1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,960 Hey there, I'm Tals Lotnitsky from Ignite IT Consulting. 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:10,340 You know me from the Braving Business podcast, but when I'm not behind the mic, I'm helping 3 00:00:10,340 --> 00:00:14,200 tech startups and established companies ignite their full potential. 4 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:19,140 I also help entrepreneurs and businesses in distress reset for success. 5 00:00:19,140 --> 00:00:23,200 With over three decades of entrepreneurial success, I bring hands-on experience to drive 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:28,240 growth, navigate turnarounds, raise capital, and lead to innovation. 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,240 Whether it's executive coaching or strategic transformation, I'm here to turn your business 8 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,120 challenges into success stories. 9 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:40,080 Visit igniteitconsulting.com and let's spark that change together. 10 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,320 That's igniteitconsulting.com. 11 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,720 Your journey to business brilliance starts now. 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:49,020 One last quick thing. 13 00:00:49,020 --> 00:00:52,820 If you enjoyed this episode, please stay on after the show to learn more about the Braving 14 00:00:52,820 --> 00:00:56,640 Business podcast and other great episodes for you to discover. 15 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:12,760 And now, let's get the show started. 16 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:14,680 Well hello there. 17 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:15,680 Hi there. 18 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:16,680 How are you? 19 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:17,680 Happy post Thanksgiving. 20 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:18,680 Post Thanksgiving. 21 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,200 The tryptophan coma has finally worn off. 22 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,200 How are you doing, buddy? 23 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:25,200 Yes, I'm okay. 24 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,600 I'm you know, I actually I fell off my bike like a week and a half ago. 25 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,520 I don't know if I talked about it in the last episode. 26 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:32,520 I may have. 27 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:33,520 Right. 28 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:39,040 And so this weekend was my first time getting back on the bike since then. 29 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:40,480 And then I woke up this morning. 30 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:41,480 I felt okay. 31 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,600 I went 30 miles, which is, you know, it's a lot, but not a huge amount. 32 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,880 And then drying my hair this morning, I threw up my back. 33 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:50,200 I don't know how the hell that happened. 34 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:56,520 So I'm sitting a little a little off to the side if that's why I'm not, you know, sometimes 35 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:57,680 when people sit to the side, it's good. 36 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:58,680 They're passing gas. 37 00:01:58,680 --> 00:01:59,960 In my case, it's just I threw up my back. 38 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:02,560 Oh, you remember I'm I'm what five years older than you. 39 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:04,200 So it doesn't get better. 40 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:05,920 Just so you know, it doesn't get better. 41 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:06,920 That's fantastic. 42 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:11,480 Bruce, have you ever have you ever hurt yourself doing something? 43 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:13,120 Not not too much. 44 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,400 Like just, you know, lazily yourself. 45 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:17,400 Absolutely. 46 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:23,840 And recently, as of yesterday, I was on a plane that had three layovers and I was sitting 47 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,760 for hours and hours and hours and hours on a crap plane. 48 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:29,400 Thanks to coach. 49 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,840 And yeah, I wanted my left hip is a little inflamed. 50 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,960 So I'm walking like a little crazy, like I had hip surgery. 51 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:38,960 Oh, my gosh. 52 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,480 But I trust that it's just tendonitis, though, you know, and I'm doing my little physical 53 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:43,760 therapy and stretches. 54 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:45,500 So I'm pretty healthy. 55 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:47,520 So I anticipate that it's going to be nothing. 56 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:48,520 All right. 57 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:49,520 Well, it's just age. 58 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,200 You know, it's God likes the best a little bit. 59 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,480 The older we get, we think we're getting wiser and we are. 60 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,320 And then we also get broken down quite easily. 61 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:58,320 Like racehorses. 62 00:02:58,320 --> 00:02:59,320 We look like racehorses still. 63 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:00,560 Actually, all three of us. 64 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:01,560 You look amazing, Bruce. 65 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,040 And yet, you know, under the surface, there's a little rust. 66 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:07,040 What can you do? 67 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,040 You know, that's how it is. 68 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:10,040 Oh, sorry. 69 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,680 Let's let's introduce our amazing guest. 70 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,240 We have one of our best guests, maybe ever, and I'm excited to talk to him. 71 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:17,240 I know I am. 72 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:18,240 I am, too. 73 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:19,240 I am, too. 74 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:21,600 I just want to say it's almost like this is the geriatric version of the Braving Business 75 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:22,600 podcast. 76 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:23,600 All right. 77 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:30,860 So today, today, we have the incredible Bruce George on our podcast. 78 00:03:30,860 --> 00:03:36,480 He is a visionary entrepreneur and acclaimed poet, a social activist who is best known 79 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:43,360 as the co-founder of the award-winning Russell Simmons Deaf Poetry Jam on HBO. 80 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,120 With a career spanning over four decades, Bruce has made significant contributions to 81 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:51,920 the arts through his writing and performance, earning prestigious accolades, including a 82 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,800 Peabody Award and a Tony Award. 83 00:03:54,800 --> 00:04:00,320 He is also the founder of the Genius in Common Movement, which empowers individuals to recognize 84 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,000 their inherent creativity and self-worth. 85 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,720 We really will get into that deeply today. 86 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,600 Bruce's work not only showcases his artistic talent, but also reflects his commitment in 87 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,040 uplifting communities and fostering self-esteem among youth. 88 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:22,320 Today we're going to journey through the verses of Bruce's inspiring journey of perseverance 89 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:23,320 and vision. 90 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,160 And did you see what I did there? 91 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:26,800 Journey through the verses, right? 92 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,160 That's my tribute to poetry right there. 93 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:35,560 I also will say, I also will say that I won't belabor this, but I did. 94 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:41,680 I teach myself all the lyrics to Cool Modis, I Go to Work, off of a cassette tape, which 95 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:47,600 really tells you how much time and focus I put into learning that song. 96 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,360 Anyway, that's all my poetry right there. 97 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,640 We're going to be exploring how Bruce continues to impact lives through his passion of poetry 98 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:56,640 and activism. 99 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:01,760 Bruce George, you are a legend, and we are so very honored to have you here on the Braving 100 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:02,760 Business Podcast. 101 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:08,280 Well, first and foremost, I want to thank you, BJ and Brother Tall, for having me on 102 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:09,280 your show. 103 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:14,960 I want to thank Leah Henderson George, who is my wife, who connected us together. 104 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,800 So we're very, very excited to be here. 105 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:20,720 She's here in spirit. 106 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,240 And I'm excited to be on your show. 107 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:24,400 Well, thank you. 108 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,840 It's really a true honor to have you on. 109 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:30,480 I'm a fan of your work. 110 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:37,560 And I think we should start with Deaf Poetry Jam, which was a moment in time, I think, 111 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:39,480 that brings me back. 112 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:44,160 So it returns me to some seminal moments in my life. 113 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:49,540 But I'd love to understand, what was the moment when that concept went from an idea to something 114 00:05:49,540 --> 00:05:52,360 real that had momentum behind it? 115 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:53,360 Good question. 116 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,760 And first of all, thank you very much for your support. 117 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,700 Because of your support and others, we wound up getting a Peabody Award for six seasons 118 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:03,120 in HBO and a Tony Award for the Broadway version. 119 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,880 And I was the town executive at HBO and executive consultant to the Broadway show and the rest, 120 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:09,360 as they say, is history. 121 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,760 I was blessed to be one of the founders. 122 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:17,500 Danny Simmons, Russell Simmons, and Deborah Poynter are co-founders as well. 123 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:20,260 And so it was a very seminal moment. 124 00:06:20,260 --> 00:06:23,920 We caught the world in a very reflective state around that time. 125 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:28,840 This was around a quarter of a century ago, around pre-911. 126 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:34,760 And so we caught the world in a very reflective state where people started to think, why do 127 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:35,760 they hate us? 128 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:37,400 So what's going on with America? 129 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,400 Or what's going on politically and socially? 130 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:47,440 So it was a good time for the poets to be able to use their poetry, use their politic 131 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,920 to speak to a captive audience, an audience of people that were very, very reflective. 132 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:58,440 Because it really kind of slowed the world down and make people think and reflect, like, 133 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,640 what's going on here? 134 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:07,320 So yeah, the show was a shout out to HBO for pushing the poetic license. 135 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:12,800 Richard Peppler at the time was the president, and he was the one that, in a sense, retired. 136 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,640 But I want to thank him for taking a chance and green lighting the show. 137 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,040 We want him getting six, what, six seasons? 138 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:22,040 Yeah. 139 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:23,680 And it turned out very, very well. 140 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:28,600 So we're very excited about that, and I want to shout out all of the poets. 141 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:33,000 And Danny Simmons, Deborah Poynter, Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan, and all of the poets 142 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,400 that were on this show, and everybody that tuned in. 143 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:38,440 The ratings were through the roof. 144 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:43,640 We had, and HBO kept it to this day close to the belt, the most highest anticipated 145 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:45,800 show in HBO's history. 146 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,440 We have spoken word artists all around the world tuning in to this thing, like it was 147 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,040 a super bowl of poetry. 148 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:53,040 Right? 149 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,800 And you know, one of the interesting things about it is it was one of the, it may have 150 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:03,320 been the first poetry spoken word shows I think I've ever seen on television. 151 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:05,120 And it was profound. 152 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,600 I mean, and you know what, I think it ended up inspiring. 153 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,840 And I know there were always poets speaking at presidential inauguration, but many of us 154 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:18,440 remember the poetry, the young poet that spoke at Barack Obama's first inauguration. 155 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:23,760 To me, that's a moment that Deaf Poetry Jam enabled. 156 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:28,120 That moment was about what you did ahead of it to create that path. 157 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:29,120 Amen. 158 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:30,120 Amen to that. 159 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,600 You know, I mean, the poet has always been the cajola of history. 160 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:34,960 The poet has always been the flamethrower. 161 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,560 The poet has always been the truth bearer. 162 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:38,560 Right? 163 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:43,400 You know, and so when Napoleon came to power, the first thing he said was kill all the poets. 164 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:45,080 And why did he say kill all the poets? 165 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:49,440 He said kill all the poets because the poet has always been the troublemaker. 166 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:53,500 You know, the poet has always been the flamethrower and the truth bearer. 167 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:58,440 You know, and so the most dangerous person on the planet, I tell people this, is a writer 168 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,280 and a poet. 169 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:02,280 That is amazing. 170 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:09,400 How did you, just real quick about you and your history, how did you get into poetry 171 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:18,240 and what made you come up with this incredible concept of working with Russell Simmons and 172 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:20,680 creating a Deaf Comedy Jam? 173 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:21,680 How did that go? 174 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:22,680 A poetry jam? 175 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:23,680 Okay. 176 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:24,680 Yeah, you know, great question. 177 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:29,920 My mother, my late mother, God bless her, was the first published poet in our family. 178 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:36,520 Amazing poet, amazing writer, just an amazing creative, you know, quilting, you know, art, 179 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:38,300 just amazing and off the hook. 180 00:09:38,300 --> 00:09:41,960 So she would always use these exotic words around me. 181 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,520 She would never goo goo gaga, goo goo gaga me, right? 182 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,640 So she would always use these million dollar words and she was just so poetic in the way 183 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:50,720 she would express herself. 184 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,680 And that made me actually fall in love with words, right? 185 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:59,000 And so I started writing poetry, you know, roses are red, violets are blue and hiding 186 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:00,000 it and all that stuff. 187 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,400 And you know, and then one thing led to the other. 188 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:08,840 And then anybody that's into astrology, I'm a Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury and that's 189 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:10,520 dealing with words and communication. 190 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:12,600 And I'm a Virgo in four of my houses. 191 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,480 So go figure, right? 192 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:17,920 And so I've always loved words. 193 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:25,240 I prayed over, I prayed to God that He give me the gift of conversation, the gift of gab, 194 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:27,760 and He blessed me with it and I praise God for it. 195 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:32,240 You know, not only my lover of Christ, a believer in Christ and a knower of Christ, I want to 196 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,280 thank the good Lord for blessing me to be here before you. 197 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,520 That's amazing. 198 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,880 Thank you. 199 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:44,640 So you've, you have worked in your past, you know, and throughout your career, a wonderfully 200 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,680 long career. 201 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:51,640 You've worked with some incredible people, but also you faced some significant obstacles, 202 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,880 financial constraints, among many other things. 203 00:10:54,880 --> 00:11:02,120 Can you share a story of a time when resourcefulness and collaboration seemed to be the brake 204 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,560 through for you that made all the difference? 205 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:06,960 Yeah, Ozzie Davis said it best. 206 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:11,920 He said, being an African American, however, implies that something at the core of your 207 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,760 existence is in crisis mode or will be at some point in life. 208 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,920 He also said all struggles between the power to resist and the power to oppress, right? 209 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,920 And it was Baldwin who said to be black in America is to be angry all the time, right? 210 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:31,640 And so the thing about it is when you are born a person, a so-called person of color, 211 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:33,560 your playing field is not level. 212 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:38,480 So you have to kind of like pivot and work in a way and be creative in a way that is 213 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,540 unorthodox, right? 214 00:11:40,540 --> 00:11:44,480 Because you have a system that is designed to keep people down. 215 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:50,320 And so, you know, you have to learn how to pivot through that and with that comes creativity, 216 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:51,320 you know? 217 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:58,080 And so I was able to use my creative genius to be able to actualize different things like 218 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:03,400 Deaf Poetry Jam and the Genius as Common Movement, which we're going to go into later on. 219 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:07,320 I'm also the founder of the Bandana Republic. 220 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,920 It's a literary anthology by gang members and affiliates. 221 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:17,640 Poetry Pro, short stories and quotes and interviews from gang members, gang leaders, those affiliated, 222 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:18,640 never been done before. 223 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,880 It's the one and only anthology. 224 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:27,900 Salsco Press is the only press that had the cooners to publish it in 2008 out of Brooklyn. 225 00:12:27,900 --> 00:12:31,640 And yeah, I mean, when we had the book signing, it was like a sign out of the Warriors. 226 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,920 It was nothing but gang members that showed up because the general public was too afraid 227 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:35,920 to show up. 228 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:36,920 Right? 229 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,360 And so it was like, it was crazy. 230 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:44,080 All of these different gangs coming to, you know, to the book signing because they were 231 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:45,120 in it. 232 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,720 And I basically used the psychology of no one wants to be left out. 233 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,880 I was the managing editor and founded the Bandana Republic. 234 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,320 And Luis Reis Rivera was the co-founder and editor. 235 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,840 And I come out of gang culture and all due transparency. 236 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,280 Luis Reis Rivera who passed, he came out of gang culture. 237 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:02,280 I've been in several of them. 238 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:03,280 I used to be in the herb business. 239 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,280 Now I'm in the healing business. 240 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,120 And so this is a way of me giving back to my community. 241 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,880 And you know, I put pain in my community. 242 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:13,880 This is a way of striving to make amends. 243 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:18,240 And you know, and getting all of these gangs that come under one umbrella, right, was very 244 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:23,520 important because you can't shoot somebody and write a poem at the same time. 245 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,920 You know, I want to go back for a second because you started your answer to PJ's last question 246 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:35,000 by reciting, I think, three or four quotes from memory. 247 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,800 And that is actually one of your one of your giant strengths. 248 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:44,400 You have a legendary memory of quotes. 249 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,120 And I've come across that in other interviews you've done. 250 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:55,640 And it's fascinating how you can pull a very applicable quote just out of the top of your 251 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:56,640 head. 252 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:57,640 It's mind blowing. 253 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,600 So first of all, how did you develop this talent? 254 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,360 And you know, is there a quote that, you know, has guided you through some of the tougher 255 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,800 times that really resonates with you? 256 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:10,800 Great question. 257 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:11,800 And thank you very much for the accolade. 258 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,320 The person that got me into quoting is Ralph Waldo Emerson. 259 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:16,820 He's one of my mentors. 260 00:14:16,820 --> 00:14:18,080 Not fond of his poetry. 261 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:19,480 Sorry, Ralph. 262 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:26,720 But at the time, I was going around quoting other people, right, before I became a master 263 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:28,720 quote-ologist because I'm a master quote-ologist. 264 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:31,840 I've been a quote-ologist for over 40 years. 265 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:37,840 But I was going around quoting other people until I read a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson 266 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,720 who talked about people who quote. 267 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:44,160 And the following quote is, he said, they are cowards and would rather quote a saint 268 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,680 or sage than to say, I think. 269 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,760 So he actually cussed me out. 270 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:53,600 So from that point, I took that as a marching order to start writing my own quotes. 271 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:58,360 Now in reference to how I'm able to have a vast memory, it's almost like getting his 272 00:14:58,360 --> 00:14:59,840 book of records, right? 273 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,480 Of course, it is because of the fact that I tap into the Holy Spirit. 274 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:05,540 This is where my faith comes into play. 275 00:15:05,540 --> 00:15:08,760 And I give God all the praise and all the glory in reference to that. 276 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:14,160 So for instance, if you and I were talking about how challenging relationships are, then 277 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:16,080 Bob Marley would ping my spirit. 278 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:19,640 And the quote is, the truth is, everyone's going to hurt you. 279 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,440 It's about finding the one worth suffering for. 280 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,080 Or James Baldwin would ping my spirit. 281 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,220 Love is so desperately sought but so cunningly avoided. 282 00:15:29,220 --> 00:15:30,560 Love makes us take off the mask. 283 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,720 We know we can't live without and know we can't live within. 284 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,040 So you know I have to give you at least three of my quotes. 285 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:41,200 One of my quotes, I said, no matter how low you keep your wickedness, karma knows how 286 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,200 to limbo. 287 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,280 That's a great one. 288 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:53,000 I'm trying to digest the first one, and then it's super profound. 289 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,840 And then the second, which is like, wow, that is also profound. 290 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,280 And then the limbo one, which is a great image. 291 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:06,680 I use a lot of personification in my quotes, because I'm a writer and poet and all those 292 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:07,680 look at things. 293 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,160 And so I've conducted a lot of creative writing workshops. 294 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,160 So I use a lot of double entendres and all these different things. 295 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,240 So I'll give you one of my quotes I said. 296 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:21,840 So how can the English language be proper after it had fellatio with Germany, minas 297 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:27,240 etoises with France and England, lap dance with Spain while getting sodomized by Greece 298 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:28,240 without Greece? 299 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:29,240 Right? 300 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:30,240 Oh, no. 301 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,880 Gosh, did you get that last one? 302 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,720 Were you paying attention, PJ? 303 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:37,520 Sodomized by Greece without Greece? 304 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:38,520 Without Greece. 305 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:39,520 Yeah. 306 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:40,520 Yeah. 307 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:41,520 That's that's good. 308 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:42,520 All right. 309 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:44,440 So the English language initially is not for children. 310 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,200 That's all right. 311 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:47,840 We don't get that many children listeners. 312 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:49,360 Oh, my God. 313 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:56,720 What is Bruce, do you have do you have a life a life quote, a life mantra, something that 314 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:58,480 you follow for? 315 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:03,960 You know, I mean, the Bible, you know, is my life, you know, you know, I studied the 316 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:08,040 Bible and, you know, the beginning was the word and the word was regarding the word was 317 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,160 God, John one, one, you know. 318 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:16,320 And so to me, it's just scripture is all about life and how to live it, you know. 319 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:22,640 So I don't necessarily draw from any one person in terms of life quotes, you know. 320 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:28,160 You know, but, you know, one thing is a plan is in Shakespeare to buy an own self be true 321 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,200 that thou cannot be false to any man. 322 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:31,200 Right. 323 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:32,360 You know, and Hamlet, you know. 324 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:38,560 And so to me, that I live by that, you know, is being true and authentic, you know, because 325 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:42,840 there's a quote that says nothing so much prevents one from being natural as a desire 326 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:43,840 to appear natural. 327 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:44,840 Right. 328 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,760 So by you trying to appear natural, you become, of course, being unnatural. 329 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:48,760 Right. 330 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,440 So the amount of quotes that have the memory is like staggering. 331 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:56,440 I can quote for 24 hours nonstop in conversation with you and every quote will be relevant 332 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:57,960 to what we're speaking about. 333 00:17:57,960 --> 00:17:59,840 And I cannot quote and it has to be relevant. 334 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,360 I can't just throw a quote in there that is not relevant to what we're speaking about. 335 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,000 And that gift won't allow me to take advantage and use it. 336 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,000 I'll draw a blank. 337 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,000 It's amazing. 338 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,800 I mean, I have seen interviews with this man where he is able to do this for two hours. 339 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:14,800 It's remarkable. 340 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:20,320 And every quote is exactly relevant to what's being discussed. 341 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:21,320 It's astonishing. 342 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,120 It's not just the ability to recall, it's the ability to pull out of your library of 343 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:27,840 recall the right quote for the moment. 344 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,080 It's something I've never seen anyone do. 345 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:32,620 It's astonishing. 346 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:36,600 And I recommend if you people have the opportunity, if people listening have the opportunity 347 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,800 or to go look up some of Bruce's work, it's crazy. 348 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:41,800 I appreciate it. 349 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:42,800 I appreciate it. 350 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:49,800 If you go to Google and put in hashtag word engineer or hashtag quoteologist, you'll see 351 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:54,320 a lot of more quotes come up. 352 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,600 I want to pivot to talking about the business. 353 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:03,920 So one of the interesting things about you is your journey is a mix of art and activism 354 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,260 and entrepreneurship. 355 00:19:06,260 --> 00:19:10,200 How do these three things influence each other? 356 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:11,480 How do they interact with one another? 357 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:13,200 They all go together. 358 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,760 The Black Panther Party said the best, they said that the art is an indispensable tool 359 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,660 of revolutionary struggle. 360 00:19:20,660 --> 00:19:24,440 People of color, we were never given the luxury of art for the sake of art. 361 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,880 Art for us has always been a way for us to survive, right? 362 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,240 A way for us to really level the playing field. 363 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,320 So we weren't given the luxury of art for the sake of art. 364 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:41,760 Everything was all about us being able to maintain ourselves and still be here, right? 365 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:47,520 Whereas other people, they have the luxury for the rabbit for us and they can just write 366 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,400 art for the sake of art. 367 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,520 But for us, we weren't given that luxury. 368 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:58,880 With the Topsy Turvy dogs, when we were enslaved, when our overseers were around, it was a white 369 00:19:58,880 --> 00:19:59,880 dog. 370 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,360 When it disappeared, we turned it upside down and it was a black dog. 371 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:11,640 So we had to play the game and do things in a way that kind of forced us to be able to 372 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,040 survive because it's all rooted in survival. 373 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,960 Like tap dancing, people think that tap dancing is just this benign whatever. 374 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,720 No, that's sending signals and all these different things. 375 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:32,240 Certain dances, quilting, certain quilts had built into the quilt ways for people to go 376 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:33,860 north, right? 377 00:20:33,860 --> 00:20:36,520 So if you look at the quilt, it will show you how to escape north. 378 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:41,240 So art has never been, we were never given the luxury of art for the sake of art. 379 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:47,080 So it all, and to answer your question, it all goes together actually because of our 380 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:48,080 person of color. 381 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:49,080 It actually all goes together. 382 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:50,080 Absolutely. 383 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,400 Yeah, that's very, very, very cool. 384 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:59,120 I wanted to talk about, if you don't mind, this fantastic movement that you have, the 385 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:05,240 Genius Has Come movement, just even the title is such a powerful message. 386 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:11,080 What inspired you to create that and how has it evolved since its inception? 387 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:12,080 Absolutely. 388 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:13,080 Absolutely. 389 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:14,080 Well, thank you for that. 390 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:18,400 The Genius Has Come movement, metaphorically speaking, is the first movement that put the 391 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,160 word genius on trial. 392 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,640 We're the first movement to tear down the Berlin Wall of the word genius and put it 393 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,720 in the minds of the people where it belongs. 394 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:31,200 So you take a young lady from a housing project that micro braids hair like Picasso painted, 395 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:32,200 that's a genius. 396 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,600 Dave Chappelle is a genius of a comedian. 397 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:35,600 Bishop T.D. 398 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,180 Jakes is a genius of a bishop. 399 00:21:37,180 --> 00:21:40,680 So we're the first movement to let the world know that they have been lied to in relationship 400 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:41,680 to the word genius. 401 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:48,760 So when they say you're only a genius, if you have 130, 140 IQ and Mensa, it's pure 402 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:49,760 nonsense. 403 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:50,760 That was an arbitrary number. 404 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:56,960 They made up a Stanford University to make you 1% of the population, which is rooted 405 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:57,960 in elitism. 406 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,880 What they don't want you to know is that the true origin of the word genius doesn't just 407 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:02,440 apply to intellect. 408 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,920 Even Einstein said we're all geniuses. 409 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,320 And if you were to judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, you'd spend it so light believing 410 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:09,600 that it's stupid. 411 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:14,520 Buckminster Fuller said that every child is born a genius, but the process of light de-geniuses 412 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:15,520 them. 413 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,760 Arthur Schopenhauer said that talent is a target that no one else can hit, but geniuses 414 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,400 are talking that no one else can see. 415 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,840 So we're the first movement to let the world know that the true origin of the word genius 416 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,000 comes from the word genie out of Northern Africa. 417 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:29,140 That ain't so wrong. 418 00:22:29,140 --> 00:22:33,120 And the genie is the guiding tutelary spirit within each of us. 419 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,400 So the genius in us is the genie in us. 420 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:36,800 And the genie in us is the god in us. 421 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:37,800 We've been lied to. 422 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,800 Look at the words genie and Genesis. 423 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:41,800 Genesis is beginning. 424 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:46,920 There's so much to unpack about this movement, which is an astonishing movement. 425 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:53,440 Again, our audience should Google this, search it. 426 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:54,440 It's so obvious. 427 00:22:54,440 --> 00:23:02,120 And yet, as Bruce said, it was him who introduced something to the world that should have been 428 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:09,200 obvious, which is genius is indeed something that is not limited to a select few. 429 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:17,920 All individuals possess some unique version of genius and our individual job and our job 430 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:23,040 collectively as a society is to try to help individuals find that genius and then be able 431 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:28,980 to celebrate that genius again, individually and as a society. 432 00:23:28,980 --> 00:23:36,020 One of the great things about this movement, in my opinion, is that it uplifts people regardless 433 00:23:36,020 --> 00:23:41,880 of where they are in their lives, what they've accomplished in the traditional sense of the 434 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:43,560 word, right? 435 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:50,360 To find from any moment in time that you are alive, you are able to, if you embrace these 436 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:58,720 principles, stop and recognize what your genius is and then change the direction of your life 437 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:05,520 to walk closer to that genius and further away from things that are not casting light 438 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,760 on yourself or on the world. 439 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:10,200 And I've read about this. 440 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:11,200 I find this fascinating. 441 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:16,480 I mean, I think it's, I command you on coming up with it. 442 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,520 I think it's amazing that it's taken off. 443 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:20,520 What was the journey like? 444 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:25,360 I mean, when you came up with it, who did you talk to about it first and how did you 445 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:29,040 go about making this more than just a- 446 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:30,040 Okay. 447 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:31,040 Thank you for that. 448 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:34,960 And I couldn't have said it better myself the way you just spoke about it. 449 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:39,000 The geniuses coming movement, by the way, we're the first movement to decolonize the word 450 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:40,680 genius ever since the set of biology. 451 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:41,680 So that's huge. 452 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,560 We're the first movement to take the elitism out of the word genius. 453 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:45,560 So that's huge. 454 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,520 So you can only imagine the amount of self-esteem we've raised. 455 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,360 And so my geniuses coming movement, it got started from one of my quotes because I would 456 00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:55,320 go around the country and ask the youth, when you hear the word genius, what image comes 457 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:56,320 to mind? 458 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:59,200 And it would always say Einstein or a light bulb. 459 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,920 And every now and then I would get a Jordan and they troubled me. 460 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:02,920 And I said, you know what? 461 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:03,920 Let me write a quote about that. 462 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:08,840 And the quote is, not withstanding Einstein, geniuses coming. 463 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:13,800 Then that turned into this slogan, geniuses coming, which turned into an entire movement. 464 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:19,800 As we speak, we have a presence in all 50 states, 19 countries, 49 ambassadors with 465 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:24,040 106 celebrities that actually did geniuses coming video jobs. 466 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,660 Our main website is geniusescoming.com. 467 00:25:26,660 --> 00:25:31,160 And then we have a business directory, geniusescomingbusinessdirectory.com as well. 468 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,120 And so look at the geniusescoming movement like an amalgamation of geniuses in every 469 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:38,040 genre you can imagine, right? 470 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:42,000 And all coming together, coalescing in one movement. 471 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,580 And then we even have a youth entrepreneur division and it's a YouTube-based movement. 472 00:25:45,580 --> 00:25:50,140 So we have over 1,400 geniusescoming videos on our website from children as young as three 473 00:25:50,140 --> 00:25:51,720 years old. 474 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,360 That when they said genius is coming, it sounds like they were saying Jesus is coming. 475 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,280 Jesus is coming because he is. 476 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,840 So it's groundbreaking. 477 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:07,240 And we're in a cusp of breaking mainstream any day, hour, a month now, like Black Lives 478 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,240 Matter and Me Too, respectively. 479 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:10,240 Wow. 480 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,120 So let me, I have two questions for you. 481 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:18,520 The first one is before this becomes totally mainstream and you absolutely demystify the 482 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,760 word genius, can you call my kids and tell them that I am a genius? 483 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:23,760 I would really appreciate that. 484 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:24,760 Absolutely. 485 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,360 We'd love to do that. 486 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:32,400 But also, so you hit on it. 487 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,640 You want to get this mainstream. 488 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:36,840 This is one of your focuses now. 489 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,080 So what is your biggest dream for it? 490 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,760 And what would success look like? 491 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:44,760 Look like? 492 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:45,760 Okay. 493 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,880 First of all, the geniusescoming movement, we're 10 years in, it was downloaded into 494 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,000 my spirit in a latter part of 2014. 495 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,160 And as a believer, we declare and decree a thing. 496 00:26:55,160 --> 00:27:00,680 Before we even had a website, before we even, it was a twinkling in the eye of anybody. 497 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,960 This is what I said and I've declared it as a decree and it's starting to come about. 498 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:08,400 I said the geniusescoming movement is about to become a part of the American lexicon, 499 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,440 like Nike should just do it and Sprite obey your thirst. 500 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,320 And it's on its way to becoming that, but actually by God's grace. 501 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:21,280 And so people have always told me when I onboard them into the movement, the first question 502 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,980 I ask them is what are your geniuses? 503 00:27:23,980 --> 00:27:27,280 And then there's this pregnant pause and pregnant silence because they're like, no one has ever 504 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,400 asked me that before, number one. 505 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:33,600 And number two, they've been bamboozled to not realize that your gifts and your talents 506 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:35,200 are your geniuses. 507 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:36,560 Those are your geniuses. 508 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:38,720 We all have a genius seed. 509 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:43,160 Some call it God which I do, some call it source energy, but it's a seed that needs 510 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,240 water, right? 511 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:50,200 And so we all have a genius seed, as Tal alluded to earlier, that we all have these gifts. 512 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:54,360 We just need to find what the gifts are and tap into it, get tapped into it. 513 00:27:54,360 --> 00:28:00,200 And when we get tapped into it, the paradigm shift, the way we think about the word genius, 514 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,040 which will paradigm shift the way we think about ourselves. 515 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:08,280 And it's just so explosive in terms of how the movement has raised the self-esteem of 516 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,840 so many youth as well as adults. 517 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:11,840 So healthy. 518 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:12,840 Very healthy. 519 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:13,840 Yeah. 520 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,120 I mean, and you know, it's, you've been a champion for creativity, for self-worth, you've 521 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:22,280 been really invested in youth, particularly as you said, youth that come from backgrounds 522 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:27,560 where they've not had a lot of people invest in them, and particularly men for that matter. 523 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:35,200 What's the most surprising reaction you receive from someone who you impacted with your work? 524 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:41,880 I wouldn't say it was surprising because I'm real clear about the power of the movement. 525 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:51,320 But what is surprising to me is the amount of people that have not really tapped into 526 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,480 what their geniuses are. 527 00:28:53,480 --> 00:29:01,440 And the amount of people that really, they're very one trick ponyish, right? 528 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:05,160 They just have blinders on and they just really can't see beyond that. 529 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,520 And the reason why is because they've been socially engineered to be that way. 530 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:13,720 You know, the so-called powers that be, you know, William Cooper talked about the notion 531 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,760 of sheeple, right? 532 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,680 Chomsky talked about, I love Noam Chomsky, by the way. 533 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,640 Shout out to Noam Chomsky. 534 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:27,120 He talked about the notion of hurtism, you know, and Emerson said it best. 535 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:32,040 He said, this piece, The American Scholar, he says, society is a conspiracy against the 536 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,160 manhood of every one of its members. 537 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:37,820 It holds conformity as its greatest virtue and self-reliance as the enemy. 538 00:29:37,820 --> 00:29:41,520 So it was an essay called Suffer the Lines by Robert Waldo Emerson. 539 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,240 I'll deploy your audience to read that essay. 540 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:50,960 You know, so whenever you try to break off from the status quo, you try to break off 541 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:57,000 and do your own thing, the way the system is set up is designed to herd you or sheeple 542 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,440 you with everybody else so that's where they can control you, right? 543 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:06,200 So when you color outside of the box, then you're an outlaw, right? 544 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:10,280 You're going out of the bounds, you know, and it's the same thing with critics. 545 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,800 You know, the critic is the gatekeeper to the state, which is the gatekeeper to the 546 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:15,120 ruling class. 547 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:20,400 So if it's a fashion critic, if you're whatever fashion, whatever type of clothing that you 548 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:26,600 have designed, if it doesn't support the status quo, then it will get two thumbs down. 549 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:28,680 Big ups to see Schoo and Ebert, right? 550 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:30,640 I think one of them passed. 551 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:34,200 And so the bottom line is, it's the same thing in music. 552 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:39,040 If you are playing hip hop music, that's all about kill, kill, kill, murder, murder, murder, 553 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:42,280 kill, kill, kill, and you're going to get a gold platinum. 554 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:47,600 But if you talk about the data CIA killed a mumba in your lyrics and your conscious 555 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:52,680 rapper, then you're not going to go platinum, you know, and you're going to get, you know, 556 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:54,560 censored and everything else. 557 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:57,120 And so yeah, I'm a firm believer in activism. 558 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:01,160 I've been an activist forever before it's fashionable to be one. 559 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:04,080 Service is the rent you pay for being on earth, right? 560 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:06,520 So everything I do is out of activism. 561 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,260 That's that is amazing. 562 00:31:08,260 --> 00:31:14,000 So we have, you know, the show is, um, we just have the best listeners in the world 563 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,640 and we have people who are like, you know, they're very well seasoned entrepreneurs. 564 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:22,720 They're the others who are just starting out, just trying to figure out what their dreams 565 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,700 are and all that kind of, you know, wonderful things. 566 00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:27,920 But a lot of times people feel stuck. 567 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:32,800 So if there's someone today that's listening and they feel stuck or they're unsure about 568 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,160 their own potential, right? 569 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,480 A lot of times we're, we are our own worst enemy. 570 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,000 We get in our own way. 571 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,560 Um, you know, there's a lot of imposter syndrome out there. 572 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:46,160 What's what's one piece of advice or story that you may have from your own life that 573 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:51,720 might help them give them that, that little oomph that emboldened them to take that next 574 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:52,720 step forward? 575 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:54,560 A great question. 576 00:31:54,560 --> 00:32:00,160 As a believer, we are taught lean not towards your own understanding, acknowledge him in 577 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,580 all your ways and he would direct your path. 578 00:32:02,580 --> 00:32:07,800 So what I would say to them is to listen, listen to that spirit, listen to that voice, 579 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:09,880 that subtle voice that says, don't go left, go right. 580 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,160 Don't go right, go left. 581 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:12,160 Right. 582 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:13,160 And follow that. 583 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:14,720 You know, God has a way of bread crumbing us. 584 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,920 The Holy Spirit as in us will have as a way of bread crumbing us to go in a different 585 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:19,920 direction. 586 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:20,920 Right. 587 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,440 And a lot of people are not spirit led, they're money led. 588 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:29,240 So my advice to you is no, no, don't be money led, be spirit led. 589 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,480 Because if you're money led, that's not your calling. 590 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,940 A lot of times you'll get into something that is not your calling and it goes against what 591 00:32:36,940 --> 00:32:38,920 you were born to do. 592 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:45,120 Flipping, I mean, Jeremiah 1.5, before I formed the inner belly I knew thee and I ordained 593 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:46,120 thee. 594 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:47,120 Right. 595 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:50,000 So we were all ordained to do something before we were even born. 596 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:51,880 God instilled that in us. 597 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:52,880 Right. 598 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,920 But if, so when God bread crumbs us and the Holy Spirit bread crumbs us, don't just eat 599 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,360 the bread crumbs and go in a different direction. 600 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:04,760 Eat the bread crumbs, follow the bread crumbs and follow what your spirit, the Holy Spirit 601 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:05,760 in you is saying. 602 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,480 But most people don't do that. 603 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:14,040 They'll eat the bread crumbs and go in a different direction because their money incentivized. 604 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:15,800 You know, money is an incentive for them. 605 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:18,400 Yeah, you make a whole lot of money, but you'd be miserable doing it. 606 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:19,400 Right. 607 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,640 So a lot of people are making a whole lot of money, a ton of money, but it's not their 608 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:24,960 calling and they wonder why they're not happy. 609 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:25,960 Right. 610 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:32,600 So I say to people, follow your spirit, listen to your spirit, sit upon your bed, meditate, 611 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:38,360 and just listen to what the spirit is telling you, which direction to go in and follow that 612 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,360 direction. 613 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:45,560 And when you follow it and you put the necessary work in, you will see the results. 614 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:49,800 You know, Frederick Douglass said, power can seize nothing without a demand, never did 615 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:50,800 another will. 616 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:53,840 Demand of your time, demand of your money, demand of your energy. 617 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,120 You know, Dr. Miles Morose said it best. 618 00:33:56,120 --> 00:34:00,480 He said the fastest way, the longest way to success is the shortcut. 619 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:01,480 There are no shortcuts. 620 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:07,080 You know, you have to put the work in and you have to be willing to bring 100% of yourself 621 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,680 to the love table as an entrepreneur. 622 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:10,680 Right. 623 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:11,680 Don't look for shortcuts. 624 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:15,440 Go the long, sometimes you have to go the long route. 625 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:17,640 Let me go to where you just went. 626 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:20,240 You have to go to the love table. 627 00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:24,000 There's a book that I came across earlier this year called The Mastery of Self by Don 628 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:25,000 Miguel Ruiz Jr. 629 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:26,720 I don't know if you've had a chance to read it, Bruce. 630 00:34:26,720 --> 00:34:28,520 I think you would love it if you haven't. 631 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:30,880 I'm familiar with the four agreements. 632 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:32,960 That's his father. 633 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:33,960 That's his dad. 634 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:34,960 That's Miguel Ruiz Jr. 635 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:35,960 Oh, okay. 636 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:36,960 This is the son. 637 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:42,720 And the premise of The Mastery of Self is that most of us are walking through fog. 638 00:34:42,720 --> 00:34:47,200 We are experiencing our life as if we're in a fog. 639 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:56,480 It actually would, I think the sheeple word used before is another way to describe what's 640 00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:59,800 being described in the book as the fog. 641 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:01,640 And the book is phenomenal. 642 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:03,720 It's a short book. 643 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:10,400 I mean, I recommend buying the print version of it and highlighting it in old school. 644 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:13,280 And one of the main takeaways from that book, and I actually think even though it's not 645 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:18,920 a book about business, it's a book that anyone who is considering starting a business or 646 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:26,000 is running a business should strongly consider reading because success, I think, you know, 647 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,680 Bruce said it better than I ever could. 648 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:31,320 But I'll put my spin on what Bruce just said. 649 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:34,800 A lot of people chase dollars instead of purpose. 650 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,960 And one of the things we've tried to do with this podcast, and I think hopefully one of 651 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:44,240 the reasons we've been a very popular podcast is that we are bringing guests on who do a 652 00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:45,240 couple of things. 653 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:50,560 One, they talk, as Bruce has, about things that are difficult. 654 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:51,560 Being vulnerable. 655 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,560 Bruce talked about being involved in gang activities as a young person. 656 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:56,800 He doesn't have to tell us that. 657 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:58,920 This is a man who's one of Tony. 658 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,280 He's one of Peabody. 659 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:03,640 He doesn't have to tell us that. 660 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:08,080 So vulnerability is one aspect here I think that is worth calling out. 661 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:12,280 And the other is recognizing that success without love is worthless. 662 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:13,960 And I don't mean love. 663 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,640 I mean, I mean it in every sense of the word. 664 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:18,020 Love the people you work with. 665 00:36:18,020 --> 00:36:19,740 Love the people you work for. 666 00:36:19,740 --> 00:36:21,540 Love the community you service. 667 00:36:21,540 --> 00:36:22,920 Love the purpose you have. 668 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,620 And if it's missing, what do you have? 669 00:36:26,620 --> 00:36:28,640 We only, you know, we are here. 670 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:29,880 We have a purpose. 671 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:31,200 Our job is to go find it. 672 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:32,600 We have a genius. 673 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:34,040 Our job is to uncover it. 674 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:39,920 I think that's what Bruce dedicates his entire career to. 675 00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:43,200 And many people can benefit from reflecting on it just a bit. 676 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,640 And trying to take something from that into their lives. 677 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:47,640 You have to. 678 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:48,640 I mean, Zig Ziggler said it best. 679 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:50,440 He said, do what you love and the money will follow. 680 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,760 Shout out to Zig Ziggler who passed away. 681 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:54,960 I think he passed away like about five years ago. 682 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,360 He was one of my mentors as well. 683 00:36:57,360 --> 00:36:59,760 And he said, do what you love and the money will follow. 684 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:04,680 You know, you have to do what you love, right? 685 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:07,360 And if you don't love it, then it's crazy. 686 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:09,680 It reminds me of a line Billy Dee in Lady Sings the Blues. 687 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:14,000 He said, what a success without the one you love to share with, right? 688 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,600 So yeah, you can have all the success in the world. 689 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:21,560 But if you don't have anybody that you love that you can share that with, then it's for 690 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:23,400 naught. 691 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:28,760 You know, what a success to me is about being able to give back. 692 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:33,240 It's about being a provider, being of service, being philanthropic, right? 693 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:34,600 That's where happiness is. 694 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:36,880 Happiness is not in consumption. 695 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,980 Happiness isn't giving back, right? 696 00:37:38,980 --> 00:37:42,000 But a lot of people think happiness is in consumption. 697 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:43,800 It's never because there's never enough. 698 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:44,800 You agree. 699 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:45,800 The more you get, the more you want. 700 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:48,680 One is too many and a thousand is not enough, right? 701 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:55,040 And so you would never be happy in consuming things because again, the more you get, the 702 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:56,040 more you want. 703 00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:00,620 And you get to the point where you're so rich and in money that you start buying things 704 00:38:00,620 --> 00:38:05,800 that are real silly and stupid because you're so calcified in terms of, you know, and blinded 705 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:11,040 by money that you're buying things that is meaningless, right? 706 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:16,320 So you start buying $5 million paintings where the painter, all he did was take one stroke 707 00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:22,760 across the canvas and has a name for himself, Picasso, whatever, and you're paying like 708 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:23,760 $9 million. 709 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:28,680 And all he did was take a one stroke across the canvas. 710 00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:29,680 You know, it's crazy. 711 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:31,320 Well, I'll tell you, I'll tell you what, there's a real story. 712 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:32,320 This is a real story. 713 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:33,320 You can Google it. 714 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,200 This happened last week. 715 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:42,640 A vendor, street vendor outside of a auction house in New York sold a banana for 25 cents. 716 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:51,600 That banana was then taped to the wall by an artist and sold for $6.25 million. 717 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:52,720 That's my point. 718 00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:53,720 That's my point. 719 00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:54,720 That makes sense. 720 00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:55,720 Yeah. 721 00:38:55,720 --> 00:38:58,200 Looked that up. 722 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:03,360 The person who bought it bragged about it on X and also said that he planned to eat the 723 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:05,240 banana three days later. 724 00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:09,560 And so if it sounds absurd, it's because it is. 725 00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:16,120 And I think, you know, that's part of the that's part of the I think the thesis here, 726 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:26,440 OK, is that we if we deviate too far from what is of real worth of real value, which 727 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:33,440 is people and connection and we're worried about consumption. 728 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:38,780 And I would say there's maybe one place where I think consumption is justified and it's 729 00:39:38,780 --> 00:39:44,820 consuming information, consuming knowledge, specifically knowledge. 730 00:39:44,820 --> 00:39:46,880 Go out there and acquire as much of that as you can. 731 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:52,860 You want to be a consumer of knowledge, go for it, but then apply it as Bruce does for 732 00:39:52,860 --> 00:39:54,480 common good. 733 00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:57,040 And that's not to say, listen, you know, I'm an entrepreneur. 734 00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:01,360 I've spent my entire career starting and building and selling businesses. 735 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:03,680 I'm not knocking capitalism at all. 736 00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:05,520 I'm a capitalist to my core. 737 00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:16,320 But I also believe that at its underneath, that is a an essential need to remain human. 738 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:19,160 Think about our humanity and think about the humanity of those who are around us. 739 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:25,740 And by the way, humanity and let's include animals and other living things and do our 740 00:40:25,740 --> 00:40:29,160 very best to. 741 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:34,560 Enable others around us to live their best lives, not just us living our best lives. 742 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:35,560 Right. 743 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:36,560 Right. 744 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:40,960 Not everybody is able to be a capitalist and have that sense of humanity. 745 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:42,320 And that's why Lord Acton said the best. 746 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:46,520 He said power corrupts and, you know, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 747 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:47,520 Right. 748 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:51,880 And so a lot of times, you know, you get these venture and vulture capitalists that they 749 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:57,960 don't care how the money, where it comes from and the child slave labor. 750 00:40:57,960 --> 00:40:58,960 Right. 751 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:02,200 And how many people have died making those products. 752 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:05,520 All they want is a return or ROI on investment. 753 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:12,640 Now, when you tap into those waters, then that's dangerous spiritually, economically, 754 00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:13,640 your moral compass. 755 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:18,140 You know, Dante said the best, he said the hottest places in hell are reserved for those 756 00:41:18,140 --> 00:41:22,240 who are in a position of moral crisis who maintain a neutrality. 757 00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:23,240 Right. 758 00:41:23,240 --> 00:41:25,040 So, I mean, real talk. 759 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:28,240 You know, you have to have some type of moral compass in life. 760 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:30,980 And God says in the Bible, for what would a prophet man be getting the whole world and 761 00:41:30,980 --> 00:41:32,240 lose his own soul? 762 00:41:32,240 --> 00:41:34,360 So yeah, there's nothing wrong with making money. 763 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:35,360 I'm not anti-money. 764 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:39,040 God says in the Bible, money answer for all things. 765 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:46,640 But don't let the money, which is spiritual, by the way, rob you of who you are. 766 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:47,640 Right. 767 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:51,400 Don't let it turn you into somebody that you're not. 768 00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:53,900 And I think money has a tendency to... 769 00:41:53,900 --> 00:41:59,480 People allow money to do that, to turn them into someone or some person that they're not. 770 00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:04,040 And then that's when it goes against you and it bites you in your butt because of greed. 771 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:05,520 You know, Gordon Gekko, right? 772 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,480 Gordon Gekko and then Wall Street, right? 773 00:42:07,480 --> 00:42:13,360 So, you know, we saw that role, a perfect example of how money and greed... 774 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:14,360 He said greed is good. 775 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:16,640 No, greed is not good. 776 00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:22,960 You know, greed is why, you know, the sewage plants and people are dying like crazy and, 777 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:27,840 you know, landfills and all these different things in these, you know, different so-called 778 00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:31,760 third world countries, how we're just giving them our garbage and man-filling their countries 779 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:36,480 and rick and ship policies and all these different things out of greed. 780 00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:39,480 And it's shameful, you know, whose trade organization? 781 00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:43,840 I would implore your audience to read the book, Whose Trade Organization by Patrick 782 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:45,880 Woodall and Laurie Wallish. 783 00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:49,760 It's a comprehensive guide to the World Trade Organization. 784 00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:51,520 And you get to see how they are just... 785 00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:58,200 So, Jocone and how people in corporate America just, you know, and for the sake of making 786 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:02,840 a profit, how they ship and trip, you know, ship and rip third world countries of their 787 00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:07,280 natural resources and then turn them into debtor nations, right? 788 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:08,280 So it's crazy. 789 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:14,760 Well, I, you know, I don't want to end on a down note because there are plenty of things 790 00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:21,320 in the world that need correction and I call on, I implore members of our audience to find 791 00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:22,320 new ways to contribute. 792 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:27,000 I think one of the beautiful things in what you do is that it's generally a message of 793 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:28,000 optimism, right? 794 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:33,280 I think the whole concept of genius is common, is about each of us finding our genius and 795 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:37,240 collectively we push forward towards a better future. 796 00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:45,680 And you know, this is an episode that included a lot of significant wisdom and, you know, 797 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:49,620 members of the audience, there was a lot of it coming at you, hard and fast. 798 00:43:49,620 --> 00:43:52,920 This would be the kind of episode you want to listen to again, I think, and maybe with 799 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,240 a pen and a pen. 800 00:43:55,240 --> 00:44:04,760 And you know, I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't, you know, just mentioned how 801 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:10,360 much I appreciate everything you stand for, how much value I think what you do brings 802 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,880 and how I feel the world needs more people like you. 803 00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:15,840 And I'm a big fan. 804 00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:19,440 I think you're doing amazing work and I'm really grateful that you came on our podcast. 805 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:21,960 No, it's an honor to be on your podcast. 806 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:27,400 You and PJ are doing an amazing job with your podcast and I'm going to spread the word. 807 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:28,400 Definitely. 808 00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:29,400 We appreciate it. 809 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:33,760 Our guest today was Bruce George, the visionary entrepreneur, the acclaimed poet, the social 810 00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:41,440 activist, a winner of a Peabody Award, a winner of a Tony Award, the founder of the Genius 811 00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:47,360 is Common movement and one of the most inspiring people out there. 812 00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:51,000 I encourage people to look for the Genius is Common movement. 813 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:54,440 I think the website is, can you repeat the website, Bruce? 814 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:59,460 Yeah, it's geniusescommon.com in the business directory, Genius is Common business directory. 815 00:44:59,460 --> 00:45:04,880 And also I would be remiss if I didn't say that I was awarded with the Presidential Lifetime 816 00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:10,840 Achievement Award 2024 under Biden, the real one with the medallion and the certificate. 817 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:14,040 Yeah, so I want him getting one of those as well. 818 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:15,960 I'm sorry we didn't have that in our bio. 819 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:17,900 It's a missed by our staff. 820 00:45:17,900 --> 00:45:19,320 We should have absolutely called that out. 821 00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:21,040 So thank you for telling us about it. 822 00:45:21,040 --> 00:45:22,040 No, I appreciate it. 823 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:23,040 No, you're good. 824 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:24,040 Congratulations. 825 00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:25,960 That's an unbelievable accomplishment and well deserved. 826 00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:30,320 And I would just love to say really quick, you've already got a Peabody and you've gotten 827 00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:31,480 the Tony. 828 00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:38,000 So if you can get your Emmy and your Grammy and your Oscar, you can have a Peabot and 829 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:39,000 you'd be the first Peagot. 830 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,160 I know, the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, all of these different things. 831 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:43,160 That is great. 832 00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:44,160 That's a Peapie cat. 833 00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:45,160 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 834 00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:46,160 God is great. 835 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:47,160 God is great. 836 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:48,160 Thank you very much for having me. 837 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:49,160 This is fun. 838 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:50,160 Bruce, it's been a pleasure. 839 00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:51,160 Thanks so much for coming on. 840 00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:52,160 So great. 841 00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:53,160 Thank you so much. 842 00:45:53,160 --> 00:45:54,160 God bless you. 843 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:55,160 Peace. 844 00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:56,600 And that's a wrap, folks. 845 00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:57,600 Like what you heard? 846 00:45:57,600 --> 00:45:58,640 Want to support the show? 847 00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:01,560 Please follow our page on LinkedIn and Facebook. 848 00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:05,800 Visit us on YouTube and please like and rate us on all of your favorite podcast streaming 849 00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:06,800 services. 850 00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:12,400 You can also see exclusive content, subscribe for free to our weekly blog, support our sponsors 851 00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:18,000 and soon buy our merchandise at www.bravingbusiness.com. 852 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:21,800 Thanks for being a part of our production and we'll see you next time on the Braving 853 00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:43,160 Business Podcast.