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Audio digitally transcribed by Otter.ai

Introduction 0:01
Welcome to the #PirateBroadcast™, where we interview #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings. Where you can expand your connections, your community, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. Let’s get this party started.

Russ Johns 0:20
It's a beautiful day for a beautiful day. Don't ya think? You're on the #PirateBroadcast™ We got Reggie in the house. Reggie you're a pirate.

Reggie Waterman 0:29
I'm a pirate. I've always wanted to be a pirate. Hey, Russ, what's going on? Morning.

Russ Johns 0:34
Hey, it's a fantastic day. Thanks for joining me. I know we had a couple of items blocking us from starting, you know, and it's like, Okay, well, that's the way life is, you know. 2020 it's like, okay, let's just figure it out. And let's keep going. So, how are you doing on a Friday today?

Reggie Waterman 0:54
I'm doing great. Absolutely great. The sun is shining. It's cold where I'm from. I'm in Canada. So Toronto, Canada, Toronto, Ontario.

Russ Johns 1:04
Did you get a lot of snow there? Y

Reggie Waterman 1:08
You know what? No, not a whole lot of snow. Like we had like a little, you know, we had some flurries the other day. But we're good. We're good. We're not living in igloos, you know, based on what everybody thinks.

Russ Johns 1:20
You're in Canada, I had a friend, Carl Siroki up in Toronto. He goes, you know, Toronto is further south than Seattle? Yeah. You look at the map. It's like, yeah, you're right.

Reggie Waterman 1:36
Just a little geography lesson, right?

Russ Johns 1:38
A little geography lesson. So I want to talk a little bit about your your projects and some of the things you got going on, you do Discover yYour Other Self podcast, and you do a live stream. And you know, that's how we connected...well, we actually connected on Gabriel's show. Gabriel's an awesome live streamer that does some shenanigans over there on, you know, made from scratch broadcast. And it's an awesome community. And I just love what you're doing, discover your other selves. So talk a little bit about that for some of the people that may not know you yet.

Reggie Waterman 2:16
Yeah, thanks. And shout out to Gabe because again, if it wasn't for Gabe, we wouldn't have met, right? So appreciate that guy and everything that does, especially on a daily basis. But discover yourself what that is, it's a platform that I developed this year. It's a virtual community. So it started off in April of this year, for Season One, and honestly, it's I'm you know, really in tune with my spirituality. So I remember one morning, you know, waking up, going through my daily routines, which is, get up meditate, and, pray. And I came down this, I was walking down the stairs, and legit, I just felt like there's this button, this presence or this voice saying, connect with the community. And I didn't know what I was doing at all because I was like, Okay, what do I mean, connect with the community? How do I do that, and just these ideas started formulating in my mind, where one thing I could do is okay, well, I could set up a zoom meeting, and invite some people\ just to have a conversation. And it was, obviously, eye of the storm, which is the pandemic, you know, to help people just overcome the challenges because we're all challenged with this, we're all at home, and we're disconnected. But discover yourself was a means to build that connection, where people could talk about their struggles. And we could collectively talk about overcoming them. And what I would do week over week was providing them with just instant words of #inspiration. But it was also a means to talk about personal branding, like how could you use this time as a mechanism to actually build content? Because you need to be a content factory during this time. But what also the magic behind it, is when I first got started, I just kind of just set up an event bright page, and I did a post on LinkedIn. And that was it. And then a friend of mine goes, Well, that's it. Like you're not just like you're not going to promote it like your marketing. You should be promoting this, like you should be reaching out to people. And but I said to her in my mind, I was like if I have just one conversation with one person just like this, Russ. Yeah, I was fine with it. But I took heed to what she said. And I started reaching out to people saying, hey, doing this thing. I don't know what it's gonna really look like, do you want to join me and as a result, this community just formed and I would bring guests week over week to talk about their struggles, share their stories, but also talk about, you know, what they learned about themselves, because through those struggles, through that journey, you're going to tap into your other self, hence the name. So that's how it came to be.

Russ Johns 5:10
I love the name and it, it kind of strikes a chord with me because, you know, having the faith that you're going in a direction that feels like it's compelling, it's something that has to be done. And knowing that you're starting with, not a clear idea of what the ending looks like is really, it's a journey, you know, we should take a step each day we wake up. I wake up and, you know, my morning routine is, have a moment of gratitude and meditate on that and have this conversation every morning. And I love the conversation with everybody on the #PirateBroadcast™, because it starts me thinking about what other people are doing. It's not all about me, it's not about my stuff. It's about what other things are going on around the world that we can talk about and bring to the table. Because there's a lot of gifts that people have that if they have an opportunity to share it, somebody is going to hear that and say, yeah, I can relate to that, or yes, that's a great idea. I learned from that, or yes, I can be encouraged from that. And so your conversations where you're talking about people's struggles, their challenges, and everything that goes along with it, is really refreshing. And I applaud and #gratitude for what you're doing. Thank you so much.

Reggie Waterman 6:41
No worries, then that, you know, thank you for having me on here. And thank you for building this platform. It resonates with me so much based on what you said, because at the end of day, it's not about me, like you said, it's not about you. It's about others, it's about being that platform as a means to showcase and uplift others. I always talk about the concept of focusing on the one, we all get caught up in the numbers, the vanity metrics, the likes, the comments and this and that. But really, and truly, what I love the most about this whole process and experience is that one dm that I get, yeah, almost every week that says, thank you for that show. Thank you for that experience, thank you for the message, because I needed that today. And when I received that, that's when I know, man, this is really impacting others versus the likes on the post versus the comments on the post. Because now it's really personal, it's engaging.

Russ Johns 7:50
Yeah. And we really have to realize, and this is a nugget of knowledge that you can take away is that when you're working on the numbers, it's the ego doing the work, when you're working on the kindness is the gift that you're sharing. You know, and it's completely two different sides of the equation. And obviously, you know, having a show with no one listening is is kind of a challenging opportunity. It's like I'm hearing myself in a vacuum, you know? It's like, not necessarily the most productive thing. However, when you start putting things out, and you start learning about what you're saying, and what you're resonating with for yourself, and you're having conversations like this, Reggie, it's really important to kind of, it almost solidifies some of the things you're thinking about, and you haven't said it. And then when you start having conversations it gives you, it almost guides you down this path of clarity. And I'm sure that in your episodes, your last season, you know, you had 11 episodes, and you had a lot of conversations with a lot of different people, and you're probably more aware of what the next season's gonna look like, Is that accurate?

Reggie Waterman 9:14
I would say yes and no and the reason being is what what has been happening for me is, everything has been happening. I would say the currency is very organic. What I mean by that is the way I get, like, for example, the way I connect with my guests, prior to the show, is a lot of it is scrolling through the LinkedIn feed. And if I just happen to stumble across some some post that it just touches me in a way or it's very compelling. I randomly reach out to that person say, hey, would you like to oblige me in being on my show? And or it's getting recommendations from other people to say, hey, this person might be a great fit for your show as well. But then on the other side of it, it's Yeah, there is part of, you know, in terms of planning in terms of, Okay, well, you know, what's the next season going to look like? And in my head, I'm already formulating some ideas, and seeing what would actually be compelling enough and engaging for the audience. Because again, like you said, it's not about me, it's not about you as the host. And just like this conversation, none of its scripted.

Russ Johns 10:32
Wait a second, let me grab the notes.

Reggie Waterman 10:36
Yeah. It's like, Okay, hold on. Okay, this other question I have for you, it's none of that. It's, not all vibe, it's all bias based on the flow of the conversation. Just like you, you're able to pull out certain nuggets. And you're gonna twist the story in a way that it's going to be effective and impactful for the people that are listening.

Russ Johns 10:58
That's the goal. Yeah, that's always the goal. If I figure if I'm curious, and I could ask a reasonably good question and I continue to improve on those questions, then the conversation might be inviting, and we could have an appreciation for what it looks like, in the conversation. You know, and going back and forth and actually listening to hear you, versus listening to respond is a different attitude. And I really love the conversations that we have, and I keep it at, you know, 30 minutes, sometimes, you know, we go over longer and, and it's just a small nugget of knowledge that we can actually create in a in a 30 minute space. And if it helps one person, that's made my day, you know, because it helps me and if it can help someone else, it's an amazing opportunity. We have a whole bunch of people in the in the chat here. I don't know if you can see this or not, but...

Reggie Waterman 12:03
Hi people Hey, Gabe, you loving the Blue Steel look, huh?

Russ Johns 12:09
We got Hiett Ives here. Good morning, y'all. Nick. He's up in Canada as well. He's up there. Mike. Michael, Toronto rocks. Hey, pirates. The Trent river has ice on it. Nick says, good morning pirates. Darlene is in the house. Hey, got the early morning. So Gabe, Good morning. Yes. Good morning, everyone. You guys are awesome. It's about the people. Fantastic. #Gratitude is paramount. Hiett says, #gratitude is. And then Gabe says I can see that. #Gratitude is everything. Yes. Then Haiken. You know Hello, brother. How are you doing? I love that. I love your music. I love what you're doing. I want to support you even more. Just put it out there. Yeah. Howard Kaufman, very underrated as the five second pause reflecting on listening before we responding. So the community, you know, you've built up a community around your show and your efforts. And I kind of wanted to talk a little bit about what is it that created the series versus a weekly show versus just a regular podcast? Or how did you go about selecting your your topic and format?

Reggie Waterman 13:46
Yeah, no, that's that's a really good question. And hey, boo, I see Raquel on there, and now she's saying hey. She won't leave me alone. It's ok, though. I love you, too. I love you, too, Raquel. I love you, too. She's awesome. She's amazing. But how do I go about structuring my seasons, the format the community and so forth? It's a good question because it's on impulse. It's based on how, what I mean by that, well, how am I feeling. I know I'm doing a whole bunch of things. Right. And I don't want to stretch myself too thin. So the seasons allow me to really get organized and intentional. So that's number one. Number two, I also want to give the people something to look forward to. Number three, I want them to have a break from me. I don't want them to see me all the time. Right and I guess you know, that's part of that I guess. That's part of me in my strict straight, Russ, my insecurities like it's it's taken me so long to be on camera. I only got started on camera like last year, to be honest with you. Wow, I was so uncomfortable with video. So that was part of it too, in terms of, I didn't like seeing myself on camera a lot. And even my shows, I don't go back a lot and look at them. Because I'm like, oh, man, it's like, you know, when everyone says, oh, man, that's how I really sound like on on audio, right. But so I would say those are the three things. It's about a being super intentional with the content and having an impact. To just, I want to have that somewhat of a cliffhanger of a stirrup a moment where it's like, the anticipation, okay, when is it coming back? And I've seen that, right. I've seen like people like, oh, man, I missed the show. I can't wait till it comes back. And that was in between seasons, right? And the third thing is, okay, well, it allows me to also focus on the other projects that I'm doing. So that's what I'm doing there in terms of the community itself organically, it's they're so amazing, the community, they're so energetic in the comments all the time when the show is happening. Like even this season, I brought on a DJ to join me and there's a story behind that too, so shout out to DJ D money.

Russ Johns 16:20
Oh, nice.

Reggie Waterman 16:21
I decided, okay, well, for this season I'll spice it up a little bit. I haven't seen anybody bring on a DJ on LinkedIn live before. So I thought that would be pretty cool. And my goal was to have like a LinkedIn influencer one day say, the do's and don'ts of a LinkedIn live. Do not bring on a DJ! If an influencer said that, that meant like, Oh, yes, I made it. Right. Something different, I don't know.

Russ Johns 16:51
Well, the thing I love about what you're doing is it's creative. And it's innovative and you know, it's going to the next level, in a lot of ways. And by doing seasons. To me, this is what comes out for me is that it creates this scarcity in between. It was like when's Reggie coming back? Mm hmm. You know, so it's just, it's like, okay, I could see that. I can see that happening.

Reggie Waterman 17:25
Yes, I played the game of thrones concept, you know, so you gotta wait two years for the next season? Well, geez,

Russ Johns 17:32
What am I gonna do for the next two years?

Reggie Waterman 17:34
Hopefully I'm still alive to see it, right?

Russ Johns 17:37
It doesn't take you two years to get back here.

Reggie Waterman 17:39
Yeah.

Russ Johns 17:41
That's fantastic. I love it. And you know, there's so many things that we can actually share with the world and so many amazing people. Gabe says here, will be BBM you later, Reggie. He wants to know, how did you get so to be so handsome?

Reggie Waterman 18:07
Oh, thanks, Gabe. I appreciate you man. Oil of Olay twice a day really helps. You know, you got to moisturize the skin, get into the pores. So that's number one. Number two, you gotta be surrounded, you know, with your boo, like Raquel, she makes you look good, too.

Russ Johns 18:25
It's a great community. I love you guys. And the reality is, you know, we can wake up. And we're living in this age where we can create any thing we want. We have an opportunity to have conversations that we wouldn't normally have with people that we wouldn't normally meet. And it opens up this whole new dialogue. And I just really appreciate the fact that you and I, you know, you're in Toronto. I'm in Arizona. It's like we would never have met. Even it was a chance meeting on Gabe's show when I was hanging out there with him one day. And you hopped on and it was like okay, cool. I can have a conversation with Reggie.

Reggie Waterman 19:08
Yeah, we coudl have a virtual beer. Not at 9am. That would be so uncivilized

Russ Johns 19:15
It's 5pm somewhere.

Reggie Waterman 19:16
We could have coffee.

Russ Johns 19:21
I'm okay with getting on at another time of day. So what other projects are you focusing on? What are you excited about? What brings you joy in the day?

Reggie Waterman 19:31
Yeah, so I work nine to five at a software company where I'm a director of marketing. So that's my day job. Outside of that I have a number of different passion projects. So we've already talked about discovery of yourself. The other passion project that is so near and dear to my heart is the workshops that I do for colleges and universities where I actually give them the tools that are not in an average textbook. So what do I mean by that? It's well, how do you network effectively? Everyone talks about networking is so important. But how do you do it? Yeah, right? How do you deal with a bad boss, nobody talks about the bad boss, when you're in school, they don't prepare you for that. And there's a bunch of them, right? Um, and then how to like, what is managing of me? Especially to the younger generation that are coming into the workforce, and they have to deal with the older generation. So the two have to be able to work hand in hand and build those synergies. So really, and truly, it's all about a package or toolbox that really sets them up for success post graduation. So I've been working with a handful of universities, offering up a six week workshop, the University of Toronto, we just finished up a workshop in November, Ryerson University in Toronto as well. We've done a series of different workshops this month, in particular, I'm now trying to penetrate the corporate side. And I did a workshop for the World Bank of Canada. And why am I pinch? Why am I talking to and engaging the corporations is because well, you have this, there's always been a war for talent, like good talent. Now, as I'm looking to harvest the youth and build up these future leaders by giving them the tools that they need to succeed, well, once they transition into the real world, you got to figure out how to retain this talent. And I want to give the the corporations the concepts, the means of engagement, in order to recognize high performers, and even average performers and build average performers and and make them instant, turn them into high performers, because that's important too. But from a retention standpoint, I want to give them the the framework that they need in order to retain these individuals so that they could be just a stronger organization overall. So it kind of goes hand in hand.

Russ Johns 22:13
Yeah, I like that. I like that. So it's, it's almost like what you didn't learn in university university?

Reggie Waterman 22:22
Yeah. It's true. The funny thing about it, Russ, is when I, you know, randomly would reach out to the universities and tell them about the program. They pause for a minute, they're like, um, yeah, we don't teach that. I know, I know. I know you don't. And they're like, oh, wow, you discovered a niche. I'm like...

Russ Johns 22:49
It's a huge gap.

Reggie Waterman 22:51
There is a gap. So I could fill the gap for you. And then if you think about it that way, they don't have to allocate all the resources to fill in that gap, they could leverage a person like me, and add a lot more value there. And I always say it's like listening to your parents, or hearing the banter from your parents about what you should do in life. Essentially, you want a different voice. I'm just here providing a different voice.

Russ Johns 23:19
Yeah. I love that. I used to teach podcasting at universities when I was in Houston, and just giving a different perspective from another direction, allows, I think, the youth to understand or appreciate another person, you know, another way of looking at something because if you hear from your parents is like, yes, my parents, but if you hear it from Reggie, it's almost a different, even if it's the similar information that you're delivering, it could be completely, it can be received completely in a different way.

Reggie Waterman 23:59
Yes. And what was funny one time is when I did a workshop at Ryerson, and this was for the Department of sciences, talking to their students. And I remember for their opening series, they brought out like the chancellor, they also brought out a CFO from a major hospital. But what was interesting is that they were all, you know, dolled up in terms of they had on their suits. And again, this is all virtually done. Little old me comes in with my Adidas jacket, you know, the three stripes, and I'm just being me. I'm not all suited and booted. But, you know, as you mentioned, I'm offering up a different perspective. I'm able to be myself. I don't really have to be conformed to or confined to a buttoned up or a tie to really showcase value. I could showcase value just being myself.

Russ Johns 24:56
Yeah, you bring value just by walking in the room. Right. I love that. So what's the goal in that direction for 2021? You know, we're probably going to be still, you know, this pandemic thing is probably still going to impact the University's, Schools, colleges. Is that something you transition into virtual classes and courses?

Reggie Waterman 25:25
You nailed it on the head. And it's funny, like the concept of going into 2021, people are like, Oh my god, I can't wait till this year's over.

Russ Johns 25:34
It's like, January comes around. It's not gonna change.

Reggie Waterman 25:37
Not gonna change, right? Like, it's a carryover guys, the time doesn't stop. Like you said, we're still gonna be in this pandemic.

Russ Johns 25:47
Yeah.

Reggie Waterman 25:48
People use that as that that cutoff to say, Okay, well, I need to, yeah, refocus, but essentially, what we're gonna do is look to do more online courses. So I know I can't be in all places that, you know, you can't be in multiple places in one time. So I want to build an online course, to complement what I'm doing at the same time, and I'm putting it out there. This is a Russ Johns exclusive. I'm in the process of writing a book. It's all about, you know, self discovery and being inspirational. But then, I'm also working on a secret project that I haven't really talked to much people about either, so I'm keeping that close to the chest, but it's a belt, revolutionising the job application experience when applying for jobs,

Russ Johns 26:42
Well, that's fantastic. which ties into networking, as well. Because I was talking to somebody last night, as a matter of fact, on my five minute follow ups, if you haven't received your invitation, I have a five minute follow up. And we're talking about the idea that a lot of employment is done through relationships, not through resumes. And there's a value in learning and understanding how to navigate through relationships, as you're going into the job market, or you're transitioning into something else, it's really important for people to understand that it's not necessarily just when you're getting out of university. You know, it's in the corporate world. It's in business at all levels. And if you can learn how to develop relationships and some of the skills necessary to continue having relationships, it pays dividends, all your life, your entire life.

Reggie Waterman 27:54
1,000% it doesn't stop, it's a continuous cycle. And you know, to this day, you still got a network. Like, we're networking right now. I'm having a conversation with you and look at these amazing people that you have on this #PirateBroadcast™. Like, you know, like, everyone is at, you know, they want to connect, so this is awesome. appreciate all of you.

Russ Johns 28:19
Mike Baker here in the house. Fantastic being here, Nancy. Oh, there's Nancy. Hello. How you doing Angie. Oh, I have a couple of secret projects. Absolutely. Jenny gold. Good morning, Reggie. This sounds wonderful and needed learning Jenny. Awesome. show you guys. Thank you so much. So true. My current job is totally because of relationships. You know, there's so many things, Reggie, we could talk about and discover and when we're just open to having a non scripted #PirateBroadcast™. So thanks for being here, man. I really appreciate you.

Reggie Waterman 29:02
Thank you for having me. And I want to thank your amazing community, your tribe. Thank you guys for tuning in. Russ is awesome. You got to show, give Russ some reactions. Please, for the show, please.

Russ Johns 29:16
Like, comment and share. That's, what they say in the social media world. Right. Like, comment and share.

Reggie Waterman 29:25
Yes, and please share, you guys don't share enough. Don't keep it to yourself.

Russ Johns 29:30
Don't keep it to yourself. This is valuable information. You know, sharing is caring. Right, Reggie?

Reggie Waterman 29:36
Yes, it is. Definitely.

Russ Johns 29:38
Over YouTube. You know, that YouTube thing they got there? It's important.

Reggie Waterman 29:43
Yeah, like you're gonna do something magical and put like that button right now is I think I like to subscribe. You're gonna re edit this. It's gonna be magical. Got it.

Russ Johns 29:52
I'm gonna put it out there. Well, that's one area that I have to admire. Gabe, you know, he's actually done a lot more work than I have. his YouTube channel and he's grown it and it shows, you know, time and effort and energy goes in places where there's never a dull moment when you're talking about social media, you know. There's always something that you can be doing more. So it's something you have to balance because you know I have clients and client work and you got things you got to do, family and everything else that goes on along in life. And like I said, you know, when you're chasing the numbers, sometimes it's ego talking, not the business. So, yes, be cautious about that.

Reggie Waterman 30:38
Russ' words of wisdom. Pay attention, everybody. That was amazing. I like that.

Russ Johns 30:43
So Reggie, thank you so much for being here, I know that we got more on the way, we're wrapping up 2020. 2020 is in the rearview mirror. Coming soon, that doesn't necessarily change anything. I'll continue to be doing the #PirateBroadcast™, if you would like to, you know, share this out and, and send it out to your friends. Let people know the podcast will be available, Reggie, this afternoon, and I'll send it over to you the broadcast transcription, everything. And also take the five minute follow up and allow it to be downloaded. So you can actually have that as well.

Reggie Waterman 31:21
Awesome. And if I can say one thing real quick, if anybody could recommend, I want to go on a virtual world tour, I want to talk to people around the world that have unique, compelling stories. If there's anybody that you could recommend, please send them my way, like to the DMS or whatever, just give me a name and I'll reach out to them myself. But if you could help me out, that would be awesome. As well as if there's any universities or colleges that would that you feel, or corporations that would benefit from the program that I'm looking to offer workshops. Let me know as well.

Russ Johns 31:56
Fantastic. Thank you so much. And everyone, as you know, we do this because #kindnessiscool, #smilesarefree and I want you to #enjoyyourday. Reggie, always awesome. Take care, buddy. Have a great weekend. Thanks,

Reggie Waterman 32:15
You too, Russ. Appreciate you.

Exit 32:18
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