Episode Transcript
[00:00:13] Speaker A: Hi, everybody, it's Ricky Chavez with Battle Ready. Hope you're having an amazing Thursday.
You know, everybody goes through a process of reinvention when things come into life. And this show is just about trying to see what you do to combat that. You know, what are the things you do to help with that? Today we have the pleasure of having a president CEO, Fundelec Cold Storage, George Crosby on the show. We're going to talk to him a little bit. Hey, George, how are you today?
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Hey, good, good morning.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Good morning. So you're up in New Jersey, right? How's the weather up there?
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Edison, New Jersey.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
So we've known each other for a while and you've done some amazing things that I know of the know in our time that we've known each other. But, you know, talk about early on, did you ever feel that, okay, eventually you're going to be working in New Jersey because you're from like, Lafayette, Louisiana, right?
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Yeah, a little town outside of Lafayette.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Louisiana, called St. Martinville, St. Martinsville. So tell me, how did this come to be, you know, how did you get. What's part of your journey?
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Well, I needed money to go to college and I started working for a company called RPS and started unloading trucks at 1am in the morning and went to school and progressed through the ranks.
At that time, it was bought out by FedEx.
And I moved from Lafayette to New Orleans to Fayetteville, Arkansas to Dallas, Texas, to Houston to Florida.
And after 22 years, I transitioned to another organization.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: Okay, so, you know, so you went really broadly and fastly through that. But I want to highlight some of the things at FedEx, you know, because, you know, and I used to, I used to work for you. And it's pretty amazing that we're here in this, in this setting right now. But I remember when you hired me, I was fresh out the Army. You know, I liked our conversation.
And I remember telling me, hey, I need you to see me at 2 o' clock in the morning or 3 o' clock in the morning, some ungodly time in San Antonio, Texas. All right. And now you're the managing director at that time, right? That's what you are, managing director.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: Yes. I was running the Gulf coast region.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: All right.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: So I remember I was around 26 years old.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: Yeah. So I, I, and I'm, oh, I'm, I'm in my 30s. I'm almost 40 at that time because, you know, I just, I had done my 20 years in the military. But then you said, all right, I want you to, I, I want you to meet me here. I mean, you interviewed me. I get a call. Yeah, you're hired. Meet me in San Antonio at 2 o' clock. I get there at 1:30, maybe it was 3 o' clock. And I got there at 2 o' clock. But then I went looking for you. And you're the managing director and you're in a 18 wheeler in the back of a truck unloading packages. Remember that?
[00:03:30] Speaker B: I do.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: You. So why were you in there? What was that?
[00:03:35] Speaker B: Yeah, the reason was that station had a problem getting drivers out.
So when you looked at the root cause analysis, part of the problem is they were not unloading the trailers fast enough because they didn't have right training.
So I wanted to lead by example.
[00:03:56] Speaker A: So the managing director goes into a truck and starts unloading. I show up in a suit and, and as you guys get to know me, I do not like wearing suits. As you can tell, I'm not even wearing a jacket today. But I threw my jacket off and I'm like, I got to get into another truck and I got in and I remember that's how we met. Now fast forward.
I remember you were in the Gulf coast and there's these, there's a five star awards, right? That's like the number one award that FedEx has, right?
[00:04:28] Speaker B: Yes. Only 2% of the workforce receives a five star award.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: 2% gets five stars. So I, you know, and through the years as I saw you in your different roles, you know, I saw you, I didn't think, I saw you drive one time when we were like going through all the floods or whatever. But how many five stars do you have?
[00:04:53] Speaker B: I have five.
[00:04:55] Speaker A: Is that like normal?
[00:04:58] Speaker B: It's unheard of. Yeah. At the time, at the time, no one within FedEx had five.
[00:05:06] Speaker A: So what do you attribute that to? What? All these awards, what do you attribute.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: To good mentorship taken on difficult situations?
Example, the Gulf coast region, they were the worst in the organization.
Brought them to number two and got promoted to Florida, the worst district in the organization.
And one district here, six out of seven years.
And I contribute that, my success to the people that work underneath me.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: All right, so I believe it. You say you people underneath you. But let's talk about mentorship. I mean, you're already the managing director. How do you pick a mentor? How do you, how does that go?
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Well, he was my boss, actually. His name was Bob Holcomb.
And you know, I, I thoroughly believe that people come into an organization or because of a brand and they'll leave an organization if it's poor leadership.
So I respected him.
He knew I was a high performer, and he encouraged me and led me. And he was. He was older than me, so he had a lot of knowledge.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: And so how did.
I mean.
So he was your boss, you said. Right. So how do you go about gaining the respect of your boss in a way that he feels like he wants to mentor you? Because I think in the civilian world, in corporate America, people are scared to mentor somebody because they're scared of losing their job. Would you agree with that?
[00:06:57] Speaker B: I would agree with that.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: So how did you motivate Bob to take on that task?
[00:07:04] Speaker B: Well, first, had to build his trust.
But secondly, in that world, it's all about performing.
And if you perform at a high level and you get the attention and they say you have the work ethic, the knowledge, the educational background, they will. They will help you.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: All right, so one of the other things you said a minute ago was take on hard jobs. I mean, you didn't say it that way, but you said, you know, because you see a lot of guys that are really good at what they do but are scared to take that next chance. What would you say to them?
[00:07:50] Speaker B: I think life is all about taking.
Right.
There's risk with taking those chances, but it's also high rewards.
And I was able to benefit and be rewarded for taking on those tough challenges and bringing it to a level that.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: So now you're this high performer.
But even being a high performer, stuff happens that's not ideal. You want to talk about anything like that.
[00:08:29] Speaker B: When you're a high performer, especially in a world such as setup, there's also politics.
And although as a high performer, I didn't play the political game very well, so that can make it difficult at times. Even though you have the trust and.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: Respect.
[00:08:55] Speaker B: If you don't play the political game, it can hurt you.
[00:08:59] Speaker A: Okay, so.
And you had a lot of peers, because the way it was broke down when I remember, there was a lot of managing directors.
So how did you manage your relationships with the other managing directors?
You know, because I'm sure there was some jealousy and maybe some guys that asked you for help, or maybe some guys that were always in your ear in a negative way. How do you manage your peers?
[00:09:32] Speaker B: Well, you have to show them the trust and respect that you want.
There are definitely haters out there.
It's kind of like people hate on New England Patriots because they want someone, not for any other reason.
But I also respected a lot of the managing directors.
[00:10:02] Speaker A: Okay, so did you ever have to have maybe one that was trying to, like, really, I don't want to say befriend you, but get together with you a lot, and then this person was just somebody that, you know, is always negative, and you couldn't take all that. You know, how do you manage that relationship with them?
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Yeah, there's a couple that come to mind.
You know, I'm from Louisiana. I'm from a culture that we don't meet a stranger, and we're always positive for the most part.
So my philosophy was not to stoop to their level, but kill them with kindness.
[00:10:48] Speaker A: Okay, well, so. And you say kill them with kindness. I remember going to Lafayette. I think I've told you about this, and I think you were a young college student at the time and. And kind of a rule follower. You're a rule follower, ain't you?
[00:11:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I follow the rules.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: So. And somebody's coming to give you some. I don't remember what. Some like, COD money. So money that they were supposed to get at exact point. I don't remember what the amount was. Let's say $2.22, and they came with $3. And you made them leave and go get changed. You remember things like that. So why did. Why. Why do it like that?
Why? Why? I mean, why did you just take the $3?
[00:11:32] Speaker B: Because the rules where you had to get the exact change. And as I just mentioned, I was a rule rule follower. That's how I grew up. That's how I was raised.
And I believe if you are a rule follower, you adhere to those rules, you don't have to look over your shoulder, worry.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Oh, that's a good point. Looking over your shoulder. You know, we're going to talk about that in our next segment, and we're getting ready to go into a commercial break right now. George has been a pleasure so far. I'm waiting to hear about the looking over your shoulder talk.
We'll be right back.
Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Battle Ready. I'm with CEO and president George Crosby of Fundelect Cold Storage up in New Jersey. Hey, George, how's it going?
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Great. How you doing, Rick?
[00:12:27] Speaker A: Look, in the last segment, you mentioned looking over your back, always doing the right thing and a rule follower.
And I remember us talking one time, and you know, the true sign of leadership is, if I remember correctly, is doing the right thing when nobody's looking.
Right?
[00:12:49] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:50] Speaker A: Okay, so you say you follow her, you're a rule follower, and you're not worried about looking over shoulder. Do you, have you had any experience with maybe somebody around you that, you know, always was tugging in the grain? It came to bite him in the rear?
[00:13:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I've seen that several times, especially at FedEx, because, you know, their culture is built around integrity.
And going back to when people have success, especially the people that don't like you having their success or envy you for having the success, the one thing they look at is, is he making the right decisions? Right. And if he's not, then they'll be the whistleblower to try to get you terminated. And there was several people within the organization where they pushed the envelope. They got caught and they were terminated. So I never wanted to go that route.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: So even after 22 years, you had some opportunity, but you made a decision that it became the right choice for you to pursue other opportunities. Now how hard was that decision?
[00:14:03] Speaker B: It's very difficult. It's very difficult. You know, I had been working with FedEx since I was 17 and so it was difficult. But more importantly, Ricky, the difficult part for me because I had made my mind up was my people.
You know, the leaders that worked for me at FedEx, that worked underneath me, that trusted me, that had loyalty towards me, that I mentored myself within the organization.
They helped me become successful. And I felt like I was letting them down. It wasn't about leaving FedEx. It was about leaving the people that have been with me for years moved for me, followed me throughout the network.
That was the hardest part.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: And so, I mean, what were some of the steps in your decision making? Can you share that?
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Yeah. So it come to a point where I felt that I had hit the ceiling.
You know, I had a lot of success. There were opportunities other people that I believe were less deserving, got those opportunities, as I mentioned before, because I wasn't very political.
I actually have been had been told by a high ranking individual that I needed to stop winning because I was making other people look bad.
So that's really what drove me out of the organization.
I love FedEx. I love what I did. We had a lot of success, but, you know, I wanted to continue to grow. I went back to school and I got my MBA while I was working at FedEx. And so I wanted to use those skill sets, if not with FedEx, with someone else.
[00:15:56] Speaker A: Okay, so we're gonna do a, we're gonna do kind of a bungee cord real fast, right? So now you're the President CEO of Fund du Lac Cold Storage.
I mean, just making all kinds of great things happen.
All Right. And you're very successful right now. Right?
How's your success now?
[00:16:17] Speaker B: I stay humbled, but yes, I'm. I'm very. I'm very successful.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: All right, so FedEx to where you're at right now.
Talk about that journey.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: You mean the difference in the two.
[00:16:35] Speaker A: No, no, not the difference in two companies. Because, you know, we talk about on the show about.
It's not what happens to. It's how you react.
Right. You had a couple stumbles in between there. Right. Decisions that, that you followed that maybe didn't flourish.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: I didn't have the opportunity to flourish. So. Yeah, so.
So one of the companies I went to was well known organization.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Let's not talk about the company. I would go a couple companies. Yeah. So I don't want you to blast them or anything. I just want to just talk about, you know, making a decision.
[00:17:10] Speaker B: No, I'm not going to blast them. I'm not going to say the name.
But it was one of those too good to be true scenarios. And it was one of my big mistakes.
And, you know, the offer, you know, headhunter offer in a city I wanted to be in, offered upfront money bonus, which should have been my first flag.
But then I was there for only six months. So I was with FedEx for 22 years, jumped ship, went with this new organization, a Fortune 100 company, and within six months, they dismantled the entire department.
[00:17:45] Speaker A: So how did.
[00:17:46] Speaker B: So I found myself the first time in my life without a job.
[00:17:50] Speaker A: How. How's that. How did that make you feel? I mean, what were your thoughts then?
[00:17:58] Speaker B: There was a lot of emotions.
One, like disbelief.
Two, why did I make. Why did I make that decision? Because there were some red flags that I should have saw. And I'm. And I think I was just so eager to move on that I let that slip through the cracks.
But at the same time, it gave me a time to step back and reevaluate what I wanted to do.
Did I want to reinvent myself?
So I came down through some soul searching and then to really engage in other, you know, opportunities that got me to where I'm at right now. So I don't look back now and say, I wish, shoulda, coulda, woulda, because I'm very happy what I'm doing right now.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: So, okay, I saw. I know you're talking about the red flags and this and the other.
But then what happened? So did you come straight to Fund du Lac or what happened then?
[00:19:01] Speaker B: No, I actually went. So as you know, Rick, a lot of the Fedex people went to Amazon to start their start center slash final mile delivery.
So one of my buddies from FedEx called me and asked me if I go help them run their largest automated citation system in North America, which was in Hebron, Kentucky, and if I'd help them. It was having problems. So I took that, that role. And knowing that when I got a different role that, that, you know, I would, I would go to the other role.
So I did that for several months. I helped him. I got him through what, you know, peak season.
And then I got a call from, from one of my old mentors, one of my old mentors who was the COO of FedEx.
And he had an opportunity that he wanted me to look at, which was a COO row in the East Coast.
On the East Coast. And it was running a small package overnight delivery company.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: But it's only. So all of this is in the same type of business, more or less, right? Package delivery, small pig.
[00:20:18] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:20:19] Speaker A: Right. Transportation.
So you made decisions to make some moves based on just your knowledge because, I mean, it's kind of a knowledge that you can apply in all the different places.
You know, the one thing you said that you went to go help a friend to somebody that needed some help getting something back on track.
And I definitely understand that. I did that once.
And then you decided for me many a times. Well, yeah, well, no, for sure. I mean, yeah. I mean, as far as our relationship with the HR side of my background, anytime you need me, I've definitely come to you. But I know that I took a job that was a level that just gave me the opportunity to relax a little bit and, you know, drive as hard and get reacquainted with my family. And it wasn't about the money and it wasn't about anything. It's just about doing something I love, something I know something I could do.
Knowing that, you know, I made a commitment for X amount of time. At the end of X amount of time, I was going to go and I literally, with that, I was with that company one year to the day.
They gave me my one year award and I was moving on to another position. But it was all planned out, but it was a. It wasn't really sacrificing. It was helping me, helping them. And that's kind of what you did over there in Kentucky, right?
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Exactly. 100%. 100%. They needed me. They knew my skill sets.
I didn't work directly for them at FedEx, but we knew each other, we trusted each other, respected each other, and I traveled every week to their location at the time from Pittsburgh on my own dime to help him out because it was struggling.
[00:22:15] Speaker A: So, I mean, I think that's a good point for everybody to think about out there. You know, sometimes you got to do what you don't want to get what you want, and sometimes that what you don't want is an opportunity for you to get back engaged with yourself, you know, because you work so hard, you push so hard, and then there's things that fall through the cracks, you know, family, friends.
I heard somebody tell me one time, very few people, actually, it's in a book by seven Habits. I think very few people on their dying bed wish they had spent more time at work. Right.
And I know you're guilty of it.
I've been guilty in the past, not so much now. But what would you tell somebody? And I know this is going to be quick. We got a few more minutes. But what would you tell somebody about that? The work life balance.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Yeah, you have. If you're going to be successful as a leader in any organization, you have to have the work life balance, even though sometimes it could be difficult if, you know you're not going to be successful at work, if you don't have, you know, your spiritual time or your family time or your. Your educational time.
So I firmly believe it's called the balance star. And if you're not balanced in all those areas, then it's not going to.
It's not going to help you in your. In your work life.
[00:23:42] Speaker A: You know, George, I really appreciate you spending the time with me today. I know you got a hard stop where I would. I would bug you some more. I've always. I consider you a mentor, actually. You know, and I appreciate all the things that we've. We've had in time, experience, but I really appreciate you taking the time to share with the audience about, you know, things you have to do to get ahead.
So. And I know you had a hard stop.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you.
Yeah. Hey, thanks for having me, Rick, as always, you're a true friend. Appreciate it.
[00:24:11] Speaker A: All right. Hey, guys, thanks a lot for joining Battle Ready with George Crosby of Fund du Lac. You know, George, how do you get. How do we get a hold of you? Go out there if somebody wants to talk to you. Mentor.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: On LinkedIn is probably the best way.
[00:24:26] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:24:27] Speaker B: And type in George Presley and you'll see me. Or Fondue Lock cold storage and you can find. There you go.
All right.
That's my. That's the current organization that I've Been here almost eight years now.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: All right, again, George, appreciate your time. I hope you have a great week, and we'll talk to you soon.
Hey, guys, welcome back. Ricky Chavez with Battle Ready. You know, in every process, you have to try to figure out what you want to do on your journey. And everybody's faced with different challenges. It's not what the challenge is, it's how you respond to it. You know, this opportunity. We have an opportunity to speak with Susan Drayton with Enchanted Wings. Hey, Susan, how are you doing?
[00:25:12] Speaker C: Good. How about you?
[00:25:13] Speaker A: Amazing. You know, we were talking a little bit, you know, prior to getting on screen, and you were telling me some of the amazing things you do with art and everything else. Well, talk to me about what you do.
[00:25:25] Speaker C: What I do is what I am known for, an artist of all canvases.
I do energy work, and it's helping people get the clarity and bring their frequencies into a higher vibration where they can flow in their own energy that's more productive and elevated and so that they can conquer whatever that may be regarding their goals and their spirituality.
And also, I am a illustrator and writer of children's books and a guest speaker for children of teenage years and talk about their mental health and giving them choices and strategies and tools that are needed to hopefully that they can implement and be successful as they're starting off in the unknown of their identity of what they should be doing and going to school for and so on, all those pressures. And as well as I refurbish furniture and I collaborate with a woman who has her own business as well with staging different homes in order to sell in the real estate market.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: So, you know, in Battle Ready, we talk about reinventing yourself, and you got a lot of different things going on here right now. You know, how do you keep it all together?
[00:27:07] Speaker C: I have a calendar, and I just keep it all together in that visual because I'm very visual and I just pace myself and I got different calendars and so forth also on my phone like everybody else.
And I try not to overbook and overdo too much and still keep myself intact with my self care and my spiritual practices as well.
[00:27:44] Speaker A: Okay, and you say spiritual practices. What do you mean by that? That.
[00:27:49] Speaker C: I do a lot of meditation.
And with meditation, I also incorporate healing and sound work.
I do a lot of my prayers. I do have a connection with God.
And every day that I wake up, I thank him for my life because it's a gift. It's a gift every day. And you just don't know when your number is up. And the fact that I've gone through the trenches to be here as an artist is a gift in itself. It was denied to me at a very young age, and I was to be expected to do what everybody else wanted me to do and thought was best for me.
And clearly, somehow I just felt the presence of God in me all my life, but I just wasn't sure that it was God.
I just felt positive. And there was this force in me that just kept on pushing me through the nose. And, boy, I had a lot for being bilingual, for not being smart enough, according to them.
And even with my own parents, you know, they had this notion that I was better off to be married with someone who was well to do and so forth.
But I went against the grain and honored me in my crazy way. But I didn't. I didn't get in trouble with the law or any of that.
I just worked in silence and. And I just went inward and I just learned and observed through others.
And I just kept on surrounding me with people that I thought were really positive, and then I found out they really weren't.
And those were lessons that just kept on coming, and it was exhausting.
And I just got to the point where I had to learn to just be more in the now and not have expectations, because I always had expectations and this notion that I could find me in others.
And when I kept on doing that, I kept on disappointing myself instead of just relying on me. But that took time for me to trust me, because I had to learn also like everyone else, who am I?
What is this journey all about other than playing the role in society of, you know, marriage, children, and a nine to five job and the predictability of life.
So I was going through a chaotic time in my life where something had to change because I was so pixelated in my identity that I didn't even know who I was.
And so I had to make some radical changes, Radical changes that I did not want to face and to deal because it was traumatizing in its own way. So that's how my first book got started, Worthiness through the illustrations. And this all started in 2014.
And I just did it to escape. And the more I kept on doing that, the more I started to create this inner world of just spirituality, creativity, and bring it all together, that I didn't realize that I was creating my new world, a new foundation, a new me.
I was just basically, in the beginning, really distracting myself.
But as time went on and here's this book, and I was like Okay, I got to do something with it. So I did.
And then it led to my second book. And then I just started doing all these paintings and murals and everything just started coming from everywhere. And then here I am. I didn't even expect this. This came out of nowhere as well. But it was a beautiful gift. And the best part was, throughout the whole journey, I had to learn to detach from the outcome. And that was very hard because I'm human and I experience human motions every day.
And the one thing that I was never taught was how to pause and be in the present moment. I didn't know how to detach myself from those overwhelming emotions and wanting to be right and oh, I know that this works better. Try this. And so forth. When I had to learn to not rob of other people of their lessons, and I had to go through mine, and in order to cultivate a better me, a better understanding of what kind of business am I building and what is it that I want to create that's going to transform people's lives?
And mine is with words, it's with creative imagery.
And just knowing that even things that do get to be tough, you gotta honor those emotions. Because somewhere along the line, the answers will come.
And you don't know who you are until you've allowed yourself to embrace the strength that you've had all along.
[00:34:07] Speaker A: Wow, so you've had quite a journey then, huh? People not believing in you, and you're following a non conventional type of career field, career path. You're doing things that really make you feel good, regardless of what other people are presenting to you. How hard is it when even like your family or your close friends say, hey, why don't you go do something else instead of what you do? How does it, I mean, I'm sure people out there all the time, you know, have their dream of their journey, and it's like there's so many negative nellies out there, is what I call them. So what would you tell somebody that's watching this for them to do to combat?
[00:34:52] Speaker C: Well, in the beginning, of course, you know, you. You're defending yourself, but then it comes to a point that you no longer need to defend yourself because you come to the realization that your path is different.
Everybody is born with different abilities and skills, and it's up to you to hone in on it and to be curious as to what you were given by God and to nourish it. And it's very hard to do that when you yourself don't even know you're in the midst of cultivating the who am I and releasing the who I was.
And that can do a number mentally and emotionally on you. So what I did was kept on, listen to the passion that was in me and that had to do everything with art and with, with the meditation, the energy work and putting myself in a positive place and where things were taking for me, where I lost a lot of stuff because it's the comfort zone. You're going to lose what you once knew and you're going to have to rebuild from scratch. And that's not very easy for anyone.
And the fact that I never gave up. I just had to learn to be realistic and to be in the present moment of taking the small steps that were tangible and lining myself up with people that are more intelligent than I am and I'm willing to be the student that I feel is important.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: So it's like I caught out that you take a lot of the small wins, right? You know, baby steps. Take the wins, build off the wins, believe in yourself. And one of my other clients, one of my other guests my last show said you have to believe in you and don't let anybody put you back. And I think that's what you've been doing on all along.
[00:37:01] Speaker C: I just didn't realize that I was. But there were times that, you know, stubbornness does get in the way, you know, that ego gets in the way. And it comes to a point that you're going to have to take yourself to the next level, that you are operating sometimes out of fumes, that somehow you have to muster up mentally and emotionally that next step.
And I had to learn to surrender, which is very hard for me. Okay, it's very hard for me to surrender. But the fact that I had to learn how to, how to really put that into action.
I had to really catch myself when I was falling back to the old ways and to redirect my brain and really put in different strategies in place to keep myself not just afloat, but to keep going the course of it all.
And so I love that I trust myself now and I can rely on myself.
[00:38:18] Speaker A: That's a beautiful thing.
[00:38:19] Speaker C: And I, I have a real profound appreciation for me.
I love the woman that I am becoming and the fact that I'm open minded and willing to learn even more, it's. It's just a profound Milky Way for me.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Okay, so we're going to come back to the surrender part. I always like surrender. We call it something different. We'll talk about it when we come back, guys. We'll be back. We'll go into a commercial break real fast. See you guys.
Hey, guys. Welcome back to battle. Ready. We're Susan Drayton. We're talking about some spiritual things, and one of the things we're getting ready to talk about is surrender. Hey, Susan.
[00:39:07] Speaker C: Hi.
[00:39:08] Speaker A: So you talked about surrendering, how hard it was from you, for you. But, you know, I was. I told you I was in the military when we were talking earlier. And we don't ever surrender. We just attack in a different direction. Right. So tell me about surrender.
[00:39:24] Speaker C: Well, I didn't realize what that word fully meant. And it. I always got it tripped up with quitting.
I always had those emotions of quitting when I used to state the word surrender. And the more I sat with it and the more I really pondered, I come to realize that surrendering is not quitting. It's just pulling yourself back and doing a review as to how far you've come, what works, what doesn't. And just slowly allow for fate to come in and know that everything that you've been doing has not gone unseen.
And somehow that is attracting what it is that you've been desiring all along. It's like an invisible thread.
You can't see it, but you're going to feel it, and you're not going to get confused about it at all.
[00:40:30] Speaker A: Okay, so you say surrender. So you let yourself go and you said that you equated it with quitting. And did you hear what I said earlier? It's just attacking in a different direction. I mean, you know, that's what made it less painful, I guess, in our minds when we do something that we're not used to. So you surrender to the fact that you started believing yourself so that you made your efforts more targeted. Right. And that's how you had all the success.
[00:41:04] Speaker C: I wasn't forcing it. I wasn't forcing it anymore. I didn't have this, oh, my God, I need to accomplish all this by this month. It wasn't. I was flowing differently. I was flowing in the knowing that everything was accounted for. It was working in my favor. I trust that it was completely accepted, completely needed in society. And it just happened. It just happened. Once I changed the frequency of my emotions in my mind, and even now, it brings me more to the present moment, and I can really organize my priorities more and the tasks at hand and know that no matter what, I'm still accomplishing my desires, my goals.
[00:42:03] Speaker A: So what advice? What would you give? You know, because on our show, we've had a Lot of corporate people, we have some athletes, we have this. And so you are the first person that is kind of an artist and having no idea what those challenges are like, what would you tell that person out there that wants to be an artist, that wants to really express themselves, but everybody's giving them grief and they're not 100% sure what to do.
What would you kind of give them as guidance.
[00:42:37] Speaker C: To continue to learn new skills with your art?
Go find people that are reputable, not just anybody, but really reputable that you can learn from, especially with social media.
I mean you can go on to Instagram, Facebook and, and TikTok and whatever and you follow what, what and who you associate with and, and learn and see how they're doing things. And then you can incorporate it with, with your own niche as well and let the action speak louder. It's okay that people are constantly saying, oh, you can't make a living out of an art being an artist. You can't, you can't do this, you can't do that. Well, how do they know if, if they're working in a different field? What it, what do they have as facts?
So you gotta pause and just let the noise happen, but honor your light and honor that passion that fulfills you and just keep on learning the skills needed to make you jump out and be unique.
[00:43:55] Speaker A: So you know, in today's world, everybody has a degree in Google. That's what I say all the time. You know my field, I mean in real estate, everybody knows everything because everything's on Google. You Google it, there's the answer. I guess you know what you were talking to. How did they know if you can or can't? What about mentors? How easy is it to encounter a mentor in the artist world?
[00:44:20] Speaker C: Well, I can share that with you.
When I was working a 9 to 5 job in the human services field, one of my clients was taking private art lessons. And I was not aware until she decided to have an art exhibition downtown.
And believe it, I went in person, I wanted to view her work and I literally met her mentor.
And then I started talking to her, I started to really connect with her that then I started taking lessons from her. And she is very well known artist herself and by other artists that have a huge influence as well.
And I felt that I took my art skills really to the next level.
So, so much so. And I loved it when my work was constantly critiqued because that was another lesson that I didn't know that I needed and that was to hear that criticism Whether it be positive or negative.
And I decided to transmute that into really positive advice that could help me even further, further my skill sets.
So it all comes down to your mind and to those emotions. Are you going to be quick to react or listen?
[00:46:07] Speaker A: So if somebody wanted to reach out to you in the art area, how would they. How would they get a hold of you?
[00:46:14] Speaker C: They can contact me through email. Drayton, susan123gmail.com.
[00:46:23] Speaker A: And you have a website, too. Tell me about the website.
[00:46:27] Speaker C: The website is being worked on on updated, more current artwork.
I also have my books there.
I also have other links to my other social outlets that I have as well with a lot of my current artwork and so forth.
But yeah, I loved it because it's, you know, you can purchase it. You can also contact me.
That's my digital art through redbubble.
Yeah, I love it because people can look and view and they can purchase and they can do whatever it is that they want. And.
[00:47:12] Speaker A: Yeah, another question for you. So you wrote a book. How hard was it to publish? So I'm writing a book right now. I'm kind of curious what that's going to look like.
[00:47:22] Speaker C: Okay, don't you. You can't even go by me. But anyway, I did this book. I wrote the book, and I was like, okay, I'm done. You know, I'm just done because this was an escape, remember?
[00:47:34] Speaker A: Right.
[00:47:34] Speaker C: So all of a sudden, my mentor that I just spoke about says to me, well, what are you going to do now? I'm like, I don't know. You know, I just finished it. And she's like, well, you could always go on a vacation or you can publish this book.
So, okay, fine. So now I go out with another friend. I end up in a restaurant in South Dartmouth, Payton Arum. And I come across the waitress who's waiting on me and my friend. And she heard us talk about books. And she came out of nowhere and said, hey, I know who you can go through. It's called mascot books. And I'm like, okay.
And so I kept on looking, kept on looking, did my research.
I was scared because I'm like, no one's gonna want this. I just did it just to escape. And the angels did not allow me to sleep. When I tell you 3 o' clock, 4 o' clock, sometimes 2:30 in the morning, I got those nudges. Send it, send it, send it. It got so bad that finally I had the laptop open. I just did what I needed to do and I slammed shut and I just said, okay, fine, leave me alone. And it was like I forgot about it because I'm like, no one's going to want this. And then I get an email and here's the book. They fell in love. I was in shock. And because, remind you, grew up bilingual, you know, And I. I had a tough time in English, I guess I. I would say. And it was like, here I am. I did the book, and matter of fact, I went on to my second one, which I got published through lulu. It's called the Beauty of Nair. And that's for the older audience, but.
[00:49:33] Speaker A: Yeah, well, congratulations on those accomplishments and not quitting on yourself and listening to you surrender. You know, we're running out of time right now. I really appreciate you taking the time to spend with me. It was pretty amazing, you know, Never had that idea of spiritualness. Guys, thanks a lot for joining us at Battle Ready. Susan, thank you for your day, and we'll talk to you guys.
[00:49:57] Speaker C: Thank you.
Bye.
[00:50:00] Speaker A: This has been a NOW Media Networks feature presentation. All rights reserved.
