Ever walked into a room and immediately felt the temperature drop as someone in authority sized you up not by your talents, but by their own insecurities? That moment when you realize the game is rigged before you've even begun to play? Stop right there.
DJ ESG delivers an electrifying manifesto for graduates and young professionals facing the harsh realities of power dynamics in the real world. Drawing from three decades in entertainment and nonprofit leadership, this episode strips away the polite veneer of professional "mentorship" to expose what's really happening when authority figures try to diminish your light. "Bias is not leadership, disrespect is not authority, public shaming is not mentorship," ESG declares in this unfiltered exploration of standing tall when the world wants you small.
The Rock Bottom Podcast doesn't just identify the problem—it offers a revolutionary perspective on what true success looks like. Forget the shallow victories of compliance and approval-seeking. This episode redefines winning as maintaining your integrity even when it costs you opportunities. "You might not get that job, you might get passed over," ESG acknowledges, "but if you stood your ground, if you spoke your truth...then you won." With raw emotion and unflinching honesty, this episode will transform how you navigate spaces that weren't built for your voice but desperately need to hear it. Listen now and discover why the minute you stop begging for seats at tables built to shut you up is the minute you start building your own damn stage.
#StandYourGround
#OwnYourVoice
#BuiltNotBegged
#IntegrityOverApproval
#SpeakYourTruth
#UnfilteredLeadership
#BurnTheBlueprint
#BiasIsNotLeadership
#MentorshipMyth
#RedefineWinning
#RockBottomPodcast
#DJESG
#PodcastWithPunch
#RealTalkRadio
#TruthBombsOnly
#MicDropMoments
#NoFilterNeeded
#GenZWorkforce
#GradLifeReality
#CorporateWakeUpCall
#YoungAndUnbothered
#RewritingTheRules
#RespectIsEarnedNotTaken
#FThatNoise
#RebelWithACause
#StayLoudStayTrue
#BuildYourOwnStage
Peace, Love & God Above! :-)
Episode Transcript
What's up, guys?
This is DJ ESG and welcome tothe Rock Bottom Podcast.
And this is more like anewsletter today, and I want all
the college grads and the highschool grads and people that are
still in those schools tolisten now.
The world might be brutal, butyou're louder.
They will try to break you down.
Don't let them.
Let's cut the bullshit.
At some point, maybe in highschool, maybe in college, maybe
(00:22):
at that first real job, maybe inhigh school, maybe in college,
maybe at that first real job,you're going to walk into a room
and feel it, that moment, thatlook, that tone, that person in
power who sizes you up not byyour skills or passion or smarts
, but by their own ego.
They'll talk down to you.
They'll twist your words inmeetings.
They'll smirk when you speakthe truth.
They'll weaponize their titleand turn it into a whip and if
they're really bold, they'lldisrespect you publicly just to
(00:43):
remind you who's in charge.
And here's the kicker.
They'll think you'll shrink,they'll bet you'll back down,
they'll hope you'll disappear.
But that's where they're deadwrong, because you, you were
built for this.
You might know me as DJ ESG, 30years in entertainment, and host
of this amazing full-breathing,no-chill podcast where I roast
the American education system,specifically mine, like it's on
a spit at a Greek festival.
(01:04):
But before the mic drops,before the 175,000 streams,
before the crowd noise andMortal Kombat punches, I was,
just like you, trying to figureit out, trying to stand tall in
rooms that wanted me small,trying to make noise in spaces
built for silence.
I was overlooked, dismissed andtold to know my place.
Well, guess what?
I burned that place down andbuilt a better one.
And now I'm here to tell youthis it's not okay for people in
(01:26):
power to disrespect you.
Ever Not in the hallway, not ina Zoom call, not in front of
classmates, not behind closeddoors, not in some boardroom
pretending to be a temple ofwisdom when it's really called
an ego chamber of old egos.
Let me make this clear Bias isnot leadership, disrespect is
not authority, public shaming isnot mentorship.
(01:46):
If someone in power puts youdown instead of lifting you up,
that's not your fault.
That's the insecurity leakinglike a busted pipe.
Don't absorb it, don't believeit and sure as hell don't
internalize it.
You will lose sometimes, butyou still win.
You might not get that job, youmight get passed over, you
might walk out of an interviewand feel like your voice was
swallowed by a carpet.
But if you stood your ground,you spoke the truth, if you kept
your spine straight and yoursoul unbent, then guess what you
(02:07):
won?
You won at life because youdidn't sell out for acceptance,
you didn't compromise your truthfor approval, you didn't hand
over your power just to survivethe moment.
That's real winning, that'slong game legacy, that's what
nobody teaches you in school.
Hold your fucking head up high.
This world it's mean, but you,you're louder, you're smarter,
you're sharper, you're realer,and real always.
(02:28):
Wins might take time, mightcome with scars, but
authenticity outlasts everyresume bullet point and every
petty gatekeeper holding aclipboard of outdated
expectations.
The minute you stop begging forseats at tables built to shut
you up is the minute you startbuilding your own damn stage.
Final word I didn't get here byplaying it safe.
I got here by playing it real.
Whether I was hosting at disney, spinning tracks at weddings or
dragging school district fraudsinto the rock bottom spotlight,
(02:49):
I've always led with truth,with volume and with zero
tolerance for small-mindednonsense.
You don't need to change it tofit in, you need to level up, to
break through.
So next time, a boss, aprincipal, a professor or any
holier than now.
Fraud tries to cut you downlike a superintendent or some
asswipe director of secondarynonsense whose breath smells
like fucking turpentine tries tofuck you over.
Stand up, speak louder andleave a scorch mark on their ego
(03:11):
.
Stay real, stay loud, staydangerous of the status quo.
Listen, I'm the host of the RockBottom Podcast, where education
meets demolition.
I was the president of twononprofits, including Wish Upon
a Wedding, the subsidiary of theMake-A-Wish Foundation.
I've done more work in thiscommunity than him himself.
Bald one and bald two.
When that date in June comes,I'm going to fuck you over.
Real bad, you're in for a rudeawakening.
I'm counting down the days.
(03:32):
Payback's a bitch.
Karma is real and you twoassholes.
You will never, ever get oneover on me again.
You will never, ever disrespectme again and
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