Speaker 1: What up, guys, it's your girl Cheeky's and you already
Speaker 1: know what time it is. It's time for this week's
Speaker 1: episode of Cheeky's in Chill, and today we're going to
Speaker 1: be talking about something I'm really passionate about, finding your
Speaker 1: life's purpose. This is something I've talked about here and
Speaker 1: there on the pod, but I really never dug into
Speaker 1: it two d. So that's what we're going to do today,
Speaker 1: and I'm bringing someone really dope on the show to
Speaker 1: talk about it with me. His name is Dramos. If
Speaker 1: you don't know him, he's a fellow podcast host here
Speaker 1: on the mic Udura podcast Network. He's also a DJM producer.
Speaker 1: He actually used to produce radio shows like The Breakfast Club. Okay,
Speaker 1: so Hi, welcome to Cheeky's and Chill Dramas. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for being here.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you. I'm really excited to finally get to
Speaker 2: meet you. And we've been a part of the fan
Speaker 2: for a minute now, so it's good to finally get
Speaker 2: to connect like this.
Speaker 3: Yes, so thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: And we're going to talk about finding your life's purpose,
Speaker 1: which I know that's something that you talk about a
Speaker 1: lot on your podcast. Yes, so I want my listeners
Speaker 1: to get an idea of who you are.
Speaker 3: So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3: Let's start there.
Speaker 2: Sure, I think, like I don't know, I'm a creator.
Speaker 2: I guess like anybody else. At the end of the day,
Speaker 2: my background kind has always been in music, and that
Speaker 2: sort of led to media, from you know, radio in
Speaker 2: New York to working with the Breakfast Club and now
Speaker 2: hosting my my podcast Life as a Gringo. And I've
Speaker 2: just kind of been on this journey of using my
Speaker 2: I don't know creations as a means of storytelling and
Speaker 2: hopefully adding some value of people's lives and saying yes
Speaker 2: to whatever random opportunities kind of pop up, you know,
Speaker 2: whether it's podcasting or speaking gigs or writing, whatever it is.
Speaker 2: I'm kind of just, you know, experiencing this thing called life,
Speaker 2: and I do a lot of random things that don't
Speaker 2: really make sense to anybody but me.
Speaker 4: I think I love it.
Speaker 3: You're bringing color to our world.
Speaker 4: There we go. I love that. I'm gonna steal that,
Speaker 4: by the way, Yes, go ahead.
Speaker 3: So, okay, where are you from.
Speaker 2: I am from the New York areas, so I claimed
Speaker 2: both New York and New Jersey. I'm one of those
Speaker 2: obnoxious people. I was born in New York, raised there
Speaker 2: as a kid, and then moved to Jersey. But I've
Speaker 2: been kind of back and forth throughout the course of
Speaker 2: my life. So like this is this is home? I
Speaker 2: claimed both states.
Speaker 3: Nice? Love it?
Speaker 1: Okay, I like your style by the way, iking at
Speaker 1: your Instagram and I was like, I love his style,
Speaker 1: and I kind of felt like it has to be
Speaker 1: New York.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's the New York influence that's not the
Speaker 2: Jersey influence.
Speaker 4: For sure. Love it.
Speaker 1: So if you had to choose one thing, just one
Speaker 1: thing that you're passionate about, Like what would you say
Speaker 1: that you're absolutely passionate about, like.
Speaker 2: One specific like job or like thing to do, like
Speaker 2: one thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, or just like what do you feel like because
Speaker 1: we're gonna get into your life your purpose. But if
Speaker 1: there's just one thing that you had to choose and say, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm passionate about this. This is what I feel I
Speaker 1: was made for, Like this is is it music?
Speaker 3: Is it something? Like what moves you?
Speaker 2: I mean I think my first love was music, So
Speaker 2: I always sort of revert back to that it's kind
Speaker 2: of like, you know, the toxic relationship that I can't
Speaker 2: seem to escape no matter how hard I try, Like
Speaker 2: it always just kind of pulls me back in, Like
Speaker 2: I've been running from it for a while and now
Speaker 2: I've just given up, Like I just have to embrace
Speaker 2: the fact that, like I'm always called to it, and
Speaker 2: when it's not a part of my life in some way,
Speaker 2: shape or form, I'm just not you know, myself completely.
Speaker 2: So I guess if I had to, like say one thing,
Speaker 2: music is always that constant tug and pull from me.
Speaker 3: Ah, yeah, I feel you. I feel you in that. Okay,
Speaker 3: So what so what.
Speaker 1: Now that you talked about you know, we are part
Speaker 1: of the familia that my podcast network. Hey, hey, so
Speaker 1: what are the types of things that or the topics
Speaker 1: that you talk about on life as a getting goal?
Speaker 2: So, I mean, I guess like the the initial launching
Speaker 2: point of it was sort of for the people like
Speaker 2: myself will always sort of struggle with not feeling Latin enough,
Speaker 2: you know, and this otherness, if you will, and not
Speaker 2: sort of having you know, a place to call home almost.
Speaker 2: I guess community wise, you know, that they felt accepted
Speaker 2: in a place that they can truly be authentic. So
Speaker 2: for me, it was sort of about creating a space
Speaker 2: that I always want to where I can explore my
Speaker 2: Latin minus whatever that means, and have ties to my culture,
Speaker 2: but not feel judged because I, you know, didn't check
Speaker 2: some sni box that makes you a Latino, you know.
Speaker 2: So that is sort of the basis of the podcast.
Speaker 2: And then I think it's sort of evolved, you know,
Speaker 2: as time has gone on, where it's really a podcast
Speaker 2: about self discovery and the ultimate goal of just trying
Speaker 2: to live life as authentically as humanly possible. So I
Speaker 2: think that's sort of the thesis, I guess of the podcast.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 3: I love it because I totally get it.
Speaker 1: I've always felt like I wasn't or I didn't feel
Speaker 1: people made me feel like, Okay, you don't talk like
Speaker 1: a Latina, Well what do you what do you mean?
Speaker 1: Like I got that once. I'm like, what are you
Speaker 1: talking about? Like how how am I so used to
Speaker 1: you know a sound? I guess, And and then you know,
Speaker 1: when I started singing, and it was just kind of
Speaker 1: like it is Masia, Yeah, you're more from America, You're
Speaker 1: not from MAXI I'm like dude, what like I love
Speaker 1: on that music, I look like I don't understand you know,
Speaker 1: so I totally get it. So you guys please check
Speaker 1: out life is a good goal because I think a
Speaker 1: lot of you guys will definitely like if you love
Speaker 1: chicken and show, you're gonna love life as a good
Speaker 1: in go And I love how you explained it, So
Speaker 1: thank you.
Speaker 2: For that, because of course do we get it.
Speaker 3: And by the way, what's your sign?
Speaker 4: Aquarius?
Speaker 3: Ah?
Speaker 4: H is that good or bad? I can't tell about
Speaker 4: your reaction? Good? Very okay?
Speaker 2: Good?
Speaker 1: My brother, my little brother is an Aquarius. Very intelligent.
Speaker 1: You guys are very artistic. Also, you guys feel a lot.
Speaker 3: Like not as much as cancers. And I'm a cancer.
Speaker 3: I'm very boy.
Speaker 4: I've had I've had some experiences.
Speaker 1: I'm yes, wait, yes, okay, yes, okay, I'm so glad
Speaker 1: you brought that up. Okay, So was she a June
Speaker 1: cancer or a July cancer?
Speaker 2: July cancer?
Speaker 1: There you go, well, very different, very different. I'm a
Speaker 1: June cancer, but I still got a little I used
Speaker 1: to have a little crazy in me.
Speaker 3: Because that's the thing.
Speaker 1: If we're I'm telling you, I get it because let
Speaker 1: me scratch my head because cancers we are very emotional.
Speaker 3: We feel our feels a lot, so if.
Speaker 1: We are not grounded the moon, it's a lot. So
Speaker 1: I did it. But July cancer is different, very different.
Speaker 2: Rusty, I know, I know, I know, I've learned.
Speaker 1: So anyways, the reason why I brought you on the
Speaker 1: podcast is because I want to talk about not about
Speaker 1: you know, the signs and all that stuff, but I
Speaker 1: love to kind of like get to know people by
Speaker 1: like you know their zodiac sign. But also you talk
Speaker 1: about finding your life's purpose. What does that mean exactly
Speaker 1: to you?
Speaker 2: You know? I think the definition continues to evolve for
Speaker 2: me a little bit as especially as I get older
Speaker 2: and as I kind of my interests begin to broad
Speaker 2: And I think for a while I thought it was
Speaker 2: just sort of like one thing that you do and
Speaker 2: that's your purpose, you know. But I think as time
Speaker 2: has gone on, I think it's far more broad than that,
Speaker 2: and I think you apply your life's purpose to everything
Speaker 2: that you do. It's sort of the lens with which
Speaker 2: you see the world is how I kind of see
Speaker 2: it now. So I think for me, my life's purpose
Speaker 2: is about, you know, creating spaces that didn't exist before. Like,
Speaker 2: in the most broad sense, I think that's what I
Speaker 2: was put here to do, to create spaces that didn't
Speaker 2: exist or to disrupt existing ones that are no longer
Speaker 2: serving us. And I think that's sort of the grand
Speaker 2: scheme vent. And then from there I begin to kind
Speaker 2: of zoom in and refine it and ever find it
Speaker 2: over time, where then it's like, Okay, well, how do
Speaker 2: I go about doing that? And who am I trying
Speaker 2: to serve? You know, who do I want to be
Speaker 2: in community with? I think through that, then it's like, okay, well,
Speaker 2: obviously I want to be a part of my community
Speaker 2: as a Latino, as a Puerto Rican, I want to
Speaker 2: be contributing something to my people, you know, and be
Speaker 2: giving back in that way. And then yeah, it's just
Speaker 2: I think again, it just keeps refining and refining. But
Speaker 2: I think the broader, larger scope of it all is
Speaker 2: I'm somebody who just wants to create spaces that don't
Speaker 2: exist or disrupt ones that I feel we could be
Speaker 2: better at in some sort of way.
Speaker 3: That's that's dope.
Speaker 1: That's tight because it took me a long time, a
Speaker 1: long time to feel good with what I was doing
Speaker 1: because I felt like it would pull me in a
Speaker 1: dark place. And once I learned to separate Cheeky's from Jane,
Speaker 1: you know, Jane is like the person I was born,
Speaker 1: and then Cheeky's is the person that you see on
Speaker 1: social media and on stage and stuff like that. It
Speaker 1: really helped me because I'm like, Okay, I want to
Speaker 1: do this with love. I want to do this to
Speaker 1: help other people. How can I do this? And once
Speaker 1: I got that, I'm like, this is my mission, this
Speaker 1: is my purpose, this is what I want to do.
Speaker 3: It helped.
Speaker 1: It just things started flowing for me, but it took
Speaker 1: a long time to get there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel everything you just said. I just think
Speaker 2: it's like it's it's it's this journey. And I think
Speaker 2: we're so obsessed with this finish line in general, as
Speaker 2: like human beings, and I think life has very few
Speaker 2: actual finish lines, you know, And I think that's sort
Speaker 2: of the thing you have to accept and like you
Speaker 2: you have to go through experience. Is like, you know,
Speaker 2: I wouldn't have found I think, my greater life's purpose
Speaker 2: if it wasn't for music and the journey that it
Speaker 2: set me out on, essentially, right, because music led to
Speaker 2: me finding so many different things. Music is more so
Speaker 2: the vehicle than anything else, right, and oh my god.
Speaker 4: Yes, right, sorry, no, no, you're good, You're good. No.
Speaker 2: So I think that that's sort of like it's it's
Speaker 2: the journey and refining and getting to know yourself and
Speaker 2: then getting to know the new version of yourself as
Speaker 2: you continue to evolve. I just think that there's so much,
Speaker 2: like you know, to sort of continue to unpack in
Speaker 2: life and the idea around purpose. And I know there
Speaker 2: was there was somebody that had like a profound impact
Speaker 2: that I interviewed on my podcast, doctor Esther Zelda Dung.
Speaker 2: She she sort of just like made me realize that
Speaker 2: the way with which I found success in what I'm
Speaker 2: doing now or in music, whatever it is, I literally
Speaker 2: can just apply that to any field in the entire world.
Speaker 2: Like I just have to change out like the characters
Speaker 2: and the setting that I'm doing it in, you know.
Speaker 2: But that's like my unique way of looking and my
Speaker 2: unique vantage point of how I see things can be
Speaker 2: applied to any other field that I find to be interesting,
Speaker 2: you know. And I think it's you know, I think
Speaker 2: you mentioned kind of the dark place to a degree
Speaker 2: and like I can relate to you know that in
Speaker 2: many ways of like the times where I just tried
Speaker 2: to fit in with like what I'm supposed to be
Speaker 2: doing air quotes, that's when like I was just depressed
Speaker 2: as hell and it didn't matter if I was on
Speaker 2: like giant platforms or I was doing cool things that
Speaker 2: everybody was jealous of. In like my gut, the fact
Speaker 2: that I wasn't, like, you know, creating something that I
Speaker 2: could be proud of personally, like it felt like the
Speaker 2: worst thing in the world to me, you know. So yeah,
Speaker 2: it's again, it's just I just threw a lot.
Speaker 4: At you, but it's a lot of like no.
Speaker 1: No, I yeah, I took it all in. I took
Speaker 1: it all in because I freaking I get it. I
Speaker 1: absolutely understand. And this is what I tell people all
Speaker 1: the time. We're evolving creatures. We are not meant to
Speaker 1: stay the same. So life is literally it's in waves.
Speaker 1: There's ups and there's downs, and it's not like, oh,
Speaker 1: finding your life purpose. It's not a destination like you said.
Speaker 1: It is a journey and you are going to change
Speaker 1: and with that things change, and there are seasons in
Speaker 1: our lives.
Speaker 3: I talk about that a lot on the podcast.
Speaker 1: You Know. I started off this fourth season of Cheeky's
Speaker 1: and Chill with an episode talking about it's not that
Speaker 1: I want to stop music. I just want to make
Speaker 1: it look a little different because it wasn't making me
Speaker 1: one hundred percent happy. I was happy doing it. I
Speaker 1: was happy being on stage, but then it was I
Speaker 1: was drinking a lot. I was numbing, like, I was
Speaker 1: so tired, so I would just drink and I would
Speaker 1: like it wasn't healthy for me. So I'm like, something
Speaker 1: is wrong. I'm trying to run from something. And it
Speaker 1: was because of the air quotes that what I should
Speaker 1: be doing versus what I'm meant to do, What am
Speaker 1: I meant to do? What makes my soul happy? What
Speaker 1: makes me just want to live? Because there were times
Speaker 1: there where I was like, oh I can't. I'm so
Speaker 1: freaking tired. I just want to throw in the towel,
Speaker 1: like you know, yeah, yeah, I just throw a lot
Speaker 1: at you too.
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 2: No, I'm like, I'm like, you know, I think I'm
Speaker 2: I'm talking to myself as I hear you almost because
Speaker 2: I relate to that so much as well, like and
Speaker 2: I think the the sort of weird irony or I
Speaker 2: think the thing that a lot of people are not
Speaker 2: able to see is sort of what happens when the
Speaker 2: thing you love then becomes your main source of income
Speaker 2: or your job, your career. And it's a blessing, but
Speaker 2: it also then comes with a level of I don't know,
Speaker 2: like difficulty or just like there's this cheapness to it
Speaker 2: almost that happens because you now have to be delivering
Speaker 2: because it's the thing you sort of rely on as
Speaker 2: your job, as your career, right, or you have all
Speaker 2: these other hands and these people in your ear you
Speaker 2: should be doing this. Or you found succeests doing this,
Speaker 2: give us the same exact thing over and over and
Speaker 2: over again, right, and it's like this new now you
Speaker 2: even whole new set of problems that you never had
Speaker 2: before when it was just something you did in your bedroom. Right,
Speaker 2: And it's like, you know, it's almost I don't want
Speaker 2: to sound like you know, it's like, obviously these are
Speaker 2: good problems to have. It's a blessing, but it's a
Speaker 2: new set of challenges kind of to the point that
Speaker 2: you made of like where ever, evolving new things are
Speaker 2: being thrown at it as constantly we kind of have
Speaker 2: to figure them out in these new stages of our life.
Speaker 2: And I think, I don't know. That's the one thing
Speaker 2: to me that was that was so surprising once it
Speaker 2: became a thing, once this whole thing became a job,
Speaker 2: where it was like, oh, this is like you know,
Speaker 2: now almost feels worse because now it's like this is
Speaker 2: all you ever wanted and you're not happy, Like, now
Speaker 2: what the hell do I do?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, I know exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker 1: Oh that's what I feel like was all of last year.
Speaker 1: I'm like, if I am not passionate about this, something
Speaker 1: is going on. If I'm not doing it just for fun.
Speaker 1: And is that where because I know you talk about
Speaker 1: something called or you call it purpose over paycheck. Is
Speaker 1: this kind of the conversation? Is this what we were
Speaker 1: where it goes?
Speaker 2: Absolutely? I think if for me it's sort of I
Speaker 2: try to live by that sort of mantra and that's
Speaker 2: something I borrowed from dj Am. I heard him say
Speaker 2: it one time, And I try to live by that
Speaker 2: mantra as sort of like my guiding light almost when
Speaker 2: I'm making a decision in sort of things right, and
Speaker 2: I have this internal struggle where maybe it's ego, whatever
Speaker 2: it might be, where I want to check off the
Speaker 2: societal boxes that I'm supposed to be checking off, right,
Speaker 2: Like I want to win by the same rules that
Speaker 2: everybody else is playing by. I want to be able
Speaker 2: to have, you know, the pats on the back for
Speaker 2: living the white pike it fence life right, like a
Speaker 2: part of me to that validation almost, you know. And
Speaker 2: at times there's two parts to be sort of at
Speaker 2: odds with each other, you know, the part of me
Speaker 2: who wants to be pure in his art and his
Speaker 2: messaging and in the way that he wants to touch
Speaker 2: people's lives, and the other part of me that just
Speaker 2: sort of wants the superficial validation from the outside world.
Speaker 2: And there have been times where I've chased opportunities and
Speaker 2: gone down that rabbit hole of things that like everybody's
Speaker 2: you know, giving you like the pound and you're the man,
Speaker 2: and I hated it.
Speaker 4: So I try to like adapt this.
Speaker 2: Mantra of just constantly reminding myself passion over paycheck, you know,
Speaker 2: like I'm not gonna take a DJ gig that is
Speaker 2: high like even that's like the lowest like you know thing.
Speaker 2: But but even for me, like I love djaying, I
Speaker 2: love playing music, but like if I'm playing a gig
Speaker 2: that I hate for people that I don't like, it
Speaker 2: could be a packed room if I'm not getting to
Speaker 2: play things that I enjoy, or it's a crowd that
Speaker 2: I'm not really that interested in that I'm not invested
Speaker 2: in playing something for then, like I'm miserable, I might
Speaker 2: as well be like an account in somewhere doing numbers
Speaker 2: in an office. It makes no difference to me. I'm
Speaker 2: just as miserable, you know. So I have to keep
Speaker 2: reminding myself of like, there has to be something deeper
Speaker 2: to everything you do in order for it to actually
Speaker 2: make you happy. The money alone is not going to
Speaker 2: satisfy you.
Speaker 1: AP's freaking lutely. So it's passion over paycheck. Because I
Speaker 1: had any written down here, perp okay, So it's passion
Speaker 1: over paycheck. This year is that for me? I stopped
Speaker 1: a lot of things. I said, I don't want to
Speaker 1: record another album. I don't want to go on tour.
Speaker 1: I want to step back, not step away, step back
Speaker 1: and fall in love with my music. And I want
Speaker 1: to be on a stage. Like you just said, if
Speaker 1: even if it's not sold out, even if it's just
Speaker 1: five hundred people versus three thousand. But I am happy
Speaker 1: doing it, right. I want to feel that again. And
Speaker 1: not that it wasn't happy last year. It was just
Speaker 1: something was happening. I think I was so busy, there
Speaker 1: was so much going on that I didn't tend to
Speaker 1: my I didn't do my inner work as much as
Speaker 1: I should have, and it was affecting me in every way.
Speaker 1: And so I love that passion over paycheck because it's
Speaker 1: something else that I say, Like when people say, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, this person sold their soul to the devil,
Speaker 1: it's not like, oh, I'm going to go do this
Speaker 1: ritual and I'm literally selling my soul to the devil.
Speaker 3: To me, it's when you do things for money and.
Speaker 1: You're not necessarily being authentic, and that's how you lose
Speaker 1: credibility because you're just doing it for the paycheck and
Speaker 1: not for the passion, for the purpose behind it, you know.
Speaker 1: And that's and I yes, so I totally understand that.
Speaker 1: That's kind of what I wanted. I wanted you to,
Speaker 1: like to make sure I was understanding it correctly. So
Speaker 1: I think I did right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, I think you just summarized it amazingly.
Speaker 3: How old are you traumas.
Speaker 2: I'm thirty six.
Speaker 3: Okay, if you don't mind me asking, I'm sorry.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Oh you're good. I'm an open book.
Speaker 2: I'm an open book. You're good.
Speaker 1: I was just wondering because I feel like you're very
Speaker 1: like in tune and you know, and that that's awesome.
Speaker 1: Like there's not not that there aren't a lot of
Speaker 1: men like that, but they're I mean, I haven't run
Speaker 1: across a lot of them.
Speaker 3: So I was just like, it's great.
Speaker 1: I feel like we're on the same wavelength right now,
Speaker 1: and I'm lucky because this confirmation for me. So I'm like,
Speaker 1: I've been talking about it the whole season.
Speaker 2: No, it's I mean, it's good to get that confirmation
Speaker 2: because sometimes you just feel like you're the crazy person
Speaker 2: maybe you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: Like that's that. So it is nice.
Speaker 2: That's why I love having like these conversations and these
Speaker 2: platforms where I get to meet people like yourself, because
Speaker 2: it's like, Okay, I'm not maybe I'm like, you know,
Speaker 2: a rarity, and I don't have many people around me
Speaker 2: who are in that, but I know I'm not alone
Speaker 2: and that's sometimes all you need.
Speaker 1: I think, Yeah, and it feels good to know, you
Speaker 1: know what. Yeah, like you said, I'm not crazy. And
Speaker 1: even though maybe people are like, how can you let
Speaker 1: this opportunity go? Or how can you stop the momentum
Speaker 1: right now when everything's going good, like you just won
Speaker 1: your third Grammy and this, it's like it's there's so
Speaker 1: much more, Like, yes, I'm happy. I'm so grateful, don't
Speaker 1: get me wrong, Like that's all what I'm saying. What
Speaker 1: I'm saying is I want it to feel good from
Speaker 1: the inside out, you know. And I'm like, before it
Speaker 1: starts getting crazy, let me stop myself and just recalibrate.
Speaker 2: So, yeah, I love Addition through subtraction basically is how
Speaker 2: you like. It's you're adding more value to your life
Speaker 2: by taking away more of the things that don't give
Speaker 2: you that feeling of like joy, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: So it's like less things in there, but it's actually
Speaker 2: adding more value. Yes, I want to cry, let it out,
Speaker 2: Let it out.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So I'm just gonna cry, man, because because I was like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, someone freaksing it freaking gets it, which
Speaker 1: is probably why I'm like, Thank goodness, you're on the
Speaker 1: podcast we're talking about this. See you, guys, I'm not crazy, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is I'm right where.
Speaker 4: I'm meant to be exactly exactly.
Speaker 1: Are you actively working towards like your purpose or like,
Speaker 1: how is it that you like make it happen on
Speaker 1: a daily basis? Like does are there times when you
Speaker 1: feel you you get off and you have to kind
Speaker 1: of like remind yourself, hey, come back here or give
Speaker 1: me that process?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I think it's it's a daily struggle.
Speaker 2: Every time I open Instagram, it's a struggle to like,
Speaker 2: you know, either go the easy route and like, you know,
Speaker 2: be a salacious you know, mediahead that just wants clicks
Speaker 2: and views, you know, and reports on nonsense or talks
Speaker 2: about nonsense that doesn't add any value to people's lives. Like, yeah,
Speaker 2: because I see that, I see other people finding a
Speaker 2: great deal of success doing that, right, And the days
Speaker 2: where I'm feeling a bit down about myself, like as
Speaker 2: anybody does, I'm like, man, why am I making it
Speaker 2: so difficult for myself? You know, in a world that
Speaker 2: seems like they really don't care about anything deeper than
Speaker 2: the superficial stuff, Why am I striving to like make
Speaker 2: my life that much more difficult by trying to make
Speaker 2: them care essentially right, and and I struggle with that
Speaker 2: a lot, but you know, and then it's it's just
Speaker 2: like the conversations with myself. You know that I literally,
Speaker 2: like a crazy person, will talk to myself. You know,
Speaker 2: I'll have those those conversations where I'm just like reminding myself, hey,
Speaker 2: but you're you're here to make actual impact, right, like
Speaker 2: when you're when it's all said and done, when you
Speaker 2: hang it up, you know, years from now, I want
Speaker 2: to be able to look back on what I've done
Speaker 2: and know that there was a meaning behind every single thing, right,
Speaker 2: and whoever finds it finds it, whoever appreciates it appreciates it.
Speaker 2: But I know that I sort of did my part
Speaker 2: in contributing something positive to this world, right Like I can.
Speaker 2: I can sit back, I can lay my head at
Speaker 2: night knowing that I didn't add more nonsense to the
Speaker 2: world than there already is, you know. And my hope
Speaker 2: is that while staying true to that path and staying
Speaker 2: true to myself, that the right people will continue to
Speaker 2: find me, and the right opportunities will continue to find me,
Speaker 2: and I try to just like beat that into my
Speaker 2: brain every single day and just you know, go at
Speaker 2: my to do list every day on the things that
Speaker 2: I'm doing and always try to find a way to
Speaker 2: have deeper purpose and meeting and all the things that
Speaker 2: I'm doing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean social media it can definitely take a toll.
Speaker 1: I always say, is you know like you it's how do.
Speaker 3: You say it? In English?
Speaker 4: Like a double ed sword?
Speaker 3: There you go? Thank you?
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean, good things come out of it.
Speaker 1: But I mean, and I've noticed that when I post
Speaker 1: something positive or I I'm not showing my booty to
Speaker 1: be straight up on socials, it doesn't get as many likes,
Speaker 1: and I don't get the algorithms all messed up. And
Speaker 1: for a while I was like, am I losing my mojo?
Speaker 3: Am I?
Speaker 4: You know?
Speaker 1: But I'm like, I gotta get I want the people
Speaker 1: that are meant to get what I'm trying to say
Speaker 1: and the positivity I'm trying to radiate. Those are the
Speaker 1: people I want to like touch. Anyways, I'm like, so
Speaker 1: I had to kind of remind myself because it does.
Speaker 1: You know, we live in a world that numbers and
Speaker 1: clicks and likes and all this is become so important
Speaker 1: that it doesn't like we have to remember that's that's
Speaker 1: not what gives us value, guys. You know, it's not
Speaker 1: really at the end of the day that important. It's
Speaker 1: what you are, the footprint you are leaving in this world.
Speaker 1: So I'm so glad you brought that up because it's
Speaker 1: it's real.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it's it's tough, I mean, and it's it.
Speaker 2: It's not gonna get any any easier, you know. I
Speaker 2: think it's it's sort of it's why the quiet work,
Speaker 2: you know, inner work that you do every day is
Speaker 2: so important. You know. I try to start my day,
Speaker 2: like you know, at very early, like six am, you know,
Speaker 2: working on stuff and I'm writing or whatever. But that's
Speaker 2: like my quiet time to myself to feel good about
Speaker 2: like who I am before I let the rest of
Speaker 2: the world and you know, I'm not doing any social
Speaker 2: media stuff. I'm not doing anything during that time. It's
Speaker 2: just like my time to be grounded, you know, to
Speaker 2: to journal, to meditate, whatever I feel like doing, and
Speaker 2: also work on like one thing that I'm super passionate about,
Speaker 2: regardless of like what it may or may not yield
Speaker 2: me as far as results. I guess that's what I
Speaker 2: do on a daily basis to try to at least
Speaker 2: start my day like on my own terms and to
Speaker 2: remind myself of kind of like what's important, you know,
Speaker 2: And I guess that's that's like the greatest gift. It's
Speaker 2: like the fact that I have the ability to do
Speaker 2: that start the day on my own terms, I know
Speaker 2: I'm on the right path, and everything else is just
Speaker 2: to add on.
Speaker 1: That's freaking awesome. I think you're me and a boy version.
Speaker 1: I think I swear. I'm like, dude, this is crazy.
Speaker 1: I feel like I swear. I'm like, whoa, yeah, because
Speaker 1: that's how I like to start my day. I'm like, hey,
Speaker 1: I got a medice I got ground myself because if not,
Speaker 1: I'm a cancer.
Speaker 3: You know, so you know I'll be crazy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, allegedly, allegedly.
Speaker 3: Exactly allegedly.
Speaker 1: Why do you think that it is important for people
Speaker 1: to find their life purpose?
Speaker 3: To find?
Speaker 1: I mean, I like to call it to your mission
Speaker 1: in life, Like, why do you think that's important?
Speaker 2: I mean, I think you're sort of like you're you're
Speaker 2: just kind of like without it, you're like fumbling and
Speaker 2: bumbling throughout through life. At that you know, like I
Speaker 2: almost picture it like a bowling pin. You're just kind
Speaker 2: of being knocked around and like the day is taking
Speaker 2: you where it wants to take you, essentially right, like
Speaker 2: you're not in control, you're not present, And I don't
Speaker 2: think we as human beings were meant to exist that way,
Speaker 2: you know. I think there are so many people who
Speaker 2: are not living fulfilled lives. They're sort of existing as
Speaker 2: like the zombies that sort of live for the weekend,
Speaker 2: almost because they never were taught that we don't teach
Speaker 2: us a society. They never you know, discovered it, never
Speaker 2: took the time to sort of discover their own internal purpose.
Speaker 2: And I think, you know, that's also why were there
Speaker 2: are so many people who are just unhappy in life
Speaker 2: in general, you know, because there's sort of the things
Speaker 2: that we've been taught that are supposed to make you happy, right,
Speaker 2: go to school, go to college, get the job, get
Speaker 2: the house, get the you know, the kid, the husband,
Speaker 2: the wife, whatever, and then boom, life is good. It's
Speaker 2: like a happy ending like a movie, and it's just
Speaker 2: not right. I think a lot of people are realizing
Speaker 2: how hollow that was, and none of that stuff really
Speaker 2: matters if you're not good inside first. You know, if
Speaker 2: you're not full as a human being, you know, solo,
Speaker 2: you're not really going to be able to experience the
Speaker 2: real joy of everyday life and the fruits of your labor,
Speaker 2: you know. And I think I'm incredibly passionate about this
Speaker 2: because I think I saw a glaring example of what
Speaker 2: happens when you don't find your life's purpose. And it
Speaker 2: was my father, or is my father, I should say,
Speaker 2: And I love my dad death. He's an incredible person.
Speaker 2: He's a brilliant human being that I think was capable
Speaker 2: of doing so many different things. But life kind of
Speaker 2: came out him quick. You know. He got married young,
Speaker 2: had a kid young, and sort of never really had
Speaker 2: direction from a mentor to help him sort of achieve
Speaker 2: all he could. And he sort of took the easy
Speaker 2: route of you know, the safe job and hated the job.
Speaker 2: Was you know, miserable on the hour commute to work,
Speaker 2: miserable for the eight hours he was at the office,
Speaker 2: and miserable on the hour commute back home, and did
Speaker 2: that Monday through Friday for you know, decades and decades
Speaker 2: the majority of my life, right, And I saw kind
Speaker 2: of the shell of this person, and as I got older,
Speaker 2: it was like, man, I could see almost inklings of
Speaker 2: who this man could have and should have been by
Speaker 2: the way he speaks about certain things. And I think
Speaker 2: that that had a profound effect on me of like
Speaker 2: not wanting to replicate that and sort of wanting that curse,
Speaker 2: if you will, to sort of die with his generation. Almost.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's we get caught in the rat race of
Speaker 1: life where it's like it just becomes a routine and
Speaker 1: I'm doing it because that's what I'm supposed to do.
Speaker 3: So I totally get that.
Speaker 1: And just to clarify, when I said that you are
Speaker 1: the boy version, I don't mean like boy as in life,
Speaker 1: like man, I should say, Okay, I don't want to
Speaker 1: like in any way.
Speaker 4: Teez, I'm from New York. You're not gonna fend me
Speaker 4: very easily. Not gonna find me that easily. We're good.
Speaker 4: I've heard worse on the on the subway earlier this week.
Speaker 2: We're good.
Speaker 4: Oh my god. Okay.
Speaker 1: I wanted to clarify that, but and I also want
Speaker 1: to clarify to the listeners because I think we also
Speaker 1: live in a world where everyone wants to be famous,
Speaker 1: you know, and I've talked about that on the pod,
Speaker 1: the responsibility behind that, and I'm not talking about finding
Speaker 1: my life purpose of being famous and rich and famous.
Speaker 1: This is deeper, guys. This is doing the inner work.
Speaker 1: This is also looking outside of yourself and saying, how
Speaker 1: can I help the world, How can I, you know,
Speaker 1: be of service? You know, that is finding your life
Speaker 1: purpose and not thinking of just the money, the coins
Speaker 1: and how rich I'm going to am I going to
Speaker 1: get And eventually when you're doing things from the heart,
Speaker 1: all that stuff comes like just like magic, you know,
Speaker 1: because you're doing things with purpose.
Speaker 2: The fame thing is a whole nother like monster of
Speaker 2: a conversation that like social media has only ten xt
Speaker 2: you know. But it's kind of like what we were
Speaker 2: saying where we shared that idea of like music being
Speaker 2: our vehicle almost right, Like the fame is a byproduct
Speaker 2: of like your purpose and your work, and it's a
Speaker 2: means to impact maybe on a deeper level. But it
Speaker 2: should never be the primary focus, you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: Like the followers should never be the primary focus. They're
Speaker 2: just a means of being able to have you elevate
Speaker 2: you know what it is that you do, what you
Speaker 2: feel like you're meant to do, you know, And I
Speaker 2: think that's where so many people are mixed up in
Speaker 2: all this stuff, like you know, the famous fleeting you're
Speaker 2: you're hot today, You're gone tomorrow, right, Like. It's a
Speaker 2: very fickle world, you know, and if that's all you're
Speaker 2: striving for, you're going to be left to feel very
Speaker 2: sort of empty, you know, the second the algorithm is
Speaker 2: not in favor of you know, your booty picks or whatever,
Speaker 2: right like, you know, so it's like exact, yeah, it
Speaker 2: always comes back to the booty picks. But like, yeah,
Speaker 2: I think that that's sort of like a great reminder
Speaker 2: to people because it's like the fame without anything deeper
Speaker 2: is just a hollow thing that I think eats people alive.
Speaker 2: And we've seen so many, you know, sad examples of
Speaker 2: that throughout the course of the entertainment industry, you know.
Speaker 2: So I think it's a great you know, point to
Speaker 2: put on there for sure.
Speaker 1: And this is why I have you dramas you You
Speaker 1: explained it better than I could have, So thank you.
Speaker 2: That's a team effort bound this back and forth.
Speaker 3: Yes, go, I love it. I love the energy.
Speaker 1: Yea. So it's definitely substance over superficialness. Superficialness even a word,
Speaker 1: but you'll get it substance guys, and tell us a
Speaker 1: little bit more about life as a get goal.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think. I think for me, I initially got
Speaker 2: started in radio, like DJing led to radio, and then
Speaker 2: from there it was kind of like, all right, you know,
Speaker 2: radio is kind of like the goal I'm I started
Speaker 2: seeing that spark where it was like I'm sitting in
Speaker 2: a room where I don't have much experience when I'm
Speaker 2: kind of like holding my own and opportunities keep sort
Speaker 2: of like finding their way to me. So I'm like,
Speaker 2: all right, there's probably something here.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: And then you know, so I kind of began to
Speaker 2: get some accolades from people as like a personality and
Speaker 2: more so starting out like as a sidekick and a
Speaker 2: producer and things like that. But you know, again, it
Speaker 2: was sort of like this struggle of finding my who
Speaker 2: I was and how I wanted to what message I
Speaker 2: want to portray to the world, right, Because it's again
Speaker 2: for me, it's not just about having the platform, but
Speaker 2: it's like what am I going to do with it?
Speaker 2: And what platform is it? Right? Because every platform is
Speaker 2: not the right platform for you, and you know, so
Speaker 2: I think I just sort of like I was in
Speaker 2: the top forty world originally and it was just kind
Speaker 2: of like all very superficial and it felt very empty
Speaker 2: and like cool, but not like much to it. And
Speaker 2: then I got the opportunity to work as a producer
Speaker 2: on The Breakfast Club, and I think there is sort
Speaker 2: of where like the pieces started to begin to begin
Speaker 2: to fit together, and I feel like I started to
Speaker 2: make sense of where I wanted to be and who
Speaker 2: I wanted to be, and sort of seeing like, you know,
Speaker 2: this show that is incredibly successful, incredibly entertaining, funny, but
Speaker 2: also has an incredible amount of depth to it and
Speaker 2: is truly making an impact culturally in the black community
Speaker 2: every single day, and sort of just seeing how they
Speaker 2: moved so unapologetically, like this is an unapologetically black show
Speaker 2: and other people can listen and you can tune in,
Speaker 2: and you know, we invite that, but like this is
Speaker 2: who we are. Take it or leave it. And I
Speaker 2: was like, oh damn, Like you can make a career
Speaker 2: of and find success while also being so true to yourself.
Speaker 2: And that started to begin to I guess plant the seeds.
Speaker 2: And then at that time, Hurricane Maria happened, and I
Speaker 2: was watching like news coverage, you know, in the studio
Speaker 2: overnight at the radio station, and I was watching on TV,
Speaker 2: and like something just came over me, Like I was
Speaker 2: just like crying by myself, just like in the studio,
Speaker 2: overly emotional about what I was seeing, the destruction that
Speaker 2: happened on the island. And it was like this just
Speaker 2: strange thing that happened to me, This this feeling of
Speaker 2: connection that I think was always there, but I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't, I never really recognize it on such a
Speaker 2: deep level. And it was like I need to be
Speaker 2: doing something for my people in some sort of way,
Speaker 2: right Like if if my gift or the opportunities that
Speaker 2: I'm getting right now are based upon my ability to
Speaker 2: you know, string thoughts and ideas together and speak into
Speaker 2: a microphone, like, then I need to put that into
Speaker 2: use for my people, for my community. And I think
Speaker 2: that sort of divine timing of having to happen to
Speaker 2: work at the breakfst Lub during that time and then
Speaker 2: Hurricane Maria sort of led me to start thinking. And
Speaker 2: then eventually, you know that the concept of LIFECATINGO was born.
Speaker 3: That's cool.
Speaker 1: So so yeah, definitely this is a way of you
Speaker 1: fulfilling your purpose and helping your people. I think you're
Speaker 1: you're very good at explaining things. You're you elaborate very
Speaker 1: nicely and thoroughly. So absolutely, I'm glad we have life
Speaker 1: as a good and goal.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 3: Honestly, I think it's it's.
Speaker 1: Great and and that's why same, I'm like, I love
Speaker 1: podcasting is like therapy for me. It just even if
Speaker 1: I'm having a bad day, I'm just like I do
Speaker 1: this and I forget about everything else and it's just like, hey,
Speaker 1: we're doing something good for the world.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, absolutely, I think it's again, it's like it's
Speaker 2: that confirmation that you know, we kind of even started
Speaker 2: talking about, Like as we're talking to each other, we're
Speaker 2: getting that confirmation of like the way our mind works
Speaker 2: is not bad or weird or terrible. It's like it's
Speaker 2: it's it makes sense right, Like we're not alone in that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And I think and it's been my experience in some
Speaker 2: of the feedback I've got, and it's like as I'm
Speaker 2: honest and as I'm like talking out what I'm thinking,
Speaker 2: what I'm feeling on the podcast, other people are then
Speaker 2: having those same conversations with themselves and like, are you know,
Speaker 2: being impacted by it in a positive way, and like
Speaker 2: that's the most beautiful thing you could you know, sort
Speaker 2: of ever ask for?
Speaker 3: You know, Yeah, I agree absolutely.
Speaker 1: And if you could give anyone here that's listening some
Speaker 1: advice if they're feeling lost and they don't know why
Speaker 1: they were put in this world and they're just lost,
Speaker 1: what kind of advice?
Speaker 3: What can you tell them?
Speaker 2: I think you don't have to have much figured out.
Speaker 2: I think stop trying to think you have to have
Speaker 2: like the beginning, middle, and end of the story written
Speaker 2: before you get going. I think you have to really
Speaker 2: in like the most simplest terms. I think. I think
Speaker 2: it was Robert Green. I saw a podcast with him
Speaker 2: and he was basically just like, if you're feeling lost
Speaker 2: in life, and I did this like a year ago
Speaker 2: because I feel like I've lost myself a bit, and
Speaker 2: he basically was like, just think back to when you
Speaker 2: were a kid, Like what were you naturally drawn to?
Speaker 2: What were you doing like when nothing else mattered, when
Speaker 2: you know you had no worry about paying bills or
Speaker 2: like what a job even was like, what were you
Speaker 2: just naturally drawn to? And once you can answer that,
Speaker 2: explore that like as an adult, explore that interest that
Speaker 2: you had. And once you begin the process of exploration,
Speaker 2: then things begin to find you. You know, Like I
Speaker 2: look at it as like sometimes you just have to
Speaker 2: get in the car and start driving, right, and eventually
Speaker 2: you're going to get to where you're supposed to be.
Speaker 2: You know, you don't have to have the destination you know,
Speaker 2: mapped out. You know you'll eventually get there just by
Speaker 2: the fact that you left your house and went and
Speaker 2: got on the road somewhere, you know. And I think
Speaker 2: that is where a lot of people get tripped up.
Speaker 2: I think you sort of have to say, all right,
Speaker 2: I have an interest in painting. Let me go explore that, right,
Speaker 2: And who knows where that's going to lead. I don't
Speaker 2: think you have to figure that out, but it'll probably
Speaker 2: begin to lead you to like minded people.
Speaker 4: It'll probably give you a place that you.
Speaker 2: Can sort of call home, like I guess a third home, right,
Speaker 2: like outside of your job and your actual house, and
Speaker 2: all of those things begin to sort of present new
Speaker 2: experiences and new opportunities or even just like new positive
Speaker 2: feelings within you, right, and and then you just keep
Speaker 2: building and building upon that as life opens up. But
Speaker 2: it's just like, take that first simple thing that is
Speaker 2: like doesn't seem to make sense, but you're just naturally
Speaker 2: drawn to it, and just go explore and and everything
Speaker 2: else will kind of work out.
Speaker 1: I freaking love that. That is great advice. It's just
Speaker 1: taking that leap of faith. I love the metaphor of
Speaker 1: the car just getting getting as long as you get
Speaker 1: in the car and you're just like, all right, I
Speaker 1: don't know, Jesus, take the wheel right, you.
Speaker 2: Know, absolutely absolutely, that's literally what it is.
Speaker 1: Well, uh, Dramo's honestly, I've really enjoyed this conversation. It
Speaker 1: gave me confirmation. It gave me peace in my heart.
Speaker 3: And my mind.
Speaker 1: I know that what I'm doing right now, just by
Speaker 1: this conversation made me feel like this is exactly where
Speaker 1: I'm supposed to be.
Speaker 3: So thank you so much.
Speaker 1: And to the listeners check out Life as a Gringo
Speaker 1: and is there, please share your socials with us.
Speaker 3: I already follow you. You better follow me to I
Speaker 3: did okay, good, okay, cool?
Speaker 1: I know I was looking I was like, wow, I
Speaker 1: was like, this is this is cool? So absolutely someone
Speaker 1: you guys want to follows, so share, share your your
Speaker 1: socials please.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Well, first off, thank you so much for having me,
Speaker 2: and thank you for the conversation. I feel I feel
Speaker 2: energized by it, so it's good. Yeah, I really do
Speaker 2: appreciate these convos. But at DJ dramos on pretty much everything.
Speaker 2: You can find me on there. I'm super active on Instagram,
Speaker 2: so I'll always be posting on there, and yeah, Life
Speaker 2: is a gding Goo and yeah, stay tuned for the evolution, right, yeah,
Speaker 2: every Thursday and then every Tuesday as well, so we
Speaker 2: do two episodes a week now. So yeah, so to
Speaker 2: two episodes that keep you busy during the week.
Speaker 3: Nice love that.
Speaker 1: Okay, well great, you definitely have a listener here and
Speaker 1: I'm sure people really liked your vibe, so you guys
Speaker 1: listen to Life is a g Dingo. I said it again,
Speaker 1: So yeah, thank you so much, thank you, and yeah,
Speaker 1: maybe I can go on your on your podcast.
Speaker 2: Please let you let me know where we're gonna we'll
Speaker 2: definitely do.
Speaker 1: It, all right, let's make it happen, all right, thank
Speaker 1: you guys, thank you so much for listening. I love you,
Speaker 1: I appreciate you, and thank you for coming back every
Speaker 1: week to grow, to learn, and to flourish.
Speaker 3: Let's Get.
Speaker 1: This is a production of iHeartRadio and the Micaeldura podcast Network.
Speaker 1: Follow us on Instagram at Michael Doura Podcasts and follow
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