Carly Ries
Folks, we’re getting personal.
On today’s episode, we’re joined by Michael DeVous Jr. He has been living and breathing the entertainment industry for over 30 years, and while that certainly comes with its glitz and glam, life has thrown its fair share of curveballs his way, from daunting obstacles to downright heartbreaking tragedies. However, in those tough times, he found something extraordinary—how to make fear his friend.
In this unique and personal chat, we talk about the power of community, authenticity, and how to actually make fear your friend. Michael shares his journey from facing fear head-on to turning it into a catalyst for building relationships and achieving success.
Whether you're navigating the challenges of solopreneurship or looking for that extra push to be your authentic self, this episode dives deep into embracing vulnerability, finding the right mentors, and creating a community that supports your growth.
Tune in to hear how being fearless can open doors you never knew existed!
Like the show? We'd love it if you'd leave a 5-star review!
Connect with Michael DeVous Jr.
- Visit michaeldevousjr.com
- Listen to The Fearless Road
Favorite Quote About Success:
"Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear."
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr's SoloSuite Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business.
So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, click here to check out SoloSuite Intro!
About Michael DeVous Jr.
A seasoned entertainment industry veteran and passionate founder of Devous Media Holdings, Michael is a dynamic force in the world of entrepreneurship. With over three decades of experience navigating the industry's peaks and valleys, his indomitable spirit and boundless resilience have fueled a mission to empower others to conquer fear and achieve their full potential.
Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on Apple Podcasts Thanks!
Transcript
Carly Ries:
Well, folks, today, we are getting personal. On this episode, we're joined by Michael Davout junior. He's been living and breathing the entertainment industry for over 30 years. And while that certainly comes with its glitz and glam, life has thrown its fair share of curveballs his way from daunting obstacles to downright heartbreaking tragedies. However, in those tough times, he found something extraordinary, how to make fear his friend.
Carly Ries:
In this unique and personal chat, we talk about the power of community, authenticity, and how to actually make fear your friend. Michael shares his journey from facing fear head on to turning it into a catalyst for building relationships and achieving success. Whether you're navigating the challenges of solopreneurship ship or looking for that extra push to be your authentic self, this episode dives deep into embracing vulnerability, finding the right mentors, and creating a community that supports your growth. Tune in to hear how being fearless can open doors you never knew existed. You're listening to the aspiring solopreneur, the podcast for those just taking the bold step or even just thinking about taking that step into the world of solo entrepreneurship.
Carly Ries:
My name is Carly Rees, and my co host Joe Rando and I are your guides to navigating this crazy, but awesome journey as a company of 1. We take pride in being part of LifeStar, a digital hub dedicated to all aspects of solopreneurship that has empowered and educated countless solopreneurs looking to build a business that resonates with their life's ambitions. We help people work to live, not live to work. And if you're looking for a get rich quick scheme, this is not the show for you. So if you're eager to gain valuable insights from industry experts on running a business the right way the first time around, or I want to learn from the missteps of solopreneurs who've paved the way before you, then stick around.
Carly Ries:
We've got your back because flying solo in business doesn't mean you're alone. Okay. So before we jump into this episode, I just have to share this new free offer we have called the solo suite starter. Being a solopreneur is awesome, but it's not easy. It's hard to get noticed, and most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone until now.
Carly Ries:
LifeStar's solo suite gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one person business. So if you're lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even if you're just lonely running a company of 1, be sure to check out Solo Suite starter atlifestar with 2 hours.com and click on products and pricing at the top menu. It's the first one in the drop down. Again, it's totally free, so check it out atlifestar with 2 hours.com. Click on products and pricing, and it's the first one in the menu.
Carly Ries:
Hope to see you there. Okay. Michael, we are so silly because I have never had a guest in the same location as me. I do not know why we are not sitting next to each other at a restaurant sharing a microphone and doing this interview together. This is just such a fun anomaly for me.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
So It's funny you say that because I I also you know, I do my own podcast, and I've been scheduling some stuff. And I realized recently, like, why am I scheduling these people virtually when I can literally go meet them, have coffee, and record it in person, which is I just I I mean, the idea of being in person to record a show is awesome. You know the thing I think about it is control over the sound, though? If you're a control freak like me, I think I would I would kinda freak out
Carly Ries:
a little. Well, Michael, I we have so much to cover today, and, we were talking offline about you were just a ball of energy. You're so your personality is contagious. I love chatting with you offline, and so I'm excited that you're actually on the show. And let's just dive into it.
Carly Ries:
It we're we're acquaintances, but I would love to become a friend. And you mentioned friend in a lot of your verbiage. And you implied that that to me implies the importance of community. So can you share your journey and how you discovered that the key is through to success is through building relationships and networking?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Well, yes. Absolutely. I will be happy to. The key to your own relationship with yourself is to understand that you are your own worst enemy and your own best friend. We have relationships with the different character traits, personalities, I suppose, that we bring with us.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And and if you're not living intentionally with that and you're not engaging with it intentionally, then they come up in many different forms. And what I discovered along my particular journey was that my relationship with fear had always been one that I was engaging with through my journaling, a lot of self taught. I think I got that from my mom who would talk out loud to her other personalities and, and engage with them, that she would give them sort of, like, you know, names about who they were or what they were doing at that time, and she would always be that voice inside my head. And she was always the counter to a lot of the things I would come up with because I was one of those kids who would just, you know I would get in trouble. I if I could think of it, I would do it.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And it didn't I didn't even have to think twice about how. I was just gonna grab things and go. And there wasn't a real fear for me in in taking on those things. So my mother was always the voice of reason. You know, are you sure you wanna jump out of that tree?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Are you do you think that's a good idea? Maybe we should back that up a little and think this through. No. I'm alright. You know?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And and and then, of course, consequences. And I lived my life a lot by that code. As I was growing up, I was bullied severely in school, and I spent all of junior high and high school, almost all of it, navigating the hallways out of fear, trying to find my way around situations and trying to navigate towards safety. And out of that sense of frustration, I suppose, out of that very, very, very rough time period where I I finally confronted myself in front of the mirror and said, enough's enough. If people aren't gonna like you for who you are, then you be you 100% of the time all the way.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
You've tried to change for this person, tried to do that for that person, you name it. And if this is what life is gonna look like and I'm only 14, then I'm gonna be me from here on forward, and everybody can, you know, what off. So I didn't know at 52, I looked back. I had a chance to reinvent myself yet again and pivot with my life. I had lots of experience from broadcast media, event production, you name it, PR marketing.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And it was time for me to reexamine all of that. I poured my time, my attention, and my talents into other companies, and I really wanted to create greater impact. And all my friends and family said, you are fearless. You have all this energy. You go after anything you want.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
You always learn on your feet. And I thought at the time, it was lip service. And when and so what I decided to do was sit every single one of them down at lunch separately so they couldn't collaborate and ask them what they meant by that. And every one of them had a sort of story about a moment in my life when I did something, faced a tragedy, faced a moment, and and took it on differently. And it occurred to me that I was approaching these things apparently differently than other people.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And I began to examine my relationship with fear. And I was like, why am I fearless? Because I really don't I don't feel fear. I feel a little anxiety. I have some trepidation, some hesitancy around certain decision making processes.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And I discovered that my risk, my level of risk that I was willing to take was very different from other people. So I began to look at why. And it was because I was I had taken enough of them and took enough chances on me to know that as I moved into the future, these weren't I wasn't hedging bets. These weren't crapshoots. I knew what I was capable of.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Question. Yeah. Go ahead.
Joe Rando:
No. Just so you you talked about navigating, in fear when you were in high school, basically, which, you know, I kinda get I had not quite the same experience, but I had some I I get I get where you're coming from on it. And, but now you're talking about not having fear again. So you're a young child with no fear. You started with fear.
Joe Rando:
What was the process of coming getting beyond the fear? Right? That's the really the thing I really wanna understand is what led you and what did you do to go from being fearful again to back to your kind of young self of being fearless?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I think taking on things that are always at the edge of risk. You know? Always examining those places and those spaces where it looks like you might be uncomfortable and leaning into those things. And when I made fear my friend, when I looked at him and said, oh, I have a relationship with fear, and he's actually my friend. He actually guides me and tells me how to look at things, what things I should be paying attention to.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I was wanted to give that back to other people to help them find out in terms of community what you can do together with the additional perspectives and lenses of their experiences is so much greater than what you can do on your own. It also mitigates that risk because you have all that experience and all those perspectives of individuals other than yourself to help you look at the problem, the challenge, and the the thing in front of you a little bit differently. And for me, turning situations into opportunities to change who I was just fit my dynamic. And I didn't know that there was I didn't realize there were skill sets I could impart. I didn't realize they were steps that I could offer, tips and tricks and advice, until I took a deeper look at it and realized I was doing it, in in a number of different ways.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And then I could offer that back to other people.
Joe Rando:
And And and that's what I'm getting to is, like you know, because it's one of those things where it's great, but what what can we what can we share with with the listeners to say, hey. Consider this. Think about this. Try this to to help them kind of if they're in that journey of being fearful and and fear is not their friend. What what can we tell them?
Carly Ries:
To piggyback off of that, I also wanna know how you turned friend into a catalyst for building community. And for those like, turning fear into a friend, how that translated to the your whole thing around community too. So sorry. Two part question.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
1, I use the 4 f's framework of making for your friend, which is feel, foster, flip, and free. In that, it is with feel, it is identifying what that fear is. That's really identifying where is it coming from, why is it coming up. Foster is fostering a relationship with that fear by not only identifying it, but engaging with it through journal writing, regular meetings, drawing, vision boarding, vision mapping. Flip means you've now flipped that relationship, and it's your job to invite your fear to participate in your future planning, in your ongoing life, and all of the things that you're doing so that now it's now on this side of the table, the committee, the future proof committee, if you will.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And then 3, you've now freed yourself from those fears because you've now got a set of tools to engage with this as you move forward, and you've taken the risk and the fear and the unknown out of it, and now you've put it in your pocket as part of a tool. The part of it that turns into community was when I realized it's my responsibility, it's my privilege to give this back. And what I discovered was when I began to share my journey with other people, the impact that it had was exponential. The more I shared, the more people could open up. The more people that opened up realized they could lean on each other in vulnerability and share their journey with each other and realize we're not alone.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And as entrepreneurs, we always feel isolated in in our journey trying to build our businesses. We are the only ones who really believe in our dream. It's very hard to navigate that space. And we have to be leaders too. And that's where I invite them to step into the leader part of themselves, which is share that part of your journey with others.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Collaborate with them on your fears and your anxiety and your obstacles because you will discover that they are that they're with you. They're right there with you, and the answers are gonna be right there. And it's gonna be easier easier go of it if you if you are willing to do that and create impact, by the way.
Carly Ries:
It's so funny. I have a a dear, dear friend who just does not do small talk. Like, she's like, why have the small talk when you get so, like, her icebreaker is if you could if you were at therapy session, what would you talk about right now? And it's like, woah. My god.
Carly Ries:
That cuts right to it. Like, you're gonna get to know somebody wrong way.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
To ask her which therapist are we with.
Carly Ries:
Oh my god. She's and it's so funny because she's also very funny. And, like, she says it with, like, a, like, a directness, but also, like, kinda tongue in cheek. But she had just built this amazing network of people because she's like, we're gonna cut out the weather talk. We're gonna go right to the heart of it.
Carly Ries:
And she's built this amazing community, so that's what it reminded me of. But speaking of that community and you being new to a town right now, how do you go about finding the right people to share your story with? How do you find that community?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Well, first of all, I do I do it on the podcast. I made a commitment to myself to talk about these things and my journey on both the Fearless Road podcast where I get to interview other entrepreneurs and the intersection of fear in their lives, and fearless thinking, which is where I literally talk about my thoughts, like how my brain works when I'm, faced with some of these things, mainly because it's it's sort of a audio journal, I suppose. So for me, sharing my experiences and being vulnerable has never been something I've been afraid of. And what I've discovered is that if I'm the first to step up to that plate, others will open up pretty easily with you, And they feel more comfortable because the space I'm creating with my own energy and my own vulnerability allows them to be themselves. They can, you see them just all relax, take a moment, and be like, oh, finally somebody stepped up.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I don't have to be the first. And and I don't mind. I've I've you know, like, Joe, you probably understand this. When you're when you're being bolded and you know you're gonna be out there anyway, if you're the first person to be self deprecating, if you're the first person to sort of jump in and make fun of yourself, it just breaks the ice for everybody and makes the room calm down.
Joe Rando:
I never never learned that one as a kid.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Oh, really?
Joe Rando:
You know? As an adult, yeah, but it it was just it was a short spell being in the wrong school. You know? And, fortunately, from I was lucky enough to be big and strong, so I didn't get beat up. But you can still be beat up, you know, emotionally when you're the you know, I was the I was the kid that was trying to do good in school, and that was not cool.
Joe Rando:
And, it was, it was a lousy couple of years.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
It's so fascinating that you say that because today's alpha generation and and the g Gen z doing good in school would never have been thought of as being nerdy.
Joe Rando:
Good.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
When we were going up, it was like, nobody wants to do good in school. Don't be a a dork. You know? Yep.
Carly Ries:
1, Michael so suffice to say with all of this, the key to community and the key to being a successful solopreneur even, we could go down that direction, is authenticity. And once you can be your self, you you attract community. You attract the the audience that you want. Joe and I are going through this right now. Like, we for I mean, I'm a trained marketer.
Carly Ries:
For the longest time, it's like play the algorithm. This is best practice for email, blah blah blah blah blah. And we finally were just like, enough.
Joe Rando:
No.
Carly Ries:
Like, enough. Like, AI is fixing or changing everything. People are, like, flooded with political emails, all these things. And so Joe and I had a heart to heart a few weeks ago. We were just like, let's just be ourselves.
Carly Ries:
Like, screw the LinkedIn algorithm, all this stuff.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And Hashtag screw the algorithm. Your yeah. I saw your post. I was I was like, yes. 100%.
Carly Ries:
But we're just like, we have a lot to share. We have a lot of value to add, and we're we don't wanna play games anymore. So I feel like and we've have attracted a lot of people since then just for being authentic. So I I that was a big takeaway that I had from you that solopreneurs can take away is just be authentic, be yourself, and you'll attract the community that you should attract for your business, for your personal life. But the question I also have for you that you find important is just the idea of mentorship.
Carly Ries:
So how can people go about finding mentors? How important is that in in relation to community? Where do where do you stand on that?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
2 things. 1, authenticity is a practice. It it isn't just being yourself is by the way, there is a massive separation between us and the youth who already understand how to be themselves. They've had a brand persona since they've had a phone in their hand. They've understood what the messaging and the impact of that could be since they've had one.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Our generation was told to leave our you know what at the door where every time we walked into work, every time we came anywhere, nobody cares about who you are. Just bring the version of you we pay you to have. So for us, it is a practice to find that voice. It is work to constantly go, well, who am I, and what is authentic for me? And that's a great journey to be on, by the way.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
It is a wonderful thing to begin exploring to find your real voice, especially when you're trying to bring it into brand and you're trying to bring it into messaging.
Joe Rando:
I'm gonna I'm gonna jump in and so you you believe that, like, Gen z and I don't know about Gen Alpha, but just let let's say Gen z is really bringing their authentic selves to the social media scene that that it's not I mean, I just I see a lot
Michael DeVous Jr.:
of people. I think one thing, they're not afraid to share, and they're not afraid to put it out there. But they also are covering it up with all of these ideas of what perfection should look like, these ideas of what brand should be. And they don't have any guidance from us. Right?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
They can't because we weren't we never were authentic. We we don't have the skill sets to do that. And so I think it's interesting that they're practicing in that sandbox before we are. They're out there trying so many different things and already getting the consequences and the results. So they have the data to make certain decisions that we don't.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Most of us wouldn't risk it because we're like, well, I haven't been sharing my my authentic self with others for a long time. I don't even know what that would begin to look like, and I don't feel comfortable doing it. And so for us, I think the step beyond there is a larger risk and a bigger step. So what I meant was they're more comfortable. They've already taken some of these risks.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
They know what the market will do. They know what the social media channels and those pages will do, but they also are familiar with the algorithms and the platforms better than we are. So they can I feel like they could navigate it if they wanted to be authentic? Now mind you, they're still on their own journey. They still have to find out who they are and what they want.
Joe Rando:
That make that makes more sense. Yeah. Because I see a lot of this as just, oh, my life is perfect, and, you know, it's not perfect.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
It's a screen capture.
Joe Rando:
Yes. Exactly. Yeah.
Carly Ries:
Well
Michael DeVous Jr.:
But As far as mentorship is concerned, first of all, find anyone. You you know, if you want guidance and you want someone, there's always great it's always great to have an accountability partner, somebody that you can talk to. But when you're looking for a mentor, if you wanna be strategic about it, look at someone who's 5 years down the road from where you are. Where do you wanna be in 3 to 5 years? Where do you really see yourself going, and what does that goal look like for you?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
What kind of individual embodies that version of who you really wanna be? And if you can find out who that is and you can find people like that in your neighborhood, your network, or on LinkedIn, then I would say reach out to them and explain what your needs are. Explain that I believe I wanna be where you are in 3 to 5 years. I'm looking for a mentor. I want someone to help guide me.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Are you interested in participating in a mentor mentee relationship? Now these are not simple questions. These are not easy things to do. You have to be very intentional when you're bringing a mentee mentor relationship into play because you need to be proactive and engaging with that individual for the purpose of growth, personal and professional growth.
Joe Rando:
Yeah. It's also the fact that you've gotta be really careful about who you choose as that mentor because they can be someplace you wanna be, but if the path that they traveled isn't a path you can go down, I mean, there's a lot of ways to be, to have a 7 figure business. And I cannot tell you how many business ideas I had that I think would have done quite well that I said, I can't go that way. I can't do that because you know, it's either just not me or it's too painful or I don't feel right about it. So yeah.
Joe Rando:
But that's a really good point to look at that person, but then making sure that that the that the path that they're probably gonna take you on is gonna be one that you're willing to go down.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I think that comes in into play when you're talking about your value systems, and I think it's very good to establish what those are early on for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs. You need to understand what your value systems are, moral, ethical, across the board. And if you can ask yourself 10 to 15 questions to help you better align yourself with those value systems, use those same questions for a mentor. Yeah. If they align with those values, then I think you're in a good place.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Now they may not align with your trajectory, right, But what I will tell you is it's easy to shift and turn a boat when you're traveling and moving than it is if you're standing still. So if you find someone, right, you can always move over to somebody that's better aligned with you. If you get started, it's better than not having any guidance at all.
Carly Ries:
Can you have, like, unofficial mentors where you don't have this specific conversation? Because, Joe, like, I would consider you a mentor of mine.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I think
Carly Ries:
it's never sat I've never sat down and been like, Joe, are you wanna be my mentor? Well, I think
Michael DeVous Jr.:
what we've begun to do is establish these, and I would I would lean into LinkedIn for this. We've already begun establishing professional relationships across, different sectors with individuals that we don't specifically work with, but we respect what they do. And I believe that when you're looking at them and you're following them and you're paying attention to the kind of work that they do, the impact that they make, that's a type of mentor. Now you may not be in an official mentor mentee relationship, but you're gaining impact. You're gaining influence.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
You're gaining information and experience from that person's life. I mean, I'll say it right now. Brene Brown is a mentor for me. She doesn't know it. But one day she might.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And, you know, I've I've used her post, her books, her writings, everything to help me in my life. That's mentoring from from, you know, a stay a place of, was that passive education?
Carly Ries:
Mhmm. Yeah. Well, that no. That makes so much sense. Well, so my question is so community is valuable.
Carly Ries:
Having a mentor, official or unofficial, is valuable. Authenticity is valuable. If somebody's like, I'm being my authentic self and but they're not attracting the right community, they're not attracting the right audience, they can't find a mentor, what are they doing wrong? What are some mistakes that people make when they're trying to pursue these areas?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
It's a square peg in a round hole. This is why I stopped, the train to get off. I was living other people's versions of success. I had to stop and reevaluate what I thought that meant. And and from a place of authenticity, describe the kind of success for me that would fit my life model.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
If my messaging, if my marketing, if my branding, if my services weren't in alignment with my idea of what success looks like and my value systems and my authenticity, then, yeah, you're not gonna attract the right people. There's gonna be something out of balance. So if you've got somebody who's already in the market, already doing something, already out there, but now wants to be authentic and those things don't line up, that's usually your first clue.
Carly Ries:
Mhmm. Okay. Well, then the other the second part of that that I had was so maybe there some people are reaching out and it's not working. Some people might just be hesitant. They're like, I went out on I'm a solopreneur because I like working independently.
Carly Ries:
I don't need anybody. What advice would you have for them? Because we always say no. Like, going solo in business doesn't mean you're alone. You it like but you have those people that are like, nope.
Carly Ries:
I could do it all. What how would you counteract that?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Good luck. You're gonna end up needing people. I'm sorry. You're gonna end up needing people. I don't care who you are, whether or not you wanna hide behind a screen and do data entry all day long.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Wonderful. That's awesome. You wanna be an entrepreneur? You're gonna meet people. You're gonna need staff.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
You're gonna need resources. You're gonna need networking. And, eventually, some at some point when you're ready to bring that idea, that little dream of yours, little baby to the world, you're gonna have to engage with others. And not developing those skill sets is gonna put you so much further behind than every other entrepreneur. If you don't start now and realize it's valuable for you, you'll get there, but you may not be successful.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And that's gonna be hard. It's a very, very hard lesson to learn too late in the game after you've done all the work to bring that that dream into the world only to realize you don't have the other skill sets necessary to engage with others to get them excited about it.
Carly Ries:
Yeah. I mean, because you hear some people say, like, they wanna be behind their screen, then they'll just use PPC to get the word out. And they'll use content marketing. They don't actually have to interact. But what's this saying?
Carly Ries:
Like, every job everybody's in sales, and just mastering that craft. Like, you have to build those relationships and even just talk to your audience to finesse your product or service.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Interesting. It's a it's a muscle. And, I am actually working with a a company right now whose whose CEO is, like, 19 and whose other cofounder's, I believe, in late sixties. And there's this gap, and they want, I believe, my help to come in to help create a voice, a bridge between the voices of the young person who's got these brilliant ideas, but he's just not polished for the world. Right?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
He he hasn't had the time to get that polished, and it takes a lot of practice to work that muscle. And I I guess I'll be sort of a mentor for that. If you're an entrepreneur, you're serious about being an entrepreneur, that is one of the things that's one of the skill sets you're just gonna have to work on. And I invite you to think about if you're trepidation trepidatious about it, I invite you, think about it now. Start slow.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
You know? Begin with people you know, people you're already comfortable with, and begin branching that out a little bit further. But, eventually, you will. You'll have to.
Carly Ries:
Do you have any concrete examples of how building a community and being your authentic self has helped you or a client of of yours take your business to new heights?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I think it was. There's a couple of innovative moments where there's a roadblock with a company executive I was working with out of New York, their entire executive team, and they were bringing a new launch for a new initiative with the city of New York. And the leader, the the vice president, was holding pieces of information from her keynote speech to herself. And it was interesting because she was wondering why other people in their panel discussion notes, in their training sessions just didn't seem to be on board. And I was like, well, maybe you need to share with them the bit the vision.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I mean, maybe, like, why haven't you allowed them in? Well, they're not part of the decision making process for that. And I'm like, but aren't they? I mean, it's going to impact them. And whether or not they're part of the team that makes the ultimate decision as to whether or not this gets out into the public, they're still on your team.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And you haven't let them know you care, and you're not being vulnerable with them. And they sense that, so there's resistance. So we had a breaking a breakout session, kind of you wouldn't call it a breakout session, where I said, you're gonna you're gonna do this in front of them before you do it in public. And you let them hear it. Let them weigh in.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And she was a little hesitant about that. But what came out of it were some wonderful suggestions from the team she had not even thought of because they had already been building relationships out in the community with other individuals. And they went, oh, you know, so and so, what I was working with last week on this project, would probably be a great partner for us to help us get the messaging out even further. Right? Greater impact.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
When we work in a silo, when we think that we have the answers or we don't need to lean on other people, we we eliminate opportunity. We reduce opportunity, but we also hamper ourselves. Right? We restrict ourselves from receiving additional information and perspectives that might be valuable to us to grow, not only as a leader, but as an individual. And that greater impact always comes with collaboration and expand and widening the group.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Now I get where decision making you don't want everything to be done by committee. You don't want you know, I get that control. But in the ideation stage, in the innovation stage, collaboration with a lot of people is a brilliant thing to do. I can only have my experiences. I can only have my perspectives.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
But if I'm willing to bring others in fresh new ideas, perspectives and experiences, backgrounds, I'm just expanding the the ability for success to happen.
Carly Ries:
Mhmm. So so true. This is such a a unique conversation. So my my big takeaways from this interview have been to make for your friend, to be your authentic self, to find that community, and to find the people that inspire you, mentor you, motivate you. Would you say those are, like, 4 keys of success right there?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Yes. And I would add a little bit to the be your authentic self. Find your authentic self. Go on that journey. We may not know what it is.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I'm I'm always discovering new things about myself. It's a constant journey. I'm always changing. So for me, there's there's 32 different authentic versions of me that could show up at any time. I've had so many different life experiences that I have those facets to my personality, and those are okay.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And I think being open to the idea of that that that finding your authentic self is a wonderful journey to embrace, opens you up to the possibility of meeting not only wonderful people, but one day meeting a beautiful version of you.
Carly Ries:
That's a that's a great point to end on. I don't I'm not gonna ask any more questions after that except for one that we ask everybody, but I'm gonna let that moment just sit there. The only other question I'm gonna ask because that was so beautifully said that was besaid so beautifully unlike this sentence I just said, we ask all of our guests this question. What is your favorite quote about success?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Oh, everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear.
Joe Rando:
Is that an original? Nope.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I don't think so. No. I think I've I I know I've read it or heard it from others, but Okay. I even have it on a placard on a on a poster because I just believe that that's the truth, that that we place we place those fears in front of us. And what's on the other side, if we can move through them, are incredible versions of ourselves we have yet to discover.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
And when that person comes to light, when that person comes into the scene, it's the next great opportunity, the next great fear you're gonna conquer, the next obstacle you're gonna get over. And then on the other side of that is another great version of you and another great version of you. And it's just endless versions of you that can be born every second you you go on the other side of fear. So yeah.
Carly Ries:
I love that. My favorite quote is life begins outside your comfort zone. And so it's kinda things like same quote, same meeting, but different. So it could totally resonate with that. Well, so, Michael, if people are like, okay.
Carly Ries:
Gotta face my fears. I wanna learn more about this. I want to overcome these challenges and be the best version of myself. Where can people find you?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Michaeldevout junior.com, and that's my last name, d a, v as in Victor, o u, s as in Sam, michael devoo junior.com is my website. Or you can go at fearless thinking or at the fearless road, and you can find me through those channels that we're on Spotify, Apple, everywhere, and YouTube. Duff Fearless Road? Duff Fearless Road. Yeah.
Carly Ries:
How often do people pronounce your last name correctly?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
In France all the time. Yes. That guy here state? Devious. With who?
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I get devious all of the time. Yeah.
Carly Ries:
Like, the shit.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Like yep.
Carly Ries:
They had that. People pronounce my last name wrong all the time.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
I can always tell when it's coming up. There's a small pause before they get to the Michael and there's a small pause, and I'm like, I wanna hear what what is that? What do you got? Like, what version of this are you gonna have for me today?
Carly Ries:
Totally. Totally. Well, Michael, thank you so much for coming on the show today. I I it was just a really I don't know. Like, we cut to the core, and I I really appreciate that and that we got vulnerable, and that's always a nice thing to happen these interviews.
Carly Ries:
So thank you so much.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
It's a journey. We're on a journey together, and you guys are wonderful. And you're helping me step out as well with the with
Joe Rando:
the 2.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Lifepreneur I mean, the solopreneur group and LifeStar, and, you know, this is awesome.
Carly Ries:
Great.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Thanks, guys.
Carly Ries:
Glad you're a part of it. And listeners, hopefully, you feel inspired after that after that too. We are so excited that we are able to bring this to you today. You know, I have to ask, please leave that 5 star review. Subscribe to YouTube.
Carly Ries:
Subscribe to all the channels you listen to this podcast. We would so appreciate it. And then just wait a week, and we will be back with another episode of the aspiring solopreneur. See you next time.
Michael DeVous Jr.:
Okay. Bye, everybody.
Carly Ries:
You may be going solo in business, but that doesn't mean you're alone. In fact, millions of people are in your shoes, running a one person business and figuring it out as they go. So why not connect with them and learn from each other's successes and failures? At Lifestar, we're creating a one person business community where you can go to meet and get advice from other solopreneurs. Be sure to join in on the conversations at community.lifestar.com.
Carly Ries:
That's community.lifestar with 2 r's.com.
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