IAM2921 – Keynote Speaker Challenges People to Achieve More

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Transcription:

Jerry Thompson III 00:00
Community and consistency. I have been able to, being a solopreneur, someone, you know, as podcasters, you understand, we are often by ourselves a lot of time. We interact with others, but it's virtual, it's digital. It's not the same as being in the same space. So having community, like-minded people that are doing similar things that inspire you, that you can inspire, is so helpful because I've grown up in the habit of doing everything completely solo, being too isolated.

Speaker B 00:25
Yeah.

Jerry Thompson III 00:26
I didn't understand the value of community. And just knowing that somebody else shares some of the similar struggles and successes that you do takes significant mental stress load off of my mind.

Gresham Harkless 01:07
This is Gresh from the I Am CEO Podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Jerry Thompson III of the Pointe Noir Podcast. Jerry, it's awesome to have you on the show. Appreciate it.

Jerry Thompson III 01:17
Thanks for having me. Love the opportunity to connect.

Gresham Harkless 01:19
Yeah, absolutely. Super excited to have you on and then to connect a little bit, learn a little bit more about you. And then before I got started, I wanted to jump in so you can hear a little bit more about Jerry and all the awesome things that he's doing. And Jerry Thompson III is a professional adventurer who serves as a primary communal resource for innovative thinking, cultural exposure, and guided self-development. The crowning product of his adventures has grown to be the Point Noir Podcast, the only podcast production that highlights men of color and their travel experiences and also sponsors men of color to obtain passports. In its first 18 months, the dynamic show has captured the unique perspectives of 70 men, enabled an additional 70 men to claim passports of their own, and has been heard around the globe. Jerry III's work continues to dismantle barriers and challenges who, those who, those looking to achieve more from the stage as a keynote speaker, as well as continue to host and curate the Point Noir podcast. Jerry, are you ready to speak to the I Am CEO community?

Jerry Thompson III 02:12
Absolutely. Let's get it.

Gresham Harkless 02:14
Let's make it happen. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story, what led you to start your business and your podcast.

Jerry Thompson III 02:20
Absolutely. So I think of it kind of as my superhero story. I was inspired by cartoons and comics growing up, and as you know, we go through different phases for sure. This journey began when I started working in corporate, was super dissatisfied with so much going on. It wasn't the money, it wasn't the opportunity. I was doing everything that I felt was right, but I didn't feel great about myself. I still had so many questions. I, I really looked around and I was like, there's gotta be more. So I put a plan together and it resulted in me quitting my job and buying a one-way ticket to Paris, France. And that was in 2014. So I spent 18 months in Paris, France as an undocumented immigrant traveling the world, playing music, because I'm also a professional musician. Being involved with the US Embassy in regions of Africa, I got to travel. I taught myself French. I fell in love for a little bit, and I came back to the States and tried to reintegrate to corporate and had some success. But I again had that dissatisfaction and I realized I couldn't share all the things that I'd experienced with those that were generally around me. My colleagues didn't understand. My friends from back home didn't understand. So I created the podcast kind of on a whim to try to give the platform an opportunity for other men of color who've had this experience to share. Because I feel like there's a lot of value in just being able to have your story told, just like me being on this podcast. But then I also wanted to inspire any other men of color who didn't see examples, didn't see themselves out there in the world, and maybe were intimidated or had fears, which is normal. And I wanted to encourage them that, you know what, you belong here too. If you look like me, you can also do this.

Gresham Harkless 03:55
Nice. I, I definitely appreciate that. And just because I think a lot of times I say sometimes, um, you become what you see as can be possible or, or your reality. And, and I love, you know, I feel like, I don't know if you would say the exact same thing, but like hearing people's stories is what not only brings people together, but it also kind of, I guess, lifts up certain limitations sometimes we have to where you see somebody doing something. So you're like, hey, I can possibly do that too. And you get motivated to do that.

Jerry Thompson III 04:18
For sure. The ability to see a reflection, a likeness of yourself doing something you like to do helps so much. Um, it really, like you said, raises your level of awareness.

Gresham Harkless 04:28
Absolutely. Absolutely. So I, I know I touched on it a little bit, you know, when I was reading your bio, but I wanted to hear a little bit more about what we can expect on the show and some of the things you're doing now and also what we can expect in the future.

Jerry Thompson III 04:38
Oh man, the show has so much in it. It's a travel podcast. If you looked it up on iTunes, it's under society and culture and travel, but really it's, it's about life. These men are talking about their life journey and In some ways, the transformations that they go through. I was thinking about it this morning. There's not one man that has come back after being abroad and has lived the exact same life. These men go on to become entrepreneurs, community leaders, and just more impassioned people that have awareness, a greater tolerance. They're patient. And I mean, there's not a lot of places where I can think of specifically Black men where we see that in society, where we're just having real heart-to-heart conversations, real honest, transparent conversations. And it's in a positive and uplifting way.

Gresham Harkless 05:21
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's what I love so much about, you know, having these opportunities to kind of have a platform of our own, whether you're creating a podcast, a blog, YouTube videos, whatever that might be and however it manifests itself. A lot of times there's one, especially for Black men, there can a lot of times be one way that we're kind of seen and shown. So it's great that you are taking on, you know, the opportunity to really provide a different light and provide a different Um, story and narrative around what that looks like. For sure.

Jerry Thompson III 05:48
And that's, that's a huge thing that I think about in curating and producing the show is how can we shift or pivot the narrative? And then of course there's so much travel. You're going to learn travel tips, how to save money hacks. You're gonna learn about different colors, uh, cultures because it's not just Black men. It's a lot of Black men, but it's people of color, men of color. So I have an Iranian brother on there. I have an indigenous Navajo Diné brother on the show, uh, a few Latinx bros, and it's, interesting to see how so many of our stories are related. And I think by pushing that narrative and, you know, just changing the lens a little bit that we have greater understanding at the end of every episode or session. We call 'em sessions.

Gresham Harkless 06:23
Every session. Okay. Awesome. Yeah. And I, I feel like every time, like I've traveled, I, I think that especially, you know, being kind of entrepreneurial is you always look how you can solve problems in sometimes a different way. And I found that every time that I've traveled, it kind of has given me the opportunity to look at things in a different way. ‘Cause you learn from different cultures, different ways to speak, and that it, you know, when you come back home, a lot of times it helps I guess, uh, broaden your horizons, broaden your perspective, and help you look at things in a different way.

Jerry Thompson III 06:48
100%. Couldn't agree more.

Gresham Harkless 06:50
Awesome. So, um, I know you touched on, you know, having and being influenced by superhero comics. So I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce, and it could be your superpower, but what do you feel kind of sets you or your podcast apart or makes you unique?

Jerry Thompson III 07:02
One, we're the only podcast of this kind. And I did my research before I started the show. I wanted to see who else is out there because I was really looking for platforms to share my story. And yeah, there's a ton of travel podcasts. There are only a handful of podcasts that talk about travel and focus on people of color, but almost all of them, which is awesome. So shout out real quick to the sisters doing their thing, were hosted and curated by women. And I respected that so much. And I was like, this isn't exactly the place. Like, where's the opportunity? Where's the outlet for men? And so we're the only show out here that does what we do. We only interview men. It exclusively highlights those stories, but then we also uh, give the opportunity for men of color to get their passports. And out of all the podcasters I've met, even those in the travel space, we are the only platform doing that. And to date, we've sponsored 17 men to get their passports. And that's, to me, if that's not a USP, I don't, I don't know what is. People ask me, how do you actually get this done so that they can also give back to their communities? And I, I love that aspect.

Gresham Harkless 08:01
Yeah, absolutely. And I imagine like after hearing all the stories, I don't know if it's been the experience from people that you've helped, you know, sponsor, um, they probably don't know how to, you know, all the times you're, you hear all those great stories, but you're like, I don't even know how to start What's the next step to do? And it kind of sounds like the passport might be one of those first steps and you being able to do that helps out a ton.

Jerry Thompson III 08:18
And that's exactly right. It's a first step because you've traveled some. Having a passport is good for 10 years. If you were to run out the numbers for 10 years, it's about $116 a year for 10 years. But yeah, you have to buy the plane ticket. You have to get your hostel or Airbnb or hotel. Like there's other things, but I wanted to set an example that we're still investing in men of color. in our community because there's a lot of programs for kids and juveniles. I think that's great, but hey, what if you just never met someone like myself or yourself or another adventurer and you're in your 20s? You might've made some different decisions had you seen the example. I want you to know that I care. So our Passport sponsorship is only for men of color ages 21 and up.

Gresham Harkless 08:57
Awesome. Yeah, I definitely appreciate that because a lot of times, like we talked about, you know, you don't think anything's a reality, but, and you don't know how to get started, but sometimes if you have that program like you do, know, for your show and all the awesome things you're doing that helps you to kind of push that envelope forward. So I appreciate that.

Jerry Thompson III 09:10
Absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 09:11
Appreciate you. No problem. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Jerry Thompson III 09:22
It's a really good question. Fiverr is a, is a lifesaver. And right now, as I'm growing the business, growing the platform and also my speaking platform, I use Fiverr to almost prototype things that I want to see. that I'm going to probably train people later on how to do. There's so many skill sets. It's so affordable. You can test out podcast promotion or an editor or somebody editing your writing or transcribing your show and say, okay, this is close to what I want. Like you get an idea. It's almost like a way to, I don't wanna say rent, but, you know, borrow an intern for a few days on a project. And I think it's a very cost-effective way for new entrepreneurs, maybe bootstrap entrepreneurs, To get their feet wet with even just giving instructions.

Gresham Harkless 10:05
Absolutely. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget, and this could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice, or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Jerry Thompson III 10:15
I really appreciate this question. For me, especially in this part of the year, community and consistency. I have been able to, being a solopreneur, someone, you know, as podcasters, you understand we are often by ourselves a lot of time. We interact with others, but it's It's virtual, it's digital. It's not the same as being in the same space. So having community, like-minded people that are doing similar things that inspire you, that you can inspire is so helpful because I've grown up in the habit of doing everything completely solo, being too isolated because I didn't understand the value of community. And just knowing that somebody else shares some of the similar struggles and successes that you do takes a significant mental stress load off of my mind.

Gresham Harkless 10:59
Absolutely. No, I love that. Now, I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on this show. So, Jerry, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Jerry Thompson III 11:10
Being a CEO to me means having the opportunity to work hard, create value, and ultimately have control over your destiny in life. There's a lot of culture and you'll see, you know, quotes and things about being a boss and all this sort of stuff. It, it's not the right mindset for me. I'm in this to have control over the impact that I have in others' lives, my legacy, and also my destiny, what my future looks like. And that's something I absolutely didn't have when I was working for others, when I was in corporate America that I desired. And this is the natural path to achieve that, even though there are definitely difficulties and a learning curve that comes along with it.

Gresham Harkless 11:50
Yeah, absolutely. It's kind of embracing that overall process and knowing that there will be ups and downs as there are in life, but definitely obviously in business as well too. But I love that kind of perspective and that definition just because I usually say like, you know, we are often kind of the painter of our lives and especially as entrepreneurs able to create our lives, create how we want it to be. And I think once we realize that and take hold of that paintbrush, we can start to kind of develop and create that the way we see fit, not as somebody else does.

Jerry Thompson III 12:16
Absolutely. And with the opportunities that are so abundant, again, that abundance mentality, that was a great callout that you, that you brought up there, that it's not finding your career path. I think really the future is designing your career path. and having enough skill and knowledge to navigate these transitions and opportunities as you come across them.

Gresham Harkless 12:37
Yeah, absolutely. And, and as you touched on earlier, is being able to, to also understand and kind of, I guess, not confined, but not be run by fear as you kind of talked about, cuz fear is a real aspect. It's something that's really big and you understand that it's gonna be there, but you feel the fear, you do it anyways. You understand how to manage that.

Jerry Thompson III 12:55
Absolutely. And that's a, that's a huge part of Adventuring. And if you don't mind, one thing, you know, speaking about fear specifically, it reminded me of me adventuring. I'm 24, don't speak any French really, don't know anyone in Paris. And I'm out there and I started learning about other Black adventurers, other adventurers of color. And I was like, wow, these guys sat on boats for 6 weeks to cross the Atlantic. You know, that was a time where you didn't have a cell phone. So if you didn't show up when someone expected you to be there, they just might have assumed you died or got robbed or something like that. It's like, wow, if they could do this and have these, these rich stories and, you know, stand for something that they believed in, I think I can make it work with a, with a smartphone. I think I can do that.

Gresham Harkless 13:39
Absolutely. Yeah. It puts everything in perspective because I think sometimes, and I say this a lot, a lot of times we don't realize like all the blessings, gifts, things that we have to be, you know, um, appreciative of, you know, in our hands a lot of times because we can just flip over a smartphone and do so many different things, travel, listen to podcasts, hear so many phenomenal things. So I appreciate you for definitely remind us of that.

Jerry Thompson III 13:59
For sure.

Gresham Harkless 14:00
Awesome. Awesome. Well, Jerry, I appreciate that. Appreciate your time even more. Uh, what I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best they can find out about all the talking you're doing, the speaking engagements, your podcast, and all the awesome things you're working on.

Jerry Thompson III 14:15
Of course. So y'all, I appreciate you all listening, the community. Um, it, it's an opportunity to be here and I, I love being on the other side of the mic. So I, I'm like, whoa, I should seek out more opportunities to do this. ‘Cause it's always interesting discussion. But as we've been talking about, I am Jerry Thompson III, also known as Jerry the Third or Kimono Jack as my, uh, AKA, my pseudonym on the show is. The show is called Pointe Noire. You can find it on all podcast platforms, iTunes, Spotify, if you wanna see our pre-artwork. And we're on hiatus right now, but we will be launching in 2020 with some amazing shows. So make sure to follow, subscribe, leave some feedback. I love the discussion part. You can find us on Instagram.

Gresham Harkless 14:55
@PointNoirShow.

Jerry Thompson III 14:56
And you can find me on Instagram @Jerry_III. And I also speak. So as much as I am impassioned about adventuring, I really see travel as a huge opportunity, especially right now for men of color to realize their full potential through exploring the world. And I recognize international travel is not possible for everybody, but get outside of your city, get outside of your state. We live in a huge country, explore some things and change your perspective. And I love speaking on that. conquering fear, encouraging people to get passports. Let's say you're in school and you're worried about studying abroad and you're interested in having me speak there. Tell somebody they can reach out to me at booking@jerrytherd.com, J-E-R-R-Y-T-H-E, the number 3-R-D dot com. And I'd love an opportunity to, to get in front of your community, get in front of your men's leadership group, get in front of your classroom, share my enthusiasm, my passion, the things I've learned along the way, because I believe that Empowering everybody is the way that we all live in the realities we wanna see.

Gresham Harkless 15:53
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Jerry. We will definitely have those links in the show notes as well. And definitely thank you for that reminder because I think there's so many things that we sometimes lose sight of. And a lot of times all we have to do is travel outside of our comfort zone in order to do that. And that reminder to do that and the reminder of how, I want, maybe I shouldn't say easy it is, but we can take steps and know people like you and listen to people like you that are able to empower us to do that is a phenomenal thing to do. So I appreciate you again, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.