WEBVTT - Bonus Commencement Episode: Angela Yee 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.680 Hey, guys, how are your feelingist Angela Yee from the 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:05.360 Breakfast Club, and I just want to say I'm excited 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:08.520 to participate in this commencement speeches for the Class of 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:12.200 twenty twenty podcast event. I know a lot of us 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:13.800 right now are going through a lot of things. So 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:16.160 for me to be able to talk to you and 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.119 just communicate what I've been through and any kind of 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.560 advice that I can give, I'm honored to be able 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.919 to do that. Before I do say anything, I want 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.319 to tell you that you did it. You made it 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:30.120 across the finish line, and right now, you guys are 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:34.320 under the most unique circumstances that I believe I've ever seen. 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:38.520 Whenever you think about your twenty twenty graduation, you're definitely 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:41.760 going to have some of the most interesting stories to tell. 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.680 And that's what I want to focus on today. Right 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.080 as you figure out the next stop on your journey 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:50.440 of life, some of you are going to continue on 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:53.800 with formal education, some of you will join the workforce 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:56.680 right away, some of you will take a break as 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.480 you ponder what's next in life, and some of you 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:01.920 will start to own businesses. Some of you, guys will 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:06.280 just straight up hustle. I've done all of those things 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.039 throughout the course of my career, and what I want 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:13.680 to talk about today is just being flexible, also controlling 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:18.120 your reactions to things that you can't control, and being proactive. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.080 And I'm going to quote Kanye West when I talk 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:24.200 about that, being proactive, which is not something I normally do, 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:28.160 so you know it's important now. When I first graduated, 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:30.000 I went right back to my parents' house. They live 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:33.520 in South Thurren's, New Jersey, and I wanted to stay there, 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:35.400 but they got tired of me being in the house. 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.240 I was broke, I was in debt. They had paid 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:40.039 for me to go to college. I also had taken 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:42.479 out a lot of student loans. So after less than 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:44.280 a month, they were like, you have to get a 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:46.080 job and you have to get a place to live. 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:48.880 So the first thing I did was in my head, 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:50.560 I said, I'm going to get a job working at 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:52.960 a temp agency. I wanted to be able to pursue 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.200 my career as a writer. Since I was in kindergarten, 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:58.960 I just knew I would be a writer. I didn't 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:02.640 even survive three days doing this temp agency job. I 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:07.120 was opening envelopes in a quote data entry position. It 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:09.560 was awful. I decided, let me just tap in and 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:13.200 follow up on these internships I had done in college. Fortunately, 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:16.079 when I was in school, I went to Wesleyan University 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:18.960 and I did use the Career Resource Center and it 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:20.400 was great for me to be able to link up 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.560 a different people who graduated from Wesleyan who were able 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:27.120 to get me internships. Now, one internship I did did 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:30.040 not necessarily have to do with my college. It was 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:32.840 through a colleague of mine and I ended up getting 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:35.959 a job working for the Wu Tang Clan, the legendary 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:40.600 Woutang Clan. After several years of working in the music 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:42.760 industry and also making sure that I networked, I made 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:45.160 sure that I went out, I formed my own relationships 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.920 with people. I also developed my skills in marketing and NPR. 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.000 I decided that I want to be a freelancer, and 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:54.800 I did want to have multiple streams of income, but 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:57.000 I also wanted to have my freedom to be able 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.400 to travel if I needed to, not have to be 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.200 in an office every day, and that was pretty good 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:05.040 for me. It wasn't until I was twenty eight years 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:09.120 old that I actually stumbled and for real stumbled into 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:11.680 my career in radio, and that was thanks to my 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:15.960 relationship with Paul Rosenberg. Paul is M and m's manager, 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:18.880 and he had just started the station Shade forty five 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.840 on serious satellite radio. I had actually worked with him 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:25.880 on Eminem's clothing line, and because he saw how hard 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:29.320 I worked and just the relationships I managed to forage 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:32.160 and continue to keep, he said, Okay, let's try you 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:34.079 on the radio. And it did end up working out. 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:37.240 At first, I had to work there and not get paid. 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:41.440 It was kind of an unpaid probation period. But because 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:43.400 I was working like I was getting paid, and I 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.800 was putting in that extra time, in those extra hours, 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.120 and really humbling myself because you have to think I 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:52.560 had already been working for almost eight years and getting 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:55.640 paid a pretty decent amount of money to being paid nothing. 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:58.640 It was really a humbling experience for me. But I 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:00.720 think in the end it all worked. Now I've been 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:04.080 doing radio for sixteen years and I still haven't focused 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:05.880 on what I set out to do, or originally that 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:08.720 was to be a writer. Remember, Now, life will do 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:11.320 that to you. Sometimes you have a plan and there's 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:14.400 all these detours, there's all these dead ends, and then 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.040 you have to take a whole new route. And sometimes 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:19.920 things happen quickly, and sometimes they happen easily, and sometimes 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:22.479 it takes years or it doesn't materialize the way that 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.680 you envision that it would. You'll have to make some 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.720 really important decisions. And I'm a really huge believer that 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.880 whatever you chose to do, you have to represent you 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:33.919 in the strongest way possible. Maybe you'll be doing an 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:37.520 unpaid internship or like I did that probationary period for free. 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:40.039 Maybe it's a low paying job that you accepted, and 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:42.440 I did have that job as a low paying job, 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:44.040 I've had a lot of those. But if you did 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.080 agree to certain terms, then you have to make sure 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.480 that you show up, make sure you show out, because 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:52.120 you never know what that position might lead to. Now, 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.760 maybe you have a job that you hate, but you're 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.520 making six or seven figures. I know people like that, 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.159 and you still have to perform your responsibilit be on time. 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:03.320 You still have to make sure that you do everything 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:05.120 to the best of your ability, make sure you treat 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:08.120 people well, because again, people don't know what you're going through, 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:10.800 and you also never know what that position might lead to. 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:14.480 Make sure, you don't let circumstances and negative people influence 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:18.640 the greatness that you have. You cannot control other people's actions, 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:22.320 but what you can control is your own reaction. One 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:23.960 thing that really has helped me, and I don't know 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:25.920 if everyone can do this, but I believe in the 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:28.240 power of writing, and so what I do is I 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:30.719 write things down when people do really effed up things 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:34.839 to me, And somehow the story becomes funnier when I 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.080 write it down, and I can even change it the 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:38.880 way I want to change it, just to make it 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:42.280 a comedy. Now, some people do this, and I know 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:44.240 writers who have a kill list, and that's people that 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.720 they want to get revenge on later and maybe you'll 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:48.680 read about those in my book one day. But in 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:52.120 the meantime, it's very therapeutic for me. You can always 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:55.760 learn something even when things are really tragic. So when 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.800 something unfortunate happens, I like to do something positive for 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.800 another person. That's another way that I also shift the 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:04.640 energy that's around me. The last thing I want to 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:06.839 leave you with is a quote. And I told y'all 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:09.000 I was going to quote Kanye West. That's not something 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:11.880 I do very often, but this was during his glow 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:14.000 on the Dark Tour, they gave out these little booklets 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:17.600 of kanyeisms, and one thing that always has stuck out 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:20.800 in my head to use is necessary. And if you 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.080 can't be used, then you're useless. And I know we've 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.800 heard that so many times and songs and quotes, and 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:29.440 I've always been hesitant to ask for favors, and sometimes 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.880 I'm even hesitant to just offer my own services. It's 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.240 kind of a pride thing when you feel like you 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.600 have to be independent and do everything and not need 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:39.599 anyone's help. What I've learned is that is a waste 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:43.159 of time and energy. Right now you're graduating, make sure 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:45.839 you use those relationships that you made, or make sure 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.719 you tap into that alumni network when you have a 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:51.719 great pitch, when you need employment, when you're looking for 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.320 an employee, when you need a mentor, or even if 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:56.560 you just want to acknowledge that somebody has done something 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:59.320 great and you want to shout them out. I've gotten 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:01.240 a lot of opportunit unities from the people I came 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:03.479 up with, and I've also helped other people get into 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.760 great positions. The best thing I discovered in business is 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:09.960 I don't have to do things alone, I can partner 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.320 with other people. That's how I ended up being a 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:14.520 co owner in the Juice bar Juices for Life, BK 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.679 with styles P, who's a legendary rapper from the Locks 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:21.280 that you should know, and djm V. I knew styles 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.720 P already opened three juice bars. I knew my chance 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:26.160 of success would be higher with somebody who already went 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.559 through those mistakes that I knew I would have made. 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:30.920 And if I try to open that juice bar alone, 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.640 I might not be celebrating four years of owning a 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:37.600 juice bar this year. When it comes to handling my business, 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.040 there's no way that I could do everything I do. 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.640 You know the Breakfast Club Morning Show. I also have 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:45.680 my podcast lip Service, I have all my bookings, I 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.560 do a lot of charity events. I'm on the board 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:51.800 for different organizations, and I still do have a life 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.480 outside of work. And the way I'm able to maintain 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:56.520 that is I have people who are in positions where 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.000 they can help me. So link up with people. Make 0:07:59.040 --> 0:08:01.040 sure you show that same love back to You can't 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:04.920 just always take and not give. And remember that you 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:08.280 guys are the visionaries of twenty twenty and In the 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.440 times that we're in, you guys are definitely the ones 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:13.600 who are leading the way. Twenty twenty might be one 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:18.480 of the most important years that I've ever experienced, from 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:22.720 this coronavirus pandemic to the upcoming elections and everything else 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:26.040 in between. So right now, you guys, all eyes are 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.880 on you, and I know y'all are up for the challenge. 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.600 So congratulations again to the class of twenty twenty.