Different ways, because think about it, being
an entrepreneur, right? What do you need most
times and not? Employees. What is one thing that
we fail at? Because every job I've had has failed
at building the employee. they'll tell them all
day long what buttons to push you know you know
what you know levers to pull and stuff like that
but they don't build them as a person if you
actually give them the tools and techniques to
develop themselves you make a stronger employee
if you make a stronger employee there if they
understand their whys and what's and why they
need to move through life and how they can use
this opportunity you're giving them to build
their life you got a better employee. You don't
just have somebody coming in pushing buttons
and it's going to cost you money to hire or refire.
You're developing. Let's think about another
thing. How many generations of people have gone
through, have we sent our children through adolescence
just struggling with emotion? When for a hundred
years now we've had a system where we can teach
all those kids how to use those emotions beforehand
so they don't have to go through that crazy situation
of adolescence where I don't know how to deal
with my emotions. We have this information and
it affects all of us. The simple fact is we all
have a mind and emotions we just don't know how
to use it what i'm saying is i think one of the
one of the easiest and best indicators is one
we won't look at because the honest thing like
i've known this and i've seen it in other people
when you're bs 'ing yourself you know it it doesn't
matter what it is you know you're bs 'ing yourself
you may have a wall up because it's something
there's there's a cognitive dissonance you're
going on that you need but at the end of the
day if You sit alone with yourself. You will
be simple and truthful. You'll see that and that's
the indicator It's like when you're doing something
we have to practice that first because it's that's
it's like going to the gym You got to think about
do this work like going to the gym building your
emotions building your mind You have to do these
things you have to exercise them So if you go
to this place where you're alone with yourself
exercise that find a place where you're simple
and truthful Whenever you're in that situation
go right back there and the flag will come up
or go down You'll sense it right then. And if
you smell that stink, you know, this isn't it.
I'm not feeling it. Hey there. Look, my hope
is that the Thravo journey meets you exactly
where you are and helps you rise into who you're
here to be. It's 2025 and this is your year to
thrive despite what the world is throwing at
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-week series built to anchor each week in intention,
purpose, and meaningful connection. I do so look
forward to hearing your voice and can't wait
to see you in the group. But for right now, let's
get into it. Today we're talking with Jim Rojas
Taylor Marine Corps veteran actor playwrights
screenwriter and author on a mission to change
the way we think From the stage to the page Jim
has spent over 20 years mastering the art of
transformation And now he's bringing that knowledge
to the world through his book all your best selves
he believes emotional and mental literacy are
the are missing keys to personal and professional
success. So let's get ready to learn how to unlock
the full power of our mind and emotions. And
Jim, how you doing, man? I'm doing good, man.
How are you today? I'm good. You know, I'm excited
to talk to you and have a good conversation with
you. But let's let's start here. So you're new
to the podcast world, right? Like we just talked
about. How's that ride been for you so far? Um,
it's It's like most things, man. When I jump
in, I just jump in and fire away. I don't know.
I just, I have that ability, I guess. Cause like
I said, my first podcast was February 6th and
this is my 21st one. So it's like, yeah, I've
been crushing through it for the last month.
But like I said, I think it's the idea of people
who are resonating with what I'm talking about.
It's not me. It's I'm like, I'm a messenger patient.
This idea is an untapped goldmine of potential.
Yeah, well, you know, we were pretty new ourselves.
We started last year. I don't think it was like
maybe November, October, something like that.
So yeah, the podcast world is pretty interesting,
especially when you have a message to share.
And when people are really attracted to that,
you know, it says, Okay, well, I'm glad you listened
to my message, you know, and this is a great
way to get that out. And so Just to kind of start
with your background, you said you were the military
background and you're an actor, you're an entrepreneur.
Did the military influence your mindset and entrepreneurship
in the acting world? I mean, everything had bits
and pieces. I take parts from everywhere. The
Marine Corps, some of the greatest gifts it gave
me were grit and tenacity. You know sticking
power when when everything sucks, that's fine
suck with it You know, it's okay to complain
as long as you're still working, you know, it's
that So it's like even like regular jobs I've
had like once I got out because I was only Marine
Corps six years five active one reserve But the
training stuff it's like once I got the Marine
Corps. Everything was easy Like my co -workers
were complaining jobs. I had them like alright,
bro. This is cake man But it gave me that. This
idea, I really think, well, honestly, I traced
it back to when I was four years old. It goes
back to my youth when I was a kid. My parents
took me to midnight mass, and the concept of
eternity just hit me. I was a little one, but
I realized that if there's no end, there can
be no middle. If there's no middle, it's the
perpetual beginning. So 10 million eons from
now, even though I didn't understand the time,
I knew I would continue to exist. And what really
freaked me out was the concept of what do I do
with forever once I've done everything multiple
times over? So it's like boredom freaked me out.
So I instinctively regressed into my head and
I started creating, I treated my mind like a
supercomputer and I started creating programs.
Two of my oldest were the suits and bubbles.
My suits were like different versions of myself.
My bubbles were like the holodeck in the Star
Trek universe. They could be any time, any place,
anywhere. So what I did was I created a space
for me to go inside my head. And anytime I walked
into a situation, I can test it out before I
actually physically walked through it. I went
through it in a thought experiment in my head.
And then I got into acting after the Marine Corps.
On accident like once I got the Marine Corps
started working at a restaurant called Lone Star
Steakhouse and I remember I was rolling silverware
and then there was this other female server there
and she was talking about her voice lessons going
on how difficult again I was I was an honorary
prick and I started ball breaking and you know
how hard a voice lessons and then I just remember
she snapped up she's like I bet you couldn't
do a three -week soldier boy and I was just like
taking it back by her just her fortitude so I'm
like all right yeah I'll take it so I went and
found a voice coach just to and I was gonna take
six weeks just to show her up. It's like I don't
know whatever happened the dude handled me so
well that it just stuck and he put me into a
chorus then he put me into a play and then I
just started auditioning and I just started booking
gigs like for the first two years or so probably
two to four years I was booking like 80 90 percent
which is not yeah that's not that's uncommon
crazy especially in the beginning of your career
man that's that's It's really good that that
happened for you. It's not that it just happened
to me. What I realized was these different suits,
they're just different characters. My bubbles,
those are just versions of Stanislavski's magic
gift. I was building all the tools and techniques
to be an actor my whole life. I just never realized
it. And in 2008, when I was doing this film Hunger,
that's when it clicked. Because if you've done
camera work, you'll appreciate this. I was doing
a film with... A scene with Lyndon Ashby in a
film called Hunger, and he was on camera. I was
off camera. We were shooting his scenes. And
then I wasn't in character because, I mean, I
was a new actor, but I was present in the moment.
I wasn't in character, but I was there. And then
when they yelled cut, he reached over and shook
my hand like I pulled his kid out of a fire.
And I didn't get it, but I realized later it's
because I was still giving to him as an actor.
So he was able to do his best work, even though
I wasn't the character Alex. And again, it's
like when I realized that, I'm like, holy crap,
man, these tools and techniques are the same
thing that I learned. It's all teachable. So
that's when it hit me that this is a new form
of human literacy. And it's like, you appreciate
where it came from, you know? Metal workers work
with metal. Glass workers work with glass. Artists
work with a canvas and paint. What do actors
work with? Granted, the first 2 ,100 years of
the first 2 ,500 years of Western acting has
been pretend. It's what people think acting is.
But Stanislavski changed the game. He made it
philosophical. So now we've gotten to the point
where these guys, what they did was they created
the chisels, the hammers, all the tools we need
to shape the marble that is the human mind and
emotions. And I'm saying is we just overlooked
it because who looks to the theater kids for
world changing knowledge, but it's there and
it's real. Well, there's a connection like automatically
as you were saying all that. There's a connection
automatically for people who are in the acting
world and those people who are just looking at
the actors on TV like automatically just to give
a little bit history of myself. I started acting
in 2000. were really active in 2002 in Atlanta,
Georgia, moved to Los Angeles. And I think I
started getting paid for my expertise at the
time in 2006, then made on network TV in 2008.
So I understand the world. And that's why I wanted
to have you on because I understand the world
of what you're talking about. And so just going
back to the connection of people who are not
in the acting world to the people who are when
someone's watching a television show, and they
connect with that person, they can tell if that
actors really being the actor, or the character,
or they're not because you I mean, you there's
a world of difference. And when you're pretending
that just doesn't work in real life. And on camera.
Even though it is pretending so somewhat, you're
actually being the character that you've taken
on. And so it really creates a real world for
someone. And when you connected that with entrepreneurship.
How did that work? Where were you mentally when
that happened? Well, it's a lot of different
ways because think about it, being an entrepreneur,
right? What do you need most times and not? Employees.
What is one thing that we fail at? Because every
job I've had has failed at building the employee.
They'll tell them all day long, what buttons
to push, you know, what levers to pull and stuff
like that, but they don't build them as a person.
If you actually give them the tools and techniques
to develop themselves, you make a stronger employee.
If you make a stronger employee, if they understand
their whys and what's and why they need to move
through life and how they can use this opportunity
you're giving them to build their life, you got
a better employee. You don't just have somebody
coming in pushing buttons and it's gonna cost
you money to hire or refire. You're developing
them. So like I said, these things go far beyond
just ourselves. It can go into the business world.
And two, if you're sharpening them, it's like
Stephen R. Covey, Seven Habits. You're sharpening
your saw. They're a part of your saw as an entrepreneur.
They're a part of your tools. I mean, they're
human resources, but they're still resources.
So if you're giving to them, they're going to
give back that good work because my employer's
looking out for me and trying to grow me as an
individual. And I'm going to reciprocate that
by, you know, taking care of his house. So that's
one major way that I feel that will just be exponentially
important to entrepreneurs because it's something
that's crazy overlooked. No job does that. How
does an entrepreneur go about doing that? It's
simple. All you got to do is because once you
practice these exercises, it's like it's as simple
as like if you're a yogi, somebody who loves
yoga, what do you do? You just share it with
your people. It's the same principle. It's just
the tools and techniques are different. They
make it tangible. It's kind of like when you
go into spiritual practice, everything's intangible.
It's oohs and ahhs. This isn't that. This is
A, B, C, and D. This is like the schematics of
how to do the things you need to do to grow and
develop your mind and emotions, how to read behavior,
how to break down a moment. And these are all
things that we overlook because we don't understand
the significance of it. So I'm saying is once
we get these things and we start just handing
them and just give it to them and start showing
that once you lead by example and they see it
in you, it's like anything else. Then they want
to replicate it. You give them the tools, they'll
do the work they need, but it is ultimately something
they have to do themselves because nobody can
do your own inner work but you. But giving them
a system will change the game. Yeah. Let me read
something to you that you wrote. So just kind
of open up. with what you're talking about here.
You said, I am making the argument that we should
be using modern day acting tools and techniques
to teach all people how to use their minds and
emotions more effectively. And you can support
this position by presenting scientific work done
across the United States of America in small
pockets that has produced data, which concurs
with what we're talking about now. What is that
scientific data that you can think you present
to people? Absolutely. Dr. Joseph Levy Moreno,
he is considered the father of psychodrama. What
this dude essentially did back in the 50s was
straight take acting techniques, put them in
group therapy, and start helping people because
he allowed because the thing is, when you have
one on one talk therapy, it's good, I'm not knocking
it. And he said, that's great, too. But what
he says once you put people in a group and have
them putting through scenes, it opened up different
Parts of them, you know it activate different
things it unlock different emotions or memories
And it helped them progress in that way because
it's a different kind of therapy Trauma drama
deals with basically teens who have dealt with
trauma and I refer to his refers engineer healing
These kids have dealt with trauma. So what it
does is they'll take these kids put them through
acting scenes in different traumas that they
are not experienced to so they can learn how
to build the tools and techniques to help them
through trauma then they can later take those
tools and techniques they learn and tackle their
own trauma when they've grown themselves more.
I'm trying to think what else there's a I don't
know if it's still there, but UC Irvine had a
college course that brought together the memory
center and the acting field and the psychology
department. And basically what they were trying
to do is teach actors, not just, you know, the
basic techniques, but how to create real emotion,
not real emotions, real memories. That's where
they're working with the memory center. And one
of the doctors said it was kind of like teaching
somebody the meaning of a song before you taught
them the song. So it's like another way of going
at it. And like I said, there's little pockets.
Elmhurst College, they have a program. I can't
remember the program, but I know that was one
that's there. Sense Theater, it works with kids
with autism. I think it's in Memphis. Trauma
Drama, I believe, is in Massachusetts. But Sense
Theater, basically what it does, it kind of pulls
back the curtain for kids with autism because
they have trouble reading social cues. So it's
kind of like a stage play versus improv. If you're
in a stage play or a movie, you have a script
to work off. That's where you're given. That's
what you break down. If you're an improv, you
don't have that. You have to understand the structure
of a play and how it works to do long form. So
what they're doing is teaching these kids with
autism, how the structure society works. So they
don't have to read the cues. They know how it
works. So it's giving them an edge on life. Like
I said, it's just a few of the examples that
are out there. Yeah. You know, it took me back
to the beginning of my acting career. You know,
I didn't know the therapy that it was giving
me, and I didn't know that I needed the therapy,
right? But I was not being whatever it was that
I was, the character that I was taking on. I
was acting. I was not fully immersed in the -
Presenting. I was presenting, you could say that.
There was a switch, you know, somewhere in that
space between beginning and actually booking
jobs, where there was something internal that
happened. And I was like, oh, this is what acting
is all about. You know what I mean? I could actually
feel the difference of what I'm just presenting
or actually being. Now in that space, I was like,
Things that I haven't dealt with or wasn't dealing
with in that character. I was able to bring that
stuff up and deal with it Do you think that's
what? Do you think that people should just go
and learn how to be in be that in acting classes
so they can deal with those kind of things in
their life well Short answer yes, but I think
it's a lot deeper than that honestly I think
we need to remove acting from it because acting
distracts people a lot The word itself? Yeah,
because a lot of people was like, why do I need
acting techniques? When someone says that to
me, it's like saying, okay, I have a screwdriver,
right? And I'm unscrewing a Toy Tonka truck.
That's like saying that I can't take that screwdriver
and go unscrew a panel in my Toyota truck. You
know what I mean? It's just a tool. So if we
look at it just tools, remove the acting and
say, these are what these things do, they shape
the mind, we realize there's a lot more. If I
can, you know the Stanislavski system, right?
Yes. Let me break it down for you. for your audience,
but I want to break down what each thing does.
Now, we know what we do as actors. This breaks
down a moment for us. What I'm saying is you
can use the Stanislavsky system the same way
a submarine uses sonar, because a submarine can't
see anything, right? So what it's got to do,
it sends out a ping, and that ping tells it where
the submarines are, where the surface is, where
ships are, where whales are, all that kind of
stuff. I'm saying is when you ever walk into
a situation, and you got these questions down
pat for me when I walk into a room it's just
like ping all these questions fire off it brings
back information so I can answer the I can answer
choices better in the moment now here's the seven
questions number one who am I this is the moment
in relation to you number two where am I this
is the moment in relation to the environment
you're in number three when is it this is the
moment in relation to time kind of like Am I
about to talk to my boss before he's had something
to eat? Am I about to get on the road before
rush hour? You have to think about things like
that. Number four, what do I want? This is the
moment in relation to purpose. Number five, why
do I want it? This is the moment in relation
to desire because if you don't know your what
and why, someone can jump in there, they can
hijack your what and make you do their why. Number
seven, How do I get it? This is the moment in
relation to action. And this is where people
fail a lot. You have to plan and make that action
happen. And number seven, what's in my way? The
moment in relation to obstacles. Like these are
life questions that people fail to ask themselves.
And I'm saying if you create this as a lifestyle
and you just ask these, it seems difficult at
first. Like, oh, I gotta ask myself these questions.
But think about this, something that we've all
experienced, the most all of us have experienced
as difficult, driving. The first time we got
behind the wheel of the car as a teenager, difficult,
we were screwing around. But now it's like, you
ever had that experience where you drove somewhere,
you don't know how you got there? Oh, yeah. It's
like automatic, right? Exactly. Because that's
a human phenomenon. That's how the mind works.
It takes information that you've done routinely,
creates a pattern, chunks it together and makes
it easier. It takes less energy to do it. So
if you do this, if you give this to kids when
they're little, By the time they get old enough,
it's just going to be the way they think. And
when they walk in room, ping, all this information
comes back. And in doing so, it will help you
think faster because you're just using that same
human phenomenon with the car that allows you
to use a car without thinking at it. But instead
of turning it to a task, you're turning it to
the way you think. And the more you do it, your
mind is just going to speed up. I know that because
I did it. Yeah. Here on The Thrival Journey,
we talk a lot about not just surviving, but thriving.
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of course, always, always, always consult your
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Now tap in and take your next step toward thriving.
How do you integrate that into This process right
like how do you integrate that into someone's
life? Like it's for someone who looks at it and
say, you know It might be good for you, but maybe
not may not work for me. How does How many choices
do you think you have in a day? Oh Okay, I couldn't
give you a number it's it's And this these most
people have no idea how many choices they have
because they don't look for those choices These
help people because they let you see between
the lines. They let you see the choices that
you would miss otherwise. You know, let's say
you're going into a job interview, right? Most
people go into that job interview for the first
time when they go to that job interview. I've
rehearsed it a hundred times in my head. You
know, I thought about it beforehand. Let's think
about another thing. How many generations of
people have gone through, have we sent our children
through adolescence, get struggling with emotion?
When for a hundred years now, we've had a system
where we can teach all those kids how to use
those emotions beforehand so they don't have
to go through that crazy situation of adolescence
where I don't know how to deal with my emotions.
We have this information and it affects all of
us. The simple fact is we all have a mind and
emotions. We just don't know how to use it. What
I'm saying is, well, first of all, science says
the human brain is the most powerful supercomputer
known to mankind, right? I'm arguing that we
can use these tools and techniques like Windows
11 or Linux Red Hat. This is the operating system
that allows the average layman person to interface
their mind and emotions in a way they had no
idea possible. How can entrepreneurs optimize
that? Well, you optimize in a lot of ways. If
you take these tools and techniques to heart,
like I said, you're going to think faster. You
can read people's behavior. Are you negotiating?
You do a lot of negotiating because you're an
entrepreneur, right? Business deals. People are
deceptive. If you study Meisner, now you know
how to read behavior so I can see if somebody's
lying to me before they can. Also, if I explore
all these different versions of myself, I can
recognize people as they're coming and you need
to do that because you have to be aware of people
as they're going because entrepreneurship is
about seeing what other people don't see. That's
the underlying thing they don't tell you about.
That's what makes an entrepreneur successful.
Being able to see what the average person can't
see right off the bat and that's what these tools
do. They pull back the curtain for life and let
you see all the little details that you wouldn't
see otherwise because we're not programmed to
see that and we're all programmed. Since birth,
at least here in the United States, we've all
gone through relatively the same educational
system that's programmed us to be the same person.
And we know that along with this, corporations
spend billions and billions of dollars to understand
and influence our behavior, how we think, how
we act. They pour that money into effect our
behavior. If you take these tools and techniques,
you negate that because you are no longer a puppet
for them to control. You have taken ownership
and advocacy of yourself and now you're creating
that authenticity that they can't replicate or
touch. This is about creating not just you, but
not your best self, but multiple versions of
yourself. What I'm hearing is there's such a
high level of awareness. That comes when you're
actually actually practicing these techniques
What do you say about that That's what that's
exactly what it is it's because I mean that's
that's really what theater is It's life heightened
you're creating that drama. So in its essence
when these guys created these tools and techniques
That's what they're creating it for to heighten
senses to heighten what you're doing So naturally
when you take these tools and techniques and
apply them to your life It's going to heighten
everything and that's what it does it it makes
you more passionate It makes you more intense
because now you're in control of those things
because these are your emotions You can feel
them because think about how society treats us.
We genderize emotions. These emotions are masculine
These emotions are feminine. That's hogwash all
emotions are human We should be able to feel
any emotion we want at any point in time and
little things We don't even realize we don't
come with a full box of crayons We grow and develop
our emotions as we go. And that's part of the
artist's job, is to give the non -artists new
emotions that they didn't know they have. That's
why when people leave the theater, they'll feel
things they don't know how they felt, because
it's the first time they felt those emotions.
So it's like instead of waiting for an artist
to give you those emotions now you're into the
seat and you can give yourself all the emotions
you want because you can create a space in your
head where you can exist as different versions
of you and You can experience and feel the world
in different ways This is a way to gain ultimate
empathy and we do it already. It's we know it
is code -switching. You familiar with the term?
Cool. I've heard it It's it's been popularized
with like Let's say like there's a kid from an
urban environment going to an affluent neighborhood
So they'll change the way they speak and act
to fit into that job Well, I mean we do it all
of us do it in a sense because the way I speak
to my grandmother's gonna be different than when
I speak to my buddies at the bar while I'm drinking,
you know What I'm saying is we take these tools
and techniques create all these different versions
of ourselves Essentially hyper code switching
and we can step in and out of them because it's
the philosophy of instead of because there's
no best self that I can create of me that's gonna
fit in every single circumstance. Like, I wouldn't
wear a tuxedo to the beach more times than not
because it doesn't fit. Like, if I was going
to a wedding, sure, but other than that, I wouldn't.
I would change what I wear. What I'm saying is,
if you create different versions of you using
these tools and techniques, now you have a whole
wardrobe of selves to jump into, and when you
do, let's say you have a problem. You can just
click through these different versions of you
and the problem will look different. Therefore,
different answers will pop up because you have
a different mental and emotional makeup to look
at that problem. You don't think that just. If
someone says this, not saying I'm saying this,
but just as a, just as a pushback, right? Um,
you have different versions of yourself, but
are you missing the. the main you, like you as
your best self? No. Going into these different
situations? No, because they're all me. These
are different parts of me that I've grown and
built. You know, it's like I said, I wouldn't
just keep putting on clothes and clothes as I
get them new ones. It wouldn't make sense. Just
keep stacking on different things and this one
perfect all best self for you. It doesn't make
sense. You need flexibility. You need to be able
to move around, because if you do, how are you
going to see? Again, being an entrepreneur is
about seeing. If you allow yourself the flexibility
to see through different mindsets, through different
eyes, that's a gift, as opposed to just focusing
on this is my best self, this is the way I'm
always going to think, this is the way I'm always
going to look. That's static. That's not a good
way to be in any sense. I don't know where in
entrepreneurship That's when you're trying to
build and grow. That's, I mean, granted for the
business wise, but I'm talking about thinking,
you know, in that mindset, you don't want to
be a rock. You want your business to be a rock.
But as the entrepreneur, as the leader, as the
guiding vision, you want to be flexible in thought.
So instead of packing everything into one version,
I'm saying let's switch gears. Yeah. Yeah. So
that's what I'm saying is like, we have the tools
and techniques to use it. It's just been overlooked.
Yeah, I get that. I was looking at like, just
in a day, right? Like, I'm focusing on business,
and I do multiple things in my businesses. But
then I have my nephews that love to be over here
at my house, right? And the way I am with them
to make sure that they're getting, you know,
the full me at that time is different than me
talking to, you know, one of my contractors,
you know what I mean? If there's a difference
in who I'm being for them, then I am for my family.
But in that I'm still being, you know, a great
version of myself, but it is different. There's
difference there. And you talked about the mindset.
And what's the biggest mindset shift people need
to make or have? to tap into their full potential.
That there's mentally and emotionally, by and
large, there's nothing separating us. I don't
care. The richest cat on the planet. Honestly,
most rich people are not that intelligent. And
there are brilliant people who are underneath
the poverty level. I agree with you. And I laugh
because I just had a conversation with the producer
today in our meeting. That's what I'm saying.
It's like that's the biggest hurdle is that Well
that that one and two things that right there
that mindset and also the I Get I get never quitting
if you stick to something you have convictions
who don't quit, but if you're searching Then
you should be able to quit because this is something.
I don't think people do enough. It's like wow
They'll jump into something and men a lot because
like I did it I'm committed and I'm stuck to
it and they'll do something they hate For decades
I've known dudes that'll do that just because
they started it I gotta see it through now if
I'm searching in life if I want to find purpose
I want to wine taste life I want to jump through
a bunch of different things take a sip if I like
it spit it out if I don't I'll buy if I like
it I'll buy a bottle You know if you jump into
something and just stick with it, then that's
yours now It's like, well, what are all the stuff
you're missing? If you get out there and try
a bunch of because the internet, that's the magic
of you can find anything nowadays. Yeah. Get
out there. Look for something that you wouldn't
think you would touch. Because like I said, I
got out of the Marine Corps and got into voice
lessons. And it wasn't because I had a plan or
I had goals. It's because I'm impulsive. I just
jump into the next thing and it leads me. I mean,
there's so many things that I've done that people
say, how'd you do it? It's like, like one example.
When I was acting, I went to New York, I started
acting 2003, went to New York in 2005. In 2007,
April 2007, I wrote the first lines to my second
play. Five months later, I had produced it on
a New York stage. And everyone was like, how
the hell did you do it that fast with the cast?
And it wasn't a black, it was a black box studio,
but I didn't know what black box meant. So I
built the whole stage. And it was just, and when
they asked me, it's like, well, I wasn't smart
enough. I wasn't supposed to be able to do it,
you know, because I wasn't trained. It was, I
was a jarhead. I just knew to take, I had the
next step in front of me and that's what I was
going to take. And every next step I did led
me down that way. But again, it was impulse.
It wasn't gold. We just block so much in our
minds because we believe that the system's told
us, it's like there's people who will make it
and you're probably not one of them, so stay
on the bottom. No, nothing separates us. All
you got to do is break through that mindset.
Use these tools and techniques to grow and develop
yourself and you can be whoever you want. Granted,
success is a little different because it's the
world. But this is a different kind of success.
This is a success that you can sleep at night
with. That's pretty powerful, man. When you were
saying all of that, I was like, this is something
that's intrinsic. It's a development for your
greatness, for your purpose, or even if your
purpose changes, you use the word impulsive.
But I would say that there's a lot of people
that are impulsive. that end up finding their
purpose when, you know, they're in that impulsive
state. But you fulfilled on what it was that
you wanted to do in a theater. Like, what was
the draw to the theater that was like, or writing
your playwright? I said, I want to make this
happen. Like I said, it's it's not so much to
draw the goal because with the play That was
born from one reason. It was a roommate of mine
It was her birthday and I wanted to I didn't
have any money. So I wanted to give her the gift
of monologue She was an actress. So I created
this character Ileana Lopez and I wrote four,
you know good sized monologues for and it was
just a part of the story and then After I gave
it to her I had it so I just kept on going with
it and within like three more weeks I had this
script done So it's like, it wasn't something
I was thinking about, I just ran with it. I find
myself in situations and I just need to act.
And not act in the sense of perform, but just,
I mean, I guess it's the same, like I said, the
word gets in the way because instead of act,
I just needed to be. Because that's what acting
has become. It's not about acting anymore. It's
about becoming, being. So that's where I'm in.
I'm in a constant state of needing to be, but
I don't always know what I need to be because
I spent, because like I said, I started this
when I was four. So I have so many different
versions of myself that I switch in and out constantly
throughout the day, because in order to experience
life, I have to live life through them. So I'll
get into these versions of me and look at the
world through them. whatever I'm doing, and I'll
just switch through. So it's like I said, that's
just how I live. And because it's the way I live,
a byproduct is I just do stuff. If someone's
listening to you now, I know we kind of talked
about it. And we talked, you talked about being,
and there's a difference between pretending to
be and I know we talked about it a little bit,
but just to go a little deeper, how can someone
who's entrepreneur entrepreneur or not? They
can tell the difference when they're becoming
Those the things that we're talking about or
they're pretending I think one of the one of
the easiest and best indicators is one we won't
look at Because the honest day like I've known
this and I've seen it in other people when you're
BS and yourself, you know It doesn't matter what
it is. You know, you're BS yourself. Yeah, you
may have a wall up because it's something there's
there's a Cognitive dissidence you're going on
that you need but at the end of the day if You
sit alone with yourself. You will be simple and
truthful. You'll see that and that's the indicator
It's like when you're doing something and we
have to practice that first because it's that's
like it's like going to the gym You got to think
about do this work like going to the gym building
your emotions building your mind You have to
do these things you have to exercise them So
if you go to this place where you're alone with
yourself exercise that Find a place where you're
simple and truthful. Whenever you're in that
situation, go right back there and the bullshit
flag will come up or go down. You'll sense it
right then. And if you smell that stink, you
know, wow, this isn't it. I'm not feeling it.
And two, another factor, when you start exercising
your emotions, I promise you, people will start
saying two words. They will say, wow, you're
impassioned. Oh, man, you're intense. Passion
and intense will come up a lot. That is another
flag right there that you're doing the right
thing. Because if you're pouring out this passion,
emotional passion and intensity, you're infecting
other people. And that's one thing you need as
an entrepreneur, because that's how you wrap
people around your finger. You infect them. The
best way to infect them, learn how your emotions
work, because that's what we do. It's like, are
you familiar with the it factor? Yes. Can you
break it down? I've never tried because when
people talk about the it factor is something
that's pretty intangible. All right, let me let
me rattle this off real quick. Go ahead. I'm
saying this five things. If you learn these five
skills, you can have the effect. Active listening,
charm, intensity, generosity, and poise. So one
more time. Active listening. So basically active
listening is hearing what the other person is
saying truly. You're paying attention to what
they're saying to understand, not to repeat back.
Charm. Charm is infection. It's just that nice
personality where you're warm, you're friendly,
you're caring. Intensity. Again, that's that
emotional passion that you're pouring out. You're
laying into people. They feel that intensity.
They get infected by it, right? Generosity, and
this isn't generosity with money. This is generosity
with your time, with your kindness. I see you
as a human being. You matter to me and I care
about you. That generosity with your spirit.
And poise. Poise is one of those things where
you have your body doing work for you. Where
you got somebody walking across a red carpet,
you know how to stand, you're paying attention,
you're focused. You're not focused, but you understand
that my body has to sit a certain way in order
for people to take me at hand. It's kind of like
I heard there's like certain people who look,
they'll go through like coaches and stuff like
that. Celebrities, not celebrities, but political
officials. They'll go through the same thing
so they can stand right, so they can walk right.
So it's something we haven't taken the time to
break down, but when you break it down, once
you understand it, now it becomes teachable.
And it takes the intangible to something tangible
for a mental understanding. And I was affected
by just those five steps because I was listening
for Um, if you know, not necessarily me, but
who would have that? And I mean, it could be
automatic and automatically generated from just
who you are. So it could be taught. That's the
key thing. Some people are born with it, but
everybody can learn it. Yeah. You know, that's,
I mean, dude, I'm sitting here. I'm gonna call
you dude, but I'm sitting here and I'm like,
man, that's pretty powerful. And anybody that's
listening, I mean, that's really take that and
just apply it to yourself. Just go ahead and
wash over it. Where did that come from? Where
did you come at those steps? Because I really
believe that that may be actually what equals
the it factor. Well, it's just one of those things
where there's no real definition for it. So anybody
can come up with their own. So it's just over
this lifetime of accumulating all this information,
plugging it all down and honest to God, my my
ghostwriter helped me out with it too, because
I got to see the Godfather movies. Yeah. When
I handed my manuscripts, I wrote 120 ,000 words,
he cut it down to 60. But when I handed him my
manuscript, it was Fredo. When he handed me my
manuscript back, it was Michael. Like it was
like, I read the book after you hand it back,
like, bro, who is this guy? It was, but it is,
it was just one of those things where it was,
it was a couple of different things, but it all
boils down to the same thing. It's like, this
isn't as intangible as we thought. It's a lot
more tangible. Like in my book, the third chapter
is referred to as the intangible toolbox. And
it breaks down Stanislavsky, Meisner, Hagen,
improv, and it's just like some of the exercises.
I mean, there's many more, but It's taking what
once was intangible, we can't really understand
the spirit, the oohs and the ahs, and saying,
nah, man, these cats, they broke it down. Because
that's what they did. This isn't a get rich scheme.
This isn't something somebody's coming up to
get your mind pumped up. No. Artists dedicated
their lives. These were masters who were respected,
dedicated their lives to their craft. Their craft
just happened to be the human mind and emotions.
And we don't have a mind and emotions for the
stage and one for life. It's one and the same.
So the tools work. Yeah. I mean, I think it's
interesting, especially, I mean, we're recording
this on, what, since March 8th. And it's interesting
that you're saying all this because there's so
much mess and I won't keep it nonpartisan, no
politics or anything, but there's a lot of stuff
that's happening that is tearing people apart.
And I think that in what you're saying, there
could be a lot of problem solving once we really
get just connected with who we are as people
and not. pretend to be somebody else or pretend
to be somebody else for somebody else. Honestly,
I'll say this right here, and it made me dip
in a little in politics, but I don't mean it
to. If we study these techniques, we'll pull
back the curtain and we'll realize something
that we're overlooking. This isn't a culture
war. It's not a civil war. It's a class war.
The left and right are connected to the same
body, the 1%. Once we realize that, we'll stop
fighting each other because the The ups created
the left and right so the downs can fight each
other. The only reason Democrats and Republicans
are fighting is because they don't understand
what's going on enough to know that they're all
being manipulated. So once we take that into
our hands, because that's also another problem.
We say we the people on the Constitution, but
that's not what it is. We vote people in, and
that's basically just being a bystander in our
government. You know, we the people means that
All Americans, all civil offices from US president
down to county comptroller should be rotated
in and out by all Americans. Nobody should be
doing two terms, three terms. There's too many
of us. Once we start rotating everybody in and
out, it'll change the way we live because the
people on top will have to go back to the bottom.
So they're not gonna screw things up. It's up
to us. But once we realize that, once we unlock
all of our best selves, we'll see the world in
a whole different way and manipulation won't
handle us that way. I agree with that. Um, and
I won't, I won't outskirt a little bit to outside
the circle. I do, I do do another show called
the grit where that would be something that we
could talk about. But, um, but so how do, how
can, again, this, this podcast is, you know,
aspiring entrepreneur, beginning business owners,
how can aspiring entrepreneurs balance the logic
and emotion? when making decisions. So we're
kind of talking about that now. Again, that's
what these tools are for, to that balance, because
how can you achieve balance if you don't exercise?
If you don't exercise your mind and emotions,
how can you ever get there? So the fact that
you do these exercises are, let me just hit one
last thing. I want to read you a list of soft
skills that are either learned directly or indirectly
by these tools and techniques, and then tell
me as an entrepreneur how many of these would
help. Presence, situational awareness, initiative,
grit, projection, wit, breeziness, motivation,
emotional regulation, empathy, critical thinking,
teamwork, public speaking, problem solving, creativity,
listening, independence, mindfulness, preparation.
organization, goal orientation, interpersonal
skills, communication. Like I said, that's a
short list. It's a bundle. Yeah, this is stuff
that we aren't taught systemically. But by doing
these tools and techniques, you're going to learn
them. It's like I said before, it's like when
we gave the world written literacy in the form
of language, changed the world. When we gave
the world numerical literacy in the form of mathematics,
changed the world. Why wouldn't it change the
world if we gave them emotional mental literacy?
It's just a new form of literacy to add on the
table and all the skills that open up with it
will be transformative. Because again, it's dealing,
this is the information that deals with the supercomputer
that is your brain. What's your big game? Say
again? What's your big game? My big game? I don't
know that I have one. It's because this isn't
I'm not the hero this idea needs. I'm the hobo
it has. I shouldn't be doing this. But it's like
one of those things where I would like to be
doing other things with my life, but the magnitude
of this idea that sits on me, it's taken over.
I can't overlook it. I can't say, I'm just gonna
do my thing. So I don't know if that's my game,
but it is the charge that I have, you know? It
fell in my lap and now until I see it to a better
place, I have to carry it. I can't not. It just
doesn't compute with me. What do you hope to
see with what you're sharing, you being the messenger
for this message? What changes do you hope to
see happen? As a global thing, I would like to
see everyone use it. On a minor scale, I would
like to see it implemented in the school systems.
alongside reading and math. Because like I said,
if we do this, we're going to raise a whole new
generation of mentally and emotionally capable
people we've never seen before. But on the magnitude
further than that, it's like if you think of
a country with a small nation that doesn't have
many resources, if they took this information
to heart, they would just quantify their resources
in human minds, human mental and emotional output.
Because now you would have a nation of people
who could see things most, it would be like a
superpower. like Wakanda in a sense. You have
a whole nation of people that can see, feel,
and do things that most other people can't because
they took the time to practice. It's kind of
like a Shaolin temple. You go in there, you're
gonna get housed because these guys spent their
entire lives practicing kung fu. If you get a
nation, like a micro nation, that all their people
took this to heart and practiced it all the live
long day, I guarantee you it'd be like a little
nation with a superpower. Just a superpower.
That's yeah, I like that. I like that man were
you talking about Are you pointing to emotional
intelligence? When you're saying yes, that is
that it's it's not all it's much more than that
But that is 100 % in this emotional intelligence.
Yes emotional regulation Okay now that Again,
I'm gonna use the word acting if the acting techniques
were incorporated into business training though
How do you think that the companies would change?
Well, I think the best place to implement it
would probably be through HR just because this
is human resources. But it would change the way
people treat each other, the way they behave.
If you start teaching empathy, it will change
the corporate environment because the corporate
environment has become very cutthroat. You can't
trust people a lot nowadays because how can you
share ideas openly in a place where this guy
might snag my idea? You know, I mean, I don't
know there's any truth to it. I'll just use an
example, but the whole Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg
and the, the, the fire moss twins, whether the
twins were like, you know, I don't know if that's
true or not, but it's that culture does exist
where if you start telling you like even in the
film world, you have a screenplays, you don't
want to start telling your stories out there.
Cause somebody else is going to write that story.
And I think that's true. Yeah, exactly. We see
it prevalent everywhere. If we start teaching
these skills, emotional intelligence, cause emotional
intelligence isn't just, I mean, Some people
it's just a word. What does that mean to some
people? Emotional intelligence is about you don't
have all your emotions. You know, it's like if
you look at the script, the script is a coloring
book. Your soul's the box of crayons. Some people
have eight. Some people have 64. Some people
have 128. But that person who has eight can grow
to 128. It's just how much are you feeling? What
are you experiencing? Because there's a book.
Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett how emotions are made
the secret life of the brain I think it's called
where she presents the theory of constructed
emotions to supplant the old theory of the triune
brain Whereas she's presenting using data like
computers and stuff because she's a brain scientist
showing how emotions created through the entire
brain You know, it's not just the reptilian brain
the mammalian brain and the other one So it's
like we have science to support this evidence
that We're doing something here with these emotions,
how it's changing the mind, it's changing the
way we think. And if we do that, we implement
it into the corporate structure, we'll change
our corporate world because now we'll care more
about each other. And people always say it's
weak. I don't think that's weak. That's how we
build civilizations. That's how we build strong
foundations. That's how we build families, cultures,
clans. So if we start teaching this to people
in a business environment, like the leader, the
entrepreneur says, this is how we're going to
be, we're going to look out for each other. They'll
follow because that's what their leader is saying.
Now, if their leader is saying, screw them, we're
going to get her, we can't for herself. What
do you think your people are going to be? So
it's what are you giving your family as an entrepreneur?
What are you feeding them mentally and emotionally
to grow and develop them? Because it's not just
about growing you as the entrepreneur. You can
grow you all day long and have poisonous troops
and you're not going to get anywhere. If you
grow you and your troops and lead like a true
leader, you'll have a force that can fight anywhere.
that connects back to what you're talking about
like uh like the magical nation, right? Uh huh.
And it's not only caring for yourself but caring
for yourself and the people that you that you're
in connection with that's connected to you. But
you can't act it. You have to be it. You have
to be it. Yeah. I I mean that's it's not even
like confusing. It's not deep. I mean it is deep.
But it's not where it's not so deep where you
just it's not understandable. I think the most
profound thing is it's been overlooked for 100
years. That that would be profound. But it's
been here. It's been here. You know, hiding in
plain sight. And you're out there, you're sharing
it. And I appreciate it. I appreciate you coming
on the show. I have one question for you. What's
one piece of advice you give to someone struggling?
with self -doubt, with emotions, you know, in
their entrepreneurial journey or just in the
journey in general. Be curious. And I say that
because in life, we have insecurities. What do
we call insecurities in acting, in the acting
world? Generally refer to, go ahead. No, go ahead.
I'm sorry. Generally refer to it as stage fright.
When you're insecure, Your state's right. Why
do you have states right because you haven't
answered all the moments You haven't answered
all the questions. You don't have all the knowledge
you need to be in that moment if you're curious
You start answering these questions you fill
in all those so you're not gonna have those because
that's where insecurities are born from those
empty spaces in us Why do you have those empty
spaces? What do you fill it with needless junk
or actually developing yourself into someone
strong enough to answer those situations? It's
like There's a quote if you ever hear that I
used to think this was the old military quote
But it blew my mind how far back it goes and
it goes back to a poet. It was a Greek military
poet named Arkelia Coase and it was uh, oh I
got right here We don't rise to the level of
our expectations. We fall to the level of our
training So yeah, yeah, we start as a military.
I mean get is a military thing I just didn't
realize it went back to a poet 2 ,500 years ago,
but that's what I'm saying is like If you're
curious, you're going to grow and develop yourself.
And if you grow and develop yourself, you're
not going to be insecure in those places because
you're actually answering the questions you need
to know. So you don't have to have that insecurity.
You don't have that stage fright anymore. Don't
be curious. So be curious. I'm curious to know
how people get in touch with you. There's a couple
of different ways. I have a website. It's www.
TBC enterprises .com. That's Tango Bravo Charlie
TBC. I wrote a book. It's uh, sorry. It's called
all your best selves. Uh, you can get it on Amazon.
Uh, that's the only place right now at Kindle
or paperback. I'm also on, uh, what do you call
it? Social media. I started that a little over
a year ago, a little less than a year ago. Last
May I started it. Um, I have Instagram, Facebook,
YouTube, TikTok, and it's all under the, uh,
handle soy candy. S O I C A N D I E. Oh, that's
what that is. Okay. I was trying to figure out.
I was like, so yeah, I didn't know what it was.
But it's cool. Now I know. Again, it was impulse.
The name just popped up. And you have your own
podcast as well, right? Actually, no, I don't
have a podcast. I just interview. I use Podmatch.
So it's like all 20 have been on different podcasts.
Well, keep it up, man. Really share this knowledge.
I'm trying with people man. I think is I think
it's really good for the people for people to
really get in connection with who they are as
people like the emotional regulation, emotional
intelligence or and really being curious about
life and just being able to have critical thought
think for yourself. But you know, just become
the greatness that you are. Anything else you
would you like to say to people? Honestly, I
probably can go on for a couple days, but I want
to kill that time. No, we're good, man. Yeah,
like I said, it was just, it's a great experience.
I really appreciate your energy and being on
the show. And it's, like I said, I really feel
like this is going to bring us to a new future.
We just got to take it to heart. Keep sharing,
man. Keep sharing, Jim. I mean, it's the tools,
the techniques that we talked about, you know,
for anybody listening, go back, listen to it.
take notes and connect get connected with Jim
and get that book. And Jim, appreciate you being
on the podcast. You know, it was very enlightening
and talking to another fellow actor that has
this kind of thought is pretty, pretty cool.
I appreciate you. So thank you. And all the listeners
and watchers. Make sure you go to Instagram or
Facebook and I thrive thrive world journey podcast.
group. And as we always say about this time,
make thriving your new normal. Thanks again,
Joe. Thank you. Have a great day. Before you
go, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for
being a part of the Thrive Bull journey. Every
time you show up here, you're choosing growth,
clarity, and the deeper work of becoming who
you're meant to be in this world. And if you're
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what's next. So you can grab the guide and book
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not just go through the motions. Let's really
walk this path on purpose. I appreciate you.
And like we always say, let's make thriving our
new normal. And I'll talk to you soon.