On the Matterr: Motivation for Goal-Getters, Entrepreneurs and Anyone Ready to Level all the way Up!

It’s O’Day!

To commemorate her birthday this year, Oby is giving out the gift of inspiration. The On the Matterr Mixtape is 8 minutes and 59 seconds of inspiring quotes and moments from guests of the first season, proven to motivate you into your greatness. 

Enjoy! 

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To officially close out the "Season of Men," I interview one of the most intelligent people I know: Taiwo Togun, Ph.D. 

Born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria, to a family of educators, Taiwo is an Innovation Consultant with the African Center for Innovation & Leadership Development and a former Research Scientist with the University of California, San Francisco. He is co-founder and CEO of SeqHub, a company that serves the genomics space by match-making and connecting the untapped supply of Data Scientists with research labs that need help analyzing their genomics data. In addition, Dr. Togun holds a faculty position at Pierrepont School, Connecticut, where he teaches Computer Science and Mathematics to middle and high school students. 

Keep up with Taiwo on linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatogun/

Resources:
https://www.seqhubanalytics.com
https://www.amazon.com/Minute-Think-Reclaim-Creativity-Busyness-ebook/dp/B08NPR6JC3

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This week, I'm back with Part 2 of my sister-circle conversation with my sister girls: Chinonyelum Udoye, Akuezumkpa Chiapa, and Latoya Broodie! 

In this next (and final) part, we discussed what we were doing to show up as our best selves this year. So ENJOY, and please let me know what you think in the comments!

Resources mentioned:
https://www.mindvalley.com 

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Kicking off the new year with my first ever Sister Circle Conversation!! Tune in to hear my chat with my sister-girls: Chinonyelum Udoye, Akuezumkpa Chiapa, and Latoya Broodie, as we catch up on how 2021 ended and share how 2022 has been thus far. 

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On the pod, this week is Emeka Odenigbo.

Emeka was born in Benin City, Edo State. After graduating with a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, he went on a quest to stand out. This quest led him to sets of Nollywood movies as an actor and then ultimately to the U.S. Army in Service to Country.

In the conversation, Emeka shares growing up, his parents' influence on his life choices, and how powerful the mind is over every matterr. 

Enjoy!

Origin Story - 3:08
Family - 4:00
Nollywood - 7:33
Joining the U.S. Army - 17:04
His OTM - 45:13

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He listens to stories of people for a living, here’s your chance to listen to his story. 

On the pod this week, Rob Lawless! 

Rob is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native. He  graduated with a Bachelors in Finance with a minor in Accounting and Entrepreneurship and went on to get a job at Deloitte. 

On paper he was doing great and checking off all of the right boxes, but internally, Rob struggled with the path his life was taking. 

Determined to live a life of impact, while honing into his affinity for community and his love for people, In 2015, he launched his project called Robs 10k Friends with a mission to 10,000 people one on one for an hour each.

6 years later, he has talked to 4962 people (at the point of this post), has been featured on NBC, Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Clarkson to mention a few and it still going strong!

Tune in to hear all about his incredible journey! 

Be sure to keep up with Rob on IG at https://www.instagram.com/robs10kfriends/ @Robs10kfriends 

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On the pod this week, I am blessed to speak with a staple in the NYC music and art scene: Kerry Blu!

Kerry grew up performing in the youth step team of his church. He went to college intending to study pre-med but realized that work needed to succeed in the field didn't connect with him. 

Today, he is a singer, songwriter, and the founder of the Empire State Music & Arts Festival. Having opened for Tory Lanez, Kota the Friend, and Dave East in prestigious venues such as New York's The Knitting Factory and The Bowery Electric, Kerry has garnered thousands of streams and connected with audiences all over the world! His latest album, "The Game is the Game," broke 5000+ plays in its first two weeks, and Kerry Blu shows no signs of slowing down!

Kerry shares his growing journey, self-realization, and careful observation, portraying the world he encounters through raw and honest lyricism. ENJOY!

Keep up with Kerry on IG at @kerryblumusic and @empirestatemusicfest and download his new album at https://www.kblumusic.org 

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On the pod, this week is me, myself and you guessed it, I 🤣.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving (here in the States), I wanted to cut through the "Season of Men" to THANK everyone in this community for being a part of it and also, share all the beautiful things I am grateful for!

ENJOY!
Link to the song I sang is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzU_jT7Y_JA

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On the pod, this week is Jerald Watson!

Jerald is an urbanist born in Parkchester, New York, raised by his mom, a singer and dancer (with a #1 song on the BILLBOARD CHARTS at the time)! Kin on education, in middle school, she enrolled him in "Prep for Prep," a program designed to bridge the gap between public schools and Ivy League Universities. 

His fascination with the City led him to pursue his B.S. in Urban and Regional Planning from Cornell University. Today am pursuing an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA from Harvard Business School (at the same time)! 

Outside of work, Jerald is the freelance portrait and documentary photographer whose work showcases the beauty and vigor of Black life. Today he is the owner of Jerald Watson Photo.

Our conversation covered his life growing up, urbanism, gentrification, Predatory Inclusion, redlining, and the importance of pushing your boundaries! 

Keep up with Jerald @jeraldwatsonphoto and on linked at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeraldwatson/

ENJOY!

Origin Story - 2:01

His Mom - 4:04

Middle School - 5:11

Leaning into Hip-hop - 10:40

Urban Planning - 14:00

Professional experience - 21:10

Predatory Inclusion - 28:30

Redlining - 29:00

Harvard - 39:50

Having ADHD - 46:01

OTM - 56:29

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On the podcast this week is one of my dearest friends in the world: Tochukwu Onyebuchi.

Tobz grew up in Enugu, Nigeria being a problem child and trouble maker (his words, not mine). So much so that his parents sent him off to the UK to make something of himself. A decision that has definitely paid off immensely because today, not only he is a successful Civil Engineer (who has worked on major projects in the industry) but he is also the founder and one of the hosts of the Fresh Off The Boat Podcast!

This conversation covers some of our fondest memories of our lives back home, Tochukwu’s brutally honest story about his transition to his new life in the  UK and how he came to create and grow his podcast!

Keep up with Tobz on IG @stilltobz and his podcast @freshofftheboatpodcast. His podcast is also available on YouTube at https://youtube.com/c/FOTBNetwork  ENJOY! 

Timestamp

Original story - 9:00
Moving to the UK - 14:40
Becoming a Civil Engineer - 17:09
Podcasting - 21:52
His OTM Quote - 43:45

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