584 00:29:14,916 --> 00:29:18,583 And, and, that was before we even had a website, right? 585 00:29:18,625 --> 00:29:22,458 We made $150,000 before we even had a website, before we had business cards, 586 00:29:22,833 --> 00:29:23,791 all of that stuff. 587 00:29:23,791 --> 00:29:27,541 And, that would be my biggest piece of advice 588 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,583 for people that are just starting, especially in services. 589 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,000 You need to know how you can help people 590 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,500 and why you you're the best person to help them. 591 00:29:40,416 --> 00:29:42,458 If you can do that, you don't have to sell. 592 00:29:42,458 --> 00:29:44,833 You really just have to talk to people, right? 593 00:29:44,833 --> 00:29:47,541 The whole relationship. Yeah, yeah. 594 00:29:47,541 --> 00:29:49,291 And then, like I just saw this quote 595 00:29:49,291 --> 00:29:52,291 when the marketing is your story, you don't have to do anything but live 596 00:29:52,333 --> 00:29:55,416 and just go out and meet people and a great point you made 597 00:29:55,416 --> 00:29:59,250 is that a lot of folks get get paralyzed by perfection. 598 00:29:59,791 --> 00:30:02,041 you know, they wait and wait and see. 599 00:30:02,041 --> 00:30:02,958 I it has to be this way. 600 00:30:02,958 --> 00:30:05,083 Has to be that way. Has to be right. 601 00:30:05,083 --> 00:30:07,958 And that prevents them because you got to go out and talk to people. 602 00:30:07,958 --> 00:30:08,583 Like, really? 603 00:30:08,583 --> 00:30:09,875 It still comes down to the basics. 604 00:30:09,875 --> 00:30:12,750 It still comes down to talking to people and talking to people. 605 00:30:12,750 --> 00:30:15,750 Before you're ready, just like you said, you have to know who you are 606 00:30:16,083 --> 00:30:17,875 and that's what you're bringing to the table. 607 00:30:17,875 --> 00:30:20,750 You know who you are as a person and what your why is. 608 00:30:20,750 --> 00:30:24,041 And I guess that's why you're that's why you're the man with identity architecture. 609 00:30:24,083 --> 00:30:25,500 Like, I never even heard of that term before you. 610 00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:29,375 So that's, And you really educated me on that. 611 00:30:29,375 --> 00:30:30,791 Let me give you this, rabbit. 612 00:30:30,791 --> 00:30:34,291 I've been living it for six and a half years, 613 00:30:34,458 --> 00:30:38,750 and it's not until just now, this year, maybe last quarter, 614 00:30:39,250 --> 00:30:42,958 that I was willing to double down on identity architecture 615 00:30:42,958 --> 00:30:43,833 and realize, like, 616 00:30:43,833 --> 00:30:47,125 that is our unique differentiator, that that's what makes us different 617 00:30:47,125 --> 00:30:49,125 than every other design agency in the world. 618 00:30:49,125 --> 00:30:52,708 That's what makes us different than any every other designer in the world. 619 00:30:52,708 --> 00:30:54,750 Is that what you just said? 620 00:30:54,750 --> 00:30:58,333 When you're marketing is your story, you just have to live. 621 00:30:59,083 --> 00:31:01,083 That's literally all I want to do for people. 622 00:31:01,083 --> 00:31:03,750 Hey, I'm trying to market this. 623 00:31:03,750 --> 00:31:06,791 I'm trying to be like everyone else in the marketplace. 624 00:31:07,333 --> 00:31:09,000 Go right here, right here. 625 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:10,291 Do the reflection 626 00:31:11,375 --> 00:31:12,500 on yourself. 627 00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:13,750 You know, like reflect. 628 00:31:13,750 --> 00:31:18,333 So I always say that you gotta reflect in order to project authentically. 629 00:31:19,083 --> 00:31:22,083 And you gotta reflect in order to project authentically. 630 00:31:22,458 --> 00:31:24,583 And if you're not reflect. That's a bar. 631 00:31:24,583 --> 00:31:27,250 Let's go, let's go. 632 00:31:27,250 --> 00:31:29,458 If you're not reflecting, then 633 00:31:29,458 --> 00:31:33,208 you're projecting something that you consumed typically. 634 00:31:33,416 --> 00:31:36,708 So that's why I see a lot of this stuff out there 635 00:31:37,083 --> 00:31:39,750 in the marketplace, on social media, so on and so forth. 636 00:31:39,750 --> 00:31:42,000 It's just people that are just there. 637 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,791 Then they don't want to do the work 638 00:31:44,791 --> 00:31:49,791 to truly reflect on themselves and their story and their experiences. 639 00:31:50,250 --> 00:31:51,750 And I tell people all the time, 640 00:31:51,750 --> 00:31:55,291 if you just do that, you'll save a lot of money in marketing. 641 00:31:55,750 --> 00:31:57,958 You'll save a lot of time. 642 00:31:57,958 --> 00:31:58,291 All right. 643 00:31:58,291 --> 00:32:01,625 And that's why we realize that this this is the core service 644 00:32:01,625 --> 00:32:05,958 that we have to offer, because it changes the way we design. 645 00:32:06,125 --> 00:32:10,208 It changes the way that people, you know, market everything that you do. 646 00:32:10,208 --> 00:32:12,791 If you do that reflection, it helps everything else you do. 647 00:32:13,875 --> 00:32:15,958 Now that's that's those are all bars, man. 648 00:32:15,958 --> 00:32:18,416 That's a that's a that was great. 649 00:32:18,416 --> 00:32:21,416 that was really great advice. 650 00:32:22,083 --> 00:32:26,041 so I want to talk a little bit about your, your, your, your personal journey 651 00:32:26,041 --> 00:32:29,166 a little bit here because I know you, you know, the last year, 652 00:32:29,750 --> 00:32:30,625 it was going to go 653 00:32:30,625 --> 00:32:33,625 you're going to go to Midwest Con, and then you told me you got sick 654 00:32:34,291 --> 00:32:36,625 and then you, you know, you actually been, you know, revealed to me 655 00:32:36,625 --> 00:32:39,666 recently that, you know, you know, cancer, which is wild. 656 00:32:39,666 --> 00:32:42,958 And talk about how that changed your journey as, 657 00:32:42,958 --> 00:32:46,041 as a man and as an entrepreneur and like what? 658 00:32:46,083 --> 00:32:49,083 Like what you learn from that process. 659 00:32:54,333 --> 00:32:56,458 Well, 660 00:32:56,458 --> 00:32:59,416 I have to say that it it almost it's perfect 661 00:32:59,416 --> 00:33:02,833 timing to bring that up because I think everything that we just talked about 662 00:33:03,833 --> 00:33:06,125 is still still true. 663 00:33:06,125 --> 00:33:06,541 Right. 664 00:33:06,541 --> 00:33:10,750 I think it's exemplified and magnified 665 00:33:10,750 --> 00:33:15,125 when you go through, an illness like that. 666 00:33:15,583 --> 00:33:16,000 Right. 667 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,000 So for me, I found out 668 00:33:19,541 --> 00:33:21,875 right after I train for a marathon, I ran 669 00:33:21,875 --> 00:33:24,875 a three hour marathon in May. 670 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,125 And if for everybody that doesn't know, the three hour marathon is like 671 00:33:28,125 --> 00:33:32,041 seven minute miles for the whole marathon, and, Oh, Lord. 672 00:33:32,208 --> 00:33:36,291 Oh, I trained for, you know, six months to do that. 673 00:33:36,291 --> 00:33:37,291 It was a goal of mine. 674 00:33:37,291 --> 00:33:43,333 and during that training, I started seeing some some signs, right, 675 00:33:43,333 --> 00:33:47,125 started finding some blood in my stools, and I thought it was just a training. 676 00:33:47,583 --> 00:33:49,083 Right. That's what I would have thought through. 677 00:33:49,083 --> 00:33:51,041 Yeah, and that's what they. 678 00:33:51,041 --> 00:33:52,791 The doctors thought, too. 679 00:33:52,791 --> 00:33:58,541 thank God I just went ahead and got the colonoscopy because, they found a tumor. 680 00:33:58,958 --> 00:34:02,541 and it was they they ended up doing the MRI. 681 00:34:02,541 --> 00:34:04,250 Found out on stage two. 682 00:34:04,250 --> 00:34:05,916 So still pretty early. 683 00:34:05,916 --> 00:34:08,583 but I can only imagine that 35. 684 00:34:08,583 --> 00:34:11,666 If I would have waited any longer, what could have happened? 685 00:34:13,583 --> 00:34:14,791 So long story 686 00:34:14,791 --> 00:34:18,208 short, stage two colon cancer. 687 00:34:18,541 --> 00:34:23,291 it's going to require radiation and chemotherapy, right? 688 00:34:23,291 --> 00:34:26,333 so I was prescribed to five weeks. 689 00:34:26,708 --> 00:34:29,583 Five days a week of radiation, 690 00:34:29,583 --> 00:34:33,375 and then, eight treatments of chemotherapy every two weeks. 691 00:34:33,375 --> 00:34:36,750 So I was a total of six months of treatment. 692 00:34:37,208 --> 00:34:37,625 Right. 693 00:34:37,625 --> 00:34:41,958 So, go back to when I was diagnosed, I had no idea how 694 00:34:42,208 --> 00:34:45,208 what was, what was going to happen and how 695 00:34:45,583 --> 00:34:47,458 that was going to transpire. Right. 696 00:34:47,458 --> 00:34:51,541 You only you only hear a lot about cancer on, you know, TV shows. 697 00:34:51,541 --> 00:34:55,458 And if maybe if you have somebody in your family that dealt with it, which, 698 00:34:55,833 --> 00:34:56,916 you know, I never did. 699 00:34:56,916 --> 00:34:59,250 So I had no idea about it. 700 00:34:59,250 --> 00:35:01,750 my, my, my, my older sister had, 701 00:35:02,791 --> 00:35:04,291 Hodgkin's lymphoma, but I 702 00:35:04,291 --> 00:35:08,583 was younger, so I really didn't walk with her through it 703 00:35:08,875 --> 00:35:11,875 fully, and I didn't remember what it was like, 704 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,000 but, I, I didn't know if I was gonna be able to work. 705 00:35:15,666 --> 00:35:16,416 And here we are. 706 00:35:16,416 --> 00:35:19,083 You know, I'm principal of my design firm. 707 00:35:19,083 --> 00:35:22,083 I have six employees. 708 00:35:22,583 --> 00:35:25,291 I'm the primary breadwinner at that firm. 709 00:35:25,291 --> 00:35:28,291 I do all of the business development. 710 00:35:28,333 --> 00:35:29,583 Yeah. You know, I. 711 00:35:29,583 --> 00:35:32,166 And you talked about that, like something with your experience. Just to know. 712 00:35:32,166 --> 00:35:34,208 Just so we talked about this, 713 00:35:34,208 --> 00:35:37,333 that, you know, you found there's a lot of support systems for folks 714 00:35:37,333 --> 00:35:41,625 in cancer from a lot of different, fields, but not with entrepreneurship. 715 00:35:42,125 --> 00:35:44,291 Not not business owners. No. 716 00:35:44,291 --> 00:35:48,875 it was a couple of hearing, you know, things for employees. 717 00:35:48,875 --> 00:35:51,833 And, you know, if you're an employee, you could take some leave. 718 00:35:51,833 --> 00:35:54,416 And, you know, you got you. So on and so forth. 719 00:35:54,416 --> 00:35:56,791 And and for me as a business owner, 720 00:35:56,791 --> 00:35:57,708 you know, 721 00:35:57,708 --> 00:36:00,125 even if they just paid for my salary, that's not enough, 722 00:36:00,125 --> 00:36:02,958 because that's not going to generate revenue for my business. 723 00:36:02,958 --> 00:36:03,458 Right. 724 00:36:03,458 --> 00:36:07,500 So there's not a lot of support from what I found. 725 00:36:07,500 --> 00:36:10,416 And I even asked some of the social workers, right. 726 00:36:10,416 --> 00:36:13,666 Are there grants out there for business owners who are, you know, 727 00:36:14,666 --> 00:36:17,375 struggling with an illness like this? 728 00:36:17,375 --> 00:36:20,375 Does nothing I could find. And, 729 00:36:21,208 --> 00:36:24,208 it it made me realize, like, once again, 730 00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:27,500 going back to what we talked about earlier, they. 731 00:36:27,583 --> 00:36:30,458 All right, let's go. You know. Like. Yeah. 732 00:36:30,458 --> 00:36:33,375 All right. God, what are we going to do? How are we going to make this happen? 733 00:36:33,375 --> 00:36:38,041 And, and I, I thank God for my wife, 734 00:36:38,625 --> 00:36:41,875 who also we found out two weeks after 735 00:36:41,875 --> 00:36:45,750 I was diagnosed with cancer that she was pregnant with our second child. 736 00:36:46,791 --> 00:36:48,041 yeah. 737 00:36:48,041 --> 00:36:50,958 And she was there with me every step of the way. 738 00:36:50,958 --> 00:36:54,125 As strong as I could have ever asked her to be. 739 00:36:54,208 --> 00:36:55,958 I thank God for my team. 740 00:36:55,958 --> 00:36:58,666 They were one of the first people I told about it. 741 00:36:58,666 --> 00:36:59,000 Right. 742 00:37:00,333 --> 00:37:03,333 you know, they they supported me through it all. 743 00:37:03,541 --> 00:37:07,833 and I just thank God I, I the faith, 744 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,833 you know, going back to what we talked about earlier, that that inner, 745 00:37:10,833 --> 00:37:14,583 that mental battle, that inner battle of am I good enough? 746 00:37:14,583 --> 00:37:15,458 Can I do this? 747 00:37:15,458 --> 00:37:19,125 Do I have enough energy like, I, I just want to quit. 748 00:37:19,666 --> 00:37:22,875 And there are many times throughout treatment I just wanted to quit 749 00:37:23,500 --> 00:37:26,750 because it's like isn't even worth it, right? 750 00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:28,083 Like, what am I? 751 00:37:28,083 --> 00:37:29,833 What am I really fighting for here? 752 00:37:29,833 --> 00:37:33,666 And, and I'm just so glad that I stuck it through, 753 00:37:33,666 --> 00:37:37,833 because coming out the other side, I actually, today 754 00:37:38,250 --> 00:37:43,041 I had my last, procedure to make sure it was completely gone. 755 00:37:43,041 --> 00:37:45,250 And now the cancer is completely gone. 756 00:37:45,250 --> 00:37:46,333 That's wonderful. 757 00:37:46,333 --> 00:37:47,000 Yeah. 758 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,958 And and I couldn't I couldn't, I don't know, I'm. 759 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:55,750 I'm such a different person than I was a year ago now already, you know. 760 00:37:55,791 --> 00:37:56,083 Right. 761 00:37:56,083 --> 00:37:59,500 and and you're the for you this this podcast. 762 00:37:59,500 --> 00:38:00,958 First time I'm even talking about it. 763 00:38:00,958 --> 00:38:02,541 Most of the people didn't know. 764 00:38:02,541 --> 00:38:03,375 yeah. 765 00:38:03,375 --> 00:38:07,416 You did tell people on purpose because I just didn't want to, to be 766 00:38:07,416 --> 00:38:11,458 looked at with sympathy and and with those eyes that, you know, 767 00:38:11,458 --> 00:38:14,666 you look at somebody when they have cancer, a lot of people can't handle 768 00:38:15,625 --> 00:38:18,250 you telling them that they have cancer, right? 769 00:38:18,250 --> 00:38:20,583 Including a lot of my family members. 770 00:38:20,583 --> 00:38:21,666 Right? Absolutely. Yeah. 771 00:38:21,666 --> 00:38:23,541 It's it's really hard on people. 772 00:38:23,541 --> 00:38:27,125 And I realize that, however, 773 00:38:27,125 --> 00:38:30,750 I felt like God was telling me, like, John, you do this and this is a testimony 774 00:38:31,208 --> 00:38:34,750 to many other people who I hope are listening. 775 00:38:34,750 --> 00:38:38,833 And, you know, if you have any symptoms, you know, colon 776 00:38:38,833 --> 00:38:41,916 cancer is one of the most common cancers, but it's also 777 00:38:41,916 --> 00:38:46,041 one of the most durable cancers out there when it's caught early. 778 00:38:46,041 --> 00:38:50,041 And, being a black man, we are even more susceptible 779 00:38:50,041 --> 00:38:54,000 to colon cancer than most other, nationalities. 780 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:57,416 So I just want to use this as an opportunity to tell people, like, 781 00:38:57,458 --> 00:39:01,208 even if you like, even if you don't have symptoms, 782 00:39:02,458 --> 00:39:04,166 I. Cancer colonoscopy, it's it's. 783 00:39:04,166 --> 00:39:04,833 Not of bad. 784 00:39:04,833 --> 00:39:06,041 And if you. 785 00:39:06,041 --> 00:39:07,208 Have no experience, if. 786 00:39:07,208 --> 00:39:10,583 You don't, you know, like, get, like get a check. 787 00:39:10,916 --> 00:39:15,708 But, I talked to my surgeon today, you know, he said he tells his friends 788 00:39:15,708 --> 00:39:20,041 just to tell the doctor, hey, I got some, I got some, I got some bleeding going on. 789 00:39:20,291 --> 00:39:22,708 and I will allow the insurance to pay for it. 790 00:39:22,708 --> 00:39:25,416 And that's a that's a hack straight from. 791 00:39:25,416 --> 00:39:28,416 Straight from the source, you know. So, 792 00:39:28,416 --> 00:39:33,125 I think I think we need to take a stand for that, and I, I'm just grateful 793 00:39:33,125 --> 00:39:37,958 to be able to speak about it in this way because, I my business is still alive. 794 00:39:37,958 --> 00:39:39,708 I'm still alive. 795 00:39:39,708 --> 00:39:43,291 My baby boy is due here in less than a month, and, 796 00:39:43,375 --> 00:39:47,416 and I have a a story to tell with it. 797 00:39:47,500 --> 00:39:48,875 Absolutely. 798 00:39:48,875 --> 00:39:52,333 All right, let's get to some wrap up questions here towards the end here. So, 799 00:39:53,666 --> 00:39:55,083 what's an important truth you 800 00:39:55,083 --> 00:39:58,333 have that very few people agree with you on? 801 00:39:59,333 --> 00:40:02,333 This is the hard question on purpose. 802 00:40:03,541 --> 00:40:04,500 Important truth 803 00:40:04,500 --> 00:40:07,625 that I have that very few people agree with me on. 804 00:40:12,291 --> 00:40:14,916 I have to I have as a, as a entrepreneur, 805 00:40:14,916 --> 00:40:18,625 as a founder, I got to go to my mission at a small scale. 806 00:40:18,875 --> 00:40:23,166 our mission is to empower creatives to use their gifts to bring peace. 807 00:40:23,791 --> 00:40:26,500 And I believe that each of us 808 00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:30,333 have been given a unique perspective on the world. 809 00:40:30,333 --> 00:40:34,416 A unique gift that we are supposed 810 00:40:34,416 --> 00:40:38,791 to use to bring peace to the lives of others. 811 00:40:38,791 --> 00:40:40,000 Right. 812 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,291 And I talked to a lot of people who roll their eyes when I tell them 813 00:40:43,291 --> 00:40:44,583 our mission. 814 00:40:44,583 --> 00:40:49,958 I pray at the same time, it's it's unique because it's about bringing peace 815 00:40:49,958 --> 00:40:53,791 and not just doing work right and not just creating, 816 00:40:54,083 --> 00:40:54,875 you know, 817 00:40:54,875 --> 00:40:59,583 money or impact or, you know, whatever it is, it's like this idea of peace 818 00:40:59,833 --> 00:41:03,833 that not many people, I think, understand, especially in the marketplace, you know? 819 00:41:03,833 --> 00:41:05,875 So I have to repeat that mission 820 00:41:05,875 --> 00:41:09,583 to my team over and over and over again every week. 821 00:41:10,208 --> 00:41:13,041 And, it's something 822 00:41:13,041 --> 00:41:16,791 that I hope more and more and more people realize like that. 823 00:41:16,791 --> 00:41:21,875 That's why we are here, is to bring peace, like, it's 824 00:41:22,500 --> 00:41:26,041 it says in the Bible, blessed are the peacemakers, right? 825 00:41:26,083 --> 00:41:28,291 we are called to bring peace. 826 00:41:28,291 --> 00:41:31,833 So no matter, I hope that no matter what you're disrupting, 827 00:41:32,250 --> 00:41:36,458 you're disrupting the world to bring more peace to people as we are. 828 00:41:36,541 --> 00:41:38,208 We're about resumption for empowerment. 829 00:41:38,208 --> 00:41:40,458 Let's go. Let's let's go, 830 00:41:41,833 --> 00:41:42,208 let's go. 831 00:41:42,208 --> 00:41:44,708 We definitely share that comment. All right. 832 00:41:44,708 --> 00:41:48,041 you have a committee of three, living or dead, to advise you 833 00:41:48,041 --> 00:41:52,166 on life, business or combination thereof. 834 00:41:52,500 --> 00:41:55,500 Who are these people and why? 835 00:41:57,916 --> 00:41:59,000 Committee of three. 836 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:03,333 Well, first and foremost is is God. 837 00:42:06,583 --> 00:42:09,583 The wisdom, you know, that comes from 838 00:42:09,916 --> 00:42:13,625 I always tell people, whether you're religious or not, I'm not religious. 839 00:42:13,625 --> 00:42:15,250 I don't call myself religious. 840 00:42:15,250 --> 00:42:17,375 I would say I have a faith, right. 841 00:42:17,375 --> 00:42:20,916 the wisdom and the peace that comes with having 842 00:42:20,916 --> 00:42:23,916 somebody just right here all the time. 843 00:42:24,083 --> 00:42:25,958 Yeah. And it's not you. 844 00:42:25,958 --> 00:42:29,750 It's somebody else that is helping you along that way. 845 00:42:30,541 --> 00:42:31,958 I think that that's priceless. 846 00:42:31,958 --> 00:42:35,750 And I just hope more and more people realize that we always have access 847 00:42:35,750 --> 00:42:38,750 to a helper. Right? That's right. Here. 848 00:42:38,791 --> 00:42:39,625 Yep. 849 00:42:41,583 --> 00:42:43,000 Number 2nd May get 850 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:46,833 some laughs, but, Dwayne The Rock. 851 00:42:46,833 --> 00:42:49,833 Johnson. Johnson the rock. Okay. 852 00:42:49,833 --> 00:42:50,958 tell me what the Rock is cooking here. 853 00:42:50,958 --> 00:42:51,916 Let me see over here. Why? 854 00:42:51,916 --> 00:42:52,750 This is. 855 00:42:52,750 --> 00:42:57,291 Man, Dwayne, Dwayne Johnson has the most 856 00:42:57,875 --> 00:43:00,291 infectious personality, right? 857 00:43:00,291 --> 00:43:03,666 That's that's why he they call him the people's champion. 858 00:43:03,666 --> 00:43:06,916 And I grew up during when when the rock was, like, wrestling, you know? 859 00:43:06,916 --> 00:43:07,916 So, Yeah. 860 00:43:07,916 --> 00:43:11,500 Yeah, I was a big fan of him back when wrestling was cool. 861 00:43:11,833 --> 00:43:12,916 yeah, I. 862 00:43:12,916 --> 00:43:15,250 Know some of it after he left is not cool. Anymore. 863 00:43:15,250 --> 00:43:17,333 Yeah, 864 00:43:17,333 --> 00:43:21,041 but, you know, you know, being being, 865 00:43:23,208 --> 00:43:24,166 I don't know, 866 00:43:24,166 --> 00:43:27,083 he's he he has done so many things. 867 00:43:27,083 --> 00:43:28,833 He's an incredible entrepreneur. 868 00:43:28,833 --> 00:43:31,416 All of his brands have been successful, right? 869 00:43:31,416 --> 00:43:36,000 From beverages to merchandise to, you know, an actor. 870 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,541 And even when he acts right, it's like. 871 00:43:38,541 --> 00:43:38,875 Yeah. 872 00:43:38,875 --> 00:43:42,750 You can't help but like, the guy and I, I always, I always look at him 873 00:43:42,750 --> 00:43:46,000 as a role model in a way from a personality standpoint, 874 00:43:46,416 --> 00:43:51,250 because that's like the personality I hope to bring to every environment I'm in. 875 00:43:51,375 --> 00:43:51,666 Right? 876 00:43:51,666 --> 00:43:54,666 So I say he's my personality coach. Right? 877 00:43:54,750 --> 00:43:56,916 Okay. I'm coach. 878 00:43:56,916 --> 00:43:58,250 Right. And then third, 879 00:43:59,916 --> 00:44:00,541 I'm going to I'm going 880 00:44:00,541 --> 00:44:04,083 to go with my, my longtime mentor, Dan Tire. 881 00:44:04,500 --> 00:44:05,750 okay. 882 00:44:05,750 --> 00:44:09,791 He's my he's my, he's my business coach and sales coach. 883 00:44:09,958 --> 00:44:15,375 Dan was, number, I think, one of the early employees at HubSpot. 884 00:44:15,833 --> 00:44:18,041 yeah, the angel investor. 885 00:44:18,041 --> 00:44:21,458 I actually cold called Dan a while ago 886 00:44:21,458 --> 00:44:23,791 when I was going through my entrepreneurial journey 887 00:44:23,791 --> 00:44:26,416 with the startups, and I'm like, I need a mentor. 888 00:44:26,416 --> 00:44:30,125 And he he took me on as his mentor, and he was actually at the parole board 889 00:44:30,125 --> 00:44:34,625 hearing for my brother when he was released from prison, last year. 890 00:44:34,958 --> 00:44:39,625 And, I haven't met many men in my life that not only were willing to mentor me, 891 00:44:39,875 --> 00:44:42,916 help me with my business, but then also help me 892 00:44:43,250 --> 00:44:46,541 with personal things like helping my brother be released from prison. 893 00:44:46,750 --> 00:44:47,416 Right. 894 00:44:47,416 --> 00:44:52,666 so I, ride or die with that guy for the rest of my life. 895 00:44:52,666 --> 00:44:57,416 I don't I don't care about anybody else in the business world, you know? 896 00:44:57,875 --> 00:45:01,166 You on or or, you know, all those other guys, 897 00:45:01,208 --> 00:45:05,000 and they ain't got nothing on the entire, All right. 898 00:45:05,041 --> 00:45:07,625 No. That's great. all right, this is a quote. 899 00:45:07,625 --> 00:45:11,750 You said, trust the process, but test the process. 900 00:45:11,916 --> 00:45:12,750 What does that mean? 901 00:45:15,250 --> 00:45:18,041 well, if you're building anything, 902 00:45:18,041 --> 00:45:19,083 I'll actually. 903 00:45:19,083 --> 00:45:20,916 I'll make it relevant to identity architecture. 904 00:45:20,916 --> 00:45:23,041 We we actually call it identity architecture. 905 00:45:23,041 --> 00:45:26,291 we translate into this idea of a creative operating system 906 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:29,791 for the people we serve for us. 907 00:45:29,791 --> 00:45:30,041 Right. 908 00:45:30,041 --> 00:45:34,000 So we use this process of identity architecture to help reveal 909 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,041 who someone is so we can design better for them. 910 00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:38,333 Right. 911 00:45:38,333 --> 00:45:42,750 but when you apply as a founder, you're always building something, right? 912 00:45:42,750 --> 00:45:46,125 You're building an operating system, how you operate every single day. 913 00:45:46,666 --> 00:45:51,416 So an operating system is a number of inputs and outputs, right? 914 00:45:51,416 --> 00:45:56,250 Really, truly is is code how it operates or how this window pops 915 00:45:56,250 --> 00:45:59,416 up, what it looks like when you do this, what happens, so on and so forth. 916 00:46:00,125 --> 00:46:04,458 And if you're if you decide that you're only going to use this one 917 00:46:04,458 --> 00:46:06,625 operating system for the rest of your life, 918 00:46:06,625 --> 00:46:09,625 your life eventually is going to become outdated. 919 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,666 You have and I would say that 920 00:46:12,666 --> 00:46:16,708 every day is outdated a little bit, right? 921 00:46:16,708 --> 00:46:21,416 Every day I am new as a person, as a as a as a just a being. 922 00:46:21,875 --> 00:46:22,125 Right? 923 00:46:22,125 --> 00:46:26,500 So I say trust the process because I have to trust a faith. 924 00:46:27,291 --> 00:46:30,875 I have to trust that it's going to work at the trust that I can show up. 925 00:46:30,875 --> 00:46:35,041 And it will work today in this meeting or this podcast or whatever it is. 926 00:46:35,666 --> 00:46:38,666 But I can't hold on to it so strongly 927 00:46:38,833 --> 00:46:43,083 that nothing else could ever evolve it or make it better, you know? 928 00:46:43,083 --> 00:46:43,500 Yeah. 929 00:46:43,500 --> 00:46:46,500 And so, you know, that's why I say test it. 930 00:46:46,750 --> 00:46:50,208 And right now it's even more relevant, you know, thinking about 931 00:46:50,208 --> 00:46:54,458 AI and how it's disrupting so many industries. 932 00:46:54,458 --> 00:47:01,291 And one of the biggest ones I think is under tremendous, attack 933 00:47:01,625 --> 00:47:06,250 after I use that word attack is, this tech right. 934 00:47:06,250 --> 00:47:07,250 Development. 935 00:47:07,250 --> 00:47:08,583 Yeah. Design. 936 00:47:08,583 --> 00:47:11,250 All right. So I'm. From a. Design agency. 937 00:47:11,250 --> 00:47:11,833 You know. 938 00:47:11,833 --> 00:47:15,916 You know, it's this perfect example where I'm like, all right, cool. 939 00:47:15,916 --> 00:47:19,166 Design is becoming a commodity now. 940 00:47:19,166 --> 00:47:20,708 Yes, I'll say that out loud. 941 00:47:20,708 --> 00:47:22,875 Right. Design is becoming a commodity. 942 00:47:22,875 --> 00:47:27,583 If you do not have a unique way of designing with intention, 943 00:47:28,958 --> 00:47:29,916 you're not going to have a 944 00:47:29,916 --> 00:47:35,625 job for long or you're going, your prices are going to be cut so much 945 00:47:35,625 --> 00:47:39,041 because it's no longer of as much value as it once was. 946 00:47:39,125 --> 00:47:40,125 Right? 947 00:47:40,125 --> 00:47:43,083 So that's why identity architecture, I see it 948 00:47:43,083 --> 00:47:46,083 as the thing that separates us from the rest. 949 00:47:46,625 --> 00:47:49,625 And I've been we've been working on this for six years. 950 00:47:49,958 --> 00:47:54,083 And it's not just until now that I realized, like, yo, trust the process, 951 00:47:54,666 --> 00:47:55,250 trust side. 952 00:47:55,250 --> 00:47:58,250 Then we've translated in the architecture six years. 953 00:47:58,750 --> 00:48:02,041 We've tested it over and over and over again 954 00:48:02,041 --> 00:48:05,708 in different industries and in prisons, in Madagascar. 955 00:48:05,708 --> 00:48:08,791 Right. And in the inner city with youth 956 00:48:09,125 --> 00:48:13,000 to corporations, fortune 500 companies all over. 957 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:14,375 We tested it. 958 00:48:14,375 --> 00:48:16,791 And over all, we've been able to make it better. 959 00:48:16,791 --> 00:48:19,083 And we trust that it works. 960 00:48:19,083 --> 00:48:20,000 But it can. 961 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,625 Only everything can get better, you know? You know. 962 00:48:23,958 --> 00:48:25,750 No, that's, Wow. 963 00:48:25,750 --> 00:48:28,291 That's as a whole lot there. 964 00:48:28,291 --> 00:48:30,541 I mean, that's that's definitely that's definitely very powerful. 965 00:48:30,541 --> 00:48:34,125 And, you made me think about one final kind of question, 966 00:48:34,958 --> 00:48:37,958 and you kind of addressed it, but I want to just get to a little bit. I. 967 00:48:37,958 --> 00:48:43,208 How do you see you've talked about AI just now disrupting the design industry 968 00:48:43,208 --> 00:48:47,458 and very, in a very articulate way, talked about what differentiates you. 969 00:48:47,458 --> 00:48:48,500 It sounds like that 970 00:48:48,500 --> 00:48:51,125 the identity architecture and being intentional about your design, 971 00:48:51,125 --> 00:48:55,291 because I is now making it very easy to just design something 972 00:48:55,291 --> 00:48:56,500 if you just come up with the concept. 973 00:48:56,500 --> 00:48:59,250 But how do you see that tension playing out. 974 00:48:59,250 --> 00:49:03,541 Because I continually develop like how are you thinking about this as both 975 00:49:03,541 --> 00:49:08,208 a, I guess a potential disruptor, but also as an or as another avenue 976 00:49:08,208 --> 00:49:09,333 to empower 977 00:49:09,333 --> 00:49:12,125 or amplify what you do and like, how do you see the balance and how do 978 00:49:12,125 --> 00:49:13,000 you navigate this? 979 00:49:14,458 --> 00:49:17,916 I, I love that AI is coming into play because what it does 980 00:49:17,916 --> 00:49:22,166 is it's challenging people to, step away from mediocrity. 981 00:49:22,666 --> 00:49:25,125 So AI is just mediocrity, right? 982 00:49:25,125 --> 00:49:28,125 It's it's literally the, the, 983 00:49:28,125 --> 00:49:32,583 mean of all of the inputs that are already out there. 984 00:49:32,791 --> 00:49:34,750 Right? Or outputs that are already out there. 985 00:49:34,750 --> 00:49:37,583 It's the average of them. All right. 986 00:49:37,583 --> 00:49:40,583 So technically your average, you know, 987 00:49:40,583 --> 00:49:43,875 and as a designer do you, do you want to be an average designer. 988 00:49:43,875 --> 00:49:45,625 And and design is one of those industries. 989 00:49:45,625 --> 00:49:47,375 And you know, you don't have to go to school 990 00:49:47,375 --> 00:49:50,875 for five years like I had to do for architecture to become a designer. 991 00:49:50,875 --> 00:49:54,750 You can be a designer by going on YouTube for a couple of days 992 00:49:54,750 --> 00:49:58,291 a week, or, you know, a couple months and get a bootcamp or whatever it is. 993 00:49:58,291 --> 00:50:02,208 So that barrier to entry has become so low in design, 994 00:50:02,916 --> 00:50:06,583 where there's so many people that are just putting out their work 995 00:50:06,583 --> 00:50:10,541 and wanting to charge people, you know, $5 for a logo. 996 00:50:10,875 --> 00:50:14,958 99 designs design pickle cosmic designs. 997 00:50:14,958 --> 00:50:17,958 I'm hearing all these design industries where it's like 998 00:50:18,208 --> 00:50:22,083 they're they're speaking about design as if it's a commodity. 999 00:50:22,791 --> 00:50:25,375 I am like design and creativity 1000 00:50:25,375 --> 00:50:29,875 is one of the most valuable gifts we've been given as a human 1001 00:50:29,875 --> 00:50:34,750 race is creativity, design is the application of creativity 1002 00:50:34,750 --> 00:50:38,500 in a very specific purpose or problem, right? 1003 00:50:38,500 --> 00:50:41,708 So I love that AI is coming here because we're going to challenge 1004 00:50:41,708 --> 00:50:44,708 people to step up their game, right? 1005 00:50:44,916 --> 00:50:49,833 Stand out and be unique and and bring the human aspect 1006 00:50:50,250 --> 00:50:53,250 of creativity to design. 1007 00:50:53,250 --> 00:50:57,625 And that's what I think separates AI from crew. 1008 00:50:57,666 --> 00:51:02,791 They creatives specifically AI is a tool, right? 1009 00:51:02,791 --> 00:51:06,875 Just like your your your your, hammer on your tool bill. 1010 00:51:06,875 --> 00:51:07,958 It's a tool. 1011 00:51:07,958 --> 00:51:11,416 Use it to make yourself better, right. 1012 00:51:11,416 --> 00:51:12,958 And make your work better. 1013 00:51:12,958 --> 00:51:16,250 But don't use it to create your work. 1014 00:51:17,458 --> 00:51:18,041 right. 1015 00:51:18,041 --> 00:51:21,041 That's good. Creating an AI. 1016 00:51:21,333 --> 00:51:25,916 That's where I think we're really getting where we're really struggling as a 1017 00:51:25,916 --> 00:51:29,250 as a society that you use AI to help 1018 00:51:29,250 --> 00:51:32,333 you create, you don't use it to create. 1019 00:51:32,333 --> 00:51:33,458 And that's that. 1020 00:51:33,458 --> 00:51:36,125 I created this is good enough. 1021 00:51:36,125 --> 00:51:38,791 That's I think is a is a slippery slope. 1022 00:51:38,791 --> 00:51:39,958 And I don't think that 1023 00:51:39,958 --> 00:51:43,625 we'll if we do that, we'll end up with a bunch of the same stuff 1024 00:51:43,958 --> 00:51:50,666 and we will become a very mediocre, well, we will become very mediocre. 1025 00:51:50,708 --> 00:51:52,833 I'll just I'll just leave it in there. 1026 00:51:52,833 --> 00:51:56,208 No, I agree, so somebody said, as we wrap up, someone what? 1027 00:51:56,208 --> 00:51:58,416 someone said this and I can't remember who said it. 1028 00:51:58,416 --> 00:52:00,875 so I'll give them credit when I remember later. 1029 00:52:00,875 --> 00:52:03,250 But, you know, there's artificial intelligence. 1030 00:52:03,250 --> 00:52:05,166 Other authentic intelligence. 1031 00:52:05,166 --> 00:52:05,791 Oh, right. 1032 00:52:05,791 --> 00:52:09,666 If you want authentic intelligence, you need to have the creativity. 1033 00:52:10,083 --> 00:52:14,916 Humans have to be involved and you use the AI to to enhance but not replace. 1034 00:52:14,916 --> 00:52:15,666 That's good. 1035 00:52:15,666 --> 00:52:17,250 That's a good bar to use in that. 1036 00:52:17,250 --> 00:52:20,291 yeah. to add on, I appreciate you, brother. 1037 00:52:20,291 --> 00:52:22,666 Thank you so much for coming on the show. Appreciate you so much. 1038 00:52:22,666 --> 00:52:24,458 Oh, hold on before you leave. Thank you brother.