Next Level Pros - #79: Turning Street Smarts into Business Success; Grammy Nominated Artist Clinton Sparks

Episode Date: February 27, 2024

In this heartfelt episode of The Founder Podcast, we dive into the life of Clinton Sparks, a multifaceted individual who has triumphed over adversity to become a beacon of resilience and positivity. Join us as we unravel the layers of Clinton's extraordinary life, from his humble beginnings to becoming a cultural disruptor and music industry veteran. From childhood trauma to entrepreneurial triumphs, Clinton shares candid insights into his remarkable journey, offering invaluable lessons on resilience, purpose, and the relentless pursuit of one's dreams. Throughout the episode, Clinton shares valuable insights on overcoming obstacles, finding purpose, and building a life by design. Discover how he bridged worlds between Wall Street and the streets, MTV and BET, and leveraged his skills to navigate the complex terrain of the entertainment business. Prepare to be inspired, uplifted, and empowered as you listen to the journey of Clinton Sparks. Highlights: "Every answer you need for everything that you question in life is being said to you every day if you just shut up and listen." "Life is easy, people make it hard." "The path to becoming better or healing isn't this long journey... It's merely a decision that only you can make." Timestamps: 00:29 - Introduction: Clinton Sparks, a multifaceted individual 03:40- Reflecting on childhood trauma and resilience 06:34 - Seeking answers and moving forward in life 07:43 - The importance of listening and understanding others 09:31- Choosing resilience and personal growth 14:25 - Adopting a mindset of abundance and resilience 22:26 - Leveraging street smarts in business and sales 31:44 - Differentiating between real thought leaders and self-proclaimed gurus 32:35 - Recognizing one's unique perspective and value 43:31 - Making the decision to build a better life by design

I get so many amazing opportunities that happen in my life. And most people get, this is going to change my life forever. Maybe it will. I don't ever look at things like that. And if it doesn't happen, I'm never disappointed because guess what? I didn't have it. So if it doesn't happen, I didn't lose anything. You know what I mean?

And like a lot of people don't look at life in this perspective. So they let down a lot. They get bitter. Yeah, from these opportunities or, you know, look at what's happened to me. And the reason I'm able to do that now is because I put that to practice and put the work in from the trauma I went through as a kid to not allow it to seep into me being an adult, which then turns into how I built my life by design and not by circumstance. Yo, yo, yo, welcome to another episode of the Founder Podcast. Today, I am joined by Mr. Clinton Sparks, a goofball. Let's go. Let's go, guys. You got anybody here?

So Clinton is just like one, like, and done all kinds of crazy things. I don't know if I could even go through your whole bio, like a Grammy nominee. Correct. Done like a high-end DJ. He's in gaming world, literally knows everybody. International speaker, author? Yes. Author as well. Dude. Father. Father. Most importantly. Yes. Most importantly. To the children of my home. Yes. I love it. I love it. How many kids? Three kids, two, four, and 19. That's beautiful. And married to the same woman? Not the 19-year-old one, but the same woman for the two and the four. Dude, that's freaking phenomenal.

And all three of them are with me. So it's not like it's separated. Come on, my guy. I get familiar. Oh, man. When I decided to be a dad, I was committed. I love it. I love it. Nothing that I appreciate more than a good family guy.

Likewise. And I think that's how we started to bond. We met each other at a conference. We were back in the green room. And I kind of keep to myself a lot. And I see that you were eager to meet new people. You were scanning the room. Like, who's cool here?

Who should I know? Like, feeling myself out. And I could see that in you. So I went over and started talking to you. And I could see that you're a real genuine dude. And we started talking about our families. Like, I like this guy. Anybody that talks about their kids in places where nobody would really talk about their kids, I become a fan of. I appreciate that, man. It's, I mean, it's what life is really about,

like raising these little, I mean, being a father is so crazy, right? Like you, you have sex with your wife and often often and somehow this little thing is born inside or you know is created inside of her and you get to raise that yeah creation which is just unbelievable it's also risky it's also uh a lot of responsibility what has been the hardest thing about being a dad um i don't think i've ever had any hard i don't have any hard things that i remember or or that still stay with me because again i've always wanted to be a dad so since my dad left when i was young so i always had the aspiration to become a great dad one day tell us tell us more that. So your dad left, how old were you?

Maybe four, I think, yeah. And so you grew up without a father figure? Yeah, my mom was a single mom, worked two, three jobs. We were broke, broke, broke, welfare broke, roaches broke. Where at? In Boston. Okay. Born and raised in Boston, mass from a town called Dorchester.

Still carry a nice little Boston accent. yeah yeah of course I'm starving right now um but uh yeah so that was that you know was was bullied uh alcoholic father um was sexually abused for many years when I was young uh from a guy that was in my house and yeah you know look everybody has a story, right? Everybody went through some trauma, some tough times, and whatever's tough for different people, that's tough for them, right? We all have different versions of what bothered us. So how did you handle that when you don't have to go to-

When he was coming in my room at nighttime? No, no, no, no, no, no. Just mentally on a day-to-day basis. Back then or as an adult? Just as a child like did you blank it out like i mean how like i can't even imagine because i grew up in a in a pretty awesome family strong mother strong father right and so like me hearing stories like this like it's baffling like i i don't i don't even know how to like even like totally see that so like like how did you make it through the day or like you know like or what what are some lessons that you took from it i don't know well i mean it's kind of like when you're when you're in the

middle i'll use a good example you don't know you're making history while you're making it right so it's the same thing like when you're going through don't know you're making history while you're making it right so it's the same thing like when you're going through bad times when you're trying to survive and you're figuring out

life at such a young age and you're broke and everybody else around is in the same situation you are you don't really realize how bad it is

until you get older and you can look back at it you kind of assume everybody's going through the same thing yeah you know and you don't you know you're too young of assume everybody's going through the same thing. Yeah, you know, and you don't, you know, you're too young. We can have a whole conversation just about, you know,

the traumatic effect of sexual abuse and why people don't want to tell other people or why, you know, victims don't even want to share stuff with you because, you know, I don't even talk to my family. My mother and father and my sister, we don't talk because of their denial of what i went through or you know so i've been victimized twice because you know i was a victim as a kid then as i got older and i've never been traumatized to the point that i needed like

therapy or it affected me being happy or building the life that i wanted to build and i'll get into the life that i built by design, not by circumstance. But it's not something that I carry around with me or has been an issue for me whatsoever. But when I got older, you get an adult mind that thinks about things differently than you would have thought about it as a kid. So you look back at things from a new perspective and say, well, that's weird.

I never thought about that before. I wonder, right? Or how come? So, you know, I had went to my mom, I said, look, I'm not mad. I'm not trying to blame you for anything. There's just some unanswered questions that only you have the answer to.

And if you give them to me, I'll never have to think about them ever again. I can completely move on. And, you know, some people aren't good at giving answers or don't want to give answers or they're in denial. And I think a lot of times people get stuck in moving forward in life and finding happiness or success and building the life they want because they're continuously looking for answers that they'll never get. Whether people don't want to give them to them or they're not able to be given

because the people are dead or you don't know who the people are you can get the answers for or there's just not an answer to be given to you. And then people for the rest of their lives are like, why did this happen or how come this? And therefore they can't move on and they use not having those answers as excuses for why they're not happy or they're successful. I knew early on by looking at drunks around me or hurt people very early,

I realized, and going back to people looking for answers, the answers are given to you every day. Every answer you need for everything that you question in life is being said to you every day if you just shut up and listen. The problem is most people don't listen to the world.

If you want to know how to treat a girl, listen to how women say they don't like being treated, right? If you want to know how to be a good employee, listen to bosses complain about what they don't like about people they employ. The answers are there. You're just not listening. So when I was young, I was very analytical and I assessed everything around me, even the abuser when I was young, I was very analytical and I assessed everything around me, even the abuser when I was young. And I would think, what happened to him that made him become the guy that does this

to people like me? Did you feel sorry for him? I wouldn't say I felt sorry for him. I felt, I don't know what I felt for him. I didn't really feel anything. I didn't feel anger. I didn't feel, no, it's, it was just, it just, it happened. It wasn't my fault.

I didn't do anything wrong. Something's up with this guy. I'm not going to hold onto something that I didn't do. If anyone should, this should be a problem for anybody. It should be the person that did it. That looks back and thinks, I did this to a young kid and stole his childhood from him.

Um, I'm not going to sit and be like, why did this happen to me? Because there's no answer. The real answer is because there was a predator in my home and nobody was there to protect me. Case closed.

That's the answer. You know what I mean? So like, where else do you go from there? Now you learn to move on or forget about it. Well, first off, I applaud you for, I mean, one, sharing your story. Two, becoming the person who you are in spite of, you know, everything that took place. It's interesting.

I heard the story the other day about two brothers. They were in their 40s. One was a successful businessman. One was in prison. Yeah. And have you heard the story before where they they were both asked why right like why were you able to do this and they had the same exact answer right it was because this happened to me as a kid and this happened to me and this happened to me and so like really i

mean you're a testament of no matter what happens it's it's about the way that we respond and can build off of it yeah and i applaud yeah i mean the fact that you know and can build off of it. And I applaud the fact that, first of all, sorry that you had to go through all that. But second, like- Did you have something to do with it? No, but I just feel as a friend, it hurts my heart knowing that any kid would have to experience it. It's funny, it's more common than you would think

right you know you i meet so many men that have had experience with sexual abuse or you know abuse you know physical abuse it's some crazy number yeah i forget the 20 i forget the percentage that's even higher than that and it's like it's like one out of every three dudes like my age and it's like it's nuts you know in back my age. And it's like, it's nuts. You know, back then we also didn't have the internet. So we weren't aware of things like we are now. And it was hush hush. People didn't talk about it.

Well, people were ashamed. People were embarrassed. And, you know, you didn't know who to tell. Like now there's hotlines, there's websites. You're like, if this is going on, report this to this person. Back then you're like, you're in the world alone. If you don't have the fortunate loving parents, like it sounds like you had, you're on your own. Your parents are also against you when you're a kid.

Get your schoolwork done. Do this thing. Or, you know, hitting you and spanking you. And, you know, my life, as I get older and the more I think about it, because I used to downplay it. Like, oh, everyone has a bad story. Oh, it's not that big of a deal. Or I'm okay. So it couldn't be that bad right but as i get older i look back and it was recent that i'm like man i was in a war like in my life i was literally whether it was the bullies

walking to school that would beat me up and take the welfare to take uh uh uh whatever the money is that you get lunch money not yeah but the it's government money oh food stamps food stamps yeah take the food stamps out of my pocket punch me and push me in a bush or like you know kids at school that would pick on me or then i'm getting you know abused at home and then you know you know parenting you know the way that they they discipline you and sometimes there's a paddle involved you know you're looking at all these things and you're just like and at the time it's just your normal life all right you don't realize there's a paddle involved. You're looking at all these things and you're just like, and at the time, it's just your normal life. You don't realize there's a better life or these are all wrong because it's all you know. And then when you get older, I think

that's the breaking point for people is once they recognize, it's like coming up out of the water and then looking and saying, oh, there's a sun and there's beautiful things. And then you start feeling bad for yourself that all these things happened when this beautiful world existed the whole time. And I think if people can just realize it's not their fault and let it go and move on and say, wow. I'll give you a perfect example

of how easy I'm able to let go of things. I learned how to play racquetball. So I'm going to Planet Fitness just waiting for guys to show up like, want to play? So I'm in there just getting better and getting better. And then I play with this guy one day and I don't wear goggles. I didn't know goggles were like, it's like a jockstrap. I played baseball. I never wore a jockstrap. So I hit the ball, boom, off the wall, hits it back. I learn how he hits it. I turn around, right into my eye. I hit the ground. boom, off the wall, hits it back. I learned how he hits it. I turn around, shoom, right into my eye.

I hit the ground. I literally audibly say, please don't go blind. Please don't go blind. Please don't go blind. Because I'm thinking that hit me so hard. There's no way I'm not blind now. Right, it hurts so bad. Right?

It was, oh man, it was excruciating pain. So as I'm down there, the guy happened to be a nurse. He goes, oh man, you probably just went blind. Right? And I go, what are you talking about? He goes, this is the number one injury that causes people to go blind and racquetballs getting hit in the eye.

And I was like, are you shitting me? And then he goes, yeah, you got to go to the doctor right now. So I get up and I kind of just, and it's like, it hurts so bad. My eyes like shot shut. So I go to the car and I call my wife. I go, hey, meet me in the hospital.

I think I just went blind in my left eye. She goes, what? Oh my God. I go, don't worry about it. Just meet me there. So I go to the car and I call my wife and go, hey, meet me in the hospital. I think I just went blind in my left eye. She goes, what? Oh my God. I go, don't worry about it, just meet me there. So I go there, the doctor says, yeah, you probably went blind, you probably tore your retina. There's too much blood back there to see, but the odds are you tore your retina.

And I'm like, ah. So I go home. How old are you at this point? This is, I don't know, four years ago. Oh my goodness. And then, so i literally go home and i sit on my couch and i make an instagram story about the benefits of having one eye so i i do the top five things of i'll always be able to aim a gun quickly i can like a collapsible

like telescope thing i can look out or check the door so like funny no one believed i was really injured because I'm making light of it. And the reason I did it wasn't for attention, wasn't to pretend like it didn't bother me. I didn't think, oh my God, I have one eye now. What I immediately thought was, this is awesome. I've had two eyes for this long. Right? And that's how I've trained my brain to look at things. Like I get so many amazing opportunities that happen in my life. And most people get, this is going to change my life forever. Maybe it will. You know what I mean? I don't ever look at things like i get so many amazing opportunities that happen in my life and most people get this is going to change my life forever maybe it will you know i don't i don't ever look at things like that and if it doesn't happen i'm never disappointed because guess what i didn't have it right so if it

doesn't happen i didn't lose anything right you know what i mean and like a lot of people don't look at life in this perspective so they let down a lot they get bitter yeah from these opportunities or you know look at what's happened to me and the reason i'm able to do that now is because i put that to practice and put the work in from the trauma i went through as a kid to not allow it to seep into me being an adult which then turns into how i built my life by design and not by circumstance so when i'm young and i see all these people around me complaining, adults complaining about they hate their life or they're drinking and you wonder why do they drink?

Oh, because they hate their life. Oh, because their dad beat them because they're not happy with their marriage. And I'm like, man, this can't be life. I just went through the biggest shit you can go through. I'm not going to go now live that shitty life. Right. So how old are you when you have this realization about 12

12 yeah okay so that 12 you're like starting to say okay i'm gonna live a different life yeah so it was about 10 that i really started recognizing and paying attention to humans and how they psychologically how they treat each other how they act how they respond because i was around a lot of alcoholism yeah i was around a lot of like, I'm in the hood. Where were you at? This was in Boston. Yeah, in Boston. So yeah, I grew up in the hood. Yeah, not the outskirts, the hood. We're talking the Compton of Boston. Yeah. If you ask someone Dorchester, even now it's still bad, but back then it was worse. And the other thing too, is it was very segregated. This is the black side, this is the white side.

And I was part of both, right? So like, yeah, it was just a very, I didn't know who I was supposed to be as a kid. Like am I, like I'm too white for the black kids, too black for the white kids. Like I just didn't make any sense, right? And I didn't know who I was, who I was supposed to be, what I was supposed to do, how to defend myself,

how to talk to a girl, what, I don't know. And nobody was telling me. And my mom worked too much. She was busy making sure we had a roof over our head and food. So I realized that most people weren't happy. And I didn't want to grow up and not be happy. And I always had this dream. The two things at 12 years old that I only cared about for the rest of my life was it wasn't making a lot of money. It wasn't, you know, most people, I want to be rich. I want to be famous. I want to be, I wanted to make people happy and I wanted to be an awesome dad one day. That's all I care about. You wanted to be everything opposite of what, how you were raised.

Yeah. Look, if you, if you know what you don't like or how to be treated or how you don't like to feel, then there's the remedy. There's the formula of how you should treat the rest of the world. You know when someone talks to you like how it made you feel, don't talk to somebody like that. And it's just such a simple, life is easy, people make it hard. And I don't understand why people struggle so much with building the life that they want. And most people will say, well, it's easy for you to say because like, no, it's not easy for me to say because if you know my whole story,

I did it with intention and I built it by design. I don't let the circumstances of my life decide or dictate who I'm gonna be, what I'm gonna be or how I'm gonna treat other people. So you make this decision at 12 and what were some initial things that you did to start designing your life? A lot.

But the first was, okay, I've already became a criminal. So when I was 10, I already started. I broke into my first house at 10. Wow. What were you getting? At that time, I just wanted batteries for my video game. Oh, wow. But then it grew up.

All my teenage years, I was a criminal. So I did B&Es, breaking and entering, for those not from Boston. It's a popular term in Boston. Oh, wow. Yeah, I've never heard that term before. You know, stole cars, you know, just a bunch of stuff that I'd get arrested a lot for. Which was, by the way, was probably the best thing that ever happened in my life because by being a criminal,

it made my mom get sick of picking me up from the police station and sent me to my dad at 15 in the suburbs of the city, completely like culture shock of like, I never even knew families lived like that. I didn't even know, oh, a mom drives a kid to football practice, a dad owns a construction company, that like, that's a real world. I don't know that world. So now, and then

also back then, this is 88. It was very, there wasn't the suburb that I lived. It was a Jewish town that I moved to. And there was back then you would call like white dudes that listened to heavy metal headbangers, right? Or Hicks, right? And then i was what you would call a wannabe back then because i was very hip-hop yeah as a white kid right so they didn't like each other well well i liked everybody but typically like the black kids didn't like the headbangers the headbangers and like the black kids or white kids that acted like them like like even the cops would like beat me up more because i listen to hip-hop you know what I'm saying? So it was just, it was just so many dynamics of like,

yeah, my life is just so crazy and who am I supposed to be? So when I moved out there to the suburbs was the best year of my life. Cause it gave me a whole new perspective of the world that I didn't understand that. I think that was probably all of the things, a culmination of, you know,

additives that created the ingredients that made me who i am but that if i never moved to the suburbs with my dad at 15 because of my mom because of being a criminal so there's something good always comes out of something bad right and i i would have never became who i became and i've always growing up was the one kid in my lunchroom that would sit at the the black kids table at the headbangers table at the jocks table at the you know ESL table at the kids that are downstairs all day you don't even know what they do until you see them at lunch table like I was the one that sat at every table because younger too and I I'm going to add more to like, man, this dude's been through so much. When I was young, my mother had a bunch of lesbians and gay dudes that would live with us.

Right. So now I'm exposed to that in single digits. So the reason I say that is because one was like a cross dresser. So I'm exposed to that. So I'm experiencing everything the world has to offer before I'm even 10. Therefore, the world in its entirety is all normal to me. Right? So there's nothing weird. Or like, I don't understand those people. Or why do they do that? Which is what creates racism.

It's really just an ignorance of understanding somebody. Or any other kind of thing that causes that. Once you understand people you're like oh they're just like me they just have a different this or different that it's like and and back to the high school when i'm in the cafeteria i'm the guy sitting here like oh you play dungeons and dragons oh shit so does the quarterback let me connect you guys or you do this and then oh you listen to this person like everybody's the same everybody wants to be heard everybody wants to be loved everybody but it wants an opportunity we all just might wear different clothes have different

color skin come from a different area but like we all basically want the same thing that we all need the same things food air water right like all that thing it's just like if people just learn to understand each other more care then the whole world would get along more. And I realized that at a very young age. And because I understood everybody at a young age, everything I do includes and cares for everybody, even the thing that we're talking about now. Yeah, that's phenomenal. So you go and you make the shift, you're out in the suburbs, you start building your life. At what point do you leave the home and like start doing it on your own so at 12 i started my first legit company it was called i'll forget the name but it was a company that because it's a weird name from now in the 80s it made sense uh what

was the name it's called rent a teen yeah yeah that that is not flying today. But what it was, was you could rent. So I had like a whole bunch of teenagers on my team that you could hire them to shovel your driveway or take out your trash, clean your house, go to the store for you. So I would charge, say, 20 bucks to shovel your driveway and then I'd take five and pay them 15 bucks. So I started doing that at 12. just started realizing making a low cut well understanding

leveraging totally understanding you know how to manage understanding how to find quality people understanding how to market understand how to sell all that stuff pretty early on but I was kind of already understanding that as a criminal you know what I mean so like all right you need a VCR you need a TV you need a video camera you know it I mean? So like, all right, you need a VCR, you need a TV, you need a video camera. You know, it's interesting. So my background's in sales and marketing, right? I did the school of hard knocks, knocking doors and things like that.

And there's several philosophies that I've developed over time. And a lot of times criminals or people that have street smarts that have recovered are the best salespeople on earth because they learn these things and you know just out of necessity yeah it was instinctual so you understand look if you're a salesperson the number one rule is you're never selling a product you're never selling a service you're always and forever will

be selling a feeling and if you understand what people need to feel or need to fill then you can almost sell anything to anybody the danger in that is american greed right right so like but like you said a rehabilitated criminal that now uses it for good right it's not only just now has the gift of gab or understands people but also came from this world and understands how you think and what you need and i've been psychology yeah yeah i've never been anybody look i sold rugby vacuum, Kirby vacuum cleaners. I've done sales my whole high school too. I used to sell mattresses and all types. I've done a million things because I just wanted to learn and understand the world

and people in it. But yeah, so as I was growing up selling all these things, you start learning more about people and what they need. And that's how I've been able to build the successful businesses I've built throughout my life because when I do it it's never a transactional thing it's never like how can I make a shit ton of money right it's I always leave how can I build something great because money follows great yeah you know what I mean so if you actually care and you're building something great that means something and helps people then like people are gonna want to be a part of that including the money and I realize even early all the guys with money want to be down with cool right

and cool wants to be down with the guys with money right so when I was making music in my bedroom starting off just doing it out of a passion and I realized like wow I can turn this into a business because those guys all want to be down with what I'm able to provide. And then all the guys I'm down with over here all want to know them. Right. Right. So I've always been the bridge between like Wall Street and the street. Yeah. Or like MTV and BET. Like even when I was a host on E! News for like five years, prior to everybody kind of getting along, I was friends with 50 Cent.

I know he thinks Paris Hilton is cool and what they're doing in Hollywood is cool. I know Paris Hilton. I know she thinks 50 Cent's mysterious and dangerous and cool and I want to be down with him. I know that about these people and I've always been the middle guy that would connect people. The connector.

Put them together, but not just say you guys should know each other. Here's why and here's what you can do and here's how we can create something great together that expands past both just you guys and like it starts back in high school at the tables yeah and i've always been that person so you developed these incredible skills like what point was like your biggest break that got you into the music industry because like obviously you built the skills of of selling and developing and trying new things and educating and whatnot but like what would you say was like oh that that was the point

like kind of the big turning point of my career i don't know i get that question a lot and i think my life is a series of just doing dope stuff right and what what's the earliest age after high school or what was the earliest memory of doing something dope? Okay, so the first, well, it depends who you're talking to because I did some dope thievery. So I guess I would say the first kind of professional leveling up step into getting into

the actual business, music business, was when I was in my bedroom making remixes to popular songs and i became friends with the popular radio dj at my in my city and i would hear him tell record labels about this guy clinton sparks you should listen to his remixes and you were how old uh i might have been uh 19 or 20. yeah just out. So I'm assuming you didn't go to college. I didn't go to college, no. And then I didn't even graduate high school.

I didn't get my diploma. I went back and paid for it. It's a whole nother story. After a couple of years of success, I go back, I go, guys, I did pretty good. Just give me a high school diploma. No, I give us 150 bucks, we'll give you a diploma. I go, there's no way.

I'm not the most successful person from this school right so anyways um so he would play them my remixes and they'd be like yeah yeah cool hey you're gonna play my record so i'm like hmm what do i gotta do to make them want to hear my remixes so i i was a dj in my bedroom so i was like oh i'm just gonna make myself a dj on radio and then they'll want to be my friend and then out courtesy, they'll listen to what I have to offer. So I heard a mix on the radio on Sunday nights, and I knew it wasn't my friend. I'm like, what is that?

It's not you. What is that? He goes, oh, it's a syndication company. We just distribute it and play it on our station. I was like, ooh, what's that about? So I found out that distribution company was called Super Radio, and they syndicate through the whole country. So I kept pounding them, pounding them. So reach out reach out just i'm the guy i

mean phone calls phone calls i'm showing up i'm mailing cds to them never never physically showing up no because i didn't know whether i didn't know i didn't know there was no real internet yeah it was it was yeah there's no internet it was just you had to so then finally i drive i find uh find out that's only like two hours from me. So I drive there and I show up unexpected. And the guy who's in charge happened to be in the lobby when I showed up. And I was like, I'm here to see so-and-so. And he's like, oh, that's me.

And I tell him that I'm here to see him. He goes, do you have an appointment? I go, no. And then I was persuasive. And he goes, all right, well, sit here. You know, I'll get to you when I get a chance. I sat there like five hours. It was the end of the day.

You could tell he forgot about me because he was getting ready to leave. He's like, all right, see you later to the receptionist. And out of the corner of his eye, he remembered I was there. And he's like, oh, hey, man, you got a CD or anything you can leave? And I said, let me tell you what, man. If you give me five minutes of your time, you're going to find a champion without looking or I'm never going to bother you again. Both are winning situations for you so he's like all right so we go into his office and he plays it you know when someone's turned and you can see their smile

from behind yes so he did one of those i was like got him but then he got rid of the smile turned back around i was like this is you i was like yep and he goes interesting i go if you skip a track or two you can hear some original remixes I did too. So he plays those. He goes, this is you too? And I go, yeah. And now he couldn't hide. So he goes, this is incredible.

He goes, how come we've never heard of you before? I go, maybe you didn't open your mail, right? And then he goes, and then he goes, all right, well, yeah, let me go talk to the owner and we'll get back to you. The next day, the owner called me and'll get back to you the next day the owner called me and says hey we love what you're doing we want to bring you on here we want to give you your own syndicated show and on top of that we don't pay our djs we want to pay you so that was my first like all right i'm i'm meant to do this kind of stuff you were 19 or 20 at this yeah yeah

about 20 yeah i mean that's a big break, right? But it wasn't just like, hey, someone gave it to you, right? You went out and got it. I worked for a year to solicit myself and then I went and I- And obviously you had the product to solicit with, right?

Yeah, well, that's the other thing too that a lot of people don't do is like a lot of people rely on the thing that they're building to make them valuable or to make them dope. I focus on making me dope. So whatever I do is going to be dope because now I'm a part of it. Right.

Right. So I've done that. And that's not just like a pompous opinion of myself. That was really me understanding what it takes to be dope. And it's not just my talent of what I put on that CD. It's my communication. It's my follow up. It's how I treat people. It's my it's not just my talent of what I put on that CD. It's my communication. It's my follow-up. It's how I treat people.

It's how I talk to people. So your reputation. And a lot of people don't think about that. They think about, if I build this giant business, I'm going to make a lot of money. So now everybody's going to ball suck me and think I'm the man because I got a lot of money and I built this powerful thing.

Yeah, but if that thing collapses, you're a clown. And we all seen that you didn't really do that. It was those two guys over there. At the end of the day, every company I've been a part of have all worked because of me. And when I left, they didn't work anymore. And it took me a while because of my childhood to realize, oh, I'm the sauce. I didn't realize that for several years because, again, I thought everybody thought like me. I didn't know that my upbringing and the work that I put in built a special way of thinking and operating that not everybody subscribes to. And even what we talked about off the mic, a lot of these self-proclaimed thought leaders and life coaches and gurus out here, they're full of it, man. 99% of crap right they got lucky on one thing and now they're out here slaying and like they're the greatest executive in the world

right and it's like dude but you suck at life you don't pay your child support like your wife doesn't like you like you can't go out there and act like a he-man because you built this one business when like your marriage is failing right or your kids are in trouble or like you got a lot of people in the streets that don't like you like oh yeah that just comes with territory you're gonna have haters now you're just a dick you know what i mean that that got lucky with that one business yeah so any to your point anybody can get lucky but very few can replicate that luck over and over and over again. Well, where I learned that I had a special way of thinking was when I did win, repeat, win, repeat, win, repeat, win, repeat. It wasn't I got lucky once.

It wasn't, okay, well, it was a fluke because these people were here or it was timing. It was my going back to the high school. It's understanding everybody and caring about everybody their needs their feelings what they're going through and then all that i've been through in my life i can almost relate to anybody because i've also been rich so i know how to relate to rich people and a rich prick who's got a dad who's at jp morgan and he's got all this stuff because of his dad and thinks he's the man he's now managing a rapper and he drives a Lamborghini, but none of that shit came from you, bro. I know every single

personality that's out here. So even when I'm building businesses, I'm very careful of who I include or involve because their reputation now connects to what I'm building. And whatever I build, I build it based off of me. So when I leave, most people invest in companies I'm a part of that were never mine, but because I'm the guy that's selling the vision. But then what usually would happen is the CEO doesn't share that vision or that ability to communicate or care. They usually, I've recognized that most CEOs that I've had experience with, I'm starting to feel the prerequisite is to be a narcissist egomaniac right that's not really like in tune to culture or the youth generation or anything they

just did other things and they either failed their way to the top or they did something great maybe 20 years ago right so because of that they got a position but they're not really suited for it um but i i'm really attentive to who i my friend circle is very small because a lot of people are dicks and I don't wanna, I'm not, I built a very good solid reputation of who I am and how I treat people and I'm careful of who I work with and who I hang out with,

which is why the two people I introduced you to, you're like, these are great people because I wouldn't introduce you to a dick. Well, first of all, thank you for those introductions. Second of all, thank you for spending time with me because that means a lot. I know your time is valuable and you got a bunch of different things.

I mean, you drove out of your way to be here and I really appreciate that. Couple of questions. So, I mean, obviously you've accomplished all these things and much to your own effort, your grind. I mean, the hustle that was portrayed in your own effort, your grind. I mean, the hustle that was portrayed in your initial break, right? So what would you say like two or the most things that you're most proud of that you've accomplished?

Being a great father. And what makes you a great father? You just made me forget my second answer, Chris. I apologize. It's all right. Listening, communicating, being there, being present. I don't yell at my kids. I don't punish my kids.

I talk to my kids and I sort things out with my kids. I help them find the right answer for them because what might be right for me or somebody else might not be right for them. So, you know, even my son friends, my son's my best friend. You know, he consulted me about stuff, but I never say, you should do this.

I've never done that. It's always like, well, here's some options and some ideas, but you should do it your way. And people compliment me all the time when they meet him. They're like, man, you did a great job. But I look at it like, look, you can be the greatest father in the world, but your kid can still go be a drug addict and still go do dumb stuff. It's really up to them to make the decision on what they want to listen to and what they're going to do once they leave your presence. So all I can do is show by example, right?

Like I said, listen, be present and always be supportive. You know what I mean? And don't push things on them. So I think that's what made, I think that's the recipe of how, why me and my son and my two new kids. I love that. The second thing is, I would say,

building the kind of person that I would want to be best friends with. You know what I mean? So, like, you know, we all think, like, we all want to be friends with someone that, man, we believe in their values, too, or their sense of humor or how they care. So I built the kind of person I wanted to be best friends with. And what would you say your strongest characteristics? I mean, based off of our conversation and who I know about you, like, uh, you know, you're obviously a man of diversity, inclusion, right? Like a man of the people. What, what else would you say that makes you someone that you would want to be friends with? Actually giving a shit about whatever it is, you know, the world, the people in it,

the thing that we're working on. I'm very passionate. I don't get involved unless I actually care about it. So some people might do things because I can make a lot of money. Yeah, but it's not really what you care about. You know what I mean? So I would say my passion, my commitment and dedication to things and my unwavering of the person I built myself to be despite the climate or the circumstances that I'm in right now. So if I'm sitting, I'm giving an example. And this is good for like people that sometimes will bend their morals because they need money. Yeah. Right? I wouldn't do that. Right? If we're not in the same kind of morals,

then maybe your money's not right for this thing. Right? Some people will say, well, yeah, I do like this thing. Right? Because it's the right thing to say to get the money from that person. Right. But you're starting your relationship with that person inauthentic now. Because now that person thinks you're this person and you're not.

I want you to like me for me. I want you to be down with me because of me. I want us to either we're on the same or we're not. And by the way, we don't have to be to still be friends and still do great things together. As long as we respect and understand like you believe in that, I believe in this. Who cares? We both think we each other's awesome. That's I'm going to support you when you do that and you support me while I do this. And that's what makes good people and a good friendship and a good partnership. So I think my willingness to compromise and understand and accept almost any and everybody, as long as you're not a jerk that's causing harm to people. Absolutely.

What about what's the one thing that you're most proud of in a business sense that you've been a part of? Knowing, when you don't know me and I say this, it sounds conceited, so I have to say it differently. Knowing that I have the right answer because of experience, research, vetting out, and taking the time to thoroughly work through it. So when I come to the table with an answer, it's the right answer, right? It's not just my opinion based on my personal taste. It's based off of what we're trying to accomplish

and my doing ample enough research or doing some case studies and adding my experience to it to realize this is why we need to do this. And I've almost been right every time, Chris. And so who would you say has been the most influential along your journey as far as a mentor?

I mean, give me two or three just rock stars that have helped you along the way. I've had no mentors coming up. I've had experiences that have given me the tools. And I would say being homeless was one. Being abused was another. And just, you know, my father's absence, but also my father's temporary presence

because I looked at my dad, I built my father to be something that he actually wasn't. But in doing so, it made me follow the thing that wasn't real, if that makes sense. Right, so it taught me how to be a man by thinking he was the man that I thought that he was. So I took that and then became that. Then when I realized, oh, he's not even that,

it doesn't matter, because now I'm a solid man. Right, I'm who I wanted to be. Yeah, exactly, so I extrapolated from what I thought was, you know, great man qualities from him. Awesome. So if you don't mind sharing what's pushing and motivating you right now in the world, I know we've talked a little bit about some of the stuff you're working on right now. Do you mind sharing some of that? Well, not in full detail, but what I will say is that what I've been working on is a culmination of, look, I've been shaping and shifting culture for 20 plus years now.

I know what I'm talking about. I understand so many different industries. I understand so many different cultures and people and regions around the world. And this one thing that I'm building now is a global cultural disruptor that is not only going to be recognized as one of the most entertaining brands around the world and make a lot of money, but I think it's going to have a massive impact on social good and connecting cultures, building international bridges, uniting people through the business that I'm building now.

Awesome. And again, when it's where it needs to be and you know more about me, you will say, this is exactly what this dude has been and been building and has been training for his whole life to build this thing. And it makes total sense. I appreciate it, man.

I'm excited. I know a little bit more detail about what you got going on and excited for what the, I mean, you bringing that to the world and it's going to be impactful from a cultural and- I won't stop until it is, Chris. I'm excited to see it. Where's the best place for some of the listeners to reach out to you or follow you? Sure. Everything, all socials, at Clinton Sparks,

podcast on Spotify and Apple, clintonsparks.com. But yeah, I'm usually in my DMs on Instagram. And what are some things that you're pursuing right now and that we can help with? I am, well, I'm full-time focused on as CEO of this new company that I was just kind of telling you about. But yeah, I'm fully engaged in that. And then obviously, you know, just giving out game and helping other people and sharing the things that one of the things I realized the most that that people are benefiting the value from me isn't about the business isn't about the cool things isn't about how to make money. That's all easy. And you're able to learn that stuff and go to Google, you can listen to you, you know, there's a lot of people that can teach you, you know, the path to make money. That's all easy. And you're able to learn that stuff. You can go to Google, you can listen to you. You know, there's a lot of people that can teach you, you know, the path to making money. I think where people get stuck a lot is the path to making a better them, right?

And understanding that it's actually them that's in the way of them becoming a better them. So I think that's where people have the most deficiency is is understanding the pain the trauma the hurt and the stuck that they're in because of things they're not recognizing or realizing uh that is sticking them so that that actually brings up a great question so for those that are stuck and they feel stuck in their current situation whether that's they're not pursuing their dreams they're not creating the life that that once dreamt of, what advice do you give to those people? Well, it would be, it's not one size fits all, right? Because some people realize, oh, well, I'm my own enemy. I'm causing it because I keep drinking, right? Somebody else is like,

everybody else is causing me not to. So it doesn fit everybody right so that answer wouldn't it's not one size fits all but i will say uh the path as i found it to becoming better or healing isn't this long journey this long daunting journey that you now like ah this is going to take forever to build a good life right to, it's merely a decision that only you can make. So it's just decide that I want to build my life by design. I want to be happy. I don't want to think about things from the past. I don't want to blame. I don't want to worry about things that weren't my fault and things that I can't change. Because if you can't change it, what are you sitting there thinking or worrying about it? If I broke my leg when I was 15, I'm not 42 years old, still thinking about my broken leg from when I was 15.

Like I moved on. You got to move on because life is, and it's going to move on with or without you. You heard it here, folks. Guys, make the decision. It doesn't take a long time to turn life around. It takes the right time, and the right time is now. I love it. I love it.

Clinton, thank you so much for your time that you spent with us on the show, for making the trip, for just being a part of me or with me here. I know that time is ultimately the most valuable resource we have. And the fact that you shared some with me and our community, I appreciate it. I appreciate you having me and seeing the value of me enough to share with your listeners and viewers. But however, Chris, I want to say to you, I'm here because of you, right? It's not because of what I'm trying to do for me. It's not me trying to promote things that I'm doing. I'm here because meeting you, you're an authentic, real dude. And when you asked me to come, I came because of you. I didn't know. To be honest, I didn't know. I know now, but I didn't know the level of your podcast. I didn't know. To be honest, I didn't know. I know now, but I didn't know the level

of your podcast. I didn't know much about you outside of the dope guy that I met when we sat and talked and got to know each other about our families and whatnot. So appreciate it, my brother. All right. Until next time.