The School of Greatness - 25 Quddus: How a Kid from Canada Inspired Millions

Episode Date: July 19, 2013

Our next guest landed THE JOB as the host of MTV's Total Request Live. While there, he got to interview some of the most famous artists of our time from Stevie Wonder to Jay Z. His path continues to evolve and in this episode of The School of Greatness we discuss the secret sauce of […]

This is episode number 25 with the one and only Caduce. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Hey, all the greats out there.

Thanks so much for tuning in today. I want to jump right into it. And I've got a great quote that starts today by Jack Welsh. And he says, before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. And I really love this quote by Jack Welch because leaders turn other people into leaders as well. But it's all about self-discovery and continual growth every single day, every single week and month. You can't stop growing. Once you stop growing,

you stop leading, you stop living. So you've got to continue to learn how to grow and discover new ways to become a better version of yourself and becoming a better leader. That can be in your family, that can be if you're in school with your classmates, if you're in a company, whatever it may be in your relationship, you've got to continue to grow yourself. And then when you become a leader, success is all about growing others. And the reason I wanted to start off with that today is because I've got my good friend, Caduce, on the School of Greatness. And he is an amazing leader, done some great things with his career, relationships, community, charities, some amazing things. And in this interview today, we're going to talk about how he became one of the top VJs on MTV. And he was on MTV for, I think, six years after Carson Daly and really dominated on TV for a long time. Interviewed some of the biggest celebrities

in the world, musicians, entertainers. And he's done some amazing things since that stint on MTV, on TRL. So we're going to talk about how he got his chance when he was just a young guy out of Canada, how he became a rock star on MTV for so long, what some of the most interesting stories were of his time there while he was in New York City, hanging out with Jay-Z and Beyonce and all the biggest stars and interviewing them and learning about what their biggest fears were, interviewing them and learning about what their biggest fears were, what they had that other amazing artists did not have, how they discovered themselves. He's going to share some of these stories and some of these tips about what it is all these great artists had, all these great musicians had, and the common theme between each of them and how we can all tap into that common

theme as well. So I'm very excited about this. We also went into kind of a different direction and we talk about leadership towards the second half of this interview. So I think you're going to really enjoy this one today. And please, if you do enjoy it, share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Give Caduce a shout out online as well. I want to share a quick quote from the fans of the week. Loving all you guys out there who are posting pics on Instagram. You guys are posting pics every single day from all over the world. It's so inspiring.

And I actually saw a picture from one of my good friends, old buddy of mine I haven't seen in 10 years, playing college football, actually, up in Minnesota. His name is John Howard. He's training edge sports on Instagram. He's up in Minneapolis area, and he posted a pic. He was running a marathon, and he posted a pic every five miles listening to a new episode. So I thought it was really cool. I think he got through four or five episodes on his marathon, and he just kept taking pictures and saying, I'm listening to a new episode. So I thought it was really cool. I think he got through like four or five episodes on his marathon, and he just kept taking pictures and saying, I'm listening to this episode with Sean Johnson,

and this episode with Dr. Jeff Spencer. It was really cool. So shout out to John Howard, Training Edge Sports on Instagram. And also my man, Nicholas Kingo. He has been posting amazing pics. He's a male model, one of the top male models in Europe. He's traveling around doing some great things. He posted a pic of him listening to the School of Greatness,

this time coming from Copenhagen, Denmark, in front of a cool statue. So big shout out to Nicholas Kingo for you guys being the fans of the week. And the review of the week, really quick. Been lots of great reviews. I appreciate you guys' feedback for things I can improve on and also the positive stuff that you're sharing. Here's a quick review that says, listen and repeat, inspiring and uplifting. It's by KiwiLizB on iTunes.

It says, check this podcast out. Inspiring interviews from a great range of unique people. After listening, you feel unstoppable. After listening, you feel unstoppable. So important in life to have people around us that push us forward and make us want to be a better person. Lewis's podcast, In My Ears, does that. Cheers and thank you. I appreciate it. Kiwi Liz B, thanks so much.

I'm always bringing inspiring guests each and every week to share with you guys what it is that they know that the rest of the world doesn't know and how we can all tap into our inner greatness. It's all about becoming unstoppable with what we want in our business and our life and everything else in between. And that's why I'm bringing you some of the best leaders in the world to share what they've learned and their experiences. I am pumped. Caduce is a powerful leader. He's an awesome individual, super warm and loving. And the stuff he's going to share with you right now is going to be awesome. It's going to be perfect for you. Thanks so much for coming in today, guys. Make sure to stick around to the very end

and let the class begin. Boom. The one and only Caduce. What's up, Caduce? Oh, man. I'm feeling good. Blessed. Real special. Real special being at the school of greatness, you know?

Very excited to have my man Caduce on. We actually did another interview like two months ago and the audio went awry and went missing on my computer. So we're doing another one that's going to be bigger and better and even more awesome. Absolutely. That was just rehearsal. It was a test. It was more of a hang session. Yeah.

All right, Caduceo, for those that don't know, used to be the host of a show on MTV called TRL, which stands for Total Request Live. Is that correct? Absolutely. And I remember watching the show because it was – on MTV called TRL, which stands for Total Request Live. Is that correct? Absolutely. And I remember watching the show because it was,

I would watch it during the day a lot. It was on during the day, isn't that right? Like a noon or two. It was like a few times it seemed like where they would have

replays or something. Yeah, they might have worn that show out a little bit. Yeah, they wore it out. Yeah, no, it was definitely the cash cow for MTV at the time.

So I'm not surprised if they did it ad nauseum throughout the day. But yeah, it was a good show. We were all proud of it. So I'm not surprised if they did it ad nauseum throughout the day. But yeah, it was a good show. We were all proud of it. So might as well run with it. Milk that cow. You had it for six years.

Is that right? You were the host? I was there for roughly five and a half, six years. Yeah. And then I left and got busy with different endeavors. Went to MySpace Records. Got behind the scenes as an artist development guy there. And still dabbled in hosting

when it made sense. I was a special correspondent for Access Hollywood. Did a show with Nickelodeon called Dance on Sunset. Of course, duets last year with ABC. But yeah, it was definitely the best time being at MTV in my early 20s, just wiling out.

Man, I was in New York City. You were the man of this the hour right it was a bit ridiculous yeah and especially coming from where i'm from i'm from canada modest middle class you know at best um bringing bringing forth that kind of level of pop culture nis uh all of a sudden felt like it was a whole nother universe. So as you can imagine, it was a lot for a young 20 guy to keep up with, but I had a great time. Learned a lot. I want to cover a few things in this interview,

but I want to talk first about, and you can be brief as you want, but the story about how you got the job. You've told me this a few times. I want everyone to hear just everything that happened leading up to getting pretty much the dream job that you could have gotten as a 19-year-old. You were 19, right? I was 20 when I got the job.

I was 19 as things started getting interesting for me up in Canada. Because coming out of high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I thought maybe I'd be a teacher. Maybe I'll play in the NBA if I get another growth spurt. I was very hopeful. Didn't work out quite that way. But ultimately, I went to university like a lot of people do, not quite sure. Thankfully, I DJed in high school and I was decent enough on the turntables that a good friend of mine named

Sam took notice. And when he got a slot on the campus radio station at the university I was going to, he offered me the opportunity to come and DJ on that show. So that was a great intro into broadcasting. Although I'd never taken any kind of broadcasting course. I was in my major in university. I totally ran with it because it was fun. But what ended up happening as a result was everybody around me started to really think about me in terms of, this guy could do

some things sure on air and so when the vj search was announced for much music which is the equivalent of mtv up in canada uh everybody around me was like dude you got to submit for this vj search and you'd only done a little bit of djing and school broadcasting yeah small radio show that 100 people listen to exactly it was it was a small thing, but it was a great Kickstarter, as it were. So when I got chosen as a finalist, nobody was really surprised, but I was certainly a little bit taken aback. But I went there to Toronto, and they flew me out there, and all of a sudden I was on air auditioning in front of canada

for you know this particular slot and it was wild it was a great experience but i was the runner-up did well um but i was i was still finding my way as a young man didn't quite know what my voice was what i really wanted to offer up didn't really have much swag about me really uh but i did well enough that i was the runner-up sure enough it was the best thing that ever happened and when i got the results you know live on air i actually wasn't as crushed as you think i might be because i kind of felt in my core that everything happens for a reason and sure enough there was a tv producer over at a network called tv ontario that i'd seen how i did with the vj search and she was in development with a show that was basically like the young 60 minutes for this network tv ontario it's a show called vox and anyway sure enough i'd caught wind of

them looking for a host to start the show and i went in audition she already seen me in this vj search so she was already a fan right and the executives that were with her deciding you know quickly caught on and next thing you know I was doing the show called Vox. That was really what the real catalyst for me to be able to find more of a voice and, and, and develop more on air and be more confident in front of the camera and all the things that I didn't really have in the fall that much music VJ search. And so it was awesome to do that for a season. And then a friend of mine from Ottawatawa where i grew up in my hometown he happened to have an aunt who worked at a small agency called the william morris agency maybe you've heard of it anyway i didn't know anything about the william morris agency or the business at large 19 i was

like yeah as an 18 19 at the time um but he he knew that i ought to start really branching out and and so he said, take this experience that you've had with VJ Surge, with Vox, put together a reel. I'll get it to my aunt and we'll see what happens. So sure enough, I put together a reel. He sent it over to her. It took her like six months to actually pop that thing

in the DVD player and give me a chance. But when she did, finally she agreed with her nephew, Ben Barry. That's his name, Ben Barry. I'll never forget that guy. He really did open that huge door for me. And so sure enough, I went down to New York one time on a modeling trip because I was also modeling at the time.

And that was the opportunity that this aunt of his took to set me up with a junior agent at William Morris, went in, met with him. After five minutes, he said, you're perfect for MTV. Wow. And sure enough, he got me a meeting with the talent development guy the next day over at MTV. And his name is Scott Venner. And as I sat there in front of Scott, I was nervous. I was starting to really kind of get the understanding of what I was stepping into. I had no idea, really, the grandeur of MTV at the time because I hadn't grown up with MTV. I had grown up with much music.

So anyway, I was looking across it. Scott is a very stoic guy. He won't really, he's like a poker player. He doesn't really give you any indication of how you're doing. So I'm sitting there just excitedly talking about why I want to be a DJ. He's looking at me like, you know. Stone cold face. Yeah.

Not giving me anything to work off of at all. So I didn't know how I was doing. I started developing dry mouth, you know, when you get nervous and just like talking and talking, talking anyway, sure enough. He said,

all right, let me put you on tape. And he had me read off these cue cards from TRL that day. I'd never seen TRL. So I had no reference point at all for the show, which I think kind of played to my benefit because I, I just, I did my,

I did who I was. I presented myself without any sort of frame of reference for how Carson hosted the show. And so I think that's ultimately what they appreciated was the fact that I was just being myself and I was excited and I was passionate. um, anyway, so sure enough,

two days later I got the call that I was a new VJ. They chose me and next thing you know, my life changed. And I was on a beach in Key West, Florida on my first assignment with MTV, next thing you know. For the summer. Yeah, the summer beach house. I don't think they quite do that the same way anymore. I remember those though

because they had all these girls out there, bikinis. Yeah, that was like what I wanted to watch put this on right oh yeah a lot of eye candy and uh yeah this is a good time it was a trip and um a couple from canada like i said having been raised in the u.s it was like living a dream oh dude and what was crazy was that like my family at home couldn't watch it so i I was trying to describe it to them. And there's no way. You just can't do justice to an environment like that. There was no YouTube then. There was no online video. Exactly. You had to be in the US to watch it, to experience it.

By the way, I've never felt so old talking about how there's the day when YouTube wasn't around. Exactly. Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah. I remember when the pager first came out before cell phones were prominent, and I remember being very resistant to pagers. I remember being the guy to be like, oh, I don't know about that. People can reach me wherever I am, whenever. Oh, my God.

I like my freedom. Thank you very much. But yeah, no, it was definitely another time. And obviously now MTV is a totally different network and has different priorities. It's more like reality show is what it is now, right? Totally, totally. And a lot of people, they make a point of coming up to me as someone who they recognize from MTV and griping about their, there's no music anymore. What's going on?

No music. I'm like, listen, straight up. Y'all didn't watch it when it was on MTV. And they made a point of, exactly. Reality shows have just been rating better um and even now you see like you know Fuse is struggling to really get viewership and people are on YouTube getting their videos there and you know you just got to embrace the change and adapt accordingly and MTV's done a pretty good job of that I mean you can criticize

some of their programming for being a little bit debasing but oh well now what what years what years were you there what what year did you start i started in 2001 proper and then yeah went until january of 2006 so it was a great it's a great run i mean i suppose for vjs that's like you know that's a very long term but um it was so cool. I really did learn a lot about just ultimately how everybody is a human being, really, because I think when people think about the people I've interviewed, they always ask me, oh, my God, what were they like? And I think they think in idol worship terms. And I'm like, well, Jim Carrey's got to go to the bathroom just like us. And it's interesting.

Because you interviewed, who are the biggest people you interview like Beyonce and Kanye and everybody Jay-Z and anyone and under the sun right yeah everybody and everybody and everybody I mean Stevie Wonder was one that comes to mind that was tripping me out it was one of those moments where I was like okay this is one of my personal heroes I remember that was a big deal especially especially with the buildup because TRL, they always gave me the assignment of who I was interviewing the morning of. But with this particular situation, they called me on a conference call. It was like the people who were running Stevie's label. It was all the executives from MTV. They're all on the call

and they called me in order to give me the news that I was chosen to interview Stevie Wonder next week on TRL. No pressure. Oh, my God. I mean, first of all, I was wondering, you know, what if I didn't pick up the phone? They've all just been like, okay, we're going to choose another VJ. But anyway, they sure enough had me in mind. And anyway, I was totally honored because obviously Stevie is who he is. And then so the day comes.

And, of course, I'm overwhelmed with emotion. I'm feeling nerves. I'm feeling excitement. And I remember coming that day wondering if he was already there. Sure enough, he was. Then I was like, okay, well, I think I want to meet him beforehand. I want to make sure we get a vibe because otherwise we'll be on air all of a sudden and I'll be like peeing my pants wondering what to ask him.

I won't even know how to act. So let me get a little acclimatized first so sure enough you know one of my producers walks me over introduced me to his handler and his handler introduced me to him and I remember distinctly feeling like Stevie has obviously so many people getting at him at all times wanting to get a piece of him so he needs to be somewhat discerning i remember him not just embracing me right away like i remember him like distinctly kind of like feeling me out like i just yeah really kind of just keeping himself just seeing what i was going to bring to the table you know seeing what energy i was going to bring what i was going to say

and i remember just being in reverence. I remember just being really honest about how I was feeling. I was like, Stevie, you've been a hero of mine. Ed, I managed to be coherent enough to communicate my fanness to him. And it was coming from such a genuine place that ultimately I saw his guard drop

and ended up having a great show. We went back and forth for the whole hour practically. At one point he pulled out his kazoo started like singing a song for us and trl you know and like playing and the whole thing it was completely impromptu and you know he seemed to open up and he talked at length like i am now and um that that's always for me the best compliment when i can connect with somebody to the point where they feel like they can just share and not feel to themselves and be open yeah yeah so that was a beautiful

moment but yeah in terms of like all the interviews went you know it was always so interesting to really see how at the end of the day these are just people that really made a point of going after what they love to do and confronting their demons and whatever, you know, kind of the limited beliefs that people tell themselves along the way. I can't do that. Oh, what do you mean?

I'm not gonna, I can't rap like Jay-Z. Imagine if Kanye was sitting there when he was young, looking at Jay-Z thinking about how, oh man, Jay, but Jay's from Brooklyn. So he's got credibility. He's got a story that, Kanye could have easily said that,

counted himself out. But instead, Kanye was like, what's my story? And everybody that I've interviewed along the way really has been a testament to that. So it's been cool. What did you learn about people the most through all the interviews? Because you've probably done thousands of interviews.

What is it about people that you learned the most about them in general? I feel like the people that rise to the top are the ones that ultimately want it more and are willing to put in the work. You know, people oftentimes say, oh, well, people that become famous, it's because they slept with this person or that person.

At the end of the day, I'm not going to watch a show just because someone is uber famous on it. I'm going to watch a show because I'm getting value from what I'm seeing. I'm seeing a really vulnerable, powerful performance that makes me think twice about how I'm living as a human being. Or I'm watching Kanye

because his energy is just... But you don't get like that from just the cheap shortcuts. And so ultimately, it's also having a certain amount of savvy in terms of the people that you surround yourself with. I've seen that be a pretty prominent theme that everybody that is particularly successful tends to keep really smart people around them. People that are also willing to challenge them. You know, I don't think yes men do anybody any favors at the end of the day. So I see that being a particular theme as well. You know what's cool

to me is that you basically, what I liked about your story when you're talking about the interview for MTV, what's the guy's name? Scott Venner. Yeah. Where you went into it basically not knowing anything about TRL or the business and really not being that much of a VJ, I guess, at the time. And I think that's what gave you that success long term. I think a lot of people in business struggle after they go to business school because they feel like it has to be a certain way. But the people who go into a a new thing or new challenge like

with an open mind just like i'm gonna learn everything along the way those are the ones who get a lot of success because they're not like holding back with their beliefs so they're not thinking that it has to be a certain way they're just like okay i need to get to the result how do i make it happen yeah i was like this is how i was taught how to make it happen or you know absolutely so i think it's pretty cool that you just got there because you never saw it and you just had this energy and this passion yeah i think ultimately and no matter what your particular vocation is it's important to know what you're getting self into i think you know had i been able to do all over again i think i would do a little bit more in the way of research finding out exactly how the business works and and certainly maybe watching a little bit more of my contemporaries

and seeing how that would be in reference to me. But at the end of the day, I think it really is imperative to make sure that you are innovating in your own way and finding your own lane regardless of what you're in. And I know there's, no matter what you do, a way to make it your own and make sure that you are not just uh some sort of a you know rip off of somebody else um i mean i understand that mentality it's not like i'm sitting here judging people that like look and study people to see what they can assimilate into

their own presentations but at the end of the day like there's nothing more exciting than an artist who's not afraid to break ground. Like Kanye, say what you want about him. But every album, the guy takes risks. The guy sonically pushes himself to figure out different ways to make things sound more epic, more whatever it is. And there's people like that in every industry that are just completely determined to add something different to the conversation. And that's really been lately what I've been almost obsessed about is figuring out what I can do in this scope of entertainment that will change the game. change the game um and ultimately it's actually led me outside of the scope of entertainment into workshops that really deal with something i've always been interested in which is the the human condition yes and coming from having a mom who's a teacher you know always seeing how

she coped or didn't with the challenges of being a teacher. And then asking myself, what is it about our society that doesn't value teachers? And ultimately to see how even people I interviewed, some huge celebrities, are still painfully insecure. It all pointed to me to be the issue that's pervasive and very apparent, especially in the light of school shootings,

like things like Sandy Hook, the theater shooting. The question is what is going on in our world that people don't know how to deal with their emotions and navigate life in a way where they maintain a healthy perspective about themselves. I know personally, I was very insecure even as I was on MTV. It's funny how- Millions of people watching you and-

Absolutely. Celebrities hanging out with you. Why do you think you were insecure? You know what? To get deep real quick. Let's get there. I mean, I love my parents, but they dealt with a certain way they were raised. And sometimes it's hard to break the cycle. Yes. And parents are always doing the best they can. So that being said, the best they can is informed by the way their parents raise them. So if their parents raise them a certain way, unless they are able to somehow snap out of that cycle yeah which is very

rare unfortunately in our society to be able to break the cycle do the work independent workshops whatever therapy whatever have you to really get perspective or ship oh it's huge it's so you know for me i look back on my childhood and I see how my parents raised me. And I won't get too into it, but certainly my father was a certain way. And my mother was a certain way, loving as she could be, but there was a certain dynamic there. So ultimately, it left me feeling like I could never be enough. Ultimately, it left me feeling like I could never be enough. And, you know, so I went to MTV and while everybody was like, oh, my God, you're there.

I didn't feel like I was worthy of it. Really? I was questioning whether I was capable constantly. Wow. No matter almost what kind of feedback I got, it was never enough. And so I was always grabbing tapes of every episode after we were done. I was going straight to the control room from being on air, grabbing the tape, going back to my office, watching that tape back and seeing how I was. Wow.

Analyzing it. Analyzing the crap out of myself. I was like how football players watch tape back, like that. Replay it, replay it replay it yeah you know and you know what it oftentimes would be a great indicator of is that it was never as bad as i thought it was in the moment that it happened so i'd come off a show thinking oh my god i totally bombed that segment or that interview or that throw to a video but then i watched the tape back and i'd be like wow that came off all right. And then ultimately, you know, my profile just kept getting bigger and bigger.

And I was, you know, all these magazines started writing articles. But none of it was enough. You know, it's interesting how, you know, human beings are coded from childhood. And it really takes something that is profoundly interruptive in order to shift and this i'm just speaking from my perspective it's been that case for me that i needed to really learn some lessons the hard way and ultimately i needed certain friends along the way to make a point of saying hey you know this is stuff that's i don't think working for you yeah and i'm sure as uncomfortable as all get out for them to bring up to me. And most people in my life did make a point of doing that.

So it's also interesting to notice how often we enable people to just drift away in their insecurities. You can see it when somebody's not really living the way they could. Authentically. living the way they could and authentically and come, you know, owning their, their, their power, their authenticity in a way that allows them to deal with things in a, in a really great way. So it was for me, it was important for me to start to really aggressively look at ways outside of the entertainment industry to build on that, that notion, that, uh, observation that I had about myself and the world around me. So now I'm like knee deep in incredible workshops, leadership workshops that have certainly empowered me to take my life

to another level, to become a boss, you know, as opposed to going from like hosting job to hosting job and wondering, you know, when the next audition was. You being in control. Me being in control and having my own entertainment company and having different properties with different great partners and being in a different position altogether but that came from like really looking at myself and saying like wow i'm i'm i'm i am somebody who means something to a lot of people and like really taking that in and being like you know what i am good enough you know so it's. So it's definitely something that I'm sure everybody listening has had some iteration of it. What I've learned is that no matter who you are, there are those questions at the end of the day. I'm sure even Barack lays on his pillow at the end of the night and asks himself, am I good enough?

Look at his gray hairs. I mean, for God's sakes, if he was really at ease with all the decisions that he's making and how he's operating this country, you think he'd have that many gray hairs? Probably not. It's a level of stress that comes with not being completely secure and having the emotional intelligence to entirely be on top of things. And that's just human. That's the human condition that I'm still struggling with. But that being said, I have tools now that can really be depended on in moments where, you know, we go back to conversations that we had when we were younger. So anyway, in a nutshell, that's really what I'm excited about now is bringing that into a platform similar to how Oprah, you know, she does it.

Yeah. You know, there are people in the entertainment world that have managed to bridge this conversation that we're having to make it palpable and make it something that impacts people. I think there's just never enough voices like that. So I want to put my name in that mix. And somebody the other day said to me, wow, you have the position, I think now, to be potentially somewhat of like a Ryan Seacrest meets Oprah, where all this sort of pop culture equity I've been building can be fused with now all this leadership workshop type stuff. So it's exciting.

I'm really excited about where I'm at. Do I see a show in the future? A talk show type of? You know, yeah. I mean, I think the sky's the limit. I think there's just so many ways that we can go about changing the world. And I'm open to them all. I definitely think that there could be a younger, fresher version of what Oprah's been doing.

And one that takes it out of the studio. I really want to do something that bridges worlds. I'm just coming up with this as we're talking, by the way, because I do feel like I'm just thinking about what is missing from TV that I would like to see. And I see certain people making the point of going into underprivileged areas and and you know i would like to see more stars really getting open about their their lives in such a way where they become more relatable

and and like for me the the q side which is a web series that i had with uh youtube we partnered up with electus and you know this whole premium YouTube channel rush that happened last year. You're still doing that? Yeah. I mean, right now we're developing it into a TV show. We're flipping it. But the big thing I wanted to accomplish out of The Q Side was really to allow people to see these celebrities with a guard down and comfortable in their element, ultimately get to a deeper place. And I think I started to scratch the surface with it.

But you didn't go deep enough yet. Yeah, because there was still a part of me that wanted a people please and be really nice and be good enough. At the end of the day, now I trust myself, and I know that ultimately people want to be challenged. You know what I mean? I think that's what's exciting about shows like Jon Stewart and The Daily Show. When you go on Jon Stewart, you know he's going to ask you some really smart questions that might actually challenge you.

And, you know, Bill O'Reilly, you know, not that I'm a fan of his, but the reason why he is so popular is because. Challenges everyone. Challenges everybody. Takes a stand for his perspective, whether you like it or not. And finally, at this point in my life, I get that that's important. That's like imperative for the conversation to evolve into a place that's really dynamic. So yeah, that's where I'm at now with the Q side, is looking at an opportunity to really break down this separation that we have.

Oftentimes, people really glorify these stars. I really want to break them down into very relatable ways and bring them into their own element. these stars i really want to break them down into like very relatable ways and bring them into their own element i think that's like where i was getting at with uh describing earlier like getting into their past and really meeting their family their friends that really inform them and you know who knows what that could look like really but um that's something i'm in the interest of exploring kind of like a life class like oprah's life class yeah yeah yeah yeah absolutely yeah absolutely and kind of family involved and stuff

like that yeah absolutely and you know i don't see it necessarily a tone that needs to always be like you know heavy and make you feel like sure you just like cried through a whole damn thing but i do feel like it's important to start to really uh connect more you know ultimately uh for people to see themselves on tv more is important, whether it be in the form of, you know, a really open, vulnerable star, really speaking from a perspective that doesn't seem,

it doesn't seem enough, you know, but then again, there are a lot of shows out there that I think make the attempt. So I just feel like at this point, I'm going to be able to execute that. Yeah. You know?

Yeah. Well, you know, it's, we've been talking about this off the school of greatness but uh you know i've been in some of the workshops you've done and i'm really appreciative and grateful for you opening me up to what is possible with uh ourselves what we can actually create from ourselves and i do a lot of personal development and growth work on myself already but going

through a similar thing you went went through, it reinforces exactly that we should be more confident in ourselves and we should be having self-worth more and not be holding onto stuff from the past and having to control our minds and having us hesitate with things we want to accomplish, but really be more open, accepting, responsible, and just take more action and own it as opposed to play a victim more yeah and i think a lot of people that listen in uh sometimes they get stuck a lot of people get stuck and the goal is to help them get unstuck yeah and the stuff that we've been doing is really powerful and helping get unstuck i think you just got to look at what hasn't been working for you. Absolutely. What has been holding you back and really take a look, is that serving you?

And if it's not serving you, it's time for yourself to figure out some way to let it go, to accept it, be responsible for it, that you've been holding on to it, but then figure out a way to let it go and release it so that you can be more open, vulnerable, and inspiring and have more energy and passion. Whether it's the workshop that we've gone through or something else or therapy or whatever it may be, you've got to figure out a way to let it go. Or if you can do it on your own, great. Whatever it is, that's one of the biggest challenges for a lot of people is their own

walls or their own boundaries, their own limitations on themselves. And once we break through that the possibilities are endless so it comes down to it's it's really like taking on that commitment to evolving yourself but see what i found is that sure some people the exceptional can do it on their own it's tough but people have blind spots oh so many so many. Yeah. I had tons. Oh my God. And ultimately you need people that can really call you out on your crap, call you out on your stuff in a powerful way. And then ultimately, you know, this course that we did, it's, it's a breakthrough course that really continues into a curriculum. You know, it's, it's an emotional

intelligence course that then evolves into a leadership course. So then ultimately, once you get rid of all the stuff that's not working for you, that has been embedded in you from childhood or whatever have you, bad experiences, whatever it may be, and the next thing you know, you're coming from a place of complete empowerment. And then life is your oyster. It's just completely up to you what you want to create out of it. I feel so blessed and free from the stuff that I was always holding on to.

A lot of stuff that happened as a kid that I used to just feel like it was a part of me and that I had to hold on to and that I was never good enough or worthy enough. Probably similar stuff that you went through that you always thought you weren't good enough, whatever it may be, with your parents or experience that you had to hold on to and that I was never like good enough or worthy enough probably similar stuff that you went through that you always thought you weren't good enough whatever may be with your parents or experience that you had and once we let go of that stuff it's like so powerful what we can create and how relaxed we can feel oh my god it's so funny it's so funny you say that

because I was just taking that in the other day that since I did this breakthrough course, I have released so much of the control that I had over everything. I always felt like I needed to control everything. I was like this super alpha in so many moments where ultimately there's just no release and acceptance of what it is, no flow. You know what I mean? Anyway, so it's just been glorious to pop out on the other end of this thing and have so much more perspective. Of course, the learning never ends. Never ends. That's what's exciting too about like yeah and i've uh been fortunate enough uh to to be invited back as somebody who is now facilitating these workshops and that's a whole nother level of learning when you can really figure out how best to empower people you become the teacher oh it's that's when you learn the most. So once you're the student,

you learn like, okay, here's all the material, but you really don't learn until you teach everyone. Absolutely, absolutely. And there's a new, every time you're faced with a new person,

you're able to teach something new. Yeah. And then learn something new. Oh, yeah. And I find this when I'm coaching people in business and marketing and teaching them

how to double their business online, it's always a new experience, a new story, a new challenge that I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm learning something new every time. There's always a new obstacle that I need to overcome. So it's very cool that you're teaching and facilitating now because you're going to continue to learn and grow. Oh yeah. And the person that's behind the company that does these workshops, they're in the co-captaining position with me. So they're the ones that are coaching me. And it's funny because ultimately your ability to be coached,

my ability to be coached and take feedback has been the reason why I've managed to keep growing in my life. If I felt like I got this, had some kind of chip on my shoulder. I already know everything. I'm a man. There's just no way to grow. And I know people like that in my life, and it breaks my heart because I see what's missing from them. And I communicate it with them, but they're so committed to being right.

And it's like, at the end of the day, somebody said something to me that's so profound oh my god the thing that has caused the most war and conflict and suffering in our world ultimately stems from somebody's need to be right i mean it's part of the main cause of divorce too yeah it's like each person needs to feel right yeah it's wild man so it's really it's been it's been really awesome to be coached. And when you consider that the greatest Tiger Woods, Denzel Washington, Michael Jordan, no matter how prolific they are, they all have coaches that they listen to. And, you know, it's like when they stop responding and being open to the coaching, that's probably when they have their worst games, their worst tournaments, whatever it may be.

Absolutely. When they're humble enough to take the coaching, even when they're like, I'm the man. I just won 10 in a row, whatever. When they're still humble enough to take it and receive feedback on what they're not doing right, that's when they can stay at the top. Oh, man. When I first did these workshops and I started getting feedback,

every bit of my ego was like, F you? You don't know me. Da, da, da, da, da. I was very resistant. I've been on MTV. I'm the man. Exactly. Millions of people watch me.

What do you mean? My life works. What do you mean? Right? But like, it was only when I, you know, the core of me really knew that there was something to it. Like, I didn't, you know, bounce out of the training thinking i knew it at all i sat there and i really started to listen try to listen from a different place ultimately yeah it was my ability to like open up and release the need to be right

and see it from another perspective um and it's changed my life exponentially now you know i've got love in my life like never before i just met she seems amazing oh yeah powerhouse that she is and um you know it's it's funny it comes back to i think it was a line from a common song one of my favorite rappers you know he actually played basketball against him a few months yeah not a bad player right um and so he said something in one of his songs about well this is from the perspective of a woman looking for her man. So many people out there wondering, how is it that I'm going to find the person I'm going to really love and that will love me? It's only once you really love yourself and you really come to the ownership of the king

that you are or that I am, then when I did that, she came along. My queen came along. Because you were telling me for like five, six, seven years, you were just kind of dating around but never really found something serious. Yeah. And was it partly because you never felt like you were worth it enough to yourself to have something amazing? Yeah.

I think part of it was feeling like this very antiquated notion of being a man that entails conquest, that entails, you know, things to brag to your homies about. And I wasn't one of those guys, especially, but I certainly didn't consider how important other aspects of a woman were. To me personally, I always kind of felt like I needed to be able to respect my woman. I needed to be able to have a great stimulating conversation with my woman. All those things were things that I knew, but they weren't things I really acted on. So ultimately, I found myself dating girls that weren't really stimulating in those ways.

But at the end of the day, I look at myself now as a big part of that equation, and I ask myself, well, hey, I attracted that. And so a part of me didn't feel worthy to have that queen that did have all of those things in the fold. That you wanted, yeah. And I wasn't clear on really, really wanting that. I think part of me really didn't want to be in a relationship. And that's okay if you really, really wanting that. Like, I think, you know, part of me really didn't want to be in a relationship. And that's okay.

If you're like in the 20s, you just want to explore and have fun. And that's cool. And I think that's where I was to a certain extent. And then a certain extent, I can definitely admit to being somebody who just wasn't really, you know, very clear in what was operating me, you know, ego and all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, I'm in a totally different place now and it's beautiful. I'm in love with life and her certainly. Yeah. Let's talk about vision really quick. What do you tell someone who has no clue what they want? Or they're like, I think I want this. I think I want this. I'm not sure. Someone's telling me to

do this. My parents want me to do this. What do you tell someone like that? How do they create a clear vision for their life or their purpose or their mission? I would ask them, what would you do if you couldn't fail? What would really fire you up and get you to jump out of bed in the morning and just be so excited to get after? Nothing dealing with any kind of expectations on you just really what would you do just take it way out of the box imagine like you've never imagined before what's possible take away any conversation you've ever had with a teacher that told you were dumb or your mom telling you that's not possible it's not realistic and just dream just for fun right it's like i would almost inject i would inject like a game element to it yeah let's just have fun it's not even like a real conversation

whatever it's the game of like when choose your adventure and then once you start to really free up people's ability to play you know and like regain the sense of discovery and like what is possible you'll never guess what comes out of people's mouths. I've sat in front of people who are successful lawyers, and they'll say, I've always wanted to be a painter. And I'll be like, oh my God, yeah, why not? And then they'll come with all the societal conditioning that they've had. I understand.

At the same time, though, it's imperative for us to always ask ourselves. I know certainly as someone who has done charity work, I've always found myself at certain points frustrated with like, what can I do to really change the world? But really, at the end of the day, the best thing that you can do for the world is make sure you're happy. Make sure you're fulfilled. Because your vibration, the way you interact with people is going to be on a way better level and you're you know by osmosis going to make the world a better place it's funny so many people go through life never really living their dreams and it's it sucks to not be able to see people really live because they're doing what they think they're supposed to be doing or they're doing what they feel like they need to to survive but uh man once they start living and their dreams

it's like their life starts to come alive i guess really well word that you just said that really popped out to me was survive because ultimately people are in a survival context for the most part and that's really the big distinction that uh i i always want to remind people of it's like if you take the survival out of your life like you know if you don't need to do your work just to pay rent if you can start to think in terms of seriously what is the life of my dreams yes start to unshackle yourself from that survival context, that fight or flight mode that so many people find themselves in, especially nowadays, you know, it's, it's important, you know, because ultimately if you really set your mind to it and you really do the

work to, to unleash yourself from these things that have been holding you back, whether it be in the form of a workshop, like we did, you know, if you want to look into the one that we did, it's MITTtraining.com. It's written out MITtraining.com. Check that out. You know, if you're in the L.A. area, there's equivalent companies that are doing it all over the world. You know, ultimately, it's on you to really figure out what's going to be the key. People find it in yoga.

Yeah. People find enlightenment in meditation. Yes. Whatever it is, find the way that you can really make sure that you are operating at a hundred percent and then go after your dreams because ultimately you don't want to be laying there i don't want to be laying there on my deathbed and think about all the things i could have should have would have done yes we only got this life to live right so anyway you know i could i could talk all day from the soapbox but ultimately i feel like as much as some of the things that we're saying

you know have been said people can never hear this stuff enough because you still see people not living the life of your dreams no and it's like what happened what if tonight was our last night yeah what would we regret i would regret not bringing this stuff up on your podcast. There you go. Because seriously, you know, listen, there's a lot of different disposable entertainment out there. Yeah. That, you know, will distract you ultimately from the things that matter.

To make you laugh. And I've been part of that. For years. For years, I've dedicated large amounts of energy to fluff. Girls dancing around in music videos. And I rationalized it. I totally did. And I said, oh, well, it's giving me a platform.

And that's really valuable, too. But ultimately, got to balance it out. For me, at this point in my life, it's imperative that I spend more of my days really making an account with people. Living with purpose. Yeah. And living your vision. What's your vision then?

Man, my vision is a place, a world where everyone loves themselves. Loves themselves. Personally loves themselves and also loves people unconditionally. Yeah. And also loves people unconditionally. You know? And because there's so much, you know, it's so funny how, you know, I definitely feel like I lived in a world of things being right or wrong. And that came from my childhood.

Certainly my dad made a point of telling me when I was wrong. And he made me feel really wrong about it. And so, of course, you know, as I grew up, you know, being unconscious to the imprint that that had on me, I constantly made myself wrong, made other people wrong, spoke in terms of right or wrong. As opposed to saying, wow, the human experience is so vast. We're all learning. We're all along this journey doing the best we can. So for me to make someone else wrong when they're probably just doing the best they can given how they were raised would make me an asshole yes and it made me an asshole for a while and certainly some people most people have told me they never really had that experience of me but

at the same time there was a level of disconnection about me that didn't really take that into consideration. So I own that, and I love that I had that experience, that phase, because I can really speak to that and relate to that now in the work that I do to really empower people to step up. Yeah, that's great, man. That's powerful. I love it. Well, we could talk about this for days. Yeah.

But for me, this has been, you know, going through this type of transformation, this training has been amazing, eye- but uh for me this has been you know going through this type of transformation this training has been a amazing eye-opening for me and i feel unstoppable with everything now because i'm able to recognize and fully aware of all my stuff that does come up and i don't have to hold on to it anymore so i feel unstoppable i feel more. My voice is still gone from part of this workshop. Major catharsis happens in this workshop. You can let it out. I feel amazing and definitely recommend it to everyone. So feel free to hit me up on Twitter or Facebook if you guys want to learn more. Where can we find more about Q online? Theqside.com. Yeah, T-H-E-Q-S-I-i-d.com is the hub where uh you'll see some of the web series that we're doing now we have a hidden camera show that i came up with called hot girls get away with

shit and they do and it's funny and uh we also have uh of course the q side that you can check out the the archives of and and i like to post all kinds of different content and stuff that i come across that's really cool. I always come across really cool new music. And you'll see all kinds of behind-the-scenes stuff that I get to experience and I always want to share with people. Instagram and Twitter, you post a lot of great stuff as well. So make sure to check them out. Yeah, inspirational quotes. I am Caduce.

Yeah, I'm on Twitter at IamCaduce. And Facebook, IamCaduce as well. And Instagram, IamCaduce. There you go. Yeah. So come connect. Well, I want you guys to post a picture on Instagram and tag both. I am Caduce and Lewis Howes where you're listening to this in the world right now. And also leave us a thought. What was your, your biggest thought you took away from this? Maybe something you learned about yourself, something you learned about the world, something you learned about other people,

but just share a thought on that picture and tag us both because I'd love to see who is really listening and who's aware and who's receptive to this type of information. We'd love to hear that. And with that, any final words, my man? Oh, you know know what i think i've said enough but ultimately um yeah i really want everybody out there to realize that anything's possible and i know it's like a disney tagline but really and truly i mean look my life is a testament to it yeah i'm just a kid from canada who at some point was crazy enough to believe that i could do what i've been doing and you know now i am in a place where you, I'm hosting my own show and making stuff happen on every level and living the life of my dreams, you know, and I am no different than you out there. So I would hope everybody

really takes that on. Awesome. I appreciate it, brother. And until next time. Oh, yeah. Peace. time oh yeah peace and there you have it guys caduce the man the myth the legend is sharing his wisdom with you guys i hope you enjoyed this please make sure to check out school of greatness.com to see all the show notes and the stuff that caduce talked about it's all going to be linked up on the blog at schoolofgreatness.com. Be sure to share this interview with your friends on Twitter or Facebook if you enjoyed it and post a picture of Instagram of yourself where you're at.

Tag me, tag Caduce. Let them know that you're listening and what your thoughts are over on Instagram as well. And if you enjoyed this, feel free to leave a review on iTunes for the School of Greatness podcast. The more reviews you leave, the better it is because more people get to see the show. So I appreciate all the reviews you guys are leaving right now.

It means so much to me. It makes me want to continue bringing you awesome guests. Stay tuned for next week. It's going to be a very powerful guest. You are going to love it. I'm not going to spoil the surprise right now. And with that, guys, thanks again so much. And make sure to do something great. Thank you.