WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 I remember at one point my publicist, he reminded 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:06.000 me that I am my own target audience. So it made 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:07.740 me more observant of the things that I do on 00:00:07.740 --> 00:00:09.820 a day -to -day basis. It's my book signing, it's 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:12.359 my first book. I was talking to an audience of 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:15.580 maybe one or zero, but it just gave me the confidence 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:18.300 that I can post on the internet and that it's 00:00:18.300 --> 00:00:21.600 not scary. My uncle bought me a pair of glasses 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:24.760 I couldn't see. So I didn't know that I couldn't 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:26.980 see like that. I would squint my eyes and... 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:30.579 Do weird things. How does one person run all 00:00:30.579 --> 00:00:32.399 of this? That's the question I try to figure 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:36.600 out every day. The ADHD explained a lot of my 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:39.619 dating behaviors. Because in my 20s, I always 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:42.119 had to have a girlfriend. I don't know why. I 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:44.479 could never do my own thing. So I always had 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:47.859 a girlfriend and then having a lot of ideas that 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:49.759 I wanted to get off the ground, but I couldn't 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:51.159 really do it because I didn't have the time or 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:53.780 the money. So that was very frustrating. People 00:00:53.780 --> 00:00:56.789 who make content online, here are. Our thoughts 00:00:56.789 --> 00:00:59.130 and opinions, it meant a lot to me. So you just 00:00:59.130 --> 00:01:02.310 like put your tickets out there and people just 00:01:02.310 --> 00:01:06.150 come to see Dr. Kojo. That's cool. Yeah, I can 00:01:06.150 --> 00:01:07.650 look at the analytics and see that people actually 00:01:07.650 --> 00:01:09.650 do watch until the end, which is super cool. 00:01:10.989 --> 00:01:13.750 Welcome to another episode of No Prior Auth. 00:01:13.870 --> 00:01:17.329 This week, I'm talking to Dr. Kojo Sarfo. Kojo 00:01:17.329 --> 00:01:20.010 is a DNP, a board -certified psychiatric mental 00:01:20.010 --> 00:01:22.430 health nurse practitioner, and probably the most 00:01:22.430 --> 00:01:25.170 recognized psych NP on the internet. He has over 00:01:25.170 --> 00:01:28.909 3 million followers on TikTok, 4 .5 million across 00:01:28.909 --> 00:01:32.569 platforms, and about 150 million monthly views. 00:01:33.180 --> 00:01:35.819 He was born in Ghana, moved to Norway as a toddler, 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:38.180 grew up in Nashville where his parents worked 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:39.980 as janitors while putting themselves through 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:42.700 school. He got his DNP from Augusta University, 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:45.680 worked forensic inpatient psychiatry at Eastern 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:48.299 State Hospital in Virginia, and started posting 00:01:48.299 --> 00:01:51.500 TikToks about two months into that job. Now he's 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:53.659 in Los Angeles running a telehealth practice, 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:55.859 a clothing company that donates to Mental Health 00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:59.120 America, monthly comedy shows in Hollywood, and 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:01.280 all over the country. And he's got a book with 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:03.989 Simon & Schuster. He wasn't diagnosed with ADHD 00:02:03.989 --> 00:02:07.750 until he was 25, and now he's the voice an entire 00:02:07.750 --> 00:02:10.490 generation uses to understand it. Let's get into 00:02:10.490 --> 00:02:14.449 it. Thanks so much for being here, Kojo. Thank 00:02:14.449 --> 00:02:16.490 you for having me. That was so kind, everything 00:02:16.490 --> 00:02:22.710 that you just read. All true, all true. So let's 00:02:22.710 --> 00:02:25.050 just kick off with you telling us a little bit 00:02:25.050 --> 00:02:30.120 about yourself as far as how... you got started 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:32.199 in this journey. And like, if you ever saw yourself 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:40.479 being such a public facing individual. I, I knew 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:43.139 I was going to do something. I felt like I had 00:02:43.139 --> 00:02:45.580 been a give. I didn't know that it would be at 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:49.340 this scale, this magnitude. And I'm somebody 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:52.780 that I, I would consider to be honest or I try 00:02:52.780 --> 00:02:56.240 my best to be honest. And whether that's like 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.289 in my first book. You are the one talking about 00:02:59.289 --> 00:03:02.370 my journey through school and little undiagnosed 00:03:02.370 --> 00:03:05.569 ADHD for 25 years. Or whether that's just talking 00:03:05.569 --> 00:03:08.090 to somebody I met, maybe a friend or somebody 00:03:08.090 --> 00:03:10.750 at the psych hospital, a patient. I try and put 00:03:10.750 --> 00:03:13.270 my stories out there. And I remember at one point 00:03:13.270 --> 00:03:16.830 my publicist, he reminded me that I am my own 00:03:16.830 --> 00:03:19.509 target audience. So it made me more observant 00:03:19.509 --> 00:03:21.250 of the things that I do on a day -to -day basis 00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:24.870 and the things that frustrate me. And just talking 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:28.520 about things has allowed me to reach. the world. 00:03:28.539 --> 00:03:31.159 And it's incredible what we're doing right now. 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:33.939 It really is. One of the things I love about 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:36.719 your content that I think is very unique is, 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.280 yes, you are a healthcare professional. You're 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:42.599 a psychiatric nurse practitioner with a doctorate. 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:47.460 And you come at it from the patient lens. And 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:49.960 so when you're watching your content, it doesn't 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:53.860 feel like you're watching a coach kind of archetype. 00:03:53.860 --> 00:03:56.340 It feels like you're like, chilling with a friend 00:03:56.340 --> 00:03:58.120 and i remember when i came across one of your 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:00.039 tiktok lives and you're like doing your music 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:02.780 and super chill i remember feeling that way and 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:05.319 i was like this is cool that he's also just like 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:09.259 not afraid to be who he is even if that's like 00:04:09.259 --> 00:04:12.580 imperfect whatever like just show up as kojo 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:17.079 i'm happy that uh i'm able to inspire people 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:20.339 and just your appreciation for the content you 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:22.720 know first and foremost thank you so much uh 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:27.959 and i know that um When I was working back at 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:29.639 East Central Regional Hospital in Odessa, Georgia, 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:33.399 when I was still in school, I would play basketball 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:35.660 on second shift with the patients at the psych 00:04:35.660 --> 00:04:37.399 hospital, and then I would get to know them, 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:39.500 and we'd have regular conversations, and that's 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:41.540 how I would get my assessments done, and I would 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:43.639 go chart after that. So I didn't really show 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.000 up with a pen and paper, like, oh, did you sleep? 00:04:46.220 --> 00:04:48.240 Did you eat? Do you have any thoughts of hurting 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:50.379 yourself? Like, we would ask those questions 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:53.649 and talk about that. through a regular conversation. 00:04:53.930 --> 00:04:55.629 And I realized that I got more out of people 00:04:55.629 --> 00:04:58.490 that way. So seeing things from the patient's 00:04:58.490 --> 00:05:02.269 lens or seeing it through the other side, I try 00:05:02.269 --> 00:05:04.329 to stay there as much as possible. And then when 00:05:04.329 --> 00:05:07.089 I put that vantage point on social media, it 00:05:07.089 --> 00:05:09.350 really connects with people because when you 00:05:09.350 --> 00:05:11.730 come in, you're all buttoned up and you're using 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:14.050 big words. Sometimes as professionals, we'll 00:05:14.050 --> 00:05:17.910 use big words, like even gate, like just say 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:21.790 walk. Like we don't realize that people. I know. 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:24.790 The healthcare field don't know what these words 00:05:24.790 --> 00:05:28.589 mean. So true. I love that about your content. 00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:30.509 Yeah. Cause sometimes I'll say stuff and my mom 00:05:30.509 --> 00:05:31.889 will crack up. She'll be like, what are you, 00:05:31.910 --> 00:05:33.569 what are you saying, honey? You, the words you 00:05:33.569 --> 00:05:35.850 use and I'm like, it's normal for us, you know, 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:39.410 but it's, yeah, it's not like commonly, commonly 00:05:39.410 --> 00:05:44.670 known. So, okay. Tell us about that first TikTok 00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:46.850 that you posted. Like what were, what was going 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:50.069 through your mind? So the first TikTok that I 00:05:50.069 --> 00:05:53.519 ever posted. I was in Detroit, Michigan. I had 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.019 the app downloaded, but I had never logged into 00:05:56.019 --> 00:05:58.379 it. I was in Detroit. I was promoting my first 00:05:58.379 --> 00:06:00.279 book, You Already Won, which came out September 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:09.079 29th, 2019. And I had heard that TikTok was going 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:11.920 to be the next big thing. I'm a big Barry Chuck 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:14.740 fan, Gary V. So he was talking about TikTok ad 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:17.300 nauseum. TikTok, TikTok, TikTok. You got to do 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:20.920 it. So I made a TikTok promoting my first. with 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:25.060 really bad lighting. You couldn't even hear me 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:27.779 properly. I think TikTok is still up there, like 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:31.199 my very first one. And nobody viewed it. I think 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.420 I had like three likes or 10 views. I didn't 00:06:34.420 --> 00:06:36.800 understand the platform, but that was my first 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:40.379 attempt at trying to post online. I said, hey, 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:42.639 as I'm in Detroit, is my book signing? Is my 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.819 first book? I was talking to an audience of maybe 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:50.319 one or zero, like knowing what I know now. But 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:52.800 it just gave me the confidence that I can post 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.480 on the Internet and that is not scary. And even 00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:57.139 if people don't engage with it, because that's 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:59.240 your biggest fear when you post Internet, having 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:01.579 something that doesn't get enough likes because 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:04.800 you don't get that validation. So I actually 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:07.300 I didn't post again for two more months after 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:09.959 that because I'm like, nobody wants to see what 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:13.240 I'm doing on TikTok. And when I came back December 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:17.220 2019, I would make like short comedic sketches 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:20.850 in my scrubs and that. was what finally converted. 00:07:21.069 --> 00:07:22.509 And people would ask me questions, why are you 00:07:22.509 --> 00:07:24.310 wearing the scrubs? What do you do? And then 00:07:24.310 --> 00:07:25.889 I would get to know more about what people were 00:07:25.889 --> 00:07:28.430 wanting to see from me. And that was kind of 00:07:28.430 --> 00:07:31.550 my portal into making the type of content that 00:07:31.550 --> 00:07:34.310 I make now. That's really cool. I love that. 00:07:35.449 --> 00:07:37.709 You've talked before about kind of knowing something 00:07:37.709 --> 00:07:39.990 was different as a kid, but not really having 00:07:39.990 --> 00:07:42.370 the language for it. In an immigrant family where 00:07:42.370 --> 00:07:45.069 your parents were working multiple jobs, how 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:48.569 do you even bring that up as a kid? How was that 00:07:48.569 --> 00:07:52.879 for you? I knew something was different and I 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:56.899 had my own way of doing everything from getting 00:07:56.899 --> 00:07:59.079 a homework done to the way I put my clothes on. 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:02.740 Like I was always peculiar, I guess an interesting 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:05.459 kid. And it wasn't until I was in grade school 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:07.220 that I realized that some kids will go to the 00:08:07.220 --> 00:08:08.920 nurse's office and they will take medications 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.579 and they come back and they would sit down and 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.459 not be super talkative. And I would ask the kids 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:16.060 like, why do you go to the nurse's office? They 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:18.949 say, oh, because. Like, I got to take medications 00:08:18.949 --> 00:08:21.970 so I can focus and do this. And I cough too much, 00:08:21.970 --> 00:08:23.689 so I take medications. That way I don't talk 00:08:23.689 --> 00:08:26.810 a lot. And when I realized that people were taking 00:08:26.810 --> 00:08:30.149 meds for talking a lot and being disruptive in 00:08:30.149 --> 00:08:33.509 class, I told myself, okay, that's what I need. 00:08:33.649 --> 00:08:35.769 But I didn't know how to bring it up to my parents. 00:08:35.990 --> 00:08:37.830 And the few times that I would bring it up, my 00:08:37.830 --> 00:08:39.850 mom would say, no, you know, you're fine. We're 00:08:39.850 --> 00:08:41.470 going to pray for you. Let's just pray harder. 00:08:41.789 --> 00:08:44.590 So I'm like, okay, let's just pray harder and 00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:48.039 we'll just, we'll. figure it out and you know 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:51.379 i was able to figure things out on my own i wasn't 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:53.879 harder than it needed to be yeah but i guess 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:56.480 it made me the person i am today yeah because 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:00.860 growing up as a kid like were you what kind of 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:03.899 student were you like were you did you get decent 00:09:03.899 --> 00:09:06.059 grades or were you getting in trouble for talking 00:09:06.059 --> 00:09:09.620 a lot or what were you like as a kid so because 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:13.139 we came from norway to nashville tennessee the 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:16.889 first Two or three years, I would say I was an 00:09:16.889 --> 00:09:19.929 average student to below average student. My 00:09:19.929 --> 00:09:22.269 goal was to not get held back, honestly. I just 00:09:22.269 --> 00:09:24.590 didn't want to get held back. Yeah. I couldn't 00:09:24.590 --> 00:09:26.809 read when I came to the States. How old were 00:09:26.809 --> 00:09:29.230 you when you came to the States? Six and a half. 00:09:29.649 --> 00:09:33.409 Okay. I couldn't read until second or third grade. 00:09:33.570 --> 00:09:36.529 So I was barely hanging on. And by the time I 00:09:36.529 --> 00:09:38.250 hit fifth grade, I'd say that's when I hit my 00:09:38.250 --> 00:09:42.029 stride because I learned to read and we finally... 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:45.320 My uncle bought me a pair of glasses I couldn't 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:48.200 see. So I didn't know that I couldn't see like 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:51.259 that. I would squint my eyes and do weird things 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:55.720 to see the board. And when I got my glasses and 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.240 I became more comfortable with reading, then 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:00.039 I started reading everything. And by fifth grade, 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:04.039 I was an accelerated reader. I got second place 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:05.399 in the spelling bee. I should have got first. 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:08.700 I couldn't spell strawberry. You got second place 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:12.360 in the spelling bee too. It sucks. You just feel 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:15.460 like you're going to win and go on to the National 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:18.740 Scripts one, but that's neither here nor there. 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:22.759 But my time I was in fifth grade, I was a really 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:26.139 good student, like all As and all Bs. And then 00:10:26.139 --> 00:10:27.820 I didn't struggle again until high school. And 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:30.639 then I really struggled in high school. Because 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.100 I was in the International Baccalaureate Program, 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:35.000 IB. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that. 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:39.480 But it's like AP classes on steroids. And I was 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:41.870 probably the... I like to tell my classmates 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:43.850 now that I was the dumbest out of everybody in 00:10:43.850 --> 00:10:46.049 that program because it was a super programming. 00:10:46.309 --> 00:10:49.090 People went to Harvard and Yale and Georgia Tech 00:10:49.090 --> 00:10:51.570 and all these big schools. And I ended up with 00:10:51.570 --> 00:10:56.250 a 2 .7 GPA. I barely got through. And that's 00:10:56.250 --> 00:10:58.450 when my dad recommended nursing. And he said, 00:10:58.450 --> 00:11:00.549 your GPA is not that good. You can't get into 00:11:00.549 --> 00:11:04.889 most places. But I'm just happy that my story 00:11:04.889 --> 00:11:06.350 was that same exact way because I don't know 00:11:06.350 --> 00:11:08.720 what I'd be doing if I. I was a good student 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:11.360 in high school. Yeah. That's a great point. My 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:13.320 GPA wasn't very good either. And I remember my 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:15.279 dad being like, it's going to be really hard 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:17.340 for you to become a dentist or an orthodontist. 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:19.240 Like you want to be with this GPA. And I'm like, 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:23.659 yeah, you're right. You're right. Anyway. You 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:26.259 regret that, right? You'll regret the path you 00:11:26.259 --> 00:11:28.960 took. No, I don't regret it at all. You know, 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:31.179 it's, it's interesting. It's really interesting. 00:11:33.259 --> 00:11:37.720 So how many siblings do you have? And what are 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:39.659 your parents like? I'd be fascinated to meet 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:42.460 Kojo's parents. It's a random question, but I'm 00:11:42.460 --> 00:11:48.259 curious. Oh my goodness. There's six of us in 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:53.679 total. From the oldest, Christabel, who, 1982, 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:58.389 she's 40. She'll be 44 at the end of May. And 00:11:58.389 --> 00:12:01.330 the youngest is going to be 21 in June. So that's 00:12:01.330 --> 00:12:05.450 a wide range. The six months in total, we're 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:08.610 super close. I think we're closer than most siblings. 00:12:08.909 --> 00:12:11.269 We always communicate, even if it's just through 00:12:11.269 --> 00:12:14.210 Instagram Reels or Snapchat. We always talk. 00:12:14.529 --> 00:12:18.289 My parents are very interesting people. I believe 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:21.149 that they're neurodivergent and undiagnosed. 00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:24.429 There's a lot going on with my parents, but they 00:12:24.429 --> 00:12:26.629 are... some of the most resourceful people that 00:12:26.629 --> 00:12:29.809 I know because they don't really, they're not 00:12:29.809 --> 00:12:33.309 big planners. They kind of wing things. And I 00:12:33.309 --> 00:12:35.490 see where I get my, you know, winging things 00:12:35.490 --> 00:12:38.870 on the fly from, but my parents are very, very 00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:42.529 interesting, very religious. Yeah. And we're 00:12:42.529 --> 00:12:44.769 up in the South as well. So you take the, you 00:12:44.769 --> 00:12:47.950 know, the Bible belt, all of that. And then, 00:12:47.970 --> 00:12:50.730 you know, as West Africans, we're also super 00:12:50.730 --> 00:12:53.580 religious too. Parents are very interesting people. 00:12:53.700 --> 00:12:57.200 They're both in health care now, so they're helpers. 00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:00.240 My grandmother's a social worker. My mom was 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.879 a social worker before she became an RN. So it's 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:07.419 a whole family that's, you know, we're hell -bent 00:13:07.419 --> 00:13:10.000 on helping out individuals. Yeah, that's really 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:12.480 cool. What did your family think when you first 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:15.039 started posting on social media? Were they, like, 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:19.220 supportive? Did you get some confusion, judgment? 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:26.840 My family, and even to this day, my mom doesn't 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:31.679 understand what I do on social media. My dad, 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:35.139 like, he gets it. And I know one time my sister 00:13:35.139 --> 00:13:37.580 showed him a joke of mine on stage and he was 00:13:37.580 --> 00:13:40.000 laughing. And I was like, yes, my dad thinks 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:43.139 I'm funny. But they don't really understand the 00:13:43.139 --> 00:13:45.820 magnitude of social media. I think it may have 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:48.299 hit them just this past year or so. Because my 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:52.299 mom, she works at the... psych hospital that 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:55.240 i used to work at in augusta georgia so her new 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:57.500 co -workers are my old co -workers some of them 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:00.679 are still there from 10 15 years ago and they'll 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:02.720 say oh coach i used to work here this is what 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:05.480 coach was like and she's like oh yeah coach was 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:09.840 my son and then um you know she's like telling 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:11.620 me that all these people are saying oh he makes 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:13.899 all these videos online and the videos are so 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:16.700 good but she doesn't watch it so she's like oh 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:20.419 i that's my son like i don't know exactly what 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:23.279 he's doing so um i think it started to kind of 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.779 hit them in the past so like the magnitude of 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:28.840 social media because they've seen you know me 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:31.379 on tv and you know they see me get the second 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:34.679 book deal and all that stuff yeah they're proud 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:37.740 of that but seeing how big social media is i 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:40.000 think is just now kind of hidden in the past 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:45.690 year a year and a half gotcha gotcha Okay, let's 00:14:45.690 --> 00:14:48.049 count it up and talk about the business of being 00:14:48.049 --> 00:14:52.429 Dr. Kojo. So you've got Sarfo Psychiatry. You've 00:14:52.429 --> 00:14:56.370 got Abranti and Signora Clothing, Sarfo Entertainment, 00:14:56.809 --> 00:15:00.570 social media coaching, courses, a Patreon, two 00:15:00.570 --> 00:15:03.509 podcasts, monthly comedy shows, brand deals with 00:15:03.509 --> 00:15:06.830 CBS, Paramount, Hulu, booking agent, keynote 00:15:06.830 --> 00:15:11.070 speaking, a book deal. How does one person run 00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:14.740 all of this? Do tell us. That's the question 00:15:14.740 --> 00:15:18.299 I try and figure out every day. I try and max 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:22.080 out my capacity. So I've been so much more focused 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:26.620 on having the capacity to do things. And as long 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:30.120 as I have that space internally, I can do all 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:32.580 this. I don't want to say with relative ease 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:35.539 because it is difficult. But with employment, 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:39.019 I'll be burnt out at the end of the day. On most 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:43.120 days, if we have five work days in a week, maybe. 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:46.629 Three or four days, I'll be burnt out. I'll be 00:15:46.629 --> 00:15:50.409 tired by going to sleep. But I am excited about 00:15:50.409 --> 00:15:55.490 the reason why I'm tired. And it's more so, I've 00:15:55.490 --> 00:15:57.429 said this before, being Dr. Kojo, I think, is 00:15:57.429 --> 00:16:00.990 easy. Being Kojo is very difficult. So taking 00:16:00.990 --> 00:16:02.490 care of myself, making sure that I'm getting 00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:05.210 sleep, make sure that I'm still talking to family 00:16:05.210 --> 00:16:07.029 members and friends. Because sometimes I'll become 00:16:07.029 --> 00:16:11.649 so, you know, insular. And all I'm thinking about 00:16:11.649 --> 00:16:14.350 is business, business, business. So whenever 00:16:14.350 --> 00:16:17.509 I do go travel and I see family, I try to let 00:16:17.509 --> 00:16:21.870 this stuff go. But it takes a lot of a lot of 00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:24.269 work, a lot of, you know, checking in to make 00:16:24.269 --> 00:16:26.610 sure the systems are good, a lot of collaboration 00:16:26.610 --> 00:16:30.669 with people. And I think that finding the right 00:16:30.669 --> 00:16:33.850 people is a key. And I've read business books 00:16:33.850 --> 00:16:35.129 where they talk about you have to have the right 00:16:35.129 --> 00:16:37.409 people work with the right team. But having the 00:16:37.409 --> 00:16:40.090 right people, people who have done things before. 00:16:40.850 --> 00:16:42.789 That's the key. Because with Starfield Entertainment, 00:16:43.049 --> 00:16:45.330 we're working with actors who they've been doing 00:16:45.330 --> 00:16:46.909 it their whole lives. So of course, it's going 00:16:46.909 --> 00:16:49.850 to be good. And with Starfield Psych, where I 00:16:49.850 --> 00:16:53.149 learned from you about how to streamline things, 00:16:53.470 --> 00:16:56.450 that's what you do to help people get their practices 00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:58.929 up and running. So when you go to the experts 00:16:58.929 --> 00:17:02.730 in different fields, it makes things a lot easier 00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:07.430 for you. But it is a lot sometimes. It is a lot 00:17:07.430 --> 00:17:12.029 sometimes. I will admit. I would imagine. Which 00:17:12.029 --> 00:17:14.250 of your revenue streams would you say actually 00:17:14.250 --> 00:17:16.390 moves the needle financially? Like if you had 00:17:16.390 --> 00:17:18.869 to cut half of them tomorrow, what survives? 00:17:22.029 --> 00:17:28.509 What survives? Probably the biggest one I would 00:17:28.509 --> 00:17:32.369 say is Facebook. Facebook content monetization. 00:17:32.549 --> 00:17:37.269 And it's been that way for the past four, at 00:17:37.269 --> 00:17:40.380 least four years. At least four years. Facebook 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:43.180 pays, at least for me, I'm not sure other creators 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:46.640 do, but Facebook pays the best for me. And then 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:48.960 it's YouTube and then it's TikTok. But Facebook 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.359 is the fastest growing platform that we have. 00:17:52.019 --> 00:17:55.619 We have 2 .1 followers on Facebook. And at some 00:17:55.619 --> 00:17:57.720 point, I think it's going to overtake how many 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:00.420 followers we have on TikTok, the 3 million we 00:18:00.420 --> 00:18:04.259 have on TikTok. So Facebook, long form content. 00:18:05.069 --> 00:18:07.769 Even the shorter reels, all that. And even the 00:18:07.769 --> 00:18:10.150 text posts that you make on Facebook, just your 00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:14.430 thoughts or posting photos, that leads to money 00:18:14.430 --> 00:18:16.230 because they want engagement. So Facebook is 00:18:16.230 --> 00:18:21.009 probably my number one revenue. Well, actually, 00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:24.529 it'd be Facebook and brand deals. So brand deals 00:18:24.529 --> 00:18:28.309 would actually be there if we're being more specific. 00:18:28.450 --> 00:18:34.289 So brand deals and then Facebook. Of course, 00:18:34.289 --> 00:18:38.710 the psychiatry as well. I would rank that underneath 00:18:38.710 --> 00:18:42.990 the social media monetization. Yeah. Yeah, for 00:18:42.990 --> 00:18:47.849 sure. OK, good to know. So being that you're 00:18:47.849 --> 00:18:53.569 a Ghanaian American black male psych NP and that 00:18:53.569 --> 00:18:56.930 psych nursing is dominated by white women, what 00:18:56.930 --> 00:19:05.059 has that been like for you? I. I like, like, 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:07.599 I'm a big fan of wild cards and, you know, people 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:09.740 being in spaces where you wouldn't originally 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:13.299 expect them to be. So nobody sees it coming. 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:16.599 And I think that that's why it works so well, 00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:19.059 because people wouldn't expect me to be in this 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:22.599 profession and even be speaking publicly about 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:26.319 it. It's not something that I just think as a 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:28.940 community, you know, African -Americans and also 00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:31.440 Africans, we don't talk a lot about what's going 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:36.299 on. internally. We just kind of do our best to 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:39.759 write it out and hope that it gets better on 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:43.099 its own. So for me to share my personal experiences 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:47.460 and to be in this field, I think that it has 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:49.900 helped inspire a lot of people who are also minorities 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:53.380 to know that they can also help themselves out 00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:55.660 by helping out other people, because that's one 00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:57.660 of the biggest benefits of being in these professions. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.589 You get to help yourself out. Because a lot of 00:20:00.589 --> 00:20:03.230 the knowledge that we acquire in school, we use 00:20:03.230 --> 00:20:06.289 that on a daily basis. Like we know what therapies 00:20:06.289 --> 00:20:09.170 will work for us, what medications we could try. 00:20:09.390 --> 00:20:11.690 We know the different things that people should 00:20:11.690 --> 00:20:14.569 be doing for wellness and self -care. So it's 00:20:14.569 --> 00:20:17.730 been really good. And I'm starting to see a lot 00:20:17.730 --> 00:20:22.710 of minorities apply for psych NP jobs or even 00:20:22.710 --> 00:20:24.849 to get into the profession. A lot of RNs will 00:20:24.849 --> 00:20:31.349 go into psych. And if I'm not... maybe like six, 00:20:31.470 --> 00:20:33.730 seven years ago, psych was not that popular. 00:20:34.589 --> 00:20:36.690 I'm sure you remember. It wasn't popular. It 00:20:36.690 --> 00:20:39.369 was what you did if you didn't have skills. If 00:20:39.369 --> 00:20:42.150 you couldn't, you know, put in an IB, they'd 00:20:42.150 --> 00:20:44.950 send you to psych and say, just go work with 00:20:44.950 --> 00:20:47.410 them and you'll figure it out. So now seeing 00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:51.250 everybody and their mom sign up for psych MP 00:20:51.250 --> 00:20:55.410 school. Yeah. It's mixed feelings, of course, 00:20:55.430 --> 00:20:56.849 because sometimes it's just, oh, I'm doing it 00:20:56.849 --> 00:20:59.769 for money. But I do feel a sense of pride that 00:20:59.769 --> 00:21:02.589 more people are following on first steps. Yeah. 00:21:02.650 --> 00:21:06.269 And I'm sure you get messages from people who 00:21:06.269 --> 00:21:09.170 are like, I'm doing it with you. And that's probably 00:21:09.170 --> 00:21:12.430 pretty cool to hear, you know. Now, you taught 00:21:12.430 --> 00:21:14.589 for a little bit in a Psych NP program, didn't 00:21:14.589 --> 00:21:19.890 you? I did. I did. How was that? That was good. 00:21:19.970 --> 00:21:23.390 I was an adjunct professor at Augusta University 00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:28.130 while I was in my doctoral program. And I would 00:21:28.130 --> 00:21:31.769 take the students to the psych hospital and, 00:21:31.890 --> 00:21:35.970 you know, I would be there. Not, I guess you 00:21:35.970 --> 00:21:38.390 could say preceptor, but they were still in school. 00:21:38.690 --> 00:21:41.430 I was their professor taking them through clinicals. 00:21:41.430 --> 00:21:45.210 So we would go to the psych hospital, do it for 00:21:45.210 --> 00:21:47.529 eight to 12 weeks. And then I would also teach 00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:50.849 the courses within their psych class. So the 00:21:50.849 --> 00:21:52.829 psychopharmacology course, I would teach that. 00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:55.069 And then if they had any other courses that the 00:21:55.069 --> 00:21:57.079 other professors couldn't do. I would step in 00:21:57.079 --> 00:21:59.880 and do that. Okay, cool. Did you enjoy that? 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:03.700 Did you ever do a diet? It was a great job. I 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:08.039 miss it. I mean, it wasn't the highest paying 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:11.619 job, but it was a very fulfilling job. And you 00:22:11.619 --> 00:22:14.539 got to work on so much. You got to work on retaining 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:16.140 information yourself because you have to know 00:22:16.140 --> 00:22:19.920 what to teach people. So I would make sure that 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:22.119 I knew what I was talking about. You get to work 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:23.980 on your public speaking skills. You're addressing 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:27.230 a... group of seven to eight students. Yeah. 00:22:27.329 --> 00:22:28.990 And also you talk about mental health, which 00:22:28.990 --> 00:22:30.309 is something that you're passionate about. So 00:22:30.309 --> 00:22:35.930 that was more of my, my more enjoyable jobs I've 00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:39.490 had. I love that. I love that. But tell us a 00:22:39.490 --> 00:22:43.329 little bit about what it was like from like when 00:22:43.329 --> 00:22:48.970 you were 18 to 25 getting treated for ADHD. What 00:22:48.970 --> 00:22:51.869 were those years of your life like not being 00:22:51.869 --> 00:23:03.910 treated for ADHD? On a personal note, I would 00:23:03.910 --> 00:23:10.430 say that the ADHD explained a lot of my dating 00:23:10.430 --> 00:23:13.309 behaviors. Because in my 20s, I always had to 00:23:13.309 --> 00:23:17.230 have a girlfriend. I don't know why. But if I'm 00:23:17.230 --> 00:23:19.309 dating her and then we're over, then I'm looking 00:23:19.309 --> 00:23:21.930 for... I could never do my own thing. So I always 00:23:21.930 --> 00:23:25.480 had a girlfriend and then... having a lot of 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:27.759 ideas that I wanted to get off the ground, but 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:28.980 I couldn't really do it because I didn't have 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:31.319 the time or the money. So that was very frustrating. 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:36.779 I think I was definitely a bit more impulsive. 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:43.559 Free Adderall, as opposed to now. In time, when 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:47.099 it came to, you know, the academic side of things, 00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:52.440 the undiagnosed ADHD, it helped me through nursing 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:55.579 school because... And also poverty, you know, 00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:58.779 just not having money as a family and knowing 00:23:58.779 --> 00:24:02.059 that nursing was my way out. That created the 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:04.519 sense of urgency that you need as somebody who 00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:08.140 has ADHD to get things done. And I remember my 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:12.460 dad one time borrowed money from one of my best 00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:16.000 friend's dad to, you know, get some tires for 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:19.640 my car. And I was so embarrassed and ashamed. 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:22.890 So I drove from... Cloud County, Georgia to West 00:24:22.890 --> 00:24:25.470 Alabama, the school I was going to, a four and 00:24:25.470 --> 00:24:28.390 a half hour drive with no music. I was just thinking 00:24:28.390 --> 00:24:31.470 to myself, just gathering my thoughts about, 00:24:31.569 --> 00:24:34.470 you know, what had happened and about how when 00:24:34.470 --> 00:24:36.730 I get back to school, I'm going to study all 00:24:36.730 --> 00:24:38.730 night and I'm going to take a nap and I'm going 00:24:38.730 --> 00:24:40.789 to ace this test. And that's exactly what I did. 00:24:40.829 --> 00:24:43.970 I would study all night, take my Benadryl, wake 00:24:43.970 --> 00:24:53.609 up and ace the test. had undiagnosed adhd and 00:24:53.609 --> 00:24:56.750 wasn't getting like help in the form of medications 00:24:56.750 --> 00:25:00.130 or therapy so i'm just grateful that my in a 00:25:00.130 --> 00:25:01.369 weird way i'm grateful that my circumstances 00:25:01.369 --> 00:25:04.269 were dire because otherwise yeah i know i wouldn't 00:25:04.269 --> 00:25:06.630 have done it i would have procrastinated i've 00:25:06.630 --> 00:25:10.529 done something yeah that's that's well said it's 00:25:10.529 --> 00:25:14.289 a good point um now you've been to the white 00:25:14.289 --> 00:25:16.329 house for a health care leaders and social media 00:25:16.329 --> 00:25:19.190 roundtable how did that come about and what was 00:25:19.190 --> 00:25:24.759 what was that like We got an email a couple years 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:27.319 ago from the Biden and Harris administration 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:30.160 about this new thing that they were starting 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:32.119 called the Social Media Roundtable, where they 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:35.059 wanted to hear from thought leaders online. And 00:25:35.059 --> 00:25:38.200 they wanted to develop a relationship with influencers 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:41.279 because, you know, that's where people's eyes 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:45.299 and ears are. So the first time I got an email, 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:47.460 because I've been to the White House twice for 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:51.869 the roundtable. After Dr. Martin, who's worked 00:25:51.869 --> 00:25:53.710 with the White House at the time, I think he's 00:25:53.710 --> 00:25:56.650 doing his own thing. And I didn't know if it 00:25:56.650 --> 00:26:00.490 was a legitimate email because like people get 00:26:00.490 --> 00:26:03.369 spam emails all the time. But we replied and 00:26:03.369 --> 00:26:05.529 then, you know, you'd see like the White House, 00:26:05.589 --> 00:26:08.490 like their signature stuff. And it was really 00:26:08.490 --> 00:26:12.309 cool because I realized that the White House, 00:26:12.309 --> 00:26:14.569 between the White House and between what we're 00:26:14.569 --> 00:26:17.349 doing in California, more people are paying attention 00:26:17.349 --> 00:26:23.259 to us. We have more eyeballs on us because I 00:26:23.259 --> 00:26:24.859 had to ask myself, like, why is the White House 00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:26.680 reaching out to me? You know, like they have 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:30.299 like big, important people. But the fact that 00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:33.119 the White House was, you know, and that administration 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:36.099 wanted to embrace people who make content online 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:39.039 and hear our thoughts and opinions, it meant 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:41.619 a lot to me. And we would have regular meetings, 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:44.579 some of which I couldn't join, but we'd have 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:48.000 regular meetings biweekly, sometimes monthly. 00:26:48.619 --> 00:26:50.339 where we would talk about different, you know, 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:53.599 policies, things that we think could be helpful. 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:55.420 And the thing, the coolest thing about it was 00:26:55.420 --> 00:26:57.640 that they were at least open to suggestions that 00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:01.299 we had because, you know, like I have the attention 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:04.579 of, of the youth and the young adults and, and 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:07.319 even people older than that. So just that one 00:27:07.319 --> 00:27:09.180 that he will have to say was, was pretty cool. 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:15.000 Yeah. That's incredible. I love that. Where do 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:16.900 you think you're headed next? What does the next 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:21.420 version of Dr. Kojo look like? The next version 00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:30.180 of Dr. Kojo looks like me, but more prolific. 00:27:30.380 --> 00:27:32.200 I know it sounds weird to say that I'm going 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:36.519 to do more, but better systems. I'd say better 00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:40.799 systems, looking closely at the bottlenecks in 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:44.259 the company and figuring out how. we can get 00:27:44.259 --> 00:27:46.519 better, how we can speak the people's language 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:51.339 through the comedy, just an overall expansion, 00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:55.000 taking things internationally with the comedy, 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:58.299 having events outside of the U .S. because I 00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:01.220 think that within the United States, we think 00:28:01.220 --> 00:28:05.380 L .A., New York, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix. We 00:28:05.380 --> 00:28:07.900 think of the big cities, and we go around there, 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:11.799 and we have events, and we do comedy. we forget 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:15.039 about London and we forget about Paris and Tokyo 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:17.859 and there's so much should be done outside of 00:28:17.859 --> 00:28:21.019 the US. So I think that the next phase of Dr. 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:24.960 Kojo, I would like to actually go to Australia, 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.559 go to, you know, Norway, go back to Ghana, see 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:32.039 what opportunities, you know, lie ahead for me 00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:36.380 overseas. Yeah, I love that. Tell us more about 00:28:36.380 --> 00:28:40.869 like your journey with comedy as far as. even 00:28:40.869 --> 00:28:46.130 this recent tour, like, and do you, does it bring 00:28:46.130 --> 00:28:48.450 you a lot of joy doing comedy? Like, are you 00:28:48.450 --> 00:28:51.130 having fun with it? Or I'm just kind of curious. 00:28:52.650 --> 00:28:54.950 I'm having the most fun that I've had in a long 00:28:54.950 --> 00:28:58.809 time with comedy. I love that. And I've been 00:28:58.809 --> 00:29:01.549 doing it for, I'd say this is year five now. 00:29:02.190 --> 00:29:05.069 I started off in California, which is, you know, 00:29:05.069 --> 00:29:07.529 a tough place to start comedy. Normally you started 00:29:07.529 --> 00:29:09.329 somewhere else and then you, you bring it to 00:29:09.329 --> 00:29:12.839 LA. But it's one of the most enjoyable things 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:16.500 that I've ever done because it's you trying your 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:19.799 best to return to yourself. In a way, it's like 00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:23.859 unmasking, which is, you know, due as neurodivergence. 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:27.119 And like you have, or at least for me, like I 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:29.880 have, you know, working with CVS and Hulu and 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:32.759 Paramount and Got Milk and all these brands, 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:35.920 like you have like the Dr. Kojo, like who has 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:38.450 to fit within a box. But then with comedy, I 00:29:38.450 --> 00:29:43.670 get to be more me. I get to be more loose. People 00:29:43.670 --> 00:29:47.410 can see more of your personality. And there's 00:29:47.410 --> 00:29:50.769 nothing better than getting a laugh from something 00:29:50.769 --> 00:29:53.390 that you didn't think people also thought. So 00:29:53.390 --> 00:29:56.089 it's been a great for me. It's allowed me to 00:29:56.089 --> 00:30:00.109 meet so many cool people and make a lot of amazing 00:30:00.109 --> 00:30:02.630 connections. So it's something that I definitely 00:30:02.630 --> 00:30:07.599 will continue to do as we move forward. Awesome. 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:11.400 So where are you going to be having shows in 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:13.640 the next couple of months if people want to come 00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:16.539 see your shows? I know you said you're going 00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:18.779 to have one in Chandler, Arizona. So I'm going 00:30:18.779 --> 00:30:21.880 to be there in September. But where else are 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:25.119 you going to be traveling? So, of course, Chandler, 00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:28.960 Arizona, September 17th. After that is San Diego, 00:30:29.140 --> 00:30:34.700 December 3rd. But in about a week and a half 00:30:34.700 --> 00:30:36.910 from now, I'll be in Nashville, Tennessee. So 00:30:36.910 --> 00:30:39.329 I'm going back home to Nashville. It's the homecoming 00:30:39.329 --> 00:30:41.549 for me. The first show is sold out, which is 00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:43.930 super cool. I'm still wrapping my head around 00:30:43.930 --> 00:30:46.289 that. But the first show sold out and we added 00:30:46.289 --> 00:30:49.930 the second one in Nashville. And the following 00:30:49.930 --> 00:30:51.890 week will be in New York City, June 11th, then 00:30:51.890 --> 00:30:57.710 Chicago, Illinois, June 18th. And then we have 00:30:57.710 --> 00:30:59.769 two dates in Massachusetts at the end of July. 00:31:00.549 --> 00:31:03.289 Boston and then I think Springfield, Massachusetts, 00:31:03.289 --> 00:31:06.380 which is on the Connecticut border. wow a lot 00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:09.259 of a lot of shows so you just like put your tickets 00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:12.799 out there and people just come to see see dr 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:15.200 kojo that's cool yeah yeah you put your tickets 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:17.960 out there you make your videos yeah and and then 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:19.839 the videos you let people know like you give 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:21.660 them what they want first like they want to know 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:23.559 like what could i have like the rest of tips 00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:25.480 and strategies so you give them what they want 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:28.079 and at the end i say hey commie's your thing 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:30.339 i'll be in nashville i'll be in phoenix i'll 00:31:30.339 --> 00:31:34.670 be in san diego yeah and uh I can look at the 00:31:34.670 --> 00:31:36.309 analytics and see that people actually do watch 00:31:36.309 --> 00:31:38.650 until the end, which is super cool. And that 00:31:38.650 --> 00:31:41.230 world where attention spans are so short. Oh 00:31:41.230 --> 00:31:44.529 yeah. If you could watch a three minute video 00:31:44.529 --> 00:31:47.829 and watch it to completion and see the ad at 00:31:47.829 --> 00:31:50.789 the end, then that means a lot to me. And you 00:31:50.789 --> 00:31:52.589 know, people have been receiving it really well. 00:31:52.829 --> 00:31:56.109 Yeah. What would you say is kind of like the 00:31:56.109 --> 00:32:01.150 dark side of the fame that you've. kind of come 00:32:01.150 --> 00:32:04.529 into as well as just like being such a public 00:32:04.529 --> 00:32:08.029 facing content creator? What are the hardships? 00:32:09.670 --> 00:32:16.589 Isolation and loneliness. You, it's, I didn't 00:32:16.589 --> 00:32:20.269 realize until maybe I think two years ago that 00:32:20.269 --> 00:32:24.029 I've put myself in a bubble, you know, and that 00:32:24.029 --> 00:32:27.690 all of my social events and things that I do. 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:33.779 our premieres and red carpet stuff and things 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:37.119 that don't exist outside of, you know, Hollywood 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:41.440 or in New York. And the past few years, I've 00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:45.160 made a much more intentional effort to see my 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:48.059 friends, to, you know, hang out with my childhood 00:32:48.059 --> 00:32:52.660 friends. In fact, David and Big Mike, two guys 00:32:52.660 --> 00:32:54.240 I grew up with, they're going to fly to Chicago. 00:32:54.400 --> 00:32:57.119 And after the show there. uh you know we'll be 00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:58.819 there for two extra days and we'll get the hangout 00:32:58.819 --> 00:33:02.259 stuff like that um is very important to me because 00:33:02.259 --> 00:33:06.579 when you ascend and you become a public figure 00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:11.480 you like people they still see you as who you 00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:14.000 are but it's hard to have normal conversations 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:18.079 it's hard to make uh friends like i'll try and 00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:21.259 make friends with some of the guys and before 00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:22.960 the social media stuff comes out everything is 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:25.180 like normal but then You know, they may say, 00:33:25.220 --> 00:33:26.559 oh, I saw you on Facebook. You didn't tell me 00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:28.779 you were on Facebook. And I'm like, am I supposed 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:30.160 to, like, I don't know. Like, I'm not going to 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:31.859 tell you that. Hey, I do social media. I'm just, 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:35.220 I want to play a pickup game of 21 or, you know, 00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:38.099 play flag football. But it can be difficult for 00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:42.200 people to, like, I know I've changed, obviously, 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:44.339 because you evolved. But at the core, I'm still 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:47.279 the same. But other people struggle to, you know, 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:49.519 to put into perspective who you are, what you 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:51.140 do. And they put you on a pedestal sometimes. 00:33:51.299 --> 00:33:55.339 So it's hard to just connect. So making friends 00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:59.380 has been a lot harder and that will leave you 00:33:59.380 --> 00:34:02.039 lonely and isolated. You can say the same thing 00:34:02.039 --> 00:34:05.680 in a sense for dating. It kind of like it's, 00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:10.440 you know, like you and your persona overshadows 00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:14.760 who you actually are. Right. Yeah. So it's probably 00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:19.420 hard to just meet someone that just kind of sees 00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:25.309 you for who you are as like Kojo. yeah not like 00:34:25.309 --> 00:34:29.289 the famous kojo it's much harder than i thought 00:34:29.289 --> 00:34:31.650 it's way harder than i thought and anybody who 00:34:31.650 --> 00:34:34.869 wants to be a public figure or do something like 00:34:34.869 --> 00:34:38.469 this full -time and take it seriously like lock 00:34:38.469 --> 00:34:41.070 on your friendships and be more intentional about 00:34:41.070 --> 00:34:43.690 that and if you can find your person find them 00:34:43.690 --> 00:34:46.889 now and then and then do your thing it becomes 00:34:46.889 --> 00:34:49.670 uh significantly not impossible but significantly 00:34:49.670 --> 00:34:55.719 harder Yeah. Gotcha. Cause you're, are you single 00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:58.360 right now? Yeah. You're single right now. Okay. 00:34:58.860 --> 00:35:02.099 Yeah. But you eventually see yourself like, I 00:35:02.099 --> 00:35:03.519 know you've talked about it before publicly, 00:35:03.699 --> 00:35:07.019 like wanting a family and kiddos and stuff. Yeah. 00:35:07.159 --> 00:35:11.619 I want six kids to be family. Oh, I love that. 00:35:11.699 --> 00:35:17.079 I love that. Um, what, what advice do you have 00:35:17.079 --> 00:35:21.989 for psych NP specifically? Um, who are just graduating 00:35:21.989 --> 00:35:26.230 and who are kind of on the fence about, do I 00:35:26.230 --> 00:35:28.889 need this like personal brand? Should I be on 00:35:28.889 --> 00:35:33.429 social media? Is there a value to it? Like any 00:35:33.429 --> 00:35:35.650 advice as far as how they make that decision? 00:35:37.650 --> 00:35:42.050 I would say that the most important thing is, 00:35:42.130 --> 00:35:45.130 is you yourself. You have to be very selfish 00:35:45.130 --> 00:35:47.949 in the beginning of your career because you're 00:35:47.949 --> 00:35:50.760 getting out of school and you're. transitioning 00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:53.820 from being an RN and taking orders, now you're 00:35:53.820 --> 00:35:56.900 given the orders. So the liability, the responsibility 00:35:56.900 --> 00:35:59.639 is much higher. So you have to make sure you're 00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:02.699 in a good space mentally and physically and emotionally 00:36:02.699 --> 00:36:05.719 to handle the new job that you're about to do, 00:36:05.840 --> 00:36:07.460 first and foremost. And you have to make sure 00:36:07.460 --> 00:36:09.780 that your responsibilities at home are also, 00:36:09.860 --> 00:36:13.079 you know, accounted for, that you know that you 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:14.900 have the support of your family members and friends. 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:17.280 Because that first six months, that first year 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:20.010 can be hard. because of the learning curve. It's 00:36:20.010 --> 00:36:22.849 so steep. So you have to figure out how to take 00:36:22.849 --> 00:36:25.369 care of yourself first and foremost. And hopefully 00:36:25.369 --> 00:36:28.510 the increase in income from RN to NP will help 00:36:28.510 --> 00:36:30.530 out the work -life balance. Hopefully that's 00:36:30.530 --> 00:36:32.690 better for you. And as you start to take care 00:36:32.690 --> 00:36:35.349 of yourself, then you can ask yourself the question, 00:36:35.550 --> 00:36:38.570 how involved do you want to be on social media? 00:36:38.650 --> 00:36:41.929 And if you do choose to be on social media, you 00:36:41.929 --> 00:36:43.369 have to figure out how much you want to post. 00:36:43.469 --> 00:36:45.389 Do you want to talk about your personal life? 00:36:45.510 --> 00:36:47.469 Do you want to talk about... You're divorced. 00:36:47.630 --> 00:36:50.289 You want to talk about your kids. How much do 00:36:50.289 --> 00:36:52.690 you want to disclose, especially when patients 00:36:52.690 --> 00:36:56.289 will look you up online? Patients, they'll find 00:36:56.289 --> 00:36:58.550 yourself, whether you mention it to them or not, 00:36:58.690 --> 00:37:02.489 they will say, oh, I saw your video about antidepressants. 00:37:02.809 --> 00:37:05.030 So you have to figure out how much of yourself 00:37:05.030 --> 00:37:07.789 you want to share online. And if you want to 00:37:07.789 --> 00:37:10.389 actually do it, then you have to dedicate yourself 00:37:10.389 --> 00:37:12.110 to seeing things from the patient's perspective.