So I'm celebrating fifteen years in business, heading into my sixteenth year as an entrepreneur, and people have asked me, like, you know now that I'm now that I started in my in my forties. Now I'm in my mid fifties heading towards my late fifties, and this show is comforting. Plus so of course people are asking me, like, you know, how long do I plan on working? What's going on my life? You know, I have kids and grandkids, I have, you know, possible relationships and all kind of stuff going on,
like aging parents, like other means. And it's funny because I haven't thought of an end date. When I was working for jobs, when I had corporate work, I worked at jobs, the end date was always around sixty five. That's when I'll retire. I'll collect whatever pensions I get or went for one k, I live off that and then I don't know why come after that, But that's that. Well, now I'm in a job or jobs that I have my companies, my two companies super Organized Her Jailja Media.
They become my passions and they're part of me, and that makes any sense. They're kind of intertwined with me. So now I kind of get this, and people say it also, go to work till I'm dead or I'm not I have a reason to quit. I guess for me, I can do these jobs as long as I have mobility and my brain power. Even if I lost some mobility, I could do still do some of this stuff as long as I can wheel up to a desk. So it changes everything, right, I can tell in some ways
I am slowing down a little bit. I'm not as eager as I used to was. I'm not as quick to jump on something. I have turned down things because I am tired, and I and my body is I'm just older, and I'm just like I don't want you, and just like, quite simply, I don't want to work twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. So there are certain things that sound like, oh yeah, might do that, But if I already have a full day, I'm not going to add that on. Or I have
a full week, I'm not gonna add that on. In the old days, I've hustled add it on. I have three jobs, working all time everything, where now I am a little more choosy with what I'm going to do with my work life. I'm busy. Don't get me wrong, I am biz Z, but it's different rent and I still have dreams and I still have aspirations. I still have things. But I am trying. I can tell I'm trying to look at stuff and go, I mean, I organize it better now I'm older, so I organized things
better but better. But it's more of I'll do that. I'll do that. I'm not gonna do that. I'll do that for four or five days, but I need day off, you know. I'll do that for three hard days, but I'm that I'm making up that morning, you know, like I'm learning how to because I just feel it. I'm like, yeah, I don't want to do that. Yeah, I'm tired. I work a lot anyway as it is. I can work and I work almost every day just about, and I can work more than if I it's it's but I'm
learning how it's not everything that I want. But I look back at fifteen years and I'm fully amazed. I can't believe it's in fifteen years. I looked at like fifteen years like it went by in a flash. Yet there were times when it felt like it took forever. So I'm just like my brain is like trying to process like fully, all of it, because there's also coincides with my whole change coming back to Los Angeles and I came to Los Angeles. It'll be sixteen years in January,
so it's all coming together for me. Sixteen years in Los Angeles, fifteen years doing this business which started after I came to Los Angeles. I think about all the ups and down, you know, everything, you know I've been through and survived. Like hi, chuckle a little bit. I'm like, oh, yeah, I did that. Only I did that. I give myself points for having the faith to do this. Let just do it, like Jane, just do it. Just get out there and try it. And fields that I had no
idea about, you know, the media world. I just thought for sure that's gonna be the hardest thing on earth. It has. It has been tough in some ways. Trust and believe I've worked. I've worked very hard in this media field to make a name for myself and I feel like I have. It'sl like I do have a name, and in the field in organizing world too. I'm very proud of myself because I went to a field that is not full of men enough full of black people. Listen,
there's more now. But when I first came in, there wasn't that, and I said, okay, just fearless, I guess fearlessly. I was like, I'm just going to do this. Who cares? Just do it? And I just started doing it and furiously went forward. Had people tell me I was I was doing a hobby, or they didn't take my business seriously. You know, I didn't make enough money for a long time.
Like there's a lot of things that go on daily and go on around you when you're trying to build your business, people not knowing what you do, and I'm thinking you seriously, like it's just all kind of stuff that happens. Your self esteem was all over the place as I had people do me wrong. I've had to fire people. I've had extraordinary circumstances that were wonderful. I've had things that I would have never guessed a million years. And it's with the my timing I think about it.
You know, I started during the recession and then I just I just I don't know what it's something about me. James Lodd Jr. That's just like I always just pushed forward. I go can I'm gonna do this. And I don't know where it comes from. I guess I was like this. I was a kid. My mother tells me like this, So I was a kid. But I just always feel like when I choose something, I go straight ahead. My friend and I called my chocolate twin Tony Moore, who
was at Loungepatonia dot com. He said to me a dating in the conversation, he goes, JA, we tell other people He's like James, which you did that was so brilliant is that you took a template that was out there already, so to speak, and built it. I just took it on yourself, personalized it and made a big business out of it. And I did some of my ideas. I kind of grabb on other people how they were doing it, took it, modified it for me, and I've been going from there. And I give those people props
all the time. Tony's one of them. I get props him all the time for a sort of thing. I covered certain things he did and I just went out there and did it. So it's so it's very nice here. My friend slash colleagues say that, you know, he's like you did give me praising you did a great job, James, as somebody who and it's not just that I did it. Anyone can do it, but you have to choose to do it and have the guts to do it and just do it. I have the guts obviously, which is
kind of interesting to me. I just never thought about it for him, and it has just been this series of trying this, see what happens, trying that, See what happens, feast or famine months, nothing's going on. I'm thinking, going, what am I doing to get a regular there just telling I got a regular job. At one point that I was born out, actually born out of an organizing job. I put myself in places. I say stuff, I talk,
you know, on places. I really am proud of myself that I went out and got clients and I actually now have a reputation and it's all word of mouth. And that's something that I'm very proud of. Also being in business and the companies I am. There's also I have detractors. I have haters that people who do not appreciate me, who talk for whatever reason or another. I don't do anything to them, but they don't like me.
That's also weird. Too. Right. It's like there are people who don't like me for my views or who I am or just how I look, who are just like or they think I did them wrong somehow. They have their own people, have their own agendas, and if I don't fall into it, they don't like me. That's weird. Also, they're people with their own illnesses and things. They go on their brains and and to try to lay it on me, and I'm like, Nope, that was not me.
I know clearly what I've done and haven't done. I look at some of the quote unquote fans and followers that I had who now don't support me anymore, and are the ones that kind of support me or they hate support me. There's that too, the other ones who overly love me and overly I mean, I have those also, And so it's like this, it's like this, It's all over the place, and I never imagine that in my life.
The last fifteen years. It's all just it's it's a it's just all swirling right now for me because I'm busy working right now. That's the testament of the fifteen years. I actually have current clients, I'm busy working. I have so much work that I have a waiting list. That's good. And I have stuff and that i'm working on that I'm waiting on. That's good. So that's the testament of happy fifteen years because I come from like always good
as your last job. You only eat because your last job, right, the next job is always that's what you're looking for. I work at gig to gig, so I'm actually busy. This is good. Money is coming in. I'm good. I've had one of the best years of my life. Financially. It's good. But it's the it's so, it's that. So that's so that's the testament of the fifth But I'm getting little times to look back because I'm being asked like, look, I tell you, what do you think about? How you know?
You know what's going on. I'm now a mentor to many people, so now I'm I'm starting to reminisce and look back at my life and in these careers. That's why I'm like, Wow, I did it. I done did it, and I'm still doing it and I'm still here and it's still hard. And my heart goes out to all my colleagues who are having a hard time right now. As entrepreneurs, and I just I want for them to have the wonderful stuff that I have. I just want that for them. And it's tough. I know it's out there,
and I just wish them the best. And whenever I could do the support, I'm here to do that. I try to. But that's my age. So being in my fifties heading towards sixty, which is only like four years away, I think I'm looking at I'm looking at working smarter, not harder. Of course, I have a big dream that I'm hoping that will come true, and now looking for good assistance and good collaborators and so they do most
of the work eyes oversea. So I'm kind of going I'm trying to go into more of a managerial role, producer role, more and more, even more than ever. So I think that's where I'm leaning towards. But I am I'm still active. I'm not dead yet. I'm still active, so that will happen for a while to sob O. Yeah, don't if you shot on means, but having fifteen to me, its just I'm very proud of myself and anybody who does this knows how hard it is. But how funny
can be how we what can be. It's a life I do not set out to do or BN and it's my life now and I and I I have learned so much and I will continue to share with you guys. And I'm you know a lot of help dot com to an organizer. I have books out. Will continue to share with you my experience with what I'm learning, so you get an idea of your saying and maybe you'll relate to summit. That's what shows about. Also for D plus is everywhere. I'll talk to you next time. I'm James lot Junior