 Okay, we are rolling, we are rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, well. Hello Claude, how are you? I am largely good. Yeah, you look good, you look rested, even though you said that you woke up really early. I did, but I went to bed extremely early, so... What time is early? I think like nine something. Nine o'clock? Life be life in right now. How do you go to bed at nine? How? It's not my choice, my body just gives up. I want, I don't say I want my body to give up. But like, I've tried, I've tried, and I just can't go to bed at that time. I feel like the night is still young, like at nine o'clock last night I was watching Loki. Right. It's, come on, as you know, Jen, is it Jenzi? Jen, do you watch TV? Not really, I'm not going to lie. Every now and again, every now and again, I'm currently excited about geek out. Do I want people to say that I'm a geek? Just go on, we're all in a geeks. By the time people have seen this, I would have been enjoying the final episode of Attack on Titan, which I've been looking forward to since... Is that on Netflix? It's not, now it's on websites. I'm not going to say which ones. It's on websites, so when one doesn't work, you do it. I'm, of course, I'm watching it on completely legal websites. Of course you are. So, of course, as a little Biden citizen. Well, I haven't heard of it, but if you're saying it's good... Honestly, I think it might be the best piece of TV I've ever made. No, this is serious. No, I'm being deadly serious. I would actually fight people about this one. Wow, physically, verbally? No comment. Okay, well, it's really good to see. We were saying we haven't actually physically seen each other for a month. Yeah, just online meetings so far. Yeah, just online meetings, which, yeah, regularly. But, yeah, it's still lovely to see in person. So, obviously, you know, with these episodes, we really want to... Well, I really want to unpick, get to know you a bit more, let the audience know you a bit more. People just want to know what you're doing. You know, I do. What have you been doing this past month that have not seen you in person? But before we get into that, I want to break the ice a little bit. I want to try something different, because, obviously, you're an intelligent man. You know, you're well-versed. You've been around. Well, not been around, but you know what I mean. Wow. So, I've got some riddles for you. I was thinking of the perfect ice breakers, and I was like, let's get a riddle. So, let's see. We're going to just do a few. We're going to start really... Easy, but you know. Okay, first one. What has to be broken before you can use it? An egg. Is that right? Yes! What, you see? Okay. Wow, if I had... I would be...anyway. Okay, next one. What month of the year has 28 days? February. Let me do one more time. What month of the year has 28 days? What month of the year has 28 days? Okay, let me just tell you. Okay, let me just tell you. All of them. Yes! All of them. Are you guys September or October? What? All of them. To be fair, the cameraman actually tried to give me a clue, so that's... Oh, my gosh. See, I'm so concentrated. I didn't even see you there. Okay, next one. What question can you never answer yes to? Never answer yes to this one? What? Okay, no. Are you asleep yet? Okay. Apparently. I would not have got that one. Let's do one more. No, no, no. I know. What goes up but never comes down? What goes up but never comes down? Positivitation, I don't know. Think about it. Think about it in your personal... Think about it in your personal... What goes up but never comes down? What goes up but never comes down? My meat. Wow, okay, that's good to know. Is that true? Your age. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I was hard, thank you. You're welcome. Yeah, I mean, you know, we all have our blind spots, you know? No, I'm joking. Riddles are not the easiest for me, so it's actually quite nice to get somebody else to do them for a change. Do it on camera as well. I know, right? I want everybody a chance as well to think about things. Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you haven't already, make sure you sign up to our mailing list at dreamnation.co forward slash mailing list and from there you'll be able to find out about all the things that we have coming for you. But yeah, today I wanted to talk to you about something that I think you do really well. Yeah, I'm trying to give like, you know, three parts to it that's it, something that I think you do really well. I also see how much you put in to be able to do it really well. Right. And that is multitasking. Yes. Or juggling. Juggling a lot. For people that don't know, maybe I'm not going to be doing a whole intro about you. But, you know, you sit on quite a few boards. You also have a full-time job. You also have in, you also mentor people and you've got Dream Nation and that in itself as well in the last five months, especially before the job that you got was intense. Extremely. Extremely. Intense. So, yeah, I'm really keen to kind of understand the world of juggling and I think mainly because I'm at the stage as well right now where I'm juggling a part-time job, freelance work as well as building my own business, it's like, I'm struggling. We've had conversations, you're like, are you okay? Yeah, I'm on the edge of burnout. I heard that. So, yeah, first of all, like, do you actually see it as juggling? Do you actually see it as multitasking? It's multitasking. Do I see it as that? I don't actually. Maybe because of the way that my life is organized, it all feels like different tracks that happen at the same time. So, yeah, to me, I guess technically it's multitasking but I don't really feel like it because I don't believe in multitasking. You don't believe in multitasking? No. Sorry? I don't. What are we doing? You don't? Okay, we'll explain. I don't believe somebody can do two things at the same time to a high standard. Oh, wow. Even when you are doing it, like, you're trying to, I don't know, have a conversation and make breakfast at the same time. What I've learned over the years is that all you're doing is switch between both tasks really quickly but it then means that you're doing both tasks below the standard that they could be. So, when I say I don't believe in... You've just got really deep. When I say I don't believe in multitasking, what I actually mean is that when I'm in any given moment in time, I'm fully in that moment. And I remember saying this to you when we first started working. Yes. Is that as long as you have me in a meeting, I will 100% be there. I'm not going to be speaking to you and then doing something online or whatever. Like, you have my whole attention. But the minute that meeting ends, whatever I'm going to next has my full attention. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, you have said that a few times to me. But I don't think I really took it as that you don't believe in multitasking because I think how do you, in that moment, give all your time to one thing, even though you have so many other things that are circulating in your mind that you need to do? Like, how do you fully... Because now you're saying it, I'm thinking, yeah, do I actually ever fully give myself to one thing? So, what it sounds like you're asking is, am I ever fully present? Or how do you become present? Yeah, I think that's what it is. And it's practice. So, that is literally what meditation is for. It's to teach you to be present in any given moment. But when you do things like meditation, we describe it as the practice of meditation because it's a skill that you continue to develop, but something that you do you need to also continue to get better at as time goes on. So, in my early 20s, I invested a whole lot of time into meditation. I mean, like hours and hours and hours. So, it then means that it's easier for me now to be fully present in the conversation, in the meeting, in a task or things of that nature. Not perfect at it, but I'm much better than before I started. And the other practical thing that I do is if I do have an ideal task that does come to mind when I'm in another setting or meeting, I will write it down straight away. And the minute that it's written down in somewhere that I know that I'm going to come back to, then my brain can be like, it's safe. Let it go, focus on where you are right now. Okay, yeah, that actually does make a lot of sense. Okay, so being present then, what does that exactly look like to you? Like, being present in a situation, what does that, like, give me an example of one of the things that you do and that you're like, yeah, I'm completely focused on it. Giving an example would be hard. I feel like the example should be more how it feels to be around me. So you shouldn't feel like I'm distracted. You shouldn't feel like I'm looking at my phone or writing a message to somebody else or thinking about my next meeting or my last meeting or things of that nature. I'm very intentional about not bringing things into other areas. So even if the last thing that I did really irritated me. In fact, you've been there before when I've been irritated by something. Oh, yeah, of course. But you also knew that within an hour or hour and a half I had another thing. I was going to go and host an event. So I had to be 100% present when that happened because if I come to that event and I'm now greeting people with bad energy or I'm still irritated, people will pick up on that. And then I know that that will then set the tone for that next event, which would then mean that the energy of that won't be what I would have wanted it to be. So do you remember what I did? We were in the car and you put on some meditation practices and stuff like that. And then you're like, oh, I feel much better now. Literally. But I was also in that car and I didn't feel any change. I said, you didn't change internally or you didn't see it changing me. No, I saw it changing you, but I didn't. I'm trying to think, maybe meditation is not something that I have properly invested time into to grasp and understand because like I said, I was in the car with you while you were meditating. And I didn't feel like... So there are two reasons why. Well, three reasons why, actually. The first reason is that you didn't really take part in it in the sense of it was given instructions but you wasn't really doing them. So that will be part of it. The second reason why is because you was what you were asking. So if you remember, you were having to deal with some emails to do something else. So your brain was fully somewhere else at that time. And the third reason is because I can now switch it on and off more easily because of the hours and years, basically your practice that happened before this point. So even if you was fully in that moment and practicing, it still would have been harder for you to get to that point. I get you. Outside of just work, I'm married so it's like... How I see multitasking and prioritization, stuff like that, is a bit different. Do you feel that... How is it for you? Obviously you're not married, you may be in a relationship or etc. But do you feel like not having that additional responsibility allows you to flex on how much you can be present with or how much you can do? I'll be exactly the same. You'll be exactly the same. How do you know? Because it's intentional. Although I'm not married, I still have many relationships, friends, etc. So I know what I'm like with people and I know the way that I think and operate in many, in different scenarios. And I know that when I'm with people, I don't change. I will always be present there and then. If I need to do something else, I'll let you know. So I'll tell you, OK, right now I need to do X, Y or Z. So if you give me 5, 10, 15, an hour, then I will be back with you. But right now I need to do this. It's actually one of my few pet peeves, is when people are multi-tasking when you're meant to be talking or spending time with me. Yikes. As a result, I don't do that too. Your quality time, what's your love language? Love languages, they are... Top two. I've got three. One is like, fully at the top, which is words of affirmation. Oh, seriously? I just didn't know. Love languages work in a way that what do you like and what does the person... Oh, I know. But what you also might notice is the thing that you like tends to be the way that you default to show and love to people. That's true. So one of the reasons why I can be so complimentary or take the time to point out when someone says something really well is because I really appreciate when people do that for me. It also really hurts when the opposite happens for me as well. And that's the thing with love languages. Much as they are the way to show you love, they're also the easiest way to hurt you as well. Okay, so... Words of affirmation was number one. Number two and three, they were linked at the same score, was physical touch and as a service. Okay. Quality time was really low and guess was literally zero. Quality time really low? I don't know. I don't tell you why, but I will say this with a lot of my good friends even if I go for months without seeing them it doesn't feel... There's no love loss on my end. I'll meet you and see you as if I just saw you last week. So there's never an issue from that standpoint. But when I'm with you, I want to be fully present and I'd like you to also be fully present. I hate you. So I don't need a large amount of quality time but when it's there it needs to be good. I hate you. Number 24, 2023 we will be hosting our first workshop of the year. It's going to be focused on helping you to become a board member. For more information visit the Dream Nation website at dreamnation.co that's dreamnation.co Okay. So back to the different things you do how did you... I know you've got a workshop coming up about becoming a board member but how did you decide the things that you were going to dedicate your time to especially because you would be quite stretched across different areas like when did you... how did you decide like okay yeah I'm going to make this decision to give my time to this I'm going to make a decision to not give my time to that what goes through your head? If I'm honest it's because I only have one objective and that is to make Dream Nation a success. That is the only when it comes to my career and the choice in my life that's what matters to me. So how do I become successful with this mission of empowering people to become practical dreamers and every choice that I make will be in line with helping me move further with that. So for example the board roles that I take on they're accomplished in a couple of things one it's an additional income stream which is obviously helpful for funding the work that we do for the vision of helping people to become practical dreamers because I realise that although I can give people information I can give people opportunities and things of that nature training etc to help them grow sometimes there are things in your life which are bigger than you that stops you from being able to pursue your dream and those will normally be systematic things or things on the societal level whereas by being a board member between positions where I get to work on people's lives they actually have a clearer pathway that if they choose to go and pursue their dreams now some of the systematic things are gone so that's the second way that being a board member helps and the last part of it why it's so useful is being a board member, especially because I started quite young has been equipping me with the skills that I need to be the best possible executive in the future so some people might have noticed I kind of skipped quite a few career stages in my day job because in my day job I'm the Director of Innovations sorry but I got there relatively quickly because and this is one of the things the recruiter said to me was combining my entrepreneurial experience with my board experience meant that I was a very safe bet to be able to take on such a senior level role within the organisation that I work for currently so I'm right now developing through being a board member I've been developing the skill sets to be a great leader because if I fulfill my goal for Dream Nation then it will become a public trading company and I would like to still be good enough to be the CEO of that company when it happens and the reality is we still do live in a world where prejudice does exist so as a young black man I am aware that I'm not going to be given as many opportunities to fell as other people will be that have the same opportunity so by the time I get to that point where I'm the CEO of a public trading company I need to be excellent otherwise I might not keep that position for very long so that's part of my training too that's a lot of pressure but yeah it makes a lot of sense life is that's life I really like what you said I really like what you said about basically everything you're doing is to further Dream Nation I think that it's such an important point because if I reflect on the decisions I've made in my career as well like if I've taken a job and I see that it's actually not benefiting me in the long run for the goal it's like okay that's a reason to leave but it has to be very clear what the goal is otherwise you're just going to be taking any opportunity it might further you financially but it's actually causing a stagnation or a distraction to the actual overall goal I know for me for example last year I actually got offered a really really good job in terms of salary and high level position it was the CEO of an organisation role that I was offered it was the CEO role that I was offered yep for a good paying job like I said but I turned it down and at the time it was significantly more money than I was making at the time and it looked like a great opportunity on paper but I understood that taking on that particular role would have derailed me because the people that I would have had to report to the board of the organisation that I would have to report to in all my research shows that they were not chaotic but they wouldn't have been a healthy working environment for me and I would have understood that the amount of pressure, stress and the impact would have on my wellbeing and mental health although I'd have the money would begin to impact my dream nation so if I were to now be stressed out all the time and then now have to be a boss to yourself or other members of the team and I'm giving you that energy you're not going to want to be here or if you was you're not going to give me your best so I did need to make a decision that although at the time hurt because I wanted to need that money it ended up working out for me in the long run yeah that's that's the hard thing I mean having conversations with people about when things look good but they're just not in your plan like it's very hard to decipher I mean personally I'm a Christian so I have my ways of deciphering but even in that like it can still be like okay this is a good thing and it can't you can see how many doors that it could open but it's but it's a destruction yeah and sometimes in life you're told that okay yeah but you know you go through things and you learn the lesson but what if this was not even a lesson that you had to learn had to learn like yeah so one other thing I wanted to ask you just to um yeah just to just to wrap up what what would you say is worth getting out of bed for wow what is worth getting out of bed for do you want me to give you context? yes please okay so I got a job opportunity it didn't do but um I went and asked some mentors in the business and they were like if it's worth getting out of bed for you should go for it and I was like I found it really hard to understand what is really worth getting out of bed for and in the end it fell through so I didn't have to make that decision but I've always thought like in this world of juggling and finding you know and taking on opportunities like how do I know that something is worth getting out of bed for I'm going to say probably if it does one of two things either it truly excites and fulfills you or it's very practical in terms of accomplishing a specific goal that you have right now because I would love to be able to say that every job you take on or every opportunity you take on is going to be fun and fulfilling that's a lie that's not how life works and if you go through life with that mentality then you're not going to succeed this is right on some of my mind because one of my mentees is I've been trying to shake this out with him it's not always going to be fun it's going to be hard sometimes so if the opportunity in front of you is purposefully forward propelling you then that's worthwhile probably not indefinitely you shouldn't be doing things that are harming you or detracting from you for long periods of time I don't recommend that but if it is accomplishing a part of your long-term vision great or like I said as well if it does fulfill you if it's making you happy if it is helping you to become a better version of yourself then that's worth getting out of bed for thank you for tuning in to today's episode we release a new episode every Sunday so make sure that you subscribe and follow us so that you never miss out if you would like some more inspiration while you wait for the next new episode then check out the recommendation above don't forget to follow us on social media or ask us a question or a dilemma that you would like us to answer on the podcast this is Club Williams, you've been watching behind the dreams and we look forward to seeing you at the next Dream Nation event