Creative Roots Podcast

Mastering Your Skills, One At A Time - Jae | Ep. 51

• Tae Harris • Episode 51

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In this episode of Creative Roots, we sit down with Jae of A Jae Of All Trades: a creative entrepreneur using her God-given gifts to build tools that actually help creators move with intention.

From custom mugs and cups to the standout piece of this episode: her Social Media Journal. Jae is creating resources designed to help you stay organized, consistent, and focused on your goals across every platform.

And this isn’t just talk - this is application.

We dive into:

  • How she came up with the name “A Jae Of All Trades”
  • The purpose behind her Social Media Journal and why every creator needs structure 
  • Turning creativity into products that serve others 
  • Faith, obedience, and using your gifts with intention 
  • Why “just do it” isn’t just a phrase - it’s a mindset 

This episode is packed with practical gems, motivation, and real strategy for creators who are tired of guessing and ready to move with purpose.

If you’ve been looking for a way to get more organized, more consistent, and more serious about your content, 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. 

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Tae-@taewiththeedits
Shamar-@alanluxstudios

SPEAKER_00

I've done so much and I always told myself I never wanted to be limited. I never wanted to be limited. I always wanted to have Cause I'm sure we're gonna be keeping track.

SPEAKER_02

The crazy thing is of how this is so right on time.

SPEAKER_01

I'm getting geared up to do a let stuff look good though. You just open. We because me and the audience want to see all this stuff.

SPEAKER_00

This is a blessing, not only to me, but I can just see it in the faces of the people that y'all talk to. Truth in the air, let it speak.

SPEAKER_02

You was uh you was struggling.

SPEAKER_00

That's another I say, all right, I don't want to wear my Charlie Wilson t-shirt, but I'm I almost ain't got no choice. Pulled out Charlie Wilson, I asked for a 2X, they gave me a large, I'm sure of it. Because it was tight, tight. I almost didn't get it over my head.

SPEAKER_02

Like, who pulled the wear this?

SPEAKER_00

Who did this?

SPEAKER_02

Who did this? Who did this?

SPEAKER_00

I put I pulled out. I said, okay, I got my black t-shirts, because you know, I just keep t-shirts in case somebody says, hey Jay, put down my black t-shirt. That is not a 2X. I'm positive it's a 3, 4X with a 2X light like I ain't got nothing to wear.

SPEAKER_02

So everything was just I went in there and got one.

SPEAKER_00

I'm like, oh, I'm gonna try this X L. If this X L don't work, I'm I'm stuck.

unknown

It's like oh thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_00

Now I'm pulling out thinking it's black and it's blue. I said, You a whole mess this morning. Whole mess. Whole mess.

SPEAKER_02

Well, ain't nothing wrong with what you got on. You good. I mean, you've seen episodes, I was basically only wearing black pants and I'll try to find a shirt.

SPEAKER_00

Like I get it, but I'm not a fan of blue on blue. I'm not a fan of blue on denim. So if I wear blue, I need, you know, like a lighter, a lighter denim or something like that. But yeah, whole mess. Whole mess.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I tell you what, ain't nobody gonna be worrying about that but you today. Just you.

SPEAKER_00

I hear you. Look, I hear you. I hear you.

SPEAKER_02

Because I I be the same way. I sit, I go in my closet, because this is the thing for me. If I don't go in there and pick it out the night before, it's not a solid answer. It's just me. I'm gonna put this shirt on, I'm gonna wear them pants, and then I'm gonna put them shoes on. And that's what I'm that's what I'm gonna do. And then I get up, find out that shirt is dirty, find out that this black on black look more like uh gray on black.

SPEAKER_00

Gray on black.

SPEAKER_02

You find out that the blue shirt that you was looking for, your wife done wore it. Yeah, Chan Chan, you wore my shirt. That was mine, not yours.

SPEAKER_00

When my mama stopped having me pick out my clothes at night, I stopped doing it. And that's been since I was in the single digits. I ain't picked out clothes the night before. Oh. I'm like, I'ma get up and I'm gonna do it in the morning. Like I told myself I was getting up at 9:30 this morning. And I woke up, it was like eight. Oh, I'm gonna go back to sleep. I got time. Phone, I don't look at the phone. Oh, it's just nine o'clock. You know, now you clock watching, trying not to sleep too hard. Clock watching. Phone did something janky. I had to turn it off and restart it. I'm like, I'm sure it's 9:30 and this alarm didn't go off. Nope, it was 9.28.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, them two minutes.

SPEAKER_00

And I laid there until after 10 o'clock. I was awake. I'm like, no, I already know when I'm on the way, I'm good. All I gotta do is get up, take my shower. I got there and get dressed. Lies. Lied to myself. That's the worst kind of lie you can tell. The one you didn't tell yourself. Lied. Then I went, I said, okay, I gotta go get some gas, so I got time to get some gas. Walked out the house, left so much stuff. See, this why? This is the lesson. This is why you get yourself ready the night before. I still ain't gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02

This is why y'all should get yourselves ready the night before. Do not take after us because you will be hurt scrambling.

SPEAKER_00

That part of that.

SPEAKER_02

That's how I be listen. That's how I be like 10 minutes late, Shamar, when I do be late, because you know I'm normally not late, but when I am late, that's why. Has nothing to do with me going to Chick-fil-A. I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_00

Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. That line gets long real quick.

SPEAKER_00

You think? Mm-hmm. Yeah, I will never go to Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_02

No?

SPEAKER_00

No. No.

SPEAKER_02

You just gonna send somebody?

SPEAKER_00

I'm so glad.

SPEAKER_02

Listen, y'all, I am so glad we don't have a sponsorship with them, and I didn't get a chance to tell her yet. Like this episode is sponsored by Chafla. I don't like them. Listen.

SPEAKER_00

You know what? The only thing y'all need to do is just take the sugar out your breeding. That's it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Because the meat is too sweet. I don't like that breeding. I don't. I don't. They buy it at work. And they everybody want to cater Chick-fil-A. Now I'm gonna eat it because it's free. But if I gotta pay. Yeah, no, never. Never ever.

SPEAKER_02

No.

unknown

No. Good.

SPEAKER_02

See, see, this is what happens. So you know how these episodes go. I don't really need to explain much anything. Shamal, what's the famous line?

SPEAKER_01

I don't edit nothing. Yeah, cuz. And just know your whole conversation was on camera.

SPEAKER_00

So uh you know what? I kind of figured that after he looked at you and said, and then when you made the announcement that don't don't listen to Jay, don't be like Jay. That's when I figured this was locked, because I didn't whether it be recording time, or I didn't get that.

SPEAKER_02

Nope. So the reason I do that is because when we see so many clients come in, they're like, Mike, we like do with my Jay. Do like, yo, what's good? I'm in here. I we record and be like, welcome back to um another episode of my podcast. And we be like, yo, you you gotta keep that energy. Yeah, and it's a thing of getting you to just instantly be relaxed because as long as you can't see anything past these two lights and us having a conversation, yeah, you don't know. We've been recording for about five, ten, twenty minutes. And then I'd be like, so welcome back to another episode of Creative Roots Podcast where Seed Stone Become Visions Grown. I am your host, Tay. And I am Shamar Tay's trusty sidekick.

SPEAKER_00

Amen.

SPEAKER_02

And just like that, we are here. Y'all have already heard this. Has already been a wild conversation. So y'all know how Tay gets. As long as I got somebody to talk to, we gon' right today. We have J of all trades. I had to make sure that I said that multiple times.

SPEAKER_00

A jack of all trades.

SPEAKER_02

Who?

SPEAKER_00

AJ.

SPEAKER_02

A J, see? And I still got it wrong. It's okay. And you got it wrong again. It's AJ.

SPEAKER_00

So it's like a Jack of all trades. Yeah. It's a J of all trades.

SPEAKER_02

But it's a J.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Of all trades. Jamon looking at me like that's still wrong. Right. Now you got it that time. So listen, Jay here is a creator of all trades, as she said. She does.

unknown

You know what?

SPEAKER_02

I ain't even about to go down this role. I really want to get into one thing very, very specific that she works on. But I'm gonna let her introduce herself to y'all, and then we just gonna go from there.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, so I'm gonna ask you, is it just AJ of all trades, or you want Jay as a whole, the AJ of all trades brand?

SPEAKER_01

See, I ain't never got that question. How do we sum this up? We want it all. Clean socks and draws. We want it all.

SPEAKER_00

I got all that. I got all that. Clean socks and draws. She's selling them too. Well, a Jay of all trades um is just really an umbrella because I also, it's really a new venture. I'm starting created in Grace up under the A Jay of All Trades umbrella. And that's where we start doing um workshops and things like that because people will order different things. And sometimes it means more if you make it yourself. So I'm gonna start offering workshops and private parties. And then, of course, there's soul for nature photography where I do the landscape photography. Um and then, as I stated before in the previous conversation, where I'm gonna start my podcast. So a J of all trades is an umbrella, but I do so much.

SPEAKER_02

I told y'all she do a lot. Yeah. I think I told y'all, unless that was I was me talking to Shaman. Yeah, you told me. Yeah, I was talking to somebody.

SPEAKER_00

It's a lot. It's it's a lot. It stays busy, but it's a blessing because I recognize everything that I do, you know, I give that back to the Lord.

SPEAKER_04

Amen on that.

SPEAKER_00

Um every idea, when I say, Lord, reveal to me the things that you want me to do, you know, sometimes it's like, okay, did you really say that? I mean, was that me talking to me or was that you talking to me?

SPEAKER_02

I know how them conversations go.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. But, you know, when he lines it up, then you move on that. And so a Jay of all trades is really, really busy outside of her nine to five.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm.

unknown

But yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00

So I would assume that the one thing you want to talk about was that journal.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, see, I wasn't even gonna throw it out there like that. But yes. So listen, y'all, she has a social, is it correct me if I'm wrong, a social media journal, a journal for creatives to um now you didn't show it out. Let me see. I ain't even ask. My initial thing was, hey, are you gonna bring one so we can show people? Listen, y'all, and y'all know we love gifts over here, but look at this. Look at there.

SPEAKER_01

You see that? That's my that's me with hair because it got coffee cups. That is me. Look at that.

SPEAKER_00

You upgraded. Right, that's right, that's right. Look, did you do it? Did you uh wait, stop talking? Did you do that man's hair thing where you get the you know, the hair thing where you can do your locks of stuff on the bow head?

SPEAKER_01

No. No, uh, DJ was doing that though. Uh I saw uh his brother-in-law doing that.

SPEAKER_02

Listen, y'all, we're about to end this episode. Shamar got to take over because I was not expecting that. Hold on, wait a minute. I didn't even listen. Look at these. Again, I didn't even ask for this. So I am more than greatly appreciative. We got wristbands. I might share Shamar. Oh, can y'all see him? Well, no, no, can you tell me?

SPEAKER_01

I can't see.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, they say creative roots on him.

SPEAKER_01

What a look of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Hey, give me that black one. Look, hold on. My legs are starting to uh trying to hold his bag up. We got more things. Oh, we got pens. And y'all know, if anybody knows Tay Love a pen.

SPEAKER_01

It said God gift you. Come on, Tay. You you help me. I'm here. We won't.

SPEAKER_02

God has a gift for you.

SPEAKER_01

God has a gift for you.

SPEAKER_00

Well, you gotta open it up because those are like scripture cards.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, we got more things in just in this one package.

SPEAKER_00

And you can open that journal too, because it's it's uh definitely.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I was gonna open it, but we got the we got the and then it's the the the green on the pen. Boom. Bow Jamar cannot have my pen. Bow.

SPEAKER_01

You know what? She started it just FYI before we hit record. Uh we gave her some water, and she was like, yo, y'all, y'all can put some labels on these waters, you know what I'm saying? So this is what you're talking about. See, I didn't even know you did this. This is dope.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, I looked and I was like, oh, I'm talking about me right now. Hold on. Yeah. That stuff looks good, though. You just open. We because me and the audience want to see all this stuff. Talk to us while you're doing it, brother.

SPEAKER_02

What'd he say? And I needed one of these too. What's that? It's a bookmark.

SPEAKER_01

Oh. Oh, you snap it over the ah! I like that.

SPEAKER_02

I like that. In the dark, speak in the daylight, Matthew 10, 27. This one says worthy. Ooh, and it's gold.

SPEAKER_01

So you have a site for this, Jay, or I do.

SPEAKER_00

It's the JofallTrades.com.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. So is all of your trades on that one website?

SPEAKER_00

No. Um, each each venture has its own website.

SPEAKER_01

But the um what do we call it?

SPEAKER_00

Like, so the the notebooks and everything is on a J of all trades.

SPEAKER_01

A J of all trades.com, people.

SPEAKER_02

This is dope. The Bible emergency numbers for those that don't know.

SPEAKER_01

This is like Are you getting scriptures for each thing depending upon what you're going through? Yeah. I like that. That's your calling card. I hear it. I hear it. Yeah, man. Come on, let's open that journal today. You're gonna have to move faster than this, bro. Hey, I'm trying. I'm I'm just in awe because I don't think we've ever had nobody. No, ain't nobody gifted us. Now the she just came and brought food. But those were lovely meals. Oh, yeah, absolutely. You got some personalized stuff over here. So she learned you and your brand, and she put your brand on everything.

SPEAKER_02

Look, I'm about to call out everybody else. So we're wild.

SPEAKER_01

This ain't about them. Listen, see, that's why I'm here, J.

SPEAKER_00

I'm sorry, everybody who don't interview. I am so sorry. I did not know I was starting trouble for everybody.

SPEAKER_02

Listen, I had everything in my head mapped out. Listen, this done took a turn. Look, we still got more stuff.

SPEAKER_00

Now that's your straw.

SPEAKER_02

Oh we got straws. There's only one reason to have a straw.

SPEAKER_01

Because you got a cub. That means I got a cub.

SPEAKER_02

So everybody that knows Tate very well as well knows I love cubs. Ooh.

SPEAKER_01

Ooh, look, fancy. Oh, scan me. Can you scan this for me? Scan me. You know, I don't know if these iPhones work. Oh, oh no. Picking up on you. Don't get my face. Yeah, still picking up on you. It ain't grabbing on the code.

SPEAKER_02

Let me see what this Android do. Oh look, look at there. Bam, straight to the website. You know what? I'm gonna cry after this episode. Fix your face.

SPEAKER_00

You know what? I like to um, for one, it's a thank you for having me. Um and I've I listened to our conversation, I heard what you said, and um in watching the video that Arabia showed up the journal, and you posted under that we need to see this journal, see how to use this journal. Oh, you saw that comment? I saw it, and so I said that I was bringing you one. Um I don't know if you need it, but I wanted to say thank you, and I wanted to give you something, you know, that you could use in the event that you needed one.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I'm a hugger too. So listen here, y'all got to hold on for 3.5 seconds. I need a hug. You got to give me a hug. I was not expecting any of this at all. I'm glad you're very welcome. You're very welcome. You don't understand. I not just that. I gotta get me a hug.

SPEAKER_01

All right, so he he's focused there. I'll talk to y'all. But yeah, you're gonna have to open up that journal, brother. I'm trying. This is dope stuff, though.

SPEAKER_02

My OCD is crazy when it comes to opening stuff.

SPEAKER_01

So, a J ofdrawallTrades.com, people. I'm gonna go there right now when they get to talking.

SPEAKER_02

Look, I like that book go, but bookmark it. Come back.

SPEAKER_01

Like that. Uh let us see it. Hold on. Let us see it, brother. Come on now.

SPEAKER_02

He said open it.

SPEAKER_01

Look at it right here. Look, look, there you go. School picture. Come on.

SPEAKER_02

Can you see that? Yeah, better.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, oh, look at it. Look at it.

SPEAKER_01

Look at that. Look at that boy.

SPEAKER_02

He's over here taking BTS photos, y'all. I'm so proud of Shamal right now.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I am working.

SPEAKER_02

Oh. Look, it's got the month. Social accounts manager.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Because if y'all remember, y'all.

SPEAKER_02

Just in case.

SPEAKER_01

Y'all handles the stuff. Is that what you put in there?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And then keyword search. This is similar, suggest similar or suggested keywords, where to use keywords. And then there's another page for it. Um, yeah, y'all gotta go get y'all one of these.

SPEAKER_01

So as you're looking through that, let uh Jay you tell us what the journal is.

SPEAKER_00

So this particular journal, um, it just allows you to organize your life. Like if people are like social media content creators, a lot of times what you need is a way to organize what your goals are for the month. And then in that month, you got four or five weeks, and you can organize what your goal is for each week.

SPEAKER_01

I'm I'm gonna stop you right there because I don't think that people really understood that. Because most people think just, hey, post, post, post, you gotta post. You just drop the gym and they don't even know it. You have to identify your goals. What are you trying to achieve with this posting and social media stuff? So, all right, keep going. I just wanted to call that out real quick.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and that, and then you know, you have different, you have different creators that you watch.

SPEAKER_01

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

And so you don't you don't want to mimic what they do, you want to be your own style, your own brand, but you can take different cues from them, different things that they may do that seem to work.

SPEAKER_03

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

And so it allows you to record your favorite podcasters, take notes, have tips, build your own goals and things like that, and just keep track of your just keep track of your platform and and your, you know, just keep track.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. Because I'm sure gonna be keeping track. The crazy thing is of how this is so right on time. I'm getting geared up to do a uh another vlog, right? And it's talking about intentionality um and whole and the things that I plan on doing to be intentional. I've stated in one, maybe two episodes already that I'm like, I bought a brand new notebook to just start over in that space. And I'm glad that's got my face on it, so he can't be like, but that's mine. Um, but knowing that is what I'm gearing to, and I'm thinking, like, I need to lay things out, I need them to be in a space. And I'm the type of person where when I write something, if it's out of place and I need to go back and put something else up here, my OCD kicks in and I'll have to redo the whole paper and hope that I didn't forget something else. Like, if you've seen any of the notebooks I write it, it's like this is organized confusion. And and that by itself, why is Shamar taking notes in my book? I'm joking. Come on, man. But that is definitely gonna help. I don't know why he didn't take the paper with him. It's okay, it's right here.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I'm glad you like it.

SPEAKER_02

I do. You don't understand. Like, I'm I've been fighting this thing, and I was really gonna say, okay, like I'm going to take that video and I'm gonna go over my numbers, write down where I'm at today, write down where I was when I started at the beginning of the year. Like, I was gonna go through all of that. You know, the the key thing I know, and I'm giving extra information early. But one of the biggest things is follower count doesn't matter much for getting like brand deals, the views count, the engagement counts, and YouTube is like your click-through rate and understanding all of those. So I was I'm going to sit down and create a series based on me, not well, this is what you want to do. It's like, hey, this is where I'm at, and this is what my click-through rate is, and this is what my number is right now. I'm working to make these numbers better. Here's what I'm going to do, how I plan on doing it. But that book is going to give me more of a clear line of sight of what I need to do. You don't understand. Like that right there. And then it's sectioned off. So you still have your monthly goal, then you have your weekly goal, then you have your planner, um, then you have it was uh a page and it said hashtags. You know, I'll use that page to figure out what hashtags am I using that make sense. You know, sometimes I'm, you know, making the post that I'm like, dog, I forgot what hashtags I was gonna use. I don't have to worry about it.

SPEAKER_00

It helps to see it once it's in your face. Yes. You know, you can have all kinds of thoughts and like, oh, I gotta remember that. I gotta remember that. But it helps to see it. Mm-hmm. Because then, at least for me, it's one of those where where it sounded good, mm-hmm, looking at it, eh, that ain't it. You know, so it helps to have it in your face so you know what you're looking at, what you're working with, right? And then even be able to record how it even turned out. So that's really the purpose of those journals. I got several, but uh that one seems to be the I need that, you know. And so it's like, okay, maybe I done found my thing.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, you did. Y'all need that. I don't care what nobody else tell you, you need that. If you are a content creator, now I understand you got the idea in your head, you know how to talk on camera. You are a talker of all talkers. But that will help you lay out your goals instead of, like Shamar said, instead of just recording, recording, recording, post, post, post, that helps you understand what your goal is with what you're posting. Intentionality. That's the word of the year. Being intentional about everything that you do. So Shamar, I'm done for the episode. We are good to go. You know, I hate to cut it short for y'all, but I got work to do.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. So I just want to uh make sure, because Taylor, you're gonna have to put it in there as well and put it in the description. So it's AJAE of alltrades.com. All right, again, people, it's ajai of all trades.com.

SPEAKER_00

And then, you know what I have noticed and in doing this and everything that I do, really, people like to see their face as close as they can get it.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So I can go and I can buy a journal that I can write in it, but it's not mine. You know, it doesn't represent me, it doesn't resemble me. And so I look at the people that I'm making these for, and I make it as close as I can to the person buying it. And then if I can put your name on it, if I can put your podcast on it, I would do that because it's yours. You want it personal. And people like to see their name on stuff.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. And I think that goes back to like childhood um things like this toy, it's got this one mark on it. I know it's mine. Right. You know, your parents buy you things specifically for you, right? You know, and then you get like the pillows and then the blankets that these kids get and it's got their names on it, um, things like that. You get your name on a shirt. It's so personalized that it makes you want to use it, pick it up, play with it, do so. Even if you don't have an idea, right, you're gonna want to grab that notebook and just open it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I did last year, um, and it's also on my website, but for January, I try to do something at the beginning of every year. And I'll there's certain people I'll ask, well, do you want to do it with me? And so last year we did the Daniel fast going into January. And I did the fasting journals. And I did the fasting journals, I did the um bookmarks and pens that go with it. And each woman had her own journal, and it looked like her, like I know what you look like. For me, normally, like maybe over the past year and a half, I've been getting my hair done because I was wearing my afro faithfully until I did this one day and I saw scalp, like, what? My hair coming out? I'm coming my hair out. Uh-uh. That day, hey Carol, I need you, I need an appointment. So my journal had my afro on it, like a girl with an afro, but I made sure they were all praying because you want to make sure that what you're using represents your right now. What am I doing? Why do I need this? And how can it help me alone? And so I want to make sure that every journal, anything, anything is goal. I'm sorry, goal-oriented. It is personal, it's yours, and you're more apt to use it versus like me. I'm a paper person. I don't care if I never write a single thing, and I'm a writer. I used, and this is kind of where I started. I love paper.

unknown

Paper.

SPEAKER_00

I don't care.

SPEAKER_02

So she's answering the first question. What got you started on your creative journey? So we're here, guys, just letting y'all know where we are in the episode. Okay, go.

SPEAKER_00

Paper. And when I was able to start buying my own stuff, you know, you could just start working out your own money. I would wait for the school sales. And I would just go buy spiral notebooks, composition notebooks, put them in a box in my closet. Never use them. When I had to clean out the closet and all of that paper had turned yellow, I love paper. And my goal was, oh, you know, when I get old enough, I'm gonna have me a printing business. I just got to work with paper. And then I am that person who I can write an entire notebook, but if you let one page get dog-eared, I'm going to rewrite the entire notebook. So it's best for me to have a lot of paper to do that with because it's I don't like wrinkled paper. So it's like, oh, I'm gonna rewrite the whole notebook and throw this away. And so paper was my starting point in this journey. Then it got to where, oh, I can do business cards. And this is on the old computers where it didn't nowhere near the technology that we have now. So you're literally sitting there and you got your little home printer because you can't afford all these professional printing places. And now I'm printing out business cards. I'm doing business cards for people. When I move on up from there, it's just one thing led to another until, you know, here I am, and I got all kinds of options, all different things. And then I may see something like, oh, I can do that. And I'm gonna try it. Like, oh yeah, no, you lied to yourself. You can't you can't do that.

SPEAKER_02

But you thought it was.

SPEAKER_00

But I tried, I thought I could, and that's the important part. Yeah, like I was real strong on like, oh, these people can fold this paper. Oh, I can do that. I can fold this paper and make it pretty when I do something. I can't even see a straight line. How are you folding paper? Right, you can't fold this paper, let it go. And so some things it's just like, no, you can't do it. It's pretty, that's your ministry, not mine. Right. Um, but yeah, that's that's really how I got here. Just one thing at a time, and the more you know, the more you grow. And being very intentional.

SPEAKER_02

Intentional.

SPEAKER_00

Being very intentional because you can learn things, but you don't want to move so fast till you don't at least master something. Because a lot of people, oh, I want to do this, I want to do that, and you got nine, ten, eleven things that you're trying to do. At the same time. At the same time, but you have to slow down and you have to master something. So you always have something to fall back on. Like, no, I can't do origami, but I can I can make a notebook.

SPEAKER_02

No, I can make a paper airplane. I can't do origami either.

SPEAKER_00

I can't make a paper airplane right. Oh, but I can make a notebook, you know, like yeah. So you gotta know what your limits are. And if you do want to push that line, you have to work with it. You have to work on it, you have to stay persistent, consistent, and intentional. Because if you let that slide, if you skip a step, it's not gonna work. And then you're gonna look back and say, I don't know what I did wrong. Well, you skip the consistent. You may have been persistent, but you you were not consistent. And so that area of growth that you needed, you passed it because you didn't want to take your time. You wanted to get go from zero to 10 immediately. And that's not how growth works. That's not how being intentional works. So you have to work on it as much as you can until you perfect something. And then you always have something to fall back on, you always have a starting point, just like with your computer. You know, you can do that uh where you refresh your system back to this point where everything was working right. You always have a starting point. So once you've mastered this, okay, you move on. Once you've mastered this, now you got this starting point. You are on your way to 10, you're on your way to 100, but you have to grow and you have to stay consistent.

SPEAKER_02

I hope y'all picked up on all them GMs she just dropped, because boy. You you was about to say something, Shamar. No, okay. Hey, will you do your show? This is this is the show. This is it. We are here. I was waiting until you finish. Oh, I mean, you said so much right there. Try, at least try. And if it ain't for you, don't force it. Consistent, persistent, and intentional. And if you are missing one of those things out of that triangle, you gotta go back. You gotta pick it up. Stop opening up these new programs and these new apps and thinking that you're gonna start this new channel and you're gonna be at a million followers by the end of the day because you have such a great idea. There are probably a hundred thousand other people that have that same great idea that you've never heard of or never seen. Take your time, be persistent, consistent, and intentional. And if you really once you realize you can't, just move on to the next thing.

SPEAKER_00

That's it. Everybody, to your point, everybody has an idea. And you're not the first one with that idea. What makes it different is who you are. Because I can have a podcast, you can have a podcast, but there may be something in your delivery that people don't like in me. It may be something about my mannerisms or my demeanor that they like that you just don't possess. That doesn't make you wrong or me wrong. That just means we cater to a different type of people.

SPEAKER_02

And there's a page in there that talks about your target audience too. Just gonna, you know, just throw that out there. So yes.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So don't feel like, okay, well, oh, they got this idea. Because I do that a lot. And I have to stop and I have to tell myself, there's enough people out here. You're not gonna be for everybody.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00

Um, some people are just not gonna like you, and that's okay. You have to be true to one, who you are, two, you have to be true to what you do. There is enough people out here that's going to love you. There are just as many that's not going to like you, but you cannot let this group of people influence your decision because we all have a calling. Yeah, I'm gonna try not to get too preachy, but we all have a calling. And there are a lot of things that we like to do, there are a lot of things that we want to do, and then there are things that we're called to do. And you have a gift, we all have a gift, and if you don't walk in your calling, and God will lay it out for you, He will show you what you need to do, but then that's where you have to trust Him and you have to be able to hear Him and not doubt what you hear. Now, again, we have to test the voices that we hear. Um, but if it's one of those where I'm scared, well, God didn't give us a spirit of fear at all. So you might be afraid to move forward, but if it is just lining up for you, you be careful. You watch your steps and you trust the Lord the next move, like, did you tell me to do that? But if it's right, nine times out of ten, this is God pushing you to a place because what you want to do is use your platform, any type of platform that you have, whether it's a podcast, whether it's a notebook, at the end of the day, you want to be a blessing to somebody. You want somebody to see that, okay, this is not out of my scope. You know, and I I kind of hate when people say, well, if I can do it, you can do it. That's not true. That's not true. You know, it's I can do what I can do, I can do what God called me to do. My gift may not be yours, and yours is not mine. Um, but I try to take that statement to say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Um and it's not your gift is not mine, but I can do something that God called me to do. Um, so you have to trust that. You have to hear it, you have to know it and know that what you're doing is a blessing to somebody. Somebody can see where, especially people that have walked with you. You started from here and now you're here. Oh, well, thank you, Lord. You know, I wasn't even expecting this. Or you don't know who's watching you to say, Oh, well, I can't do that, but I can do this. You don't know just that little bit that somebody can see, or that little one word that you can say that can inspire somebody else. So you have to be diligent and you have to do be decent and in order, you know, and what God is calling you to do, you walk in it because he's not gonna allow you to make a misstep as long as you're following him.

SPEAKER_02

Correct.

SPEAKER_00

And so I that's just kind of how I live. You know, it's Lord.

SPEAKER_02

What was going on?

SPEAKER_00

Is this what you want me to do? I don't know about that. Wait a minute. Let me see if I said this to myself because I'm good for talking to myself. You know, Lord, if this is you, you're gonna have to confirm it. I need you to speak loud so there is no doubt that it's you talking to me. Whether it be confirmed, yeah, whether it be confirmed through somebody else or something that just fell into place. Lord, I need you to confirm this because I don't want to do this wrong. Um, just like the podcast I'm trying to start. It's like, okay, God, I need to know before I make this move. Because the last thing you want to do is feel like you're doing a good thing, but you're doing a disservice because you ain't ready.

SPEAKER_04

Come on.

SPEAKER_00

Especially when you want to bless somebody else. When you want to be a blessing, you don't know who you're blessing, you don't know who your conversation is for, you don't know what the conversation is going to open up for somebody else, but you don't want to give out bad information or you don't want to present something the wrong way, and you got folk following you and they're looking at you saying, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you just is wrong. You loud and wrong. And now the blessing, what should have been a blessing is somebody's struggle. Yes, you know, and so you got to for Jay, I have to daily consult with God on what I'm doing so that I can make sure I'm doing right. Pages, pages of a journal. Like, what needs to go in this journal? What is it that people need? What is it that people want?

SPEAKER_02

And intentionality.

SPEAKER_00

Intentionality.

SPEAKER_02

Not just throwing a bunch of words on a paper and saying, well, somebody gonna buy it. What is going to help this group of people? What is gonna help this one individual that can be spread within this group of individuals to help an overall collective? Because I'm thinking we our next event when we go live, you be a vendor and you have you take orders because a lot of people need those. Y'all need, trust me, you need it. Especially if you're a planner and you're trying to do things, but you got a dry race boy calendar, then you got a digital calendar, then you got the calendar on your phone, and then you got a family calendar, then you got your work calendar, and then you got all these different ideas, you just listing them out in a notebook. If you're doing video, that is definitely gonna help. If you're again, it's social media, even if you're posting pictures, that is going to be helpful. You said a lot. I don't I hey, we here. So I'm I'm gonna ask this question because so we can move it along. When when you have all these things going on, and you're doing your you're encouraging people, right? Through what you do. Um how is your support looking? Because you got my support.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. I have people in my life who 100%, Jay. I have people in my life who are honest, and that's what I need. You have a lot of people, oh, that's good. Yeah, that's good. And I test people. I test people because I can do something that I know is wrong. I can do something that I know that don't look good. Like, what you think about that? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Now we both know. We both know this trash. Did you look at it? Because I don't think you looked at it.

SPEAKER_00

Right. But then there are people in my life who say, mm-mm, mm-mm. Now I'm not gonna say their names because I know they're gonna watch it, but they're gonna know who I'm talking about. It's one person in my life who'll say, Jay, no, Jay. Or I got the other one. You wrong for that. You wrong about that, you know. But I can appreciate the honesty because if you don't know better and you think you're doing the right thing, then you're doing it wrong, and you don't know you're doing it wrong. And it's wrong, right? And so you need the feedback and you need honest feedback, and you cannot ask for honest feedback and then take offense to it.

SPEAKER_02

So a lot of- Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. You cannot ask for honest feedback and be mad when somebody is being honest.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. You cannot you either want the truth or you want somebody to co-sign your foolishness.

SPEAKER_03

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00

And if you want somebody to co-sign your foolishness, then you don't need feedback. Move on your own accord.

SPEAKER_03

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

But if you want the truth and you want to grow and you want to be better and you want to know, because you not you're not gonna know what people need and what people won't until they tell you. Some things you can pick up just watching folk, but sometimes you have to have a conversation. And so when you look at people and you monitor what they're doing and you you just kind of pay attention, that's one thing. But when you had that conversation, it just may be where they say, I wasn't even happy with that. But so if you don't ask and you moving on what you thought they wanted, you're wrong. So you gotta have conversations and you have to have that confirmation that says, Yeah, this is what people want. But if you want honest feedback and you want to grow, you have to be okay with people saying that's not it. That's wrong. I don't like that. I don't like when you did that.

SPEAKER_02

Or even taking it a step further. That doesn't fit your personality.

SPEAKER_00

That's easy. You want somebody to tell you no, that's not it. Right. That you can't have a thin skin being trying to be successful and trying to grow. You can't because you're not gonna be able to grow with yes men. You know, so it's be honest with me. I ain't asking you to spare my feelings. You're gonna you're gonna have to get your feelings hurt. You have to get your feelings hurt sometimes. And that's okay because you can move past that. I say I can better accept you hurting my feelings and you being honest than to make me smile on a lie.

SPEAKER_02

And so I don't want she over here dropping all kinds of gems for y'all. What I hope y'all bought a bag today.

SPEAKER_00

Take notes.

SPEAKER_02

Take these notes.

SPEAKER_00

Take some notes. It's hurt my feelings as long as you're being honest. Don't hurt my feelings and you just being mean. I can't grow from you being right. You don't have to do that. If I asked you for an opinion, I expect you to be honest and I know who to ask so that I don't have to get a lie. I know who to ask, and I know who's gonna be honest with me because they care more about me and me being successful than they do me liking them. I'm not gonna like you sometimes. I'm not gonna like what you said sometimes. But I respect you and I trust you because you were honest with me. And once I move past that, we good. We good. Give me a second. I like what you said to me, but that's okay. Because in the grand scheme of things, I know that it's for my best interest. It's for the best interest of my business and what I'm trying to build. And so I can tell you, like, me and you ain't cool right now. I don't like what you said.

SPEAKER_02

Give me a week, Shamar. Don't even give me a week.

SPEAKER_00

Don't even give me a week. I call you. Don't text me. Me either. And these very people like, I don't care. I don't care that you're mad. We're going to talk right now and I'm going to call you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02

And that sounds like me. I'll be like, you know what, Shamar? I don't even care.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I don't want to talk to you right now. Just make sure you call me tomorrow. We'll talk tomorrow. Yeah. You know? And it's good to have that relationship with people because a lot of people want to be yes, men, because they don't want to hurt your feelings. And I I even tell my kids, I ain't your friend. I don't care nothing about your feelings. You know, but when it comes to being But is that your friend?

SPEAKER_01

Huh? If it's somebody that is being mindful of your feelings, they're not a friend either, though. I understand what you're saying with the kids, though, but I just thought about that. Like, no, a friend is who she's describing. They're gonna be the one to be honest and just tell you. Absolutely. And you know, that's that's why I was going. But thank you for finishing. You got it. I'm your trusty side. Because that's a friend.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. Like, I don't care that you was talking. Let me just throw this in. Right. I'm gonna throw this in right now. Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And while you're talking, hold on. And then, right.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And a lot of people be like, You want you to do that all the time? I'm like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And what I what I what I heard or what I was thinking about when you were talking about your support, is that those ones that you trust and you know that they're gonna be honest, you ask them early on. Because I think sometimes we get upset when people are honest with us and saying, hey, that's not it, because we put so much time and effort into it, and now that's our baby, if you will, and we've worked so hard on it. Then they be like, nah, friend, that ain't it. So then that's when we disappointed. If you engage them early, they'll help you go uh from going down that rabbit hole. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00

So yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I got I got um two very specific people that do that. One of them's behind that desk. And the other one, the other one is Arabia. Arabia be quick. Hey, Arabia. I was thinking about it. She'd be like, Yeah, nah, I don't think that's the one. You sure? Because that don't even sound like you. Right. And it and then she hit me with this. That sounds more like Shamar. You might want to see if he wants to do that. Right, right. Like, thank you for being honest with my idea. Yeah. I'll call you next week. I'll see you tomorrow or something, you know.

SPEAKER_01

So I need to go back hard because um, you know, I didn't want to interrupt earlier when you were talking, and then y'all got on something different. But um, when you were talking about, you know, work on something, master that, and you know, pretty much like the computer when you reset back to a certain point, master that one, then move or add something to it now that's established. Right. Because when he told me your name prior to you coming, and I was of course, everyone thinks of the saying jack of all trades, master of none, right? So when he told me your name, and I'm like, hmm. So I think of master of none, but when you just described that earlier, saying, hey, you work towards something, you master that, and then you add, you're adding layers to it. And I'm like, ah. So that is how you can have these different trades because you focused on uh um locked in on one, now you add the other one. So now you can have both of them. You lock in on that one, master that, add another one. So you just helped change my mind from that uh saying of master of none.

SPEAKER_00

So right. And and just a little background on how I got to a J of all trades. Um I've I've done so much, and I always told myself I never wanted to be limited. I never wanted to be limited. I always wanted to have something to fall back on.

SPEAKER_03

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

And so in my life, um, in my younger days, I worked as an auto mechanic. I started truck driving school and couldn't finish. Then I started my paper crafting, then I started photography. Um, then I moved into construction, like I moved into construction, and I didn't actually go out and field, but it's the construction company that I work for. And so you learn, I've done so much, and I said, and then I'm a musician, I sing. There's a lot of things that I do. And so when I looked at initially, my company started as rain of color, and that's the paper, that's the business cards, that's the flyers, that's the programs. And then once I started adding shirts, cuffs, notebook, uh just all this other stuff to it, when I took my life as a whole, I'm a J of all trades. I'm not limited to one thing in my life. I can go back to anything. Right. If the brakes fail on my car, I may need a little bit of help, but I can get this done. Right. Um, oil change, I ain't paying nobody to do my oil change. Not when I can do it myself, right? You know, different things like that is I don't ever want to be limited. And so a J of all traits, now we have the umbrella for creating in grace. Now we're doing workshops. Then we have Soulful Nature photography, where I'm, you know, landscape photography. So it's just a lot of stuff under this name. And once I decided to change the name, it's like, yeah, I'm a J of all traits. And my name is Jay.

SPEAKER_04

Yep.

SPEAKER_00

My name in it's short for Jay Van. I was named after my grandfather. Um, so it's a J of all traits.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

And I love the uh origin, the the history of all that too, how you got there. And to your point, I mean, through through these years, you doing all these different things, you have acquired that. You're not losing it, right? Like you said, I'll I I might need a little help, but I'm gonna get them breaks done. Right. Yeah, so love it.

SPEAKER_02

So I was looking up the full quote, because there's something that comes behind that, but somewhere along the lines, it's been shortened to a Jack of All Trace, Master of None. Yep. And then there's like something else behind it, and I can't find it. That's what I'm sitting over here doing. I'm not scrolling.

SPEAKER_00

No, it's fine. I um I've read it, but I'm like, it don't really apply to me. So I'm just keeping a J of all trace. But I have looked up the um entire quote, and I don't remember what it is either.

SPEAKER_02

I I don't. I was just trying to see what it was to see if it was relatable or to just leave it alone. So what we're gonna do now is we're just gonna leave it alone. We just don't leave it alone. I can't find it. But I mean, what you said, it makes sense, you know, like in like Shamar Piggy Back, you know, master something, keep going. Because I feel that is a really true statement of being a jack of all trades. And then just leave that off the master of none. Because think about that the way people hear it is the opposite. That's kind of how we've been taught. Because we add master of none, which makes it seem like, oh, I know a little bit of this and I know a little bit of that, and then you just you have no solidarity, you don't really have a solid foundation on what you know. So, yeah, we we tossing that out 2026 Tay Do Picks. Yeah, tell everybody, let's go. Yeah, thanks, Uncle Mar.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. It's uh you don't you don't want to keep the master of none to your point. You definitely don't want to keep that because it limits you. You know, you feel like, oh, I got 10 things I want to do, and I ain't got to master nothing. I ain't got to perfect this, I can get away with just doing this, and then I can say that I know it, or I can get away with doing just this much, and this is all I'm gonna do in here, and then I'm gonna move on. Well, when you need to do more, you can't, right? You know, you miss the consistency part because you want to do all of these things and you want your name on all of these things, but for what? For what?

SPEAKER_02

Because the thing, too, as you build a lot of times all those things are related. And what happens when you have to do all those things? We have conferences, and I do audio engineering, I do photography, I do videography, I'm the video editor. You say what? Oh, never mind. So I do all these things, and then we're at a conference, and it's like I see a shot that somebody else might not see. Let me see that camera. So now I'm click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, and I'm here goes your camera. Now I'm back on video. And then something happens with the sound. Hey, do we do hey? Right. Tay, tay, take note. So I have to go over there and I'm you know, oh, just fix this, do this, do that. All right, now replug this up, restart the computer quickly.

SPEAKER_00

Now, right, get back to it.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, when he comes up, do the X, Y, and Z. And now the whole show is able to keep going.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And you got those people, I'll use yours in photography. Okay, you have people who were given a camera at an early age, and then you go back and you look at some of the shots you took as a kid. Like, man, that is nice. But you're missing a whole lot of stuff in this shot. Um, so you want to be a photographer and you want your name photographer, whatever your name is. So you know how to hold a camera. Do you know the settings? Do you know, do you know what the aperture is? Do you know the people? You know, do you know your camera? Do you even know your camera? Do you know what it is?

SPEAKER_02

Don't tell me, oh, I gotta canon.

SPEAKER_00

Yo, you involve the latest Nikon.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And all you know how to do is click the button to take a picture. Well, you don't realize on the green box. There go ahead. You don't even know that realistically, this was the easy part. But what's your substance? I can take this picture, but you didn't give it depth, you didn't give it anything that would make this picture like, why?

SPEAKER_02

No composition. You did that.

SPEAKER_00

And so now, now that you got an expensive camera and you know how to press the button, you won't, you went and bought your camcorder. You don't know how to use your camera yet, but you want your name and lights as a photographer. This is the part that people miss being a master of none. So I got the camera and I can take a picture, and it came out pretty, but I don't know Lightroom, I don't know Photoshop, I don't even know AI to even get any type of quality on this picture.

SPEAKER_02

I don't even have a laptop or a computer to do it on.

SPEAKER_00

See? So you need to know the settings in your camera for lighting, for saturate, all this stuff. You need to know how to use your camera. If you don't have an editing platform, people don't want that.

SPEAKER_02

And we say a lot, um, like when I do video, I shoot with edit in mind. Right. Right? Yes. And then Shamar will say it more than I will, but he says, um, get it right in the camera. Yeah, do but so much.

SPEAKER_01

I don't care if you got an editing program or not, get it right in the camera. Right.

SPEAKER_02

There's less work for you to do in post.

SPEAKER_00

Because realistically, after that, the only thing you should have to really do is crop and maybe sharpen just a tad bit. Just a little bit. Or take something out, just a little bit. But you shouldn't have to go in there and redo this entire.

SPEAKER_01

I call them the Photoshop uh artists.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02

Recreating something that you already took. Just create it right the first time.

SPEAKER_00

So now had you been persistent, maybe taking a couple classes to understand your camera if you don't want to take the photography class, then Because YTU is free. That's it. Sell them. That's it. Absolutely. That is free. You you got all of it, but it's gonna take time, and you're gonna have to have a good charge on your battery to go through these eight-hour videos that you're watching to learn what you need to learn. Once you have mastered your camera, just your camera, you got a starting point. You ain't got to go back here. No, you got a starting point.

SPEAKER_02

No, I want to break that down because she's saying the camera. She's not meaning just shooting. We're talking about the settings, but customizing these buttons, understanding what kind of sensor you have, what you can and can't do with that sensor. Can you shoot daytime? Can you shoot nighttime? What is your native ISO? Yes, I'm nerding out right now. You know, what lens is gonna do great at with this specific uh portrait shot compared to landscape, compared to uh the little babies? You have to know your camera as you grow, understand your native ISO, your base ISO. Um, what is the difference between the triangle with the aperture ISO and the uh shutter speed?

SPEAKER_01

Because I always miss one. Don't worry, guys. I just cut Tay's mic. He was gonna nerd out for the rest of the episode. So, um, Jay, one thing, one, beautiful, a lot of information, Luddy's gems, and everything. Thank you. Um, uh I'm gonna push us a little forward because I want you to speak to the next generation, the next creative. I want you to uh tell us what seed you would, you know, plant to them.

SPEAKER_00

You have to trust God. You have to know God, you have to trust God, you have to trust his plan, you have to know the voice of God, and you have to know yourself. You have to know your limitations. You can want to do anything you want to do, and you have to work on it, you have to stay persistent, consistent, and intentional. You have to. Those are you cannot skip a step. But more so than anything, you want to be a blessing to somebody. You want to show people like this is what I can do, this is what God has blessed me to do. Because even with a lot of things, as I said earlier, there are a lot of things that you may want to do. It's just not for you. So when you know that it is not for you, don't make a mess. Don't make a mess for you and don't mislead somebody else. Stay within your limits and then trust God to expand that as He sees that you are ready for it. Because He's not going to take you to the next step until you have shown that you are ready in the current one. So you have to be ready and you have to work at it. You have to perfect something so that you never have to start back at one. You can start over if you have to at five. Having to come back to even three is not a failure. You just weren't prepared to move on. So take your time, slow down, research what it is you want to do. Because sometimes in research, you may find like, I don't want to do that. I don't like that. Uh-uh. And so what you thought looked good at the finish point, the preparation behind it may not be something that you want to do. So you have to research what it is you're interested in, and then you have to ask questions and have conversations to see what other people have experienced. And if you're that person that doesn't like to ask questions and talk to other people, because I want to know by myself, then you go and you look up YouTube University. What is it? YT University.

SPEAKER_02

YT U.

SPEAKER_00

YT U. And then you can get the answers, you know, that you're looking for. And again, it may not be something you want to do to work, you don't want to put the work in. But when you find something, be diligent, be persistent, consistent, and intentional, and trust God first.

SPEAKER_01

You know, so you saying be a blessing. That's one thing that I uh share all the time is that you know, our gift is not given to us for us. Our gift is given to us to give to the world. Yes. So if you're doing what your gift is and it's being a blessing to somebody else, that's only gonna help push you forward even more stuff. So I I really like that. I like that.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, thank you.

SPEAKER_01

And tell us that uh the persistent tell me that again. Um, your persistent, consistent what be persistent, be consistent, and be intentional.

SPEAKER_00

Got it.

SPEAKER_01

I love it.

SPEAKER_00

Because those are steps that you cannot skip in building your brand. And even if it's something that you just enjoy doing, you know, you don't know how that's going to be a blessing to somebody else and even motivate them to do something. You know, it may not be the same thing, but to see your drive, to see the work that you put in, because nothing that we do is easy. There is work behind everything that we want to do, even on a podcast. You got to find the people you want to talk to. You got to find the questions that you want to ask them, you got to get them there on time. On time. On time. And then you have to record, you gotta edit. We don't edit.

SPEAKER_02

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, but it's work. And for some people, you don't want to do that. You see, oh, I'm just sitting in front of a camera. Um, is your camera sharp? Do you have a good camera? Is the camera sharp? What money? Because you gotta you got to invest in yourself. That's right. And so if that's work that you don't want to do, then you should probably just sit back and work in the background somewhere for somebody else. But if you are that person who wants to work for yourself in some capacity, and you know that, okay, um, I can make a notebook that I didn't really know somebody needed that much. Or I can Because you need it.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00

Right, yeah. Or I can make, I can make a cup. I'll make a cup or a tumbler. Or I, you know, I'll make something that I didn't know somebody needed. Well, I don't think that I gave myself the idea. I feel like God revealed to me something that I can do. So I'm gonna invest in this part to enhance myself and let it be a blessing. You know, so you have to, you have to be able to invest in yourself and you have to be able to love what you do.

SPEAKER_02

And in in in the beginning of investing in yourself, use what you already have. Sometimes you don't really need a a fancy camera, just be outside with some light or in a space where the light is hitting you and start there.

SPEAKER_00

Right. But you, you know, not against anybody who does stop animation, but you can't do a podcast on stop animation. So you can't get you a little flash camera that flash every two seconds and think that you so you definitely it does not have to be new. You can go in the marketplace, you can go into the pawn shops, you can go anywhere that sells this stuff because it doesn't have to be high tech, it just has to work and it has to do what you need it to do. But that's still a part of investing in yourself because if if you don't invest in yourself, nobody else is because they can see that you're not putting in the work that you're asking them to give you.

SPEAKER_01

That's right. Hey, we've come to my favorite part of the show where we put Tay in the hot seat. Oh, yes. So, Jay, you have the opportunity of asking Tay any question that you want to ask him.

SPEAKER_02

All right, any question, any comment, any statement, advice, the floor is on you with the open team.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I would definitely like to speak to both Ewe and Shamar. So this is not just for Tay, this is for Jay. Uh-oh, I'm cutting her mic. No. And Shamar. I think I have watched several episodes. Um, like I say, I will turn something on at work and listen to it. And um I love what you're doing because you give a voice to those who otherwise would not see this. You give a voice to those who may otherwise have to pay for an appearance. And for me, this is a blessing because I don't seek out stuff like this. I don't seek out, and I appreciate Ebony because me and Ebony, we went to school together. And so that's one of my besties. And um when she told me about you, I was like, okay, yeah, I do it. And then I I got nervous about it. It was like, I don't know, you know, because with me being a one-person business, you know, things can get overwhelming, and I have to just put a pause on everything. But for the opportunity that you all are giving people, this is a blessing, not only to me, but I can just see it in the faces of the people that y'all talk to. Your gift has made room for you. Your gift is continuing to make room for you, especially if you got another room.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah. So by the way, two things that I gotta hit on. I told Kendall in our episode in February, I said, I just keep hearing, for I have plans for you.

SPEAKER_00

Amen.

SPEAKER_02

And for you to come back and say what you just said.

SPEAKER_00

Jeremiah 29 11. If y'all don't know what he's talking about, for I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, and plans to give you hope in a future. And so God is, I feel like God. God is gonna bless this. I pray that God continues to bless y'all and what you're doing, that you continue to grow, that you continue to learn because we learn from each other. It's not a one-sided situation. Everybody that you talk to and everybody that you come in contact with can learn something from you, can learn something from you. Even if it's just your work ethic, even if it's just your motivation to do to do good, your determination to make it better, y'all are a blessing, and I need you to know that. And I need you to know that God is watching y'all and that you are doing a good thing. And I think that He is well pleased with what you're doing.

SPEAKER_02

Amen.

SPEAKER_00

There are things that can be said. Um there are things that can be said, but in keeping in line with the conversation, you know, we all have to be mindful of what the interview is actually about. But I I am praying that God continues to open doors for y'all. And I I pray that this is just the very, very tip of the iceberg that he's going to present to you all and put your name in lights. This is a this is a good thing.

SPEAKER_01

That warmed my heart.

SPEAKER_00

I mean I do. This is this is a new opportunity for me. And um I'm blessed by it. I am blessed by it. It's just, you know, you in fellowship with like minds, and you can present who you really are and what things really mean and how you got somewhere, and that's what people need to see. I started from the bottom, now we're here. You know, just like that's a blessing. So that's that's I don't have any questions. I just want to say thank you for having me. Thank you for thinking about me and even researching me. And uh, I just pray that God continues to bless y'all.

SPEAKER_02

Hey man, we receive, we we receive all that. Well thank all of it.

SPEAKER_01

That was amazing.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I I I have no thank you.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's all I got nothing. Just you almost got a tear to tell you. I saw it coming. You said what? She almost got a tear.

SPEAKER_02

She almost got three on. Three on. I had to hold it back. But yeah. It's a blessing. And I appreciate that because there are times where I sit and I say, God. What is this? I'm talking. And I know you blessed me with the gift of talking because people say you talk too much. People have said you need to start a podcast. You have so much knowledge, you are a people person. I can talk to pretty much anybody in any mental state and get across to them or at least give them a different outlook or different aspect on life. But I sit and I say, God, what we doing?

SPEAKER_00

But you have to listen to his response and you have to move the way he's telling you to move, because he will never give you a misstep. And once he lays it out for you, then there is no doubt because you know, I'm sure you've heard the enemy can try to mock, he can try to mimic. I'm sorry, he can try to mimic what God gives you, he can try to mimic those gifts, but it ain't gonna last because he's gonna take it back. And this is where you know a lot of people fall, where you're listening to the wrong voice. You know what your limits are, but you're listening to that voice say, Oh no, you can do that, just keep on going. But when you hear the voice of God and you listen to it and you follow his instructions, he will never steal you wrong because he's not trying to hurt you. But he's gonna open up a window and pour you out blessings, but you have to be ready to receive them. And when he speaks, just know that he has a plan for you. And so it may in your quiet times, yeah. Well, I don't know if he really said that. But once he makes it clear that I did, and you lean on me, if you're in fear, lean on me. If you're worried about how it's gonna turn out, trust me. Every single day, and I tell people this every single day when I go to work, Lord, send your Holy Spirit before me and shift the atmosphere and present an opportunity for me to share you with somebody. Present an opportunity for me to say something to even introduce somebody to you. And so your podcast is gonna do that because just of who you are and what God has called you to do. So it may not look like you standing up in a pulpit with a robe, but the blessing is going before you. Your name is going to go before you.

SPEAKER_01

That's third time today, Tay.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, yes.

SPEAKER_02

So he's referring to, we had a client come in, and uh we got on the subject of, I don't even know how it started, but the subject of uh what do you call it?

SPEAKER_01

Seminary. So she she she's at um a university, a local university, and she's in charge, she's in charge of recruiting and funding for the seminary. So, you know, people that want to be pastors and come in and learn and everything. And I told her that we had a pastor in here that we need to uh get taught. And I pointed right on over there at Minister, Minister Bishop uh Tay.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and then she says, Yeah, well, let's talk. Cause I can make things happen to where you can do it for free. You wouldn't have to come out of pocket. So I'm like, and then you said what you just said, so that's why I just dropped my head. Because I knew he was gonna say something, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Never be ashamed. No, never be ashamed of the gospel, never be ashamed to introduce God to somebody all the time. All the time, all the time, because your blessings are coming from him, and if you're ashamed of me in public, I'm going to kill it for you in private. I may kill it for you openly. So don't be ashamed to introduce God. Never be ashamed to speak the word because you never know who's sitting on this side of you who needs to hear it. You never know who is putting on this face, like that mask you see sometimes, that smiling face, and you see people crying behind it. Every smiling face ain't happy. And some people are pushing through. And so you use the opportunity that God gives you to share an encouraging word, to share him with somebody else.

SPEAKER_02

All the time.

SPEAKER_00

And he's going to bless you. He's already blessing you, but you ain't seen nothing yet.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, Jesus.

SPEAKER_00

The overflow, the overflow.

SPEAKER_02

The overflow loud and clear.

SPEAKER_01

You too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So that's all I gotta say.

SPEAKER_01

This was this was a great conversation, and I'm being very serious. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I was about to kick Tay out that chair and come sit and talk to you myself. But um hey.

SPEAKER_03

Well, anytime.

SPEAKER_01

We can have you back because you have other ventures. You Jay of all trades, so we have other things we can talk about. We can talk about landscape because that's actually how I got started in photography as well. I started through Landscape. Um, so yeah. Um, first and foremost, before we close it out, I just want to give a huge shout out to Alan Love Studios. I would like to thank us.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

I would like to give a shout out to Charlotte Podcast Studio. I would like to thank us.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

And give a shout out to Artbox Charlotte. I would like to thank us.

SPEAKER_02

But that's it for this episode of Creative Roots. I hope that y'all picked up more gems than y'all expected to pick up today. Um I'm done. I ain't got nothing else. Jaden closed this episode out. We done it so we'll holler at y'all in the next episode. Please. Peace.