September 25, 2025 • 37 mins
Will Catlett is more than an actor and producer—he’s a storyteller of spirit, resilience, and truth. From Charm City Kingsand Love Is_ to his mentorship program “Wisdom Like Water,” Will has used his platform to remind us that culture begins within. In this powerful conversation with host Astor Chambers, Will breaks down why self-love, inner joy, and authenticity are non-negotiables for creating culture that truly lasts.
Born and raised in the DMV, Will carries lessons from his father, his faith, and his community into every role he takes on. His journey is filled with pivots—basketball, photography, fashion, and acting—all leading him to a purpose-driven career that now includes mentoring others through his academy. For Will, the culture of the mind is the foundation of everything: how you think is how you create, how you love, and how you impact the world.
This conversation explores:
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Why Black culture sets the rhythm for the world
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The importance of valuing ourselves and our ideas
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How desegregation shifted the Black dollar—and why community wealth matters
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Finding the courage to leave rooms that don’t value you
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The role of allyship and intuition in building authentic connections
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Why men need to check in with men and build accountability
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How his program “Wisdom Like Water” pours into the next generation
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The three seeds he leaves for future leaders: self-love, a cultivated mind, and joy
Will Catlett reminds us that culture isn’t just external—it starts with the self. His transparency about challenges, purpose, and responsibility offers an unfiltered blueprint for artists, leaders, and everyday people striving to live authentically.
Listen to gain perspective on why joy is a choice, why ownership matters, and why culture begins with the work we do on ourselves.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction & Opening Reflections
00:23 – Will Catlett on Black Culture & Global Influence
01:02 – The Culture of the Mind: Thinking Shapes Life
02:17 – Black Spending Power & Valuing Ourselves
03:57 – Destiny, Purpose & Self-Reflection
05:25 – Ownership vs. Assimilation: Building Our Own Tables
07:18 – The Black Dollar & Lessons from His Father
08:44 – Growing Up in the DMV & Family Foundations
10:01 – The Presence of a Father & Masculine Energy
11:09 – Wisdom Like Water: Mentorship & Teaching
13:09 – Overcoming the Block of “Not Being Denzel”
14:39 – Artists as Teachers & Storytellers
15:18 – Ripples of Wisdom: The Power of Influence
16:11 – Allyship & Knowing When to Let Go
18:21 – Intuition, Trust & Energy in Relationships
19:37 – Showing Up as Your Best Self
21:07 – Fatherhood, Legacy & Creating Safe Spaces
23:02 – Knowing When to Leave the Room
23:34 – False Narratives, Opinions & Emotional Intelligence
25:15 – Social Media, Sensationalism & Value Systems
26:34 – Honoring Sacrifice & Moving with Purpose
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
To who much is given, much is required. Part of
that requirement is sharing. Culture is the heartbeat within our
lives and it's at the core of so many things.
While we live in a time when we are starving
for wisdom, I welcome you to your wisdom retreat. That
culture raises us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Black folks make the world go right.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Will Catlet, actor and producer. You've seen him in a
host of things, Charms of the King. Love is black.
With joy and consolation, you spend the most money.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Black people have a rhythm. When we say something, then
people go out and buy. I'm a firm believer that
I am belong in any room that I go in.
There's nothing outside of me. Everything is within you.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
If you don't value me, then I gotta go. Don't
let life.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Beat you up to the point that you become bitter.
Find the joy within yourself. You never know who you're
sent to in this lifetime.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
That's why it's important for you to love you.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It's important for you to cultivate your mind, and it's
important for you to show up each and every day
because someone's depending on you to show up.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You hear culture, what does that mean to you?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
The thing that comes to mind right away, is I
think we throw the word culture around so loosely. I
think the culture that one should ultimately focus on cultivating
is the culture of their mind, because what you think
about is what you will achieve and what you will accomplish.
You know, it's not just deemed to a specific group
(01:24):
of people or a specific location, you know what I mean? So,
how are you imposing the culture of your mind on
the world. That's kind of how my mind thinks when
I hear the word culture.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Now, I love that definition of taking it inward and
not necessarily the cultures that influence or affect you or
help mold you, but the culture within yourself, which then
becomes a part of other cultures and can shape, yes
creating other cultures. You know, I look at your journey
and I want to go back and for you. Was
(01:57):
there a particular moment when you realized how big black
culture and content, because you're very much in the space
of content, is how informative and how influential that's been
in shaping overall global landscape, global culture.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Black folks make the world go around. We spend the
most money, not that we have, not that one group
of people has a better ideas than another group of people.
But Black people have a rhythm and we usually dictate
and set that rhythm. And when we say something, then
(02:37):
people go out and buy. I mean even if you
look at Target, you know, I ain't know nothing about
the boycott. I just looked at the numbers, But you know,
you're talking about losing a billion dollars for people just
not going in the target and buying. But we need
to make sure that we are valuing that wealth within ourselves.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, and I think that's a good, a great statement,
and I feel like we're not.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, we're not.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And it's a huge, huge opportunity that needs to be
galvanized around now more than ever.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, why are we not? I think we just don't
know ourselves.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I think we don't spend enough time just looking at
the man in the mirror or the women in the mirror.
We don't spend enough time thinking about how value valuable
your ideas are, how valuable you are. You know, I
spent a lot of time doing self reflection, you know
what I mean. I could have been studying Spanish on
the way over here. Thirty minutes in the car, I said, now,
(03:28):
I just wanted to chill. I just wanted to ride
drive reflect. What is the next thing you want to do?
What am I doing right now? That's going to affect
culture in ten years from now. You know, even when
I talk to my good buddy while I'm here, Terrence Williams,
and when we talk, were always talking about destiny, purpose,
you know, how we shifting the culture, how we reminding
(03:48):
people that you do value. You know, because if you
grew up in the city, like I grew up in
the DC area. We was talking about this off camera,
DC Rayland, Virginia. Right My school was T. C. Williams
High School under out think it's called that anymore. I
think it's Alexandra City Public School or something like that
now due to you know, all the things happen in
the government. Everybody wants to fit in, you know what
(04:09):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But T. C. Williams, That's what I know.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
That's just like I can never call the reds the Commanders.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I can't even say it now, like.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
A yeah, but like they're the Redskins to me because
that's the culture I grew up with, you know what
I mean. But I think to the point is that
we as African Americans have to value ourselves, but we
also can't get stuck in the box of.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Only being just African American and letting that label us.
I'll give you an example.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Please, when we look at the Oscars or we look
at any award shows, nine times out of ten when
black folks win something, we always perpetuate the same idea.
They never let me in. You know, I was the
young young black boy or I was a young black girl.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
It's like, what did.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Sydney Poitier come for? Then he came to break the barrier?
So why do we keep perpetuating the same ideals?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Like we shouldn't do that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
We are good whether we are at the Oscars or not,
and that has to be cemented and rooted within our consciousness.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So what's the speech we should hear now moving forward?
Then if it's not that one, what is it the
one that you're hoping to hear to, then provide the
unlocked because everything has to be for that. Yeah, unlock.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I think the unlock is ownership. What are you building?
What are you owning?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
You don't always have to be invited to the same parties.
It's the same party every year. You know what I mean,
what land are we occupying? You know how we becoming
more global because we are global. I went to China
and they tell you that, you know, films don't sell
overseas well. Kobe Jordan and the rest of our athletes
(05:56):
have made us famous all around the world. You go
around in Beijing, China, see Kobe, you see everybody. So
you can't tell me that the movies don't sell. It's
just whether are we putting the promotion behind it, you
know what I mean? Cod Yeah, exactly, you know, so
I think that's the message, is what we're doing right here.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Somebody had an idea and.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Said, listen, let's shoot, let's sit down, and now we're here,
we got to do more of that. And then we
got to that dollar needs to circulate in our community.
You know, it's not even circulating as much now anymore,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And that's one thing. I had this conversation with my dad.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
My dad was born in nineteen forty two, and we
were talking about how desegregation really help the black movement
because it forced us to be together, it forced us
to spend money in the same community. Not that we
shouldn't have the opportunities to go wherever you want to
go to study in any college you want to study.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
But that money needs to circulate, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
When other communities do that, we don't have a problem,
but for some reason with us, we have a problem
spending our money in our own community.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
No, it's wild, and I'm going to butcher some of
the numbers, but I think think you'll get the gist,
and I'm sure you're familiar with this. I think in
the Asian community, their dollar stays within their community within
like a month period. Jewish community, I think it's somewhere
around the same thing. And then you come to the
Black community hours.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Hours.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
So the context is the disparity of that is wild,
But that is, you know, a key element. And when
you talk about what your father said about when segregation
took place, about the community that we built together, we
might be embarking on that pretty soon. Again, it could be,
which is wild to think. But as I look at you, know,
(07:41):
you mentioned you're from DMV, and I went to college
out there, and you know, I've always DMV has always
held a place in my heart for a number of reasons.
And I think one of the things. Was the confidence
of character that cats from DC, in particular in Maryland
in Virginia had was profound in me because it was
(08:04):
this confidence and air that I didn't necessarily see coming
up in New York, but I saw in the individuals
and the character and the cultures that were that you
all were coming from in the DC area. I'm assuming
that plays a big part of your foundation in terms
of even your journey of you know, because you didn't
just come out thinking you were going to be an actor.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Right. You have an athletic background with ball, you have
a creative background in fashion that you dabbled in and
photography and all the things. How has that foundation kind
of helped you shape you to continue to be who
you are and evolve more importantly into who you're becoming.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah. I think.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
When I came out to play ball in California in
San Diego, this was Linda Vista, where I was staying
with my auntie, I didn't see a black person for
like a month. And this is before Atlanta was Chocolate City.
This is when DC was Chocolate.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
City, Chocolates City.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Know, So I grew up around seeing people who look
like me on a day to day basis, and I
wanted to circle there first before I go back. Now,
my dad spent forty four years in the government. I've
watched my dad DV you.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Know, military, you know, that was the path.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
But I've seen them write bills, and I've seen him
go to church, you know, and so that really kind
of shaped you know, what a man should look like
and what a man should be. And I remember a
good friend of mine, he said, man, you know you lucky.
Were kids at this time, maybe maybe I was in
the tenth grade maybe, and he said, man, you lucky.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Man. I said, why you say that? Because you got
your dad in your life, you know, And so.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Not that you can't become successful, but when you have
a man present, at present, at home, it just gives
you certain structre.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Without even saying it.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
My mom would tell me all the time, you know,
a man's voice carries and a woman's doesn't. She's not
negating the woman's voice, She's just saying, when a man says, son,
sit down, it's a vibration that you feel within you.
And so when I show up in the world, I'm
not trying to look for validation or looking for approval,
because I've heard the vibration. I know the vibration. I
(10:23):
felt the vibration, you know what I mean. So, whether
I'm acting, or if I'm doing photography, or if I'm
doing none of it, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah. When you talk about the vibration and the presence
of your father, I know you have a program wisdom
like water. Yeah, and I know that had to come
from a time where you were probably challenged mentally on
how you saw yourself. Yeah, in your career, what was
the most difficult circumstance you kind of had to push
(10:52):
through to get to the other side of this sharing
and to now build this program to help others.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Well, my wife got time to be coming home complaining
because I think I'm on Black Lightning and Love Is
at the time. I'm always in it, doing two shows
or two movies at the same time. I'm the man
of the double for some reasons, which I love mult Yeah,
And she said, you know, you you need to teach
people all the things that you're experiencing.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
You need to share those and his back to the value.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Who gonna listen to me. I ain't Denzel yet, I
ain't Meryl Street yet. So what do I have to offer,
And then she was like, you have a lot to offer.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
So, and this is during the pandemic where we created
the Catlet Academy. This is where wisdom of water comes from,
you know. And I just started sharing, and I'm seeing
so many lives change because the culture of the mind,
what is it to be big time and whatever feel
or interest that you're in and you don't have the
(11:58):
character to keep you there. And so I just started
sharing like, Hey, this is what it is, this is
what you should.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Be doing, this is what you should be focused on.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Hopefully, the actors that do come into the community, you
realize this ain't even what you want to do, but
you find the thing that the thing that you want
to do in that community, you know what I mean.
So that's the goal, you know. I'm always trying to
push actors, like listen, maybe the same it. Maybe you
still living off the fantasy or the dream that someone
fed you. Maybe mom said, you know, you got to
go and get a good job. Well, in this day
(12:27):
and time, it's a different reality, you know what I mean.
The job is different, the job is not the same.
So my whole thing is challenging conventional thinking and really
discovering what it is that you want to do.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
But you know, you're obviously a reflection of that because
there's something that you just shared in that when you
were opposing or fighting off the notion of doing this. Yeah,
because you weren't what Denzela, You weren't of that level,
and you just talked about we have these preconceived notions
of where we need to be, how we yes, rather
than just doing what God put in your spirit, and
(13:02):
you did what God put on your spirit. Thankful for
your wife to get the little nudge like you don't
need to be Denzel to be able to provide insight
for others so that they can be better versions of
themselves and then be better contributors to the collective. Had
you not had that nudge because you were in a
mindset of I'm not at that level to be teaching
(13:24):
and sharing. Actually, yeah, you are. We all are. And
I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions is that
we think we need to be in a certain position
a certain place to be able to share pour into
We know it is the simple pouring into of the
experience of the things that we had to go through
because the goal is I don't want you to have
to go through what I went thro. Why should you
(13:45):
have to do that too? That's wild, But we're so
programmed to that, and I think society does a great
job because we glamorize all of those jay zs Denzel's
as we should. But then everyone else doesn't think that.
We don't have a responsibility to share like they can
share by example or within their respective villages and networks
as they do. We got to do the same thing.
(14:07):
You don't have to be on the billboards just like
them to do that, right. So I'm so glad to
hear or more importantly, people to hear you even say, yeah,
I had that block for a minute.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah that was a block.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
It was a huge block, you know, because in this game,
it's perception, right, it's hype. So sometimes you get so
caught up in trying to control the narrative instead of
painting the story. And you know, I don't want to
be seen as this. I want to be seen as that.
But the thing that you don't want to be seen
as is the thing that gets you to that, you know.
(14:40):
And I'm like, even though you look at like Kindred,
you know, like these are teachers at the end of
the day, they just we just teachers. They just teaching
you and sharing their story. You look at Drake, that's
still a teacher. Teachers just telling you their story, you
know what I mean, jay Z teacher telling you their story,
you know.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
And so it's important for us to give back.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
And then when I think about wisdom like water, you know,
I'm just leaving nuggets, you know. I believe the greats
they leave nuggets and they're expecting people to pick them up.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
And I think when you talk about water, you talk.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
About a ripple, yes effect.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yes, if you could look at still water and it's
still and nothing's happening. But once you drop a rock
or you drop your finger in, you see this ripple. Yeah,
that goes out for potentially infinity. So it's the same
type of notion of how many people you can affect? Yeah,
which is this small ripple. And as I listen to you,
(15:34):
another piece that comes to my mind is you must
have an affinity or an insight on some sort of
what does allyship look like and the role that that
plays within shaping cultures or just in general, how do
we leverage or or lean into the notion of allyship.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Now a meaning like people who you align.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
With absolutely, who do you not only who you align with,
but who do you lean on in an effort to
or allow to come into a circumstance to help push
an agenda, a narrative, a thought, a vision, because a
number of things we can't do on our own. I mean,
(16:16):
it's just what I mean. We were sent here to
work together to tap into energies of others because we're
not meant to do all the lifting. So that part
of allyship as well.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, I think whenever you have an idea, there's about
ten people tied to that idea, and the more you
work that idea, the more those people will appear. And
in the process, as that idea matures, you just can't
get caught on who comes in and who leaves because
(16:48):
everybody's not there to finish the whole journey of the idea.
And that's where I believe we get stuck at when
it comes to the allyship, you know, because there's different
parts and different people play different parts along the story.
That's like when I'm acting, you know, if I'm supporting,
I'm supporting the main character. You know, I'm not there
(17:09):
to do anything else but to support that main character.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And it's power in that.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
But then it's time when you know in that idea
that I must go, I must go on to the
next thing. Sometimes in that having that alliance or having
that allorship is that we hang on to people. And
you can't do that, you know what I mean. You
can't do that. Someone is just coming to help you
with that idea for a certain time and then it's
(17:34):
time to let go, or you're just pushing it, you
know what I mean. If you're on a boat, you know,
your job may just be able to steer, you may
not need to paddle the boat.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So everybody got to play their parts. And when I
think about that, that's what I think about. Okay, who's
playing the part.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
In my journey? And then who am I helping with
their Journey's right?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
You know, I never heard the word alli ship before,
so I was like trying to Yeah, I never heard
that before, Like Okay, oh that's cool, that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yeah, who's who's my lies? No?
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Listen, I mean, and that's in these days. Yeah, I mean,
you can't need to know about all the people around
you and their energy, because some of it.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
We have no clue.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
We have no clue the agendas, the thoughts of some
that we thought might have been in a certain space.
But we are going to learn and have been learning.
Oh wow, you really weren't in that space.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
I think we do, know. I just don't think that
we listen to it. You know, it's it's your intuition.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, you know, I think that.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
I think I know. I liking it too. If I'm
walking down the street and I look behind me, I
don't see nobody, but I know somebody's following me. I
don't need to see them to know that I'm not alone.
And so whether being in a relationship to make it
even more simpler, you saw the red flags, you knew
(18:56):
you know what I mean, But you wanted what you
wanted more than listening to voice that's within.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
But when we listen to the voice, you know, okay.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Cool.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
A buddy of mine called me on the way over here.
It's like, yeah, man, I just call and let you know. Man,
And I put in my resonation letter for said things
said thing. I said, Yeah, I knew you knew, I said, yeah.
I told my wife and I told my boy that
this was going to happen. I'm just waiting on you
to call.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Well, how did I know, intuition? Yeah, you just know,
you know. And given the state of things and that commentary,
what are you doing specifically to ensure that the cultures
and the spaces you frequent are being nurtured properly and
what are you recommending for other creatives and consumers to
do as well?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Well, I think you got to just be you.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
The more you be you, the culture will present itself.
When you showing up as the best you in the world,
then it's having an impact. When you're not showing up
as the best you in the world, then you're not
giving people the license to be their best. So that
doesn't mean that you can have a great day every day,
you know what I mean. There's beauty and the days
(20:00):
that you don't feel like it's a great day. But
if you're trying to have impact and to be a
voice in culture in all cultures, you gotta be you, real,
recognize real, you know what I mean? You got to
show up as you. And I can say at forty
two years old, I'm cool with me. I like me,
and if I like me, then that's going to give
you the license to like you boom, you know what
(20:22):
I mean. So I understand about when it comes to people.
You know, I may have the key to unlock you
may have the key to unlock me. Even in this
conversation right now, I'm like, wow, you know, Dad, I
ain't hurt myself talking a minute. Thank you for this brother,
just letting me speak. Okay, I know I got more
work to do. I got to do this and do
that and do that and then let it be.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
You said something, you said a lot there that was great,
and I think about you know, I'm a father of
three girls, and one of my responsibilities, one of my
key ones in this chapter of my journey, has evolved
into ensuring that whatever work I do is creating a
space so that my girls can be their best, unapologetic
(21:04):
selves wherever they choose to go, in whatever capacity they
choose to go in, and within that, it's providing them
with a lesson of circumstances that I've been in where
I've been sent into rooms literally and figuratively where you
are being tasked with. We need you, we need what
you have to help get us to this next place
(21:26):
and help change this room and this dynamic. However, sometimes
when you get into those rooms, you find out that
all they really want you to do is to what
assimilate to what's already in the room. So I'm coming
back to your statement of being comfortable with you right,
being unapologetically you, and as easy as it sounds, there's
so much work that has to be put in, in
(21:48):
so much commitment and dedication. Because I'm throwing the word
easy out there, but it's really not the word easy
that I want to use. It's so easy to assimilate
to what the mass, but we're not intended to do that.
We're intended to bring the different pov to add on
to the mass. And I tell people, when you do that,
(22:10):
you were helping not only yourself with the gifts that
God has given you that are supposed to be unlocked,
but you are now unlocking something for the others in
that room because you're bringing something different than what they
already want. But if you just bring the same thing
that they have, who's moving anywhere? Why are you in
the room. So you also got to get comfortable with
(22:31):
knowing that if the room is not embracing that difference
might not be the room you need to be in.
But that's all a part of the getting comfortable with you.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Have.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
You already been in circumstances where you were in rooms
where you were you were standing ten toes down on
I'm going to be me, but it wasn't embraced at all.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yeah, if it's not embraced, then you know, sometimes it's
a timing thing. They may not just be ready to
see what you have.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
I'm a firm believer that I am the room in
any room that I go into. You know, there's nothing
outside of me. Everything is within me. You know, there's
no career, there's no opportunity, there's no job, there's no
nothing that is not within me. My job is to
apply the pressure on myself, you know what I mean,
in order to pull that that goal that's within me
out And once I know that, if I'm in the
(23:23):
room and I'm not receiving in the room.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You know what i mean, dust your shoes off and
keep it moving.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Keep it moving.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Sometimes we stay in rooms too long. If you don't
value me, then I gotta go, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
You know I've heard you say that You've never enjoyed
opinions with no merit to make one grow. And I'm
sure it's safe to say that you feel some sort
of responsibility to help with making sure that false narratives
are given context in alignment? Is that safe to say?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Why there's so many voices in the world.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
You want to make sure that what's being said it
is understood by who said it.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Hmm.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
You know, everybody has an opinion, especially in this generation,
you know what I mean, And sometimes you know, a
lot of our great actors and musicians and thinkers are
their voice is snuffed out through the court of public opinion,
you know what I mean, And that can't be you
know everything. I mean, I've never seen so much cyberbullion
(24:27):
in my life, you know that you would see sometain people.
I'm like, man, you just need it. You need to
been punching the face in a minute, that part, you
know what I mean. You need to get pushing the face, you.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Not that I'm promoting violence, yeah, yeah, yeah, Like sometimes
you just got to get because you wouldn't do that
behind that keyboard, you know what I mean. You got
to think about the humanity of the person, you know
what I mean. And I've seen so much of it, Like, man,
like you can be here today and the same people
that put you here is the same people.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
That used to tear you down here, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And it's like we got to get better and talking
about you know, the value and the dollar circulating, you know,
even the emotional intelligence, the emotional behavior circulating through our people.
We got to make sure that we keep that intact.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I think social media has hindered the ability to do
that on so many levels. The things we're applauding and
we're sensationalizing there some of it, not all of it.
I think it's hindering us from that level of growth
that you're talking about. And I don't know what it
(25:30):
is that we need to diminish that sensationalization what have
you that I want to call it to help us
with that breakthrough and unlock. It's so necessary because we
are programmed. We're now programmed to think that this is it.
These are the things that should be put on the pedestal, sensationalized,
(25:54):
galvanized around and it's like, but yeah, they're not taking
us to a better place.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No, we got to get back to just you know,
play outside man, you know what I mean. You got
to get back to the basics, you know, forget all
this other stuff. You know, when TikTok was down, everybody's
freaking out that you know, these things they don't have
they don't have value. I mean they have value monetary,
(26:18):
but they don't have value here, you know what I mean.
And this is what we got to focus on, you know,
and that's to all people, and that's all cultures.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
You got to focus on that value here.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Cannot devalue your self, will I tell myself that all
the time. Yeah, you might be scared going towards something.
That's fine, there's nothing wrong with that. But you must
march forward, you know what I mean, because we have
people who have laid the foundation that we must continue on.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
The journey, you know what I mean. Or what was
the point?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
You know what I'm saying, What was the point of
mega efforts? You know what I'm saying, what was the point?
And I think about that, like when you think about culture,
you think about you know, just let anybody vote, what's
the point of mega efforts dying on this front step?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
If anybody can just vote from all around the world.
Makes no sense to me.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
It ticks me off, you know what I mean, Because
then the man got shot for nothing, you know what
I mean. So things have to matter, and we have
to move with that energy and get back to and
men get back to checking men. We don't do that
enough neither, Hey, bruh, Like you know, I remember well
in high school, a good friend of mine, you know
(27:23):
you in highschool, you're playing.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Ball, you know what I mean. You can get any
girl you want, and he just step tak me to
the side and say, Bro, you ain't gotta do that.
You ain't gotta do that.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Then I go with them and like, oh yeah, you
gotta cut three times from the basketball team. So it's
easier to just to mess with the stars, girl or
whatever the case may be. You ain't got to do
that because you operating out a hurt. Had my boy
not step to me, I don't even know then I'm
operating out a hurt, you know what I mean. So
men gotta get back to checking men, Like, Bro, you
(27:55):
don't need to do that, you know what I mean?
Because once again a man's voice carries.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
And I'm like, oh you vibrate. I didn't even know
that I was hurting.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
A lot of brothers are walking around here hurting from trauma,
hurting from dad not being there, hurt from mom not
being whatever the case may be, we need to get
back to also, are you okay?
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And yeah, you know what? Very real talk. Once again,
I think it was just having this conversation last night
as well where I think there needs to be a
deeper level of transparency than I'll start with our community
and our culture, but so many of us have been
programmed to walk as if we got all this handled,
(28:34):
we got to cover it, we're good. Because the moment
that we show that that's not the case, it's a
major point of weakness that people then jump on and
make that the thing to harp on, which, as you know,
I'm now going through that process of ensuring that I'm
looking at that of if that's what they're going to
(28:56):
choose to try to use to hinder Once again, probably
not the environment I need to be in it any way,
but it's also not the truth in terms of that
doesn't define me. Our faults, our challenges, our fears, our anxiety,
doesn't define us. It makes us human, but it's in
such a society where those things are used to suppress,
(29:18):
to put in a box, to confine. And I think
you're right. The more we can start to how do
we start to put the block on? No, it doesn't
define you. This is okay for us to have a
conversation to be like, yo, I'm not doing well, I'm
struggling with said thing, said issue, and work to help
(29:41):
us get through those things rather than use it as
a hindrance or a weakness. And I agree with you
one thousand percent. I think when we can get to
that place, I think the next level of unlock we
are now embarking on, because that's the real conversations that
we need to have and not the surface ones of Now,
(30:01):
I'm good, you really not guess what neither of mine?
And maybe it starts with that neither am I? Here's
why to then hopefully have the other individual start to share.
And again, it's so beautiful how everything comes back. It's
the culture of self, the culture of self. And when
(30:25):
you have a culture of self that is so open
and transparent, and I'm sure you also have to do
the gauging of who you can do that with, right,
because that's not for everybody, but I think once we
get to that place, I think we we now embark
on a new, healthy, vibrant journey, vibrant journey. So I'm
so glad that you said that, like fellas got to
(30:46):
get back to speaking to fellas in real conversation.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, real time, real time, real conversations. You know.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
We often end this uh with asking you know, what,
what are the three seeds that you would want to
impart on the stewarts of culture moving forward? What are
three things that would come to your mind to say,
here are some gems that I think if you hold
onto these, this is going to be a huge, huge
(31:16):
help in terms of you having the thought and the
responsibility of how to nurture these cultures moving forward.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
I think the first thing that comes to my mind
is self love. I'm not surpressed because you can't give
what you don't have, and you can't affect anybody if
you haven't spent time with yourself long enough to understand
(31:45):
who you are and what you're carrying and how value
you are. I think that self love is very important,
and someone that's watching this right now, like, take five
minutes and just tell yourself that you love you right up.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Everything that may have had, may that may have.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Happened to you, you know what I mean, Like you
love you. You got to embrace it, all the good, the bad,
the ugly, the things that you don't like. You gotta
love you, you know what I mean. I think that helps
us get back to that vulnerability and that transparency. That
will be number one. Number two would be you can
(32:23):
work out at the gym all day long, but you
gotta work your mind. And we can't neglect the mind.
As a man think of in his heart, so is he.
Your mind has to become fruitful.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
That's where you got to.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Spend time going in there and digging up those weeds,
you know, planting good seeds in your mind of prosperity,
of joy, of peace in order to elevate yourself.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
You know.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
So don't forget, you know, like we said, we men
at the gym don't forget legged.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
They don't forget to work that mind and muscle.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
It is a muscle much And number three, the finer
one will be one that I learned long time ago.
It feels like a long time ago. I remember when
I was doing commercials and I went on like seven
callbacks and I wasn't booking. And I stepped outside. This
was somewhere on Librea or I think it was actually Fairfax,
(33:16):
one of them casting office.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
I stepped outside, I said, Lord, why am I not booking? Say?
Because you lost your joy?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
You are getting caught up and going into the callback
to call back the callback, which now is cultivating bitterness.
You don't have the joy of going in and the
opportunity about you still love this, just to go in
and have that joy. And then as soon as I
had my next callback, I went in there with that joy.
I went in there with that smile. What happened booked.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
So it really wasn't about the audition. This was a
life lesson.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
Don't let life beat you up to the point that
you become bitter that you can't find the joy within yourself.
You woke up this morning, you know what I mean,
that's the blessing. You got joy, and that's something that
you can cultivate. That's something that you might not feel
it like today. I woke come long, I gotta do
this podcast.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
You know. Boo boo boo boom. You know what I mean?
I got this. I said, wait a minute, brother, you
get to talk.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
You get to do, get to live, you get to do.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
You get to do what you want to do. Joy.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
So if a person that is watching this can remember
have joy in spite of everything, and then everything will
work out. Those three things should be able to shift
your life and to shift somebody else's life.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
That joy reminder is a big one, and I thank
you for that in addition to everything, but the resignation
that joy because.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
It's a choice. It's a choice.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Everything is a choice. It's a choice, and joy is
not happiness is fleading, man, you know what I mean. Man,
you know what I'm saying. Boom boom boom.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
That made me happy. But joy is an eternal.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Eternal you know.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Yeah, it's a break you.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Got and that's why you got to have the love.
You gotta change your mind that you can receive that
joy so that you can exude that love. You can
exude if you have that here, you know what I mean,
And then when you don't, let somebody know.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
And that's okay, just right. I ain't feeling it today.
Bruh boom. You know what I mean. I need a
little bit of your joy today just to get me
on the other side.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
You know, it's it's in you saying that there's been
so many instances where you know, at times I feel
like I am doing myself with the service by not
remembering my joy in my piece because of the things
I'm going through. But again, I do find that it
is strength to be able to say I'm not in
(35:40):
that space today, but I'm always going to make sure
that I get back to exercising that muscle or going
back to remembering that I've exercised this muscle. This muscle
is good enough to persevere through this. Yeah, I'm gonna
do more whatever, push ups, squats of joy.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Yeah, yeah. And it reminds me one quick thing that
just popped into my head.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
I know we are bringing it to an end, but
when you're talking about joy and the feeling and impacting
all the things that we discussed, it reminds me when
a good friend of mine he was like, hey, brouh,
can you meet me at the bar. It's like eleven
in a day and I'm like, what am I doing
going to the bar like eleven am in a day?
But he was a bouncer at the bar. I said, Okay, cool,
I'm gonna come over there.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Want my go over to the bar.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Bam, go inside, you know, I might get the bar tender.
He gives me a cup of water, and this guy
sitting next to me, and I'm just exuding the joy.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
I'm chilling. Boom boom boom boom.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Starts struck up a conversation with this guy. Then knowing
after the conversation, he said, you know, I was coming
in here to have my last drink and then go
commit suicide. If I had not met you today, this
was the end for me. So that goes back to
the things we talk about following your intuition, having joy,
(36:55):
having love.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
I didn't know. Sometimes you don't know why you're going
through the Sometimes you don't know why you feel than
the way.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
You tread it.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
But had I not showed up that day in that space,
I mean, who would have known what happened to the
guy that I met.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
He said, man, it's you just carrying his joy, man,
And yeah, I said, Bro, it's gonna be all right.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
You're gonna be all right. Man, don't gonna do that.
You're gonna be give me a hug. You're gonna be
all right. So you never know who you're sent to,
you know, in this lifetime. You know what I mean.
That's why it's important for you to love you.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
It's important for you to cultivate your mind, and it's
important for you to show up each and every day
with joy. And someone's depending on you to show up.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Man.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
I thank you for allowing God to work through you
as a vessel of joy and peace and it's been
a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Thank you, my man.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
We truly appreciate your support because it helps us fulfill
our mission of promoting cultural awareness and personal development. Please
click the subscribe button below to help ensure and solidify
our mission
To who much is given, much is required. Part of
that requirement is sharing. Culture is the heartbeat within our
lives and it's at the core of so many things.
While we live in a time when we are starving
for wisdom, I welcome you to your wisdom retreat. That
culture raises us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Black folks make the world go right.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Will Catlet, actor and producer. You've seen him in a
host of things, Charms of the King. Love is black.
With joy and consolation, you spend the most money.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Black people have a rhythm. When we say something, then
people go out and buy. I'm a firm believer that
I am belong in any room that I go in.
There's nothing outside of me. Everything is within you.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
If you don't value me, then I gotta go. Don't
let life.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Beat you up to the point that you become bitter.
Find the joy within yourself. You never know who you're
sent to in this lifetime.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
That's why it's important for you to love you.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
It's important for you to cultivate your mind, and it's
important for you to show up each and every day
because someone's depending on you to show up.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You hear culture, what does that mean to you?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
The thing that comes to mind right away, is I
think we throw the word culture around so loosely. I
think the culture that one should ultimately focus on cultivating
is the culture of their mind, because what you think
about is what you will achieve and what you will accomplish.
You know, it's not just deemed to a specific group
(01:24):
of people or a specific location, you know what I mean? So,
how are you imposing the culture of your mind on
the world. That's kind of how my mind thinks when
I hear the word culture.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Now, I love that definition of taking it inward and
not necessarily the cultures that influence or affect you or
help mold you, but the culture within yourself, which then
becomes a part of other cultures and can shape, yes
creating other cultures. You know, I look at your journey
and I want to go back and for you. Was
(01:57):
there a particular moment when you realized how big black
culture and content, because you're very much in the space
of content, is how informative and how influential that's been
in shaping overall global landscape, global culture.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Black folks make the world go around. We spend the
most money, not that we have, not that one group
of people has a better ideas than another group of people.
But Black people have a rhythm and we usually dictate
and set that rhythm. And when we say something, then
(02:37):
people go out and buy. I mean even if you
look at Target, you know, I ain't know nothing about
the boycott. I just looked at the numbers, But you know,
you're talking about losing a billion dollars for people just
not going in the target and buying. But we need
to make sure that we are valuing that wealth within ourselves.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, and I think that's a good, a great statement,
and I feel like we're not.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, we're not.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And it's a huge, huge opportunity that needs to be
galvanized around now more than ever.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, why are we not? I think we just don't
know ourselves.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I think we don't spend enough time just looking at
the man in the mirror or the women in the mirror.
We don't spend enough time thinking about how value valuable
your ideas are, how valuable you are. You know, I
spent a lot of time doing self reflection, you know
what I mean. I could have been studying Spanish on
the way over here. Thirty minutes in the car, I said, now,
(03:28):
I just wanted to chill. I just wanted to ride
drive reflect. What is the next thing you want to do?
What am I doing right now? That's going to affect
culture in ten years from now. You know, even when
I talk to my good buddy while I'm here, Terrence Williams,
and when we talk, were always talking about destiny, purpose,
you know, how we shifting the culture, how we reminding
(03:48):
people that you do value. You know, because if you
grew up in the city, like I grew up in
the DC area. We was talking about this off camera,
DC Rayland, Virginia. Right My school was T. C. Williams
High School under out think it's called that anymore. I
think it's Alexandra City Public School or something like that
now due to you know, all the things happen in
the government. Everybody wants to fit in, you know what
(04:09):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But T. C. Williams, That's what I know.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
That's just like I can never call the reds the Commanders.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I can't even say it now, like.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
A yeah, but like they're the Redskins to me because
that's the culture I grew up with, you know what
I mean. But I think to the point is that
we as African Americans have to value ourselves, but we
also can't get stuck in the box of.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Only being just African American and letting that label us.
I'll give you an example.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Please, when we look at the Oscars or we look
at any award shows, nine times out of ten when
black folks win something, we always perpetuate the same idea.
They never let me in. You know, I was the
young young black boy or I was a young black girl.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
It's like, what did.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Sydney Poitier come for? Then he came to break the barrier?
So why do we keep perpetuating the same ideals?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Like we shouldn't do that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
We are good whether we are at the Oscars or not,
and that has to be cemented and rooted within our consciousness.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So what's the speech we should hear now moving forward?
Then if it's not that one, what is it the
one that you're hoping to hear to, then provide the
unlocked because everything has to be for that. Yeah, unlock.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
I think the unlock is ownership. What are you building?
What are you owning?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
You don't always have to be invited to the same parties.
It's the same party every year. You know what I mean,
what land are we occupying? You know how we becoming
more global because we are global. I went to China
and they tell you that, you know, films don't sell
overseas well. Kobe Jordan and the rest of our athletes
(05:56):
have made us famous all around the world. You go
around in Beijing, China, see Kobe, you see everybody. So
you can't tell me that the movies don't sell. It's
just whether are we putting the promotion behind it, you
know what I mean? Cod Yeah, exactly, you know, so
I think that's the message, is what we're doing right here.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Somebody had an idea and.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Said, listen, let's shoot, let's sit down, and now we're here,
we got to do more of that. And then we
got to that dollar needs to circulate in our community.
You know, it's not even circulating as much now anymore,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And that's one thing. I had this conversation with my dad.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
My dad was born in nineteen forty two, and we
were talking about how desegregation really help the black movement
because it forced us to be together, it forced us
to spend money in the same community. Not that we
shouldn't have the opportunities to go wherever you want to
go to study in any college you want to study.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
But that money needs to circulate, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
When other communities do that, we don't have a problem,
but for some reason with us, we have a problem
spending our money in our own community.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
No, it's wild, and I'm going to butcher some of
the numbers, but I think think you'll get the gist,
and I'm sure you're familiar with this. I think in
the Asian community, their dollar stays within their community within
like a month period. Jewish community, I think it's somewhere
around the same thing. And then you come to the
Black community hours.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Hours.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
So the context is the disparity of that is wild,
But that is, you know, a key element. And when
you talk about what your father said about when segregation
took place, about the community that we built together, we
might be embarking on that pretty soon. Again, it could be,
which is wild to think. But as I look at you, know,
(07:41):
you mentioned you're from DMV, and I went to college
out there, and you know, I've always DMV has always
held a place in my heart for a number of reasons.
And I think one of the things. Was the confidence
of character that cats from DC, in particular in Maryland
in Virginia had was profound in me because it was
(08:04):
this confidence and air that I didn't necessarily see coming
up in New York, but I saw in the individuals
and the character and the cultures that were that you
all were coming from in the DC area. I'm assuming
that plays a big part of your foundation in terms
of even your journey of you know, because you didn't
just come out thinking you were going to be an actor.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Right. You have an athletic background with ball, you have
a creative background in fashion that you dabbled in and
photography and all the things. How has that foundation kind
of helped you shape you to continue to be who
you are and evolve more importantly into who you're becoming.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah. I think.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
When I came out to play ball in California in
San Diego, this was Linda Vista, where I was staying
with my auntie, I didn't see a black person for
like a month. And this is before Atlanta was Chocolate City.
This is when DC was Chocolate.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
City, Chocolates City.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Know, So I grew up around seeing people who look
like me on a day to day basis, and I
wanted to circle there first before I go back. Now,
my dad spent forty four years in the government. I've
watched my dad DV you.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Know, military, you know, that was the path.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
But I've seen them write bills, and I've seen him
go to church, you know, and so that really kind
of shaped you know, what a man should look like
and what a man should be. And I remember a
good friend of mine, he said, man, you know you lucky.
Were kids at this time, maybe maybe I was in
the tenth grade maybe, and he said, man, you lucky.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Man. I said, why you say that? Because you got
your dad in your life, you know, And so.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Not that you can't become successful, but when you have
a man present, at present, at home, it just gives
you certain structre.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Without even saying it.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
My mom would tell me all the time, you know,
a man's voice carries and a woman's doesn't. She's not
negating the woman's voice, She's just saying, when a man says, son,
sit down, it's a vibration that you feel within you.
And so when I show up in the world, I'm
not trying to look for validation or looking for approval,
because I've heard the vibration. I know the vibration. I
(10:23):
felt the vibration, you know what I mean. So, whether
I'm acting, or if I'm doing photography, or if I'm
doing none of it, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, I'm good.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Yeah. When you talk about the vibration and the presence
of your father, I know you have a program wisdom
like water. Yeah, and I know that had to come
from a time where you were probably challenged mentally on
how you saw yourself. Yeah, in your career, what was
the most difficult circumstance you kind of had to push
(10:52):
through to get to the other side of this sharing
and to now build this program to help others.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Well, my wife got time to be coming home complaining
because I think I'm on Black Lightning and Love Is
at the time. I'm always in it, doing two shows
or two movies at the same time. I'm the man
of the double for some reasons, which I love mult Yeah,
And she said, you know, you you need to teach
people all the things that you're experiencing.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
You need to share those and his back to the value.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Who gonna listen to me. I ain't Denzel yet, I
ain't Meryl Street yet. So what do I have to offer,
And then she was like, you have a lot to offer.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
So, and this is during the pandemic where we created
the Catlet Academy. This is where wisdom of water comes from,
you know. And I just started sharing, and I'm seeing
so many lives change because the culture of the mind,
what is it to be big time and whatever feel
or interest that you're in and you don't have the
(11:58):
character to keep you there. And so I just started
sharing like, Hey, this is what it is, this is
what you should.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Be doing, this is what you should be focused on.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Hopefully, the actors that do come into the community, you
realize this ain't even what you want to do, but
you find the thing that the thing that you want
to do in that community, you know what I mean.
So that's the goal, you know. I'm always trying to
push actors, like listen, maybe the same it. Maybe you
still living off the fantasy or the dream that someone
fed you. Maybe mom said, you know, you got to
go and get a good job. Well, in this day
(12:27):
and time, it's a different reality, you know what I mean.
The job is different, the job is not the same.
So my whole thing is challenging conventional thinking and really
discovering what it is that you want to do.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
But you know, you're obviously a reflection of that because
there's something that you just shared in that when you
were opposing or fighting off the notion of doing this. Yeah,
because you weren't what Denzela, You weren't of that level,
and you just talked about we have these preconceived notions
of where we need to be, how we yes, rather
than just doing what God put in your spirit, and
(13:02):
you did what God put on your spirit. Thankful for
your wife to get the little nudge like you don't
need to be Denzel to be able to provide insight
for others so that they can be better versions of
themselves and then be better contributors to the collective. Had
you not had that nudge because you were in a
mindset of I'm not at that level to be teaching
(13:24):
and sharing. Actually, yeah, you are. We all are. And
I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions is that
we think we need to be in a certain position
a certain place to be able to share pour into
We know it is the simple pouring into of the
experience of the things that we had to go through
because the goal is I don't want you to have
to go through what I went thro. Why should you
(13:45):
have to do that too? That's wild, But we're so
programmed to that, and I think society does a great
job because we glamorize all of those jay zs Denzel's
as we should. But then everyone else doesn't think that.
We don't have a responsibility to share like they can
share by example or within their respective villages and networks
as they do. We got to do the same thing.
(14:07):
You don't have to be on the billboards just like
them to do that, right. So I'm so glad to
hear or more importantly, people to hear you even say, yeah,
I had that block for a minute.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah that was a block.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
It was a huge block, you know, because in this game,
it's perception, right, it's hype. So sometimes you get so
caught up in trying to control the narrative instead of
painting the story. And you know, I don't want to
be seen as this. I want to be seen as that.
But the thing that you don't want to be seen
as is the thing that gets you to that, you know.
(14:40):
And I'm like, even though you look at like Kindred,
you know, like these are teachers at the end of
the day, they just we just teachers. They just teaching
you and sharing their story. You look at Drake, that's
still a teacher. Teachers just telling you their story, you
know what I mean, jay Z teacher telling you their story,
you know.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
And so it's important for us to give back.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
And then when I think about wisdom like water, you know,
I'm just leaving nuggets, you know. I believe the greats
they leave nuggets and they're expecting people to pick them up.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
And I think when you talk about water, you talk.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
About a ripple, yes effect.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Yes, if you could look at still water and it's
still and nothing's happening. But once you drop a rock
or you drop your finger in, you see this ripple. Yeah,
that goes out for potentially infinity. So it's the same
type of notion of how many people you can affect? Yeah,
which is this small ripple. And as I listen to you,
(15:34):
another piece that comes to my mind is you must
have an affinity or an insight on some sort of
what does allyship look like and the role that that
plays within shaping cultures or just in general, how do
we leverage or or lean into the notion of allyship.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Now a meaning like people who you align.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
With absolutely, who do you not only who you align with,
but who do you lean on in an effort to
or allow to come into a circumstance to help push
an agenda, a narrative, a thought, a vision, because a
number of things we can't do on our own. I mean,
(16:16):
it's just what I mean. We were sent here to
work together to tap into energies of others because we're
not meant to do all the lifting. So that part
of allyship as well.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, I think whenever you have an idea, there's about
ten people tied to that idea, and the more you
work that idea, the more those people will appear. And
in the process, as that idea matures, you just can't
get caught on who comes in and who leaves because
(16:48):
everybody's not there to finish the whole journey of the idea.
And that's where I believe we get stuck at when
it comes to the allyship, you know, because there's different
parts and different people play different parts along the story.
That's like when I'm acting, you know, if I'm supporting,
I'm supporting the main character. You know, I'm not there
(17:09):
to do anything else but to support that main character.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And it's power in that.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
But then it's time when you know in that idea
that I must go, I must go on to the
next thing. Sometimes in that having that alliance or having
that allorship is that we hang on to people. And
you can't do that, you know what I mean. You
can't do that. Someone is just coming to help you
with that idea for a certain time and then it's
(17:34):
time to let go, or you're just pushing it, you
know what I mean. If you're on a boat, you know,
your job may just be able to steer, you may
not need to paddle the boat.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So everybody got to play their parts. And when I
think about that, that's what I think about. Okay, who's
playing the part.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
In my journey? And then who am I helping with
their Journey's right?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
You know, I never heard the word alli ship before,
so I was like trying to Yeah, I never heard
that before, Like Okay, oh that's cool, that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yeah, who's who's my lies? No?
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Listen, I mean, and that's in these days. Yeah, I mean,
you can't need to know about all the people around
you and their energy, because some of it.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
We have no clue.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
We have no clue the agendas, the thoughts of some
that we thought might have been in a certain space.
But we are going to learn and have been learning.
Oh wow, you really weren't in that space.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
I think we do, know. I just don't think that
we listen to it. You know, it's it's your intuition.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, you know, I think that.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
I think I know. I liking it too. If I'm
walking down the street and I look behind me, I
don't see nobody, but I know somebody's following me. I
don't need to see them to know that I'm not alone.
And so whether being in a relationship to make it
even more simpler, you saw the red flags, you knew
(18:56):
you know what I mean, But you wanted what you
wanted more than listening to voice that's within.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
But when we listen to the voice, you know, okay.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Cool.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
A buddy of mine called me on the way over here.
It's like, yeah, man, I just call and let you know. Man,
And I put in my resonation letter for said things
said thing. I said, Yeah, I knew you knew, I said, yeah.
I told my wife and I told my boy that
this was going to happen. I'm just waiting on you
to call.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Well, how did I know, intuition? Yeah, you just know,
you know. And given the state of things and that commentary,
what are you doing specifically to ensure that the cultures
and the spaces you frequent are being nurtured properly and
what are you recommending for other creatives and consumers to
do as well?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Well, I think you got to just be you.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
The more you be you, the culture will present itself.
When you showing up as the best you in the world,
then it's having an impact. When you're not showing up
as the best you in the world, then you're not
giving people the license to be their best. So that
doesn't mean that you can have a great day every day,
you know what I mean. There's beauty and the days
(20:00):
that you don't feel like it's a great day. But
if you're trying to have impact and to be a
voice in culture in all cultures, you gotta be you, real,
recognize real, you know what I mean? You got to
show up as you. And I can say at forty
two years old, I'm cool with me. I like me,
and if I like me, then that's going to give
you the license to like you boom, you know what
(20:22):
I mean. So I understand about when it comes to people.
You know, I may have the key to unlock you
may have the key to unlock me. Even in this
conversation right now, I'm like, wow, you know, Dad, I
ain't hurt myself talking a minute. Thank you for this brother,
just letting me speak. Okay, I know I got more
work to do. I got to do this and do
that and do that and then let it be.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
You said something, you said a lot there that was great,
and I think about you know, I'm a father of
three girls, and one of my responsibilities, one of my
key ones in this chapter of my journey, has evolved
into ensuring that whatever work I do is creating a
space so that my girls can be their best, unapologetic
(21:04):
selves wherever they choose to go, in whatever capacity they
choose to go in, and within that, it's providing them
with a lesson of circumstances that I've been in where
I've been sent into rooms literally and figuratively where you
are being tasked with. We need you, we need what
you have to help get us to this next place
(21:26):
and help change this room and this dynamic. However, sometimes
when you get into those rooms, you find out that
all they really want you to do is to what
assimilate to what's already in the room. So I'm coming
back to your statement of being comfortable with you right,
being unapologetically you, and as easy as it sounds, there's
so much work that has to be put in, in
(21:48):
so much commitment and dedication. Because I'm throwing the word
easy out there, but it's really not the word easy
that I want to use. It's so easy to assimilate
to what the mass, but we're not intended to do that.
We're intended to bring the different pov to add on
to the mass. And I tell people, when you do that,
(22:10):
you were helping not only yourself with the gifts that
God has given you that are supposed to be unlocked,
but you are now unlocking something for the others in
that room because you're bringing something different than what they
already want. But if you just bring the same thing
that they have, who's moving anywhere? Why are you in
the room. So you also got to get comfortable with
(22:31):
knowing that if the room is not embracing that difference
might not be the room you need to be in.
But that's all a part of the getting comfortable with you.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Have.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
You already been in circumstances where you were in rooms
where you were you were standing ten toes down on
I'm going to be me, but it wasn't embraced at all.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Yeah, if it's not embraced, then you know, sometimes it's
a timing thing. They may not just be ready to
see what you have.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
I'm a firm believer that I am the room in
any room that I go into. You know, there's nothing
outside of me. Everything is within me. You know, there's
no career, there's no opportunity, there's no job, there's no
nothing that is not within me. My job is to
apply the pressure on myself, you know what I mean,
in order to pull that that goal that's within me
out And once I know that, if I'm in the
(23:23):
room and I'm not receiving in the room.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
You know what i mean, dust your shoes off and
keep it moving.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Keep it moving.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Sometimes we stay in rooms too long. If you don't
value me, then I gotta go, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
You know I've heard you say that You've never enjoyed
opinions with no merit to make one grow. And I'm
sure it's safe to say that you feel some sort
of responsibility to help with making sure that false narratives
are given context in alignment? Is that safe to say?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Why there's so many voices in the world.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
You want to make sure that what's being said it
is understood by who said it.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Hmm.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
You know, everybody has an opinion, especially in this generation,
you know what I mean, And sometimes you know, a
lot of our great actors and musicians and thinkers are
their voice is snuffed out through the court of public opinion,
you know what I mean, And that can't be you
know everything. I mean, I've never seen so much cyberbullion
(24:27):
in my life, you know that you would see sometain people.
I'm like, man, you just need it. You need to
been punching the face in a minute, that part, you
know what I mean. You need to get pushing the face, you.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Not that I'm promoting violence, yeah, yeah, yeah, Like sometimes
you just got to get because you wouldn't do that
behind that keyboard, you know what I mean. You got
to think about the humanity of the person, you know
what I mean. And I've seen so much of it, Like, man,
like you can be here today and the same people
that put you here is the same people.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
That used to tear you down here, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And it's like we got to get better and talking
about you know, the value and the dollar circulating, you know,
even the emotional intelligence, the emotional behavior circulating through our people.
We got to make sure that we keep that intact.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I think social media has hindered the ability to do
that on so many levels. The things we're applauding and
we're sensationalizing there some of it, not all of it.
I think it's hindering us from that level of growth
that you're talking about. And I don't know what it
(25:30):
is that we need to diminish that sensationalization what have
you that I want to call it to help us
with that breakthrough and unlock. It's so necessary because we
are programmed. We're now programmed to think that this is it.
These are the things that should be put on the pedestal, sensationalized,
(25:54):
galvanized around and it's like, but yeah, they're not taking
us to a better place.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
No, we got to get back to just you know,
play outside man, you know what I mean. You got
to get back to the basics, you know, forget all
this other stuff. You know, when TikTok was down, everybody's
freaking out that you know, these things they don't have
they don't have value. I mean they have value monetary,
(26:18):
but they don't have value here, you know what I mean.
And this is what we got to focus on, you know,
and that's to all people, and that's all cultures.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
You got to focus on that value here.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Cannot devalue your self, will I tell myself that all
the time. Yeah, you might be scared going towards something.
That's fine, there's nothing wrong with that. But you must
march forward, you know what I mean, because we have
people who have laid the foundation that we must continue on.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
The journey, you know what I mean. Or what was
the point?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
You know what I'm saying, What was the point of
mega efforts? You know what I'm saying, what was the point?
And I think about that, like when you think about culture,
you think about you know, just let anybody vote, what's
the point of mega efforts dying on this front step?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
If anybody can just vote from all around the world.
Makes no sense to me.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
It ticks me off, you know what I mean, Because
then the man got shot for nothing, you know what
I mean. So things have to matter, and we have
to move with that energy and get back to and
men get back to checking men. We don't do that
enough neither, Hey, bruh, Like you know, I remember well
in high school, a good friend of mine, you know
(27:23):
you in highschool, you're playing.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Ball, you know what I mean. You can get any
girl you want, and he just step tak me to
the side and say, Bro, you ain't gotta do that.
You ain't gotta do that.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Then I go with them and like, oh yeah, you
gotta cut three times from the basketball team. So it's
easier to just to mess with the stars, girl or
whatever the case may be. You ain't got to do
that because you operating out a hurt. Had my boy
not step to me, I don't even know then I'm
operating out a hurt, you know what I mean. So
men gotta get back to checking men, Like, Bro, you
(27:55):
don't need to do that, you know what I mean?
Because once again a man's voice carries.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
And I'm like, oh you vibrate. I didn't even know
that I was hurting.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
A lot of brothers are walking around here hurting from trauma,
hurting from dad not being there, hurt from mom not
being whatever the case may be, we need to get
back to also, are you okay?
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And yeah, you know what? Very real talk. Once again,
I think it was just having this conversation last night
as well where I think there needs to be a
deeper level of transparency than I'll start with our community
and our culture, but so many of us have been
programmed to walk as if we got all this handled,
(28:34):
we got to cover it, we're good. Because the moment
that we show that that's not the case, it's a
major point of weakness that people then jump on and
make that the thing to harp on, which, as you know,
I'm now going through that process of ensuring that I'm
looking at that of if that's what they're going to
(28:56):
choose to try to use to hinder Once again, probably
not the environment I need to be in it any way,
but it's also not the truth in terms of that
doesn't define me. Our faults, our challenges, our fears, our anxiety,
doesn't define us. It makes us human, but it's in
such a society where those things are used to suppress,
(29:18):
to put in a box, to confine. And I think
you're right. The more we can start to how do
we start to put the block on? No, it doesn't
define you. This is okay for us to have a
conversation to be like, yo, I'm not doing well, I'm
struggling with said thing, said issue, and work to help
(29:41):
us get through those things rather than use it as
a hindrance or a weakness. And I agree with you
one thousand percent. I think when we can get to
that place, I think the next level of unlock we
are now embarking on, because that's the real conversations that
we need to have and not the surface ones of Now,
(30:01):
I'm good, you really not guess what neither of mine?
And maybe it starts with that neither am I? Here's
why to then hopefully have the other individual start to share.
And again, it's so beautiful how everything comes back. It's
the culture of self, the culture of self. And when
(30:25):
you have a culture of self that is so open
and transparent, and I'm sure you also have to do
the gauging of who you can do that with, right,
because that's not for everybody, but I think once we
get to that place, I think we we now embark
on a new, healthy, vibrant journey, vibrant journey. So I'm
so glad that you said that, like fellas got to
(30:46):
get back to speaking to fellas in real conversation.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, real time, real time, real conversations. You know.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
We often end this uh with asking you know, what,
what are the three seeds that you would want to
impart on the stewarts of culture moving forward? What are
three things that would come to your mind to say,
here are some gems that I think if you hold
onto these, this is going to be a huge, huge
(31:16):
help in terms of you having the thought and the
responsibility of how to nurture these cultures moving forward.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
I think the first thing that comes to my mind
is self love. I'm not surpressed because you can't give
what you don't have, and you can't affect anybody if
you haven't spent time with yourself long enough to understand
(31:45):
who you are and what you're carrying and how value
you are. I think that self love is very important,
and someone that's watching this right now, like, take five
minutes and just tell yourself that you love you right up.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Everything that may have had, may that may have.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Happened to you, you know what I mean, Like you
love you. You got to embrace it, all the good, the bad,
the ugly, the things that you don't like. You gotta
love you, you know what I mean. I think that helps
us get back to that vulnerability and that transparency. That
will be number one. Number two would be you can
(32:23):
work out at the gym all day long, but you
gotta work your mind. And we can't neglect the mind.
As a man think of in his heart, so is he.
Your mind has to become fruitful.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
That's where you got to.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Spend time going in there and digging up those weeds,
you know, planting good seeds in your mind of prosperity,
of joy, of peace in order to elevate yourself.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
You know.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
So don't forget, you know, like we said, we men
at the gym don't forget legged.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
They don't forget to work that mind and muscle.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
It is a muscle much And number three, the finer
one will be one that I learned long time ago.
It feels like a long time ago. I remember when
I was doing commercials and I went on like seven
callbacks and I wasn't booking. And I stepped outside. This
was somewhere on Librea or I think it was actually Fairfax,
(33:16):
one of them casting office.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
I stepped outside, I said, Lord, why am I not booking? Say?
Because you lost your joy?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
You are getting caught up and going into the callback
to call back the callback, which now is cultivating bitterness.
You don't have the joy of going in and the
opportunity about you still love this, just to go in
and have that joy. And then as soon as I
had my next callback, I went in there with that joy.
I went in there with that smile. What happened booked.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
So it really wasn't about the audition. This was a
life lesson.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
Don't let life beat you up to the point that
you become bitter that you can't find the joy within yourself.
You woke up this morning, you know what I mean,
that's the blessing. You got joy, and that's something that
you can cultivate. That's something that you might not feel
it like today. I woke come long, I gotta do
this podcast.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
You know. Boo boo boo boom. You know what I mean?
I got this. I said, wait a minute, brother, you
get to talk.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
You get to do, get to live, you get to do.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
You get to do what you want to do. Joy.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
So if a person that is watching this can remember
have joy in spite of everything, and then everything will
work out. Those three things should be able to shift
your life and to shift somebody else's life.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
That joy reminder is a big one, and I thank
you for that in addition to everything, but the resignation
that joy because.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
It's a choice. It's a choice.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Everything is a choice. It's a choice, and joy is
not happiness is fleading, man, you know what I mean. Man,
you know what I'm saying. Boom boom boom.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
That made me happy. But joy is an eternal.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Eternal you know.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Yeah, it's a break you.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Got and that's why you got to have the love.
You gotta change your mind that you can receive that
joy so that you can exude that love. You can
exude if you have that here, you know what I mean,
And then when you don't, let somebody know.
Speaker 2 (35:13):
And that's okay, just right. I ain't feeling it today.
Bruh boom. You know what I mean. I need a
little bit of your joy today just to get me
on the other side.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
You know, it's it's in you saying that there's been
so many instances where you know, at times I feel
like I am doing myself with the service by not
remembering my joy in my piece because of the things
I'm going through. But again, I do find that it
is strength to be able to say I'm not in
(35:40):
that space today, but I'm always going to make sure
that I get back to exercising that muscle or going
back to remembering that I've exercised this muscle. This muscle
is good enough to persevere through this. Yeah, I'm gonna
do more whatever, push ups, squats of joy.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Yeah, yeah. And it reminds me one quick thing that
just popped into my head.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
I know we are bringing it to an end, but
when you're talking about joy and the feeling and impacting
all the things that we discussed, it reminds me when
a good friend of mine he was like, hey, brouh,
can you meet me at the bar. It's like eleven
in a day and I'm like, what am I doing
going to the bar like eleven am in a day?
But he was a bouncer at the bar. I said, Okay, cool,
I'm gonna come over there.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Want my go over to the bar.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
Bam, go inside, you know, I might get the bar tender.
He gives me a cup of water, and this guy
sitting next to me, and I'm just exuding the joy.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
I'm chilling. Boom boom boom boom.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
Starts struck up a conversation with this guy. Then knowing
after the conversation, he said, you know, I was coming
in here to have my last drink and then go
commit suicide. If I had not met you today, this
was the end for me. So that goes back to
the things we talk about following your intuition, having joy,
(36:55):
having love.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
I didn't know. Sometimes you don't know why you're going
through the Sometimes you don't know why you feel than
the way.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
You tread it.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
But had I not showed up that day in that space,
I mean, who would have known what happened to the
guy that I met.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
He said, man, it's you just carrying his joy, man,
And yeah, I said, Bro, it's gonna be all right.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
You're gonna be all right. Man, don't gonna do that.
You're gonna be give me a hug. You're gonna be
all right. So you never know who you're sent to,
you know, in this lifetime. You know what I mean.
That's why it's important for you to love you.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
It's important for you to cultivate your mind, and it's
important for you to show up each and every day
with joy. And someone's depending on you to show up.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
Man.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
I thank you for allowing God to work through you
as a vessel of joy and peace and it's been
a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Thank you, my man.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
We truly appreciate your support because it helps us fulfill
our mission of promoting cultural awareness and personal development. Please
click the subscribe button below to help ensure and solidify
our mission
Host
Astor Chamber
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