WEBVTT 00:00:01.400 --> 00:00:04.320 Welcome back to Keeping It Real On Purpose, where 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:07.000 we stop talking about change and start building 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.039 the life we deserve. Stop telling yourself it's 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:13.820 too late to change that damn song. You've been 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:16.219 programmed for structure, but your soul is begging 00:00:16.219 --> 00:00:20.019 for rhythm. Most people quit when their plan 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:24.679 A fails, but our guest today didn't quit. He 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:27.960 pivoted from Air Force to the airwaves. As a 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:32.270 veteran, a scholar, an athlete, and a prolific 00:00:32.270 --> 00:00:35.789 songwriter whose life is proof that discipline 00:00:35.789 --> 00:00:40.710 and dreams aren't mutual exclusive. We are here 00:00:40.710 --> 00:00:43.869 to talk about the real resilience in the ultimate 00:00:43.869 --> 00:00:47.490 journey of self -discovery. So please welcome 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:50.850 songwriter, musician, and veteran Jonathan Steele. 00:00:51.969 --> 00:00:54.490 Yes, thank you so much. I'm glad to be on the 00:00:54.490 --> 00:00:57.869 show. I am glad you were here today. So I'm really 00:00:57.869 --> 00:01:00.250 excited because it's such a myriad of things 00:01:00.250 --> 00:01:04.049 that you got going on. Your background is incredibly 00:01:04.049 --> 00:01:08.510 rich. Air Force veteran, degrees in liberal arts 00:01:08.510 --> 00:01:12.790 and exercise science. That's the first time I 00:01:12.790 --> 00:01:15.450 ever heard of that, exercise science. And now 00:01:15.450 --> 00:01:19.230 a musician with over a hundred lyric compositions. 00:01:20.010 --> 00:01:23.010 Most people struggle to commit to one path. What's 00:01:23.010 --> 00:01:26.560 the biggest mind shift required? to go from the 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.739 rigid discipline of military service and scholarship 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:34.459 to embracing the vulnerability and rhythm of 00:01:34.459 --> 00:01:38.219 a creative life. Oh, I also believe, you know, 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:42.859 it takes to endure things to get more creative 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:46.019 and to go through a journey that maybe that's 00:01:46.019 --> 00:01:49.500 not where God wanted you to be. So that that 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:52.540 part of your journey may have ended quicker than 00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:56.079 you wanted to. But I believe I got more creative 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:00.019 from the experiences I had in the military and 00:02:00.019 --> 00:02:04.760 I'm trying to I've been I have my own radio show 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:10.360 on artists first radio since 2019 so and Z man 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:12.919 the host he says I don't think it's money driving 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:17.039 you to do this, you know, so and and I just have 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:20.680 a it's my way of giving back even more back to 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:26.199 people and I believe If you want something bad 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:28.599 enough, you have to keep going for it and not 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:32.580 quit. Determination, motivation is important 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:36.879 in positive people that come along your path. 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:42.199 Sometimes the people you hang out with, even 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:45.539 if it's negative or positive, you can write things 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:49.539 based on that. It's creative, but it's creative. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:56.020 I can turn negativity into comical stuff, you 00:02:56.020 --> 00:03:00.280 know what I mean? Negativity into comical. Or 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:05.719 like sports like bowling, like I made it in the 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:10.039 PBA, so I haven't bowled in a while, but all 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.659 that hard work, like I always had a personality 00:03:12.659 --> 00:03:15.039 to try to be the best at everything when I was 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:19.599 younger, you know, about 16, 17, 18 years old. 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:25.620 And it carried it carried on into I slowed down 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:27.960 some you know because of health health conditions, 00:03:28.020 --> 00:03:33.280 but right I still believe that your like I said 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:39.259 your experiences from medical from You know employment 00:03:39.259 --> 00:03:41.840 from people you hang out with from things you 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:45.120 watch on TV from your relationship with God and 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:49.460 Jesus all those things plays in a fact of And 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:53.360 things just come to me when I write them. It 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:56.139 just comes to me. It's gotten easier and easier 00:03:56.139 --> 00:04:01.400 and easier. Yeah. Yeah. I also believe that, 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:04.900 too, the experiences we had. But what I really 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:07.500 like about your experience altogether, you went 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:11.919 from one extreme to the next. And it's showing 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:16.500 me that your purpose changes throughout life. 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:23.560 how you embraced because I rarely see men, I 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:27.079 guess around music, I rarely see men really talk 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:32.939 about being that creative with music, like writing 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:35.339 lyrics. I rarely see that, bringing out that 00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:38.199 creative part. And I get so excited when I see 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:41.519 people kind of do that because I'm a writer and 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:44.279 I just write all the time. And I'm like, I can't 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:47.339 be by myself, the only one, you know, but My 00:04:47.339 --> 00:04:49.639 friend put it in perspective and she said, well, 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:52.899 when an artist draws, right? They draw many pictures. 00:04:53.459 --> 00:04:56.019 You're just a writer who doesn't write much, 00:04:56.019 --> 00:04:58.860 you know? And I was like, oh, that's really great, 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:06.579 you know? But you embracing your creative side 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:09.879 had to come from some vulnerability somewhere. 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:14.939 When did it start? Oh, when I first started writing, 00:05:15.310 --> 00:05:18.529 I wasn't very good at it, but probably back when 00:05:18.529 --> 00:05:23.550 I was 16, 17 years old and the first style of 00:05:23.550 --> 00:05:25.410 writing that I had, I don't know if you've heard 00:05:25.410 --> 00:05:29.949 of Weird Al Yankovitch. Oh, of course. Come on. 00:05:31.810 --> 00:05:36.610 I made fun of songs. Come on. Yes, I made fun 00:05:36.610 --> 00:05:43.589 of songs back then. Like I have some songs like 00:05:44.540 --> 00:05:47.339 Bob Seger's Turn the Page, I have a song called 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:51.079 Turn the Tire, and it's in songs like Friends 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:53.500 in Low Places, I have a song called Friends in 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:56.120 Feral or Stairway to Heaven, Stairway to Goodwill 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:58.920 as an example, like just comical. I don't mean 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:02.560 anything offensive. It can have offensive stuff 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.459 in it, but I only mean it in a comical sense, 00:06:06.740 --> 00:06:12.550 not to hate anybody or, you know. But that's 00:06:12.550 --> 00:06:16.829 where it started from. And I crafted that. It 00:06:16.829 --> 00:06:20.550 started, like I said, back probably in 1996, 00:06:20.610 --> 00:06:25.829 97, because I'm 44 now and probably back when 00:06:25.829 --> 00:06:30.629 I was 13, 14, 15, 16 years old. And the first 00:06:30.629 --> 00:06:33.329 time I ever had a demo done with a demo company 00:06:33.329 --> 00:06:41.980 was in 2000 or 2001. I was highly motivated back 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:44.560 then. I wanted to do it. I wanted to do everything. 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:49.060 I just, I didn't want to do that. Everything, 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:54.000 everything. Yeah. And then, yeah. Uh huh. But 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:57.379 yeah, that's great. Yes. I, I'd say this all 00:06:57.379 --> 00:07:00.540 started, you know, like I said, back in the nineties. 00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:06.959 So, okay. Okay. Your life is a story of continuous 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:11.709 growth and exploration. I know a key component 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:14.449 of that is self -discovery. For our listeners 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:17.269 that feel stuck in a career or identity, they've 00:07:17.269 --> 00:07:21.209 outgrown. How do you manage to manage the fear 00:07:21.209 --> 00:07:24.629 of starting over? You mean from the service when 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:29.009 I go out? Yeah, with every aspect of your career, 00:07:29.629 --> 00:07:34.970 it's like a blossoming flower. It's so versatile. 00:07:35.230 --> 00:07:38.209 So how do you... get the energy to start over 00:07:38.209 --> 00:07:42.790 in a new project or a new chapter. Well, I believe 00:07:42.790 --> 00:07:47.750 when the more that you endure and just like some 00:07:47.750 --> 00:07:50.490 biblical figures in the past where they like 00:07:50.490 --> 00:07:54.810 know Job and you lose everything and you say, 00:07:54.970 --> 00:07:57.509 how am I going to get out of this? And it's the 00:07:57.509 --> 00:08:01.389 resilience. you get to a point where you've lost 00:08:01.389 --> 00:08:03.449 everything in life and then you have to start 00:08:03.449 --> 00:08:06.329 all over and everything comes back to you 10 00:08:06.329 --> 00:08:09.850 times greater than when you lost everything so 00:08:09.850 --> 00:08:15.829 and what like from going from jobs to the military 00:08:15.829 --> 00:08:19.310 to college to you know songwriting's been going 00:08:19.310 --> 00:08:22.449 on for a while but I this is this is more my 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:29.019 passion and I just I have some Wait, and I've 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:30.839 gotten better and better and better where I could 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:32.679 have just folded up and saying I ain't doing 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:34.759 anything I'm just gonna sit on the couch, but 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:39.000 it's my personality my ability from God myself 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:44.600 and positive people around me and just the I 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.799 Have like a good treatment team at the VA hospital 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:50.480 They helped me get everything going back to normal 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.860 after I was sidetracked with a lot of illnesses 00:08:52.860 --> 00:08:56.360 and still dealing with them But I just feel that 00:08:56.570 --> 00:09:01.549 there's more to life than just when one part 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:04.409 doesn't work, you got to try something else. 00:09:05.389 --> 00:09:10.450 You keep getting pulled back down, then you get 00:09:10.450 --> 00:09:13.149 back up and keep going. It's just something built 00:09:13.149 --> 00:09:16.529 in me. Just like when I was in the service discipline 00:09:16.529 --> 00:09:19.450 to do all that exercise, people thought it was 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:22.870 punishment, but I actually enjoyed it. It just 00:09:22.870 --> 00:09:28.950 built inside of me. just continuous perseverance 00:09:28.950 --> 00:09:31.370 and continuous thriving. Right, that's important. 00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:34.710 Yeah. Perseverance is really, really important. 00:09:35.110 --> 00:09:38.389 I mean, and that comes from, you know, from internally 00:09:38.389 --> 00:09:42.549 in your gut, you know? And self -discovery, you 00:09:42.549 --> 00:09:46.389 know, you had to have some type of, you know, 00:09:46.429 --> 00:09:50.230 I guess chispa to kind of discover each chapter, 00:09:50.330 --> 00:09:53.289 each change in your life. And you know, have 00:09:53.289 --> 00:09:55.549 some like, you know, like a wondering like, oh, 00:09:55.690 --> 00:09:57.889 this is going to be great, you know, and, and 00:09:57.889 --> 00:10:00.850 how did you, how did that come about? Like how 00:10:00.850 --> 00:10:03.950 that self discovery part, like just getting the 00:10:03.950 --> 00:10:06.970 will to do it. How did that come about? That 00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:10.570 was a positive step back, probably when I was, 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:13.649 uh, I would say the first time that I really 00:10:13.649 --> 00:10:16.049 changed everything would go back to fifth, sixth 00:10:16.049 --> 00:10:21.269 grade when my Yes, my mom put me through a summer 00:10:21.269 --> 00:10:24.370 school with her because I was I was up and down 00:10:24.370 --> 00:10:27.570 when I was younger with my grades and when my 00:10:27.570 --> 00:10:32.370 mom did she did a summer school with me and and 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:34.830 after that time I started getting on the honor 00:10:34.830 --> 00:10:37.029 roll all the time my grades started changing 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:42.690 my attitude changed and Sometimes like for instance 00:10:42.690 --> 00:10:45.700 when with with the service when I Like when I 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:48.100 went to it the first time, I did not care for 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:51.279 it. I didn't like it. And then when I went in 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:53.500 two more times and actually the third time, I 00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:58.700 actually enjoyed it because my attitude changed. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.220 And that's the same way when I would say things 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:03.320 have changed. The starting point, what I would 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:06.580 say was back in the fifth, the fifth, sixth grade, 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:09.120 fourth, fifth, sixth grade when my mom's summer 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:12.019 school. You kept that going, that self discovery 00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:17.740 going. Yes, that was a big part of it. And that 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:20.620 was a huge part. My parents played a big part 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:22.840 of that. Because they always said, if you want 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:25.639 something, you got to work for it. Nothing was 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:30.580 handed to me or my siblings or my parents or 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:33.700 anything. They've always been hard workers, and 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:36.899 nothing's been given to any of us. So that's 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:42.950 where I picked that up from. Okay, for my audience 00:11:42.950 --> 00:11:50.309 who say, and I know they say it a lot, it's probably 00:11:50.309 --> 00:11:54.230 too late for me. In their 40s, 50s, and 60s, 00:11:54.230 --> 00:11:56.110 it's probably too late for me to pursue such 00:11:56.110 --> 00:12:00.190 a passionate artistic dream. What would you say 00:12:00.190 --> 00:12:04.990 to that? I would say it's not too late. If you 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:07.230 refer to the Bible, there's biblical figures 00:12:07.230 --> 00:12:10.309 that God used when they were We're late in life, 00:12:10.389 --> 00:12:13.750 you know late later in life that Look at some 00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:15.950 of the biblical figures I believe was in Moses 00:12:15.950 --> 00:12:18.649 didn't have a baby till he's 80 years old, you 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:20.929 know with he got married had a kid and he was 00:12:20.929 --> 00:12:24.909 old so I would say it's not too old for a dream 00:12:24.909 --> 00:12:28.429 for you know, especially songwriting because 00:12:28.429 --> 00:12:30.970 I think I think you mature more as you get older 00:12:30.970 --> 00:12:34.440 and even if you don't want to be like a If you 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:36.799 can't be a performer, there's other ways to go 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:38.980 about the music business, you know, such as just 00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:44.179 being a writer or a studio musician. And if you 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:47.200 feel that you if it's in your in your whatever 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:50.779 is in your desire, your passion, it's not too 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:54.639 late. No way. No way. Just too late to get because. 00:12:55.899 --> 00:12:58.779 there's no there's no certain there's no law 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:01.340 saying that you have to be 20 years old to be 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:06.379 a songwriter who played live yeah yeah yeah you 00:13:06.379 --> 00:13:08.659 mentioned your music is a reflection of your 00:13:08.659 --> 00:13:12.059 journey so you're touching so many universal 00:13:12.059 --> 00:13:15.080 themes of love struggle and triumph as you explained 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:18.600 with the titles that you have to some of your 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:23.379 songs so we talk about here on this channel healing 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:26.559 and transformation. How does the physical act 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.299 of songwriting, whether drumming or singing, 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:36.139 become a powerful tool for you to become well 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:43.379 and release emotional baggage? Oh, it's tremendous. 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:47.840 I feel the rhythms of the drum, you don't have 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:51.259 time to sit and think about things. It just relaxes 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:57.889 you. And the drums is a rhythmic beat, just like 00:13:57.889 --> 00:14:00.669 in the military marching, just like martial arts, 00:14:00.789 --> 00:14:04.330 it's a whole accounting system. So it's all coordination 00:14:04.330 --> 00:14:07.570 of the mind. And in the writing, you just take 00:14:07.570 --> 00:14:11.769 your mind off of everything. And there's no worries 00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:13.750 when you're writing. There's no worries. There's 00:14:13.750 --> 00:14:15.710 no worries when you're playing the drums or the 00:14:15.710 --> 00:14:18.289 guitar. There's no worries at all. It's just 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:21.860 you and that instrument. And you have so many 00:14:21.860 --> 00:14:25.840 ways to practice it. There's never saying, I 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.759 know everything, that's it. Because you can even 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:32.559 invent things on your own that I picked up. And 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:39.220 it's just to have a hobby like that. It's therapeutic 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:47.559 and emotional. You could be spontaneous, bringing 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:52.620 progressive. And just all that is therapeutic 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:55.639 on the mind and you can release energy and it's 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:59.480 not in a violent way or anything. Right. That's 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:03.659 so good. Let's talk about resilience. Let's talk 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:08.279 about resilience. Yes. That's a key trait to 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:11.480 anyone that's seeking a better life and it shows 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:15.419 in your life and journey now. When you hit a 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:19.429 low point, and your creativity kind of stalls 00:15:19.429 --> 00:15:23.029 or rejection hits you hard, especially as a creator. 00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:27.789 You may send your things into a publisher or 00:15:27.789 --> 00:15:30.570 to somebody and they don't like it. When all 00:15:30.570 --> 00:15:32.990 that hits you hard, what's the one thing that 00:15:32.990 --> 00:15:37.129 gets you back to work? Well, you say, hey, I 00:15:37.129 --> 00:15:40.850 got a positive support system. On my radio show, 00:15:40.929 --> 00:15:45.669 I got a DJ that had mentioned to me that you 00:15:45.669 --> 00:15:47.850 know, your stuff is better than almost everything 00:15:47.850 --> 00:15:50.250 that comes in here. And he goes, he just says, 00:15:50.470 --> 00:15:52.509 when you get rejected, you got to remember how 00:15:52.509 --> 00:15:55.049 many songs has that person wrote, how many, how 00:15:55.049 --> 00:15:58.289 many, how many songs they wrote. And then it 00:15:58.289 --> 00:16:00.870 just inside me, whether I get rejected or not, 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:03.029 it's just, it's just part of, part of who I am. 00:16:03.029 --> 00:16:05.289 I'm always going to be a writer, no matter if 00:16:05.289 --> 00:16:08.210 somebody doesn't like it or not. So, but I have 00:16:08.210 --> 00:16:14.110 a positive outlook on it. And I say, Well, you 00:16:14.110 --> 00:16:18.049 know this this hasn't gone anywhere Yet, but 00:16:18.049 --> 00:16:20.309 I'm gonna I'm gonna try this next I'm gonna try 00:16:20.309 --> 00:16:23.850 that and right here. Yeah, I haven't completely 00:16:23.850 --> 00:16:26.330 Broke into the business yet, but hey, I'm still 00:16:26.330 --> 00:16:29.429 doing it. I'm still trying I'm still you know, 00:16:29.590 --> 00:16:33.070 I'm having a blast so I would say just keep trying 00:16:33.070 --> 00:16:37.309 don't don't just give up after one One denial, 00:16:37.309 --> 00:16:40.809 you know or or you try it try a different Avenue, 00:16:41.129 --> 00:16:44.179 you know, don't you know try a different song 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:48.679 create a new song maybe get some coaching on 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:52.200 you know different writing styles or or maybe 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:54.500 you have to update your music a little bit or 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:57.879 something it's not not necessarily you it just 00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:00.580 maybe that that wasn't a certain fit maybe you 00:17:00.580 --> 00:17:04.500 have to find a something like a publisher or 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:09.019 a an artist that that specializes to your music 00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:12.160 you want to mean so it may it may not just be 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:15.019 the fact that, you know, that you were just flat 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:17.460 out denied, it just means it just wasn't a perfect 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:21.400 fit for that. Right. What's your fit? What's 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:24.880 your one number one mantra that you kind of use 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:28.319 to kind of get your bet stirred back up? I would 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:34.839 say just just being alert and into new ideas 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:39.029 and just saying, hey, I want to be I still want 00:17:39.029 --> 00:17:40.970 to, I still want to do something with this. I 00:17:40.970 --> 00:17:44.849 haven't, I'm not giving up. I would say just 00:17:44.849 --> 00:17:51.769 being motivated, motivated and excited in no 00:17:51.769 --> 00:17:54.549 matter about denial, just being full of excitement 00:17:54.549 --> 00:18:00.130 all the time about writing. John, we have a lot 00:18:00.130 --> 00:18:02.529 of listeners right now who know they need to 00:18:02.529 --> 00:18:06.799 pursue something new, a passion, a pivot. or 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:09.940 healing process, but they are paralyzed. Based 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:14.000 on your experience across multiple diverse fields, 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:18.579 what is the single non -negotiable first step 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:21.559 that they must take today to move from feeling 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:26.940 stuck to finding their own next rhythm? They 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:31.680 have to be able to be open to change, open to 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:36.759 change because things everything in the modern 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:42.900 day changes. We're all adapting to change all 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:49.619 the time. And you have to start somewhere to 00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:52.440 go anywhere. And what I mean by that is even 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:56.240 like in a job, if you don't start somewhere at 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.420 a certain age, you can't go somewhere bigger 00:18:59.420 --> 00:19:02.140 down the road, but you always have to start somewhere 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:07.160 to go anywhere. So that would be my biggest, 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:10.180 biggest star. That would be a good piece of advice 00:19:10.180 --> 00:19:14.180 right there. Mm -hmm. Yeah. Because it does take 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:16.839 that, you know, sometimes you do feel stuck. 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:21.680 I know as a writer, I have had those times that 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:23.519 I was stuck, but it was because I was thinking 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:25.220 about something else and not doing what I was 00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:30.309 supposed to do. Yes, because I try. You're being 00:19:30.309 --> 00:19:33.009 overloaded with something else, like maybe you 00:19:33.009 --> 00:19:36.710 have to, for songwriting, maybe you have to work 00:19:36.710 --> 00:19:39.049 full time and you have a family, so it could 00:19:39.049 --> 00:19:44.089 be hard to get things, busy schedules, busy schedules 00:19:44.089 --> 00:19:48.309 and get you stuck. Yeah, they certainly can. 00:19:48.329 --> 00:19:51.660 They can get you really stuck. Okay, so John, 00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:54.299 is there anything else that you have forgotten 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:58.279 to tell us that the audience needs to hear? Yes, 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:02.079 for about your songwriting, there's many ways 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:06.900 you can be a writer. You can just be a lyric 00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:12.119 writer. There's ways to get your lyrics to local 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:15.960 musicians, professional musicians. There's avenues 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:18.339 to do it. There's ways to make demos if you don't 00:20:18.339 --> 00:20:22.960 make music. um there's waste waste and now they 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.200 have artificial intelligence which i haven't 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:27.759 tried yet but they can make a song in five minutes 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:31.279 yeah i heard that yes but there's still some 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.039 good demo companies i've tried one called tunely 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:37.039 they're really good demo my song um that's where 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:40.559 i had a lot of songs done and And you can even, 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:43.259 if you have somebody you know, you might be able 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:45.599 to get into a studio if you want to be a studio 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.980 musician and maybe somebody you know that they 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:52.819 can give you a deal on something or to get a 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:55.099 deal per hour because usually they charge per 00:20:55.099 --> 00:21:05.220 hour in the studio. There you go. Sorry about 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:08.269 that. I had a phone call. That's all right. But 00:21:08.269 --> 00:21:12.630 anyway, I was going to say, yeah, there's ways. 00:21:13.690 --> 00:21:16.009 You know, you have you can start somewhere if 00:21:16.009 --> 00:21:17.970 you're trying to if you're trying to make it 00:21:17.970 --> 00:21:19.950 in the business, there's ways to start making 00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:26.049 demos, like I said, to ways to to make your music 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:29.049 to get it made by music demo companies and things 00:21:29.049 --> 00:21:31.349 like that. So which I mentioned some of the ones 00:21:31.349 --> 00:21:34.049 and there's ways to advertise your music like 00:21:34.049 --> 00:21:38.450 on CD Baby, Industrial Kids, a good way to release 00:21:38.450 --> 00:21:41.869 your music if it's not released by a big outfit 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.490 yet. You can release them on CD, Baby, Distro, 00:21:44.569 --> 00:21:48.329 Kid, and your songs will be on Spotify, YouTube, 00:21:48.930 --> 00:21:51.569 but it has to be promoted, and that's where I 00:21:51.569 --> 00:21:55.369 was lacking in is promotion. Sometimes a local... 00:21:55.369 --> 00:21:57.730 I think all of us did get like that, yeah. Yeah, 00:21:57.809 --> 00:22:00.710 and sometimes your colleges, your colleges can 00:22:00.710 --> 00:22:03.890 help you, which I'm having some experience with. 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:06.539 a college again and university where some of 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:09.259 the students are trying to help me with my music 00:22:09.259 --> 00:22:11.539 as well. So I'd say that there's all kinds of 00:22:11.539 --> 00:22:14.539 avenues and just don't get stuck. Don't get stuck 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:16.579 and don't give up, especially with songwriting 00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:19.660 that can compare that to your life to what you 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:22.839 put into life is what you get out of it. And 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:26.059 sometimes most sometimes people's journeys are 00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:29.700 a lot harder to go about than others. But when 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:32.160 you you'll find yourself in there and sometimes 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:38.710 you have to change Nowadays, the work life is 00:22:38.710 --> 00:22:40.549 people want to do everything. They want to do 00:22:40.549 --> 00:22:43.130 college, raise a family, work a full -time job. 00:22:43.670 --> 00:22:45.569 And they say, how am I going to be able to do 00:22:45.569 --> 00:22:49.410 these hobbies and stuff? But you want to remain 00:22:49.410 --> 00:22:51.329 healthy. If you don't have your health, you don't 00:22:51.329 --> 00:22:53.509 have anything. So you want to take care of your 00:22:53.509 --> 00:22:59.829 health and keep believing in faith of God and 00:22:59.829 --> 00:23:02.819 Jesus and just keep following your... dreams 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:05.900 and ambitions and treat people the way you'd 00:23:05.900 --> 00:23:08.839 want to be treated and everything will come to 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:11.259 you what goes around comes around and like i 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:13.599 said you got to start somewhere to go anywhere 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:17.359 yes that's right Well, Jonathan, this has been 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.359 truly inspiring. Thank you for all the great 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.900 information and for all those songwriters out 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:26.259 there. For those writers, this show is for you. 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:29.279 Thank you for showing us that past achievements 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:32.640 don't limit your future, they simply enrich it. 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:36.380 You can find Jonathan's incredible music and 00:23:36.380 --> 00:23:40.059 connect with him on his social channels. We have 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:44.119 all the links for his albums and his Instagram 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:50.440 at John, J -O -N, Steele, S -T -E -E -L -E, music, 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:53.759 and it's waiting for you. Go check them out right 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:58.079 now. We hope that you love this episode, but 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:00.619 for right now, we're gonna say goodbye for now. 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:03.400 I'm your host, Edna White, my esteemed guest, 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:06.559 John Steele. Say goodbye for now. Yes, take care 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:08.460 and God bless. Thanks for tuning in.