Confessions of a Native Son

Pre Show: What's going on everyone, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son, I'm your host Mike Steadman. I'm a Marine Corps Veteran, Entrepreneur, and Aspiring author, who enjoys thought-provoking and engaging dialogue about race, culture, and business.

• In this episode, I open up about my first year in the Marine Corps, and the challenges I faced as a young black officer. I share details about my performance, living and working in what felt like an all-white world, and the humiliation I felt. This was the hardest episode I've recorded yet. Sharing this aspect of my life brought back a lot of negative memories and feelings that I've tried to push past. My hope is that by opening and sharing my experience, I'm able to foster an open dialogue about race and culture in the military. As always, thanks for sharing your time with me and I hope you enjoy the show. 

Introduction:  What's up everybody, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son. Thank you for joining us again. 

• Podcasting on a Monday afternoon from my apartment
• Reflection on Last Week's Episode
• Marine Corps Times Article "The Marine Corps: Always faithful — to white men"
• Confession: "I was relieved in Combat. In the summer of 2012, after almost 6 months in combat, I lost command of men. It was one of the lowest points of my life, and to be completely honest, I'm still embarrassed by it. I had an extremely rocky Marine Corps career, which heavily contradicts all the success I've had outside the military. 

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand that utilizes the wellness benefits of boxing to transform communities, individuals, and corporate teams, helping them realize their fullest potential. Proceeds from our services fund free amateur boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults. 

Theme: Always Faith

• Topic 1: Why I Joined the Marine Corps
  • The Poster
  • Brandon Barrett
  • The Toughness
• Topic 2: The Reality
  • TBS
  • IOC
  • Afghanistan
• Topic 2: Black Man in A White World
  • Lack of Confidence
  • Second Guessing
  • Floyd Mayweather

Conclusion: Closing remarks. 

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network who you feel identifies with the subject matter. 

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com, we've got to start supporting our own businesses. We're actually in the midst of a funding raising round.  we've raised $45,000 of our $107K target! We're excited about this investment round and I highly encourage all my friends and family to make an investment in us. You can invest for as little as 250.00.  Also, be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. Boxing is wellness, and thats why we're providing free workouts for the community. Between our corporate clients and free classes, we're running upwards of 15 classes a week. You can donate to support the cause at IRONBOUNDBoxing.org, also if you are part of a remote team looking for some fun employee engagement, we'd love to host a class for you.  

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected], Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week.

Introduction:  What's up everybody, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son. Thank you for joining us again. 

• Podcasting on a Sunday evening from my apartment in Newark, NJ. 
• Echoing Green Update
• Confession: "I think there's something fundamentally flawed with me." The biggest and most widely-shared fear is that many of us feel there is something fundamentally wrong with us and that we’re undeserving of great success and happiness. This fear causes us to hold ourselves back from fulfilling our ultimate potential because we feel we inherently don’t deserve it.

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand committed to sharing our love, passion, and appreciation for boxing within companies, organizations, and low-income communities. As a social enterprise, we proudly dedicate a significant percentage of our proceeds, to fund free boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults.

Theme: Taking the Big Leap

• Topic 1: The Book
  • Overview
  • The Upper Limit Problem
    • Each of us has an inner thermostat setting that determines how much love, success, and
      creativity we allow ourselves to enjoy. When we exceed our inner thermostat setting, we will
      often do something to sabotage ourselves, causing us to drop back into the old, familiar zone
      where we feel secure 
    • Unfortunately, our thermostat setting usually gets programmed in early childhood, before we can think for ourselves. Once programmed, our Upper Limit thermostat setting holds us back from enjoying all the love, financial abundance, and creativity that’s rightfully ours. It keeps us in our Zone of Competence or at best our Zone of Excellence. It prevents us from living in the ultimate destination of the journey—our Zone of Genius.
  • The Zones
    • Incompetence
    • Competence
    • Excellence
    • Genius

• Topic 2: The Stories I Tell Myself
  -I’m not smart enough, good enough, or qualified enough to build a multimillion-dollar business. 
  -I’m not smart enough to go to or graduate from an elite business school.
  -I can’t build a successful business from the ground up and maintain a meaningful relationship.
  -I can’t relate with my family.
  •  Hidden Barrier #4: The Fear of OutshiningCommon among gifted and talented children, this fear often emerges from a strong subliminal message they received from their families that if you shine too much, you’ll make others feel bad or look bad.Greater levels of success and happiness often trigger these fears, which cause us then to pull back to lower levels of fulfillment.

Topic 3: Taking My Big Leap

• IRONBOUND Boxing
• Dope Coffee
• Living My life

Conclusion: Closing remarks. 

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network who you feel identifies with the subject matter. 

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com, we've got to start supporting our own businesses. We're actually in the midst of a funding raising round.  we've raised $30,250 of our $107K target! We're excited about this investment round and I highly encourage all my friends and family to make an investment in us. You can invest for as little as 250.00.  Also, be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. Boxing is wellness, and thats why we're providing free workouts for the community. Between our corporate clients and free classes, we're running upwards of 15 classes a week. You can donate to support the cause at IRONBOUNDBoxing.org, also if you are part of a remote team looking for some fun employee engagement, we'd love to host a class for you.  

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected], Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week.

Introduction:  What's up everybody, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son. Thank you for joining us again. 

• Podcasting on a Sunday evening from my apartment in Newark, NJ. 
• Echoing Green Update
• Confession: "I think there's something fundamentally flawed with me." The biggest and most widely-shared fear is that many of us feel there is something fundamentally wrong with us and that we’re undeserving of great success and happiness. This fear causes us to hold ourselves back from fulfilling our ultimate potential because we feel we inherently don’t deserve it.

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand committed to sharing our love, passion, and appreciation for boxing within companies, organizations, and low-income communities. As a social enterprise, we proudly dedicate a significant percentage of our proceeds, to fund free boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults.

Theme: Taking the Big Leap

• Topic 1: The Book
  • Overview
  • The Upper Limit Problem
    • Each of us has an inner thermostat setting that determines how much love, success, and
      creativity we allow ourselves to enjoy. When we exceed our inner thermostat setting, we will
      often do something to sabotage ourselves, causing us to drop back into the old, familiar zone
      where we feel secure 
    • Unfortunately, our thermostat setting usually gets programmed in early childhood, before we can think for ourselves. Once programmed, our Upper Limit thermostat setting holds us back from enjoying all the love, financial abundance, and creativity that’s rightfully ours. It keeps us in our Zone of Competence or at best our Zone of Excellence. It prevents us from living in the ultimate destination of the journey—our Zone of Genius.
  • The Zones
    • Incompetence
    • Competence
    • Excellence
    • Genius

• Topic 2: The Stories I Tell Myself
  -I’m not smart enough, good enough, or qualified enough to build a multimillion-dollar business. 
  -I’m not smart enough to go to or graduate from an elite business school.
  -I can’t build a successful business from the ground up and maintain a meaningful relationship.
  -I can’t relate with my family.
  •  Hidden Barrier #4: The Fear of OutshiningCommon among gifted and talented children, this fear often emerges from a strong subliminal message they received from their families that if you shine too much, you’ll make others feel bad or look bad.Greater levels of success and happiness often trigger these fears, which cause us then to pull back to lower levels of fulfillment.

• Topic 3: Taking My Big Leap
• IRONBOUND Boxing
• Dope Coffee
• Living My life

Conclusion: Closing remarks. 

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network who you feel identifies with the subject matter. 

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com, we've got to start supporting our own businesses. We're actually in the midst of a funding raising round.  we've raised $30,250 of our $107K target! We're excited about this investment round and I highly encourage all my friends and family to make an investment in us. You can invest for as little as 250.00.  Also, be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. Boxing is wellness, and thats why we're providing free workouts for the community. Between our corporate clients and free classes, we're running upwards of 15 classes a week. You can donate to support the cause at IRONBOUNDBoxing.org, also if you are part of a remote team looking for some fun employee engagement, we'd love to host a class for you.  

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected], Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week.

Introduction:  What's up everybody, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son. 

• We have some very-special guests today Mekesia Brown & Lanch John from the Gifted Sounds Network,  an American podcasting creation, production, and distribution network based in Brooklyn,NYC. Lance and his team are curating diverse talent from all across the country, with the intent of building a larger than life podcasting platform. I first met Lance and his team after appearing on the "Super Upper Punch" podcast with Rich Rodriguez. I had an itch for starting my own podcast, I viewed my chance meeting with Lance as fate. Over the course of a few months, we discussed the idea of launching "Confessions of a Native Son," until finally one day, I decided to pull the trigger. This marks episode of 11, of what once just an idea. In this episode, we discuss how Lance and Mekeisa founded Gift Sounds, the importance of protecting intellectual property for people of color, and the black podcaster landscape. As always, thanks again for sharing your time with me and I hope you enjoy the show. 

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand committed to sharing our love, passion, and appreciation for boxing within companies, organizations, and low-income communities. As a social enterprise, we proudly dedicate a significant percentage of our proceeds, to fund free boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults.

Theme: Own Your Content

• Topic 1: How You Started
  • Origins
  • Passion
  • Big Hairy Audacious Goal
• Topic 2: Podcasting & Intellectual Property
  • Why is this important
  • What makes Gifted Sounds Different
  • The Black Podcaster LandScape
• Topic 3: How Does Someone Get Started
  • Best Practices
  • Common Mistakes You See
  • What Books or Podcast Do You Recommend for learning

Conclusion: Closing remarks. 

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network who you feel identifies with the subject matter. 

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com, we've got to start supporting our own businesses. Also, be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. Go to our website and donate, every donation counts. 

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected], Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week. 

Introduction:  What's up everybody, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son. 

• Feels good to be on this show
• I took a week off
• Confess about struggling with consistency

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand committed to sharing our love, passion, and appreciation for boxing within companies, organizations, and low-income communities. As a social enterprise, we proudly dedicate a significant percentage of our proceeds, to fund free boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults.

Theme: Boxing is Wellness

• Topic 1: Health & wellness in poor communities
  • Challenges
  • Chronic Health Issues
  • Food Desert
• Topic 2: COVID-19
  • Fighting back with Exercise and Nutrition
  • Getting low-income communities to access to proper equipment 
  • Teaching Wellness Culture
• Topic 3: Post Quarantine
  • PTSD
  • Social Distancing
  • Implications

Conclusion: Closing remarks. Boxing is wellness

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network who you feel identifies with the subject matter. I'm asking everyone to forward this show to at least one other person in their network.  

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com. For a limited time, Dope Coffee Company will be raising capital for our 2020-2022 operations which you can invest in for as little as $250* Details of this funding round can be found on our campaign page at bit.ly/dopecoffeeinvestment 

Also, be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. go to our website and donate, every donation counts. 

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected], Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week. 

Ep.9

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand committed to sharing our love, passion, and appreciation for boxing within companies, organizations, and low-income communities. As a social enterprise, we proudly dedicate a significant percentage of our proceeds, to fund free boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults.

Theme: Rethinking Traditional Education

• Topic 1: Public Education
  • 12 years of school
  • The odds are stacked against us
  • Unemployment
• Topic 2: College
  • My Opinion has shifted
  • Shitty ROI
  • Life After College
• Topic 3: Alternatives
  • Seeking Real knowledge
  • Apprenticeships and Internships
  • Something's got to give

Conclusion: Closing remarks. Rethinking Traditional Education

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network who you feel identifies with the subject matter. 

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com, we've got to start supporting our own businesses. Also be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. go to our website and donate, every donation counts. 

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected], Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week. 

Episode 8

Sponsors: 

• Dope Coffee: A lifestyle brand that pairs urban Black Culture with innovative product offerings in the coffee industry. We are not a coffee brand for Black people. We are a coffee brand that seeks to elevate Black culture through a lifestyle of premium coffee and candid conversation.
• IRONBOUND Boxing: a fitness brand committed to sharing our love, passion, and appreciation for boxing within companies, organizations, and low-income communities. As a social enterprise, we proudly dedicate a significant percentage of our proceeds, to fund free boxing programs for inner-city youth and young adults.

Theme: My Finest Hour

• Topic 1: By Any Means Necessary
  • My thought process last week
  • Refocusing on the community
  • Free Online Workouts
• Topic 2: Back in the Fight
  • Began onboarding corporate clients
  • Set up my living room into a workout studio 
  • Adapt and Overcome
• Topic 3: The Road Ahead
  • 7 Days of Wellness
  • Building an online database of content
  • Increase our digital brand presence

Conclusion: Closing remarks. This is my finest hour.

CTA: Be sure to subscribe and support the podcast by giving us 5 stars and leaving a review on iTunes. Also, forward this show to anyone in your network whom you feel identifies with the subject matter. 

Order some dope coffee at www.realdopecoffee.com, we've got to start supporting our own businesses. Also be sure to donate at www.Ironboundboxing.org,  every donation allows us to support free amateur boxing programs for youth and young adults in low-income communities. go to our website and donate, every donation counts. 

Message me on Linkedin or shoot me an email at [email protected], a Special shoutout to my Co-Producer Mike Loyd and the team from the Gifted Sounds Network. Rooting for everybody black. 

Until next time, peace, love, and have a great rest of your week. 

What's going on everyone, Welcome to another edition of Confessions of a Native Son, I'm your host Mike Steadman. I'm a Marine Corps Veteran, Entrepreneur, and Aspiring author, who enjoys thought-provoking and engaging dialogue about race, culture, and business. Like many of you, I got punched in the face last week and dropped to the canvas due to the Corona Virus & The COVID-19 Pandemic. With everything going in the world currently and the challenges our world leaders face due to COVID-19, a lot of my original subject matter for this platform has lost meaning for the moment. So for this episode, I discuss the effects of the Corona Virus on my personal life, business, and our nation. Now more than ever, I truly appreciate you sharing your time with me and I hope you enjoy the show.

What's going on everyone, Welcome to another addition of Confessions of a Native Son, I'm your host Mike Steadman. I'm a Marine Corps Veteran, Entrepreneur, and Aspiring author, who enjoys thought provoking and engaging dialogue about race, culture, and business. On this Episode I discuss "A Soldier's Play" by Charles Fuller, a Pulitzer prize winning play that explores the complicated feelings of anger and resentment that some African-Americans have towards one another, and the ways in which many blacks have absorbed racist attitudes. I discuss how the play is still relevant today, why it's important for us to have these discussions. As always, thanks for sharing your time with and I hope enjoy the show.

What's going on everyone, Welcome to another addition of Confessions of a Native Son, I'm your host Mike Steadman. I'm a Marine Corps Veteran, Entrepreneur, and Aspiring author, who enjoys thought provoking and engaging dialogue about race, culture, and business. On this episode, I sat down with Citi Medina, a newark based entrepreneur and Creative Strategist, who has worked in the Design & Strategy industry for over 10 years.Medina leads campaigns in an ever-immersive media world, driven by demanding multicultural millennial audiences, through his company, Medina Citi. MEDINA’s tireless passion for entrepreneurship and technology has led to his founding of = SPACE (equalspace.co), a unique co-working space for financial tech, securities tech and large media platforms, which focuses on founders of color, LGBT-led startups and women ventures. Medina and I talk about the realities of being a founder of color, the importance of creating intellectual property, gentrification in Newark, and how both our experiences can pave the way for others, so stay tuned and enjoy the show.