How to Use Your Passion and Excitement to Find Your New Goal with A/J Jackson

Welcome to this episode of the Million Dollar Mastermind. I'm Larry Weddell. And before we get started, if you want to know exactly how to win again and again, go to Wydell on winning.com webinar now to watch something I've put together for you. Now let's get going into this episode of Million Dollar Mastermind.

I'm talking with AJ Jackson. Hello, aj.

Hello. How's it going, Larry?

Really well, and we're gonna have some fun this afternoon because we're going to talk about winning from a new point of view. And it's interesting to see how these principles play out in all different walks of life. Age groups, you know, nationality, background. And AJ's from the music business, and he is one of the things that he's done. He's been a musician. And are you the lead singer or lead guy? And the band is called ST Motel, is that right?

That's right.

So we were asking around the office about you, you know, turned out, but turned out that you were the favorite band of someone in our circle, believe it or not. Yeah, the office is in Athens, Georgia. And so, yeah, they said, oh, yeah, that's my favorite band. So congratulations.

Thanks. Well, whoever that is, sounds like they have impeccable taste, so good thing they're in your circle.

So filmmaker, songwriter, record producer, and not just playing with that business. Two platinums and one gold. Is that record or album?

Record, I think. Yeah.

And so congratulations on all that. And then also the just found out that he needed a vision situation, needed a certain kind of glass, you know, kind of glasses that didn't exist. So AJ goes out there and invents this. He's the inventor of a new kind of glass eyewear. So he's got a new company called Avue Eyewear. So congratulations on all of this stuff, aj. So how did you get going in.

This.

You know, into all of these things? There had to be, you know, is your. Your. You're growing up. What were you interested in? Obviously, music and ever. But how did you get going and get to the point where you're on your own two legs doing things you wanted to do?

Well, I mean, I feel like I've always kind of had a very active imagination and, you know, that led to me kind of being in my own world for much of the time as being a kid and needing to create. And I started writing songs when I was, like, in second grade and playing them for my elementary school classes. And, you know, that's how I kind of always express myself growing up. But I think generally what it is is music is the quickest form of creative output. For me, it's the most satisfying. And it continues to be this like magical mystery of making it. But you know, I went to film school. I make, you know, films as well. And that, that's another form. And you know, these eyewear, these sunglasses that I've created, it's a similar kind of itch that I need to be scratching for some reason. That's just the way my brain's wired.

And so at what age now are you deciding I'm going to be, you know, writing? I remember my son, you know, we sat. He always saw me playing the guitar. And you know, he gets a. I don't know, 10, 12 years old, probably 12. And you know, I showed him Deep River Blues, a very complex finger picking thing. The next week he's got a band and he's writing songs. And so kids just dive in. It seems like. What age were you and how did this come about?

My first band was when I was in seventh grade and it was, it was a ska band called Scottish. Little Play on Words. At that point in my life I was playing saxophone in school band. So I was initially the sax. Yeah, sax player. And then I found my dad's bass. Well, the problem with Scottish was there was like 13 kids in the band, like everyone, you know.

Yeah.

So like it melted down very quickly. I guess that was the first time I saw a band fight. And I found my dad's bass, you know, in his closet and started playing that and continued in a band with some other kids. And you know, I was always kind of writing music and writing songs, but I was just, you know, never intending really to be a singer. I was never intending to be a bassist. I don't know, pretending to be anything. I was just kind of doing it. But we couldn't really find someone to do the singing so I ended up doing that as well and then eventually started playing some guitar. But yeah, I just feel like, you know, it was a, it was a great way to be exploring the world. You know, in a band it's such a, it's like a brotherhood. And then eventually when I got to college and formed what would become the band Saint Martel that I'm still in today, you know, that's, that's the point where like you're, you're going and traveling with each other in a small van around the country and meeting people and seeing things and there's kind of a camaraderie and an excitement to It. That is, you know, I think, very appealing to. To a young person. So I think. Yeah, no question. You know, your son makes total sense why he'd gravitate towards that.

Now. Now, how did you. How did you get going and actually turn that into where you do have gigs and you do have places to go and, you know, because that's a big step, you know, to get out of the garage, and you're actually playing events, you're actually in a van, you're actually going places, and that's a step forward. That didn't happen by itself either. You got to make that happen.

Absolutely. And you were kind of mentioning earlier about this podcast being about winning, and I think it's interesting you frame it in that tense, because it really. It's not one, and it's never won.

And.

And it's a constant series of little steps, you know, and at the time, you might not feel like you're winning, but honestly, you know, it's these little things that really are little wins that kind of propel you forward. So, you know, in the case of music, you know, for us, it'd be like we sell out our first bar, we have our first tour, we have our first opening slot, we hear our first song on the radio, we'd have our first for a song in a movie, and we played this country for the first time. We'd have an international tour. You know, we'd get signed. You know, we. All these kind of little baby steps that felt like progress, that kept it moving forward, because, you know, especially in an industry like that, there's so much out of your control. You just have to focus on the small steps to get there. And there's a healthy amount of, you know, just be naive and. And something that I think is handy for whatever industry you're in somewhat, which is a beginner's mind, where you don't know what you don't know and doesn't slow you down because of it. And sometimes, you know, having a beginner's mind can help you see things a different way, you know, another way to. To solve a certain situation or to do something slightly differently.

And so the group came together. How did it come together? How did you handle things? I mean, now all of a sudden, you got a team. Decisions have to be made. Again, you're beginners, you're inexperienced. You don't have. You're figuring it out as you go. How did that evolve? Did some of the bands out there trying to, like, know nobody's in charge. We don't have a leader. You know, even the Beatles, you know, tried to keep that myth alive. Everybody knew John was the leader all along, but it was like somebody's got to come down to the make, call the shot.

Yeah, I think, you know, with, with my band now, everyone kind of has like a strong suit, you know, and for the most part, you know, I guess the reason I'm the guys are they just trust me to be leading the band because I just have a crazy set of ideas all the time and I'm really, I'm just excited about it. But I mean, you know, being in a band is. Is being on a team and to develop that certain amount of trust and, you know, comfort with each other takes a long time. And in our case took a long time of, you know, petty squabbles and, you know, being angry on the road or, you know, seeing someone through that's sick or, you know, going bailing some out of jail. You know, like there's these things that slowly kind of bond you together. And I think, you know, my, my work ethic, I think, was one thing that the guys in the band respected because a lot of times it didn't make sense what we were doing. But I really didn't have an alternative in mind. Like, I knew there was a way to make it work in some capacity and I loved making music and I figured, you know, we'd figure it out.

But the thing is, a lot, you know, people get stalled right at the beginning about deciding what to do with their life. You know, what am I most interested? What should I do? And the main thing is, well, what are you interested in now? And then Mark Cuban kind of refines as like, if you're thinking in terms of your career, what can you do that would be a marketable skill that you could make money at, you know, because you wind up liking whatever it is that you get good at. But it's like, and what do you want to do? Don't worry about. It's great to think, have a long term plan. But like, it comes down. What can you get super excited about right now? Now that is like a practical, practical, doable thing that you can meet some people, have some experiences, have some accomplishments and open some new doors. You know, basically get yourself some more strengths. You know, like if you're on an ice float out in the north, you know, how can you get yourself over to a bigger chunk of ice, you know, a bigger foundation underneath you, what's available to you now? Don't sit around fumbling and stumbling it's like, move forward now. And usually that path is what you can get most excited about doing. And what I'm hearing from you is that's what you were following. You had your, your mind was spinning and you were gravitating to the things that allowed you to be creative and allow you to try things and get an idea in your mind and try and make it, bring it to reality. And so chasing that excitement is a real good idea for people to have to get going, you know, because sometimes you're getting going and you're young, but sometimes you need to get going at 20 years old, 30 years old, you know, you could be 60 and need to get going again, you know, and so talk about that.

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I think that's a great point. There is a danger of being excited about the fantasy and the future rather than being excited about what you're passionate about now. So I totally agree with what you're saying. They're not necessarily completely different things, but. But don't be excited and passionate about some sort of end goal. Be excited and passionate about what you're doing today that you find exciting like that can perhaps lead you to this end goal. But don't get excited about a fantasy that doesn't exist. Get excited about what excites you now, today. And if that's writing or you really love, I mean pretty much anything, you can find a way to turn it into something. You know, if you enjoy running or you enjoy business, or you enjoy kind of security, or you enjoy, you know, helping other people, you enjoy looking after, you know, your loved ones, you enjoy, you know, making sure cities are organized in a better way, you enjoy hospitality, you enjoy seeing people smile, you know, whatever it is, something that you can get excited today is much more valuable than what you can get excited about a fantasy some many years from now. And then you just end up, you know, doing something to get by to then just, you know, have this fantasy exist. Make your fantasy be something you can do now, would you?

Yeah, that's a great point. Make your fantasies something you could do now. And from the beginning, you know, people need to think about, you know, on their way. Kids coming up need to think about turning their butts loose to go for what they're interested in. Because some of the greatest artists of all time had their greatest works when they're early 20s. You know, not like it's his only greatest work, but like Michelangelo carved the David statue when he was early, like 22, he did. I don't know if you've ever been to the Vatican in Rome, but over the right hand side they have the Pieta, which is just unbelievable that someone carved that. He did it like 21, 21 years old. As a sculptor, it's like, are you kidding me? And so people like Van Gogh died at 34. Bob Dylan wrote his biggest hits when he's in the young 20s, you know, just getting started, coming out of New York. So, you know, turn yourself loose. And another way of looking at is when you get into a new business, you're young again, you know, you're, you know, you're a rookie again. And don't be afraid to go for it and try stuff and have fun with it. Because when you're having fun, that's when, when you're having fun, other people can have fun. You know, you can make what you're doing fun for other people, but if you're not fired up about it, you're not going to get other people fired up about it. And so chasing that stuff. But it also gives you a strength like when you're first, you know, those first experiences you had, you were starting to get experience, you were starting to learn how to get ideas and make them happen. And that, that gave you your own education in terms of running your life right from the beginning just by reaching out and trying stuff. And do you feel like that's an accurate, accurate representation of your early years there?

Well, I mean, I think there's, you know, one thing to be said for that. Absolutely. When you're, you know, creating these accomplishments when you're young. But it's at the same, you know, time look at Genghis Khan. Didn't even start conquering the world until he was, you know, middle aged, you know, he spent most of his life just unifying the Mongolian empire, you know, like, yeah, there's, there's, there's also a sense, you know, a lot of times when we were in the uk, which is where we were signed, there's this sense amongst, like, you know, local English people that, like, if you don't make it by the time you're like, 18 in the music industry, you're done. You know, I don't think. Is that at all. I mean, for us, you know, we didn't really get signed until we were much older than that. I feel like it's. You don't have to use that as a. I'm 18 now, you know, like, Alexander the Great conquered most the known world by now at his age. Like, you know, use it maybe as a motivator. Don't use it as something to get you down, because that's.

That's the point, honestly.

Like, you know, I was just watching Harvey Milk on the plane, the movie Milk, on the way back from New York two days ago. And it's a great line. We just turned 40. He's like, Man, I'm 40 years old and I haven't accomplished anything with my life. And then, you know, look what he did for the next 10 years of his life. So, I mean, there is no point in your life where you can't do something the same way you can when you're young. I think, you know, particularly with the music industry, I do have other thoughts on that, too. And I think, you know, like, if you look at my musical heroes and the music when they're young, there's so many factors why maybe that resonated then and then there's a lot of factors. I think when you grow up and when you start a family and when you have other things going on and all these kind of other things that kind of. You maybe don't have, when that's everything you live and breathe, that there's so many factors in the artistic side, but, you know, the artistic side is a very strange one. The fact that no one really knows where that song comes from. You know, no one knows the way you're painting. This painting. There is a bit of a mystery to it. And, you know, the muse, so to speak, can enter and leave whenever. You know, it could be a whole year she's there, a whole year she's gone.

Yeah.

You know, I think something that excites me as an artist is looking at people that go through periods or go to different places or, you know, like David Bowie or Picasso or someone that will have a certain segment of their life for the next creative project. You know, our last album that just came out, the original motion picture soundtrack, I wrote the whole thing with the new kind of concept. I wanted to go to this cabin in the mountains, and I wanted to leave it behind at night, and I wanted during the day to, you know, have a certain kind of regimented structure where I would, like, write and I'd meditate or I'd write some more, and I'd try something I've never tried before. You know, really kind of experiment with the structure around which you are creative. And so then, you know, when. When the pandemic struck and I really kind of dove into this eyewear company and took it from an idea that was like, on a sketch pad that I've always kind of thought, man, this would be so cool if it existed. I was like, well, this sounds like a new kind of creative experience, a new kind of, you know, thing for me to wrap my head around and learn from. And so then, you know, that kind of is how it was birthed in a whole new world of creative challenges and exciting things came about because of it.

Absolutely. And the point is that anytime in your life, you can launch a new phase. And, you know, the perfect example, Colonel Sanders, you know, he gets his first, you know, back in the old, you know, the south, very proud, didn't want anything from the government. And when he got his first Social Security check, he was personally offended that the government would assume he needed their support. And he started Kentucky Fried chicken at age 65, you know, and Ray Kroc was 52, I think, before he had his first McDonald Brother hamburger out in Southern California and got intrigued with their systems and wound up buying it. But, I mean, he was, you know, mid-50s, and it didn't get off the ground right off the bat, either. You know, he had stumbled and fumbled, you know, kind of like starting a band, you know, and have to rearrange things is any company. So the main thing is get. Don't rule yourself out from doing great things just because you're in a new arena and let yourself go. There's a great quote I'm going to tell you from Jim Carrey does a lot of painting now. It doesn't do a lot of acting now. He does a lot of painting. Got a big studio. Did have one in New York City down in Greenwich Village. Now he's got one out in Malibu. And he took Jerry Seinfeld out there, and he said, you know, you could just see the, you know, the excitement in his face. And he said, what's great? He said, I can come in here, and in one hour, I've created something that never existed before.

Yeah, absolutely.

That's the excitement. And you can do that. In all kind of different areas of life. So thanks for sharing that.

If you enjoyed what you've heard and are dead serious about finding out for yourself exactly how this works in the real world, I've taken the most valuable business lessons I've learned over 40 years and put them into something for you to watch. Go to whiteellenwinning.com webinar now in order to move up as fast as possible. I'm Larry Wydell and I run the Million Dollar Mastermind. Go Go Go.