The Uncomfortable Middle Phase: Every Creative Goes Through It | Ep. 49

There’s a part of the creative journey nobody really talks about.

Not the beginning.  Not the success.  The middle.

In this episode of Creative Roots, Tae and Shamar sit down to unpack “The Uncomfortable Middle Phase.”  That space where you’re no longer new, but not quite where you want to be either.

This is where doubt creeps in.
Where progress feels slow.
Where most people quietly stop showing up.

We talk about:

 The real signs you’re stuck in the middle phase 

The traps creatives fall into when growth slows down 

 Why your progress might not look like progress (but still is) 

 The discipline required to keep going when it’s not exciting anymore 

And the truth about why most creatives don’t make it past this stage 

This episode is honest, reflective, and necessary.

If you’ve been putting in the work but not seeing the results yet…
 this conversation is for you.

Thanks for listening! If this episode hit home, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share it with a fellow creative on their journey. 

Where to find us:

Website:

www.creativerootspodcast.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@CreativeRootsPodcast

IG/TikTok:

https://www.instagram.com/creativeroots.podcast

https://www.tiktok.com/@creativeroots.podcast

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CreativeRootsPodcast

Tae-@taewiththeedits
Shamar-@alanluxstudios

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome back to another episode of Creative Roots with Tay and Tay 2.0. We are here. It doesn't matter when you start. If I'm looking at your toe- You just gonna smooth call these people out.

SPEAKER_05 0:11

Shots fired, you're just looking at me like shots fired. It is what it is because this is the thing. Consistency matters in the middle phase more than creativity. Because in the beginning phase, that's all you're doing is creating. You doing everything so that you can create.

SPEAKER_06 0:43

Truth in the air, let it speak.

SPEAKER_05 0:50

So, y'all, y'all know how we do it here. We ain't got no intro, and I don't edit nothing. And I ain't telling you who I am. They know me.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Welcome back to the episode, Tay. How you doing? I can't see it. Did I change it?

SPEAKER_05 1:14

Yeah, you did, but it's barely in the shot. Barely.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Oh, that's because you turned it around. Barely.

SPEAKER_05 1:25

The tour. We had two tours. My tour lasted 15 minutes. She was in and out. Tay's tour. That was about a good OMG. That was like an hour and fifteen minutes. Yes. That was Tay's tour. And I was on my feet that whole time. Tay sat down, he ain't moved.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Your boy was asleep. I'm like, you took it all the way out of the shot. Oh, I thought I rolled it in the shot. No.

SPEAKER_05 2:27

Yes. Perfect. We're good. Yeah, I need some water, please. Right, it almost fell off. I'm gonna go get one after I leave here. Why you asked about it? You you was trying to say that we needed another plant. Is that why you asked about it?

unknown 2:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 2:52

Okay, I'm gonna go get one when we leave here. Give me an excuse to Well John said.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Yeah, he needs to bring that back. You hear that, John? You supposed to be coming up here Sunday.

SPEAKER_07 3:04

Um I thought he was coming tomorrow. He coming Sunday? I don't know about tomorrow. I didn't talk to him about tomorrow.

SPEAKER_06 3:13

About tomorrow.

SPEAKER_07 3:14

Oh, y'all want on one in person? Sunday. In person. Mm-hmm. Who was that nose? Oh, that was your Osmo. Oh, it oh, I thought I turned it off. Oh well.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

All right. Welcome back. Welcome back.

SPEAKER_05 3:37

You are not doing that. Welcome back. Hey, what's going on, good people? Welcome back to another episode of Creative Roots Podcast, where C song become visions grown. Who you?

SPEAKER_02 3:51

Hi, my name is Tay. I'm the host of Creative Roots, the podcast.

SPEAKER_05 3:58

What's going on, y'all? I am Shamar Tay's trusty sidekick. What's happening, man? How's it going? It's gone. I can't find this.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Listen, I was. Oh my goodness. I was working on that short film, so all that stuff was in front. Then I had to uh take me some good old notes.

SPEAKER_07 4:17

You were vlogging today as well? I'm vlogging not right now.

SPEAKER_05 4:20

Currently. Right. Covering up the creative roots logo and things. Oh, you can see that? Hold on.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

I ain't even together. Look at my shirt. Look at him. Look at my shirt. Pull it together, Tay. Look at me. Look at me. Oh man. So today.

SPEAKER_05 4:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

Oh, I think this is a good one.

SPEAKER_05 4:40

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

Oh man. We will be discussing the uncomfortable middle.

SPEAKER_05 4:50

It is very uncomfortable at times.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Very. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 4:54

So what is the uncomfortable? I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

No, go ahead. What?

SPEAKER_05 4:57

What is the uncomfortable middle?

SPEAKER_02 4:58

The uncomfortable middle, that's where everybody is.

SPEAKER_05 5:01

Like you putting a lot of syllables in there.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Say it again. Uncomfortable. Uncomfortable.

unknown 5:05

Right.

SPEAKER_05 5:06

Uncomfortable. I'm just a boy from Charlotte, North Carolina. I say uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

Uncomfortable. Uncomfortable. Uncomfortable. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_04 5:16

Yeah. Spell that. Uncomfortable. Yeah. The presentable. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 5:22

So before we start, shout out to Alan Lux Studios. I would like to thank us. Shout out to Charlotte Podcast Studio. I would like to thank us. And shout out to Artbox Charlotte. I would like to thank us. So, the uncomfortable. Now you're going to be messing it up. Now I'm trying to get words right. The uncomfortable middle. Yes, yes. I don't think I wrote down what that means, but let's just put it this way. Everybody knows there's a beginning, a middle, and the end. Yes. Everybody knows what the beginning looks like. The uncomfortable middle is more of the space where you feel stuck. You feel there's no growth, and you feel like quitting. That's how I'm going to sum it up. And everybody knows when you quote unquote made it to the finish line because you reached that first big um goal compared to just doing reaching the little goals. Like goal one might be getting a camera, goal two might be getting booked. Goal three might be making 30K, doing it on the weekend. But that ultimate goal is turning it into your uh day job. And I don't even like using the word job or work when it comes to this because that sounds more of a I have no other choice, not a because I get to. Right. But somebody's final space could be making 100K plus a year. And that's when you made it to phase three.

SPEAKER_05 6:56

I have arrived. That part. So what I heard was now mathing like you. Uh-huh. So the beginning, you know, we celebrate the beginning. Like, yes, I started my business. Yes, I have an LLC, or yes, like you uh mentioned, I have my camera. Now I'm gonna go out and shoot. Or I'm gonna sit here and hold it while I'm watching YouTube videos. That's the beginning. Because that's what I did. Yes. And then the end, you know, is like somewhat someone could say the end was because I had a goal of, hey, want a studio space with our name on the door. And fun fact, this month makes three years in here. Clap it up for that. Three whole years. Three of them. So, you know, somebody might think that that's the end. You obtain that goal, right? But then so the uncomfortable middle, you know, that's that part where you feel like the needle is not moving. You feel like, dog, I got this camera. Ain't nobody calling me, ain't nobody booking me, you know. Um, and one has said before, or maybe more than one, but um, is it's being it's uh, excuse me, it's said that the uncomfortable middle is where people quietly quit. Because you've celebrated the win or the good job on starting a business and stuff. Like, for instance, everybody celebrated the grand opening of the studio. But three weeks after that, wasn't nobody calling their phone, they wasn't walking through that door, you know. What if that three weeks would have turned into three months? Somebody may have quit. Like, I ain't I can't do this. Right. So that's what we're talking about today, guys. That uncomfortable middle and what that looks like.

unknown 8:48

Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

So here's our icebreaker question. Oh. Was one moment recently where you realized you were still in the middle phase of your journey? I'll let you kick that off. I don't know. I'm thinking was one moment of a recent moment when I realized we I personally was still in the middle. I looked at the amount of equipment that I had and then I compare that to the amount of work that I've done, and I just said it doesn't match up. That was one of the things for me. Like I keep saying, you know, I want to do short films, I want to do short films, but I have all this equipment, but the biggest thing I don't have, which is the main thing, are lights. So it doesn't matter what you do. I've got a camera, um, I got a battery grip to do photos, and I've got a newer camera at that.

SPEAKER_07 10:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

You know, this is my fourth camera in 15 plus years. Camera number four. So I'm I'm proud of myself for that. Um, but long way from that T3i. Long way, long, long way. Um, but yeah, I'm like, I have these things, but I don't have the main thing. And the main thing is what I've been quote unquote using as an excuse to not get certain things done. So it's a little uncomfortable to know all I need is a light and I haven't gotten it. Okay. In short. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 10:46

You're about to get an exclusive tag. Oh God. Because you know I don't talk, well, you already know them what I'm about to say, or you know the information, but um, you know, I don't talk about this. What was the question? The question was when did you realize you're still in the middle?

SPEAKER_03 11:02

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_05 11:03

What's the moment? And that moment is me still having a full-time job. Or that realization is, you know, because my thing was is that work, build this thing to where, you know, I will uh for those that don't know, I it maybe I've said Clark Kent on here before, but you know, um, I call my full-time job the Clark Kent, you know, um, and that, or the silent business partner. Um, I definitely call it the solid business partner because that's what has funded and fueled this business, right? And um my thought was is that, you know, I worked that for X amount of years. I believe I gave myself five years and, you know, and then retire or um leave there. I didn't know retirement was a possibility at that time. Um, but anyway, I thought I'd be out of there doing this full-time and we celebrate 10 years this year, and I still have the full-time job. I'm not upset about it because it still definitely helps sustain my personal lifestyle and continues to fuel the business. But I realize you're still in that middle phase, you know. Um, so to me, getting, and I once I do retire from there, which y'all, I was eligible, what, two years ago, but I'm not ready yet. But once we are ready to retire, I feel like it'll be on the back end of the middle phase. It still won't be beyond it, but yeah, that was my moment of clarity. Like, you're still in the ground of things, you know?

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

I can agree. Because um, another recent moment for me is I had to go get a Clark Kent. Yes. See how I did that? Yes, get a Clark Kent. And coming off that truck, I was like, I don't want to do anything else. But I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do, you know, especially when you got miles to feed, and you know, it's nothing with trying to be a people pleaser or you know, giving people something to uh uphold an image is what I want to get to. Right. Um but I got a wife and three kids, you know, and when it gets slow, it weighs on you, you you can't think properly, you know. So it was having to process all of that, and I will say, thank God that getting this this day job was like that. You know, I didn't even talk to recruiting, I didn't talk to any hiring manager, I was told fill out the application and let her know. I said, hey, it's done. Yeah. And then I was told go take a drug test. I took the drug test the same day, they said you start Monday. You know, so thank God for that. Right. But you know, I I feel personally we're coming up on the back end of this middle phase. Okay. Yeah. You know, the the the two tools that we just had today, you know, the conversation that we've had back in January, uh not January, but December. You know, and the other little nuances, the other little things that we're doing, I see us chipping away. You know, the the analogy with the minor, because you know I was about to call him a gold digger. Yes. It's a gold minor. Yeah, the minor. And it's like they're just chipping and chipping and chipping, and they just say, I quit. I feel we're right at that space where in that analogy, the person says, I'm done, and then the next person just comes in and just, you know, three more knocks and they find this golden nugget. So that is where I'm feeling we are, but hey, I'm not gonna quit. Oh, so would you feel it's a breakthrough coming? Yes. I'm ready. Because I was gonna quit Tuesday. He know that. I don't think I told you.

SPEAKER_05 15:08

Two Tuesdays ago, I was gonna quit. Is it something on Tuesday?

SPEAKER_02 15:12

I feel like quitting on a Tuesday. That's all.

SPEAKER_05 15:16

So that's the thing. So, like we said, that a lot of people uh quietly quit in the middle phase. No, that was more than two Tuesdays ago. But anyway, it was definitely a Tuesday. I uh told Tay, I was like, man, um our landlord likes a check. I don't know why. He loves a check. So I write the check for the uh rent and then I text him and I tell him, like, hey, the rent, the check is at the studio. But that particular Tuesday, a couple of weeks ago, it was just like, man, I'm just about to tell him, look, the last check is at the studio, and I'm gonna be out of here before the next check is due. I quit in my head that day. And then like three hours later, I was all right.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

Y'all, he called me crying and boo-hooing. I'm joking. No, he didn't. I'm joking. But I was like, man, we can't quit. We gotta keep going. We gotta do this and we gotta do that. He was like, Yeah, you're right. Then I called him two weeks later. I was like, Shamar, I'm sick of this. He was like, Man, you can't quit.

SPEAKER_05 16:23

He was crying and boo-hooing too, y'all. I was sick of it. So, how did you fight out of that thought though? Because I mean, the thought, it not only is the thought real, that feeling is real, and you just want to do or just bump this. So, how did you fight that?

SPEAKER_02 16:43

I just walked away. I just walked away. I I I'm not doing this today.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:52

I'm not. So for for those that don't know, I would have real bad anxiety attacks. And it's just all these thoughts, all these things, the the stuff that I have to do on a regular basis. I gotta do this client work, I gotta do that client work, I gotta do creative roots, I gotta do the video Shamar asked me to do. We just had an event. Then I gotta spend time with my wife, spend time with my kids, then I gotta turn around and go to this day job in about 45 minutes. And all of these thoughts just slammed all at one time. And all I could say was, I don't want to do this no more. I quit. Yep. But I just stepped away. I said, I'm not touching nothing else. I stepped away, I took a deep breath, and that car ride on the way to work, I just sat and I said, Okay, God, if this ain't it, say something. I ain't hear nothing. What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_05 17:56

He ain't talking about nothing. So for me, it was similar, right? So I had the thought, and one thing about me is I like to go through the emotion. Because if you don't address it and go through it, then it's gonna keep on coming back to you. So I sat in it for a second, I stepped away from everything, you know, and then getting that clarity of I just started thinking that, you know, too much is riding on this, and too many people are dependent upon me, and I'm dependent upon myself as well. I know what is on that other side, you know what I mean? And it's just like just because I feel that in this moment, that should make me turn my back on all the responsibilities I have. And when I say the people dependent upon me, you know, we have people that we don't even know that are watching us. You know what I mean? And they are getting inspired by what it is that we do, and I can't let them or myself down.

SPEAKER_04 18:58

So I feel it.

SPEAKER_05 19:02

I said I'm gonna roll my eyes and talk under my breath, but I'm gonna still do it.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

You rolled your eyes at me? We'll never let that go. Dina, what up, Dina G? Dina G. So, Sanjay in the middle. This is a I guess we'll do a rapid fire. Okay. Real or exaggerated, right? Your skill is improving, but the recognition isn't. That's exaggerating.

SPEAKER_05 19:33

Mm-hmm. It's exaggerated. Oh, it it it ed, not ing. Okay. I was saying exaggerating, but it's exaggerated.

SPEAKER_02 19:43

We'll go with whatever.

unknown 19:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 19:45

Y'all.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Is it real or is it stretched out?

SPEAKER_05 19:47

We've literally had a combined three hours of sleep between the two of us. So I feel like I am dragging. I feel like I'm talking slow like Tay, y'all. Just slow motion right now.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

But we hear though. We hear. People think you're doing better than you actually are. That's real. I was about to say that's gotta be real.

SPEAKER_05 20:07

Because listen, people, a lot of people have no clue that I have a full-time job. I thought you did that full-time. Well, technically, I do. I got two full-time jobs.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

Yeah, so that's definitely real. Because, you know, we I was talking as well. I was like, wait a minute. I thought y'all did this for a not yet. Right. Um, you're working more, but the winds feel smaller. That's real for me.

SPEAKER_05 20:37

You're working more, but the winds feel smaller. I know you said rapid fire, but come on, one and a half hours of sleep. Gotta think through that. I'm gonna say that's exaggerated. The reason why I'm gonna say that's exaggerated is because you literally just did that yesterday. You you called me. Oh, Tay called me on the carpet, y'all. Y'all, hey, I might be on this uh podcast joking and messing with Tay just like that live. Tay, lock in, lock in. Tay be calling me to the carpet every time because I was discussing something where I was frustrated about a client situation, right? And he let me talk through that or whatever. And he was like, Well, I'm not, I'm not frustrated about it at all because I see it like this, and this has uh come from that. He named about five or six things that came from that experience and stuff. I'm like, dang, you're right. Actually, yeah, we did benefit and gain and stuff. So you're working hard, but the wins feel small. We view them one just like when you did your video too of recap of 25. You was like, I did a lot of stuff in 25. I did a lot. When you're in it, it looks like a small win. It takes somebody to remind you, or it takes you going back and looking back on the journey, like, oh no, that wasn't small wins. Like, we, we, we've been doing this. So That's why I called it exaggerated.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Well, being in it. That's why I called it real. Got it. So now that I have this revelation, it's really exaggerated. It's really exaggerated. Stretched. Um, what's the next one? You feel pressure to level up, but don't know what the next level looks like. That's exaggerated. Really? I was about to say real. Go for it. Go forward. You feel pressure to level up, but don't know what the next level looks like. I I have a vision for the next level.

SPEAKER_04 22:31

I have.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

I'm not gonna do it. I don't really. I am gonna do it.

SPEAKER_04 22:36

I have to do it. I think that's gonna have to be love, love.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

I'm sorry, go ahead. I think it's gonna have to be really exaggerated too. It's real because there's pressure, because I know I don't want to be at my day job. So it's pressure to get out. Yes. You know, but the part where it's don't know what the next level looks like. No, I know. Is that what it's okay?

SPEAKER_05 22:58

Maybe I need to look at these because I didn't understand it that way when you read it. Because what I understood, well, because I agree, the vision is there, you know. And one thing that I've always known about vision and stuff is that, you know, you see the vision, but it's not necessarily shown to you how to get there. So to me, that's why I said it's real. The pressure is on to get to the next level. I know what the next level is, but I don't have the footsteps. I don't know what the footsteps are. So that's how I saw that.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

Okay. I'll work on wording next time. Check. Um then it says add one personal example.

unknown 23:43

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

I think we did all of that. See what happens when you skip ahead. All right, so the middle phase traps. These are habits creators fall into when progress slows down. What happened? We got a couple of people amongst us that are in the middle phase.

SPEAKER_05 24:07

I just thought about that. I mean, we were talking about it, but I just thought about that. That's why I chose this. That boy's more. Oh, look at that boy. He's cooking. Foreshadowing. He is cooking, and this microphone is wearing me out. Move. All right. Redating.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

So topic of discussion. Reinventing yourself too often, changing direction every few months.

SPEAKER_05 24:36

Yeah, because you know, uh, that's one thing. I think that. You know, they tell you, especially getting into our field, they tell you niche down, right? Now I am uh uh avid supporter of capturing various things so you know what you like. I I was having a conversation with my nephew, like, you know, narrow down what it is that you like and then align whatever you do to that. You know, we're talking about him getting a job, y'all, being out there in the real world. But that's a whole nother episode, not segment. That's a whole nother episode. Oh, I'm at the like Tay today, y'all.

SPEAKER_06 25:13

I'm gonna bring it back. I'm sorry, bring it back.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Welcome back to another episode of Creative Roots with Tay and Tay 2.0. We are here. But okay, what we talk about.

SPEAKER_05 25:25

Um, changing uh up. So that's just like, you know, so you say, hey, you've you are you're establishing your creative business and you're like, I'm gonna go in this direction, right? Um, and then you set up all of your social media focusing on, hey, I do portraits. And then all of a sudden you're like, ooh, no, but the chick is over there at the weddings. Four months later, you're like, hey, I do weddings, and then you realize all this work and you don't want to do weddings no more. Like, ooh, hey, I do landscape. Wait a minute, wait, you you're doing too much. Can you focus and see something through? You know, and I think that you have to see it through to your whole point, chip away at that mine. Is it called a mine? Miner's mine. Sure. Chip away at that rock, you know, and if you walk away, yeah. You you going down this one, you're chipping away at that one, but you're like, hold up, let me go right here. Well, now you got to start from the beginning over here, and you already got that path already cleared out a lot. So, yeah, yeah, I don't know. That's a nasty habit.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

Reinventing yourself too often. I I think with that when it comes to doing like YouTube, um, even your social media, just because something didn't work for two months doesn't mean that it's not going to work. So a new thing now is not niching down. However, find your your main target, your main topics, and then niche those down into separate categories. So if you're gonna do beauty, don't do hair and nails and makeup and this pick one for like I don't know, Arabia. Y'all gonna have to help with this one. But when it comes to hair, are you gonna focus on natural hair or wigs? Or just stick with hair compared to all these different things. That way, when people come to you, they know what to look for. Yep.

SPEAKER_05 27:32

But you get I know I don't have hair, but I I'm I'm gonna step in. But that's just like, okay, because somebody could be a color specialist, you know? So you go to them for color, but then you can have somebody that they or I don't know if it's an organic dyeing technique, but you know, people who have locks or whatnot, they go to somebody that specializes in coloring locks, you know. Um, Kia uh cousin, Kia cousin couldn't do hair work for, but she knew how to do a doobie. You know what a doobie is? I do. Yes. One thing she could do is a doobie. The only thing you go to her for is a doobie. That's it. That's it. Don't ask for nothing else. That is it. So yeah, uh, and I know that that is kind of a trend, and I know I'm getting us a little off, but that's kind of a trend of not niching down. But even if you do offer, I don't go to Cheesecake Factory. I ain't been there and I don't know how long. The reason why is that menu is too extensive. You know, piss me off. I don't I don't want to eat here. Too many options. Yeah, I don't I don't want to eat here no more. And even with the cheesecakes, like my God, you got well, I'm not a sweet person, y'all. So y'all might get excited about all the variety of cheesecakes, but to me, it's like you got too many options. Too many. So yeah, I'm gonna need you, you're gonna have to niche it down for me. But or if I see that you do all of that, I automatically think Jack of our trade master none. Similar to a conversation we just had.

SPEAKER_02 29:08

So, I mean, you know, you as long as you have this broad statement and it's a flat level to me. You know what your broad statement is? What? Tay Do pictures. And that is the end of this episode. You know what? It's somewhere in here. I was gonna get to that. That I need to stop saying that I don't do photos and just own it.

SPEAKER_05 29:35

You did. You owned it with um uh Amar. I don't know if you even remember that because you was busy doing something, walking back and forth to the uh thing. But he was like, Tay, because you uh uh shooter, right? You take pictures. He was like, Yeah. And then that's when y'all got into the whole Photoshop Lightroom, Adobe. I do Affinity now and all that stuff. I was like, look at Tay, just yes, yes, I'm a shooter. Yes, I do pictures. Own it, Tay. He's still in the middle phase, y'all.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

Still work with him, and that was at the beginning. Jesus Lord. But yeah, um, as long as your your broad statement is still within the same realm, I'm okay with that. But if it ain't you, you gotta.

SPEAKER_05 30:23

I'm gonna hold you. You said that. You said that in January. You said, oh, maybe it was the last episode of uh 25 because you was like, in 2026, Tay Du Picks. That was your tagline. That's your tagline for the whole year. Tay do picks.

SPEAKER_06 30:40

You gotta say 2026, Tay Du Picks.

SPEAKER_05 30:44

2026, Tay Du Picks. All right, I'm I'm gonna stop getting you off course.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Go ahead. So, next trap comparing timelines, watching people who started after you pass me.

SPEAKER_05 30:56

And see, and that's the thing, that's the tricky thing about social media as well, because again, like I said, people have no idea I have a full-time job outside of this. So I'm sure people who began before me, like, oh, he's doing all that. And you know, I haven't gotten there. Well, no, you don't know what's going on. And that's the internals. Yes, you don't know, you don't know the internals, and that's the trap of social media as well. You see people that started after you, um, and you may perceive them to be doing all this or have surpassed you, but you may not be aware. One, you should be comparing yourself to anybody else's growth anyway. I don't care if they started before or after you. You cannot, those are that's apples to oranges. You can't compare because everyone has a different starting point, everyone has different resources, they have different obstacles. You know what I'm saying? So, how in the world can you truly compare what you have to that one?

SPEAKER_02 31:55

Yeah, because some people be paying for these views and they be paying for these uh comments, and I'm just gonna be real. Some people start after you, they they got an extra$10 in their pocket. Because I just got a message the other day. Hey,$10,000 followers,$50,000,$50,$50,000 followers. That's not organic. That doesn't give me myself Tay with the edits or creative roots a good presence. I'm not gonna do it. And that was one of the biggest things of why that made the list. It doesn't matter when you start, if I'm looking at your time. So you're just gonna smooth call these people out, shots fired, you're just looking at me like what shots fire. It is what it is, because this is the thing. If this is what you're getting, and I'm gonna use creative roots, how is it that Creative Roots has 14, 20,000, 50,000 views on one clip? And this is let's just say 15 to 50 across five clips, but you look at that follower count and we ain't got but 231, make that make sense. Let's be serious about it. Let's be dead serious about it. And that is why you shouldn't be watching people's timelines. Because back to what you said, you don't know what the internals are. You don't now if I see you got two grand, two thousand, three thousand followers, and you getting a thousand, five thousand views, okay. I'm also an analyst, so I'm gonna analyze what's going on in this clip. Why are people watching this? And why are so many people watching this viral clip?

SPEAKER_05 33:45

Because I'm only on 90 minutes of sleep, I can't even fight with you. I want you to let this go, though. Uh-uh.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

But I'm I'm being serious. I want you to let that go. You can't compare somebody else's timeline to yours because you don't know the internals, like you said, and you don't know if they are or are not paying for it. Instead of comparing, reach out to them. Hey, not letting it go you. How are you getting all these? Okay, I think we're moving on. Quietly lowering your expectations, telling yourself you're okay with less.

SPEAKER_05 34:19

I don't like that. That that is a very bad trap. That is a very bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, deal. That's bad. Um, because you that's just like hearing people settling. You know what I'm saying? You just settling because you're getting so defeated because you feel like you haven't moved that needle, or you perceive that they're small wins and don't even realize the major milestones that you've accomplished. So now you quietly just, okay, well, I'll be okay if I just get, you know, 5,000. Well, no, you said you wanted 100,000. So why are you gonna be okay with that? You know what I mean? Yes, it's gonna require more to get that 100K, but you can get it. Don't take that off the table. Give yourself. Somebody told me early, early on in business, give people permission to spend money with you, you know. Increase your price. You know what I'm saying? Or do this, whatever we were talking about. It was a rate or something that we were talking about. Increase it. You have to get in permission to pay that, right? Um, and it's the same difference in setting your goals and stuff. If you have revenue goals, give yourself permission to be able to receive that million dollars.

SPEAKER_07 35:31

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 35:32

Because I like I like commas and zeros. Just gonna throw that out there. Oh, which reminds me, y'all, uh Mono reached out to us again. So I got I got another piece of equipment coming. Yes, indeed. Exclusive. Exclusive, exclusive. I get to review it before it releases. I get to You're in the beta. I'm in the yes. Oh boy. So let's clap that up. Yeah. And that's why another reason why part of this list is here. Because, and again, that goes to I feel we're coming to the end. Because they've reached out twice. And it and it goes back to like I asked late last year when they did. If they reached out to us, why are we not reaching out to all these other places, these other companies, these other people? Like this mic stand intentionally no longer has the tape on it because I need to get in contact with them to say, hey, it's branded. I can't hide it. So what's up? What's good? They might they make mic stands, they make uh lights, they make uh what else they make? Dummy batteries, they make so many things. Newer, I'll be reaching out to y'all soon. Um next. Trying to that's crazy. Trying to do everything alone, not collaborating or asking for help.

SPEAKER_05 37:01

That was on you all. Oh, I'm making a lot of noise over here. You sure we are. That was on you all's episode, you want them all. Um yeah. Well, oh, that's one of the bad habits. I forgot was yeah, the trap. Yeah, that is a trap. Because sometimes you do it because you want to get all the credit. Other times you do it because you feel like you ain't got nobody. Other times you do it like me, and it's hard for you to ask for help.

SPEAKER_02 37:32

So yes, Lord, he said it.

SPEAKER_05 37:37

But once you do if you ask for the help, if you delegate things out, if you have a business partner, that stuff just it just helps uh accelerate the process. Because listen, I you know, two years ago, man, Tay came here two years ago. He ain't know nothing about podcasting, and I knew the bare minimum, and he learned it, and he got Charlotte Podcast Studio up to where it is. Shout out to Charlotte Podcast Studio.

SPEAKER_02 38:13

I would like to thank us. Us. Yeah. But that's it for that list. It says add one more experience. Y'all know how this goes. I didn't know if you saw that or not, and I didn't, I couldn't think of one to follow up behind what you were saying. So I'm just like, check your notes. Um, I think another trap, not from personal experience, but another trap is gatekeeping. And that that piggybacks off this last one, you know, you withhold information as if you're the only person that knows it. Right. And as long as you're the only person that knows it, you will quote unquote always be the person that people contact. Gatekeeping keeps you inside of that gate alone and by yourself. Because you're not coming out to let people know you you're like the kid that couldn't come outside. Everybody knows you in there, but guess what? We picking at you, we picking at you.

SPEAKER_05 39:16

I'ma I'm gonna give an example. Um, and this example popped in my head because it's been a recurring theme on this platform. You and many of your guests have discussed imposter syndrome. Definitely a trap. Absolutely. Because that'd that'll create oh. I forgot my word. I forgot my word. It's kind of like instability. Okay, I like that. It will create inmobility is the word I was looking for because you're not gonna move at all. And you know, I I fortunately I don't think that I've experienced that because it would a lot of people have talked about that on this platform. Multiple episodes. And at first I just couldn't gather, I didn't understand, like, what are they talking about? You know, but now having an understanding, like it one is real, and two, I it has a lot of negative impacts if you can't push through that. So that is definitely a trap.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

Definitely a trap. And I feel I've worked through it. Um because my biggest issue with that uh is just overthinking. Well, I I can't do it today because I ain't got no lights at the house, so I can't do this short film. When the sun is out, it's enough sun shooting through my house that I can do what I need to do. You know, use what I have and position the camera accordingly. I mean, my kitchen lights. Well, Chandra took the LED bulbs out because she she got tired of saying Alexa and it wasn't working. But but I have LED lights in my kitchen, so that is going to be bright enough compared to nothing. So, you know, cutting excuses and and and taking this whole imposter syndrome and we're gonna bury it. We're just gonna get rid of it. Just so the hidden growth nobody sees. I think we kind of touched on some of this. Um discuss signs that you're actually growing. We touched touched on some of this, um, even if it doesn't feel like it. You know, like you said, going back to 2025, I was like, well, I'm just gonna put together a bunch of stuff that I did from last year. And I was like, I thought this was gonna be like a 45-second reel. Like, this ain't no real at all. We and then I went and created a whole song and overlaid all this stuff, and I was like, I did a lot. I did a whole lot. So um, what is it? Discuss signs that you're actually growing even if it doesn't feel like it. So, first one, um your standards are now are higher now. My standards have high have been.

SPEAKER_05 42:38

Listen, yes. When I tell you, I will either fire a client in 2.5 seconds, or I'll tell you, I don't think we're a good fit. Whereas in the beginning, I used to try to take any and every job and project. And I was the one, Shamar, this ain't it.

SPEAKER_02 42:54

No, we can work. No, we can't. Tay ain't doing it. Comment when you figure it out. Tay, we ain't doing this. Oh, oh, here we go. Shoot. My standards are definitely higher too, because even though collectively we've been doing this for almost three decades, I still had beginner business mindset. You know, so I would be like, well, if they can't pay this and they can pay that, let's just not do this and then let's do it. But the price was already low.

SPEAKER_06 43:32

Right.

SPEAKER_02 43:33

So yeah, we definitely uh not only are our standards higher, our prices are higher.

SPEAKER_05 43:39

We told y'all yesterday's price is not today's price.

SPEAKER_02 43:43

We're not expensive, but we're not cheap. You recognize bad opportunities faster. I think you not today. Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. I think that's part of what we just talked about. Yeah, you can you can hear it on.

SPEAKER_05 44:00

Mile away. Like that's not my client.

SPEAKER_02 44:05

You're more disciplined than when you started. Definitely more disciplined.

SPEAKER_05 44:17

Are you just gonna let me work through that? Sometimes I feel like I'm not, and maybe that's part of my trap. Sometimes I feel like I'm not. I'm like, Shamar, you gotta tighten this up. You know what I'm saying? But if I sit there and think about that, I'm stretching.

unknown 44:30

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_05 44:31

I'm stretching. I ain't reaching for nothing. I ain't know right. What is he doing? Stab my leg. Come on, man. Um, so yeah, sometimes I feel like, man, you need to lock in, you need to do more, this and that. So that's probably my trap. But I would say, yeah, I am more disciplined than I was before.

SPEAKER_02 44:49

2026, Tay fussing all year. I don't want to hear it. I was, oh, you're gonna hear it. I was talking to uh Jin. Shout out to Jin Jin. What up, Jin Jin? I was talking to her and I told her, I said, I'm fussing all year. She said, fussing. You don't want to use a different word, like, you know, coaching. I said, that sounds too nice. She said, well, what about she gave me like three other words? I was like, no, because those words don't resonate. I said, we're gonna go with fussing. She said, why? I said, because who likes to be fussed at? Well, I said, that's my point. Nobody wants to be fussed at. So I'm going to be fussing because I know y'all ain't gonna want to hear what I got to say, but you're gonna hear me. You go, you gonna hear me. Hear me. Hear me. John, Dina, G, Shamar. Y'all hear me. Now, but yeah, I I know for me, I have to be more disciplined. Um, right now, I'm still putting out a vlog a week. Um, we're still dropping creative roots every week. I can't let that go. Number one. Number two, no, would I have seen that possible last year, two years ago, five years ago.

SPEAKER_05 46:03

And the crazy thing is, last year, two years ago, five years ago, well, I don't know about five, but you have more time on your hand than you do now. So that is a sign of you're locked in, you're more disciplined, because you're able to do more with less time than you did with all the time back then.

SPEAKER_03 46:21

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 46:22

Which hits on this next point. You understand your voice and identity more.

SPEAKER_05 46:28

Yes. And I'm gonna say from my personal lens and from the brand, because the brand has a voice and identity and everything as well, understand it way more. And that helps going back to some of them other points of recognizing good opportunities versus not, you know, um, and not taking on everything because everything doesn't align with your brand, your voice, your identity.

SPEAKER_02 46:52

Case in point, these emails that I keep getting, people wanting to be on the podcast. And what do we how can we align collectively for the community? Don't cover your face. Don't cover your face. We're in the middle phase, okay? I ain't got time for no more traps, and and I see the vision, and I'm on it. We're not doing this no more. Like, I don't have a problem with you reaching out, but I want people to know and understand this is not a place to just come and promote what you do. Yes, we're going, we're gonna promote you, but what's your story? How did you get here? How did you weed through you know the things that you you went through? This don't come on here just trying to sell, hey, I'm a photographer and I'm looking for clients in the area because I'm new here. It's okay. It's okay. But what's your story? How did you get here? Huh? That made me think about something. Stop. How did we get here? Oh, you know, I I haven't done this in a while, and I want to get back into it, and I want to showcase what I've done. Okay, we can have that conversation.

SPEAKER_05 47:58

And then you're gonna ask, is it volunteer to paid? Excuse me.

SPEAKER_02 48:04

Oh, reality check. Right. Reality check that situation, and that's what's next. Great segue. Very, very. So these are some hard truths, and we uh I don't know how how we're gonna react to these. The middle phase lasts longer than the beginning. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 48:30

And the beginning can be like that. It can. Very short. Well, it is dead. The beginning phase is always like that. It's very short-lived. If you think about it, that's just like, you know, that's why we have the whole saying, the honeymoon is over. Because one, the wedding is very quick. You you had a wedding day, you know what I'm saying? That was quick. And then you go on a honeymoon that at I ain't gonna say max, but really like seven days ideal if you go a week. But then you come back. All right, we married. What does what does it do? You know what I'm saying? And then you still gotta go to work. Right. And then let's say after that first year, you're because you're excited about the first anniversary and stuff, and then it should get real. You know what I'm saying? So that middle phase lasts way longer than that. You know, graduation, perfect moment. Oh my god, everybody's so happy. You did it, you did it. You're at the end. Well, you're at the end of that, but you gotta go out there and work because guess what? Now you got these student loans, you gotta pay back. You know, so yeah, the beginning is very quick in comparison.

SPEAKER_02 49:30

The beginning can be as easy as like you said, you get your LLC or your nonprofit or whatever you create the organization to be, you get your tax ID number, you get a business bank account, the end. That's the money in there. Right. Now, how you gotta put money in there? How you gonna keep money in there? You know, how are you going to keep this going? And that's where you that's where the middle phase starts. So, yes, the middle phase, oh my God. I feel the middle phase lasts until you say the middle phase is over. The reason I say that is because some people will work until they're 60, 70s, 75, and finally say, I'm done. That middle phase could be being a producer, you hit big with one song. Let's just take Mustard. Mustard's been working and working and working. Kendrick did this one song, and Mustard could have said, Hey, that's it. My middle phase is over. I ain't gotta struggle no more, ain't gotta do this, ain't gotta do that. Now I can do it because I work.

SPEAKER_05 50:35

Very selective of who I'm gonna work with now.

SPEAKER_02 50:37

Very. And to me, that would be the end of my middle phase. You know, so yeah.

SPEAKER_05 50:44

That's just like uh you ain't arrived until Missy says so-and-so on the track. You know what I'm saying? Right. Uh no, no, no, uh, not so-and-so. That's that's London on the track. But you know, Missy did uh new Monica, New Monica, and she do when she produced for uh Keisha, she was like new Keisha. So if if Missy ain't say your name on the track, you ain't nobody. So yeah, I get what you're saying. I just thought about that. He's a nobody. The reason why I thought that too is because like they did that versus, you know, there's a whole Brandy Monica thing where we have everybody knows that. And so when they did their verses, everybody was like, hmm, Monica gonna win. Cause I ain't never heard Missy say new Brandy. Uh-oh, Nigel watching. Nigel gonna get in the comments because he listen, he's a hymn, boy. He loved uh uh Brandy.

SPEAKER_02 51:39

Oh boy, Nigel, be nice in the comments, Nigel. That means your phone gonna ring. Right.

SPEAKER_06 51:46

Like, will you please lay off of the vocal Bible?

SPEAKER_02 51:51

And then he's gonna hang up. So the next one. Most people quit here, not at the start. Yeah, because it's you, you, it's the middle. This is the part where make it or break it happens.

SPEAKER_05 52:11

Ooh, tell you, I'm in the middle phase of my fitness journey. I just realized that this episode came right on time, man.

SPEAKER_03 52:18

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_05 52:18

Because at the beginning, you know, getting that instant gratification of seeing that weight come off, everybody telling you look good, this and that. And then we went to LA and you had me eating tacos.

SPEAKER_02 52:28

No, you didn't. I wanted to eat at other places. Number one, me and John walked all the way to Smash Burger.

SPEAKER_05 52:37

I didn't know it was their fault. You heard them Smash Burger. Ain't nobody asked you for that. I can't eat that, but go on get me one. You could have eaten. Give me that bacon avocado burger.

SPEAKER_02 52:48

That one, no bread. And I gotta get the bread. We was on our way back, and Schmoll standing on the side of the wall, uh, on the sidewalk, looking at us like, I'm hungry. Where's the food at?

SPEAKER_06 53:01

Where you been?

SPEAKER_02 53:03

Then after that, it wasn't nothing but tacos. And I was like, dude.

SPEAKER_06 53:08

We started off with tacos too. All you can eat tacos. That's the first thing we did when we got there.

SPEAKER_02 53:13

So that was the first mistake, right? Uh we got uh all you can eat tacos. All I can tell you is that man looked at me like he was about to say, no more. Right, no more, amigo, no more. And I was like, no, three more. Run them. Run them. You said all you can eat, not all y'all can make before I get full. But but yeah, so what was the statement? I don't even know where it was.

SPEAKER_05 53:40

I'm not gonna quietly quit, y'all. Don't worry. Your boy, your boy's gonna lean out. Oh, yeah. You talking about your diet.

SPEAKER_02 53:49

Oh shoot, I done scrolled somewhere.

SPEAKER_05 53:52

Oh. Alright, so I see where your cursor is. Is that where we are? I don't see no cursor. Well, you don't see it because it's yours. I'm not even sure. You're showing me where Tay is. Tay, it you're not gonna see it, but I see it because we're sharing the doc. I see where you tap at.

SPEAKER_02 54:11

Consistency matters more than creativity.

unknown 54:16

Consistency matters.

SPEAKER_05 54:18

What what the grove nobody sees. Consistency matters. No, because it's wrong.

SPEAKER_02 54:23

We're in the hard truths.

SPEAKER_05 54:24

We're in the reality check. We're in the reality check.

unknown 54:28

Oh, God, let me go edit this real quick. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_05 54:33

It's all right. Oh, I see, I see, I see, I see.

SPEAKER_02 54:38

Get it together, this is live. Live and uncut. Y'all know how these episodes go. Stop playing with us.

SPEAKER_05 54:47

And he literally edited that. Oh, y'all can't see it, but yeah, he updated it. And save. There you go. There you go. All right. So what which one? Consistency matters more than creativity here. So you're absolutely right. Because in the beginning, when he says here, consistency matters in the middle phase more than creativity. Because in the beginning phase, that's all you're doing is creating. You're doing everything so that you can create. You're buying the equipment, you're studying, you're you're looking at others, learning from others, teaching, you know, being self-taught or whatever, and you're just creating, creating, creating. But then you get in that middle phase and you're feeling like, the people not here, what's going on, this and that. So it is important to just continue to show up. If you continue to do it, because that's one thing we find in business, and y'all think about it as well, as a consumer, you see a brand and you know you want to shop with that brand or get a service from them and stuff, right now might not be the right time. But six months from now, you like you call them up. You know what I mean? We've experienced that, and we do it as consumers. So if you're not consistently out there and showing up and doing whatever you are doing for your craft, then when that person is ready six months from around, you're not gonna be a thought because they ain't seen you. You know what I'm saying? So yeah, it's very important to stay consistent.

SPEAKER_02 56:14

Yeah, that's why I gotta get back to um producing more stuff. I have to still play catch up. I've noticed case study. I've noticed when there are um the shorts on YouTube that the uh what do you call it? The subscriber count moves a little quicker. I haven't posted anything on there probably since January. Okay. And it's like we just kind of like plateau. Every now and then we'll get one, we'll get one, we'll get one, but I've noticed from the shorts they go up a little quicker. And then those people, because you can link the full video on YouTube, they click on the video and they go straight to watching the episode. So I know I need to get back being consistent with that. Um go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 57:20

Speaking of consistency, too, just from a whole different realm, not business, but I was um, guys, my nephew is working with us uh on certain things. So um going to the church to film the announcements. Before, even before that, just hey, here's the checklist, here's the equipment that you need to get, you know, for us to go to shoot the announcements. One, I had him type it up. Well, you know, he ain't gonna handwrite nothing because he's 19, y'all. So he had his phone, he in his nose. And then I'm listing out the way I listed it out was like, for instance, the tube lights, light stance, they go together, right? Uh camera, dummy battery, V mount, V mount plate, all of that stuff goes together. But he didn't list them all the way I spoke them. So he didn't group them, you know. And I'm like, if you list them and read them in the same order, you know, and if you when you're grabbing the equipment, you're grabbing it in the same order, that has built repetition. Now it'd be second nature to know that this stuff goes together and you would decrease the chance of forgetting something. Same thing with when we do the setup and the breakdown. I said he'll jump from one thing to the next. Nope. If you start with the lights, you break down the lights fully. Take the light off, the fuser off, take the light off, break down the C stand, take it off, you know, and pack it up and then go to the uh camera. So he'll go to the camera, he'll, you know, take the mic uh off of the camera, put that in the bag, and then he'll go over there to the light. No, no, no, come back and finish this. Because if you do everything in the same order each and every single time, you won't forget it. And now you don't have to look at your notes anymore because you know. So consistency creates repetition and it helps improve it. So even in the sense of what the the thing said, consistency is more important than creativity, but it actually can help creativity too, because you're consistently doing this, getting more reps in, and now you just know, hey, this is something that I want to create. And you've you've shot in that similar, let's say, lighting situation before, and now you're trying something new, but you know that lighting situation where you've been consistent in shooting in that, you know how to capture this new thing in that. All right, I'm done. But yeah, that's what I got.

SPEAKER_02 59:45

And that's a wrap for him for this moment. Your expectations might be unrealistic for the timeline you're on.

SPEAKER_05 59:54

Man, listen, let me tell you something. Somebody was here a long time ago, they ain't here no more. But uh, we were talking about, hey.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:02

You talk about me? No, I didn't say, and you talk about me. Oh.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:13

So we were talking about um goals for the year, you know, and I said, you know, I set a reasonable uh revenue goal for the year. They said, I want to make a million dollars this year. Woo! Why are you even gonna set yourself up for failure like that? I've heard of shoot for the moon and land amongst the stars.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:41

Is that right?

SPEAKER_05 1:00:44

Shoot for the moon and land amongst the stars. If you miss, you'll land amongst the stars. I miss. Hey Siri. What is that saying? Is it if you aim for the moon you and miss, you'll land it with the stars? You don't want to talk. Seriously, well, I don't know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:10

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the saying aim shoot for the moon, aim for the stars, or is it something different?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:19

They are nearly identical in meaning. They both encourage setting ambitious goals so that even if you miss the primary target, you still achieve something impressive. Historically, aim for the stars is the older phrasing. While shoot for the moon gained popularity in the 20th century, notably through Norman Vincent Peel's famous quote, shoot for the moon.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:39

Even if Eggar, hello. Hey, hey, we appreciate you. Thank you. Thank thank you. Did you just try to show up on series?

SPEAKER_06 1:01:47

Who then who then?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:49

That was uh Google Gemini. Oh, Gemini showed out. Yeah, programmed aborts, because I ain't like, I don't want that man talking to me. He wasn't like, no, hey bruh, so this is what it means. He was like, first of all, what you want to do? No, I don't I don't need a lecture. I need no lecture. So we're both right. Mm-hmm. Look at there. Shoot for the stars. Ain't for the moon. No more vocalization from me. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:22

So what you think? I'm trying to get back to what we were talking about before we squirreled out on that one. But yeah, like, I mean, come on. We haven't been close to a million dollars in for a 12-month period. That is not realistic. You know, if you come up with a more attainable number, that that will help continue to motivate you. So even if you don't make that, so let's just say that number is 100,000 and you land at 80,000. Well, you will feel good. Like, dang, you know, but but if that number set at a million and you land at 80,000, you're gonna quit.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:02

Yeah, that's somebody's pocket. Why are you in that middle phase? That's somebody's pocket change with a million dollars. Listen, I just need to, I just need$20 right now for gas money. Oh no, I ain't care. Hey, I get that 20. Yes, yes. Gas money is very, very important. But uh, yeah, set set realistic expectations. If it sounds crazy, nine times out of ten, it probably is. The work, oh, this is a good one. The work that gets you noticed is usually built during the quiet years. Okay. Case in point, Tay Do Pictures. And that's what I was doing last year. We did the magazine. And I when we went to uh Dina's brunch, I had, you know, there were people there that was like, I haven't seen you since the art show. And I was like, and I had to think, what art show? We ain't do no event at no art show.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:01

It was You were the artist. Exactly. Tay wasn't there. His um uh artist name was there. I'm not gonna say it because I don't know how you feel about it today.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:12

If you didn't get the magazine, you should go buy one because that's the only way you're gonna know today. Visit Alalo Studios.com slash shop. Today. After this, we are in our stop playing segment. Direct question. If you stayed in this exact phase for the next three years, would would you still keep creating? No. No, no, I don't like it here. I'm not trying to stay here. I gotta go. I agree. I can't say that I want to do featured films if I'm not doing short films, microfilms, mini-films, if I'm not recording. I can't say I want to be influential in the creative community if I'm not putting myself in the creative community, building the community, talking to people to build the community. I can't say, oh, I'm about to be monetized. Well, let me dial back. Because a new thing is, side note, followers and subscribers don't really matter anymore. What's your engagement? I can't say that it's time to reach out to these brands to get sponsorships, partnerships, collaborations. If I'm not showing that I can even talk to the people that are watching my videos, you know. So I can't I only want to be in the same space, same space in three months.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:44

I know he tells me all the time. It's been a countdown since five months. It was it started at six.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:52

Six and then five and a half, and then five, and that was three and a half, three and a half. I wasn't even thinking about that. But I know three and a half. You hear me?

SPEAKER_05 1:06:04

Something better pop off or But yeah, I wouldn't if stayed in this phase, wouldn't be creating. Um you everyone has those moments where it's just like I can't do it like this no more. No more gas in the tank. No, running on fumes. So dig deep right now in this phase to help push that needle so you're not here three years from now. I couldn't even imagine. There has to be consistent growth.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:45

It has to be. Even if it's small growth. Because that's the only reason why we're we're coming up on 10 years. It's been small wins. Intentionally, and I intentionally celebrate the anniversary every year for that reason. To as a reminder as to why we're doing it and a motivator to keep doing it. Yeah, you can kind of take that. Well, go ahead. That ain't got nothing to do with this uh episode, so I'm gonna leave it alone. There definitely was a squirrel moment. That one's fine. But that other one, it was I ain't changing nothing.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:21

Anyway.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:22

Y'all heard T at the beginning of this episode talking about, you know, I gotta work on this client video. That video Shamar asked me to work on. This is what he's talking about. Now he's trying to add a video.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:32

No, sir. Listen, I ain't even got the original files no more. They gone. You would tell me that. I would. Hey, Tay, so do you still have no? So to piggyback off that question, and I think we both answered it. What would have to change for you to keep growing? Or what's one uncomfortable truth about your creative journey right now? I think we answered that. I think I know I answered it. Just the the biggest uncomfortable truth for me, and I know somebody's gonna have something something to say. Say it anyway. The amount of time that I'm spending in my day job is the amount of time that I should have been spending working on what we do here. Not to say that I didn't, but I feel and I know I should have been a better steward of my time. Which means when I say I'm on a lock away, don't be on the phone for three and a half, four hours talking to Shamar about everything and nothing, and don't remember whatever y'all talked about, still ain't got the project done, still ain't got nothing done. Oh, and by the way, in the midst of that conversation, just add on two extra projects per hour. Just just filter that out. But you know, outside of that, everything is great. Mind you, you feel attacked.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:08

I was attacked.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:10

I was I had no words.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:14

All I could hear in my head was fight back.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:23

But I mean, granted, those conversations were needed. Those were like our meetings. So for those that don't know, you know, normally you have a meeting and it's like an hour, you got everything done. No, our meetings can literally last all day, depending on what we have to do individually. And we go through so much, and squirrel moments happen, and we're on to another topic. We go through that. Now, wait, what was we talking about? And then we get back to it, then another squirrel moment happens, and you know, again, not saying it's all Shamar's fault. Maybe maybe about 5%.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:05

Five, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:05

I'll take zero at the end, 50%, you know, maybe 15. But it's when you have no other choice but to do something and it's not your passion, you sit, well, me personally, I was like, I'm at this place for 10 hours. I can't do this, I can't do that. Yep. So now I have to squeeze it in in the allotted time, and again, still be a father, still be a husband, you know, still um tend to the flock. Yes, for lack of words. And yeah, it it gets overwhelming and it's uncomfortable, but again, three and a half months. That that's my time. That's my time, and and I'm trying to be out. Three and a half months. So, um, what was it? Uh uncomfortable truth. What would have to change for you to keep going, or what's one uncomfortable truth about your creative journey right now? What would have to change? Tomorrow would have to change.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:20

I mean, you said it. I know. I I I that's why I just looked in the camera, pause for effect. Make sure you include that in posts. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so that's that's what would have to change, is I would have to change. We have to change to keep going. Um, and then the uncomfortable truth I already told y'all earlier, you know. Uh hey, I'm not there yet because I still have a full-time outside of this.

unknown 1:11:50

Huh?

SPEAKER_05 1:11:50

I still got a full-time outside of this.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:52

Oh. You didn't hear that? I didn't. I was reading the text message. Oh, got another potential guest. So yeah. All right, practical reset. One thing I need to stop doing in this phase, I've already started. And that's self-doubt and overthinking.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:17

He's already started the process of stop doing the self-doubt and stop overthinking. I want y'all to be clear in what he's saying.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:24

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Because you saw how that video looked last week. The one that came out about the multiple roles or whatever it's it was. I was pissed when I saw the quality. And you know what I said? Ain't nobody gonna watch it anyway. They only listening to it upload. Cause if I'd overthunk it, I'd be I would have never put anything out. Just saying. One thing I need to stop doing in this phase.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:04

Oh, you got one for me? Is that what that hmm was for?

SPEAKER_02 1:13:15

Um, one thing stop doing in this phase is focusing on the fact that I'm in this phase because it's hard to work on the business if you're in the business. One thing I need to stay consistent with is posting. Cracking the whip. He ain't cracking nothing over here. I'm just gonna put that out. However, I'm about to go and get mine off Lelaway. Cause Tay fussing all yeah. You hear me? One thing I'm building right now. Hold on, can you before you do that?

SPEAKER_05 1:14:05

What was it what was it start doing in this phase? One thing I need to stay consistent with. I need to consistently. I don't want to say sell the business because I know people have negative connotations with that word sell. I need to consistently tell the brand story and make connect points with people, you know, because we have a lot of solution. We we have the solution to a lot of uh our clients' problems, you know, um, and consistently showing up and talking about what we do will help go take us further. Just like that conversation today, you know, young lady came in for a studio tour because of a podcast segment that they were trying to do. And Tay asked her, hey, you know, does your is an organization nonprofit? You know, you all do, did you do the research? Did you know they did events? I just knew. So he knew they did events, the nonprofit, and he was like, you know, do y'all do events or whatever? That opened up the floor. She said yes, and that opened up the floor for me to discuss, hey, well, you know, our parent company, Allen Lux Studios, does even if a tiger would take you me up. When I tell you, Ali, you out this mug. I gave him, and she was like, Oh, that comes up with this idea, that idea. Oh, I'm gonna email you this and that. So, yeah, consistently talking about it, you never know where it'll fall, and you don't know what all they got going on on their sides. Hey, we're filming a podcast right now, and you're on it, so I'll call you back.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:45

Yeah, welcome to Creative Room. Bye. We'll call you back. To that point, at my day job, I've given out business cards. You know, I assume people knew what I do, what we do, um, but they haven't. Like even yesterday, talking to a guy, he was like, I didn't know you did all that. And I'm like, Yeah, so whenever you and your wife ready for some some pictures, you know, you 2026, Tay Doo Picks. Tay Do Picks. I'm not hiding it anymore. And I guess it's because I got a uh superb camera. Superb. I'm not saying that my last camera couldn't do it, but the mega pixels on this one, um, they're awesome.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:38

And I can't say nothing about him going off track, y'all, because I've been doing it a whole episode.

SPEAKER_07 1:16:43

I didn't go off track. I stayed on track.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:45

You was get ready to?

SPEAKER_07 1:16:46

No, I wasn't.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:46

I was in my Oh, you was in and out. Okay.

unknown 1:16:50

I caught it.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:53

One thing I'm building right now that will matter later. This. Absolutely. Legacy. Yeah. All right. Well, I guess that's it, huh? So, in closing, not he landed a plane without me telling him he needed to land the plane.

SPEAKER_06 1:17:10

All right, let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:13

See, when Shamar's here, I ain't got no other choice but to stay on track. However, if you've seen the last month's worth of episodes, then he wasn't here. And Dina just like, oh, this is good. This is good. Shout out to Dina G. Don't come for me in the comments. No, Dina G. So the uncomfortable middle phase isn't where creatives fail. It's where they decide if they're serious.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:44

That's true.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:45

Let that sink in.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:47

Mm-hmm. If y'all didn't catch that, rewind that back. Play it again.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:52

I'll even say it one more game. Go ahead for the people in the back. The uncomfortable middle phase isn't where creatives fail. It's where they decide if they're serious. So are you serious about whatever it is that you're doing? And if you are serious, how much more serious do you need to get? Because I don't have time for lip service. I don't, I don't want somebody coming to me and telling me all the things that they can do to help or all the ways that I can help them, and then expect it to be: well, I can pay you in exposure. Well, I can shout you out. I'm no longer in that phase. So are you really taking this as serious as I am when you present these statements? I can't believe you are. But if you're taking it serious, if you got to open up that wallet, you're either gonna have to buy equipment, you're gonna have to buy your tools. I put it that way, you're gonna have to buy your tools.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:59

How serious are you? Oh my God. And I'm trying to, um, I I had to think, I had to run through some things. If you still got a can of T3i in 2026, talking about I am being serious. You don't do this. You don't do this. I don't even know. I I might use a T3i for my webcam. But how serious are you?

SPEAKER_05 1:19:21

You're gonna use the Osmo. We can hit them up. You need to hit DJI up.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:28

Yeah, DJI, because they keep sending me stuff, promoting stuff, but I ain't never seen nothing to fill out for the giveaway. Who's gonna win this? Apparently not me, because I don't even know where they're gonna fill out the form. DJI, I got you. I didn't get that form, but yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:46

You like they said, people quietly quit in the middle phase. Those that break through the middle phase and get to the last, those are the ones that took it serious. This is where what is it? I ain't about to say another saying because Tay's gonna call me out. Him and Jim and I gonna correct me again. Um, but go ahead. When the times get tough, tough people get when the going get tough, the tough get going.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:27

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:28

90 minutes of sleep, y'all. I normally get my eight hours. I'm struggling over here.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:34

I don't know the last time I got eight hours. Listen, I get it for us, don't worry. I know. I know. So, final question. What keeps you creating, even when the progress feels slow? It's a passion. I love doing it. If I couldn't do it, I don't know what I would do.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:58

I wish I had that answer. My answer is because I got too many people depending upon me. Um, like I said earlier, the responsibilities, the people that are inspired by us that we don't even know are watching us, you know. Um, I have to. And well, I guess it's twofold because, like you said, you know, it's in me. And it will nag at me until I release it. I've I've heard musicians say that I got this beat in my head, I got this song, I gotta get it out. It's the same thing, you know. I have ideas and stuff, and I it will eat at me until I do.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:37

So it would behoove you to let it let it go. Release. Yes, you gotta get it out. That's why I'm fighting with these next two um short films. I was debating if it was gonna be a part three, but I think it's just gonna be a completely separate short film. But um yeah. So here's this and here's that. Um if you are in the middle phase, if you feel it, if you're not even sure, if any of this resonated with you, leave a comment, let us know your thoughts on it, let us know where you are, and we'll do our best to help as much as we possibly can. I'm signing us up for it. I see.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:32

But no, because we ain't no gatekeepers, but no, I mean, then again, creative roots is more than a podcast, it's a community. So, you know, and you have to, just like we said earlier, in regards to um can't do it alone. You know, you get there quicker when you have others around you, and that's what this creative community is all about as well. You know, when you link up with like-minded people, when you link up with people that understand what you're going through and what you've been through and where you're trying to go, it just helps with motivation, it helps with inspiration, it helps with you know, accountability, it helps with, you know, just somebody there rooting you on.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:14

So clarity, yeah, accountability, that helping hand. So yeah, that's all I got.

unknown 1:23:27

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:28

That's all I got.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:31

This is a record, y'all. I can't believe it.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:34

So yeah, let us let us know where y'all are down in the comments. Let us know um where you are right now in your middle phase. You know, if you feel comfortable, tell us your goals. You know, again, you never know who's watching. You never know who's gonna comment. You know, you never know who's gonna see it and respond. You know, so don't get stuck in the middle of it.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:04

Oh, now you want to have a song break.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:08

I resisted the rest of them. Um, but yeah, so you got any final words?

SPEAKER_05 1:24:16

Nah, I'm good. I just appreciate y'all tuning in. And that's all I got.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:21

That's all I got. So thank y'all for tuning in to another episode of Creative Roots Podcast, where C Soul become Vegas, bro. I am your host, K. And I'm smart. We out. Peace.