From Being Left In A Shoebox At An Orphanage To Becoming A World Renowned DJ

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The best class experience you can have is one that is good for you. Yes, it's good for the greater cause and everyone. It's healthy. And I was like, what is a Class 1 experience for me to get through this?

Welcome to Manifestival. I'm your host, Danette May. And each week I will bring you epic guests and life coaching where you can come to receive profound breakthroughs, courage to break old patterns and live into your soul's purpose. My mission is to remind people of their power and that they have the control to tap into their energy to achieve extraordinary things.

Hi, Danette May here and welcome back. I'm so excited to have you and I have to ask you, do you ever struggle with self Doubt wondering if your dreams are really going to come into fruition. I know I did for so many years. And our next guest is going to blow your mind, explode your hearts, and really help you dive into the possibility that you are in control of your destiny. That there is hope that your dreams will unravel. No matter what your past is, no matter where you came from, no matter what you did or didn't do, today on is for the making, not what you did yesterday or a year ago or two years ago. My next guest, I'm so excited to share with you. You are going to absolutely love his story. You're going to become inspired. Inspired by him, just as I am. And I cannot wait to introduce my good friend, Sammy T.

I think the best place to start for me is who I was before I became a DJ for some of the biggest players in this space. And like a lot of people in my space. I started in a really weird space. Before I was a dj. I actually worked in the bathroom at a nightclub. And I would give mints and napkins and like, keep people, you know, look and fly at the club. And I was watching these DJs and I was like, oh my God, I gotta do this. Like, this is not gonna work for me.

Yeah.

I cannot be working in the bathroom. I have too much that I wanna do. And like, watching them, I was like, this is ridiculous. So I started saving tips and I was buying their drinks so they would teach me how to dj. Wow, I didn't know that. Yeah, it was such a. It was so funny. And it was this little nightclub in Denver, so I would buy them drinks and lo and behold, one night, you know, I get, I get the opportunity. Cause One of the DJs can't play, he gets a little too intoxicated. And I was like, yes, this is my break.

Yeah.

So I basically log rolled him off the stage and I was like, I'm in. And that was the night somebody saw me play and they, you know, they kind of opened the door for me. And lo and behold, I worked my way into being a DJ from that experience. So some of the kids and the people that I talk to, they're always like, how did you become a dj? And I was like, I just saw an opportunity and I figured out my step on how to get in there.

That's really, really powerful. So found an opportunity, stepped into it. And I know you're on a new trajectory, but let's go back to your original story where you got this name.

The crazy thing about my Story is I had a really humb beginning. I'm adopted from the Philippines, and I was so called to go back to my orphanage for whatever reason. So I went back to my orphanage and found where I was from. And in that process, we found out that I was found in a shoebox the first day of my life. And once I had that realization, one, a couple things happened. One, my fans were like, what are you going to do with this information, Shoebox? They started calling me Shoebox. And they're like, yeah, you're always preaching to us like Moses. So Shoebox Moses was the name that kind of was given to me from fans and friends and family. And it's taken this really beautiful turn for me. Like, it's a fun name. It's a beautiful story. It keeps me grounded on my mission. And my mission is really to inspire and educate the kids around the world. And specifically right now, we're working with my orphanage in the Philippines, which I love. And what's crazy, though, is kids now talk to me about, like, things they're going through that they're processing. Little kids, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20s, they'll share these things. And I'll be fully honest with you, I had a blessed childhood. It didn't start great, but my parents are angels. And the interesting thing about kids sharing with me all the stuff that they might be processing and having a really hard time really getting through in life is because of this shoebox Moses name and identity. And I would not probably be able to crack that with them if I didn't. If it was just, hey, it's Sammy, maybe I wouldn't, but this is.

It wouldn't be the same, though.

It wouldn't be the same. Yeah.

Can I ask, when you found out about your original story, was there a moment when it really hit you about this story?

One of the lowest things that ever happened to me through all of this, because it sounds like, oh, my gosh, you made it. You did so great. You got your calling, your mission, you got your name. Now you know what you're doing. I had the hardest time processing all this. I started having imposter syndrome like crazy. I didn't feel like I deserved the success. I was living in this beautiful house. I started doing the most crazy ways to self destruct, and the Name and myself had this massive gap. And I had this night after I'd found out all the things that were working for me. I had just gotten back from visiting my orphanage. I had shows back to back to back, and I partied all night. And I drove home, and I hit a car. I don't even remember hitting the car. And I don't even know how I didn't get arrested. I woke up in my own hell the next day. Car was just ripped to shreds on the side, and I was in my own bed. And I remember just having that moment where I'm like, who are you? Why are you having such a problem digesting the brilliance of your life? And that is when the name really started to. Right. That's when it started to settle in. I was like, who is a shoebox Moses? This is ridiculous. If you want to embrace a story that has that much power for people, what are you doing? And that's when it started to really sink in.

Ooh.

Thank you for sharing that. Because I think when we find out, even just like, these. These raw moments, but yet we also know the gravity of our life, we do go through this, like, almost dark night of the soul.

Oh, it was so dark.

It's important for people to realize it's.

Not like you just go, oh, I can totally see what I'm meant to do.

You go, and you grapple a little.

Bit with the truth of your life.

It was such a hard thing. And I've heard stories from, like, Will Smith and those guys going through the same thing. Right. He released an album. He was doing great, and then he didn't understand how to keep his money. He's riding the bus to his shows, like, you know, doing stuff. That's what I was doing. I had the police calling me because they were ready to arrest me, because they had me on camera as a hit and run. And they said, we know where you're playing because it's all over if you don't at least call that whole process. And I just remember thinking how upset I would make everybody, mainly my family. And I was so just rocked with that. And that was a great turning point for me.

I love that I'm gonna go even one step deeper, because I think once again, as humans, we think we hit one moment, one moment, rock bottom, got through it, moving on. But I believe as humans, we hit them. And there's moments even like maybe yesterday for somebody that you're like, what am I doing? Do you feel like you bump into that on this journey as you keep evolving into the more fuller expression of who you are?

Constantly. Yes, constantly.

And what are some of your vices, if you don't mind sharing, just so people can feel that they're not alone in their vice.

Yeah, my Vice. There's a couple that I think that are not, like substance vices, but they're vices of feeling acceptance and love. And they're like the, hey, did I make you happy? Did I do good enough? Why am I actually given this opportunity? I'm not good enough to be here. A lot of self, like, doubt, and.

Then, like, inner critic.

Inner critic just go, enrage.

Yeah. On rage, just like, oh, my gosh, so much inner critic I get. I do that a lot. I've been doing a lot of work on that, but that's one of my biggest vices.

I want to know that now. Like, so when you're in this moment, because you're obviously hearing about all the ways to help when you go drop that low, what are things that actually work for you when you get into a moment? Say, like, you get done DJing or making an impact, and, you know, you. Do you ever get this where you're, like, on that high and then you're like, do I even really matter? Really?

Yeah.

And again, constantly.

Okay, constantly.

Good, good. Like, for anybody that is probably in a zone where you get to perform and impact people, it always comes, like, a day or two later when I'm just back, same old person and having the same old challenges and problems. But what I've learned to do, one of the things has really helped me, and it's so funny, you're gonna think this is random. And, like, not random, but just weird, is that it's music. And a lot of times I didn't realize I would turn off music. I would have these problems. I would just be, ugh. And I would stop, and I would, there's no music. My world would be silent. I'd just write in a journal, but there's no music. And what I started to realize was that I need to find the music that I wasn't always playing and find new music and share it. And so that's one of the things I do, is I'll share music. Like, people are constantly getting music and playlists from me. Like, hey, he. I actually have one for you. I've been compiling, and that's been one of my big therapeutic ways to get through it. Because what happened with me, and this is ridiculous, I'll play this set of my life, and people will just be like, oh, you didn't play that song. And I played for, like, three and a half hours or four hours. And that's the only thing I'll remember from the whole night. And that's not the best way to Go through things. So to fix that for myself, I was like, I'm just gonna give you some more music. And so I share as much as I can. And probably second to that is meditation. Meditation with the music. That really moves me.

That moves you.

So you have a meditation playlist?

I have a meditation playlist.

Oh, that'd be powerful.

And it's a beautiful one because it's been put together by some of my favorite people on the planet, my friends. And we did a big, beautiful, like, year in Colorado. They did a thing at yoga on the rocks. And I'll share this playlist with your audience. Like, it's.

Oh, that would be incredible. Could you pull?

Of course.

Of course.

I'll put it on there. And this is what's beautiful from you being in Colorado. This is gonna come straight from red rocks. It was yoga on the rocks. And my boy Manos, who is the most incredible music stage, he can find music anywhere from any place, but he'll just find these ways to put this music together. And he made this mix that I use to do a four and six phase meditation. One by Vishen, the six phase meditation, and then a four phase meditation that I use from a guy, my best friend, Jesse Elder.

Oh, I do know Jesse Elder. I need to check out him.

His four phase meditation has been one of the saving graces to how I learned to meditate.

We're gonna link that below you as well, like that four phase. And we'll link the six phase and your playlist. How incredible.

Oh, it's insane. It's the best thing I've learned to cope with it. And sharing that thing has been that playlist. Lionis real go on the rocks has been so therapeutic. And I didn't know that I was shutting off music. And I think one of the things that happened is I would get in trouble when I was younger sometimes, and you know, as kids, they're like, stop, be quiet. This and that. You know, like I was a maniac as a kid. I don't blame them for telling me to shut up, to be quiet. Like, they never told me to shut up. But they definitely were like, please calm down, calm down. And so probably anchored deep in there was like, oh, I'm playing. I'm mad at myself. Shut down. Be quiet. And that's absolutely the 180 degree wrong way to go. So, yeah, I found this beautiful way to share music. I love that. And it's so easy for me because that's what I do. And it's like, you're Familiar with the levels that Tony Robbins talks about of experience as a class one experience. Two and three, Right. Like, the best class experience you can have is one that is good for you. It's good for the greater cause in everyone. It's healthy. And I was like, what is a Class 1 experience for me to get through this? So I'd always ask myself these. Really? That's a powerful question.

That's a powerful question.

What is the Class 1 experience for me?

For me? That I can do? Yeah, that I can do. That makes everything else easier or unnecessary.

Not what's class one for Jeanette or class one for your sister or your brother, but for you?

Yeah, it's really powerful. I was like, you are the music person. And there was probably a gap of three years where people would be like, what are you gonna play tonight? What are you gonna do? And I would just. I would like, oh, my God, stop asking me that. And I started to just get into it. I was like, I am so excited to go find out. I can't wait. What do you guys wanna hear? And I started asking and people started telling me. And that was another thing that I realized is, like, when people tell you what they wanna hear, it's not anything personal about me being a bad dj, right? It's like, dude, I just love this music. I want to share it with you. And one of the things that I didn't realize until just even recently, the last two or three years, is that one of the gifts that we give people that, especially me, someone's always putting out music, putting out music. One of the biggest gifts I can give my audience is for them to give to me because they love that. That's the gift that I didn't realize I wasn't allowing them to give to me.

Wow. So be thinking about, like, what is the way that you like to give to people and can you do that back to yourself? I feel like I want to go off on a different tangent with you. I sense that you actually see people and you see beyond what they want you to see. I sense with all of the travel you've done, all the different leadership events you go to, you can see the facades, you can see the heart. You can see a lot. And I want to ask you, what do you feel is one of the bigger plagues that's happening, maybe with mainstream America and also with the leaders going on right now? Wow.

I knew you were going to say that too. That's interesting. You think I can see those people? Because I definitely have been noticing that lately, especially in the leadership space. Oh, my gosh. It's such an ego play in some of these things. And I watch that. I sense and see that. And maybe it's not just ego. It's a. It's this weird shell that I see these. Some of these big gurus in. I've been watching a lot of the. The inconsistencies of messaging, inconsistencies of messaging. And it's like intentional messaging.

Yeah, right.

So I have a. I have kind of a bullshit meter that I think is getting much more heightened as of late.

I think that you're recognizing. I sense that you do see things. And so you're basically the inconsistency of messaging. If you're going to come with a bold statement, you're also seeing there's an inconsistent behavior with their bold statement of saying what they are.

Right, right.

Interesting. What do you see with people that are maybe not necessarily a leader? Like, more people that are just walking around, going to seminars, going to places, not really standing in it yet. What do you see within them?

Oh, so much potential.

Potential.

So much potential. And if they're already. I love it when I go to the events that are a little softer, like the A fests and the Camp Mavericks, the things on Necker island. And some of those. Those people are in it. They're cannonballing into the deep end. They're just like, ooh, we're gonna go deep. We're gonna fix ourselves, we're gonna break ourselves. And. And I'm going to help you and your inmates. Like, that's easy. But when I go to things like traffic and conversion, some of these bigger ones where people are really digging deep for, like, technical knowledge and stuff, what I am noticing is there's a lot more mindset getting seated into those spaces, which I do like. But there's a huge uncomfortable gap with people talking about mindset and why you're doing things that you're doing. And so kind of coming back to what you're asking is, I'm seeing people using why I'm doing things, like, oh, I just made my company purpose driven, or I just attached to this so I can make more money. I'm like, well, do you even know what you're doing? Like, why you really are doing that? So I do see some of that. I applaud them for going, hey, I do want to make more of an impact. I would like to see it more genuinely, though. It's so weird. Does that make sense?

Yes. I love that. Well, I want to Ask one to two more questions.

You can ask me whatever you want.

I want to ask. What do you feel is starting to rise up within you? It's not the question of what is next, but what do you feel is starting to try to come up through you? Not necessarily that it's been expressed yet, or maybe it is starting to be expressed. What do you feel is another part.

Of your mission, A lot more of a leadership role that I didn't realize that I was capable of doing or being a leader because as a young entrepreneur and just somebody that's fumbled and effed up so many things in my life, I didn't realize that all of those things have served me so well. And I've accelerated so much of my growth through so much of the uncomfortable things that I've done that ultimately it's made me an incredibly compassionate connector and leader in a lot of the spaces that I'm at. And am I there? No, not even close. But I really on that hockey stick learning curve and accelerated exposure to it. I mean, look at where we're at now. I am talking to you. That's a beautiful.

You actually, I think, are already in it. Even though you might say I'm not there yet. I think you actually are because of your ability to see so much within people, whether they want to be seen or not, you can see it, which is such a beautiful gift I believe you actually have. So I'm excited for you to just start expressing it more.

So that's exciting. No, so that's one of the things I see. I also feel the ability to manifest things so much faster now. And I think manifestation for me isn't like, oh my gosh. I go crazy when people are like, look what I manifested. I'm like, oh, spare me. I cannot do this. You did not manifest that. You put the intention out there. But I believe in a much higher power that gives you the ability to stay safe and true towards a message and a calling. So when you go, I manifested this. I believe it comes with a lot of faith and a lot of hard work, but being so loud and so clear about why you're doing things you're doing that things do move for you.

Yes. I love that.

That's. That's what I see with manifesting what's in my life right now.

Right. I kind of feel like he just. You just kind of answered something so powerful. People. Because I was going to say, if you could say one thing to a million people, what would that thing be?

The one thing to a million people would be just to stay rooted in love.

Rooted in love.

Wow.

What an honor to be with you. Thank you for sharing all this wisdom of what you do reminding us to honor like that first class seat for ourselves and really the things that you're seeing in others that the potential also you don't have to put on the mask because most people can see it anyway. Stay consistent. I'm so grateful for your message. Thank you for spending time with us.

Thank you guys.

Thank you for tuning in. If you love this show, make sure you share it out and I cannot wait to see you on the next episode.

Do you ever feel like you need an extra push to feel inspired or motivated to take on the day? I know I do at times. And are you searching for a sign to nudge you one step closer to achieving your goals? I've decided to do something and I'm doing it absolutely free. All you have to do is text Joy. You're going to text JOY to 720. Grab your pen and paper right now, 720706, 5956 and I'm going to send you free weekly inspirational messages from me directly to your phone. We don't have to do this life alone. I want to be there as a support. So just go ahead and simply text joy to 720-706-5956 and I'm going to be sending you free. It might be an affirmation or encouragement, maybe a meditation, something that will help you start your week in the right foot with a simple message from me again, text Joy. And I'm going to give you that number one more time, 720-706-5956 to receive free weekly inspirational messages from me directly to your phone. I love you.