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"Mick Unplugged" is a transformative podcast that challenges listeners to move beyond the conventional 'Why' and embrace the empowering realm of 'Because.' Hosted by Mick Hunt, the voice of Modern Leadership, this podcast is designed for leaders, doers, and anyone aspiring to create meaningful impact in both their personal and professional lives.
Each episode delves into the principles of Modern Leadership, focusing on discovering your 'Because'—your core driving force—and how it can turn dreams into reality and aspirations into actionable steps. With practical advice, real-life stories, and forward-thinking insights, you’ll learn to make your 'Because' a daily focus, fueling your journey toward success and fulfillment.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your motivation, set meaningful goals, or apply modern leadership theories to overcome challenges, "Mick Unplugged" provides the tools, strategies, and insights to guide your path. Subscribe now and start transforming your life with purpose and modern leadership principles.
Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mick Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary.
Intro:So let's unleash your potential. Now here's Mick.
Mick Hunt:Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Make Unplugged where we go deep into your because the thing that really fuels you and drives you. And today, I'm honored to have a very special guest, a dynamic entrepreneur, one of the founders of Pro Max, a platform dedicated to helping podcasters elevate their craft. But he's more than just that. He's an inspiration. He's a business person.
Mick Hunt:You know, his career is marked with significant milestones, including launching this business, growing his audience, and just truly caring about brand and brand development. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to be motivated, get ready to be moved, Get ready to be driven by my good friend, mister Sean Anthony. Sean, how are you doing today, brother?
Shawn Anthony:Man, I'm excited to be here, man. I gotta take you across the country, man, with an intro like that, man. They got it. They got a love before I get on stage, and I'm about to come out of all we're missing
Mick Hunt:is the music. Hey. Let's go. Let's go. We can definitely make that happen.
Mick Hunt:You know, Sean, I've been a huge fan of yours. We've connected. We've collaborated. You've sent some guests over here. You and I have been talking offline about, you know, how you can even help me and my brand.
Mick Hunt:And so what I wanna talk to you about today or the first thing I wanna talk to you about today is your story, but particularly around brand and brand creation. Because I feel like today, in this new world that we're in and if people don't believe we're in a new world, you're outdated. In this new world that we're in, branding, publicity, and promotion is what matters more than anything. So I love your feedback and comments on that, Sean.
Shawn Anthony:Yeah. I mean, without branding, nobody knows who you are, you know, and I think there are so many different unique ways that you can do this. You can become synonymous with the color. Right? And when I think about certain brands, I think about colors being the association with that brand.
Shawn Anthony:You know, I was a brand manager for a company by name that we all shopped at Target, and you automatically brand associate them with the color of red. Right. Right? But there's other companies as well. So I think whatever you're doing in life, whether you are a hairdresser, whether you are a designer or even an actor, you gotta find out different ways to stand out.
Shawn Anthony:And I think branding is key so that you can add those elements and truly stand out, especially in the space of AI technology and in the space of where the world has headed today.
Mick Hunt:Here's what's crazy and funny about that with Target. True story. It was about 5 years ago, pre COVID. I'm in Target. And and so now because of the story, I pay attention to what I wear.
Mick Hunt:I was in Target with a red polo and some khakis on. Oh my god. Literally, 7 people came up to me asking for things, and I was like, what is this? And then after, like, the third person I realized, I was like, oh, I I do look like I'm a Target employee. So now when I go to Target, I purposely do not wear red.
Mick Hunt:But you're right, though. Like, people are drawn to brand colors. That's that's the first thing that the people talk about. It's funny. I was having a good conversation yesterday with one of my best friends, and we were just talking about you know, he also has a podcast and and just one of the things that people associate now with is your brand.
Mick Hunt:So, like, if you can have the same templates with everything that you're doing, the same look, they know, oh, this is a Mick Unplug podcast or Mick Unplug video because all the branding looks the same. I don't even have to put my logo on it anymore because they know by the look, that's a Mick Unplug deal.
Shawn Anthony:Absolutely, man. And I think, you know, the more people see that, a little sprinkles of that, you know, and there's no and that's another element of branding. You know, I I come from a background where when I was younger and I was 14, you know, I was in nightlife. I was in parties. My brother became a a big nightlife party promoter.
Shawn Anthony:So at 14, You know, I was standing on couches with artists like Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, but I was understanding how to market myself. And I remember the first event I ever thrown was a a high school graduation party. And I think about it now, like, imagine a 14 year old telling a bunch of 18 year olds, yo, y'all need to come out and celebrate with me. But that's what I did. And I made $6,000 my first time ever doing that.
Shawn Anthony:You know? So a lot of the branding and marketing was birthed in my earlier stages of life. But while doing that, I understood even the branding and marketing in the music world. And there's a way of doing it in a way where it is. It isn't colors, but can be sounds right.
Shawn Anthony:You think about certain ad libs. We think about artists like Lil Wayne, where I remember just hearing a lighter light up, and you knew he was coming. And this space that we're playing out, I think everybody should find a way to stand out and brand themselves.
Mick Hunt:Yeah. And so you started talking about your origins a little bit. Right? And I'll make unplug. I really like talking about because.
Mick Hunt:Right? Like, that thing that really gets you going and gets you moving. Like, for example, when I was younger, my because was a promise that I made to my mom, sister, and brother. And because I wanted to fulfill that promise, I worked harder, smarter than anyone that I knew because I had to fulfill a promise. Right?
Mick Hunt:Then as I got older and had kids, it was because I wanted to provide a legacy for my kids, and I didn't wanna let them down. So everything that I do really is for that legacy. Right? Like, we're all born with a name, and that's the one thing that you can't take away. And it's what you do with that name that matters.
Mick Hunt:And so my legacy with my kids is making sure they have a good name, and it's up to them to fulfill it. So Kyla Jay came, and it's up to you to fulfill this legacy. Right? But that's my because now. So for Sean Anthony, man, like, early on, what was your because?
Mick Hunt:And then what's your because now? What's that thing now?
Intro:Yeah. You know,
Shawn Anthony:that's a different question. You know? For me, the because it's like, I always had this feeling, man, at a very young age, understanding how people responded to me even way back, you know, as a kid and just speaking and how people would kind of pay attention to how articulate words and how it put phrases together and how I can motivate a large amount of people to follow me. You know? And to me, the, because was I feel like I can see what they may not see and always understood on how to put the right people together and really make something of that.
Shawn Anthony:You know, every stage of your life is a different because as you mentioned, right, at 14, my because as I was just going after the bag, I was chasing money. I just realized I had a skill set that was really high. But when I was in the corporate world and I got into the corporate space because, you know, think about it. When I started podcasting in 2,000 and 18, when I created a show called Schools Over Now What? It was because, Mick, it was because I had exceeded so much in this corporate space.
Shawn Anthony:I had took my skills from being a party promoter to now running companies, and I was promoted 6 times in 4 years. So that because for me to even create a podcast is that I kind of felt a little guilty because none of my friends have figured out life yet. You know, they were still asking themselves the question. School's over. Now what?
Shawn Anthony:Right. And so that because then change to wanting to create something that could bring people together, but also get the people who had the real answers to just tell them to us. And I think now when I look at my because now as I've expanded and grown, you know, even with Pop Pro Max, the because now is understanding that everyone has a voice. Everyone has a message, but it's up to you to figure out exactly how to utilize that. But I feel like it's up to me as well to kinda let you know, hey.
Shawn Anthony:These are the rooms and spaces you should be in. And I always think about a founder's story. There's a lot of people that are running businesses and operations, and a founder has no relatability to that story. You know, if you're a podcaster listening to this or watching this, you know, I started just like you. I was in a living room with a white background with nothing but a Tupac poster, but I utilized my voice to leave my 9 to 5 job.
Shawn Anthony:And I think that is a huge because, and I think a lot of people are listening to this right now that wanna do that.
Mick Hunt:I love it, man. And and that's one of the things that I'm inspired from you personally is you took something that started as a side hustle, but you gave it full time energy and and future motivation. Right? And I think a lot of people, whether it's podcasting or that thing that you wanna do to be an entrepreneur or solopreneur, you think that everything is a side hustle and it should stay a side hustle. Or it is your main source of income and you give it side hustle effort.
Mick Hunt:Right? Sean, you were the complete opposite, but you are the epitome of how do you look at what you do really well and can take that and impact someone. Because to me, the the true success is can you make a lasting impact. Right? Like, if you look at every successful person that you know, it's because they make an impact.
Mick Hunt:I don't care if that's through entertainment, that's through business leadership, that's through political leadership. Whatever it is, they make an impact. And and so I would love for you to talk about, you know, the side hustle that you had. And then when you realize, oh, this can be the main thing. And if I keep the main thing, the main thing, I will make an impact.
Shawn Anthony:Yeah. I mean, the the the side hustle was was literally podcasting that became a full time thing. It it became a 6 figure side hustle in 2020. While I was podcasting and when I started 2018, everyone started to ask, how are you getting these guests? How how are you, you know, having, you know, these type of episodes?
Shawn Anthony:How are you gonna start a podcast? What equipment are you using? Can you teach us? Can you show me? Can you coach me?
Shawn Anthony:So I started to develop different products. I started to develop free starter kits. I developed ebooks. I developed pitch decks. I developed actual coaching, opportunities where I will work, with podcasts and development of their shows.
Shawn Anthony:You know? And and as this was happening, I started to see the money come in. And I think a lot of times when you see the money come in, you can kinda get blinded by that and just quit your job immediately. But also, you gotta think about it from my perspective, I had already received and achieved a level of success that a lot of people don't even achieve in their everyday work life. I was promoted 6 times in 4 years.
Shawn Anthony:I have reached at such a high level in corporate that they couldn't even give me any more money because legally, you can only go to up to a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time span. You know, you're promoted 6 times in 4 years. I was beaten a lot of people by months. So they had to have a lot of different conversations just to pull some of the stuff off. So I knew that if I achieved the success in this space, I needed to utilize that to get some of the things that everyone wanna get before they just leap.
Shawn Anthony:And then then at that point, I wouldn't feel like my corporate background was a waste of time. Right? So I utilized that job. I I made the side hustle a legitimate business and LLC did. But I noticed that was a big thing that I was missing.
Shawn Anthony:You know, one of the things that I was missing at the time is that I had yet to have bought me an actual physical home. And what I what I realized is that I did a bunch of tax records and looked a couple things up. And in the state of North Carolina, you know, this being being someone has lived out here, you would need to have, like, 2 years of tax records in order to even go get a home. A home was a big deal purchase, you know? And at the time, I didn't wanna wait and sit that long.
Shawn Anthony:So I utilized that corporate job to make that leap. And I use it as a corporate job to acquire those things that I wanted to acquire. Even though a side hustle was ready, I could have left a long time before that. And it made me feel really, really good about that decision because had I had not done my research, I would have pigeonholed myself. I would have been waiting even longer.
Shawn Anthony:I would have missed out on, like, tax breaks, interest rates, you name it. Right? So I think if you're listening to this, how can you utilize where you're at right now to your advantage? You might have a side hustle that you really, really like. You might be making way more money with that side hustle, but if you quit right now, when all on that side hustle, have you set that side hustle up enough to legitimately live your life?
Shawn Anthony:And I think that will shock a lot of people.
Mick Hunt:Wow. That's awesome, brother. What are you most proud of? Like, what's what's a couple of accomplishments that that you're most proud of in the journey that you've had thus far, which, by the way, commending you is an amazing journey. I know the story is not even halfway written yet.
Shawn Anthony:So Yeah.
Mick Hunt:Right now, what are some of the things that you've accomplished that you're proud of?
Shawn Anthony:Of? Well, I think, you know, you know, putting myself out there and and seeing certain opportunities and being bold enough to to go all in on them even when I I didn't even see what was possible. So in episode 42, I was getting tagged a lot with a guy you may have heard of on Instagram. His name's Ed Mylett. And if you're a podcaster, definitely heard that name.
Shawn Anthony:And and he kept tagging us together, and they kept saying we were their top five favorite shows. So I had shared it, and I shared it in my list, slid in my DMs. He said, let's make it happen. Let's make an interview happen. And he gave me all the information, told me to come to his house in Laguna.
Shawn Anthony:And at this time, I was still working this job. I had I did one. I think I had did one in person interview a couple months prior in New York with a guy, who's now a friend of mine. We had the number one song in the world called This is Why I'm Hot Mems. So I'd already kind of started to see the vibe of in person interviews.
Shawn Anthony:And so what I did was I went out to Laguna Beach and sat at his house and the conversations we had and the the things he was just telling me about myself, it kinda fueled me to wanting to really go into that space. I think that's definitely something that if I hadn't had done that, I wouldn't have saw what was possible. I wouldn't have been on the West Coast. I'm not sure if you ever seen the waters in Laguna, but it just looked different. Yeah.
Shawn Anthony:I was saying so. You know, I think sometimes you gotta put yourself in different environments, but then there's also some other things I'm really really, really proud of. You know? I'm I'm proud of the fact that after that, I was able to interview Matthew Knowles. We all know that's the father of arguably the most famous person on the planet living Beyonce and Solange.
Shawn Anthony:And, you know, after interviewing him, you know, he became a big mentor for me in my life and mentor me for years. He became a client of mine earlier this year. So I think that that's some really exciting stuff. And then also developing Popromax. You know, when I left my job in 2021, Popromax was not created.
Shawn Anthony:When I left my job in 2021, you know, the the goal behind that and the focus behind that was to continue to do what I was doing as a side hustle, which was coaching, which was teaching, which was courses, ebooks, you know, all those different things, you know, but the moment I left my job, Mick, a lot of people who were on my show asked me to be their brand manager and work with them. So I went from brand managing companies to brand managing people like Terry Ijeoma or Rachel Rogers, and I did that whole oral process for almost 2 years, and that's when Pop Pro Max was developed. So I'm excited about that because that period of time allow for me to really learn entrepreneurship full time, understand what was really moving down on a lot of these people's businesses to develop something that could impact more people.
Mick Hunt:Wow. That's amazing, brother. That's amazing. So let's talk to people that wanna get into, I'm gonna say, the media space. Right?
Mick Hunt:Like, because now things are evolving more than just podcast. And I would also tell you that if you are going into this space, you need to think more than just a podcast at this stage 2. What's some advice you have for people that are wanting to get into this media space where there's digital, social, podcast, whatever it is? Like, what's a couple of pieces of advice you'd give out?
Shawn Anthony:Well, I think you have to expand your horizon and you have to get near what you wanna see. And a lot of people say, oh, I wanna do this. I wanna do that. But have they really, like, sat down and actually put themselves in that environment? You might find out you might not like none of it, you know?
Shawn Anthony:And I think for a media perspective, I think networking the right way is networking around the room and not necessarily going directly to the target. You know, so many people, they'll listen to something, and they'll watch something. And they'll say, oh, I wanna go speak on this show. Oh, I wanna go I wanna go to Tamara Hall, or or I wanna go do, Breakfast Club or or I wanna go do Angeline. We've done all those things.
Shawn Anthony:But all those things have different approaches. I I think at the same time, networking around that, you might need to take care of something else to qualify you to be on some of these other things. And at that point, you gotta make enough noise. So have you made enough noise in your lane or your space to make it so that when you do make a ask for something, a huge opportunity, or you might take something that's a small opportunity, but the right person sees you and it becomes a bigger opportunity. You have to, 1, put yourself out there, but then, 2, you have to make enough noise to make it where people see you as an authority and as someone that's credible in your space.
Mick Hunt:Yep. And I love that you said that because even if you're not going into media, I tell the same thing to salespeople. So if you're a salesperson or if you're a business owner, those same principles matter. Right? Because you've gotta be seen.
Mick Hunt:And in this era of life that we're in, in this digital and social age that we're in, best known is better than best. And and so you've gotta be able to put yourself out there. So you've gotta get uncomfortable. And I I literally just had this conversation with, like, 200 salespeople a few weeks ago where if you're not on social, if you don't have a YouTube channel, and more importantly, if you're not building a personal brand for yourself, you can still get to the goals that you want. It's just gonna be a lot harder, and that's as simply as I can put it.
Mick Hunt:And and I'm not saying that there's an easy path. But, Sean, what do you think about that? Again, forget the folks that are in the the media space now. If you're a solopreneur, an entrepreneur, or a salesperson, do you agree with that that statement that you've gotta now brand yourself, find ways to promote yourself, and be as visible as possible?
Shawn Anthony:Oh, a 100%. You know, I give you the the 2 thoughts I have on a one. Yes. Absolutely. You gotta be seeing people have to see you.
Shawn Anthony:They have to know you're available. You know, there's a sweet spot that I'm learning, though. So a 100% agree with that in the early stages. And I think what happens is if you put out enough content, so sometimes some people will say, okay. You know, there's a lot of Instagram creators that if you rewind maybe a year ago, they would tell you post 3 times a day or post every day or whatever may have you.
Mick Hunt:1st advice you can get by the way, because you will get shadow banned and and we'll talk about shadow.
Shawn Anthony:Well, you know, they they say that post this, post that. You know? And I had a conversation with someone of extremely influenced that used to say this a lot. And we had a really deep conversation, and we realized that it's really not about that. You know, what it what it's about is but what you need in the very beginning is that you do need a sample size.
Shawn Anthony:You don't know what actually hits with your audience yet. You don't have probably the talking points yet if you're in the very early stages of putting yourself out there. So you do need a good sample size. But once you get that good sample size, you should have enough data to understand, okay, what types of posts got shared the most? What types of posts got saved the most?
Shawn Anthony:Forget likes people like stuff all day long. Well, what type of post has gotten the most comments? And if you put out 12, 20 pieces of content or even 60 pieces of content, if you identify the top three pieces of content, all you have to do is keep making content just like that. You know, that gives off that same feeling, that same vibe. You no longer have to pop out all the time.
Shawn Anthony:There's also this mystique and and not being popping out or posting as frequently. That's a mystique behind that. You know, I used to post once a day, and then I started posting once every other day. And then I'm like, no. I'm going to post whenever I feel like it.
Shawn Anthony:And then when I post, it's going to be something I'm extremely proud about. I think people listen to like post and post and post, and they're not even happy about what they put now.
Mick Hunt:No. And and half of it is not even quality. And I'm glad that you said that too because, you know, people do mistake putting yourself out there to hearing people that aren't gurus say, oh, well, you've gotta do I think the popular thing now is you gotta post 4 times a day on every platform.
Shawn Anthony:Jesus Christ.
Mick Hunt:Right. Well, number 1, if you have a full time job, you don't have time to do that. Right. You shouldn't have time to do that because depending on what stage you're in, there's a lot editing that goes into that or if you're trying to be authentic. Right?
Mick Hunt:You can't be authentic 8 times a day on multiple platforms.
Shawn Anthony:And and imagine imagine this, don't make a match imagine posting to the frequency that you're talking about on all these platforms you're at work posting on LinkedIn or you're at work. Do you know how fast that boss is going to be like, Hey man, you gotta be very cautious on I even had one tell me one time. You gotta be very cautious on when you post. I'm like, man, it's my lunch break. I'm trying to get out of here.
Mick Hunt:No. You're you're exactly right. But I think that's the bad advice that people get because the people that are telling you to post 3, 4 times a day, it's because they haven't found their groove. And so they have to do that because they don't know what's resonating. One of the things I love that you said, Sean, was this, sometimes less is actually more.
Mick Hunt:Like, if you can have powerful content, that's what matters. If you're gonna have engaging content, that's what matters. And so when I tell people to get uncomfortable and start making these posts or start this outreach, it's be dynamic first. Because, yeah, you could post 10 times a day, but if it's poor quality and by quality, I mean, the content that you're putting out there, the words, the message that you're putting out there, it's not gonna resonate. And then people are never gonna see anything that you or they're not gonna want to see anything that you put out.
Mick Hunt:If you can be engaging like Sean's saying, and now you go to once a week or once every other week or or once a month, people are eagerly waiting for that content. Imagine if Denzel Washington, once a month came out and did something. He doesn't Denzel doesn't have to post every day. Right? You're gonna wanna hear what Denzel has to say.
Mick Hunt:When Sean comes out and does a post or a live, I'm waiting for what Sean has to say. And that's the difference right there.
Shawn Anthony:A 100%. And I think there's other ways of still, you know, as I'm, you know, even playing around with this mystique value, who do you wanna be? I think that's the question a lot of people should ask. Who do you wanna be? You know, I saw this clip, and it was, Ryan Serhant.
Shawn Anthony:He was speaking. Shout out to Ryan because Ryan gave me one of the biggest breaks of all time. He was on episode 7 of our show. And while on our show, if you don't know him, he he was a star of New York made by listing. He also has a new show on Netflix called Owning Manhattan.
Shawn Anthony:But Ryan, made a comment on stage as he was doing a keynote, and he made a comment of he hated the words fake it till you make it. And he's a much bigger fan of I am the future me. And I think you have to ask yourself, who do you want to be? The people that I'm looking at in terms of the talent management aspect, in terms of placing people on the right shows, in terms of getting people deals done and negotiating done, they ain't even on Instagram like that. And when they are, it's a statement that they posted.
Shawn Anthony:You know, so they're doing a real work. And when you see them, it's like, woah. You know, it's not like, ding, ding, ding, ding. It's not like I'm pointing around on a bunch of 15 second videos. Like, they they doing the work, you know?
Shawn Anthony:So the industry you're looking at and you wanna be in, what are they doing? And And I think it's important to kinda model yourself and to those type of examples where you see the success and understand you don't have to duplicate it, but it's always good to kind of study it and see, oh, I don't need to do all of those things.
Mick Hunt:Amazing stuff, man. So what do you have coming up? Like, what's new and going on in the world of Sean Anthony, bro? Because you always have a million things going on. So I'm I'm waiting to hear this this nugget that you're about to give me, on what you're doing.
Mick Hunt:Yeah.
Shawn Anthony:I mean, it's a lot. This is happening. You know? I think now the way the podcast is going, I don't think everyone needs to have a podcast. I think everyone needs to be speaking on podcasts.
Shawn Anthony:And I think everyone needs to find how can they tell their story or tell their message where they can be the authority in a way you do that is by guesting on shows. So I'm a big believer in the podcast tour format, which we've seen exciting results for clients like Arlan Hamilton, Chrisette Michelle, Miss Skittles, the Polites. I mean, there's a long list of people that we've, we've done these type of things with. And then also to I'm always looking at, okay, how can we all get better together collectively? You know, whether, you know, that will be working out in a network type of deal that will make sense.
Shawn Anthony:A lot of people have asked me about networks and me starting a network, which I would probably do something very, very big that I'm still working on. And it will be a collaboration with something that would immediately help so many people that are podcasters in terms of advertisement, media, and those things.
Mick Hunt:Where can people find you, follow you? I know, 1, just Google Sean Anthony's name. Like, you're gonna see everything.
Shawn Anthony:Where do you where do
Mick Hunt:you wanna direct people to, Sean?
Shawn Anthony:Yeah. Absolutely. You can find me on all platforms at Sean r Anthony underscore, or you can visit us at potpromax.com. You can listen to the podcast, Schools Over Now What on all audio platforms.
Mick Hunt:And and it's one of my favorites. So you all know when I tell you one is my favorite, I really mean it because I don't say that all the time. This is one that I actually listen to. It's in my rotation. You you're gonna have everything from education to humor to facts.
Mick Hunt:Like, it's one of those that you can just listen to. Right? And and you're gonna get some things, out of it every episode. So, Sean, I truly appreciate you for that that you're doing that.
Shawn Anthony:Man, thanks for having me on. I think you got an amazing show. You are constantly at the top of the charts, and we love, you know, connecting talent with you. And we love what you're doing, man, and always gonna be a huge supporter. And thanks for having us on.
Mick Hunt:I appreciate that more than you know. And, again, for all the listeners, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.
Intro:Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.