May 15, 2025 • 20 mins
Are you chasing success or significance? On this week's episode we talk about the mindset shifts that changed everything: from leaving a top corporate job to supporting family gifts/dreams, building discipline through rejection, and why being your authentic self is the greatest asset you have (not only for yourself but all those around you).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You've obviously talked to a lot of people who are
extremely successful, and you're successful yourself. What mistakes do you
see most young people making, most young creators making, and
they're looking to the other way up.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
A mistake, I think trying to go too fast, meaning
trying to think that everything is supposed to happen tomorrow.
I think things take time. So give yourself the grace
to go through a journey of learning to get to
what you think is your end goal. And those that
would think very intentionally because I think a lot of
(00:33):
times along the journey you realize that what you thought
was a destination you actually find out is a whole
different destination that God has planned for you. So just
take the time to work the process and learn and
enjoy the process.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Absolutely love that patience definitely a virtue.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yep, patience is a virtue for sure.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Also, would love to hear from you the mindset shift
that changed for you that kind of really opened things up.
Obviously you did a lot in fashion and you've worked
at a lot of amazing companies. What was that mindset
shift that really helped you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, it was, you know, I had a very distinct
mindset of what success looked like and success was bringing
a lot of value to myself. Right, I want to
be in this job with this company. I want to
have this title and this role, and I want to
be mentored by this person at all. And it was me, me, me,
me me, right, and success was bringing value to me.
(01:23):
And there was a distinct shift where I went from
success to significance, which is, how do I bring value
to others?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
How am I utilizing my platform to help others to
highlight and showcase their gifts in the development. And I
know exactly when that happened too, and it was when
my oldest daughter sings an acts and she had an
opportunity to be on Broadway and an Andrew Lloyd Webber
production called School of Rock. And I was an executive
at Nike at this time, and she had to go
(01:51):
do that in New York. And I was like, well, no,
she ain't gonna go. She's not gonna go by herself.
And obviously I've been managing her career all this time.
I need to go with her. So I need to
leave my corporate executive role that I had been planting
speeds on for years and doing all these things to
allow her gift to shine, which was going to touch
(02:14):
way more people than I ever would be able to touch.
But it was also I think my role to pour
into that gift. And so that was the shift literally
from what success looked like to what significance is. And
that was my mindset shift.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That's super interesting. It's almost like the lack of selfishness,
losing that ego is what.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Boom And because so many people are like, yo, how
are you How did you leave your job? Like you're
not supposed to do that? Right, No, I never left
my job. I was doing my job.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
That's powerful.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Well, we are so defined by the jobs that we work.
I mean, even think about conversations you have on a
daily basis of feelings, so what you do and you
immediately going, oh, well, you know, I'm a social media expert,
and it's like, no, I'm a child of God. I'm like,
I'm a human who wants to be around amazing, like
(03:08):
I'm a parent. Those are our jobs, but we immediately
go to occupation.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Exactly. It's the cultural norms that have been programmed into
us of what our identity is. Yeah, exactly, so you
yourself as somebody working in corporate and other industries and
obviously working with your daughter too. What do you feel
like our ways to stand out as a creative and
as a professional.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Well, I tell you be your authentic self. And I
know we hear that. I know people people say it
and we hear it a lot, but I like, literally,
that's what it's about, because so often we find ourselves
in environments where we think we need to assimilate or
be like everybody else because you don't want to ruffle
(03:51):
feathers or you want to align with everything. But unity
doesn't mean uniformity. Diversity is everything. And if you go
into a space and people have brought you into space
because of the things you bring to the table, like
bring it down to the most simple factor, they're bringing
you in because of the expertise and the things that
(04:11):
you bring to the table. Yet you don't go in
and you don't show and highlight that you do or
say the things that everybody else is already saying they
don't need another one of those voices, like they got
enough of that exactly, they need your voice. So my
advice is you have to be your true, authentic self.
And I know we hear it so often, but it's
(04:34):
so real. Yeah, like it's so you have to be
your true, authentic self. And then the other learning that
you have is if you can't be that in that
space and you're ostracized, that's not the space you're supposed
to be in the first place.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, that's the universe speaking to you of you being
in the wrong place.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah. Yeah, and they got work they need to do
to make for a more welcoming environment.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
That truly the races individuality exactly. I mean, that's always
perfectly in my next question, how do you or how
would you suggest young creatives to overcome that imposter syndrome
self doubt of do I really belong in this room?
And really, you know, it's usually that confidence and that's
speaking to that subconscious that you know what.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I just saw this, and I don't know how long
ago he did this, but I keep seeing this Obama
interview pop up and he I love Obama what he represents,
but he in an interview said, you know, man, we
always are striving to be in these rooms and at
these tables. And he said, man, you get to some
(05:35):
of these tables and these people ain't all that Yeah,
I mean I think he said it literally just like that,
and I was like, yo, so glad to hear somebody
like Obama said, But it's so true. We have these
images of you know, how good and great people are
in these rooms and these tables, and that's why we're
not in them. It's like, nah, these people are human
just like you, and some of these.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
People really aren't literally.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Literally all that. So the way to break down that
imposter syndrome is to give yourself way more grace than
you should.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
You are.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Now give yourself way more grace and understand that. Look,
nobody is perfect nobody. So if you go into these
rooms and you don't have all the credentials or all
the things, you're not supposed to that's another thing. You're
supposed to have a learning curve and have an opportunity
to grow into any scenario or any job. If you
have all the credentials, you shouldn't be in that room anyway.
(06:27):
You need to be looking for another.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Rooms where you're not the smartest person in the room.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
One thousand percent. So eliminate. And again this is very
easy to say. You have to manage the minimizing of
your imposters. Cenzone, And as I'm talking to you, I'm
talking to myself, because even where I am today, I
still question myself sometimes I don't have to remind myself,
Oh that's right. I'm not supposed to be perfect, and
nobody else in these rooms are either. And if they're
(06:51):
going to judge me based off of my imperfections or
my needing to grow into areas, this is not a
place I need to be anyway. You should be pouring
into me to say, we're gonna get you the help
you need or the assistance to cover that deficiency or
what have you. If you're trying to exploit it and
use it as a means to be like, yep, trying
to get him up out of here. Oh cool, I
(07:12):
didn't need to be.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Getting into the right room.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah, well yeah, And it's it's getting into the right
mindset of not allowing other people's perceptions or programming define you,
which is again that's very easy in our society because
we are a programmed society exactly like it's it's thrown
at us every two minutes. So you have to build
the muscle of I'm not gonna let that define me
(07:40):
and be good with that. And and people are going
to talk about you and say things about your rooms
that you're not present. Hey, I can't control that. That's
on you. And perception is reality is what people say,
but they don't finish that. Perception is reality to the uninformed.
I'll inform you if you want to run with what
they're saying, but I can give you the real context
exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
So it's really about defining your own reality versus letting
other people program it for you. Okay, let me ask
you one more question. So I'm doing a.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Great drive by the way, go ahead.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
So I was having a conversation about artists, and I
think a lot of artists because we're so emotionally driven,
it's hard to be disciplined when we have these goals
and ambitions. What do you feel like is key in
terms of artists retain that discipline even after like that
motivation inspiration has ran out. What's the key to to
(08:37):
really continuing to be disciplined.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Consistency. You know, my oldest like I said, I was
talking about my oldest daughter earlier, you know, the audition
journey of her. Like anybody who's an artist going to auditions,
you're going to get way more rejections and you're ever
going to get gigs. Ever, never it's going to balance
(09:01):
out where you're gonna get the same amount of gigs
that you do or no rejections like you're never, it's
never gonna be you're going to always. And this is
for any well, I mean, Denzel probably ain't too.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Many way back when she.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Was getting way more rejected than he was actual gigs.
And so you have to build the muscle of discipline,
consistency and stay in the course. So one of the
beautiful things, you know, forget about, well, my daughter's accomplished
already in her early career, which is way more than
that of like seasoned actors today. She's been on Broadway
(09:40):
two times, she's been on TV as a reoccurring. Put
that to the side. The thing that I love most
is that she's built understanding and the discipline of I'm
not gonna let this last rejection define me and stop me.
She's like, all right, now, don't get a twisted We
go through that, but then she's right back for the
(10:00):
next audition. So you keep going. And so it's the
persistence of the discipline of consistency. You just have to
keep going regardless and see where it lands. You and
if it doesn't land you something in that industry, it's
landing you somewhere in life in terms of your character exactly.
And that's that's the transferable thing. That's the most important thing.
(10:20):
Forget about what gig you land. It's the character that
you're building and the muscle that you're building to be
able to do whatever, exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Like I said, it's about the bigger picture sometimes not
just about that one thing you're auditioning for it that
one moment. What's your top five musicians?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Oh and this is in no order. I could just
give you top five.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Give me top five, and then order it after because.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Comes so the immediate ones come to mind. Stevie, Shaka,
J Biggie Ya, and I know Michael Jackson, and Michael
was right. See what I'm saying, This is not right? Yeah,
you're right.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
You know, somebody gonna be like, hey, over Michael. But listen,
I can't hit on it though.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Yeah, no, listen. I think Kanye musically, no question, No
Question is insane and big and Jay Shaka you know, no, No,
I'm stick and Steve and you know what, listen, I
said Stevie first. So Stevie is number one yeah, Stevie
has to be number one. I think a close to
(11:26):
it is between Jay and Yay, and then there is
Shaka and then Big.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Okay, that's valid. That's an interesting line up. Why do
you feel like it's like that? Like what from your
childhood is the reason?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
And there it is? I think, you know, growing up,
my dad used to play music around me all the
time and I would just absorb, absorb, absorb, and it's
It wasn't until later that I realized that what he
was letting me listen to was the blueprint of my
life and so many things. And then it's now become
the blueprint for many other live in the influence of music, fashion,
(12:02):
all culture. So Stevie is just magical. I got to
see him perform live a couple of times, and it
never is old. And even seen like Shaka Khan perform
live was magical. And actually I've seen all the five
that I mentioned, I've seen all of them perform live
on many Yeah, like, yeah, I've so many times, Ja,
(12:23):
so many times Big I saw really oh yeah, Big.
I was at a show I'll never forget in New York.
I forgot what year was, but he was on stage.
I don't know if it was a conference or something
with Pac Big in.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
New York, just like a larger than life experience.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yeah, but you know, you don't know that then they
didn't know that. Then it's like, yeah, Big and them
are performing at this part of tonight, so you show up.
So yeah, I did not see Big performances much as
all the others obviously, but yeah, I've been able to
see them live. But Stevie is just.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Different music, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And I'm gonna have I'm gonna have this dude on
the show soon, my boy, Mike Phillips. I'll never forget this.
So Mike Phillips is this amazing saxophone artists player and
he's actually the first ever musician signed to the Jordan brand.
So we'll get that when he gets on the show.
But I went to his wedding, and his wedding was
(13:21):
in Portland, and so you know, they were going through
the ceremony, it is so wild, and they were like,
you know, we have a special guest who has a gift,
who has a gift that they want to give to
Mike and his wife today and they're like, this artist's
name is Stevie Wonder, he's gonna perform. No no, no no,
So I'm thinking no, no, no, so artist, no no no.
They just say see, but they say it really fast.
They say Steve. I'm like, yo, wants to have the
(13:45):
same name as Stevie Wondering to be an artist? Like
that's such, that's so whacked there, No, it's so I
would never want to be that person because that's just
too much pressure. Dog. They are walking Stevie won out
and put him on the piano. Said, oh no, they
meant Stevie Wonder Wonder, and Stevie got on the piano
(14:07):
my manners and murdered. Murdered. But like my first inclinations,
it can't be my Stevie Wonder. It is another person
whose name is Stevie Wonder and they're gonna sing at Mike's.
This was early two thousands because just ye I was
about to move. I just moved. Yeah, So early two thousands,
(14:29):
maybe six seven.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Is Stevie in Portland right now.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Stevie flew in on a private jet just to do
this for Mike. That's because Mike has performed with him
for many, many years. And literally they walk in Stevie
out because I looked down and say, no, that looks
like actual Stevie Wonder, like, whoa, this is wild, and yeah,
so that was dope.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
But yeah, that's crazy. So let's talk about the one
and only the collaboration of World Show.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, you know that was again God's plan. I was
in between I don't say in between gigs. I was
launching Culture Raises Us and I was on my way
to New York, I think to do my complex Sneaker
podcast interview, and I bumped into an old colleague in
the airport and who I used to work with, and
(15:20):
he was telling me what he was working on and
he was actually on his way to Ghana and he
was part of this company called World Show and he
was telling me about I was like, oh no, I
need to hear more about this. When you get back
from Ghana. Let's sit down, let's talk, and when I
get back from New York, let's figure it out. And
he did, and he's like, astor, I mean, we have
nobody doing marketing, and what we're doing is such a rich,
(15:41):
purpose driven you opportunity. We need somebody like you. I
need to connect you with the founder. So he connects
me with the founder Manny, who's this amazing human being
who's been doing humanitarian work for twenty plus years. Yeah,
originally from Nigeria, but has in afinity for not only
helping people and diminishing shoeless people in the world, but
(16:04):
he also has this affinity with highlighting the excellence out
of Africa. And I say that because again, so many
of us have been programmed for years to think Africa
is a certain thing. No money, no shoes, everybody walking around,
they hungry. All is just jungle and it's so not
that there are elements of that, but that's not what
(16:25):
it is total and so many had you know, has
a goal of being at the forefront of highlighting the
excellence that comes out of Africa. The brand is now
one of those components of showing how there can be
manufacturing excellence out of Africa. So you talk about World Shoe,
it's a what I call a three hundred and sixty
(16:46):
degree purpose driven business model that it all facets. It's
about significance and how to help others eliminate shoeless people
in the world, but also providing protection for many who
don't have shoes against NTDs which are neglected Tropical diseases.
But also we built our own factory, not in Asia,
(17:06):
and we didn't outsource that to a partner like the
majority of the footwear companies do. We own our footwear
factories and we built it in Ghana. So we're producing
the shoes in the cheapest or the one of the
poorest counties in Ghana. So now we've changed the generational
wealth proposition in that community. And so for me, it
(17:29):
was it aligned really well with my walk and my
journey right now of significance. And what it also did
was I'd never been to Africa before, never, so my
first trip to Africa was because of his job. So
and I'll never forget this flight I was flying in
from cause you know, from Portland, you go Portland, New York,
New York to Ghana, and I'll never forget. When we
(17:49):
land in Acra, the flight attendant as I'm walking out
was like, she was like, welcome home. They might know,
but my initial reaction was, Oh, I'm not from here.
I'm actually coming from the States. But I stopped and
I said, oh no, she's going way deeper. She was like,
welcome home. And once I put my feet down, I
(18:11):
was like, my life is about to change, and then
the next step of that is part of that first visit.
I'm so grateful for the team. One of the things
they incorporated on my tenerary was going to Cape Coast
where it's the castle, the castle where the first slaves
were sent out. In this thing, there's this thing called
the Door of No Return. And so you get a
(18:32):
tour of this whole castle and the last part of
the tour is the Door of No Return. And so
I'll never forget the tour guy was doing a great job.
Told about Michelle Obama's come over here and all these
different people did it? Oh, no, everybody. And when you
go to this thing and you see like the conditions
and where people were housed, and started like resiliency. We
(18:53):
don't even know what resiliency is.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
We have to have nothing.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I'm talking about people being in a room like this,
two hundred people, no bathrooms, there's no leaving the heat like.
So we do this whole tour. The last part of
the tour is the Door of No Return. And the
dude's walking us through all the history and he was like,
and now you can go through the door. And when
(19:21):
I tell you that the rest of the group started walking.
I moved my feet couldn't move. I was still, and
I was like, What's what's happening? And I feel like
it was the ancestors like having me sit in this
moment to say, we went through this, you can go
through that door and you're going to be good. We
(19:44):
went through that door, we had no clue what was coming,
and that was it. But you're all right. And then
something left and I was able to walk. I had
been moving the whole tour, and that man, what this
and that now they say, and on the other side
they now have door of return, so they broke the cycle.
(20:06):
So like you could say about and seven obviously, but
life changing experience, life changing.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Experience coming back to America after that have to be
just eye opening, to say the least.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Well, it just reminds you of just how how blessed,
like we take so much for granted on a daily basis,
so much. And that was a moment where I was
like when he was talking about like, you know there
were people that were sitting in these cave no bathroom,
(20:37):
I mean, like you really want that women going through menstal.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Second sees it's like if they can do that, who
are you to complain about
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Complain about nothing exactly God's grace, Complain about nothing
You've obviously talked to a lot of people who are
extremely successful, and you're successful yourself. What mistakes do you
see most young people making, most young creators making, and
they're looking to the other way up.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
A mistake, I think trying to go too fast, meaning
trying to think that everything is supposed to happen tomorrow.
I think things take time. So give yourself the grace
to go through a journey of learning to get to
what you think is your end goal. And those that
would think very intentionally because I think a lot of
(00:33):
times along the journey you realize that what you thought
was a destination you actually find out is a whole
different destination that God has planned for you. So just
take the time to work the process and learn and
enjoy the process.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Absolutely love that patience definitely a virtue.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yep, patience is a virtue for sure.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Also, would love to hear from you the mindset shift
that changed for you that kind of really opened things up.
Obviously you did a lot in fashion and you've worked
at a lot of amazing companies. What was that mindset
shift that really helped you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, it was, you know, I had a very distinct
mindset of what success looked like and success was bringing
a lot of value to myself. Right, I want to
be in this job with this company. I want to
have this title and this role, and I want to
be mentored by this person at all. And it was me, me, me,
me me, right, and success was bringing value to me.
(01:23):
And there was a distinct shift where I went from
success to significance, which is, how do I bring value
to others?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
How am I utilizing my platform to help others to
highlight and showcase their gifts in the development. And I
know exactly when that happened too, and it was when
my oldest daughter sings an acts and she had an
opportunity to be on Broadway and an Andrew Lloyd Webber
production called School of Rock. And I was an executive
at Nike at this time, and she had to go
(01:51):
do that in New York. And I was like, well, no,
she ain't gonna go. She's not gonna go by herself.
And obviously I've been managing her career all this time.
I need to go with her. So I need to
leave my corporate executive role that I had been planting
speeds on for years and doing all these things to
allow her gift to shine, which was going to touch
(02:14):
way more people than I ever would be able to touch.
But it was also I think my role to pour
into that gift. And so that was the shift literally
from what success looked like to what significance is. And
that was my mindset shift.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That's super interesting. It's almost like the lack of selfishness,
losing that ego is what.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Boom And because so many people are like, yo, how
are you How did you leave your job? Like you're
not supposed to do that? Right, No, I never left
my job. I was doing my job.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
That's powerful.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Well, we are so defined by the jobs that we work.
I mean, even think about conversations you have on a
daily basis of feelings, so what you do and you
immediately going, oh, well, you know, I'm a social media expert,
and it's like, no, I'm a child of God. I'm like,
I'm a human who wants to be around amazing, like
(03:08):
I'm a parent. Those are our jobs, but we immediately
go to occupation.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Exactly. It's the cultural norms that have been programmed into
us of what our identity is. Yeah, exactly, so you
yourself as somebody working in corporate and other industries and
obviously working with your daughter too. What do you feel
like our ways to stand out as a creative and
as a professional.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Well, I tell you be your authentic self. And I
know we hear that. I know people people say it
and we hear it a lot, but I like, literally,
that's what it's about, because so often we find ourselves
in environments where we think we need to assimilate or
be like everybody else because you don't want to ruffle
(03:51):
feathers or you want to align with everything. But unity
doesn't mean uniformity. Diversity is everything. And if you go
into a space and people have brought you into space
because of the things you bring to the table, like
bring it down to the most simple factor, they're bringing
you in because of the expertise and the things that
(04:11):
you bring to the table. Yet you don't go in
and you don't show and highlight that you do or
say the things that everybody else is already saying they
don't need another one of those voices, like they got
enough of that exactly, they need your voice. So my
advice is you have to be your true, authentic self.
And I know we hear it so often, but it's
(04:34):
so real. Yeah, like it's so you have to be
your true, authentic self. And then the other learning that
you have is if you can't be that in that
space and you're ostracized, that's not the space you're supposed
to be in the first place.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, that's the universe speaking to you of you being
in the wrong place.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah. Yeah, and they got work they need to do
to make for a more welcoming environment.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
That truly the races individuality exactly. I mean, that's always
perfectly in my next question, how do you or how
would you suggest young creatives to overcome that imposter syndrome
self doubt of do I really belong in this room?
And really, you know, it's usually that confidence and that's
speaking to that subconscious that you know what.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I just saw this, and I don't know how long
ago he did this, but I keep seeing this Obama
interview pop up and he I love Obama what he represents,
but he in an interview said, you know, man, we
always are striving to be in these rooms and at
these tables. And he said, man, you get to some
(05:35):
of these tables and these people ain't all that Yeah,
I mean I think he said it literally just like that,
and I was like, yo, so glad to hear somebody
like Obama said, But it's so true. We have these
images of you know, how good and great people are
in these rooms and these tables, and that's why we're
not in them. It's like, nah, these people are human
just like you, and some of these.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
People really aren't literally.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Literally all that. So the way to break down that
imposter syndrome is to give yourself way more grace than
you should.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
You are.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Now give yourself way more grace and understand that. Look,
nobody is perfect nobody. So if you go into these
rooms and you don't have all the credentials or all
the things, you're not supposed to that's another thing. You're
supposed to have a learning curve and have an opportunity
to grow into any scenario or any job. If you
have all the credentials, you shouldn't be in that room anyway.
(06:27):
You need to be looking for another.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Rooms where you're not the smartest person in the room.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
One thousand percent. So eliminate. And again this is very
easy to say. You have to manage the minimizing of
your imposters. Cenzone, And as I'm talking to you, I'm
talking to myself, because even where I am today, I
still question myself sometimes I don't have to remind myself,
Oh that's right. I'm not supposed to be perfect, and
nobody else in these rooms are either. And if they're
(06:51):
going to judge me based off of my imperfections or
my needing to grow into areas, this is not a
place I need to be anyway. You should be pouring
into me to say, we're gonna get you the help
you need or the assistance to cover that deficiency or
what have you. If you're trying to exploit it and
use it as a means to be like, yep, trying
to get him up out of here. Oh cool, I
(07:12):
didn't need to be.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Getting into the right room.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Yeah, well yeah, And it's it's getting into the right
mindset of not allowing other people's perceptions or programming define you,
which is again that's very easy in our society because
we are a programmed society exactly like it's it's thrown
at us every two minutes. So you have to build
the muscle of I'm not gonna let that define me
(07:40):
and be good with that. And and people are going
to talk about you and say things about your rooms
that you're not present. Hey, I can't control that. That's
on you. And perception is reality is what people say,
but they don't finish that. Perception is reality to the uninformed.
I'll inform you if you want to run with what
they're saying, but I can give you the real context
exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
So it's really about defining your own reality versus letting
other people program it for you. Okay, let me ask
you one more question. So I'm doing a.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Great drive by the way, go ahead.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
So I was having a conversation about artists, and I
think a lot of artists because we're so emotionally driven,
it's hard to be disciplined when we have these goals
and ambitions. What do you feel like is key in
terms of artists retain that discipline even after like that
motivation inspiration has ran out. What's the key to to
(08:37):
really continuing to be disciplined.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Consistency. You know, my oldest like I said, I was
talking about my oldest daughter earlier, you know, the audition
journey of her. Like anybody who's an artist going to auditions,
you're going to get way more rejections and you're ever
going to get gigs. Ever, never it's going to balance
(09:01):
out where you're gonna get the same amount of gigs
that you do or no rejections like you're never, it's
never gonna be you're going to always. And this is
for any well, I mean, Denzel probably ain't too.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Many way back when she.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Was getting way more rejected than he was actual gigs.
And so you have to build the muscle of discipline,
consistency and stay in the course. So one of the
beautiful things, you know, forget about, well, my daughter's accomplished
already in her early career, which is way more than
that of like seasoned actors today. She's been on Broadway
(09:40):
two times, she's been on TV as a reoccurring. Put
that to the side. The thing that I love most
is that she's built understanding and the discipline of I'm
not gonna let this last rejection define me and stop me.
She's like, all right, now, don't get a twisted We
go through that, but then she's right back for the
(10:00):
next audition. So you keep going. And so it's the
persistence of the discipline of consistency. You just have to
keep going regardless and see where it lands. You and
if it doesn't land you something in that industry, it's
landing you somewhere in life in terms of your character exactly.
And that's that's the transferable thing. That's the most important thing.
(10:20):
Forget about what gig you land. It's the character that
you're building and the muscle that you're building to be
able to do whatever, exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Like I said, it's about the bigger picture sometimes not
just about that one thing you're auditioning for it that
one moment. What's your top five musicians?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Oh and this is in no order. I could just
give you top five.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Give me top five, and then order it after because.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Comes so the immediate ones come to mind. Stevie, Shaka,
J Biggie Ya, and I know Michael Jackson, and Michael
was right. See what I'm saying, This is not right? Yeah,
you're right.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
You know, somebody gonna be like, hey, over Michael. But listen,
I can't hit on it though.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Yeah, no, listen. I think Kanye musically, no question, No
Question is insane and big and Jay Shaka you know, no, No,
I'm stick and Steve and you know what, listen, I
said Stevie first. So Stevie is number one yeah, Stevie
has to be number one. I think a close to
(11:26):
it is between Jay and Yay, and then there is
Shaka and then Big.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Okay, that's valid. That's an interesting line up. Why do
you feel like it's like that? Like what from your
childhood is the reason?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
And there it is? I think, you know, growing up,
my dad used to play music around me all the
time and I would just absorb, absorb, absorb, and it's
It wasn't until later that I realized that what he
was letting me listen to was the blueprint of my
life and so many things. And then it's now become
the blueprint for many other live in the influence of music, fashion,
(12:02):
all culture. So Stevie is just magical. I got to
see him perform live a couple of times, and it
never is old. And even seen like Shaka Khan perform
live was magical. And actually I've seen all the five
that I mentioned, I've seen all of them perform live
on many Yeah, like, yeah, I've so many times, Ja,
(12:23):
so many times Big I saw really oh yeah, Big.
I was at a show I'll never forget in New York.
I forgot what year was, but he was on stage.
I don't know if it was a conference or something
with Pac Big in.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
New York, just like a larger than life experience.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yeah, but you know, you don't know that then they
didn't know that. Then it's like, yeah, Big and them
are performing at this part of tonight, so you show up.
So yeah, I did not see Big performances much as
all the others obviously, but yeah, I've been able to
see them live. But Stevie is just.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Different music, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And I'm gonna have I'm gonna have this dude on
the show soon, my boy, Mike Phillips. I'll never forget this.
So Mike Phillips is this amazing saxophone artists player and
he's actually the first ever musician signed to the Jordan brand.
So we'll get that when he gets on the show.
But I went to his wedding, and his wedding was
(13:21):
in Portland, and so you know, they were going through
the ceremony, it is so wild, and they were like,
you know, we have a special guest who has a gift,
who has a gift that they want to give to
Mike and his wife today and they're like, this artist's
name is Stevie Wonder, he's gonna perform. No no, no no,
So I'm thinking no, no, no, so artist, no no no.
They just say see, but they say it really fast.
They say Steve. I'm like, yo, wants to have the
(13:45):
same name as Stevie Wondering to be an artist? Like
that's such, that's so whacked there, No, it's so I
would never want to be that person because that's just
too much pressure. Dog. They are walking Stevie won out
and put him on the piano. Said, oh no, they
meant Stevie Wonder Wonder, and Stevie got on the piano
(14:07):
my manners and murdered. Murdered. But like my first inclinations,
it can't be my Stevie Wonder. It is another person
whose name is Stevie Wonder and they're gonna sing at Mike's.
This was early two thousands because just ye I was
about to move. I just moved. Yeah, So early two thousands,
(14:29):
maybe six seven.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Is Stevie in Portland right now.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Stevie flew in on a private jet just to do
this for Mike. That's because Mike has performed with him
for many, many years. And literally they walk in Stevie
out because I looked down and say, no, that looks
like actual Stevie Wonder, like, whoa, this is wild, and yeah,
so that was dope.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
But yeah, that's crazy. So let's talk about the one
and only the collaboration of World Show.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, you know that was again God's plan. I was
in between I don't say in between gigs. I was
launching Culture Raises Us and I was on my way
to New York, I think to do my complex Sneaker
podcast interview, and I bumped into an old colleague in
the airport and who I used to work with, and
(15:20):
he was telling me what he was working on and
he was actually on his way to Ghana and he
was part of this company called World Show and he
was telling me about I was like, oh no, I
need to hear more about this. When you get back
from Ghana. Let's sit down, let's talk, and when I
get back from New York, let's figure it out. And
he did, and he's like, astor, I mean, we have
nobody doing marketing, and what we're doing is such a rich,
(15:41):
purpose driven you opportunity. We need somebody like you. I
need to connect you with the founder. So he connects
me with the founder Manny, who's this amazing human being
who's been doing humanitarian work for twenty plus years. Yeah,
originally from Nigeria, but has in afinity for not only
helping people and diminishing shoeless people in the world, but
(16:04):
he also has this affinity with highlighting the excellence out
of Africa. And I say that because again, so many
of us have been programmed for years to think Africa
is a certain thing. No money, no shoes, everybody walking around,
they hungry. All is just jungle and it's so not
that there are elements of that, but that's not what
(16:25):
it is total and so many had you know, has
a goal of being at the forefront of highlighting the
excellence that comes out of Africa. The brand is now
one of those components of showing how there can be
manufacturing excellence out of Africa. So you talk about World Shoe,
it's a what I call a three hundred and sixty
(16:46):
degree purpose driven business model that it all facets. It's
about significance and how to help others eliminate shoeless people
in the world, but also providing protection for many who
don't have shoes against NTDs which are neglected Tropical diseases.
But also we built our own factory, not in Asia,
(17:06):
and we didn't outsource that to a partner like the
majority of the footwear companies do. We own our footwear
factories and we built it in Ghana. So we're producing
the shoes in the cheapest or the one of the
poorest counties in Ghana. So now we've changed the generational
wealth proposition in that community. And so for me, it
(17:29):
was it aligned really well with my walk and my
journey right now of significance. And what it also did
was I'd never been to Africa before, never, so my
first trip to Africa was because of his job. So
and I'll never forget this flight I was flying in
from cause you know, from Portland, you go Portland, New York,
New York to Ghana, and I'll never forget. When we
(17:49):
land in Acra, the flight attendant as I'm walking out
was like, she was like, welcome home. They might know,
but my initial reaction was, Oh, I'm not from here.
I'm actually coming from the States. But I stopped and
I said, oh no, she's going way deeper. She was like,
welcome home. And once I put my feet down, I
(18:11):
was like, my life is about to change, and then
the next step of that is part of that first visit.
I'm so grateful for the team. One of the things
they incorporated on my tenerary was going to Cape Coast
where it's the castle, the castle where the first slaves
were sent out. In this thing, there's this thing called
the Door of No Return. And so you get a
(18:32):
tour of this whole castle and the last part of
the tour is the Door of No Return. And so
I'll never forget the tour guy was doing a great job.
Told about Michelle Obama's come over here and all these
different people did it? Oh, no, everybody. And when you
go to this thing and you see like the conditions
and where people were housed, and started like resiliency. We
(18:53):
don't even know what resiliency is.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
We have to have nothing.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
I'm talking about people being in a room like this,
two hundred people, no bathrooms, there's no leaving the heat like.
So we do this whole tour. The last part of
the tour is the Door of No Return. And the
dude's walking us through all the history and he was like,
and now you can go through the door. And when
(19:21):
I tell you that the rest of the group started walking.
I moved my feet couldn't move. I was still, and
I was like, What's what's happening? And I feel like
it was the ancestors like having me sit in this
moment to say, we went through this, you can go
through that door and you're going to be good. We
(19:44):
went through that door, we had no clue what was coming,
and that was it. But you're all right. And then
something left and I was able to walk. I had
been moving the whole tour, and that man, what this
and that now they say, and on the other side
they now have door of return, so they broke the cycle.
(20:06):
So like you could say about and seven obviously, but
life changing experience, life changing.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Experience coming back to America after that have to be
just eye opening, to say the least.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Well, it just reminds you of just how how blessed,
like we take so much for granted on a daily basis,
so much. And that was a moment where I was
like when he was talking about like, you know there
were people that were sitting in these cave no bathroom,
(20:37):
I mean, like you really want that women going through menstal.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Second sees it's like if they can do that, who
are you to complain about
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Complain about nothing exactly God's grace, Complain about nothing
Host
Astor Chamber
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