You Winning Life Podcast w/Jason Wasser, LMFT Ep. 4- Jaden Jefferson: 11 Year Old Journalist

So from Toledo, Ohio, my guest this week has taken the internet by storm as a journalist who covers topics from local labor disputes to national politics, including most recently interviewing presidential candidates on the trail. He's an insightful, passionate, and creative human being.. And my hope is that we're going to be seeing a lot of him over the coming years on a mission for truth. Please welcome Jayden Jefferson to the You Winning Life podcast. Hey, Jayden, what's going on?

Good. How are you?

I'm doing amazing. I'm super excited to be having you here. So right off the bat, let's start with your passion about journalism. How did that start to happen for you?

My passion for journalism started when I met a lot of local reporters. And also I liked a lot of writing. I also like to use my camera. I was really tech savvy, so I knew all the equipment aspects. And for me, it all just came together for knowing equipment, writing, meeting reporters, meeting our local meteorologist. So it really, it just really connected the dots and I came to journalism.

So was there a story I think I remember hearing about you was that you were traveling somewhere, right?

Uh, yes, I was traveling up to Detroit for the Democratic debates.

And then you met somebody— no, no, back before when you first started this, that you met someone when you were younger and you said, that's kind of what I want to do. That story.

Yes, I've actually met a local reporter at NBC4 in New York, and I met him, and when I came back to Toledo, I didn't think much about it, but I was just happy I got a photo with a reporter. But I came back, I met our local meteorologist named Jay. He got me into meteorology, and that was my interest for like 2 years. Until about last year I got into filming basketball games and, you know, doing highlights and talking about it, doing commentary. And it really got me into journalism.

So this all started for you when you were actually how old approximately?

Probably about when I met Jay was about 5 years old, I would say.

You were 5 years old. So you were kindergarten going into first grade. You saw this person, you thought it was super cool. You thought nature and environment and weather was super cool. How did that get you from doing, being interested in that to learning about the world and politics and, and government and construction and all these different things that even the most average adult doesn't know.

After I got done shooting all the basketball games, I was searching for another story to cover, which made me want to cover local stories. And one problem for me was, how am I going to go around covering all these stories? I had all these ideas but didn't really know stories. So really I covered primarily political stories and local community events and stories like those.

And that must have been really, really interesting to see that progression. Like, when did you notice that you were interested in bigger things, right? You started off this local, small— well, not that it's small, but local, right? And then you started getting bigger and bigger. Like, what's been that drive inside of you to continue to push this further?

Uh, my drive was really how rewarding it is because I've gotten a lot of opportunities locally by our local reporter Christian Brown at Channel 13. She's given me a lot of on-air opportunities, and really those opportunities kept pushing me to do more of those live hits and stories. Even today, I actually around, I'm doing a campaign that our station, that the station's doing is for the Stuff the Bus campaign for people getting back to school and they need to donate supplies. So I'll be doing live hits for that event. So really just the opportunities that I'm getting really keep me going.

So what's so far to date been the piece that you've been most passionate about that you want to make sure that people out there know?

Uh, one piece I've done that I really liked was the Mercy Health nurse strike. And that wasn't really just a piece. I've done like 20+ stories about that. And really, I think if anybody watches all those stories, they can kind of tell, uh, really the heart and soul of America, labor disputes. So it was really something interesting to cover. There were a lot of twists and turns, breaking developments. And it was just a great story to cover.

So how did you get from being that, that kid that can be standing on the corner, right, which could have been anybody, to actually getting the information directly fed to you? What's that process like for someone who's curious about how you do what you do, the behind-the-scenes process? But right, you're standing there, you're seeing what's going on, you're observing what's going on. But how do you really get that insider information to really give that information and give it over to the people that are listening?

Really, I have to sign up for press releases. I have to get that information sent directly to me. I have to follow local developments, so following social media, following the hospital and the union to see what they're saying, and then also watching out for local media reports in case they break something before I do, which sometimes rarely happens.

So as you're doing this, right, you're the guy out there, and, and how much focus has actually been on your age versus the amount of knowledge you've gained in your 11 years, especially when you're teaching adults about the world around them?

Um, I've definitely had a focus on my age, and people have been surprised by how old I was. I did a local radio interview with one of our radio stations, Scott Sands. He, uh, he was like— he asked me countless times during the interview, so you're 11, right? You're 11, right? So I've definitely had focus on my age, but then I've also been more recognized for the amount of knowledge than age.

Yeah, and so as you're learning and as you're growing, where do you find that you're getting the best information from to be not only an informed journalist, but also a non-biased journalist?

Well, I've done a few interviews on Fox News and MSNBC, And I've definitely been asked, so what candidate do you think done— did better last night? What candidate do you think most interests you? I try not to answer those questions just because being a journalist, those just aren't my type of questions to ask. Those aren't my type of questions to answer, but those are my type of questions to ask to other people.

So how difficult is it then from being on one side where you're asking the questions and flipping that to being the person of interest?

It's definitely not really a big change for me, although it's just that I gotta be mindful that they're probably gonna ask me about my political views.

Very, very cool. So you are meeting some really cool influential people. What has helped you get past the things that may have scared you when it comes to putting yourself out there as a professional journalist and then actually sitting down with them to ask those deep questions, right? So the first thing is, is there a fear factor for you? Is there something that has held you, you know, that you feel like might have held you back a little bit? And then once you actually get there, what actually promotes you, pushes you to ask those hard-hitting, deep questions.

When you actually meet the person in person, uh, you know, meeting these politicians, you think it's gonna go one way, but it's just like having a conversation with anybody else. Um, politicians are people too. So I mean, definitely it's just easy to know that everybody's people, everybody's a person, and you know, they're gonna have the same conversations you're gonna have with your friend or your neighbor. So really just meeting them and getting to know who they are really helps you get past those factors.

And before, and when you first started doing this, would you, was there anything that you felt that you're like, I don't know if I can handle this. I don't know if I can tackle this. I don't know if people are going to take me seriously. Was there anything like that that came up for you?

Not really. I wasn't really worried about being taken seriously. I was just worried about making sure that information was accurate and making sure I got it out there in a convenient and fast time.

That's awesome. So this summer, right, school starting again in a few weeks, you're going into what grade?

6.

6. And you're going to school full-time?

Uh, yes, going to school full-time.

Fantastic. So how do you balance being a student of a school system and at the same time a student of the world?

Um, I would definitely say that I try to make time for what I do. Um, so after I finish homework, I'll try to squeeze in extra time. Um, if you get off of school at 3 o'clock and if you get homework, it probably takes about an hour. Half an hour. Um, and then you have the rest of your time leading to when I go to bed, probably 9:30. So all that time is basically watching news and making news. And, and that's really what that time is dedicated to.

So what do you see the difference between teenagers, right, your age, and even young adults, and the mindset that you think a lot of them have that are keeping them back from being successful and living in their purpose, living in their potential, versus where you're at?

I would think the thing that— the fact that other people, they're worried about what other people are going to think. That's what I think it is. So they're trying to be like other people. So I'm sure there's probably a whole lot more journalists out there. It's just that they have all these other things in life they want to do. They have a lot of other people that, you know, they want to hang out with. But then at the same time, they want to do what they want to do. So it's really just hard to balance everything. And then also what other people are going to think.

So how are you balancing like social life, friends, other activities, and being a professional and a student at the same time?

It's easily balanced for me. Like during school, that's— I have a lot of social time, not during class, I can clarify that. But, you know, lunchtime, if you have a class that you're lucky enough you can talk in. So, you know, but also getting the work done. But I have plenty of time during the school day. To do, to talk to friends, things like that. But then when I'm done with the school day, it's just a little extracurricular homework and stuff like that. And then that's my time to, you know, practice my craft.

That's amazing. Amazing. So I know you have a Momager. And it's really, really incredible that this has become— has this become a big thing in your family where you kind of have this team around you?

Oh, yes, the Momager. We've been scheduling things. I mean, this weekend, We have to be up early because we have to drive 3 hours to Cleveland for a radio interview, and we have to go to do a segment with the mayor.

So how helpful has it been to have your family as part of your career trajectory?

It's been a lot more helpful. I can get more things done.

Sorry, the question cut out. The internet cut out, so let's start that over. So I'll start that question over again because it, uh, your internet froze up. So how helpful has it been to have your family as part of this journey for you?

It's easier to do. It's been a lot more productive. And it's— you can do it, get it done faster.

Yeah, very cool. So 11 years. Birthday is when?

Birthday, February 16th.

February 16th. So a little bit away, you'll be 12. What do you think are the personal challenges that you've faced so far in your life that have been the biggest maybe struggle for you on this right as you're now really a professional? And who and what has helped, been most successful in helping you get past that?

Um, I would definitely say I've, um, let's see here. I've definitely had a problem with, uh, talking to my brother. Literally me and him will fight all the time. Uh, the one thing that's definitely helped me to be productive and helped him to be a little more productive is just, uh, you know, focusing on what's important. So making sure that We're not arguing over dishes, making sure that we're arguing over and making sure that he gets his priorities straight and I get mine straight.

So if we can take that and apply that to everybody in the world, this world would be a much better place, huh? And your brother's old— your brother's older or younger than you?

He's older than me.

He's older than— okay, so, so you have the— and you're the, the little brother telling the big brother, we gotta get your priorities straight.

Yeah, that's the case in our household. I know it's not common in many. But it is in our household.

So let's talk about priorities, right? So I'm a big fan. So as a therapist, and I work a lot with kids, and I was a youth director before and working at camps, priorities are sometimes— people may say like, oh, I'm really interested in this, or I want to accomplish that, but they don't always have their priorities straight. So I like asking this to my clients and the people I'm working with. It's like, if you have 5 fingers, you get 5 priorities.

Yes.

What would your top 5 be?

School, journalism. My third priority would probably have to be making sure that everything's done around the house with chores and things like that. Another priority of mine would probably just making sure, let's see here, my fourth priority, well, my fourth priority is my family. Well, not my family, my family's my first priority. And then my fifth priority would probably just have to be enjoying life, you know, just having a great time. Not being down all the time. So those are probably my top 5.

Well, I think that's one of the things that makes you such a person of interest and an endearing character is that you have that personality. Was this something that you kind of have had since you were— you know, people say like, we've known that about him since he was born. Is this something that comes naturally to you, or is there things that you've kind of had to work on and develop over the last couple years?

I think these things came natural to me because I'm a talker, if you didn't figure out that yet, but I'm quite the talker and I've been a talker for a while now. So, um, those are kind of things that come naturally.

That's awesome. That's awesome. So what do you think makes your perspective so unique compared to others your age? And what about when you compare that to actual adults?

Um, I would say, you mean my personality to adult personalities?

Well, like your, your traits, right? You're, you're a very unique amazing human being. And, you know, the expression like from Yogi Bear— your mom would know that— it's like, you're not the average bear, right? So what do you think makes you so unique from your perspective of how you see the world, how you're applying things compared to other people your age?

I try to find the positive in everything. So say, oh man, I've gotten so used to having all the week— all weeks off during summer. Well, now when I come to school, I think, well, there's always seasonal breaks, so I think of everything, uh, like with finding the positive and everything. So, oh yeah, I have 2-week seasonal breaks. So spring break, fall break, winter break, whatever. Um, I have weekends, they still exist. They are going to still exist for when I'm done with school. So, you know, I try to find the positive in everything.

So it also sounds like you're talking about the idea of creating rhythms in your life where you're scheduling things out. You're, you know, in the business world, they talk about, right, annual goals, quarterly goals. You're talking about really semesters.

Right.

So that structure, do you find that structure of like, okay, I only have to plan out the next 4 weeks, I only have to plan out the next 9 weeks, right? And look at it as kind of like as seasons in your life.

Yeah, I try to plan everything out ahead of time. Like for tomorrow, I have to— I already figured out the time I want to wake up, all the things I'm going to need, have it all set before I go to bed so I can grab my phone, grab the mics, get them in the car, and get ready to go to Cleveland.

That's awesome. What tips would you give someone, especially a kid, And the adults definitely can listen to this too that are listening to this. But right, people who are not structured like that, who it doesn't come naturally to them, what's like the top 3 things you would say that are must-dos in order to make that happen?

Think about, I would say definitely, have you been tired of thinking in the morning, oh, I got to get everything together, I'm going to be late. So always just make sure that you have structure. So the day before, make sure that everything's organized, make sure that you have your phone with you. Make sure it's charged. We've all made that mistake. Just making sure that everything is done the day ahead, make it, do it ahead of time. Never think of anything too late, never be the person who does it at the last minute. So if you're gonna be heading out on a plane and that plane doesn't have a bathroom, well, you should use the bathroom before you get on the plane. So just, you know, structuring things like that. And then I also, other advice would probably be to stay organized and to, you know, plan things out is also just to practice. Practice every day. When you go to work, think about, okay, I'm gonna get my coffee at this time, and I'm going to have it at my desk at this time. Going to meetings on time, thinking about what meetings could have had emails. But, you know, just thinking about that.

So what you're saying could really, really, really upset a lot of kids out there because what you're— the message you're really sending is the more structure you have, the more successful you're going to be. The more you know about what's going to happen that you actually could have control over versus letting the universe just throw it your way leads to success.

Uh, definitely. Cause I mean, none of us want to, none of a lot of people my age don't really want to think about structure. Um, you know, they want to do it their way and, you know, it's kind of not only works that way, but there's a lot of people I know that really, uh, that would do better with structure, but they don't want to do structure. So they kind of want to just, you know, move along, you know.

Yeah. How much of that comes from your family versus coming just internally from you?

I would definitely say my momager. She has a lot of structure. She's like always scheduling stuff. I mean, this morning we had a briefing on everything that's happening in the next week ahead. So definitely that's where I think I get that from.

That's incredible. Incredible. So if you only had 2 minutes with a person and you're going to never see them again, and you had the opportunity to share your biggest insight, advice, or teachable lesson, what would you share?

I would definitely, uh, stick with, uh, structure, making sure that, uh, you have everything done ahead of time. And then my other big advice would probably be, uh, think about if you were in that person's position. Um, you know, always, cause everybody acts the way they do for a reason. So always think about what their, what they think internally. And then I think that you'll better understand people and then that you're better going to be better organized when it comes to life.

So when you're saying bettering understand people on the scale of skills, especially when you're interacting with people, do you feel like for you, you have a really good ability to kind of read what they're saying without them even saying it?

Yeah, I think so, because I'm that person who can— someone can say something, I kind of think I think really they mean this, but they just don't want to say it in that way. So that's really, I'm that person who can think about that. Although sometimes that can be a positive thing and sometimes that can be a negative thing.

Well, as a journalist, there are times where you probably have sat in an interview and I've watched a bunch of your interviews, specifically with some politicians, and I can kind of tell observing that they're really trying to navigate how to say it to you, right? Do you see yourself catching that and you're like, in their mind they're looking at me and they're like, kind of you're interpreting that and kind of filtering that and like, they're really trying to be really soft and gentle with me right now and not give it to me real.

Yeah, I want to get it straight. I know I say, uh, ask a lot of questions and, uh, some of those questions are going to be inaccurate to their thinking. So saying, uh, you know, you think about this, You've— so say that person said a lot of something and I asked them about that, but they didn't really mean that, to say that. So I definitely feel that there's times that they won't give me the straight answers as they would at a debate or at a more—

Sorry, last few seconds cut off. So you're talking about at a debate and then it cut out. So go on from there. So at a debate.

So I don't think they're going to take me as seriously as it would be at a debate, but they would definitely, you know, give a straighter answer to a more popular media outlet.

Yeah. So how do you, as you're continuing to get your reputation, your popularity, your exposure, how do you kind of ask for that without asking for it? How do you think that's going to show up for you?

I might definitely try to gain a good following before those interviews. I'm making sure that people know about this. Also making it— posting all the other interviews I've done with other politicians to show them that I am serious when I am asking them a question.

Yeah. So we'll wrap up with one or two more questions. So can we talk about social media? Because that's obviously a big platform for you. That's what's allowing you to become as known, as successful as you're going to continue to keep on growing. What are you finding is the truths about using social media and the falsehoods that have been perpetuated about using it, especially for kids?

Yeah, I've definitely got reaction where people say all social media is bad, only people that use social media are bad people. That's not the case. A lot of people have been successful when using social media. It's definitely been a platform in helping people, and that's really the truth when it comes to social media. Yeah, there are bad things on social media. But there's less bad things on social media than the good. The good outweighs the bad, basically. So that's something I've also been trying to stretch. And then another thing I also try to stretch when it comes to social media is that it doesn't take a lot to gain a following on social media. So like saying, putting out videos, putting out content, my advice, you know, would just be pumping out content. That's your best way to succeed when it comes to social media, not posting every 2 weeks, you know, just pumping out content. So it's not really— doesn't take a lot. It doesn't take someone to help you to really get out there. You know, you just got to pump out content, and so eventually someone will like it, and then it's gonna go viral.

So if someone has this idea to pump out content, right, a middle school kid, a high school kid, a college kid, a young professional after college, what's the difference between pumping out content and pumping out something that, like you said, it's gonna— it could go viral if it catches on. But how do they know what to focus focus on so they can find their voice and their message and their brand? That came for you because you're passionate about what you do, but what about someone who's struggling where they feel like there's something in them that they want to be heard about, but they don't know how to distill that information? So what thoughts would you have on that?

I would definitely say that if you're doing something that you love and people aren't really catching on to it, I would say, you know, just go to the— you know, there's different tools for social media like What People Are Talking About. So in some way, try to relate what you're talking about and what your passion is to what other people are talking about and add those tags, you know, that people will find it if you add tags. So that people that, uh, the group that people are in, they can see it.

So tagging those specific categories, those specific buzzwords and those phrases, is there times where you're finding that people are missing out on the message because they're too focused on getting the followers.

Yeah, definitely. Because I mean, you're not supposed to be worrying about followers all the time. Just push out your content and, you know, people are going to see it. So that's what I would say. Just don't worry about the followers too much, but followers could, should be a priority of yours too, because there's no point in pumping out dozens of content with only 10 people looking at it. So that means really just keep pumping out stuff, but also be aware that, you know, you also have to have people that are going to watch that content.

And that means figuring out actually what to focus on. And I would— my suggestion, because as I work with people in business and coaching, is that find your voice about, like we talked about, right, what you're most passionate about, but also knowing what's the problem you're trying to solve.

Yeah, right. So definitely find a problem to solve. And that's sometimes what businesses are for. There's to solve a problem. So the Roomba was invented to solve the problem of people trying to spend less time cleaning up their floors and to get it done in a more efficient time. That's what usually businesses are for and new ideas are for, is to solve a problem.

So what do you think would be the next thing that you need to help you become more efficient?

One thing I'm going to need to become more efficient is to have a is to improve more with my social media, which would be to start using some more social tools online that will really help me develop a stronger following on other sites. So I don't have as many followers on Twitter as I do on other things, which means I need to have a better system in making sure that all social media is stable. So not Twitter up here and Instagram here and, you know, other ones here. So trying to really make sure that everything is even. And orderly.

Has there been a platform that you found that you find really just works for you most specifically?

Oh yeah, Instagram and Twitter have definitely been really helpful. I found those more easier to use. They're more efficient for me. Things like Facebook haven't really been the best for me, but Twitter and Instagram have definitely helped me gain a good following.

Very cool. So what's next for you? What's— right, what do you think the next couple— well, the next couple months are going to be based on what's going on now for you, but what's your projection? Like, what do you hoping will happen for you? What are you planning will be happening for you over the next little bit?

I'm definitely hoping for more opportunities to come, and I can definitely see that in this last week. Um, but definitely more opportunities and pushing out content that really inspires people, that people are really going to be interested in, and continuing to do that for the next few months, weeks, and making sure that everything's stable and hopefully getting a stronger following on those other sites that you And if there's kind of like a passion project that you can kind of work in right now, right, a topic or a theme or an issue, what would that be that you would really like to focus on? The 2020, uh, candidates. I want to really focus on that and really try to get some more interviews with more of those candidates and make it known that I'm really, uh, trying to make sure that people are informed on this election and making sure that during the election that people are informed and make an informed decision.

So is there a question that you wish more journalists were asking?

Um, I would definitely say we need to really start asking more about, uh, what separates you. Um, there— everybody's, you know, confused and not really knowing what separates Cory Booker from Kamala Harris. So really making sure that people know the difference between each candidate because every candidate is different and is different in big ways.

And what are you personally looking for as someone with— what are the skills, what are the traits, what are the characteristics that you're looking for for when you're ready to vote? That when you're at that time, what's the top things that you say, like, the person I want to put my effort into would have this?

I would definitely say one thing that when I vote is something that someone that can really bring America together. We're all different, but we're all the same. Subway. That's really what I'm trying to, uh, with, uh, someone who would run for a presidency is what can they bring to the table to bring Americans together.

And are you having any thoughts about running for any political offices?

No official announcement yet.

Best answer ever. So how can people follow you on your journey? What's out there? Where can they find you?

On Instagram and Twitter, you can find me at @jadenreports. Jayden Reports Now on YouTube and Jayden Jefferson on Facebook.

Awesome, Jayden. I really want to congratulate you on all of your success. I am incredibly impressed with you. I really look forward to hearing all these incredible things coming in the future from you, and I really want to thank you again today for joining us for a little bit. So if everybody out there who's listening, uh, please make sure you follow every single one of his social media so we can have that little next step happen for him. All those platforms can be evened out. Ask him questions, hit him up. Really give them some love. And again, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.